johnnyzip84

I’m concerned about the full court pressure the Gamecocks might produce. Oregon St didn’t have the athletes to press effectively and Iowa St didn’t have the depth (or need) to even try. Although things looked better against Detroit, the Zips still haven’t shown they can consistently solve a decent press.

I'm beyond stunned and I'm sure that those who knew him best are simply devastated. I know his players loved to play for him. Thoughts and prayers to his entire family.

Zips are 6.5 point 'dogs. This guy says take the points.

Wow, no politically-based conspiracy and the Zips hit their free throws Great job, Zips! Just like KD said in the Beacon today, this team's chemistry is coming together. Lots of contributions tonight. Pat, Deji, Nyles and Reggie all provided key sparks to supplement the usual terrific play of Tree. Quincy is showing he can be the closer from the line. Looking forward to the Cyclones tomorrow. Go Zips!!!!

Agreed. This was really a comment on the egg the Bulls laid yesterday on the Smurf Turf. I don't think there is any way the Zips lose that badly had UA played SDSU. MDZip was right. The "success" of U@B was an illusion. Their "big" win over OU, in retrospect, was more about the Bobcats imploding down the stretch than the Bulls asserting themselves. Now take away their 3 best players (Mack, Oliver, Neutz) for 2014 and Jeff Quinn should be scowling all season long.

I think New Belgium is going to carve a nice Ohio craft brew market share with their $2.99 prices on 22 oz bottles.

Dear Mr Steinbrecher, I hereby request you to please, PLEASE, place the State University of New York at Buffalo on the University of Akron's 2014 football schedule. Best regards, johnnyzip84

Regarding Evans at point guard, I’m happy over the progress I’ve seen lately, but there are a couple of areas I’d like to see further improvement: 1. Less “dribbling for show” – there are times when it almost seems like he is trying to prove his abilities to play the point by going into “hyper reciprocating cross-over mode”. 2. Keep the dribble lower in traffic, especially when the defender is right in front of you. 3. More bounce passes – the whole team could benefit from this. Regarding Harney’s defensive play, I think Nick is MILES ahead of where he was when he first got here. He’s always had a long, athletic body, but now he is much more focused on defense and he probably deflects more passes than anyone on the team. Kudos to him for buying into KD’s defensive emphasis.

Several posters have already captured most of my thoughts, but here are a few others: 1. I’m in the camp who hopes KD has seen enough of this particular starting lineup. One of these times the team won’t be able to pull itself out of the hole created by having Melo and, to a certain extent Deji, on the floor at the opening tip. 2. I’ll give Deji credit for turning himself into a serviceable player. But I don’t want him taking any more of Q’s minutes than absolutely necessary. 3. I wonder what Q’s time would be in the 200? I suspect it might be reasonably competitive with the track team. His tendinitis must be progressing pretty well after seeing his display last night. I know he forces things now and then (like when he picked up his 4th foul on the attempted no-look back-pass), but I’ll gladly take those moments for what he brings to the floor as a whole. 4. Zips were much better against the press than they were on Monday. I assume they worked on that some during Tuesday’s practice. Pat is a pretty effective outlet passer (and receiver) from center court. 5. The AK-Rowdie heaving the ball in angst onto the scoreboard’s abyss after losing musical chairs was pretty funny. Willy might disagree

Well done, Quincy! I enjoyed hearing him talk with Frenchy after the ORU game. While I was researching ORU's season, I stumbled upon an interesting (to me) tidbit. Quincy was allowed to transfer to UA from UNO without sitting out since the Privateers had decided to drop to D-III in hoops in the wake of Katrina. Who knew UNO would soon eventually reconsider and go BACK to D-I, landing in the Southland Conference where, you guessed it, ORU also resides?

I, for one, have wondered for a while now why Bortles was not receiving much attention for the 2014 draft, even though he is a junior. Your comments only reinforce my previous puzzlement I think he's the type of college player who is partially encumbered by an overly conservative head coach. I envision him reaching his full potential as a pro.

Somewhat! Here is an article that discusses some of that, with no specific mention of Akron. I've mentioned this on the board before, but Jimbo Fisher was the QB for the Salem team that opened up the Faust era at the Rubber Bowl in 1986. In fact, he got hurt and had to be taken out early. Up to that point, he was moving the ball against the Zips. It's funny how TB was RB coach for the Zips during 1986 after having been HC at that very same Salem the three years prior.

I thought Trotwood Madison DT Ryan Reese looked pretty good.

That's pretty clever

I saw that as well, but I believe it's a typo because Varnell Garrett (listed as scout team offensive POTY) is a D-Linemen. I think they probably mixed up the scout team offensive and defensive POTY titles. Edit: Apparently, I'm the one who is mixed up.....not the 1st time and won't be the last! Thanks for the explanation, Zip76

It is somewhat puzzling. Maybe KD was looking to exploit certain matchups during the 1st round of substitutions? Whatever the case, I am glad he's making those decisions

The 2014 "post-Bowden Bowl" should make for a quality National Championship game. These are the most deserving teams.

I saw it as well. This is classic "random Akron"!

It is certainly better for the MAC financially and image wise to perpetuate the charade. I don't dispute that. But there is a part of me that is tired of watching that silly offense succeed in the MAC. I hope I don't have to watch it for a few years now that Lynch and Tettleton are done.

While BUGS cost the MAC some cash tonight, they also spared NIU from a serious pasting in a BCS bowl. I think it would have been worse this year (had NIU won) than last year against the 'Noles. The Neanderthal offense simply doesn't have a chance against a decent defense with speed and talent.

BUGS looking strong heading into halftime. If they hold on, the next hurdle might be trying to hold on to Clawson. Any word on this, GP1?

Anytime, anywhere! Go Zips!!!!

Bingo on his instincts. He made a lot of obviously instrumental plays last night. But I also noticed a few things that highlight his high football IQ. One of them occurred when the Trotwood QB was running from a D-Lineman up field for about 3 yards. Newman came up to possibly make a tackle, but as he realized the QB was already going down he laid off at the last minute. A move like that shows a very keen understanding of the game and, in particular, the way the game is CALLED in 2013. The obvious concern will be can the Zips hold off the last minute suitors from the BCS conferences, as these will surely come. As for now, I like what I have heard from Newman and his father in terms of the solidity of his oral commitment, but only time will tell. I agree with Dr Z about his exceptional lower body strength. I remember commenting on the size of Cody Grice’s legs back when he was a fullback under Ianello and how it seemed that he could be better used elsewhere on the field. It seems as if Newman could play any number of positions in college. I still like him as a middle LB first, but it’s not too hard to imagine him playing DT or NG even at some point.

He displayed his notorious leg drive on a 2 yd TD run. Dozer is certainly an appropriate nickname.

Ha ha! Was just about to post something to this effect