GP1

John McKay, here are a few othersGood stuff. Here is another you will appreciate. Chuck Noll was asked during his first year with the Steelers what he thought of his players and he said something like...."The bad news is we are not very good. The good news is half of these guys won't be here next year."

One thing I mentioned before the season started was I felt we lacked a "winning attitude". Not to pick on this team, but that has been a huge story for the D-1A history of the program. While we won that game Saturday, I saw signs of it in the play.For example, poor red zone offense. Teams that win a lot score TDs early in games and not field goals. Easy field goals and extra points are made. Balls bouncing off of players hands in the endzone. Foolish penalties in the red zone... False start in an almost quiet stadium by the right tight end when the ball is being run to the left is just stupid.While I complain a lot about Saturday, there were some signs of life.1. The Zips defense was really good against a bad team so they did what they should do. The offense was average and could have been good with a few less mistakes.2. I never had the feeling Army could win.3. CJ11 threw a nice deep pass. Big plays win games.4. DLinemen were getting off blocks and making tackles at the line against a decent running team.5. Until further notice, Pinky should be the starting RB. DK wants to run sideways too bad.6. We completed some passes in traffic.7. Etc.What we really need is consistency and execution*. Teams with winning attitudes are consistently good and play at a high performance level for the entire game. If we can do those two things, we can be good. There is nothing we can do to be great, but good is a possibility. *Execution in sports reminds me of a funny story. In the first year of the Tampa Bay Bucs they lost all of their games. Their coach was an old guy who was asked by a reporter, "What do you think of your team's execution?" Immediately, the coach responded, "I'm in favor of it."

Yet you keep going back to Dollar General to whine about the merchandiseCrazy isn't it? I actually think being a Zips fan has given me a mental disorder.Two weeks ago, I bought a new bird hunting gun and I have not taken it out yet. What did I do yesterday on a beautiful Saturday afternoon? I wasted an afternoon being waterboarded by the Zips for three hours while sitting on my couch. Get the mask, plastic, rope and bucket full of water ready because next week I will be back for more.......Look at the positive side. At least you didn't use the gun to shoot your TV.There's always next week.........

Yet you keep going back to Dollar General to whine about the merchandiseCrazy isn't it? I actually think being a Zips fan has given me a mental disorder.Two weeks ago, I bought a new bird hunting gun and I have not taken it out yet. What did I do yesterday on a beautiful Saturday afternoon? I wasted an afternoon being waterboarded by the Zips for three hours while sitting on my couch. Get the mask, plastic, rope and bucket full of water ready because next week I will be back for more.......

Brutal game to watch and the score was much closer than it should have been. At least Jacquemain added some humor at the end when he went Garo Yepremian. I actually laughed so loudly it scared my dog.Listen everyone. We need to score touchdowns when we get close. Against good teams (Army is easily as bad as the Zips were in the last couple year of Faust), we need to put the ball in the end zone. If #12 can't catch the ball wide open in the end zone, he should not be on the field. The Zips are making too many mistakes inside the 20 and it needs to stop after today. All of the sudden I am worried about our kicker missing extra points again. This is the equivolant of fan waterboarding and it makes final scores look like high school scores. At some schools, a kicker will go four years without even missing one extra point and we have to live through a guessing game.....In the end, the Zips are 2-2 and they covered the spread. Remember, it's not whether you win or lose, it's whether you cover the spread.

I mentioned this last year. My wife told me last year during the Miami vs. Akron 7-0 disaster that the MAC is like Dollar General. "You can convince someone to come once, but once they see the crap you are selling it is hard to get them to come back." That in summary is this game so far. Akron is marching up and down the field and should be winning by more than 20. Instead we get penalties inside the 20, missed fieldgoals and missed extra points........ BUSH LEAGUE. The entertainment value is simply horrible. In fact, it is so bad I feel like the Zips are losing.They just showed a baby crying in the stands. The baby is the only person who undedrstands what is going on. I'd probably be crying too if I had to watch this in person.

Injury ReportGood information Rasor. I knew it was bad from reading this board, but I had no idea it was this bad. Five DLinemen out for the game! We only use three so that is amost the entire first and second team.For those of you at the game I can only say this. I hope you have been working out because the Zips may need you buy the end of the game.

