Poking Through To The Top: Wyoming Cowboys (NCAA 10, PS3)

[Young Drachma]

I've been trying to come up with a sustainable college football dynasty for a bit and nothing seems to hold my attention for very long. Let's see if I can work one now. Here's the premise:


Members of the Wyoming Legislature, watching the success of Boise State and TCU in the WAC and on the heels of their invitation to the Big XII, decide that if Boise State can succeed at the FBS level, that Wyoming should dedicate its resources to success at the major college football level.

After spending millions to add luxury boxes to War Memorial Stadium and a new indoor practice facility, state officials worked together to create a one-tax "civic severance surcharge" for mineral extraction that would be used to fund a new stadium. Sinclair Oil Company pledged $20 million to the project and in exchange, will receive naming rights to the new stadium that was built across the street from the current football stadium and was demolished (for parking) after the new field was built.

The new stadium, still officially known as War Memorial Stadium (The sign says "Sinclair presents War Memorial Stadium") seats over 80,000 or more people than Wyoming's largest city at the time it was built. But a funny thing happened on the way to the prom -- Wyoming grew.

Cheyenne, located just 90 minutes from Denver, became a haven after the recession for people looking to save money on the hiking taxes affecting Colorado, while having proximity to jobs in that state. Companies began moving north of the border to save money and the state's population -- still the nation's smallest -- grew to a new all-time high of over 614,133 people an increase of over 82,000 people in less than a decade, almost all but about 20,000 living in Cheyenne (with the rest relocating to Laramie)

As a result, the state officials felt more brazen to make their plan a reality. They hired former Texas Tech coach Mike Leach, who promised "to unleash hell on every opponent that challenges the Pokes."

The reputation of the program, however, still needed something of a makeover. They spend the next few years improving facilities, replaced the apartments by the stadium with new apartments that are mockingly called "Athletes Village" for the sheer number of athletes who live there, relative to other students. But no one really complains, as it appears there are breakthroughs happening in other aspects of the athletic program on campus.

The soccer team makes their first-ever NCAA appearance. The women's basketball team shocks the world and makes the NCAA Final Four, before losing to Rutgers in a close game. Mike Leach, having assumed the mantle of "highest public employee" in the state of Wyoming is a fan favorite, for his fly-off-the-handle personality doesn't grate many in a state where few mind a bit of animation.

This culminates with the start of the "breakthrough" season. We're assuming the groundwork has been done to make all of this happen, the new stadium is built too. But now there need to be some results on the field, after a few bowl wins, have fans thinking of whispers of BCS bowl games and other such things that were fantasies less than a decade ago.

CREATING A PERMANENT REVENUE SOURCE

While taxing mineral money was a controversial move, the close relationship that lobbyists share with state legislators in the state made the one-time move possible. It was not, however, going to create a permanent endowment from which football would thrive.

State officials, sensing an opening took the popular sentiment of a state lottery and convinced conservative, but football loving state legislators to vote for a state scratchoff lottery to support "education".

But the proceeds actually go to a newly created "Wyoming Education Fund" which is run by famous Wyoming boost Pete "Buzz" Fahlmer, who had full discretion on where to allocate the funds. In a wink-wink deal, it was agreed the endowment would support college sports in Wyoming, under the notion that it would save taxpayers money that could be diverted to other educational endeavors and would make college sports self-supporting through lottery proceeds.

As a result, this gave UW officials a lot more to work with and they set out on a plan to dominate college football.

THE SETUP

Here are the conference changes I made. I tried to keep it to a minimum on purpose. The only created school is Wyoming, in that, I gave them a new stadium and replaced their personnel with a spread-friendly team to befit their new coach. Their stadium is actually Clemson's Memorial Stadium, because the scoreboard has Memorial Stadium on it and it's big enough that I wouldn't want to replace it halfway through the dynasty. The field is Wyoming's real one though, so that's nice.

Anyway, conference changes:

BIG XII
Boise State (North)
TCU (South)

WAC
UNLV
San Diego State
Baylor

MWC
Nevada
Colorado
Fresno State

I'm going to simulate the first five years into the future on purpose, because I want to make sure there are no real life players left in the game. But we can assume, for these purposes already, that we're a few years into the future. I won't be doing any recruiting or anything. Just pushing the "sim regular season" button, same for the post-season and I'll let you know they do each year, what bowl they make if they make one, how that went and that's it. Then it'll slow down later or maybe not. I haven't decided how I'll report games since I'm so bad at it, but I'll figure out a way to let you know what's going on once I start playing.

[Young Drachma]

Coach Leach has the faithful getting fired up.

SEASON ONE: A NEW ERA BEGINS
Coach Leach wanted to get the fan base riled up, but also wanted to ensure the team didn't get pummled out of the starting gate. He broke the contract of an FCS game and replaced it, opening week with a road game at Washington. Not exactly a juggernaut, but a strong showing there could get people talking.

Here's the rest of the schedule for Year 1:

WEEK 1: @ Washington
WEEK 2: WISCONSIN
WEEK 3: @ Boise State
WEEK 4: COLORADO
WEEK 5: @ Navy
WEEK 6: NEW MEXICO
WEEK 7: @ Air Force
WEEK 8: BYE
WEEK 9: @ Utah
WEEK 10: BYU
WEEK 11: @ Fresno State
WEEK 12: NEVADA
WEEK 13: @ Colorado State

[Young Drachma]

Here are the results from Season One.

WEEK 1: @ Washington W 48-16
WEEK 2: WISCONSIN W 27-17
WEEK 3: @ Boise State W 38-7
WEEK 4: COLORADO W 41-9
WEEK 5: @ Navy W 41-14
WEEK 6: NEW MEXICO W 59-15
WEEK 7: @ Air Force W 35-3
WEEK 8: BYE
WEEK 9: @ Utah W 56-33
WEEK 10: BYU W 51-14
WEEK 11: @ Fresno State W 42-16
WEEK 12: NEVADA W 34-7
WEEK 13: @ Colorado State W 66-3

Here are the results from Season 1. The team messed around and put itself into BCS title contention. I don't know if that's a function of a weak college football landscape or what. But nonetheless, the Pokes were headed to a major bowl for the first time since the 1976 Fiesta Bowl.

If there was ever a year for a split national title, this would probably be the one for it.

"We surpassed our own expectations and yet, we know going into this year, with the talent we had we could play with anyone in the country," said Coach Leach about his squad. Despite that, recruiting came pretty hard and no 4 or 5 star players signed with the program in spite of their success. Still, Leach says, the program is excited about what's to come, "When you have a chance to break through and create history, you have to be excited."

