Game Five (Toledo) Thoughts

[catdaddyp]

There’s not a whole lot to be said about this one. As we’ve discussed before, this year’s offense goes as Finley goes. No Finley means no offense. Add in Patrick being out and our chances of competing dropped even more. I’m not sure why Finley didn’t play, but Johnson seemed like he was running a limited package in the first half. Toledo caught on quickly to what we were trying to do, and Johnson’s accuracy issues showed up again. Roggow throws it much better than Johnson, but he seems a ways off in terms of reading college defenses.

 

The defense doesn’t get a pass either. There were way too many busts and missed tackles, even from guys who’ve been steady all year. Just one of those bad days at the office.

 

We needed to be at our best to have a shot today, and that didn’t come close to happening. Now it’s about turning the page and gearing up for a physical — and potentially winnable — matchup with CMU next week.

 

 

QB:

Johnson

Roggow

 

HB:

Gant

M. Williams

Macon

Reed

 

WR:

Walker

Mason

 

WR:

Polk

Grear

 

WR:

Mar. Williams

Monteiron

 

TE:

Newell

Cravaack

 

LT:

D. Johnson

Morley-Simmons

 

LG:

McManus

Archer

 

C

Lyons

Morris

 

RG:

K. Davis

Archer

 

RT:

A. Jones

King 

 

 

DE:

Durham

J. Frazier

Brown

 

DE:

Dall

D. Frazier

 

DT:

Hull

Murphy

Musika

 

DT:

Laventure 

Mixon

Madden

 

LB:

Cooper

Spriggs

Benenge

 

LB:

Boswell

Hocker

 

NB:

AL. Branch

AA. Branch

 

CB:

DeWalt

Kamara

 

CB:

Reed

T. Thomas

 

S:

Flowers

Hunter

 

S:

DI. Johnson

Stepney

Wondolowski

 

 

Top Offense (20 snap minimum):

RT - King

OG - Archer

RB - Gant

WR - Polk

WR - Monteiro 

 

Top Defense (20 snap minimum):

DT - Hull

LB - Spriggs

S - Flowers

DT - Laventure

CB - T. Thomas

 

[Ham]

Unless Finley was injured Saturday, Johnson and Roggow should have been much better prepared for action.  I haven't looked for Morehead's post game comments, but I am eagerly waiting for Zips Weekly.  Will they have any positive footage to show?  Was there any chance that we brought home Toledo's 3rd or 4th team QB to give us some hope?

[72 Roo]

At this point coach Moorhead is gone. The only question is how. We can't afford a buyout. Perhaps Joe would consider his resignation for his peace of mind and ours. This crap can't wear well on anyone, even an offensive genius. Regardless of what happens we need to accept that there will be another mass exodus of all our better players at the end of the season. Joe can't turn this around and a new staff will need time to turn it around. The better players will leave, and they should. The greatest single factor in achieving success is the people who lead. Akron football does not have the right leader. 

[kreed5120]

24 minutes ago, 72 Roo said:

Regardless of what happens we need to accept that there will be another mass exodus of all our better players at the end of the season.

 

That was always going to be the case. Even if the Zips won 6 or 7 games, like some of the blindly optimistic fans here predicted, we would still see an exodus of our best players.

 

We can't financially compete in NIL against programs like Toledo or OU. Not to mention against the Mountain West, AAC, and the bulk of the other G5. Until that changes we will remain on the bottom of the food chain and be the punching bag for other middling programs.

Edited 23 hours ago by kreed5120

[catdaddyp]

I agree the program is in trouble without any NIL resources. If nothing changes, we’re basically going to turn into a developmental team for programs that do have them. We were tied for the most MAC players lost to Power programs this past offseason, and on top of that we lost highly productive guys like Norton, T. Williams, and G. Smith to other G5 schools. The staff has done an excellent job identifying talent, bringing those kids in, and developing a large portion of them, but the reality is we won’t be able to keep them for long with the way the current landscape is moving. On top of that, I don’t think our win total has matched the talent level we’ve built over the last few years.

