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This has been the problem the last few years. With our weak SOS, we were forced to probably be somewhere around 4 to 5 losses....MAX....if we wanted at-large consideration, which is very very difficult to do. One unexpected early loss, and it was pretty much over. At least this schedule give us a CHANCE to get that consideration.

My frustration in the past several years about our OOC schedule has usually been centered around a lack of opportunities to win games of national significance. Without going back and doing the math, there seems to be an increased amount of those opportunities this coming season (about 4), and that's a good thing. But, I'd still like to see a lot less of those "absolutely nothing to gain" games, which amount to nothing more than a practice session, and lower our SOS. I'm slightly encouraged that it appears as if we're doing something to help our national standing, and not just putting together something that helps us achieve another 20 win season that lacks meaningful substance in the eyes of the selection committees.

Damn..I always put on 5 lbs. during Akron Tailgating Season, but how can I pass up an NY coney dog?

I was w/ a friend (albeit, a girl) last night driving by Mount Union. But for a girl, she's quite into sports & she asked, "Is Mount Union known for anything." I replied, "Well, football, I guess. They win the D-III National Championship just about every year." She said, "Really? I've never even heard of them." D-I or nothin'! Go Zips! Amen!! With all due respect to Mount Union, because their national titles do mean "something", I practically yawn when watching their highlights during the DIII playoffs every year. And have you ever seen their stadium? And it's probably one of the better ones in DIII. This illustrates the other part of this equation that some people don't get. If we drop to a lower division, donor interest will diminish, the talent pool of good athletes will diminish, and right on down the line. If someone thinks our nice new stadium looks empty now during some games, wait until we are trying to get people in the stands for an upcoming game against Northwest Central (insert any state name here) State University.

We get it, you don't like PN7 If you've read anything I've written previously, I've been pretty consistent is saying that I don't like ANY of our QB options right now.

I was thinking the exact same thing as I watched it. It's because he's a pretty good QB. Matt Rodgers had as much chance in the Zips QB "competition" as Eugene Jarvis has being a kidney donor. Did anyone else realize that Wagner was listed as a Strong Safety instead of linebacker? Also I was kind of disappointed that they didn't even mention his name and what he did last year. I didn't watch, but would have also been amazed if they didn't talk much about one of the best defensive players in the MAC, and instead decided to spend their time talking about another player who the coach did not even name as a starter until a week before the first game, even though he was competing for that spot against a guy with only one good leg. QBs get a lot of attention. And maybe some of the negative feedback you get on this board about parts of his game is because it's the people on this board who have actually seen him play a lot? In both games, scrimmages, and practices? And in some cases, much further back than just his college career?

Easy Answer: The MAC member schools are able to get listed in the Top-25 D-1A polls and BCS standings. And no matter how slight the chances, we are eligible to win the D-1A National Championship. And we all play the majority of our schedules against those other 120 of the best teams in the country. The things you are able to accomplish in the other divisions are not even remotely comparable. And that's more than enough of a reason for me to want Akron to stay right where they are.

What do you expect from a planet named after a bad sportswriter?

I would have been ABSOLUTELY SHOCKED if reserved seats were sold out now. And I will still be pleasantly surprised if they are sold out on game day. As for the total crowd, I'd like to see 15,000, and will be surprised if it's over 20,000. But, a large Syracuse contingent could possibly push us to that number.

That would seem to work in theory, figuring that we'd possibly have the most difficult games out of the way once that Syracuse/Kentucky/Indiana stretch is completed. But unfortunately, I think there could be several teams in our own conference that will be better than Syracuse.

Hmmm...Leftover money. Is 8 million enough to put chair-back seats all the way around JAR Arena?

