catdaddyp

The team played well enough to actually be in the game after a dismal 3ish quarters. 4 turnovers will doom any team and we are better than most at finding ways to lose, despite having enough talent to be competitive in conference play. I take the time after every game to talk briefly about each position because it’s never all good or all bad. In the end, winning and losing is what matters and we’ve yet to do enough to consistently win.

452 yards of offense and 4 turnovers…. QB: Finley caught fire in the 4th quarter and absolutely torched the Buffalo defense. Unfortunately, outside of the 4th quarter and the first drive of the game, it wasn’t a great showing. The interception was another instance where he under threw the ball and allowed the safety to make a play. Bullock was stuffed twice on 4th down conversions, but had his moments at other points in the game. RB: Outside of the fumble by Kellom, the backs ran the ball fine. True to form, they didn’t have that many opportunities - collecting 80 yards on 16 carries. WR: Norton came alive in the 4th quarter. He’s one of those receivers where many times he may be covered, but he’s really not covered. Meaning give him a chance to make a play against single coverage and he usually will. Golden and Granger had their moments too. On the downside, we still had a few drops. Freshman Kyan Mason flashed his ability to make a difficult touchdown snag. He’s going to be a good one down the road. TE: Newell hasn’t been used as much in passing situations with the emergence of Cravaack, but I’ve seen him bark at guys over the past two weeks who were unsure of the play. He’s clearly had enough of people not knowing their assignments. Newell and Cravaack combined for 5 catches for 55 yards. OL: The amount of pressures that were allowed on either side of the RG was unacceptable. At times, K. Davis and Burrell looked like they were playing their first game of collegiate football. The stunts and blitzes caused all kinds of confusion for the right side of the OL. At this point in the season, these guys have played enough football to know what to expect. It was downright bad for portions of the game. The left side had a few mistakes too, but nothing like the right side. We also failed to get push on key downs when we needed to convert. It’s frustrating that the OL can get it together in the 4th quarter and struggle so much throughout much of the rest of the game. DL: The starting defensive line was decent against the run. The 45 yard TD run by the RB was due to a DB (I didn’t catch the number) taking a terrible angle to fill the gap. The backup DTs and DEs didn’t give us much production. For the second straight week, Moore played over 60 snaps and Kapongo played over 50 snaps. That’s too much. We were without Lavea and Brockington and that played a role. The defense as a whole continues to struggle to create pressure. In fact, I can’t recall a single time we created pressure without a blitz. Teams have figured out they can slide protect against Nunnally and then double one of the DTs and we will struggle to rush the passer. LB: McCoy was lights out good. He probably had his best game of the season. Fish also played well. Benenge, Spriggs, and Summers saw a good amount of action again. Summers made a few plays in the 2nd half. DB: Golden-Nelson and Reed started at CB again. Reed struggled some after playing well last week. Hunter, DeWalt, and Jarmon saw action. DeWalt played about 50 snaps, which is his career high. If DeWalt ever figures it all out, he could be a really good player due to his length and natural ability. Our lack of depth at safety reared its ugly head. When Anderson went down, we proceeded to have multiple mistakes from the DBs. D. Lewis and P. Lewis finished out the game as the two safeties. Greenwood and Thomas rotated at nickelback. ST: The wind seemed to play a factor on a few of the punts. Overall, special teams were good again outside of the fumble. There’s really no excuse for the fumbling issue to still be happening. Coaching: More of the same. Offense and defense looked well prepared on the opening drives and then the turnovers started. We had a handful of penalties and personal fouls were limited, so that’s at least progress in that area. We’re not going to win any games when we lose the turnover margin 4-0. Our “sudden defense” was bad. They held up at times during the flow of the game and in the 4th quarter, but were woeful after turnovers. It’s been that way all season. The fact that we only lost by 11 with 4 turnovers says something. One would think Buffalo would have won by a lot more. We were only down by 8 before the final turnover happened and sealed our fate. Yet, it’s another way this program has found a way to lose. Edit: I noticed Hunter and Bullock walking on senior day. They still have a year of eligibility left if they want it for football, but I would not be surprised to see them move on. Hunter has dealt with injuries and fallen behind on the depth chart. Bullock supposedly reached out to Rutgers this past offseason and they said “no thanks.” Someone may take a chance on him this offseason though after seeing his versatility. QB: Finley Bullock (played multiple positions) RB: Simmons Kellom WR: Norton Davis WR: Golden Rush WR: Granger Mason TE: Cravaack Newell LT: Blanchard Shor LG: Morris Seymore C T. Williams RG: K. Davis Burrell RT: James Thomas DE: Adler Dall DT: Kapongo Madden Murphy DT: Moore Proffitt Hull DE: Nunnally Richards Cheatom LB: Fish Benenge Summers LB: McCoy Spriggs NB: D. Lewis Greenwood T. Thomas CB: Golden-Nelson Hunter DeWalt CB: Reed Jarmon S: P. Lewis D. Lewis S: Anderson D. Lewis Top Players on Offense: QB - Finley WR - Granger TE - Cravaack RB - Simmons WR - Norton (I imagine Norton will be #1 by end of the week) Top Players on Defense: LB - Fish LB - McCoy CB - DeWalt S - P. Lewis DT - Moore

