72 Roo

No need to apologize for spreading the truth. The loss of Mitchell was huge to the program. He did more with less than any other coach at UA. He was especially wired in to knowledgeable ex-athletes who made great specialty assistant coaches. He had Akron consistently regarded as one of the top northern programs in the USA breaking the top 25 in both men's and women's programs. I hope the new director of can get us back to that level, but I've seen little to inspire confidence.

For Jared to respond like this is unusual. He knows there are idiots out there who will use any medium available to prove they are idiots. Jared wants to win more than any of us. He is doing all he can to make that happen. Many schools, even in the BE, play for a tie. Coaches want to keep their jobs and if they can park the bus in front of their goal for 90 minutes they can tell their AD and fans that they tied mighty Akron. If I had responded to this person I would have ended with an F U. That's why I'm not the coach. He has more class and we are lucky to have him.

I don't like getting into arguments, philosophical or heated, with fellow posters on this board. But I will comment on your question. JM should be doing better with the players he has. I have specifically stated that in other posts noting he has raised the talent level and underperformed with it. But his situation deserves more introspection. Unlike the other coach in question he has won at the highest level in college sports, the SEC. He has also won at the FCS level. Also he has exceptional experience at the highest level... Penn St, Oregon, Miss St. So I expect him to use that experience and past performance to put a competitive product on the field. For that he is accountable. Turning around the worst football program in the country vs turning around a poor soccer program is not apples to apples in comparison. 11 top players change an entire team in soccer. 11 top players is a good start in football but it is not going to make a winning program. I think we can both agree Joe must to do better.

I see little to inspire confidence in the women's program. Neither the coaching nor the recruiting is up to MAC standards. That is not a high bar to hit. The MAC is not considered a quality conference to send players to. The ECNL coaches do not steer their players there. The coaching especially bothers me. I don't buy into the excuse that the staff does not have their own players so losses are expected. If that is the case why coach? Coaching entails taking what you have and formulating a style and strategy that maximizes the existing players' ability. You put aside what you as a coach prefer until you have the essentials to make it happen. Meanwhile you maximize what you have. This doesn't guarantee wins, but it does build confidence in the players, and fans, that better times are ahead. Unfortunately I see no confidence building in this program. Perhaps another year changes that.

😅🤣😂

his is such a cool post. I love this president. But let's not get too down on Gary Miller. He gets how important it is to beat your rival. Maybe not as engaging as this president, but he is all in. This week he is carrying a Zip football helmet wherever he goes just to remind everyone that we need to beat Kent. The coaches have also heard from him that beating Kent is a priority. That's a good start and I give him credit.

I'll take a different view. That is in the final third Ashton seemed lost. He repeatedly passed inside, broke around the defender and got a pass back. Rather than cross or shoot he passed again. By then the D was crowded between him and the goal. I'd rather see him take a shot any time he in or near the box. He has a wicked left foot that can hit a rocket and keep it low, not overshooting the frame. Let him do more of that. Most won't find the net, but there are rebounds, misdirections and weird bounces that happen in the box.

"We can all say what we want about the performance on the field, but what is not up for debate is the amount of connections JoeMo and this staff have. They aren’t going to recruit anyone who they do not believe will help this program. Plus, the interest has to be reciprocal between the recruits and staff." - Catdaddyp Help me understand, my friend, how JM and the staff missed so badly on QB depth? It doesn't make sense, especially when you look at their experience, past results and commitment to building the program. I need help here. Thanks.

Now why didn't I think of that? 🤔

I am seeing a trend that has me increasingly troubled and that is the coaching staff seems to be reconciled to a miserable year that they just have to get through. Last year, with considerably worse talent we saw the team improve over the season. That is not happening this year. Special teams are inconsistent. They can't punt or kick FG's effectively. The play calling does not reflect a philosophy that creatively plays to our strengths and capabilities. The OL is mired in non-performance. The QB situation was a problem before the season that the coaches knew was coming. They knew before us! They saw Irons injuries. They saw Taj was not a thrower. They saw we had no depth. Little was done other than employing hope and hope is not a strategy for success. Joe can solve this. I still support him. It can be turned around. But Joe, I've got a lot of questions for you!

