Leaderboard

The road warrior Zips are back at it this week with a pair in Michigan. Any MAC win is a big win, and not many will be easy. I wouldn't expect these two to be easy at all. After two weeks, I would rank the MAC as follows: 1. Kent (4-0)--Not much to be said. They've shown a lot more vulnerability in MAC play than I was expecting, but they get the job done when it counts. 2. Ball State (3-1)--Their first MAC loss comes on the road against OU. Always admirable. They then crushed Miami at home to maintain their perfect home record. They are for real, I don't know exactly how real, but they will no longer be a doormat. 3. Akron (3-1)--If if if if. We can all agree that this team should be 4-0, but that doesn't matter. The difference that X makes is enormous. I don't consider that an indictment on the rest of the team, either. Ball State is a top MAC team and the short-handed Zips had a good chance at them in the dying minutes, even without making a single shot the final quarter of the game. Plug in #13, and the team looked entirely different just a few days later, against another tough opponent. Keep it rolling. 4. Toledo (2-2)--After a couple years of dominating the regular season, the Rockets are beginning to look human. They went 17-3 in MAC play last year, and are 0-3 against Kent since last year. They lost to Ball State at home last week. Things don't get much easier as they host OU and go to Buffalo this week. 5. WMU (2-2)--They opened MAC play with a valiant effort at Kent, followed by a blowout at Toledo. This week, there's much more confidence after wins against EMU and BG. They were down big early to BG but wound up putting 69 points on the board in the 2nd half. This is a dangerous team, and the Zips will have their hands full on Saturday. 6. CMU (2-2)--Their two losses came on the road to the worst teams in the league, but they were short-handed so I will give them the benefit of the doubt. They willed their way to the win over Buffalo on Saturday. They've got some talented guards, and will present a tough matchup for Akron tomorrow. Tony Barbee is a solid coach. 7. Buffalo (2-2)--After opening league play with a pair of home wins, the Bulls go on the road and drop both this week, to Miami and CMU. That's an awfully tough week on the schedule. The Bulls are pretty athletic and have some skill, but they lack a big bruiser big/rebounder. They are still winless on the road this season amid a rebuild. 8. Ohio (1-3)--Tough decision here between them and BG, but I simply trust OU more. They've lost 3 MAC games by fewer than 10 points, and are Ball State's only MAC loss. This team is no slouch, and could very easily claw back into the top 4. Their achilles heel, like many other MAC teams, is going on the road. Just 2-6 this year. They also showed some great will against Kent, taking big punches and still keeping themselves alive. 9. BGSU (2-2)--The beauty of power rankings is that the records don't necessarily matter. Week 2 looked like a regression to the mean for BG. They were arguably the better team on Tuesday for about 30 minutes, but Akron locked in when necessary and stole one in the Stroh. Then the Falcons put up an abysmal effort at WMU (still scored 92 though). BG fans really beginning to question Huger once again, rightfully so. 10. Miami (1-3)--They're still pretty bad, but have put up a few good fights in MAC play. They beat Buffalo fairly handily this week, before becoming Ball State's next victim. As mentioned last week, they had Kent on the ropes pretty late. They will beat some teams, but have a huge uphill battle ahead to make the top 8. 11. NIU (1-3)--Just one week ago, I would have bet that NIU would never escape the bottom spot of my definitive rankings, but here we are. They did their job and beat a short-handed CMU team before getting smacked by Toledo. They're on the road to Miami and EMU this week. 12. EMU (1-3)--I wish there were 40 teams in the MAC so I could put them at 40. They are a disgrace to the game of basketball. The Bates situation has completely ruined this once promising team from a year ago. They don't play hard, they're selfish, they lack skill just about everywhere. Just atrocious. Kent could name the score against them tomorrow. As I say this, I will be incredibly worried they will beat Akron when the Zips play the return game.

If we are comparing January 22 to January 23, I would say this year is the better team. There really aren't any big problems as I see it right now other than shot making as a team. We don't have problems of the Ali Ali back to basket for 28 seconds or Trimble chucking up bricks. With the team now, anyone can contribute on any given night and anyone can also struggle. I wouldn't compare Sammy to Trimble just because it seems like Groce plays Sammy on a shorter leash. The team seems to be more cohesive now than a year ago at this time. Once Trimble left then the team became more of a group, it doesn't seem like that will need to happen this year.

