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In 2017 I watched Wake Forest, with future LA Rams back up John Wolford,eek out a one point win at App State. They played terrible and deserved to lose. They had to block a couple of field goals, with the second one being the last play of the game. After that, they settled into a solid season and beat Texas A & M something like 55-52 in regular time in the Belk Bowl. It propelled the program forward. If there are terrible wins, the Zips got one yesterday. They need to take it and move on. The talent is there to be successful in the MAC. They just need to play better and get the program moving forward. Everything they probably want to accomplish is still in front of them for the taking.

Certainly was not expecting that turn of events...

The good, the bad, and the ugly. OFFENSE: QB - The problem position that no one saw coming. Undercuffler came in and looked like the QB that played in the spring game. Then the issues crept in. I won’t hammer home the 3 interceptions that were bad decisions and poorly thrown. I also understand what he was trying to do on the last INT by putting it far back corner in the endzone for his receiver to run under. Unfortunately, it was under thrown. I’m not sure where the staff goes from here, but the offense at least moved up and down the field with Undercuffler. The overall decision making has to get better and I feel if there is a heavier focus on the run game then it will make things easier on the QB. RB - I’m still at a loss why Lingard and Anderson are not receiving more touches. I counted only a handful of carries that went for 2 yards or less and two of those were at the beginning of the game when Lingard tripped on the turf. There was one carry where Morgan State had 8 in the box and Lingard still managed a run over 5 yards. The duo combined for 13 rushes for 51 yards, which is a 3.9 average. WR - The receivers did their part catching the ball. Although, I can’t always see what’s happening downfield on their routes when watching on tv. There were a few missed blocks on the perimeter that caused some decent play calls to be blown up. OL - The offensive line could have been better, but they weren’t bad. I believe Blanchard played the entire game at LT. If he didn’t take every snap, he was close to it. In my opinion Lyons and Kilbane have been our best options at LG and RG, respectively, though two games. QB - Irons (Bullock) (Undercuffler) RB - Lingard (Anderson) TE - Banks (Newell) WR - George (Wilson) WR - Adams (Golden) (Walker) WR - Gathings (Anderson) TE - Banks (Newell) LT - Blanchard LG - Frank (Lyons) C - T. Williams (Georges) RG - Chambers (Kilbane) RT - Kindred (Chambers) DEFENSE: DL - It looked like an FBS DL vs an FCS OL. Jones and Nunnally were dominant as the DL collected 4 sacks. That’s following a week where just creating pressure was an issue. LB - McCoy and Fish are dynamite. No other way to put it. The duo had over 20 tackles combined and McCoy iced the game on a fumble return for a touchdown. Cooper was also solid for the second week in a row. DB - Lewis had one of his best games as a Zip. He was active in coverage and especially effective when coming up for run support. He nearly had a few sacks himself off blitzes. - Golden-Nelson may have had his best game as a Zip with solid coverage and an interception return for a touchdown. - Martin had to sit a half, but his presence was felt on his return. He also had an interception. - N. Thompson played a major role coming up in run support. That being said, either he or Woods took a few bad angles on a couple of plays. I couldn’t tell who by the number. - The other DBs didn’t do much noteworthy statistically, but coverage was usually solid. - Hence, Hunter, and Thompson(?) gave up the passing TDs. DE - Nunnally (Jackson) DT - Lavea (Thomas) (Adler) DT - Jones (Robinson) DE -Johnson (Smith) LB - Fish (Behm) LB - McCoy (Cooper) NB - Lewis (Thomas) CB - Durant (Hunter) (Hence) CB - Tallandier (Golden-Nelson) S - Thomas (Woods) S - Thompson (Johnson) (Martin) Special Teams: Mixed bag here. Not where we need to be yet, but can see signs of what this unit can be. No, it was not pretty but the team got it done. Sometimes all it takes is a spark and the fire gets lit. Am I saying this team will come out and beat UK and Indiana? No, although I wouldn’t be surprised if this is a catalyst for much better play. The staff showed last night they are not afraid to make a change at QB, so that tells me they are willing to make the necessary changes to get this offense back on track. This team is 1-1 with plenty left to play for. The defense ramped it up, now the offense needs to join the party.

At the game and this is some of what I observed. First, the defense considering the level of competition so far has been MUCH improved over last season. I'll leave that there. As for the offense not much progress. The coaches wasted almost an entire first half with Irons at QB. And, they didn't give him much help with the play calling. But, thats another issue. Undercuffler comes in, the tempo changes and the offense moves. He was throwing the ball on time and accurately.(get to the INTS in a minute). The coaches still didn't want to run the ball. Why? They were using the tight end some, hurray. The O-line is slowly improving, but again, play calling not helping them much. The 3 INTS from Undercuffler were really bad! Threw into coverage and didn't have to. When they were going in for the TD in the 4th Q, he had open receiver just short of the goal line. But, again, they were moving the ball. The coaches have to commit more to using some good RB's and have to let Undercuffler play.

