Hello Akron Zips Fans, this is Michael Beaven filling in for Mike Rasor.

The University of Akron men's soccer team and Hartwick played to a 1-1 after 90 minutes of regulation and 20 minutes of overtime on Friday night in a Mid-American Conference semfinal match.

The host Zips then prevailed in the penalty kick shootout, winning the round 3-0 at Lee Jackson Field. UA (16-1-3) will host Northern Illinois (11-5-4) in the final at 2 p.m. Sunday.

UA, the No. 1 seed in the tournament, won behind an outstanding performance by senior goalkeeper Evan Bush in the shootout.

"This time of year, it is all about moving on and getting the result," UA coach Caleb Porter said. "I think what we take from this game is we have to finish our chances."

Sophomore forward Steve Zakuani, the MAC Player of the Year, senior midfielder Matt Tutich and junior forward Stefan Ostergren each scored in the shootout for the Zips, who are ranked No. 5 in the RPI, No. 4 in the NSCAA/adidas poll and No. 3 in the Soccer America poll.

"We've been practicing all week on penalty kicks," Ostergren, a North Canton Hoover graduate, said of the shots from 12 yards away from the goal. "It was an amazing feeling to win. We're a team and we win as a team."

Bush blocked all three of the Hawks' (7-6-6) attempts in the shootout for the dramatic win.

"I can't say enough about Evan Bush," Porter said. "He is one of the best goalkeepers in the country and he is always there to make a big play. We needed him to make those big plays and he did. That's a credit to his hard work and his focus."

Bush batted away all three shots with dives to the ground.

"I had no real inside tips," Bush said while winking his right eye. "I just went the right way on all of them. There is not much you can do about penalty kicks. You either go the right way or you don't. You either make a save or you don't. Sometimes you have to pull a rabbit out of a hat."

Hartwick, ranked No. 72 in the RPI and the fourth-seed in the tournament, took a 1-0 lead with 10:26 remaining in the second half on a goal by sophomore midfielder Wilber Bonilla, who scored his first of the season after a deflection from about 6 yards away.

UA sophomore defender Chris Korb scored the equalizer with 3:43 left in the second half.

Korb's goal, the first of his collegiate career, came off of a deflection from about 12 yards away on the right side of the box.

"Our team flipped the switch there after they scored and we showed what we could really do," said Korb, a Xavier transfer.

The goal lifted the Zips' confidence and play became more spirited on both sides.

"I don't know many teams that could have given up a goal late and responded like they did," Porter said. "This team just knows when to turn it up a notch and they know how to win."

The Zips' defense — which consisted of Bush, Korb, freshman Kofi Sarkodie and redshirt freshmen Aaron Henkle and Matt Dagilis (Firestone) — played effectively.

"Our defense, I thought played very well today and I think our attack created a lot of chances,’’ Porter said. ‘‘We just needed to finish more."

Hartwick held a 5-4 advantage in shots on goal, but UA held a 18-12 advantage in total shots.

"It's funny," Bush said. "Our team, we don't panic when we get down. We get upbeat. We have got to find a way to do that before we're down a goal."

Second-seeded NIU defeated third-seeded Buffalo (12-4-4) 1-0 in Friday's first semifinal.

For the complete story in Saturday's edition of the Akron Beacon Journal please read it in print or visit ohio.com.

Here are some other links to recent soccer stories:

Steve Zakuani feature: http://www.ohio.com/sports/zips/34381389.html

Zips soccer team wins major MAC awards: http://www.ohio.com/sports/zips/34405769.html

Miscellaneous

You'll probably get a kick out of this story, thanks to Dave Osterland at the U.

Football

It might sound like sour grapes, but the Zips outplayed Buffalo last night.

They should have won if not for 1) Allowing Buffalo to go 5-for-5 on fourth down (What is this, Madden '08?) 2) Losing the turnover battle by two. 3) Not converting on three field goals — two because penalties took Akron out of Igor Iveljic's range. 4) Offensive playcalling that made me pull my hair out all night. 5) More dropped passes than I can ever remember.

Regardless, Akron was the home team. It had a large crowd for motivation, yet still did not finish the game. There is no excuse for winning in such a charged atmosphere.

