ZachTheZip

Thanks for the update! Is it some type of scheduling coincidence that Football, Volleyball, and Soccer all play BG this weekend?

Click for the gametrackerI don't know if that works or not. If it does, please post the score because I can't get it from here.

Everything is on the line today. Everything.This is where the team shows what they're made of. Do they take control of their fate, or do they back down and turn out to be just another mediocre team?

Hopefully they find somebody for him to throw it to.

Here's the celebration with the team after keeping the wagon wheel.

Thank you, CK, for going through the trouble of finding out what you could about this.It really sucks all the way around. I knew Ryan was still actually injured just two weeks ago, but I thought it was minor and that he would return before the season ended. I feel sorry for the guy. Nothing is going his way.

This topic was brought up in another discussion, but I think we need to talk about this in greater detail.The DesMoines Register did all the work for me in compiling the data, and a poster on the MAC website found it. Pretty good stuff.Here's how the MAC stacks up.Here's the breakdown of Akron's games for this year.We had a net gain of $950,000.We are tied for 13th in the country for total income at $1,100,000.We also managed to pay the least money in the MAC for one of the best home-opponents out of any team in the conference.What do you guys think about our scheduling strategy now that you have the figures in front of you? It's extremely expensive to have more than 6 home games a year.

Quite a bit of the money for the actual stadium came from corporate naming rights (Infocision, Summa, etc.) The field house came from a very generous donation by the Stile family, I believe, hence the name. There is a misconception that it was all funded by taxpayer money (not a dime of tax money was used) that causes some animosity on the part of the local population, but most of them just can't accept a reality where Akron might actually have something nice.You're not the only one who is blown away by the new facilities. I would guess that about 80% of our entire alumni base has no idea how far the campus has come. It used to be a couple of ugly buildings separated by roads. As you've obviously seen, that is no longer the case. We're hoping that the stadium becomes a way to draw the alumni back, where they will be absolutely shocked by the changes that have taken place.As it is, we're still struggling with a false, but persistent, perception about us being a commuter campus with no facilities and an ugly campus.

Lots of work being done today. Vertical steel has gone up for the rest of the tower (the southern half). They poured some more stands today as well.

The more I think about this game, the better I feel about Akron winning. They are down a running back, just like us, and they just suffered an emotional defeat. Akron knows what is on the line in this game, and the players and coaches seem fired up about it. There was tons to learn after the watching the Can't game film, and I really think they have improved because of it (if not, then we have a serious coaching problem).It's time we finally got to celebrate a win at home.

Could you make it so the whole thing's not bold? I like to think we're above the usual internet shenanigans (all caps, all bold, trolling, every word misspelled, ect.)

Explain to me why we have to win all these things first before we "move on"?Can't we get really good somewhere else just as easy (if not easier) than where we are?I'm not saying we are moving or not, I just don't understand the point of "winning" and THEN moving.Exactly Louisville, Cinci, South Florida, and UConn haven't won jack!! Neither has East Carolina, or Memphis which are the other teams rumored to be going next. Hell I wouldn't be surprised if Marshall and Central Florida beat us to the punch and move to the B.E. first.Seriously, I wonder how much of a helpful factor it is when your recruiter can tell a player that you can play in the Big East.People go on about how playing "big name" teams helps recruiting. In a Big East scenario every single conference game is against a "big name" (but usually beatable) team, plus any major non-conference games we would end up scheduling. Plus, you always have a shot to play for a national title, while right now the best thing we can hope to achieve is a game in Detroit in the middle of winter.

What's unappealing about the MAC is the lack of any money whatsoever, along with being forced to play weeknight games just to have the chance of being on TV, plus playing a bunch of no-name schools, plus the terrible officiating, not to mention that nobody will take the team seriously as long as they are in the MAC.Being the premier power in the MAC doesn't mean anything to anyone beyond the 200 or so fans of the conference.

The biggest asset we have is an untapped market of over 5 million people. Sure, they're all OSU fans now, but they want a team in their own region that they can support.As for existing fan support, I think the creation of the AK-Rowdies sparked something. Attendance in football hasn't risen, but that can be partially blamed on the stadium getting worse each passing day. There is now a real core of young fans that support all Zips sports. They've completely transformed the soccer games by creating a mob of crazy students that hound the opposing teams' every step, and they add a little bit to the entertainment value of the basketball games (especially when Can't comes to town). When these kids graduate, they stick with the team. It looks like the beginning of a snowball effect that could result in much greater alumni support down the line. At least, that's my hope.

When Cinci joined the Big East, it wasn't because they had somehow "outgrown" C-USA athletically. Their football program was the worst in the country, and basketball wasn't any better then Memphis. It was because of their great potential. It was because they were situated in a large market with no BCS presence. It was because their school had shown a commitment to improving the athletic program.We have those three things. The only thing missing is the ability to generate national press, like Cinci did in basketball. Getting to a bowl game, and winning the MAC in football would help, as would making the Big Dance a few years in a row. Winning the national championship in Soccer helps to a lesser extent, as do our great track/XC teams.A move up wouldn't kill any programs. Did moving to the BE kill Cinci's godawful football program? What about UConn moving up from 1-AA direct to BCS level? It helped those programs because they could now recruit players they never had a shot at before, just by virtue of their new conference affiliation. How great would the LeBron connection work inside a BCS-level program in basketball?There is only upside to moving there.

well, because this discussion has turned into anything but a discussion, lets talk about other tentative OOC games next year. Heres the link:http://www.gozips.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPS...p;ATCLID=538215I had a few thoughts/ q's about the possible opponents:Kentucky? Good or bad pickup?at Indiana? I thought we were thinking of opening the INFO with the Hoosiers... Syracuse is obviously a good pick. Nice BCS win for a confidence boost.That website hasn't been updated for about three years.

