TheDanbom's College Football Career

[TheDanbom]

Well now that I've gotten my feet wet by running Worcester State into the ground, I've decided to start a new WhatIfSports Gridiron Dynasty career with the Kingsmen of California Lutheran University. They are a D-III program that competes in the American Southwest Conference. This team is a pretty good one, definitely better than my Worcester squad. The conference looks challenging too, with quite a few seasoned veterans manning teams. Will I be able to succeed and move up the ranks of the college football world? Only time will tell.

[TheDanbom]

Recruiting starts in a couple days, so until then I'll break down each position to see where I need to pick up some players:

QB:

Name	Year	Pos	ATH	SPD	DUR	WE	ST	STR	BLK	TKL	HND	GI	ELUS	TECH	TOT
John Collins	So.*	QB	51	44	54	37	41	31	5	9	22	47	23	48	412
Thomas Silva	Jr.	QB	40	24	46	55	45	44	8	13	38	49	41	36	439
Jeffrey Miller	Sr.*	QB	36	53	69	33	49	43	1	8	40	56	36	62	486

We have an unquestioned starter in Miller, who has been at the helm since he was a sophomore. He threw for 3,124 yards last season while throwing 17 TD's and 18 INT's. The backups are merely okay, I'd like to bring in a freshman to groom for the starting spot next year, but frankly I don't think we'll have room on the roster.

Recruiting Needs: Possibly 1, probably 0

[TheDanbom]

RB:

Name	Year	Pos	ATH	SPD	DUR	WE	ST	STR	BLK	TKL	HND	GI	ELUS	TECH	TOT
Louis Burnett	So.	RB	32	51	26	38	41	38	21	13	32	34	55	40	421
John McBride	Jr.	RB	24	40	35	57	64	68	9	1	46	27	57	40	468
Richard Taylor	Jr.*	RB	28	51	50	64	70	36	12	9	43	31	61	45	500
Patrick Jones	Sr.	RB	28	50	49	21	57	38	28	8	26	16	64	23	408

Both Taylor and McBride will get carries this year, but McBride will be penciled in as the starter. Taylor may be better overall, but I like strong RB's, so McBride's big 'ol STR number is making my mouth water. Strangely enough, Jones was the starter last year, maybe because of seniority? Anyway, he makes a mediocre FB in our 2-back sets.

Recruiting Needs: Zero, 4 RB's is a good number for the offense I plan to run.

[TheDanbom]

WR:

Name	Year	Pos	ATH	SPD	DUR	WE	ST	STR	BLK	TKL	HND	GI	ELUS	TECH	TOT
Robert King	So.	WR	30	47	38	30	50	19	11	7	50	13	63	45	403
Kevin Morris	So.	WR	29	35	43	35	43	25	28	1	49	46	52	36	422
Timothy Davies	Jr.	WR	47	39	53	44	54	31	10	1	65	40	44	34	462
James Garcia	Jr.	WR	39	37	30	65	49	26	15	17	37	29	37	59	440
Tim Reyes	Jr.	WR	43	61	34	42	50	19	17	16	40	54	45	28	449
Francisco Walker	Sr.	WR	15	42	48	49	45	24	21	1	46	35	51	41	418

Davies was the go-to guy last season, hauling in 66 catches for 930 yards and 5 scores. He'll be a prominent fixture this year as well as we plan to throw the hell out of the ball. The guy I'm really excited about is King. He has the speed and elusiveness to get open deep, and his catching ability is second only to Davies. We really need to work on that game instinct during practice though, the previous coach must have neglected that skill. Reyes and Morris round out the starting squad, and we'll use Walker and Garcia as backups.

Recruiting Needs: 1, if I can find a good one. Since we're going to be throwing it a lot we'll want depth at this position.

