Week 1 (Temple) Thoughts

[catdaddyp]

Some quick thoughts regarding a disappointing loss to begin the season. A lot to be excited about, but also new concerns we didn’t expect.

 

OFFENSE:

Irons is not the same QB as last year. He’s missing velocity on the far side/deep out routes he routinely exhibited last season. Outside of a handful of passes, he also struggled with his accuracy. Hard to envision he stays QB1 by the time MAC play starts, much less the entire season.

 

No doubt the running backs are more explosive than last year. Question is, why didn’t they see more touches?

 

Fair to say it was a bad day for the receivers. They’ve got to help their QB by reeling in some of the catchable passes that weren’t perfectly thrown.

 

OL was excellent in pass protection until the last few drives. Run blocking was okay, not great, but there also weren’t a ton of opportunities. I believe about 20 runs were actually designed as such.

 

DEFENSE:

Run defense looked much improved. There weren’t many missed tackles and the linebackers in-particular landed a few big hits. Terray Jones, Ryan Johnson, and CJ Nunnally stood out along the DL. Antavious Fish, Bryan McCoy, and Shammond Cooper stood out at linebacker.

 

Pass rush was disappointing. Temple threw the ball 49 times and Zips collected 0 sacks. I’m pretty sure I can count the number of times we touched the quarterback on one hand. Considering all of that, the secondary was impressive and played physically. There were some penalties that hurt, but at the same time they continued to be put in situations where the QB was allowed to have clean throwing opportunities. That’s a tough ask for a full game.

 

FINAL THOUGHTS:

Zips fans have every right (and probably should be) pissed. That’s a game we had a legitimate chance of winning. A game where everyone and their brother (outside of some in the Akron fan base) picked Temple to win. Most picked Temple to win big. There was not a talent discrepancy and Temple will likely win their fair share of games this year.  

 

If the defense can figure out a way to generate a pass rush, look out, because the physicality is there. Now the offense needs to figure out the quarterback situation. This game will not make or break the season. If anything, it shed some light on adjustments that need to be made. 

 

And FYI, I’m still not changing my season prediction. Wouldn’t be surprised to see this one get recouped somewhere along the way.

[dirtyolcrowe]

I said they would lose by a couple of points.   No way I thought they would get blown out but to say they had a legitimate chance to win is a long mile.   
you don’t blow an 11 pt lead and put up goose eggs the 2nd half.  They have a long way to go.  
5 wins would be a success.    At least they are in the middle of the pack with other MAC schools.  
NIU was impressive today.   
I watch UK  vs Ball st and that has the making of another long day.  
 

small steps…. Forward. 
we didn’t do that today.  

[Hilltopper]

Coaches are stubborn. Hopefully JoMo gets over his stubbornness soon.

[LoyalZIP]

Well said @catdaddyp

 

Thanks for getting us prepared for this season. A lot of what you have said all off-season could be seen today. Some of the good and some of the bad. Very disappointed in the second half offense. Happy to see Golden involved with the offense, but would have liked more of Lingard and Drake Anderson. Much to build on. 

[Lee Adams]

Not an acceptable loss under the circumstances. Up by a significant margin at half against Temple. Then your offense tanks? Defense did its job. Again, not an Irons fan after all these seasons. In Moorehead's offense the QB HAS to make plays. Has to be accurate and know when to get rid of the ball. We have seen this from Irons for too long. He is not a first or second year guy. Not accurate, holds the ball too long. After Saturday the schedule gets a lot tougher. Time for the coaches in the second season to make some tough decisions.

[Zipsfan10]

Gotta be quicker to make changes. 

[ZippyRulz]

5 hours ago, catdaddyp said:

Some quick thoughts regarding a disappointing loss to begin the season. A lot to be excited about, but also new concerns we didn’t expect.

 

OFFENSE:

Irons is not the same QB as last year. He’s missing velocity on the far side/deep out routes he routinely exhibited last season. Outside of a handful of passes, he also struggled with his accuracy. Hard to envision he stays QB1 by the time MAC play starts, much less the entire season.

