Billy Bullock: The Career

mtaystl03 · 09-22-2005, 01:15 AM

I have been absent for a while from FOFC and the dynasty realm. Well, I am back and this time I have dedicated myself. I wanted to start a dynasty like the one I did with "Five Great Players" that didn't quite make it past their sophomore years. The reason: It was just too much to digest. I started a new one with a running back named Billy Bullock, just one player this time. I decided to do the whole first season/recruiting stuff in Word to see how things went before I went along posting. Well, he is at his chosen school (don't want to give anything away) and has now begun his career. I will post quite a few updates right away to get things kicked off. I will then update live whenever possible. Obviously, I will be using the most up to date versions of both TCY and FOF. I hope you enjoy the life and times of Billy Bullock!

mtaystl03 · 09-22-2005, 01:16 AM

Meet Billy Bullock. He is a hard runner. He is from Wyncote, PA. He attends Cheltenham High School and he is looking for a place to continue his football career. He will play his senior season and field offers from many of the top programs in the country. Rivals.com ranks him as the #2 running back prospect in the nation. Here is the profile in the magazine.

“The cream of the crop in the running back department this season is Billy Bullock. Bullock is a smart, bruising back who knows what to do with the rock when handed to him. He will soon start fielding offers from the best schools in the nation and whoever is lucky enough to get him will benefit greatly. Bullock is from Wyncote, PA and attends Cheltenham High School, home of the Bobcats. At press time, just four games into his senior season, he has rushed 135 times for 1,002 yards and 14 scores. Yes, that is FOUR games! We could be looking at the next big thing. This kid is the real deal. He does it on the field and off, gaining a 4.00 GPA, a 1459 on his SAT and the heralds of all his teachers and administrators. He might be a little on the small side but he packs a punch. He stands at just 5-7 and 177 pounds.”

Those are high praises from a respected publication, but listen to what one scout from the University of Tennessee had to say: “This kid reminds me of Jim Brown. He runs with a purpose and knows how to play the game. No records are safe with this kid coming to town. Look out!”

Here is some more personal information about Billy: He is 18 years old and was born February 3, 1987. His parents are divorced but both still very active in his life. His father, Jim Bullock, is a firefighter and former football player himself. He went to Penn State and played fullback. He was hard-nosed and got a look from a couple professional teams but never made a roster. He is still bitter about that today and wants nothing more than to see his son succeed. His mother, Angela Robinson, is a kindergarten teacher in a nearby school district. She has raised her son on the importance of education; she wants nothing more than Billy to receive the best education he possibly can so that if football doesn’t work out, he will have something to fall back on. He spends almost all of his free time working on his game, in the weight room, doing drills, running, everything he can to give himself a competitive edge. He is considered by many to be too small, he wants nothing more than to prove them wrong. He lives in Wyncote, PA just outside of Philadelphia. Needless to say, he is a HUGE Eagles fan and his ultimate dream is do someday dawn that jersey. He will be rooting for the Eagles religiously and hopes to get to a game or two this season.

The divorce took place when Billy was a freshman at Cheltenham and it was a rough time for him. He was no doubt talented and made the varsity football team but had a mean streak that saw him get caught drinking, getting in fights and struggling in classes. He was naturally gifted and could get A’s on tests without even studying. He didn’t start his freshman year because he was stuck behind a talented running back named Mack McCormick who ended up going to Penn State. The two never got along. McCormick is red-shirting he junior year for the Nittany Lions due to some academic problems but still figures in their plans in the future. That may have a little something to do with Bullock’s choice to go to Penn State. He is a cocky player who thinks he will be the next Emmitt Smith, he is disgusted that Rivals ranked even one player ahead of him. That player is Leroy McCarthy from Muskegon, MI. Another goal added to the many Billy has placed on himself is to become better than Leroy in every facet of the game.

Bullock wants to stay close to home and would love to play for the beloved Nittany Lions but won’t commit to anywhere yet. He wants to keep his options open. He wants to win and wants to play football for a living. He doesn’t care about the academic prestige of any schools much to his mother’s dismay. When schools start approaching him, they better be smart, because chances are he will be doing most of the negotiating…

mtaystl03 · 09-22-2005, 01:18 AM

As his senior campaign rolls on he will start fielding offers from the top programs in the nation. The first school to call was one of the most prestigious in the nation, the University of Southern California Trojans. Bullock has thought about the dream of moving far away to the other coast to play for a team like USC, UCLA or even Cal, but he knows it’s a long shot. Anyway, the call from Pete Carroll was no surprise and it is the first of many. They talk for a while and Coach Carroll hints that he and an assistant coach are going to come to a game to watch. The fact that he would travel all the way across the country just to see him play does mean a lot.

As mentioned, Billy wants to stay close to home and here is a list of colleges in proximity to his home. He practically lives on the University of Temple campus but doesn’t envision playing for the Owls.

Temple (5 miles)
Rutgers (45)
Navy (106)
Army (107)
Maryland (122)
Penn State (151)
UConn (193)
Syracuse (215)
Virginia (231)
West Virginia (256)

Billy’s week five game in front of a packed house that included Mr. Pete Carroll saw him take over, carrying the ball (and the team) 36 times for 267 yards and 4 TDs. He also caught 5 passes for 68 more yards and another score. On defense he made 11 tackles from his safety position and recorded a half of a sack.

Here are his combined numbers from the first five games of his Senior year:

Code:

        
                    att.          yards          avg.          TD                              
Rushing:            171           1,269          7.42          18
                    rec.          yards          avg.          TD 
Receiving:          16            406            15.6          4              
                    tack          sacks          INT               
Defense:            42            2.5            2

No calls after this game but Coach Carroll was undoubtedly impressed with what he saw. He came into the locker room after the game and addressed the team for a nice performance and had a sit down with Billy, his parents and his coach. They talked for a while and it was productive. Coach Carroll said he would set aside a day for Billy to come visit the campus in Los Angeles, everybody said it wasn’t a sure thing but that he would definitely consider.

mtaystl03 · 09-22-2005, 01:24 AM

Things were going good for Billy. The media in Philadelphia was all over him, wanting pictures, interviews and all that fun stuff but it is the policy of the team and coaches that no player or coach should talk to the media more than once in a given week. Every once in a while, Billy is allowed to go on the radio and field questions from fans and he loves talking about the Eagles. When asked on a show once what he thought about the escalating situation in Eagles came with Donovan McNabb and Terrell Owens, he simply said this, “Hey. My goal is to someday be a teammate of both those guys so I don’t want to say anything that could get me in trouble already [laugh]. That is their business, they will work it out and the Eagles will be right back in the Super Bowl.”

Everybody knows that Billy isn’t anywhere near declaring where he wants to continue his career. They also know that he is focused on winning a state title and with the Bobcats sitting pretty at 5-0, he sees no reason why that can’t happen.

On a Wednesday night Billy received a call from Sports Illustrated who wanted to do a feature article on the top 10 players in the nation. He was supposed to answer some questions and pose for some pictures. He would do so later in the year. He was excited about the opportunity. The other players they would feature were:

Kent Ellison (G) – 6’4” 310 lbs. from Phoenix, AZ
B.J. Lovelace (T) – 6’2” 273 lbs. from Oak Harbor, WA
Leroy McCarthy (RB) – 5’11” 184 lbs. from Muskegon, MI (Billy’s new assumed rival)
Lance Hopper (QB) – 5”11” 184 lbs. from Bayou Le Batre, AL
Glenn Minnick (DE) – 6’0” 228 lbs. from Richmond, VA
Tim Anderson (ILB) – 6’1” 216 lbs. from Apple Valley, CA
Edgar Krug (QB) – 6’2” 204 lbs. from Austin, TX
Brenden Brandon (T) – 6’4” 277 lbs. from Laurel, DE
Christian Benson (OLB) 6’2” 227 lbs. from Ault, CO

Billy quickly became obsessed with the other players that would be featured with him. He couldn’t wait to read about himself in Sports Illustrated and follow where these other great players would go to school. He immediately thought about Ellison, Lovelace and Brandon all blocking for him someday.

nfg22 · 09-22-2005, 01:27 AM

liking it so far keep it up...

mtaystl03 · 09-22-2005, 01:32 AM

In week 6 the Bobcats suffered their first set back of the season. Things quickly came back to earth. Billy ran 33 times for 137 yards and 2 TD’s, his lowest output by far this season. He caught 4 passes for 64 yards and recorded 10 tackles and a sack on defense. After the game a newspaper reporter asked him if he felt that none of his teammates want to win as badly as he does. His response was professional: “Nope. Everybody sweats just as much as I do, they work just as hard and they are just as tired. We all want to win but tonight we ran into a good squad and they beat us. Simple as that.”

When Billy got home that night his dad was waiting for him in the kitchen of his mother’s home (his mom had full custody). He said that Frank Beamer from the University of Virginia Tech called earlier that day and wanted to approach him. He was excited, but he didn’t really want to talk about it. He hated losing that much. He didn’t feel right talking about where he was going to play next year after their hopes for state were all but dashed that very night.

His father told him that sometimes there are more important things and he didn’t want to hear any of that. He called some of the guys and met them at a local restaurant to hang out. He didn’t get to go out much and just hang with his buddies. He had a good time and realized that he should give Coach Beamer a call in the morning.

The Hokies wasted no time is offering him a campus visit. His mom liked the idea of him being closer to home (the USC talks were scaring her quite a bit). He liked the idea of playing for a team that recently has produced some great NFL players, the likes of Lee Suggs, Kevin Jones and Michael Vick. Beamer told him to think about coming up for a game and he could meet some of the guys. The word spread around Hokie country that they were talking to Billy and the watch was on. Now two major programs had made contact and invited him to visit their campuses. The hard part has just begun. He wanted to concentrate on his senior season and give everything he had to his teammates now, but with visits, calls, letters, interviews and the hoopla now surrounding him, he knew it would be tough.

He got good news when he watched the Eagles battle the hated New York Giants and come away with the victory 15-7 at home.

mtaystl03 · 09-22-2005, 01:32 AM

Thanks nfg!

mtaystl03 · 09-22-2005, 01:33 AM

The next big-time suitor to visit Billy was none other than Charlie Weis and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Billy knows all about Coach Weis from his days with the New England Patriots, winning all those rings, leading a great offense and he could only imagine the possibilities of playing for a guy like that. Coach Weis made a surprise visit to Cheltenham High School one Tuesday morning as the team had a bye week, Billy was well rested. The principal called over the loud speaker that Billy needed to some to the office, that he had a visitor. Coach Weis introduced himself, even though it wasn’t necessary and the short, stocky Bullock did the same. He informed Billy that he wants to see what he can do. They went out to the field after the school day completed and they had a personal workout in which Billy ran some sprints, caught some passes out of the backfield and some other scouting-type drills. Weis was no doubt impressed.

That night, they sat down for dinner. Coach explained to Billy, his mother, father and high school coach, John Robinson, that he is looking to rebuild the great tradition at Notre Dame. To do so, he needs to land quality kids like Billy. He needs guys that can cut it in the classroom and on the field. He saw Bullock as a guy that could fill those shoes and when he left for the night, he left a lasting impression on the whole family. Notre Dame immediately rose to the top of the list of candidates.

The Bobcats went back to work that week with a re-dedicated star. Billy Bullock was determined to win a state championship, no matter what it took. He rallied his teammates, got the team together and they knew they were following behind somebody special. Most of the team was taller than him, fewer were stronger, only one or two were as dedicated and none of them had the heart that Billy possessed. Nobody he ever played against on that high school football field had anywhere near the heart and love for the game.

On Friday night Billy and his band of Bobcats went out and destroyed their opponent. Billy was the focal point once again, carrying the ball 25 times for 186 yards (7.4 avg.) and three touchdowns. He added 7 more catches for 87 and another score. His six tackles in the secondary proved to be enough for Cheltenham to win and move to 6-1 on the season.

Unbeknownst to Billy, a special guest was in the crowd that night. He was actually sitting up in the press box because there was no way he would be able to be anywhere near the fans that filled Hubert J. Buckley Memorial Stadium that night. Joe Paterno would be mobbed by adoring fans. Screaming to him that he better keep that boy in state. Billy Bullock was born to be a Nittany Lion many believed. After that night, Coach Paterno thought the same thing.

That next day Billy read in the paper that Coach was at the game. He almost fell out of his chair. ‘How did they keep that from me?’ he thought. He knew he was coming over that day and it was soon becoming too much for him to handle. He was scared. This was the one coach that he thought could strike fear in him. The one man that could make him feel small. Just then, the doorbell rang.

Coach Paterno was smiling when Billy opened the door. Suddenly, the sight of him standing there eased his tension. He held out his hand and made sure the coach knew that it was his pleasure to meet him. Billy told him that he dreamed of dawning the navy and white since he was young but never thought it would be possible. After a nice lunch, Coach set up a visit and Billy didn’t hesitate. He accepted and would visit the Pennsylvania State University campus that next week.

First thing’s first, he had a couple tickets to the Philadelphia Eagles/Minnesota Vikings game and he wasn’t going to miss that for the world. He didn’t get to go to many games, his mother and father weren’t well off and he wasn’t stupid enough to accept gifts from alumni and boosters. He just wanted to go to the game with his dad and watch his favorite player, Donovan McNabb play the game. He saw a victory as the Eagles upended the Vikings 17-7. McNabb was 20-31 for 205 yards and two touchdowns in the game and the Eagles were 2-0. Life was good.

Teams interested in Billy:

mtaystl03 · 09-22-2005, 03:09 PM

Things were going good for Billy until he realized that he needed to get to work on his studies, while juggling interviews, practice, keeping in tip-top shape and talking to coaches every night. Sometimes he wanted to be just another player, getting a call every once in a while.

Let’s meet a couple of Billy’s better teammates who are being looked at by D-I schools.
His quarterback Chuck Guffey isn’t relied on much but is getting offers from Buffalo and UTEP. Mike Price was at a game and figured it would be a waste of time to talk to Billy but he liked what he saw in Guffey. Buffalo holds the upper hand right now as they have offered him a scholarship. The main man on the offensive line who opens the holes for Bullock is Tyrus Boland, one of Billy’s best friends since Pop Warner football. Billy is always quick to give credit to his teammates, especially Ty. He has received offers from Idaho and Louisiana Tech.