With Conference Championship week here, the Pokes sit and wait, realizing what is about to happen. "I don't know that anyone really expected this so quickly," said UW President Trent G. Simpson. "We can't wait to go along for the ride. It's just the start of much success on our gridiron," he said.

If there is some team you'd like to follow up on, do let me know, of course and I'll weave their updates in as I go along.

Here are the conference championship games:

ACC: #17 Florida State (8-4) v. #20 Virginia Tech (9-3)
SEC: #11 Alabama (9-3) v. #3 Florida (11-1)
C-USA: Central Florida (9-3) v. #24 Houston (10-2)
BIG 12: #8 Nebraska (10-2) v. #2 Oklahoma (11-1)
MAC: Kent State (8-4) v. Central Michigan (11-1)

[Young Drachma]

Here's Wyoming's previous bowl history:

1950 Gator Bowl: Washington & Lee (W, 20-7)
1955 Sun Bowl: Texas Tech (W, 21-14)
1958 Sun Bowl: Hardin-Simmons (W, 14-6)
1966 Sun Bowl: Florida State (W, 28-20)
1967 Sugar Bowl: LSU (L, 30-12)
1976 Fiesta Bowl: Oklahoma (L, 41-7)
1987 Holiday Bowl: Iowa (L 20-19)
1988 Holiday Bowl: Oklahoma State (L, 62-14)
1990 Copper Bowl: California (L, 17-15)
1993 Copper Bowl: Kansas State (L, 52-17)
2004 Las Vegas Bowl: UCLA (W, 24-21)
2009 New Mexico Bowl: Fresno State (W, 35-28 2 OT)

[Young Drachma]

SEASON 1 BOWL RESULTS:

#2 Oklahoma beat #1 Wyoming 36-12 in the National Championship game.

Let's head to Season #2

[Young Drachma]

Here's the Season 2 schedule. Mike Leach signed a six-year extension with the Pokes, but few think that he's going to last even half of that time. Leach, for his part, says he's committed to seeing the job through. "I came here to get this school in prime position to be one of the best programs in the nation. Why would I want to leave? This is where I want to be," he said.

Wyoming was ranked #4 in the pre-season

Week 1: @ Washington
WEEK 2: @ #5 Texas
WEEK 3: CINCINNATI
WEEK 4: COLORADO
WEEK 5: @ #25 Ole Miss
WEEK 6: NEVADA
WEEK 7: NEW MEXICO
WEEK 8: @ Colorado State
WEEK 9: BYE
WEEK 10: @ Utah
WEEK 11: BYU
WEEK 12: @ Fresno State
WEEK 13: @ Air Force

That's the end of that Washington series. That second game should've been in Laramie, but sleight of hand must've made it a road one. Oh well. The Ole Miss game was a one-time deal, whereas the Texas series still has two more games on it, with one of them in Laramie. The rest of the non-conference for future seasons isn't quite set yet. One thing at a time tho...

[Young Drachma]

Here's the Season 2 results, with the final regular season record of each team (for context...)

WEEK 1: @ Washington (8-4) W, 51-27
WEEK 2: @ #5 Texas (7-5) W, 38-10
WEEK 3: CINCINNATI (5-7) W, 56-10
WEEK 4: COLORADO (10-2) W, 51-3
WEEK 5: @ #25 Ole Miss (7-5) W, 45-16
WEEK 6: NEVADA (6-6) W, 48-7
WEEK 7: NEW MEXICO (2-10) W, 51-3
WEEK 8: @ Colorado State (3-9) W, 42-7
WEEK 9: BYE
WEEK 10: @ Utah (7-5) W, 45-7
WEEK 11: BYU (3-9) W, 41-7
WEEK 12: @ Fresno State (7-5) W, 38-13
WEEK 13: @ Air Force (6-6) W, 41-0

A second straight undefeated regular season and the rumblings are increasing that Leach is all but gone. No one can peg where he'd end up, though, but the deals are supposedly all about him heading the NFL, where it's said that no less than four teams are interested in the offensive guru.

Meanwhile, the National Championship game is set:

#1 Boise State (13-0) v. #2 Wyoming (12-0)

Somewhere, a loyalist is rolling over in his major conference bed. Boise State beat Oklahoma (for the 2nd time this year) 44-34 to finish the regular season undefeated, proving they have the goods to hang with the big boys in the Big XII.

I wish I weren't simming, I'd actually play this game to see how it turns out, but I won't. No playing for me until Year 5. Let's see how it goes.

[Young Drachma]

LEACH TO LEAVE WYOMING, TAKE JOB AS HEAD COACH OF ARIZONA CARDINALS

As expected, Wyoming Cowboys football head coach Mike Leach has accepted an offer by the Arizona Cardinals to become their new head football coach. Wyoming officials were informed of the decision just four days before the team is to take the field for the National Championship game against Boise State (what some are calling the first-ever national championship that the nation won't watch...or "The Flyover Bowl.")

Leach, for his part, has not made any comments related to his tenure at Wyoming. Fans are torn, half are livid and the other half understand "that's how they do things here in the big time."

No names have been mentioned as possible replacements for the job, as of yet, but Leach is expected to coach the team in the National Championship game and no press conference has been scheduled in Arizona to announce his taking the new job.

[Young Drachma]

SEASON 2 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

Wyoming 52, Boise State 20


With the funnels of money being poured into the program, state officials are no doubt thrilled at their experiment's success. Yet, many are wondering whether this "fluke" national championship against a "lesser" team, some pundits are saying will result in a bid to a larger conference. Others are saying the Mountain West remains the school's best shot at winning consistently.

Here's the Coaches Top 25 after the bowl games:
1. Wyoming 13-0 (61)
2. Rutgers (11-2)
3. Miami (10-3)
4. Boise State (13-1)
5. Ohio State 11-2)
6. Oklahoma (12-2)
7. Nebraska (11-2)
8. Texas A&M (11-2)
9. Alabama (11-3)
10. North Carolina (10-3)
11. Georgia Tech (11-3)
12. Iowa (10-3)
13. Texas (8-5)
14. UCF (12-2)
15. Virginia Tech (10-3)
16. Clemson (9-4)
17. USC (9-4)
18. Arizona (9-4)
19. Colorado (10-3)
20. Michigan (9-4)
21. Houston (10-3)
22. Purdue (9-4)
23. West Virginia (9-4)
24. Maryland (9-4)
25. Tulsa (10-3)

[Young Drachma]

BYU coach Mendehall hired for Wyoming job

LARAMIE - BYU Coach Bronco Mendenhall has been hired as the 33rd coach in the history of Wyoming Cowboys football. Hiring the coach of a rival isn't something that happens often, but when the job opened up, Wyoming officials were convinced they wanted someone who was committed to Wyoming and building a program that was one of the best in the nation.

