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I have never coached and I knew that was a crap decision...I am sorry but no mulligans and shame on his staff for not calling him out if they had the chance to. We need a staff that will work together and step up when something is ready to go array. i get it, you can get caught up in the moment but that is where your right-hand man chimes in and says....woah Coach, lets go for it, 17-6 is still two scores and 4 and 2 is makeable. Had he admitted it then maybe a mulligan but don't sweep it under the rug. Just admit you screwed up...don't glance over the subject by saying... "When you give up a blocked field goal for a touchdown, when you have a chance to cut it to 17-6, but instead its 23-3, that's a huge turnaround in a game" What does 17-6 do? That was only maybe our 2nd or 3rd trip into their territory the whole game, what made him think we would get back there two more times! Plus 17-6 would require us to make the 40 yd field goal, score a touchdown and then make another field goal to get it to 17 all. Bad decision and that's it....maybe mulligan 3 to 4 illegal formations + bad decision = bad preparation...no mulligan Hell with it...move on and lets win this week. Forget about the mathematical logic for a second. Good and bad decisions can often be measured by how it affects the opposition. And in this case, I'm guessing that the Syracuse staff was relieved when we did not go for it. We squandered our last opportunity to gain a psychological edge in that game. We would have been on the attack, and they would have been forced to scramble to keep their more-than-a-touchdown margin. And by simply stepping up to the line of scrimmage, we may have even forced them to burn a timeout, which would have given us more time to decide the right move. Unfortunately, I'd have to say that this looked like the kind of thing you'd possibly see from someone inexperienced with in-game decision making.

I try not to look at these player ratings as if they are written in stone, but this certainly isn't the kind of news to get excited about.

Turn the clock back to the early 90s........... I know a primary reason for joining the MAC was for a uniform conference affiliation for all of our sports teams. Would we risk alienating that just for a chance to get our soccer team a little more recognition? I say YES!! Even though few people, relatively speaking, care about soccer, it's still a chance to play with some big boys in a sport. And as remote as it may seem, it's at least an OPPORTUNITY to get the Akron Zips and the University noticed outside of this region that doesn't exist now, and could maybe lead to bigger things for all of sports programs down the road.

Pretty good analysis here. I definitely think Ken+ suffered more losses that us with personnel. The only thing that I think could persuade someone to pick us 4th is if they really felt that Conyers and McKnight were significant losses. And I hope that's not going to be the case. And I think we should get major points for having a returning All-Senior backcourt.

Thanks for the info. I could write a book on the missed opportunities these places have had over the years, and how many times my friends and I have walked out of some of these places on game day because they were either unprepared, or had their employees clad in OSWho gear, or would reluctantly put the Akron game on ONE TV in the corner, etc. And in many cases, this even happened after they were advertising themselves as an AKRON football party location. Pathetic. If Brubakers is stepping up to the plate the way you described on Saturday, we should patronize them. I've never been to brubakers on a game day. I was about to go there once, until my roommate and myself spotted a giant inflatable Brutus out front Noooo. Say it isn't so. Just when I had some hope

Thanks for the info. I could write a book on the missed opportunities these places have had over the years, and how many times my friends and I have walked out of some of these places on game day because they were either unprepared, or had their employees clad in OSWho gear, or would reluctantly put the Akron game on ONE TV in the corner, etc. And in many cases, this even happened after they were advertising themselves as an AKRON football party location. Pathetic. If Brubakers is stepping up to the plate the way you described on Saturday, we should patronize them.

Could be an opportunity to start a dialogue to get Akron into the ACC....period. I'm sure Dave in Green can provide us with information on the economic impact. I don't think we're much further away from the atlantic ocean than schools like VTech and Wake, so we can certainly make the argument that we're a fit geographically. Remote chance. But I can dream. Right?

I practiced with both of them everyday, and just trust me when I say Nick Sparks was not on the same level as Charlie Frye. Sparks was very physically gifted but the guy didn't have it upstairs to be playing QB. He played out his career at the right position. But seriously, enough with the generational comparisons here. Back to Zip Football 2010. Nicely needs to get in the film room and get better. His accuracy is always going to be an issue. He doesn't have great recievers. But if he knows opposing schemes like the back of his hand going into games, he'll take us where we want to go. 70% of being a good QB is knowing where to go with the ball and going there with precise timing. Nicely looked lost Saturday. He not only was off on his throws, but he was throwing to the wrong places at the wrong times. 10% may be his receivers. 10% of that may be his accuracy. 10% of that can maybe be blamed on the coaching. 70% of it however can likely be blamed on the fact that PN didn't do his homework. Don't expect some of these people to show an appreciation for good information about a player, team, or situation coming from an informed/experienced source.

