Penn State Overview

[Captain Kangaroo]

Does Jacquemain Feast on a Depleted Secondary?

[ZachTheZip]

I like our chances better than the last time we played them.

[johnnyzip84]

This is a bit off the topic, but the author of this article demonstrated some "Gross" mistakes in writing it. In ripping PSU's non-con schedule, he mentions how Oregon St. was brought in last year to replace "I-AA Arkansas St." I'm sorry but that's just ignorant, plain and simple. How difficult would it be to determine that Arkansas St. plays in the FBS Sunbelt Conference? And we all should really start to wean ourselves from the obsolete 1-A/1-AA reference, especially one who calls himself a freaking college football writer!!! Rant over.BTW, I think we'll throw the biggest scare into PSU that we ever have this year. And if the Lions play sub-par, who knows?

[Captain Kangaroo]

And we all should really start to wean ourselves from the obsolete 1-A/1-AA reference

I will forever call 1-AA schools 1-AA. The NCAA can put whatever lame marketing lipstick they want on that pig, but it is still 1-AA.

[RootforRoo44]

Just got back from State College, PA last night. Amazing how many people on campus think lowly of UofA. I swear the majority of them think we are D2.One thing i thought was odd is this (PSU Baseball and a Pirates Single A affiliate share the campus field):link to pictureThey even have this banner everywhere there as well with "fear the deer" on it:Can you say RIPOFF?!

[Class of 82]

I'm looking forward to the Penn State game. Win or lose, it should answer a lot of questions.By the way, one of my favorite Zips football memories was from the '99 game at Not-so-Happy Valley. We ended up getting crushed, but seeing Tony McCrae totally steamroll Lavar Arrington in the open field was too freaking cool! Not bad for a fireplug gullback from Buchtel High! As I recall, that came was really tight until just before midway through the second quarter, when Paterno figured out that 1) he had three wideouts with Olympic-class speed, 2) that Dwight Smith could only cover one of them at a time, and 3) the rest of the Akron secondary couldn't run very fast.

[Blue & Gold]

And we all should really start to wean ourselves from the obsolete 1-A/1-AA reference

I will forever call 1-AA schools 1-AA. The NCAA can put whatever lame marketing lipstick they want on that pig, but it is still 1-AA.

I agree. In a perfect world 1-AA would simply be refered to as D-2. D-2 as D-3, and D-3 (Mount Union) as D-4. But that just makes way too much sense.

[ZachTheZip]

And we all should really start to wean ourselves from the obsolete 1-A/1-AA reference

I will forever call 1-AA schools 1-AA. The NCAA can put whatever lame marketing lipstick they want on that pig, but it is still 1-AA.

I agree. In a perfect world 1-AA would simply be refered to as D-2. D-2 as D-3, and D-3 (Mount Union) as D-4. But that just makes way too much sense.

The problem is that the divisions aren't dictated by football. They're designations for all sports of a university. OHSAA has different divisions for different sports, which makes sense based on demographics and participation but it is probably too complex to handle on the scale that the NCAA deals with. It's always going to be 1-A/1-AA or FCS/FBS or whatever politically correct thing they come up with because those schools are in Division 1 for all their other sports.

[skip-zip]

And we all should really start to wean ourselves from the obsolete 1-A/1-AA reference

I will forever call 1-AA schools 1-AA. The NCAA can put whatever lame marketing lipstick they want on that pig, but it is still 1-AA.

Amen to that. I don't think I will ever be able to change either. I'm too old.As far as the Penn State game goes, I'll take the 2006 game all over again. At least for about 2-1/2 quarters. We hung close and were only down by a touchdown at that point, before they finished us off. Maybe we can do the same again, and at least make it worth watching. I don't want any part of that 1999 game again.

[ZachTheZip]

We match up well with Penn State's weaknesses. We have a veteran passing game against their new secondary, they lose most of their OL against our much improved DL, and they have a new WR corps so our secondary might stand a chance. It's going to be a high-flying game for both offenses, I think.

[Balki Bartokomous]

Just got back from State College, PA last night. Amazing how many people on campus think lowly of UofA. I swear the majority of them think we are D2.One thing i thought was odd is this (PSU Baseball and a Pirates Single A affiliate share the campus field):link to pictureThey even have this banner everywhere there as well with "fear the deer" on it:Can you say RIPOFF?!

Kind of the same way we ripped off Fear the Turtle?

