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It looks like many of us loved that "bandwagon jumpers" comment in #9. Beautiful. And the "dainty sweater vest" comment is sure to ruffle the feathers of some OSU bandwagoners. Actually, I don't think the risk of losing OSU listeners is such a bad thing. I like that they are showing their loyalty to their own hometown team. And they'll probably increase their local listening audience because of it. I'd like to see more of our own local media, bars, restaurants, etc. do the same kinds of things. I've been all over the country, and I know when I am in a city where a major university resides. You can't help but to notice the "Go _____" signs in storefront windows, on office buildings, and on blinking roadside signs. You don't ever see much of that here. Very dissappointing.

I would also gladly trade an undefeated season for a national title. But...an undefeated season would still be a huge boost to recruiting efforts in the off-season.I just wish soccer got more attention. This run could have really been something that could have helped our exposure as an athletic school. Example: I was talking to a buddy the other day who is an ex-Zips football player, and big Akron football supporter. He said to me, "Tell me when any Akron team has been competitive nationally at anything....it's never happened". And I mentioned the soccer team, and he didn't believe me until he looked it up on-line himself. And this is someone who is around Akron athletics. It vividly reminds me how much even people around here don't pay any attention to the "non-major" sports. It's unfortunate.

What is there? Six games left? I'd say the odds are against us (much like the comments I make when we go through our West division basketball games). Especially when a soccer game can swing based on just ONE good shot.But wow...with the run we are having? I have some faith that it really could happen.

This is what I am thinking also. Yes, we don't need it this year, but what if we did?...or will need it sometime in the future?I don't think it should be a surprise to anyone to see a situation where they might want to eliminate weak conferences from automatic consideration, and leave more at-large bids. That play-in game in the basketball tournament could have been another indication that they are leaning in that direction.

Although I don't put much stock in prognosticators, especially those who may not spend a lot of time watching the MAC, I do have a few comments:1) They rate us the as best frontcourt. I think that shows they put a lot of stock in the McKnight duo. And with them both making the 2nd team, that would seem to be the case.2) Oh gosh. We still have to deal with Singletary? I wish someone would have told him a long time ago that he's no longer welcome to be a college basketball player.3) I don't shed any tears seeing OU at the bottom of the East. Losing Tillman certainly justifies that, in my mind. 4) No mention of Zeke surprises me a bit too. But, if there is a newcomer out there who they are willing to put on the 2nd team, that might be the only transfer or freshman that they believe can be an instant impact. 5) Lets hope that they are right...that we can rise above the MAC. That's our only ticket to anything significant nationally if we are to stay in this league for a long time.6) Can the East Div. just ask to put an end to all of the cross-division games? I'd much rather open up our schedule to 6 more non-conference games than play those guys. As we've found out the last two years, we have everything to lose and nothing to gain by playing those West games.7) I'm not surprised that all of those West Div. guys are on the first team. If anything surprises me, it's that Medlock is not there too.

Hey guys.....provide some scoring updates, if and when you have any.

well putting it that way you make sense. I'm interested to see how this plays out. like I said it's just my opion like it or not.Zeke: I'm not thinking that he will redshirt, unless it's an injury problem where it becomes doubtful that he can play this year. I think we've all read in the past that it appears the intent is to give him good playing time from day one, to see if he really has the ability to impact our team in a significant way. The next month will probably decide if he will be an opening day starter. But really, I don't think it matters.Bardo: I expect to see him paired with another post player at various parts of the game, but I think he's a 10 minutes p/game guy. Max.Nik: I think he'll also be paired with another post guy, and likely play 15 plus this year.Sweich: I'm not sure he'll play at all until C. Mac finishes his senior year.C. Mac: Will have a starting post position, and will play 20 plus per game.B. Mac: Although I don't think he will ever play a "post position" here, he will get favorable matchups that will once again get him scoring opportunities in the post. Summary: Even with Zeke here, I still don't think we'll ever see anything that resembles a "man in the middle" with 4 other guys providing support, like you sometimes find on NBA teams. I expect that you'll always see some kind of combination of two posts, a G/F perimeter player, and two guards.