It's unbelievable. I'm seeing comments like "ok...so maybe he wasn't perfect", which honestly, would be absolutely laughable to most people who saw this game. And the lofty predictions that a few people have placed on his career here are further widening the gap with reality. Every QB has to deal with dropped passes, blocking breakdowns, getting blitzed, throwing the ball out of bounds, etc. Yet, 30% passing performance are still not the norm. This performance was highlighted by a ton of passes that were off the mark, or thrown into coverage...plain and simple. And everyone in my group of fans, and everyone sitting around us saw it the same way. And probably the one play that highlighted this inaccuracy the most was the short dump-off pass attempt to a wide open Alex Allen late in the game that was thrown at his feet. Once again, it's the same things we've seen over the two seasons this guy has been here, and consistent with everything I have been told about him. With that said, I am still NOT ready to see a revolving door of QBs yet. I'm not convinced we have anything better to turn to right now. And If our coach feels that PN is our "best" option right now, I will trust that and hope there is some kind of improvement in the weeks ahead, especially since he has already gotten the majority of reps with the 1st team offense over the last couple of weeks in practice. Obviously, the GW game will show us nothing. But, if we stink offensively through the KY, IN, and N. Ill. games, I'm hoping that Matt is a little healthier and ready to go by that time, and can add a little spark to the offense with his playmaking ability.

Nice Job GP1. You've probably found the only thing about Nicely that reminds us of Charlie. Charlie took a way worse beat down his first game against a BCS team as a Senior with a new coach than PN took yesterday as a sophomore. I know you like to bash Charlie, but are you really seriously trying to equate Charlie's 29 of 36 performance for well over 200 yards against Penn State with what we saw from our QB last night against a low-level BCS team?

Nice Job GP1. You've probably found the only thing about Nicely that reminds us of Charlie.

First of all, what do you mean by "awhile now"? Our soccer program has been winning for DECADES, and only recently have they been drawing crowds of over a couple thousand people. This increase in soccer attendance only started happening when we became the top team in the nation, and unfortunately, our football program isn't in a position to do that. And in case you haven't noticed, even our bad football team still easily quadruples the attendance of our tops-in-the-nation soccer team.

Hard to find any positives in such an embarrassing performance, but I was somewhat encouraged with our improved tackling. It seemed like we didn't allow as many of those 3-5 yard carries to turn into 8-10 yard carries, like we had done the last several years. Yes, I know a lot of that has to do with having a dominating, get-to-the-ball tackler in the middle of the field like Wagner, who just seems to continue to get better and better. But, it was some kind of indication that we could see some improvement in this phase of our game this year. Other than that, everything was pretty much what I expected. And unfortunately, in some cases, far worse than I even expected, including the way I felt our coach managed the game, and the attendance.

First of all, the NC win on the road is awesome. This likely ensures that we'll be the #1 team in the country from this point forward as long as we don't lose. I highlighted the above sentence for a reason. We're talking about a sport where 1-0 and 0-0 games are common. And it makes a perfect season such a fragile proposition, and adds to the incredible nature of what we accomplished last year. By all accounts, we "beat" USF, yet we lost the game. It can happen again any time between now and November. One lucky goal at the wrong time can change everything in this sport. And again, I just wish more than 1/1,000th of this country cared about this sport. It would be a great thing for Zips athletics, and the University.

I so badly wanted to be wrong about my lower-than-most-people predictions about attendance today. I actually let some of you folks talk me into guessing a little higher than I wanted to. I was hopeful. I just have way too much history with this football program, and have had a bad feeling all along about how the general public was going to respond to the first home game the year AFTER the opening of the stadium. The truth is, those of us diehards are a small bunch. We need a lot more people like ourselves before all of this is going to change in any significant way. We'll continue to debate on this site about what it will take to make that happen. But, it's going to take something....and something BIG. I still hope, much like all of you, that Syracuse can bring a HUGE visiting crowd. I think that's our only hope of having anything close to a big-time college football atmosphere at the Info today. But, that still won't dampen my anticipation of some great tailgating

I would like to see the majority of the fans act like they care and are at a football game! Last year was ridiculous, so many games where fans were staring blankly into nothing as the game went on. There were plenty of 3rd down and shorts where my friends and I stood up and stomped on the metal bleachers to cheer on the Zips defense and people stared at us like we were idiots. You would of thought we were doing it as someone was teeing off at a PGA event! Oh and to hear...something new. We should stay away from the "Zombie Nation", "Let's Get it Started" type songs and seek out something original to play. The Black Keys would be great...their songs are in quite a few Sports Video Games. On NCAA 10 I had the beginning of "Seperate Ways" by Journey everytime the Zips would kick off at the Rubber Bowl...cheesy I know but that keyboard part and the guitar riff are sweet...and great for a kickoff suspense builder. Yep I am showng my age...half of the probably do not know who Journey is unless they stumbled on them via The Sopranos. I've been talking about this in another thread, but it bears mentioning again. A significant number of people were at our games last year to be a part of the inauguration of the new stadium. We know that. Hopefully, we converted some of them to Zips Fans. So the question is, did plenty of them become fans that will return this season? Will some non-fans (probably the quiet folks you reference) still show up again this year to enjoy the new stadium experience? Or, will this latter group stop coming altogether? I think we'll have some answers over the next couple of weeks.

