Game 8—Central Michigan (Hall-ROO-ween)

[Zipgrad01]

The Oline was horrendous, McNeal easily missed or didn't even attempt to block on at least 5 plays that I saw ...... No offensive flow and once again, the defense was expected to win the game

Cmon Man

The oLine was horrendous at Michigan with this guy. Why would we think things would get better? Edited October 31, 2015 by Zipgrad01

[Jrship35]

The oLine was horrendous at Michigan with this guy. Why would we think things would get better?

Sorry to call out groups or individuals, but dang it was glaring ..... Hard to continue to be at all positive. Bad football man. Bad football

[Zipgrad01]

Sorry to call out groups or individuals, but dang it was glaring ..... Hard to continue to be at all positive. Bad football man. Bad football

At least you see it and admit it. So many people on here are scared to question the almighty Bowden.

[Jrship35]

At least you see it and admit it. So many people on here are scared to question the almighty Bowden.

4 games left, 7-5 is possible but this was without a doubt the hardest one to swallow for me this season. I hate bye weeks, always have. Nothing gained by this bye week

Seems that the effort is dwindling

[LZIp]

This is one of the harder losses for me to take as a Zips fan. Absolutely no reason we shouldn't have won this game.

I cant for the life of me figure out why we are not playing our two best WRs on the field together. I have never seen two sets of WR corps being rotated in and out every other possession in a meaningful game in my life. Play your best god damn people. That's Davis and Lane. If you're going to run 3 wide and insist on playing McNeil..probably throw Goodman in there as well. PLAY YOUR BEST PLAYERS.

We can't even execute a damn extra point. We can't even get the right number of guys on the field on a critical 3rd down. Players don't know how to line up..costing us points and giving the other team points. Our O-line looked putrid today. Our team has zero enthusiasm outside of the normal few on defense. The players on the sideline look like they don't want to be there. I can take a 59-10 ass whooping from a really good team, but damn am I done with us beating ourselves.

People want to talk QB..I'll talk QB. Woodson is playing just fine when he has more than 0.5 seconds to throw the ball. Woodson is far and away the best QB on our team. People talk about him not being the answer, well guess what..he isn't the problem!. He's accurate when given time, doesnt turn the ball over, and is a running threat when he needs to be. The real crime at QB is the coaching staff who thought our 3rd best QB was somehow our best QB. The fact that they had a whole year to evaluate him makes it even worse.

I'm just about out of patience. We should go 4-0 to finish the season. I'll give that a 5% chance of happening. I have to accept 6-6 for this year, because that would mean we aren't losers (which is something I've yet to witness as a Zips fan). 6-6 is a positive for the program, no matter who the competition is against (remember we played a conference schedule full of cupcakes last season).

Now I would like to point out a positive on the state of the program. I am seeing more and more freshman getting involved and holding their own.I think there was only one or two Fresh who weren't red shirted last season. Red-shirted or not. I still like seeing underclassman contribute. Our defense too...you guys played great. I'm tired of our coaching staff and offense letting you down.

Bowden has taken us out of the cellar of college football, but that alone isn't good enough. He needs to go 6-6 to buy himself another year, IMO. Another 5-7..especially against this shitty competition, and I'm done with him.

Edited November 1, 2015 by LZip

[Spin]

SS

DD.

[skip-zip]

Observations:

1) We struggled mightily to run the football. With the sack yardage, we had as many total carries as yards. That makes it tough for us with a young QB in there.

2) CMU's ability to put pressure on us all day, along with the non-existent running game, tells me everything about who was controlling the line of scrimmage in this game when we had the ball.

3) The defense made quite a recovery after the BG game, against another team who had been able to pile up some big offensive performances at times this year.

4) Still so many critical errors or execution problems that keep us from putting points on the board. We threw the ball effectively all day, until we crossed midfield, got to about the 40 or 35, then we hit a brick wall. Couldn't even turn those opportunities into field goals when the ball was moving up to that point. Very frustrating to watch.

5) I think we could have tried to convert one of those 4th downs in CMU territory in the second half. Instead, we punted every time. And in some cases, we never gained much by punting. When you are not scoring, you need to use that extra down at some point or another. Especially near the end of the game, when you knew that getting the ball back again one more time was going to be in nearly impossible circumstances.

