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Well...I will join the throng of fans who do not believe that JD would bench players for personal vendettas, at his own demise. Coaching positions don't normally last long in college football, and I am sure he wants to keep his. If I could think of a reason why he'd squander that opportunity, by not giving us the players who he thinks give us our best chance of winning each game, I'd present it to you. Listen guys.....We don't have a good tackling defense this year. But, we're still finding ways to win games, and that has put us into a position to win our division in what was supposed to be a down year for us. Enjoy the ride.

I said this in a previous post, but I will say it again. We all thought Dennnis would be a star a few years ago. Last year seemed to sort of put a lid on his career, but he bounced back. Nice job. Actually, his rushing averages this year are very, very good. With the exception of the Can't game...but I really thing they took some big chances bringing a lot of people up into the box, and making us throw the ball. Other than that, DKs per carry numbers are looking pretty good this year. Again...can someone confirm that Allen still definitely has one more year left?

I remember as a freshman, most of us were saying "he's going to be a special RB". Unfortunately, you can't predict the direction a college RB is going take. He's suffered through some injuries. And last year in particular, you heard a lot of "he's just not himself". I'm glad he is finishing his career with a bang. Speaking of RBs, I thought at one time that all 3 guys were seniors this year. But I see that Alex Allen is listed as a junior. Can anyone confirm that he does indeed have one more year? That would be great for us. You hate to lose your top 3 runners all in one year.

GoZips...I remember what happened to us a few years ago. If my memory serves me correctly, we were the #1 team in the country going into the final week of the season, lost our last game, and were placed as a #9 seed. We all know what that means....once you get to the final 16 teams, a 9 seed has to play on the road. That was a total crock.

I just want everyone's thoughts after looking back at our first 8 games. Here is some of what I see....1) Some unbelievable drama....We could be anywhere from 6-2 right now all the way down to 2-6....if only a few plays would have gone one way or another. You have to admit, that's some exciting football. 2) Could anyone have predicted the breakout performance of our offense? I mean...after last year, we surely weren't expecting this. Big performance after big performance. And yesterday...our best offensive output in 5 YEARS. Wow. Hats off to JD and his staff for all of the work they've done to rebuild this offense in the post-Getsy/Biggs/Hixson era.3) The defense is in a rebuilding year, much like the offense was last year. If we get anywhere near the same results in the 2nd year...LOOK OUT. Heck, the MAC East is even winnable for us this year. And we have very few seniors in key roles on this team. 4) Can you imagine what kind of position we'll be in next year? With nearly our entire team returning?5) Four out of the last 5 against Can't.....Ya gotta love that. 6) Another win over a BCS team (and nearly two of them). A couple of years ago, we celebrated our first win EVER against a BCS school......now we nearly beat two of them in the same season? Oh yeah. 7) All of the 4 remaining games are winnable....for a team that was picked by most to finish LAST in the MAC East. What an amazing accomplishment that would be. And the MAC title game is just ONE game. Anything can happen. Remember, N. Illinois looked to be an impossible win in Detroit in 2005....and JD and the boys got it done. It doesn't happen very often that you get a chance as a fan to experience a season like this...when everyone was expecting very little to go your way. It can happen......BELIEVE!!!!

UAzipsMan...I know what you are saying. Having 5 DBs is more like a defense that you would typically run to prevent big plays at the end of a game. Listen..I am not defending this defense at all. It's true that it has failed us many times. All that I am trying to point out to people in our discussions is to understand a couple of things:1) Just because it is "called" a 3-3-5 does not mean that there are 3 guys at the line of scrimmage, and 3 guys at linebacker positions on every play. In fact, one could argue that on many occassions this is a 3-4 because that Rover plays a linebacker role pretty often. And plenty of people run a successful 3-4 defense. 2) We're just flat-out not making tackles.I do understand that a weakness appears to be when we are "aligned" for a passing play, and then have to stop a running play. In those situations, you could end up with not enough guys in the box to fill the lanes, and then a tackle has to be made too far beyond the line of scrimmage. However, in many passing situations, the rush linebacker is often moving towards the line of scrimmage at the snap of the ball anyway. Heck..this is the nature of football..come to think of it. You're always trying to guess what the offense is going to do on the next play, and then have guys in position to stop it. I guess JD has chosen to utilize the talent he has, and have more athletic guys running around the field, instead of another huge guy who sits at the line of scrimmage. If you guys recall, we did make some defensive changes to stop the Army option offense. So, I'm sure our people are always examining the opponent. I don't have an answer. But I do want us to find some way to play better defense.

