2002 117-Team Division I-A Tournament

[Wolfpack]

Hi all,

It's been a while since I've posted anything worthwhile on this board, so I thought I'd do something to while away the time until my blood gets up again for doing my GO TCY dynasty.

This project is a single-elimination, March Madness-style tournament that includes all 117 D I-A football teams. Some things to note:

1) This tournament will be played with a game called "Quick Play Football", which is actually a tabletop game that someone else developed and gives away for free as electronic files. (Go to www.tabletop-sports.com and fish around in the downloads area to find it)

This game is strictly team-based. No individual players or statistics are produced. Each team is rated for offense, defense, close-game abilities, and (in college) strength of schedule.

In the basic game, a person rolls a d20 and looks up a chart to determine how many points a team (based on the above characteristics) scores in a given quarter. This procedure is done for both teams in all four quarters. If the game is within eight points after the fourth quarter rolls, then the "close game" factors of the teams come into play to determine the winner.

There is an "advanced" version that actually goes drive-by-drive, but that's a bit more time-consuming. I may employ it for the regional finals and the Final Four, though.

To assist in speeding up the process, I developed a VB app that does much of the gameplay in the basic game automatically, though I still have to make decisions on whether a team forgoes a field goal for a touchdown attempt or goes for two after some touchdowns.

2) With 117 teams, I have elected to have all first round games played at the home field of the higher seeds. (There is a home-field advantage that comes into play in this game) Once the field is reduced to 64 (all 1 seeds, all 2 seeds, and three 3 seeds get byes to the round of 64), the action switches to sub-regional sites and then to regional sites in the Sweet Sixteen and then to a Final Four site.

I have randomly chosen all these sites from the current Division I-A stadiums that are currently in use. Therefore, there will be some good choices and some off-the-wall choices for sites. It would be easy to put the Final Four at a BCS site, but I wanted this to be a little different.

3) WRT seeding the 117 teams, I have used a comprehensive index of all computer-based rankings that Massey has on his website. The 117 teams are broken into groups of four to generate the seeds for each region, i.e. the top four teams in that list were #1 seeds for the four regions, the second four teams (5-8) were #2 seeds, and so on down the line.

I then moved the seeds, in rank order (i.e. #1 in the group of ones got first chioce of stadiums, #2 in the group of ones got second choice, and so forth), to the region that had the closest available stadium to them "as the crow flies." (I think I actually flubbed the top seed in the Midwest, since they were actually closer to a regional site in the East, but it's no big deal)

Mostly this generated regional brackets with most teams close to home, but there were some shifted "out of region" because they were third- or fourth-choice among their seed peers.

This sort of thing was done to introduce some home field advantage, even at neutral sites. For the purposes of the tournament, HFA will vary depending on how far a stadium is from the school that's playing in it and whether the school's opponent for that round is similarly distant or not much further, reducing or nullifying that school's home field advantage. The only exception to this rule is if a team plays in its home stadium for a game, it gets the maximum HFA, regardless of how close the opponent's school is to that stadium. Most games will have no advantage, but some will have a bit of advantage for one school, and a few will have maximum advantage for one school.

4) HFA, as noted, will be based on distance to stadium the game is played at from the school in question (school in question is the school that is the closer to the stadium of the two):
--Team playing in its home stadium gets max HFA regardless of opponent
--Team playing within 75 miles of home gets max HFA unless opponent is within 75 miles, which reduces it to no advantage, or within 150 miles, which reduces the advantage
--Team playing within 150 miles gets max HFA unless opponent is within 150 miles, which reduces it to no advantage, or 300 miles, which reduces the advantage
--Team playing within 300 miles gets some advantage (not max) unless opponent is also within 300 miles, which reduces it to no advantage
--Team playing over 300 miles from home gets no advantage (other team is irrelevant since they would be even further away)

If this sort of tournament draws interest, I may be open to running a super tournament involving "great teams" from throughout college football history (Quick Play Football has teams rated all the way back to 1900). I'm willing to allow any team in based on suggestions from the audience. As a result it could be as large as 256 teams, I'm thinking.

At any rate, enjoy the read and chime in with questions and commentary if you want. If someone wants to run a tourney pool, I'd be willing to slow the pace of play to allow it.

I will post the brackets shortly.

[Poli]

Sounds interesting, I'll try my best to follow!

[Wolfpack]

Here is the list of #1 seeds:
EAST: Georgia
SOUTHEAST: Miami
MIDWEST: Ohio State
WEST: Southern California

Ohio State is #1 overall (as expected). Southern Cal was #2, Miami was #3, and Georgia #4. So, to match 1v4 and 2v3, Midwest plays East and West plays Southeast in the Final Four.

[Wolfpack]

East Regional Bracket

Dix Stadium (30,520), Kent State University, Kent, OH
1) Georgia
bye

16) Illinois
17) Central Florida

8) Texas Christian
25) Memphis

9) Colorado State
24) Louisiana Tech

Michie Stadium (39,929), United States Miltary Academy, West Point, NY
4) NC State
29) Buffalo*

13) Northern Illinois
20) Stanford

5) Colorado
28) Kent State

12) Wake Forest
21) San Diego State

University of Buffalo Stadium (31,000), University of Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
2) Iowa
bye

15) Miami (OH)
18) Connecticut

7) South Florida
26) Central Michigan

10) Marshall
23) Ohio*

Rutgers Stadium (41,500), Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ
3) Maryland*
30) Army***

14) Oregon
19) Syracuse*

6) Virginia*
27) Navy*

11) Georgia Tech
22) Mississippi State

East Regional Finals Site
Rentschler Stadium (41,000), University of Connecticut, Hartford, CT

Note: the first round pairings are played at the home field of the higher seed, with winners advancing to sub-regional sites listed.

****-sub-regional site is home field
***-sub-regional site is within 75 miles of home
**-sub-regional site is within 150 miles of home
*-sub-regional site is within 300 miles of home

[Wolfpack]

Midwest Regional Bracket

Glass Bowl (26,248), University of Toledo, Toledo, OH
1) Ohio State**
bye

16) Cincinnati*
17) Louisville*

8) Louisiana State
25) Arkansas State

9) California
24) Middle Tennessee State

Spartan Stadium (72,027), Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
4) Notre Dame**
29) Eastern Michigan***

13) Kentucky
20) Ball State*

5) Virginia Tech
28) Kansas

12) Clemson
21) Houston

Kinnick Stadium (70,397), University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
2) Kansas State
bye

15) Missouri*
18) Michigan State

7) Arkansas
26) Troy State

10) Purdue*
23) Northwestern*

Ball State Stadium (21,581), Ball State University, Muncie, IN
3) Alabama
bye

14) Bowling Green*
19) North Carolina

6) West Virginia*
27) Louisiana-Monroe

11) Minnesota
22) Western Michigan**

Midwest Regional Final Site
Memorial Stadium (73,918), University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE

Note: the first round pairings are played at the home field of the higher seed, with winners advancing to sub-regional sites listed.

****-sub-regional site is home field
***-sub-regional site is within 75 miles of home
**-sub-regional site is within 150 miles of home
*-sub-regional site is within 300 miles of home

[Wolfpack]

Southeast Regional Bracket

Scott Stadium (61,500), University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA
1) Miami, FL
bye

16) South Carolina
17) Southern Mississippi

8) Wisconsin
25) Duke**

9) Tennessee
24) Akron*

Robertson Stadium (42,000), University of Houston, Houston, TX
4) Penn State
29) Tulsa

13) Texas A&M**
20) San Jose State

5) Auburn
28) SMU*

12) Mississippi
21) BYU

Fouts Field (30,500), University of North Texas, Denton, TX
2) Oklahoma**
bye

15) North Texas****
18) Arizona

7) Florida
26) Baylor**

10) Oklahoma State*
23) Indiana

Marshall Stadium (38,019), Marshall University, Huntington, WV
3) Michigan*
bye

14) Hawaii
19) Temple

6) Pittsburgh*
27) Idaho

11) Iowa State
22) East Carolina

Southeast Regional Finals Site
Orange Bowl (72,319), University of Miami, Miami, FL

Note: the first round pairings are played at the home field of the higher seed, with winners advancing to sub-regional sites listed.

