Akron Defense - Better Than OSWho?

[skip-zip]

I always love to watch our former opponents, and after watching Michigan hang 40+ points and 600+ yards on the Suckeye's defense yesterday, it really opened my eyes to the major transformation of our defense this year. And remember, this was a Michigan offense that was playing MUCH BETTER back in September. In fact, they had taken an absolute nosedive in production in recent weeks. They had scored 6 points against Michigan State, 13 against Nebraska, and mustered just 45 total 2nd half yards against Iowa a week ago.

It's just one game, I know. But, the difference is staggering, especially when you consider how badly Michigan's offense had deteriorated between September and November, and the fact that their QB was playing on one leg. Yet, they scored 23 more points yesterday, and amassed almost 200 more total yards than they did in the meeting against our Zips. And we even gave them an extra 4th quarter possession because we ran back an INT for a touchdown.

Our defensive effort against Toledo on Friday should provide even more evidence. We held them to 29 points, and they had scored between 45-55 points on 4 different occasions during the months of October and November. They even scored 28 in a victory against Bowling Green, who has given up a mere 7 points or less to its last 4 opponents.

Too bad we didn't have a few more games left on the schedule this year

[Balsy]

I'm impressed with what Amato and company did with the defense this year. On a scale of 1-10 on the improvement from last year, it's probably a 9, if not a 10. This team is looking up for sure, and Luke Fickell...I'm so glad hes not our head coach.

[GP1]

Our defensive effort against Toledo on Friday should provide even more evidence.

This is all the evidence I need. Toledo is an excellent offensive team both throwing and rushing. Giving up 29 points may seem like a lot, but Toledo averaged 33 points per game this year and one number driving down that average is only scoring 6 against Florida.

Want to know what kind of company we keep with our defense against Toledo? Toledo was held to 29 or fewer points against five other teams this season. They were: Florida, Missouri, Ball State, Bowling Green and NIU. Fantastic job by the defense on Friday.

Friday was a huge, huge, huge win for the Zips program. Toledo is a very good football team with a proud tradition. We went toe-to-toe with them and won.

[skip-zip]

Luke Fickell...I'm so glad hes not our head coach.

Amen to that. I think people would be dumb to consider him for a head coaching job now, after looking completely clueless in losing 7 games as OSWho's 2011 head coach. If not, yesterday's disaster should seal his fate.

[Dr Z]

Luke Fickell...I'm so glad hes not our head coach.

That thought crossed my mind as the tv camera caught his clueless stare in the 4th quarter. At least 12 Zip fans wanted him as our coach!?!?

I'm waiting for some pundit to use Akron/Michigan -- Columbus/Michigan as a case for a one loss SEC team to play in the title game.

....OR a Zips fan to make a case for the Zips.

[GP1]

I'm waiting for some pundit to use Akron/Michigan -- Columbus/Michigan as a case for a one loss SEC team to play in the title game.

Have you seen the ESPN college scoreboard show yet today?

[LZIp]

lol

[skip-zip]

Have you seen the ESPN college scoreboard show yet today?

I haven't. What have I missed?

[Dave in Green]

I haven't seen the Zips mentioned yet, but I did read one story discussing the possibility of Auburn jumping tOSU mention that while the Big Ten isn't as strong as it was in 2006, "it's not the MAC, either." If Auburn is close to tOSU when the BCS standings are released later today, they'll be in position to move ahead next weekend when tOSU plays Michigan State and Auburn plays Missouri. It's likely that Missouri will be either #4 or #5 in this week's BCS standings while Michigan State will likely be no higher than #10. So even if both win next week, Auburn will get a bigger boost than tOSU. The computers are going to love Auburn if they beat both Alabama and Missouri. It's going to be a real nail-biter in Columbus.

[K92]

That thought crossed my mind as the tv camera caught his clueless stare in the 4th quarter. At least 12 Zip fans wanted him as our coach!?!?

Epic thread. Worth reading again in its entirety because it will make you laugh. Thanks for posting the link, Dr.

[LZIp]

I suppose Ill post something of substance even though it isn't what skip-zip wants to hear.

OSU-12th ranked total D. Akron? 60th. The Zips allowed about 66 more yards per game than the "suckeyes".

Points? OSU allowed 18.4ppg compared to the Zips 28.5.

"But we actually have to play offenses in the MAC!" MAC teams average 25.2ppg and B1G teams average 30.9ppg.

