ZIP IT!

[johnnyzip84]

Change:

Zips +12.2 points per game

Opponents -2.8 points per game

Net change +15 points per game difference in average points in favor of the Zips

The typical 2011 game was a 38.5-14.2 Zips loss.

The typical 2012 game was a 35.7-26.4 Zips loss.

These are the "telling" stats for me. Couple these with the MAC having a "career year" in 2012 and I believe there is reason for cautious optimism in Zipland.

I agree with MAXZip that a key in 2013 will be to make sure guys like Griggs, Suel, Dalton, Straight, Bice, Mangum, etc are adequately replaced. The DE transfer (James) from Colorado St should help, as well as guys like James Price who will be back (eligible) in 2013. Still, TB and staff will NEED to land a few transfers/JUCOS to fill in some holes.

[K92]

Thanks to DiG for the statistics. These numbers show that the progrum is definitely going in the right direction, dare I say, even more drastically than the numbers show at first glance. In 2011, a lot of the numbers accumulated in Zips games were recorded after the outcome was decided, against the opposition's 2nd and 3rd teams. This year's numbers were not padded during garbage time.

I know this may be of small consolation to many, since statistics are for losers but as GP1 pointed out in an earlier thread, we are a better class of loser this year.

Unfortunately, losing to a terrible team like UMass puts the Kibosh on the warm fuzzy the numbers might otherwise foment.

[MaxZIP]

The best aspect of this season has to be the weather. At least we didn't have to freeze our butts off watching the zips lose. Last week was very nice. I will be interested to see if dw can be replaced expecially since he has played the entire season. Time will tell if this desperate move will cause us to struggle early next year.

[Wally B]

How about this Wallaby? I'll remain in the fact-based world, where objective reality rules the day. You remain wherever it is you reside, in your mind, a magical place where, suddenly, and after 25 years of non-success, this program will become a winner. Terry Bowden appears to be a credible coach and to have hired a credible staff, but there are ZERO facts, that you can point to, that support your contention that this one-win program is just about to turn the corner. You and I both want them to win, but I believe much greater success would result from reclaiming their natural place within the larger football order. If TB turns them into a winner, I'll be happy to be wrong, but I don't think I am.

Well.... besides the aforementioned numb3rs, there's this

linky

After what? 39 YEARS??

Only 2 years since they suggested droping the program...

Hard to believe that's possible given this 2012 review from Presnap Read... Yet where are they today? (sorry, i just threw up a little in my mouth) but hey, good for them....

Can't State is the worst offensive team in the history of college football. There’s no debate about that. The Golden Flashes have scored 13,897 points over the span of 91 years and 849 games, an average of 16.4 points per game. The program has scored more than 300 points in a season only five times in its history: 1954, 1997, 2003, 2004 and 2008. If you were willing to do the math, you could combine the Golden Flashes’ two highest-scoring seasons – 335 points in 2004 and 337 points in 1997 – and still fall short of Houston’s 690-point outburst from a year ago. If you so chose, you could also argue the point that Can't State is the worst program in F.B.S. history. The Golden Flashes have the lowest career winning percentage of any program with roots dating back to the last century; Can't State is also the only such program with a career winning percentage below 40 percent. If you were willing, you could probably make the argument that housing the worst offense in F.B.S. history has been a primary factor behind Can't State being considered the worst program in F.B.S. history.

The pieces are there. IT will take time to build and further evidence will emerge during the offseason. trust me, I'm more optimistic than I have been in years. Just relax and enjoy the ride.

Someday soon things are going to be all right, and I'll buy you a beer as the Zips retake the wheel

[MaxZIP]

I've been impressed with a bunch of teams in the mac this year. It apears we are far from competing on the second tier of the mac at this time. Using 1 and 2 year players has been beat up on other threads and we all know a program can't be built on 30 to 50% juco recruiting classes. I for one am not believing you can bring in a hodgd podge of castoffs and troubled talent and expect to build a team. Teams are built when players grow together. What we are witbessing now is a few players producing but the overall team failing. TB does not have the time to build the team right. He is under pressure from himself, the school, and his overinflated propaganda machine to win games now. He did a similiar thing at the last school. Unfortunately he was the benefactor of transfers and short term players from higher levels of ball. Now what we are getting might be from higher level ball but they are the leftovers. Bowden was suprised by the talent in the mac...has he adjusted his strategy or are we doomed? I say juco players can't close the gap. He needs to prove it next year with a solid freshman class or the zips are 4 years from being competitive withthe top mac programs.

