The Ladder 2014 Season Thread

[cartman]

Less offense, but a nice win over Nebraska. It was 14-7 Rice at halftime, and we blew the game open starting the 3rd quarter by getting a quick touchdown, then a defensive score to go up by 21. Final score was 35-18.

[Kodos]

And IU has their annual choke-job game against a lesser opponent.

[Julio Riddols]

I can't wait to get the bad taste of our loss this week out of my mouth.

[chesapeake]

Originally Posted by gstelmack

I should be able to do that, see you online then!

Sorry to do this on such late notice, but the wife has 'asked' that I push this off to the same time tomorrow. Would that work?

[gstelmack]

Very close game between Duke and South Florida. Thanks to my LBs undercutting routes, we got several turnovers for a short field and were up 13-3 at the half and 27-3 in the middle of the 3rd quarter. It would have been worse but I brainfarted on 2 FG attempts early (used right stick instead of left to try and line it up, then mistimed the second).

Then suddenly we were turning the ball over. A bad pass for a pick, we were strip-sacked, another bad pick or two, and a couple of allowed 2-point conversions and we were at 27-25 late in the fourth. We got down deep, but our FB was stopped inches short on 3rd down and we didn't dare try for 4th-and-inches, so we kicked a FG to make it 30-25 with about 2 and a half minutes left. Duke drove, converting a third-and-long, and a 4th-and-4 when we had the QB wrapped up for the sack and he pulled an Eli and hit the long pass downfield to the goalline. Chesapeake punched it in, but missed the 2-point conversion, and had a 31-30 lead with 25 seconds left.

We still had a shot, and I thought for sure one pass was going to drop between the LBs and Safeties but his safety made a great play to knock it down or we would have been close to FG range. The next play was well covered, and we were stuck with a Hail Mary that failed for the last one.

Good game, frustrating on both sides, very sloppy, but a great finish.

[Kodos]

Advancing us now, will update thread later.

[chesapeake]

I couldn't do anything right in the first half and, other than forgetting to switch to my punt returner BEFORE trying to call a fair catch, I got every break in the second half. Great game, Greg.

[Kodos]

Here's our list of games as we hit the midpoint of our season.

South Florida (4-1) at #1 NC State (6-0)
#2 USC (5-0) at Utah State (2-4)
#18 Maryland (5-0) vs. #9 Notre Dame (6-1)
#14 Baylor (4-0) at Rice (4-2)
North Carolina (5-1) at Duke (3-2)
UTSA (4-2) vs. Idaho (1-3)
Indiana (3-2) at Air Force (4-1)
Florida Atlantic (2-3) at ECU (2-2)
Buffalo (1-3) at Connecticut (3-2)

[CU Tiger]

Wow...I'm going to give it at least another week, but Im not sure Im good enough to play these settings with this team.

I lost 49-7 to ECU....bad enough until you learn It was 35-0 in the first quarter and I was set to chew clock the remainder of the game.

2 times I was sacked in a shotgun formation before the pass markers came up.
Then with the CPU defense in 3 man front prevent I decided to just run up the gut (since I couldnt pass) trying to get the game over....I was losing 3 yards a pop on blast runs...it was a bigger smash then Bama against prairie view state would be IRL...

To make matters worse, I cant make any head way with recruits and people I am taking off the board from cpu offers before I took over are committing despite me culling their offers.

I have never thrown a remote in my life but I stopped myself no less than 5 times this game....a week after losing to an FBS team by a lot.

[Kodos]

It looks like your roster is pretty much lacking talented players. Maybe a different team might be better?

[gstelmack]

I hate playing rain games. Extra dropped passes by receivers, my QB fumbles on scramble that they return for a TD (lineman picks it up in the middle of a pile and rumbles 50+ yards for the TD), extra fumbles by the RB to kill drives.

But NC State handed us some INTs, and blew coverage at the end of the first half to let us get up 21-13 at the break. We moved the ball in the second but mistakes cost us drives, and we went down 21-27.

Last play of the game after 2 sacks had us around their 40, so we went for the Hail Mary against a cover-3 prevent defense. The safeties came up to meet the receivers though, and that meant my primary receiver had a step and he made the catch just over the defenders in the end zone. 2100 points on the "Instant Classic" meter, we escaped 28-27 over the #1 Wolfpack.

Now I REALLY regret blowing that game to Duke Tuesday night...

[Kodos]

Did you save a replay?

[gstelmack]

No, I haven't figured out screenshots or replays or anything, haven't messed with them.

[MacroGuru]

And I am back.

Played Uconn tight up until the 4th qtr...then I gave the lead away with 2 minutes left...and I couldn't convert...throwing an INT with 35 seconds left at their 10...

[Julio Riddols]

We struggled again against Idaho.. We'll need to get our shit straight to make sure we sign the recruits we're working on.