[RACER]

when you have three losing seasons in a row ! lose your last three games of the season !lose to temple the last game of the season ! fans of other schools usually don't respect your football program.jd and the team need to remeber that this year. they need to earn respect on the field this year.this game should not have been scheduled for a number of reasons.you don't take a losing f-ball programand do this crap.you need to build confidence in the players ,fans,and coaches by winning games.they need to start to schedule winnable home games.unless a team will play us home / home don't play them.the akron ad dept does this crap every year,and starts off with a next to impossible game to win.i thought the schedule was fine except for this game.why not try to get a home with a sunbelt,or c-usa team? we have a new 55million dollars stadium,and we open on the road against penn state.how does losing the first game of the season ,every year help your program? especially with a new emtpy stadium.i am not blaming the coaches,or players for alott of the failure of this program. every year we had five home games,and started out on road against a top 25 teams.hopefully things will change with the new stadium.i just hope jdwill be around to see it.

[tbozeglav]

...

nothing wrong with playing this type of game. its really the only way to find out how well we stack up against the elite of the BCS. If we do well in the game, it speaks wonders of our program. If we beat them, it speaks even more.also, we have 6 home games this year, including a game against Morgan St, which many will call a cupcake game. We then play Indiana at home, a very winnable game for us. I'd say thats about the best possible scenario we can have as a mid-major D-1 team. Our schedule looks very good and we have the chance to get an 8 win season if JD can do it right.

[johnnyzip84]

And we all should really start to wean ourselves from the obsolete 1-A/1-AA reference

I will forever call 1-AA schools 1-AA. The NCAA can put whatever lame marketing lipstick they want on that pig, but it is still 1-AA.

Amen to that. I don't think I will ever be able to change either. I'm too old.

It's a real shame we're not playing the Redskins for two years in a row now. I sure hope we pound the Hurons in the season finale at the Info.At least the acronyms FBS and FCS are somewhat descriptive. Football Bowl Subdivision and Football Championship Subdivision make sense if you think about it. In many states, the MORE A's in a classification signify a LARGER school (in terms of high school sports). Thus I'd argue that from a logic and clarity viewpoint that FBS/FCS is an improvement over 1-A and 1-AA. When the day arrives where I'm too old to look at things in a different way every now and then, then somebody please set me up with Kevorkian.Of course, much of my argument disappears like a 4th quarter Rubber Bowl lead when and if the FBS adopts a true championship. Does it then become FBSWAT (Football Bowl Subdivision with a Tournament)?

[Captain Kangaroo]

Kind of the same way we ripped off Fear the Turtle?

Anyone else notice the "Fear the Bobcat" and "Fear the Red Hawk" T-shirts at The Q last month? Copying an ACC school is one thing...but copying a team in your OWN CONFERENCE takes it to a whole new level.I was in Annapolis a few weeks ago and "Fear the Goat" paraphernalia was on sale everywhere. Fear the [iNSERT MASCOT] is here to stay. The terrapins should be kicking themselves. Of course, they stole it from the Disney "Fear the Mouse" campaign, so who's to say...

[Blue & Gold]

Hmm. Well we can be credited with really propogating the whole concept. I think we, above any other school, are honestly identified with "Fear The..." and, vice-versa, the "Fear" slogan is firmly associated with the Zips. As when our band would perform a "script Zips," the overwhelming perception (even if innacurate) would be that we are shamelessly ripping off Ohio State, when other schools use "Fear The Whatever" I honestly believe the overwhelming perception (even if innacurate) would most definitely be that they're shamelessly ripping off The UofA. I know I would have been very embarrassed & rolled my eyes if I were a Miami or Ohio fan & saw Fear The Red Hawks or Fear The Bobcats t-shirts @ The Q!Another illustration: LeBron is firmly identified with throwing the powder into the air before each tip-off. But I know Kevin Garnett did this a few years ago. However, LeBron has so made this his own schtik, that now, if anyone else does it, the overwhelming perception is that they're imitating LeBron.I guess imitation is the most sincere form of flattery. Our program is reaching a level where the other MAC schools are trying to imitate us. [edit] - Sorry if anyone was having trouble trying to decipher my earlier message. When I post from my BlackBerry it often ends up looking like gibberish.

[xu9697]

I am planning on going to the Penn State game, paritally b/c I think it could be something special. Last time I was there was 1984, when a little QB named Douglas Flutie played great in a loss.I am a fan, not a coach, so I will say that, if we repeat the performance of BC that I saw in 1984 (a 38-31 loss that was HIGHLY entertaining), that would be a moral victory. However, I really do think we have a chance based on the WR & OL losses for PSU. My prediction in April is still PSU 34, Akron 24...but that has 4+ months to change!