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Moving on to the Red Hawks


Captain Kangaroo

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As a Zips fan it is tough to predict how we'll fare on Saturday. Will the "Evil Zips" that produced 77 total yards in 4 quarters of MAC football show up...or the "Good Zips" that blitzed CMU for two quarters...NIU for 3 quarters...Buffalo for two quarters? Is it possible for our young team to find some consistency and play a full four quarters?

I like our chances at Miami. Why?

* They've beaten us 7 of the last 8, so we're due! Ok, that's a bit of a reach...

* Frye was 0-3 vs. Miami. Now that he's gone we finally have a chance ;)

* Brandon Murphy is a lot like NIU's Wolf, and we shut Wolf down quite well.

* Betts is mediocre and forces the ball when pressured. Our defense now gets into the backfield with amazing regularity. Look for a couple INT's.

* Our best scoring plays are the "big plays." We're much more deadly from 50 yards out than 5 yards. Miami gives up a lot of big plays. In Miami's two league losses to Central Michigan and Northern Illinois the RedHawks gave up 1,085 yards (542.5 ypg) of total offense. The difference in those games were the 15 big plays of 20 yards or longer, which accounted for 586 yards. Five of the 10 touchdowns allowed in those two losses came from outside of 20 yards. Luke HAS to be salivating at those numbers!

* As several have stated, we seem to be much better as underdogs than favorites. And we're heavy underdogs Saturday.

* Revenge - These are the bastards that kept us from a bowl game last season. We hold on for the final two quarters and we're in the MACC game and going bowling. This game is just as pivotal. The winner competes with BG for a title and the loser plays for, at best, a +.500 season and a seat at home in December. Whether we expected it or not, we're in the hunt for an East title and have as good a shot as anyone at winning it. Ok...we have a LOT better shot than Buffalo or Can't.

* Miami has won 11 of their last 12 at home...but showed their vulnerability losing to CMU a couple weeks ago.

Prediction:

"Good Zips" Show up:

Zips 35 Miami 23

"Evil Zips" Show up:

Miami 24 Zips 10

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You know what I wonder about? I'm not sure Miami is one of the top teams in the MAC anymore. They sure haven't shown that this year, and whether we win Saturday or not, this question will still be on the table. In other words, my point isn't about Akron vs. Miami, just Miami in general. Heck, we KNOW we're in a rebuilding year. Miami just hasn't done anything so far this season to hang onto its reputation as a top program in the MAC.

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* Frye was 0-3 vs. Miami. Now that he's gone we finally have a chance ;)

SHOCKING! But in the spirit of accuracy, it was actually 0-4. If we don't get things right on this page, we are counting on the Beacon Journal to get it right. I think JB and the boys would be upset about our inaccuracy during their game against UCF Saturday.

2001 (30-27) was the famous Big Ben play where they managed to throw a pass to the 15 yard line and have a guy run the rest of the way :unsure: . 2002 (48-31), 2003 (45-20) and 2004 (37-27). Ouch! With the exception of 2001, those were some real ass kickings.

I have a horrible feeling about Saturday. A second road game in a row spells disaster for NFL teams, I don't see us coming out any better. The team really did not respond well to a bad game against CMU. Poor execution. I don't think they regroup. This team is not ready for prime time yet. Marcel Weems couldn't even pull this game off. Miami wins 38-10.

Butchie was the last QB to beat Miami in 2000 (37-20). Prior to that, Jason Taylor and the boys beat them in 1996 (10-7). WOW, I thought we had more wins against them than this.

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Yea, they've got our number allright. I hope the good zips show up. Actually, I think the Zips play pretty well in Oxford. I thought we did a good job in '99, but were screwed by the refs with the no call block in the back that sprang "Touchdown Travis" for his record breaking TD. In 2001, we really had a strong 2nd half and deserved that game before Big Ben burned us. I didn't attend the game in 2003.