Billy continues his great play as he took 35 carries for 233 more yards, 2 more touchdowns and 5 catches for 108 yards. He had 5 tackles and a sack in the 2nd half. They were winning by so much that Coach decided to sit him on defense the second half to keep him from being overextended. The Bobcats once again jumped on Billy’s back and found themselves 6-1 and in the hunt for the playoffs.

Meanwhile, a couple more teams drew interest in Billy, Frank Solich called from Nebraska and the Bob Stoops (Oklahoma) visited the house. All this attention was bearing down on Billy pretty hard. He had a big test the next day but spent all night planning his visit to Penn State the next week. He started to wonder when this would all be over. He wants to win a state championship so bad and he feels like he is slating the team by worrying about his own situation more. Nobody else thinks that. They know Billy is the real deal and they just want him to succeed. More than anything they just want him to go to Penn State.

Next week would be a defining week. Coach Paterno decided to have Billy come up on Friday since the team didn’t play this week and he would meet the team and watch the game with Purdue. If he liked it there would be no doubt where he was going.

By the way, the Eagles won again. They are now 3-0 and McNabb and T.O. are doing just fine. They have hooked up 23 times for 324 yards but no touchdowns. Other NFL news: The inspired New Orleans Saints and new-look Oakland Raiders are also 3-0. The defending champs are also 2-0. Arizona Cardinals wide out Anquan Boldin and new QB Kurt Warner have been going off in the first three weeks. Despite an 0-3 record, Boldin already has 27 catches for 508 yards and 2 touchdowns. Warrick Dunn is off to a hot start in Atlanta. He leads the league with 382 yards and SIX touchdowns already.

Billy's Updated Choices:

mtaystl03 · 09-22-2005, 03:18 PM

Friday came along and with no game, the team was off practice and Billy got off school for an official visit to Penn State. He got there about 11 a.m. and was met by Coach Paterno, the offensive coordinator/running backs coach Galen Hall and recruiting coordinator Mike McQueary, who he had many conversations with on the phone. They immediately brought him to the dining hall where he was met by a few current players to help welcome him and show him around. He first met starting Senior starting QB Andy Pilgrim. Pilgrim is having a great season leading his team to a 5-0 record and a #8 ranking in the nation. This looked really good to Billy who wants to win a national championship. A couple other big-time recruits were on the trip with him. QB Kenneth Kerr from Horsham, PA and Hatboro-Horsham High School, one which was ranked just below Cheltenham in the state rankings. Kerr is ranked at #29 in the nation and the 6th best QB. Sammie Pleasant is a big offensive tackle from Goose Creek, SC. He is 6’6” 310 lbs and is considered in the top 5 offensive lineman available. Trent Crawford is a wide receiver from Ohio and is considering Penn State along with the likes of Oklahoma, Texas and USC.

He would stay with Pilgrim and spend most of his time with Aaron Neal, a sophomore wide receiver and Cole Collier, a junior defensive back. They would show him around and show him a good time. That night, they all just hung out as the team was preparing for a heated battle with Purdue the next day. They talked all night about how great it was to play there and how much respect they have for Coach Paterno and the entire coaching staff. Most importantly, they talked about how awesome it was to play in front of 107,282 screaming fans at Beaver Stadium every home game! He got along with all the other recruits pretty well. He developed a nice relationship with Kerr, who could soon become his biggest rival if they meet in the playoffs. Kerr was almost certain he was going to Penn State while the other two were open to anything. Kerr told all of them to just go to PSU and they would win a National Championship. They all kind of giggled but had he had serious look on his face.

Here is a look at Beaver Stadium on the campus of Penn State University:

The next day the team was off preparing and Billy went along to all the meetings. He spent the game on the sidelines away from the team but still getting an idea of what it would be like to play in that amazing atmosphere.

The game: #8 Penn State vs. Purdue University

Pilgrim threw an interception on the second play of the game but Purdue could only manage a field goal. Penalties got the best of the Nittany Lions offense on the second possession and they were forced to punt. The first play of the Boilermakers drive was intercepted and that was the first Billy heard the roar of the close to 110,000 fans inside Beaver Stadium! He was exhilarated.

Purdue seemed to come to play this day as they scored a touchdown to take an early 10-0 lead. Penn State drove down the field and got a field goal and then returned an interception for a TD later in the 2nd quarter. They place went nuts as it was tied at 10.

They then forced a safety to make it 12-10 but fumbled the kickoff to Purdue. An ugly game early on. The Boilermakers took that momentum and got a field goal and touchdown to make the score 20-12 at the half.
At half time nobody seemed worried. Billy liked that confidence. They just knew they needed to run the ball more effectively and protect Pilgrim who had been sacked five times in the game so far.

With 5 minutes left in the 3Q with both teams playing fairly even ball, they got another sack in the end-zone to draw it to 20-14. The Lions scored on the next possession to move it to 21-20. Things were looking good until a big play from Purdue tied the game at 28-28 late. Then with no time on the clock, the Boilers nailed a 49 yard field goal to win the game!

The crowd fell silent. The players hung their heads. Coach Paterno ran into the locker and proceeded to explain to the team what they needed to do from here on out to avoid something like that happening again. The players were crushed. It ended any hopes of a National Championship and they thought Billy would be turned off to Penn State. They were wrong.

mtaystl03 · 09-23-2005, 01:50 PM

Billy loved everything about the trip. He loved the guys, loved the atmosphere, loved the coaching staff, loved the campus and he knew he wanted to go there. He went home and told his dad that he was positive that he was going to go to Penn State. He was advised to look at the other schools but Billy was having none of that.

“I want to sign with them right now,” he said. His dad, knowing how stubborn his son was, sat back, smiled and said, “I always knew you would be a Lion.”

They called Coach Robinson at Cheltenham to let him know. He was surprised but relieved. He knew how important this high school season was to Billy and to get this out of the way was huge. They then called Mike McQueary, the recruiting coordinator to let him know. He was excited and told them to hang on the line and he would put them through directly to Coach Paterno. He was also thrilled to hear the news.

The biggest decision of his life was made in one visit. He wanted to announce it at the pep-rally before next Friday’s first district playoff at home. The announcement was made that he had made his decision and most people were able to put two and two together but others thought the tough loss that he witnessed turned him away.

Friday came along and the gym was packed with fans, students, media, cameras and everything that comes with the territory. He was focused on the game, he led the students in a cheer for Cheltenham but they all wanted to know where he was going. The place fell silent and he said with a crack in his voice, “I have decided to continue my football career at Penn State University and play for Coach Paterno!”

The place erupted. The media was all over him. They all quickly ran into the tunnel that led to the basketball locker rooms to take cover and the press was allowed in for a quick press conference. He fielded all of the general questions about what made him make the decision, and all those good things.

Billy couldn’t even remember what he said; he was so relieved to get that off his chest. He could now focus on winning a state championship.

Since Billy has made the decision to join the long list of great running backs to come out of Penn State including Curtis Enis, Ki-Jana Carter and most recently Larry Johnson of the Kansas City Chiefs. Enis and Salaam struggled in the NFL and right now L.J. is stuck behind a great back in Priest Holmes. Bullock wants to become the greatest back to ever put on a Nittany Lion uniform, but right now he wants to solidify his spot as Cheltenham’s best player ever. They recently announced they would retire his number 33 at the conclusion of the season.

Bullock ran behind Tyrus Boland who recently accepted an offer to attend the University of Idaho all the way to the state championship game! They would play against Kenneth Kerr and his Horsham Lions. Kerr hasn’t announced where he was going to school but every sign points towards Penn State. What a team those two could make in four years together.

Cheltenham QB Chuck Guffey also recently announced that he would play at Temple and the three D-I committees would battle for the game of their lives.

Pennsylvania High School D-5 State Championship game
To make a long story short we will skip ahead to the fourth quarter with :25 left on the clock and Horsham leading 33-28.

Bullock already has carried the ball 40 times for 321 yards and three touchdowns but fumbled on the goal line his last possession. Kerr was putting on a show, rushing for 124 yards and passing for 240 more with all four touchdowns scored (2 rush, 2 pass).

Cheltenham has possession on their own 45 yard line. Guffey has been shut down the whole game. They need to run the ball and only have one timeout remaining. They decide they will win or lose on their horse, Billy Bullock. The give is a counter-weak to the left side and Billy breaks through the line of scrimmage, he feels the adrenaline rushing through his veins, he breaks two more tackles and finds himself in the open field. The clock is ticking on his high school career and he wants nothing more than to punch the ball in the end zone. He out runs the last defender and at the last second he is tripped up by a last ditch effort from a retreating defensive back. Billy fell at the two-yard line. He was exhausted, couldn’t feel his legs, got up and the team got to the line. Guffey called the final time out with :08 on the clock. Everybody in the place knew who was going to get the ball. It was do or die.

This next play would live with Billy for the rest of his life. He knew that he needed to battle the elements, the fatigue. He remembered something his dad told him when he was young and has reiterated to him throughout his career: “Fatigue makes cowards of us all”. He didn’t want it to beat him.

Before he could gather himself, Guffey was handing him the ball with his eyes wide open, the student sections from both sides were clasping their hands together in hope. Bullock sees nothing, bounces to the outside. He uses his superior speed to get some room between him and the next defender, all of the sudden, a fellow Senior wide receiver named Mike Borsic came out of nowhere to level the last defender. Borsic played four years for Cheltenham but never got any respect. He was undersized, not too smart and possibly the least athletic kid on the team. That block sprung Bullock into the end-zone for the game-winning score. The team piled on. Billy didn’t even have time to react. Not that he could even catch his breath. He has accomplished the first major goal in his football career.

After the game the cameras were surrounding Billy and Guffey. Before he would even answer a question, he grabbed Borsic and made sure the cameras got a glipse of the man that made it happen. He said, “This is a team game, everybody needs to contribute and you all might have missed it at the time, but when you watch that play again you need to see what this guy did. He laid the best block in the history of high school football! He won us a State Championship!” Mike didn’t say a word. He was speechless. It was his 15 seconds of fame and Bullock could’ve taken all the credit, but that was the way he was.

Next up: A College Football National Championship.

mtaystl03 · 09-23-2005, 01:53 PM

College Football/NFL Seasons in Review:

The College Football season was dominated by two teams, USC and Oklahoma. There was little doubt throughout the season that these two powerhouses would meet in the National Championship game for the second strait year. Bob Stoops’ Sooners were led by QB Moe Greer who threw for 43 touchdowns compared to just 13 INT and 3,487 yards passing. A balanced rushing attack was led by Senior David Washington, who had 847 yards and 11 touchdowns. Pete Carroll’s Trojans were seeking the three-peat.

The Sooners came out and avenged last seasons loss with an impressive 28-3 victory and a perfect season! Their great Quarterback Moe Perry threw three touchdowns and no interceptions in the game.

Penn State beat Missouri in their bowl game in dominating fashion, 46-12. The Nittany Lions finished 9-3 on the season and a final ranking of #13.

Heisman Trophy Finalists:

Moe Perry, QB, OU (3,700 yards, 46 TD, 13 INT, 5 rush TD)
Hunter Glover, QB, ND (3,663 yards, 33 TD, 21 INT)
Terrell Fields, QB, UGA (3,107 yards, 25 TD, 6 INT)
Tommie Gibson, QB, Utah (2,644 yards, 25 TD, 6 INT, 6 rush TD)
Brandon Daniels, RB, WVU (2,001 rushing yards, 24 TD)

In a close race, OU’s Moe Perry wins the Heisman trophy with 118 votes. Terrell Fields was runner-up followed by Brandon Daniels, Tommie Gibson and Hunter Glover.

National Football League

The NFL season saw one of its legends solidify his spot among the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game. Brett Favre led the Green Bay Packers to the best overall record in the league (14-2) by throwing for 4,361 yards, second only to Peyton Manning, and 35 touchdowns, also second to Manning and Drew Brees’ 36. The thing that sets Favre apart from Manning this season was his just 10 interceptions giving him a 107.9 passer rating, the best in the league.

Michael Vick came of age for the Atlanta Falcons as he finally recorded his first truly breakout season. He threw for 3,700+ yards and 31 TD, compared to 11 INT! He also ran for 402 yards.

Another feel good story saw Carolina Panthers veteran running back Stephen Davis come back from serious knee surgery to lead the league in rushing with 1,603 yards and touchdowns with 16. Fred Taylor is another candidate for comeback player of the year, finishing second to Davis 1,581 yards and 10 scores.

Leonard Henry takes the cake for surprise player of the year, stepping up for the injured Curtis Martin and rushing for 1,392 yards, good enough for fifth in the NFL.

Rookie Cedric Benson (Texas) had a monster rookie year for the Bears, amassing 1,304 yards and six touchdowns.

Receiving the football, former hold out Hines Ward ended up leading the league with 111 catches. Miami’s Chris Chambers lead the league in yards with 1,495, 20 yards ahead of Arizona’s Anquan Boldin. They caught 8 and 6 TD’s respectively. The leader of the TD category comes from the upstart and feel good story of the year, Joe Horn of the New Orleans Saints.

The Saints were the talk of the NFL all year following the devastation of the city by Hurricane Katrina. They rallied to post an 11-5 record and a first-round playoff bye.

Here are the NFL playoff teams with seeds:
AFC
1. New York Jets (13-3)
2. Oakland Raiders (11-5)
3. Indianapolis Colts (11-5)
4. San Diego Chargers (11-5)
5. New England Patriots (11-5)
6. Baltimore Ravens (10-6)

NFC
1. Green Bay Packers (14-2)
2. New Orleans Saints (11-5)
3. Philadelphia Eagles (11-5)
4. Carolina Panthers (10-6)
5. St. Louis Rams (9-7)
6. Seattle Seahawks (9-7)

Obviously, Billy is happy that his beloved Eagles are in the thick of things once again. Let’s see how they do in the playoffs:

Wild Card Round:

Carolina 28 at St. Louis 10 > The Marc Bulger-less Rams couldn’t contain the Panthers. Stephen Davis ran for 248 yards in this game, furthering his case for MVP honors!

Indianapolis 26, New England 16 > This proved to be the year that Peyton Manning finally beat Tom Brady and those hated Pats. The dream of a three-peat in Boston ends just as the Trojans bid fell short in the college ranks. Manning threw for 311 yards, nine times hooking up with Marvin Harrison for 149 of those yards.

