GP1

I haven't watched a full Army-Navy game in years. It's bad entertainment.If it isn't partly about money, why do they charge money for the tickets to go to the Army-Navy game? Why don't they just play it on Armed Forces Radio and not have a contract with CBS to show the game?

That's because it never was about those things...unless we go back to the 1800s and why would we want it to be the 1800s again?GP1, do you mind explaining to the unwashed masses (or just one ol fuddy duddy under a palm tree), if what you say is true -- what exactly is the value of (college) athletics, if competition and sportsmanship are no longer involved?Competition and sportsmanship are involved. Didn't say they were not.BTW, Morning Joe just had a long piece on The Atlantic article with the editor. The world of college football is falling apart right in front of us. Are we paying attention?

If you don't want to read the entire article, this post brings it together pretty well. Anyone notice anything about the group of NCAA officials who gave us the out dated rules we have today? Hint: They are are bunch of old white guys. Actually, that's not a hint. It's an observation by a guy with 20/20 vision.

Deadspin has a good post today.The very last line is the best. Why aren't conferences like the MAC and Sun Belt fighting for their lives by actively researching ways to leave the ncaa and get away from a situation that doesn't favor them in the least? My guess is a lot has to do with Athletic Department employees at those schools not wanting to screw up future employment at a BCS level school.

That's because it never was about those things...unless we go back to the 1800s and why would we want it to be the 1800s again?

I agree. These two sentences go hand in hand. Players aren't getting better. Maybe because they don't have the base ability to get better.

Agreed.It's one thing to lose 42-35. It's another thing to lose 41-3. Nobody likes to lose, but people do want to be excited. Give the masses some support and they will be excited. Give them nothing and we will see 500 people per game.

My pleasure. I like the way he looks at the reality of college athletics and I especially like the the historical references. Well worth the read.

ArticleOne of my favorite topics. Not a quick read so give yourself some time.

I understand what you are saying. I'm trying to put myself in the position of the author. IF he proceeds along the lines Big Zip wants at this point and things turn around, it makes him look foolish. If things don't turn around, games 5-8 isn't too late to start asking and/or publishing the answers. Maybe he is asking these questions and not publishing them...we really don't know 100% of what is going on in these interviews.

Finally, the local media is doing their job. In a big boys and girls world, this is supposed to happen.I also agree with Big Zip that these questions should be asked. Not sure if after game two is the time to do it. If things are unchanged after seven or eight games, the media needs to start asking.

I don't know what the books say (I suspect you are right), but this is awful and didn't happen at the Rubber Bowl even with large crowds. They could go to the Cleveland Zoo and train some chimps to scan tickets. People would show up just to have their ticket scanned by a chimp.We shouldn't think this won't impact other sports as well. Tell one of those people standing in line they should, on the spur of the moment, go to a basketball game and buy a ticket. Can you imagine standing in line at the JAR to buy basketball tickets for a half hour in February after driving downtown in a snow shower? Nobody will risk it. I've said it before and I'll say it again, the football program sets the tone for the entire year in sports as it gives people a positive outlook of UofA sports and the University in general if they show signs of life. It's just plain bad. It was opening day for crying out loud and the Zips have always had decent walk up crowds on opening day.

Thanks. It's a simple game.

I agree. I don't see why we are playing CFU and FIU in the same season and what that is trying to accomplish. Why are we playing top level Big Ten teams and not the Minnesotas and Indianas of the world. How about Duke or Wake or Kansas or Kansas State or Iowa State or Colorado State or New Mexico? Hell, get NC State back on the schedule...I saw them last weekend and they are going nowhere in a hurry. Michigan?...They will be loaded by the time we get around to playing them. Notre Dame and Pitt in the same season I don't like.

I'd like to restate the question. With a 450 page rule book, is it possible to do well and not break a rule in college football?

I don't know how some of you can sit down and drink 12-20 of those heavy beers you drink.

Buckeyes intercepted, I'm sorry was that to ugly...My bad. I misread the stats on GoZips. I'll still take only one INT in two games.

I'll might take a beating for throwing out this jinx, but in the first two games, we have not thrown an INT. We've fumbled three times an only lost one of them.We did well with penalties the first game and only had four (OSU had 3). Shot ourselves in our large kangaroo feet last week with 8. Can't have that many penalties.

It can always get worse. This could have been a good topic in the hands of the right person. I'll give it a shot.Play calling is a rhythm. One play sets up another and coaches get into a play calling rhythm. The reason they run off tackle so much in our offense is because without the off tackle play, nothing else will work. The running game sets up play action. The off tackle running sets up counters and misdirections. Play action is big play stuff and is needed in a pro style offense. Watch any NFL game, they are decided on 3-5 big plays a game...There is a reason the 20+ yards per play statistic is kept. Why do they throw so many short passes? Without the short passes, there is no threat of a big play deep pass. Until those work, the deep stuff won't work.Until the Zips can produce long drives allowing the coaches to get into a play calling rhythm, it will always look like the coaches aren't creative or grasping for straws. Coach I is doing exactly what a pro style coach should do, it just isn't working for a number of reasons. Anyone on this board who thinks they know more about a pro style offense and play calling than Coach I is kidding himself. Whether or not you agree with the philosophy is a different matter.

We've hired a couple of names. Faust was one and Brookhart was sort of a name at the time. Faust produced a 7-3-1 record that still stands as the best year in the D-1A era. Faust knew what to do...the University had no idea what to do and the ship sank. Brookhart won a MAC Championship.

There are plenty of positives if you just know where to look:1. Zips made a fieldgoal.2. Probably plenty of room to stretch out if you needed to.3. No traffic problems.4. Sustainability crowd is happy that the small crowd caused less trash to be recycled.5. At least one person got drunk.6. Small crowd keeps stadium maintenance costs low.7. Scored more points than the previous week.

Frank Solich was older than Tressel when he took the OU job. There was no reason for Solich to not get another big time job other than his age so he went to a MAC school because he still wanted to coach. The best Howard Schnellenberger could do was Louisville where he had three really good years with a bunch of average at best seasons between the good ones. Tressel will never get another big time job because of his age. If Tressel wants to coach again, it will be at a MAClike school.

I agree with this to a point. If people give a critique of the program that is negative, I don't mind. CK does that with his Log. Just saying, "We stink" is pointing out what everyone with half a brain sees already. I'm more interested in why people think we stink. It's no secret that a team that only scored 187 points last year and doesn't look to do better this season has problems. BTW, we have to average 18.1 points per game the remainder of the season to equal our 2010 total. I have a feeling that number might go up a little after this coming weekend.The big concern I have isn't that people don't want to talk about the Zips. It's that everyone is sick of talking about them after two games. Being a fan of this team is brutal, and at some point, fans can take their time/money and do something else with it. My nephew is getting married the night before the Can't game and I was thinking about going to the game the day after with a bunch of people from my family. I care too much about my family to put them through that at this point, so we'll do something else instead. At this point, that decision isn't even a difficult one to make.

How would you rate our building process and project those thoughts into post 2012?

Well, the day we were hoping wouldn't happen is here. It was the prudent decision to wait to make win predictions until after the Temple game. That day is here. Please make an honest prediction without ugly commentary.I think our base athletic and football ability is lacking in almost every area that matters. The players we need to perform well, aren't. I'm debating between 2 and 3 wins for the season. I'll go with 2.