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First game mismatch is easily forgotten with new stadium opening on Saturday
By Tom Gaffney
Beacon Journal sports writer
POSTED: 09:36 p.m. EDT, Sep 07, 2009
The loss was expected and the payday has been accepted.
Now it's time for the University of Akron football team to forget about a 31-7 defeat at Penn State on Saturday and begin concentrating on the celebrated debut of InfoCision Stadium this Saturday against Morgan State.
''It's pretty easy to put it behind you when you have this weekend coming up, with the new stadium,'' said senior quarterback Chris Jacquemain. ''And it's how you deal with any tough loss. You have to start game-planning for the next week.''
Penn State, which was tied for ninth in the Associated Press media preseason poll and was eighth in the USA Today coaches preseason poll, was a 27-point favorite and wasted little time in establishing its dominance.
The Nittany Lions led 31-0 at halftime and the statistical breakdown reflected such a disparity. Penn State had a 344-8 advantage in total yardage and a 16-0 edge in first downs.
A forgettable first 30 minutes of the season saw bad turn to worse, as mistakes were compounded by more mistakes.
''Very much a snowball effect,'' UA coach J.D. Brookhart said today during his weekly news conference. ''Field position, trying to do too much, tough situations, can't hear, etc. etc. It was a lot of things, but no excuses for it.''
The Zips played for pride in the second half, and did have a 7-0 edge in points and a 178-171 advantage in total yardage.
''The second half, we got on track, calmed things down a bit, made some adjustments,'' Brookhart said. ''Real growing pains we went through. Hopefully, you will see a huge difference between that team and this week's team.''
Brookhart said he did not have to remind his players that the Nittany Lions are the best team on the Zips schedule and that any positives must be carried over to the rest of the 11-game schedule.
'I don't think there is any loss of confidence. We played a good football team and we didn't play well. That's the bottom line,'' Brookhart said. ''They [UA players] know that. We're a much better football team offensively than you saw.''
While the Zips saw the second half as reason for optimism, Penn State coach Joe Paterno thought it was a matter of his team sleepwalking through the final two quarters.
''We had a terrible second half. We got soft. We thought the game was over,'' Paterno said in his post-game news conference. ''We weren't very sharp. There are a lot of young kids and they thought the thing was over at halftime. We just didn't have any consistency in the second half.''
While the trip to Happy Valley was full of frustrations for the football team, the athletic department received a boost in revenue, which is always welcomed at non-BCS schools. Penn State essentially bought this game by paying $650,000 to UA, according to Penn State sources.
''They are a necessity to a program right now,'' Brookhart said about the big payday for a UA athletic department whose budget is about $19 million. ''They also are a tremendous opportunity for a program. There is good and bad to everything in these choice of games.''
These money-driven games don't always work against the Zips. Brookhart's teams have beaten two BCS teams on the road in the past three seasons — North Carolina State in 2006 and Syracuse in 2008.
The opposition for the stadium opener is Morgan State, which plays in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA).
The Bears are members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and are coming off a 6-6 record in 2008. The game with the Zips is their 2009 season opener.
Morgan State is led by quarterback Carlton Jackson, who played for the Zips in 2006 and 2007 before transferring.
Captains are picked
Three UA players have been named captains for the 2009 season in voting by the full squad.
The captains are: senior center Elliott Bates (offense), junior linebacker Mike Thomas (defense) and senior linebacker Amin Kabir (special teams).
Tom Gaffney can be reached at tgaffney@thebeaconjournal.com.
The loss was expected and the payday has been accepted.
Now it's time for the University of Akron football team to forget about a 31-7 defeat at Penn State on Saturday and begin concentrating on the celebrated debut of InfoCision Stadium this Saturday against Morgan State.
''It's pretty easy to put it behind you when you have this weekend coming up, with the new stadium,'' said senior quarterback Chris Jacquemain. ''And it's how you deal with any tough loss. You have to start game-planning for the next week.''
Penn State, which was tied for ninth in the Associated Press media preseason poll and was eighth in the USA Today coaches preseason poll, was a 27-point favorite and wasted little time in establishing its dominance.
The Nittany Lions led 31-0 at halftime and the statistical breakdown reflected such a disparity. Penn State had a 344-8 advantage in total yardage and a 16-0 edge in first downs.
A forgettable first 30 minutes of the season saw bad turn to worse, as mistakes were compounded by more mistakes.
''Very much a snowball effect,'' UA coach J.D. Brookhart said today during his weekly news conference. ''Field position, trying to do too much, tough situations, can't hear, etc. etc. It was a lot of things, but no excuses for it.''
The Zips played for pride in the second half, and did have a 7-0 edge in points and a 178-171 advantage in total yardage.
''The second half, we got on track, calmed things down a bit, made some adjustments,'' Brookhart said. ''Real growing pains we went through. Hopefully, you will see a huge difference between that team and this week's team.''