San Diego 17 at Baltimore 0 > The stout Chargers defense didn’t allow any breathing room for the Ravens. They couldn’t run the ball a lick and LaDanian Tomlinson got loose for two touchdowns.

Seattle 27 at Philadelphia 24 > Much to Billy’s dismay the Eagles lost at home in the opening round of the playoffs. Shaun Alexander rushed for 141 yards in the game to lead the Seahawks to the upset victory. We will have a new NFC Champion this season as well.

mtaystl03 · 09-23-2005, 01:54 PM

Conference Semi-final Round

New Orleans 37 Carolina 19 > Three Aaron Brooks’ touchdown passes in the first half to three different receivers set the tone for the amazing story to continue. They held Stephen Davis to 63 yards on 15 carries, forcing Jake Delhomme to beat him. They sacked him four times and picked him off once. The Saints are in the NFC Championship game!

Green Bay 23 Seattle 13 > In a re-match of the game three years ago that saw the Seattle Seahawks and quarterback Matt Hasselbeck throw a game-ending interception in overtime only saw much of the same. Possible MVP Brett Favre threw two touchdown passes as the frigid Lambeau Field proved too much for the Seahawks.

NFC Championship game: New Orleans Saints @ Green Bay Packers

Indianapolis 38 at Oakland 24 > In a game that promised fireworks, the Colts went into the Black Hole and took care of business. Peyton Manning threw five touchdown passes, two to running back Edgerrin James, who also ran for 128 yards. He also found his tight end Dallas Clark twice.

New York Jets 31, San Diego 17 > Curtis Martin made his return to the field by running 34 time for 174 yards and two touchdowns for the Jets. QB Chad Pennington was effective, going 14-24 for 175 yards, a TD and no INT. The defense swarmed Brees and Tomlinson all day long.

AFC Championship game: Indianapolis Colts @ New York Jets

The Colts and Saints magic ran out and the Jets, behind C-Mart played the Packers in the Super Bowl. It started with Pennington finding Martin on a swing pass. Then Favre hit his running back Ahman Green for two strait scores. Ryan Longwell nailed 2 field goals to make it 20-7. The Jets made a last ditch effort when Martin scored from 3-yards out with 6:34 remaining but Packers would hold on and complete the dream season. Brett Favre can go out on his own terms, if he so chooses.

NATIONAL CHAMPION: Oklahoma Sooners (12-0)
SUPER BOWL CHAMPS: Green Bay Packers (17-2)

Awards:
MVP: Peyton Manning
Offensive Player of the Year: Peyton Manning
Defensive Player of the Year: Brian Urlacher
Offensive Rookie of the Year: Cedric Benson
Defensive Rookie of the Year: Demarcus Ware

Off-Season Movement:

The biggest contract given in the off-season was by the St. Louis Rams to Pro Bowl DE Darren Howard from New Orleans. He joins Leonard Little to make one of the most feared pass rushes in the league.

Other big names moving:

QB Drew Brees – Texans
DT John Abraham – Chiefs
QB David Carr – Lions
RB Edgerrin James – Ravens
T Jeff Backus – Chiefs
RB Jamal Lewis – Colts
RB Shaun Alexander – Lions
S Adam Archuleta – Seahawks
LB Anthony Simmons – Packers
DT Corey Simon – Dolphins
DT Julian Peterson – Chargers
CB Nate Clements – Giants
LB Dan Morgan – Raiders
LB Tommy Polley – Bills
TE Bubba Franks – Cardinals
RB DeShaun Foster – Saints
QB Joey Harrington - Cardinals

Rookie Draft: Round One

1. Cleveland - DiCaprio, Russell, T, Louisiana State
2. Buffalo - Baxter, Clay, T, Mississippi
3. Denver - Price, Bryce, WR, Washington
4. Tennessee - Garmon, Deon, T, Michigan
5. Washington - Floyd, Butch, WR, Michigan
6. San Francisco - Connell, Shane, ILB, Utah
7. New York G - Fisher, Pat, OLB, Miami, Florida
8. Dallas - Conley, Terrell, QB, Tennessee
9. Cleveland - Ingle, Toby, DT, Southern California
10. Tampa Bay - McCarthy, Ray, T, Miami, Florida
11. Chicago - Flannery, Dominic, WR, Ohio State
12. Houston - Andersen, Stanley, DT, Iowa
13. Arizona - Strong, Ellis, QB, Michigan
14. Cincinnati - Emerson, Terrance, CB, Virginia Tech
15. Kansas City - Edwards, Andy, RB, Florida State
16. Pittsburgh - Barnes, Frank, RB, Michigan
17. Jacksonville - O'Neill, Randall, DE, Notre Dame
18. Pittsburgh - Tucker, Reggie, CB, UCLA
19. Seattle - Picard, Donny, WR, Oklahoma
20. St. Louis - Howe, Norman, OLB, California
21. Atlanta - Fields, David, RB, Oklahoma
22. Miami - Bard, George, DE, Iowa
23. Baltimore - Bates, Ralph, RB, Michigan
24. Carolina - Brecht, Dixon, CB, Texas Tech
25. Philadelphia - Dawson, Dale, RB, Wisconsin
26. New England - Stephens, Tracy, RB, Florida State
27. San Diego - Rubin, Cary, DE, Tennessee
28. Indianapolis - Brazzell, Graham, ILB, UCLA
29. Oakland - Green, Jeremy, OLB, Florida State
30. New Orleans - Schneiter, Kenny, OLB, Texas
31. New York J - Ambrose, Harris, T, Louisiana State
32. Green Bay - Hoover, Richard, CB, Utah

Note: Penn State Senior RB Roosevelt Goodwin was drafted in the 3rd round by Seattle (#83 overall). QB Andy Pilgrim went un-drafted.

mtaystl03 · 09-23-2005, 02:01 PM

One of the reasons our boy Billy Bullock chose to become a Nittany Lion is because of the great history of tailbacks to wear the Blue and White. Curt Warner (79-82), Blair Thomas (85-89), Curtis Enis (95-97), Ki-Jana Carter (92-94) and most recently Larry Johnson (99-02).

Here is a look at the top ten all-time leading rushers for the Nittany Lions in their storied history. A list that Bullock hopes to see his name climb to the top of by the time he is done:

Code:

    name                      yards         att         YPA         TD
#1  WARNER, Curt              3,398         649         5.2         24
#2  THOMAS, Blair             3,301         606         5.4         21
#3  ENIS, Curtis              3,256         565         5.7         36
#4  DOZIER, D.J.              3,227         624         5.1         25
#5  JOHNSON, Larry            2,953         460         6.4         26
#6  MITCHELL, Lydell          2,934         501         5.8         38
#7  CARTER, Ki-Jana           2,829         395         7.1         34
#8  SUHEY, Matt               2,818         633         4.4         26
#9  CAPPELLETTI, John*        2,639         519         5.0         29
#10 McCOO, Eric               2,253         415         5.4         12

Those are some pretty big names. Of the players on that list, only one is playing in the NFL right now and that is Larry Johnson of the Kansas City Chiefs. He backs up Preist Holmes but should soon get a starting job.

Johnson holds the single-season and single-game rushing records that are probably not going to be broken.
In 2002, L.J. ran for 2,087 yards on 271 carries (a 7.7 average) and 20 TD's. Second on the list is Lydell Mitchell's 1,567 i n 1971. Ki-Jana Carter ran dor 1,539 his Junior season in 1994 and former Heisman trophy winner John Cappelletti managed 1,522 in '73.

The most amazing record that Johnson holds is the single-game records. He broke the record for rushing yards in a game three different times in that 2,000+ yard season of '02. He first broke Curt Warner's record of 256 yards when he ran all over the Wildcats of Northwestern for 258 yards. Later in the season, he broke that record with 279 against Illinois. He wasn't done though. Against Indiana, on the second ot last game of the season he ran for an amazing 327 yards. He holds all three of the top single-game performances.

That is a quick look at PSU rushing records, next we will look at the off-season and how PSU did recruiting around their golden child Bullock.

mtaystl03 · 09-23-2005, 02:05 PM

According to Rivals.com the Penn State recruiting class was the 4th best in the nation. Only Texas, Michigan and USC had a better class.
Here is the list of the top 10 recruiting classes for the class of 2009:
1. Texas
2. Michigan
3. USC
4. Penn State
5. Texas A&M
6. Illinois
7. Virginia
8. UCLA
9. Georgia Tech
10. Washington

*It appears Ron Zook (Illinois) and Tyrone Willingham (Washington) are making their presence felt early on.

PENN STATE RECRUITING CLASS: Class of 2009
1. Billy Bullock – RB – Wyncote, PA - #2 RB, #7 overall
2. Kendall Greer – OLB – Hookstown, PA - #2 OLB, #17 overall
3. Trent Jarvis – OLB – Tunkhannock, PA - #3 OLB, #25 overall
4. Kenneth Kerr – QB – Horsham, PA - #6 QB, #29 overall
5. Sammie Pleasant – T – Goose Creek, SC - #6 T, #34 overall
6. Kenneth Berube – ILB – Levittown, NY - #2 ILB, #45 overall
7. Rodney Ingalls – DE – Toelle, UT - #8 DE, #58 overall
8. Dominic Howe – G – Merced, CA - #5 G, #72 overall

*We are happy to see Rivals.com say that the both offensive linemen, Pleasant and Howe are primarily run blockers!

mtaystl03 · 09-23-2005, 02:05 PM

FRESHMAN YEAR

The Nittany Lions are ranked #14 to start the season by the AP poll. Billy is moved in and getting acclimated to campus life. Football practice has started and he is doing everything he can to impress the coaching staff so that he can start as a freshman. There are two players older than him at the running back position and surprisingly they are the only three true tailbacks on the roster. Calvin Hastings is a Junior from Saginaw, MI. He got just 13 carries last season. The other back is a sophomore named Toby Akerman. As a sophomore, he appeared in 12 games but never got a carry. Right now the depth chart has Hastings as the starter with Billy #2 and Akerman right there at #3. It will be interesting to see if Bullock can top the charts by week one.

Lets meet some of the other Lions:

The quarterback this season will be Tito Greer, a Senior. He backed up Pilgrim last year and was 16-24 for 206 yards, a TD and 2 picks in mop-up duty. Fellow froshie Kenneth Kerr is going to red-shirt this season to learn the offense and develop. He is definitely in the plans to someday take over the reigns.

Greer has two wide receivers that should emerge as his go-to-guys. RS Senior Willie Esparza and RS Junior Aaron Neal are both big time playmakers with plenty of room to grow. Esparza has two years remaining and Neal will be around for three. People full expect Neal to be the next big thing to come out of college football in the receiving ranks. Sophomore Isaac Lyle is another young player that could someday shine for the Blue and White.

Billy’s best friends are the big boys up front. Here is a look at the starting offensive line and some notes about each guy:

C- J.R. Sweeney (6-3, 302), RS Senior: This is the anchor of the offensive line. He is primarily a pass blocker but can help out on the run when needed.
LG – Deron Richmond (6-5, 300), Senior: Another pass protector needs some work opening up holes for Bullock.
RG – Jesse Paige (6-5, 290), Junior: Yet another guy that needs to work on his run blocking but should give Greer plenty of time to throw the ball.
LT – Dustin Carpenter (6-4, 289), RS Senior: One of the best all-around offensive linemen of the group. Again, he is more of a pass protector.
RT – Wade Angelo (6-5, 296), RS Senior: Finally a guy that specializes in run blocking, unfortunately he is probably the most suspect player on the line. He will battle for playing time with Donnie Sanderson, another decent but not great lineman.

Big freshman Sammie Pleasant is getting a red-shirt this season.

Other big-time players for Penn State include:

Junior ILB Brock Cortez.
RS Senior CB Herb Green. (funny name)
Senior DE Floyd Sims
Senior OLB Eric Chandler

It should be a fun season for the Nittany Lions as they look to zero in on a National Championship! Here is a look at the 2006 Schedule:

Code:

Wk.       Opponent
1.        Air Force
2.        @ Pittsburgh
3.        Shelbyville
5.        @ Minnesota
6.        Iowa
7.        @ #22 Purdue
9.        @ #10 Wisconsin
10.       #8 Ohio State
11.       #21 Illinois
12.       #3 Michigan
13.       @ Michigan State

Looking at the schedule it looks tough to say the least. Games 6-10 will all be tests from Top 25 (three in the top 10) conference rivals. That will really show where this team stands.

It should be a fun season. We will go in depth on how things are going in the college ranks and keep tabs on how the big boys in the NFL are doing.

mtaystl03 · 09-23-2005, 02:08 PM

Bullock and the other two backs battled all pre-season for the right to start for the Nittany Lions. When it was all said and done, Calvin Hastings was named the starter for week one against Air Force. Billy was upset but he knows that he will get his shot sooner or later.

On to Happy Valley for Billy’s first game!

It was a nice day and Billy longed for the day to put on this uniform and run out in front of that many screaming fans. The blood, sweat and tears from the pre-season are dried up and it’s time to play for real. Although, Billy isn’t the starter, he could play a role in the game. He is ready and the butterflies are rumbling in his stomach.

Air Force got the ball first and promptly threw an interception to LB Kenneth Breien. Hastings first carry went for zero yards on Penn State’s first offensive play. After a nice pass from Greer to Aaron, Hastings pounded the ball in the end zone from four yards out.

7-0 Penn State

After forcing a 3-and-out the Nittany Lions got the ball back and Greer found Esparza from 19-yards out for the score! 10:26 left in the first quarter.

14-0 Penn State

>>With 2:14 left in the first quarter Billy saw his first action. He was in on a play that called for him to run a screen. He did just that and Greer threw the ball to him only to have an Air Force defender jump in front and bat it away. There was nothing but green in front of him and he was disappointed with the outcome. Greer didn’t throw it hard enough.

Penn State had good field position again on their third drive of the game, starting at the AF 34 yard line. A couple penalties set them back but eventually Greer sighted Aaron open in the back of the end zone from 10 yards out.

21-0 Penn State (:35 left in Q1)

>>In a rough way to start his collegiate career, Billy Bullock took his first carry and was immediately hit in the backfield for a loss of three yards. 13:48 in Q2 and Bullock is officially a Nittany Lion. Hopefully the first of many touches in his career there! Even more hopeful is that he will gain some positive yards.

