GP1

I think it's awesome when guys take advantage of the opportunity to live and play in Europe.

I was talking with a guy who referees college football this weekend. He made a remark about the surprising number of coaches who don't know the rules. This is a good example of that.

There is even more. The Zips are 5-1 in their last six games. I know it isn't exactly fair to bring a stat from one season into another, but there has been winning with the program in recent games. There is no reason the game Thursday shouldn't have been played on Saturday night. Again, when you make it hard for fans to go to games, they don't go to games. The insanity needs to stop.

I'd say they have to win and be entertaining while doing it. The Toledo game from last fall was a great example of that. You just hit the nail on the head about Tuesday games. A fan should have fun going to a game. Leaving work early on a Tuesday to go tailgate for an 8 PM game isn't fun...it's more of an extension of work. Worrying about if you packed enough warm clothes in the car prior to leaving for work at 7AM on game day is not fun...especially for November games. Having to worry about how much you drink because you have to go to work on Wednesday isn't fun....it's a downer. Having anxiety about how tired you are going to be on Wednesday at work because you didn't get to bed until 12:30 AM after an 8 PM games isn't fun. Weeknight games create an anxiety for those who want to go to the game that should not exist on a college football game day. This issue is one that makes me extremely sad because I know how horrible these games are for the league and more importantly, the fans of those schools who are dedicated and actually care. I just don't understand why the people who run MAClike schools/leagues are so Hell bent on destroying the teams and schools they are charged with helping to be successful. We have met the enemy and we are us.

Exactly. The Acme Zip game was a nice community event when the team was playing at the D2 and IAA level. It was the entire focus of the market and ticket sales people. The focus needs to be selling season tickets because it guarantees money for each game. The Acme Zip game guaranteed one OK ticket day with a lot of nothing after that day. If we want to call ourselves a D1A program, we have to act like a D1A program. The Acme Zip game was small thinking. Also, it's been a long time now since the Acme Zip game. Much about college football has changed. Most importantly, the amount of college football fans have access to is much greater. There is no guarantee that if they offered even $5 tickets to a game, people would feel compelled to go to a game when they could stay home and watch something else. I don't think they would fill the stadium if the tickets were free.

It's going to take a lot more than an appearance by ZIPSWIN! in Lot 9 to draw fans to the game...

With Akron up 21-0, there was no shot for Howard to come back. There was too much of a disparity between the teams. What was it?...Practice.

This was a good game for the Zips and they should have won by much more, but not because they let off the gas. Akron was up 21-0 and the next time they got the ball, they went on a 12 play drive and got to the Howard 3 before not scoring and turning it over on downs. It was more of a missed opportunity than letting off the gas. Letting off the gas is a three and out, not 12 play drives. My guess is they knew there was no way Howard could beat them and the fourth down play was more of a chance to practice some goal line offense. Not a bad move by the coaches. If you turn it over on downs, you get the ball back and in good field position ready to go on another scoring drive, which they did. The next time they got the ball, they went on another scoring drive and did something that absolutely drives me nuts. They didn't execute on a 25 yard field goad. This is D1A college football. 25 yard field goals should be a guarantee. There is much room for improvement here. MAC teams rarely get beat by another MAC school...they normally beat themselves and not executing 25 yard field goals is a great way to beat yourself in conference play. After five drives, the Zips should have been up at least 27-0. That's a pretty good beating of another team through a quarter and a half. My guess is they could have beat them 60-0 had they wanted to and called off the dogs. This is why you bring a team like Howard in...so you can have a guaranteed win and get some practice in against someone other than your scout team before the real games start. Last night could be the game that gets the Zips into a bowl at the end of the year because they have that extra win. If it's good enough for the BCS schools, it should be good enough for us. Good job Zips!

