zipsoutsider

That's hilarious. If the Zips go 8-4, win the MAC East, and go to a bowl game, you think TB gets fired?

Toledo shifts focus to resurgent Akron "'It’s a hot football team right now that is playing really well,'” Candle said. “'They got a big win [Sunday], probably the biggest win in a conference game in the last two years. It’s a stiff challenge for our football team, and we have to be ready to go. They are playing good team football and they are playing hard, and they are seeing the benefits of that. They are relying on their senior leadership, starting with their quarterback [Thomas Woodson] and doing what their coaches are asking them to do.'”

I do not disagree. It's a lot to ask the D to shoulder the load 2 weeks in a row against a WMU and Toledo. I really would love to see the Zips offense have a breakthrough week for both the D and Woody.

I think our defense can keep us competitive, it's our offensive side of the ball that worries me. However, here is how I think we could win: The basics - minimize penalties, no more than 1 turn-over, and special teams - do not allow any big returns. The have blocked one more kick than us and also a punt this year. Field position - we were killed by the poor field position in the 2nd half last week. We need to be able to flip the field, more frequently. Pressure on the QB - we have not really done a ton of LB blitzes - we might need to do more. We won't shut Woodside down, but we can limit his success. Toledo's rushing offense is ranked #36 in FBS, however, they are not a top 50 red zone offense team. We will also have to stop the run. We proved we can do that against WMU, but the WMU passing threat was not nearly as great. Toledo boasts a 28th ranked passing offense and Woodside is solid. Secondary - don't give up big plays. I think interceptions will be harder to come by, but we need our secondary to play their best. I think they might be up to the task. We have a slight edge on defensive touchdowns, statistically. Offensively - we need a our WRs to step up their game. We have to move the ball, better and a lot of that. We need to be successful with our run game to help the pass game. I think we can run the ball on them as well as we ran the ball on WMU in the first half. Tommy's passes were a lot better last week, but he did not throw a lot in the second half. we had too many drops. We have to make catches to win games. Coney has proven to be consistent. I am guessing that every D is focusing on Wolfe. We really need Bickley, Chapman, Smith, and Young to step it up. Booker is starting to present some nice opportunities for us. At his size, it would be nice to see him evolve into our 3rd/4th and 1 back like Cody Grice. Third Downs - we have the edge offensively and they have the edge defensively. On offensive, we are ranked #36 and they are ranked #50, On D they are #26 and we are #34. The match-ups are pretty good. Trickery - I think we can pull off one good trick play to help the cause and keep the defense honest. We have lined Tommy up in the wildcat as a receiver and I cannot recall him dropping a pass - will we see a Morgan to Woodson connection in the red zone this week? The biggest concern I have with the short week is that last weekend was distracting for them with an emotional win and the crazy weather/reschedule. It sounds like they got home between 10-11:00 PM on Sunday night and had Monday off with voluntary video review on Monday. If we stay focused and disciplined, this is going to be a competitive game, giving us a shot to go 4-0 in the MAC. I have heard both Bowden and Woodson talking about the team being hungry after last season. I really hope we se that hunger on Saturday.

3 Zips to watch as Toledo hosts Akron

We need a Chapman, Wolfe, or other offensive player to step up. My money is on Chapman. It would be great for Woody to have a career day, but it is no good if the receivers don't step up.

It appears that both of the 1st two QBs at Buffalo are worthy opponents.

Akron Zips are different team in conference play: MAC Football 2017 No. 1 in pass defense efficiency No. 1 in interceptions (6) No. 1 in fewest penalties (12 in three games) No. 1 in red zone offense (5-of-5, 5 TD) No. 1 in red zone defense (5-of-10, 2 TD, 3 FG) No. 2 in sacks (9) No. 2 in turnover margin (plus 4)

This did not happen in the last series where we we running out the clock. This happened around the 10:00 mark. Are we really trying to stop passing, altogether, with 10:00 left? And, FWIW, it was second down.

I tend to agree. At this point it is what is. I was sort if hoping maybe Stewart or A. Williams would see more action and turn out to be a threat but it doesn'tlook like that is going to happen. I am still holding out some hope we see a little more of Sands. Maybe some of the plays eill emerge as we work Kato in and he runs the ball and we may yet see Chapman make big plays for us. It is just hard to adjust to life after Jojo, lol.

I do agree we have seen less of Chapman - it would be interesting to document the defensive scheme when he is in the game vs. when he is not. I remain concerned with our lack of playmakers.

Might be easier to gather from the ESPN3 replay than live action.

This ^ - this is the point, exactly. WMU was 1-4 in the red zone. I am not sure which play you are referring to. There was a cross field throw on a second down with just under 10 minutes (2nd to last offensive series for us.) That was a pass Bickley should have caught - it was a good pass. Are you saying we should have stopped passing with 10:00 left? Woodson completes that particular play, quite often. If this is not the play you are referring to, you would have to go back to the 3rd quarter to find another play like that. Weather was not cited as an excuse, but as a reason you generally play more conservative football.

