University of Central Oklahoma NCAA2k3

[Airhog]

I sit down into my new chair. It feels weird being the head coach of a football program. I have only been in the coaching game 6 or 7 years, serving under the tenure of what most people would call a great coach. That was until we moved up into Division IA football 3 years ago. The program just fell apart and my mentor, the man that taught me everything just jumped ship 2 weeks before the start of the 2002-2003 season. I was appointed as Interim Coach, and they expect me to coach the rest of the year. I sink back into my chair, and take a look at our schedule so I can start watching the film.


Wk Opponent
1 Bye
2 Vs Tulsa
3 At Hawaii
4 Vs Nevada
5 At Georgia Tech
6 Bye
7 At Utah State
8 At Air Force
9 Vs UNLV
10 At Colorado State
11 Vs San Diego State
12 Wyoming
13 New Mexico
14 At Utah
15 Bye
16 Bye



Well this should be interesting. And we do get to take a trip to Hawaii. I am worried about the three straight away games, but other than that I just hope that we can do well in the Mountain West Conference.



This dynasty I hope should be something different, most dynasties try to focus on stats, games and such. But instead of just posting numbers and such, I am going to try and write from the coach’s perspective. I will try not to present but a few stats for my key players. Now back to the dynasty.


Well Football season has begun, but we don’t play until next week. I take this time to talk with a few of my players.

Drew Lynn is the first guy I get a chance to talk to, he is quite worried about the team and me being head coach, but I reassure him that I will do my best job, and that I expect no less from him or anyone else. Lynn is my best running back right now. And is a decent kid. His stats are nothing to write home about, but he will be carrying the weight this year. Since the pervious coach was run oriented I decide to go with this theme and run a lot.

I call Jerry Wilkerson into my office, and we chat about the upcoming season. He doesn’t expect to win many games, and I do my best to assure him that we plan to fight it out every week. As a QB he is a critical piece to my running game. I plan to use him to bail us out when Lynn cannot perform.

Finally I talk with my best defensive CB, Andy Garrison. He needs a big year in order for us to contend in the conference. He lets me know that he plans to set a record number of interceptions this year, and I hope he is right.


Week 2
Game time is here and we are as prepared as possible for Tulsa our instate rival. We get off to a shaky start, but things turn around after the first drive, and we make Tulsa pay. The final score is 28-0. My first win as a coach and the School is very pleased. There are rumors of me staying as head coach if I can do well this season. Lynn does a great job, getting his first of hopefully many 100+ days rushing.

Week 3
I am nervous during the flight to Hawaii, I hate flying and this really isn’t the job to hate flying. What makes me even more nervous is facing Hawaii at home though. They should give us a run for their money. Hopefully we can keep things honest. We play bad to start the game, and the score shows for it, as we are down 7-0. The team turns things around by the half to lead 14-10. They quickly score to make the game 14-17. Garrison grabs his second INT of the day and runs it back making the final score 21-17. Hawaii really lost this game, their QB threw 3 INT and that lost them the game.

Week 4
My head hurts after the party we throw on Sunday night, I can barely remember the game. All I know is that we are 3-0. The school is really pleased. We haven’t gone 3-0 since moving into Div1-A. Lynn has a very good day today, netting over 200 yards.

Week 5
Well this is the test of the season, we probably wont play a tougher team than GT. I am riding a high horse, and I think we have a good chance at beating them. The game starts off badly though, as they continue to push my defense back and score. From there it is downhill as one mishap after another happens. We lose this game 0-35. At least Lynn had a productive day, finishing with just over 100 yards. He has even gotten the notice of a few Pro teams, who like the kid’s heart.

Well it’s Week 6 and we get to take a break before our last non-conference game. I am very impressed with my team so far. I hope we can take our momentum into the final non-conference game and do really well.

Week 7
I am not a happy camper on our bus ride home. I have decided to institute some changes starting next week. Mistakes in the first part of the game, combined with some errors on my part, cost us a winnable ballgame. I decide to drop the Option for now. Its not a bad set of plays, but my QB has nothing to use in the book. I am switching over to a balance running game which should help us out. Lynn carried the team once again, adding up 144 yards in our 14-3 loss. Garrison got another INT bringing his total to 7.

