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Game # 7: vs. Central Michigan Chippewas


LoyalZIP

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I can't believe we lost on a fumble return for TD on a run that would have put us in make-able, even for our kickers, FG range. I knew we were on the way to winning that came. But in the end we lost because our OL is a sieve. Too many sacks and pressures. No holes for the running game. This year we are losing because of poor execution. Last three years we lost because of zero coaching. Execution can, and will be, fixed. Jo knows what he is doing. Trust the process.

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12 minutes ago, 72 Roo said:

I can't believe we lost on a fumble return for TD on a run that would have put us in make-able, even for our kickers, FG range. I knew we were on the way to winning that came. But in the end we lost because our OL is a sieve. Too many sacks and pressures. No holes for the running game. This year we are losing because of poor execution. Last three years we lost because of zero coaching. Execution can, and will be, fixed. Jo knows what he is doing. Trust the process.

 

Bingo. There is no quit in this team - they play for JoeMo. They believe in what he's doing, and fans should, too. There just isn't enough talent in the cupboards yet to play a less-than-perfect game and overcome the inevitable mistakes to win. We will get there. 

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4 hours ago, zipsrule said:

Are you kidding me?  A fumble gives central a TD.  We are snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

Bad teams and coaching staffs figure out ways to lose games. IMHO, this game was lost in the first half. Akron scored on a QB run. BUT,Coach Moorehead did nothing to establish the RB's in the run game. Why? He has good RB's. At least make the defense respect the running game. Nope. He kept calling plays to the boundary, short passes and runs which got very little. He has 3rd down and makeable and he is throwing behind the line. He eventually got Irons beat up because he was handling the ball so much. Sometimes good offensive coaches outsmart themselves. CMU is a decent dfenseive team. They are bad offensively. Except when teams play an Akron defense they can suddenly run the ball effectively and hit enough passes to be effective. Afraid that was the last realistically winnable game on the sched.😟

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6 hours ago, LoyalZIP said:

I’m curious to hear @catdaddyp’s thoughts on the Zips run D and what all is going wrong that’s gone so well this year so far. Seems like the front is getting manhandled, and the Zips aren’t finishing tackles at the second level, even when they’ve got a few guys on the runner. Frustrating as hell. 

Sorry I didn’t respond sooner. I was at the game today with a buddy. Big shoutout to @LZIp for hooking us up with tickets! 
 

Edge contain was the biggest issue, but give credit to the RB. That kid was really good. I saw him shake Bubba (twice), Fish, Terry, and Martin all in tight space. Definitely not easy to do that to Bubba. 
 

Our run fits weren’t always great in between the tackles and the edge was especially weak, usually due to the DB and DE either pressing in too much or not enough.

 

I was impressed with CMU’s OL and DL. Their skill players weren’t particularly impressive, but they were stout in the trenches.

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1 hour ago, Lee Adams said:

. Afraid that was the last realistically winnable game on the sched.😟

Got home from the game a couple of hours ago.  Still calming down so I want to wait until tomorrow (maybe) to comment.  

Looking at schedules and records, I agree with Lee that this is the last realistic winnable game on the schedule.  I originally thought they might win the last game against N. Ill, but I have changed my mind.  More tomorrow.  Good night. 

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16 hours ago, Lee Adams said:

Bad teams and coaching staffs figure out ways to lose games. IMHO, this game was lost in the first half. Akron scored on a QB run. BUT,Coach Moorehead did nothing to establish the RB's in the run game. Why? He has good RB's. At least make the defense respect the running game. Nope. He kept calling plays to the boundary, short passes and runs which got very little. He has 3rd down and makeable and he is throwing behind the line. He eventually got Irons beat up because he was handling the ball so much. Sometimes good offensive coaches outsmart themselves. CMU is a decent dfenseive team. They are bad offensively. Except when teams play an Akron defense they can suddenly run the ball effectively and hit enough passes to be effective. Afraid that was the last realistically winnable game on the sched.😟

What makes you think our backs are good? Haven't shown anything all year. 

