The Ladder 2018 - Bowl Season - Deadline is 11/29 (Sat) at 11 p.m. EST

[MacroGuru]

I am still not ranked? WOW, what do I have to do.

[Julio Riddols]

Oh man, the annual obliteration of Texas State.

[gstelmack]

I have updated recruiting for this week - I'll try and run the game to set me to "green", but I am set to advance.

[Julio Riddols]

Texas State went home in tears, but they did manage to scratch out 7 points on us, which really pissed me off. You'd be amazed at how many times I found myself cursing in an 84-7 win. So many shoestring tackles on punt returns. I did break one for 6, but probably should have had 3. Had another play where I rolled left with my pocket passer QB and had literally no one in front of me for 70 yards. Shoestring tackle stopped that big play too. Every time one of those plays happened, I just got more and more into running the score up as much as possible, even calling timeouts late to try and get the ball back one last time and try to break 90.

[Kodos]

I ran it up against Purdue too. Went for 2 on the last TD to hit 50. Still annoyed about turning it over in the red zone on our opening drive.

[CU Tiger]

recruiting done. Ready to advance.
There is seriously a chance that I sign no one this season and cut whatever freshmen the game assigns me.

Ive got to get that My School progression moving quickly;

[Kodos]

My class in The Pyramid is pretty pathetic.

[CU Tiger]

Originally Posted by Kodos

My class in The Pyramid is pretty pathetic.

I feel your pain.

I dont lead for anyone yet.
No one is ready for a visit.

I am making coaching points at this point by scouting everyone and looking for gems/busts..not to sign them just to get the +25

[Eaglesfan27]

I agree that recruiting is much more challenging. The 13 version, it was more of a selection process. In 14, I have to go after guys who are already highly interested in our program, at least, until I get my recruiting tree more highly built up.

Edit: I've already given up on 1 WR that I was super excited about because Alabama has jumped to such a big lead in the first few weeks.

[CU Tiger]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

I agree that recruiting is much more challenging. The 13 version, it was more of a selection process. In 14, I have to go after guys who are already highly interested in our program, at least, until I get my recruiting tree more highly built up.

Edit: I've already given up on 1 WR that I was super excited about because Alabama has jumped to such a big lead in the first few weeks.

Now imagine that with all skills graded as D's
Heck I have the #1 RB in the country, was chasing a RB and he locked me out because of play style. Not sure when it will regrade those.

[Julio Riddols]

I'm having decent luck so far, but I am having to go all out to the full extent to find and get leads on guys. I dig it though, it increases the challenge of the game, makes it a lot harder to just build a team of studs.

In 2013, a year or two is about all it takes to get a really good squad together, even for shit teams.

[chesapeake]

Brutal game against Nebraska. I trailed the whole way, but scored the game winning FG as time expired. My QB still got pummeled and I had little running game; but given some of the scores being put up by some of you, I'm going to have to chalk it up to simply not being as good at the game.

On the plus side, I'm apparently recruiting a lot better than most others. I'm probably going to lose the top-rated FB recruit at the end of the season because I didn't know what I was doing, but I'm building some good leads on some solid talent. I guess I'll find out before too long what dirty tricks the CPU can play in late recruiting battles.

[Eaglesfan27]

We jumped all over Alabama early. We dominated their QB and RB in the 1st half and threw the ball really well. We were up 24-3 at the half.

They started the 2nd half moving the ball slowly, but they took complete control of the 2nd half. We couldn't do anything as their star DE sacked my QB 4 times in a row at one point. They were sacking me left and right and suddenly moving the ball.

We barely held on as they scored a TD in the last minute to make it 24-21. Our best WR caught the onside so that we could kneel down and run out the clock and preserve the 24-21 win.

[Kodos]

Macro is going to lose it, as the Bulls remain unranked in Week 6!

#5 South Carolina (3-1) at UTSA (4-0)
#12 USC (3-0) at Penn State (2-2)
#15 South Florida (4-0) at UTEP (2-1)
Fresno State (2-0) at #17 Indiana (3-0)
#22 Duke (3-1) at Alabama (1-4)
Buffalo (4-0) at Toledo (3-1)
Florida Atlantic (3-0) at Arkansas State (2-2)
Baylor (2-1) vs. Rice (1-2)

[Julio Riddols]

Shit yeah, GAME TIME

[MacroGuru]

Originally Posted by Kodos

Macro is going to lose it, as the Bulls remain unranked in Week 6!

You have got to be kidding me! WTH does a man have to do to get a ranking around here?

Every team I have played has been undefeated and at least 10 points higher than me in most categories, I am playing the role of underdog in every game.... I

[Kodos]

The voters remember the Fiesta Bowl against Texas. They won't be fooled again...

[Julio Riddols]

We're hoping to earn a place in the rankings too, that's why it was no mercy against South Carolina.

