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You have to realize Groce is going to want to stagger minutes. I would expect 2 of Young, Tavari, and Scott to be on the court 90% of the time. That way there is never a big drop off between the first team and 2nd team offense. That's really only achievable if someone assumes the Manu Ginoboli type role by playing big minutes off the bench.

Game Day Notes: TOLEDO: Quarterback Tucker Gleason has been steady or better in every outing this year except for the WMU game, where he just wasn’t very good. As you’d expect, plenty of Rocket fans were calling for their backup, “JAR,” to ride in and save the day, but that moment never came. Kentucky transfer Chip Trayanum has been a force in the backfield, piling up 401 yards and 5 touchdowns already. Toledo probably boasts the most talented wide receiver group in the MAC, but the offense has leaned heavily on the ground game—even with a difference-maker like Junior Vandeross split out wide. A big piece of that is the offensive line, which has had its fair share of struggles protecting the passer. The Rockets currently sport the best defense in the conference and have only given up 14.8 points per game. Linebacker K’Von Sherman (former JUCO) leads the Rockets in tackles with 30 total. I thought Sherman was the best linebacker recruit in the 2024 MAC class when it came to Rivals’ HS/JUCO classification. At this point, everyone knows who’s been playing well and who hasn’t for Akron, so I won’t harp on that going into this matchup. What I’ll be watching for is pretty straightforward: Can we move the ball with any kind of efficiency against what looks like the best defense we’ll face outside of Nebraska? Can we slow down the run, force the Rockets to throw, and generate pressure against a line that’s been shaky in pass protection? And lastly, field position feels like it’s going to be huge—where drives start could end up being the difference in whether we have a shot at pulling this one off.

Sure if you compare just this year to last, but if you zoom out and compare it to what it was 10-15 years ago it's nearly half. Also, if you look further ahead northeast Ohio's population is expected to decline roughly 15% in 2050 compared to what it was in 2020. That will likely lead to further declines 10-15 years from now.

Enrollment isn't declining.

I agree Young is much better, but he is short and I think he will run the 2nd string before getting handed the keys next year once Tavari graduates. Bowen is a good complementary piece to spread the floor and hopefully has improved his overall game.

Friday September 26 Ohio State record drops to 4-4 as they lose 2-0 at Rutgers Belmont improves their record to 5-0-4 as they play to a 1-1 tie at Western Michigan

I believe we should be hearing rumors of scrimmage results and performances in the near future.

I’d like to know our record against league opponents since we joined The MAC.

Young is a much better player than Hardman. But in the past few seasons Coach has always started someone that made me scratch my head. Hunter and S. Wilson.

Some other data points on 2025 UA enrollment.

I don't remember UA enrollment ever being near 30k. Maybe it's my senior memory failure. This article says it was that high. Enrollment climbs for University of Akron, drops for Cleveland State this fall | Ideastream Public Media https://share.google/a1bYSHSAfoTCvNtUr

The lady zips draw on the road in Athens, Ohio.....is very impressive as the Bobcats were forecast to finish 3rd in the league.. 2025 MAC Women’s Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll First Place votes in ( ) | *Coaches could not vote for themselves 1. Western Michigan (8) – 135 points 2. Buffalo (4) – 128 points 3. Ohio – 123 points 4. UMass (1) – 114 points 5. Bowling Green – 93 points 6. Kent State – 89 points 7. Miami – 73 points 8. Northern Illinois – 60 points 9. Eastern Michigan – 55 points 10. Toledo – 54 points 11. Ball State – 50 points 12. Central Michigan – 28 points 13. Akron – 12 points

I would have to imagine that problem is only going to get worse with the declining enrollment. The vast majority of the houses north of Thornton slumlords were renting to college students since they could fetch higher rents. With fewer and fewer students living around campus more and more of those houses are going to get rented out to low income.