On third down of that drive, after Greer once again led them downfield, Hastings followed a beautiful block from Carpenter into the end zone for another 4-yard touchdown run. Penn State is just dominating this game and it doesn’t appear to be slowing up any.

28-0 Penn State (12:00 left in Q2)

This is getting out of control! The Lions force a three-and-out again, return the 28 yard punt 27 yards to the 29 of AF. They then get an 18-yard run from Hastings followed by Greer’s 3rd touchdown pass of the game. This time it went to Downs from 9-yards out.

35-0 Penn State (9:51 left in Q2)

>>The backups were already in the game for Penn State and backup QB Gary Blades found Billy Bullock for a 10 yard passing play. The first catch of his career and first-down as well. He should see plenty of action as this game continues to get out of hand.

Blades next pass was a 46 yard bomb to Willie Esparza, and the two hooked up on the next play for an 11-yard scoring strike! Unbelieveable.

42-0 Penn State (7:23 left in Q2)

>>The fans can’t even believe how well this team is playing. There is no reason for the starters to stay out there and risk getting hurt. This could be a special season.

On another sad note for Bullock, the other running back Ackerman’s first carry was a 12-yard touchdown run. While the team is playing very well, Bullock is being overshadowed early on.

49-0 Penn State (4:34 left in Q2)

>>With 3:48 left in the first half, Air Force finally got their first first-down. They did so on an 11-yard pass on third and 5. At this point in the game they have a total of 18 total yards.

>>If things couldn’t get worse personally for Bullock, he dropped a pass which was nullified by a spearing penalty on Air Force. The jitters have taken over and for the first time in his life he is somewhat doubting his ability. He is happy the team is playing so well but he wants to get in on the fun.

We skip ahead to the end of the game with the final score 80-0 Penn State! They just played awesome. Billy finished with 10 carries for 17 yards, a 1.7 average as he was stuffed at the line 3 times. On a high note, he did catch 6 passes for 71 yards and scored his first collegiate touchdown on a 24-yard hookup from third string QB Bubba Palmer.

Final score: Penn State 80, Air Force 0

Palmer finished with 3 touchdowns in the game. Greer threw his three before being taken out in the first quarter. The player of the game was Willie Esparza, who caught 7 passes for 184 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Penn State 1-0!

Code:

Billy Bullock Career At-A-Glance:

Freshman Year: Penn State University
Game Opp.              Att     Yds    Avg     TD   |    Rec     Yds     TD
1    Air Force         10      17     1.7     0    |    6       71      1

Career Stats
Games    Att      Yds      Avg      TD    |   Rec      Yds      TD   
1        10       17       1.7      0     |   6        71       1

mtaystl03 · 09-23-2005, 02:09 PM

Other first week college football action saw #5 USC beat up on Missouri 41-7.
#10 LSU beat #21 Notre Dame 24-8.
#7 Boston College took care of Florida State 17-9.
#2 Miami (FL) beat up on SMU 59-7.

Week One Players of the week:
O: Lionel Hardy, QB, Ole Miss: 446 yards and 6 TD’s
D: Brady Hancock, DE, Washington State: 6 tackles, 3.0 sacks

The pollsters were so impressed with the thorough beat down of Air Force that the Nittany Lions jumped from #14 to #3! The rankings aren’t too important after the first week so we won’t post them this time. Billy and the Nittany Lions are now preparing for #9 Pittsburgh, a rivalry that will be renewed at Pitt. Should be an exciting game and will really show where the Lions stand.

>>Needless to say, Billy was a little discouraged with the outcome, having both other running backs run for two touchdowns but he can take little solace in the fact that he had a great day catching the ball and scored his first collegiate touchdown in his first game! Both parents were at the game and afterwards took him out to eat. The campus was rowdy all night but Billy wasn’t in the mood to go out and get drunk. He wanted to hang out for a while and hit the sack. He already started thinking about the game with Pitt.

>>It was a long, hard week of practice that saw Billy make strides. He became the clear #2 back and could possibly get the start according to Joe Pa. Calvin Hastings is already starting to struggle in the classroom and could be punished. Coach Paterno stressed that this early game would decide the fate of the rest of the season. He got the boys ready to play. You can throw out the records or any other concrete statistical data, Pitt simply doesn’t like Penn State and the feeling is mutual. This one will be a knock down, drag out fight to the finish. The team did receive some very bad news. Star WR Willie Esparza, who scored twice in the opening game, was injured at practice and might miss significant time. He won’t play for sure against Pitt and we will get more information when it becomes available.

mtaystl03 · 09-23-2005, 02:09 PM

LIONS HURTING: ESPARZA HAS BROKEN TIBIA
State College, PA (AP) – It turns out the harmless injury at practice on Wednesday was much more than a slight tweak. It turns out the Nittany Lions will be without their go-to wide receiver, Willie Esparza, who was diagnosed with a broken tibia. He could possibly return late in the season, depending on how he responds to treatment and rehab. This is a big blow to the Penn State squad as they prepare for their showdown with rival Pittsburgh on ABC Saturday Night. Esparza had seven catches for 184 yards and two touchdowns in the Nittany Lions 80-0 drubbing of Air Force last week. “He will be missed,” a somber coach Joe Paterno said, “Willie is a great player, but if we are as good as we think we are, we will overcome it with the guys we do have.”

mtaystl03 · 09-23-2005, 02:10 PM

Game 2: #3 Penn State Nittany Lions (1-0) @ #9 Pittsburgh Panthers (0-0) (E)

The line of ‘even’ says it all. This game can go either way. A big time match-up early on in the college football season that will set the tone for each squad’s year.

The Lions defense started out with a stop on 3rd and one, forcing the three-and-out from the Panthers. Sure enough, Billy Bullock trotted out onto the field as the starter. They started with three pass plays, the first two falling incomplete but the third was completed for 16 yards. Then, the give was to Bullock who matched his season total on 10 carries with a 17 yard run on the first running play of the game!

Another long pass play of 30 yards from Greer to Lyle set up the Lions deep in enemy territory. The first score was actually recorded by Calvin Hastings who was brought onto the field and took a screen pass to the house from 22 yards away to give the Lions an early advantage. That was Greer’s 4th TD pass of the season. Billy was thrilled. He had 2 carries for 21 yards on the drive and his boys were winning.

7-0 Penn State (9:40 left in Q1)

Pitt returned the ball 62 yards on the ensuing kickoff was all for naught as the Lions defense held strong and forced a fumble and got possession back. They did go three-and-out with Hastings getting the call on the only running play, he got one yard. They punted and on Pitt’s next drive they had a roughing the passer and unnecessary roughness on back-to-back plays to put Pitt at midfield. It was getting chippy out there and the bad blood was starting to boil a little. The fans were into it.

Pitt was faced with a tough decision on 4th and four for the 32 of Penn State. Instead of trying to force a long field goal, they went for it. The pass was dropped and the Lions took over. Greer was sacked for a loss of six and then threw two incompletions in a row and they punted.

The first quarter ended with Pitt driving at the PSU 37. That drive stalled and they went for it again on fourth down. They didn’t get it and after Greer drove the Lions deep into Pitt territory, they too failed to convert on fourth down!

Pitt had a nice drive and kicked a field goal to put some points on the board.

7-3 Penn State (4:07 in Q2)

Billy got a carry for no gain on the next drive that ended with Greer throwing his first interception of the season. Pitt clearly had the momentum as the home crowd was going nuts. If they could score before half-time it would be huge.

Instead, the Lions got old ‘Mo’ back in a huge way when Mel Woodard stepped in front of a Clyde Harrison pass and returned the interception 35 yards to the house!

14-3 Penn State (1:13 left in first half)

The half ended with a long completion of 42 yards but no points.

HALF TIME

Each position coach was screaming at their guys, begging them for more, stressing how important this game was and how it wasn’t anywhere close to being over. Billy had three carries in the first half for 21 yards. He was wondering who would be the most carries in the 2nd half as all three have touched the ball quite a bit.

Coach Paterno got the group together to stress that they need to keep up the tight defense and stay away from the stupid penalties. It was going to be a battle.

Second Half

On the opening drive of the second half, Billy got his fourth carry and battled for 8 yards. Later on, Hastings did the same. Bill then caught a swing pass at the 12 and was gang tackled as the blocking broke down in front of him. His fifth carry was for four yards before Greer was sacked and we settled for a field goal. Ryan Duesenberg was good from 26 for his first points of the season.

17-3 Penn State (10:07 left in Q3)

The defense held strong forcing a punt and the return was just past midfield (Pitt 48). Hastings got two carries on the drive and Pitt got their crowd back in the game with a blocked field goal.

Both teams struggled to get much going but Penn State broke through with Hastings getting the majority of the touches and Greer found Aaron for 46 yards. The third quarter ended with Duesenberg’s second short field goal.

20-3 Penn State (0:00 left in Q3)

Pitt needs to score quickly or this game will be over. They did just that with two long passes (36 and 30 yards) and capped off by a 4 yard touchdown pass from Harrison to Omar Logan. Big score for Pitt, crowd back in it as well.

20-10 Penn State (12:52 left in game)

Greer pretty much put the dagger in the heart of the Panthers with a 63-yard touchdown strike to Wally Downs.

27-10 Penn State (10:29 left in game)

Pitt got a field goal but Greer threw two more touchdown passes before it was all said and done. His first was another 52-yard bomb to Downs. Then he found Toby Ackerman for a 7-yard strike. That means both Hastings and Ackerman found the end zone in this game and Billy didn’t. It was hard to be upset though and Billy was in much more of a partying mood after this big-time win on prime time television (ABC). This pretty much solidifies Penn State as a legitimate force to be reckoned with.

Final Score: Penn State 40, Pitt 13.

Post-game thoughts: While it is discouraging that both other backs scored, Bullock did contribute. He finished the game with 5 carries for 33 yards, by far the best output. Hastings managed just 22 yards on 10 carries and Ackerman actually didn’t even get a carry.
QB Tito Greer was outstanding, earning player of the game award by throwing for 444 yards and 4 touchdowns! He even managed to get three different receivers 100+ yards. They filled in nicely for the injured Esparza. Neal Aaron and Isaac Lyle both caught 6 passes for 122 and 112 yards respectively. Wally Downs was also big, catching four long passes for a total of 142 yards and 2 scores.

Code:

Billy Bullock Career At-A-Glance:

Freshman Year: Penn State University
Game Opp.                Att     Yds    Avg     TD   |    Rec     Yds     TD
1    Air Force           10      17     1.7     0    |    6       71      1
2    #9 Pittsburgh        5      33     6.6     0    |    1       2       0

Career Stats
Games    Att      Yds      Avg      TD    |   Rec      Yds      TD   
2        15       50       3.3      0     |   7        73       1

mtaystl03 · 09-23-2005, 02:13 PM

Week Two in review: College Football

#12 West Virginia beat #8 Maryland 45-20
#7 Boston College beat #18 Wyoming 28-27
Syracuse Upset #14 Oregon State 13-10

Big Ten action saw all winners except for Indiana and Northwestern who dropped their first games of the season. Michigan beat Notre Dame 42-14.

Players of the week
O: Jesse Dixon, QB, Kansas State: 20-for-27, 281 yards, 4 TD, 0 INT.
Makes some people wonder why Tito Greer didn’t get it for his 444 yard, 4 TD performance but who is counting.
D: Xavier Partridge, DE, Southern Miss: 8 tackles, 5.0 sacks.

New Top 25:

Code:

  School                Record  Conf  Coach Fans  Ave    Rank  
Oklahoma                1-0     B12   1     1     1.00    8       
Florida                 1-0     SEC   2     2     2.00    17      
Michigan                1-0     B10   3     4     3.50    4       
Texas                   1-0     B12   4     5     4.50    10      
USC                     1-0     P10   5     3     4.00    1       
Miami of Florida        1-0     ACC   6     7     6.50    3       
Ohio State              1-0     B10   7     15    11.00   12      
Georgia                 1-0     SEC   8     8     8.00    22      
Wisconsin               1-0     B10   9     6     7.50    11      
Nebraska                1-0     B12   10    13    11.50   13      
Tennessee               1-0     SEC   11    11    11.00   25      
Penn State              2-0     B10   12    20    16.00   5       
Alabama                 2-0     SEC   13    22    17.50   7       
Louisiana State         1-0     SEC   14    25    19.50   35      
Washington State        2-0     P10   15    9     12.00   2       
Boston College          2-0     BEA   16    17    16.50   6       
Illinois                1-0     B10   17    26    21.50   18      
Purdue                  1-0     B10   18    10    14.00   15      
Kansas State            1-0     B12   19    18    18.50   21      
UCLA                    1-0     P10   20    14    17.00   28      
South Carolina          1-0     SEC   21    24    22.50   33      
Texas A&M               1-0     B12   22    16    19.00   24      
Virginia Tech           1-0     ACC   23    19    21.00   30      
Utah                    1-0     MOU   24    32    28.00   37      
Texas Christian         1-0     USA   25    27    26.00   26

mtaystl03 · 09-23-2005, 02:13 PM

School has started and Billy was having no trouble with his general education, lower level classes that he is taking towards his degree in English. If something were to happen and he wasn’t able to play pro football, he wanted to be a writer.

His first semester, he is taking Accounting I, Architecture I, Genetics I, Marketing I and English I. He should breeze through the classes and if something comes up that he needs help with there are plenty of tutors around campus that would do anything to help a football player get good grades

On the field, the Nittany Lions take their new #12 ranking into their match up with a small independent school in the S-8 conference, University of Shelbyville Vikings. This game shouldn’t and won’t even be close as the Lions will play in front of another sold out crowd at Beaver Stadium and the Vikes don’t want anything to do with Tito Greer and company. At this point, Tito is 2nd in the nation in passing yards with 618, only behind Lionel Hardy of Ole Miss who, through two games, has 795 yards and 10 touchdowns!
The game will be televised nationally on TV5.

Game 3: #9 Shelbyville Vikings (0-1) @ #12 Penn State Nittany Lions (2-0)

This one could get ugly at Beaver Stadium. The Lions look to improve on the #12 ranking and sneak into the top 10 with a convincing win.