I'm sure Zips fans like me are completely disappointed. Football is funny in that way — every fanbase expects to win every week. In reality, why should Akron win on any given week instead of another team and their fans? Is it the coaching? The players? Football is set up to destroy its fans' morale. Every week, the excitement of fans for both teams builds. Half of those people have to leave the stadium or turn off the TV/radio with a sour taste.

Anyhow, here are my grades…

Quarterback – Chris Jacquemain and Dennis Kennedy botched the final handoff as a team. From the postgame comments, it sounds like it was Kennedy's fault. Regardless, it's too easy to focus on the final screw-up, rather than the 15 that led to it. In terms of accuracy, Jacquemain was inconsistent. Completing 20-of-38 passes is not a good game against a MAC team. However, he did throw some balls that impressed me, particularly over the middle. Also, the receivers were awful. Grade: B

Running back — Kennedy played a fantastic game until the last play. He had 142 rushing yards, 121 receiving yards and four touchdowns. One thing that Kennedy is not, however, is a short-yardage back. He tends to dance in the backfield on short yardage. This would be an A+ performance, but for the two fumbles. Grade: B

Wide receiver — In fairness to Jacquemain, there were AT LEAST five dropped passes. I was half-kidding last week about nicknaming Deryn Bowser as "Braylon Bowser." It is sounding more apt by the game. It seems like the guy cannot concentrate unless the degree of difficulty is high. Dashan Miller had two drops that I can remember. One of them would have put Akron at the goal line. Jose Cruz dropped a certain touchdown. The ball must have hit him in the numbers. However, Andre Jones played well. He and Kennedy were this unit's saving grace. Grade: D

Offensive line — The line protected Jacquemain from being sacked all night. It also opened some nice holes for Kennedy, particularly off tackle. For all it's effort, the line cost Akron six points. I cannot remember who was responsible for which penalty, but Chris Kemme was involved somehow. This game would have been a blowout without the line playing so hard. Conversely, it would have ended in regulation favorably without the penalties. Grade: C+

Defensive line — Something happened at halftime that made Akron better against the run. I wish I knew more about football so I could tell you what it is. I'll tell you this, though. This defense has far too much talent to be giving up so many points and yards on a weekly basis. (Consider that to be my weekly public service announcement against the 3-3-5.) Grade: B-

Linebacker – Doug Williams made 15 tackles. The three starters combined for 37. That is a lot of work. They started to plug the line better in the second half. Rather than allowing James Starks to run east-west until he found a gap, the Zips began to wrap him up more frequently at the line. Grade: B+

Secondary – The cornerbacks had a tough assignment with Naaman Roosevelt, who is like Bowser with more height and hands instead of ping-pong paddles. Drew Willy seemed very accurate, too. Each cornerback played well individually; it just felt like Buffalo had some great plays that could take advantage of the seams in the Zips secondary. Grade: B

Special teams — Iveljic missed two field goals. John Stec's punting average of 30.3 was below his usual rate. However, his fake was well-executed. Besides one nice return from Miller, the return teams did nothing special. Grade: C-

Coaching – As usual, I have some beefs: Where the heck was Joe Tuzze on some of those short-yardage plays? What about Andrew Johnson? Kennedy had to be exhausted. Give him a rest. He's not particularly good at short-yardage situations anyhow… Akron called some AWFUL plays on important downs. On the two-point conversion (that would have won the game), Jacquemain passed into a cluster of players and it fell incomplete. I would add more examples if I re-watched the tape… On kick returns, why have two guys back? When you have a returner as good as Bryan Williams, isolate him like the Browns do with Joshua Cribbs… I will give credit for the fake punt. I was wondering when J.D. Brookhart was going to pull a trick… The team's discipline waned for the second-straight game, but at least the team played hard. If anyone thinks Brookhart is losing his job, they're nuts. Grade: C

Football

Akron will need a good podiatrist to remove all those bullets from the team's tarsals.

The Zips committed several tragic errors en route to a thrilling quadruple-overtime 43-40 loss, basically slamming the Rubber Bowl's door on their fingers.

In the fourth overtime, Chris Jacquemain and Dennis Kennedy missed a handoff exchange and a Bufallo player pounced on it. But it wasn't just the fumble. It was the penalties. It was the dropped passes. It was the play calling. This season has been about overachieving, but tonight, the Zips choked away a game they should have won.