It'll be a close game, but I don't feel to good about the Zips right now. If they were going to snap out of it, it should have been last week. They'll improve, but not enough. Miami 24, Akron 20 with a late FG by Miami to force the Zips to score a TD, which doesn't materialize. :(

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to say that miami is one of the top teams in the mac even if true is not saying much. they have been beat by osu,niu,cmu. give me a break .they have already lost three games.this is not even close to the miami great teams they have had in the past.

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Finally getting some time to take a look at Miami. All I can say is we better bring our Offense, because it looks to me that they are going to put up some points. OSU dominated them defensively and I think we are going to be the second best defense they have seen all year. I wouldn't be suprised if they put up more than the 24 I predicted.

Seems like early in the year they relied rather heavily on the pass, but lately they have been using the run more. I think this is good news for us because we did a pretty darn good job of shutting down NIU's running game. Their running back is averaging over 100 yards per game.

Everyone says Betts is overated, but he was pretty cool last year late in the game at the RB. Betts is avg. about 280 yards through the air per game, and looks like they have two main receivers, Nance and Robinson, but it falls off pretty quickly after that.

Seems like a pretty balanced attack. I'm confident we can take away the run, it's the pass that scares me. If we can keep putting Betts on his back, I think he'll get flustered. If the "Underdog" Zips offense shows up, then I think we'll be able to put up a lot of points. I haven't seen that offense in a while though.

I hope a good group of Akron fans make the trip. Sounds like they have attendence problems so a good group of Akron fans could go a long way.

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I really think this is a must win game for the Zips. If Akron is thinking about any possibility of winning the MAC East they need to put another loss on Miami. The MAC East is not a garauntee for any school right now. The Zips are capable of playing with anyone in this conference. I predict the team will be ready for this weekend.

Zips 31 Miami 28

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I really hope they give Ferguson a chance this week. He is a big, strong armed QB who at 6'6" can see over the O line and who can throw the long ball, which we haven't seen much of this year. We have seen some catches and long runs but not many long passes down field. He played good in both the spring game and at media day. According to the posts during the summer he also did well in camp. Why is Akron one of the few colleges who refuse to play their 2nd team QB no matter what? There have certainly been times this year when he should have played - NO DOUBT! Maybe afraid of a QB controversy?

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We come out of the gate strong, building on what we did late at Buffalo. But Miami matches our intensity and takes the W. Remember, this is a DESPERATE football team. One more loss for the Redhawks and their MAC East coffin is virtually nailed up. If they play like a team playing for their lives than our Zips won't have much of a shot. If they believe that their season is already over (it isn't) then the Zips could take one from them. I disagree with previous posts about which Akron team shows up dictating this game. I think it is gonna have to do more with what mentality the Redhawks have. Sorry, I just don't see us winning this one.

Miami- 31 Akron- 21

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One more loss for the Redhawks and their MAC East coffin is virtually nailed up.

I believe it is already over for them. They are two losses behind BG. If they beat Akron on Saturday then all that will do is eliminate another contender. This is also a must win for Akron! The Zips, like the Red Hawks, will be playing for their bowl lives on Saturday. Yeah I know if we lose this one, beat BG, and BG loses to Toledo, it can be a three or four way tie (Ohio U), but I don't see that happening. I think J. D. will have the boys playing with a sense of urgency on Saturday.

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Our defense is for real. You can bank on them to keep the game close.

If the offense can move the ball and convert in the red zone, we will win. If our offense has a bunch of 3-and-outs, we're toast. Since Miami seems capable of giving up 500 yards in a game, I think our offense will hold its own.

We're a 13 point underdog. I think that's about double what it should be...unless Prentiss or Roethlisberger have eligibility remaining.

