Game 11—Bobcats @ Zips

[skip-zip]

3 hours ago, Blue & Gold said:

It was great seeing redshirt FRESHMAN Kato Nelson thoroughly outplay Rourke. 

 

Unless Rourke wanted to get a lot of experience holding a clipboard, it looks like he made the right choice in not coming to UA! 

 

Now Now.  We hoped Rourke had a bad game in him this year, and fortunately that's what we got.  Maybe we planned well and took the right things away from him.  But, this guy has had a phenomenal Sophomore year.  Rushed for almost 1,000, and passed for almost 2,000 so far this year.  Frankly, I was scared of him.  And unfortunately, we'll have to deal with him again.    

 

I hope you were being funny.  

[zzx]

 

[Dr Z]

[zipsoutsider]

Akron’s @Kato_1k was 22-for-38 passing for a career-high 322 yards & career-best 4️⃣ TD’s in a 37-34 win over Ohio.#AkronMade #MACtion pic.twitter.com/d6L36q7doE

— #MACtion (@MACSports) November 20, 2017

Akron’s @GasserNick made one field goal and four PATs in the Zips 37-34 win over Ohio.#AkronMade #MACtion pic.twitter.com/L4xtuPqWRd

— #MACtion (@MACSports) November 20, 2017

[UAZipster0305]

I watched this game at a trendy taco bar in downtown Los Angeles (what a terrible sports town, by the way).

 

Nelson was great. Unbelievable to imagine that we could have another 3 years with him at the helm. There were a couple times where he moved in the pocket to either make a throw or scramble for positive yardage where I believe Woodson would have been sacked. Those little things were enough to be a difference in the game. The defense got some big turnovers and generally played well.

 

It amazes me that we had the same teams on the field at Miami and versus Ohio. The inconsistency is frustrating, but overall we are having an tremendous season. I honestly didn't think it would turn out this way, so I am happy to eat a huge plate of crow.

 

I think this season will propel the staff to another solid recruiting class and the progrum will be on its way to where we all expected to be a few years sooner.

 

MACC! and of course, it's 1:30PM EST and ...

 

 

 

 

[zipsoutsider]

Did this really happen?

 

 

Who's looking forward to some early turkey this week? #RoastTheBirds #StuffKentState #WhatsAGoldenFlash pic.twitter.com/sfUvBBCPiR

— Akron Zips Football (@ZipsFB) November 20, 2017

[Blue & Gold]

2 hours ago, UAZipster0305 said:

I think this season will propel the staff to another solid recruiting class and the progrum will be on its way to where we all expected to be a few years sooner.

 

MACC! and of course, it's 1:30PM EST and ...

... K.ent State still sucks!

 

^^This is where I am in my thinking.  I just can't figure out why it took the staff 4 years to get the recruiting ball rolling.  I thought with names like Bowden and Amato it'd happen immediately.  Whatever.  It's rolling now & that's all that matters. 

[zipsoutsider]

15 minutes ago, Blue & Gold said:

... K.ent State still sucks!

 

^^This is where I am in my thinking.  I just can't figure out why it took the staff 4 years to get the recruiting ball rolling.  I thought with names like Bowden and Amato it'd happen immediately.  Whatever.  It's rolling now & that's all that matters. 

Being ranked dead last in D1 did not help.

[zippy5]

1 hour ago, Blue & Gold said:

... K.ent State still sucks!

 

^^This is where I am in my thinking.  I just can't figure out why it took the staff 4 years to get the recruiting ball rolling.  I thought with names like Bowden and Amato it'd happen immediately.  Whatever.  It's rolling now & that's all that matters. 

Three straight 1 win seasons might do that to you

[CDMac]

 

1 hour ago, zipsoutsider said:

Being ranked dead last in D1 did not help.

Your comment sent me to Google and I came away with this recently published list

 

I know you were saying that Akron was dead least when TB took over...

 

I usually don't put too much stock into rankings/power polls, etc. but they can be useful in judging outside opinion about your program.

 

This list has Akron at #100

 

For Reference
43. Ohio
44. Toledo
59. Northern Illinois

 

This was published on 11/14/17, 11:45 AM EST - before we took down Ohio.

 

Now, I'm sure they are putting more into their "rankings" than just Team A beat Team B and Team B beat Team C logic but I wonder how much a win over Ohio moves the needle on the program overall?

 

The old adage "any given week" has been very evident in watching MAC games this year. The parity across the conference almost dictates a few funny bounces, lucky breaks, bad calls, etc. can mean the difference in a few Ws or Ls along the way. There aren't many teams (if any) that are just going to go unscathed through the MAC season (save WMU last year of course).

 

All this is said to say that perception and "history" can take a relatively as equally as talented a program from 43 (top half of the FBS) all the way down to 100 (bottom 1/4 of the FBS).

Winning a 7th game, winning the MACC, wining a bowl all move that needle a little further for the program (some more than others)

 

It sounds to me like this program might have been in a much higher position (perception wise) had they not had the horrible injury-plagued year last year.

Back-to-back bowl seasons (maybe both wins), if they had stayed healthy last year, might have moved the pre-season perception of this team enough so that an article published on 11/14/2017 might not have relegated us to the dumpster bin of the FBS but rather up in the pack with the other MAC contenders.