[TheDanbom]

TE:

Name	Year	Pos	ATH	SPD	DUR	WE	ST	STR	BLK	TKL	HND	GI	ELUS	TECH	TOT
Steven Calhoun	Jr.	TE	23	36	48	40	40	50	36	21	34	30	63	36	457
Lawrence Ford	Jr.	TE	20	39	26	20	67	18	41	6	47	24	60	46	414
Robert Yeager	Jr.	TE	30	54	51	56	34	39	24	8	50	28	44	37	455
William Williams	Sr.	TE	39	46	45	42	36	51	38	1	62	33	47	48	488

I'm not sure yet how to most effectively use TE's. William Williams (Man, why did that kid's parents do that to him) is definitely the starter, and should be in the mix for a lot of looks in the passing game. However, since I plan to run a spread offense, he most likely won't be the first option. The other TE's are pretty blah, I'll probably have Calhoun come in on 2-TE sets. Honestly, I'd like to cut Ford, but I've chosen to honor the previous coach's commitments, so he'll stay.

Recruiting Needs: Technically -1, but for practical purposes, 0.

[TheDanbom]

OL:

Name	Year	Pos	ATH	SPD	DUR	WE	ST	STR	BLK	TKL	HND	GI	ELUS	TECH	TOT
Ricardo Hardy	So.	OL	47	14	47	45	47	57	66	24	26	24	18	24	439
Arthur Winston	So.	OL	30	5	44	51	48	49	54	13	16	27	26	28	391
Jason Hodges	Jr.	OL	44	6	53	42	43	61	57	12	16	38	27	30	429
Nicholas Milton	Jr.	OL	40	12	61	44	51	53	66	7	22	39	16	36	447
Gregory Schneider	Jr.	OL	37	16	57	56	44	53	57	1	11	39	36	45	452
David Moore	Sr.	OL	42	23	46	61	56	62	56	1	18	37	30	34	466

Lines are tricky, since they really work as a unit. If you don't have 5 capable starters, it hurts the whole offense. Luckily we have 5 guys capable of doing the job, with Winston coming in when guys get tired. Seeing blocking numbers all above 50 is a sign that the last coach knew what he was doing.

Recruiting Needs: 2. I'd really like to land two studs here, as I'd like my QB to have as much time as possible, so depth at OL is key.

[TheDanbom]

DL:

Name	Year	Pos	ATH	SPD	DUR	WE	ST	STR	BLK	TKL	HND	GI	ELUS	TECH	TOT
Michael Duarte	So.	DL	25	13	56	24	33	52	13	55	4	38	27	28	368
Kevin Edwards	So.	DL	7	35	47	41	60	54	15	49	25	39	24	34	430
Richard Ortiz	So.	DL	32	14	49	51	40	51	14	56	7	37	30	33	414
Jerry Ware	So.	DL	38	8	63	43	40	49	11	70	20	33	8	21	404
William Adams	Sr.	DL	41	30	51	45	56	61	4	65	30	37	35	34	489

D Line is the same as O Line as far as I'm concerned. You need strength, durability, and stamina to slow down the running game. Edwards is the bench-warmer here, because while overall he looks strong, his ATH rating tells me he's just a big fat blob. Think Sam Adams but fatter. Strangely enough he's the fastest DL on the team, they must have taken his 40-time when he was running to the buffett table.

Recruiting Needs: Dare I say 4? This is the most important position on the D so depth is key. I'll probably end up signing 3 so I don't have a bunch of guys graduating at once, but ideally I want 9 DL.

