Leaderboard

You're right. I heard that too... maybe read it on here? But JoMo's constantly looking at his IHOP menu on the sideline & communicating with someone, i.e., it sure looks like he's calling the plays. And besides, I don't think our program's at the point where he can delegate that responsibility... especially considering how our offense underperformed all year. I don't want JoeMo to pull another Bowden & derail his career here by refusing to take back play calling duties from a young underling who isn't yet ready for the responsibility.

I still feel we were just a mediocre QB away from 5, maybe even 6 wins.

For everyone losing their sh*t because of the 2024 out of conference schedule, what do you think about 2025? Seems to be a really good blend of winnable games with a great venue payday mixed in.

I would argue Moorhead may have taken over a roster in worse shape than Arth and I can only imagine how bad Arth’s final recruiting class would have finished had there not been a change. I don’t believe there would have been any progress had Arth been retained. There are a number of reasons we’ve covered that made the 2023 season a disappointment. My point was this program is actually competitive as opposed to the previous staff’s teams. Let’s not forget the many blowouts under Arth. We can look at a number of games this season where one less dumb penalty, or one less poor decision at QB, or one more made FG could have changed the outcome of the season. The same can’t be said during Arth’s years. All that being said, the only thing that matters is wins and enough of those have not happened. Moorhead isn’t wrong. He could be getting paid a lot more somewhere else as an OC. He doesn’t need to keep saying it though.

If our program was even close to the level of Toledo's I'd be absolutely stoked about facing OSUcks. As it is, we're almost certainly in for a nationally televised shellacking which will only serve to make Joe Akron's eyes roll even harder at the already nearly unthinkable prospect of actually supporting the Zippers. I already suffer enough workplace abuse from the absurdity of actually being a fan of our local team. I can only shudder when I imagine the abuse I'm going to be taking next August. In August of this year I actually had a co-worker ask me, "Are they still called the Zips?" And this is in Akron!!! 😡😡😡 '25 schedule looks spot on. Shockingly, it looks like it was actually put together by an intelligent adult who has a clue as to the currently inglorious state of our football program. However, this is UA Athletics, so they could certainly still screw it up... maybe they'll add Alabama or Georgia? 😂 This year's schedule was also perfect for a potential Top 25 ranking but we couldn't come anywhere close to capitalizing. Ugh. Here are two things we should do. 1. We need to work overtime to renew our rivalry with YSU. We need rivalry games because we desperately need meaningful games. Rivaly games are a way to (artificially) manufacture meaningful games... even if the games aren't meaningful outside of the two schools' fanbases. Look at how excited we were - and how Akron twitter blew up! - after we beat lowly KSUcks this year. YSU is another natural rival who would bring a large contingent of fans to the Info to make for a potentially great environment. Bring back the Steel Tire Trophy! Make the annual Akron-Youngstown State Steel Tire Trophy game our opening game every year! An annual tradition! (I know, I know... YSU doesn't want to play in Akron every year... to renew the rivalry they also want us to make alternating trips to Youngstown... or something along those lines... that's deserving of its own conversation). 2. Make KSUcks our first MAC game every year. a) Both teams are still in contention for the MAC East at that point b) midweek MACtion has not yet started laying waste to MAC football attendance, and c) the weather is still nice. a+b+c=a perfect storm for a fun game day environment at the Info. Rocket science, I know. These are two seemingly obvious, no brainer moves. Moves which are so obvious that I simply can't imagine fully functioning adults in the UA Athletics department haven't been fighting tooth-and-nail for these for years. So, for some reason it's probably easier said than done. It does seem that ESPN has us by the balls. Do we have any say in our conference scheduling? At all? Or are we 100% ESPN's b*tch?

It looks like the game is being streamed on the mountain west network at 10 eastern and it looks like it is a free stream. Lets hope we play better than last week. I know that Groce always stresses toughness. I cannot say that this team is a very physical team. We are athletic but not very strong. If we are not a physical team, we better be able to shoot from outside.

Fun fact: Jacksonville State is actually in Alabama.