The game started slow and the only fireworks in the first couple of possessions was a 35-yard run by the Vikings tailback. When the defense got it figured out, Greer threw a touchdown pass to Isaac Lyle from 9 yards out. Hastings got 5 carries on the drive and Ackerman caught a pass. Billy stayed on the sideline but should figure to get some touches later in the game. Duesenberg missed the extra point and the sloppiness continued.

6-0 Penn State (5:31 left in Q1)

The Lions were stopped on their next drive as penalties hurt them. When they got the ball back, Greer found a wide open Wally Downs for a 31-yard hook up and then nailed Dean Grabovez with a 5-yard strike. They went for two and Tito found Lyle to make up for the missed PAT.

14-0 Penn State (14:28 left in Q2)

The defense forced a fumble and Greer quickly led them downfield again and it was capped off by a three-yard touchdown run by Calvin Hastings. His third rushing touchdown of the season and he is solidifying his role as the starting back. Ackerman dropped a pass on that series. Billy still waits patiently on the sidelines. He just wants to get in the game in front of all these fans.

21-0 Penn State (8:34 left in Q2)

Hastings broke free on the next possession for a 19-yard TD run. His second of the game and fourth of the season.

28-0 Penn State (4:20 left in Q2)

Right before half-time, Shannon Wayne intercepted a pass and returned it 75 yards for a touchdown. That was the second INT return for a touchdown this season for the Lions defensive unit.

35-0 PSU (3:00 left in half)

Shelbyville went to their backup quarterback, Marvin Farley who got the job done, sparked by a pass interference penalty but found an open receiver (Derrick Labelle) for an 11-yard TD strike. Joe Pa wasn’t amused by this at all.
35-7 PSU (1:21 left in half)

The Lions finished the half having to punt and it was blocked. Heading into the locker room, they had no idea that coach was going to react the way he did.

Half Time

“THOSE LAST MOMENTS OF THAT HALF WERE PATHETIC! JUST PATHETIC! YOU LET THEM DRIVE DOWN AND SCORE A TOUCHDOWN ON YOU!!!?! HOW COULD YOU LET THAT HAPPEN? THEN THEY BLOCK A PUNT!? YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME. THERE IS NO WAY YOU CAN PLAY LIKE THIS AGAINST A TOP RANKED TEAM, WE WOULD GET MURDERED! PICK IT UP AND PLAY LIKE CHAMPIONS, EVERY PLAY, EVERY PLAY!”

The team was in shock. They thought they would get some simple instructions and the usual calm coach. They were wrong. Meanwhile, Billy didn’t see the field in the first half. He started questioning if he was in coaches doghouse or something. He recalled that at practice coach didn’t answer him when he said “hello”. He may be over analyzing the situation but he was definitely starting to worry. Calvin Hastings had 10 carries for 48 yards and two scores at the half.

Second Half

The team was rejuvenated and got a quick 3-and-out and drove down the field. Hastings and Ackerman both got a carry before Tito Green once again found Isaac Lyle for a 25 yard TD.

42-7 Penn State (13:04 left in Q3)

>>Billy got his first carry of the game on the next drive and took it up the middle for five hard earned yards.

Greer was wisely taken out of the game just in time for Bubba Palmer to come in and throw his 4th TD as a backup, this one when to Grabovez, his second score in the game.

49-7 Penn State (8:41 left in Q3)

The next possession was the Palmer-Lyle show. Four completed passes in a row including a one-yard play action to Bullock for the score. Billy wasn’t happy. He wanted the ball. Why would they continue to throw all over this hapless team?

56-7 PSU (4:25 left in Q3)

Ackerman came into the game and shined. He had two carries for 17 yards and three receptions for 20 more, before capping off the drive with an 8-yard screen pass turned into a touchdown. Billy could only watch from the sidelines and wonder if something was going on that he wasn’t aware of. By the way, that is Palmer’s 5th TD pass this year. Greer has only four more than him! Also, Isaac Lyle was injured on the play. He slowly walked to the sideline, holding his shoulder and it doesn’t look good. This could be another huge blow if he is hurt for some time.

63-7 PSU (13:23 left in game)

>>Billy got his second carry on the next drive and took it for 6 yards, giving him two carries for 11 yards.

For some reason, the team continued to go to the air. The Lions are definitely a passing team this year. They ended up kicking a field goal.

66-7 Penn State (6:48 left in game)

Billy got one more carry for 2 yards and caught a pass for 6 yards in mop up duty. The Lions went on to destroy the Vikings.

Final score: Penn State 66, Shelbyville 7.

Post-game thoughts:

It was another big day for sudden Heisman candidate Tito Greer. He threw for 268 and 3 TD’s with 0 INT’s. He now has 10 touchdowns on the season. Bubba Palmer did another nice job in relief, tossing two of his own even though he was picked off once. Isaac Lyle had 7 catches for 78 yards and three touchdowns. This team has definitely become a pass-first offense. With 17 total passing touchdowns from three different quarterbacks compared to five combined rushing TD’s (4 for Hastings, 1 for Ackerman).

On that note, the mood was somber in the locker room after the game despite the win because team doctors revealed that Lyle dislocated his shoulder and would be sidelined for most likely the rest of the season. This is the second huge blow to the receiving corps.

The player of the game was on the defensive side of the ball, defensive end Craig Burroughs who had three sacks.

Billy finished with just three carries for 13 yards and 1 catch for 6 yards.

After three games now, the Nittany Lions are 3-0 and outscoring opponents 186-20!

Code:

Billy Bullock Career At-A-Glance:

Freshman Year: Penn State University
Game Opp.               Att     Yds    Avg     TD   |   Rec   Yds   TD
1    Air Force           10     17     1.7     0    |    6     71    1
2    #9 Pittsburgh        5     33     6.6     0    |    1     2     0
3    Shelbyville          3     13     4.3     0    |    1     6     0
Season                   18     63     3.5     0    |    8     79    0 

Career Stats
Games    Att      Yds      Avg      TD    |   Rec      Yds      TD   
3        18       63       3.5      0     |   8        79       1

mtaystl03 · 09-23-2005, 02:32 PM

Billy was clearly frustrated after the game. He called his dad to talk things over. “I am better than those guys, dad. I know it. They may be older but I am better. I think Coach is mad at me or something. Something isn’t right,” he said. His father’s advice was to go talk to him. Find out where he stands, clear the air about if he has somehow slipped into the doghouse or something.

Billy took the advice and went to talk to coach Paterno. He asked if he was mad at him. He asked if something was wrong. Coach simply told him that Billy is a freshman. Not many freshmen come into big-time college football and start right away. He is a true-freshman; he didn’t even get a red-shirt. He told him he isn’t mad at him. He said that there are times when he just doesn’t feel like talking. He advised him not to look to far into things but he was happy he came to talk to him. Many players are intimidated and don’t want to do that.

Needless to say, he was somewhat relieved. He understood that it would be an amazing thing to start as a true freshman. He had a whole new outlook on things. With a bye week coming up, he would work his ass off in practice and help this team anyway he can. This could be the best chance he has to win that National Championship right now. You never know what is going to happen in the future.

---

Other College Football in Week 3

The big game this week was #5 USC playing host to #16 Boston College. The Trojans continue to win football games, taking this one 42-21.

Pittsburgh bounced back from their loss to Penn State, by beating #22 Texas A&M, 31-21 on the road. That makes the win for our Lions a little bigger.

#1 Oklahoma may never lose a game. They murdered Louisville 51-0 this week.

Illinois RB Kelly Thomas was the offensive player of the week after taking 35 carries for 229 yards and four touchdowns in the 41-16 win over North Texas. Ron Zook has the Fightin' Illini playing good football. In the newest rankings they are #16.

Lorenzo Murray, Michigan State's DE was defensive player of the week with 7 tackles, 3 assists and 3.5 sacks.

Top 25:

Code:


  School                Record  Conf  Coach Fans  Ave    Rank  
Oklahoma                2-0     B12   1     1     1.00    25      
Florida                 1-0     SEC   2     3     2.50    21      
Michigan                2-0     B10   3     4     3.50    5       
Texas                   2-0     B12   4     5     4.50    15      
USC                     2-0     P10   5     2     3.50    1       
Miami of Florida        2-0     ACC   6     7     6.50    11      
Ohio State              2-0     B10   7     13    10.00   3       
Georgia                 1-0     SEC   8     8     8.00    26      
Wisconsin               2-0     B10   9     6     7.50    16      
Nebraska                2-0     B12   10    14    12.00   22      
Tennessee               2-0     SEC   11    11    11.00   12      
Penn State              3-0     B10   12    16    14.00   4       
Alabama                 2-0     SEC   13    18    15.50   2       
Louisiana State         2-0     SEC   14    20    17.00   13      
Washington State        3-0     P10   15    9     12.00   7       
Illinois                2-0     B10   16    21    18.50   8       
Purdue                  2-0     B10   17    10    13.50   9       
Kansas State            2-0     B12   18    15    16.50   14      
South Carolina          1-0     SEC   19    25    22.00   45      
Auburn                  1-0     SEC   20    24    22.00   35      
Utah                    1-0     MOU   21    27    24.00   38      
Texas Christian         1-0     USA   22    22    22.00   24      
Mississippi             3-0     SEC   23    19    21.00   18      
Iowa                    2-0     B10   24    12    18.00   10      
North Carolina State    3-0     ACC   25    29    27.00   17

---

The NFL had its kickoff weekend this Sunday. Not only did Brett Favre not retire, he came out in week one and dominated. He led his defending champion Packers over Minnesota 47-14. He threw five touchdowns and 378 yards!

New Lions QB David Carr had a nice opening game, leading the new look Lions over the Bears 31-21. Carr threw 4 TD’s.

Rookie RB David Fields was taken in the 1st round (#21 overall) by the Atlanta Falcons to replace T.J. Duckett, who signed with the Jets in the off-season. Fields won a National Championship with Oklahoma last year. He and Warrick Dunn were expected to split carries but in the pre-season, he won the job. In week one, he led the league with 22 carries for 141 yards.

OLB Mark Simoneau was defensive player of the week for making 9 tackles, a sack and an interception for the Eagles in their 31-7 win over Washington.

mtaystl03 · 09-23-2005, 03:31 PM

Week four was a bye week for the Nittany Lions. They took a few days off to recover from injuires and look at a ton of film. Billy promised to work hard and do whatever he can to make an impact in the next game in week five at Minnesota.

Here is a look at what happened in and around college football in week four:

#17 Purdue handed Notre Dame their fourth loss in a row this season (0-4), 52-0. Charlie Weis may have more on this plate than he bargained for.

#1 Oklahoma and #2 Florida had no trouble this week. The Sooners beat Johnson City 63-7 and the Gators beat #28 ranked Colorado State, 35-3.

UPSET: #29 Michigan State lost to Rice at home 33-22.

Players of the week

O: Walt Logan, RB, Georgia Tech: 30 carries for 285 yards and 3 TD's.
D: Derrick Madison, DT, Kansas: 11 tackles, 4.5 sacks.

NFL: Week Two

Ten teams move to 2-0 on the season: Pittsburgh, Houston, Buffalo, New York Jets and Denver in the AFC. Detroit, Atlanta, New York Giants, Philadelphia and Seattle in the NFC.

Defending champion Green Bay lost 14-12 to the Bills this week.

Drew Bledsoe picked up player of the week honors with 408 yards and 2 touchdowns as they won the shootout with Indianapolis 30-27.

DE Simeon Rice had three sacks for the Buccaneers this week in their 41-13 win over Baltimore this week.

Trent Green threw 4 touchdowns in the Chiefs win over the Rams. His main target was Craphonso Thorpe who had four receptions for 142 yards and 2 touchdowns.

David Fields once again led the league in rushing yards this week with 119 in the Falcons win over Cleveland 14-7. He has yet to find the end zone but he does have 260 rushing yards to lead the league.

mtaystl03 · 09-24-2005, 02:58 AM

Well, the long break is over and the Lions are ready to go back to work. This time they will travel to Minneapolis, MN to take on the Golden Gophers of Minnesota. This is the beginning of conference play and the Gophers never take anybody lightly. They are ranked #27, just outside the top 25 as they are also 3-0. They beat Baylor, Southern Mississippi and Idaho.

If Penn State is to keep their Championship hopes alive, it starts today against this Minnesota squad.

Game 4: #12 Penn State Nittany Lions (3-0) vs. Minnesota Golden Gophers (3-0) (-4)

This is the first Big 10 game for both teams. Minnesota is a tough place to play and the odds makers actually favor the 27th ranked Gophers! Should be interesting to see if they can stop the passing attack of Penn State.

It started ugly. Penn State defense came up with a three-and-out right off the bat. The punt was short and returned 11 yards to the Minnesota 30 yard line. Greer was picked off on the second offensive play. The Lion defense held strong again. When PSU got the ball back, they drove down the field but penalties and a sack forced them to go for it on 4th and long. They didn’t convert. MINN did their best impression of the Lion offense on their next possession as they had some nice plays but had a 4th down play fall incomplete to turn it over on downs.

Calvin Hastings was getting plenty of carries early on and doing well. Billy made his first impact on the game in the next drive with a 12 yard reception as he went over the middle of the field to make the play. He then got the next carry and picked up 7 hard earned yards right up the gut. The 3rd and 3 play broke down and Greer was stopped short trying to scramble for it. The punt was downed at the MINN 4 yard line. :36 left in Q1.

The defense made a stop and the punt went out of bounds at the MINN 41 yard line. The drive saw a sack, a long 25 yard past, Hastings lose three yards and then Duesenberg nailed a 38-yard field goal to put the Lions on the board first.

3-0 Penn State (11:01 left in Q2)

Minnesota had a nice drive the next time out and their quarterback Harvey Davis found the tailback Korey Wilson running free over the middle of the field. He hit him with a beautiful 30-yard touchdown strike and the Nittany Lions found themselves in unfamiliar territory: losing for the first time this year.

7-3 Minnesota (8:32 left in Q2)

Billy got the first carry and was wrapped up for one yard. An illegal formation penalty pushed them back and then Greer completed a short pass to Ackerman and missed a pass to Bullock.

The Penn State defense found themselves on the run quite a bit on the next drive. They started back at their own 28 and drove all the way down the field. A 3rd down defensive pass interference penalty hurt. Then the Gophers went to the option and got down to the 8 yard line where they finally stalled with :37 left in the half. They kicked the field goal to go up a touchdown.

