GP1

I would like to say that I feel bad this is the last game at the RB, but I really can not. The place has been an anchor around the neck of this program for years and it saw beter days long before I was born in 1969. Saying goodbye to the RB is like saying goodbye to a car with 200,000 miles on it the day you bought your new car. There is only excitment about the future. Goodbye to the RB and good riddance. I am much more worried about winning tonight. Regardless of the last game or not, the Zips need to focus on winning. I am at the airport now on my way to a hunting trip in Colorado where I will have not TV or phone service until Sunday. I am looking forward to seeing the results when I get back to Denver on Sunday. Good luck Zips and you guys have fun at the game tonight. See everyone next week.

There is only one place to go for pre-game fun.....Peter's Pub.

Thanks to the ABJ for their bottomless supply of laughter filled reporting. See paragraph #2. If you are not already on your way to the RB, you had better get moving. You don't want to miss a play of tonights game. :blink:

Virgil Starks was a GA on the football team when I played. Along with a guy named Chris Ball, now secondary coach at Washington State, made a great pair. There was another guy named Rusty Bourne who never got into coaching after Akron and has sort of vanished. Virgil and Rusty went to college together at Rhodes College in Tennessee.Virgil spent many years at UofA in departments other than Athletics. Some of you may remember him as the graduatioin marshal who used to yell at everyone on graduation day for not being able to line up correctly in Memorial Hall.The last time I saw Virgil was with his wife (an Akron native) at Annabells (sp?) at Highland Square a couple of days before their move to Alabama. He was in great spirits.This is sad news.

The MAC is having one of the best years in history. Enjoy it while it lasts. The Big Ten is just a pathetic conference at this point and I don't really see it getting better in the foreseeable future. The Big Ten games ESPN shows at noon on Saturdays are almost unwatchable."The joke of college football is the Big Ten, and Ohio State is the punchline" - Kirk Herbstreit after the OSU vs USC game.

Stop making sense. A team like Walsh should never outANYTHING a D-1A school as it relates to basketball. I have no problem if they can outSAT Score us, but anything involving athletics should be a hands down win for UofA.I don't want to hear the excuse that this was an early season game either. It's early season for Walsh also. UofA gave up 81 points to an NAIA team. That's terrible.I will be going to two early season games and I hope to God I don't have to watch the Zips get beat badly. We are going into the 2008-2009 season, not waiting around for the 2009-2010 season. There are tickets sold and games to be played. Get freaking winning. Good day!

Stop making sense ZT11! In most years, the MAC is Dollar General. This year, it is a little better than that, but not much...I'd call it "Army/Navy Store".

Allow me to take a more realistic look at this schedule.BG - LossBuffalo - WinIowa - LossSyracuse -WinUSF - LossNavy - LossRutgers - LossNortre Dame - LossLouisville - WinCincinnati - LossWVU - LossConnecticut - LossEnjoy that 3-9 season. We could throw in a loss against Pitt if we want to as well in the annual Toilet Bowl. That's OK though, we could spend the next 20 years "building" the program up to a consistent 5-6 wins per season. In 20 years, we could get the BB program back to an NIT participant as well. Man, that's exciting to think of. Just think of how crowded InfoCision Stadium would be. When do we get started?

Can't 106.9 take a break from playing Led Zeplin and Pink Floyd for a few hours a year to air the Zips?

Good timing on this topic. I was thinking the same thing yesterday. Yes, this is the best year ever for the MAC. Considering the league has been around since 1946, that isn't saying much. Time shows that it could be a few years before the league is this good again. As far as Big East basketball and the Zips, we would get absolutely killed. The Zips have five good players. Big East teams have eight good players and two great players and three other guys who never get in who would get playing time for the Zips. There is no comparison between Big East bb and fb. They are one of the best if not the best BB conference.

I thought the same thing. The real question is how serious would a team need to be about him to take him.DK is a solid player, but his biggest down fall as it would relate to an NFL team would be his being often injured. The shoulder injuries would be especially problematic for a team because that is the first thing to go on an NFL RB. Teams need guys who suit up each week and perform at a very high level even when they are injured.

Screw that. This is KD's 5th season and we're 3 points better than an NAIA team? We need to get rid of our coaching staff and find some retread coach who failed as a BCS school. We also need to strongly consider dropping back to the NAIA level where we can be competitive. Is it too late to do this for the 2008-9 season? We also need to get the "money games" (ie. Pitt) off our schedule. They are unwinnable, and kill our chances for any at-large tourney berths. Anyone who thinks this is overreacting is a fool. We need to make changes NOW! The Germans started with France. The Russians started with Czechoslovakia. I'm telling you we need to react NOW!Until we win a game or two. Then we need to extend the coach's contract, and begin membership negotiations with a "major" conference.Sincerely,The Football BoardDon't forget the always popular phrase that nobody really knows what it means,"It's clear from last nights performance that the coach has lost this team."

