UA1987

This is the best we're going to do till we get on the map with steady bowl appearances. Right now, we really only have the Bowden name to help in recruiting. We have the facilities, but we don't have a winning reputation. I like our lineman in this class, but still hope for another blue shirt and or transfer on the offensive line. Muscle on the lines = winning.

LT - Brown LG - Brumbaugh C - Erickson RG - Casimos RT - Kortokrax Reserves T - Williams, Boyette C - Carroll G - Osborne The monumental misses by Williams (especially Miami) eventually cost us several W's as Pohl was out or not 100% after serious injury. Can't have that anymore. I also saw Osborne quit on a play that was blown dead against Marshall that resulted in a crushing late hit on Pohl. Can't have that either - protect the QB as this guy can't have his brains rattling around and perform well. Defensive coaches game plan for this contact as it wins games. We need 2 O-linemen as 5th year seniors or JUCO types ready to play in 2015 and some young recruits to redshirt. I like the new OL coach - too bad UAB linemen Victor Salako T (Okie St) and Rosco Byrd G (GA South.) are gone. Peterson could have helped Bowden and the Zips out a bit before he left by recruiting them - glad he's gone - never liked him sitting McNamara in 2014.

I've mentioned in several of my posts that I expect Akron's offense to go 'up tempo' in 2015. I got this just by reading between the lines of Coach Bowden comments and rationalizing what needs to be done to improve the offense in 2015. In 2012 our offense with Williams at QB was exciting and we moved the ball well. Problem was our D had no depth and was run over, especially after Nico got hurt in the BG game. Bowden figured going into to 2012 that we had to outscore our opponents if we wanted to win (yeah- yeah, I know, 1-11) as our D was in trouble. Problem was, this put our defense back on the field quicker and with little depth we gave up big yardage and points. In 2013 and 14 we seemed to switch out of up tempo looking for a new formula to win as our defense was gathering steam with the development of young players, Juco's, and key players from other programs. Bowden seemed to change Akron's overall strategy and wanted to control the game and clock more with the offense. Problem with that (if you could call it that) was our defense got Very Good during this time period and depth was less of a problem. Amatos group could have supported an up tempo offense that might put them back on the field quicker. This is where play calling became an issue for me in 2014. Not running the ball more (unless the opponent gave us the run) - just running more plays during the game to keep opponents defenses off balance like we did in 2012. To do this you need have a QB that knows the offense - like Dalton Williams did. Pohl knows it as he's had the coaching/practice over the years and arguably would be better prepared in 2015 to make those quick decisions needed in the 'hurry up'. That's where I see us going with the O in 2015 - up tempo - as we had success there before with this coaching staff, despite the record in 2012.

Dr. Z - in the Pitt game Pohl was 15/29 and 193 yards 1 td 1 int. Woodson was 2/5 and 20 yards. Pohl was replaced for only a couple of plays and I question that move.

Dr Z - there are two posters on this board that I place above all other others - you and JZ84. Let's see how Spring works out, but I'm pulling for whoever at QB that will get the Zips to a bowl in 2015. Go Zips!

If someone can beat out Pohl in Spring then bring him on, but remember, when healthy, this is a guy that was at the helm when we came within inches and seconds of beating Michigan (Michigan hold on D'Orazio not called). Pohl is the guy at QB that won our greatest OOC victory to date - Pitt. What stopped 2013 and 2014 from being better in the win column was a Pohl ankle sprain (13) and a concussion (14) that limited his mobility or put him on the bench. The slide in 14 occurred after Pohl was clubbed and knocked out of play for several games because we had a struggling offensive line. Remember we were 4-2 until that Pohl injury. We have a senior QB in 2015 who has sacrificed his body for the Zips that is smart and has a good arm. If he can run the ball when needed in an up tempo 2015 offense, I think he is our guy. To call for his head now is a damn shame, especially when there are 10 other players on offense to consider. To me the only criticism of Pohl that makes any sense is that he may not be durable enough.

mhammon97 - most posters on this board are pretty well informed. Your boi Chapman has proved nothing yet, but all Zips fans would welcome anyone who can help us win in 2015. What is disgusting to me however, is the disdain for Pohl. If he is healthy in 2015, he will be difficult to unseat. If that happens, however, and the new starter takes us to victories then great. But if Chapman struggles in Spring at QB, I'd like to see him on the field helping the Zips win now in some capacity. Heck - put him on special teams if necessary.

