NCAA/MADDEN Dynasty: 2007 Rio Grandes [Archive] - Front Office Football Central

Radii

08-12-2003, 05:10 PM

I'm using the brutal computer generated schedule. Also, it will become painfully obvious in a moment, but I created the Rio Grandes as a cupcake school...

2003 Rio Grandes Results

Week 1: BYE
Week 2: at (#5) Kansas State 47, Rio 7 (0-1)
Week 3: Rio 35, at Minnesota 21 (1-1)
Week 4: Rio 19, at UAB 38 (1-2)
Week 5: Alabama A&M 14, at Rio 11 (1-3)
Week 6: Marshall 37, at Rio 10 (1-4)
Week 7: Rio 7, at Nebraska 36 (1-5)
Week 8: Furman 34, at Rio 10 (1-6)
Week 9: Rio 7, at Mid Tenn State 31 (1-7)
Week 10: Rio 6, at (#20) Virginia 22 (1-8)
Week 11: Rio 31, at North Texas 7 (2-8)
Week 12: BYE
Week 13: Rio 10, at Utah State 24 (2-9)
Week 14: UL-Monroe 37, at Rio 16 (2-10)

The Grandes finish their first season 2-10, what do you expect from a cupcake? Well, perhaps a win agaist a 1-AA team, but eh.

Heisman Trophy

HB #43 - Kansas State - 3704 All Purpose Yards, 28 TDs, in a runaway. Clarett finished 5th in the voting. I have no idea who therest of these people are.

Conference Championships

Big 12: (#4) Texas 30, (#9) Kansas State 3
SEC: (#8) Alabama 40, Florida 21

Final BCS Standings

1. Miami 5.63
2. Texas 8.07
3. Oklahoma 8.21
4. USC 9.73
5. Purdue 14.14
6. Ohio State 15.57
7. Maryland 19.77
8. Auburn 22.07
9. Kansas State 22.58
10. Virginia Tech 23.23

Conference Winners

ACC: Maryland, runner up Florida State
Big Ten: Purdue, runner up Ohio State
Big 12 North: Kansas State, runner up Nebraska
Big 12 South: Texas, runner up Oklahoma
Big East: Miami, runner up Pitt
Conference USA: UAB, runner up Louisville
PAC 10: USC, runnner up Washington State
SEC East: Florida, runner up Tennessee
SEC West: Alabama, runner up Auburn

No pointi n going over the award winners, as they won't ever be in my NFL

Major Bowls

Rose Bowl: USC 33, Purdue 27 (OT)
Orange Bowl: Ohio State 31, Maryland 23
Fiesta Bowl: Oklahoma 38, Alabama 17
Sugar Bowl: Texas 26, Miami 14

Texas has won the 2003 National Title

Radii

08-12-2003, 05:56 PM

2003 Offseason

Remeber that the Grandes are in Wake Forest, North Carolina.

Almost all of our recruiting will be done locally. We have 100 points a week to spend on recruits. I will go after a few bigger name recruits but will really just try to get all the talent I can, anywhere.

Required positions: HB, DE (x2), MLB, SS (x2)

Interested Players

Nothing exciting. Four guys. Three are DEs. All of them are 1 star. I will grab them because they should be very easy signings though.

Week #1

I go hard after anyone 2 stars and up with an average interest or higher in the state of North Carolina. I find a fair number of targets, one 5 star DE that I truly hope to steal, whose interest was "high"

Committments after Week #1

Ray Durham - DE from Laurens, SC - 1 star

Losses in Week #1

Vic Stuart - DE, Mint Hill, NC - 5 star blue chipper - going to NC State
Felix Franklin - G - 1 star - North Carolina

Week #2 Recruiting

I've got 11 guys that I contacted still out there. All 3 star or lower. I give them all the attention that I hope will swing them my way, and I branch out to Virginia looking for guys with some interest in coming to Wake Forest and playing for the Grandes.

Week #2 Signings

Chris Underwood - DT - Hendersonville, NC - 1 star

Week #2 Losses

Eugene Hawkins - MLB - Beaufort, NC - 3 stars - NC State
I wanted this guy, and he was happy about the chance to start for the Grandes, but he is a member of the Wolfpack now.

Week #3 Recruiting

There is much for us to do, we try to re-inforce our coaching style or location to the guys that seem to be showing us a bit of interest. Only one new contact is made at this point.

Week #3 Signings

None! :(

Week #3 Losses

Greg Daniels - DE - 1 star - Southern Miss
Matt Capers - C - 1 Star - Wake Forest
Ben Clay - C - 2 stars - North Carolina
Tim May - HB - 3 stars - East Carolina - I thought we had a shot at this guy too

Week #4 Recruiting

Last ditch efforts to try to swing some of these guys with very very slowly growing interest. We also scour the nations QBs and HBs for guys still out there who might want to come play for Rio.

We land no one new..

Week #5

This is looking really dim. I've recruited before, I swear!

Week #5 Signings

There have to be some right? We're small, I don't expect much, but a little improvement would be nice!

One f'ing guy.

JR Ball - FS - Kannapolis, NC - 2 stars

I even lost a player to Duke.

This is the worst recruiting class I've ever seen.

Final Recruiting Results

JR Ball - FS - 2 stars
Ethan Harper - QB - 2 stars
Shane Quinn - SS - 2 stars
Chris Underwood - DE - 1 star
Ray Durham - DE - 1 star

Top Recruiting Classes
1. Texas
2. USC
3. Virginia Tech
4. Oklahoma
5. Miami
6. Notre Dame
7. Michigan
8. Georgia
9. Ohio State
10. Colorado State
...
20. NC State
59. Wake Forest
68. ECU
89. UNC
92. Duke
117. Rio

That's right, the worst recruiting in the country! I had started a dynasty with this team before and had the 85th ranked class, so this was abysmal.

Freshman Ratings

SS Shane Quinn - 66 - 80 spd/61 str/46 awr
DE Ray Durham - 65 - 60 spd/59 str/45 awr
FS JR Ball - 63 - 81 spd/41 str/45 awr
QB Ethan Harper - 63 - 79 arm/76 accuracy
DE Chris Underwood - 63 - 59 spd/63 str/45 awr

I'm still letting the computer coach the team so on to season #2. Even these crappy recruits are better than the cupcake city I was dealt so an improvement is not impossible.

Radii

08-12-2003, 06:21 PM

I took off two top 25 teams and added in a couple of 1-AA schools this year on the schedule...

2004 Rio Grandes Results

Week 1: BYE
Week 2: Arkansas Pine-Bluff 42, at Rio 35 (0-1)
Week 3: Missouri 35, at Rio 10 (0-2)
Week 4: Rio 38, at N Carolina 13 (1-2)
Week 5: at UL-Monroe 42, Rio 16 (1-3)
Week 6: (#13) at Louisville 31, Rio 18 (1-4)
Week 7: North Texas 24, at Rio 16 (1-5)
Week 8: at Alabama A&M 35, at Rio 28 (1-6)
Week 9: Uconn 37, at Rio 18 (1-7)
Week 10: Navy 37, at Rio 14 (1-8)
Week 11: BYE
Week 12: at Rio 27, Rutgers 17 (2-8)
Week 13: Rio 35, at UAB 30 (3-8)
Week 14: at Akron 42, Rio 10 (3-9)

We've improved by a game! 0-2 vs 1-AA teams(pine bluff an alabama A&M), so thank god for Rutgers and UNC :D

Heisman Trophy

HB #13 - Ohio State - 2215 Rushing yards, 220 receiving yards, 20 TDs, a very very close vote over HB #34 out of Oregon State(no clue). Oklahoma, Auburn and Miami HBs roudned out the top 5.

Conference Championships

Big 12: (#1) Oklahoma 35, (#15) Nebraska 14
SEC: (#5) Georgia (#2) Auburn 21

Final BCS Standings

1. Oklahoma(14-0) 4.52
2. Miami (11-1) 6.58
3. Ohio State (11-1) 8.95
4. Georgia (12-1) 9.03
5. Texas (10-2) 15.41
6. Auburn (11-2) 15.98
7. USC (10-2) 19.71
8. Virginia Tech (10-2) 21.15
9. Oregon State (10-2) 26.07
10. Maryland (9-3) 26.10

Interesting to note, Louisville was undefeated going into the final week of the season, #2 in the polls, #3 in the BCS behind Miami. They lost, at home, to Cincinnati, and fell to 12th in the bowl standings.

Conference Winners

ACC: NC State, runner up Virginia
Big Ten: Ohio State, runner up Penn State
Big 12 North: Nebraska, runner up Kansas State
Big 12 South: Oklahoma, runner up Texas
Big East: Miami, runner up Pitt
Conference USA: Cincinnati, runner up Louisville
PAC 10: Washington State, runnner up USC
SEC East: Georgia, runner up South Carolina
SEC West: Auburn, runner up Arkansas

Major Bowls

Rose Bowl: Ohio State 63, Washington State 9
Fiesta Bowl: Auburn 33, Texas 25
Sugar Bowl: NC State 41, Georgia 33
Orange Bowl: Oklahoma 31, Miami 17

Oklahoma has won the 2004 National Title, Miami runners up 2nd year in a row.

Radii

08-12-2003, 07:16 PM

2004 Offseason

Remeber that the Grandes are in Wake Forest, North Carolina.

Almost all of our recruiting will be done locally. We have 100 points a week to spend on recruits. I will go after a few bigger name recruits but will really just try to get all the talent I can, anywhere.

Required positions: TE, T, G, DE, OLB (X2), MLB, CB

with the small recruiting class last season, we have a long way to go this year.

Interested Players

Muuuuch better. Nine players are interested in Rio, 3 of the players list us first!

We hope to land our first 3 star recruit, Billy Hill from Riverdale, GA, a tight end. He's interested in Tennessee, Rio, and Auburn.

Rudy Jones is a OLB from Macon, GA, 2 stars, Tennessee, UGA, and Rio.

Jovan Richard, OLB, Whiteville, NC, Rio, UVA, OU (is that Ohio or Oklahoma)

Week #1

We have 175 recruiting points this week. This makes me feel good, we can branch out a bit.

This week is easy, lets get our top recruits, espicially the 2 and 3 star guys. We go through the state and we find that players are a little more likely to talk to us this year, hopefully this is going to be better than 2003.

Committments after Week #1

No one is ready just yet. Our interest list does grow some though.

