Looking Ahead to 2015

[Lee Adams]

So after what happened this year,what of next season? And what happens in the off season?

Are changes coming in the coaching staff (offensive coordinator/defensive coordinator for example)?

How does Bowden replace some graduating seniors who made significant contributions on both sides of the ball?(Looking at the roster there are some holes to fill.)

And,will there be a move to go with another QB who will have limited or no game experience?

Lets hear it.

[GJGood]

I am most worried about the lines on both sides of the ball. I think the strength and conditioning program in the offseason will be key.

I also think they need to take a long, hard look at Milwee's philosophy on offense. I am not sure of the answer there but if we could have an offense that even somewhat resembled what we had in Bowden's first year coupled with our current defense we'd be in the top half of the MAC at the very least and maybe even a title contender.

I keep hearing those that sat out this year as transfers or redshirts are going to be really good. Is that finally going to pan out or is it just being overly optimistic?

[RACER]

the two kids from osu are starting right now.the other I saw play in osu bowl game against Clemson.

I do not care what gp say's. I saw the kid play.he was probably the best defense player on the field for both teams.i think osu thought spence was coming back so they do not really care.we have great defense coach who has turned the d around.i don't know about the dl from isu.he has some size

to play though,and would the biggest dl we have.i have not seen him play.i did the osu kid play against a Clemson offense that would have put 70 on the akron defense that year.a picture Is worth a 1000 words.if he has grade, or other issues I have no idea.i just know he can play.

[K92]

[LZIp]

One name is slipping my mind, but I was looking at the roster the other day.

I did not see Junius (came with Newman Williams from SVSM)

I did not see the DE from Buchtel we got at the end of recruiting last year

Normally I'd right this off as them being redshirted so they arent on the roster, but guys like Kincade, Marcus, Alexander, and Williams are all on the roster...

Anyone know anything about these guys?

[K92]

I was told Travonte Junius is a greyshirt. I had the same concern about Anthony Clark and was assured he was still on the team, just not listed on the roster. I don't know what Deon'Tae Moore's status is. I have not seen him on the sidelines for a while. Perhaps he was there and I just didn't see him.

[LZIp]

I was told Travonte Junius is a greyshirt. I had the same concern about Anthony Clark and was assured he was still on the team, just not listed on the roster. I don't know what Deon'Tae Moore's status is. I have not seen him on the sidelines for a while. Perhaps he was there and I just didn't see him.

Thanks. and Deon'Tae is on the roster. Just missed him at first.

[ZippyRulz]

So after what happened this year,what of next season? And what happens in the off season?

Are changes coming in the coaching staff (offensive coordinator/defensive coordinator for example)?

I'm more concerned about the makeup of the coaching staff for next year before I start worrying about any of the player personnel issues. I'm sure we will hear something soon.

[GP1]

I'm more concerned about the makeup of the coaching staff for next year before I start worrying about any of the player personnel issues. I'm sure we will hear something soon.

I'm concerned about the amount of turnover. It's one of the signs of a sinking ship. If there are an unusually large number of coaches leaving this off season, it is a sign that the ship is taking on more water than we would like.

[GJGood]

I am also concerned with the non-conference schedule. Playing games at Oklahoma and at Louisiana may be just a little too tough at this point in time. Throw in the home game with revenge-minded Pitt and the pessimists may could easily be all over this team by the time they take the field in week 4 against FCS Savannah State.

[Lee Adams]

I am also concerned with the non-conference schedule. Playing games at Oklahoma and at Louisiana may be just a little too tough at this point in time. Throw in the home game with revenge-minded Pitt and the pessimists may could easily be all over this team by the time they take the field in week 4 against FCS Savannah State.

Non-conference schedule against REAL DI teams means nothing except the AD gets a check in the mail. We saw what a win at Pitt meant for this program this season. We saw what a win at NCState meant against Amato's boys in 2006. We saw what a 'close loss' meant at Michigan again except paychecks for the AD. Penn State,Wisconsin,OSU etec. etc. Meaningless except for the $$$$$.

