Game 9—@Buffalo Bulls

[skip-zip]

Balsy....Did you forget that we just commemorated the Knute Rockne Bowl victory from 1976?

 

Well, I thought I had a bad dream last night.  But I realized this morning that the bad dream was actually what I was watching between 7 and 11 last night.  

 

So, the scenario changes to something very simple after this loss:

1) We now know that the BG game is a MUST WIN to get to a Bowl Game.  This has to happen.  

2) OU must falter for anything more to happen this year, especially with Toledo on our agenda next week.  This loss even brings Miami (believe it or not) back into a tie with us in the East, although that's less of a concern than OU because we already own the tiebreaker with them.     

 

Like it or not, we've now gone from eyeing a possible great season to salvaging what little accomplishments are still left on the table, just with one costly late-season upset loss.  And I don't think I even want to know why we had our #4 RB in the game in the 2nd half after everything we've been through with injuries this year.    

Edited October 28, 2016 by skip-zip

[Dr Z]

A few notes from last night.

Thanks to Zach for suggesting Betternet so I was able to avoid the "Blackout", and watch the game. Took minutes to download, and minutes to install.

We have got to have better snaps. Multiple, multiple low snaps effected the timing of so many pass plays. 

If I played the Zips I would never pass the ball. It's maddening watching the ease of opponents getting 6 yards on first down. 

We had so many unsuccessful inside runs Woodson started throwing his arms up in the air to the sideline. 

Speaking of Woodson, for the members that didn't get to view the game, the camera showed Woodson stretching out his shoulder multiple times. Doing "windmills." 

Alvin Davis leads the team in tackles again. 

The receivers have been so good this year, I hate to write this, but how many TD passes did we drop yesterday, four? When 9 doesn't make a spectacular catch, I'm disappointed. He is that good. You can watch his TD catch and punt return TD here. Like many have said, I'll miss him next year. BTW, what a terrible coaching call kicking it to him in that situation. I wish the Zips could have made it hurt worse so it was a bigger story. 

For the first three quarters every time they showed the stands, I saw nobody, not one fan. In the fourth quarter, I saw a couple dozen. 

Denzel Jones Jr. run the ball hard late. Does anybody know if Ball was dressed?

Still looking forward to the Toledo game Wednesday. Get it back on track, this is the Mac, crazy things always happen. I'm sure Bowden will say "all our goals are in front of us", and he is correct. I wish we could have played this game at near one hundred percent healthy. 

 

[Blue & Gold]

I wasn't able to watch the game last night & even though it's a sickening loss, I'm probably going to watch the replay this weekend.

 

I think we need to keep in mind how decimated by injuries we are.  Amato's the same D coordinator who had a top 15 defense last season.

 

Marcus is a shell of himself (proud of him for playing) & Se'Von Pittman has just been disappointing.

Deon'Tae Moore, Brock Boxen, Zach Guiser & Devonte Jest were all out.

Did Camara play?  He went down toward the end of the Ball State game.

 

My grandpa was a high school coach & used to say, "You can't plow the field without the horses."  Another saying is, "Jack's & Joe's beat X's & O's."

 

So... there's a little apology for Amato.

 

But this was a disappointing loss.  But, okay, so we laid an egg & lost to a team we should beat.  That's the level that our program is at.  I was expecting us to lay an egg once this year.  That was it.  Let's not do it again.

[kreed5120]

24 minutes ago, Blue & Gold said:

I wasn't able to watch the game last night & even though it's a sickening loss, I'm probably going to watch the replay this weekend.

 

I think we need to keep in mind how decimated by injuries we are.  Amato's the same D coordinator who had a top 15 defense last season.

 

Marcus is a shell of himself (proud of him for playing) & Se'Von Pittman has just been disappointing.

Deon'Tae Moore, Brock Boxen, Zach Guiser & Devonte Jest were all out.

Did Camara play?  He went down toward the end of the Ball State game.

 

My grandpa was a high school coach & used to say, "You can't plow the field without the horses."  Another saying is, "Jack's & Joe's beat X's & O's."

 

So... there's a little apology for Amato.

 

But this was a disappointing loss.  But, okay, so we laid an egg & lost to a team we should beat.  That's the level that our program is at.  I was expecting us to lay an egg once this year.  That was it.  Let's not do it again.

 

I'm not disputing the fact that we have been piling up the injuries, but it's not that simple. Our defense has been terrible this season even when healthy. Gave up 24 to FCS VMI, gave up 54 to Wisconsin, 38 to 2-5 Marshall, and 45 to Appalachian State.

