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1:04 is Akron. Highly recommend watching VaTech, too. I really wish this game was on PC.

It isn't supply and demand. It's a simple question. How much are P4 schools willing to pay for one tune up game a year that almost guarantees a win? $5 million is a lot to Akron, but considering TV money it's a drop in the bucket for P5 schools. I would bet schools like Alabama and OSU could get a sponsor to pay the $5 million.

There are roughly 60-75 schools in P4. There are 60-70 G5s in the DI FBS ranks and another 129 FCS members. Non-P4s having any negotiation power in this situation goes against the basic principles of supply & demand. Having any sort of union-style arrangement for G5/FCS would 100% backfire when the P4s realize they're paying collectively paying ~$350m (for one win each) that could be kept in house if they break away entirely. I'm not entirely sure what the solution is for G5/FCS, but creating their own division and expecting anything from the P4s ain't it. I'd much rather see G5/FCS make the move to collectively break away from the NCAA entirely and leave them with the problem child that is the P4. If it's going to become a capitalist market, be on the offensive instead of simply reacting to everything P4s do, which ultimately hurts G5/FCS.

Excellent question! P4 schools won't want to give up a glorified scrimmage each season. There is strength in numbers. The G5 schools could negotiate higher paying paydays as a group instead of individual, desperate ADs negotiating bad deals to make it look like they are doing something. With the amount of money now in college football, I don't think it is unreasonable for G5 schools to get a minimum of $5 million per payday game. It's a drop in the bucket. Instead, they settled for peanuts in comparison. For a lot of P4 schools, paying $5 million for a guaranteed win makes more sense than scheduling another P4 school that could result in a loss.

QB: Finley Johnson (TP) - Finley is the starter barring injury. He hit his stride over the final four games of the season, throwing for 1,027 yards, 8 touchdowns, and just 1 interception during that stretch. If he can pick up where he left off, he’ll be All-MAC in 2025. Bullock left via the portal, with Syracuse transfer Michael Johnson stepping in as his replacement. True freshman Cibastian Broughton is dynamic and should find his way onto the field somewhere during his first year. RB: Gant (TP) Patrick - Tennessee State transfer Jordan Gant will split reps with redshirt freshman Sean Patrick. Both backs showed flashes in their limited spring game action. Colgate transfer Chris Gee and ULM transfer Taven Curry are built similarly—bigger backs by our standards—who can also catch the ball out of the backfield. They’re solid change-of-pace options. I think this year’s group has four guys who can legitimately contribute. WR: Mason Walker Adams Hills (TP) Polk Davis - I’m already a Kyan Mason fan and think he’s in line for a huge season. The redshirt freshman was explosive during the spring game and easily looked like our best receiver. It’ll be good to see Adams back on the field, even if he’s not quite the all-conference player he was a few seasons ago. Polk should build on the development we saw late last year. We might’ve lost our biggest playmaker in Norton, but I actually think this year’s group has more quality depth. TE: Newell Cravaack - I strongly believe we’ll have the best tight end duo in the MAC this year. Since they’ll be splitting snaps much of the time, it’s possible neither gets all-conference recognition, but both have the ability to produce at a high level. Redshirt freshman Khalil Witherspoon is one to watch in the coming seasons. He still needs to add some mass to be more effective as an in-line blocker, but he has all kinds of length and could develop into a weapon in the passing game. LT: D. Johnson (TP) Shor LG: K. Davis Archer (TP) C Morris Fox RG: A. Jones (TP) Lyons RT: J. Moore (TP) Motley-Simmons (TP) - The OL will play a major role in determining how potent this year’s offense is. We’ve got plenty of size, length, and athleticism up front—probably the most we’ve had as a unit during Moorhead’s tenure. That’s the good news. The bad news is we’re seriously lacking guys with experience at the G5 level. It might take some time to find the right combination before this group really clicks. This isn’t one of those positions you want to enter a season still figuring out. The talent is there—but how long will it take to gel? DE: Durham (TP) Cheatom DT: Hull Laventure (JUCO) DT: Murphy Madden DE: Dall J. Frazier - From what I saw in the spring game, only Durham, Hull, and Dall look like they have spots locked down. Every other position on the depth chart feels wide open. With a new position coach and so many players moving on, this was the group I had the most concern about during the offseason. I like the film on some of the incoming transfers and JUCOs, but we won’t really know what we have until the season kicks off. Will we luck out and find another Nunnally-type on the DL, or will they end up more like the rest of our JUCO DL signees under Moorhead—rotational guys and backups? Our pass rush was anemic at times in 2024, and I’m not yet convinced it’ll be drastically better in 2025. I’d love to be proven wrong. LB: Summers Benenge LB: Cooper Spriggs - The linebacking corps should be solid in 2025, even with the losses of McCoy and Fish. When given the opportunity, Summers showed he’s a tackling machine—just like he was in JUCO—and Cooper returns from injury. We definitely missed Cooper last year; he brings a pass-rushing element the other LBs don’t. Spriggs and Benenge should be ready for bigger roles after seeing snaps in 2024. Redshirt freshman Jason Hocker and true freshman Markus Boswell both passed the eye test in the spring game, despite not being allowed to tackle anyone. CB: Reed DeWalt CB: Jarmon Kamara (TP) - From a length and athleticism standpoint, this should be the best cornerback group we’ve had. Reed started the WMU game and never gave the job back. DeWalt is an athletic specimen but needs to find more consistency. Jarmon and Kamara both looked good in the spring game, and redshirt sophomore Catrell White should be ready to contribute as well. If the front seven can generate a decent pass rush, this unit will produce in 2025. NB: Greenwood A. Branch (TP) S: David Flowers (TP) S: Anderson Hunter - I’m including nickelback with safety since there’s plenty of crossover in Tibesar’s scheme. The Lewis’ have moved on, leaving a production void in the secondary. Greenwood was a backup and will likely grab a starting spot. I expect Kent State transfer Alex Branch to push for playing time in the backfield as well. If David is healthy, he’ll probably reclaim a starting safety spot—he was lost for the season during the Rutgers game in 2024 and missed the 2025 spring game. Anderson held down the other safety spot and did a solid job. Penn State transfer Mahki Flowers, a former 4-star, could make some noise too. On paper, we seem to have enough depth this year, and with a new safeties coach in the mix, we’ll see how this group comes together. K: Wiley Samaha (TP) P: Castle Schramm LS: Dennis Rhoades (TP) - We lost all of our starting specialists after the season ended. That said, if the spring game is any indication, Wiley and Castle look ready to take over placekicking and punting duties, respectively. Michigan transfer Adam Samaha will be in the mix too. I’m curious to see if we bring in another punter just to add some competition.

