Is the improvement a mirage?

[Captain Kangaroo]

The Syracuse game was as non-competitive and a 26-point loss as you could get. Defense was so-so, but everything else was non-existent.

The Gardner Webb game goes in the books as the worst loss I've witnessed as a Zips football fan. Getting beaten at home by a 1-AA program in your shiny new stadium is about as low as it goes. The offense perked-up a little, as they should against a team with 22 fewer scholarships, but the defense got rolled, as they shouldn't against a team with 22 fewer scholarships.

The Kentucky game saw the first signs of legitimate life from the offense. The WR's actually got separation from an opposing DB. The offensive game plan gave us a lot of opportunities to score. But PN7's passes were either errant...or the receivers dropped the ball. Defensively, the Zips hung in there...until the offensive drought wore them down. After 1.5 quarters, fatigue caught up to us.

The Indiana game saw the game slow down for PN7. The WR's continued to build off the Kentucky game, and also made some catches. Gary Pride showed games 1-3 might have just been shaking off 4 years of rust. The OL created ample holes for the Zips' two Youngstown-bred backs to average 5+ yards per carry. The defense played well enough, and Igor showed why he was rated the #5 kicker in college football a few years ago. Unfortunately, a few lapses, and dropped passes, ruined the chance for a Big 10 upset.

Now we face MAC opponent Northern Illinois:

Can Latina continue to keep the opposing defense on it's heels with clever play calling?

Will the WR's continue to get separation?

Can the Zips finally connect on a home run ball?

If Hixon is returning for the reunion (he'd better be!), can he have a short meeting with Jeremy LaFrance to relay the importance of catching a deep pass?

Can someone on the defense step up and have a "wow" game? 14 tackles from an LB...3 sacks from a DL...an INT returned for a TD from a DB?

Can Igor keep kicking like it's 2007?

Can we keep "First 1/3rd of the Season MVP" Zack Campbell off the field?

Will the game continue to slow down for PN7?

Does Phil Tonga see his first action of the season?

Can the defense keep Chad Spann from going "Travis Prentis"/"Garrett Wolf" on us?

Bad MAC teams always have the appearance of a disorganized, ill-prepared train wreck. This is what kills K.e.n.t. State every single year. They do stupid, stupid stuff that you never see even at the pee wee level, and they lose. And lose.

After being emotionally crushed by our performance in the first two weeks, I'm heartened by the improvement in weeks 3 and four. We now look like a good football team. The Zips look well-coached. They look organized. They look to be improving every week. Now, it's pretty much up to the players to win a game. Can PN7 lead his team to a victory?

We have a MAC-level opponent, at home, homecoming. It is time to put on a show.

Absolute worst-case, I want to see a good college football game in Akron on Saturday. Ideally, I want a Zips blow out.

[K92]

I agree with a lot of CK's views. The Syracuse game was a debacle. We didn't show up for that one. It was a sleepwalk. The GW game was like watching a trainwreck in slow motion. Way too great of a disparity in athletes versus Kentucky. Signs of life against Indiana. Question there is "how bad is their defense"? I am afraid, pretty bad. I hope the appearance of progress is not an illusion!

I think the defense can keep Spann in check. Not stymied, but in check. They did an OK job not letting Delone Carter run roughshod over us. I think they can turn the trick again. (Knock on wood). Make 'em pass and cross your fingers and say your prayers our defensive backs can do a whole lot better job than they have done so far this year.

I am (cautiously) starting to feel better about the offense. I want to see another big step forward Saturday.

What I want to see is the Zips emerge with a hard fought Homecoming victory, healthy and ready to beat the flushes, ruin their homecoming, demoralize their team, coaching staff and fanbase. Saturday is the first blow of a one-two punch that brings back the Wagon Wheel!

