FOFC-BBCF: The Utah Utes

[Groundhog]

Now that BBCF is in its finished state I decided to have my first proper go at running a school. Rather than doing it the sensible way and getting some experience offline, playing and recruiting against CPU opponents, I've decided to jump straight in to the multiplayer portion of the game, via the FOFC league (http://www.fofc-bbcf.com) run by Cartman, where I'll be taking over the Utah Utes of the Mount West conference.

Utah is coming off a 6-7 year and has some talent, so it will definately be interesting to see how many more losses I can add to that total this first season.

[Groundhog]

2008 Season

I joined the league too late to be able to set my coaching staff, recruiting service, and - perhaps worst of all - my off/def strategies.

My coaching staff is pretty woeful on both offense and defence, though my special teams coach is OK, so even if we don't score any TDs or stop anyone we can sleep easy knowing our punter will be in fine form.

Our recruiting service is the one I would have selected, being average at scouting the region I'm located in.

On offense we are, for better or worse, running the option. This is definately not what I would have selected, but it gives us the ability to run wingbacks on a number of formations which may not be such a bad thing for us as that is a strength.

On D we will be running a 3-4 which is exactly what I would have selected for this roster. We have some talented linebackers and DEs, but nothing much in the way of DTs.

Expectations

We are the preseason favourites in the Mount West, and looking at our roster I think that's probably fair. Any other coach in the nation could probably take out the conference with this squad. Unfortunately for Utah University, its athletics department, and its supporters, they are stuck with me.

[Groundhog]

Offense:

Note: all ratings are from the 'league scout', as opposed to the ratings from our team scouts.

QB:
Cur/Pot YR AS PA PT RN HD IN
*Raymond Aldridge 2.5/3.0 SR 10 13 12 10 4 10
#Eddie Mays 1.0/2.5 FR 7 7 9 14 9 12
Albert Saunders 1.5/2.5 FR 8 9 9 12 8 9
Freddie James 1.0/2.0 SO 9 10 11 5 3 7
Herman Maddox 1.0/1.0 JR 7 7 9 8 3 7

Key: AS = arm strength, PA = pass accuracy, PT = pass touch, RN = running, HD = hands, IN = instincts. * = starter last season. # = redshirting this season.

Aldridge has no real competition here, and easily maintains his starting spot. He's coming off a decent junior year (55.7%, 16-12 tds/int) and should be well suited to the mid-range passing game we are looking to run this year. If Aldridge goes down we are in a bit of trouble. James is our best passing option, but his lack of instincts, slow feet, and poor hands trouble me. Saunders can scramble a little, has average accuracy, better instincts, and will be QB #2 for me over James. Mays, a potentially great scrambler, will redshirt, and god help us if Maddox has to line up behind center.

RB:
Cur/Pot YR RN HD RR AC AG SP ST
Jeffrey Reynolds 3.5/5.0 SO 16 13 13 14 10 10 10
*Paul Green 3.5/4.5 SR 13 14 11 11 15 12 7
Isaac Nolan 2.5/4.5 FR 13 13 8 12 10 14 6
Christopher Lehman 2.5/3.0 SR 12 13 10 9 11 7 6
Thomas Richardson 1.5/3.0 SO 11 12 10 9 9 9 6
Kevin Blanchard 1.5/2.5 FR 12 10 8 6 10 8 5

Key: RN = running, HD = hands, RR = route running, AC = acceleration, AG = agility, SP = speed, ST = strength, * = starter last season, # = redshirting this season.

Well, we are well stocked here. Green started last season and did well, but Reynolds looks like a stud and will start the year, though I plan on sharing the carries. Nolan is too good to waste as a 3rd RB, but we don't want to risk him transferring because of a redshirt request, so we'll need to find him time. We will be using wingbacks in a decent percentage of our formations, so this will help get Green, Nolan and Lehman some time on the field. Still, it's not a terrible problem to have, and Richardson and Blanchard aren't so bad either should we ever need them.

FB:
Cur/Pot YR RN HD RR RB
Randolph Medina 3.0/3.5 JR 11 10 10 13
*Russell Smith 2.0/3.0 JR 11 11 8 14
Jim Glenn 1.0/2.0 JR 8 8 8 10

Key: RN = running, HD = hands, RR = route running, RB = run blocking, * = starter last season, # = redshirting this season.

Medina, a JuCo recruit, wins out, but it's close. Smith is a better run blocker, but Medina is stronger running routes, and the better athlete. Jim Glenn is only rated 1 overall higher than myself at playing the FB position.

WR:
Cur/Pot YR HD RR AC SP
*Robert Byrd 3.5/4.5 JR 15 16 12 12
*Elvis Baker 2.5/3.5 SR 13 13 9 10
Dewey Wilburn 2.5/3.5 FR 10 11 12 15
#Richard Chaffin 2.0/3.5 FR 11 12 10 13
John Newby 1.0/2.5 SO 9 9 8 9
Christopher Cook 1.0/2.0 SR 10 9 6 9
Steven Williams 1.0/1.5 SR 7 9 5 6

Key: HD = hands, RR = route running, AC = acceleration, SP = speed, * = starter last season, # = redshirting this season.

Byrd and Baker give us two experienced options at WR. Neither is particularily quick, but both don't drop a lot of passes, and won't be asked to gun down the field too often (hopefully). Wilburn has some quicks however, and will line up as our 3rd WR.

TE:
Cur/Pot YR HD RR PB RB
#James Evans 2.5/4.0 SO 14 13 12 13
William Holcomb 2.0/3.5 JR 13 9 11 10
Marcel Wilhelm 1.0/1.5 JR 7 9 8 8
Frankie Barrera 1.0/2.5 FR 9 7 7 10

Key: HD = hands, RR = route running, PB = pass block, RB = run block, # = redshirting this season.


Holcomb is a decent blocker and an option for the odd pass or two. Wilhelm isn't much of anything, and Barrera isn't much now but has some potential. James Evans is a transfer and is sitting the year out.

OG:
Cur/Pot YR PB RB AG ST
Randy Reiter 3.5/5.0 JR 16 18 7 13
Eugene Fitzpatrick 2.0/4.0 FR 12 13 7 10
Michael Phillips 1.5/3.5 FR 12 12 7 10
Leonard Heath 1.5/2.5 SO 11 11 4 9
Ian McElroy 1.0/2.5 JR 10 10 6 9
Scott Babb 1.0/1.5 SO 8 10 3 9

Key: PB = pass block, RB = run block, AG = agility, ST = strength, # = redshirting this season.

Reiter is a monster, and should be one of the best OGs in the conference. We'll be running our RBs his way as much as possible. Fitzpatrick aint too shabby either, and there is some depth here with true freshman Phillips. I'd love to redshirt him but don't want to risk him leaving.

OT:
Cur/Pot YR PB RB AG ST
*Joseph Steele 3.0/4.0 JR 13 15 7 13
*Louis Akers 2.5/4.0 SO 13 14 6 12
Rodney Munson 2.0/4.0 FR 14 12 6 9
Stanley Rangel 1.5/3.0 SO 11 12 5 12
#Brad Carr 1.5/3.5 FR 12 10 6 11
Devin Greene 1.0/2.0 JR 7 10 7 8

Key: PB = pass block, RB = run block, AG = agility, ST = strength, # = redshirting this season.

We return two starters in Steele and Akers, and both guys will help our running game. We don't have any one great talent here like we do at OG, but we enough talent and depth to satsify me.

C:
Cur/Pot YR PB RB AG ST
*William Smith 2.5/4.0 SO 13 14 6 14
Jerry O'Neal 2.5/4.0 SO 13 13 9 10
Patrick Davidson 1.0/1.5 JR 8 7 4 8

Key: PB = pass block, RB = run block, AG = agility, ST = strength, # = redshirting this season.

Will 'gettin jiggy' Smith rounds out a solid OLine, and is the strongest guy on our roster. O'Neal isn't too far behind him and has also seen some time as a starter.

Outlook
Though Aldridge can certainly throw the ball a little and Byrd is a good option at WR, the strength of this offense is definately the running game. We have the players at HB and on the OLine to hopefully do some damage in this department, and will be looking to take advantage of this by lining up wingbacks on a lot of snaps, giving us a dual threat out of the backfield. If Aldridge goes down with an injury we may be forced to cast aside all illusions of a passing game and deploy 4 RBs in the backfield.

[DeToxRox]

I'll be keeping an eye on this. I am the Arizona coach and I have contemplated a dynasty about the team, this may put me over the hump.

[Groundhog]

Defense:

Note: all ratings are from the 'league scout', as opposed to the ratings from our team scouts.

DE:
Cur/Pot YR PR PA TK SP ST AG
John Gaddy 4.0/4.0 JR 18 13 10 11 10 12
*Bruce Gonzales 2.5/4.0 SO 14 12 13 10 10 10
Scott Berry 1.5/2.5 SO 12 11 10 8 8 6
#Dennis Terry 1.5/3.0 FR 10 12 11 6 9 9
Christopher Lewis 1.5/3.0 FR 12 10 11 6 9 9

Key: PR = pass rush, PA = point of attack, TK = tackle, SP = speed, ST = strength, AG = aggression, * = starter last season, # = redshirting this season.


Gaddy's job on my DLine is quite simple: kill the opposing quarterback in whatever painful and cruel ways his heart so desires. Thankfully, he appears to have the right skillset for the job. Gonzales will line up on the other side of the DLine and brings similar skills to the table, though his strength is stopping the run at this point. Berry and Lewis can fill in if needed, and Terry gets a redshirt to help develop his skills, as he should be a contributor in a few years time.

NT:
Cur/Pot YR PR PA TK SP ST AG
*Ron Brown 2.0/3.0 SR 11 13 13 4 9 10
Donald Watson 1.0/1.5 FR 11 10 9 6 7 8
Lewis Collins 1.0/1.5 SR 9 8 10 7 8 5
Clinton Hall 1.0/2.0 SO 9 9 9 5 7 8
Thomas Greer 1.0/1.0 FR 8 7 8 3 5 6

Key: PR = pass rush, PA = point of attack, TK = tackle, SP = speed, ST = strength, AG = aggression, * = starter last season, # = redshirting this season.

Easily the weakest spot on my roster. Thankfully we have the LB strength to run a 3-4 because, outside of mediocre Brown, I want as few of these guys on the field as possible. Brown is adequete against the run, and that's all we'll ask him to be. This will definately be a spot I need to recruit in for next season.

OLB:
Cur/Pot YR PR PA HD TK CV SP ST
*Daniel Roman 2.5/4.0 SO 13 12 8 14 14 9 9
John Barrett 2.5/4.0 FR 12 11 11 12 13 9 9
Stanley Huynh 1.5/2.5 SO 11 10 8 11 9 8 8
Allen Hendrick 1.0/2.0 SR 9 9 6 10 9 7 6
David McDonald 1.0/2.0 SO 9 8 7 9 8 8 8
Anthony Carlisle 1.5/1.5 SR 8 9 8 8 9 8 7
William Geiger 1.0/1.5 JR 9 8 6 8 8 7 6

Key: PR = pass rush, PA = poitn of attack, HD = hands, TK = tackle, CV = cover, SP = speed, ST = strength, * = starter last season, # = redshirting this season.

I love the young talent I've got at OLB. Roman was great as a freshman, and is joined this year by another solid true freshman in John Barrett. I'm hoping for big things from both. Huynh has some ability, though the rest of the guys are decidingly poor, but have enough skill to not suck too badly in the limited time on the field they will hopefully see.

ILB:
Cur/Pot YR PR PA HD TK CV SP ST
#Larry Ybarra 3.0/5.0 FR 15 14 11 14 13 9 10
*Grover Sharpe 2.5/3.5 SO 12 12 10 12 14 9 7
*Jaime Jones 2.5/4.0 SO 12 13 12 12 13 9 8
Todd Whiting 1.5/2.0 JR 9 12 9 10 10 6 9
Frank Ware 1.0/2.0 FR 9 7 8 8 8 8 8

Key: PR = pass rush, PA = poitn of attack, HD = hands, TK = tackle, CV = cover, SP = speed, ST = strength, * = starter last season, # = redshirting this season.

With the 3-4 we intend to run, the ILB position becomes one of the most crucial on the team. Thankfully we are stocked, even with Ybarra sitting out a year due to transferring schools. Sharpe and Jones give us an amazingly young OLB&ILB lineup, yet the sky is really the limit for these guys. It's going to be an exciting couple of seasons for me and I'm really looking forward to seeing these guys in action.

CB:
Cur/Pot YR HD TK CV AG SP
John Kim 3.0/4.5 JR 15 16 16 14 11
*Richard Rowe 3.0/3.5 SR 10 12 14 11 11
*Alvin Edwards 3.0/3.0 SR 8 13 15 11 8
Ryan Meyers 1.5/2.5 SR 8 11 10 7 11
Richard Carpenter 1.0/2.0 FR 8 9 8 9 7
Jessie Williams 1.0/1.5 SO 8 9 10 10 7

Key: HD = hands, TK = tackle, CV = cover, AG = agility, SP = speed, * = starter last season, # = redshirting this season.

Edwards loses his starting spot to Kim (who must have really boomed this past offseason), giving us a solid core of experienced coverage corners. None are terribly quick however, meaning that we risk getting burnt for big plays by speedy recievers.

FS:
Cur/Pot YR HD TK CV AG SP
#Brian Cox 1.5/3.0 FR 8 11 11 10 8
Tim Lewis 1.5/3.0 SO 7 10 12 8 9
Benjamin Talbot 1.5/2.5 JR 8 10 11 7 6
Eric Smith 1.0/2.0 FR 7 8 9 9 9

Key: HD = hands, TK = tackle, CV = cover, AG = agility, SP = speed, * = starter last season, # = redshirting this season.

Not quite so rich in the FS spot. Cox will redshirt while Lewis will start thanks to his higher coverage ability.

SS:
Cur/Pot YR HD TK CV AG SP
David Lutz 1.5/3.5 FR 7 12 11 14 9
Joseph Smith 2.0/3.5 JR 8 13 13 8 10

Key: HD = hands, TK = tackle, CV = cover, AG = agility, SP = speed, * = starter last season, # = redshirting this season.

A little better at SS. Joseph Smith has good coverage skills and decent athleticism, while Lutz has the potential to turn in to a Smith clone.

Outlook
I'm pretty happy with this unit. We are well suited for the 3-4 thanks to a solid, if young, linebacker corps and two dependable DEs. I expect some growing pains from the linebackers, and hopefully the more experienced corners will help here. Lack of speed from our corners, and lack of general ability from our safeties, means that we will need to work hard at the LOS to pressure the passer in to making mistakes. I figure if Gaddy tears off the oppossing QBs head before driving his limp, lifeless body in to the turf it will help our passing defense dramatically.

[Groundhog]

Special Teams:

Note: all ratings are from the 'league scout', as opposed to the ratings from our team scouts.

K:
Cur/Pot YR KA KS KL
*Timothy Hernandez 3.0/3.5 JR 13 14 12
Charlie Bradley 1.0/1.5 FR 8 7 12

Key: KA = kick accuracy, KS = kick strength, KL = kickoff length, * = starter last season, # = redshirting this season.

Hernandez has been our starter since his freshman year, and performed quite well last year, nailing 27 of 36 FGs, including 4/6 from 50+.

P:
Cur/Pot YR PA PL KL
Edward Custer 2.5/3.0 JR 13 11 4
Willie Darden 2.0/2.5 FR 12 10 7

Key: PA = punt accuracy, PL = punt length, KL = kickoff length, * = starter last season, # = redshirting this season.

Custer will get the nod and has the tools to be a decent punter. Darden is young and figures to develop along Custer's lines. Looks like I'm set here for the next 4 seasons.

KR:
Cur/Pot YR KR AC AG SP
Ryan Meyers 1.5/2.5 SR 17 11 7 11
Richard Rowe 3.0/3.5 SR 17 7 11 11
Donald Hayley 1.0/1.5 SO 15 7 7 10

Key: KR = kick returning, AC = acceleration, AG = agility, SP = speed.

Both Meyers and Rowe returned some kicks last year, and both did well.

PR:
Cur/Pot YR PR AC AG SP
John Newby 1.0/2.5 SO 18 8 8 9
Richard Rowe 3.0/3.5 SR 17 7 11 11
Christopher Cook 1.0/2.0 SR 12 6 8 9

Key: PR = punt returning, AC = acceleration, AG = agility, SP = speed.

Newby was great as a freshman punt returner, running in for a TD on one occassion.

Outlook
It's hard to get excited about special teams, but they usually wind up being very important. Key punt/kickoff returns, clutch FGs, and punts inside the 10 all can be game changers. Overall, I'm very happy with my return men, and my kickers will do the job more often than not.

[Groundhog]

2008 Schedule

Wk 1: Idaho
Wk 2: Washington
wk 3: -----------
Wk 4: Wyoming
Wk 5: @ Colorado State
Wk 6: @ Brigham Young
Wk 7: Air Force
Wk 8: -----------
Wk 9: @ Texas Christian
Wk 10: San Diego State
Wk 11: New Mexico
Wk 12: -----------
Wk 13: @ UNLV
Wk 14: -----------
Wk 15: Utah State

[st.cronin]

Only 3 road games, geez.

Looking forward to Week 9. ;)

[Groundhog]

Only 3 road games, geez.

Looking forward to Week 9. ;)

Whoops, should be a massive 4!

Looking forward to week 9 as well - it's just a shame that it's one of those 4... :D

[Groundhog]

Week 1 Preview: Utah Utes (0-0) vs Idaho Vandals (0-0)

We kick the season off with what should be a fairly easy home game against the Vandals (knock on wood). The Vandals are starting a true freshman, Matt Bonilla, at QB, and we'll be doing our best to humiliate the kid. He has a decent target at receiver in Hulsey, but his OLine should struggle against my DLine, who will be looked at to pressure Bonilla in to mistakes. I'm confident I have the coverage skills at both CB and LB positions to then take advantage. Idaho's starter at HB is Joseph Ballard who is, to put it somewhat kindly, rather unspectacular. If he manages over 4 yards per carry, I'll be dissapointed.

I'm not expecting a lot of trouble moving the ball on the ground, as our OLine is just plain bigger and stronger than theirs. They do have some talent at linebacker, ILB Michael Quintana in particular likes to get in to the backfield and pressure the QB, but a lack of ability at CB and the safety positions means that we don't have a lot to fear when we go to the air.

Prediction: Utah 34, Idaho 13. We are +17 point favourites.

Game of the Week:

#1 Oklahoma (0-0) @ #21 Ohio State (0-0) - Big matchup this one, with Oklahoma's QB Medina and RB John Billings both stepping in for their first career start against a talented Ohio State defense. Ohio State are being led by a RS freshman QB, and need to show they can put points on the board to win this one. Oklahoma are +5 favourites.

[Groundhog]

Week 1 Result: Utah Utes 32, Idaho Vandals 3

Player of the Game: RB J Reynolds

BOX SCORE (http://www.fofc-bbcf.com/league/BoxScores/Game40.htm)- I can't figure out a way to paste the html box in to here and keep it looking clean.

A very sloppy 1st half saw us fumble twice, losing it once inside Idaho's 10, and also missing a 20 yard field goal, to see us up 10-0 at half time. We were dominating the game on the ground, thanks in no small part to our OLine (Reiter in particular), but the scoreboard really wasn't showing it. Thankfully in the second half we started to put it together.

Reynolds had a great start to his career with 164 yards (6.07 ypc) on the ground and 2 TDs, and Green and Nolan also did some damage. Hell, even FB Medina broke away for a 29 yard pickup on the ground. Aldridge had a good game as well, throwing 17/25 with 1 TD, a 54 yarder, to go with 0 INTs.

Our D was also pretty solid, giving up just 8 yards rushing, and pressuring Idaho's QB in to some mistakes. DT Gaddy in particular showed what we hope to see more of, picking up a sack and hurrying the QB in to throwing an INT.

Injuries:

A few minor injuries, but also one biggie: On just his second play on the field we lost ILB Grover Sharpe for at least a month. This is a big, big blow. RB P Green had a minor injury, and will be relegated to 3rd RB for next week's game.

Game of the Week Result: Ohio State 35, Oklahoma 28

An upset! Neither team passed the ball well, but Ohio State got things done on the ground, with 2nd HB T Wagner picking up 133 yards off just 15 attempts. Then with the scores tied with just over 3 minutes to go, backup Ohio State quartback E Ralston connected with WR D Johnson for the game winning TD.

[Groundhog]

Week 2 Preview: Utah Utes (1-0) vs Washington Huskies (1-0)

Well, stomping Idaho last week sure was fun, but now for the hard part. This Huskies team is very talented, and dismantled Alabama 31-3 last week. Most of that damage was done through the air via talented Huskies QB William Goff, and our secondary will have its hands full today trying to keep him under control.

The Huskies D was also able to shutdown a pretty solid Alabama running game, which is a real worry for us. We will look to mix it up a bit with our mid-range passing game, but I fear we just don't have the talent on either end of the field to keep up with this team, even at home.

Somehow the odds are listed as Even for this game, but I'll be happy if we just keep it close.

Prediction: Washington 38, Utah 20.

Game of the Week:

#4 Miami (1-0) @ #12 Oregon State (1-0)

Miami stomped Cincinnatti thanks to their passing game, while Oregon State racked up 62 points on the hapless Ohio squad. Could be a high scoring game, but Oregon State needs to show that it's D, who gave up 32 points to Ohio, can slow Miami. Miami are 6 point favourites.

[st.cronin]

In other conference news, TCU got a victory at West Point, 24-6. This week they are playing at #5 Oklahoma.

[Groundhog]

Week 2 Result: Utah Utes 35, Washington Huskes 10

Player of the Game: RB I Nolan (UTAH), 24 att, 114 yds, (4.71ypc), 2 TDs (1 rushing, 1 receiving)

BOX SCORE (http://www.fofc-bbcf.com/league/BoxScores/Game948.htm)

Wow. That pretty much sums this game up in a word. A phenomonal effort by every unit. I thought we were in some trouble in the first quarter, as we kept getting the ball deep in our own territory, then Aldridge threw an INT and I was starting to worry. Thankfully we held our own, with our D in particular proving relentless at stopping the run.

Our first breakthrough comes in the 2nd Q when we get the ball in a decent position, and march it down field, scoring off a 15 yd Aldridge TD pass. Both teams then trade possessions before Washington kicks a 35 yard FG. Then we manage to march down field again, this time scoring off a 5 yard dump off to RB J Reynolds to enter the half up 14-3. The 3rd quarter sees both teams shutting down the other, with neither able to put any points on the board. We enter the fourth with a lead, though we are feeling anything but secure.

Then comes the 4th. First Aldridge throws a 61 yd TD pass to WR R. Byrd with 13:33 remaining to make it 21-3. Washington get it back and in 4 snaps put up a TD of their own off a 34 yard pass, 21-10. Uh-oh I think, I really don't want this to turn in to a shootout. Then our return man Ryan Meyers fields the kickoff in our endzone, and runs 98 yards upfield to the Washington 4! A few plays later and Aldridge has TD pass #4, this time a 3 yarder to RB I Nolan. We know that Washington are going to come out throwing, and this is where our D just dominates the game.

First DE J. Gaddy rushes the QB, causing him to throw an interception. We go 3 and out, Washington get it back, yet the pressure continues, this time OLB Roman picks up a roughing the QB penalty after an imcompletion, auto-1st down. The next 3 snaps however see us sack the QB 3 times in a row! The Washington OLine has well and truly crumbled. We get it back and Aldridge guides us down field before Nolan busts out a 36 yd TD run to make it 35-10 with 3:30 left. Even with the game well and truly out of reach we don't quit, with 3 more QB hurries and 1 more sack in the final 3 minutes. Amazing.

Nolan gets Player of the Game, but I probably would have given it to Aldridge, or our combined defensive unit for an amazing 4th Q. Aldridge finished 18/28 for 246 yards, 4 TDs and 1 INT. RB Reynolds, our star of last week, had just 34 yards on 12 carries as we looked to Nolan this week. We limited Washington to 31 yards on the ground - a fact that had no small role in our victory.

Injuries:

No new injuries.

Game of the Week Result: Oregon State 62, Miami 13

Another upset, as Oregon State completely destroys Miami, scoring 62 points for the 2nd game in a row. It looks like this Oregon State team is for real. Oregon State QB Deleon threw 5 TDs to 0 INTs to earn player of the game, and Oregon State earnt 616 total yards to Miami's 364. Ouch.

[Groundhog]

Week 3 Preview: No game

We have the week off, which gives some of our injured players time to heal. ILB Grover Sharpe is still some weeks off returning to the field, but RB Paul Green should be ready for full time action in week 4, while OT Rodney Munson & FB Russell Smith should be nearly 100%. ILB Frank Ware is questionable with torn cartillage in his elbow, and likely won't be 100% for most of the season, though he will definately play as we lack depth here with Sharpe out.

In some more good news, we actually received some votes this week for the top 25 - 15 votes, in fact. Aldridge also ranks #10 in overall QB rating for the season, while OG R. Reiter is ranked #4 in Key Run Blocks.

Around the Mount West:

San Diego State (2-0) vs Boise State (1-1) - Boise State are +1 favourites.
New Mexico (1-0) @ San Jose State (0-2) - San Jose State are +4 favourites.
Wyoming (1-1) @ New Mexico State (0-1) - Wyoming are +3 favourites.
Brigham Young (1-1) @ Western Michigan (2-0) - BYU are +6 favourites.
Air Force (0-0) vs #19 Ohio State (1-1) - Ohio State are +10 favourites.
Colorado State (0-1) @ Toledo (1-1) - Colorado State are +4 favourites.
UNLV (0-1) vs Indiana (1-1) - UNLV are +7 favourites.

Game of the Week:

#10 Michigan (2-0) @ #8 UCLA (2-0)

Michigan have started the season off well, including a comfortable victory over Notre Dame in Week 1. Wolverines QB John Bridges will probably never be the most accurate passer around, but having a capable RB in Robert Hinson and a solid OLine helps make up for this, though he'll need to play better against UCLA than he did against Akron last week (15/38 att, 2 TDs, 1 INT). It's been the Wolverines D that has probably attributed most to their good start however.

The Bruins are yet to be tested, and have been trialing QBs, with Haynes having the better game of the two against East Carolina. It appears a pretty even matchup on paper, though Michigan are 5 point favourites on the road.

[Groundhog]

Week 3 Result: No Game

The off-week allowed some of our players to heal, as was hoped. RB Paul Green is now listed as probable and will return as #2 RB next week, even though Nolan performed well in his absence. OT Munson & FB Smith are also looking OK to play despite not being 100%. Most important however is the status of ILB Grover Sharpe, and he is now listed as doubtful, and we will definately sit him out against Wyoming in week 4, and then re-evaluate his status.

Around the Mount West:

San Diego State defeat Boise State 30-10 - San Diego St. QB A Cummings with a huge game (23/28 att, 3 TD, 0 INT) to power the Aztecs to victory.
New Mexico defeat San Jose State 28-10 - Dominating overall effort to keep New Mexico undefeated after 2 games.
Wyoming lose to New Mexico St 10-19 - A late interception returned 93 yards from within the redzone all the way for a TD destroys Wyoming's chance at the win.
Brigham Young lose to Western Michigan 10-22 - A pretty solid defensive effort from BYU, but they just couldn't put the points on the board to get the win.
Air Force lose to #19 Ohio St 7-17 - Very solid effort from Air Force on the defensive end against a ranked team, but just like BYU, they couldn't put up the points.
Colorado St lose to Toledo 9-30 - Colorado St couldn't get anything going on offence, their QB threw 3 picks, and Toledo had the ball nearly twice as long as they did. Not a great night.
UNLV defeat Indiana 19-10 - Indiana's QB helped them out by having himself a pretty woeful game, but credit must go to the UNLV for pressuring him.

Game of the Week Result: UCLA 28, Michigan 20

Neither QB nor, in Michigan's case, his backups, were able to establish much of a passing game, yet UCLA were able to also limit the run, and that proved the clincher. Michigan's OLine was plain outmatched, allowing far too much pressure on their QBs.

[Groundhog]

Week 4 Preview: Utah Utes (2-0) vs Wyoming Cowboys (1-2)

This week sees conference play kickoff, and we welcome Wyoming at home. And by "welcome", I mean "plan to destroy". Wyoming beat Eastern Michigan at home, but has lost twice on the road, once to #21 Wisconsin, and last week to New Mexico State thanks to a costly interception. Their running game has been attrocious thus far at just 1.9ypc, and their QB, junior Robert Spruill, has completed a decent % of passes (55.7%), but has thrown 4 INTs for just 2 TDs, and doesn't have much of an OLine to work with either. We will be looking to really hurt them here, and hopefully our great pass rush from the Washington game shows up again this week.

Offensively we will look to do much the same as we have the first 2 games of the season; work the ball on the ground via our 3-headed RB attack, and air it out with the thus-far great QB play we've been getting out of Aldridge. Wyoming has not yet shown they are particularily good at defending the ground or sky, so we feel confident. Of course, that's what all coaches say right before the big upset loss.

Prediction: Utah 27, Wyoming 13. We are +12 favourites.

Around the Mount West:

UNLV (1-1) @ San Diego State (3-0) - San Diego State are +11 favourites.
Colorado St (0-2) @ TCU (1-1) - TCU are +6 favourites
Air Force (0-1) @ New Mexico (2-0) - New Mexico are +7 favourites.

Game of the Week:

#5 Oregon State (3-0) @ Arizona (1-1)

Why this game? Oregon State QB Lawrence Deleon has been absolutely amazing over the first 3 games of the year, throwing 14 TDs to just 1 INT, already clocking up 1165 yards. Can he keep it up against Arizona in conference play? Arizona's pass D has been pretty decent, and they played well against #2 LSU in week 2, but can they contain an Oregon State team that is putting up 62.0 points per game? Oregon State are +10 point favourites.

[Groundhog]

Week 4 Result: Utah Utes 40, Wyoming Cowboys 10

Player of the Game: QB R Aldridge (UTAH), 23/29 CP/AT, 249yds, 3 TDs, 0 INTs, 17yds rushing

BOX SCORE (http://www.fofc-bbcf.com/league/BoxScores/Game725.htm)

The very first play of the game sees kick return specialist Ryan Meyers take us to the Wyoming 2, allowing Reynolds to run in one play later to take the early lead. Soon enough we put another TD on the board with an Aldridge pass to make it 14-0, before Wyoming steal a play from our playbook and return our kick to our own 2 yard line and score shortly after. That's as close as it gets though, as Aldridge has a near perfect game to give us the 30 point win.

Still, there was lots NOT to be happy about with this one. We fumbled the ball 4 times, thankfully losing it just once, but this is still troubling. Penalties were a real problem, especially on offense where they saw us called back after two big plays. Worst of all though, I really wasn't happy with our pass D. Just 1 sack and 3 hurries today, and the loss of stud DE Gaddy early in the game played a big part in that.

At the end of the day though, with our QB playing as well as Aldridge did today, and my RBs also contributing as well (Reynolds had 115 yards at 5.23ypc, and Green had 88yds on 6.77ypc), it was always going to be hard to throw this game away. I'll be hoping for a less messy game next week when we hit the road for the first time.

Around the Mount West:

Air Force defeat New Mexico 38-20 - Not at all surprising considering how Air Force performed against Ohio St last week. Not sure why New Mexico was favoured. Air Force could be a handful this season.
San Diego St defeat UNLV 30-20 - San Diego have been getting it done, and are now 4-0. Another team to watch.
TCU defeat Colorado St 16-3 - TCU went with a pounding, run-based attack to defeat hapless Colorado St, but might be a little concerned that their offense didn't manage to score a TD.

Game of the Week Result: Oregon State 41, Arizona 10

Oregon State QB Deleon almost looked mortal against Arizona, mostly thanks to his selfish RBs hogging all the TDs. Arizona are the first team in 4 weeks to be able to claim that they held the Beavers to less than 62 points however, but their offense never got rolling, making it in to the redzone just twice.

[Blade6119]

Im enjoying this so far, best of luck with the rest of the season!

[DeToxRox]

Game of the Week Result: Oregon State 41, Arizona 10

Oregon State QB Deleon almost looked mortal against Arizona, mostly thanks to his selfish RBs hogging all the TDs. Arizona are the first team in 4 weeks to be able to claim that they held the Beavers to less than 62 points however, but their offense never got rolling, making it in to the redzone just twice.

Damn right. 41 baby! We're world beaters.

[st.cronin]

TCU defeat Colorado St 16-3 - TCU went with a pounding, run-based attack to defeat hapless Colorado St, but might be a little concerned that their offense didn't manage to score a TD.