The difference between Akron and Toledo is the area around the respective universities. Toledo is in a pretty nice corner of the city. It isn't as easily accessible by car as Akron. It doesn't feel like an urban campus. Akron is surrounded by the slums. The off campus area is probably one of the few places low income people in/around Akron can afford to buy or rent a home. Low income neighborhoods have more crime. Not sure how to solve this problem. More police would be helpful. Ohio State is an urban campus. It is surrounded by some dangerous areas that are dressed up nicely. Short North is one of them. It's the biggest school in the country. The campus went from COVID-19 to the construction project on Exchange Street. I have to believe that two year eyesore didn't help with enrollment. It looked awful the couple of times I drove through.

This doesn't need to be made into a political conversation. I don't disagree that things get overaggerated. That said, as someone who personally got jumped my freshman year on campus and who had a group of friends get robbed at gunpoint in their south campus house, I can very much say the problems exist. Student enrollment at Ohio colleges/universities peaked in 2010 with a total enrollment of 772,393. This past year total enrollment was 618,225. That's a 154,168 or 20% student decline across the state. A lower percentage of people are attending colleges compared to 10 years. Add in the fact that we have an aging population and the problems will only compound due to having a decreasing college aged population. It's true schools like Toledo and Akron were hit disproportionately harder, but as total enrollment for the state continues to shrink this is going to be a much larger problem for all schools. The only ones safe are probably OSU and Cincy. This is a much larger problem than pretending that Akron's enrollment is declining solely because it's perceived as unsafe. Fewer people are attending college compared to before.

Thank you for making my case. BTW, my daughter is a UT grad and my son is a UA grad. Both experienced violent crime right next to their apartments while attending.

And that is terrible to hear about! I am very sorry for that family's loss. Crime is everywhere. Is it worse in urban areas? Sure, and that doesn't mean lawlessness and violence is accepted. However, I live in Baltimore City, which has far worse crime than Akron. If you were to believe what is on conservative media (Sinclair is HQ'd here, so it is even more exaggerated), you'd think tourists are being murdered daily in the safest area of cities. It's overblown. I've ridden my bike throughout various major cities for decades, affluent and socioeconomically depressed areas alike, and I haven't had a single aggressive encounter where I felt threatened. In fact, just the opposite. I've been around some outwardly sketchy individuals or small groups, and they were either indifferent to my presence or acknowledged it and were polite. The outsiders gripe about crime incessantly and use it as an excuse to either not visit or to trash the city on social media. Meanwhile, the people who actually live here (like me) know otherwise. Perceptions matter though, and I have no doubt that this is a major factor in limiting the enrollments of both UA and UT relative to their suburban and rural peers.

I just don't think there is a ton to take away from an FCS opponent. Just like there wouldn't be if we played a top 10 P4. We took care of business and did what we needed to do. Not sure there is much to discuss that hasn't already been stated.

The father of a former player was murdered in cold blood just blocks from the campus. Some segments of society seem to be willing to accept this violence as just a part of city living. It's more than just perception, it's a fact that the violence in urban areas is there.

Don't throw your shoulder out patting yourself on the back there GP1. LOL.

I was making them years ago on this board. The person who posted it was making the opposite arguments years ago and has blood on his hands for the destruction of the league.

With both of our wins coming in 1929 and 1937. Of our 10 wins, we won the first 6 meetings starting in 1923. We have only won 4 to their 11 since 1987.

I've said it before, and I will say it again, I think Toledo and Akron suffer because they are urban universities and conservative media outlets are relentless in bashing urban areas, particularly on crime, and that perception influences the decision-making of many people trying to figure out the best options for their children's next career and life step. If I were to guess, most college applicants in Ohio are from rural or suburban areas, rather than urban, so the propaganda cannot be overcome through real-world experience. If UA and UT were smart, they'd be pitching the advantages of being in an urban environment such as the proximity to the hospitals, government agencies, major businesses, and arts and culture. How has Cleveland State been doing on enrollment? Similar to UA and UT?...it is a serious question. I do not know the answer but hope someone else does.

We go as Finley goes. His 9th year…or whatever it is…has been disappointing thus far. If the OL is passable, and he trusts them, I think we have a shot at the upset this week. Is he’s seeing ghosts and scrambling to his left for no apparent reason, we will likely lose by 32.

Yes good win last week, I guess... Now let's see what happens when we take on someone our own size.