Season Predictions—Game by Game

[ZipsVoice]

He and staff need to win 7 games each season.  And the recruiting classes both years need to include 75% incoming freshmen, not JUCO and year-of-eligibility-left graduated players.  Show me you are trying to build a program, not just do it year-to-year with smoke and mirror wishing.  Maybe I's go 6 win this year seven next.  Losing season this year should cause  Big Mike to pull trigger now and buyout his last season.  And also he needs to tell wifey to dress her age.

[K92]

1 hour ago, LZIp said:

What would you need to see from Bowden & Co these last 2 seasons under contract to keep them on board?

The recruiting dumpster fire is going to seal Bowden & Co's fate.  They can't get to where they need to be with where the roster is.

[LZIp]

16 minutes ago, K92 said:

The recruiting dumpster fire is going to seal Bowden & Co's fate.  They can't get to where they need to be with where the roster is.

where do they need to be? Interestingly, 247 had Akron pegged as the 2nd most talented team in the MAC last season and 4th the season before that.

http://247sports.com/Season/2016-Football/CollegeTeamTalentComposite?Conference=MAC

[LZIp]

30 minutes ago, ZipsVoice said:

He and staff need to win 7 games each season.  And the recruiting classes both years need to include 75% incoming freshmen, not JUCO and year-of-eligibility-left graduated players.  Show me you are trying to build a program, not just do it year-to-year with smoke and mirror wishing.  Maybe I's go 6 win this year seven next.

I think that is fair even though I don't think the recruiting ratio is a big of deal as you are making it out to be. I don't think we brought in any JUCO or year-of-eligibility-left players this season.

Edited July 23, 2017 by LZIp

[Zipgrad01]

9 minutes ago, LZIp said:

where do they need to be? Interestingly, 247 had Akron pegged as the 2nd most talented team in the MAC last season and 4th the season before that.

http://247sports.com/Season/2016-Football/CollegeTeamTalentComposite?Conference=MAC

Then that means the coaches are an absolute joke to get slaughtered with all that hmm...hmm... talent. ?

[Zipgrad01]

In all seriousness.... I think the zips need to make a bowl game this season and win the mac east next season. The mac east is an absolute joke and we have done nothing more than hang right around the middle of the pack. Excuses (injuries, bad roster when hired), etc... only last so long. The guy will be here for 3/4 of a decade at that point. Not winning our HALF of the conference during that run is enough to demand a change. We can't afford to buy out his contract, so he needs 2 good years to get an extension. 

[ZippyRulz]

3 hours ago, ZipsVoice said:

He and staff need to win 7 games each season. 

 

This. 

 

[Bigmexicanwoman]

5 hours ago, LZIp said:

Not many were man enough to put it in writing and say what would make this season successful and why in their eyes, so I'll ask another question.

 

What would you need to see from Bowden & Co these last 2 seasons under contract to keep them on board?

8 w's. MAC East Champ. MAC Champ. Bowl win. Home average attendance -17,500.  (Deep inhale, cough, cough.)

[K92]

I don't think increasing the win total by a game a year is unrealistic and I think 9 wins is a realistic cap on those expectations. These are very lax goals that need to be met.

 

Year one (1-11) did not meet expectations (2-10).

Year two (5-7) exceeded expectations (3-9).

Year three (5-7) exceeded expectations (4-8).

Year four (8-5) exceeded expectations (5-7).

Year five (5-7) did not meet expectaions (6-6).

My expectations for year six are 7-5 and year seven are 8-4.

 

Failure to get 7 wins this year puts the success rate of meeting my low expectations at 50%.  50% is an F in any teacher's grade book.

 

What are the odds the Zips win 7 games this year?

[zipsoutsider]

11 hours ago, Bigmexicanwoman said:

8 w's. MAC East Champ. MAC Champ. Bowl win. Home average attendance -17,500.  (Deep inhale, cough, cough.)

Average attendance will be below 10,000 thanks to our November schedule.