I don't want to give NIU any more credit than they deserve, but possibly a couple of people are forgetting that they are very athletic, and they have beaten us the last two times they've faced us, including at home in 2008....when they beat one of the best teams we've ever had. If they recruited well this year, they probably will remain a tough matchup for us....but maybe not for the rest of the league. And much like the last two years, I will again hope that they do not end up on our MAC tournament schedule if they prove to be a tough matchup for us once again.They may present some matchup problems for us. Although I would argue that we have one of the more athletic teams this year that we have ever had and shouldn't have as many problems with them this year as in years past. But that hardly qualifies them as the 2nd best team in the conference.I'm not meaning to challenge your point, but honestly, when exactly did we suddenly become an "athletic" team when we have only added one guy to the roster?It isn't all just about Zeke. Humpty is a great athlete. The McKnight brothers are a pretty athletic duo. Nik Cvetinovic is an athlete. Brett McClanahan's athletic history speaks for itself. We haven't seen a lot of Jimmy Conyers but what we have seen he's a great athlete. Alex Sullivan is supposed to be a pretty good athlete although we haven't seen him on the court yet. Most of these guys have been brought into the program over the last 2-3 years. It's been a building process, but I think we are getting a lot better from the athletic department. The key isn't always finding athletes either. Finding athletes who are also basketball players is a big part of it. I think we all still remember Quade Milum. Easily the most athletic player on the Zips in the last 5 years but not much of a basketball player. I really have no idea where I'm going with this point, but I think we've got some guys who fit the bill of athletic basketball players as opposed to just one or the other.I completely agree with you about Quade.I was commenting specifically to the point of our matchup problems the last couple of years with an athletic team like NIU, and that you think we will suddenly become a more athletic team than we were last year, when 14 of the 15 guys on our roster are the same as last year.Honestly, I don't think NIU presents much of a problem for many teams in our league. They've just been a tough matchup for us.

I don't want to give NIU any more credit than they deserve, but possibly a couple of people are forgetting that they are very athletic, and they have beaten us the last two times they've faced us, including at home in 2008....when they beat one of the best teams we've ever had. If they recruited well this year, they probably will remain a tough matchup for us....but maybe not for the rest of the league. And much like the last two years, I will again hope that they do not end up on our MAC tournament schedule if they prove to be a tough matchup for us once again.They may present some matchup problems for us. Although I would argue that we have one of the more athletic teams this year that we have ever had and shouldn't have as many problems with them this year as in years past. But that hardly qualifies them as the 2nd best team in the conference.I'm not meaning to challenge your point, but honestly, when exactly did we suddenly become an "athletic" team when we have only added one guy to the roster?

It's a highlight video of their win against us. And it's actually really good. I'm not seeing the problem.

Saw him play in high school. Looking forward to it.

I don't want to give NIU any more credit than they deserve, but possibly a couple of people are forgetting that they are very athletic, and they have beaten us the last two times they've faced us, including at home in 2008....when they beat one of the best teams we've ever had. If they recruited well this year, they probably will remain a tough matchup for us....but maybe not for the rest of the league. And much like the last two years, I will again hope that they do not end up on our MAC tournament schedule if they prove to be a tough matchup for us once again.

Loved it!!Not sure if you caught my comments in another thread the other day.When OSwho fails, it's good for Akron. We compete against them for students, athletes, faculty, media attention, fan interest, etc. Now..the interesting scenario is this....I know there's some loyal OSwho alums out there, but will "front-runner" fans switch their allegiances to Cincinnati for the remainder of the season? I think a lot of them will. I've always believed that a good number of Suckeye fans in Ohio are merely fans of the team that has the best chance to win a national title. And this year, it's Cincinnati.Remember how many Ohio people got behind the high-ranked Cincinnati basketball program during the Huggins era? Why? Because they were better than the Suckeyes.Get ready for a repeat performance, and higher merchandise sales for Cincy, from those fans who, of course, claim to have "always been Cincinnati fans". Well, that is, as long as they stay in the top 10.