****-sub-regional site is home field
***-sub-regional site is within 75 miles of home
**-sub-regional site is within 150 miles of home
*-sub-regional site is within 300 miles of home

[Wolfpack]

West Regional Bracket

Mackay Stadium (31,545), University of Nevada-Reno, Reno, NV
1) Southern California
bye

16) Tulane
17) New Mexico

8) UCLA
25) Rice

9) Oregon State
24) Utah State

Arizona Stadium (56,002), University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
4) Florida State
29) UTEP*

13) Nebraska
20) UNLV

5) Boise State
28) Rutgers

12) Toledo
21) Nevada

Wagner Field (50,000), Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS
2) Texas
bye

15) Air Force
18) Utah

7) Boston College
26) Louisiana-Lafayette

10) Washington
23) Vanderbilt

Folsom Field (51,808), University of Colorado, Boulder, CO
3) Washington State
bye

14) Fresno State
19) New Mexico State

6) Texas Tech
27) Wyoming**

11) Arizona State
22) UAB

West Regional Finals Site
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (68,000), University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA

Note: the first round pairings are played at the home field of the higher seed, with winners advancing to sub-regional sites listed.

****-sub-regional site is home field
***-sub-regional site is within 75 miles of home
**-sub-regional site is within 150 miles of home
*-sub-regional site is within 300 miles of home

[Wolfpack]

Final Four Bracket

Notre Dame Stadium (80,795), University of Notre Dame, South Bend, IN

Midwest Winner vs. East Winner
West Winner vs. Southeast Winner

Midwest/East Winner vs. West/Southeast Winner

[JeeberD]

UTEP will lose in the first round...

[Wolfpack]

Sorry, Jeeber. Just how it shook out when I drew it up. It wasn't much of a choice, really. Penn State, Notre Dame, and NC State would not really be much of an improvement. A few places higher and you could have drawn Boise State (it'll be interesting to see if their #5 is overinflated or not...probably my major conference prejudice speaking to that, though).

[JeeberD]

Don't worry, they would have lost no matter who they would have played in the first round. Unless they managed to somehow play against Tulsa, Houston, or Army. Then they might have had a chance...

[Wolfpack]

I've done some more thinking and I figured on a way to make this more interactive with the audience. Since the game produces scores on a quarter-by-quarter basis, I'm going to be doing games at times of day, i.e. 12:30, 3:30, etc., and release scores every quarter for games under way. The interactive bit is having the good readers here "control the remote" as to which game they want to watch during a given time slot. That game I will do a drive-by-drive breakdown of using the advanced game, with all others being done in the basic version with the release of quarter scores (checking in around the nation, if you will). In order to expedite the process, I will take the first suggestion from anyone for which game the group is "watching" during a given time slot. Hopefully, it will make things a bit more interesting for all involved.

The first Saturday of play has been scheduled. I generally tried to put weak games in the East and Central time zones on early, with better matchups coming in mid-afternoon for all time zones, a slate of four primetime matchups featuring what I thought was the best game in each region, and for those on the left coast, a batch of games in western prime time hours.

Here's the schedule for this weekend's games (check local listings for the game in your area):

12:30 ET
EAST	(25) Memphis at (8) Texas Christian
EAST	(29) Buffalo at (4) NC State
EAST	(18) Connecticut at (15) Miami (OH)
EAST	(26) Central Michigan at (7) South Florida
EAST	(23) Ohio at (10) Marshall
EAST	(27) Navy at (6) Virginia
SE	(25) Duke at (8) Wisconsin
SE	(24) Akron at (9) Tennessee
SE	(29) Tulsa at (4) Penn State
SE	(28) SMU at (5) Auburn
SE	(26) Baylor at (7) Florida
SE	(27) Idaho at (6) Pittsburgh
MW	(25) Arkansas State at (8) Louisiana State
MW	(29) Eastern Michigan at (4) Notre Dame
MW	(28) Kansas at (5) Virginia Tech
MW	(26) Troy State at (7) Arkansas
MW	(23) Northwestern at (10) Purdue
MW	(27) Louisiana-Monroe at (6) West Virginia
WEST	(29) Texas-El Paso at (4) Florida State
WEST	(21) Nevada at (12) Toledo
WEST	(26) Louisiana-Lafayette at (7) Boston College
WEST	(27) Wyoming at (6) Texas Tech

3:30 ET
EAST	(17) Illinois at (16) Central Florida
EAST	(20) Stanford at (13) Northern Illinois
EAST	(21) San Diego State at (12) Wake Forest
EAST	(28) Kent State at (5) Colorado
EAST	(30) Army at (3) Maryland
EAST	(22) Mississippi State at (11) Georgia Tech
SE	(17) Southern Mississippi at (16) South Carolina
SE	(20) San Jose State at (13) Texas A&M
SE	(18) Arizona at (15) North Texas
SE	(23) Indiana at (10) Oklahoma State
SE	(22) East Carolina at (11) Iowa State
MW	(17) Louisville at (16) Cincinnati
MW	(20) Ball State at (13) Kentucky
MW	(21) Houston at (12) Clemson
MW	(19) North Carolina at (14) Bowling Green
MW	(22) Westrn Michigan at (10) Minnesota
WEST	(17) New Mexico at (16) Tulane
WEST	(20) Nevada-Las Vegas at (13) Nebraska
WEST	(23) Vanderbilt at (10) Washington
WEST	(19) New Mexico State at (14) Fresno State
WEST	(22) Alabama-Birmingham at (11) Arizona State

7:30 ET
EAST	(19) Syracuse at (14) Oregon
SE	(21) BYU at (12) Mississippi
MW	(18) Michigan State at (15) Missouri
WEST	(18) Utah at (15) Air Force

10:30 ET
EAST	(24) Louisiana Tech at (9) Colorado State
SE	(19) Temple at (14) Hawaii
MW	(24) Middle Tennessee State at (9) California
WEST	(25) Rice at (8) UCLA
WEST	(24) Utah State at (9) Oregon State
WEST	(28) Rutgers at (5) Boise State

All timeslots are now open for the taking on a first come, first serve basis. As soon as the four time slots are filled with a game of choice, I'll kick things off.

[NAIWF]

12:30 UTEP/FSU for JeeberD

3:30 MSU/Ga. Tech

7:30 'Cuse/Oregon

10:30 Rutgers/Boise St,.

[JeeberD]

Thank you NAIWF!

[Wolfpack]

Okay, the watched games have been selected and the games will get under way soon.

First up on the FOFC satellite package of games is Texas-El Paso against Florida State at Doak-Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, Florida. (Enjoy your brief stay in the tourney, Jeeber... )

[Eilim]

Great idea, Wolfpack, you've gotten another fan watching.

Also, thanks for posting that site link, I now have some new interesting games to check out.


-Eilim

[tucker342]

Very interesting idea, I'll be reading

[Wolfpack]

FOFC Central TV is tuned to ABC at 12:30 PM

(Introduction tape is rolled)

(voice-over, football propped on a tee appears on screen) College football. There is possibly no greater passion in American sports. 117 colleges and universities play the game at its highest level. Millions of fans and alumni (face-painted fans scream at the camera) jam stadiums ranging from small, intimate 30,000-seat arrangements (shot of Dix Field, Kent State University), to the colossal 100,000 seat arenas at places like Michigan and Tennessee (sweeping shot of Michigan Stadium followed by a sweeping shot of Neyland Stadium, both packed and cheering loudly), where the game itself has taken mythic, almost religious connotations. Millions more who can't get into the stadiums watch it on television or listen to it on the radio. It is an all-consuming passion (more fans appear on screen, flashing "we're #1" hand signs and cheering wildly).

(fade to black)
Today, we begin a seven-round, 116-game quest to find out the best team in all of college football for 2002.

(an aggressive rock tune comes blaring though the TV, the screen instantly jumping from image to image of the various teams and fans in action)
Who will be strong enough to lift the trophy at the end? (images of OSU in action appear on screen) Will it be the Ohio State Buckeyes who swept the 2002 season unbeaten behind the running of star freshman Maurice Clarett and the gritty play of Craig Krenzel and the Buckeye defense? (image changes to Miami Hurricane players charging out of the tunnel at the Orange Bowl) Or will it be 2001 champion Miami, who blitzed their competition during the regular season and feature the lethal trio of Ken Dorsey, Andre Johnson, and sophomore sensation Willis McGahee? (image changes to a single golden helmet held high, a sea of blue and gold in blurred background cheering and waving) Has the glory returned to one of the most fabled programs anywhere in any sport and is there enough luck in the Irish to carry them all the way? (image changes to Carson Palmer launching a touchdown pass and then celebrating) Another program also returns to greatness, but can Heisman Trophy winner Carson Palmer push the Trojans to the top? (images quickly flash by of Brad Banks, Rex Grossman, Philip Rivers, EJ Henderson, Lee Suggs, Chris Simms, and others) Or will a champion emerge from an unlikely place?