Apparently, they found their man in Mendenhall. The 46-year old head coach spent from 2005 to last year at BYU, a program that hasn't been as lucky with the recent ascendence of Wyoming and the addition of other programs to the re-energized Mountain West.

Some have criticized the move, saying a bigger name coach would've been better and that hiring a coach coming off a 3-9 season in your own conference is poor form. But Wyoming officials defended the move. "We believe he's the right man for our program. His work has been demonstrated at a high level for years now and we recognize that he's a talent. He wowed us in interviews and proved this was a place he wanted to be. We're delighted to have him," said Wyoming athletic director D.C. Morris.

Mendenhall will end up saving Wyoming quite a bit of money. The deal with Leach was reportedly worth $3.5 million, largely comprised of other income and deferred compensation on a base salary of $1.5 million. But his buyout paid for by the Cardinals will pay for Mendenhall's total compensation package of $2.1 million, making him the highest paid coach in the Mountain West conference and it's that financials played a part in the deal and that UW officials didn't want to be seen paying a coach more than they paid Leach.

Here's the Season 3 schedule:

WEEK 1: PITTSBURGH
WEEK 2: BYE
WEEK 3: @ TCU
WEEK 4: #10 NEBRASKA
WEEK 5: @ Colorado
WEEK 6: @ Nevada
WEEK 7: @ New Mexico
WEEK 8: COLORADO STATE
WEEK 9: BYE
WEEK 10: UTAH
WEEK 11: @ BYU
WEEK 12: FRESNO STATE
WEEK 13: AIR FORCE
WEEK 14: @ Kansas State

[Young Drachma]

WYOMING FANS ASK, ARE WE THERE YET?

After what appears to be a third straight national championship appearance, the university and its fans across the state are wondering what they have to do to get respect nationally.

"We're just as competitive as these schools they say are better than us, why not give us our due," said one superfan name Beth Grigsby from Wheatland.

Yet, college football fans from Gainsville to Norman, look at the accomplishments of the Cowboys of the Mountain West, as a sign the system needs an overhaul.

"Who do they really play? In that league? Anyone could go undefeated," said an ACC fan of Georgia Tech, hailing from outside Atlanta.

Those who thought the Pokes would miss a beat after losing their coach were sadly disappointed to see the team was somewhat more dominant this year under new coach Bronco Mendenhall than in year's past, as he installed a modified offense that deviated from what Leach built, yet still stayed true to the spread roots of the offense.

"Wyoming has a high-flying, high octane offense. No one can stop us, so don't get mad because we beat up on your favorite team," said one fan who didn't give us his name.

Here's the Season 3 results

WEEK 1: PITTSBURGH (2-10) W, 45-17
WEEK 2: BYE
WEEK 3: @ TCU (5-7) W, 52-7
WEEK 4: #10 NEBRASKA (7-5) W, 42-16
WEEK 5: @ Colorado (11-1) W, 38-14
WEEK 6: @ Nevada (7-5) W, 48-14
WEEK 7: @ New Mexico (5-7) W, 48-24
WEEK 8: COLORADO STATE (3-9) W, 59-14
WEEK 9: BYE
WEEK 10: UTAH (6-6) w, 38-14
WEEK 11: @ BYU (3-9) w, 62-28
WEEK 12: FRESNO STATE (3-9) W, 63-17
WEEK 13: AIR FORCE (5-7) w, 41-10
WEEK 14: @ Kansas State (7-5) w, 28-16

After a third straight MWC title and appearance in the national title game, the real question is, will another conference be interested in the boys from 7200 feet?

SEASON 3 BOWL: NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
#1 Wyoming (12-0) v. #2 Cincinnati (11-1)

It's unlikely that even if Wyoming manages to beat Cincinnati that they'll silence critics, since the school has yet to beat a traditional power school in a title game despite this being their third appearance.

"They had their chance and lost to Oklahoma two years ago. Bad! They're just not that good. Sure, they get lucky and get there, but they're just not as good as the other teams," said a Texas Longhorns fan.

Nonetheless, Wyoming fans will take a national championship, given their investment in the sport has taken on a life of its own. "I buy four Pokes scratchoffs a week. Gotta support the team," said a single mother from Gillette.

Another year, another chance to prove the doubters wrong. Or to keep them quiet. Or maybe, to keep their fans cheering.

[Young Drachma]

SEASON 3 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Wyoming (13-0) 51, Cincinnati (11-2) 27

Back to back titles for the Pokes and the state is in a frenzy!

Here's the final AP Top 25
1. Wyoming (65) (13-0)
2. Miami (12-2)
3. Texas A&M (12-2)
4. Cincinnati (11-2)
5. Penn State (10-3)
6. Oregon State (11-2)
7. Notre Dame (11-2)
8. Oklahoma (10-3)
9. Florida (11-3)
10. Boise State (12-2)
11. West Virginia (11-2)
12. Texas (10-3)
13. Colorado (11-2)
14. Alabama (10-3)
15. UCF (11-2)
16. Northwestern (10-3)
17. Ohio State (8-5)
18. Nebraska (8-5)
19. USF (9-4)
20. Oregon (9-4)
21. Oklahoma State (8-5)
22. Navy (9-4)
23. USC (9-4)
24. Georgia Tech (7-6)
25. Maryland (10-4)

[bbgunn]

That is quite amazing. Go Pokes!

Would it be possible to weave in some Hawaii updates every now and then?

Good read, by the way. Very nice. Imagine what Wyoming will do when you actually get involved in the games.

[Young Drachma]

WYOMING FACES TOUGHEST TEST YET...STAYING ON TOP

The different between the past and now is, people expect to debate the merits of Wyoming and how it shouldn't be ranked anywhere. This year will be the hardest for the Pokes to stay atop the mantle. The schedule won't be any easier, either. A road game at Texas starts the year and could easily be their first regular season loss in four years. Few are expecting the Cowboys to keep up their streak into this year and even coach Bronco Mendenhall is dampening expectations.

"College football is competitive. Some teams are up, others are down. We've been fortunate here the past few years, but that came from a lot of hard work. We're preparing, we're confident and believe we'll have another strong year of Wyoming football. We're not going to believe anything else and nothing I've seen tells me otherwise. But winning national championships isn't something you get for showing up, you have to earn them and a lot of people are lining up to kick us down from where we are. We've got to work twice as hard as everyone else. We're not going to stop, either."

Here's the season 4 schedule. I take over next year. Finally. So far, it still has my attention too. Mostly because now I have to keep them good and the players that were good are mostly gone and the recruiting classes haven't really been that great, at all.

