2024 Conference Opponents

[GP1]

1 hour ago, kreed5120 said:

That Indiana team was also among the worst P5 programs in the country. Rutgers, who we will be playing, beat them by 17.

Thanks to the TP, a large part of their team will be new. The only predictable part of college football now is unpredictability. 

[KangarooJake]

On 3/5/2024 at 12:50 PM, AkronAlumnus said:

I see 2-3 total wins maybe four if we're lucky!

Where I'm leaning. Kent, Colgate, maybe squeak one out against WMU or Buffalo.

I'd say this is do or die year for JoMo, but at this point this program is so down that I think even if we get another 2-10 result, it is what it is.

[kreed5120]

1 hour ago, KangarooJake said:

Where I'm leaning. Kent, Colgate, maybe squeak one out against WMU or Buffalo.

I'd say this is do or die year for JoMo, but at this point this program is so down that I think even if we get another 2-10 result, it is what it is.

He's under contract until 2027. I don't see Akron firing him. The following year he could be on the hot seat, but that would also be his 4th season so there is no excuse if he's still winning 2-4 games then.

[MangoZip]

6 hours ago, kreed5120 said:

That Indiana team was also among the worst P5 programs in the country. Rutgers, who we will be playing, beat them by 17.

That Indiana team was 3-9 and beat a bowl team (Wisconsin) had several close losses to some pretty good teams, so they weren’t completely horrible

Edited March 7 by MangoZip

[ZippyRulz]

I'll wait to see what the Vegas expert oddsmakers predict.

[kreed5120]

13 hours ago, MangoZip said:

That Indiana team was 3-9 and beat a bowl team (Wisconsin) had several close losses to some pretty good teams, so they weren’t completely horrible

Going 1-8 in conference play is horrible. Would have they been competitive in the MAC? Sure, but by P5 standards they were horrible.

[MDZip]

Man we can't catch a break. Even in the official MAC standings before the season starts they have us listed last. Even though the rest of the league is listed alphabetically. 🤣

[MangoZip]

On 3/10/2024 at 7:22 PM, MDZip said:

Man we can't catch a break. Even in the official MAC standings before the season starts they have us listed last. Even though the rest of the league is listed alphabetically. 🤣

That’s bullshit! 

[Blue & Gold]

Is this the worst schedule in the history of football?

Game 1 AT Ohio State

Game 2 AT Rutgers

Game 3 Colgate

Game 4 AT South Carolina

Game 5 AT Ohio

Game 6 BUGS

Game 7 AT WMU

bye

Game 8 EMU

Game 9 Buffalo

Game 10 Wednesday night AT NIU

Game 11 Tuesday night AT KSUcks

Game 12 Tuesday night v Toledo

 

I submit that this is indeed the worst schedule in the history of football.

We are set up to fail.

[Let'sGoZips94]

6 minutes ago, Blue & Gold said:

Is this the worst schedule in the history of football?

Game 1 AT Ohio State

Game 2 AT Rutgers

Game 3 Colgate

Game 4 AT South Carolina

Game 5 AT Ohio

Game 6 BUGS

Game 7 AT WMU

bye

Game 8 EMU

Game 9 Buffalo

Game 10 Wednesday night AT NIU

Game 11 Tuesday night AT KSUcks

Game 12 Tuesday night v Toledo

 

I submit that this is indeed the worst schedule in the history of football.

We are set up to fail.

 

You should put the dates and geographical location for the home games to really hammer this home.

 

1 home game in September. 2 home games in October (1 late October). The rest are in November. In Ohio. 

[GP1]

24 minutes ago, Blue & Gold said:

We are set up to fail.

I suspected for a long time that the university doesn't care if the football team won or lost. It was when KY dropped their game and we replaced it with OSU that I actually believed it. It's also the day I was convinced Coach Joe should have turned in his resignation and gone to a school that is actually trying to win games. 

 

What I don't understand is this. If the University doesn't care, why do so many of you still buy season tickets? Find another way to give the University the same amount of money. 

 

Mrs. GP1, the luckiest woman in the world, and I were invited to the South Carolina game by a couple we are close with and don't see as much because they made their Edisto Island house their full time home. The only reasons we are going is because Wake Forest doesn't play that day and we want to see our friends . I'd never go watch the Zips get destroyed otherwise. 

