UB92

We quite possibly might win this game, but if there was a team that didn't deserve to go to a bowl, this is it. I mean...the situational awareness and discipline is seemingly in negative numbers by now.

Is it really unbelievably bad? I mean, Akron is coming off a big win and has certainly played better. Buffalo choked away a victory last week and, let's say, this coach/coaching staff has had problems motivating players. I think this was certainly believable and, to some, sort of expected.

This is unfair to McNulty and doesn't recognize how good he has been for almost all of his UB career, especially on extra points. That was always an adventure, pre-McNulty. Heck, I think we missed a tying extra point at the end of a game versus NIU several years ago (we came back late). McNulty on extra points 2018: 3/4 on extra points 2019: 40/42 on extra points 2020: 42/42 on extra points 2021: 37/37 on extra points 2022: 37/38 on extra points (not including the many he will kick today versus Akron). It is, basically, automatic and we did not have that prior to McNulty. McNulty on FG within 40 yards 2018: 1/1 2019: 8/10 2020: 1/3 2021: 8/9 2022: 10/11 Where McNulty has really become a weapon this year is 40+ yards on FG, where he is 10/12. UBinMD, the reality is you haven't had to close your eyes on extra points for many years, not just this year. You (and many others) will miss him when he is gone.

Yeah. We are the team where Mo learns how to be a head coach. Akron pounded NIU today.

I am never a fan of "it could be worse, look at so and so" approach. But I suspect that it may come across better in a personal conversation where tone/inflection matter, rather than in a board post. However, I boldfaced the point you made above, which I think is sort of at the crux of my issue (and has always been). I am on board with what you say, but the fault lies with the AD. In my estimation, he was not as aware as he should have been about a backup plan (should Oats leave) and, apparently, did not have as much money available for a coach as he had thought. If he did, I'd expect Lanier would have been our coach. So when Lanier (my speculation) balked, he went the cheap route in order to try to keep the team together...hoping it would lead to a MAC Championship. And it almost worked (the team made it to the finals in 2021), but now we have to live with the fact it didn't work. On the other hand, if the AD hires some up-and-coming coach for $300k instead of Whitesell, we likely lose more guys from the roster that Whitesell kept...and very likely aren't in the MAC Championship game in 2021. He made a choice...it didn't work out...now we are stuck with Whitesell for a while till he is done. That's sort of the long and short of it. I look forward to a thread in a year or two or three where we speculate on the next coach. I do hope the players develop and I am wrong, but I don't think I will be. I will always bleed blue, though, and root for our guys (and gals).

I made a vow a while ago not to post about basketball until JW is no longer coach. And, for the most part, I have only just read these basketball threads. Every now and then, however, I break down and post. A few current thoughts… There are some interesting players on the team this year. Some seem to have MAC level (or beyond) talent JW is not going anywhere. The Pres limited the outlay for a new coach and once our first choice didn’t take it, we got JW to coach on a low salary. JW has been head coach in more than 750 college games. Not calling time out on that play is just awful. Reggie level end-of-game awful. JW has had a hard time getting his players to compete against teams they are better than (like today). He even admitted it a few years ago after a bad loss. Today’s performance should not be a surprise. Once again, the guy has been HC for more than 750 college games. He sort of is who he is. He isn’t a great in game coach, guys don’t seem to get better under his tutelage and he has a challenge motivating the team. He is a nice guy, kept Oats’ team together and came cheap. Blame the AD and President for this, though. JW is who he is.

UB was ahead of the curve with Men’s soccer…. https://getsomemaction.com/news/2022/11/11/mac-to-suspend-sponsoring-mens-soccer-following-2022-season.aspx

Akron has been playing much tougher. They are closer. They need a breakthrough game. Coming to UB after this loss? Who knows.

That is a bad and deflating loss. I know that we had that in the HC game, but rallied after that. However, we don’t seem to be as good as we were during the win streak. We are just not that good. Akron is NOT a pushover and if we think they are, it will be a competitive game. we have some talent at WR but really have no one to deliver the ball on a consistent basis. Considering the way we were not able to run the ball in the second half, maybe it is time to consider players Myers for some series as a change of pace.

Exactly. They have that guy in Myers if they want to do that. If they are using Snyder, he can’t do RPO.

CMU has to punt here.

Snyder CANT run that option. He obviously makes the wrong read and he isn’t good enough to do this. Why are they asking him to do something he can’t really do? it is sad to watch this set destruction.

The fact that we are not forcing him to pass is astounding. And we are biting on the run play (hint: he is keeping the ball). I don’t mind if we get beat by better players (like last week’s QB), but this is just our defense not in the right scheme to stop this (and bad tackling).

There is zero explanation for this.

No one actually tackles anyone. That was embarrassing. There is just no other word for it. Don’t we have leaders on this team?