That's not to take away from the magic that the game provided. It was a back-and-forth duel with no lack of drama. The script seemed ideal for the Zips to march out of the Rubber Bowl with a final victory. As a sports fan — and particularly one from Northeast Ohio — you should know that sporting events rarely fulfill the perfect storyline.

So the Bulls won, and they control their own destiny. Next week, they play Bowling Green, who also controls its own destiny. Akron, meanwhile, has two hopes. 1) The scenario I mentioned in an earlier post (scroll down). 2) Winning out and earning a bowl berth, which seems almost certain for each 7-5 team if you look at the math.

Despite that, this was a total team loss. Every part of the team (linemen, coaches, kicker, running back, quarterback) contributed to the team's successes throughout the night. However, each part of the team shot itself in the foot at inopportune moments.

I just returned home from watching the new Bond movie. It is fantastic. You should see it, especially if you're upset about football. I will have grades tomorrow.

Football

Akron got some help from rival Kent State Wednesday as the Flashes knocked off Temple, who was 2-3 in the MAC, just a game behind the Zips.

On the eve of one of the most momentous games in the program's history, it might sound minimal, but Temple's exodus from the race makes it a three-team chase for the division crown.

Maybe you haven't really considered how crucial tonight's game is. You should…

What does a win do?

Akron would be 4-2 in the MAC — a full game and tiebreaker ahead of Buffalo and a full game ahead of Bowling Green. Winning out, of course, would secure the MAC East. Assuming the Zips lose one of the final two games, Akron would need to be concerned if Bowling Green, and only Bowling Green, tied the Zips at 5-3. A three-way tie would be impossible. Buffalo OR Bowling Green would tally their fourth loss the following week when they play each other. But back to Bowling Green: If the Falcons win out for a 5-3 record, they take the tiebreaker over the Zips. However, that scenario is only possible if the Zips lose one of their last two. Bowling Green must also win both of its last two games (vs. Buffalo and @ Toledo). The biggest benefit of a win is that it would eliminate Buffalo from the race. The Bulls would have ZERO paths to Detroit (unless there is a wild multi-team tie at 4-4).

What does a loss do?

A loss would put Akron in a tie with Bowling Green at 3-3, which isn't very helpful considering the Zips lost to the Falcons. Even if the Zips win out, they would need help. Bowling Green would have to beat Buffalo, bringing the Bulls to 4-3. Then Buffalo would have to lose at home to Kent State, to prevent them from achieving five wins and winning the direct tiebreaker or three-way tiebreaker over Akron (I believe Buffalo would have the superior division record, which is the second tiebreaker). Further, for the Zips to play in Detroit, Bowling Green would have to lose its final game at Toledo, which is possible. Still, that is three games that would have to go Akron's way. To recap: BG over Buffalo (putting BG and Buffalo at 4-3), KSU over Buffalo (taking Buffalo to 4-4) and Toledo over BG (taking BG to 4-4). That's the only path to Detroit if Akron loses tonight.

There is one other possibility…

Kent State and Temple are not eliminated. They both have four losses, but if either team wins out (and they get A LOT of help), this tiebreaker situation could get really ugly. Really ugly.

Notes…

From what I hear, attendance tomorrow should be phenomenal. Three different Ritzman pharmacies had 3,000 tickets to distribute for $1 each. Each pharmacy had sold out of tickets as of last night.

Akron has no injuries except for the players who are out for the year, according to associate AD Mike Cawood.

The spread is ranging between 3.5 and 5.5 points. Akron is the favorite. The over-under is 60 or 61.

The PD provided some interesting numbers about the Rubber Bowl. The Zips are 191-123-10 in the Rubber Bowl's 78-year history. The Browns have played 19 preseason games there. More than 3.6 million fans have sat on those benches.

Buffalo coach Turner Gill said his team will try to stop Dennis Kennedy.

The ABJ's Marla Ridenour wrote a really fascinating story about what current pros thought of playing at the Rubber Bowl in college. Great stuff. It's a must-read.

It will be even more important for Bryan Williams, who has been playing at the Rubber Bowl since his freshman year at Buchtel High School, the ABJ's Tom Gaffney writes.

