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A great week to be a Zip! It's finally here! Thursday is going to be special, I've got high, high hopes. Which scares me to death in a program and stadium that has done everything to beat the hope out of me for nearly its entire existence. I know nothing about SFpa. and will not pretend to. Looking at their season last year, they weren't much of a match for EMU to open the year, and they weren't as fortunate as Mr. Arth's Zips as they lost to the Bryant Bulldogs. A look at their schedules from previous years, and they along with 2021 opponent Bryant have also just recently begun playing FBS teams. They were on Buffalo's schedule in 2020 before it was canceled, and of course the EMU game last year. In the UA game against Bryant last year, which was an incredibly painful experience, it was obvious how much of a physical advantage the Zips had, but it didn't matter until the final quarter. They were much tougher than Akron despite the lack of size, speed, and skill. We don't have an official 2-deep, but we've got a lot to be intrigued by. I loved Irons' potential last year, but once he got hurt against Ohio he was never the same. Perhaps saving him from getting killed the last 8ish games will be good for his future. I have all the faith in the world in JoeMo + Fessler and the offensive staff to help with his decision making and ball security. He's one of the most athletic QBs in the league, and made plays against the likes of Auburn and Ohio State. I feel good-not-great about the UA QB situation going into week 1. I like opening against a team like this to ease into the new season and new system. Word out of camp is that Cam Wiley looks the part in the backfield. I loved what I saw from Norrils last year. Will Akron have a consistent rushing attack (sans Teon Dollard year) for the first time in decades? Wait to see! The thing I'm most excited for are the receivers--including the TE. Replacing Mumpfield, Mathison, Qualls, and Williams was no easy task, but this staff did that and then some. Daniel George has been phenomenal in camp, Alex Adams may be one of the best prospects to ever wear a Zip uniform, and Shocky Jaques-Louis is a seasoned vet who has done a lot of winning. Throw in Brank and TJ Banks and you've got options all over the place. What does this all mean if the O-Line continues to be swiss cheese? Not a damn thing. Joel Rodriguez is one of the most important pieces to the puzzle. He's had a great young career with JoeMo and got his college football start with one of the best teams of all time at Miami back in the early 2000s. The line is big and experienced. They've also got the potential to take the next step. Defensively? I'm hopeful, but not as sure. This will be an experienced unit with a lot of nice transfers sprinkled in, which I'm quite excited about. It will be so nice to see Bubba back out there on Thursday, that in itself is something to be pumped about. Overall, I see this as a vastly improved team already, simply based on the improved coaching staff. They put together a phenomenal recruiting class including a lot of transfers to get this thing turned around fast. JoeMo talks a lot about the seismic transformation that's going to take place. As the season has approached, I've started to feel the same way. I mean, how can it not work out this time? It's a perfect storm for Akron football to go where it wants to go. And the journey begins Thursday. Can't wait! Go Zips!!!!

Thanks for the great post! I will piggy back off it with what I've heard from people who've attended practices and scrimmages: The team will probably go as DJ Irons goes. The other QB's aren't at his level right now. He's got to stay healthy. Irons will not take the beating he took last season, where he repeatedly dropped back and got pummeled, and rarely threw quick-hitters. The OL is perceived as "middle of the MAC" as far as talent. MUCH improved over last year. The new transfers from Houston and Penn State will start. Xavior Gray looks to be the starting LT. Hopefully with improved coaching he had a nice bounce-back season. Wiley is getting rave reviews. That's good news, because I liked Norrils. The three transfer WR's are likely our #1, #2 and #3 wideouts. As a group they're perceived to be in the upper 1/3 of the MAC. TJ Banks looks to have secured the #1 TE spot. He's improved every week throughout the summer, and his size and athleticism are as good as advertised. D-Line will be MUCH improved. Victor Jones is really good. His former Wyoming teammate Ravontae Holt it also very highly thought of, but may not make his debut until a couple games into the season. Harper also looks good. Secondary is a work-in-progress. Didn't hear much exciting news about the d-backs. Didn't hear much about the LB's. Obviously it's nice to get Bubba back. Hope Boatang is 100% healthy. That's all I got. If any Zips insiders are lurking, now's the time to speak up!🦘💪

A couple years ago I made a collage of all my old Zips tickets. It sucks that the days of assembling something like what's below are over.

