The Silence Speaks Volumes

[Dave in Green]

The dead silence here long after the latest Zips debacle is pretty telling. Those of us who had some hope left for this season had to face reality tonight. Any glimmer of improvement we may have seen in the last couple of losses was pretty much extinguished in the rain tonight. The Zips really showed me nothing at all in their first MAC game, and that leads me to believe that it's probably not going to get much better this season. About the only thing left to pray for is that the Zips might be slightly better than a couple of other MAC teams, and escape a winless season alone in the MAC cellar. But after what I sat through the rain tonight to witness, I now reluctantly have to admit that 0-12 is a distinct possibility.

[uhgrad2002]

Yeh, that was almost shocking. I don't know if I have ever seen such a poorly played game (on one side anyway). I was one of those encouraged by the last couple of weeks but this was simply awful. There were a few good performances but so many that made me wince. I still don't think that all those players are that bad but even some of the ones I expect good things from looked totally clueless. I think that is how I would describe the way this game was played -- clueless.

Credit to the post game show. They refused to name a defensive player of the game, saying nobody deserved it.

Between what we had here and what that school over East came up with, next week ought to be spectacular in some perverse way.

On a positive note, the volleyball squad had a great weekend. Check them out sometime.

[Buckzip]

You know, I know this won't go over well and it isn't very productive or analytical.

But this team flat out SUCKS.

[jdurbin]

You know it is bad when Keith Kennedy is making jokes on the field about how barely anyone is left in the stands.

[phil]

I went to the game taking 2 of my sons and one of their friends expecting a competitive game. It was competitive for one quarter. However, Akron's defense simply could not stop the Northern Illinois Offense. They scored on every possession and did not punt until there was about 4 minutes left in the 4th quarter. I was sitting at the 30 yard line and watched the coaches talking to the defensive team. The coaches did not have any answers or the players simply could not make any plays.

In the 2nd quarter Norther Illinois scored a touchdown, Akron went 3 and out, and then the kicker shanked a punt setting Northern Illinois up on Akron's 45 yard line for another score. No defense, no offense and no special teams.

One problem Akron has had in the past is that the opposition each week has scored a touchdown in the last minute of the half. It didn't happen this week. Instead they scored 2 touchdownsbefore the half, sending about half of the fans home for the night.

Akron looked like they were playing man to man on pass defense and they were getting beat on almost every play. When the ball was in the air our defensive backs could not get to the ball. There was little pass rush and their receivers were open much of the night.

I usually like taking my kids to the football games but this was painful to watch. I stayed till the bitter end and estimated that there were 500 fans in the stadium exluding band members and the Northern Illinois fans. I am hoping this team will improve but I would not bet on it.

[72 Roo]

I've got a couple questions for the folks who went to the game or those fans who are close to the team. Has the team given up? Have the players tuned out the coaching staff?

I know for a fact that the staff is not highly respected by the people who work in athletic administration. When I've talked to other coaches about them they dodge any justment by saying the football staff has a long way to go to build the program. Kind of a non-committal response designed not to get them in trouble with anyone.

The way I look at it is these guys are coaches first, then recruiters. Their first responsibility is to coach up the talent that they have and make them productive. If they wait until all the new talent is recruited into our system, we will have better talent, but still no one to coach them up and make them better. They will not be productive w/o someone who can coach. Can these guys coach? If you folks in the know feel they can, I am willing to wait and stick with them. But I'm not seeing any evidence that the staff can coach.

[zippypitt]

Can anyone confirm the "real" attendance for the game...you know...the actual backsides in seats. I had four loge seats to the game and couldn't give them away.

[ZachTheZip]

I've got a couple questions for the folks who went to the game or those fans who are close to the team. Has the team given up? Have the players tuned out the coaching staff?

I know for a fact that the staff is not highly respected by the people who work in athletic administration. When I've talked to other coaches about them they dodge any justment by saying the football staff has a long way to go to build the program. Kind of a non-committal response designed not to get them in trouble with anyone.