Prediction

I cannot imagine Akron losing this game. The crowd will be too intense. The emotions will be as high as they get for Akron Football. The Bulls are not so experienced in these situations. Buffalo may be better at the skill positions, but the Zips will dominate the offensive line and move the ball with the running game. A near sell-out watches Akron close the Rubber Bowl with a big win.

Akron 31, Buffalo 21

Men's basketball

Gaffney spoke with Zeke Marshall, who said he wanted to go to a lesser-known school.

Men's basketball

Zeke Marshall is a Zip.

One of the nation's top 40 recruits signed his letter of intent just after 1 p.m. today. Members of the athletic department crowded around the fax machine and celebrated when his letter arrived.

Rivals.com ranks Marshall the No. 7 center and No. 39 player in the nation. The site calls him a developing center with a lot of potential. Scout.com ranks Marshall as the No. 7 center and No. 40 player in the nation.

This is one of the highest-profile signings in the history of the MAC, and certainly since the Internet made recruiting such a hot topic for fans. As you can see at ZipsNation.org, fans are going nuts over the potential dominance of Marshall.

With the perimeter defense that the Zips' freshman guards will provide and Marshall's unique ability to change an offensive gameplan with his shotblocking, Akron's defense has potential to be absolutely impenetrable. Marshall's size will give him 10 points a night from the get-go, but adding some weight to his 210-pound frame would make him unstoppable.

By the way, I won't be blogging from the game on Saturday. I have to take the lady friend out on a date. However, the ABJ's Michael Beaven will liveblog for me.

Men's basketball

Akron is set to lock up one of the biggest recruits in MAC history today — the first day a high school senior, namely Zeke Marshall, can sign a National Letter of Intent.

For me, this feels like an extra point that a football team needs to secure a tie in the last minute of the game. It should happen. It usually happens. But if it doesn't happen, it's a huge problem and a bunch of wasted effort.

From everything I have heard, Marshall is a trustworthy young man who comes from a great family. I expect him to keep his word, but until a player of this magnitude commits on paper, I will be a little queasy.

One analyst on Scout.com said Marshall is his sleeper from this recruiting class, despite acknowledging that the 7-foot center is already rated very highly.

I will try to keep you up to date as the day progresses.

Football

Akron's final game in the Rubber Bowl also will be one of its most important.

The Zips will duel the upstart Buffalo Bulls for first place in the MAC East. The winner ascends to 4-2 in the division and earns a tiebreaker over the loser.

Buffalo isn't just a punch line anymore. The 5-4 Bulls boast three of the MAC's best skill players. Senior quarterback Drew Willy has taken more lumps over his career than a Whack-a-Mole game, but he has developed into one of the nation's most efficient passers. He is third in the MAC in passing yards and has built a 17-4 touchdown-to-interception ratio.

Running back James Starks leads the conference in rushing yards. Also consider that his backup Brandon Thermilus has carried about nine times per game. Starks is capable of breaking off a 50- or 70-yard dash. As a power back, Thermilus is dangerous in goal line situations.

At receiver, Naaman Roosevelt is about as good as it gets. The 6-foot junior is second in the MAC with 93 receiving yards per game. Ernest Jackson, a 6-2 senior, is a solid second option. He caught two touchdowns against Missouri and accumulated 134 yards against Army.

On defense, the Bulls (like the Zips) have stayed afloat by forcing an unusual amount of turnovers. Linebacker Justin Winters and defensive back Josh Thomas have combined to force six fumbles. Winters is also sixth in the MAC in tackles. As a rule, however, the Bulls are not disruptive in the offensive backfield. They have only made eight sacks and 39 tackles for loss.

In essence, you can be moving the ball on Buffalo and scoring, particularly through the air, but the Bulls will poke the football out of your receiver's hands, score quickly, and make you wonder, "What just happened?" (It's a lot like Ric Flair, who would get the tar kicked out of him for 15 minutes, slap on the Figure Four and walk out with the title belt. Whoooo!)

For the detractors who don't believe in Buffalo, understand that the Bulls have passed every test so far. They have beaten all of the subpar teams (UTEP, Temple, Ohio, Miami and Army). They have played tough against the good teams on their schedule (Pitt, Western Michigan, Central Michigan and Missouri). The test on Thursday, however, is whether Buffalo can pull out a win it needs it most.

