The Ladder 2018 - Bowl Season - Deadline is 11/29 (Sat) at 11 p.m. EST

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by CU Tiger

FWIW everyone of my coach points are towards recruiting..

Same here...

[Julio Riddols]

Me too. Not sure what could be going on with having no time to pass. I have about 3 or 4 seconds on most downs.

[Kodos]

Originally Posted by Kodos

So in checking over cartman's roster, I discovered he had hamstrung three starters in his secondary (including both starting corners) by 10 points in the speed rating, and one had a 20 point hit to his agility. I have gone through and edited his roster using the original spreadsheet. It should be accurate now. I've sent cartman an invite. Please come back, cartman! We love you!

Welp, all of my edits disappeared once we advanced. So apparently fixing Rice's roster is out. I made sure to advance in-game to up the chances that the fix would stick, but no dice apparently.

I think I'm in favor of just going back to the NCAA 2013 version, if everyone is on board (cartman and Chesapeake included). If they are out no matter what, then I would probably favor sticking with 2014. But to make things clear, I would rather go back to NCAA 2013 and have them back than to stay with 2014 and lose them.

Downsides of going back -- I skipped all of the preseason stuff in order to get an exportable roster, so schedules are set and everyone loses preseason draft board stuff, reshirts, etc. Also, the conference alignments would be the same as last season, because I didn't mess with them since I thought we were done with NCAA 2013.

I'd appreciate it if everyone would weigh in with their preferences / dealbreakers.

[Julio Riddols]

I'd rather stick with 14, but whatever works I guess. Not getting my promotion and likely not having any human opponents or even a decent schedule would suck, and I was getting pretty amped for my game against South Florida.

Like I said, I am good with whatever though.

[CU Tiger]

Im ok with whatever.
I gave 13 away but can pick a new disk up cheap enough thats its a non factor.

Like Julio would hate to lose my promotion...or the ability to fulfill promises through custom schedules.

Hell Id be fine with Cartman and Chesapeake being allowed to pick any team they want to control at this point...crap we are far enough in we all have decent rosters in The Ladder...and I am not too concerned there.

[gstelmack]

I am fine either way - stick it out with 14 and see if it gets better going forward as we settle in, or roll back to 13 and keep going the way they were.

Double-check for old saves, you might have an auto-save from before you started advancing all the way if we have to go back.

[Kodos]

Originally Posted by CU Tiger

Hell Id be fine with Cartman and Chesapeake being allowed to pick any team they want to control at this point...crap we are far enough in we all have decent rosters in The Ladder...and I am not too concerned there.

I'd be fine with that too. Cartman expressed frustration with all his work building up Rice being for nothing. I can understand that.

[chesapeake]

Originally Posted by Kodos

I'd be fine with that too. Cartman expressed frustration with all his work building up Rice being for nothing. I can understand that.

I feel the same way Cartman does. My team was supposed to be fantastic this season. I'll try to tough it out a little longer.

[Kodos]

Your situation is definitely harder to wrap my head around. It's weird that some guys are having a relatively easy time while some others are struggling. I would expect to be in the struggling crowd if the sliders were too hard, but I've yet to have a competitive game. I am average at best on the sticks.

[Kodos]

I think cartman has simply checked out at this point. He hasn't responded to a couple of PMs over the past few days despite posting in general discussion, so I think we can assume he is gone.

Since chesapeake is willing to soldier on a bit, I say we move forward with NCAA 2014.

[Kodos]

Welcome to Week 7! Somebody's unbeaten season is about to go by the wayside, and it is probably mine, as we head to Los Angeles to take on EF27's Trojans.


=============== #3 USC Trojans (4-0) ===============
Last week, USC won 73-26 against Penn State (2-3).
This week, the Trojans will host #11 Indiana (4-0).


=============== #8 South Florida Bulls (5-0) ===============
Last week, South Florida won 42-3 against UTEP (2-2).
This week, the Bulls will host #17 UTSA (5-0).
In recruiting news, the following South Florida targets have announced their decisions:
- (****) FS Wesley Douglas has committed to South Florida
- (****) WR Darrell Yancey has committed to South Florida


=============== #11 Indiana Hoosiers (4-0) ===============
Last week, Indiana won 56-16 against Fresno State (2-1).
This week, the Hoosiers travel to Los Angeles to face the #3 USC Trojans (4-0).


=============== #17 UTSA Roadrunners (5-0) ===============
Last week, UTSA won 73-27 against South Carolina (3-2).
This week, the Roadrunners travel to Tampa to face the #8 South Florida Bulls (5-0).


