Through 8 Games

[skip-zip]

I just want everyone's thoughts after looking back at our first 8 games. Here is some of what I see....1) Some unbelievable drama....We could be anywhere from 6-2 right now all the way down to 2-6....if only a few plays would have gone one way or another. You have to admit, that's some exciting football. 2) Could anyone have predicted the breakout performance of our offense? I mean...after last year, we surely weren't expecting this. Big performance after big performance. And yesterday...our best offensive output in 5 YEARS. Wow. Hats off to JD and his staff for all of the work they've done to rebuild this offense in the post-Getsy/Biggs/Hixson era.3) The defense is in a rebuilding year, much like the offense was last year. If we get anywhere near the same results in the 2nd year...LOOK OUT. Heck, the MAC East is even winnable for us this year. And we have very few seniors in key roles on this team. 4) Can you imagine what kind of position we'll be in next year? With nearly our entire team returning?5) Four out of the last 5 against Can't.....Ya gotta love that. 6) Another win over a BCS team (and nearly two of them). A couple of years ago, we celebrated our first win EVER against a BCS school......now we nearly beat two of them in the same season? Oh yeah. 7) All of the 4 remaining games are winnable....for a team that was picked by most to finish LAST in the MAC East. What an amazing accomplishment that would be. And the MAC title game is just ONE game. Anything can happen. Remember, N. Illinois looked to be an impossible win in Detroit in 2005....and JD and the boys got it done. It doesn't happen very often that you get a chance as a fan to experience a season like this...when everyone was expecting very little to go your way. It can happen......BELIEVE!!!!

[Let'sGoZips94]

I love the optimism. I, too, am very excited about these final 4 games. I said at the beginning of the year, "The final season in the rubber bowl will be a special one." So far that's true. Sure we haven't won at home, but we've won 4 straight on the road! That's amazing. Plus, there have been super close games, but mainly high scoring ones which is fun. I'm not losing faith, and I hope you're not either. GO ZIPS!

[RACER]

the good part about the zips is that the entire east division is not very good.we may lose one more games this season,but it may not matter.we may be able to win the mac with the 5-3 record if everybody else keeps losing.akron is in a good spot to sit back, and watch the other mac teams beat each other up now.miami proved there is not one team in the east that can't another team in the east.

[akronad]

The excitement is starting build with me as well. However, we are 4-4. To be bowl eligible, we need to either win 3 of our last 4 games or split 2-2 and win the MAC championship. If end up 6-6, and lose the MAC, we will not be bowl eligible. So, we have 17 days left to heal, recoup, and retrain. Let's attack these last 4 games with the energy we need to get to a bowl gameGO ZIPS

[Zipmeister]

The excitement is starting build with me as well. However, we are 4-4. To be bowl eligible, we need to either win 3 of our last 4 games or split 2-2 and win the MAC championship. If end up 6-6, and lose the MAC, we will not be bowl eligible. So, we have 17 days left to heal, recoup, and retrain. Let's attack these last 4 games with the energy we need to get to a bowl gameGO ZIPS

Apparently you are aware of a new definition for bowl eligible? Here's what I thought it was.......The term bowl eligible refers to any NCAA football team that is able to play in one of the 34 bowl games that are a part of the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS; formerly Division I-A) season. In order to be bowl eligible, a team must have at least six wins, including conference and out-of-conference games, and the team must not be on probation. The NCAA allows one victory per season over a Division I FCS (formerly I-AA) team to count toward an FBS team's bowl eligibility, so long as the FCS team has supplied financial aid for football averaging out to at least 56.7 full scholarships (90% of the limit of 63 allowed to FCS schools) over the preceding two years. This prevents teams from scheduling multiple games against FCS teams in an effort to pad their win total. The term 'bowl eligible' is usually only used when referring to those teams that are eligible to play in minor bowl games, and not to those team who are competing to play in one of the five BCS bowl games.Teams that are bowl eligible will usually either play in one of the bowl games that its conference is affiliated with based on conference tie-ins or the team will be chosen from the pool of remaining bowl eligible teams to fill one of the at-large positions.On April 26, 2006, the NCAA announced that they were relaxing the rules for eligibility starting with the 2006 season, particularly in light of the new 12 game college football season. Now, teams with .500 records can qualify for bowl games if their conference has a contract with a bowl game. Also, teams with .500 records (i.e. 6-6) could earn bowl bids if all other FBS teams with winning records have been taken and postseason spots still remain vacant.[1]Occasionally there will be more bowl eligible teams than there are spots in the NCAA football bowl games in the season. In these cases, some bowl eligible teams will not be invited to play in any NCAA football bowl game. In 2005, eight bowl eligible teams did not receive bowl bids, namely WAC team Louisiana Tech (7-4), MAC teams Miami (OH) (7-4), Western Michigan (7-4), Northern Illinois (7-5), Bowling Green (6-5), Central Michigan (6-5), Sun Belt member Louisiana-Lafayette (6-5) and Mountain West team New Mexico (6-5).In 2006, nine bowl eligible teams that all finished with 6-6 records did not receive bowl bids. They were Kansas from the Big 12, the Big East's Pittsburgh, Arizona and Washington State from the Pac-10, the MAC's Can't State, Conference USA's Southern Methodist, MWC team Wyoming, and Sun Belt teams Arkansas State and Louisiana-Lafayette.In 2007, the most noted team that did not receive a bowl bid (and with a winning record) as Troy had an 8-4 record, but lost to Florida Atlantic on December 1 as the Owls went to the New Orleans Bowl as the Sun Belt champions, despite being 7-5 overall. The 6-6 teams that stayed home were Louisville from the Big East, Iowa and Northwestern of the Big Ten, Ohio from the MAC, the South Carolina Gamecocks of the SEC and another Sun Belt member, the Louisiana-Monroe WarHawks.Two NCAA rules combine to make it unlikely, though possible, that a team with seven wins will be left out of a bowl game: * Bowl games that have a contract with a conference must select a team with at least seven wins if one is available. * Any bowl berths not already filled by contract must be filled by a team with seven wins before any spare 6-6 team can be accommodated.There is a special case where a team can finish with a losing record and still appear in a bowl game. If a team wins their conference, they are given a waiver of the bowl eligibility requirements if they end up with an overall losing record.