 

Also another question for the group as I honestly need help with this one. Who was the last good end UA has? Lemon? 

Akron's line play on both sides has been awful for a generation now. Hopeful Morehead can up the talent level in the next two years.

 

This loss stings.  

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16 hours ago, Lee Adams said:

Bad teams and coaching staffs figure out ways to lose games. IMHO, this game was lost in the first half. Akron scored on a QB run. BUT,Coach Moorehead did nothing to establish the RB's in the run game. Why? He has good RB's. At least make the defense respect the running game. Nope. He kept calling plays to the boundary, short passes and runs which got very little. He has 3rd down and makeable and he is throwing behind the line. He eventually got Irons beat up because he was handling the ball so much. Sometimes good offensive coaches outsmart themselves. CMU is a decent dfenseive team. They are bad offensively. Except when teams play an Akron defense they can suddenly run the ball effectively and hit enough passes to be effective. Afraid that was the last realistically winnable game on the sched.😟

This isn’t a bad coaching staff. It’s a staff that took over one of the worst rosters in FBS and has had one recruiting class. The roster was flipped by nearly 50 players and will likely have another 30ish flip this offseason - whether that’s through graduation and/or the transfer portal. 
 

I agree about not attempting to establish the run earlier, but to me it shows a staff that doesn’t trust the OL to get any push more than one that outsmarted itself. I mentioned in one of the threads in the preseason that we had a solid RB corps but it would be contingent on our OL how much room they had to run. A poster (don’t remember who, nor am I going to spend time flipping back through posts to find out) said something to the effect of we’ve had successful runners in the past so the OL should be fine. My point was/is our OL as a whole is not where it needs to be just yet.
 

Hard to say this game was lost in the first half when we were in scoring position and running out the clock to win the game in the 4th quarter. 
 

It seems to me this team has played to its competition level in the MAC. I don’t see why that would have been our last winnable game, but we’ll find out.

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15 hours ago, catdaddyp said:

Sorry I didn’t respond sooner. I was at the game today with a buddy. Big shoutout to @LZIp for hooking us up with tickets! 
 

Edge contain was the biggest issue, but give credit to the RB. That kid was really good. I saw him shake Bubba (twice), Fish, Terry, and Martin all in tight space. Definitely not easy to do that to Bubba. 
 

Our run fits weren’t always great in between the tackles and the edge was especially weak, usually due to the DB and DE either pressing in too much or not enough.

 

I was impressed with CMU’s OL and DL. Their skill players weren’t particularly impressive, but they were stout in the trenches.

CMU came into the game appearing to be good defensively and at least questionable offensively. Their run game surprised me especially with an apparent 3rd string back carrying a lot. Early, they ran at the left side of the Akron D-line successfully. They were able to run the ball effectively the entire game. And yes their O-line pretty much handled Akron up front. They were also able to hit on some of the crossing routes which have given Akron so much trouble. Akron did get some tighter coverage as the game went on but the CMU QB didn't have to win that game for them.

I know CMU played some tight D. Their DB's weren't allowing Akron's receivers much separation most of the game. Akron's receivers made a couple of geat catches under tight coverage.

I am still puzzled why Akron RB's only carried the ball 11 times for 8 yards. I think sometimes even when when you are not getting much on the ground offensively you have to stay with it so the defense has to play it and to keep your defense off the field at least a little longer. oh well.

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4 hours ago, UAZipster0305 said:

Tennessee won though...at home against arguably the best college team in America. Their fans will go home happy.

 

Two steps ahead of ya. Tennessee has the talent to overcome miscues; we're not there yet. 

 

17 hours ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:

 

Bingo. There is no quit in this team - they play for JoeMo. They believe in what he's doing, and fans should, too. There just isn't enough talent in the cupboards yet to play a less-than-perfect game and overcome the inevitable mistakes to win. We will get there. 