What went Right and what went Wrong? Quarterback: Unbeknownst to much of the fanbase, DJI had offseason shoulder surgery and was not the same QB coming into 2023. He finally settled into a groove against Indiana, but even during that game it was DJI’s running ability that stood out as opposed to what would he considered a prolific passing day. JU was put in a tough position and expected to do more than he was capable of with the exception of 3 games (Kent, EMU, and Ohio). In those 3 games, the offense used more max protects in the passing game and relied heavily on the run. JU was 58 of 92 (63%) for 624 yards and 2 touchdowns versus 1 interception during that span. The biggest difference in those 3 games was the limited amount of turnovers as he still completed around 60% the rest of the season. Bullock simply was not ready and it seemed his accuracy issues stemmed from processing too slowly. He has all the tools physically to be a premier QB in the MAC, but he is not where he needs to be mentally at this point. Running Back: Lorenzo Lingard was as good as advertised and criminally underused during the first half of the season. This year’s offense needed a big back who could break tackles and potentially provide an explosive play at any given time. Lingard was that back. Despite the lack of touches earlier in the season, Lingard still finished close to 1,000 yards total (rushing and receiving combined). Drake Anderson was underutilized to some extent as well. The better offenses figure out ways to get players like Anderson the ball on the perimeter and in space, whether that be moved into the slot, screens, sweeps, etc. Something we did not do much of this year. Wide Receiver: Adams never seemed quite right and it was later confirmed he attempted to play through an injury. Losing one of, if not the best, WR in the MAC will hurt any offense. Gathings really came into his own and if he can keep his emotions in check, should continue to develop and become a legitimate weapon in the future. George was unable to improve on his 2022 season statistically, but a lot of that had to do with the issues at QB. Same could be said about Caleb Anderson, just to a lesser extent. Walker and Golden provided solid options from the slot, while Adrian Norton seems like a star in the making and will be exciting to watch in the coming years. Tight End: It was thought TJ Banks would take a larger role in the offense and provide a threat across the middle of the field. Although Banks was solid, it was Newell who really surprised. Newell continued to improve as the year progressed and he has the potential to be as good as any TE in the MAC. This year’s offense was most effective when Banks and Newell were on the field at the same time. Offensive Line: Although the OL showed improvement by end of year and gave up less sacks than 2022, they were still subpar as a unit. Blanchard, Kindred, and K. Davis missed substantial time due to injuries. All started at points in the season. Chambers was shifted from the right side and ended up receiving the most starts at LT. Frank nailed down LG and is now out of eligibility. T. Williams was inconsistent at C, which is to be expected from a redshirt freshman. The RG spot saw a number of different faces before Lyons became the starter in the last few games. Nate Williams was moved back to RT and played really well the last 3 games. This unit had more depth this year, but unfortunately not enough quality depth to lose starters for significant time. The 2022 and 2023 classes brought in a substantial upgrade in athleticism. Unfortunately, outside of T. Williams (2022 freshman) and Frank (transfer portal), we didn’t get to see much of that improved athleticism this season. Interior DL: There was some concern coming into the year with Holt and Harper moving on. Terray Jones stepped in and was just as good as either player. He was also the only pass rush threat on the interior. Lavea was a load against the run and provided a solid combo with Jones. Robinson never lived up to his 3 star rating coming out of high school, yet became a key contributor as a backup. Freshman Marcus Moore looks to be another star in the making and should only get better from here. JUCO Tyler Carter (I believe he should be listed as a redshirt senior, not redshirt sophomore) did not contribute much and his claim to fame as a Zip will be getting ejected on back to back penalties with under a minute to go to finish out the season. Kiawan Murphy did not show much and will need to improve in the offseason to at least provide depth going into 2024. Edge: Ryan Johnson was the only for sure starter heading into the season and he transferred out after 4 games. CJ Nunnally burst onto the scene from the JUCO ranks and was one of the MAC leaders in sacks and tackles for loss. It’s not easy to find a lineman that is equally strong against the run and pass rush, but Nunnally is. LaJoshua Jackson and Antonio Smith were also JUCOs who flashed some pass rush ability in backup roles. JUCO Kabbash Richards was hurt for a portion of the season and did not contribute much. Bennett Adler came on as the year progressed and became more than just a run stuffer. He displayed a bull rush against Ohio, exhibiting some pass rush ability. Linebacker: Despite losing Bubba before the year began, linebacker proved to be the strongest position on defense. Former JUCO Antavious Fish flashed his hard hitting prowess in 2022 and the lightbulb came on in 2023. He and sophomore Bryan McCoy finished the year with just under 100 total tackles a piece. Transfer Shammond Cooper proved to be the best blitzer of the bunch and graded out the highest amongst the LBs. Jaharon Griffin moved into a bigger role with the injury to Andrew Behm and may not relinquish that role going into 2024. Cornerback: While not considered a top unit in the MAC, this group was much improved from 2022. Durant again made it difficult for anyone to beat out him out and ended up starting 10 games. Judson Tallandier had an up and down season in pass coverage, but was excellent in run support. Joey Hunter and Golden-Nelson had their moments and also missed substantial time with injuries. Cam Threatt did not play much of a role and may be moving on as it sounds like he already has his degree. Safety: I expected this unit to take a significant leap and become one of the better units in the MAC. That did not happen, yet this group was still solid. Nate Thompson was inconsistent, but did finish the season strongly. Although KJ Martin does not have the stats to back up, I thought he had a better year than 2022. Corey Thomas was the biggest surprise and proved to be extremely versatile. Thomas also finished the year as the highest rated player on defense. Lewis was one of the reasons why the defense was improved in 2023 as he was a major factor at the nickel position. Special Teams: The punting unit was strong and Dante Jackson was an upgrade over the previous punter. Kickoff and kickoff return were also solid. Field goal kicking was a disappointment until the final few games and part of that has to be placed on the coaching staff. It’s difficult for any kicker to be replaced from game to game and in some cases kick to kick. There has to be some consistency with the unit. Coaching: The offensive play-calling was maddening for most of the season. As much as the staff deserves credit for last year, they also deserve just as much criticism this year. The majority of the season it felt like round pegs were being forced into square holes and the staff did not adapt to their personnel until the end of the season. On the other hand, the defense was much better than some probably realize as they were forced into bad positions time after time. Tim Tibesar and his staff did an excellent job on that side of the ball. Recruiting and Wrap-up: I still 100% believe this staff is recruiting at a high level and had the best class in the MAC this past offseason. I also 100% believe the offensive staff badly underperformed with the talent at hand as mentioned above. I was wrong in that 2023 would be the turnaround year. There were 7 games decided by one score. This program is close to turning the corner and should have already done it. I expect another strong recruiting class will be brought in, which will finally give the program several strong classes stacked. That being the case, 2024 must be the turnaround year. Talent gap will no longer be an excuse and it probably shouldn’t have been an excuse this year outside of Kentucky, Miami, and Ohio. There was enough talent in place, with good coaching, to make a bowl game. Portal opens in December and I think our last commitment came in June, so we have about 7 months of roster transition ahead.

