Guest UA Fan Posted September 6, 2004 Report Share Posted September 6, 2004 This team will look a lot better next week with a game under their belts (such as it was), a week to correct mistakes, at home in the bowl with a smaller friendly crowd, against a Sun Belt team. MTSU will no doubt try to exploit our weaknesses but we will do the same unto them. I expect a close, hard-fought game. I'd guess the line will be 3 points or less either way. I agree with the PSU fans that the Nits have really worked this off-season to pull things together and will be much improved this year. They came out ready to avenge last years frustrations and we were not potent enough to prevent the drubbing. Don't forget the oddsmakers (or at least the betting public) were also surprised by the outcome of this game since the line was at 15 points. But make no mistake, PSU could have scored 70+ again if they had kept the starters in. We need to recruit NOW. While we try to get better as a team and win some games, the underlying theme for this season will be can we get some good players to come into the program with JD's connections and some new facilities? The recruits will be making their visits this fall and hopefully there will be some good news of early verbal commitments. Keep #5 in the spotlight. He is the best visibility for the program right now and will continue to be going into the April draft. Keep Hixon as WR and don't take away one of Frye's better targets. We can still move the ball against MAC competition with the controlled passing game. Throwing downfield against PSU's secondary covering our inexperienced receivers was a high-risk proposition and we didn't need 3 & outs to put our defense right back on the field. Let's face it, our best defense is sustaining drives and working the clock. We will be able to throw longer against the remaining teams on our schedule as needed. You would think after this performance that attendance for the MTSU game would be dismal at best but remember there is a 3-day Freedom Jam festival planned Fri.-Sun at the Rubber Bowl with live music from several bands and a Rib Burnoff competition which should help the turnout a lot. We need better attendance as well as better football to remain viable. At least UA is making a good effort at marketing the program. I think we have to play anyone who can contribute this year, don't worry about red-shirting and trust that there will be more talent coming in the next couple years. Probably need to look at some key JUCO transfers here and there, esp. on defense. And we need to retain the players that do come in. It's JD's baby now, LO is in the past. Let's give him a couple seasons to see what he can do. Go Zips! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Zulu Posted September 6, 2004 Report Share Posted September 6, 2004 The outcome was pretty pathetic, but what did we really expect. It was a priveledge to take the field with a team like Penn State. Many of us Penguin fans are proud of Akron for taking the next step and then tangling with the elite. And don't forget it was a pretty good pay day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Kangaroo Posted September 6, 2004 Report Share Posted September 6, 2004 I agree Penn State is not the same 3-9 team from last season. Rhey'll do well in the Big 10 this year...and the Big 10 looks to be pretty good this season. Regarding Hixson...if Ellington is gone, it makes the decision to move him back to Safety all the more unlikely. How about playing him both ways? Not on D every down, but maybe in nickle situations? A few more of those 70+ yd TD's and there'll be no other choice. BTW: I hope that hurricane stays clear of Akron next Saturday! Looks like we'll be cutting it close... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JoePa Posted September 6, 2004 Report Share Posted September 6, 2004 I agree Penn State is not the same 3-9 team from last season. Rhey'll do well in the Big 10 this year...and the Big 10 looks to be pretty good this season. Captian, That's not exactly what you said last week... Penn State would be lucky to beat CW Post by 30 points this season, let alone the Zips. Zips 31-17...toothless Lions barely put up a fight. If/when the game gets out of hand, PLEASE, Zips fans...BE CLASSY. Remember how bad it felt when we used to get drubbed. You're representing the University of Akron. Show some respect! Seriously though, good luck the rest of the way! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Kangaroo Posted September 6, 2004 Report Share Posted September 6, 2004 I agree Penn State is not the same 3-9 team from last season. Rhey'll do well in the Big 10 this year...and the Big 10 looks to be pretty good this season. Captian, That's not exactly what you said last week... Yeah, but what fun is it to predict a horrid butt-kicking of your own team? BTW: PSU has some nice "ambassadors" @ The Rathskellar. Several fans bought us beers...all were super-nice people. Hope to see you all again in a few years, with a more competitive squad on our part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z.I.P. Posted September 6, 2004 Report Share Posted September 6, 2004 I have all the respect in the world for the history of Penn State football, and all the Joe Pa legacy schlamiel, but the Lions took advantage of a team that was like a deer caught in the headlights Saturday. Akron was stuck in a revolving door of bad circumstances (e.g.: Winston Churchill's answer to the question: "What is the worst enemy of a politician?: 'circumstances' "). I still believe PSU will really struggle to win 6 games and go bowling. They may HAVE to win @Boston College this week to have a chance. Look at the schedule and you see they have a 5-week canyon in the middle of the season where they could easily go 0-pher. After 9/18 they play @UW; @MN; Purdue; Iowa; @Columbus. 