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Defense's flaws are costing Zips chances to win

Late scoring drives by Cincinnati, BG spoil otherwise strong team efforts

By Tom Gaffney
Beacon Journal sports writer

Published on Wednesday, Oct 15, 2008

Defensive deficiencies late in games have plagued and doomed the University of Akron football team over the past three Saturdays.

They have led directly to defeats against Cincinnati (17-15 on Sept. 27) and Bowling Green (37-33 Saturday) and what easily could have been a loss at Kent State (a 30-27 victory Oct. 4).

''Defensively, the past three weeks, our kids have played pretty hard and played almost well enough. Obviously, not well enough,'' said UA coach J.D. Brookhart, whose team will play Saturday at Eastern Michigan.

Cincinnati and Kent State put together fourth-quarter drives that led to winning and tying field goals, respectively. Bowling Green used two long drives and two short ones in the fourth
quarter to score 23 points in the final 13:04.

In the losses, the Zips showed defensive positives by holding the Bearcats to 20 points under their average and holding the Falcons to 14 points in the first three quarters.

But lapses down the stretch left the Zips with a 3-4 record, when it is not a reach to dream of the record being 5-2.

''There are some things we need to improve on, no question,'' Brookhart said about his defense. ''It's missed opportunities. It's guys not quite getting where they need to be in some schemes. There are some inconsistencies that happen . . . you have to limit them.''

Against Cincinnati, the Zips led 15-14 when the Bearcats — led by third-string quarterback Zach Collaros — drove 42 yards in nine plays to set up a 48-yard field goal by Jake Rogers with 7:45 left.

The following week against the Golden Flashes, the Zips got a circus catch by Deryn Bowser with 1:28 left for a 24-21 lead. But KSU, buoyed by a 34-yard scramble by quarterback Julian Edelman, drove from its 37 to the UA 15 in one minute, 23 seconds to force overtime with a field goal.

Bowling Green, trailing 27-14 after three quarters, had a seven-play, 61-yard drive and a seven-play, 74-yard drive on its way to a 23-6 scoring edge in the fourth quarter.

In the loss to the Falcons, which came at the Rubber Bowl on homecoming weekend, junior quarterback Tyler Sheehan made plays at will down the stretch. He and quarterback-tailback Anthony Turner combined to complete 8-of-9 passes for 88 yards in the fourth quarter. The Falcons also had nine rushes for 48 yards and accounted for nine of their 25 first downs in the quarter.

''There were some things that they were trying to exploit, which they did at times,'' Brookhart said. ''We had chances to stop them and we didn't. The Sheehan kid is a good player. You can't discount that piece of it. We really didn't get many hits on the quarterback, either.''

The late defensive woes have been a part of the reason the Zips are 13th (last) against the run (215.4 yards) and 12th overall (400.6) in the Mid-American Conference.

The Zips' inexperience has been a factor in the defensive problems. UA returned only five defensive starters from 2007, and one of them, safety Andre Jones, was moved to offense.

Brookhart said there are no plans to make personnel changes on defense and that the 3-3-5 alignment will continue.

''You are always concerned. You don't want to give up the yards you are giving up,'' Brookhart said. ''It's an area we are very focused on and spend a lot of time on.

''You trust in your scheme and you continue to ask your players to improve each and every week.''

Bain update

Brookhart said he did not agree with the NCAA ruling suspending junior defensive lineman Ryan Bain last week for the 2008 season for taking a banned over-the-counter dietary supplement.

Brookhart said Bain took it on his own without asking a strength coach about it, meaning Bain bore the full responsibility. The product was mislabeled, containing an ingredient banned by the NCAA that was not shown.

''Frustrating. I think very unfair. We tried to appeal the ruling and it didn't go through,'' Brookhart said.

Bain, a transfer from Iowa who was scheduled to start at noseguard, has missed the entire 2008 season with a foot injury.

He will be eligible to play in 2009.

Tom Gaffney can be reached at tgaffney@thebeaconjournal.com.

Defensive deficiencies late in games have plagued and doomed the University of Akron football team over the past three Saturdays.

Get the full article here.


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