GP1

Why can't we be a sub 500 team in a shitty conference?The rest isn't all that bad of a point and I am still considering working on a post discussing the importance of facilities over the long term. I'm watching, right now, Cincinnai wax Rutgers. Rutgers has new facilities. Why arent' they good? Is it facilities or a history of losing that will take them back to the dark ages.I watched, and have been watching Wake Forest, over the past three seasons continue to lose ground on their ACC Championship from three years ago. They improved their facilities over the past few years. Why are the losing more? Whey are they losing to teams like Baylor? Are they losing more or are they just what they are....a midling to poor ACC program over the past 50 years and they will be that again soon.Is a new stadium just a lifeless object or does it somehow make teams better that have traditionally lost? Does a stadium make a kid accustomed to losing a winner?When I was in school, Can't State built their indoor practice field. Why do they still suck? The suck because the have a history of sucking.Why are the Pittsburgh Pirates working on their 14th straight losing season? The public built them a stadium under the disguise it would make them more competetive. Same losers as far as I can see and I punish myself with their box score every day.Why are schools like Illinois, Minnesota, NC State, Arizona State, Georgia, Arkansas, Arizona, Virginia, Kansas State, Oregon State and various other programs always average? I know periodically they find lightning in a bottle and have a good season here or there, but they are almost always average. Most of these schools have had significant improvements in facilities over the years and they still are what they are. Facilities improvements do not happen in a vacuum. They take place within the body of the NCAA. We're not the only team building. We are just now at a point where we caught up to the others. The new stadium is as new as it is ever going to be right now. Eventually, another MAC school will build a stadium under the disguise that they will be good if they build a new stadium. Temple plays in a freaking NFL stadium. How come Temple still stinks?The movie "Field of Dreams" is on right now as well. They say in the movie, "if you build it they will come". It doesn't say, "if you build it you will win". I'm convinced that you can build and build and build, but if the same losing attitude remains in the players then the losing will continue. If you think back to our MAC Championship year, the best player on that team was Brett Biggs. Biggs did not come to Akron as a freshman so he did not have his mind corrupted by losing. The minute they stuck him in the MTSU game the year before, the team improved dramatically and rolled off a bunch of wins as the year went on. Year two with him, they win the league.Others will say new facilities attract better players. Let's look at it another way. Do they attract kids who want to win or do they attract kids who want to play in a new stadium? We have one of the worst BB arenas in the league and we won the MAC. I don't want to make it seem like I'm filating KD, I'll leave that up to Zip Watcher, but KD attracts kid who want to win. If they cared about facilities, UofA would be the last place they would look.This football program has had loser after loser after loser for the better part of it's D-1A past. Only the players can change the attitude. A new stadium isn't going to do it.If JD doesn't get seven wins this year, it isn't because he does not have the talent. The overall talent level on this team may be the best ever. The problem isn't nonsense like kids flunking out or not qualifying or whatever side reason people want to believe. The problem is we have a losing program and it is more easy to lose than win. Losing is easy to do. The question would become whether or not a new coach could turn a historical loser into a winner.

How about if I agree? The league is terrible. CJ is enough to win seven games the remainder of the season.Boy I hope you are correct. I saw nothing on Saturday to lead me to this conclusion. I need a little of what you are smoking.Find me at the Info. I'll have everything you need at the tailgate.I'd love to come tailgate, but it will be later in the year. Indiana I hope...if not, Can't State.When I say CJ is enough to win, it isn't a glowing endorsement....

It's because we didn't.

Let's hope this is not the case. I'm hoping he is at his best when he is on radar because he is about to be on every radar of every team the Zips play.

$83,200 per year isn't a bad entry level job right out of college.

I am going to have a post about this in the near future. I think they make a difference as well, but there are more important factors that make a winning program. Our facilities upgrades are not happening in a vacuum. We need to look at the bigger picture.

Guys who transfer rarely amount to anything after they transfer. If he is such a self centered guy he would leave, then too bad.It doesn't matter what you do on paper, it matters what you do on the field. Maybe his performance is falling short.