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I really hope they give Ferguson a chance this week. He is a big, strong armed QB who at 6'6" can see over the O line and who can throw the long ball, which we haven't seen much of this year.  We have seen some catches and long runs but not many long passes down field.  He played good in both the spring game and at media day.  According to the posts during the summer he also did well in camp.  Why is Akron one of the few colleges who refuse to play their 2nd team QB no matter what?  There have certainly been times this year when he should have played - NO DOUBT!  Maybe afraid of a QB controversy?

Couldn't agree more. How long does Getsy get to struggle this week ? His leash has been very long from what I can see. An explaination could be Ferguson is a bigger dropoff in talent then we know. I have no idea of Ferguson's abilities - Drop back, mobility, throwing on the run ? and if he would do better behind this OL.

If JD sticks to with his man, it could be along day in Oxford. Miami's D may be bad, but if you're missing open WR's or rushing things before they develop, does it matter ? My guess is that he stays the current path and this board's on fire Saturday. D keeps us in the game but they are just on the field way too much.

With regrets -

Miami 28

Akron 10

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I don't think Fergie goes in until Getsy goes down with an injury. We all read that Fergie was giving Luke a run for his money in spring ball. Where do we stand now though? I don't think any of us here know. Is JD playing Getsy because he promised him the position if he came from Pitt? Is JD playing Getsy because he is truely the better QB? Is JD playing Getsy because he wants to avoid a controversy? Honestly, I think Fergie won't play unless we're up BIGTIME (28+ in the 4th)or Getsy goes down. We won't be up bigtime this week.

IMO, it's Getsy to stay so we need to get him in his comfort zone as quickly as possible and try to keep him there if he starts to misfire. Give him a few short passes to start with and then start stringing him out. If he gets shaken, come back and start over. If I'm right and Getsy is in the game no matter what, then the WORST thing the fans can do is start screaming at him and shake his confidence even more.

In the end, I don't care who the QB is, I just want to win. JD is going to make the call, and we as fans need to support Luke when he is in to help our chances. I've only seen Fergie a few plays last year so I don't know how he compares.

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I saw Miami vs Can't earlier this year. This is definitely a winnable game. Betts looked the same as last year, still forces things way too much. We should get at least 2 picks in the game. Murphy is tough and will be hard to stop. But I like our run defense.

This game tells if Akron has taken a step forward or is still 1-2 years away. I am not driving 250 miles for nothing. NO question that Akron is good enough to win. Akron plays the way that they are capable and eliminate the silly mistakes. Zips roll 31-20 in a convincing win.

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yea your 100% right. jd promised getsy playing ;so no way he is going to bench him.

he would rather lose his job than go back on a promise. he also promised playing time to all the starters on the o-line.the only person he didnt promise playing time to is hixson ;so the first time he drops a ball it's bench time.

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yea your 100% right. jd promised getsy playing ;so no way he is going to bench him.

he would rather lose his job than go back on a promise. he also promised playing time to all the starters on the o-line.the only person he didnt promise playing time to is hixson ;so the first time he drops a ball it's bench time.

See that thing at the end of the sentence? It's called a question mark (?). I didn't say that JD was playing Getsy because he promised him, I was simply offering it up as a possability. If you know what the actual reason is, please, let us know. The point I was trying to make is that none of us know what is going to happen, but it is apparent to me that JD is going to stick with Luke (for whatever reason), so we as fans might as well try to support the guy during the game, even if we don't agree with the decision.

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yea your 100% right. jd promised getsy playing ;so no way he is going to bench him.

he would rather lose his job than go back on a promise. he also promised playing time to all the starters on the o-line.the only person he didnt promise playing time to is hixson ;so the first time he drops a ball it's bench time.

Mr. RACER, what you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone on this board is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.

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Guys.............

To The Staff and The Boss it's a JOB. If Fergie were better in their opinion, he'd be under center................period.............end of discussion. Nobody getz nuthin out there in the big world unless they earn it.

Hell, if Cap'n had any elidgability left, with all his skillz he'd be starting at wideout instead of Hicz!!! ;)

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