In a QB the winning foundation has to be there. In Bullock I don't see it. With him decision making and accuracy are lost. He has had a spring season (I think), off-season, pre-season and a full season to show progress. It hasn't been there. If Joe is counting on him we are building a house of cards that will collapse under pressure. A new QB or two must be brought in. I am most curious to find out why there is zero mention of Steele Wasel 6'3" 215. His signing was heralded and supposedly we beat out Oregon so he must have had some ability. Why has he seemingly fallen off the radar? Even when we were desperate for a win he was not discussed as an option. Did the staff find he was way below expectations?

credit to Women's soccer.....for doing a twitter announcement on the signing.. photo attached

Again, I feel it is very difficult to analyze for next season until the dust settles over the winter. My concern is that there may be some key players who transfer out and potential recruits are going to hesitate coming here due to the condition of the program. Also, if Pittsburgh tries to go after Moorehead potential recruits are going to hesitate to come here if they think Moorehead might bail. I have no idea whether he will or not. Some key players are out of eligibility and some who played didn't exhibit the ability to play at this level. As far as the QB is concerned looks like Moorehead has for now made Bullock the front runner. We will see how that plays out. And, as others have pointed out, coaching on the offensive side of the ball left a lot to be desired all too often. Does that change? How? The defense as a group did an acceptable job generally with minimal support from the offense. Before this season even though I wasn't an Irons fan, I thought the program might get to 5-6 wins. Man that was way too optimistic. 2024 is either a turnaround or off the cliff season.

I don't like the tarped seats in prime location on the visitor sideline, but tarped sponsored seats make more money than empty seats.

I can see both sides of this. From a business front, this is a smart move and will bring the program much needed revenue. I assume the numbers are accurate from this site. It shows the athletic department is slightly in the black. Home game ticket sales account for only 2% of the revenue. And if I recall correctly, the football team didn’t even come close to their asking amount on the Day of Giving Campaign. When that’s the case, other moves must be made to fill the gaps. Yes, we will probably be manhandled. Although, if the team can hang for even a half, that can be spun positively in recruiting. I’m sure there are a number of players on the team that will be looking forward to playing on the big stage. Most (if not all) of our recruits were over looked by OSU and this will be their chance to show they belong. It’s not all negative and could be a net positive as long as this type of scheduling does not become a yearly event.

I watched the Crew playoff game at a microbrewery outside Columbus with a friend whose daughter plays for OP (Ohio Premier). OP is the best club side in central Ohio for women. They are one of five Ohio clubs that play in the ECNL (Elite Club National League). She said Jen has signed four girls off of this season's OP team. In her opinion they are better than the talent UA has signed in the past. She also said Vakos is the real deal and undoubtedly the best GK in Ohio. Jen could be on the cusp of turning this around.