 

 

it's the same guy they've been watching in practice. maybe they're hoping he will continue to rehab, get back closer to his old form, and still give us the best chance to win games.

 

 

Edited September 3, 2023 by ZippyRulz

[72 Roo]

This team has improved. That leaves us in pain because we could have beaten Temple. The OL is much better (with more to improve still). The DL is OK, but has to get to the QB. The other areas have the talent to win. Our coaches have a change to make. The DJ we saw today cannot win games. No arm velocity, locks onto one receiver - no progression, no accuracy, questionable leadership. Bring in a new QB against Morgan State so the team can get used to him. We have seen these coaches can make a team better during the season. Start now.  

[Blue & Gold]

We had 238 1st-half yards.

WE ONLY HAD 41 2ND-HALF YARDS?!?! 😳😳🤬

[GP1]

1 hour ago, Blue & Gold said:

We had 238 1st-half yards.

WE ONLY HAD 41 2ND-HALF YARDS?!?! 😳😳🤬

If you subtract the 10 yard pass and 67 yard run by Lorenzo, they had 161 yards in the first half. They easily left 100 first half yards on the table. By 2023 college football standards, the offense was just bad yesterday. 

 

When a team can't complete passes down field, it allows defenses to choke off the running and short/intermediate passing game. In 2023, a team has to be able to complete down field passes consistently in order to win. It's all very simple. 

 

What makes the loss so distasteful for me is this team is so much better in almost every category. They look like a good MAC team. Certainly they are good enough to beat the likes of Temple and they didn't. I think I have to go back to just commenting on general college football topics because this black hole of a football program is exhausting. 

Edited September 3, 2023 by GP1

[GoZips88]

14 minutes ago, GP1 said:

If you subtract the 10 yard pass and 67 yard run by Lorenzo, they had 161 yards in the first half. They easily left 100 first half yards on the table. By 2023 college football standards, the offense was just bad yesterday. 

 

When a team can't complete passes down field, it allows defenses to choke off the running and short/intermediate passing game. In 2023, a team has to be able to complete down field passes consistently in order to win. It's all very simple. 

We should have been up 14-0 very quickly yesterday. On the series following our first TD (I think I have that right), DJ had another wide open receiver with end zone in sight but threw it relatively flat instead of giving it a little more loft as some of us would have expected from him by now. He's NOT a freshman. The way we lost (can't believe we had less than 50 yards of offense in the 2nd half) yesterday really poured cold water on my interest in watching FCS Morgan State in person next week. Done with 'more of the same.' Joe will eventually get things figured out but really need to see some Ws.

 

WWCPHDY? (in regards to 2nd half adjustments; Colorado effort and W were impressive)

 

[MarkWiley]

We also never crossed the 50 in the second half. 

[94zipgrad]

1 hour ago, Blue & Gold said:

We had 238 1st-half yards.

WE ONLY HAD 41 2ND-HALF YARDS?!?! 😳😳🤬

Good work leaking urinal, lazy work using an old picture, Wiley isn’t even on the team.  What the title says is true but not what the community needs, they printed what is expected and we need to put a more positive spin on this to get people interested, but I guess if Akron could of just held on we wouldn’t need a positive spin 

[GP1]

28 minutes ago, GoZips88 said:

He's NOT a freshman. 

Bingo. Worse, he's a Senior. 

 

Clemson didn't wait around for DJ Uiagalelei to improve and Oklahoma didn't wait for Spencer Rattler to improve. Those two are now in the wilderness of college football where they belong.

 

If Irons is our best chance to win, then he needs to get better NOW. If there is someone who gives an equal shot at winning but may lack experience, then it's time for a change. The Zips have some good players who deserve a fighting chance to win. We aren't watching the crap Ianello and Arth put on the field. These guys can win some games.  

[Ham]

We saw a much improved Zip squad, but penalties continue to be a problem.  Irons may need more time to recover from off season surgery, but next week should give us an oportunity to look at #2QB.  The 2 late sacks were not entirely the fault of the OL.  Temple totally sold out on the run and went all out on rushing the passer.  Often the biggest improvement comes in the second game.  I'm hopefull.