117 teams, 1 champion. It's time.
(screen fades to black)

(screen shows ABC College Football gameday studio with familiar faces John Saunders and Terry Bowden sitting at the desk, musical fanfare playing in the background)

John: Hello everyone and welcome to Time Square Stadium in New York. I'm John Saunders alongside my partner, Terry Bowden. If you are a college football fan, or even just follow it casually, you cannot help but get excited at the start of this tournament.

Terry: Absolutely right, John. This is going to be very exciting. 117 teams going at it to find out who's the best. And what excites me the most is that this tournament will have games and matchups that would never occur during the regular season, and we'll be going to places that normally never are given a second thought by the public. And we get to have our own Final Four and I can think of no better place to hold it than Notre Dame Stadium, a hallowed ground of college football if there was one.

John: We'll get you out to the action in a moment, but before we do, Terry, who do you think will be in South Bend challenging for the title at the end?

Terry: I believe Miami and Southern California are pretty much guaranteed to be there since both are hosting their respective regionals if they win their first two contests. Ohio State should be the winner in the Midwest, but they'll have potentially a tough matchup in the round of 16 against Notre Dame and then either high-scoring Kansas State or Alabama awaiting them in the regional final. The East is a bit harder to predict. Mark Richt has done an excellent job at Georgia this year, but Brad Banks and Iowa stand in their way. Still, I think the Bulldogs will be there.

John: Interesting, going with all number 1 seeds. It happens rarely in the basketball tournament. I wouldn't be surprised if one or two get knocked out before the Final Four. I do agree that Miami and the Trojans are in the best position of the four top seeds. We'll see.

It's now time to get you out to the game in your area. However, we'll be right here in New York and will be checking in from time to time to let you know what's going on elsewhere in the country. Enjoy the games, everyone, and we'll see you at halftime.

(fanfare plays, screen fades)

[Wolfpack]

NAIWF snags the remote, flips the FOFC TV to ESPN2. "Hey, Jeeber! Game's on! Time to watch UTEP get flattened," he says with a crooked smile. Jeeber plops down on the couch, wearing his "Proud Supporter of UTEP Athletics" shirt, which has "*sigh*" written on the back.

"This oughta be over quick," says Jeeber.
"Nah. I think UTEP can stay with them for a bit. Just to prolong the suffering."

Image appears on screen of a sea of garnet and gold clad fans, about 80,000 of them, doing the Seminole war chant. A graphic covers much of the screen showing that this matchup pits the #29 seeded Miners of Texas-El Paso against the fourth-seeded Florida State Seminoles in a West Regional first round matchup.

Pam Ward: Welcome to Tallahassee, Florida and Doak Campbell Stadium, where a capacity crowd of more than 80,000 are getting ready to watch a West Regional first round game between the UTEP Miners and the Florida State Seminoles.

I'm Pam Ward along with my broadcast colleague Chris Spielman, glad you could join us for this playoff matchup.

Chris, on paper, this seems to be a very lopsided mismatch. What, if anything, can UTEP do to stay with the Seminoles?

Chris: They have to play the perfect game, Pam. Even then, I don't think it's going to be enough. FSU is too big, too fast, and too talented for the Miners. The arm of Chris Rix and the running of Greg Jones should be the difference.

Pam: Florida State will be getting the ball first to start the game. UTEP's Keith Robertson has the ball teed up. And we are...underway!

FSU begin a sustained march on their opening possession. They move easily into UTEP territory, getting into the red zone.

Pam: 1st and 10 for FSU...fumble! Rix apparently didn't get a good hold of the snap and dropped it! The Miners are saying they have it. The referees are unscrambling the pile...they do!

Chris: A tough break for the Seminoles. Looks like one of those miscommunications between quarterback and center. The Miners will take any help they can get in this game, and it would help a lot if they turn this into points and get the crowd quieted early.

(Game goes to TV timeout. Upon returning, it is a screen of the field at Camp-Randall Stadium in Madison, with Duke on offense at the Wisconsin three yard line. Reece Davis gives the details.)

Reece: Duke football has been a doormat for several years, but perhaps Carl Franks is getting it turned around. Here's Duke running back Alex Wade bulling his way in from three yards out, giving twenty-fifth-seeded Duke a surprising early 7-0 lead in Camp-Randall against the Badgers.

Elsewhere, the Huskies of UConn have taken an early 7-0 lead against the RedHawks and Auburn and SMU are scoreless very early at Jordan-Hare. Virginia Tech has gotten on the scoreboard with a field goal against Kansas, and West Virginia has come out on fire against the Indians of Louisiana-Monroe, scoring one touchdown and recovering a fumble for another touchdown and an early 14-0 lead in Morgantown. Back to you in Tallahassee.

Pam: Thanks, Reece. Still scoreless here early in the first quarter after an FSU drive was snuffed out on a bad exchange from center. UTEP now has the ball deep in its own territory, first and ten.

The Miners surprisingly generate a first down on their first play from scrimmage, but are effectively stuffed on the next three plays, bringing on the punt team. A strong punt leaves FSU at their own 31. Four plays moves the ball to their 47.

Pam: Rix hands off to Greg Jones. He's got a seam! 40! 30! They won't catch him and this'll be a Seminole touchdown! 53 yards for Greg Jones!

Chris: Excellent blocking by the Seminole linemen. They just buried the UTEP defenders at the line of scrimmage and Jones has the speed to beat anyone in their secondary in the open field.

Pam: The extra point is up and good. So with five and a half minutes left in the first quarter, the Seminoles go on top 7-0.

(TV Timeout ensues, this time, the highlight is from the Purdue-Northwestern game.)

Reece: We'll get you back to Tallahassee in a moment, but wanted to check in with Purdue and Northwestern in West Lafayette. Purdue QB Kyle Orton dropping back and firing a strike to his favorite target, receiver John Standeford in the back of the end zone and the Boilers are up 7-0.

Some other scores to report. The Horned Frogs of TCU, the number eight seed in the East, are chugging along against Memphis, up 14-0 late in the first. The RedHawks of Miami have gotten on the board against Connecticut with a field goal. Louisiana-Monroe has gotten a touchdown against West Virginia. However, the Mountaineers have answered and it's now 21-7 and West Virginia is driving again. Down in Lubbock, we have a barn-burner early as the Cowboys of Wyoming are knotted with the Red Raiders and Kliff Kingsbury, 10-all, midway through the first quarter.

Pam: Back here in Tallahassee, it's 7-0 Florida State after a 53-yard touchdown run by Greg Jones.

Chris: It'll be interesting to see how UTEP responds to the touchdown. They got a bit of a bump when Rix fumbled on that first possession, but couldn't do anything with it. How they respond to this will determine whether they can stay in this game.

Unfortunately, they don't respond very well at all, going three-and-out, punting back to FSU a minute and a half later. A blocking penalty on the punt return, however, bumps FSU back to their own 10. The Noles are not fazed at all. By the end of the first quarter, they've moved into UTEP territory.

Pam: ...with that, the quarter ends. Florida State is up seven to nothing, but it could have been worse, Chris.

Chris: It could still get worse. FSU is moving the ball on offense very well right now.

Pam: Back with the second quarter in a moment.

[Wolfpack]

TV returns from commercial, displaying Virginia on offense against Navy

Reece: Checking in once more on games across the country. This time we drop in on Charlottesville and Virginia's Matt Schaub, dissecting the Navy defense for his third touchdown pass of the first quarter. Virginia already up 21-7 going into the second there. Connecticut and Miami continue to have a tight one going, Miami now up 10-7 on a Ben Rothlesberger touchdown pass early in the second quarter. South Florida, the seven seed in the East, is having some trouble with the Chippewas from Central Michigan. The Chips and Bulls are tied at 7 early in the second quarter in Tampa. Another high-seeded east team in a bit of a tussle is Marshall, battling MAC rival Ohio U in Huntington this afternoon. Both teams have produced first quarter fireworks, leaving the Herd up 21-14 going into the second. Byron Leftwich has thrown for all three Marshall touchdowns. Finally, in the Southeast, sixth-seeded Pittsburgh is having a tough time with the Vandals from Idaho, leading only 7-0 early in the second there. Now back to Pam in Tallahassee.