Good post, but I respectfully disagree with this part. Akron needs to work in conjunction with the other mac schools to move to a 9 game conference season like the Sun Belt. The rivalries need to be within the conference. YSU would want home and home. That would not benefit the program in any way.

The guy in the bottom right of the photo looks like he is pi$$ed he had to wait in line to take a dump at halftime in the doorless stall containing the only toilet on the pressbox side.

iamali2x

I would have to agree with @zipsrowdy88 I do agree that Charles has been an overall successful hire as AD. He does talk a big talk at times, and that is okay, but it isn't always backed up, which still is a normal thing for anyone to do. With the OSU game situation, I don't think most people would care if we were to be playing on the road against Fill in the Blank P5 school and it got moved to OSU. If we are being realistic, Kentucky probably was never going to come to Akron, the timing of the move seems unfortunate. I haven't lived in Akron long, never seen a game at the Rubber Bowl or the Acme Zip game, but it doesn't take much to see that Akron does not support the Zips. There are many avenues UA can go to get more local support and hopefully they are trying it. And most people do say that winning is the cure all to athletic problems, I wouldn't say that is the only remedy look at soccer attendance and basketball attendance, consistently good programs for years and still it isn't a crowd of 5k people every night. It has to take a lot of change to get to the level a lot of us want to see, but we are still a MAC school in one of the greatest pro sports markets for fans in the country, with one of the top 5 greatest college football programs an hour and a half away. I hope we can improve, and it seems like we have in terms of an athletic department so far. Either way it isn't going to stop me from supporting the Zips

Buckey is on the ball. To say that was a typical crowd in the 60's is revisionist history. Certainly, the crowds were better but that has to be an Acme Zip game crowd, not a typical crowd.

From a Facebook post about the Rubberbowl. Don Buckey is a local HS legend. He and his brother Dave stared at Kenmore and later at NC St in the late 60's early 70's. What he said holds true today.

Top drawer soccer has an article today...that ranks the top recruiting classes for 2024. They list Akron at #20 (One comment from me....I think they are missing Cain Castellon...a midfielder from the Colorado Rapids) https://www.topdrawersoccer.com/article/?categoryId=26&articleId=52816&articleTitle=2024-mens-di-recruiting-rankings:-november 20. Akron (NR) Commitments: D James Buebendorf (St. Louis City SC – No. 153), M Kamden Held (Chicago Fire – No. 180), M Thomas O'Rourke (NYCFC), M Jack Roman (Cleveland Force SC) big east foe....Georgetown...has the #1 rated class

Especially if you cut the figures out of a box.

Bump for update. 1 HS DE and 2 HS DTs are currently committed.

Probably could get them fairly cheap, just gotta contact all the MLB/NBA/NFL teams to get their stuff from 2020 out of storage.

Cam Threatt in. Disappointing two years at Akron. Played some early in 2022 due to necessity, ultimately benched. Don’t recall him playing regularly this year at all.

Leader right now maybe. It would be gross negligence not to bring in competition.

this is the goalkeeper that was written up in the Cleveland newspaper this morning

3 P5 opponents, when you trade out a home game with one for an away game against a blue blood certainly doesn't happen every year. If this was Joe's first year I wouldn't even feel so strongly about it, but year 3 could very well be a make or break year. We'll have to go 5-3 in the MAC just to make a bowl game. I hope for some grace if we only win 4 or 5 games considering the circumstances, but you never know.

I don’t know if it helps that much on the front end. Maybe it’s something that can be used as a tipping point in trying to sway someone that was already considering us?

I am just shocked that it took until the Kent game to run a two TE set. The line struggled all season, and they needed some blocking help.

I don't think they would. They need home games just like us and they need a payday just like us. We can't take up a spot on their schedule for either if there is nothing in return.

Great point on the soccer and basketball attendance. Last year we HOSTED A NCAA TOURNAMENT GAME and had less than 500 people in attendance. Yeah, it was cold. Really cold. But good fan-bases show up. No reason for our basketball team to not have great turnouts each game, actually pretty insane how empty that arena is. Yeah, some of it is on marketing, student turnout, etc. But a lot of it is just simply lack of caring. It’s pathetic and annoying as a true fan, but it is what it is.

Tony Georges is on scholarship. Nate Williams, Ronan Chambers and Georges all graduate in spring and will most likely hit the Portal for their last year of eligibility.

