Let'sGoZips94

Nothing says "emphasizing strength of schedule" like sheltering your conference under the umbrella of zero-bias preseason polls.

I'm ~140-145 lbs and my goal every time I eat at Rockne's is to wolf down a Mack the Knife plus the fries. Someday this will probably catch up with me, but that day is not today. It's very, very good. @DCPoke Ahead of the game on Thursday: - Welcome to Akron. I hope you have a nice experience. Hopefully the forecasted rain doesn't occur around or during the game. Temperature wise, it should be perfect (low 70s/upper 60s). Echoing previous posts, you cannot go wrong with Rockne's on The Strip in North Canton. - Much as you believe this Akron game will be a litmus test for Wyoming's season outlook, Akron fans have the same view for our season. We have been very competitive in the majority of conference games the last 2 seasons, but the wins have eluded us for the most part. We finished last year strong and are hoping to build upon that momentum, especially with a rare returning starting QB in Ben Finley. - I know you have nothing to do with this, but thank you to your alma mater for playing at Akron. For our fanbase, seeing a non conference D1 FBS opponent at the Info is like seeing a winning Browns season. It doesn't happen often, but when it does, it's special. Wyoming is a great opponent and when Akron makes the return trip out to Laramie, I'm hoping to make the trip.

This team has the chance to be very, very good. Their possession and decision making seems... sharper compared to previous seasons (I could be wrong, just a feeling based on the first two games). HUGE contest on Friday. Go Zips.

Only 2 teams finished 300+ in the MAC - Buffalo (341st; 9-22) and NIU (354th; 6-25). Most of the teams in the MAC that finished with a similar record to UMass ended up in the 260-280 range, and odds are UMass would've ended up with a few more wins at least to probably settle around the same ~220 spot they finished in the A10. Ohio was 16-16 and finished 179th, for example. CMU finished 219th after going 14-17. It's all hypothetical, but I do believe UMass will be a Q3 opportunity for us.

Martin has a .575 winning percentage in 18 seasons as a head coach at Kansas State (5 seasons), South Carolina (10 seasons), and UMass (3 seasons). UMass is the only place he doesn't have a winning record at, and he's at .500 exactly (47-47; reclamation project as 2 seasons ago he delivered their first winning season since 2014-15). The top of the MAC is solid mid-major basketball, but let's not act like the MAC is going to bolster his resume vs. winning in the Big 12, SEC, and A10. Steele is the only respectable challenger outside of Groce for "best coach in the MAC" but the jury is still out on him. Kowalchoke and Pinky being in the same conversation as Groce, Steele, and Martin is disrespectful to those 3. If Martin fails to take UMass to the top of the MAC, he will lose a lot of credibility, but he's coming in as a top 2 coach, 3rd at absolute worst. S Tier: Groce, Martin A Tier: Steele B Tier: Kowalchoke, Pinky, Boals C Tier: Simon D/F Tier: Really, who the hell cares after those top 7?

They were 12-20 last year and bottomed out at only 223. Only 5 MAC schools finished ahead of them in NET: Akron - 91 PCCC - 128 Miami OH - 147 Ohio - 179 CMU - 219 It's all pure speculation, but I think the general public expects UMASS to be a top 4-6 MAC program as their floor which puts them within striking distance of the Q3 threshold (76-160 for Home games). Time will tell if the A10 overly inflated their NET, or if a (likely) better record in the MAC will be more beneficial. Frank Martin is the highest paid coach in the MAC now by quite a bit, and outside of the Groce, he's easily the best coach in the MAC. Their 5 year NET average based on the numbers you shared is ~163, and Frank should have them within that range again. The MAC has been dying for another team to be in that range, which will elevate the whole conference. Not to mention it makes us that much more competitive in the MAC/SBC Challenge, which again should help all NET rankings for the MAC. Maybe little bro is having PTSD from the absolute shellacking they took at the JAR last season.

Who knows how far Akron goes last year if Indiana doesn't take him out.