The way I look at it is these guys are coaches first, then recruiters. Their first responsibility is to coach up the talent that they have and make them productive. If they wait until all the new talent is recruited into our system, we will have better talent, but still no one to coach them up and make them better. They will not be productive w/o someone who can coach. Can these guys coach? If you folks in the know feel they can, I am willing to wait and stick with them. But I'm not seeing any evidence that the staff can coach.

I think many of our coaches aren't good coaches. Both our offensive and defensive coordinators are beyond terrible. Some of our position coaches can't actually coach, but were brought in to be recruiters. I'm sick of hearing about how great recruiters these people are. I want to have a staff that can coach, that can take an unpolished kid with some potential and turn him into an all-MAC player in four years.

[ZachTheZip]

Can anyone confirm the "real" attendance for the game...you know...the actual backsides in seats. I had four loge seats to the game and couldn't give them away.

Under 10k. I was there, but left after the score was 7-3 to head to the Akron vs. Can't volleyball match in Can't. At least I got to see one team today who knows how to fight through adversity to earn a win.

[GP1]

Have the players tuned out the coaching staff?

In response to the first question, which is normally said, "the coach has lost the team". That is impossible to know unless every player is asked and then it is up for debate. Sort of an old sports cliche that really sounds good to say but nobody knows what it really means.

The real question is, do these players have any pride in themselves? 25% (4 in 12) of their drives were three and out. One drive lasted one play and resulted in an INT. 50% of the drives were 5 plays or less.

I'm not here to defend the coaches. Their pro style offense will never work here and the sooner they are gone the better...along with the guy who hired them, but the players need to show some pride in themselves. Move the freaking ball and stop the other guys every now and then.

[Buckzip]

Have the players tuned out the coaching staff?

In response to the first question, which is normally said, "the coach has lost the team". That is impossible to know unless every player is asked and then it is up for debate. Sort of an old sports cliche that really sounds good to say but nobody knows what it really means.

The real question is, do these players have any pride in themselves? 25% (4 in 12) of their drives were three and out. One drive lasted one play and resulted in an INT. 50% of the drives were 5 plays or less.

I'm not here to defend the coaches. Their pro style offense will never work here and the sooner they are gone the better...along with the guy who hired them, but the players need to show some pride in themselves. Move the freaking ball and stop the other guys every now and then.

Why do you say that?

[GP1]

Can anyone confirm the "real" attendance for the game...you know...the actual backsides in seats. I had four loge seats to the game and couldn't give them away.

Under 10k.

They really need to start the games during the early afternoon. My understanding is it rained. I read somewhere something that said in the fall it rains more in the midwest in the evening than during the afternoon because of temperature changes and moisture movement. Why on God's green Earth we start games in the evening I have no idea. A nice afternoon might draw someone to watch a bad team, but rain and cold to watch a bad team, they will be lucky to have 8,000 at the next game.

Sounds like the great marketing idea of selling reserved tickets for $60 for four didn't work. Go figure. They are going to have to start paying you guys to go watch them by the end of the year. That would actually be a good topic if someone wanted to start it.

If you have made a decision to not attend any further games this year, how much would they have to pay you to go to another?

[GP1]

Have the players tuned out the coaching staff?

I'm not here to defend the coaches. Their pro style offense will never work here and the sooner they are gone the better...along with the guy who hired them, but the players need to show some pride in themselves. Move the freaking ball and stop the other guys every now and then.

Why do you say that?

Teams that win with pro style offenses have a lot of future pros on their team....Alabama is loaded and runs a pro style offense. They are loaded with future NFL stars. In the MAC, you get MAC talent.

I don't think it takes much to make a bad team average or an average team good in college football. Success in the MAC can come from scoring a bunch of points and not shooting yourself in the foot on defense. If you can hang around long enough in a mac game, the other team will hand you the game. How do you get those points?......

CMU was very successful with the spread offense and a great QB the past four years. Cincy did the same thing in the Big East. Score a bunch of points and make teams in bad conferences try to match your point output. It's easier to do in the MAC and Big East than the major BCS conferences. CMU was unsuccessful in bowl games but beat the crap out of the MAC because the moved the ball in a spread offense. Cincy was exposed for being a fraud in the Sugar Bowl last year, but they killed a terrible Big East with the spread.