Pam: Welcome back to Tallahassee, where Florida State leads the UTEP Miners 7-0 after one quarter. FSU starts with the ball in UTEP territory to start the second quarter....

The Seminoles pick up where they left off in the first. They blow through the UTEP defense and move the ball to the UTEP 20.

Pam: 2nd and a long four for the Seminoles. Rix gives to Jones. There he goes! Touchdown, Florida State! An easy 20-yard run for Jones. Did a Miner defender lay a hand on him, Chris?

Chris: Certainly didn't seem like it. Well, looking at the replay, someone did get a hand on him to slow him a bit at the line, but once he broke through, he had the score. Great downfield blocking by the receivers.

Pam: And the extra point is good. Florida State pushes its lead to 14.

UTEP gets a good kickoff return that leaves them near midfield, but three plays later...

Pam: First and ten for UTEP. Duarte back to pass...intercepted by Samuels at the FSU 20 and out of bounds! Out at the 22!

FSU moves the ball to the 45...

Pam: Second and five...Rix gives to Jones...he's gotten free again! 45! 40! 35! 30! Jones is going to score his third touchdown of the half! Touchdown Seminoles! 55 yards! Greg Jones is putting on a show today!

Chris: A great show. But, he's getting a lot of help from his line. They're doing a phenominal job up front, blowing open huge holes for him to run through. Look at that lane! I'm a slow ex-linebacker and I probably could've carried that one in! UTEP needs to come up with something this next drive or it could get ugly.

FSU adds the extra point and kicks away to UTEP. The Miners get another nice drive going, pushing into FSU territory yet again...

Pam: Duarte drops back...under a lot of pressure...intercepted again at the 20! It's Kendyll Pope this time! He's got blockers! He's going to take this one all the way back! Touchdown Florida State! An 80-yard interception return for a touchdown by Kendyll Pope!

Chris: Great pressure by the up-front guys and a great break on the ball by Pope. Once he got back to the original line of scrimmage, it was all over.

Pam: The extra point is good. The Seminoles are in control now, up by twenty-eight!

TV timeout, followed by a return to Bristol
Reece: Reece Davis here in our ESPN studios, getting ready for half time. We have scores and highlights from all the action around the nation. Several tight contests and several that, well, aren't so tight. All that coming up at the half.

Pam: Thanks, Reece. Here, the Seminoles of Florida State are showing why they're the number four seed in the West, dominating the number twenty-nine seed, UTEP 28-0 after what is now officially an 81-yard interception return for touchdown by Kendyll Pope.

UTEP receives the kick and once again have some success moving the ball, but stall out in FSU territory. The field goal unit trots out.

Pam: Here's Keith Robertson on to attempt the field goal.

Chris: UTEP is looking for anything to stop the bleeding at this point.

Pam: The kick is up and...he missed it! Off to the right!

Chris: UTEP is having nothing going its way right now.

Pam: Sure doesn't seem that way. Florida State takes over with two minutes left in the half.

The Noles continue to play well on offense, moving the ball back down the field and get in position for a field goal attempt of their own with seconds left in the half.

Pam: Florida State takes its last time out. And on comes Xavier Beitia to attempt a field goal to close the half on....

Chris: He had a pretty strong season up until he missed wide left at the end against Miami and has seemed to struggle a bit since then.

Pam: Beitia counts his linemen and lines himself up. The snap, the kick is up...and it's good! Beitia connects to close the half and Florida State will go into the locker room with a commanding 31-0 lead.

After this commercial break, we'll go back to our Bristol studios and get you caught up on all the other action in the early games today. Stay with us.

[JeeberD]

Keith Robinson, not Robertson. And he would have made that firld goal in real life. He nailed a 59 yarder last season...

And why in the hell is Omar Duarte starting!!! He's terrible! Give me Jon Shaper or Orlando Cruz any day!!!


Freakin Miners. Oh well, at least it's only 31-0 so far. It could be much, much worse....

Oh, and great reports, Wolfpack. I'm really enjoying this (except for the whole UTEP getting waxed thing )...

[Wolfpack]

Jeeber: Sorry about that. I went to the UTEP site for name references. Got mixed up on the kicker and chose the starting QB based on stats on the site which seemed to indicate he was the starter. With a huge lead such as this, I'm sure it'll be okay to swap QBs to one you prefer. (Then again I know the outcome and such a choice will be irrelevant anyway)

[Wolfpack]

TV returns from commercial, showing Reece Davis sitting at the desk with the TV behind him, saying "Halftime Report".

Reece: Hi, I'm Reece Davis and welcome to the Halftime Report. Many games going on around the country in the opening round of this tournament, most of which have reached the half. Let's start with the game you're watching, Florida State and UTEP.

It's been all Seminoles in this one. UTEP got a break early when Chris Rix fumbled a center exchange on the opening possession, but could not capitalize. Next Seminole possession, they would pay for it as Greg Jones breaks out for a 53-yard touchdown run to put the Noles up 7-0.

UTEP's offense struggled at times. Here, quarterback Omar Duarte is intercepted by Stanford Samuels at the FSU 20 before going out of bounds. FSU would capitalize as Greg Jones scored his second touchdown from 20 yards out to make it 14-0 early in the second.

After a UTEP punt, Greg Jones continued to carve up the UTEP defense, breaking off a 55-yard touchdown run, his third touchdown of the half! UTEP tries to rally, but just as they get to FSU's red zone, Duarte is intercepted by Kendyll Pope, who gets an escort all the way back to the other end zone. Florida State gets a field goal as the half expires and now lead comfortably, 31-0.

To Charlottesville, where the University of Virginia is hosting the Middies from Navy. Cav QB Matt Schaub is having a great day, passing for 184 yards and three scores in the first half alone. He got started early, hooking up with Billy McMullen on this 44-yard touchdown on the opening possession of the game. Next possession, Schaub hands away to Wali Lundy and he busts in from 14 yards out to make it 14-0. Nothing going right for the Middies, here in punt formation. A swarm of Cavaliers break through to block the punt, giving Virginia excellent field position deep in Navy territory. Schaub then dumped a short pass to Lundy, who took it the rest of the way and the Cavs were up 21-0 at the end of the first. The Middies did get a touchdown in the second, but gave up another Schaub touchdown pass to Heath Miller late in the half and now trail Virginia 28-7.

In other East Region games, the Horned Frogs are having their way with the Memphis Tigers, up 24-0 at the half, Lonta Hobbs with two touchdowns on the ground in that one.

Down in Raleigh, Chuck Amato's Wolfpack are rolling against the Bulls, 28-0. Philip Rivers has thrown for two touchdowns and TA McLendon has rushed for two more.

Connecticut and Miami of Ohio are engaged in one of the better affairs of the early games, the Huskies leading 14-10 in Oxford. Miami QB Ben Rothlesberger has a touchdown in that one.

Another good matchup brewing is down in Tampa, where the Bulls of South Florida are up 14-7 against Central Michigan. Marquel Blackwell, one of the better quarterbacks no one's ever heard of, has thrown for 143 yards and a touchdown.

Byron Leftwich continues to play outstanding football. He's tossed four touchdowns in the first half and the Herd are leading MAC rival Ohio U 28-14 at the half.

To the Southeast we go, sort of. We're actually in Madison, Wisconsin for the matchup between the Wisconsin Badgers and the Duke Blue Devils. Early on, Duke showed a bit of fight against the Badgers. Running back Alex Wade plowed his way in from three yards out to give the Devils the early 7-0 lead. Wisconsin would respond with this Anthony Davis touchdown run of 27 yards late in the first quarter. Not a whole lot of action in this one as Duke is surprisingly tied with the Badgers, 7-all, at Camp-Randall.

More scores in the Southeast. In Knoxville, Casey Clausen has hooked up with Jabari Davis twice in the first half and Rocky Top is up on the Zips 24-7 at the half.

Larry Johnson has gone wild for Penn State, rushing for 157 yards and three touchdowns in the first half as the Nittany Lions hold a commanding 41-7 halftime lead against Tulsa.

Down at Jordan-Hare, behind the running of Ronnie Brown and Carnell Williams, the Auburn Tigers have erupted for 28 second quarter points and now lead the Mustangs of SMU 35-0 at the half.

At the Swamp, Rex Grossman has thrown two touchdown passes as th Gators are shutting out Baylor 24-0.