[MangoZip]

31 minutes ago, GP1 said:

I suspected for a long time that the university doesn't care if the football team won or lost. It was when KY dropped their game and we replaced it with OSU that I actually believed it. It's also the day I was convinced Coach Joe should have turned in his resignation and gone to a school that is actually trying to win games. 

 

What I don't understand is this. If the University doesn't care, why do so many of you still buy season tickets? Find another way to give the University the same amount of money. 

 

Mrs. GP1, the luckiest woman in the world, and I were invited to the South Carolina game by a couple we are close with and don't see as much because they made their Edisto Island house their full time home. The only reasons we are going is because Wake Forest doesn't play that day and we want to see our friends . I'd never go watch the Zips get destroyed otherwise. 

You actually believe that they don’t want to win? That’s just stupid. You think the university and the athletic department don’t care? For the sake of argument let’s just say they don’t give a dam about football -  they would still want them to win because of all the benefits that go with it: more income, more university exposure, etc etc. Unfortunately, they have backed themselves into a position where it’s a catch 22. They aren’t winning so nobody goes to the games, nobody goes to the games so they don’t get any revenue, then they have to schedule Ohio State away games to get the paycheck. Viscous cycle

[catdaddyp]

59 minutes ago, Blue & Gold said:

Is this the worst schedule in the history of football?

Game 1 AT Ohio State

Game 2 AT Rutgers

Game 3 Colgate

Game 4 AT South Carolina

Game 5 AT Ohio

Game 6 BUGS

Game 7 AT WMU

bye

Game 8 EMU

Game 9 Buffalo

Game 10 Wednesday night AT NIU

Game 11 Tuesday night AT KSUcks

Game 12 Tuesday night v Toledo

 

I submit that this is indeed the worst schedule in the history of football.

We are set up to fail.

It’s definitely a crappy setup for fans who want to attend home games. 
 

As far as wins and losses, we really screwed the pooch last year with some of the opportunities. This year, it’s looking like we’ll be forced to find 5 conference wins for any shot at a bowl (assuming we take care of business against Colgate).
 

On the bright side, our conference schedule has the potential to be not as daunting.

- Ohio and Toledo will be the most talented MAC teams we face from top to bottom, but both lost some key players. I’m not sure if Ohio will be built to come back from much of a deficit. They will likely be a team that plays solid defense and runs the ball down opponents throats. Toledo will no longer have Finn to cover up broken plays.

- BG will need to replace some really good players on defense.

- WMU has questions at QB. They have Wolff, who was inconsistent last year, and then freshmen behind him.

- EMU also has questions at QB and lost a good bit of production on defense.

- Buffalo currently doesn’t have a QB and will likely see a good amount of portal activity after the spring. Bulls basically have questions every where but running back.

- NIU also has questions at QB. If they get that solved, this will be their season to potentially compete for the MAC. If not, it could be a long year. 
- Kent seems like they are going to have a repeat of year 1. 

 

 

[exit322]

45 minutes ago, MangoZip said:

You actually believe that they don’t want to win? That’s just stupid. You think the university and the athletic department don’t care? 

 

There's certainly not much evidence to the contrary.

[GP1]

44 minutes ago, MangoZip said:

You actually believe that they don’t want to win?

That's not what the first sentence of my post says. I think winning is secondary to making money. They would like to win, but if they lose and make a lot of money, they are happy. 

 

When they get to the point where winning is their primary consideration, I will change my opinion. However, the facts are on my side. 

[GP1]

1 hour ago, catdaddyp said:

It’s definitely a crappy setup for fans who want to attend home games. 

I struggle to think of a reason why someone would buy season tickets.

 

Toledo and BG are the only two teams on the home schedule I find even a little interesting and one is during the week so I wouldn't go even if I lived there. 

 

This is an absolutely horrible schedule. 

[MangoZip]

3 hours ago, GP1 said:

That's not what the first sentence of my post says. I think winning is secondary to making money. They would like to win, but if they lose and make a lot of money, they are happy. 

