Times....They Are A Changin

[skip-zip]

As Bob Dylan once said.So...what are we to think of the slaughter of the Suckeyes at the hands of the USC Trojans...only to watch USC get manhandled by fellow PAC-10 member Oregon State this week?The playing field has SIGNIFICANTLY leveled in D-1A football. It has been for years. If our ability to take Cowlumbus State into the 4th quarter in two previous visits within a touchdown is not evidence enough, the OU game this year was yet another story (and OU is not even projected to be a good MAC team this year).I know one thing....I guess this will mark the end of Suckeye fans complaining that USC "does not play any good team in their own conference".I had an OSU fan, who is a friend of mine, say to me tonight that the team down in the middle of Ohio should not even be in the top 25 after what we saw happen in the USC/Oregon State game tonight. We'll see.The point is....things are changing fast....and it's all to Akron's benefit.

[g-mann17]

As Bob Dylan once said.So...what are we to think of the slaughter of the Suckeyes at the hands of the USC Trojans...only to watch USC get manhandled by fellow PAC-10 member Oregon State this week?The playing field has SIGNIFICANTLY leveled in D-1A football. It has been for years. If our ability to take Cowlumbus State into the 4th quarter in two previous visits within a touchdown is not evidence enough, the OU game this year was yet another story (and OU is not even projected to be a good MAC team this year).I know one thing....I guess this will mark the end of Suckeye fans complaining that USC "does not play any good team in their own conference".I had an OSU fan, who is a friend of mine, say to me tonight that the team down in the middle of Ohio should not even be in the top 25 after what we saw happen in the USC/Oregon State game tonight. We'll see.The point is....things are changing fast....and it's all to Akron's benefit.

So then does that mean that the Nittany Lions should be number 1? PSU 45 OrSU 14. I'm just pointing out that football is football. Anything can happen on any given day. That's the beauty of it.

[RootforRoo44]

Anything can happen any night but i agree the playing field is a bit more level. I think the top 25 polls are ridiculously unfair in that certain teams get preferential treatment in getting to stay at the top year in and year out even though they don't deserve it.

[Dr Z]

No rankings until week 5. Problem solved.

[Buckzip]

No rankings until week 5. Problem solved.

Just because A beat B and B beat C doesn't mean that A will beat C. Football is a game of emotions and coaching.

[zen]

No rankings until week 5. Problem solved.

Just because A beat B and B beat C doesn't mean that A will beat C. Football is a game of emotions and coaching.

...and matchups, and schemes, and playcalling, and gameday dynamics....

[Captain Kangaroo]

No rankings until week 5. Problem solved.

Just because A beat B and B beat C doesn't mean that A will beat C. Football is a game of emotions and coaching.

...and matchups, and schemes, and playcalling, and gameday dynamics....

...and tailgating.

[RootforRoo44]

No rankings until week 5. Problem solved.

Just because A beat B and B beat C doesn't mean that A will beat C. Football is a game of emotions and coaching.

...and matchups, and schemes, and playcalling, and gameday dynamics....

...and tailgating.

especially tailgating

[zips4ever2008]

We've been seeing that anybody can beat anybody on any given day for the last couple of years. Nobody is afraid of the so-called big boys because teams believe they can beat them. We've seen teams from the WAC and Mountain West rise up. The MAC is starting to rise and I think will continue to do so. Who knows, maybe we'll see Akron become one of those teams that surprises people. I do find the polls rediculous because I do think there is some bias towards certain teams and conferences. Everyone, especially the media, seems to be in love with the SEC. On a side note, why is the Big 10 still called that when there are eleven teams? Don't they know how to count?

[skip-zip]

I agree. The preseason rankings have a lot to do with this problem. You put the top teams from the top conferences at the top of the list every year, and then they have to lose before anything changes. It's a disadvantage to some teams that may actually be better than them.I believe that the major shift happened when the scholarships got reduced. It prevented the previous "big programs" from stockpiling talent, and diverted them down to the other schools. This is why you see the little boys competing with the big boys more often now. The gap is certainly closing. Of course, you can't say that D is #1 because A beat B, C beat B, and C lost to D....but....there is certainly an argument for the Big-10 (or whatever they call it now) losing yet another chunk of credibility by what has transpired over the last couple of weeks between the Ohio State vs. USC game, and the USC vs. Oregon State game.And we all know....a weaker Big-10 certainly helps the MAC in recruiting....which helps the Zips.

[johnnyzip84]

No rankings until week 5. Problem solved.

Just because A beat B and B beat C doesn't mean that A will beat C. Football is a game of emotions and coaching.

...and matchups, and schemes, and playcalling, and gameday dynamics....

...and tailgating.

.....and when in Toledo, point shaving.

[GP1]

No rankings until week 5. Problem solved.

Just because A beat B and B beat C doesn't mean that A will beat C. Football is a game of emotions and coaching.

...and matchups, and schemes, and playcalling, and gameday dynamics....

...and tailgating.

.....and when in Toledo, point shaving.

.........and when playing for the 1990s Dallas Cowboys, strippers and prostitutes.

[GP1]

If I was the coach of a good college football team, I would not want to play an ESPN Thursday night game on the road.

[ZachTheZip]

If I was the coach of a good college football team, I would not want to play an ESPN Thursday night game on the road.

That's one of the pitfalls of playing in a conference with a greedy commissioner. I'm just glad to see it's not just Rick Chryst who sells out the conference just to get a game on TV on a weekday.We're stuck playing games on a Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday and we have a double bye-week because the people in charge of the MAC value getting a game on TV more than creating a fan-oriented atmosphere or attendance numbers.At least Oregon State managed to have a good crowd for thursday game.

[Z.I.P.]

At least Oregon State managed to have a good crowd for thursday game.

At the Resers' Potato Salad Bowl.

[zipboy]

In thinking about our 2 1/2 week buy week, I also realized that over the next 6 weeks, we only travel more than 10 miles away from Akron once.