[TheDanbom]

LB:

Name	Year	Pos	ATH	SPD	DUR	WE	ST	STR	BLK	TKL	HND	GI	ELUS	TECH	TOT
Terry Flores	Jr.	LB	49	40	28	61	56	35	13	50	32	46	31	50	491
Michael Schmidt	Jr.	LB	35	51	47	43	48	58	21	39	15	41	41	40	479
Michael Davis	Sr.	LB	44	52	43	41	55	34	1	46	18	36	40	40	450
Dustin Delgado	Sr.	LB	40	49	40	54	56	54	1	41	29	39	33	35	471
Lester McClellan	Sr.	LB	43	36	61	59	39	53	2	57	29	51	35	40	505
John Williams	Sr.	LB	35	47	55	47	48	49	10	43	25	40	38	27	464

In my opinion this is the hardest position to evaluate. There are just so many factors that make a successful LB that it's hard to judge them effectively. Or maybe I'm just an idiot, who knows. Anyway, I plan to run a 4-4 base defense, so I need 4 reliable starters at this spot. Fortunately it looks like I have them in McClellan, Schmidt, Flores, and Delgado. Davis will be coming in on passing downs, and Williams will be coming off the bench.

Recruiting Needs: I'd like to get a pass rushing LB, but we'll see.

[TheDanbom]

DB:

Name	Year	Pos	ATH	SPD	DUR	WE	ST	STR	BLK	TKL	HND	GI	ELUS	TECH	TOT
William Garcia	So.*	DB	28	54	58	61	50	27	5	36	19	49	39	28	454
Charles Hilliard	Jr.	DB	48	48	43	28	51	27	16	27	36	35	40	44	443
Robert Keller	Jr.	DB	18	61	51	29	37	35	7	34	19	38	47	32	408
Andrew Lane	Jr.	DB	38	44	44	55	38	8	10	47	34	30	39	68	455
David Francis	Sr.	DB	27	40	50	55	67	37	2	28	37	49	41	41	474
Timothy Lewis	Sr.	DB	26	57	49	60	56	29	15	21	40	30	44	47	474
Alexander Moore	Sr.	DB	35	57	52	64	52	32	12	43	31	41	54	30	503
Anthony Morgan	Sr.	DB	28	69	58	34	42	26	1	54	35	38	54	27	466

We have 4 seniors at DB, which worries me for next year. I'd like to land a stud Frosh to redshirt for next year, but our needs at LB may kill that dream. Morgan and Moore will start at the corners, while Lane and Hilliard will man the safety spots. Lewis will come in on our nickel package, with the others providing depth.

Recruiting Needs: Possibly 1, probably 0.

K/P:

I'm not going to waste a separate post on our kicking situation, because kicking has no importance whatsoever in this game. All I'll say is we have one guy doing both kicking and punting and his name is Anthony. He's from Lake Havasu and he probably parties a lot.

[TheDanbom]

Recruiting Needs Summary:

So I've got 10 spots on the roster that I would like to get guys for. Unfortunately, the asshole AD at this school says we only have enough scholarships for 7. So, barring unforseen circumstances, this is what I'm shooting for:

1 WR
2 OL
3 DL
1 LB

7 Total

The LB I'm looking for is needed for the nickel package, so I may try to find a speedy DB to convert over. His work ethic will most likely suffer but McClelland will need a breather after chasing down those pesky RB's.

[TheDanbom]

Recruiting Update:

Recruiting starts tomorrow, so I need to gather my wish list of guys I want for this team. We'll start out by sending scouts to check out these guys in action to see what kind of ceilings they have. Basically my wish list looks like this:

High Priority:

WR: There's a wideout from western Nevada that I think would be a perfect fit for this club. He's fast and has good hands. I think we have a pretty good shot at getting him.

OL: We've got a guy from Utah and a guy from Arizona that we'll be scouting. The AZ guy is a total stud, he might be a reach for us but we'll see. This is about as far away as I'm willing to recruit since we only have $21,000 to spend.

DL: We're going for 3 guys at this position. One lives about a block away from campus and is a good Lutheran boy. That's a slam dunk. The other two will be tougher to get, one lives in UT and the other in NM. They aren't prized recruits or anything though, so we may have a shot.

LB: I looked and looked for a linebacker I could throw in on passing downs to give McClellan a rest, but had no luck. I did however find a DB that looks like we would make a good transition to LB so I'm going after him. A lot of times tweeners like this get overlooked so I'm always on the lookout for them. This particular guy lives about an hour away so we should be able to lock him up no problem.

