25 Questions on Zippy Morehead

What is their body of work?

Akron has had as big a struggle as any team in the FBS.  The Zips have never won more than 8 games.   Since 1975, they have 10 winning seasons. Terry Bowden was 35-52 but that now appears to be a veritable golden age compared to what came after, where they are 4-30.  

Which would be fine, except for Tom Arth, who was 3-24 as Zip coach, two of his wins were over BG. Far and away, the lowest moment of the Loeffler years is the 2020 31-3 defeat to the Zips.  Last year's defeat was only 15 points.

Arth landed up, as a pass game specialist for the Chargers and his buddy, Brandon Staley.

He was replaced by Joe Moorehead, sending a primal scream through the Falcon fan base.  Moorehead has a reputation as an offensive genius.  He was 38-13 at Fordham in his first head coaching gig.  Then he moved to Mississippi State, where a 14-12 record got him canned. From there to Oregon as OC and now to the Zips.  

This year they are 1-3.  They won their FCS game in overtime, then lost to MSU and Tennessee, as expected.  They played Liberty and lost 21-12, a really decent result against a good team.  

BG is a 9.5 point road favorite.

How experienced are they?

According to Steele, they are the 6th most experienced team in the MAC, with 2 seniors on their pre-season depth chart.

Who are their nationally ranked players?

Tony Grimes is the #13 PR, #1 in MAC.

Bubba Arslanian is #10 in solo tackles and #9 in total tackles

What is their turnover ratio? 

They are even so far

Offense

How is their QB play?

Well, he's a specimen. DJ Irons is 6'6" and 205 pounds. You don't run across many QBs like that.  He played in 8 games last year but did not play in the game against BG due to an injury.  He's #10 in the MAC in passing efficiency.  He's completed 63% of his passes, which is right about the NCAA Average.  He has about 10 yards per completion but only 3 TDs over 1 INT.  He is definitely a running QB, with over 11 yards per carry even with sacks included.  His mobility has been limited since an injury at MSU, but they are hopeful he is improving.

What is their scoring and yards per play

They have not done much offensively this year.  They are 128th in the nation with 12 PPG.  They are 115th in yards per play at 4.3 yards per play.

Can they run the ball?

Not really.  They are last in the MAC at second-to-last in the nation at 1.8 per carry.  Their lead back, Cam Wiley, averages 3.4 yards per carry.  He's a transfer from Minny.

Do they pass the ball?

They are not great so far. They have a WR with 21 catches named Shocky-Jacques Louis.

How is their run/pass balance?

Factoring for sacks, they have run on 33% of their plays, which is really low.  Right where Missisippi State was.

Do they convert on 3rd Down?

 No.  At 23%, they do not.  Having said that, there are 4 teams even worse.

Do they score in the red zone?

Not at all....3.9 points per trip. 

Do they protect the quarterback?

Not well.  They have been sacked 20 times (2nd to last in NCAA) and 10.5% of attempts.  

Defense:

Topline: Scoring and yards per play

They are last in the MAC in scoring defense and 9th in yards per play.  Played much better defense against Liberty.  (Where you only defend what you need).

Do they defend the run effectively?

They have been allowing 5 yards per rush, last in the MAC.

Can they be passed on?

They are pretty good, #5 in pass efficiency defense. They allow 63% completions and have 4 int.

Do they get off the field on 3rd down?

They are ok, 43% allowed, 8th in MAC.

Do they defend in the red zone?

Not great, 5.8 points per trip.

Do they pressure the QB?

Not really.  Sacks on 4.8% of passing attempts.

Special Teams:

Punting?

They are #8 in the MAC.  No blocks and no TDs allowed.

Punt Return?

As mentioned, their guy is nationally ranked.  No blocks.

Placekicking? 

They have used 2 guys.  Smiegel started and struggled.  Noah Perez is now kicking.  He is 4-5 on FGs and a long of 41.  Only miss is over 50.  THEY HAVE TRIED ONLY 4 xps.

Kickoff? 

Teams start on the 24.

Kickoff Return?

They start on the 26.

Intangible Miscellany

I say this every year,  but this is a game where two struggling teams look at each other and say "this is one we could win."  Akron has beaten BG twice in the Loeffler era and beaten almost no one else and they do not have an FBS win this year.  In fact, their LAST FBS win was over BG last year.  They have lost 8 straight.

On the flip side, BG continues to try and define itself as a competitive team. We have been told to wait until we hit MAC play, so we are here.  A competitive team in the MAC wins this game.

It will be interesting to see how healthy McDonald is.  In the Marshall game, his ability to run made a big difference and opened this up.  Without that, it feels like he has had more struggles.  His mobility will matter.  I suspect they will not want him running too much.

Christian Sims will be back, which is really important.  He's probably our top player on offense.

To me, the key is defense.  Akron has struggled on offense, but outgained Liberty.  If the defense asserts itself, prevents the run and keeps Irons in the pocket...and then moves the ball on the other side...they should be able to win this one.  And need to.  Crazy MAC and meaningless helmet emblems aside, the outlook is a lot darker with another loss to UA.