Not to mention..OSU has at least two players on D going in the top 2 rounds of the draft, at least one All-American (maybe two), as well as probable other players on the unit drafted. Who knows about anybody for the Zips.

If one game meant everything, we would think OU is the best team on our schedule.

I'm not taking anything away from our team. We had great improvement this season. Couldn't be more pleased. But come on now....

[Dr Z]

Epic thread. Worth reading again in its entirety because it will make you laugh. Thanks for posting the link, Dr.

I did the same. I love the posters that think they know stuff because of what someone told them (general statement, not specific to anyone). I remember how lost the program was at that time. AGAIN, thank you coach Bowden for pulling us out of the pit of he#*.

[K92]

Never bring contrary facts into a Buckeye Bash Session.

[skip-zip]

I suppose Ill post something of substance even though it isn't what skip-zip wants to hear.

OSU-12th ranked total D. Akron? 60th. The Zips allowed about 66 more yards per game than the "suckeyes".

Points? OSU allowed 18.4ppg compared to the Zips 28.5.

"But we actually have to play offenses in the MAC!" MAC teams average 25.2ppg and B1G teams average 30.9ppg.

Not to mention..OSU has at least two players on D going in the top 2 rounds of the draft, at least one All-American (maybe two), as well as probable other players on the unit drafted. Who knows about anybody for the Zips.

If one game meant everything, we would think OU is the best team on our schedule.

I'm not taking anything away from our team. We had great improvement this season. Couldn't be more pleased. But come on now....

It was just a comparison of two defenses, against a common opponent, for the purpose of discussion.

But let me remind you.....it's not even remotely close. And the QB Gardner who we played against was playing on more than ONE leg.

If I have never said this to you before, feel free to take your argument to the Suckeyes chat site. I'm sure they'll love you over there when you tell them that their defense really isn't that bad

[Dave in Green]

... At least 12 Zip fans wanted him as our coach!?!?

Finally took the time to go back and reread every post in that thread. What a trip down memory lane. The most interesting thing to me is that the poster who got beat up the most in that thread turned out to be the one with the best connections. @marky, who first posted on ZN.o in that thread and disappeared shortly thereafter, absolutely nailed the Jim Tressel and Paul Winters sequence of events. He obviously had great inside connections at UA. The only thing he missed was that Terry Bowden was lurking in the background. It's too bad that @marky got stomped and discouraged from posting here. Who knows what else he might have contributed if he hadn't found ZN.o to be such an unwelcoming place to try to share good inside information with fellow Zips fans.

[Dave in Green]

The new Harris and USA Today Coaches polls are now both out, and #3 Auburn is close enough behind #2 tOSU to jump them next week by beating #5 Missouri. Depending on what the BCS computers come up with later today, it could be even tighter than the two voter polls are showing. Since Alabama only fell to #4, they could be back in the national championship game if two of the three teams ahead of them stumble. Next weekend's games are going to be fun to follow.

[UAZipster0305]

I suppose Ill post something of substance even though it isn't what skip-zip wants to hear.

OSU-12th ranked total D. Akron? 60th. The Zips allowed about 66 more yards per game than the "suckeyes".

Points? OSU allowed 18.4ppg compared to the Zips 28.5.

"But we actually have to play offenses in the MAC!" MAC teams average 25.2ppg and B1G teams average 30.9ppg.

Not to mention..OSU has at least two players on D going in the top 2 rounds of the draft, at least one All-American (maybe two), as well as probable other players on the unit drafted. Who knows about anybody for the Zips.

If one game meant everything, we would think OU is the best team on our schedule.

I'm not taking anything away from our team. We had great improvement this season. Couldn't be more pleased. But come on now....

Since we are sticking with facts, according to realtimerpi.com, OSU has a strength of schedule of #147 and UA's is #53. There are only 120 FBS teams! This alone can account for the differences you describe. Three of our four OOC games would all qualify among OSU's four most tough opponents this year (along with Wisconsin). NIU and Ball State are better than most B10 teams, and BUGS is no slouch. So, objectively, Akron's D was every bit as good as OSU's this year.

If Roby is one of the defenders you are mentioning, I would like to point out how he got torn up and down the field by Wisconsin's receiver. Along with Manziel, I expect Roby to be another quintessential quality college player whose game does not translate well to the NFL. I can see Manziel being the Browns' next failure of a QB experiment.