[Lee Adams]

I've been impressed with a bunch of teams in the mac this year. It apears we are far from competing on the second tier of the mac at this time. Using 1 and 2 year players has been beat up on other threads and we all know a program can't be built on 30 to 50% juco recruiting classes. I for one am not believing you can bring in a hodgd podge of castoffs and troubled talent and expect to build a team. Teams are built when players grow together. What we are witbessing now is a few players producing but the overall team failing. TB does not have the time to build the team right. He is under pressure from himself, the school, and his overinflated propaganda machine to win games now. He did a similiar thing at the last school. Unfortunately he was the benefactor of transfers and short term players from higher levels of ball. Now what we are getting might be from higher level ball but they are the leftovers. Bowden was suprised by the talent in the mac...has he adjusted his strategy or are we doomed? I say juco players can't close the gap. He needs to prove it next year with a solid freshman class or the zips are 4 years from being competitive withthe top mac programs.

Don't think anything you are saying here is in dispute. Its been said. Problem here in Akron is that it has been so long since there has been a winner AND the FRONT OFFICE HAD to build INFO. when it did,pressure was artificially placed on the football program. It hasn't been in the position to be a consistent winner for at least 4 years. Now since there are 20,000 empty seast for every game the 'SUITS' look stupid. Bowden should bring in some JC's and transfers that have at least 2 years when they get here. But as has been said repeatedly,this team is at least 3 years away from competing for a MAC championship.

If you got a look at the K.S.U./BGSU game and the defenses that were on the field you saw how inept the Akron D has been.

[GP1]

Bowden should bring in some JC's and transfers that have at least 2 years when they get here.

Absolutely. The best way to attract top notch high school talent is to win and win ASAP. So, the cycle has to break. The way to break the cycle is juco players and getting some traction while younger players develop. More than anything, this program quickly needs to get to at least four wins a year. We don't have an unlimited number of years to "build" a program.

[ZachTheZip]

Bringing in lots of JUCO talent is an easier prospect in football than in basketball. In basketball, you need to have at least five players that work as a cohesive unit in most or all aspects of the game. That's very difficult to acheive if you're just plugging in players. But in football, the units on the field are smaller, ranging from two to five (for the offensive line) and each unit has a limited set of tasks to perform. JUCO players can come right in and succeed in football without losing too much due to not immediately meshing with their teammates.

[GP1]

Bringing in lots of JUCO talent is an easier prospect in football than in basketball. In basketball, you need to have at least five players that work as a cohesive unit in most or all aspects of the game. That's very difficult to acheive if you're just plugging in players. But in football, the units on the field are smaller, ranging from two to five (for the offensive line) and each unit has a limited set of tasks to perform. JUCO players can come right in and succeed in football without losing too much due to not immediately meshing with their teammates.

Good post. Integration of new players goes on every year in every sport at every level. It doesn't matter if those players are freshmen or juco players. It's foolishness to believe juco players disrupt cohesion.

[MaxZIP]

Good post. Integration of new players goes on every year in every sport at every level. It doesn't matter if those players are freshmen or juco players. It's foolishness to believe juco players disrupt cohesion.

The cycle of 2 year players will begin to be a disruption if continued at the levels expected for next year. We need jucos to win...hasn't worked yet but still they are needed to win. Juco players at key positions will hurt long term success if younger players are not developed. That is all im sayin

[ZachTheZip]

The cycle of 2 year players will begin to be a disruption if continued at the levels expected for next year. We need jucos to win...hasn't worked yet but still they are needed to win. Juco players at key positions will hurt long term success if younger players are not developed. That is all im sayin

So who's going to win games for us while we wait for the younger players to develop?

I think you're looking at this as taking away from the number of freshmen we could recruit, and how that will affect us down the line. However, the idea when you're at the bottom and moving up is that every recruiting class should have more talent than the one before it. If half our recruits are JUCOs this year, then the half that are freshmen will be surpassed by future recruits if the JUCOs do their job and get us winning some games.

It's not like we are risking being even worse in the future if we try to win in the present. We literally have nothing to lose.

[MaxZIP]

So who's going to win games for us while we wait for the younger players to develop?

I think you're looking at this as taking away from the number of freshmen we could recruit, and how that will affect us down the line. However, the idea when you're at the bottom and moving up is that every recruiting class should have more talent than the one before it. If half our recruits are JUCOs this year, then the half that are freshmen will be surpassed by future recruits if the JUCOs do their job and get us winning some games.

It's not like we are risking being even worse in the future if we try to win in the present. We literally have nothing to lose.

Are we better off next year?

[GJGood]

At the very least next year's roster will be full of guys that have a year in the Zips new offensive and defensive schemes as well as a FULL incoming class that is recruited to play in those actual systems. Let's not forget that at least 80% of this year's team was composed of guys who were brought in to play an enirely different style than what they were endoctrined into this season.

I am looking forward to seeing what kind of players TB and Amato can get in this year's recruiting class since they will have the full amount of time to recruit.