KSUcks, to quote Joey Tribbiani, will "fold like a cheap hooker who got hit in the stomach by a fat guy with sores on his face." Their arrogance, cockiness, etc., is exactly the type of culture you get with Pinky and InSincere. Not sure how many they'll lose in the regular season, but I wouldn't be surprised if they fail to reach the MAC Finals in March. MAC is wide open, and if Akron starts making their shots consistently, it's their MAC to lose until someone knocks them off (in March). Their pace of play is up (71.7 possessions per game), their pts per game are up (80 ppg last 3 games), and their defense is still stellar.

I think Charles has plenty of respect for Melissa and the job she has done with the team. My observation of Charles is he wants winning programs. Especially for the 4 high profile programs, MBB, WBB, Football and MSOC. In her first 4 seasons as HC she had just one with a winning record in MAC play. Melissa just needs to keep winning.

Podcast with Coach Embick https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-soccer-dad-pod/id1650809235?i=1000594513929 Some 2023 Out of Conference opponents mentioned… Notre Dame FIU Vermont Michigan Jared ...'all my starters are back.' in reference to the upcoming 2023 season.

My point is not that Jim Christian is coaching Jesus, my point is Pinky has a real coach on his sideline now instead of that ding-dong Aaron Fuss. And I do not think they’re unbeatable or other-worldly. But last year’s team lost to Southern, CMU, and NIU all at home in the span of a month or so. This team is much improved. And I think Akron is too, and getting better still.

CJ Stroud to the NFL Draft. The fact that his delayed announcement gave OSUcks fans hope, only for him to break their hearts in the end after never fully delivering for them in Columbus, makes me a sudden fan of his.

Yeah this one is up there with Landers last year.

I think he’s just a late bloomer. He’s a great athlete that’s only played one year with his hand in the dirt. In HS he played WR,TE, and LB. He isn’t as polished as some of the other DE’s but his size and athleticism can’t be taught. High upside guy that could be a steal if he continues to develop.

Looking at conference only stats: Zips are: #1 in Defense #4 in Offense #1 in scoring margin #1 in FT % #2 in opponent field goal % Freeman #1 in scoring Freeman #1 in rebounding

Can't add anything to what's already been said. Hopefully, we aren't singing a different tune around 8:55PM tomorrow.

This team has a long way to go to reach its potential. The good news is that it has a long way to go, 14 games, to reach its potential.

Bump for updates.

Wasn’t sure where to put this so please feel free to move it if it would be more appropriate to another thread. Final 2022 Coaches Poll, our own Coach Moorhead had some interesting rankings. Personally I think he overrated Penn State and Notre Dame and underrated Cotton Bowl champ Tulane.

Interesting and good discussion comparing the two teams. This team still has its issues, though some guys like Hunter starting to come along would play a big part in addressing them. One good thing I can say about this team that is we have no "bad" losses thus far. The WKU and SDSU win looked good on paper at the time. They aren't looking great but are still "OK" to good wins. Nevada is shockingly at the top of the Mountain West early. We probably should have beaten them.

Yes, this is where I am after 4 MAC games, @kreed5120 Hunter is still the wild card, but I feel he brings so much more to the table than a guy like Trimble did in the early going last year. Last year, they struggled to a 2-2 start, and put up a massive clunker at Kent. They followed that up with being the worse team at home against WMU for about 38 minutes, snuck past EMU 46-44, and dragged their feet to a win at CMU shortly after that. I don't think the 2023 Zips are close to the end of the season 2022 Zips yet. But you can go back and read the posts and read the box scores to see for yourself, 12 months ago, this team was all over the place. That's not to say this team hasn't been like that at times, but not having a guy like Trimble in there that could single-handedly shoot them out of the game has been a big plus. Will their peak be better than the 2022 team? Hard to say, but I think this team's upside is just as good, if not better.

You think this Akron team is better than last years team? The team that would have beaten a very good UCLA team had Freeman not fouled out on a questionable moving screen. I feel this years team has a long way to go before it's performing at that level. If Hunter keeps playing the way he has the past two games, I do think reaching last years level of success is achievable.

I'm glad Jim Christian is on the bench. The Boston College thief who set a NCAA record for fewest pts scored in a half of a NCAA Tournament game (2008 w/ KSUcks vs UNLV), lost to Akron by 20 in the 2013 MAC Championship game with Groce's Sweet Sixteen team, and was at the helm for some of the trashiest KSUcks teams in memory. Yeah, he's gonna do a whole lot for that culture. During Friday's game against OU, inSincere was having one of his diva moments, and not one assistant/teammate/etc. was able to calm him down. They almost lost thanks to his failure in the final moments. That team is going to go nowhere. They're being anointed some sort of mid major darlings, and I can all but guarantee the players are buying into the headlines and hype instead of realizing they haven't accomplish diddly squat.