Backup Plan:

I have 28 guys on my backup list to go after if the men above go elsewhere. The best guy on the list is a LB from CO, who I really want but have no room for. He will be the first target when someone leaves us, but he's a stud and I'm sure other schools will be after him. Also on our backup list is a QB from Arizona who I think would make a pretty good WR, so I may end up going after him later on.

Tomorrow after I send scouts to gauge these guys better, I may provide some names. However I'm cautious right now, as there may be spies from rival colleges reading this. Yes, I'm overstating my school's importance, but this is my job we're talking about!

[TheDanbom]

Well, I think I've seriously fucked up my recruiting. I spent way too much early on and one of the best teams in my conference is going after a lot of the same guys that I was. So, this isn't looking good. I've got my two O Linemen locked up at least, and the DL who lives in town will probably end up going with us, but other than that I'll need a lot of luck to avoid Assistant Coach signings. Recruiting is crucial to the success of this program, and it looks like I just killed it for this year.

[TheDanbom]

Signing Day:

As I stated previously, I really had a piss-poor recruiting plan from the get go. I spent all of my money right away and ended up missing on a lot of guys. Fortunately, I did manage to sign 3 players out of the 7 open slots, so all is not lost. That will give me 4 assistant coach signings, which will be cut in the next couple years anyway so no worries. I am still learning how to be a good coach and I have to take my lumps here and there. Here are the 3 players I did manage to sign:

OL Douglas Moore - Hiland HS (Salt Lake, Utah)

Next to the LB that I missed out on, this was the one guy I really wanted. He has a strength rating of 63, making him the 2nd strongest member of my offensive line. He also has a solid 52 blocking rating, but we will need to work to improve his technique as he is only rated 25 in that department.

OL Scott Washington - Snowflake HS (Snow Flake, AZ)

Another OL stud to bolster our line. His strength rating comes in at 68, making him the strongest man on our line and probably our whole team. His blocking rating of 42 is solid, as is his technique rating of 42. Washington and Moore will both probably be starting opening day for us.

DL Richard Cummings - Westlake HS (Westlake Village, CA

I really needed 3 D-Linemen, but I'll have to settle for one. At least I got one of my top choices, as Cummings sports a 61 in tackling and a solid 33 in strength. He probably won't be starting as a freshman, but he will definitely see some playing time.

Well, that's all I got. I think I managed to get those excellent O-Linemen because they live out in no man's land where no one wants to recruit. This seems to be a better strategy than going after guys in the over-saturated California market, but the problem is traveling out to the desert is expensive, which is part of the reason why I ran out of money. Next year I will start slower, maybe even skip a few recruiting cycles to see which guys are getting overlooked, it appears that the powerhouse schools in California can pretty much pick and choose which D-III guys they want.

[TheDanbom]

Preseason Game #1 - CLU v. Wooster
Wooster favored by 2.5 points
Over/Under is 28.5


We start out season 33 with an exhibition match againt Wooster. I'm not sure why they are favored in the game, since it looks to me like we have the better team, but it's the preseason so who cares. Taking my roster strengths into consideration, I've decided to go with a Pro-Set base formation with some Trips formations mixed in on passing downs. Pro-Set gives us some versatility and will hopefully keep the defense guessing. On defense we will primarily by running a 4-4 set while switching to a nickel formation when the opposing team shows pass.

Looking at the Wooster roster, It's easy to see that they have two strong running backs, rated 535 and 519. My guess is they are going to run the ball a lot, however they only have 3 RBs on the roster so they will likely not be as effective when they start to tire. A funny thing about this Wooster team is that they have 5 kickers on the roster. Equally funny is that they are all seniors. They must have some competitive kicking competitions at practice.

I'm not all that concerned with winning this game, I'm mainly focused on learning how to run this offense effectively and figuring out how aggressive my defense can afford to be.

