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Sometimes you just gotta be the tallest midget. Clutch play by Bruno! 🇩🇪💪🏽 5-wins despite the smallest staff, smallest budget, no NIL, can’t even afford grad assistants, no travel allowed for recruiting, going stretches without a meal plan, limited to 25% fewer practices than his competition…the Zips should have been UMass this season but instead won 5. As much as my eyes burn from watching the game tonight I give the staff and players mad props for going .500 in the MAC and winning 5 games for the first time in 8 years while being blindfolded, with two cinder blocks tied to each coach’s legs. We’ll see what the future holds for the 2026 Zips. The ball is in Goodrich's hands to objectively determine how much the restrictions placed on this staff contributed to the close losses to Wyoming, UAB, Kent etc. And to figure out a plan to break free from the crippling financial shackles imposed on this year’s team. UA needs to invest in football within reasonable and responsible limits. Completely handcuffed, the Zips were within an eyelash of bowl eligibility. By providing the team with just the basics…the ability to travel to recruit talent, practices like everyone else, a couple grad assistants, a few bucks to keep some key players…it is the difference between winning 5 games and winning 8.

Most wins since 2017 and people on here choosing to be miserable. Sheesh! Go Zips!

This is another reason I'm very hesitant to knock JoeMo. This year was Year 4 but... it was really more like Year 1 than Year 4. Next year will be Year 1 all over again. Every year is Year 1. I hate it.

Here is the dilemma, neither party is happy. JoMo doesn't want to be here and powers that be don't want him to stay. If the optics weren't so bad, UA would just pay him off and send him on his way. JoMo holds all the cards. Hopefully he can find a job somewhere else and everyone will get what they want. I would rather take my chances on an up and coming guy who doesn't act like he is entitled to someone else doing all the heavy lifting required to engage the fans and community. That is the only way out of our football pit of Hell. JoMo will never be that guy.

The University has never once publicly mentioned any of the crippling limits placed on the football program in the name of budget cuts. They’ve hung Joe out to dry with a historic lack of support, whistling through the graveyard, and by their silence painting Zips football as having the same resources as every other MAC program. It isn’t fair to Joe, and I expect that grates on him. And it should. Bobby Knight once famously said - "If you're getting raped, you might as well lay back and enjoy it." Joe has bit his tongue 95% of the time, but who can blame him if, when pressed, he vents on his lack of recruiting budget, training tables, staff, and on and on? UA isn’t holding any pressers stating “You gotta understand the situation we’ve placed Joe Moorhead in. I can’t believe the guy won 3 games, let alone 5.” It's Zips Football against the world. Maybe the same geniuses at UA who’ve blundered every football-related decision since Jim Dennison’s firing will identify a "unicorn" coach that only wants a $300,000/year salary, that flits about Summit and Stark counties with a wicker basket collecting NIL money from scores of donors happily willing to fill it up, while also coaching Akron to MAC Championships and bowl victories. Wish in one wicker basket and poop in the other...see which fills up first. I have no clue what Goodrich will do regarding football. Maybe he spends a year crafting a new logo, quits his job and moves on to the next rung on his AD ladder? Maybe he’s empowered, independent of thought, and implements a plan to elevate Zips football to respectability? That would be awesome. Historically new AD’s "check their box" and hire “their guy” to run either the football or basketball program. On paper, Joe is on the hot seat. It it were me, I would fix the budget BS, show Joe a little love, and see what transpires in 2026. Joe took over a 1-11 Fordham team and went 38-13 during his tenure, winning 11 and 12 games in successive seasons. The guy can win big at the FCS/G5 level. It’s proven. But not when he’s hamstrung and unsupported. No one can.

The only way out is just another coach? There is so much wrong at Akron that another coach isn't the answer.

We're in year 4 of a highly paid coach. Kent is in year 1 of an interim-turned-permanent coach, reacquired the Wagon Wheel, and has a chance to not just match our win total but possibly go bowling. The little victories were fine in years 1&2. It's unacceptable in year 4. 2 losses to first year HCs and we couldn't muster 10+ pts vs Wyoming at home. If it wasn't for UMass joining the MAC, we'd probably be capping out at 4 wins again. I don't see an improved product on the field, at least not what you'd expect from JoeMo in his 4th year. It's hard for me to celebrate barely beating BUGS who is objectively horrendous.

https://x.com/awfulannouncing/status/1990982220949942290?t=OgtiHl73LlFxiLtt6J5FtQ&s=19

Iona beats Princeton by 20 at home. They are now 4-0 and a KenPom of 160. Game on!