Week 8
We work on a few new formations all week long, and things are coming around nicely. I should have changed the playbook 3 games ago, but let my ego get in the way. Such mistakes a young coach is bound to make. This week should be interesting since Air force is 1-4 so far this year. I have a good run stopping team, and hop to play well here. Of course Utah state was 1-4 last week too, so I am not counting on anything.

The game starts off really well we eat the clock up on our first drive and score after 5 minutes of running the ball. After that point we never look back. Our team manages to shut out Air Force. We manage to hold them under 99 yards total offense. We also keep the ball out of their hands all day, and end up with nearly 15 minutes of possession. Lynn has a good day today finishing out with over 150 yards. I was most impressed with my QB though who managed to make good throws all day long, and had no INT’s

[Airhog]

Week 9

We made our debut in conference play last week, and sit tied for first at 1-0. This week we face off against UNLV. Our game starts off badly. We are unable to stop them on the first drive, and they go up 7-0. On our next drive Lynn coughs up a ball, and they turn it into a score. We get the ball back only to be stopped once more. They turn around and score making the game 21-0. Nearing the end of the 1st half we score and make the game 21-7. Im pissed off in the locker room, and Lynn takes the brunt of my anger. In the second half, things look up as we score again. We go for the 2-pt conversion and the score is now 21-15. It looks like I can pull this one off. On the very next play however, I leave a man wide open downfield, which UNLV score on. They run a 2-pt conversion making it 29-15. I am able to score once more and make the game closer at 29-22 We have 1 timeout and about 45 seconds left on the clock. I send on the kicking team, and go for my last hope, an Onside kick. We pratically kick the ball to our own man, and recover, but the ref throws up a flag. So close it was only a few feet short of not being called. UNLV runs the clock out on us. I am upset. We gave up 14 points on turnovers. It seems as though turnovers have become our Achilles heel.

Week 10

I call a team meeting on Monday.
Look guys, we played poorly yesterday. Poor Judgement cost us a touchdown. That game was winnable. Lets move on though, forget the first 10 weeks of the season guys. We still have a very good shot at finishing in the top half of the conference. For all of you players, you have never had a winning record in college. We can do this folks, we just need to buckle down, and play some football.
Our next game is at Colorado State, they only have a 2-6 record, and hopefully we can do well here and get some momentum. This game turns into another heartbreaker for my team. I am beginning to doubt my ability to coach. Or maybe I am just outgunned, and that win against Hawaii was pure luck? Regardless, one mistake cost us the game, we gave up a kickoff return, and nobody was even close to make a tackle. It didn’t help that my defense had problems the whole game, and my OL couldn’t stop a baby from breaking through on me. Passing wise I had a good game, but it just seems like I am doomed to failure if I continue to try and run the ball. So I sit 4-4(1-2) I need some wins to give our kids a winning record.

[Airhog]

I aplogize for the delay in posting this, but I was away from my computer for the weekend.

Week 11
Well we barely win this ballgame 15-13. It puts us up 5-4 and I am happy, maybe we can actually pull out a decent end to the season, and secure a bowl bid. Everyday I hear more rumors about a new coach in town. It is upsetting, but I continue to try my best.

Week 12

Nothing new here, Once again a few mistakes cost of a winnable ballgame. I am very frustrated with the lack of offense. I have a hard time running the ball sometimes, and other times passing is my foe. Even worse is the fact that this team is only 1-6 before playing me. At least the game brightens up someone’s day. Hopefully some new recruits will really help us out.

Week 13

I have been see-sawing back and forth, these past few weeks, and the trend continues here. A late field goal sees us winning this one 17-14.

Week 14

This game will decide our fate. If we beat this team ranked #25 we get a bowl bid, the schools first bowl. We also will have a winning record. If we lose here, we won’t get a bowl bid, and we will finish at .500

The game starts out well, with me going into the locker room with an amazing 3-0 lead. My guys pulled together here, and are showing a lot of heart. Early in the third period, the wheel falls off our machine, and they score, leaving us at 3-7. We play well to the last minute of the 4th quarter, and begin our final chance at victory. We get some yardage, and we are faced with a 4th down. I run a QB sneak, and pull out a 1st down. A few plays later we are faced with another 4th down. I throw the ball this time on a wing and a prayer, and get the 1st down. We continue the march to the end zone, and wind up at the goal line with 4 downs, and some time to spare. I am out of timeouts so I am forced to go towards the air. And my attack sputters, I get to the 4 yard line. On 3rd down the ball is thrown incomplete. It has come down to one final play. I throw the ball into the air, and my receiver drops it. Game over and Utah wins. I am not happy with the loss, but I know that my players just played their best game of their college careers. I can only hope for the best.