Buffalo lost to Fordham. Imagine losing to an FCS. That must be rough.

We were due to have a team give us a game intead of us giving them the game. Great play by the defense to cause that fumble. Joe Pesarchic type play. Never thought I would see that again. Trying to figure out which Undercuffler interception was the worse. Tough Call.

Zips are proving there is such a thing as an embarrassing win.

I'm not a fan of Undercuffler's physical traits at all (mobility and arm strength), but if he finds the open man and gets the ball out accurately and timely, he just might work out. He's just a game manager, which seems opposite of what Joe Mo would prefer, but if its the best solution gotta roll with it.

This is where I find myself this a.m. I was underwhelmed last night & still feel it this a.m. We were LUCKY to beat an FCS opponent. I fear it's going to be another long season. On top of that, except for the final minute of the 1st and and final minute of the 2nd half, last night's game was B-O-R-I-N-G. For years I've been taking guys to games just hoping against hope to make some new Akron fans and for years I've often felt guilty for subjecting my friends to the stuff. Last night was yet another occurrence. Ugh. Before the 2nd half started one of my friends - who loves him some football - said, "This feels like a looooooong game. Even halftime felt long." It simply wasn't much fun. Being a Zips fan ain't for wimps.

And this is why I had the Zips at 3 wins. It's tough to go out and get the right QB when you have a recent history like Akron or any other struggling G5 school. You will have a guy like Sanders at Colorado woth the name to flip a team in a year, but those guys are hard to find and the exception and you usually can't get them at what a G5 school can pay them and their staff.

No coach can fix this overnight. It’s going to take 3-5 years of roster turnover and coaching. QB play has been terrible, but the OL, although improved over 2022, still sucks. How many yards rushing did we have last night? How many times was our QB pressured or sacked? Maybe Joe will move some guys around to try to get a better combination, but you can’t fix it over night. There are some good young players and some transfers to build on, but OL play still isn’t up to FBS standards. Defense is much improved and that is a big positive!

Well said. Would much rather be dissatisfied after a win rather than a loss. Defense is much improved and biggest issue on offense is QB. Undercuffler and Irons issues are different. Irons getting back to form would be good enough to have a solid season, but if not we do have a handful of options (at least on paper). Whether they are ready to step up and run the offense is another story.

I appears we have both a Turnover Tire and a Touchdown Tire, and since Devonte had a pick 6 he gets both!! 🤣🤣

The Touchdown Tire was featured by Acho during halftime of the Cal/Auburn game.

Good thing we didn't sleep on them; we might have lost.

Yeah its an overreaction. Even though the QB position is a disappointment right now and Moorhead deserves blame for that, have to play the long term game and we have a handful of prospects now and in the future that can get it fixed.

This is probably the worst I've ever felt after a win. But damn, we needed that. In the grand scheme of things 1-3 isn't much better than 0-4. Just hope this gives the team a little momentum going forward.

Nice to get the win but it doesn't exactly inspire confidence for the rest of the season. You don't often win when you turn the ball over four times. Now I know how CMU felt last year.

Had em all the way

Craziest win I've seen in my life for the Zips. Feels good to get one in the win column, but we're lucky as hell to have it. MUST FIGURE OUT QB POSITION if there's any hope at a bowl game. That is the weakness on this team right now.

Oh, there are words, just none the software won't auto delete.

Absolutely did not expect to see iCoach and Arth-level offense this year.

We have a QB room emergency.

The basketball arena announcer needs to do every UA sporting event. By far the best one we have

More things noticed on the telecast. Someone needs to explain to this young lady that even if she wants to fit in with her friends, that's not actually an Akron logo. 😊

In a very small sampling, Undercuffler seems to see the field much better than Irons. There were plenty of guys open for Irons…he either waits too long or flat-out doesn’t see them. Can’t get enough of The Cuff.

#11 FIU (2-1-2) visits #5 Akron (4-0-1) Rankings are United Soccer Coaches poll through games of Sep 4, 2023 FIU's schedule thus far in 2023 W 2-1 at Oregon St W 4-0 v VCU D 0-0 v Central Arkansas D 2-2 v UCF L 1-2 v #24 New Hampshire

I’m not as concerned about winning since it’s a long shot as much as I am figuring out our issues for conference play, but Kentucky only beat Eastern Kentucky by 11 last week and we were 20-something point dogs when we beat Northwestern. CFB is weird (like NIU beating BC then losing to Southern Illinois). That’s what makes it great!