Losses in Week #1

Jamar McGruder - C - 2 stars - E Carolina
Jerrell Simmons - RT - 1 star - Memphis

Week #2 Recruiting

15 guys on my target list. After talking to them all and reinforcing some ideas, I actually have points left. Muuuuch nicer than last year.

Week #2 Signings

Billy Hill - TE - Riverdale, GA - 3 stars, the best guy we've picked up yet, faster and stronger than first thought
Rudy Jones - ROLB - Macon, GA - 2 stars - He can squat 500 pounds.

Week #2 Losses

Jamie Haley - ROLB - 1 star - E Carolina
Cortez Knight - RG - 3 stars - NC State
Eric Flynn - WR - 3 stars - E Carolina

So I lost two 3 star guys I was making a major push for.

Week #3 Recruiting

7 players out there listed as interested, a 3 star guy and 2 2 star guys, they must be had. We've found a few guys who really like our location pitch and we continue throwing that hard at them. Also a few new 2 star in state contacts are made this week.

Week #3 Signings

Two more guys, and we want more than this but I would say we've now topped last year's class.

Chuck Marshall - DT - Clayton, NC - 2 stars
Frederic Ashley - RG - Thomasville, TN - 2 stars

Week #3 Losses

No new losses!

Week #4 Recruiting

We feel there are a signifigant number of guys we still have a shot at at this point, I'm much more optimisic here than I was last seaon, but still, we have to get these guys to come to Wake Forest and play for the Grandes!

Week #4 Signings

The week we've been waiting for!

Dallas Holman - CB - Kernersville, NC - 3 stars
Chris Horton - RG - New Hope, NC - 3 stars
Kevin Jeromin - LT - Conyers, GA - 2 stars
Omari Barry - LT - Goldsboro, NC - 1 star
Kurt McLaurin - LE - Elkin, NC - 1 star

Week #4 Losses

David Barber - CB - 3 stars - Wake Forest
Paul Frazier - LT - 3 stars - Ga Tech
Lonnie Barber - WR - 2 stars - Virginia (if I knew i was recruiting a Barber and trying to take him away from Virginia I would have stopped wasting my points :) )
Kevin Thomas - DT - 1 star - N Carolina

Week #5

We try to finish off and sign the last 5 guys on our interest list that we've talked two. Two corners show newfound interest in us as well and we chase them pretty hard.

Week #5 Signings

Lookin good fellas!

Omar Hardy - CB - St Simons, GA - 3 stars
Andy Marshall - QB - Goldsboro, NC - 2 stars
Kendal Palmer - P - Mount Airy, NC - 2 stars
Jovan Richard - LOLB - Whiteville, NC - 2 stars
Gino Thomas - CB - Lincolnia, VA - 2 stars

Final Recruiting Results

Kevin Jeromin - LT - 70 overall rating
Gino Thomas - CB - 70
Dallas Holman - CB - 68 rating
Chuck Marshall - DT - 68 rating
Chris Horton - RG - 66
Omar Hardy - CB - 66
Andy Marshall - QB - 66
Kendal Palmer - P - 65
Frederic Ashley - RG - 65
Billy Hill - TE - 64
Jovan Richard - LOLB - 63
Kurt McLaurin - LE - 60
Omari Barry - LT - 60

We haven't really done a good job addressing specific needs yet, but at this point, a 3 star recruit at a filled position strikes me as more valuable than a 1 star guy at a need position... this improves the quality of my team a ton. there are some positions where we have a bad lack of depth and next year I will have the manueverability to try to grab some guys per position...

Top Recruiting Classes
1. Oklahoma
2. Miami
3. USC
4. Auburn
5. Louisville
6. Texas
7. TCU (really)
8. Ohio State
9. Georgia
10. Virginia Tech
...
19. NC State
75. ECU
84. Rio
100. UNC
104. Duke
116. Wake Forest

We shot over 30 teams this season on the recruiting trail, and I think we may be a .500 team by the time I take over the reins on the field.

Radii

08-12-2003, 07:47 PM

This year we drop Kansas State from the schedule and add Jackson State. The rest of the schedule goes unchanged.

I also look into redshirting for the first time.

Freshman Andy Marshall is redshirted and will likely be a 4 year starter at QB.
I redshirt 4 other freshmen where I have depth and those freshmen will not be starting.

2005 Rio Grandes Results

Week 1: BYE
Week 2: at Eastern Michigan 35, Rio 19 (0-1)
Week 3: Rio 39, at Jackson State 20 (1-1) We beat a 1-AA team!
Week 4: at Illinois 45, Rio 13 (1-2)
Week 5: Buffalo 45, at Rio 17 (1-3)
Week 6: (#22) at UCLA 41, Rio 0 (1-4)
Week 7: Rio 34, at UL-Layfayette 17 (2-4)
Week 8: Southern Miss 38, at Rio 31 (2-5)
Week 9: LSU 33, at Rio 13 (2-6)
Week 10: BYE
Week 11: UL-Layfaytte 20, at Rio 13 (2-7) Whoops, didn't see that schedule bug
Week 12: UConn 35, at Rio 25 (2-8)
Week 13: at Rio 17, S Florida 10 (3-8)
Week 14: at La Tech 42, Rio 25 (3-9)

We finished with the same record as last year. If we can pull in another decent recruiting clas coming off of this season we hope to show an improvement next year.

Heisman Trophy

HB #30 TCU - 3200 yards, 21 TDs, in a runaway. No one with a name yet(no sophomores then I suppose)

Conference Championships

Big 12: (#1) Texas 31, Missouri 17
SEC: (#7) Tennessee 35, Mississippi State 21

Final BCS Standings

The rise of the ACC! Go Wolfpack! NC State beat Maryland to win the ACC and earn the spot against Texas in the last week of the season. Their loss came in Atlanta to #22 Ga Tech

1. Texas (12-1) 4.13
2. NC State (11-1) 7.27
3. Maryland (12-1) 10.43
4. Miami (11-1) 11.49
5. Tennessee (12-1) 12.55
6. Oklahoma (10-2) 14.32
7. Wisconsin (10-2) 18.57
8. Virginia Tech (11-2) 19.89
9. USC (10-2) 23.99
10. Michigan (10-2) 25.46

Conference Winners

ACC: NC State, runner up Maryland
Big Ten: Michigan, runner up Wisconsin
Big 12 North: Missouri, runner up Nebraska
Big 12 South: Texas, runner up Oklahoma
Big East: Virginia, runner up Miami
Conference USA: TCU, runner up UAB
PAC 10: Oregon, runnner up USC
SEC East: Tennessee, runner up Georgia
SEC West: Miss State, runner up Alabama

Major Bowls

Sugar Bowl: Michigan 31, Tennessee 17
Fiesta Bowl: Oregon 32, Miami 27
Orange Bowl: Maryland 27, Virginia Tech 17
Rose Bowl: Texas 33, NC State 31

Texas has won the 2005 National Championship. NC State a very close fight and is the runner up.

Radii

08-12-2003, 07:58 PM

2005 Offseason

Remeber that the Grandes are in Wake Forest, North Carolina.

Now we're going to take a little more time here and seriously assess our needs for the coming seasons.

16 players have graduated.

Position Analysis

Quarterback

Freshman (redshirt) Andy Marshall should give me 4 solid years here, and will be backed up by a competant Junior and Senior. No need.

Halfback

LaBron Avery is a decent back, and will be a junior. That's our only HB. Major need

Fullback

We don't have any.

Wide Receiver

We'll have two seniors in the lineup next year, another heavy, heavy need position.

Tight End

Billly Hill returns for his second season, but we need depth.

Tackle

Two soph left tackles and a senior right tackle. A tackle that can play on the right side is key here.

Guards

A senior left guard, and a soph and redshirt freshman on the right side. Gotta get a LG.

Center

We have one, he's good, and he's a senior. get another one this year.

Defensive End

We have two good Junior Right Ends, and an average soph LE.. we need to pick up someone on the left side if we can.

Defensive Tackle

Three guys return next year, two will be seniors, and we lack talent here. Need 1

Outside Linebackers

We'll have a soph on the left side, and a junior and a senior on the right side. We can live with this but one more guy would be nice.

Middle Linebacker

We've got two sophomores coming back, need one guy for the minimum heer

Cornerback

We've got 5 returning next year, and only one will be a senior. We're ok.

Free Safety

We've got a pretty good Junior here, need another guy though

Strong Safety

Two Juniors here, another guy would be nice but we likely can't do it

Kicker

Ours graduated.

NEEDS:

2 HB
2 FB
2 WR
1 TE
1 C
1 MLB
1 FS
1 K

WANTS:

1 RT
1 LG
1 LE
1 LOLB
1 SS

That's a big order to fill, and it shows how bad we hurt ourselves by not getting anything the first season.

Radii

08-12-2003, 08:37 PM

2005 Recruiting

Interested Players

Six Players show interest in us. Two of them are 2 star guys, a MLB and a WR. Only one of them is at a non-need position(QB). We are going to pursue the other 5 and Hope to fill out our roster a fair amount right here.

For the first time ever, many of these guys are in other regions of the country, and are pretty expesnive to go after. But they're our best bets and we cannot come up short at these positions.

Week #1

We have 175 recruiting points this week. This makes me feel good, we can branch out a bit.

This week is easy, lets get our top recruits, espicially the 2 and 3 star guys. We don't contact as many guys as we usually do here... only 8, but 5 of them are very interested and hopefully are quick signings. We also approach some of the top in-state HB talent, including a 5 star guy with average interest in us.

Committments after Week #1

We get one of our wide receivers, the furthest away anyone has ever come to play for the Grandes

Dwight Wise - WR - Millsboro, DE - 2 stars

Losses in Week #1

None, good start

Week #2 Recruiting

We use about 1/3 of our recruiting points making followup visits and calls to our top candidates. The rest of it we fill out with the top NC recruits at our NEED positions who have at least an average amount of interest(we haven't contacted anyone outside of the NEED positions yet... the wants are still empty)

Week #2 Signings

Jakari Kelly - C - Richmond, VA - 2 stars
Travis Winston - MLB - Collegedale, TN - 2 stars

Week #2 Losses

Mike Haney - MLB - 3 stars - Akron
Maurio Moss - FB - 4 stars - S Carolina

Week #3 Recruiting

We've got our eyes set on a 5 star RB, Antonio McNeill, he loves our style of play(I use a heavy running attack) and right now Wake is his top target, followed by UGA, and S Carolina... I think we have a legitimate chance to steal him so I'm pushing hard.

