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Went back and rewatched the game. A few more thoughts: OFFENSE - Irons was off target too often, but when he actually stepped up to throw, he threw a few passes where his throwing motion actually looked better than last year. Despite seemingly lacking some of the velocity he used to have, the two deep balls he threw to George (1 caught and the other into double coverage) and the one on the deep crossing route to Adams stood out. Last year, he would have strong armed it straight across the field to Adams. The last interception of the game was too reminiscent of last season to where he forced a play he didn’t need to make in a critical situation. - Adams, George, and Gathings collected the majority of snaps at receiver. Golden played in place of the TE when we went to 4 wide sets. Myles Walker received a handful of snaps as well. - The running backs need more touches. The run game only stalled on one drive. Outside of that, the backs picked up decent yardage every chance they were given. - The OL probably played its best game in the Moorhead era. I counted only 3 busted assignments in pass protection. Unfortunately, 2 came in the 4th quarter and on 3rd downs. The OL consistently got push in the run game. Substitution patterns went like this: Subs in parentheses LT - Blanchard (Chambers) LG - Kilbane (Lyons) C - T. Williams (Georges) RG- N. Williams (Kilbane) RT- Chambers (N. Williams) (Kindred) DEFENSE - Terray Jones is by far and away the best DT on the roster. He was the only DT that was able to create pressure on the quarterback (although not enough) and he was excellent against the run. Lavea is the next best, but isn’t much of a pass rusher. He’s a load for the OL to attempt to displace though. - Ryan Johnson and CJ Nunnally are easily the best DE’s we have. That includes rushing the passer and against the run. Would prefer not to see Johnson dropped into coverage anymore. He was caught up on a pick play by Tallandier’s WR, which led to a Temple passing TD. Just send him after the QB. We need more production from the backups too. - Antavious Fish was a monster. Not only did he land some highlight hits, but numerous times he came downhill and put an OL on their butt. His one slip up was on the short TD pass to the RB. Fish was caught a little too far inside and then was picked just a bit by the WR, which gave the RB the angle. McCoy was also really good and give us an impressive linebacker duo. Shammond Cooper was solid and a sure tackler, although nothing flashy. Behm is a weak link. - Outside of the penalty, Tallandier was really good. Hunter had his moments outside of the final penalty. Golden-Nelson had more good than bad. - Corey Thomas and KJ Martin made a solid safety duo. Not sure why Nate Thompson didn’t see any action until close to the end of the 3rd quarter, but he wasn’t really missed with the way Thomas and Martin were playing. It hurt losing Martin on the ejection. Jaden Woods struggled in the second half. Darrian Lewis did a nice job at Nickel, but struggled at times when asked to play deeper as a safety. DE - R. Johnson (A. smith) (Richardson) DT - T. Jones (Robinson) DT - Lavea (K. Thomas) (Adler) DE - Nunnally (A. Smith) (L.Jackson) LB - Fish (Behm) LB - McCoy (Cooper) CB - Tallandier (Hence) CB - Hunter (Golden-Nelson) (Durant) NB - D. Lewis (C. Thomas) S - C. Thomas (Woods) S - KJ Martin (D. Johnson) (N. Thompson) SPECIAL TEAMS - As a whole, this unit seemed improved and was really solid outside of Jackson’s one short punt and Golden’s punt return muff.

Unrelated to FB in particular, but today was University of Akron day at the Guardians vs. Rays game. According to Willy Kollman, it was the largest college day of the season there. 700 Zips attended. With a special ticket package, you received a Guardians hat with an Akron logo on the side, and a pregame reception area. President Miller threw out the first pitch. I was blown away by how many people came out, and it felt really good to see after that stinker in Philly yesterday. I’m pumped for Saturday, getting this fanbase and community back together again. Home games are so important as the MAC fanbases dwindle year after year. This program needs to make the most of them now more than ever.

Top drawer soccer has Vermont at #10 and Akron at #16 Hello ???? anyone home at Top Drawer soccer ?????

We do disservice to WSOC by continuing on this thread a referendum on MSOC. My apologies for that.