Notes…

Akron is a 2.5-point favorite.

Zac Jackson of ClevelandBrowns.com provided some of his memories of the Rubber Bowl.

GoZips.com also gave a rundown of historic moments at the stadium. (I would give my left arm to have seen the Stones play there.)

The PD's Elton Alexander gave a rundown of the MAC action this week.

Men's basketball

Keep refreshing during the game for updates…

Attendance is barren. It's 7 p.m., and my estimate is no more than 300 fans. Not to take a cheap shot, but it looks like the crowd at women's games.

Rhodes Arena has a new video screen between the benches for advertisements. It sure beats the old spinning banner that never seemed to work right.

The new Nike uniforms have a classic look to them. The design is clean. The white home shorts have a multicolored striped down the side with an "A" at the bottom. I will tell you about the tops as soon as they take of their warm-ups.

Akron's starting lineup: Ronnie Steward, Steve McNees, Brett McKnight, Chris McKnight and Nate Linhart.

The jersey tops look quite similar to last year but with different font.

Playing in tonight's game does not affect a player's ability to redshirt. That said, we probably will see the whole roster. If I was coach, I would try to get significant minutes out of Nikola Cvetinovic and Andrew Parrish to see what they have in a game situation.

Walsh’s Lamar Skeeter is doing whatever he wants on offense. He has 12 points and is the sole reason the Zips are only up 2.

Cvetinovic looked really raw and uncomfortable. One on play, he tried to take a charge, but it was called a block. The next possession he backed off and allowed a gimme lay-up. On offense, he air-balled a hook shot.

Linhart leads the Zips with eight points midway through the half.

This game is close for two reasons. First, Akron has been sloppy on offense. Second, Skeeter is having a career night.

Mike Bardo’s patented move in the post is an elbow jab. I guarantee MAC referees call that an offensive foul on the road.

Brett McClanahan got on the floor briefly and looked anxious and lost.

My stupid blog host has been down for the past 20 minutes. It's back up now. But I'm still pissed about it.

Here is the most alarming stat at halftime: Rebounds — Akron 15, Walsh 22.

The freshmen point guards are making a lot of mistakes. Their defense isn't as good as I thought it would be, either. The only guys who look like Division I players are Chris McKnight and Linhart.

I would love to see Keith Dambrot use Ronnie Steward and Humpty Hitchens like Jim Christian used Al Fisher and Jordan Mincy on defense. In other words, as soon as the ballhandler crosses half court, smother him.

Darryl Roberts started the second half instead of McNees.

I don't recognize many of the girls on the dance team. They look like talented women, though. (This is just a test to see if my girlfriend reads this stuff.)

Steward completed a nice coast-to-coast drive on a fast break while being tightly guarded.

I am surprised not to see Steve Swiech yet. Andrew Parrish also has remained on the bench.

The Zips' rebounding has remained pitiful. Walsh is dominating the boards 33-23.

The rebounds are troubling, but the lack of defense is really surprising. Last year, the score was 79-55. The Zips are showing some effort on defense, but there are too many mental errors that lead to easy hoops for Walsh. I thought the defense would be ahead of the offense for the first few games. In reality, both units stink. The goal now should be to just win and avoid a total embarrassment.

Dambrot is using Chris McKnight similarly to how he used Jeremiah Wood. McKnight easily could lead the team in scoring if he gets 10 or more touches in the low post a game, like Wood did.

Walsh just tied it up with 2:26 to play. Uh oh.

The Cavaliers took the lead. Linhart drove (with a nice screen from Bardo) to tie the game. Akron got a stop. The question is: If Akron cannot break the tie on its final possession, do the teams really bother with an overtime?

Brett McKnight backed down his man and dropped in the go-ahead hoop with 11 seconds left. He has nine points. That should tell you whom Dambrot trusts in the clutch.

Walsh inbounded the ball. The Zips swarmed the player, who tossed it across the court. The Walsh player hurled a desperation 3 that went half way down, then spun out.

The announced crowd is 1,106. Maybe 1,106 limbs, not people.

McNees led Akron with four assists. Chris McKnight led the team with 20 points and seven rebounds. Skeeter finished with 25 points. Walsh's 6-10 center Kyelce Cescato had 11 rebounds.