6) I never thought we would win this game, but we COULD have won this game.

7) I still believe this game didn't matter if we could win the last 4, and still make it a successful season. Anything less than 3 wins and we're going to be taking a serious look at making a change.

Edited November 1, 2015 by skip-zip

[phil]

I usually don't post on the football forum but I went to the game today and left very frustrated after the game.

First, the attendance is terrible. When I arrived at the game with my son I am estimating there was 3,500 at the game. (The Chips had a couple hundred fans.) The upper level was almost empty with only a few scattered people at the 50 yard line. People started leaving at the half and there was maybe 1,200 in attendance at the end of the game. I still remember going to the Rubber Bowl when Akron would draw 8-12 thousand to a game. I think the Coach I hire and the 10 years of losing have taken their toll on attendance.

I thought Woodson had a good game but could never make a key play except for the touchdown pass. On our second drive of the game he faked a handoff and started running left. He had a linebacker to beat and it looked like he could score. Instead, he turned it inside and was tackled. He then fumbled on the next play when we had him on an empty backfield and we did not score. We went from 1st and 5 from the 10 to 4th and 30 from the 35. He is big and strong runner, but he is not quick. Several times he tried to run when the pocket broke down and could never get passed the line of scrimmage. For a running quarterback, I expected more quickness.

I agree with Skip-Zip that Bowden has to have some confidence in his offense to go for it from their 40 yard line. We punted from there at least 3 times and once late in the 4th quarter when it was 4th and 6. We never saw their side of the field again. The offensive play call at the 40 yard line was ineffective. The offense always shot themselves in the foot every time we hit their 40 yard line.

Obviously, the Ianella play of the game was 3rd and 2 from their 35 yard line and we send in Grice. We send a guy in motion and the ref throws a flag and stops play. I did not see anybody move and cannot figure what is going on. We have 12 guys on the field and it is a five yard penalty. You would think that with 10 coaches and 5 in the press box, somebody would notice that when Grice went in that nobody came out. Really? Another squandered opportunity and we punt again from the 40 yard line.

My favorite play was a Woodson pass to a received who did not turn around and it hit him square in the back and bounced about 10 feet to another Akron receiver. The most creative Akron play all game.

The offense had some great starting position, had 3 or 4 good drives and could only score 6 points. That is 13 points in 2 games. This is not enjoyable to watch. I listened to Bowden on the post game show and state how close they were to winning games. This is a game that they should have won. I hope the Zips win out but not that optimistic.

[zipsoutsider]

Specialists (punter, snapper, kicker)have stunk it up for us recently, but today was not on Robert Stein's shoulders. The extra point was a terrible snap and the FG was a 48 yarder, into the wind. So, for those calling to bench Stein, know what you are talking about before going after individual players.

We would be better off if McNeil never played another down for us I hate that Newman Williams is hurt, again. We makes a huge difference for us.

Woodson's numbers were neck and neck with Cooper Rush's numbers and he continues to improve. He is more than good enough for us to win.

The offensive line looked bad. I don't know if the tackles were off from the time off from being injured, but the blindside has been exposed for 2 games in a row. I hear people yelling at Woodson to throw the ball at the end, but the coverage was good, he had no one to go to. I think CMU may have done the best job at containing Hundley and Woodson of any team this year.

Imani Davis had a very good game, again and is what I expect from a senior WR. I am excited to see some of the young talent work their way in, like Cooper and Edwards. Edwards seems like the type of back who can cut some big runs for us in the future.

Penalties hurt us, but were better. The hot headed penalties seem to be finally gone.

We continue to do a good job protecting the ball.

We lost by a touchdown to quality team and it was a near tie in almost every statistical category. That tells me we are on the threshold of being a real competitor.

I wouldn't mind seeing us go no huddle a bit more and picking up the tempo, but I really thought the short passes we threw today were effective ay moving the ball. However, Lane was covered pretty tightly and thus it was difficult for us to make big plays. We could really stand another big play receiver so that opposing teams couldn't focus on Lane.

I was glad to see Hundley return to the game after leaving, injured.

To those of you who think they know so much and want to fire TB, I have 2 words for you: Grow up. Your rants grow wearisome and only expose your ignorance. It really isn't all about you.

