I suppose some Pitt fans find this depressing.
Final: Akron 31, Northern Illinois 30!
Call it a MAC title and a Motor City Bowl bid, the first in school history!
Call it an upset, as the Zips came into this game as two-touchdown underdogs. Northern Illinois had six players named first team All-MAC.
Call it David slays Goliath again, as the underdog and underrated Zips had no first-team All-MAC players. That didn’t stop the Zips. Nor did trailing 24-10 heading into the fourth quarter stop the Zips. Nor did being behind 30-24 in the final seconds. Nor did Northern Illinois’ brilliant running back, Garrett Wolfe, who raced for 270 yards in 42 carries.
The Zips just kept coming back and coming back.
Somehow, these Zips believed. Not in miracles, but in themselves. That’s a testimony to coach J.D. Brookhart, who has put together a strong MAC football team, and done it in only two years. He’s done it with some of his recruits, some from the regime of former coach Lee Owens.
He’s masterfully stirred them together, cooking up a contender that demonstrates there is life at UA after star quarterback Charlie Frye. That was as clear as the ESPN broadcast, which should serve as a terrific recruiting tool for both the Zips and the MAC.
It also introduced the nation to Getsy, the honor student (3.5 grade-point average) and transfer from Pitt who backed up Frye a year ago, then took over this season and saved his best for last.
Instead of a slingshot, Getsy used his powerful right arm. The junior threw for 413 yards on 30-for-50 passing, and did it against a defense that knew he had to throw to bring the Zips back in the second half.
Want some more good news?
Getsy will be back next season.
I’m not. Big props to former Pitt WR Coach and Offensive Coordinator, J.D. Brookhart for actually winning at all at Akron — especially this soon. Under no stretch of the imagination is Akron ever going to be considered a sleeping giant, let alone a team you think of as a contender in the MAC.
Congratulations to Luke Getsy for showing that he did have the arm strength and game to play Div. 1-A college football. I’m still very happy to have Palko as Pitt’s QB. Getsy transferred from Pitt last fall after failing to beat Tyler Palko for the starting job. I didn’t want Getsy to transfer for fear that the Pitt O-line would get Palko killed injured last year and that would leave a true freshman as the back-up (gee, that sounds familiar). I didn’t object to the desire to transfer, but like most fans his potshots, whining and complaints out the door were bothersome. For the record, Harris and Pitt released Getsy from his scholarship binds after the season ended, so he only had one semester without a scholarship at Akron.
QB transfers happen. Last year, Ohio State’s Troy Smith started making noise about transferring when Zwick was starting. Coaches recruit and stockpile the position, and kids want their shot.