I don't know about the seat, but if anyone could go take an electronic photo of the doorless bathroom stall in the mens room of the pressbox side and get it to me, it would be greatly appreciated.Upstairs (outside) or the one below the seats?Below.

I don't know about the seat, but if anyone could go take an electronic photo of the doorless bathroom stall in the mens room of the pressbox side and get it to me, it would be greatly appreciated.

This program has come a long way. Three things happened last night that changed momentum in favor of UT and in the past would have cost the Zips the game and they didn't.The first was the Jacq int. It was a horrible pass into five defenders in the Red Zone. Jacq was playing great until then and when a QB is playing great, the Red Zone actually becomes The Garden of Eden. See, sometimes when a QB is playing well, he thinks he can do anything so he forces things in the Red Zone because the temptation is so great.... That's why it was the Garden of Eden. Jacq couldn't keep himself from going for the end zone resulting in taking a bite from the forbidden tree. Luckily, God took it much easier on Jacq than Adam and Eve. How did Jacq respond? He shook off the mistake and played well throughout the remainder of the game. Years ago, the team would have found a way to lose after that mistake.The second was the personal foul giving UT a first down after an incomplete pass on 3rd and 12. UT scored a TD on that drive and I told my wife, "this is how the Zips lose". Not long ago, that would have been a back breaker for the Zips and it wasn't. UT had a lot of momentum then and the Zips broke it. I don't think #67 saw the field after that.Lastly, the Zips of the past would have never broken the momentum UT had after the above paragraph. Last night they did. Pinky's TD late was a back breaker and years ago, the Zips would have missed a FG or something late to keep UT in the game. I think we are watching a program grow up right before our eyes.

You are 100% correct. I watched Buffalo play Tuesday night. While they are a good team, they are not nearly at the same level as say a Ball State. I was expecting more out of Buffalo than what I saw. If the Zips play the way they did last night, they win next week.

While I only watched the game on TV last night, I heard two funny things and I wanted to see if anyone heard anything more funny.When ESPN showed a profile shot of Toledo Tom, my wife said, "Is Toledo Tom 36 months pregnant or what?" Toledo Tom has earned a lot of respect and has been generally good for the MAC and UT. He should check himself into a fat farm for six months when he retires so he can live a long happy life.The second funny thing was not really one comment, but the ongoing comments of Donnan doing color for ESPNU. For those of you who recorded the game, listen to his second half. I would bet $100 the guy was a drunk as a skunk. He was making no sense at the end of the game.

Is anyone surprised that Owens name is in the same sentence as the phrase "lay another egg"?By the numbers:Lee Owens record over his last 4 years at Akron 21-25, 45.7% winning record.JD Brookharts record over his first 4 years at Akron 22-26, 45.8% winning record.JD Brookharts regular season record (not counting MAC championship or bowl game) over his first 4 years at Akron 21-25, 45.7% winning record.I am not convinced that Lee Owens is a bad coach. JD, despite some high-profile wins, in my mind has yet to meaningfully distinguish himself as the coach that will establish Akron as one of the MAC east's top teams. This is despite the fact that the MAC East has not been good since JD has been at Akron.And, yes, the Zips are tied for first in the MAC East. But they still haven't beat anybody good. Next week against Buffalo is the big test for Akron. I am hopefully optimistic that Akron will win.Why would you leave the first five years out? I'll play along though.I assume by ignoring the horrendous overall record of LO (dont' forget three I-AA wins out of his whopping 40 in nine), the first five years would be "building" time. Using that logic, the clock has not started ticking on JD yet and there are better days ahead. I'm looking forward to those days with him in the coming years.Any of you who argue LO is just as good of a coach as JD must be blinded by either stupidity or hatred or both. LO would have never won a game with the injuries this team has had this season. The players we are bring off the bench this year to sub for injured starters would have been starters for LO. After injuries, yikes, I can't evern think about how bad they would be. They would have found a way to lose last night. I can guarantee you JD haters and LO lovers one thing. If JD was fired tomorrow, he wouldn't be coaching at some piss ant D-II college in central Ohio. He would at least be an assistant in the NFL or a BCS school.I can't believe Akron won last night in what was a very well coached game and comes on this board to bash JD. I just can't believe it. My God, some of you are really stupid.

It's funny, with the exception of double digit interest rates, we had all of those things this year.Each party has a smart wing and a stupid wing. The stupid wing of the GOP has taken over the party. How are the stupid? Well, they believe dinosaurs and humans lived on the Earth together. They have a very narrow minded religious view and world view in general. The believe a tax dodger like "Joe the Plumber" is a good example of the average business person. They are the people who want to drill, drill, drill.....They were probably the same people who were calling for more typewriters in the mid 1980s when PCs were exploding. Sean Hannity is as stupid as a dried up bag of leaves. The GOP needs to get back to a small government/low tax party. It is currently a morally and intellectually bankrupt party. I'm glad I voted for Bob Barr.

