johnnyzip84

They were certainly both nice wins Skip (I made it to Syracuse so that was particularly pleasing), but unfortunately, as previously documented on ZnO, we couldn't pull off the Empire State Triumvirate that year.

Since the 2002 win over Can't was a conference game, and of course against a pretty poor foe at that (LO had it made in those wagon wheel years), it got me to wondering when was the last time the Zips won a NON-conference game on the road by more than 20 points. Well it's only happened twice in their D-1A/FBS history. The first time was in 1990, once again when then whipped their Portage County rivals by 38-10. The Zips were not yet in the MAC, so all D1-A opponents were non-conference at the time. The other time was in 1993 when UA went to old Veterans Stadium (I still recall Frenchy harping about the seams in the Astroturf) and beat the Temple Owls by 31-7. So yeah this win over the Cajuns was nearly unprecedented.

She's undefeated.

Wrong game - I believe you're thinking about Ball St. TW13 threw 2 INTs against OU, but also has 2 nice TDs. It was Pratt's fumble that killed the Zips.

Finally got a chance to see my favorite MLS team, the Montreal Impact, play at home in Stade Saputo last night. It didn't hurt to have Evan Bush maintain the lead late with a fingertip save with a few minutes to go and the Impact down to 10. He was put in some difficult spots by numerous giveaways. The goal from Drogba was a beauty though - a straight down header at the end of a long cross from Reo-Coker. Still hanging onto the last playoff spot in the East. Allez, allez. Allez, allez, allez. Montreal, Montreal, Montreal, allez, allez!

Just to clarify, THIS johnnyzip actually thinks there may be some merit to a name change. I realize I am in the very small minority on this, but I do think there is POTENTIAL for the university to have a broader appeal outsde of this region with a name similar to the ones that have been tossed around. Many colleges and universities have done this over the years. Now don't take this as my complete support for Scarborough - there are plenty of things I don't agree with outside of this topic.

Since we haven't had many good things to say about this game, I will offer what I think may be a glimmer of hope for the O. Dr Z reminded me of this with his post in another thread regarding the number of freshmen who played against Pitt. While he only caught one ball, I really liked the form and speed I saw in true FR Richie Cooper (#3). It wouldn't surprise me to see him getting more playing time very soon.

What do you think about this part of the article?

They were blasted in their only game yet this year at Colorado State by 65-13. Speaking of CSU, it seemed as though Donnell Alexander was MIA last week. I also didn't notice Larry Hope or Josh McNeil either. Did I miss something? Back on topic, it's a good thing Savannah State is a lousy FCS team and not someone like James Madison. Otherwise, this could have been a real downer. The Zips SHOULD, even with their offensive woes, demolish these paper Tigers.

Hmmm makes me think a little, K92. In an ideal world, I wonder who would be the 2015 Zip versions of Shawn Watson and Teddy Bridgewater?

I came into this season feeling as though it's a "must win" season for this staff given the approach TB chose to try to turn things around here. It's no secret that TB has leaned heavily on transfers during this time, partly because this utilizes the reach his staff has across the country and partly because it CAN be a "quicker fix" to an ailing program. I have no problem with him playing to his strengths while recognizing the sense of urgency, but I believe TB would admit that eventually the program must be sustained with a majority of HS recruits. Clearly this is not yet the case in year 4, and this is the main reason I believe 2015 is a make or break year for TB at UA. As Zipgrad01 pointed out, there are a lot of important players leaving after this year, and the cupboard looks pretty bare. Once the 2015 schedule was released, I circled two OOC games that I felt the Zips needed to split in order for 2015 to be considered the turnaround season the program so desperately needs - Pitt and UL-Lafayette. Now that the Pitt game is lost the staff needs to do whatever it takes to pull off an upset in the "Swamp" at Cajun Field. There are some who seem to think that everything will change once MAC play starts. I say they haven't been paying too much attention early in the season. BG has gotten a lot of attention with the win at Maryland, but OU has been very impressive as well. I watched the end of the OU-Marshall game, and the Falcons and Bobcats are much better than the Zips right now. Even Eastern looks to be a completely different program with their convincing win in Laramie. If there isn't significant improvement in the performance of the offense, I don't see one game, aside from lowly Savannah St, that I would COUNT as a "W" the rest of the way. I'm not saying the staff cannot make the changes necessary to turn things around yet this year, but I do think it will probably take some personnel shifting and a reassessment of offensive scheme to do so. This is clearly an uphill battle. If the battle is eventually lost, I have one name to throw in to those who wonder who we could hire if TB is let go and he's already on the staff: Todd Stroud. It's early for that sort of speculation, but I do believe Todd, assuming his health continues to improve, will eventually be a fantastic head coach.

Zips 16 Panthers 31 Boyd with one rushing and one receiving TD Zip TD on a Hundley run

That makes sense, K92. The guy I noticed was huge and Coe is the only guy we have with that size playing D-line. At least when he came off the field in the 3rd quarter, it sure looked like a simple case of cramping. Thanks!