Each year when a game like this hits our schedule early, I always think how Akron NEEDS a win like this. Any win against a big program could really help with interest in the Zips. I know UK isnt ranked, but going into an SEC environment and winning would be awesome. The Zips barely beat Morgan State, so I'm not holding my breath. Just simply stating how a win could do wonders.

That’s catchy

Bad bad bad bad bad game. I registered almost no emotion the entire 2nd half. It had all been beaten out of me. I knew JU was going to throw a pick to cost the game. I knew we weren't going to move the ball with ease. It was just one of those days. My mind raced the entire 2nd half. So if Moorhead can't do it, who can? I have been to all but one home game at that stadium since August of 2012. And I have never left feeling the way I did yesterday, which is strange considering Akron actually won a football game. That includes an 0-12 season where we didn't score a TD for a month. The last 3 FCS games have been Bryant, St. Francis, Morgan State. All 3 pretty similar. Bryant was tied going into the 4th quarter, SF took OT, and whatever the hell that was last night. Yet--this Akron team as currently constructed is the best team Akron has fielded in 5 years. I cannot wrap my head around why the offense is so...blah. The defense is actually becoming quite fun to watch, we'll see what happens as opponents get better. But that Akron sideline was frustrated last night. Big time. I suppose that is an improvement on the Bowden sideline that took naps when things weren't going well or an Arth sideline where nobody cared. These guys know they are better than what they've shown. We'll see if coach or anyone or anything can get it out of them. So on the 4th play of the game last night following a pair of sacks, we block a punt and take over inside the 10. Last week, a 77-yard TD on the 2nd play. It's almost like these big plays are made early and they just expect everything to be easy. Anyway...Gameday experience was just okay. Band doesn't seem to play as much as they used to. I don't love the piped in music between plays, I prefer the band, but that kinda just is what it is. AS FOR THE PA....goodness gracious. Did they just bring in some random dude off the street? Clearly didn't do any prep, was lost numerous times with what was going on, didn't seem to know the rules of the game. The previous announcer, who does the Browns, Zips MBB, MAC football title, MAC basketball tournaments, no longer wants to do Akron football. I'm hoping this guy was a temporary replacement until they get someone else in there. Woof. Talk about minor league. Got one in the correct column, but nobody can really feel too great about how they got it. This is a big time work in progress.

Not to mention that a DJ is now our Marching Band! On Band Day, I had to listen to loud obnoxious hip hop and rock blaring over the PA as well as "Norm"s rather dull announcing, rather than, well, an actual Band! And Ohio's Finest, at that! Way to go Charles, give me that great Game Day experience that will bring me back! 🤪

Morning after thoughts... - How the hell did we win that game? Snatching victory from the jaws of Defeat. - One of my earlier posts requested that we simply not be one of the teams that loses to a FCS squad. We accomplished that (somehow). CMU needed a game-winning FG to beat New Hampshire. Northern Illinois lost to Southern Illinois. Buffalo lost to Fordham. Boston College needed a miracle late turnover to hold on against Holy Cross. Idaho WHOOPED Nevada. Hawaii needed a comeback win against Albany. I believe the Transfer Portal will even out the FBS talent wise for a more competitive platform, and there's no reason that wouldn't apply to the FCS as more talent is blocked from FBS rosters. - Our defense is the real deal. They'll keep us in most games this season (barring injury). It was great to see us possess the ability to create turnovers and get pressure on the QB. That's about where the positives end. - We don't have a QB at the moment. DJI doesn't have the decision making ability, and Undercuffler doesn't have the physical traits. When he came in, the decision making was 1000% better. Problem is, once the defense got used to the better decision making, they realized the only decisions being made were sideline throws. We wasted a golden opportunity against a lesser opponent to figure out our QB situation and fix our offensive woes. - If Fessler is the one calling plays, Joe needs to take that control back. The play calls aren't Milwee-level-bad, but it's not great. The WRs aren't running playmaking routes and stuff is taking too long to develop. Kentucky looks beatable. It's a shame we seemingly don't have a QB that can do it.

~8,000. I'm not good at guessing numbers, but the ABJ article said there were 8,213... but of course those would be tickets sold, not necessarily butts in the seats.

Saturday night - Big East games, most ranked games and zips opponents no wins on Saturday night for Big East teams UMass 3 Providence 2 Ohio State 1 Butler 0 Fairleigh Dickinson 0 Villanova 0 Harvard 1 #23 Seton Hall 1 in the match of the night... #16 West Virginia 1 #3 Portland 0 thanks to Big Green Truck for pointing out...that WVA goal came at 89:57 Pitt 3 #9 Wake Forest 0 #12 Vermont 2 LeHigh 1 #20 Notre Dame 3 Clemson 2 zips play Notre Dame on Sept. 19....Irish are 4-0-1....only blemish - first game tie against Indiana Oakland 3 Cleveland State 0 Robert Morris 2 Northern Kentucky 1 Duquesne 2 Niagara 1 Evansville 4 SIU 0

they need to tone down the blaring for sure...

i can imagine it..

