Events Calendar
In This Section
Zips coach to learn his fate soon
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
Most Read Stories
2 men shot during party in Fairlawn
Akron man killed in crash on his street
Victim of beating in Kent last week is declared dead at Akron hospital
Akron Children's Hospital CEO, wife announce $1 million gift to support research
Akron Circle K store robbed for second time this month
Police accuse bank robbery suspect of gobbling up note (with dashcam video)
Kangaroo tries to drown dog, attacks owner
Police: Pennsylvania man killed misbehaving puppy before Steelers game
Woman's purse snatched after beer purchase
Blogs:
Pets:
Cat-loving chihuahua suckles seven abandoned kittens
The Heldenfiles:
Viewing Notes
Patrick McManamon:
Of pass interference and alleged "fake" injuries
Akron Zips:
No. 1 Akron to play Stanford next
Tribe Matters:
Seven players added to Tribe’s 40-man roster
Cleveland Browns:
Audio: Mangini disputes Poteat call, accuses Lions of faking injuries
Kent State Sports:
Flashes travel to Florida Atlantic
Cleveland Cavaliers:
Gameblog: Cavs vs. Philadelphia 76ers
Buckeye Blogging:
Buckeye Football – Present and Future
Varsity Letters:
Gulley to visit Central Michigan in December
All Da King's Men:
The Onion, By Any Other Name…
Blog of Mass Destruction:
Glaring Contradictions
Akron Law Café:
Don't Try to Have Fun if you are Depressed
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 – Why I am Glad I live in NEO
Akron Gamer:
Nintendo's Mario endures even as games come and go
Toledo kicker sets record with 23 straight field goals. BSU honors injured player
POSTED: 09:32 p.m. EDT, Sep 30, 2008
Tom Gaffney
Beacon Journal sports writer
Ohio University coach Frank Solich was surprised by the reaction of his players after a 51-31 home victory over VMI last Saturday that came after four early losses.
''They came into the locker room after the game, and they were down. There was no hollering, no celebrating,'' Solich said. ''We played some really good football teams, and we've got nothing to be embarrassed about.
''They wanted to play a perfect football game against VMI, and that didn't get done. But we did play well and we won.''
So Solich and his staff quickly changed the mood in the locker room.
''We tried to pick them up as coaches,'' Solich said. ''We sang the fight song. We got them jumping around and feeling pretty good about the win. If you can't feel good about the wins, it's a pretty tough profession to be in.''
The Bobcats' four losses came at Wyoming (21-20), at Ohio State (26-14), against Central Michigan (31-28) and at Northwestern (16-8).
Against VMI (2-2), the Bobcats had trouble with the visitors' wishbone offense and trailed 17-14 after one quarter and led only 31-24 at the half.
OU held a 20-7 edge in the second half to beat VMI, a member of the Big South Conference and the Football Championship Subdivision.
''You don't see it every often,'' Solich said about the wishbone. ''You can't replicate the speed of the wishbone in practice. It took us longer to adjust to it than I had hoped. Those guys ran it every, very well.''
OU finished with 575 total yards, the fifth most in school history. The 51 points was the most since 2002, when the Bobcats defeated Kent State 50-0.
Junior quarterback Boo Jackson, who has taken over for the injured Theo Scott, completed 16-of-23 passes for 287 yards and two touchdowns. Redshirt freshman tailback Donte Harden ran 20 times for 142 yards and two touchdowns.
In other MAC developments:
Bowling Green — The Falcons, who are the favorites in the East Division of the MAC, traveled to Laramie, Wyo., and beat Wyoming 45-16 last Saturday. Quarterback Tyler Sheehan completed 22-of-35 passes for 287 yards and two touchdowns. Bowling Green is 2-2 after beating Pittsburgh (27-17), and losing to Minnesota (42-17) and Boise State (20-7). ''Our kids all know we had a chance to win all four of those games. In the losses, we were in those games in the fourth quarter,'' said coach Gregg Brandon, whose team's eight remaining games are in the MAC.
Central Michigan — The Chippewas, who are attempting to win their third consecutive MAC title, have struggled in opening with a 3-2 record. Last Saturday at home against Buffalo, CMU survived to win 27-25 when a 46-yard field goal by the Bulls' A. J. Principi hit the right upright on the final play. Coach Butch Jones welcomed having a bye this week. ''We have got to get healthy . . . and we are going back to fundamentals. It's going to be about us getting better as a football team. We need to improve in all areas,'' Jones said. ''Our kids have been in some physical football games, so this off week comes at the right time.''
Ball State — The Cardinals will honor receiver Dante Love in various ways the rest of the season. Love suffered a spinal injury against Indiana on Sept 20, and his playing career is over. Against Kent State last Saturday, the players wore stickers on their helmets with his No. 86 on them. They also wore red warm-up shirts before the game with the number. In addition, one player will be named honorary captain on his behalf in every remaining game.
