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I'm sad to read that Josh no longer wanted to be part of our program. I've suspected since the Spring that he had made a decision to go elsewhere. I wish him the best but cannot say the same for his new collegiate team. Hopefully, our new AD finds a way to make needed improvements for our student-athletes, but as noted, the lure of bigger money elsewhere will likely continue to hamper our program. I haven't seen where Max Barboto will be this Fall. He is among the players in the voting for NPSL Golden Ball (most outstanding player in the NPSL season). He didn't play as many minutes for the Zips as I thought he would have, but is another player whom I looked forward to seeing potentially gain more minutes this year. Max has always been respectful, often initiating conversations with me. I wish Max well. Also, agreed that Simon Guardiero is talented, and I looked forward to his continued improvement and perhaps getting more minutes, maybe becoming a starter for the Zips this Fall. Talented player and gracious person. I reached out to him on IG to wish him well; he responded thanking me for my support and wishing me and the Zips the best.

Its not just college sports. The MAC schools have to compete with pro and minor league sports as well. Using northeast Ohio as an example, we have the Browns, Guardians, and Cavs, multiple minor league baseball teams, the Lake Erie Monsters, and Cleveland Charge. Not to mention whatever other entertainment options. People only have so much available time and only so much disposable income. I believe Cleveland is the smallest metro to have 3 major pro sports teams. Many of the SunBelt schools are in the middle of nowhere. Those schools have less to compete with for live entertainment.

Well, if the G5 schools pulled their heads out of their backsides, they could structure their league in a way that finances were less of a burden. I don't think a high level P4 win does much for a G5 school long term. App State was already a good program. It won national championships the two years prior to beating Michigan and were a I-AA powerhouse for years prior. Win or lose against Michigan that day, App State would be good. I think that the incoming freshman class wasn't born when they beat Michigan. It's a strange historical fact for them in the same way that Akron beating OSU in the late 1800s is a strange historical fact now. Our problem is even when something good happens, it's never enough and an excuse for why we can't be any good. Wins against Syracuse, Pittsburgh and Northwestern (I think they played in the Big 10 championship this season)?..... That's not good enough, they didn't beat Michigan that one time so nobody cares. The reason nobody cares is because even if they were good, they play their games on days of the week and at times that make it almost impossible for people to either attend and/or care. They play their arch rival on weekday night games in front of a basically empty stadium. The money problem can be mitigated, but the stupidity can't.

I think the bigger issue is how the government visa restrictions will affect international recruiting. ADs' and coaches' hands are tied; that's what "we" voted for.

2024 Rewind: Buffalo was somewhat of a surprise team in the MAC. Newly hired head coach Pete Lembo made few roster changes to the squad he inherited from Maurice Linguist and still managed to rack up a 9-4 record—mostly due to instilling discipline into a team that rarely turned the ball over on offense and consistently created takeaways on defense. Recruiting under Lembo: 2024: On3 - 9th 247 - 10th 2025: On3 - 6th 247 - 5th Bulls on Offense: Kansas State transfer Ta’Quan Roberson will replace CJ Ogbonna at quarterback. Statistically, Roberson’s 2023 season at UConn was a bit below what Ogbonna produced last year. Not much was expected from Ogbonna heading into 2024, so we’ll see if the Bulls’ staff can work their same magic with Roberson. Al-Jay Henderson is back after racking up 1,078 yards and 9 touchdowns in 2024. Buffalo has an embarrassment of riches at the position, with Lamar Sperling and Messiah Burch backing up Henderson. The Buffalo receiving corps should be more dynamic in 2025. Victor Snow returns after an all-conference campaign, and Nik McMillan—who was potentially in line for a breakout year—also comes back after a season-ending injury. To top it off, the Bulls added a former ZipsNation topic of discussion in reciever Jasaiah Gathings. Tight end will feature a few new faces, although the position typically isn’t utilized much in the passing game. Buffalo’s offensive line wasn’t elite by any stretch, but they did enough to allow the offense to operate effectively. Tyler Doty and Trevor Brock will resume their roles at guard, with Henry Tabansi back at one of the tackle spots. Long Island transfer Jake Timm is expected to take over at center, while career backup James Carrington is slated to claim the other tackle spot. Bulls on Defense: Buffalo returns two of their four starters along the defensive line in Cornell Evans and Second Team All-MAC edge Kobe Stewart. Backups Malin White and George Wolo will likely step into starting roles in 2025. The Bulls easily fielded the best linebacker trio in the MAC last season with Shaun Dolac, Red Murdock, and Dion Crawford. Dolac has moved on, but Murdock and Crawford return, giving Buffalo a pair of all-conference players at the position. The Bulls also added Harvard transfer Michell Gonser, who earned All-Ivy League honors in 2024. Three starters return to a secondary that was often overly aggressive and, quite simply, not very good at limiting yards. That said, they were opportunistic when it came to creating turnovers. The returners are cornerbacks Charles McCartherens and Marques Cooper, along with safety Solomon Brown. Backup SaVeon Brown will likely step in at nickel, with DII transfer Miles Greer expected to round out the group at safety. Jack Howes and Ethan Stumpf are expected to fill in at kicker and punter. Given the emphasis Lembo puts on special teams, it’s a safe bet the Bulls will be solid in that phase once again. Position Advantage: QB - Akron RB - Buffalo WR - Even TE - Akron OL - Buffalo DL - Buffalo LB - Buffalo DB - Even ST - Buffalo Way too Early Prediction: Pete Lembo got way more out of the 2024 offense than anyone expected. They weren’t elite talent-wise, but they rarely turned the ball over and were more disciplined than most of their opponents. The Bulls usually capitalized on their scoring opportunities as well. Despite being more talented on the offensive side of the ball in 2025, that doesn’t guarantee the same type of success—especially if the pendulum swings and turnovers start to become an issue. Defensively, the Bulls should be better, but losing someone like Shaun Dolac in the middle of the defense—who always seemed to be in the right place at the right time—isn’t always an easy replacement. If Buffalo can get similar production from their front seven and the secondary takes a step forward, we may be looking at one of the better defensive units in the conference. Last year, Moorhead admitted after the game that it took the staff until the third quarter to figure out the confusion Buffalo’s first-year defensive coordinator was causing the Zips’ offense. From there, the Akron offense got rolling, but it was too late—the defense already allowed a whopping 38 points. The chances of that happening again are unlikely, but this year’s game is being played in Buffalo, and the Bulls have more talent on this year’s team. I think Akron drops a fairly close one, 27-21.

