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It's impolite to remind Zips fans of the blankety-blank years.

And when I say bummer, I mean it's totally awesome. But bummer as far as the rivalry goes, just wasn't a big game vs them the past couple years.

Are we critiquing Pat's shooting form or his results? His raw shooting results show that he leads the Zips with a 56.7% field goal shooting percentage. By the way, that's #1 in the MAC -- pretty good for someone who misses a lot of shots in close. Big Dog is second for the Zips at 50% and Deji and BJ are tied for third at 45.6%. That makes sense as they are the primary inside scorers whereas most of the other players shoot a high percentage of 3s. We also know that Pat's free throw shooting is shaky at 58.8%. What the raw stats don't show is the percentage of jump shots Pat makes vs. short shots in the paint. We know he took an unexpected pair of 3-pointers against OU and one was just off and the other swished. I would assume the team tracks the percentage of each type of shot each player makes and encourages them to play to their strengths. The fact that Pat has been green-lighted to shoot mid-range jumpers and even 3s after 2 seasons of mostly short shots in the paint suggests the coaching staff has increasing confidence in his ability to hit those shots, regardless of how some may see his shooting form as awkward. As for Pat and Big Dog working well in tandem, they've so far only had a few minutes in each of a few games where they've had a chance to get acclimated to each other. Coach Dambrot has obviously seen some potential there or he wouldn't have said more of the Pat & Big Dog Show "is coming down the line." That's not to say it's a slam dunk it's going to work. Maybe it will and maybe it won't. No one should be too quick to embrace or dismiss it until it's been given a fair chance to develop.

This coach and how he assembles the offensive line in 2015 will play a large part in how the Zips do in the upcoming year. Let's hope his last name is not some sort of foreshadowing of how they will play. Here on the offensive line is where we need to place our scrutiny and until it is fixed we will struggle. I like Casimos, Kortokratz, and Erickson as newcomers, and maybe Boyett will help out in 2015. Still, I think we need further help. Maybe one of the true or r/s frosh will step in (Kemme did years ago), but I think we need at least one more transfer that is ready to play to stabilize this situation. Everyone can speculate about the QB as much as they want, but the line must improve in 2015 if the Zips want to win. In Spring - watch these 6 guys (including tight end) as how they play will decide the fortunes of Akron.

I love being called a "Bowden Kool-aide drinker", and I'll embrace it. The most entertaining and fun Zips football games I've watched in my limited time as a Zips football fan, have been with Bowden at the helm. All you old guys must have short memories, but do you remember what football was like before Bowden was here...seriously...to even suggest that this program is in danger considering where it has had to dig out from, you must be seriously delusional. I'm not happy we only won 5 games last year, but I'm happy I can actually watch games now expecting to win. I'm happy not spending my entire season wondering which game is going to be the "second" win. Last year we won the MOST games at home in Stadium history (4). Let that stat sink in for a bit before we start going all chicken little. This program is making huge progress.

I'm sure you're referring to the "Moving A"? We made a nice transition into an "Old Gold" color when we first turned D-1A during the Faust years. We then went back to the "Athletic Gold" (Yellow) during the Owens years. It looked even worse the 2nd time, and didn't last long, fortunately. I pray we never go back. Just look at any Ken+ uniform for a few minutes, and you'll see what I mean.