Game 2 - Akron at FIU

[Spin]

Even I would say that we deserve to be out of the ranking. But it's ESPN, and it's the national media. They only really care about wins/losses.

Game of the week in the MAC. Against a solid opponent. When's the last time we could say that?

[GJGood]

I think things are getting better but there still is a long way to go. We need more depth and some of Williams' passes were scary. I love the way the kid plays about 80% of the time but those passes into double and triple coverage are frightening.

I don't want to be too critical of Coach Bowden who seems like he is doing a great job overall but I wonder if the outcome would have been different had we attempted and actually made a field goal in the first half when we elected to go for it own fourth down well into FIU territory and ended up not converting.

At least things seem to be getting better and I got to yell happily at my screen in the 4th quarter, I hadn't been able to do that in a long time.

[Lee Adams]

Nobody w/ any brains give 2 flyin' f.x about the bottom 10,top 10, middle 10. Yep its definitely better than last year. Don't get too excited. The D is still a long way off. The O still can't or won't RUN effectively. No real playmakers have stepped up at RB or WR. Its a high risk offense. Lots of TO's and mistakes are going to happen. Live w/ it if you like TB!

TB may have to bite the bullet and run a little more early in games to 6take the pressure off the passing game and the D.

Too bad they really had a chance to win and couldn't figure it out.

Morgan State should be easier.

[skip-zip]

I know johnnyzip and I pointed this out earllier, but it's worth repeating again.

The hot, steamy weather!! It's tough playing a game in South Florida this time of year, regarless of the misting machines running behind the bench. After we lead late in the 2nd quarter 20-7, FIU scored 34 points the remainder of the way. And our guys in the booth pointed out at one point in the 2nd half that we had BOTH Defensive Ends on the bench at the same time being treated for cramps.

I wish we had switched the games with them, so we could have played them at home THIS year. We would have won up here.

But, I encourage everyone to applaud the effort. These guys look like a team playing for a different staff. It's a tough loss after blowing a 2 TD lead, but I BELIEVE that some wins are coming.

[K92]

I don't recall a whole lot of people predicting a win, but some of the naysayers bitching because the Zips lost. Makes sense.

[Dr Z]

No real playmakers have stepped up at RB or WR.

Three TDs in Two Games. Like I said last year, if I'm a QB, this guy gets at least ten targets a game from me.

[Roo]

Man o man...I thought we had it there at the end. How bad is our defense that we allow them to drive the field in a little over a minute? Prevent defense only prevents you from winning, I put that one on Amato and the play calling, no way the defense should have been that lax. Bad call on the PI call in the end zone, that ball wasn't catchable but they should have never been in that situation to begin with.

It is good to see that we were in the game until the very end, I don't remember watching a game after the third quarter last year. But a loss is a loss, no way anybody should be happy with a loss. That W would have meant a huge amount to this program and as it stands, it's just another loss. No matter how close. Moral victories don't exist.

Would've been huge to pull that game out....man...so damn close. We were seconds away from a potential 2 game winning streak....been a very long time since we have had a winning record going into MAC play.

[Zipsrifle]

Taking the team expected to be the best in the Sunbelt into overtime, I'll take that every day of the week. They never quit, and I don't remember a Zips team that loved to hit this HARD.

Lack of depth in the front seven hurt us, but didn't kill us. Mistakes and lucky calls went both ways.

I see us winning three games now, Morgan St, UMass, and either CMich or Can't. These guys could upset any of the tough MAC teams (Mia, BG, NIll, Tol, Ohio). The only untouchable is Tennessee.

Terry has converted me to a "glass is half full" fan. Bring on Morgan State!!!

Put me in the same "1/2 full" mindset. I see it this way: Entirely new coaching staff means that there is a learning curve for these guys and I have to believe we are still on our way up this curve. First game, blowout but much more exciting than any iCoach game. Second game, nail biter that goes into OT. Next two weeks will probably be up and down. I expect we will put up a LOT of points on Morgan State and then Tennessee will bury us but we will continue to move up the curve. I really see Miami as a good litmus test, a MAC School in our place. Yes, Wins and Losses are all that matter nationally, but are we REALLY in the hunt right now for anything? I'll take continued improvement 'cause that will eventually turn into wins.

[skip-zip]

Taking the team expected to be the best in the Sunbelt into overtime, I'll take that every day of the week.

I think we're probably going to find that this was a really bad prediction. We bragged about how they were the best in that conference last year too, and they ended up finishing in fourth. I just don't see it, with a solid Arkansas State team returning from their undefeated season, and UL-Monroe pulling off a huge upset last night. So far, this is an FIU team that, other than the game against Akron, has a resume that only includes getting throttled by a Duke team that got pummeled by Stanford last night.

