Captain Kangaroo

The information above is too good to fade away to page 2. I will try to make the @catdaddyp season predictions and previews the official game day threads from here-on-out.

Why would an old Sooner coach come out of a Nebraska tunnel?

Why would you do that to your free minor league?

In any country outside North America they don’t have college-associated sports. Talented kids play in professional leagues. Yeah, some would come here for a free education, but it made more financial sense to stay in Germany, Israel, Serbia, etc. Now that there’s serious money being doled out by colleges you will see an onslaught of foreign kids crossing the pond to play basketball.

Jordon Simmons left the Zips this summer for the greener pastures of Georgia State. Six RBs had rushing attempts in the Panthers 63-7 loss to Ole Miss. Jordon wasn't one of them. He did have 1 reception for -2 yards. Definitely would have been nice to have him splitting the load with Patrick last Thursday.

Asking around, here is the general consensus of the Zips status as we roll into Game #1 - The Zips will be "alright" this year. The offense should be in the top 1/3 of the MAC. This should be the best Zips OL in Joe's tenure. There are 7 or 8 guys playing really well right now. Last season there might have been 3 or 4. Finley is a top 3 MAC QB. His accuracy has improved. He's bulked up a bit. He's a team captain. Gant and Gee are dinged up. Redshirt Freshman Sean Patrick is a quick kid with good running instincts and will see a lot of PT on Thursday. The WR group is thought to be better and deeper than last year, even with the loss of Norton. Mason may turn out to be the best of the bunch. Marcel Williams (Marshall) has fit in very well. Alex Adams, Polk, Walker, Monteiro (Pitt) and Grear (Fresno State) will all see appreciable PT. If fully healthy, Grear could be a big addition. Ruggow has also been dinged up. He'll be the 2nd or 3rd QB depending upon the situation. Johnson has good legs and size, and a little better arm than the now-departed Bullock. He'll probably be slotted for a similar role as Tahj this season. Cibastion Broughton could show up anywhere, at any time. Ronald Hull stands out as the most capable DL. There are a slew of other big bodies that really haven't distinguished themselves. They'll rotate until there's some separation. LB is a similar situation. We have a lot of bodies, but no one is really standing out. PT is there for the taking to whomever shows well. Markus Boswell could turn out to be a surprise impact player as the season progresses. The secondary is the strength of the defense. White, Reed (Kentucky), Anderson (Washington State), Branch (Sr. and former Kent team captain) all had excellent camps. Not sure who will be the kicker on Thursday. It's a positional battle that remains up for grabs. The Zips were able to get their training table returned, but at the expense of some recruiting tools. Our budget is what it is... Wyoming has won 5 of their last 6 games against MAC opponents for a reason. They've played in a slightly better conference and had slightly better players. Deeper budgets, bigger staff, etc. On paper they should beat the Zips. Are they a little jet lagged from the long trip from Laramie? Are they overconfident in facing a Zips team that's been a regular in the Bottom 10 for seemingly forever? Or, can Finley light it up...the Zips secondary generate a few turnovers...and the Zips start the season 1-0? Gimme a 41-40 Zips victory. Finley gets the Gatorade bath. Can we get a Wallenda to tightrope from high above the Infocision faithful at halftime?

If, 4 games before the home opener, the article subtext shows someone is interviewing Joe Moorhead about family, movies, music and happy people, what additional details are needed regarding the frivolity? It sure makes me pine for the good old days of George Thomas.

Lot 9 along Exchange street is the best tailgate lot. I'd expect you can enter for $20. Lot 10 would be your alternate. Across the street (on Exchange) is Europe Gyro. It's probably the best place to get something to eat/drink immediately around the stadium. I'll assume there will be roughly 10k at the game if the weather is ok. You'll have no problems finding a ticket.

Он не верује у тимизам

New Mexico and the Transfer Portal On Football: "To fill the losses, New Mexico football has added 129 new players over the past two years after back-to-back coaching changes, including 72 new faces this year. Just 15 players from the 2023 team are still here, according to the school." On Basketball: "Lovo hired Eric Olen from UC San Diego off an NCAA Tournament appearance, and every single player on the 2025-26 Lobo roster is new to the team. “I joke that Coach Olen walked into his first team meeting and there was nothing but chairs in the room”

I believe there is, but I won't be able to attend. 😡

Starting DL was- Dall Hull Laventure Durham

Cibastian Broughton wore #11. He played a bit early-on, but the bulk of the QB time was allotted to Johnson and Finley. Expect to see Broughton on the field somewhere in 2025. If not QB, then WR...returns...he's too athletic to redshirt. Mike Johnson Jr. had a nondescript day. He played a lot. But didn't show much. He's a big kid. But looked either rusty, or unpolished. We'll see how he improves, and how Joe decides to utilize him, as the weeks progress. As Ben Finley goes in 2025, so do the Zips. He exhibited his typical deft touch on deep balls over the middle, hitting Alex Adams and Myles Walker for long TD's. He also tossed a couple of picks. Based on what I saw yesterday, Owen Wiley seems to have a leg up on the competition with Matt Schramm for the kicker position. Wiley was perfect on the day. Schramm would have been too, but missed from 43 yards out. Matt Schramm hits a 32 yarder. Justin Anderson, a Washington State transfer, pulled in an INT on an overthrown ball by Mike Johnson. Too bad it happened a stride or two out of by camera's view. 🤬 Isreal Polk has a quiet day. Here, he pulled one in from Mike Johnson. Marcel Williams, a Marshall transfer, couldn't get credit for this nice catch, as his foot landed on the sideline. Williams did have a legit 30 yard TD catch from Finley earlier in the day. First time I'd ever seen Johnny Brookhart on the playing field? No sign of Brayden Ruggow today. Not sure if he was injured? Cam Macon (Walsh transfer) took the next handoff into the endzone. It was his only carry of the game. The bulk of today's running game was handled by Jordan Gant, the Tennessee State transfer. Gant looks like a strong, serviceable back. #13 Sean Patrick also saw a fair amount of action. The scrimmage ended with Myles Walker snaring a 15 yard TD courtesy of a Ben Finley toss. #99 Owen Wiley puts pressure on Cibastian Broughton. Just kidding...that's something the Beacon Journal would do. 😁 THIS #99 is Jaiden Brown-Demery, a 6' 4", 310 pound true freshman from West Mifflin Pa. Big kid. Played with the 2nd unit. #4 Justin Anderson snagged an errant Finley pass and made a nifty return. A few photos above, he also picked Johnson. #21 Catrell White (DB) also had a nice day in the secondary. He had a couple break ups in addition to a Finley pick. General observations - Good energy today. For an 8 am start, all the guys were whooping it up and having a good time. After the scrimmage Joe gathered the team as midfield, and immediately stressed the importance of the guys getting their schoolwork done. One odd occurrence - #34 Braydon Johnson is a Grad transfer punter from Indiana State. He absolutely skyed a 42-ish yard punt, which hit the turf and jumped another 20 yards down field. I have to assume the 2025 punter job is Castle's, but he does appear to have some strong-legged competition. Wyoming is 2 1/2 weeks away!

Bring in a couple food trucks and make an event out of it. Bring in some pop-up restaurant people. Get rid of the stale popcorn vendors.

Reminder? Who knew?