=============== Florida Atlantic Owls (4-0) ===============
Last week, Florida Atlantic won 63-24 against Arkansas State (2-3).
This week, the Owls will host Iowa State (4-1).
In recruiting news, the following Florida Atlantic targets have announced their decisions:
- (***) ROLB Raymond Wright has committed to Miami


=============== Buffalo Bulls (4-1) ===============
Last week, Buffalo lost 48-41 against Toledo (4-1).
This week, the Bulls will host Michigan (0-4).
In recruiting news, the following Buffalo targets have announced their decisions:
- (***) CB William Weber has committed to Syracuse
- (***) C Carlos Scott has committed to Buffalo
- (***) MLB Bryant Lopez has committed to Syracuse


=============== Duke Blue Devils (3-2) ===============
Last week, Duke lost 38-24 against Alabama (2-4).
This week, the Blue Devils travel to College Station to face the #6 Texas A&M Aggies (3-1).
In recruiting news, the following Duke targets have announced their decisions:
- (***) P Marcus Preston has committed to Duke

[Kodos]

EF - I'm going out of town and can't play until probably Wednesday, 9/17 at the earliest. What's your schedule look like?

[gstelmack]

We got commits!

Julio, I can play most nights, starting anytime between 8:30 PM and 10:00 PM Eastern. I may be able to find a time during the day on the weekend, although Saturday afternoon is out.

[Eaglesfan27]

I am off next Wednesday and Thursday so if you can play during the day that would be great. If you can only play at night, I can probably do Thursday night.

[Julio Riddols]

Originally Posted by gstelmack

We got commits!

Julio, I can play most nights, starting anytime between 8:30 PM and 10:00 PM Eastern. I may be able to find a time during the day on the weekend, although Saturday afternoon is out.

I'd be good for a friday night throwdown. Let me know what the best time is for you, I am off friday nights and won't have anything going on after about 9 PM.

[Kodos]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

I am off next Wednesday and Thursday so if you can play during the day that would be great. If you can only play at night, I can probably do Thursday night.

Sounds like Thursday night is our best option. 9:30ish?

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Kodos

Sounds like Thursday night is our best option. 9:30ish?

Thursday the 18th right? If so, yep I will see you at 9:30.

Oops, just realized I am on call that night which could be problematic. Can you do Wedsnesday the 17th?

[Kodos]

Yes. Wed the 17th could work.

[gstelmack]

Originally Posted by Julio Riddols

I'd be good for a friday night throwdown. Let me know what the best time is for you, I am off friday nights and won't have anything going on after about 9 PM.

I should be able to play Friday around 9 PM, or a bit later if needed.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Kodos

Yes. Wed the 17th could work.

Ok. I will plan on that night tentatively while waiting to hear confirmation from you next week.

[Julio Riddols]

Originally Posted by gstelmack

I should be able to play Friday around 9 PM, or a bit later if needed.

Friday at 9 works for me. I'm getting amped up to get another human vs human battle under my belt.

[MacroGuru]

I will squeeze my game in on Sunday night.

My travel Schedule was just notched up for the next 4 weeks :

I will be out of town the following days:

Sept 18-22
Sept 25-29
Oct 2-6
Oct 9-13

Just wanted to give a heads up.

[chesapeake]

I had a 13 point lead with 4 minutes left and was driving when my RB fumbled and I knew the jig was up. A&M scored a couple of plays later. On the next drive, 2 stuffed runs were followed by a sack before I could set and throw (a sack! what a shock), so I had to punt. A&M drove for an easy score with 42 seconds left. So, with that much time left I had to drive 75 yards. 9 plays later (including 2 more sacks and 3 flubbed throws while getting hit), I score the winning touchdown with 3 seconds left. A big road win against a top 10 opponent for Duke.

I kept it down to 6 sacks. I got hit a lot while throwing, which kept my completion percentage low, but all's well that ends well.

[CU Tiger]

FAU improves to 5-0...but Iowa state found the key to stopping the Whaley train. Not sure if he was still suffering from the concussion symptoms or what but nothing was working.

Final score was 42-21 but that included two late Bombs just to get my passing yards up for recruits in the house.

This was a very fun game and far from the walk overs I have had all season to this point...I feel like the AI D might be game planning me as certain "go to" plays were snuffed out all game. Kinda cool if true.

[Julio Riddols]

Well, gstelmack and I had some semblance of a game.. The lag was clearly throwing us both under the bus at some inopportune times, and it rendered the run game nearly moot.

Ultimately, UTSA prevails in a 35-28 back and forth battle where turnovers ruled the day. We moved the ball so well when I could maintain my built in timing to operate the offense.. Kind of had to keep a clock in my head of when to throw the ball, as button presses seemed to have about a half second delay on them. As a result I think we both threw picks on plays where we wouldn't have had there been no lag. I think it also contributed to some sacks in times when a QB might have gotten a pass off instead. It made the running game heavily reliant on straight ahead, no frills stuff because any kind of lateral movement would generally be met with disaster.

