Close, but no cigar

[Z.I.P.]

:macc: played hard against a team that was better than many of us realized or expected. They hardly had a missed tackle the entire game, let's give the Tigers credit. On our side, we played Zips football, tenacious, never say die, but on this occasion they had too many athletes for us. I think the next time we see a Zips team on the football field, they will have more playahs, and will be better able to compete with athletic units like Memphis. We have no reason to tonight.

I'm sure you will all have lots of discussion when you return from Ford Field. Here's just one interesting sidelight: In I think the third quarter, ESPN went to a commercial break, and when they put up the scoreboard, what appeared on the screen was "Valid Container Location Needed". First time I've ever seen an error message on national TV.

[RACER]

a great effort by the zips.there are no moral victories, but there is something to be said of this teams effort. i think the defense was on the feild way to long to stop a running game like memphis has. if the offense would have been able to control the ball a little more the second half things would have been different. still a great season by the zips players and coaches. go akron!!!!!!!

[tigerpaul2000]

Great game guys!! You had me biting my nails until the very end! DeAngelo was not going to be denied on his last game.

[TigerTitan]

Thanks Zips fans for attending the game when so many of Memphis fans could not!!! It looked well-attended despite the many doubters and lack of national appeal to watch it!

Your coach and team are impressive!! Hope you bring back a bunch of the same players next season and "reload". You proved you travel well to the rest of the bowl committees out there for next season. Now go win another MAC chamionship!!

As for our Tigers, we out-muscled and out-ran your guys in most categories. But your QB and WRs were awesome tonight. I respect the never-say-day spirit and wished our guys had the same fire at the end. (It didn't look good that you made such a daunting comeback on us out there!! I guess our coaches thought our subs could somehow contain you.)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

[msopher]

Good effort by Akron and near comeback for a win. Too bad the refs screwed you guys at the end.

7-6 is not a great record by any means, but Akron is the MAC champs and that is something 12 other conference schools can't say.

[Buckzip]

Defense is too slow. Our defenders ran bad angles all night trying to get the ball carriers.

Even when we had them contained, they got 5 yards.

Hopefully an improvement in recruting will help the situation.

[zip-n-tn]

extremely proud of the ZIPS team. at first it seem our team was asleep . but the ZIPS shown alot of heart at the end. great job ZIPS! GO ZIPS

[zipboy]

A few thoughts

1. Memphis was more athletic. They outplayed us for about 58 minutes of the game.

2. We always struggle to run the ball against a good D. The opening drive set the tone when we went for it on 4th down which I thought we should have done. We struggled running from then on.

3. Coming out party or Jabari? And another bigtime game for Kasparek.

4. We missed Chris Brown

5. I don't know why we did not run the no huddle more. Throughout the year, Getsy seemed to get in his rhythm calling plays at the line and running a no huddle.

6. Last 2 opponents show what a great kicking game can mean for a team. Our guys are solid, but those guys were a couple of notches higher

7 Thanks for a great year. It was fun to be talking football in Dec.

[U_of_Elvis]

Well played game. Your team never gave up, and played with a lot of heart.

I was happy to see how many fans you brought.

Your QB seemed to have a hard time finding his rhythm in the 2nd and 3rd quarters. It could have been a different game if he was on the whole time. We had good pressure and it seemed to keep him from getting in a groove, even when he had the time.

We gave up a little to early, after your comeback started DAangelo got his helmet back from the equipment guy. After the game Coach West said he was glad he didn't end up being the guy who loses the game after the Gatorade dump.

In the first or second quarter our QB Avery was blocking for DeAngelo and laid a guy on his back. He seemed a little surprised that a QB laid that kind of hit on him. That was one of the coolest moments of the game for me.

Good luck next season.

if you are a basketball fan you may want to watch Memphis vs. Gonzaga tonight on ESPN2 at 6:00PM CST. Carney vs. Morrison should be a good show, but they have a long road to beat us at home in front of 18K.

[KeeprOFtheHous]

HOLY CRAP!

BEEN a zips fans for years and never Saw anything like the turn out in motor city...That was the highlight for me. The University Athletic Dep. needs to publicly thank all the crazy fans for their support. Zips FB reached a whole new level this fall. We need to keep that enthusiasm and roll it into BAsketball then again in the fall. If the Zippers fight hard every game and can have a crowd like that for home games the Akron will grow quikling into a MID MAJOR POWER! Great game! Was a true EXPERIENCE!

[Sergeant Zip]

Too bad the refs screwed you guys at the end.

