Zippyroo

Seriously? Listen, I am not an Arth fan but his first year he came in he had slim pickens as far as recruits go since he came in so late in 2019 and 2020 was a mess because of COVID. He has no excuses this year and for not tapping into the transfer portal more but you have to give the guy a few solid recruiting years to see if he can change course of the program. I know we are not improving as fast as everyone wants but be careful what you ask for. If we fire Arth after this year it guarantees our fate as bottom dwellers in the MAC for at least 2-3 more years at best. I think I would role the dice on one more year with Arth and have the AD make it well known that he expects 4-5 wins or he is gone. In the meantime, Guthrie can start looking for suitable replacement just in case.

As good as Mumpfield has been, even he did not play well against Buffalo....These guys seem to play badly together but when they are all on the same page (rarely), they can ball. Trick is to get them to all play together and not implode for an entire game. I think this is where Arth has failed. There is some talent on the team at various positions but these guys are not talented enough as a team to overcome self inflicted mistakes.

Yes, but the players are suffering more than we are and they deserve better. To get better, they need to supplement with additional talent in areas of need in the off season.

First off, the game was difficult to watch. However, I feel there are certain areas we have players that can compete and other areas we need to bring in help. Offensively, our OL play has struggled but I do feel we are good in the trenches. Both guards and the center can play but our tackles consistently get beat on the edges. I have also noticed that our TE's are not very good blockers. In addition, when you have a team pinning back their ears and all out rushing cause we cannot run effectively, it doesn't help. A good running back with some size is sorely needed. Our current backs are small and can’t hit the holes or block effectively. Taken together, I think this is why we struggle Offensively. Defensively, our DL is just too small. If you look at Buffalo, they had at least 6 legitimate pass rushers with some size. I think that is our biggest issue on defense. No pass rush and an inability to plug rushing lanes puts too much pressure on our LB and secondary.

Not sure you have been watching our other games this year but that is not the way it has been up until yesterday. I will give it to you that the defense stepped up before the offense against BG but at the end of the day, both offense and defense wins games.

Sarcasm doesn't prove your point....quite the opposite.

So what's your explanation for us hanging with Temple and OU in the first half if we have no talent on the team. Love you sideline QBs that have all the answers. Simple fact, it's not easy to recruit or convince a player in the portal to come to Akron and play for various reasons. You either need to find young talent and develop them or bring in a head coach with name recognition that players will be attracted to play for. Problem is the latter is more difficult to find than the young talent.

Its called youth. Our guys are undersized because of age and have not had that extra year or two to bulk up. We hang with teams physically in the first half but as the game wears on our guys just can not get it done later in the game when they are getting tired. Also, I have noticed that mentally we get down on ourselves when things do not go our way. Again experience matters here too and we just do not have an experienced core.

Sure and under normal circumstances you bring in your young talent and develop them behind your upperclassman which we do not have. If you look at FBS D1 football, very few true freshman or even redshirt freshman play significant minutes but at Akron, we are throwing these young men to the wolves and you all expect them to compete. It just does not work that way.

This guy would have to sit out a year anyway unless the NCAA grants a special exemption.....

I would not pay off Arth. If we switch coaches again, do you really think its going to immediately get better? A revolving door at HC does not help with anything especially recruiting. I do not see where Arth made any real bad coaching decisions to tell you the truth. It comes down to talent on the field and we are very young. Teams that do well are predominately playing upperclassman and we just do not have those guys on the team....plain and simple. I would let him coach out his contract and see if all these young bucks turn into anything in a couple of years. If so, the program will start turning the corner and getting better. If not, then you go out and find another coach at that time without having to pay off a legacy contract like we did with Bowden.....

Everybody is young on both sides of the Ball. I watched the OL and I would not talk down about walk-ons at any position. Robarge is the real deal in my mind. He is a beast out there knocking guys around like like rag dolls including his play at OSU. Did he and the other OL guys make mistakes? Of course, but everyone of them are a redshirt freshman or true freshman and are playing against upperclassmen for the most part. If we can keep this core group together, they will get better and more consistent and the same goes for the rest of the young players. We have to remember that most of Bowden's players left when he did, leaving a very young team.

