LoyalZIP

I happen to agree, I despised it the first few months, but grew to like it being that all the teams were wearing it, and I like wearing what the team wears. With that said, I will give Guthrie the the benefit of the doubt in wanting to create a more streamlined and cohesive brand. He has been quoted in interviews wanting something to represent the brand that feels collegiate and not cartoonish--again, not really something I agree with, but okay I see his point. If you look at many of the biggest and most successful schools in the country, they have some kind of block lettering, iconic logo that is the first letter of the school. Fair enough. As much as I love the Z, it was better served as a secondary logo. The A-Roo, though now I unfortunately associate it with the helmets that went 1-11 x 3 instead of 2005, was the best of all worlds and it's a shame we ever went away from it. The most important question is...at what point/year do we see it as a throwback helmet? That is the day I officially will feel like an old man.

The block AKRON actually is part of the logo and branding, so that doesn't really have anything to do with the logo being a mistake, poor planning, etc. The biggest mistake in it all is the lack of funding to make it a full sweep across the board, which explains the slow roll-out of gear available for the public.

It was that game. Akron was down 3 when they turned it over on downs inside the 5 yard line, and the Evans TD was on the following play. Wisconsin scored one more time before the end of the game.

You're never gonna believe this, but KD hasn't worked at Akron in nearly 7 years!

After 4 weeks and just about all of nonconference play, things at the top may be coming into focus even more. Top tier: Toledo, Ohio, Miami--Toledo loses their QB, not sure for how long. He has had trouble with injury in the past. Ohio looks like they may be the best team. If Rourke doesn't go down in week 0, there's a decent chance they would be 5-0. Miami coasted against a bad FCS team this week, and their best WR went out with injury. We'll see how serious. OLI (oustide looking in): Central Michigan has entered the conversation. The Chips have put Jase Bauers at QB and gave ND a game last week, and this week they go to South Alabama and come out with a win. A week ago, USA went to Okie St. and won by 4 touchdowns. McElwain seems to have this program back on track after the disaster last year. Joining the Chips, I'll put EMU here. They get shut out vs. a G5, but I still see them as a good MAC team that maybe just had a bad day. With that said, their offense has left much to be desired and I think Eagles fans were expecting more this year. After all, it took a small miracle to beat UMass at home last week. Maybe?: Akron has shown very few flashes of brilliance in what has been a SSDD type of season through 4 games. If they play to their reasonable potential, and I say that as a skeptical homer, they could easily be 3-1. Kind of wild how close they are to that considering the mean of what they've put on the field so far. Only way to prove they have turned the corner--win this week. I'll put Bowling Green in this tier as well. They had a somewhat respectable showing at Liberty, a comfy FCS win, some moments against Michigan....and then the Maple Missile rolled into town and embarrassed them. They were down 31-0 at half and OU cruised to 38-7. QB situation is a mess, coach is a mess, players ejected, personal fouls. Now is the time for Akron to make noise in the MAC East with other programs having so many issues. Things are looking bleak: NIU had a lot of hype. Lombardi back, Rudolph back, week one win vs. ACC team, then it all came crashing down. They're a mess right now, have benched Lombardi, and have lost 7 consecutive games at home. That is amazing. At the peak of Arth ball, I think Akron's home losing streak eventually made it to 8? Ball State was a bit of a wild card coming into this year. Lots of new faces at skill positions. Brutal schedule to start the year with Kentucky and Georgia, but beat a bad FCS team. Then a solid G5 in GaSo comes to town and dominates for 60 minutes. 40-3 final. Neu has been here a while now and done a nice job, we'll see how long his leash is. The Bottom: Kent, WMU, and UB are all in the bottom third, possibly along with Ball State. But I'll give the Cards the benefit of the doubt--for now. Kent had a nice showing at Arkansas and then crushed a bad FCS team. Then Fresno nearly has a perfect game (TD on every drive). WMU has shown some flashes of life, leading Toledo for quite a while this weekend. The Broncos have a little rushing attack, but not much else. Now Buffalo, a fascinating and puzzling team. Maybe they were a bit like the 2017 Zips last year, using some fluky turnovers and luck to get to 6-6. But this 0-4 start has fans ready to be done with Linguist. They have a decent QB by bad MAC standards, a couple decent backs, and a couple of great individual players on defense. But, they sit winless getting ready to come to Akron. I'm horrified. That said, I think any of the 3 teams in the lowest tier are capable of winning a game or two in MAC play. The league as a whole is not very good unfortunately, and even more unfortunately, it looks like the Zips are still way closer to the pack than we thought. I hope we are proven wrong, because there are potentially quite a few wins on this schedule.

