GP1

Kids that want to win and be noticed for winning don't interest me. Kids that want to win against the best talent in the country interest me. If ND has had top rated recruiting classes for the last 5-10 years, there is a huge problem with the people rating recruiting classes. ND plays a big ten schedule with USC thrown in. There are "names" on their schedule, but little substance.

I would think so as well. The worse thing UofA could have done was to decline the request for filming. If they decline, it could have been worse. UofA has done nothing wrong. They just took a bunch of money that used to be property of little old ladies and built a football stadium with it.

they aren't doing a very good job of recruiting because good players want to compete against the best, not the ACC The big ten is better than the ACC in football. I don't know about, nor do I care about the other sports. Changes in college athletics have everything to do with football. Nobody really is making moves for academics. Playing Pitt va tech, eats may not be bad, but it isn't far away from bad.

You got that right. Their billing per completed call, at least around ten years ago, was making them around sixty dollars per hour while normal companies were making around thirty five. Basically, info inion makes money for itself while developing donor bases for their clients. They started out doing this for religious groups scaring little old ladies out of twenty five dollars at a time. It later branched into other types of fundraising where they still scare people out of money with hyper inflated rhetoric. The management of the company is a strange breed. Gary Talylor had a sort of cult following within the company. Honestly, I think a lot of the groups they deal with are cults themselves, but that's another discussion. The upper management of the company all lives next to each other out in bath. I know someone who called it a compound It's very cultlike. I think that's the way they want it. Our stadium was built with very strange and dirty money.

Keeping their independence is their last gasp effort at being important in the alumns minds. In addition, they can make more money off of NBC. If a playoff happens, being an indy gives them a back door into the playoffs. ND wants nothing to do with the Big Ten. I have no respect for the Big Ten, but it is a better conference than the ACC.

I do. One can only swallow so much crap before they get sick of it. They are now entertaining. I'll take that at this point. Before the Zips get winning, they need to get competitive. I think they are almost there but more games will prove it out. To make any comparison between this team and a team Ianello would have coached is just silly.

Coaching based upon cliches also prevents winning as well.

I dont know about you guys, but I love watching Shark Week on Discovery. It never gets old watching a shark attack a plastic seal floating behind a boat. Sharks are largely mindless animals who are extremely destructive when they do their job. Sort of like Athletic Directors. The discussion on this board about the coach at Pitt got me thinking about the destruction athletic directors can leave behind them at the schools they are employed. It got me thinking that a network could have a week long documentary on the destruction athletic directors unleash, aided by their willing dupes in university presidents, at the schools they work. I think I have Monday-Wednesday lined up, but Im having trouble closing out the five days with two more candidates. Actually, Im too lazy to put too much thought into it so Im asking the board for help. I was thinking on Monday we could warm up the audience with Kevin Anderson at Maryland. In one of the worst coaching decisions in recent years, he fired Ralph Friedgen, who in 2010 went 9-4, finished second in the Atlantic Division (highest finish since 2006) and went to a bowl. Friedgen also went 5-2 in bowl games, had a 75-50 record overall. Friedgen was fired for Randy Edsall.... only 4 games over .500 at UCONN and was 22-26 in the Big East. Edsall entertained the fans last season with a stunning reversal of Marylands fortunes with a 2-10 record. Way to get after that plastic seal Mr. Anderson! Tuesday....Lets see....Well, Steve Pederson should draw huge ratings. Mr. Pederson has had several shots at the plastic seal and university presidents keep allowing him to come back for more. He is more than happy to smile for the camera, as he does in the attached link, as he fully breaches from the water while attacking the seal. He is the AD who gave Nebraska Bill Callahan and Pitt both Mike Haywood and their current coach. Wednesday could feature an AD near and dear to Zips fans hearts. You know him...you love him....you cant live without him....Tom Wistrcill. If ever a great white shark of athletic directors breached and landed on the shores of Lake Superior, our own TW has done that. Along with his personal Remora in Rob Ianello, he successfully took a struggling Zips football program with promise and turned it into a 2-22 team over two years. In watching this shark swim the waters of the ncaa, we see all of the worst traits in an AD as he hired a friend in lieu of a person who actually knew how to coach football. Truely everything that is wrong with athletic directors. Somehow though, he remains in the water to strike at the plastic seal again. Ive filled up three days. See if you can fill up two more so we can have a real "When Athletic Directors Strike" week. Anyone going to the game tomorrow, have fun and everyone else, have a great weekend.

