kreed5120

Akron moved up to #57 in NET rankings. A full 34 spots ahead of the next MAC team ?.

Buffalo seems like a roller coaster this season. They have two of the MAC's better wins this season in Depaul & Harvard, but have also had some head scratching losses. They seem to lack any sort of consistency.

The NCAA released the NET rankings today. Akron came in ranked #63, which was 2nd best in the conference. Liberty is currently #19 and Tulane is #127. https://www.ncaa.com/rankings/basketball-men/d1/ncaa-mens-basketball-net-rankings?utm_campaign=trending

You really can't put it in top 7 neither as the AAC has consistently been much better. It seems these days everyone has their own definition of what constitutes a mid-major and what doesn't. I quit paying attention to it.

I'll always prefer the tournaments that provide us the opportunity to play Louisville and WVU type teams on a neutral court. It's so hard to pick up those resume building wins when you're forced to play at their arena. Liberty & Tulane are having good seasons, but those are the type of teams we could (and should) schedule home and homes with.

$150k seems to be the going rate for a MAC defensive coordinator so I'm not all that surprised. Now arguing that he was under qualified for the position in the first place is a whole other discussion. If Arth was insistent on bringing in his cronies, I would have at least liked to have seen him go out and get an experienced OC/DC. Perhaps with one of those guys having some prior FBS head coaching experience. I don't find it all that surprising that I-coach is the highest paid assistant in the MAC. At this point he's a veteran assistant and has thus far been a much better assistant than he was a head coach.

Kelley transferring to Bama to replace Tua confirmed

It was nice to see Xeyrius have back-to-back good games from behind the arc. Hopefully he has regained his confidence and shaken off the rust. Edit: After my initial post I saw Williams won MAC East player of the week. https://gozips.com/news/2019/12/9/mens-basketball-williams-named-mac-east-player-of-the-week.aspx

This is usually the point in the game where the more talented teams pull away. Let's see if the Zips have it in them to go on a run to create some separation.

University probably caught win of @NWAkron posts and decided it was too much of a liability risk. They're already being sued because of 1 player incurring a concussion. They probably don't want a second lawsuit.

You typically see a few of these per year. Marshall had been playing Akron, Toledo, and Ohio annually the past few years. It was mentioned in the broadcast that Marshall wanted to continue the series with Ohio, but Ohio wanted to take a short break from the series. This left an open date in Marshall's schedule, which I'm guessing conveniently matched up with a date Toledo was looking to fill.

Yes, I was just more so trying to make a joke, but obviously it must not have been all that funny.

Full season GA tickets cost $60. Getting tickets to the 9 MAC home games costs $75. Our home OOC games are so bad our athletic department gives you a $15 discount to buy tickets for them.

He picked up 2 quick fouls in the first half then picked up his third early into the 2nd half. I didn't even notice his 6 turnovers tbh, but that's way to many for anyone, let alone someone who isn't a primary ball handler. Reece has seemed to have gotten into the habit of getting into early foul trouble. I'm sure some of that has to do with the fact he has to be more physical to compensate for the fact he's 2-3 inches shorter than the bigs he's matched up against. Either way he needs to play smarter. I think 2 of his 3 fouls were on moving screens.

All these ranking systems are pretty goofy this early into a season as the sample size just isn't large enough to work out the kinks. I've seen BGSU & Kent play this season and neither looks like a top 20 team. As of right now I see 5 teams that have so far separated themselves from the pack. Those teams are Toledo, Buffalo, Kent, BGSU, and Akron. I'd say Toledo and BGSU are ahead of the other 3, but not by much.

Congrats to John Lako. You have to have one hell of a season to get a 1st team All-Conference recognition when you're on an 0-12 team. Alvin Davis got 3rd team recognition.

