2021 Schedule

[John Ward]

10 hours ago, clarkwgriswold said:

 

 

 

It was last weekend.

I believe the spring game is friday.

[GP1]

12 hours ago, zipsoutsider said:

I do believe the trajectory is FCS or D2 ball for the Zips.

This doesn't have to be the fate of Akron or G5 football. It can be better...much better.

 

G5 schools can use football to have a positive impact on the athletes, students, alumni, fans and the greater communities where they exist. At some point they have to stop tilting at windmills and develop a reality based plan that allows the schools to be impactful in these areas.

 

People will say that this line of thinking isn't "dreaming big".  Really? What have G5 schools gotten for dreaming big over the past 25 years? Stadiums they can't afford? Salaries they can't afford?  One incompetent AD after another delivering another broken "building process"? Weeknight games in front of empty stadiums? Dwindling community support? Apathetic alumni? Fans that can't even muster enough enthusiasm to at least show up at the stadium to tailgate, play some cornhole and get drunk with friends?

 

When someone says, "Dream big", they normally mean they want what someone else has. It's called envy. Envy is one of the seven deadly sins and not something you want to base your decisions around. How is this envy working out for G5 schools?  Are G5 closer or further away from the P5 schools in football right now? G5 schools need to go on the pursuit of what is best for them in lieu of what someone else has. When we do that, schools can be more impactful to the athletes, students, alumni, fans and greater communities.

Edited April 5, 2021 by GP1

[zippy5]

Don't feed the troll

[clarkwgriswold]

11 hours ago, John Ward said:

I believe the spring game is friday.

 

I confused it with the first scrimmage.

[Zippy7373]

I want to chime on on this situation, one I think that the new schedule is tough you could possibly go 1-3 In the first 4 games. the school is only looking at the financial part of this and not the opportunity for our school to win games. I know that there are some issues within the athletic administration but don't tank games on purpose. The other piece I want to touch on is the fact that there is no coverage for football throughout spring. there are no interviews on the youtube channel, school website, only on beacon journal. imagine being Arth and not being seen by your schools athletic page as the HC. I also want to talk about the assistant coaches for a second. Cook was a good coach that did a lot off the field and I think he would have left regardless if it was NFL or not we need a strong person to replace him. Our Offensive Line is horrible and I don't see them getting better at all. 2 years ago we was dead last in rushing the football and near bottom half in sacks. I don't see that unit improving. We also had guys playing out of position last year which makes it hard to win. the spring game is on the 9th I think our guys has to have a big summer in order to be decent in the fall. Has Cooks replacement been hired yet cause we need somebody coaching our TE's 

[bigjim]

can someone provide an update on Teon Dollard?  what is going on with the case?

[NWAkron]

1 hour ago, bigjim said:

can someone provide an update on Teon Dollard?  what is going on with the case?

the courts have a lot of programming and treatment options for first time offenders that can lead to a dismissal of the charges even if a gun is involved.

[ZIPFAN21]

Quick update:  T. Dollard is suspended until further notice.  Expected back in the summer.  A WR tested positive for Covid-19 that has resulted in several players missing the remaining of Spring camp due to contact tracing.  When will these protocols be relaxed??  

[Blue & Gold]

17 hours ago, Zippy7373 said:

I want to chime on on this situation, one I think that the new schedule is tough you could possibly go 1-3 In the first 4 games. the school is only looking at the financial part of this and not the opportunity for our school to win games. I know that there are some issues within the athletic administration but don't tank games on purpose. The other piece I want to touch on is the fact that there is no

Thanks for posting & welcome to ZN.o.  I agree.  I hate our out of conference schedule.  It's brutal, and will be demoralizing to both the team and fans.  What fans are left. Not at all what we need at this point with the program.  We need to win games and become accustomed to winning.  Do that for 10 years straight and I still don't think I'd like playing Auburn and Ohio State in the same season out of conference.  One money game per year is enough, and we should be taking aim at the Purdues, Northwesterns, and Indianas of the world, not 2 perennial Top 10 teams.

[zippy5]

46 minutes ago, ZIPFAN21 said:

Quick update:  T. Dollard is suspended until further notice.  Expected back in the summer.  A WR tested positive for Covid-19 that has resulted in several players missing the remaining of Spring camp due to contact tracing.  When will these protocols be relaxed??  

maybe when they're not still coming down with COVID?

 

[Zippy7373]

1 hour ago, ZIPFAN21 said:

Quick update:  T. Dollard is suspended until further notice.  Expected back in the summer.  A WR tested positive for Covid-19 that has resulted in several players missing the remaining of Spring camp due to contact tracing.  When will these protocols be relaxed??  

so will they have to shut it down or just keep rolling without any issues? I know the game is April 9th but those players that’s out will miss that. Dollard should get a slap on the wrist if there are no more issues that we know of. I know you hate to say it but we need him baggage and all. All the good teams have issues like this. 
 

