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OFFENSE 473 yards of total offense and 34 points should be enough to win most games, but unfortunately that was not the case yesterday. The only plays calls I was critical of were the reverses that we tried several times for little to negative success. The staff must’ve seen something on film they liked with the reverses, but it did not translate to the game. QUARTERBACK: Irons was excellent outside of the meaningless interception on the last drive. Some of the throws he made across field, from the opposite hash, were really impressive. Not all D1 QBs can make those throws successfully. Irons was patient, moved around well in the pocket, and made solid decisions with the ball. His running ability continues to give the offense an extra dimension that has to be accounted for by the defense. RUNNING BACK: The more I watch Price, the more I like him. He does so many little things well. Watching him squeeze to his blockers and hit the next gear at the right time was great to see. Price did a solid job in pass pro as well. When Price isn’t getting hit in the backfield, he almost always collects positive yardage. It was good to see Norrils get a few carries and hopefully that will continue. WIDE RECEIVER: What an impressive display by these guys. They created separation all game long and made some difficult catches. George’s catch across the middle of the field in between several defenders - wow. TIGHT END: Both Banks and Brank were heavily involved in the pass and run game. They totaled 8 catches between them. We had some success running the ball on the double TE sets and I hope we see more of that. OFFENSIVE LINE: Starters were Daniels, Banes, Georges, Whigan, Williams. Landers was inserted at LT early and was impressive. It’s only a matter of time before he’s the starter there. Robarge subbed at both guard positions and was solid. Kilbane saw some snaps at C. DEFENSE I don’t even know where to start. Ohio hit us on a few calls which happens no matter who the opponent is, but overall I thought the DC put the defense in a position to be successful on most plays. I’m not totally sure what the heart of the issue is outside of talent level, but I’ll touch on a few points below. DEFENSIVE LINE: Jones, Harper, Thomas, Morton started. Holt saw more playing time than Harper, despite not being a starter and did some good things. Thomas was double teamed a heavy amount. There are either some trust issues or a lack of understanding going on. To give an example, there was one play where Morton demolished the tight end’s block and had the QB stuck in the mud on a designed run, but instead of keeping outside leverage, Morton dove inside where he already had LB and S help. The QB was then able to get to the edge and gain the first down. Other issues that are common are overrunning the play when pursing into the backfield and allowing the play to come right back underneath. The linebacker/safety/nickel (depending on alignment) should be there but they are getting taken out the play in some fashion…usually by their own doing. LINEBACKER: Bubba is Bubba and continues to get the most out of his ability. He understands football and almost always smells out the play. Boateng started beside Bubba and was rough to watch. Boateng has plenty of physical ability but seems to lack intuition or know where the play is going the majority of the time. I lost count of the times when he should have been filling in to stop the run and was MIA. Terry did some good things and should be starting with Bubba. It’s exciting to see the potential of Fish and McCoy, but they are still learning and can get their eyes in the wrong place at times, which leads to busted plays. SECONDARY: Thompson had a strong game. I was critical of him earlier in the year, but he is one player in the secondary that has taken it up a notch. Martin missed way too many tackles and is not physical enough at times. JKP seems to be regressing. Our cornerback play is flat out disappointing. Hooks’, who has plenty of physical ability, was beaten a number of times. I watched one play where he was lined up several yards off the LOS, the WR ran a hitch route and somehow Hooks ended up 8-9 yards off the receiver on that move. To add insult to injury, he then missed the tackle. Durant was picked on again. We saw Hence get physically outmatched on a TD throw as well. Hence was with the receiver step for step until the receiver simply shoved him off at the top of the route and created separation in a legal way. Lewis helped in the run game, but also missed a sack opportunity. He was not as strong in the passing game. We need to improve in all areas defensively. Not every team will have a QB on the same level as Rourke, but the defense cannot play that poorly again. When we blitz and do not reach the quarterback it ends up being a big play almost every time. I still think we will win some games this year, but the defense must improve. While we may not have a top level MAC defense, I do not believe they are as bad as what we saw yesterday. If they can give this offense a chance, good things will happen.

