Jacquemain, Allen and Jones shine in offensive showdown

Football

After last season’s incompetence and the offense’s so-so performance against Wisconsin, the Zips exploded for 42 points, outlasting Syracuse 42-28.

I have been a harsh critic of Chris Jacquemain, but you can’t say anything about the junior quarterback except that he manned the pocket like a veteran, whipped the ball to open receivers and played like an all-conference passer.

Jacquemain completed 20 of 26 passes for 260 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. He passed within the offense and let the running backs move the chains. Alex Allen led the corps with 103 yards and two touchdowns. Dennis Kennedy and Andrew Johnson also looked good.

It wasn’t all positive, though. Syracuse’s running backs shot through the Zips’ defense with ease. Both teams rushed for 218 yards. But the Zips were able to squeeze the vice when they needed to most, namely a 4th-and-1 from the Akron 46-yard line near the end of the game.

Along with Jacquemain, Andre Jones might have had his coming-out game at receiver. He caught seven passes for 98 yards and two touchdowns. All the main receivers looked good, though.

The end result might be J.D. Brookhart’s effort leading to the end of his mentor Greg Robinson’s job at Syracuse. The Orange has lost consecutive games to, what many experts considered, the lowest tier of Division I teams.

Meanwhile, it might be a win that solidifies Brookhart’s job security by giving his team confidence heading into the home opener versus Ball State. A BCS win is a big deal for a MAC team.

What’s a big deal for me? Sitting next to Jerry “The King” Lawler at the Aeros game tonight!

As usual, I will analyze the game more thoroughly tomorrow.