Wally B

well said Lee! I would add that Owens recruiting success occured in the bowl! With out cross checking my facts, I would also surmise that this was about the point that the administration started investing in the program as well. However short sighted it may have proven to be, firing him after a dissapointing 7-5 season, they were involved again. Proenza has certainly carried that torch. Again, mistakes or whatever we want to call them, they have nothing to do with our current ability to move forward. Afterall, hardly anyone noticed when Faust left. Atleast now people care. I still see far more posters on here than I do on the Can't site for a ranked team.

That about sums it up! At one time EMU was a dominant MAC power. Despite its recent success, Ohio has been mired in mediocrity since the mid 60's After years of ineptitude, Ball St. had one miracle season, where they had the easiest schedule in the nation, then lost the MACC and their bowl game. Buffalo has had one break out season where they barely made a bowl game. Both BallSt. and Buffalo followed their success with absolutely pathetic seasons (o-12 for BSU i think?) the Rubber Bowl was considered an MAJOR asset when we first moved into the MAC. Shortly thereafter, a new UA administration decided it wanted NOTHING to do with a football program. So they installed Buchtel Comons, while the bowl and program were left to rot. See the previous 39 years at Can't State to understand what lack of institutional support does to a program. Recognize that none of this has ANYTHING to do with whether or not UA can field a successful D1a program, or TB's ability to build it. I suggest researching the actions of TB, how iCoaches actions crippled us for the short term, and compare the spirit of the 2012 squad w/ 2010-11.

The issue lies not with ones concern for the interest of the players, rather in failing to see the forest through the tree's. Claims of an embarrasing collapse belie the ugly truths of the iCoach era. Poor to nonexistent recruiting, exaserbated by focing out an innordinate number of scholarship players. The 2012 teams perfomance throughout the season suggests improvement has occured. This is something that was never evident w/ iCaoch. It is a disservice to our team to suggest otherwise. They did the ugly work we all knew was in front of them. They gave us a reson to hope. They laid the foundation for TB to build a program. Lest we forget it was a job where everyone knew how bad it was and TB was the only one willing to do the work. This isn't blind faith, it's a recognition of all the facts involved, evaluated through maturity. I am not calling out any individuals, all viewpoints are openly welcomed. But the rankor has been innapropriate, and it detracts from what I consider one of the most honest and indepth resources for any NCAA program. Go Zips! and thanks to all of the ZipsNation!!

Enough of the doomsday prophecies! As Dr. Evil would say: Zip it.... zip it good.. Take a look at my zipple there once was an old lady who lived in a sh..... Hung Tao..... (subtitle.. Zip it) All thoughts of saturdays loss being equivalent to the end of the world need to stop. They only serve to make the posters look like ignoranuses (ignorant and a*hol's), and I have yet to see anyone post anything that remotely comes close to actually justifying their claims. I mean, come on, someone actually stated that our basketball program has been a disgrace over the last decade and suggested the #1 soccer team in the nation (in addition to its reputation as the best overall program) has no chance in the college cup. The best are the comparrisons to cant?? really? Ok, consider this. Just a few years ago Can't was so abysmal they there were actually calls to disband the program. Hazell came into a losing team w/ some talent and started to turn it around. This year they exploded on that strength coupled with a few breakout players. They are now ranked #25 nationally, while enjoying their first successful season since 1973 when they were ranked #19. That's 39 years people. We WON the MACC through the efforts of Hixson in 2005. 2005, that's only 7 years ago, not 39. TB was given a turd and he polished it the best he could. but it was still a turd. They showed heart throughout the season in what I believe will serve as the building blocks of our future. THIS TEAM CAN STAND PROUD IN THAT REGARD! For reasons that have been stated by those who know (repeatedly), things will get better. I may be far from home, but I will ALWAYS shake the hand of any current player for the effort they gave over this trying year. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I've been here longer than most. (I was in the Rubber Bowl for the Oust Faust student protest) but the posters on ZN seem to fall into 3 categories. 1-former players who know what they're talking about. 2-long time zips fans who are able to see the big picture. and 3 - realtive newcommer whiners who cant see the forest through the trees. To the first group - thanks for your honesty and continuing support. To the whiners - time for a reality check. Our issues are well known but as Can't is proving, not insurmountable. the old Bowl was an issue. iC was an issue, our depth IS an issue. These things have been and will be corrected in time, and if you know of someone other than TB whose better positioned (and willing) to do something about it then say so! Until then, I could care less about what you think is or isn't wrong with the program or UA in general. No one is forcing you to be here. At this point I am not embarrassed by the team, but I have been by your innane comments. That is all, I am done. so please, zip it for now.... thx.. Wally

Let's hear some noise for the MAC Championship! Tonight, 4:30 at the pouch!

It is what it is ............. But I remain convinced that it's TB or nothing. I've seen a general sense of improvement this year, we will be better. I've seen young squads like this one grow before. That said, this sucked.....