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15 minutes ago, catdaddyp said:

This isn’t a bad coaching staff. It’s a staff that took over one of the worst rosters in FBS and has had one recruiting class. The roster was flipped by nearly 50 players and will likely have another 30ish flip this offseason - whether that’s through graduation and/or the transfer portal. 
 

I agree about not attempting to establish the run earlier, but to me it shows a staff that doesn’t trust the OL to get any push more than one that outsmarted itself. I mentioned in one of the threads in the preseason that we had a solid RB corps but it would be contingent on our OL how much room they had to run. A poster (don’t remember who, nor am I going to spend time flipping back through posts to find out) said something to the effect of we’ve had successful runners in the past so the OL should be fine. My point was/is our OL as a whole is not where it needs to be just yet.
 

Hard to say this game was lost in the first half when we were in scoring position and running out the clock to win the game in the 4th quarter. 
 

It seems to me this team has played to its competition level in the MAC. I don’t see why that would have been our last winnable game, but we’ll find out.

I guess what I was thinking is that IF they could have controlled the ball a little longer and maybe put up another TD(I know they missed 2 FG's) they would have been in better position in the second half. After Irons' TD run not much happened offensively.

No, I know Moorehead is not a bad coach and I realize he didn't have much to work with. Just after watching these guys for so long and not seeing better results ya wonder what its going to take.

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3 minutes ago, Lee Adams said:

Just after watching these guys for so long and not seeing better results ya wonder what its going to take.

Well if you're saying Joe is a good coach then the answer is time. I don't see any meaningful improvement happening this year, but I expect to be more competitive next year when Joe has a full recruiting cycle to get his guys in here.

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25 minutes ago, Lee Adams said:

I guess what I was thinking is that IF they could have controlled the ball a little longer and maybe put up another TD(I know they missed 2 FG's) they would have been in better position in the second half. After Irons' TD run not much happened offensively.

No, I know Moorehead is not a bad coach and I realize he didn't have much to work with. Just after watching these guys for so long and not seeing better results ya wonder what its going to take.

I hear what you’re saying.
 

Consistency has been an issue. It seems players and/or positions take turns, not only from game to game, but within the game itself sometimes. Which is mark of a young or inexperienced team. We have some veteran players, but it’s hard to call them that when they are all in a new system and have different expectations.

 

I follow recruiting and turnaround situations closely which is why it’s easy to see what’s coming. The next step for this team is just to win another game. The following step will be to string wins together. 
 

This off-season I tracked all of the new FBS staff’s recruiting classes. Out of the G5 schools, I thought UCONN easily had the best class followed by Akron. New Mexico State probably had the 3rd best with UMASS having the worst. (I won’t go through the rest) Unfortunately, our roster was so bad - and I couldn’t just say certain players shouldn’t be at this level in the preseason outlook - that it’s taking a little longer than expected. Improvement is clearly there, but the wins have yet to follow. 
 

At some point this team will display its best self and we’ll see a complete game. When that happens, we should be able to beat anyone left on the schedule. 

 

 

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1 hour ago, gozips19 said:

What makes you think our backs are good? Haven't shown anything all year. 

 

Also another question for the group as I honestly need help with this one. Who was the last good end UA has? Lemon? 

Akron's line play on both sides has been awful for a generation now. Hopeful Morehead can up the talent level in the next two years.

 

This loss stings.  

Jamal Davis - Bowden

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1 hour ago, gozips19 said:

What makes you think our backs are good? Haven't shown anything all year. 

 

Also another question for the group as I honestly need help with this one. Who was the last good end UA has? Lemon? 

Akron's line play on both sides has been awful for a generation now. Hopeful Morehead can up the talent level in the next two years.

 

This loss stings.  

I think Price has show some promise, especially in the BG game.  I think Wiley could be a decent 3rd down back 

 

Until the O-line gets established and makes some strides it will be tough to evaluate any of the running backs.

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17 hours ago, catdaddyp said:

Sorry I didn’t respond sooner. I was at the game today with a buddy. Big shoutout to @LZIp for hooking us up with tickets! 
 

