catdaddyp

Agreed, part of the problem with the running game is a lack of a vertical passing game. Another part is the OL’s lack of consistent push and some blame also falls on the QBs keeping when they should give on the read options. When we do try to push the ball down field we struggle to not only complete the passes, but also not turn them over. 9 of the 10 interceptions have come on attempts beyond 10 yards. The other part is some stubborn play calling. I don’t know the averages, but the majority of drives seem to either go run, pass, pass or pass, pass, pass. Of course, some of those pass plays turn into runs due to the QB scrambling. We tend to call consecutive run plays only after a gain of 4 or 5 yards and go away from the run if we gain only one or two yards. The more opportunities a player like Lingard has with the ball in his hands, the greater chance of an explosive play happening. Same can be said for Alex Adams. The offensive staff hasn’t done a great job of putting our best players in a position to be successful this year. Granted our limitations at QB have played a role in that.

Hard to believe, but the OL statistically had it’s best game in pass protection. 15 total pressures allowed. Not great, but the best we’ve seen this season. Just goes to show how bad the QB play was. Can’t change the whole offensive scheme at this point and I’m not sure the staff would anyway. I expect teams will continue to stack the box when Bullock is in at QB. I thought a running game with Bullock would be the way to go. Yet when we needed to throw the ball, he struggled to put even the simplest of passes on point. A QB that can’t make the easy throws isn’t much of a QB. At least when Undercuffler was in some running lanes opened up for Lingard. I’m with you, I’m not sure if the QB problems will be solved this year. It looked like receivers were getting open, but we don’t have a QB that can consistently get them the ball while not turning it over. Add poor/late decisions in the equation and it’s a tough place to be when the whole offensive scheme is quarterback driven.

There clearly is not a quarterback on the roster who can consistently move this offense in an efficient manner, at this time. There were numerous plays where the OL gave the QB more than enough time to throw the ball, just to see a poor decision made or an inaccurate pass come out. The OL certainly was not great, but the poor throws and bad decisions by the QB could not be placed on the OL. CMU was not going to let us beat them by running the ball with Bullock in the game and practically dared the offense to throw the ball. After an Arth era like defensive showing last week, the defense bounced back in a big way and created 20 pressures on the QB (most this season). They also collected 2 interceptions. Darrian Lewis may have been the best player on the field. Fish and McCoy also had big games. Freshman Marcus Moore was a regular in the rotation at DT and played really well. He has huge upside. Kicker Noah Perez drilled a 40 yard field goal. However, Dante Jackson did not have his best day punting the ball. It’s a shame what could have been a breakout season for this program has turned into so many close losses. There are five games left to figure out who can help going into next year, while still trying to win a few games this year. QB - Bullock (Undercuffler) RB - Lingard (D. Anderson) WR - George (C. Anderson) WR - Gathings (Norton) WR - Adams (Golden) (Walker) TE - Banks (Newell) LT - Chambers LG - Frank (Kilbane) C - T. Williams (Georges) RG - K. Davis (Lyons) RT - N. Williams DE -Nunnally (L. Jackson) DT - Jones (Robinson) DT - Lavea (Moore) DE - Adler (A. Smith) (L. Jackson) LB - Fish (Cooper) LB - McCoy (Cooper) NB - Lewis (C.Thomas) CB - Tallandier (Golden-Nelson) S - KJ Martin (Thompson) S - C. Thomas (Thompson) CB - Durant (Hunter)

Wasted season for sure. Great point on the turnovers. Hard to win when the offense turns it over 12 times vs 8 for the defense. Couple in spotty QB and OL play, along with some stubborn play-calling, and here we are. Team could still turn the corner, but it’s taken way too long. Another opportunity today, so we’ll see.

That’s probably my biggest frustration of the season. The talent level is much improved everywhere, but the offense has been incredibly inefficient due to poor QB play. The one game QB play was good enough (Indiana) it still wasn’t great due to the turnovers. Moorhead’s past offenses have been able to adjust to the strengths of the quarterbacks. Seems we are finally to the point to where the staff is willing to lean on the RBs and the legs of Bullock, then the defense decides to take a hiatus. I’m still 100% certain Moorhead will turn this ship around, but it’s incredibly frustrating the results have not shown up in the win column. I doubt we see anything like we saw last night again in Moorhead’s tenure.

