Zip JD

Take it easy. A typo doesn't negate an opinion or create the need for snide comments. Your argument as to the coaching could be correct or we may have just recruited bad lineman. A list of potentials doesn't mean depth. Instead of cliches, I will leave it at this. During the Bowden era everytime one starting lineman got injured, our running game fell apart. It may have been coaching, recruiting, game plans or most likely a combination of all of them. We are in agreement that Larry needs to make a good hire.

41% beats TB

He can go back to the studio desk with no problems if he wants to do that. He's a Bowden so he is a natural story teller.

If TB would have signed a new class and then they fire him, doesn't that release any player who wants to leave the program without having to sit out?

You might be rigth as to coaching, but we certainly had no depth in terms of guys ready to step up when someone was injured. We never had next man up as part of our program.

Also, it would probably cost us recruits because nobody wants to sign with a lame duck coach.

I think the problem has been the extreme lack of depth on the offensive line. Just as with this year, one lineman goes down and we are done. Even when we had Jawon Chisholm who average almost 5.0 yards a carry for his career and Conor Hundley (4.5 yards per carry for his career) we never established the run game. Most coaching staffs would have show cased an inside and outside attack, but not the Zips. The recruiting and game planning have prevented any type of consistent running game even though TB talks about how important it is all the time.

Same here. I am looking forward to seeing the Zips match up with a good team on their home court.

Excellent reporting Clark. Next time GT falls asleep at the game (assuming he shows up) you should write the article.

Thanks. Now we know why Sayles has trouble getting minutes. No boxing out, no cutting off the baseline. He needs a lot of work on defense.

What's the word on Riak?

It is very rare that i look forward to a low level OOC opponent coming to the JAR, but I cannot wait for this game. At least it isn't Coppin State or Arkansas Pine Bluff this time.

I don't think anyone is looking for the next Nick Saban. We just want to win more than 40% of our games and stop the high frequency of times we get housed by mediocre MAC teams. We have no home field advantage and often times we cannot compete with average to good mid level programs. As for Solich, I checked out his first 7 years at OU. He was 50-40 overall (56%) and 36-20 in the MAC (64%). TB is 35-51 and 23-33 in the same time frame and will probably end up 35-52 overall. You are correct that Frank has never won the MAC, but he won the East 3 times and went to 4 bowl games in his first 7 seasons. TB will end up at 1 and 2. Frank beat his rival Miami 6 out of 7 years with his only loss coming in the first year. The program he took over was in very similar condition to when Bowden arrived at Akron. Frank has won 8 or 9 games each of the last 4 seasons which is a level I do not believe TB and Milwee can get to. I agree that nobody will be putting Frank in the coaches hall of fame, but he is the perfect comparison to what a decent coach can accomplish. TB has said several times that he hands over the day to day of running the team to his assistants including the play calling. He is a figure head like his father. This is why people want changes, especially with the OC. I do not think that a 7 year sample is leading anyone to a knee jerk or rash decision. I hope i am wrong, but I do not see this team going anywhere next year except the usual 5-7 season that is TB and Milwee. This will be my last post on this as I am beating a dead horse, but I have to ask you one question. Do you really feel that this program is going in the right direction with TB and Milwee? Thanks and Go Zips

This team is not as good as the year two team.

Agreed. It has been Terry's inability to recruit that has been so frustrating. I thought he would be force in the MAC.

Saban probably scrapes together a few more wins than TB's 5-7 record in year two, especially the 35-30 loss at home against Louisiana Lafayette.

Maybe not the worst, but they were damn near it. Akron had won 10 games in the four seasons before TB took over. OU won 11 games the four years before Solich arrived. I give you Frank did not have to follow the worst DI Coach in the history of football, but OU was a waste land before he showed up. Which coach do you feel better about next year?

Please ban anyone who cites RPI or any other metric to show we are still an at-large bid. That being said, this should be a fun season. The Zips just need time to grow as a team and let the new players settle into the rotations.

Not if he makes a change at OC and improves recruiting. I'm not anti-Bowden. I just think changes need to be made. He's winning about 40% of his games and if you take away the D-IAA schools, he wins about 35% of his games. The main problem I have is the high number of games, especially late in the season, where we can't even complete with middle of the road schools. Are you honestly satisfied with the state of the program?

He is serious and don't call him Shirley.

Death by Milwee.

I thought this dumpster fire of a season was heading for the standard 5-7 finish, but I was too optimistic. Looks like we end up a 4-8 team.

They don't get to play Milwee every week.

TB is 34-49 at Akron and 23-31 in the MAC during his tenure (27-49 against DI opponents). He has had one winning season in seven and is most likely going to miss being bowl eligible this season. I do not think that expecting more than a .409 winning percentage is unreasonable (.355 against DI opponents). Nobody expects us to be 12-0 or to crash the playoffs, we just want a team that does not get blown out by 4-6 Miami on our own field. Again, I never said fire him, but they have to make some changes to his staff and/or his recruiting procedures. We cannot compete with average MAC teams and that is a problem. If TB comes back next year with the current roster and staff what do expect the team to be? Another 5-7 season?

As Dennis Green said, "You are what your record says you are." The anger isn't over the last game. It's over several years of all the issues that previous posters have mentioned. I am not blaming a frosh QB getting his first start. He did the best he could. I blame a coaching staff that does not have a viable back up on the roster and did not have the frosh ready to play. We got 29 yards from our passing game. I blame a staff that cannot recruit offensive lineman to a school with the best facilities in the MAC. I blame a coach and OC that cannot establish a running game to help out a frosh QB in his first start. Even giving TB a huge pass (which I do) for taking over the worst program in DI football, you cannot say this is a one game issue. I loved the TB hire and I thought he was the best coach available. I do not love the terrible play calling and lack of solid game planning. Our team discipline is poor and we seldom, if ever, make in-game adjustments. I am not one who rushes to fire coaches. There is no guarantee that next one will be better. The guy most of ZN wanted before TB was hired declined to take an interview with us b/c the program was such a dumpster fire. TB actually contacted us about the job or we probably would not have landed him. I am ok if they fire him or if he comes back, but he has to have a new OC if he returns. The big question is this. Do you really feel that the of development (or lack thereof) of the offense over the past several years warrants Milwee keeping his job?