Happy for the players and coaches. Something to build from....Go Zips. Enjoy it!

Coach Z has to shoulder some of the blame too. For god sake he is the OC/OLC regardless of who is actually calling the plays. Plus, I have got to think coach Z is in control of the bad coaching/personnel decisions of the O-Line.

That was my thought too. At least on defense, it looks like the coaches are giving most kids a shot. This is simply not the case on offense. Coach Z locks in on "his guys" and no other players have a chance to see the field during the season unless someone gets hurt. I have heard thru the grapevine that the strongest kid on the team has not even been given a shot to play. I know strength is not everything but come on. Play the kid and see what happens. Especially on a team that has not won a game in forever. Plus any good program should embrace competition as it brings out the best in all players as long as it is made clear that all players have an equal shot.

Honestly, our offense is terrible and because of that our defense is on the field way more than it should be (which also needs help). Have any of you looked at the pedigree of coach Zagorski? He was a D3 coach for 4 years and that includes a GA position for one of those years. In 2015 he talked his way on to Tennessee's staff as an offensive quality control assistant (by the way, what the hell is that). He then smoothed his way on to Eastern Kentucky coaching staff in 2016-2018 in assistant roles. Not once was the guy an O-line coach. It wasn't until 2019 that Arth hired him as O-line coach and offensive coordinator. Give me a break. No wonder our offense is so bad. Starts at the top. Arth better hire someone who knows football if he wants to keep his job.

Really not his fault. He is running for his life with no run game or blocking up front. I think they need to find a new O-line coach and offensive coordinator and let Zigorski man the lunchroom.

Just listened to the message. Pay close attention to the 8:00 and 11:30 minute mark of the video. Hope we still have a football team when we emerge from this mess....

Looks like Council may have found a new home at a power 5 school...

Anyway, I agree with roo72 at some level. This should give some of our other players an opportunity. The coaches were going to have to make changes anyway from last year on the OL. Unfortunately, I think Council was the best, most versatile O-lineman we had last year and the only one that had a lock on starting this year.

I understand all that and I wish him well, it just seems to me that if his intent all along was to transfer, why not let coaching staff know earlier.

It is if he waited till now to let the coaches know his intentions. He could of let them know earlier before signing days so maybe they could of went out and found a servicable Juco player or two to fill in. To wait until just after the last signing day puts Akron in a difficult situation.

Don't forget there were also several walk-ons from last year's class that could earn a scholarship if no other standout HS/Juco players are available....I would think a proven freshman/redshirt freshman with a year of experience in Akrons system is worth giving a scholarship to more than a uncertain pick.

Offensive lineman in the spead have to be able to block 1 on 1. I think the current line can do that ok for pass protection but when it comes to running the ball from the spread, the line has to be able to move bodies and that is where I see a deficit with our current line. It is tough to block a guy who's spinning, swimming, and bull rushing to get by you. Good lineman move their feet and hold (and don't get caught) every play. When I look at most of our current starters, they just do not move well. Not sure if its effort, scheme, or just a not in shape thing. The QB is definitely a critical position in the spread. QB has to make correct reads when throwing, handing off, or keeping the ball and running himself. Frankly, I do not see RB being the reason why we can't run the ball at all. I think its more QB, line, and scheme related. Sure, a good back would help but the holes are there or not. I can't imagine all our current backs not having the vision to see open space and run through it if it exists.

I would have to agree with Ham on this one. When they all out blitz there are not enough blockers regardless of the OL personnel to take on all the rushers. When they did not blitz, Kato often times had all day to get rid of it. You cant hold the ball for 5 seconds and expect good things to happen. Kato or any QB has 2-3 seconds to get rid of it. If everyone is covered, he needs to take off and run....