ZIPS LEFT FAR BEHIND IN 2ND HALF

J.D. Brookhart knew playing yet another non-conference game would be a tall order for the Zips - he was right, reports the Beacon Journal.

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Zips Helpless

The Zips had no answer as UConn rolls away, article in The Plain Dealer’s Big College Sunday.

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Huskies Start Second Half with a Bang

UConn senior cornerback Tyvon Branch was looking for payback against Akron, reports the Hartford Courant (he got it!)

The Akron game as seen through the eyes of UConn’s Andre Dixon.

UConn running back Donald Brown on was crutches after the Akron game, reports The Courant.

Hartford Courant UConn-Akron photo gallery

Big Second Half Lifts UConn over Akron, reports the Connecticut Post.

Dixon is back on track at UConn.

UConn Football Notebook, Connecticut Post

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Huskies devour Akron

Tyvon Branch said he needed a big play against Akron, and he got one with a kickoff return, reports The Bristol Press.

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AKRON-UCONN POST GAME QUOTES

University of Akron

HEAD COACH J.D. BROOKHART

On the difference between the first and second half performance of his team:

“For one, we played a good football team - obviously. We missed some opportunities and I think the momentum kind of shifted with the way the first half ended and that was disappointing. When you’re playing a team of this caliber, you have to play a lot better. You can’t make the mistakes and have the penalties that we had which killed drives. You got to play solid football and for the most part, we did in the first half and that’s why we were in it. I thought they wore us down a little bit in the second half. They’re a physical football team. I said in the beginning that they’re lot like a Big 10 team, and that kind of proved to be true in the second half. Coach Edsall has done a very nice job getting this program on track.”

On the disputed out-of-bounds play by QB Chris Jacquemain which ended the first half, nulling a possible scoring opportunity for the Zips:

“I think it affected the momentum of the game. Absolutely. I think these games are like that - there are swings in momentum that make a difference. Yeah, it does affect you and it certainly will affect you mentally. They shouldn’t - but they do. [Chris] was instructed clearly before the play that if its not there for a touchdown to throw it away. He didn’t understand that starting the tackle in bounds, means your in bounds and to get out of bounds you would have to get out clean for the officials to call it that way. That’s part of being an immature football player that he’s got to get better with. He has to follow instructions better, too.”

LB BRION STOKES

On the second half explosion of UConn RB’s Andre Dixon & Donald Brown:

“We’ve seen both running backs on film. They got us and I’ll congratulate them because both of them are good backs. They’re well-coached and they have a good team. We got to play better. In the first half, they only rushed for 18 yards. In the second half, they tried to come out and establish the run and they did.”

QB CHRIS JACQUEMAIN

On the play that ended the first half for Akron:

“I thought I’d made a mistake by not throwing the ball away on that play. I thought I got out of bounds to stop the clock but apparently I didn’t. Its one of those things I’m going to learn from and get better. Coach told me that I should’ve thrown the ball away and there really wasn’t a throw there. I thought I might be able to run it in and then I realized I couldn’t and tried to get out of bounds. [Coach] was just upset that the clock didn’t stop and we didn’t at least get a field goal out of the drive.”

On completing his first 10 passes to start the game:

“The first half, I was feeling good and I got a rhythm going. The first game of the year I played every snap of the game pretty much until the end and I felt I got a good rhythm going. I don’t know what the reason was for our downfall in the second half. We just didn’t execute and it didn’t play out the way we wanted it to.”

University of Connecticut

Head Coach Randy Edsall

Opening Statement:

“I’m very pleased with the win today. I thought our kids hung in there really well during the first half. We didn’t play as well offensively in the first half as we would have liked to with the field position we had especially in the first quarter. Then, we made some adjustments and said we felt we would throw the ball more to loosen the running game up. Tyler [Lorenzen] I thought executed the passing game really well.

“Defensively, I thought we played well pretty much the whole game. There were a couple of plays but we kept them out of the end zone for the most part and that’s always good. That’s the thing you want to do on defense. “

“Special teams, there are some concerns there. We missed the extra point, our kick coverage team was poor, and we have to get better at that. We’ll work on that this week and going into the bye week we’ll take a look at ourselves through the first five games, see what we did well, see where we could improve on, see where we need to go from here, get our guys healthy, and continue to make progress.”

You have to be encouraged that you haven’t played your best yet and you’re 5-0.

“We haven’t put it all together in all three phases, but again, realistically, I don’t know if anybody ever puts it together in a game for all three phases. I think there are things that happen but we’re striving to do that – we’re striving for perfection each and every game and each and every week – and we’re not going to be satisfying until we get it. It’s great that we’re winning, but it’s also great that we still have a lot of stuff we could improve upon.”

