Week #5- Zips at Ohio @3:30pm ET

[catdaddyp]

Game thread and Ohio Preview

 

QB:

Ohio will play either Parker Navarro (68.5%, 547 yards passing, 2 TDs vs 4 INTs) or JUCO signee Nick Poulos (43.5%, 135 yards passing, 0 TDs vs 1 INT). Navarro was held out last week against UK, so Poulos got the start. Both are dual-threat QBs as Navarro has 107 yards rushing and 2 TDs. Poulos has 62 yards rushing.

 

RB:

Northwestern transfer Anthony Tyus leads the MAC in rushing with 391 yards and 4 TDs. He is averaging 6.9 yards per carry.  2023 signee Ricky Hunt is the backup (I thought he was the 2nd best RB in the 2023 MAC class).  Hunt currently has 138 yards rushing, 1 touchdown, and averages 4.2 yards per carry.

 

WR:

Northern Arizona transfer Coleman Owen is 2nd in the MAC receiving with 25 receptions for 336 yards. 2023 signee Chase Hendricks is second on the team with 10 receptions for 131 yards and a touchdown (I thought Hendricks was the best WR in the 2023 MAC class).

 

TE:

2023 signee Mason Williams is the starter at tight end. Ohio has not utilized the tight ends as much as Akron in the passing game, but Williams does have 6 receptions for 59 yards.

 

OL:

It looks like the offensive line has started all 4 games together this season, so Ohio seems to have some consistency up front.

LT - Carson Heidecker (R. Sr.)

LG - Davion Witherspoon (R. Jr.)

C - Parker Titsworth (Gr.)

RG - Christophe Atkinson (Gr.)

RT - Jacob Dennison (R. Sr.)

 

DL:

Nevada transfer Marcel Walker-Burgess (19 Tackles, 1 Sack, 1 INT, 2 FF) started against UK. North Dakota transfer Ben McNaboe (17 Tackles, 0.5 Sack) was another starter. Kaden Schmitz is another edge to watch as he already has 2.5 sacks on the season. On the interior is Cincinnati transfer CJ Doggette (9 Tackles) and Bralen Henderson (7 Tackles). 

 

LB:

Bucknell transfer Blake Leake leads the team in tackles with 29. Shay Taylor has started 3 games and collected 14 tackles.

 

DB:

Tank Pearson (14 Tackles and 1 INT) and Roman Parodie (12 Tackles) are the starters at CB. 2023 signee DJ Walker (17 Tackles) has played mostly NB. Northern Colorado transfer Dustin Johnson (26 Tackles) has been one starter at safety, while Austin Brawley (28 Tackles) has been the other.

 

K:

2023 signee Gianni Spetic has been perfect on field goals and extra points going 5 for 5 and 7 for 7, respectively.

 

P:

Jack Wilson is averaging 43 yards per punt with a long of 56 yards.

 

KR:

Tank Pearson is averaging 20 yards per return with a long of 31 yards.

 

 

Breakdown:

Offense - Ohio wants to run the ball and have the personnel to do so. Despite having one of the top reception leaders in the MAC, Ohio has not been overly impressive throwing the football. The offense has also turned the ball over a total of 8 times.

 

Defense - The Bobcat defense has struggled to create turnovers and are similar to Akron in terms of pass rush. Ohio’s 6 sacks puts both teams near the bottom of the MAC going into Week 5. Ohio is also statistically near the bottom of the MAC against the pass.

 

What does that Mean?

Ohio’s strength is running the football, whereas Akron’s weakness has been stopping the run. Akron’s strength has been throwing the football, as Ohio’s weakness has been stopping the pass. This game will probably come down to turnovers, field position, and special teams play, as the two teams seem far more evenly matched going into this game than in 2022 or 2023.

 

Edited September 23 by catdaddyp

[catdaddyp]

 

[LZIp]

I like how our pressers are 5 minutes and Ohio’s is 20…

[exit322]

I see Ohio's favored by anywhere between 12-14.5 for this one.  That feels low.

[catdaddyp]

Below are players that have seen significant action during one or multiple games this season. I also labeled if they committed from the portal (TP) or JUCO.

I’ll be curious to see how soon some of the more inexperienced players see the field against Ohio. We were rolling guys out there as early as the 2nd quarter against South Carolina. I think Spriggs may have also gotten a few snaps in the first quarter when McCoy briefly came out the game.
 