More than a little. :(

[Groundhog]

Week 5 Preview: Utah Utes (4-0) @ Colorado State Rams (0-3)

Colorado State has had a rough start to the season, dropping 3 straight and are yet to even score a touchdown. Their QB play hasn't been great, and they have not been able to get anything going on the ground. Defensively they haven't been great either, but no one has put up a big score on them yet. We hope to change that.

Our defense takes a bit of a hit this week as I bring our monster DE Gaddy off the bench due to his injury last week, and ILB Sharpe is still a week or two away from returning, but I'm confident that we have enough depth to not struggle too much. The key will be putting pressure on the QBs, something we struggled to do last week without Gaddy lining up for us. Still, we are currently #1 in the nation at defending against the run (18.3 yards per game), and I'll be dissapointed if we don't shut down their running game.

Offensively I don't anticipate too many problems, and we aren't changing our strategies at all. Aldridge has been on fire all season, which has only helped our running game.

Prediction: Utah 34, Colorado State 12. We are +15 favourites.

Around the Mount West:

UNLV (1-2) @ BYU (1-2) - BYU are +4 favourites.
San Diego St (4-0) @ New Mexico (2-1) - San Diego St are +1 favourites.
Army (1-2) @ Air Force (1-1) - Air Force are +13 favourites.
Arizona (1-2) @ TCU (2-1) - Arizona are +5 favourites.
West Virginia (4-0) @ Wyoming (1-3) - West Virginia are +12 favourites.

Game of the Week:

#2 Texas (4-0) @ #4 Oklahoma (2-1)

A massive matchup this one. Texas have been playing some great football on both ends of the field, and have hardly been challenged in their first 4 games, while Oklahoma dropped a close one to Ohio State to start the year, and have since stomped TCU and Iowa State. Texas are only +1 favourites, but Oklahoma will have to play some great football to stop one of the nation's hottest teams.

[Groundhog]

Week 5 Result: Utah Utes 33, Colorado State Rams 14

Player of the Game: SS M Partridge (ColST), 8 tackles, 4 stuffs

BOX SCORE (http://www.fofc-bbcf.com/league/BoxScores/Game726.htm)

Our first road game turns out to be a real mixed bag. QB Aldridge scrambled 13 yards early in the 1st Q, only to fumble the ball, and have the Rams return it 45 yards for the TD, their first TD of the season. Not used to being behind, we work it back upfield, getting it to first and goal at the 7 thanks to a defensive pass interference call, yet have to settle for the FG to make it 7-3 at the end of the 1st.

We start to put a bit of a drive together early in the 2nd before RB I Nolan fumbles at the 50. The Rams recover the ball, and their QB A White puts a great drive together through the air, connecting with TE P Gunter for a 30 yard TD pass to put us down 14-3. Uh oh.

We then go 3-and-out, but a great punt puts the Rams at the 10 yard line. Then on 2 straight snaps my linebackers stuff the runner, pinning the Rams at the 4 yard line, before my linebackers get in to the backfield again, this time sacking the QB, who then fumbles in the endzone! The Rams recover, but we tackle them for the safety. 14-5 Rams.

Aldridge, with some help from our RBs, works it down the field pretty casually on the next possession, connecting with WR Byrd for a 3 yard TD pass. 14-12 Rams as the half expires.

We kick to the Rams to start the 2nd half, and they fumble on their first possession to give us the ball on the 6 yard line! 2 plays later and Aldridge connects with Byrd again, and RB P Green runs in for the 2pt conversion, to give us the first lead of the game, 20-12. The rest of the game is all Utah, with a couple of field goals and a nice 25 yard rushing TD from RB Reynolds.

Sloppy fumbles hurt as again and made this game far closer than it should have been. Thankfully we were able to turn it on offensively in the 2nd half to pull away, though Colorado State limited our running game better than anyone else this year has. Player of the Game SS Partridge played a big part in this, stuffing my runners 4 times for losses. Defensively it's obvious to me how much we miss Gaddy on the DLine, and thankfully he'll be back in action as the starter next week. Even though, that one scoring drive aside, Rams QB A White didn't have a great game, we didn't put enough pressure on him considering the talent of his OLine and my DLine.

We need to hold on to the ball and get more from our DLine, especially with a tough matchup coming next week.

Around the Mount West:

BYU defeat UNLV 44-12 - BYU really grinded it out for most of those 44 points.
San Diego St defeat New Mexico 35-19 - San Diego St continue to look real dangerous, off to a 5-0 start.
Air Force defeat Army 24-6 - Closer than I expected, but Air Force still looking good.
TCU lose to Arizona 40-7 - TCU drop a very tough non-conference game.
Wyoming lose to West Virginia 29-27 - Very nearly pulled off the upset thanks to a strong 4th Q, but just ran out of time.

Game of the Week Result: Oklahoma 31, Texas 30

I didn't give Oklahoma much of a chance, but they proved me wrong in a real nail-bitter. Texas had two chances to win the game late in the 4th, but both times QB J Morris threw two bad picks to dash all hopes of a victory.

[Groundhog]

Week 6 Preview: Utah Utes (4-0) @ Brigham Young Cougars (2-2)

Another week, another road game. BYU may be 2-2 for the season, but those two losses have been to good teams (#5 Texas and 4-1 Western Michigan), and they figure to be a tough team at home. QB Robert Roman has been filling in for the injured Brent Dunn and has looked more of a threat with the run than the pass, while HB Warren (3.72 ypc, 3 TDs) has been their biggest scoring threat thus far. Despite me saying otherwise in the last post, our DE Gaddy will sit this week out as well, so we will be looking to our linebackers again to keep up the pressure.

Their biggest weapon by far is their defense, which has been great against the run and should provide the biggest test for us. The talent drops off considerably in their secondary, so it's really a matter of our OLine giving my HBs something to work with. We also need to protect Aldridge against a solid pass rushing lineup, because he should definately perform well against this secondary if we can get him some time to make good decisions.

To win this game we will need to score close to 30, because despite an intimidating defense I'm not convinced that these Cougars can put up enough points to beat that, even coming off a 44 point game last week.

Prediction: Utah 27, BYU 20. We are +7 favourites.

Around the Mount West:

TCU (2-2) @ New Mexico (2-2) - New Mexico are +3 favourites. I'd consider TCU the favourite, considering the teams they've lost to.
Colorado St (0-4) @ Air Force (2-1) - Air Force are +9 favourites. I'd say they should be +18.
San Diego St (5-0) @ Wyoming (1-4) - San Diego St are +3 favourites. Only +3? I'd times that by 4.

Game of the Week:

#7 Florida (4-0) @ #2 LSU (5-0)

Only one team will walk away with their perfect start to the season intact, and the odds are with LSU as +9 point favourites at home. The Tigers have been dominating teams offensively, putting up 41.8 points per night, thanks largely to HB Charles Caldwell (141.2 ypg, 6.19ypc, 9 TDs). Florida have been no slouches either, but it's been their defense that has got them to 4-0. They need to slow the LSU running game and prevent it from being a shootout, because that's a game that these Gators likely will not win.

[Groundhog]

Week 6 League Review

A third of the way through the season, I figure it might be a good time to take a look around the league.

Top 25 Polls
Media Poll / Coaches Poll

# Team Conf Record # Team Conf Record
1. USC Pac10 3-0 1. UCLA Pac10 4-0
2. LSU SEC 5-0 2. Oklahoma B12 3-1
3. Oklahoma B12 3-1 3. USC Pac10 3-0
4. UCLA Pac10 4-0 4. LSU SEC 5-0
5. Texas B12 4-1 5. Texas B12 4-1
6. Oregon St Pac10 5-0 6. Florida SEC 4-0
7. Florida SEC 4-0 7. Texas A&M B12 5-0
8. Miami ACC 4-1 8. Miami ACC 4-1
9. Texas A&M B12 5-0 9. Nebraska B12 3-1
10. Nebraska B12 3-1 10. Oregon St Pac10 5-0
11. Notre Dame Indep 4-1 11. Georgia SEC 3-1
12. Clemson ACC 3-2 12. Notre Dame Indep 4-1
13. Auburn SEC 1-3 13. Clemson ACC 3-2
14. Georgia SEC 3-1 14. Auburn SEC 1-3
15. Michigan B10 4-1 15. Michigan B10 4-1
16. Wash State Pac10 4-1 16. Wisconsin B10 4-1
17. Tennessee SEC 3-1 17. Wash State Pac10 4-1
18. California Pac10 2-2 18. Purdue B10 3-1
19. Ohio State B10 3-1 19. Ohio St B10 3-1
20. Purdue B10 3-1 20. Boston Col ACC 3-0
21. Boston Col ACC 3-0 21. Tennessee SEC 3-1
22. Wisconsin B10 4-1 22. California Pac10 2-2
23. Florida St ACC 3-1 23. Florida St ACC 3-1
24. Colorado B12 4-0 24. Ole Miss SEC 3-1
25. Oregon Pac10 3-1 25. Missouri B12 4-1


We got 37 votes for the Media Poll, and 20 for the Coaches Poll. The big conferences dominate both polls as expected, and though it's still too early in conference play to start seperating the true contenders from the pretenders, it would look like Oregon State might be a little under-rated.

Mount West Standings:


{ Conf. } { Overall }
# Team W-L PF PA W-L PF PA Streak Home Road Media Coach
1. Air Force 1-0 38 20 2-1 69 43 W2 1-1 1-0 0-1 0-1
2. TCU 1-0 16 3 2-2 50 84 L1 1-1 1-1 0-1 0-1
3. BYU 1-0 44 12 2-2 83 98 W1 2-0 0-2 0-1 0-1
4. SD State 2-0 65 39 5-0 163 75 W5 2-0 3-0 0-0 0-0
5. Utah 2-0 73 24 4-0 140 37 W4 3-0 1-0 0-0 0-0
6. UNLV 0-2 32 74 1-3 57 129 L2 1-0 0-3 0-0 0-0
7. New Mexico 0-2 39 73 2-2 101 96 L2 1-2 1-0 0-0 0-0
8. Colorado St 0-2 17 49 0-4 29 103 L4 0-1 0-3 0-0 0-0
9. Wyoming 0-1 10 40 1-4 79 133 L3 1-1 0-3 0-1 0-1


A conference of two halves. 5 teams that could all compete for the conference championship, but also 4 teams that are all looking pretty awful at this stage. At this point you might say that we and San Diego St are the favourites, but Air Force, TCU, and BYU have all played much tougher schedules.

Award Watch:

A quick look at a couple of the top positionals in the country.

QBs:

One QB truly towers above the rest this year; senior Oregon State QB Lawrence Deleon. His stats so far (120/159 75.5%, 21 TDs, 1 INT, 210.9 rating) have been incredible, and his sole "bad" performance over the first 5 games was a win over Arizona where he "only" threw 2 TDs with 0 ints on 79.2% accuracy. Scary. There is a big drop-off after Deleon, and unless he suddenly turns in to Rex Grossman overnight it's hard to see anyone surpassing him.

RBs:

Unlike the QB position, there have been a number of solid RBs this season. Florida State's Charles Daniels (187.0ypg, 6.39ypc, 5 Rush TDs) has been gaining nearly 200 yards a game on the ground for the Seminoles, but was held to 109 yards against Miami in week 4. Oregon State RB Bobby Cunningham (142.6ypg, 6.73ypc, 8 rushing TDs) is being overshadowed by his QBs stellar play, but you can only wonder the kind of numbers he'd put up if he was the primary option for his team.

WRs:

Miami WR Robert Roberts is blessed with more than just unimaginative parents, he also has a solid pair of hands and rarely drops a pass thrown his way, even if he's yet to make many trips in to the endzone. Texas WR Joshua King certainly hasn't had that problem, and has been the best option for the high-powered Texas offense, bringing in 6 TD catches so far.

[Groundhog]

Week 6 Result: Utah Utes 33, Brigham Young Cougars 52

Player of the Game: RB Gerald Warren (BYU) 22 at, 116 yds, 2 TDs

BOX SCORE (http://www.fofc-bbcf.com/league/BoxScores/Game731.htm)

Well I'll be damned. This has to be one of the strangest games I've ever seen. We started the game well, with FS Talbot intercepting a pass leading to a great 42 yd TD run by RB Reynolds, but things soon got ugly. A few drives later we punt to the Cougars and return man Miguel Pennington runs it back 70 yards for a TD, 7-7. BYU kicks a FG, and a few drives later we work our own magic with our own return man John Newby taking it 73 yards for his own punt return TD to make it 14-10 heading in to the 2nd.

We kick a FG early in the 2nd Q to make it 17-10, and BYU work it in to the redzone for the first offensive TD of the game, we kick another FG, and BYU work it down field once again to score off a 6 yd TD pass to make it 24-20 BYU heading in to the half.

Again we can't capitalise on decent field position in the 3rd and settle for a field goal, before BYU bust out a 64 yd TD run to make it 32-23, and then intercept one of Aldridges passes and return it 52 yards for another TD to make it 38-23 BYU entering the final quarter.

The game is looking out of reach in the 4th, especially as we have to settle for another FG, when RB Paul Green busts out another crazy run to score on a 66 yd TD run, 38-33 BYU. Just when momentum looks to be on our side, the Cougars throw a 75 yard TD pass, and then shortly after return one of our punts 74 yards - the 3rd special teams TD of the game - to put the game well and truly out of reach.

Overall, this was just a horrible performance by my entire roster. Aldridge was terrible (17/37 200 yds, 1 int), throwing several bad passes, but boy did everyone else lend a hand in the sucking department. Our RBs ended up with OK numbers thanks to some long TD runs, but if I had a dollar for every failed blocking assignment from our OLine men I'd be a rich man. I'm not sure why RB Lehman was even in the game, allowing 4 sacks and dropping a pass, as he is well down on the depth chart, but boy did he kill me at crucial times.

Defensively, those 2 interceptions aside, we allowed BYU QB Hardy to complete 14/18 passes for 2 TDs and 2 INTs, let BYU RB Warren pick up 116 yards (thanks again to a big TD run), and just in general gave up too many big plays. It was really frustrating, because we were rock solid for much of the game, but those couple of big plays we allowed just killed us.

It was special teams that hurt the most though. We allowed 2 punts to be returned for TDs, and that tore the heart out of any hope we had at getting a win tonight.

Around the Mount West:

A pretty crazy week in the Mount West.

New Mexico defeat TCU 18-15 - Heart-breaking loss for TCU, with UNM kicking the game winner with 0:17 left.
Colorado St defeat Air Force 21-20 - Colorado St pull off the surprising win thanks to some solid D. I am really shocked by this result.
San Diego St defeat Wyoming 47-10 - The only result that came out like I thought it would. This week makes San Diego St the undisputed "team to beat" in the Mount West.

Game of the Week Result: LSU 40, Florida 10

21 unanswered points in the 2nd quarter for LSU took the wind out of Florida sails, and it was always going to be a tough ask for Florida to play catch-up on the road against this team. LSU RB Caldwell had a great night with 3 TDs and 215 yards.

[Groundhog]

Week 7 Preview: Utah Utes (4-1, 1-1) vs Air Force Falcons (2-2, 1-1)

We return to our home turf this week, looking to put last week's horrible loss behind us and get a win over Air Force, who suffered a dissapointment of their own last week, going down to Colorado State at home. The Falcons have played some good football this season, none better than holding Ohio State to 17 points in their first game of the season.

Defense has been the Falcons strong point thus far. They have a pretty solid DLine, some good corners, and talent at both safety spots. They don't give up a lot of yards through the sky or on the ground. Our OLine needs to play about 200% better this week than we did last week if we are going to get any kind of running game going, and Aldridge needs to bounce back too because these Falcons are much better coverage defenders than he went up against last week.

Falcons QB Feldman was injured early in the game last week, and is listed as questionable. He's played OK aside from his poor showing against Ohio St. RB Flores is a talent and has a pretty solid, if still developing, OLine to work with.

We're going to have our hands full this week. IMO this is a better team than the one we lost to last week, but hopefully being at home will give us the edge. The return of ILB Sharpe will definitely help us on D, but we just need to prevent the big plays that killed us last week. We haven't gone up against the 4-2-5 D that the Falcons run, so that should also be interesting.

Prediction: Utah 34, Air Force 27. We are +6 favourites.

Around the Mount West:

UNLV (1-3) @ TCU (2-3) - TCU are +10 favourites. They should pull this one out, but their offense needs to show up.
New Mexico (3-2) @ Wyoming (1-5) - Even. New Mexico should take this one, even on the road.

Week 7 Game of the Week:

#3 UCLA (5-0) @ #15 Washington St (4-1)

Washington State suffered a dissapointing loss to Houston in week 3, but have done pretty well otherwise with wins against Nebraska and Oregon. Undefeated UCLA is by far their toughest assignment yet. The Bruins haven't been blowing teams out, but they just have kept 4 opponents from scoring more than 10 points, and no one has scored more than 20 on them as yet. Putting points on the board will be the key for Washington State, a task that is much easier said than done against this stingy Bruins D. UCLA are +7 point favourites.

[Groundhog]

Week 7 Result: Utah Utes 40, Air Force 14

Player of the Game: RB Paul Green (UTAH) 21 att, 159 yards (7.57ypc), 1 TD

BOX SCORE (http://www.fofc-bbcf.com/league/BoxScores/Game734.htm)

Exactly the game we needed after the horrible loss to BYU. Aldridge connected with Elvis Baker for a 31 yard TD pass at the 9:29, then return man John Newby ran a punt return 64 yards for the TD a few mins later, and we never looked back. Air Force ran in two TDs in the 2nd half, but it was never close.

This was an impressive win for us against a team that are a lot better than they looked today in my opinion. As impressive as we were offensively to score 40 points, it was definately our D that won us this game. Our coverage play was excellent, forcing Falcons QB Ira Shepherd in to a particularily bad game (9-28, 237 yards, 0 TDs, 2 INTs), and limiting dangerman RB Flores to 3.32ypc. ILB Jaime Jones kept up his impressive start, with 2 stuffs to go along with 5-1 tackles.

Offensively we were back to our usual selves, with Paul Green this time doing most of the damage, while Aldridge found his form again.

Around the Mount West:

Wyoming defeat New Mexico 20-6 - Poor showing by New Mexico in just about every area.
UNLV defeat TCU 23-9 - TCU are really struggling to get their offense going.

Week 7 Game of the Week Result: Washington State 21, UCLA 10

Washington State become the first team to score more than 20 points against UCLA thanks to a great 4th quarter that saw them score 14 unanswered points. Neither team's offense was really clicking tonight, but Washington State got it done when they needed it most to hand UCLA their first loss of the season.

[Groundhog]

Week 8 Preview: No game

We get the week off, which will come in handy as we have a couple of starters on the OLine nursing some injuries, and DE Gaddy still isn't 100%. Couldn't ask for a better time to have the break, especially with the next 2 weeks seeing us go head to head with human coached teams.

Around the Mount West:

Air Force (2-3) @ UNLV (2-3) - Air Force are +5 favourites. I'm surprised Air Force are just 2-3, and I'd be shocked if they drop this one even on the road.
BYU (3-2) @ Colorado St (1-4) - BYU are +5 favourites. I hope they lose by 40. :mad:
TCU (2-4) @ San Diego St (6-0) - San Diego St are +12 favourites. The Aztecs have a new human coach, and unless he rocks the boat too much, they should pull this one out comfortably.

Game of the Week:

#10 Washington St @ #3 Oregon State

Washington State did well against UCLA last week, but can they do it again against perhaps the hottest team in the nation? Oregon State have cooled off slightly the past couple of weeks, and super-QB Deleon was forced to leave the game early last week after getting a little shaken up. Oregon State are +7 favourites at home, and it will take something pretty special for Washington State to pull this one out.

[Blade6119]

Thanks...this dynasty led me to buy the game and join the league. If you ever want to play a game against wisconsin, let me know :)

[Groundhog]

Thanks...this dynasty led me to buy the game and join the league. If you ever want to play a game against wisconsin, let me know :)

No probs, I'll have to check if Arlie can give me a commission cut of your purchase. ;)

Definately, remind me again in the scheduling phase, and good luck with your season!

[st.cronin]

lookin' forward to the next update

:D

[Groundhog]

Week 8 Result: No game

The week off helped heal a few wounds, with both our OLine guys probably able to play next week, and Gaddy is also one week stronger, which is important considering what he gives us on the DLine. ILB Ware, who has battled through his elbow injury all season, is looking much better as well. FS Tim Lewis, who has sat out 2 games, is also looking good to go.

Around the Mid West:

Air Force defeat UNLV 21-17 - UNLV put up a fight, but Air Force collect the hard-fought W.
BYU defeat Colorado St 25-7 - A big 4th Q bailed out BYU in a rather poor showing.
TCU defeat San Diego St 21-17 -Wow! Big upset here! TCU finally get some points on the board thanks to some inspired play from freshman QB Rogers in his first start. San Diego St's first loss of the season, and TCU's first win in 4 weeks.

Game of the Week Result: Washington State 40, Oregon State 23

Washington State do it again! Great back-to-back wins for Washington State against two quality opponents. Oregon State QB Deleon was finally made to look human (11/23at, 224yds, 0 TD, 1 INT), and the Beavers will begin to wonder if teams have finally worked out how to shut him down, or if the Washington State D just took him out of the game.

[SnDvls]

just found this thread here Groundhog...great read

I just picked up my first win in the FOFC-BBCF league over Cal

looking forward to reading more.

[Groundhog]

Week 9 Preview: Utah Utes (5-1, 2-1) @ TCU Horned Frogs (3-4, 2-2)

Week 9 sees us travelling to the TCU campus for our first ever game against a human-controlled team. TCU have been pretty solid defensively, but have really struggled putting points on the board. Any chance we may have had of under-estimating them was thrown out the window however, as they handed San Diego State their first loss of the season last week thanks largely to the play of Freshman QB Jerry Rogers. Rogers had 3 TD passes in his first ever start, and it looks like he's secured his spot as the starting QB for the Horned Frogs.

TCU are a team that has looked to run more than pass however, so we will need to pressure their OLine and not allow Thomas Hyde (4.06ypc, 62.6ypg) or Mario Soto (3.9ypc, 68.0ypg) to do too much damage on the ground. The plan will be to limit the running game and force TCU's young QB to throw the ball more than the Horned Frogs would like. Easier said than done, of course, especially with how we last performed on the road.

As I mentioned above, the Horned Frogs have been quite good defensively. The have some talent on the DLine, and a very decent secondary. Aldridge struggled on the road against a far worse defense than this. I'm confident that our three-headed running attack will get their yards, but we need to limit turnovers, give Aldridge time to make good decisions, and did I mention limit turnovers?

We are +11 favourites, but I'm expecting this to be an ugly, grindfest of a game. May the team that makes the fewest mistakes win!

Prediction: Utah 24, TCU 20. We are +11 favourites.

Around the Mount West:

Colorado St (1-5) @ San Diego St (6-1) - San Diego St are +11 favourites. Should be an easy recovery game for San Diego St after last week's upset.
New Mexico (3-3) @ UNLV (2-4) - UNLV are +4 favourites. Anyone's game really, though New Mexico have definately shown they possess the ability to dissapoint.
BYU (4-2) @ Wyoming (2-5) - BYU are +9 favourites. The Cougars should cruise through this one, but who knows what might happen on the road.
Air Force (3-3) @ Navy (3-4) - Navy are +1 favourites. While I contend that Air Force are better than their record indicates, Navy has played well against some solid teams (including a 1 point loss to #10 Notre Dame), and might just be too tough.

Game of the Week:

#10 Notre Dame @ #7 USC

A number of good games this week (like #1 LSU @ #13 Auburn, #4 Oklahoma @ #11 Texas A&M), but I like this matchup the most, and don't want to feature Oklahoma yet again! Notre Dame dropped the first game of the season, but have been on a tear ever since. RB Michael Lee (6.46ypc, 109.9ypg) and his OLine have been great, though QB James Peterson has been inconsistent. USC is coming off their first loss of the season against Arizona, and will be hoping that their solid D and strong running attack will prove enough to snare victory. If they have to air it out, they may be in trouble. The odds are listed as even, and this is one that could definately go either way.

[Swaggs]

Fun dynasty.

I keep talking myself out of getting BBCF, so I probably shouldn't, but I'll be following. :)

[Groundhog]

Thanks for all the comments guys!

[Groundhog]

Week 9 Academic Suspensions:

Although we have suffered some academic suspensions already this year, none have been starters or important subs. That changes this week, with CB John Kim & FS Tim Lewis both letting their grades slip.

Losing John Kim hurts the most. He's my best CB, is 4th on the team in tackles (21), easily leads the team in interceptions (5, next highest is 1), and is yet to allow any big plays. We have some depth here with last year's starter Alvin Edwards thankfully, but our talent level really drops off if we need to field a 3rd corner.

FS Tim Lewis (2 tackles, 1 missed tackle, 2 big plays allowed) started the first 4 games of the season before coming down with an injury, and week 9 was supposed to be his return. We aren't so deep at safety, but Benjamin Talbot has done a good job filling in (8 tackles, 1 interception), and his production in only 3 games and 1 start has already eclipsed Lewis's production, so Talbot may hang on to his starting role even when Lewis returns. Both players are prone to mind-lapses that lead to big plays for the other team however, and safety will be a spot that we look to shore up on in the recruiting phase.

[DeToxRox]

I am sick of the Pac 10 being your Games of the Week.

I am sick of the Pac 10 being so good.

Signed,
Disgruntled Arizona Coach

[st.cronin]

This week is huge. I consider this the biggest game of the year for us. I am doing everything I can to get my team fired up.

-hc of tcu

[Sublime 2]

LSU will be starting their backup true freshman QB this week against #13 Auburn. Hopefully our RB's help him out!

PS. Should be game of the week! SEC rocks!

[Groundhog]

This week is huge. I consider this the biggest game of the year for us. I am doing everything I can to get my team fired up.

-hc of tcu

Ditto. I'm hoping for a close one regardless of the end result.

[Groundhog]

LSU will be starting their backup true freshman QB this week against #13 Auburn. Hopefully our RB's help him out!

PS. Should be game of the week! SEC rocks!

Wasn't aware of the backup QB situation, but yeah I'll be checking this game out too. I also promise to share the Game of the Week love around a little. ;)

[Johnny93g]

I'm coaching Notre Dame, and i just found this dynasty today. Great read, looking forward to the rest of the season. Our game against USC today is our biggest in league history so far. Unfortunatly, our freshman running back Michael Lee won't play. Academic suspension. :mad:

Good Luck against TCU!!!

[Groundhog]

Week 9 Result: Utah Utes 23, TCU Horned Frogs 27

Player of the Game: WR E Baker (UTAH) 6 Rec, 101 Yards, 2 TDs

BOX SCORE (http://www.fofc-bbcf.com/league/BoxScores/Game739.htm)

This was exactly the kind of game I was hoping for. Aside from the final result, that is. ;)

The game started out very poorly, with TCU returning our opening kickoff 98 yards, and running in for the TD shortly after. Neither team gets much going, before TCU put together a drive, thanks mainly to the great scrambling ability of QB J Rogers. We manage to force the FG however to make it 10-0 with 4:14 left in the quarter. Aldridge is looking awful and I'm getting flashbacks to the BYU game again, which is helped all the more when Utah RB Green fumbles the ball at our own 45, and the Horned Frogs return it all the way for a TD. Down 17 nothing.

We come out in the 2nd Q knowing we need to put points on the board. Finally Aldridge finds his rhythm and we work it down field, but can't connect on a 30 yard FG. Thankfully we get the ball back shortly after, work it back up field, and Aldridge spots WR Baker for a 23 yard TD pass. 17-7 TCU, with 8:15 left.

Both our defenses are holding for the most part, but we lose DE Gaddy again and he doesn't return. Hopefully it's nothing serious. Neither team is able to put up any more points in the half, but I really don't like how much pressure TCU is getting on Aldridge - it seems every 2nd snap he is needing to scramble. We enter the half still down 17-7.

We get the ball to start the half, and Aldridge and Reynolds put together some great work in the air and ground to get us near the Red Zone, before RB Green burns TCU SS Edquivel for a TD off a 23 yard pass from Alridge. 17-14.

Both teams trade possessions, we finally get some pressure on the QB, but neither D is giving up very much, before Aldridge hits WR Wilburn for a 28 yarder. We move the ball on the ground, then Aldridge connects with Baker for a 21 yard TD pass to begin the 4th Q, and we have our first lead of the game, 21-17 with 14:34 remaining.

An awful kickoff puts TCU in good field position, and they work it upfield (assisted by a Utah penalty), before Rogers throws a 47 yard TD pass to steal the lead again. The Utah CB that give up the big play? A Edwards, the guy filling in for the suspended Kim. :( 21-24, TCU.

Return man Rowe gives us great field position off the kick, then Reynolds busts out a 16 yard run, but TCU sack Aldridge to steal momentum away, and we are forced to punt, and we pin the Horned Frogs at the 4 yard line.

We give up some ground, but sack the TCU QB twice to get the ball back, and Newby has another great return to put us near field goal range, at the 33! Alridge then hits RB Nolan for a great pass at the 7 yard line, but he fumbles it and TCU recover! TCU RB Soto just kills us here, moving it on the ground and the Horned Frogs kick a FG to get it to 27-21 TCU with 2:03 remaining, meaning we need a TD, and FAST.

A poor kickoff from TCU which goes out of bounds gets us the ball at the 40. For some reason backup QB Saunders takes a few snaps, but Aldridge hits freshman WR Wilburn for a 28 yard pass that gets us to the 17 yard line with 0:56 left. First snap, incomplete pass. Second snap, Aldridge is sacked. Third snap, incomplete pass. 4th down, with the game on the line, Alridge lobs a pass to Wilburn who DROPS IT. TCU take a knee, and that's the game.

Needless to say, it's a very dissapointing loss for us. A fumble and poor special teams coverage put us in a 17-0 hole to start the game, and it was always going to be tough to come back from that. TCU's defense against the run was definately as tough as advertised. Reynolds had some nice runs, but we just didn't dominate the ground like we usually do. Aldridge had a rough 1st Q but really improved as the game went along, and I really wish we'd used him a little more instead of some of those unimaginative 3rd and long running plays we called today.

At the end of the day though, TCU made us play their style of game, and that's why they won. TCU QB J Rogers only threw the ball 15 times (5 completions & 1 TD), and when they needed the yards for the first down at crucial times, TCU RB Soto got it done. Their D was rock solid, and OLB M Smith was a monster and should have been player of the game IMO, with 10 tackles, 1 sack, 2 stuffs, a hurry, and a forced fumble.

Congrats to TCU, it was a fantastic start to this rivalry and I look forward to the next time we meet!

Around the Mount West:

TCU are right back in the conference picture with 2 straight wins after a shakky start, while Utah and BYU take a hit.

San Diego St defeat Colorado St 24-13 - San Diego St bounce back against Colorado State, but it was probably a tougher game than they would have liked.
UNLV defeat New Mexico 20-13 - Nothing much to write home about. Mediocre performance by both team's offenses.
Wyoming defeat BYU 34-0 - Um, wow. As happy as I am to see BYU go down, I never expected such a margin. BYU's QBs all had woeful games.
Navy defeat Air Force 13-6 - Navy were too tough in this ugly game.

Game of the Week Result: USC 22, Notre Dame 21

16 unanswered points in the 4th Q tears the heart out of Notre Dame, with the final clincher being a 33 yard FG with :48 left to take the game. The real killer though was a 70 yard fumble return for a USC TD with 6:15 left. Notre Dame had pretty thoroughly outplayed USC for 3 quarters, but just couldn't get it done when it came down to the crunch.

[st.cronin]

Good luck the rest of the way, Sir. I hope we both win out.

[Groundhog]

Week 10 Preview: Utah Utes (5-2, 3-2) vs San Diego St Aztecs (7-1, 4-1)

We return to the safety of our own home this week to take on the current #1 team in the Mount West. This is really a must win game for us to keep our conference champs hopes alive after last week's loss, as we are now tied 3rd with TCU.

The Aztecs started out 6-0 before being stunned by TCU 2 weeks ago, but bounced back with a win over Colorado State last week. Their offense is one of the better in the nation, and defensively they have been very good as well. A quick glance at their schedule reveals that they haven't had as strong a schedule as the other teams battling it out for first place in the Mount West, so we'll be hoping we can follow TCU's example and take it to these guys.

Aztecs QB Adam Cummings has had a good year with the exception of one game, and we'll be looking to try and make that two games after tonight. He's a different QB to the ones we've faced this year, blessed with a strong arm and good instincts but lacking great touch or accuracy. Even so, the Aztecs tend to run a lot of short passes, which I think plays to our strengths thanks to our talented group of linebackers.

The Aztecs have little in the way of a running game. Freshman Joseph Schmid leads the attack on the ground and has had some good games thanks largely to his foot speed, but he's coming off two ordinary games, and I'm pretty confident we can keep him under control.