10-3 Minnesota (:32 left in half)

Half Time

It wasn’t a good start for the Lions. Minnesota was dictating the play. The offense was spurting and couldn’t quite finish a drive. Penalties were also piling up. All coaches stressed that they needed to clean it up and really focus. They have to come out of the gates quick or they won’t like the results.

Second Half

Hastings took the advice to heart as he took the kickoff 22 yards and then took the first carry of the second half strait up the middle right behind Dustin Carpenter and rumbled 64 yards for the touchdown! It was his 5th rushing TD of the year and by far the longest run of his career. Billy was the first player to congratulate him on the sidelines as winning has overshadowed any selfishness on this team.

10-10 (14:21 left in Q3)

The defense continued to rack up penalties. A defensive holding and then encroachment, luckily the Gophers missed the FG. Then on the next drive, Bullock got one carry for three yards but another false start penalty and two incompletions led to another punt. The Gophers took the ball down the field, mostly relying on the run. They did fumble the ball at the 16 yard line but they actually recovered it and took it all the way to the 8. That set up 3rd and 5 at the 5 yard line. The Lions came up with a big stop and Minnesota settled for three.

13-10 (3:32 left in Q3)

Calvin Hastings was cramping up and needed some relief. The Lions returned the short kick all the way into MINN territory (46). Bullock had a three yard run, then lost those three yards and FUMBLED on the next run. The ball bounced right into the hands of Minnesota. He was clearly bothered by this on the sidelines. Both the running backs coach and even Hastings came over to him and told him things would be alright. It happens. They need him to continue to play. He took that to heart.

He was relieved to see the defense come up with a big stop. On the next drive Tito Greer decided to wake up. He found Neal Aaron for 16 yards and then a new receiver Ricardo Adame for a 51-yard strike to the 22>. Bullock caught a screen pass and made 14 hard yards out of it. He then took the next carry six yards to the 2 yard line. By that time, Hastings was feeling better and finished the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run.

He came right over to Billy to make sure he knew it was him that set it up. Billy totally forgot about the fumble. The sideline was rejuvenated. Coach Paterno, who doesn’t say much to players during the game, pounded Billy’s shoulder pads as he stood on the sideline cheering on the defense. That was enough for Billy.

17-13 Penn State (11:40 left in game)

There was a lot of time left in this game and the defense needed to repeat the stop from last possession. The defense gave up runs of 6 and 4 to Korey Wilson, but on the next play they forced a fumble and Kenyon Breedlove recovered it. Greer completed a 15 yard pass, then threw a screen to Billy who was tackled immediately behind the line for a loss of 2. They settled for a field goal and led by a touchdown. They don’t want to let Minnesota hang around.

20-13 Penn State (8:14 left in game)

Minnesota drove down the field and decided to kick a field goal with 3:51 left. That was a questionable call but they wanted points.

20-16 Penn State (3:51 left in game)

Big offensive drive for Penn State. They gave the ball to Hastings twice and he picked up 10 and 8 yards. He lost three on the next carry and Greer couldn’t pick them up. They were forced to punt and set up the heroics from the Golden Gophers.

A 27-yard pass to Gene Hope was followed by another HUGE catch by Hope, this one was 48 yards to the 10 yard line. There was 1:16 left in the game. The next play, they scored a touchdown, all but crushing the Lions hopes.

23-20 Minnesota (1:07 left in game)

A holding call, two incompletions and then the Gophers ended it with an exclamation point when Buddy Koplitz intercepted Greer and returned it 55 yards to end the hopes.

30-20 Minnesota (:34 left)

To add insult to injury, Greer threw another pick and the Gophers came up huge in this one.

Final Score: Minnesota 30, Penn State 20

Billy and the team was crushed. They played hard but Minnesota played that much harder. It was tough to swallow. The big run at the beginning of the second half and all the chances to put it away were killer. Turnovers and penalties ended up being the story.

Hastings ended up with 10 carries for 93 yards and two touchdowns. Greer was a dismal 16-of-32 for 225 yards, no touchdowns and 3 interceptions. On defense, Breedlove was big making 11 tackles and LB Ethan Baulig had 11 tackles and 9 assists.
Billy had 7 carries for 20 yards and caught 3 passes for 24 yards. The fumble didn’t end up hurting them but it could’ve changed some momentum. It would be a long trip home to State College.

Code:

Billy Bullock Career At-A-Glance:

Freshman Year: Penn State University
Game Opp.               Att     Yds    Avg     TD   |   Rec   Yds   TD
1    Air Force           10     17     1.7     0    |    6     71    1
2    #9 Pittsburgh        5     33     6.6     0    |    1     2     0
3    Shelbyville          3     13     4.3     0    |    1     6     0
4    Minnesota            7     20     2.8     0    |    3     24    0
Season                   25     83     3.3     0    |    11    103   1

Career Stats
Games    Att      Yds      Avg      TD    |   Rec      Yds      TD   
4        25       83       3.3      0     |   11       103      1

Izulde · 09-24-2005, 03:43 AM

Great story so far. On the bright side, Billy looks to be developing into a nice all-purpose back.

mtaystl03 · 09-24-2005, 11:06 AM

Yeah, he is a true freshman so he has plenty of time. He seems to be slipping ahead of Ackerman and Hastings is a Junior so hopefully by his Junior year it will be his job. Thanks for reading.

mtaystl03 · 09-24-2005, 11:27 AM

Around College Football: Week 5

The Minnesota game wasn't the only upset in the Big 10 this week. #7 Ohio State lost to #17 Purdue 20-17 on the road. The Game of the Week ended up being #11 Tennessee winning on a last second field goal over #13 Alabama at home, 30-27. #1 Oklahoma continues to dominate like no other, blankings Mizzou at Farout Field, 48-0. The #2 and #3 teams in the land, narrowly escaped upsets this week. #2 Florida and Urban Meyer hung on to beat Arkansas 24-20 and #3 Michigan edged upstart #16 Illinois at home, 21-16.

Unranked Oregon beat #15 Washington State at home 27-22 and Notre Dame finally won a game, beating UConn 45-17 on the road.

Jesse Hawkins of Louisiana-Lafayette threw for 345, completing 34-of-49 passes and four touchdowns in the Rajun' Cajuns 56-17 thrashing of Utah State to earn him Offensive Player of the Week award. The Defensive award goes to Lance Gordon, a DT from Stanford, who recorded 5.0 sacks in Stanford's 33-18 win over Arizona State.

New Top 25:

Code:

  School                Record  Conf  Coach Fans  Ave    Rank  
Oklahoma                4-0     B12   1     1     1.00    6       
Florida                 3-0     SEC   2     2     2.00    1       
Michigan                4-0     B10   3     4     3.50    8       
Texas                   3-0     B12   4     5     4.50    7       
USC                     3-0     P10   5     3     4.00    4       
Miami of Florida        4-0     ACC   6     7     6.50    9       
Georgia                 3-0     SEC   7     8     7.50    2       
Wisconsin               4-0     B10   8     6     7.00    11      
Nebraska                4-0     B12   9     11    10.00   10      
Tennessee               3-0     SEC   10    10    10.00   3       
Purdue                  4-0     B10   11    9     10.00   5       
South Carolina          3-0     SEC   12    13    12.50   12      
Ohio State              3-1     B10   13    21    17.00   14      
Florida State           2-1     ACC   14    18    16.00   35      
Auburn                  3-0     SEC   15    16    15.50   17      
Utah                    3-0     MOU   16    19    17.50   18      
Texas Christian         3-0     USA   17    15    16.00   20      
West Virginia           4-0     BEA   18    12    15.00   13      
Penn State              3-1     B10   19    24    21.50   22      
Alabama                 3-1     SEC   20    25    22.50   16      
Louisiana State         3-1     SEC   21    30    25.50   24      
Minnesota               4-0     B10   22    26    24.00   21      
Washington State        3-1     P10   23    17    20.00   23      
Stanford                4-0     P10   24    14    19.00   15      
Boston College          3-1     BEA   25    22    23.50   28

---------

NFL Happenings: Week Three

The remaining undefeated teams through three weeks are: Houston, Buffalo, Denver, Detroit, Atlanta and Philadelphia. Billy is starting to get quite excited about the prospects of yet another Philly playoff appearance. He has noticed a leveling off of rooting too much for the Eagles. He is now so worried about his own career, and with the NFL being the next step, it doesn't seem so distant to him.

He was no doubt pumped up to see his boy Donovan McNabb pick up Off. Player of the Week with his 25-for-33, 310 yards and five touchdowns in a shootout win over St. Louis. Marc Bulger and Jake Delhomme each threw four touchdowns this week and Stephen Davis finally broke out again this year, rushing for 141 yards and a touchdown for Carolina. The Panthers had a great game and former Eagle Todd Pinkston was the leading receiver with 5 catches for 138 yards and two touchdowns. The Panthers beat up on Seattle 45-29.

Chargers OLB Shawn Merriman recorded six tackles and three sacks this week to pick up Defensive Player of the Week honors.

mtaystl03 · 09-24-2005, 01:18 PM

It was no doubt a tough loss for the team as they drop to #19 in the rankings and it doesn’t get any easier from here on out. Next up is a very solid Iowa team that after a fast start has lost their last two games to Iowa State and Indiana. They feature a power running game with two backs, Casey Dawson and Aaron Jenkins. If the Lions defense can’t stop the run, it will be a long day. The Hawkeyes always come to play and they need their first Big 10 win just as bad as the Lions. The game is at home so that is one major advantage for PSU.

Game 5: Iowa Hawkeyes (2-2 / 0-1) vs. #19 Penn State Nittany Lions (3-1 / 0-1) (-15)

Both teams in dire need of a conference win. The Hawkeyes have lost their last two games but always come to play against Penn State. Some bad blood has been brewing between these two teams for quite some time.

What a start for the Nittany Lions and QB Tito Greer. After vowing to never play like he did last week, he goes right to the air, connecting with Neal Aaron on pass plays of 15, 33 and then the scoring strike of 28 yards. The Lions didn’t even attempt a run.

7-0 Penn State (12:49 left in Q1)

The defense stopped the first pass play attempted by Iowa for a loss of 4 yards. They then held strong for a run of nothing and an incompletion. The house was going nuts. After Iowa forced a punt, the Hawkeyes got an unsportsmanlike penalty and then Trent Jarvis intercepted Terrance Coleman at the Iowa 27. Billy got his first run for three yards, Hastings got 5 yards and then Greer hit Aaron again from 19 yards out!

14-0 Penn State (7:41 left in Q1)

Things calmed down for a little while when the defense managed another stop of Iowa, Billy got free for 13 yards, his second longest rush of his career. On 3rd-and-1, Hastings was pushed back for a loss of one and PSU punted. The crowd has never been so loud as it was when the defense stopped Iowa with runs of -3, 2 and -2 to force another 3-and-out. The next drive saw Greer throw incomplete twice and then hit Billy for 8 yards but they had to punt. The defense got sloppy on the next drive, going off-side twice and allowing Coleman to find his favorite target Zach Estep for a 30-yard gain to the 31 of PSU. They figured it out and held strong forcing a turnover on downs after they went for it on 3rd and 10 from the 31. Then more fireworks from Tito Greer as he threw a bomb to Wally Downs for a 68-yard touchdown strike, his third of the game already.

21-0 Penn State (9:37 left in half)

The defense was on top of its game this week but the special teams made a big mistake when an Iowa player got free and blocked the punt attempt. They recovered the ball and ran it in from 12 yards out to get on the board.

21-7 Penn State (6:57 left in half)

That stunned the crowd and the Lions offense stalled on the next drive with Billy getting a carry for four yards. The defense again stepped it up when the Hawkeyes were running on momentum down the field only to have a fourth and two play stopped for a loss on the play! The place erupted. That is how the half ended.

Half-time

The defensive coaches were stressing to their guys to keep it up. The offensive coaches were stressing to keep control of the ball, turnovers would kill them. Coach Paterno took the team together to let them know how important this game is to their season. He also emphasizes how important it is for them to come out and take it to them right away in the second half, a lot like they did against Minnesota. A 14-point lead is nothing.

Second half

The Lion “D” came up with a quick 3 and out, the punt was downed at the PSU 11 yard line. After a 15 yard pass to Grabovez, two incompletions and a drop led to a Lion punt. Then Iowa started driving down the field, got to the 28 yard line of PSU and then on 3rd and 8, Shannon Wayne intercepted the Coleman pass and returned it 89 yards for the touchdown. That is the third defensive INT return for a TD this season.

28-7 PSU (10:07 left in 3Q)

The next drive lasted only two plays until the defense forced another fumble and Herb Green jumped on it at the Iowa 22. After a 12 yard run by Hastings, two false start penalties, Greer hit Wally Downs from 20 yards for his fourth TD toss of the day. Penn State was starting to run away with this one. The house was rocking.

35-7 PSU (8:41 left in 3Q)

The Penn State stifling defense came up with two more turnovers on their next two drives, sandwiched by a PSU punt. Herb Green was involved in both again, picking off a pass and then jumping on another fumble created by a Burroughs sack. Bullock had a four yard run and then Duesenberg kicked a field goal.

38-7 PSU (3:01 left in 3Q)

The Iowa offense finally figured it out, hitting a 44-yard pass and then Aaron Jenkins ran one in from 15 yards out. They went for two and didn’t convert.

38-13 PSU (14:51 left in game)

The Penn State offense was having their way. Hastings broke out a 31 yard run, giving him 9 carries for 59 yards at that point. Bullock caught a 12 yard pass to the seven and Wally Downs caught a 7-yard TD pass from Greer, who now had five TD passes!

45-13 PSU (10:07 left in game)

After another stop, Billy had a nice drive, taking two carries, one went for 10 yards and the next play got a 9 yard run. Greer hit Ricardo Adame 29 yards downfield to the 9. The drive stalled and Duesenberg kicked another field goal. This team was looking like a power house, dominating every facet of the game.

48-13 PSU (4:17 left in the game).

The Hawkeyes had a decent ball movement and the Nittany Lions ran out the clock to hold on and get their first conference win in decisive fashion.

Final Score Penn State 48, Iowa 13

Post-game thoughts

Tito Greer was awesome in this game, throwing for 336 yards, 5 TD and no picks! Wally Downs emerged as his favorite target, hauling in eight passes for 178 yards and three touchdowns. Downs was officially named the player of the game. The defense also played great, piling up 5 sacks, 3 interceptions and 3 fumbles.