[path12]

Season 33? Do these seasons play out extraordinarily fast? (I know nothing about Whatifsports)

[TheDanbom]

Yes, they do. Games are played every day, while the offseason takes about a week and a half.

[TheDanbom]

Preseason Game #1: Wooster 23, CLU 6

Boxscore

Sure we lost, but it's hard to put much stock in that since it's preseason. Our offense looked pretty good, but our drives kept getting killed by penalties, which is probably because the players are trying to learn this complicated system of mine. QB Jeffrey Miller played most of the game and didn't do too well, throwing 3 picks and only completing 53% of his passes. The running game was effective, but I'd like to see more runs out of the pro-set, so that's something I'll have to adjust for next game.

I'd also like to get TE Willie Williams more involved in the passing game, but I have reservations. I could tell Miller to look to Williams more often, but then I risk damaging his rhythm. Plus, in the preseason I'm really just trying to see which WRs are getting open the most, so maybe Williams isn't getting open often enough. The best thing to take out of this game is that our pro-set seems to be working well, our RBs are getting involved in the passing game which is what I was aiming for. Sure, we only got 6 points, but points will come as players get familiar with the system.

On defense, there were a few bright spots. Kevin Edwards, a DL coming off the bench, had a monster day racking up 9 tackles and a sack. Our star LB, Lester McClellan, took home player of the game honors for our side with his 5 tackles and 2 forced fumbles. Our CBs seemed to do well also, holding Wooster to only 168 yards in the air.

Next Game: Hobart at CLU

CLU favored by 33.5
Over/Under: 75.5

This team is pretty horrible, although they haven't embarassed themselves too much in their first two preseason games. The DL is a huge weak spot for them, so if this was the regular season I'd grind it out with my RBs all day long, but I'm going to stick to my regular gameplan since this is practice. Look for backup QB Thomas Silva to get in for a few series to see what he can do, I'm mostly hoping no one gets injured. On defense, we're going to ramp up the aggressiveness to see how the players respond, although it may be hard to tell against such a weak team.

[TheDanbom]

Preseason Game #2: CLU 42, Hobart 13

Boxscore

Well they beat the spread, but not by much. I got a solid effort from both of my QBs, Miller's completion percentage improved, but not by as much as I'd like. Backup QB Thomas Silva had a great day, throwing for 4 TDs, although most of that had to do with the Hobart players tiring I'm afraid. I was really impressed with the running game today, stellar effort by McBride and Taylor. All of our receivers played well except for King, who got banged up and missed most of the game. McClellan, a LB, got like 7 targets the second half, which is something I'll have to look at. I'm guessing he went in for a TE, but we have 4 of them so that seems strange. Anyway, things look good on offense.

Defensively, we went with an all out aggressive attack to see what kind of athletes I've got here and the results were not what I'd like. We gave up 3-4 big plays to a team we should have held to a goose egg and we didn't force as many turnovers as I was hoping we would. I'm going to switch back to a conservative "bend but don't break" defense until that fails. Solid effort by everyone on the defense, although McClellan didn't register any tackles. He was probably too tired from going out for passes on offense that he couldn't play D, so I'll definitely look into that!

Last Preseason Game: Emory and Henry at CLU

CLU favored by 27.5
Over/Under: 66.5

This team is actually not that bad when you look at their starters, they just have no depth whatsoever. They are coached by a first year guy who I'm guessing won't be too creative in his play calls so we should dominate from the get-go. Mainly in this game I'm looking to keep doing what we've been doing on offense and to get McClellan out of the damn offense!

[TheDanbom]

Preseason Game #3: CLU 49, Emory and Henry 7

Boxscore

Excellent game all around. We were firing on all cylinders on offense and our defensive schemes were executed flawlessly. I'm a little disappointed that we only managed to score 7 in the first half, with the bulk of our drives getting killed by penalties and turnovers. We really turned it up in the second half however, as we leaned on the pro-set rushing attack to grind out yards.

