Wyoming A&M Tornadoes Football (NCAA12)

[Young Drachma]

This is more like a reboot of the series, than an actual sequel.

Bobby Caldwell, that prep star from Wyoming eventually took over the football program at the 'other' public university in the state - Wyoming A&M - and led them to national prominence. Coming off three straight undefeated seasons and two national titles, the Tornadoes are still seemingly struggling for national respect as they toil away in a new conference - the Big XII.

In their second B12 season, the league hopes to expand and wants to establish itself as a national power with programs that will grow together.

We're going to try to chronicle the ups and downs of the Wyoming A&M program as best we can. Mostly with season-by-season chronicles of key information and ideally, more in a story format rather than some kind of stat dump. For a while, things will seem unrealistic because the idea was to make Wyoming A&M a power program and then see how the AI manages to recruit for them over a decade or so and then take over no matter where things were more actively.

With Bobby off now at Florida State and out of the picture, Buck Welder takes over the WAMU program with the hopes of leading the club well into the future -- one that fans hope involves lots of trophies.

Right now, I'm heavily involved in conference realignment and so forth. But that's about it, save for simming the seasons. I've largely stopped moving teams around en masse, because it gets confusing. Feel free to chime in with ideas, suggestions and thoughts as we go along though. Because if it's anything that's consistent about my dynasties is that I'm going to change my mind about something along the way.

[Young Drachma]

Bobby Caldwell Era
2011: 13-0 National Title, MWC Champs (def. Oklahoma)
2012: 13-0 National Title, MWC Champs (def. Oklahoma)
2013: 13-0 Sugar Bowl Champs, Big XII Champs (National Champs: Oklahoma def. Auburn)
Leaves for Florida State

Buck Welder Era
2014: 13-0 National Title, Big XII Champs (def. Oregon)
2015: 11-2 Cotton Bowl Champs, 2nd in the Big XII (National Champs: Notre Dame def. Oregon)
2016: 10-4 Rose Bowl Champs, Won Pac-12 Championship (National Champs: Fresno State def. South Carolina)
Contract Expired. Took job at Central Michigan

Trace Glenn Era
2017: 12-2 National Title, Won Pac-12 Championship (def. Fresno State)
2018: 12-2 Rose Bowl Champs, Won Pac-12 South (National Champs: Mississippi State def. Oregon)
2019: 13-1 Rose Bowl Champs, Won Pac-12 Championship (National Champs: South Dakota def. LSU)
2020: 13-1 Lost National Title Game (to Utah), Won Pac-12 Championship
2021: 11-2 Fiesta Bowl Champs, Pac-12 South (2nd) (National Champs: Montana State def. Maryland)
Contract Expired. Took job at Wyoming

Ducky Carter Era
2022: 11-3 Lost Rose Bowl (to VPI) Won Pac-12 Championship (National Champs: Auburn def. Rice)
2023: 7-6 Lost Las Vegas Bowl, Pac-12 South (2nd) (National Champs: Montana State def. Cal)
2024: 11-3 Alamo Bowl Champs, Lost Pac-12 Title Game (to Cal) (National Champs: Cal def. Utah)
2025: 10-4 Alamo Bowl Champs, Lost Pac-12 Title Game (to USC) (National Champs: USC def. Auburn)
Resigned. Became OC at New Mexico State

Charlie Hayes Era
2026: 12-2 Lost Orange Bowl (to Penn State) Lost Pac-12 Title Game (to Cal) (National Champs: Montana State def. Cal)
2027: 8-5 Texas Bowl Champs Pac-12 North (4th) (National Champs: Oregon def. Bowling Green)
2028: 10-3 Fiesta Bowl Champs Big Ten Blue (T-2nd) (National Champs: Georgia Tech def. Miami University)
2029: 8-5 Independence Bowl Champs Big-12 North (3rd) (National Champs: Washington def. USC)
Contract Expired. Hired as DC at Ohio U.

