Game #12 Can't State (Friday Nov 28 @ 1pm)

[GP1]

When does the disaster ever end?

[Lee Adams]

Was at the game. It was apparent from the start that 1) Bowden/Amato did not have the team ready to play. Thats a sin this time of year and in a game like this; 2) Can't State University was pretty much able to run or throw against the Akron D especially in the first half;3) Can't State had little trouble covering the pass routes called by Bowden/Milwee: 4) Akron made Reardon,the guy who supposedly had trouble finding the right colored jerseys all year look like he actually knew what he was doing; 5) Akron seemed to be 'chasing' all day on both sides of the ball; 6) Even though Haynes made a couple of questionable decisions during the game,Akron was outcoached during the game.

Embarrassing loss especially the way it ended would be putting it kindly.

[Dave in Green]

The disaster ended when the Zips stopped the string of 1-11 seasons that had them consistently in the Bottom 10. The 5-7 seasons are just below average, putting the Zips in the company of dozens of other below average teams across the country. We all expect better of Coach Bowden, and next season expectations will be higher. A 6-6 record this season was about the minimum expectation. Anything less than 7-5 next season will be disappointing.

[Big Zip]

Probably one of the more disheartening losses I have seen in the 26 years I have followed this team. We were so pumped after the Pitt win. We were talking MAC Championship game. I looked ahead to see what day I needed to take off work and this team completely shits the bed. This team needs to visit the great and powerful Oz they have no heart. How do you lose a game against your "rival" who has a single win on the season and you need the win to become bowl eligible.

I would fire Wistricill tonight. If this abyss is so deep we still can't get to .500 in the marquee college sport because you hired iCoach it's about time you pack your bags. The new President has no connection to him so the firing should be easier for him.

Bowden gets next year from me and then I give up on him too.

I am not sure season ticket sales will get worse because the ticket holders left are either so die hard you will never lose them or they see it as charity to their alma mater. You certainly won't get any new ones.

GP1 I don't know if the disaster will end.

[GP1]

The disaster ended when the Zips stopped the string of 1-11 seasons that had them consistently in the Bottom 10. The 5-7 seasons are just below average, putting the Zips in the company of dozens of other below average teams across the country. We all expect better of Coach Bowden, and next season expectations will be higher. A 6-6 record this season was about the minimum expectation. Anything less than 7-5 next season will be disappointing.

Minimum is right. I think I'm just about tired of waiting around.

[bigzipguy]

What really irritated me after the game, was listening to Bowden talk to Joe D. The first thing he(TB) stated was: well it's a rvialry game, things like this happen, give credit to Can't, last year we won it , this year they won it. He stated this several times. Then he went on to say how you want to take a step forward every year, we did not(record wise), but the good thing was we did not take a step backward.

Wow, a lot of excuses for going from 4-2 to finishing 5-7

On another note, not to make excuses for him, but after he came back from injury, Pohl was different.

And while he was gone, we turned into a pass-happy team

[K92]

Hey look on the bright side. Thanksgiving was yesterday. Extend it one more day and give thanks.

I am thankful Blake Frohnapfel did not play on 11/18 or the Zips would have finished the year on a 6 game skid.

Yep.

[MaxZIP]

=Then he went on to say how you want to take a step forward every year, we did not(record wise), but the good thing was we did not take a step backward.

The records look the same on paper but is it better to win at the end of the season or lose 5 on the way out the door? Step backward in my book.

[GP1]

The records look the same on paper but is it better to win at the end of the season or lose 5 on the way out the door? Step backward in my book.

Worse, it looks the same to recruits. A loooong string of losing seasons at this point.

[skip-zip]

The records look the same on paper but is it better to win at the end of the season or lose 5 on the way out the door? Step backward in my book.

This is why I posed the question several weeks ago.

We had just pushed ourselves out of the MAC race with the home yawner against BG. So I asked everyone's thoughts on how we could still forge an impression of the progress of the program over those last 3 games.

So, we had a chance to win 3 games, go 7-5, and show a clear movement forward. Then, we laid an egg in Buffalo.

So, I posed the question again, with 2 games remaining, and a chance to win 2 and improve on our record from last year, possibly go to a Bowl Game, and leave an "upward" impression in the minds of football fans. It didn't happen.

My feeling, unfortunately, is that we will go into next season with a lower impression than we went into this past season. I would expect ticket sales to drop next year. One more win against a bad team could have made all the difference.

[GP1]

Then, we laid an egg in Buffalo.

We laid enough eggs the second half of the season to keep the breakfast buffet at the Golden Coral in Myrtle Beach stocked for a week during peak tourism season.

[GJGood]

It would help if one, oh, just one, of our WR's was capable of getting separation.

We stink.

That is what I have been thinking too. Bowden Ball is supposed to be fairly pass-oriented yet I have very rarely seen receivers running open down the field. D'Orazio seems to be able to get open but he is more of a possession type guy than a deep threat. I don't know if it's a WR talent issue or if it's on the coaches to do more to keep the opposing defense off balance. I guess because of the lack of open receivers I have been less inclined to assign blame to the QBs than many on this board, not that they don't make mistakes too.

[MDZip]

And the MAC East was miserable this year. The "champ" beat only East teams and lost all their West matchups (including losing to the FIFTH place West team). The Zips had the easiest schedule they could have had.

And to one of the coaches wives who lectured a group of die hard Zips fans who actually bothered showing up because they dared boo after the Zips wasted their second timeout of the second half - FU. Who couldn't have been more condescending after explaining how the game is "complicated" and then whined about how she missed her box seats - double FU. Your loyalty extends as long as your husband has a job (which he owes partly to those fans), we have a life sentence.

[johnnyzip84]

I haven’t posted anything on the last game for a number of reasons, the first being the obvious downer it is losing to K.E.N.T. at any time at anything. I also was a little burned out on Zip football, but that was mostly my own doing. Finally, the timing of the game with a busy Thanksgiving weekend for me did not make it easy to jot down any thoughts. Here’s my most objective take, hopefully devoid of the emotions felt immediately after the game.

1. I was very happy for JC7 – wished we could have seen more of that over the years, but some of that was on him and some of that wasn’t.
2. I turned to ZipsWin! after the Zips took the lead and said something like “this isn’t over”, because I was not at all convinced that our defense could keep them out of the end zone. IMHO, Amato allowed Reardon to be comfortable the entire game. Reardon had been showing signs of maturing towards the end of the season, but I think the Zips game plan assumed he’d be the same QB who self-destructed in the Info last year. In general, I’ve said all season that our defense is best in attacking mode. We don’t have the size, overall talent or depth to sit back and cover. I was hoping Amato would send Brown or Mizell (or Lane - why wasn't he in there?????!!!!) in on blitzes right when K.E.N.T. started the drive, but it never happened. Reardon calmly and coolly tore us apart.
3. ZipsWin! was absolutely correct in his vocal disapproval of the Zips using 2 early timeouts in the 2^nd half. If that had not happened, perhaps KP16 doesn’t have to throw into double coverage (that was almost a great play on both ends after I watched the replay) to effectively end the game. Needing only a FG to tie with all three timeouts is not that difficult of a situation.
4. It was extremely disappointing to see a supposedly 1-dimenional team run the ball down our throats like that.
5. In spite of TB’s claims of that this (2014) was not a step backwards, it clearly was based on a comparison of schedules (2013 versus 2014). UA may never get an easier MAC slate, and the end-of-the-season downturn was horribly timed for recruiting. This was a huge loss, not so much because it was our rival, but because of its place in the recruiting story. It probably means more transfers/jucos instead of HS recruits, and it’s getting a little late in TB’s tenure for that.