Dr Z

Here is 2014 data on run/pass ratio for 65 power conference teams, combined with Football Outsiders S&P+ rankings, which show each offense's overall quality.

Feel free to discuss the reasoning behind your answers. Members that answer all three correctly will be recognized Sunday morning.

After coach Bowden's comments about Newman Williams in his press conference. I had to look when I noticed him standing out. Hopefully he is back in this week. I'll be watching to see if he continues what he started in the Tigers game. I also enjoyed coach Bowden's explanation of the difference between the NFL and college injury list. I'll have to stand next to Newman to see who has his height correct, coach, or gozips dot com? PS What an interesting thread to go back and read.

Weekly press conference for those interested in the game. Paraphrasing coach: • The national championship will be played with two teams that play power I football. • Our offense is to score one more point than the other team while we figure out who we are offensively. Until then, play good D, and don't turn the ball over.

Andrew McCutchen writes about what the atmosphere is like at a Pittsburgh Wild Card game. Good luck to him as his team is facing a huge obstacle tonight; earned runs allowed by Arrieta’s in his last twelve starts 0, 0, 2, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0.

LeBron Resurrects Akron's Program (click link for entire article) --By Joe Vardon, Northeast Ohio Media Group "He's coaching me now," Dambrot told the Northeast Ohio Media Group. "I'm smart enough to ask him, because, like, he's a brilliant guy. So I ask him what he thought was some of the best ways to attack that. James spent nearly 30 minutes chatting with Dambrot and his assistants off to the side of Cleveland Clinic Courts. "He's resurrected our program (at Akron), and then obviously what he's done with the Cavaliers," Dambrot said. "He's just got a knack."James did not attend college and has close relationships with multiple collegiate athletic programs. But his presence around Dambrot's program is apparent. "The connection with LeBron allows us to get players we wouldn't normally get," Dambrot said. "Just the presence of him in this community has helped our program become a top-level, major program. For the entire contract, click here.

Sooners still rollin', ranked fourth best team in the country by Sports Illustrated's Colin Becht. What Saturday’s win over West Virginia demonstrated was the Sooners may have the full package. Led by linebacker Eric Striker and cornerback Jordan Thomas, the defense forced five turnovers while holding the Mountaineers to 4.3 yards per play. Last week: Beat West Virginia 44–24Next week: Saturday vs. Texas (in Dallas)

Go Zips dot com gives information on the game. Click to find out who the Zips top receiver is. I would have not guessed this at the beginning of the season. ESPN3 will televise the game with Michael Reghi and Josh Cribbs calling the action. I might actually watch with the volume on for a tad to hear Josh. Fact of the day, every FBS Zips game has been under the point total this year. Over sixty percent of the early money has been placed on EMU pushing the line down to near seven.

Here are some offensive sets that Eastern ran against LSU. Pass. Pass. Run sweep. Run middle.

Seems like the Zips are still going to use this formation once in a while with TW13.1st and 10 at OHIO 30 Imani Davis run to the right for 9 yds to the Ohio 21 out of this formation Saturday. I think it was the first time I would call it a success.

Lots of photography here from Thomas Ondrey, and EA of the PD writes: Consider Ohio's 14-12 victory a program win, as the game was statistically a wash overall with the difference being Akron never could crack the end zone, getting four Robert Stein field goals instead, while the Bobcats took advantage of the two early scoring opportunities as QB Derrius Vick generated a pair of touchdowns. The Zips seemed to have a "take what they give you" game plan, making a lot of passes, instead of taking what they wanted, which is running the football behind a senior-dominated offensive line. In the end, that might have cost them. More photography at GoZips dot com too. Replay of the game on ESPN3 if anybody would want to watch, or rewatch.

Zips favored by more than a touchdown. If anybody want to "scout" Eastern, here is a replay against LSU on ESPN3.

MNF should feature another talent from the MAC tonight. Seahawks rookie Thomas Rawls overcame obstacles on way to NFL (click on link for entire story) The instant he heard Thomas Rawls had signed with the Seahawks, two words came to the mind of Gino Guidugli, his position coach at Central Michigan: perfect match. Rawls revived his career at Central Michigan after three years at Michigan. He also acquired a nickname from teammates based on his resemblance to a certain NFL running back — ‘’Beast Mode.”It sounds almost too convenient of a story now that Rawls is in position to replace the real Beast Mode, Marshawn Lynch, should Lynch’s troublesome hamstring prevent him from playing Monday night against the Detroit Lions at CenturyLink Field

GT of the ABJ Three Keys of the Week. Reduce penalties, control the edge on the run, effectively run the ball to open the passing game.

