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If they won't let you on the field even in the garbage-season there's no point in staying. I respect his decision.

I don't have a clue as to everything that went into his decision to hit the portal, but I'll offer this. If he was going to sit behind other QB's he might as well go to Oklahoma and sit in a place that is close to home. He loses a scholarship but maybe he's happier being close to home while having the chance to win a scholly if he does well. Akron is a long way from home just to sit on the bench.

He’ll probably start out 3rd on the depth chart there too, behind another 2024 Ohio native QB we offered - Brendan Zurbrugg.

I’ve read the same. It appears he had several visits with them early on his HS timeline. He was a star in Oklahoma and first team all state with impressive numbers through out his career so makes sense if so. Wish it had worked out here, but best of luck to him. Still a fan of Wasel.

100% agree about our “ifs.” We’re similar in the fact that the talent level has improved dramatically under Moorhead, but have more question marks than anyone would like. Plus it’s such a small margin of error in conference play due to the 3 Power games that will likely be losses. The bright side is most of our conference foes also have plenty of questions. I can’t even pick a conference champ with any confidence. Seems like Toledo would be the answer, but they lost some studs to the portal, draft, and graduation. I know their fanbase is excited for the 2024 QB, but losing a guy like Finn who covered up so many mistakes isn’t going to be easy.

https://oklahoma.rivals.com/news/former-akron-qb-and-oklahoma-native-steele-wasel-joining-sooners-as-a-pwo Steele Wasel transferring to Oklahoma U as a walk-on after not getting any playing time with us. Anyone else have that on their bingo card?

Catdaddyp, your analysis as usual is superb. Yet your comment that SC has a ton of if's applies even more so to us. With QB, OL, WR, DB and special teams I feel we have much to work on to compete with them. Obviously QB and OL are the key to us making a leap forward. Against this schedule I don't see that coming. I can't see us winning more than 4 games this season. Thank you for your thoughtful contributions.

I’ll touch on this some. I think Carolina is a wild card this year. One person in the program who was recently with Oklahoma said Carolina is more talented than last year’s 10 win Oklahoma team, but less disciplined. There are a ton of “ifs” with this team, so I’m not too sure what to think. I will say this, QB LaNorris Sellers could be an up and coming star. He’s bigger than most linebackers at 6’3 240lbs, has a canon for an arm, and can run. He also has a demeanor about him most young QBs lack. At RB, Rocket Sanders transferred in from Arkansas and IF healthy would be a major upgrade. There are a few solid backs behind him that would be adequate. There is a ton of speed at WR, including former 5 star Nyck Harbor who may qualify for the Olympics at 6’5” 242lbs. I still think Harbor would be an eventual 1st round pick at DE, but that’s not what he wants to do. Former Miami (OH) Gage Larvadain will probably be the most targeted WR. The guy just knows how to get open and catches everything. Josh Simon is a name to know at TE. He will be heavily utilized in the red zone especially with Carolina lacking a true aerial threat after Xavier Legette was drafted in the 1st round. The offensive line was a mess before the season even started last year as both starting LT and RT went down. Gamecocks were forced to play several freshmen on the OL, which will be beneficial this year. One of those players ended up becoming a Freshman All-American. The starting OL should be solid, but depth will be an issue if injuries pile up again. 3 true freshman (2 of them could have gone almost anywhere) will likely be on the two deep by the time 2024 kicks off. The defense will be a strength. Defensive tackle TJ Sanders will likely be drafted anywhere from rounds 1-3 after the season concludes. Someone else in the program said Sanders can absolutely wreck a practice when he wants to. The defensive line is deep and experienced. The starting LBs are explosive - led by 1st team All-SEC Debo Williams. Carolina shuttled out their 2 MIKE LBs and upgraded with speed from the portal. They typically run a 4-2-5, but ran a high amount of 3-3-5 down the stretch last season. They plan to run both schemes this year. The starting secondary is excellent in run support, but have struggled in pass coverage at times. Lack of pass rush, inexperience, and injuries played a part in that last year. Safety Nick Emmanwori will be in the NFL probably sooner than later. Nickleback Jalon Kilgore was a Freshman All-American and may already be the most well rounded DB in the secondary. Senior O’Donnell Fortune has everything NFL teams look for in a CB and will likely hear his name called in next year’s draft. The only question mark is at the opposite CB spot (no lack of raw talent) and experienced depth behind the starters. Special Teams used to be some of the best in the nation under Lembo. Beamer will always place an emphasis there, so I wouldn’t think there would be too much of a drop off even with Lembo moving on to Buffalo. I could see this Carolina team winning as few as 4 games and as many as 8. Like I mentioned above, the talent definitely isn’t lacking anymore. It’s actually creeping towards the top tier of SEC at this point. Unfortunately for Carolina, talent alone doesn’t win ballgames.