[gozips19]

Like many on this board you have the question the WR rotations. Lane and Davis need to be on the field as much as possible. I did like what I saw from Cooper. Sad that Pratt will never become a solid option. His drop was one of many game changing plays.

D line played great! Coe was all over the place yesterday and I thought Pittman played well. Also, was Pittman wearing a practice jersey???

The penalty from Marcus was a huge blow. Everyone that sat by me all yelled that he lined up off sides. You can do that and expect to win.

Not sure what's up with the O line. They get little push on running plays and their pass protection is now an issue. Why did Williams not play? I figured he was hurt but he can in along with Erikson when the center went down with a knee.

Hard to completely blame the coaches for play calling without a breakdown on tape but they have to find a way to make plays inside the 40's. I'm guessing 40% of their drives ended in this area of the field.

Still not sold on Woodson. He doesn't make plays when the team needs him. Sad part is that the Zips don't have that guy. To me this is Bowden's greatest shortcoming.

Must wins the rest of the way. If the program is to trend up and take the next step they need to finish with 6 wins minimum.

Edited November 1, 2015 by gozips19

[Dr Z]

Also, was Pittman wearing a practice jersey???

Not the same jersey as the rest of the team. Seen here.

Everyone that sat by me all yelled that he lined up off sides.

Edited November 1, 2015 by Dr Z

[zipsoutsider]

Williams was playing, at least some. He was on the field during the 12 men on the field penalty.

Never noticed it before, but Richie Hlay is HUGE. Can't wait until we start to see him on the field.

We have a lot of young guys learning to play. There is a steep learning and adjustment curve from HS to Div 1 football. I really am looking forwards to seeing more from Cooper, Means, Edwards, and the younger O line kids. Looks like the Zips have been recruiting hard for O line talent both at the HS and JUCO level. There were some O line recruits and a QB at the game per TB.

It's hard to say Woodson couldn't come through when we needed him to when to when there were no receivers open and apart from one down, the last 2 possessions had horrible pass protection. We need the receivers to do a better job getting open. He did throw a nice pass where only Lane could get to it, but the defender did a really nice job taking it out if Lane's hands on his way down. It would have been a really great catch by Lane and I think as he grows as a receiver, we will see him make those catches in the future. The receivers, in general need to improve at getting open. Woodson made some really tough throws across the field while on the run, too.

I would like to have seen us use a trick play at some point, either fake punt or something. We needed a little spark ro open things up. We had a brief brake like that after Lane's big catch. Hundley's best run followed that, if I remember correctly.it would also help take some pressure off of a young QB.

[K92]

I expected Central to be better. They are a very average, mediocre MAC squad. Opportunity lost for a W.

[ZachTheZip]

I expected Central to be better. They are a very average, mediocre MAC squad. Opportunity lost for a W.

I think Akron's defense made them look average. They had one of the best passing offenses in the MAC.

[K92]

I think Akron's defense made them look average. They had one of the best passing offenses in the MAC.

Statistically true, but who stood out on their offense? I saw no one. I know Rush is supposedly one of the best qbs in the league but he looked extraordinarily average to me. Disappointing to see the Zips lose such a winnable game.

[Captain Kangaroo]

The Zips defense was stellar on Saturday. Surrendering 14 points each vs. quality competition like OU and CMU is impressive. The 59 points vs BGSU was not completely on the D. If you're going to beat the Falcons, even the best defense is going to surrender 30+. You need to score.

I think Woodson has done a great job this season. But he doesn't have much help.

• Lane is great, but he's on the field for <50% of our offensive snaps
• Imani Davis has emerged as a quality player, but it has taken 3+ years for him to develop. Other than him and Lane, we have nothing relaible. On the rare occassion Woodson had any time to throw Saturday, our WR's were either covered, ran routes that were too short to get a first down, or ran so deep they were out of the play. Woodson needs a TE, or D'Orazio-type player that reads the situation and comes back to get the ball.
• Woodson is a throwing QB, but the game plan seems centered around him running
• Our OL has 5 seniors. But it isn't like these guys have played together for 4 years. It is a patchwork line that gets no push against better competition. And Saturday, they left Woodson's blind side wide-open several times.