Defensively the Aztecs are lead by OLB Larry Charles, who is a solid tackler and loves getting in to the backfield and pressuring the QB. Outside of Charles they are a little thin on standout talent, but as a team play pretty solid D. We will definately be looking to gain yardage on the ground today, as it should come easier than it did last week against TCU.

As I said before, this is a must win game. We want nothing less than the conference championship this year, and to make that happen we can't drop any more games, especially not to contenders.

Prediction: Utah 27, San Diego St 20. We are +5 favourites.

Around the Mount West:

TCU (4-4) @ Wyoming (3-5) - Wyoming are +1 favourites. The bookies obviously haven't watched TCU's last 2 games.
Air Force (3-4) @ BYU (4-3) - BYU are +1 favourites. BYU were humiliated last week, and might be again this week by Air Force.
UNLV (3-4) @ Colorado St (1-6) - Colorado St are +2 favourites. My money would be on UNLV.

Game of the Week:

#13 Florida St (5-2) @ #22 NC State (6-2)

The Atlantic division of the ACC is wide open at this point, and a win here would be big for either teams, and would move the winner in to top spot. Florida St had been having a very nice season but need to bounce back after a home loss to Clemson last week. RB Charles Daniels has been playing solid all year, but this NC State D loves shutting down the run, and that might be the key today. NC State QB Bobby Wallace is hobbled, and if he doesn't play that could be a problem for NC State. Florida State are +2 favourites on the road.

[Groundhog]

Week 10 Result: Utah Utes 17, San Diego St 30

Player of the Game: RB J Reynolds (UTAH) 24 AT, 232 Yds, 9.67ypc, 1 TD

BOX SCORE (http://www.fofc-bbcf.com/league/BoxScores/Game745.htm)

A very, very bad loss, and one that makes it very difficult - though not impossible - to clinch the conference. Things started well enough for us, with us working it down field on the first possession of the game before Aldridge threw a TD pass... only to have it called back on a holding penalty. No problem however, as he connects with WR Baker on the next play for the TD to give us the lead to open.

This is pretty much the end of our luck, as San Diego State get the ball in good positions thanks to an awful kickoff, then connect on a 52 yard TD pass to level the scores. Then lost fumbles, dropped passes, sacked QBs, and interceptions become the order of the day, but none of our offensive bloopers are as frustrating or damaging as our inability to stop the big play.

It seemed nearly every time we'd get the Aztecs in a 3rd and long positions, they'd either throw a 20+ yard pass, or bust out for a 30 yard run. This was the same problem that plagued us last week against TCU, and it's a real worry. The loss of Kim at CB is really having a big effect on our team. We are getting the stops most of the time, but it's all being negated by these big plays.

Reynolds had a good night for us, but Aldridge threw 3 picks for just 1 TD. Two of this picks were after he was forced to get rid of it under pressure however, so the OLine shares the blame on those.

Congrats to the Aztecs though. They got the big plays when they needed them, and hang on to the #1 spot in the conference.

Around the Mount West:

TCU defeat Wyoming 20-10 - TCU on a roll now with 3 in a row, and are a real chance if they can keep it up.
BYU defeat Air Force 44-3 - BYU QB Hardy with a great game, and the Falcons just couldn't do anything to stop him.
UNLV defeat Colorado St 13-6 - UNLV suck the least, and pull out the win.

Game of the Week Result: NC State 16, Florida St 3

Not even a monster night from Florida State DE Daniel Pena (5 tackles, 3 sacks, 2 stuffs, 2 hurries) could motivate the Seminoles tonight, as they fall to NC State in a low scoring, and largely unspectacular, matchup.

[st.cronin]

woot!

[Groundhog]

Week 11 Preview: Utah Utes (5-3, 3-3) vs New Mexico Lobos (3-4, 1-4)

The past 2 weeks have been dreadful for our conference title hopes, and we really need to bounce back this week. This may just be the game to do it in as well, with the woeful Lobos paying us a visit at home. The Lobos struggle to put points on the board, and fielding a QB that throws for for 41.8% accuracy probably plays a large part in that, but the biggest issue is probably their lack of experience. These Lobos will be a force in a season or two, but right now they are a little too green on both sides of the field to string together consistent performances.

Having said that though, they have more talent than they have shown, and with the ability we've shown to give up big plays and turn the ball over at key points of the game, I have no doubt that we'll do everything in our power to make this a closer game than it should be.

Prediction: Utah 34, New Mexico 27. We are +12 Favourites.

Around the Mount West:
A huge week in the Mount West. TCU need to keep winning to stay in the run for the title, but the biggest game of the week is BYU @ San Diego State. Whoever walks away with the win from that game will be hard to overtake.

TCU (5-4, 4-2) @ Air Force (3-5, 2-3) - Air Force are +2 favourites.
Wyoming (3-6, 2-3) @ UNLV (4-4, 3-3) - UNLV are +3 favourites.
BYU (5-3, 4-1) @ San Diego State (8-1, 5-1) - BYU are +3 favourites.

Game of the Week:

BYU (5-3) @ San Diego State (8-1)

I'm going to be selfish this week and award the game to a Mount West showdown that may very well decide the conference winner. BYU have looked great in conference play, though suffered a pretty major humilation when they were drubbed 34-0 by Wyoming. San Diego State also suffered a big setback with a loss to the surging Horned Frogs a few weeks ago, though they should have too much on both sides of the field for BYU today, especially at home. BYU are +3 favourites surprisingly, but my money is on San Diego State.

[Groundhog]

Week 11 Result: Utah Utes 17, New Mexico 21

Player of the Game: WR Bryan Mosher (NM) 5 Rec, 117 yds, 2 TDs

BOX SCORE (http://www.fofc-bbcf.com/league/BoxScores/Game750.htm)

...sigh... 3 losses in a row. With the exception of one 60 yard TD run by Paul Green, New Mexico completely shut down our running and passing attacks today. The best Aldridge could do was throw short curl passes as the Lobos gave us nothing downfield, got men in the backfield, and played our running game better than any other team so far this season.

Still, we had a chance to win this game, put a good drive together in the final minutes, before yet another fumble after picking up a first down catch cost us the game for what seems like the 90th game in a row. Yet we would not have been in that position had we been able to simply stop 3rd and longs. Twice in one drive we gave up a first down on a 3rd-and-19 and 3rd-and-21, and that's unforgiveable. I don't believe I completely appreciated just how valuable CB Kim was to our defense.

With the exception of those big passing plays allowed by my secondary, we had some solid performances tonight. DE Gaddy had perhaps his best game of the season (3 tackles, 2 stuffs, 2 hurries), OLB Roman had 9 tackles, and OLB Barrett & DE Gonzales both had 2 sacks. Solid performances like this are all wothless if you are going to give up the big passing plays however, and it's quite fitting that it was a 70 yard TD pass that tore the heart out of this team tonight.

The rest of the season is now more about respectability for us than any hopes at success. Might be time to start rotating in my backup QBs.

Around the Mount West:
Very tough loss for TCU really puts them out of contention, but they should be happy with their turnaround this year, which has seen them go from likely bottom-dweller to in contention.

Air Force defeat TCU 13-6 - Not a good showing by TCU. Their usual tough job on D, but they reverted back to their offensive form from before their streak.
UNLV defeat Wyoming 26-23 - An amazing game. Both teams had scored 10 points a piece in overtime, before UNLV nailed the 40yd FG to take the game.
San Diego St defeat BYU 16-10 -See below.

Game of the Week Result: San Diego St 16, BYU 10

San Diego State will be counting themselves very lucky today. With the only scores on the board being 2 safetys scored by San Diego State heading in to the 4th and neither team looking like much of a danger to score, this game had all the makings of a snorefest. San Diego St kicked a FG to make it 7-0, before BYU finally got a break, with a 75 yd TD pass in the final 2 minutes to send the game to OT. Both teams kicked a FG in OT, before San Diego St got their first TD of the game with a 9 yard pass.

An ugly, ugly game, but in all probability, San Diego State should be the Mount West Champions!

[Blade6119]

Tough loss GH, i thought you would pull that one out...the game log as a great read though

[Groundhog]

Tough loss GH, i thought you would pull that one out...the game log as a great read though

Thanks Blade, you and me both.

I think defensively we've been relying on the 3-4 a little too much in passing situations and that has seen us burnt, but I don't have the talent to bring on extra CBs or Safetys, so I'm not sure what to do... outside of gameplan better for next season, that is!

Congrats on your game too, very handy win! But hey, surely you don't need BOTH those QBs that played well for you today?? Feel free to ship one off this way if you want to clear out some of that clutter. ;)

[Blade6119]

Thanks Blade, you and me both.

I think defensively we've been relying on the 3-4 a little too much in passing situations and that has seen us burnt, but I don't have the talent to bring on extra CBs or Safetys, so I'm not sure what to do... outside of gameplan better for next season, that is!

Congrats on your game too, very handy win! But hey, surely you don't need BOTH those QBs that played well for you today?? Feel free to ship one off this way if you want to clear out some of that clutter. ;)
You seem to be taking the team in the right direction though, and its a great year for CBs in the west region. Im sure its just a matter of time before you are winning the title.

Thanks for the nod, though it was more luck then gameplanning. As for QBs, take them...the third QB, who played like crap, is my future. Though, through suspension he has almost never played, and therefore maybe you will get gim after all.

Im really enjoying your dynasty, so keep it up GH. Im watching intently how you handle the off-season, and it might inspire me to start my own. Best of luck going forward.

[Groundhog]

Im really enjoying your dynasty, so keep it up GH. Im watching intently how you handle the off-season, and it might inspire me to start my own. Best of luck going forward.

I've never run an offseason before, offline or online, so it should be interesting to say the least. ;)

I do plan on firing up a single player game and playing through a few offseasons to get the hang of recruiting though.

[Groundhog]

Week 12 Preview: No game

Another week off, and we can all hang our heads and think about what could have been. We were the Mount West favourites heading in to the season, but a few heartbreaking losses have decimated our chances for the conference title.

We've still got two games left and are nursing a few injuries, so this week off will come in handy.

Around the Mount West:
San Diego St have locked things up, but will still be challenged today by Air Force. BYU meanwhile needs to win to stay in 2nd place.

San Diego St (9-1, 6-1) @ Air Force (4-5, 3-3) - Air Force are (surprisingly) +3 favourites.
New Mexico (4-4, 2-4) @ BYU (5-4, 4-2) - BYU are +7 favourites.
Wyoming (3-7, 2-4) @ Colorado St (1-7, 1-5) - Wyoming are +4 favourites.

Week 12 Game of the Week:

California (5-4) @ #3 UCLA (8-1)

Only Washington State has been able to slow the Bruins' title hopes this season, though there has been a few scares for UCLA, including a 1 point win over Oregon State last week. The Golden Bears have had their ups and downs this year, but have more talent then they've shown. Will they be able to move the ball against a very talented Bruins D, led by star OLB Morris Snider? Probably not on the road, but should be a good game. UCLA are +6 favourites.

[Groundhog]

Week 12 Result: No Game

We finally go a week without losing a game! ;)

Not all of our injuries healed up over the past week either. ILB Grover Sharpe - already injured in the 1st game of the season and missing several weeks - is still banged up, as is the also oft-injured Frank Ware. Both players should play next week though. FB Russell Smith is out.

Around the Mount West:

Air Force defeat San Diego St 48-9 - Wow! I've been touting these guys all season long, and they finally show why. Falcons RB K Flores dominated with 2 TDs and 6.38ypc.
BYU defeat New Mexico 30-9 - BYU keep the Lobos out of the endzone and get the win, but can't overtake San Diego St in the standings.
Colorado St defeat Wyoming 23-13 - Dissapointing road game for Wyoming as Colorado St get win # 2 of the season.

Game of the Week Result: UCLA 38, California 17

California couldn't stop Bruins RB K Mason, fell behind early, and were never able to get back in the game. Loss drops California to 4-4 in conference, which hurts their chances of finishing better than 5th in conference. UCLA meanwhile are tied with Washington State at 6-1.

[Groundhog]

Week 13 Preview: Utah Utes (5-4, 3-4) @ UNLV Rebels (5-4, 4-3)

Now ranked 6th in the Mount West, we really need this win to atleast finish the season .500 in conference play. The Rebels started out poorly, but are now on a 3 game winning streak. Those 3 wins have come against the poorest teams in the conference, but we are now one of those teams, so we need to come out with a little more fire than we have the past 4 weeks or so.

The Rebels prefer to win games with their D, and they get very strong play out of both safety spots in particular. Both FS Louis Phelan and SS Marion Deal love getting in amongst the thick of the action and figure to play a big role today. Their D Line is also pretty capable at both DEs, but is lacking at the DT spots. Still, this will be a tough team to run the ball against.

Offensively the Rebels aren't quite so strong. QB Roush is adequete but has missed some games with injury, and their running game has been pretty poor, with the exception of a few big games by 2nd RB Gary Simons. If there is one team that we should be able to prevent big plays against, it should be this one.

We are +5 favourites coming in to this one, but after the past few weeks I am by no means confident. Once again, we can definately beat these guys and easily have more talent, it's just a matter of cutting down on turnovers and stopping the big passing plays.

Prediction: Utah 24, UNLV 31

Around the Mount West:

BYU (6-4) @ TCU (5-5) - BYU are +11 favourites. This game should be far closer than that line as TCU look to bounce back after their last game.
Wyoming (3-8) @ Air Force (5-5) - Air Force are +11 favourites. Should be an easy win for the Falcons.
Colorado St (2-7) @ New Mexico (4-5) - New Mexico are +4 favourites. *yawn*

Week 13 Game of the Week:

#4 Notre Dame (8-2) @ #11 Tennessee (8-2)

A showdown between two very good teams who are very much still in contention this year. Notre Dame bounced back last week after a tough loss to USC, while Tennessee have playing some pretty great football thanks to some usually quite solid defense. Tennessee are +7 favourites, but my money is on Notre Dame putting up enough points to get the win.

[Blade6119]

Best of luck as the sim runs! Like shaa, im done for the year..now i get to watch the rest of the big 10 and try to figure out who will win the 5 way tie for the title now in place.

Keep winning, i need you to keep me entertained while i wait!

[Swaggs]

What is the timeline on this league?

I am thinking about buying BBCF and, if the exporting/multiplayer functions are user-friendly, I might be interested in joining up.

[Swaggs]

Dola... by timeline, I should elaborate...

How often are sims (or exports due?)?

When is a good time, in the sim season, for a new coach to join up?

[Groundhog]

I won't get the time to write up the result this afternoon, but lets just say that I'm much happier this week than I have been the past 3. ;)

Swaggs, there are 3 sims a week. One is on Sunday, one is on Tuesday, and one is on Thursday. Depending on how much you gameplan per opponent, an export for each sim may not be required.

Best time to join up would probably be anytime between now and the end of the season. That way you get to recruit and set your offensive game plan, plus you have a few games left this season to get a look at some of the guys on your roster.

[st.cronin]

Swaggs, in terms of technical stuff, the mp aspect of this game is incredibly easy and intuitive. You set your depth charts etc, and click one button - and everything is packed into one small file.

[Blade6119]

I just bought/joined about 3 weeks ago swaggs, and id say after the initial run through(where i looked at all my players, checked out my opponents, decided what my future plans were), it takes me about 5-10 minutes an update right now. Id imagine the off-season with recruiting will take longer, but in-season it flies.

[Groundhog]

Week 13 Result: Utah Utes 31, UNLV Rebels 24

Player of the Game: WR Robert Byrd (UTAH) 4 Recs, 133 yards, 3 TDs

BOX SCORE (http://www.fofc-bbcf.com/league/BoxScores/Game757.htm)

Interesting stat: In our 6 wins this season, WR Byrd has caught 5.7 passes per game for 8 TDs. In our 4 losses, he's averaged 1.0 catches for 0 TDs. Today Byrd was in fine form, catching just 4 passes, but 3 of those were TDs. I often mention our running attack and Aldridge's passing performances, but rarely do I give enough credit to Byrd. One of the things I will be looking to do a little more next season is give Byrd more catches, which may not be easy with Aldridge gone and no clear favourite to succeed him.

We played 3 quarters of solid football this week, but almost threw it away in the 4th Quarter when the Rebels scored two quick TDs in the final 5 minutes. An onside kick failed however, and we were able to hang on for a much-needed win.

Outside of those two TDs we were pretty solid defensively. We stopped the run more often than not, but still struggled against the long pass. OLB Barrett was the star for us on D, with 7 tackles and 2 stuffs to help keep UNLV from picking up yards on the ground.

It was dissapointing that we nearly let this one slip away, but right now we're just happy to get a win and to stay above .500.

Around the Mount West:

TCU defeat BYU 16-7 - Big win for TCU, thanks again to their solid D.
Air Force defeat Wyoming 36-27 - Nice win for Air Force with another solid game by RB Flores.
New Mexico defeat Colorado St 37-10 - Two in a row for the Lobbos.

Game of the Week Result: Notre Dame 52, Tennessee 20

Well, I thought Notre Dame would pickup the win, but I didn't expect it to be 32 points! Tennessee couldn't stop anything today, with Notre Dame picking up 638 yards total, 142 of those coming on the ground through RB M Lee alone, while RB R Martinez had 134.

[Groundhog]

Week 14 Preview: No game

Another week off to lick our wounds before we take on Utah State in our rival game next week. 2nd RB Paul Green is nursing a strained ACL and should be OK for next week. 2nd FB Russell Smith is still suffering tendonitis of the knee and might be back next week. Reserve OT Rodney Munson has hyperextension of the ankle and may play next week. Starting OG Eugene Fitzpatrick has a broken thumb but will play. The oft-injured OLB Grover Sharpe and ILB Frank Ware are both still niggled, but will likely play too.

Around the Mount West:

No games this week as in-conference play has finished.

Game of the Week:

#8 UCLA @ #3 USC

This should be a fantastic game. UCLA fell to Auburn on the road in a close one last week, and get no chance to rest this week either, back on the road to take on USC, who have won 2 in a row since falling to Washington State. Two very strong defensive teams should mean that it's a low-scoring - and hopefully close - matchup. Odds are listed as even.

[Swaggs]

Hey guys, I ended up buying this over the weekend and am liking what I see, so far.

One question, and maybe it is dumb and I am just missing something, but is there a way to make everyone play 12 games somehow? It seems like some play 11 and some play 12, and I don't like that.

[SnDvls]

Hey guys, I ended up buying this over the weekend and am liking what I see, so far.

One question, and maybe it is dumb and I am just missing something, but is there a way to make everyone play 12 games somehow? It seems like some play 11 and some play 12, and I don't like that.

Not unless you manually schedule them and that would be a huge undertaking. Also if you have conference movement and manual schedule you could create more problems like teams playing 14-15 games sometimes.

[Groundhog]

Week 14 Result: No game

Nadda to report. Injuries wound up as expected, and all will be playing today.

Around the Mount West:

Everyone with the week off.

Game of the Week Result: UCLA 33, USC 11

Comfortable win for the Bruins, thanks largely to a sensational game from RB Kenneth Mason. Mason had 239 yards on the ground in 36 attempts for 3 TDs, and the Trojans just had no answers defensively or offensively in a very dissapointing performance.

[Groundhog]

Week 15 Preview: Utah Utes (6-4) vs Utah State (3-8)

Rivalry week! It has been a dissapointing season for us to say the least, but that doesn't mean we aren't looking forward to stomping Utah State at home. The Aggies have struggled all season long, but have been much improved the past month or so. One of their problems has been their passing attack, with QB Patrick Brown having thrown more TDs than INTs just twice this season, and is sitting at 45.4% accuracy. We'll really be looking to pressure him in to mistakes today, and the lack of talent on his OLine should help us.

Defensively the Agges have struggled as well, so this should be a good opportunity for us to pile on some points. They are probably weakest stopping the pass, but we won't be changing our gameplan. I mean, look how successful it's been thus far. ;)

Around the Mount West:

Colorado St (2-8) @ Colorado (6-5) - Colorado are +20 favourites, and even that might be a little modest.
Southern Methodist (3-7) @ TCU (6-5) - TCU are +12 favourites.
Nevada (6-4) @ UNLV (5-6) - UNLV are +9 favourites.
New Mexico St (6-4) @ New Mexico (5-5) - New Mexico are +18 favourites.

Game of the Week:

#8 Florida @ #12 Florida St

The Florida showdown should be a high scoring one, with both teams having little trouble putting points on the scoreboard this season. Florida State are +3 favourites at home, and with the way Florida has played against other highly ranked teams this season, I'd say that is pretty fair.

[Groundhog]

Week 15 Result: Utah Utes 51, Utah State Aggies 16

Player of the Game: RB J. Reynolds (UTAH) 23 att, 172 yds, 7.48ypc, 2 TDs

BOX SCORE (http://www.fofc-bbcf.com/league/BoxScores/Game925.htm)

It became clear very early on that we were going to have little difficulty moving the ball against this team, especially on the ground, and we took full advantage of that with Reynolds having a great game, picking up 172 yards and 2 TDs with his longest run being just 18 yards, and wingback Green picking up another 80 and a TD. Aldridge also had a great game, sharing the passes around and picking up 3 TD passes of his own.

It was a good finish to the season for us, playing in heavy snowfall no less, especially the 21 3rd Q points we put on the board. We continued to be shaky defending the pass, but that doesn't surprise me any longer. The game never really looked in doubt, which also helped prevent the usual chest pains I get when a team starts completing pass after pass against us.

This gives us a 7-4 record to finish the season. I would have preferred 9-2 considering our start, but it's better than the 5-6 I was bracing myself for after our slide.

Around the Mount West:

Colorado defeat Colorado St 57-5 - Turns out I was even being generous when I predicted them to lose by 40...
TCU defeat SMU 34-20 - Excellent end of the season for TCU, who wound up 5-1 with Jerry Rogers at QB.
Nevada defeat UNLV 23-22 - A FG in the final 10 seconds helped further cement what was a pretty ordinairy season for UNLV.
New Mexico defeat New Mexico St 45-7 - Impressive showing by the young Lobos, who could be a force next season.

Game of the Week Result: Florida State 56, Florida 10

Florida do it once again, absolutely crumbling before a ranked opponent. The Gators couldn't get anything going on either end of the field and were shredded decisively in pretty much every catagory. FSU RB Charles Daniels had a great game, with 205 yards and 3 TDs.

[Groundhog]

Mountain West 2008 End of Season Review:

Mount West Standings:

{ Conf. } { Overall }
# Team W-L PF PA W-L PF PA Streak Home Road Media Coach
1. SD St 6-2 200 163 9-2 298 199 L1 4-1 5-1 0-0 0-0
2. Air Force 5-3 193 184 6-5 230 220 W3 4-2 2-3 0-1 0-1
3. BYU 5-3 212 130 6-5 251 216 L1 5-0 1-5 0-1 0-1
4. TCU 5-3 135 104 7-5 203 205 W2 4-2 3-3 0-1 0-1
5. UNLV 4-4 216 274 5-7 216 274 L3 3-4 2-3 0-0 0-0
6. Utah 4-4 232 192 7-4 350 221 W2 5-2 2-2 0-0 0-0
7. New Mexico 3-5 143 185 6-5 250 215 W2 4-2 2-3 0-0 0-0
8. Colorado St 2-6 97 181 2-9 114 292 L2 1-3 1-6 0-1 0-1
9. Wyoming 2-6 147 198 3-9 216 291 L4 3-3 0-6 0-2 0-2

San Diego State had a very good season, and can thank TCU for their final conference game win over BYU to give them the undisputed title of Mount West champs. A three way tie for 2nd place, but TCU beat BYU and lost to Air force, while BYU lost to Air Force, so I don't know what their actual rankings should be. We came out a very dissapointing equal 5th. Looking at our points for an against, we were easily the highest scoring team in the conference, but our points against reveals the problem - we just couldn't shut teams down.

Overall it was a very good season in the Mount West, with the battle for the conference not being decided until there were a few games left. Story of the season would be TCU's climb, as I doubt many expected to see them battling it out for the conference title considering the start they had.

Mount West All-Conference Teams:

Mountain West First Team Offense:

QB: Raymond Aldridge, UTAH - 2,557 yards, 23-6 td/int, 149 rating
RB: Jeffrey Reynolds, UTAH - 1,240 yards, 5.85 ypc, 9 td
FB: Randolph Medina, UTAH - 187 yards, 9.84 ypc, 1 td
WR: Adam Felix, SDSU - 54 rec, 970 yards, 7 td
WR: Robert Byrd, UTAH - 43 rec, 647 yards, 9 td
TE: Eric Anderson, AIRF - 25 rec, 277 yards, 2 td
OT: Stanley Espinoza, WYO - 8 rblk, 18 pan, 2 sa
OT: Juan Cochran, AIRF - 6 rblk, 17 pan, 3 sa
OG: Randy Reiter, UTAH - 28 rblk, 22 pan, 2 sa
OG: Marvin Rivera, UNLV - 12 rblk, 24 pan, 4 sa
C: Stan Joyce, BYU - 11 rblk, 16 pan, 3 sa
K: Timothy Hernandez, UTAH - 23-27 FG, 35-35 xp, 50 lg
Off PotY: Raymond Aldridge, UTAH
FOY: Lester McNeil, UNM - 1,174 yds, 4.06 ypc, 7 td
COY: Jim Molenaar, SDSU - 9-2 (6-2), 30 cpu

Mountain West Second Team Offense:

QB: Adam Cummings, SDSU - 2,207 yds, 16-7 td/int, 117.3
RB: Gerald Warren, BYU - 1,154 yds, 4.32 ypc, 8 td
FB: Samural Lewis, TCU - 36 yds, 2.4 ypc, 2 td
WR: Mark Williams, TCY - 44 rec, 605 yds, 6 td
WR: Bryan Mosher, UNM - 49 rec, 821 yds, 4 td
TE: Paul Gunter, CSU - 28 rec, 255 yds, 2 td
OT: Marshall Bond, TCU - 10 rblk, 8 pan, 0 sa
OT: Victor Martin, SDSU - 2 rblk, 11 pan, 1 sa
OG: Clifford Moore, TCU - 16 rblk, 8 pan, 1 sa
OG: John Reyes, UNM - 12 rblk, 16 pan, 7 sa
C: Warren Smith, CSU - 6 rblk, 15 pan, 0 sa
K: Daniel Owens, SDSU - 22-28 FG, 30-31 xp, 51 lg

Mountain West Third Team Offense:

QB: James Roush, UNLV - 1,957 yds, 11-5 td/int, 126.3
RB: Kevin Flores, AIRF - 996 yds, 4.27 ypc, 9 td
FB: Jorge Casper, AIRF - 29 yds, 2.23 ypc, 2 td
WR: Anthony Mullins, UNM - 34 rec, 678 yds, 4 td
WR: Kelly Cox, UNLV - 53 rec, 829 yds, 2 td
TE: Charles Pritchett, AIRF - 19 rec, 253 yds, 1 td
OT: Joseph Steele, UTAH - 8 rblk, 5 pan, 1 sa
OT: Louis Akers, UTAH - 3 rblk, 5 pan, 0 sa
OG: Charles McDonald, WYO - 4 rblk, 10 pan, 0 sa
OG: Rick Lindsey, AIRF - 9 rblk, 6 pan, 3 sa
C: Mark Aldridge, SDSU - 7 rblk, 8 pan, 1 sa
K: David Westmoreland, UNLV - 25-31 FG, 19-19 xp, 47 lg

Mountain West First Team Defense:

DE: Clifton Gray, BYU - 55 tak, 14 sak, 10 stf, 0 int
DE: Richard Johnson, TCU - 34 tak, 11 sak, 8 stf, 2 int
DT: Allan Grover, BYU - 17 tak, 8 sak, 1 stf, 0 int
DT: Ron Brown, UTAH - 13 tak, 5 sak, 2 stf, 0 int
LB: Stephen Snow, UNM - 90 tak, 6 sak, 17 stf, 1 int
LB: Larry Charles, SDSU - 92 tak, 8 sak, 13 stf, 5 int
LB: Mark Smith, TCU - 96 tak, 9 sak, 14 stf, 0 int
CB: Nathan Carr, WYO - 37 tak, 0 sak, 16 pd, 6 int
CB: Robert Holland, TCU - 25 tak, 0 sak, 12 pd, 8 int
FS: Louis Phelan, UNLV - 80 tak, 0 sak, 6 pd, 6 int
SS: Michael Partridge, CSU - 84 tak, 2 sak, 2 pd, 1 int
P: Rick Snow, TCU - 41.1, 35.3 net, 57 lg, 28 in20
Def PotY: Clifton Gray, BYU
FOY: Lester McNeil, UNM - 1,174 yds, 4.06 ypc, 7 td
COY: Jim Molenaar, SDSU - 9-2, (6-2), 30 cpu

Mountain West Second Team Defense:

DE: Christopher Rice, WYO - 39 tak, 7 sak, 11 stf, 0 int
DE: Tracey Bunch, UNLV - 38 tak, 10 sak, 5 stf, 0 int
DT: Alan Kennedy, AIRF - 13 tak, 7 sak, 0 stf, 0 int
DT: Michael Hill, CSU - 9 tak, 2 sak, 3 stf, 0 int
LB: Jaime Jones, UTAH - 72 tak, 2 sak, 16 stf, 1 int
LB: Dillon Mitchell, CSU - 90 tak, 8 sak, 14 stf, 5 int
LB: Kenneth Karr, TCU - 87 tak, 5 sak, 15 stf, 1 int
CB: Spencer Thompson, AIRF - 53 tak, 0 sak, 16 pd, 3 int
CB: Robert Thurman, CSU - 60 tak, 0 sak, 17 pd, 1 int
FS: Paul Lilly, CSU - 55 tak, 2 sak, 5 pd, 4 int
SS: John Donohue, UNM - 74 tak, 0 sak, 4 pd, 3 int
P: James Langston, AIRF - 39.4, 33.2 net, 56 lg, 20 in20

Mountain West Third Team Defense:

DE: Donald Marrero, UNLV - 37 tak, 2 sak, 11 stf, 0 int
DE: Nelson Epstein, BYU - 25 tak, 7 sak, 8 stf, 1 int
DT: Derek Ball, UNLV - 8 tak, 4 sak, 0 stf, 0 int
DT: James Richie, UNM - 4 tak, 3 sak, 0 stf, 0 int
LB: Francisco Lucas, WYO - 90 tak, 3 sak, 9 stf, 2 int
LB: Joel Munoz, AIRF - 78 tak, 4 sak, 10 stf, 1 int
LB: John Barrett, UTAH - 55 tak, 4 sak, 7 stf, 1 int
CB: John Kim, Utah - 21 tak, 0 sak, 8 pd, 5 int
CB: Robert Carroll, TCU - 25 tak, 0 sak, 8 pd, 4 int
FS: Ruben Holmes, WYO - 52 tak, 1 sak, 6 pd, 3 int
SS: Jason White, AIRF - 73 tak, 0 sak, 7 pd, 1 in
P: Justin Phillips, UNM - 43.2, 35 net, 60 lg, 14 in20

[SnDvls]

no bowl game recap yet :(

looking forward to it

[Blade6119]

Sndvls, did you hit a bowl game? I didnt look at your team, i only checked out the pac 10 to talk with bear. We should play a game sometime

[SnDvls]

nope, but I knocked UofA out of one with a win against them.

I'd love to play you...I think I have 2010 and beyond open

[Blade6119]

Let me know, im open anytime...ive only got a maybe game with king the next 2 years(home and home) since i just joined mid-season, so im open.

[SnDvls]

Let me know, im open anytime...ive only got a maybe game with king the next 2 years(home and home) since i just joined mid-season, so im open.

I'll hit you up over there on FOFC-BBCF

[Groundhog]

Yeah, I've been travelling for work the past couple of weeks, so it's been tough to actually download the file and open the game. The writeups will definately be coming, hopefully early next week when I'm home.

[st.cronin]

I can't believe I got hosed the way I did. :(

[Groundhog]

I can't believe I got hosed the way I did. :(

I completely agree. There was no way I deserved a bowl game over you, and I didn't even realise I had one until I happened to see my schedule on the website the day of the sim. Talk about surprised.

[Groundhog]

Meineke Car Care Bowl Result: Utah Utes 20, Florida State 37

Player of the Game: RB Charles Daniels (FSt), 33 At, 126 yds, 2 TDs

BOX SCORE (http://www.fofc-bbcf.com/league/BoxScores/Game161.htm)

Well, we made it to a bowl game. I'm as surprised as anyone else, as I find it near impossible to justify our inclusion following what was without question a dissapointing season for us in the Mount West. TCU was unfairly robbed of a bowl game, and instead it was us who had to get spanked by Florida State. I can only guess that our high-scoring offense was a more attractive option to the bowl game organisers, but I would have happily traded places with TCU if it were at all possible.

