CFN's "REALLY REALLY BIG GAMES"..We're one of them

[Guest OLDSCHOOLZIP]

College Football News named Akron vs. Miami one of the "Really Really Big Games of the Week" along with Auburn/Alabama, Florida/Florida State, OSU/Michigan, and California/Stanford. I'm not really sure that this game belongs in the same breath as those, lol, but that's exciting that the national media is considering this such a big game as well. It's too bad for Fox Sports Net and their silly contract with the MAC. ESPN wanted to maket his a naitonal TV game. Oh well. Here's the arcticle:

http://www.collegefootballnews.com/...iUniv_Akron.htm

Keys to the Top Nov. 20 Games

Miami University at Akron

By John Harris

a. May the force be with you – The Redhawks aren’t your run of the mill Midwest-power-zone-scheme running attack. If you’ve been alive on this planet, you’ve definitely heard of some rookie NFL QB that came from Miami named Roethlisberger. You have a guy like that, you better throw the football. With him gone this year, the pressure of carrying the offense fell on Josh Betts. But, what has helped the Redhawk junior signal caller that much more has been the tough running of Luke Clemens. After running for over a thousand yards in 2002, he sat out last year with an injury, returning this season to provide some power to this diverse offense. Clemens is the proverbial punishing runner who is a defensive players’ nightmare. For as much as defensive players hate to get their ankles broken by a lightning quick RB, they hate it that much more having to come up and pound on a 215 pound straight ahead runner. Well, it’s even worse when he seeks you out to make you pay, essentially for being in a different color jersey. It’s no coincidence that since the Jonathon Goddard show, i.e the Marshall game, Clemens’ role in the offense has increased each and every week, culminating in his 160 yard effort against Western Michigan (Coincidence or not, but Mr. Betts’ game has taken off as well – seems they feed off of each other pretty well). The Zips have their hands full stopping this determined senior star.

b. Fryeing up the Redhawks – The QB lineage in the MAC is well-known. Chad Pennington. Byron Leftwich. Ben Roethlisberger. But, Zip QB Charlie Frye is looking to establish his own name, and he can leave his mark on this conference with a win on Saturday. Although the Zips struggled with HBC JD Brookhart’s offense early in the year, Frye held steady and the comeback he generated against Marshall captivated the experts. Even though the senior has faced an underrated Penn State defense and a better than average Virginia squad, this matchup can really put Charlie Frye on the map, similar to what happened for B Ro last year. Miami has a disciplined defense that can run, especially at linebacker, with Terna Nande, and they’ll be able to get pressure on him. However, Frye can move well out of the pocket, so Brookhart may be better served to put his QB on the run on the roll. Nande and company must have #5 in their sights, so when he does roll, they’ll be ready to leave their pass coverage responsibility to stop him out of the pocket. Bad move. That opens up a huge hole in the intermediate areas that Frye can exploit in a heartbeat. A lot of BCS programs would love to have this kid calling signals for their school, but he’s a Zip and that gives Akron a chance. A good chance.

c. Pus(ateri) in Boots – Sit down and watch a Miami defensive cut-up tape. There’s the specimen – Terna Nande – at linebacker. Wow, look at those corners, man, they can fly. But, who the heck is that kid at safety, right there #19? He just keeps making plays. Well, for those of you that don’t follow Miami football, meet second leading tackler and play maker Matt Pusateri. The former walk-on is the proverbial success story, but he’ll end his career as one of the leading tacklers in the history of Miami Redhawk football. But, with one MAC title under his belt, the senior wants nothing more than to add to his and his team’s legacy with one more shot at the title. Pusateri, at strong safety, is under the microscope this week against Frye and the improving Zip offense. But, the running game has not been as successful as Brookhart would like, so Pusateri is more valuable patrolling the middle of the field, looking to take away any intermediate passing game from Frye. So, keep an eye on #19 because he’ll be around the football all day long.

Conclusion: It doesn’t get much better than this. Winner take all. MAC East championship on the line. Shot at getting additional national exposure in the MAC championship game. Shot at a bowl game and even more pub and exposure. If you don’t love playoff football, don’t let the door hit you on the way out. No computers and no subjective polls will determine this winner. Miami and Akron will. On the field. Frye will keep the Zips in the game, just by sheer will, but to take down a champ, you can’t hope you’re going to win, you better cut their heart out and dominate them for 60 minutes. Miami is still too strong to let that happen. It’ll be a lot closer than last year, but the result will be the same. Miami – 34 vs. Akron – 26

[Captain Kangaroo]

College Football News named Akron vs. Miami one of the "Really Really Big Games of the Week" along with Auburn/Alabama, Florida/Florida State, OSU/Michigan, and California/Stanford. I'm not really sure that this game belongs in the same breath as those, lol,

Why not?