Big Zips Fan (220lb)

Don't forget Bowling Green.That makes it 3-4. One convincing MAC win against Toledo, close games against everyone else. This really does tell you something: that we are no better than anyone else in the MAC. Yet, we were still dreaming of a MAC Championship game and some unspecified bowl game as well. As Lee Adams pointed in another post, with an average quality defense this team would have won the East. So if this team can improve the defense to being of average quality for next year, then watch out.As far as attending the games, Akron was in every game at home. All of the games were exciting to watch.

How embarrassing for Oakland, losing to the OSU bench players. I guess this shows the depth that a big school can manage to put together.I am glad to see the matchup with OSU, though. Advancing in the NCAA tournament is good, advancing by beating OSU is better.

The interesting thing is, we are at least a dozen years into talking about "soccer moms." I would think that it is only a matter of time before there is big interest in soccer with all these kids that have played it on some level. In a lot of ways, this is the travesty of the focus on football. Huge financial investment in a sport because of the popularity of the sport, but a successful program like soccer can fall by the wayside. While I grew up in Stow, I now live almost 700 miles away. Football ends up, occasionally, on ESPNU. Other football games end up broadcast on the internet with video at www.gozips.com. I'll be honest and say that I hadn't checked on the availability for soccer broadcasts over the web, but it looks like that wasn't even available. I am wondering if I will get the chance to see some of Akron's soccer tournament play. Who knows, maybe I can make a road trip. It's not every year that my Alma Mater competes for a national championship.

I know this is the football forum. But the U of A soccer program has done something that realistically the U of A football program may never do; field a nationally top-ranked team.My question is, why don't I care more? Why am I not more excited? I am happy to see the success. I would love to see a Zips NCAA title. Heck, the ABJ can even write up a review of the MAC title game in such a way as to make soccer seem both manly and interesting. ABJ Zip Soccer Write-upStill, I know that I wouldn't feel as saddened by a soccer team loss, even with NCAA tournament implications, as I would by a football team loss whose only implication is winning the MAC east division. Why?What's the deal? People in Europe, and elsewhere in the world, completely go nuts and embarrass themselves as soccer fans. Here in the US, despite half a dozen sports channels, nationally ranked soccer teams can't even get on the boob tube.Congratulations to the Zips soccer team. Any thoughts?

Akron has come a long way since....Gerry Faust went 1-10 in his final year of coaching. Most definitely a long way since that. Lee Owens compiled just 12 wins in his first four seasons as head coach. Definitely a long way since then.Lee Owens compiled a 49% winning record his last 5 years as coach. I would say its come at least a little way since then.We did win a MAC Championship. Since then, we've had two loosing seasons. I generally feel that these Zips teams are generally better than years past, but the overall W-L record doesn't show us to be a MAC powerhouse. Hence, my statement that we have come at least a little way the past few years, but not necessarily a long way.If the program has come a long way, then next year the team should be expected to win those big games as you've said. If we are just a few mistakes or a couple of dropped balls away from a MAC championship game, then that should be remedied by next season. At the same time, if we have come a long way we will easily beat our last two opponents this year who both have losing records. If not, I would say that Akron football has not come a long way recently. Wait 'till next year is something Akron fans have had to say for a long time. If that is what we end up saying this year, how can we say Akron has come a long way?

The pass interference call was tough, but not necessarily a horrible call. There was a lot of contact. A defender can't run through a receiver to get to the ball, which is how it may have looked to the ref. He tried his best to go around/over but the ref threw the flag at the contact, which is what they are prone to do. I didn't agree with the call, but I have seen worse. MAC coach of the year? When Ball State is currently ranked 14th? I don't see it.As far as JD turning an otherwise bad team into a contender, which is I think your implication, leads to the question of why they were expected to be bad to begin with. This is JD's fifth year at Akron, if the team is not expected to do well, that itself is an indictment of the coach.I am not qualified to say if JD will or won't be back. JD's statement seems to imply that he knows. I also can't say if the Zips will be better next year than they are this year if JD stays. If they win the next 2 games, and against expectations go to a bowl game, it would be difficult to see JD out of a job. However, if this team loses the last 2 games I would think that his job security would be in serious Jeopardy. And if you don't think that it is possible for the Zips to lose the next two games, just remember what JD consistently says about MAC play: that everybody is about on par with everyone else, no one is significantly better.