Agreed. Let's not let post game anger get in the way of common sense.spoken like true fans of average to below average footballI am a true fan of UofA and the MAC. I also know it is average to below average football. Somehow it doesn't anger me though. I'm not stupid enough to believe it can be anything other than what it is and I still like it.I'll stand by what I wrote. 7-8 wins in the MAC is a good season. Nine wins is a once in a decade season if you are lucky.Marshall was a great MAC school because, looking back, they were breaking one NCAA rule after another. That's what it takes to win 9 games a year in the MAC....or real NFL players at QB.If the bar becomes...either 9 wins a year or you're fired, then we are in for a revolving door of coaches. The revolving door is worse than anything and will destroy the program. Another thing that revolves is the water in a toilet. Akron needs to produce 7-8 wins a year and get into the MAC Championship game on a regular basis. 7-8 wins a year gets bowl games. Post season is the key. I'm 40 and in my life, the Pittsburgh Steelers have had a total of three coaches, six Super Bowl Championships (at least one by each coach) and another Super Bowl appearance which they lost to one of the all time great teams in NFL history. They do it by maintaining a team good enough to get into the post season. If you get into the post season enough, you will win championships. Getting into the post season is the key. UofA needs to have a team that wins the MAC East every season or at least gets them a lot of wins for bowl consideration.I think we agree, for different reasons, that MAC football is not going to fill that stadium. The product is just too bad. If winning is the key, moving to another conference is not the key because the losing will destroy the program....just ask Marshall how things are going in CUSA. They believed they would take over that league like they did in the MAC and now they are wondering what happened.There is no doubt that the school needs to raise money right now for the stadium, but the taxpayers have been supporting the program for years. That's not going to stop now or in the future. Everyone wants to "build" (in all fairness, The Big Telephone Booth was much more of a necessity as it was a desire). Well, when you build, you have to pay for what you built. Right now, UofA is sitting on what amounts to an interest only loan on a $500k house and they have an income of $40k per year. The bubble is probably going to burst. The government bubble is about to burst here in the near future. When it does, it is going to make the shit storm the country is in right now look like a mist.

Agreed. Let's not let post game anger get in the way of common sense.spoken like true fans of average to below average footballI am a true fan of UofA and the MAC. I also know it is average to below average football. Somehow it doesn't anger me though. I'm not stupid enough to believe it can be anything other than what it is and I still like it.you just proved my point...it can be more than it is..but if apologists like yourself are happy with 5-7 seasons...enjoyI'm not happy with 5-7. I fully expect JD to either win seven games this year or hit the bricks. Eight wins in the MAC is like winning 10-11 games in a BCS league. Look at the records of those MAC schools that have won the league or come in second over the past few years. Not impressive.BTW. How can it be more than what it is? I wish that it was possible, but my mother taught me a log time ago, "Make a wish or sh!+ in your hat, see which one fills up first." I just want to be the best team in a bad conference.

Well done CK. Just a couple of comments/agreements.1. Getting dominated. There is a reason players end up at PSU and there is a reason players end up at UofA. UofA is where you go when a PSU doesn't have a need for you. Fans of the MAC live in a Silo that tells them just because they are D-IA, they are just as good as the BCS schools. That's just not reality. We are what we are and they are what they are. PSU is a football factory built by their coach over the past 44 years. Joe Paterno has done more in the past 44 years than all of the MAC schools combined.8. I've been saying this for years. In order for a fake to work, there has to be a realistic chance that what is being faked could actually become reality. Nobody believes CJ is going to hold on to the ball because they have run that play a million times over the past three seasons and he always gives it way unless it is a play action pass.16. See note one. There is a reason why players go to PSU.17. It's not whether you win or lose, it's whether or not you beat the spread.18. I really don't think yesterday was a disaster. Losing this week would be a disaster.23. The only game I don't feel good about is CMU. We just have trouble there. It's the players program. They need to produce.

Agreed. Let's not let post game anger get in the way of common sense.spoken like true fans of average to below average footballI am a true fan of UofA and the MAC. I also know it is average to below average football. Somehow it doesn't anger me though. I'm not stupid enough to believe it can be anything other than what it is and I still like it.

