72 Roo

This doesn't surprise me. I have long believed, and still do, that fans in Summit County/NE Ohio know good football and will show up if you play it. On the other hand if you play terrible ball they will not show, even if they are graduates. Put a better product out there with a chance of winning and they will return.

Ya gotta hand it to them. EMU has some nice facilities. Over the years they are pouring more and more money into the athletics program. That being said they still suck in MBB.

Love watching Darlington play. From the Zips to his stint with the Crew he was the best at his position in with every team he was with. I hope he stays with the Crew in some role. My only fear is that Jimmy Haslam owns the Crew and he has proven to be an idiot with all teams he owns. He only cares about the dollar and that hs led to many bad decisions.

This makes sense if football is all you care about.

In no other sport is a single position as important as QB is to football. How can the staff be in its fourth year and not have a viable backup when they know one will be needed? That's a failure of leadership plain and simple.

At this point coach Moorhead is gone. The only question is how. We can't afford a buyout. Perhaps Joe would consider his resignation for his peace of mind and ours. This crap can't wear well on anyone, even an offensive genius. Regardless of what happens we need to accept that there will be another mass exodus of all our better players at the end of the season. Joe can't turn this around and a new staff will need time to turn it around. The better players will leave, and they should. The greatest single factor in achieving success is the people who lead. Akron football does not have the right leader.

Last night I went to the VB match against Miami with a friend. We had a good time. The ladies have a team we can be proud of. Despite Miami being 10-1 we took it to them. Our only weakness was serving. We gave up too many points when hitting it into the net or hitting it too long. That was the difference in the game. Our ladies play with power and are athletic. They blocked or return some spikes by Miami that were incredible. The vibe on this team is contagious. It appears they love playing the game and each other. One thing that impressed me was that there were big team contingents from swimming & diving, baseball, track & field and lacrosse. Nice to see our programs supporting each other. If you are thinking of attending a VB match, do it. You won't be disappointed.

Passing thoughts on the game b/c I have nothing better to do: Forget the rankings, the Zips are a top ten team. If what we saw from SLU was true to them, they are not a top 20 team. Akron was the far better team tonight. Our MF's were outstanding, especially in the first half They won the 50/50 balls They set up many beautiful shooting opportunities They filled the passing lanes so well SLU rarely put together more that 2 passes They repeatedly played the ball on the ground out of severe pressure. Having Freddy returning to the backline steadied the defense. I wish he was in there against UConn. The character of this team was on full display. They showed no fear of SLU or memory of having lost the last two. This team is confident and proud, but not arrogant. Jack Roman has emerged as a threat every time he has the ball. Coming from the wing he will force teams to widen their back four. Mitch and Ashton are both 1st team All-Americans. They will play in MLS. Matt Dreas is the unsung glue to our MF. Credit to our coaches for filling 8 open positions this season and for continuing to find the best combinations of players. We are getting better and finding a lot of depth.

Against UAB the Special Teams did not show up and the defense showed up for only one half. That's disturbing, but I see three incidents in the game that are more troubling. First, with the Zips driving at the three and the two minute timeout coming up the offense is clearly waiting for the timeout to plot their next plays. Yet at 2:02 the center snaps the ball. Finley was surprised and barely covered the snap. A probable touchdown was lost. A field goal resulted. The lost points were the difference in the final score. Who was in control? Who was communicating?Who was listening? Second, Durham took the bait when a UAB O-lineman pulled him down after the whistle. Durham responded with a forearm shivers to the UAB player's chin. Right in front of a ref. We were hit with a personal foul and the drive, that may have been stopped, was renewed. On the sideline after the play Joe high-fived Durham, put his arm around him and joked. Where was the accountability? Finally, after a failed second half drive Joe tried to talk with a frustrated Finley. Joe walked after Finley talking while Finley walked away, never turning to his head coach. It took an assistant coach to turn Finley around to face Joe. An argument followed. Where is the respect for the head guy? Do these guys even believe in Joe? Joe may be an offensive genius, but there is not much evidence he is a capable head coach.

Thanks for providing these charts Catdaddy. I find them very interesting. Like you said they are as objective as you can get in this day and age. It I'll be fun to compare them as the season goes on. While I feel we had a dismal start, there are many more games ahead of us and many more chances to develop this team. As I look at it we will be as good as Finley goes. So far we are lousy.

Tonight was a fun night for Akron soccer. The OSU Buckeyes were a good opponent, but not a great one. We were the better team. Nonetheless I hope we continue playing them and build a rivalry. What struck me about the Zips was that, despite not playing our best, we got better tonight. We found we have good depth and the staff came closer to finding who are the players who need to be on the field in crunch time. Remember this season saw 8 players needed to be replaced. The coaches deserve credit for finding the players, building chemistry and continuing the Akron style of play. That is what brings players to Akron despite offers of NIL money that has been in the $30,000 range. This is a team to enjoy.

More thoughts: By the end of the first quarter everyone in the stadium knew Finley didn't have it. Why stick with him? When Johnson came in for the obvious running play the Zips still got the yards they needed. Let him stay in or go to Roggow. That gives us a chance. Finley doesn't give us any. The win is most important. How you get it is not. In the second half my buddy and I started watching Finley as the offense came off the field. Only once did a coach talk to him and it wasn't Joe. For an offensive genius Joe never said a word to his QB. Finley was alone. Only Johnson came over next to him and seemed to try to pump him up. If the guy is having a bad day help him. Coach him up. Nothing was done. Is Joe mailing it in? Finley on the other hand did not pump up his teammates. He sat and stewed. The only emotion we saw was when he attacked a Gatorade water cooler with his helmut. It was Johnson who came over and picked the cooler up and put it back where it belonged. Johnson seems to be a high character kid.

It is so exciting to be talking about marginal rates 2 days before one of the most interesting and competitive football opening games. I'm pumped! Damn the fact that this is a sports forum. Bring on more economics. It is more relevant and exciting. Who cares if we have a legitimate chance to be bowl eligible, providing Goodrich can get the NCAA to rescind its ban. I bet Moorhead is glued to this conversation. I know I am.

Thanks for the update Captain. This was like water in the desert for fans craving something about football. I believe this team will be improved and capable of playing good football. Still I do not have confidence we can go better than 5-7. We are on the right road to recovery if we stick to a long term vision.

Where did he go?

How did this go? I was in town for meetings and hoped to stop by, but The meetings went too long. Were there a lot of Zips there? Any thoughts offered on all the fall sports?

Seems like a great person. Welcome to Akron. I'm eager to see him on the field.

It's safe to say there is more to this story. I love the recruit, but I don't buy that we out-recruited the big boys. I would love to learn the real story behind this. The second thing I would love to answer is how long he will stay at UA if he is successful. We are, and will be, a stepping stone to greener pastures. I'll enjoy him while we have him.

I agree. There are still a significant groups of football supporters who are thirsting for any news on the program and the upcoming season. Too bad we can't get any information.

The logical next move is for Memphis to leave the AAC for the MAC. Remember you heard it here first. They have been dying to get on UMASS's schedule. The Sunbelt has nothing on the MAC.

I hope they can assist in helping him find a good Big, much like every other school needs.

Typical solution article on problems facing college sports i.e. fixit for the P4 and no mention of the G5 whatsoever.

Love it!

Jordan knew about the abuse and did nothing. Over 20 wrestlers went to him asking him to do something. His response was that's Dr. Strauss, what are you going to do about it. Now he claims he never knew. A champion liar and immoral human being who put power over principle. And still does.

Thanks ADZip. I too would want those records expunged.