We got a fairly good showing by both QBs, although Silva is still putting up better numbers. There's no quarterback controversy here, obviously, but we'll be throwing enough in the regular season that Silva will get a few series in every game. John McBride is continuing to show me that he should be the focal point of this offense. He ran for 179 yards on only 17 carries and he took a screen pass from midfield all the way to the house in the 4th quarter to seal the victory. What really amazes me is his stamina. He's able to contribute on almost every down without showing signs of tiring. Robert King, still battling the sore knee he suffered in a previous game, had a monster day with 6 catches for 114 yards. The TE situation is continuing to cause me headaches, I ratcheted down all my TEs' sub percentages, but my star LB is still getting the majority of the looks. I don't know if my offensive coordinator actually thinks he's the best TE or what, but it appears he's not getting in on defense so this is a huge problem. I might be okay with it if McClellan was producing as a TE, but every time he's thrown to it's either incomplete or intercepted. I guess all I can do is decrease the sub settings some more and hope that fixes it.

The defense is playing spectacularly well in the preseason. Sophomore DL Kevin Edwards has proved to me that he can be a real presence on passing downs, and all of my defensive backs seem to be covering their men extremely well. The real test will come when the regular season starts, but obviously I like what I'm seeing so far.

The regular season starts on Tuesday with an away game against Benedictine, a private Catholic college in Illinois. You gotta love these holy war games. They went 8-5 last year and are looking pretty strong this year, but they have a new coach so it's anyone's guess how this game will turn out. I'll have an official preview once the betting lines come out.

[MikeVick7]

Originally Posted by path12

Season 33? Do these seasons play out extraordinarily fast? (I know nothing about Whatifsports)

Yeah the whole season from recruiting, to the regular season, to the playoffs/bowls takes about 30-35 days.

Hey Dandom, I've got 15+ seasons under my belt, so if you have any questions I'd be willing to help. Good luck with Cal Lutheran.

[TheDanbom]

Thanks man, I'm sure I'll be contacting you if things turn south.

[TheDanbom]

Late Signing:

DL Steven Ortiz - Point Loma HS (San Diego, CA)

This was a total shock to be sure. I don't even remember offering this guy a scholarship, but I must have because he's signed with us. He brings a lot to the table, with a good strength rating and strong stamina and work ethic. I am very pleased to get another DL on my squad to provide depth.

That leaves us with 3 AC signings, which sucks, but it could be worse. My assistant coach will probably sign 3 kickers, and I'll weed them out next year.

[TheDanbom]

Week #1: CLU 32, Benedictine 10


Boxscore


Well we started our season out with a bang by jumping all over the Eagles early. We were actually 5.5 point dogs going into this one, but some key turnovers caused by a stingy defense have us in control at halftime. We racked up 135 yards on the ground in the first half and QB Jeffrey Miller started his season out on the right foot, throwing for 212 yards and making minimal mistakes. We simply dominated the opposing coach's 4-3 defense, but they did outscore us in the second half. I'm not sure how that happened, but Miller sure was missing a lot of his throws. I'll have to look into how to fix that for next game. The defense is looking great, however I'm concerned on how much playing time our star LB Lester McClellan is getting. He only notched one tackle, although it was a sack so that's good to see.

Next Game: Capital at CLU

Our competition will be stiffer in this next game, Capital lost its first game by 7 to the #17 club in the country. They have solid starters at every position. However, their depth is definitely suspect so we'll try to tire them out. They're an evangelical Lutheran school just like us, so tensions should be running high for this one.

[TheDanbom]

Week #2: CLU 44, Capital 10

Boxscore

Another excellent game, both on offense and defense. QB Miller had a steller day throwing the ball, tossing 4 TDs, but the star of the game was John McBride, who is really making a name for himself in the competitive American Southwest Conference. He ran for 182 yards in the game and caught a screen pass that he took 55 yards for a TD. I tried to spread the ball around more in this game and it appears to be working.