A couple of comments and questions on the OU game: It seemed as though the staff focused more on game planning for the entire 2015 season in general as opposed to the Sooners in particular ahead of this game. I agree with pphilfran's assessment that OU's front seven is clearly their strength on defense. A quick passing attach would have seemed to be the best approach against this team. On the most successful play of the game, Lane showed that Sanchez in particular could have been exploited more often. Of course, this type of game plan would have meant Pohl or Woodson should start in place of Chapman. That clearly wasn't about to happen. The lack of WRs was a concern all through the off-season for many of us. It's a bigger concern for me now. I'd like to see Chapman switched to WR immediately. Lane, Means Jr and Newman were the only guys who showed me anything as pass catching threats. Did McNeil have any balls thrown his way? I barely noticed him. I'd play Pohl at QB right now, but I have to admit that Woodson looked to be in MUCH better shape than last year and deserves a chance to compete. Watching the defense in the 1st few series was absolutely a blast. Obviously they need some support from the other side of the ball, but it sure is fun to watch these guys when they have any semblance of gas in the tank. I just hope they get a chance this year to truly show how good they are for 60 minutes. Even though the Sooner front seven seems to be extremely good, the O-line play was very disappointing based on the comments coming out of camp. It's got to improve or competing for a MAC championship is out of the question. I could have sworn I saw a #91 on the D-line getting into it with an OU coach on the play where Perrine was tackled out of bounds. Who is #91? He's not listed on the roster. Did Coe play any after the 1st series? I thought I heard Joe Dunn say he had came off the field early, but I didn't notice him come back. Thanks to pphilfran for stopping by and providing excellent insight with a reasonable tone. Enjoy the rest of the season!

I figured it’d be better to ask forgiveness than ask for permission The mods can move this is they like after all. The Dallas Morning News has this pretty fair and reasonable column on the Zips as they face the Sooners. Now it’s time for predictions. It happens to me every year. The excitement and anticipation of the 1st game leads to daydreaming of an upset over a Power 5 team followed by a string of wins leading to a MAC championship. While I’d like to think the win over Pitt, the controversial loss to Michigan and the decent showings against Tennessee and Penn State during TB’s tenure offer some hope entering Norman, I honestly think this is quite a different situation than any of those. Yes, the Zip defense is very good – I’ve been on board with that for a long time, and 2015 looks to be the pinnacle on that side of the ball. But Oklahoma in 2015 is much different than any of those Power 5 teams mentioned above. None of those teams were particularly good as Power 5 teams go. The Sooners may have stumbled to 8-5 last year, but they certainly appear to have plenty of talent (Perine, Mixon, Mayfield, Shephard, etc) to turn that around this year. I believe our defensive front will have some success against their O-line, but eventually the defense will give up some big plays. I have no idea what to expect of the Zip offense, but I think the O-line and running game will have limited success unless the passing game hits on a few of the “one and run” (without the run) plays. I feel the element of surprise (when the OU players realize these Akron men are pretty talented, physical and determined in their own right) will keep it a little closer than the spread. It’ll be a respectable enough showing to keep hope alive for a successful 2015. Sooners 38 Zips 17

Do we want to start separate prediction threads for each game? I think I prefer that to placing then in the general discussion for that particular game, but I'll go with what the mods want.

I realize that most college newspapers are in the same boat. At least The Daily Oklahoman wrote a story about the game that is available to read online. Checking into the UA student paper, I don't see anything more recent than the spring semester.

Here's an unintentionally hilarious article on how the Zips match up with the Sooners. This Oklahoma Daily must be the campus newspaper.

Yedlin to Sunderland on loan Hopefully he'll finally get some game time.

JB checks in at #4 - not quite in the top 3. Marcus will apparently be overlooked. That's OK. Hopefully this defense, and the entire team, has a bit of a collective chip on its shoulder this year. I can see TB using the general financial situation at UA, and the lack of football attendance in particular, as a sort of "us against the world" type of motivation. Some people react favorably when they are up against it. I think the Zips may just do that this year.

Even a power 5 worthy defense can give up big yards on the ground if it's on the field all day, especially to a quality opponent. Pitt, with Conner, Boyd and what I believe is a much better coaching staff, surely seems to fall into this category. As good as I believe the 2015 Zip Zefense will be, the onus is on the offense to minimize turnovers and move the ball more consistently than in 2014.

Isn't that blasphemy?

One thing is for certain. If the Zips play well enough to hold a lead later into the 4th quarter, they won't have the luxury of facing perhaps the WORST 2-minute drill I have ever witnessed firsthand. From the mountain of ineptitude displayed by Chryst and his staff that Saturday, that had to be the pinnacle.

Good question, K92 While Marcus, Coe, Hope and Monroe all intrigue me greatly, I had to stick with the guy who will probably go down as the best Zip LB of all time – JB1.

Pleads guilty to domestic assault and get 3 years probation - it appears as though he'll be playing somewhere in 2016.