Game 8 - NIU at Akron

[you am i]

Well, anything can happen on any given day. But if you use our games against both teams, this would not be a competitive game. NIU just squashed us at home, and we were a mishandled onside kick away from possibly beating OU on the road.

I'd maybe need to see more of both teams as the season comes to a close, but I would predict an NIU blowout over OU if that game was held today.

You are overlooking Toledo. The NIU-Toledo game should be a good one. Toledo knocked off #21 Cincinnati tonight 29-23.

Akron plays at Toledo the week after the NIU-UT game. Win or lose, Toledo may have a letdown after NIU. Akron has UMass the week before playing Toledo, so assuming a win in that game, the Zips could go into the Glass Bowl feeling better about their chances.

As long as I'm dreaming, let's have Akron beat Can't too.

[Spin]

You are overlooking Toledo. The NIU-Toledo game should be a good one. Toledo knocked off #21 Cincinnati tonight 29-23.

Agreed, I'm torn between Toledo and NIU.

Whoever it is is going to blow the shit out of whoever the East sends there, the real MAC daddy is Wed Nov. 14. If I had to pick I think NIU is better than Toledo, and has home field against them. But man is it tight.

[skip-zip]

You are overlooking Toledo. The NIU-Toledo game should be a good one. Toledo knocked off #21 Cincinnati tonight 29-23.

Akron plays at Toledo the week after the NIU-UT game. Win or lose, Toledo may have a letdown after NIU. Akron has UMass the week before playing Toledo, so assuming a win in that game, the Zips could go into the Glass Bowl feeling better about their chances.

As long as I'm dreaming, let's have Akron beat Can't too.

Toledo is in the other division. They can't play OU in a MAC Championship Game.

[Dr Z]

Worst part of watching your team get beat is going to Lot 9 for an after party and watching OSU honks dance around the parking lot as their real team wins a come from behind victory. Disgraceful.

[johnnyzip84]

Toledo is in the other division. They can't play OU in a MAC Championship Game.

????

[Zipmeister]

Toledo is in the other division. They can't play OU in a MAC Championship Game.

[Spin]

Toledo is in the other division. They can't play OU in a MAC Championship Game.

[jupitertoo]

Spin, They are WAY better than Ohio U... Should set things up for a heck of a MAC Championship game!

They might be better. Not sure. Time will tell. Ohio did play an Akron that had Chisolm, while NIU didn't.

[gozips19]

Couple of thoughts from yesterday.

1. The food in lot 9 was fantastic! Great job by everyone. Looking forward to the chili cook off for UMASS.

2. Not sure which injury hurt the team the most yesterday between Jawon and Bice. We simply didn't have a replacements to step up. It also effected the way Akron ran it's offense and how NIU called their D.

3. NIU is a really good team. Their QB is a stud, the line play is exceptional, and they don't make mistakes.

4. The book is out on Williams. His arm strength is average at best and teams are taking away the intermediate throws inside the hashes forcing him to throw outside.

5. If Akron can get a little more help on the D line next year you'll see better LB play. I like Turner, March, and Brown. They all have speed and don't shy away from contact. Better line play and another year in the gym should produce better results from that group.

6. What has happened to Lawernce? He showed some burst early in the year and is no longer in the RB rotation. Would have liked to see him get some carries when Jawon went out.

7. Speaking of RB's...was really bummed to see Bowers running for NIU. Would have been a good 1-2 punch with Jawon.

Was not surprised by the outcome. NIU is the best team in the MAC and we are not that good. I just hope that Akron is too dinged up when they play CMU and UMASS. They have a good chance to win both of those games. I'll be at Can't next week and am worried already. Hopefully Akron gets healthy and can pull off an upset. Man would that be sweet!

[LZIp]

Did anyone expect different?

Against Northern Illinois???'

Let's be real. This is a very good team, better than Ohio IMO.

Thats really not my point. I knew it would have been a very long shot for us to win.

My point is that the team did NOT come out ready to play for the second straight week, IMO. Penalties, turnovers, piss-poor tackling (Commack getting straight up ran over by the QB on that "attempt". Akron didnt play anywhere near their best yesterday, thats what I am upset about.

[Zip_ME87]

Toledo is in the other division. They can't play OU in a MAC Championship Game.

Must have stayed at a Holiday Inn Express in Can't.

[johnnyzip84]

Must have stayed at a Holiday Inn Express in Can't.

well played!