The Seminoles are easily the best team we've faced this season, and we played surprisingly well. Reynolds had an amazing game for us, with 106 yards and a TD on just 10 attempts, and with a largest run of just 24. Aldridge wasn't too shabby either in his final game for Utah, even if he didn't connect for a TD. The Seminoles were just far too much for us on offense though, and their QB was unconscious all game, connecting on 29 of 34 passes for 3 TDs and 1 Int.

There was a lot to be happy about in our final showing of the season, and I consider this a pretty high note to end the season on.

Mount West Bowl Games:

Air Force lose the Emerald Bowl to Boston College 39-31 - Great game that went to OT, but the Eagles were too good.
BYU lose the Poinsettia Bowl to Maryland 49-14 - Poor showing by BYU.
San Diego St lose in the playoffs to Texas 29-7 -Pretty good effort by the Mount West champs to keep it close(ish) against one of the best teams in the nation.

[Groundhog]

Championship Game Preview: #2 LSU (15-1) @ #1 Oklahoma (15-1)

Well, here it is, the showdown for the championship trophy! Both teams have suffered a single loss this season, and this should be a good game. Oklahoma's road to the final has been significantly more difficult than LSU. They dropped their first game of the season to Ohio State but have been on a tear since, toppling Texas, Texas A&M, and Syracuse amongst others. LSU on the other hand have played just 2 opponents who are ranked to end the year, and one of those was a loss to Miss State in week 12.

Having said that, LSU are definately not a team to overlook. They have one of the best offenses in the country thanks to a great running attack, which is led by National First Team and Doak Walker award winner Charles Caldwell. Caldwell picks up 6.1 ypc and has run in for an amazing 22 TDs this season. Defensively the Tigers have been pretty good too, but they have proved vulnerable against the pass - a factor that may hurt them today.

Oklahoma get good production on the air through QB Joseph Medina (62.7%, 24 TDs, 11 INTs), as well as nearly 200 ypg on the ground Billings and Gonzalez. Defensively they have been great against the pass, and not much worse against the run.

While my money is on Oklahoma, this could easily go either way, and LSU is favoured by +6.

[Groundhog]

Championship Game Result: Oklahoma 36, LSU 33

I can't seem to track down a box score, but you couldn't hope for a better championship game. The Tigers ran the board in the first half, and Oklahoma just couldn't get in to the endzone. Things start to turn around for Oklahoma in the second half, until Oklahoma QB Medina pieces together a huge drive with some great passing to get it to the 1 yard line with 1:01 left. A quick screen pass puts Oklahoma in the endzone for the lead, and they complete the 2 pt conversion to put themselves up by 3.

LSU get the ball back needing a FG to send it to OT or a TD to win the game. The kickoff is in to the endzone, so they get the ball at the 20. Oklahoma lock down on the pass however, and 4 passes later Oklahoma have it back to take the knee and claim the trophy.

Congrats to Oklahoma and LSU!

[Groundhog]

Utah's 2008 Graduations

QB Raymond Aldridge

GP GS COMP-ATT COMP% YDS YDs/A TD TD% INT INT% LNG GP BP Sack Rat
2006: 7 5 78-133 58.6 1022 7.7 6 4.5 3 2.3 67 5 4 20 133.6
2007: 12 12 218-391 55.8 2414 6.2 16 4.1 12 3.1 86 6 18 29 115.0
2008: 11 11 192-316 60.8 2557 8.1 23 7.3 6 1.9 61 7 13 30 149.0
Total: 30 28 488-840 58.1 5993 7.1 45 5.4 21 2.5 86 18 35 79 130.7

Awards: First Team All-Mountain West (2007, 2008), Mount West Offensive POY (2008)

Aldridge had a fantastic season for us in 2008 and his departure is really going to hurt. He was a guy who played bigger than his ratings, didn't make too many mistakes with the ball, and nearly 1 out of 10 of his completions were TDs, which at 60.8% completions is pretty darn good. I think it would probably be fair to say that Aldridge benefited a lot from our run-orientated offense, but it's not fair to hold that against him - his numbers from 2008 are solid by any standards.

HB Paul Green

Rushing
#######
GP GS Rush YDS YPG YPC LNG TD CR MH FUM FLOST
2006: 12 6 215 979 81.6 4.6 26 8 1 1 2 1
2007: 6 5 100 450 75.0 4.5 42 1 0 0 0 0
2008: 11 0 143 765 69.5 5.4 75 5 1 1 3 1
Total: 29 11 458 2194 75.7 4.8 75 14 2 2 5 2

Receiving
#########
GP GS ATT REC YDS YPG YPC YAC LNG TD GC DRP DRP% IR
2006: 12 6 40 26 407 33.9 15.7 284 65 3 1 2 5.0 0
2007: 6 5 13 8 47 7.8 5.9 25 12 0 0 0 0.0 0
2008: 11 0 38 25 213 19.4 8.5 127 34 1 2 1 2.6 0
Total: 29 11 91 59 667 23.0 11.3 436 65 1 2 1 3.3 0

Awards: First Team All-Mountain West (2006)

Green bounced back after an injury-riddled Junior year, and was a real luxury for us at 2nd RB/Wingback. His 5.4 ypc was great for a 2nd RB on a team like ours, and he was a very good option for the pass too, which made him an ideal wingback for our offense. We have a replacement ready in Nolan, but he lacks Greeen's runblocking and catching ability may have us missing Green more than we would otherwise.

HB Christopher Lehman

Rushing
#######
GP GS Rush YDS YPG YPC LNG TD CR MH FUM FLOST
2006: 12 0 59 246 20.5 4.2 28 1 1 4 2 1
2007: 12 7 201 1032 86.0 5.1 33 6 1 3 4 3
2008: 0 0 - - - - - - - - - -
Total: 29 7 201 1278 44.1 4.9 33 7 2 7 6 4

Receiving
#########
GP GS ATT REC YDS YPG YPC YAC LNG TD GC DRP DRP% IR
2006: 12 0 21 9 144 12.0 16.0 79 50 1 0 0 0.0 1
2007: 12 7 31 19 164 13.7 8.6 100 26 0 0 1 3.2 2
2008: 5 0 9 5 73 14.6 14.6 45 38 1 1 1 11.1 0
Total: 29 7 61 33 381 13.1 11.5 224 50 2 1 2 3.3 3


Lehman had a decent junior season, but fell out of the rotation in my first year. Still, he fielded a few catches, one of them for a TD even, but the thing he proved best at was allowing sacks. He allowed 5 sacks total this past season, 4 of them coming in one game. So we won't miss Lehman's QB protection skills, but he was a nice option to have on the end of the bench if we lost a RB.

WR Elvis Baker

Receiving
#########
GP GS ATT REC YDS YPG YPC YAC LNG TD GC DRP DRP% IR
2006: 3 0 4 3 73 24.3 24.3 14 66 0 0 0 0.0 0
2007: 12 10 91 42 568 47.3 13.5 69 74 4 2 5 5.5 1
2008: 11 11 69 35 548 49.8 15.7 66 54 5 0 5 7.2 4
Total: 26 21 164 80 1189 45.7 14.9 149 74 9 2 10 6.1 5


Although he was outshone by Byrd's great season, Baker had some good games and will definately be missed. He dropped the ball a few more times than I would have liked and ran a few incorrect routes, but he was an experienced receiver and we'll be hoping that now-sophomore Wilburn is able to fill his shoes.

DT Ron Brown

Defense
#######
GP GS TAK SOLO AST SACK STUF HUR DP FF PD MT OOP BPA
2006: 7 4 4 4 0 2 0 2 1 1 0 1 0 0
2007: 12 12 4 3 1 2 0 5 7 0 0 1 3 0
2008: 11 11 13 12 1 5 2 8 8 1 0 3 0 0
Total: 30 27 21 19 2 9 2 15 16 2 0 5 3 0

Award: First Team All-Mountain West (2008), Third Team All-Mountain West (2007)


Brown was the surprise of the season for me, even more so than Aldridge. I was expecting DT to be a major weak spot for us, but Brown stepped up and had a very impressive season, earning well-deserved Mount West First Team honours. Brown's graduation leaves a big hole at DT, and this will be a priority for us during the recruiting phase.

CB Richard Rowe

Defense
#######
GP GS TAK SOLO AST SACK STUF HUR DP FF PD MT OOP BPA
2007: 10 10 31 25 6 0 3 0 0 1 15 2 1 1
2008: 11 11 27 17 10 0 1 0 0 3 10 0 1 1
Total: 21 21 58 42 16 0 4 0 0 4 25 2 2 2

Turnovers
#########
GP GS INTS YDS AVG RECF YDS AVG TD
2007: 10 10 4 35 8.8 3 14 4.7 0
2008: 11 11 1 -3 -3.0 3 10 3.3 0
Total: 21 21 5 32 6.4 6 24 4.0 0

Returning
#########
GP GS KRte YDS AVG LNG TD PRet YDS LNG TD FC
2007: 10 10 2 54 27.0 35 0 14 182 13.0 0 1
2008: 11 11 4 92 23.0 28 0 8 75 9.4 0 0

Awards: Second Team All-Mountain West (2007)


Rowe wasn't a superstar for us, but he was a solid corner who didn't give up a lot of big plays, and a secondary that was as weak against the pass as ours was is going to look a whole lot worse without Rowe next season. Rowe also returned some kicks for us, and wasn't too bad in that department either. CB is another spot we will need to address in recruiting, because also graduating is...

CB Alvin Edwards

Defense
#######
GP GS TAK SOLO AST SACK STUF HUR DP FF PD MT OOP BPA
2006: 12 12 34 21 13 0 2 0 0 1 11 3 1 2
2007: 12 12 58 36 22 0 2 0 0 0 16 5 5 4
2008: 10 5 23 14 9 1 1 0 0 1 11 1 0 2
Total: 34 29 115 71 44 1 5 0 0 2 38 9 6 8

Turnovers
#########
GP GS INTS YDS AVG RECF YDS AVG TD
2006: 12 12 3 46 15.3 0 0 0.0 0
2007: 12 12 2 23 11.5 2 17 8.5 0
2008: 10 5 1 6 6.0 0 0 0.0 0
Total: 34 29 6 75 12.5 2 17 8.5 0

Awards: Third Team All-Mountain West (2007)


Edwards lost his starting spot to John Kim this season, but managed to win it back when Kim was suspended for a large portion of the season. With Kim out of the lineup we really struggled against the pass, so naturally I tend to put a lot of blame on Edwards for that. But in truth Edwards wasn't too terrible, it was just that Kim was a lot better. We'd kill to have Edwards around for one more year with the lack of depth we'll have at CB next season, especially if we aren't able to recruit a starting-quality player.

CB Ryan Meyers

Defense
#######
GP GS TAK SOLO AST SACK STUF HUR DP FF PD MT OOP BPA
2007: 12 0 3 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1
2008: 11 0 4 3 1 0 2 0 0 0 1 2 2 1
Total: 35 0 7 3 4 0 2 0 0 0 2 2 3 2

Returning
#########
GP GS KRte YDS AVG LNG TD PRet YDS AVG LNG TD FC
2006: 12 0 34 719 21.1 35 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0
2007: 12 0 33 876 26.5 45 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0
2008: 11 0 34 1072 31.5 98 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0
Total: 35 0 101 2667 26.4 98 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0


Meyers was a pretty woeful CB, and any time a WR saw Meyers lining up in a man-2-man coverage their eyes must have been open wide with delight while they planned just how many yards they were going to pick up after beating Meyers. When it came to returning kicks Meyers was very solid however. 31.5 is a very handy pickup, and generally had us starting with the ball in a decent position to begin a drives. We have some other options here next season, but none as strong as what Meyers gave us.

Others:
(Guys who never hit the field this season, and thus won't be missed too much)

WR Christopher Cook
WR Steven Williams
OLB Allen Hendrick
OLB Anthony Carlisle

[Sublime 2]

Championship Game Result: Oklahoma 36, LSU 33

I can't seem to track down a box score, but you couldn't hope for a better championship game. The Tigers ran the board in the first half, and Oklahoma just couldn't get in to the endzone. Things start to turn around for Oklahoma in the second half, until Oklahoma QB Medina pieces together a huge drive with some great passing to get it to the 1 yard line with 1:01 left. A quick screen pass puts Oklahoma in the endzone for the lead, and they complete the 2 pt conversion to put themselves up by 3.

LSU get the ball back needing a FG to send it to OT or a TD to win the game. The kickoff is in to the endzone, so they get the ball at the 20. Oklahoma lock down on the pass however, and 4 passes later Oklahoma have it back to take the knee and claim the trophy.

Congrats to Oklahoma and LSU!


Man that was a classic! Sucks we lost, but it's ok, we've made it a round further every year in the playoffs so 2009 could be our championship season!! Losing Caldwell will hurt but we certainly have a stable of prime time horses to follow him.

Groundhog, you up for a late season matchup this year or maybe in the future? I'm full weeks 1-3, but maybe we can look at a late season game.

[Groundhog]

Groundhog, you up for a late season matchup this year or maybe in the future? I'm full weeks 1-3, but maybe we can look at a late season game.

Yeah congrats on your appearance and good luck next year. A quick glance at your roster right now makes it pretty apparent that you wont be missing too many steps to start the new season. :)

Yup, count me in for a late season game. I'm looking to play as many human coaches as possible.

[Blade6119]

Then mark me down as a interested foe as well...check out my thread at the bbcf forum for what weeks i have open and see if we can work anything out.

[Groundhog]

Then mark me down as a interested foe as well...check out my thread at the bbcf forum for what weeks i have open and see if we can work anything out.

Will do.

[Groundhog]

2009 Offseason: Assistant Coach Hire Phase

Though none of my staff are particularily great, I am very unsatisfied with my current Offensive Coordinator and his lack of ability when it comes to player development, so I decide to look elsewhere.

I consider several names before offering $500,000 - nearly all of my remaining budget - to Jason Morris, who accepts our offer. Morris has spent the past couple of seasons at Missouri University as their OC, and has had a fair amount of success. His prefered style of play is the 'Run and Gun', which is quite a change from last season for us, but we are confident in his gameplanning abilities.

Aside from a good eye for talent on the offensive line, scouting is definately not his strong suit, but he's certainly passable, and when it comes to developing talent he is known as being OK when it comes to QBs and the OL, but needs to improve when it comes to RBs and receivers.

All in all, we are happy. Morris isn't a superstar, but he is much better than what we had last year. I just hope we have the talent at QB to take advantage of Morris's gameplans.

[Groundhog]

2009 Offseason: Player Transfer Phase

We receive some bad news - OG Michael Phillips is considering transferring. In his freshman year Phillips didn't see a lot of time and that probably won't change next season either. He definately has the potential to be a solid contributor, but right now he is far too raw. He hit the field for us in 7 games, but outside of 1 pancake he racked up 9 missed blocks, 1 sack allowed, and 1 holding penalty. I hope he stays because he will come in handy in his junior season, but it's not the end of the world if he leaves.

Meanwhile, we checkout the transfer list and make a couple of offers. I don't want to give too much away at this stage, but I think it would be pretty clear which positions we'll be targetting. Being transfers means that, even if we land any, they won't hit the field for us until 2010, but it's important to plan ahead. We have two transfers from 2008 who will finally hit the field for us this season, a talented TE and another very talented ILB, and I think it's a good way to build up talent at a school like Utah.

[Groundhog]

2009 Offseason: Player Transfer Phase Sim 1

We landed one transfer in the first sim of the player transfer phase, FS Emanuel Abott out of USC. Abott was the #14 FS in the nation as a recruit, and in his freshman year he saw spot action in 8 games, picking up 14 tackles, 3 stuffs, a forced fumble, and just 1 missed tackle. He figures to improve our secondary significantly in 2010.

No luck on our other targets as yet, but boy did TCU bring in some talent, led by former Oklahoma QB Richard Jackson, the #19 QB in the nation as a high schooler. Also adding ILB Bobby Collins from Texas (redshirted freshman, #12 ILB in the nation), OLB Richard Peck from Nebraska (saw action in 2 games, #25 OLB in the nation), and SS Alonzo Flood from Texas A&M (saw action in 5 games, #18 SS in the nation) gives TCU a very scary defense in 2010 - as if they weren't solid enough in that department already!

So congrats to TCU for a very solid start to their recruiting!

The other human controlled Mount West team, San Diego State, got former Washington State WR Danny Boyer. Boyer redshirted last season and was the #11 WR in the nation thanks to his great hands, and looks like a solid pickup.

[st.cronin]

When you look at our returning starters plus the guys that sat out last year, our defense looks pretty solid THIS year, too. :)

[DeToxRox]

I am intrigued to play TCU this year with all their guys coming in fromt last year. No way to I expect to recreate the thumping from last year.

[Groundhog]

2009 Offseason: Player Transfer Phase Sim 2

We completely struck out this round, not landing a single transfer. It's a little dissapointing, but it just means that we'll need to do well in recruiting to make up for it, which is probably the better option anyhow. There is still one more round to go, but only a couple of players who we are interested in. We'll roll the dice again, but we're not too worried about it.

San Diego State managed to pull in FS Anthony Walker (redshirt last season, #16 FS) from UCLA, while TCU built on their 4 transfers from last round by picking up another, OG Frank Walker (5 games last season, #31 OG in the nation) from Texas Tech.

[st.cronin]

It's nice letting the big 12 do all my recruiting for me.

[Groundhog]

2009 Offseason: Player Transfer Phase Sim 3

The third and final transfer sim was run tonight, and this time we were successful in bringing in a guy - Bernard Pruett, a sophomore OT out of Washington. He saw action in 3 games for the Huskies, and was the #32 OT out of high school. A fair tier below the kind of player we were hoping to bring in this transfer phase, but should be a solid lineman ready to step straight in next season.

I don't know how TCU keeps doing it, but they scored another home run this week, bringing in RB Barry Wells from Oklahoma St. Freshman Wells was the #21 RB in his class, and saw a bit of time on the field last year, picking up 217 yards on 60 rushes.

San Diego also managed to get their hands on another transfer, OT Darn Campos out of Oregon State. This sophomore OT was the #18 OT in his class and saw limited action in 2 games last season.

[st.cronin]

:cool:

[kingfc22]

Time for recruiting. WOOT!!!

[Blade6119]

I might have to go out of my way and recruit whoever TCU does, just to spite cronin

[st.cronin]

I might have to go out of my way and recruit whoever TCU does, just to spite cronin

I only have a few schollies left. ;)

[st.cronin]

dola
Not to mention that if you are stealing recruits from a 40-something prestige Mountain West team, you won't be able to compete in the Big Ten.

[Blade6119]

Eh, i dont need any recruits this year...i got my class last year, im just biding my time for them to develop(god bless my frosh QB and 3 WRs all being 3.0/5.0)

[DeToxRox]

At Arizona this year I had 21 schollies (I believe it was) and a LOT of money. It'll be interesting how many guys we haul.

[Groundhog]

I'm having MAJOR issues with recruiting. I'm sure I turned staff delegated recruiting off during transfers week 1 (the same time I turned off staff delegated transfers), yet I loaded up the save and the AI has used up all my recruiting budget for the week, and I can't seem to see a way to cancel the AI's actions. :(

[st.cronin]

I'm having MAJOR issues with recruiting. I'm sure I turned staff delegated recruiting off during transfers week 1 (the same time I turned off staff delegated transfers), yet I loaded up the save and the AI has used up all my recruiting budget for the week, and I can't seem to see a way to cancel the AI's actions. :(

This happened to a couple of people last year, too. I forget if there was a fix or not, and what the cause was.

[Groundhog]

This happened to a couple of people last year, too. I forget if there was a fix or not, and what the cause was.

Thankfully the AI made good choices for the most part and targetted about 6 guys I would have gone after too, but it didn't target a single QB even with two good options having 10 and 9 interest in my school.

[st.cronin]

Did you submit an export for the last transfer stage?

[Groundhog]

Yup. I turned delegation off for everything in week 1 of transfers and submitted an export for each round, and delegation never turned itself back on again until this stage.

[Groundhog]

OG Randy Reiter forgoes Senior year to enter the NFL Draft

It probably shouldn't have come as such as surprise to me, but our National First Teamer OG Randy Reiter has decided to take his skills to the NFL, leaving us with a huge hole on the offensive line - especially after OG Michael Phillips transfered to another school as well.

We are a little shallow at OG but have plenty of options at OT, so we will likely look to convert one of our OTs to OG.

[DeToxRox]

OG Randy Reiter forgoes Senior year to enter the NFL Draft

It probably shouldn't have come as such as surprise to me, but our National First Teamer OG Randy Reiter has decided to take his skills to the NFL, leaving us with a huge hole on the offensive line - especially after OG Michael Phillips transfered to another school as well.

We are a little shallow at OG but have plenty of options at OT, so we will likely look to convert one of our OTs to OG.

Good call on the position change. Did it last year when I desperatley needed WR's and turned my 2.5/3.5 RB to a WR. Ended up becoming a 3/3.5 WR. Of course he was an idiot and got suspended but .. it was good at first.

[st.cronin]

Well, TCU got a couple signed:

wr Sylvester Bailey (#964 overall) Granbury, TX 6'0", 186
ot Steven Flores (#883 overall) Ozona, TX 6'6", 306

[Groundhog]

OLB Adrian Esparza Commits to Utah University

We announce our first signing this week, with the #28 OLB in the nation A. Esparza deciding to attend our school. Ranked #417 overall, Esparza is a coverage linebacker with pass rushing skills, and even if he doesn't fill a large need for us, he was too talented to pass up. He will likely redshirt next season.

[Groundhog]

The next recruiting sim is to be run in a few hours, so I thought I'd take a moment to run through our targets.

I'm not going to name names, but the positions we are targetting should be clear: CBs & QBs priority 1, DTs priority 2, general depth priority 3. I have been at somewhat of a disadvantage this recruiting season due to "me" screwing up my settings and having the AI recruit the first 2 recruiting sims for me.

Thankfully the AI went after a score of good CBs - guys who I would have targetted anyway - as well as a good option at WR and the JuCo OLB that commited to me last week, another guy who I would have gone after. What the AI didn't do was target even a single QB - a very dire position for us if we can't bring in a starting-quality recruit, worse than even CB where we at least have Kim returning next season.

I'm hoping to nab at least one of my CB targets this sim. Any of them would be nice as they are all a big improvement over what I've currently got - Kim aside - but two of my targets are true gems that would be great pickups. I have some competition on them from higher ranking schools however.

I've also gone after a couple of QBs, but I fear that I may have started the chase too late so I don't have a lot of hope. DTs are a similar problem as the AI didn't target any, so the couple I've targetted since week 3 will likely end up going to schools who have been looking at them since week 1.

I have also showed some interest in a couple of offensive lineman. It's too early to tell if I have much of a hope with these guys yet, but they appear to have been left alone by the big schools.

[DeToxRox]

Going into tonights sim there are three guys we're fighting over. One is a QB who I liked because he is a freak athlete but he won't come to 'Zona now. The other is a DB and an OL I believe. Forget off hand but that's the gist.

Good luck tonight.

[Groundhog]

CB John Moore Commits to Utah University

This is a MAJOR signing for us, as Moore was easily our #1 target, and I had expected him to go to a higher-profile school. Moore is a 4-star CB and is the #322 overall recruit in the nation, and the #30 overall CB. Described as a "press corner", Moore will start with returning-CB Kim from day 1 and should provide instant help to a secondary that really needs it.

[Groundhog]

A little more on our signings so far:

CB John Moore is a fine physical specimen. When compared with the top 100 CBs in his class, he ranks #21 in the 40 time, #7 in the vert, #8 in the squat, and #17 in the bench. This athleticism, combined with a WR-esque height of 6'1, makes Moore a potentially excellent pressing CB, and will have us looking to line him up primarily man-on-man with opposing receivers.

OLB Adrian Esparza, our JuCo recruit, is not the physical freak that Moore is in comparison to the rest of his class, but still ranks as an above average athlete. When compared to the top 100 OLBs, Esparza ranks #46 in the 40 time, #29 at the vert, #39 at the squat, and #39 at the bench. He is a coverage LB, which fits in well with the other guys we have on our roster. We are pretty stocked at LB, so Esparza will likely redshirt the coming season.

[DeToxRox]

A little more on our signings so far:

CB John Moore is a fine physical specimen. When compared with the top 100 CBs in his class, he ranks #21 in the 40 time, #7 in the vert, #8 in the squat, and #17 in the bench. This athleticism, combined with a WR-esque height of 6'1, makes Moore a potentially excellent pressing CB, and will have us looking to line him up primarily man-on-man with opposing receivers.

OLB Adrian Esparza, our JuCo recruit, is not the physical freak that Moore is in comparison to the rest of his class, but still ranks as an above average athlete. When compared to the top 100 OLBs, Esparza ranks #46 in the 40 time, #29 at the vert, #39 at the squat, and #39 at the bench. He is a coverage LB, which fits in well with the other guys we have on our roster. We are pretty stocked at LB, so Esparza will likely redshirt the coming season.

Solid gets. How many schollies ya got out?

[Groundhog]

Solid gets. How many schollies ya got out?

I'm working from memory here as I'm at work, but I believe I had 7 total schollies this offseason, giving me 5 left.

[Groundhog]

I'm working from memory here as I'm at work, but I believe I had 7 total schollies this offseason, giving me 5 left.

Scratch that, I actually had 9 schollies total this offseason.

[Groundhog]

CB Lester Clayton Commits to Utah University

Well, when it rains, it pours. Clayton is ranked higher than John Moore (#162 overall, #15 CB), though Moore ranked higher on my want list due to his size and specialities. Even so, Clayton is a big-time talent, and it now looks like there's going to be some competition in training camp for that #2 CB spot. It may not just come down to Clayton and Moore however because...

[Groundhog]

CB(A) Matt Herman commits to Utah University

We've gone from having a serious lack of talented CBs to having 3 4-star freshmen on our roster! Herman is the #356 overall & #33 CB recruit in the nation. Like Clayton he is a balanced CB, but doubles as an athlete as well. I was confident we'd land Herman, but didn't expect to get Clayton as well. It's a pretty nice problem to have.

[Groundhog]

Recruiting Losses

The most serious player we lost this sim was hometown recruit QB J. English. English had 10 interest in us, but the AI didn't target him during the first 2 weeks and I felt this played a big part in him signing with Washington over us. A big blow, as we are in dire need of a QB. A couple of other players also looked elsewhere, but we are still in the running for another couple of players who, despite not being as highly regarded as our CB signings, will really help with depth.

[DeToxRox]

You're setting yourself up with a solid young defensive backfield. Should be interesting how you finish up the recruiting season.

[Groundhog]

A little more on our latest signings:

CB Lester Clayton is not a tremendous athlete. Compared with the top 100 CBs in his class, he ranked #84 with a 40 time of 4.63, #34 with his vert of 36.7, #94 with his squat score of 388, and #54 with his bench score of 289. What he lacks in athletic ability he makes up in talent however, and he should be a deadly zone CB.

CB(A) Matt Herman is also not a terrific athlete. Compared to the top 100 CBs, he ranked #51 with his 40 time of 4.56, #76 with his vertical of 35, and #70 with his squat score of 429. He showed solid strength however, ranking #9 overall with his bench score of 333. Much like Clayton, Herman excels in the skills rather than physical attributes, but he is greener than either Clayton or Moore. He is a candidate to redshirt, or perhaps even switch to safety.

[Groundhog]

You're setting yourself up with a solid young defensive backfield. Should be interesting how you finish up the recruiting season.

Aye. We have targets at DT and WR that I'd love to pickup in the next sim. We also have a QB on our radar, but he is more of a runningback than a passer, and we already have 2 of those guys on our roster. We had 3 main weaknesses to address this recruiting sim, and we've only nailed 1 of them, so we've still got some work to do.

[DeToxRox]

Aye. We have targets at DT and WR that I'd love to pickup in the next sim. We also have a QB on our radar, but he is more of a runningback than a passer, and we already have 2 of those guys on our roster. We had 3 main weaknesses to address this recruiting sim, and we've only nailed 1 of them, so we've still got some work to do.

May wanna' think about an option attack if that's the case. Love your RB's. You got the depth for it, it may be something to consider.

[Groundhog]

May wanna' think about an option attack if that's the case. Love your RB's. You got the depth for it, it may be something to consider.

Yeah, good call on the option attack. That may very well be the way we have to go, assuming we don't land a starting-quality QB.

[DeToxRox]

Quick formatting Q

How do you format your roster to look like it does?

[Groundhog]

Quick formatting Q

How do you format your roster to look like it does?

I couldn't think of any clever or quick way to do it, so I just typed it up in notepad and pasted it in with [code] tags.

What can I say, I get a lot of down time in my job... ;)

[DeToxRox]

I couldn't think of any clever or quick way to do it, so I just typed it up in notepad and pasted it in with [code] tags.

What can I say, I get a lot of down time in my job... ;)

Haha touche. I am not good with any HTML, how do you do the code tags?

[Groundhog]

Put a [code] tag in your post, start a new line, paste your roster info from out of notepad, and then put a [\code] tag (changing the \ to a /). That will keep your formatting from notepad, with all tabs and spaces.

[DeToxRox]

Appreciate it, GH!

[Groundhog]

Early-Departure OG Randy Reiter's Stats

Just recalled that I forgot to post the stats of Randy Reiter, our superb OG from last season who made the national first team. He declared following his junior year and will really be missed on our OLine:


Blocking Stats
##############
GP GS KRB Pan SA Hold FS MB
2008: 11 11 27 17 10 0 1 0
Total: 11 11 27 17 10 0 1 0

Awards: National First Team (2008), First Team All-Mountain West (2008)

He was only with us for one season, but what a season it was.

[Groundhog]

DT Harold Rhodes commits to Utah University

Two of our three big gaps are now full after Rhodes commited today. Rhodes was one of two DTs we were in the chase for, and again he was not the one I expected to sign. The other DT was a JuCo and less highly regarded, so getting Rhodes - who was being chased by at least one big school - is a major score for us. He ranked #387 overall, #31 amongst DTs, and is a balanced DT who will instantly step in and start from day one. He'll take his lumps while he develops, but this guy should be a future First Team Mount West'er.

[Groundhog]

WR Emilio Martin commits to Utah University

Martin was a guy who, while not filling any pressing needs, showed 10 interest in us from day one. He is a speedy WR, ranked #616 overall and #82 amongst WRs. Depending on how he looks after training camp he may not wind up seeing a lot of time on the field, but should develop into a good 1st or 2nd WR in a season or two.

[Groundhog]

K Mack Curtis commits to Utah University

Our current kicker is coming in to his senior year, and Curtis is now his heir. Has the potential to wind up being better than our current guy, and may redshirt this season. He was the #679 overall recruit, #19 amongst kickers.

[Blade6119]

Congrats on rhodes, i had scouted and recruited him early but he went from 7 interest to 2 in week 2. Your offer must have included a "hate wisconsin" clause lol

[Groundhog]

Overall Recruiting Update

Two more weeks of recruiting to go, and we have two scholarships remaining. Our main goals were, in order of importance: CBs, QBs, & DTs. We have more than had our fill of CBs and brought in a quality DT, but we've struck out on all targetted QBs. We are going to hit this position hard over the next two sims, while also looking for either a DE or an OG with our final scholarship.

[Groundhog]

Congrats on rhodes, i had scouted and recruited him early but he went from 7 interest to 2 in week 2. Your offer must have included a "hate wisconsin" clause lol

Thanks mate. I'm surprised he was still around. Another coach must've strung him along and then yanked his schollie offer sometime over the past couple of sims.

[Groundhog]

2nd Last Recruiting Sim Update

We didn't nab anyone this round, and still have 2 scholarships left. I'm at work so I'm not sure if the players we chased - a mediocre QB & OG - signed elsewhere. The QB we were after had little interest in us (3) but had no other offers, so it wouldn't take much to lose him, while the OG was a 6 interest.

[DeToxRox]

Which guys you looking at? I can look for you.

[Groundhog]

Thanks, though I just recalled that the recruit lists are displayed on the page. The QB I'm after didn't commit to anyone, but I can't for the life of me remember the name of the OG.

[Groundhog]

OG Kevin Charles commits to Utah University

Charles is the #794 recruit in the nation, and the #46 OG. The early departure of Reiter meant that we had a bit of a hole on the offensive line, but Charles might be a little green to help out straight away. Has the look of a potential future impact lineman however.

[Groundhog]

Utah's Final Recruiting Class

Ratings are according to the league scouts.

#162 CB Lester Clayton, 2.0/4.0
#322 CB John Moore, 2.0/4.0
#356 CB(A) Matt Herman, 1.5/4.0
#387 DT Harold Rhodes, 1.0/4.0
#417 OLB Adrian Esparza, 3.0/3.5
#616 WR Emilio Martin, 1.0/3.5
#679 K Mack Curtis, 2.5/4.5
#794 OG Kevin Charles, 1.0/4.0

I'm very happy with this class. We failed to fill one scholarship which will carry over to next season, but we addressed some issues. Our biggest problem last season was our inability to stop the pass, and our three CBs will all help out in that area - though we may redshirt Herman and convert him to safety, as he just isn't as game-ready as the other 2. DT was another key pickup for us, with Rhodes set to be our man in the middle for the next 4 years. OLB Esparza looks better than advertised as well, and I may struggle to keep him out of the starting lineup.

