She's the Coach II: The Tiger Rag

[Butter]

Yes, folks, it's back. My wife has decided to join with me in playing a new dynasty on the recently released NCAA Football 2004. I believe (unless she changes her mind in the next day or two, and that's certainly possible) that we will be going with the Clemson Tigers. Just so we're not confused here, she actually eventually decided to go with Furman. See below for details.

Last time, I was able to get her to start out with Vanderbilt, and build them up, but as soon as they had even moderate success (losing in the title game to Oklahoma), she was out the door to Clemson. A virtual Dennis Franchione, if you will. And with Clemson we were able to win the national title within 2 years, those years not having been documented in the last dynasty thread as I knew that it would die as her interest was dying.

It's possible that this dynasty may veer into a different one altogether, as last year I was very close to getting her into being in a multiple person dynasty, where she had a created team that she played the games for (on the easier Varsity setting, but getting her to this point was an accomplishment), and I had a team that I played my games for on All-American. We were both in the Big East and set each other as rivals. That dynasty died after just 5 games (she going 5-0, and I being 1-4), but if Clemson gets boring to her, I'll try and swing it that way to keep it alive and maybe start over with 2 created teams.

Remember, this dynasty is all about my wife and her decision making. She controls the play calling on offense and decides who to recruit, schedule, and play. I control the game action (on All-American level at first), and call defenses and special teams. She decides when to punt or go for it. She decides when to go for 2. I try to keep as quiet as possible. And I do it all to spend time with her while still being able to do probably my favorite thing in the world besides watching sports: playing sports.

I believe we're going to kick this off within the next couple of days, so we should have some updates soon thereafter. Hope you enjoy it.

[Butter]

Hmmmm.... women are very fickle. She started out wanting to play as Clemson, but then she decided that it might be fun to try and build a crap team from the bottom, so we substituted the entire I-AA Southern Conference (except Elon) for the Sun Belt, and are currently simming a few seasons with that and recruiting to see if we can bring their talent level up to a playable level. First year, Furman went 2-10 and 2-5 in the conference, not a good showing. First recruiting class was just awful, ranking 112th in the country and signing only 7 recruits, 2 of whom were 3-stars, the rest being 2 and 1 star recruits.

Once we figure out where all of this is going, we'll get it started. Well, I will anyway, since if she finds out that this is being tracked and followed anywhere on the web, I face certain and immediate retribution.

[Blade]

Awesome idea, Butter! Now, if only I could get my wife interested in Sports Sims...or games in general!

[JeeberD]

Poor UNT...

[tucker342]

That was one of my all time favorite dynasties. It's good to see the second version come back

[Butter]

As it turns out, Mrs. Butter (or MB as we will call her for short) has settled on the Furman dynasty.

So, to detail it a bit better, we have substituted the entire I-AA Southern Conference for the Sun Belt... or, to view it a bit more in detail, here are the teams that are in and out:

In
Appalachian State Mountaineers - Boone, NC
Chattanooga (formerly Univ. of Tennessee-Chattanooga) Mocs - Chattanooga, TN
The Citadel Bulldogs - Charleston, SC
East Tennessee State Buccaneers - Johnson City, TN
Furman Paladins - Greenville, SC
Georgia Southern Eagles - Statesboro, GA
Western Carolina Catamounts - Cullowhee, NC (near Asheville)
Wofford Terriers - Spartanburg, SC

Sadly, no room for the Elon Phoenix who are relatively new to I-AA football.

Out
Arkansas St.
Idaho
Louisiana-Lafayette
Louisiana-Monroe
Middle Tennessee St.
New Mexico St.
North Texas
Utah St.

New Sun Belt addition Troy State is still in as a I-A independent, which is where the game had them in the first place.

In real life, the Paladins are just 2 years removed from a national title game appearance in I-AA, being beaten by the Montana Grizzlies. Last year found them finishing 3rd in conference, and losing early on in the I-AA tourney to Villanova.

MB has decided to take over the reins in what will be a tough, but not impossible job. Furman is entering I-A football along with 7 other schools, which makes the task a bit easier, in that the main priority will be to build up into a perennial conference powerhouse, then worry about the rest of the nation later.

The goal of this dynasty is unclear. It is basically whatever MB says it is. One minute, it might be to guide Furman all the way to the national title. The next, it might be to bolt for a better job, if offered. Or, if we get fired, it might mean we start all over. It's really hard to say with women. But then, you know this.

Personally, I hope to build Furman into a team that is attractive to a better conference. The Sun Belt and it's 1 crappy bowl bid just doesn't cut it for me. Although, for the first few years at least, I'd certainly settle for it.

Here are the house settings:
-No recruiting limits
-All games are played with 5 minute quarters on All-American difficulty with variable sliders that are set approx. on the sliders suggested in this forum for "coach only".
-MB calls the offense and makes all the important decisions. I'm just the joystick jockey. (leave the sick innuendo at the door, this is a serious dynasty!)

[Butter]

2003

In 2003, we let the computer pretty well take care of the season. MB and I have no interest in attempting to slog through what would already be a difficult season. We set the coach settings on a Balanced Run playbook, and attempt to run/pass about 55/45, with subs and conservative/aggressive sliders set in the middle on both offense and defense. Figuring this was our best chance at success. This did not work. Our first season ends 4-8, 2-5 in conference. Not good. At least we didn't suffer through each game individually. That would've surely been more than enough to kill any enthusiasm MB had for this project.

Our recruiting period comes along, and it was just wretched. No other word for it, really. We only manage to nab 7 recruits, and only 1 of them was a 3 star. We had to replace our entire HB corps, recruiting 2 2-star and 1 1-star recruit there. We do manage a 3-star WR, 2-star QB and a 1-star K and FB.

Our recruiting class is ranked 112th in the nation. Obviously, MB needed a bit to get the hang of the brand new "pitch" recruiting system. Now let us never speak of this season again.

[Butter]

2004

This year, we again let the computer sim all the games. Preseason, we're picked 5th in the conference, and are ranked 112th in the country. The first year, the computer didn't even bother to rank us at first, really, it just listed everyone in reverse alphabetical order. GA Southern is really the class of the league, with Wofford and The Citadel close behind. GA Southern wins the league in 2003 and gets a visit to the New Orleans Bowl, losing to Cincinnati.

We do improve in year 2, mostly thanks to tailoring our virtual game plan a little bit better to the weaknesses of our opponents. Increasing the run % against teams with a weak run defense, etc. It works to the tune of a 6-6, 4-3 season. We lose in the final week to Georgia Southern, who was 5-1 and tied with The Citadel for the league lead. The Citadel still wins the conference, finishing also 6-6, but 6-1 in conference play. They end up visiting the French Quarter, but taking it in the rear from Memphis, 34-7.