TOUCHDOWN!!!! were back in this one! UM - 15 UA - 7

Start of the 2nd half.. FUMBLE!!!! Zips have life, let see if TB righted the offensive ship....

Game is looking like a preseason scrimmage..... Umass on Offense, Zips on D

Go the the MAC Soccer page via gozips.com ..... good live feed today!

I lost my feed for a bit.... not sure what happened, but when I got it back, UMass had the ball in the red zone AGAIN! Couldn't score so they settled on a Field goal.. UM - 3 UA - 0

Still, I'll take the interception in the endzone after a looooongggg UMasss drive!

Cant is rolling 21-0 in first Q at Fiami... Anyone else see anybody but an NIU/Can't State championship game at this point? Odds that both teams are ranked at that point?

Too many BS threads out there right now, time to get back to the game at hand! Sans our record, this has been an exciting season. Actually being competitive for the first time in years will do that. The Zips showed some heart against cant, and from what I can discern the overall health of the team is improving injury wise. (correct me if I'm wrong here, it's a little difficult to read from down here). Therefore, we should perform as well if not better than last week. MY prediction: Zips - 38 UMass - 24 Zips Nation is elated, TB doubles our win total from previous years, and the Nation see's potential for the coming years...

I would argue that there's a difference between a let down and feeling a loss. iCoaches team would've suffered a let down and given up. While TB's crew will certainly "feel" this loss, they know they've exceeded expectations all season long; going from no-chance to competitive. It's not as though they live in a vacuum. In football, like any other sport, Speed + Depth = Success. The odd's dictate that "heart" can only do so much. TB's crew has heart, but lacks depth...... unless we're talking about Morgan State or UMass. This week, the odd's are in our favor. If this was iCoaches team, they would've suffered a "let down" last week and the UMass game would be in doubt as they gave up. I don't see it. Instead, I see hunger going against a team that is winless, and suffered several "let downs" of their own (namely OU). To me this is a team that's lost their heart, as witnessed by their 63-0 loss to NIU. There are losses, then there are losses! Fear the Roo!!!!

Cheers Zippers!!!!

There's no reason for the team to suffer from a let down... They played great and almost pulled the upset. Clearly, Umass is our best chance to double our win total from last year and attain TB's goal! For kicks I've been following the line's on the Harris poll which listed us as underdogs for everygame this season except Morgan State. Consequently, they update their predictions the week before each game and the Zips odds have consistently improved all season long. While everyone else was initially favored by double digits except Umass, the Zips are now favored by 12.5! We hung in there with Can't while the Massholes were absolutely destroyed by NIU. This is it! This is our bowl game, and our Zips are favored! I'll post my prediction later in the week, but I hope the team is pumped this week!!

Sound's like you're cutting and pasting old standard responses. From all account's I was impressed with the effort today. Especially given the dire predictions of a bowout. We've looked weak for the last few games, and rightfully so. With a few players back, TB was able to get back to what he wants to do. Take the first quarter. Wow! imagine the possibilities once we build some depth on both offense and defense. Yes, TB would like to take back a few calls, but that's a given. Point was, we had nothing to lose and pushed cant till the end. I LOVE IT!

Final: EMU 14 OU 45 Well..... maybe not

I would love nothing more than for TB to take the Zips into Can't county and film a new episode of 'COPS - Brady Lake". That said, I have been far more impressed with the golden flashers performance this year than the bobkitties. That said Admittedly it's a long shot, with little evidence to back up my call. But just for fun I'm calling the Eagles! EMU 32 - oh what the hell, why not, everything goes their way OU 17 - kittens lose it mid way though 3rd Q while whining "But its our year"!

Time for thursday night MACtion! Anyone besides myself smell an upset in Athens? Personally, I think Ohio has been overrated all year, as they haven't displayed the type of domination that was hyped. Instead, their strength seems to haved been predicated on an ability to run a weak table and edge out a few close games. Only to be toppled by an average Fiami program last weekend. EMU on the otherhand is having a miserable season, inspite of better expectations. Still they have been playing a lot better lately, even if it's not reflected in their win column. Thus I smell an upset in the making. A hungry EMU team + an arrogant OU = upset

Well.... even a blind black squirrel will find the occasional nut.... even if it takes 36 years.

Great call... Embicks role in Porters recruitment program and player development lends well to a continuation of our success. There was no guaruntee that fresh blood wouldnt have upset the apple cart so to speak.

Well said Capn' Inspite of the naysayers, the goal this season was to become competitve and double the number of games won. Ironically, we've dealt with particulary tough opponents so far. In these conditions, being competitive affords the chance of an upset. A vast improvement over our past Ianneptitude.... That said I our best opportunities lie w/ CMU and UMass, even though I still believe anything can happen w/ NIU and Cant!

Lest we forget OU struggled w/ UMass as well.... This game isn't out of the ream of possibilty