 

QB:

Finley (R. Jr. - TP

Bullock (R. Jr. - TP)

 

RB:

Simmons (R. Jr. - TP)

Kellom (R. So.)

 

WR:

Walker (R. Jr.)

Rush (R. Jr. - JUCO)

Golden (Jr.)

Granger (Jr. - TP)

Norton (So.)

Polk (R.Fr. - TP)

Davis (R. Fr.)

 

TE:

Newell (R. So. - TP)

 

OL:

Blanchard (R. Sr. - TP)

Thomas (R. Sr. - TP)

Seymore (R. Jr. - TP)

Shor (R. Jr. - TP)

Burrell (Jr. - JUCO)

Davis (R. So.)

Williams (R. So.)

Morris (So.)

James (R. Fr.)

 

 

DE:

Nunnally (Sr. - JUCO)

Adler (Sr.)

Richards (R. Sr - JUCO)

Dall (R. Fr.)

Cheatom (R. Fr.)

 

DT:

Kapongo (R. Sr. - TP)

Lavea (R. Sr. - TP)

Moore (So.)

Murphy (R. So.)

 

LB:

Cooper (R. Sr. - TP)

Fish (Sr. - JUCO)

McCoy (Jr.)

Spriggs (R. Fr.)

Benenge (Fr.)

 

CB:

Golden-Nelson (R. Jr. - TP)

Hunter (R. Jr. - (TP)

DeWalt (R. Jr. - JUCO)

Jarmon (R. Jr. - JUCO)

Reed (R. So - TP)

White (R. Fr.)

 

S/NB:

P. Lewis (Sr. - TP)

D. Lewis (R. Jr.)

Greenwood (R. Jr. - TP)

David (R. Jr. - TP)

Anderson (R. Jr. - JUCO)

Johnson (R. Jr.)

Roach (R. Jr.)

R. Hunter (Fr.)

 

K:

Smith (R. Jr. - TP)

 

P:

Book (Sr. - TP)

 

KO:

Jackson (R. Sr. - JUCO)

 

[LZIp]

47 minutes ago, catdaddyp said:

Below are players that have seen significant action during one or multiple games this season. I also labeled if they committed from the portal (TP) or JUCO.

I’ll be curious to see how soon some of the more inexperienced players see the field against Ohio. We were rolling guys out there as early as the 2nd quarter against South Carolina. I think Spriggs may have also gotten a few snaps in the first quarter when McCoy briefly came out the game.
 

 

QB:

Finley (R. Jr. - TP

Bullock (R. Jr. - TP)

 

RB:

Simmons (R. Jr. - TP)

Kellom (R. So.)

 

WR:

Walker (R. Jr.)

Rush (R. Jr. - JUCO)

Golden (Jr.)

Granger (Jr. - TP)

Norton (So.)

Polk (R.Fr. - TP)

Davis (R. Fr.)

 

TE:

Newell (R. So. - TP)

 

OL:

Blanchard (R. Sr. - TP)

Thomas (R. Sr. - TP)

Seymore (R. Jr. - TP)

Shor (R. Jr. - TP)

Burrell (Jr. - JUCO)

Davis (R. So.)

Williams (R. So.)

Morris (So.)

James (R. Fr.)

 

 

DE:

Nunnally (Sr. - JUCO)

Adler (Sr.)

Richards (R. Sr - JUCO)

Dall (R. Fr.)

Cheatom (R. Fr.)

 

DT:

Kapongo (R. Sr. - TP)

Lavea (R. Sr. - TP)

Moore (So.)

Murphy (R. So.)

 

LB:

Cooper (R. Sr. - TP)

Fish (Sr. - JUCO)

McCoy (Jr.)

Spriggs (R. Fr.)

Benenge (Fr.)

 

CB:

Golden-Nelson (R. Jr. - TP)

Hunter (R. Jr. - (TP)

DeWalt (R. Jr. - JUCO)

Jarmon (R. Jr. - JUCO)

Reed (R. So - TP)

White (R. Fr.)

 

S/NB:

P. Lewis (Sr. - TP)

D. Lewis (R. Jr.)

Greenwood (R. Jr. - TP)

David (R. Jr. - TP)

Anderson (R. Jr. - JUCO)

Johnson (R. Jr.)

Roach (R. Jr.)

R. Hunter (Fr.)

 

K:

Smith (R. Jr. - TP)

 

P:

Book (Sr. - TP)

 

KO:

Jackson (R. Sr. - JUCO)

 

Disappointed to not see a couple of guys on this list. Primarily some other TP/JUCO additions who are now in their second season with the program and aren't sniffing the field (and didn't last year either).