[cartman]

Got a 2nd straight win over a top 25 team, this time #14 Baylor. Our defense wasn't great, but did get a couple of key turnovers to power a 50-33 win. Recruiting is also going extremely well, I'm currently ranked in the Top 10 for recruiting classes with 12 signings.

[Kodos]

I think that, even on Heisman, recruiting it too easy.

[gstelmack]

Originally Posted by Kodos

I think that, even on Heisman, recruiting it too easy.

But much like the issue with gameplay isn't the gameplay itself but rather the AI playcalling, the issue with recruiting isn't so much the ease with which you can sign guys (seems reasonably difficult) but rather the better AI teams competing over the same guys and letting too many decent players go unrecruited for us to snatch up.

I will say that it is more difficult for me to recruit South Florida in an offline dynasty than here, where I've played in a BCS bowl and had some other bowl wins, plus started with the Fresno State roster that sent enough guys to the NFL to bump up that pitch, so that my pitches are decent and it's letting me land decent guys. But even then I've signed a pair of 4-*s, 9 3-*s, and a 1-* fullback so far, and am now working on more 4-*s, so it's not like I'm signing a class full of studs that will vault me to a 90+ roster rating.

[Eaglesfan27]

Timing worked out great for all of this. I'll get my game in on Monday.

[Eaglesfan27]

We had a surprisingly tough time with Utah State in the rain at their stadium, but we eeked out a 23-13 win behind 150 yards from our starting HB.

[Kodos]

Air Force was playing us tight until late in the second quarter. From there, big plays and turnovers gave us an easy win.

[Kodos]

Reminder: deadline is tonight.

[chesapeake]

My XBOX live subscription is hung up at the moment. I'm trying to get M$ tech support to fix it.

[Kodos]

Alright. Just let me know if you need an extension.

[gstelmack]

Originally Posted by chesapeake

My XBOX live subscription is hung up at the moment. I'm trying to get M$ tech support to fix it.

Can you do the recruiting online?

[gstelmack]

Oh, and good luck. When I tried to untangle my multiple Microsoft Accounts / multiple Xbox Live accounts (from when Games for Windows Live was separate from Xbox and somehow my 360 was not attached to my Windows Live account despite my actual gamertag on that box being attached) they were ZERO help.

[Kodos]

Looks like he resolved it, as his game has been played. Advancing now.

[Kodos]

We're on to Week 8.


Texas Tech (5-2) at #1 USC (6-0)
UCF (1-6) at #14 South Florida (5-1)
#21 Nevada (7-0) at Indiana (4-2)
Florida Atlantic (2-4) at #19 Maryland (5-1)
UTSA (4-3) at Troy (2-3)
Duke (3-3) at Virginia (2-5)
Buffalo (1-4) at Army (3-2)

[gstelmack]

UCF has a better roster than their record indicates. They kept turning the ball over in the first half, letting us stake a nice lead, but stopped turning it over in the second and started coming back. We had a tie game at 21, and they tied it again at 28 with about 45 seconds left. On our next play from scrimmage we finally got a receiver behind the DBs and dropped one in for a TD, but left them 38 seconds. They moved right down the field with lots of intermediate passes, but stalled out around our 20 and we held on for the win.

I did try creating a highlight video, but apparently didn't do what was needed to get it uploaded. A key TD for us occurred when they got down in our red zone, and called a bunch formation with me in zone. This meant I had a CB on one side of the formation not covering anyone, and they ran an option play to that side. The CB went for the RB while a DE and LB were all over the QB. When the QB pitched it, the CB stepped in front, snatched it out of the air, and took off for the other end zone. Very pretty play for us.

[Eaglesfan27]

Texas Tech's QB kept throwing interception after interception which led to us jumping to a big lead in the 1st half. We cruised in the 2nd half and won 45-13. By the end of the day, their starting QB had thrown 5 picks and their HB threw 1 as well on a trick play early in the game.

[Julio Riddols]

We got hit with a ton of bad bounces this week and let things get way out of hand in a game we probably could have won without the crazy bad luck.

[chesapeake]

M$ was actually very helpful in fixing the problem once I finally got them to respond.

I played about as well as I possibly can against UNC, but many, many dropped passes, including 3 dropped TDs and another wide open long pass put me back into the losing column. I was never competitive against UVA this week. Missed tackles, dropped passes and 7 sacks doomed me to another loss.

My team is really, really bad this season.

[gstelmack]

Originally Posted by chesapeake

My team is really, really bad this season.

No need to keep rubbing it in

[MacroGuru]

Yeah, I will be playing tonight after the Sabres game.

[chesapeake]

Originally Posted by gstelmack

No need to keep rubbing it in

I was just looking at the standings. Had I not stolen that win, I almost surely would have been relegated at the end of the season. As it stands, if I win next week agains Louisville, I should stay in the ACC for another season. My starting lineup is almost all RS freshmen and sophs, so we should be significantly better next year. At least, that is what I keep telling myself as I am getting blown out by mediocre teams.

