Zipped???

Penn State opens up their college football season this weekend against the Akron Zips … Boy would I have LOVED to be a fly on a wall when the University came up with this nickname. I mean, did they really think this one through? What were the other choices? Could there have been worse options than naming your team Zips? I guess the name Akron “Nothing to See Here’s” was too long, right?

After doing some research on the Akron website, I found this out:
Originally Zippers, athletic director Kenneth Red Cochrane officially shortened the nickname to the Zips in 1950. Twenty-five years earlier a campus-wide contest had been conducted to choose a nickname for the University's athletic teams.

Suggestions submitted by students, faculty, and alumni included Golden Blue Devils, Tip Toppers, Rubbernecks, Hillbillies, Kangaroos, and Cheveliers. The winner, freshman Margaret Hamlin, received a prize of $10 for Zippers - a $6 pair of rubber overshoes and a brand name of the BF Goodrich Company.

O.K., so they used to be called Zippers? Other choices were Tip Toppers, Rubbernecks, and Hillbillies??? Could you imagine a logo for any of these? I’m confused. I was hoping to find a good reason for the nickname … unfortunately, my mission was unsuccessful. They should just move forward with naming their team the Akron “Paris Hiltons.”

Anyway, I decided to do a little research on the Zips to find out their strengths and weaknesses, and you know what? It was difficult to find anything on this team, other than the fact that they won their conference last season … with a 7-6 record. I guess football writers don’t get very excited about writing stories on a team called the Zips.

They do have eight starters back on each side of the ball, so at the very least, they have leadership. However, they did lose their leading receiver and tailback from last season. The only way Penn State is even in a struggle in this game is if the players are looking past this game (they play Notre Dame next weekend). The Nits are favored by 16.5 points in this one.

For what it is worth, I think Penn State will struggle early in this one – considering they have a new qb and a young o-line. Hopefully, Morelli will settle in, and gain confidence as the game goes on. PSU’s defense will play a vital role in this one, as hopefully they will be able to keep Akron from putting points on the board.

My prediction: Penn State 27, Akron 13.

Penn State football starts in just a couple of weeks, and after last season’s unexpected success, I’m thirsting for more. I’m not sure if Joe-pa’s boys can repeat their Big-Ten championship season, but I’m still excited. They lost a lot of great players on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball, but with their fantastic recruiting over the past few years, they have a good chance to fill those vacancies successfully. Here are some of the questions that face the Nits this season:

Quarterback – Michael Robinson became an amazing team leader last season, and was a big reason this team finished third in the country. The offense was very similar to the one that Texas ran en-route to a national championship. Anthony Morelli replaces Robinson, and my guess is this offense won’t look the same. Morelli does not have the quickness Robinson had, but he does have a stronger arm, and with the fast receivers (possibly the quickest Penn State has ever had), this might resemble the 1994 offense more – let’s hope!

Offensive Line – Levi Brown is really the only returning starter to an offensive line that shined for the blue-and-white last season. However, Penn State has a lot of big recruits ready to fill in. Hopefully, the rushing attack of Austin Scott and Tony Hunt can continue to excel. The receivers need to get open, and the tight-end might play a bigger role this season.

Defensive Line – The defensive line lost some valuable players last season as well. When you lose a player like Tamba Hali, it is hard to expect the line to be the same as last season. This line played extremely well, as was evidenced in the Ohio State and Florida State games. However, PSU might have the best linebacking group in the league and that should be a big plus as well.

There are certainly other question marks on this squad, but these are the big three I’m targeting. Hopefully, the young guys are up to the challenge to step up, as they have two monstrous games in September – one against Notre Dame on September 9, and the other against the highly regarded Buckeyes on September 23 – both on the road. A split, and a BCS could be in PSU’s future. If, by some dumb luck, Penn State can win both, it might be time to talk National Title. I guess we’ll see soon enough.

Keggers Ruled!

This is a picture of Mung, Slant and me at Mont Alto - specifically, at one of the keg sites in the woods. I'm not sure which site this is, but I'm pretty sure it is either Malibu or the Main Site. For those of you who are not familiar with the beer-drinking rituals at Mont Alto, please let me educate.

1. First, Mont Alto is a dry town, which means one cannot purchase beer in this town. Of course, there are many towns that surround Mont Alto that do sell beer. College students pick up on this pretty quickly, and make accomodations.

2. Those college students that have SUV's or pick-up trucks (not surprisingly, many who go to Mont Alto do - as the place is located on the side of a mountain in Central PA), are the most popular, as they are easily capable of hauling these kegs up the mountain.

3. Students who are 21 (or have a fake ID) are like Gods on the campus, as they can make quite a bit of money purchasing the beer.

4. There are about 4 or 5 keg sites in the woods behind the campus - students used to make and sell tickets to these "Keggers," usually, the price was $3 to $4, which was especially reasonable for us unwealthy students.

5. The woods provided an interesting backdrop, as most of the partygoers would dress in jeans, flannel and shit-kickers when preparing to go to one of these events.

6. For some reason, it was always more difficult to actually get to the party site, than it was to come back from it (alcohol was like the Force, I guess).

7. Much Steve Miller, AC/DC, and Garth Brooks was played at these parties, so one had to either like these bands, or get drunk quickly.

8. The morning after the party, the room and all the clothes smelled like burnt hickory. It was nauseating.