Takin It Back....

[InTheZone]

With the football offseason here and not much to talk about, I thought I'd post something I stumbled upon online today, a kind of "remember when" for the old school zips around here.....1997 Zips Football Weekly Press ReleasesAugust 25: Zips Open '97 Campaign at Sixth-Ranked NebraskaLee Owens Optimistic About MAC Race; Recognizes Difficult Noncon Opponents--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Game Day InformationDate: August 30, 1997Site: Lincoln, NebraskaStadium: Memorial (72,700)Kickoff: 12:30 CDTTeam Records: First game for both squadsRadio: WHLO 640-AM, WTIG 990-AMTV: No live TV. Highlights replayed Sept. 1 and 8 as part of Zips' Monday Night Football.Series: First meeting--------------------------------------------------------------------------------The Akron Zips will have waited 326 days for this game.Since UA's date with the powerful Nebraska Cornhuskers was announced last Oct. 8, players, coaches, administrators, alumni and fans alike have eagerly anticipated this opportunity.The Akron contingent is not naive about the challenge or for that matter the odds against winning the game, but excited to test its program against one of the nation's best. The Cornhuskers won back-to-back National Championships in 1994 and '95 and finished 11-2 and ranked sixth last year. Nebraska begins its 1997 season in the exact same spot -- No. 6 in the preseason AP Top 25 poll. The Zips, meanwhile, closed their '96 season, winning three of their final four games to finish 4-7."It's like a preseason bowl game," says UA coach Lee Owens, a former Ohio State assistant (1992-94). "We're going to play lights out against one of the best, if not the best program in the country."Akron gave up a season-opening home game against Youngstown State to play at Nebraska. The Zips have four home contests and seven on the road."If there was any hesitation from our players or there was not 100 percent commitment on the part of our University administration, coaching staff or players, then we would not have agreed to play Nebraska," said UA Director of Athletics Michael A. Bobinski. "To have this game be our opener and the focus of all of our off-season efforts, and then to have a week off before starting conference play, made it a much more appealing scenario for us."JOHNSON DECLARED ACADEMICALLY INELIGIBLE: Zip junior strong safety Nate Johnson (Steubenville) will sit out the 1997 season to concentrate on his studies. UA's fourth leading tackler (73 total, 46 solo) a year ago as an outside linebacker, Johnson needed to improve his overall GPA with two summer school classes, but did not reach the required minimum to play.MEDICAL UPDATE: Junior defensive back Jon Eaton (Wheelersburg) will miss the Nebraska game with a severely sprained left ankle. Eaton was hurt playing in a 3-on-3 basketball tournament before camp began. A two-year starter and a member of the GTE District IV Academic Team, he ranked fifth on the team in tackles last fall (65 total) and played a key role in UA's secondary being among the nation's top 25 units against the pass. Eaton is considering a medical redshirt for 1997.Shoulder injuries will sideline junior TE Shane Ladner (Pittsburgh, Pa./Keystone Oaks) and sophomore DB Mike Hughes (New Middleton/Cardinal Mooney) for the Nebraska game. Neither player participated in contact drills during camp.SECONDARY DEPTH TESTED: With the loss of Nate Johnson, and the pending medical redshirt of Jon Eaton, the Zips are fortunate to be deep in the secondary. The starting unit will include Jerome Cargile (Cleveland/Chanel) and George Germany (Pittsburgh, Pa./Schenley) at the corners, Julius Lancaster (Canton/McKinley) at strong safety, and 1996 All-MAC selection Andre McCray (Akron/Buchtel) at free safety. All four players are battle tested; however, the same can not be said for the Zips' second-string defensive backfield which includes four players who have never played a down of college football. True freshmen Rich Reliford (Bolingbrook, Ill.) and Kevin Vaughn (Akron/Ellet), along with redshirt freshman Shauntel Lodge (Canton/McKinley) and sophomore Richard Jones (Columbus/Beechcroft) will be seeing their first action in Lincoln.Last fall, Akron's secondary ranked 25th among Division I-A school in pass efficiency