I also go out looking for Fullbacks, I hadn't contaced any yet and I need 2. I have to find someone to play FS, and to kick for me soon.

Week #3 Signings

Mike Helms - HB - Trinity, NC - 3 stars - a solid signing, he's fast and has good hands. I still want my 5 star guy but this is a big one.

Week #3 Losses

Antonio McNeill - HB - 5 stars - Wake Forest ... if I had lost him to a football program that's one thing, but Wake?!
Timi Pruitt - FB - 3 stars - Georgia
Ahmad Rawls - WR - 1 star - Tennessee - Good to see the Vols pulling from the bottom of the barrell

Week #4 Recruiting

We're getting there but still have 6 need spots to fill. I reach out to a few more people to try to fill them.

Week #4 Signings

Like last year, we make a few big signings in week 4

Rusty Kendrick - TE - Seagate, NC - 3 stars
Brock Teague - HB - Royal Pines, NC - 3 stars
Tyrone Bellamy - FB - Tamarac, FL - 2 stars
Brent Johnson - FB - Kathleen, FL - 1 star

That leaves us with only 2 need spots, FS and kicker.

We've got a kicker I think will sign next week, but our FS pickup is going to be a walkon I think.

Week #5

We go after some want position players to try to add a little depth and maybe pickup a steal somewhere.

Week #5 Signings

WEAK

Jonathan Ricks - LG - Asheboro, NC - 2 stars
Kirk Hester - K - West Gate, VA - 1 star

Final Recruiting Results

Rusty Kendrick - TE - 75 overall (WOW)
Mike Helms - HB - 74
Brock Teague - HB - 74
Dwight Wise - WR - 69
Pierre Brown - FS - 67 (walk on... congrats)
Travis Winston - MLB - 67
Jonathan Ricks - LG - 66
Jakari Kelly - C - 63
Tyrone Bellamy - FB - 62
Kirk Hester - K - 57
Brent Johnson - FB - 56

We didn't get a class as good as last year I don't think, but, we did okay, hopefully good enough to push us up to 4 wins in the upcoming season and build for the future a little more. Also, we got 4 major impact players at key positions... I'll get to work with them all as Sophomores too, so I'm excited about that.

Top Recruiting Classes
1. Oregon
2. Maryland (GO ACC)
3. Miami
4. Tennessee
5. USC
6. UCLA
7. Michigan
8. Penn State
9. Texas
10. TCU (up to 4 stars in prestiege and 2 top 10 classes in a row...)
...
12. NC State (well on their way to becoming a national powerhouse)
48. Wake Forest ( How they got a 5 star HB I don't know)
75. ECU
81. Notre Dame TEEHEE
87. E Carolina
93. Rio
96. UNC
105. Duke

I hoped for more but I think for my level this is still a respectable class.

Radii

08-12-2003, 09:10 PM

Lets do this, final season before we slow this puppy down and start playing some football.

I take two top 25 teams(Florida State and Colordao State) out of my schedule to give myself a shot at 4 wins this year.

No one is getting redshirted.

2006 Rio Grandes Results

Week 1: BYE
Week 2: Rio 24, at Wyoming 17 (1-0) We're undefeated!!!!!
Week 3: Kent State 41, at Rio 7 (1-1) It was fun while it lasted
Week 4: Northern Illinois 48, at Rio 14 (1-2)
Week 5: at Rio 17, Elon 14 (2-2)
Week 6: BYE
Week 7: at Rio 38, Delaware State 17 (3-2)
Week 8: (#25) Ole Miss 26, at Rio 14 (3-3) 26-14 against a top 25 team, I'm pleased
Week 9: at Mid Tenn State 34, Rio 30 (3-4)
Week 10: at Air Force 21, Rio 16 (3-5)
Week 11: at Boise State 32, Rio 18 (3-6) No easy wins left on the schedule... might be 3-9 again
Week 12: UConn 34, at Rio 15 (3-7)
Week 13: at Buffalo 34, Rio 29 (3-8)
Week 14: at Central Michigan 28, Rio 14 (3-9)

Our opponents actually finished with a winning record this year... the two 1-AA opponents don't count of course

Heisman Trophy

JaMaine Winborne wins the heisman! HB from Oklahoma. A Junior clearly(he has a name). He dominated the season with 1416 rushing yards and 506 receiving yards, finishing 500 points ahead of the second place finisher.

Cecil Ross is second in the voting, Kansas State HB, 2255 rushing yards, 260 receiving.

Conference Championships

Big 12: (#4) Oklahoma 28, (#20) Kansas State 6
SEC: (#12) Alabama 29, Georgia 28

Final BCS Standings

There's some changes at the top this year. and look at that second place. The ACC is getting some respect, 2 losses and in the national title game!!

1. Virginia Tech (13-0) 4.10
2. NC State (11-2) 8.64
3. Oklahoma (12-1) 10.67
4. Colorado State (10-1) 11.58
5. Texas (10-2) 14.08
6. Notre Dame (11-1) 14.66
7. Wisconsin (10-2) 17.41
8. Ohio State (11-1) 19.02
9. USC (10-2) 21.10
10. Oregon State (10-2) 27.19

So, how did NC State lose 2 and make the title game? Regular season losses: vs #1 Virginia Tech (35-17) and at #7 Wisconsin (27-21) ... nice schedule there, and a hell of a title rematch.

Conference Winners

ACC: NC State, runner up Maryland
Big Ten: Ohio State, runner up Wisconsin
Big 12 North: Kansas State, runner up Missouri
Big 12 South: Oklahoma, runner up Texas
Big East: Virginia Tech, runner up Boston College
Conference USA: Louisville, runner up TCU
PAC 10: USC, runnner up Oregon State
SEC East: Georgia, runner up Tennessee
SEC West: Alabama, runner up Auburn

Major Bowls

Rose Bowl: Ohio State 34, USC 17
Sugar Bowl: Colorado State 27, Alabama 17 way to earn some respect Rams!
Orange Bowl: Oklahoma 30, Texas 24
Fiesta Bowl: Virginia Tech 31, NC State 21

Virginia Tech wins the 2006 National Championship.

Radii

08-12-2003, 09:21 PM

Remeber that the Grandes are in Wake Forest, North Carolina.

We only lose 10 players to graduation this year, so hopefully we have a little more freedom to go after some stuff we want and not scramble to fill out MUST HAVE positions.

Position Analysis

Quarterback

Andy Marshall will be a sophomore, his backup will be a senior, it'd be nice to carry a 3rd QB.

Halfback

I have 3 very good backs here, 2 are sophomores(I might redshirt one if I can)

Fullback

I've got 3 young fullbacks, none are very good but I probably have bigger needs than this.

Wide Receiver

I'm going to have two sophomore WRs and that's it. This is once again a very big need to fill.

Tight End

I've got two returning TEs and am fine here.

Tackle

Two junior left tackles, a RT or two is critical.

Guards

I have 3 guards, 2 on the right, 1 on the left, I could use another on the left.

Center

My senior center graduated so I once again need to fill this hole, I have a very average sophomore center returning.

Defensive End

I'm going to have 3 upperclassmen here. Getting at least one end is important, preferably on the right side(two REs are seniors)

Defensive Tackle

I only have one Defensive Tackle so I need at least two here...

Outside Linebackers

I have one guy on each side of the line, so I need one more here, two if possible.

Middle Linebacker

I'm good here, though my 2nd MLB isn't very talented which makes my 3-4 sets suffer.

Cornerback

4 corners coming back, I would like to pick up one and only one additional corner.

Free Safety

I've got two here, one is a senior.

Strong Safety

Two seniors here so this is a pretty big need.

Kicker

We got a very crappy kicker last year, I'd like to do better.

NEEDS:

2 WR
1 T (RT hopefully)
1 C
2 DT
1 OLB

WANTS:

1 K
1 LG
1 RE
1 OLB
1 CB
1 SS
1 FS

MizzouRah

08-12-2003, 09:39 PM

Looking foward to this one! Mine will start when I get some time.

Todd

Radii

08-12-2003, 10:11 PM

2006 Recruiting

Interested Players

We have a record 14 guys interested in coming to Wake Forest, most are 1 star guys though. The top guy is a Center, and there are two WRs and a RT who are 2 star guys looking to come here. That should fill a ton of our needs right away if I can land those top four guys.

Week #1

We have 175 recruiting points this week. This makes me feel good, we can branch out a bit.

We go after someone at all our need, and want positions, with the exception of kicker, there's just no kickers interested in us.

...

This is getting to be pretty routine, so I'll just post worthwhile comments and not go over every move I make.

Committments after Week #1

Glenn Little - WR - Fuquay-Varina - 2 stars

Week #2 Signings

Nothing to write home about here.

Elton Morant - DT - Rockland, ME - 1 star

Week #3 Signings

Looks like a big week here!

Nate Lewis - C - Albemarle, NC - 3 stars - squats 655, unf unf.
Cal Ali - LG - Royal Pines, NC - 2 stars
Josh Geathers - RT - Poplar Tent, NC - 2 stars
Dwight Giles - WR - Piney Green, NC - 2 stars
Adrian Bray - SS - Elon College, NC - 1 star
David Harrell - DT - Jacksonville, NC - 1 star

We have two top of the line recruits that we still have a legitimate shot at here going into week 4. I burn all of my points going into week 4 on four recruits, out of staters that all like me and are the most talented guys left that I have a shot at. Landing even two of them would make this a very good class for my level I hope.

Week #4 Signings

We only land one guy this week, but he's one of the big ones.

Seneca Person - WR - Chester, SC - 4 stars !

I still need an OLB, so I go approach a few 1 star guys left, and I have my eyes on one more solid recruit, a 3 star DT that I really want to land.

Week #5 Signings

We didn't get any of the OLB we wanted, but we landed the DT.