Billy had his most effective game, rushing six times for 43 yards, a 7.1 average. He also caught two passes for 20 yards. He has finally surpassed his receiving total with rushing yards.

It was a great game all the way around and the Lions are back on track!

Code:

Billy Bullock Career At-A-Glance:

Freshman Year: Penn State University
Game Opp.               Att     Yds    Avg     TD   |   Rec   Yds   TD
1    Air Force           10     17     1.7     0    |    6     71    1
2    #9 Pittsburgh        5     33     6.6     0    |    1     2     0
3    Shelbyville          3     13     4.3     0    |    1     6     0
4    Minnesota            7     20     2.8     0    |    3     24    0
5    Iowa                 6     43     7.1     0    |    2     20    0
Season                   31     126    4.0     0    |   13     123   1

Career Stats
Games    Att      Yds      Avg      TD    |   Rec      Yds      TD   
5        31       126      4.0      0     |   13       123      1

mtaystl03 · 09-24-2005, 02:12 PM

Around College Football: Week 6

#2 Florida continued their dream season with a solid 13-7 win over #15 Auburn at The Swamp.

UPSET SPECIAL Unranked Kansas State beat #4 Texas 28-27 in Texas!

#11 Purdue escaped a scare from Michigan State in East Lansing, winning 20-17.

UPSET SPECIAL #5 USC was beaten by unranked and struggling Arizona State 35-34 in the desert!!

BIG 10 ACTION

#11 Purdue 20 @ Michigan State 17
#13 Ohio State 49, Indiana 10
#19 Penn State 48, Iowa 13
#3 Michigan 31 @ Northwestern 3
Illinois 38, #22 Minnesota 28

Illinois appears to be for real. They beat Minnesota at home and Ron Zook as the Fighting Illini playing good football. Here is a look at the Big 10 Standings:

Code:

  School                 W  L  T  Pct   PF  PA  W  L  T  Pct   PF  PA  Streak  
Purdue                   5  0  0  1.000 227 34  2  0  0  1.000 40  34  Won 11      
Michigan                 5  0  0  1.000 177 42  2  0  0  1.000 52  19  Won 6       
Wisconsin                4  0  0  1.000 207 64  1  0  0  1.000 48  17  Won 12      
Penn State               4  1  0  .800  254 63  1  1  0  .500  68  43  Won 1       
Ohio State               4  1  0  .800  186 49  1  1  0  .500  66  30  Won 1       
Illinois                 4  1  0  .800  165 101 1  1  0  .500  54  49  Won 1       
Minnesota                4  1  0  .800  163 85  1  1  0  .500  58  58  Lost 1      
Indiana                  1  4  0  .200  73  181 1  1  0  .500  37  70  Lost 1      
Michigan State           2  2  0  .500  101 84  0  1  0  .000  17  20  Lost 2      
Iowa                     2  3  0  .400  164 106 0  2  0  .000  34  75  Lost 3      
Northwestern             2  3  0  .400  105 126 0  2  0  .000  20  79  Lost 2

Billy Joe Jones, QB, UConn was player of the week going 40-for-50 for 386 yards and six touchdowns in the Huskies 52-3 win over Buffalo. Erik George a DE from Oregon had 10 tackles and 3.5 sacks to pick up defensive player of the week.

Player Watch: Miami (FL) Senior QB Hardy Randle is off to an amazing start. He has completed 95-of-137 passes (69.3%) for 1,474 yards, 15 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. His passer rating right now is 191.4!

Player Watch: West Virginia RB Brandon Daniels, who ran for 2,001 yards last year is looking to eclipse that mark this season. So far, in five games, he has amassed 871 yards and 15 TD's (he scored 24 a year ago). His YPG right now is 174.2, last year he was at 166.7. Needless to say, he leads the nation by over 100 yards.

New Top 25:

Code:

  School                Record  Conf  Coach Fans  Ave    Rank  
Oklahoma                4-0     B12   1     1     1.00    4       
Florida                 4-0     SEC   2     2     2.00    1       
Michigan                5-0     B10   3     3     3.00    3       
Miami of Florida        5-0     ACC   4     5     4.50    5       
Georgia                 4-0     SEC   5     6     5.50    2       
Nebraska                5-0     B12   6     9     7.50    9       
Wisconsin               4-0     B10   7     4     5.50    8       
Tennessee               4-0     SEC   8     8     8.00    7       
Texas                   3-1     B12   9     11    10.00   17      
USC                     3-1     P10   10    10    10.00   15      
Purdue                  5-0     B10   11    7     9.00    6       
Ohio State              4-1     B10   12    18    15.00   11      
Florida State           3-1     ACC   13    13    13.00   27      
South Carolina          4-0     SEC   14    12    13.00   10      
Utah                    4-0     MOU   15    16    15.50   12      
Penn State              4-1     B10   16    22    19.00   18      
Louisiana State         4-1     SEC   17    25    21.00   20      
Washington State        4-1     P10   18    15    16.50   19      
Boston College          4-1     BEA   19    21    20.00   22      
Alabama                 3-1     SEC   20    26    23.00   14      
Stanford                5-0     P10   21    14    17.50   13      
Illinois                4-1     B10   22    27    24.50   16      
Kansas State            4-1     B12   23    20    21.50   21      
UCLA                    4-1     P10   24    17    20.50   24      
Clemson                 2-1     ACC   25    19    22.00   35

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Around the NFL: Week Four

Buffalo, Detroit and Philadelphia move to 4-0 on the season. Denver had a bye and sit at 3-0.

Byron Leftwich threw for 279 yards and three touchdowns in a 28-21 win over the New York Jets. It was their first win of the season. Leftwich was named offensive player of the week.

Drew Brees threw for 410 yards and one TD for Houston but they fell to Indianapolis 28-24. They are now 3-1.

An undrafted player, Derek Diaz out of Stanford led the Buffalo Bills to a 31-28 win over Tennessee. He threw for 244 yards, 2 TD and 0 INT filling in for the injured J.P. Losman.

Stephen Davis had another huge day for the Panthers. He took 35 carries for 215 yards and a touchdown in their 28-26 win over Dallas. He easily took over the league lead from David Fields with 528 yards. Fields is in 2nd with 364 as he could only manage 30 yards on 10 carries against the stout Eagles defense this week. Jamal Lewis eclipsed the 100 yard marker for the first time in an Indy uniform. He rumbled for 128 and two scored against Houston.

St. Louis' Torry Holt led all receivers this week with 9 catches for 219 yards and a TD.

Jaguars' DE Marcellus Wiley had 3.0 sacks and was named Defensive Player of the Week.

mtaystl03 · 09-24-2005, 07:04 PM

It is time to prepare for a great Purdue team. They are sitting at 5-0 this season, ranked #11 in the nation and have won 11 strait games. The Lions need to find a way to go on the road, into West Lafayette and get a win. It will be a highly contested battle.

The Lions had a hard week of practice, preparing for the Boilermakers. Billy was in good sprits all week long. He worked hard and is ready to contribute in anyway he possibly can.

Purdue is coming off two strait emotional conference wins both 20-17 wins over Ohio State and Michigan State. They will be pumped up. Their QB Mo Jells has very similar numbers to Tito Greer with 15 TD-4 INT, 1,498 yards. They also split their running back duties between T.J. Reed (162 yards) and Leroy Smith (191 yards). They, like Penn State, are a pass-first offense. They have three equally talented wide receivers which allows them to spread the field. It is amazing how much they have been able to spread the ball around. Here are their top 3 wide receivers and their stats:

Code:

Receiving                 Pos   Targ  Catch Yards Y/Ctc YAC   TD  
84 Arnie Ballard          WR    53    32    474   14.8  196   3       
89 Sammy Tillery          WR    45    29    435   15.0  223   8       
82 Herb Makofske          WR    45    31    452   14.5  187   5

Game 6: #16 Penn State Nittany Lions @ #11 Purdue Boilermakers (-12)

In one of the biggest games in recent memory for the Penn State Nittany Lions, the boys travel to West Lafayette, IN to take on #11 Purdue, as they try to snap their 11-game winning streak.

Greer started hot, on the first play he hit Grabovez for a 24 yard play. He was roughed on the play so it took just one play to get to the Purdue 37 yard line. He connected on two more passes to Aaron and Grabovez before two icompletions forced the Lions to kick a field goal.

3-0 Penn State (12:09 left in Q1)

Jells wasted no time catching up to Greer in passing yards by finding his man 45 yards downfield. The drive stalled however when they got an intentional face mask. They went for it and didn’t get it on 4th down. Greer came right back down the field and found Wally Downs 40 yards down the field. Again the drive stalled and Duesenberg nailed a 40-yarder.

6-0 Penn State (8:28 left in Q1)

The Nittany Lion defense forced another rare three-and-out for the Boilermakers. The Lions went for it on 4th and 5 from the 40-yard line and Hastings could only get three. Then Jells had a big 22-yard pass play to T.J. Reed to the two yard line. They got them to third down but Jells found Reed again for the score.

7-6 Purdue (0:03 left in Q1)

Greer was intercepted on the first pass of the next drive, forcing the fans into a frenzy and handing even more momentum Purdue’s way. Jells again wasted no time in finding Arnie Ballard for a 21 yard touchdown.

14-6 Purdue (14:04 left in Q2)

Things were falling apart for Greer who started so hot. He threw two incompletions on the next drive and another interception to their defensive lineman Junior Lageman. They didn’t need to go far and then Jells found his tight end wide open on a play-action fake on the one-yard line.

21-6 Purdue (11:27 left in first half)

Things were falling apart for Penn State. They couldn’t get the ball in the end zone early and now they couldn’t complete a pass. Greer threw his third INT on the next drive. Jells then found Makofske for his fourth TD toss in the first half! He is leaving no doubt who is the better quarterback.

28-6 Purdue (7:24 left in half)

Paterno is going to stick with his man Greer. Tito has never looked so pissed off. He completed passes of 60 and 32 yards, both to Wally Downs to get to the Purdue 4, only to have the next pass picked off AGAIN!?! The wheels have officially fallen off.

Just when things couldn’t get any worse, the Lions forced the Boilers back to their own seven yard line and a 3rd and 24. Jells hit Ballard for 46 yards! The Penn State defense finally made a play, intercepting Jells in the end zone. It was Shannon Wayne on the pick. The offense stalled again and amazingly Cole Collier picked Jells off again! That is six combined interceptions in the first half. The only difference is that Jells also has 4 touchdown passes. Greer threw three incompletions to end the half.

Half-time

This was quite possibly one of the worst halves of football Joe Pa has ever seen and he let his team know about it. “I have seen a lot of football in my days here and that may have been the most pathetic, uninspired half of football I have ever seen,” he said.

Billy didn’t touch the ball. He simply sat in the corner, stunned by the developments.

Coach told them the game wasn’t over but if they played anything less than perfect in the 2nd half, it would be over really quick.

Second Half

The Lions came out with a flare. They stopped the Boilers and got the ball at midfield. Greer continued to go for it all. He found Downs 20 yards downfield and Wally made the most out of the play. He was pushed out of bounds at the three yard line. They refuse to run the ball. There were two incompletions and much to Billy Bullock’s dismay, they called Ackerman’s number who made the play and scored. He wasn’t so much upset they scored but that they don’t have the confidence in him yet.

28-13 Purdue (12:38 left in Q3)

The next play could go down in the books as the turning point in the game. All of the sudden Jells couldn’t find his touch. He was intercepted by Cole Collier at the 20 and had an open run into the end zone!!! Jells has thrown three strait interceptions after four strait touchdowns.

28-20 Purdue (11:11 left in Q3)

Purdue came right down the field but had to settle for a field goal. For some reason I get the feeling that field goals aren’t going to win this game.

31-20 Purdue (6:14 left in Q3)

Billy got his first carry and was wrapped up for a loss of a yard. The Boilermakers came up with a huge stop on 3rd and 3 and forced a punt. Their tailback Leroy Smith broke out a 40 yard run to the 8, setting up Jells’ 5th touchdown pass of the game and suddenly the game is just as far out of reach as it once was.

38-20 Purdue (0:44 left in Q3)

The next drive was haunted by penalties after the kickoff was returned to midfield. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, combined with a sack and a holding penalty forced another Penn State field goal.

38-23 Purdue (13:03 left in game)

The next drive was smothered by the Penn State defense but another illegal block penalty put them in tough territory from the start. Then Greer threw his 5th interception of the game! The Boilers took advantage and got three.

41-23 Purdue (6:20 left in the game)

That all but guaranteed the win for Purdue. And if that didn’t do it, Greer’s 6th INT sure did! Unbelievable. Gary Blades came into the game and led the team down the field and ended it with a touchdown pass to Neal Aaron from 18 yards out.

41-29 Purdue (1:45 left in game)

The onside kick failed. They got the ball back after a fumble and Blades did all he could to lead them down the field. The game ended on a sack.

Final score: Purdue 41, Penn State 29.

Post-game thoughts

After a great game, Tito Greer took about five steps backwards. The Lions threw for 509 yards between their two quarterbacks and ended with negative yards rushing!!! Purdue had 409 yards passing and 89 rushing.

Billy didn’t do well but it’s not like he got a true shot. They didn’t run the ball at all. He had one carry for -1 yards and 1 catch for 4 yards. The Nittany Lions hopes of a big-time bowl game are dashed and now it is back to the drawing board. Meanwhile, the Purdue Boilermakers have entered elite status in college football.

Code:

Billy Bullock Career At-A-Glance:

Freshman Year: Penn State University
Game Opp.               Att     Yds    Avg     TD   |   Rec   Yds   TD
1    Air Force           10     17     1.7     0    |    6     71    1
2    #9 Pittsburgh        5     33     6.6     0    |    1     2     0
3    Shelbyville          3     13     4.3     0    |    1     6     0
4    Minnesota            7     20     2.8     0    |    3     24    0
5    Iowa                 6     43     7.1     0    |    2     20    0
6    #11 Purdue           1     -1    -1.0     0    |    1     4     0      
Season                   32     125    4.0     0    |   14     127   1

Career Stats
Games    Att      Yds      Avg      TD    |   Rec      Yds      TD   
6        32       125      4.0      0     |   14       127      1

mtaystl03 · 09-24-2005, 08:45 PM

Around College Football: Week Seven

#2 Florida continues to play well under Urban Meyer. They handled their second consecutive tough test, this time handing Georgia their first loss of the season, 26-10.