I agree with a lot of what gozips19 said. I'll add a few other thoughts:

1) Listening to Coach Bowden lately, it's obvious that he's really feeling for his players because they haven't been able to experience a level of success commensurate with their effort. I think this may have caused him to "overcoach" in a few areas recently (#7 returning kicks comes to mind).

2) We're making plenty of silly mistakes lately, but we're also getting no luck in the injury department.

3) For the 1st time this past week I heard Coach Bowden say something that raised my eyebrows a bit. On Zips Live Thursday, he said something like NIU probably isn't as good as Tennessee or Central Florida. I remember thinking at the time that I wasn't sure I agreed with that statement and after yesterday I definitely don't buy it. The MAC in 2012 is a different animal, and if you look at the plethora of key underclassmen on the rosters of NIU, Toledo, K.E.N.T., and OU, this surge is likely to last a few years.

4) We think Coach Bowden picked a bad year to start in the MAC, but what about UMass' timing?

5) Besides D-Line and O-Line, we NEED a few burners at WR in the 2013 class. Otherwise, the good defenses will continue to sit on the short stuff.

[Lee Adams]

Thats really not my point. I knew it would have been a very long shot for us to win.

My point is that the team did NOT come out ready to play for the second straight week, IMO. Penalties, turnovers, piss-poor tackling (Commack getting straight up ran over by the QB on that "attempt". Akron didnt play anywhere near their best yesterday, thats what I am upset about.

It was pretty apparent that this team had no gas in the tank. They have been getting beaten on all season and it has caught up. Commack should be embarassed if he got run over by Lynch. Thats inexcusable.

But,NIU,BGSU,OU etc etc have clearly been superior in talent and on the field play to anything Akron can do.

Anyone who thought that this was going to be more than a 2-3 win season was smokin' something I haven't in years. There are at least another 2 years before this program brings in enough player AND coaching talent to be competetive.

Meanwhile the folks in Portage County go Bowling.

[skip-zip]

Sorry guys.

I meant to say that NIU and Toledo can't play each other.

I must have been tired when I typed that. Hope you enjoyed the amusement.

[Captain Kangaroo]

5) Besides D-Line and O-Line, we NEED a few burners at WR in the 2013 class. Otherwise, the good defenses will continue to sit on the short stuff.

Would we throw it deep if we had any burners? The sub bigfoot-sighting frequency of any passes beyond 15 yards makes we wonder...

[Dr Z]

5) Besides D-Line and O-Line, we NEED a few burners at WR in the 2013 class. Otherwise, the good defenses will continue to sit on the short stuff.

Offense doesn't call for it. It's odd the two football teams I root for, changed this year.

[jupitertoo]

Would we throw it deep if we had any burners? The sub bigfoot-sighting frequency of any passes beyond 15 yards makes we wonder...

They tried to throw long a few times - including in the first series - in Athens. Even had some guys open, but seemed like Williams floated the ball. Don't know if it's a lack of touch or he was still dealing with the effects of rib injury.

[Captain Kangaroo]

1) Listening to Coach Bowden lately, it's obvious that he's really feeling for his players because they haven't been able to experience a level of success commensurate with their effort. I think this may have caused him to "overcoach" in a few areas recently (#7 returning kicks comes to mind).

I applaud him trying #7 to return kicks. Everyone else we've stuck back there has been pathetic this season. And last season.

Have you seen enough of #22 racing to catch a ball at the 7 yard line rather than let it go OB and give the Zips the ball at the 35? Such horrible decisions on punts and kickoffs have been routine this year. You mention we need a burner...I don't think we need one at WR all that desperately, but we sure need one returning kicks.

It heartens me that TB is trying whatever he can to jump start the team. It reminds me of an old Lee Owens comment, when discussing his defense getting pushed all over the field - "Maybe I'll put Charlie Frye out there on D next week...at least he'd try to make a play."

[johnnyzip84]

Offense doesn't call for it. It's odd the two football teams I root for, changed this year.

It hasn’t been part of the offense LATELY. The Zips threw more deep balls earlier in the year, so I also wonder why we don’t see them taking more (any?) shots in recent games. But some of the reasons might be as follows:

1. Pass protection was just about rock solid for the 1st 4 or 5 games. Beginning with BG, it’s been an increasing concern.

2. Up until NIU, Chisholm was getting some nice gains on 1st down. Perhaps the staff became a bit complacent with that, taking away the best opportunity (1st down) to stretch the field without having to deal with a salivating pass rush.

3. It’s probably not DW13’s strength. You don’t need a cannon to throw deep effectively (Brian Sipe), but the timing has to be even that much more precise if the QB doesn’t have a strong arm.