On Tyvon Branch’s kick return:

“I thought it was a big momentum swing for us. He has those capabilities to do that and we saw this week (in practice) that we thought if we could just secure the blocks long enough and get him a seam then he would be able to do that. That was big because again they scored, then we got back ahead, and I think that was good. We’ve been able to do that this year. We’ve been able to put ourselves in situations where we get behind and somebody scores and we go right back and answer. We just did it in a different way this week.”

What got the running game going in the second half?

“I think the fact that we threw the ball. We threw the ball and loosened them up and I think, and I don’t know I’d have to watch the film, but one of the things is because of us throwing so much I think they got a little tired. I think making them run side-line to side-line, the verticals down the field, getting them to have to run as much on defense, I thought that loosened it up a little bit. Sometimes you have to do that. Sometimes you have to throw the ball to be able to run it and we probably waited a little bit too long today to do that. That’s all me, that’s my fault.”

Tyvon’s return came after he just gotten beat for a touchdown catch. What does that tell you about him that he can come back like that and give you such a big play?

“I’d like to be able to tell you that he listens to his coaches when we say that when one play is over you move on to the next. I don’t know if that’s the case or not. I think it’s him being a senior and him being in the battles that he has been in and knows that, ‘Hey you can’t live with one play if you make a mistake.’ Jabari Arthur is a good receiver. We pretty much knew that that is what they [Akron] probably wanted to do down there and I thought that if he [Branch] were to turn into the guy he would have been better off instead of turning back inside. If he would have went into it and snapped his head I think he would have been able to play it better. Again, I think that’s the maturity level that we’re starting to get with these guys - guys that have been around and don’t panic, they don’t get flustered. I should have told him, but he owes me one after that anyway, but again I think it is the maturity level with Tyvon.”

RB Andre Dixon, Sophomore

Can you talk about the spark you gave this team today both running and receiving?

“Whatever my task is or whatever I am called to do, depending on the play call, I go out and do what is asked of me every play. When my number is called I go out and do my best.”

What made the running game so effective in the second half?

“The offensive line. They really came together there is a lot of chemistry up front. That really helped us out.”

You were a spark for your team today, do you like to be the spark for your team?

“I feel like I spark the team in practice, during the games, and in the weight room. I like to be high spirited in everything that I do. I think that helps because our team is very enthusiastic.”

Did you perform this way because of the opportunity that you got to play?

“No, I always perform this way, but the opportunity came now, so I took advantage of it. I have always given 110% in everything that I did and that is what set me up to do what I did out there today.”

Coming into today there were 23 teams undefeated, four of them unranked, one of those teams is UConn, are you guys getting the respect that you deserve?

“I don’t even care about what is going on with that, we just want to play our type of ball every game, every play, every practice, do what we do and all of that will take care of itself. I don’t care about rankings or AP votes we just have to do what we need to do.”

RG Donald Thomas, Senior

Can you talk about the spark that Andre Dixon gave to you today?

“He has a lot of energy and just so much passion for the game. When he gets into the game it as an extra boost. He just runs the ball so hard and if he gets hit is always gets right back on his foot and is ready for more.”

You guys are playing great, 5-0, do you think the bye week has come at a bad time?

“I think you can look at it at coming at a good time because we have a lot of guys that are banged up after five straight games and it will give them a little time to heal. At the same time we want to keep rolling, but it might be hard to stay focused, especially for the young guys.”

Do you think Akron got tired because of you guys passing the ball so much?:

“In the first half we only ran like 25 plays on both sides of the ball, which really isn’t a lot and we were well rested. In the second half we started pouring it on and getting some longer drives which is where the conditioning comes into play. I think that we are a very well conditioned team and we are able to wear our opponents down.”

SR, LB, Danny Lansanah:

On being 5-0:

“It feels good to work all summer and then come out and accomplish the goals that we wanted. It feels good.”

On the bye week:

“This bye week is coming at a perfect time because we have some guys that are banged up today. We have extra days to recover and get ready for Virginia. We are going to watch them tonight and it just gives us more time to study them and for our bodies to recover.”

On the defense:

“I think that when we settle down we are a great defense; we swarmed to the ball and tackled. We were just going out and having fun and that is what football is about having fun and making plays.”

On the defense playing to expectations:

“We try to limit big plays in the game and today they got a few big plays on us. When we limit the big plays to zero then our defense will be up to our expectations.”

JR, RB, Donald Brown:

What opened up the running game?

“The passing game was awesome this week; Tyler did a great job, and the offensive line did a great job of protecting. This opened a hole for the running game tremendously.”