Anyway, schedule.

WEEK 1: @ #6 Texas
WEEK 2: NEW MEXICO
WEEK 3: #10 OREGON STATE
WEEK 4: @ Utah
WEEK 5: IDAHO
WEEK 6: BYU
WEEK 7: BYE
WEEK 8: @ Fresno State
WEEK 9: @ Colorado State
WEEK 10: NEVADA
WEEK 11: #21 COLORADO
WEEK 12: @ Air Force
WEEK 13: #14 FLORIDA STATE

Next year, Texas comes to Laramie. It was a 2 for 1 deal. I'd be shocked if we made it out of that one alive. We'll probably lose 2 or 3 games this year. I hope no more than that, but we'll see, because we surely won't be better next year since I can't do any recruiting, though it's easier now I imagine than when we started.

Party time.

[Young Drachma]

As fun as it is seeing them rack up wins in the Mountain West and win improbable national titles, I am dreading the move to the Big XII, if we manage to get an invite. That's going to be brutal. I'm just wondering if it'll be possible to recruit at a level that'll enable us to stay competitive. I mean, we have a prestige/pedigree now, so it'll be easier than it would've been had I started from scratch.

Anyway, that's why I put the Idaho game in there. I wanted a gimmie, rather than doing the minefield schedule that we normally have. If you have someone you want us to play, let me know and I'll get them on the schedule too, especially since I'll be in the cockpit after this season sims.

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by bbgunn

That is quite amazing. Go Pokes!

Would it be possible to weave in some Hawaii updates every now and then?

Good read, by the way. Very nice. Imagine what Wyoming will do when you actually get involved in the games.

Right now, according to the pre-conference title game bowl projections, they're slated to play in the International Bowl against 7-5 Bowling Green. They went 6-6 this year (4-4 in the WAC) and they played a pretty tough schedule I think overall, though they lost ugly WAC games to bad teams.

Here's their schedule and results for Season 4

@ BYU (3-9) (W, 33-17)
@ Illinois (7-5) (L 34-13)
LOUISIANA TECH (11-1) (L, 20-16)
SAN JOSE STATE (2-10) (L, 20-13)
@ San Diego State (5-7) (L, 47-41)
@ UNLV (4-8) (L, 36-16)
BAYLOR (6-6) (W, 27-20, OT)
@ New Mexico State (7-5) (W 38-24)
IDAHO (5-7) (W, 37-20)
VIRGINIA TECH (8-4) (W, 28-23)
@ Utah State (4-8) (W, 32-0)
@ Georgia Tech (7-5) (L, 24-3)

[Young Drachma]

WEEK 1: @ #6 Texas (10-2) L, 24-13
WEEK 2: NEW MEXICO (5-7) W, 43-17
WEEK 3: #10 OREGON STATE (8-4) W, 27-20 (OT)
WEEK 4: @ Utah (8-4) W, 34-13
WEEK 5: IDAHO (5-7) W, 44-3
WEEK 6: BYU (3-9) W, 37-13
WEEK 7: BYE
WEEK 8: @ Fresno State (4-8) W, 41-23
WEEK 9: @ Colorado State (4-8) W, 37-10
WEEK 10: NEVADA (7-5) W, 42-7
WEEK 11: #21 COLORADO (8-4) W, 31-6
WEEK 12: @ Air Force (5-7) W, 30-0
WEEK 13: #14 FLORIDA STATE (6-5) W, 48-17

Ok, so they surprised me. I expected Oregon State to be a loss and maybe Florida State and as it turns out, I was almost right about one and not close about the others. So the bowl picture for the Pokes goes like this. If #2 Texas A&M wins beats Nebraska (7-5), then they'll be in the national championship against Notre Dame (11-1) and it'll end the Wyoming streak of three straight national title games. We're slated right now to play Alabama in the Fiesta Bowl, but it'll all come down to the title games to see where it all ends up.

[Young Drachma]

SEASON FOUR BOWL GAME:
FIESTA BOWL: Wyoming (11-1) v. Alabama (11-1)

The national championship will be between Notre Dame (11-1) and Texas A&M (12-1)

Hawai'i accepted a bid to the International Bowl in Toronto where they'll be facing off against Western Michigan (7-5)

Rutgers (9-3) and Miami (10-3) will stage a Big East throwback game in the Orange Bowl this year, as the "interesting matchup worth mentioning" award.

[Young Drachma]

FIESTA BOWL: Wyoming 38, Alabama 23

Well, that's three bowl wins in a row and not a bad opponent to beat, either. I doubt, however, it'll silence the critics. Alabama offered Mendenhall the job, as did Oklahoma after the National championship. He declined.

National championship result: Texas A&M 28, Notre Dame 25 (OT)

[Young Drachma]

It is now Season Five and I will be taking over in earnest.

My first task was to convince three of my talented juniors to stay another year, including my Quarterback. All agreed to do so. That was a good first step to give me a bridge year to figure out who we have, etc., because I haven't looked at the roster since the first season, to be honest.

My recruiting tactics are usually the same every year:

1. fill needs.
2. find best available players.
3. you can never have too many top recruits, even if you don't know where to play them.

Lucky for me, Wyoming isn't a place that grows them on trees and as such, it won't ever be a situation here where we bring in "too" many talented players here.

In any case, I'm not sure I'll recap the recruiting process because it's tedious and kind of boring. I'll do a light showcase of who we have on the roster once the year starts, I guess. But that's about it. Gotta keep it moving...

[Young Drachma]

We had the #24 recruiting class in the nation in my first year of off-sseason recruiting. We do have some standouts at key positions and so, I guess if we're gonna do our thing, this is going to be the last year we get to do it, because after that, we'll certainly be rebuilding. This is the first class I get to shape entirely on my own, though, so I think I might fare better than the AI did.

As I did scheduling, I debated whether to make it as tough as I could or if I wanted to skate a bit, knowing an undefeated season would probably get us where we needed to be anyway.

In the end, I opted to keep it interesting and if we lose, well, we lose. Our team is pretty good and it might be fun to travel and see if we can hang. This year's schedule will test us from out of the gate:

SEASON FIVE SCHEDULE

WEEK 1: @ #5 USC
WEEK 2: vs. #1 TEXAS
WEEK 3: FRESNO STATE
WEEK 4: @ Nevada
WEEK 5: BYU
WEEK 6: BYE
WEEK 7: AIR FORCE
WEEK 8: @ New Mexico
WEEK 9: @ Colorado
WEEK 10: BYE
WEEK 11: UTAH
WEEK 12: #14 TENNESSEE
WEEK 13: COLORADO STATE
WEEK 14: @ #24 Georgia

So that's our schedule, that will indeed test our mettle out of the league, especially towards the end of the year, so I'll get to see what the boys are made of, from the start.