4 turnovers was the difference in the game. Not “faster or slower players.” Or maybe the “fast” players from Buffalo just left the stadium in the 4th quarter and it was a whole new group? I asked for specific players from the “talent” statement. I’d disagree about the QB, but we don’t share the same opinion. That said, if it is just the QB and RB, then the talent issue isn’t really the issue.

I’ll bite on the talent piece. Which specific players on the Buffalo team we just outgained 452 to 390 yards would start for us? Dolac at MIKE for sure, but who else?

I’m not sure. Could be a blessing in disguise if they do receive medical redshirts.

Injury Report is growing. Scholarship players listed below. OUT: WR - Polk WR - Walker OL - Fox OL - Lyons DE - Graham DT - Brockington DT - Lavea LB - Cooper CB - Proby S - David S - K. Johnson QUESTIONABLE: WR - Adams

Week 9 Starters for new team: WR - Jasaiah Gathings (UCONN) = 67 snaps. 2 receptions for 23 yards. WR - Oran Singleton (Eastern Michigan) = 70 snaps. 10 receptions for 97 yards. RG - Tony Georges (Kent State) = 66 snaps. RT - Jordan Daniels (Western Carolina) = 75 snaps. RT - Xavior Gray (Liberty) = 74 snaps. RT - Nate Williams (San Diego State) = 69 snaps. DE - Curtis Fann (Western Carolina) = 47 snaps. 1 tackle. DE - Ryan Johnson (Southern Miss) = 35 snaps. 2 tackles and a sack. LB - Luke Bauer (Morehead State) = 49 snaps. 3 tackles. CB - Tyson Durant (Washington State) = 60 snaps. 8 tackles and 1 PD. S - Corey Thomas (Virginia) = 74 snaps. 6 tackles and 1 PD. S - Jaden Woods (East Tennessee State) = 32 snaps. 3 tackles. Backups for new team: WR - Anthony Williams (Alcorn State) = N/A TE - Caleb Anderson (Alcorn State) = N/A S - KJ Martin (NC State) = N/A DNP: QB - Ryan Jankowski (UMASS) QB - Dijon Jennings (Weber State)* QB - Steele Wasel (Oklahoma) RB - CJ Price (Jackson State) RT - Ronan Chambers (Auburn)* OL - Ka’Marii Landers (Baylor) OL - Alex Robarge (Southern Illinois) LB - Andrew Behm (Southern Illinois) LB - Jaharon Griffin (Alcorn State)* DB - Rishad Hence (Eastern Kentucky) All caught up now.