I've said this before, Texas almost beat Alabama last year in the BCS Championship with an off the bench freshman QB. I see average teams win too much with the spread to think that it doesn't work. There are real reasons for the success as well....For example, it makes pass blocking schemes easier for linemen because it moves potential rushers away from the line. Same with the running game. If one OLineman makes a mistake, the whole line breaks down. Make an average line good by moving defenders away and eliminate confusion. The spread is actually a very simple offense that looks complicated. If there was a book about explaining the spread, it would be called, "Offense for Dummies".

The Zips don't have time to assemble a team that would be able to run a pro offense and finish any higher than second place in the MAC East. It will take years and by then the coach will have turned over twice already. It just isn't a reality. The reality is, the spread offense turns programs around fast because it doesn't take as many pieces and parts to be successful. A pro style offense takes a lot of good players. The Zips need to win now, not 8 years from now.

If we look around at teams that run pro style offenses in the midwest, how successful are they? Wisconsin?....Nice team, but the saying, "Always a bridesmaid and never a bride" comes to mind. Chronic second and third place Big Ten team. Pitt?....Third place Big East. Iowa?....Lost to Arizona who if my memory is correct, is an average team that has become good by running a spread offense. Notre Dame under Weiss?...Hello Kansas City. Stanford is having success with a pro style offense out west, but I'm not sure if they will fall into the Wisconsin and Pitt trap or not. Time will tell with them and they already play in a league with pro style offenses being played around them such as at USC. They crushed Oregon today, but I suspect Oregon will lose more by the end of the year.

The spread offense isn't for everyone, but if you want to go from being poor to at least average (we would probably take that right now) or average to good, the spread has been shown to work in the MAC. We are a MAC team and we need to do what works in the MAC.

[Zipmeister]

Have the players tuned out the coaching staff?

I'm not here to defend the coaches. Their pro style offense will never work here and the sooner they are gone the better...along with the guy who hired them, but the players need to show some pride in themselves. Move the freaking ball and stop the other guys every now and then.

Why do you say that?

Teams that win with pro style offenses have a lot of future pros on their team....Alabama is loaded and runs a pro style offense. They are loaded with future NFL stars. In the MAC, you get MAC talent.

I don't think it takes much to make a bad team average or an average team good in college football. Success in the MAC can come from scoring a bunch of points and not shooting yourself in the foot on defense. If you can hang around long enough in a mac game, the other team will hand you the game. How do you get those points?......

CMU was very successful with the spread offense and a great QB the past four years. Cincy did the same thing in the Big East. Score a bunch of points and make teams in bad conferences try to match your point output. It's easier to do in the MAC and Big East than the major BCS conferences. CMU was unsuccessful in bowl games but beat the crap out of the MAC because the moved the ball in a spread offense. Cincy was exposed for being a fraud in the Sugar Bowl last year, but they killed a terrible Big East with the spread.

I've said this before, Texas almost beat Alabama last year in the BCS Championship with an off the bench freshman QB. I see average teams win too much with the spread to think that it doesn't work. There are real reasons for the success as well....For example, it makes pass blocking schemes easier for linemen because it moves potential rushers away from the line. Same with the running game. If one OLineman makes a mistake, the whole line breaks down. Make an average line good by moving defenders away and eliminate confusion. The spread is actually a very simple offense that looks complicated. If there was a book about explaining the spread, it would be called, "Offense for Dummies".

The Zips don't have time to assemble a team that would be able to run a pro offense and finish any higher than second place in the MAC East. It will take years and by then the coach will have turned over twice already. It just isn't a reality. The reality is, the spread offense turns programs around fast because it doesn't take as many pieces and parts to be successful. A pro style offense takes a lot of good players. The Zips need to win now, not 8 years from now.

