a-zip

I realize it is about what we have done this year but at some point our recent history has got to weigh in at some point. In the last 5 years we have ended the season ranked in the top 11. 2008 - ranked 9th 2009 - ranked 2nd (tied in national championship, but lost in PKs) 2010 - ranked 1st (won national championship) 2011 - ranked 11th 2012 - ranked 7th

We got hosed last year too (even worse) by getting a 5 seed after being ranked in the top 4 in both RPI and Rankings. As of last week we are currently ranked 8th by adidas and coaches poll, 18th in RPI, then we went on a tear through the MAC tourney...............again, how does this equate to a 24 seed!!!!! F*^?!! corrupt NCAA. Seriously, why do they even bother having rankings and RPI.

Too funny, early in the year - people were complaining about TB, people were complaining about Embick, and now it is gloom and doom for KD and the basketball team. Do your usual Akron……..bail on the team, don't show up and cheer them on.

We won!! Be happy~!! Who cares about the margin…we won. TB is the man! We won!

Based on attendance, why would they think anybody cared.

OUCHER!!!!!!!!! RPI 144 Hartwick Mid-American 5-8-4 1-4-3 0- 1- 0 4-3-1 0-0-0

Me too!! I certainly hope I am wrong with my speculations but it IS frustrating the community can't get out and help the cause for ONE game. The impact for a recruit to see a full, energetic stadium is huge when weighing where you want to play in your next 4 years. Also, I played for Coach Dennison and remember how pissed we all were in his treatment by UoA. It would have been nice to atleast have folks show their appreciation for him.

Actually, I am not sure I would agree with that. Where in our history has there ever been consistent sellouts regardless of the winning streaks or quality of the facility? As we all recognized, this past weekend had a lot to offer - Wagon Wheel, Can't State (10 miles away), a likely win, former players there and last but not least the honoring of Jim Dennison. Hell, the place should have been filled just to honor Coach D. It WAS the best weekend to bring recruits in. The expectation here was that this game at Infocision would be electric as it gets and the celebration after the win was going to be fun (since it has been a while). I am just saying I was disappointed, did not find it to be electric, and nobody outside of the players/coaches seemed that overjoyed about a win we have wanted for a looooong time. If I was a recruit - I would not have been wowed (outside of meeting Tressel and the Bowdens) and left my recruiting trip scratching my head a bit. The school is pulling out all the stops - building beautiful facilities, bringing in great coaches, using Bobby Bowdens and Jim Tressels, Lebron James, Terry Bowdens for their experience and name recognition. Seriously, these are extremely popular/influential people at UoA and I have to imagine 90% of the schools out there would KILL to have one of these guys let alone all of them in one place. In my mind, I think the administration are doing everything they can and doing it in a smart fashion. They are playing the cards they are dealt. All the players and coaches work just as hard as any other program in the country (if not harder). Why can't a population like Akron fill Infocision (29K) for ATLEAST one friggin day to at least make it look good to the recruits we all want. If the place was 3/4 full, loud and electric, choosing to play football at UoA is a pretty easy decision, especially compared to ANY MAC school. I am not trying to argue. My fear is this............when do the fickle Akron fans run out of excuses to not support the teams? When does the University say "we tried, it’s time to cut our losses". When do the Bowdens, Dambrots Tressels say.........I am out of here, this place is a graveyard. Then we are left with these state of the art facilities rotting in the middle of this beautiful campus that is being built. And, people want a new basketball arena ?

I think you are supporting my point ;-) A big beautiful EMPTY stadium does not help recruiting.

Crowd size does not mean anything to recruits? Are you serious? Maybe to the recruits nobody wants but to the top recruits that would help us start getting the wins we all want - support and attendance does matter. This is the whole chicken and egg story all over again with regards to UoA support.

Picture too big to upload.....sry

I would be pretty bummed if I was TB around the crowd/support this weekend. It is a rivalry game, Wagon Wheel trophy, good chance of victory, weather wasn't horrible, we win the game and the crowd was lethargic. I almost felt sorry for the PA announcer and the players trying to get the crowd going in the 4th quarter. If I were a recruit, I would not have been impressed. Picture of players getting Wagon Wheel below - look at stands on BOTH sides.

Would be cool to make the JAR a smaller version of Cameron Indoor which is actually not HUGE by today's standards but one of the most feared places to play. They look similar to me.

This has got to make the ESPN Top Plays of the Week

That is Jadaveon Clowney"esque"!!!!

Yea, I guess the people are right. Lets keep firing coaches until somebody comes in and just starts winning. My bad

My thoughts so far this year..... I am very pleased with the progress thus far. Although the effort has not translated in to wins, the guys are battling. Case in point - the Michigan game was a L but I would argue that it was one of the best showings a UoA football team has EVER displayed. Playing at the "big house" and battling to the last second should make us all proud and optimistic. Our lone W took every second to get. 1- The schedule has been brutal, the results were to be expected but I would argue the scores are much better than expected Michigan - currently ranked 18 N. Illinois - currently ranked 24 Central Florida - currently in the "also receiving votes" rankings - ugly game for us James Madison - currently ranked 19 in FCS Bowling Green - we battled against a team that is averaging over 30 pts per game, the just lost to Mississippi State (SEC team) by 1 Ohio - OK this was a mess but they are a good team 2- Injuries - Hirschman and C.J. James out not sure about the rest but these are two key losses. Pohl is also hurt. I would argue that if Hirschman was healthy to come in to some of these games we may have another win or two.....it worked in the JMU game. There may be more of them I am not aware of. 3- Recruits - the players TB is bringing in are good.......we just need more of them. It would certainly help recruiting if Infocision was packed......Nobody wants to play in a half empty stadium - even if it is a beautiful one. This is a "chicken & egg" dilemma we have always had at UoA. 4- The jerseys are awesome......I love the new helmets...the all white unis with the gold "Z" helmet are winners....they look sharp. I am looking for 3 more wins for the remainder of the season. I am really hoping we spank the crap out of Can't State more than ever(I think TB realizes the importance of that game). I would like to predict the Can't State game will be a sellout.

I am being sarcastic of course because we still have to win every game BUT I am still frosted by our seeding and even wrote a letter to the NCAA (the corrupt SOBs they are)

Hey, even if we get a top 4 ranking in RPI and Coaches Poll, we will still likely get a 5 seed

Perhaps you got hammered because your question "where at?" makes no sense.

I am not happy about the loss (the missed FG cost me the point spread ) BUT, lets not forget that when everyone made their predictions for Ws and Ls, I think most picked this as a loss. So, in my humble opinion we are showing signs of life and I think we are going in the right directions............. Central Florida - beat Penn State, barely lost to South Carolina James Madison - a good team, would compete well in the MAC - we showed guts in the comeback Michigan - nothing more needs to be said - still so proud BG - most would have predicted a loss, they beat Tulsa and destroyed Can't State (who they outscored Can't State 24-0 over the final 34:40) Just trying to keep people off the ledge ;-)

How about Central Florida beating Penn State on the road - putting up 34 points.

So proud of our guys....in the picture from the post above it actually appears as though he scored (knee not on the ground). I love the Z on the helmet, in fact I love the whole white uniform and the new helmet, they looked sharp - the boys seem to like it too cause they played their hearts out.