Our recruiting points have now increased from a wretched 125 in year 1 (mostly to blame for our horrific showing) to 350.

Our recruiting goes much better thanks to our improved budget. We're still a 1-star prestige (and coming up on the final year in a 3-year contract that sees the school wanting us to have a winning season) team, but should be much improved thanks to these incoming rookies. The recruiting screen shows each position's grade, and we have nothing above a flat C before recruiting. MB's recruiting style is solid, trying Location for all recruits in SC, then Playing Time for all recruits out of state. (For those not familiar, this year NCAA Football 2004 requires you to try one of 4 pitches on each recruit, Location, Playing Time, Coaching Style, or Program Prestige... the recruit's receptiveness or lack of to this pitch can and does affect their decision)

Most in-state recruits get the full range of contacts, and most out of staters get a visit from the assistant and a call from the head coach. In fact, MB likes to pretend that I'm the assistant, out there doing all the sh*t work, while she's nice and cozy at home. Ha ha, that's just super-hilarious. MB also likes to try and stretch and get some 5-star blue-chippers. We waste a LOT of time on them, despite the fact that not a one of them has anything higher than an average affinity for our program. We end up landing no blue-chips, but do much better than I expected, filling most of our glaring needs satisfactorily. I just keep quiet during most of the process, waiting for the marathon to end. MB likes to control the joystick during all non-game functions, and she.... is..... quite..... slow. I guess she's not slow to her, but whereas I'm able to zip through all the recruits, keeping an eye out for "High" interest, she slowly clicks through each one. It takes a good 45 minutes longer than it really should to do the recruiting. Here's me: clickclickclickclickclick I'm done! Here's her: click..... hey, what'd that say? Which pitch did we use on him last time? What's his interest level? Click...............click.

AAAAAAAAAAAAARRRGGGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

Here are the recruits for Furman, 2005, in order of star rating:

(The first number is recruits rank among their position, then their state and freshman rating once on the team is listed at the end)

4 star recruits
-#23 DE Mike Garrett, AR - 76
-#15 FS Ben Ali, IL - 69
-#41 DE Curtis Smith, NJ - 74

3 star recruits
-#39 TE Rodney Perry, SC - 64

2 star recruits
-#60 FB Chris Gatlin, FL - 67
-#71 OLB Wendell Rowe, GA - 63
-#92 G Hubert McCloud, FL - 66
-#95 WR Kyle Horton, FL - 64
-#95 DE Steven Youngblood, FL - 66
-#51 G Malcolm Best, FL - 69
-#86 T Levi Whitley, FL - 66
-#104 WR Henry Fitzpatrick, SC - 67
-#51 TE Matt Merritt, SC - 65
-#65 FB Amon Reyes, SC - 65

1 star recruits
-#92 MLB Paul Patrick, FL - 58

Our recruiting class is rated #57 in the country, and #3 in SoCon (that's short for Southern Conference, which is what I shall refer to the conference as from now on) behind Georgia Southern and The Citadel.

[Bee]

nice DE's. Should help quite a bit.

[Butter]

2005

So that brings us to 2005. Where MB has decided that we begin to play all games. I was hoping we might skip one more year, but at this point, almost all of our starters are freshmen/sophomores that we recruited, so why not? We still hang at 1 star of prestige, and have knocked our schedule down a notch or two in hopes of landing a bowl bid and earning a contract extension in this, our final contract year.

Here is the 2005 schedule:
v. Army (changed from Nevada)
@ Kansas (changed from Missouri)
v. Rice (competing against a team I have another dynasty for (coming soon))
v. New Mexico (changed from a road game)
v. Ball State (changed from a road game)
v. Chattanooga
@ East Tenn. St.
@ The Citadel
@ Western Carolina
v. Appalachian St.
v. Wofford
v. Georgia Southern

Not a hard schedule, but the road game at Kansas should be tough. We considered Clemson or So. Carolina, but decided we weren't ready for it, especially in our contract year.

Looking at our playbook (at my suggestion), MB notices that she is not thrilled with the array of choices in the Balanced Run formation. So, we look through several others, some generic ones, Ohio State's, USC's, Clemson's, looking for a playbook with a wide variety of sets and some shotgun looks. MB is a sucker for the shotgun, and uses it a lot, especially on 3rd down and anything over a couple of yards. We finally settle on Tennessee's playbook, which has at least a variation of almost every set (Ace, I, Weak, Strong, Shotgun) and figure to learn it as we go.

Preseason we are picked 4th in conference behind Georgia Southern, Citadel, and Wofford (no surprises here, except for the fact that Wofford is not traditionally good, and share a market [Greenville-Spartanburg] with us... which privately annoys me), and start out the season ranked 99th in the country.

[Butter]

Game 1
v. Army (0-0, #115)

Army offers little in their first drive, and punts the ball back to us. We begin near midfield, and drive inside the 20 fairly easily. Sadly, the drive ends when our HB coughs it up on a 10+ yard run. MB immediately curses Rodriguez's name, and resigns to use the HB less. Army goes 3 and out again, displaying little imagination outside of their standard running and long yardage 5 WR sets. We get the ball back deep in Army territory, and just after making a comment about how Clemson's FB used to fumble a lot last year whenever we'd run the FB Blast play, Furman's FB Reyes coughs it up again inside the 20 on a 5+ yard play. MB is incensed.

Army promptly throws a pick on the next play, and we convert it into a 27 yard FG after a series of nice throws by soph. QB Eric McMullen. Army drives the field for the first time on their possession, primarily passing the ball past our weak corners, and breaking one pass play down the seam of the zone for over 40 yards. They manage to squeeze down to the 2, but some good zone play and a tipped fade route later, they're settling for a 21 yard FG from a tough right angle. They convert, and it's 3-3 late in the 1st half. Our next drive is kicked off with a nice runback to near the 40. MB mixes the plays well, with a couple of decent looking running plays. McMullen goes down injured, but it's just a sprained wrist, he should be back in the 4th Q if needed.

Then, on 3rd and 4, after eyeing play action passes all day, she finally calls one. A beautiful PA pass to the FB finds him wide open at least 10 yards behind the nearest defender as Army bit hard on the fake, and the 2 WR's on the left side drew the safeties' attention. Great call, great execution, 10-3 Furman at the break.

The second half is a laugher, we destroy Army's defense, mostly through the air, but our backup QB is magic. Listed as QB #15, and a senior, he finishes the game 7-9, for 137 yards and 3 TD. This, my friends, is a passer rating of 315.6. I don't know what perfect is, but that ain't far off. Regular starter McMullen goes a not-shabby 8-13 for 98 yards and a TD, a decent rating of somewhere around 150. We score a INT return for a TD, and run the exact same PA FB pass for another TD in the second half and laugh our way to a 38-3 victory. Couldn't ask for a better start with this team, really.

