Game 9- Ball State

[dre22era]

3 minutes ago, NWAkron said:

Youu are a horrible and nasty person.   I doubt you have any friends 

Your mom is my best friend 

[exit322]

10 minutes ago, dre22era said:

Asking the 10 people that showed up to quiet down 

 

 

 

Hey hey now, there's over 100 in just the band!

[LoyalZIP]

So heartbreaking. Most heartbreaking loss since OU in 2016. Up there with Kent in 2014. Akron football is pain. 
 

Zips have a QB though. Silver lining. Too little too late. Night folks. 

[Spin]

1 hour ago, 1981 grad said:

I think you and I are the only ones still watching this game.

 

No, I was watching in the stands, fingers got too cold to type on the phone screen. LOL.

[zipsfan33]

1 hour ago, 3rd&twenty said:

Since when can you get a “prior to the snap defensive holding”? Twice in this game we got that call

*Prior to the pass

[Zippyroo]

I am a in the trenches kind of guy and our OL played well tonight.  They got the running game going and Gibson had time to throw the ball.  Made all the difference on offense.   Kudos to the young men up front for playing a hell of a good game tonight. As the game went on they gained confidence and it really showed.  

[mivid12]

12 hours ago, NWAkron said:

Well the haters are out.  They love to kick people when they are down. 

 

or point out the obvious

[Blue & Gold]

6 hours ago, Zippyroo said:

I am a in the trenches kind of guy and our OL played well tonight.  They got the running game going and Gibson had time to throw the ball.  Made all the difference on offense.   Kudos to the young men up front for playing a hell of a good game tonight. As the game went on they gained confidence and it really showed.  

💯  Quantum leap in OL productivity tonight.  Made all the difference in the world.  To end the game we had what, three 75-yard drives?  

 

I'm actually excited for next week's game!  Can't believe it! Lol.

[LoyalZIP]

What an interesting game. It's the first time during the Tom Arth era that Akron took a decent MAC team down to the wire at Infocision, which is so unbelievably sad. With that said, the defense for the most part played a "bend, don't break" game. The DBs kept their men close for a lot of the game, and were suffocating during the fourth quarter, holding Ball State on numerous 3rd down situations. My biggest gripe with the D is the pass rush. For one, they rarely ever get pressure, though they did get some last night. But even when they send a lot of guys, and they do get some pressure, the QB gets flushed and has W I D E open field ahead of him. Plitt ended up having 45 yards rushing, and at least two of those runs were on 3rd and long conversions. Run a QB spy in those situations.

 

Offensively, the only thing you can really ask for is for Zach to hold onto the ball/go down inside the five. I feel so terrible for him, that kid wants to win more than anyone on the roster and he knows how big that blunder was. Man.....that hurts so bad. That one will hurt for years. Whether we win the last 3 or lose all of them by 20+. I could taste victory. 

 

As for more on the offense, the biggest non-fumble issue has become the penalties. So many false starts. A couple holds. Akron hasn't been too bad about that his year, and that slowed them down last night for sure. The offensive gameplan? Absolutely brilliant. I'm a big Gasser fan, as he's the only person on this staff qualified for his position. The playcalling last night was about as good as its been for this crew. The o-line played well and I think the playcalling set them up for it. They ran the ball hard and to every side of the line, and not every pass needed to be 10+ yards down the field. I don't understand how they've waited until now to unleash slants and mid-screens. I think three or four of our longest plays of the season have come on a catch and run like the ones Mathison had. It helps that we've got a QB that understands his role too. I was very pleased, though it was far from perfect. 60 minutes of that kind of offensive philosophy against the next two opponents could bring some good fortune. Again, I don't know why we've had to wait until week 10 to see it.

 

This team has been so disappointing this year. Not only because of some of the continued blowout losses, but also because of the expectations. The expectations for every Zips fan at this point was to compete for the MAC East in November and to be fighting for bowl eligibility at the very least, but so many of Arth's beloved "great opportunities" have ended in disappointment.

 

Temple--winnable nonconference G5. Up 14-0 get blown out

Bryant--hopefully a blowout confidence builder. DJ Irons miracle TD breaks a 4th quarter tie to win by 21

Ohio--their worst team in 15 years. Promising early. Tied going into 4th q. Lost by 3 scores

Miami--Winnable game after great BG win. Defense gives up a million points early and theres no chance.

Buffalo--bipolar team that's beatable. Total ass-kicking.

And now Ball State--one of the most experienced teams in the MAC. Chance to win, fumbled into the end zone again. 

 

Arth has failed. This team is underperforming left and right, and that makes losses like these sting even more. We just can't catch a damn break. If anything, this gives me hope for that game in two weeks. Hope. But, we're on to Western first. Go Zips.

