Football
Patrick Nicely and DeVoe Torrence took steps forward, but the Zips dropped their fourth-straight game. Buffalo won 21-17.
Akron, now 1-5 and 0-3 in the MAC, has turned a high-potential season into a full-blown rebuilding year.
Nicely completed 17-of-34 passes for 200 yards, two interceptions and no touchdowns. Despite not-so-good numbers, he continued to show why so many recruiters coveted him. Torrence ran for 90 yards on 13 carries, giving Akron the best performance from a featured back all season.
But it was not enough. With a chance to take the lead in the final minutes, Nicely threw an interception. And with half the season done, even an undefeated finish would make Akron a borderline bowl team.
Grades are coming tomorrow.
{ 21 comments… read them below or add one }
J.D. was outcoached again. Let's raise ticket prices!
On a more positive note, who agrees that Nicely will probably exhibit more quarterback skills in two years than Terrell Pryor has in two years? Pryor could be the posterboy for that slogan: "Don't believe the hype."
Shame about the receiver breaking his leg. Weapons (and I use that term oh-so-loosely) continue to evaporate.
JD did not throw a pick and fumble the ball inside the 10 yard line..
Nicely actually threw for 200 yards and 2 picks. Devo ran for 90 yards on 13 carries. Espn's stats were super slow to update.
Thanks, Kiel. Stupid Worldwide Leader!
Thad -
I'm with you. 2nd and 2 at the Buffalo 13 and you call 2 pass plays, or allow your OC to call 2 pass plays…outcoached (example).
After thinking about it some more, the ticket prices for youths up to 17 (and maybe even 19) should be half the price of an adult ticket. If the Zips' record was a little better, that price might get 16 and 17 year olds out to Infocision as well as encouraging families to attend. With this miserable record, nothing is likely to help for the rest of this season unless you bus in the opposing teams' fans. I hate to say it, but maybe everybody in Kent will show up on Nov. 7th. That will be a SAD day to be outnumbered in our own brand new stadium.
Dude, would you people get over the damn ticket prices? Akron is 1-5 for crying out loud. People aren't going because we suck.
Aahhh, the hope and promise of pre-season! Zippy nation was full of pi$$ and vinegar before the season and bad mouthing Kent. Boy, times have changed haven`t they? I just love you guys ripping Kent football. At least Kent fans realize football isn`t the end all for their school. We`ll keep winning MAC championships. And, PLEASE don`t start with Kent fans, we realize Kent hasn`t had a winning football team for a looong time! I`m not saying Kent will beat Akron because you never know what will happen in THE rivalry game. But, be ver y careful what you wish for, you may get it! There is a bright side though, UA soccer is doing great……………….and Kent State is 2-1 in the MAC. Way ahead of the Kangas!
Exactly, Eric, we suck. Ergo, "upping" the ticket price from an already-unreasonable $15 to $20 to see lowly Kent State is one of the most idiotic "marketing" moves in school history. Guess we really DON'T want hometowners to fill the stadium. Wonder if I can get 2-for-$10 if I go over to KSU and buy my tix?
Still waiting, Mr. Worsterchire. What great gimmicks do you have up your sleeve to put, oh….15,000 butts in the seats in a 1-5 season? Is that glass-half-full or half-empty?
Now back to the game. We have to wonder how Nicely would be playing if the coaches had made the decision to play the best QB on the team(freshman or not) either in spring or summer practice. It appears safe to say that he has significantly better overall QB skills than either Jacquemain or Rodgers. And, if you are a coach on the bubble one would think that since you knew what you were going to get from Jacquemain after 3 years you better put the best talent on the field. That early preparation would have made a world of difference for Nicely and the TEAM. We also have to wonder why Torrence was not seeing much playing time early on. I know Brookhart wanted to find out if Alex Allen was healthy. But, that kid Shuford wasn't clearly not capable. Brookhart went out and got Torrence,he needed to play him. Heck,I thought Nate Burney had some upside in this offense.
Attendance? Kent game should obvously be well attended. THEY want to see a KSU win.
Those last two home games? IF the weather is perfect maybe 10,000-12,000 unless this team wins out.