[MDZip]

The excitement is starting build with me as well. However, we are 4-4. To be bowl eligible, we need to either win 3 of our last 4 games or split 2-2 and win the MAC championship. If end up 6-6, and lose the MAC, we will not be bowl eligible. So, we have 17 days left to heal, recoup, and retrain. Let's attack these last 4 games with the energy we need to get to a bowl gameGO ZIPS

Apparently you are aware of a new definition for bowl eligible? Here's what I thought it was..........There is a special case where a team can finish with a losing record and still appear in a bowl game. If a team wins their conference, they are given a waiver of the bowl eligibility requirements if they end up with an overall losing record.

There is the key - you can be bowl eligible with a losing record IF you win your conference (e.g. MACC), but not if you don't. So if the Zips would make it to the MACC at 6-6 and then lose, they would not bowl eligible. And by the way, I also saw (on the MAC web site?) the MAC East champ is "protected" for a bowl should they be bowl eligible.

[ZachTheZip]

It wouldn't work. Miami was 6-7 after losing the MAC championship, and they sat at home. There are too many good teams in the West that would be picked up before a 6-7 East team even if they are eligible, like you say they would be.Bottom line: have at least 7 wins if you want to get to a bowl. Besides, if we end up at 6-6, it means we are 4-4 in the MAC, and that won't win the East.

[johnnyzip84]

I just want everyone's thoughts after looking back at our first 8 games. Here is some of what I see....1) Some unbelievable drama....We could be anywhere from 6-2 right now all the way down to 2-6....if only a few plays would have gone one way or another. You have to admit, that's some exciting football. 2) Could anyone have predicted the breakout performance of our offense? I mean...after last year, we surely weren't expecting this. Big performance after big performance. And yesterday...our best offensive output in 5 YEARS. Wow. Hats off to JD and his staff for all of the work they've done to rebuild this offense in the post-Getsy/Biggs/Hixson era.3) The defense is in a rebuilding year, much like the offense was last year. If we get anywhere near the same results in the 2nd year...LOOK OUT. Heck, the MAC East is even winnable for us this year. And we have very few seniors in key roles on this team. 4) Can you imagine what kind of position we'll be in next year? With nearly our entire team returning?5) Four out of the last 5 against Can't.....Ya gotta love that. 6) Another win over a BCS team (and nearly two of them). A couple of years ago, we celebrated our first win EVER against a BCS school......now we nearly beat two of them in the same season? Oh yeah. 7) All of the 4 remaining games are winnable....for a team that was picked by most to finish LAST in the MAC East. What an amazing accomplishment that would be. And the MAC title game is just ONE game. Anything can happen. Remember, N. Illinois looked to be an impossible win in Detroit in 2005....and JD and the boys got it done. It doesn't happen very often that you get a chance as a fan to experience a season like this...when everyone was expecting very little to go your way. It can happen......BELIEVE!!!!

While you might be accused of looking at the season thus far through , I have to admire the positive approach and I generally agree with much of what you said here, skip-zip. The bottom line for me is that with 4 regular season games remaining, there is a decent chance that they'll all be meaningful. And that makes it much more interesting to be a fan at this time of year. I share the same concerns a lot of us have expressed regarding the defense, so I'm not necessarily expecting a MAC East crown, but it's nice to have a shot at it anyway.