[94zipgrad]

2 hours ago, Blue & Gold said:

💯  Quantum leap in OL productivity tonight.  Made all the difference in the world.  To end the game we had what, three 75-yard drives?  

 

I'm actually excited for next week's game!  Can't believe it! Lol.

Just for your own health keep in mind we have been at the top of the roller coaster a couple times this year only to free fall below any level we thought possible.  We can’t keep doing that, we need some consistency 

[NWAkron]

20 minutes ago, 94zipgrad said:

Just for your own health keep in mind we have been at the top of the roller coaster a couple times this year only to free fall below any level we thought possible.  We can’t keep doing that, we need some consistency 

Had Gibson not fumbled or Akron recovered the fumble and won, it shouldn't change how Arth is evaluated.  They had one quarter of stellar football.  A turnover by the QB cost Michigan their game.  That stuff happens and thank god it wasn't in the MAC championship game or to become bowl eligible.  I mentioned a while back that Bowden was able to pull out a few wins here and there to keep his contract alive.  I think Bowden was able to win the MAC East at the end of his contract only to get pummeled by Toledo and then FIU and then get a renewal(if I remember correctly.  It's all a blur).  So to 94zipgrad's point, our hopes are up but last night shouldn't (who am I to say?) change the overall evaluation of Arth.  It's nice that 9 games in the Zips finally have a QB and like in basketball they own the BG Falcons.

Edited November 3, 2021 by NWAkron

[dre22era]

Digging through maneuver looking for positives is a weekly occurrence on here 

foto host

[72 Roo]

Arth is a nice guy. A good person. He has been hired to coach. He is a bad coach. He can't recruit. He doesn't work the transfer portal Like Tucker did at Michigan State. He does not improve his team over the course of a season. He hires poor assistants. He has had a thorough evaluation at Akron and it is time to end the contract, stop the bleeding and get someone in who can produce. I hope Guthrie makes the change ASAP even if that means we are rudderless against Kent.

[Lee Adams]

14 hours ago, dre22era said:

Asking the 10 people that showed up to quiet down 

 

That may actually have been the best game they played all season. Had a chance at the end to beat a good team. You can almost see Gibson's eyes getting bigger as that huge lane opened up and he saw the end zone. The fumble was costly. But its hard for me to fault a player for making an extra effort in that situation. Besides there were things that happened earlier in the game that were just as costly. Let Gibson play. Then hope whomever is the next coach Arth or a yet to be determined he can convince Gibson to hang around.

[dre22era]

1 hour ago, 72 Roo said:

Arth is a nice guy. A good person. He has been hired to coach. He is a bad coach. He can't recruit. He doesn't work the transfer portal Like Tucker did at Michigan State. He does not improve his team over the course of a season. He hires poor assistants. He has had a thorough evaluation at Akron and it is time to end the contract, stop the bleeding and get someone in who can produce. I hope Guthrie makes the change ASAP even if that means we are rudderless against Kent.

Especially with these games now prime time during the week it is an embarrassment to the University.

There is Nothing positive about this program unfortunately even with close games. That 3-24 record is a Permanent Cancer 

We continue to be a national embarrassment and point spread Mecca

In case you missed Ball State-Akron last night, the Zips came close but fumbled near the Cardinals goal line during the potentially game-winning drive… we’ve got a dramatic reenactment: pic.twitter.com/5U6hodE4lA

— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) November 3, 2021

[clarkwgriswold]

 

Umm, ya know.

[Blue & Gold]

@NWAkron at the 7:25 mark ^^ GT asks the question, "Why does the defense still have consistency issues at this point [of the year]?"  That question there was the tone of his article as it was originally posted.

Edited November 3, 2021 by Blue & Gold

[clarkwgriswold]

3 minutes ago, Blue & Gold said:

@NWAkron at the 7:25 mark ^^ GT asks the question, "Why does the defense still have consistency issues at this point [of the year]?"  That question there was the tone of his article as it was originally posted.

 

Congratulations.  The previous record for the farthest anyone has made it into an Arth/Thomas post-game presser was 6:57.

[ZipsSince04]

I thought we played hard as the game wore on. No one can say we quit. Proud to be a zip!

[zipsrule]

48 minutes ago, ZipsSince04 said:

I thought we played hard as the game wore on. No one can say we quit. Proud to be a zip!

Playing hard and not quitting are moral victories that you can take in year 1 and maybe early in year 2.  However, in year 3, the team should be playing hard every game - and winning some of them.  Therein lies the problem.

[ZipsSince04]

4 minutes ago, zipsrule said:

Playing hard and not quitting are moral victories that you can take in year 1 and maybe early in year 2.  However, in year 3, the team should be playing hard every game - and winning some of them.  Therein lies the problem.

Completely agree. Didn't say I was happy with result. I will just support us no matter how bad we are. With that being said, I think getting rid of Arth was the right decision, and moving forward would like to see us win more games.