I can certainly understand how this is causing timing problems...I sometimes see Jac have to move pretty fast to get plays executed. This makes me think....when we run that play where the receiver comes around in motion before the snap, and takes a misdirection handoff or pitch, that play moves so quickly that a high snap could be a disaster.I don't have a replay to look at....but could this have been what happened when we ran that play on 3rd and goal and fumbled against BG?

uzipsman....good defensive lineman ARE hard to recruit. I don't know if that is the main reason why we run a 3-man front, but any major college coach would tell you that good high school DLs are not abundant, and the good ones rarely "slip down" to lower D-1 schools. Even Jason Taylor, who became probably the best DL that ever played here, came to Akron as a tall, thin outside linebacker, and we were fortunate enough to turn him into a DE later in his career when he put on some size.As I have said all along about this topic, the alignment doesn't mean much to me. It's the personnel on the field. This unit simply doesn't tackle well. Bowling Green rushed for 6.5 yards a carry, and it sickens me. Losing 7 defensive starters from a year ago probably isn't helping the situation. Would substituting a LB for another DL help the situation? Would substituting a DB for another LB help? Our depth of talent at those positions should determine that. But I am sure the coaches aren't stupid. I'm sure they spend a lot of time examining if they have the best players on the field. If the 3-3-5 defense was designed to help you in the last 2 minutes of the game, as someone suggested, obviously that is not the case based on our recent 4th quarter performances. The 3-3-5 defense is designed to give you the personnel to adapt to different offensive sets throughout the course of the ENTIRE game. Once again...I don't care what they call our defensive alignment....we simply aren't tackling well. Maybe it can be attributed to our lack of depth and guys getting tired because we lost so many seniors last year. I knew we'd eventually see the impact that a healthy John Mackey had on our defense. Did anyone ever see that guy miss a tackle? And he played that Rover postion that so many people gripe about with the "why don't we replace a DB with another big defensive lineman" comments. Yet, Mackey was the best tackler on that team. Again, the major factor is finding and developing players who can make plays. If I can hold out any hope here, take our current offense as an example. Last year was the first time JD had to make a major overhaul of the offense, and a year into the project, I see some major improvement. This year was the first year he had to replace large chunks of the defense. Will the 2nd year (next year) show the fruits of their labor? I sure hope so.

I can't see CSU being able to support a football program enough to get them into the Division 1-A level. And I believe that would take time anyway. Has anyone ever been able to get a program directly into 1-A from the get go??

uafan...although they are completely to the very negative end of the spectrum, I'd be interested in your thoughts, and would pay attention to what you are trying to say if you only addressed my comments appropriately.- The first group of responses were stating how I feel as a fan.- The second group of responses was to address the reality of MAC level football.You used the second group of responses to state your personal opinion all over again. Johnnyzip...I think you've got it. If JD only has 4 wins this year, the administration could very well look at 3 poor seasons in a row, even with the BCS wins, as something that would be enough to consider a change. However, we did see his predecessor slip far below the .500 mark, and he was given 8 years, and didn't accomplish some of the other milestones that JD now has on his resume here. You just never know what is going to happen at this level. Coaches have historically been given a long leash....especially those with JDs contract situation.

GP1...I'm sorry, but there is an attendance requirement. It used to be 17,000 per year when we first joined 1-A back in 1986, but that has since been relaxed to 15,000 every 2nd or 3rd year (I can't recall which), as uakronkid pointed out. I agree that it was sad that people were trained to think that they could go to an Akron football game for a few bucks. Heck, we're not a high school. But I did love the environment, and seeing a packed Rubber Bowl. And I am sure that some long-term fans resulted from those promotions. Retailers, restaurants, etc., take that gamble all the time. The "if you like what you saw, you might come back again" mentality. Like I said, I'd still rather see 10,000 more people show up, even if they did it with discount tickets. Although, we probably won't need to offer incentives to get people to come to the new stadium for the next couple of years. Then, we might need to start getting creative once again.

Ahhh....well...I don't like to try to predict what will happen in MAC football, but the stars certainly seem aligned for us to possibly win 7 or 8 games. Thanks for taking the time to review our remaining opponents.

g-mann.....I hope you aren't implying that one good game between October of 2007 and now should change someone's opinion about him? Yes, it's been that long since he even hit a single game QB rating of 100. THAT'S A 14 GAME SPAN! And last time he did it was against the mighty Rams. Do you recall how good they were last year? Plus, his performance last night, as good as it looked, has now elevated his QB rating to a whopping 64.1....WOW.

Well...Let's be fair to everyone here who has an opinion on this issue and say that we simply don't know what is going to happen to Charlie. But even remotely comparing the situation Roethlisberger stepped into in Pittsburgh with the situation Charlie stepped into in Cleveland is just crazy.

That's the point. I don't care about the money deal. From a promotional perspective, you exposed that many more people to Zips football. So, whether there was 15,000 "dedicated fans", (as there is now) or 30,000 for a home opener, I'll take the 30,000 total ANY DAY.