Brookhart said he did not have to remind his players that the Nittany Lions are the best team on the Zips schedule and that any positives must be carried over to the rest of the 11-game schedule.
'I don't think there is any loss of confidence. We played a good football team and we didn't play well. That's the bottom line,'' Brookhart said. ''They [UA players] know that. We're a much better football team offensively than you saw.''
While the Zips saw the second half as reason for optimism, Penn State coach Joe Paterno thought it was a matter of his team sleepwalking through the final two quarters.
''We had a terrible second half. We got soft. We thought the game was over,'' Paterno said in his post-game news conference. ''We weren't very sharp. There are a lot of young kids and they thought the thing was over at halftime. We just didn't have any consistency in the second half.''
While the trip to Happy Valley was full of frustrations for the football team, the athletic department received a boost in revenue, which is always welcomed at non-BCS schools. Penn State essentially bought this game by paying $650,000 to UA, according to Penn State sources.
''They are a necessity to a program right now,'' Brookhart said about the big payday for a UA athletic department whose budget is about $19 million. ''They also are a tremendous opportunity for a program. There is good and bad to everything in these choice of games.''
These money-driven games don't always work against the Zips. Brookhart's teams have beaten two BCS teams on the road in the past three seasons — North Carolina State in 2006 and Syracuse in 2008.
The opposition for the stadium opener is Morgan State, which plays in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA).
The Bears are members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and are coming off a 6-6 record in 2008. The game with the Zips is their 2009 season opener.
Morgan State is led by quarterback Carlton Jackson, who played for the Zips in 2006 and 2007 before transferring.
Captains are picked
Three UA players have been named captains for the 2009 season in voting by the full squad.
The captains are: senior center Elliott Bates (offense), junior linebacker Mike Thomas (defense) and senior linebacker Amin Kabir (special teams).
Tom Gaffney can be reached at tgaffney@thebeaconjournal.com.
Comments
Click here to post your comments
Canton, OH
Posted 09:59 PM, 09/07/2009
I wanna piece of Carlton Jackson. . .
Highland Square, OH
Posted 02:08 AM, 09/08/2009
"These money-driven games don't always work against the Zips. Brookhart's teams have beaten two BCS teams on the road in the past three seasons — North Carolina State in 2006 and Syracuse in 2008."
There's a big difference between NC State and Penn State. I understand that these money games are a boost to the athletic department, but if we want to build a grass roots following with this stadium...those games just wont cut it.
UA should aspire to be the Boise State or the BYU of the East. Cliche? Yes. But you don't spend 61.5 million on a football stadium and schedule an automatic loss every year. It kills momentum, fan support, and your record.
No way, no how. Not worth it. Sold out stadium. Sold out suites for five years. Five times as many sponsors as the past. There's plenty of other ways to get money to the program than taking a pay game. This stadium offers many.
Good luck Wistricill(I'll get it right eventually), and don't disappoint!
akron, OH
Posted 07:02 AM, 09/08/2009
There's just something almost immoral about sending your troops out knowing in your heart that they are going to lose for a payday?
Akron, Oh
Posted 07:54 AM, 09/08/2009
Where's the 10 win fanactics now? This group of misfits may and it is a huge may, win 4 games.
hudson, oh
Posted 11:48 AM, 09/08/2009
Did you pay for a parking pass (transportation fee) and have a Saturday class? You gotta pay more, your pass is invalid. Another slap in the face of those who actually pay to attend.
This stadium will be empty by next season.
It's very ugly. No end zone seats? What is this, a high school facility?
$6 million would have been to much for the erector set they got, let alone $61 million.
Taxpayers taken for a ride again.
Oh, and your $1000 for $200 worth ($10 worth at end of semester) of textbooks will help fund the playground.
Even their nickname (Zips) instills a loser image.
Let's call them the "Zilch's", "Zero's" or other suitable name for a nothing, never-was.
hudson, oh
Posted 11:50 AM, 09/08/2009
Yes, I know the history of the name "Zips".
Part of the rubber industry that left town half-a-century ago.
Still, a poor nickname..
Posted 12:03 PM, 09/08/2009
Expect to only gain respect by going on the road and playing top teams. The loss to Penn State does not hurt Akron. Akron got national coverage and was on every sports news highlight reel. As long as they have a good conference record or better yet win the conference, that's what matters the most now. Everything else will fall in place.
Macedonia, Oh
Posted 02:59 PM, 09/08/2009
patriot76 - get some therapy. your anger is far more deep seated than being upset over a university's success. your dishonesty is also a part of your pathology.
Kandi, SL
Posted 03:04 PM, 09/08/2009
Thank you Patriot. Now go back to your study hall at Kent State High School.
Highland Square, OH
Posted 08:44 PM, 09/08/2009
patsy 76 is so cute when he's angry.
