Game 7—Western Michigan Broncos (2016)

[zippy5]

4 minutes ago, ZippyRulz said:

 

We're not a contender just yet, except for the MAC East. Why risk a MACC game appearance for the sake of being able to say we kept it close against the boat-rowers?

 

We're contenders and I think the team plans on proving that Saturday, not turtling away like you'd hope

[zippy5]

What kind of message would that send anyway? And what would be the mindset in the rematch if it were to happen? No thanks 

[zipsoutsider]

2 hours ago, zippy5 said:

What kind of message would that send anyway? And what would be the mindset in the rematch if it were to happen? No thanks 

I am not sure it send any message since we don't really know the status or condition of either player.

[72 Roo]

We have our work cut out for us against Western, but we never believed the Marshall game would play out like it did and look what happened. Some of the key players in that game are doubtful. Losing Woody, JoJo, Marcus and Ball is not what any of us foresaw as we looked to this game in early Sept. We need a "next man up" attitude and we need to believe in our coaches. We are probably going to be big underdogs, but the D is getting better and the O can still score. Losing JoJo hurts , yet we are deepest at WR. Woody may be back, while Chapman continues to get better and produces. The running game desperately needs Ball back. I hope he and Woody can go. We become a different team with them.

 

Too many question marks for this game. It is for big time legitimacy. Our progrum has worked to get to this point. I, for one, choose to believe we will be ready, but don't ask me how right now. 

[zipsoutsider]

11 minutes ago, 72 Roo said:

We have our work cut out for us against Western, but we never believed the Marshall game would play out like it did and look what happened. Some of the key players in that game are doubtful. Losing Woody, JoJo, Marcus and Ball is not what any of us foresaw as we looked to this game in early Sept. We need a "next man up" attitude and we need to believe in our coaches. We are probably going to be big underdogs, but the D is getting better and the O can still score. Losing JoJo hurts , yet we are deepest at WR. Woody may be back, while Chapman continues to get better and produces. The running game desperately needs Ball back. I hope he and Woody can go. We become a different team with them.

 

Too many question marks for this game. It is for big time legitimacy. Our progrum has worked to get to this point. I, for one, choose to believe we will be ready, but don't ask me how right now. 

I like the attitude.

[skip-zip]

8 hours ago, 72 Roo said:

The running game desperately needs Ball back.

 

I addressed this one in the other thread.  Actually, overall, we rushed well because of Chapman.  The running backs?  Not good at all.  

 

The way that Van and Manny had been running the ball since Ball's absence had very good, in my opinion.  And Miami just happened to be developing into a very stingy defense that was performing well against the run.  So, in the end, I hope we will find out that this was just a tough team to run against, and that our RB's being rather ineffective was just an anomaly.  

[Dr Z]

[Captain Kangaroo]

A Bronco Message Board

[Blue & Gold]

^^ I'm already pumped for November 22nd 

[Blue & Gold]

I remember going to the Byron Leftwich Marshall Top 25 game at the RubberBowl... Idk, who knows how many years ago now.  

 

I was expecting the Zips to get run, just like I'm feeling for this WMU game.  But the Zips won in a sincerely classic college football game.  So you never know.  Our D has to come to play on Saturday.

Edited October 10, 2016 by Blue & Gold

[Blue & Gold]

I've also noticed 6'2", 223 lb. R-Fr LB Josh Ward getting quite a bit of playing time the last couple games.  He's been lining up at DE.

 

He looks pretty good and certainly passes the eyeball test.

 

http://www.gozips.com/sports/fball/2016-17/bios/ward_josh_z833

[kreed5120]

I was at a friends wedding Saturday and haven't seen the game yet. Anyone know where Woodson's at in his recovery? I kind of expected him to play since he was medically cleared and was ruled out last minute vs Kent. Were they being precautious sitting him out vs Miami thinking they didn't need him or is he still not ready to play?

[ZippyRulz]

31 minutes ago, Dr Z said:

 

We need 3 more wins to ensure another bowl game (unless we want to view WMU as our bowl game). BG should be a gimme but they save their best game for Akron and with a couple more key injuries, who knows? BSU and UB won't roll over at home for us. Toledo is Toledo and OU owns us. We need to get and stay healthy or it could be a sad 2nd half of the season.

[zippy5]

You must be a Browns fan

[kreed5120]

I'd be surprised if there isn't at least 1 5-7 team that goes bowling. 80/128 teams go bowling and I'm counting 31 teams that have already lost 4 games and see a lot of other teams that are 2-3. There are also numerous P5 teams that are 3-3 by playing easy OOC schedules, but now have to play their loaded in conference schedule.

[LZIp]

15 minutes ago, zippy5 said:

You must be a Browns fan

I take offense to that.

[Dr Z]

PFF has WMU as their 20th ranked team in the nation.

 

Western Michigan’s procession continues apace, with perennial MAC powerhouse, Northern Illinois, the latest to fall. Pass-rusher Keion Adams has three sacks and twenty total pressures, he entered Week 6 as the tenth-ranked edge defender in the nation. Things get a little tougher for the Broncos this week, with a road game against East division leaders Akron.

[MDZip]

34 minutes ago, Dr Z said:

PFF has WMU as their 20th ranked team in the nation.

