NCAA 13 - Northwestern State Demons

Groundhog · 10-02-2012, 10:01 PM

I sat out NCAA 2012 and grew frustrated with Madden 2013 after a few weeks of fairly intense playing, so I decided to give NCAA 2013 a shot. I was quickly reminded of how much more I enjoy the college series - in the 2011 release I played through something like 13 seasons with Hawaii.

I've decided to create the school I use in my long-running FBCB career, Northwestern State, using EA's fabulous Team Builder website. For all the flack I've given EA over the years (largely deserved), the amount of online features they have for the NCAA series is truly amazing. The ability to build teams, recruit players, and even freakin' sim games online (albeit with an added cost for the later) is so far ahead of the online features for the other sport titles I know of that you can not even compare them.

I set Northwestern State up as a 'cupcake' level roster in the WAC (bye bye Idaho...), and my coach is a 3-4 aggressive D type of guy who is looking to implement a Pistol offense with his limited talent - which on that side of the ball includes a good balanced HB (81 ovr), and a QB who is of average mobility. With the (lack of) talent at WR and QB passing, I envision a running-orientated game with some option thrown in to the mix, with most of the passing being of the quick slant/curls variety, with some play-action thrown into the mix.

I am using the sliders settings taken from Kodos' dynasty thread, which I have found challenging, to put it lightly. I'm playing on Heisman difficulty, with the 2nd highest difficulty for recruiting, but I think I'm going to bump that up as well depending on how my final class ends up.

Groundhog · 10-02-2012, 11:05 PM

Groundhog · 10-03-2012, 12:46 AM

With a team this bad, I'm pretty much looking to just rebuild at most positions, with the exception of FS/SS. On offense I'm concentrating in particular on WRs that can actually catch, QBs/HBs/TEs/linemen suited for a run-intensive playbook.

On D I want talent, basically. I like to get after the passer so I'm looking at linemen who can rush, MLBs who can stop the run, versatile OLBs, and CBs who are competent.

I target players within my home state and pipeline regions exclusively at this stage, 3-star mostly, and will try and nab some sleepers later on in recruiting.

Early guys I have my eyes on in particular are a scrambling QB named Sutton who we have scouted as a 66, and a CB named Stewart who is rated just #1081 in the nation, but we have him scouted as a 66 rated gem.

Groundhog · 10-03-2012, 01:19 AM

We don't expect any game this season to be an easy one, but starting off the year against a talented Stanford squad is quite a task. The fact that it happens to be the very first game I've played of NCAA 13 - not to mention using the above-mentioned slider settings - makes it all the more tougher.

The fact that we gave up 20 points in the first half only to shut them out in the 2nd half had a lot more to do with our defense than it did Stanford playing passively. I upped our aggressiveness on the line and sent my LBs on nearly every snap, and Cardinals QB Munoz really struggled against the pressure, and even if we only sacked him once, we forced him into throwing two picks on throws that he got hit releasing the ball. Cardinals RB Lee scorched us for 222 yards on the ground but in the 2nd half our redzone defense was tremendous and we help Lee and Munoz's passes from making their way into the endzone.

Offensively however... yuck. I really struggled with the run game as expected against a strong Cardinals unit especially once Edmonds went down for about half the game with a minor injury, and also got absolutely nothing going through the air. Part of it was my WRs dropping wide open passes, but much of it was also just me being terrible. Oh well, bring on week 2!

Groundhog · 10-03-2012, 04:23 AM

Cardinals HB Lee carefully decides the best way to torch our defense.

Kodos · 10-03-2012, 06:51 AM

I find these sliders challenging too. Obviously. Good luck!

I found recruiting to be too easy on AA. I bumped up to heisman when I noticed how high my recruiting class was with Rochester.

Groundhog · 10-03-2012, 10:10 PM

Bowling Green are a significant step down from Stanford in talent, but still rate higher than us in all categories. Coming off a narrow 22-25 defeat to Miami, we certainly do not underestimate them, but i'm quietly hoping we can complete a pass or two and advance the ball beyond the first-down marker on the odd occassion.

