K92

Hey genius...your vaunted FCS Championship Game presented by Big Lots™ is being trumped as we speak by Mississippi vs. Pitt. Hardly a top tier bowl.

There's the rub, John. A lot of shitty football programs would be grandfathered into the Big 64. I can't see any conference cutting out the dead weight can you?

There are probably some doctors in the area that might be able help you with your condition.

Interesting to see how the discussion pertaining to where the Zips fit into the world of college football has changed. So many threads in the past centered on Akron making the move to the Big East or C-USA. As I see it, a lot of tags, divisions & affiliations muddy the waters. I view D1-A football like this: Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State, Nebraska, Virginia Tech, Florida State, Clemson, Miami, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, LSU, Auburn, South Carolina, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, West Virginia, USC, UCLA, Stanford, Oregon and Notre Dame. These 26 teams have a shot at EVER winning a National Championship and some of the teams on this list don't have a very good shot. Now, before you set to critiquing my list, I will grant you some teams could be switched out, say TCU for Michigan State or Boise for Oklahoma State or Kansas State for UCLA. However, my point is two fold: 1. The number of teams capable of being champions in the division is very small. 2. The list doesn't change much over time. Everyone else who plays FBS football is in the same boat of comparative irrelevance as compared to the previous list. Levels of success, funding & popularity may vary, but Iowa, Cincinnati, Virginia, Mississippi, Baylor, Arizona and all of the other FBS participants not on the list have the same chance of winning the ultimate prize. Zero. Nothing magical is ever going to happen for Zips football. There is no silver bullet. We are what we are. Personally, I like the conference we are in. It is the best conference for what we are, matched with schools that we have a whole lot in common with. If the MAC switches divisions, I am good with that. If the Zips leave the MAC to join a D1-AA conference alone, I am done.

When you typed these words did you hear an echo or crickets chirping?

You just negated all you have argued for in this thread with one statement.

I agree with JZ84. The Zips belong in the MAC. Surely more than the two of us actually like this conference, no? The only way I could support Zips D1-AA football is if the entire MAC went there together as a conference. I have absolutely no interest in the MVC at all. I wouldn't care if they ran the table every year in that league. FCS football moves the needle as much as the new USFL does. Zero.

You cannot possibly be serious. The typical former student cares & does absolutely nothing for the University and roots for OSU. Get a clue.

Say it.

Nobody calls a perfect game. If you watch much football, those "rookie mistakes" happen all the time. Did you happen to watch the SEC Championship Game? Nick Saban, widely regarded as the best college coach, made one of those type mistakes as the 2nd quarter clock ran down. It is frustrating to watch yes, but quite common. Lots of times the talent on the field can bail a coach out on "bad calls" by making an athletic play. The Zips didn't bail Coach Bowden out much. The Zips have never had to fill a vacancy because the head coach moved on to greener pastures, bigger programs and pay. Our coaches get replaced for poor performance and we start over again. Hopefully Coach Bowden changes that. When he turns this program around, I hope his age will keep him from getting big-money offers that are too good to refuse. But even if we lose Coach Bowden to a better offer some day, he will have done what no other Akron Coach has done... Succeed.

[quote name='ZachTheZip' date='Dec 21 2012, 09:35 PM' post='192100' 22 scholarships at $30k per year is $660k. Those are not hard dollars. Those are hypothetical dollars. Whether or not those dollars are comped is irrelevant.

Santa says it's not nice to make nasty posts during the holidays. Sorry Santa.

If so, I restate all the nice things I said about him.

Santa says it's not nice to make nasty posts during the holidays. Sorry Santa.

100% correct answer. Winning organizations win and Akron is not a winning organization. Dropping down a level is not going to turn Akron into a winner. Period. Anyone is certainly allowed to believe that FCS is a better destination for the Zips. It is not wrong to think that it is better to compete in a division that winning a National Championship is possible is better than to compete in a division where it is impossible. However, with that line of thinking, Every team in FBS but the blue bloods & about 10 other schools should make the drop as well because they are NEVER GOING TO WIN A NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP. EVER. Akron is trying to shed the loser albatross and become a winning organization. If they can succeed and "hit the heights" in the MAC ,become Toledo as some have suggested, perhaps then a discussion of the merits of dropping down may be legitimately discussed. But a loser organization dropping down is still going to be a loser organization. You just can't drop to FCS and pad your record because not every team in FCS performs at the level of the 2012 Morgan State Bears. Hello?!? I am still hopeful that Terry Bowden is going to succeed in turning the Zips into a winner. I have put all my eggs in his basket. GO ZIPS!

Some legitimate questions for you: If the Zips braintrust decided to drop to FCS, it would be a nationwide story. Do you think Akron would be lauded or lampooned by talk radio, TV and print media? Would it help or hurt recruiting? Do you think a drop-down would increase or decrease donations to the Z-Fund? What FCS conference should the Zips apply to? Where should Akron park their other sports? Why do you think the Zips would have greater success in FCS?

Half of the people who regularly attend now would stop coming.

THINKsmaller®

How can you possibly think that Akron can step down a level and even make FCS playoffs, never mind contend for the title? That is just another pipe dream. If Akron took the current team to FCS along with the extra schollys they would get SMOKED by the playoff teams. Or do you think Akron would recruit better as an FCS program? There is no magic bullet for improving football performance. Not joining a better FBS conference. Not dropping down to FCS. The Zips need to succeed in the MAC. If you can't succeed in the MAC, I have my doubts that you can succeed anywhere.

http://aol.sportingnews.com/ncaa-football/...us-idaho-potato http://jacksonville.com/sports/college/201...face-tough-sell http://www.michiganradio.org/post/commenta...-games-are-sham Here are 3 recent bowl articles. The attendance for a bowl in Boise the week before Christmas would suck if Georgia and Oklahoma were playing in it. It is not necessarily due to a MAC team being invited. Bash the level of play if you wish, but the atmosphere is no fault of the participants' mid-major status. Only the blue-bloods travel well and even they struggle to sell tickets at times.

Picked it up yesterday at the tasting room. It is definitely sticky sweet. I asked if there was any distribution or if it was tasting room exclusive and she thought some shipped to key accounts, but she wasn't sure where. They probably had around 20 4-packs on the floor and in the cooler combined. $13. Pretty tasty if you're into sweet stouts!

Sometimes, after a Zips loss, it helps to go out searching for some goodies to help you forget about it. Cheers!

That's not what I was thinking.

Go ahead & read my mind!

JZ84, tell DZ84 she has good taste in xmas beer... I liked the 2XMAS. I picked it up in a little assortment of singles from Brunswick Buehler's. Try the Bell's Christmas if you haven't already. Good stuff.