 

Western Michigan’s procession continues apace, with perennial MAC powerhouse, Northern Illinois, the latest to fall. Pass-rusher Keion Adams has three sacks and twenty total pressures, he entered Week 6 as the tenth-ranked edge defender in the nation. Things get a little tougher for the Broncos this week, with a road game against East division leaders Akron.

And #22 in the ESPN Power Rankings. How sweet would that be to knock them off at home? Man I hope Woodson, Ball and Natson are ready to go.

[LZIp]

Broncos come in at #24 in this week's AP poll. When is the last time a ranked opponent has came to Akron!? Super bummed I will not be able to attend live.

http://collegefootball.ap.org/poll

[Captain Kangaroo]

59 minutes ago, Dr Z said:

Western Michigan’s procession continues apace, with perennial MAC powerhouse, Northern Illinois, the latest to fall. Pass-rusher Keion Adams has three sacks and twenty total pressures, he entered Week 6 as the tenth-ranked edge defender in the nation. Things get a little tougher for the Broncos this week, with a road game against East division leaders Akron.

1.) I like the strength of WMU's defense matching up against our offensive line. If WMU can't get the pressure they're used to, we can pick apart their secondary.

 

2.) How nice it is to see someone write that the Zips will pose a tougher test than NIU? Yeah, is shows that NIU has dropped off this season, but it also shows the Zips have ascended.

 

I would like to think that Woodson, Pittman and perhaps George could have played against Miami, but Bowden felt we could win the game without them. And they were dinged-up to the point where an extra week's rest would be a big help. Just my own personal conspiracy theory.  

 

I think Bowden knows beating WMU is a whopper as far as "taking the next step" goes, and he will be loaded for bear on Saturday. It should be an epic game! I know it will be better than Rob I-and-II-o's effort the last time the Zips met the Broncos (66-5 WMU, in the third quarter).

 

[Captain Kangaroo]

10 minutes ago, LZIp said:

Broncos come in at #24 in this week's AP poll. When is the last time a ranked opponent has came to Akron!? Super bummed I will not be able to attend live.

http://collegefootball.ap.org/poll

Marshall. And we beat them. 

[LZIp]

Interesting stat: WMU is the only FBS team to not turn the ball over yet this season.

[zipsoutsider]

We can compete and win this game but we have to play at the top of the game. I am encouraged by the trends in more disciplined play and an improving defense. TC5 looked better this week but we still need him to be able to connect with Lane. We also need Edwards and Coney to step up in a major way if we do not have Natson. We can run on the ball on WMU. I was not overly impressed with their run defense. I wouldn't be surprised to see us run some downs with TC5 even if Woodson is back. He has speed and can make big plays with his feet. If we were to, surprisingly, get Warren Ball back, I think he could have a huge game. TC5 seems comfortable with Smith and Lauro so I expect to see them with catches, again, if TC5 is in the game.

 

Natson has not played like the smallest guy on the field for us. He has played like a work horse and seems to put his all out there for the team. It's hard to put a value on his contribution this year. I would like to see Lane pick up his game this week, regardless of who is behind center. I have begun to wonder if he has some unknown, nagging injury affecting his play, or if coverage has just been that good on him? His chemistry with TC5 is not great, but he hasn't really been open, either. It gives Natson a lot of touches, though and we have been able to be successful without the higher productivity from him.

 

Defensively, we need to be able to stop them a few times each half. It might sound like that is a low bar, but their offense is extremely talented. Their QB is very intelligent and they have a wide receiver that is probably better than Jerome Lane.

 

.@WMU_Football's Corey Davis with one of the best catches you will see all night. https://t.co/a24iJeJ8Ba

— CBS Sports Network (@CBSSportsNet) October 9, 2016

We still need to tackle better, but there was improvement. Don't view a tough time against WMU as a step back for the D. They are going to have their work cut out for them. Gilbert seems to be developing the same propensity for being a heat seeking missle that marked JB1. Kyron Brown is also starting to show a knack for being in the right place at the right time and coming up with the ball. If we manage to create a turnover against WMU, that will be a major accomplishment.

 

One side note - the kicking game has been solid and kick-off coverage was better.  O'Leary seemed to have found his way and settled into D1 kicking. Dr. Z had a nice shot of he and holder, Foster, with Bowden last week after the game. Gasser also did a nice job burying a short punt inside the 5 and out of bounds last week.

[LZIp]

Davis will be a top 5 WR drafted next year. I think I saw their top RB, Bogan, has been injured. But they really don't have a drop off in having to resort to Franklin. He was MAC Offensive player of the year a few years ago as a freshman. Need to see if I can dig up some games to watch and confirm, but I've heard that their passing defense is highly susceptible.

[Dr Z]

Again, take these with a grain of salt, coaches don't have to disclose any info on injuries, but....

 

10/10/16 Jojo Natson Undisclosed injured last game, "?" Saturday vs. Western Michigan

10/10/16 Se'Von Pittman Undisclosed"?" Saturday vs. Western Michigan

10/09/16 Thomas Woodson Shoulder"?" Saturday vs. Western Michigan

10/09/16 Warren Ball Undisclosed"?" Saturday vs. Western Michigan

 

At the beginning of the season if you said, name 5 players getting injured that would weaken the team's chances of succeeding, my list would look something close to the above (with Marcus). Hats off to the team and staff for maintaining a high level of play in their absence. Let's hope all return and excel.