GJGood

Hasn't Matta lost some key assistants in recent years? The head coach always gets the praise and the condemnations but often times it is the staff as a whole that determines who wins and loses both on the court and off of it. I feel like OSU's recruiting has been weaker lately and that could certainly be directly tied to changes in assistant coaches. I am not an OSU fan by any stretch of the imagination but I do think his past success has earned him the right to get a chance to turn things around, at least in the short-term.

In tonight's games I expect three of the four home teams to prevail. Just trying to pick one of the road teams to win is difficult. I guess I will go with chalk tonight except BG over Toledo.

It is one thing if Tuesday Night games guarantee you are on ESPN, ESPN2, or even ESPNU, but a weeknight on ESPN3 should never happen if the whole reason for weeknight games in the first place is for more eyes to be on the games.

This one is too tough to call. Which Zips team shows up? How will our opponent shoot the 3 ball and how will they handle the emotions associated with Senior Night? A lot of unknown and inconsistent variables in this one. I hope Akron just wants it more.

I don't mind the archrival game being the last one. You never know what the weather may do any given week in northeast Ohio. However, I do think it should be on a Saturday where attendance at least has a chance to be good.

Any chance all the seniors, including Noble and Anderson, start tonight?

Despite having the title in hand I don't think there would be any net cutting after the game if the unthinkable happens and the Redhawks pull off an upset. I'd imagine net cutting is still dependent on winning the game Tuesday.

Hoping there is no letdown after an emotional OU contest. I think this game will be close no matter who prevails. I seem to remember Josh Williams playing very well against the zone in the past but I may be mistaken. Still, I think he could have a bit of a breakout game tonight and went with "other" for Zips leading scorer because just when we think we have this team figured out somebody different seems to step up.

Being from West Virginia Tavian Dunn-Martin will likely know a few players on the Thundering Herd roster. http://www.herald-dispatch.com/sports/marshall_sports/mu-basketball-notebook-ex-prep-stars-to-face-off/article_6fd2357f-3786-5638-b188-fc59491c16bf.html

To me part of the problem in both sports is that they leave much of the inclusion issue up to human committees which will always be biased or swayed by what the loudest and most prevalent talking heads have to say. The bias may not be intentional but whatever is most popular is what garners stronger consideration. In basketball I will never understand why a team that finishes 6th or 7th in its own league deserves a shot at finishing first in the entirety of D-I. In football you mentioned an 8 team playoff but it could be done by just adding two games and making it a 6 team playoff, The 5 P5 champs (or team put forward by their conference) and the highest ranked G5 champ. It would restore the one biggest piece of excitement the BCS had, the race for the top 2 as those teams would get a bye in the first round, assuming both of the top 2 won their conference.

Rooting for Navy to keep winning but keep winning close games, they aren't far back themselves.

So if Wyoming beats new mexico in the season finale Boise State is eliminated from New Years Six consideration since you MUST be a conference champ to be the G5 representative. This would clearly put WMU in the driver's seat if (and that's a big IF) they win out. If Wyoming beats UNM the closest competition for WMU would probably be Navy.

Hasn't Akron beaten P5 schools five years in a row? What has that done for the perception of the program? What does beating projected last place Georgia Tech do for Ohio that beating Mississippi State, Oregon State, and South Carolina didn't do for the Zips? I guess I don't understand this thread. OU just did what we have done every year for the past half decade and people are acting like we need to be more like OU.

Same here, only PA announcer

Obviously a good sign and much, much, much better than it used to be. I just hope they aren't recruiting only the Akron-Canton area and not much else in Ohio outside of transfers. To be successful you need to get the guys in your own back yard but also be able to get guys that are a little less local but still regional as well. I just hope the NEO focus doesn't create a tunnel vision effect with respect to the rest of the state. Still it is obviously a good sign when the local talent regularly sees you as an option worth considering.

During the course of the season I go to games all over Central Ohio on Friday nights. I have to say I was truly impressed by two players I saw this week from Columbus Franklin Heights. The first is WR James Morgan and the second would be his QB Dylan Akers. I don't follow recruiting as much as some so I have no idea as to their grad year or who they may or may not already have recruiting them. I do know that Franklin Heights is not usually a school that produces much in the way of football. Until recently you could pretty much count on them being at or near the bottom of the standings but this year their team is 11-1 and heading to the Division II regional semifinals in the Ohio playoffs so these guys have been major program changers.

I know it is frustrating for us in this particular case but overall that is why I really enjoy the MAC. In every P5 conference there are a couple of programs you know will likely be at the top every year and a couple at the bottom every year. That makes them far more predictable, and in my book, boring. I like that in the MAC you can go from last to first or first to last very quickly. Nobody can rest on their laurels because they are so clearly ahead of half of the conference year after year. Just look at last year's MAC football Championship game participants this year, would that ever happen in the Big Ten or ACC to both of the prior year's championship participants? I like the feeling that every year and, for the most part every conference game, there is at least a legitimate fighting chance at success.

I agree that its all about the $$$ but still think there would be room for something like the CUSA champ to play the Pac-12 5th place or something. All the non-champs of G5 conferences in bowls could play other non-champ G5 teams..... It has just always seemed odd to me that the reward for winning the MAC could be a bowl game against the 3rd place Sun Belt team or vice versa, especially when talking about one of the teams having 10, 11, or 12 wins.

I really hope someday the MAC gets a specific bowl game for its champion and that it is paired with a team from a P5 conference. In fact I think every G5 champion not in the New Yeas Six should be paired with a P5 team.

Being a Reds fan in baseball (who would I rather hear talking smack all off-season fans of the other Ohio team or the other NL Central team?...ugh) but an Akron alum it is an easy choice for me on which to watch. Unfortunately, though, I work until 6:30pm so actually making the trip to attend at Infocision doesn't work out. I will be tuned in on the tube though.

Both the Zips and Bobcats will be favored against Buffalo but underdogs to Toledo. If those games follow those "expectations" then what happens in the Akron-BGSU and Ohio-CMU games won't have tremendous importance as far as the MAC East title because no matter their outcomes the Akron-OU winner will go to Detroit either by virtue of being ahead in the standings or by winning the head-to-head tiebreaker. Now if the Zips just hold serve against Buffalo and upset Toledo it is feasible that the Zips could clinch a trip to Detroit by beating BGSU if Ohio falls to both Toledo and CMU. If I were a gambler I'd bet on the game in Athens being the decider.

I wish the MAC had a designated bowl for its champion when the champion did not qualify for the playoff or one of the New Years Six games. As far as I know, though, there is no set bowl for the MAC champ.

So, should we root for the arch rivals this week?

I clearly remember Akron hosting #10 Virginia Tech back when I was still a student and the Leftwich leg game where Marshall was #20 so this clearly is not the first time the Zips will don the home unis against a top 25 ranked team. I think it may be the first time a ranked team has come to Infocision though.

I remember this one too. It went from very comfortable to pulling my hair out very quickly. I was afraid I was going to see one of the greatest meltdowns of all-time. You would never hear the end of blowing a 38 point fourth quarter lead... and to your neighboring arch rival no less.