Ira Doss - DT - Cartersville, GA - 3 stars

Final Recruiting Results

Seneca Person - WR - 71 overall
Ira Doss - DT - 70 overall
Nate Lewis - C - 69 overall
Josh Geathers - RT - 68 overall
Cal Ali - LG - 66 overall
Glenn Little - WR - 65 overall
Dwight Giles - WR - 63 overall
Elton Morant - DT - 62 overall
David Harrell - DT - 59 overall
Adrian Bray - SS - 56 overall

Top Recruiting Classes
1. Fresno State (wow)
2. Miami
3. Texas
4. Ohio State
5. Virginia Tech
6. USC
7. NC State (Go ACC/Local Teams!)
8. Tennessee
9. Auburn
10. Oklahoma
...
79. Rio
96. UNC
101. Wake Forest
108. Duke
117. E Carolina

Our best class ever

Radii

08-12-2003, 10:12 PM

Thanks Todd :) I'm looking forward to getting going with this!

Tomorrow I'll set up the Madden thread and sim the Panthers out for 4 seasons as well, and then start playing. :)

MizzouRah

08-12-2003, 10:26 PM

:)

Good news!

Todd

Wolfpack

08-14-2003, 09:42 AM

Aaaargh! Two years running coming up short! If State ever achieved this in real life by 2007, I will be absolutely beside myself with joy. FSU, UVa, UMd already and add Miami and VT next year (which I'm aware NCAA 2004 does not take into account) and I don't see it happening. It's eerily similar to what happened to Dick Sheridan. He finally got a good enough team that could contend for the ACC title, but unfortunately that was the year FSU joined the league. Now Amato's facing a slightly taller hill to get us our first ACC title since 1978. He almost has to do it this year.

BTW, laying the smack down on the Heels? That must've been hard to do, though it does happen with alarming frequency to UNC since Mack left (Miami, Furman, etc).

Radii

08-14-2003, 09:54 AM

I'm not so much of a Carolina fan in football. I don't really have any huge loyalties in college football. I kinda root for Ga Tech because I went there, but I kinda root for UNC since I loved them growing up(but only basketball counts), but I don't care when they suck :)

I have found myself rooting very hard for NC State in football the past few years, and really hoping they overtake Florida State as the dominant team in the conference. I really like Chuck Amato, and I like watching Philip Rivers play.

The one thing that carries over to college football is a hatred of Duke :D So great watching them lose over and over. I will probably try to schedule them most every year(unless I get really good and need a solid non-conference schedule).

I don't really have a specific ultimate goal for this dynasty, other than join a major conference and win a national title... but I think the sweetest possible end result would be replacing Duke in the ACC.

tucker342

08-14-2003, 09:55 PM

Great stuff so far:D

I'm reading with interest!

Radii

08-16-2003, 11:14 AM

The only scheduling change I make is to remove #10 Tennessee from the schedule, and replace them with a home game vs Delaware State.

2007 Schedule

1. BYE
2. at Wyoming
3. vs Syracuse
4. vs North Carolina
5. vs Mid Tennessee State
6. vs Tulane
7. at UConn
8. at ECU
9. BYE
10. at Navy
11. at UL Layfayette
12. Delaware State
13. at Wake Forest
14. at Hawaii
15. BYE

Next, the roster overview and I'll redshirt anyone necessary.

Radii

08-16-2003, 11:22 AM

2007 Roster: Quarterbacks - Grade C+

#19 Andy Marshall - So-RS
6'5" 193 lbs
56-101 passing for 756 yards, 5 TD, 5 INT
OV SP ST AW AG AC CR BT TP TA
72 63 45 51 60 62 55 38 77 82

Marshall is a classic pocket passer. Tall and pretty slow. It will take a miracle recruit for me to not start Marshall his final three years at Rio.

#14 Ethan Harper - Sr
6'1" 209 lbs
73-137 passing for 1020 yards, 6 TD, 7 INT
OV SP ST AW AG AC CR BT TP TA
70 48 51 56 48 50 48 80 80

Harper has a *slightly* better arm than marshall(80 power vs 77) but other than that he is inferior. He's not a bad backup if we need him though.

(OVerall, SPeed, STrength, AWareness, AGility, ACceleration, CaTch, CArry, JuMp, Break Tackle, TacKle, Throw Power, Throw Accuracy, Pass Block, Run Block, Kick Power, Kick Accuracy, StAnima, INjury)

Radii

08-16-2003, 11:29 AM

2007 Roster: Running Backs - Grade C+

#22 Brock Teague - So
5'11" 214 lbs
286-1068 yards rushing, 9 TDs
12-115 receiving, 0 TDs
2006 Freshman All-American
OV SP ST AW AG AC CT CA BT SA
76 83 54 57 75 77 57 62 70 69

Teague had a great rookie season and we hope to have him improve on it in 2007. He is one of the best players on the team and we hope to have him improve to be one of our first 80 rated players.

#28 Mike Helms - So Redshirting
5'9" 181 lbs
27-61 yards rushing, 1 TDs
12-81 receiving, 0 TDs
OV SP ST AW AG AC CT CA BT SA
76 84 49 43 88 84 68 58 54 86

Helms is faster but much much weaker when it comes to blocking tackles, and he's our backup because of that. We are going to redshirt helms and see what kind of improvements he can make this year. Avery is a servicible backup and Helms could earn a lot more playing time and be much more valuable to us after a seaon off.

#26 LaBron Avery - Sr
6'1" 178 lbs
25-105 yards rushing, 3 TDs
8-41 receiving, 0 TDs
OV SP ST AW AG AC CT CA BT SA
72 78 43 55 84 72 59 60 55 73

Avery is a solid backup back.

Radii

08-16-2003, 11:35 AM

2007 Roster: Fullbacks - Grade C-

#47 Tyrone Bellamy - So
5'8" 216 lbs
21-113 yards rushing, 0 TDs
5-37 receiving, 0 TDs
OV SP ST AW AC CT CA BT PB RB SA
64 70 56 40 75 64 52 57 48 51 82

Bellamy really isn't a good blocker, which wories us with the power running game we want to run. He is a threat to run out of the backfield and is listed as having a tendancy towards "receiving" so we can hopefully get him involved in our passing game too.

#43 Dwight Doyle - Fr (RS)
5'10" 223 lbs
OV SP ST AW AC CT CA BT PB RB SA
62 73 57 41 74 60 54 53 44 50 84

Doyle is a worse blocker than Bellamy but he is a solid backup at the position.

#42 Brent Johnson - Fr (RS)
5'9" 181 lbs
OV SP ST AW AC CT CA BT PB RB SA
59 71 54 47 78 55 60 60 42 44 66

Johnson really won't see much time on the field unless there are some injuries.

Radii

08-16-2003, 11:48 AM

2007 Roster: Wide Receivers - Grade C-

#81 Dwight Wise - So
6'2" 180 lbs
58-912 receiving, 4 TDs
OV SP ST AW AG AC CT CA JM BT SA
72 81 41 43 77 80 77 65 86 56 75

Wise was one of our top recruits two years ago, and had a very good freshman season, he'll be our #1 option in the passing game all season.

#84 Seneca Person - Fr
6'2" 170 lbs
OV SP ST AW AG AC CT CA JM BT SA
71 92 40 36 88 90 71 42 82 39 73

Person is fast! If he can get by corners consistantly he could have a great season for us opposite Wise. He'll be our #2 option behind Wise, though if he can learn how to use his speed he could become top dog.

#87 Jermelle Dye - Fr Redshirting
6'2" 216 lbs
OV SP ST AW AG AC CT CA JM BT SA
65 76 52 39 84 75 67 56 75 53 80

Dye is our 3rd best receiver unfortunately. We're going to concentrate on sets with just two wideouts this year though, and we redshirt Dye.

#82 Glenn Little - Fr
6'0" 198 lbs
OV SP ST AW AG AC CT CA JM BT SA
65 86 41 41 48 40 65 49 77 43 89

Little will serve as our #3 man on the field while Dye sits out the year. Very likely Little will redshirt next year while Dye is our #3 man...

#80 Dwight Giles - Fr Redshirting
6'1" 170 lbs
OV SP ST AW AG AC CT CA JM BT SA
63 82 43 39 80 80 64 48 77 46 93

Giles wouldn't get much playing time this year, so we're going to give him a season to improve as well.

#85 AJ Crosby - So
6'3" 203 lbs
1-20 yards receiving
OV SP ST AW AG AC CT CA JM BT SA
58 74 44 46 71 70 65 49 74 38 74

Crosby probably isn't destined to play football for a living...

Radii

08-16-2003, 12:09 PM

2007 Roster: Tight Ends - Grade C+

#86 Rusty Kendrick - So
6'5" 247 lbs
51-633 receiving, 6 TDs
OV SP ST AW AG AC CT CA BT PB RB SA
79 80 66 52 73 78 78 68 74 63 56 65 86

Kendrick is a great receiver coming from the tight end position, and is a pretty good run blocker. He's the best player on the team and we expect to put him to heavy use in the passing game again. I like using my backs and tight ends as often as my WRs, espicially in the power running game I want to use in this system here at Rio.

#89 Billy Hill - So (RS)
6'4" 257 lbs
OV SP ST AW AG AC CT CA BT PB RB SA
69 70 67 59 73 71 64 61 67 49 55 77

Hill is actually a decent pass catching tight end, but not much of a blocker. He's a legit receiving option when Kendrick needs a breather though, and in double tight end/goal line sets.

Radii

08-16-2003, 12:30 PM

2007 Roster: Tackle - Grade C+

#78 Kevin Jeromin - Jr - LT
6'4" 352 lbs
6 pancakes, 2 sacks allowed
OV ST AW PB RB SA
76 87 47 82 80 68

Jeromin looks like a very solid starter on the left side of the line.

#73 Omari Barry - Jr - LT
6'6" 295 lbs
13 pancakes, 4 sacks allowed
OV ST AW PB RB SA
69 78 57 76 69 74

Barry appeared to start over Jeromin last year and I have no idea why... it won't happen on my watch! (perhaps he was forced to the right side though, I forget what my depth was like last year)

#76 Josh Geathers - Fr - RT
6'3" 344 lbs
OV ST AW PB RB SA
68 83 40 69 83 74

Geathers looks like he will be a great run blocker, and will hopefully be adequate at stopping the pass rush. Likely a 4 year starter, and hopefully after a year on the field this year he'll show some solid improvement.

2007 Roster: Guard - Grade C

#70 Chris Horton - Jr - RG
6'3" 283 lbs
25 pancakes, 9 sacks allowed
OV ST AW PB RB SA
73 73 59 70 74 67

He's good, but not great, at all facets of playing the o-line... He'll be out starter this year.