But, I'll be following them for sure, to see if we can truly look at this game as a turnaround for our improvement.

[K92]

I think we're probably going to find that this was a really bad prediction. We bragged about how they were the best in that conference last year too, and they ended up finishing in fourth. I just don't see it, with a solid Arkansas State team returning from their undefeated season, and UL-Monroe pulling off a huge upset last night. So far, this is an FIU team that, other than the game against Akron, has a resume that only includes getting throttled by a Duke team that got pummeled by Stanford last night.

But, I'll be following them for sure, to see if we can truly look at this game as a turnaround for our improvement.

+1.

Time will tell how good FIU really is. I am really excited about the Zips being competitive with anybody on the road, though. They have certainly come a long way since they were thrashed by a bad Buffalo team 51-10 last year.

Some of the numbers are encouraging. 3 sacks. 7 tackles for loss. 5 TD passes. The effort itself is encouraging. But it is so disappointing to let a winnable game slip away. It makes the shortcomings glare. No fumbles this week, but we have to eliminate the silly penalties and work on the kicking game/coverage.

Definitely a work in progress, but it is going in the right direction and the wins are coming. Just stings to lose a close one. How nice to be in a pitched battle, though, instead of being embarrassed.

[GP1]

Prevent defense only prevents you from winning,

Coaching based upon cliches also prevents winning as well.

[GP1]

I get the whole "moral victory" thing, but if we don't end up in the win column does anyone care?

I do. One can only swallow so much crap before they get sick of it. They are now entertaining. I'll take that at this point.

Before the Zips get winning, they need to get competitive. I think they are almost there but more games will prove it out.

To make any comparison between this team and a team Ianello would have coached is just silly.

[ctmjbowes@sbcglobal.net]

This program was completely unwatchable before this year. I'll take this moral victory, on the road, in the heat, every day after the last few years. Watching the Zips between 2005 and now was like eating fiber; it made me sad. I watched an exciting game that the Zips almost won. How can you not be happy not to be just plain sad today about that game?

[Hilltopper]

I saw light at the end of the tunnel and it wasn't the headlight on a locomotive about to flatten me like a pancake. We will win a few games this year in spite of the fact that we are severely out manned at the line of scrimmage.

[LZIp]

I was very pleased with the team's performance last night. We looked like a TEAM. Cant help but think "What if" if we never missed the xp or LT caught that TD pass that was right in his hands, but oh well. We were competitive.

On D, Im really concerned about our LBs. Magnum seems to be the only one that makes plays. I'd really like to have Davis get more work in the slot, maybe over D'Orazio. Get this guy the ball in space. He is a home run threat every time the ball is in his hands.

Any word on Lawrence's injury? I like him as well as Hundley. I dont know how I feel about Chisholm in the new system yet.

We have A LOT of young talent out there. The future is bright.

[skip-zip]

I do. One can only swallow so much crap before they get sick of it. They are now entertaining. I'll take that at this point.

Before the Zips get winning, they need to get competitive. I think they are almost there but more games will prove it out.

To make any comparison between this team and a team Ianello would have coached is just silly.

So do I, because I am already a committed fan. But, what really matters is if an "almost win against a maybe good team that's relatively unknown" makes a significant impact on potential fans in the Akron area, and in a broader sense, potential recruits in NE Ohio and elsewhere. And my answer would be that it's not good enough to change anything.

But, lets hope that it's a start to what might be changing down the road.

[GJGood]

46 yard FG not since Swiger or way back to Alcorn could we have made that one!

The place kicking throughout much of college football confounds me. I go to high school games at various schools every Friday night and each year I see a number of 45+ yard field goals. I go to mostly Ohio Division II thru Division V games and most of these kickers making the long kicks never get recruited. Then I watch college teams who have kickers whose range isn't even 40 yards. What am I missing here?

[you am i]

The place kicking throughout much of college football confounds me. I go to high school games at various schools every Friday night and each year I see a number of 45+ yard field goals. I go to mostly Ohio Division II thru Division V games and most of these kickers making the long kicks never get recruited. Then I watch college teams who have kickers whose range isn't even 40 yards. What am I missing here?

Timing. The high school kickers have extra time to execute their mechanics because the game is so much slower at that level. In college everything moves much faster and distance and accuracy suffer. That's why a lot of really good HS kickers are busts in college. Their mechanics get messed up when they have to do everything faster. Its the same thing in the pros. Good college kickers are often busts in the NFL because the game is greatly speeded up. Of course, at each level there is greater pressure to perform and some kickers just can't handle the extra pressure.