Good post. Especially this last part. So, since you can't control who goes to games, focus on what you can control. The things you can control for a Zips game include, but are not limited to the following: 1. What time you get to your tailgate. 2. What you drink at your tailgate. 3. What you eat at your tailgate. 4. Who you associate with at your tailgate. 5. What you wear. 6. Do you want to take games to play at the tailgate (ie: cornhole)? 7. Time entering the stadium. 8. What you eat/drink while in the game. 9. What merchandise you buy. 10. And so on... As long as the University is providing the means and methods for fans to do these things as well as others, it can be a good day for anyone attending. As we can all see from the above "things to think about", fans have enough to think about without worrying about what everyone else does. Just have fun and don't worry about what everyone else does. Personally, the older I get, the few people I want in the stadium I am in. Why?...The world is full of idiots and the fewer people, the fewer idiots I get exposed to. I've actually gotten to the point where I won't go to an NFL game unless I can sit on the club level because there are much fewer idiots on in the club level than in the general seating. I'm glad to spend the extra money. Also, it's a "been there, done that" thing for me. I've been in full stadiums and I've grown indifferent to the size of crowds at arenas. Maybe DrZ sees it the same as I do. Fewer people equals less traffic, shorter lines at the bathroom/concessions, ease of moving around the stadium, etc. There is a certain luxury that I've come to appreciate to having a stadium all to yourself.

If they were giving out bobble head dolls consisting of 20% Lebron fecal matter, they would pack it in as well. Hell, people are so stupid they would go to a game if they were giving out bobble head dolls made of cancer cells.

Why is anyone surprised we have low attendance during a weeknight game? It's the story of the MAC. This is going to turn out to be a good team. If nobody wants to go watch them, then screw them. If they want to stay at home and watch the Browns play out QB Controversy 600, then fine. Browns fans have a unique way of never giving up that abuse. They need to make it a good experience for those who go. I hope everyone who went had a good time and you all have a good time the rest of the season.

Great photos!

Howard is a team of pre-law, pre-med and accounting majors. Advantage Zips.

I like to call this the "Let's see how bad we really suck option", or LSHBWRSO for short (pronounced les-hab-wer-so....It's Polish in origin). Two things none of us know are: 1. We don't know what we don't know. 2. We don't know what we have forgotten. LSHBWRSO is an example of not knowing what we don't know. Teams like these are going to be bad, but they don't know how bad they are going to be until the bullets really start to fly in real games. To throw a rookie QB into this situation is horrible for the guy so it is better to wait to see if it is possible to develop some protection schemes to keep the guy from getting killed mid season when fan/owner pressure becomes so great the team has to use him.

Good point. Didn't think of AA. Either way, worthy of the Hall of Fame.

I would have been more impressed if he gave us the median of those numbers divided by Pi and then supplied the square root of that number.

The best offensive lineman ever to play for the Zips. Is he in the Zips Hall of Fame?

This was a game I really wanted to go to, but won't be able to make. If you are getting tickets and being out of the sun is your primary consideration, get tickets on the Pitt side of the field. I have an oddly good feeling about this one.

His father played for Akron in the late 80s.

I like this. Not sure why they picked #7. #14 would be more appropriate because it is 2014. Next year, they could do another color with #15 on it...and so on.

I agree. There has to be some fun for the fans. Week night games are like having your balls put in a vice for three hours. Eventually, the pain is so bad that you black out before the end of the three hours. Not fun. I'm completely for foregoing the money for these games and passing the costs of the "building process" along to the taxpayers. It's basically what they are doing anyhow.

Good post Zach. I mention above the next deal will be worse than the current deal. Even if there is more money, I am right. If you are right, and you probably will be proven right, the MAC should be making at the high end. ESPN is desperate for content on Tuesday and Wednesday nights in the fall. The MAC helps them fill that void. Another factor you are not taking into consideration is how much ESPN is making off of the 3 hour Saturday night program advertising our games are making for them. They use our games to promote the Saturday line-up. Basically, the MAC games are an advertisement disguised as a football game. These week night games are nothing more than money grabs at the cost of the long term health of the league. Since ADs and commissioners are more than willing to make the schools they "represent" suffer at the cost of their resume building, this should not be unexpected. Remember guys, the enemy is not ESPN. The enemy is the group of ADs, Presidents and commissions employed by MAC schools.

First time I've seen a team photo like that. I think I really like it.

They are soft and easily injured. He already has one ding. The rest should follow shortly.