Don't forget about Max Crosby, too.

I'd like to see a Marketing plan that even approaches mediocre and see what happens. Obviously you need to win. Lather, rinse and repeat. And to do that, you need to invest. You can't save your way to #1. If you want to fill a stadium, play Kent the first game of the year. Only morons schedule the Kent game in November. You'll get 20k+. Boom - The stadium is filled for 1 game every other season. That's 10% of the home games at capacity every 2 seasons. I have more. But that's all I give without a stipend.

We have donors who have contributed that much to Akron Athletics to create endowments. Just not for football. BTW, if you could share with me where I can get a guaranteed 10% return on my $2 million please send me a DM.

Supposedly ... pairings in February are based on highest NET rankings by teams in both leagues. Hopefully that is indeed the case, vs. trying to pair teams that haven't yet played each other. Let's face it. For this to truly work and benefit teams for March, the February pairings, at the least, should be NET pairings. If that means some challenge games are with teams that have already played each other, so be it. The top 4-5 teams in each league may rotate position but overall haven't really changed that much. If that means two straight road games vs. the same team, so be it. The object, in my opinion, is to pair teams with an eye toward March. Otherwise, what's the use.

BGSU seems to have always done a better job than Akron at keeping their alumni involved in athletics. The Stroh Center was built 15 years ago at a cost of $30 million. Half or more of that money came from alumni. The Stroh family alone gave $8 million. Several other donors gave over $1 million. They also sold bricks that way they could gather money from the everyday fan, which also made them feel invested. Some here have criticized the Stroh Center for not being elegant enough, but honestly for being a rural MAC school it fits what BGSU needed. They could have handicapped themselves financially by taking the $15-$20 million they got from alumni to build a $75 million 8k arena that would sit mostly empty. They were smart enough to not financially handicap themselves.

Nailed it. 😁

This is probably the most correct take.

Top Drawer soccer did a preview on the regional that the zips are in. https://www.topdrawersoccer.com/article/?categoryId=21&articleId=55371&articleTitle=mens-ncaa-tournament-region-3-preview 4. Akron(m) (11-4-3) - 1.56 goals per game (76th ranked), .667 goals allowed per game (12th ranked) Offensive Leader: Stefan Dobrijevic (8G, 10A) + Strong defense + Performed well against nationally ranked opposition - Offense can be inconsistent There is no doubt Akron has the defense for a playoff run; the question is if the offense can score enough in a region packed with high-powered attacks. Losing the Big East semifinal was not encouraging, but the team will be well-rested after receiving a first-round bye.

let's just call it like it this. people are on fall into: a.) cancel program all together cause it's a waste of taxpayer money and they will never compete b.) get rid of joe moe that will solve all the problems or c.) my favorite being in an nfl player and that will pack the stands zips did better than i thought they would after starting 2-6. I give them credit. the players could have just thrown in the towel but they didn't. Kent state was heartbreaker but was an exciting game that could have gone either way. It's always easy to make all the right coaching decisions from the comfort of your couch and everyone on here can solve all the problems. that's why i come here

Go Zips!

On some level, I sort of understand punching someone in the balls in order to not have to play in this horrible game anymore.

Do we have any NIL money to bring him to Akron?

Prepare for the 3 worst plays you’ve ever seen

Crotch punch/grab penalty seems to sum this game up nicely.

Ref made zero attempt to get out of the way of that 😂

Buffalo stays red hot. Beat Vermont to go to 5-0. Vermont was 160 in Kenpom

We have posted before about Kam Warnke... Kam had 20 goals and 10 assists this year for the state runner up Auroroa Greenmen. Nice to see all of the Akron logos in the signing announcement

OMG let's play a game how many wet dreams has GP1 had involving himself and eddie george? i'll start with at least 15 this football season... These players don't even know who eddie george is !!! The team went 1-6 in the conference and 3-8 overall. they had three players recently arrested and if you were at the game last night you would have seen them on more than one occasion acting like less than desirables. I'll stick with Joe Mo. thank you.

I think you would be surprised about EMU. They probably have one of the more involved NIL programs in the MAC. Charlie Batch is kind of the face of it and he has recruited other well off EMU alumni to help bankroll it. In fact, they offered Caleb Williams $1 million if he would transfer to EMU. Obviously that was never going to happen and he went to USC instead, but the offer was on the table.

That's not how endowments typically are distributed. Usually 4-5% of the balance can be distributed annually

It's coming back to me why I am happy at the end of a Zips football season and sad at the end of a Zips basketball season.

