UAZipster0305

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Some good bowl games involving MAC teams today: Pitt vs. BUGS and Utah State vs. NIU. The lazy day after Christmas is a great date for the MAC's two best teams to be featured.

So your solution is to perpetuate the status quo and let our alumni flock elsewhere? Why can't you still follow the team you grew up with but primarily follow the Zips or at least be a fan of both? Yes, you may be a fan of both, but most people aren't. Hence, the MBB attendance issues. How does the MAC escape the perpetuation of this viscious cycle? Though I disagree, GP1 has proposed the only real solution. Yes, we compete with OSU. Objectively, NIU is not worthy of being in the top 5. They won one game against an average Iowa team, destroyed a bad Purdue team, and ran the table in the MAC. Sure, Toledo and Ball State are good wins too, but not worthy of consideration for the top spots. Like OSU, their schedule is weak relative to the SEC and Pac 10. Until there is a true 16 team playoff system, all we can do is subjectively project the best X number of teams, and this year, NIU is not among them IMO. However, I want NIU to win because they are in the MAC and if NIU can do it, Akron can too. The result of the MACC and their bowl game will be very telling.

I saw a commercial for the MAC a few years ago that stated the MAC alumni base is the largest of any D-1A conference in the country. I don't know if this is accurate or not, but the point remains that the MAC alumni base is huge. If the MAC alums had the same enthusiasm and allegiance as B10 alums, the MAC would have plenty enough fans to justify what advertisers charge. However, these alums have no enthusiasm for or allegiance to their native institution. Instead, many are fans of B10 schools because they play "major" sports. This lack of loyalty is the very essence of why I can't stand OSU. The traitor fans are the worst because they remove support for MAC schools and give it directly to the B10 who we compete with (regardless of what many on here insist). The casual non-OSU alums are bad too but they are just bandwagoners. I have no problem with OSU alum like Buckzip who are biased in supporting their school. We are the same way with the Zips and this is why I love listening to Frenchy. Go Zips!

I don't know why Missouri is not getting any respect. Their only loss is to a very good South Carolina team in OT on a missed field goal. And other than 'Bama having lost recently, I think they are as good as anyone in the country.

The solution is simple. All FBS conference champions get a berth in a 16 team single elimination playoff system and the other spots are filled by at-large selections using a computer system like the BCS. Final round games are rotated in name with traditional bowl games. Every school begins play in their conference. At the end of the season, teams not in the playoffs play four out of conference games to determine relative strength of conference used for the BCS computer system strength of schedule for the following year. When eliminated from the championship playoffs, schools may opt to participate in the cross-conference games, or not. No more whining about strength of schedule, and the traditional powers and conferences can no longer bully everyone else. Let's settle it on the field. Any team that wins four games in a row among the top 16 in the country deserves to be called National Champions.

Great exchange. I'll continue... realtimerpi.com rates RPI, which take into account wins, losses, and opponent strength. Clearly, OSU has 12 wins and zero losses; however, the question is the strength of their opponents. The realtimerpi.com isolates the opponent strength factor and ranks them. Objectively, the strength of OSU's opponents is ranked #147 relative to only 120 FBS teams. So, at least 27 FCS teams play a stronger schedule than OSU does. I can't speak for others, but the reason I care about OSU is because their fan base dominates ours even in our own city and among our own alumni. Hence, OSU being setback as we advance helps balance local respect in our favor and potentially allows us to establish a larger, more stable fan base that has national respect. Towards this end, I think it would be great for OSU to play for the NC and get blown out thus validating that they aren't that good. The same thing happened in 2007 and to a lesser degree 2008. Unfortunately, our program did not have the staff, facilities, or trajectory to take advantage of OSU being shown as overrated. The B10 is a weak BCS conference, but if OSU wanted to assert themselves as being a power program, they could schedule stronger opponents in the OOC. Instead, they choose to use this as their preseason. It annoys me that OSU fans cite the 24 game win streak as justification for playing for the NC in 2013. Newsflash OSU honks: 2012 results don't count; OSU was ineligible because of NCAA violations. OSU has paid their dues and can now move on with their 2013 resume as evidence for playing for the 2013 NC.

Since we are sticking with facts, according to realtimerpi.com, OSU has a strength of schedule of #147 and UA's is #53. There are only 120 FBS teams! This alone can account for the differences you describe. Three of our four OOC games would all qualify among OSU's four most tough opponents this year (along with Wisconsin). NIU and Ball State are better than most B10 teams, and BUGS is no slouch. So, objectively, Akron's D was every bit as good as OSU's this year. If Roby is one of the defenders you are mentioning, I would like to point out how he got torn up and down the field by Wisconsin's receiver. Along with Manziel, I expect Roby to be another quintessential quality college player whose game does not translate well to the NFL. I can see Manziel being the Browns' next failure of a QB experiment. I agree, we had great improvement this season, and I too could not be more pleased.