On the running game:

“Akron did a great job of shutting down the run in the first half; I think we only ran the ball a few times in the first half. After we started airing the ball out, the running game opened up.”

On injury:

“It is just an ankle sprain and they are treating it conservatively so I will be back next week. It happened in the third quarter; it got twisted up a little bit but I will be alright.”

JR, QB, Tyler Lorenzen:

On the momentum swing:

“Tyvon Branch took one back for a touchdown which gave us momentum. We try to feed off each other and play as a unit and get it done.”

On passing game:

“When they tried to crowd the box and do things like that to stop our great running back we have to put it in the air. It is our job as wide receivers, quarterbacks, offensive line and even running backs to execute the pass. I thought that we did a pretty good job. We have to give Akron a lot of credit because they really came after us and played well.”

SR, CB, Tyvon Branch

On kickoff return after giving up touchdown:

“I never get down on the field; the boys always rally around me to pick me up. They told me that if I make a big play, the offense will get going and everything will get going. So I had to go out there and set the tone for the offense and bounce back from the play that I just gave up.”

On return:

“I always told them if they gave me a seam that I would break one. They gave me a good seam and I made a cut and then it was off to the races.”

On bouncing back:

“It is always good to bounce back after something like that and the boys fired up. It feels good to bounce back.”

(source: Akron Media Relations)

(photos: Bob Child/AP)

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Miami beats Syracuse, Army drills Temple and Kent State beats OU in Athens - complete MAC results for week #5.

Contact Don Olson at: donolson160@yahoo.com

EAST HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Andre Dixon ran for 116 yards and Tyvon Branch ran a kickoff back 97 yards for a touchdown to spark undefeated Connecticut to a 44-10 win over Akron on Saturday.

The 5-0 start is the best for a UConn team since 1995 when the Huskies went 6-0 as a Division I-AA school.

Akron (2-3) had a 10-9 lead with 4:04 left in the first half after a 6-yard touchdown pass from Chris Jacquemain to Jabari Arthur, but didn’t score again.

UConn began its 35-point run on the ensuing kickoff when Branch grabbed the ball on the 3, made one move to his left, and went up the middle of the field to make it 16-10.

Connecticut quarterback Tyler Lorenzen completed 17 of 26 passes for 203 yards with an interception and two touchdown passes. One of those went to Dixon, who also had a 55-yard touchdown run.

Jacquemain was 19-of-28 for 145 yards for Akron, with a touchdown and an interception. He completed his first 10 passes including five in a row on the game’s first scoring drive, which ended with a 28-yard field goal from Igor Iveljic.

UConn answered by going 70 yards in seven plays, capped when Dixon caught a pass in the left flat from Lorenzen and ran it in. UConn kicker Tony Ciaravino missed the extra point, but later hit on his seventh consecutive field goal, a 45-yarder, to give the Huskies a 9-3 lead.

The Zips’ Bryan Williams returned the ensuing kickoff 58 yards, and Akron was in the end zone two minutes later on Arthur’s touchdown.

The Zips drove to the UConn 3 just before halftime, but poor clock management allowed the time to run out before they could score. On second down with 24 seconds left, Jacquemain scrambled to the sideline and was forced out. Officials ruled his forward progress had been stopped before he went out of bounds, and allowed the clock to run. The Zips didn’t realize what was happening and were lining up for a field goal as UConn players were running to the locker room.

Connecticut scored three third-quarter touchdowns, on drives of 60, 71, and 90 yards to put the game away.

Connecticut was one of 23 undefeated teams heading into Saturday, and one of just four not ranked in the AP Top 25.

Akron played without its top defender, defensive back John Mackey, who suffered a season-ending knee injury during the Zips’ 27-20 win over Kent State last week. Mackey led the team in tackles and is its defensive captain.

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Akron Notes at Connecticut

Team

• Akron’s defensive did not allow any first-quarter points, marking the third time this season it has accomplished the feat (Army and Ohio State ). Overall, Akron has only allowed 17 first-quarter points this season, including 10 at Indiana and seven versus Kent State .

• The 44 points allowed by the Zips was the most points they have surrendered since falling, 51-23 at Miami (OH) on Oct. 15, 2005.

• The 97-yard kickoff return by Tyvon Branch was the first the Zips had surrendered since Eastern Michigan ’s Steven Clay did it in 1993 (95 yards).

• Akron had scored in the red zone on its first 12 tries this season, including twice in the first half. However, The Zips did not score inside the red zone on the final play of the first half nor did they late in the third quarter.