I would... tho having both would be even better! I knew someone would say that

Syracuse 24 Akron 7 Our offense stunk in spring ball and it doesn't sound like it was too much better at the scrimmage. I hope that I am wrong. I've heard too much about how well our defense is doing against our offense in camp, and it sounds like a continuation of what I saw at the spring game. It's not a good sign for me either, knowing that we probably don't have a great defense. I'm thinking a similar score to those listed here, and hope something changes my mind before Saturday. So you're thinking a Zips win in the 13 to 15 point range. Good for you. I meant the two posts I attached. I do enjoy your Zips By 14 posts though. Unfortunately, you were 1 for 11 last year. I just hope you are right at least a few times this year.

If we were going to lose, I'm glad it was now. But, you're right. We need to be reminded how improbable it is to go through a season unbeaten....in ANY sport. A slip-up here or there, and it's all over. We were fortunate this didn't happen last year. It takes a lot of great play AND a lot of luck. We could be head and shoulders better than everyone we play this year, and still not be unbeaten. So, I choose to celebrate what we did last year, knowing that it was a very very special kind of thing. And...hope that we can somehow pull it off again this year. I think everyone would trade an unbeaten season for a national title....right?

Bottom line is, we'd save on expenses, but would bring in less revenue. What the difference would be at that point is anyone's guess. I was on this campus in the early 80s when we made the move to 1-A. If we take a step backwards now, after everything we have invested over the last 25 or so years, I'd be absolutely sick.

Syracuse 24 Akron 7 Our offense stunk in spring ball and it doesn't sound like it was too much better at the scrimmage. I hope that I am wrong. I've heard too much about how well our defense is doing against our offense in camp, and it sounds like a continuation of what I saw at the spring game. It's not a good sign for me either, knowing that we probably don't have a great defense. I'm thinking a similar score to those listed here, and hope something changes my mind before Saturday.

This is all cool. As an Akron grad, I enjoy seeing it. I only wish that more than 1/1.000th of the country gave a darn about soccer. It would be HUGE for our University. I live in an Akron suburban neighborhood full of sports fans. These folks have their Browns and OSWho and Cavs and Indians flags waving everywhere. All they talk about is sports. And none of them had any clue that Akron was the #1 soccer team in the country last year. They looked at me like was from another planet. Heck...I even had to inform most of them that Akron even has a soccer team !!

Ah yes...memories of crossing Buchtel Ave....and Brown....and Union....and Carroll. Especially on a Friday or Saturday night, after on the strip on Exchange. It's not the same place where I went to school. Many buildings where I attended classes are not even there anymore. I'm amazed every time I walk around there. The GQ article confirmed a couple of things I suspected all along, and answered a couple of remaining questions: There appeared to be problems between LBJ and Gilbert. He didn't like Cleveland. His relationships with his friends are very important to him. The "More Than A Game" movie really illustrates this last point, and gives me a little more insight into why Miami was a good fit for him. Unlike many pro athletes, he didn't run off to the highest bidder. I wish him luck. And most importantly, I'm thrilled that he continues to show his loyalty to his hometown (contrary to what some people predicted) by coming back here (this year's bike-a-thon).

I wondered that too. I've heard of Southern Methodist...Presbyterian...Texas Lutheran...but I've never heard of "Catholic University"? He may have attended The National Catholic University, in Washington, D.C.. They play football in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, whose members are Divison III, and all in Virginia or North Carolina. One of them, Roanoke defeated Akron for the NCAA College Division basketball title back in 1970 in Evansville, IN. The answer is no.... Article at the bottom of the article: • Five FBS coaches did not play college football at all. Despite watching the games from the stands, Georgia Tech's Paul Johnson, Duke's David Cutcliffe and Louisiana Tech's Sonny Dykes are considered offensive gurus, even if they have vastly different philosophies. The others are UNLV's Bobby Hauck and Akron's Rob Ianello. (Interestingly, Hauck's brother, Tim, played in the NFL for more than a decade as a defensive back.) The fraternity of coaches who never saw the field shrank this offseason with the firings of Mike Leach, Charlie Weis and Mark Mangino. I think it's fair to assume that someone who's been a player, especially at a major college, would have some areas of knowledge when they become a coach that a non-player would not have. Obviously you can't consider it a make-or-break factor, since some successful coaches have not been players. But, with very few non-players in the D-1 coaching ranks, it would seem to indicate that it's at least harder to get to that level if you were never a player. And that could actually mean that you've really proven yourself, if you made it that far without "played at a major college" on your resume.

