K92

They do have talent and experience. So do the Zips. How many seniors are playing this year? A whole lot more than will be playing next year.

I am thoroughly convinced that running the spread is the first ingredient for any team that wants to maximize their offensive talent. The second ingredient is tempo. You saw what happened when the Zips followed the recipe in 2012. Our offensive talent was maximized and there wasn't an overabundance of it. In 2013 & 2014 part of the recipe was left out. Tempo. You know how you can leave out an ingredient in one of your favorite dishes and the result tastes like shit? That's kind of what happened to the Zips offense. This year, initially, the baby was thrown out with the bath water and we changed the offense. As the year has progressed we have used the old offense a little more and even ran tempo a little bit. When we ran tempo good things happen. If you want to run the ball more, you can run the ball more out of the air raid. You don't need to change the offense to run more. That is why my head nearly exploded when I actually watched the Zips offense at the start of the season. Now, as for why the offense was changed, you would have to ask Bowden. Initially he was quoted as saying he didn't want a running qb because it was more important for the qb to look back to the sideline for the next play to get right back up to the line. I think it was called "Bowden Ball". I thought that was what we were hanging our hat on. I have no earthly idea why the philosophy changed, but I gotta think it was the flawed logic that our defense was getting good enough to win games. Akron's defense will never be good enough to depend on it to win games. My God, Alabama's defense is littered with future NFL players and they have a real challenge defending the spread at times. Remember when they were supposed to walk all over WVU a couple of years ago? That Mountaineer offense made it interesting for a while until talent finally took over. In MAC football, the best defense is a good offense. You can scheme on offense. Defensive success is much more based talent available. Defense is all about the Jimmies and Joes. Offense is more about the Xs & Os. I'm done ranting. I've already been labeled a Drano chugger.

I don't think we got out athleted as much as we got out schemed. There are a couple of players on Bowling Green's offense that were definitely nice gets. Roger Lewis is a prime-time player who had a laundry list of offers that somehow landed at BG. He caught 6 balls for 118 yards. He wasn't a Zip killer. He probably could have been if needed, because the guy is probably going to be drafted, but they spread the ball to 9 receivers if you want to count the grab by the qb on the trick play. They have a couple of other receivers that had respectable offer lists, but for the most part, their prolific offense is filled with guys that not too many other schools were looking at. The guy pulling the trigger, Matt Johnson has an offer sheet like Tommy Woodson's. He was offered by BG, Miami & Temple. Woody was offered by BG, Akron & Arizona. Their RB, Roger Greene? BG, only offer. It is the system that is producing the numbers. James Knapke, a 2 star out of Fort Wayne, Indiana with exactly 1 offer threw for 3173 yards last year when Johnson went down. It's not the talent. Comparing the talent on BG's offense with the talent on Akron's defense is no more than a wash. Akron probably even wins that comparison. It's the scheme. If BG had better talent on offense they would be undefeated and totally unstoppable.

I tried to rewatch it yesterday, but into the 2nd quarter it started to get too depressing. I am planning to try and get through the rest of it after work tonight.

I was kinda hoping for some more discussion about this game, but I guess not.

Tailgating atmosphere was fantastic. I'm guessing there were 30 RVs. Students out the wazoo. Theta Chi had an EZ Up with music playing that drew a crowd and an impromptu club scene broke out. We watched student after student come from the gas stations on the south side of Wooster street carrying suitcases of beer. If we saw 1, we saw 100. No exaggeration. You are a good photographer who can really capture images that speak 1000 words, so I'm glad you didn't document the tailgating scene. It would just make Zips tailgaters sad.

2 out of 3 for me. I thought Johnson throwing for over 400 yards was a lock.

I was looking at Sagarin ratings today and something stood out to me as I was looking at the dregs of college football. Sagarin's ratings always intrigued me because there is no human bias or opinion and that all D1 schools are ranked, FCS and FBS, in one list. But this isn't a thread to debate Sagarin. It's only a computer program. It's not the gospel. But in this story, it is the measuring stick used. Once upon a time, at the end of the 2011 season, the 3 worst teams in FBS football made a head coaching change. The worst team, at 198 (1-11) improved in 2012 to 169 (1-11) under their new coach. Although the win total did not increase, their ranking signified much improvement. The next year they improved to 137 (5-7). In 2014, they picked up 3 more spots to 134 (5-7). This year the team currently sits at 113 (3-4). The 2nd worst team in FBS at 190 (1-11) improved in 2012 to 137 (3-8) and looked to be improving faster with their new coach than the previously mentioned team. In 2013, they began the season 2-6, fired their head coach due to scandal but the interim HC won out to finish at an even 6-6 with an 87 ranking. Good times looked to be on the way, but not so fast my friend. The interim coach was not retained. They hired a new coach for the 2014 season and dropped to 139 (3-9). So far this season, it looks like they are going the wrong way at 145 (1-5). The 3rd worst team in 2011 won one more game than the previously mentioned teams did but fired their coach as they sat at 182. In 2012, the new staff led the team to a 4-8 record and a 123 ranking. 2013 was a tough year. The record was worse at 3-9 but their 107 ranking indicated progress. In 2014, the team went 10-3 with a bowl win. Breakout season. Finished up ranked at 39. This year they are undefeated, ranked 30 and ranked 18 in the AP poll. Moral of the story? There isn't one. I'm glad the Zips aren't the Owls but I wish they were the Tigers.