I try not to post during the games (though I failed a few times) and I try to wait a while after a bad loss to let it sit. It has been a day now. Thoughts... There was literally no where for the backs (or QB) to run. And, like another poster mentioned, it seemed they made bad decisions when there was a small hole. There was hardly a pocket when Snyder went back to throw. You could tell early that he was thinking about how quickly he had to get rid of the ball...but he was patient to a fault sometimes and that got him sacked. Basically, he never seemed relaxed back there. Snyder just isn't a very good runner. He seemed to avoid hard contact (which isn't a bad thing) and went down a lot. If we want him to run a lot, we have the wrong player in at QB. I do hope Snyder continues his development. He is certainly up and down...and development isn't always a bunch of small steps. Sometimes it is 3 steps forward and 2 steps backward. Ohio has a good offense and exposed our defensive backfield (and the lack of depth). We didn't really get much pressure on the QB and when we did, he evaded a tackle, made a move and made positive yards. Give him credit...he's an experienced MAC QB. Yesterday was, technically, his 23rd game where he had action. When you read the post-game/next day quotes from the team, they have already moved on to the next game. That's the right attitude. Remember, this team responded when they lost to HC and were 0 - 3. This one against Ohio was a loss...but next week is the next opportunity to get a win. Go Bulls.

The body language on Marshall is awful. He gets very frustrated that his QB can’t deliver the ball near him. Snyder has been on the wrong page with his two big WRs on reads the whole night. I think they bring in the second string QB to finish the game. Get him some reps.

Here’s the thing - Snyder isn’t awful. He may get better as the years progress. I don’t think he should stand in the way of anyone else, however. But maybe he will improve with experience. The line isn’t doing him any favors, either.

We have them right where we want them!

Roarke has a vapor lock on Wiglisz. But we just cover him with one guy. This is a pretty bad first half. Guys don’t seem into it, bad coaching. Always a block in back on return it seems. just a lot not to like. maybe they can get a TD on this drive.

That is a really, really bad decision from Snyder. You wouldn’t see that in a Freshman HS game. He seems afraid to throw the ball. On defense, they are throwing to one guy, and they single him all across the field. UB needs a big play or it will be a very long night.

I think this 10-ranking compilation is interesting, though I don't know how much of this is independent analysis and how much of it is multiple outlets using one (or a few persons) research. Either there is optimism in the Bulls or pessimism in several teams towards the bottom of the MAC. Indeed, if you trust Massey, he ranks SUNY Buffalo [120] as 3rd in the conference (behind Toledo [115] and Akron [119]), and first in offense. I am a little surprised in the optimism, but pleasantly surprised. When you look at the UBfan poll, the 30 members have us at about 17 wins overall, and around 10 or 11 in conference. That's more in the 5th - 6th place range. But the composite rankings, as you allude to, paint a similar picture to our 30 members.

Did you do this yourself (i.e., mine ten rankings for the info) or did someone else do this composite? I understand the blue bar capturing 25 - 75 percentile, but does the red box capture all 10 of the low rankings (likewise, the green capturing all of the high rankings)? I guess I don't understand those boxes. Do they represent the ranges from 75 - 100th and 1st to 25th quartile? Is this a box-and-whisker plot?

And my analysis above doesn't even include OOC games. Spoiler Alert: Including the OOC games....Ohio is still last in the MAC in yards per game allowed (over 500, on average). This is why those turnovers are so important. Bend by not break, I guess!

I haven't done my game analysis yet since we start our mid-week MACTION this Tuesday. In fact, there isn't even a line I can find on the game yet. At any rate, UB visits Athens. The Bobcats are 3rd in the conference (through 4 conference games) in both offensive scoring and defensive scoring (UB is 2nd in both cats, by the way). Alas, Ohio is last in the MAC (through 4 conference games) in yards allowed (481 yds/games), though second in yards gained per game. A big theme for Ohio has been getting turnovers. OU has gotten 10 turnovers the past four games, but has only turned the ball over twice. Ohio's last game, a 24-17 win hosting NIU, they were outgained by the Huskies, but were more efficient on 3rd down to keep drives moving. The game before that, WMU self-destructed at home versus Ohio. These are WMU second half drives: (they were down 20 - 14 at half) Downs (at Ohio 14) Fumbled punt reception (at WMU 40) Interception (at Ohio 19) Interception (at WMU 12) Interception (at Ohio 34) Downs (at WMU 17) Interception (at WMU 43) Interception (at WMU 25) 2 plays (end of game) Remember...WMU is playing at home in this game against the (from a yards allowed perspective) the worst defense in the MAC. I would suspect that UB will have an opportunity to both move the football and score points against Ohio. When Ohio has the ball, Rourke is the guy. He's been more accurate this year than last and has a higher average yards per completion. Basically, he's just been better. And that isn't even counting his ability to run the football. Rourke runs when he needs to. UB got away with one last week, grabbing victory out of the jaws of defeat when Toledo imploded. But that's why they play the game. We saw a few years ago when UB played at Kent State that, sometimes, the momentum is too difficult to overcome. At any rate, UB has some good skill players and they are always dangerous. UB is getting better each week as guys are learning to play together. Those other games...they are in the past. It is a new team (on both sides of the ball) each week. This should be another high-scoring affair and a close game. I don't see UB getting blown out in this game. Like the rest, one play here or there could make the difference. Go Bulls!