NOFL Week 8 Has Begun! Deadline is 5/15/09 at 10PM

[Eaglesfan27]

This week's human vs human matchups feature Oregon State vs Washington and Colorado vs Texas A&M.

[Eaglesfan27]

Bhlloy, let me know when you can play. The best nights for me would be as early as possible tomorrow (although I don't get home from work until 6:00 PM central) or Friday night. Alternatively, I can probably play late Tuesday or Weds. afternoon.

[kcchief19]

Colt, right now I think I'm free any evening except Wednesday. Let me know how your schedule looks.

[bhlloy]

I can probably do tomorrow any time after 4:30pm PST... I'll let you know time for sure when I see how work goes in the morning.

[ColtCrazy]

Originally Posted by kcchief19

Colt, right now I think I'm free any evening except Wednesday. Let me know how your schedule looks.

I could play Monday or Tuesday night. I'll let you pick the best one for you. After 8 is better for me, but I could play earlier if you need to.

EDIT: Tonight is now a no-go. How's Tuesday night for you?

[bhlloy]

Hey EF, can you play this afternoon after 4pm PST? If so I'll leave work asap, let me know...

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by bhlloy

Hey EF, can you play this afternoon after 4pm PST? If so I'll leave work asap, let me know...

I hope you didn't leave yet. Wife just pit a nix on the plan to play tonight due to a committment she made for us but didn't tell me until I just called to double check that tonight was free.

[Eaglesfan27]

Dola -

Sorry about that, I should have checked with her earlier than now, although it is rare we have plans for a Monday night. I'm definitely free tomorrow from 3PM Central until about 6:00 Central. Ditto for Weds. Friday, I'm free anytime after 5:00 PM Central. If none of those times are good for you, let me know and we'll work something out.

[bhlloy]

Cool, no worries - wasn't going to leave until 4 anyway. Will plan for some other evening.

[Eaglesfan27]

Heh. Our plans just got canceled because of severe thunderstorms coming through the area, but it is supposed to storm for the next 2-3 hours and similar storms knocked our power out 2 nights ago. So, either way, it looks like tonight would have been bad.

[bhlloy]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Dola -

Sorry about that, I should have checked with her earlier than now, although it is rare we have plans for a Monday night. I'm definitely free tomorrow from 3PM Central until about 6:00 Central. Ditto for Weds. Friday, I'm free anytime after 5:00 PM Central. If none of those times are good for you, let me know and we'll work something out.

Yeah, I'm at work until 4-4:30 PST every day and then going to Vegas on Friday for a soccer tournament. But the only other evening I have free is Thursday and I guess that is out because you didn't mention it. I have a dentist appt in the morning and will be working from home the rest of the day. Any time on Thursday work for you?

[kcchief19]

Originally Posted by ColtCrazy

I could play Monday or Tuesday night. I'll let you pick the best one for you. After 8 is better for me, but I could play earlier if you need to.

EDIT: Tonight is now a no-go. How's Tuesday night for you?

Tuesday should work for me. I forget which side of the timeline you're on -- I can do 7 or 8 CT tomorrow -- just let me know which it will be.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by bhlloy

Yeah, I'm at work until 4-4:30 PST every day and then going to Vegas on Friday for a soccer tournament. But the only other evening I have free is Thursday and I guess that is out because you didn't mention it. I have a dentist appt in the morning and will be working from home the rest of the day. Any time on Thursday work for you?

Thursday I work 8-7 so that is a bad day for me. Worst comes to worst, you can play my team under CPU control (just take it easy on us.)

[bhlloy]

Not leaving for Vegas on Friday until about 6 PST, so if I can get off work at 4 there might be time to fit it in there. If not, I have no problem with you playing against the CPU or just simming the game...

[ColtCrazy]

Originally Posted by kcchief19

Tuesday should work for me. I forget which side of the timeline you're on -- I can do 7 or 8 CT tomorrow -- just let me know which it will be.

I can do 7 CST (I'm EST)!!! See you then.

[Eaglesfan27]

Barring a power outage, I can definitely play between Friday 4 and 6PM PST if you have time to play. If we don't work it out, I'll either set my team to autoplay or we'll just sim it.

[kcchief19]

Originally Posted by ColtCrazy

I can do 7 CST (I'm EST)!!! See you then.

Giddy up. Just got home and settle in so I'll look you up shortly. The way things are going, I'm installing you as a 10-point favorite.

[kcchief19]

We can call off the league. The greatest game in NOFL history has been played:

Texas A&M 54, Colorado 48 in 4OT

Usually I give my long drawn out recaps but I'm too emotionally drained. Suffice to say that the game began with BOTH teams turning over the ball 1 yard from a TD; Colorado on downs, A&M on a pick-6 the other way.