How about if I agree? The league is terrible. CJ is enough to win seven games the remainder of the season.

I think JZ84 requested me to post my review of this kid, so here it goes.He is better than advertised. I was expecting to see a running QB who couldn't throw very well and man was I wrong. The kid can do it all. There is a lot of raw talent there that needs to be developed.1. Extremely strong arm...threw the ball 75 yards in the air on one play.2. Makes good decisions passing. Did not have an interception yesterday.3. Makes good decisions in the running game (although I think their one turnover was a fumble of his, not sure). Reads the defense well running the option. Baylor has a very exciting and CREATIVE running game. I don't know how the rest of the season will play out for Baylor as their conference is very difficult, but they will only lose because of lack of talent and/or experience. Coaching will not be the problem.4. Good leader5. Extremely fast as is the entire Baylor offense.6. Needs a little better touch on long passes. Still a little young to master that.7. Griffin had a 60+ yard punt that went out of bounds around the Wake Forest 5 yard line.8. He needs to put some muscle on his body. A little frail after taking a hit.9. Learned yesterday he is a world class 400 meter hurdle runner. Ranked 17th in the world at one point. Wake's four turnovers to Baylor's one was the difference in the game. I would be surprised if either of these two teams finished above .500 for the year. Baylor is entertaining to watch and worth having one of the TVs at a sports bar showing their games.

Interesting thought. I've been thinking the same thing. Different coach, different bunch of losers playing. hmmmmm. Maybe it's the losers playing. I'll reserve judgement too though. I hate to call people losers until they prove they are actually losers as our D-IA history shows.

Excellent post. PSU is a Top 10 team. Akron is a Top 90 team. As long as PSU's check doesn't bounce, today was an OK day.The main problem in the first half was bad field position. It killed UofA and would really kill anyone. The defense was spent.Jacq? I'm willing to write this off because the mistakes he made have not been made before. His high passes killed them. His mechanics were off today as well. He frequently did not point his feet to where he was trying to throw causing inaccurate passes. Accuracy is the key to good QB play. He can and will do better. Maybe he was confused, but he will not play a defense that good, or even close to being that good for the remainder of his season. I'll still stick with the senior QB. One more tune up game next week and he will be fine.I think judgement should wait for another game or two. As far as JD, he has 11 more games to win 7 games. It's really that simple and people should hold off judgement when/if he doesn't make it to seven.

Surprise it is. It's shocking. This is the first time in history a football team has become pregnant.This was really funny and deserves to be moved to the top of the page.I bet the Mean Green don't even send them a check.Check? They left the money on the dresser.

Amen to that. The guy who unfortunately and disgracefully ends it gets suspended for the season (justified). The guy who starts it...nothing happens. What's up with that?When something this bad happens, there is usually more than one person to blame. Boise State needs to step up to the plate here and suspend that bum who started it with his loud mouth.The funny thing about this is I think the more people watch the film, the more disgusted they get with the player from BSU. Not that the guy from Oregon was not to blame, but the guy from BSU is a boob. I talked with several people today who were disgusted with the player from Oregon, but were happy he clocked that THUG from Boise State.

Two words come to my mind.....1. Of 2. what?

I'm surpised this article didn't make the board.There was a time when players spent too much time working on football in lieu of school. Now, players aren't spending enough time with football and we are seeing bad football early in the season. Last night, the horrible play on TV from most teams was just bad. The NC State vs. USC game was almost unwatchable. The NCAA needs to rethink some of it's endless rules that require each school to have a freaking lawyer to decipher what the Hell the NCAA is trying to say.

Surprise it is. It's shocking. This is the first time in history a football team has become pregnant.This was really funny and deserves to be moved to the top of the page.

