Terry Bowden has Marshall foe Akron on the right track

Akron football coach Terry Bowden watches during the first quarter of a 2015 game against Massachusetts in Foxborough, Mass. Bowden and the Zips visit Marshall on Saturday.

Terry Bowden’s coaching return to the state of West Virginia is less than triumphant, considering how his Akron Zips were mauled last weekend at Wisconsin.

After opening with a 47-24 home win over Virginia Military Institute, the Zips traveled to Madison and suffered a 54-10 to the Badgers, who are now ranked ninth and 12th in the major polls.

But the state of the Zips’ program under Bowden shouldn’t be judged on that game. Instead, consider that the Zips went 8-5 last season, their first eight-win season since beginning…