Individual Awards: Coach of the Year: Jim McElwain, Central Michigan Offensive Player of the Year: RB LeVante Bellamy, Western Michigan Defensive Player of the Year: OLB Treshaun Hayward, Western Michigan Special Teams Player of the Year: K Matthew Trickett, Kent State Freshman of the Year: QB Brett Gabbert, Miami Vern Smith Leadership Award Winner: RB LeVante Bellamy, Western Michigan 2019 FIRST TEAM ALL-MAC 2019 All-MAC First Team Offense Position – Name - School Quarterback – Nathan Rourke, Ohio +# Offensive Linemen – Danny Pinter, Ball State Offensive Linemen – Luke Juriga, Western Michigan &# Offensive Lineman – Jordan Steckler, Northern Illinois Offensive Linemen – Evin Ksiezarczyk, Buffalo + Offensive Linemen – Tommy Doyle, Miami Tight End – Giovanni Ricci, Western Michigan % Wide Receiver – Kalil Pimpleton, Central Michigan Wide Receiver – Justin Hall, Ball State %# Wide Receiver – Skyy Moore, Western Michigan Wide Receiver – JaCorey Sullivan, Central Michigan Running Back – LeVante Bellamy, Western Michigan & Running Back – Jaret Patterson, Buffalo + Placekicker – Matt Trickett, Kent State & 2019 All-MAC First Team Defense Position – Name - School Outside Linebacker – Treshaun Hayward, Western Michigan Outside Linebacker – Troy Brown, Central Michigan Inside Linebacker – Jacob White, Ball State % Inside Linebacker – John Lako, Akron % Down Lineman – Sean Adesanya, Central Michigan Down Lineman – Taylor Riggins, Buffalo Down Lineman – Malcolm Koonce, Buffalo Down Lineman – Doug Costin, Miami + Defensive Back – Joey Banks, Buffalo Defensive Back – Javon Hagan, Ohio &#* Defensive Back – Vince Calhoun, Eastern Michigan %^ Defensive Back – Antonio Phillips, Ball State Punter – Kyle Kramer, Miami % 2019 All-MAC First Team Specialists Position – Name - School Kickoff Return Specialist – Keith Mixon Jr., Western Michigan Punt Return Specialist – Kalil Pimpleton, Central Michigan 2019 SECOND TEAM ALL-MAC 2019 All-MAC Second Team Offense Position – Name - School Quarterback – Mike Glass III, Eastern Michigan Offensive Lineman – Austen Pleasants, Ohio Offensive Lineman – Jaylon Moore, Western Michigan Offensive Lineman – Kayode Awosika, Buffalo Offensive Lineman – Mike Caliendo, Western Michigan Offensive Lineman – Paul Nosworthy, Buffalo Tight End – Tony Poljan, Central Michigan Wide Receiver – Riley Miller, Ball State + Wide Receiver – Arthur Jackson, Eastern Michigan Wide Receiver – Bryce Mitchell, Toledo Wide Receiver – Quintin Morris, Bowling Green Running Back – Bryant Koback, Toledo Running Back – Caleb Huntley, Ball State Placekicker – Sam Sloman, Miami 2019 All-MAC Second Team Defense Position – Name - School Outside Linebacker – Brody Hoying, Eastern Michigan %@ (as defensive back) Outside Linebacker – Kadofi Wright, Buffalo Inside Linebacker – Michael Oliver, Central Michigan Inside Linebacker – Drake Spears, Western Michigan Down Lineman – Ali Fayad, Western Michigan Down Lineman – Jack Heflin, Northern Illinois % Down Lineman – Ledarius Mack, Buffalo Down Lineman – Kameron Butler, Miami Defensive Back – Jamal Parker, Kent State Defensive Back – Mykelti Williams, Northern Illinois + Defensive Back – Amechi Uzodinma, Ball State Defensive Back – Tyrone Hill, Buffalo Punter – Michael Farkas, Ohio &! 2019 All-MAC Second Team Specialists Position – Name - School Kickoff Return Specialist – Malik Dunner, Ball State %^ Punt Return Specialist – Maurice Thomas, Miami 2019 THIRD TEAM ALL-MAC 2019 All-MAC Third Team Offense Position – Name - School Quarterback – Jon Wassink, Western Michigan Offensive Lineman – Nick Rosi, Toledo Offensive Lineman – Danny Godlevske, Miami % Offensive Lineman – Curtis Blackwell, Ball State Offensive Lineman – Marques Grimes, Ohio Offensive Lineman – Steven Hayes, Ohio Tight End – Mitchell Brinkman, Northern Illinois Wide Receiver – Isaiah McKoy, Kent State Wide Receiver – Antonio Nunn, Buffalo Wide Receiver – Mike Carrigan, Kent State Wide Receiver – Dylan Drummond, Eastern Michigan Running Back – Jonathan Ward, Central Michigan Running Back – Tre Harbison, Northern Illinois + Placekicker – John Richardson, Northern Illinois 2019 All-MAC Third Team Defense Position – Name - School Outside Linebacker – Myles Reid, Miami Outside Linebacker – Kholbe Coleman, Bowling Green Inside Linebacker – Kobie Beltram, Eastern Michigan Inside Linebacker – Jaylin Thomas, Ball State Down Lineman – Jamal Hines, Toledo Down Lineman – Chibueze Onwuka, Buffalo Down Lineman – Theo Majette, Kent State Down Lineman – Robi Stuart, Central Michigan Defensive Back – Alvin Davis, Akron &# Defensive Back – Emmanuel Rugamba, Miami Defensive Back – Patrick Lupro, Western Michigan Defensive Back – Kevin McGill, Eastern Michigan + Punter – Derek Adams, Kent State 2019 All-MAC Third Team Specialists Position – Name - School Kickoff Return Specialist – DL Knock, Ohio Punt Return Specialist – Keith Mixon Jr., Western Michigan & 2018 First-Team All-MAC + 2018 Second-Team All-MAC % 2018 Third-Team All-MAC @ 2017 First-Team All-MAC # 2017 Second-Team All-MAC ^ 2017 Third-Team All-MAC = 2016 First-Team All-MAC * 2016 Second-Team All-MAC ! 2016 Third-Team All-MAC

Kato was sacked 43 times for negative 215. In college sacks count against your rushing total. If you subtract the sacks, he was our leading rushing with 336 yards. Our next best was Brandon Lee with 179.