The first half sees us get a lot of pressure on the Bowling Green QB Haynes, but Bowling Green is doing just enough through the air and on the ground to enter the half up 17-7, with a 2nd quarter TD run by Edmonds getting us our first points of the season!

2nd half our D steps up even further with a pick, a forced fumble, and a couple of sacks, but I am so incompetent at passing the ball that we aren't able to take advantage. We hold them to two FGs but aren't able to put any more points on the board ourselves and go down 23-7.

Edmonds had a decent if inconsistent game on the ground for us, and I'm still learning to slow down and use my blockers while coming around the ends rather than just sprinting up the middle and trying to beat the LBs one-on-one each time. On D it was a sack party, with my LBs Valentine, Grimes, and Holycross all playing pretty super. We limited their passing and running games enough to have put us in a position to win if only we'd been able to do a little (or a lot...) more with the ball.

Groundhog · 10-04-2012, 01:08 AM

...placeholder...

Groundhog · 10-04-2012, 01:31 AM

Central Michigan gives us our best opportunity for a win yet, rated roughly the same as us, with a similar collection of 'talent' (for want of a better term). Their one win of the season was against an FCS team in week 1, while last week they were spanked by Michigan State 51-7. On our home turf we are quietly confident........

Well, that was brutal. We kicked a FG with 5 minutes remaining for the only score of the game. Yes, it's a win, our first of the season, but boy what an ugly game. Credit to the defense of both sides, but much credit must also go to the offensive units of each side as well. We limited their QB to 11/31 passing with 1 pick and their running back to just 32 yards on 9 carries, and MLB Holycross had another strong showing for us.

On the other side of the ball, we tried to stick with Edmonds and the running game but ended up failing on a whole heap of 3rd-and-shorts until the drive that put us in FG range where we completed a few passes to pick up some yards. I need to improve my QB play a whole heap if we're going to ever throw a pass into the endzone, which at this point seems like a fantasy. I'm also reluctant to run the option after a few failures, which isn't playing to my roster's strengths. Need to get a better handle on it before conference play rolls around.

Still, despite the negatives, good to get a W on the board!

10-02-2012, 11:05 PM	#2
Groundhog Coordinator Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Sydney, Australia	2012-13 Roster __________________ Politics, n. Strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. --Ambrose Bierce Last edited by Groundhog : 10-03-2012 at 04:32 AM.

10-03-2012, 12:46 AM	#3
Groundhog Coordinator Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Sydney, Australia	2012-13 Recruiting With a team this bad, I'm pretty much looking to just rebuild at most positions, with the exception of FS/SS. On offense I'm concentrating in particular on WRs that can actually catch, QBs/HBs/TEs/linemen suited for a run-intensive playbook. On D I want talent, basically. I like to get after the passer so I'm looking at linemen who can rush, MLBs who can stop the run, versatile OLBs, and CBs who are competent. I target players within my home state and pipeline regions exclusively at this stage, 3-star mostly, and will try and nab some sleepers later on in recruiting. Early guys I have my eyes on in particular are a scrambling QB named Sutton who we have scouted as a 66, and a CB named Stewart who is rated just #1081 in the nation, but we have him scouted as a 66 rated gem. __________________ Politics, n. Strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. --Ambrose Bierce

10-03-2012, 01:19 AM	#4
Groundhog Coordinator Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Sydney, Australia	Week 1 - Northwestern State (0-0) @ Stanford (0-0) We don't expect any game this season to be an easy one, but starting off the year against a talented Stanford squad is quite a task. The fact that it happens to be the very first game I've played of NCAA 13 - not to mention using the above-mentioned slider settings - makes it all the more tougher. The fact that we gave up 20 points in the first half only to shut them out in the 2nd half had a lot more to do with our defense than it did Stanford playing passively. I upped our aggressiveness on the line and sent my LBs on nearly every snap, and Cardinals QB Munoz really struggled against the pressure, and even if we only sacked him once, we forced him into throwing two picks on throws that he got hit releasing the ball. Cardinals RB Lee scorched us for 222 yards on the ground but in the 2nd half our redzone defense was tremendous and we help Lee and Munoz's passes from making their way into the endzone. Offensively however... yuck. I really struggled with the run game as expected against a strong Cardinals unit especially once Edmonds went down for about half the game with a minor injury, and also got absolutely nothing going through the air. Part of it was my WRs dropping wide open passes, but much of it was also just me being terrible. Oh well, bring on week 2! __________________ Politics, n. Strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. --Ambrose Bierce Last edited by Groundhog : 10-03-2012 at 04:25 AM.