What we failed to do was bring in a QB. I had some targets, but no luck. My last hope was QB Tran out of California, but it looks like he went elsewhere in the final round, but the QB I really wanted was English, who we lost out on early in the recruiting. Looks like we're stuck with the guys we have, but with the planned option offense we are going to run it might not be such a nightmare... hopefully.

[SFL Cat]

Well, TCU got a couple signed:

wr Sylvester Bailey (#964 overall) Granbury, TX 6'0", 186
ot Steven Flores (#883 overall) Ozona, TX 6'6", 306


Man...Flores is a BIG kid. :eek:

[Groundhog]

Recruit Class Ranking

Our class is rated #49 in the nation with 1316 points and 3.38 star average. The rest of the Mount West came in as follows:

UNLV - #56
Two OGs, Lawrence McLeod (#637, #36 OG) & Timothy Barrett (#650, #37 OG), lead this class and should both be potential key starters down the track, but solid depth overall for the Rebels, particularily for their defensive unit.

New Mexico - #60
OLB Henry Reyna (#713, #43 ILB) is quite green but has the makings of a quality ILB, while DE Jeremy Branch (#736, #52 DE) should prove a solid pass rusher.

BYU - #61
The Cougars pulled in some real talents with ILB Todd Eaton (#376, #21 ILB) and C Charles Potter (#633, #30 C), but the talent drop off is quite steep after these two.

TCU - #70
Everyone knows that TCU does their recruiting in the transfer phase, but they pulled in some solid freshmen all the same. CBs Donald Hughes (#368, #34 CB) & Timothy Watson (#588, #57 CB) are the picks of the litter, but an overall quite solid class.

San Diego St - #76
Only 5 scholarships were handed out by the Aztecs. Not sure how many they had, but if it were more than 5 it's a little dissapointing for them. OT David Hall (#313, #18 OT) is a stud and OLB Cornelius Ashley (#784, #62 OLB) is a solid pass rusher, but there's not a lot else here.

Wyoming - #92
Wyoming failed to bring in any major talents, though DE David Spencer (#783, #57 DE) is an intriguing physical specimen who may amount to something. The rest of the class is depth-chart quality.

Air Force - #94
OLB Robin Smith (#384, #27 OLB) will be an impact player for the Falcons with his pass rushing moves and tackling ability, while JuCo CB Larry Thomas (#859, #84 CB) should be able to step straight in with his zone coverage skills. Not much else to speak of.

Colorado St - #99
WR Donnie Hopper (#876, #115 WR) might amount to something with his hands and route running ability, but outside of maybe ILB Cody Holloway (#1346, #63 ILB), I'd be shocked if many of the others in this small class amount to anything more than adequete role players.

[Blade6119]

Congrats on the top class in the conference buddy!

[Groundhog]

Congrats on the top class in the conference buddy!

Thanks! I surprised myself to be honest... I quickly ran through one recruiting phase in single player before the league's first recruiting sim and did very poorly against the AI, so I had no idea how I'd do against humans. I think I lucked out a little though because all those CBs had 10 and 9 interest in me from day 1, and the OLB was my "freebie" recruit.

[Groundhog]

Post-Training Camp Roster Evaluation - Offense

Aside from QB, this was a very positive training camp indeed. Ratings are, as always, by the league scouts, and projected starters are in bold.

QB:

Cur/Pot YR AS PA PT RN HD IN
John Haynes 1.0/1.5 FR 9 8 8 3 6 12
Eddie Mays 1.5/2.5 FR 7 8 9 15 10 12
Albert Saunders 1.5/2.5 SO 8 9 9 14 8 9
Freddie James 1.5/2.0 JR 9 10 10 5 4 8
Herman Maddox 1.0/1.0 SR 6 7 9 8 5 12

Key: AS = arm strength, PA = pass accuracy, PT = pass touch, RN = running, HD = hands, IN = instincts. * = starter last season. # = redshirting this season.


I was really hoping Saunders or James would step up a notch after this training camp, but neither player improved as much as I would have liked, making QB easily my weakest position. We intend on running the option, so James - despite being our best passer - is hurt by his lack of mobility. Eddie Mays, a redshirt freshman who I intended to convert to RB, may get the nod over Saunders due to his superior running skills and instincts, but I have a feeling that I'll be switching this guys in and out as the season progress. Oh how we miss you, Aldridge. :( Walk-ons Haynes and Maddox fill out this crew, but neither will see time on the field. We hope.

RBs

Cur/Pot YR RN HD RR AC AG SP ST
*Jeffrey Reynolds 4.0/5.0 JR 17 14 14 14 11 10 10
Isaac Nolan 3.0/4.5 SO 15 14 9 12 9 14 5
Thomas Richardson 1.5/3.0 JR 11 11 10 8 9 9 6
Kevin Blanchard 1.5/2.5 SO 12 10 8 6 10 7 5
Jason Frank 1.0/1.5 FR 10 7 8 6 7 7 5


Key: RN = running, HD = hands, RR = route running, AC = acceleration, AG = agility, SP = speed, ST = strength, * = starter last season, # = redshirting this season.


Reynolds is looking in fine form, and should build on a great sophomore season. He was 1st team Mount West last season, and should manage that again this year, especially with the increased carries that will likely result from us no longer running wingbacks. We will miss Paul Green's pass catching ability, but Nolan has the goods to be a solid 2nd RB. Depth falls off after these two, but Richardson and Blanchard are capable of taking a few carries should the need arise.

FBs

Cur/Pot YR RN HD RR RB
*Randolph Medina 3.0/3.5 SR 12 9 12 12
Russell Smith 2.0/3.0 SR 12 11 8 14
Jim Glenn 1.0/2.0 SR 8 9 8 10

Key: RN = running, HD = hands, RR = route running, RB = run blocking, * = starter last season, # = redshirting this season.


Not a lot of improvement from these guys, but then not much was needed. Medina is pretty solid and shocked me with how often he managed to break away on surprise FB running plays. Smith is a stronger blocking FB and has the potential to start should I decide to tweak my blocking game. Glenn is a warm body.

WRs

Cur/Pot YR HD RR AC SP
*Robert Byrd 3.5/4.0 SR 16 16 12 11
Dewey Wilburn 2.5/3.5 SO 11 12 12 15
Richard Chaffin 2.5/3.5 FR 12 12 10 12
#Emilio Martin 1.5/3.5 FR 11 11 13 10
John Newby 1.0/2.5 JR 10 9 8 9
Donald Haley 1.0/1.5 JR 10 8 7 10
Steven Williams 1.0/1.5 JR 7 9 5 7

Key: HD = hands, RR = route running, AC = acceleration, SP = speed, * = starter last season, # = redshirting this season.


Byrd is back for his final season and will be our biggest threat at receiver - providing our QBs can get him the ball. Wilburn and Chaffin are my options at for 2nd WR, and so far I'm undecided. Chaffin appears to have better hands, but I might stick it out with Wilburn due to his experience. Could be some shuffling here as the season progresses. Martin will redshirt and should wind up a contributor next season. Newby is a special teams guy, while JuCo walk-on Haley looks like he might actually have a little talent should we require him.

TEs

Cur/Pot YR HD RR PB RB
James Evans 2.5/4.0 JR 15 14 13 13
*William Holcomb 2.5/3.5 SR 13 9 11 11
Frankie Barrera 1.0/2.5 SO 10 7 8 10
Marcel Wilhelm 1.0/2.0 SR 7 9 8 8

Key: HD = hands, RR = route running, PB = pass block, RB = run block, # = redshirting this season.


Holcomb was the starter last season, but Evans will be our guy in 2009 after sitting out 2008 as a transfer. Evans is a strong blocker, which is primarily what our TEs will be asked to do, but he can also reel in a catch when needed. Holcomb did fine in his limited role last season, and should be up to the challenge if required. Barrera is more of a pass target who doesn't figure to hit the field much, while Wilhelm is a warm body.

OGs

Cur/Pot YR PB RB AG ST
*Eugene Fitzpatrick 2.5/4.0 SO 14 14 7 11
Kevin Charles 2.0/4.0 FR 13 12 8 10
Leonard Heath 1.5/2.5 JR 10 10 4 8
Ian McElroy 1.0/2.5 SR 10 11 6 8
Scott Babb 1.0/1.5 JR 8 10 3 9
Greg Rodriguez 1.0/1.5 FR 8 9 6 9

Key: PB = pass block, RB = run block, AG = agility, ST = strength, # = redshirting this season.


The early departure of Reiter to the NFL and Michael Phillips to a transfer hit our OG position quite hard. Thankfully Fitzpatrick has come in to camp looking good, and freshman Kevin Charles looks even better than we expected. Depth is a real concern as Heath and McElroy are really emergency-only options, so we will look at converting an OT accross to OG to help address this.

OTs

Cur/Pot YR PB RB AG ST
*Joseph Steele 3.5/4.0 SR 13 16 7 12
*Louis Akers 2.5/3.5 JR 13 14 6 12
#Bernard Pruett 2.5/4.0 SO 12 15 7 14
Rodney Munson 2.0/4.0 SO 14 12 6 10
Stanley Rangel 1.5/3.0 JR 11 12 4 12
Brad Carr 1.5/3.5 FR 12 10 6 11
Devin Greene 1.0/2.0 SR 7 10 7 8

Key: PB = pass block, RB = run block, AG = agility, ST = strength, # = redshirting this season.


We are pretty stacked here. Akers and Steele return, and both are great run blockers, which is a must for this team. Pruett will sit out a year after transfering, but will slide right in to Steele's role next year. Munson, Rangel, and Carr are all decent reserves, but one will be changed to OG, though I'm a little undecided as to who that will be. Money is on Rangel at the moment, as Carr may come in handy at OT in a season or two when some of my starters graduate.

Cs

Cur/Pot YR PB RB AG ST
*Jerry O'Neal 3.0/4.0 JR 14 13 8 10
William Smith 3.0/4.0 JR 14 13 5 14
Patrick Davidson 1.0/1.5 SR 8 7 4 8

Key: PB = pass block, RB = run block, AG = agility, ST = strength, # = redshirting this season.


Both Smith and O'Neal saw time at starter, but O'Neal was the least error-prone, and will maintain his starting role, but Smith will be back in the picture should he faulter.

Outlook

Offense was our greatest strength last season. We got great production out of our running game thanks to some talented backs and a strong OLine, and Aldridge at QB exceeded all sensible expectations by having a tremendous year.

This year we lose some strength on the OLine, and have little passing game to work with, despite some decent WRs. I still expect us to be solid on the ground, but our lack of passing game isn't going to help us as teams will be looking to shut down our running game. How Mays performs in our option offense may be the key for us, but we had better hope our D is better than last year, because we aren't going to be blasting teams for 30-40 points too frequently this season I would think.

[Groundhog]

Post-Training Camp Roster Evaluation - Defense

DEs

Cur/Pot YR PR PA TK SP ST AG
*John Gaddy 4.0/5.0 SR 18 15 18 10 10 12
*Bruce Gonzales 3.0/4.0 JR 14 12 14 10 9 10
Christopher Lewis 1.5/3.0 SO 12 11 12 6 10 8
Dennis Terry 1.5/3.0 FR 11 11 12 7 8 10
Scott Berry 1.5/2.5 JR 11 11 9 7 8 6

Key: PR = pass rush, PA = point of attack, TK = tackle, SP = speed, ST = strength, AG = aggression, * = starter last season, # = redshirting this season.


Gaddy was a little dissapointing last season, but I put much of that down to my gameplanning. The fact is that I didn't blitz nearly enough last season considering my talent, and that is going to be something I address this season. Gonzales is looking improved and combined with Gaddy on the line should form an imposing bunch of bookends on the DLine. Lewis and Terry are adequete as reserves, but neither progressed as much as I would have liked.

DTs

Cur/Pot YR PR PA TK SP ST AG
Harold Rhodes 2.0/4.0 FR 14 15 13 2 12 10
Clinton Hall 1.0/2.0 JR 10 8 10 5 7 7
Donald Walton 1.0/2.0 SO 12 10 9 6 7 8
Robert Biggs 1.0/1.5 FR 8 9 9 6 8 6
Thomas Greer 1.0/1.0 SO 8 8 9 4 5 6

Key: PR = pass rush, PA = point of attack, TK = tackle, SP = speed, ST = strength, AG = aggression, * = starter last season, # = redshirting this season.


Rhodes was a huge signing for us, and should fill up the middle of our DLine for the duration of his 4 years on campus. He is slow as a turtle, but is blesssed with a great set of skills and looks ready to roll from day 1. We seriously lack depth here, but Walton is probably the next best option for us. Hall is passable, but Biggs and Greer aren't much of anything.

OLBs

Cur/Pot YR PR PA HD TK CV SP ST
Adrian Esparza 3.5/4.0 JR 13 11 9 13 14 10 12
*Daniel Roman 3.0/4.0 JR 14 13 9 15 15 9 9
#*John Barrett 2.5/4.0 SO 14 11 12 13 15 9 10
Stanley Huynh 2.0/2.5 JR 11 10 8 11 9 7 8
David McDonald 1.0/1.5 JR 8 8 7 9 8 8 7
William Geiger 1.0/1.5 SR 9 8 6 8 8 7 5

Key: PR = pass rush, PA = poitn of attack, HD = hands, TK = tackle, CV = cover, SP = speed, ST = strength, * = starter last season, # = redshirting this season.


Esparza, my JuCo recruit, has really forced me to change my plans heading in to 2009. Barrett, a Third Team Mount West selection as a true freshman last season, has been pushed out of the rotation after Esparza's impressive training camp. Couple with an improved Daniel Roman this gives us two very solid OLBs, and we are going to redshirt Barrett, because he is too talented to waste. He may wind up transferring after this, but either way, Huynh's improvement has me less worried about depth here. McDonald and Geiger are both attrocious.

ILBs

Cur/Pot YR PR PA HD TK CV SP ST
Larry Ybarra 3.5/4.5 SO 17 16 12 14 13 9 10
*Jaime Jones 3.0/4.0 JR 13 14 13 13 13 9 8
*Grover Sharpe 3.0/3.5 JR 12 13 11 13 15 9 7
Todd Whiting 1.5/2.0 SR 9 12 9 11 10 6 9
Frank Ware 1.0/2.0 SO 9 7 8 9 9 8 8

Key: PR = pass rush, PA = poitn of attack, HD = hands, TK = tackle, CV = cover, SP = speed, ST = strength, * = starter last season, # = redshirting this season.


Ybarra, who sat out last season as a transfer, has also made me make some decisions at ILB. Ybarra looks the real deal, and his addition is going to force either Jones or Sharpe to take a seat this season. At this stage the nod will go to Jones, but Sharpe's coverage abilities may have me changing my mind later. Whiting saw some time last season and was error prone, but can fill in if required - which shouldn't be too often with Ybarra now on the roster. If everything goes to plan Ware will not hit the field again over the next 3 seasons.

CBs

Cur/Pot YR HD TK CV AG SP
*John Kim 3.0/4.5 SR 15 16 16 13 11
Lester Clayton 2.5/4.0 FR 10 11 13 13 10
John Moore 2.0/4.0 FR 10 10 12 16 12
#Matt Herman 2.0/4.0 FR 8 11 13 12 10
Richard Carpenter 1.0/2.0 SO 9 9 7 9 7
Jesse Williams 1.0/1.5 JR 8 9 9 10 7

Key: HD = hands, TK = tackle, CV = cover, AG = agility, SP = speed, * = starter last season, # = redshirting this season.

Kim, who was excellent when not suspended for academics, is back for what will hopefully be a longer senior year. He didn't improve a lot skill wise, but we just hope he hit the books. Clayton, Moore, and Herman were my big signings this past recruiting phase. Clayton and Moore are both ready to roll and will see time straight away, with Clayton the likely starter right now. Herman on the other hand is going to redshirt and I'm likely going to convert him to safety. These three, along with my transfer safety who is sitting out the year, are going to be the keys to my secondary for hopefully some time.

FS

Cur/Pot YR HD TK CV AG SP
#Emmanuel Abbott 3.0/4.5 SO 12 14 14 11 10
Brian Cox 2.0/3.0 FR 9 12 11 10 8
*Tim Lewis 1.5/2.5 JR 7 10 11 8 9
Benjamin Talbot 1.5/2.5 SR 8 10 11 7 6
Guadalupe Pierce 1.0/2.5 FR 9 8 8 10 9
Eric Smith 1.0/2.0 SO 7 8 8 9 9

Key: HD = hands, TK = tackle, CV = cover, AG = agility, SP = speed, * = starter last season, # = redshirting this season.

Lewis and Talbot split starting duties last season, but Cox, who redshirted last season, is probably going to keep the spot warm until Abbott is back in 2010 after his transfer. Cox is pretty mediocre, but all we are asking from him is that he not commit too many mistakes on D. If he does, Lewis will probably vault back up to starter, as he made few mistakes last season.

SS

Cur/Pot YR HD TK CV AG SP
Joseph Smith 2.5/3.5 SR 10 13 13 8 10
David Lutz 2.0/3.5 SO 7 13 11 14 9

Key: HD = hands, TK = tackle, CV = cover, AG = agility, SP = speed, * = starter last season, # = redshirting this season.


We don't have nearly the depth here (which is why Herman is converting from CB to SS), but what we have is not so bad. Smith has decent coverage skills and for the most part performed well last season. Lutz saw time at both SS and FS and also was decent if unspectacular.

Outlook

Our defense has been given a big boost this year. Our DLine and LB corps are very solid, and our secondary has really been helped by the influx of young talent we were able to bring in. Looking at the skillsets of the players we have, we are going to be far more aggressive this season and look to blitz more than we did in 2008, particularily from our LBs. Gaddy and co on the DLine should be able to maintain our run defense (which was one of the best in the country in 2008), and I'm confident our CBs will help glue up our pass defense.

We really need to shut teams down this year, because like I said above, points aren't going to flow as easily as they did for us last season. I feel we have the roster to do it. I'd say we are 150% of where we were last season, and I'm confident these guys can get the job done. We just need our offense to bring something to the party as well...

[Groundhog]

Post-Training Camp Roster Evaluation - Special Teams

Ks

Cur/Pot YR KA KS KL
*Timothy Hernandez 3.0/3.5 SR 13 14 12
#Mack Curtis 3.0/4.5 FR 13 13 14
Charlie Bradley 1.0/1.5 SO 9 7 12

Key: KA = kick accuracy, KS = kick strength, KL = kickoff length, * = starter last season, # = redshirting this season.


Hernandez is the returning First Team All-Mountain West kicker, which is just as well for him, because Mack Curtis looks like an absolute stud. We're going to redshirt Curtis and pray he doesn't leave, because we are confident with Hernandez this year, even if he did shank a couple of easy ones last season.

Ps

Cur/Pot YR PA PL KL
*Edward Custer 2.5/3.0 SR 13 12 3
Willie Darden 2.0/2.5 SO 12 11 6

Key: PA = punt accuracy, PL = punt length, KL = kickoff length, * = starter last season, # = redshirting this season.


We were pretty happy with Custer's 39.8 avg for punts - including 9 TBs and 10 inside the 20 - and expect that to continue this year. Darden will get his chance next year.

KRs

Cur/Pot YR KR AC AG SP
Donald Haley 1.0/1.5 JR 15 7 7 10
John Newby 1.0/2.5 JR 15 9 8 9
Dewey Wilburn 2.5/3.5 SO 13 12 8 15

Key: KR = kick returning, AC = acceleration, AG = agility, SP = speed.


Ryan Meyers and Richard Rowe, our two key kick returners last season, are gone, leaving Haley to take their place. Haley looks OK, but he's a step down from last year's two. Newby - our main punt returner - is option number 2, while WR Wilburn can return if absolutely neccessary.

PRs

Cur/Pot YR PR AC AG SP
*John Newby 1.0/2.5 JR 18 9 8 9
Lester Clayton 2.5/4.0 FR 14 12 13 10


Key: PR = punt returning, AC = acceleration, AG = agility, SP = speed.


Newby was great for us last year, averaging 15.6 yard per return and running in for 2 TDs. We'll be hoping he holds up too, because freshman CB Clayton is our next best returner, and it's a pretty big gap between the two.

Outlook

The loss of our two kick returners from 2008 hurts, but our kicking game should be good enough to do all that is reasonably asked of it, while Newby is pretty special when it comes to returning punts. All in all, a none-too-shabby unit.

[Groundhog]

2009 Position Changes

We had three players move to different roles for us this offseason.

First up was CB Matt Herman, one of our three highly touted CBs. We decided to throw him in at SS and he performed well, going from a 2.0/4.0 rated CB to a 2.5/4.0 rated SS, and that's about what we expected. His overall athleticism will give him an edge at SS, but he'll still redshirt this year as Joseph Smith has the better fundamentals at this stage.

In need of depth at OG we moved OT Stanley Rangel across, and again he did well. He was a 1.5/3.0 rated OT, and is now a 2.0/3.0 rated OG, which makes him first off the bench at OG, rather than burried down the depth chart at OT.

Lastly we tried to clear out our glut of free safeties by having Brian Talbot attempt to move to CB. Talbot was rated just 1.5/2.5 at FS, so we weren't expecting too much at CB, and that's exactly what we got with his ratings at CB being 1.0/2.5. Purely bench depth, but his coverage skills bring him ahead of some of our other lower-rated CBs like Richard Carpenter and Jesse Williams.

[Groundhog]

2009 Mountain West Season Projection

According to the Mount West coaches (ie. the BBCF game), the expected order of finish in the Mount West in 2009 will be:

1. Utah
2. Air Force
3. TCU
4. BYU
5. San Diego State
6. Colorado State
7. New Mexico
8. UNLV
9. Wyoming

For the second year in a row we are favourites, and for the second year in a row I expect we'll fall short of expectations. I think 3 or 4 is a more realistic spot for us due to the fact that we have the worst QB lineup in the conference. We'll be hoping our running game and defense are enough to keep us above .500. TCU would be my pick as the pre-season favourite due to their swell of new talent in combination with the core of last season's team. Air Force are probably in the right spot, while New Mexico should be a couple of spots higher. BYU and San Diego State could go either way.

I'll do a more complete conference preview shortly.

[Groundhog]

Utah's 2009 Offensive & Defensive Schemes

On offense we are going to be running the Option. Our OC is a Run'n'Gun style of coach but we don't have the personnel to be doing a lot of gunning, so we'll be trying our luck with the Option instead. It came down to either Smashmouth or Option but we want to try and take advantage of the running skills of QB Eddie Mays, who is like a homeless man's Michael Vick, so Option it is. I have no experience with the Option, so we'll see how it goes.

On defense we will once again be running the 3-4. ILB is the deepest area of our roster so this allows us to field the extra ILB, as well as masking our lack of depth on the DLine. With the extra talent at CB and Safety we will also be looking to play a few more pass-D formations like Dime et al this year than we did last year. Hopefully, along with the addition of talent in our secondary, this will help improve a Pass-d that grew very shaky in the last half of 2008.

[Groundhog]

Utah Utes 2009 Schedule

Wk 1: Louisiana-Monroe
Wk 2: -----------
Wk 3: Miami (OH)
Wk 4: @ Air Force
Wk 5: #16 Oregon State
Wk 6: San Diego State
Wk 7: @ Colorado State
Wk 8: Brigham Young
Wk 9: @ UNLV
Wk 10: New Mexico
Wk 11: Wyoming
Wk 12: -----------
Wk 13: @ Texas Christian
Wk 14: -----------
Wk 15: Utah State

Overall, a tougher schedule than last season. Louisiana-Monroe is our strategy "idiot check" game, followed by Miami (OH) in week 3 which, though tougher, we should still win.

A very tough stretch follows however, as we travel to Air Force and then play #16 Oregon State and San Diego State at home. All tough games, and we could drop all 3.

Rest of the schedule is a fair bit better, though the week 13 matchup with TCU on the road will be tough.

[DeToxRox]

2010, I have an opening, care to start a home & home?

I need my requisite Mountain West foe.

[Groundhog]

2010, I have an opening, care to start a home & home?

I need my requisite Mountain West foe.

Sure, sounds good to me.

[Groundhog]

My 2009 Mount West Prediction

CPU generated predictions in brackets.

1. TCU (3)
2. Air Force (2)
3. San Diego State (5)
4. Utah (1)
5. BYU (4)
6. New Mexico (7)
7. Colorado St (6)
8. UNLV (8)
9. Wyoming (9)

My main problem was with the order of the CPUs top 5. Without a QB there is no way we are favourites, with TCU easily having the stronger overall roster IMO. I really like the look of Air Force, but they underachieved last season so anything could happen. BYU and San Diego State are my biggest question marks though. I didn't expect either of them to do as well as they did last season, and we will hopefully be in the mix with these 2 schools to decide spots 3, 4 and 5.

There is a pretty clear gap IMO between the top 5 and bottom 4 teams. New Mexico are the only team that may surprise, but I still see them as a clear tier below.

[Groundhog]

Week 1 Preview: Utah Utes (0-0) vs Louisiana Monroe Warhawks (0-0)

Finally, the season is upon us! We kick things off with a warm-up game of sorts against the Warhawks at home, who are a lower prestige team that we expect to beat. This is my strategy 'idiot check' game, as we've made a number of changes to our gameplanning this season. Depending on how things go tonight I'll be looking at tweaking and adjusting things in order for our stronger matchups to come in the next couple of weeks.

We definately aren't counting our chickens until they've hatched however. The major threat for ULM that we'll be keying in on is RB Thomas Plummer. He's an athletic back who has at times looked a threat both running the ball and receiving, but he does not have much of a OLine to work with. Run defense was our strength last season, and I don't expect that to change much this year. We need to keep Plummer under 100 yards, and force ULM's QB William Holmes to throw the ball. Holmes had an OK year as a true freshman, but accuracy is not his strong suit. WR Larry Clark gives him an option to throw to, but this is a team that would much prefer to gain yardage on the ground.

The ULM defensive unit is not much to look at. DT Joseph Williams is the 'star', but they do not get much help from their secondary. We will be rotating our QBs in order to hopefully get our main guys some completions and get a read on who our best option will be for the rest of the season. As should be the case for us this year however, it's on the ground where we expect to do the damage. We'll be looking to get Reynolds more carries this year, and we expect him to have a big game against these guys.

Oh yeah, and we decided to not redshirt our CB-turned-SS Matt Herman after all. He looks like a flight risk, so we're throwing him in the deep end as starter from day 1. He is relatively close to our previously planned starter at SS, except a far better athlete, so it's not such a major issue.

Prediction: Utah 27, ULM 10. We are +15 point favourites.

Around the Mount West:

Air Force (0-0) @ Army (0-0) - Air Force are +13 favourites and shouldn't be troubled in this one.
#14 Florida St (0-0) @ San Diego St - Florida State are +20 favourites. Tough start to the season for the Aztecs.
BYU (0-0) @ Northern Illinois (0-0) - Odds are listed as even.
Wyoming (0-0) @ South Florida (0-0) - South Florida are +3 favourites.

Game of the Week:

#1 Texas (0-0) @ #10 Auburn (0-0)

Big matchup to start the year, with the pre-season favourites on the road against the Tigers. Texas are +7 favourites.

[st.cronin]

TCU's roster is better than Utah's at one position: Quarterback. Every other position you're either better or equal.

I actually like BYU to do very well.

[Groundhog]

TCU's roster is better than Utah's at one position: Quarterback. Every other position you're either better or equal.

I actually like BYU to do very well.

Aye, but WHAT a QB. Your team actually reminds me a fair bit of my team last season, but with better pass defense and a better QB. That's the main reason why I'm pimping your team so much.

[st.cronin]

Aye, but WHAT a QB. Your team actually reminds me a fair bit of my team last season, but with better pass defense and a better QB. That's the main reason why I'm pimping your team so much.

I have my concerns about him. We'll see.

[Groundhog]

Week 1 Result: Utah Utes 54, ULM 31

Player of the Game: RB J Reynolds (UTAH) - 34 ATT, 294 yds (8.65ypc), 4 TDs

BOX SCORE (http://www.fofc-bbcf.com/league/BoxScores/Game767.htm)

Well, we won, but this is not how we wanted to start the season. Offensively, we were in pretty fine form tonight, with Reynolds being able to run just about anywhere he wanted for his 4 TDs, including a nice 59 yard breakaway. Our QBs, Mays in particular (6/8, 74 yds, 1 td), performed well, and our OLine held for the most part. 54 points is an impressive total for us, and outside of a couple of minor quirks we did well on offense. ULM did help us out by a bad fumble off a kick off return and quite a few penalties however.

Defensively however, yuck. Warhawks RB Plummer was the guy we were keying on, and we held him to 79 yards, and the Warhawks to a total net of 73 yards on the ground. This was our primary goal, and we were happy with that, with transfer recruit ILB Ybarra in particular picking up 3 stuffs.

Where we struggled was, once again, against the pass. Perhaps I shouldn't say "we" so much as "SS Matt Herman", the guy who looked set to transfer if he didn't play straight away as a freshman this year. Herman had 3 missed tackles and was out of position once, allowing 3 big passing plays in total (one a TD) for a horrendous start to his career. He did pick up one of our two interceptions (the other going to our other freshman CB, Clayton, off the bench), but man, we'll be hoping this was just a freak occurance from him or else he'll be straight to the bench.

Outside of Herman, we did OK, but struggled to get stops when we needed them. We also didn't put nearly enough pressure on ULM's QBs, with just 2 hurries and a sack. Against a DLine like ULMs, we need to do better.

Around the Mount West:

Up and down week for the Mount West.

Army defeat Air Force 18-14 - Army's D is just too much for Air Force. Air Force are better than this, but it looks like their inconsistency from last year has returned.
Florida St defeat San Diego St 44-14 - No real surprises here.
Northern Illinois defeat BYU 31-24 - A late rally falls short for BYU, and they fall short on the road.
Wyoming defeat South Florida 24-10 - A big 3Q sees Wyoming pick up the W on the road. Very solid showing by QB Jones, with 3 TD passes.

Game of the Week Result: Texas 26, Auburn 14

Not even a great night from Auburn RB Williams (205 yds, 6.03ypc, 2 TDs) was enough to get them the W, as the Longhorns were just too much. It was 13-14 Auburn heading in to the half, but Texas had 13 unanswered points in the 3rd and this proved to be enough.

True freshman QB Cameron came in off the bench for the Longhorns and was impressive, completing 8/11 passes for a TD and an INT.

[Groundhog]

Week 1 Injuries

Our top receiver Robert Byrd left the game early in the 2nd quarter with a broken hand - a big blow. He is listed as probable with 4-6 weeks for recovery. We'll likely rest him another 2 weeks and bring him back once conference games start up.

[Groundhog]

Week 2 Preview: No Game

We get the week off to prepare for Miami (OH) at home next week. It won't help us too much, as Byrd's injury will keep him out for at least another 2 weeks at best.

Around the Mount West:

A tough week in the Mount West, with only BYU expected to pick up the win.

Colorado St (0-0) @ #24 Georgia (1-1) - Georgia are +20 favourites.
UNLV (0-0) @ #6 USC (0-1) - USC are +20 favourites.
TCU (0-0) @ Arizona (0-1) - Arizona are +18 favourites.
San Diego St (0-1) vs Pittsburgh (0-1) - Pittsburgh are +6 favourites.
Air Force (0-1) vs Colorado (1-0) - Colorado are +10 favourites.
BYU (0-1) @ Middle Tenn St (0-1) - BYU are +9 favourites.
New Mexico (0-0) vs Northern Illinois (1-0) - Northern Illinois are +6 favourites.

Game of the Week:

#21 California (1-0) @ Rutgers (1-0)

Tough week to pick a game of the week, with the only two ranked teams facing each other coming off losses to open the year, so I went with an unconventional selection.

California were a little uneven in their week 1 win over Kansas State, and will need to find their form today against a Rutgers team that is coming off a solid win over Arizona last week.

California are heavily favoured on the road and should pull this one out, but hey, go you underdogs!

[Groundhog]

Week 2 Result: No Game

We didn't lose. Yay! Byrd still listed as probable (3-5).

Around the Mount West:

#23 Georgia defeats Colorado St 50-27
#6 USC defeats UNLV 56-14
Arizona defeats TCU 20-16
Pittsburgh defeats San Diego St 34-9
BYU defeats Middle Tenn St 27-0
Northern Illinois defeats New Mexico 17-11

This week was every bit as difficult as promised for the MWC, with only BYU picking up the W with style. TCU-Arizona was the game of the week with the Horned Frogs just falling short, while both ranked teams thoroughly stomped Colorado State and UNLV.