#77 Frederick Ashley - So (RS) - RG
6'4" 295 lbs
OV ST AW PB RB SA
71 77 54 74 75 67

Ashley could get a fair amount of playing time here... I actuallly wouldn't mind platooning these two guys so we always have someone fresh at the right guard spot.

#75 Jonathan Ricks - So - LG
6'4" 314 lbs
17 pancakes, 7 sacks allowed
OV ST AW PB RB SA
70 81 46 69 75 72

Definitely weaker than what we've got on the right side, and I wonder if Ashley couldn't actually start on the left side with some success.

#69 Cal Ali - Fr - RG Redshirting
6'5" 319 lbs
OV ST AW PB RB SA
66 78 47 68 74 58

Ali doesn't offer anything that Ricks and Ashley wouldn't, and we have gotten by with 3 guards before... we're gonna redshirt Ali unless there's an injury.

2007 Roster: Center - Grade C

#65 Nate Lewis - Fr - C
6'3" 262 lbs
OV ST AW PB RB SA
69 67 44 73 84 73

Lewis will be our weakest overall starter, but, he looks like he can hold his own run blocking, and we like to see that.

#68 Jakari Kelly - So - C
5'11" 263 lbs
2 pancakes, 0 sacks allowed
OV ST AW PB RB SA
65 73 42 79 71 65

Kelly can pass block and he has some strength on Lewis, but Rio is a team based on the run so we have to start Lewis and his 84 run blocking unless he just can't hold up for some reason.

Radii

08-16-2003, 12:36 PM

2007 Roster: Defensive End - Grade C

#91 Chris Underwood - Sr - RE
6'4" 275 lbs
54 tackles, 4 sacks, 2 FF, 1 FR
OV SP ST AW AG AC TK SA
70 60 67 60 57 54 63 82

Underwood is kinda slow I think, but he's the best I've got, I'm not sure why our ends earned a C rating, this seems to be one of our weakest positions.

#95 Ray Durham - Sr - RE
6'3" 264 lbs
57 tackles, 4 sacks, 0 FF, 1 FR
OV SP ST AW AG AC TK SA
70 60 62 55 62 61 67 69

Durham looks pretty average too, he may actually start over on the left side though... we've got two seniors graduating here after the season, so we are in a bit of trouble on the Ends for a year or two to come I bet.

#99 Kurt McLaurin - Jr - LE
6'2" 248 lbs
61 tackles, 8 sacks, 0 FF, 0 FR
OV SP ST AW AG AC TK SA
66 59 66 55 58 63 62 63

Another end that just seems kinda slow. None of these guys are really great tacklers either. This is going to be a problem for us I can see, and DE is probably going to be our top need position next year.

Radii

08-16-2003, 12:40 PM

2007 Roster: Defensive Tackle - Grade C

#83 Chuck Marshall - Jr
6'3" 261 lbs
34 tackles, 2 sacks, 0 FF, 0 FR
OV SP ST AW AG AC TK SA
74 58 70 66 65 61 71 73

Marshall looks to be our best D-lineman, he also is a bit slow but on the indside it doesn't matter as much. He can tackle better than anyone else at least.

#96 Ira Doss - Fr
6'1" 266 lbs
OV SP ST AW AG AC TK SA
70 50 73 46 47 50 80 68

Doss tackles a lot better than Marshall, I think we could turn this guy into one of the best players on the team with a redshirt year, but we just don't have the depth and talent to do it... Doss is likely a 4 year starter.

#94 Elton Morant - Fr
6'0" 242 lbs
OV SP ST AW AG AC TK SA
62 52 65 46 50 56 63 69

Ick.

#90 David Harrell - Fr
6'0" 277 lbs
OV SP ST AW AG AC TK SA
59 52 69 38 51 51 56 63

Double ick.

Radii

08-16-2003, 12:45 PM

2007 Roster: Outside Linebacker - Grade C

#53 Rudy Jones - Sr - ROLB
6'3" 226 lbs
104 tackles, 1 sacks, 3 int, 0 FF, 2 FR
OV SP ST AW AG AC CT TK SA
75 71 64 56 73 77 55 70 82

Not bad at all, I need better tacklers on this team but hey, Jones got 104 of them last year so his 70 must not be too horrid.

#56 Jovan Richard - Jr - LOLB
6'2" 224 lbs
71 tackles, 7 sacks, 0 int, 3 FF, 0 FR
OV SP ST AW AG AC CT TK SA
71 66 65 58 62 72 56 70 72

Not as good as Jones, but a decent coutnerpart on the left side...

#50 Shane Quinn - Fr - LOLB
6'2" 212 lbs
OV SP ST AW AG AC CT TK SA
61 62 59 46 70 70 46 62 81

We're going to need to bring in a solid recruit or two here so Quinn isn't force to go onto the football field very oftn in the future.

Radii

08-16-2003, 12:49 PM

2007 Roster: Middle Linebacker - Grade C-

#41 Travis Winston - So
6'5" 243 lbs
56 tackles, 1 sacks, 0 int, 1 FF, 0 FR
OV SP ST AW AG AC CT TK SA
71 70 66 59 69 72 47 74 85

Winston improved a lot going into his second year and will start in my 4-3 defense, we hope to see his numbers improve and to have Winston hold down the middle for 3 more years.

#48 Micky Browning - Jr
6'2" 233 lbs
30 tackles, 0 sacks, 0 int, 0 FF, 0 FR
OV SP ST AW AG AC CT TK SA
62 63 57 60 62 62 55 64 71

See above about Winston being my starter for the next 3 years...

#31 Grant Miller - Jr (RS)
6'0" 245 lbs
OV SP ST AW AG AC CT TK SA
57 61 48 61 59 63 41 62 81

We hope Miller doesn't have to play.

Radii

08-16-2003, 12:58 PM

2007 Roster: Cornerback - Grade C

#25 Gino Thomas - Jr
5'11" 177 lbs
43 tackles, 0 sacks, 1 int, 0 FF, 1 FR
OV SP ST AW AG AC CT JM TK SA
74 80 39 61 78 76 62 76 52 75

Thomas is my best corner, his 80 speed won't be enough to hang with all of our opponents' top WRs, but it'll be enough in most cases hopefully.

#7 Dallas Holman - Jr
5'10" 164 lbs
52 tackles, 0 sacks, 4 int, 0 FF, 2 FR
OV SP ST AW AG AC CT JM TK SA
72 85 36 47 82 84 64 73 38 73

Ah Holman has the speed we want... His awareness is bad and that will probably hurt him in coverage some, but on this team he'll be playing every down.

#5 Omar Hardy - So (RS)
6'0" 163 lbs
19 tackles, 0 sacks, 0 int, 1 FF, 0 FR
OV SP ST AW AG AC CT JM TK SA
71 78 44 54 74 82 53 83 60 78

Hardy isn't bad for a 3rd corner at all, he'll see his time on the field in passing situations.

#1 Tayshaun Lindsay - Fr Redshirting
6'0" 181 lbs
OV SP ST AW AG AC CT JM TK SA
68 79 42 49 85 79 52 82 40 70

Lindsay would be perfectly acceptable as a #4 corner right now, but we hope a redshirt year can bump him up to the talent needed to start when my Juniors graduate after next year...

#46 Demetric Potts - Sr (RS)
5'8" 175 lbs
OV SP ST AW AG AC CT JM TK SA
64 68 39 72 67 69 51 66 44 74

He'll be on the field some, and it'll be a liability.

Radii

08-16-2003, 01:06 PM

2007 Roster: Free Safety - Grade C+

#21 JR Ball - Sr
6'3" 178 lbs
35 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 int, 0 FF, 0 FR
OV SP ST AW AG AC CT JM TK SA
71 81 44 59 87 74 52 77 59 80

Ball has played a fair amount every year and will start this season as well. He's about average for the guys starting on my team this year.

#4 Pierre Brown - So - Redshirting
6'1" 222 lbs
15 tackles, 1 sacks, 0 int, 0 FF, 0 FR
OV SP ST AW AG AC CT JM TK SA
71 82 59 43 82 90 53 83 62 82

Brown is going to be in great position to take over the starting job when Ball graduates after this year. He could possibly start right now but with a decent guy in Ball already I want to give brown the chance to be a very good 3 year starter.

Radii

08-16-2003, 01:12 PM

2007 Roster: Strong Safety - Grade C

#29 Shane Quinn - Sr
6'1" 202 lbs
27 tackles, 0 sacks, 1 int, 0 FF, 0 FR
OV SP ST AW AG AC CT JM TK SA
77 80 64 63 83 80 57 86 67 91

Quinn is easily my best player in the secondary. And yes, I have two guys named Shane Quinn on the roster.

#20 Jose McLaughlin - Sr Redshirting
6'1" 197 lbs
5 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 int, 0 FF, 0 FR
OV SP ST AW AG AC CT JM TK SA
65 74 55 59 79 72 52 83 54 75

Jose hopefully won't have to start next year, but I redshirt him to give me some insurance in case I can't recruit anyone better in the offseason.

#24 Adrian Bray - Fr
6'1" 199 lbs
OV SP ST AW AG AC CT JM TK SA
56 78 54 40 75 72 48 78 54 72

A complete waste of space.

Radii

08-16-2003, 01:16 PM

2007 Roster: Kicker - Grade C-

#40 Kirk Hester - So
6'1" 226 lbs
11-22 FG, 25-26 XP
OV AW KP KA
61 57 79 70

Hester leaves a lot to be desired, I continue to try to replace him with my recruiting efforts but haven't been able to lure a kicker to Rio yet.

2007 Roster: Punter - Grade C-

#18 Kendall Palmer - So (RS)
6'0" 183 lbs
69 punts, 3053 yards (44.2 avt)
OV AW KP KA
70 57 84 79

Not bad at all, he'll hang around for a couple more years.

Radii

08-16-2003, 01:26 PM

We don't really know where this team stands, we expect something in the 4-8 range, but really I haven't played NCAA too much so I might struggle some... we shall see.

Preseason

SI Cover:
OLB Khaleed Madison, Virginia Tech (Sr)
It's that time...
Madison will be a household name by sesaon's end.