 

also what’s the latest on the coaching staff? New coaches? Title changes? Etc. 

[zipsoutsider]

On 4/5/2021 at 8:10 AM, GP1 said:

This doesn't have to be the fate of Akron or G5 football. It can be better...much better.

 

G5 schools can use football to have a positive impact on the athletes, students, alumni, fans and the greater communities where they exist. At some point they have to stop tilting at windmills and develop a reality based plan that allows the schools to be impactful in these areas.

 

People will say that this line of thinking isn't "dreaming big".  Really? What have G5 schools gotten for dreaming big over the past 25 years? Stadiums they can't afford? Salaries they can't afford?  One incompetent AD after another delivering another broken "building process"? Weeknight games in front of empty stadiums? Dwindling community support? Apathetic alumni? Fans that can't even muster enough enthusiasm to at least show up at the stadium to tailgate, play some cornhole and get drunk with friends?

 

When someone says, "Dream big", they normally mean they want what someone else has. It's called envy. Envy is one of the seven deadly sins and not something you want to base your decisions around. How is this envy working out for G5 schools?  Are G5 closer or further away from the P5 schools in football right now? G5 schools need to go on the pursuit of what is best for them in lieu of what someone else has. When we do that, schools can be more impactful to the athletes, students, alumni, fans and greater communities.

100%

I don't think decline has to be the fate of G5 schools. They are selling the wrong product to the communities.

I am concerned about the lack of commitment the administration has to D1 football.

I think Arth got promoted one level above his ability, but it is tough to give him a true fair assessment with the way the program has been handled by administration.

[GP1]

12 hours ago, zipsoutsider said:

100%

I don't think decline has to be the fate of G5 schools. They are selling the wrong product to the communities.

I am concerned about the lack of commitment the administration has to D1 football.

I think Arth got promoted one level above his ability, but it is tough to give him a true fair assessment with the way the program has been handled by administration.

Thanks for your response.

 

In terms of the base product, G5 schools are more entertaining now than they have ever been so I wouldn't use the word decline. Except for at the very top where there are 3-5 teams that win every week in lopsided blowouts, college football is more entertaining than it has ever been. G5 schools just don't have the resources and are never going to have the resources to keep up with the P5 schools.

 

I'm not concerned about the lack of commitment. I think they are doing all they can do with the available money. My problem is their chronic bad decision making. You can have all of the resources in the world and when your decision making is as bad as ours the results are plainly and painfully visible. Mix all of this in with endless negative publicity they seem to generate on their own, it is a bad look.

 

Arth? He seems like a nice enough guy and I hope he does well. He will be fine regardless of what happens at Akron. I neither like nor dislike his coaching. I would rather hate a coach than be this indifferent. Heck, I don't even watch much of the games because I just can't stand to watch football that is as bad as it is. At least you can hate someone who is actually doing something. The problem Arth has now is his dance with the Chargers. His lack of commitment to UofA was plainly on display and was the beginning of the end of his time at Akron. Arth is what guys like Larry Williams and average participants on boards of corporations/universities believe a coach/manager should look like. There was nothing in his resume that would suggest he would be successful at UTC, let alone Akron, but the geniuses at the top thought differently. You could make a case for every coach from Faust through Bowden (except for Coach I) was a decent hire at the time. Faust came from ND. Owens had some time at OSU and was a known guy around Ohio who might be able to get recruits to rebuild a program nobody wanted. JD was a nationally known, hot name in the coaching ranks when he was at Pitt. Bowden was a Bowden.  What was the case for Arth? Good looking?....So what?  Played in the NFL?....So what? From NE Ohio?...So what? Coached at JC and UTC?....So what? Went to St. I?....So what? I could do this all day. His hollow resume was obvious.

[zipsoutsider]

5 hours ago, GP1 said:

Thanks for your response.

 

In terms of the base product, G5 schools are more entertaining now than they have ever been so I wouldn't use the word decline. Except for at the very top where there are 3-5 teams that win every week in lopsided blowouts, college football is more entertaining than it has ever been. G5 schools just don't have the resources and are never going to have the resources to keep up with the P5 schools.

 

I'm not concerned about the lack of commitment. I think they are doing all they can do with the available money. My problem is their chronic bad decision making. You can have all of the resources in the world and when your decision making is as bad as ours the results are plainly and painfully visible. Mix all of this in with endless negative publicity they seem to generate on their own, it is a bad look.