If we look around at teams that run pro style offenses in the midwest, how successful are they? Wisconsin?....Nice team, but the saying, "Always a bridesmaid and never a bride" comes to mind. Chronic second and third place Big Ten team. Pitt?....Third place Big East. Iowa?....Lost to Arizona who if my memory is correct, is an average team that has become good by running a spread offense. Notre Dame under Weiss?...Hello Kansas City. Stanford is having success with a pro style offense out west, but I'm not sure if they will fall into the Wisconsin and Pitt trap or not. Time will tell with them and they already play in a league with pro style offenses being played around them such as at USC. They crushed Oregon today, but I suspect Oregon will lose more by the end of the year.

The spread offense isn't for everyone, but if you want to go from being poor to at least average (we would probably take that right now) or average to good, the spread has been shown to work in the MAC. We are a MAC team and we need to do what works in the MAC.

CRUSHED? Is that what it's called? Oh, then we really CRUSHED N.ILL. today.

[RootforRoo44]

Have the players tuned out the coaching staff?

I'm not here to defend the coaches. Their pro style offense will never work here and the sooner they are gone the better...along with the guy who hired them, but the players need to show some pride in themselves. Move the freaking ball and stop the other guys every now and then.

Why do you say that?

Teams that win with pro style offenses have a lot of future pros on their team....Alabama is loaded and runs a pro style offense. They are loaded with future NFL stars. In the MAC, you get MAC talent.

I don't think it takes much to make a bad team average or an average team good in college football. Success in the MAC can come from scoring a bunch of points and not shooting yourself in the foot on defense. If you can hang around long enough in a mac game, the other team will hand you the game. How do you get those points?......

CMU was very successful with the spread offense and a great QB the past four years. Cincy did the same thing in the Big East. Score a bunch of points and make teams in bad conferences try to match your point output. It's easier to do in the MAC and Big East than the major BCS conferences. CMU was unsuccessful in bowl games but beat the crap out of the MAC because the moved the ball in a spread offense. Cincy was exposed for being a fraud in the Sugar Bowl last year, but they killed a terrible Big East with the spread.

I've said this before, Texas almost beat Alabama last year in the BCS Championship with an off the bench freshman QB. I see average teams win too much with the spread to think that it doesn't work. There are real reasons for the success as well....For example, it makes pass blocking schemes easier for linemen because it moves potential rushers away from the line. Same with the running game. If one OLineman makes a mistake, the whole line breaks down. Make an average line good by moving defenders away and eliminate confusion. The spread is actually a very simple offense that looks complicated. If there was a book about explaining the spread, it would be called, "Offense for Dummies".

The Zips don't have time to assemble a team that would be able to run a pro offense and finish any higher than second place in the MAC East. It will take years and by then the coach will have turned over twice already. It just isn't a reality. The reality is, the spread offense turns programs around fast because it doesn't take as many pieces and parts to be successful. A pro style offense takes a lot of good players. The Zips need to win now, not 8 years from now.

If we look around at teams that run pro style offenses in the midwest, how successful are they? Wisconsin?....Nice team, but the saying, "Always a bridesmaid and never a bride" comes to mind. Chronic second and third place Big Ten team. Pitt?....Third place Big East. Iowa?....Lost to Arizona who if my memory is correct, is an average team that has become good by running a spread offense. Notre Dame under Weiss?...Hello Kansas City. Stanford is having success with a pro style offense out west, but I'm not sure if they will fall into the Wisconsin and Pitt trap or not. Time will tell with them and they already play in a league with pro style offenses being played around them such as at USC. They crushed Oregon today, but I suspect Oregon will lose more by the end of the year.

The spread offense isn't for everyone, but if you want to go from being poor to at least average (we would probably take that right now) or average to good, the spread has been shown to work in the MAC. We are a MAC team and we need to do what works in the MAC.

I'm sold...you're hired. (dead serious)

[zipboy]

This game reminded me of Temple last year. Giving up more than 50 at home to a MAC team in back to back years is horrible.