Wasel For Heisman 2024.

I don't think there's anything for Moorhead to develop or improve here. The kid is already entering his 5th year of college ball, and enrolling in his 3rd college. Steele Wasel is Joe's QB to develop and improve.

Excellent podcast! Thx!

that's what I get for using 247 😬 https://247sports.com/player/david-jester-46056682/

That’s when we offered him too.

Excellent commit. I agree with Blue and Gold and Zipmeister's posts that he has many good offers even with zero stars. Now, I want Coach JoeMo to sign a Transfer Portal OL and DT for 2023. Also, I want another freshman recruit OL, DT (300 lb), and linebacker (Long and Bowen would fit the bill). These gets will set us up for 2023 and for years to come. I am almost ready to renew my season tickets early again. Go Zips!!!!

Definitely understood what you were pointing out. It is a very impressive job because it's one thing to see what the obvious holes are, but it's another to fill those holes. We are considerably better, IMO, this offseason.

I’m a huge fan of Melissa Jackson, she’s been a part of nearly all of the major success this program has ever had. That cannot be argued. And I think it was pretty unfair to not give her a bit of an extension after last season. With that said, she is indeed a great recruiter as was previously stated. But there are a lot of red flags with this program. 1. I think player development leaves a ton to be desired. Jodi Kest’s final recruiting class wasn’t great. Melissa was on that staff, of course. I don’t think any one of those players was notably better the day they left the program than the day they entered. In the classes since, Layne Ferrell has emerged, as has Molly Neitzel. But I don’t see much development behind them. As for Neitzel, she’s had a foot out the door for a lot of her Akron career, I’m glad she stuck around for this final year. Coach figured out how to use her at the end of the 20-21 season, and it has worked out well. 2. The aforementioned in-game coaching issues. 3. Not sure who to place the blame on, but a lot of the players aren’t in great physical shape. They get gassed much quicker than a lot of teams in this league, and the lack of depth makes it much more evident, especially when BG is running press and has fresh legs late in the 4th quarter. This isn’t a 2023 issue. It dates back to 18-19. Yesterday’s game was not the end of the world and will not be what does her in. But it certainly brought a spotlight to some of the issues. However, if it had been a close game the entire way, or even if BG had led by 7-10 points all day, I wouldn’t be as concerned as I am right now. The Zips had them dead to rights multiple times throughout the entire game. They led 28-15 middle of the 2Q and missed 4 consecutive shots. They wound up going into the break with a 9 point lead. Akron’s starting guards had 3x more TOs in the ball game than BG. Very troublesome stuff, IMO. But it’s a long season, and I believe in this group. They can learn from this and make some noise in the MAC once again.

I was more so pointing out the impressive job Renna has done flipping that position. I thought the safeties really came on strong and were playing as well as any in the MAC by the end of the season. Without going back and looking at the schedule, seems like somewhere shortly after that horrendous defensive showing against BG things started clicking for them. Cornerback was the biggest issue (and lack of pass rush). I’m expecting another scholarship safety (or two) to hit the portal.

That's one of the better high school recruits we've gotten under JoeMo. Very nice.

Former OU QB Nathan Rourke, who has been very successful in the CFL, has signed with Jacksonville.

As someone who’s a casual but curious watcher of the women’s team, I have to admit that this is clearly the optic being presented by this situation. Coming into this season I felt Melissa would have to prove her coaching chops as she no longer had Dawson to lean on. Well, IMHO, Melissa’s outdone herself as the team is playing better ball than they have in years. She and her staff look like winners. Don’t overthink it, Charles. Know when you’ve got a winner & lock her down.

I’m not sure I comprehend what you are stating here. Does Charles think this, or any, team will go undefeated in the MAC? The top two teams in the league played and Akron came up short. They made some mistakes in the fourth and couldn’t get a stop. They turned it over and then the wheels came off. It happens. At the end of Saturdays game this team has 3 losses and only 1 of those is in the MAC! They had some impressive wins against some really good teams and losses to teams ranked in the top 5! The place was packed Saturday. They’re fun to watch. If someone thinks there are dynasty schools in the MAC they’re sadly mistaken. It’s a tough conference and it moves around a lot for both men and women. Last year they played in the tourney and won their first game and then lost to the champs. Let’s quit pretending that this has anything to do with your statement and let’s start taking about what it’s really about. Charles wants his own people. Simple as that. The effects of what damage he’ll do will be felt by the loyal fans packing the place for long after his SHORT time here.

Tweets can once again be embedded. 🦘💪