[akzipper]

So do I, because I am already a committed fan. But, what really matters is if an "almost win against a maybe good team that's relatively unknown" makes a significant impact on potential fans in the Akron area, and in a broader sense, potential recruits in NE Ohio and elsewhere. And my answer would be that it's not good enough to change anything.

But, lets hope that it's a start to what might be changing down the road.

that's how I feel, it was a step in the right direction. But if we want to have people show up to watch, they have to do better than "almost win"

I know people hate the NE Ohio comparisons, but it't crazy to see how similar the Zips and Browns are. They both were/are bad, but this weekend they both played decent. Both teams were expected to be blown out, but stepped up. Both should have won their games but blew it. At this point it's not the losing I hate, it's how it happens. As the game goes on you get the feeling "wow they are going to win!" then everything goes down hill.

[Lee Adams]

So do I, because I am already a committed fan. But, what really matters is if an "almost win against a maybe good team that's relatively unknown" makes a significant impact on potential fans in the Akron area, and in a broader sense, potential recruits in NE Ohio and elsewhere. And my answer would be that it's not good enough to change anything.

But, lets hope that it's a start to what might be changing down the road.

You are right. Not really going to do much regarding attendance or recruiting. Its a shame. When you are under 2 mins and ahead your D HAS to win the game right there. Doesn't matter what happend the first 3 Q's. Until they start winning consistently at home not many are going to pay attention even though they look like a different team Offensively.

Thats why I think TB is going to make more changes over the next 2 weeks in the hope that he has his guys in place for the MAC.

I think the Miami game on 9-29 is going to be huge.

[Zipsrifle]

You are right. Not really going to do much regarding attendance or recruiting. Its a shame. When you are under 2 mins and ahead your D HAS to win the game right there. Doesn't matter what happend the first 3 Q's. Until they start winning consistently at home not many are going to pay attention even though they look like a different team Offensively.

Thats why I think TB is going to make more changes over the next 2 weeks in the hope that he has his guys in place for the MAC.

I think the Miami game on 9-29 is going to be huge.

Anybody else think the talent on the D just isn't there and we'll just need to out gun our opponents this year?

[BIGCEE]

Anybody else think the talent on the D just isn't there and we'll just need to out gun our opponents this year?

.

I traveled from Jacksonville fl to Miami to see the game, it was my first time going to see the zips play. A few fans from Akron made the trip. As I watch the game, I looked around and the Akron fans full of joy and the few that was there was loud, this gave the team life and they played their hearts out. Emagine if more people support the team and give them something to play for instead of turning your backs on them and talking down on them. These boys did not quit, they gave it all they had. I think they will be okay, but with a little help from the fan base they can win a few games but the fans need to support them

[mes102]

The place kicking throughout much of college football confounds me. I go to high school games at various schools every Friday night and each year I see a number of 45+ yard field goals. I go to mostly Ohio Division II thru Division V games and most of these kickers making the long kicks never get recruited. Then I watch college teams who have kickers whose range isn't even 40 yards. What am I missing here?

Last time i checked, the width of the goal posts are smaller in college than they are in high school...that would be my guess on why the range gets smaller as these players get to next level...

[skip-zip]

Anybody else think the talent on the D just isn't there and we'll just need to out gun our opponents this year?

Yep. I said that last week. The size and speed on defense isn't something that will correct itself anytime soon.

[g-mann17]

Yep. I said that last week. The size and speed on defense isn't something that will correct itself anytime soon.

I don't think the D is as bad as some of you think. FIU had the ball a full 12 minutes longer then we did (a result of our lack of a running game to chew clock). They ran 80 plays and gained 441 yards for 5.5 yards a play. We forced 10 punts, we balance out that TOP we win that game.

They gashed us on three runs 44, 29, 32 which is 105 of their 232 yards rushing on 3 carries. That means they carried the ball 47 times for less then 3 yards (2.7). Those three plays also represent 14 points (first and last touchdown).

If you give an offense almost a full quarter on the field the defense is going to get some cracks and give up something.

The announcers did nothing but praise the defense the whole game, especially the D-Line. Those four accounted for 21 of 84 tackles. 43 of the 84 tackles were made by the front 7. Those are good things.

We need to improve depth yes, but we have some talent there and a few guys we expect something from are probably going to get some playing time after Tennessee (like Turner, Rossi etc., hopefully Price) That will will help ease that burden a bit.

Goal for the year was 2 wins. I realistically thank we can get 5 (yes that means 4-4 in the MAC).