Joe Penn Era
2030:

Losses to Wyoming: 2023, 2024

--------------
Meanwhile, I'm going to take over running the team actively after 15-20 years, can't decide which yet. But it'll be far enough into the future that the college football landscape should be a bit more resolved or whatever. I'm almost tempted to split many of the mega conference up, so that it yields more competitive teams all around. Right now, what happens is you just have dominant teams emerging out of mega leagues and the rest beat up on each other. But we'll see how it goes for a while longer before making any bold decisions.

[Young Drachma]

SEASON 5 REALIGNMENT

Only listing the important moves, so as not to make it more confusing (some of the 4-team leagues get fluky ranked clubs and I shift them around occassionally..)

BIG 12: North Dakota (from the WAC)
MWC: Utah State (from the WAC)

Nothing too drastic, really. But the craziness might be coming down the road…

Season 4 Recap: Bobby Caldwell has turned FSU into contenders again. Maybe it's just the name Bobby that works on that campus...but they're rated in the Preseason Top 10 for Season 5. Meanwhile, the Tornadoes under their new HC Buck Welder claimed their 3rd national title in 4 years.

That might seem like a sedate presentation for such a bold achievement, but remember that these early years are just setting up the future and so, we need to gloss over it to get where we're trying to go.

[Young Drachma]

SI.COM - The Wyoming A&M University plays in a tiny city in Eastern Wyoming. But flush with cash from Wyoming oil boosters and superfans from around the country who've joined the bandwagon, the school is trying to negotiate a way beyond its small TV footprint into a major football conference.

Everything about Wyoming A&M seems to be driven about and by football. But the reality is, pull back the veneer and you get a major research university that's grown a small town into a place where people from around the country come to be.

"It's such a funny place," said a professor about Torrington, Wyoming, the home of WAMU. "When I came here at the beginning, it was not a place we could sell to anyone. Now? People come and are always surprised." The tale of two cities stems from the actual campus which is located just outside of the city limits. There you see things that you can't get anywhere else in Wyoming.

"We brought the first Whole Foods here," said Nancy Poehler, President of the University Centre at Wyoming Plaza Chairman, a $350 million development that brought housing, commercial and research industrial businesses to what's essentially a new town. Goshen County and Torrington city officials welcomed the project as the infusion of tax dollars has bolstered the entire community.

"You won't find anyone who has a negative thing to say about that school. It's public, but they've given way more than they've taken," said Torrington mayor Wayne Cotter.

But the real story of late is the push to get out of the Big XII, a league they've been in for just a few years and into a bigger conference. "We're the best team in the country, we deserve to swim with the big fish," said Cotter.

So far, the rumblings have been quiet. But recently, the bubblings have been surfacing near the top. Both the Pac-15 (reeling from the loss of Texas to the Big Ten) and Big Ten (with 14 teams) are considering their options. A powerhouse team from a non-existent TV market doesn't offer much on paper. But on the flip side, Wyoming A&M now draws more fans out of Colorado than it does in-state. It's regional presence has reached Denver and grabs at it more broadly than say, the University of Colorado-Boulder, the flagship school which sits in the Pac-12.

Naturally, CU wants no parts of their rivals to the north in their league and have been working to obstruct this effort. What they've received for this resistance is notice from the rest of the league that their space in the Pac-15 isn't necessarily secured. "The idea was they were supposed to secure the Denver market for the league. Wyoming A&M owns that market. There are more WAMU graduates in Colorado than any other state in the nation. Yes, even more than Wyoming by a lot. Kids graduate and they want to live in Denver. Or ranch on the outskirts or live in the country. We can deliver that media market to any league that wants to broaden its reach," said D.J. Truster, a booster for the Tornadoes since the early days.

The Big Ten is on the doorstep of Pac-15 country in Nebraska and has been eyeing the A&M program with the idea that it would expand the Big Ten Network into Pac-15 country. After prying away Texas, they've already stuck it to that league once and would be interested in doing it again.

"Wyoming folks have far more in common with the values of the Big Ten than they would with the folks on the left coast. The B1G would be a much better fit for us, if there were ever a spot for us," said Truster.

As it stands now, the Tornadoes keep winning and have found their place in the Big 12.