I left late 3rd quarter and listened to French driving home. At one point after a 3rd string NIU RB ran for about 20 on our 1st team defense, his comment was, "You just have to have better effort than that, plain and simple." I don't know if the players have tuned out the staff but they gave up last night. No way is the talent level of any MAC team 35 pts better than another.

Thankfully I am out of town next week. I don't want to see a beatdown at Can't. I have had season tickets for 16 years since graduating. This is the 1st time where I may decide to skip going the rest of the season especially if it is 10 degrees colder and raining like last night. I can find better things to do than watch this.

[GP1]

Have the players tuned out the coaching staff?

I'm not here to defend the coaches. Their pro style offense will never work here and the sooner they are gone the better...along with the guy who hired them, but the players need to show some pride in themselves. Move the freaking ball and stop the other guys every now and then.

Why do you say that?

Teams that win with pro style offenses have a lot of future pros on their team....Alabama is loaded and runs a pro style offense. They are loaded with future NFL stars. In the MAC, you get MAC talent.

I don't think it takes much to make a bad team average or an average team good in college football. Success in the MAC can come from scoring a bunch of points and not shooting yourself in the foot on defense. If you can hang around long enough in a mac game, the other team will hand you the game. How do you get those points?......

CMU was very successful with the spread offense and a great QB the past four years. Cincy did the same thing in the Big East. Score a bunch of points and make teams in bad conferences try to match your point output. It's easier to do in the MAC and Big East than the major BCS conferences. CMU was unsuccessful in bowl games but beat the crap out of the MAC because the moved the ball in a spread offense. Cincy was exposed for being a fraud in the Sugar Bowl last year, but they killed a terrible Big East with the spread.

I've said this before, Texas almost beat Alabama last year in the BCS Championship with an off the bench freshman QB. I see average teams win too much with the spread to think that it doesn't work. There are real reasons for the success as well....For example, it makes pass blocking schemes easier for linemen because it moves potential rushers away from the line. Same with the running game. If one OLineman makes a mistake, the whole line breaks down. Make an average line good by moving defenders away and eliminate confusion. The spread is actually a very simple offense that looks complicated. If there was a book about explaining the spread, it would be called, "Offense for Dummies".

The Zips don't have time to assemble a team that would be able to run a pro offense and finish any higher than second place in the MAC East. It will take years and by then the coach will have turned over twice already. It just isn't a reality. The reality is, the spread offense turns programs around fast because it doesn't take as many pieces and parts to be successful. A pro style offense takes a lot of good players. The Zips need to win now, not 8 years from now.

If we look around at teams that run pro style offenses in the midwest, how successful are they? Wisconsin?....Nice team, but the saying, "Always a bridesmaid and never a bride" comes to mind. Chronic second and third place Big Ten team. Pitt?....Third place Big East. Iowa?....Lost to Arizona who if my memory is correct, is an average team that has become good by running a spread offense. Notre Dame under Weiss?...Hello Kansas City. Stanford is having success with a pro style offense out west, but I'm not sure if they will fall into the Wisconsin and Pitt trap or not. Time will tell with them and they already play in a league with pro style offenses being played around them such as at USC. They crushed Oregon today, but I suspect Oregon will lose more by the end of the year.

The spread offense isn't for everyone, but if you want to go from being poor to at least average (we would probably take that right now) or average to good, the spread has been shown to work in the MAC. We are a MAC team and we need to do what works in the MAC.

CRUSHED? Is that what it's called? Oh, then we really CRUSHED N.ILL. today.

Oops....Heard the score was the other way around. My bad....was at another game and missed the highlights. Anyhhow, it proves my point. Pro style offense gets rolled by a team who runs the spread. Oregon isn't that talented of a team, but they rack up a lot of yards and points.

[GP1]

At one point after a 3rd string NIU RB ran for about 20 on our 1st team defense, his comment was, "You just have to have better effort than that, plain and simple." I don't know if the players have tuned out the staff but they gave up last night. No way is the talent level of any MAC team 35 pts better than another.

