Leaderboard

The LED nodes are being installed this week. Testing will commence shortly after. The board should be operational for the home opener.

Alas, Zips have not enjoyed superior level team chemistry in several seasons. 2018 seems very long ago. Yes, this was once the hallmark of this program. Multiple transfers in and out is the collegiate soccer World we now live in. Mind you, no one cares much for team chemistry that does not render success. Zips base formation/system is 4-2-3-1. We very occasionally play 4-3-3. I do not believe formation/system is responsible for “pussyfooting” in the back, as I understand the term. At fault is a strategic choice to draw out the opposition and lure them into over committing. This is analogous to a boxer sticking out his chin, daring his opponent to hit him, with the intent to counter punch the unbalanced foe. But when the Zips stick out their chin, we are even odds to get knocked off our feet. One starts to wonder: Maybe we are not very good at counter punching. Another apparent Zips strategy is to treat every possession as precious and equal. Precious? Agreed. Equally precious? No. Against CSU, Zips made, not one pass, but four too many passes in our defensive right corner. With 13 minutes left, Zips disrespected the overall game scenario. That Ball should been given a long ride to the other half, knowingly conceding possession. Obviously, Zips cannot achieve success by always booming the ball out of the back. But specific situations mandate specific actions. Victory was in hand. That ball should have been sent into the upper deck. Instead, we stuck out our chin, getting a bloody nose for our trouble. We mismanaged the game. Not all Draws feel the same. The draw at Notre Dame kind of felt like victory. The draw hosting CSU definitely feels like a loss.

This pussyfooting around in front of our own goal has become commonplace. Not how a well-coached team plays.

🤮

COULD be a number of things: not listening to coaches , relaxing after just scoring a goal , not pushing forward to get enough shots inside the 18. You don't always have to have a clean look, fire away you might get a deflection

Your questions are ell thought out. I don't think the system of play is at fault. What I noticed is that our mids were not going to space to help relieve pressure on the back line so they could pass out. I also saw this when the ball got into the midfield. There was too much ball watching. We needed movement to unbalance the defensive pressure in the mid and create space for our forwards to run on to the ball, have a pass thru a created channel or have a wing back run into the attack. The need to go to, or create, space could go to chemistry, but the bottom line is that is our style. If you don't want to commit to it go to the bench. I thought this game was more about attitude than it was about strategy. For that the players are accountable.

Two quick thoughts: 1) Not that Akron is any different than other schools, but with all the transfers in and out and 5th year and grad players coming and going, putting in a season or two here, have we lost the team chemistry that for years was the Zip trademark of play? 2) Would we be less vulnerable to "pussyfooting", quick strikes after scoring, heck at all, if we played a more "conventional 4-4-2 rather than going with the 3-5-2?

We need to turn this around quickly or this will be a rough season...

I was able to go back and rewatch on YouTube TV. I didn’t give Greenwood enough credit. He may not be the biggest or fastest safety, but he was really good Saturday. I also got Hunter and DeWalt mixed up. I do still think Hunter will be a good player. However, DeWalt has excellent size and has the physicality to help us this year. I also noticed Spriggs on second watch. He may not have always known what he was doing, but he’s fast and will hit. He’s another guy to watch as he continues to develop.

I get your point but those are ridiculous comparisons. Your two examples are a major stadium renovation and a new stadium being built. Both of those take year(s). This is a scoreboard that absolutely should be done by first home game. Maybe there’s a good excuse but I haven’t heard one yet

I dare you to spend even 1 day in Guthrie's shoes. There is huge pressure on Athletics to reduce expenses or increase revenue. Most of these money games have been scheduled years in advance. The OSU game represented an opportunity to make some cash. With the realignment going on, these games are going to disappear. A more sane schedule starts next year.

This is the scoreboard at CMU. Ours will be similar.

Today's progress.

Here is QB commit Cibastian Broughton's sophomore year highlights (I couldn't find a tape of his junior year highlights). He plays in Florida's 7A division, which is the division for Florida's largest schools. Tell me he doesn't look like precisely the kind of QB JoeMo's looking for to run his O 💪💪 Cibastian Broughton's Junior Year Highlights

I don't know about UC, but OSU doesn't seem to have lowered their standards much to grow their class. I looked up their common data set for the last year and compared it to the last freshman class before the pandemic. It looks like a small drop on test scores, but class rank is better and acceptance rate has gone down. The one big change is that they're getting a ton more applications. 2019 Freshman Class Applications/Acceptance Rate: 47,700/53.7% Middle 50% ACT and SAT: 28-32/1300-1420 (55% between 30 and 36) Percent in top 10%/top 25%: 60%/93% 2023 Freshman Class Applications/Acceptance Rate: 70,028/50% Middle 50% ACT and SAT: 27-32/1290-1440 (51% between 30 and 36) Percent in top 10%/top 25%: 67%/95% But yes, I agree with you. They should lower their acceptance rate to about 33%.

The budget being cut shouldn't have any impact on something privately-funded like this.

That 3rd CSU goal was weak @$$ sh!t on our part. Pussyfooting around in front of your own goal like that?!?! 🤮🤮🤮

This was one pee poor soccer game by past Akron standards. Our forwards don't seem to create or play with a sense of urgency. The Midfield was non-existent and the back line was reckless and leaky. That's a bad combination. We are a program that has had four straight years of declining talent in our recruits and it shows. I'm afraid opposing coaches know this. Hence average CSU and OSU teams can play even or dominate. I am very disappointed. I thought ND was a turning point. Apparently not.

I think there are a lot of positives to take from the game, but having trouble not letting our QB situation over shadow it all. Finley was looking rough. Taj does look improved (and i liked how the staff was using them together), but don’t think the downfield passing is there yet.

And Wan Kuzri Wan Kamal scores the second goal (and his second of the season). Zips have scored three goals and lead 2-1. 😉

Everything about college athletics is a first world problem. If we're nitpicking, let's just pack it up and go D3

If I bet Akron, they covered. You're wrong, it's not a big deal

Rewatched the first 3 quarters again yesterday just because I was so pleased with how we looked. We were holding our own & definitely not getting pushed around by the best college team money can buy. I remember days when we'd play P4 teams & I'd just cross my fingers praying we'd ever manage to force a punt on D or get a first down on O.

The scoreboard will absolutely be functional for the home opener. Whether the video board is working has nothing to do with the actual game. Be thankful that UA figured out a way to find the money to replace the old one. 1st world problem here.

Sport- if you're not a freshman and you're not contributing to Zips teams that are winning 2 games a year, you are likely not a division 1 football player.

You score a goal late and then your defense has A HUGE BRAIN FART

0 wins 1 loss 3 draws. Who would have thought that we draw and lose AT HOME AGAINST 2 OPPONENTS WE HAVE DOMINATED FOR YEARS