Its amazing what one can forget in a year. We had a 7-3 lead and then a 10-3 lead in the second quarter last year. The game was close until the fourth. Kind of gives me more confidence about this year.

With any luck, Wistrcill is working on three envelopes as well. I try not to dwell on it on this board, but the guy absolutely destroyed a football program with one decision.

With any luck, Wistrcill is working on three envelopes as well. I try not to dwell on it on this board, but the guy absolutely destroyed a football program with one decision.

I saw Duke play in person last year. Their offense is either really good, or horrible. There is little in between. They moved the ball well, but hurt themselves a lot in the game I saw. They have a good returning senior qb in Renfree and some players around him, although not many. Duke is good enough to get on a roll against a team like FIU and put up a blow out in the first game of the season. I wouldn't dismiss the ability of FIU because they got blown out by Duke...Duke is better this year and has some good players in the right spots. It looks like FIU has trouble with their red zone offense. In playing a team like FIU, our bend, don't break defense may do well if we can force them into longer fields and keep the D off the field in the Miami heat (no pun intended). Doesn't look like they get much pressure on the QB. I'll be interested to see if they blitz early and what success they have blitzing. Our QB has a good grasp of the offense and gets rid of the ball quickly, which can neutralize a blitz. If he can neutralize the blitz, THEN the issue will become whether or not he can complete passes against greater numbers of pass defenders. Could be an interesting chess game. It also doesn't look like they may be a very physical team. Another issue that could help our smaller defenders. Should be a fun game. I expect the Zips to compete much better this week.

I agree completely and can only add to it. Miami's qb is an nfl player. I don't know if he is a starter or not because that depends on where you go, but I dare say he is more suited for the nfl at this point than roethlisberger was his last year at miami. Catching..... I said this the other day after the Zips game. Full scholarship = catching the routine passes. If the Mac wants to be taken seriously, the players in this league have to stop pooping their pants in big games. It happens too much. Field goals...... Full scholarship = making 25 yard field goals in perfect weather. I'm sick of watching mackickers miss field goals. I hate the field goals too, but if the coach decides to kick it, the players should at least make the easy plays. Maybe my demands are too much for MAC players. I don't think doing the basics is too much to ask out of a player who is getting a full scholarship to do something. Catch the ball. Don't fumble. Make easy field goals isn't too much to ask.

This just in, Tom Wistrcill will be hiring his close friend, Rob Ianello to be the next coach of the Zips soccer team. TW was quoted as saying, "Rob is a great guy with a dynamic personality. I look forward to him taking this program to the level he took the Zips football program. If you will excuse me, I have a job interview to go to." Dear Dr. Provençal, Keep this clown away from the interview process.

Good post. Ive been saying it for years. Regardless of what our wives and girlfriends tell us, size matters. Size just isnt a minor detail and it cant be coached. It is a big part of the game, especially on the line. Everyone is well coached and pretty athletic for what they are. The difference is really in size. Its why 5' 10" offensive linemen arent recruited in D1. Regardless of how well they are coached and how hard they work, they are always behind because of size. Im going to reserve my judgement for how well this team will do until I see them play a mac school. I think they have the big picture right at this moment. We will see how the details come together in terms of the players getting all the little things right. There are some games to be won this year. I feel better about that statement than I did last season. Until I see different, I will remainoptimistic.

Do you even have to ask?

Whats more stupid? 1. Running the wrong way. 2. The TSU players running after him and knocking him out of bounds.

