Cooking with Rice: Another NCAA 2004 dynasty

[Butter]

Yes, we're going to try 2 dynasties at the same time and see how that works out.

I'm taking the Rice Owls from the WAC and trying to build them into a title contender. My plan is to stay at Rice until I win the national title, then possibly move on to some other sad sack. Plans may change, but Rice seems to be a good place to be. They're in an extremely fertile recruiting state (Texas) with a lowly crosstown rival (Houston Cougars). They're in what most would consider a mid-major football conference, with possible top 25 teams each year in Fresno State and Hawaii. Boise State has also had some recent success, and Nevada and Louisiana Tech have been solid programs for quite some time. UTEP has not had success in quite some time, and San Jose State is a team on the rise that traditionally plays a murderous out of conference schedule which preps them well for the conference season. SMU is still trying to recover from its mid-80's death penalty and Tulsa is a program that has not done well in the last few years.

That leaves Rice. Rice just won their first national title in ANY sport... baseball. They have not had a good football program, traditionally, and are rated 1 star accordingly.

House rules:
-No recruits will be turned down! Good credit, bad credit, no credit... NO PROBLEM!!
-Games will be played at lengths of 7 or 5 minutes, depending on how much time I have that day to play. I try to play on 7 minutes when possible, but even that length does not allow me to consistently compete for any offensive awards.
-Games are played on All-American with sliders heavily favoring the computer. All offensive sliders for CPU are at max., and all defensive sliders are above 10. All human sliders for offense are around 10, and all defensive sliders are between 5 and 8.
-We must play Houston on a rotating home-and-away every season, and I will try to schedule at least 1 top 25 foe on the road each season. No promises, though, especially in contract years.

Alright, I can tell Houston is excited by my imminent arrival. I must go and tend to my young team, and tell them that as soon as we recruit someone better (which will be right away, let's be honest), they're out of a job.

[Butter]

2003

I decide to sim the first two seasons and handle recruiting before I try my hand at actually playing on the field with this lot.

Some sadistic bastard actually scheduled TEXAS this year, and it wasn't me. Well, here's our schedule and results:

@ Houston, W 28-17
@ Duke, L 23-20
v. Texas, L 63-7
@ Hawaii, L 49-35
v. San Jose St., W 35-24
v. Navy, L 27-14
@ Fresno St., L 35-24
v. Nevada, L 49-20
v. Tulsa, L 21-17
@ SMU, W 35-20
v. UTEP, W 41-17
@ La. Tech, W 31-28

Texas does go on to win the national title. Doesn't really make me feel better, but I thought I'd share. K-State's Ell Roberson wins the Heisman. No awards of any kind for my guys.

That takes us to recruiting. I don't recall how many points I have to start with, but virtually no one is interested in us besides your standard issue 1 star Texas scrubs. It takes some work, but we play our cards right with a few "average" interest prospects and wind up with a pretty good class. Our class ranks #32 nationally and #2 in the WAC (behind Fresno State, who was #10 nationally).

2004 recruits
Recruits listed with rank at their position, then their freshman rating and state of origin are tacked at the end.

5 star recruits
-#3 FS Wendell Bernard, TX - 76 (#71 ranked player nationwide)

4 star recruits
-#35 CB Marvin Davis, LA - 70
-#14 OLB Nick Battle, LA - 75
-#25 DT William Phillips, LA - 75

3 star recruits
-#17 K John Rice, TX - 71
-#56 G Jason Lane, LA - 66
-#25 C Napoleon Lynch, TX - 70
-#23 FS Brian Cooley, TX - 72
-#59 HB Lynn Barton, TX - 71
-#38 DT DeMarcus Frazier, TX - 69
-#63 HB Dane Carpenter, TX - 72

2 star recruits
-#48 FS Cedric Kincaid, TX - 62
-#56 FB Jerome Mayo, TX - 65
-#57 FB Charlie Lopez, TX - 65
-#57 MLB Deshan Hobson, LA - 68
-#45 FB Tony Bush, TX - 69

1 star recruits
-#101 QB Timothy Bridges, FL - 58 (4.86/40, balanced, D arm strength, C+ accuracy)
-#122 QB Curtis Cruz, FL - 59 (4.95/40, pocket passer, C+/C+)
-#128 QB Angelo Gaffney, LA - 60 (4.88/40, balanced, C/C)

We sign 3 QB's in the final week, really only needing 2. Cruz ends up redshirting while Gaffney earns the starting nod thanks to his overall better ratings than Bridges and the incumbent starter. With the flexbone offense we run, you have to be quick and able to make snap decisions. Gaffney is the man... for now.

[Butter]

2004

We expect to fare a bit better than 5-7, 4-4, but not much. We are picked to finish 7th in the WAC (Fresno is picked #1 again).

The preseason top 5 in the country is:
1. Oklahoma
2. Ohio St.
3. Miami
4. Texas
5. NC State

Oklahoma is scheduled for week 1, and again, we get dominated and they win in the national title game over Georgia. Heisman winner is Maurice Clarett, he rushes for over 2300 yards in setting a record.

We do improve, but still finish out of the bowls.

2004 schedule/results:

@ #1 Oklahoma, L 35-3
v. Houston, L 21-10
v. TCU, W 28-24
@ Air Force, W 31-28
v. Ole Miss, L 27-14
v. Hawaii, W 41-20
@ San Jose St., W 30-3
v. Fresno St., L 27-16
@ Nevada, L 38-20
@ Tulsa, W 37-14
v. SMU, W 20-17
@ UTEP, W 27-10
v. La. Tech, L 35-21

Finish 7-6, 5-3, 4th in WAC

A disappointment to be sure, but not a crushing one. We had no one in any awards races, but our offense was pretty solid, aside from the early season games v. OU and UH. The freshmen come along pretty well, but Gaffney had mixed results at QB. His completion percentage was under 50% and he had 9 TD but 17 INT. We'll see if he keeps his starting job, or if we can get one of the other freshmen to improve. Our RB corps also needs bolstering as it lacks speed. Our offensive line is losing 3 starters, and the defense is also losing several key players, including both starting corners.

That's where our needs lie as we enter the 2004 recruiting season. That's what'll be up next.

[Butter]

2005 recruiting/preseason

We put together an amazing recruiting year, composed almost entirely of in-state products! We only get 4 out of staters, 2 from Louisiana and 2 from Florida. Our class is ranked #10 in the country, and #1 in the WAC edging out #22 Fresno State for top honors in the conference.

For some reason, nearly every CB in the nation had an interest in us (probably because we only had 1 left on the roster). The top 5 CB's in the country all had us listed as high on their list or very high. Getting 2 of the top 5 corners probably helped this class rank high pretty well.

Recruits not from Texas will be noted:
5 star recruits
-#4 OLB Rocky Fredrickson, 79 (#52 recruit nationally)
-#2 CB Quentin Duncan, 80 (#16 recruit nationally), FL
-#3 CB Wesley Goss, 79 (#22 recruit nationally)

4 star recruits
-#29 HB Zeke Roberts, 73
-#38 HB Markus Crocker, 71
-#20 T J.B. Whitehead, 75
-#22 G Donald Armstead, 78
-#21 DE Wade George, 75
-#33 DE Deandre Hanson, 72
-#37 OLB Matt Davis, 78
-#21 SS Matthew Sanford, 71, (Junior college player), LA

3 star recruits
-#55 WR Gino Helms, 69
-#49 T J.P. Bridges, 70
-#52 T Lynn Magee, 70, FL

2 star recruits
-#82 WR Brandon Hargrove, 69
-#47 C Quentin Faulk, 66
-#54 C Antonio Myers, 65, LA

A very solid class, with lots of good help everywhere. From the looks of it, we have 10-12 starters right away from this class. The OL should immediately improve, as should pass coverage with us nabbing some of the top corners in the nation.

The preseason top 5 looks like this:
1. Texas
2. Miami
3. Oklahoma
4. USC
5. NC State

And we are picked to finish 5th in the conference. Here are the conference preseason rankings:
1. Fresno St.
2. Nevada
3. Hawaii
4. Boise State
5. Rice
6. Tulsa
7. SMU
8. UTEP
9. Louisiana Tech
10. San Jose State

Our job security looks solid going into the season, despite yet reaching a bowl game. We're at a B+. Here is the schedule, still playing a preseason top 10 team, but in the second game of the year.

v. Houston (Battle for the Administaff Bayou Bucket)
@ #8 UCLA
v. Minnesota
@ Baylor
@ Hawaii
v. San Jose St.
@ Fresno St.
v. Nevada
v. Tulsa
@ SMU
v. UTEP
@ Louisiana Tech

We've switched QB's this year, and will be going with Timothy Bridges, who was actually redshirted last season. He and Gaffney's ratings are similar, but Bridges seems to have the better accuracy and acceleration numbers, both key to the flexbone offense. Curtis Cruz is being left behind, as his speed and throwing numbers just aren't there. Here is your starting offensive lineup:

QB Tim Bridges
HB Dane Carpenter
HB Zeke Roberts
FB Tony Bush
WR Gino Helms
WR Brandon Hargrove
LT JB Whitehead
LG Jason Lane
C Napoleon Lynch
RG Donald Armstead
RT Lynn Magee

And the defense:
LE Deandre Hanson
DT William Philliips
DT DeMarcus Frazier
RE Wade George
LOLB Rocky Fredrickson
MLB Deshan Hobson
ROLB Nick Battle
CB Quentin Duncan
CB Wesley Goss
Nickel CB Marvin Davis
FS Wendell Bernard
Dime CB/ #2 FS Brian Cooley
SS Matthew Sanford

We face a lot of spread sets in the WAC, so Cooley will be seeing the field a lot. I feel a lot better about the team having an improved secondary. The D-line is also better, but could improve even more, and DT will probably need some depth this offseason, so hopefully we can avoid injuries. Our linebacking corps is solid, but also lacks depth. This will change with a couple more solid recruiting years, I think.

Next: the 2005 season begins with a visit from the evil Houston Cougars. Well, they were evil for a while there when they were killing people 77-10. Now they just kinda suck.

[Butter]

Game 1, #86
v. Houston, #107

We should've played them on the road, but didn't due to a scheduling mishap. I don't really think it would've mattered much.

The score was 24-0 at the break, and our option attack was coming at them from all sides. We take the second half to work on our passing game, and it seems that Bridges has potential, but drops are rather frequent with our weak receiving corps. Gaffney works in the 4th quarter, and appears to be even more proficient than Bridges at running the option, but worse at passing.

FS Brian Cooley is named player of the game, as he finishes with 4 tackles (2 for loss), 1 sack, an interception, forced fumble and fumble recovery.

Win, 27-7
Record: 1-0

Other scores
WAC teams
#21 Penn St. 38, UTEP 17
Tulsa 28, Ball St. 21
Hawaii 27, South Florida 20
Idaho 27, Boise St. 16
Fresno St. 27, Arkansas St. 17
Arkansas 41, Louisiana Tech 16
SMU 27, BYU 20
Nevada 31, New Mexico St. 0
Navy 14, San Jose St. 9

Top upsets
Central Florida 34, #6 Auburn 31

Future Foes
#2 Miami 23, Minnesota 21
#8 UCLA 40, Central Michigan 9
Georgia Tech 35, Baylor 10

[JeeberD]

Originally posted by Butter_of_69
UTEP has not had success in quite some time...

We won the WAC in 2000, dammit!!!!

[Butter]

Game 2, #82
@ UCLA (2-0, #6)

We are able to hold UCLA to a 3 and out on their first series. Our first series eats up over 4 minutes, and drives us to a touchdown! Bridges with a beautiful 19 yard corner route to WR Gino Helms out of the Flexbone tight formation. UCLA was not expecting a pass out of that set, and I'm smelling an upset early on!

Sadly, UCLA is able to pressure us pretty well after that, and hold us down offensively through the rest of the half. They are able to drive deep into our territory and 2 separate occasions in the 2nd quarter, but have to settle for field goals each time, making the halftime score Rice 7, UCLA 6. I'm still feeling an upset, and praying we can come up with some offense in the 2nd half.

Our first possession of the second half goes nowhere fast, and we are forced to punt. UCLA sets up shop at their own 34. The second play of their drive is a seemingly innocuous WR screen out of the Ace Trips formation. Sadly, they get perfect blocking and sail 66 yards for their first TD of the game. That takes the wind out of our sails, and sets UCLA up to dominate the rest of the game fairly easily.