Individual

• Chris Jacquemain got the start at quarterback and was 7-of-7 passing in the first quarter for 66 yards. On the final drive of the first quarter, which carried over to the start of the second, Akron converted three third downs, including a 19-yard pass to Arthur on 3rd and 12, an 18-yard pass to Arthur on 3rd and 6 and a six-yard pass to Arthur on 3rd and 1. The drive, which covered 69 yards in 13 plays, ended with a 28-yard Igor Iveljic field goal, giving Akron a 3-0 lead.

• Jacquemain would complete his first 10 passes of the game for 93 yards until having an incompletion with 9:30 left in the second quarter.

• Igor Iveljic’s 28-yard field goal to give Akron a 3-0 lead early in the second quarter was Iveljic’s fifth consecutive make. He is 7-of-8 on the season and a perfect 5-of-5 inside of 30 yards. Iveljic made his only PAT and, since missing his first attempt of the season, has not missed a PAT.

•  Bryan Williams had a 56-yard kickoff return after UConn tool a 9-3 lead. It was his third return over 50 yards, joining a 70-yarder versus Army and a 54-yarder versus Kent State .

• Andre Jones picked off a Tyler Lorenzen pass on the first play of the third quarter. It was his second of the season and Akron has had at least one pick in each game this season (eight total for the team this season).

• John Stec had two 51-yard punts in the third quarter. It was his third punt of at least 50 yards this season (also having a 54-yarder versus Ohio State ) and the eighth of his career.

• Jabari Arthur had eight receptions for 81 yards. It was his second-highest amount of receptions this season, trailing his career-high of 11 versus Army, and the fifth time he has had at least eight catches in a game for his career.

(source:  Akron Media Relations)

UConn write up

GoZips.com write up

Scoring Summary & Game stats 

MAC results

TALE OF THE TAPE

Akron (2-2, 1-0 MAC East, 1-0 MAC Overall)

at Connecticut (4-0, 1-0 Big East)

Site: Rentschler Field (40,000, natural grass) - Storrs, CT

Television: ESPN Plus/ESPN Game Plan, WUAB 43 in Cleveland, complete list of TV stations nationwide

Radio: SportsRadio 1350/Akron, WERE 1490 AM/Cleveland

Series Record: UConn leads 2-0. The Huskies won 38-37 in the last meeting in 2003.

Coaches: UA-J.D. Brookhart (20-20, fourth season); UConn-Randy Edsall (45-51, 9th season)

Line: UConn by 13 1/2

^{GAME NOTES: The Zips snapped a two-game losing streak with a conference-opening 27-20 come from behind win over Kent State … the Huskies are off to a perfect 4-0 start after a 34-14 win at Pittsburgh … UConn also edged MAC member Temple 22-17 on Sept. 15 … Akron’s defense forced four turnovers, had three sacks and seven tackles for a loss last week … Davanzo Tate secured the win vs. KSU with an interception in the end zone as time expired … DB John Mackey, the Sept. 15 MAC East Division Player of the Week, was injured vs. KSU and will be out for the near future … the Zips are one of four MAC teams averaging less than 100 rushing yards per game, yet their 97.2 ypg is better than last year’s production of 83.8 ypg … Akron begins a stretch where it plays four of the next five games on the road … the Zips lead the MAC in scoring defense, allowing 23.8 ppg, and are tied for first with a plus-seven turnover margin … UConn is allowing just 11.3 ppg this season.}

(game notes: Mid-American Conference)

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Unbeaten Huskies a challenge for Zips, the Beacon Journal reports.

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The Connecticut Post reports that the Huskies are focused entirely on the Zips.

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ON DEFENSE, ZIPS UP TO SPEED

Zips senior linebacker Brion Stokes tells the Hartford Courant, that, “We haven’t got our BCS win yet.”

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EDGE TO THE HUSKIES

The Connecticut Post has a pretty fair assessment of the Zips-Huskies game. They predict a 27-10 UConn victory.

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VA-TECH STUDENT CONFUSED AND DISMAYED

A Virginia Tech student can’t understand how “Zippy the Kangaroo” could beat Hokiebird in the Capital One Bowl Mascot Competition! Heaven forbid! The student admonishes Tech fans to support their bird in a letter to the Collegient Times, the Hokie student newspaper.

Zippy’s current victim is “Otto” from Syracuse. Let’s all support Zippy as much as we can. Our mascot deserves it after attending every football and basketball game since 1953.

Don’t forget to vote for Zippy daily!

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The Plain Dealer features OU QB Brad Bower, who left the Big 10 (11) to play in the MAC.

CMU is looking to bounce back this week against N. Illinois.

The Western Herald is reporting that Saturday’s game against Toledo is a must win for the Western Michigan Broncos.