 

When they get to the point where winning is their primary consideration, I will change my opinion. However, the facts are on my side. 

Well they are losing their ass because they mostly lose. Their only chance of making some money is by winning. Your logic doesn’t make sense. I would also argue that they are trying. They could have signed a much younger, cheaper first time head coach if they truly were about saving money but they spent a lot more (by MAC standards) and signed JoeMo. I agree with you that the results just aren’t there and it’s very frustrating, but you can’t  convince me that the AD and President don’t care about it. 

[GP1]

39 minutes ago, MangoZip said:

Well they are losing their ass because they mostly lose. Their only chance of making some money is by winning. Your logic doesn’t make sense. I would also argue that they are trying. They could have signed a much younger, cheaper first time head coach if they truly were about saving money but they spent a lot more (by MAC standards) and signed JoeMo. I agree with you that the results just aren’t there and it’s very frustrating, but you can’t  convince me that the AD and President don’t care about it. 

They set themselves up to lose and place JoeMo in a position where he can never win. Successful college football programs use the schedule to establish and maintain winning. Akron doesn't. It is used to make money, not win. 

[catdaddyp]

21 minutes ago, GP1 said:

They set themselves up to lose and place JoeMo in a position where he can never win. Successful college football programs use the schedule to establish and maintain winning. Akron doesn't. It is used to make money, not win. 

JoeMo has definitely been done no favors with this year’s schedule, but I disagree he will never win. I think he’s on the doorstep. There has been a massive talent overhaul since his arrival and he’s put together an all-star staff (comparative to the budget at his disposal). 10 one score losses over the past two seasons. Sooner or later the tide will turn. If we have a reliable QB, this should be the year to at least display progress up the conference ladder. We’ll find out in less than 5 months.
 

 

[MangoZip]

40 minutes ago, GP1 said:

They set themselves up to lose and place JoeMo in a position where he can never win. Successful college football programs use the schedule to establish and maintain winning. Akron doesn't. It is used to make money, not win. 

I think they play those games to survive - not make money. All MAC teams play those games (maybe not as many as this coming year) but they are good to some extent. Next years out of conference is much more manageable. 

[GP1]

25 minutes ago, MangoZip said:

I think they play those games to survive - not make money. All MAC teams play those games (maybe not as many as this coming year) but they are good to some extent. Next years out of conference is much more manageable. 

A year and a half ago, KY was on the schedule and it got worse. Long time between now and the 2025 season.

[GP1]

38 minutes ago, catdaddyp said:

 If we have a reliable QB
 

 

If, indeed. 

[Zipsfan10]

We possibly got worse last season. Irons was the biggest reason we had a shot against Indiana and that kept the defense going. 
 

We have to step it up offensively and on special teams. 
 

Not expecting to be able to tell too much from this upcoming spring game, but hopeful. Moorhead taking the offensive reigns brings hope, but then again you gotta hope he’s not spread to thin to oversee the program. 
 

 

Edited April 5 by Zipsfan10

[catdaddyp]

5 hours ago, Zipsfan10 said:

We possibly got worse last season. Irons was the biggest reason we had a shot against Indiana and that kept the defense going. 
 

We have to step it up offensively and on special teams. 
 

Not expecting to be able to tell too much from this upcoming spring game, but hopeful. Moorhead taking the offensive reigns brings hope, but then again you gotta hope he’s not spread to thin to oversee the program. 
 

 

Not sure if I’ll be able to make the spring game this year, but there are some things that can be taken away. Like how players move or their explosiveness. For example, even though Lingard didn’t have any big runs at the SG last year, it was easy to see how explosive he was. On the other hand, JU had the benefit of playing behind the first team OL and seemed better than he really was. Although, he still struggled on a few throws that he always struggled with in game situations during his time here, so that one aspect was true.

 

Anyway, I copied and pasted what I said after the game last year if anyone cares to read it. Keep in mind this was before most freshmen, JUCOs, and several transfers arrived. One player who I definitely missed on is Terence Thomas who ended up hardly playing last year. See if he contributes this season.