Edge contain was the biggest issue, but give credit to the RB. That kid was really good. I saw him shake Bubba (twice), Fish, Terry, and Martin all in tight space. Definitely not easy to do that to Bubba. 
 

Our run fits weren’t always great in between the tackles and the edge was especially weak, usually due to the DB and DE either pressing in too much or not enough.

 

I was impressed with CMU’s OL and DL. Their skill players weren’t particularly impressive, but they were stout in the trenches.

 

LZip must really be connected to be able to get you tickets to a Zip's football game.

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6 minutes ago, catdaddyp said:

This isn’t a bad coaching staff. (Remains to be seen, I was in support until the last couple of weeks). It’s a staff that took over one of the worst rosters in FBS and has had one recruiting class. - True, see below
 

 My point was/is our OL as a whole is not where it needs to be just yet. - Agree, but there is a lot of experience.  With the COVID and redshirt years, most returning linemen are in their 3rd or 4th years. 
 

Hard to say this game was lost in the first half when we were in scoring position and running out the clock to win the game in the 4th quarter. -See below, Irons lost the game
 

It seems to me this team has played to its competition level in the MAC. (Disagree) I don’t see why that would have been our last winnable game, but we’ll find out. (Every blind squirrel can find a nut)

First, I am a very frustrated Zips fan.  Second, I am not an Arth fan and I agree that Moorhead inherited little talent.  But, Bowden left little to no talent for Arth.  Moorhead's frosh recruiting class was not that good, but he did hit the portal hard.  If I am correct, he got the following from the portal:

-3 P5 receivers

-1 P5 tight end

-2 FBS, (1 P5) offensive linemen

-2 P5 RB's

-1FCS QB

(I may be wrong on the D)

-4 FBS DL

-3 FBS LB's

-3 FBS (1 P5) DB

This is a huge infusion of talent that makes me question the coaching staff.  Either the talent evaluation is bad, or the coaching is bad.  

Let's look at the record:

1. OT win to a FCS team

2. 52 points loss to a 3-4 Michigan State team that is not very good

3. 57-point loss to an excellent Tennessee team (who upset Alabama)

4. 9 point loss to Liberty, a good team, but they were playing their 3rd an 4th string QBs against my beloved Zips

5. 3 point loss to Bowling Green, a team that Arth beat twice without all of the transfers

6. 21 point loss to Ohio (we must learn to dominate Ohio MAC schools)

7. 7 point loss to Central Mich. (see below)

I am not convinced that Moorhead knows what he is doing.  

Why does Bubba not play more?  He is the heart and soul of this team on defense.  

But the bigger problem I see is in the QB Irons.  I think he would be a very good RB, and he may have some good stats, but he chokes.  I watched the CM fumble several times and I am convinced Irons was the issue.  I am not sure if a better QB is on the roster, but I am not an Irons fan.  I know this comment will get me beat up by several of the long time posters who are in love with Irons but make very funny (ignorant) posts.  But with talent influx, you must do better than what has been shown.  There has been also a poster that ragged on Paul McDonald, the dad of the BGSU QB who beat my beloved Zips.  

When I got home Saturday, I had one of the donation requests that I have made for 25+ years, and I tore it up.  I find it unlikely that I will attend any more home games, I do not like driving 120 minutes for these results.  The sad thing is that I started my season tickets in the 80s, and I am so frustrated and have no idea if I will continue into the future.   

 

In Coach JoeMo I have quit trusting until he proves something to me.  

 

 

 

 

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6 minutes ago, bigjim said:

I am not convinced that Moorhead knows what he is doing.


Clearly he doesn’t. He needs to run the touchdown play more often and run the stop the touchdown plays on defense more often. These close losses show that he is completely lost, and lackluster QB and WR play have resulted in an offense that doesn’t move the ball and doesn’t score any points at all. It’s very disappointing to see, and things are more bleak now than under Arth, Ianello, and the bad Bowden years. Time to quit now. Pack up and go home. Time to buy some Golden Flashes tickets and move on from this now loser program and coach. 

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