Right now I'm in pain. What Zip football fan would't be? I've been trying to get my brain together to capture the right words following this loss. B & G beat me to it. Well done my friend! I still believe Joe will turn this round. I believe he has been a fantastic hire. I support him and his staff in the long journey in turning this around. I also want accountability and responsibility. That falls squarely at Joe's feet. The most important position in all of sports, a football QB, has been blown by him and his staff. Fix it and put a better product on the field. I'm ready to celebrate a winning team with Joe.

At the post game press conference, and during the taping of Zips Weekly, Joe will again state "we have to find a way to get the ball to Lingard and Anderson more". Since Joe's wife is the only person who can tell him what to do I am convinced she hasn't approved more rushes for these two. I hope she gives the OK soon.

Ohio State does this and the crowd loves it. You never know what band section will show up- percussion, trumpets/cornets, tubas, etc. They split up and hit all general sections of the Shoe. It is another element of game activities that the Zips should borrow. This ain't rocket science.

Game day atmosphere and event management at Akron has always been an issue. I used to think that they (athletic administration/Marketing) didn't get it. Now I believe they don't want to get it. There is no one in the stadium and they still play the music incredibly loud. So loud that a friend sitting two seats away couldn't hear me and vice-versa. Just go to the freaking control board and turn it down. Why is no one doing that? The damn music even plays over the band. That tells me no one is even monitoring the game during timeouts. No college atmosphere exists. No excitement. No fun traditions. Whoever in athletics is responsible for the game, as an event, needs to be replaced. MBA marketing students would do a better job. Be shameless, borrow what works from other schools. It is no wonder attendance is less than 3,000 butts in the stands.

"I guess I will be going to the church picnic next Saturday. 🥴" At least you will be holy and well fed, which is more than I can say for most of us! 😈

Another heartbreaking game in which we find a way to lose. The issues that drive me nuts i.e. discipline, QB play, play calling, OL play and running the ball, keep coming back to one source, coaching. If we had a decent QB we would have 2-3 more wins. This staff knew DJ has gimpy going into the season. Did they plan for that? Did they prepare Taj, Jennings, Wassel or just work with Undercuffler? What they have done so far is terrible. Looking ahead Undercuffler cannot win against good MAC teams. For Joe having a rep as an offensive genius we have yet to see any sign of that. Our play calling does little to help the OL or put the ball in Lingart's and Anderson's hands. This is even though Joe has talked every week about the need to increase their touches. Who does he need permission from to make that happen? He answers only to himself and this issue is squarely on him. In this he is failing. Joe shows signs of cleaning up the discipline issue. Compared to the Indiana game, the Buffalo game was a huge improvement. Yet it was a lack of discipline penalty that gave Buffalo their only TD drive, even though we had stopped them. I predicted a 6-6 season. I now feel 4-8 is all the progress we will make this year. At least we have funnel cakes, soccer and basketball.

Agreed. Calm it own.

Of course Morgan State is in the SEC. This off-season there was much publicity and incredulity given to USC, UCLA, Washington and Oregon going to the Big Ten and Morgan State going into the SEC. I have it on good authority (a guy in a bar whose cousin lives in Alabama) that Nick Saban personally called the league's presidents to get Morgan State in. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

