The Ladder 2017 - Player Cuts - Deadline is 7/6 (Sun) at 11 p.m. EST

[CU Tiger]

Kudos to Kodos.
Stand up move by the commish!

[chesapeake]

Sick kids last night, so I didn't get to play. Hopefully things improve and I get an hour to play this tonight. Sorry for the long delay.

[Kodos]

No worries. Real life comes first.

[Eaglesfan27]

Thanks for all of the great work you do with this league, Kodos.

[Kodos]

No problem. That's why they pay me the big bucks.

[chesapeake]

Same problem. I started a game in an offline dynasty I have going and a couple of exhibition games and those played fine, so the problem does seem isolated to this dynasty for me.

Honestly, everyone has been very patient and I have no objection to skipping my game this week and letting the electronic football gods do what they will with this.

I think the next step you had planned is for me to try playing it against another live human. Problem is, I'm not sure when I'll be able to do that. I have my regular game night tonight and Thursday is out. I rarely have time to play on weekends, so we're probably looking at next Monday for me to play another person. So, unless anyone has another thought on this, I'm fine with just moving on.

[Kodos]

I talked to SackAttack, and he's willing to give a head-to-head game a try, if you're up to it. If you want to try setting up a match with him, I have zero problem waiting. I'm more interested in trying to help you avoid getting screwed out of a shot at an undefeated season than in hurrying things along.

On the other hand, if you're sick of the problem and just want to move forward, I'd understand and go with your wishes. My strong preference is to exhaust all options before letting the sim gods have a chance to screw your season.

[chesapeake]

You can go ahead and run it. In the cosmic scheme of things, it is not that big of a deal.

Thanks, again, for trying so hard to fix the problem.

[Kodos]

As you wish. Will run it at lunch. Will be crossing my fingers.

[Kodos]

Crap. Florida won 27-20.

[Kodos]

Welcome to Week 13!
=============== #1 South Florida Bulls (10-0) ===============
Last week, South Florida won 31-14 against Louisville (4-5).
This week, the Bulls travel to Charlottesville to face the #8 Virginia Cavaliers (8-2).
In recruiting news, the following South Florida targets have announced their decisions:
- (****) QB Brandon Dickens has committed to South Florida
- (****) WR John Edwards has committed to South Florida
- (****) C Christian Crooks has committed to South Florida
- (****) QB Alvin Randall has committed to South Florida


=============== #2 USC Trojans (10-0) ===============
Last week the Trojans were idle.
This week, the Trojans travel to South Bend to face the #15 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (9-2).
In recruiting news, the following USC targets have announced their decisions:
- (****) RE Raymond Davis has committed to USC
- (****) CB Jake Montgomery has committed to USC
- (****) CB Brent Pearson has committed to USC


=============== #3 Rice Owls (10-0) ===============
Last week, Rice won 41-37 against LSU (3-7).
This week, the Owls travel to College Station to face the #25 Texas A&M Aggies (5-4).
In recruiting news, the following Rice targets have announced their decisions:
- (****) HB Jon Peterson has committed to Rice
- (*****) WR Evan Young has committed to Rice
- (****) QB Charles Harris has committed to Rice


=============== #5 UTSA Roadrunners (11-0) ===============
Last week, UTSA won 41-24 against Missouri (4-6).
This week, the Roadrunners travel to Manhattan to face the Kansas State Wildcats (6-3).
In recruiting news, the following UTSA targets have announced their decisions:
- (***) WR Kevin Smith has committed to UTSA
- (****) CB Travis Shuler has committed to San Diego State
- (***) WR Andy Johnson has committed to UTSA
- (**) FB Antonio Larson has committed to Oklahoma


=============== #9 Duke Blue Devils (9-1) ===============
Last week, Duke lost 27-20 against Florida (7-3).
This week, the Blue Devils travel to Athens to face the Georgia Bulldogs (5-5).


