Game 10—Zips @ Red Hawks

[Captain Kangaroo]

Needed to start an official game thread.

[UAZipster0305]

I like our chances if we can limit James Gardner. That guy has NFL size and hands, if not speed. The best way to do that would be to keep him off the field with ball-control offense (i.e. an effective UA running game).

[Lee Adams]

For figure filberts: MAC only/From MAC website:

 

                                     Miami                                                             Akron

Total Offense:        #4-427.6                                                        #10-330.8

Score Offense:       #8-25.2                                                           #9-24.2

Rush Off:                 #6-169.2                                                        #11-103.6

Pass Off.                 #3-258.4                                                         #5-227.2                                                         

Individ. Rush           #5-Young-86.6                                                           No Top 10

Individ Pass            #6-Bahl-205.0                                                #7-Woodson

 

Total Defense          #6-378.4                                                         #9-451.6

 Rush Def.                 #5-155.4                                                         #8-204.8

Pass Def                 #6-223.0                                                         #10-246.8

Score Def                #7-25.4                                                            #3-21.4

 

Time of Poss          #4-31:17                                                         #12-26:45

 

Penalties                 #12-43                                                             #1- 16

Turnovers                #7-(-1)                                                               #3-(+3)

 

Some surprising numbers here. Statistically Miami would appear to have advantage. If Ragland plays healthy I think Miami has advantage at home. Would feel better if this game were at home.

 

[Lee Adams]

3 minutes ago, UAZipster0305 said:

I like our chances if we can limit James Gardner. That guy has NFL size and hands, if not speed. The best way to do that would be to keep him off the field with ball-control offense (i.e. an effective UA running game).

 Good catch.Not fast but is big body and can catch anything close. Tough match up. A little more pressure will help.

[UAZipster0305]

14 minutes ago, Lee Adams said:

 Good catch.Not fast but is big body and can catch anything close. Tough match up. A little more pressure will help.

You're right. An alternative to keeping the Miami offense off the field is also to pressure their QB enough such that that he doesn't have time to get the ball downfield. Against OU though, the starting Miami QB was a good runner. If he can escape pressure, our overpursuit at the line of scrimmage will be our downfall. I can't count the number of times we've been burned and beaten by an athletic QB.

 

I still think our best chance to win relies on ball-control offense. This is a much more difficult match-up than it appears on paper. I hope the Miami team that Kent beat shows up on Tuesday night.

Edited November 2, 2017 by UAZipster0305

[skip-zip]

2 minutes ago, UAZipster0305 said:

I still think our best chance to win relies on ball-control offense.

 

You hate to live and die by the big play.  But that's been the key to our offense since Tommy has been the QB.   Without those quick strikes last Saturday, we may have gotten manhandled by Buffalo.   

 

I'll take points any way we have to get them.  If that's over the top, I'll take it.  

[UAZipster0305]

1 minute ago, skip-zip said:

 

You hate to live and die by the big play.  But that's been the key to our offense since Tommy has been the QB.   Without those quick strikes last Saturday, we may have gotten manhandled by Buffalo.   

 

I'll take points any way we have to get them.  If that's over the top, I'll take it.  

Of course, take the points! And ball-control offense is not our game, as you mention.

 

To win with quick strikes against a talented offensive opponent, our defense must get key turnovers AND the other team must make some crucial mistakes. Those factors differentiate the outcome of the Troy vs. the WMU and UB games for us. This is the MAC, so it's reasonable to expect Miami to beat themselves.

 

And though we've won the WMU and UB games, those could have easily have been losses. What would all of us be thinking about the season and the future of Bowden had they been losses? The margin is razor thin. I'll take wins any way we can get them, and this is going to be a tough one.

[skip-zip]

42 minutes ago, UAZipster0305 said:

And though we've won the WMU and UB games, those could have easily have been losses. What would all of us be thinking about the season and the future of Bowden had they been losses? The margin is razor thin. I'll take wins any way we can get them, and this is going to be a tough one.

 

Great post.  