The environment was the best I’ve seen out of my handful of trips to Akron games and it’s a shame the performance on the field did not match. From what I could see, it was a solid crowd and in general people seemed excited about the matchup. The band was great too, but that’s about where the positives end. NIU’s off balance sets and motions gave the defense major issues in both alignment and pursuit angles. McCoy was put in a tough spot on the counter runs to the boundary and found it difficult to make the tackle. The MIKE LB usually took on the lead blocker, which left either the safety or WILL LB to make the play. NIU often used a WR or TE to seal the safety inside. Not that it made much of a difference, but Gathings’ body language was poor in the first half and gave away whether it was a run or pass pre-snap. The OL struggled in one on one pass protection. In-particular the right side of the OL had a rough day in pass pro. OL in general had a tough time maintaining their blocks in the run game. The offense has felt like it was forcing round pegs into squares holes the entire season. Tonight, I thought the run heavy approach was the right idea, but once the game was out of hand that idea was basically tossed out the window. Bullock certainly has the arm strength to send the ball anywhere he wants. However, accuracy leaves something to be desired. Hopefully that improves as he receives more reps. Also, he needs to be careful about scrambling to his left. Rarely do good things happen for right handed QBs when scrambling to their left. Freshman OL Delvin Morris may not have a clue what he’s doing out there yet, but he’s extremely athletic, aggressive, and is going to be really good. A lot of young guys got some PT in garbage time tonight. Curious to see how the team responds after this performance. I did not see DT Kyle Thomas out there and noticed he is no longer listed on the official roster. QB - Bullock RB - Lingard (D. Anderson) (Kellom) WR - Gathings (Norton) WR - George (Anderson) WR - Golden (Walker) TE - Banks (Ognenovic) LT - Chambers (Morris) LG - Frank (Kilbane) C - T. Williams (Georges) RG - Davis (Kilbane) (Lyons) RT - Williams (James) DE - Nunnally (Smith) DT - Jones (Robinson) (Carter) DT - Lavea (Murphy) DT - Adler (Moore) (Richards) DE - Jackson (Adler) (Cheatom) LB - Fish (Griffin) LB - McCoy (Cooper) (Harris) (NB) - Lewis CB - Durant (Hunter) S - C. Thomas (Martin) S - Martin (Thompson) CB - Tallandier (Golden-Nelson) (Threatt)

I don’t know what’s up with the Twitter links. Here’s the direct link to YouTube. A few takeaways: - Defensive front 7 is playing really well. Lavea probably had his best game. Linebackers are playing lights out. - Hopeful to get Behm and Cooper back in the rotation this week. Mentioned Griffin playing, but did not mention Murphy along the DL. - Adler is coming on and has been reliable. - Spoke briefly about all 3 safeties at different points - Martin, Thomas, Thompson. - When asked about the freshmen: DE Kam Cheatom is going to be a star and DT Marcus Moore has a high upside. - Myles Walker probably took the biggest development leap of anyone on the roster over the offseason. - Not Wiley’s fault on the missed FG and he will be the starter again. Has made 50+ yarders in practice. - Jackson and the punt team have been really good on punts. Haven’t given up a Net punt yard yet. Hang time has improved this year. - Offensively, Lingard and Anderson are complimentary backs and need to get them the ball more. - NIU is very similar us in regards to how their games have gone. Their offense hasn’t changed much from last year, but their defense is much improved under the new DC.

Could be a blessing in disguise. Hopefully this forces the ball into Lingard and Anderson’s hands more often.

I’m planning on it. Wanted to make the Morgan State game, but that fell through. Hopefully all goes well this week. Next season will head down to the South Carolina matchup. Can’t wait for that one.

Not to my knowledge. It could happen, but the only position I’d be worried about losing at this point is the running back due to lack of attempts our current RBs are receiving. None of the current commitments committed to a program with a winning record. Nor has the 2023 team been blown out by anyone (unless UK is counted as such, but that could be spun to 14-3 late in the third quarter). I’m sure part of the pitch is they will be the class to come in and turn things around. The more likely scenario in losing some of the commitments would be to P5 schools if the recruits have big senior years.

Not much said here. Not much more to say at this point. Team needs to find some offense, get a win, and turn the corner. He’s right in that NIU is in a very similar situation - strong defense and inconsistent QB play. Biggest difference is NIU will forcefully run the ball, regardless if it’s working.

Hate to hear that. Happen to notice Cooper or Blanchard?