Because I was at the game I could not see the penalty on the fumble/illegal touching penalty. It was too hard to make out on the jumbotron. Does anyone have some better info on it? The papers didn't say anything, sportcenter didn't even mention it, and I can't find any replay of it on the internet. Would like some discussion on this so I can sleep a little better .

[U_of_Elvis]

Too bad the refs screwed you guys at the end.

Because I was at the game I could not see the penalty on the fumble/illegal touching penalty. It was too hard to make out on the jumbotron. Does anyone have some better info on it? The papers didn't say anything, sportcenter didn't even mention it, and I can't find any replay of it on the internet. Would like some discussion on this so I can sleep a little better .

On ESPN you could see a Zip reach out and slap at the ball before the snap.

[Quickzips]

Just woke up after getting back home around 2AM b/c someone on our bus decided to stop at hockeytown and order carryout for the way home. Definitley need some better organization on the busses for next year My thoughts.

-GREAT showing by the zipsnation. Wow, if we get half of those bandwagoners back to the bowl (and hopefully the new oncampus stadium) for a few years we are gonna start putting to rest our attendance problems. EXCELLENT, SIMPLY EXCELLENT.

-I've got the game on tape as well, have not watched it yet, but I intend to pretty soon. Talked to my parents who aren't the most informed football fans ever but neither of them seemed to see any evidence of offsides on the penalty. I'll reserve judgement until I see it for myself from all angles though. Either way the refs were pretty questionable all night long. And what was with the overturning the penalty on our first drive by looking at the jumbotron? Was that not the most bizarre thing you've ever seen? I know it went our way eventually but man.

-Memphis beat us when they started to run to the outside almost exclusivley. We weren't bad containing them when they ran up the middle, but when they started to use the outside we got toasted, repeatedley. Overpursuit to the ball, arm tackling, and poor speed can be blamed there.

-With the exception of John Mackey who was all over the field making tackles all night a pretty poor performance by our secondary. Guys out of position and not looking back for the ball combined with some interferance problems made their WR turned QB look like a Heisman winner.

-Probably the biggest bright spot I found out of the game was Jabari Arthur. I have to admit that I have been worried about who will pick up the slack at WR w/ Hixon and Montgomery leaving, but man did Jabari put some of those worries to fear. He went from being invisible most of the season to looking like a legit WR and having good chemistry with Getsy. I think him and John Long should be able to step in just fine next season.

-Kasparek was effective but not quite as much so as he was in the MACC. Memphis wasn't giving him the YAC that NIU did.

-Live by the pass die by the pass. If you've got a good passing game you've got to get it going, but if you struggle to like we did for the good part of the game it leaves your D on the field for a long time and they get tired. Case in point, the second half of that game.

-Getsy was starting to revert back to his midseason form there in the 2nd and 3rd but found his rythm in the 4th. The thing I liked though was that he no longer looks like a deer in the headlights when he drops back to pass. He looks comfortable throwing the ball now and that will pay off huge going into next season I think.

-What a great call on that 70+ yard TD pass to Biggs. I remember seeing the D going for the blitz and thinking "man, if we can get Brett behind the LB's and have time to get him the ball there will be noone out there to stop him.

-A good kicking game would have made a lot of difference in this game for us. Sullivan is nothing more than an adequate punter while their guy was spot on all game. Swiger ALMOST pulled of 2 onside kicks in a row (can't blame him for not though, its hard enough to pull of 1 of those in a game let alone 2) but the kickoffs out of through the endzone by their kicker made a huge difference in this game.

-Overall I am damn proud of this team. We are gonna be good next year. Count on it. This program may very well have turned a corner this season. Keep up the good work.

[zip37]

OK, WHAT THE HECK WAS THAt "pooch" kickoff-- called stupid play--mis excution--missed-- contact by kicker. that got them 8 pts & we lost by 7???????????!!!!!!

with ball ammunition lock and load.

[Wally B]

Too bad the refs screwed you guys at the end.

Because I was at the game I could not see the penalty on the fumble/illegal touching penalty. It was too hard to make out on the jumbotron. Does anyone have some better info on it? The papers didn't say anything, sportcenter didn't even mention it, and I can't find any replay of it on the internet. Would like some discussion on this so I can sleep a little better .

On ESPN you could see a Zip reach out and slap at the ball before the snap.

You must've been watching ESPN2 because that's not what I saw.......... though it was very close!

Not sure that would've made a difference, but I've never seen a team try that hard that long! This is the new ZIPS! 2006 is looking better and better!!!!!

