skip-zip

Actually...never been a Browns fan. I just wanted to be clear about this being a comparison of a situation where teams lose their coach, and why we will not.

RowdyZip...I know what you're saying about Bardo's lack of rebounds...against poor competition, and it's hard to ignore. This is why I keep emphasizing to the optimists that this is a poor rebounding team, it's going to cost us dearly when conference play rolls around, and KD has even mentioned how this may be a hard problem to fix anytime soon. Even in his post game interview after the EKU loss, where they outrebounded us BADLY, he alluded to EKU not even being a strong team inside. Take my word for it...it's a very bad sign for what lies ahead for us considering that our conference teams, for the most part, will be much better than most of what we have been facing the last couple of weeks.

You know...I'm thinking.....Although I am a long-time Zip football and basketball fan, I did not start following soccer at all until we made it to the national championship game in 1986. And I can't say that I follow them regularly. So, I am hoping someone else can help me with this one.Does it seem like things have been made more difficult for us the better we get as a program?? I know our seeding a few years ago when we were one of the best couple of teams in the country seemed like such a travesty. But, this judgement that a snowy and windy Chicago would be a better place for this game, and the prematurity of the decision really makes no sense. It's almost as if we're looked upon as "well...it's little ole Akron...from the MAC....who cares"?

Trimmy...please read posts a little more carefully. I'm talking about why BG and Miami are changing coaches, and Akron is not.

I think some of you are missing the point about why Miami and BGs coaches may have lost their jobs. Typically, ADs look at THE CURRENT DIRECTION OF THE PROGRAM more than anything else.BG...In the last 5 seasons, not even an appearance in the MAC title game. Meaning, no MAC East titles, and no overall MAC title....from a program that used to be regarded as one of MAC's best. Now, they are the pre-season pick to win the East, and end up as an average football team. Don't think you can find a "program is moving upward" argument in this scenario.Miami...Miami has gone from the cradle of coaches to possibly a MAC East doormat. They are now nowhere close to the program they once were, making fairly regular appearances in the MAC title game. Hard to make an argument here for moving in any upward direction. Akron:More wins in 2008 than in 2007.Another win against a BCS school.A better-than-projected finish in their conference race.A 2-point loss against the #15 team in the country...showing you can be competitive against upper echelon competition.Taking the eventual MAC East champ to quadruple overtime. One program is showing some signs of progress, and two of them have not.It's that simple.

GP1...I'm right with you on most of what you are saying. I have no problem with people arguing about different eras of Akron football, but it bothers me when people choose to pull selected time periods, and ignore selected facts, to try to prove a point.Even with the wins over 1-AA teams (you should see the records of some of the 1-A teams we beat that year too), LO was 20+ games under the .500 mark after 8 seasons. There is no way around that. JD would have to completely fall apart over the next 3 years to match that level of futility.And please, stop with the thought that LO had all of these disadvantages. Gerry inherited a program with D-1AA players, absolutely NO facilities, wasn't able to make it up to 95 scholarships for several years due to NCAA limitations, took his players to the Rubber Bowl to practice (even though we played many road games on natural grass back then), and still managed to climb to the .500 mark as our coach by his 8th year. By contrast, LO already had a full roster of D-1A players, and many other advantages, such as obtaining the grass practice fields that we so desperately needed. Plus, although Gerry had an awful season his last year, he handed LO a team that had something like 15 freshman and sophomore starters (I can't remember the exact number any longer). And where was he after his 8th season? Some 20+ games under the .500 mark. Personally, I don't understand how someone can twist the facts enough to make this look like it was somehow better than either the JD or Gerry eras.

trimmy10...I know what you're thinking. Other schools have found good, unknown coaches. But, that's exactly the point...they are UNKNOWN. In the MAC, you simply don't have the luxury of hiring new coaches all the time hoping that one turns out good. So again, if we turn to a new coach next year...how do we know that things will be better? The only thing you can do to accomplish that is to get a big-time proven coach, and we simply can't afford that. I'm sorry, but this is the reality of being Akron.

InTheZone... I think we got your thoughts in the last post. Personally, I don't want to dwell on would or should. I simply know that we are not in a financial or stability position to recycle coaches continually. No MAC school is. So, maybe I would like to say "hey...lets bring in a star coach next year", but I know all too well the realities of being an AKRON-level team after 3 decades of following this program. With that said, I won't waste any time even thinking about the ever-so-slim possibility that we'll have a new coach next year.And to those of you who wish for a different outcome....please tell me who we can land as a coach that will miraculously change our direction next year, and we can afford. Yep, that's what I thought.

johnnyzip...right on the money. How the season ended is a disappointment to me too. But, it takes some old timers like us, who have been around this program forever, to understand the realities of being a team in the lower half of D-1A. This guy makes these "I hate JD" related comments daily, and so be it. Lee..we understand your thoughts after 500 posts that all indicate your same thoughts about not liking JD. But as Johnnyzip states...it's a slim chance that a MAC school fires a coach who is 5 years into a contract that already has been granted an extension, and has shown improvements in many areas over the previous two years. Very, very slim. Yes...with my experience with this program...I will be highly surprised if he losses his job. Deal with it, and maybe spend more of your energy supporting the program instead of going on a continual, daily rant about wanting a new coach.