We're just not ready for the top teams yet.

SS Matt Sanford is named the Rice player of the game with 7 tackles (3 for loss) and 1 sack.

Loss, 23-7
Record: 1-1

Other scores
WAC
Louisiana Tech 28, Ole Miss 23
#8 Arkansas 31, Tulsa 0
Arizona 47, San Jose State 10
Fresno St. 28, Colorado 10
Nevada 17, Middle Tennessee St. 14
#16 Virginia 31, SMU 6
Hawaii 24, UConn 21
Wyoming 21, Boise St. 20

No upsets of note this week

Future Foes
North Texas 23, Minnesota 20
Baylor 46, Utah St. 31

[Butter]

Originally posted by JeeberD
We won the WAC in 2000, dammit!!!!

My fault. I think we could agree that was an anomaly, though. Unfortunately. No offense intended.

[JeeberD]

Nah, no offense. One or two good years out of the past thirty can be pretty easy to overlook...

[Butter]

Game 3, #85
v. Minnesota (0-2, #57)

Minnesota lost to #2 Miami by 2, then North Texas by 3, so who knows which Golden Gopher team will show up today?

The game starts badly, as Rice coughs it up on a fumble deep in their own territory after a UM 3 and out. Minnie takes the ball and punches it in for an early 7-0 lead.

Luckily, we're able to run the ball pretty well, and engineer a 14 play, 82 yard drive to even the score, which ends with a 3 yard Dane Carpenter TD run. The game is deadlocked through the rest of the half, and goes to the locker room at 7 a piece.

Fortunately for us, Minnesota has no luck at all offensively, because we cough it up 3 more times in the second half. Bridges throws a drive killing INT at one point, and Carpenter and Bush each fumble the ball away deep in our own territory.

Luckily, Minnesota can do little to convert on their opportunities, and we're able to post 2 FG's from 38 and 42 to take a 13-7 lead into the 4th quarter.

Finally, the breakthrough comes early in the 4th as we pin UM at their own 2. Minnesota's QB drops to throw and spots a wide open Wesley Goss in the middle of the field. Sadly, Wesley Goss is a Rice CB, and returns the ball 13 yards for the clinching score. UM gets a late garbage score, but cannot recover the onside kick, and we win a close one.

Stats
Rushing
Rice - 190, UM - 36
Dane Carpenter - 12/67, 1 TD
FB Tony Bush - 8/49
QB Tim Bridges - 9/47

Bridges also goes 6/11 through the air for 80 yards and 1 pick.

Wesley Goss is named player of the game with his game winning INT.

Win, 20-14
Record: 2-1

Other scores
Fresno St. 26, Central Florida 19
TCU 31, SMU 17
Hawaii 30, Ball St. 23
#23 Stanford 51, Tulsa 0
Baylor 24, San Jose St. 19
Boise St. 23, Utah 17
Nevada 41, Mississippi St. 19
Western Michigan 24, UTEP 10
UAB 45, Louisiana Tech 21

Notable Top 10 scores
#6 UCLA 33, UNLV 24
#4 USC 40, #18 Nebraska 38
#9 Pitt 24, #7 Ohio State 9
#1 Texas 45, #13 Va. Tech 35

[Butter]

Game 4, #68
@ Baylor (2-1, #89)

Baylor starts out well, driving 60 yards for a FG on their opening drive. Baylor has a difficult time stopping our running game, but is able to stiffen near their own goal line. We go for it on 4th and 1, and convert for a 5 yard TD run with Dane Carpenter.

Baylor is able to work their 2 minute drill before the half for a TD, but not before we've already scored another rushing TD to lead 14-10 at the break.

Baylor keeps it close, allowing us to run to around the 35, but then not allowing any more and forcing punts deep into their territory. This doesn't work out to points for them, but does keep them in the game until late in the 4th. At that point, Jerome Mayo busts a 16 yarder to make it 21-10 with 2:58 to go. The first BU play after the kickoff is a tipped ball INT right to Wesley Goss, who takes it to the end zone for the 2nd straight week. We add a garbage TD after a good punt return with under a minute to go, and this one's over.

Stats
Rushing
Rice - 34/226, Baylor - 21/28
Carpenter - 11/95, 1 TD
Roberts - 10/51, 1 TD
FB Jerome Mayo - 1/16, 1 TD
Bridges - 9/49, 1 TD

Bridges also goes 3/6 through the air for just 24 yards.

Goss is named player of the game again, this time with 2 tackles (1 for loss) and the TD return of his interception.

Win, 35-10
Record: 3-1

Other scores
WAC
Nevada 62, San Jose St. 0
Fresno St. 52, La. Tech 3
Cal 45, SMU 7
Vanderbilt 38, Hawaii 14
Ohio 31, UTEP 20
Washington St. 34, Boise St. 13

No major top-25 results

[Butter]

Game 5, #53
v. Hawaii (3-1, #52)

Hawaii likes to throw. A lot. Way more than most, even.

So, imagine my surprise when they are wholly unable to do so in their game against me. So poor at it, they are, that they complete just 11 of 34 passes the entire game.

Meanwhile, we have the ball for nearly 20 minutes of a 28 minute game. Running it down their throats. Run run run. Here comes the run. I yell out to my guys "Just run it!" Hawaii surely hears me. But does nothing. They take it. They take their beating like that wimpy men they are.

They're not even up to stopping a good corner blitz. Dime back Cooley gets in free nearly every time we run the corner blitz, and he winds up with 6 sacks (and is named player of the game).

Stats
Rushing
Rice - 43/207, UH - 12/(-31)
Carpenter - 11/52, 2 TD
Roberts - 8/49
Bridges - 11/47, 1 TD

Bridges also goes 4/5 passing for 61 yards.

This wretched excuse for a game tells me to increase the sliders.

Win, 34-0
Record: 4-1, 1-0

Other scores
WAC
Nevada 42, SMU 14
#19 Nebraska 41, Fresno St. 19
Tulsa 28, Arizona 27
TCU 34, UTEP 10
#15 Georgia 40, San Jose St. 12

No other top-25 scores of note, all ranked teams playing win

Nevada enters the Top 25 at #23 with a record of 5-0.

[Butter]

Game 6, #44
v. San Jose St. (0-6, 0-1, #114)

The Spartans come in battered, but not beaten just yet. We decide that this is a good time to up the CPU sliders and lower the human ones. CPU now gets offensive sliders of 15+, and our defensive sliders drop to 8 or less. The offensive sliders hang around the middle for us, and the CPU defensive sliders are increased a hair, to the 12 region (except for INT's).

The Spartans do a good job of hanging in, but we control most of the game. The passing game is used sparingly, but efficiently, and Bridges does a relatively good job of running the option, but SJSU (or is that the new sliders?) does a good job of beating me to the corner. The final dagger is thrust when Bridges connects with Zeke Roberts on an 89 yard TD pass from the simple Flexbone formation late in the 3rd quarter. SJSU manages a pity TD, but we were in control of this one all the way.

Stats
QB Bridges - 8/14, 154 yds., 1 TD/1 INT, 12 carries, 22 yds.
FB Tony Bush - 7/36
HB Dane Carpenter - 10/26, 2 TD
HB Zeke Roberts - 8/20, 3 rec., 92 yds., 1 TD
FS/CB Brian Cooley - 4 tkls., 3 TFL, 2 sacks
CB Wesley Goss - 2 INT

Win, 23-13
Record: 5-1, 2-0

Other scores
WAC
#23 Nevada 34, UNLV 31
Tulsa 49, Hawaii 42
Boise St. 34, Louisiana Tech 13
SMU 38, UTEP 27

Other top-25 scores
Iowa 27, #12 Michigan 6
#14 Penn St. 34, #10 Wisconsin 17
#5 NC State 38, #18 Ga. Tech 10
Alabama 21, #15 Georgia 6

Nevada-Reno moves up to #18 with their tight victory over in-state rival Nevada-Las Vegas.

[Butter]

We have two off weeks here.
Other scores
WAC
SMU 27, San Jose St. 17
Louisiana Tech 17, UTEP 9
Fresno St. 48, Hawaii 20
Boise St. 31, Tulsa 10

Top 25 scores of note
#4 USC 49, #12 Stanford 16
#16 Ohio St. 30, #14 Wisconsin 13
Auburn 14, #8 Arkansas 10
#3 Oklahoma 48, #1 Texas 31
#2 Miami 35, Florida St. 10

Nevada moves up to #15 in both polls, and #13 in the first BCS rating of the year.

Following week's scores
WAC
La. Tech 38, Hawaii 35
#15 Nevada 45, Tulsa 6
Boise St. 34, SMU 24

No upsets of note. Fresno St. enters the polls at #23, and Nevada ticks up to #12 in both the polls and the BCS. Here are the top 7 BCS schools:

1. Oklahoma - 3.34
2. Miami - 5.50
3. USC - 9.21
4. NC State - 11.87
5. UCLA - 14.59
6. Pittsburgh - 17.25
7. Texas - 17.37

Game 7, #34
@ Fresno State (5-1, 1-0, #23)

Fresno St. has a giant V on their helmets and field. Their web site says it is to represent the San Joaquin Valley, and the teams commitment to their community (and the community's commitment to their team). I'm glad they enjoy their little symbolism. We plan to stomp all over that giant V today, symbolizing a Rice victory.

Unfortunately, the less said about this game, the better. Fresno dominates, especially defensively, stuffing our run all day, and intercepting Bridges 3 times. No stats of note from this one.... we got our behind handed to us. Our defense played hard, but we only crossed midfield twice, and once was thanks to a penalty that only made it 4th and 7 instead of 4th and 12.

We ran 31 times for -14 yards. Each team had 6 sacks.

Loss, 14-0
Record: 5-2, 2-1

Other scores
WAC
Boise St. 42, SJSU 10
UTEP 42, Hawaii 24
#12 Nevada 38, La. Tech 25
SMU 30, Tulsa 10

Top 25 of note
#1 Oklahoma 38, Colorado 31
Vanderbilt 31, #9 South Carolina 21

Nevada moves up to #10 in both polls and the BCS.

We also get news this week that our FS Brian Cooley has been named a semifinalist for both the Bednarik and Thorpe awards. He has 35 tackles and 13 sacks along with 5 additional tackles for loss and 1 interception so far this season.

[Butter]

Game 8, #42
v. Nevada (8-0, 4-0, #10)

Who would've figured UNR would be so highly rated at this point? We hope for an upset.

We actually play pretty well, but our running game is just creamed again, and Bridges just plays awful. Nevada took a 14-0 lead by the middle of the 2nd quarter, and it was lights out.

Stats
Passing yards
UNR - 184, Rice - 132

Rushing yards
UNR - 33/107, Rice - 18/13

Time of possession
UNR - 17:56, Rice - 10:04

Individual stats
Bridges - 8/23, 132 yds., 2 INT, 3 rushes, -18 yards
Bush - 4/12
Roberts - 5/11
Carpenter - 6/8

Loss, 24-7
Record: 5-3, 2-2

Other scores
WAC
Hawaii 44, SJSU 17
UTEP 17, Tulsa 14
#18 Fresno St. 26, SMU 3

Other top 25
Washington 34, #9 Oregon 24
Virginia 38, #4 NC State 35

Here are the BCS ratings after this week:
1. Oklahoma - 3.58
2. Miami - 6.41
3. USC - 10.21
4. UCLA - 11.74
5. Pitt - 14.99
6. Maryland - 15.78
7. Texas - 17.24
8. Nevada - 19.02
9. NC State - 23.54
10. Arkansas - 24.17

I don't know if Nevada will be able to keep it up, as they still have Fresno St. and Boise St. left on the schedule, but if they do run the table, I'd be awfully interested to see how the rankings end up. I doubt they'd make it to the top 2 if there are more than 2 unbeaten teams.

[Butter]

Game 9, #50
v. Tulsa (3-6, 1-4, #106)

Nobody could get ANYTHING started in this one. All of our points were set up by Tulsa turnovers, and they had one fluke 40 yard bomb for a TD for their score, but we clinched the game in the 3rd quarter when Carpenter took an option pitch in from 11 yards out.

Tough game, but we prevail.

Stats
Rushing
Tulsa - 24/86, Rice 37/97
Carpenter - 11/46, 1 TD
Roberts - 6/24
Bush - 3/24
Bridges - 17/3... that's right, 3 yards on 17 carries. Needless to say, he was bottled up a LOT on the option.