Great Image. You probably have almost certainly ensured that another debate will go on well after the game is over on this board. So, I will issue two answers to cover both. Ticket Sales / Announced Attendance = 22,000 People Who Will Actually Be There = 15,000 And I'm still wavering on this a bit in either direction, having no idea how well Syracuse will travel for a game against a MAC opponent a few hundred miles from home.

Much like our own situation in previous years, I still wonder why people make such a big deal out of these number alignments. I'm sure this defense will feature a Rover in the middle of the field who can play both the run and the pass. And that differs dramatically from having a 4-3 where a 3rd linebacker would have to carry basically the same responsibility?

I will celebrate with you if this happens. It's not going to happen unless Syracuse brings well into the thousands. I think you're incredibly underestimating the number of people that were there for the Morgan State game ONLY to participate in the "opening" of the new stadium. Just look at the following week, the Indiana game, for a comparison of what you think you will see here. Amazing Stadium....check, Good Opponent...check, PERFECT Weather......but, about 10,000 less in attendance.

I really hope you're wrong about the attendance being under 20k. The game is "free" for students. We don't even have Cowlumbus State to compete with for attendance...their game is tomorrow (Thursday) night. Anything over 20k would be a big surprise to me. And I think it depends on a huge Syracuse following. We all need to come to the realization that the curiosity-seekers who wanted to see the new stadium are gone. We need to depend on football fans to fill the stands now. I think the students at the game will double from last year. What makes you think that Max? Any inside information or just a hunch? I hope you are right because students get a helluva lot louder than 41 year olds. Now WAIT just a minute....I'm almost 50, and I'm pretty loud. I get your point. Max...The student participation will double??? I'd just pray that it stays near the same!! No "new stadium on campus" effect any more, and the team is no longer the contender that people thought it would be last year. And If I do get the shock of my life to see student participation double this football season, I can only hope that it carries over the basketball season, and I can stop seeing all of those empty courtside seats behind the baskets that we've seen continuously over the last several years. I just don't see any factor to indicate that we're about to see any increase in student participation.

I really hope you're wrong about the attendance being under 20k. The game is "free" for students. We don't even have Cowlumbus State to compete with for attendance...their game is tomorrow (Thursday) night. Anything over 20k would be a big surprise to me. And I think it depends on a huge Syracuse following. We all need to come to the realization that the curiosity-seekers who wanted to see the new stadium are gone. We need to depend on football fans to fill the stands now.

Don't get me wrong. I was in no way implying that the at-large bid could be easier than the auto-bid. But I am insisting that the auto-bid is not an "easy option". And these are definitely more good discussion points here. And it opens up another train of thought also...close isn't good enough when you need that auto-bid. Nobody knows that better than us. One bad game, one bad 2 minute stretch, and even one lucky shot (ouch..it still hurts) and everything you worked for all year long gets thrown out the window in an instant. Heck, even the 1 out of 20 MAC titles that we did win depended upon a last-second shot on our part JUST to advance to the quarter-final round. The possibility of another option exists every year, and we aren't taking it.

There's no need to prioritize, but if you do, you would put the at-large bid first. Schedule for an at-large and hope you pick some big wins. If not, the MAC tourney will always be there. Exactly!! Why isn't the MAC tournament title the "backup" option? And we would naturally be better prepared for the MAC tournament by playing a schedule that really challenges our team. So, we increase our chances of success, with BOTH options, by playing a more difficult schedule. Dave, I love your posts, and respect your opinions. But after 1 MAC tournament title in nearly 20 years as a MAC member, and with the knowledge that everything has to fall your way in a 4-day tournament, I have to question whether the MAC tournament title can really be called "the easy option".

I'll follow up on those two points... First, I don't care what 11 guys are on the field for us defensively, and what their position says in the program. We just better be a lot better at tackling than we've been with many of these same guys on the field the last couple of years. Secondly, I'm wondering when we suddenly became a team with good talent several guys deep. We've struggled with that ever since our arrival as a 1-A school. And even if that situation has improved, I'd still question whether our talent on the bench is topping BCS level programs.

Even if we played a schedule made by Charlie Coles, 5 losses is about the max you would could have if you want an at-large bid. Mid-major at-large bids are disappearing. They're almost vanished completely. They're not disappearing. The amount of Non-BCS at-large bids doubled last year, and was the most in 5 years. And that's only part of what I have been trying to use to inspire people on here for years. Mid-majors DO get at-large bids...yes. And we should want to be one of thsoe bids, no matter how remote they may seem. But the thing that frustrates me the most is the attitude that we should just give up and stop trying to get an at-large bid. What would that accomplish? The goal every year is to get to the NCAA tournament. And it IS tough to qualify, and it SHOULD be. It's the tournament to decide the best team in college basketball. There is no alternative. We do what we need to do to have an opportunity to qualify, or we sit at home every April watching other teams play besides ourselves. It's that simple.