Early lead for the zips..... 17 minute goal by Shooky....assist to outstanding left back Ashton Kamdem somewhat related, the Zips got a ton of help this afternoon in DeKalb, IL Western Michigan has been the early season juggernaut in the MAC. 9-1 record overall, 3-0 in the MAC convincing 3-0 home win over Northern Illinois ; 1-0 road win at Bowling Green and a 7-1 beatdown of Chicago State today, in DeKalb, NIU battled Western Michigan to a 0-0 result. Western Michigan led 17-3 in shots and 7-0 in shots on goal. gritty effort by the NIU huskies.

I honestly don't know what people expected of this season. Anyone that could look at this roster without wearing their Zips colored lens would have seen this roster was devoid of talent. Nobody was going to turn this team around in 1/2 of a recruiting cycle. 2-3 wins was all that was ever going to be achievable with this roster.

Goal Josh Hallenberger assisted by Terence Okoeguale 5-0 Zips.

32:45 goal by left defensive back Ashton Kamdem. This freshman is outstanding !!! 2-0 zips

I imagine the coaching staff will be scouring the transfer portal for P5 DEs and LBs this off-season. This staff has vastly upgraded talent but it doesn’t seem to be gelling or as evident on the D side as the offensive side. That said, even they have had some good moments. It’s like they have a lot of good pieces but they haven’t fit them together.

Reminds me a bit of Bowden’s first year. No improvement in the win column, but the team did improve. The offense still has some kinks to work out inside the 20s, but the talent is there, and we only lose Whigan and Shocky after this year. Bring in another WR and 1-2 OL transfers and I think that unit will be top 3 in the conference next year. The defense should be better with all the transfers brought in, but remembee Tibesar was a late add after Toth decided to go to Air Force. I don’t have much opinion either way on the coach Tibesar is on D, but the late add is probably tough for anyone to deal with. This is the MAC, and games every week really are unpredictable, just look at the box scores. Because of that, I still think we can win another game or two this year. Moorhead consistently says he’s building the program (not rebuilding because there is nothing to rebuild). As frustrating as it is to watch, all the problems were never going to be solved this year. Go Zips.

Indeed. $30? Maybe $10 but not $30. I will pass.

Always spot on, thank you very much for making this board better every week!

In their first recruiting season I believe they actually sowed a hybrid grass crop; 50% Kentucky Blue, 50% Crab.

This thread can use a biblical reference. Ye shall reap the seeds you sow. I noticed at the time that the new staff was a lot more concerned with the offense (which didn't seem surprising given Joe's background). Hopefully they can even things out this recruiting season.

I didn't watch the game, as I was at the marathon that was the Guardians game (my 3 year old daughter lasted all 15 innings, which included a nap in her seat from the bottom of the 7th until the 10th inning; trooper, and she set the bar high for her baby sister). Obviously the defense was the problem today, and has been a bit of an issue in general. Anybody with insider information know why Toth left for Air Force? Tibesar's track record is underwhelming, and I'm wondering if a change at DC will take place under JoeMo at some point since Tibesar wasn't the first choice.

A good article about our favorite Met

A local radio station mentioned first floor retail space, but this article does not mention it. I had doubts about the rumor, looking at the current decline of retail, and the demise of the nearby Quaker Square mall. Plus the Orangerie "Mall" downtown that I can't find any evidence that it still exists. If I were a betting man, I would say the whole building is going to be part of this. I minored in Emergency Management and those classes were in Polsky. I also did research on the Erie Lackawanna Railroad whose archives were in the Polsky building at the time. That was in 2012'ish, before the enrollment tanked. It was sad seeing it seemingly empty the last couple years.

Basketball season can't get here soon enough...

I know I'll be corrected if I'm wrong, but didn't the Zips post the second highest points scored in a game in the last 3 years? Maybe longer. Shout out optimists.

I don't see it

I got nothing

Kato's ONE and ONLY big game, was again OU at Infocision. Apart from that he didn't do much. Can't wait for Groce to kick Boals and the Kittens all over the JAR.

No reason to even engage with the stupidity. In Arth’s first year, Kato Nelson was 1/14 for 14 yards against Ohio.

Emphatically yes.

Is Morehead really tht much better than arth? I don't think so

Probably a good idea considering we have half the students we had a decade ago.

Crew choked again