GP1

Nobody goes to the games. How worn out can the place be? Sun Belt teams need stadium improvement also. Yet, they play nine conference games, one P5, one G5 and one FCS. Why can't MAC schools do the same thing?

Thank you App State.

There my be a shortage of teams this year for bowls. Maybe they could go to the Myrtle Beach Bowl.

I'm past the point of hating the NCAA. Their lack of self awareness at this point is pitiable. JMU made an agreement. They need to live with their decision.

Maybe some enterprising students can save the $5 on their front lawn. Granted, the walk will be twice as long in a bad neighborhood, but the money will be saved. Seriously, people who send their kids to or graduated from these schools can afford $10 for parking.

Good post. I'd respectfully disagree about the QB protection. He gets off a lot of short passes, but the line still cannot protect enough to give him time to set his feet and deliver down field into the teeth of the defense. The passing game feels rushed. Their only 40+ yard play was a 1 yard pass and the receiver did the rest of the work.

Ok. Still very difficult.

The odds of making a first down on one play for 12 yards are extremely low given the offensive line can't hold out the defense long enough to let the receivers get that far down field. If U gets sacked, which happens too much, it would give EMU at least 10 extra yards to start the drive. A pick six would be a killer. A QB fumble would be a disaster. I think the Akron offense was out of tricks at that point. If one player on the Akron punt team turns around to his right instead of his left, the ball is downed inside the five. It was a pretty good pooch punt. I would have crossed my fingers on a long FG. A six point lead , that late in a game, with no timeouts would have made EMU more one dimensional and easier to stop. Instead, they were able to mix in a running game early in the drive and keep Akron off balance.

The most frustrating part of the loss is Akron outplayed and out coached EMU for the vast majority of the game and still lost. They were extremely well prepared for the game. The offense was creative and the defense stood tall for most of the game. The guys played hard. I'm convinced Akron still has a huge talent gap that needs filled to win games against teams even as average as EMU, both in starters and especially back ups. The defensive line got destroyed at the end of the game. I thought our offensive line played much better but pass blocking still leaves a lot to be desired. As a whole the skill players need to improve. Secondary had a good game but gave up a big play late. I totally get the players are better now than before Joe, but there is still a long way to go to get to the top.

I can't tell anything from the photos. What I do know is I have to sit through replay after replay after replay every week on less questionable stuff than that..... with 12 minutes to go in the first quarter.

Defense is gassed.

He's a douche and his antics are starting to look staged. I doubt he cares.

The word is out around MAC officiating circles about 14. They have seen enough of his crap.

Looks like 3 starters out on defense. Makes me worried.

Absolutely. Plays over 40 yards are one of the three pillars of success in winning football games.

This game is pretty good. The announcers on the other hand leave a lot to be desired. The analyst is going to set records for the number of times he mispronounces U's last name and the number of ways it can be mispronounced.

Akron scratching their way out of deep in their own end, a decent punt then a 3 and out is good complementary football.

Since we are talking history..,..... Quantum physics says that for every decision made in a universe, there are an unlimited number of outcomes. That means the following. Somewhere out there is a universe where hiring Faust resulted in a success program. Jim Dennison knew how to run an athletic department, Lee Owens continued on as head coach, the Zips never win a MAC Championship with JD, the Zips are full of only players from Ohio coached by Jim Grobe hired by President Jim Tressel, Coach I won six games in three years and Arth has a successful career as an underwear model like Jim Palmer. But, here we are. How's that for another universe?

Yes. He did get to start because of that, but the injured QB came back as a WR because Owens put all his chips in on Frye. I don't think play calling would have changed anything. I do know more accurate passing against Temple would have resulted in at least one more TD. I do know an easily made FG that was missed against Indiana is made, the Zips have another win. Player performance at critical moments was terrible. Players win games and players didn't come through. The next QB will be interesting. I'm guessing he will come from the same system somewhere else.

Good post and I think the betting line is very close to accurate based on team statistics. Emu averages around three points more per game on offense than Akron and approximately three points less given up on defense. As embarrassing as last week was, Miami has a great MAC defense and getting shutout should not have been much of a surprise for anyone. Akron will play better. Football games are still win on turnovers, points off of turnovers and big plays (+40 yards). I know this is asking a lot this season, but if U can just get the ball from his hand to a receiver down field or maybe a Lingard long run, the Zips can win. The hard part in bad seasons is motivation once hope is lost for a bowl game. The Zips are playing for nothing and that's around the time when guys throw in the towel. Seniors and soon to be washout portal players are quick to give up. Emu can still make a bowl by winning their two final games. That's pretty good motivation for a Mac school. With all that said, take Emu giving up the points. You'll be waiting forever for U to complete a long pass and the motivation for Emu will be too great. Take the over, whatever it is. Disclaimer: I'm pretty good at watching college football and understanding what goes on in and around teams. I'm horrible at picking based upon betting lines. If you bet based upon my advice above seriously, you're an idiot.

The question to me is, how does a team build a fan base? The first instinct is to say winning builds a fan base. I can't deny it's a good start, but losing teams can build fan bases and when the team begins to win, a generation of dedicated fans can exist. The Pittsburgh Penguins went through some really bad years after Mario and before Crosby. They were losing and playing in easily the worst arena in the NHL. Ticket sales were terrible and there were rumblings of them leaving the city. To generate attendance, they had college ID nights. The old arena has two balconies that were basically unused at both ends. If a college student showed their ID, that kid could buy something like a five dollar ticket general admission for the balcony. There were long lines to take advantage of the offer. The Pens got good, built a new arena and started winning. Now, they have a couple of generations of dedicated hockey fans that sell out games regularly. They aren't even particularly good now. The college ID nights don't exist because they aren't needed. Akron just needs to get people in the stadium. Get people on campus using any means possible and let them have access to the games by sitting in general admission. I don't care if it's free.

I'm not sure Franklin isn't on thin ice. They are loaded with talent and not doing enough with it. If not now, when?

There in lies the problem. The future is not defined after two years.

I have a major concern. Better play calling wouldn't have resulted in more wins. Maybe less fan agony, but not more wins. My concern is, with less than a handful of games remaining in Joe's second season, the future QB is nowhere to be seen. Maybe he's not on the team, but I don't see much in recruiting that's promising. Maybe he is on the team, but not on the field to start the season, or yet.I don't know. It's concerning. John Wolford is a good example because his first season was Clawson's first season. However, Charlie Frye could also be a good example. Lee Owens decided to live or die with Frye. He only won four games in each of his first two seasons while taking a beating. In fact, his winning percentage went down in his second season when college football went to 12 games. His last two seasons the Zips had winning records. In every organization, people have to solve problems. If a manager has 5 direct reports, each of those five people have five problems to solve totaling 25 problems. The manager can't take his five problems and add the other 25 problems of his employees for a total of 30 problems. Smaller problems have to be solved down the trough. As far as I can tell, one of Joe's five problems during last off season was to find the future QB to be put on the field this season, and I respectfully submit he failed at that. I don't think he should be fired, but he needs to get this problem off his desk. Clearing problems is extremely important for organizations.

I'm going with #1. Probably 90% of schools have the same problem.