I'll say this....this was certainly a game this year that I can say I was clearly dissappointed in our performance. I'm really sad that we ended the season this way, after we had taken some very positive steps forward as a program this year up to this point. That 4th quarter meltdown is something I won't forget for awhile. After a tie game midway through the 4th on the road in the MAC, you can't ask for more. And, we end up playing maybe our worst 8 minute stretch of the season. Reminds me of the game at home against Temple last year. And to think...our passing attack let us down today, when they were one of the strengths of this team all year. And we only converted on four 3rd downs today. That will take the air out of any offense. On a side note, hats off to Dennis Kennedy for what he did this year, and did again today. I was a student at Akron back in the early 80's to see the other two RBs ahead of him on the Akron list, Black and Clark. And I can tell you, Dennis gave us one heck of a show this year....bouncing back from a poor Junior season. But, you can still mark me down as someone who will be extremely surprised if a coaching change is made.

If anything, this game was further evidence to me that the teams in the MAC East were pretty darn close from top to bottom this year.

GP1..I think we're both on the same page here. The issue is a personnel issue more than anything else. If that is what you are trying to say here, I totally agree.

no doubt Mivid.....There were so many close games this year, if all of them had fallen our way, it could have happened. This is part of the reason why I see some encouragement...seeing how we played against high level teams both in and out of our conference, compared to how we fared against them in previous years.

I'll repeat what I have been saying all along. You probably won't find a defense that doesn't work from the general philosophy of having your lineman tie up the blockers, and the guys in the middle of the field making the plays. I don't care what the base formation is called...3-3-5, 3-4-4, 4-3-4....we don't have guys making enough plays. Losing Mackey and Stokes was a huge blow to this defense. And I sure hope we have playmakers like them who are going to materialize soon, or we won't stop many people, no matter what the formation is called.

Yep...the "safety of the players" argument could hold some water....IF.......it just meant moving the game to another facility WITHOUT OUTRIGHT PULLING THE HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE AWAY FROM THE TEAM THAT EARNED IT.Seeing this news from NU that they have somehow earned the right to host another game makes my stomach turn.

Wow..what a crazy last 24 hours...a big win ...followed by another screwing of Akron.Zipwatcher...you may have a valid point. If we had played a game this year at SVSM....would we have been able to claim that as one of our home fields????GoZips...a good perspective on what it's like to be a MAC level program. Folks, it's hard for a school like us to justify major expenditures in a soccer complex. And for those who make the argument that "well...soccrer wins...give them more money". Well, I wish that was true. But, the major revenue generating sports (yes...football and basketball) are going to get a HUGE percentage of the budget every year...like it or not. Schools like us simply don't have much money to throw around to benefit non-major sports. But, I still am hopeful that the changes to the soccer complex will become a reality someday.

MDZip....first of all, I can't sympathize with you enough that you have the opportunity to come to Akron this weekend, and will not be able to see the game. I think that's a real shame. Gosh...it seems to me that from the message you received from the NCAA that they even would have moved the Suckeyes game to Cowlumbus...if they had had the chance. That just ridiculous. My biggest complaint is......if a team spent the entire regular season EARNING a good seed...shouldn't you at least extend them the courtesy of finding a local alternative game location?????? Rather than handing the home-field advantage over to the opponent????.....who was a lower seed??????If their rule gives them the ability to change a game location to the OPPONENT'S FIELD..... without first considering an alternative location for the TEAM THAT EARNED THE RIGHT TO HOST THE GAME....then it is a bad rule that needs to change.

Lee.....I think we just all get tired of the same ultra-negative spin on whatever can be twisted whatever way possible to bash JD. You remind me of a politician.g-mann and captain have given you the facts....I guess it's your free choice to ignore them.