The Columbus Dispatch has caught up and published an article on the alleged proposal to merge Cleveland State and Akron. This article provides more context, which once read, becomes clear that the intent is to coordinate cirriculum and programming rather than the institutions themselves - details the Pee Dee failed to mention in their soft story.

Contact Don Olson at: donolson160@yahoo.com

ANOTHER DEFENSIVE STRUGGLE?

As the 2-2 Akron Zips travel to East Hartford, CT this weekend to take on the 4-0 University of Connecticut Huskies, one has to look at the similarities between the two teams. Both have very strong defenses. The Huskies’ offense has been inconsistent. The Zips offense has been non-existent.

Tough “D”

UConn’s defense has rated amongst the best in the nation through the first four games. The Huskies are ranked 12th in total defense, giving up just 250 yards per game - 10th in passing defense and seventh in scoring defense. The D-Line is very athletic and the secondary can smother an opponents passing game. UConn has yielded just three passing touchdowns this season, while returning three interceptions for touchdowns.

As stingy as the Huskies defense can be, they are vulnerable against the run up the middle, which is good for the Zips as they start the fleet-footed Carlton Jackson. But still, the young Zips’ O-line is going to have its hands full with a tenacious Huskie defense.

Inconsistent Offense

Offensively, the Huskie line is suspect, giving up nine sacks in the Temple game and 13 so far this season. Without a doubt, the running game is the Huskies’ strong suit, which has produced on average, 161 yards per game, despite a low output last week against Pittsburgh with only 115 yards in 46 carries. Sophomore tailback Donald Brown is their leading rusher, averaging 4.2 yard per carry and 73 yards per game. When given time to throw, junior quarterback Tyler Lorenzen has four fantastic receivers to choose from, Terrence Jeffers, D.J. Hernandez, Larry Taylor and Brad Kanuch.

Key for the Zips

Simply stated, the Akron offense is going to have to get its act together. Unless UConn pulls a Kent State and turns the ball over giving the Zips the opportunity to capitalize, Akron’s offense must improve if it is going to win this game. The Zips must continue the improvement that they displayed in the second half of the Kent game. Defensively, Akron is going to have to put pressure on Lorenzen, who is coming off a sub par performance against Pitt, in order to prevent him from capitalizing on his solid corps of receivers.

True, the Huskies are 4-0, but they have played the likes of Duke, Maine, Temple and Pitt. Temple gave the Huskies their best game, and if you ask many, should have won, but were ripped off by the officials.

The Bottom Line

One has to give the edge to the Huskies because of their solid receivers, running game and defense. However, the Zips have a good chance to pull an upset, but only if their offense begins to gel and the defense puts pressure on the UConn quarterback.

Currently, UConn is favored by 13 points.

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ZIPS LAST NON-CONFERENCE GAME AGAINST BIG EAST

The Buchtelite previews the UConn game.

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The Mid-American Conference admits Temple was ripped off in its game against UConn a few weeks ago - the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

See the play for yourself on You Tube.

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ZIPS TIE BUCKEYES

Akron’s soccer team plays to a 1-1 tie against Ohio State, the nation’s 25th ranked team. Beacon Journal Report.

CMU IN SHAMBLES

Chips coach Butch Jones is facing a firestorm of negativity after last weekend’s loss to I-AA N. Dakota State, reports cm-life.com.

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MAC TV SCHEDULE

^{TV Schedule}

^{Sep. 29 12:00 PM Temple @ Army ESPNU}

^{Sep. 29 12:00 PM Akron @ Connecticut ESPN Plus/GamePlan}

^{Sep. 29 12:00 PM Northern Illinois @ Central Michigan ESPN Plus/GamePlan}

^{Sep. 29 3:00 PM Kent State @ Ohio FSN Ohio/All-MACcess}

^{Sep. 29 3:00 PM Western Michigan @ Toledo BCSN (delayed)/All-MACcess}

^{Sep. 29 3:00 PM Syracuse @ Miami ONN Cincinnati/Dayton/ ESPN GamePlan, Time-Warner Cable (Upstate NY)/All-MACcess}

^{Sep. 29 6:00 PM W. Kentucky @ Bowling Green BCSN (live) /All-MACcess}

^{All Times Local to Site}

^Affiliates

^{Sep. 29 12:00 PM Northern Illinois @ Central Michigan ESPN Plus/GamePlan}

^{WPWR (Chicago); WPHL (Philadelphia); WXYZ (Detroit); WEWS (Cleveland); WNDY (Indianapolis); WWHO (Columbus); WKRC (Cincinnati), WDJT (Milwaukee); WXSP (Grand Rapids/Kalamazoo); WNGS (Buffalo); WKEF (Dayton); WNEM (Flint/Saginaw/Bay City); WTVG (Toledo); WCWW (South Bend/Elkhart); WAZE (Evansville); WYTV (Youngstown); WISE (Fort Wayne); WHTV (Lansing); WRQX (Traverse City/Cadillac) WAOE (Peoria/Bloomington); WTVO-DT2 (Rockford); WMQF (Marquette).}

