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The tight end was lined up on the line of scrimmage. For him to be an eligible receiver, the wideout next to him needed to be lined up off the line of scrimmage. Since the wideout was also lined up on the line of scrimmage he “covered up the tight end” making the tight end an ineligible receiver on that play. On the plays I was referring to, Miami was releasing one DE forcing him to make a decision. The DE is usually taught to square up and squeeze down. If he doesn’t squeeze down enough, he leaves a gap. If he squeezes down too much, he’ll leave a gap on the opposite side and probably get caught up in the “trash”. Our DEs kept getting caught in what I refer as no man’s land and allowing gaps on both sides of them. In regards to the “last back” this is for a defensive player on the backside that probably can’t see where the ball is during the mesh and has to make a decision to either hit the QB or RB. I recall Durham choosing to hammer the QB as the QB let loose of the ball to the RB. Earlier in the game (I think it was Durham again) chose the RB and the QB pulled for a nice gain. If he had stayed with the last back both times, one of those plays would have been a loss. Instead, both went for gains.

Amato was largely responsible for most of the success of Akron football during the Bowden era.

Congratulations to Aodhan Quinn the new all time assists leader in the USL https://www.uslchampionship.com/news_article/show/1368727

QB: Roggow is not at the level where he can win a game without run support. His two worst outings have come when the run game has either been limited or somewhat ineffective and he’s thrown the ball over 30 times. Not to say Roggow didn’t have any good moments, because there were plenty of times where he displayed excellent pocket awareness and got the ball out on time. The problem was that the end result of those passes often wasn’t good enough. Not many teams are going to win a game by tossing four interceptions. RB: Gant ran hard, but there just wasn’t much room to work with on the interior. However, there were a handful of outside runs that worked well, including Gant’s touchdown run. I felt this was a game where Patrick’s availability would have been beneficial, as he tends to perform better on the outside runs than Gant. Unfortunately, that wasn’t an option, and Miami usually shut down the interior with just their base defense. WR: When the offense becomes one dimensional, the receivers must help the quarterback. Drops reared their ugly head again, and Miami dominated the 50/50 balls in the air. This receiving corps has too much talent to not come down with more of the balls thrown their way. There’s frankly no excuse for these guys to not help out their quarterback more on a day where he was struggling. I also want to point out the one pass play to the tight end where the receiver covered him up and caused the tight end to be an ineligible receiver. Things like that simply cannot happen. TE: I intentionally separated the tight ends from the wide outs, as I thought Cravaack and Alexander had a strong outing. Cravaack hasn’t performed as well as he did last year, but hopefully this performance will serve as a springboard for the rest of the season. Alexander has been Mr. Consistent all year and played well again. OL: Pass protection was excellent for much of the game. Eventually, it broke down some as the offense became more one-dimensional, but overall, nice job to this group in that area. On the flip side, push in the run game was almost non-existent. Injuries finally caught up to a unit that had been playing the same five guys for the past few games. At one point, backups were in at left tackle, right tackle, and right guard. DL: I actually thought the defensive line, as a whole, played decently. There were a few issues, like edges not squeezing down enough and leaving some wide-open gaps, as well as tackling the wrong back at the mess point, but overall, I thought this unit did fairly well. As far as tackling the wrong back at the mesh point, we used to coach that if you were unsure, go to the last back, and the Zips did that. It just ended up being the wrong choice in the end. Sometimes that is going to happen. I do want to point out that Durham had a standout day. It’s frustrating to imagine what this defensive line could have looked like with a healthy Abor on the opposite side. LB: This is tough because I thought the linebackers played well for much of the game. Unfortunately, the handful of times they didn’t, lead to some of Miami’s biggest runs of the season. Johnson was uncharacteristically shoved off by Miami’s running back, which led to a touchdown. On another play, Johnson and Nunoo took bad angles that resulted in another huge run by a Miami ball carrier. The way we lined up against Miami often required the linebackers and safeties to come down and fill the gap as the last line of defense. When we failed to do that or make the tackle, things turned ugly. DB: My only gripe with this group is in run support, and that’s a big gripe. Miami’s quarterback wasn’t a threat to throw the ball. Yes, he did make one perfectly placed touchdown pass, but that was really it. Everything else was either short or usually off-target. That meant we had to be stout in run support, and when we weren’t, it was glaring. ST: Outside of a nice return on kickoff, it was a rough day for this crew. A shanked punt at a crucial point in the game, another short punt, and a missed long field. I may be missing something else, but I think I’ve already listed enough. Final Thoughts: This game could have had a very different outcome. The Miami team we played yesterday did not have the same firepower on offense they had earlier in the year. Had we not self-combusted and wasted opportunities to potentially take and build on a lead, I don’t believe Miami had the quarterback to bring them back from a deficit. Our defense was already getting home on a number of passing downs, and forcing Miami to lean on the passing game would have changed the outcome. Instead, this team yet again, had a high number of self-inflicted wounds at critical moments. There is enough talent on this roster to be competitive and possibly win a few more games, but as long as we continue with this undisciplined nonsense, it won’t happen. Clean it up, Zips. QB: Roggow Beals HB: Gant Williams Curry WR: Williams Myers WR: Burris Hills WR: Mason Louis TE: Cravaack Alexander LT: Slayden Gould LG: Smith Puckett C Lyons RG: Hampton Falkner RT: Jones Gould Mann DE: Frazier Waye DE: Durham Waye DT: Hull Williams Ross-Graves DT: Mixon Kavals LB: Johnson Jones LB: Nunoo Curtis CB: Hobson CB: Newsome NB: Branch Moss Al. Branch S: Davis Moss S: Flowers Hunter Top Rated Offense: C - Lyons TE - Cravaack WR - Burris HB - Gant TE - Alexander Top Rated Defense: S - Moss NB - Branch CB - Newsome DT - Hull S - Flowers