[kreed5120]

17 hours ago, LZIp said:

Not many were man enough to put it in writing and say what would make this season successful and why in their eyes, so I'll ask another question.

 

What would you need to see from Bowden & Co these last 2 seasons under contract to keep them on board?

A MAC Championship title appearance.

[K92]

53 minutes ago, zipsoutsider said:

Average attendance will be below 10,000 thanks to our November schedule.

I think you are correct.  Question is how much below.

[kreed5120]

Isn't this the year Akron buys tickets to meet numbers or was that last year? 

[LZIp]

Gosh darnit, I REALLY hate to bring this up....but it is worth mentioning. I expect our attendance to be higher this year compared to last (10,337). In 2015 our attendance was 18k, which was largely made up of tickets bough by the University to meet the FBS attendance requirements, which requires an average attendance of 15k on a 2 year rolling period. Being that clearly the 2016 attendance number doesn't include some large "artificial" spike, it seems like the opposite would be the case for 2017.

[LZIp]

4 minutes ago, kreed5120 said:

Isn't this the year Akron buys tickets to meet numbers or was that last year? 

you just beat me to it.

[skip-zip]

Guys, I think you're right that this is OUR year to hit the necessary average.  

 

With that said, I'll modify Zipsoutsider's prediction and say that we'll have an additional 5k-10k "invisible fans" at all home games this year.   

[Hilltopper]

18 hours ago, Zipgrad01 said:

 We can't afford to buy out his contract, so he needs 2 good years to get an extension. 

There are enough boosters who would be glad to cough up the money to see Bowden gone if he posts another season like last year.

[zippy5]

Bowden needs 6 wins imo. He's had enough time to get his recruits in and play his style. I don't think he's brought the talent in necessary to win but that's why they play the games.

[zipsoutsider]

LOL. I get a kick out of the board's proclamation of what Bowden has to do. They aren't going to buy him out of a contract at this point. He is here through 2018. 

[skip-zip]

Much more willing to buy out one year rather than two years.  Just saying.  

[zippy5]

49 minutes ago, zipsoutsider said:

LOL. I get a kick out of the board's proclamation of what Bowden has to do. They aren't going to buy him out of a contract at this point. He is here through 2018. 

Try recruiting with one year left on a contract. He's either getting an extension or the axe after this year

[K-Roo]

1 hour ago, zippy5 said:

Try recruiting with one year left on a contract. He's either getting an extension or the axe after this year

Because we obviously have so many better options than Bowden.   Let me list them for you... ( insert crickets sound effect here)

[Zipgrad01]

4 hours ago, K-Roo said:

Because we obviously have so many better options than Bowden.   Let me list them for you... ( insert crickets sound effect here)

Who said that it needs to be a name? If our AD is doing his job he has about 15 guys in mind to call today if need be. 

[zippy5]

8 hours ago, K-Roo said:

Because we obviously have so many better options than Bowden.   Let me list them for you... ( insert crickets sound effect here)

So then he gets an extension. Fair enough. But there's no way he coaches with a 1 year contract, that's suicide

[Balsy]

This team was easily a 6-6, 7-5 team last year without injuries IMO.  I love when everyone is so ready to throw a young team under the bus without seeing what they can do.

2012:  1-11 (scratch)
2013:  5-7 (success)

2014:  5-7 (failure, had potential to be 6-6 or 7-5)

2015:  8-5 Bowl Appearance, (success)

2016: 5-7 (failure, bowl appearance)

 

2017:  I expect nothing less than a Bowl appearance.  Record Doesn't matter to me.  Anything above what's required to get a Bowl appearance is a bonus.  

Though I may be the only one saying it here:  ZIPS WILL WIN THE MAC EAST this year.  Consider it my bold prediction, and let the triggered snowflakes start throwing feces.

 

2018:  Bowl Appearance, Win MAC East.  Anything less is a disappointment.  But this really deserves an * simply because if the team were to go 10-2 and lose a game in the last second against Ohio...I'll reconsider being upset because their 10-2...which in 2018 means they would have had to have beaten 1 of 2 BIG-10 teams.