Bowls

Well, bowl season is here, and the off-season has begun for us. A few days after the loss to Utah, I am called into see the AD. We have a nice chat, and I expect to be fired. However, that’s not what happens. He tells me that the board is very pleased that I went 6-6(3-4) Even though we didn’t have a winning conference record; they wish to extend my contract for 2 more years. However, they do have some stipulations.

I must either have a winning record the next two years, or get us too a bowl game at least one year.

I also must improve the prestige of the school by 1 star.

I can only schedule teams that are close or better than my own team. The school doesn’t believe in padding their win-loss record. So if I am a 4-star school, I cannot play teams worse than 3 stars.

I thank the AD for the generosity of the school, and tell him that the board will not be disappointed. We finish 5th in the conference, which isn’t too terrible.

My HB Drew Lynn is looked over as a Heisman finalist. It is a shame, because he put up decent numbers 1379 yards, 13 TD’s and a 5.1 Avg

My CB Andy Garrison was also passed over for any awards. He finished the season with 7 INT’S and 2 Def TD’s


Off-season.

Well the season is finally over and recruiting can begin. Florida is the national champs this year, edging out Miami 27-24.

I begin looking over the gaps in my rosters. It is my goal, to not have any walk-ons next year. We get hit hard at the HB position and lose 3 guys. We also lose a good number of OL and DL. No juniors decide to leave early.

It is time to recruit now, and I am very happy. I plan to pick up a fast QB, and a fast HB even if I have to convert someone else. I also hope to nab a strong FB to help block, and some better OL to help with the running game. I need a minimum of 12 players, but I will offer scholarships to more than that. Some of last years players will probably get dropped along the way, but that happens when you are trying to improve the whole team.
I get some good news, and some bad news from my scouts today, only have 6 players above 1 star interesting in my school. One of them is a stud RB though 15 players are interested in my school. Looks like I will definitely have some walk-ons, unless I get a miracle.

I get one commitment after the first week. A crappy WR.

The next week brings me 2 more commitments a 3 star HB and a 1 star C
I lose the 4 star player to UCLA; otherwise all of the guys are still interested.

Week 3 has me getting a 3 star CB, and a few 2 star players.

Week 4 sees a 3 star P signing up, and several 1 star players.

Week 5 rolls around with commitments from a 3 star CB and a few 2 star players.


Recruiting is now over, and I didn’t perform as well as I had hoped. We ended up with 0,0,4,4,13 I just hope that we do improve.
We are the 78th best class, hopefully this next season we will improve a lot.

Spring Training is over with as well, and I am very happy, even though my players are not very good, some of them did improve a lot.



Season 2

Well it is drawing closer to the next season. And we unveil our schedule

Wk 1 Open
Wk 2 UTEP
Wk 3 at North Texas
Wk 4 Boise State
Wk 5 at Tulsa
Wk 6 Prairie View A&M
Wk 7 at New Mexico
Wk 8 Air Force
Wk 9 at UNLV
Wk 10 Colorado State
Wk 11 at San Diego State
Wk 12 Wyoming
Wk 14 Utah


This schedule has a lot of Texas flavor. They are close to us, which should allow more fans at the road games, and hopefully it will generate some interest in recruits down in the big state.

[Airhog]

Let’s take a look at this year’s star player.

At QB Ty Boone will be leading my offense, overall he is a 60 and his speed is 56

At HB Lester Jackson will be getting many touches. His speed is 76 and he can catch the ball too. Richard Hodge is my 2nd String back, and is nearly as fast as Lester. Both of these players are freshman, and have a chance to play 4 years with us.

On the other side of the ball Andrew Townsend is my best CB Overall he is a 72 and a freshman. His speed of 81 should boost my defense, and hopefully give me a lot of good Interceptions.


Week 2

We start off the season playing the UTEP Miners. I really hope we can get off to a good start this year just like last year. We start off playing defense, and we hold them to three and out. On offense we give the ball to our new RB, he proceeds to blast around the right end, and score this season’s first touchdown. UTEP takes the ball back, and on the second play break free and score. Sigh, this could be another long season. Disaster strikes again when my RB fumbles the ball. UTEP turns this into another 7 points. 4 and out for me, I punt it deep. I hold them and get a great punt return nearly taking it into the end zone. I score on the next play and we tie 14-14 I kick the ball to UTEP, they fumble and I get the ball on the 41 yard line. I convert UTEP’s mistake into another 7 points.