Overall, a good game despite the lag. I have a feeling if there is a rematch and lag is not present we will have a much more enjoyable experience and we will both know a little about the other guy that we didn't coming into this one.

GG Greg, good luck the rest of the way.

[gstelmack]

UTSA 35, USF 28. I don't know if I'd say it was a "good" game - it was a bit laggy which made it feel sluggish, and I think we both had many times where we were ready to throw our controllers through the screen. Julio kept driving the ball, and I kept being ticked off at how poor my DB coverage was. I couldn't count the number of times he had a man catch the ball right at the first down marker with my defender 3+ yards away. But he had trouble scoring early as on the rare occasion I did have a defender nearby, we picked the ball off. Twice I gave the ball back to him within 2 plays, but we got 2 of the early turnovers inside our own 10 yard line to stop clear scoring plays.

We had trouble with our offense in the first half, but turnovers kept us in it. I got the ball moving some in the second half, and had tied it up at 14 early in the 4th quarter, but he got the next TD, and I faced 4th-and-6 down a TD with 2-and-a-half minutes left, went for it, and my TE couldn't come down with the ball in tight coverage. He got the icing TD on a play where his QB shrugged off my D-lineman and then hit the receiver walking into the endzone.

Down 28-14, we managed a quick TD with a deep pass and 2 quick plays to pull back within a TD with 1 minute left, failed the onside kick, he got one more quick TD when 3 tacklers bounced off the ball carrier, and we got the meaningless TD with a 40 second drive (where was that offense earlier?).

28 points scored starting with a TD at the 1:39 left mark.

Julio was definitely better than me with the sticks, dodging more tackles, but mostly he is a great offensive playcaller. He kept me guessing, willing to run or pass from any personnel on the field, and it was really only the turnovers that kept us in it. A deserved win for UTSA.

[Julio Riddols]

I'm with you on the throwing the controller thing. My god, that play where I rolled with my QB and my WR on the crossing route basically came back and just ran into him instead of blocking, then he fumbled... Also the first INT of the game at the goal line. That was a sure TD if the lag wasn't there. I was mashing the button to throw so damn hard, then noticed it was too late when it finally came out.

First time I have seen lag like that though. Not sure why it was so prevalent.

[Julio Riddols]

I wonder if the solar flares had something to do with the lag.

[MacroGuru]

After losing to Toledo we came out and smacked down Michigan...I didn't realize our starting QB was done for the season from last weeks game.

[Kodos]

It's kinda funny that Wake Forest has the top recruiting class so far. And Indiana is listed at 126 with no commits. But we're in decent shape with a lot of guys, so I'm hoping to move up in the coming weeks.

EF27 - I think we're still on track to play Wednesday, 9:30 EST.

EDIT: Or, if you like, we can play tonight around 6.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Kodos

It's kinda funny that Wake Forest has the top recruiting class so far. And Indiana is listed at 126 with no commits. But we're in decent shape with a lot of guys, so I'm hoping to move up in the coming weeks.

EF27 - I think we're still on track to play Wednesday, 9:30 EST.

EDIT: Or, if you like, we can play tonight around 6.

I just saw your PM and replied. Everything should be good for 9:30 tomorrow. Sorry, I couldn't do 6 tonight.

[Kodos]

No problem. I just saw a rare opportunity, and took a flier that you might be available too. I'll see you tonight.

[Eaglesfan27]

I might be a few minutes late. Got home late from "Back to School" night and getting the kid to sleep now and still need to eat a bite for dinner. But, I won't be more than a few minutes late if at all.

[Kodos]

A'ight.

[Kodos]

We proved once again to be no match for USC. They moved the ball at will, and we were never able to contain their QB. We had a bad turnover in scoring territory early, and things went downhill. We took some risks which didn't pay off, and didn't capitalize when we got turnovers. Maybe we'll meet again in the conference championship. GG, EF.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Kodos

We proved once again to be no match for USC. They moved the ball at will, and we were never able to contain their QB. We had a bad turnover in scoring territory early, and things went downhill. We took some risks which didn't pay off, and didn't capitalize when we got turnovers. Maybe we'll meet again in the conference championship. GG, EF.

GG. You guys moved the ball well but that turnover was costly. Thurman had an almost perfect game and when he is accurate with the ball like that, he is very hard to stop.

[Kodos]

He's frustratingly fast too. My guys could never track him down.

[Kodos]

Welcome to Week 8!