Foot injury in December. Looks raw. Hope he is coachable. He will need to be a lot more active in the Mac.

Like many ZN members have done for years, EA of the PD questions KD's rotation. "Late last season a slimmed down rotation proved key for a late turnaround. Will that continue in 2015-2016?" Other points he makes: • For all the drama surrounding the program in recent years, the Zips have to avoid any sort of major disruption over the course of the season • Pat Forsythe is arguably the best center in the league and the best 'potential' pro talent • Noah Robotham and Antino Jackson will form one of the most dynamic backcourts in the MAC this season • Like many ZN members have been writing for years....While the vision is on a NCAA Tournament berth, even a NIT slot should be embraced by the Zips with the intent on making their presence felt no matter where they land.

Considering the history of success that OU has had against the Zips, I think the point spread is a little surprising too. This game is huge. I would have never thought that after walking out of that Pitt game. That game seems like a season ago. Maybe thats what the fireworks display symbolized.

This link skips to the review of our game. He makes a good point about the offensive line. https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=krR4FVfs6N8#t=138

Looks better from the photos. Thanks for taking the time to post. I stopped by in August and they were painting the halls, I didn't realize they were going this far. Seems like a good investment considering the situation.

In all the years following the Zips, I have never found a good source for injuries. None are as accurate as the NFL injury list.

The quote comes from the press conference, that was posted here yesterday. Here's an article from the PD by EA, Tommy Woodson Turns Akron's Season Around. Here are Tommy's stats, game by game. Tommy is rated 149th in passer efficiency right now. Keep in mind he has only started one game though. BTW, BG's QB is rated number one the country in yards...playing against Tennessee and Purdue.

Akron has not defeated OU since 2007

Coach Bowden's weekly phone conference. http://www.mac-sports.com/custompages/teleconferences/92815FB/Bowden92815.mp3 Highlights from the call: What makes Tommy better? Experience. With not much focus on Tommy, he rose to the occasion. He went from 258 to 228 in 6 months. He needs to continue to work hard. What challenge does OU give? They are winners. They have a culture of winning, and are very close to being undefeated. ------------------------------------------ Stats about OU from Go Zips dot com: The Bobcats are ranked 8th in the nation in turnover margin 16th in passing efficiency (164.73) 22nd in red zone offense WR Brendan Cope is 5th at 27 yards per reception Quentin Poling is 9th in forced fumbles Derrius Vick is 11th in passing efficiency, 16th in yard per completion, and 22nd in completion percentage

Here are four pre snap alignments of successful plays last Saturday night. Woodson runs off tackle for a 38 yard gain. Watch here. Woodson pass, to Wolf for 41 yards. Watch here. Woodson beats a blitz (and takes a hit as he throws) as Jerome Lane beats his man one on one and takes it to the house. Watch here. Hundley run for 11 yds for a TD. Watch here.

Many times the way a player performs in practice does not directly translate to the field on game day. Sometimes for the good, sometimes for the bad. Tommy, being third string, might not have had the supporting cast to shine in practice. A team is supposed to evolve throughout the season, I think our team is on the right path. Keener had asked in another thread about the difference between offenses we used with Tra'Von, and the offense we use with Tommy. Similar predicament (but different) with the professional team in Pittsburgh. I think you will notice the change in their offense from one QB on Sunday to the QB that will play on Thursday night. This change will be similar to the Zips change at offense. While the terminology, routes and blocking will generally stay the same, the game plan will change to highlight the capabilities of the QB. Some plays in the playbook will get moved up, some will get moved down, some will stay the same. Kind of a similar thing as to what happened in Akron. Pretty typical for a staff to do with QBs that have such a different skill set. Keep in mind that coach has repeated many times before the season, "my QB won't turn the ball over." Tommy needs to continue that. I'm sure last years INTs weighed heavy on the early decision. Edit: Two more points. One, I have heard coach say twice since the Tigers game, "Tommy still could lose some more weight." Two, he also says "We need to find a way to win at Akron" Seems to be what he is doing.