Passing
Ryan McGrew (Tulsa QB) - 9/27, 103 yds., 1 TD, 4 INT
Bridges - 3/14, 33 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT

3rd down conversions
Tulsa - 1/11, Rice - 3/14

Matt Sanford wins player of the game with his 2nd quarter 70 yard INT return for a TD.

Win, 17-7
Record: 6-3, 3-2

Other scores
WAC
UTEP 35, San Jose St. 28
#8 Nevada 27, #16 Fresno St. 21
Louisiana Tech 45, SMU 24

Other top 25
Virginia Tech 27, #5 Pitt 20

With that, Nevada moves up another 2 spots to 6th in the BCS, passing Texas as well as Pitt. Only Boise St. do I see posing another challenge to the Pack, who are poised to run the table. That would be great for the league, but not so much for me, as I want my team to be tops in the WAC so I can get out of this hell-hole.

[Butter]

Game 10, #42
@ SMU (4-7, 3-4, #103)

Bridges finally wakes up and has a good game. We control this one throughout as the Ponies defense is more porous than a square of cheesecloth.

Stats
Rushing
Rice - 38/157, SMU - 25/82
Bridges - 13/54
Carpenter - 11/16, 2 TD
Roberts - 8/65, 1 TD

Passing
Bridges - 8/15, 159 yds., 1 TD
SMU had 282 passing yards split between 2 QB's, as their starter left just before halftime with a sprained knee.

WR Gino Helms had 2 catches for 73 yards and a score.

Win, 41-23
Record: 7-3, 4-2

Other scores
WAC
#24 Fresno St. 52, SJSU 10
#6 Nevada 28, Hawaii 24
Boise St. 38, UTEP 20
Tulsa 31, La. Tech 19

Other top-25 of note
#4 UCLA 47, Oregon 44, 2 OT

Nevada holds steady at #6, as Hawaii gave them a scare late with 2 4th qtr. TD's, but Nevada remains unbeaten.

[Butter]

Game 11, #35
v. UTEP (3-7, 3-3, #86)

Thanks to Nevada being in a BCS bowl, we're 4th in the conference, but slotted to play in the WAC #3 slot in the bowl games, which is the Hawaii Bowl against C-USA #5. We currently sit behind Nevada, Fresno St., and Boise St. (who we do not play this year... or any year thanks to the NCAA 2004 "non-rotating" schedules).

UTEP plays a marvelous defensive game, pretty well shutting us down. Unfortunately, they also cough up the ball 6 times, including 3 picks, 1 of which was returned 68 yards for a TD by Matt Sanford.

Overall, we finish with just 156 offensive yards, but the turnovers set us up nicely more than once, and we squeak past UTEP to hold the #4 spot over La. Tech.

Stats
Rushing
UTEP - 23/44, Rice - 35/73
Roberts - 5/45, 1 TD
Carpenter - 11/26

Passing
Jeremy Swift (UTEP QB) - 11/22, 185 yds., 1 TD/3 INT
Bridges - 6/12, 83 yds., 1 TD/1 INT

Win, 21-14
Record: 8-3, 5-2

Other scores
WAC
Boise St. 27, #19 Fresno St. 10
Louisiana Tech 35, Troy St. 7
Tulsa 28, SJSU 23 (Spartans finish season at 0-13)

Non-conference
North Carolina 42, Duke 9 (both teams entered game 0-11)
#3 USC 27, #4 UCLA 13
#1 Oklahoma 68, Texas Tech 10
#8 NC State 55, #5 Maryland 14
#2 Miami 37, Rutgers 10

With 2 of the top 5 losing, Nevada jumps into the #4 slot. Here are the top BCS teams, with points and remaining games:

1. Oklahoma - 4.22 - Big XII title game, v. TBA
2. Miami - 7.63 - @ #10 Pitt.
3. USC - 8.65 - @ Notre Dame
4. Nevada - 12.36 - @ Boise St.
5. NC State - 14.37 - end reg. season
6. Texas - 14.72 - @ Texas A&M

So, realistically, Nevada has a slim-to-none shot at the title game, but it is there.

[Butter]

Game 12, #34
@ Louisiana Tech (5-6, 3-4, #76)

Having cinched up the #4 slot in the conference, now we had to hope that Nevada would win their last game so we can go bowling. Nothing like Hawaii at Christmas!

This was an entertaining game....after halftime, at which point the score was LT 14, Rice 0. The first play after the break was a beautiful option pass run to perfection, as Gino Helms beat the D deep for an 83 yard score. La. Tech's first offensive play was an INT, as CB Wesley Goss returned the ball to the 28, setting up a field goal to cut the lead to 14-10. Sadly, our pass defense was dreadful all day, and yielded another score to put it at Bulldogs 21, Owls 10.

Our first play after the LT TD was another option pass that the Dogs bit hard on, and Bridges found Hargrove for 79 yards and another score. Luckily for us, that seemed to turn the tide, and Tech could get nothing started in the 4th quarter. Meanwhile, we were able to put together 2 grinding drives, which netted us 10 points and the victory. Tech's final drive ended on a 4th and 21 sack by Brian Cooley, whom Tech failed to pick up off the Dime corner blitz all day.

Stats
Passing
At the half: LT 249 yds., Rice 72
At the end: Turner (LT) - 20/34, 337 yds., 3 TD/3 INT
Bridges - 9/18, 246 yds., 2 TD/2 INT

Rushing
Rice 30/108, LT 17/(-50) (thanks to 8 sacks)
Carpenter - 9/69
Roberts - 6/19, 1 TD

Brian Cooley had 10 tackles and 6 sacks, bringing his season total to 22 sacks, 1 shy of the NCAA record in one season. To say the corner blitz is effective out of the Dime is an understatement.

Win, 27-21
Record: 9-3, 6-2
end regular season

We keep an eye on the scoreboard, as a Nevada win means we're going bowling.... the score was close all the way, including a 35-35 score in the 4th quarter... but Nevada pulls it out with 14 unanswered in the 4th, winning it 49-35, assuring us of a bowl, and them of a BCS bid. Woo-hoo!

Other scores
WAC
BYU 34, Hawaii 17
Fresno St. 28, UTEP 17

Non-conference
#2 Miami 39, #10 Pitt 27
#3 USC 43, Notre Dame 10

Week 16 WAC score: Hawaii 16, Boise St. 10

Even so, we finish in a 3-way tie for 2nd with Fresno and Boise, and still net the Hawaii Bowl slot, versus Cincinnati.

Final WAC Standings:
1. Nevada - 12-0, 8-0
2. Boise St. - 8-5, 6-2
3. Fresno St. - 10-3, 6-2
4. Rice - 9-4, 6-2
5. La. Tech - 5-7, 3-5
6. SMU - 4-8, 3-5
7. UTEP - 3-9, 3-5
8. Tulsa - 5-7, 3-5
9. Hawaii - 5-8, 2-6
10. SJSU - 0-13, 0-8

[Butter]

Hawaii Bowl, #30
v. Cincinnati (6-6, #84)

This was a defensive struggle the whole way, and there were no turnovers throughout. The Bearcats just stuffed our run all day, but we did manage to take a 13-10 lead midway through the 4th quarter on a 38 yard John Rice field goal.

Sadly, the Bearcats worked a 5 play, 80 yard drive that culminated in a 20 yard corner route for a TD and left us with just 42 seconds left. Bridges could manage nothing, and our season ends on a bad note.

Stats
Rushing
Rice - 32/53, UC - 25/48
Carpenter - 11/41
Bridges - 11/(-8)

Passing
Bridges - 7/21, 126 yards
UC QB #17 - 11/28, 168 yds., 1 TD

3rd down conversions
Rice - 3/12, UC - 5/12

This was a "Great Game" with a score of 851.

Loss, 17-13
Finish at 9-4

Other bowl games:
WAC
Humanitarian Bowl: Boise St. 45, Vanderbilt 9
Silicon Valley Bowl: Fresno St. 38, Marshall 16
Orange Bowl: #3 NC St. 52, #4 Nevada 31

Major bowls:
Rose Bowl: #2 Miami 27, #1 Oklahoma 0
Cotton Bowl: #13 Tennessee 27, Kansas St. 14
Fiesta Bowl: #5 Texas 57, #6 USC 51, 3 OT
Sugar Bowl: #8 Arkansas 22, #16 Ohio St. 14

Final media rankings:
1. Miami
2. NC State
3. Texas
4. Oklahoma
5. USC
6. UCLA
7. Arkansas
8. Maryland
9. Nevada
10. Colorado St.

Player awards:
Heisman Trophy:
1. HB #35, Oklahoma
2. HB #33, Maryland

Nevada's coach wins Coach of the Year.

Nevada's QB wins QB of the year (219/387, 3,372 yds., 32 TD, 14 INT).

Fresno State's free safety James Rivers wins the Thorpe Award.

WAC 1st team All-Americans:
FS Brian Cooley, Rice - 59 tkl., 24 sks. (NCAA record), 3 INT
SS Matt Sanford, Rice - 56 tkl., 3 sks., 5 INT (2 for TD)
WR Hugh McElroy, Hawaii - 2,834 all-purpose yards, 8 TD
CB Rick Gray, Nevada - 37 tkl., 7 INT (also freshman All-American)

WAC 2nd team All-Americans:
DE #91, Nevada - 65 tkl. (21 TFL), 13 sacks
FS James Rivers, Fresno St. - 53 tkl., 2 sacks, 6 INT, 2 FF, TD

WAC Freshman All-Americans:
WR Chris Day, Nevada - 57 rec., 868 yds, 7 TD
DT Vincent Nixon, Fresno St. - 49 tkl. (12 TFL), 10 sacks


We finish up the year at #47 with our disappointing bowl loss. We gain 1 star in prestige, now up to 3 stars. We also gain a contract renewal for 5 years.

[Butter]

2005 Individual Stats

Unfortunately, playing on 7 minute quarters skews your results a good bit, so comparing our team stats to other team's are somewhat unimportant. But here are the individual stats for our guys for a successful 2005.

Passing
Tim Bridges - 111.0 rating, 82/175, 1,315 yds., 6 TD, 9 INT
Angelo Gaffney - 46.1 rating, 7/22, 85 yds., 0 TD, 2 INT

Rushing
HB Dane Carpenter - 121/556, 10 TD, 4.5 yards per carry (ypc), 58 yd. long
HB Zeke Roberts - 70/310, 4 TD, 4.4 ypc, 33 long
FB Tony Bush - 65/263, 1 TD, 4.0 ypc, 18 long
QB Bridges - 131/194, 2 TD, 1.4 ypc, 49 long
HB Lynn Barton - 18/58, 3.2 ypc, 21 long

Blocking
T Lynn Magee - 19 pancakes, 4 sacks allowed
G Jason Lane - 12 pancakes, 3 sacks allowed

Receiving
WR #11 - 17/275, 16.1 ypc, 42 long
Carpenter - 16/190, 11.8 ypc, 23 long
WR #83 - 15/200, 13.3 ypc, 24 long
WR Brandon Hargrove - 13/234, 1 TD, 18.0 ypc, 79 long
WR Gino Helms - 11/296, 3 TD, 26.9 ypc, 83 long

Defense
SS Matt Sanford - 61 tkl., 13 TFL, 3 sacks, 5 INT
FS Brian Cooley - 59 tkl., 30 TFL, 24 sacks, 3 INT
OLB Matt Davis - 45 tkl., 7 TFL, 2 sacks, 1 INT
FS Wendell Bernard - 42 tkl., 2 TFL, 3 INT
MLB Deshan Hobson - 40 tkl., 10 TFL, 5 sacks
CB Wesley Goss - 26 tkl., 3 TFL, 6 INT

Kicking
K John Rice - 14/16 FG, 47 yard long, 32/33 XP
P #85 - 50 punts, 39.2 avg., 51 yard long, 8 inside 20, 30.7 net avg.

Our offense lacked strong QB play, which is one area we plan to address in recruiting. Our pass defense was also ripped to shreds late in the season, mostly because of our gambling, blitzing strategy which is feast or famine. Cooley reaped the individual accolades thanks to his blitzing role, but our secondary was not good by any stretch. We need to upgrade at CB to try and prevent the pass-happy WAC from throwing over us. We also need to possibly play more zone schemes to compensate for our lack of quality cover corners, although Goss seemed to play pretty well. Quentin Duncan, our #2 corner was out the last 2 games of the year with a broken tailbone, which also hurt us.