Our offense is Russian Roulette. At some point in a 10-play drive we always find the bullet. The closer to the red zone, the more likely we are to shoot ourselves. It sucks. Even when we score a TD, we still botch the XP.

Our offense also takes very few gambles. We had the ball in CMU territory multiple times Saturday, and elected to punt on every 4th down. No reverses. No fake anything. Very vanilla. We basically waited around hoping our defense could win the game.

Somehow we had 19,000 in attendance.

Seeing your mascot prancing around in a pink tutu made me sick. Yeah, I know Zippy is a she. Yeah, I know it was a cancer-awareness game. Yeah, I know it was Halloween. But I don't want to see my school's mascot in a pink tutu.

Keener's smoked meat was outstanding! Definitely the highlight of an otherwise forgettable day.

My 2015 Zips Theory is: The Zips will beat crappy teams, and like-talented teams. But we can't beat the better teams. Even if they are only slightly better, like OU and CMU. We're the only MAC team with the Russian Roulette offense, and that's our degree of separation from the pack.

Remaining on our schedule are 3 crappy teams, and 1 like-talented team. Barring any horrific cavalcade-of-injuries, we should finish November 4-0.

It is amazing how close to 9-3 this team could be.

This time of year, teams in the Zips situation either finish strong, or drop into "who gives a damn" mode and get waxed. The Zips haven't shown any quit yet, so I like our chances to run the table. Time will tell...

Edited November 2, 2015 by Captain Kangaroo

[zipsoutsider]

Captain Kangaroo, +1.

[phil]

The 19,000 were Halloween figures, 4,000 live and 15,000 ghosts of Akron's football past.

[Captain Kangaroo]

I expected Central to be better. They are a very average, mediocre MAC squad. Opportunity lost for a W.

The same CMU who beat Northern Illinois? And Western Michigan (in Kalamazoo)? And put up 51 against Buffalo? They're mediocre?

You could be right. The Zips could be horrible. Or, the Zips might have played a decent game last Saturday against a very good opponent, and come up 8 points short.

[K92]

The same CMU who beat Northern Illinois? And Western Michigan (in Kalamazoo)? And put up 51 against Buffalo? They're mediocre?

You could be right. The Zips could be horrible. Or, the Zips might have played a decent game last Saturday against a very good opponent, and come up 8 points short.

Central lost to Western. That is the only other time I watched the Chipps play. Their record is 5-4. I'll wager that some time in your life you have referred to a 5-4 team as mediocre. I was expecting more from them than what I saw. I saw an average team via my two eyeballs that the Zips could have beaten with some offensive production. The defense certainly played well enough to win. I don't think I really said anything outrageous in the statement I made that you responded to. I, like you, am trying to balance caring about the Zips with candidly assessing them.

The things that drive me crazy about watching the Zips right now are things like lining up offsides, wasting time outs because we don't know what we are doing, 12 men on the field, personal fouls, poor clock management and the like. If these were eliminated, there would be a good chance the Zips win vs. Ohio and Central in spite of the lack of offensive production.

The Zips would be 5-3 and I would feel a whole lot more warm and fuzzy

[Dr Z]

The things that drive me crazy about watching the Zips right now are things like lining up offsides, wasting time outs because we don't know what we are doing, 12 men on the field, personal fouls, poor clock management and the like. If these were eliminated, there would be a good chance the Zips win vs. Ohio and Central in spite of the lack of offensive production.

Boy is this the truth. This is why I really hope we get to a bowl game. I hope by getting the extra practices/reps, stuff like this starts to go away.

[Captain Kangaroo]

Central lost to Western. That is the only other time I watched the Chipps play. Their record is 5-4. I'll wager that some time in your life you have referred to a 5-4 team as mediocre.

The Zips would be 5-3 and I would feel a whole lot more warm and fuzzy

CMU is 4-1 in the MAC, so I don't think they are a "mediocre MAC team."

They are 5-4 overall, with losses to

• OK State, #13 in the nation, (11 points)
• Syracuse (OT)
• WMU (2 pts)
• Michigan State, #6 in the nation, by 20 (7-point game into the 4th quarter).

On one hand, "you are what your record says you are." I understand that mindset.

But it could also be that CMU is a pretty good football team that the Zips are simply a half a notch below.

