Game Nine (Buffalo) Thoughts

[catdaddyp]

QB:

Finley found his rhythm in the second half, getting the ball out quicker and settling into the flow of the game. The first half was more of a roller coaster. Ultimately, he did enough to get the job done and lead a few scoring drives. Finley’s 38-yard touchdown run should’ve been a loss, but instead turned into the best run of his career.

 

RB:

There wasn’t a ton of running room for the backs, but Gant made some nice cuts to squeeze out yards where there wasn’t much to work with. Gant and Patrick combined for 104 yards on the ground.

 

WR:

The negative: there were four drops in the game, most of which came in the first half. Outside of that, it was mostly positives — Mason hauled in another outstanding touchdown grab, while Polk and Ma. Williams came through with some timely catches. Hopefully Walker is okay, though I’m not sure Mason even gets that opportunity if Walker doesn’t go down, as he’s been backing him up. True freshman Luke Sivon also saw some action, and the kid can absolutely fly. He didn’t record a catch but did draw two pass interference calls. Ideally the staff keeps working Sivon in and doesn’t worry about the redshirt.

 

TE:

Newell returned after missing the last few games and was underwhelming. Cravaack played well again and PFF finally graded him as such. 

 

OL:

The OL was solid in pass protection throughout, but looked noticeably better in the second half when the ball was coming out quicker and the backs held up a bit longer. They were credited with just seven pressures allowed all game. Not to take anything away from the OL, but I still stand by saying Buffalo isn’t great at generating pressure — and we saw that play out today. Of note is that backup center Delvin Morris started and played every snap at left tackle.

 

DL:

Dall was an absolute nightmare for Buffalo. The stats might not show it, but he blew up a bunch of plays that let others rack up the numbers. It may not have been his best game statistically, but it was probably his most disruptive in terms of wrecking the opponent’s offense. Hull and Laventure were also very active on the inside and gave the Bulls’ offensive line all kinds of trouble. Mixon even got in on the action, picking up his first career sack.

 

LB:

How about Melvin Spriggs?! Honestly, up until this game, he hadn’t quite played to the level I expected from him this year. Usually, it’s Cooper, Summers, and Boswell leading the charge, but against Buffalo, Spriggs had the game of his life — a reminder of the potential he showed on his high school film. I’m happy for the kid; he’s come a long way in his development, and hopefully this is just the start, not the peak. And not to be outdone, Summers had a whale of a game himself. Buffalo might have the best linebacker corps in the MAC, but Spriggs and Summers made a strong case otherwise — at least for one game.

 

DB:

Despite the secondary coming away with two interceptions, it wasn’t their best day. We played a lot of man coverage and got torched by Snow in the first half and McMillan in the second. Still, the defense as a whole forced five turnovers and made sure this one didn’t slip away. One guy who did play really well was Somerville, who saw his most snaps at safety and also played on special teams.

 

ST:

Outside of the botched punt that led to a safety, special teams did a nice job of keeping Buffalo’s units from making an impact. Smart strategy to make sure the ball consistently stayed out of Snow’s hands.

 

Coaching:

I don’t think anyone can argue much with the second-half game plan. Sure, it’s fair to say the offense got a bit too conservative too early in the 4th quarter, but the defense was holding their own. My biggest gripe came at the end of the 2nd quarter, which led to a fumble and an eight-point swing. There was no reason to rush to the line and try to run extra plays. Just run out the clock and head to the locker room. In no world was Finley or Gant breaking off a 60+ yard run. Just a boneheaded move that thankfully didn’t cost the game.

 

Defensively, it was a very impressive performance. Buffalo’s offense was going to get their yards, so it was all about preventing points. Holding the Bulls to their season low, minus Minnesota, while forcing five turnovers was remarkable.

 

 

Next week is our “bye” week, and we’re back in action the following Tuesday night for another very winnable contest against UMass on 11/4.

 

 

QB:

Finley

 

HB:

Gant

Patrick

 

WR:

Ma. Williams

Gear

 

WR:

Walker

Mason 

Louis

 

WR:

Polk

Monteiro 

Sivon 

 

TE:

Newell

Cravaack

Whisner

 

LT:

Morris

 

LG:

Archer

McManus

 

C

Lyons

 

RG:

K. Davis

 

RT:

King

A. Jones

 

 

DE:

Dall

D. Frazier

 

DE:

Durham

J. Frazier

Cheatom

 

DT:

Hull

Murphy

Musika

 

DT:

Laventure 

Mixon

Madden

 

LB:

Summers

Boswell

 

LB:

Spriggs

Boswell

 

NB:

Aa. Branch

 

CB:

DeWalt

Kamara

 

CB:

Reed

T. Thomas

 

S:

Flowers

Hunter

 

S:

D. Johnson 

Somerville

 

 

Offense (20 snap min.)