I agree, we had great improvement this season, and I too could not be more pleased.

[LZIp]

It was just a comparison of two defenses, against a common opponent, for the purpose of discussion.

But let me remind you.....it's not even remotely close. And the QB Gardner who we played against was playing on more than ONE leg.

If I have never said this to you before, feel free to take your argument to the Suckeyes chat site. I'm sure they'll love you over there when you tell them that their defense really isn't that bad

With your logic, Miami, Can't St, and UMASS are better than us because they played OU closer..and we all know what the truth is..

As for the last part, that's probably something I would say as well if I did not want to debate facts and instead push a biased agenda.

Since we are sticking with facts, according to realtimerpi.com, OSU has a strength of schedule of #147 and UA's is #53. There are only 120 FBS teams! This alone can account for the differences you describe. Three of our four OOC games would all qualify among OSU's four most tough opponents this year (along with Wisconsin). NIU and Ball State are better than most B10 teams, and BUGS is no slouch. So, objectively, Akron's D was every bit as good as OSU's this year.

If Roby is one of the defenders you are mentioning, I would like to point out how he got torn up and down the field by Wisconsin's receiver. Along with Manziel, I expect Roby to be another quintessential quality college player whose game does not translate well to the NFL.

I am not trying to be inflammatory. I agree, we had great improvement this season, and I too could not be more pleased.

I can respect a debate..

I am not familiar with RPI really...Is it strictly win/loss of opponents? It seems like it because there is no way they are ranked #147 with level of competition factored in. Just to look a little deeper, I see that the Zips are ranked 53rd and Alabama is ranked 69th. I know nobody is going to argue that the Zips played a tougher schedule than Bama.

As for Roby, he was one of the players I was talking about (the other one being Shazier). Roby was an All-American last year and more than likely a top 2 round pick as long as he doesn't have a horrible combine. The Wisconsin WR did tear him up, but that WR is a really good player. No clue how Roby will do in the NFL..but if former Buckeyes DBs like Chimdi Chekwa are having careers, I think he will be able to manage.

I don't know why people on here care about OSU so much. Its the same as us making fun of YSU fans who try to do it with us. Let's just worry about ourselves.

[UAZipster0305]

I am not familiar with RPI really...Is it strictly win/loss of opponents? It seems like it because there is no way they are ranked #147 with level of competition factored in. Just to look a little deeper, I see that the Zips are ranked 53rd and Alabama is ranked 69th. I know nobody is going to argue that the Zips played a tougher schedule than Bama.

I don't know why people on here care about OSU so much. Its the same as us making fun of YSU fans who try to do it with us. Let's just worry about ourselves.

Great exchange. I'll continue...

realtimerpi.com rates RPI, which take into account wins, losses, and opponent strength. Clearly, OSU has 12 wins and zero losses; however, the question is the strength of their opponents. The realtimerpi.com isolates the opponent strength factor and ranks them. Objectively, the strength of OSU's opponents is ranked #147 relative to only 120 FBS teams. So, at least 27 FCS teams play a stronger schedule than OSU does.

I can't speak for others, but the reason I care about OSU is because their fan base dominates ours even in our own city and among our own alumni. Hence, OSU being setback as we advance helps balance local respect in our favor and potentially allows us to establish a larger, more stable fan base that has national respect. Towards this end, I think it would be great for OSU to play for the NC and get blown out thus validating that they aren't that good. The same thing happened in 2007 and to a lesser degree 2008. Unfortunately, our program did not have the staff, facilities, or trajectory to take advantage of OSU being shown as overrated. The B10 is a weak BCS conference, but if OSU wanted to assert themselves as being a power program, they could schedule stronger opponents in the OOC. Instead, they choose to use this as their preseason.

It annoys me that OSU fans cite the 24 game win streak as justification for playing for the NC in 2013. Newsflash OSU honks: 2012 results don't count; OSU was ineligible because of NCAA violations. OSU has paid their dues and can now move on with their 2013 resume as evidence for playing for the 2013 NC.

[Zipgrad01]

With your logic, Miami, Can't St, and UMASS are better than us because they played OU closer..and we all know what the truth is..

As for the last part, that's probably something I would say as well if I did not want to debate facts and instead push a biased agenda.

I can respect a debate..