We go into the locker room up by 7. Early in the drive my QB gets injured. We run another play, and the trainer tells us he will return. We dodged a bullet there. We have already lost one guy for 3 weeks. Late in the 4th UTEP scores and makes it a ballgame. I just need clock control here, with nearly 3 minutes left. I run off 2 minutes. UTEP tries to engineer a final drive, but is unable too and we win the ball game 24-21

I give my first two game balls of the season. The first, goes to my HB Lester Jackson. He had a 203 yard day and 2 touchdowns. The second game ball goes to my new special teams man Andrew Townsend. He had over 100 yards on kick off and punts returns, and had several tackles on defense as well.


Week 3

We face off against North Texas today. I start off on defense, and pick off the ball on the third play. We pound the ball down the field, and score our first TD. We score once more in the second half. The mean green answers, and the score is now 14-7 late in the third quarter I hand the ball off. My HB Lester Jackson takes the carrier for 15 yards. As the dust clears Lester is still laying on the field. My trainer runs out and helps carry him off. I get news at the start of the 4th quarter that he has torn his abdominal muscle, and will miss at least 9 weeks. It is sad news, so I’m forced to rely on my 2nd string back. He is almost as fast as Lester which is good, but doesn’t seem to be quite as strong. I also have to look at pulling my red shirted freshmen here, since my 3rd string back is a WR.

Mean green drives down the field and scores with 2 minutes to go. We are only up by 3 now and I am a bit worried. We give them a minute to score. 2 play into the series we intercept the ball and return it. That seals the fate of the mean green. Or so we think. They get the ball back, and a busted play gives them a TD. It is now 24-21 with 30 seconds left. My guys recover the onside kick, and I am relieved as we run out the clock.

I give one game ball out today. It goes to Don Bass a LB. He caught the Interception that sealed the fate of north Texas.

Week 4

Well, losing my HB does hurt. But it isn’t the end of our world. My 2nd string back is very capable of carrying my team. We face Boise State this week at home. Surprising is that they are ranked #10 in the nation. Even thought they are not a great team, and they have only beat Idaho so far. On the plus side, I will be on T.V. which should hopefully help my recruiting.

We play really well on defense in the first half, but our offense is slow to warm up. We score a field goal, after some great field position. In the second half our defense burps, and they score on us. We return the favor to end the half at 10-3. Boise comes out fired up in the third and quickly score after stopping us on defense. In the 4th quarter we are able to score a FG. We get the ball back with a minute left on the clock. We get the ball down to the 38 Yard line, with enough time to run 3 more plays. I run the ball up the middle for 5 yards. On the next play I bust free for 10 yards. However, a flag goes up and they call holding against us. This brings us back to the 32 yard line. I have just enough time to kick the game winning field goal. The ball is snapped, and it sails through the air. Looks like the ball has just enough juice to reach the goalpost. I watch in horror as the ball hits the top bar, and bounces into the end zone. No good is the ref’s call. And we lost the game 13-14. I tell my kids that we lost not because of that last field goal, but because we just didn’t run the ball well enough. Luckily my next game should be pretty easy, and help restore some confidence.

Even though we lost I give a game ball to my QB Ty Boone. He went from a 0 QB rating, to a 144.8 this week. If it wasn’t for him this game would have been a blowout.

Week 5

We face off against our In-state rival Tulsa. They are a pretty crappy squad going 0-3 so far this season. I plan to not underestimate them though, because they have pretty similar talent.

Tulsa starts off the drive with a field goal. I get the ball back and run down the field and score. We stop Tulsa dead in their tracks, and get good field position. On the next drive we score again making it 14-3. Tulsa takes to the air a few plays later and I intercept the ball. We turn that into a score. And go up 21-3. Then one of those totally frustrating game bugs rears its head. I cause a fumble on the kickoff return and recover. However, there is a penalty and both options show Tulsa with the ball. I accept the penalty and they start the drive on my own 23Yrd line. Talk about sucking. They score a TD because of it, and I file a protest. (If this had been a game losing situation, I would probably just restart the game.)

