GP1

Lots of panic today on the board. Can't fault that. I'd be pissed as Hell is I wasted three hours plus tailgating for that mess. All I have to go by are the numbers. If the actual game was a reflection of the statistics, it was a disaster. Three statistics stick out to me. Four actually. 1. Big Zip was right when he said some of his worst concerns came true. All I have been asking for this season is for Nicely to improve his accuracy. Accuracy is what makes a good QB. He completed 33% of his passes. That's terrible. I don't care how hard you throw it, it doesn't matter if you can't throw it close to someone. Nicely needs to stop talking about being a leader and lead with his performance. 2. 8 minute time of posession difference. Over a half quarter. Not bad actually. The game should have been closer. What you do on special teams matters. Special teams can kill you in terms of how you execute and decisions you make. Blocked kick for TD is a killer because it feels like a 10 point swing to the players. They get seven and you lose the three you believe you would have had. I read that we also deployed the pop-up kick. Pop-up kicks hand away field position in chunks. All the other team has to do is fair catch it and they get the ball around the 35. 3. Nicely had 111 yards passing. The scary number is he only had 55 net passing yards. If you can polish that turd of a statistic, then you are the best writer on the board. 4. Seven procedure penalties? Blame the coach and players for this one. Coaches get blamed because the players are stupid. They have been going over where to line up since spring practice. The players need to get their heads out of their asses and line up in the right place. Some of you wanted smashmouth football. Well, you got it. Three freaking points. The concern here is I think Toledo was the only MAC school to score less points than us this weekend in a home beat down by Arizona. I'm not so concerned we go our ass kicked by a bcs school. That is the norm for the MAC. My concern is the lack of offensive production. Who in the Hell are we going to beat if we can't score at least 21 points per game? The MAC is a scoring league and teams find a way to score. At some point we are going to have to match it. If you think yesterday was bad, wait until Kentucky and Indiana get their hands on us after they have a couple of games under their belts. It is going to be freaking ugly. If you thought the stadium wasn't full enough yesterday, wait until they start 1-3 with three of those games being the Zips getting destroyed by BCS teams. Let's not change the way we schedule though....this is a great way to start the year and build momentum every season. I'll reserve any final judgement until the end of the season. After all, we do play in the MAC and there are just as many teams willing to suck as bad as us on any given day as you will find in any other conference. My prediction was 4-6 wins. I'll stand by that. Closer to four than six. From reading the statistics, there is just nothing going on with this team. Now let's go eat a f-ing snack.

For those who think the Zips are a future Big East team, this number is a disaster. Syracuse has to be pissed off to no end today about the small number. There is no way on God's green Earth that any respectable conference will allow us in.

It is our fault. We spent years blaming the local media. Give the Cleveland media something worth covering and they will cover it. They need to draw and audience just like we do. They aren't going to draw an audience covering losers and we aren't going to draw an audience until we win. It's simple.

What marketing effort?

Bob Barker is great. He used to have sex with the girls who display the products. That's freaking awesome.

Your summarization of what I said is accurate. In defense of the University, I do believe UofA has balanced out filling the stadium and making some money. It is actually dirt cheap to go to a UofA football game compared to what it costs to go to other schools. Market to those who can. Win some freaking games and those who can will show up. It is also dirt cheap to purchase season tickets. I pay over $700 a year for two Wake Forest tickets and I gave the tickets away for the game last night because I didn't want to watch them destroy Presby and I had sixth row seats, 30 yard line for the USC vs S. Miss game a friend gave to me for free (yes, he paid for the tickets). 9,000 freeloaders is unacceptable to me. That's roughly 33% of the stadium. A couple thousand free tickets to people who may not be able to afford tickets is OK with me. People who can afford to pay should pay. I understand the desire for fun, but let's not subsidize the fun to the tune of 33% of the stadium. 10% maybe, 33% no.

Simplicity is important. In the 1980s when "personal mission statements" were all the rage, mine was "Don't be stupid". I figured that if I could just not make big mistakes in a world full of idiots, I could do well. I've done well. I continue to do even better because over time, our country is producing an increasing number of idiots. Want some evidence as to how stupid we are getting? In the 1980s, Tip O'Neill was the Speaker of the House......today, it is Nancy Peolosi. The Senate President was Geogre Mitchell in 1988 and the minority leader was Bob Dole......today, Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell. Democrats were never very smart. Republicans went from having Ronald R and an intellectual leader such as William F. Buckley to Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck and the liberal neo conservatives on FOX News/Weekly Standard as their intellectual leaders. The Republican party has actually embraced stupidity.....it's amazing. Democrats are unknowingly stupid. Republicans are willing to become stupid. We are doomed.