Maybe the older fans, but the kids being recruited next year were probably only one or two years old when App State won that game. It's irrelevant to them. Most care more about nil money than a win almost 20 years ago. I know I'm proud of Akron beating OSU in the 1800s. Seriously, I really don't care.

My thought exactly. The MAC has gotten worse in the past 20 years. These games simply aren't making the league better. The same is true for the ESPN weeknight contract. It's all so obvious and I can't understand why the league can't do better.

Personally, programs like Rutgers and Maryland are the type of P5 programs that we should try to schedule. The MAC is a dumpster fire. If we can't go 5-3 in MAC play, frankly we don't deserve to go bowling. I'd be more critical of the schedule if we were playing some gauntlet of Ohio State, Alabama, and Penn State.

How's MAC recruiting been? And if they all do it, who are you using that recruiting pitch against?

I've spoken to a couple of MAC head coaches and these games are recruiting tools for MAC level athletes. It's a thrill for a player to compete in the Horseshoe, at Tennessee, Penn State, etc. And every once in awhile, the underdog pulls one out. I'm sure Appalachian State fans aren't sorry they played Michigan at the Big House. Or Ohio fans for the game at Penn State several years back.

JL Bourg signed Xavier Castañeda.

Play 1. The University shines up the turd that is the financial statement of the athletic department, but the truth is it is tens of millions of dollars in the red. A couple extra million dollars is not worth the damage these games do to the athletes students alumni fans and general community around Akron.

I don't know about his, but my problem is comparing every situation as if it is the same. The majority of the MAC isn't nearly as bad as we are. Miami can go 1-3 and be fine in the long run. Akron can't. Akron's program is in a horrible state and needs to start winning. Picking up OSU after Kentucky dropping Akron missed a chance at getting a win through smart scheduling. It does nothing to build a winning culture. If it isn't a sign the AD values money over winning, I don't know what is.

depends if your #1 goal is to win or not

So your problem isn’t with Akron it’s all of the G5 teams, got it, never play a P5 opponent. So simple, sounds like a great plan

i think this board is really underestimating SC - Rutgers is mediocre, yes.

Ding ding ding. This is an exciting schedule for a competitive team. We saw last season that our defense can keep us in games with both Indiana and Kentucky. If Finley plays well, who's to say we aren't competitive in the games vs Rutgers & SC? Ohio State is what it is - thank you for the pay day.

correct! they're all placing money over wins, you're catching on

lol, ok so you’re saying Miami doesn’t want to win this year because they are playing Notre Dame, Northwestern and Cincy. And BG doesn’t want to win either because they are playing Penn State and Texas A&M. And Kent State certainly doesn’t want to win either, they’re playing Tennessee, Penn State and Pitt. I guess none of the MAC wants to win…

I guess a good thing to examine would be how often scheduling incompetency happens. In recent history, how many MAC teams have been given the opportunity to replace a P5 school, with two already on the schedule, and have chosen another P5 school? If so, how many were replaced with Top 5 teams?

it was a yes or no question. if you wanted to win, would you schedule OSU, Rutgers and SC? The answer is no

All true. Still tall tasks even for good mac programs.