[Young Drachma]

SEASON FIVE GAME OF THE SEASON
#3 Florida State (3-0) v. #7 Wyoming A&M (2-1)

EA Sports: NCAA Football 12 Photo

Sooo...Bobby Caldwell's new team comes to town. I knew that if he managed to bolster that craptastic team into a top talent squad in two years that he must be 1) paying them and 2) he's gonna bring a good team to town. I got out of sim mode and played this one myself on All-American.

This happened. This game went back and forth. Most of the mistakes were on our end, our QB is a first-year starter and a true sophomore.

It's 21-21 with eight seconds left. I figure that I'd just throw it up and see what happens, figuring we'd go to overtime but maybe we could get a homerun.

EA Sports: NCAA Football 12 Video

It was seriously awesome. Wyoming A&M 28 FCSW 21, Tornadoes win. And yes, if you notice when I brought them back into this iteration of the dynasty I changed the "new" home jersey from the traditional blue to an orange. The throwback is still blue, but I liked the variety it gave us.

[Young Drachma]

After fifteen years, the novelty hasn't worn off. The love affair that the entire region has with WAMU football has persisted. The difference is now, that people expect things we never once expected before. Major conference football has brought the fans who were always ready for more to want even more faster than ever. When they would've once been satisfied to be in the national conversation, now they want to want the program to be atop that conversation.

It's a very strange place to be for alumni who return, if they've lived under a rock for all of that time. Campus has grown exponentially and town-gown relations are still generally good. At the moment, Ducky Carter's only claim to a job is that his son Kyle is the starting quarterback of the squad and the administration didn't want to fire him before his son's time was up.

The last national title came seven years ago. For a fan base with four in fourteen years, that's about as close to a drought as you can get. The real problems in recent years was the loss of coaches who built the program to prominence and the difficulty of their successors to manage to repeat the success in any tangible way. It isn't impossible though, as many say, looking at the results in recent years.

After the longtime athletic director resigns this year, a whole new era of WAMU is expected to result. The indoor practice facility will be finished and the school will begin receiving from the major gift given to endow the head football coaching position which should provide a major boost to whoever the program decides to install in the position. Fifteen years is a long time for a program to reflect on its past and review its future.

For Wyoming A&M, that future remains as bright as it did when things first began at a small little college in eastern Wyoming.

[Young Drachma]

According to unnamed sources, the Pac-12 conference is reportedly willing to expand to 14 as early as next season to accommodate Mountain West conference perennial contender Utah, who have a national title and a championship game appearance under their belt in the last six years. BYU, the school's main rival has always reportedly been provisionally accepted despite league's reservations about a private institution joining the league.

What this means for the league alignment is anyone's guess, but as we have more information we'll report it.

[Young Drachma]

Despite a successful run in the league that includes 5 Pac-12 titles and 2 national championship as a member of the league, P12 officials consider Colorado and Wyoming A&M a package deal and are prepared to boot both to invite Utah and BYU.

"Privately, they think the Denver market could still be delivered via Utah, that BYU's national footprint overwhelms it and that there haven't been significantly tangible gains from having both in the league," said one source who declined to be named for this story.

If this happens, the most likely destination for both would be the Mountain West to replace the two teams leaving. Another possibility, if the league were interested would be the Big 12 -- a league both have been a member of at different times.

"It's hard to say what would happen, but this is a tough day for both programs if it's indeed what happens," said Allen Markov, a college football reporter for Yahoo! Sports.

The decision seems to stem from a desire by the Pac-12's marquee programs USC, UCLA and others to regain their prominence that they feel has been overshadowed in recent years by the emergence of Cal and what they view is "the cakewalk the Pac-12 South is with Wyoming owning it," said one person close to the programs.

The Mountain West boasts 16 teams at present separated in two 8-team divisions.

MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE, 2025
PEAKS DIVISION
Montana State (5*)
Rice (4*)
BYU (4*)
Baylor (3*)
Utah State (3*)
Montana (3*)
Air Force (3*)
New Mexico (1*)

PLAINS DIVISION
Hawaii (3*)
Utah (6*)
San Diego State (4*)
Fresno State (3*)
Boise State (4*)
Wyoming (2*)
Nevada (3*)
UNLV (1*)

Officials at Wyoming A&M have had no comment, but Colorado (2*) privately expected this move for years and are surprised it took so long for it to happen. It's a difficult blow for the WAMU program if it happens after so much progress has been made over the years. Privately, analysts believe the league would hesitate to return to either of its former leagues in the Mountain West or Big 12, but independence in football seems like an untenable position for regional university with limited TV earning potential.

Still, one reporter says that "if anything is possible to make that situation work; the folks there will figure it out. That program rise out of nothing and there's no way with their oil money they're going to be sitting on the sidelines. They'll do anything they can to stay in the big leagues. You can believe that."

We will see.

[Young Drachma]

With the writing all but on the wall that the Pac-12 will for the 2027 season invite Utah and BYU to join its ranks but do so at the cost of removing Colorado and Wyoming A&M, the Buffs have already provisionally accepted a Mountain West conference invite. However, their rivals to the north have not done so despite being welcomed by open arms by that league.

Officials at WAMU, having tasted the big time prefer to stay in a more established major league, even if it means that they'll be less successful than they'd inevitably be in the Mountain West. "If they take over Utah's spot in the MWC Plains or go to the Peaks division to beat out Montana State, they go to immediate favorite in that league year-in and year-out. It's actually a smart move for all four programs," said an analyst for the Deseret News out of Utah.

But Wyoming A&M officials prefer the marquee matchups that come with playing in the more established leagues and have burnished those credentials after winning both the Pac-12 and Big12 over the past decade. But now, the school's athletic department is left floundering to find a league that will take the prestigious program.

"It's hard to say where they'll end up, if anywhere. But I sincerely doubt they'd choose to be an independent. That move would absolutely shock me unless they've got some means to get those games on TV and I'm not sure they can sell the Denver market alone. With Colorado? Sure. But without being in the same league as the Buffs, they'd be hard pressed to convince people that they're going to carry it by themselves. They have a strong national awareness, but their following is still regional," said Bill Couston, an analyst for TV out of Atlanta.

It's expected that by the end of the season -- once the Pac-12 makes the move official -- the school will announce its intentions and it's believed they're in talks with several possibilities for leagues outside of their geographic footprint. "It's hard to say where they might end up," said Couston, who declined to speculate on their intentions.

[Young Drachma]

DUCKY CARTER RESIGNS
The Ducky Carter Era in Torrington has mercifully come to an end. After four years in which he won no national titles or BCS bowls and brought him the bacon in the form of just two bowl wins -- back-to-back Alamo Bowl wins -- the AD decided he'd had enough. Carter resigns with the worst win percentage of any A&M coach in the FBS era of the program.

"It's not that he wasn't a good enough. He's just not a good enough coach to work here," said one fan, Geoff Rubin. No word yet on whether his son Kyle, a redshirt junior will return for his senior season with his father no longer at the helm.

The program now seeks a new coach to complete what will be one final season in the Pac-12, before the school heads off to a new league.

[Young Drachma]

WYOMING A&M TO BECOME 16th MEMBER OF BIG TEN
Make that two Pac-12 refugees that have joined the Big Ten, this time a decade apart from each other. A decade after Texas spurned the Pac-12 to go east and join Notre Dame in the Big Ten, Wyoming A&M has negotiated with the league to join starting with the 2028 season. The extra negotiated year in the Pac-12 is due to a lawsuit filed by Colorado that was settled out of court. The stipulations of the deal were that both teams would leave the league voluntarily, but only after a two-year grace period rather than the one that the P12 was looking for. So for one season, the league will indeed be the Pac-14 again.

"We couldn't be happier to be associated with a group of finer academic institutions," said Wyoming A&M President B. Lisa Wilcox. "The fact is that our academic profile and research affiliations have made this move plausible and we're just delighted that the CIC membership have been so gracious in inviting us to join."