defense and second in the MAC in passing yards allowed.The Zips also are minus sophomore DB Mike Hughes, who should return from shoulder rehab for the Miami game Sept. 13 in Oxford.AKRON'S NFL PERFORMERS: In five preseason games, former Zip star Jason Taylor has shined for the Miami Dolphins. A third round draft pick (73rd overall) and a starter in all preseason games, Taylor has racked up 12 tackles (10 solo) and four QB sacks for 35 yards in losses. He also has two special teams tackles and one pass deflection. A first-team All-MAC DE last fall, Taylor had 18 tackles for loss, including 10 sacks.Victor Green, a Zip letterman from 1990-92, led the NFL in tackles last year as a DB for the New York Jets.BOYD TABBED: UA senior football star Nate Boyd is Street & Smith's 1997 Mid-American Conference preseason Defensive Player of the Year and a first-team All-MAC selection, according to The Sporting News.The Zips' rambunctious middle linebacker heads the list of 42 returning lettermen. Joining Boyd on the TSN All-MAC team is junior free safety Andre McCray. The Akron Buchtel product racked up 109 tackles last fall and earned second-team All-MAC accolades from the league's coaches. Akron returns nine defensive starters from a unit which ranked third in the MAC and 26th nationally in total defense (317.4 yards per game average yield).McCray also gained preseason All-MAC honors from the Football News, Athlon and Bob Griese's College Football Preview. The Sporting News also listed Boyd among the nation's top Division I-A players "In The Shadows." The former East Liverpool High School standout logged a team-high 140 stops a year ago to rank third among MAC tacklers and was twice selected league Defensive Player of the Week. He was UA's Vern Smith Award nominee (MAC Player of the Year).GREAT BACKS: The Zips face four of the nation's top 20 returning backs in 1997. The group includes Can't's Astron Whatley (3,113 yards in 3 years), Central Michigan's Silas Massey (2,633 yards in 2 years), LSU's Kevin Faulk (2,134 yards in 2 years), and Nebraska's Ahman Green (2,003 yards in 2 years). It would have been five if Toledo's Wasean Tait had returned from a severe knee injury.UNDERDOG: The Zips were huge underdogs twice in 1996 and played exceedingly well in both games. Akron fell to 15th-ranked Virginia Tech, 21-18, on Sept. 7 and defeated Miami (Ohio), 10-7, on Oct. 19. Both games were at the Rubber Bowl.HIGH-PROFILE OPPONENTS: After reaching the Division I-AA playoffs in 1985, Akron stepped up to the I-A level in 1987. Since that time, UA has played numerous high-profile opponents, including Virginia Tech four times ('89, '91, '95, '96), Auburn ('88), Florida ('90), Tennessee ('89), Kansas State ('95), Oregon State ('87) and Illinois ('96). UA is 0-10 in these games (nine on the road), but last year was tied at halftime vs. Va. Tech and Illinois.ERIC ANDERSON VS. ERIC ANDERSON: Zip defensive lineman #48 Eric Anderson (Woodburn, Ind./Woodlan) will go head-to-head against Nebraska's RT #70 Eric Anderson of Lincoln, Neb. (Southeast High School). (No relation). Nebraska's Anderson averaged 7.5 "pancake" blocks per game in 1996.MILFORD ACADEMY: Husker star DT Jason Peter played for Milford (Conn.) Academy in 1992. Two Akron Zips, TB Bo Hunter and DT Jamie O'Neill, played for Milford in 1995.SCRIMMAGE UPDATE: The Zips' defensive unit, third in the MAC a year ago, picked up where it left off last season when UA held its first scrimmage of '97 Aug. 16 at the Rubber Bowl. Junior Jerome Cargile raced 100 yards for a score with an interception for the day's long play. True freshman Rich Reliford also registered an interception and returned the ball inside the 10-yard line. Tailbacks Greg Lomax (Monongahela, Pa./Ringgold) and Bo Hunter (Wilmington, Del./Milford (Conn.) Academy) had TD runs. Offensive linemen Kevin Kuntz (Steubenville/Edison) and Steve Hale (Pittsburgh, Pa./Perry) flip-flopped positions with Kuntz now lined up at quick tackle and Hale at quick guard. Sophomore defensive end Ron Smith (Reynoldsburg) strained a knee ligament, but is ready to go for Nebraska.The Zips' second scrimmage (Aug. 21) saw true freshman OT Paul Ondrusek (Darlington, Pa./Blackhawk) elevated to the second unit. Another rookie, Kevin Vaughn, intercepted two passes. All three Zip tailbacks