you am i

I had to watch on gozips, and even then it was incredibly exciting. You're right, for that last 20 minutes, especially the last few minutes, Tulsa was desperate and they played like it. You could see the tide shifting. It was a thrilling way to end to the match. A huge challenge is coming up next, but this team is up to it.I know I'm really looking ahead, which I usually hate to do, but I can't help myself from envisioning this team going into 2010 as the defending national champions and ranked No. 1, with Caleb Porter coaching with a nice reworked contract.

WOW!

the guy is full of it...he has his guy already. If you think for one second your feedback matters then your out of your minds!! It will be funny when those of you that pick Loeffler think you had anything to do with it, when he got the job almost a month ago....hey keep believing ....Go ZipsI've got to agree. He's reaching out to the fans, which is good PR and I'm glad he recognizes that. The youtube postings are part of that, and its great that he's responding to messages. But, realistically, they are going to hire who they are going to hire. Maybe I'm being too cyncial, but I would say that fan input is going to play about 0% in their decision.

look for #5 ;)Ditto. So to speak.

I agree with you, that you know "a little" about the game. You have shown that every time you post here. You seem to know very little in my opinion. For those of us on ZN who you feel "have little knowledge of football," let me tell you my qualifications. My father was a head coach while I grew up, and I was helping grade films by the time I was 8. I played D-1 college football, blew out my knee and became a student, then Graduate assistant coach. I went into private business, but continued to help at the local high school.In this time I learned more than a little football. So please don't throw blanket accusations out there!With your experience, you should share your views with us on the coaching and team play more often. I mean that seriously, by the way.

Didn't say he was wrong, said it wasn't particularly classy move to write about a potential new coach from another program who had yet to be fired and then write (soon to be fired) next to his name. We all knew he was a goner too, but wouldn't put someones name as a replacement until the official announcement was actually made. Got it? A little decorum would have called for waiting at least until the announcement was made. Not too classy. Or should I have gone with the classic "Keep it classy Youngstown"!Hasn't this thread been throwing out replacement names for almost two weeks before it was official? Why so sensitive?

Great win. One game at a time.

Since his name is being thrown around, I thought I'd see what I could find out about Luke Fickell. He has spent his whole life in Columbus - high school and OSU - except for 1990 and 1991 when he was a coach at Akron under Lee Owens. He has moved steadily up the coaching ranks at OSU and is now co-defensive co-ordinator. He could have left OSU for ND for more money, but he loves his situtation in Columbus. Staying close to family, who are all located in the Columbus area, is important to him. He aspires to be a head coach and he has been mentioned as a possible sucessor to Tressel someday. If he would be interested, he'd be a top-of-the-list candidate. On an unrelated note, I'm watching the start of the Cleveland-Cinci game and the Browns' brown pants are just plain ugly.

Nobody makes a lateral coaching move to go the MAC. Its either someone on the way up, or on the way down. I'd rather take someone on the way up.

no, the only reason so many men were in there was not so they could relieve themselves. Instead, they were in there to thaw out!I thought you were going to say that they went in there to hurl.

Its not just his career wins/losses as the head coach, but the direction of the program. And as a direct result of all of the losing, the empty seats in the brand new Info will be the final nail. It really is pathetic to see a mostly empty stadium on game days. Not exactly what LP had in mind.After his first two seasons, I was a JD believer - big time. But after what has happened since, especially this year, I can't see him staying. To an extent, he is a victim of circumstances with some key injuries, but as the head coach excuses go only so far. He always struck me as a stand up guy and he knows that he's had a fair shot. I saw an article today about Shanahan possibly going to the Bills and it made me wonder if he got the job whether JD could end up on his NFL staff.

Thanks UAZip0510. To the point, the answer is "no". The point of Zip Watcher's post was to not just blast me, but send a point out to anyone who might disagree with him and his line of thinking.I did not read his post that way at all.

It may sound funny coming after a loss like this, but reading these quotes makes me think even more of KD as a coach. I'm sure the same messages were delivered to the team in even more direct language. His complaints focus on mental lapses, which can be fixed, but the comment about needing someone to step up as a leader is concerning.

Thanks. I think a lot of us are still speechless after witnessing that debacle. Good luck the rest of the way and in your bowl game.

Exactly.

