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Funny to look back at this thread 😬 is Joe getting an extension after this season?

QB: Finley made some really nice throws and generally had plenty of time in the pocket. Some of the longer developing routes were open against a UMass defense that struggled to generate pressure. Outside of the fumble at the goal line, Finley protected the football all evening. That hit on the fumble seemed to rattle him a bit, and honestly, I was surprised he came back in the game. He could’ve easily finished with more passing yards, but it wasn’t necessary with how well the run game was rolling. RB: Gant is tracking toward a first-team All-MAC selection. His patience and timing when hitting the hole are excellent, and he has that rare knack for moving in a way that makes it tough for defenders to square him up cleanly. Patrick is certainly the more explosive back, but Gant has settled into his rhythm and is playing at a high level. He finished with 153 yards and two touchdowns, leaving him exactly 150 yards shy of a 1,000-yard season. WR: The receivers spent most of the night blocking, as the offense ran the ball 46 times compared to just 22 pass attempts. Mason made another highlight-reel touchdown grab, while Ma. Williams has clearly become Finley’s go-to target of late. TE: Another week, another solid showing from Cravaack. He did have one drop, but aside from that, he threw some crushing blocks in the run game and added a nifty 15-yard reception with solid yards after the catch. Whisner, backing him up, had his best game to date as well. OL: The offensive line dominated UMass’ front. They consistently opened up run lanes and gave Finley plenty of time to throw. They were credited with allowing only six pressures the entire game — easily one of their best collective performances of the year. DL: You have to feel for Laventure, who had back-to-back sacks wiped out — one by a teammate’s unnecessary penalty and another due to the staff accepting a holding call instead. Regardless, he absolutely mauled his matchup all game. Dall came close to a few sacks himself but just couldn’t finish. The defense as a whole held UMass to only 169 total yards, which says it all. LB: I’m a Shammond Cooper fan, but at this point Melvin Spriggs needs to be starting and taking the majority of snaps. Spriggs has really turned it on the past two games and has become a dynamic player. Summers may not have the same athletic upside, but he’s been in the right spot at the right time lately and continues to make key plays. DB: DeWalt, Reed, and Kamara may have taken all the corner snaps, and all three played well. The nickel backs didn’t see as much playing time as they usually do because the defense often went to a five man defensive front. Hunter and Somerville got the starts at safety and played well enough for a night, but they’ll need to elevate their play moving forward. ST: The only blemish came on the missed extra point. Otherwise, Wiley placed his kickoffs well, Schramm hit a 42-yarder, and Castle had a solid day punting. The return units didn’t generate much, but there were no major miscues either. Coaching: It was clear the team was locked in across all three phases. Outside of one big play allowed by the defense, they controlled things start to finish. The offense piled up 467 yards — an impressive total. Credit to the staff for having the group ready to handle business against a UMass team that simply shouldn’t be able to compete with the Zips in 2025. Next Tuesday night is another winnable matchup for the Wagon Wheel. * Some of the walk-ons that got in on the last play or two are not listed below. QB: Finley Roggow Johnson RB: Gant Patrick Curry WR: Ma. Williams Grear WR: Mason Louis Broughton WR: Polk Monteiro Hills TE: Cravaack Whisner LT: Morris D. Johnson Motley-Simmons Ndaiga LG: Archer McManus Stopiak C Lyons Mobley RG: K. Davis Fox RT: King Jones Mann DE: Durham D. Frazier DE: Dall J. Frazier Cheatom DT: Hull Murphy DT: Laventure Mixon LB: Cooper Spriggs Benenge LB: Summers Boswell NB: Aa. Branch T. Thomas CB: DeWalt Kamara CB: Reed Kamara S: Somerville Flowers S: Hunter Di. Johnson Top Rated Offense (20 snap min.): QB - Finley RB - Gant WR - Ma. Williams RG - K. Davis C - Lyons Top Rated Defense (20 snap min.) LB - Spriggs LB - Summers DT - Laventure DE - Dall CB - Kamara

That's pretty cool, even more amazing you have to go back to Oct 23rd to find the last Zips single game loss (women's soccer lost to Western Michigan). Since then it's been wins from volleyball, rifle, football, men's soccer, volleyball, women's soccer (tie), volleyball and then the string you just rattled off. Heck of a couple of weeks.