=============== #2 USC Trojans (5-0) ===============
Last week, USC won 38-13 against Indiana (4-1).
This week, the Trojans travel to Columbus to face the #4 Ohio State Buckeyes (5-1).
In recruiting news, the following USC targets have announced their decisions:
- (****) LT Mike Spicer has committed to USC


=============== #5 UTSA Roadrunners (6-0) ===============
Last week, UTSA won 35-28 against South Florida (5-1).
This week, the Roadrunners travel to Stanford to face the #21 Stanford Cardinal (2-3).
In recruiting news, the following UTSA targets have announced their decisions:
- (****) LT Kevin Williams has committed to Texas
- (****) LE Kevin Broussard has committed to Texas


=============== #11 South Florida Bulls (5-1) ===============
Last week, South Florida lost 35-28 against UTSA (6-0).
This week, the Bulls travel to Lincoln to face the #8 Nebraska Cornhuskers (5-1).
In recruiting news, the following South Florida targets have announced their decisions:
- (****) LT Johnny Banks has committed to South Florida


=============== #15 Indiana Hoosiers (4-1) ===============
Last week, Indiana lost 38-13 against USC (5-0).
This week, the Hoosiers will host #25 Oregon (2-3).
In recruiting news, the following Indiana targets have announced their decisions:
- (****) HB Marlin King has committed to Maryland


=============== #20 Duke Blue Devils (4-2) ===============
Last week, Duke won 36-32 against Texas A&M (3-2).
This week, the Blue Devils travel to Gainesville to face the Florida Gators (1-6).


=============== Florida Atlantic Owls (5-0) ===============
Last week, Florida Atlantic won 42-21 against Iowa State (4-2).
This week, the Owls will host North Texas (3-2).
In recruiting news, the following Florida Atlantic targets have announced their decisions:
- (***) LT Richard Rogers has committed to SMU
- (***) DT Terrance Carter has committed to Hawai'i
- (***) SS Jason Love has committed to Troy


=============== Buffalo Bulls (5-1) ===============
Last week, Buffalo won 45-24 against Michigan (0-5).
This week, the Bulls travel to Chestnut Hill to face the Boston College Eagles (3-2).
In recruiting news, the following Buffalo targets have announced their decisions:
- (***) RE Trey Hughes has committed to Buffalo

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Kodos

He's frustratingly fast too. My guys could never track him down.

Yeah, I really should have run him more in earlier games. He is a blazer.

Yay for our 1st commitment of the season!

[Julio Riddols]

Wow, all the way up to #5. Two weeks ago we were unranked. I think its absolutely preposterous that a 2-3 team is ranked however. I plan on changing that.

[chesapeake]

3 schools have vaulted above me in competition for a player with +1000 point bursts. One occurred when a player visited, so I get that. 2 others happened well before their visits were scheduled. What's the mechanic at play here?

[Kodos]

CPU teams had more experience points allotted to recruiting. They've opened recruiting advantages that no human teams possess right now.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by chesapeake

3 schools have vaulted above me in competition for a player with +1000 point bursts. One occurred when a player visited, so I get that. 2 others happened well before their visits were scheduled. What's the mechanic at play here?

As Kodos mentioned, they have abilities we don't have. That particular ability was probably the locksmith ability which gives a big one time boost.

Edit: Re-read that it was 3 teams. Might be a different ability that triggered that.

[chesapeake]

So, I'm trailing 3 teams now on this guy by 700-1100 points. 2 teams still have visits upcoming. The math looks very bad for my chances for this guy. Since I don't have the locksmith ability, is there something else that is beneficial that can happen for me to close this gap other than having a super-fantastic visit and the other guys showering the recruit with urine? How many points can you score on the higher end of a visit?

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by chesapeake

So, I'm trailing 3 teams now on this guy by 700-1100 points. 2 teams still have visits upcoming. The math looks very bad for my chances for this guy. Since I don't have the locksmith ability, is there something else that is beneficial that can happen for me to close this gap other than having a super-fantastic visit and the other guys showering the recruit with urine? How many points can you score on the higher end of a visit?

Maybe I'm wrong, but I think it is usually best to give up on a guy once I get more than 1000 points behind until I get the Locksmith ability.

[Kodos]

Yeah, I think you have to give up on this guy.

[chesapeake]

Sucks to be me. 2 weeks ago I had a 300 point lead on a G rated at 78. Now I'm an also ran.

Thanks for the advice, however. Better to cut my losses and move on.

[Kodos]

This was my class in the first season of the Pyramid.

[Eaglesfan27]

We let Thurman run wild and Ohio State ran their QB. We were much more effective as we built a 35-0 lead in the first half behind over 100 yards rushing for Thurman and 200 yards passing. We played our backups some in the 2nd half cruised to a 56-14 win. Thurman had a few sacks in the 2nd half that dropped his rushing total down below 100, but he still had a Heisman worthy game.

[Kodos]

Glad he'll be graduating.