10-03-2012, 04:23 AM	#5
Groundhog Coordinator Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Sydney, Australia	Cardinals HB Lee carefully decides the best way to torch our defense. __________________ Politics, n. Strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. --Ambrose Bierce Last edited by Groundhog : 10-03-2012 at 04:23 AM.

10-03-2012, 06:51 AM	#6
Kodos Resident Alien Join Date: Jun 2001	I find these sliders challenging too. Obviously. Good luck! I found recruiting to be too easy on AA. I bumped up to heisman when I noticed how high my recruiting class was with Rochester. __________________ Author of The Bill Gates Challenge, as well as other groundbreaking dynasties. Last edited by Kodos : 10-03-2012 at 06:54 AM.

10-03-2012, 10:10 PM	#7
Groundhog Coordinator Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Sydney, Australia	Week 2 - Northwestern State (0-1) vs Bowling Green (0-1) Bowling Green are a significant step down from Stanford in talent, but still rate higher than us in all categories. Coming off a narrow 22-25 defeat to Miami, we certainly do not underestimate them, but i'm quietly hoping we can complete a pass or two and advance the ball beyond the first-down marker on the odd occassion. The first half sees us get a lot of pressure on the Bowling Green QB Haynes, but Bowling Green is doing just enough through the air and on the ground to enter the half up 17-7, with a 2nd quarter TD run by Edmonds getting us our first points of the season! 2nd half our D steps up even further with a pick, a forced fumble, and a couple of sacks, but I am so incompetent at passing the ball that we aren't able to take advantage. We hold them to two FGs but aren't able to put any more points on the board ourselves and go down 23-7. Edmonds had a decent if inconsistent game on the ground for us, and I'm still learning to slow down and use my blockers while coming around the ends rather than just sprinting up the middle and trying to beat the LBs one-on-one each time. On D it was a sack party, with my LBs Valentine, Grimes, and Holycross all playing pretty super. We limited their passing and running games enough to have put us in a position to win if only we'd been able to do a little (or a lot...) more with the ball. __________________ Politics, n. Strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. --Ambrose Bierce

10-04-2012, 01:08 AM	#8
Groundhog Coordinator Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Sydney, Australia	...placeholder... __________________ Politics, n. Strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. --Ambrose Bierce

10-04-2012, 01:31 AM	#9
Groundhog Coordinator Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Sydney, Australia	Week 3 - Northwestern State (0-2) vs Central Michigan (1-1) Central Michigan gives us our best opportunity for a win yet, rated roughly the same as us, with a similar collection of 'talent' (for want of a better term). Their one win of the season was against an FCS team in week 1, while last week they were spanked by Michigan State 51-7. On our home turf we are quietly confident........ Well, that was brutal. We kicked a FG with 5 minutes remaining for the only score of the game. Yes, it's a win, our first of the season, but boy what an ugly game. Credit to the defense of both sides, but much credit must also go to the offensive units of each side as well. We limited their QB to 11/31 passing with 1 pick and their running back to just 32 yards on 9 carries, and MLB Holycross had another strong showing for us. On the other side of the ball, we tried to stick with Edmonds and the running game but ended up failing on a whole heap of 3rd-and-shorts until the drive that put us in FG range where we completed a few passes to pick up some yards. I need to improve my QB play a whole heap if we're going to ever throw a pass into the endzone, which at this point seems like a fantasy. I'm also reluctant to run the option after a few failures, which isn't playing to my roster's strengths. Need to get a better handle on it before conference play rolls around. Still, despite the negatives, good to get a W on the board! __________________ Politics, n. Strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. --Ambrose Bierce

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