Win, 38-3, 1-0 record

Next up, a stretch with a western flavor as we visit Lawrence to face KU, and host Rice and New Mexico of the WAC and Mountain West respectively. MB has finally discovered the joys of a short, play action oriented pass attack, complimented by a hard inside running game.

[tucker342]

good start

[DataKing]

I concur with tucker, a fine start.

You'll understand, of course, if I root against you on your visit to Lawrence. But after that, I'll be rooting for you and Mrs. Butter to take Furman to the promised land.

[Bee]

Originally posted by DataKing
I'll be rooting for you and Mrs. Butter to take Furman to the promised land.

Will we get pics of this?

[Butter]

Week 2, rank #89
@ Kansas (0-1, #79)

Our first trip away from Paladin Stadium finds us in the somewhat intimidating, but relatively quiet confines of Memorial Stadium at the corner of 11th and Maine in Lawrence, KS.

Not a full house, but over half full as our kids come out to a chorus of boos. We'll see how we fare.

KU's first drive goes 3 and out, but their senior HB Clark Green did show some moves, picking up 9 on their first play of the game. 2 unimaginative FB/HB dives later, we receive the punt. Our 2nd play finds MB thinking deep throw. McMullen drops back and fires a perfect strike to a Kansas CB, and our first drive is history. But KU's offense is wholly inept, missing on short passes, overthrowing long ones, and ignoring Clark Green for most of the rest of the half. Finally, our offense clicks, and after a forced fumble is recovered near midfield, we finish off the drive with an 18 yard TD pass to our soph. WR (whose name escapes me at the moment, sorry). 7-0, Paladins.

The rest of the first half consists of KU going 3 and out, and us going on productive drives, one a TD reception by soph. RB Newman (hello, Newman), another a FG producing short drive following a KU fumble, and yet another a 60 yard TD run with under a minute to play in the half by Newman, as KU's defense bunched the middle against the I-Twins formation and Newman bounced to the outside where he outran the secondary. Kid's got some speed.

At this point, I'm starting to consider bumping it up to Heisman, but sadly, it's not my decision.

The second half is pretty similar, the only Jayhawk highlight being a 4th and 17 conversion for a TD with under 2 minutes to play to avert the shutout.

McMullen goes 6/16 for 105 yards and 2 TD.
Newman goes 11/130 on the ground with 2 TD, catches 2 for 25 yards and a score, and had 57 return yards. Over 200 all-purpose yards! We had 105 passing yards and 159 rushinig yards overall. Kansas struggled to break the 100 offensive yard barrier.

MB nixes any talk of upping the difficulty after the game, by saying "you can do that in your dynasty, but I like this". I can only sit and hope for some challenges to come our way. In the meantime I console myself by realizing that Kansas is probably not as good a team as we are. Our HB speed was surprising, even to me.

Win, 38-7, up to 2-0

After the game, as we're heading up to bed, she says those words every guy wants to hear: "I bet it would be pretty cool to export those draft classes to Madden."

My heart races... then:

"...but I don't know if it would be cool enough to actually buy it."

Alas. Next up, the Rice Owls at Paladin Stadium.

[Blade]

Nice! Keep the winning streak alive!

[tucker342]

Kansas sucks

[Butter]

Thanks for reading so far guys. We watched TV and went to bed early last night, but we should have some time to get in a few games this weekend, and will report on them Monday.

[Butter]

Week 3, rank #76
v. Rice (1-1, #77)

After last week's annihilation of Kansas, I try to convince MB that we should toughen up the sliders. After minutes of whining, I finally get to move up the CPU in several key spots (mostly offensive and break block/tackling), and cut us down on INT's and defensive awareness.

Rice comes in with the distinctive flexbone look that's hard to stop when run right. Things go pretty much disastrously wrong from the start. Rice scores on a long pass on their first possession. Our first possession ends after just 2 plays with an INT, and Rice converts with another play action TD pass. It gets ugly rather quickly, as it doesn't take much for MB to become frustrated and start calling long passes every play. If you haven't played NCAA 2004, long passes are much harder to complete regularly than they were before, and often can end badly. So, we leave the field at the break down 21-0, with MB grumbling about sliders.

Rice continues to dominate, with our rushing attack being utterly shut down, and our WR's dropping any passes that hit them. McMullen is something like 2-13, and we are in the negative for rushing yards. It's quite ugly, and at the beginning of the 4th quarter, MB pulls the dreaded RESET whine. I get quite pissed, as even though it's not real, and we do use pennant cheats when possible (though none yet), I try to keep the results real. If we get beat, oh well. She doesn't buy it, and in an attempt to keep the dynasty going and MB happy we do indeed pull the dreaded RESET and leave the game down 28-0.

The sim has us justly losing, 34-24.

Loss, 34-24, drop to 2-1

This game was quite a struggle to not lose my temper. She lost hers more than once. I did manage to keep it as an "L" instead of a "W", though, so chalk one up for me, I guess.

[Butter]

Week 4, rank #79
v. New Mexico (1-2, #84)

This game goes somewhat to plan, although it is a struggle most of the way. Our offense again is pitiful. MB remains convinced that the QB draw will be effective with a QB with a 55 speed rating who can't outrun the waterboy. Our HB Newman gets injured early on, and the backup, Rodriguez gets fatigued pretty easily.

New Mexico does a great job of ball control, going on a 3+ minute drive that spans the end of the 1st and beginning of the 2nd quarters, and ends in a 4 yard TD run to take a 7-0 lead. We finally put together a decent drive with a couple of 10+ yard runs that stalls inside the 20, and MB goes for the field goal. We convert, and it's 7-3, UNM. The ensuing kickoff is brought back to the 30. The Lobos drop to pass, and dump it off to the HB who promptly coughs it up, and 33 yards later, Furman leads 10-7. A tough turnaround for the Lobos, who dominated up to this point.

The second half is a defensive struggle, which is what people like to say when both offenses suck really bad. Neither side is able to do much of anything. Finally, we pin the Lobos back to their own 11 with :45 to play in the game. The first play is a drop. The second play is a sack and forced fumble, which DE Curtis Smith returns for our 2nd defensive TD of the day to seal the victory.

Stats
Rushing yards:
UNM - 25 rush/94 yards, FU - 18/72

Time of possession:
UNM 12:58, FU 7:02

QB play
Bob Francis, UNM - 8/27, 118 yards, 1 TD/1 INT
Eric McMullen, FU - 4/13, 81 yards, 0 TD/2 INT

FU RB Stephen Newman carries 11 times for 53 yards.