showed flushes of brilliance, including Lomax, who sat out most of the first scrimmage ill. The offensive coaches continued to use six different wide receivers with the first unit in an effort to identify a rotation for game day.THE PRIDE OF KEARNEY: Akron strength coach Dan Bailey is a Kearney, Neb., native and former walk-on Cornhusker lineman from 1983-86. Bailey, 32, is in his third season at UA and was the associate strength coach at Tennessee for seven years.HIGH POWERED OPPONENTS: Nebraska and Louisiana State were ranked sixth and 10th, respectively, in the preseason AP Top 25 poll. The Zips also face 1996 I-AA champion Marshall, 1996 MAC champion Ball State and 1995 MAC champ Toledo -- all on the road.ROAD WARRIORS: The Zips play just four home games in 1997, after adding the Nebraska road trip and losing the Youngstown State home game. Senior DE Corey Christian (Pittsburgh, Pa./Penn Hills) says four home games isn't so bad. He had only two his senior year at Pittsburgh Penn Hills High School, waiting for a new stadium to be completed. The Princeton Tigers thisyear play all 10 games on the road while their new stadium is being constructed. Akron home dates are Sept. 20 vs. Bowling Green (7 p.m., Acme-Zip game), Oct. 4 vs. Central Michigan (7 p.m.), Oct. 25 vs. Ohio (3:30 p.m., Homecoming) and Nov. 8 vs. Can't (3:30 p.m., 40th Wagon Wheel Game)."LUNCH WITH THE COACH" MOVED TO MONDAYS: UA's popular "Lunch With The Coach" program has been switched to Mondays at noon at the Martin University Center, 105 Fir Hill Street. The first luncheon will be Aug. 25 when Zip head coach Lee Owens previews the '97 season and UA's opener in Lincoln. Tickets are priced at $7.50. Joe Dunn again will serve as emcee.Mid-American Conference commissioner Jerry Ippoliti will be in Akron Aug. 25 for "Lunch With The Coach." Ippoliti will discuss the MAC's "New Era" with the league's championship football game slated for Dec. 5 in Huntington, W. Va., and the bowl tie-in with the Dec. 26 Ford Motor City Bowl in Pontiac, Mich. The commissioner is undertaking a tour of all 12 MAC schools this fall.MAC'S NEW ERA: The Zips are in the East Division of the new Mid-American Conference format. Marshall and Northern Illinois have rejoined the league, bringing to 12 the number of schools in the 51-year-old all-sports conference. At the MAC Media Day on July 23 in Pontiac, Mich., the Zips were picked to finish in fifth place in the East, ahead of rival Can't. Akron won three of its final four games last fall to finish 4-7 and 3-5 in the MAC (tied for sixth).The MAC will stage a Championship Game, pitting East and West champs, Dec. 5 in Huntington, W. Va. The winner will advance to face an at-large team in the first Ford Motor City Bowl, Dec. 26, at the Pontiac Silverdome.The Zips have been picked as high as third in the East by one preseason magazine (MSM) and as low as sixth by Preview Sports. Athlon picked Akron eighth among the 12 MAC schools.DREAM TRIP: Five freshman walk-ons are a part of the 70-man travel roster for Nebraska. The list includes: WR Lavel Bailey (Cleveland/Kennedy), TB Carlos Humphries (Canton/GlenOak), OL Marc Saunders (Wadsworth), DB Kevin Vaughn (Akron/Ellet) and DT Jermaine Williams (Akron/Central Hower).NONCON: UA's Oct. 18 date at Eastern Michigan is a non-conference game. The Zips play five games within the East Division (BGSU, Can't, Marshall, Miami, and Ohio) and three cross-over games (Ball St., C. Michigan and Toledo). The EMU game will not count in the league standings.ALUMNI ASSOCIATION TRIPS: The University of Akron Alumni Association is sponsoring trips to Nebraska and Louisiana State. The trip to Lincoln is priced at $365 per person and includes air fare, two nights lodging and game tickets. Cost for children 2-12, sharing a room with two adults, is $249. The LSU trip is priced at $679 per person and includes air fare, three nights lodging and game tickets. Cost for children is $415. For further information, contact the Alumni Association at (330) 972-7270.RADIO COVERAGE: For the sixth straight year, Akron radio station WHLO 640-AM will be the flagship station for University of Akron football. Massillon station WTIG 990-AM has reached agreement for a third season to form the Zips' Football Radio Network. WHLO's 5,000-watt daytime signal