[gstelmack]

Originally Posted by chesapeake

My starting lineup is almost all RS freshmen and sophs, so we should be significantly better next year. At least, that is what I keep telling myself as I am getting blown out by mediocre teams.

I'm about 50/50 on upper/lower classmen in my starting ranks, with a RS freshman QB who is playing pretty well thanks to his upper-class receivers. I'm getting just enough help to squeak out wins I probably shouldn't be stealing.

[MacroGuru]

We beat Army. It was a tough game as my guys have had issues with tackling the runner, they tend to slide right off, be out of position and generally get their ass kicked.

I do need to win out though to have any chance. I am liking the recruits I am picking up so far. The 3 star recruits that have committed are scouted as GEMS and should do well for us.

[Kodos]

Originally Posted by Kodos

Florida Atlantic (2-4) at #19 Maryland (5-1)

Are you guys working on setting up a time to play?

[cmgdodgers]

We tried to play twice on Sayurday and were disconnected both times and have not been able to hook up since. I am now traveling for work and will not be available until Saturday now. I'm ok if you want to sim the game to keep the season progressing.

[Kodos]

You're having a nice season. I'd hate to see that screwed up by a sim that was out of your control. Let's hold off until Saturday.

[CU Tiger]

Hey Ive been out of town since Sunday but will be home the next few nights.
My team is absolute crap, and his squad shhould have a walk over against us. I am fine with a sim, or completely fine if he wants to play vs CPU and upload.

Sorry. We did try Saturday twice to play and the game got kicked twice in the 2nd quarter and after an hour of trying I didnt have another 90 minutes before I needed to leave with the wife.

Right now I dont know what my weekend holds. I am supposed to be out of town, but that has been placed in jeopardy. If I am in town we will play at dodgers convenience.

[Kodos]

Okay, since waiting for the weekend seems to have a dicey outcome, and both parties have said a sim is fine, and since the outcome seems likely to be the same in a sim or a head-to-head game, I'm going to go ahead and sim it after all.

[Kodos]

Maryland wins, 27-20.

[Kodos]

This week's games:

Florida (5-3) at #1 USC (7-0)
Georgia Tech (6-2) at #14 South Florida (6-1)
Rice (5-2) at Missouri (4-3)
Indiana (5-2) at San Jose State (3-4)
Louisville (1-7) at Duke (3-4)
Texas State (2-6) at Buffalo (2-4)
Troy (3-3) at Florida Atlantic (2-5)

[gstelmack]

Looks like the studly HB finally made up his mind and signed with Nebraska, but we added a 4-* WR, a 4-* ATH, and a 3-* DT (who needs some seasoning) this sim. We moved up to the #9 recruiting class, 1 spot behind Rice (grrrrr.....)

[gstelmack]

28-21 win over Georgia Tech. Stopping the triple option was fun: we either stuffed them, or they broke off a 10-20 run. We did just enough on defense to force them to kick some FGs, and on offense they could not cover the tight end down the seam, which we hit for 3 of our TDs.

[CU Tiger]

The bad news owls lose again, this time 59-7 to mighty troy.

On offense we fumbled 7 times losing 4 (no it wasn't raining) none of which were by the QB.
But rest assured he did his part throwing 3 picks.
We were sacked 7 times.
But just so we didnt feel left out we did rush 26 times for 4 yards (-56 when you count the sacks in)

We acually managed to score a second TD but it was overturned after I kicked the exptra point (WTF)
Then on 4th and goal (TD was scored on 2nd down...I guess the XP was 3rd) the FB fumbled the ball.

Adding insult to injury we received another committment from a player I had taken off the recruiting board....

(There seems to be some bug in 14 with human teams joined mid season, perhaps)

Oh well no where to go but up.

We are hoping to sign our first ever 3 star player this week as he comes in for an OV as a soft commit. (which is real surprising as I am a D- in eveyr category EXCEPT proximity to home which is his least important factor...but what the hell kid feels sorry for us I suppose.)

Go Owls.

[gstelmack]

Originally Posted by CU Tiger

Adding insult to injury we received another committment from a player I had taken off the recruiting board....

FWIW, this happened to me with 12, I would offer guys, then take them off the board, then they signed at the end of the season when I had scholarship slots left. There doesn't seem to be anyway to revoke a scholarship offer in the NCAA series.

[MacroGuru]

We beat UTSA 24-13 and it was a good game as UTSA came out attacking with a no huddle spread on me and I couldn't get out of the defense I wanted fast enough. They were able to score quickly.

I then shut them down and was able to play a ball control style of offense with a running game taking it over the top a couple of time but it was more of a ground and pound type game.

[Eaglesfan27]

USC jumped to an early lead thanks to a fumble return for a TD and a punt return for a TD. However, our offense struggled against Florida's speed. Our defense couldn't stop their HB and we slowly lost our lead. In the 3rd quarter, Florida tied the game and their defense shut us out the rest of the way. USC loses to Florida 42-28 as their HB has over 200 yards and 3 TD's.