=============== #10 Indiana Hoosiers (8-3) ===============
Last week, Indiana won 56-7 against Fresno State (2-7).
This week, the Hoosiers will host Penn State (4-6).
In recruiting news, the following Indiana targets have announced their decisions:
- (***) MLB Mark Jones has committed to Indiana
- (****) TE Dennis Simmons has committed to Indiana
- (****) CB David Novak has committed to Indiana
- (****) WR Ron Long has committed to Indiana
- (*****) LT Josh Young has committed to Indiana

=============== #22 Buffalo Bulls (9-2) ===============
Last week the Bulls were idle.
This week, the Bulls are idle.
In recruiting news, the following Buffalo targets have announced their decisions:
- (****) CB Earl Torres has committed to Buffalo

=============== Florida Atlantic Owls (7-4) ===============
Last week, Florida Atlantic won 52-10 against ECU (5-6).
This week, the Owls travel to New Orleans to face the Tulane Green Wave (2-8).
In recruiting news, the following Florida Atlantic targets have announced their decisions:
- (****) HB Lamont Stanford has committed to Texas A&M
- (***) WR Joe Ramsey has committed to Florida Atlantic

[Eaglesfan27]

Sorry to hear Florida won.

Very happy to add a pair of 4 star cb's.

[Julio Riddols]

Don't like knowing I might make my way into the top 4 due to a glitch, but with any luck I'll get to play Duke in a bowl or something.. You can get your revenge then, chesapeake. I promise to play erratically.

[MacroGuru]

Awesome to see Torres commit. I like the defense I am building with young talent....wish I could get some of that on the OL and DL.

[chesapeake]

I'm more worried about the lack of signings than the loss to UF. Hopefully I can play a normal game against the Bulldogs.

[gstelmack]

Just finished a GREAT game against Virginia. Both teams traded TDs to start the game, we forced a 3-and-out punt to get the ball at midfield, but my running back fumbled and they got it back. We held them to a FG, got the ball back, and a threw a HORRIBLE pass where I saw the safety coming up too late that turned into a pick 6. We punt again, they get another FG with 1 second left in the half, I'm down 20-7.

But they left 1 second on the clock and kicked the ball out of the endzone, then don't get a good deep defense setup. All 3 of my receivers on the hail mary got behind them, the deepest one caught it, the other 2 screened the single DB, and we go 75 yards to cut the lead to 20-14 right before the half. That's the type of play that's usually happening AGAINST a human player, was nice to see it work for me.

See-saw battle in the third quarter, with UVA finally getting a TD late to build a 27-14 lead. We take our drive and get a TD to cut it to 27-21 very early in the fourth. We force a punt, but then I score too quickly, getting a 41 yard strike to the endzone to take my first lead 28-27. They have another methodical drive, but we stop them in the red zone and they kick the FG to take the lead back with 1:44 left.

We get some nice runs for the methodical drive ourselves, set up in the middle of the field, call timeout with 2 seconds left, they ice the kicker, but we drill it right down the middle for a game winning 38-yard FG.

What was nice about this game was Virginia never gave up on the run and maintained a balanced offense. I ended up having to go mostly 1-deep safety with 4 D-line and MAYBE nickel if it was long yardage to keep them somewhat in check because I never knew what was coming, but they still moved the ball. Holding them to FGs was key to give us a chance to overcome the pick-6 and take the win in the end.

[Kodos]

Sounds fun. I thought we'd turned "Ice The Kicker" off...

[gstelmack]

Apparently not, he was definitely iced.

[Kodos]

I'll try to remember to turn it off after the season. I believe we all agreed to that at some point.

[chesapeake]

On the plus side, there were no anomalies with this game. On the bad side, at least for me, it resulted in a frustrating loss in overtime. It was all I could do not to throw my controller through the TV.

[Kodos]

I have those games too.

[Julio Riddols]

We struggled to separate from K-State, but finally got our stuff in order enough late in the second half to pull away a bit and finish with a fairly comfortable win, despite the score. We just don't blow many teams out, but we do get the job done. Now to see if we can claim the big 12 and if we can, what kind of bowl that brings us..

