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Zips blank Bulls to begin quest for national title
Zips blank Bulls to begin quest for national title
UA women start strong, then fall behind Wright State
Zips men end tournament with 69-52 win over Howard
Hitchens carries Zips to first victory
Zips' Porter creates culture of success
Bunbury helps push Zips soccer team forward
Most Read Stories
Police accuse bank robbery suspect of gobbling up note (with dashcam video)
Victim of beating in Kent last week is declared dead at Akron hospital
Akron man killed in crash on his street
Browns find another way to lose
Can DNA tests free ex-Akron captain?
After 30 years at the helm of Akron Children's, Considine still looks to future
Dad accused of forcing son into field, killing him
Man found dead in North Akron home is identified
Blogs:
Pets:
Cat-loving chihuahua suckles seven abandoned kittens
The Heldenfiles:
Sunday Notebook
Patrick McManamon:
Browns sick after sick loss in Detroit
Akron Zips:
No. 1 Akron to play Stanford next
Tribe Matters:
Seven players added to Tribe’s 40-man roster
Cleveland Browns:
Post-game defensive quotes
Kent State Sports:
Kent State defeats Rochester College, 63-44
Cleveland Cavaliers:
Gameblog: Cavs vs. Philadelphia 76ers
Buckeye Blogging:
OSU – Michigan college football rivals meet in Baghdad
Varsity Letters:
Four area football teams play tonight
All Da King's Men:
The Onion, By Any Other Name…
Blog of Mass Destruction:
Will Health Care Reform Pass?
Akron Law Café:
Health Care Financing Reform: (70) Savings in Medicare Advantage
See Jane Style:
Vintage Chic
Car Chase:
TIME TO GET YOUR COLLECTOR CARS WINTERIZED
Let's Talk Real Estate:
Faye Dunaway to be Evicted?
Ohio Travels with Betty:
Monique asks how to get tickets for the Polar Express.
Sound Check:
Steely Dan Plays "The Royal Scam" at E.J. Thomas Hall
HRLite House:
Personal Rant – You are All Wrong About Jobs, or the Lack of Jobs, Being the Reason People Do Not Live in NEO
Akron Gamer:
Nintendo's Mario endures even as games come and go
Pundits look for little from UA
By Tom Gaffney
Beacon Journal sports writer
POSTED: 11:14 a.m. EDT, Aug 27, 2008
Few believe in the University of Akron football team except the group that matters the most.
That, of course, would be the players and coaches who enter a new season Saturday at the University of Wisconsin amid plenty of doom and gloom by preseason prognosticators.
The MAC Media Association predicted UA would finish last in the East Division of the Mid-American Conference. Sports Illustrated has the Zips finishing with a 1-11 record. Phil Steele's College Football Preview, one of the most comprehensive magazines on the market, has UA ranked 111th out of the 120 Division I programs in the country.
The advice in such situations is not to take it personally, but the Zips do.
''We are all insulted by that,'' junior quarterback Chris Jacquemain said. ''We are all kind of disappointed because we know what we have coming back and how hard we worked in the offseason.
''We kind of have a chip on our shoulder. We want to prove everyone wrong. We know what we want to do.''
The skepticism over the Zips stems from the fact that only five starters return on defense and that one of them — Andre Jones — has been moved from free safety to wide receiver. There are also some doubts about the offense, which does return eight starters. The concern is the lack of playmakers at the skill positions.
''We have numbers, just not great experience in some places,'' said coach J.D. Brookhart, whose team will be playing its last season in the Rubber Bowl. ''There are some questions we have to have answered.
''What I want to see is 11 guys flying to the ball on defense, executing on offense and carrying over the (practice) techniques to the field.''
The strength of the offense appears to be the line, which returns tackles Chris Kemme and Corey Woods and guards Mike Ward and Zack Anderson. Tight end Merce Poindexter also is back after catching 13 passes last season.
''We've got four guys back that have played. Experience counts a lot,'' Brookhart said. ''We feel good about that . . . and our depth on the offensive line.''
Jacquemain returns at quarterback after an inconsistent sophomore season. Brookhart said that Jacquemain has improved immensely and that he has earned the right to start again.
At receiver and running back, there is depth, but the concern is that the starters have not separated themselves enough to warrant extra attention from defenses.
Jones, Jeremy Bruce and Alphonso Owen will get the most action at receiver at the beginning of the season but could be pushed later by California junior college recruits Dashan Miller and Deryn Bowser.
At tailback, Dennis Kennedy is atop the depth chart but will share time and carries with Alex Allen and Andrew Johnson.
''We will play all three guys. Kennedy has a lot of experience. He has been a good back,'' Brookhart said. ''They all have their strengths. We will use them all.''
On defense, the front six is a definite strength. Linemen Almondo Sewell and Eric Lively are back, and Iowa transfer Ryan Bain has gained a starting spot. However, there are questions because Lively (elbow) is out for about three weeks, and Bain has been slowed by a foot injury.
At linebacker, Kevin Grant and Doug Williams return after making 74 tackles (third on team) and 64 tackles (sixth), respectively, in 2007. Grant is on the preseason watch list for the Butkus Award given to the nation's best linebacker.
The secondary has been completely wiped out, meaning there will be five new starters, including leading rusher Bryan Williams (Buchtel), who has been moved to strong safety.
''Defensively, we have a little bit of depth on the line. Our linebackers, I feel good about that. We have two kids who have played a lot and some others we are excited about,'' Brookhart said. ''The secondary, there are some question marks because we have nobody returning, but I feel good about them.''
Special teams are expected to remain a Zips strength. Bryan Williams (31.9 yard average on kickoff returns) and Jones (14.5 on punt returns and 32.8 on kickoff returns) are back after being among the nation's best in 2007.