On defense, sophomore Jerry Ware continues to excel, while McClellan is still struggling. Our running game is looking great so far, as we're only allowing 2.0 yards per carry.

Next Game: CLU at Adrian College
CLU Favored by 17.5
Over/Under: 41.5

Adrian comes into this game 0-2, and we'll be looking to make that 0-3. They pass a lot more than the previous two teams we faced, so I'll have to develop a game plan to counter their trips formation. Other than that, this game should be pretty easy, backup QB Silva may even get in there if our lead is comfortable enough.

Looking ahead a couple weeks to when our non-conference schedule starts, quite frankly I'm terrified. We start off facing the current #1 team in D3 Hardin-Simmons. Assuming we still have some guys that aren't decapitated after that game, we have to then travel down to the depths of Texas to face off against the current #2 team in D3 Howard Payne. If that wasn't enough, the next game will be tough as well, when we face an East Texas Baptist squad that was ranked in the teens to start the season. All I can say is "yikes."

[TheDanbom]

Week #3: CLU 48, Adrian 13

Boxscore

This game was actually close at the half, we were only up by 11. I made some adjustments on defense during the break that really seemed to catch Adrian off-guard, especially in their opening drive of the 3rd quarter in which we got 2 sacks in a 3 and out. It's nice to get a win like this on the road. We produced nearly 600 yards of total offense in the game, with QB Jeffrey Miller throwing for 326 yards. He did throw his first INT of the season, but he still had a great game. John McBride had another steller game, scampering for 139 yards on the ground while catching 4 balls for 56 yards.

The defense continues to play great as a team. DL Richard Cummings had a breakout game, recording 6 tackles, while LB Michael Davis really excelled in the passing game, deflecting 4 balls.

Next Game: Chapman at CLU
CLU Favored by 19.5
Over/Under: 44.5

Believe it or not, this will be our toughest test yet this season. The Panthers of Chapman are currently 1-2, but they bring to the table a seasoned head coach and solid veteran offensive and defensive lines. Not only that, but our schools are only about an hour away from each other, so we should expect almost as many Panther fans as Kingsmen faithful. I plan to make a few changes on offense to shift the focus from the trenches to the sidelines, but I don't want to make too many changes or I run the risk of ruining this good thing my team has going.

2nd String RB Patrick Jones has shown flashes of brilliance in his senior season, but Junior Richard Taylor and Sophomore Louis Burnett have both worked hard and shown enough in practice to overtake Jones from here on out. Another roster change I'm making is the move of Senior LB Lester McClellan into the nickel formation. I thought that keeping him out of the nickel would keep him fresh for the 4-4, but the fact of the matter is the guy is a stud and can easily handle both formations. Not only that, but teams have been playing from behind against us so often that the 4-4 isn't used as much as I was expecting. That will change in the coming weeks as we move into conference play, but for now Lester is an every down LB.

[TheDanbom]

Week #4: CLU 35, Chapman 9

Boxscore

We ran away with this one from the get-go, scoring 28 points in the first half. We slowed down a lot in the second, I guess Chapman's coach made some good adjustments, but we still won decidedly. Our passing game didn't go as well as I had hoped, it seems that QB Jeffrey Miller doesn't like it when I tell him to throw to receivers. He loves throwing those screen passes to McBride and little outs to Williams. Speaking of McBride, he had another great day on the ground and now has 543 yards rushing on the season. The other back in our Pro-Set, Richard Taylor, also played well.

I can't say enough about this defense. It seems like it doesn't matter what my game plan is, they always manage to shut down the other team. We actually should have only given up 3 points in this game, they got a garbage TD on the last play of the game, so we pretty much dominated on D. DL Michael Duarte led the team in tackles today with 10, while Kevin Edwards had another impressive outing, forcing 2 fumbles. Our LBs were flying all over the field today, with Flores and McClellan both having good days. McClellan seems to be fitting in beautifully with our Nickel defense as he managed to deflect a pass today and notch 4 tackles.