 

Arth? He seems like a nice enough guy and I hope he does well. He will be fine regardless of what happens at Akron. I neither like nor dislike his coaching. I would rather hate a coach than be this indifferent. Heck, I don't even watch much of the games because I just can't stand to watch football that is as bad as it is. At least you can hate someone who is actually doing something. The problem Arth has now is his dance with the Chargers. His lack of commitment to UofA was plainly on display and was the beginning of the end of his time at Akron. Arth is what guys like Larry Williams and average participants on boards of corporations/universities believe a coach/manager should look like. There was nothing in his resume that would suggest he would be successful at UTC, let alone Akron, but the geniuses at the top thought differently. You could make a case for every coach from Faust through Bowden (except for Coach I) was a decent hire at the time. Faust came from ND. Owens had some time at OSU and was a known guy around Ohio who might be able to get recruits to rebuild a program nobody wanted. JD was a nationally known, hot name in the coaching ranks when he was at Pitt. Bowden was a Bowden.  What was the case for Arth? Good looking?....So what?  Played in the NFL?....So what? From NE Ohio?...So what? Coached at JC and UTC?....So what? Went to St. I?....So what? I could do this all day. His hollow resume was obvious.

Again, I mostly agree with this, especially the part about poor decision-making vs. commitment.

 

Your points about the resume are notable. I quit paying for ESPN+ to watch Zips game and mostly ended up turning off the radio broadcasts because they were just not interesting any more.

 

I think right-sizing expectations is a key to G5 success. What does it look like at the current budget? What does it look like with more money and support? What happens if support diminishes? It seems like the expectations are the same regardless of the level of support. It just doesn't work like that 

[ZIPFAN21]

On 4/6/2021 at 5:14 PM, zippy5 said:

maybe when they're not still coming down with COVID?

 

Zippy5 the issue I have is a player being in quarantine for 10 days due to contact tracing.  That should not be the case.  These players are not at risk, should be tested after a few days of quarantine and then allowed to rejoin the team activities.  

[GP1]

16 hours ago, zipsoutsider said:

I think right-sizing expectations is a key to G5 success. 

Yes, but that comes after they answer a simple question. What do they want their identity to be? To me, it is a very simple answer. G5 schools should strive to make their athletic departments benefit the athletes, students, alumni, fans and surrounding communities to the best of their abilities.  For the next 15-20 years, G5 schools need to live in the moment and knock off the wanderlust they are endlessly engaged. Find a new direction with different kinds of leaders than the ones we find graduating from the Sports Management programs universities now offer. I believe that world exists somewhere between FCS and P5 schools.

 

“A Jedi must have the deepest commitment, the most serious mind. This one a long time have I watched. All his life has he looked away…to the future, to the horizon. Never his mind on where he was. Hmm? What he was doing.” - Yoda, The Empire Strikes Back

[Zippy7373]

I think the issue at Akron is the support from administration. When the new AD arrives they will have to ask themselves the question if they want to support this current football staff or go in a different direction. Arth has yet to get the support he deserve because of the current administration lack of care. If you look at the App States, Bosie State, Charlotte, UL Lafayette, Ohio, Buffalo, Western Michigan, Marshall. These programs are G5 schools that don’t have the highest of budgets but they care about athletics. You have to genuinely care about sports in order to make it work. Do these schools have good coaches yes. But these s hooks also hired coaches with no HC experience as well. Simply put do what these schools are doing and you will see some results. It all starts at the top. Playing 2 P5 schools with a conference schedule that’s not easy is already tough to do there is not 1 game on the schedule that you can look at and say that’s a win. 

[Let'sGoZips94]

On 4/6/2021 at 5:14 PM, zippy5 said:

maybe when they're not still coming down with COVID?

 

 

So never?

[GP1]

25 minutes ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:

 

So never?

I wouldn't say that.

 

“Men, it has been well said, think in herds; it will be seen that they go mad in herds, while they only recover their senses slowly, one by one.” - Charles Mackay

[Zippy7373]

Will the spring game be open to the public tomorrow? 

[Blue & Gold]

8 hours ago, Zippy7373 said:

Will the spring game be open to the public tomorrow? 

I haven't heard anything official, but unfortunately, it's highly unlikely.  😕

[Zippy7373]

I heard the spring game got canceled 

[John Ward]

12 hours ago, Blue & Gold said:

I haven't heard anything official, but unfortunately, it's highly unlikely.  😕

I think the spring game has been cancelled? Corona or injuries?

[Zippy7373]

I thinks it’s because of the WR that someone said was out earlier this week I’m not sure but that’s what I think 

[John Ward]

1 hour ago, Zippy7373 said:

I thinks it’s because of the WR that someone said was out earlier this week I’m not sure but that’s what I think 

That was the virus.