GP1

At this point, most fans either love lbj or they hate him. This ad is not going to change that. It probably reinforces both opinions. For the people who love him, it is going to sell a lot of shoes to them. If it is a good product, it may also help sell some shoes to those who hate him. Either way, people are talking about Nike. The truth is, Nike has a reputation for making great products. If my feet weren't so freaking fat, I'd buy them myself. Today, someone is going to go buy a pair of Nike golf shoes because they saw the ad and were reminded: 1. Nike is a good brand and they make golf shoes. 2. I need a pair of golf shoes. 3. I'm going out to buy a pair of Nike golf shoes.

Nobody knows the answer to the first question. What we do know is JD would have had 16-17 returnig starters on his team in his system. That is enough material for Coach I to do SOMETHING with beyond potentially 0-12. So if the question is whether or not it is realistic to believe JD could have done better than 3 wins, I guess it falls within the world of reality. It's within the world of reality to believe Coach I, or any coach, could win 3-4 games with those numbers. The answer to question #2 is yes. See the number of returning starters. Owens took over a terrible team with far less talent than there is on the current Zips team and won more games than Faust. It can be done. It isn't getting done. When an AD fires a coach, what he is saying is, "I can hire someone who can produce more wins than the current guy." The expectation for more than 3 wins is realistic. It happens all the time in college football. We are talking about going from 3-4 wins...this isn't asking very much. You're right, nobody can see the future. What we do know is if we go 0-12, the damage to Coach I's reputation, as it is taken advantage of by coaches recruiting against us, may be insurmountable. Fans focus too much on their own program and don't take into consideration how a program's shortcomings can be taken advantage of by other programs. If we go 0-12, we are in huge trouble the next couple of off seasons and seasons. This team really, really, really, really needs to avoid an 0-12 season. In terms of Coach I's future, if he goes 0-12, there isn't a program in the country that would hire him in D-I or even I-AA. He may be a good assistant, but he'll never get another head coach job again. That's just the reality of college football.

If I had to choose, I guess I'd take the tOSU assistant. However, why would the top assistant at tOSU leave there to coach at an 0-12 school? And please don't tell me the facilities. We were supposed to be good because of facilities and look where we are now. No one believes new facilities automatically make a team better. New facilities certainly make a better recruiting tool than dumpy facilities, but they're just one of many recruiting tools that may make one school more attractive than another to recruits. With new facilities and a coach renowned for his recruiting abilities, UA could reasonably be expected to attract higher potential recruits than in the past. That takes more than 1 year to evaluate. Then there's the matter of coaching higher potential players into a cohesive team that plays at a higher level than previous Zips teams, which takes even longer to evaluate. Are you saying we are still in our never ending "building process"? I think I've seen this play before.

I'm trying to save the football program, not destroy it. It may seem negative, but it isn't. Stating that this program has done next to nothing in 20+ years isn't a dig, it's a fact. Stating the MAC has been a terrible conference with some good years since 1940whatever isn't a dig, it's a fact. Reality isn't an opinion. There could be a great ending to the story of college football if the non-bcs schools decided to go their own way and have their own division. Great endings are positive, not negative. It is silly to believe that there are 130 some teams out there who can compete at the same level. Even in D-1, there are only about 40 programs (probably less) at a high level. If we could get things turned in the right direction, we could compete for a national championship at that level. In terms of facities, we have everything we need to compete at a new level. Instead,we choose to be victims of a bad decision made 20+ years ago now. I used to be a believer, but a few years away from the MAC and watching even bad ACC football has shown me how far away the MAC is from being respectable. Somehow my idea has been turned around to mean we are "droping down" to I-AA. That isn't the case. The non-bcs schools need to get together and form their own division and take control of their own future before the non-bcs schools do it for them. When the BCS schools act on their own, they don't consult nonbcs schools and it always turns out bad for us. I say screw them and get away from being their b....youknowwhatitchs. If anyone out there thinks the BCS schools wouldn't act on their own, ask yourself this...Is the BCS the first step in those teams making their own division? If you say no, are not reading all of the tea leaves. Look beyond the MAC and UofA to see the future.

First off, $5 is not "giving away." A butt in the stands purchasing a program, food, drinks, etc. is better than a butt on the couch at home adding zero to the UA coffers, wouldn't you think. Second, only kids got $5 tickets (with a paying adult). And I can assure you, there's no kid in Akron who received $5 worth of entertainment with that ticket. Was the stadium packed or not?

If I had to choose, I guess I'd take the tOSU assistant. However, why would the top assistant at tOSU leave there to coach at an 0-12 school? And please don't tell me the facilities. We were supposed to be good because of facilities and look where we are now.

How long to turn it around? What would the turn arond look like? Define winning. Why would any successful lower level coach come to Akron when they could wait it out for a better opportunity? If we hire a guy like this and it doesn't work, then what? I say enough is enough. This isn't just an issue pertaining to UofA, it reaches out to all non-bcs schools with he exception of about five. There is always some theory out there that if a MAC school just does a few things then success will follow. Long term success does not follow MAC schools....it doesn't even follow the MAC.

