NewZipsFan

Just wondering -- because it is a public university - maybe they have to give permission to film inside?

If Mark Hudspeth from La Lafayette was a finalist last year, I know we can get Coach Bowden in the running! Here's the press release on the process: LIBERTY MUTUAL COACH OF THE YEAR KICKS OFF ANOTHER SEASON OF CELEBRATING COLLEGE FOOTBALL'S ELITE LEADERS ON AND OFF THE FIELD New Tweet-to-Vote Campaign Will Help Determine 2012 Winners; Honorees Will Receive a Combined $280,000 for Charity and Scholarship BOSTON - September 12, 2012 - Mobile "check-in's" at college stadiums, photo uploads of the fan zone, and video posts of teams' marching bands performing their signature anthems on game day - these are just a few of the many ways college football fans harness the power of social media to celebrate their schools and alma maters. Today, Liberty Mutual Insurance opens voting for the 2012 Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year campaign, and unveils the newest way for fans to support their teams and the leaders of their college football programs: tweet your vote. Kicking off its seventh season, the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award is the only college football award that supports both charity and scholarship through its winners. It honors one coach in each NCAA division who best exemplifies sportsmanship, integrity, responsibility and excellence on and off the field. Now through December 1, fans can use their PC, tablet or mobile device to visit coachoftheyear.com and post a pre-populated tweet to cast their Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year vote. Fans can then follow the Coach of the Year voting and discussion on Twitter using #COTY2012. Fan votes and an objective scoring model endorsed by the National Football Foundation & College Football Hall of Fame will determine the finalists, who will be announced December 4 at the National Football Foundation Annual Awards Dinner Press Conference in New York City. The winners will be announced January 7, 2013, in South Florida, in advance of the BCS championship game. "For the past six years, the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award has been leading the applause for good leadership, charitable spirit and on-field success of coaches across each of the four divisions," said Archie Manning, Chairman of the National Football Foundation & College Football Hall of Fame, which recently announced an extension of its partnership with Liberty Mutual Insurance. "In tandem with the Foundation, Liberty Mutual spotlights elite coaches that make this game so great. These are special leaders who positively influence the lives of the young men they coach, the communities in which they live, and the academic health of their universities." The Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award celebrates college football coaches from the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), Division II and Division III for their successful seasons, student-athletes' performance in the classroom, and charitable and civic support in their communities. Each winner receives $50,000 from Liberty Mutual Insurance to support the charity or charities of their choice, and $20,000 to award to their school's alumni association to promote scholarship. Since 2006, Liberty Mutual Insurance has awarded more than $1.5 million to over 90 charities and colleges across the country as part of its annual Coach of the Year Award. The 2012 Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year winners will join an elite group of notable leaders who have served their teams and communities, both on and off the field. Last year's winners were Les Miles, LSU (FBS); Rob Ash, Montana State (FCS); Tim Beck, Pittsburg State (Division II); and Glenn Caruso, University of St. Thomas (Division III), the program's first and only two-time honoree. "We are excited to again harness the passion of college football fans into votes for coaches that they feel exemplify the pillars of this award," said James MacPhee, senior vice president and Chief Marketing Officer at Liberty Mutual Insurance. "We are proud to be joined by the National Football Foundation in this annual celebration of the game's best coaches and supporting their tireless efforts on behalf of their student-athletes, their universities and their communities." The 2012 Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year voting and selection is a unique process involving fans, College Football Hall of Fame players and coaches, and college football media: September 12 - December 1: Fans can tweet their vote once daily at coachoftheyear.com from their PC, tablet or mobile device. The top 15 coaches with the most fan votes in each of the four college football divisions - FBS, FCS, Division II, and Division III - advance to an evaluation process using an objective scoring model endorsed by the National Football Foundation to measure coaching excellence, sportsmanship, integrity, academic success and community commitment. December 4: Finalists are announced - 10 coaches from the FBS and five coaches each from the FCS, Division II, and Division III. December 4-20: Finalist voting open to all fans at coachoftheyear.com, and they can continue to follow the voting and conversation at #COTY2012. Votes are also cast by two select panels - one representing the College Football Hall of Fame and one comprised of select members of the media. Members of these panels include: Archie Manning, Lou Holtz, Vince Dooley, Ronnie Lott, Archie Griffin; and famed sports analysts, including Ivan Maisel, Stewart Mandel and Tim Brando. Winners are ultimately determined using the following voting weight: Fans 20%, College Football Hall of Fame 55%, and Media 25% January 7: The 2012 Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award winners will be announced in advance of the BCS championship game in South Florida. To support your coach's responsibility, integrity, sportsmanship and excellence, visit coachoftheyear.com, and connect with us on Facebook at Facebook.com/LMCoachoftheYear, Tumblr at LMcoachofyear.tumblr.com or Twitter at @lmcoachofyear. About Liberty Mutual Insurance: "Helping people live safer, more secure lives" since 1912, Boston-based Liberty Mutual Insurance is a diversified global insurer and the third largest property and casualty insurer in the U.S. based on 2011 direct premiums written as reported by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. Liberty Mutual Insurance also ranks 84th on the Fortune 100 list of largest U.S. corporations, based on 2011 revenue. The company employs over 45,000 people in more than 900 offices throughout the world. The sixth-largest auto and home insurer in the U.S., Liberty Mutual (libertymutual.com) sells full lines of coverage for automobile, homeowners, valuable possessions, personal liability, and individual life insurance. The company is an industry leader in affinity partnerships, offering car and home insurance to employees and members of more than 14,000 companies, credit unions, professional associations and alumni groups.

