The Sam Saskatoon Dynasty: New Mexico State (TCY)

[bbgunn]

I read in a recent article that New Mexico State University’s football team has not been to a bowl game in 40-plus years, the longest such streak in Division I FBS. Now that’s futility! So I thought, “Why not help them out?”

Thus begins my latest TCY dynasty.

This dynasty is centered around a young, 38-year-old coach named Sam Saskatoon. A San Francisco native, Saskatoon is known in some circles as "The Last Run-and-Shoot Coach". Saskatoon learned his offensive philosophy from a coach who has assisted various Run and Shoot coaches from Mouse Davis to June Jones. An offensive coordinator in the lower divisions for a couple of years, in 2004 Sam Saskatoon got his big break at New Mexico State University, hoping to lead the school to its first bowl game in over four decades.

I’m going to ease into this dynasty, presenting everything in a barebones format. Of course, depending on how long this lasts, everything is subject to change, and if there is some feature you would like included, please let me know.

Some notes on how I’m running this dynasty:

- I will use the run and shoot offense.

- I take care of recruiting, the offensive game plan, and hiring/firing assistants. My assistants take care of everything else.

- I’ll only recruit prospects with a test score over 1000.

- Initially, I’ll only recruit prospects in New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Colorado. Texas, geographically speaking, is very close, but they are in the Deep South region, while New Mexico is in the South West region. Recruiting funds are limited.

- I'll write in first-person, but just assume that Sam Saskatoon is talking.

[bbgunn]

I had the first meeting with my staff today, and wow... I thought I would be the only young one here. This staff is young and talented! I think the Aggies are in a good position right now. Here are some notes on my impressions of key members of the NMSU staff.

Syndicate Coordinator
Al Morrison, 38
Excellent at academic eligibility and soliciting donations. Very good at syndicate investigation. Gotta hold on to Morrison as long as possible.

Offensive Coordinator
Ralph Banks, 32
Excellent at play-calling and rehabilitation. Very good congeniality. Good at developing QBs and Ks. But bad at everything else. May need to find another OC after the season.

Defensive Coordinator
Rick Durham, 39
Terrific at play calling and developing the DL. At least good at everything else. Gotta hold on to Durham as well.

South West Scout
Sammy Hanson, 40
At least good at scouting all positions except WR (fair). At least very good at scouting the defense and RBs. Worth keeping.

[bbgunn]

OFFENSE
The starting quarterback in 2004 will, at the outset, be Julio Rose (So, 8/25). However, we are so weak at QB that some others might get a shot. At wide receiver, our go-to guy will be Moe Odgen (Jr, 43/43). Other key wideouts include Mo Money (Sr, 28/38) (I'm serious... his name really is Mo Money!) and Chester Clark (Sr 20/35). Except for center Danny Bernstein (Sr, 46/46), our offensive line is garbage. Bernstein and Odgen are easily the best two players on offense in terms of talent. The run and shoot is not going to do so well this year.

The figures in parentheses mean the following: (year [freshman/sophomore/junior/senior], current rating/future potential). The ratings are by Sammy Hanson, the Southwest scout.

DEFENSE
My philosophy on defense is to force the other team to pass, so we will run a 50 defense that will concentrate on stuffing the run. That said, our best defensive player right now is CB Roy Raymond (Sr, 45/46). We have some good future linebackers, including OLB Michael Jenkins (Sr, 27/47). Other than that, we are bad on defense as well. Just assume that every other defensive player is rated worse than the two guys I just talked about. I have a feeling this will be a long year.

[bbgunn]

(The Aggies play in the Sun Belt Conference in TCY. Sun Belt games have an * next to the team name. 2004 was a transitional year in the Sun Belt Conference, so the conference schedule is limited to only five games this season.)

Week 2: @Arkansas
Week 3: @California
Week 4: Troy*
Week 5: New Mexico
Week 6: @UTEP
Week 7: Louisiana-Lafayette*
Week 8: @Anchorage
Week 9: @North Texas*
Week 10: Navy
Week 11: Middle Tennessee St.*
Week 13: @Utah St.*

Our yearly rivalry game is with New Mexico.

The media has picked New Mexico State to finish 4th in the 9-team Sun Belt Conference. However, the top four finished very close to each other in the voting, so we may have a shot at the conference title if things go well. The media slightly picked North Texas to win the conference over Utah State, followed by Middle Tennessee. We play all three of those teams this year.

[Big Six]

Good luck with the Aggies! You look like you have an uphill battle ahead of you. Your recruiting efforts will be crucial these first two or three years, I'm thinking.

Which state has the Solecismic Eight?

I really enjoy TCY dynasties, so I'll be following along. It's good to see a few of us playing and enjoying the game.

[bbgunn]

Originally Posted by Big Six

Good luck with the Aggies! You look like you have an uphill battle ahead of you. Your recruiting efforts will be crucial these first two or three years, I'm thinking.

Which state has the Solecismic Eight?

I really enjoy TCY dynasties, so I'll be following along. It's good to see a few of us playing and enjoying the game.

