zipsoutsider

You would have a point, had I not been sarcastic when I said it.

Stop the micro-agrression

I love it when people don't understand the freedom of speech. The freedom of speech doesn't mean you can say what you want, where you want, when you want. And we wonder how we ended up with 8 years of Obama? I am just sick of fans with the loser mentality. You are the ones who make us comical to other fans. I find it more comical that they think we have zero chance of beating them. Almost any team can lose to any other team in 1-A football on any given Saturday. I don't think it's too much to ask for that level of basic respect. I don't think anyone here thinks that we will automatically win. To join in their fans in mocking people who think we have a shot, is just embarrassing. They should be equally embarrassed how one win went to their heads.

I am all for fun and joking, but this dude is mocking us, and not in a fun loving way - take a look at his comments on his own board. I am not for tolerating that kind of crap.

Sometimes, I find the lack of support and dignity from this board a disgrace. This is one of those times.

Maybe we should go troll your board for a while and laugh about how after one big win, Chryst has changed his name to Christ. For the record Bowden 1, Christ 0. I am not for banning people, but this guy comes here to troll, not discuss. Can we get rid of him?

College Football Week 2 Predictions: Picking Top 25 Games Against the Spread

Typical for less experienced QBs to go to TE. I agree with your assessment. He might feel a little bolder to try the long ball against us. I don't remember seeing any stripped balls from or any interceptions last week. We gave been pretty accustomed to both.

It will definitely be an added dimension. When you have to keep your eyes on the receivers, watch out for Ball out of the backfield and contain a QB who can scramble, it makes life a little more difficult for the D.

With a less experienced line, an effective passing game opens up the run for Ball. I think it more about making what we have as successful as possible. Jerome Lane fell into our lap and it would be a waste not to make the most of what we have with him. Not only does he score points but he is a local face.

I have seen that, elsewhere, too. I think to play as well as it seems they are playing (based on camp reports and spring game, too) they are a pretty talented unit. We will know better in a few weeks.

Linebackers:

Yes, we run the spread, and I think we are mostly no huddle - I didn't really pay much attention to whether we ever use the huddle. I am wondering if we would use the huddle to help with clock management. Tommy seems to get into a nice rhythm in no huddle, though. We used to really be lacking in the WR department but went from famine to feast, so please excuse our enthusiasm over the offense. Lane started turning up the heat last year, but defenses began zeroing in on him. Lane is a converted LB and his size and speed make him a serious threat. I think it is reasonable to expect we will see him playing on Sundays in the future. He had 2 TDs last week and fumbled one into the end zone, recovered by UT State transfer, Jojoba Natson, who is small and fast. Lane has made some crazy, one handed catches and is extremely athletic. Including Lane's fumble recovery, Natson scored 3 touchdowns for us last week. In addition to those Lane and Natson, Austin Wolf has come through with some very tough catches and cannot be overlooked. Our second string reserves also have a couple of speedsters that are dual sport (track/football) athletes. Warren Ball, on OSU transfer who rushed for over 100 yards last week, has come on very strong. The pass threat should open up some opportunities for him, despite a young, inexperienced OL. I think the key to our success, offensively, will be to make the most of any man coverage opportunities we get. Defensively, we are young and inexperienced and had to replace a lot of our front 7. We are returning NFL prospect, Jamal Marcus, who is a tough as nails, DE, Pittman, an OSU transfer, and have added a Miami U (FL) transfer to the DL, Jelani Hamilton. Hamilton did not play last week but we are expecting him (fingers crossed this week.) Hamilton packs size (6' 5", 302 lbs) and experience (R-Sr). Hamilton is not listed as a starter this week, but I am hoping we see a lot of him. It is unclear why he did not play last week. We also have former FSU recruit, Brian Bell. Bell is inexperienced but is a hard hitting athletic, OLB. The strength of our D is in the secondary and I expect to see them helping out the young LB, some this week, as Bowden referenced in his presser. One player that had a great game and training camp that bears watching is Ulysses Gilbert. Gilbert, and our other LBs have had the benefit of learning from 2 former Zips no on NFL roster, (Justin March and Jatavis Brown.) Brown was the MAC defensive player of the year last year and has made a good impression on the Chargers. March has been named a starter in this week's season opener for the Chiefs. The defense has been the strength for the Zips over the last 3 seasons and this is a transition year, of sorts. We have fewer transfers playing on D, and a lot less experience. Time will tell if they can follow in Brown and March's footsteps. The thing I have seen referenced for both Brown and March is how hard they study. Hopefully, that was passed down to the younger Zips LBs and they are playing beyond their experience, shortly. Our defense is really the bigger question mark for the Zips. We would be very happy to see our D do well enough to give our offense a chance to keep us in the game.

Oh.OK. lol.

Nope, because we are a better team now then we were against PSU.

Well, the PSU fans in our area were very impressed with the Zips D and not the usual, "our team is stinking it up" talk as much as it was, "Your Zips are pretty good" talk. On paper, nothing stands out, but the stinginess of the D stood out on film. Secondly, those close, tough fought games do help when it comes to recruiting. It means something to a kid to know that the school they are looking at is in the game going into the 4th quarter. Would it have meant more if we won? Sure, but it still has some value as a recruiting tool when we play well. It would be great to finish the job next year, when we go back.

Agreed. I was impressed with his ability to fly sideline to sideline.. It sure felt like that. I would like to have seen Young or Smith get a couple if looks with Tommy throwing the ball. The chemistry with Lane, Wolf, and Natson with Woodson is remarkable. This seemed true when I watched the replay. We weren't missing tackles and we almost seemed to be giving up short passes, intentionally. I also heard Bowden say that early in the season schemes would be simpler for new guys to learn the system. Brian Bell laid some nasty hits, too. The exception to special teams would be the nice punt by Gasser to pin them back on their 2 and some nice kick-offs by O'Leary.

He might have played but I don't think he started. I also saw Williams for a play or two. I was hoping he wasn't banged up. I think MTB had the opportunity to develop into a big play threat and everyone hoped he would but it never seemed to materialize. I like that they found a way to repurpose him. *Edit: Box Score shows Christian Allen as the starter and that MTB participated. It does not show participation by Newman Williams. It does show participation by #97, Brennan Williams.

I have thought they were the bigger threat, in the west, all along.

Perhaps you weren't at that game. Happy Valley was nearly silent until the middle of Q4. We did not give them any breathing room and that was with a fairly ineffective Zips offensive unit. Last year I would have agreed with you, but I thought his patience, decision-making, and accuracy were on par with the best in the country last week. He put the ball in some tough spots and has really done an excellent job protecting the ball. I remember reading the Tommy and the receivers were working on their timing in the off-season and I thought it looked great on Saturday. With his size, speed, and athletic ability, Jerome Lane can compete with anyone in the NCAA and Tommy is putting the ball where it needs to be for Jerome to make plays. If we can capitalize on those situations, we can win this game. Teams can no longer put most of their energy into shutting down Lane without paying the price, thanks to Natson and Wolf. It was also nice to see Warren Ball catch passes nicely - it gives us yet, another threat. On a side note, Kish was the TE, not MTB last week - any news on that?

Bleacher Report rated Jerome as the top performing Wide Receiver in the country for week 1.

No offense see, but who cares? This is a Zips board.

What do Badgers and Gophers have in common? Both are varmint.

Wow. Guess that win over LSU went to their heads. Lol. Go Zips!