Win, 17-7
Record: 3-1

[Butter]

Week 5, rank #73
v. Ball State (2-2, #89)

The SoCon is getting destroyed by I-A competition. The only team with a win so far is Georgia Southern, who beat Ohio U. 37-28. Appalachian State just lost at #13 Oregon 73-21, and in a scheduling quirk (read: game bug), plays Oregon again the following week at home and loses 58-3. We scheduled a lot of cupcakes, and are rewarded with 3 wins so far. Now comes our first MAC opponent, the Cardinals.

We effectively move the ball on Ball State for most of the first half, but stall twice inside the red zone. Why do we stall, you ask? Because MB decides that the same plays that work to move down the field will still work inside the 10 when the defense has 9 men in the box. And she decides that flooding all receivers to the short side of the field is a really novel idea as well, despite the fact that the receivers routes are often cut short as a result.

Result is 2 FG's after long drives, and a 6-0 halftime lead.

The second half begins badly, as we throw a pick and Ball State converts for a 7-6 lead. Sadly, soon after we receive the kickoff, Ball State gets yet another INT, and grinds out another short drive, ending the 8 play, 30 yard (!) drive with a 6 yard TD pass to the wide open TE in the back of the end zone. A game we controlled in the first half has now gotten away from us, down 14-6. We are finally able to piece together a drive, and McMullen largely leads us down the field to our first TD of the game, a 23 yard corner route that makes it 14-12.

MB's play call on the 2 pointer is crucial. She calls.........

a frickin' HB draw!?!?!?!

It's stuffed by the 9 blitzing men at the line of scrimmage. It remains 14-12. Ball State goes down the field a bit, but we are finally able to regain possession deep in our own end with :54 left. Some accurate passing finally gets us into range at the 24 yard line with :02 left. After much hand wringing, we decide to try the FG. Our kicker is largely untested, as his FG attempts have all been 35 yards or less. This one is 41 yards, and my timing is crucial.

I hit the power meter just a bit short of full at the top, and the FG comes up about 1-2 yards short. The Cardinals pull it out.

Greatest games rank #1: Score - 695

Stats
Offensive yardage:
Furman 308, Ball St. 186

QB play
Eric McMullen, FU - 18/28, 252 yards, 1 TD/2 INT
DeMarcus Greene, BSU - 9/16, 162 yds., 2 TD/1 INT

Rushing
HB Stephen Newman, FU - 6 rush/44 yds.
HB #22, BSU - 9/22
HB Rodriguez, FU - 6/30

Loss, 14-12
Record: 3-2

[Butter]

Week 6, rank #82
v. Chattanooga (1-4, #107)

Judging from the pre-game stats, Chattanooga likes to throw. Their rush offense is near last, but their passing offense is around 60th. A wide disparity that suggests a throwing offense.

And throw they do, scorching us for a 76 yard drive all in the air before I can even fall into a defensive pattern.

At this point, MB decides that a cheat is in order, because she has decided that we cannot lose a single conference game. Not one. We must make the bowl game since it is in our "contract info" screen that the school wants us to make a bowl game.

We use the "Trip" cheat which improves the DB's chances of jamming the opposing WR at the line of scrimmage. Therefore, my normal mix of zone and man defense is out the window, as there really isn't much jamming in a zone. We use cover 2 man mostly for the rest of the game to increase the chances even more of jamming the Mocs receivers at the line.

Our first drive is a good one as well, and McMullen completes a nice 18 yard score to WR Henry Fitzpatrick to tie things at 7. UTC then gets killed by INT's, no doubt facilitated by the cheat. The rest of the game is pretty much a walk, as UTC either throws us a pick, or is generally unable to drive because of our blanket coverage. An easy win after an early wake-up call.

Stats
Time of possession:
FU 13:32, UTC 6:28

Passing
McMullen - 11/18, 200 yds., 4 TD/0 INT (player of game)
Walter Green, UTC - 10/21, 222 yds., 1 TD/3 INT

Rushing
UTC - 8/(-20)
FU - 24/76
Newman 15 rush/58 yards (also 2 rec. for 20 yards and 1 TD)

WR Fitzpatrick also had 4 catches for 106 yards and 2 TD.

Win, 28-10,
Record: 4-2, 1-0

[Butter]

Week 7, #75
@ East Tennessee St. (0-5, #106)

The Bucs play in a weird dome/fieldhouse looking place. It's very generic looking, it actually looks somewhat like a barn. Going to the actual ETSU web site reveals that the place is actually called the Mini-Dome. Perhaps an evil offshoot of the Carrier Dome?

The Bucs start off also with an early TD and lead 7-0. I urge MB to wait on using a cheat, as it often takes me a bit to get warmed up, especially to teams that throw a lot.

Good thing we did, as ETSU presents us with little resistance after their first drive. We win easily, taking our conference record to 2-0. MB is starting to warm up to how to handle the play calling for this team, and is using play action much more effectively now than she was at the beginning. She is also realizing that there really aren't any safe money plays that can be used over and over and that variety is very important.

Stats
Time of possession:
FU 14:11, UTC 5:49

Sacks
FU 5, UTC 1

Rushing
FU 28/127, UTC 12/(-29)
Newman 15/57, 1 TD
Rodriguez 6/26, 2 TD (player of game)
McMullen 5/34 (scrambling effectively against the weak pass rush)

McMullen also went 10/20, 133 yards, 0 TD/2 INT in the air. ETSU had just 88 passing yards, and were just awful all day.

Win, 24-7
Record: 5-2, 2-0

[Butter]

Week 8, #67
@ The Citadel, (3-3, #91)

This is the best conference team we've faced so far, and as such MB decides to use the Butter Fingers cheat (increasing likelihood of opponent fumbles).

Finding all of their balls greased, The Citadel has trouble getting anything going, fumbling the ball 7 times and losing 2. We absolutely annihilate the Citadel, as their defense is worn down by having to defend against us so often. Another easy win.

Stats
Rushing
FU 21/114, Cit. 20/40
Newman 12/76
Rodriguez 5/31, 2 TD

McMullen also went 7/15, 118 yards, 2 TD/0 INT

Win, 45-8
Record 6-2, 3-0

[Butter]

Week 9, #64
@ Western Carolina (1-6, 1-1, #93)

Let me just say that WCU has the worst logo in the game. Don't believe me? Look it up next time you're in there. The logo is nowhere to be found on their website, or I would provide it for you. They wised up whenever they decided to erase it from their memory. Their helmets are pretty dreadful too.

We have no problems of any sort with Western. We put up nearly 400 yards of offense, and with 5 minute quarters, that's a good bit. MB mixes it up well, and gets Newman a 100-yard game.