1-4 in that string would be pretty good, if you ask me. But, if they can pull off 6 wins, they could be awaiting a December matchup with another MAC team (Toledo again?) in Motown. Good luck to PSU. We need some luck of our own this Saturday -- which is why the idea of using up the our freshmen in a lost season makes no sense at all. You have to keep them around long enough to supplement the upcoming recruits that will hopefully take us to the promised land of Mike Thomas and JD Brookhart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JoePa Posted September 7, 2004 Report Share Posted September 7, 2004 Captain, C'mon, ya know I had to use your quote. It was too tempting. Glad you had fun at the Skellar though. I'll be going back home (now live in NC) for the Purdue game, and the Wisky game before that. Hopefully PSU football is on it's way back. These last few years have been unbarable. Time will tell... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zipsrifle Posted September 7, 2004 Report Share Posted September 7, 2004 We need some luck of our own this Saturday -- which is why the idea of using up the our freshmen in a lost season makes no sense at all WOAH, Hit the brakes Z.I.P. the season is FAR from lost. Yea, we got it handed to us by PSU, but the rest of the MAC also got it handed to them by the BCS Schools. I think this is a case of the MAC schools NOT being over looked for the first game and the Big Boys prepping for us like any other BCS team. I was amazed the Toledo got spanked and that Michigan was able to blow out Miami. Oh yea, thank God that Marshall lost! I really hope that PSU does go bowling this year and to a bowl better than the Motor City. If not, we're going to be in for a long season. That said, I am in general agreement with UA Fan. I think that JD has a lot of pull with the kids he's had contact with while at Pitt and we'll see some results from that. I also believe that the new fieldhouse will pull some players to our side of the fence. It's up to JD now to shore up the defense, put in a good MAC run and pull out an upset late in the season. If we can accomplish that, we'll be playing in the MAC Championship in a few years. If we have a "Typical Akron Season", then I think we'll still improve due to the facilities, but we might not see the inside of Ford Field for a long time. Unfortunately, the thumping last week will not help our cause for having a big crowd against MTSU. I think we should be happy with the turnout at PSU 'cause JoePa could have really made it ugly if he wanted. It was better than the 70-24 loss in '99 and on par with the rest of the MAC vs. BCS schools. I hope the weather will be nice on Sat. and I'll be dragging everyone I can to the game. Other than that, I felt that Frye delievered as expected. Sure he didn't have more big passes, but our receivers were green and a lesser QB would have had more than 2 int's. I was glad to see him eat it or make smart passes to the sidelines when in trouble. I was in general happy with the offense but thought we were a bit one dimensional with the pass. Biggs was impressive and I think that JD will keep Ringer and Biggs fresh by having lots of substitutions which will give us a running advantage late in the game. I thought the O-line performed as well as I expected. I really didn't expect to see a step up in their performance from last year. I think they'll get better as they become more acquainted with the new offense. The Defense on the other hand needs a lot of work. I didn't see the new aggressive style I was expecting and think things will have to improve for them to be an average MAC defense. It was all too apparent that PSU had superior athletic ability when comparing the PSU O to the Akron D. Like UA Fan said, our best D may be our O. Having Hixon play both ways might not be a bad idea either. That's my 2 cents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Posted September 9, 2004 Report Share Posted September 9, 2004 We need to recruit NOW. While we try to get better as a team and win some games, the underlying theme for this season will be can we get some good players to come into the program with JD's connections and some new facilities? The recruits will be making their visits this fall and hopefully there will be some good news of early verbal commitments. 1) Getsy, QB (eligible next year) 2) Terricko Marshall, DE It's a start and still very early in the season! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.