Toledo — Junior Alex Steigerwald, a Benedictine High School graduate, has made 23 consecutive field goals to set a MAC record. He set the record with one against Fresno State on Sept. 20 and added three more last Saturday against Florida International. Steigerwald made his last 15 attempts in 2007 and has eight in a row in 2008. The previous record was 19 by the Rockets' Jason Robbins in 2004-05.
Temple — The Owls defeated Army 35-7 in their opener but have now lost four in a row. Two of the losses were at home, and Temple did not score a touchdown in either one. Those defeats were to Connecticut (12-9) on Sept. 6 and Western Michigan (7-3) last Saturday.
Tom Gaffney can be reached at tgaffney@thebeaconjournal.com.
Tom Gaffney
Beacon Journal sports writer
Ohio University coach Frank Solich was surprised by the reaction of his players after a 51-31 home victory over VMI last Saturday that came after four early losses.
''They came into the locker room after the game, and they were down. There was no hollering, no celebrating,'' Solich said. ''We played some really good football teams, and we've got nothing to be embarrassed about.
''They wanted to play a perfect football game against VMI, and that didn't get done. But we did play well and we won.''
So Solich and his staff quickly changed the mood in the locker room.
''We tried to pick them up as coaches,'' Solich said. ''We sang the fight song. We got them jumping around and feeling pretty good about the win. If you can't feel good about the wins, it's a pretty tough profession to be in.''
The Bobcats' four losses came at Wyoming (21-20), at Ohio State (26-14), against Central Michigan (31-28) and at Northwestern (16-8).
Against VMI (2-2), the Bobcats had trouble with the visitors' wishbone offense and trailed 17-14 after one quarter and led only 31-24 at the half.
OU held a 20-7 edge in the second half to beat VMI, a member of the Big South Conference and the Football Championship Subdivision.
''You don't see it every often,'' Solich said about the wishbone. ''You can't replicate the speed of the wishbone in practice. It took us longer to adjust to it than I had hoped. Those guys ran it every, very well.''
OU finished with 575 total yards, the fifth most in school history. The 51 points was the most since 2002, when the Bobcats defeated Kent State 50-0.
Junior quarterback Boo Jackson, who has taken over for the injured Theo Scott, completed 16-of-23 passes for 287 yards and two touchdowns. Redshirt freshman tailback Donte Harden ran 20 times for 142 yards and two touchdowns.
In other MAC developments:
Bowling Green — The Falcons, who are the favorites in the East Division of the MAC, traveled to Laramie, Wyo., and beat Wyoming 45-16 last Saturday. Quarterback Tyler Sheehan completed 22-of-35 passes for 287 yards and two touchdowns. Bowling Green is 2-2 after beating Pittsburgh (27-17), and losing to Minnesota (42-17) and Boise State (20-7). ''Our kids all know we had a chance to win all four of those games. In the losses, we were in those games in the fourth quarter,'' said coach Gregg Brandon, whose team's eight remaining games are in the MAC.
Central Michigan — The Chippewas, who are attempting to win their third consecutive MAC title, have struggled in opening with a 3-2 record. Last Saturday at home against Buffalo, CMU survived to win 27-25 when a 46-yard field goal by the Bulls' A. J. Principi hit the right upright on the final play. Coach Butch Jones welcomed having a bye this week. ''We have got to get healthy . . . and we are going back to fundamentals. It's going to be about us getting better as a football team. We need to improve in all areas,'' Jones said. ''Our kids have been in some physical football games, so this off week comes at the right time.''
Ball State — The Cardinals will honor receiver Dante Love in various ways the rest of the season. Love suffered a spinal injury against Indiana on Sept 20, and his playing career is over. Against Kent State last Saturday, the players wore stickers on their helmets with his No. 86 on them. They also wore red warm-up shirts before the game with the number. In addition, one player will be named honorary captain on his behalf in every remaining game.
Toledo — Junior Alex Steigerwald, a Benedictine High School graduate, has made 23 consecutive field goals to set a MAC record. He set the record with one against Fresno State on Sept. 20 and added three more last Saturday against Florida International. Steigerwald made his last 15 attempts in 2007 and has eight in a row in 2008. The previous record was 19 by the Rockets' Jason Robbins in 2004-05.
Temple — The Owls defeated Army 35-7 in their opener but have now lost four in a row. Two of the losses were at home, and Temple did not score a touchdown in either one. Those defeats were to Connecticut (12-9) on Sept. 6 and Western Michigan (7-3) last Saturday.
Tom Gaffney can be reached at tgaffney@thebeaconjournal.com.
Comments
Click here to post your comments
