The University of Akron Athletics
Akron-Connecticut: 1st Meeting, Zips See Huskies Again
October 16 | Football
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AKRON - It would be easy for the Zip football team (4-3, 3-0 MAC East) to get caught looking ahead to next week's Mid-American Conference East battle with three-time defending champion Marshall (2-4, 1-0 MAC East).
It will undoubtedly be the biggest MAC game Akron has played in its nine league seasons. The East Division title will be at stake; but Zip coach Lee Owens will not fall into that trap.
"We have plenty to work on after the way we played against Northern Illinois," said Owens, in the wake of Saturday's 52-35 loss to the MAC West challenger.
"(Northern) is too good a football team for us to continually make the kind of mistakes we made with the penalties, with the turnovers, we made some bad choices out here. It's uncharacteristic. We haven't played that way the last four weeks."
First things first. The Connecticut Huskies (2-4), the nation's newest I-A football team, invade the Rubber Bowl this Saturday for a 7 p.m. kickoff.
"One thing we've learned this season," started Owens, "is that if you are not ready to play, you're in trouble. UConn's quarterback (Ryan Tracey) is throwing for nearly 300 yards a game. They have a couple of tall, talented receivers. Connecticut has played two very competitive games against teams in our league. This is an important game for us."
UConn will join the Big East Conference in 2005. The Huskies advanced to the I-AA playoffs in 1998 under coach Skip Holtz. Randy Edsall was appointed head coach for the 1999 season.
Football Game Day Info
Date: Oct. 21, 2000
Site: Akron, Ohio
Stadium: Rubber Bowl (35,202)
Kickoff: 7 p.m. ET
Team Records: UA is 4-3, 3-0 in the MAC-E; UConn is 2-4
Radio: ESPN 1350-AM. Steve French and Joe Dunn are the talent
TV: None
Series: 0-0
Zip Football Quick Facts
Location: Akron, Ohio (NE Ohio, pop. 223,000)
Enrollment: 23,264
Founded: 1870
Conference: Mid-American
President: Dr. Luis M. Proenza
Athletic Director: Michael J. Thomas
Head Coach: Lee Owens
Alma Mater: Bluffton, 1977
Age: 44
6th Yr. at Akron: 23-39
Overall: same
1999: 7-4, 5-3 MAC (3rd East)
HS Record: 89-32-2 (11 yrs.)
Offense: Offset-I
Defense: Flex 50
UConn Coach: Randy Edsall
At UConn: 6-11, 2nd season
Overall: same
Zip Sports Information
Phone: (330) 972-7468
FAX: (330) 374-8844
Web Site: www.GoZips.com
MEDICAL UPDATE: Senior LB Louis Mackey suffered a shoulder injury against NIU and is out for UConn. Sophomore TB Brandon Payne left the NIU game early with a turf toe, cleared to practice Tuesday. Senior DL Ade Edwards did not dress for Northern after a pinched nerve in his neck and shoulder.
MAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Just one Zip was nominated for MAC Player of the Week, after Saturday's 52-35 loss to Northern Illinois: OFFENSIVE- Butchie Washington (333 total yards, career-high 324 passing, three touchdown passes).
HOME COOKIN': Zips are 15-12 at the Rubber Bowl under Lee Owens, and have three home games left this season. With a win over UConn, the Zips would become the only MAC school to win a combined four nonconference I-A games the last two seasons.
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Butchie Washington |
NIU GAME NOTES: The Zips saw their four-game win streak halted ... Akron had not won five in a row since 1985 ... Butchie Washington tossed three scoring passes for the second straight week and broke the UA career mark for TD passes. Now at 31, his total surpassed Tom Boggs who tossed 28 between 1955-57 ... Washington threw for a career-high 324 yards on just 12 completions and moved into first place in the MAC in passing efficiency at 134.5 ... His total offense of 333 yards (324 + 9 rush) is also a career high ... WR Lavel Bailey extended his string to 20 games with at least one reception ... Bailey enjoyed his 10th career 100-yard receiving game ... Jimmie Gray had a season-long 33-yard run ... Brandon Payne caught his first career TD pass ... Seven different ball carriers have topped 100 yards rushing against the Zips, including Michael Vick with 102 in the opener.
VETERAN CREW: There are 20 seniors on this year's Akron squad, with 11 of the 20 being starters. The Zips' captains for the 2000 season are: FB Tony McCray (Akron/Buchtel), DB Rich Reliford (Bolingbrook, Ill.), DB Dwight Smith (Detroit, Mich./Central) and QB Butchie Washington (Columbus/ Beechcroft) all seniors. McCray is the younger brother of former Zip captain Andre McCray and might be the fastest fullback in the MAC.