An odd menage a trois

That sounds about right -- based on the way they both played against us (and the way UCF played against OSU). They've both got some size and speed -- it will be interesting to see which team is ready to play.

Which is why he was/is one of the most sought after motivational sports speakers in the country. It seems that whatever task/job he decided to take on, he gave it 100% of his effort and ability. He wrote some dadgum great articles for Yahoo! over those 4 or 5 years also..

I think we'll just go do that! Ever since I saw the Tenn game on the schedule, I've had a weird premonition that we win this game in Knoxville. Tennessee is the only SEC team that Coach Bowden hasn't beaten (minus the newcomers this year of course). I'll take Bobby Bowden's son over Vince Dooley's son any day!

I'm sure you weren't being condescending or anything -- I'm just glad I was able to explain myself better to you I just took a look at Morgan State's roster -- and they've got quite a few players from South Florida, interestingly enough -- and some big bodies. I know that not one member of the coaching staff or team is looking past this team for even a nano-second. We've got the team moving in the right direction -- and as a previous poster wrote -- this IS a MUST WIN game -- without a doubt. And I have no doubt that we will win - and win by playing very good, sound, fundamental football (i.e. catching, tackling, blocking, limiting penalties, no turnovers, etc...). I'll go out on a limb and predict that we see Kyle Pohl for most of, if not the entire, 4th quarter..

He is such a great young man --- he is destined for great things in his life - no matter what he chooses to do! We're so happy that he is a Zip!

It's called LACK of DEPTH -- not poor conditioning. When we don't have the "horses" to substitute in and out -- and our starters are playing the vast majority of the snaps - they will obviously fatigue somewhat over the course of a 4 1/2 hour game in 85+ degree heat with 90% humidity. I did not see one player QUIT on a play, nor did we have injuries, IV's on the sideline, etc. etc... That was my point -- not that we were some kind of super-human squad.

If you mean that my "naive enthusiasm" and "inexperience" is as a Zip fan - then I will accept that. If you somehow mean that I am a naive or inexperience college football fan -- you would be very, very wrong I am very well versed in the game - the business - and what can happen when the right people and pieces are in place at a program. As Coach Bowden said last week -- buckle yourselves in... we're going for a ride!

Dalton Williams - MAC East Offensive Player of the Week Way to go, Dalton!

OK - so I went back and read some of the posts from after the game.. I will of course disagree with anyone who picks a play here or there and says "if we made that one, we would've won... blah blah blah".. Anyone who really understands football, knows that one call, one play, etc. does not win or lose a game. It is the entire team effort that wins or loses a game; and Coach Bowden made sure to tell the team that very thing right after this tough loss. This was a 4 1/2 hour game! We all know that we lack depth on defense to begin with -- so the fact that they hung in there as well as they did is utterly amazing to me. Honestly - we lack depth EVERYWHERE. The o-line which was able to give Dalton more time earlier in the game, understandably was probably running out of gas toward the end of the game. Both teams ran a hurry-up style of offense - so not much time (if any) for tons of substituting, etc. Regarding the penalties -- yes, there were a few "foolish" penalties. But in my book -- we needed to be more aggressive than last week. Playing more aggressively, will ultimately lead to a few more penalties. I don't want to be the least penalized team in the conference or country -- I don't want to be the most, either -- but somewhere in between - shows that we are playing aggressively and smart. The coaching staff will get that evened out. And overall - the special teams was VASTLY improved from last week. There was a real sense that everyone on the field for the kicking game understood that those plays were just as, if not more, important than every other play during the game. Yes, we missed a FG early, but we made up for it with the 2-point conversion. And Stein making that 42 yarder was CLUTCH - for a young kid, whose brother had a very very bad game against UF a week ago. We gave up some big returns, but understand that FIU beat us in the speed department - big time. We will get there!

I'd be very surprised if ESPN3 didn't pick the game up... They ended up picking up FIU and this week's Morgan State game - which were both unexpected...

CST or EST?

Since I didn't read this whole thread -- just wondering if y'all saw that Jason Taylor came out to the game??