A few weeks back I was going to get some tickets to the Zips/OSUcks match. Upon finding out it was a sellout, Mrs RowdyZip and I decided to take a trip downtown and give OBC another chance at serving us and to check out the Aeros in game 3 of the EL Championship series(OBC was miserable, but that's a different story entirely). Who did I see sitting at a large table in the center of OBC? Non other than the Suckeye Futbol squad. I...however...am much more humble than you, Zipsrifle. And you know what Mamma said..."If you can't say anything nice..."and I KNOW I wouldn't have been able to say something nice. Rowdy Zip...you, my friend, are what I call a TRUE Zips fan.Just my opinion, but I probably can estimate that there were quite a few people in that crowd for the Suckeyes/Akron soccer game that may have declared themselves as "fans of both teams". Bull. OSwho is a competitor. We compete with them for athletes, students, faculty, and media attention. Whenever they fail, it's good for our objectives.

On a nationwide scale, and in Idaho, I agree with you.But in NEOhio, where you're engrained (sp?) from birth to be a tOSU fan, because it's "Ohio's team", because it's "What we do", it's a different culture. You even mention another Ohio school to a board full of honks and you get annihilated and called stupid. This is the culture I'm referring to.tOSU could go 2-10 and charge $300 a seat and still draw 80,000 every week. Ak could run the table, blow the crap out of OSU and WIsconsin and two other BCS teams, and you bring them up and 99% of the state will say "Arkon? Seriously dude? They'll never be anybody." "Get that crap out of here, you got lucky. We were looking PAST you to a real opponent."And they won't show up of you paid them to (unless you showed the tOSU game on the screen).That's IMHO what Akron is up against in gaining respect. This generation, who's been burned by the Browns for 20 years, and go 150 miles south to compensate for it, needs to die off before the culture will change.I normally save this for GP1 but...WRONG!The fact is, Ohio front runs. For historical reference find out how many people were Michigan, FSU, or Miami fans in the 80's and 90's. Look at the odd number of Steelers fans that are popping up since 99.Ohio goes with the winner, it's always been that way, it will always be that way. Right now if OSU were to lose a couple of games, and Cinci keeps winning, watch how much Bearcat merchandise you start seeing.The "general fan" as you are so keen to talk about, roots for the winner, and that is it. It doesn't matter if it's Cinci, Boise St, Ohio St they root for who wins. (But don't win too much or be smug about it, because then you draw the "haters" ask Lebron and Tebow about that)*edit: you are right about the attendance at OSU however, but that is because they have roughly a million + living alumni that care about the university, so yes they would still have large crowdsBingo!! If Cincinnati would emerge as the state's best team...and be recognized as being better NATIONALLY....everything would change.As much as some people don't want to admit it. Many Suckeye fans are not Suckeye fans......they are simply fans of the team that has the best chance to compete for a national championship.

I'm not seeing that he's grabbing his facemask either.

We are over a third of the way through the season. We started with 4 QB's now we have 2, so yes they are that bad. If something were to happen we could end up being down to 1.Now you know why they recruited Potts, and Dorazio (spelling). You have to keep 4-5 QBs on your team in case something bad happens like this season.They have no choice but to look for an emergency walk-on. You can only play people who are currently enrolled in the school.That's the problem. It has to be a current student. Maybe that kid from New Philly wishes he had stuck around.You can't go through the remaining games with only 2 QBs.

I noticed that this week's game is now on Fox Sports Ohio? Which will get better ratings in the 3:30pm time slot -- USC / ND, or Akron / Buffalo?Thanks. GoZips is still reporting TBA

Speaking of TV coverage, I have not seen anything other than TBA on our end. Anyone have any info?