You have no clue what a "rivalry game" is.Really? Should the rivalry have meant something, some time, ever? Will you feel better about this season if the Zips somehow beat their cousins from Portage County?I think it's your definition that is in error. The following is a short list of classic "college rivalries". On MANY occasions, these games do not have a significant impact on the national or conference races.Purdue-IndianaWashington St-WashingtonCalifornia-StanfordKansas-MissouriBowling Green-ToledoOhio-MiamiPitt-West VirginiaIllinois-NorthwesternCincinnati-LouisvilleWhile it's cousin, the pro "rivalry", may live off the need for "meaningful" games, the college rivalry is far more rooted in history and tradition. When a (for instance) one-win Washington State Cougar team can defeat the winless Washington Huskies in the Apple Cup (happened last year) and players on both sides are physically and emotionally spent afterwards because this is the game that ALWAYS matters, that is the ESSENCE of a college rivalry. Would a Zip win over the flushes in any way make up for the "suckiness" we've already seen so far this year? Of course not. Would it be anywhere near enough to save JD's job? Highly unlikely. But the assertion that the battle for the Wagon Wheel is somehow a "trumped up" or bogus "rivalry" is just plain wrong. How about asking ANYONE who has participated in any of these clashes (players, coaches, administrators) over the years and see what they have to say about it.Would I feel better about the season as a whole if the Zips win? Of course, if only because I KNOW I will feel a whole lot worse if they lose. But also because I want the ship to be at least turned in the right direction. I don't care that JD will likely not be there next year. I want some positives for these kids to take into the off-season. Finally, this recruiting season could become very difficult, in spite of the Info factor, if we lose this game.Having said all of that, I think Can't will be a deserved 7 point (or more) favorite. And it's going to take better effort and execution than we've come to expect to beat them. But that's not going to stop me from rooting for the Zips with as much zeal as I can muster come Saturday.I suppose that I would scoff at most of those rivalries and would heap them into a giant bin of Who Cares. I'll take a shot at each:1) Indiana-Purdue. Yawn. Who could possibly care who wins this one, unless one is spoiling that rare 5-win season for the other?2) Washington-Washington State. What makes this a rivalry game? I don't know and I don't care.3) Cal-Stanford. There is a natural cultural reason for this rivalry. To parrot the typical NorCal fan, Cal is a state university, being part of the excellent UC system, where students envision themselves as winners in a meritocracy, while Stanford is the snooty snobby rich-kid school where daddy warbucks can buy your way in. 4) Kansas-Missouri. This one is likely cultural as well, and I would guess that there are political explanations dating to the civil war underpinning this rivalry.5) BGSU-Toledo. What has this game ever meant? Nothing, actually.6) Ohio-Miami. Something to do with Miami being the self-perceived best school ever, whilst Ohio seems to think that it matters that theirs was the first university in the state, or some such. Again, who cares?7) Pitt-WVU. This is pure McCoy and Hatfield, Appalachian rivalry. It probably also includes urban versus rural elements. I'd love to know more about this one and bet there is some old, bad blood between these two teams. 8) Illini-Northwestern. More of the state-versus-private snobbishness here. Once you get past that this game is another that means absolutely nothing, year in and year out.9) Cinci-Louisville. Probably some sort of quasi-North-versus-South thing going on here. I suppose there are those who work hard to generate some level of animosity for some of these games each year, but again, someone explain to me what it is about Can't State, other than their proximity, that serves as a legitimate reason for this rivalry. We all know many very similar types of people who went to both schools. I can't say I know even one Can't State family, or a UA family. I can see caring more about the "rivalry" on the basketball court, but in football? I will cheer with zeal for the Zips, but it won't be because I care more about Can't State as an opponent than any of the other MAC schools that trot in here.STZI can name few other rivalry games: Army-Navy; Harvard-Yale. Most years, I don't really care who wins those games, but I do recognize them as fierce rivalries for their fans. If you look at that list, its obvious that proximity breeds a natural rivalry, and not many schools are closer than Akron and Can't. I'm suprised the Akron-Can't game doesn't mean anything special to you. Its the game I look forward to all year.

Sorry, but I can't really believe this subject is up for discussion.

Perfect deep throw by Nicely for what looked like a 77 year TD ... dropped by Miller. Hit him right in the hands.

Charlie was not only MVP of the North-South All-Star game, he was also named captain of the his team. Every player on the field was an outstanding college player, busting his butt to impress the pro scouts, so his performance was impressive. That being said, at this point, its hard to see how he will ever be more than a back-up in the NFL, unless every coach he's had has misjudged his abilities as a pro, which I doubt. But how many college QBs ever attain what he has? Very few. He may hang on for another year or two, and then probably hook up as an assistant college coach.

Nicely looked poised. He sure doesn't look like a freshman out there. This may a lost season, but he gives us a reason to watch. Didn't JD say that Nicely had the intangible "it"? I see the same thing. I hope I'm right.

What's better than quarterback?Its not uncommon for an athletic high school quarterback to end up playing another position in college, usually because his arm strength or or height was acceptable for high school but is less than is needed for a college QB. Ben Roesthlisberger was recruited as a receiver out of high school. If I remember correctly, he ended up going to Miami because it was the only D1 school that recruited him a QB.

Also, UA has an away game at the University of Michigan on 10/20 and UM is currently ranked #16.

Can't just lost a HEARTBREAKER!!!!! BGSU scores the winner at :05. Final 36-35. Hanford Dixon was doing analysis and he called the loss "devastating."

I liked the OOC schedule this year. A good MAC team could knock off both Indiana and Syracuse. The Penn State game was a money game, but it was also a chance to at least put up a fight and gain some national respect, sort of like the game at Ohio State a few years ago. Akron gave OSU all they wanted for 3 quarters. I don't like the idea of an almost guaranteed loss at the start of the season. But I understand why its done.The MAC program that Akron should model itself after - I think - is Toledo. Every year they seem to take on a couple of BCS schools and they manage to knock off a fair number of them. That's what gets their fan base excited. If they can do it, so can we. If they can't get a one/one deal with a BCS school, they get a two/one deal. The Toledo fans would go berserk if two small schools were put on the home schedule. I don't think Akron's schedule is the problem; it's the underperformance of the team. Momentum-wise, a win over Indiana would have been huge for the players and the fans. What an opportunity lost. Winning cures everything.

The betting lines still have UA favored, but most of them have a 3 point spread, down from 4.5, which is what I saw this morning. I would think that losing your starting QB would result in a bigger drop, so I don't know if CJ's suspension has been factored in or not.