OFF THE CUFF: The Zips meet the Huskies again this week ... UConn is 1-1 against MAC opponents this season, with a 32-25 loss at Eastern Michigan and a 24-21 win at Buffalo ... The Huskies complete their 2000 season at Ball State ... Sixteen UConn players hail from Pennsylvania, including Tim Broderick (Shaler), Mark Campoli (New Castle), and Barry Crable (Woodland Hills). Likely high school teammates of Zac Derr, Shawn Klik and Brandon Payne, respectively ... Lavel Bailey ranks second in the MAC in reception yards per game (92.6) and leads the league at 21.6 yards per catch ... Home Sweet Turf: The Zips will play on artificial turf the rest of the way, even if they advance to the MAC Championship Game and the Motor City Bowl ... Zip backs Brandon Payne (97.3) and Jimmie Gray (76.5) have averaged 173.8 ground yards together on turf ... on natural grass, Payne (55.0) and Gray (36.0) have combined to average 91.0 yards ... the Zips are a plus-5 in turnover margin and lead the MAC with 10 INTs ... the Zips have lost four fumbles in seven games ... Akron doubled its season sack total at BG with four ... rookies Doug Sutton and Dwayne Lefall each have 1 1/2 quarterback sacks ... Zips are one of four MAC teams averaging 400 or more yards of total offense per game (Marshall, Ohio, Northern Illinois).
SERIES: 0-0. First meeting. The Zips are slated to play in Storrs in 2002 and 2004. The Huskies are back in Akron in 2003.
REPORTING FOR ACTIVE DUTY: Two true freshmen DBs Maurice Taylor (Warren G. Harding) and Rickey McKenzie (Elkhart, Ind.) were activated for the Miami game and saw duty on special teams. Both traveled to Bowling Green last week and saw action vs. NIU. Taylor and rookie DL Doug Sutton are both out of Warren G. Harding HS.
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Dwight Smith |
IT MIGHT NOT BE AS BAD ...: The Zips were touched for 52 points for the second time this season, once by Va. Tech and once by Northern Illinois. The Zips dropped to 13th in the league in rush defense (241.6) and are 12th overall (424.1). Yet in other statistics, Akron's defense looks better: scoring (8th, 29.4), pass efficiency (2nd, 108.0), and third-down conversions (4th, 33.7). The Zips continue to lead the MAC in interceptions (10) and are a +5 in the giveaway/takeaway department. Dwight Smith leads the nation still in INTs (8). Akron is sixth in the MAC in net punt (34.1).
POINT ME TO THE BURGH: Both from Pittsburgh, Pa., and both have produced plenty of points for the Zips sophomore tailback Brandon Payne (Woodland Hills) and junior place kicker Zac Derr (Shaler). Both are among Akron's top 12 all-time leading scorers and have combined for 301 points.
RECORD WATCH: Wide receiver Lavel Bailey caught his 124th career pass vs. Northern Illinois and trails all-time leader Dan Ruff by three receptions. His career totals for receptions (124), yardage (2,349) and touchdowns (18) are all second on UA's leader board, trailing one man: Ruff (1967-70). Ruff's numbers: 127, 2,531 and 27 are all within striking distance. Bailey enjoyed his 10th career 100-yard receiving game (his third of the season) against NIU (4 recs, 156 yds, 1 TD). He had six grabs for 131 yards and two TDs against UCF.
Bailey and Jake Schifino now hold six of the 20 longest pass receptions in UA history. Bailey's 80-yard TD catch vs. NIU tied for fifth longest in school history. Schifino's 78-yard scoring grab is the ninth longest on record.
Vs. Northern Illinois, tailback Brandon Payne scored two touchdowns. Payne piled up a career-high 188 yards (24 carries) on the ground, with seven runs of more than 10 yards against Miami (Sept. 30). With his career-rushing total at 1,399 yards (77.7 yds/game), Payne's career point total stands at 140 (tied for 12th place on the UA career scoring list). Currently at 79.1 rushing yds/game, he would have to average 111.5 over Akron's final four games to become the Zips' first Div. I-A 1,000-yard rusher.
Vs. Northern, quarterback Butchie Washington, already the UA record holder for career completions (421), passing yardage (5,977), touchdowns (31) and career total offense (6,254), enjoyed his 22nd career 150-yard passing game and will make his 35th consecutive start vs. Connecticut the second longest streak in Division I-A (36, Jason McKinley, Houston). Washington has thrown for 200-plus yards in six of Akron's seven games to date. On his current pace (1,597 passing yds in 7 games), he'll break the UA season passing mark of 2,170 set by Mike Johnson in 1988.
