Hats off to the defense

[Buckzip]

In spite of Woodson being an interception machine and the other various stupid turnovers, the defense held BSU to field goals.

The defense would have won this game if the offense didn't give it away.

I have lost a ton of respect for Bowden.

He had a great win against Pitt and obviously let him team think they were much better than they are and didn't need to show up anymore. That combined with his QB pet being left in the game no matter how badly he played shows a very stubborn coach that refuses to be proven wrong.

If he didn't want to go to Pohl, why the hell not give Hirschman a shot? Good grief, Woodson doesn't deserve to be on a college football field.

[Balsy]

BuckZip I'm usually the doom-and-gloom person. But not today.

We're better off with Bowden than any other shmuck. Pohl will be back next week. Bowden will Get us to a Bowl THIS year. MAC-Championship is out of reach I believe.

[Buckzip]

I hope you're right. I am impressed by the D. This is a MAC champion caliber D.

I never thought the O would be the weakness of a Bowden team.

Unless Pohl was hurt and unable to go, I have lost a lot of respect for Bowden.

[Balsy]

Pohl was there and dressed for the game. But according to Bowden, he was cleared to play Thursday of this week.

[ZippyRulz]

In spite of Woodson being an interception machine and the other various stupid turnovers, the defense held BSU to field goals.

The defense would have won this game if the offense didn't give it away.

I have lost a ton of respect for Bowden.

He had a great win against Pitt and obviously let him team think they were much better than they are and didn't need to show up anymore. That combined with his QB pet being left in the game no matter how badly he played shows a very stubborn coach that refuses to be proven wrong.

If he didn't want to go to Pohl, why the hell not give Hirschman a shot? Good grief, Woodson doesn't deserve to be on a college football field.

It wouldn't have been fair to Pohl to put him in late in the game? Was it fair to the defense to leave Woodson in to throw 4 picks? I don't know how this doesn't hurt recruiting. If I'm a potential recruit watching the Zips, I'm wondering what the criteria are for playing time here, if it's not based on merit.

[GP1]

That combined with his QB pet being left in the game no matter how badly he played shows a very stubborn coach that refuses to be proven wrong.

Bowden isn't looking for a reason to be proven wrong. He is looking for a reason to be proven right. If there are 30 reasons why he is wrong and one showing him to be right, he will believe he is right.

The whole Woodson vs. Pohl issue is Bowden's solution to a non-existent problem. If Pohl plays and does well, it eliminates possibilities for Bowden being right with Woodson. Woodson has to play in order for Bowden to be presented with reasons for being right.

I've already said it once, but I'll say it again. Pohl isn't going to be at Akron next year because he isn't wanted by the coaches. When we discuss future QBs, he shouldn't even be in the discussion. He should be spending some of his time over the next few weeks researching what school he wants to transfer to in order to finish out his career. There is a good chance he'll never play another play for Akron. Interesting finish for a guy who went 8-3 in his final 11 starts AND had the team on pace for a 8-9 win season. Bowden may throw him out next game since the team has lost all confidence and momentum to put a final nail in his coffin and reinforce his Woodson decision, but in general, it's over.

Lastly, hats off to the defense. Keep working hard guys. This isn't your fault.

[LZIp]

Bowden isn't looking for a reason to be proven wrong. He is looking for a reason to be proven right. If there are 30 reasons why he is wrong and one showing him to be right, he will believe he is right.

The whole Woodson vs. Pohl issue is Bowden's solution to a non-existent problem. If Pohl plays and does well, it eliminates possibilities for Bowden being right with Woodson. Woodson has to play in order for Bowden to be presented with reasons for being right.

I've already said it once, but I'll say it again. Pohl isn't going to be at Akron next year because he isn't wanted by the coaches. When we discuss future QBs, he shouldn't even be in the discussion. He should be spending some of his time over the next few weeks researching what school he wants to transfer to in order to finish out his career. There is a good chance he'll never play another play for Akron. Interesting finish for a guy who went 8-3 in his final 11 starts AND had the team on pace for a 8-9 win season. Bowden may throw him out next game since the team has lost all confidence and momentum to put a final nail in his coffin and reinforce his Woodson decision, but in general, it's over.

Lastly, hats off to the defense. Keep working hard guys. This isn't your fault.

I know you enjoy hearing yourself talk and all, but you do realize if Pohl transfers and if he ever wants to play again, it has to be out of D1 right?

[GP1]

I know you enjoy hearing yourself talk and all, but you do realize if Pohl transfers and if he ever wants to play again, it has to be out of D1 right?

Unless he graduates. Why sit the bench in D1 when you can start in another division?