I voted "Zips by 3 scores". We should be vastly superior in talent level and size, but not experience (as far as all players playing together on this team). We should be up early, which will allow us to get playing time for a lot of guys giving us a chance to see what we have and how they perform in a real game setting.

College soccer news has the zips at #18 https://collegesoccernews.com/college-soccer-news-mens-top-30-national-poll-week-ending-august-28-2022/

People will never again record their life memories in this manner and that's really sad. In my bonus room is a framed collection of two of my favorite spots memories. On one side is a photo of me, Mrs. GP1 (the luckiest woman in the world) and my now deceased parents at the last Pirates game at Three Rivers Stadium along with our ticket stubs. In the same frame next to it is a photo of me and Mrs. GP1 (the luckiest woman in the world) and our ticket stubs from the first game at PNC. Not getting real tickets stinks.

I see the Z!

Zips win by more than 4 scores. I'd be shocked if Joe didn't have the team well prepared.

I hope to see everyone out this Thursday in Lot 9. I will have hundreds of old Zips posters, game day basketball roster sheets and various other old Zips stuff available for the taking.

Responding to the bold in order... 1) I'm high on Irons. He was in a no-win situation last year, and the injury was team-induced. He also looks like he put in work physically in the off-season. 2) LOVE hearing that Wiley is showing well. He's a BIG boy and it would be nice to have his size produce with so many change-of-pace/scat-backs behind him. 3) Not surprised considering the programs they came from, but top 1/3 of the MAC is a high accolade considering the WRs the MAC (largely WMU) has sent to the NFL recently. 4) How good are the TEs behind him? 5) Correct me if I'm wrong, but secondary can take a minute to gel, no? Is the talent there, but the chemistry is missing? Or are we undertalented?

Interesting enough, my cousin actually played for SFU. He had a decent amount of offers to FCS schools and some preferred walk on options for FBS schools. Eventually ended up at a smaller BigTen school before transferring to SFU for more playing time. He and his family visited Akron a few times and I joined them. We listened to Rob Ianello talk and man was it something. If I were a high school athlete in that room, there would be nothing to motivate me to come to Akron. Everyone was blown away by the stadium and field house. But it was such a dull and uninspiring speech nobody really seemed excited to be there.

Zips in at #25 in Top Drawer rankings that came out today. https://www.topdrawersoccer.com/college-soccer-national-rankings/men

RPI gains relevance once data accumulates. October is beginning of “RPI Season”.

Isn't it far too early in the season for RPI calculations to be meaningful? I believe those RPI rankings should be more accurate in ~2-3 weeks. Lots of teams batting 1.000 and lots of teams batting .000 right now.

Great post, Loyal! GO ZIPS!!!!!!

This for a draw. Soccer is a weird sport. Haha.

Whenever have they ever done anything special. Lot 9.

I hate the soullessness of electronic tickets. I used to get a great package of goodies that came with my Wake Forest tickets. Beautiful printed tickets, parking passes, stickers, a pin signifying how many years you were a season ticket holder and one year it all came wrapped in a flag you could fly in your yard. Now, parking passes and an email about how to get your tickets. 🤮

This is shaping up to be a really nice, tough schedule. The Zips will be ready to go for the gauntlet in March, that's for sure. We may see more Ls on the schedule early compared to most years depending on how early this group gels together, but I like the amount of true mid-majors we'll be playing early.

I like the schedule. Only two cupcakes in Muskingum and Concord, and you're always going to have a couple of those no matter who you are. I like mid-majors filling in the remainder of the OOC schedule. I know it's extremely tough to lure a lower-level B1G team to the JAR, so this is about as good as I could have hoped for.

Excitement is building @clarkwgriswold

The University of Akron's - Polymer Science and Plastics Engineering is ranked: #1 in the World #1 in North America #1 in the United States World's best Polymer science and Plastics engineering universities [Rankings] (edurank.org)

Foolish thinking. The Zips and Suckeyes both play at 3:30 on October 1st. We could win those games and the crowd would still be disappointing. People in Northeast Ohio would rather sit on their couch at home and watch a stupid team from Columbus beat Rutgers by 50.

The two biggest questions regarding Game #1 game day are - How completely understaffed and unprepared will the concession stands be? How completely understaffed and underprepared will the gate entrances be?