The only other Southeast matchup that's close right now is a bit surprising. Sixth-seeded Pittsburgh is struggling a bit with the Vandals of Idaho. They lead 14-7 and are about to start the third quarter.

Stay with us, more scores in a moment.

[Wolfpack]

Reece: Back on the Halftime Show, we now move to the Midwest, Northwestern and Purdue. The Big Ten rivals clashing in West Lafayette, one of a few first round matchups pitting teams from the same conference. In this one, the Boilers are in control behind the passing of Kyle Orton. Midway through the first quarter, Joe Tiller's squad had the ball at the Wildcat 13. Orton dropped back and found his favorite receiver John Standeford in the back of the end zone to stake Purdue to a 7-0 lead. The Boilers would add a couple of field goals before Northwestern's Jason Wright broke through on this play from seven yards out to close the gap to 13-7. However, with time winding down in the second, Standeford caught a 45-yard touchdown bomb from Orton to push Purdue's lead to 20-7 at the half.

In other Midwest action, down in Morgantown, it's gotten pretty ugly between West Virginia and Louisiana-Monroe. Avon Cobourne is running at-will right now, rushing for 136 yards and three scores already and the Mountaineers are taking it to Louisiana-Monroe, 37-14.

Down on the Bayou, the Tigers of LSU are shutting out the Arkansas State Indians 17-0. Matt Mauck has thrown for two touchdowns in that contest.

In South Bend, Ty Willingham's club is laying the wood to Eastern Michigan. Carlysle Holiday has one rushing and one passing touchdown and the Irish are up big at halftime, 26-7.

The Midwest's fifth seed, Virginia Tech, is playing host to Kansas out of the Big XII. Thus far, the Hokies are leading, though not comfortably, 18-7 as that game winds to halftime. Lee Suggs has rushed for a score and the Hokie defense has gotten a safety to make the odd score.

In Fayetteville, Houston Nutt's Arkansas Razorbacks have taken a 16-0 halftime lead against Troy State. Matt Jones has 149 yards and a touchdown passing for the Hawgs.

To the West Region we go, and an entertaining 12-21 matchup is shaping up between Toledo and Nevada at the Glass Bowl. After an initial touchdown by the Rockets in the first, both teams scored 13 points each in the second quarter. They're about to tee it up for the third quarter with the Rockets ahead 20-13.

The Eagles from BC, which knocked Notre Dame from the ranks of the unbeaten during the regular season, are playing the Ragin' Cajuns of Louisiana-Lafayette on Beacon Hill. Brian St. Pierre has passed for 134 yards and a touchdown to lead BC to a 13-0 halftime lead.

Lastly, we come to probably the game of the day thus far, Wyoming and Texas Tech, engaged in a shootout in Lubbock. Kliff Kingsbury and company are getting all they want from the Cowboys, leading 23-20 at the half. Kingsbury has already passed for 224 yards and two touchdowns so far.

That's all the time we have for this Halftime Report. We'll get you back to Tallahassee and the second half of Florida State and UTEP, right after this.

[tucker342]

great stuff so far Wolfpack

[sterlingice]

Originally posted by JeeberD
Don't worry, they would have lost no matter who they would have played in the first round. Unless they managed to somehow play against Tulsa, Houston, or Army. Then they might have had a chance...

You might have been able to beat my Jayhawks. Unfortunately, Va Tech gets that pleasure.

An who in god's name thought "Manhappiness" Kansas was a good place for a regional. Damn purple power pussies.

SI

[Swaggs]

Let's Go Mountaineers!

[JeeberD]

Originally posted by Wolfpack
Jeeber: Sorry about that. I went to the UTEP site for name references. Got mixed up on the kicker and chose the starting QB based on stats on the site which seemed to indicate he was the starter. With a huge lead such as this, I'm sure it'll be okay to swap QBs to one you prefer. (Then again I know the outcome and such a choice will be irrelevant anyway)

Don't worry man, I was pretty much just bitching to myself. I appreciate the effort you've put into this dynasty and am enjoying it enormously.

Yeah, Duarte had the biggest numbers for UTEP last year, but that's because both Shaper and Cruz got hurt early in the season. Shaper was the #1 QB and Cruz the #2 going into the season. Don't worry about changing QB's, it's not going to make any difference anyways...

And again, thanks for this dynasty. Keep up the great work!!!

[Wolfpack]

Thanks, all.

Sterling: I randomly chose the stadiums for the sites and then organized them into regions and selected the best ones for each region to be regional sites. Just so happened K-State got one.

[Wolfpack]

TV returns from commercial. The image is of Doak-Campbell Stadium, fans filing back to their seats. A small scoreboard in the lower right corner appears, showing UTEP with zero points and Florida State with 31

Pam: Welcome back to Doak-Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee where the UTEP Miners are down 31-0 to the Florida State Seminoles. Chris, what, if anything, can the Miners do to try to get back into this game, or is it too far gone at this point?

Chris: Unfortunately for UTEP fans who may be watching, I think this game is already out of reach. They couldn't muster the offense they needed and they couldn't make the stops they needed during the first half. I don't expect it to be much different in the second half.

Pam: Okay. Just a reminder, coming up after this game, the ABC family of networks will continue its coverage of the 2002 National Football Tournament with games at 3:30, 7:30, and 10:30 Eastern time. Check listings in your area for games and times.

Florida State's Xavier Beitia has the ball set up and we are ready to go with the second half.

UTEP receives the opening kick and moves downfield into field goal range before bogging down.

Pam: Fourth down for UTEP coming up, and on comes ? Robinson for his second attempt. His first attempt during the second quarter missed wide right.

The snap...uh, oh! It's up, but it's not going to make it!

Chris: Looks like the snap was a bit too high for the holder and he had to rush to get it down. Unfortunately, Robinson's timing was thrown off and he just couldn't get a good follow-through.

Pam: So, UTEP's hard luck day continues. Florida State now takes over, first and ten.

The Seminoles take advantage of the UTEP miscue and move into field goal range themselves before the Miner defense stiffens.

Pam: On comes the field goal unit and Xavier Beitia, who made his only field goal attempt as the gun sounded for halftime.

The snap is down, kick is up, and it is...good! Beitia adds another three points to the Seminole lead and now they lead 34-0 with just under eight minutes left in the third quarter.

TV goes to commercial and returns to show a highlight of Wisconsin and Duke, Wisconsin with the ball deep in Duke territory

Reece: We'll get you back to Tallahassee in a moment. Duke had fought Wisconsin to a standstill at Camp Randall, but it looks like the Badgers are wearing the Blue Devils down. On this play, Anthony Davis shook off a couple of would-be tacklers and rumbled into the end zone from seven yards out. The Badgers just added a field goal and now are up 17-7 midway into the third quarter.

In Oxford, Ohio, the Miami RedHawks have utilized a Ben Rothlesberger touchdown pass to take a 17-14 lead against the Huskies.

Central Michigan, the Chippewas!...are continuing to hang with the East's seventh seed, South Florida, trailing 14-10.

Pittsburgh, meanwhile, is finally getting a bit of breathing room against the Idaho Vandals, leading 21-7 midway into the third quarter.

Finally, it looks like Texas Tech is pulling away from Wyoming in Lubbock, as Kliff Kingsbury lead them on a touchdown drive to open the half and are lining up for a field goal as I speak, ahead 30-20...now 33-20 with the field goal made. Back to Tallahassee, Pam Ward, and Chris Spielman.

Pam: Okay, thanks Reece. Here, it's 34-0 with the Seminoles in complete control, getting ready to kick away....

The UTEP offense again takes the field but is unable this time to get even into field goal range and so have to punt away. A good return puts FSU near its own 40 yard line. Bowden is calling off the dogs as the second unit for FSU comes onto the field, Anquan Boldin at QB and Nick Maddox in the backfield. The offense doesn't skip a beat and the Seminoles move the ball to the UTEP 40 in three plays.

Pam: Second and four for Florida State. Boldin hands away to Maddox. Spins out of one tackle...he's free! 30! 20! 10! 5! Touchdown, Florida State! 40 yards for Nick Maddox!

Chris: Wow! That was a great move to get out of that tackle and then it was just pure speed at that point. UTEP had crowded the line ready to stop the run, but once he got away from the initial containment, there was nobody left for support.

Pam: The kick is up and good from Beitia and now FSU is up 41-0.

UTEP receives the next kickoff and get the offense going again, but the FSU defense rises up once more to hold them to a field goal opportunity.