It seems to me to come down to this....Do you want a good return man who isn't much help as a receiver?Or...do you want...in my opinion...almost as good of a return man, and a technically solid receiver?I understand what Zipwatcher is saying about field position, and maybe their best road to 4-5 wins IS to play field position football. But, I think they should seize an opportunity to score more points. In the long haul, I don't expect the Browns to have a defense good enough to play field position football. And really, the Browns need a QB who completes more than half of his passes. Unfortunately, they had one who completed far more than half of his passes with a bad OL, and no running game....but they traded him, apparently when they thought Brady would become "the man". And...yep....I agree with not having any Flushes

In the past, one good, big center has been able to own MAC competition. That's what I'm expecting for UA this season. Lots of blocks, rebounds and of course easy buckets.Just look how fast that 6'-9" kid from Ball State emerged as a force in our league. From what I've seen of Zeke, if he develops well at this level, he'll at least affect opponents with his defensive presence, and his rebounding and shot blocking. But, if his development goes really well, and he gets some chemistry with his teamates, I think he could eventually figure into the mix in scoring as well. Remember something when talking about "easy baskets". He wasn't a huge point scorer in high school, and was playing against much smaller competition than he will face in the MAC. It all comes down to how quickly and effectively he develops. Dave...good comments on handling an emotional player.

Did I hear him say that we have everyone back from last year? I think he forgot about somebody.

That's not going to help. We could beat Big ten teams, get ranked, even make a run for the BCS. Doesn't matter in football, just ask Boise State. Ask Ball State last year. Big time college football is a different culture than any other sport, and only BCS schools matter.In basketball a mid-major who's hot takes on all kinds of excitement. "Is Gonzaga this year's Cinderella"? "I've got Xavier in my Final Four". And if you ever want to get some OSU honks off of you about the Zips, ask them how big Sienna is. DOH.In football, if we don't get playoffs or a BCS conference invite, it's going to take a couple generations of beating BCS schools to become part of the culture. And it has to be the RIGHT BCS conference. Just ask Cincinnati.Personally I prefer a MAC game over watching a top Big Ten team run up 70 on a bottom feeder. Especially knowing full well they don't do that to good MAC teams. I just can't get into 63-7 and "YEAH!!!! WE JUST SCORED ANOTHER TOUCHDOWN!!!!!! O!!! H!!!!" "WOOO WOOOO WOOOOOOO". Crimony.Just opinions.Well, I can't take a poll of college football fans nationwide to see if anyone gives a damn about Boise State, but we know for sure that the sportswriters and coaches certainly do. They're the #5 team in the country, and if they run their schedule, they'll play in a major bowl game, and possibly even for a national title.I'd give anything to be in that position.

Zipswatcher, As much as I have attempted to deny it over the years, I have to (silently) agree with you that MAC football just isn't very good. And I do so silently because I am trying to get some somewhat-curious-possible-future-zips-fans to join me for those November games when all of our wives bail out and stay home because it's too cold.

Beating someone of significance is almost worthless. It is a nice notch in the belt, but winning championships is what counts.JD is steaming towards his 4th consecutive losing season. That is why there are no butts in the stands. It is as simple as that.Watch the basketball team this season. Now that they've actually won a championship, they will begin filling the JAR with regularity. Humpty made the "million dollar shot." If he missed, the Zips are back to the same old 3k attendance. Now there's NCAA expectations, Zeke, 20-wins, a cake-walk schedule to ensure a fast start...it all comes together this season.Look at the soccer team. Selling out matches?! Why? Because they are winning, and winning consistently over an extended time period. People want to be a part of it.Look at the Cleveland Indians - They sell out when things are rolling...and dodge the tumbleweeds blowing through Progressive Desert when they stink.Look at the Browns -- Sure they technically "sell out." But when you see them on TV at season's end, half the "attendees" are disguised as empty seats? And the other half are rooting for the opposing team.If our basketball team wins some big games, and gets some NATIONAL ranking...I would expect larger crowds as well. I agree with you.Our soccer team is ranked #1, has beaten some big dogs, and is competing for a NATIONAL championship. We've won MAC championships countless times. Did we have record crowds for those games?When the Browns are doing well, they have a chance to win a Super Bowl title. Agreed....everyone wants to be a part of that.When the Indians are doing well, they have a chance to win a NATIONAL title. Agreed...everyone wants to be a part of that.When Akron football has a good year, they have a chance to win a bottom-feeder conference title, and play in a bowl game that means nothing to the majority of the country.