Exhibit C was just submitted.

Jeff Bowden should be given his pink slip at halftime.

Tailgating in BG is good today. Look us up if you want.

I saw he picked the Zips this morning & he is way better than most. A lot of times he nails the score as well. He obviously does his homework.

I'm all in, rizin' up and thinking bigger. Eat 'em up!

Babers won't be at BG for long.

Hey! You forgot something. . .

Poutine cook off is a great idea.

Anti-Canadian bias.

30 seconds of my life I'll never get back. Thanks, Zach.

I am very encouraged by Lane's performance so far. He has played great for being thrown into an unfamiliar position. It took big balls to switch Jerome to offense because I think he had a pretty high ceiling on defense also. Kudos to the staff for having the cojones.

Jrship, I understand what you are saying about the numbers, but they are what they are. Playing keep away from BG's offense doesn't make it any less prolific. They aren't going to be confused and out of sync if they only run 70 plays instead of 100. They are still going to score when they have the ball. Now, if the staff has come to the conclusion that playing the slow down game against BG's defense gives the best chance for the Zips to score, then that's what you do. But if you play it that way to keep their offense off the field, I totally disagree. Playing the slow game, BG is still going to score 35. How many points will Akron score burning clock? This argument goes much deeper than the next game. This argument hinges on your college football philosophy. There have been coaches who have achieved great success hanging their hat on their defense and playing offense as to "not lose". In the past, when it was 3 yards and a cloud of dust teams lined up in tight formations and you saw who could kick who's ass. The teams that recruited the best players usually won. I think that was all turned on its ear with the evolution of the spread offense & tempo. Even teams that have defenses littered with NFL talent have a hard time defending the spread. I can't figure out why more coaches haven't seen the light like Gary Patterson did. Early in the season (and perhaps this has been tempered as the season has progressed) I believe our staff thought the Akron defense was good enough to win games by not losing the game on offense. It's not. But then again, in the whole of D-1A football whose is? That's a mighty short list. This is a topic that I have thought deserved its own thread in the past, but I just never started it.

I have a different take on the roles of offense and defense than a lot of you do. I agree with ZippyRulz. The defense's job is to get off the field with a stop. The offense's job is to score. An offensive game plan that concerns itself with how it impacts the defense makes absolutely no sense to me. The best way the offense can help the defense is by scoring. All offensive game plans should revolve around the best strategy to score, not time of possession. My 2 cents.

Sure is.

Finally got home from the wedding. Thanks for the updates. Just got done watching the game. Akron trounced Eastern on the scoreboard, but it was more a result of capitalizing on some big plays than it was dominating the game. That being said, the foot was definitely off the gas in the 2ND half. I wish we could have scored a couple more times to achieve the complete ass whooping, but oh well. Offense has definitely evolved with Woody at the controls. You can see he is gaining confidence which is huge. First time this year I have actually seen real read option. Earlier games looked like designed QB runs all the way with a half hearted fake handoff. Jerome Lane is a stud and needs more touches per game. Total size mismatch for MAC corners. Encouraged by Davis' play and Hundley is a bull. Offensive line played well today and there was a Donnell Alexander sighting as well. I'm a bit perplexed with the defense today. The d-line was handled well today by Eastern although there did seem to be a at least a handful of missed holding calls on their offensive line. Where's the pass rush? Not a lot of pressure today by the front 4. The dumb penalties continued. I don't know which is worse. Personal fouls, unsportsmanlike conducts, or lining up offsides? I like that we finally have someone to return kicks that isn't scared shitless. Long time coming there. Keep it up Van! I wonder if I should go to BG next week. I have planned to all year, but the Zips played well today while I wasn't watching. I hope I'm not the jinx.

I've got folks texting me and I'm sneaking peeks at the board. Can't believe I'm missing this.

Keep up the updates, guys. I'm stuck at a wedding.