johnnyzip84

Nobody likes the midweek games (tailgating blows, etc), but this has been a staple of MACtion for a while now so we were certainly due to get stuck with a few. Four in a row seems like a bit of an overkill, but as zippy5 points out it probably is an indication that the conference recognizes Akron as a rising program ready for some more exposure. If you have to play 4 Tuesday games in a row, I'm glad they're the last 4 regular season games (traditional MACtion time of year). By the BG game, we'll have a good idea if the Zips are in the championship hunt or not and perhaps the added interest of a possible divisional race will partially offset the inconvenient kickoff date/time in terms of attendance. If you're looking at it from a purely competitive standpoint, the schedule sets up extremely well for the Zips. I like our chances to get out of the gate strong in conference play. UA should be no worse than 3-3 (2-0 in MAC) when heading to Athens with a nice opportunity for an upset (or just a victory) over the Bobcats. If we are in contention late in the year, I can very easily see a group of 25-50 of us "taking over" both Alumni Stadium and Dix Stadium for our last two road games. That COULD be a silver lining with all the Tuesday games. I'll have to spend more vacation, but I still plan to make a run at seeing all 12 regular season games in 2014. I'm ready! Go Zips!!

I agree with Balsy. They should take advantage of the mystique and slowly release portions to the public. I know many of us are divided on this, but I hope they build off of the Z-logo introduced at the Michigan game last year. I actually like the timing. It will help solidify the notion that this is a new era in Zip football. I'm glad they waited until things were turning the corner (we think, at least I do).

http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2014/02/university_of_akron_alpha_phi.html

Zips are 1 1/2 point favorites. Harney is apparently back, but how much has he practiced? Mellett used to be a house of horrors, so hopefully there won't be a reprise tonight. Tough game to gauge. This could well set the tone for the rest of the season. A win might get the team back on track for a decent stretch run. A loss will put the 20 wins streak in jeopardy.

They didn't actually say where the games in Akron would be played. I wouldn't count out some of the local high school fields.

The following is an update (I think) on the "Rivals" league former Zip RB Quentin Hines has been instrumental in forming. I don't see any information as to where the Akron team will play its games. http://www.freep.com/article/20140225/SPORTS18/302250040/rivals-professional-football-league

Good assessment, UA1987 I believe I heard Frenchy or Dunn say during a late season pre-game that Sconiers is expected to be back.

In the following story that ranks ACC OOC schedules, the blogger is currently picking UA http://www.faniq.com/blog/College-Football-2014-Ranking-the-ACC-Coastal-NonConference-Schedules-Blog-75444

Rachal definitely impressed last spring. The abundance of these types of players (fast, aggressive linebackers/DEs) has had a big, positive influence on our ability to cover on special teams.

I realize 2013-2014 has been a challenge for numerous reasons, but it's a little strange to not even have a game thread started less than 6 hours from tip-off. Zips are 11 point favorites. The improved Huskies have won 4 of 5. I look for Tree to get the NIU bigs in foul trouble, allowing Big Dog to prosper. Might be closer than 11, but I like our chances.

I predict walk-on Joe Weber from St V will be the Zip long snapper for the next few years.

Some Marshall fans will be thinking of 14-0 in 2014. http://www.wvgazette.com/Sports/Marshall/201402090111

At least we got the term "five pound Friday" out of this discussion

It doesn't seem to have moved much, indicating the line was probably established with knowledge of Harney's suspension. WMU guard David Brown has scored 20+ the last 3 games and averages 18.7 per game. The Broncos have not had a true PG since Mike Douglas, so hopefully CM's defense can present problems for them if he stay out of foul trouble. Tava went off against Toledo in the 1st half of that season opening WMU 11 point win in K'Zoo. Broncos have generally been poor on the road and very good at home, although they managed to lose to BUGS. Frenchy has been pointing out their FT attempt disparity when they play at home. That could be an issue. Hoping Kwan plays a lot tonight. Go Zips!

I was a little iffy on him playing point also. Maybe he played mostly 2 but slid over to 1 on occasion? It's the Michigan tourney game where I seem to have vivid memories of him playing some point. Of course, my memory isn't what it used to be

I recall John being a relatively tall (for the time), no-nonsense point guard for the Zips. ESPN has the following story: http://espn.go.com/nba/dailydime/_/page/dime-140210/daily-dime

Frenchy mentioned this on WNIR this morning. Meant to post this earlier, but never got around to it. Pretty crazy, huh?

Found an article that indicates new DB coach Otis Mounds was key in retaining Brown. Apparently Kyron's dad played arena ball with Coach Mounds. It's interesting how Coach already had a connection with 2 of the DB recruits from this class. http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/highschool/palm/sfl-boynton-beach-sends-players-to-hawaii-and-umass-20140205,0,2315653.story

That is a pretty funny story. The segments on "The Rise and Fall of the Bowden Empire" by the same writer were interesting reads.

Too many uncontested layups allowed. Too many silly turnovers. Goodson should have fouled out well before the last few minutes if his taunting of a fallen Harney been properly officiated - even so, the Zips do not deserve to win games like this. The K.E.N.T. fans seemed to act as though they were putting us in our place - only time will tell.

USA Today's service says Zips are 1.5 point favorites. http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=usatoday&page=gaming/liveodds2CBASK.aspx Edit: now up to 2.

I believe some posters have erroneously viewed you as a quasi-statistician, as in "I wonder what DiG's stats would say about this or that?". But then again, it's just my perception and I have no facts to back it up. I admit you have, on more than one occasion, made it clear that you are a writer by education and trade. So the "poser" comment was probably just a 1:30 am jab coming after after a long work week. Have at it!

They wouldn't.

I'll throw some more irony on the fire: people who pose as statisticians who couldn't tell a t hypothesis from a t-square

Nice job!