Also vs. Northern, junior PK Zac Derr added three XPs and is in sixth place on the all-time Akron scoring chart (161 points). He had 24 points in the wins over Ohio and Miami. WATCH LISTS: Three Zips have been nominated for national awards. Zip senior defensive back Dwight Smith is on the 40-man Watch List for the Jim Thorpe Award. Smith, a top 20 pick at his position by The Sporting News and rated the nation's 14th best corner by rivals.com, currently leads the nation with eight interceptions. A second-team All-MAC selection last fall, Smith is the second Zip (Andre McCray having been tabbed in 1998) in three years to be listed by the Thorpe Award, which recognizes the nation's premier defensive back.
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Brandon Payne |
Sophomore tailback Brandon Payne's is on the Watch List for the Doak Walker Award, which recognizes the nation's outstanding running back. The 1999 MAC Freshman of the Year rushed for 845 yards last fall and ranked second in the league in scoring with 14 touchdowns.
Sure-handed Tim Ritley (Perry/Lake Perry) has been nominated for the inaugural John Mackey Award, symbolic of the country's outstanding tight end. A top candidate for Academic All-American, Ritley has 10 receptions for 168 yards (one TD at BG) to date and has 30 career catches and four touchdowns in two-plus seasons. He also caught a two-point pass vs. NIU.
In addition, senior captain Rich Reliford (Bolingbrook, Ill.) has been nominated for the National Scholar-Athlete Postgraduate Scholarship Awards.
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Rich Reliford |
THINK YOU'RE BUSY?: Akron senior captain Rich Reliford learned on August 28 that he and his wife, LaTonya, are expecting twins one boy, one girl in early January. Reliford, a defensive back out of Bolingbrook, Ill., carries a 3.03 GPA as a mechanical engineering major. Richard was speechless when the doctor told us, says LaTonya, also a University student. I'd never seen him like that.
ACADEMIC NOMINATIONS: Four Zips have been nominated for the GTE Academic All-District Team: junior PK Zac Derr (Pittsburgh, Pa./Shaler), junior TE Tim Ritley (Lake Perry), senior DL Jason Wiggins (Columbus/St. Francis DeSales) and junior fullback Matt Zuercher (Waynedale). Ritley is an honorable mention choice for the 2000 Anson Mount Scholar-Athlete award (Drew Brees winner) and was first-team All-District last fall.
1-2 PUNCH: How about the pass catching duo of senior Lavel Bailey and junior Jake Schifino? Thru seven games, they've combined for 55 catches, 1,145 yards and eight TDs.
TYCO GRIDIRON CLASSIC: Dwight Smith has been invited to play in the Tyco Gridiron Classic Jan. 13, 2001, at the Florida Citrus Bowl. The college all-star game matches Team Florida against Team USA.
DOLPHIN: Ex-Zip great Jason Taylor is enjoying a huge fourth year with the Miami Dolphins. Taylor has 5 1/2 sacks and three forced fumbles in six games (5-1). He forced a fumble, picked it up and scored in Week #5 against Cincinnati. On Sunday, another ex-Zip, New York Jet Victor Green, returned an interception for a TD vs. New England.
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Jeremiah Danielson |
SENIOR MEMBER: Zip offensive guard Jeremiah Danielson (American Samoa/City College of San Francisco) turned 28 Sept. 28. Next to Florida State's Chris Weinke, Danielson is the second oldest player in Division I-A after having served four years in the Navy, including two-plus years with the Presidential Honor Guard in Washington, D.C. He enrolled at City College of San Francisco in January of 1997 and joined the Zips for spring semester, 1999.
MAC ROUNDUP
Last Week's Scores
No. Illinois 52, Akron 35
Ball State 33, E. Michigan 14
Miami 24, Bowling Green 10
Ohio 44, Kent 7
Toledo 42, Marshall 0
Idle- Buffalo, W. Mich., C. Mich.