CU 7-0 after 1st quarter
A&M 10-7 at half
A&M 20-14 after 3rd quarter
Tied at 28 at end of regulation

A&M made their chip shot ice the kicker field goal before half time but missed a 42-yard ice-the-kicker FG at the end of regulation.

Both teams made huge plays in OT. I converted a 4th-15 in the third OT. The game ended when Hawkins rolled left, saw Celestine bolting right and threw to him running across the back of the endzone. He had position on the defender behind him and dove for the ball ... and just missed making the grab that would have tied it 54 and given me a chance to win with the conversion.

Congrats, Colts. This game is going to hurt for a while but you earned it. I made some mistakes but I can't play any better than that. Great job.

[ColtCrazy]

Originally Posted by kcchief19

Giddy up. Just got home and settle in so I'll look you up shortly. The way things are going, I'm installing you as a 10-point favorite.

Well, I hope you took you +10.


HUGE Hats off to kcchief on this one. I've played several games against people (win and loss), but never a game like this.

My wife probably summed it up best. "If you have any more games like this, you can get out of this league. You are insane when you play."

There was a lot to get excited about in this one.

Final: Texas A&M 54, Colorado 48 (4 OT)

I won't even try to do this game justice with an overall recap. Colorado absolute shut down the A&M running game (a miserable 49 yards on 24 carries). It turned into a passing fest with the two teams combining for 797 yards.

I honestly threw my entire defensive playbook at him. What looked to be a defensive struggle (10-7 A&M lead at the half) turned into a shoot out by the 4th quarter. Both teams made clutch plays, Colorado made 2 big 4th down conversions and the teams combined for 16 of 26 3rd down conversions.

My nerves would disagree, but I didn't want this one to end. Great game man, just an absolute great game.

[kcchief19]

It's beyond words. I'm still looking at everything and just trying to figure out what I could have done differently. The defenses were amazing until about the fourth quarter. I think that's when we finally started getting a hold of each other's tendencies and got into a rhythm. We both did a nice job stopping each other the first three quarters but the offenses took over in the fourth quarter and OT. I spent most of the game in dime because my DBs are so weak and you still found the holes.

I threw almost my entire offensive playbook at you. I didn't go to the wildcat because I couldn't handle the risk/reward -- too afraid of a turnover. You did a great job keeping my passing game from hitting too many big plays. Meeks got behind the safety on one broken play but that was it.

Despite the loss it was one of the most enjoyable games I've ever played. It took almost 1:45 to play. I didn't think it was going to end.

The good news for CU is the Big 12 North blows. If we win out we should win the North title unless we lose some crazy ass three-way tie breaker. I'd love to do this again in the conference title game.

[ColtCrazy]

*I'm still a little shaky here*

I know what you mean. For 3 quarters, it was just a slug fest. I couldn't help thinking the pick 6 at the beginning was going to haunt me.

By the 4th quarter, my defense just seemed to be guessing. I kept expecting you to hit more screen passes, and then when I go away from shadowing it...you hit it for a monstrous 3rd down conversion. And that 4th down play in OT was amazing. Silly me called the same defense again from the 3rd down and you found that hole. Your passing game is very, very impressive. I think we both did a good job of mixing up the out routes and the seam routes. It got to the point I could never tell where you were going.

Yep, I remember the one you burned me deep on. I took over the safety, ran up because I thought you were taking off. There were a few cuss words on that one directed to myself for doing that as I watched your floater find your man in stride. Glad the kids were asleep!

I'll be rooting for you to run the table. Like you, that was just the best game. Would love to play you again, even if you would have revenge on your side.

[kingnebwsu]

Wow...sounds like a great game guys. We've had several epic human vs human games in NOFL history (several this season) but I think the 4 OT's may cement this one as the best. Wow.

Huge huge win for A&M. If they can make it through Okie State then they are the only human team where going undefeated would definitely mean a spot in the championship game (due to their already high ranking). All of the other remaining undefeated human teams need help to get there.

The good (and bad) thing about playing in 3 of our 4 conferences are the conference title games. If both teams win out, we could be in for an epic rematch in conference championship week.

Great game guys...too bad there's no "view replay of entire game" option in NCAA 09 because I think many of us would have enjoyed watching the 4th quarter to the end.

[kcchief19]

Originally Posted by ColtCrazy

I know what you mean. For 3 quarters, it was just a slug fest. I couldn't help thinking the pick 6 at the beginning was going to haunt me.

I'm going to second guess myself on those two 4th-and-1 conversions the rest of the season. If I didn't have a personal rule against running a QB sneak against a human, I could have punched that first one in. You had a great stand to stop me on first and goal from inside the one. The second one would have been about 38-yard FG from the hashmark. That's about the max range of my kicker. If it hadn't been 4th-and-1 I might have kicked it.

Up 3 at the end of the game, you might have been more aggressive about getting in FG range and still tied the game. Down 6, you would have had to go for the TD and might have just won the game.