In order to win football games, a team must have a balanced attack with about 50% run and 50% pass. A concern I have about the game last week was the lack of a balanced attack. In total, the Zips ran 28 times for 39% of the plays. They ran 45 times for 61% of the plays. One might say they threw so much because they had to pass in the fourth to catch up. Upon close examination, the lack of balance took place for the first three quarters as well and mostly in the second quarter.In the first quarter, the Zips ran 8 times and passed 8 times. That is great balanceIn the second quarter, the Zips ran 5 times and passed 18 times. 22% run vs. 78% pass. While it may not always seem like it, this is the secret recipe for losing. Sidebar.........Look no further than the Owens years when he sealed his fate by passing 70% of the time his last year when he had a more than competent running attach to make games shorter and control the clock. Frye was never a Limpwich or Roethlisberger who could win games on his own. However, he may have been able to do more had Owens relied less on him and more on a balanced, team approach to the offense.In the third quarter, the Zips ran 11 times and passed 8 times. 58% run vs. 42% pass.Through the first three quarters, the Zips ran 41% of the time. Only 2% above the game total of 39%.By halftime, BSU had seen 26 passing plays which probably covered all the plays the Zips brought to the game. It is easy to adjust when you have seen the other team's plays by halftime. No surprises in the second half.Guys, balance, balance, balance and more balance. Balance is the key to a lesser team beating a better team because they keep the other guys off guard and control the game/clock. The Zips need better balance this week.

I was at the USC vs. OSU game and I'll give you three reasons why James was on the USC sideline:1. It is the side that the USC Song Girls stand on.2. The USC cheerleaders stand on the USC side.3. Anyone who is anyone in Hollywood stands on the USC sideline. Reason one should be enough.

In 2005, Akron won seven games, won the MAC (yes JD haters, they had a lot of tie breakers, but they won when they got there they beat a very good NIU team with an NFL RB twice that season) and went to a bowl (take a first round RB off of Memphis, and the Zips may win that game as well). Some would look at that and say, "The program is going backward if we don't win eight next season."(Eight wins in this day and age is a GREAT season for a MAC school.) Maybe, but here is another way to look at it. Using the exact logic above, Akron winning five games this season will be an improvement over the disaster that was last season. I actually think it is almost impossible for the team to again be as bad as last year. UofA has better talent on this team than at any other point in program history.This is the one question I ask myself that makes me believe Akron is an improved program over last year. Can the Zips beat anyone in the league? Honestly, I think the Zips have a good enough team to beat anyone in the league. From what I read on this board, if they execute better last week, they at least had the talent to beat Ball State. There were years during the Owens and Faust eras that I knew going into games there was no way the Zips were going to win. During the Owens years, the Rubber Bowl was the flame and I was the moth. There were times going against bad MAC teams in those seasons I didn't believe the Zips could win. I now believe the Zips can win any game they get into. Whether they do it or not is up to them.Temple and Buffalo are improved, but let's take a closer look before we decide they are better than the Zips three games into the season. After all, weren't the Browns the flushy new team predicted to dominate the AFC North? We may be looking at the same thing here. Buffalo is 2-1, but only has wins against a bad UTEP (there is no difference between UTEP and Syracuse) and Temple. Buffalo was pretty soundly beaten by a bad Pitt team. After reading that, is anyone really that impressed with Buffalo? Temple is 1-2, same as us, lost to UCONN at home where they didn't even score a TD and Buffalo. Temple has beaten Army. What evidence is there so far this season that either of these teams are better than last year or even the Zips? Akron is 1-2 against a much more difficult schedule than these two schools have played and they are starting guys on the DLine who are five months removed from their senior prom. Wisconsin is ranked in the top 15.... Ball State is perhaps the best team in the MAC and some have predicted it to be in the BCS this season..... Syracuse is still a BCS team we beat on the road. Have either Temple or Buffalo won a road game yet this season? Ball State would beat any team mentioned in this paragraph with the exception of Wisconsin and they may give Wisconsin a heck of a battle. Syracuse is probably better than Army and perhaps UTEP. If Buffalo and Temple defeat the Zips this season, I will say they have better teams. After all, the test of whether a team is good or not is decided on the field and not in the game day program. Until then, I still think the Zips can beat anyone in the league. I think some of you are throwing in the towel a little early this year and really want the Zips to lose just so JD will get fired and you can say you were right about something. It's really an amazing thing to watch.

A stunt with a three man line is almost impossible because a QB could scramble 10 yards down field with the hole it creates. Stunts create a deception. Deception is created in the 3-3-5 defense with blitzing. I don't like it either, but that's just the cards they are playing with.