Stats
Rushing
FU 26/130, WCU 11/(-5)
Newman - 20/115/3 TD (player of game)

QB play
McMullen - 12/20, 241 yards, 1 TD/1 INT
John Tate, WCU - 9/22, 209 yds., 1 TD/2 INT

Win, 35-14
Record 7-2, 4-0

[Butter]

Week 10, #55
v. Appalachian State (1-7, 1-2, #117)

ASU puts up a pretty good fight, but their offense is horrid. MB mixes up the play calling and we eventually break through and win with ease. App. St. gets some points back late, but not nearly enough as we win our 5th conference game in a row.

Stats
Rushing
ASU - 19/0, FU - 23/125
Newman - 13/95, 1 TD
Rodriguez - 4/26

McMullen was 8/22, 125 yards, 1 TD/2 INT
ASU had 83 total yards.

Win, 30-15
Record 8-2, 5-0

With that win, we clinch a share of the SoCon title, as Georgia Southern just lost their 2nd conference game, and we have just 2 conference games to play.

[Butter]

Week 11, #52
v. Wofford (2-7, 2-2, #114)

This conference is cupcake city, baby. What did I really expect, though, since we all came from I-AA?

Wofford did a pretty good job, but we overpowered them towards the end of the game. At this point, MB's play calling follows a pretty standard pattern, but it works fine against these patsies. The real test will come against non-conference opponents and in the bowl game we've gotten into here at the end of the season.

Stats
Rushing
Wofford - 24/66, Furman - 24/159
Newman - 20/162, 2 TD (player of game)
Rodriguez - 3/8, 1 TD

Passing
Bobby Tyson, Wofford - 3/14, 80 yds., 1 TD/1 INT
McMullen - 7/15, 102 yards, 0/0

Newman also had 1 catch for 28 yards, 1 kickoff return for 22 yards, and 3 punt returns for 69 yards for a grand total of 281 all-purpose yards. He was also the SoCon player of the week.

Win, 21-7
Record: 9-2, 6-0

With the win, we have clinched a spot in the New Orleans Bowl. You know, the one nobody watches that's the first bowl of the year that North Texas keeps making it into with a 6-6 record? Yeah, that one. A C-USA team will be our foe.

[Butter]

Week 12, #37
v. Georgia Southern (7-4, 4-2, #37)

MB is determined we will be unbeaten in the conference. As such we use the Butter Fingers, Molasses (causes extreme fatigue for opponents), and Diesel (causes you to be able to break tackles easier) cheats.

Georgia Southern's first possession, they break a 42 yard run for a TD right up the middle. Yikes. Their option attack worked really well to open up the game. But then...

We rammed the ball down their throats with the Diesel cheat. That cheat is especially effective. Amazingly, MB started the game throwing a lot. That got us nowhere, and it was 7-7 after each team had the ball twice. Why are you throwing when you used the break tackles cheat, for God's sakes? Luckily, she soon saw the success involved in running the ball, and we did that almost exclusively the rest of the game.

The Eagles were no match, and we run the conference table!

Stats
Rushing
GSU - 19/88, FU - 37/329
Newman - 15/151, 2 TD
Rodriguez - 15/132, 3 TD (player of game)
Carter (3rd string HB) - 5/43, 2 TD

Passing
GSU QB - 5/10, 63 yards, 0/0
McMullen - 1/8, 19 yards, 0/1

Georgia Southern lost 4 fumbles in the game, and we capitalized big time. Those cheats just killed any chance they would've had, and judging by that opening drive, they would've had a good chance.

Win, 56-7
Record: 10-2, 7-0

[Butter]

Turns out we'll be facing Southern Mississippi in the New Orleans Bowl. The Eagles finished up 8-4, ranked #52 in the nation. We finished just out of the rankings, at #28, but could bust in there with a win.

The bowl game is essentially a formality, as MB is anxiously awaiting the job offer we're sure to get. Even the coaching info screen says "Furman fans hope you stay through the inevitable job offers" or something like that.

But here's the worst part: Notre Dame just finished it's season. They went 0-12. That's right, Notre Dame went 0-12. I mentioned it to her, and she went "Oh, really" in a way that tells me she might be interested.

No, dammit! Anyone but Notre Dame! I'll shuck corn in Nebraska and vote Tom Osborne for Senate all day long! I'll ride in the Boomer Schooner all around Norman! I'll dress up like Sebastian the Ibis and pull apart my beak to the camera!

I'm really worried now, although I think she warmed to the idea of staying with Furman for a while longer to try and get them invited to a conference.

Next up: bowl games, the season ends, and job offers/recruiting (eek).

[Butter]

Bowl game, #28
v. Southern Miss. (8-4, #52)

MB decides to lay on 3 cheats for this one: Butter Fingers (which apparently you get infinitely for achieving EA Sports Bio Level 2), Jumbalaya (which awards your team points if your players get injured), and Instant Freplay (which gives you 5 downs instead of 4... Bill McCartney would approve).

It's at this point that I lose interest in playing the game. It's fun, but I know we're going to win. That's just too much for the opposition to overcome.

I plan to talk to MB about limiting ourselves to one cheat per game, and maybe only using ButterFingers once a year. It's getting old.

We annihilate USM thanks to their 4 lost fumbles.

Stats
Rushing
USM - 15/36, FU - 24/126
Newman - 10/36
Rodriguez - 10/75

Passing
McMullen - 12/31, 173 yds., 2 TD/2 INT
USM QB Mark Chatfield - 6/11, 105 yards, 0/0

Win, 30-0
Record: 11-2

[Butter]

2005 wrapup

So, we finally end the season, and are ranked #23. Ohio State beats Miami in the title game, and finishes #1. Here are the final rankings based on the Coaches Poll:

1. Ohio St.
2. Maryland
3. Michigan
4. Miami
5. Oklahoma
6. Auburn
7. Oregon
8. Florida St.
9. UCLA
10. Colorado St.
11. NC State
12. Colorado
13. USC
14. Air Force
15. TCU
16. Fresno St.
17. Washington
18. Georgia
19. Kansas St.
20. Texas
21. Wisconsin
22. Alabama
23. Furman
24. Arkansas
25. Tennessee

Luckily, we are not offered another job, but Furman offers us a 6 year contract, which we happily accept. For fun, MB saves the dynasty under a different name, and selects "find new job". Turns out that Notre Dame isn't hiring anyway, but everyone else in our conference is offering a contract. Along with about 40 other schools who would be willing to hire us. No matter, we're sticking with Furman for a while longer. Good news also, in that our prestige has improved to 2 stars, putting us with Georgia Southern and The Citadel as the only 2 star schools in the SoCon.

2005 statistics
Unfortunately, it's kind of pointless to compare our stats to other teams since we play only 5 minute quarters. But, here are the individual stats.

Passing
QB Eric McMullen - 117/244, 1,900 yards, 15 TD/15 INT, 121.4 rating, 13 sacks, 48% comp. pct.

