GP1

Words can't express how much I hate this schedule. If anyone can help me see it differently I'll at least listen, but I don't see how this schedule benefits the players, students, alumni, fans and greater Akron community. Awful, just awful.

While it's true, what's really going on? I have a brother who in Columbus who says there is more than meets the eye and we were not brought up in NE Ohio. https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/sports/high-school/football/2023/02/26/stvm-president-blames-hoban-for-halting-akron-holy-war/69946218007/

The ABJ can't get a single AP action shot of the game against WMU?

The easiest answer is "yes". It's also pretty stupid. Not sure how these morons get jobs talking about sports. This is the same level of stupidity that said a few years ago when the Browns were really struggling that Alabama could beat them. In reality, the Browns would beat Alabama 70-0 and Alabama would struggle getting the ball past the 50. Below is the Wikipedia page for the 1982 national championship game. Jordan won with UNC on a last second shot by Jordan. Look at the rosters. UNC was full of absolute studs and barely won. Maybe Akron wins a game or two, but that's about it. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1982_NCAA_Division_I_men's_basketball_championship_game

Coach Faust?

I don't disagree that things could be freshened up some. However, our current facilities are not keeping us from winning. Of course, prior to The Big Dialer and fieldhouse the facilities were nothing short of horrible. We have to move past facilities being an excuse at this point. Someone is always going to have something more new and shiny as what we may have in comparison. We need to win with what we have. It's good enough and they need to get winning. Coaching is the key right now. I really believe in JoMo and those who think its now or never may in fact... be correct. Joe is the Dave Clawson (Wake Forest) of the MAC as he is the perfect fit for the program. Joe has a specific vision for the team which centers around our identity. I'm certain we have never had a coach with this clear of a vision for the program and a history of success to feel confident in his abilities. Why Dave Clawson as a comparison? The identity and vision are the two main reasons for me. Like JoMo, he has an offense he believes in and is a fit for his school. Joe understands who to recruit at Akron just like Clawson understands Wake is a very niche fit for his players. Joe had a much bigger name and history of success than Clawson did, so that alone is very encouraging. Clawson's first two years at Wake were both 3-9 seasons. They were absolutely terrible. Since then, they have had seven straight bowl seasons and one trip to the ACC Championship with some time in the Top 10 early last season before finishing the regular season 2-4. What does 7 straight bowls mean at Wake? Wake has been to 17 bowl games in their history. They first started to play football in 1888. They didn't make their first bowl game until 1945 when Coach Peahead Walker took them to the Gator Bowl. Wake is a historic bottom feeder in the ACC. Recent success has come with a stadium not as nice as The Big Dialer and facilities on par with what Akron has. I think CK used the word ineptitude to describe our football history. I would use the term Intellectually Lazy. Maybe one leads to the other. Issues such as culture and identity don't seem to have ever been considered when making a football head coaching hire. They made one with KD in MBB and it worked out great. I don't know much about Dr. Miller or our AD, but the little I do know is they seem to have a clear vision for the University and Athletic Department based upon the identity of the school itself. They brought in a coach who's opinions align with theirs. It's going to work because when this happens, it works out even for a bottom feeder like Wake. The expectation of a 5-6 win season next year is not unreasonable. Clawson took Wake from 3-9 to 6-6 in year three and a bowl win finishing the season 7-6. I would bet those with a clear vision at the University have the same expectation. Guys like Joe don't take baby steps. It's year two and the fans should be beyond baby steps as well. In fact, the idea of baby steps disguised as the "building process" has been part of the low expectations for Zips fans for too long. Getting to six wins shouldn't be nearly as difficult as we seem to make it. It's a mystery to me why we can't make it happen annually. If Wake can do it in the ACC, we can do it in the MAC.

Leverage

I doubt Freeman would have developed into the player he is today on the courts by the dining hall.

There are some really good players on this list. To be included is quite an accomplishment.

The MAC has always been a solid BB conference. It's nice to see this season is even more competitive than most with a lot of good teams. Makes the fan experience enjoyable. I wouldn't be quick to write off the Zips. They can beat anyone in the league. Fans will be in for some ups and downs in the coming weeks. Fasten your seatbelts. The fun is just getting started.

Did you try tuning it off and then back on?

I don't know if Akron just dominated almost all of the game or if Kent isn't as good as their record.?.?. EMU and Ball State played on CBS Sports before the Zips game and both teams looked better than Kent and EMU had a bad record.

Kent's coach looks like someone who would spend a lot of time at an Off Track Betting" storefront.

That was no fluke. Akron dominated the game. BTW,Was Kent's coach the creepiest person at the game tonight?

Maybe that person got in a terrible car accident severing both of his legs off at the knees similar to how Cotton Hill had his severed off in WWII by a Japanese machine gun nest.

College basketball attendance is a difficult thing to predict and explain. I've been reading that OSU has bad attendance, but they are also a bad team playing in a bad arena. Akron is a good team playing in a bad arena. I went to the Wake vs #10 Virginia game last weekend and there were easily 4,000 empty seats in a 14,000 seat arena that is pretty average for an extremely meaningful game for Wake. I'm past the point of caring about crowd size when I go to a game. In fact, the fewer the better as far as I'm concerned. The JAR is old enough now that Joe Akron has probably been to an event there. The truth is this, it's a bad place to watch an event unless you have a chair back. Winter is bad enough in NE Ohio. Braving the cold to go to a game to sit in bleachers that can only make a chiropractor smile isn't a very attractive Saturday afternoon for a lot of people.

Sorry about the thumbs down. I had a fat finger incident.

Is this a running score over three games or is this an actual score for one game? Either could be true when it comes to the Akron/Miami rivalry.

I didn't see the final score, but if this game was like past Miami/Akron games, I assume the Zips went up something like 21-16.

I laughed a little when I saw this sentence. I wonder how many times over the years an Akron fan has said/posted this or something similar after an Akron vs Miami game.

Could have been my brother.

Without winning, it is little more than experimentation.

60 point loses to Kansas, Kansas State and Baylor are games to look forward to?

No doubt, but he needs to take those tools and turn them into the most difficult part of the game.... winning. Improvement without winning is not enough.

Temple will be a key indicator of how the Zips season will go. They were terrible last year and winning there is in the world of reality and should be expected. If they lose, they start out, yet again, 1-3.....sigh. 1-3 means they would have to perform better than expected to win six. A 1-3 start can easily turn into a 1-4 start with the wheels coming off the bus.