Game of the Week Result: #22 California 44, Rutgers 6

It didn't really wind up being much of a game this one, with California not being too troubled on the road against the Scarlett Knights. Rutgers held the Golden Bears TD-less in the first half, but Cali busted out 3 TDs in the third, and 2 in the 4th, to put the game well out of reach. RB Michael Davis from Cali was player of the game, with 194 yards rushing and 2 TDs.

[Groundhog]

Week 3 Academic Suspensions:

Yowzers. I miscalculated, thinking I had one more week to set my study settings, but I was wrong, and we lost 4 players. The list, including stats from our first game, are:

(bold indicates starter)

RB T. Richardson (DNP)
C William Smith - 1 False Start (nice game!)
DE Bruce Gonzales - 3 tackles, 1 stuf
OLB Adrian Esparza - 6 tackles, 1 sack

Esparza, our JuCo recruit, still hasn't got his academics in order after two years of Junior College. Thankfully we are well stocked at OLB, but he was coming off a nice game.

Losing Gonzales does hurt our DLine though, even if he had a bit of a bad game last week (2 missed tackles). We have a couple of young guys at DE who will get their chance, either Lewis (a sophomore pass rusher) or Terry (a balanced freshman). Both are a step backwards at this point.

C Will Smith was a reserve, but a mighty good one. Still, not a major issue unless our starter goes down. RB T. Richardson is not on the depth chart.

[Groundhog]

Week 3 Preview: Utah Utes (1-0) vs Miami (OH) Redhawks (0-1)

The Redhawks are coming off a pretty solid showing against #12 Michigan, falling 27-15. Defensively they looked pretty good for the most part, but were unable to score a TD, thanks to their inability work the ball in to the red zone.

Offensively they are a balanced squad, but are clearly more comfortable with the run. Sophomore QB Joseph Roy has an accurate arm however, and we'll need to play the pass a lot better than we did against ULM. RB John Hayes is no superstar, and we'll be looking to keep him under 100 yards again, while pressuring Roy to make bad passes. The OLine has some talent - OG Smith in particular - so we'll need to really step up this week to make that happen.

We really need to be very careful against this team on offense, especially through the air. Michigan were able to move the ball through the air, but my QBs might struggle against this secondary. As per usual we'll be looking at attacking on the ground through Reynolds, but Redhawks DE Whitmore, as well as his LBs, will make that a harder task for Reynolds than it was last week.

I'm confident that we can take this game, but to do so we are going to need to shut down the passing game far more efficently than last week, and get pressure on the QB. I'm confident that our running attack will get us enough FGs and TDs to get us the points, so we just need to keep these guys under 20 points.

Prediction: Utah 27, Miami (OH) 16. We are +7 favourites.

Around the Mount West:

BYU (1-1) vs San Jose St (1-) - BYU are +15 favourites.
San Diego St (0-2) @ #16 Oregon St (1-0) - Oregon State are +9 favourites.
TCU (0-1) vs #2 Oklahoma (1-0) - Oklahoma are +11 favourites.
Wyoming (1-0) @ Oregon (2-0) - Oregon are +20 favourites.
New Mexico (0-1) vs Akron (0-2) - New Mexico are +13 favourites.
Colorado St (0-1) @ East Michigan (0-2) - Colorado St are +7 favourites.
Air Force (0-2) vs North Texas (0-2) - Air Force are +15 favourites.

Should be a better week for the MWC, with the exceptions of some tough games for TCU, Wyoming and San Diego State. Anything below .500 for the MWC this week would be dissapointing.

Game of the Week:

#4 Purdue (2-0) @ #6 USC (1-1)

USC never got going against Notre Dame in week one before bouncing back against MWC'ers UNLV last week. Purdue - fresh off two nice wins, including a week one victory over Miami - will be another tough matchup for the Trojans. Purdue are favoured by +4, but I'm thinking that the Trojans are back on the right path and will take this game at home.

[Groundhog]

Week 3 Result: Utah 12, Miami (OH) 13

Player of the Game: DE J Whitmore (Miami (OH)), 5 tackles, 4 hurries, 3 stuffs

BOX SCORE (http://www.fofc-bbcf.com/league/BoxScores/Game731.htm)

An absolute disaster of a game. Our already reduced DLine lost DE Gaddy and DT Rhodes before the 8 minute mark of the 1st Quarter had been reached, and this was an omen of things to come.

We were unable to put even a single TD on the board, largely because our running game just never got going. Reynolds was held to 85 yards on just 2.74ypc - his worst game ever - and this was thanks to blown blocking assignments from his linemen. Repeatedly we missed blocks, leaving Reynolds with nothing to work with. With no running game we were also forced to go to the air, and Mays (9-24 cp, 158yds, 1 int) did about as well as I could expect him to.

Even with his interception and a couple of bad passes (usually due to pressure from the D, thanks again to poor play from his OLine), Mays was our best player on offense tonight, mostly due to a couple of nice deep passes and 2 great scrambles to pick up 1st downs on 3rd and longs.

Defensively we were pretty solid for the most part, especially considering we had no starters on the DLine of our 3-4 defense. Ybarra in particular was solid for us from the ILB spot, picking up 6 tackles, 2 stuffs, and a QB hurry. FS B. Cox had another couple of blown coverages to give up big plays, but redeemed himself with a couple of stuffs, while CB Kim grabbed his first interception of the season. Overall, to hold these guys to just one TD was a pretty good effort considering how woeful we were on offense.

Still, despite our troubles, we could have won this game. With 2:16 remaining, Newby returned a punt 18 yards to get us to the Utah 41, then a big Mays pass and a penalty got us 1st down at the Miami (OH) 13. We weren't able to pick up the TD, but worked it to the 7 yard line to setup the 25 yard FG with :46 remaining. Then Hernandez, our reigning MWC 1st team kicker, blew the kick for a fitting end to the game.

Hard to be too upset about it though, because we didn't deserve this win.

Around the Mount West:

BYU defeat San Jose St 20-10
#16 Oregon St defeat San Diego St 32-23
TCU defeat #2 Oklahoma 20-10(!!!)
Oregon defeat Wyoming 26-23
New Mexico defeat Akron 24-10
Colorado St defeat Eastern Michigan 34-6
Air Force defeat North Texas 52-3

A very good week for the MWC, with 5 out of 9 teams picking up a win. No win was better than TCU toppling the #2 Sooners however! TCU shut down the air and contained the Sooner's running game to pick up a very nice defensive win.

Game of the Week Result: Purdue 41, USC 23

Purdue look like they might just be the real deal after a big win on the road tonight. The Trojans D gave up far too many big plays, and Purdue QB Bryan, with 15/24 cps for 322 yards and 2 TDs was just too solid.

[Groundhog]

Week 3 Injuries

Thankfully DE Gaddy's injury is nothing major, and he'll be back next week when we kick off conference play. DE Lewis, our 3rd DE who is starting while we await Gonzales' return from suspension, also picked up an injury and is listed as questionable for 2-4 weeks, but will be in the lineup next week.

Freshman DT Rhodes hurt his wrist, but will also be good to go.

WR Byrd's hand is still mending, but we are going to bring him back next week because we need all the help we can get on Offense.

[st.cronin]

That's a tough loss, but its better to have that happen in a non-conference game. In college football, its all about the conference.

Sorry, that's the best I can do for consoling words.

[Groundhog]

That's a tough loss, but its better to have that happen in a non-conference game. In college football, its all about the conference.

Sorry, that's the best I can do for consoling words.

Heh, thanks. ;)

Fingers crossed, that was about as bad as my team should ever play offensively, and it meant falling by 1 point to a team that would probably be middle/lower-tier in our conference. That's what I'm using to try console myself anyway.

[Groundhog]

Week 4 Preview: Utah Utes (1-1, 0-0) @ Air Force Falcons (1-2, 0-0)

Conference play kicks off this week, with our Utes heading to Air Force for a game on the road against the inconsistent Falcons. The Falcons dropped two straight, including a dissapointing 4-point loss to Army, to start the season but bounced back and whalloped North Texas last week.

The strength of this Falcons team is their offense. They returned all 2008 starters except for at C, and have arguably the best RB in the conference in Kevin Flores. Flores did great against Colorado in week 2, and we will need to really work to keep this guy under 100 yards. Making that even harder will be a mostly solid OLine, a set of quality WRs, and Feldman at QB. Feldman in particular has improved each year and looks set to challenge for 1st team all-MWC this year. Injuries have hit this offensive unit quite hard and a number of players are niggled or out all-together, but this is still a dangerous squad.

Defensively the Falcons have not been quite so strong, and have struggled against the pass in particular. This will not help us so much, but we will be playing WR Byrd so hopefully we are able to get a little something from the air to open up our running game. Falcons DE Gary Doran, a first team all-MWC 2 seasons ago as a freshman, is off to another slow start, but he and an above-average set of LBs will be doing all they can to shutdown our running game.

This is going to be a tough and interesting game for us. Our secondary is going to get a real workout today, and that could well be the key for us. CB Kim in particular is really going to need to hold his own and pull down some interceptions. Keeping Flores under 100 yards on the ground might be too much of an ask, but hopefully we can at least contain him.

Offensively I'm hoping that last week was just out-of-character for us in regards to our running game. We need better blocking and to just get Reynolds to the LOS - he'll handle the rest from there. All I need from my QBs - Mays in particular - is to limit the bad passes, and pick up the odd couple of yards on the ground when the situation presents itself. Interceptions and the like are expected given the experience of these guys, but if they just limit the bad passes and fumbles then I'll be happy.

We can win this game, even on the road, but it will take about 200% of the effort we gave on offense last week to do it, while maintaining our defensive intensity.

Prediction: Air Force 30, Utah 23. Odds are listed as even.

Around the Mount West:

San Diego St (0-3,0-0) @ Wyoming (1-1,0-0) - Wyoming are +7 favourites.
BYU (2-1,0-0) @ Colorado St (1-1,0-0) - BYU are +5 favourites.
UNLV (0-1,0-0) @ New Mexico (1-1,0-0) - New Mexico are +8 favourites.

Our game is probably the biggest of the week, though Wyoming and San Diego St may prove a pretty good matchup, as the surprising Cowboys nearly beat #25 Oregon last week, while the Aztecs have lost to two top-25 teams.

Game of the Week:

#22 Georgia (2-0) @ #14 Ole Miss (3-0)

Neither team is yet to really be tested with a relatively soft schedule, so this will be a good showing as to whether or not these teams are worthy of their top-25 ranking. Ole-Miss has been great on D, with CB Glover running back two Ints for TDs already this year, where as Georgia is yet to score under 50 points, so this could be an interesting matchup.

[st.cronin]

I'm curious what sort of tweaks you've made to the default option game plan, or if you've come up with your own.

[Groundhog]

I'm curious what sort of tweaks you've made to the default option game plan, or if you've come up with your own.

I've been pretty cautious in my tweaking, because I don't really know what I'm doing. I've kept the 'default' (be it 'pass', 'run', or 'balanced') for the most part with small adjustments here and there, some of which I've been quite happy with - especially defensively.

I'm at work and am struggling to remember exactly which fields I modified for the past 2 games (there were small differences), but if I get the time tonight I'll post some more.

[Groundhog]

Oh, and the one thing I changed the most was blitz percentages. I adjusted them to my player strengths, but it's too soon to tell if they've had much of an effect one way or the other.

[Groundhog]

Week 4 Result: Utah Utes 15, Air Force Falcons 17

Player of the Game: FS Robert Hines (AIRF) 7 tackles, 1 int, 1 TD

BOX SCORE (http://www.fofc-bbcf.com/league/BoxScores/Game442.htm)

Once again, close but not cigar. This was another frustrating defeat for us, with two mistakes preventing us from staging a 4th quarter comeback. Down 10-3 in the 4th, Utes QB Saunders threw a pick that got returned 83 yards for a Falcons TD to push it out to 17-3. We didn't give up though and kept our D up while working the ball on the ground, but we just couldn't get in to the end zone, instead having to settle for FGs. Finally Saunders connected with RB Reynolds for a 5 yard TD pass to make it 15-17, but we failed the 2pt conversion. Needing a 3-and-out on D to get the ball back with under 1:20 left, the Falcons unfortunately picked up the first, and ran out the clock to take the win.

Another missed FG - this time from 19 yards at the end of the 3rd Q - proved to be the difference, and has really got me frustrated with kicker Hernandez. He is deadly accurate from 30 yards and out, but it seems that anything under that is a roll of the dice.

Once again there were some positives to this game, and they came mostly from my D. Our D allowed just 1 TD, thoroughly contained Falcons RB Flores (80yds, 3.48ypc), and kept QB Feldman from doing any major damage. We gave up just 281 yards (compared to 396 gained ourselves) and if we had just been able to get the ball in to the endzone, we would have won this game. ILB Ybarra continues to impress, picking up 11 tackles, 1 sack, and 1 stuff, while OLB Roman was all over the field with 12 tackles, 1 stuff, and 1 hurry.

Offensively RB Reynolds bounced back this week with 162 yards on 27 attempts (6.00ypc). Our blocking was better - but far from perfect - and our running game as a whole was improved by the return of WR Byrd, who had 8 catches for 86 yards and helped open the game up. QB Mays took a hit early and left the game injured, finishing 5/10 for 38 yards, while Saunders was 7/11 for 89 yards with 1 TD and 1 INT.

But the fact that we picked up 396 yards on the ground and only walked away with a single TD is a travesty, and it's something we really need to look at. Our D is really carrying this team right now, and if we don't start getting in to the endzone it could be a long season.

Around the Mount West:

BYU defeat Colorado St 31-24
New Mexico defeat UNLV 23-9
San Diego St defeat Wyoming 37-20

San Diego State upset the odd-makers by picking up the road win with ease, while all the other matchups went pretty much as expected, though it did take a spectacular 81 yard TD pass to give BYU the win.

Game of the Week Result: Georgia 27, Ole Miss 25

This game ended up being a real thriller. Ole Miss RB broke away for a 61 yard TD run to put Ole Miss up 25-24 with 2:51 remaining (failed 2pt conversion), but Georgia nailed the 32 yard FG with 5 seconds left to take the win.

Ole Miss's D was great against the run, but struggled to shutdown Bulldog's QB Benjamin, who finished 19/30 with 260 yards and 3 TDs.

[Groundhog]

Week 4 Injuries

A number of bumps and bruises from this game as a number of players limped off the field, including starting QB Mays. Thankfully they were mostly relatively minor, though Mays hurt a tendon in his foot and is listed as questionable (5-7). He will play next week however.

Worst of all was 3rd WR Chaffin who injured himself quite severely in a special teams play. He dislocated his knee and will likely miss the majority of the season, if not the entirety of it. Chaffin stepped in for Byrd and was quite solid last week, so this hurts.

[Groundhog]

Week 5 Preview: Utah Utes (1-2) vs #9 Oregon State Beavers (3-0)

This is going to hurt. Oregon State have picked up 3 nice - if close - victories to start the year, including a 25-17 win over #12 UCLA last week. They have done it largely with a balanced attack, and have defended well against the pass.

The one area they haven't been particularily strong at is run defense, which plays right to our strength, but we aren't going to kid ourselves in to thinking that we have too much of a chance here today. The Beavers are clearly a couple of tiers above us in terms of talent, and our main goal will be to try and keep it close.

The Beavers average 170+ yards on the ground, and 272 through the air. If we can cut in to those two figures, I'll be happy.

Prediction: Oregon State 34, Utah Utes 13. Beavers are just +9 favourites.

Around the Mount West:

Air Force (2-2) @ UNLV (0-2) - Air Force are + 11 favourites.
TCU (1-1) @ Colorado St (1-2) - Odds are listed as even.
San Diego St (1-3) @ BYU (3-1) - BYU are +15 favourites.

A couple of interesting matchups, not to mention interesting odds. I'm surprised that TCU-Colorado St is listed as even as I expect TCU to take that one out quite easily. The Aztecs-Cougars game could also be closer than the bookies expect, though BYU have been very solid to start the year.

Game of the Week:

#5 Oklahoma (2-1) @ #2 Texas (4-0)

Oklahoma fell to TCU back in week 3 but bounced back against Kansas State and will really need a solid showing against Texas to put that TCU game behind them. Texas on the other hand are undefeated, but have not been as dominating as expected, and managed just 13 points in a win over Lousiana-Laf. They are +5 favourites today.

[Groundhog]

Week 4 Result: Utah Utes 34, Oregon State Beavers 33

Player of the Game: RB Jeffrey Reynolds (UTAH) 21 att, 110 yds (5.24ypc), 2 TDs

BOX SCORE (http://www.fofc-bbcf.com/league/BoxScores/Game768.htm)

All the heartbreak suffered in our two ever-so-close losses the past couple of weeks have been forgotten with our thrilling last seconds win today - our first ever win over a ranked team since I came on campus. What was most surprising of all though is the way we won this game. 140 yards rushing, and 324 yards passing. I really don't think the Beavers (or me, for that matter) expected that.

What really won us the game was not yards gained in the air or the ground though, but our defense. It was another solid effort today, as we picked up an early lead and managed to prevent Oregon State from jumping ahead. Finally in the late 3rd and 4th Q we began to bend, but we never broke. Instead we held Oregon State to FGs - of which they hit 4 in the 4th Q - and that left the door open for our unlikely comeback, even as the margin pushed out to 10.

Finally my offense then stepped up to the plate and matched the intensity that my D was bringing to the field. Down 30-20 after just conceeding a defensive TD from a fumble, and with just over 3 minutes left, Reynolds breaks free for a 48 yard TD run to give us some hope at 30-27. A bad kickoff (out of bounds), and a couple of nice gains for the Beavers sees them get in to FG range to force us to look for a TD with under a minute left with the score at 33-27.

With Freddie James, stepping in for our injured starting QB Mays (a late scratching), lining up behind C he fielded the snap only to be sacked for a 9 yard loss, leaving us in a 2-and-19 hole at our own 15 yard line. Next snap he throws an incomplete pass, giving us 3-and-19 with 13 seconds left. Lined up in the Wishbone formation he takes the snap, spots WR Wilburn who breaks free of his defender, and takes the catch all the way in to the endzone for an amazing 85 yard TD for the win!

It was a nice boost to get something from my offense, with QBs James (11/22, 242yds, 1 TD, 2 INTs) and Saunders (6/8, 82yds), RB Reynolds, and WRs Byrd (5 receptions, 116 yards) and Wilburn (2 receptions, 117 yards, 1 TD) all stepping up to the occasion and making sure that we got some TDs on the board tonight. We could have done without the fumble that led to a defensive TD for the Beavers (the second straight game we've given up a defensive TD), but overall we're happy.

Defensively we were in fine form tonight, which I'm beginning to expect from my boys now. ILB Ybarra was once again the star on D with 12 tackles and a stuff, while OLB Roman also had another solid outing with 8 tackles. Gaddy didn't get a sack but pressured the QB with 3 hurries, while CB Kim also grabbed an interception. We began to give up some plays in the second half, but like I said above, we bent but never broke.

Hopefully this win will give us some momentum as we continue on with our conference games.

Around the Mount West:

Air Force defeat UNLV 24-12
Colorado St defeat TCU 23-15
BYU defeat San Diego St 27-12

Only real surprise of the week for the rest of the conference was Colorado State handing TCU a loss. Colorado State were impressive last week against BYU as well, so it's looking like I might have over-looked them this year.

Game of the Week Result: Texas 23, Oklahoma 19

Despite some solid running by Sooners RB 'Speedy' Gonzalez (20at, 140yds, 7.00ypc), and some pretty solid run defense as well, the Sooners fell short against the Longhorns as they just couldn't seem to get in to the endzone.

[DataKing]

Fantastic win Groundhog. Congratulations!

[st.cronin]

That's gotta feel good.

[Doudon]

That's gotta feel good.

It didn't feel good from this side. The Beavers continue to struggle to get the ball in the end zone. Gotta find a fix for that. :confused:

Good Luck in the MWC.

[Groundhog]

Thanks guys (and condolences Doudon ;) )

[Groundhog]

Week 6 Academic Suspensions

All my guys suspended in week 3, including starters DE Gonzales and OLB Esparza, are back, but we lose two more guys.

OLB John Barrett - 3 starts, 7tkls, 1 hurry
CB John Moore - 5 tkls, 1 int, 1 rec fumble

Barrett had been filling in for the suspended Esparza, while Moore was my 3rd CB and a special teams guy. It's a shame to lose them as it robs me of depth, but we should manage.

[Groundhog]

Week 6 Preview: Utah Utes (2-2, 0-1) vs San Diego State Aztecs (1-4, 1-1)

We welcome the Aztecs to Utah U. today, hoping that our momentum from last week carries forward to tonight. The Aztecs record is deceiving, as they have played two top-15 sides, and also lost to BYU on the road last week, so we won't be taking these guys lightly.

Helping us out will be the Aztecs rather intense injury woes. They have a lot of guys carrying injuries, and starting QB Adam Cummings (50.5% cp, 6-4 TD-INTs so far) is out for a substantial amount of time with a torn rotator cuff. Even so, they have capable reserves, so we can't be too comfy.

Their running game has been a little inconsistent as they've tried to settle on a starter between D. Wallis (5.79ypc 1 TD) & J. Schmid (4.59 ypc 0 TD), but it appears Wallis has won the spot for now. He's not the speediest back, but he had a nice 38 yard run against BYU last week. We'll be looking at our LBs, Ybarra in particular, to shut these guys down. As for our passing D, we'll be looking to our OLBs and DLine to get pressure on the Aztec QBs, while hoping our CBs and safetys don't give up too many big plays. Having Gonzalez back from suspension to lineup opposite Gaddy on the DLine will help us dramatically.

Offensively it's going to be business as usual, except Freddie James will be starting at QB once again. Mays is probably good to roll, but we are going to hold him out at least one more game and see how James does this week, with Saunders also taking some snaps. San Diego State have struggled to stop the run this year though, so that's where we'll be primarily looking, which should surprise nobody. Hopefully our blocking is at least as good as last week, and if so Reynolds figures to have a nice game, which should prove key to our victory.

To win this game, we need two things to happen: force FGs in the redzone, and establish our running game. If we can do that, I'm quietly confident we can take this game.

Prediction: Utah 27, San Diego State 23. We are 9 point favourites.

Around the Mount West

Wyoming (1-2, 0-1) @ Air Force (3-2, 2-0) - Air Force are +11 favourites.
TCU (1-2, 0-1) @ UNLV (0-3, 0-2) - TCU are +4 favourites.
New Mexico (2-1, 1-0) @ BYU (4-1, 2-0) - BYU are +9 favourites.

Should be a comfortable week for Air Force and BYU at home, while TCU will be looking to bounce back after last weeks loss. A winless UNLV squad should give them a chance to do that handily.

Game of the Week:

#13 Michigan (3-1) @ #7 Wisconsin (4-1)

Both teams have suffered one defeat thus far, both last week with Michigan falling to Michigan St last week by 3 and Wisconsin losing to Indiana 25-13. Both teams will be looking for a change of fortune this week, and to keep their national title dreams alive with a victory.

[st.cronin]

Please stop trying to jinx my team, k thx.

[Groundhog]

Please stop trying to jinx my team, k thx.

:D

[Groundhog]

Week 6 Result: Utah Utes 23, San Diego St Aztecs 20

Player of the Game: SS Daniel Green (San Diego St) 10 tkls, 1 INT, 1 TD

BOX SCORE (http://www.fofc-bbcf.com/league/BoxScores/Game447.htm)

We gave the fans yet another nail-bitter this week. It all started slowly enough in the first half, with neither team able to get much of anything going. 1st downs were rare and neither team's D was showing signs of giving anything away, and a FG by both teams was all they could manage as they entered the locker room at half time.

Reynolds, who had largely been contained thus far, broke away for the first TD of the game in the 3rd Q to put us up 10-3, and this gave us some momentum to work with, with James connecting with Nolan for a 10 yd TD pass a few minutes later to give us a 17-3 lead, followed up a few minutes later with a FG to end the 3rd Q with a nice 17 point lead.

Momentum swung dramatically the other way in the 4th, with the Aztecs hitting a 41 yd FG, then intercepting a James pass and returning it 75 yards for yet another defensive TD, making it 3 games in a row we've given one up, and bringing our lead back to 20-13. Play got a little sloppy after that, and James threw yet another pick that led a few plays later to a TD to lock the scores at 20.

A couple of nice passes from James got us in to FG range quickly enough, and our kicker Hernandez didn't let us down this time, nailing the 47 yarder to put us up by 3 with 1:23 remaining.

The Aztecs start with it at their 20, and on the second snap QB Lopez connects with WR Felix for a huge 41 yard pass to put them at our 39. This was all looking a little too familiar to our own comeback last week, and I was more than a little worried at this point.

Still outside of FG range the Aztecs look to keep it going through the air, and Lopez drops back again in the shotgun formation with 1:05 remaining. Looking for big yardage he throws the pass right to our FS Cox! Cox picks it off and returns it 16 yards, and we kneel the remaining seconds away for a much needed conference win!

It was another solid effort from my D tonight, as we didn't give up too much on the ground, pressured the QB (4 sacks, 6 hurries, 1 INT), and didn't allow too many big plays. ILB Ybarra was big for us again with 7 tackles, 1 sack, and 2 stuffs. DE Gaddy had just 2 tackles but a very solid 4 hurries.

Offensively we really struggled against the Aztecs D running the ball, and our blocking was sub-par. Reynolds's big 55 yard TD run boosted his stats, but they just didn't give him very much at all and he had to work hard for every positive yard gained, ending the game with 122 yards on 4.36ypc. QB James (13/20, 128yds, 1-2 TD-INTs), still starting for the injured Mays (and likely starting for the rest of the season) chose 2 pretty awful times to throw picks, very nearly costing us the game, but then setup a lovely drive for the winning FG, and had a number of other nice passes. So far the positives outweigh the negatives. Losing our top WR in the second half didn't help his numbers any, either.

We are happy to get the win however, and I still have little doubt in my mind that the Aztecs are a stronger team than their record suggests.

Around the Mount West

Wyoming defeat Air Force 14-10
TCU defeat UNLV 27-17
BYU defeat New Mexico 44-3

Air Force are truly an enigma. For whatever reason they just can't seem to string 2 good outings together. Wyoming have been playing some good football, but this is still a game that the Falcons should have won, but they just couldn't get the ball in to the endzone. My jinx failed as TCU picked up the win behind RB Soto, while BYU humilated the Lobbos at home, and are now clearer than ever the conference favourites.

Game of the Week Result: Wisconsin 20, Michigan 3

Michigan QB Richard Price had a game he'd rather forget (13/45, 209 yds, 0-2 TD-INTs) as Wisconsin grinds away a 17 point victory in a game that won't win either squad too many beauty contests.

[Blade6119]

Hey, give me back my top 2 QBs, top WR, top OG, top CB, and then ill play as beautiful as you would like ;)

Congrats on the win

[Groundhog]

Week 6 Injuries

WR Byrd left the game early, but it was nothing serious, and he's back at 100%. DE Gaddy also left the game early once again, breaking his thumb. He'll be playing next week however.

The big injury was to our star OLB Daniel Roman however, who hurt a tendon in his foot. We probably should keep him out, but we are going to risk it.

WR Chaffin is still a few months away from recovery, and QB Mays could probably play but will sit out again. There is no rush with Mays, not with the way James has been playing.

[Groundhog]

Week 7 Preview: Utah Utes (5-3, 1-1) @ Colorado State Rams (2-2, 1-1)

We travel out to Colorado State to take on the surprising Rams this week, in a game that figures to be tougher than it appeared a few weeks ago. The Rams lost to #15 Georgia, but have looked solid at home, falling just short of BYU and beating TCU last week.

The Rams run a balanced attack, operating mainly out of the pro formation, and have really been relying on QB Anthony White (43.5% cp, 569 yds, 4-3 TD-INTs) in place of injured starter Deluca. Not sure who they will be starting tonight, but Deluca is the more dangerous of the two. Helping us lock down on these guys will be the Rams lack of a strong running game. They're averaging just 92.8ypg and we have one of the best defenses against the run in the nation, so we expect some success here.

Offensively we've made some changes coming in to this game. I've gone over game tape of our first 5 games and made many adjustments, throwing out the plays that haven't been working, while also adding in a couple of new ones. A road game against the Rams probably wasn't the best time to test this, but anyway...

Even so, it should largely business as usual, with us still relying on our running game to get us going. The Rams have two solid DEs to make life tough for us, but their LBs are a little weak, which with the 3-4 they run should help us some. Their corners aren't particularily strong either, but they do have a good pair of safetys, with SS Michael Partridge, a reigning all-MWC 1st teamer, their biggest talent on D.

The Rams have proved capable of putting points on the scoreboard, so our secondary is going to have to be in fine form tonight. We need to create turnovers and limit the big plays, and try and get our offense good field position to start our drives. If we can do that, there is no reason why we can't beat these guys. But as usual, easier said than done. We certainly aren't under-estimating them.

Prediction: Utah 30, Colorado St 24. We are +9 favourites.

Around the Mount West:

UNLV (0-4,0-3) @ Wyoming (2-2,1-1) - Wyoming are +11 favourites.
New Mexico (2-2,1-1) @ San Diego St (1-5,1-2) - New Mexico are +4 favourites.
Army (2-3) @ TCU (2-2) - TCU are +11 favourites.
Navy (3-2) @ Air Force (3-3) - Air Force are +3 favourites.

Should be an easy win for Wyoming against the winless Rebels, while San Diego St get a chance to get their season back on track with a home game against the Lobbos. TCU and Air Force both have home matchups with the out-of-conference military sides, and both are favoured to win.

Game of the Week:

#16 Virginia Tech (6-0) @ #4 Florida St (4-1)

VT have looked very solid thus far, with big wins over Ohio State and Wake Forest, and have been getting some great QB play from both Charles Ward and Cliff Horton.

Florida St suffered a setback against Virginia in a high-scoring matchup, and will be looking to show the nation that they deserve their high ranking. They're a team that prefers to get it done on the ground, and will be looking to senior RB Charles Daniels (658yds, 5.67ypc, 5 TDs), one of the best in the nation, to do the damage today.

Florida State are +8 favourites.

[Groundhog]

Week 7 Result: Utah Utes 38, Colorado State 10

Player of the Game: RB J. Reynolds (UTAH) 24 att, 194 yds, 3 TDs

BOX SCORE (http://www.fofc-bbcf.com/league/BoxScores/Game451.htm)

Although it ended up being a pretty one-sided victory, most of the game was closer than the final score suggests. The Rams did a number on my running game all day, particularily locking down Reynolds, and we even trailed briefly at 10-7 in the early 2nd half. We entered the 4th Q only up 21-10, so we were anything but sure of victory. Finally Reynolds managed to break off his shackles in the 4th Q though, breaking away for two massive TD runs (a 65yd and a 56yd) to save what was otherwise a pretty disastrous game from him until that point.

With our running game contained for much of the game we had to look to the air, and James (13/23, 166yds, 1-2 TD-INTs) did pretty well once again. He threw two picks early, but also had a TD pass and a couple of nice passes throughout the game. When WR Byrd went down with an injury (once again...), James did well targetting my TEs for some nice gains.

Most of the credit for the big victory must go to our defense however. It was another great effort from most of my key D players, with the injured OLB D. Roman (9 tkls, 1 sck, 2 stf, 3 hur) and ILB L. Ybarra (9 tkls, 1 sck, 2 stf) both contributing noteworthy nights. Our defense as a whole was great though, giving up just 64 yards rushing (1.9ypc), and 195 yards in the air - most of which were through 2 big plays. We also pressured the QB, with 3 sacks, 5 hurries, and an interception.

A solid road win, and that gives us 3 wins a row!

Around the Mount West

Wyoming defeat UNLV 17-7
New Mexico defeat San Diego St 17-9
Air Force defeat Navy 33-28
TCU defeat Army 34-23

San Diego State drop another game, and will really need to battle to get back to at least .500. Air Force win a close one, and TCU come home comfortably against Army.

Game of the Week Result: #3 Florida St 48, #13 Virginia Tech 13

Ouch. Virginia Tech picked up an early 10-0 lead, but that was as good as life was going to get for the Hokies, as Seminoles kept them out of the endzone for the rest of the game, and managed 48 points largely behind QB Jones's 4 TD passes.

[Groundhog]

Week 7 Injuries

The big loss this week was WR Robert Byrd, who broke his scapula and will miss the rest of his senior year. Byrd is our best WR by a longshot, so to lose both him and WR Chaffin for the year is a big blow to our passing game.

There were a couple of other minor injuries that won't see anybody lose time, while QB Mays and OLB Roman are both still nursing injuries. Mays will sit, but Roman will start. We can't afford to rest him, especially with BYU coming to town.