Oh, and we now have 5 recruits signed. I'm elated.

[CU Tiger]

Arrrrgggggh.

Was having a fascinating game against Tulane.
It was 28-28 at half and we had pulled away in the 2nd half and led 61-35 in the 4th quarter.

A statistical freak game. My star RB had 3 runs over 70 yards and my D had been on a sack fest.

After a TD the game froze up and lost everything.

[CU Tiger]

At least we win the rematch.
Game wasnt even as close but couldnt rack up any stat padders either.

Oh well.

Moving on.

[CU Tiger]

Has anyone else noticed the FL @ Bama game and the airplane logo on the dynasty central screen?

[gstelmack]

That's because FL went on human owned to try and fix Chesapeake's issues, then taken off after that one game. I don't think it clears until after the season?

[Kodos]

It'll clear when I remove SackAttack from the dynasty.

[Eaglesfan27]

ND has a lot of talent and they were very tough in the 1st half as their crowd rattled my QB and he threw a pair of picks (probably ruining his Heisman chances.) We thought we were going to go into the half tied at 14, but we made a bad play to give them a safety. They, then made a worse play in which their QB threw it into the flat with 10 seconds left from their own 35... our sophomore nickel CB picked it off and took it in for a pick 6 to make it 21-16 at the half.

We took control in the 2nd half as our QB played more within himself and made plays that helped us march the ball down the field methodically. We cruised to a 45-19 win over ND behind the strength of our defense which had 4 picks and 10 sacks.

We are all set to advance.

[MacroGuru]

Done recruiting and ready to go...Just took over a 5 star ATH against Bama..hopefully I can get him to commit.

[gstelmack]

We're just waiting for Kodos to play his game, right?

[Kodos]

Welcome to Week 14!

Curses! Duke foiled my attempt to swoop in and steal their QB!

=============== #1 South Florida Bulls (11-0) ===============
Last week, South Florida won 31-30 against Virginia (8-3).
This week, the Bulls will host North Carolina (5-5).
In recruiting news, the following South Florida targets have announced their decisions:
- (****) CB Anthony Banks has committed to South Florida


=============== #2 USC Trojans (11-0) ===============
Last week, USC won 45-19 against Notre Dame (9-3).
This week, the Trojans will host Fresno State (2-8).
In recruiting news, the following USC targets have announced their decisions:
- (****) LT Dan Anderson has committed to USC


=============== #3 Rice Owls (11-0) ===============
Last week, Rice won 49-35 against Texas A&M (5-5).
This week, the Owls travel to Durham to face the #13 Duke Blue Devils (9-2).


=============== #5 UTSA Roadrunners (12-0) ===============
Last week, UTSA won 38-30 against Kansas State (6-4).
This week, the Roadrunners are idle.
In recruiting news, the following UTSA targets have announced their decisions:
- (***) DT Scott Graham has committed to UTSA
- (***) LT Ryan Mueller has committed to UTSA
- (***) FS Philip Williams has committed to UTSA


=============== #8 Indiana Hoosiers (9-3) ===============
Last week, Indiana won 31-21 against Penn State (4-7).
This week, the Hoosiers are idle.
In recruiting news, the following Indiana targets have announced their decisions:
- (****) LOLB Terrence Melton has committed to Indiana
- (****) QB Jason Kane has committed to Duke
- (****) RE Brian Pollard has committed to Indiana


=============== #13 Duke Blue Devils (9-2) ===============
Last week, Duke lost 41-38 against Georgia (6-5).
This week, the Blue Devils will host #3 Rice (11-0).
In recruiting news, the following Duke targets have announced their decisions:
- (****) QB Jason Kane has committed to Duke


=============== #20 Buffalo Bulls (9-2) ===============
Last week the Bulls were idle.
This week, the Bulls travel to Athens to face the Ohio Bobcats (8-3).
In recruiting news, the following Buffalo targets have announced their decisions:
- (****) CB Josh Martinez has committed to Buffalo
- (****) CB Eric Fox has committed to Buffalo
- (**) LOLB Danny McBride has committed to Buffalo


