Virginia 49, Zips 17

[Guest Zip88]

The losing is one thing. The self-inflicted wounds are another...

For what it's worth, here's CFN's take...

Akron (0-2) at Virginia (2-0), 3 pm EST

Why to watch: There might not be a greater disparity between ways two teams can start a season. Akron was supposed to be a sleeper team in the MAC race, but a blowout loss to Penn State and a stunning home defeat to MTSU have taken all the wind out of the team's sails. Virginia, on the other hand, has crushed and killed bottom feeders Temple and North Carolina and should put on another fantastic show.

Why Akron might win: The only possible hope Akron has of staying alive is if Charlie Frye and the passing game gets rolling early and becomes unstoppable. The Zips are 13th in the nation in passing offense averaging 311 yards per game and could come up with a few big plays if the Cavalier defense isn't focused.

Why Virginia might win: Akron has given up 416 yards per game on the ground. Uh oh. Virginia is currently tenth in the nation in rushing offense averaging over 292 yards per game.

Who to watch: Virginia RB Wali Lundy has been an unstoppable machine over the first two games rushing for 177 yards and six touchdowns. With the way the Zip run defense has been playing, it should be another three score day ahead. Akron junior WR Domenik Hixon has grown into a top target catching 15 passes for 175 yards in his first two games. He needs to get into the end zone, but he'll make a few big catches and should continue to grow as Frye's main man.

What will happen: Virginia can call its shot rushing for over 300 yards without much of a problem. Only a Heisman-caliber performance from Charlie Frye can keep this within three touchdowns.

CFN Prediction: Virginia 49 ... Akron 17 ... Line: Virginia -31 | Discuss this game with experts

Must See Rating: (5 lock yourself in a room to watch - 1 The Benefactor) ... 2

Final Score:

The Zips will be 0-3 heading to Can't for rivalry game. The team will have been blown out twice and gave away MTSU game. Over-confidence will not be a problem --

Can we turn this thing around or is it going to be another lost season??? Are we seeing any progress or were we fooling ourselves to think '04 would be any different???

[dave_rickart]

is that 416 yards per game on rushing defense a misprint?

[zff]

Yes it is a misprint.

It should say 206.

But the defense is giving up 474 total yards per game.

[Zipsrifle]

Yea, we can turn this thing around. We've got MAC play starting next week. We'll see how things go, but we need to stay in this one (beat the spread) and knock off Can't convincingly to have any confidence against NIU. Maybe the only thing that is in our favor right now is that we play Marshall and Miami at the end of the season. We wouldn't have a shot at either of those two the way things are going right now. At least by then, we should have all the "new system" glitches worked out.

If we don't beat Can't, then it's pretty much a done deal. If that is the case, we'll probably start out 0-5 I might have to witness another Toilet Bowl in the Bowl when Buffalo comes to town. The hype hasn't proven to be true so far, lets hope we see the ship turning this week. I'll have to dig around tonight to see if I can find a web radio station that carries the game. Like I've said, I had pretty good luck so far with getting the radio broadcasts free.

[Guest bombardierHOO]

http://sports.yahoo.com/top/collegebroadcast/teams/vaf

[Zipsrifle]

BombardierHOO,

Thanks for the link! I was able to listen to the entire butt whipping. I think that will be my first choice from now on. One more thing on this topic, why do all the announcers from other schools call us A-Kron (Similar to the movie Tron) insteard of Akron (similar to grin )? Just something I've noticed. I guess nobody cares about the proper pronunciation when you're just a whipping boy.