That is so AWESOME to hear... its hard for those of us who are new Zips fans to really understand what the team and fans have gone through the past several years... But I can see the huge difference from the Spring, to fall camp, then from the first game to Saturday night... All good things...

Couldn't read this whole thread - - so I will just throw my 50 cents worth from the game Saturday night. First of all --- those kids want to win so badly - none of us can even imagine what they felt like during and after the game. I am so proud of each and every player -- they all played their hearts out - and even though it didn't show on the scoreboard at the end -- this was a win in so many ways ( in my opinion). Amazing that FIU STOPPED kicking the ball to Imani after just 2 (I think) punts... This kid is already a star - and will just continue to get better and better. How in the world he was overlooked by other teams, still amazes me. Talk about the freshmen that we picked up in the last 2 weeks of the recruiting season -- Conor Hundley (are you kidding me????), Horner, Hakeem Lawrence, - just off the top of my head -- these four have already been contributing tremendously. How about the fact that the FIU players were dropping like flies??? We did not have one injury, one kid with cramps, one kid taken out from exhaustion, etc... That shows that a) The S&C staff is doing a fantastic job and the players have made the commitment during the pre-season and the season to be in TOP CONDITION. We went down to MIAMI - in 88 degrees and 100% humidity - and played a hard fought, non-stop 4 1/2 hour game! I heard that Coach Bowden said to the team after the game that if they kept playing the way they played Saturday, kept fighting and fighting - that we would be "going bowling" at the end of the season. I Believe that they will - and we will. We will keep getting better each week -- the sky is the limit for this team. I'm dadgum excited!

Great piece. Thanks for posting.

And wasn't L.T. playing defense last year??? I thought her piece was excellent.

My quick "50 cents" about last night... First of all -- I, of course, still BELIEVE. For my first Zips game, I will admit, that I was very pleased with the fans' excitement and support of the team. Many people left early (to be expected - a Thursday night, no chance of winning by mid-3rd quarter) - but many stayed until the end. I had hoped for a larger crowd, but I understand that it will take time. Most of all -- I was so proud of the entire team. From all of the things I've heard about the past couple of years, those players could have easily given up in the first quarter. I saw every single kid who got onto the field play at FULL SPEED, in every single play. They showed great poise, great attitude, great effort, and great potential. I've heard Coach Bowden say this before -- but now I think I saw/understand what he meant -- these players have very high "football IQs". Thus - very few penalties, and smart playing, etc. Yes - the turnovers KILLED us -- and any momentum we had gotten going. Those things are correctable. It was also obvious that we are significantly smaller on the front lines than UCF - and thus - many other teams. I believe that once we get into our conference schedule, the playing field will be a lot more even. I saw great flashes of the things to come -- the offense is going to be something very fun and exciting to watch. Dalton proved that he not only can stand in front of a crowd and "speak QB" as well as anyone I've ever heard -- but he delivered on the field. No INT's, and he managed the offense very, very well. We've got some playmakers. They will continue to develop and step up. We had a TON of freshmen on the field last night. That is also very encouraging. Imani Davis, Conor Hundley, Hakeem Lawrence - just to mention a few - are going to be fantastic players for us. The defense struggled - but I know that Coach Amato and staff will make whatever adjustments they can to put us in a better position for next week. Also saw flashes of great things to come -- I believe our secondary will continue to get better and better - and we will see a lot more INTs. It sure looked like we were going to block that punt (the UCF punter had to drop back to the goal line I think) -- we had three guys right in his face -- but it looked like they pulled up a bit.. maybe worried about missing the ball and roughing the kicker... T-Buck will continue to teach them the intricacies of kick blocking - we'll get a few this year, I'm sure. So - yes, I am disappointed - but also glad to get this one over with - we now see how we actually stack up against a very good team. The game looked a WHOLE LOT BETTER on paper (the stats) than it did on the scoreboard. I'm very glad we've got 9 days to adjust/prepare for FIU -- and I know that our guys will continue to play their hearts out. We will get our share of wins this year - and I BELIEVE that we are definitely moving in the right direction. I am confident that the players do too. Go Zips! Beat FIU!!!

Thanks very much Knightman for your very kind comments about our team and facilities. Having lived in Florida - we both know that we wouldn't expect such comments from Gator fans Your UCF team is VERY talented. Your QB looks NFL caliber - period. You've got some big bodies on the line... and man oh man.. do you guys have some serious speed! I hope you kick some serious Buckeye Butt next week..

This is just odd... #22 JARED Henry #31 JARED Greenaway

Mitchell Bourne Michael Phelps

Blake Bortles Vinnie Testaverde Not bad..

I looked through their roster, and nothing popped out at me - that was funny, anyway.. Gotta say.. their thread is dadgum hilarious! Maybe its because our players/coaches are familiar to me... John Pont as Papa John.. that's just funny. And of course Coach Amato as Joe Pesci... lol