Nah, I'm a far cry from that. Just really disappointed he doesn't seem to have made much of an impact yet.

So glad they won! But this team still has many issues. Goodness. Tonight was a large dose of luck.

Of course looking for the worst possible scenario, I was expecting that Teray Jones was going to get called for taking his helmet off while still on the field after he got his big sack on fourth down. It got called in the Colorado game earlier today, and I could just see some ending miracle on a call like that. I've been watching Zips games too long (sigh).

Thanks D for the win

Even without Messi (CONMEBOL WC Qualifying with Argentina), Benja Cremaschi (USMNT friendlies), and others during this "International break", Miami is still fun to watch these days...DeAndre Yedlin with a sweet assist...

"How many college football teams are there? There are approximately 893 football colleges spanning five different division levels: NCAA Division 1, Division 2, Division 3, NAIA and NJCAA." Based on my research, there are 892 capable kickers and we didn't get one of them.

Looking at the box score for last night's game, the starters combined to play a total of 920 minutes. There were only 5 subs used....and 1 of them only played 16 seconds (GRRR...on stopping the clock for that sub) the 5 subs....combined to only play a total of 70 minutes. FIU is a high powered offensive team. Last year, the zips escaped with a 5-3 win. Last year, FIU really attacked the sides late in the game as Will Jackson had played the full 90 and Ashton Kamdem had played 77 minutes. (Malik was returning from injury and only played 13 minutes). Jackson was out of gas at the end of that game and FIU scored goals at 83 minutes and 85 minutes. I can certainly understand...the coaches using the 2 center backs for all 90 minutes. However, with this quick turnaround (just 70 hours from the end of Friday game to the start of Monday game), I would sure hope that Will Jackson and the starting right back only play 30 minutes to 35 minutes per half. This team is supposed to have great depth. In last night's game, only 3 subs played more than 10 minutes. I sure hope that we see more than 3 subs Monday night with more than 10 minutes. LIU was the much fresher team last night in the 2nd half. They had 5 subs with more than 10 minutes...and had 2 other subs that played 9 minutes Zips bench players....that did not get in the game last night......Rui Reis, Matt Dreas, Daniel Firek, Alen Kapic , Joshua Hardin....and Darragh Reilly only played 16 seconds I have not listed Nathan Ferguson...and Jackson Herbert....and Dyson Clapier...and others that are battling injuries are the bench players not quality players? I have heard a respected former Akron player.....is raving about how good that Daniel Firek is.....Alen Kapic looked good the other night. Rui Reis had 14 goals and 10 assists for Keiser last year. Are the players that I listed...also dealing with injury? The next 3 games....are huge for the zips....highly ranked FIU on the 11th....first big east game on the 15th...and highly ranked Notre Dame on the 19th.....I sure hope the zips depth....can be a huge factor in helping the zips go 3-0 or 2-0-1 in that stretch Minutes for last night's game Budler 90 Buechte 90 Sangwa 90 I am OK....with all 3 of those 90 minute guys above Jackson 90 Malik 90 Shokalook 90 Wan Kamal 79 Paulus 79 Tojaga 77 Gyuwon 73 Kamdem 72 subs Nano Varela 24 Stefan D. 19 Fitzgerald 17 Hallenberger 9 Reilly 16 seconds Ashton Kamdem and Malik Henry have proved to be a dynamic duo on right side...... but Johnny Fitzgerald......is high energy and high skill....sure would love to see him play more than 17 minutes Malik Henry at RB and Johnny Fitz at RW and Ashton Kamdem at LB and Dyson Clapier at LW......in the last 15 minutes of the first half.....is going to make Akron dangerous on both sides.......those 4 would be a hand ful for the next 3 teams.....late in any half.....sure hope that Dice is back Monday night (as one zno poster predicted)

DJI in there celebrating Golden-Nelson's pick 6 - credit to him!

I don't like Undercuffler's physical traits, but my goodness is his decision making 1000% better than DJI.

The guy just announced “Back to punt for Morgan State” as they line up to go for it on 4th and 1!? Is he even in the building?

Is it a good or bad thing that on my Instagram Zip Football feed I see ads for walk-on offensive and defensive linemen???? https://instagram.com/stories/zipsfb/3186663881161459799?utm_source=ig_story_item_share&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== Two weeks ago it was for running backs, I think????? Not a good look for the program, IMHO. But if it's needed then why not, I guess.