Preseason Top 25
Building the Buzz: #3 Rams expect to have a great 2007 campaign
1. Virginia Tech
2. Oklahoma
3. Colorado State
4. Notre Dame
5. Texas
6. Michigan
7. NC State
8. USC
9. Ohio State
10. Tennessee
11. Wisconsin
12. Maryland
13. Auburn
14. Nebraska
15. Miami
16. Alabama
17. Oregon State
18. Oregon
19. Louisville
20. Iowa
21. Texas A&M
22. Air Force
23. Oklahoma State
24. Stanford
25. Arkansas
113. Rio

We're not ranked last!

Heisman Watch
Preseason Hopeful: Colorado State's Hansen has big hands to go along with a big heart
HB Rufus Upton (Jr), Air Force
HB HB #32 (Sr-RS), LSU
WR Clifton Hansen (Sr), Colorado State
HB Sydney Pears (Jr-RS), Ohio State
HB Tim Burgess (Jr), Colorado State

Radii

08-16-2003, 02:56 PM

Week 1 - August 25th, 2007

#1 Virginia Tech beats #18 Oregon 31-7
#10 Tennessee annihilates #21 Texas A&M 40-17

SI Cover:
QB, Tennessee
Volunteers Win Opener
Tennessee wins season opener vs #21 Texas A&M

Top 10:
Flattened: Oregon falls to 0-1 following a flat effort on both sides of the ball
1. Virginia Tech (38) (1-0): W 31-7 Oregon
2. Oklahoma (21) (0-0): BYE
3. Colorado State (0-0) : BYE
4. Notre Dame (0-0): BYE
5. Texas (0-0): BYE
6. Michigan (0-0): BYE
7. NC State (0-0): BYE
8. USC (0-0): BYE
9. Ohio State (0-0): BYE
10. Tennessee (1-0): W 40-17 Texas A&M

Radii

08-17-2003, 10:36 AM

Week #2 - September 1st, 2007

#111 Rio (0-0) at #108 Wyoming (0-0)

I'm going to try 7 minute quarters here, on All-American difficulty.

Game Preview:
Wyoming (0-0)
Overall: C
Offense: C-
Defense: C+
Special Teams: C+

Key Players:
OLB B Wallace (78 OVR)
DE C Barry (77 OVR)
FS R Blake (75 OVR)

We are C+ across the board.
We battle back and forth for the 1st quarter, our defense is solid against Wyoming. We're able to run the ball a little and are really just running a ton. Finally with 22 seconds left in the first quarter after about 5 runs in a row, we run a play action pass, catch our TE Kendrick open crossing over the middle, he breaks two tackles and goes 51 yards for a TD! 7-0 Rio

We're getting it back after a Wyoming 3 and out, and the quarter ends.

7-0 Rio end of 1

We get another great drive going, Teague is a great running back, and he's been able to break 3 or 4 carries around the ends and pick up solid 10 yard gains. A couple of solid passes to Wise and Person, and then a 14 yard strike into the end zone to Wise makes it 14-0 Rio!

Wyoming drives easily down the field, a few graet play action passes(oh man my defense bit HARD on those... low awareness right?) and it's 14-7 Rio with 2:47 left in the half.

We put together a nice drive, but we aren't able to get it in the end zone, we're going into the half...

14-7 Rio, halftime

Our offense is really clicking, we got 70 yards in that last drive befoer the half where we couldn't score, and two solid drives on our first two touchdowns... 214 total yards to 108. Amazingly I'm 11-11 passing. Teague has 50 yards rushing also. Kendrick is the man receiving, as I really expect him to be(I love my TE in these games), 4 catches for 80 yards so far, Wise and Person each have made two solid catches too though for about 40 yards each.

After shanking a punt horribly(10 yard punt... I missed the target and the wind was blowing 20 mph to the sideline) Wyoming goes in for a quick 33 yard score... 14-14 with 3:21 to go in the 3rd.

We've got a very nice drive going, and it carries into the 4th...

14-14 after 3 quarters

We drive down field, using up 4 minutes, getting a 1st and goal on the Cowboy 7. We can't move the ball though, and then amazingly, the 18 mph wind + another shank pushes the field goal wide.. 14-14 with 6:21 to go in the game.

Wyoming has to go 3 and out, we get a huge return on the punt and start at the Wyoming 35. We drive down to the 11, but stall, its 4th and 1 and we're going for it. 3rd down back Avery takes the handoff, has a big hole, and is hit at the 1 yard line... fumble! Wyoming recovers in the end zone... 3:41 to go and we need another stop here.

it happens! Junior CB Gino Thomas intercepts the first pass, and takes it to the house! It's 21-14 Rio! 3:30 to go.

With the help of a holding penalty, we get the ball back on our own 40 with 1:38 to go... they got stuck with a 1st and 20 and couldn't go anywhere. Wyoming has all 3 timeouts so we need a 1st down.,

Teague goes nowhere on the first two carries, but FB Bellamy finds a hole to get the first down! We easily run out the clock after that.

W 21-14

Andy Marshall has an amazing performance, 16-20 for 245 yards and 2 TDs.

Brock Teague racks up 83 yards on 22 carries.

Seneca Person has a great first game as a freshman with 5 catches for 75 yards, but he is outdone by Rusty Kendrick who caught 5 passes for 99 yards.

We open up with a road win, albeit against the 108th ranked team in the country...

Radii

08-17-2003, 05:05 PM

Week 2 Recap

SI Cover:
Oklahoma State coach
Power Outage
#21 Oklahoma State loses in a defensive battle with Nebraska

Top 10
Sour Start: Ohio State's high hopes are dismantled on opening weekend
1. Oklahoma (38) (1-0): W 51-13 New Mexico State
2. Colorado State (1-0): W 36-28 Colorado
3. USC (1-0): W 24-13 Virginia Tech
4. Notre Dame (1-0): W 52-10 Indiana
5. Texas (1-0): W 49-6 Middle Tennessee State
6. Michigan (1-0): W 48-20 E. Michigan
7. NC State (1-0): W 38-14 Arkansas
8. Virginia Tech (1-1): L 13-24 USC
9. Tennessee (2-0): W 36-14 Memphis
10. Wisconsin (1-0): W 41-17 SMU

Dropped from Top 10:

Ohio State (major upset vs New Mexico)

Heisman Watch
Hansen's Heisman candidacy is in full force in Fort Collins
HB Rufus Upton (Jr), Air Force - 22 carries, 115 yards
HB HB #32 (Sr-RS), LSU, 22 carries, 113 yards, 2 TD
WR Clifton Hansen (Sr), Colorado State, 1 catch-9 yards, 1 TD
HB Sydney Pears (Jr-RS), Ohio State - 27 carries, 105 yards, 1 TD
WR WR #9 (Sr-RS), Tennessee, 7 rec, 206 yards, 2 TD

Players of the Week
HB Clint Tubbs (Jr-RS), Maryland: 23 carries-220 yards, 1 TD/5 rec-67 yards, 2 TD
RE RE #92 (Sr-RS), Arizona State: 9 tackles(3 TFL), 2 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 2 fumbles recovered

Week #3 Preview

Not a single matchup between two ranked teams.

Game of the week: #4 Notre Dame(1-0) at Purdue

Radii

08-17-2003, 07:42 PM

Week #3 - September 8st, 2007

#68 Syracuse (0-1) at #111 Rio (0-0)

This will certainly tell us a lot more about our team than the Wyoming game did.

Game Preview:
Syracuse (0-1)
Overall: B
Offense: B-
Defense: B-
Special Teams: A-

Key Players:
QB G Jones (78 OVR)
HB D Sutton (78 OVR)
K #17 (92 OVR)

We are C+ across the board.

I am thinking that we might be able to slow down their offense a little, but their defense is going to crush
us. Their secondary is only average, and their #2 corner is only rated 74 so we may have to try to target
him as much as possible... their linebackers and D-line are so much better than anything we've got to throw at
them.

Rio gets the ball to open the game. We go 3 and out, shank a punt, Syracuse drives down to our 20, but on 3rd
and 11 a pass into the end zone is intercepted by JR Ball! :)

We are able to move the ball a little so we feel good about our chnces of just keeping this close. We get far
enough to push Syracuse back inside their own 30 on our punt with 1:30 left in the quarter.

0-0 Rio end of 1

However, Syracuse is driving again. It looks like Syracuse is going to score, but they run an option near our
goal line and the QB tries to pitch it at the last second... he gets hammered and drops the ball, and JR Ball
picks it up and runs it all the way down to the Syracuse 30!

A big scramble by Marshall on 3rd and 11 earns us a first down, then on 3rd and 11 we catch Kendrick coming
accross the field, he has the speed to go by his man, and dives past two men into the end zone! (I love the
diving animation/realism when trying to sneak into the end zone). 7-0 Rio

We get one more shot before the half, but end up with a 4th down at their 33, and we just don't have the leg
on our kicker to kick a 50 yarder.

7-0 Rio, halftime

I'm certainly happy with the outcome so far. Syracuse just hasn't been able to throw the ball against us, and
that's really the story.

They've run 12 times for 48 yards, to our 13 rushes for 16 yards(we can't run on them at all). They've only
completed 2-8 passes though, to our 7-11... we're keeping our drives going a little longer, and giving
ourselves a little more chances to make the big plays.

The 2-0 turnover margin is huge as well, obviously.

After making a 4th and 1, a syracuse drive stalls at our 35, they try to hit the 52 yard field goal but come
up short.

Lots of punting and no one really threatens in the 3rd.

7-0 Rio after 3 quarters

Teague gets his first good run of the day, an 11 yard gain on 2nd and 10. After that Marshall hits Kendrick
for a huge 35 yard pass... can we really beat Syracuse?

On a play action pass on 3rd and four we have Person wide open on the 4 yard line, and he drops the ball! Our
kicker sucks and a 41 yard field goal goes way off to the right and a little short, and we let Syracuse stay
within 1 score.

On their next drive Syracuse completes a pass to get it into our territory but can't move it past our 45 yard
line... we're going to get it back with 4 minutes to go in the game, at the 20 as the ball sails into the end
zone on the punt.

We get stuck with a 3rd and 11, but a dumpoff to Brock Teague and he takes it for the first down, breakign 2
tacklse on the way! Two more solid runs give us anothr first down and we have a chance to put this away
without the Cuse ever touching the ball again. 1:47 to go, 1st and 10 from our own 46, Syracuse is down to 2
timeouts.

On 3rd and 10, Syracuse has 1 timeout left, we try for the first down through the air to put this one away.
We get the first on antoher dumpoff to Teague, but, we're holding on the play. We end up punting and Syracuse
now has 68 yards or so to go in about 50 seconds...