You need never doubt my sincerity or deliberation. I was formally trained in compositional deconstruction at the University of Akron. I too would be satisfied with Zips WSOC hosting (and losing) the MAC Tournament. That would be quite an improvement over struggling to achieve mediocrity. But this is an unacceptable goal for MSOC, who are accustomed to much greater heights. The histories of Zips MSOC and Zips WSOC are not comparable. For a long while WSOC have not even been respectable. MSOC enjoy a long and storied legacy. It is far past time for WSOC to catch up to MSOC. But MSOC have not recently been worthy of that stellar legacy. They have instead become woefully pedestrian. So, I am challenging them, calling them out. Certainly, crosspollination between the Men's and Women's programs is healthy and mutually beneficial. The two programs share the same facilities and resources; they should likewise share methodologies and techniques. But MSOC must regain relevance and stature before any of us download their instructional video or enroll in their weekend seminar.

This isn't inaccurate. Yesterday's loss stings because we were superior to Temple in every facet of the game minus QB play. Every single flaw seemed to point back to QB play. Why not run the ball more? Temple didn't respect the pass a lick and stacked the box. Why did the WRs not look like playmakers? There was an inaccurate, inconsistent, indecisive, confidence-lacking QB throwing them the ball. What was up with the defensive breakdowns in the 2nd half? They were on the field too often after short drives resulting in a punt. Despite the correlation between the the poor QB play and the oil leak, JoeMo didn't make a move at the position. Huge coaching error.

Bingo. Worse, he's a Senior. Clemson didn't wait around for DJ Uiagalelei to improve and Oklahoma didn't wait for Spencer Rattler to improve. Those two are now in the wilderness of college football where they belong. If Irons is our best chance to win, then he needs to get better NOW. If there is someone who gives an equal shot at winning but may lack experience, then it's time for a change. The Zips have some good players who deserve a fighting chance to win. We aren't watching the crap Ianello and Arth put on the field. These guys can win some games.

Airs Tuesday evening on Bally and posted to YouTube about 12:15a on Wednesday. I guess since the ABJ no longer really exists or covers Akron football they do not have a presence at the weekly presser and it is just Joe Dunn asking a couple questions.

By far the emptiest 3 minutes I've ever heard from JoeMo. Part of that is on the reporters for not asking any legitimate questions, and part of that's on JoeMo for not realizing fans watch this and inserting something - anything - that speaks directly to them and their obvious concerns. "Tahj is a talented thrower" Left with more questions than answers after that one.

Well, that's just grape! Jammed up again.

Sept 4th 2023 Top Drawer Soccer Top 25 #16 Akron https://www.topdrawersoccer.com/college-soccer-national-rankings/men Sept 3rd 2023 College Soccer News Top 30 #9 Akron https://collegesoccernews.com/college-soccer-news-mens-top-30-national-poll-week-ending-september-3-2023/ The United Soccer Coaches Poll will be out tomorrow.

Yes, I can answer. As you say that I misunderstood you, buflobo did not say the Men's program shouldn't be emulated. He said "...the coaching staff of MSOC hardly should be held up as a shining example for WSOC to emulate." The current coaching staff has not maintained the standard. 2019 is a season we would all like to erase from the record book. Forget the COVID season(s)...doesn't count due to being out of anyone's control. 2021 and 2022 fell short...losing at home to Santa Clara and Pitt, and I'm not sorry to state that. The bar has been set high...maintaining it is difficult, yes. But, that is the expectation.