[LZIp]

Unless he graduates. Why sit the bench in D1 when you can start in another division?

Actually Pohl seems like a bright enough kid to graduate in 4 years. Holding out a slim hope that there really is more to the story than we know. Because I'm pretty baffled by the situation as well. Bowden doesn't strike me as a guy with this big of an ego.

[Balsy]

The whole Woodson vs. Pohl issue is Bowden's solution to a non-existent problem

According to you.

According to the rational universe, it's a solution to the fact that one suffered an impact to his head that cause a "concussion like injury" not 14 days earlier.

[GP1]

Actually Pohl seems like a bright enough kid to graduate in 4 years. Holding out a slim hope that there really is more to the story than we know. Because I'm pretty baffled by the situation as well. Bowden doesn't strike me as a guy with this big of an ego.

They all have egos that big.

[Valpo Zip]

I am giving Bowden the benefit of the doubt and convincing myself that Pohl was sidelined for medical related reasons.

If that is not the case, Bowden must be seriously scrutinized by the AD, coach Amato (hats off), and every player not named woodson on our team.

[Buckzip]

GP1, why are you so convinced that Pohl is done here? Do you know something the rest of us don't or is it just a feeling? Spill the beans. You sound way too confident to be going on a hunch.

[GP1]

GP1, why are you so convinced that Pohl is done here? Do you know something the rest of us don't or is it just a feeling? Spill the beans. You sound way too confident to be going on a hunch.

Just sort of connecting dots.

[Buckzip]

Please share.

[GP1]

Please share.

When Bowden talks of Woodson, he gets all excited and uses words like exciting and aggressive. Why? Because Bowden just isn't a coach, he's a brand...Bowden Ball. He wants everything about the program to be about Bowden Ball. The problem he has is Pohl is the better QB if you are looking for someone who does things like keep turnovers down, but he is going to do little exciting or aggressive; however, he wins. Bowden doesn't want that type of player at QB but at the same time he wants excitement and aggression without all of the mistakes that can lose a game. He wants a brand guy. A successful brand guy is very hard to get and the Zips don't have a single one on the team. The guy who comes closest to fitting the brand is Woodson. Woodson is everything Bowden says he is, exciting and aggressive. He is also something that Bowden can't say he is and that is turnover prone. Bowden passes his insertion into the game as a spark for the team. If the last two weeks are any indication, that spark will burn down the house eventually, but he keep Pohl on a short leash. Turnovers will destroy a team faster than anything. He continues to shovel Woodson on to the field in the hopes that some magic will happen and the turnovers will stop. It's not going to this year so we have to do the best with the cards we were dealt.

Early in the year someone made a comment on the board about Bowden doing what is right for Akron with the existing players. Maybe Bowden made it. In the end, I think he believes Bowden Ball is right for Akron and I believe he is right for believing that. Our problem is we don't have anyone to fit the QB bill in Bowden Ball right now in a way that will allow us to WIN. So, we need the bridge player that may not be desirable for Bowden Ball, but wins. Pohl is the bridge until a better brand guy is developed or recruited. Bowden is at a crossroad. Does he want to risk losing with Woodson to build the brand, or does he want to continue to win with a guy who isn't anything he wants in a QB but wins?

The other major problem is Pohl is only a junior. If he ended up being successful this year starting every game (we were on that way with a 4-2 start to the season), it presents Bowden with a huge problem for next year. If you want Bowden Ball, how do you bench a QB who maybe won the MAC East for you, beat a BCS team and maybe took the program to a bow game, but doesn't fit the Bowden Ball mold? Somehow you have to move that player along.

Pohl isn't exciting, but the team wins around him. Woodson is exciting, but the team loses around him. It really isn't a tough choice for me because I value winning and QBs who have teams win around them over everything. I'm not promoting a personal brand though so the decision is made much easier.

[Jrship35]

Just win ...... Win games, have a much better opportunity to recruit and get the kids to fit the brand ....... If you don't win, does "the brand" mean anything ?

During the recruiting process of my son, Coach Bowden has talked a lot about his 5 year plan to get UA to a respected level in the NCAA and how that plan has served him well at the other schools he successfully rebuilt or started. He has said on more than one occasion that it can be frustrating and unpopular at different point, but it works.

I believe he realizes that he has to make some bold and unpopular moves to keep that plan on track !!

Just some thought ....... I still believe in Coach Bowden. The right track is not always smooth but I still believe UA is on it !!!

[Zipgrad01]

To me, Bowden ball means winning. I couldn't care less about style....give me the damn W.