Week 8 Starters for new team: WR - Jasaiah Gathings (UCONN) = 63 snaps. 7 receptions for 75 yards and a TD. WR - Oran Singleton (Eastern Michigan) = 61 snaps. 4 receptions for 23 yards. RG - Tony Georges (Kent State) = 53 snaps. RT - Jordan Daniels (Western Carolina) = 55 snaps. RT - Xavior Gray (Liberty) = BYE RT - Nate Williams (San Diego State) = BYE DE - Curtis Fann (Western Carolina) = 27 snaps. 2 tackles. DE - Ryan Johnson (Southern Miss) = 44 snaps. LB - Luke Bauer (Morehead State) = N/A CB - Tyson Durant (Washington State) = 45 snaps. 4 tackles. S - Corey Thomas (Virginia) = 79 snaps. 7 tackles. S - Jaden Woods (East Tennessee State) = N/A Backups for new team: WR - Anthony Williams (Alcorn State) = 10 snaps. TE - Caleb Anderson (Alcorn State) = 12 snaps. S - KJ Martin (NC State) = 10 snaps. DNP: QB - Ryan Jankowski (UMASS) QB - Dijon Jennings (Weber State)* QB - Steele Wasel (Oklahoma) RB - CJ Price (Jackson State) RT - Ronan Chambers (Auburn)* OL - Ka’Marii Landers (Baylor) OL - Alex Robarge (Southern Illinois) LB - Andrew Behm (Southern Illinois) LB - Jaharon Griffin (Alcorn State)* DB - Rishad Hence (Eastern Kentucky) Ill try to get Week 9 up today as well.

Bump for updates. The portal is just around the corner…

We actually haven’t been on the list for several weeks. McGee saw us play live against South Carolina and took us off his bottom 10 a week or two after. I’m with you, 3-1 OOC seems very realistic next season. I guess if that comes to pass we’ll have to find someone else to fire…

Lembo gushes about Akron for about 7 straight minutes starting around the 3 minute mark. He talks more about Moorhead and the MAC later on too. Entertaining presser.

I’ve been as critical of Bullock (as a QB) as anyone here, but we definitely don’t win that game without him. Multiple 1st down conversions and the 2 touchdowns were a difference in the game. He’s given the offense a needed boost in this role.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see Brown-Demery work his way onto the two deep as a freshman.

Bump for update. Removed some players that won’t realistically make it unless they have a few massive games to finish out the season. If that happens, I’ll add them back.

Bump for update.

I doubt he gets drafted, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see him work his way onto an NFL roster similar to Zach Morton.

Hopefully, it gets cleaned up. We’ll see. A number of recruits were at the game for the win. We have a chance to really create some momentum.

I didn’t actually see what Nunnally did, only heard about it. I know Reed was about to do something similar back at Nunnally, but then realized it wasn’t the smart thing to do and stopped. I did see coach Wart giving Nunnally an ear full once he came off the field. Bullock certainly seems comfortable and is playing with confidence. I think almost everyone was surprised when he didn't convert that 4th down. His positional flexibility has definitely given the offense a boost. I’d still prefer him to stay in this type of role and maybe used a little more like you mentioned, though I don’t want to see him as QB1. We ran a number of 6 man blitzes against EMU, but the LBs just aren’t getting home. Cooper was so good in that role last year. We’re finally in a good spot with depth on the roster, but we are losing 4 keys players on the DL and 1 (maybe 2?) key on the OL. The portal and JUCO will be important again. Players who will exhaust their eligibility: DL DE - Nunnally DE - Adler DE - Richards DT - Lavea DT - Kapongo OL LT - Blanchard RT - Thomas LT - Fields