We also need to gain HB speed, as #1 HB Dane Carpenter just didn't have the speed to be consistent, especially against top defenses. It was a good, but not great season, and there is definitely room for improvement.

[Butter]

2006 recruiting

We don't really NEED a whole lot, but our wants are many. QB, HB, CB, and the defensive line would be a great help. Lots of defensive ends and tackles are interested in us thanks to losing almost everyone up front. We are also losing our entire TE corps, but they don't see the ball much in our offense.

We again reap the benefits of being in Texas, and land a terrific class. All but 2 recruits are in-state, and they'll be noted below.

5 star recruits
-#6 DE LaShaun Hartley - 81
-#10 DT Khalid Cox - 79
-#7 DE Shelton Stanton - 75
-#4 DE Jackie Livingston - 80
-#3 MLB Cedric Spivey - 77
-#9 DT Pat Garrison - 74 (from California)
-#1 DE Taylor Roundtree - 80
-#4 QB Harvey Lyman - 80 (from Louisiana, worked him up from Low interest)

4 star recruits
-#11 FS Jerron Larson - 76
-#27 CB Quinn Lowe - 79
-#32 CB Sean Schroeder - 70
-#20 HB Kevin Jenkins - 73

3 star recruits
-#63 WR Junior Ray - 70
-#27 TE Justin Leslie - 71

2 star recruits
-#36 TE Todd Irwin - 68

Our class is ranked #7 in the country, with an impressive 8 blue-chippers. Amazingly, we're not even the best in our conference, as Fresno State (from talent-rich CA) ranks #2 in the nation.

[Butter]

2006 preseason

Here is our schedule for the year:
@ Houston
v. #13 Colorado St.
@ #7 Tennessee
@ #21 Michigan
v. Hawaii
@ San Jose St.
v. #22 Fresno St.
@ #15 Nevada
@ Tulsa
v. SMU
@ UTEP
v. Louisiana Tech

We've upgraded the schedule big-time, maybe a year too early. We'll find out.

Preseason rankings:
1. Texas
2. Oklahoma
3. Miami
4. NC State
5. USC
6. Arkansas
7. Tennessee
8. UCLA
9. Ohio St.
10. Florida

Preseason WAC (national rank in parentheses):
1. Nevada (15)
2. Fresno St. (22)
3. Rice (47)
4. Boise St. (57)
5. Hawaii (81)
6. La. Tech (86)
7. Tulsa (88)
8. SMU (96)
9. UTEP (112)
10. SJSU (114)

WAC Preseason All-Americans:
WR Hugh McElroy, Hawaii
CB Rick Gray, Nevada
FS Brian Cooley, Rice
DT Vincent Nixon, Fresno St.
FS James Rivers, Fresno St.

Preseason Heisman Watch:
1. WR #7, Washington
2. QB #14, Oklahoma
3. HB #24, Michigan
4. HB Kyle Wilkerson, TCU
5. HB #38, Colorado St.

[Butter]

2006 Depth Chart

We'll present this by position, with the ratings for each position listed in the position title:

QB (OVeRall, SPeeD, THrow Power/Accuracy, INJury)
1. Harvey Lyman (80, 71, 78/91, 87)
2. Tim Bridges (68, 67, 68/72, 48)

This position was plagued with inconsistency last year, and it seemed that Bridges left at least 8 games with some variance on a minor injury. Lyman is a major upgrade, but also a freshman. We'll see how he does.

HB (OVR, SPD, ACCeleration)
1. Zeke Roberts (77, 81, 88)
2. Markus Crocker (75, 82, 83)
3. Dane Carpenter (76, 73, 81)
4. Lynn Barton (78, 71, 75)

Hopefully, Roberts and Crocker will get to flash their speed and display more promise than Carpenter did last year. Your top rusher in an option offense should have more than 556 yards. New QB Lyman will also hopefully help the Flexbone be more effective.

FB (OVR, Run BlocK, SPD)
1. Tony Bush (77, 55, 73)
2. Jerome Mayo (72, 54, 70)

Bush was effective as the third option of the flexbone, often gashing the unaware opponent, and showing his more than adequate speed for a big guy (275 lbs.).

WR (OVR, SPD, CaTcH)
1. Brandon Hargrove (73, 84, 74)
2. Gino Helms (72, 91, 69)
3. WR #83 (72, 74, 78)
4. Junior Ray (70, 85, 72)

Hargrove and Helms showed some breakaway speed late in the year... but the problem was getting them the ball. Both have more than adequate hands, but our offense is not geared towards having either of these guys as stars. Hopefully their speed will help us stretch the defense this year.

TE (OVR, Run BlocK/Pass BlocK, SPD, CTH)
1. Todd Irwin (71, 55/58, 77, 70)
2. Justin Leslie (68, 60/63, 60, 74)

Like I said, TE's are not a top priority for us, as we don't even use them that much as blockers.... but usually we use 2 TE's when they're used, so they should both see a good bit of the field.

Offensive line, defense, and the start of the '06 season coming next.

[Butter]

Offensive line (OVR, STRength, RBK/PBK)
LT: J.P. Bridges (76, 72, 81/88)
LG: J.B. Whitehead (76, 81, 84/82)
C: Napoleon Lynch (79, 83, 74/82)
RG: Donald Armstead (81, 82, 85/87)
RT: Lynn Magee (74, 86, 79/73)

Backups
1. LG #50 (76, 74, 68/77)
2. LG Jason Lane (74, 73, 80/73)
3. C Quentin Faulk (70, 80, 71/77)

We're trying to mesh these guys together, as we have a couple of new starters this year. But the line looks really good.

DE (OVR, SPD, TaCKling)
1. Jackie Livingston (80, 72, 65)
2. LaShaun Hartley (81, 71, 70)
3. Wade George (80, 67, 70)
4. Taylor "Shaft" Roundtree (80, 67, 71) (OK, so I made the shaft part up, but it would be cool if his first name were Richard)

Lots of tight competition here, and we'll be sure to keep an eye on things up front, and substitute liberally as needed.

DT (OVR, STR, TCK)
1. William Phillips (81, 86, 83)
2. Khalid Cox (79, 86, 78)
3. DeMarcus Frazier (76, 80, 70)

Phillips is the class of the lineup here, as true junior DeMarcus Frazier has now been bumped to the second team.

LB (OVR, SPD, ACC, TCK)
LOLB: Rocky Fredrickson (83, 76, 82, 78)
ROLB: Nick Battle (82, 81, 77, 73)
MLB: Cedric Spivey (77, 75, 72, 81)
Backup LB: Deshon Hobson (77, 75, 72, 81)

We rarely run a 3-4, so Hobson will see action whenever anyone else is winded. Hobson and last year's starter Matt Davis have been bumped to the bench as Junior Nick Battle is finally realizing some of his high potential, and Fredrickson displayed impressive power and speed in his limited action last year.

CB (OVR, SPD, ACC, AWR)
1. Quentin Duncan (83, 91, 86, 58)
2. Wesley Goss (81, 90, 93, 56)
3. Quinn Lowe (79, 87, 89, 55)
4. Marvin Davis (77, 82, 78, 59)

We've got some speed in the top 3, and hopefully this combined with our impressive safety talent can help keep the passing yards down this year. Duncan is also our top return man, and Goss helps out on the kickoffs. Duncan had a mediocre year last year, hoping to improve that this year.

Safeties (OVR, SPD, AWR, ACC)
FS: Brian Cooley (83, 87, 67, 86)
SS: Matt Sanford (75, 84, 60, 84)
Backup: Wendell Bernard (81 at FS, 65 at SS, 82, 58, 86)

Bernard is a casualty of too many good players. If he were proficient at the strong spot, there'd be no question. Unfortunately, he'll be quietly rooting for an injury in order to see much of the field now.

K/P (OVR, Kick PoWer/Kick ACcuracy)
K: John Rice (76, 84/86)
P: P #85 (67, 80/74)

Not for a lack of trying, but our punter remains the same this year despite a lackluster 30.7 net average last year. Rice has been solid, and has decent range, possibly able to hit from 50, but money from 40 and in.

[Butter]

We didn't play in week 1, here are notable top 25 scores from the "preseason" games:
(20) Pitt 41, Clemson 20
(4) NC State 62, Wyoming 7
(3) Miami 62, Arizona 7


Game 1, #47
@ Houston (#81)
Battle for the Administaff Bayou Bucket

Since becoming head coach, we're 2-1 in the Bucket Game.

Things start well, as Houston punts short after their first possession, and 3 plays later, Lyman pitches out to Zeke Roberts, who scores from 26 yards out. Houston again goes 3 and out, but Lyman throws his first pick of the year, and the Coogs capitalize with a 9 play, 33 yard drive that ends with a 31 yard field goal -- 7-3, Owls.

We respond with a quality 7 play, 59 yard drive that stalls just short of the red zone, and Rice converts a 37 yard FG. We also cash in a fumble deep in their own end, and Rice makes it 13-3 at the half with a 21 yarder.

Houston responds in the second half with a 7 play, 77 yard drive on their first possession, ending with a 1 yard TD run that was set up by a 53 yard post route that was defended poorly. Houston keeps up the momentum by scoring on their next possession, a 7 play, 41 yard drive that gobbles up 2:06 on the 7 minute clock, this time a 39 yard FG to tie it at 13 as we head into the 4th quarter.

Again, our offense struggles, while Houston is able to move the ball... Luckily, we trade punts until about 3 minutes to play, when Houston gets the punt at their own 48. They proceed to drive 52 yards in 9 plays, almost all on the ground against our tired front 7. That leaves us just over a minute to try and get a tying TD.

The first play after the kickoff is unbelievable. We run a simple out pattern trying to get maybe 10 yards and stop the clock. UH blitzes 7 on the play, forcing us to hurry the throw. Lyman fires it into the path of an onrushing UH cornerback, who can't handle it. The ball is tipped into the hands of the receiver, freshman Junior Ray, who proceeds to run untouched 78 yards to paydirt! An unthinkable turn of events allows us to tie the game, and proves once again why blitzing late in games is a bad idea.

Sadly, our improved secondary allows Houston to march down the field with ease, taking just 6 plays, 79 yards, and a shockingly quick :29 seconds to score the game-winning TD. Lyman has about 20 seconds to work with, and throws up a few incomplete streak passes.

A crushing loss in our cross-town rivalry game to open the season.

Stats
Rushing
UH - 30/91, Rice - 28/102
Zeke Roberts - 11/56, 1 TD
Markus Crocker - 3/31
UH RB Tim Johnson - 21/75, 1 TD

Passing
Harvey Lyman - 7/22, 188 yds., 1 TD/1 INT
UH QB Drew Leach - 13/28, 304 yds., 1 TD, 1 INT

Receiving
Junior Ray - 2 rec./104 yds./1 TD
UH WR Tyrus Taylor - 4 rec./79 yds./1 TD

New MLB Cedric Spivey played well, with 7 tackles, 2 for loss. Matt Sanford had 8 tackles, 1 sack, and 3 for loss.

Loss, 27-20
Record: 0-1
GREAT GAME SCORE: 1750

Other scores
WAC
UL-Monroe 40, Hawaii 37 (OT)
Air Force 31, (22) Fresno St. 12
Northwestern 48, SMU 13
(15) Nevada 35, Ohio U. 17
UTEP 34, Navy 10
(14) Maryland 20, La. Tech 10
Washington 34, San Jose St. 7
Boise St. 26, Idaho 23 (OT)
(2) Texas 29, Tulsa 3

Top 25 of note (bold denotes future opponent)
(11) Va. Tech 40, (4) NC St. 27
(7) Tennessee 20, Arkansas St. 3
(21) Michigan 37, California 16
(13) Colorado St. 24, Colorado 19

Nevada remains at #15, while Fresno St. drops out of the top 25.

This game makes me question our schedule strength, as I now hope we don't go 0-4 pre-conference. Lyman just needs to adjust a bit is all, hopefully the Cougars helped him out with that.

[Butter]

Game 2, #62
v. Colorado St. (1-0, #13)

The Rams come out and score on their first possession with a good mix of pass and run. But we're able to even the score on the first play from scrimmage, as Lyman leads a streaking Helms perfectly on the Flexbone All Go route, and we just happen to catch CSU in a Cover 2, where the safety just doesn't have the speed to catch him. 7-7.

