Top storyline of '04 Zips FB?

[Guest UA Fan]

Several suggestions, in no particular order:

1) JDB's acclimation to head coaching. Will he learn the ropes quickly in his first year as HC? Will he be able to turn in decent results this year and, more importantly, show us some promise for the future?

2) Charlie Frye's legacy. Will he finish rewriting the UA record books and possibly set the MAC career yardage record? Will he establish himself as at least 2nd round draft material and get some mention as a Heisman candidate?

3) Defensive improvement. The key to winning more games! Will the Blackburn & Hixon moves pan out? Will the new guys step up and play well, esp. in the secondary?

4) Recruiting. Can the coaching staff bring in a strong class, as good as any in the MAC? Will the new facilities really make a difference?

5) Other...you name it. Attendance issues? Stadium plan announcement? Worse than expected results? Shocking upset of PSU or UVa?

What do you think?

[Zipsrifle]

Well, in my mind you missed one area, receiving. Frye won't put up big numbers if the receivers are dropping his passes. JD has a knack with receivers and hopefully it will pay off. If the receivers suck, it's going to be a long, disappointing year.

Here's my take:

1) I'm really not too worried about JD acclimating to the HC position. I think he's been around enough to know what to do.

2) Frye's legacy is set at UA. As for his MAC legacy, if the Zips don't win, it won't matter much. You won't hear his name with Leftwich, Pennington, or Rothlesburger. If the Zips can win 7 again this year, he'll be one MAC Greats. This will catch headlines most of the season.

3) Hopefully the D is in the headlines. This will mean that they have made a huge improvement. Everyone is used to the D in it's flimsy LO form.

4) This needs to be another headline catcher. I don't see how the facilities won't help recruiting. JD won't have to deal with the turmoil from the LO changeover last year that IMO, messed us up a lot for this year.

5) Attendence will catch some headlines if the Zips have a losing season. I think the ESPN deal will help out a LOT. If the Zips are in conention for the MAC East, I predict you'll see 35,202 at the Rubber Bowl on Nov. 5th. That would be a headline in itself.

I really don't think we'll see anyting about a stadium this year. I don't know how the University can have any money in reserve after all the money they've spent in the last 5. Don't get me wrong, I wish they would could start construction tomorrow, but I just don't see an announcement this year.

I don't see a PSU upset. The offense will be too green and the mistakes will cause us the win. Won't speculate on UVa until after MTSU but hopefully we can suprise them after likely easy wins over Temple and North Carolina.

[zipboy]

1. You never know, I like what I see and he seems more prepared that LO when he made the jump. Hard worker, smart guy, says the right things. Let's hope it translates to wins.

2. I hope that he doesn't become the next Charlie Batch of the MAC, great QB, played in the pros, no better than 500. If Charlies throws for 1000 less yards and goes 9-2, he will be remembered much more than throwing for 1000 more and going 4-7. One of my best Zip memories was playing Marshall for a title a few years ago. I hope Charlie has a better legacy than Butchie did.

3. Undersized, but quicker. The influx in the secondary of Corner, Henry, and Pace will help. They won't be world beaters, but they will make strides this year.

4. Yes

5. Interesting to see what a team that exceeds expectations would draw. We need several years of consistent winning, but averaging 20k year in and year out is doable. Shock Penn State, we still only draw 20K for MTSU. Go into Nov 5th with 1 loss, beat Marshall on ESPN, the Zips show it ain't your grandpa's university anymore. And attendance for 2005 picks up.