Game thread and preview. QB: CJ Ogbonna is the starter after being used almost exclusively in run packages in 2023. Ogbonna has thrown for 1,317 yards and has completed 56% of his passes this season. He has taken care of the football when passing as he has an 8 TD to 2 INT ratio. However, he is one of the nation’s leaders in fumbles. Ogbonna completes 61% of his passes when kept clean compared to 38% when pressured. RB: Junior Al-Jay Henderson has received the bulk of snaps during conference play and has 455 yards and 3 touchdowns on the year. Redshirt freshman Messiah Burch has become the top backup with 145 yards and 2 touchdowns. Burch has a similar running style to Jordon Simmons. WR: Former Nevada transfer Victor Snow is the top receiving option. Snow has 30 receptions for 375 yards and 3 touchdowns. Columbia transfer JJ Jenkins is second on the team with 17 receptions for 225 yards and a touchdown. TE: Former UMASS transfer Jake Orlando is the starting tight end, but he is mostly used as a blocker. OL: Buffalo’s OL has struggled with consistency. The Bulls have given up 17 sacks this season, with 9 of those coming in conference play. LT - Henry Tabansi (R. Fr.) LG - Trevor Brock (Jr.) C - Dom Polizzi (Grad.) RG - Tyler Doty (Sr.) RT - Caelan Shepard (R. Sr.) DL: Samford transfer Kobe Stewart starts at one end spot and is 2nd the MAC with 5 sacks. He also has 19 tackles. Opposite Stewart will likely be Monmouth transfer Antonio Colclough. Colclough has 10 tackles and a sack. Washington State transfer Tristan Souza and redshirt sophomore Cornell Evans start on the interior. They have combined for 17 tackles. LB: Buffalo boasts one of the best linebacker corps in the MAC. Shaun Dolac transferred back in after a brief stay with Utah State and leads the MAC with 108 tackles. He’s also added 3 sacks and 2 interceptions. Redshirt sophomore Red Murdock is 2nd in the MAC with 96 tackles. Murdock has also collected 2 sacks and 3 forced fumbles. The third backer is sophomore Dion Crawford who has 27 tackles and 1.5 sacks. DB: Sophomore Charles McCartherens starts at one CB spot and has 19 tackles, 4 pass deflections, and 1 interception. Former Colgate transfer Marquis Cooper starts opposite McCartherens and has amassed 41 tackles, 4 pass deflections, and 2 interceptions. Former Minnesota transfer Solomon Brown is one starter at safety and has 41 tackles and 3 pass deflections. Opposite Brown is senior Jalen McNair. McNair has 39 tackles, 1 pass deflection, and 1 interception. K: Alabama transfer Upton Bellenfant is 13 for 13 on extra points and 10 of 11 on field goals. P: Old Dominion transfer Ethan Duane is 2nd in the MAC in punting. He is averaging 43.3 yards per punt with a long of 63 yards. Breakdown: Offense - Buffalo wants to run the football and will force the issue on the ground. Buffalo isn’t any better upfront than who the Zips have already faced and Akron has been decent at stopping the run during conference play. Defense - Buffalo has oddly struggled to rush the passer and defend the pass in MAC play. The defensive backs are aggressive and can get beat for big plays due to often being over aggressive. The Bulls strength is in their linebackers and against the run. The LBs rarely miss tackles. Summary: This is another winnable game. At times, Buffalo has looked liked one of the best teams in the MAC and at other times they have looked like one of the worst teams in the MAC. Buffalo will attempt to assert their will in the run game and if Akron can stuff that early, it’ll force Buffalo into an uncomfortable situation. The Zips have yet to amass any interceptions during MAC play, but have been excellent (sans WMU game) at creating fumbles. I imagine Zips defenders will be punching at the ball every time they make contact with Ogbonna. Special teams play should be excellent from both sides.