THis is what I posted on ZN. Nicely has shown more skills in 1.5 games than Jacquemain displayed in 3 years. Our coaches obviously cannot gauge talent, or PN would have started from day 1. His footwork, arm strenght and ability to look off receivers is far superior than any of the qb's on the roster from day one.
Yet he was third string… Can you say 1-5 baby?
Zips, I'm with ya. On another note,did Shane Montgomery have his 'resonsibilities' adjusted by Brookhart? I thought I caught something on the radioabout that. I know there was some movement with the ex-Toledo guy coming in. Does Montgomery still have responsibility for the offense?
Let's check this out. Patrick Nicely, 17 for 34 for 200 yards in his second game. Brian Magrell (who ended his career, where — Walsh College?) in his first (and only?) game as a true frosh, passed for over 400 yards to set the then school record. I think you are comparing rotten apples to rotten apples. What Akron needs is a plum at QB. Does Milt have any grandkids?
I say, let's fire this guy, and bring in someone else. Then in another four or five years, repeat the process. I think you know the recipe already.
What ever happened to Magrell at UA, by the way? It did seem like he was a highly thought-of prospect, and 400 yards in his first game as a freshman is astounding. What went wrong? Was that during the end of the Faust era, or beginning of Owens?
JD needs to go. The only good year was with Owens' players. Trouble off the field and we stink on the field. Pure reflection of a clueless coach.
I understood the decision to go with Jacquemain over Nicely for this season. They felt Jacquemain was quite capable with 80% of the starting O-line coming back and then that gave Nicely a year of practice, learning, and observation before 4 full years as the starter. That makes sense to me.
The argument to me is more whether Rogers should have been the guy once Jacquemain was dismissed. Don't get me wrong, I really like Matt and think he can be valuable to the team as a backup and I would have went with him if the Jacquemain dismissal would have come more than halfway into the season just to save a year of eligibilty for Nicely.
If anything happens to Nicely, is Wackerley decent at all?
I think we are in the age of football where it does not matter as much as it used to whether a player is frosh,soph etc. Players move from school to school much more than before. Coaches do the same for all sorts of different reasons. It just seems that if you are going to go down(or up) ya gotta do it with the best talent you have. If this coach had not stuck with two prevous QB's way beyond what was proper for having the best chance for theTEAM to win we wouldn't be having this conversation. Its funny that in '04/'05 when he had less choice,Mr. Brookhart went with what appeared to be the most talented players. Hope they can beat Kent.
Cole22, lowly Kent? Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha, lowly? How about Crackron you moron? Last time I looked KSU is 2-1 in the MAC. Akron, weeellllllllll, let`s just say………………0-3! That`s no wins if you`re not paying attention.
OU charged $30 per ticket for the Miami game and got more than 20,000 to show in Nowheresville during a cold drizzle. If they were 1-5 about 13,000 would have showed and they would have been complaining about the ticket prices there, too.
Fred,
You beat Miami and EMU… Sadly *you don't get to play yourselves* so Kent has won all the MAC games they are going to get this year.
Let's face it, you put UA and KSU teams in a brown paper bag, and neither one could fight their way out. I wouldn't be boasting, if I were a "fan" of either side.
Just an observation: I read (either here or ZN) that UA's attendance was just as low, if not lower, during the 7-5, 5-3 bowl year. This seems to indicate that the Zips have about 12,000 semi-regular followers, and there hasn't been any growth in many years. It seems to me that unusual, outside-the-box steps need to be taken to build a larger fanbase. The new stadium didn't do it. Obviously winning a MAC title and going to a bowl game didn't do it.
Has everything been done to market the program in high schools throughout NE Ohio? To businesses throughout Akron? To Alumni living locally? I mean, what's the harm in distributing 10,000 tickets in various ways for home games? We're gonna have to "bite the bullet" and do it for a season or two to build interest. Then, when the team actually begins to win, those who came will have a reason to return and buy a ticket.
Arguing who is better, Kent or Akron is like arguing who is better, Browns or Raiders. They all suck, except for that old Raider's punter…he da bomb. They should double ticket prices, then divide that by 2.