I agree with Fknbuflobo. His response is not talking about the last 10 years. All zips fans should be very happy with the great results from 2015 to 2018. In those 4 years, the zips went to 3 final fours and reached the final in 2018. The coaching staff for those 4 years was Coach Embick, Leo Chappell, TJ Kolba and Ger Coppenger. Leo Chappell departed the zips team late in the 2018 season and TJ Kolba left after the 2018 season to go to Michigan State. The results in the last 4 years (with Michael Nanchoff joining Jared and Ger) have come no where close to the results achieved by the coaching staff from 2015-2018. Yes, you can say that zips mens soccer fans have become spoiled. The zips team of 2021...lost their last 3 games to Northern Illinois, Western Michigan and Santa Clara. Zips fans expect better than to lose to Santa Clara in the NCAA tournament. Recruiting classes have still been ranked in the top 10 or top 15. Yet, the on field results have not been what zips fan have expected. The 2021 and 2022 teams both gave up a lot of goals on corner kicks and both teams scored almost no goals on corner kicks. I am writing this response after watching the zips get dominated in the first half on a Friday night by a Michigan team that is picked to finish dead last in the Big Ten. Yes, I would agree that Fknbuflobo's post is controversial. Everyone who knows anything about zips soccer history.....loves and worships the entire Nanchoff family. However, the facts clearly show that Michael Nanchoff has been part of the zips coaching staff for 4 years and that Ger Coppenger has been the lead assistant for 4 years and the zips have won 0 tournament games. One year, the zips did not even make the 4 team MAC tournament. With the talent on this team, the mens coaching staff needs to focus on their own team. I have never seen a women's soccer match in person. All I will say.....is that Noreen Herlihy left her successor a pile of manure. Larry Williams and Charles Guthrie should never have allowed Herlihy to be the zips coach and still live in the Pittsburgh area. I know that the poor Akron U financial picture had an impact on Guthrie not firing Herlihy outright after the 2021 season...because the zips could not to afford to pay Herlihy for the 2022 season (when Larry W. had dumbly given her a multi year extension). However, an excellent Athletic director would have found the funds to fire Herlihy after the 2021 season. If your response had said, I want women's soccer to emulate the zips coaching staff from 2015-2018, I would be more comfortable with your reply. This current coaching staff does not have time to help the women. This coaching staff needs to focus on this year's team. None of us want to see Will Jackson leave Akron U. as a starter for 5 years and to have never won an NCAA tournament game. Jared, Ger and Michael need to focus on the men's team.

No I am not. I just tried to offer a "think-out-of-the-box" suggestion as to how to get out of the quagmire that is women's soccer at U of A. Do I think she's the coach to guide us out? No., I do not. Am I blaming her for what the program is? No. And as I did not say any of these things, I also did not say he was out of line with his comments on Men's soccer. I questioned why he doesn't think the men's program shouldn't be emulated if you're trying to build a winning program. Can you answer that question?

I didn't see 10 second delayed handoffs up the middle on Saturday. Hope that eases some of your concerns.

Seriously - did you re-read this after you wrote it? Because if you did you wouldn't have hit "submit reply". So, a team that has not had a winning record since 2009, has not produced a single All-MAC player, and has never had a recruiting class judged worthy of a mention in its history should not emulate a program which has produced 125 wins in the last 10 seasons, and only lost 25. Or emulate a team that has made 8 of the last 10 NCAA tournaments, including a final? Or emulate a program which has had top-10 recruiting classes year after year after year, who recruits locally, nationally and internationally? Then if this isn't a program, readily available to study, ask advice from, learn from, then who or what program in your opinion is? Sorry they haven't won an NCAA match since 2018, but all I'm asking is a program that can be middle of the road in the MAC for women, I'll take the MAC playoffs as a starting point, before I even have the luxury of worrying about not winning an NCAA match.

I don't know how the rest of you feel, but I have this nagging thought that yesterday's loss was a failure of coaching. I know, and believe to my core, that Joe is the anointed One. Still yesterday it was plain for all to see the quarterbacking cost us the game and Joe did not have an answer. Undercuffler would have beaten the Owls. I suspect that is true of Bullock. But we saw no change. Make the change now. If DJ is hurt give him time to heal while someone else leads this team. If he's not hurt he's played himself out of the starting position. This is a good team that can win with a decent QB. We have other areas of improvement but let's stop the biggest bleeder first, then go to the others.

Don’t follow FCS, but I’ve picked up over the years that Richmond is a pretty solid program. Morgan State beat them last week. We better show up.

After yesterday I wouldn't call watching Irons throw the ball a "privilege".

I am usually not the "downer" guy and I do have faith in Moorhead, but as long as the Zips are losing to bottom 20 teams I don't have much interest in moral victories or "looking on the bright side."