[Captain Kangaroo]

BobcatAttack.com Game Thread

[ZippyRulz]

Zips are 12 points underdogs. The way I think it breaks down is 3 for being on the road + 3 for punt return fielding issues + 3 for QB with PTSD + 3 for clock management issues.

 

Edited September 25 by ZippyRulz

[catdaddyp]

ESPN Bottom 10  If Zips win Saturday, its likely the last time listed.

 

Last two matchups vs Ohio:

2022: 55-34 Ohio win. Rourke torched us for 427 yards and 3 TDs. Bangura rushed for 90 yards and 3 TDs.

2023: 25-14 Ohio win. Rourke passed for 208 yards and a TD. Bangura rushed for 121 yards and a TD.

 

We’’ll find out if Navarro/Poulos and Tyus are as good as Rourke and Bangura.

[LZIp]

Just now, catdaddyp said:

ESPN Bottom 10  If Zips win Saturday, its likely the last time listed.

 

Last two matchups vs Ohio:

2022: 55-34 Ohio win. Rourke torched us for 427 yards and 3 TDs. Bangura rushed for 90 yards and 3 TDs.

2023: 25-14 Ohio win. Rourke passed for 208 yards and a TD. Bangura rushed for 121 yards and a TD.

 

We’’ll find out if Navarro/Poulos and Tyus are as good as Rourke and Bangura.

Tyus might be as good as Bangura, but Navarro/Poulos are certainly not as good as Rourke!

[catdaddyp]

40 minutes ago, LZIp said:

Tyus might be as good as Bangura, but Navarro/Poulos are certainly not as good as Rourke!

Agreed. I’d also forgotten we were up 14-3 at the half last year. 

[Let'sGoZips94]

What's the O/U on timeouts used before the 2nd quarter?

[Zipmeister]

On 9/23/2024 at 10:59 PM, LZIp said:

I like how our pressers are 5 minutes and Ohio’s is 20…

 

I think it has something to do with daylight savings time.

[Zipmeister]

1 hour ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:

What's the O/U on timeouts used before the 2nd quarter?

 

Look on the bright side. We haven't kicked off to start both halves of a game in a long time.

[Let'sGoZips94]

5 minutes ago, Zipmeister said:

 

Look on the bright side. We haven't kicked off to start both halves of a game in a long time.

 

The brighter side is we've correctly verbalized our decision every single time so far to prevent giving the opponent the ball to start both halves. 

[gozips19]

Anyone tailgating for this one?

[egregiousbob]

Good tailgating action in Athens...depending on weather.

 

 

[1981 grad]

On 9/25/2024 at 4:29 PM, Zipmeister said:

 

Look on the bright side. We haven't kicked off to start both halves of a game in a long time.

I still remember that moment.  Most fans remember great plays.  The last 10 years Akron fans remember the bonehead decisions by players and coaches.  (like watching our punt returner let the ball go and then try to pick it up and fumble it on the 2 yard line 2 weeks ago)

[catdaddyp]

 

Last season’s highlights vs Ohio.

[Blue & Gold]

 

[catdaddyp]

29 minutes ago, Blue & Gold said:

 

Solely pass blocking:

Blanchard = 2nd best OT

Morris = 5th best IOL

Seymore = 8th best IOL

Edited September 28 by catdaddyp

[Ham]

Zips win.

 

31--24

[LZIp]

 Win to open MAC play, against OU on homecoming no less, would give the program some momentum and could be the start of “the turnaround”.

 

From a talent perspective, OU is probably worse than last year and we’re a little better. We had a double digit lead at the half last year. OU should be the favorite, but this is a winnable game. LFG!!

[Let'sGoZips94]

The line has really moved on this game in favor of Akron. 

 

Almost a must win for Joe Mo IMO. 

[egregiousbob]

32 minutes ago, LZIp said:

 Win to open MAC play, against OU on homecoming no less, would give the program some momentum and could be the start of “the turnaround”.

 

From a talent perspective, OU is probably worse than last year and we’re a little better. We had a double digit lead at the half last year. OU should be the favorite, but this is a winnable game. LFG!!

 

Funny point regarding last year's halftime lead.  Ohio had invested in heated benches for the team. Their coach ordered that the benches be disconnected and moved at halftime.   That 11 point lead disappeared quickly when play resumed.