At 85 scholarships per team and 130 FBS teams that means there are over 11k FBS players and that doesn't include walk-ons. It's not practical for EA to negotiate with every single player. Even if they did the amounts couldn't be that much with so many mouths to feed. The real money would come from local businesses that pay players for autograph sessions and commercials. Some of the very top players could land national endorsement deals.

We'd have to win the MAC tourney then win our first NCAAT game in program history to get a top 25 win. It's just tough to do when you only get 1, maybe 2 cracks per year at it. Last year would have been the year to do it. We had 3 cracks at a ranked Buffalo plus played a ranked Clemson and a ranked Nevada OOC.

The size on them look good for their respective positions. Their size doesn't really speak to their athletic ability or skill level however. I'd have to believe the staff believes these guys can step in and contribute right away. That doesn't mean any of them are going to be winning any All-MAC awards.

By year 7 Novak had 3 straight winning seasons. Back then there were much fewer bowl games so there were maybe 2 MAC teams going bowling per year. Those NIU teams in years 5-8 would have made bowl games in today's college landscape. If anyone is an exception in today's college landscape it would be Frank Solich. If he wasn't already in his 60s when Ohio hired him, he would have been poached 7-8 years ago. Bowden was actually the 2nd longest tenured coach in the MAC at the time of his firing. Outside of Solich these long-term coaches you speak of don't exist in the MAC. Now the 2nd longest tenured MAC coach is 6 years. Coaches either win enough to move up to a bigger program or they lose too much and get canned. Kill still inherited a 2-10 program so its not like he was handed a golden goose. It sounds like you're more just taking shots at Arth here, which is fine. Arth was a questionable hire at best considering his performance at Chattanooga. Bowden's win total peaked in year 4 and would have bottomed this year in year 8. As zippy5 pointed out had Bowden not been fired last year, he would have definitely been fired this season as there was no way any coach could win a sizable number of games with this roster. You act as though Akron moves on from coaches after 2-3 seasons. Outside of Ianello that hasn't been the case. Lee Owens got 9 and Faust got 8. Novak never had a losing season between years 5-11. That's how he made it to a 12th year. If Bowden did the same in years 5-7 he wouldn't have been canned before year 8 neither. NIU key to stability is next man up when it comes to coaching hires. They could have easily made an Ianello hire that would have tanked their program, but they didn't. They clearly have competent AD and board members making their decisions. Ohio key to success was hitting on a coach who was in his 60s that no other program would want because of his age. Once again there were much fewer bowl games back then. In today's era NIU would have been in 3 bowl games by year 7. In years 5-7 Novak had 3 consecutive winning seasons and hope to sell the fans as he was coming off an 8-4 season. In those last 3 years Bowden had 1 7-7 season and 2 losing seasons. We were coming off of a 4-8 season and anyone without rose colored glasses could tell we'd stink this year as we lost all the talent he had on defense. There was no hope for the future that Bowden could sell.

Losing coaches because other, bigger programs want them isn't a bad thing. It means you're having successful seasons. NIU has probably been the most successful post Marshall team in the MAC. They're onto their 4th coach in a 12 year span. All 3 of the previous coaches were hired away by bigger pocketed programs. Holding onto underperforming coaches too long is what sets back your program. Of course any coachig hire requires competent people at the top to make the right hiring decision. Yes, and had those programs kept those crappy coaches that were winning them 2-4 games per year they would still be winning 2-4 games per season. Keeping a guy around like Solich who has consistently had a high level of success is one thing. Keeping guys around that have stunk or been below average just for the sake of keeping them isn't good business. A guy isn't going to suddenly become a better coach in years 8-10. You know what you have by that point. The MAC is going to have at minimum 7 bowl teams this season, but possibly 8. I want to see Akron be a consistent winner like NIU, OU, or what WMU has recently transformed into. We didn't spend $70 million on a football stadium to compare ourselves to Kent, who whores out its program 3x a year to the highest bidder. Roughly 6 MAC teams make bowl games per year. Given the money Akron plows into the program we should be among those 6 most years. Even excluding Bowden's first season he had a losing overall record and a losing conference record.

Give me a break. It was hardly an insult. Certainly not anymore than him referring to me as being delusional or claiming that I'm on drugs. The overwhelming majority still is in agreement that firing Bowden was the right choice. Maybe you were content with Akron hovering around or below mediocrity, but the vast majority of this board wasn't. If there was any mistake it was in hiring Arth. As Jim McElwain showed, a good coaching hire makes the world of a difference. If Bowden was half as good as you try claiming he was, he would have fielded legitimate job offers and wouldn't be an unpaid intern right now.

This appears to be a rebuilding year for Marshall, but they have been one of the better teams in C-USA each of the past 4 years. D'Antoni certainly has made them more competitive since taking over. I hope we continue to extend the contract for this OOC game.