As bad as UB has been, they showed out in the second half against Louisiana. This is no 2019 Akron Zips. They have some really nice pieces on both sides that will present huge challenges on a team like Akron who doesn’t know how to win and now has some expectations. In 2021, Akron welcomed 0-4 Ohio to Infocision for the first game of MAC play. As 10-point home dogs, Akron rolled onto their backs as the adversity hit and lost by 3 scores. Here we are again. A loss wouldn’t necessarily be the end of the world, but it kinda would be in some ways. This is a game you have to win to be taken seriously by Joe Akron, by the MAC, and if you want any shot at a bowl game or MAC title appearance.

This week's very very very painful advanced box score: https://collegefootballdata.com/boxscore/401520256 This one will sting for a very, very long time. Obviously, the Michigan game 10 years ago would have been far more seismic, but this one felt so much different because this Akron team, in the 2nd half, finally began to show flashes of its potential. The defense could wind up being a unit that finishes in the top third of the MAC as far as overall effectiveness. They're starting to create some turnovers too. And a couple of the huge chunks of yardage they gave up on Saturday were on great deep balls by Jackson, both at Tallandier which could be something to keep an eye on. These linebackers are a joy to watch, imagine if Bubba was still here! Offensively, though N. Williams had about 35 holding calls, I feel the OL did a nice job. Indiana didn't seem like they wanted to pressure the QB as much as most teams Akron plays, so DJ was able to stay in the pocket a little longer and make some throws. This was as close to the 2022 DJ that we have seen, for better or for worse. I still don't see him as a QB that is able to be aggressive and go out and win games with his arm, but his effectiveness running the ball was outstanding. If Jackson makes that kick, you'd probably give him the game ball. But DJ willed Akron to that position. Having an offense based on generating yardage through scrambling isn't what I want to see, but having that as a threat with the playmakers on this team could be huge. When you give the ball to Lingard, good things happen. I don't know what is so hard to understand about that. Every time he has the ball, he runs hard and finds space, like he's shot out of a cannon. You can see the 5* DNA he has. Same with Anderson, for that matter. Very disappointing that Adams dropped the big TD. Great throw, would have swung momentum like crazy. Such a big coulda-woulda-shoulda. And I really feel for Jackson. He is a great kicker and punter and I was so bummed for him and the team when that kick went wide. It's just one of those funny intangible things--not knowing how to win. The second Bowden year saw quite a bit of that. Close losses to Louisiana and Michigan, close win against an FCS, and they looked awful the first few games of MAC play. The 2023 Zips are in a similar spot. They should be 2-2, funny enough with one of those losses to Morgan State. I stand by what I said about Moorhead teams having some discipline issues. That happened at Mississippi State and it seems to be happening here as well. This teams does enough to shoot themselves in the foot during plays, getting unsportsmanlike conduct penalties against Indiana proved to be costly. All in all, there were again so many self-inflicted wounds and this team still had an easy win and gave it away, on the road against a bad Big Ten team. You gotta win that game. I hope this is a better lesson in urgency than the close losses to Temple and MAC teams. It's time to start expecting to not only compete, but to WIN against teams who have similar talent. They are a favorite over an FBS team for the first time since hosting Bowling Green in 2020. Before that, in 2019 they were 10-point favorites at UMass. Akron fans haven't walked through the gates of Infocision Stadium to see their Zips be a favorite over the visitors in nearly 5 calendar years. If ever there were a time to put up or shut up, it is now. Let's go 1-0 this week. Go Zips!

Next week is the biggest game of the Moorhead era. The first time Akron will be taking the field vs. an FBS opponent as the betting favorite and expected to and *needing* to win.

Dante had a whale of a game outside of that damn kick. He was about to be made a hero of Akron football in his 4th game in the program and missed that thing. Unreal. I am so numb. Despondent.

Seriously, we would already be done celebrating for the night and happily fast asleep while the guys enjoy a fun and happy flight home to get ready for a pair of home games. Life as an Akron football fan is nothing if not consistent.

Existence is pain. Winless Buffalo coming to town, what could possibly go wrong?!

Incredible and stunning. I can’t believe we just lost that football game. Or can I. I hate to call these guys losers, but that’s what they are right now. 31 yard kick down the middle? My Lord.

We’re literally about to get everything but the win aren’t we?

I’m speechless

Unreal man

We almost always almost win

We’re staggeringly good at blowing opportunities.

Welp.

Joe absolutely ripping Allen Tucker. Gotta fair catch that thing.

FINISH!!!!!

FEED HIM AND DON’T STOP FEEDING HIM

That drive was a nice microcosm of the entire game right from the kick return

8 minutes to go and we’re still alive. Come on boys!!!!

I like the play call on 3rd down. As much as I would’ve preferred a run, it was there. We really don’t have a QB. That could’ve been a big play. Great punt from Dante.

🫠