 

I was staunchly against the idea of moving to FCS. While that might solve a monetary deficit — and I can’t really speak to the numbers there — it’s certainly not guaranteed to field a more competitive product. Outside of Nebraska and Toledo, this team has been competitive, they just haven’t won, and that should rightfully sit uneasy with fans and stakeholders. My biggest issue with this year’s team has been quarterback play. Our starter hasn’t played up to his potential, and we don’t have a backup capable of keeping us in a game. How that’s the case in year four is beyond me. The defense had a terrible day as well, which just made things look that much worse.

 

Back to the FCS conversation — I believe a split is coming with the haves and have-nots anyway, so we’ll end up being forced into a different division organically. Who knows what that will look like, but the SEC and Big Ten are in the driver’s seat while the NCAA loses more control by the day.

 

I certainly don’t mean to turn this thread into one we basically already have going elsewhere, since none of us truly know what’s going to happen in the coming years and can only guess. That said, I thought I’d chime in because it does relate to our results this season and where the program is headed if nothing changes. Even so, I still believe we have enough talent to hang with every team left on our schedule, and I’m not giving this staff a free pass. We need to see better performances and results.

 

[Blue & Gold]

3 hours ago, catdaddyp said:

My biggest issue with this year’s team has been quarterback play... we don’t have a backup capable of keeping us in a game. How that’s the case in year four is beyond me.

 

This is where my greatest aggravation with JoeMo lies.

 

[GP1]

2 hours ago, Blue & Gold said:

This is where my greatest aggravation with JoeMo lies.

 

I wish my great beef was the backup QB. He hasn't had a decent starting QB. The bar for fan expectation of Zips QBs is extremely low. 

[Blue & Gold]

1 hour ago, GP1 said:

I wish my great beef was the backup QB. He hasn't had a decent starting QB. The bar for fan expectation of Zips QBs is extremely low. 

Eh, I didn't want to repeat my thoughts from another thread. My beef is that he hasn't gotten his dual-threat to run his offense & here we are in Year 4.

[72 Roo]

In no other sport is a single position as important as QB is to football. How can the staff be in its fourth year and not have a viable backup when they know one will be needed? That's a failure of leadership plain and simple. 

[GP1]

7 hours ago, 72 Roo said:

In no other sport is a single position as important as QB is to football. How can the staff be in its fourth year and not have a viable backup when they know one will be needed? That's a failure of leadership plain and simple. 

Baseball starting pitchers. 

[kreed5120]

1 hour ago, GP1 said:

Baseball starting pitchers. 

They only play in 20% of the games though. If you look at the starting rotation collectively I would agree. 

 

It might not be a single position, but 1 player in basketball probably makes the biggest impact. A QB is much more dependent on his receivers catching their passes, his offensive line giving him enough time, and his defense actually playing defense. Guys like LeBron, Jordan, Kobe, who were elite both offensively and defensively, could put a team on their back. If you take LeBron off that 2007 Cavs team they probably only win 25 games.

[zippy5]

13 hours ago, GP1 said:

I wish my great beef was the backup QB. He hasn't had a decent starting QB. The bar for fan expectation of Zips QBs is extremely low. 

Yeah, let's focus on finding a good starting QB first

[gozips19]

Here's what baffles me about the program overall. How have we not lucked into an above average QB? 

Not just talking about Moorehead either. Here's a list of our qbs since 2010. It's as depressing as the Browns list. 

2010 Nicely

11 Clayton Moore

12 Dalton Williams 

13-14 Kyle Pohl 

15-17 Woodson 

18-19 Kato 

20 Zach Gibson

21 Gibson/Irons 

22 Irons 

23 Undercuffler 

24-25 Finley 

[ZippyRulz]

Oh, to have a Williams/Pohl/Woodson right now...

[gozips19]

8 minutes ago, ZippyRulz said:

Oh, to have a Williams/Pohl/Woodson right now...

And that says a bunch. Woodson was average at best. Phol was below average. 

Williams looked like an above average qb but was on an all time bad roster.