 

 

“Enjoyed the spring game today. I thought it was a great idea to open up the lounge/box seats. There were not many people in that area until halftime, when it became flooded with fans and recruits that were guided to free food. Well done and way to show off the amenities of the stadium, which otherwise may not often be seen.

 

The game itself flew by. A few things really stood out to me.

1) This team is way ahead of where they were last spring. They look disciplined (minus a few penalties), physical, and know their assignments.

2) The athleticism and maturity was noticeable.

3) The secondary is much improved. It seemed like last spring game WRs and RBs were running free in the passing game nearly every pass. Not the case this year. 
4) Tackling was outstanding. I think there were only two missed tackles the whole game. Last SG I remember coming away thinking Wiley had more lower body strength than what he showed on film due to his ability to break tackles. Turned out our defense was just terrible (as a whole) tackling at that point. 
 

Position Takeaways:

QB - Undercuffler looked confident and in command. He also had the benefit of playing behind what looked like the first string OL. There are still some passes Undercuffler struggles to complete. That being said, he can get the job done. The offense should be in good shape if Undercuffler has to play meaningful snaps this year. Jennings and Wasel received the rest of the snaps. Both did some good things and also looked like young QBs at times. Jennings throws a nice ball and is clearly a solid athlete, but listing him as 5’11” might be generous. Wasel has a big arm and forced a few throws today. He also made a few that gave reason for excitement. His mechanics need work and he seems to realize that as he was focused on the sideline going through step by step motions before the 3rd quarter began. (Irons and Jankowski were sidelined).

 

RB - Lingard is good. He didn’t break any big runs today, even though it felt like he might a couple of times. Not sure what happened at Florida, but the guy has “it.” He did have a nice touchdown run and is the number one back. Lingard will be a weapon for this offense barring injury. Kellom looks ready to contribute when his number is called and Hester also had a nice run. It’s unfortunate Price is out for an extended period, but I have no doubt this group will provide more production than last year.

WR - Might as well mark down George for All-MAC. The guy looks the part in every way. It was good to see some of the other guys get substantial playing time today with Adams out and SJL gone. Like @LZIp mentioned, Walker had the best day catching the ball. Thomas, Golden, Anderson, and Gathings were all noticeable.

 

TE - Banks and Ognenovic took most of the snaps. Nothing substantial to report here.

 

OL - My biggest takeaway is that T. Williams and K. Davis look ready. I can’t place who the other guard was, but the lineup blocking for Undercuffler was LT Chambers, C T.Williams, G K Davis, RT N. Williams. Takeaway from the opposite OL was freshman OT Jayvin James. James is huge, has long arms, and moves well. He’s going to be a good one. I locked in on him for a number of plays and came away excited about what he could become. (Landers and Robarge were on the sideline).

 

DT - Terray Jones is a force. It’s unfortunate Holt left because those two could have been dynamic. Robinson seems to have come a long way and will challenge for a starting spot. Nothing stood out about the other DTs, but they did not make it easy on the OL. (Murphy was on the sideline).

 

DE - Pass rush from this position is still a concern. Rabah and Johnson look like the starters for now. We need the incoming players to step up and provide more. (Richardson was on the sideline).

 

LB - This position looked great. Bubba was Bubba. McCoy is physically impressive even though he surprisingly missed a tackle. Fish looks like he knows what he’s doing this year. I noticed him around the ball often. Griffin and Behm also had their moments.

CB - The coverage was solid today despite often not having much of a pass rush. Golden-Nelson and Terence Thomas look ready to cause other teams some serious issues. Those two kept popping up over and over. I believe it was Judson Tallandier who also looked good here. All the DBs seem to have added muscle mass. (Joey Hunter was sidelined and I don’t recall seeing Cam Threatt).

 

S - So many of these guys are built and move so similarly now it was hard to tell them apart at times (that’s a good thing). Martin saw plenty of time and Johnson chased down a miscued pass for an interception. This group was solid against the pass and came up well in run support. (Nate Thompson was sidelined).

 

ST - Some good and some not so good. As a group they struggled at the start, but found their groove as the game progressed. 
 

Im sure there is more that I missed or forgot to say. It’s late and I wanted to report as much as I could while I had it on my mind.”

 

 

Edited April 6 by catdaddyp