4:00ish on the clock: 3rd down and 8 - we run a pass play that was essentially a free play as they jumped - 3rd down and 3 - Tommy runs it to the outside 3:25ish 1st down - up the gut - maybe a yard 3:20 2nd down - 7 yard gain 3:14 3rd down - play action, pass interference results in 1st down (without interference, could have led to TD - wide open space and Coney had the defender beat) 3:06 1st down up the gut, gain of 1 2: 26 - 2nd down up the gut, gain of 2 1:38 3rd down - run to the outside a couple of yards 53:00 4th down - illegal procedure - not a big deal because they could have just easily taken a delay of game, here. 48:3 - 4th down, punt Your offense has essentially done with you wanted them to do and wound the clock down below 1 minute. WMU has been pitiful in the red zone and WMU has no timeouts left. The WMU passing game has not been particularly strong but they have had a little momentum. You have to decide which unit you think has the best chance to win the game for you. Your punter has been doing well pinning teams back inside of the 10 frequently this season and not doing badly during this game. We almost got a running into the kicker call on that, punt, too. The punt was not great, but no return, either. They go with the D and were successful. Just because you disagree with the decision, doesn't make it a bad decision. Also, it could have been a different story altogether had WMU gone for 2 and succeeded after they scored their TD. WMU coached very poorly, most of the day. They should have trusted Franklin to run it about 10-12 more times than they did. We could contain but not really stop him. I will attribute their play calling to playing from behind.

FWIW, I am not the only one who seems to approve if the game plan. "Akron executed an excellent game plan So much credit is due to Terry Bowden and his Zips. They did their homework and played the smartest game plan possible against the struggling Broncos. Akron entered the game outscoring opponents 148-144. Bowden knew that the Zips would be fighting an tight, uphill battle. The plan seemed to be to score early and run the clock out. Akron did just that. All of Akron’s 14 points were scored in the first 20 minutes. They had no need to score more." - Five Things Learned: Akron 14, Western Michigan 13

Horrible weather conditions and the lead, you call a more conservative game. Creativity in wet, windy conditions can be a good recipe for turnovers. 215 yards was enough for us to win. The goal is not to be the most creative or to rack up the most offensive yards, it's to put more points on the board than your oppoenent. FWIW, we had several good passes go through receivers hands, again, and Letui's penalties kill a drive and we still won. We have those creative plays in our pocket for when we need them, in November and December. It's fair to say Milwee did not call a very creative game, but he didn't call a bad game, either. There was enough variety to keep WMU on their heels (play action that resulted in defensive holding in Q4, 3rd down draw, wildcat, etc.) I think we will likely see Booker play a bigger role as he gets more experience but you break these freshmen in gradually to maximize on what they do well and to minimize where they still need to improve. We have been trying to expand the role of the TE for 2 years and MTB and N. Williams but they have been hurt more than they have been healthy. As Booker develops, he seems to be our best shot at realizing expansion in this role. You can feel to disagree, but we got the lead early and played more conservatively and that protected us from more mistakes. I have no problem with that. We hit the right balance and it led to a "W".

I am glad you are thrilled - comment was not targeted at you, or anyone, specifically, but the overall lack of ability of some ZN members to enjoy a win.

We have matched up against teams so differently from week to week it can be tough to tell. I think that our defensive has been the most noticabely improved from week to week, especially in terms of tackling. My biggest concern continues to be WR position. Apart from Coney and Wolfe we are not getting the consistency we need to get and there is not a ton of notable improvement.

Bischoff seems to be getting more PT, right now.

I did not see the actions that led to these, but the crew led by Amanda Sauer, seems to call more penalties, in particular, holds, than other crews.

I also noticed, on a number of ocassions, Tommy trying to block for the RB. I am not sure if it was the different camera angle, but I have never noticed it before.

The players I know put the bowl game at the top of the list. The rings they received for that season were very important to them.

Unless the Zips unexpectedly tank, he is not going anywhere. Milwee called a very good game, today, and as a matter of fact has called good games since the conference schedule began. We got our points whike the weather was a littke better and then kept it mainly on the ground in the second half when the weather turned miserable. Seems logical to me. I have had issues with playcalling in the past, but honestly, the playcalling has just been fine since we hit MAC play. Why would yoy throw the ball? Because we had a lot of time left on the clock and you needed a first down. Our run game was not that convincing at that point You put the ball in the hands of the 5th year QB. Interestingly enough, the next series when we did not throw on 3rd, we had ZN members calling for passes. You have to retain some element of surprise, even when playing conservatively. Oh, by the way, we won today.

The radio guys said that there were people who did not think the Zips should stay and play and that Bowden never considered not playing. The decision to postpone and play was reached, mutually, by the coaches, officials, the conference, and I am guessing the schools. That extra night is not cheap. Who do you think payed for tge hotels, the extra day of buses and to feed that crew? There would have been just cause to just cancel. I am glad they did not. Blocking those two was my best decision, ever. Their crap only shows up when quoted, now.

Listening to the post-game show on WARF, they made it sound like TB could have said the team could not stay until Sunday but that TB was adamant that he wanted to play this game. Hat's off to everyone who made it possible for the team to stay and pull of this major win. There had to be a ton of logistics that made this possible.