Looks perfect

https://www.cleveland.com/sports/2023/11/girls-soccer-all-stars-2023-meet-the-best-from-northeast-ohio.html Ariana Vakos, Avon, Sr. As expected, Vakos was a little bit of everything in her final season with the Eagles. As a goalkeeper, she tallied eight shutouts with 48 saves. As a field player, she contributed with nine goals and three assists. She earned first-team All-Ohio honors before heading to the University of Akron to continue her soccer career.

What would it cost to make about 20,000 cardboard cutout people? Now that would be a bit outside the box (and would look great on TV)

So CG thinks tarped off seats look better on TV than empty seats. There must be more money in the football budget than I thought.

For anyone who follows Ali on Instagram he posted a story with a picture of he and Groce with some song lyrics. I'm not hip enough to decipher what it means though 🤣

Youth night on a weeknight in November goes a long way towards being a community asset.

Don't you mean "replace"?

You absolutely cannot go into 2024 without at least bringing in someone to compete with Bullock.

I didn’t see the documentary (I stay away from all football documentaries and football tv shows/movies) and I get the point being made, but Joe Moorhead did not step into a situation anywhere close to what Urban Meyer inherited at Florida. Meyer also had Chris Leak at QB before the version of Tim Tebow that everyone now knows stepped into the limelight. I think the staff got just about everything they could out of the team in year 1 (or what JoeMo is now referring to as year 0) and did an excellent job defensively in year 2. Outside of the NIU game, I thought the team left it all on the field in just about every contest this season. I’m not sure what the NCAA record is, but 3 OT losses in a season must be somewhere near the top. Like I mentioned earlier, the only games I felt we were outmatched talent wise was against Kentucky, Miami, and Ohio. If recruiting continues at the current rate, I don’t see that being the case next year. Better talent, especially at QB, can cover up a lot of mistakes. I hope we see a high level of effort, reduced dumb penalties, and better coaching to complement next year’s talent.

I don’t subscribe to the Beacon. Did the article have anything beyond what was said at the press conference? I went back and compared records under the previous staff: 2019-2021: 30 games played 3 games decided by 1 score or less 3 wins Compared to: 2022-2023: 24 games played 13 games decided by 1 score or less 4 wins Being competitive is no longer an issue, but the wins need to come in 2024. Otherwise the support question may have some legs by the end of next season.

The Zips get a 75-72 OT win over the Pitt Panthers!

Brilliant review Catdaddy. I always appreciate your perspective. There are two points I'd like to offer a different view. I feel you were optimistic with the OL review. I do not feel we have depth or quality. We keep hoping that with time the young players will get better. That has been a mantra with the OL for the last 10 years. They are what they are, and that's not very good. We have discipline issues that showed in the first game and repeated in every game of the season to the end. An example: everyone knows Gaithings mouth is a ticking time bomb. Yet the coaches have been ineffective in addressing it. That tells me the coaches either tolerate it or don't consider it an issue. Regardless, the season is mercilessly done. Joe talks about the path Miami took to return to respectability. I hope we follow it, but, frankly, I expect better. Coaching matters. They have to do a better job. I continue to hope they will.

Ohio is a better team from top to bottom right now. They had some open opportunities in the first half and either misfired or dropped the ball. Bobcats put it together in 2nd half. Similar game plan in the first half as last week. 2nd half we had to play catch up and throw the ball more which hasn’t been our strength all season. Defense didn’t create any turnovers. Ohio caught us several times on the blitzes that did not get home. Fish and Adler had tremendous games. Fish finished the year slightly under 100 total tackles. Jackson had a few monster punts. Enjoyed watching Lingard this season. Would have been nice to see him utilized more earlier in the year. Good luck to the seniors and I hope we see a few of the guys make NFL rosters. I’ll update the position groups as signings and transfers occur. I thought this would be the year we’d turn the corner, but clearly I was wrong. Too many close losses again. We’ll see if we can retain our better players and continue to improve the talent level. QB - Undercuffler (Bullock) RB - Lingard (Anderson) WR - George (Norton) WR - Gathings (Norton) (WR) - Golden (Walker) TE - Banka TE - Newell LT - Chambers (Blanchard) LG - Frank C - T. Williams RG - Lyons RT - N. Williams DE - Nunnally (A. Smith) (Richards) DT - Jones (Robinson) DT - Lavea (Moore) (Carter) DE - Adler (L. Jackson) LB - Fish (Griffin) LB - Cooper (Griffin) NB - C. Thomas (Lewis) CB - Durant (Threatt) CB - Tallandier S - Martin (C. Thomas) S - Thompson (C. Thomas)

They caught @Zipmeister sneaking chicken fingers and brownies to his non-Club Level peon buddies so they're being extra vigilant.