Another tough one… - I cannot wrap my mind around why Lingard is not utilized more in the run game. He’s a threat every time he touches the ball and we only gave him 8 rushing attempts. I know Irons chose to pull several times instead of give, so that is part of the issue. In any case, Lingard may be the offense’s best weapon and we hardly use him outside of a few pass targets and to block. - Heavy emphasis on running Irons this game, which is somewhat understandable after last week, but he can’t be the only running option. - If Undercuffler is next in line and he’s expected to be successful without a run game, it isn’t going to happen. He actually did give to Lingard one (maybe two?) time on the read. - I thought Buffalo’s receivers made Snyder look much better than he was last year. This year, he is playing on another level. Impressive job by the defense holding the MAC’s leading passer to 142 yards. - Special teams were solid all game except for the blocked OT FG. - That’s already 3 losses by a combined 8 points. Defense has done more than their fair share and it’s past time this program turned the corner. There is not a talent deficiency on this year’s roster and the offense must figure it out. Coach Moorhead is a brilliant offensive mind, yet the offense has been incredibly inefficient scoring. This year’s offense (at least with the 3 QBs we’ve seen) needs to be more run heavy and the staff has to realize it. - Notable DNPs were Adams, Cooper, Bullock, Blanchard, K. Thomas, Behm. - Sophomores Kiawan Murphy and Jaharon Griffin saw their first significant action on defense. - KJ Martin played every snap on defense, while Bryan McCoy only missed one. The starting OL went the distance with the exception of Georges subbing in for Tyler Williams a few times. - Defense was credited with only 5 missed tackles for the game. QB - Irons (Undercuffler) RB - Lingard (D. Anderson) WR - George (Norton) WR- Gathings (C. Anderson) WR - Walker (Golden) TE - Banks (Newell) LT - Chambers LG - Frank C - T. Williams (Georges) RG - Davis RT - N. Williams DE - Adler (A. Smith) DT - Lavea (Murphy) DT - Jones (Robinson) DE - Nunnally (Jackson) LB - Fish (Griffin) LB - McCoy (Harris) NB - Lewis CB - Durant (Hunter) S - C. Thomas (N. Thompson) S - KJ Martin CB - Tallandier (Golden-Nelson)

Some team stats heading into today’s game. MAC standings in each category in parentheses. Scoring Offense Akron = 18.8 (8) Buffalo = 29.8 (3) Scoring Defense Akron = 27.3 (5) Buffalo = 44.5 (Last) Yards Per Game Offense Akron = 315.5 (7) Buffalo = 353.5 (4) Yards Per Game Defense Akron = 329 (4) Buffalo = 512.3 (Last) Rushing Yards Per Game Offense Akron = 97.5 (Last) Buffalo = 121.0 (8) Rushing Yards Per Game Defense Akron = 91.8 (2) Buffalo = 239.5 (Last) Passing Yards Per Game Offense Akron = 218.0 (4) Buffalo = 232.5 (1) Passing Yards Per Game Defense Akron = 237.3 (8) Buffalo = 272.8 (11) The rushing stat is a little misleading as we could be much higher if we ran the ball more. We are next to last in rush attempts.

Bump for updates. Several offers out to OL and DBs over the past week or so.

- Original HS/JUCO rating was used if no transfer rating exists. QB: DJ Irons = 3 star Cole Snyder = 3 star RB: Lorenzo Lingard = 3 star Mike Washington = 2 star WR: Alex Adams = 3 star Marlyn Johnson = 2 star WR: Daniel George = 4 star Boogie Curry = 4 star WR: Josiah Gathings = 2 star Cole Harrity = 2 star TE: TJ Banks = 4 star Jake Orlando = 2 star OL: Ronan Chambers = 2 star Ben Frank = NR Tyhler Williams = 2 star Keylen Davis = 3 star Nate Williams = 2 star Isaiah Wright = 3 star Gabe Wallace = 2 star Sidney Walker = 2 star Tyler Doty = 2 star Caelan Shepard = 2 star DL: CJ Nunnally = 2 star Terray Jones = 3 star Lama Lavea = 2 star Antonio Smith = NR CJ Bazile = 2 star Jaylon Bass = 2 star Daymond Williams = NR LB: Antavious Fish = NR Bryan McCoy = 2 star Max Michel = NR Shaun Dolac = NR Joe Andreessen = 2 star DB: Judson Tallandier = 2 star Joey Hunter = 2 star Darrian Lewis = 2 star KJ Martin = 3 star Nate Thompson 3 star Charles McCartherens = 2 star Caleb Offord = 3 star Solomon Brown = 3 star Marcus Fuqua = 2 star Devin Grant = 2 star K: Dante Jackson = NR Alex McNulty = NR P: Donte Jackson = NR Jackson Baltar

Ryan Johnson officially removed now too. Antonio Smith and LaJoshua Jackson have received the most snaps behind Johnson at DE.