Good post. French is right. Full scholarship = full effort. I could care less about the coaches and whether or not the players are listening. If they don't want to play, they should quit the team...plain and simple. They are all getting a scholarship to a D-1A school and need to play better.

The last point is right on the money. No mac team is 35 points better than another talent wise.

Stop reading if you dont' want to hear about my trip to a Wake Forest game. Last night, they almost beat GA Tech and I was at the game. Tech is better than Wake at every position and Wake lost with 15 seconds remaining. Throughout the game, Wake played with heart and nobody left anything on the field. I can live with a team losing like that. A full scholarship to Wake for four years is valued around a quarter of a million dollars. They may not have won, but they earned their scholarships last night. The Zips need to do the same.

[Dave in Green]

It's pretty logical that if you have a lot of really good players you can go straight at another team and dare them to try to stop you. If your players are not so talented, you can magnify their abilities with well-planned and executed deception.

The NIU offense last night was a good example. I think someone on this forum predicted that NIU was a running team, and all the Zips had to do was stop the run. But their first three offensive plays were passes, and they just rolled right down the field against a Zips offense that appeared to be expecting the run.

The NIU QB was a real magician. People seated around me kept remarking about how they couldn't keep track of who had the ball in the NIU backfield, and they kept following the wrong guy. Their QB made all kinds of spins and fakes before handing off, passing or running the ball himself. He was totally unpredictable, and the Zips defense appeared baffled.

By contrast, there was never any doubt which player had the ball when the Zips offense was on the field. The Zips offense looked slow and predictable from way up in the grandstands, and it must have looked the same to the NIU defenders on the field.

[Lee Adams]

I've got a couple questions for the folks who went to the game or those fans who are close to the team. Has the team given up? Have the players tuned out the coaching staff?

I know for a fact that the staff is not highly respected by the people who work in athletic administration. When I've talked to other coaches about them they dodge any justment by saying the football staff has a long way to go to build the program. Kind of a non-committal response designed not to get them in trouble with anyone.

The way I look at it is these guys are coaches first, then recruiters. Their first responsibility is to coach up the talent that they have and make them productive. If they wait until all the new talent is recruited into our system, we will have better talent, but still no one to coach them up and make them better. They will not be productive w/o someone who can coach. Can these guys coach? If you folks in the know feel they can, I am willing to wait and stick with them. But I'm not seeing any evidence that the staff can coach.

I think many of our coaches aren't good coaches. Both our offensive and defensive coordinators are beyond terrible. Some of our position coaches can't actually coach, but were brought in to be recruiters. I'm sick of hearing about how great recruiters these people are. I want to have a staff that can coach, that can take an unpolished kid with some potential and turn him into an all-MAC player in four years.

I was one of the few at the game. This season goes beyond what some here are suggesting as the players not playing...What Ianello has done to this point has not allowed for any significant improvement by the players. Examples? Where to start? The defensive backfield appears to be worse. The corners looked like jr. high kids trying to cover Jerry Rice. The safeties are not much better if at all. Quarterback! Coach Ianello,apparently you and the ex-ND qb are not communicating with Nicely. He is always coming off the field looking like he was trying to figure out the questions on an advanced calculus exam. The receivers,and you were a receivers coach, can't separate from anything except there uniforms after the game. Please stop calling that pass in the flat. It ain't workin'. The running game is a little better but inconsistent. There are always some kids on a team who 'quit'. Before last nights butt whoopin' that was not the problem. These coaches are not communicating or can not communicate there message at this point. This program appears to now be farther away from competing in the MAC than it was 5 games ago.

[GP1]

Have the players tuned out the coaching staff?

I'm not here to defend the coaches. Their pro style offense will never work here and the sooner they are gone the better...along with the guy who hired them, but the players need to show some pride in themselves. Move the freaking ball and stop the other guys every now and then.

Why do you say that?

Teams that win with pro style offenses have a lot of future pros on their team....Alabama is loaded and runs a pro style offense. They are loaded with future NFL stars. In the MAC, you get MAC talent.