BTW my two favorite teams are Akron and Whoever else beats Marshall. Good luck Tigers, thanks for a great game!

In JD I Trust

[Quickzips]

Okay, I looked at the tape over and over. Played it in slow motion. Paused it, rewinded it and played it again. Here is what I see.

Whoever was playing over the center (not sure who, forgot to check) did take a swipe at the ball, it could be considered offsides even if he does touch it BUT, hold the presses. The previous kneel down that Memphis made the same thing happened but with no fumble. The result, no flag thrown.

It is VERY close as to whether or not the ball was touched. It appears that the center moved it back before a hand was thrown in, but the ball does tilt in the direction that it logically would have moved had it been touched by the swipe that was thrown.

The call on the field was touching the ball before the snap resulting in an offsides penalty. There isn't a whole lot of evidence that the ball was clearly touched. If the ball wasn't touched then it isn't offsides plain and simple.

My conclusion: Too little evidence that the ball was touched to make that call. It would have been an excellent no call and let the teams play but we saw all day long that the refs were trigger happy with those hanky's. What are ya gonna do.

[GP1]

OK, WHAT THE HECK WAS THAt "pooch" kickoff-- called stupid play--mis excution--missed-- contact by kicker. that got them 8 pts & we lost by 7???????????!!!!!!

with ball ammunition lock and load.

The pooch kick was fair caught on the 30. It had nothing to do with the outcome of the game.

[LosAngelesZipFan]

Watched on ESPN from here in Ca. Incredible to see the Zips on TV again. Game was enjoyable but obviously frustrating-- we really dominated the first quarter completely, but just couldn't put points up. The middle quarters through the last 5 minutes looked like the Zips that played Ball State-Miami-Buffalo. How did the secondary keep getting burned and the offensive line collapsing against a 3 man rush?

And then, blammo, the Zips just got so on track. It was AWESOME that they never gave up, never died. You just had the feeling that given 2 more minutes, they could have taken the game. Would have been great, but saves something for next year!! Go Zips and thanks for the incredibly exciting year! (Now, on to basketball...)

[SCConway]

Too bad the refs screwed you guys at the end.

Because I was at the game I could not see the penalty on the fumble/illegal touching penalty. It was too hard to make out on the jumbotron. Does anyone have some better info on it? The papers didn't say anything, sportcenter didn't even mention it, and I can't find any replay of it on the internet. Would like some discussion on this so I can sleep a little better .

On ESPN you could see a Zip reach out and slap at the ball before the snap.

You must've been watching ESPN2 because that's not what I saw.......... though it was very close!

Not sure that would've made a difference, but I've never seen a team try that hard that long! This is the new ZIPS! 2006 is looking better and better!!!!!

BTW my two favorite teams are Akron and Whoever else beats Marshall. Good luck Tigers, thanks for a great game!

In JD I Trust

I believe the penalty wasn't that he swiped at teh ball but the player was in the neutral zone from the very beginning.

Looking at the replays he was almost butting heads with the Memphis player.

[GP1]

Here are my thoughts. I'll start with the negative first.

1. Good players win games. Memphis had bigger and faster players at almost every position. Ultimately, the talent level they had over us won the game for them. Case in point, even when we played the halfback throw perfectly, the bigger receiver was able to catch the ball over Corner who played the pass well. Akron needs to recruit bigger WRs and DBs. Marshall dominated the league for almost a decade with big players in those positions for years. We should take that play from their playbook. If Memphis and Akron played ten times, Memphis could beat them at least 7 times in 10 based on talent alone.

2. I HATE THE 3-3-5 DEFENSE WE PLAY. We don't have the talent level or the size to run that defense against really good teams and stop them the way we need to to control the game. Late in the game, our linebackers were absolutely dominated by a larger and just as athletic line. Next year, I would hope they move to at least a 3-4 defense so we can get more size on the line and eliminate a lot of the guessing the coaches have to do.

3. I'm not going to mention any names directly, but we had too many wide receivers dropping passes and killing drives early in the game. Seniors need to play complete games and come up with difficult plays.

4. SOMEONE PLEASE AT LEAST FAIR CATCH THE DAMN PUNTS. At least if you are having trouble catching the punts because the ball is not kicked directly to the returner, put and extra guy back there to get the balls. Special teams hurt us badly.

Now for the positive.

5. I think each week this season, our offensive line performed better and better. They weren't great yesterday, but Luke did have enough time to complete 30 passes for over 400 yards.