Next Game: CLU at Occidental
CLU Favored by 8.5
Over/Under: 39.5

We'll be travelling to L.A. tonight to take on the Tigers of Occidental College. Our teams actually match up pretty evenly, so this should be a good game. My new passing game plan didn't go over so well with Miller, so we'll be going back to our old system of letting him read the defense instead of forcing passes.I'm not making too many changes on defense, considering how well we are doing, but Occidental does seem to be a pass-happy team, so I'll have to plan for that. I actually had a really hard time game planning for this one, because it looks to me like Occidental switches from a very aggressive offense to a very conservative one from game to game. Hopefully I guessed right, and if not I think my boys can cover up for my flaws well enough.

[TheDanbom]

Week #5: CLU 24, Occidental 19

Boxscore

Just as I predicted, this one came down to the wire. We were down 2 at the half, as Occidental whipped out an unexpected wishbone formation that I hadn't planned for. We made some key adjustments at the break that made the difference, but we easily could have lost this one.

QB Jeffrey Miller played one of the best games of his career today, and he deserves the game ball for this victory, throwing for 311 yards. Junior wideout Timothy Davies had a good game as well, catching 8 balls for 103 yards and a score.

Our defense played pretty well, considering this was the best offense we've face all year. Hell, we shut them out in two quarters of the game so i've got to be happy with that. Our revolving door of defensive stars continues, this time it was Sophomore DL Jerry Ware who stepped his game up, executing 10 tackles.

ASC South Conference Standings

California Lutheran 5-0
Sul Ross State 5-0
Claremont Mckenna-Harvey 4-1
Austin 3-2
Texas Lutheran 1-4
Mississippi 0-5

After this last game, we jumped way up in the WIS rankings to 29th. We also got some votes for both the coaches poll and the AP, which is exciting. The true test will come in the next couple days, as our daunting conference schedule starts up tonight.

Next Game: #11 Hardin-Simmons at CLU
CLU Favored by 7.5
Over/Under: 54.5

Conference play starts out with a bang as we'll be facing one of the best teams in all of D3. They really have no weaknesses that I can see, so we'll be lucky to avoid embarrassment in this one. I really don't get how we could be favored in this game, I guess it's because we're undefeated and playing at home. H-S's coach is well respected in the world of WIS, so I'm sure he will easily dissect my game plan. I can only hope to stay competitive and hope no one gets injured.

[TheDanbom]

Week #6: Hardin-Simmons 35, CLU 26

Boxscore

This game turned out to be a lot closer than I thought it would be. If our defense could have stopped H-S's wishbone rushing attack at all we would have pulled the upset. QB Jeffrey Miller played another good game, we're going to miss him next season. I was actually surprised how well the defense played even though they ran all over us, we kept them in check on the passing game at least, allowing only 72 yards through the air.

[TheDanbom]

Week #7: Howard Payne 41, CLU 16

Boxscore

We actually played a lot better than the final score dictates, as we took on our second top 5 team in as many weeks. We were only outgained 427-320, but HP played a nearly flawless mental game, comitting only one penalty and no turnovers. We're still getting a lot of penalties as a team, and I have to think that will get better as my players get more familiar with my system.

Next Game: CLU at East Texas Baptist

Our murderer's row of conference matchups continues as we travel to Marshall to take on the Tigers. This team was ranked in the top 25 to start the season and has only one loss which came against a very tough Western New England team. At least in this game I know what I'm up against, this coach runs and runs and runs some more. They carry 8 RBs on their roster, and like to spread the carries around. They average about 7 yards per carry, so I'm not sure if there's much I can do to stop them. Hopefully my DL comes up big in this one. Looking ahead to the rest of the season, I think it's reasonably possible that after a loss to ETBU we could win out. A key game for us will be our 11/25 matchup against Austin, which could decide the ASC South Title.