[akronad]

The excitement is starting build with me as well. However, we are 4-4. To be bowl eligible, we need to either win 3 of our last 4 games or split 2-2 and win the MAC championship. If end up 6-6, and lose the MAC, we will not be bowl eligible. So, we have 17 days left to heal, recoup, and retrain. Let's attack these last 4 games with the energy we need to get to a bowl gameGO ZIPS

Apparently you are aware of a new definition for bowl eligible? Here's what I thought it was.......The term bowl eligible refers to any NCAA football team that is able to play in one of the 34 bowl games that are a part of the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS; formerly Division I-A) season. In order to be bowl eligible, a team must have at least six wins, including conference and out-of-conference games, and the team must not be on probation. The NCAA allows one victory per season over a Division I FCS (formerly I-AA) team to count toward an FBS team's bowl eligibility, so long as the FCS team has supplied financial aid for football averaging out to at least 56.7 full scholarships (90% of the limit of 63 allowed to FCS schools) over the preceding two years. This prevents teams from scheduling multiple games against FCS teams in an effort to pad their win total. The term 'bowl eligible' is usually only used when referring to those teams that are eligible to play in minor bowl games, and not to those team who are competing to play in one of the five BCS bowl games.Teams that are bowl eligible will usually either play in one of the bowl games that its conference is affiliated with based on conference tie-ins or the team will be chosen from the pool of remaining bowl eligible teams to fill one of the at-large positions.On April 26, 2006, the NCAA announced that they were relaxing the rules for eligibility starting with the 2006 season, particularly in light of the new 12 game college football season. Now, teams with .500 records can qualify for bowl games if their conference has a contract with a bowl game. Also, teams with .500 records (i.e. 6-6) could earn bowl bids if all other FBS teams with winning records have been taken and postseason spots still remain vacant.[1]Occasionally there will be more bowl eligible teams than there are spots in the NCAA football bowl games in the season. In these cases, some bowl eligible teams will not be invited to play in any NCAA football bowl game. In 2005, eight bowl eligible teams did not receive bowl bids, namely WAC team Louisiana Tech (7-4), MAC teams Miami (OH) (7-4), Western Michigan (7-4), Northern Illinois (7-5), Bowling Green (6-5), Central Michigan (6-5), Sun Belt member Louisiana-Lafayette (6-5) and Mountain West team New Mexico (6-5).In 2006, nine bowl eligible teams that all finished with 6-6 records did not receive bowl bids. They were Kansas from the Big 12, the Big East's Pittsburgh, Arizona and Washington State from the Pac-10, the MAC's Can't State, Conference USA's Southern Methodist, MWC team Wyoming, and Sun Belt teams Arkansas State and Louisiana-Lafayette.In 2007, the most noted team that did not receive a bowl bid (and with a winning record) as Troy had an 8-4 record, but lost to Florida Atlantic on December 1 as the Owls went to the New Orleans Bowl as the Sun Belt champions, despite being 7-5 overall. The 6-6 teams that stayed home were Louisville from the Big East, Iowa and Northwestern of the Big Ten, Ohio from the MAC, the South Carolina Gamecocks of the SEC and another Sun Belt member, the Louisiana-Monroe WarHawks.Two NCAA rules combine to make it unlikely, though possible, that a team with seven wins will be left out of a bowl game: * Bowl games that have a contract with a conference must select a team with at least seven wins if one is available. * Any bowl berths not already filled by contract must be filled by a team with seven wins before any spare 6-6 team can be accommodated.There is a special case where a team can finish with a losing record and still appear in a bowl game. If a team wins their conference, they are given a waiver of the bowl eligibility requirements if they end up with an overall losing record.

Skip-Zip: Apparently you were unaware that a 6-7 mark DOES NOT get us into a bowl. Minimum of 7 wins will do the trick. So, we need to win at least 3 of our last 4 games to attain that water mark.

[MDZip]

I found my source. According to the macreportonline the East winner is guaranteed a bowl slot (assuming of course, bowl eligibility):This will be the 12th Motor City Bowl and the MAC has been involved for all 12 years.He later added the MAC’s two division champions are protected and will go to bowl games.Here is the article source - http://macreportonline.com/index.php/20080......For-Now.html

[johnnyzip84]

I found my source. According to the macreportonline the East winner is guaranteed a bowl slot (assuming of course, bowl eligibility):This will be the 12th Motor City Bowl and the MAC has been involved for all 12 years.He later added the MAC’s two division champions are protected and will go to bowl games.Here is the article source - http://macreportonline.com/index.php/20080......For-Now.html

Nice find, MDZip. Let's hope the MAC East team "protected" is Akron!

[ZachTheZip]

You have to be bowl-eligible. That means not having a losing record. Assuming a loss in the championship game, you need 7 wins. Akron needs to finish 3-1.

[g-mann17]

You have to be bowl-eligible. That means not having a losing record. Assuming a loss in the championship game, you need 7 wins. Akron needs to finish 3-1.

By default, the MAC East winner is number 2, if they finish 6-6 and lose the championship game, they would still get a bowl because they finished the regular season with 6 wins and a .500 record.However, I say win out and we don't have to worry about it any of it.

[akronad]

If that is the case, why didn't Miami get a bowl invite last year? (6-7)

[ksu sucks]

How many times must people repeat the same piece of information before it registers in some of your heads...

[johnnyzip84]

How many times must people repeat the same piece of information before it registers in some of your heads...

I believe that the statement the divisional champs will be "protected" assumes bowl eligibility first. However, in a case like we are seeing this year where there are probably 3 or 4 teams in the west who would LIKELY be SELECTED (if given the chance) over the East Champ by bowl commitees, this statement would seem to "protect" a 7-5 East Champ from losing out on a bowl bid. BTW, don't be surprised in Northern Illinois throws the West into a tangled mess before the season is over.