6. Here are my thoughts on Biggs playing his last game for the Zips.

7. The play calling was balanced and overall it was good. Coaching didn't lose the game, we just lost to a better team.

8. I love the way the Zips played hard till the end. This team now has JD's mark on it. They played like they could win until the very end. If they continue to play like that, they will win a lot.

9. I sense there is some reluctance on the part of some writers to give Getsy his props after that game yesterday. Especially those of you who wanted to perform the program killing move of QB shuffle in mid season that could have set the program back years. Those of us who know better forgive you for your emotional outburst and we thank JD for not allowing stupidity to take hold of him. No hard feelings. Getting back to Getsy. He had one of the best QB performances in school history yesterday. Going back to the OU game, he has done everything necessary to win the MACC and make the game close yesterday in the end. What QB in Akron history has led the team to a MAC East Championship, MAC Championship and a bowl game on ESPN? Luke Getsy. I for one am glad he is coming back next season. A possible Player of the Year candidate for next season?..............Maybe.

10. I was so impressed with the size and energy of the Akron crowd yesterday. I sat behind a guy who graduated in 72 and he flew all the way back from San Diego to go to the game. Prior to the game, Akron was well represented at each and every location around the city. The Detroit paper put the crowd around 45,000. That may be a MCB record.

11. There was a Coach Faust sighting at the game. I hope in some way he felt some sense of accomplishment during the game yesterday. I know things ended horribly for him, but he is really a good man. The more I think about it, he sort of knew what a D-1A program should be like, he just never had the overall support of the Athletic Department or University to make it happen. Things were never going to work out for any Akron coach until a man like Mike Thomas took over. If Coach Faust had a man like Mike Thomas behind him, we would not have had to wait 18 years for yesterday to happen.

12. I saw some people at the game yesterday I had not seen since I was in school and everyone was so happy to see each other. It was what a Homecoming game should be like.

13. Overall, yesterday was a win-win for Akron. Had they won the game, it would have been great. Losing the game is not going to hurt the program. The only thing that would have hurt Akron yesterday, and it didn't happen, was a poor showing by the fans. I'm sure Akron will not be passed over again by a bowl because they don't think Akron will bring everyone.

14. The Motor City Bowl is the best thing to happen for the Zips. I would much rather them go to that game than have to march down to Alabama before Christmas.

15. Go Zips!

[InTheZone]

Man it was fun being at a game like that and hearing an absolutely thunderous roar everytime the Zips did something good. Beer prices were also down from the MAC Championship game which was a plus. Hated seeing the Zips lose, but the almost comeback was awesome, especially after Memphis had already dumped gatorade on their coach!! I can't wait to talk to a few players to see what they thought about the game, but from a fan's perspective it's probably ranks as my #1 Zips memory, even though we lost.

[Quickzips]

Too bad the refs screwed you guys at the end.

Because I was at the game I could not see the penalty on the fumble/illegal touching penalty. It was too hard to make out on the jumbotron. Does anyone have some better info on it? The papers didn't say anything, sportcenter didn't even mention it, and I can't find any replay of it on the internet. Would like some discussion on this so I can sleep a little better .

On ESPN you could see a Zip reach out and slap at the ball before the snap.

You must've been watching ESPN2 because that's not what I saw.......... though it was very close!

Not sure that would've made a difference, but I've never seen a team try that hard that long! This is the new ZIPS! 2006 is looking better and better!!!!!

BTW my two favorite teams are Akron and Whoever else beats Marshall. Good luck Tigers, thanks for a great game!

In JD I Trust

I believe the penalty wasn't that he swiped at teh ball but the player was in the neutral zone from the very beginning.

Looking at the replays he was almost butting heads with the Memphis player.

When you listen to the call, the referee specifically mentioned touching the ball before the snap. Make no mistake about it, it was not said as a simple neutral zone infraction.

[Hilltopper]

I thought the Zips fans made a great showing yesterday. Even though we didn't win it was a great experience. All I can think about is doing it again. Also the Memphis fans we met were wonderfull. They were very gracious winners and have had nothing but nice things to say about our team and fans. I could get used to this type of excitment.

[msopher]

14. The Motor City Bowl is the best thing to happen for the Zips. I would much rather them go to that game than have to march down to Alabama before Christmas.

15. Go Zips!

That was exactly what I thought until I went down to the GMAC bowl this year. The parade, hospitality, and atmosphere is better in Mobile than Detroit. I've been to 3 MCB so I know what both cities offer. I'll gladly take Mobile over Detroit any day.

[Buckzip]

Hopefully we will go bowling again next year, and can compare....