I don't think it takes much to make a bad team average or an average team good in college football. Success in the MAC can come from scoring a bunch of points and not shooting yourself in the foot on defense. If you can hang around long enough in a mac game, the other team will hand you the game. How do you get those points?......

CMU was very successful with the spread offense and a great QB the past four years. Cincy did the same thing in the Big East. Score a bunch of points and make teams in bad conferences try to match your point output. It's easier to do in the MAC and Big East than the major BCS conferences. CMU was unsuccessful in bowl games but beat the crap out of the MAC because the moved the ball in a spread offense. Cincy was exposed for being a fraud in the Sugar Bowl last year, but they killed a terrible Big East with the spread.

I've said this before, Texas almost beat Alabama last year in the BCS Championship with an off the bench freshman QB. I see average teams win too much with the spread to think that it doesn't work. There are real reasons for the success as well....For example, it makes pass blocking schemes easier for linemen because it moves potential rushers away from the line. Same with the running game. If one OLineman makes a mistake, the whole line breaks down. Make an average line good by moving defenders away and eliminate confusion. The spread is actually a very simple offense that looks complicated. If there was a book about explaining the spread, it would be called, "Offense for Dummies".

The Zips don't have time to assemble a team that would be able to run a pro offense and finish any higher than second place in the MAC East. It will take years and by then the coach will have turned over twice already. It just isn't a reality. The reality is, the spread offense turns programs around fast because it doesn't take as many pieces and parts to be successful. A pro style offense takes a lot of good players. The Zips need to win now, not 8 years from now.

If we look around at teams that run pro style offenses in the midwest, how successful are they? Wisconsin?....Nice team, but the saying, "Always a bridesmaid and never a bride" comes to mind. Chronic second and third place Big Ten team. Pitt?....Third place Big East. Iowa?....Lost to Arizona who if my memory is correct, is an average team that has become good by running a spread offense. Notre Dame under Weiss?...Hello Kansas City. Stanford is having success with a pro style offense out west, but I'm not sure if they will fall into the Wisconsin and Pitt trap or not. Time will tell with them and they already play in a league with pro style offenses being played around them such as at USC. They crushed Oregon today, but I suspect Oregon will lose more by the end of the year.

The spread offense isn't for everyone, but if you want to go from being poor to at least average (we would probably take that right now) or average to good, the spread has been shown to work in the MAC. We are a MAC team and we need to do what works in the MAC.

I'm sold...you're hired. (dead serious)

Send in your resume, you can be my #1 assistant.

I'd like to add more evidence to how effective the spread is with a QB that can run. Please do not take this as an opportunity to start the UofA vs. tOSU argument. It really makes a good point about how the spread offense takes average-good players and makes them good-great. If you are offended and want to continue to read, insert Team X for tosu and you will feel better. Insert "Joe Smith" for Pryor.

Pryor was churning out a ton of yards yesterday and tosu was on their way to a blowout of a hapless Illinois team. His yards were gained out of a spread formation running the read option, not from under center. Then Pryor gets hurt and really couldn't run...same guy, no wheels. It was shocking how fast tosu changed into a very average offense at that point. All of the sudden, their RBs couldn't get yards...the Oline didn't look as good.....Pryor wasn't quite as good of a passer as he is when the threat of running is there....their WRs became EXTREMELY average. Pryor is the difference between tosu finishing first in the Big Ten or third. Without Pryor, Michigan, Iowa, Wisconsin and maybe MSU are all better teams than tosu.

College football is a team sport, but if you can just find a couple of the right pieces, you can be very good very fast.

[GP1]

By contrast, there was never any doubt which player had the ball when the Zips offense was on the field. The Zips offense looked slow and predictable from way up in the grandstands, and it must have looked the same to the NIU defenders on the field.

Excellent description of why a pro style offense doesn't work in college. College kids are easily fooled...an NFL player is too prepared to be fooled so there is no sense in trying to trick them. At that point, overpowering the other team and big plays down field are the keys in the NFL.

NFL offenses are designed to manage games that result in less points than college games. In college, you need to rack up a ton of points and hope the young players on the other team can't keep up or make enough mistakes for you to win. If you can't get a lot of points in college, you at least need to move the ball to force the other team to move the ball long distances.