=============== Florida Atlantic Owls (8-4) ===============
Last week, Florida Atlantic won 38-7 against Tulane (2-9).
This week, the Owls are idle.
In recruiting news, the following Florida Atlantic targets have announced their decisions:
- (***) TE Brennan Williams has committed to Florida Atlantic

[Eaglesfan27]

Fresno State was completely outclassed against us and their only score was on a silly safety. We won 51-2. We also almost have a full class. 2 kids looking for 1 last spot. First one to commit gets it and then we are done. USC is set to advance for this week.

[gstelmack]

Recruiting has become much easier since I hit #1 (imagine that!). I fully expect to either blow it against UNC this week, or go all Rice and get blasted by USC in the championship game, but it's been a great ride to pump up the roster for the future.

[MacroGuru]

We took it to Ohio and enjoyed the win. The definite pickup of additional 4* at the DB position is helping with depth, but I don't know if I am going to be able to keep them all happy.

I will be seeing if I shift them around where they can play at.

[chesapeake]

Originally Posted by Kodos

Curses! Duke foiled my attempt to swoop in and steal their QB!

I had a 600+ point lead when you started recruiting the guy. I can't believe you made it as close as you did. What were you gaining all the points on?

[Kodos]

No idea. I just took every chance to talk crap about your program.

[CU Tiger]

Recruiting is done.

Butting heads with USC on a couple recruits...not easy considering the disparity in our program.

Really need these 6 kids I lead for by 1000 plus to ink quickly.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by CU Tiger

Recruiting is done.

Butting heads with USC on a couple recruits...not easy considering the disparity in our program.

Really need these 6 kids I lead for by 1000 plus to ink quickly.

I only have 1 slot left, so I will be out of those battles soon.

[cartman]

Hell of a game, cheasapeake! We went to OT, and we both scored in the first OT. He picked me off on the 1st play of second OT. I kept him from getting a first down on his half, but he hit the 35 yard FG to win.

Can't wait for the rematch in the conference championship game!

[cartman]

Dola,

Also a heads up for this league and the Pyramid. I'm going to be out of town from Sunday morning to Saturday night.

[chesapeake]

Well-played, cartman.

That was a brutal game. After all the bungling I did - particularly at the end of the first half - I was very fortunate to have emerged from that game with a win.
1. I let you run the clock down to 45 seconds left by inexplicably not calling a time out.
2. After you tackled my WR on the one-inch line, I spiked the ball instead of calling a running play that would have surely succeeded against the personnel package you had on the field.
3. After the ensuing sack, I missed the 24 yd chip shot FG. What a comedy of errors!

Your RB Pope was as advertised. Tough player to bring down. If this game is emblematic of things to come, this will become the biggest rivalry in the SEC.

[Kodos]

Originally Posted by cartman

Dola,

Also a heads up for this league and the Pyramid. I'm going to be out of town from Sunday morning to Saturday night.

Thanks for the heads up.

[gstelmack]

I should get my game in this evening between 6 & 7 eastern.

[gstelmack]

UNC goes down 31-17. The game was a bit tighter than it should have been, but the computer didn't cheat consistently enough to really make it a nailbiter. Had them complete a pass into triple coverage, one that went through the DB, my pass rush disappeared for the middle of the game (but returned at the end), and same with my coverage of his receivers, but our talent was too much.

[Julio Riddols]

I'll be getting my recruiting in shortly.

[gstelmack]

Looks like we are ready to advance, unless Kodos wants to use his last 3 hours of recruiting...

[Kodos]

I'll advance things at lunch.

[Kodos]

No games this week. Just recruiting.

Cartman: Let me know if this deadline doesn't work for you.

[Julio Riddols]

All set. Crossing my fingers for a slip up in the top 2 during conference championship week..

[Eaglesfan27]

I took a chance on recruiting via internet and got two errors on each of the players I was recruiting. Hopefully, it doesn't cost me both players.