CSU quickly moves the ball again, and go ahead 14-7 just before the end of the first quarter with a quick 9 yard slant for a TD. They're driving again early in the 2nd, but a fumble at the Rice 15 kills that drive and provides us some momentum, which we quickly squander by punting near midfield. The rest of the half is back and forth punting, until Quentin Duncan picks off an out route with 12 seconds left in the half, and takes it 61 yards for a score to put us even at 14 at the break.

CSU turns it over again on their first possession of the second half, as Brian Cooley picks off a pass near the 50. We are able to move the ball, and a Shotgun Quick Slant to the left side slot receiver puts us up 21-14. CSU is now frustrated, and cannot move the ball. With 5 minutes left, Lyman delivers the dagger -- a 25 yard TD pass on a fly pattern out of the wishbone to Brandon Hargrove. That does it, and we get our first top-25 win in 7 tries.

Stats
Rushing
CSU - 20/5, Rice - 32/80
Roberts - 12/20
Bush - 4/18
Crocker - 8/40
CSU HB #38 - 10/25 (he was a preseason Heisman hopeful, but drops out of the top 5 after this performance)

Passing
Harvey Lyman - 9/15, 186 yds., 3 TD
CSU QB Julius Sullivan - 18/32, 257 yds., 2 TD/2 INT

Sacks
Rice - 5, CSU - 1

Turnovers
Rice - 0, CSU - 3

Other stats
Rice WR #83 - 3 rec./28 yds./1 TD
CSU WR Dennis Bowers - 7 rec./149 yds.
SS Matt Sanford - 7 tkl., 3 sacks
FS Brian Cooley - 5 tkl., 2 TFL, 1 INT

Win, 28-14
Record: 1-1

Other scores
WAC
Fresno St. 38, Vanderbilt 17
(1) Oklahoma 26, (15) Nevada 9
Northwestern 34, Tulsa 10
Cincinnati 24, SMU 21
La.-Lafayette 24, La. Tech 18
UTEP 24, New Mexico 17
(23) Iowa 38, SJSU 21

Top 25 (bold denotes future opponent)
(19) Nebraska 29, (5) Arkansas 21
(20) Michigan 36, Georgia Tech 28
UConn 28, (18) Penn St. 24
(25) Pitt 34, (7) Tennessee 17

[Butter]

Game 3, 42
@ Tennessee (1-1, #15)

We figure to hit the Vols at a bad time here, as they just got finished being whooped by Pitt. The best thing I've got going for me is that I know their offense pretty well, using their playbook in the "She's the Coach" dynasty. Short of that, I figure running is going to be quite the chore today.

Both teams swap possessions early, and we get the first score on a short drive thanks to a horribly shanked sub-20 yard punt by the Vols that set us up at the 41. Zeke Roberts takes the option pitch and heads for the pylon, sticking the ball in to give us a 7-0 lead with :41 left in the 1st quarter.

Timmy Atkinson, the UT QB, leads the Vols on a nice drive, but makes a poor decision, firing a pass right at Wesley Goss in the end zone to give us the ball on the 20. After 4 consecutive runs gain 10 yards, we call an All-Go play from the standard Flexbone. UT is caught in a tight 5-2 defense, and Gino Helms hauls in a perfect lob from Lyman, and streaks the remaining 40 yards for a 14-0 Rice lead midway through the 2nd quarter.

UT comes right back and goes 76 yards in just 4 plays, finishing up with a 28 yd. TD pass to Aaron Larkin. UT drives down again near the end of the half, but Atkinson has another pass picked in the end zone. We enter the half ahead, 14-7.

We play keep away in the second half, often going on 8 or 9 play drives that stall just in Volunteer territory, while their offense struggles to get on track. Harvey Lyman leaves mid-3rd quarter with an apparent chest injury, but it's just a mild abdominal strain that will sideline him for the remainder of this game only.

Finally, Tennessee manages to claw their way down to the red zone with under 2:00 to go. On a 3rd and inches, Atkinson tries the QB keeper up the middle, but coughs the ball up, and we recover! We run out the rest of the clock and get the massive upset at Neyland Stadium!

Stats
Rushing
Rice - 38/101, UT - 20/51
Roberts - 12/55, 1 TD
Lyman - 7/31
UT HB Nick Mackey - 12/40

Passing
Lyman - 4/9, 89 yds., 1 TD
Timmy Atkinson - 12/21, 226 yds., 1 TD/3 INT

Wesley Goss is named player of the game with 5 tackles, 2 INT's, and the final fumble recovery. MLB Cedric Spivey also had 7 tackles and forced 2 fumbles.

Win, 14-7
Record: 2-1

Other scores
WAC
(8) Florida 30, Fresno St. 24
(21) Nevada 35, (23) Syracuse 25
Boise St. 26, USF 10
TCU 42, SMU 17
La. Tech 32, N. Carolina 28
Hawaii 29, Idaho 10
(12) Maryland 34, San Jose State 9 (Spartans have lost 38 in a row)
Tulsa 23, Utah St. 13

Top 25 scores(Bold denotes future opponent)
(16) Wisconsin 34, (11) NC St. 3
Ole Miss 41, (6) UCLA 35
(13) Arkansas 31, (5) Va. Tech 14
(9) Georgia 28, (14) South Carolina 27
Texas Tech 34, (18) Michigan 27

[Butter]

Game 4, #27
@ Michigan (2-1, 34)

We enter the Big House with momentum after handing Tennessee a loss in the biggest stadium in college football. Now here's another of the biggest stadiums... can we pull another upset? Michigan just got upset by Texas Tech here, so 2 losses in a row out of conference would set the Wolverine fans rumbling.

UM receives the kickoff... ok, no drama there. Their first play from scrimmage they line up in a Shotgun Bunch formation. Fine, we're in a Cover 2 Man look. The play they run somehow draws both safeties to the same side of the field, leaving Duncan one on one on the right side, and he gets burnt badly, allowing an 80 yard TD streak on the first play from scrimmage. 7-0, Blue.

We then played field position for most of the rest of the quarter, but got good field position at the UM 44 late in the first. The second play of the drive, Lyman finds a streaking Zeke Roberts down the middle to tie it at 7. The next possession is one where Michigan was powerless to stop us on the ground. It went only 3 plays, but covered 70 yards, including a 37 yard Lyman keeper, and a 32 yard tackle run by Markus Crocker out of the wishbone for 6. Our next drive culminated in a 38 yard FG by John Rice, and we go in at the half stunning Michigan, 17-7.

UM's QB Micah Irwin struggled all day. Early in the 3rd, he throws his 2nd pick of the day which sets us up at the Wolverine 37. On 3rd and 9, we call a Rollout play from the wishbone which somehow totally confuses the UM secondary, and Brandon Hargrove hauls in the post pattern for a 24-7 Rice lead.

For the rest of the game, we play keep away. At one point, we pin UM down to their own 9, and a holding call and a 1 yard loss later, we sack Micah Irwin in the end zone for a 19 point lead with just under 3 minutes to go. The ensuing drive chews up 2:28, and results in a 48 yard John Rice FG to seal the win. A truly dominant performance, and I'm hoping we can carry this momentum into the WAC season.

Stats
Rushing
RU - 40/242, UM - 17/(-4)
QB Lyman - 10/73
HB Crocker - 10/103, 1 TD
HB Roberts - 14/40
FB Bush - 2/23
UM HB # 24 - 11/22

Passing
Lyman - 4/9, 95 yards, 2 TD
Irwin - 6/17, 173 yds., 1 TD/3 INT
UM WR Vinnie Roberts - 4 rec., 130 yds., 1 TD

Other
Sacks: RU 5, UM 0
Time of Possession: RU 17:49, UM 10:11
CB Quinn Lowe - 4 tackles, 2 sacks

Win, 29-7
Record: 3-1

Other scores
WAC
(19) Nevada 19, San Jose St. 6
Tulsa 34, Texas Tech 27
La.-Lafayette 36, UTEP 12
(2) Texas 33, Hawaii 9
La. Tech 41, Fresno St. 20
(12) Va. Tech 10, Boise St. 7
SMU 24, Ohio U. 21

Notable Top 25
Minnesota 27, (20) Washington 24
Oklahoma St. 28, (5) Ohio St. 27
(13) UCLA 39, (18) NC St. 30
(25) Tennessee 30, (6) Florida 24
(11) Wisconsin 45, (4) USC 21

[Butter]

Game 5, #24
v. Hawaii (1-2, #91)

We are coming off a wildly successful preseason that would've been made perfect if not for a crazy ending vs. Houston.

Hawaii has split 2 games with Sun Belt opponents, and got waxed by Texas. But then, who hasn't been waxed by Texas? I guess Oklahoma....

The teams trade punts early on, then we get a break as UH QB Russell Bates throws a pick to Quentin Duncan that sets us up at the UH 31. Unfortunately, the drive stalls inside the 5, and we settle for a 19 yard Rice field goal to lead 3-0. The Warriors respond with an excellent drive that ends in a 31 yard TD pass to WR Pete Bowden on 3rd and 1. We then embark on a 7 play, 71 yard drive that eats up just 1:48 on the clock, and is highlighted by a 57 yard Harvey Lyman option keeper around the left end. Sadly, we again settle for a field goal, and trail 7-6 after 1.

We're set up in good field position again by a poor punt, and 10 plays later, Zeke Roberts is running in from 2 yards out for a 13-7 Owl lead with 4:16 left in the 2nd. 2 plays after the kickoff, Bates fumbles after being hit by Quinn Lowe coming on the corner blitz. DE LaShaun Hartley picks it up and scampers 7 yards to give us a 20-7 lead. Sadly, the Warriors come right back and Bates finds WR Gregg for 22 yards and a touch. Our next possession is a slow 8 plays, 69 yards eating up 2:38 and all of the clock in the half except for 14 seconds, as Zeke Roberts turns the corner on the option and finds paydirt. 27-14 Rice at the half.

The second half, we play pretty conservatively, and keep Hawaii from putting too much together. Early 4th, Lyman completes a short 28 yard drive following a UH fumble with a 4 yard keeper for a 20 point Owl lead. Hawaii gets 7 back with 1:10 to go thanks to a 29 yard TD pass to preseason All American Hugh McElroy, but their onside kick fails, and we run out the clock.

Stats
Rushing
UH - 18/(-56) (that's right)
RU - 52/243
QB H. Lyman - 17/112, 1 TD
HB Z. Roberts - 13/70, 2 TD
FB T. Bush - 7/34
HB M. Crocker - 9/15

Passing
UH QB Russell Bates - 10/20, 248 yds., 3 TD/1 INT
Lyman - 5/7, 78 yards
UH WR Hugh McElroy - 4 rec./89 yds., 1 TD
RU WR #83 - 3 rec./53 yds.

Other
Sacks: RU 8, UH 1
Time of Possession: RU 18:35, UH 9:25
DT William Phillips - 6 tackles, 4 sacks
CB Quinn Lowe - 2 sacks
DE Jackie Livingston - 2 sacks

Win, 34-21
Record: 4-1, 1-0

Other scores
WAC
(18) Nevada 35, SMU 10
Kansas St. 27, UTEP 20
Fresno St. 34, Vanderbilt 20
Idaho 34, San Jose St. 13
(23) Purdue 44, La. Tech 24

Notable Top 25
North Carolina 31, (25) NC St. 29
(22)Oklahoma St. 24, (12) Pitt. 10
(1) Oklahoma 52, Rutgers 3 (for our faithful Scarlet Knight readers... they did score!)
(17) Tennessee 20, (16) South Carolina 13

[Butter]

Game 6, #23
@ San Jose State (0-5, 0-1, #115)

If this were TCY, I'd be thinking "classic road trap game!" But as it is, this is NCAA 2004, and San Jose St. has lost 40 games in a row. That's right, 40. Yet they're somehow not ranked 117th. Go figure. The most famous thing about the stadium they play in is it's the home of the San Jose Earthquakes of the MLS. Their football program couldn't draw fans with a National Outdoor Intercourse Night.

Well, maybe then...

SJSU marches down the field on their opening possession and scores. Their drive was aided by a pass interference call on 4th and 10 at our 40, but ultimately, SJSU QB Luis Hopkins finds his man from 24 yards out. Our first drive is a 9 play, 66 yard beauty all on the ground that peters out at the Spartan 10 yard line. We kick a 27 yard FG, and trail 7-3.

