catdaddyp

100%

I guess Keener was here before I joined? Of course he’s entitled to his own opinion and like the old saying goes “you are what your record says you are” but I’d disagree about there’s nothing positive when the defense is head and shoulders above last year’s in nearly every category. As we’ve discussed on the board adnauseam, QB play along with blend of OL/play-calling has masked what could have been. Like all fanbases, it’s easier to just say “we suck” due to all the frustration of loses. To each their own on that. Better results, no matter how it’s sliced, are needed. I didn’t listen to JoeMo. Not sure what else he can say at this point. None of the QBs that have played are going to get it done this year. Either need to make as many schematic adjustments as possible in the bye week (which I don’t see happening) or give one of the two freshman an opportunity to run the offense.

There seemed to be more of an emphasis on running the ball, although still not enough in my opinion. Once the game was out of hand, we had no choice but to go pass heavy. Akron actually out gained BG 157-81 in the first half. Final yardage was 279 to 297. JU was responsible for 4 turnovers. 2 interceptions and 2 fumbles. Not going to win many games with a 4-0 turnover deficit. The bye week is finally here, which will give the staff an opportunity to take a hard look at younger players who may see more snaps at the backend of the season. It will also be a time to attempt some offensive adjustments. Freshman receiver Adrian Norton stood out. Looked like he was open a few times and did catch two passes in the second half. He’s going to be really good and should already be receiving more snaps. Junior receiver Caleb Anderson made a difficult snag of a pass thrown behind him. Something the other receivers have failed to consistently do. That being said, Gathings did win a 50/50 ball in the first quarter. Left guard Ben Frank probably had his worst game, but has been the most consistent lineman this season. For the most part, the left side of the OL has been solid and the right side has struggled. Yesterday, that scenario was flipped. Defense was solid in the first half. The long TD drive followed up by JU’s fumble inside the 10 was a back breaker. BG scored on Nunnally in coverage and also drew a PI on him in the end zone. Why we are dropping our best pass rusher into coverage in those situations is beyond me. Kabbash Richards saw his first significant action on defense and did some good things. I think JoeMo said Kabbash was injured during the first half of season. He’ll likely see his snaps increase. Sophomore LB Jaharon Griffin was laying some hits. He may force himself into more playing time. For all the issues this team has had, the linebacker position has not been one of them and looks to be legitimately 4 deep. The starting OL played every snap on offense with the exception of Keylen Davis leaving the game due to injury. 2 of the sacks should be placed on them. The other 3 go to JU. QB - Undercuffler (Bullock) RB - Lingard (D. Anderson) WR - Gathings (Norton) WR - George (Anderson) WR - Adams (Walker) (Golden) TE - Banks (Newell) LT - Chambers LG - Frank C - T. Williams RG - K. Davis (Lyons) RT - N. Williams DE - Nunnally (Jackson) DT - Jones (Robinson) (Proffitt) DT - Lavea (Moore) (Murphy) DE - Adler (A. Smith) (Richards) LB - Fish (McCoy) (Griffin) LB - Cooper (McCoy) (Harris) NB - Lewis CB - Durant (Golden-Nelson) CB - Tallandier (Hunter) S - C. Thomas (Johnson) S - KJ Martin (Thompson)

Just my best guess on all of this, but the staff probably thought DJI would come back healthy and improve upon last year’s performance. We rolled the dice and lost there. JU seemed much improved in the spring, yet has proven to be incredibly inconsistent in 2023. He’s limited in some of the throws he can make and when that’s the case he has to be more selective and efficient than what he’s been. I suspect the staff thought Wasel and Jennings would not be needed this year and would be used as scout team/devo players. Bullock clearly has all the physical traits needed to be successful, so the staff got it right on that front. However, he’s struggling with accuracy/decision making and that usually means he’s not quite where he needs to be mentally. For all we know, he could take a huge leap over the offseason and look like a completely different player next year. Unfortunately, he’s not where we need him to be now. There’s probably too much on his plate at this point in time. It also seems the staff was unwilling to bend on offensive concepts, which also caused some struggles. To top it off, the OL play hasn’t been consistent either. That being said, the OL probably had its best game in pass pro against CMU and we still struggled to throw the ball.

Not sure of the answer to your question, but here’s the video.

I appreciate the contribution to the board, but some of this is not correct. College coaches do not give a 💩 about stars. They recruit and evaluate based on what they see on tape and in person. Stars are for the fans and for the recruiting services to make money. The majority of time the stars will eventually align to 4 and 5 stars for the elite programs by the time signing day arrives, but many of those prospects start out as 3 stars if they have not competed in multiple camp settings. As offers are extended and the recruiting services get around to seeing the prospects in person, star bumps will occur. That being said, a large portion of 4 and 5 stars have competed in camp settings by the time they are seniors. As far as Rivals is concerned, the majority of G5 commitments will be 2 stars. On3 and 247 will rate most G5s as low 3 stars because it’s good for business and gets more eyes on their product. We can all say what we want about the performance on the field, but what is not up for debate is the amount of connections JoeMo and this staff have. They aren’t going to recruit anyone who they do not believe will help this program. Plus, the interest has to be reciprocal between the recruits and staff.

Well, that’s 100% inaccurate. Here, I’ll list two of the upcoming QBs below. 2024 - Ethan Grunkemeyer = One of the top performers at Elite 11. Penn State commit. 2025 - Ryan Montgomery = Top of the board for South Carolina, Florida, and Georgia. Along with numerous other offers.

While some states do produce higher quality than others, I wouldn’t agree on that ratio. Especially when recruiting can be cyclical in states not named Florida, Georgia, Texas, and California. As far as Wasel goes, he would have likely received an offer from Oregon and gone there had JoeMo stayed as OC. Regardless, he is a talent that will hopefully be developed sooner than later. I don’t disagree with an effort of recruiting the state of Ohio, but JoeMo and his staff have a long reach and would be foolish not to use it. Getting the best players no matter where they are located should be the goal. That being said, more Ohio quarterbacks will probably fill the pipeline due to Brad Maendler and his quarterback factory.

I’ll just touch on the recruitment of Wasel and Jennings. Wasel was ranked a 3 star by Rivals since late 2021. At one time he was listed as the 20th best player in Oklahoma. After committing to Akron, he later fell to 28th overall. After receiving his initial rating, he stayed as a (5.6) 3 star by Rivals, which is high for MAC status. Jennings was not given a rating by Rivals until signing day, despite being offered by Kentucky back in January of 2020. However, UK eventually backed off. To my knowledge, Jennings did not do many camps and therefore flew under the radar outside of the MAC footprint. I stand by what I’ve been saying in that this staff has majorly upgraded the talent level on this roster. The QB problem is masking much of that. Arth’s last class (before being let go) was off to a horrendous start and it was unlikely it would have picked up much, if at all.

He’s basically already done this. Except it was done over two offseasons as opposed to one. Only about 25 players remain from the Arth era. Of those 25, 7 are current starters. Could say 8 starters if including Irons. Gathings Chambers N. Williams Adler Lewis C. Thomas Durant

I hope you’re right!

4 regular season games plus a bowl game would make 5, so still on the right track. Unfortunately, no bowl game for us this year.

We might see that soon, as we are close to being out of bowl contention. Wasel can play up to 4 regular season games and keep a redshirt status. Of course, if he comes in and does well, the redshirt status won’t matter.

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.