In The Zone...I am not implying anything here about who would get picked over us..etc. etc....I'm only making the point that we have a chance because this is turning out to be a strange year where there may be very few more teams that become bowl eligible this weekend, and there are still several slots to fill. Beyond that, please read any conference ranking you can find. In most cases, the MAC is rated around the 5-6 range in conference ranking, and the Sun Belt is rated DEAD LAST among D-1A conferences. So, why do you see that it's innaccurate for any of us to imply that we'd get picked over a Sun Belt school? And I have more news for you....if you think that droves of Sun Belt fans will flock to bowl games...they can't even get them to come to their home games. Check their attendance numbers.

uakronkid....great point.We virtually have nobody right now who is a good enough threat to score in the post to create the good inside-out play that we'll need to succeed in conference play on the offensive end.

bobby...no kidding Let's take care of that first. I just didn't realize that we had any chance left at all to get in, until I read that article. Does anyone even know at this point how many teams have a chance this weekend to get to the .500 mark or better?

When it comes to Akron football topics...there is probably nobody I like talking about, and a more key figure in our rise to D-1A, than Coach Faust.Let me tell you a little bit more about what I know.....I know several ex-players that played for him, and still keep in touch with him.1) First, in case you don't know...he was on the field at the end of the Akron/Buffalo game to participate in the Rubber Bowl closing ceremonies. 2) He still occassionally comes to Akron games...just look for him...he's always happy to shake hands and take pictures. 3) He still gives speeches.4) From what I know, he only did fundraising for the U of A for a few years after his coaching days as a "reassignment" so that he would still get paid the remainder of his contract. 5) He still lives in the area, and coached his grandson's pee wee football team. Can you imagine that?????? "Hey kids...our coach this year is an ex Notre Dame football coach". Well, maybe the kids wouldn't think much of it...but their parents certainly would. The one thing that should always be a part of us, as Akron football fans, is that this guy was the engineer in getting us where we are today. NO SCHOOL, prior to 1986, had EVER successfully made the move to D-1A from D-1AA....and had enough success to stay there. He promoted this program tirelessly, used his previous connections to get some assistants in here that would become the great teachers that he needed (including guys like Terry Bowden), and had an honest nature that persuaded many great players to come to Akron during the late 80s and early 90s....in our infancy as a D-1A program.I was still a student when he was hired...and believe me...it was one of the most exciting times to ever be a Zips football fan.

skhorbotly...you've provided me with the perfect example of someone who chooses to focus on all of the negatives, and just blindly chooses to not look at any of the positives. If you think that a 2-point loss to a top-20 team is a "dissappointment", then that's your choice. I've been around this program for almost 30 years, and I've had to endure 50 POINT LOSSES to teams ranked in the top 20 over the years. So, is it difficult to see that I might feel some encouragement with such an outstanding performance? And beyond that....do you really think that we SHOULD beat top-20 teams? Heck...I wish we had won that Cincinnati game just as much as you do, but put it in perspective...please. And our 2 wins in the last couple of years against BCS schools? We've never beaten ANY team from a BCS conference. ANY!!! And you choose to find a way to somehow find dissappointment in us reaching that threshold for the first time? Because they were not "good" BCS teams? Ok then. Now on to our conference record. Again, you find that the team picked to finish dead last, but now has a chance to finish .500 in conference play is somehow a "dissappointment"? Well...again...your choice.Here's the point...You, as a fan.....and I'm sure you're a great fan...has the choice of feeling however you want. But, what I am simply saying is this.....we were projected to be the worst team in the league. It wasn't a GREAT season, and I don't believe I would ever classify it as a GOOD season either. But, was it better than expected? That's obvious. Was it exciting to see us be competitive against the best teams in our league again after what we've seen the last two years? Absolutely. So, please stop with the "accepting mediocrity" bull. NOBODY on this site is...or should be....satisfied with us being a .500 football program every year. But, many ADs evaluate their programs every year, and determine coaching decisions based on "the direction that the program is currently moving". And if you look at our competitiveness against the top teams in our league this year, our higher-than-expected win total, and the way we played against a Top-20 team and a BCS team in a non-league games.....it's hard to make an argument that we have not made positive steps in the right direction as a program this year.

I don't know if anyone knows this, but I read an article this morning that says that 68 bowl berths are available, and only 61 teams currently have enough wins to qualify. I'm not sure how many teams are playing this weekend, and how many of them have a chance to get to .500 or better with a win. But, this is certainly a scenario that leaves the door open. This appears to be much different than our situation in 2004, where there were more bowl-eligible teams than available bowl berths. And I must say, i'm still angry that Michigan State blew that 21 point lead against Hawaii (yes, the game that cost us our bowl berth that year).On a side note, the other great news for teams like us is that the article is crediting this change in bowl-eligible teams to the across-the-board increase in parity among all of the teams in D-1A. I've been saying this all along......the change in scholarship limits from 95 to 85 a few years ago is naturally closing the gap among the top and bottom levels of major college football. Lets hope it continues.

I'm just happy that.....after the Walsh debacle....we made a practice game really LOOK like a practice game.