Pam: Robinson on to kick. His first kick missed right, the second one short due to a bobbled snap. Third time the charm, right?

Chris: Heh-heh-heh! Hope so, Pam!

Pam: Snap...hold...up--blocked! Partially blocked and it falls well short!

Chris: It's just been an ugly day all around for the Miners. Guess the third time wasn't the charm.

Pam: So, the Seminoles maintain the shutout, leading 41-0 with just over 14 minutes left in the game.

Let's go to Reece Davis for an update on Wyoming and Texas Tech.

Image appears of Texas Tech and Wyoming in Lubbock, Wyoming with the ball.
Reece: Thanks, Pam. Midway through the third, it looked like the Red Raiders had gotten control of their game with Wyoming. Apparently they haven't. Wyoming scored a touchdown to close to 33-27 and now, on the first play of the fourth quarter, Casey Bramlet and Scottie Vines have connected for the second straight touchdown and given the Cowboys the one-point lead.

In Madison, the Badgers have stretched their lead to 24-7 early in the fourth and are deep in Duke territory.

The Chippewas of Central Michigan keep inching closer to South Florida. They've added another field goal and it's now 14-13.

The Huskies of UConn have retaken the lead against Miami, 21-17, early in the fourth quarter there. The RedHawks, however, are inside the Husky 20.

Virginia Tech, meanwhile, has gotten control of their game with Kansas, pushing their lead to 28-7 as they go to the fourth.

Pam: Thanks, Reece. The Seminoles are in great shape to advance to their regional in Tucson, facing little opposition from the Miners. First and ten Florida State....

For the first time, the UTEP defense stiffens immediately, albeit against the second stringers. FSU has to punt for the first time all game long. UTEP, in what seems like a broken record, once again ventures into Florida State territory, only to be held up as they get into field goal range.

Pam: ..and once again, the Miners face fourth down. On comes Robinson for his fourth field goal attempt of the night. The luckless kicker has missed one, had a bad snap ruin another, and had his third kick partially blocked.

The snap...kick is up and it is...no good! Just missed to the right again!

Chris: You can't help but feel for him. Heck, you can't help but feel for the Miners in general. They've played well, but two interceptions and all these missed field goals, not to mention breakdowns defensively have just done a number on them.

Pam: So, once again, the Seminole defense bends a little but doesn't break and continue their shutout of UTEP, now with seven minutes to go in the game. Back with more in a moment.

Returning from timeout, image appears which shows Texas Tech lining up for a field goal against Wyoming
Reece: Easily the best game of the early games, Wyoming and Texas Tech, the Red Raiders have booted a pair of field goals, this one a 38-yarder off the foot of Robert Treece and the Red Raiders have moved ahead of the Cowboys, 39-34.

Meanwhile, in Oxford, Ohio, Ben Rothlesberger and the RedHawks are suddenly on fire, striking for ten points in seven minutes in the fourth quarter. Miami is now up 27-21, though the Huskies are in RedHawk territory at the moment.

Finally, the Bulls of South Florida are still holding on to that slim, one-point lead, 14-13 against Central Michigan.

Pam: Here, the contest has been decided for quite a bit now, the Seminoles firmly in control, 41-0 with just under seven minutes left.

The Seminoles use their ground game to take large swaths of time off the clock, so much so, that UTEP never sees the ball again as the Seminoles are content with running out the clock deep in Miner territory and mercifully end the game.

Pam: ...and that should do it. Florida State, the fourth seed in the West Region, easily handles number twenty-nine UTEP 41-0. The Seminoles now travel to Tucson, Arizona to await the winner of Nebraska and Nevada-Las Vegas.

Chris: A very impressive effort by Bobby Bowden's team. They'll be a challenge for any team in this tournament.

Pam: For my partner, Chris Spielman and our entire crew, I'm Pam Ward. Thanks so much for watching. This has been a presentation of ESPN, the worldwide leader in sports. Now, let's go to Reece Davis in Bristol.

Image switches to Reece Davis in the studio, TV behind him shows logos of Wyoming and Texas Tech
Reece: Alright, thanks Pam. Florida State wins impressively and moves on to Tucson.

The first group of games in the tournament are mostly done with some exceptions, most notably, the wild game going on in Lubbock. After two Red Raider field goals put Texas Tech up 39-34, the Cowboys answered right back. Casey Bramlet has matched Kliff Kingsbury throw for throw in this affair. Here, he hooks up with Scottie Vines for their third touchdown of the game to put the Cowboys up 41-39 with about two minutes to go there. The Red Raiders do have the ball and are trying to drive for a game-winning field goal.

Another tight affair has just ended in Oxford, Ohio, where the RedHawks held on to defeat the Connecticut Huskies, 34-24, intercepting a pass and returning it for a touchdown with :48 seconds left to seal the deal. Miami's reward is to get East number two seed Iowa in Buffalo next week.

Meanwhile, South Florida has outlasted the Chippewas of Central Michigan, 21-13, in Tampa.

We'll let you know what's going on in Lubbock, but right now, it's time to get you ready for game two of our quadruple-header here on ESPN2, going west for Fresno State and New Mexico State.

[JeeberD]

41-0 is all? Hell, that ain't bad at all. Last year we had a three game stretch where we lost to Kentucky 77-17, to Oklahoma 68-0, and to Hawaii 31-6. That's a three game stretch where we got outscored 176-23. So I don't find a 4-1 beating too bad...

Now I guess I gotta root for UNT. Go Mean Green!!!

Oh, and I hope Texas Tech gets their ass handed to them really soon. God how I hate those TT bastards...

[Wolfpack]

To all: I'm rethinking trying to do a flowing narrative to this dynasty. I'm realizing that it might burn out my creativity a bit too quickly to have to generate a plausible "televised" game and score updating, not to mention, severely slow down what I'm doing, since I can play a batch of games in an evening, but then spend free time over the next several (as was the case with this one) just writing it up.

So, I may "simplify" my narrative and just give score updates at the end of the quarter of the "watched" game as I had intended originally.

Thoughts?

BTW, I've completed play for the 3:30 games except the one being broadcast. Let's just say there are more interesting games in this batch than the first one.

[NAIWF]

Whatever makes it easier for you to update works for me

[JeeberD]

Originally posted by NAIWF
Whatever makes it easier for you to update works for me

Agreed

[tucker342]

also agree

[Wolfpack]

Okay, I'm going to go ahead and report finals for the early games, trying out the new "out of town scores" style a bit.

East Region
(8) TCU 40, (25) Memphis 3
Horned Frogs jump to 24-0 halftime lead and never look back

(4) NC State 42, (29) Buffalo 0
Wolfpack blitz the Bulls and cruise into round of 64

(15) Miami (OH) 34, (18) Connecticut 24
RedHawks trail 21-17 going into fourth, but outscore Huskies 17-3 in final stanza

(7) South Florida 21, (26) Central Michigan 13
Chips hang tough, but turn the ball over on their last possession, preventing any chance of tying it up

(10) Marshall 52, (23) Ohio 21
Marshall and Ohio start out lighting up the board, but only Marshall keeps it going for all four quarters

(6) Virginia 59, (27) Navy 14
21-point first quarter and 24-point third quarter send Middies to the bottom

Southeast Region
(8) Wisconsin 34, (25) Duke 10
Badgers struggle for a half with Duke before putting them away

(9) Tennessee 48, (24) Akron 14
Sluggish 7-0 start for Vols before exploding for 34 points in second and third quarters

(4) Penn State 57, (29) Tulsa 7
Over at kickoff, it was 31-7 at the end of the first quarter

(5) Auburn 66, (28) SMU 7
Over when the matchup was announced

(6) Pittsburgh 28, (27) Idaho 7
Panthers slowly, methodically beat the Vandals with a touchdown in each quarter

Midwest Region
(8) LSU 34, (25) Arkansas State 0
Impressive performance by Tigers sends them to round of 64

(4) Notre Dame 49, (29) Eastern Michigan 7
Irish roll, scoring 10+ points each quarter

(5) Virginia Tech 49, (28) Kansas 14
Kansas sticks for a half, trailing 18-7, before Hokies pull away

(7) Arkansas 43, (26) Troy State 0
Hogs go wild, shut out Troy State

(10) Purdue 40, (23) Northwestern 14
Boilers thump conference rivals to move on

(6) West Virginia 60, (27) Louisiana-Monroe 21
'Neers start hot, don't cool off

West Region
(12) Toledo 44, (21) Nevada 19
Rockets and Wolf Pack close for a half, then Toledo blows Nevada out

(7) Boston College 23, (26) Louisiana-Lafayette 0
Eagles give Cajuns an egg for their efforts

(6) Texas Tech 42, (27) Wyoming 41
Best game of the day thus far. Teams score 13 each in first, Raiders outscore Cowboys 10-7 in second and third to lead 33-27. Wyoming manages two touchdowns to two Red Raider field goals in fourth to lead 41-39 (should've gone for two on one touchdown). Red Raiders get last chance, get to Wyoming 1 before settling for a chip-shot 18-yarder to win. Sorry, Jeeber.

