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Guess we should pack it all up and go home because some arbitrary ranking says this team won’t be any good? NIU can go from 0-6 to 9-5 and Akron can’t make the same type of leap? Come on out and pay a little attention to what’s happening with this program. I’ve made more than enough posts on why this team could majorly outperform this year. I’ve also given similar situations to other programs. It’s fine to disagree, but next time how about give a little more depth into why you disagree before giving a preseason ranking that most likely goes 99% off the win/loss record of last year.

The trolls use some pretty enticing bait sometimes, don’t kick yourself. While I’m not quite at 8-4 myself, everything you’ve said this off-season is spot on. A month from tomorrow is a massive day for this program, I cannot wait.

the 9 recruits are not shown right now on the 2023 roster https://gozips.com/sports/mens-soccer/roster/2023 Here is what I see.......from roster currently shown (22 players) GK - 4 1. Mitch Budler 2. Seth Wilson 3. Gavin Hill 4. Matthew Evans Defense - 6 1. Jonas Buechte 2. Will Jackson (roster shows him as forward....but we all know that he will be at CB) 3. Joel Sangwa 4. Ashton Kamdem 5. Malik Henry (roster shows him as MF/F...he played right back last 2 years) 6. Carter Cormier Midfield - 9 1. Sam Tojaga 2. Josh Hallenberger 3. Alejandro Varela 4. Rui Reis 5. Gyuwon Chong 6. Josef Paulus 7. Johnny Fitzgerald 8. Wan Kuzri Wan Kamal 9. Jackson Herbert Forward - 3 1. Jason Shokalook 2. Stefan Dobrijevic 3. Dyson Clapier (roster shows him as midfielder).....if zips play a 4-5-1....then a midfielder makes sense for Dice let's add in the 9 recruits by position Defense - 2 1. Joshua Hardin - fullback 2. Daragh Reilly - left CB or left DB Midfield -5 1. Caleb Borneo 2. Matt Dreas 3. Daniel Firek 4. Ryan Kopay 5. Marlon Fries Forward -2 1. Nathan Ferguson 2. Alen Kapic (even though they show his name as Alex in first part of release. Jared knows his name...unfortunately, the SID for mens soccer does not) SID also shows his name as ALEX later in release, Alen Kapic deserves better .....his name needs to be spelled correctly in the news If I go to the 2022 roster and look for players with eligibility (not shown on 2023 roster)....here is what I find... 1. Mani Diop - transfer to Washington 2. Ryan Kingsford - transfer to Loyola Marymount 3. Grant McIntosh - transfer to Duquesne 4. Levi Stephens - transfer to George Mason 5. Sam Harter 6. Maruki Kawahara - transfer to Nebraska Omaha 7. Connor Lee 8. Terence Okoeguale - transfer to San Diego State 9. Santiago Frias - transfer to Albany I have been typing this as I try to watch the Guardians game.....Hopefully, this is 99.8% accurate.

There were losses last year, but if you went to the games and watched how they improved you saw the the foundations for wins were being established. That was clear for all to see. Build the foundation and the wins will come. Joe and staff have righted the culture and added better talent, talent equal or better than our opponents. Our coaching is better than the rest of the MAC. The wins are coming regardless of what you believe.

You lost me there. Sounds like I’ve been having a discussion with someone that doesn’t even watch the games. Enough time wasted. Carry on.

Of course last year’s team was outclassed by Tennessee and MSU. Most teams were outclassed by Tennessee regardless of level. Turnarounds usually take 5-6 games for things to really start clicking, just FYI. As much as I’d love a P5 win, I’m not counting on Kentucky or Indiana. I am counting Morgan State and Temple (although I think the Temple matchup will be very close.) Not sure how many games you watched last year, but we lost 4 conference games by 7 points or less. Only Ohio and Miami ran away from us. I bring that up to show this team was not far off even with a less talented roster than our opponents. Last year’s team had a clear deficit in the run game, pass rush, and at cornerback. The portal has changed the landscape of college football and this staff has used it as well as anyone at the G5 level, while also bringing in a strong HS/JUCO class. If those positions have been shored up like I think they have, then this will be one exciting season. This team will have just as much depth as any team in the MAC this year. We compare at every position except the OL and DL, but those should be much improved over last year. Flash in the pan? Doubtful. Believe it. Or not. Might want to pay just a little closer attention to what’s happening with this program though.

I reached out and the official answer I was given is that there will be no open practices during fall camp. No definitive answer on when the roster would be updated, except would likely be early on during camp.

Don't look now but it's Aug. 1 and the women's season begins in 1 week.

Looks like the 2024 HS class is pretty much done barring any attrition.

EAST OHIO = 8-4 (7-1) AKRON = 8-4 (6-2) MIAMI = 8-4 (6-2) BUFFALO = 7-5 (4-4) BOWLING GREEN = 2-10 (1-7) KENT STATE = 1-11 (0-8) WEST TOLEDO = 9-3 (6-2) EMU = 7-5 (4-4) NIU = 6-6 (4-4) BSU = 6-6 (4-4) CMU = 5-7 (4-4) WMU = 3-7 (2-6) Making a slight edit here and saying Ball State gets a 6th win as well, giving the MAC 8 bowl teams. Seems high but I think there is very little separation in the West, outside of Toledo at the top and WMU at the bottom. NIU could have another tough year if Lombardi isn’t healthy, so just assuming he will be in these standings. In the East I think there is a pretty big drop off from the top four to the bottom two. Maybe Bowling Green surprises again? Although I have a hard time envisioning that. Especially after so many situations went their way last year.

2023 MAC Predictions: EAST OHIO = 8-4 (7-1) AKRON = 8-4 (6-2) MIAMI = 8-4 (6-2) BUFFALO = 7-5 (4-4) BOWLING GREEN = 2-10 (1-7) KENT STATE = 1-11 (0-8) WEST TOLEDO = 9-3 (6-2) EMU = 7-5 (4-4) NIU = 6-6 (4-4) BSU = 5-7 (4-4) CMU = 5-7 (4-4) WMU = 3-7 (2-6) I’ll probably be way off on some of these, but just going through the schedules these are the results I finished with. What does everyone else think?

If you’re itching for more MAC talk, take a listen. It’s not necessarily a great listen, but it’s decent. A lot of love for Toledo and NIU. They also like Ohio and EMU. A few of the guys picked Akron as their dark horse to win 6 games and make a bowl. My thoughts on Toledo and NIU: - Seems almost everyone thinks Toledo is the best bet for a P5 upset over Illinois. I disagree. Feels like so many forget about Toledo losing to Bowling Green and Western Michigan to close out the regular season. They won the MACC against an Ohio team missing the MAC POY and then squeaked out a bowl win. I do think Toledo will have a great season, but I keep hearing that since Illinois lost so much in the secondary, they won’t be as good. Back track a year and hardly anyone was talking about the Illinois secondary before the season started. Just to give an example how situations can get spun to fit a narrative. - Outside of the OL and RB, NIU will struggle with depth on offense. The defense majorly struggles on the backend and have not seemingly shored it up in the offseason. LB play should be better, but it was rough last year, so that isn’t saying much. The Zip OL had their way with NIU’s DL last season, especially in the second half. Banking on Lombardi being healthy for a successful season kinda shows where NIU is as a program and what is likely coming in 2024.