4. Lack of pure speed at WR.

Coach Bowden has said a number of times that they need to throw over the top of the defense when its sitting on the short stuff. I’ll be curious to see if he brings this up himself at this week’s press conference or if someone asks him about it (hint, hint, GT!).

[Dr Z]

Evaluate the game from our perspective next home game. It really helps IMO.

You get a chance to see all the receiver routes and see who, and where, the opportunities are.

You get to see if the QB is making the proper decisions and if he has time to do so.

Beer is inexpensive up there too.

If I remember, I'll take some Polaroids, and we can study them.

[Lee Adams]

It hasn’t been part of the offense LATELY. The Zips threw more deep balls earlier in the year, so I also wonder why we don’t see them taking more (any?) shots in recent games. But some of the reasons might be as follows:

1. Pass protection was just about rock solid for the 1st 4 or 5 games. Beginning with BG, it’s been an increasing concern.

2. Up until NIU, Chisholm was getting some nice gains on 1st down. Perhaps the staff became a bit complacent with that, taking away the best opportunity (1st down) to stretch the field without having to deal with a salivating pass rush.

3. It’s probably not DW13’s strength. You don’t need a cannon to throw deep effectively (Brian Sipe), but the timing has to be even that much more precise if the QB doesn’t have a strong arm.

4. Lack of pure speed at WR.

Coach Bowden has said a number of times that they need to throw over the top of the defense when its sitting on the short stuff. I’ll be curious to see if he brings this up himself at this week’s press conference or if someone asks him about it (hint, hint, GT!).

If we just look at the last 2 home games we can see what defenses are doing to the Zips. They are able to generally control the line of scrimmage with their D-line. Sometimes leaving 1 LB in the box when its not an obviuos run situation.

They are pressing the outside receiver on the weak side regularly. Sometimes also on the strong side. They end up with 6-7 in the secondary normally w/ 2 safeties over the top. They are forcing the throws into the inside traffic. The safeties are sitting on the deep balls. Thats how Williams threw that pick. Deep middle. Off side safety waited until the ball was in the air and.. pick. Up in 212 we could see it before it happened.

Until there is a consistent running threat that CAN include the QB also defenses will clutter up the secondary and punish the receivers on the short routes.

It would help if the Zips D could force some turnovers and get the O on a short field once in a while. Ain't gonna happen.

[GP1]

Until there is a consistent running threat that CAN include the QB also defenses will clutter up the secondary and punish the receivers on the short routes.

Good points Lee. You and I are going to have to beat this drum until the rest of the board listens.

Two schools run similar offenses as the Zips. Miami and Toledo. Miami's QB has net rushing yardage of 175 yards this season. Toledo's has a net of 242. The Zips QB has a net rushing of 24 yards. I don't think we are asking for a ton of yards...Just be effective and present the QB running as a real threat. It's foolish not to have a QB that can't exploit a 4 man rush with his feet once in a while. A QB running for 3-4 yards is better than an incomplete pass. A QB running for 3-4 yards is better than an INT throwing into 7 man coverage. A QB running for 3-4 yards is better than a sack.

I don't want a running QB. I want a QB who can run effectively.

[Lee Adams]

Good points Lee. You and I are going to have to beat this drum until the rest of the board listens.

Two schools run similar offenses as the Zips. Miami and Toledo. Miami's QB has net rushing yardage of 175 yards this season. Toledo's has a net of 242. The Zips QB has a net rushing of 24 yards. I don't think we are asking for a ton of yards...Just be effective and present the QB running as a real threat. It's foolish not to have a QB that can't exploit a 4 man rush with his feet once in a while. A QB running for 3-4 yards is better than an incomplete pass. A QB running for 3-4 yards is better than an INT throwing into 7 man coverage. A QB running for 3-4 yards is better than a sack.

I don't want a running QB. I want a QB who can run effectively.

Well said!

[Spin]

Am I the only one who sees the change in our production and the way opponents play us (Kyle Pohl time? MAC caught up?) is also the same point in the season when we started fighting the heavyweights of the conference?

Coincidence? Outcoached? Or just these much better teams have had solid recruiting classes the past 4 years?

IMO it's the latter.

Panic and benching is only going to hurt us against CMU and UMass. Toledo (and probably Can't) is going to take us to the woodshed, like we knew they would before the season started. Just as BG, Ohio, and NIU did. They're going to walk though our O line, they're going to cover our receivers like a blanket, they're going to walk through our front seven that we all knew lacked depth and size.

Step in off the ledge.

[Hilltopper]

Step in off the ledge.

There are a few here I would help jump.