Final score — Akron 83, Walsh 81

Quotes from Dambrot:

"I'm earning my money this year, I guess. It was good for us. First off, I want to say Walsh played really well. They know how to play, and really should have won."

"The tenets of our program were violated today. We broke the process. We were worse than any team I've had here defensively. I take full responsibility for that."

"I've tried to get them ready (offensively). We have dropped the ball fundamentally defensively. We will fix that because I won't play anyone who won't guard. I will fix the problem."

"The only thing I thought was decent was that Ronnie and Humpty pressured the ball."

"They beat us off the dribble-drive. They beat us off the ball-screen."

"I guess I don't have to be embarrassed by losing. They just stretched us out and shot it in. We played pretty good in Cincinnati. Our schedule got a little out of whack because of my wife's mother dying. But I won't make excuses all year."

"Big Boy just beat his (Bardo's) brains in. Same with Chris. I liked him on offense, but he wasn't Romeo Travis defensively. I thought they just out-hustled us."

"If you're helpless defensively, you're never safe. We made two turnovers in the last three minutes. You can't win like that."

"I can't play him (Brett McKnight) if he doesn't guard anybody."

"We've had our issues before. We went to UIC the year we won a bunch of games. We didn't guard. We didn't guard against Arkansas-Little Rock."

"I thought Ronnie played a little better than Humpty did. Humpty is struggling to make anything."

"We're not a very good basketball team right now."

"We don't have those kind of rebellious guys on our team (when I asked who doesn't want to guard)."

"We did so poorly defensively, we probably should have (played Parrish or Sweich). We went into this thinking we were going to redshirt Parrish. He blocks shots. Sweich is not too good on defense."

"I think you'll see more zone. It takes the mediocre shooter out of the game."

"We want to play Coblentz and McClanahan a little bit. They're shooters."

Linhart's quotes:

"It was absolutely disappointing. To be expecting one thing defensively — the foundation for our succes here — and then not meet any of our basic principles is inexcusable and frustrating."

Chris McKnight quotes:

"I know personally I have to do better. Knowing what we did in the past, as older guys, we have to make sure we can produce on both ends. It's going to take those young guys to accept what we're telling them."

Football

With 458 yards of offense and several key special teams plays, Akron remained in first place by beating Toledo 47-30.

The grades…

Quarterback – I was truly, absolutely impressed with Chris Jacquemain last night. He was 16-of-23 for three touchdowns, one interception and 226 yards. He didn't throw for a ton of yards, but he seemed to make the most out of every throw (even if it meant tossing it out of bounds). He showed composure that you expect from someone who has started so many games. On a couple plays, I watched him look off his primary receiver and throw to a different target upon realizing that the blitz was upon him. That kind of play is what always impressed me about Brady Quinn when he was at Notre Dame. However, Jacquemain did throw his patented momentum-changing (edited) pick. It didn't cost the Zips anything this time. The challenge for Jacquemain is whether he can sustain that momentum for the following week. This year, he has been very Derek Anderson-ish, in that he will play terrible, then well. He never puts together enough good performances to anoint him or bad performances to fire him. Grade: A-

Running back — What happened to Dennis Kennedy? Since when does he no longer stare at the ground while he runs until someone touches him? Since when does he possess field vision and shiftiness to elude tacklers? This is his third HUGE game in a row. There is no question that Akron would be out of this race without Kennedy's performance the past three games. The most important play for the Zips' future, however, might have been Andrew Johnson's 33-yard touchdown burst. He needed to find the confidence that often escapes running backs after an almost-serious injury. Grade: A

Wide receiver — If you were wondering where Andre Jones was, J.D. Brookhart suspended him for a game for violating the class attendance policy. The Zips' receiving corps sufficed without him. Deryn Bowser was a first-down machine, catching seven balls for 71 yards. Dashan Miller and Jeremy Bruce, two guys for whom I held high expectations, scored their first touchdowns. Heck, even Merce Poindexter scored. "Braylon Bowser" has a problem catching the ball. His route running, however, is so good that some of it is forgivable. Grade: B+

Offensive line — You can't say enough good things about the holes the linemen are making and the way they are protecting Jacquemain. Toledo managed only two tackles for loss and zero sacks. The line was only flagged twice. Grade: A