Rushing
HB Stephen Newman - 180 rushes, 1134 yards, 13 TD, 6.3 ypc, 60 long
HB Erik Rodriguez - 59/389, 8 TD, 6.5 ypc, 41 long
FB Chris Gatlin - 27/106, 3 TD, 3.9 ypc, 18 long
HB Carter - 10/64, 4 TD (3rd string)
QB McMullen - 39/36 (mostly sack yardage taking away from his miniscule scrambling numbers)

Receiving
WR #42 - 25 rec., 284 yds, 0 TD, 23 long
WR Henry Fitzpatrick - 21/394, 6 TD, 55 long
WR Kyle Horton - 20/466, 3 TD, 47 long
HB Newman - 18/201, 3 TD, 28 long
TE Matt Merritt - 15/259, 2 TD, 45 long

Blocking
T Levi Whitley - 34 pancakes, 2 sacks allowed
RG #73 - 20 pancakes, 3 sacks all.
G Best - 17 pancakes, 4 sacks all.
G Hubert McCloud - 11 pancakes
C #55 - 11 pancakes

Defense
MLB Kwame Sterling - 47 tkl. (6 for loss), 2 sacks, 1 INT, 6 forced fumbles
FS Ben Ali - 42 tkl. (2 TFL), 1 sk., 2 INT
OLB Wendell Rowe - 40 tkl. (5 TFL), 1 sack
SS Khary Hedgecock - 37 tkl. (6 TFL), 1 sk., 3 INT
DE Curtis Smith - 30 tkl., 8 TFL, 4 sk., 4 FF
CB #6 - 28 tkl. (19 TFL), 15 sk.
CB Jax Hutchins - 21 tkl., 4 INT

Kicking
K Ben Bryant - 8/9 FG, 48 long, 52/52 XP
P Rick White - 23 punts, 37.0 avg., long - 49, 10 inside 20, net avg. 31.7

[tucker342]

wow, I never knew cheats were so effictive.... maybe it's time to limit the amount you can do

Great job on the great season

[Butter]

2006 recruiting

We enter the recruiting phase with 575 points to spend, another 225 point increase. This time, we find lots of 4 star folks interested in us, and at least 1 blue chip who has us in his top 3 (actually #1).

Our needs are: 2 WR, 2 T, 1 C, 3 DT, 2 OLB, 3 CB, 1 SS.

I also wouldn't mind picking up a QB with more than a 51 speed rating (which is what McMullen has).

Here are our results, with their initial roster rating at the end:

5 star recruits
-#5 DT Michael Pitts, FL - 83
-#4 DE Spencer Briggs, GA - 76
-#3 CB Ben Greer, GA - 79

4 star recruits
-#17 DT Deron Harden, MD - 75
-#23 WR Levi Smalley, SC - 76
-#23 OLB Jose Fields, FL - 76
-#9 SS Antwaun Caldwell, FL - 77
-#28 WR Zeke Ewing, FL - 70
-#23 CB Stanford Gray, FL - 77
-#20 DT Shayne Adams, OH - 80
-#29 CB Vincent Boyle, TX - 77
-#17 CB Jafar Mayes, LA - 77
-#16 DT Sheldon Anthony, SC - 74

3 star recruits
-#20 MLB Jed Booth, FL - 67
-#49 T Emmitt Rollins, FL - 68
-#36 MLB Jermaine Stuart, SC - 65

2 star recruits
-#47 C Chris McNeil, NJ - 69

1 star recruits
-#116 QB Jake Knight, FL - 61

We basically got the QB because he had decent speed. But after we talked to him (he naturally signed immediately), we noticed that his arm strength was actually a full letter grade lower than what was scouted (B+---->C+). This makes him our 3rd string QB for sure, and a probable candidate to be cut later.

This recruiting class is rated 4th in the nation, mostly thanks to the sheer numbers of folks we brought in. Fresno State, oddly enough, was #1, TCU #2, and Florida St. #3. Of the top 4, we had the fewest blue chips (3 compared to 2 5's and a 6).

Our roster is now increasingly bottom heavy.... we'll have just 3 seniors on the roster for the 2006 season. We now have 50 kids under scholarship, and will only have 8 spots available to fill in 2007 (the 5 up to the limit of 55, and the 3 departing seniors). Sadly, we will still have 25 scholarships to offer, so picking and choosing will become a major priority next year.

So, with no one to cut, we now move on to scheduling and the season.

Luckily, I was able to convince MB late last night that we should try to limit ourselves to 1 cheat per game. She seemed amenable to that, thankfully. She also seemed open to scheduling at least one top-25 school, and we will also likely schedule Clemson, if available. So, hopefully, we will have a good indicator of where we are with our non-conference schedule, because the great majority of our conference schedule will likely be a cakewalk.

[Butter]

Originally posted by tucker342
wow, I never knew cheats were so effictive.... maybe it's time to limit the amount you can do

Great job on the great season

It definitely is time to limit them. I don't want to use them at all, but every time I bring that up, I get a look as sharp as a Ginsu knife from MB that tells me not to bring it up any more.

[Butter]

2006 schedule
Well, MB is going all out and scheduling tough in the early going. Here it is:

@ Clemson
@ Arkansas
v. South Carolina
@ Ohio St.
v. TCU
@ Chattanooga
v. East Tenn. St.
v. The Citadel
v. Western Carolina
@ Appalachian St.
@ Wofford
@ Georgia Southern

Preseason, we're rated #45, and picked to win the SoCon.
Preseason SoCon poll
1. Furman
2. Citadel
3. Georgia Southern
4. ETSU
5. Wofford
6. W. Carolina
7. Appalachian St.
8. Chattanooga

National Preseason Top 10
1. Ohio St.
2. Miami
3. Michigan
4. Oklahoma
5. Florida St.
6. Maryland
7. Auburn
8. USC
9. NC State
10. Texas

Ohio State is #1 and on our schedule. TCU is also preseason #18, and Arkansas is preseason #15 on the sked. Clemson and South Carolina are ranked around where we are preseason, but they are the 2 big in-state schools to compete with.

This should be interesting.

[Butter]

2006 season start
Game 1, #45
@ Clemson (#43)

Playing Clemson at the home of The Rock is a tough task. But with the "Get a Grip" cheat promising an increased chance of interceptions, we hope that gives us the edge we need to pull it out.

Clemson's QB is able to make mincemeat out of the secondary on the first drive, going 69 yards in 8 plays, and finishing it with a 4 yard option keeper. Our first drive was magic: 1 play, 67 yards, as Stephen Newman apparently surprised Clemson with his speed, turning the corner on a simple I-formation counter lead play, and we're all tied at 7. The teams then traded interceptions and TD's, and with :25 left in the half, we get the ball around the 30. We're able to get to midfield with about 10 seconds left, and try a hail mary. Shockingly, it works, as Kyle Horton is wide open... and I mean 3 yards behind the defense open somehow, and we score on a hail mary to end the half, and lead at the break 21-14.