Akron giving 11. Never bet against a home underdog.Akron 27Army 17That is basically five scoring drives to three for Army. It will be a good day for the Zips and anyone attending the game. West Point is a beautiful place and one of those things that doesn't make you resent paying taxes to support.

Excellent point. In addition (someone please check this), I don't think UofA ever beat a BCS level team since joining the MAC. Maybe Temple years ago, but that was before the BCS.Sometimes progress does not take place in leaps and bounds. Sometimes it takes place slowly and the signs are not always obvious, especially to those of limited intellect.Let's just assume for a second that JD gets let go after say a 5-7 season. The question then becomes (Browns fans never ask this question when engaging in their non-stop clamoring for different coaches and QBs), What then? More than likely, the answer is probably another guy almost exactly like JD. Then the five year cycle of stupidity starts again. Patrick McManamon wrote an article on Sept. 16 in the ABJ and said this about firing the Browns coach, What sense does it make to fire a guy after you've extended his contract, and how in the world would it help to start over again? Again?. Again is right!If JD only wins 4 games this year, it is probably time for a change. I thought the number would be five at the beginning of the season, but the injuries to the DL are something you can't blame on coaching. I'll give you guys two examples of organizations and you tell me which you would rather be. In my 39 years on this Earth, the Browns have had too many coaches to count on one paw (a little Dawg Pound humor for you Browns fans). My favorite team, the Steelers, has had three. If the key to a successful football team is turning over your coach every couple of years, how come the Steelers have not enjoyed the same success the Browns have in the past 39 years? Organizational stability is a huge part of the Steelers success. We need some stability at UofA unless things fall apart.

Excellent points. I would just like to say that if all of those guys went down at the same time, it would not have been a swiss cheese defense......it would have been the "no cheese" defense.With that said, there have been many, many college and NFL seasons lost because of injuries. I don't worry about this week, but I do worry about the remainder of the season and the impact a season long battle can be on a young, physically immature player. I have not even seen the Zips play this year, but I know how over-matched an 18 year old freshman DLineman can be when facing a 23 year old upper class player, especially in the MAC. The coaches have to be concerned. Remember, these young DLineman were going to be used to rest the starters and maybe some special teams. Now they are being asked to shoulder the load. It is a huge thing to ask and they need to really improve their performance each week. I'm voting better than expected by a slim margin because of the injuries. If we win this week, 2-2 is a good start with a floundering Cincinnati and Can't around the corner. Without the injuries, this is a bowl season.I am looking forward to seeing the Zips for the first time this weekend. Go Zips!

Re-stating someone's words without giving them credit as the author is plagiarism.Stealing someone else's ideas is life (unless you have a patent, trademark, or trade secret on your "idea")Your probably right. I just wish he would have said somthing like..... "With my Can't State education, I am completely unable to formulate an original thought. Because of that, I am going to us an idea from a person of superior intellect from naturally The University of Akron, the great GP1." At this point, he could start his note. I'd love to know if Pluto reads this board.Back to the student attendance. I fully expect large student attendance at the new stadium. There is very little to do on a Saturday in the afternoon around the school and going to a game is perfect entertainment.

Interesting article. It's funny that he brings up UofA losing to a good MAC school after beating a bad BCS school. It would be real original thinking if I didn't say the same thing last week after the Syracuse win on this very board. If Pluto is going to use my ideas, he could at least credit the great GP1 with the idea. In academic circles, they call it plagiarism.

That's an absolute classic. What was Owens record in his 8th year at UA? I forget. Can someone help me here?That would be 4-7 I believe.On another subject, I was at one time really tired of seeing President Reagan ruin everything President Carter did for the USA.

Actually, NE Ohio sports fans never get tired of seeing their teams suck. They seem to love the endless five year cycles of firing coaches and rebuilding. NE Ohio sports fans are so comfortable with losing that they enjoy this cycle more than winning. I truely believe it is a sickness.At some point, the players need to be held accountable for five turnovers.

Please define this. What is spectacular fashion?In D-1A football, a road win is good regardless of the score. I actually consider the win at Syracuse to be a blowout at 14 points. With that said, Army lost to UNH a couple of weeks ago. I feel good about our chances.