This Week's Schedule
Connecticut at Akron, 7:00
Ball State at Buffalo, 1:00
No. Illinois at W. Michigan, 1:00
C. Michigan at Ohio, 2:00
Kent at Marshall, 3:30
E. Michigan at Bowling Green, 7:00
Idle- Miami, Toledo
Next Week's Schedule
Marshall at Akron, 7:00
Toledo at Navy, Noon
Miami at Cincinnati, 1:00
Ball State at C. Michigan, 1:00
Buffalo at No. Illinois, 1:05 CT
W. Michigan at Kent, 2:00
Idle- BG, E. Michigan, Ohio
2000 MAC Standings
East Division Conf* Overall
Akron 3-0 4-3 Marshall 1-0 2-4 Miami 2-1 4-3 Ohio 2-1 4-3 Buffalo 1-2 1-5 Bowling Green 1-3 1-6 Kent 0-3 1-6
West Division Conf* Overall
W. Michigan 1-0 5-1 Northern Illinois 1-0 4-2 Toledo 2-1 6-1 Ball State 1-1 2-4 C. Michigan 0-1 1-5 E. Michigan 0-2 1-6 *Conf record will count only games within the division. Cross-over games will be used in the event of a three-way tie.
MAC Championship Game, Dec. 2
Huntington, W. Va.
Motor City Bowl, Dec. 27
Pontiac Silverdome
Oct. 14, 2000
Northern Illinois 52, Akron 35
Rubber Bowl
Huskies 7 17 18 10 52 Zips 13 8 7 7 35
AKRON - Sophomore Thomas Hammock rushed for a career-high 174 yards and five touchdowns to lead Northern Illinois to a 52-35 win over host Akron.
The Zips, now 4-3, 3-0 in the MAC East, saw their four-game win streak come to an end. Northern (4-2, 1-0 MAC West) won its third straight.
"(Northern) is too good a football team for us to continually make the kind of mistakes we made with the penalties, with the turnovers, we made some bad choices out here," started Zip coach Lee Owens. "It's uncharacteristic. We haven't played that way the last four weeks. A lot of the credit goes to Northern Illinois. They played hard."
Hammock, the MAC's third-leading rusher coming into the contest, and freshman Michael Turner became the sixth and seventh ball carriers this season to top 100 yards rushing against the Zips. Turner carried 20 times for 140.
The difference in the game was Northern's ability to run the ball compared to Akron's. The Zips were limited to 116 net yards on the ground, led by Jimmie Gray who carried 10 times for 58. Soph tailback Brandon Payne left early after twisting his foot and wound up with 32 yards on seven tries.
The Huskies rolled up 31 first downs, eight by penalty. The Zips were flagged 10 times for 148 yards in penalties, including four defensive pass interference and two roughing the punter flags. The Huskies were caught 11 times for 99 yards in penalties. The two teams combined for 21 flags for 247 yards, 11 yards shy of the MAC record.
Scoring Summary
NI Finlen 12 run (Azar kick), 7:53
UA Bailey 80 pass from Washington (Derr kick), 7:32
UA Payne 14 pass from Washington (kick failed), 2:36
NI Hammock 9 run (Azar kick), 12:02
NI Azar 37 FG, 6:56
NI Hammock 5 run (Azar kick), 1:04
UA Payne 8 run (Ritley pass), 0:20
UA Schifino 78 pass from Washington (Derr kick), 11:36
NI Azar 39 FG, 6:33
NI Hammock 1 run (McCareins pass), 2:36
NI Hammock 15 run (Azar kick), 0:13
UA Gray 4 run (Derr kick), 12:48
NI Azar 42 FG, 9:22
NI Hammock 34 run (Azar kick), 7:25
Team Stats NI UA First Downs 31 15 Rushing yards 57-360 28-116 Passes 15-23-0 12-28-2 Passing yards 134 324 Total offense 80-494 56-440 Punts-avg 3-41.0 5-41.4 Fumbles-lost 1-1 1-1 Penalties-yards 11-99 10-148 Possession time 40:34 19:26
Individual Leaders
Rushing UA: Gray 10-58, Payne 7-32; NI: Hammock32-174, Turner
20-140.
Passing UA: Washington 12-28-2-324; NI: Finlen 15-23-0-134.
Receiving UA: Bailey 4-156, Schifino 3-97, Payne 3-23; NI: Perry
7-62, Dunker 3-28, McCareins 3-25.
2000 Zips' Football Schedule (4-3, 3-0 MAC-E) Sept. 2 Virginia Tech 52, Akron 23 Sept. 9 Central Michigan 17, Akron 7 Sept. 16 Akron 35, UCF 24 Sept. 23 Akron 23, Ohio 20* Sept. 30 Akron 37, Miami 20* Oct. 7 Akron 27, Bowling Green 21* Oct. 14 No. Illinois 52, Akron 35 Oct. 21 Connecticut at Akron 7:00 pm Oct. 28 Marshall at Akron* (HC)(TV) 7:00 pm Nov. 11 Buffalo at Akron* 7:00 pm Nov. 18 Akron at Kent* 2:00 pm *MAC East game All Times are Eastern
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