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Contact Don Olson at: donolson160@yahoo.com

AKRON COACH IGNORES “ACT OF THUGGERY”

In what clearly reads like an opinion column, but is not identified as such, Kent-Ravenna Wretched Courier Kent State beat writer Dave Carducci accuses Akron defensive lineman Eric Lively of dirty play and coach Brookhart for not doing anything about it. The dirty tricks allegedly occured in the second quarter of the Zips 27-20 victory over the Flashes.

I was at the Rubber  Bowl Saturday, but did not have a vantage point on the play.  Talk on the forums in support of Lively state he’s a good kid who was just playing hard up until the whistle was blown

Either way, strong charges for a journalist to allege.  Seems to me that the reporter had better check his facts and get all sides to the story before turning into a shill for the team he is suppose to be covering and keeping an objective point of view about.

Question:  Does Carducci receive payment for his pontification on KentSportsReport?  If so, wouldn’t that be a conflict of interest?  I think so.

Now that Dave has given his opinion, let me give mine about his article.  I will use word economy - B.S.

 Carducci writes his opinion for KentSportsReport.com.

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CORNER-STONE OF THE DEFENSE

Akron cornerback Reggie Corner has improved, both on the field and in the classroom. Article on GoZips.com .

(photo: Jeff Harwell/Zips Sports Photography)

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KENT STATE PHOTO ALBUM

Some great shots of the Kent game are now posted on GoZips.com

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BROOKHART TO FIGHT FOR MACKEY ELIGIBILITY

Mike Rasor blogs that J.D. Brookhart will do everything he can to get injured senior John Mackey another year of eligibility. Mackey injured an ACL in Saturday’s victory over Kent State.

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ZIPS THIRD IN MAC POWER RANKINGS

Brian Golden of MACReportOnline thinks, and rightly so, that Ball State is the best team in the MAC. Akron, after their victory against Kent, is ranked third behind Bowling Green.

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HUH?

Check out this line from the UConn Huskies Akron game notes:

“UConn is 4-0 after three games for the first time since 1997…”

The Zips are going to have a difficult time with a team that can have a 4-0 record after playing only three games.

Go figure!

FALCONS SUSPEND LINEMEN

Bowling Green has suspended two linemen for breaking team rules, reports The Blade in Toledo.

Meanwhile, the Sentinel-Tribune reports that the Falcons are preparing for Western Kentucky.

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Jalen Parmele seems to be the Toledo Rockets kickoff return man, after trying four other, reports The Blade.

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Quale Lewis, Ball State’s leading rusher, could be out for the season with a knee injury, reports the Muncie Star.

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The Mid-American Conference previews week#5 action.

Contact Don Olson at: donolson160@yahoo.com

BROOKHART MENTIONED AS POSSIBLE REPLACEMENT

The Pigskin Press is reporting that J.D. Brookhart’s name “will start to be thrown around” as a possible replacement for Colorado State’s Sonny Lubick. Brookhart is a 1988 Colorado State graduate and still has many ties to the program.

Colorado State has had a rough start to the current season. At 0-3, they have lost to cross-state rival Colorado, California and Houston.

Brookhart is no doubt an up and comer - but, in our opinion, has yet to arrive. With regard to his success at Akron coach said, “…we got famous before we got good.” I think that just about sums it up. Brookhart has had a certain degree of success at Akron, and has taken the program to where it has never gone before, but he has to do it consistently for a number of years before being mentioned as a replacement for every BCS coaching position that comes up.

What makes this particular situation disturbing, is that Colorado State is Brookhart’s alma mater, which gives Zips fans reason to be nervous.

All Akron fans have to do is look to the east, where Kent State basketball coach Jim Christian has been mentioned as a replacement for many big-time openings. He has even gone on a few interviews. The difference here, however, is that Christian has guided the Flashes to five 20 win seasons, four MAC eastern division championships and four appearances in the post season. He has an impressive record on the mid-major level.

As Zips fans, all we can hope for is that Brookhart, in football, has the same degree of success as Kent’s Christian in basketball. We may not like it, but that’s how it is in the MAC.