Next play after the kickoff, Spartan HB Clay Stanley gets the ball on an Ace-Bunch-counter to the opposite side of all the WR's play that totally baffles our defense, and he runs untouched for 80 yards and a Spartan TD. We're behind 14-3 with just 5 minutes gone. Our next drive is another great one, 11 plays for 72 yards. This time we break the plane as Markus Crocker takes a wishbone handoff and breaks through 3 Spartan tackles from 6 yards out. 14-10, SJSU with 6:10 left in the 1st half.

Next play after the kickoff, they line up in the same formation as last time. Ha, I laugh to myself. I'm not that stupid.

80 yards later, Clay Stanley has broken 4 tackles this time, and we are stunned. I still can't believe they ran the same play twice in a row, and scored on consecutive 80 yard runs. It's unfathomable. 21-10, Spartans.

Back and forth we go. We score on a 5 yard run by FB Mayo set up by a 40 yard bomb to Brandon Hargrove. They score on a 13 yard pass to their wideout set up by a Lyman fumble. We finish off the half with a wishbone TE corner play that TE Todd Irwin grasps from 21 yards out for a TD.

At the half, it's LOSERS 27, Us 24. We can't stop them.

The second half is a bit more reasonable, but they are much better prepared for the option. They get a 24 yard FG with 2:36 left in the 3rd set up by a 33 yard option pitch to Clay Stanley (who goes over 200 yards on the play).

Finally, with 5:48 to go, we take the lead on a simple Flexbone Wingback inside run that Crocker drags 2 guys into the end zone on from 20 yards out. We totally dominate on the ground on our next possession as well, but get conservative and get just a 26 yard FG with :38 seconds left after running off over 3 1/2 minutes of the quarter.

34-30, SJSU sets up at their own 21 with :34 seconds to go.

They hit a pass over the middle, and spike the ball dead at their own 48 with :23 left.

Next play...

They run a HB Streak out of the Standard Shotgun. Our CB Quentin Duncan (whom I'm controlling) jumps for the ball. In the process, he knocks in position FS Brian Cooley out of the way, and misses the ball himself. The ball falls safely in the hands of Clay Stanley, who high steps in for an amazing Spartan win.

They missed 2 extra points, including that last one. We got the ball at our own 32 with :11 left and timeouts, but our 2 heaves were broken up with ease.

We're the goats. SJSU breaks their long streak against us in a remarkable game.

Stats
Rushing
RU - 42/226
SJSU - 15/200
Lyman - 16/101
Roberts - 13/70
Crocker - 8/34, 2 TD
SJSU HB Clay Stanley - 6/211, 2 TD

Passing
Lyman - 12/22, 193 yds., 1 TD
Hopkins - 10/21, 214 yds., 3 TD
Stanley - 2 rec./52 yds., 1 TD
Rice WR #83 - 4 rec./76 yards

OLB Rocky Fredrickson had 3 sacks today. MLB Cedric Spivey also had 7 tackles and 1 sack in the losing effort.

It's been days since I played this one, and I still can't believe it.

Loss, 36-34
Record: 4-2, 1-1
GREAT GAME SCORE: 797

Other scores
WAC
(17) Nevada 37, UNLV 31
Boise St. 35, La. Tech 19
SMU 20, UTEP 17

Notable Top 25
Washington 47, (11) UCLA 32
(19) Ole Miss 30, (12) Florida 28
Michigan 38, (14) Iowa 28
Marshall 30, (21) Pitt. 21
LSU 31, (24) South Carolina 7
Kansas St. 17, (2) Texas 7

[Butter]

I'm really getting into this dynasty big time. At first, I was concerned that I wouldn't be able to update much, but I'm finding time to play because I'm growing attached to my Owls. Hopefully, you're enjoying reading it as well.

[Butter]

2 bye weeks before the Fresno game.

Week 8 scores
WAC
San Jose St. 10, SMU 7 (we sparked them, great)
UTEP 27, La. Tech 24
Fresno St. 66, Hawaii 16
Boise St. 29, Tulsa 12

Notable Top 25
(12) Auburn 27, (4) Arkansas 24 - OT
(1) Oklahoma 20, (9) Texas 17
(11) Ole Miss 34, Troy St. 28 - OT
(16) Kansas St. 13, (13) Oklahoma St. 3
(10) Ohio St. 35, (3) Wisconsin 28
Florida St. 26, (2) Miami 20
(23) Syracuse 34, (8) Virginia Tech 14
(22) Tennessee 40, (14) Georgia 27

The BCS comes out and the top 5 are Oklahoma, Nebraska, Maryland, Ohio St., and Auburn. Nevada is 13th.

Week 9 scores
WAC
Boise St. 24, SMU 21
(12) Nevada 31, Tulsa 21
Hawaii 45, La. Tech 20

Notable Top 25
(10) Arkansas 28, (17) Florida 21
(7) Wisconsin 24, (18) Purdue 6
(2) Nebraska 39, (25) Texas A & M 23
Alabama 33, (8) Ole Miss 9
Colorado 34, (11) Kansas St. 10
(4) Ohio St. 38, (21) Iowa 10

Other notable scores
Akron 27, Central Florida 20 (Akron now 8-0)
Navy 41, Notre Dame 16 (Lose, Irish, Lose!!!)

Game 7, #40
v. Fresno St. (3-3, 1-1, 52)

Well, we fall hard out of the top 25 after the embarrassing loss to San Jose State. Fresno comes in not playing particularly well this year, and we've taken a thumping by them 3 years straight, including a shutout last year. Motivation is certainly there.

Things start out defensively, as both teams trade punts early. We go up 3-0 after a Lowe INT set us up at the Fresno 38, and Rice converts a 38 yarder. Then, we are pinned deep at our own 10 after a superb Fresno punt. Sadly for them, Harvey Lyman seizes the opportunity to pass against a stacked box, and finds Brandon Hargrove for 90 yards down the left sideline. 10-0, Owls.

Quentin Duncan left during the Bulldogs' next possession with an injured wrist. Apparently, it was severely sprained, and he will be out 4 weeks. We go into the half ahead 10-0.

The second half would be ours, as Fresno's offense used up all their points in their previous win over Hawaii. And here I thought that was just a cliche. With 4 seconds remaining in the 3rd, TE Todd Irwin hauls in a Harvey Lyman pass for a score and a big lead. We sealed things up with a 49 yard Goss INT return to the 1 yard line, where Zeke Roberts punched it in. Another FG later, we had vanquished 1 of our two nemeses (?) in the WAC.

Stats
Rushing
FSU - 15/(-16), Rice - 40/116
Lyman - 13/17
Crocker - 11/55
Roberts - 10/27, 1 TD
Bush - 4/17

Passing
Lyman - 4/6, 150 yards, 2 TD
FSU QB Sheldon West - 9/25, 136 yards, 2 INT

Other
Our punter hit 2 of 3 punts inside the 20 yard line.
MLB Cedric Spivey - 6 tackles, 1 sack
OLB Rocky Fredrickson - 3 TFL, 1 sack
3rd down conversion: FSU - 2/11, Rice - 3/11

Win, 27-0
Record: 5-2, 2-1

Other scores
WAC
UTEP 38, Hawaii 17
SMU 27, Tulsa 20
(10) Nevada 49, La. Tech 17
Boise St. 27, San Jose St. 17

Notable Top 25
LSU 36, (5) Auburn 7
(22) Washington 58, (6) USC 24
(9) Arkansas 38, (15) Ole Miss 24
Akron 36, (21) Georgia 26
(1) Oklahoma 38, (20) Colorado 6
Texas A&M 23, (19) Oklahoma St. 13

[Butter]

Game 8, #37
@ Nevada (7-1, 4-0, #8)

Another loss to these guys, and it's hello Hawaii Bowl... if we can even make it through the rest of the schedule. A win would serve notice that despite the San Jose St. fluke, we are a top-flite WAC team and deserve recognition.

The story of the game would be injuries. The first series of the game saw CB Marvin Davis out for the year with a broken leg. We battled them to a nil-nil draw through the first quarter.

They begin the second quarter with a drive... well, not so much a drive as a 70 yard pass to wide out Chris Day. Luckily, he was dragged down short of the goal line, and our defense toughened and forced a 25 yard figgie, 3-0 - 'Pack.

Our ensuing drive saw us eat up well over half the quarter, but ended disappointingly after 11 plays and 66 yards with just 3 points, after a 23 yard Rice kick. That's how we went in at the half.

We open the 2nd half with an option pass, and unlike the previous attempt this game which resulted in a tackle for loss, this time Brandon Hargrove broke free on the post, and goes 74 yards for the score. 10-3, Rice, and the stadium is abuzz with talk of an upset.

Early 3rd quarter sees us lose starting SS Matt Sanford for the remainder of the regular season with a broken arm. The stadium is quietly abuzz. This injury paved the way for a 16 yard TD pass to Chris Ray after an 8 play, 72 yard jaunt by the Wolfpack. There is still 4:20 left in the 3rd, and we're all square at 10.

Our next drive sees the worst of all possible injuries... one to our star QB, Harvey Lyman. Lyman has been doing so well running our offense, especially with his speed and passing touch. Sadly, the announcers on screen suspect it is serious and it is. He is out for the year with a ruptured disc. Time to call on backup Tim Bridges and see what he can do.

The second drive he's in, we find ourselves in deep trouble with 3rd and 8. We call a simple All Hooks play out of the Shotgun. Everyone is initially covered, and Bridges breaks containment. He nears the line, then suddenly, Brandon Hargrove breaks free. He has beaten his man. Bridges fires to the wide open wide out who is able to bring it in and take it for a score, 17-10 - Rice! Can we pull it out with a broken secondary and our backup QB?

We hold Nevada down pretty well, and are able to get the ball back late, despite Bridges throwing a bad INT near midfield with just over 3 minutes to go. We punt with just over 45 seconds to go, and the Wolfpack start from their own 13. We hold them to 2 incomplete passes, then with 3rd and 10, our inexperienced CB Steve Schroeder bumps a UNR receiver downfield, and they get a new set of downs at the 28.

Now, I'm a fairly smart guy. They have no timeouts. I've subbed in as many backup corners as I can so they're playing in position, instead of having 2 wideouts covering Nevada's wideouts. I've got the best facsimile SS I have out there, who just happens to be a true free safety, but is still rated in the 60's at SS. We call a prevent. I mean, they've got less than 30 frickin' seconds to go 72 yards. No prob, right?

Not after they exploit my weakness, sending their 4th receiver cutting through the prevent and throwing directly at my backup CB and backup SS who both look like Mr. Magoo out there as Chris Day high steps into the end zone.

We get the ball after a kickoff return with 14 seconds left. Shades of Outback Bowl 2002 (Ohio St. vs. South Carolina II), as we go deep for it all, and Nevada intercepts and returns to the 33 with :03 left. They try a 50 yard FG with cross-field wind...

The snap looks fine, the kick is up, he's got plenty of leg into it. It's....
.
.
.
.
.

hooking left, no good.

We're going to have extra football.

Our very first play, we try to cross up UNR with a HB circle pass. Roberts streaks across the middle, but Bridges pass is horribly overthrown, and Nevada intercepts to stop our drive.

I have the defense blitz blitz BLITZ to try and push them back out of field goal range. It works to the tune of 3rd & 20 from the 33. If we can get an incompletion, we'll be lookin' good.

Or, how about a 31 yard pass down to the 2. That was the alternate option Nevada chose. Next play, they choose to kick a field goal. They're kicking from the left hash, but the CPU doesn't miss clutch kicks. It's up and good.

I hurl my controller to the floor. Then Brad Nessler notes there's a flag.

It's holding on Nevada.

Push 'em back 10 yards. I try to send 5 guys up the middle. Block it, bastards. BLOCK IT!!!
.
.
.



It's good.

Loss, 20-17, OT
Record: 5-3, 2-2
GREAT GAME SCORE: 1280

Stats
Rushing
Rice - 28/65, UNR - 18/36
Lyman - 5/4
Bridges - 5/(-5)
Bush - 3/10
Crocker - 5/47

Passing
Lyman - 4/5, 138 yards, 1 TD
Bridges - 4/11, 74 yards, 1 TD/3 INT
UNR QB Corbin Hall - 16/33, 335 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT - sacked 4 times
WR Brandon Hargrove - 3 rec./154 yards, 2 TD
UNR WR Chris Day - 4 rec./189 yards, 2 TD

Nevada MLB Lennie McClintock winds up with 2 tackles and all 3 interceptions.