Our first advanced box score of the season! https://collegefootballdata.com/boxscore/401531387 I agree with the general consensus that the team, as a whole, looked much better than at most points last year. That is, if you look at each individual unit, they were hitting above their previous average...except for the most important position on the football field. The first think that stuck out to me in the advanced box score was the fact that UA hit 1.000 in scoring opportunities, and they were obviously both in the first half. A scoring opportunity is when you get the ball inside the opponent's 40, and Akron scored touchdowns both times they did that. When watching the game, I felt good about our chances specifically because that was an area this team was terrible in last year. Yesterday, it was like a bizarro world. They couldn't move the ball between the 20s. It was alarming. As for the defense, I talk a lot about them not making plays. Yes, they made plays most of the time they needed to yesterday, but when will this defense begin to read the QB and force some turnovers? Or make its presence felt in the backfield? Props to Warner as he is a damn good QB and their whole M.O. is protecting him, but not forcing any havoc, as displayed in the advanced box score, was costly. Temple, on the other hand, wasn't doing anything in the secondary to make things that difficult for DJI. Even when he did want/need to tuck and run or scramble, he seemed hesitant whereas last year he could have carved them up. Some of the individuals that stuck out to me are as follows: Bobby Golden (WR): I was hoping we would see more of him last year, not sure if the muffed punt had anything to do with that. Seeing him drop that punt yesterday made my heart jump out of my chest. Maybe time to put Adams or Hester back there. Anyway, I thought he looked the part out there. He should have had a TD catch and quite a few yards as well, not sure he could have done much more on the OB sideline throw. He will be a solid contributor as the season goes on. Lorenzo Lingard (RB): I just don't understand why he didn't get more touches yesterday. Same with Drake Anderson. But that play to get LL the TD was freaking awesome. It's a shame it was wasted in a loss, a damn shame. Lingard looks to be tremendously physical and has speed to separate from the D, as displayed on the TD. I'd like to see Joe mess around with he and Bullock like he did with Barkley and McSorely at Penn State. The package of Irons & Bullock got me really excited. We'll see how willing Joe is to open up the playbook Bryan McCoy (LB): A blossoming star. He and Fish delivered some big hits throughout the day, and to the untrained eye, seemed to make a fair amount of plays. If we have Bubba, maybe we get more pressure on the QB and get a different result, but I am happy with our LB situation considering the circumstances. All DBs: While not everyone played great, I feel the unit as a whole did a really nice job against a QB and an offense that scored a ton of points and racked up a lot of yards down the stretch last season. They allowed a few big plays later in the game, possibly in part to being on the damn field the entire second half. But, they forced 21 incompletions on the day and made those guys work really hard to score 24 points The negatives largely stop at QB play. Special teams look to be improved as a whole Dante Jackson is a big step up from Gettman. Not sure on FG kicking yet. But QB and probably DL are the two areas that proved to be most costly. The aforementioned lack of pressure and push from the DL kind of is what it is given the personnel. I thought they played okay, and I'm hoping for improvement but not sure how much we will see considering who is available. The QB....my lord almighty. I have always been an Irons supporter, but have also had plenty of reservations with him being the QB that really makes this thing take off. He was fine in his time in 2021, and he was good last year as a game-manager and a guy who could put the ball where it needs to be to dink and dunk down the field. But yesterday was flat out appalling. He has still never started at QB in a game where Akron defeats an FBS team. I trust Joe for obvious reasons, but I would question why he would give Irons a long leash, especially when he is clearly not the same QB that he was last year. Not many of us, except maybe @Hilltopper have seen Bullock work along side these guys in practice, but considering how quickly Joe involved him in the offense yesterday, I have a feeling they're more confident in his abilities than they are leading on. In 2015, Bowden started Tra Chapman at QB the first three games and yanked him during the Savannah State game for Tommy Woodson, who lit up the scoreboard most of the rest of the year. Maybe the same thing will happen with Bullock. In 2023, Joe Moorhead cannot take losses due to bad QB play. Simple as that. Let's get to 1-1 and get this $h!+ figured out.

In 2023, redshirting is an antiquated idea. It has been for over a decade now. Player attrition, voluntarily or involuntary, needs to made up by ready to play freshmen. QBs, and most others skill players, come to college better prepared than ever. Some even graduate HS early in order to participate in spring practice. If the second best QB is a freshman, than that's the spot you put him.

If you subtract the 10 yard pass and 67 yard run by Lorenzo, they had 161 yards in the first half. They easily left 100 first half yards on the table. By 2023 college football standards, the offense was just bad yesterday. When a team can't complete passes down field, it allows defenses to choke off the running and short/intermediate passing game. In 2023, a team has to be able to complete down field passes consistently in order to win. It's all very simple. What makes the loss so distasteful for me is this team is so much better in almost every category. They look like a good MAC team. Certainly they are good enough to beat the likes of Temple and they didn't. I think I have to go back to just commenting on general college football topics because this black hole of a football program is exhausting.