[Lee Adams]

I'm more concerned about the makeup of the coaching staff for next year before I start worrying about any of the player personnel issues. I'm sure we will hear something soon.

Well, look out for the Bowden backers on this site. I too am more than concerned about the abilities of the coaching staff. Offense,defense and special teams.Bowden obviously is not going anywhere. BUT,he IS responsible for everything. He can't use the rationalization this season that he HAD to use too many players brought in by some other coach. Bowden 'owned' this program after the 2013 season. HE hired the offensive and defensive staff. He coached this team to a 3-5 record in the MAC against the easiest MAC schedule he could possibly get.

There is a new University President. He is from Texas I believe. He has no loyalty to either Bowden or Wistrcil. Obviously we do not know how involved he is in the Athletic Department. BUT, I wonder if the new President has wondered this, we have state of the art football facilities; We pay to maintain them. The Prez is paying an AD and a football coach who up until 2014 who have not delivered a return on the investment that the University has made to football.

At what point does a new University President decide to stop flushing money down the shitter and make some changes in the AD?

Just wondering?!

[skip-zip]

I am also concerned with the non-conference schedule. Playing games at Oklahoma and at Louisiana may be just a little too tough at this point in time. Throw in the home game with revenge-minded Pitt and the pessimists may could easily be all over this team by the time they take the field in week 4 against FCS Savannah State.

1) We're always going to have that $1M payday game on the schedule (Oklahoma). It's a must.

2) I'm just thrilled that we managed to negotiate a home game with Pitt. I'm glad Syracuse was willing to do the same thing a few years ago. I commend those two programs. It's a blessing to get programs like that to play in Akron. Take it whenever you can get it.

3) If any Zips fan fears playing ANY Sun Belt team (UL-Lafayette?, Really?), at any time, it's time to pack it in.

[GP1]

There is a new University President. He is from Texas I believe. He has no loyalty to either Bowden or Wistrcil. Obviously we do not know how involved he is in the Athletic Department. BUT, I wonder if the new President has wondered this, we have state of the art football facilities; We pay to maintain them. The Prez is paying an AD and a football coach who up until 2014 who have not delivered a return on the investment that the University has made to football.

At what point does a new University President decide to stop flushing money down the shitter and make some changes in the AD?

Just wondering?!

It's worth wonder about Lee. Universities hire ADs based upon what they believe they need. Some hire ADs who are good at getting stadiums built. Some hire for marketing purposes. There are a lot of different reasons an AD gets hired. I believe TW was hired because of his marketing background.

What do we need right now?...What are the problems with the Athletic Department the new president should address if he can take a break from trying to dig the University out of the sea of red ink it is currently swimming in? Well, the programs that matter, MBB and soccer, are doing fine...the football program is not fine and can't be described as going fine after a 5-7 season with the easiest schedule we could hope for, a new stadium that has yet to see a winning season, an indoor practice facility that isn't being used to generate winning season, etc. So, what is the solution to the problem? My solution is very easy. Fire the current AD who ran the football program into the ground with the worst hire in the history of D1A college football and replace him with an AD who has experience in getting football programs straightened out and on a WINNING track. Let's get away from the "building process" and get involved in a winning process.

[RACER]

gp which defense would you take in the mac.? defense- 1 gives up 23 ppg.defense-2 gives 34 ppg ?

the problem is we are the most penalized team in the mac,and a offense ranked 10 th scoring.

our offense is last in time of possession also.if you take the blocked punt away our offense scores 16 yesterday.time of possession does not mean anything if your scoring points,but we don't.

we have the #1 defense in the mac. despite being on the field more than any other team.

our defense will be fine next year. we have a d-coordinator who knows what he is doing.

the perfect example of this would be the bg game.our offense throws a pick the in the end zone.

no points. next the qb let's the snap go into our end zone.touchdown bg.bg scores 27, but the defense only gives up 20 points.im not saying our defense is perfect.marashall only had one game where they score under 35.they scored 63 on southern miss,and over 60 yesterday.i have no clue about the buffalo game.since we are so bad they won't put akron on tv.why play weeknight games if they won't put us on tv.espn3 is not cable tv.