I'm interested to know if the age old idea of basically giving away tickets for $5 is packing the stands or not. Did they pack them in yesterday or did they just reinforce the expectation in NE Ohio that the cost of going to a UofA game, good or bad, should be $5?

yes and no A move needs to be made. A drop to I-AA on our own would be equally as bad, if not worse, than the move to 1A on our own. I'll say it again. The non-bcs schools need to develop their own level of college football. It's already there, they just need to control their own future and put some structure around it. I do agree that 20+ years is enough. The 60+ year experiment of the MAC in I-A needs to come to an end too. Enough is enough. Off to the Steelers game.

Hello from Miami, FL. Just got off the beach. 35-0.....good-bye from Miami.

As soon as running backs stop running through holes with their heads down, the NFL should outlaw head to head contact. Until then, the shot on Cribbs was a good hit. The last time I checked, the head was at the top of the body....around three inches from the shoulders. Running backs should be forced to run completely up and down in order to avoid contact with their heads.

Not only that but I am really starting to wonder about Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin's judgment. Just like his buddy on the Can't State basketball team, he likes to mix it up on every play. But using true Can't state logic, Harrison sums it all up. If Harrison was a free agent tomorrow, you would want him on your NFL team. Maybe our bb team should mix it up on every play, then they wouldn't get their asses kicked habitually by Can't State. I'll take Super Bowl winning coach Mike Tomlin's opinion over yours. Have a nice evening.

Another way to look at it is bandwagon fans are smart fans who won't waste their money on a bad product. I don't blame people one bit for not going to watch the Zips play. Fans of tOSU are wasting their money on an illusion as they are too stupid to realize they are being duped. 100,000 idiots will be showing up Saturday.

This is actually a very important post and I bet there are a lot of people MaxZip's age who are thinking the same thing. I had always somewhat given up hope on alumni around my age (40) and older. I had hope that the younger generation would have something to follow as they aged. They aren't getting the same experience now as they did when they were in school. MaxZIP was in college when the Zips won the MAC in 2005 and it was probably a great time for him. Five years later, he is closer to 30 than 20, probably doing as well financially as he ever has and married. It's probably still a really exciting time in his life and he has the option to do a lot with his money if he doesn't have children yet. The Zips are quickly losing his attention and I don't blame him. If the current path of the football program continues, another generation could be lost. I sure hope the turn things around soon.

What rules were broken? Even some Browns call them clean hits. Whats that saying? The fruit doesn't fall far from the tree? http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/r/23517483/detail.html Harrison hasn't done anything wrong. I'm not sure what the referece to his mother has to do with anything. I saw Harrison at a hockey game once. Between periods, he said hello to and took photos with anybody who asked. He isn't a bad guy, just a hardass....the kind of hardass any Browns fan would love to have on their team. It looks like your wrong again. http://www.ohio.com/sports/browns/105274173.html http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story...mp;sportCat=nfl I really don't care what the NFL does. I don't think he did anything wrong. Again, what does his mother have to do with anything?

Hey if we could just win a few games, you might see circus tents pitched (albeit widely scattered) throughout the Info! If they keep playing like this, they are going to have to put a circus tent OVER the Info.

Did anyone find the last part of the last sentence as funny as I did? Circus tent?.......

Browns fans sure can cry up a river.

There is no stigma, only stupidity. JUCO players are a common in other parts of the country. People look down their noses at them because they think somehow all JUCO players are off the field problems. I'd take a JUCO transfer over a transfer from a BCS school. You can find success with both types, but I think you are more likely to find a malcontent with a BCS transfer more quickly than a JUCO transfer. There is also something humbling about going to a JUCO that BCS kids don't get. Mike Johnson, Vic Green and Brett Biggs were JUCO transfers and I'd take them again in a second. Wasn't Jay Rohr (sp?) a JUCO transfer as well? Alleman and Getsy were BCS transfers and they worked out great, but does the name Bain ring a bell? If JUCO players are a good fit, we should take them.

0% There is more money in getting fired. Isn't JD making $250K this year to do nothing because of his buyout.

What rules were broken? Even some Browns call them clean hits. Whats that saying? The fruit doesn't fall far from the tree? http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/r/23517483/detail.html Harrison hasn't done anything wrong. I'm not sure what the referece to his mother has to do with anything. I saw Harrison at a hockey game once. Between periods, he said hello to and took photos with anybody who asked. He isn't a bad guy, just a hardass....the kind of hardass any Browns fan would love to have on their team.

Want to immediately help him? Don't count on the draft. Two words Browns fans, Randy Moss. A great deep threat opens up the whole field. Moss has 2-3 good years left in him. The draft is how you get depth. It's hard to turn a team around quickly with the draft.

What rules were broken? Even some Browns call them clean hits.

Noooooo he isn't. He's an a-hole, but not a rapist.

He has all of the physical ability he needs. Browns fans need to keep in mind that McCoy won a lot of games at UT. Winners are hard to come by. I've said it before and I'll say it again, if McCoy doesn't go down with an injury in the BCS Championship Game last January, they beat Alabama.