WOW is right - what a great game. Very well spoken student athletes with poise, determination and effort. Great coaching over the season. I was rooting for the Buckeyes all the way. Hard work pays off. Sure there are pimply faced Buckeye fans that are idiots and others that are mind numbing fair weather fans, which make the Bucks hard to deal with, but I have to say that was something to watch. Playoff system worked. Now Go Zips!

If Chapman looks like an unlikely QB standout in Spring, I could see him being tried at RB as this is where he may have a shot to shine at this level and for this team. Pohl will be fine in 2015 as the Zips return to an up tempo offense (with some better linemen?).

My guess: Pohl is our 2015 starter and Kincade is groomed to take over. The other guys (Chapman and Woodson) will may take some snaps and could surprise, but will probably play for the Zips at other positions, unless injuries change things.

Thanks for the info Jrship35. Looking forward to watching your kid in a Zips uniform. We'll need him on the defensive line after his redshirt year I imagine. If he can play like a Nico Caponi, which we had here recently, we've got someone to build around. Go Zips - hit the weight room!

I'll try again. The Woodson experiment should be enough to prove to you that a RS Freshman might not be best if we have an upperclassman on the roster. Another example - Stein was benched for a Freshman and put back in. I think we made the same mistake by playing Woodson instead of Hirschman as there is a big difference in maturity between a Freshman and a Senior. Our problem in 2014 was the offensive line and this was proved in our MAC play (just look at the Buffalo and BG games). We need a huge athletic offensive line in 2015 and all will be fine. Focus on the line and all will be fine.

To me the thought of replacing Pohl is ridiculous. Maybe Chapman or Kincade will be ready to challenge, but Pohl will be our Senior leader and should be given some respect. If he had not been mauled by poor OL blocking most of the year (especially on his concussion play off LT) we would be bowling this year. Have a healthy Spring, get some FBS O-lineman, a WR, and anyone else we can get and use those upper classmen to build a winning season.

If Peterson can get Victor Salako from UAB (6'6" 324lb LT) then all is forgotten about the 2014 OL here at Akron. Wouldn't mind one of their top receivers either as we are losing Smith, Williams, and Sconiers, plus, MTB has not made an impact yet.

Disappointed with the record this year, but not ready to take down the flag. Our offense is a Spread type so I didn't quite get all of the comments that we should have changed and run the ball like we were a Power I offense after Pohl's injury. Changing to a running game would have been like ordering our light brigade to charge into a full frontal assault (see Tennyson). We just weren't muscular enough up front. Problem was, Woodson was not the player to lead us at that time. Chisholm was injured too. When both Pohl and Chisholm were back healthy we were a decent offense again. Some might say, 'but we ran all over Pitt'. Not really, as Hundley broke some big plays, but of our 21 first downs 13 were via the pass. We only ran for 129 yards in the Pitt Game. In the end, the Pitt game made the season for me and I enjoyed watching all of the games win or lose (even the Can't one that got out of the bag). I expected more later on after the 4-2 start, but depth due to injury and last year's graduation and some coaching decisions this year contributed to the 1-5 second half of the season slide. I believe the loss of Tank hurt a lot and how Jeff Bowden kept it together after the loss of his son I don't know, but now it is time to move on. We will be fine.

Big game tomorrow. I'm even thinking of going despite a 10 year ban on attending games there after being pimped by some dude at their beer garden table. Hundreds of poured beers lined up and I could not buy one as I did not have ticket and they just stopped selling tickets per the snotty nosed greasy haired man hater in the beer ticket booth. What a bunch of douche bags. Go Zips, beat em bad, they always deserve it.

