UAZipster0305

We're tied for first place in the East, coming off an exciting home win against Canada, and we have a home game against our rivals (also tied for first place in the East) on ESPN3 tomorrow night. Yet there are only crickets on the board. What gives?! It's Monday at 2:08PM and...

The OOC losses to MTSU and PSU really hurt. The MTSU and OU losses are particularly tough to take because they were by 1 point. NIU shouldn't have been a loss. An older / more mature version of this team probably only has three losses right now: Miami FL, NDSU, and Toledo. However, I can accept this team's performance. Top to bottom, this is the most athletic team KD has ever had yet it is still very young. There will be growing pains.

DiG, this is by far your most insightful and concisely written analysis ever! Kudos. Go Zips!

Beating Pitt was huge...potentially...but not when it is followed up with a weak performance at Ohio, a pounding at Buffalo, and a loss to the pillow-fighting Golden Flashes. Two of those three games were winnable. Do that and the program is on a substantial upswing and recruits take notice. As is, the Pitt win is easy to dismiss as an anomaly. We have another chance at Pitt and a break out season next year. I'd love to beat Pitt twice in two years!

Thanks for the insight, CK!

I count a total of 5 recruits who we offered but ended up at OSU. It's a good thing we don't compete with OSU for recruits, huh, Tom W.? #TeamOhio I like that Coach Bowden offered to a lot of high level recruits even though we lost out to bigger programs. You never know when we might snag one of these top guys, but that only happens if we make the offer.

And how are we doing? I really have no idea. It would be appreciated if a few ZNO members could elaborate on this point.

Another good win for the ladies. Coach Kest is outstanding. I hope she stays.

This was an exciting overall game, and I don't lament the loss. Unfortunately, it was yet another example of the Zips losing because of a long scoring drought and attrocious foul shooting. When their big guy hit the long three from the sideline on the scramble play, I gave up. I was about to get upset about how lucky it was then I realized it balanced out with Pat's three. It's encouraging that the team didn't give up; that alone may win us a couple tight games down the stretch or in the MAC Tournament. Onwards and upwards.

I like the Zips in this one, but I think it will be fairly tight. I expect a back and forth game until the last few minutes when we pull away and win by no more than five. I expect us to struggle some on the road against a team that is not WMU or BUGS. I love being able to watch on ESPN3!

Let's not get ahead of ourselves. During KD's tenure, we have owned both WMU and BUGS. We should sweep OU and Miami this year, but I think the games against Canada and Can't are unpredictable. We could easily lose all four of those. However, I expect us to win both at home and lose both on the road. I'd love to be proven wrong though.

I agree, these were all good opponents. Id love for us to get Pitt. That could be huge for recruiting, and Pitt is notorious for flaming out of the Tournament early.

Anyone that has played a football game on Playstation could have called their way to victory in those last seconds. You are in BeastMode at the goal line with a timeout available and three plays and you run the ball. It is a dream setup. Why did Pete mention wanting to waste a down? That is insane. If the play by the defender wasn't so improbable, I would have suspicions of the game being thrown. Edelman looked really solid. Kudos to him. #TeamOhio

The post-season is an opportunity for us to match up against quality teams that we would not normally get to face during the regular season. Given that we have played VCU home and away in this decade (and even once in the NCAAT), I would not want to play them again. I'd prefer a game against a PAC-10 or Big 12 team. I thought the Gonzaga game was great for us.

Buffalo is my favorite to win the MAC East and the MACC. We always lose in Canada, and I think this year we will lose at home to them as well. Don't be surprised if Buffalo also beats us in the MAC Tournament too. Three strikes and I think the Zips are out this year. We are a very young team, so I am accepting of a relatively down year.

We never play well at NIU or in Canada. I chalk those games up as losses every season regardless of how good either team is. BUGS and WMU are a different story though. Home or away, we own both of them. In a nail-biter or a blowout, Zips win.

I could seriously see one of the recommendations being to end Can't football or moving it to D-1AA. If it weren't for the capital investment in the Big Dialer, I could see that being the case for UA as well.

If there ever was a thread for DiG to headline, this is the one!

Indeed.

I missed the recent Tweet from OSU acknowledging the amazing track meet recently held by #4 Akron and #6 Can't State. It's not like we compete with OSU or anything. http://trackandfieldnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2215 http://trackandfieldnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2216 http://www.gozips.com/sports/track/2014-15/releases/201501208zrwm2 The rifle team is top-15 as well. Yet only standard press releases from the Athletic Department and not a peep from the Beacon. Let's celebrate excellence already!

Answer: FORGETTABLE!!! Even bad advertisements can be beneficial if they are so bad they lead the consumer to remember a product. This is especially relevant when the product does not even have a presence. I am not saying we should have bad advertising. Rather, something edgy or inflammatory can be very beneficial. I love your idea! Let's make it happen. It would be as good as any investment made directly to UA. Let's cutout the middle man.

Close! I should have qualified it as existing advertisements.

Do you remember the last time their basketball team was doing well? I do. Bucknuts are crazy for football AND basketball. The university administration is also fond of both because at the national level, they are huge revenue sports. I have family members who are UA alumni who were just at the OSU-Michigan basketball game a couple nights ago continuing the love fest from football season. It's disgusting.

Put a big picture of John Heisman on a billboard with a Zips logo that says, "Last time the playing field was level....University of Akron Zips 6, Ohio State University Buckeyes 0" Why the hell don't we do this kind of stuff? Some media outlet will pick it up and run with it. That's all we need. Get people talking, make them aware! General question to ZNO: what's the worst thing that an advertisement can be?

The most pragmatic approach is to stay quiet until all the OSU hoopla blows over and in early February start hyping the MACC basketball in NEO. Draw attention to our National Champion pole vaulter and future Olympian. Advertise the rifle team's top 15 stature and incredibly tough schedule. Advertise excellence where it exists! Post the soccer team's all-time record against OSU on huge billboards in Akron, Cleveland, and Columbus! It's something like 24-6-4! (If someone has the exact record, please share.)