I am not familiar with RPI really...Is it strictly win/loss of opponents? It seems like it because there is no way they are ranked #147 with level of competition factored in. Just to look a little deeper, I see that the Zips are ranked 53rd and Alabama is ranked 69th. I know nobody is going to argue that the Zips played a tougher schedule than Bama.

As for Roby, he was one of the players I was talking about (the other one being Shazier). Roby was an All-American last year and more than likely a top 2 round pick as long as he doesn't have a horrible combine. The Wisconsin WR did tear him up, but that WR is a really good player. No clue how Roby will do in the NFL..but if former Buckeyes DBs like Chimdi Chekwa are having careers, I think he will be able to manage.

I don't know why people on here care about OSU so much. Its the same as us making fun of YSU fans who try to do it with us. Let's just worry about ourselves.

YSU = 1=AA, Akron =1-A

OSU = 1-A, Akron = 1-A

Apples and oranges. OSU is the benchmark where we want to be. We compete with them for players and fans. Hell, we compete with them for fans amongst our own students and alumni. We suck as a fan base because most zippers think we arent in competition with one another. I used to think the same way until I took off the blinders.

[Dave in Green]

... I am not familiar with RPI really...

@trimmy10 was referencing SOS or strength of schedule, not RPI. SOS is used as one of the components in calculating RPI. A team's SOS is the average of strength of all that team's opponents. Overall, the Zips had a more difficult SOS than tOSU because tOSU had a weak OOC schedule and the Big Ten teams they played were not that strong this season.

[LZIp]

YSU = 1=AA, Akron =1-A

OSU = 1-A, Akron = 1-A

Apples and oranges. OSU is the benchmark where we want to be. We compete with them for players and fans. Hell, we compete with them for fans amongst our own students and alumni. We suck as a fan base because most zippers think we arent in competition with one another. I used to think the same way until I took off the blinders.

One could argue that comparing OSU and Akron is apples to oranges as well. OSU plays in a power conference that gets an automatic bid to a BCS game. Akron is a mid-major. Do we really "compete" with them for players? Have any players chosen Akron over OSU? YSU-Akron has much more competition in recruiting than OSU/Akron.

I think the OSU/Akron competition discussion starts when we become a TCU/Boise/Utah or even NIU. I think the program has a ton of potential, and it does annoy me seeing all of the OSU gear on campus. Nothing ticks me off quite like seeing OSU gear at an Akron game, and this is coming from a life-long OSU fan. Akron is now my team, and I will always root for them over OSU, but I'm still going to be a fan of them. 19 years of fandom isn't just going to disappear and I think it unrealistic to to expect that. What you should expect is for students who come to Akron to have pride in their school. However, Akron is looked at as being a loser by most people (and lets be real, rightfully so). School pride will continue to grow as long as the most popular sport in America continues to improve. You can't expect much change from the average fan after a 5 win season, IMO.

@trimmy10 was referencing SOS or strength of schedule, not RPI. SOS is used as one of the components in calculating RPI. A team's SOS is the average of strength of all that team's opponents. Overall, the Zips had a more difficult SOS than tOSU because tOSU had a weak OOC schedule and the Big Ten teams they played were not that strong this season.

I just don't understand how there can be different formula's for strength of schedule. I'm seeing this tweeted:

How is that SoS so far off from the one from realtimerpi?

[LZIp]

also trimmy- OSU does nothing different than most other big-time programs. The Cal game was scheduled when they were good. Its just unfortunate that Cal is now horrible. OSU has played teams like Texas and USC OOC in the past, and plays teams like Oregon and Oklahoma in the future.

Just for comparison, Auburn played Washington St, FAU, Western Carolina, and Arkansas st in OOC this season.

[Dave in Green]

... How is that SoS so far off from the one from realtimerpi?

For one thing, realtimerpi shows both FBS and FCS teams. Other SOS ranking separate FBS and FCS. But it's true that various SOS rankings posted on the internet vary quite a bit, with some showing tOSU with a slightly tougher schedule than the Zips. From the wide variation it appears that SOS is not a science. After looking at several different SOS rankings, there's enough variation that I no longer have any confidence in the numbers.

[skip-zip]

YSU = 1=AA, Akron =1-A

OSU = 1-A, Akron = 1-A

Apples and oranges. OSU is the benchmark where we want to be. We compete with them for players and fans. Hell, we compete with them for fans amongst our own students and alumni. We suck as a fan base because most zippers think we arent in competition with one another. I used to think the same way until I took off the blinders.

Couldn't have said it better myself.