7-23-2 all-time against the defending National Champions out of the B10...the perfect way to start a run for a second gold star. Enough said. I'll be there.

It baffles me that we have only played Northwestern and Wisconsin a handful of times each in the entire history of our program. As a result, they are always on my short list of OOC opponents I'd like to see us play. Ideally, we would play every B10 team every year. I would like to see us take a commanding lead in the series with Northwestern and Wisconsin and begin evening up the all-time record with Indiana. Indiana 7-23-2 Northwestern 2-1-0 Wisconsin 1-2-0

The problem is, UA has outgrown the MAC for MSoccer, MBBall, and Track and soon to be WBBall and WTennis. The MAC SOS severely cripples our NCAAT prospects. We need to get out of the MAC ASAP. Whereas power programs in the big conferences can use the OOC as a preseason and grow the strength, conditioning, and performance of their teams by beating up on weaker programs in preparation for the stronger conference season, Zips MSoccer and MBBall has to come hot out of the gate and win early in the season against equal or better matched opponents. When this doesn't happen, as fans we are disappointed because we know what it means in terms of NCAAT prospects and national perception, which are often crippled at the beginning of the season. Even when ripping through the MAC with nothing but W's, we are always met with the "you didn't play anyone" excuse at the national level. With MBBall, I always wonder how the NCAAT prospects and national perception would be different had we not lost to X and Y earlier in the season and who we are now clearly better than. This is the source of our frustration! The OOC is the most important part of our season because it sets the stage for the NCAAT. MSoccer and MBBall are talented enough to sleep walk through the MAC and be perfectly fine so long as they turn it on for the MACC. OSU Football is having the exact same problem this year. The B10 is too weak to justify OSU as a National Championship participant when any two other programs are undefeated. OSU didn't lose in their OOC earlier in the season, but they can't fall back on the strength of the B10 to carry them at the national level anymore. These issues for OSU Football are exaggerated because the real playoff system for college football is currently only two teams. So, instead of getting a poor seed or no national respect, they just get shut out of the opportunity to play for the National Championship.

After a terrible start full of turnovers, we get the win. I will take it! A win is a win is a win is a win. Count those...four of them, and I like our chances to finish the season strong on Black Friday against Toledo.

The team has come a long way since the beginning of the season. We looked solid the entire game! It easily could have been 5-0. Even when the subs were put in, WVU only played even with us. This team is peaking at the right time, and a National Championship is definitely possible.

Just thought I would add this here: http://www.collegesoccernews.com/index.php...ournament-field CSN projects the Zips to be unseeded playing Central Connecticut State in the Cal regional with WMU as the MAC automatic against Northwestern in the ND regional. No respect.

I was hard on this team early in the season. The games against VCU and Hartwick were disappointing and a consistent scorer has been elusive. However, this team has continued to find a way to win at the most important part of the season. I attended the Penn State game and thoroughly enjoyed seeing the opponent walk off the field exhausted and with their heads down after trying to kill the game with slow restarts and putting their entire team behind the ball to defend. We completely dominated the #11 team in the country and the score could have easily been 4 or 5 to 1. This bodes very well for our National Championship prospects in a season when there is no clear favorite. IU stole one last year. Could we be next? I have been bemoaning the lack of a consistent, go-to scorer; however, how good would one of Porter's teams been had it lost, Zakuani, Bunbury, Nagbe, or Mattocks? I am now really liking the balanced scoring as one injury or red card will not torpedo this team's prospects for a victory.

This was not a personal attack, and I never said UA was a glorified high school. I agreed with the majority of a post that made this claim.

The selection of a new President is much more important than a pillow fight rivalry game. Afterall, UA is first and foremost an academic institution. If you have any doubt about how crucial the selection of new leadership is, take a look at the empty seats at the Info on Saturday. (No, this is not a jab at Coach Bowden or iCoach.)

I'd be equally upset if a politician (or a former one) became our President. Mitch Daniels has the academic credentials by virtue of possessing a law degree, but I don't think he was ever a faculty member, so he does not have the experience. Tressel for AD when TW's contract is up!

I think he should be our next Athletics Director.

Charlie Cole would be proud! I miss that guy...he was such a great competitor, sportsman, and "villain."

+1. Let's find the next Dr. Proenza!

And yet people wonder why so many of us here loathe OSU!

Great turn and shot by Najem. Now we're rollin'! Good save by the NIU goalie.

Solid goal. More of that, please.

The possession play of this team is impressive; however, the lack of competency in final third is staggering. One shot on goal through 60 minutes of play with this amount of possession is inexcusable. Injuries up top have really been unfortunate. I love Frenchy and Simon announcing.