[GoZips86]

Another blown loss. Another game filled with stupid penalties that really help make the outcome of the game a giant L. I truly do not care about facts and statistics on "how much this team has improved", the fact of the matter is this is a D1 program and they never act like it. We can all get nitty gritty details on what was improved and how this team is better to pretend like it makes us feel better, but the fact is yesterday was ridiculous. The Zips continue to be afraid of adversity. 

[catdaddyp]

41 minutes ago, GP1 said:

Bingo. Worse, he's a Senior. 

 

Clemson didn't wait around for DJ Uiagalelei to improve and Oklahoma didn't wait for Spencer Rattler to improve. Those two are now in the wilderness of college football where they belong.

 

If Irons is our best chance to win, then he needs to get better NOW. If there is someone who gives an equal shot at winning but may lack experience, then it's time for a change. The Zips have some good players who deserve a fighting chance to win. We aren't watching the crap Ianello and Arth put on the field. These guys can win some games.  

Just an FYI, Rattler ripped apart both Tennessee and Clemson last season. He also went 30 for 39 with 353 yards in a loss last night. He’s playing for South Carolina and helped guide them to 8 wins last year.  Uiagalelei will suit up for the first time tonight for an Oregon State team who won 10 games last year. Not exactly apple to apple comparisons, but I get your point. Agree that a change is needed at the QB position after what we witnessed yesterday. 

 

[GP1]

3 minutes ago, catdaddyp said:

Just an FYI, Rattler ripped apart both Tennessee and Clemson last season. He also went 30 for 39 with 353 yards in a loss last night. He’s playing for South Carolina and helped guide them to 8 wins last year.  Uiagalelei will suit up for the first time tonight for an Oregon State team who won 10 games last year. Not exactly apple to apple comparisons, but I get your point. Agree that a change is needed at the QB position after what we witnessed yesterday. 

 

I get your points, but USC and OR St are the wilderness of college football. The point is, just because someone is good doesn't mean there isn't someone better. 

[catdaddyp]

19 minutes ago, GP1 said:

I get your points, but USC and OR St are the wilderness of college football. The point is, just because someone is good doesn't mean there isn't someone better. 

Guess we’ll have to disagree on Carolina. I wouldn’t call a team in the SEC that won 8 games last year, had two hall of fame coaches since 2000 (Holtz and Spurrier) has been ranked in to the top 10 during that time beating Ohio State twice and a #1 Alabama (not to mention numerous NFL draft picks, including the #1 draft pick in Clowney) the wilderness of college football. 
 

That being said. Let’s try to keep this thread about Akron. I’m just as guilty getting off topic here.

Edited September 3, 2023 by catdaddyp

[Lee Adams]

16 hours ago, catdaddyp said:

Some quick thoughts regarding a disappointing loss to begin the season. A lot to be excited about, but also new concerns we didn’t expect.

 

OFFENSE:

Irons is not the same QB as last year. He’s missing velocity on the far side/deep out routes he routinely exhibited last season. Outside of a handful of passes, he also struggled with his accuracy. Hard to envision he stays QB1 by the time MAC play starts, much less the entire season.

 

No doubt the running backs are more explosive than last year. Question is, why didn’t they see more touches?

 

Fair to say it was a bad day for the receivers. They’ve got to help their QB by reeling in some of the catchable passes that weren’t perfectly thrown.

 

OL was excellent in pass protection until the last few drives. Run blocking was okay, not great, but there also weren’t a ton of opportunities. I believe about 20 runs were actually designed as such.

 

DEFENSE:

Run defense looked much improved. There weren’t many missed tackles and the linebackers in-particular landed a few big hits. Terray Jones, Ryan Johnson, and CJ Nunnally stood out along the DL. Antavious Fish, Bryan McCoy, and Shammond Cooper stood out at linebacker.