(4) Florida State 41, (29) UTEP 0
Miners get early turnover, but that's about all that goes right. FSU racks up four touchdowns including turnover return for TD to cruise to 31-0 halftime lead and walk away with a win. Sorry again, Jeeber.

As noted before, the 3:30 games have proven to be much better affairs. Even a couple that are going extra time (I'm having to make up charts for the situation since the original game never had college overtime charts made up for it).

[tucker342]

Ouch, only two games that were close...

[tucker342]

Oh by the way, GO IOWA

[thealmighty]

Wolfpack, thank you for not doing that play-by-play thing forever. It is a good idea, but maybe you can pick a Game-of-the-Week or something.

Good idea, btw.

[JeeberD]

Damn those Red Raiders...

[Wolfpack]

Well, the notion is that there are four games that will be rolled for in detail as the "watched" game while other games go on in the background. I realized that I was going to be reaching a bit for play-by-play rather quickly in order to not sound repetitive or get taxed by the amount that had to be done. So, we go from here with a very simplified arrangement.

At any rate, I'll be putting up the 3:30 games shortly....

[Wolfpack]

NAIWF grabs the remote, changes the channel, and on screen appears Grant Field in Atlanta. It's Georgia Tech against Mississippi State, according to the graphic on the screen.

The Bulldogs won the toss, deferred, so Georgia Tech gets the ball first.

15:00 1st, game tied 0-0
Tech gets a couple of first downs on the drive before bogging down and punts the ball away.

10:30 1st, game tied 0-0
The Bulldogs are more successful to start. They push into Tech territory before settling for a field goal.

6:50 1st, MSU leads 3-0
Tech has an ugly possession, goes three and out.

4:50 1st, MSU leads 3-0
Bulldogs can't capitalize, getting a first down before punting away.

1:20 1st, MSU leads 3-0
Tech works for a first down before the quarter comes to a close.

End of 1st Quarter
Mississippi State 3, Georgia Tech 0

-------------

How's that? Lacks the detail, but I think still leaves a bit of storytelling. Scoreboard for other games coming up.

[Wolfpack]

Scoreboard Update

East Region
(17) Illinois 7, (16) Central Florida 0
Illini stake early lead on the road

(20) Stanford 0, (13) Northern Illinois 0
A rather dull start in DeKalb

(12) Wake Forest 13, (21) San Diego State 10
Deacs and Aztecs light up the board in the early going

(5) Colorado 10, (28) Kent State 0
Buffs take charge early

(3) Maryland 9, (30) Army 3
Army hanging tough, giving Terps fits

Southeast Region
(17) Southern Miss 0, (16) South Carolina 0
A rip-snoring start in Columbia

(13) Texas A&M 17, (20) San Jose State 0
A&M came to play, SJSU didn't

(15) North Texas 7, (18) Arizona 0
Good start for the Mean Green at home

(13) Oklahoma State 13, (20) Indiana 7
Cowboys and Hoosiers have a nice one going

(22) East Carolina 7, (11) Iowa State 7
Cyclones getting a contest from Pirates early

Midwest Region
(17) Louisville 0, (16) Cincinnati 0
C-USA rivals play defense to start

(13) Kentucky 7, (20) Ball State 0
Wildcats ahead early in Lexington

(12) Clemson 21, (21) Houston 0
Tommy Bowden's kids are having their way

(14) Bowling Green 3, (19) North Carolina 0
Falcons get field goal in first

(22) Western Michigan 7, (11) Minnesota 3
Early surprise in the Metrodome

West Region
(17) New Mexico 7, (16) Tulane 7
Another close 16-17 game going on

(20) UNLV 7, (13) Nebraska 7
This is definitely not the Nebraska teams of old

(10) Washington 7, (23) Vanderbilt 0
Vandy holding their own against the Huskies

(19) New Mexico State 14, (14) Fresno State 0
Impressive start by NMSU, could be the first seed upset of the tourney

(22) Alabama-Birmingham 10, (11) Arizona State 6
Blazers take advantage of sluggish start by ASU

[Wolfpack]

Back to the MSU-Tech game....

15:00 2nd, MSU leads 3-0
Tech scoops another first down before MSU forces a Tech punt. They had a chance at a touchdown on a deep pass, but just missed on the completion.

13:00 2nd, MSU leads 3-0
MSU gets a great punt return that puts them well into Tech territory, but they can't get a first down and settle for a field goal.

11:00 2nd, MSU leads 6-0
Again, Tech can't seem to get things on track. They bump around a bit but once again the punt unit comes on.

7:30 2nd, MSU leads 6-0
Tech's defense has it's best effort so far, busting up MSU for a three-and-out.

5:30 2nd, MSU leads 6-0
The Jackets hit on a bomb play and get a touchdown in very short order. XP is good.

3:50 2nd, GT leads 7-6
Bulldogs scoop a couple of first downs, but ultimately punt away.

0:05 2nd, GT leads 7-6
After a decent return gets them near midfield, Tech puts up a Hail Mary that is intercepted on the last play.

End of 1st half
Georgia Tech 7, Mississippi State 6

Well, as can be seen, this is turning into a lovely defensive struggle (or a snoozefest, depending on your imagination). Neither of these teams are offensive juggernauts, particularly MSU, who in this game are rated just a couple of steps above the worst available. Tech's scoring punch is rated slighly below average. It definitely shows in this contest.

[Wolfpack]

Scoreboard Update

East Region
(17) Illinois 7, (16) Central Florida 0
Illini continue to lead as game becomes defensive struggle

(13) Northern Illinois 3, (20) Stanford 0
NIU is looking very unimpressive

(12) Wake Forest 27, (21) San Diego State 20
Both teams continue to put points on the board, though Wake has stretched it's lead a bit

(5) Colorado 20, (28) Kent State 0
Buffs in firm control of this one

(3) Maryland 23, (30) Army 3
A couple of touchdowns gives the Terps a nice cushion at half

Southeast Region
(16) South Carolina 10, (17) Southern Miss 7
A more interesting second quarter results in a slim lead for the Gamecocks

(13) Texas A&M 20, (20) San Jose State 7
Spartans get on the board and try to stay in the game

(15) North Texas 13, (18) Arizona 6
A field goal fest in the second quarter

(10) Oklahoma State 23, (23) Indiana 7
10 unanswered points gives the Cowboys a good lead at half

(11) Iowa State 21, (22) East Carolina 17
Cyclones get two touchdowns, but can't shake the Pirates

Midwest Region
(16) Cincinnati 7, (17) Louisville 6
Unremarkable contest sees Bearcats getting slim lead

(13) Kentucky 28, (20) Ball State 0
Three touchdown eruption blows open the contest for Wildcats

(12) Clemson 28, (21) Houston 7
Cougars get on the board, but may already be too far down

(14) Bowling Green 10, (19) North Carolina 7
Falcons and Tar Heels in a tight contest

(11) Minnesota 14, (22) Western Michigan 7
Gophers get scoring in the second, take the lead

West Region
(17) New Mexico 14, (16) Tulane 7
Lobos get a touchdown and grab the lead

(13) Nebraska 14, (20) UNLV 10
Huskers are in a tussle in Lincoln, not a good thing

(10) Washington 28, (23) Vanderbilt 0
Huskies light up Vandy D for three TDs in the second

(19) New Mexico State 21, (14) Fresno State 7
NMSU continues to hold a solid lead at halftime

(11) Arizona State 30, (22) Alabama-Birmingham 17
Sun Devils explode in second quarter, outscoring Blazers 24-7

[Wolfpack]

3rd quarter of Mississippi State and Georgia Tech:

15:00 3rd, GT leads 7-6
The Bulldogs get the ball to start the half, but can only manage a first down before punting away.

11:00 3rd, GT leads 7-6
The Jackets do not fare much better to start, though they once again miss on a big touchdown play that could've put them up 14-6.