covers 66 of Ohio's 80 counties in addition to western Pennsylvania and into West Virginia.Returning for his ninth season as the "Voice of the Zips" will be Steve French. He will be joined in the broadcast booth by Clint Scroggs, who last year served as UA's sideline reporter. The UA network is on the air 15 minutes before kickoff with the pre-game show, featuring Zip head coach Lee Owens.AKRON ZIPS' MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL: For 12 consecutive Monday nights, beginning Sept. 1, Zip football fans will be able to see UA game highlights on WAKC-TV Channel 23 at 8 o clock. The one-hour show, hosted by Joe Dunn, will feature head coach Lee Owens evaluating game highlights from the previous Saturday. Coach Owens also will preview the Zips' upcoming opponent. The Nebraska game will be replayed twice: Sept. 1 and 8. The Miami game will be shown Sept. 15 with the final show Nov. 17 following Toledo.SEASON TIX / MEDIA GUIDES: Zip season tickets are priced at $36 (4 home games) and $18 for seniors citizens and UA faculty and staff. For details contact the Zip Athletic Ticket Office at 1-888-99-AKRON or (330) 972-6920 ... 1997 Akron Football Media Guides are for sale at JAR Arena. Books are priced at $10 apiece. Checks should be made payable to University of Akron Athletics and mailed to the attention of the Sports Information Office, 76 JAR Arena, Akron, Ohio 44325-5201.44TH ACME-ZIP GAME: The 44th annual Acme-Zip game is slated for Sept. 20 at 7 p.m. at the Rubber Bowl when the Zips entertain Bowling Green.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------(From Saturday, Aug. 30 Game Notes)The sixth-ranked Cornhuskers are the highest ranked Division I-A football team the Akron Zips have ever played. Last September 7, UA was a 38-point underdog to 15th-ranked Virginia Tech and lost 21-18 at the Rubber Bowl.Akron battled 12th-ranked Auburn in 1988 (lost 42-0), No. 11 Tennessee in 1989 (lost 52-9), 17th-ranked Florida in 1990 (lost 59-0), and No. 19 Kansas State in 1995 (lost 67-0).To understand the significance of this game in Akron's football history, you should know:In 1893, John Heisman was UA's first paid football coach and athletic director Akron played in the 1968 Grantland Rice Bowl against Terry Bradshaw-led La. Tech The Zips played for the NCAA Division II national championship in 1976 Akron qualified for the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs in 1985 In 1987, the Zips were the first university to upgrade from Division I-AA to I-A with former Notre Dame head coach Gerry Faust leading the transition Ohio State assistant Lee Owens was named UA head coach in December, 1994 Zip Captains: Akron captains for today's game are seniors (#48) DL Eric Anderson (Woodbrun, Ind.), (#41) DE Corey Christian (Pittsburgh, Pa.), (#39) FB Chris Rooney (Sioux City, Iowa) and (#15) PK Jamie Stidham (Independence, Kan.).Quotable Owens Quotes: Says Zip head coach Lee Owens: "Unbelievable depth is what sets Nebraska apart from other college teams." "I am concerned about heat and humidity (on game day). We had a very cool month of August in Northeast Ohio during out camp." "We're not only representing our athletic department and The Univerrsity of Akron, but the Mid-American Conference as well. We hope to be a worthy representative of our league." (On being a huge underdog) "We've probably been the underdog in 21 of the 22 games we've coached here, so this role is nothing new for us." Rooney is Ready: Zip fullback Chris Rooney (Sioux City, Ia./Bishop Heelan) sat out practice Wednesday with a sprained ankle, but is expected to be full go today.You Can Get There: The UA Football Parents Group is sponsoring bus transportation to and from five upcoming Zip football games: Sept. 13 at Miami, Oct. 11 at Marshall, Oct. 18 at Eastern Michigan, Nov. 1 at Ball State and Nov. 15 at Toledo. Round trip fares range from $15 to $28. Contact Monica Gromek at (440) 729-4140 for further information.Zippy the Kangaroo: Zippy, Kasey, Moe and Katy. What do they have in common? They are the only four college kangaroo mascots in America. The University of Akron has Zippy, the University of Missouri-Kansas City has Kasey, Virginia Military Institute has Moe, and Austin College in Sherman, Texas, has Katy. UA's Zippy originated in 1954.