I hate the mistakes too. I wish we'd play a clean game. Maybe it starts this week? You'd like to think the players and coaches are more tired of losing than we are. November is set up for 4-0.

Edited November 4, 2015 by Captain Kangaroo

[johnnyzip84]

Of the two things that stood out to me regarding the Zip offense against CMU, the poor play of the O-Line has already been raised by numerous posters. Thinking about this some, it's seems like I have to go back to the LO era to recall quality O-Line play. It was definitively a strength of those teams. The best O-Line TB has had might be his 1st year when he plugged it up with FBS transfers. It's the one area that really concerns me with respect to high school recruiting. When TB arrived, he stressed getting this type of player from NE Ohio/Western Pa - because these are generally fruitful regions for O-Linemen. So far, the Zips haven't landed an abundance of O-Line talent from this region. We'll see if Ritz and a few others pan out, but I'm not that encouraged at this point.

The other thing that I noticed against CMU is the tendency for Woodson to make the incorrect decision on the read option. There was one time in particular when he handed off to Hundley almost at the same time as the DE wrapped himself around Conor. That DE was ALL IN on CH4, so all TW13 had to do was fake it and roll around end for a big gain. I've seen the exact opposite occur far too often as well. I realize TW13 prefers to toss it, but I hope the staff is working hard to correct this part of Woodson's game - it could be very effective with better decision making.

[K92]

CMU is 4-1 in the MAC, so I don't think they are a "mediocre MAC team."

They are 5-4 overall, with losses to

• OK State, #13 in the nation, (11 points)
• Syracuse (OT)
• WMU (2 pts)
• Michigan State, #6 in the nation, by 20 (7-point game into the 4th quarter).

On one hand, "you are what your record says you are." I understand that mindset.

But it could also be that CMU is a pretty good football team that the Zips are simply a half a notch below.

I hate the mistakes too. I wish we'd play a clean game. Maybe it starts this week? You'd like to think the players and coaches are more tired of losing than we are. November is set up for 4-0.

Oh, yeah. I am aware of their resume. That's why I expected a lot more from them. Using the eyeball test, they certainly didn't appear to be the team that I had anticipated. Judging them by their resume, I expected them to beat the Zips by 4 scores. Seriously. We talked about it in the parking lot before the game and after watching a couple of series I came to the conclusion that they were a middling team and the Zips had a real shot.

But, I can see your point and yes, I agree, the Zips are a half a notch below Central. You think the Zips are almost "pretty good" and I think the Zips are almost "mediocre". We are discussing shades of gray. I think the only mark that could be on the dial between the two is "not bad". The bad thing is we are talking about hypotheticals. The Zips lost.

As far as the players and coaches being more tired of losing than we are. . .wow, if so, they must be the most beat-down, bushed, depleted, dog-tired, done in, drained, exhausted, fatigued, frazzled, outta gas, pooped, ready to drop, run-down, sapped, spent, burned out, tuckered out, washed-out, wiped-out, worn-out, zonked-out, whipped, wasted, weary, sick & tired of being sick & tired group of people in the country.

Edited November 4, 2015 by Keener'92

[Zipgrad01]

Oh, yeah. I am aware of their resume. That's why I expected a lot more from them. Using the eyeball test, they certainly didn't appear to be the team that I had anticipated. Judging them by their resume, I expected them to beat the Zips by 4 scores. Seriously. We talked about it in the parking lot before the game and after watching a couple of series I came to the conclusion that they were a middling team and the Zips had a real shot.

But, I can see your point and yes, I agree, the Zips are a half a notch below Central. You think the Zips are almost "pretty good" and I think the Zips are almost "mediocre". We are discussing shades of gray. I think the only mark that could be on the dial between the two is "not bad". The bad thing is we are talking about hypotheticals. The Zips lost.

As far as the players and coaches being more tired of losing than we are. . .wow, if so, they must be the most beat-down, bushed, depleted, dog-tired, done in, drained, exhausted, fatigued, frazzled, outta gas, pooped, ready to drop, run-down, sapped, spent, burned out, tuckered out, washed-out, wiped-out, worn-out, zonked-out, whipped, wasted, weary, sick & tired of being sick & tired group of people in the country.

You should have ended that with a hallelujah....holy shit! Edited November 4, 2015 by Zipgrad01