Other scores
WAC
Troy St. 40, Boise St. 37 - OT
Tulsa 17, UTEP 11
Fresno 52, SMU 16
Hawaii 32, San Jose St. 14

Notable Top 25
(9) Texas 23, (2) Nebraska 3
(1) Oklahoma 17, Oklahoma St. 10
(11) Syracuse 13, Notre Dame 8
Marshall 41, (24) Akron 28 (Akron's first loss)
North Carolina 19, (3) Maryland 3
Georgia 22, (20) Florida 21
Texas Tech 24, (25) Colorado 17
South Carolina 38, (19) Ole Miss 31 - OT
(17) Tennessee 25, (23) Florida St. 22 - OT
(12) Virginia Tech 39, (6) Miami 32

The BCS looks like this:
1. Oklahoma - 2.07
2. Ohio St. - 6.50
3. Texas - 10.07
4. Wisconsin - 10.26
5. Arkansas - 12.86
6. Nevada - 16.30
7. Nebraska - 17.19
8. Virginia Tech - 20.95
9. Colorado St. - 23.32
10. Auburn - 26.97

And once again we're left in the dust.

[Butter]

Game 9, #45
@ Tulsa (4-5, 2-3, #82)
Battle for the Williams Trophy

The team is pretty dejected after the big loss to Nevada. But still, we must press on. 2nd place is still doable, but would take some Boise State and Fresno State mis-steps.

Visiting the Golden Hurricane brought very bad weather, rain and 20+ mph winds. Not a good omen, or so I thought.

The scoring summary says it all:
Rice, 3-0: 6 plays, 32 yards, 2:14 - 38 yard Rice FG (3:25, 1st)
6-0: 6 plays, 43 yds., 1:39 - 37 yd. Rice FG set up by 35 yard Bridges scramble (:00, 1st)
Tulsa, 7-6: 7/72/1:21 - 34 yard fake FG TD pass (5:42, 2nd)
Rice, 13-7: 5/69/1:25 - 7 yd. run by Bridges set up by 42 yard pass to Crocker (4:08, 2nd)
20-7: 8/38/2:33 - 1 yd. TD run by FB Mayo (:10, 2nd)
27-7: 2/41/:46 - 43 yd. TD on option pitch to Crocker (4:37, 3rd)
34-7: 6/45/1:49 - 6 yard TD on QB draw by Bridges (1:42, 3rd)
41-7: 1/24/:06 - 24 yard option pitch to Crocker, set up by 36 yard Goss punt return (:13, 3rd)
41-14: 6/82/1:05 - 12 yard Tulsa TD pass (1:23, 4th)

Those third quarter touchdowns were all set up by poor punts into the strong wind combined with decent-to-good returns by Goss (filling in for the still injured Quentin Duncan).

An easy win, a confidence builder.

Stats
Rushing
Rice - 40/258, Tulsa - 18/(-38)
RU QB Tim Bridges - 12/86, 2 TD
RU HB Markus Crocker - 7/77, 2 TD
RU HB Zeke Roberts - 9/76
RU FB Tony Bush - 3/15
UT QB Alfred McGrew - 8/(-48) (sacked 6 times)

Passing
Bridges - 3/5, 47 yards
McGrew - 12/22, 187 yds., 1 TD
Crocker - 3 rec./47 yards

Other
SS Wendell Bernard - 6 tackles, 2 sacks

Win, 41-14
Record: 6-3, 3-2

Other scores
WAC
UTEP 24, SJSU 3
Navy 44, Hawaii 16
Fresno St. 41, (6) Nevada 17 Woo-hoo! This game was 34-0 at the half!
La. Tech 27, SMU 24

Notable Top 25
(9) Colorado St. 35, New Mexico 21
(5) Arkansas 33, (25) South Carolina 3
(10) Syracuse 27, Temple 24
(11) Auburn 20, (24) Ole Miss 10
(1) Oklahoma 51, (21) Texas A&M 14

Nevada drops to #22 in the polls with the loss. A huge fall, and a break for us if they lose even more, we still can get back in the WAC title chase.

[Butter]

Game 10, #37
v. SMU (3-8, 2-5, #113)
Battle for the Mayor's Cup

The first quarter is back and forth mostly, but we break through on a long drive that ends in a 22 yard Rice FG. 12 plays, 67 yards, 3 points. Meh. The Ponies come back with a nice 8 play, 74 yard drive that ends in a 25 yard FG, and it's even with 1 minute gone in the 2nd, 3-3.

We pretty much control the game from there. We make it 10-3 on a wishbone counter handoff to Crocker after a 42 yard Roberts Wingback Sweep play. Then, it's 17-3 with 28 seconds left in the half thanks to a 1 yard Roberts TD run set up by a 25 yard pass to WR#83 on a 3rd and 10.

The only chink was the 2nd half kickoff was fumbled away by Wesley Goss, allowing SMU to score an easy TD to make it 17-10. A beautiful punt of 74 yards was downed at the SMU 3, and Nick Battle tackled the QB in the end zone for a safety. Roberts scored in the 4th quarter to seal the win.

Stats
Rushing
SMU - 16/23, Rice - 43/235
Rice QB Tim Bridges - 9/16
RU HB Zeke Roberts - 16/133, 2 TD
RU HB Markus Crocker - 11/58, 1 TD
RU FB Tony Bush - 6/25
SMU HB # 25 - 9/31

Passing
RU QB Tim Bridges - 4/8, 74 yds.
SMU QB D.D. Hargrove - 15/30, 234 yds., 1 TD/1 INT
SMU WR Herschel Love - 5 rec./107 yards, 1 TD

Other
Sacks: SMU 1, Rice 5
3rd down conversions: SMU 6/11, Rice 7/11
OLB Nick Battle - 3 sacks

Win, 26-10
Record: 7-3, 4-2

Other scores
WAC
Louisiana Tech 37, Tulsa 14
Fresno St. 45, SJSU 3
(22) Nevada 48, Hawaii 13
Boise St. 21, UTEP 14

Notable Top 25
(6) Nebraska 27, (14) Kansas St. 21
Missouri 38, (25) Texas A&M 37
(10) Auburn 33, (20) Georgia 9
Oregon 47, (17) UCLA 17
Mississippi St. 30, (16) Tennessee 23 (MSU was previously 0-9)
South Carolina 21, (24) Florida 16
California 34, (12) Washington 24
Alabama 26, (19) LSU 24
(11) Miami 34, (9) Syracuse 16

I find it odd that this was SMU's last game of the year, yet I have 2 more to play.

[Butter]

Game 11, #30
@ UTEP (5-5, 3-3, #85)

UTEP has been up and down this year. Maybe a sign that they're nearly ready to be a consistent winner.

This was the most entertaining low-scoring game I've ever played. No one could move the ball, but there were flashes. UTEP's QB looks like he's gonna be a good one. He's a lefty with speed, sorta Brunell-esque. 2 turnovers by each squad killed good drives, and UTEP actually controlled the ball a good 3 minutes more than I did. We killed them with sacks, though.

In the end, our speed got to them with a 1 yard Zeke Roberts run in the mid-2nd quarter set up by a couple nice pass/run mixes for 20+ yards. Then, with 1:25 left and the score still 7-0, Quinn Lowe puts the nail in the coffin by returning an INT for 61 yards and a score as UTEP's QB tried (had) to force a ball in on 4th and 18 from their own 35.

A really fun, realistic game.

Stats
Rushing
UTEP - 32/47, Rice - 30/101
RU QB Tim Bridges - 10/1
RU HB Zeke Roberts - 10/53, 1 TD
RU FB Tony Bush - 5/29
UTEP HB Jarrod Baker - 18/46
UTEP FB Ryan Wright - 5/24

Passing
Bridges - 2/7, 46 yards
UTEP QB D.T. McKelvey - 5/13, 34 yards, 1 INT

Other
Sacks: Rice 6, UTEP 3
3rd Down: Rice 1/6, UTEP 2/12
Time of poss.: UTEP 15:37, Rice 12:23
RU SS Wendell Bernard - 7 tackles
RU OLB Rocky Fredrickson - 6 tackles, 5 TFL, 1 sack
RU DE LaShaun Hartley - 2 sacks
RU OLB Nick Battle - 6 tackles, 2 TFL

Win, 14-0
Record: 8-3, 5-2

Other scores
WAC
Fresno St. 37, Boise St. 19
Tulsa 31, SJSU 9

Notable Top 25 (Lots since it's rivalry weekend)
(18) TCU 24, (16) Southern Miss. 7
(14) Michigan 31, (2) Ohio St. 14
LSU 41, (24) Ole Miss 17
West Virginia 33, (13) Syracuse 27 - OT
Mississippi St. 10, (5) Arkansas 7
Iowa 30, (3) Wisconsin 27
UCLA 38, (12) USC 35
(22) Alabama 48, (10) Auburn 31
Kentucky 21, (25) Georgia 20
(11) Maryland 27, (20) NC State 14

Nevada moves up a good bit to the top 15 with all the losses ahead of them. We still have a reasonable shot at #2, since we beat Fresno and Boise still has Nevada and a road game at Hawaii left to drop at least 1.

[Butter]

Game 12, #27
v. Louisiana Tech (4-7, 3-4, #81)

We muddle through a scoreless first, but then the flood gates open. First, a 24 yard FG after a great audible to a wingback fly pattern hits Roberts for 50 yards. Then another FG as Cooley elbows a guy in the throat to bring him down, and Duncan recovers the fumble. With :52 left we get the ball after a great 29 yard punt return by Duncan, and a 52 yard TD pass to Gino Helms makes it 13-0. La. Tech throws a pick to Duncan, and we are able to get into FG range and kick a 36 yarder as the first half expires: 16-0, Rice at the half.

We get a 5 yard TD from Crocker late in the third to seal it up, pretty much: 23-0.

Then, weird stuff starts happening. La. Tech hits a couple nice passes, and then fires an 8 yard score and misses the 2. 23-6. We come back with an easy 21 yard TD run by Roberts after the Bulldogs miss 2 onside kicks. 30-6, Rice with 4:37 to go. The Bulldogs go on a nice 10 play, 85 yard drive and score on a 4 yard QB draw to make it 30-12 after another missed 2. The Bulldogs hold us back, then get the ball with :46 to play. They score yet again and get the 2-pointer to make it 30-20. Luckily they kicked the onsides out of bounds again and we win a game that was not really all that close.

Stats
Rushing
LT - 34/146, Rice - 29/202
RU QB Tim Bridges - 4/2
RU HB Zeke Roberts - 11/114, 1 TD
RU FB Tony Bush - 7/56
RU HB Markus Crocker - 6/16, 1 TD
LT QB AC Turner - 9/15
LT HB Rashaad Odom - 19/123

Passing
Bridges - 8/13, 192 yards, 1 TD
LT QB AC Turner - 12/18, 211 yards, 2 TD/1 INT
Roberts - 2 rec., 73 yards
RU WR Gino Helms - 2 rec., 96 yards, 1 TD
LT WR Robert Rice - 8 rec., 140 yards, 1 TD

Other
3rd Downs: LT - 5/10, RU - 0/6
RU FS Brian Cooley - 9 tackles, 1 INT
CB Quentin Duncan - 4 tackles, 1 INT, 2 pass deflections

Win, 30-20
Record: 9-3, 6-2
End Regular Season

[Butter]

Week 15 scores
WAC
(12) Nevada 37, Boise St. 13
Fresno St. 29, UTEP 7

Notable Top 25
Pitt 31, (13) Miami 12
Virginia 31, (11) Virginia Tech 16

Week 16 scores
Boise St. 24, Hawaii 3
Army 29, (24) Navy 24 (Navy was 8-4 coming into this game)

Championship Week scores
(15) Akron 23, Northern Illinois 7
(3) Nebraska 21, (1) Oklahoma 13
Tennessee 35, (12) Auburn 23

Here are the final WAC standings:
1. Nevada - 10-2, 7-1
2. Rice - 9-3, 6-2
3. Fresno St. - 8-4, 6-2
4. Boise St. - 8-4, 6-2
5. Tulsa - 5-7, 3-5
6. UTEP - 5-7, 3-5
7. Louisiana Tech - 4-8, 3-5
8. Hawaii - 3-9, 2-6
9. San Jose State - 2-10, 2-6
10. SMU - 3-9, 2-6

By virtue of our 2nd place tiebreaking finish, we get to go to the Silicon Valley Classic in San Jose (oh, great, San Jose again). We will face 6-6 Purdue, who is a Wild Card team chosen from the Big 10.