I didn't see the game, but here is what I think. Too bad the Zips lost, but next week they can beat Army and be 2-2. There have been many, many, many years when we would have given our left you-know-what to be 2-2 after our first four games against all D-1A teams. I really thought we would be 1-3 after the first four so we are ahead of where I thought we would be, if we win at Army. Remember, six wins is the goal. We lost a chance to get one of the six yesterday. Let's get number two next week.For those of you who don't think injuries matter, I couldn't disagree more. The root of all football evil is built around injuries. NFL and college football teams live and die with injuries. MAC teams are especially susceptible to injuries because it is hard enough finding a few top guys and when one of those guys go down, the cupboard is really bare.Go Zips.

I was at the OSU vs. USC game last night and I am posting from LAX right now. Here is what you missed and it has to do with the sea of red. The sea of red was flowing from their seats to the gates at the end of the third quarter last night after OSU put up 4 yards of offense in the third quarter .The only thing that could have made the humiliation of OSU more complete last night would be the following scenario. Coach T. and Coach C. meet at mid field for the post game handshake. Coach C. says, "Look Jim, there is a UFO in the sky." At that point, Coach T. looks up to see the UFO and when he does that, Coach C. pulls his pants down and runs away making the "V" for victory sign.I know this is a Zips board, but I have never seen as complete of a college team in person as what USC has. Even though the game was out of hand and some might consider that boring, it wasn't. Everyone is good and they use everyone in a balanced way. It is almost art.Five things I will remember most about last night:1. Erin Andrews2. USC Song Girls3. The friendliness of the USC fans around me4. Traveler lighting the Olympic Torch at the end of the 3rd quarter (USC game day tradition).5. Sitting in endless traffic and the disorganized nature of the parking situation. Some of you consider yourselves to be experts on parking and you would have had a stroke yesterday.

Rumor has it that Bain is still in a boot. Any truth? If so, it is hard to go from a boot to playing in one week. Maybe there is more to this than meets the eye.

Are you sure it was the first two weeks or just the Wisconsin game? I mean, I would understand if you got it wrong. After all, you are still the guy who still thinks billboards are an effective advertising medium evidenced by the fact that Can't uses it. Does it matter though?Moving on..... While driving through Atlanta, I was listening to the game on Sirius. I was encouraged by the Zips . Too bad it was the Syracuse feed. I'm just glad the marketing department doesn't have to waste valuable selling time focusing on a bunch of gambling degenerates in other parts of the world.I have picked on CJ a lot in the past. He seems to have found something the past couple weeks. I hope the kids don't get big headed. I remember a couple of years ago now when a defending MAC Champion went to NC State and won. After the game, we were all chirping about the next bowl game. Then the wheels fell off the bus after playing a very good MAC team the following week. I hope that doesn't happen again. We are sort of in a similar situation right now. NC State was really bad and a very good CMU beat us the following week.Final thought..... We need six wins to make a bowl game. The clock is ticking. Let's get those six asap so we can look forward to maybe an even higher total. Ball State first though.

Well, I was going to hold back, but after seeing your softball team lost to a team captained by Mike Rasor I feel nothing but contempt.*Moderator deleted bullshit*With that said, school is now back in session. Instead of going around and playing in golf outings, you should be out scouting middle schools far and wide for a softball team you can beat. Mike Rasor? Are you kidding me? You can't beat a team with a future lawyer on it? The shame must be unbearable.

Marshall ArticleWhile this team is no longer in the league, most of the problems happened while they were in the MAC and the reading is interesting. It really explains a lot. There is no way that Marshall should be able to have a good D1-A football team without cheating and/or joining the MAC. Look at them now, they stink and the only thing that can save them now is a relocation back to the MAC. Huntington is an absolute dump located in the part of the USA where Kentucky, West Virginia and Ohio come together to form the armpit of the world.Two questions. 1. If Marshall came back to the MAC, within five years, would they be the best team in the league again? I think they could. 2. If this same thing happened to Akron, with the exception of leaving the MAC to become a CUSA bottom feeder, how would you feel about all the winning, bowl games and MAC Championships? My opinion is I would feel a small, and I mean very small twinge of guilt, but it was a once in a lifetime ride for a lot of those fans and good entertainment is hard to find. I wouldn't mind getting a ticket for that ride. It sure would be better than the past 21 years of losing with the exception of one MACC. One more question: What carnival ride was Marshall on while in the MAC and what carnival ride are we on? Marshall was on the fastest and most fun carnival ride at the fair. In Japan, they would call it "The Super Fun Rollercoaster". We have been on the ride that just goes around in circles with no clear ending. In Japan, they would call it "The Super Slow Circle Jerk".