Favorite Zip memories

[Zipmeister]

Do you have an Akron U. football story that sticks out in your Mind? I have several and to help fill the time between now and next fall, here’s a brief recap of one of mine. Are any of you old enough to remember this game? It was around 1974 (some details escape me with age) but I was at the game and it was unbelievable. Tampa came into the Rubber Bowl a prohibitive favorite as I recall. They had Freddie Solomon at quarterback (later wide receiver for the Dolphins) and Leon McQuay (later CFL and a variety of NFL teams) at running back. The Bowl was packed; it was reported that there were 40,000 in attendance. I believe it. There was no hint of an aisle anywhere in the place, just people shoulder to shoulder. The Fire Marshall would have had a coronary. Anyhow, it was a night game and Akron kicked off toward the open end of the stadium. The Tampa return man bobbled the reception and advanced the ball only to about the 4 yard line before being dropped. Tampa’s first play from scrimmage, a running play to the left, resulted in a fumble which Akron recovered at the 4. Akron’s first offensive play, a run, resulted in a touchdown. The final score ended up; Akron 40, Tampa 0. It was amazing. Later that year, Tampa announced they were dropping football as a varsity sport and I always liked to think (even if it isn’t true) that the pummeling they took in Akron contributed to that decision. OK, what’s your favorite Zip football memory?

[Quickzips]

I'm still pretty green as far as a zips fan goes but I've got to say that Marshall '04 and MACC '05 probably rank up there pretty high for a lot of fans.

[JP Morgan]

I would say that one game that I have never forgot was the 1993 opening home game. It was my first Zip game, I was a freshman, the bowl was packed, and we beat the Sh1t out of Can't 49-0!!!!!!!! I believe it was Marcell Weems (sp?) who threw a bomb to a zip reciever on the first play of the game for a touchdown.Another game that sticks out was in 1994-5 v. Miami. I happened to get the opportunity to sit in the press box with Senator Mike Dewine and then governor George Voinivich (both Miami grads I think). I beleve we got beat pretty bad that game.Some other highlights: 1993 Getting in the locker room after a Zips win, Faust gave a riveting post game speach, 2001 v. Ohio U, QB sparks goes down early in the game with a injury, some guy by the name of "Frye" comes in a wins it. Little did we know at that time how that injury would change the face of Zips football forever.One last memory is that and always will!!!!!

[GP1]

I'm still pretty green as far as a zips fan goes but I've got to say that Marshall '04 and MACC '05 probably rank up there pretty high for a lot of fans.

Anyone not reading the signature line of Quickzips is really missing something funny.

[GP1]

1993 Getting in the locker room after a Zips win, Faust gave a riveting post game speach,

This is a serious question......Did he whistle and dance?

[fear the brown roo]

as far as games i was actually at go, the 92 acme zip game when the zips played toldeo in a packed rubber bowl. they won it on a last scond field goal by daron alcorn that was like 52 yards or something. and of course, the 04 marshall game. the all time greatest game was of course, the 05 mac championship game. :macc:

[gozips19]

its got to be the marshall game.... i was on the feild before the players i think! i don't they were expecting people to rush the feild from the season ticket sections! that was great and the few thousand people that stayed will never forget that feeling we had! that was the start of the new zips program

[ZipAlumn]

1993 Getting in the locker room after a Zips win, Faust gave a riveting post game speach,

This is a serious question......Did he whistle and dance?

You couldn't have been in the locker room too often after a win when Gerry Faust was the coach. Great speaker, great recruiter, excellent singer and tap dancer ... not a very good coach.

[ZipAlumn]

Do you have an Akron U. football story that sticks out in your Mind? I have several and to help fill the time between now and next fall, here’s a brief recap of one of mine. Are any of you old enough to remember this game? ...... OK, what’s your favorite Zip football memory?

Mine goes back to my student days in 1968 when the Zips played in the Grantland Rice Bowl (the Division II Championship). A group of us drove to Murfreesboro, Tennessee for the weekend and the game. The party was great the game left an awful lot to be desired. The Zips lost 33-13 and were never really in the game. Terry Bradsahw was Louisana Tech's quarterback, and he was literally a man among boys that day. The play that sticks in my mind is when two Zips hit Bradshaw in the backfield and he was going down ... he threw a sidearm pass ... forty yards downfield to a streaking receiver ... for yet another touchdown. Many years later (after his Super Bowl years) I met Terry Bradsaw when he was the speaker at our company's awards banquet. I thought about that play and wondered if I could have tackled him, but instead settled for "catching" my award.

[Zipmeister]

Glad to see your post ZipAlumn. I was beginning to think I was the oldest guy here. I was only a freshman in 68. So here's another oldie. It was against Northern Michigan in the Rubber Bowl sometime in the early 70s; another night game. Akron was leading big time late in the fourth quarter. The Akron second or third string offence bogged down at their own 10. I almost always hung around and listened to the band after the game, but convinced the Mrs to at least get closer to the car as time ran down. So we are watching the action walking around the top of the rubber bowl. A fog had moved in and was hanging just above our heads covering the bowl like a flat domed stadium. The Akron punter gets off a great kick and from our vantage point we can see the the Northern return guy, stationed at normal return depth, had no idea the ball was going past him because it has disappeared in the fog. It came down about 15 yards behind him and took an Akron bounce, stopping at the Northern 10 yard line with no return. That punt set a new Akron record for longest punt (80 yards) at the time. I wonder if it still is the record?

[msopher]

Removing my post? Such class on this board...

[Hilltopper]

In case you haven't noticed this board is for people who are FANS of Zips sports. Not for TROLLS from Toledo.

[Zipsrifle]

After 10 years of drought, the best memories came in the past two seasons. Hixon's catch last year, with him being sick and all, is IMO, the best. JD has definately squashed the "How are we going to lose this one" mentality of Zip fans. #2 for me would be Marshall in '04. If I had to choose a "Best memory gone bad" it would be Miami in '01. As a solid underdog, we were handled pretty easity in the first half. Akron came out in the 2nd half and fought their way back to the lead late in the game. Miami fans were flooding out of the stadium, the few Zip fans in attendance were stoked and then the legend of Ben started.....

[FearTheRoo]

its got to be the marshall game.... i was on the feild before the players i think! i don't they were expecting people to rush the feild from the season ticket sections! that was great and the few thousand people that stayed will never forget that feeling we had! that was the start of the new zips program

Absolutely! Freezing cold, plenty of booze, national TV. Major upset.

[zip37]

Mine would be the WKU game in '64, 36K in the bowl (if I remember correctly) and we won the game. Eqyual to that was the first oveertime game in NCAA history, against no.Mich. Sunny windy and bitterly cold-- it was so cold that I moved to the east side of the bowl to get out of the winfd. I was like thanksgiving lat season w/o the horizontal snow.