This would've been considered a coup over two decades ago when Wyoming A&M was just a small regional institution, but a significant endowment and research dollars have propelled it into one of the best schools in the west and in the country despite its location.

Torrington, Wyoming is about eight hours west of Lincoln, Nebraska, currently the furthest school in Big Ten country. The move gives the Big Ten the chance to knock on the doorstep of Pac-12 country, as well as the upstart Mountain West. By joining, the Big Ten network is able to broadcast to the lucrative Denver market giving fans of teams throughout the league access to B1G content all year long.

"This is a steal of a move," said Polly Hinton, an analyst with GPG Associates. "It's not something you'd have expected to see on the base, the Mountain West seemed the most likely spot with the Big 12 also on the radar. But this is a game-changing move for A&M and should solidify them going forward both athletically and academically."

New head coach Charlie Hayes, who joined the team from North Dakota State this season says he's over the moon. "I grew up watching Big Ten football in Indiana. So this is awesome that we'll be part of that great tradition. Our fan base fits well with the B1G audience and I think we'll all get along great. This is a win-win marriage for everyone. What can I say? It's great to be in a position to be wanted, you know?"

Success begets success is what the headline on the WAMU.edu website today and there could be no point closer to the truth than that. Starting in '28, it'll be a whole new ballgame for the Tornadoes and their fans.

BIG TEN CONFERENCE, 2028 ALIGNMENT
BLACK DIVISION
Illinois
Minnesota
Ohio State
Penn State
Purdue
Texas
Wisconsin
Rutgers (2027)

BLUE DIVISION
Indiana
Iowa
Michigan
Michigan State
Nebraska
Northwestern
Notre Dame
Wyoming A&M (2028)

[Young Drachma]

I've balanced out the other leagues a bit to make sure that we have more of the traditional powers -- or at least FBS schools -- dominating things rather than what we've seen up to now. The superconferences I think were ruining things.

2027 TEAM CAPSULE: WYOMING A&M TORNADOES

The Charlie Hayes era got off to a hell of a start. After the tumult of the Ducky Carter regime, fans were naturally wild about a guy who walked in the door and reeled off 12 straight wins. The team eventually lost in the Pac-12 title game to Cal and then was brought further to earth with a Orange Bowl loss to future B1G peer Penn State. But given it was the school's first BCS bowl appearance in five years, everyone felt things were on the right track.

But when you lose your starting quarterback and a halfback that finished Top 5 in the Heisman voting, it means you better have personnel to recoup those losses or else, the enthusaism brewing in Torrington won't last for long.

The QB battle is a two-man race between redshirt junior Xavier Thompson (OVR: 87) and sophomore Jason Rogers (OVR: 85) Both are speedy, mobile quarterbacks and so, it might be a year where both see a lot of action depending on how it goes. Right now, it seems Thompson has the edge despite never seeing action in a regular game in two years previous.

Senior halfback Andrew Roland (OVR: 90) will have to be a difference maker. He rushed for 613 yards last year mostly as a reliever, so now as the main guy he'll need to do that on a regular basis if he hopes to elevate this ballclub. Also watch for sophomore Tim Carter (OVR: 88) who has the potential to also do big things at the position.

The wideout corps feature a dynamic trio in sophomore Brandon Woods (OVR:88) and juniors Kyle Mills (OVR:88) and Mario Jefferson (OVR: 87) Tight end Josh Coleman (OVR: 93) has seen a bit of action each of his previous three years and so, despite being like most of the starting offensive squad (that is, never being regular starters) he's going to provide leadership in the form of being one of the team captains.

The saving grace in all of this, is that the offensive line is experienced. Led by senior all-american right guard Darren Gardner (OVR: 92) and senior left guard Shannon Irby (OVR: 96) the Tornadoes feel confident that their skilled set will be in good hands.

The defense is downright scary in a good way. Whereas the offense possess lots of talented kids who've never shined on the big stage, the defense comes ready to play and boasts the background to back it up. All-American linebacker David Ellison of Angleton, Texas (OVR: 95) and defensive team captain free safety Kevin Simpson (OVR: 94) ensure that if the offense puts up points that the other team is shutdown.