A completion and it's now 50 yards to go in 34 seconds. They spike the ball, complete a 9 yard pass, and then
throw an incompletion on a deep out pass... 4th and 1 from the Grandes 45 with 15 seconds to go. They run it
on 4th and 1 and get the first, but now just have 11 seconds to go. On first down the pass is completed down
to the Grandes 25, but the receiver coughs it up when he gets hit! The Grandes recover it and win the game!!

W 7-0

BoxScore
<PRE>

Syracuse Rio
First Downs 11 9
Total Offense 205 169
Rushes-Yards 23-68 27-59
Comp/Att/TD 9/25/0 9/17/1
Passing Yards 137 110
Sackes 0 1
3rd Downs 3-11 5-12
Turnovers 3 0
Posession 11:25 16:35

Passing

Rio:
Andy Marshall 9-17 110 yards/1 TD/0 INT

Syracuse:
Gary Jones 9-25 137 yards/0 TD/1 INT

Rushing
Rio:
Brock Teague 18-40 yards
LaBron Avery 4-10 yards
Brent Johnson 1-7 yards
Tyrone Bellamy 2-2 yards
Andy Marshall 2-0 yards

Syracuse:
QB Gary Jones 5-28 yards
HB Derrick Sutton 16-25 yards
FB Gene Rollins 2-15 yards

Receiving

Rio:
TE Rusty Kendrick 4-65 yards/1 TD
HB Brock Teague 2-24 yards
WR Seneca Person 2-16 yards

Syracuse:
TE Lumpkin 5-77 yards

Defense
Rio:
SS Quinn 6 tackles
OLB Rudy Jones 4 tackles
FS JR Ball 4 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 INT, 1 fumble recovery

Syracuse:
SS Garrison 6 tackles, 3 TFL
OLB Hilliard 5 tackles
DE Carpenter 1 sack
</PRE>

We shut down Syracuse pretty easily... I mean,3 turnovers, but we really held them down, even without the
turnovers we're only looking at 10-7 or 14-7. But I'm not ready to say this is too easy just yet.

Radii

08-17-2003, 07:57 PM

Week 2 Recap

SI Cover:
Purdue WR
Great Escape
Notre Dame survives a major scare against the rival Boilermakers

Top 10
No Place Like Home? Iowa is still shaken following a home loss to Hawaii
1. Oklahoma (31) (2-0): W 26-14 Miami (Ohio)
2. Colorado State(27) (2-0): W 26-10 Georgia Tech
3. USC (2-0) (1): W 55-13 Duke
4. Notre Dame (2-0): W 27-24 Purdue
5. Texas (2-0): W 34-13 Minnesotda
6. Michigan (2-0): W 32-18 Bowling Green
7. NC State (2-0): W 41-9 Wake Forest
8. Virginia Tech (2-1): W 45-28 Clemson
9. Tennessee (3-0): W 52-14 Tulsa
10. Wisconsin (2-0): W 34-29 Cincinnati

Dropped from Top 10:

None

Heisman Watch
The Early Favorite! Tennessee's WR #9 has big hands to go along with his big heart
HB Rufus Upton (Jr), Air Force - 46 carries, 249 yards, 3 RD, 21 Rec yards
HB HB #32 (Sr-RS), LSU, 47 carries, 283 yards, 3 TD, 6 Rec, 63 yards, 1 TD
WR Clifton Hansen (Sr), Colorado State, 5 catch-85 yards, 3 TD
WR WR #9 (Sr-RS), Tennessee, 11 rec, 256 yards, 3 TD
HB Clint Tubbs (Jr-RS), Maryland, 55 carries, 393 yards, 4 TD, 5 rec, 67 Yards, 2 TD

Players of the Week
QB Wayne Lee (Jr), Marshall: 30-45, 452 Yards, 5 TD, 11 carries, 42 yards
CB Angelo McGowan (So-RS), Alabama: 7 tackles, 1 force fumble, 1 INT, 1 TD

Week #3 Preview

Game of the week:
#9 Tennessee(3-0) at #2 Colorado State (2-0)

Other Noteworthy Matchups:
#13 Nebraska (2-0) at #16 Louisville (1-0)

Both of those are big games, the national game of the week has very serious national title implications.

We're hosting North Carolina next week.

tucker342

08-19-2003, 12:20 AM

Hey!! Great win!:D

Radii

08-19-2003, 09:08 AM

Thanks tucker! :) My concerns about this being too easy for a struggling/rebuilding team are gone though, I struggled against N Carolina a lot, I need to update this with that game tonight before I head out for vacation.

Radii

08-26-2003, 11:26 PM

Week #3 - September 8th, 2007

#56 North Carolina (1-1) at #73 Rio (2-0)

This will certainly tell us a lot more about our team than the Wyoming game did.

Game Preview:
North Carolina (1-1)
Overall: B-
Offense: C+
Defense: C+
Special Teams: B+

Key Players:
QB S Jordan (73 OVR)
HB L Eldridge (78 OVR)
OLB K Denniss (74 OVR)

We are C+ across the board.

They are as thoroughly average as we are, and I feel the Grandes have a very good shot at winning this game.

The first quarter is exceptionally dull. UNC comes out almost entirely in shotgun formations and we have to go
with a nickel package every down.

0-0 end of 1

The second quarter starts with JR Ball making an interception near midfield! Rio starts with the ball at our
own 48. We just haven't been able to get Teague going yet so far... what little offense we have is running
through Person and Kendrick.

We actually move the ball some this time, converting two big 3rd downs, on a pass to Person, and then a
scramble by Marshall...

Our FB Bellamy breaks a huge 28 yard run out of the wishbone set, and we're at the 1 yard line! Teague pounds
it into the end zone and it's 7-0 Rio, with 4:14 to go in the half.

UNC starts its next drive with a big pass play, but after the one play, two straight sacks and an incompletion
put UNC out of field goal range and they punt it away to us.

Its back and forth until UNC gets the ball with 1:30 to go... they put together a great drive down the field,
and have a 3rd and 1 from our 14. They snap the ball, and the pass is incomplete, so it looks like we'er
going to hold them to 3, but, we were offsides.. I'm fuming as UNC gets a free first down, and they put it in
the end zone with 4 seconds to go in the half.

7-7 halftime

UNC has 140 yards to our 92, but over 70 of theirs came on one drive... we're trying to run the ball and if we
ever get that going(3 yards per carry now) we'll run UNC off the field, but we are going to have to get it
going soon. I think I'm switching to 9 minute quarters next game.

We move the ball well on our first drive, but stall near the red zone. A 32 yard FG is good though, and we
put together a nice 12 play 65 yard drive that eats up the first half of the 3rd quarter. 10-7 Rio

UNC is ripping my cover 2 apart, and they're inside the Rio 30, when a tipped pass is intercepted by Quinn, a
great shoestring grab! Unfortunately on our first 3rd down, Marshall is hit hard as he throws and the ball
goes sailing way off target and is easily intercepted right back...

After a complete pass, UNC takes it on the option, we collapse on the QB, and when he pitches it to Eldridge,
the UNC star HB, there's nothing but daylight... 14-10 UNC That was 3 plays, 33 yards, 33 seconds on
the drive.

Things start to fall apart a little... a bad pass after scrambling on 3rd and 10 leads to an interception, and
this one is returned to the house. 10-21 UNC

These guys have really started to shut us down... 3 and out, and that's how the 3rd quarter ends.

21-10 North Carolina after 3 quarters

A 20+ yard run by Eldridge sets up UNC inside our 10 yard line... they stall though on the 2, and kick a field
goal to make it 10-24.

We just can't move the ball... 3 and out and punt. North carolina's punt returner fumbles the punt! And Rio
has it! We're on their 36 yard line with 4:21 to go in the game, and this might be the break we needed.

OHARRRrrrrrrrrrrrhggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhh. 3rd and 6, Person is wide open over the middle on a cross, and
he drops the ball!!!! that would have been a 12 or 13 yard gain. We have to go for it here... 4th and 6 from
the 32, and amazingly, Kendrick is open just past the marker and drops his pass! We turn it over and may well
have lost the game right there.

We do force a 3 and out, its our ball again on our own 40, with 3:30 to go.

Finally, some breaks go our way! Marshall completes a 3rd and long to Wise for 34 yards, and after another
pass play or two, hits our backup HB Avery with a little floater, Avery breaks a tackle and gets into the end
zone! 17-24 with exactly 2 minutes to go, so we aren't out of this thing yet!

UNC comes out in a goal line formation... apparently they just want us to waste our time outs. Their strategy
works. They gain 2 yards, and we burn 3 timeouts, afer a nice bug(?) on a penalty that keeps the clock moving
so we can't stop it every play. Offensive penalty too.

We start on our own 40, with 1:15 to go.

This could be the worst ending imaginable. Not only do we throw an interception to end the game, Rusty
Kendrick goes down with a shoulder injury on 2nd down...

We find otu before the final seconds though, that he isn't hurt long term.

L 17-24

BoxScore
<PRE>

N Carolina Rio
First Downs 13 12
Total Offense 265 225
Rushes-Yards 16-51 24-13 (we got sacked a lot)Comp/Att/TD 16/32/1 15/37/1
Passing Yards 214 212
Sacked 2 5
3rd Downs 4-10 5-16
Turnovers 4 3
Posession 10:47 17:13

Passing

Rio:
Andy Marshall 15-37 212 yards/1 TD/3 INT

N Carolina:
Scooter Jordan 16-32 214 yards/1 TD/2 INT

Rushing
Rio:
Brock Teague 14-29 yards, 1 TD
Tyrone Bellamy 1-28 yards
Andy Marshall 8- (-50) yards (told you we got sacked a lot

N Carolina:
HB Leon Eldridge 6-54 yards, 1 TD

Receiving

Rio:
TE Rusty Kendrick 6-52 yards
WR Seneca Person 3-44 yards
HB LaBron Avery 3-57 yards 1 TD
Dwight Wise 2-53 yards
Brock Teague 1-6 yards

N Carolina:
WR Gerard Chester 5-57 yards
WR #81 3-48 yards
WR Duston Rivers 3-28 yards

Defense
Rio:
CB Gino Thomas 6 tackles
SS Quinn 4 tackles, 1 INT
FS JR Ball 2 tackles, 1 INT

N Carolina:
SS Charles Gamble 8 tackles
FS Antwaun Fraser 5 tackles
</PRE>

Without the turnovers or the INTs we were the better team, though they were both directly due to the pressure
put on Marshall...