The way I have been seeing the field there isn't much the computer can do, honestly. South Carolina did manage 408 yards of offense and they were an absolute pain in the ass to get defensive stops on, But we scored every time we had the ball. 535 yards and 73 points later, we went to campus and banged cheerleaders all night after a 73-27 dismantling of the number 5 team in the country.

Our two QB's combined for 26/29 passing for 404 yards and 5 scores (with no interceptions for the first time this season), Matt Edwards had 3 more rushing scores, and the punter hasn't seen the field for 2 weeks except to kick the ball off. Very happy with the way this team is rolling offensively.

I think playing Madden has really kicked my stick skills into high gear as a passer.

[Kodos]

I still think our sliders are too easy. I understand that college is not the NFL, but it shouldn't be this easy for us.

[CU Tiger]

Originally Posted by Julio Riddols

535 yards and 73 points later, we went to campus and banged cheerleaders all night after a 73-27 dismantling of the number 5 team in the country.

Originally Posted by Kodos

I still think our sliders are too easy. I understand that college is not the NFL, but it shouldn't be this easy for us.

KFH and aTm scoff at your feeble offense.

[Julio Riddols]

If it means anything, almost my entire team is on a hot streak.

[Julio Riddols]

I would, however, be ok with lowering QB accuracy like 10 points and seeing what that does.

[Julio Riddols]

Originally Posted by CU Tiger

KFH and aTm scoff at your feeble offense.

Is KFH that RB averaging like 19 yards a carry?

[MacroGuru]

I just lost to Toledo. Their QB looked like Peyton Manning or Tom Brady out there and tore up my Freshman DB's.

Sliders are easy at times, but there was no way the computer was going to lose this game, it was crazy.

[CU Tiger]

Originally Posted by Julio Riddols

Is KFH that RB averaging like 19 yards a carry?

Kenny Football Hill

[Julio Riddols]

Originally Posted by CU Tiger

Kenny Football Hill

Haha, oh yes. I do get to play TAMU in week 10 this season I believe. We'll see what their in-game offense has to say about things.

[gstelmack]

Originally Posted by Kodos

I still think our sliders are too easy. I understand that college is not the NFL, but it shouldn't be this easy for us.

I'm working for my wins against good teams (except Alabama which completely sucks despite the 99 roster - I wonder if there is a bug where the talent overflows and starts again at 0 ), haven't played a sucky team yet. The game I played on the road at Georgia this past week played really well for the talent level of both teams.

I am still on having CPU pass blocking bumped up a notch, tackling for both down a notch, still debating if run blocking for both need to go up a notch.

Not as sure on QB accuracy, I'm not seeing 80+ percent completion from either side in my games or anything. If we adjust it, I'd start small, 10 points seems too much.

[Julio Riddols]

Earlier in the year I had to work a lot harder for my wins as well. I think it may just be a matter of my players all being hot right now. They're like Hansel.

[Eaglesfan27]

Penn State was overmatched by our talent and we jumped to a 21-0 lead in the first 3 minutes including a great punt return by our backup HB. We had a kickoff return for a TD to have a 45-7 lead before the half. We let up a bit in the 2nd half but cruised to a 73-26 win. Thurman had a near perfect day with only a few incompletions, over 300 yards passing, and he accounted for 6 TD's.

[Kodos]

Too many scores in the 70s. Shorter quarters maybe?

[Julio Riddols]

Play counts would seem to suggest that time isn't the issue. I don't think we ran much more than 60 plays in our game. We were just extremely efficient.

[Julio Riddols]

We ran 64 plays.

We also scored 21 of our points in the last 3 minutes, so there's that. If I had turned it over (as I have been prone to doing) or not had those 3 late TD's, you're likely looking at a different outcome. Possibly even a loss. There was a point in the first half before we got our first interception of South Carolina where I legitimately thought I had to avoid turnovers and score on almost every drive to avoid losing. Up to that point, they had moved the ball at will on us. Fortunately we never made a mistake, then they made 3 and that's when we took control.

The things that stand out to me

We've only been sacked 5 times in 5 games. Part of that is me getting rid of the ball extremely quickly (Cartman can probably vouch for that after playing me in the pyramid), part of that is O-line play. Ours has been pretty damn good to this point. I could see pass blocking being tweaked down slightly for humans... But then again, several human teams are among the most sacked in the nation. UTSA is the only one averaging 1 or less sacks per.

The amount of first downs we get is similar to Buffalo, Duke, USC and Indiana as far as human controlled teams go. We all seem to get those in pretty high volume.

I think my 84 point game and FAU's 77 point game can be attributed to extremely weak opponents. We probably should have scored somewhere in that vicinity.

Rice is sitting at 1-2 and got absolutely massacred by Bama on these sliders.

USC barely beat Bama, 24-21

South Florida has scored 19 and 13 in their last 2 games.