[Groundhog]

Week 8 Preview: Utah Utes (4-2, 2-1) vs Brigham Young Cougars (5-1, 3-0)

This week we face what will probably be our biggest Mount West challenge of the year - a matchup with the impressive Cougars. BYU have been on a tear since dropping their first game of the season in a dissapointing loss to Northern Illinois, and really stomped the Lobbos last week at home.

What's been getting it done for them has been their very impressive defense. The Cougars give up just 2.5ypc on the ground, while also defending the pass well and causing turnovers. This defensive unit is one that truly plays over their heads, lacking any one true star but getting contributions from everyone.

Their offense is nothing to sneeze at either. BYU runs a smashmouth offense led by super RB Gerald Warren (638yds, 4.28ypc, 5 TDs), which should make for an interesting game. We both like to run the ball, and we both defend well against the run. Unlike us, the Cougars have a solid and consistent passing threat at QB in Peter White (1523 yds, 60.1% cp, 10-4 TD-INTs). A lot of White's success comes from having two solid WRs in Hunter and Reed.

For us to win this game we are going to need to shut down the run and force the Cougars to the air. As risky as that may prove with their passing ability, I think this will give us our best chance as our secondary has been pretty good this year, and I don't believe Cougars QB White is a solid as his numbers suggest. The Cougars haven't played the toughest of schedules as yet, so we'd like to see how he throws against our coverage.

Offensively we really need to get our running game going if we are going to have a chance, especially with the injuries we've had to our recievers. We need our blocking to be on from the opening snap, and we need Reynolds to be picking up positive yardage. When forced to the air we'll need our QBs to look away from our WRs at some of our other options. We have a very solid TE in James Evans who has been under-utilized most of the year, so this should be his chance to shine.

Prediction: Utah 27, BYU 26. We are +6 favourites.

Around the Mount West

Colorado St (2-3, 1-2) @ Wyoming (3-2, 2-1) - Wyoming are +10 favourites.
Air Force (4-3, 2-1) @ TCU (3-2, 1-1) - TCU are +5 favourites.

A pretty quiet week in the Mount West, with 3 teams having the week off. Wyoming should handle the Rams pretty easily, while Air Force at TCU could be a great game.

Game of the Week:

Michigan St (6-1) @ #4 Purdue (6-1)

Michigan State have been solid all year and are probably unlucky to not be ranked, especially with a win over #21 Michigan and a close lose to #11 Notre Dame. Purdue have beaten ranked Miami, USC, and Notre Dame, but were spanked by Ohio State in week 5. Can the slow down the Spartans high scoring offense?

Purde are +6 favourites.

[Groundhog]

Week 8 Result: Utah Utes 47, Brigham Young Cougars 41 (OT)

Player of the Game: RB Jeffrey Reynolds (UTAH) 44 att, 180 yds, 2 TDs, 4.09 ypc

BOX SCORE (http://www.fofc-bbcf.com/league/BoxScores/Game454.htm)

Well, what a game this one turned out to be. Our very first pass of the game was intercepted and returned for a TD in a very inauspicious beginning to the game, and to make matters worse we screw up blocking assignment after blocking assignment to neutralize our own running game. The Cougars are firing however, and get in to the endzone once more to end the 1st quarter up 14-0.

Defensively we're better in the 2nd Q, but a bad penalty puts the Cougars in FG range and puts us in a 17-0 hole. Finally we get some offense, with James throwing two big gain passes to get us in to the redzone, and Saunders comes off the bench to connect with TE Evans, who is stepping it up nicely with our top 2 receivers out, for a TD to get us on the scoreboard with under a minute to go in the first half. Unfortunately the Cougars put two big passing plays to get in to field goal range to end the 1st half up 20-7.

We come out a lot sharper on both ends in the 2nd half, but we still can't get it into the endzone. We settle for two FGs to make it 20-13 entering the 4th Q, but our D is looking strong and the Cougars can't reply back.

Our very first play of the 4th Q sees Saunders throw a pick to give the Cougars the ball at our own 24 yard line. Thankfully 2 plays later we get the ball right back when ILB Ybarra gets a pick of his own. James and Saunders both connect with some big passes to get us near the redzone, before Reynolds busts out with a 23 yard TD run to level the scores at 20 a piece with 6:22 remaining! We keep up our defensive pressure forcing a 3-and-out, and then we return a bad Cougars punt to the BYU 37 yard line. A 15 yard run from Reynolds gets us in to the redzone, but Saunders and James are sacked for 6 and 9 yards respectively, and we are forced to go for the 49 yard FG attempt, which is good - 23-20, with 2:32 remaining.

A great kick return for BYU followed up with some big gains through the air get them quickly in to our redzone, but on 3rd and 6 at our 13 yard line, Cougars receiver Paige drops a pass forcing them to settle for the 33 yard FG to level the scores with 11 seconds left, and we are heading to our first ever OT!

I thought college OT would be the same as NFL, so I was a little surprised at how this went. We started with the ball and put a drive together that we rarely seem to be able to pull off in regular time, with FB Medina rushing in a 5 yard TD to make it 30-23. The Cougars get the ball back and move it far too easily for a TD of their own off a 12 yard pass, 30-30. Cougars ball again, this time we force the FG, 33-30 BYU.

We aren't nearly as sharp this set of snaps, with some failed runs forcing us to take the 40 yard FG, which we miss to lose the game... but wait! There's a flag on the play! Illegal Substituion, BYU, 5 yard penalty! We accept, and this time we make the 35 yarder, 33-33. Our ball again, but Saunders throws another pick to get BYU back the ball and to have us stare down the barrell once again... Thankfully our D steps up to the challenge, with DE Gaddy picking up a stuff for a 5 yard loss, and OLB Roman picking up a sack for another 5 yards, and the Cougars miss the 45 yard FG to keep our hopes alive.

Cougars ball again, and they work it down field fairly easily for the TD, also connecting on the 2pt conversion to make it 41-33, meaning we need a 2pt conversion of our own to stay in the game. We work it down field on the ground, with Reynolds coming up big on a 4th down conversion, and Nolan rushes in 1 snap later for the TD, and we also connect on the 2pt conversion! 41-41.

Our ball, and on the very first snap Reynolds breaks free for the 25 yard TD! We go for a 2pt conversion once again, but fail leaving us in a bad spot, needing to keep BYU out of the endzone to win. The Cougars go to the sky and get the ball to 1 yard line, first down. Things look grim but DE Gaddy once again picks up a huge play with a stuff for -5 yards, and we force BYU to attempt the 4th down conversion at the 5 yard line. Cougars QB Dunn gets it to WR Hunter in the endzone, but he drops it! We win!

A very, very lucky game for us, as the Cougars had several chances to win this game but a dumb penalty and two dropped passes, one in OT and at the end of the 4th Q, kept us alive and gave us the win. Still, we worked hard at it. We shutdown BYU's running game far more effectively than they stopped ours, and despite pretty attrocious run blocking once again from my guys it was still Reynolds who, with his 44 attempts, managed to open things up a bit for my passing while also coming up with the big TD rushes that he is so good at.

Defensively Gaddy was really the star. He had some huge stuffs this game to keep the Cougars out of the endzone and finished with 4 tkls, 2 stuffs, and 1 sack. ILB Ybarra had 12 tkls, 2 stuffs, and 1 big INT, but just about everyone was solid for us on D. QB James had a rough start to the game with his INT, but ended up 13/18 for 171 yards, while Saunders was 5/8 for 96 yards, with 1-2 TDs-INTs. RB Nolan was, as has tended to be the case, more of a threat receiving than running, finishing with 6 receptions for 80 yards, but also had 22 yards and a TD on the ground.

4 wins in a row, and equal first in the MWC with Air Force, BYU and the surprising Wyoming Cowboys!

Around the Mount West:

Wyoming defeat Colorado St 25-24
Air Force defeat TCU 20-12

It took a last second FG to lift the Cowboys over Colorado State, while TCU couldn't find the endzone in a loss to the Falcons. Air Force RB Flores had a 90 yard TD run to put the game close to out-of-reach, but TCU had one last chance, until a dropped pass on 4th down killed their last chance to level the scores.

Game of the Week Result: #5 Purdue 34, Michigan State 31

Two TDs in the 4th Q gave Purdue the lead, and the Spartans couldn't come back. Purdue QB Bryan had a very nice game, with 28/41 cp for 397 yards and 2 TDs.

[Groundhog]

Week 8 Injuries

Bold denotes starter, red denotes sitting out next week's game.

QB Eddie Mays - Prob (2-4)
WR Richard Chaffin - Out (9-11)
WR Robert Byrd - Out (12-14)
DE John Gaddy - Prob (0-2)
OLB Daniel Roman - Ques (2-4)
FS Brian Cox - Ques (0-2)

Though Mays is ready to return to the field, he has been displaced as starter and is our 3rd QB on the depth chart. It's looking like he might be converted to RB next season after all.

[Groundhog]

Week 8 Mount West Standings:


{ Conf. } { Overall }
# Team W-L PF PA W-L PF PA Streak Home Road Media Coach
1. Wyoming 3-1 76 78 4-2 123 114 W3 2-1 2-1 0-0 0-1
2. Utah 3-1 123 88 5-2 223 165 W4 4-1 1-1 1-0 1-0
3. Air Force 3-1 71 53 5-3 191 137 W2 3-2 2-1 0-1 0-1
4. BYU 3-1 143 86 5-2 214 127 L1 3-0 2-2 0-0 0-0
5. New Mexico 2-1 43 62 3-2 78 89 W1 2-1 1-1 0-0 0-0
6. TCU 1-2 54 60 3-3 124 113 L1 2-1 1-2 1-0 1-0
7. SD State 1-3 78 87 1-6 124 197 L3 0-3 1-3 0-2 0-2
8. Colorado St 1-3 81 109 2-4 142 165 L2 1-2 1-2 0-1 0-1
9. UNLV 0-4 45 91 0-5 59 147 L5 0-2 0-3 0-0 0-0

A couple of surprises thus far. Firstly, I never expected Wyoming to be sitting at 3-1 in MWC play. They are yet to play us, BYU, or TCU, but have beaten Air Force and thus can't be taken lightly. The other big surprises have been TCU and San Diego State. Both have started poorly, but there is still some time left to turn things around. It will take a heck of a 2nd half to the season for both of them however.

Week 8 Awards Watch:

RB J Reynolds is currently ranked #4 in the country in yards gained on the ground (1,147), and is #3 in yards per game (163.9), and equal first in TDs (11). The guy who is ranked #1 in yards, yards per game, and equal #1 with Reynolds in TDs in Clemson RB J Franklin, who has also played 1 less game than Reynolds.

Utah OT J Steele is also amongst the league leaders on the OLine, with his 16 Key Running Blocks ranks him #3 nationally.

They are our two best chances at awards this year, but ILB Ybarra figures to be a chance. He's played a game less than most of the top ranked tacklers, and with an average approaching 10 tackles a game he should rank up there once all 12 games have been played.

[Groundhog]

Week 9 League Review:

A quick glance around the league as we enter week 9 games.

Top 25 Polls
Media Poll / Coaches Poll

# Team Conf Record # Team Conf Record
1. Missouri B12 7-0 1. Missouri B12 7-0
2. Texas B12 7-0 2. Texas B12 7-0
3. Boston Col ACC 6-1 3. Boston Col ACC 6-1
4. Florida St ACC 6-1 4. Purdue B10 7-1
5. Purdue B10 7-1 5. Georgia SEC 6-0
6. Wisconsin B10 6-1 6. LSU SEC 6-1
7. Oklahoma B12 4-2 7. Florida St ACC 6-1
8. LSU SEC 6-1 8. Wisconsin B10 6-1
9. Georgia SEC 6-0 9. Notre Dame Indep 6-1
10. Notre Dame Indep 6-1 10. Clemson ACC 5-1
11. Oregon St Pac10 4-2 11. Oklahoma B12 4-2
12. Clemson ACC 5-1 12. Arizona St Pac10 5-2
13. Washington Pac10 6-1 13. Florida SEC 3-3
14. Virgina T ACC 7-1 14. Auburn SEC 5-2
15. Florida SEC 3-3 15. Oregon St Pac10 4-2
16. UCLA Pac10 4-4 16. Michigan B10 4-3
17. Arizona St Pac10 5-2 17. Washington Pac10 6-1
18. Ole Miss SEC 6-2 18. Virgina T ACC 7-1
19. Colorado B12 5-1 19. Virgina ACC 5-2
20. Virgina ACC 5-2 20. Ole Miss SEC 6-2
21. Auburn SEC 5-2 21. Texas A&M B12 3-3
22. Texas A&M B12 3-3 22. Colorado B12 5-1
23. Michigan B10 4-3 23. Miss State SEC 4-2
24. California Pac10 4-3 24. UCLA Pac10 4-4
25. Miami ACC 3-5 25. Oregon Pac10 4-2

Somewhat surprisingly, we recieved 9 votes in the Coaches Poll, and even more surprisingly so did New Mexico, with 8.

[Groundhog]

Week 9 Preview: Utah Utes (5-2, 3-1) @ UNLV Rebels (0-5, 0-4)

The Rebels have yet to win a game this season, but they've had a week off to watch game tape and think things over, so hopefully we don't take them too lightly, especially on the road.

Their offense, such as it is, is led by RB Pedro Bloom. He's no star, and is yet to find the endzone, but he's clocked up 102 and 96 yard games in their last two losses. The Rebels have shuffled their QBs around a fair bit this year, with James Roush got the starting nod last week so we'll expect him this week as well. He connected on 18 of 30 for 200 yards with a TD and an INT, and had OK numbers last season, so we'll need to key in on him. We'll be hoping to get pressure on him and force him to make mistakes.

This is a team that has really struggled to score points however, so all we need to do is just limit their offense and put some points on the board ourselves. As usual we'll be looking to Reynolds to bring the pain on the ground. We need better blocking today as the Rebels have some talent on the DLine and the secondary. Passing wise we need to limit the interceptions and quit giving away defensive TDs. If we limit the turnovers and play as our usual selves, there's no reason why we can't clock up close to 30 on these guys, which should be enough to pick up the win.

Prediction: Utah 27, UNLV 13. We are +13 favourites.

Around the Mount West:

BYU (5-2,3-1) @ Air Force (5-3,3-1) - Air Force are +5 favourites.
Colorado St (2-4,1-3) @ San Diego St (1-6,1-3) - San Diego St are +1 favourites.
New Mexico (3-2,2-1) @ TCU (3-3,1-2) - TCU are +11 favourites.

The BYU-Air Force show down should be a good 'un. TCU and San Diego St both get a good chance today to turn things around at home. It may be too late for the Aztecs to take the conference, but TCU has a chance if it can put some wins together.

Week 9 Game of the Week

BYU @ Air Force

I'm going to be selfish and award it to a MWC match-up ;)

I'll be looking forward to this game almost as much as my own. The Falcons are inconsistent but dangerous, and BYU will be out for revenge after last week. I'm hoping BYU win, but I think Air Force will be too strong at home.

[Groundhog]

Week 9 Result: Utah Utes 9, UNLV Rebels 10

Player of the Game: RB Pedro Bloom (UNLV) 31 att, 200 yds, 0 TDs

BOX SCORE (http://www.fofc-bbcf.com/league/BoxScores/Game457.htm)

Well, our good luck couldn't continue forever… Our running game never got going as Reynolds was held below 100 yards, and we are starting to feel the effects of losing our two top receivers. We targetted WR Wilburn 10 times, 4 of which he caught, and 2 of which he dropped. This is going to be a big problem for us in games where we aren't picking up yards on the ground with our usual ease.

Also a problem for us was our run defense, a real surprise considering our opponent. Rebel's RB Bloom picked up a massive 200 yards on 31 carries, one of which was a nice 1st down run in the final minute to prevent us getting one last shot at the win. I have no real explanation for this, as we came out targetting the run, but Bloom just had a few too many break-aways.

Despite all our issues, we still could have won this game. On our final possession of the game we decided to go for the TD rather than just get in to FG range, and James threw a pass in to the end zone which was picked off to give the Rebels the ball back with just over a minute to go, and the Bloom rush I mentioned above then put the game well out of reach.

So basically, a very dissapointing result from both units. We didn't get in to the endzone once, and gave up a 66 yard TD pass in the 1st Q that proved to be the difference maker. We clearly came out expecting to win this one, and wound up beaten by a previously win-less team. For us to maintain any dreams of clinching the conference, we'll pretty much need to go undefeated the rest of the way, but this is beginning to look far too much like last year, where we started strong but were beaten week after week by lesser MWC foes. Hopefully we can turn it around before it's too late.

Around the Mount West

Air Force defeat BYU 19-16
San Diego St defeat Colorado St 17-10
TCU defeat New Mexico 32-19

Falcons 2nd RB Hartley was the big difference maker in the Falcons-Cougars matchup, out-running his higher-profile RB team-mate and helping to seal the game with a big 24 yard run in the final minute to clinch the game. The Aztecs and Horned Frogs also both picked up must-wins, with TCU doing it in style against the Lobbos.

Game of the Week Result

As above. Congrats Falcons!

[Groundhog]

Week 10 Preview: Utah Utes (5-3, 3-2) vs New Mexico Lobbos (3-3, 2-2)

We'll be looking to turn things back around against the Lobbos this week, who are fresh off a pasting by TCU last week. The Lobbos have been surprisingly great against the pass, leading the nation in defensive passing yards allowed per game, while also being ranked #12 in rushing yards allowed. Much like UNLV though, they struggle to score points.

The Lobbos share it around on the ground and in the air, but RB Lester McNeill is the main guy to watch. He's only scored a single TD this year, but he is capable of big games and had 134 yards against TCU last week. We'll be looking to make-up for our piss-poor run D from last week by shutting this guy down and forcing the Lobbos to the air. Lobbo QB Paul Hardy started last week but after an attrocious game (10-34, 1-1 TD-INT) who knows if he'll be starting again. We certainly hope he will however.

The Lobbos have some talent on D, which could spell trouble for us. ILB Stephen Snow will be the main guy to watch as he is very capable of shutting down the running game with his ability to get beyond the LOS for stuffs. We'll need our blocking to really step up from last week to avoid us needing to throw the ball too much.

In the event that we do have to throw, the Lobbos secondary is no push over. Their corners aren't great, but sophomore FS George Cain is one to watch. He's had a couple of picks, but is just a great coverage defender and figures to make life tough if we try and go with the deep-ball.

I'll be very dissapointed if we drop this game, but it's certainly a tougher match-up than last week, and we'll need more from both ends if we're going to have a chance.

Prediction. Utah 24, New Mexico 20. We are +6 favourites.

Around the Mount West:

TCU @ Wyoming - TCU are +5 favourites.
UNLV @ BYU - BYU are +11 favourites.
Air Force @ Colorado St - Air Force are +15 favourites.

TCU have what figures to be a tough matchup with the Cowboys, while BYU should have an easy matchup with the Rebels. Air Force are heavy favourites, but with the up-and-down Falcons, who can say?

Game of the Week

#3 Clemson (6-1) @ #4 Florida St (7-1)

Clemson's running game has been a thing of beauty, led by Franklin. The Seminoles run D has been OK, but they'll need to really step it up this week and force the Tigers to the air if they want to pick up the win today. Florida State are +4 favourites.

[Groundhog]

Week 10 Result: Utah Utes 35, New Mexico Lobbos 28

Player of the Game: RB Jeffrey Reynolds (UTAH) 27att, 172yds, 1 TD, 6.37ypc

BOX SCORE (http://www.fofc-bbcf.com/league/BoxScores/Game461.htm)

Our pass defense took the night off tonight - partly no doubt due to me not changing our run-focused gameplan from last week - but thankfully we were able to hit the endzone enough times to outscore the Lobbos in what wound up being more of a shoot-out than I would have liked.

A rushing TD from QB Saunders and a FG gave us an early 10-0 lead, but the Lobbos followed that up by making our D look foolish. First they completed a 50 yard TD pass with 1:30 left in the 1st Q, only to have a flag thrown down on the play due to an illegible receiver downfield. Not to worry, as the Lobbos then throw a 60 yard TD pass on the very next snap to make it 10-7 entering the 2nd.

We manage a FG in the 2nd, but the Lobbos continue to string 1st downs together, scoring on a 12 yd TD pass halfway through the quarter, and we enter the half down 14-13.

The 3rd Q sees a couple of nice plays. Firstly we block a 37 yard FG and recover the ball, then on the very next play Reynolds breaks away for one of his trademark big gain TDs rushes, this time a 62 yarder, and we complete a pass for the 2pt conversion to make it 21-14. The lead doesn't last long though as the Lobbos continue to abuse our secondary for big gains in the air, and connect with a TD pass to lock scores up at 21 entering the 4th.

QB James is in fine form to start the 4th, hitting reserve TE Holcomb for a 21 yard TD pass. The Lobbos follow it up a few drives later with another big TD pass; this time a huge 83 yard TD pass to level the scores once again at 28 with 9:01 left. We exchange drives, before James finds the endzone again, hitting WR Wilburn for a 16 yarder to give us the lead at 35-28 with 4:30 left. We contain the Lobbos on the next drive and they miss a 52 yard FG with 2:51 remaining. We milk 1:30 off the clock on our next drive, and the Lobbos return our punt to their own 39 yard line with 0:51 left. They throw 2 incompletes, then lose 10 yards to a holding play, to make it 2-20 on their own 25 with 0:25 remaining, needing a TD to level the scores. Lobbos QB Malone drops back for the pass, but it's intercepted by Utah CB Kim as the final horn sounds!

Reynolds was back to his usual self tonight, picking up yards on the ground, including that massive 62yd breakaway TD. Lobbos ILB Snow was on him much how I expected (4 stuffs), but Reynolds managed a number of nice runs to negate Snow's general effectiveness, and a lot of credit goes to my OLine for getting their act together this week. OT Steele in particular was solid (4 KRBs and 2 PCKs).

Our QBs had themselves nice games too, with James finally not throwing a pick while collecting 2 TDs in the 4th Q on 12/22 for 184 yards. Saunders was 8/11 for 55 yards and an interception, and also picked up a 13 yard rushing TD in the 1st Q.

Defensively we sucked against the longball, but completely shut-out the Lobbos running game. The Lobbos managed just 37 net yards on the ground, and as usual ILB Ybarra was like a brick wall at the LOS, finishing with 13 tackles, 1 sack, 3 stuffs, and a forced fumble. This kid could wind up one of the best ever at Utah. DE Gonzales outshone his higher profile linemate, finishing with 3 sacks and a stuff, while SS Herman was also big with a sack that led to a forced fumble.

It was a nice bounce back for us after last week's loss, but we made it tougher than it needed to be. We need to play about 150% better against Wyoming next week.

Around the Mount West

TCU defeat Wyoming 30-24
BYU defeat UNLV 22-19
Air Force defeat Colorado State 37-9

It took an OT period, but the Horned Frogs overcame the Cowboys to keep their slim conference title chances alive. UNLV showed that maybe last week wasn't a fluke, with a TD and a safety in the 4th Q nearly giving them a win over BYU, while Air Force handled Colorado State and remain the easy MWC favourites at this stage.

Game of the Week Result: Florida St defeat Clemson 30-19

Clemson RB Frankling had a nice showing with 169 yards on 7.68ypc, but he couldn't get in to the endzone and the Tigers as a whole turned it over too much and only a couple of late 4th Q TDs made the score look closer than it was in a convincing victory for the Seminoles.

[Groundhog]

Week 10 Injuries

Bold denotes starter, red denotes sitting out next week's game.

QB Eddie Mays - Prob (1-3)
RB Isaac Nolan - Prob (1-3)
WR Richard Chaffin - Out (7-9)
WR Robert Byrd - Out (10-12)
OT Louis Akers - Prob (3-5)
OT Rodney Munson - Prob (1-3)
OG Stanley Rangel - Doubt (6-8)
DE Christopher Lewis - Ques (4-6)
DT Donald Walton - Prob (1-3)
OLB Daniel Roman - Prob (0-2)
FS Brian Cox - Prob (0-2)

Lots of guys banged up, but outside of my two receivers all are listed on the depth chart.

[Groundhog]

Week 11 Preview: Utah Utes (6-3, 4-2) vs Wyoming Cowboys (4-3, 3-2)

This promises to be a tough game for us, as Wyoming have been far better than I think anyone expected. They are the only team that's beaten Air Force, lost in OT to TCU, and their only bad loss was a 17 point drubbing by the Aztecs back in week 4, which was a week after the lost by just 3 to #24 Oregon. They are a team that's been playing above their heads all season.

Cowboys QB Robert Spruill is a little erratic at times, but he is also a major threat. RB Eddie Hall is the most talented player they have on offense but the lack of any major talents on the OLine hinders his running more than it does Spruill's passing, so we'll be looking to pressure Spruill and work on the Cowboys OLine to try and take Hall down in the backfield.

Defensively the Cowboys are pretty poor individually, but seem to work well as a unit. Their secondary is particularily poor, so this should help us if we need James to go to the air due to our running game not clicking. The Cowboys have done quite well against the run (3.0ypc allowed, #24 in the nation), but again it's hard to see why. Our OLine is definately stronger than this DLine, so we'll be hoping to do some damage here.

This is one of those dangerous games that we "should" win, on paper at least. The key to the game will need to be our defense, as most of the Wyoming's strengths are on the attacking side of the ball, so we need to pressure Spruill in to throwing bad passes while containing the running game. This is the kind of game that Reynolds should star in for us on the ground, but I guess we'll see.

Prediction: Utah Utes 27, Wyoming Cowboys 24. We are +9 favourites.

Around the Mount West:

Colorado St (2-6,1-5) @ New Mexico (3-4,2-3) - New Mexico are +6 favourites.
BYU (6-3,4-2) @ TCU (5-3,3-2) - Odds are even.
UNLV (1-6,1-5) @ San Diego St (2-6,2-3) - Aztecs are +5 favourites.

BYU-TCU is the big matchup of the week. TCU are trying to keep their slim conference title hopes alive against the strong Cougars, who are also in the running. But the Falcons will need to drop their next two games - a road game @ New Mexico and a home game against the Aztecs - to give anyone else a chance.

Game of the Week

#7 Oklahoma (6-2) @ #1 Missouri (9-0)

Missouri's run defense has been sensational and has played a big hand in their undefeated season thus far. Oklahoma are a run-oriented team who have suffered a 4 point loss to the undefeated Longhorns, as well as a surprising 10-point upset by the MWC's very own TCU. Oklahoma has three of the best backs in the game, and will need a big game from them if they hope to pull out the win. They are surprising #4 favourites, even on the road against the #1 team in the nation!

[Groundhog]

Week 11 Result: Utah Utes 20, Wyoming Cowboys 10

Player of the Game: RB Jeffrey Reynolds (UTAH) 34 att, 348 yards, 10.24ypc, 2 TDs

BOX SCORE (http://www.fofc-bbcf.com/league/BoxScores/Game465.htm)

It was an auspicious beginning to the game for us, with Reynolds picking up a combined 26 yards on our first two rushing plays to start the game. We worked it to the Wyoming 27 but were stopped, pushed back 5 yards due to a penalty, and then had our 50-yard FG attempt blocked in what was to be the first of many kicking blunders. The Cowboys attempt two passes before QB Spruill walks off the field holding his wrist, handing the reigns over to Jones. We get it back and work it downfield largely through Reynolds, before he busts out a 53 yard TD run in true Reynolds style! 7-0 Utah with 6:20 remaining in the 1st. The Cowboys get it back and RB Hall busts free for a 54 yard run to get it to our own 26. They are forced to settle for the FG as our D tightens up, 7-3 with 2:56 remaining. We soon reply with a FG of our own at the end of the quarter to make it 10-3 entering the 2nd.

We get the ball after a 3-and-out by the Cowboys, and a 57 yard pass from James gets us the ball in good position. We aren't able to get to the endzone however, and shanks a 26 yard FG for our 2nd horrid kick of the day. The Cowboys are doing OK on the ground but can't connect on their passes so we get it back, work it to FG range, and Hernandez blows a 42 yard FG. He had missed 2 FGs all season prior to this game, and is now 0-3 just in this game with 7:28 left in the 2nd Q. We get the ball back shortly after and work it once again to FG range. Hernandez lines up for a 49 yard attempt but, surprise surprise, it's blocked. 0-4, and we enter the half up 10-3.

We trade possessions with the Cowboys to start the 3rd Q before putting together a nice drive on the ground that is broken when Nolan misses a block that leads to a blind-sided Reynolds fumbling the ball with 9:55 left in the quarter. Cowboys recover the fumble, work it in to our half of the field, but miss the 41 yard FG. We get the ball back and Reynolds busts out a 43 yard run to get us good position. We work it to the 6 yard line, before Medina fumbles a screen pass at the 3 yard line and we cough up possession. We pin the Cowboys back within our 10, and force them a 3 and out. Their punt is a poor one and puts us in FG range. We can't move the ball and finally convert a FG to make it 13-3 with 2:38 remaining, and our kicker is now 1/4 on FGs. Our special teams coverage is terrible however, as the Cowboys return our kickoff 86 yards to our own 4 yard line, and soon RB Hall is in the endzone for the Cowboys first TD to make it 13-10 Utah to begin the 4th.

We trade drives once again before Reynolds busts free for his 2nd 53-yard TD run of the game with 12:46 left in the quarter! 20-10 Utah. The Cowboys are looking heavily to pass but can't get anything going, and despite moving the ball well we need to settle for yet another FG... a 47 yarder that misses, of course. Cowboys still keep trying to work it through the air without success, and we get the ball back with a few minutes to go. Reynolds and Nolan share carries and pick us up enough 1st downs to allow us to QB kneel out the game for the win!

Our running game was just unstoppable tonight, with Reynolds picking up an incredible 348 yards on the ground - the 3rd highest total in FOFC-BBCF history, with the 2 higher totals both coming this season as well. Nolan, our 2nd RB, was also big for us with 72 yards off 10 carries, while OT Steele moves to #1 in the nation after picking up 4 KRB tonight.

Defensively we didn't do quite so well against Cowboys RB Hall who had 117 yards on 17 carries. He had two big rushes that pushed his numbers out, and both were due to defensive stuff-ups (a missed tackle and an OOP). ILB Ybarra wasn't the major run-stuffing force he usually is tonight, but the Cowboys threw the ball more than we expected. Losing their starting QB early, who was 0/2 at the time, probably helped things, but we defended the pass extremely well. His backup Jones ended up 11/24 and though we didn't get any interceptions we did a decent job of pressuring the quarterback and receivers.

Two big thumbs down to our special teams however. Hernandez was attrocious tonight, finishing 2/7 on FGs. To be fair, many were 45+ yards, but he shanked a 27 yarder and had two blocked. The weather was overcast, and certainly not extreme enough to account for these kicking results. We also gave up a big kick return that led to a TD, and I'm going to be taking a good look at our special team guys and making some changes.

It's a good win for us though, and keeps us in the chase for the conference title. All we need now is for Air Force to revert back to their inconsistent ways and drop the next 2 games!

Around the Mount West

New Mexico defeat Colorado St 24-6
BYU defeat TCU 24-13
San Diego St defeat UNLV 21-18

The Lobbos are easy victors over Colorado St, while BYU defeat the Horned Frogs and dash all hopes of a top finish for TCU, and the Aztecs get back to .500 in their quest for respectability.

Game of the Week Result: #7 Oklahoma 23, #1 Missouri 6

Well, the bookies got it right, and then some! Massive road win for the Sooners over top-ranked Missouri. The Tigers played the run well but got killed through the air instead, and couldn't find the endzone.

[astrosfan64]

Great Dynasty. I just read the whole thing and it was worth it. This really is a great game and league.

[Groundhog]

Great Dynasty. I just read the whole thing and it was worth it. This really is a great game and league.

Thanks astro, glad you enjoyed it! :)

[Groundhog]

Week 11 Injuries

Bold denotes starter, red denotes sitting out next week's game.

QB Eddie Mays - Prob (1-3)
RB Isaac Nolan - Prob (1-3)
WR Richard Chaffin - Out (7-9)
WR Robert Byrd - Out (10-12)
OT Louis Akers - Prob (3-5)
OT Rodney Munson - Prob (1-3)
OG Stanley Rangel - Doubt (6-8)
DE Christopher Lewis - Ques (4-6)
DT Donald Walton - Prob (1-3)
OLB Daniel Roman - Prob (0-2)
FS Brian Cox - Prob (0-2)

Saunders took a hit last week and is listed as doubtful, but will be my #2 QB after our bye in week 12.

[Groundhog]

Week 12 Preview: No Game

After 9 straight weeks of football, we get ourselves a week off to lick our wounds and prepare for our showdown with TCU, who are run by FOFC's own st.cronin.

As you can see in the post above this one, we have a number of guys nursing niggling injuries, so they should be closer to 100% come next week. My receiver core is still a shambles, though at least Newby - who under normal circumstances is a punt returner rather than a WR - should be back.