Defensive line — Hallelujah! I got to see four down linemen again for parts of the game. I feel like a real football fan when that happens. It has been a long time since I have been confident about Akron's ability to stop an opposing running back at the line, like I was last night. Toledo's two talented running backs averaged only 3.6 yards per carry. As a team, the Rockets only ran for 99 yards. No particular linemen's stats are impressive, but that is unimportant. One complaint about the four-linemen set is that Almondo Sewell should play defensive end, not tackle. Put him on the end with Shawn Lemon. Eric Lively and Dan Marcoux can handle the inside. Grade: B+

Linebacker – Each of the 'backers played well. Mike Thomas made some key tackles on running plays early in the game. Doug Williams caught an interception that appeared destined for his hands. Kevin Grant only made one tackle, but I have to believe that Toledo was avoiding him purposely. Grade: B

Secondary – Ouch. These guys got picked apart. Maybe it was a function of not being strategically prepared to use four linemen. Maybe it was that Toledo has talented skill players. The Rockets targeted Manley Waller and abused the true freshman. Akron has seven days off before it plays a similar offense in Buffalo. The secondary has to hold up longer to give the front seven (I hope it's front seven, not six) a chance to reach the quarterback. I'm still waiting for Bryan Williams to consistently be an impact player on defense. He has three games left to prove to NFL scouts that he can be more than just a kick returner. Grade: D

Special teams — This unit changed the game. Jalil Carter blocked a punt in the first quarter. Aaron Williams pounced on it in the endzone for a touchdown. Once Toledo regained momentum in the second quarter, Lemon blocked an extra point and trucked it almost 100 yards for a safety. (If there was any doubt that Lemon is NOT a lineman in a three-man front, that should have been it. He outran the entire Toledo team.) If you add it up (the blocked extra point, the safety and the touchdown), the special teams accounted for 10 points. The Zips won by 17. The biggest effect, however, was the momentum that it provided for Akron and the despair it unleashed upon Toledo. Grade: A+

Coaching – The Zips had eight penalties. They seemed to lose focus by earning three flags (each for 15 yards) on Toledo's last drive in the fourth quarter. Did it make a difference? Of course not. But if it becomes a trend, the team might revert back to the bush league teams of Brookhart's past. You know, the ones that couldn't go one quarter without a cheap shot personal foul. Despite my prediction, the team was not rusty one bit. They were motivated and played very hard. Kudos to Brookhart. He's got my endorsement for a sixth year in office. Grade: B+

Random thoughts…

Here's a shout-out to all the jackass "experts" who predicted the Zips would win one game this year. Sports fans should figure out that preseason college magazines are a huge racket. They do minimal research and come up with wildly inaccurate conclusions. Let me take you through the typical process. Johnny Hack looks at the team's roster. "Hmm," he says. "Miami has a lot of seniors. And they were good last year. Eureka! They will be good this year, too!" Conversely, here is how a real reporter does a prediction: He/she calls the coaches, listens for their best pitch. He analyzes the stats and what the team lost from last year. Lastly, he calls the beat reporters, who are usually more frank than the coaches. If there is any prognosticator who suffers through the latter process, I will buy his magazine. If not, college football fans should boycott this amateurish garbage.

I was stunned last night when I was talking to a couple of hardcore Zips fans who often travel to away games. They rarely visit ZipsNation.org. They had never heard of Zeke Marshall. How is that possible? I'm not certain. But let me use this opportunity to urge you to bookmark ZipsNation and visit daily to get fan opinions and inside scoops (sometimes more than I provide).

Akron's win ensured that the Rubber Bowl's final game also will be one of its most important. The winner between Akron and Buffalo will enjoy a strangle-hold on the MAC East and basically punch its ticket for Detroit. One of the AK-Rowdies leaders told me that he expects a sell-out. I strongly doubt that, but I think the crowd will be electric on that historic night. (I'm even going to see if I can get my parents, who are alums, to attend their first Zips game.)

Men's basketball

I will liveblog from the scrimmage tonight. You better thank me for it, too. I can't believe I will miss most of Quinn's first start for an Akron exhibition game. Oh well, I suppose it is a job.

Tickets for the scrimmage against Walsh are $5. It starts at 7 p.m.