First of all, the old Acme Zip game was abandoned several years ago, and I understand that it was under a previous athletic administration, and it was because it was "not a good financial deal for the U". Well, personally, I don't care. Getting people out there was the goal. Johnnyzip makes a good point that the people who do stay are dedicated fans. But still, seeing empty seats still looks bad, and does not help the attendance figures of the program. In terms of commenting on another reply......the big crowds had nothing to do with "the bands". Most people do not care about the bands....I'm sorry. The discount tickets got people out there, and it was a good time. I'll take that 30.000 boost any day, to aid our requirement for home attendance.

I'm not a fan of any NFL team, but enjoy the games. I'll be watching tonight mostly to see Hixon and Blackburn. Unfortunately for you Browns fans out there, I think this game might be the beginning of another major change. This franchise simply has not been able to put it together since expansion. What are the major problems right now?1) A passive coach trying to tame too many babies.2) Not enough draft help to rebuilt the defense, thanks to giving away too many draft picks for a QB who does not play.3) Signing your other QB to a rich contract after he compiles some good numbers against some nobodys, flops during the final part of last year (most people knew that was coming), and continues his downward slide during the following preseason and regular season. Two high paid quarterbacks....and neither one of them is helping you.....brilliant.

This last post is the reason why I have a REAL problem with the last game in Rubber Bowl history being on a weeknight. The crowd could have been huge for that game.....everyone who has ever been associated with this program, or the stadium, would get to be there one last time for what amounts to a Farewell Party. And then it gets scheduled for a weekday night. Sigh.

Is anyone hearing about the Eastern Michigan game being on TV? I'm sure it's unlikely, but I wanted to check and see if anyone had heard anything. I am going to miss going to the OBC to watch the game with other fans, like I've been doing for all of the road games so far.

I voted Multiple Reasons....1) It's not hard to see that BG is just in a little better place than us this year. We'll likely see that really come to fruition as the season progresses.2) We can't let teams rush for 6.5 yards a carry against us......yes.....6.5!!!

akronad...I'm not saying that we should be overjoyed by doing better than expected this year. I am only saying that if you're doing better than expected, that likely does not put a coach on the hot seat at a MAC level school. xu...bringing up the Faust situation is a valid point. I know from being around here at that time that Faust had a lot of intangibles such as his connections around the country, and it benefitted our initial growth tremendously. And it helped that Gerry wanted to come back to Ohio to be closer to his family. But remember, Gerry was still an inexperienced coach at the college level at the time (5 years total...assistant or head coach), and he was not a proven winner. He only cost us a little over $100,000 a year. I think the people who are begging for a coaching change for us want a guy who we know can come in here and elevate this program right now. And those people come at a STEEP price.

Well...if you look at a period where he played often, like his first couple of years with the Browns, you saw a guy who completed over 60% of his passes...playing for an AWFUL football team. So yes, he has potential. Where his career will go, nobody knows. But, the Browns would BEG for a QB who could complete 2/3 of his passes right now. As a friend of mine said yesterday.....Charlie's really in a bad spot in Seattle because of Hasselbeck. Word is that Wallace is not even in their long range plans as a QB. But, as long as Hasselbeck is there, he won't play much. But it's not as if other teams don't need QBs.And since sgm showed up again....trying to prove a point....how is your big star Anderson looking these days? He struggles to complete half of his passes playing with MUCH BETTER PERSONNEL than Charlie could have dreamed about playing with. Have you been hearing about e-mails and voice mails coming into media sources saying "bring back Frye". I know..I know...it's typical Browns fans talk...but it is what it is. Your entitled to your opinion, of course. But, as soon as you realize that Charlie Frye was not the problem with the Browns, the whole situation will start to look much clearer to you.

Ok...I think this is the right approach....I will answer this as a fan who really wants to see us win right now, and as someone who is objective and knowledgeable, and has a long history with MAC football.As a Fan:1) I'd sure like to see JD show improvement THIS YEAR...and show that we are heading in an upward direction.2) This year, we are doing better than predicted, and came within a couple of points of being 5-2 right now. I can't complain. 3) Is a coach even available, who we can also afford, who we know can win more games for us starting next year?4) We're surely much better off than we were under the previous coaching staff.5) JD certainly deseves some extra credit for winning our first MAC title (2005), and winning our first two games against BCS schools (2006 and 2008). As a realist about MAC level football:1) Nobody in our conference likes to (or can really afford) to buy coaches out of contracts.2) As a result, patience and time to build are normally a much larger stretch of time than you will see in bigger conferences. For example, our last coach was given 8 years even though he was 20-some games under the .500 mark. And he never won a MAC championship, and never beat a BCS team. 3) JDs accomplishments over these last few years normally don't get coaches on the hot seat in this league. At least not right now.

I've said this in a previous post....Maybe it was the fantastic weather.Maybe it was the band playing so close to all of us.Maybe it was the fact that they moved the blow-up games down close to us in the grassy area.Or...as always...maybe it was the abundance of beer. But.....This was probably the greatest pre-game atmosphere I have seen in almost 30 years of going to games at the Bowl.

trumpet...that is surprising to me too. Maybe he hasn't had many attempts.