This team will win games, this year to be exact. Our coaching is good with the potential to be great. Our talent is no longer an issue. Yet we still find a way to lose. Maddening as this is I believe it is due to one issue, discipline, mental discipline. Repeatedly we find ourselves in position to win, yet we don't. An argument can be made that we could be 4-0, certainly 3-1. Mental discipline is the difference. We have not found a way to gain that extra 1-2% that separates winning from finding a way to lose. Though I believe some on the team have it. First Lingart, Fish, McCoy and Jones comes to mind. There are many more, yet not enough. This lack of mental discipline was seen last night in: Three interceptions (two due to DJ locking on one receiver and not following his progression; one due to Undercuffler throwing behind Banks) Unsportmanlike conduct on Frank for stupidly jumping IU players on their sideline leading to the loss of a much needed 1st down Two S & C coaches leaving our bench and crossing all the way to the other side of the field to restrain our players and antagonize the refs. Inexcusable! Dropped TD pass by Adams with no one around Repeated holding calls on N. Williams Missed gimme FG by Jackson Dropped interception by KJ Martin that may have sealed the game Unsportsmanlike conduct on Gaithings pushing an IU DB in front of the ref after he had secured a 1st down catch These mistakes alone amounted to near 20% of our offensive plays. We are our own worst enemy. Correct our mistakes and we win consistently. Joe and staff will get us there. Mental discipline comes slowly, but when we get it this team will roll. And it will begin this season. Just my thoughts.

Dear Baby Football Jesus, in your golden, fleece diapers. Please use your baby football Jesus powers to bless Akron with a miraculous offense. One with competent QB play and an abundance of touches for the running backs. We can only hope that with these miracles, Akron can pull off the upset and extend the streak of the MAC being the Big Ten's kryptonite. Woo! WOO! Owww! Amen!😇

Some random thoughts on the ND tie soccer match: The Zips were the better team. Flat out, no discussion. The Zips were prepared and the coaching staff selected a good team to put on the pitch. UA suffered a disgusting tie because they did not capitalize on numerous scoring chances in the first half. ND pressed hard, but so also did the Zips. Akron repeatedly won the ball back with its press. The transition from press to attack was beautiful in the first half. The crowd was a thing of beauty. I was disappointed at its size at kickoff, but it just kept growing and growing. The students did a nice job of eventually filling the hill. The second half started like ND wanted to play. They attacked and had the better part of possession for the first 5 minutes. Akron counter-attacked after that and ND parked the bus in front of its goal. ND hoped to play for the rare counter that would catch the Zips by surprise and yield a goal. That wasn't going to happen. A friend of mine said at 7:00 in the second half "they are playing for a tie." I replied that can't be, they are supposed to be better than that. I was wrong. Shame on the ND coaching staff for hunkering down. The are supposed to respect the game more than that. They clearly wanted to protect their under-achieving record and bloated reputation. I couldn't agree more with the opinions offered earlier that the Zips should have taken more chances on attack and taken more shots. They seemed to want the perfect opportunity rather than taking what was given. The ball takes weird bounces in the box and Akron will not get them if they don't shoot. This was a good game to show the Zips they are an exceptional team if they come to play. We have the potential to go deep in the playoffs and the better competition in the Big East will get us ready for it. It's OK to believe. This team can get better and it can do it.

Thanks. I'll try it.

Nate Williams # 76 was in street clothes the entire game. You could see the leader that he was. He was doing everything he could to encourage his teammates, even grabbing the damn tire to put over a deserving players head. If Landers comes back he will be welcome, but he needs to commit to going to class.

It looks like our season will revolve around the issue of finding an effective QB. My thoughts on last night's game are these: The event management sucked. The music was poor and excruciating loud. Give me more of the band. UA needs to copy what works for other programs. I'm talking about during the TO's and commercials. That entertainment is usually cheap. Engage MBA students to go out and see what is fun at other stadiums. The OL was unsettled with Williams out. It lost ground from the week before. Play calling is hurting us. No run game. No bubble screens. No passing to the backs. I can't believe this is Joe calling the plays. Find something that works and you take the pressure off the OL and QB's. Our goals are still out there to be grasped. The D can win some games if the O can play. Now we will see who can coach. The talent is there to go .500.

If one of those 3 of 12 passes beyond 10 yards was the one to Lingard, DJ is seriously hurting and needs to have a reduced role. We can win with Undercuffler even if Joe doesn't trust the accuracy of Taj. But when you think about it Taj's accuracy has to be better than DJ. The numbers tell the story.