C - Lyons

RT - M. King

LG - McManus

TE - Cravaack

RG -K. Davis

 

Defense (20 snap min.)

LB - Spriggs

S - Somerville

DE - Dall

LB - Summers

DT - Hull

[Zippy87]

I don't follow football closely at all. What is the deal with Alex Adams? 

[LZIp]

6 hours ago, Zippy87 said:

I don't follow football closely at all. What is the deal with Alex Adams? 

I heard mention of a voluntary redshirt due to reaggravating an injury. Can’t remember where, maybe radio? Anyways, hope he uses his last year somewhere else next year.

[LZIp]

We really got boned with scheduling this year in terms of our bye week. Its really the last week of the season. Who tf needs a bye week the last week of the season. We have a quasi bye week this week I guess with a few extra days off, but so does the rest of the conference (who also gets to play their last game the last week of November due to having a real bye mid-season).

[csims0917]

Can Akron make a bowl if there isnt enough six win teams? Similar to what JMU had to do during its transition to FBS postseason ban

[LZIp]

18 minutes ago, csims0917 said:

Can Akron make a bowl if there isnt enough six win teams? Similar to what JMU had to do during its transition to FBS postseason ban

Well considering we’re ineligible at this time due to APR and I believe APR is the main consideration for any 5-7 teams in that scenario, I think our chances would be zero.

[exit322]

52 minutes ago, csims0917 said:

Can Akron make a bowl if there isnt enough six win teams? Similar to what JMU had to do during its transition to FBS postseason ban

If they get to 6 wins, they can apply for a waiver to get a bowl game.  No guarantees they get it though if their APR can show improvement this season, they might get it granted.

[Lee Adams]

Didn't catch the game. When I saw the score I checked stats and replays.

Overall the Defense is still surprisingly solid. It has actually improved during the season. Probably the biggest reason the team at least has a chance to finishing. 500 in the MAC.

Offensively Gant is the go to. The comments on Finley have been accurate all season. When he doesn't hold the ball too long and steps into the pocket he can be effective. Isn't just throwing to get rid of it.Makes the O line look better.

I said 4-4 in the MAC is ok.

Least they have a chance now.

[kreed5120]

3 hours ago, LZIp said:

We really got boned with scheduling this year in terms of our bye week. Its really the last week of the season. Who tf needs a bye week the last week of the season. We have a quasi bye week this week I guess with a few extra days off, but so does the rest of the conference (who also gets to play their last game the last week of November due to having a real bye mid-season).

 

That's the issue with having an odd number of teams in conference. It won't be an issue next year when NIU is no longer in the conference.

[ZippyDoo]

it's going to be the season that should have been:

 

as of today:

 

miami 4-0 should have won

buffalo 3-1 won

central michigan 3-1 won

ball state 2-2 should have won

toledo 2-2 dominated us 

 

Zips SHOULD be 4-1 right now and at the top of the MAC. 

 

Oh the woulda shoulda coulda

 

If Joe Moe can win the last three despite the shouldas i'd say it was still a good season. 6-6 is probably more than what most on here would have realistically thought they would have achieved although they could have gone much higher. 

 

id consider 6-6 a win and wouldn't chase Joe out

[LZIp]

20 minutes ago, ZippyDoo said:

it's going to be the season that should have been:

 

as of today:

 

miami 4-0 should have won

buffalo 3-1 won

central michigan 3-1 won

ball state 2-2 should have won

toledo 2-2 dominated us 

 

Zips SHOULD be 4-1 right now and at the top of the MAC. 

 

Oh the woulda shoulda coulda

 

If Joe Moe can win the last three despite the shouldas i'd say it was still a good season. 6-6 is probably more than what most on here would have realistically thought they would have achieved although they could have gone much higher. 

 

id consider 6-6 a win and wouldn't chase Joe out

Even 5-7 would be our best season since 2017 and it’s objectively still taking the program upward even with all of our all conference players transferring/graduating from last year. 

[kreed5120]

5-7 is a year I'll take, but he will need to follow it up with 6+ win season next year before I would even consider an extension. We wouldn't be in a position to buy out 4-5 years of his contract if he regressed nor could we keep a coach around for 10 years that has never made it to a bowl game. It would place the University into a tougher bind than it is already.

[csims0917]

I will say this is also with the league practice restrictions in place because of our grades. I fully blame the full administration for that but the fact we are still performing this well with that stipulation as well is something to make note of