UC probably only looks forward because they won the game and are in the midst of capturing their league's championship. I'm sure they could care less about looking back on us and wondering how they didn't score more. They won the game and that's the point. Likewise, as competitive as we were with UC, BGSU, and UB, we lost those games and are yet to beat a truly respectable opponent.I'd guess it would be more correct for me to say that I look back and can't figure out how we held Cincinnati to 17 points.

I kind of have to agree there. Good teams win big games. We haven't reall shown we can do that this season.Good teams also beat teams that are .500 or better. We haven't done that, either. As far as deserving to go to a Bowl game, the large number of bowls has changed what that means. It will also change the way teams schedule. BCS schools will look hard to pad their schedules with weak non-conference opponents (including Division IAA) to try to ensure that they will get to the magic number of 6 wins. Hence, there will be a lot of teams that don't deserve to go and wouldn't in years past, but will be going anyway.

I was amazed that we held Buffalo to 24 points during regulation. While there were lots and lots of times the defense looked completely soft, the overall defensive performance turned out to be better than just about every other MAC game. No, the defense still isn't good, but they played well enough last night to give the Zips a chance to win.John Mackey was so critical to this defense. When you look at the games without him last year versus the ones with him, it was like watching two completely different teams. Where's the talent now? Akron has good practice facilities, a more attractive campus, is getting a new stadium, and let's not forget the MAC championship. This should make the past 2-3 years recruiting classes the best since Akron went to Division I.Cincinnati probably still looks back and wonders how they only scored 17 points against Akron.

Great story. One day your son will understand that grown men still cry, we just do it on the inside.I salute you for your action. Me, I would have been stupid and listened to the rent-a-cop and left the stadium with an emotionally crushed son. Good for you.As for the game,the missed kick (1st down on the 12 and no points) and Kemme personal foul really did hurt them.My biggest problem with Jacq is the continued deep passes into coverage when a shorter pass may be open. This isn't a 4th quarter problem, he seems to do it in pretty much every quarter. He really needs to learn how to check down.Kennedy fumbled twice. On the OT fumble, the comment I saw in the ABJ was that Jacq said that the play was based on a read. Jacq read the defensive end to make it a QB keeper, Kennedy did not. Still, Kennedy did so much in that game I can't blame him for the loss. Without him, they wouldn't have had a chance. The second fumble occurred in the 4th OT, had the game ended anytime before that, the fumble would not have happened.This was definitely a memorable game.

I sometimes like to look at the Sagarin ratings on the USA Today website. While not perfect, at least it doesn't have personal biases.In this case, Sagarin's predictor ratings provide the following:Buffalo Rating 69.22, Rank 70th in NationAkron Rating 67.43, Rank 78th in NationHome field Advantage: 2.52So, by the Sagarin method this game is about dead even, as the predicted score is an Akron win by 1 point.

I don't think that Kenny has too much reason to sweat:The Syracuse football team jumped out to a 14-0 first quarter lead on an 82-yard touchdown run by sophomore Doug Hogue and a blocked punt returned for a touchdown in a 35-17 loss at Rutgers Stadium. :blink: I thought Kenny's Jim Mora impression was pretty decent.This rant reminds me of a time a few years ago when I listened to an internet broadcast of an Akron-Navy game where Akron won. The broadcast was Navy's and the Navy broadcasters were steamed about how late in the game Akron seemed to be just pushing Navy around. They thought if Akron was beating them physically, it must of meant that the midshipmen's strength and conditioning routine was just way too soft.

It makes me wonder what they will write about the new stadium!

Is the band big enough to do that now?Being out of state, it has been a long while since seeing the band. Are they big enough to pull that off?On ESPN, they showed the Zips band after the game. They were singing the fight song.I say bring it back.

I though Donnan did a much better job doing color than the crews ESPN provided for coverage of the Zips games last year. His 200 yard prediction for Kennedy late in the game didn't make sense, but he did call the Matt Rodgers QB keeper. He also seemed fairly able to pick out what worked and why, including pointing out a missed Zip defensive shift. At least he was paying attention. Last year, when Lou Holtz was in the booth, it seemed as though the broadcast crew wasn't even paying attention to the game.Back to the Rodgers run. Hey, Matt we are going to let you play. Hand off, hand off, hand off, QB keeper so that you can get tackled by a frustrated defensive player who would love to put a hurt on the QB, at the end of an already decided game. Welcome to college football, Matt Rodgers.