 

That's exactly my point.  We've been very fortunate to be the recipient of opponent mistakes in some key wins this year.  I'd like that to continue, but you certainly can't expect it.  

 

It's crazy, isn't it?  If we were 3-6 (2-3 conference) right now, instead of 5-4 (4-1 conference), the Bowden Bashers would be out in full force.  He'd probably be in danger of being fired.  Instead, as a result of some fortunate circumstances, we're looking at everything much differently right now.   Evaluating everything as successful vs. unsuccessful really can be a very slight difference in the world of sports.   

Edited November 2, 2017 by skip-zip

[Captain Kangaroo]

...and if the Troy WR would have dropped the ball on their 4th and 5 play, we'd have won instead of lost...and if my aunt had nuts she'd be my uncle...

 

The Zips earned their wins against Buffalo and WMU. The D made some awesome stands at the end of those games. 

 

Hopefully we beat Miami in convincing fashion. A simple 3-point win where the Zips defense holds the opponent under 21 points isn't quite enough to keep some fans from focusing on how they might have lost, rather than how they won. 

[skip-zip]

You just proved what UAZipster was illustrating.  

Edited November 2, 2017 by skip-zip

[UAZipster0305]

Everyone is looking past Miami based on our record versus theirs. The point is, based on records, we should have a clear advantage. However, we are a few opponent mistakes difference from being 3-6(2-3) than 5-4(4-1). This is not going to be an easy game!

 

If we were 3-6(2-3), the world would be ending and everyone would be calling for Bowden's head while the talent on the field and on the staff would be no different. The plays that made the difference in these games were out of our control. Again, in the MAC you can expect teams to beat themselves. Nonetheless, this should not promote an over-inflated opinion of ourselves.

 

We are still a middle-of-the-road MAC team that is on a good run and has had some wonderful fortune. I hope it continues. The schedule sets up for our best season ever in terms of win total and perhaps only our second-ever bowl win. This good fortune could be the boost the progrum needs to finally excel to the upper 2-3 in the MAC.

[Captain Kangaroo]

10 minutes ago, UAZipster0305 said:

If we were 3-6(2-3), the world would be ending and everyone would be calling for Bowden's head while the talent on the field and on the staff would be no different. 

I disagree. In the fantasy world where we are 3-6 instead of 5-4, we would have a different coach and players. Because the ones we have in the real world are 5-4. That's inarguable. They made winning plays that the fantasy 3-6 team didn't make.

 

Quote

We are still a middle-of-the-road MAC team that is on a good run and has had some wonderful fortune.

No better or worse fortune than anyone else. Ball and Guiser are our two team captains, and they didn't make it half way through the season. How fortunate is that?

[Section210Zip]

This is what we do is banter back and forth on what is and what could of been. The part about the plays being out of our control doesn't sit well with me though. We had defensive stops and key first downs in both the WM and UB wins. You can also 2nd guess some of the opposing coaches decisions but we have taken advantage of their calls by not making bad decisions ourselves. We are not dominating anybody but we don't make a lot of mistakes and hang around pressuring the other team into make mistakes. Then we take advantage of them. The kids still have to make a play for any of this to work out though. 

[UAZipster0305]

1 minute ago, Captain Kangaroo said:

I disagree. In the fantasy world where we are 3-6 instead of 5-4, we would have a different coach and players. Because the ones we have in the real world are 5-4. That's inarguable. They made winning plays that the fantasy 3-6 team didn't make.

 

No better or worse fortune than anyone else. Ball and Guiser are our two team captains, and they didn't make it half way through the season. How fortunate is that?

 

I don't know why you are arguing. I fully qualified everything that I said, and I'm elated that we are 5-4(and more importantly, 4-1).

[skip-zip]

Everyone on this forum (including me) has complained for years that "things never bounce our way".  Some of that is clearly happening this year when we really need it.  We'll take it.    