More than the Zips. Kent Coaches and Support staff 22 coaches. including 4 grad assistants 12 support staff Akron Coaches and Support Staff 12 coaches, zero grad assistants 6 support staff Beyond that, Kent practiced 25% more than Akron was allowed, and most of that is on Arth. And...I'm note re-re-re-typing all the other stuff. Kent beat Akron in OT because they have a really good QB. They probably even have some NIL money to keep him.

How much more is Kent investing this year to win back the Wagon Wheel and potentially go bowling? Multiple things can be true. 1) The program needs better financial support. The University needs to quit half-assing football and commit to building a program worth supporting. 2) JoeMo isn't the right guy for the job. From X's & O's to an ego too large to win over donors - he's just not it.

Will take full advantage and sit in empty spots since I have GA STH tickets

I'll disagree on these points. Multiple administrations have said "I wouldn't have built that stadium" and subsequently been let off the hook. Their lack of Athletics Marketing acumen is as boarder line criminal as their ability to run a D1 Athletics program. If Joe would have been told he'd have the smallest staff in D1, lowest budget, can't travel to recruit, no player meal plan, 25% fewer practices than the competition, and in 4 years other programs will be buying his best players and he'll need to completely rebuild annually...I don't think he'd have agreed to be the man.

No other MAC school has a $5 million note payment every year for a facilitie that sits empty for 90% of the year. Multiple administration's have tried everything you could think of to create interest. A nice 15,000 seat stadium would have been perfect. Mack Rhoades and others were sure if we built it, they would come. They didn't come. JoMo knew what he was getting into when he agreed to be the man. There is plenty of blame to go around. Hopefully Goodrich can find a different type of unicorn. A rich donor who is willing to give millions to support football. Odds are that guy is going to want some input on who is running the program. People with that type of money expect a return on their investment.

Parade someone like Eddie George through their door and see what happens.

Good post. By the end of next week, the final MAC standings will be available. Akron probably will finish in the middle of the pack in conference wins and overall wins. That's what 5 wins gets you in the MAC. We are out of the basement and with all things considered, it's a pretty good finish. Some believe shaking up the coaching staff and bringing in a no name who only has youth and energy on his side. Like all bad ideas, this will result in failure. With that said, Joe should leave and should have after last season. The leadership of the University isn't capable of developing a winning program. His time here will become pointless if it hasn't already. He should leave the leadership to their ultimate failure. It is inevitable.

What a loss (Troy) by Kent ... in a game they should have won in regulation!! Their Kenpom would have really jumped if that had been the case. That said ... Troy needing OT to beat the No. 4 MAC team even on the road says something about the MAC. If zips draw Troy in next SB Challenge game on the road, it should be a big Kenpom boost with a win!!!

Eh, 5-7 and 4-4 in conference is decent. It has been damn near a decade since Akron football has been decent. I'm certainly not in love with how this season went, but I'm not ready to run the coaching staff out of town.

Take the win. Hopefully it helps Joe get that OC job under James Franklin. Thanks for trying, but we've had enough.

Or perhaps the worst interception throw we've ever seen.

I really hope this game ends in regulation. I don't want to stay up late to watch this train wreck of a game.

I knew I could count on you!

How bout the 250lb male Samoan piccolo player in the BGSU band!

The announcers keep talking about this offensive genius. I do not think it means what they think it means.

He might get down to 900 the way we’re moving the ball…

Ben Finley's NFL comp is Mason Rudolph.

Good grief. This is a terrible game.

Back when there were talks of Akron getting a new arena ~10 years ago I kind of spoke against the 7k-8k seat arenas for this purpose. Although it would have been taxpayer funded through the city so not much pull the school would have had. It took exactly 1 game at Infocision for the new smell to wear off. I'm not sure we've hit 80% occupancy in a game since. Basketball after a season or two would almost certainly be back to averaging ~3k fans. I always thought the game day experience is better with the arena 80%-100% full, which leads to more fans wanting to return. It kind of sounds counterproductive but fewer seats can actually help improve attendance averages as it creates a false sense of scarcity and makes it a more desirable ticket to have. Particularly in an age where those under 30 want to brag on social media. It also creates a sense of urgency for people to get season tickets or buy single game tickets in advance. Key example is I would never feel the need to buy a ticket to Akron football in advance because I know I could show up to the gate and there will be 10k+ remaining. I do buy tickets in advance for Akron-Kent basketball because I know the risk for selling out is very high.

Man, I love Zips football. I can't believe this is the last game for yet another year. 😩