 

Pass rush was disappointing. Temple threw the ball 49 times and Zips collected 0 sacks. I’m pretty sure I can count the number of times we touched the quarterback on one hand. Considering all of that, the secondary was impressive and played physically. There were some penalties that hurt, but at the same time they continued to be put in situations where the QB was allowed to have clean throwing opportunities. That’s a tough ask for a full game.

 

FINAL THOUGHTS:

Zips fans have every right (and probably should be) pissed. That’s a game we had a legitimate chance of winning. A game where everyone and their brother (outside of some in the Akron fan base) picked Temple to win. Most picked Temple to win big. There was not a talent discrepancy and Temple will likely win their fair share of games this year.  

 

If the defense can figure out a way to generate a pass rush, look out, because the physicality is there. Now the offense needs to figure out the quarterback situation. This game will not make or break the season. If anything, it shed some light on adjustments that need to be made. 

 

And FYI, I’m still not changing my season prediction. Wouldn’t be surprised to see this one get recouped somewhere along the way.

The coaching staff must have been and still must be questioningi its QB situation. Didn't Moorehead rotate in another QB at certian points in the game yesterday? Coaches USUALLY, not always, but usually don't like to start a rotation at QB unless they are not confident about the starter in certain situations. Again, Moorehead relies on a QB who can make good decisions and is accurate with his throws. Doesn't need a huge arm(remember Luke Getsy in 2005?) With that saie, the loss is not all the fault of Irons. Too many dumb ass penalties, maybe not enough run. If the defense can play like that from here on out, we will take it.

Now looking at the schedule, I think the Buffalo game at home, will define the season.

[LoyalZIP]

Our first advanced box score of the season! https://collegefootballdata.com/boxscore/401531387

 

I agree with the general consensus that the team, as a whole, looked much better than at most points last year. That is, if you look at each individual unit, they were hitting above their previous average...except for the most important position on the football field. The first think that stuck out to me in the advanced box score was the fact that UA hit 1.000 in scoring opportunities, and they were obviously both in the first half. A scoring opportunity is when you get the ball inside the opponent's 40, and Akron scored touchdowns both times they did that. When watching the game, I felt good about our chances specifically because that was an area this team was terrible in last year. Yesterday, it was like a bizarro world. They couldn't move the ball between the 20s. It was alarming.

 

As for the defense, I talk a lot about them not making plays. Yes, they made plays most of the time they needed to yesterday, but when will this defense begin to read the QB and force some turnovers? Or make its presence felt in the backfield? Props to Warner as he is a damn good QB and their whole M.O. is protecting him, but not forcing any havoc, as displayed in the advanced box score, was costly. Temple, on the other hand, wasn't doing anything in the secondary to make things that difficult for DJI. Even when he did want/need to tuck and run or scramble, he seemed hesitant whereas last year he could have carved them up.

 

Some of the individuals that stuck out to me are as follows: 

 

Bobby Golden (WR): I was hoping we would see more of him last year, not sure if the muffed punt had anything to do with that. Seeing him drop that punt yesterday made my heart jump out of my chest. Maybe time to put Adams or Hester back there. Anyway, I thought he looked the part out there. He should have had a TD catch and quite a few yards as well, not sure he could have done much more on the OB sideline throw. He will be a solid contributor as the season goes on.

 

Lorenzo Lingard (RB): I just don't understand why he didn't get more touches yesterday. Same with Drake Anderson. But that play to get LL the TD was freaking awesome. It's a shame it was wasted in a loss, a damn shame. Lingard looks to be tremendously physical and has speed to separate from the D, as displayed on the TD. I'd like to see Joe mess around with he and Bullock like he did with Barkley and McSorely at Penn State. The package of Irons & Bullock got me really excited. We'll see how willing Joe is to open up the playbook

 

Bryan McCoy (LB): A blossoming star. He and Fish delivered some big hits throughout the day, and to the untrained eye, seemed to make a fair amount of plays. If we have Bubba, maybe we get more pressure on the QB and get a different result, but I am happy with our LB situation considering the circumstances.

