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Amen. There can't be any other reason why this happened, other than selection committee members ignoring any data that did not fit their goal.

Final Four? I'd like to own your crystal ball.

Great Story. I keep saying that I am expecting a much less than typical Ken+ State team this year. I sure hope I am right.

Just inexplicable. What can you say? We've all seen this movie before. If we end up losing a road quarterfiinal game, someone is going to have to explain this unbelievable snub.

Thank you. You saved me alot of typing. Bowden's coaching resume speaks for itself? Winters? Please.

I always have the greatest respect for the schools who go out and schedule some of the top teams in the country to prove their worth. Caleb has been doing that for a long time. Yet, he doesn't seem to get the benefits. IF anyone else was at the basketball game tonight, you would have witnessed something pretty funny. The PA announcer told the crowd about the upcoming #5 seed in the soccer tournament, and the crowd BOOOOED. That's the way it should be. It's a continuation of a long history of Akron getting hosed.

If one of them was in the Top-25, and the other one was in the midst of spending 3 years at the bottom of D-1A, then one of them would have an unbelievable advantage over the other. Seriously, do you really believe that this doesn't help Ken+ ???

They compete with us directly for students, athletes, and attention, particularly in the Akron area and NE Ohio. And you don't think thier Top-25 football ranking hurts us? Turn that scenario around. Do you also believe that if we were a Top-25 football program that we wouldn't gain any advantage on them? I wish I could live in complete denial on this issue. But I can't. This is a big deal.

But, he'll never top the time he wrote about the great turnaround of Zips athletics, and the story appeared right next to the MAC All-Sports standings for that year, which showed both mens and womens sports ranked at or near the bottom.

From D-II all the way to FBS ?? Because he was so succssful the last time he was given the reigns of a top level program? Coaches fall down two levels and stay there for a decade for a reason. Enough said.

That's the sickening thought right now. We just took that right off the table in the first game of the year.

I think you could argue that we've only played two good halfs of football since then. The first half against BG, and the first half against Ken+. I'm pretty disappointed today. It's not a low point, but it probably erases any progress I thought we were making this season.

Then I see the two teams playing yearly for the "Plastic Cup" sometime in the future.

Good post. People are being foolish if they discount the idea that players are going to feel a loss like we had last week. I think we should win this game by several TDs................IF...............we find a way to make things happen in the 2nd half.

I just have a few thoughts, good and bad: 1) On a few occassions this season, I felt that the defense actually played well enough for us to win, and the offense failed us. This was one of them. 2) I'll criticize our coach on one point. We had 3 opportunities (if my count is correct) to go on fourth down in short yardage situations near midfield, and I felt like we picked the most untimely of the 3 opportunities to try it. The best opportunity was on our opening drive of the 2nd half. We had a chance to go up 17 points. I just have a sick feeling that we were not taking advantage of some small gambles that could have changed the game. We were playing not to lose in the 2nd half, and I don't feel like we can play that way right now with the personnel we have. 3) The effort still FAR exceeds what happened in the Ken+ game last year at home. I hope the players see the potential of a light at the end of the tunnel.

18 years ago, to be exact. I'm referring to the final cut to 85 scholarships. But yes, it's been more than just a few.

It does make me wonder if the lowering of scholarships a few years ago is starting to take effect, since it should be shifting good players to "smaller" schools, and prevents the big boys from stockpiling talent. I found this rather interesting reading the article: They talk about some of the higher profile coaches who have gone TO the MAC recently, and they don't mention Terry Bowden?????

Bingo.

I do remember the crazy bounce!! If I remember, it was some kind of end-around play where the ball just fell to the ground on the exchange, and right into the hands of a Ken+ player headed in the other direction. It really turned the momentum in Ken+'s favor that day. I used to call the old TV show on Channel 23 too. There probably weren't many of us who could say that.

Johnny.....I was there !! That's the 2nd most embarrassing trip I've made to Ken+, with the 2006 game being the first. And now I have a new #3, which was when you posted this 21-point spread. Are you kidding me? Ken+ State? Wow, have we dug ourselves a hole. I still find it amazing that we lost to a really bad Ken+ team in 1992, and still only lost 3 games that season. I don't know the line on that game, but I am wondering how far back we have to go to find 3 straight losses against Can't. I also find it interesting that we aren't the only MAC school who failed by going after an ex-ND assistant. Although, we shouldn't have been as stupid as Ken+.

The speech at the VCU football game last December does indeed tell me that he understands.

It stinks. Most of the time over the last couple of decades, we could count on being viewed as the superior program among NE Ohio recruits that drop down to MAC level. I think the results on Saturday clearly gives the Flushes the upper hand. That won't be good when recruiting season rolls around. Our only chance of softening that impression is with a big upset on Saturday. Even with having many positives happen up to this point this season, I'm afraid we're seeing the MAC growing faster than we are. It's going to take some work to catch up again.

Wow. We're now talking about the Ken+ game as a potential "Big Upset Win". Who would have thought we'd find ourselves in this position just a few years ago?

Regardless of where we all hope we might be going (and I still have faith. I just think it's getting more and more long term), this loss has to be a big concern to just about anyone. We just lost badly to a fairly weak team. Even when we were beaten by a pretty bad Florida International team (Akron is their only win), we at least felt confident that our offense was on the way to recovery. It all comes down to one thing now: How effectively can you recruit under these kind of circumstances? As much as it makes me want to puke, I already know one other D-1A team in NE Ohio that's going to be able to recruit pretty darn well against us during this upcoming off season.

Yes, we certainly need to go out and win when people aren't really paying attention to you. But, lets be honest. It helps to have people on your side at the START of the season. Especially when we might need a contingent of supporters on our side in order to get ranking and post-season consideration in March. So, this at least might indicate that the climb to notoriety this year may be longer than we think. And it's hard to twist that into good news.