The defensive side boasts a bevy of players who are so good that their backups should be starters elsewhere. Linebackers Markus Johnson(OVR: 92) and Kevin Howell(OVR:91) are dueling to determine who'll be the starter.

Grosse Ile, Michigan senior Dan Hutton (OVR: 91) is another one of the defensive standouts in the secondary.

Their last season in the Pac-12 should be a spirited one for the Tornadoes. After claiming eight South division titles during their tenure, they've been moved to the North for this last season in the league. It'll be a different road and a tough one, but this squad is composed well enough that it shouldn't matter much.

If the offense can get it together fast, they'll have a legitimate shot at winning it all this year. On the flipside, one has to think all of that inexperience on the offensive end will be a massive liability and the team will struggle to put up points. It'll be a roller coaster of a year.

2027 SCHEDULE

8/28: #9 ARKANSAS (W, 26-17)
9/4: @ Kansas State (W, 18-13)
BYE
9/18: @ Wyoming (W, 24-3)
9/25: #25 USC (L, 41-44 OT)
10/2: @ #12 UCLA (L, 31-34)
BYE
10/16: #1 STANFORD (W, 21-5)
10/23: @ #6 California (L, 19-28)
10/30: #7 OREGON (L, 13-24)
11/6: WASHINGTON (L, 13-34)
11/8: @ Colorado (W, 35-10)
11/20: @ Oregon State (W, 31-24)
11/27: Utah (W, 34-14)
BYE
BOWL: vs. Rutgers (6-6) (Texas Bowl) (W, 31-8)

Schedule strength was rated A.

[bbgunn]

Cool idea. I know it takes you some time, but could you give an idea about what conferences there are in 2027 and the alignments?

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by bbgunn

Cool idea. I know it takes you some time, but could you give an idea about what conferences there are in 2027 and the alignments?

It's a good question for now and not decades ago when I was doing a lot of swapping. Basically, I figured out that it'd be better to spread the conferences out a bit and minimize the superconferences because the game ends up having too many bottom feeders dominating their leagues if you have 4-team leagues. So things are spread out a bit now for equity purposes and hopefully to give the more "traditional" powers a chance to shine again. I just did this for this year so it'll take a bit to see it take shape.

So anyway, to answer your question...I'll do a recap of the 2027 standings of each conference with the prestige of those teams.

ACC
Georgia Tech (5*) 10-3
Maryland (4*) 12-1
Florida State (4*) 11-2
North Carolina (4*) 8-5
Clemson (2*) 7-6
Miami (3*) 8-5
Virginia (1*) 4-8
Boston College (1*) 3-9
Wake Forest (1*) 1-11
Duke (1*) 3-9

BIG 12
Oklahoma (3*) 9-4
Oklahoma State (3*) 6-7
UTEP (4*) 9-4
Tulsa (3*) 6-7
Texas Tech (3*) 5-7
UTSA (1*) 4-8
Texas State (1*) 5-7
Iowa State (1*) 1-11

BIG EAST
UConn (5*) 10-3
TCU (4*) 10-3
Kansas (2*) 9-4
Pittsburgh (4*) 8-5
Louisville (3*) 8-5
USF (4*) 6-7
Kansas State (1*) 3-9
Syracuse (2*) 3-9
Cincinnati (1*) 3-9
Missouri (2*) 2-10

BIG TEN
Black Division
Texas (6*) 12-2
Purdue (4*) 10-3
Penn State (6*) 7-6
Rutgers (2*) 6-7
Wisconsin (4*) 7-6
Ohio State (4*) 8-5
Illinois (2*) 5-7
Minnesota (1*) 2-10

Blue Division
Michigan (3*) 8-6
Nebraska (2*) 6-7
Michigan State (2*) 8-5
Northwestern (3*) 6-6
Notre Dame (4*) 5-7
Iowa (2*) 5-7
Indiana (2*) 2-10