I couldn't agree more. Can't we ever just blow out a team? First Can't, then BG, now Toledo. This whole team needs to learn how to finish a game without giving their fans a heart attack.I guess the only positive for the defense was that they came up big when we needed them to.I'm not sure what you people want. Last night the game was a blow out. I can't believe any of you expected Toledo to come here, lay down and get beat by 50. Toledo is a not good right now, but they have traditionally played good and they showed some pride in themselves last night. They could have easily layed down but they didn't.Toledo only outplayed UofA for about a quarter between the middle of the second and the middle of the third. Other than that, UofA had the game in hand.I realize winning is strange to a lot of you as you are also Browns fans, but last night the Zips played great. They are not perfect. Jacq looked very good, DK ran great, the offensive line is blocking their asses off, the coaches made good adjustments to turn the tide late in the third quarter, they had a special teams score (twice), they had some really good kick returns, they were well prepared for the game, there were no high snaps, they had an interception and the defense produced some three and outs early that resulted in a quick lead.I was hoping to log onto this board this morning and see some celebrating. Instead, I see the same old sad sacking and general nothingness because most of you were just dying for this team to lay an egg this season so we could go through five more years of building. We should be celebrating. Snap out of it you guys. This is a good team with a chance to take what in reality would be a two game lead in the MAC East next week. Try to enjoy.I'll close by saying this to the team and coaches. Great job!

Four years ago, my wife (a Miami graduate) and I went to Oxford on November 2, 2004 to watch Miami vs. Toledo. The Redhawks won 23-16 in a season where they went 8-5 losing in the MACC and Independence Bowl to Iowa State (we attended that also). On that night, George Bush, the largest government expander in USA history, beat Kerry.Since then, both the Republican Party and the Redhawks have fallen on hard times. Miami won on election night four years ago and lost last night to a team people would have laughed at four years ago. The question is who has fallen on more hard times, The Republican Party or the Redhawks.I am voting Republican Party as they are both morally and intellectually bankrupt. Miami may be intellectually bankrupt with Montgomery, but their kids are playing hard so they are not morally bankrupt. A new coach would have a lot to work with there.How do all of you vote the day after Election 2008 on this topic.

Skipping the tailgating in the grass for tailgating at the Platinum Horse is a good as a slump busting activity as you can do.

I would bet the gambling issue had a ton to do with Toledo Tom's repositioning at UT (two puns in one sentence not intended). It is one thing to have some NCAA violations impact your program like has happened to Marshall, but to have your players associate with known organized crime members from Detroit is a devastating blow to a program. In fact, this is the type of thing that should get an AD fired in addition to the football coach because gambling goes straight to the public trust and integrity of the game. In the end, people do not want to pay to go see a game they think may be fixed. I actually think this will help the Zips. While I was on the fence about the outcome, I see the Zips winning. Distractions are a big problem for college age players. It is hard to keep a team close when they have friends going to jail, inconsistent play and a coach going to work in the Alumni office. That's a lot of negative stuff day in and day out. Many of these kids may be looking forward to the end of the year.

This is a great topic. To me, it comes down to how I would want to spend my money and in 1991 I was a graduate student without much money to spend on anything (although I did spend a large portion of it at BW3 at the time). I'm not certain, but I think all of the home games were I-AA teams in 1991. If the Zips are a I-A team, I'm not interested in paying to watch them play I-AA teams. Does anyone else notice the absence of a team from Portage County? The 1991 away games are good teams to watch the Zips play, but none of them are really within a reasonable driving distance for a fan to go watch.This year has some good home games and now there are games in November that will mean something. Toledo is a good team to go watch, UC is a BCS school, Ball State is a Top 20 team (in the polls) and Buffalo is a title contender. EMU was within reasonable driving distance.Hands down, the 2008 schedule is better.

Hey – we all know there were times like the 2004 game with Marshall on ESPN2 that we packed the Rubber Bowl with more than a few freebie tickets – but that game was a launching pad for our image and we needed to show the nation a solid crowd in the Rubber Bowl. That game specifically paved the way in changing a lot of opinions about Akron, about the City, and was vital in moving the stadium project forward. Akron football, for a night, was a national story and it mattered. The stadium project had been bandied about in various incarnations for years, but after that game in 2004 it really gained steam. That Marshall game/win may well rank in the Top 5 moments of Akron Football history along with the bowl wins, the win over NC State and the 2005 MAC title game.Just because it worked in 2004 doesn't mean it is applicable to 2008. We have a hell of a lot more to "sell" for the upcoming Buffalo game than we did vs. Marshall in '04.Hey...if they want to charge $1 for such a pivotal game...have at it. Just don't tell me you're running a deficit.There was no excuse for doing it back then and there is no excuse for doing it now. Selling $1 tickets says your program is worth only $1. I kid around about the MAC being Dollar General, but UofA shouldn't make me look right by selling tickets for $1.