Did you factor in GA? UofA has always done pretty well with walk up sales as well. Another factor playing into good ticket sales is tOSU played last night. Like it or not, it does impact attendance. I went to a football game myself (USC vs S. Miss) and it really got me in the mood to go to another game. I'm already looking forward to going to the Duke vs. Wake game next Satruday just to watch another game. Watching football makes a fan want to go to a game or go to another game. Without a tOSU game Saturday, I believe there will be a lot of people who reengergized their football spirit last night and will be looking to go to a game. It's Lab Day weekend. No NFL. No tOSU. School has statred so there are no trips to the beach. It's Saturday night and HS games are over including JV games. There are no interesting college games on TV Saturday (evidence....Arizona vs. Toledo is the ESPN prime time game). There is really nothing of note going on in NE Ohio. 20,000 minimum should be expected. I don't expect the Zips to win, but if they did in front of a big crowd over a Big East team, it would do wonders. Heck, just play well and be entertaining and a loss wouldn't kill the interest in the season. Don't suck!!!

This story has interested me since I saw it reported. I'm not sure what BYU is doing. Three outcomes seem possible. First, BYU is committing suicide as it relates to their football program. Being independent has been killing Notre Dame for over a decade now and has turned them into a solid 6-6 team against the weakest schedules they have ever played. It's much more for ND, but not being in a conference is not helping at all. I'm not sure if BYU takes this direction long term if it will come to any good for them. In fact, I predict disaster if this direction is taken for any more than four years. Second, they see the future and know there is another division of college football about to happen and they don't think they can compete at the BCS level. In my brilliant scenario I posted about a new division in college football, I had BYU as one of the top 40 teams of the past 40 years (I think). If not, they should at least be considered in the mix. BYU could be waiting out the conference shake ups and make a move to a division just below the BCS level. BYU has a long history of good football. I don't see this as a possibility, but everything is up in the air. Maybe BYU doesn't agree with my assessment of their ability to compete at the BCS level. Third, BYU wants to get into a BCS conference, but isn't quite sure how to do it yet or which one to jump to. They do know the ship they are on is taking on water fast and they will need to get off sooner rather than later. This move buys them some time and keeps their national exposure up with an ESPN contract. BYU is dictating the terms of their move with this decision. I like the move for BYU as long as it is temporary. I don't think anyone knows what the outcome of the conference shake up is going to be over the next few year. BYU has the name and is keeping their name in front of everyone with the ESPN deal. It is also a very conservative school so they are not going to make changes without really putting some thought into it, but they know changes are coming. Whatever decision BYU makes they will have to live with it for the next 40 years...maybe they don't see a reason to jump into something they aren't certain they are ready for. On the surface, this move by BYU may not seem like a big dea, but it is. Here is a name program in college football making an unusual move during a period when everyone is positioning themselves for the future. This is a bigger move than Colorado going to the PAC10. Just because their move is unusual, doesn't make it wrong. This unique direction may be what schools like Nebraska and Colorado wish they would have done five years from now. It says a lot about the future of college football and upcoming change. Hold on, a lot of changes will be coming this off season and over the next three years. College football is changing rapidly. In no way should UofA do what BYU is doing.

Don't you guys understand?........This is a freaking building process for crying out loud. Get with the freaking program already. Miliken is a freaking great addition...they will try to cover us with denim, but we will prevail with our table cloths.

ITZ....Did you graduate from the GP1 School of Spelling?

You don't know unless you try. It's like asking a good looking girl out for a date. If she says yes, you win. If she says no, you've lost nothing.

Guest Coach Experience (Men's Soccer) Join two-time National Head Coach of the Year Jay Vidovich as the men's soccer guest coach for the Virginia Tech game on Friday, October 1. Take advantage of this great opportunity for you and a guest to get an up-close and personal look at Wake Forest soccer! I received the above marketing e-mail from Wake Forest. It is something one can bid on. Marketing college athletics should be so easy and we do such a bad job of it. They have a link that allows you to submit your bid electronically. They get people to PAY to do these things. This couldn't have taken an intern more than 30 minutes to put together. Step 1: Tell the soccer coach a strange guy and probably his young son will be in the lockerroom and on the field during warm-ups and maybe during the game. Tell coach why. Step 2: Set up basic program to track bids. Web page that allows the information to flow to an Excel spreadsheet when someone presses ENTER. Step 3: Write a paragraph with a basic design (see above) and send it out to all athletic donors and season ticket holders via e-mail. Step 4: On day of bid close, call the person with the highest bid, get their money and tell them where/when to show up for the game. Give them a couple of cheap t-shirts when they get to the game or give them an autographed soccer ball. Ok, that may take 60 minutes.

I tend to agree. However, I would like to come to the defense of Jones Jr High. I'm sure that every once in a while, the administrator at JJH makes a good decision. I'm still waiting for a good decision by TW. I still have not forgotten the Reno disaster that basically ruined the career of a good guy. If Karma does exist, TW will get fired and never come close to having a good job again. A friend told me that Reno is putting his West Point Engineering degree to use, and is working in Louisiana/Alabama area (subcontracted by BP to work with them on the oil spill clean up). He's doing well. Great news! Maybe TW could go to work for him bagging tar balls.