(photo: Mike Cardew/Akron Beacon Journal)

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“WE HAVE TO PLAY A BETTER BRAND OF FOOTBALL…”

One of the things that I really like about Akron head coach J.D. Brookhart is that his comments rate low on the B.S. meter. In his weekly news conference, coacher came right out and said what’s on his mind. Even though the Zips registered a huge win against Kent State, he knows the team must play better, despite the fact that many star players were either hobbling or wobbling with injury. The Zips stuck it out and showed that they’re a bunch of scrappers. (photo: AK-OLDIES)

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BOO TO CHANNEL 5

I was giving WEWS Channel 5 in Cleveland the benefit of the doubt - that they dumped out of the Akron-Kent State game with two minutes to play to switch to the Ohio State - Northwestern yawner because of contractural obligations or something important like that.

WRONG!

The Beacon Journal reports today that Program Director Gary Stark just thought the Ohio State game was more important and didn’t want to feel the wrath of Buckeye fans.  I wonder if Mr. Stark knows how rude his weekend sports producer was in e-mails to Zip fans who complained?

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MACKEY OUT FOR SEASON

The Beacon Journal confirms what many of us already knew - John Mackey is out for the season…unfortunately.

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Efficient play guides Akron - so writes Elton Alexander of the Pee Dee in this week’s MAC Insider.

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Reporter Donte Durham has a video report on coach Brookhart’s news conference and the Wagon Wheel game.

Coach Brookhart’s aggressive coaching strategies are what made the Zips victorious Saturday, so says the Buchtelite’s Adam Ferrise.

Notes from coach Brookhart’s news conference.

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ZIP IS MAC EAST DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK….AGAIN!

The Mid-American Conference has named four Eastern Division players of the week - three of them have been Zips. Bryon Stokes, a senior linebacker, was named MAC Eastern Division player of the week. Stokes had ten tackles, nine of them solo, in the Zips 27-20 victory over Kent State. John Mackey and Reggie Corner are the other Zips to receive the honor this season.

(photo: Jeff Harwell, Zips Sports Photography)

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The Wagon Wheel rolls home - The Buchtelite reports.

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Jeff Sagarin rates the Zips #83 in this week’s poll. Kent drops to #97.

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ZIPPY TOP VOTE GETTER

The rest of the nation is beginning to discover what we Zips fans have known for a long time - Zippy is awesome! The blue & gold marcupial has defeated the bird with the Hokie characteristics and now advances to take on some orange thing from New York named Otto in the CapitalOne Bowl mascot competition.

Vote for Zippy here

(photo: AK-OLDIES)

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WKYC-TV (Cleveland) reports that Zippy is on a roll!

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VanDelaySports.com has a recap of MAC week #4 action.

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NO REPEAT THIS YEAR

CM-Life, the Central Michigan student paper points out that there hasn’t been a repeat champion in the Mid-American Conference since Marshall in 2000, and there sure as heck isn’t going to be one this year.

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OT-(Off Topic)

UNIVERSITY OF AKRON WILL NOT LOSE IDENTITY

Akron President Luis Proenza said the university will remain a separate institution if a proposal to merge some of its programs with other state-supported universities hinderes it in any way. The Buchtelite buried the lead as it published this report.

Contact Don Olson at: donolson160@yahoo.com

ZIPS PREPARE FOR HUSKIES

The celebrations are over and now it’s time to start thinking about UConn.  The Huskies of the Big East are 4-0, beating Duke, Maine, Temple and Pittsburgh,  going in to this weeks game against Akron. 

If you’re looking for more info on the UConn program, visit their official athletic site.  WARNING, there is an obnoxious “First Down Huskies” audio file that will greet you the first time you visit the site.

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ZIPPY BEATS HOKIEBIRD

The best college mascot in the world, Zippy, has defeated Hokiebird of Virginia Tech in week #2 of the CapitalOneBowl mascot competition.

It was touch and go Sunday night, with Hokiebird winning late in the evening.  However, Zippy fans came through!

The article in today’s Beacon Journal hopefully had an impact.

Zippy now goes up against “Otto” from Syracuse.  You can vote for Zippy by visiting CapitalOneBowl.com.

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FRED-N-SARA

Ran into this blog, Fred-N-Sara.  Fred and Sara live near the Rubber Bowl.  Fred is an Akron alumn and a big football and University of Akron fan.

Sara is a Kent grad, and not a big football fan (ha, typical).  Fred talked Sara into attending the Akron-Kent game Saturday (good for you Fred).

After the game, Sara, noting the Zips superiority on the gridiron,  follows up with a little smack! 

Stay tuned as ZipsWire brings you the continuing saga of:  Fred-N-Sara! 