Penn State - LossMorgan State - Win. At least it had better be.Indiana - After last night, I'm going with a win. On second thought, the Zips find a way to lose this one.CMU - The Zips can't win there and will not win.OU - The Zips win at home.Buffalo - The Zips have won here in the past and will win again.Syracuse - The Zips round out a 3-0 record in upstate NY over the past two years with a win.NIU - We struggle there and will lose because it is our third road game in a row. Thanks schedule makers. Can't State - Easy win for the ZipsTemple - Zips win bigBGSU - Road game against a good team and the Zips lose in a very exciting gameEMU - Zips win easilySide Predictions Include:1. Zips go 7-5 and are one of only three teams with a winning record so they go to a bowl game. 2. JD keeps job if he wants it because he hit the minimum standard for a MAC coach which is 6 wins against D-1A teams and they go to a bowl game. Coachers have to hold off for another year. 3. Half the MAC coaches get fired at the end of the year....again. 4. The MAC continues to "build".

I will be going to the Baylor game tomorrow (I guess since some on the board are too thin skinned to read the words "Wake Forest", I can not say Wake Forest. We don't want to offend anyone who is offended by the words Wake Forest. Wake Forest could mean something in another language so I don't want to say Wake Forest too much. The words Wake Forest may cause some sort of a wake that will not allow people to see the forest through the trees. I'm not sure, but we want to make certain we stay away from the words Wake Forest at any cost. Even interesting comparisons between the Wake Forest and UofA are not allowed even though there are amazing similarities between the two schools on some level. So when I say I went to the Baylor game, keep in mind they are playing at Wake Forest. And by "at Wake Forest", I don't mean Wake Forest, NC. Wake Forest, NC is a city around Raleigh where the original Wake Forest started before some very wealthy person built a campus in Winston-Salem. Wake Forest is a school in Winston-Salem, NC that has an angry, mean faced minister as the mascot. If Jim Grobe doesn't get better play calling this season, that minister is really going to be mad at him, but like most ACC schools, Wake Forest is a basketball school first. It's funny, in the wake of that last sentence, it makes me think that the average sized person playing basketball at an ACC school might think they are standing in a forest because the players are so tall.). The plan is to watch the Zips play at the Fox & Hound in Winston-Salem then head over for the 3:30 Baylor kick off.I will put a special post on the board tomorrow with my thoughts.Going to Baylor games are fun. It will be interesting to see if the team they play will continue their slide downward since their last ACC championship.

Here are the results from last night. Thoughts?BGSU (Home Team) 31Troy 14Villanova (I-AA) 27Temple (Home Team) 24Can't State (Home Team) 18CCU 0NTSU 20BSU (Home Team) 10I'll try to find the silver lining. It could have been worse. BGSU puts on a good performance. Temple....laughable. Can't State.....regardless of who they play, they are laughable. BSU....the loss of future Arena League great (oops, that league went under)......the loss of future CFL back-up Nate Davis is killing this team.Let's see how the rest of the weekend pans out. These results are giving me hope for this season. All I want the Zips to be is the best team in a bad conference.I'm looking forward to the Zips vs. Indiana game in a couple of weeks. It could be a big win for the Zips based upon IU's showing last night.

Dead Spin agrees with the Great GP1.

Thanks for your first hand view of the THUG getting clocked. It's amazing what will get defended on this board depending on what people look like.So here is your story. After shaking hands with everyone else, this UofO player just happened to have this reaction to the "tap" on his shoulder. Not only does the player from UofO respond, but there is a coach right next to them who responded in shock as well when the THUG said "good game". Riiiiight. The THUG made a b-line straight for the UofO player, said what he said and then tried to sneak away. Obviously, he didn't sneak fast enough. I'm sure when the swelling goes down and his teeth are repaired (did anyone notice the tooth flying out as he crumbles to the ground?), he will be able to tell everyone what he said.....assuming he can remember it of course.Here is probably what happened. The UofO player ran his mouth publically for a week up to the game and then had a horrible game in which his team was beaten. The THUG from BSU decides, "Look, 20 of my teammates will be around me and I'm going to say something. This guy stunk up the field tonight and I'm going to let him know it". From this point forward I will stop referring to this THUG as a THUG and just call him glass-jaw. Glass-jaw runs up to the UofO player and says (while striking the guy in the shoulder), "Run your mouth now chump" or something along those lines. Then glass-jaw earns his nickname. Hilarity ensues. The end.Glass-jaw is not some innocent victim in this story.