In the second half I fumble the ball, and they seize the opportunity to score. I kick a field goal to end the 3rd quarter. The score is now 24-17 we seal the ball game with 1:23 too go. I kick a 43 yard field goal, and it just barely sails through the upright. Tulsa is able to stay in the game however, with a late drive to make the game 27-24. Their onside kick is not successful, and we win the ballgame.

Richard Hodge gets a game ball his 161 yards rushing and 2 TD’s paved the way to victory.

Week 6
Well now its time to play Prairie View A&M. I should have no trouble here.

My defense is slow to warm up and A&M scores first. I get the ball back, after a few plays I break free on a long 40+ yard run and score. I am ever more worried as A&M just continues to eat through our D and scores again. Something has to give, and I hope it’s not my offense. I rally back as the half ends to tie the game at 14-14. On the first drive of the 3rd quarter I score. Prairie View gets the ball back and immediately turns it over to me. Unable to score, I punt the ball. Prairie View is able to score and tie the game. We mange to kick a field go late in the game to secure the victory.

A WR gets the Game ball today. John Osborn, my favorite wide out had 111 yards receiving, and really kept us in the game.


Week 7

I see that Hodge is player of the week in the Mountain West conference. I feel good for the kid, since has no guarantee of playing next year. My first conference game is against New Mexico, and I am ready to get the conference underway.

I start the game with a very nice drive, and easily score. An interception turns into another goal. I am now up 14-0. Disaster strikes and I allow them to run back the kickoff for a touchdown. This doesn’t please me, but I am glad that I am still winning. I drive 100 yards late in the second Q to score. New Mexico decides to try and drive in the last 45 seconds of the half. I make a great read and intercept a bomb, it puts me into position, and I score on the next play. We go into the locker room up 28-7. Most of the 3rd Quarter is quiet, until a broken play gives them another TD. We manage to score once more at the end of the game, making the final score 34-14.

Roderick Fitzpatrick gets a game ball today with 2 tackles and 2 INT’s
I give Hodge another game ball because he had 203 yards on the ground and 4 Td’s

Week 8 I take a reflection now that the season is half over. We have come such a long ways in just two years. Our record is very good at 5-1, and we have a real shot at a bowl bid this year. My HB Richard Hodge was player of the Week for the NCAA last week. This makes 2 weeks in a row that he has gotten honors. I would imagine that I will continue to use him the rest of the season, even when my other back heals up.

WE play Air Force this week, and I am looking to continue my winning streak. We force them to 3 and out, and take over. A nice drive and we are up 7-0. Air force throws the ball and it is caught on the next drive. I get a good hand on the ball and cause a fumble. We trade possession until the end of the second quarter when I score after a long pass to my TE. We score again in the 3rd Quarter to make the score 21-0. We continue to add to our impressive lead scoring again in the 4th Quarter to make it 28-0. I am unable to get a shut out as Air Force scores late in the 4th. We end the game 28-0

I have tough decisions to make. I give my game balls to the whole defensive unit. They earned it, only allowing 1 TD and 213 yards.


Week 9

Well we are one game away from a winning record, and 1 game away from bowl eligibility. It will be a tough week, facing 4-1 UNLV, but I have more confidence this year. We are tied for first place in the conference. Only two of our next 5 games are against teams with winning records. Utah will be another showdown.


UNLV slowly churns up the field, eating up most of the 1st Quarter. I cannot stop the QB it seems. Luckily I finally stop them before the goal line, and they are forced to settle for 3. UNLV gets the ball back late in the 4th and manages to put 7 more on the board. We go into the locker room 10-7. Early in the 3rd quarter UNLV manages to kick another field goal leaving us trailing 13-0. I finally manage to get my offense going, and we march down the field. We score at the end of the 3rd to make it 13-7. UNLV nearly scores again in the 4th but botch the field goal attempt. I have about 1 minute left to win this game now. I start my drive up the field slowly, and get to a 4th down and 4. I throw an out pattern and my player gets hit. I figure the game is over, but wait; the ref throws his flag and calls pass interference. That keeps our drive alive. We continue to slowly march up the field to the 27 Yard line. It is 4th down again and about 8 yards to go. I only have enough time for 1 maybe 2 plays. I call in a favorite pass play, and hope for the best. I watch as the ball is snapped, the QB lofts the ball into the air towards a man running downfield. I close my eyes, and hear the crowd start to boo. He caught the pass and tied the ballgame! I nearly run onto the field, but I regain myself and call in the kicking team. The extra point is good, and we win. I am totally stunned as I walk off the field. This game will go down in UCO history.

