Captain Kangaroo

Travis had some 20 rebound games. I think Wood did too (Jeremiah, not Brian).

On the Zips’ “Mount Rushmore” of recent quality QB’s, he certainly deserves a spot.

Who were our best QB's of the past 20 years? Butchie...Frye...Getsy...I'll throw Woodson in there, and maybe 1-hit wonder Dalton Williams too. Whomever reminds me of one of those guys is who I want as the Zips QB in 2021. We can win some games with him. Add in a serviceable defense, and we can start competing for championships. Our QB play as of late reminds me more of Clayton Moore, Nicely, Chapman, Ramart, Kelley etc. That won't get us out of the MAC basement. My money is on Kato to start the 2021 season. He'll be healthy, and have a veteran presence that we sorely lacked in this bizarre Covid-shortened season. I also assume he'll have a short leash due to the competition, and the sense of urgency to start winning football games. Another 1-win campaign means Zips football starts all over again for the umpteenth time. ?

I hear we had to give them 100% of the gate to make it happen.

It will be a shame if Covid robs LCJ of having his jersey in the rafters. Had he lead us to a MAC tourney championship, and a win...maybe two in the NCAA's, this follow-up season could have put him up there next to Jakubik. With no 2020 tourney exposure and a shortened 2020-21 season, he will likely not get sufficient chance/numbers to shine.

Yet another reason to hate Kent...

It's almost like..."stars" are completely subjective and don't matter?? In all seriousness...nice positional breakdown of the class by @bigjim. Thanks for taking the time to assemble it.

Maybe they wanted to make sure we got an Akron/Kent game in, in case the Governor shut down sports in the spring?

I had low expectations coming into this game, and leave it feeling pretty good. Dailey will need to get on track quickly, but he has a nice stroke, so I think he will. That will take some of the scoring burden off LCJ. Dawson looks much more confident, and with a much-improved 3-point shot. Same with Ali. Freeman is a revelation. What a blessing to have a walk-on big (height, not width) that's impactful. Especially when we're missing a couple bigs. Trimble looked out-of-sorts. I'll hope he's just shaking off some rust. Lots of new faces, and a tough opponent. Groce will figure it out. His teams always get better as the year progresses.

You were right. He has a high motor, height and soft hands. Once he puts on a couple pounds he'll be a serious force.

I agree. Tough to beat a team that's both talented, and works hard.

Freeman is the most capable walk-on I've seen for the Zips. Fearless Forecast ® - He'll be on scholarship next year.

FYI - You’re asking this question to a guy who’s team mascot wore a pink tutu at a Halloween football game a couple years ago.

Fearless halftime forecast- Buffalo will have more rushing yards in this game than we had last season.

Fearless Forecast™ - Steve French texts Joe Dunn in mid-3rd quarter. @French_fired says - "How wuz the bus trip to Buffalo? LOL. Warm here in my living room with a Christmas Ale. LOL OMG Patterson's at the 50..the 40..the 30...10...5...another touchdown Buffalo....LOL...I still got it! #are_you_kidding_me, #here_we_go_again. #Sux2BScozen. LOL"

What kind of person should NOT attend Cedarville University? Seems like... me?

Maybe not.

He sucked. ?

My opinion - I think his detractors feel he ran a loose ship. Infractions that some coaches might deem "suspendable offenses," were sometimes overlooked. The team's GPA wasn't the best...I think Arth improved on it by almost 0.7? He brought in some kids with a troubled history. Rodney Coe was booted off Iowa State. JoJo Natson was booted from Utah State. Brian Bell had some well-publicized problems in Florida that prevented him from entering Florida State. Tommy Woodson had his scholarship offer pulled from Arizona. Woodson and Bell had suspensions while at Akron. Woodson left, and Bell ended up playing-out his eligibility. Coe had a cup of tea in the NFL, and Natson would be returning kicks for the Browns if his knee didn't give out. So high risk, high reward... Bowden had his negatives, but I feel the guy did his best to bring the best talent to UA. Culture was important to him…I know this from his post-practice speeches covering topics like race, faith and community service. He always treated me and Dr. Z well, extending us the same courtesies he would to any member of the press. Chuck Amato was a great guy. Todd Stoud (Bowden's DC) is one of the best human beings you'll ever meet in your life. There were lots of good people on his staff. So it's not fair to paint the Bowden time as some lawless "Barry Switzer - Oklahoma" era. I think he's just an old-school coach.

Transferring is so easy right now, and most people believe TD could play at a higher college level. I hope he sticks around for two more years. He is a difference-maker we desperately need. But I have to believe some program will try prying him away.

My son is a college Sophomore. If his circle of friends is indicative of the basketball team, most of the Zips players have already had covid. My son was tested before he came home, and got a clean bill of health. But most of his friends have had it within the past two months. All are ok. It would be interesting to know how many college athletes have had it by now. The number could be 50%, or higher?

He had his hits, and had his misses. When the waiver wire was in his favor guys like Coe, Marcus, Pittman (jr year), Davis, etc gave us a good chance to win. When it wasn't in our favor, Sands, Johns, Ball...we struggled. Bowden's QB stable was always thin. That hurt us. Williams was great, but only played one season. Chapman wasn't a QB. Woodson was usually overweight, suspended or injured. Ramart wasn't D1 material. Bowden couldn't recruit a good RB. He identified good, under the radar talents like Davis, Lako, Brown and Gilbert. But for every Northwestern win there were 4 losses to middling MAC/G5 teams. That was the problem. I thought we broke through against Marshall. That was probably Bowden's greatest win. But Woodson peaked that day, and we regressed afterwards. I liked Bowden. He was always very nice to me. He would have stuck around Akron for another 8 years and given us stability. But would he have turned us into "Toledo?" Or would we have been an "Eastern Michigan?" The AD made the call to try and get better, and here we are.

I believe his scholarship offer was pulled by OSU before he ever got to campus? He was a solid MAC back. Like you said, he got better over time too.

Agree 100%

I believe this is a 100% correct statement. But it has no bearing on Akron football. Leonardo Decaprio will only date stunning supermodels and actresses. Joe Akron isn't so fortunate. He will waste his time trying to date out of his league. The star services don't really spend too much time pouring over tape and investigating guys with potential. Notre Dame shouldn't either. They'll reject more 4-star recruits in a single recruiting year than the entire MAC will successfully recruit in a lifetime. Stars are subjective. Talent is absolute. Arth needs to identify the best talent and potential within his recruiting "league." And retain and develop it. If he evaluates players deemed 2-star and a 3-star, and selects the one deemed a 3-star based solely on stars...not what he's seen on film, in-person or gleaned from speaking to coaches, then we've got the wrong coach. I have high expectations for Zips football. But I'm realistic of where we stand in December 2020. We need "Program Builders." Transfers looking for a chance to play. Late-developing seniors who somehow stayed below the radar (Jatavis, Ulysses, Alvin, Lako...). As you retain, develop and win, the caliber of recruit will increase. Not to Clemson's level, but hopefully Toledo's. Go Zips!