The NIU men's golf team has had four qualifying rounds so far this fall, which would usually give the players enough time to prove themselves and pull away from the pack. However, coach Jack Pheanis said that none of his players have really made their move.

"Everyone seems to be bunched together," Pheanis said. "Perhaps in the next few weeks, one or two will pull apart from the others."

This year's returning players are led by Mike Briggs, last year's team MVP, who averaged 76 during the spring season. The only senior on the team is a transfer student from Texas Christian, Tek Osbourne.

Osbourne sat out last year due to NCAA requirements but hopes to give the team some much needed experience. Most of the golfers have little or no intercollegiate experience.

"Many of the younger players have done well in the qualifying rounds, but there is quite a difference between playing with your friend and trying to make a four-foot putt under pressure," Pheanis said.

The men's fall season opens Sept. 11-12 at the University of Minnesota Invitational in Minneapolis, Minn. This will be followed by the Northern Iowa Fall Classic in Cedar Falls on Sept. 16-18. After a stop at the Badger Fall Invitational in Madison, Wis. on Sept. 23-24, the team will return home to host the NIU/Elwood Greens Invitational at the Elwood Greens Country Club in Genoa on Sept. 30-Oct. 1. Its fall season concludes with a trip to the Purdue University Boilermaker Invitational on Oct. 15-16 in West Lafayette, Ind.

The only freshman member of the squad is Ray Eckersol, who last year competed for Lake Park High School. His talent is highly touted by Pheanis and is expected to have excellent seasons while at NIU.

Some of the other members who hope to make the five-man squad are Chad Barrons and Dave Wegrzyn, who were red shirted last year; Rick Stewart, who Pheanis hopes will improve on last year; sophomore Ted Meyer, who was class AA Illinois state high school champion two years ago; and Brian Chavez, a DeKalb native whose father is the resident professional at the Sycamore Golf Course.

"We have some very talented players this fall," Pheanis said. "No one player stands out from the rest yet, but the best performer to date has been Briggs."

Although the fall season is only a warm-up for the more rigorous spring schedule, it nonetheless will give Pheanis an idea of where his team is heading. And this year, he hopes his team will win a few tournaments and be selected to compete in the national tournament next spring.

So maybe "Zips" is a strange name for a football team, that doesn't mean the Akron players don't get offended when people make fun of them.

After last year's meeting with NIU, Akron QB Andy Kubik explained that he and his mates used, as incentive, a story in the Northern Star that had some not-so-kind remarks about the Zips.

Apparently, it worked.

That Saturday, the Akron defense came up with seven Huskie turnovers and Kubik, who would never be mistaken for John Elway, completed 18-of-33 passes for 189 yards and a touchdown in a 27-21 upset win.

The loss ruined any chance the Huskies had of having a winning season in 1987 as their record fell to 4-5-1 with one game remaining. Of course, they went on to win their season finale on national TV at Nevada-Las Vegas, and now NIU is again looking for its first winning season under fourth-year coach Jerry Pettibone.

Akron returns to Huskie Stadium Saturday for a 6:35 p.m. contest that will mark the first game of 1988 for both schools. For NIU, it could be the start of a successful season.

"I'm not going to say it's a do-or-die game," said Huskie head coach Jerry Pettibone, "but it is important that we play well. That will build confidence."

NIU starts the season without one of its top defensive linemen, sophomore Cary Caliendo, who has been suspended for one game for violating team rules. Pettibone declined to elaborate.

The Huskies will also be without senior halfback Mike Strasser, who is out with a knee injury. Expected to be ready for next week's game, Strasser will be replaced by red-shirt freshman Eugene Edmond.

Starting a relatively inexperienced player at a skill position on opening day is a coach's nightmare. And Pettibone didn't try to deny it.

"Yes, it scares me," Pettibone said. "I'd feel better if Mike Strasser was here."

Third-year Akron head coach Gerry Faust finds himself in a similar situation without Derek Alston at the starting tailback spot. Alston, the Zips' starter last year, has a tender ankle and will be used as a backup Saturday.

In Alston's place will be John Motton, a 6-foot-1, 205-pound junior who was a fullback until spring practice. Motton rushed for 436 yards on 95 carries in 1987 and was voted the team's Most Outstanding Back.

The Zips also have a new quarterback. In fact, Kubik has been passed up by two players over the summer.

Junior college transfer Mike Johnson gets the starting nod for Akron, even though he has been with the team for just three weeks. Johnson is a left-handed thrower who led his Mesa (Ariz.) Community College Thunderbirds to an 8-2-1 record last year.

And Pettibone likes the thought of going up against an untested signal caller.

"This is his first game as a Division I quarterback," Pettibone said. "It would be like me putting in Stacey Robinson at starting quarterback." Robinson sat out his freshman year at NIU and has worked his way up to third string this fall.

But Faust isn't concerned about quarterbacks per se. Not even NIU's All-America hopeful, Marshall Taylor.

Although Faust called Taylor "everything you'd want in a quarterback," the Akron coach said keying on one man is not the way to defense NIU's Wishbone attack.

"I think to stop the Wishbone, you've got to control the line of scrimmage," Faust said. "You'd better have good down linemen and good perimeter people or you'll be in trouble."

And NIU's recipe to avoiding trouble Saturday? Don't make fun of the Zips.