 

And let me point this out.  Injuries are very unfortunate, but they happen to every team.  And just stating that they happened to guys that are chosen to represent the team on the field does not mean that they are any more, or any less of an impact on your team.  We wouldn't have been any better than 4-1 over the last 5 games without those injuries anyway.  So, for both of those reasons, our injuries are really a non-factor to me at this point.   I hope I can still say that after 3 more games too.  But without having in-depth knowledge of each of our opponents injury situations, it would be impossible to compare whether ours or theirs had greater impact.     

Edited November 2, 2017 by skip-zip

[Captain Kangaroo]

1 hour ago, skip-zip said:

Everyone on this forum (including me) has complained for years that "things never bounce our way".  Some of that is clearly happening this year when we really need it.

What's clearly happening is - we are a better team than our opponents. I don't see any good fortune in beating Pine Bluff, BG, BSU, WMU and Buffalo. 

[UA1987]

54 minutes ago, Captain Kangaroo said:

What's clearly happening is - we are a better team than our opponents. I don't see any good fortune in beating Pine Bluff, BG, BSU, WMU and Buffalo. 

Yep, we are getting better than our opponents. Woodson has showed the most improvement after surgery, but we have had others step up. Kinda enjoying this season so far and that's a lot for a Zips fan.

 

The Miami game is big. I hate them and all of their tasseled toed alumni. Go Zips!        

Edited November 2, 2017 by UA1987

[Zipgrad01]

4 hours ago, Captain Kangaroo said:

What's clearly happening is - we are a better team than our opponents. I don't see any good fortune in beating Pine Bluff, BG, BSU, WMU and Buffalo. 

King crap on turd mountain 

[72 Roo]

This game has me scared to death. I agree with many on this board that to win we have to run the ball effectively. To me, therein lies the problem. Our line just does not run block well. They are in the lower half of the MAC in getting running yardage when needed. I also do not have any confidence that Milwee can call the right plays that will keep Miami off balance knowing that we have to run it to win it. I don't think Miami is a better team when we are playing to our potential. I hope TB and staff have the boys prepared and focused. We will need it, especially if we have trouble passing and Miami can focus on our running game.

[zipsoutsider]

10 hours ago, UAZipster0305 said:

Of course, take the points! And ball-control offense is not our game, as you mention.

 

To win with quick strikes against a talented offensive opponent, our defense must get key turnovers AND the other team must make some crucial mistakes. Those factors differentiate the outcome of the Troy vs. the WMU and UB games for us. This is the MAC, so it's reasonable to expect Miami to beat themselves.

 

And though we've won the WMU and UB games, those could have easily have been losses. What would all of us be thinking about the season and the future of Bowden had they been losses? The margin is razor thin. I'll take wins any way we can get them, and this is going to be a tough one.

If you can't claim luck for losses you can't claim them for wins. If it's the coach's fault when we lose close, it's the coach's credit when we win close. If you cannot claim a moral victory, you can't claim a moral loss when we win but get outgained on offense.

 

We are winning. I have not hear anyone take an overinflated view if the Zips, except thise who thought we could beat Penn St and Iowa State who are the same crowd clamoring for Bowden's head and Woodson's butt in the bench. 

 

 

[K92]

7 hours ago, zipsoutsider said:

If you can't claim luck for losses you can't claim them for wins. If it's the coach's fault when we lose close, it's the coach's credit when we win close. If you cannot claim a moral victory, you can't claim a moral loss when we win but get outgained on offense.

Is this from the Bible?

[skip-zip]

13 hours ago, Captain Kangaroo said:

I don't see any good fortune in beating Pine Bluff, BG, BSU, WMU and Buffalo. 

 

I think all Akron fans would probably agree with you on 3 of those.  

[Dr Z]

[Blue & Gold]

GT: Running Back Deltron Sands making most of opportunities

[Dr Z]

From George's article (above). 

 

“When it comes to someone who seems to make the most plays, which would say which one would eventually garner the most time, if he can get to where he knows what he’s doing …” Bowden said. “Deltron’s kind of moving into that position now.”

 

It will be interesting to see how many carries he gets Tuesday. 

 

Nice article, I would have liked to see any photo of Deltron included. 

 

 

PS I wonder if this play was talked about in the film room. I value TW4's shoulder too much to see him running next to 22.