Pre-Bowl BCS rankings:
1. Nebraska - 4.48
2. Texas - 7.52
3. Colorado St. - 11.03
4. Oklahoma - 12.10
5. Michigan - 12.29
6. Ohio St. - 15.50
7. Maryland - 19.49
8. Wisconsin - 20.59
9. Kansas St. - 21.51
10. TCU - 22.58
11. Nevada - 26.63
12. Alabama - 31.89
13. Washington - 33.64
14. Arkansas - 33.94
15. Akron - 34.34 (!!!!)

Heisman Trophy voting
Soph. HB James Kidd, Wisconsin - Kidd receives 513 of 529 1st place votes in winning an absolute blowout over the #2 vote getter. Kidd had 351 carries for 1,676 yards this year, and 27 TD. HB #37 of Nevada was #2 with 233 carries for 1,229 yards and 34 receptions for 418 yards. He had 16 total TD's. He also got 15 of the other 16 first place votes.

Not surprisingly, no WAC players won any individual awards this year.

WAC All-Americans
K Edmond Stallings (soph., Hawaii) - 22/24 FG, 52 yd. long, 28/28 XP - 2nd team
DE Ulysses Mayo (Hawaii) - 81 tackles, 6 sacks, 3 forced fumbles - Freshman
DT Travis Shelton (Fresno) - 48 tackles, 7 sacks, 3 forced fumbles - Freshman
CB Quinn Lowe (Rice) - 28 tackles, 7 sacks, 3 INT, 5 pass deflections, 1 forced fumbles, 1 defensive TD - Freshman

Bowl game next.

[Butter]

Silicon Valley Classic
December 31, 2006
@ Spartan Stadium - San Jose, CA
#24 Rice (WAC #2) v. #52 Purdue (6-6) (At large)

As per usual, we kickoff to begin the game. After trading punts a bit, John Rice gets us on the board with a 26 yard FG. Purdue's 4th possession of the ball game finds them finally able to work the field, and finishing a TD drive with a wonderful 22 yard corner route against a 3 deep zone that saw our deep corner jump the middle route leaving the Purdue WR able to just barely catch the ball and stay in bounds. Sometimes, this game is really wonderful... even when I'm losing. Purdue's kicker botches the kick: 6-3, Boilers.

With under 3 minutes to play in the half, SS Matt Sanford returns a Purdue QB Steve Smalley INT 20+ yards back to the Boiler 27. We run 3 straight plays for only 1 yard, then Rice comes on to convert a 44-yarder for a 6-6 tie with just 1:35 left in the half. Then, we get lucky. Purdue's WR Isaac O'Neal fumbles an in-route, and Brian Cooley scoops it up and returns it 41 yards for an Owl TD! We go in at the break up 13-6.

The second half opens poorly for both squads, but our 2nd possession finds QB Tim Bridges able to convert a 3rd and 15 (well, not through any skill HE has really) with a 33 yard lob pass to WR Brandon Hargrove, and we settle for another FG from 30 yards, and take a 16-6 lead. Purdue's QB is injured on their possession, and is out for the game. Our next possession takes up 12 plays, and we rip off 4 minutes (a good chunk with 7 minute quarters), but still settle for just a 39 yard Rice field goal, and have a (dangerous) 19-6 lead with 3:13 to play.

Purdue finally wakes up (as most CPU teams do when behind 2+ scores in the late going) and rips off a 6 play, 76 yard drive in just 41 seconds, and cuts the lead to 19-13 with 2:27 left.

All I can think of now is the Hawaii Bowl from last year when we held Cincy down nearly all game, and they came back in the last minute to win.

Luckily for us, our option works just well enough to run out the clock and send Purdue home with a losing record. My first bowl win as Rice's head coach!

Stats
Rushing
Rice - 39/122, Purdue - 9/1
RU QB Tim Bridges - 13/31
RU HB Markus Crocker - 7/42
RU FB Tony Bush - 5/27
RU HB Zeke Roberts - 11/25
PU HB #22 - 5/31

Passing
Bridges - 5/18, 71 yards
PU QB Steve Smalley - 14/29, 152 yds., 1 TD/3 INT
PU QB Jacques Jennings - 4/13, 86 yds., 1 TD
RU WR Brandon Hargrove - 2 rec./31 yds.
PU WR Isaac O'Neal - 7 rec./69 yds.

Other
3rd Downs: RU - 5/16, PU - 5/11
Time of Possession: RU - 18:13, PU - 9:47
RU CB Quinn Lowe - 5 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 forced fumbles
Goss/Sanford/Duncan - 1 INT each
RU MLB Cedric Spivey - 2 tackles, 2 pass deflections

Win, 19-13
Record: 10-3


Other Bowl Games (or "did my favorite team make it?")
New Orleans Bowl: UAB 20, Louisiana-Monroe 15
GMAC: (23) Southern Miss. 31, Northern Illinois 14
Tangerine: Virginia 29, Oklahoma St. 22
Fort Worth: Florida 51, Ole Miss 36 (Game Bug Alert: Who would want to see 2 SEC teams hook up again?)
Las Vegas: Arizona St. 35, Air Force 25
Hawaii: Cincinnati 38, Fresno St. 28
Motor City: Notre Dame 29, (14) Akron 17
Insight: (21) Syracuse 51, California 20
Continental Tire: Pitt 34, Georgia Tech 21
Humanitarian: Toledo 20, (11) Nevada 13
Alamo: Iowa 41, Colorado 14
Houston: Texas A&M 31, Louisville 10
Holiday: (9) Kansas St. 24, (19) UCLA 23
Sun: Penn St. 33, (17) USC 29
Liberty: San Diego St. 28, (10) TCU 20
Music City: LSU 41, Minnesota 10
Independence: (20) South Carolina 28, Missouri 6
San Francisco: West Virginia 41, UNLV 24
Outback: (8) Wisconsin 38, Georgia 24
Gator: (25) NC State 21, (18) Miami 16
Capital One: (22) Auburn 30, (6) Ohio St. 21
Peach: (12) Alabama 33, Florida St. 17
Rose: (13) Washington 35, (4) Michigan 34
Sugar: Tennessee 41, (15) Virginia Tech 14
Cotton: (5) Oklahoma 51, (16) Arkansas 17
Orange: (3) Colorado St. 20, (7) Maryland 17
Fiesta: (2) Texas 45, (1) Nebraska 14

Now, THERE'S the problem with the BCS. Texas didn't even make it to the Big XII title game, and they win the national title. Not a game bug, but a major real life possibility and annoyance.

[Butter]

2006 postseason

We finish #17 in the country. Not too shabby. Another star bump in prestige, we're up to 4 stars.

Final Top 25
1. Texas
2. Colorado St.
3. Oklahoma
4. Nebraska
5. Wisconsin
6. Kansas St.
7. Washington
8. Maryland
9. Michigan
10. Alabama
11. Ohio St.
12. Auburn
13. South Carolina
14. Syracuse
15. Southern Miss.
16. NC State
17. Rice
18. Arkansas
19. TCU
20. Tennessee
21. Virginia Tech
22. UCLA
23. Akron
24. Iowa
25. Miami (FL)

Statistics
Passing
QB Harvey Lyman - 186.5 rating (would've been best in the WAC if qualified), 49/95, 1,117 yards, 11 TD/1 INT, sacked 6 times
QB Timothy Bridges - 109.4 rating, 26/63, 504 yards, 2 TD/3 INT, sacked 10 times

Rushing
HB Zeke Roberts - 151/745, 4.9 ypc, 9 TD, 42 long (7th in WAC)
HB Markus Crocker - 96/547, 5.6 ypc, 7 TD, 43 long (10th in WAC)
QB Harvey Lyman - 86/331, 3.8 ypc, 1 TD, 57 long
FB Tony Bush - 55/295, 5.3 ypc, 20 long
QB Timothy Bridges - 66/125, 1.8 ypc, 2 TD, 35 long
FB Jerome Mayo - 13/46, 3.5 ypc, 2 TD, 14 long
HB Dane Carpenter - 7/18, 2.5 ypc, 10 long

Receiving
WR #83 - 17/244, 14.3 ypc, 1 TD, 29 long (departing senior)
WR Gino Helms - 13/405, 31.1 ypc, 3 TD, 75 long
HB Zeke Roberts - 12/201, 16.7 ypc, 1 TD, 50 long
WR Junior Ray - 10/218, 21.8 ypc, 1 TD, 78 long
WR Brandon Hargrove - 9/376, 41.7 ypc, 5 TD, 90 long
HB Markus Crocker - 9/82, 9.1 ypc, 42 long
TE Todd Irwin - 3/66, 22 ypc, 2 TD, 34 long
FB Tony Bush - 2/29, 14.5 ypc, 19 long

Blocking
C Napoleon Lynch - 9 pancakes (p/c), 0 sacks allowed (sa)
T J.P. Bridges - 9 p/c, 3 sa
G Donald Armstead - 9 p/c, 4 sa
T Lynn Magee - 7 p/c, 2 sa
T J.B. Whitehead - 3 p/c, 1 sa
TE Todd Irwin - 2 p/c

Defense
MLB Cedric Spivey - 50 tackles, 9 TFL, 2 sk., 1 INT, 5 defl., 2 FF
FS Brian Cooley - 43 tkl., 3 TFL, 2 INT, 7 defl., 1 FF, 1 FR, 1 TD
CB Quinn Lowe - 33 tkl., 12 TFL, 9 sk., 3 INT, 6 defl., 3 FF, 1 TD, 1 safety
OLB Rocky Fredrickson - 33 tkl., 20 TFL, 9 sk., 1 defl., 1 FF, 2 FR
SS Wendell Bernard - 32 tkl., 3 TFL, 2 sk., 1 INT, 4 defl.
OLB Nick Battle - 29 tkl., 6 TFL, 3 sk., 5 defl., 2 FF, 1 safety
SS Matthew Sanford - 28 tkl., 7 TFL, 4 sk., 1 INT, 4 defl., 2 FF
DT William Phillips - 24 tkl., 12 TFL, 9 sk.
DE LaShaun Hartley - 23 tkl., 9 TFL, 6 sk., 1 FF, 1 FR, 1 TD
DE Jackie Livingston - 23 tkl., 10 TFL, 8 sk.
CB Wesley Goss - 23 tkl., 5 INT, 4 defl., 2 FR
CB Quentin Duncan - 20 tkl., 6 INT, 6 defl., 2 FR, 1 TD

Special teams
K John Rice - 21/23 FG, 48 yd. long, 3/4 from 40-49, 0-1 from 50+, 38/38 XP, 71 kickoffs, 13 touchbacks
P #85 - 48 punts, 42.1 yard average, 74 yd. long, 13 punts downed inside 20, Net avg. 35.4, 5 touchbacks (departing senior)
CB Wesley Goss - 20 KO returns, 18.4 per rtn., 28 long... 10 punt returns, 16.1 per rtn., 36 long
CB Quentin Duncan - 10 KO returns, 17.2 per rtn., 21 long... 26 punt returns, 14.8 per rtn., 30 long

[Butter]

2006 postseason news

Southern Cal offers us their head coaching position. A 3 year contract to take over a team that just finished 9-4 (6-2 in Pac 10) after losing the Sun Bowl. They expect to win the National Title within that time. No, thanks.

Then, we get this li'l nugget:

[size=large]The Big XII has extended an invitation for Rice to replace Kansas starting in the 2007 season.[/size]

Ummmm.... YES!

Yes yes yes!

Kansas gets kicked to the curb, and we're out of the WAC and in the Big Time! Kansas finished 2-10 this year, and 2-6 in conference, beating Baylor and Iowa St. Oddly enough, it's Kansas asked to leave and not Baylor or Iowa St., since they both finished with worse overall and conference records this year (both 1 win total). I think the answer may lie in attendance, KU has the worst attendance of these 3 schools (30,006 compared to nearly 40,000 for the other 2), and our attendance averages 47,306.

I think another factor is that we beat Colorado State and Michigan this year in the pre-conference schedule, and CSU finished #2, while Michigan lost their bowl game but still was a top-10 end of season team. We also beat Tennessee, who finished #20.

Either way, I'm ecstatic! Rice is going to the Big XII after a good but not great season!

Well, who cares why? I'll be starting a new thread with all of our exploits in the Big XII shortly!

[thirdandlong]

Darn I was hoping to see Fresno State Frustrate you on your way to the top. Just two years in you manage to do what FSU has been trying to do for years...move to a real(now called BCS) conference.

[Butter]

New thread is here.