QB: The utilization of Finley and Bullock was effective again. Finley was excellent outside of maybe 3 throws. The interception could have been a touchdown had Finley gotten enough on it. Instead, the ball hung up in the air and the EMU safety was able to run underneath it. I recall two other times Finley had a wide open receiver and just missed him. Outside of that, it was a great day for Finley. Bullock threw a strike across the middle on one of his passes and was a difference maker in the run game. He also lined up at multiple positions. RB: Simmons collected 109 yards rushing on just 16 attempts. Kellom had 65 yards on 5 carries. The backs pressed their blocks well, ran hard, and protected the football. They were also solid in pass protection. WR: Outside of Golden dropping an easy pass, the wide receivers played well. EMU blanketed Norton for much of the contest, which gave the other wideouts an opportunity against man coverage for much of the game. Norton came up big when he finally had a chance and scored the go-ahead touchdown. TE: I think we used more two tight end sets than any other game this season. Newell was mostly utilized as a blocker, while Cravaack displayed his pass catching ability. Cravaack looks like he’s finally healthy and has that same smooth stride he displayed in high school. He’s one to watch as the season wears on. OL: The offensive line deserves all kinds of praise. They gave the quarterbacks plenty of time, while also opening up holes in the run game. I noticed RG Davis and RT James manhandle some EMU defenders a few times. The OL also did a nice job of consistently climbing up to the linebackers. DL: Despite not collecting a sack (and the foolish “branding a weapon” penalty) I thought Nunnally had one of his best games. There was one play in-particular where Nunnally played both the QB and RB on the mesh and managed to quickly adjust and tackle the QB for no gain. Cheatom also flashed similar ability on a play later in the game. Our interior depth was really tested and it showed in the 2nd half. Neither Lavea or Murphy played. EMU’s offensive pace kept our DTs from subbing as much as usual and that led to diminished effectiveness. Moore and Kapongo played over 55 snaps, which is way too much for 300 pounders. LB: The linebackers were excellent in the run game. However, two of EMU’s passing touchdowns were busts by the LBs. Benenge and Spriggs played their most snaps of the season and are coming along well, but with youth comes mistakes. We are missing Cooper’s ability to rush the passer and cover in space. DB: Golden-Nelson and Reed started again at CB. Reed’s play carried over from last game and he is looking more and more like a player that could be special. EMU went after him a lot and found little success. DeWalt had a few good moments when he came in the game. Hunter’s missed one on one tackle led to an explosive play. We are still thin at safety. P. Lewis and Anderson played nearly every snap with D. Lewis sliding from NB back to safety for depth. Anderson deserves a game ball for all of his hustle plays. He’s the defender that knocked the ball loose around the 2 minute mark and made several other touchdown saving plays. ST: This group was excellent in all phases. Book is proving game after game why he is the best punter in the MAC. Coaching: As usual, the staff had great gameplan coming into the contest. Unfortunately, untimely penalties are still showing up and could have cost us the game. This is the type of win a program can build on. As difficult as it was to see another lead evaporate, it may prove beneficial that the team now knows they have the ability to overcome such a situation. Let’s see if multiple wins can be strung together next week against an inconsistent Buffalo squad. QB: Finley Bullock RB: Simmons Kellom WR: Golden Rush WR: Polk Granger WR: Norton TE: Newell Cravaack LT: Blanchard Shor LG: Morris C T. Williams RG: K. Davis Burrell RT: James D. Thomas DE: Nunnally Cheatom Richards DT: Kapongo Madden DT: Moore Brockington DE: Adler Dall LB: Fish Benenge Summers LB: McCoy Spriggs NB: D. Lewis Greenwood CB: Reed DeWalt CB: Golden-Nelson Hunter S: P. Lewis D. Lewis S: Anderson D. Lewis Top 5 Players Offense: RG - K. Davis RB - Simmons WR - Norton RT - James LG - Morris Top 5 Players Defense: S - P. Lewis CB - Reed NB - D. Lewis DE - Adler S - J. Anderson

Probably because of EMU’s soft schedule and that we should have beaten WMU in our last outing. Also, we only lost by 3 in double OT last year to EMU and by 6 in 2022.

Yes, injured and has been out since week 3. From what I’ve gathered, he was replaced by a freshman who has played well.