FOFC-BBCF: The Utah Utes

[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

...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]

Originally Posted by Blade6119

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]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

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]

Originally Posted by Blade6119

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

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]

Originally Posted by 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.

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

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]

Originally Posted by 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.

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]

Originally Posted by st.cronin

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

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]

Originally Posted by 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!

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]

Originally Posted by Sublime 2

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]

Originally Posted by 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.

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]

[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]

Originally Posted by Blade6119

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.