It's pretty important for us to get into a power conference soon, that was the stated goal of the project and one of the ways they sold it, is that it would help the academic side of things. It has to some degree, but the belief that Wyoming is on par with top institutions in some of the power leagues gives university officials the belief this path was the right one to take.

So we need to do our part on the field or else, people are going to raise hell, because there's no real turning back from where we are now, it's full steam ahead at this point and so, if we don't deliver, they'll find someone who does.

[bbgunn]

Originally Posted by Dark Cloud

Right now, according to the pre-conference title game bowl projections, they're slated to play in the International Bowl against 7-5 Bowling Green. They went 6-6 this year (4-4 in the WAC) and they played a pretty tough schedule I think overall, though they lost ugly WAC games to bad teams.

Here's their schedule and results for Season 4

Yikes, that was a tough schedule. Yet they still made it to a bowl. Thanks for the update!

[Young Drachma]

My first season at the helm. I've been acting more as a hybrid AD and assistant. Handling all of the recruiting (which I've never enjoyed in this version, but now I do, because I guess it's fun to see if you can keep a good program winning..) and then I set the sim strategy and let the AI handle the games, because frankly, I haven't had the time to play, but I'm curious to see how it all pans out.

So this might be my strategy for a while and I'll detail our recruiting process, which could be interesting. So with that, here are the results from our regular season.


SEASON FIVE SCHEDULE

WEEK 1: @ #5 USC (5-7) W, 27-3
WEEK 2: vs. #1 TEXAS (7-4) W, 24-0
WEEK 3: FRESNO STATE (7-5) W, 34-0
WEEK 4: @ Nevada (4-8) W, 45-0
WEEK 5: BYU (4-8) W, 49-32
WEEK 6: BYE
WEEK 7: AIR FORCE (5-7) W, 56-17
WEEK 8: @ New Mexico (3-9) W, 48-0
WEEK 9: @ Colorado (8-4) W, 41-7
WEEK 10: BYE
WEEK 11: UTAH (6-6) W, 38-3
WEEK 12: #14 TENNESSEE (9-3) W, 37-16
WEEK 13: COLORADO STATE (7-5) W, 45-24
WEEK 14: @ #24 Georgia (7-5) W, 41-20

Will this be the year we get a conference invite to another league? This is Bronco Mendenhall's second year and there are already bubblings that bigger schools -- like Oregon, USC and Washington -- are interested in hiring him from us. This would cause us some grief, as it's the second coach we've had in our major history and it shows that even titles can't keep someone in tow. But, the stability of the program regardless of who is in charge might be something that negates all of that, to a degree.

In any case, we're currently ranked #4 in the nation and we'll await the results of the championship games to see where we end up. The national title probably isn't going to happen, but anything is possible I guess.

Now, let's take a look at recruiting.

IN-SEASON RECRUITING, SEASON 5
The one good thing about me taking over, is that I've completely taken over recruiting. In the past, I've played games and let the AI handle it to my peril to a degree. But now, I've flipped the roles and it's seemed to have been a smart decision.

So here's our recruiting class after the end of in-season recruiting. We're currently the #3 rated recruiting class (Oklahoma, Texas, Wyoming, West Virginia, Notre Dame are the Top Five) in the nation. Their national rating at their position is listed next to their position.

1. ATH (#1) Robert Timmons (Salida, CO) 5-star
2. OLB (#1) Keith Anderson (Apple Valley, CA) 5-star
3. SS (#1) Steve Galloway (Pompano Beach, FL) 5-star
4. QB (#3) Isaiah Gold (Warrington, FL) 5-star
5. CB (#7) Dustin Rawlings (Orchard Mesa, CO) 4-star
6. WR (#13) Charles Booker (Cirtus Heights, CA) 4-star
7. OLB (#16) Ben Jackson (San Mateo, CA) 4-star
8. SS (#16) Jonathan McCoy (Evergreen, CO) 4-star
9. DE (#15) Brad Gray (Ennis, TX) 4-star
10. WR (#48) Timothy Dunn (Oceanside, CA) 3-star
11. G (#48) Tristan Bostic (Gardena, CA) 3-star

Here are the title games for this year:

ACC: #18 Florida State (8-4) v. #5 Virginia Tech (11-1)
SEC: #6 LSU (10-2) v. #3 Florida (12-0)
C-USA: #25 Houston (9-3) v. UCF (8-4)
BIG12: #11 Iowa State (10-2) v. #1 Oklahoma (12-0)
MAC: Central Michigan (9-3) v. Bowling Green (10-2)

[Young Drachma]

It seems unlikely that Florida and Oklahoma will lose, allowing us to leap frog our way into the title game. But maybe a good bowl win will give us a shot a split national title? Maybe?

Wyoming WR Brian Ivey won his second career Heisman trophy. He won it as a sophomore, as well. He's a senior and will be leaving, along with our QB Deonte Heard, a three-time All-American QB who came in 3rd in the Heisman voting.

Stat leaders for regular season:

PASSING: Deonte Heard (Sr.) 3873 yards passing, 42 TDs, 5 INTs (506 yards rushing, 7 TDs)
RUSHING: Bill Salyer (Sr.) 639 yards 8 TDs
RECEIVING: Brian Ivey (Sr.) 1947 yards receiving, 26 TDs
DEFENSIVE: Zach Walton (Jr.) 69 tackles, Patrick Bolden (So.) 11 TFL, 6 sacks, Tim Lewis (So.), Michael Turner (So.) 3 INTs

[Young Drachma]

HERE ARE THE SEASON FIVE BCS BOWL MATCHUPS
BCS Championship: #2 Oklahoma (13-0) v. #1 Florida (13-0)
Orange Bowl: #5 Virginia Tech (12-1) v. #8 Texas (7-4)
Fiesta Bowl: #7 UCLA (10-2) v. Cincinnati (7-5)
Sugar Bowl: #4 Wyoming (12-0) v. #9 West Virginia (10-2)
Rose Bowl: #6 Ohio State (11-1) v. #3 Oregon State (12-0)

It seems this year, as opposed to some of the others, more of the top teams decided to have undefeated seasons. They managed to recruit well and get themselves to where they needed to be. However, Cincinnati getting an at-large bid despite being unranked is just plum strange to me. Especially since Notre Dame is #14 and went 10-2. But in some ways, it's kinda funny. So we'll go with it.