I’m not sure how accurate this is, but it’s interesting. South Carolina tracks all their players’ speeds in practices and games. Shane Beamer said they actually didn’t have Legette running as fast as the internet analytics claimed, but Legette routinely hits between 20-21 MPH. Btw, Legette also currently leads the nation in receiving yards. Hopefully, we see more opportunities for Lingard to keep making this list in the coming weeks.

Didn’t see that coming. Feel like there’s more to the story here. Hence was a core special teams guy and Woods only saw significant time on defense in the first game. He was mostly special teams besides that. Ryan Johnson led the team in pressures despite not collecting a sack. I see Hence and Woods have already been removed from the roster. Johnson is still currently listed.

Busy weekend, so just some notes off the top of my head. - This team talks way too much to the opposing team and to opposing fans. It’s a sign of being undisciplined and it came back to bite us in crucial situations. That needs to be cleaned up. - Outside of the two interceptions, Irons was the best he’s looked this season. He moved around well in the pocket, was able to push the ball downfield, and his scrambling ability was a difference maker. - Most of the pressure came from the right side of the OL between K. Davis and N. Williams. Williams struggled mightily against the speed of Indiana’s edge rushers. - The DTs did a great job all game keeping the OL off the linebackers. McCoy, Fish, and Cooper were routinely running free to the ball. - There were several option plays Indiana ran that would have gashed us last year, but the athleticism and discipline of our DEs and LBs stood out. - Speaking of the LBs, McCoy had a standout performance with 12 total tackles and seemed to always be around the ball. - The red zone and goal line stands by the defense were incredibly impressive. DT Kyle Thomas was stout in that area again. - Good for Andrew Behm. I’ve been critical of his play and it was nice to see him snag the interception. - KJ Martin had one of his best games as a Zip. Too bad he dropped an interception that could have iced the game. - Special Teams once again created another turnover. Unfortunately, once again missed at least one field goal, which was another missed opportunity for this team. - The identity of this offense has to be to run the football first. Lingard saw his most touches with 14 attempts and produced 113 yards and a touchdown. He was close to breaking a few other runs. I’ll continue to say it, give him the ball. Between the running ability of Irons/Bullock and Lingard/Anderson, is what will keep the offense on the field and eventually open up more one on one deep ball opportunities. It will also limit turnovers. - Total Yardage: Akron = 474 Indiana = 282 - Time of Possession: Akron = 34:24 Indiana = 25:36 This team could be 3-1 or 0-4. Instead, we’re 1-3 heading into MAC play. I thought the team would have turned the corner by now, but we are still fighting some of the same issues of finishing games with 2 losses of a combined 5 points. Sooner or later this group will put it all together. Side note: Blanchard went out with what looked like a knee injury and did not return. QB - Irons (Bullock) (Undercuffler) RB - Lingard (Anderson) WR - Gathings (Walker) WR - Adams (Golden) WR - George (Norton) TE - Banks (Newell) LT - Blanchard (Chambers) LG - Frank (Kilbane) C - T. Williams RG - K. Davis (Kilbane) RT - Chambers (N. Williams) DE - R. Johnson (Adler) DT - Lavea (K. Thomas) DT - T. Jones (Robinson) DE - Nunnally (A. Smith) (L. Jackson) LB - Fish (Behm) LB - Cooper (McCoy) NB - C. Thomas (Lewis) CB - Hunter (Durant) CB - Tallandier (Golden-Nelson) S - KJ Martin (C.Thomas) S - N. Thompson (C. Thomas)

A few columns and views from the Indiana side: Keys to the Game: Indiana vs Akron Game Preview: Indiana vs Akron Behind Enemy Lines: Akron Staff Picks: Indiana vs Akron

No, but I’ll see what I can find out. Been swamped lately and haven’t had a chance to speak with many recruits since the season started.