This was a very solid first-game performance. As expected, a few hiccups early that thankfully never cost us, and a total butt-whooping starting with the PK right before the half.

Another goal Akron! 3-0!

63' goal Akron!

Akron had 14 Q1/2/3 games last year, excluding Arizona. All but 2 non-conference games that fell in those categories were road games. Not including any questionable MAC programs (directional Michigans, Balls, NIU, BUGS, etc.), Akron should have at least 12 Q1/2/3 games this year with 2 of those being home games (JMU and Princeton). The difference is, I didn't count Milwaukee and Bucknell in those 12, and both could end up being Q2/Q3 (similar to how Omaha was a huge surprise last year; Milwaukee would be less of a surprise). With the addition of UMass, the MAC should have an elevated NET this season, meaning 2-3 more programs could sneak into the Q2/Q3 discussion. All of this to say, around half the schedule (at least) could end up being Q1/Q2/Q3 vs. last year which saw 18 Q4 games.

I may be able to enjoy it more if we had a 6'8" Serbian sniper throwing up 12+ ppg...

The precedent was set today that the actions of previous regimes should not penalize the current roster. Whatever moral high horse you want to stand on is your choice, but I don't view accepting an inconsistent and undeserving punishment for the current staff & roster as morally just - especially from the morally bankrupt NCAA. The amount of times they've screwed over the University... F em. Auburn and NMSU weren't penalized for failing APRs in the same time frame as Akron, and the APR doesn't even work with the current model and landscape for college athletics. Akron has had YOY improvements under JoeMo that haven't been enough to pull us out of the hole Arth dug, so they've clearly been working towards correcting the problem. I also don't think Akron loses this case if they choose to fight it, especially if they were able to get the NCAA killer Dave Yost's assistance in the fight. A win vs the NCAA would be great publicity. Show me 7 automatic losses on this schedule. It's the most winnable schedule we've had in a long long time, and 6-6 should be the minimum threshold for success this year. Akron is known for having a losing football program - the PR can't get worse. Might as well try to get rid of the cloud hanging over the season. Joe Mo and player(s) have liked tweets today mentioning their BS punishment and suggesting that Akron should fight it. Coaching and playing with this looming over the program can't be fun or easy. Having a spine and standing up to the NCAA could give the program a jolt.

I loathe the double non DI games, but the rest of this schedule is fantastic. James Madison & Princeton AT HOME to start the season is incredible. The Paradise Jam features 3 games, with Iona being the first game. They have a new head coach this year, so as long as Akron takes care of business, they will play the winner of Evansville/Oregon State. The other side of the bracket includes Green Bay, Yale, UMass, and Charleston, so there is some really good competition in the tournament that could be added to the schedule. Well done Groce & Co.

For someone who preaches "how does the University benefit the community", you sure are hellbent on making sure the University is stuck with the "banned from postseason play" label, which certainly does NOT benefit the community.

I can agree with this. There already is a decent #FreeAkron campaign based on the precedent, too. If Akron is successful this year and ends up being bowl eligible or even in contention for the MAC Championship Game, look out. It'll be similar to the JMU postseason campaign from a couple years ago.

Akron needs to lawyer up and fight the postseason ban. Precedent was just set.

This will likely involve punishment for CMU.

Looks like the MAC will be the rotating piece in this, as we are the only team from last year's event not participating this year.

If Connor is moving on to play somewhere else, we owe him big time for opening this roster spot. John: "Son, you know I love you right?" Connor: "Yes dad. I love you, too." John: "Awesome. Now get the hell out of here. I have a 6'8" Serbian sniper - basically the next Nikola Jokic - ready to commit and need the roster spot." (how that conversation went - probably)

We'll be quite a bit bigger while maintaining a high level of athleticism. I expect our defense to be the same if not improved. Quite frankly, I think we're even more athletic this year. If everything comes to fruition with this Serb get, Akron will be scary.

He's a 6'8" guard/forward. Think Ali Ali but a better shooter.

Do we have anyone leaving?