7:30 3rd, GT leads 7-6
The Bulldogs get a first down on the first play from scrimmage this drive, but then get stuffed on the next three and are forced to punt yet again.[/b]

5:00 3rd, GT leads 7-6
The Jackets get a sustained drive and chew up the clock before they punch it in for a touchdown. XP is good.

0:20 3rd, GT leads 14-6
Bulldogs run a play and the quarter expires.

End of 3rd Quarter
Georgia Tech 14, Mississippi State 6

[Wolfpack]

Scoreboard Update

East Region
(17) Illinois 7, (16) Central Florida 3
Both offenses continue to struggle as UCF scores only points of quarter

(13) Northern Illinois 10, (20) Stanford 3
NIU gets a touchdown lead, which might be enough the way this game is going

(12) Wake Forest 27, (21) San Diego State 23
A quiet quarter after all the first half fireworks leaves SDSU three points closer

(5) Colorado 33, (28) Kent State 7
Colorado keeps rolling along, ready for next round

(3) Maryland 30, (30) Army 3
It's hard to imagine a 30-3 lead being unimpressive, but it seems that way in this game

Southeast Region
(17) Southern Miss 14, (16) South Carolina 13
Eagles jump in front in a close 16-17 game

(18) Arizona 13, (15) North Texas (13)
Wildcats get a touchdown to tie things up in Denton

(10) Oklahoma State 33, (23) Indiana 7
The Cowboys add another 10 and have the game in hand

(11) Iowa State 35, (22) East Carolina 17
Cyclones break away from Pirates, who can't keep up

Midwest Region
(16) Cincinnati 24, (17) Louisville 9
Bearcats surge in the third to take control

(13) Kentucky 35, (20) Ball State 7
Cardinals get points, but Kentucky well in front

(12) Clemson 41, (21) Houston 16
Tiger fans wonder where this team was all year

(14) Bowling Green 17, (19) North Carolina 14
Both teams get a touchdown each and it remains close going to the fourth

(11) Minnesota 24, (22) Western Michigan 14
Gophers get a bit more lead, but it's still not over yet

West Region
(17) New Mexico 24, (16) Tulane 14
Lobos extend the lead, may become one of the first low seeds to advance

(20) UNLV 17, (13) Nebraska 17
The normally polite and supportive Husker crowd is getting restless

(10) Washington 38, (23) Vanderbilt (7)
Huskies begin looking ahead to next round

(14) Fresno State 24, (19) New Mexico State 21
A tremendous third quarter for the Bulldogs and a disastrous one for NMSU results in a change in the lead

(11) Arizona State 37, (22) Alabama-Birmingham 17
Another touchdown for the Sun Devils and the lead is now 20

[Wolfpack]

Fourth quarter between Mississippi State and Georgia Tech...

15:00 4th, GT leads 14-6
Bulldogs resume their possession, are able to get couple of first downs, but once again the offense cannot keep it going and must punt.

11:00 4th, GT leads 14-6
The Yellow Jackets make the Bulldogs pay for their poor offense, striking on a couple of long plays, the last one results in probably a game-sealing touchdown. The XP is good.

8:50 4th, GT leads 21-6
The Bulldogs need and answer and quickly. They don't come up with one and are forced to punt away again after only managing one first down on the drive.

6:45 4th, GT leads 21-6
Tech begins to work at the clock a bit. They get a first down but don't get a second one, but they've given the Bulldogs very little time to make up a 15-point deficit.

3:15 4th, GT leads 21-6
A desperate Bulldog team can't get the quick strike they need and by the time they're even in position to score, the clock has run out on them.

Final Score
Georgia Tech 21, Mississippi State 6

[Wolfpack]

Scoreboard Update
(17) Illinois 14, (16) Central Florida 11 (LATE 4TH)
Illinois added a touchdown to get a 14-3 lead, but the Knights answered with a touchdown and got the two point conversion to close to 14-11. UCF has the ball and is driving for a tying field goal.

(13) Northern Illinois 17, (20) Stanford 16 (LATE 4TH)
The Cardinal wake up in the fourth quarter, getting 13 points to NIU's lone field goal to trail by just one. They have the ball and are looking to take the lead.

(12) Wake Forest 34, (21) San Diego State 23 (FINAL)
A noisy start fades to a quiet finish as the Deacs get a touchdown to put the game out of reach in the fourth. Wake now goes to the sub-regional in West Point to face Colorado.

(5) Colorado 40, (28) Kent State 7 (FINAL)
Buffs finish off with a touchdown by second stringers and move on to face Wake Forest.

(3) Maryland 44, (30) Army 9 (FINAL)
A pair of fourth quarter touchdowns close down the scoring and the worst team in the field is eliminated. Maryland moves to the sub-regional at Rutgers to await the winner of Oregon-Syracuse.

Southeast Regional
(16) South Carolina 23, (17) Southern Miss 14 (FINAL)
10 unanswered fourth quarter points give the Gamecocks the victory. They are rewarded with a game against Southeast #1 Miami in Charlottesville.

(13) Texas A&M 33, (20) San Jose State 17 (FINAL)
The Spartans try to rally, but they are too far down. A&M matches them score for score and advances. The Aggies will now try to contain Penn State. At least the sub-regional is in Houston.

(18) Arizona 20, (15) North Texas 20 (LATE 4TH)
A nip-and-tuck contest goes to the wire as both teams get touchdowns in the fourth. North Texas has the ball and is going for the winning score.

(10) Oklahoma State 46, (23) Indiana 14 (FINAL)
The Cowboys put the finishing touches on an easy win. They now move to the Denton sub-regional and face Florida.

(11) Iowa State 49, (22) East Carolina 17 (FINAL)
ECU's offense never came out of the locker room for the second half and the Cyclones blow them away. ISU goes to Huntington next and gets Pittsburgh.

Midwest Region
(16) Cincinnati 31, (17) Louisville 9 (FINAL)
A horrid day for Louisville concludes as the Bearcats tack on another touchdown in the fourth. Cincinnati's prize: #1 Ohio State at the Glass Bowl in Toledo. Payback for the close loss during the regular season will be extra motivation.

(13) Kentucky 52, (20) Ball State 14 (FINAL)
The Wildcats finish with a flourish and move on to the round of 64. It won't be so easy next week in East Lansing going up against the Irish.

(12) Clemson 62, (21) Houston 21 (FINAL)
The Tigers are merciless, scoring three fourth quarter touchdowns to the delight of the faithful. Next up is Virginia Tech in the East Lansing sub-regional and it's a pretty good bet they won't hang 62 on the Hokies.

(14) Bowling Green 27, (19) North Carolina 24 (LATE 4TH)
A good, close contest is going down to the wire. The Falcons got the first points on a field goal, but the Heels have matched them score for score since then. North Carolina has the ball and is looking to tie it up.

(11) Minnesota 37, (22) Western Michigan 14 (FINAL)
The Gophers score 13 in the fourth to finish off the Broncos and advance. They will play West Virginia in Muncie next round.

West Region
(17) New Mexico 31, (16) Tulane 21 (FINAL)
The Lobos are the first low seed through into the round of 64, matching a Tulane touchdown with one of their own to keep the Wave at arm's reach in the fourth. They may not go much further, though, as they have to take on West #1 Southern California in Reno next week.

(20) UNLV 24, (13) Nebraska 24 (LATE 4TH)
The Nebraska faithful are on their feet as the Huskers first responded to a UNLV touchdown with one of their own to tie it at 24 and now are trying to drive for the winning points.

(10) Washington 41, (23) Vanderbilt 7 (FINAL)
The Huskies quietly finish their disposal of the Commodores and move to the next round in Manhattan, Kansas and Boston College.

(19) New Mexico State 31, (14) Fresno State 31 (LATE 4TH)
In an affair rivaling the Texas Tech-Wyoming game, New Mexico State and Fresno State have traded leads and scores all day. NMSU jumped to a 21-7 halftime lead only to watch the Bulldogs score 17 in the third unanswered. New Mexico State keeps it together and gets a tying field goal after the two teams trade touchdowns early in the fourth. Fresno State does have the ball now and is looking for the winning points.

(11) Arizona State 58, (22) Alabama-Birmingham 24 (FINAL)
The Sun Devils continue their obliteration of the Blazers with 21 in the fourth. ASU now travels to Boulder, where they face lucky first round survivor Texas Tech.

[tucker342]

I like this way a lot more. I hope Nebraska loses