Good post Keener92. I feel the same way. UCF is a better team than us, but not 42 points better. The team played well enough for where they are right now. Some individual players need to change. When an individual breaks down, the team breaks down. What do I mean by that? Well, for decades now, we have watched the Zips poop their pants in a number of creative ways. What was once creative has now become the norm. Point one...Can we please have a routine 35 yard fieldgoad pass through without hitting the six inch wide post? When a team is down 14-0, they need to score any points to get some momentum and the Zips badly needed that score to start the season. Without it, its easy for the players accustomed to losing to say, "Here we go again". We have had kicker after kicker do this over the years. College goal posts are 18' 6" wide. Try to hit that area and not the 6" of the post. Full scholarship = making 35 yard FGs. Point two....Fair catching. This is D-1A college football. When the ball is punted to you and you fair catch, catch the freaking ball already. Ive seen enough of this over the past 25 years already. Just catch the damn ball. Full scholarship = catching the ball. Point three....Killing the clock. When killing the clock, dont fumble. Dont try to "make a play". Use some freaking common sense and the player carrying the ball needs to keep two things in mind....1. Dont run the wrong way..... 2. Dont fumble. Seeing things like this maddens me. It shouldnt be, because Ive seen it over and over again the past 25 years, but it is (maybe because Ive seen it so much). The Zips had found their legs a little and this was just a killer and completely avoidable. Full scholarship = no fumbling running out the clock. Cal Ripken Jr. once said that a player must make 100% of the routine plays and 50% of the great plays. 35 yard FGs, fair catches and basic running plays are the routine. We cant have these type of mistakes and expect to win more than 2 games this season. The rest of the players arent good enough to make up for these mistakes. My wife told me an old Italian saying last night. It is a beautiful saying in Italian and doesnt translate well, but here it goes. "If you are happy with the way things are going and you want them to change, keep doing what you are doing." People who do well are open to change. I like this saying because the opposite is true for the Zips and the opposite almost always applies to this team. There are certain players who need to be especially unhappy with their individual performance last night and need to do something different. Make the routine plays. I know this sounds harsh, but this is D1A football and guys are on full scholarship. ALL of them need to play like it.

Id like to propose a committee and awards be given out at the end of the season. Sort of like the Espys, but we could call it the Drunkys. You can establish your own categories, but some ideas are. 1. Volume Award...Most beer consumed before a game. 2. Goat Award (because a goat will eat anything)....Worst micro beer a person got drunk on, knows the beer was bad, but wont admit the beer was bad. 3. Wobbles Award.....Fan voted most likely to pass out before the end of the game, but made it to the end. 4. Fire Hydrant Award....First to vomit. 5. Clueless Award....Worst home brewer who doesnt know he is a bad home brewer. 6. Holding Out Hope Award....Home brewer who knows his beer is bad and thinks he can get better at it even though everyone else knows he wont. 7. Mr./Ms. Congeniality of Lot 9....Guy who drank every drop of bad beer he was given by other because he is too good of a guy to throw it away in front of the person who gave it to him. 8. Etc.

I hear this argument a lot. Seems to me it doesnt take into consideration a cheap shot by an opposing player. The more protection we can offer players, the better off they are and the game will be. Someone asked about the CFL and why players don't seem to have as many head injuries. I dont know the statistics, but it could be true becausee of the style of play, size of the field and rules. CFL uses a bigger field so it is more of a finesse game; sort of like international hockey uses a bigger rink and is less physical than the NHL. The one rule I love in the CFL is the D-Line must line up one yard off the ball...This makes for smaller and quicker players on both sides of the ball...The NFL just creates a wall of fat with their O-Lines and it has basically eliminated running in the NFL. The cfl is really fun to watch.

Have fun and be safe tonight. Most importantly, go Zips!

I saw this the other night. It brings up another issue that goes beyond equipment. That issue is whether or not the people coaching youth football are trained at it.... or good enough at it to teach young kids how to properly/safely play the game. I dont think they are. Most of them are trying to relive their high school days and stand around screaming at kids believing that is "good coaching". Its crap coaching. The best coach I ever had never screamed (although we all knew when he was mad) and today he is an assistant in the NFL. In my opinion, a kid should not begin to play full contact football until seventh grade. Thats early enough. There is nothing a kid can learn in pee wee football that he will be able to apply in high school football. The muscle memory does not last that long in a child that young. Kids just want to play games and while they would like to play football, they can pass the time at that age playing another sport until they are old enough. Half of them at the pee wee age are more interested in picking dandelions than playing football anyhow.

Great point Lee. Its college athletics at its finest....a complete contradition between the priorities of a univeristy in educating young people and the desire for money to "build" resumes of athletic directors. Whats wrong with college athletics?....."Its the athletic directors stupid." - Jame Carville.

Thanks KiP As a former resident of NE Ohio, I have seen the results of the desires of the masses in NE Ohio. Petitions and public outcry gave America the Cleveland Browns. I'll pass on this one. Thanks though and enjoy ZNO. I'll be watching on my iPAD.

Hats off. Most of us love a happy ending in sports. In coaching, this is a happy ending for a guy who worked hard and moved himself to the top of his field (college coaching). Now it is time for him to branch out and see if he can do the same thing elsewhere. I'd say "job well done", but he has this year and then we can all say "job well done".