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MacReportOnline has a recap of Week #4 action.  Please note the excellent composition and qaulity on the photo of the Zips reclaiming the Wagaon Wheel.  Modesty prevents me from identifying the photographer. (blush)

OT-(Off Topic)

Well, it seems The very Plain Dealer is positioning itself to support this idea of some type of merger between Akron and Cleveland State with this editorial that ran in Sunday’s paper. 

Note:  The Pee Dee ran an article Friday stating that the Ohio higher education chancellor Eric Fingerhut is thinking about it - although the story lacked credible attribution.

Pho’s Akron pages weighs in on the idea.

Contact Don Olson at:  donolson160@yahoo.com

MISTAKES COST THE FLASHES

The story of the game for Kent State: four fumbles, two of which were lost, and two interceptions.

Two great defenses took the field at the Rubber Bowl yesterday. Going in to the contest, Kent State was ranked #1 and Akron #2 in the Mid-American Conference. These teams were evenly matched, however, Kent State seemed to have more success in moving the ball than the Zips. The difference would be the turnovers and the Zips ability to capitalize on them.

Big Plays

The Flashes may have shot themselves in the foot, as Kent State head coach Doug Martin said in his post-game news conference. However, the Zips were effective in making the Flashes pay for their mistakes.

Less than gracious

I know he was frustrated and the comments game shortly after a hard-fought game, however I get the impression that coach Martin lacked some class in his post-game comments.

“We drove up and down the field on Akron’s defense,” said coach Martin. “They had absolutely no answer for us,” he added.

This may be true, but I don’t think the Flashes moved as freely as he pointed out. In addition, the Flashes were not the only ones shooting themselves in the foot. Akron had its share of mistakes - a dropped pass by an Akron receiver (I don’t know which) in the first quarter, to name one, with nothing but field in front of him.

Coach Martin also fails to point out that something happened to the Zips running attack at halftime. The Flashes repeatedly stopped the Zips running game in the first half. However, in the second half, the Zips moved the ball effectively, with what seemed to be the same plays in which the Flashes were successful at stopping in the first half.

I would like to believe that had the Flashes won, that coach Brookhart would have congratulated Kent on playing a passionate game. No one is going to confuse Martin with Jim Tressel or Jim Denison - if you get my drift.

Rivalry Renewed

Fans from both sides are to be congratulated for supporting their teams with great passion. I get the sense that the Akron-Kent State rivalry is at its highest point. KSU fans are to be congratulated for traveling well Saturday. The AK-ROWDIES and the rest of the Akron cheering section were equally enthusiastic. As written in this space previously, the rivalry is better when both teams are winning.

As a student, I remember seeing the Wagon Wheel in the trophy case in Memorial Hall for years. Can someone drop me a a line to let me know where they display it now? I would appreciate it.

Akron adds to their overall lead in the series 28-20-2.

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MACKEY OUT

Posts on Zipsnation quote credible sources that senior defensive back John Mackey is likely out for the season with a torn ACL. If true, he will be missed on the field. But from what I hear about this fine young man, his leadership in the locker room and on the sideline will continue. Good luck with the rehab John!

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The Zips used emotion to “wheel” past the Flashes. (catchy, eh?) Beacon Journal write up

The Flashes were, once again, their own worst enemy. Stephanie Storm of the Beacon reports fron the Kent side of things.

Big plays and defense lead the Zips to victory. The Plain Dealer write up from Elton Alexander.

The Plain Dealer also reports that the Zips-Flashes game will have a ripple effect for the rest of the season for both teams.

Game Summary, from The Plain Dealer

Flashes Fizzle in Akron. Kent State Sports Report

Record Courier write up

Zips get revenge, writes the Canton Repository

Mistakes bring down Flashes, The Tribune-Chronicle (Warren)

KentStateSports.com

Mike Rasor blogs.

Game stats

Week #4 Summary from the Mid-American Conference

MACReportOnline Score Board for Week #4

OT (Off Topic) 

Contact Don Olson at: donolson160@yahoo.com

ZIPS WIN THE WAGON WHEEL!

CLICK ON THE PICTURE BELOW TO VIEW THE ZIPS

BRINGING THE WAGON WHEEL HOME!

GoZips.com game write up.

WAGON WHEEL GAME IS HERE

This promises to be one of the more hotly contested Akron-Kent State game in years. Both teams have outstanding defense, with Kent State ranked number on, and Akron ranked number two in the Mid-American Conference.

How will each team’s offense adjust? The Beacon Journal has a preview.

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The Plain Dealer reports something the Zips wish was happening for them - their kicking game is improving.

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Contact Don Olson at: donolson160@yahoo.com