The game ball goes to Blaine McGee who catches the game winning pass.


Week 10 We face a decent Colorado state today. I score first late in the first quarter to make the game 7-0. I have a really nice drive in the second quarter, and ends in no points after going wide on the field goal. We run a lot of clock in the 3rd quarter, and end up kicking a field goal to start the 4th. The score is now 10-0. We continue to dominate on defense, and eventually set ourselves up at the 12 yard line after a turnover. We run the ball in to make the score 17-0 With 13 seconds left, they get luck on a long pass and score a TD. Another shutout down the drain, but We did win.

For the first week, no-one gets a game ball. No one really stood out in our win. Which is not a bad thing, since everyone played really well today.


Week 11

We face San Diego state this week. I have good confidence going into the game. We score easily in the first quarter. We break free on a long run of 43 yards. They return the favor shortly and tie the ballgame. I am able to score again though in the second quarter. On their next drive, I intercept the ball, and covert it into three points. They run another pass play on their second down, and I intercept the ball again. This time it turns into another 7 points. We get the ball to begin with in the 3rd Quarter and pound it up the field.
Score is 32-7 We score once more at the near the end of the game to make it 39-7 Our best performance yet. I am surprise that we played above usual.


My game ball goes to Hodge yet again who had 262 Yards, and 4 TD’s Talk about a monster game.

Week 12

I face off against Wyoming this week. A win here should secure the Conference Title. I am so psyched to have come this far in such a short period of time. But the magic is now over. This was one of those games where destiny and your path crosses, and destiny wins. The game is pretty boring until I get down 17-21 late in the 4th quarter. I engineer a drive, and score with just 32 seconds left on the clock. I figure I have one the game now. Well after the kickoff, on the very next play the QB throws up a pass, and my CB goes to make a play on the ball. Somehow the WR catches it and scores. I am stunned, shocked, and flabbergasted.

I give a game ball to the QB for Wyoming. His rating was 320.8 he was 17 of 19 and had 366 yards. That kid was blessed today. (personally the CPU had it in for me for some reason. I check out the roster of Wyoming, and they do have a player with a 90 Catch, and another with a high 80. That explains it)

Week 13

I am off this week. Next week is the big showdown. This game will determine the Conference Champion Outright. Both UCO and Utah are 5-1 in the conference. I am disappointed that even with 1500+ total yards, my HB is not even in contention for the Heisman. Maybe another 250+ week against Utah will put him on the map, but I doubt it. They seem to be biased towards large schools. Last week I was ranked #25, but my loss caused that to vanish. I drop back to 33. This next game will be on T.V. which means 2 appearances. That is good, because I need to boost my recruiting next year. I am also now a lock for the liberty bowl, or the Nevada bowl. Should be fun playing in a bowl this year.


Week 14

Sometimes the wheels just fall off your machine. My wheels didn’t fall off today, my whole machine fell apart. We get spanked. 42-7. Nothing much to write about here. My Running game did okay, but I kept getting stopped. My defense was pathetic, and they just could not stop Utah from running whatever they liked. I looks like the Nevada bowl for us.


Week 17

Well the championship week is nearly to an end. And I get a phone call. Sir you have just been selected as Coach of the Year. I nearly fall out of my chair. Stunned, I thank the man. I then begin to work on my acceptance speech. Hodge didn’t even get selected as a finalist for any awards. He was about 200 yards shy. And finished the Season with 1640 Total Yards and 19 TD’s

We find out that we are indeed playing in the Liberty Bowl, and will face off against Washington State. They are ranked 21. I have a feeling that this could be even worse than the Utah game, but we should be on national T.V. this will be a huge boost to our program, and I look forward to the new recruits next year.