[K92]

The silence is telling, but what can be said that hasn't already?

The lack of effort and execution on the field is flabbergasting. The defense in in a total state of disarray. When you have defensive backs who can't cover ANYBODY and combine that with the total absence of a pass rush, you get what we've got. A long season where a team known for running the ball can pick you apart though the air and hang half a hundred on you.

Chandler Harnish. 16 for 20; 281 yards; 3 TD; 0 INT. Really? He's just that good? I have never before in my entire life (and I have been watching football every week since about 1976) seen defensive backs who look more clueless than ours. They are constantly getting burned. Receivers are always open. They never look back at the ball.

The best defensive back we have is playing wide receiver. He did have 3 catches this week, though! The decision to not move him back to defense in unconscionable. Such a terrible decision that it should be grounds for the immediate dismissal of whoever's bonehead idea the switch was in the first place. Mind-dumbingly stupid.

Before anyone who wasn't at the game points out that Chad Spann was held to 86 yards and count that as a small victory. . . He spent half the game watching from the sidelines. The NIU coaching staff must have figured early they could easily win without him and decided to rest him for next week's Temple game. Not as if the running game really missed him though. As a team, they still ripped us for 5 yards a carry.

The offense can do small things well at times but just cannot put it all together. I was frustrated with the play calling last night. I think we could have established the run on them, ate up some clock, moved the chains. Nope. Wasn't in the game plan. But what do I know?

Perhaps the most disturbing part about watching this team is the lack of energy, fire, excitement, ferocity, whatever you want to call it. They are positively sleepwalking out there. Look at the body language on the field and sideline. They are telling the other team "we're already defeated".

I know this is all a broken record. You have heard it before. It's five weeks into the season and we are still waiting for the team to gel and grow. I never thought for a minute we would be THIS bad.

[Lee Adams]

This game reminded me of Temple last year. Giving up more than 50 at home to a MAC team in back to back years is horrible.

I left late 3rd quarter and listened to French driving home. At one point after a 3rd string NIU RB ran for about 20 on our 1st team defense, his comment was, "You just have to have better effort than that, plain and simple." I don't know if the players have tuned out the staff but they gave up last night. No way is the talent level of any MAC team 35 pts better than another.

Thankfully I am out of town next week. I don't want to see a beatdown at Can't. I have had season tickets for 16 years since graduating. This is the 1st time where I may decide to skip going the rest of the season especially if it is 10 degrees colder and raining like last night. I can find better things to do than watch this.

Question,if the difference in talent team to team in the MAC is not that much different then what becomes the difference between teams winning and losing. I agree that the overall talent difference between say Akron and NIU should not allow for NIU to 'lay half a hundred' on Akron in the 5th game of the season. The team did not quit at the beginning of the game.

So where is the difference when teams start losing consistently over years and years?

[Blue & Gold]

I'm embarrassed and upset. I organized a group outing to the game last night. Am I an idiot, or what?! We had a nice group of around 30-some. 30-SOME POOR PEOPLE WHO TRUSTED ME FOR A FUN EVENING!!! It couldn't have been worse. I doubt any of the folks who attended will ever want to give the Zips another chance. It was as bad as one could possibly imagine. Not only is the team absolutely horrible, but extremely boring as well. The weather was awful. Honestly, I don't think I'm going to invite anyone to another Zips game for a long time. At least the rest of this year. Maybe not next year either. I was embarrassed and felt like a fool. I'm so numb I'm not even bothered by front-runners being Columbus State fans right now. They may be the only sane folks among us.

I'm planning on inviting a few people to the Buffalo and Michigan soccer matches. But I'm absolutely done with pimping UA football for a very, very long time.

A few weeks ago there was another thread about those who are brave enough to hit games solo. I'm fortunate enough to have two friends who aren't necessarly big Zips fans, but just like football for football's sake. We generally hit the games. But if they're "busy," well, for me, it's that time of year again.