Northwestern, for one, is 4-6 with Purdue and Illinois left on the schedule. If they win out they are in a bowl.

I watched and saw a very beatable team if we make some changes. Stay the same and we probably lose. Terry has to take over the offense and both OT's should be benched with Brown and Boyett moved to these positions. Move back in Senior McNamara at RG and work on a surprise play or two for this game to create some excitement this week. Get Smith and Davis the ball more as D'Orazio will be doubled (come back to Zach later in the game). The offense has got to stop trying not to lose the game, deferring to the defense, and take over the game. Pound in Hundley and give Senior running back Chisholm his carries. It can be done with the players we have now in these last two games. Hopefully Pohl's knee is OK.

Two things happened that started this slide on the offense - Pohl's head injury and how it was handled with Woodson and the ouster of McNamara from the offensive line. I don't think Pohl was supposed to run last night when he did and this shows his frustration. The McNamara thing has got me confused. He (#29 guard in the Country coming out of high school) started the first half of the year (when we were 4 and 2) then somewhere in the Miami game he was left out of the lineup, despite being healthy, and is now on the punt team and plays sparingly on the defensive line. Maybe a third reason for the offensive slide is that Chisholm has not been 100%. Changes do need to be made. D'Orazio is being doubled now. We should try to use this to our advantage as UMASS will do the same. Rework the line and have Terry call the plays the rest of the way. There is your leader.

Offensive line - we've seen the last two weeks what good ones can do - to us. Maybe we have some nagging injuries not reported - I don't know, but the OL must be improved. I don't like our tackles and Brumbaugh at LG seems to be playing weak (best we've got so keep him in the lineup or play Casimos). Insert McNamara at RG and play Boyett and Brown at tackles. I saw Williams get beat what seemed like every other play last night. The OL is where our loss came from - defense became demoralized and got run over by their line - 5 yard push on many plays.

Wings on the menu for the game? Buffalo and Akron always seem to slug it out. That last game at the Rubber Bowl was something special despite the L. Full moon and 4 OT's. Should be a fun game to watch as always.

For the diehard Zips fan - I noticed that Amato commandeered the use of Joe McNamara (starting OG for us last year - 315 lb. transfer from Wisconsin) for the defensive line (goal line only?). Still not sure why this guy is not playing RG for us and Tommy Brown moves out to one of the tackle positions. Joe M. played the DL for Wisconsin, but came here to play on the OL (ranked #29 in the Country at OG, #5 in Florida).

The interception on the ball thrown towards Smith in the end zone was due to poor blocking and because Smith broke off the planned route. I believe the play that turned this game was the bad snap by Switzer that ended up being a recovered fumble for a BG touchdown (sound a little familiar - Broncos Superbowl loss this year). We have a nice stretch of games coming up.

BG and Akron (with Pohl) match up pretty well. The computer ratings have them about dead even. Bowden has been targeting these Tuesday night games for a while so I have to guess that: 1) Pohl has had some continuing problems with his head injury and he is being saved till close to 100% for this Tuesday night stretch 2) Hirschman's knee is still somewhat unstable so he not available to sub unless everyone else (Pohl and Woodson) are down with injuries 3) Scott Boyett is slow or he has not been able to pickup the line calls well enough to start over Williams at LT 4) McNamara has lost a step or he would be playing on the O-line at RG and Brown would be at RT Note that all of these guesses are associated with the offense, which makes me wonder about the coaching on that side. I expect Bowden to pull this thing together in the next week, however. Watch for Chisholm start to pick up more yards as his injury heals close to 100% (Senior leadership will play a roll in this stretch). Akron over BG by 7. Grilled bird in lot 9 prior to the game. This is a BIG game for Akron.

Take it easy Zips fans. I don't agree with some player moves by this coaching staff, but we are still stronger than last year and the future, even for this this year, is brighter. 2014 is still ready to be a good year. Let's get Pohl back and get the best on that O-line. Our defense and special teams are good. Come on now - Go Zips!