Kent's Defensive Coordinator has left for NDSU just a short time before the season starts. Turmoil continues at PCCC.

I don’t think it affects us much—we usually carry around 100 guys on the roster anyway. I think we were under 110 this past season. But for schools running 125+, it’ll have an impact. They’ll eventually need to trim things down to 105, though it sounds like “grandfathering” will let them stick with higher numbers for a few more years.

In what world does removing themselves from D1/FBS give them more leverage in paydays against P4? The only way for G5s to gain leverage against P4s, outside of the NCAA making a rule that P4s have to pay poaching fees for player & coach acquisitions (which is a pipe dream) is to break away from the NCAA entirely and form their own league. Otherwise, you're stuck at the hip to a large extent.

I do and there's a name for them. They are called "taxpayers".

Or, they could combine with the rest of G5 schools and start their own division. They could have more leverage negotiating paydays against P4, a playoff and national championship.

Neither. It is a viable backup big man conference.

if my numbers are right there are approximately 100 players on Zips roster counting incoming freshman that are not listed currently on the roster. I only see two, Kavals and Sivon probably because they got their physicals. I'm guessing since they are below the 105 man limit Zips probably won't have anyone leave in the portal, may pick someone up from some Power4 schools that have to get down to the roster limit.

Student Fees

can someone much smarter than me explain how they foresee this affecting Zips team?

Is the Sun Belt a guards league or a shooters conference?

Another transfer window coming. And this whole “grandfathering” thing sounds like a mess with loop holes.

Once a veteran hits the wall...or the floor....

All but 10-15 programs in the country operate in the negative. Nobody knows where any of this money is coming from.

https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/sports/college/zips/2025/07/01/akron-zips-opt-in-house-vs-ncaa-settlement-pay-athletes-nil/84424328007/ Zips opt in. Huge news! Although I have no idea where the money will be coming from.

Football generally is what drives realignment. In that case the dead weight you speak of shedding would likely be Kent and sadly Akron.

Terence Thomas has been added back to the roster as well. Assuming all the freshmen make it in, that’s 85 scholarships by my count.

washed

Any JMU matchup is of much more interest to me than Ark.St (they would have been a great MAC addition). Freeman, Johnson & Co. got throttled by them a couple of years ago so it will be good to have another go in Akron.

Let's take a step back. As long as we stay within one score, JoeMo will have exceeded expectations and all will be good.

She's going to be at the hospital with the cafeteria bowls balanced on her foot, rolling the wheelchair back and forth as she prepares to flip the bowls onto her head with her nonbroken extremity.