Also back is kicker Igor Iveljic (15-of-18 on field goals) and punter John Stec (37.5 average).
ZIPS AT A GLANCE
Coach: J.D. Brookhart, fifth season (22-26).
2007 record: 4-8, 3-5 in Mid-American Conference.
Home stadium: Rubber Bowl (31,000).
Radio: WARF (1350-AM).
Starters returning/starters lost: 13/9.
Lettermen returning/lost: 43/20.
Schedule:
230,430,900 Aug. 30 — at Wisconsin, noon. Sept. 6 — at Syracuse, 3:30 p.m.; 13 - Ball State, 1 p.m.; 20 — at Army, tba; 27 — Cincinnati, 3:30 p.m. Oct. 4 — at Kent State, noon; 11 — Bowling Green, 6 p.m.; 18 — at Eastern Michigan, 1 p.m. Nov. 5 — Toledo, 8 p.m.; Nov. 13 — Buffalo, 7 p.m.; 22 — at Ohio, tba; 28 — at Temple, 1 p.m.
Tom Gaffney can be reached at tgaffney@thebeaconjournal.com.
Few believe in the University of Akron football team except the group that matters the most.
That, of course, would be the players and coaches who enter a new season Saturday at the University of Wisconsin amid plenty of doom and gloom by preseason prognosticators.
The MAC Media Association predicted UA would finish last in the East Division of the Mid-American Conference. Sports Illustrated has the Zips finishing with a 1-11 record. Phil Steele's College Football Preview, one of the most comprehensive magazines on the market, has UA ranked 111th out of the 120 Division I programs in the country.
The advice in such situations is not to take it personally, but the Zips do.
''We are all insulted by that,'' junior quarterback Chris Jacquemain said. ''We are all kind of disappointed because we know what we have coming back and how hard we worked in the offseason.
''We kind of have a chip on our shoulder. We want to prove everyone wrong. We know what we want to do.''
The skepticism over the Zips stems from the fact that only five starters return on defense and that one of them — Andre Jones — has been moved from free safety to wide receiver. There are also some doubts about the offense, which does return eight starters. The concern is the lack of playmakers at the skill positions.
''We have numbers, just not great experience in some places,'' said coach J.D. Brookhart, whose team will be playing its last season in the Rubber Bowl. ''There are some questions we have to have answered.
''What I want to see is 11 guys flying to the ball on defense, executing on offense and carrying over the (practice) techniques to the field.''
The strength of the offense appears to be the line, which returns tackles Chris Kemme and Corey Woods and guards Mike Ward and Zack Anderson. Tight end Merce Poindexter also is back after catching 13 passes last season.
''We've got four guys back that have played. Experience counts a lot,'' Brookhart said. ''We feel good about that . . . and our depth on the offensive line.''
Jacquemain returns at quarterback after an inconsistent sophomore season. Brookhart said that Jacquemain has improved immensely and that he has earned the right to start again.
At receiver and running back, there is depth, but the concern is that the starters have not separated themselves enough to warrant extra attention from defenses.
Jones, Jeremy Bruce and Alphonso Owen will get the most action at receiver at the beginning of the season but could be pushed later by California junior college recruits Dashan Miller and Deryn Bowser.
At tailback, Dennis Kennedy is atop the depth chart but will share time and carries with Alex Allen and Andrew Johnson.
''We will play all three guys. Kennedy has a lot of experience. He has been a good back,'' Brookhart said. ''They all have their strengths. We will use them all.''
On defense, the front six is a definite strength. Linemen Almondo Sewell and Eric Lively are back, and Iowa transfer Ryan Bain has gained a starting spot. However, there are questions because Lively (elbow) is out for about three weeks, and Bain has been slowed by a foot injury.
At linebacker, Kevin Grant and Doug Williams return after making 74 tackles (third on team) and 64 tackles (sixth), respectively, in 2007. Grant is on the preseason watch list for the Butkus Award given to the nation's best linebacker.
The secondary has been completely wiped out, meaning there will be five new starters, including leading rusher Bryan Williams (Buchtel), who has been moved to strong safety.
''Defensively, we have a little bit of depth on the line. Our linebackers, I feel good about that. We have two kids who have played a lot and some others we are excited about,'' Brookhart said. ''The secondary, there are some question marks because we have nobody returning, but I feel good about them.''
Special teams are expected to remain a Zips strength. Bryan Williams (31.9 yard average on kickoff returns) and Jones (14.5 on punt returns and 32.8 on kickoff returns) are back after being among the nation's best in 2007.
Also back is kicker Igor Iveljic (15-of-18 on field goals) and punter John Stec (37.5 average).
ZIPS AT A GLANCE
Coach: J.D. Brookhart, fifth season (22-26).
2007 record: 4-8, 3-5 in Mid-American Conference.
Home stadium: Rubber Bowl (31,000).
Radio: WARF (1350-AM).
Starters returning/starters lost: 13/9.
Lettermen returning/lost: 43/20.
Schedule:
230,430,900 Aug. 30 — at Wisconsin, noon. Sept. 6 — at Syracuse, 3:30 p.m.; 13 - Ball State, 1 p.m.; 20 — at Army, tba; 27 — Cincinnati, 3:30 p.m. Oct. 4 — at Kent State, noon; 11 — Bowling Green, 6 p.m.; 18 — at Eastern Michigan, 1 p.m. Nov. 5 — Toledo, 8 p.m.; Nov. 13 — Buffalo, 7 p.m.; 22 — at Ohio, tba; 28 — at Temple, 1 p.m.
Tom Gaffney can be reached at tgaffney@thebeaconjournal.com.
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