CONFERENCE USA
Memphis (5*) 8-5
Louisiana Tech (4*) 6-7
Tulane (3*) 6-7
UCF (3*) 8-5
Southern Miss (6*) 8-5
ECU (3*) 6-7
Northern Illinois (3*) 6-6
Marshall (2*) 4-8

INDEPENDENTS
Navy (3*) 8-4
Army (3*) 6-7
Air Force (3*) 4-8

MAC
Bowling Green (5*) 12-1 (This season is the first time I actually saw a split national title. Bowling Green lost to Oregon in the BCS national title game and the Coaches still ended up voting Bowling Green #1 over Oregon. Oregon won the AP title, though.)
Miami U. (4*) 9-4
Toledo (4*) 10-3
Ball State (2*) 7-6
Ohio (3*) 5-7
Buffalo (2*) 5-7
Eastern Michigan (3*) 5-7
Akron (1*) 5-7
Central Michigan (1*) 4-8
Western Michigan (1*) 1-11
Temple (1*) 0-12

MWC
Fresno State (4*) 8-5
San Jose State (4*) 11-2
Boise State (4*) 11-2
Hawaii (3*) 7-6
San Diego State (2*) 5-7
Nevada (2*) 4-8
Wyoming (2*) 3-9
UNLV (1*) 2-10

PAC-12
NORTH
Oregon (6*) 13-1
Stanford (5*) 10-3
Cal (6*) 10-3
Wyoming A&M (4*) 8-5 Moving to B1G in '28
Utah (4*) 5-7
Oregon State (2*) 3-9
Colorado (1*) 1-11 Moving to MWC in '28

SOUTH
UCLA (3*) 12-2
Washington State (5*) 9-4
Arizona State (2*) 7-6
USC (5*) 7-6
BYU (3*) 7-6
Arizona (2*) 8-5
Washington State (1*) 2-10

SEC
EAST
West Virginia (4*) 11-3
South Carolina (4*) 8-5
NC State (5*) 10-3
Tennessee (2*) 5-7
Florida (4*) 5-7
Virginia Tech (3*) 5-7
Georgia (3*) 5-7
Kentucky (3*) 4-8

WEST
Mississippi State (4*) 12-2
Auburn (5*) 11-2
Arkansas (5*) 11-2
Alabama (4*) 9-4
Ole Miss (3*) 6-7
Texas A*M (3*) 3-9
Vanderbilt (2*) 3-9
LSU (2*) 3-9

SUN BELT
Rice (4*) 12-1
Northern Colorado (4*) 10-3
Baylor (3*) 11-2
Houston (4*) 8-5
SMU (4*) 8-5
Sacramento State (2*) 6-6
Utah State (3*) 3-9
New Mexico State (1*) 1-11

WAC
Montana State (6*) 11-2
South Dakota (4*) 10-3
North Dakota State (2*) 6-7
Montana (3*) 7-6
Portland State (1*) 4-8
South Dakota State (2*) 4-8
Idaho (2*) 3-9
New Mexico (1*) 4-8
North Dakota (3*) 7-6

From here on out if I do any swapping, I'll let you all know who goes where and such. (Mostly, so I don't have to do the above again. Haha)

The way I sim right now is that I have absolutely no effect on recruiting and the AI does everything. Eventually, I'll take over in earnest. But for the moment, when I do play games I'm just stuck with whatever the computer has hauled in. Also means no inducing kids to stay and if they transfer, I don't know it because I just straight to the custom conferences stage. Like I said, at some point I'll take over. This first season in the B1G will be one I pay close attention to and probably play a few games because of the new teams we'll be playing and so forth, but I won't be involved in this off-season's recruiting either.

[Young Drachma]

Well you know, the B1G ain't the league the Pac-12 is. Schedule strength went down considerably, but we're happier about our chances to be successful this year as a result too.

Our non-conference contains both of our rivals again now that we're not in a league with either of them. I can't guarantee we'll burn games on both each year, but what we did for that brief time that we were in the B12 away from both was alternate the years we played them. We might go back to that next year, I'll see.