[Airhog]

Bowl Game Washington – UCO
We start off with the ball in our hands; we move the chains once, before our QB throws an interception. It takes our defense some time, but we are able to gel, and stop them on a 4th and 6. We move the ball from our own 47 yard line. And get lucky with a few pass plays. We run the ball into the end zone to take the lead in our first bowl game. It looks like we will hold them on defense, until a perfect catch ends up with them breaking free and scoring. 7-7 After going 4 out. Washington takes over. A few plays later they run the option, and their QB holds onto it. The ball pops loose on the tackle and I recover. I move the ball to Washington’s 27 yards line, where a holding call sets me back. I try for the field goal, but kick it wide to the right. A costly error allows Washington a field goal going into halftime. 10-7. Washington opens up the drive by pushing us slowly into the end zone. 17-7 Washington. Things start to fall apart, as I throw an interception on the next drive. Washington smells blood, and capitalizes on my mistake scoring another TD. 24-7. we get the ball back, and have another impressive drive. They finally stop us around the 30 yard line. I kick another field goal, but the snap is high, and it just doesn’t have enough power to reach the mark. A broken tackle on the very next play leads to another huskie TD. I sigh, and order the offense back on the field. Sometimes you just get beat by the better team. Our back luck continues in the second half, as I fumble the ball on the kick-off return. Huskies run the ball again, and decided to run up the score. 38-7.
We start off the next drive with the intention of trying for a first down, and just letting the clock run out with only 2 minutes left. On 3rd down however, Hodge breaks free for a 60+ yard run. It is a bright spot on our dreary day.

In the locker room I congratulate our kids on a good game. We just didn’t have the talent to compete with Washington. I give every kid a game ball today, just for the whole season.

Hodge ends up with 170 Yards rushing. 2 TD’s His long run was for 65 Yards I give this kid a pat on the back, and wish him well. He might not start next year, but he will always be remembered. This game should have proved that Hodge was deserving of at least a look at Hodge for the Heisman.



Off-season

It looks like the national title will stay in Florida, With Miami Edging out Texas 34-20.

Its time once again to hit the recruiting trail.

We lose 12 players this season. All of them seniors. We will dearly miss John Osborn. He caught many great balls for us these pass two seasons. He ends his college career with 1094 Yards and 5 Td’s. Pretty decent stats for a run-oriented team.

Now a look at our recruiting needs. We only need 5 players total. Of course, we can probably upgrade at every position. Another benefit is that my team is now a 3-star school. We should be getting more good recruits this season, or at least we hope so.

We have 1 4 star player, and 4 3 star players interested. 5 2 star players, and 13 1 star recruits round out the bunch. I target 20 players in the first week. Most of the guys don’t have me listed as top three, but I give them a shot anyways.

After the first week, we land 2 three star players. One is a punter, and the other is a DT.
4 of the guys I went after signed with other schools. I find a few other guys to target. So far it looks to be a much better class quality wise, but It should be some time now before are squad really improves.

I get very lucky at the end of week 2 A FS and a MLB both 5 star recruits commit to my school. A 2 star LT also commits. This gives me a great class so far. The recruits are starting to dry up, so I dig deep to find anyone interested in my school. I see a few that look okay. A 4 star DT signs with us the week. Along with a 3 star CB and a 2 star TE. We also pick up a 1 star FB. I max out my list now, and try recruiting those long shots that don’t have much interest in our school. It pays off this week, as I pick up a 4 star QB, and some 4 star DT’s. My recruiting class is stacked to say the least. I have run out of room, and there are basically slim pickings this week, so I only target a few players. The only one that pans out is a 3 star CB. I am very happy with the new kids. It looks like quite a few seniors will be sitting on the bench this year possibly. I do feel sorry for some of them, but it had to happen sometime. We end up with the 33rd best class. Boasting 17 players. 2-2-6-4-3. a very nice improvement over last years scrubs.


Training camp is here now. So let’s take a look at some of our starters. Jackson, who was injured last year, has improved quite a bit. Hodge however, is pretty much the same. Jackson isn’t much better than Hodge, but he a bit quicker to speed. My kicker also works out a lot in the off-season, and really improves.

Here is a list of my three key players.

Tamarick Burke. This guy is my best player. At FS I hope he can really boost the pass defense.

Otis Maynard. He is my best TE and will carry my WR corps. WR is the one area that I lack a good player, sadly.

Kurt Vuong This guy is my starting QB this year. He is fairly fast for a QB, even if his arm leaves a bit to be desired.

It is unfortunate that I cannot red shirt any of my good freshmen. That is a luxury that I do not have. However, if I play really well these next 3 years, I could see my team improve by leaps and bounds. I decide to stick with Hodge at HB. He carried the team last season, and I hope he can carry the team again. Up next, we reveal our upcoming schedule.