Again, we trade TD's to open the second half, and it is 28-21 Furman heading into the 4th quarter. The 4th quarter is surprisingly enough a defensive struggle. We're able to control the ball, but have to punt it away with under 30 seconds to go. Clemson starts at their own 11, and only works its way to the 30 with 15 seconds to go. Then, sitting in the prevent, Clemson's QB hits FS Ben Ali with a bad throw, and a couple of nifty moves later, the Paladins are celebrating a 14 point win at one of the great stadiums in college football!

Stats
Rushing
FU - 19/112, CU - 18/49
Newman - 15/126, 2 TD

Passing
McMullen - 14/22, 238 yds., 1 TD/2 INT (besides the picks which were mostly me trying to force a ball in, he had a really excellent day, on target almost every time)
CU QB #15 - 8/19, 126 yds., 1 TD/4 INT

Other
WR Kyle Horton - 5 rec., 107 yds., 1 TD
Each team had 4 turnovers, we had 2 fumbles lost in addition to McMullen's 2 picks.

Win, 35-21
Record: 1-0

We move up to #42 with the win, but next face #15 Arkansas on the road.... toughest game yet.

[tucker342]

That game against Ohio State should be interesting

[General Mike]

good dynasty. Keep up the good work.

[Butter]

I haven't forgotten about this one, and will be updating it over the next few days. Interesting developments, indeed.

[Butter]

Game 2, #42
@ Arkansas (#15)

We use the Blink cheat for this game, which causes the ref to spot the ball short for the opponent. We'll see if it helps.

This one was entertaining throughout, but mistake-laden. Arkansas coughed the ball up 4 times, and threw a pick, while McMullen fired 3 INT's for the Paladins. It was tight the whole way, but came down to the final drive. Arkansas kicked off after scoring the go ahead TD to take a 14-10 lead with about 2 minutes left. Stanford Gray takes the kick and returns it 49 yards to midfield to set us up nicely. Unfortunately, our first 3 downs are crap, and we're set with a 4th and 10. MB decides to go for it, figuring we need to take it now or forget it, despite having all 3 timeouts left.

The 4th down pass by McMullen was complete to freshman Levi Smalley, who takes the ball all the way to the 14 yard line. We run run run from that point, and Stephen Newman busts a 4 yard TD run with just :16 to play that gives us the win. A great game.

Stats
Rushing
Ark. - 17/45, FU - 19/41
Newman - 16/68, 2 TD

Passing
McMullen - 12/30, 162 yds., 3 INT
Ark. QB #19 - 6/14, 149 yds., 1 TD/1 INT

Receiving
Horton - 3 rec./21 yds.
Ewing - 3 rec./51 yds.
Fitzpatrick - 3 rec./31 yds.
Smalley - 1 rec./36 yds.

CB Vincent Boyle had 3 tackles, 2 sacks, and 2 forced fumbles to earn player of the game.

Win, 17-14
Record: 2-0

With this win, we enter the polls at #21, while Arkansas drops just behind us to #22.

[Butter]

Game 3, #21
v. South Carolina (1-0, #35)

MB is burning to be the instate champ., and can take the title with a win over the Gamecocks. She decides to choose the Hurricane cheat this time, which provides a superior pass rush.

Wow, South Carolina's defense just could not stop Newman at all. Even so, their timely passing kept them in it until late, when Newman punched in a 3 yard TD run on 4th and 1 with 1:04 left.

This Newman kid is good.

The cheat didn't help much, allowing us only 3 sacks on the day.

Stats
Rushing
USC - 21/36, FU - 28/259
Newman - 20/272, 3 TD
USC HB #31 - 10/49

Passing
McMullen - 5/10, 43 yds.
USC QB #12 - 9/13, 201 yds., 2 TD

This was officially a "great game" with a score of just 355.

Win, 24-17
Record: 3-0

[Butter]

Game 4, #18
@ Ohio State (1-0, #1)

We use the Cuffed cheat tonight, one of the better cheats that prevents you from turning the ball over. Ohio State has won 26 games in a row, a streak we hope to end.

Newman is really proving to be a difference maker in the backfield. McMullen is a pretty average starting QB, but having Newman's speed back there is impressive.

OSU failed to recognize his speed prior to the game, and after the Bucks went up 7-0, Newman announced his presence by taking the first handoff he got on a simple counter play, getting to the sideline, and going 77 yards for a touchdown!

The Bucks couldn't move the ball much the rest of the game, but neither could we. After a poor punt, we were able to get a short Newman TD right before the half to lead 14-7 at the break.

OSU's struggles continued into the 2nd half, and the Bucks got the ball deep in their own half with under 2 minutes to go and the score still at 14-7, Paladins.

Sadly for the Bucks, QB Justin Zwick decides at this moment to become wholly unable to tell the difference between Red and White. With 1:45 to go, he fires the ball into the flat, where Vincent Boyle retrieves it and goes 34 yards for a TD. Then, just as OSU seems set to close it to 7 and set up an onside-kick miracle, Zwick fires one to CB Jafar Mayes who makes a couple of nice moves and returns his pick 90 yards for a score.

We beat the #1 team in the nation in what appeared to be a rout. It wasn't easy, but maybe our 4th year in I-A is our year of destiny.

Stats
Rushing
FU - 23/131, OSU - 14/21
Newman - 22/129, 2 TD
OSU RB Victor Henderson - 6/16 (He was preseason 2nd team All-American)

Passing
McMullen - 8/22, 99 yds.
Zwick - 9/28, 210 yds., 1 TD/2 INT

Other
3rd down conversions:
OSU - 2/11, FU - 5/11
Henry Fitzpatrick - 4 rec., 62 yds.
OLB Jamie Pears - 3 tkl., 2 sacks
SS Antwaun Caldwell - 4 pass deflections

Win, 28-7
Record: 4-0

[Butter]

Game 5, #9
v. TCU (2-1, #15)

We fall back on the ol' Butter Fingers cheat for this one... fumble, you Horned Frog bastards, fumble!

They oblige, coughing it up 4 times, but we recover only 1. Their QB terrorizes us all day. A TCU 89 yard INT return at 1:08 of the 2nd quarter puts us behind 14-0, and MB is starting to twitch a little bit.

We are able to pull off a nice 2 minute drill, and close the half with a TD to tighten things to 14-7. Luckily for us, TCU has no rushing game to speak of to fall back on. They only try to run it 8 times all day, and lose 11 yards at that. Their first drive of the 2nd half ends on a 3 and out, and the punt to Stanford Gray is returned 64 yards for a score! Beautiful wall was formed, and Gray just outruns everyone. TCU gets that 7 points right back, but then Gray hits again, this time for a 94 yard kickoff return for a score... It's 21-21, and our defense has been on the field for the entire half to this point. As such, TCU is able to hit us again, taking a 28-21 lead. Finally, we get the ball and trade FG's with TCU which takes us midway into the 4th quarter, trailing 31-24.