[Balsy]

Just some thought ....... I still believe in Coach Bowden. The right track is not always smooth but I still believe UA is on it !!!

+1. Well said! You've got to realize, winning is new to us Zips fans when it comes to football. We see the enemy everywhere, especially within.

[Buckzip]

If what GP says is true, Chapman will be the guy next year. Kid is a stud.

[Zipgrad01]

If what GP says is true, Chapman will be the guy next year. Kid is a stud.

I dont know if GP1 has seen him play, but a few of us watched him in the fall scrimmages and he looked extremely good. He looked way better than Woodson, who we all thought was awful.

[K92]

About this whole Bowden Ball thing: I don't know what that is. What I thought it was it obviously is not. What I thought when we were getting when we were sold this Bowden Ball was a wide open offense in the vein of the evolved Hal Mumme/Mike Leach style. I think we had a glimpse of that in '12. It was exciting. It was run with tempo. If DW13 had played the Toledo game he would hold the all time single season passing yardage record. Even with all the limitations that the Zips had in '12, the offense worked. It was proving to me the old adage that I had heard a million times on sports radio. You can scheme on offense to level the field. You have to have the athletes on defense to be good but you can take average talent and score a lot by running the spread. I watched the proof every week.

Even in that first season Bowden made some comments about wanting Akron to be known for defense even though he was an offensive guy. I probably should have recognized that as the first Bowden red flag.

In '13 the offense seemed to totally change. The Dalton Williams/Marquelo Suel combo was gone but a lot of the offense remained intact. Milwee replaced Bowden as O.C. I figured these changes would certainly impact the offense but I did not expect a philosophy change.

Tempo totally went out the window. The spread offense thrives on tempo and many times in '12 the Zips looked like a well-oiled machine. The offense since Milwee has been O.C. reminds me much more of the J.D. offense than anything resembling the Air Raid offense we had in '12.

My guess is that the philosophy change came not from Milwee but from Bowden because I think Bowden thought he had a defense good enough to win the game. I think the offense started to play not to lose instead of playing to win because the defense was/is so much better. This is pure folly. This is 2014 not 1974. Defense does not win games all by itself in the MAC. Perhaps you can depend on your defense to win you the game when you can recruit at the very top level. Like maybe the top 5-10 defensive teams in the nation are in this position. If you're playing in the MAC, you better be able to score a lot. Even a defensive guy like Gary Patterson figured this out.

Gary Patterson has fielded some pretty damn stout defenses at TCU. When the Horned Frogs joined the Big XII, his good defenses weren't good enough to shut down all the high powered offenses they faced in conference play. After a rocky start, this defensive guru gave up and gave in and realized that even though TCU had a great D they had to score a lot more and installed a wide open offense.

TCU is 6-1, ranked 10th in the nation and scored 82 points on Texas Tech yesterday.

I don't know if Terry knows Gary, but I think they need to talk. Check that. Gary needs to talk, Terry needs to listen.

[Dave in Green]

Keener, you're a great Zips fan like so many others on this forum are. I feel your pain for years of suffering, and I hope for the best as so many long-suffering Zips fans have. Here's the straight deal. Anyone who tells you otherwise is fantasizing. UA is in a pecking order. The pecking order generally determines the level of coach you attract. UA is not a desirable destination for a football coach. With Terry Bowden, Zips fans got more than expected. He's doing the best he can with the resources available to him. He's trying to attract both the best offensive and defensive talent he can. So far he's managed to do better on the defensive side. Don't give up on him. He's not done yet.

[Balsy]

Keener that's exactly what Bowden has said in numerous interviews, especially those early last year '13. (The air raid year was '12, '11 was iCoach still )

Bowden said, even as far as interviews this year, that last year they realized that it was defense that was going to win games for them. His first year they didn't have the athletes to hold on defense, so they were able to gun sling the ball around (which also led to a lot of turnovers). According to Bowden, if you're going to have the defense win games or you, you need to give them favorable field position (not off a turnover). Bowden mentioned that they toned down the offense in order to put the defense in favorable positions. (and it gave us the first 5-7 season we'd had in a long...long time).

What you should be even more disturbed about is Pohl. I remember Bowden saying sometime in '13, that they had toned playbook for the young signal caller (who was Pohl) so he could run it better. There was a minor discussion about it on this forum, while we were in a losing slump last season. There has been a lot of outrage the past couple of days on a non-existent QB controversy, but if Pohl wasn't able to handle the full offense, we need someone who can.

Bowden is a great coach, and he's taking the long road with us to turn us into something great. Enjoy the ride everyone.

[K92]

Thanks for pointing out my year slip up, Balsy. I fixed it.