Radii

08-27-2003, 03:17 AM

Week 4 Recap

SI Cover:
UL Lafayette QB?
Tough Loss
Wisconsin is stunned in a nailbiter to UL Lafayette

Top 10
Cardiac Arrest! #10 Wisconsin couldn't keep the opportunistic Ragin' Cajuns from pulling hte upset
1. Oklahoma (30) (3-0): W 48-24 Indiana
2. Colorado State(25) (3-0): W 31-16 #9 Tennessee
3. USC (3-0) (3): W 56-6 Purdue
4. Notre Dame (3-0) (1): W 35-21 Texas A&M
5. Texas (3-0): W 55-33 Washington State
6. Michigan (3-0): W 31-24 Kentucky
7. NC State (3-0): W 45-10 Temple
8. Virginia Tech (3-1): W 63-17 Kansas
9. Maryland (3-0): W 52-45 San Diego State
10. Auburn (3-0): W 19-3 Vanderbilt

Dropped from Top 10:
#9 Tennessee (loss at #2 Colorado State)
#10 Wisconsin (loss vs UL Layfayette)

Other Noteworthy games:

#13 Nebraska 37
#16 Louisville 19

Heisman Watch
Rolling along: Hansen has put up some impressive numbers being in the national spotlight
HB Rufus Upton (Jr), Air Force - 72 carries, 392 yards, 21 Rec yards, 6 total TDs
HB HB #33 (Sr-RS), Stanford - 1276 all purpose yards, 6 TDs
HB HB #32 (Sr-RS), LSU, 73 carries, 457 yards, 4 TD, 9 Rec, 110 yards, 1 TD
WR WR #9 (Sr-RS), Tennessee, 19 rec, 388 yards, 3 TD
WR Clifton Hansen (Sr), Colorado State, 8 catch-153 yards, 4 TD

Players of the Week
HB BJ Odom (Sr), Texas: 28 carries, 178 yards, TD, 5 rec, 104 yards, 3 TD
MLB Alex Moore (Jr), Va Tech: 3 tackles(1 TFL), 1 sack, 1 TD

Week #5 Preview

Game of the week:
#2 Colorado State (3-0) at #16 Oregon (3-1)

Other Noteworthy Matchups:
#10 Auburn (3-0) at #24 Virginia (3-0)

Colorado State is playing some serious competition this year.

We host 1-2 Middle Tennessee State next week.

Radii

08-28-2003, 12:14 AM

I'm upping the game length to 9 minutes here, based on previous results it seems like that might yield the most realistic results for me.

Week #5 - September 22nd, 2007

#89 Mid Tennessee State(1-2) at #79 Rio (2-1)

We look like we're vfavored here

Game Preview:
Middle Tennessee State (1-2)
Overall: C+
Offense: C+
Defense: C+
Special Teams: C+

Key Players:
HB Branch (76 OVR)
MLB Barker (72 OVR)
DE Williams (68 OVR)

Their WRs worry me more than this stuff... 3 WRs rated 76-78, so they can attack evenly from anywhere.

Each team goes 3 and out before Bellamy gives me a first down on a 12 yard carry. Then Marshall finds
Kendrick open on a play aaction pass for about 35 yards, but he fumbles! MTSU returns the fumble about 35
yards... they start on our 45 with 5:30 left in the first. MTSU is showing us a lot of option early, and
we're not having any trouble stopping it through their first 6 downs.

Late in the first disaster strikes again for the Grandes. We've got 3rd and 7 from the MTSU 30 yard line, and Bellamy coughs it up, MTSU recovers, that's Rio's second turnover in the first 9 minutes.

0-0 end of 1

On the first play of the second quarter we get it back as Thomas makes an interception! It's Rio's ball on the MTSU 36 yard line.

We're only able to get 5 yards on the first 3 plays... but we don't have crap for a kicker and I'm not punting from the 32, so we go for it on 4th and 5. Marshall ends up scrambling and picks up about 9 yards for the first down. On our next 3rd down backup HB Avery drops a wide open pass... we kick the 36 yard field goal and barely clear the uprights for a 3-0 Rio lead. 6:25 left in the half.

A sack forces MTSU into a 3rd and long, and our cover 2 must be suprising them... Thomas picks off his second pass of the day! This one he returns nicely, down to the MTSU 10 yard line... 1st and goal!

On our first play from scrimmage, it looks like Person is going to get a hard earned touchdown on a cross patter, he's wide open, but freshman WR Glenn Little comes underneath him from the other direction and takes the pass instead(weird seeing that happen...) and he scoots into the end zone! 10-0 Rio 6:01 left in the half.

A veeery strange play after the kickoff... DT Doss gets to MTSU's QB on a pass play, hits him from behind, the ball squirts into the air, Thomas picks it off! But, he's hit right as he gains posession of it, and fumbles, a MTSU lineman falls on the ball and it's like the play never happened... except for each team adds a turnover to the tally, espicially signifigant as Gino Thomas now has 3 INTs...

We hit their QB on the next two plays in a row, and put him out for the game... MTSU's backup QB is very mediocre, 56 rating compared to 78 for the starter. Of course, he comes in and fires a bomb into double coverage from the 35 yard line... 10-7 Rio 4:57 in the half left.

Most of my defense looked tired, a nice long drive would be nice here.

It's not to be though, Teague fumbles on the first run from scrimmage... MTSU is in our red zone. That's a quick 3 and out but they were alerady in field goal range... 10-10 4:00 left in the half.

We go 3 and out, MTSU scores in 3 plays... a nice play action pass, Gino Thomas broke for the INT, missed, and that was that. 17-10 MTSU 2:42 in the half.

It's ugly, and its halftime.

17-19 MTSU halftime

Other than two big plays by MTSU we're really in control here... but, we must get turnovers under control.. . We're running the ball a bit, 47 yards on the ground, to 123 through the air. We've made 4 interceptions, but thrown one of our own, and fumbled 3 times so the turnover battle is even. We have to get the fumblitis under control and we can win this.

Kendrick has 5 catches for 79 yards already, and if we can get the ball spread to our WRs a bit too we should put up some more offense.

MTSU goes 3 and out to start the 2nd half, they're 0-6 on 3rd downs now.

Teague finally breaks a run, 21 yards on a counter from the I, putting us inside MTSU territory on our first drive of the half. We push ahead until its 3rd and 5 from their 30... 2 down territory unfortunately, and Bellamy gets us the first 3 on third down. Avery pounds it ahead for the final 2 on 4th down, and we're on the move still! Play action pass to Person puts us inside the 10 on the next play! Two horrible plays (both sacks) put us at 4th and goal from the 23... 40 yards is about Hester's max range, and I kick it perfectly(whew)... 17-13 MTSU 3:33 left in the 3rd.

We get the ball back after just 1 first down by MTSU, but Marshall makes a very ill advised pass over the middle for Rio's 5th turnover of the day.. the 3rd quarter ends with MTSU trying to take advantage of the turnover, they're down to the Grandes 31.

17-13 MTSU after 3 quarters

A very nice run by MTSU's HB Branch sets up 1st and goal, and we feel pleased to hold them to a field goal. 20-13 MTSU 7:05 left in the game.

We open up with a 20 yard pass to Kendrick, but go no further than midfield and punt it back with 6:20 to go. A great punt pins MTSU on the 4 yard line, and they actually setup a screen, which works nicely for 9 yards... thought we might have had them there. Later in the drive we get them on 3rd and 10 from around their 25... they make a huge conversion for 35 yards. On the next play however, Gino Thomas is there AGAIN... his 5th interception!! he returns it all the way down to the MTSU 21 and we HAVE to get into the end zone now.

Nope, 3 and a field goal.. another 40 yarder just squeaked over the bar. 20-16 MTSU 3:35 left in the game.

We hold MTSU to a 3 and out and it's the Grande's ball with 2:25 to go in the game. We're starting on our own 48 yard line after a solid return.

After a 12 yard pass to Kendrick, and a huge sack, we catch them blitzing, and Marshall htis Person on a cross pattern, and Person goes 49 yards to the end zone!! 23-20 Rio 1:42 left.

The defense has been great so far in the 2nd half, just one more stop guys! They get two big completions though and with 1 minute to ogo are at the Rio 32 yard line. We put them on a 4th and 6 on our 32 yard line, and they have to go for it. This is the game right here... damn, 1st down MTSU. 46 seconds to go from the Rio 21. Another completion and they're at the 12 with 40 seconds left. Touchdown... 27-23 MTSU only 37 seconds left... we've got alll 3 time outs left.

We throw 4 straight incompletions, including one play where we had Wise in single coverage running a post pattern, I'm pretty sure it was a dropped ball, not due to the defense.

L 23-27

BoxScore
<PRE>

MTSU Rio
First Downs 13 14
Total Offense 328 286
Rushes-Yards 24-35 31-50 (we got sacked a lot)
Comp/Att/TD 22/40/3 13/35/2
Passing Yards 293 236
Sacked 5 5
3rd Downs 2-12 2-15
Turnovers 5 5
Posession 16:14 19:46

Passing

Rio:
Andy Marshall 13-35 236 yards/2 TD/2 INT

N Carolina:
Walter Leonard 17-29 250 yards/3 TD/2 INT
Roman Grady 5-11 43 yards/0 TD/3 INT

Rushing
Rio:
Brock Teague 14-48 yards, 1 TD
Tyrone Bellamy 4-21 yards
LaBron Avery 6-20 yards

N Carolina:
HB Kyle Branch 11-55 yards

Receiving

Rio:
TE Rusty Kendrick 7-115 yards
WR Seneca Person 2-65 yards 1 TD
Brock Teague 2-17 yards
Dwight Wise 1-29 yards 1 TD

N Carolina:
WR Anthony Slaughter 8-111 yards 1 TD (Slaughter really killed us down the stretch)
WR Isaac Palmer 4-73 yards 1 TD
TE Brandon Mathews 4-31 yards

Defense
Rio:
MLB Travis Winston 7 tackles, 1 INT
CB Gino Thomas 6 tackles, 4 INT
DE McLaurin 6 tackles, 3 TFL, 1 sack
</PRE>

Their 17 point run to end the first half killed us... we more than held our own the rest of the game, turnoevers and all.