Akron drops only from #10 to #11 in college soccer news poll. I hope that the Zips are ready for Cleveland State on Tuesday. Cleveland State has a record of 6-4-3. This is Cleveland State's super bowl. Long time zips fans will remember that the 2010 national championship team only lost 1 game all year. That loss in 2010 was at Cleveland State. Cleveland State's leading scorer is Domenic Ruggiero. He is a freshman from St. Ignatius. Ruggiero is going to be motivated to beat the Northeast powerhouse soccer team. Their goal keeper is 6'7 Alkesandar Kolar from Strongsville. I know that Xavier is a big game in the Big East. The Zips need to come out strong against Cleveland State. https://collegesoccernews.com/college-soccer-news-mens-soccer-week-9-top-25-poll-michigan-state-pushing-towards-top-5/

SunBelt preseason poll is out. Louisiana, who we play in leg 1 of challenge, is projected to finish 6th in the SB. Appalachian State, who we play in Orlando as part of ESPN Invitational, is projected to finish 8th. https://x.com/SunBelt/status/2112227032260096077

Friendly reminder that you can exchange tickets for games you can't attend for additional tickets to games that you can. Just email tickets@uakron.edu and they can exchange them for you. I just had my requests processed today.

This video was played on repeat in our house in 2006 after Dennis Kennedy and Akron upset the Wolfpack. Years later, we were stoked when The Chest was hired at Akron under Bowden. RIP Mr. Amato.

Lady zips are now 3-2-3 in the league

Thanks for the detailed breakdowns, @catdaddyp. Could you further explain two concepts you mentioned above?... Concerning the WR's: "I also want to point out the one pass play to the tight end where the receiver covered him up and caused the tight end to be an ineligible receiver. Things like that simply cannot happen." And concerning the DL: "As far as tackling the wrong back at the mesh point, we used to coach that if you were unsure, go to the last back..."

Opponents released for ESPN Events Invitational. https://x.com/ZipsMBB/status/2104695445930885415