Thank you for following along! I have to say that I'm enjoying your John O'Farrell/Notre Dame dynasty as well. This dynasty is not going to be easy by any means, that's for sure.

I put the Sol-8 in Alaska, far away from New Mexico.

[bbgunn]

Although we run a Run and Shoot offense, we are not going to just pass-pass-pass. We want to use the pass to set up the run and stretch the defense. With that in mind, I set up the run percentages like this, in order from short yardage to long yardage (this probably will not make sense unless you own TCY):

1st Down: 70-40-40-30
2nd Down: 50-30-30-20
3rd Down: 70-20-20-15
4th Down: 50-15-15-15

I set the run-inside-the-20-yard-line tendency to 20, and I set up pass distance attempt percentages at numbers proportional to my starting quarterback's ratings (which are all low, by the way). Everything else I left up to my assistants.

I'm not even sure if this is going to work, but it should be a good start for now.

[bbgunn]

NOTE: I decided to go ahead and add Texas to my list of states for recruiting. We need all the help we can get.

[bbgunn]

WEEK 1

The staff and I began the long recruiting road this week. While we need help at a variety of positions, we really need help at the QB, G, T, and ILB positions. As we soon discover, thanks to our name recognition and academic reputation (or lack of), it is going to be very hard for us to find impact players. Still, we stick to our guns of finding players who are smart in the classroom.

Next up:
New Mexico State (0-0) at Arkansas (0-0)(-13)

[bbgunn]

WEEK 2
Arkansas 57, New Mexico State 10
We went into SEC territory and, well, it was over for us before it really began. The halftime score was 40-0 in favor of the Razorbacks. We came out "blazing" at halftime with a field goal, then our backup running back Amos DeMeester (Sr, 30/30) ran in a TD to make it 40-10. But that would be it for us. To emphasize our terrible game, we fumbled a ball late in the third quarter, and an Arkansas player ran it back 56 yards for a touchdown. We are just not ready to be competitive with an SEC team.

How bad were we? Our quarterbacks went 6-33 for only 73 yards, no TD passes, and 3 interceptions. We were sacked 6 times for a loss of 39 yards. Things were so bad for our starting quarterback Julio Rose (1-18, 12 yds, 2 INT), that we pulled him for backup sophomore Darren Faust (whom my scout says is a 12/12, but actually has more potential than that). Faust did a little better, but not great.

NMSU Leaders
Passing
QB Darren Faust - 5-15, 61 yds, 0 TD, 1 INT
Rushing
RB Amos DeMeester - 11 att, 57 yds, 1 TD
Receiving
WR Chester Clark - 2 catches, 30 yds, 0 TD
Defense
CB Bart Ellison - 5 tackles, 4 assists

Injuries
NEW
Starting ILB Ethan Montgomery (out, high ankle sprain, 12 weeks), backup DEs Chuck Comella (out, separated shoulder, 5 weeks) and Mario Kalu (out, hyperextended elbow, 3 weeks), and starting OLB Danny Morris (questionable, broken hand, 9 weeks).

Next up
New Mexico State (0-1) at California (1-0)(-13)

Recruiting
Visits
none
Commitments
none

[bbgunn]

MID-WEEK
Looking at game film, we were atrocious. On our very first play from scrimmage in the Arkansas game, we draw an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, after which our best offensive player, WR Moe Ogden, throws his helmet in anger and was immediately ejected. No wonder our offense was so bad. We can't have that.

Later on, safety Antoine Francois, a walk on, comes into my office and complains that he deserves a scholarship, due to the amount of playing time we ask of him. I tell the freshman backup from Dillingham, AK: "You didn't have that much playing time. You have to do more before I can give you a scholarship, Toine."

[bbgunn]

WEEK 3
California 62, New Mexico State 0
This game was even worse. Halftime score was 34-0. Just a thorough beatdown by a Pac-10 team. They had 556 total yards, we had 81. They had no turnovers, we had three. All of this is making me look forward to Sun Belt play.

NMSU Leaders
Passing
QB Julio Rose - 5-21, 25 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT
Rushing
RB Amos DeMeester (backup) - 4 att, 22 yards, 0 TD
Receiving
WR Herb Summers - 2 catches, 16 yards, 0 TD
Defense
S Bert Sturm (backup) - 10 tackles, 4 assists

Injuries
NEW: Starting center Danny Bernstein (probable, deep thigh bruise, 2 weeks). Bernstein is easily our best lineman, so any injury is a worry.
CONTINUING:
Comella, Kalu, Montgomery, Morris.

Next up
Troy (0-2) at New Mexico State (0-2)(-2)
The first Sun Belt game of the season for the Aggies.

Recruiting
Visits
none
Commitments
none

[bbgunn]

WEEK 4
New Mexico State 23, Troy 21
We win our first game of 2004, and on a last-minute field goal! We took the lead at the half 17-7. Then in the third quarter we kick a field goal to make it 20-7. However, in the fourth quarter Troy takes the lead after scoring two touchdowns to make it 21-20. But the Aggies put together a nice 2 1/2 minute drive from our own 20 to the Troy 12, including an amazing 25-yard throw on 4th-and-15 from Julio Rose to Moe Odgen to keep the drive alive. Our kicker Luther Patterson (Fr, 15/21) kicks the 28-yarder with :20 on the clock to win. Feels good to get that first win under my belt, although only 11,000 people were in the stands here in Las Cruces to see it.