 

All DBs: While not everyone played great, I feel the unit as a whole did a really nice job against a QB and an offense that scored a ton of points and racked up a lot of yards down the stretch last season. They allowed a few big plays later in the game, possibly in part to being on the damn field the entire second half. But, they forced 21 incompletions on the day and made those guys work really hard to score 24 points

 

The negatives largely stop at QB play. Special teams look to be improved as a whole Dante Jackson is a big step up from Gettman. Not sure on FG kicking yet. But QB and probably DL are the two areas that proved to be most costly. The aforementioned lack of pressure and push from the DL kind of is what it is given the personnel. I thought they played okay, and I'm hoping for improvement but not sure how much we will see considering who is available.

 

The QB....my lord almighty. I have always been an Irons supporter, but have also had plenty of reservations with him being the QB that really makes this thing take off. He was fine in his time in 2021, and he was good last year as a game-manager and a guy who could put the ball where it needs to be to dink and dunk down the field. But yesterday was flat out appalling. He has still never started at QB in a game where Akron defeats an FBS team. I trust Joe for obvious reasons, but I would question why he would give Irons a long leash, especially when he is clearly not the same QB that he was last year. Not many of us, except maybe @Hilltopper have seen Bullock work along side these guys in practice, but considering how quickly Joe involved him in the offense yesterday, I have a feeling they're more confident in his abilities than they are leading on. In 2015, Bowden started Tra Chapman at QB the first three games and yanked him during the Savannah State game for Tommy Woodson, who lit up the scoreboard most of the rest of the year. Maybe the same thing will happen with Bullock. In 2023, Joe Moorhead cannot take losses due to bad QB play. Simple as that.

 

Let's get to 1-1 and get this $h!+ figured out.

[catdaddyp]

1 hour ago, Lee Adams said:

The coaching staff must have been and still must be questioningi its QB situation. Didn't Moorehead rotate in another QB at certian points in the game yesterday? Coaches USUALLY, not always, but usually don't like to start a rotation at QB unless they are not confident about the starter in certain situations. Again, Moorehead relies on a QB who can make good decisions and is accurate with his throws. Doesn't need a huge arm(remember Luke Getsy in 2005?) With that saie, the loss is not all the fault of Irons. Too many dumb ass penalties, maybe not enough run. If the defense can play like that from here on out, we will take it.

Now looking at the schedule, I think the Buffalo game at home, will define the season.

Bullock played 6 snaps (according to one source. I haven’t rewatched the game to confirm) and did not attempt a pass. If I recall correctly, one of the plays was setup as a passing option, but it got blown up. 
 

Lingard played 40+ snaps and only touched the ball 8 times, with one of those being the touchdown reception. No way that ratio stays the same going forward. No matter who is at QB, a player with his kind of ability has to touch the ball more.
 

 

[1981 grad]

What concerned me is that DJ seemed to be yelling on the sidelines whether he was on the phone or speaking to one of the coaches.  Akron also had to call 2 timeouts to avoid a delay of game penalty.  You expect your quarterback to lead and what we saw on TV seemed to be the exact opposite.  I can understand the frustration but DJ missed some receivers and did nothing on the run game which used to be his strong point.

 

Also, on the miffed punt, it seemed to me that Temple did not give our guy the 1 yard halo he needed to field the ball cleanly and there should have been a flag.

[ZippyRulz]

On 9/3/2023 at 1:04 PM, 1981 grad said:

 

Also, on the miffed punt, it seemed to me that Temple did not give our guy the 1 yard halo he needed to field the ball cleanly and there should have been a flag.

 

Watching it again, it was close but the TU players avoided contact so it was never going to be flagged. BG4 needs to catch the ball.

 

 

Edited September 4, 2023 by ZippyRulz

[LZIp]

DJ's body language is an issue and always has been unfortunately. 

 

DJ's shoulder may or may not be cooked. Unfortunate if so, but the talk yesterday was that he wasn't even able to start fall camp on time due to recovery. He's either cooked/hasn't improved, or it'll just take some time to get back to 100%. I want the best QB out there who gives us a chance to win. Obviously yesterday raises doubts for everyone, but it may just take some time for him considering the injury situation.