[Young Drachma]

MENDENHALL SAID TO BE HEADING TO USC
For the second time in five years, Wyoming football is looking for a new head coach after Wyoming head coach Bronco Mendenhall, fresh off a 37-1 record in three years with the Pokes has decided to take a more lucrative offer with the Trojans. The rumor is the deal there is worth $5.5 million per year over five years, making him one of the highest paid coaches in college football.

Mendenhall, for his part, has had no comment. USC is coming off a 5-7 season, but recruits many of the same players that Mendenhall could attract to USC. It has been said that his wife wanted to be someplace warmer than Laramie and yearned for a larger city and that was the difference maker, in the end.

Wyoming officials have had no comment, but it is rumored that Wyoming Offensive Coordinator Brian Johnson, would coach the team in the Sugar Bowl. Johnson, 30, is credited with the development of Deonte Heard into a top-flight quarterback and has been rumored to be on the short list of a number of teams nationally.

[Young Drachma]

Wyoming 38, West Virginia 7.

Here's a recap of our bowl history since we arrived in Laramie, including this season:

2010 BCS National Championship: Oklahoma (L, 36-12)
2011 BCS National Championship: Boise State (W, 52-20)
2012 BCS National Championship: Cincinnati (W, 51-27)
2013 Fiesta Bowl: Alabama (W, 38-23)
2014 Sugar Bowl: West Virginia (W, 38-7)

Will this be the year that the Pokes make it into another conference? Negotiations are to say to have taken place, but no one has confirmed anything. One of the reasons Mendenhall is to said to have left, is felt it might be difficult to parlay the team's success over the past five years into a long-term legacy at Wyoming, despite the success in recruiting they've had. The money didn't hurt either.

[Young Drachma]

MENDENHALL HEADS WEST, JOHNSON PROMOTED
LARAMIE - Wyoming football today hired Offensive Coordinator and QB coach Brian Johnson as their new head coach, after Bronco Mendenhall took the job at USC. Johnson, 30, is the youngest coach in Wyoming history and will take over a program that he led to the Sugar Bowl.

"I'm proud to become the head coach here at the University of Wyoming. I'm looking forward to a long career here in this role, with many titles."

The hiring comes at a time when the program is actively lobbying for a bid to a new league, but none of the nearby conferences -- the PAC-10 or the Big 12 have express any interest in the small market program from Wyoming.

"It'll be difficult for them to leave where they are. If the MWC was a BCS league, then it'd be different and they've done their part to showcase it, but, it seems unlikely for that to happen right now," said one analyst who covers college football.

Despite winning two national titles and riding a four-game post-season winning streak, the program doesn't have the sort of cache that other leagues look for. Nonetheless, officials from the university and the state are working overtime to make the program attractive to conferences that might express interest.

[Young Drachma]

If you have schools you'd like to see me play in the OOC part of our schedule, let me know.

[Young Drachma]

I found some CPU/CPU sliders that I can use to sim out my games, so I'm going to start doing that, as it seems to be a good way to do it and I've come to enjoy it that way. Unless I schedule a game I just want to play, but...that doesn't happen all of the time.

We're now in the off-season. We did lose one underclassman, Junior WR Chance Austin, who was a JUCO player who only played for us for one year. He had 80 catches for 908 yards and 9 TDs on the year. With the WRs I've recruited and hope to bring in, this probably isn't that big a deal, but I still spent an hour (over three tries) attempting to convince him to stay. Oh well.

Next year should be a rebuilding year, because we're losing SO many seniors. Officially now there will be no one on the roster from our first season, so we're gradually ushering in a new era now. No transfers, of course, either.

My recruiting goal is to keep us in the Top 10 of classes. Again, I tend to recruit across the board for the best talent I can get, I'm not as married to finding players that only fit my system. So we'll see how off-season recruiting goes and report back.

[Young Drachma]

Here's the notable results from Off-season Recruiting:

12. G (#7) Josh Hairston (North Versailles, PA) 4-star
13. DT (#1) Andrew Coleman (Rocky River, OH) 5-star
14. HB (#2) Ryan Green (Ft. Leonard Wood, MO) JUCO 5-star
15. T (#15) Lorenzo Scott (La Habra, CA) 4-star
16. CB (#89) Charles Frederick (Boynton Beach, FL) 3-star
17. FS (#6) Ben Benson (Norwalk, CA) 4-star

In all, our class was 24 new players (the ones not listed are 3-star)

We have the #1 rated recruiting class in the nation, for the first-time ever. (6 5-star, 10 4-star, 8 3-star (6/10/8)

Here are the schools that round the Top 10
2. Oklahoma (6/10/7/1)
3. Florida (1/17/7/0)
4. Texas (6/5/9/1)
5. Notre Dame (3/12/6/3)
6. West Virginia (4/10/4/6)
7. USC (2/13/4/4)
8. Alabama (5/5/9/2)
9. Texas A&M (3/8/6/2)
10. Florida State (0/11/12/1)

Houston was the highest rated non-BCS conference school at #32 (0/2/13/5/2)

Hawaii was rated #101 (0/0/1/9/6)

[Young Drachma]

Human intervention was the key to that recruiting situation, because I can tell you that if we hadn't targeted the sort of talent I was looking for (as in, high stock players who'll agree to join us...) then we'd have problems. I also overshop, because lots of guys get cold feet on us towards the end (typical, but worse for a non-AQ school in Wyoming) and so, I try to make sure I can at least one or two of my targets at a particular position, etc.

Apparently, I have 90 players on my roster, so I'll need to do some pruning to get us down to 70.

[Young Drachma]

SEASON SIX SCHEDULE

Despite the fact that we have a young team in some key spots, our defense is old, experienced and I feel like we're not going to miss as much of a beat as I thought, because we still do have some key pieces around. So I decided to seek out a challenge for us and I think I've done that here. I tried to keep the opponents and the locations of the games, realistic to our circumstances (for instance, despite our pedigree of late, we're still heading to Ohio State and Auburn for road games to start the year and our OOC home games are Oregon State and Purdue.)

WEEK 1: @ #2 Ohio State
WEEK 2: @ #18 Auburn
WEEK 3: OPEN
WEEK 4: COLORADO
WEEK 5: OPEN
WEEK 6: NEVADA
WEEK 7: NEW MEXICO
WEEK 8: @ Colorado State
WEEK 9: OPEN
WEEK 10: @ Utah
WEEK 11: BYU
WEEK 12: @ Fresno State
WEEK 13: @ Air Force
WEEK 14: @ PURDUE
WEEK 15: @ #9 OREGON STATE

Those last two were supposed to be home games, but I accidentally made them road games. So we had 8 road games this year. Awesome.