We always seem to beat ourselves at home. Ball State and Cinci were both winnable but dumb mistakes kept us from winning. Hopefully there is no mental blockage this time.

Speaking of Jalil Carter, did anyone see the pics on GoZips.com of the game where they had this shot of him leaping to block Can't's final field goal? I think the only reason he missed blocking it was because it was so far right? Man, what an athlete. http://uaim.dyndns.info/photo_galleries/_A...e/100408640.htmI think he got a hand on the previous Can't FG that sent us in to the 2nd OT, but it wasn't enough to block it completely.

If Memphis moves to the Big East, then we would have no incentive to move to C-USA. They lose the only thing that puts them ahead of the MAC in any sport.

The fate of the MAC East rides on this game. Win, and we're clearly in control. Lose, and we're going to need some help.This game is just as important as the last one, but for different reasons. Last game we were fighting to stay alive in the conference race. This game we are fighting to take control of our own destiny.

You're forgetting the real money-maker that was designed into the stadium plans: luxury suites. There of 15 of them, all sold out for at least the next three years, at $20,000 a piece. That's $300,000 a year, plus the hundreds of open-air loges that are available for inflated prices.I was surprised to see that people payed what they did for those seats, but if people are willing to pay then why not take advantage of that?

uakronkid...THAT is a great piece of video!Good job!I didn't film it. I was about three rows behind that spot.Kind of makes me with I had my own video camera that I could sneak into sporting events to film this stuff.

It depends on two things. Which Akron team will show up, and which BG team will show up? Both teams have had their ups and downs.

It's already half way through the season and the Zips are 3-3. A nice start, but it could have been even better.Here are my grades for the positions on the team for the past 6 games.Offense:QB = B- Jacq has our offense looking much better than last year, and he seems to have a confidence that was lacking at this point a year ago. He has thrown too many INTs, but most of them are because his WRs have developed a case of butterfingers. He manages the game well, but when he tries to do too much things fall apart.RB = B+ The running game looked to be our strength early in the season with tons of depth. Now we are down to one of the three RBs we started with and this unit hasn't looked as good. They do enough to keep opposing defenses honest but unless Andrew Johnson returns soon or Devoe Torrence has his redshirt removed, we run the risk of becoming one-dimensional on offense.WR = B- Who would have thought they would be a strength before the season started? The dropped passes need to stop, but they routinely come up big when the game is on the line. Put some stickum on their gloves and I would rate them as an A+TE = C- Where are you, Poindexter? We try to get you into the offense, but you drop more balls than the WRs. You block OK, but we could really use a pair of sure hands out there.FB = B Joe Tuzze needs to see the ball more. He is now our most consistent runner and he has proven himself a capable tailback when needed. His blocking ain't bad, either.OL = B- Pass protection is good, but Jacq holding on to theball too long makes them look worse than they are. There are always holes open on running plays. The biggest problem is the high snap. We simply can't afford those on an offense that is at its best getting the play devloped in a hurry. In short: keep up the good work, but STOP WITH THE FRIGGIN HIGH SNAPS!!!!Defense:DL = C Our players are playing out of position due to a terrible scheme. These guys would be mosters in a 4-3, but that's unfortunately not the case. Injuries were a little too common on this unit, but the players have returned. The backups didn't do too bad given the circumstances.LB = C- Almost non-existant at the beginning of the year, and still non-existant when it comes to stopping the run. They seem to be at their best on passing plays and they do come up with big stops occasionaly. I thought this would be a strength, but they have yet to impress me.DB = B Another suprise on this team. We have some real playmakers, including B.Will playing at his natural position. They held their own against Ball State, but dumb turnovers kept them from having an easier time.Special Teams:K = B- Yeah, Igor won the Wagon Wheel, but he also went two games where he absolutely stunk. I am hoping that the game at Can't was enough to snap him out of his funk.P = B- Stec is at his best when he can just let it fly. He's at his worst when he tries to do anything beyond that.KR/PR = B+ Teams have learned to kick away from B.Will and Jones, creating a bit of a problem. Kicking short to one of our blockers actually gives us worse field position than is they kick it deep to our great returnersCoaches: C Playcalling has stagnated, schemes are designed for players that we don't have, and we still see super-hyped players dissappear off the face of the earth. In spite of all that, the team is in a great position to win the division and the team keeps bouncing back instead of giving up after a bad outing.So, how do you guys rate this team?Akron is better than we admit. We shy away from being called a good team, because we have been burned before. But we need to embrace good play while we can.

Good job putting it up on Youtube.Here's a view of what it was like to be with the AK-Rowdies during the final few minutes: So much fun.