Originally Posted by ColtCrazy

Yep, I remember the one you burned me deep on. I took over the safety, ran up because I thought you were taking off. There were a few cuss words on that one directed to myself for doing that as I watched your floater find your man in stride. Glad the kids were asleep!

The one that broke my heart was a third down and long where you started to scramble for the first and it looked like you were going to scramble and make it so I pulled my LB off to come after you .. and you complete the pass over his head to the receiver he just left all alone.

I really thought Celestine was going to catch that last pass of the game. I saw him going across and knew he was going to be open. You had a great stand on that last drive -- you had a couple of throws almost picked.

[ColtCrazy]

Originally Posted by kcchief19

Up 3 at the end of the game, you might have been more aggressive about getting in FG range and still tied the game. Down 6, you would have had to go for the TD and might have just won the game.

I went over that last drive several times. Other than the one pass Stephens broke a tackle and got up the sidelines, you protected the outsides very well. I never could complete anything over 5 yards. I called the one option run hoping to turn the corner. You covered that well, and in hindsight, it really cost me time wise. I had the ice the kicker thing in mind on the drive. Never should have put myself on the left hash. That angle was all messed up on the kick! I was in the middle on the ice the kicker thing till then. I think it's a great thing on a long kick. Who knew that was just the beginning of everything!

You know it's a great game when it gets rehashed so much. Ironically, it was only the #3 game on my greats list. I have no idea how.

[Eaglesfan27]

Sounds like an epic game. Congrats on the win, ColtCrazy.

[Karlifornia]

Damnit, Chief. I need someone to beat either Colt or Sun.

[kcchief19]

Originally Posted by ColtCrazy

I went over that last drive several times. Other than the one pass Stephens broke a tackle and got up the sidelines, you protected the outsides very well. I never could complete anything over 5 yards. I called the one option run hoping to turn the corner. You covered that well, and in hindsight, it really cost me time wise. I had the ice the kicker thing in mind on the drive. Never should have put myself on the left hash. That angle was all messed up on the kick! I was in the middle on the ice the kicker thing till then. I think it's a great thing on a long kick. Who knew that was just the beginning of everything!

You know it's a great game when it gets rehashed so much. Ironically, it was only the #3 game on my greats list. I have no idea how.

It was No. 4 on my great games list. WTF??

That fourth quarter was wild. After you went up 28-21 I think I got the ball back with about about 4:30 minutes to play. That was just about the worst amount of time for me because I don't have a grind it out offense designed to run the clock. Then I almost immediately hit that big pass to get across midfield with about 4 minutes to go. I was trying to leave you as little time as possible but I just scored too quickly. Fortunately it was just about the right time. If you had a chance to get the ball in the center of the field, that field goal would have been good.

I was really curious about the playcall after your TD in the first OT when you called the 5-WR spread. I saw that formation and tried to call a play to match up but didn't get it called in time. When you started making adjustments I called the timeout because I wasn't ready for the two-point try. After the timeout, you went to the FG formation. I figured you were hoping to throw me off balance and create some mismatches. I breathed a big sigh of relief when I saw the FG troop head out.

Amazing game. I'm still kicking things and mumbling to myself. That was an exhausting game. To go from getting dominated by ISU one week to going 4OT with the the No. 2 team in the country and a human to boot is maddening.

[kcchief19]

Originally Posted by Karlifornia

Damnit, Chief. I need someone to beat either Colt or Sun.

Well, I'm 0-2 on that front.

[ColtCrazy]

Originally Posted by kcchief19

It was No. 4 on my great games list. WTF??

That fourth quarter was wild. After you went up 28-21 I think I got the ball back with about about 4:30 minutes to play. That was just about the worst amount of time for me because I don't have a grind it out offense designed to run the clock. Then I almost immediately hit that big pass to get across midfield with about 4 minutes to go. I was trying to leave you as little time as possible but I just scored too quickly. Fortunately it was just about the right time. If you had a chance to get the ball in the center of the field, that field goal would have been good.

I was really curious about the playcall after your TD in the first OT when you called the 5-WR spread. I saw that formation and tried to call a play to match up but didn't get it called in time. When you started making adjustments I called the timeout because I wasn't ready for the two-point try. After the timeout, you went to the FG formation. I figured you were hoping to throw me off balance and create some mismatches. I breathed a big sigh of relief when I saw the FG troop head out.

Amazing game. I'm still kicking things and mumbling to myself. That was an exhausting game. To go from getting dominated by ISU one week to going 4OT with the the No. 2 team in the country and a human to boot is maddening.

Yeah, my team is more of a grind it out team. With 2 minutes left, I figured my best chance was to try a normal drive and get into range. I was worried if I tried to gun it, I'd have to punt and give you too much time left.

