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.

Auburn beat McNeese State, 91-76. It was a very sloppy game, though, with Auburn committing 20 turnovers and 21 fouls. Still, Auburn shot exceptionally well — over 50% for the game (29-53). Take out the hideous 3-point shooting (6-21), and Auburn was shooting very well inside the arc.

Auburn is a very young team, and 10 players saw double digit minutes in the game.

Superficially, this team has similarities to Pitt in that they are led by a senior guard with a lot of young players that Coach Jeff Lebo is trying to figure the best combinations and rotations.

Pretty much the same situation Coach Dixon is in at that moment.

“We’ve got a little bit of a feel, but we’re still three days away,” Dixon said Thursday during the Big East Conference’s first media teleconference.

Four games into the season, Dixon is learning the strengths and weaknesses of his team.

“The guard play has been good,” he said. “We haven’t shot it great, but I do think we have good shooters and they will shoot it well over the long haul.”

The Pitt News, has a quick breakdown of the two teams worth looking over.

Auburn Coach Jeff Lebo and his assistant (and father) Dave Lebo will be coming up to Pennsylvania today ahead of the team. They will be in Carlisle for the dedication of “Coach Lebo Court” at Carlisle High.

Lebo coached at Carlisle High for 19 years, peaking in the mid- to late-80s. Helped, of course, by the talent.

Lebo’s presence in the Carlisle community hit its zenith during the run at four state titles from 1985 through 1988. In those days, it was standing room only in the gym as just about everyone in the community came to catch a glimpse of the powerhouse teams led by Jeff Lebo and Billy Owens.

Not just their gym. Any high school gymnasium in Central PA where they played filled up to see them pound the crap out of your team. Everyone was aware of the team in the area. Even those who were in the midst of their own little high school world at the time. It was also astounding, just how many people named Lebo were claiming familial connections to Jeff and Dave at that time.