I did not see the game.we have enough coaching/talent to win the mac championship on defense.

the offense side of the ball were not even close.

[GJGood]

1) We're always going to have that $1M payday game on the schedule (Oklahoma). It's a must.

2) I'm just thrilled that we managed to negotiate a home game with Pitt. I'm glad Syracuse was willing to do the same thing a few years ago. I commend those two programs. It's a blessing to get programs like that to play in Akron. Take it whenever you can get it.

3) If any Zips fan fears playing ANY Sun Belt team (UL-Lafayette?, Really?), at any time, it's time to pack it in.

I don't fear any one particular game. My thoughts were 'bigger picture' than that. I was merely stating that the first three games next year will mean the Zips will face one of, if not the, toughest schedule they have ever played as a program. If the way we are measuring progress of the program is by winning records and/or bowl berths I think the non-conference games next season make that progress much more difficult to achieve than it would have been this year.

I understand that the model we are following is FCS at home, payday game on the road, and two FBS home-and-home opponents. I actually like next year's scheduled teams, just not the fact that the "pay day" game comes first or that the FCS game is all the way down at Game #4. Those first three weeks will be tough back-to-back-to-back and we aren't likely to catch a team like Oklahoma sleepwalking through a 'trap' game if it's their home opener.

[Lee Adams]

It's worth wonder about Lee. Universities hire ADs based upon what they believe they need. Some hire ADs who are good at getting stadiums built. Some hire for marketing purposes. There are a lot of different reasons an AD gets hired. I believe TW was hired because of his marketing background.

What do we need right now?...What are the problems with the Athletic Department the new president should address if he can take a break from trying to dig the University out of the sea of red ink it is currently swimming in? Well, the programs that matter, MBB and soccer, are doing fine...the football program is not fine and can't be described as going fine after a 5-7 season with the easiest schedule we could hope for, a new stadium that has yet to see a winning season, an indoor practice facility that isn't being used to generate winning season, etc. So, what is the solution to the problem? My solution is very easy. Fire the current AD who ran the football program into the ground with the worst hire in the history of D1A college football and replace him with an AD who has experience in getting football programs straightened out and on a WINNING track. Let's get away from the "building process" and get involved in a winning process.

Again,I do not know anything about the current President. But it would be hard to believe that he has not by now scrutinized what has been going on in the Athletic Department in general and with the football program specifically. Football is still generally the most 'visible'(if not very successful) sports program at this this level. There is a good deal of national TV exposure even if it is on weeknights. Here football has the most expensive and visible of all facilities.It is the most expensive program to operate. Does a university president want a consistently losing program to be representing the school he is running for very long?

GP,I tend to agree with you regarding the AD. He inherited great football facilities. He inherited successful basketball and soccer programs. Those are the two other most visible sports at Akron. Maybe Wistrcil has assumed that what he inherited would mean the football program would eventually raise its level of competitiveness. Thus far it hasn't happened. I will say it APPEARED when he hired Bowden that Wistrcil tacitly admitted he screwed up with the Ianello hire. Maybe Bowden has started to turn the corner. This season however,didn't do anything to indicate that the corner has been successfully turned.

I still maintain as I have before that 2015 is a very crucial season for this coaching staff. It is even more so now in light of the poor performance of the team on the field and on the sidelines this year. I would be surprised that if this program doesn't get over the hump,at least in the MAC next season(to me that means at least 5-3) the powers that be outside the AD are going to start shining a brighter light at what is going on at Infocision.