[Young Drachma]

Here's the initial coaches poll for Season 6:

1. Florida (40)
2. Ohio State (21)
3. Oklahoma
4. Texas
5. Tennessee
6. Wyoming
7. Alabama
8. Notre Dame
9. Oregon State
10. LSU
11. Virginia Tech
12. Penn State
13. West Virginia
14. UCLA
15. Florida State
16. Oregon
17. Rutgers
18. Auburn
19. Boston College
20. Clemson
21. North Carolina
22. Baylor
23. Nebraska
24. Iowa
25. Georgia Tech

OTHERS: Texas A&M, Missouri, Georgia, Cincinnati, Iowa State, Houston, Maryland

[Young Drachma]

I'm going to try to do some previews of the bigger games, if I can sustain it. If not, just enjoy this one.

WEEK 1: WYOMING @ OHIO STATE
Despite our credentials as a mid-major power in college football, even with two national titles to our credit now, they're viewed largely as "fluke" titles in "weak" college football years and because of the teams we beat in those games and the knock on our squad is that we couldn't hang with the best of the best each week.

Getting Ohio State on the calendar wasn't an easy battle, but in the end, cooler heads prevailed and the Buckeyes decided to be the ones to beat the pretenders (that'd be us) into tomorrow.

tOSU is led by redshirt Sophomore quarterback John Duncan, who like our QB Jon Smith is a newb to the fray with barely any playing time prior to being thrust into the role of starter. That's the case for almost all of their key offensive players. The most experienced player on the offensive side of the ball are senior LT Dan Diggs, who is a pre-season All-American and senior LG Matt Murray.

Their best defensive player is junior MLB Kevin Rutledge who had 7 sacks last year and 87 tackles.

On the flip side, we boast senior HB Joe Powell who has played sparingly the past three years and senior WR J.J. Higdon who like him have played behind star players for three years and are now looking to stand out. Our All-American TE Jake Robinson is also a standout. Our defensive unit is largely full of experienced players, so that's where I think we'll be able to get this one over them, but it will not be easy or close by any stretch of the imagination.

This one should be a squeaker, but I won't predict a score. We'll just see how it pans out.

[Young Drachma]

Wyoming 42, Ohio State 21

It was 27-21 in the 4th Quarter with about 5 minutes to go, that's when Wyoming scored on their next two possessions to put it away for good. This was a good game, but I think we just had more weapons to work with and they didn't, especially as it relates to the ground game.

We had 416 yards of total offense compared to their 251, among those 216 of ours were rushing yards on 40 carries and 3 TDs on the ground. Which makes sense since both teams had rookie QBs behind center. We just had a senior HB to go with it, as well as a complement of other backs that we can work if we need to.

This was a good test for us and history has shown that teams can still end up making it into the title game if they have a loss. I don't think, however, that Ohio State is really thinking that despite their early ranking with the inexperience they're toting around. They'll get better, they're a good team. But thankfully, we were the better one this particular Saturday.

[Young Drachma]

Ohio State followed up the loss to us, with a FCS win and then a loss to 1-star Kent State at home. Those are their two losses this year. Us and Kent State. Woo.

[Young Drachma]

With two games to go before the conference title games, here's the Top 14 of the BCS standings. I'm only posting because the #2 team makes it a worthwhile post.

1. Wyoming (10-0)
2. Hawai'i (11-0)
3. Texas (10-1)
4. Oklahoma (10-1)
5. Penn State (9-1)
6. Oregon (8-2)
7. Alabama (9-2)
8. Houston (10-1)
9. USC (10-1)
10. West Virginia (9-2)
11. North Carolina (9-2)
12. USF (10-1)
13. Oregon State (7-3)
14. LSU (8-3)

USF was actually #1 last week until they lost to UConn (5-7) 13-3 at home. If Hawai'i beats Georgia Tech and we win our last two games against Purdue and then Oregon State, it's possible the national championship game will feature -- for the first time -- two teams from non-AQ conferences.

And if you were wondering, Hawai'i's schedule is pretty terrible and in real life, would sniff them nowhere near where they are now. I'm guessing the teams from the other leagues losing at all caused all of the problems for the AI. I'm fine with this.

So I guess we'll see. Georgia Tech is 5-6 and the game is in Hawaii. And they did beat Boise State this year, but Boise is 4-8, so I dunno if it's about how bad Boise is or how good Hawai'i is. I guess we'll find out.

[bbgunn]

Schedule, schmedule... Hawaii's number two! Thanks for the updates, by the way.

[Young Drachma]

Hawaii lost to Georgia Tech. Texas beat Oklahoma in the Big XII title game and so, the national title game this year is Texas v. Wyoming.

Here are the other BCS games for this year:

ORANGE BOWL: #13 Virginia Tech v. #5 Oregon
FIESTA BOWL: #3 Oklahoma v. #7 USF
SUGAR BOWL: #11 Florida v. #6 West Virginia
ROSE BOWL: #4 Penn State v. #12 USC

[Young Drachma]

I finally figured out how to take pictures again, so I'll start to do that in the coming season.

[Young Drachma]

2015 BCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Wyoming (12-0) v. Texas (12-1)

For the 3rd time in six years, Wyoming returns to the national title game. It's been three years though and the cast of characters they bring are a bit different than the last time you might have seen them. Texas is a tough test, certainly stronger than anyone on their '14 season schedule.

The Longhorns boast senior QB Willie Brooks, All-American junior HB Arthur Johnson and oh, did we mention a two-headed monster of top receivers in reigning Heisman winner WR Brett Harris (Jr.) and senior Trent Wade. Their TE Tyree Kemp is no slouch either.

Wyoming boasts the top defense in the nation and one of the most potent offfenses, Texas has a Top 10 offense and a defense that isn't too far behind. This will be a battle through and through, but for Wyoming to keep up, they'll have to play mistake-free football. They've proven they can do that when it counts, playing some critical games on the road and blitzing the competition, but this is only one game and there are no do-overs.

Prediction: Texas 34, Wyoming 28

[Young Drachma]

2015 BCS NATIONAL TITLE GAME HALFTIME REPORT
At halftime, the score is Wyoming 24, Texas 21. Wyoming kicked a field goal with less than 20 seconds left to go ahead.

This has been a close game so far, Wyoming leads on total offense 259-218 and neither team has had any turnovers. Wyoming's scores have been on the ground, Texas has done their work through the air, leading 178-85 in the passing angle. Texas QB Willie Brooks is 14-26 for 178 yards and 3 TDs in the first half, Wyoming's senior HB Joe Powell has 119 yards on 11 carries, while redshirt junior HB Jared Carr has punched in 2 TDs from short yardage for 26 yards on 3 carries.