I hate to hear this. I believe universities should maintain at least some old buildings. It's been over 30 years, but at one time the restaurant in the basement served the best grilled chicken sandwiches in Akron.

I don't think so but he is still developing physically. His profile is much more solidified and defined. He's working hard and getting rewarded for it - starting in every summer league game and typically getting around 30 minutes of play time. You could tell last year the Pacers liked him; I don't think they would typically attend, as a team, just any two way player's high school celebration. If he keeps this up and continues to develop, I fully expect a legitimate NBA contract to come his way.

I'm of the opinion that if G5 schools snap out of it and begin to use their athletic departments to benefit the athletes students alumni fans and general community around their schools, their greatest days could be ahead of them. Further, I believe there is room for only one professional football league dominating the attention of Americans in the fall and winter. That league is the NFL. I believe over time Americans will grow weary with the pro football of the P4 schools when they realize only 3-4 schools are capable of winning the league. It won't happen overnight, but interest will erode. When that happens, people will look for other ways to spend time with their family and friends. OSUlike games are out of reach for most families. Why can't G5 schools provide games at a time and day of the week when families can attend? Get people to the games and everything else the school offers is on display for the taxpayers. Make it a great day for them and then you have something.

Bingo. The days of being a competitive G5 team that can "build a fanbase" are gone folks. OSU is king here, and OU and Cincinnati take whatever is leftover. Maybe you could have done it in 2013 by beating Michigan, enduring Akron into the OSU fandom's hearts or something...but that was really the last window. You're not doing it in 2025...how many times are we doing to double-down on the fallacy that Akron can be competitive at Football?

thank you much for taking the time to register and to share your thoughts. Very kind and much appreciated.

Time will tell. Guthrie was a joke that did nothing at UA but place an Arby’s blight on it that probably can’t be scrubbed away for a decade. And he bamboozled many into believing he was better than the sack of garbage he was. Even after he shirked his promises made to UA and bolted for Fordham some still make excuses for his profoundly forgettable tenure. The only positive from Guthrie is Fordham basketball’s probation. Karma is a bitch. Go Goodrich. If you focus on getting the football program to respectability instead of joining the “I wouldn’t have built that stadium” unimaginative losers, you will have piqued my interest. We’ll build off of that.

Just based off his GW bio, seems like a damn good hire. Really good fundraiser and knows how to negotiate deals and get butts in seats

I'm glad to hear kids are moving and socializing closer to campus. It was my college experience and I had a great experience. I went to a couple Exchange Street bars after a football game last year or the year before and thought they were good college bars. The City is never going to rebound if it can't handle public safety in the downtown area. It's a basic issue that will hold back the City forever if it cannot deal with it. If Fairlawn and Green are offering better living experiences for 23-32 year olds, it shows how far the City needs to go. I lived in Cuyahoga Falls with some buddies after college for two years. When Mrs GP1, the luckiest woman in the world, and I got married, we moved to west Akron on Kenilworth Drive as soon as we could afford a house. The city life was awesome. One bad part of Akron was the 2% income tax. It's up to 2.5% now. That's pretty steep for anywhere. It's not like the City offers premium public services for a premium tax rate. The problems the City has are not unusual or unsolvable. The failure is chronic and habitual. I don't know how to fix that but other cities have.

There are no sit down chain restaurants in the South End like you are thinking. If Akron could pull off something like that, it would be a boom for the city and local business owners. I understand people want to try a different version of the same thing hoping it will somehow work the next time. It won't. These are the same people who believe if the Browns could just draft a QB in the first round their problems would be solved.

Seems you don't know what Quaker was, it literally was a multi use facility with food, shops, and other events lmao.