2028 TORNADOES FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

WEEK 1: BYE
WEEK 2: WYOMING
WEEK 3: #3 STANFORD
WEEK 4: @ Minnesota
WEEK 5: NEBRASKA
WEEK 6: @ Michigan
WEEK 7: IOWA
WEEK 8: INDIANA
WEEK 9: @ Northwestern
WEEK 10: BYE
WEEK 11: @ Colorado
WEEK 12: @ Notre Dame
WEEK 13: @ Michigan State
WEEK 14: RUTGERS
WEEK 15: BYE

Team preview forthcoming.

EA Sports: NCAA Football 12 Photo

Joe Horne is my favorite Tornado of all time. He's basically a bad ass. He holds the school record for most careers rushing yards in a game (429), career (4212) and season (2556) and surely he's off in the NFL making megabucks being a huge badass right now. He was with the program from 2017-19.

[Young Drachma]

All of this real life conference realignment talk has me thinking about the excitement of Wyoming A&M's first season in the B1G.

We were picked 1st in the conference poll to win the Blue Division, but that won't be an easy task. Still I think we fit a lot better in the B1G than we did in the Pac-12 and it's nice to be able to land here. Let's take a look at the players you'll need to look out for.

Senior Xavier Thompson beat out Junior Jason Rogers for the starting QB spot. He's a shifty runner that ought to allow us to run packages involve more speed than we're normally able to. Runningback Korey Shaw has played in parts of two seasons, gaining 587 yards on the ground last year in limited time. Now he's the #1 guy and will be expected to be an impact player.

The defense is anchored a strong linebacking corps and a deep base at secondary and end. It shapes up for a strong year on the other side of the ball. If the offense holds up its end of the bargain, the Tornadoes will be a party crasher on the rest of the Big Ten in their first year.

[Young Drachma]

NEW RIVALRY GAMES
With Wyoming A&M joining the B1G, two new rivalry trophies were started.

BATTLE FOR THE OL' MASON JAR
WYOMING A&M V. NEBRASKA


The ol' Mason Jar is a relic acquired from a man whose grandfather homesteaded in Nebraska and whose son later served in the Wyoming Legislature. The O'Brien Family Mason Jar was donated and a trophy designed after it to give to the winner of the Nebraska v. Wyoming A&M game.

THE BATTLE OF THE TERRITORY

TEXAS V. WYOMING
Part of Wyoming was once part of Texas before a set of complicated territorial relationships created the area that is now Wyoming. The Battle of the Territory has a musket that is awarded to the winner of the battle. The musket is a replica of an old Texas revolutionary war rifle.

[bbgunn]

Sweet.

[Young Drachma]

WYOMING AT #16 WYOMING A&M
There was once a time when this game was a gimmie for the Tornadoes. Those days are long gone. In their season opener, WAMU looked tentative and sluggish at times and Wyoming did a great job of keeping the running game in check forcing the Tornadoes to throw the ball more than they're accustomed to.

This game also marked the return of Bobby Caldwell to Torrington. But not as a coach, but a spectator. His son, sophomore Seth Caldwell was inserted into the game when Korey Shaw was suspended for the 1st half of the game. When Shaw was put into the game, he looked sluggish and struggled to get any traction as Wyoming seemed to have his number. After a while, Caldwell was returned to the game and looks to be unstoppable.

He ended the day with 173 yards on 23 carries with 3 TDs though the last of those was in garbage time. Still, Xavier Thompson seemed emboldened having a running with the explosiveness of Caldwell at this disposal. The senior QB was 13 of 27 for 228 yards with a 1 TD and an INT. He was strong in the beginning, but struggled to settle down in the 2nd half making ill advised throws and at one point, Wyoming only trailed by 4.

The Tornadoes pulled away in the end though and claimed this rivalry game 34-17

[Young Drachma]

I got tired of seeing teams who weren't from heralded leagues winning titles or getting there. So I broke up the mega conferences and spread the wealth a bit. It also meant we had to leave the Big Ten unfortunately and are now back in the Big XII, but Texas is there too. I'll profile the conferences later, but I think my tentative plan is to sim even a few more years and then see where we end up talentwise and then make some decisions about going forward with a story that I can make immersive.