Syracuse will win and cover the 8.5 pts.

I dont' care how many people are at the game. That number is easy to inflate with free tickets. I want to know how many people are paying to walk through the gate.

I tend to agree. However, I would like to come to the defense of Jones Jr High. I'm sure that every once in a while, the administrator at JJH makes a good decision. I'm still waiting for a good decision by TW. I still have not forgotten the Reno disaster that basically ruined the career of a good guy. If Karma does exist, TW will get fired and never come close to having a good job again.

I think three years is a good time period as well. I think during that time period, the University needs to look at all options internally, with the MAC membership and non-BCS schools. If things are not working out in the next three years, changes will need to be made. At least if they talk about a division between I-AA and I-A now, some thought will have been put into it before it actually happens. A fourth year of transition may be needed, but it could happen. My biggest concern is we do nothing and allow ourselves to become an even further victim of the BCS schools. If they create their own division on their terms, we are screwed as we will have had no say. If we create our own division on our own, we dicide what we look like and who we are going to go to bat with. Let's do things on our terms. If you can't see that there are going to be drastic changes in college football in the next 4-5 years, you either choose to ignore the change or you simply aren't paying attention. College football is changing rapidly and will continue. Nebraska decided to take the bull by the horns and decide their own fate. Colorado did the same thing. We and the rest of the non-BCS schools need to dictate our moves. Is the non-BCS component of FBS football already a division within a division of College Football? Why make it official in it is not required. Sure BCS schools have an undeniable advantage over MAC, WAC, Sunbelt, Mountain West, and C-USA teams but they spend much more as well. Your approach of “going out on our own terms” is similar to preemptively quitting when you know you are about to be fired. There is no indication that FBS plans to cut ties with the rest of FBS. In fact, they are already fighting off challenges that the organization is a monopolistic organization. BCS teams could gain a little I guess by not having to tip out the 5 lowly conferences but they would in turn not be supporting a competitive pool from which to purchase some quality games and purchase some wins. Make it official so they can't co-mingle.

Pretty flimsy evidence of "moving forward" (at least he didn't use the word "build") if you ask me.

I think three years is a good time period as well. I think during that time period, the University needs to look at all options internally, with the MAC membership and non-BCS schools. If things are not working out in the next three years, changes will need to be made. At least if they talk about a division between I-AA and I-A now, some thought will have been put into it before it actually happens. A fourth year of transition may be needed, but it could happen. My biggest concern is we do nothing and allow ourselves to become an even further victim of the BCS schools. If they create their own division on their terms, we are screwed as we will have had no say. If we create our own division on our own, we dicide what we look like and who we are going to go to bat with. Let's do things on our terms. If you can't see that there are going to be drastic changes in college football in the next 4-5 years, you either choose to ignore the change or you simply aren't paying attention. College football is changing rapidly and will continue. Nebraska decided to take the bull by the horns and decide their own fate. Colorado did the same thing. We and the rest of the non-BCS schools need to dictate our moves.

I think most of you are missing GP-1's point. Which, as I understand, is: Akron's existence as some kind of "major college" football program is nothing but a pretense. They are not now, and have virtually no chance in the future of becoming a major player in college football. Unfortunately, at this point in time, I am afraid the weight of the evidence is in GP-1's corner. But the part I don't understand personally, is all the emotion being blown off at how the University of Akron's status in college football reflects the status of the city of Akron vis-a-vis similar and familiar cities. Is Akron a better place to live than Youngstown based on its college football experience? Does it mean that Akron is a better city than Cleveland, because the Forest City/Mistake on the Lake (choose your favorite) lacks a FBS football program? There are many excellent locales -- and many great universities which provide development and pride to their areas, which have no college football at all. I knew Z.I.P. would get it. He's a smart guy who only had to use a fraction of his reading ability to understand what I am saying. Don't let emotion get in the way of doing the right thing or listening to others. UofA did the right thing by building the Big Dialer. It is still not enough to compete at the highest level. It is enough to help compete in a division between D-1A and I-AA. What UofA really needs to do is play to its strengths. Our strengths are soccer and MBB. We could have a great football team if we, the MAC and the other non-BCS schools could had a way to escape the BCS schools. It would be a great college division.

Does this guy look like a porn addict to you? Actually.....yes he does. I'm not kidding either.

I don't disagree. I only care about the football team and being competitive in the MAC and in general against like competition. We can be competitive against the MAC and other non-BCS schools in our own division somewhere between BCS and I-AA. If we don't find a way to make it happen with our conference and other like conferences, the NCAA is going to do it for us.....that will not be good for us.

Remains manageable until it isn't. I read this all the time about government spending as it relates to GDP. Anyhow, like I keep saying. It isn't droping down. It could just be a realignment of college football.

I'll ask everyone again. What evidence is there showing we are a D-IA school and the MAC is a D-1A conference in anything but saying they are?