I remember. I was originally thinking I would go for 2, take the chance to win or lose. I was making adjustments on that set and when you called TO I changed my mind. I decided I would hate myself too much if I went for it and lose because I got greedy. I do that against the CPU and it usually doesn't hurt me. It always seems to against humans.

It is funny how the game changes week to week. Against Raiders, I felt I played some very good defense...but my offense really was lackluster. When my defense fell apart this week, the offense stepped up. I'm sure I'm just over thinking this too!

I've been thinking through the game a lot too. It was just a fun game, and reminds me of why when my twins come and I have to budget games NCAA will be a must buy.

Now let's just hope I don't lay a huge egg against the Sooners and keep the rematch from happening.

[kcchief19]

I briefly considered going for two after I scored in regulation, thinking that if you went into kill the clock mode I could get the ball back if I missed. But I was afraid with as much time as I left that if you were forced to put the ball in the air to win you would, and my pass defense is suspect. My rush defense, not so bad.

I REALLY wanted to go for it at the end of the second OT too. If you hadn't stopped me on so many short yardage situations already, I would have.

I feel (only slightly) guilty for icing the kicker but since I'm the only one that voted against it, it's fair game. But I think both of us deserve kudos for not calling any cheesy QB sneaks or FB dives the entire game. Both of us could have scored easy points several times on QB sneaks or picked up key first downs and we didn't do it.

[Raiders Army]

epic

[ColtCrazy]

I agree. I was tempted, especially after my pick 6 on short yardage, but we both avoided that. I appreciated that. It would have killed the game.

I had called one of my short yardage packages during that 2nd OT. I figured at the worst, you'd bring it out to see what my alignment was, like I did to you in OT #1.

Don't feel guilty...I see it's place now. Had I not wasted one of the TOs, I would have had a chance to at least run it up the middle and have a better chance at a kick. A 42 yarder for the win should be hard. This game needed to be won on a TD anyway!

[cmp]

I'll be getting my game in tonight.

[Sun Tzu]

ditto

[Sun Tzu]

What seems to be the norm for Stanford is a slow start, followed by scoring a very large number of unanswered points. Today was no different. The Arizona Wildcats came into Palo Alto and scored on their first two posessions, going up 13-0 very quickly. But over the next 3.5 quarters we wound up outscoring them 55-8. 100 yards on the ground, 300 through the air, and zero turnovers. Our backup QB is *definitely* no Andrew Luck, but he's not a bad QB either.

[BigDPW]

I was able to come back and beat Wake Forest in Raleigh. Our defense was key in a close game that saw them nearing fieldgoal range to kick a winning FG at the end of regulation only to have me pick a errant pass and return it to seal the win. I really miss Mike Glennon at QB......

[bhlloy]

EF - I really don't think tomorrow is going to happen, sorry. I have an afternoon full of meetings right now so leaving work early isn't looking promising, and I have two people to pick up on the way to Vegas so I can't delay them any. You can go ahead and set my team to CPU controlled if you like and play the game out.

Also I will be in the UK from 21st May - 1st June so I'll probably get the next week in, but then will miss 1/2 weeks depending on timing. I can't get to the Xbox right now so I don't know if my game with Sun will be affected, but I think it might be. In that case obviously set me to CPU controlled for that week also.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by bhlloy

EF - I really don't think tomorrow is going to happen, sorry. I have an afternoon full of meetings right now so leaving work early isn't looking promising, and I have two people to pick up on the way to Vegas so I can't delay them any. You can go ahead and set my team to CPU controlled if you like and play the game out.

Also I will be in the UK from 21st May - 1st June so I'll probably get the next week in, but then will miss 1/2 weeks depending on timing. I can't get to the Xbox right now so I don't know if my game with Sun will be affected, but I think it might be. In that case obviously set me to CPU controlled for that week also.

No need to apologize, I understand how real life can get hectic. For our week, I'm just going to sim the game. It's only fair as my availability was limited as well.

If you are unavailable for Sun's game, I will set you to CPU that week. Have a good trip to Vegas and then the UK (one of my favorite places to visit.)

[Sun Tzu]

Is bhlloy going to be gone for my game against him? Do I play him next week? I'm confuzled.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Sun Tzu

Is bhlloy going to be gone for my game against him? Do I play him next week? I'm confuzled.

He isn't sure which week you two play, but he will be gone for a 10 day period soon and that might be at the time that you two would play. I don't know when you two play and am at work so I can't check on it.

[Sun Tzu]

Got it...I think we play in the 2nd to last week of the season, but I'm not 100% sure.

I'm really worried about my back to back games against USC and then you (EF) without having Luck on the team. We are still a B- team at best, and we're rated 79 overall...Luck was a major reason that we were able to pull out a win against some tough opponents in past games. Alex Loukas, our backup is decent, but he's not enough to propell us to elite status, especially with a major lack of team speed this year.