Our next possession finds an unlikely hero, as QB Eric McMullen somehow drags his lead-lined shoes outside on a 3rd and 12, and scampers 31 yards inside the 15 to set up our game tying TD with 2:18 to play. TCU's ensuing possession finds us recovering that one fumble, and freshman DT Michael Pitts rumbles 15 yards for the game winning touchdown.

Another game, another escape. The tough part of the schedule is over, and Furman goes 5-0!

Stats
Rushing
TCU - 8/(-11), FU - 32/149
Newman - 23/123, 2 TD
Rodriguez - 4/24, 1 TD

Passing
McMullen - 9/22, 172 yds., 1 INT
TCU QB Errick Alexander - 15/26, 244 yds., 1 TD/1 INT
Fitzpatrick - 5 rec., 76 yds.
Ewing - 3 rec., 87 yds.

Another great game, this time the score was 294.

Win, 38-31
Record: 5-0

[Butter]

Conference schedule

We could go through each and every game, but frankly, we're eons better than anyone else in the league, so why bother? We had no problems whatsoever with anyone. MB could call just about anything, and we'd be fine. The drama was negligible. She groans anytime anyone scores, so that really didn't change. The woman just likes blowouts, and lots of them. I vow that if we get through this season, either next year will be challenging, or we'll be trying a different kind of dynasty, perhaps coaching head to head.

The real drama was where would we finish in the BCS, and could Newman get enough yards to garner Heisman consideration.

Let's take a look:

Game 6, #8 @ Chattanooga (1-4, #112)
Win, 52-0
Newman - 18/112, 2 TD

Game 7, #8 v. East Tennessee St. (0-4, #115)
Win, 56-7
Newman - 25/197, 4 TD, appears on Heisman Watch list at #5, with 1,027 yards and 15 TD on season so far.

Game 8. #4 v. The Citadel (5-1, 2-0, #54)
Win, 38-21
Newman - 28/164, 3 TD, made Heisman and Player of the Week SI covers.

Game 9, #4 v. Western Carolina (1-7, 1-2, #116)
Win, 35-6
Newman - 21/271, 3 TD - up to 2nd in Heisman voting, makes Maxwell and Best RB semifinalist lists.
CB Vincent Boyle is also a semifinalist for Bednarik and Thorpe awards, and we make it as a best coach candidate.

Game 10, #4 @ Appalachian St. (2-6, 2-1, #111)
Win, 38-0
Newman - 20/141, 3 TD, up to #1 in Heisman with 1,603 yards.

We move up to #2 in the BCS and #3 in the rankings with #1 Miami's loss to Virginia Tech, 31-30. Problems may still arise, though, as #3 in the BCS Oklahoma is less than one tenth of a point behind us, and our schedule strength will only get worse while theirs will likely improve. BCS #1 is Michigan, but they still have #5 Ohio St. to face.

Game 11, #3 @ Wofford (5-4, 3-1, #71)
Win, 24-0
Newman - 17/54, 1 TD - Newman hurts his hand in this game, and misses the 4th quarter. Wofford did well against him all game, and drops him in the Heisman race to 3rd.

Game 12, #3 @ Georgia Southern (6-5, 2-4, #81)
Win, 45-7
Newman does bolster himself with 166 yards and 3 TD's here, but doesn't quite get the Heisman.
He does, however, earn:
Best RB
Maxwell Award
Named 1st Team All American

He finishes third in the Heisman voting behind HB #33 from NC State, and HB #38 from Colorado St.

CB Vincent Boyle is named freshman and 1st team All-American.
CB Stanford Gray is named 2nd team All-American.
We also win Coach of the Year.

The last game of the season pushes us up to #1 in the BCS, 0.04 points ahead of Oklahoma. That's because Michigan lost to Ohio St., 38-27. However, Oklahoma beats #10 K-State in the Big 12 Title Game, and inches ahead of us to finish #1 in the BCS.

No matter, as we make it to the title game to battle Oklahoma. This year's national title game is the Fiesta Bowl.

[Butter]

Fiesta Bowl, #2
v. Oklahoma (13-0, #1)

MB decides to break out the Diesel cheat for this game, perhaps the best cheat of them all, because it makes your offensive player very hard to tackle. She also decides that since it is the national championship game, we should go ahead and use 1st and 15 for good measure, requiring Oklahoma to get 15 yards for each first down.

It didn't matter. Oklahoma's QB throws 4 INT's, and we had no problems whatsoever in this one. Halftime score was 38-7. Newman wore them down over the course of the game, and dominated. McMullen didn't complete many, but still had 3 well-timed touchdowns.

The entire second half was a coronation ceremony. We just pounded the ball at the Sooners, and took home the Sears Trophy.

Newman gets 134 yards, and finishes less than a hundred yards shy of 2,000 for the year. He led the nation in rushing.

Win, 45-7
Finish 14-0, Ranked #1

A satisfying win, to some extent, but I have a lot more qualms about our win than MB does. I want a real challenge, and a real championship. She just wants to win, regardless.

Our 2 styles complement each other well, I guess, but there are still times we clash, like over when to throw. I needle her about running the same plays constantly. There are literally entire pages of the playbook that she just skips over like they aren't there. Like screen passes. We threw one all year. It went for 13 yards. She still never used it again. Good hook patterns were also ignored. She doesn't like using toss plays, or rollout passes. She also doesn't like using play action in short yardage situations. I moan every time she passes up a play I like in favor of the 300th draw of the year.

But, in the end... she's the coach. That's what I signed up for. That's what I got.

And, after all, we did win the national title, voodoo trickery or not.

Now comes the interesting part. Where will this dynasty go next?

[Butter]

After the season, we are offered NC State's head coaching position. They finished 8-4 on the year, and won the Peach Bowl. Still, MB turns it down, still hoping to get Furman into a power conference.

As the screen rolls to recruiting, I give Mrs. Butter an ultimatum:

Either we toughen this thing up, or we're out of here. 2 choices:
1. We jump to a light Heisman setting.

OR

2. We strictly limit ourselves to 1 cheat per game, including national title games, AND we use the same settings as my Rice dynasty (which is pretty difficult, but still on All American).

Either we do one of these two things, or I'm outta here, and she can do things however she wants.

She says she'll think about it.

We'll soon see what happens.

[tucker342]

Congrats!

But lets hope she accepts your offers to make it a little tougher

[Butter]

Move on to the next part of the dynasty here.