The second half question will be whether either defense can stop the ability of both offenses to score with relative ease. If they do, then the game will slow down a bit and if not, it'll be a matter of who can put more points on the board.

The Wyoming offense is clicking. With the installation of a new coach, the team went to a new playbook and as such, we're running all sorts of crazy formations like the Wildcat, (called Wild Cowboy) and a bunch of other sets to keep the defense on its feet. It's a fun team to watch now, that's for sure and the personnel seem adapted to it as well.

[Young Drachma]

2015 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

Wyoming 52, Texas 31

The knock against Wyoming used to be, that they didn't beat anyone when they got to the national title game. Not anymore. Maybe chalk it up to familiarity with the Longhorns from their series home and away a few years ago. But no matter what, the Pokes came out in the second half with schemes galore that the Longhorns had never seen and couldn't replicate.

"Tip your hat to them," said Longhorns coach Major Applewhite, "they came out here with a gameplan and made us beat it. They truly can play with anyone in the country. We've never taken them for granted and have a lot of respect for that program. But all you can do tonight is tip your cap to the players and coaches from Wyoming. They played a great brand of football tonight. We're proud of our team."

[Young Drachma]

Here's the sum of our recruiting class for the upcoming year. I forgot to list it during the in-season phase. Not a bad class for us, though not the volume of last year, we managed to get some really talented skill players, that'll give us some real options as we head into the year:

1. SS (#2) Chris Atkins (Harrisville, RI) 5-star
2. WR (#66) James Bobo (La Puente, CA) 3-star
3. QB (#5) Stephen Young (Roma, TX) 5-star
4. QB (#3) Ron Jennings (San Luis Obispo, CA) 5-star
5. C (#9) Teddy Burns (Sugarland, TX) 4-star
6. OLB (#34) Caleb Fields (Pleasant View, UT) 3-star
7. DT (#1) Ray Kidd (Vernon, TX) 5-star
8. HB (#3) David Henderson (Torrington, CT) 5-star
9. CB (#48) Steve Blount (San Bruno, CA) 3-star
10. TE (#7) Willis Mays (Burleson, TX) 4-star
11. P (#8) Mike McKinney (Pottstown, PA) JUCO 4-star
12. MLB (#2) Adam Cole (Mcalester, OK) 5-star

Top 25 Recruiting Classes this year:
1. Notre Dame (5/10/9/0/1)
2. West Virginia (4/12/8/1/0)
3. Alabama (5/9/8/0/2)
4. Oklahoma (4/9/9/0/0)
5. Florida (2/10/13/0/0)
6. Ohio State (1/13/10/1/0)
7. Texas (3/7/12/1/0)
8. LSU (1/10/13/1/0)
9. Penn State (2/7/14/2/0)
10. Texas A&M (3/6/11/3/0)
11. Rutgers (1/11/7/5/0)
12. Tennessee (2/7/11/4/0)
13. Wyoming (6/3/5/0/0)
14. USC (0/11/10/0/0)
15. Florida State (0/10/11/0/0)
16. Michigan (0/10/7/7/0)
17. Georgia (0/9/12/1/0)
18. Auburn (0/11/7/1/3)
19. Virginia Tech (0/9/8/8/0)
20. Miami (1/4/15/5/0)
21. Clemson (0/4/18/3/0)
22. UCLA (0/4/16/1/1)
23. North Carolina (0/4/13/6/1)
24. Nebraska (0/5/13/2/1)
25. Oregon (0/6/5/14/0)

Houston is the highest rated non-AQ school after Wyoming at #37. Hawai'i is ranked #100.

[Terps]

Originally Posted by Dark Cloud

If you have schools you'd like to see me play in the OOC part of our schedule, let me know.

Schedule Maryland if you can, and some updates to what's going on with their program.

Good read, keep it up.

[Young Drachma]

WYOMING POISED FOR THREE STRAIGHT UNDEFEATED SEASONS?
As the stewards of the Mountain West Conference, the Wyoming Cowboys have established themselves as a force in college football, claiming three national titles over the past six years.

Yet, they remain in the Mountain West conference. Little they can do about this, of course, but it remains to be seen whether their success will induce other mid-majors to join the party.

Here's the pre-season Coaches Poll for the 2015 season:

1. Penn State (41)
2. Texas (20)
3. Florida
4. Wyoming
5. Oklahoma
6. LSU
7. USC
8. North Carolina
9. Alabama
10. Virginia
11. West Virginia
12. Tennessee
13. Oregon
14. USF
15. Notre Dame
16. Clemson
17. Arizona
18. Ohio State
19. Miami
20. Houston
21. Louisville
22. Hawai'i
23. Wisconsin
24. Illinois
25. Georgia Tech

Here is our schedule. The Notre Dame game was supposed to be a home game played at Mile High Stadium in Denver. But somehow it got swapped to a road game and the Hawaii game was supposed to be a road game. Dunno how these swaps happen, but I hate it.

2015 (SEASON 7) SCHEDULE

8/29: @ #15 Notre Dame
9/12: @ #20 Houston
9/25: @ Colorado
10/3: @ Nevada
10/10: @ New Mexico
10/17: COLORADO STATE
10/31: UTAH
11/5: @ BYU
11/14: FRESNO STATE
11/21: AIR FORCE
11/28: HAWAII
12/5: @ Arizona

[Young Drachma]

EA Sports: NCAA Football 10 Photo

EA Sports: NCAA Football 10 Photo

[Young Drachma]

#20 HAWAII (7-3) v. #1 WYOMING (10-0)

PREVIEW
Hawaii boasts the #12 pass offense in the nation and is #2 rush defense. Wyoming boasts the #1 rush defense and #3 pass defense and is #1 overall in the nation in total defense and 27th in total offense. The two teams are 3rd and 4th (Wyoming, Hawaii) respectively in scoring, so it should be an affair where the two teams light up the scoreboard, but one has to think the Wyoming defense should be too much for the Warriors.

We'll see, I guess. Highlights to follow after the game.

[Young Drachma]

Final Score: Wyoming 35, Hawaii 7

Here are some of the photo and video highlights of the game.

EA Sports: NCAA Football 10 Video

That's one of our wide receivers throwing that pass, by the way. The plan was executed correctly, but I actually called the wrong play. We don't normally run those kinds of plays, we only use those guys as decoys or on option plays. But oh well, at least it worked.




Our last game of the regular season is at Arizona. If you notice, I've altered our schedule the past few years to give us games during Week 14 and 15 rather than bunching all of our games up early in the year. It was hurting us with voters not to be playing and so, I figured it'd be a good idea to shift things a bit and it worked last year and I suspect it will again this year, so long as we don't lose to the Wildcats.