[footballzip]

Time for Bowden to produce, or he may be back on TV doing analysis. Losing to Can't State is a tough pill to swallow. No excuse for that.

[zipsoutsider]

Well, look out for the Bowden backers on this site. I too am more than concerned about the abilities of the coaching staff. Offense,defense and special teams.Bowden obviously is not going anywhere. BUT,he IS responsible for everything. He can't use the rationalization this season that he HAD to use too many players brought in by some other coach. Bowden 'owned' this program after the 2013 season. HE hired the offensive and defensive staff. He coached this team to a 3-5 record in the MAC against the easiest MAC schedule he could possibly get.

Bowden and his staff have had 2 years to convince kids to come play for what was, the worst team in 1A football. How many true freshman played this year? That's right 0, outside of the place kicker in the first 2 games. So, you basically have 1 year of his recruiting class and the best transfers he could scrounge up. Akron had years of horrible recruiting and you want overnight results. It just doesn't work that way. Even the not so great MAC teams we faced this year had the leg up with years of better recruiting. Just because it isn't happening on your schedule doesn't mean it isn't happening. I think next year we will be better and the year after is when we really turn the corner to becoming a truly dominate MAC team.

If Bowden had let previous coaching recruits go, who would he have played? True freshman who weren't ready? Kids coming from HS need that first year to acclimate to the move from HS to college. A few can get by but find me a coach who wouldn't rather red shirt freshmen. They have time to adjust mentally and get bigger, stronger, and faster.

While there are a few people who were expecting instant gratification here, most rational people understand that convincing a kid to play here, in from, of a few thousand fans, versus teams that have been going to MAC Championships and bowl games is not an easy task. The fact that Bowden has brought in the quality recruits that he has is pretty remarkable - it's been almost like selling swamp land. It's going to take a little time and he isn't interested in building a 1 and done team, he wants to build a program.

[footballzip]

We have not won anything since 2005. People getting sick of always rebuilding. It's time to win now! There are many MAC teams who can turn things around in a year or two, why not us? I will give Bowden this year, but he better win next year.

[Dr Z]

I originally put these three criteria to next years success in the Pohl Poll, but it really belongs here:

• Tra'Von needs to be coach Bowden's next Janoris Jenkins.

• The offensive playbook should be rebuilt if AJ stays.

• We need a RB and WR that put some fear in opposing defenses.

A lot of offseason processes should be set in place now. The staff has to really hyperfocus on the three above issues.

[Balsy]

zipsoutsider +1. Dead on. My post on the EA article reflects this sentiment.

[Balsy]

I'm glad GP1 is no longer participating in these conversations of Football, because the sentiment against being tired of "rebuilding" is ridiculous. Perhaps I feel that way because my first season as a Zips fan, we went 3-9, then went 3-33 over the next three years. This isn't "rebuilding" this is completely starting from scratch. This isn't a down program that a few things will fix, this is a blown-up-into-tiny-little-pieces-that-cannot-be-put-back-together program. Winning now would be nice, but it's not realistic. Again I wil reference my post over in the EA article, that our expectations and reality are two very different things.

[Ham]

I would much rather see Kinkade push Tra'von to WR where I think he would put up big yac #'s.

[Zip_ME87]

Next season I don't want to hear TB or any of the coaches say that the Zips aren't there yet, even if they feel that way. They need to keep that to themselves. Belief begins with the leaders. TB and his dad both have said that teams with the better players win. "Better" players doesn't always mean more gifted or more athletic. I've seen teams play above the athletic level of individual players. Better players to me means having the pride, the heart, the drive, to want to accomplish and putting in the effort to do it. That starts with the leadership of the coaching staff and the team captains. Guys who have been at Akron and played in front of the meager crowds need to take the attitude that change begins with them. Take ownership and find a way to win one game at a time. Perhaps more emphasis should be placed on winning the MAC. Win the MAC and go bowling then worry about upper level OoC games.