As far as im concerned the Suckeyes are in southern ohio. Some place far away and south of here at least. I was going to say the same thing. Seriously though, if you've spent a lot of time in different parts of Ohio, you start to get the impression that many people in the Cowlumbus area remind you a lot more of southerners than midwesterners. If any of you spent any time down there when we played them a couple of years ago, you certainly had the opportunitiy to see some of this for yourself.

We can only hope.

I'm not surprised at all. If I were Miami, I'd probably be saying the same things today!

How about some 2009 tailgate pictures to start getting us all pumped up for this year's tailgating??

Thanks for the update. I had no idea what was happening with him. Because he was such a passionate competitor for the Zips, it's going to be hard for me to imagine him working for a nemesis. Especially the team that controversially cost him a MAC title.

Exactly. Does anyone remember the first half of the Ohio game last year? Hint: 2 interceptions and a fumble into the end zone? 3 turnovers negated the 80 yards rushing. OK...since you bring up the Ohio game last year, lets talk about it.... Our starting QB fumbled while his leg was getting ripped off, while he was about to score the go-ahead TD against the eventual MAC East champs, during a half in which he was carry our offense both on the ground and through the air with almost 200 yards of total offense. Meanwhile, his replacement comes in and saves the day by completing only 9 of 23 passes, we muster nothing more than one 30-yard scoring drive, and the game becomes virtually out of reach early in the 4th quarter. Feel however you want about these two guys, who's better, etc. There's plenty that I don't like about BOTH of them. But, I'm completely baffled as to why you would point to the production of these two guys in the Ohio game as your supporting data in favor of Nicely? I feel as if I touched a nerve here. Not my intention to be a troll and stir the pot. I don't think it is fair to compare the performance of our quarterbacks within the Ohio game. Patrick Nicely was forced into duty in an emergency situation after #1 was kicked off the team and #2 was injured. I would never suggest that the Zips were better off with Nicely for the 2nd half. Matt Rodgers started the 2009 season as the #2 QB ready to play if CJ goes down. PN started the 2009 season as a true freshman who was going to be redshirted. Both were forced into duty under less than optimal circumstances. It is my belief that PN made better lemonade with his batch of lemons. I simply referenced the Ohio game since that was the last action MR saw in 2009. I referenced the first half of that game because he had the Indiana and Central Michigan starts under his belt at that time. If I wanted to trash the guy, I would have mentioned his Indiana performance where he threw for 165 yards and 4 interceptions. I don't want to trash him at all. Perhaps I just should have kept my opinion to myself and simply given Dr. Z a +1 response because I agree with him. Bottom line for me is this. Patrick Nicely showed me a few flushes of brilliance last year. Matt Rodgers did not. What Matt showed me was a lot of grit and determination, which I respect. Neither one have shown me a whole lot of anything so far this year to tell you the truth, but I am hopeful that Nicely will continue to develop. You didn't touch a nerve. I actually like this post right here. I agree with you on many of the things you're saying about these two guys, and the situation. I merely wanted to point out that if I were making the "Patrick is better than Matt" argument, I certainly would not have chosen the Ohio game to support it. Keep something in mind when mentioning the Indiana and CMU games. Despite the mistakes, and the recent shock of losing our senior starting QB just a couple of days earlier, we still scored 21 points in each of those two games against quality opponents. And it was the last time we would score that many points the rest of the season, with the exception of lowly EMU and Ken+. Since point production is the name of the game, I think it's a hard fact to ignore, no matter how you stand on the issue.