Creighton started their season with 3 matches on the road. Since starting the season 0-2-2, the Blue Jays are 8-1-2 in their last 11 games. Creighton has not lost a game this year at home. Their home record is 5-0-2. Over the last 11 games, Creighton has played like a top 20 team.

Honestly it just looked like a link to some random website. Usually those lead to a bunch of popups and not an actual game broadcast. Wasn't going to risk it and just spent the $13 for ESPN+

Winner takes the Big East Midwest Division. Creighton, however, can also claim the division with a draw. I don't want to think about scenarios that result in a BE Tourney appearance short of a WIN. I have confidence that our Zips can rise to this challenge and prevail. Go Zips!!!

A lot of the guys that are leaving also aren't transferring up. Some are going down to the FCS or never find another school as they weren't good enough to play at this level to begin with. Key contributors that are leaving for greener pastures are likely getting $50k or in that ballpark. Some much more. I think you would be surprised by the amount of NIL money P4 and top G5 schools are spending.

The opponent quality is also true. However, to be fair, in at least one of those games, we beat ourselves with turnovers, penalties, and other self-induced chaos. The final margins of victory for our opponents were small enough that not beating ourselves would have enabled different outcomes.

Yes, I do

Please don't let KSU spoil a 'happy ending'.

Yes. A lot of those that are leaving aren't getting $50K. But yeah, $50K, Akron's not keeping guys. Players in today's portal world want two things. Obviously the NIL money (which is more fleeting than many want to admit)...and playing time. Akron can provide one of those things.

If Wyoming and UAB would have been in UMASS kind of form...

Man, if we could have only been in this kind of form against Wyoming and UAB...

Money talks. I like my job, but if a recruiter called me and offered me an additional $50k to do the same exact job elsewhere I'd have my 2 week notice submitted tomorrow. Edit: You have to remember we graduated and/or spent decades being fans so we have loyalty to the school. These kids have come from all over the country. Maybe have spent 2-3 years in Akron at the most. They don't hold those same loyalties.

Getting to go to a bowl game and experience that for the players may be something to keep more of them here if the alternative is meager NIL money somewhere else. Yes, I'd rather have the bowl game.

He would make a lot more in Europe over the G-League. The top players there make in the millions, but it's unlikely he would reach that level. He will probably make low 6-figures somewhere overseas after graduation, which would still be far less than he is making at Kansas State so your point still stands.

Do you really want to see a repeat of our game against FAU? Any average MWC, AAC, or SunBelt team would likely mop the floor with us. The team has improved. We're at least able to compete with and/or beat the worst of the worst in FBS. I don't see us in a position to compete with average to above average FBS rosters.

If Akron can demonstrate the grades are improving, I suspect there is a realistic chance. But I don't know if there's any way to know this.

Does anyone know IF this team can make it to 6-6, is there honestly a realistic chance that the bowl band could get repealed?

Not anymore. Everyone has to get a wristband. They check.

I just read that g league players make $40,000 a year unless they are on a 2 way contract like Freeman who makes around $500,000, half the NBA minimum. Therefore, Nate is now making the most money he will probably ever make in his career. In other words, his salary will peak as a college player. I hate that he transferred but I cannot blame him for making this move. This is college athletics. Akron is the G league for major conferences.

Why aren't they hanging Ben Finley's jersey in the JAR?

Yes, I'm sure Gant will get some MWC or AAC money. I'm not sure what other starters have remaining eligibility, but we will lose guys on our offensive and defensive line to programs who have more NIL. Maybe even 1-2 to teams in the MAC. It's why I said getting to 6-7 wins next year. We really can't expect 8+ wins annually when we have to rebuild our team every year shopping the clearance rack for bargains. You can get lucky here or there and find good value, but not possible year over year. Fortunately going 5-3 in the MAC is possible most years because half the conference (ourselves included) is FBS bottom feeders.

But unfortunately, the problem still exists, this will probably be another completely different roster next season. Many players that have some success this year will move on and who knows what they will replace them with. Building a program, especially in a situation like Akron, is more difficult than ever