Starting running back Korey Currie (So, 28/53) had two touchdowns before getting a serious hamstring pull late in the third quarter. He is going to be out basically for the season. Not a huge blow, since DeMeester is doing well right now. But our concern is getting Korey healthy and ready for 2005.

PoG: WR Moe Odgen
NMSU Leaders
Passing
QB Julio Rose - 28-48, 313 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT
Rushing
RB Amos DeMeester (backup) - 16 att, 62 yards, 0 TD
RB Korey Currie - 7 att, 29 yards, 2 TD
Receiving
WR Moe Odgen - 8 catches, 109 yards, 0 TD
WR Mo Money - 5 catches, 76 yards, 0 TD
Defense
DT Skip Lucio - 6 tackles, 1 assist

Injuries
NEW: RB Currie (see above)
CONTINUING: DE Comella (out), DE Kalu (upgraded to questionable), ILB Montgomery (out), C Bernstein (probable), OLB Morris (probable).

Next up: RIVALRY WEEK!
New Mexico (0-3) at New Mexico State (1-2)(-6)

Recruiting
Visits
none
Commitments
none

[bbgunn]

MID-WEEK
Talking with the defensive coaches, we decide to change to a 4-3 scheme. The 50 is not working for us as far as stopping the run. We just don't have enough skilled linebackers.

[bbgunn]

WEEK 5
New Mexico 35, New Mexico State 7
Around 11,000 fans turn out at the stadium in Las Cruces to see us get spanked by our in-state rivals. It started out well for us whenCB Sammie Givens (Sr, 34/37) took an interception in 40 yards for a TD late in the 1st quarter to make it 7-0. However, it was all downhill from there. Our offense was non-existant. We gained only 105 yards. That's 128 yards passing and -23 yards rushing! Most of those negative yards came from the six sacks that Julio Rose took. Meanwhile, the Lobos had 478 total yards: 271 rushing, 207 passing. RB Amos DeMeester was completely stuffed in his first game as a starter. He gained zero yards on five attempts.

NMSU Leaders
Passing
QB Julio Rose - 16-31 128 yards 0 TD 2 INT
Rushing
RB William Kennedy - 5 att, 13 yards, 0 TD
Receiving
WR Mo Money - 5 catches, 56 yards, 0 TD
Defense
OLB Michael Jenkins - 9 tackles, 3 assists

Injuries
NEW: none
CONTINUING:
Out: Currie, Comella, Montgomery.
Probable: Kalu, Morris.

Next up:
New Mexico State (1-3) at UTEP (1-2)(-10)
Another rivalry game. The Battle of I-10.

Recruiting
Visits
Finally, our first visit of the year:

QB Joe Winslett (Killeen, TX/Killeen/NR state, #10 position/scout 38-)
We haven't had much luck with the top quarterbacks in our recruiting area. The name New Mexico State is like kryptonite to high school prospects. Winslett may have to do for now. His strength is touch passing.

Commitments
none

[bbgunn]

WEEK 6
UTEP 45, New Mexico State 17
Man, we are just getting pummelled in rivalry games. It was actually competitive in the first half, as the score was tied 10-10 at hafltime. Our ten points came from a field goal and a nice 36-yard touchdown pass from Julio Rose to Mo Money. But then came the second half...UTEP scored four touchdowns in the third quarter and one more in the fourth quarter - all rushing. Rose threw another TD pass to Herb Summers in garbage time, but the game had been over long before that. We were outgained in yardage 339-273. We had 234 passing yards, perhaps a sign that the players are starting to take in our Run and Shoot system. But still, it's tough to be 1-4.

NMSU Leaders
Passing
QB Julio Rose - 15-41, 234 yards, 2 TD, 3 INT
Rushing
RB William Kennedy - 8 att, 35 yards, 0 TD
Receiving
WR Mo Money - 5 catches, 95 yards, 1 TD
Defense
S Darren Shepard - 7 tackles
DE Jamaal Jamieson - 4 tackles, 2.0 sacks

Injuries
NEW:
none
CONTINUING:
Out: RB Currie, ILB Montgomery.
Questionable: DE Comella.
Probable: OLB Morris.

Next up:
Louisiana-Lafayette (4-1, 1-0)(-15) at New Mexico State (1-4, 1-0)
*The second Sun Belt game of the year for us.

Recruiting
Visits
No new visits. Very discouraging.
Commitments
None

[bbgunn]

Well, well, well... what is it with the corrupted files I've had lately? Another dynasty bites the dust. I'll restart this dynasty in January, after my Europe trip and after I reinstall the game.

[Big Six]

That's a shame, bbgunn. The Aggies looked like they might be starting to come around. At least they were beginning to move the ball.

Have fun on your trip, and good luck with your new dynasty.