Duke lost to #11 Clemson and squeaked by #16 Nebraska, 16-14.

I'm thinking our blowout over S.C. is an anomaly more than the norm.

[gstelmack]

42-3 over UTEP, and we outclassed them by roughly 20 overall points (my top players are rated around 92, there's 82). I also did that with only 350 yards of total offense - smashmouth with some passes thrown in.

[cartman]

I obviously screwed something up converting my team. Just got destroyed again, this time by Baylor, 42-14. This isn't much fun, so I'm going to bow out.

[Kodos]

PM sent.

[Kodos]

We cruised to a 56-16 victory over Fresno State to win our first Big Ten game of the season. Next week, things get more difficult, as we travel to USC.

[Kodos]

So in checking over cartman's roster, I discovered he had hamstrung three starters in his secondary (including both starting corners) by 10 points in the speed rating, and one had a 20 point hit to his agility. I have gone through and edited his roster using the original spreadsheet. It should be accurate now. I've sent cartman an invite. Please come back, cartman! We love you!

[Kodos]

By the way, if anyone else knows of an egregious ratings error on their roster, let me know and I will fix it.

[CU Tiger]

Just a quick heads up.

I leave early 9/12 and will be gone until 9/21 with no access to game or a computer.

[Julio Riddols]

Originally Posted by Kodos

By the way, if anyone else knows of an egregious ratings error on their roster, let me know and I will fix it.

I'm fairly certain all my guys should be rated 99. I don't know exactly what happened when I was fudging-- I mean, putting in the numbers.

[Julio Riddols]

When I looked at his secondary I thought the same thing.. His defense must have been getting murdered. Basically had a bunch of linebackers playing corner.

[Kodos]

Originally Posted by Julio Riddols

I'm fairly certain all my guys should be rated 99. I don't know exactly what happened when I was fudging-- I mean, putting in the numbers.

I'll get right on it.

[chesapeake]

I think I finished at -24 yards rushing after 8 more sacks and a pathetic inability to move the ball on the ground. I would have been sacked several more times, but I started counting "one-one thousand" after the snap midway through the 1st quarter and realized that I had to get rid of the ball at about 3/4ths of a second to avoid getting splattered. My QB is rated at 97, so he still has the ability to sneak in some tough throws into coverage; that said, once the CPU figured out it could rush me with 3 to 4 guys and still get a ridiculous amount of pressure, I was done.

I think the worst was late in the 4th, trailing by 14, when Bama dropped 8 guys into coverage and the DT was still able to shove my C and LG (rated 92 and 88, respectively) back into my QB to break up the pass. My head just about exploded. My C was even listed as on a hot streak when I checked after the play. I'm not sure that means what I think it means.

Clearly the sliders and such are working pretty well for everyone else. I do not think there is any point in adjusting them to deal with whatever is going on with my team. I've enjoyed this league for years, but this season is about as much fun as rolling naked through broken glass and there is no sign that it is going to get any better. I may just bow out with whatever dignity I have remaining.

Don't cry for me, FOFC. The truth is, the bloom may have withered on this rose for me some time ago.

[Kodos]

Would people like to just go back to the Ladder in NCAA 2013? The whole move to NCAA 2014 hasn't gone at all like I envisioned it would.

Is it possible you entered some ratings incorrectly that hurt your team (like cartman did)? That can be fixed if we know players are rated incorrectly.

[gstelmack]

Yeah, I'm beginning to question the move to 2014 - I'm having a reasonable experience, several of you are having a way too easy experience, and some like Chesapeake and Cartman got nuked.

I wonder if the coach skills thing is to blame? If those selections are having too big an impact? Something definitely seems off though.

On the other hand, we have no idea how much longer 2013 will be supported by their back end servers.

[Kodos]

Originally Posted by gstelmack

On the other hand, we have no idea how much longer 2013 will be supported by their back end servers.

Which was one of the main reasons I thought we should move on to 2014. It's just been such a cluster**** ever since we moved to 2014.

I believe Cartman's problems stemmed from data entry errors. He was fielding a secondary with speeds in the low 80s. That is going to get you torched. Maybe there are problems with some of Chesapeake's players too.

[Eaglesfan27]

I love 14, but the move is not at all how I expected either. I just want everyone to have fun. I worry about how long 13 will be supported, but I am good with whatever decision we make.

[chesapeake]

Originally Posted by Kodos

Is it possible you entered some ratings incorrectly that hurt your team (like cartman did)? That can be fixed if we know players are rated incorrectly.

Every player I have had the correct overall rating. If I screwed up something important like pass blocking for my OL, that surely would have been reflected in the overall rating. So I suspect that my problem is different.

[Kodos]

Yeah, I did a spot check, and they looked okay. Did you allot all coach xp points to recruiting?

[CU Tiger]

FWIW everyone of my coach points are towards recruiting..