GP1

"You can win at Akron." - JoeMo quote from Pluto article. Absolutely. There is absolutely no good reason for Akron to be as bad as it has been over the course of so many years.

The math would say it does not. There are a finite number of scholarships in D1. Some players exit college sports through retirement, going to a lower division or graduation. This has been the case forever. These open spots can be filled by high school kids or transfer portal kids. The transfer portal kids already were part of a scholarship group somewhere so their movement has no impact on the overall number. High school kids are still necessary to fill the remaining voids. Once the Covid super seniors move on, things will balance out again.

Just like coaches tend to find their level, maybe the transfer portal allows players to do the same thing. After time at a bigger school, maybe the reality is the kid belongs at a G5 school and not P5. The freedom allows the player to reach his full potential. This is a good thing.

I'm in a bit of rabbit hole today and feeling overwhelmed with panic. I just looked at the EuroGyro website and they no longer serve the Hot Buttered Hoagie?

George Orwell's memory hole is a real thing. In a region full of really bad though leaders in sports, Pluto is one of the worst. I have no idea how he keeps drawing a paycheck.

I would tell Pluto that the reason Akron never found a guy like Moorhead is because they never went after a guy like Moorhead. Typically, it's because of the mindset that guys like Pluto have about Akron in that nobody decent would ever want the job so why try? The closest Akron ever came to a competent, big name coach was Brookhart. If you are old enough to remember, JD was one of the big names nationally at the coordinator job. Faust was a washed up laughing stock from ND. Owens was a nobody. Ianello and Arth...please. Bowden was close to being washed up but was not a laughing stock. Akron is a fantastic opportunity for a coach. Maybe it took a coach that was at Akron during a period of success to see that and the guy wanted back in.

I'm intrigued.

Most probably had delusions of grandeur before entering their first school. From what I can tell from the little I follow social media, the modern parents have delusions of grandeur as well. The third string bench warmer is certain to get some Tweets about him from himself and his parents. Then there will be a few reTweets from those who follow this kind of stuff so in the player's and parents eyes he has gone from third string bench warmer nobody cared about to an actual somebody. It's better than the nothing he was getting before. This is why when I think about whether the portal will be the new normal or a fad, I lean towards it being the new normal.

I was pleasantly surprised to see a piece called Good News With Gary on social media today. It was a 4 minute video where Dr. Miller shares some good news about the University. Not the most exciting guy, but well done none the less. A much better use of his time in front of the public than we have seen in the past. Maybe someone can put up the link.

The clues seem to me to be that the next OC is none other than JoeMo. The QB coach is too inexperienced to be the OC and if I was the HC I would want to call my offense for at least one year and see how things shake out. If the LB job is still open, I see that person being the next DC. We are getting a lot of really good assistants. Makes me think UofA isn't just opening their wallet for a new HC, but some quality assistants as well. Sometimes you have to give a little to get something. Maybe the tradeoff is there can't be enough budget for a person to just have a coordinators job.

Thank you for your effort and bravery.

I'd like to see Akron schedule Army because we could fit them in mid MAC schedule. Navy has to play a full conference schedule and Army has no schedule. My wet dream of an OOC schedule would be: FCS patsy at home Army mid season home/away Toledo when we don't play them in the MAC home if Army is on the road or away if Army is at home. P5 payday road game. Three of these games are winnable with a competent coaching staff and we have that now.

At first I thought this might be a link to something on Pornhub.

The organizations it will most harm are the elites at the P5 level. Their control over labor has been deminished. Control is a difficult thing to give up. They can no longer offer a kid a scholarship so another school can't get him and then just sit on him for four years. OSU did this to a kid from my school this year. He is not an OSU player and will be in the portal within two years.

The transfer portal is a horrible thing if you believe college football was something it simply wasn't before the transfer portal. NIL is a horrible thing if you believe college football was something it simply wasn't before NIL. The transfer portal started in 2018. Since then, college football has only gotten better. Covid has thrown a wrench into things for a year, but coming out of it, we have had the most exciting year of college football in my lifetime. The competition between teams has been great. Where there is better competition, there is better entertainment. Where there is better entertainment, there is more excitement. There is a new complexity to college football and the transfer portal is contributing to that complexity. I drive a lot and I can't tell you all how much I looked forward to turning on ESPNU from 10-1 every weekday this year to listen to Neuheisel talk about college football. He is so much better on the radio because he is a really smart guy who can expand on issues more than when he is on CBS television. He is awesome at distilling the complexity. How entertained are NIU fans with their Michigan State (?) transfer QB? We can be the next NIU! Embrace the transfer portal. It will be our friend.

The free movement of labor is only a good thing. It opens the door of opportunity for both sellers (players) and buyers (schools) of labor.

I don't know much about his hires, but from what I can tell so far they seem solid. Again, I don't know much, but it seems like there might be more funding for assistants with a little better experience than D3. Credibility of assistants is key to capturing the attention of high school coaches. Capturing their attention gets better recruits. Better recruits make coaches look good because they win.

It's the feeling you get when your team is being headed up by a person who is at a minimum competent. I think the new coach is more than competent and everyone should feel optimistic. Competency won the Zips a MAC Championship under Brookhart. Competency got the Zips to a MAC Championship game and a bowl win under Bowden. I liked both coaches, but JoeMo has the "stuff" to be a better coach than both.

It doesn't have to be an FCS team. Herein lies the problem. The excitement of tailgating, the idea of the greatness of a large crowd supplied by the opponent and the hopes of a longshot win get dashed by another crushing defeat. People remember the defeat more than the tailgating. Those who don't tailgate only remember the defeat. Leaving The Big Dialer after a defeat is the majority of memories attendees have after going to a Zips game in Akron. Winning needs to be the priority. Winning needs to be the memory.

I hope Kentucky buys themselves out of their trip to Akron and the Zips can schedule someone more in line with the level we play at. Fans have had enough losing at Info. Bring someone in with a better chance of winning.

He was on staff during the transition between the Rubber Bowl and the Big Dialer. I hope someone asks him if he knows what happened to the doorless stall in the Rubber Bowl. Someone has to know.

Yes

The head coach.

Reno is a good hire. Syracuse did have some good talent. They should have won more.

Did he? If so, it's awesome. Wealthy graduates do things like this at big schools.