Around the Mount West:

Wyoming (4-4,3-3) @ BYU (7-3,5-2) - BYU are +10 favourites.
TCU (5-4,3-3) @ San Diego St (3-6,3-3) - TCU are +4 favourites.
Air Force (7-3,5-1) @ New Mexico (4-4,3-3)- Air Force are +4 favourites.
UNLV (1-7) @ Michigan St (8-3) - Michigan St are +15 favourites.

This is an important week for several teams. BYU and us here at Utah will be praying to every deity imaginable that Air Force lose to New Mexico. If the Falcons win today, they cement their spot as MWC champs. We'll be hoping that BYU AND Air Force lose, which gives us our best shot at the title, but Air Force would need to lose next week's game as well, which is a home game against the Aztecs. So it's definately the Falcons title to lose at this point, but there is a slim shimmer of hope.

Game of the Week:

Air Force @ New Mexico

Going to be greedy once again and award it to the MWC. ;)

The Falcons are prone to outings where they struggle to get in to the endzone, but their defense is usually enough to get them by. We'll be hoping that the Lobbos, who have been solid at times this season but have also struggled to find the endzone, can contain them and win in what figures to be a low scoring game.

[DeToxRox]

Helluva' performance by Reynolds.

My Wildcats are in the same position, need to win out and need a loss by UW to win the Pac 10, remarkable because we'd win the P10 by going 7-5, but parity runs ripe in this damn league.

[Groundhog]

Week 12 Result: No Game

Nothing to do except sit around and watch the Falcons take out the MWC crown with a convincing 21-0 road victory over the Lobbos at home. :(

Around the Mount West

BYU defeat Wyoming 26-22
TCU defeat San Diego St 31-28
Air Force defeat New Mexico 21-0

Falcons do it with ease thanks to some big passes, taking out the MWC title and dashing our chances at it. Now we need to win against TCU next week to cement our #2 spot.

Game of the Week Result: Air Force 21, New Mexico 0

Two 40+ TD passes in the 2nd half put the game well and truly out of reach for the Lobbos, who could manage absolutely nothing against the Falcons D. Air Force OLB Joel Munoz was huge, with 8 tackles, 3 sacks, and 2 stuffs to help guide the Falcons to the MWC crown.

[Groundhog]

Week 13 Preview: Utah Utes (7-3, 5-2) @ TCU Horned Frogs (6-4, 4-3)

With Air Force's win last week we can no longer win the conference, but this is still an important game for us. If we win, we finish 2nd in the conference. If we lose, 3rd.

The Horned Frogs struggled to begin the year, but have found their form of late and are looking to cement a 3rd place finish tonight. Offensively they are a team that has struggled some-what with their passing game, despite having talent, though generally get some production from their running game. We'll need our boys to be in fine form tonight to keep these guys under 100 on the ground, while hopefully picking up a couple of turnovers off of coverage. Definitely won't be that simple, but we need to limit the Horned Frogs' scoring if we want to win.

Defensively the Horned Frogs are weak on the DLine, but their secondary is probably the best in the MWC, talent-wise. Interceptions have come easily for these guys, with CB Rob Holland having 5 to his name, and with our QBs tenancy to throw picks this may wind up hurting us. Hopefully our running game is on today to limit our need for long passes, but again it will take solid blocking today to get us positive yardage on the ground.

Last year our matchup with TCU came right down to the end, with a Utah fumble near the endzone eventually costing us the game. I'm hoping for another close one tonight.

Prediction: Utah 20, TCU 23. TCU are +5 favourites.

Around the Mount West

Wyoming (4-5,3-4) @ New Mexico (4-5,3-4) - New Mexico are +5 favourites.
San Diego St (3-7,3-4) @ Air Force (8-3,6-1) - Air Force are +7 favourites.
Colorado St (2-7,1-6) @ UNLV (1-8,1-6) - UNLV are +2 favourites.

Wyoming stumbled after a strong start and will be looking for a win to finish .500 in conference play. The Falcons are already champions but should handle the Aztecs, while the Rams and Rebels battle it out in a game that I suspect very few care about.

Game of the Week:

Utah @ TCU

There are very few games on this week, and even fewer of note, so the battle for 2nd, 3rd, or 4th in the MWC is our game of the week.

[Groundhog]

Week 13 Result: Utah Utes 7, TCU Horned Frogs 27

Player of the Game: QB James Olsen (TCU) 21/35, 334yds, 2 TDs, 1 INT

BOX SCORE (http://www.fofc-bbcf.com/league/BoxScores/Game472.htm)

Our passing game and lack of depth got utterly exposed tonight by TCU. Reynolds broke away for a 45 yard TD run to open the scoring for the game with 13:30 left in the 1st Q, but that was to be the last points we put up on the board, as the Horned Frogs moved it through the air on their way to a dominating win.

Defensively our secondary really let us down on a number of occassions. We were pretty good against the run, with Ybarra picking up 10 tackles and 2 stuffs as our usual rock inside. We did manage to buckle down in the 2nd half a little, not allowing the Horned Frogs to put another TD on the board.

It was on offense that we really struggled. With the injuries to our receivers we have really been forced to rely on WR Wilburn a lot, as he's the only non-1-star WR we have on the available roster. He has some talent, but he's prone to drops and mistakes and is not nearly an efficent option. We targetted him 9 times tonight, 3 of which he caught, only to fumble one away in the redzone, and another 2 he dropped. Combined with our lack of talent at QB and the skill of TCU's secondary it's probably surprising we did as well as we did, with just 1 pick thrown by James (into the endzone, no less). Reynolds struggled outside of his 45 yard TD run to open the game, and it didn't help that our 2nd RB Nolan, who is usually one of our best receivers too, left the game injured early.

We didn't even attempt a single FG and got the ball in the redzone just once. A terrible showing to end conference play, and one that sends us from a 2nd place finish to a 4th place.

Congrats to TCU however who wind up 3rd after a rough start to the year.

Around the Mount West

New Mexico defeat Wyoming 28-6
Air Force defeat San Diego St 31-10
UNLV defeat Colorado St 17-9

All the home teams picked up wins today to end MWC play for the season. Conference write-up to come shortly.

Game of the Week Result: See Above

[Groundhog]

Week 13 Award Watch:

The finalists were announced for the end of season awards, and the following Utes are in the running:

2009 Heisman Trophy: RB Jeffrey Reynolds
2009 Doak Walker: RB Jeffrey Reynolds
2009 Vince Lombardi: OT Joseph Steele
2009 Lou Groza: K Timothy Hernandez

As good a year as Reynolds is having, I doubt he wins either of his two awards. Clemson RB Johnny Franklin has had a statistically better year against stronger competition so he has a better chance at it. Steele is a real chance for his award however, while Hernandez probably had a chance before he went 2/7 a few weeks ago.

[Groundhog]

2009 Mount West Final Standings

{ Conf. } { Overall }
# Team W-L PF PA W-L PF PA Streak Home Road Media Coach
1. Air Force 7-1 179 88 9-3 299 172 W6 5-2 4-1 0-1 0-1
2. BYU 6-2 231 159 8-3 302 200 w3 5-0 3-3 0-1 0-0
3. TCU 5-3 187 162 7-4 257 215 w2 4-2 3-2 1-0 1-0
4. Utah 5-3 194 163 7-4 294 240 L1 6-1 1-3 1-0 1-0
5. New Mexico 4-4 142 162 5-5 177 189 W1 4-2 1-3 0-1 0-0
6. SD State 3-5 154 177 3-8 200 287 L2 2-4 1-4 0-2 0-2
7. Wyoming 3-5 138 182 4-6 185 218 L4 2-2 2-4 0-0 0-0
8. UNLV 2-6 109 152 2-8 145 237 W1 2-2 0-6 0-0 0-0
9. Colorado St 1-7 115 204 2-8 176 260 L6 1-3 1-5 0-1 0-1


My pre-season predictions were(actual finish in brackets):

1. TCU (3)
2. Air Force (1)
3. San Diego State (6)
4. Utah (4)
5. BYU (2)
6. New Mexico (5)
7. Colorado St (9)
8. UNLV (8)
9. Wyoming (7)

I knew Air Force would be strong, but I didn't think they'd only lose 1 game in conference, while TCU also lost a couple of games I didn't expect. I was spot on with ourselves, though in hindsight it's dissapointing that the loss to UNLV dropped us from 2nd to 4th. We were a better team than I expected.

I was a little surprised at how the Aztecs performed as well, and expected better from them, and the Cowboys really faltered after a strong start.

So congrats to the Falcons, who now get to go on to be most likely spanked by a ranked team! :)

[Groundhog]

Week 14 Preview: No Game

Another week off to prepare for our final game of the season; a rivalry matchup with Utah State!

Around the Mount West:

San Diego St (3-8) @ Tennessee (6-5) - Tennessee are +12 favourites.
Wyoming (4-6) @ Nebraska (7-3) - Nebraska are +17 favourites.

Only two games on this week for the MWC, and both figure to be tough outings against heavily favoured opponents on the road. Should be a tough ask for either team to do anything but keep it respectable.

Game of the Week:

#1 Notre Dame (9-1) @ #25 Texas Tech (6-4)

Even though the Irish are heavily favoured, Tech have performed pretty well against ranked opponents, beating #11 Oklahoma 47-46, #24 Colorado 30-27, and falling to #2 Texas 27-22. The question will be whether or not their pourous defense can handle the Notre Dame offense. Notre Dame are +11 favourites, but I think it will be closer than this.

[Groundhog]

Week 14 Result: No Game

*yawn*

Around the Mount West

Tennessee defeat San Diego ST 40-10
Nebraska defeat Wyoming 37-10

No surprises here, as both MWC teams are beaten handily to end their seasons.

Game of the Week Result: #2 Notre Dame 27, Texas Tech 13

The Red Raiders took a 10-7 lead in to the halftime break, but couldn't hit the endzone in the 2nd half as Notre Dame came home comfortably, and cement themselves as co-favourites with Texas to make the Championship game!

[Groundhog]

Week 15 Preview: Utah Utes (7-4) @ Utah State Aggies (4-6)

It's rivalry week this week as we head out to State to take on the Aggies and try and end the regular season on a high-note, while also cementing a spot in a bowl game.

Last season we spanked the Aggies senseless at home 51-16, but I don't expect such a one-sided affair this year. The Aggies are fresh off 2 straight victories, and their defense is much stronger this year. Their pass-orientated offense is a weakness for them however, as QB Perez (50.4%, 7-9 TD-INT, 109.5) is not blessed with a particularily great arm nor particularily great receivers - though having said that, either of their two starters at WR would be starting for us right now with the injury woes we've been having. We'll be expecting the pass, while relying on Ybarra and co inside to keep their running game, which is led by freshman John Garber (4.27ypc, 4 TDs) who is coming off an 153 yard outing against San Jose State, under control. He's not particularily spectacular in any one area however, so we should manage.

Offensively we will be hoping we don't blow our blocking assignments so we can ride Reynolds and not have to throw the ball too much, as the Aggies secondary is their strongest point. If Reynolds can pick up a few TDs and over 100 yards on the ground, we should be able to win this game. Having said that, we have been shaky as hell on the road, so we'll see...

Prediction: Utah 27, Utah State 14. We are +15 favourites.

Around the Mount West

#24 Colorado (6-4) @ Colorado St (2-8) - Colorado are +15 favourites.
TCU (7-4) @ SMU (5-5) - TCU are +11 favourites.
UNLV (2-8) @ Nevada (5-5) - UNLV are +6 favourites.
New Mexico (5-5) @ New Mexico St (3-8) - New Mexico St are +2 favourites.

Should be a rough game for Colorado St, but all other MWC teams are favoured in their final games of the regular season.

Game of the Week: #9 Boston College (8-2) @ #2 Notre Dame (10-1)

The Eagles struggled against their matchups with ranked ACC opponents this year, but have been solid outside of that thanks to a stiffling defense and strong run-based offense. Notre Dame on the other hand have gone from strength to strength, and are +12 favourites at home. This will be a very tough matchup for Boston College, and I don't think they'll be quite up to it.

[Groundhog]

Week 15 Result: Utah Utes 9, Utah State Aggies 20

Player of the Game: WR Michael Banks (Utah St) 3 Rec, 94 yards, 2 TDs

BOX SCORE (http://www.fofc-bbcf.com/league/BoxScores/Game643.htm)

Yuck. That sums this game up pretty well. It was much the same as the TCU and UNLV games - we were forced to go to the air, and just couldn't get it done. Wilburn, our only WR with any kind of ability, is being asked to do way too much and when combined with a borderline-quality QB, it's surprising we've done as well as we have this year. We did manage a sole TD through the air though, with a nice 56 yard TD off a James pass, but that was the lone highlight for our offense tonight.

Reynolds was solid, picking up 159 yards on 25 carries, but couldn't find the endzone and again found life tough due to missed blocking assignments. With our passing game as it is, we needed Reynolds to have a monster game to compensate, and it just wasn't happening tonight.

Defensively we again faltered against the longball. We frustratingly allowed two 30+ yard TD passes, and that dug us a grave that was far too deep for our offense to pull us back out of. We were strong most of the day, with Ybarra having another huge outing (13 tackles, 1 sack, 2 stuffs, 1 FF), but all of it was negated by those two plays.

Our special teams also earnt itself another shameful performance today, allowing both another FG as well as an XP to be blocked.

A sour note to maybe (depending on whether we get a bowl invite) end the season on, and perhaps Reynolds' career if/when he declares for the NFL, but the highs certainly out-weighed the lows this year.

Around the Mount West

TCU defeat SMU 23-17
UNLV defeat Nevada 33-27
Colorado defeat Colorado St 34-23
New Mexico St defeat New Mexico 37-16

Colorado St did better than expected, while TCU and UNLV both pulled out close ones. The Lobbos join us as dissapointments on the road.

Game of the Week Result: #9 Boston College 19, #2 Notre Dame 20

Very exciting finish to this one. Down by 9 with 1:28 remaining, Notre Dame find the endzone to make it 17-19 with a minute left, then recover the onside kick, march down field, and nail the FG to win the game!

[Groundhog]

2009 Report Card

Format stolen directly from st.cronin's dynasty. ;)

Passing

name g att cmp cmp% yds yds/att td int lg sack rating
A. Saunders 12 78 49 62.8 566 7.3 2 5 50 10 119.4
Freddie James 11 195 104 53.3 1486 7.6 6 10 85 30 117.2
Eddie Mays 5 53 24 45.3 329 6.2 1 1 43 9 99.9

Mays started out as our starter, but when he came down with injury James shone with some solid performances behind Saunders. Come season end, it's obvious to me that; a) Mays might make a good RB some day, which says a lot about his passing ability, b) Saunders probably should have seen more snaps, c) James was merely OK, and finally d) We really, really need an upgrade here. The lack of recieving options hurt our QBs though, and they performed better than I expected most nights. Our pass protection was quite poor, as our sack tally shows.

Grade: C-

Rushing

name g rush yds ypg ypc td lg
J. Reynolds 12 348 2045 170.4 5.88 15 65
Isaac Nolan 12 80 365 30.4 4.56 5 51
R. Medina 12 25 195 16.2 7.80 1 24
A. Saunders 12 25 123 10.2 4.92 1 24
Eddie Mays 5 17 59 11.8 3.47 0 18
R. Smith 4 3 15 3.8 5.00 0 7
K. Blanchard 10 10 13 1.3 1.30 0 11
Freddie James 11 24 0 0.0 0.00 0 3

Reynolds broke the 2000 yard mark in what was a monster junior year for him, and likely his last on campus. Nolan is probably a better receiver than running back at this point, but he had his moments and has the talent to step it up next year. FB Medina did great when we called upon him for rare FB runs, while Saunders and Mays did OK when trying to use their feet rather than their hands.

Grade: A

Receiving

name g att rec yds ypg ypc yac td lg dp
Dewey Wilburn 12 72 35 643 53.6 18.4 131 3 85 5
Isaac Nolan 12 43 24 333 27.8 13.9 224 1 47 0
James Evans 12 37 24 330 27.5 13.8 43 1 57 0
Robert Byrd 5 26 20 252 50.4 12.6 64 0 35 0
John Newby 12 25 14 215 17.9 15.4 28 0 50 2
J. Reynolds 12 41 23 205 17.1 8.9 111 2 19 0
R. Medina 12 36 20 152 12.7 7.6 70 0 19 4
Richard Chaffin 2 15 6 121 60.5 20.2 16 1 43 2
W. Holcomb 8 9 5 69 8.6 13.8 7 1 26 0
Donald Haley 12 7 2 29 2.4 14.5 3 0 23 0
R. Smith 4 2 2 18 4.5 9.0 11 0 12 0
K. Blanchard 10 12 2 14 1.4 7.0 14 0 9 1
S. Williams 1 1 0 0 0.0 0.0 0 0 0 0
The loss of Byrd 5 games in really stung us here. Wilburn did his best, but he's best used as a speedy 3rd WR than a primary target, and when Chaffin also went down we were really screwed. RB Nolan was good for a big gain or two through the air, and we probably didn't target TE Evans as much as we should have either.

Grade: D

Blocking

name g rb pnk sa hold false missbl
Joseph Steele 12 28 15 1 4 0 4
Louis Akers 12 11 6 0 0 0 2
Jerry Oneal 12 5 11 4 1 0 4
E. Fitzpatrick 12 3 4 1 2 3 3
James Evans 12 3 0 1 0 0 0
William Smith 6 1 3 2 1 1 2
Kevin Charles 12 1 2 3 1 1 12
Brad Carr 2 1 0 0 1 2 0
Patrick Davdson 2 0 0 2 0 0 1
Leonard Heath 1 0 0 1 0 0 1
K. Blanchard 10 0 0 12 0 0 3
Russel Smith 4 0 0 0 0 0 1
Isaac Nolan 12 0 0 15 0 0 15
Rodney Munson 9 0 2 3 1 0 7
W. Holcomb 8 0 0 0 0 0 4
Jason Frank 1 0 0 1 0 0 1
Stanley Rangel 4 0 0 3 2 0 3
Marcel Wilhelm 3 0 0 0 0 1 1
R. Medina 12 0 0 0 0 0 3

We struggled here all season, and it's easy to see the culprits. Steele was a monster on the line, but true-freshman OG Charles in particular really hindered our running game. Wingback Nolan wasn't much better, but it's forgiveable given his position. Charles really needs to step it up. Our lack of pass protection also falls back to our wingbacks who allowed 27 sacks between them. I think I'm going to scale back my wingback formations next year or use my FBs more, as that's just insane.

Grade: C

Defensive Line

pos name g tack solo ast sack stf hur dp pd int def td misstak oop bpa
de John Gaddy 12 28 25 3 4 7 15 2 0 0 0 0 0 0
de Bruce Gonzales 8 12 11 1 5 3 1 1 0 0 0 2 1 0
dt Harold Rhodes 12 8 8 0 3 0 8 2 0 0 0 3 0 0
de Dennis Terry 9 3 2 1 0 0 5 0 0 0 0 3 2 0
de C. Lewis 5 3 3 0 0 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 0
de Scott Berry 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
dt Donald Walton 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 0 0


Gaddy's final year was once again a bit of a frustration for me. He has so much talent, and despite harrassing the QBs at a decent rate he should be more of a threat than he was. Gonzales missed some games but did well when he was in there, and Rhodes performed pretty well for a true-freshman.

Grade: B-

Linebackers
pos name g tack solo ast sack stf hur dp pd int def td misstak oop bpa
ilb Larry Ybarra 12 112 88 24 7 23 2 4 7 1 0 2 1 0
olb Daniel Roman 12 91 64 27 3 11 4 0 5 0 0 3 3 0
ilb Jamie Jones 12 56 41 15 0 6 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 2
olb Adrian Esparza 9 49 35 14 5 3 4 0 2 0 0 0 0 0
ilb Grover Sharpe 7 13 11 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 1
olb Stanley Huynh 7 11 7 4 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
olb John Barrett 4 7 6 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 1
ilb Todd Whiting 2 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0


Transfer Ybarra was massive for us this season, and Roman, Jones, and Esparza were no slouches either. This was the strongest unit on my entire roster this year, and that figures to ring true next year as well, with all the key guys returning. Even our depth, Sharpe and Huynh in particular, were strong when needed.

Grade: A

Secondary

pos name g tack solo ast sack stf hur dp pd int def td misstak oop bpa
ss Joseph Smith 12 46 28 18 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 5 1
cb John Kim 12 45 29 16 0 3 0 0 13 5 0 2 1 0
ss Matt Herman 12 37 21 16 2 3 0 0 6 1 0 9 2 3
fs Brian Cox 11 26 17 9 0 3 0 0 3 1 0 4 1 4
cb Lester Clayton 12 22 15 7 0 0 0 0 14 0 0 4 1 1
ss David Lutz 8 8 5 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
cb John Moore 3 5 2 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0
fs Tim Lewis 4 5 5 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 1
cb Benjamin Talbot 3 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 1
fs Eric Smith 3 2 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2


This is, once again, where our problems lay on defense. CB Kim didn't have the big year we expected/hoped for, but he and CB Clayton weren't the problems. Freshman Herman and backup Smith just about split snaps, and they were both prone to mistakes, and FS Brian Cox wasn't a lot better. We figure to be better here next season, with an older and hopefully wiser Herman, as well as the arrival of our highly-touted transfer FS. Losing my other freshman CB, John Moore, to an academic suspension for what turned out to be most of the year was more than a little dissapointing, too. Should have just redshirted the guy.

Grade: C+

Kicking

Name xp fg 1-29 30-39 40-49 50+ fg% long points
T. Hernandez 26-27 29-39 8-11 12-13 9-14 0-1 74.4 49 113

Name punts avg net tb in20 long
Edward Custer 73 42.6 35.7 6 6 70


Hernandez's ability to shank the easy ones from within 29 is mind boggling, but he is quite good from 30-39, and usually hit the long ones that mattered - when our special teams weren't allowing them to get blocked, anyhow. Custer was, for the most part, entirely adequete. Both guys will be missed next season.

Grade: B

Returns

Name kr yds avg long td
Donald Haley 37 896 24.2 47 0
Jaime Jones 1 35 35.0 35 0
John Newby 3 56 18.7 23 0
William Smith 2 38 19.0 27 0
William Holcomb 2 36 18.0 25 0
Dewey Wilburn 1 18 18.0 18 0
Randolph Medina 1 2 2.0 2 0

Name pr yds avg long td
Matt Herman 1 2 2.0 2 0
John Newby 40 364 9.1 36 0
Lester Clayton 7 88 12.6 31 0


Very unspectacular, which was the key theme to my whole special teams unit this year. We need to improve here next year.

Grade: D-

Overall

We finished with about the win/loss record that I expected pre-season, but the big wins to begin the year ended up building my expectations up to what would prove to be unreachable levels. Our already weak passing game was torn to shreds when I lost two solid WRs out of an already shallow pool of talent, forcing us to rely on our running game more than I wanted to. Even so, Reynolds did about as well as we could have hoped given that every D we went up against was locking in on the run against us. Still, there were at least two games, possibly 3, that we should have won if we could just string a few passes together. This will be the key for us this coming recruiting phase.

Defensively I thought we did a good job for 80-90% of most games, but our safetys had a tendancy to allow the big plays, and that hurt us. It's been a problem for us two years running, though I expect some improvement here next season with the guys we'll have. The loss of Kim at CB will no doubt hurt though.

Overall Grade for the year: C+

[Groundhog]

2009 Report Card

Format stolen directly from st.cronin's dynasty. ;)

Passing

name g att cmp cmp% yds yds/att td int lg sack rating
A. Saunders 12 78 49 62.8 566 7.3 2 5 50 10 119.4
Freddie James 11 195 104 53.3 1486 7.6 6 10 85 30 117.2
Eddie Mays 5 53 24 45.3 329 6.2 1 1 43 9 99.9

Mays started out as our starter, but when he came down with injury James shone with some solid performances behind Saunders. Come season end, it's obvious to me that; a) Mays might make a good RB some day, which says a lot about his passing ability, b) Saunders probably should have seen more snaps, c) James was merely OK, and finally d) We really, really need an upgrade here. The lack of recieving options hurt our QBs though, and they performed better than I expected most nights. Our pass protection was quite poor, as our sack tally shows.

Grade: C-

Rushing

name g rush yds ypg ypc td lg
J. Reynolds 12 348 2045 170.4 5.88 15 65
Isaac Nolan 12 80 365 30.4 4.56 5 51
R. Medina 12 25 195 16.2 7.80 1 24
A. Saunders 12 25 123 10.2 4.92 1 24
Eddie Mays 5 17 59 11.8 3.47 0 18
R. Smith 4 3 15 3.8 5.00 0 7
K. Blanchard 10 10 13 1.3 1.30 0 11
Freddie James 11 24 0 0.0 0.00 0 3

Reynolds broke the 2000 yard mark in what was a monster junior year for him, and likely his last on campus. Nolan is probably a better receiver than running back at this point, but he had his moments and has the talent to step it up next year. FB Medina did great when we called upon him for rare FB runs, while Saunders and Mays did OK when trying to use their feet rather than their hands.

Grade: A

Receiving

name g att rec yds ypg ypc yac td lg dp
Dewey Wilburn 12 72 35 643 53.6 18.4 131 3 85 5
Isaac Nolan 12 43 24 333 27.8 13.9 224 1 47 0
James Evans 12 37 24 330 27.5 13.8 43 1 57 0
Robert Byrd 5 26 20 252 50.4 12.6 64 0 35 0
John Newby 12 25 14 215 17.9 15.4 28 0 50 2
J. Reynolds 12 41 23 205 17.1 8.9 111 2 19 0
R. Medina 12 36 20 152 12.7 7.6 70 0 19 4
Richard Chaffin 2 15 6 121 60.5 20.2 16 1 43 2
W. Holcomb 8 9 5 69 8.6 13.8 7 1 26 0
Donald Haley 12 7 2 29 2.4 14.5 3 0 23 0
R. Smith 4 2 2 18 4.5 9.0 11 0 12 0
K. Blanchard 10 12 2 14 1.4 7.0 14 0 9 1
S. Williams 1 1 0 0 0.0 0.0 0 0 0 0
The loss of Byrd 5 games in really stung us here. Wilburn did his best, but he's best used as a speedy 3rd WR than a primary target, and when Chaffin also went down we were really screwed. RB Nolan was good for a big gain or two through the air, and we probably didn't target TE Evans as much as we should have either.

Grade: D

Blocking

name g rb pnk sa hold false missbl
Joseph Steele 12 28 15 1 4 0 4
Louis Akers 12 11 6 0 0 0 2
Jerry Oneal 12 5 11 4 1 0 4
E. Fitzpatrick 12 3 4 1 2 3 3
James Evans 12 3 0 1 0 0 0
William Smith 6 1 3 2 1 1 2
Kevin Charles 12 1 2 3 1 1 12
Brad Carr 2 1 0 0 1 2 0
Patrick Davdson 2 0 0 2 0 0 1
Leonard Heath 1 0 0 1 0 0 1
K. Blanchard 10 0 0 12 0 0 3
Russel Smith 4 0 0 0 0 0 1
Isaac Nolan 12 0 0 15 0 0 15
Rodney Munson 9 0 2 3 1 0 7
W. Holcomb 8 0 0 0 0 0 4
Jason Frank 1 0 0 1 0 0 1
Stanley Rangel 4 0 0 3 2 0 3
Marcel Wilhelm 3 0 0 0 0 1 1
R. Medina 12 0 0 0 0 0 3

We struggled here all season, and it's easy to see the culprits. Steele was a monster on the line, but true-freshman OG Charles in particular really hindered our running game. Wingback Nolan wasn't much better, but it's forgiveable given his position. Charles really needs to step it up. Our lack of pass protection also falls back to our wingbacks who allowed 27 sacks between them. I think I'm going to scale back my wingback formations next year or use my FBs more, as that's just insane.

Grade: C

Defensive Line

pos name g tack solo ast sack stf hur dp pd int def td misstak oop bpa
de John Gaddy 12 28 25 3 4 7 15 2 0 0 0 0 0 0
de Bruce Gonzales 8 12 11 1 5 3 1 1 0 0 0 2 1 0
dt Harold Rhodes 12 8 8 0 3 0 8 2 0 0 0 3 0 0
de Dennis Terry 9 3 2 1 0 0 5 0 0 0 0 3 2 0
de C. Lewis 5 3 3 0 0 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 0
de Scott Berry 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
dt Donald Walton 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 0 0


Gaddy's final year was once again a bit of a frustration for me. He has so much talent, and despite harrassing the QBs at a decent rate he should be more of a threat than he was. Gonzales missed some games but did well when he was in there, and Rhodes performed pretty well for a true-freshman.

Grade: B-

Linebackers
pos name g tack solo ast sack stf hur dp pd int def td misstak oop bpa
ilb Larry Ybarra 12 112 88 24 7 23 2 4 7 1 0 2 1 0
olb Daniel Roman 12 91 64 27 3 11 4 0 5 0 0 3 3 0
ilb Jamie Jones 12 56 41 15 0 6 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 2
olb Adrian Esparza 9 49 35 14 5 3 4 0 2 0 0 0 0 0
ilb Grover Sharpe 7 13 11 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 1
olb Stanley Huynh 7 11 7 4 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
olb John Barrett 4 7 6 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 1
ilb Todd Whiting 2 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0


Transfer Ybarra was massive for us this season, and Roman, Jones, and Esparza were no slouches either. This was the strongest unit on my entire roster this year, and that figures to ring true next year as well, with all the key guys returning. Even our depth, Sharpe and Huynh in particular, were strong when needed.

Grade: A

Secondary

pos name g tack solo ast sack stf hur dp pd int def td misstak oop bpa
ss Joseph Smith 12 46 28 18 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 5 1
cb John Kim 12 45 29 16 0 3 0 0 13 5 0 2 1 0
ss Matt Herman 12 37 21 16 2 3 0 0 6 1 0 9 2 3
fs Brian Cox 11 26 17 9 0 3 0 0 3 1 0 4 1 4
cb Lester Clayton 12 22 15 7 0 0 0 0 14 0 0 4 1 1
ss David Lutz 8 8 5 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
cb John Moore 3 5 2 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0
fs Tim Lewis 4 5 5 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 1
cb Benjamin Talbot 3 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 1
fs Eric Smith 3 2 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2


This is, once again, where our problems lay on defense. CB Kim didn't have the big year we expected/hoped for, but he and CB Clayton weren't the problems. Freshman Herman and backup Smith just about split snaps, and they were both prone to mistakes, and FS Brian Cox wasn't a lot better. We figure to be better here next season, with an older and hopefully wiser Herman, as well as the arrival of our highly-touted transfer FS. Losing my other freshman CB, John Moore, to an academic suspension for what turned out to be most of the year was more than a little dissapointing, too. Should have just redshirted the guy.

Grade: C+

Kicking

Name xp fg 1-29 30-39 40-49 50+ fg% long points
T. Hernandez 26-27 29-39 8-11 12-13 9-14 0-1 74.4 49 113

Name punts avg net tb in20 long
Edward Custer 73 42.6 35.7 6 6 70


Hernandez's ability to shank the easy ones from within 29 is mind boggling, but he is quite good from 30-39, and usually hit the long ones that mattered - when our special teams weren't allowing them to get blocked, anyhow. Custer was, for the most part, entirely adequete. Both guys will be missed next season.

Grade: B

Returns

Name kr yds avg long td
Donald Haley 37 896 24.2 47 0
Jaime Jones 1 35 35.0 35 0
John Newby 3 56 18.7 23 0
William Smith 2 38 19.0 27 0
William Holcomb 2 36 18.0 25 0
Dewey Wilburn 1 18 18.0 18 0
Randolph Medina 1 2 2.0 2 0

Name pr yds avg long td
Matt Herman 1 2 2.0 2 0
John Newby 40 364 9.1 36 0
Lester Clayton 7 88 12.6 31 0


Very unspectacular, which was the key theme to my whole special teams unit this year. We need to improve here next year.

Grade: D-

Overall

We finished with about the win/loss record that I expected pre-season, but the big wins to begin the year ended up building my expectations up to what would prove to be unreachable levels. Our already weak passing game was torn to shreds when I lost two solid WRs out of an already shallow pool of talent, forcing us to rely on our running game more than I wanted to. Even so, Reynolds did about as well as we could have hoped given that every D we went up against was locking in on the run against us. Still, there were at least two games, possibly 3, that we should have won if we could just string a few passes together. This will be the key for us this coming recruiting phase.

Defensively I thought we did a good job for 80-90% of most games, but our safetys had a tendancy to allow the big plays, and that hurt us. It's been a problem for us two years running, though I expect some improvement here next season. The loss of CB Kim will hurt us a lot though, so we'll need Clayton or Moore to take it to the next level.

Overall Grade for the Season: C+