As a sci-fi nerd, Kip's pet hermit crab, Jones, is likely named after the cat from Alien - O 8º Passageiro (1979) starring Sigourney Weaver.
The song playing when Riley drives with Kip to the hospital is the same one at the end of the movie Sixteen Candles.
The cartoon chicken on the zombie-hunting outfits is a nerd joke about "choking the chicken".