 

Its either a coaching problem where we have the horses, but they aren't being utilized properly or its a recruiting problem where we are playing a bunch of guys that aren't good enough to be playing at the FBS level. Either way something needs fixed and getting healthy could help some, but you can't put a band-aid on something that needs stitches and expect everything will fix itself.  

Edited October 28, 2016 by kreed5120

[UA1987]

With the injuries on the defensive line, I would have to consider switching Bullard (6'6" 296) back to defense. Hamilton has disappointed. I would pencil him at DT as a starter and see what he could do (excel or get crushed - your choice Jelani). I'm sure we are doing everything we can, however, and I have confidence in Stroud and Amato, but that was brutal to watch last night. The announcers even complimented the 'I' bag.     

Edited October 28, 2016 by UA1987

[skip-zip]

1 minute ago, UA1987 said:

With the injuries on the defensive line, I would have to consider switching Bullard (6'6" 296) back to defense. Hamilton has disappointed. I would pencil him at DT as a starter and see what he could do (excel or get crushed - your choice Jelani). I'm sure we are doing everything we can however, and I have confidence in Stroud and Amato, but that was brutal to watch last night. The announcers even complimented the 'I' bag.     

 

I remember the announcers stating that Rob I.  got some kind of raw deal by being ousted.  They even said something like "they didn't even give him a chance to get his own players".  Sorry, I still stand by the decision, 100%.

 

When I found out after the WMU game that there were significant issues with Moore and Boxen, I was afraid of the impact it would have.  I remember that In The Zone called it "devastating", but I didn't want to go there.  I actually wanted to believe those who thought that our poor play in that unit this season just meant that others could surely do a good enough job.  But there's just little left up front, and no depth.  The coaches feel quite highly of Boxen in particular, but Moore had shown some glimpses of playmaking ability as well.  So, I really don't see an answer the rest of the way except to hope the defense can make some big plays, and maximize our scoring.  We'll need big 2nd halves, like we played at Ball State.  

 

I see that many have mentioned the dropped TD passes.  Well, how about the dropped interceptions?   I felt like we had so many chances for this game to turn in our direction.  And it seemed like every time that opportunity was right in our hands, something inexplicable went wrong.   

[Blue & Gold]

ABJ "staff report" - you know, because Buffalo is so far away.

 

http://www.ohio.com/sports/zips/university-of-akron-football-zips-suffer-41-20-upset-loss-at-buffalo-1.722808

 

The Bulls (2-6, 1-3) came into the game having scored 104 points all season, but they gashed the Zips for 518 total yards — including 378 on the ground — as Jordan became the third running back this season to gain more than 200 yards against UA.

[UA1987]

42 minutes ago, skip-zip said:

 

I remember the announcers stating that Rob I.  got some kind of raw deal by being ousted.  They even said something like "they didn't even give him a chance to get his own players".  Sorry, I still stand by the decision, 100%.

 

When I found out after the WMU game that there were significant issues with Moore and Boxen, I was afraid of the impact it would have.  I remember that In The Zone called it "devastating", but I didn't want to go there.  I actually wanted to believe those who thought that our poor play in that unit this season just meant that others could surely do a good enough job.  But there's just little left up front, and no depth.  The coaches feel quite highly of Boxen in particular, but Moore had shown some glimpses of playmaking ability as well.  So, I really don't see an answer the rest of the way except to hope the defense can make some big plays, and maximize our scoring.  We'll need big 2nd halves, like we played at Ball State.  

 

I see that many have mentioned the dropped TD passes.  Well, how about the dropped interceptions?   I felt like we had so many chances for this game to turn in our direction.  And it seemed like every time that opportunity was right in our hands, something inexplicable went wrong.   

I have to wonder if Boxen's career is over with all that metal now in his leg. 

[Dr Z]

55 minutes ago, UA1987 said:

I have to wonder if Boxen's career is over with all that metal now in his leg. 

I'll guess no, and I'm a Doctor. 

[skip-zip]

1 hour ago, UA1987 said:

I have to wonder if Boxen's career is over with all that metal now in his leg. 

 

When I was told "broken leg", I didn't know how bad that was until he put out the surgery information himself.  I honestly don't know how that stacks up vs. a reconstructed knee or ankle, but I'd say that a 20 yr. old can heal a bone much faster and easier than a joint.  

 

I hope Ball can heal soon enough to contribute this year.  Like I said above, I'm really concerned about where we stand at RB with our #4 guy playing the 2nd half last night.  

[footballzip]

Too many injuries on the defense, and not much depth. Got to be able too stop somebody and stop making opposing MAC running backs look like all-americans gaining close to 300 yards a game and keep breaking school records. C'mon Man