[Dr Z]

Good analysis of the season thus far. I am cautiously optimistic that we are becoming a team. Offensive play calling, offensive line, special teams and the wide receiving group improved last week. The one area that still concerns me is the secondary. I've never really paid much attention to the college coaching in the secondary before. I know NFL teams have a secondary coach, but it is a shared position on iCoach's staff. Coach Okruch is in charge of the special teams AND the safety position. Coach Mallory is our D coordinator AND is in charge of the defensive backs. I wonder if there was one coach working with the group we would be more cohesive? Maybe I'm over thinking it, but I'm just looking for answers for better play back there with the talent we have on the team right now. Carter seems to be improving at wide out, so I can see he is staying put, so I'll stop bangin' that drum. Here's to hoping Coaches Okruch & Mallory get our secondary playing some good ball. It should be a high priority, especially before the Ken+ game!

[GP1]

Absolute worst-case, I want to see a good college football game in Akron on Saturday. Ideally, I want a Zips blow out.

You will see one of the teams play pooly and execute poorly late. I think NIU will execute poorly late and if the Zips don't play worse than a team playing their third road game in a row, they can win.

[Wally B]

Sounding cliche here, but i'm looking for the little wins. Certainly i prefer a win over the Poochies, especially since they seem to have a seething hatred of us, and think Hixson was a fluke.... YOU PLAY TO WIN THE GAME AND WE DID!!! But i will be content with player development, and the wins will follow.

If seeing is believing, the iCoach is starting to prove his prognasticators wrong. The vibe i'm getting from the nation is that we are starting to like what we are seeng, and it is in the form of development. I'm looking for smart ball, continued development and what the heck, if that puts us in a postion to win, a last minute pass to "steal" the game would be nice. Afterall, YOU PLAY TO WIN THE GAME!!!

[Buckzip]

It would be nice if Hixon, or someone, told LaFrance how to catch a deep pass.

[RowdyZip]

We had a chance to be in the game, in the 4th quarter, at a Big Ten school. That's an improvement. We matched up well in the post game stat sheet with Indiana, including time of possession. Also an improvement. If we can put one or two more plays together (or stops such as that 2nd and 30 situation), then we have a real chance to win that game. There's absolutely no reason why Akron can't beat a mediocre NIU team at home for homecoming.

[72 Roo]

Hate to rain on this love-fest regarding the rebirth of Akron football but I do not see one area in which we are better than NIU. I think you loyal fans want us to be competitive more so than we really are. We are a struggling team with questionable leadership. Thank you for trying to see the glass as half full but in reality it is 90% empty. We will get beat by a better NIU team.

[xu9697]

Hate to rain on this love-fest regarding the rebirth of Akron football but I do not see one area in which we are better than NIU. I think you loyal fans want us to be competitive more so than we really are. We are a struggling team with questionable leadership. Thank you for trying to see the glass as half full but in reality it is 90% empty. We will get beat by a better NIU team.

Here is how I look at it. IMHO, Indiana is better than Minnesota, Illinois and Iowa State. No, that is not saying much. But NIU went 1-2 against those teams (and we lost to Indiana). Typically I am not one to look too much at "this team beat this team, so we can beat this team" kind of stuff. But the fact is if NIU is so superior, at worst they should have won 2 of those 3. Those are some bad BCS teams right there. Heck, Syracuse might be better than all 3 as well..though doesn't do much for any argument since we sucked against them.

If Akron does everything the same as last week, but makes 2-3 more plays, they win the game. Now, whether you think they can do that...whole different story.

I see Akron losing 31-24. But I think winning is much more POSSIBLE after seeing them last week. Heck, I had them at 6-6, maybe 7-5 this year...and being 1-3 going into this game.

Next 2 weeks are huge. Find a way to win those games, or even just one of them, and this season might start to look a lot better.

[GP1]

None of us, including me, have answered the question. Is the improvement a mirage? I would firmly say no to that question. We are better today than a month ago in every area. How much better we will be Saturday is up to the players.

I'm still holding out hope that the MAC is as bad as I believe it to be. If so, we will look even better this week. I wouldn't guarantee a win, but a win is not out of the question. I believe we will win.

[Dave in Green]

There's no question in my find that the Zips have been improving. The only question is whether they are improving at a faster or slower rate than the remaining teams on their schedule. That will ultimately determine how well they do against NIU and the rest of the MAC teams on the schedule.