 

It's bubbling right under the surface and it's just going to take a few more like we saw last Tuesday Night to put them over the top. Once that happens, the synergy will be awesome. Akron will be able to get more of the recruits they go after; they'll build on more success, have better depth, have longer to develop younger guys (not relying on them so soon), will be able to move away from so many JUCO guys, etc....

 

I think I'm feeling what many of you probably felt after that 2015 season only to see the 2016 injury bug come calling.

 

Here's to the momentum continuing to swing in favor of the ROO!

 

Go ZIPS!!

[zipsoutsider]

Another winner from George

 

University of Akron football: Victory over rival Kent State would send Zips to MAC Championship Game

[Balsy]

12 hours ago, CDMac said:

It's bubbling right under the surface and it's just going to take a few more like we saw last Tuesday Night to put them over the top. Once that happens, the synergy will be awesome. Akron will be able to get more of the recruits they go after; they'll build on more success, have better depth, have longer to develop younger guys (not relying on them so soon), will be able to move away from so many JUCO guys, etc....

 

Fantastic Post!  I pulled this part out because it's something I don't think we have talked in depth about here on ZNO.  At the beginning of the season there was a doom-and-gloom contingency (rightfully so starting 1-3, and squeaking out a win vs. BGSU), and a lot of people were seeing a lack of talent.  As this season has progressed, we've seen players develop and get better game-to-game.  And for once, in a long time, younger players are emerging in Key Roles...Alvin Davis, Kobie Booker, Kato Nelson.  And a lot of our upperclassmen that we've seen making plays this year, Featherstone, Kwad Smith, are coming back next year.  

 

I think we're headed in the right direction.  And it feels good to say that.  

[RowdyZip]

14 hours ago, CDMac said:

 

This list has Akron at #100

 

For Reference
43. Ohio
44. Toledo
59. Northern Illinois

 

This was published on 11/14/17, 11:45 AM EST - before we took down Ohio.

USA Today re-ranks all 130 weekly.  Zips moved up 5 spots to 89 after beating OU.  Ohio dropped from 26 to 37 after the loss.  Toledo (29) and NIU (34) are the high water marks for the MAC.  Kent, Ball State and BG are 120, 121, and 122 respectively, as the bottom reps of the conference.

[Blue & Gold]

14 hours ago, zipsoutsider said:

Another winner from George

 

University of Akron football: Victory over rival Kent State would send Zips to MAC Championship Game

I thought that was actually a pretty good article

[CDMac]

50 minutes ago, RowdyZip said:

USA Today re-ranks all 130 weekly.

Thanks for the info, @RowdyZip 

 

I think, in the grand scheme of things, after the top 30 - 35 or so teams is there any one person, one ranking outlet that really knows enough about all of the teams to place them in order. After the top 1/4 of the FBS, I believe rankings have as much to do with perception and recency bias as they do with actual team performance and ability. 

 

Shifting the perception of a program takes time; and wining. And more time. And then a few more big wins! Go ZIPS!!

[ZachTheZip]

1 hour ago, CDMac said:

I think, in the grand scheme of things, after the top 30 - 35 or so teams is there any one person, one ranking outlet that really knows enough about all of the teams to place them in order.

 

Phil Steele is probably the only one I would give credence to.

[zipsoutsider]

Poor little kittens...

 

Column: What happened to Ohio's storybook football season?

[LZIp]

41 minutes ago, zipsoutsider said:

Poor little kittens...

 

Column: What happened to Ohio's storybook football season?

A freshman QB kicking their ass is what happened

[zipsoutsider]

5 minutes ago, LZIp said:

A freshman QB kicking their ass is what happened

Well, and a stellar set of DBs.

[Dr Z]

Anybody watch this play Sunday and get Déjà vu?

 

 

 

 

[Dr Z]

Anybody watching the Eagles game recognize the play?

[feetg10]

19 minutes ago, Dr Z said:

Anybody watching the Eagles game recognize the play?

My son yelled, "that was the OU play"

[Dr Z]

On 1/3/2018 at 11:16 AM, Dr Z said:

 

From (OU grad) Peter King today....Reich told me the kernel of the idea originated from an industrious Eagles quality-control coach, Press Taylor. Said Reich: “Press has this, what we call this vault of trick plays. It's an immense vault, so every week we go into Press's vault looking for plays.” Taylor, it appears, found the play in a meaningless Week 17 game in 2016. At 1:10 this morning, The MMQB’s Kalyn Kahler found a play from the Chicago-Minnesota game that doubtless led to Target left bunch, Philly special. Bears running back Jeremy Langford took a direct snap from center, quarterback Matt Barkley lined up behind the right tackle, and wideout Cam Meredith circled back behind Langford and took a pitch from him. Barkley leaked out of the backfield into the end zone. No one covered him. At the 11-yard line, Meredith tossed the ball to Barkley, two yards deep in the end zone. 

 

 

I would like to hear more from Solich (or whomever put it in against the Zips). Somebody has to ask today right?

[Captain Kangaroo]

I was watching the Patriots post game show last night and Charlies Weiss was being interviewed.

 

He said NFL teams will scout college games searching for creative 2-point conversion plays. In particular he mentioned Boise State having some good ones. Obviously someone was watching the Zips/Bobcats...

[94zipgrad]

Same play, Treon Sibley 2018 recruit throwing the TD, this is from his Sophomore year

 

http://www.hudl.com/v/299c9b

Edited February 5, 2018 by 94zipgrad