I think by watching this team, we can see some good young talent. Injuries were a factor like they are for many teams, but the coaching was a mess. Albin needs to go and Frank needs to realize this. Vick should never have missed a non-injury snap, plain and simple. The pistol is the same as we've run it for years....needs to be updated and/our changed.

It'll be an interesting winter in Athens

All about Ohio, no credit to NIU? Oh, I do disagree about your assessment. There were two very good, and two well coached teams on the field tonight. I was very disappointed with Brown's targeting. Nothing to be proud of there.

I agree, Bcat2. But, of course, I'm one of the "sunshine boys" so what would you expect. As I told L.C. in a text message after the game, anyone who doesn't see the improvement in this team from early in the season until now is either blind, stupid or obstinate. If this had been game three of the season it would have been 31-7 in NIU's favor. OHIO is going to be a very good team next year, and Oxford Tech better be prepared because this team will be prepared for them. I hope that some of you guys like crow, because next year it'll be a BA favorite. ;-)

Some nice responses so far that I agree with. We gave the best team in the MAC a dogfight. Our defense had some solid stops and kept us in the game. If only we didn't get blasted on special teams...

There are pieces. The OL dominated at times, creating holes for AJ. There are some decent, young WRs.

Where Albin is severely lacking is the passing game. There hasn't been a consistent passing game all season. We've seen flashes, but nothing that the opposing defense really needs to be stressed about.

I mean we saw it clearly tonight, our best passing attack was chucking the ball deep and hoping for defensive PI.

+1

You make a good point about NIU's DBs. I agree. Although on the last drive, I felt like we threw a couple token deep balls just hoping for PI since we knew that might have been our only shot.

It was a great effort by the team and we nearly pulled out the win against one of the best teams in the league. What else can you ask for?

One comment on the Blair Brown targeting call...I'm sorry but he basically fell on the guy head first. He barely touched him. Sure, call him for a 15 yard penalty if you'd like but ejection from the game was uncalled for.

Here are my two problems with last night:

1. NIU's two QBs are obviously way behind the 8-ball compared to the last several QBs they have had. Yet time and time again they made the plays that kept the drives moving. I'm sorry, but Hare is not a guy that I can see being a next great MAC QB. He may have some yards on the ground this year, but he really didn't seem all that quick. Yet he still gets first downs when NIU needs them. Those are the times where the LBs need to be stepping up their game. He doesn't have that great of an arm, so you have to look for him to run it, right?

2. Just boneheaded plays over and over and over again by Ohio, which at this point in the season are almost uncalled for:

- Lucas Powell's snap to Derrius Vick when Vick wasn't looking.

- O-line missing key blocks in the running game. Like obvious ones that would have sprung A.J. for more yards.

- Vick throwing awful, awful passes into coverage.

- Vick just throwing deep balls up for grabs when he is pressured. Ohio got lucky last night to get mostly P.I. calls on NIU I think.

- Brown's targeting penalty, which turned out to be not that bad because NIU got a personal foul the next play.

- Questionable calls on 4th down by the coaching staff. The one on the last drive that worked was fantastic. But I'm one of those guys if you have the ball inside the opponents 40 and it's 4th down and short yardage, go for it. It's obvious Yaz has struggled this year in the kicking game a bit. And the wind/cold were obviously affecting his leg last night. You've got a shot to beat NIU at home, stop kicking FGs, man up and get 1st downs and score TDs. Especially with the night A.J. was having.

I did love the effort the guys gave last night though. Last year's team would have gotten blown out I think.

After 10 years with basically the same coaching staff, this team should be a well-oiled machine. They are not. Justify it with injury excuses, the need for patience, future predictions full of delusional grandeur, or whatever you need to pump Peden full of more rainbows and unicorns.

The mistakes and lack of execution on the field are disappointing. The inability to recruit key positions is a problem. Whoever is recruiting all of these great WRs is a hell of a salesman, because they show up in Athens ready to catch balls, and there is nobody capable of accurately throwing it to them.

In the past 5 days I have listened to two post game shows on the way home. When Russ interviewed Saul on Saturday after the basketball game, I wanted to pull off the side of the road and listen to the whole conversation before I got to Guysville and the 105.5 signal faded out because he is so engaging. Listening to Frank talk is like hearing an emergency announcement from the National Weather Service. Where is the fire and passion in the football program? I just don't see it.

I saw fire from Poling when he stopped Stingily short on third down. The passion was left for Stingily as he pounded the ground. Another time Wells blasts Stingily forcing a fumble, again leaving Stingily to express the passion fist to the ground. Fire is what gets Crutch to tackle Hare 8 yards downfield, but, short of a first. Fire gets A.J. 125 against NIU. Fire gets Vick 80 more on the ground. Cripes, NIU is an Orange Bowl type program and Ohio gave them all they could handle and you worry about the coaches interview style.

That got a pretty good laugh :)

Still, though, I don't think you have to be "the most interesting man in the world" to coach a football team. Frank has been doing this for longer than just about any of us have been doing our jobs. I think he knows what it takes to be successful. It's just baffling that somehow the pieces haven't come together over the years. I do think the assistant coaches/coordinators have something to do with it...but Frank won't or isn't willing to make a hard decision like that. Perhaps some of it stems from the way he was dismissed at Nebraska - he doesn't want to do the same to staff members he cares for and trusts.

Stating that NIU is 'an Orange Bowl type program'...confirms your lack of credibility.


The problem is something like this. Last year, the leadership couldn't stop the team from quitting/locker room problems. This year there's no quit, but we're so very C-. Take OUelllette off this team (is he deep on the bench if we don't fumble four vs. kent?) and we are at the bottom of the MAC.

I do think this team played "reasonably well last night for MOST of the plays. However, I also seriously sometimes think this team is going thru the motions with their lack of enthusiasm and fire for the game.

All I can say for sure is that the last 30 or so games, something is just not quite right compared to where this program was previous to the current mediocre run. If we knew what it was OR if the staff knew what it was, I am sure it would be corrected. Problem, is, either nobody knows what "IT" is or they cannot correct whatever "IT" is.