[Captain Kangaroo]

There's no question in my find that the Zips have been improving. The only question is whether they are improving at a faster or slower rate than the remaining teams on their schedule. That will ultimately determine how well they do against NIU and the rest of the MAC teams on the schedule.

Thankfully there are teams like K.e.n.t. who always collapse. That gives me hope for next week. K.e.n.t. always finds a way to beat themselves. But I'm getting ahead of myself....

[GP1]

There's no question in my find that the Zips have been improving. The only question is whether they are improving at a faster or slower rate than the remaining teams on their schedule. That will ultimately determine how well they do against NIU and the rest of the MAC teams on the schedule.

Thankfully there are teams like K.e.n.t. who always collapse. That gives me hope for next week. K.e.n.t. always finds a way to beat themselves. But I'm getting ahead of myself....

Who are you trying to kid?......It's never too early to pile on Can't.

Did you hear that Can't's library burned down?............They lost both books...............and one hadn't even been colored in yet.

[Captain Kangaroo]

The Syracuse game was as non-competitive and a 26-point loss as you could get. Defense was so-so, but everything else was non-existent.

The Gardner Webb game goes in the books as the worst loss I've witnessed as a Zips football fan. Getting beaten at home by a 1-AA program in your shiny new stadium is about as low as it goes. The offense perked-up a little, as they should against a team with 22 fewer scholarships, but the defense got rolled, as they shouldn't against a team with 22 fewer scholarships.

The Kentucky game saw the first signs of legitimate life from the offense. The WR's actually got separation from an opposing DB. The offensive game plan gave us a lot of opportunities to score. But PN7's passes were either errant...or the receivers dropped the ball. Defensively, the Zips hung in there...until the offensive drought wore them down. After 1.5 quarters, fatigue caught up to us.

The Indiana game saw the game slow down for PN7. The WR's continued to build off the Kentucky game, and also made some catches. Gary Pride showed games 1-3 might have just been shaking off 4 years of rust. The OL created ample holes for the Zips' two Youngstown-bred backs to average 5+ yards per carry. The defense played well enough, and Igor showed why he was rated the #5 kicker in college football a few years ago. Unfortunately, a few lapses, and dropped passes, ruined the chance for a Big 10 upset.

Now we face MAC opponent Northern Illinois:

Can Latina continue to keep the opposing defense on it's heels with clever play calling?

Will the WR's continue to get separation?

Can the Zips finally connect on a home run ball?

If Hixon is returning for the reunion (he'd better be!), can he have a short meeting with Jeremy LaFrance to relay the importance of catching a deep pass?

Can someone on the defense step up and have a "wow" game? 14 tackles from an LB...3 sacks from a DL...an INT returned for a TD from a DB?

Can Igor keep kicking like it's 2007?

Can we keep "First 1/3rd of the Season MVP" Zack Campbell off the field?

Will the game continue to slow down for PN7?

Does Phil Tonga see his first action of the season?

Can the defense keep Chad Spann from going "Travis Prentis"/"Garrett Wolf" on us?

Bad MAC teams always have the appearance of a disorganized, ill-prepared train wreck. This is what kills K.e.n.t. State every single year. They do stupid, stupid stuff that you never see even at the pee wee level, and they lose. And lose.

After being emotionally crushed by our performance in the first two weeks, I'm heartened by the improvement in weeks 3 and four. We now look like a good football team. The Zips look well-coached. They look organized. They look to be improving every week. Now, it's pretty much up to the players to win a game. Can PN7 lead his team to a victory?

We have a MAC-level opponent, at home, homecoming. It is time to put on a show.

Absolute worst-case, I want to see a good college football game in Akron on Saturday. Ideally, I want a Zips blow out.

Answer - A mirage.

Also - Maybe I should have been more specific when I requested to see a Zips blowout.

[Buckzip]

Hey there is improvement. We are increasing our average margin of defeat. That's improvement..

[Dave in Green]

There's no question in my find that the Zips have been improving. The only question is whether they are improving at a faster or slower rate than the remaining teams on their schedule. That will ultimately determine how well they do against NIU and the rest of the MAC teams on the schedule.

Question answered.