25 Questions that Zip

What is their body of work?

I think it is safe to say this program is languishing.  Bowden has been here seven years--and has won everywhere he coached--but Akron appears to be immune to his skills.  He's 34-49 in seven years and 4-5 and 2-4 this year.  Akron did win the East last year and beat Northwestern this year--the Wildcats will play in the Big Ten Championship.  Their two MAC wins are over CMU and Kent, which is a lot like BG's could be. 

How many seniors and juniors on the two-deep?

They have 26 which is pretty normal.  The offense is very young.

Who are their statistical leaders?

John Lako is #7 in total tackles
Alvin Davis is #7 in interceptions

What is their turnover ratio?

They are -11, which is last in the MAC.  (Unless otherwise noted, all stats are MAC-only.)

Offense:

How is their QB play?

Well, that depends.  Kato Nelson is their normal starter and he's not bad.  Not a great passer but can run the ball.  He was injured in the NIU game and was not close to playing last week against EMU...a game in which the offense really struggled.  Nelson is questionable for the game tomorrow.  Without him, it gets much easier for BG, especially with their history of troubles with running QBs.

What is their scoring and yards per play?

Last week, BG put on their big second-half show against the worst offense in the MAC.  Akron is second worst, 11th in points and in yards per play.

Can they run the ball?

Nope.  They are last in rushing at 2.9 yards per carry.

Do they pass the ball?

They are 11th in pass efficiency.  One of two teams in the MAC completing 49% of their passes with 6 TD and 10 INT.  They do get 12.2 yards per catch, which is not bad.  Williams and Smith both have big play potential for the Zips.

How is their run/pass balance?

They run on 52% of their plays, which is run heavy.

Do they convert on 3rd Down?

They are last in the MAC at 30%.

Did they score in the red zone?

When they get their, they are not bad at 5.3 per trip, but they have only 11 red zone trips in 6 games.

Did they protect the quarterback?

They do not.  They are sacked on 9% of their passing attempts.

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That supplied all materials
To Wiley E. Coyote

Defense:

Topline: Scoring and yards per play.

They are 7th in scoring defense but 4th in yards per play.  Part of that discrepancy might be their awful turnover ratio.

Do they defend the run effectively?

They are 8th in yards per carry allowed.

Can they be passed on?

They are 5th in pass efficiency defense.  They allow 61% completions for 9.8 per reception.  The latter is really good.  They have allowed 4 TDs and have only 2 INT.

Did they get off the field on 3rd down?

They do.  They are 4th in the MAC with 35%.

Do they defend in the red zone?

They are pretty good, with 4.5 points per trip allowed.

Did they pressure the QB?

They are OK, with sacks on 6% of attempts.

Special Teams:

Akron also hired a high school coach once. 
And yes, that's Jim Tressel

Punting?

They are 2nd in net punting.

Punt Return?

They are 2nd in punt returns with a TD.  This is Jeremiah Knight, he's a good one.

Placekicking?

Gasser is real good.  He's 13 of 17 for the whole year, long of 49, 7 of 8 inside 40.

Kickoff?

Opponents start on the 25.

Kickoff Return?

They start on the 24.




Miscellaneous, Intangibles?

This is another of these who loves football games.  Akron is playing for bowl eligibility and given that they added South Carolina to replace Nebraska on the schedule, they will need to win their remaining MAC games to get to 6 wins and bowl-eligibility.  Based on the last Akron game I saw on #maction, the stands will be empty and any motivation will have to come from inside.  This team is a good matchup for BG and that's especially true if Nelson doesn't play or isn't 100%.  Love to see BG put 2 in a row together.

BG is a 6.5 point dog.