One could argue that #3 Michigan has to be considered among the top two now, they beat up on #7 Wisconsin, 34-18.

Steve Spurrier's S.C. Gamecocks beat #8 Tennessee on the road 23-21 in dramatic fashion.

#1 Oklahoma handled Baylor with ease 49-3.

Big 10 Scoreboard

#3 Michigan 34, #7 Wisconsin 18
#11 Purdue 41, #16 Penn State 29
Iowa 29, #22 Illinois 10
Michigan State 24 @ Minnesota 14
#12 Ohio State 41, Northwestern 0

Updated Big 10 Standings:

Code:

  School                 W  L  T  Pct   PF  PA  W  L  T  Pct   PF  PA  Streak  
Purdue                   6  0  0  1.000 268 63  3  0  0  1.000 81  63  Won 12      
Michigan                 6  0  0  1.000 211 60  3  0  0  1.000 86  37  Won 7       
Ohio State               5  1  0  .833  227 49  2  1  0  .666  107 30  Won 2       
Wisconsin                4  1  0  .800  225 98  1  1  0  .500  66  51  Lost 1      
Michigan State           3  2  0  .600  125 98  1  1  0  .500  41  34  Won 1       
Indiana                  1  4  0  .200  73  181 1  1  0  .500  37  70  Lost 1      
Penn State               4  2  0  .666  283 104 1  2  0  .333  97  84  Lost 1      
Illinois                 4  2  0  .666  175 130 1  2  0  .333  64  78  Lost 1      
Minnesota                4  2  0  .666  177 109 1  2  0  .333  72  82  Lost 2      
Iowa                     3  3  0  .500  193 116 1  2  0  .333  63  85  Won 1       
Northwestern             2  4  0  .333  105 167 0  3  0  .000  20  120 Lost 3

Heisman Trophy winner Mo Perry in Oklahoma had another huge week this week as he was 19-for-25 for 329 yards, 3 TD and 0 INT as Oklahoma remains unbeaten. Perry gets Offensive Player of the Week.

Maryland DE Brent Finley recorded 5.0 sacks for the Terps this week and gets the Defensive Player of the Week.

Oklahoma will lose their spot a top the standings as their strength of schedule is going to kill them. They have yet to play a team in the top 50. They will finally be tested in their next two games: at #9 Texas and then at #6 Nebraska.

Miami's Hardy Randle was 14-of-15 for 239 yards and 4 TD's before being taken out of the game. The Hurricanes went on to beat Wake Forest 70-6.

Brandon Daniels went over the 1,000 yard mark with his 179 yard, 2 TD performance this week. He is at 1,074 and 17 TD's through six games. Amazing.

Here are the new rankings:

Code:

  School                Record  Conf  Coach Fans  Ave    Rank  
Oklahoma                5-0     B12   1     1     1.00    4       
Florida                 5-0     SEC   2     2     2.00    1       
Michigan                6-0     B10   3     3     3.00    2       
Miami of Florida        6-0     ACC   4     4     4.00    5       
Nebraska                6-0     B12   5     6     5.50    6       
Texas                   4-1     B12   6     8     7.00    15      
USC                     4-1     P10   7     7     7.00    10      
Purdue                  6-0     B10   8     5     6.50    3       
Florida State           4-1     ACC   9     10    9.50    20      
Ohio State              5-1     B10   10    16    13.00   9       
South Carolina          5-0     SEC   11    9     10.00   8       
Georgia                 4-1     SEC   12    13    12.50   7       
Utah                    5-0     MOU   13    14    13.50   11      
Wisconsin               4-1     B10   14    12    13.00   12      
Tennessee               4-1     SEC   15    17    16.00   13      
Louisiana State         5-1     SEC   16    21    18.50   16      
Washington State        5-1     P10   17    11    14.00   19      
Alabama                 4-1     SEC   18    20    19.00   14      
Boston College          5-1     BEA   19    18    18.50   18      
UCLA                    5-1     P10   20    15    17.50   17      
Pittsburgh              5-1     BEA   21    27    24.00   29      
Penn State              4-2     B10   22    33    27.50   27      
Auburn                  4-1     SEC   23    25    24.00   22      
Texas Christian         4-1     USA   24    26    25.00   33      
North Carolina State    5-1     ACC   25    28    26.50   25

Amazingly, the BCS rankings have Florida playing Purdue in the National Champtionship game. Oklahoma's weak schedule really hurt them. They will take care of that in the next two weeks.

---------

NFL Happenings: Week Five

The Philadelphia Eagles are now the only 5-0 team in the league. Denver and Detroit are 4-0.

2-time reigning MVP Peyton Manning was named offensive player of the week after a quiet start to the season. This week he was 23-for-32 for 370 yards, 5 TD and no interceptions. His Colts beat Buffalo 35-3.

Another rookie running back came out of nowhere and this week it was for Billy's favorite team and undefeated Eagles. Former Wisconsin running back Dale Dawson, who was taken with the 25th overall pick, ran for 119 yards and 2 TD's against New Orleans. Dawson was taken after Brian Westbrook took off for Minnesota in the off-season.

Marvin Harrison, Andre Johnson, Nate Burleson and Randy Hymes (STL) all caught 2 TD passes. Hymes is an undrafted player out of Grambling. He bounced between Seattle and Baltimore last year before landing in St. Louis. He has started three games and has 290 yards and three TD's this year.

Miami Dophins LB Zach Thomas was named Defensive player of the week when he made 8 tackles, 3 assists, 2 sacks and 2 passes defensed. It was a great overall game for Thomas in the Miami win.

mtaystl03 · 09-24-2005, 09:37 PM

The Nittany Lions have some time to look back and reflect upon what just happened. They have dropped to #22 in the coaches poll with their two losses but they are the only team in the Top 25 with two losses.

The next major opponent, Wisconsin is sitting at #14. They have a game in week eight against Illinois in Champaign. That is no gimme. It will give the Lions a chance to really examine what they do well. One thing everybody knows they do well is run the ball with their stud back Troy Reed. He is a big-time back. A Senior who has 830 yards so far this season which is good enough for 4th in the nation.

College Football Week in Review: Week Eight

The no-doubt game of the week was in the Big XII where defending National Champion Oklahoma, who many said would fall because of their weak early schedule played in Texas. The Longhorns came to play and handed Oklahoma their first loss in the last two years, 13-9. A defensive battle won by the Longhorns. The Longhorns were #6 coming into the game despite the loss to Kansas State earlier this year.

#2 Florida just moved into the #1 spot without a doubt. They handled #11 South Carolina on the road 37-14. They have beat top 25 team three weeks in a row now and should sit a top the next poll.

#5 Nebraska survived a scare against Iowa State, 10-9 in Ames, IA.

#8 Purdue won again. This time they beat Minnesota on the road 37-21!

Arizona State pulled off their second strait upset. This time they surprised #17 Washington State, 18-13. Two weeks ago the Sun Devils stunned the college football world by beating #5 USC by a point.

Bobby Bowden and the Florida State Seminoles are back! They handled a tough road game at Georgia Tech, 21-19.

Another great Big 10 game saw #3 Michigan survive at home against Iowa, 37-30.

Wisconsin did handle Illinois but it wasn't easy. The final was 26-24.

UConn's Billy Joe Jones was the Offensive Player of the Week for the second time this season. This time he was 31-43 for 417 yards, 4 TD, 0 INT.

Iowa's ILB Earl Downing did his part, intercepting three passes, making 12 tackles and 1.5 sacks! Iowa lost a heartbreaker to #3 Michigan in Ann Arbor.

Hardy Randle continues his Heisman pace, this time going 25-35 for 327, 4 TD's and 1 INT. His TD-INT ratio right now is 24-4! Rating at 199.5.

The newest Coaches Poll Top 25 has no Penn State (officially at #26)

Code:

  School                Record  Conf  Coach Fans  Ave    Rank  
Florida                 6-0     SEC   1     1     1.00    1       
Michigan                7-0     B10   2     2     2.00    2       
Miami of Florida        7-0     ACC   3     3     3.00    5       
Nebraska                7-0     B12   4     6     5.00    4       
Oklahoma                5-1     B12   5     5     5.00    12      
Texas                   5-1     B12   6     8     7.00    11      
Florida State           5-1     ACC   7     9     8.00    17      
Purdue                  7-0     B10   8     4     6.00    3       
USC                     4-1     P10   9     7     8.00    13      
Ohio State              5-1     B10   10    14    12.00   9       
Georgia                 5-1     SEC   11    11    11.00   6       
Wisconsin               5-1     B10   12    10    11.00   7       
Tennessee               5-1     SEC   13    13    13.00   8       
Utah                    6-0     MOU   14    12    13.00   10      
Louisiana State         6-1     SEC   15    17    16.00   16      
Alabama                 5-1     SEC   16    16    16.00   15      
South Carolina          5-1     SEC   17    21    19.00   14      
Pittsburgh              6-1     BEA   18    23    20.50   21      
North Carolina State    6-1     ACC   19    25    22.00   23      
Virginia Tech           4-1     ACC   20    18    19.00   22      
Colorado State          6-1     MOU   21    26    23.50   20      
West Virginia           5-1     BEA   22    15    18.50   18      
Texas Christian         4-1     USA   23    27    25.00   32      
Boise State             4-1     WAC   24    24    24.00   36      
Washington State        5-2     P10   25    19    22.00   26

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NFL Recap: Week Six

Philadelphia and Detroit lose and Denver wins. That leaves the Broncos as the only remaining undefeated team at 5-0.

Jake Delhomme threw five touchdown passes for the Panthers in their 35-17 win over previously unbeaten Philadelphia.

LaMont Jordan led all rushers with 151 yards and a score in the Raiders 27-3 win over Cleveland. Both David Fields and Warrick Dunn ran for exactly 110 yards for Atlanta as the Falcons move to 4-2 with a 34-28 win over Tampa Bay.

Edgerrin James was struggling for some time in Baltimore but finally got to 100 yards this week in a 30-15 win over San Diego. His high in the previous five games was 78 yards.

Stephen Davis managed 90 yards against the Eagles to hold on to the league lead at 714 yards. 2nd is Fields at 572 and Rudi Johnson moved into 3rd with 482.

Green Bay's ILB Nick Barnett picked off two passes and had a sack in the Packers in their 28-17 win over Detroit.

mtaystl03 · 09-26-2005, 05:02 PM

Game 7: Penn State Nittany Lions (4-2) @ #12 Wisconsin Badgers (-12)

A huge game for the Lions. This team can not lose any more games if they want in a bowl game. The Badgers will look to run Troy Reed all over the defense. The game will be nationally televised on TV5.

The first drive of the game by Wisconsin was unsuccessful. The defense looked really good, forcing an incompletion, then stopping Bell for 2 yards and their QB Blackwell for a loss of one. The punt was terrible but the Nittany Lions couldn’t do anything with the field position. Greer threw two incompletions and then was sacked. The next drive, Reed ran all over the field and their fullback scored to get them on the board first.

7-0 Wisconsin (5:32 left in Q1)

Another drive was stalled because of an offensive pass interference penalty followed by a sack. Ackerman was on for a play and after the pass was incomplete, he hobbled off the field. Then, right when the defense gets some momentum, stopping Reed for a loss of one and then -4, they connect on a 20-yard pass play. They completed another third-and-13 before LB Eric Chandler came up with a big interception. At this point, Reed has some long runs but has also been stopped behind the line of scrimmage 6 times. He has around 11 carries for 29 yards. If the Lions can hold him in check and make Blackwell beat them, they have a shot.

Billy got the first carry of the next drive, taking it 7 yards before he was thrown to the turn and the refs threw a flag for unsportsmanlike conduct. Greer was then sacked, Hastings lost two yards and a 3-yard pass was completed. Another punt. The next drive saw Wisconsin get into some trouble with an offensive holding call. They completed a 17 yard pass on 2nd and 18 but the Nittany Lions defense stopped the run for no gain. They punted and Cole Collier brought the ball back 22 yards to the Wisconsin 42. He was just tripped up by the last man or he would’ve taken it to the house. They know they need to cash in on this drive. Billy got his second carry for 2 yards before they sacked Greer AGAIN, this time jarring the ball loose and recovering it. Both defenses got stops on the next possessions and then when Wisconsin got the ball back, the Lions did it again. They get the ball with 2:52 left in the half and need to put something on the board. The offense couldn’t do anything with it as the Badgers defense has been stifling. That got us to half-time.

Half-Time

Considering the circumstances, this wasn’t a terrible half for the Lions. They are down one touchdown on the road. If they can hang around, they might be able to break a big one. The offense could only muster 48 yards (just 5 rushing) on them in the first half. That has to improve. They do get the ball to start the half and they have been known to come out of the locker room fired up.

Second half

Things couldn’t be more frustrating for the Lions right now. Every time they get close, a stupid penalty pushes them back. On this drive, Greer found Wally Downs three different times for first downs but a hold pushed them back and they couldn’t recover. The punt was great, at the Wisconsin 6. Then came a big play.

The Badgers were going for the jugular right away. Blackwell dropped back and fired deep. His main target Juan Starr was waiting for the ball until Shannon Wayne stepped in front of it and picked it off! He had a full head of steam going and was tackled at the one yard line!! Big play. The first play was a pass that was blocked. Then they went to play action and he was hurried to the point of throwing the ball away so that set up a 3rd and 1 basically on the goal line. They gave it to Hastings and he barreled in for the tying score!

7-7 Penn State (10:18 left in Q3)

The defense got a stop and the Badgers countered with one of their own. When they got the ball back it was quite obvious they wanted to establish Troy Reed. He bolted for runs of 10, 11 and 18 yards before they got to the 17 of Penn State forced with a 4th and one. The give was to Reed and Cortez and Schroeder got great penetration to stop him in the backfield. The Lions took over!

First play of the next drive was a pass to Bullock who turned it up field for a gain of 13 yards. Greer went right back to Billy for 8 more. Then he found Grabovez for 24 to the Wisconsin 40. Hastings took a carry for no gain, followed by a hot Greer finding Hardy for 17 yards to the 23. Wally Downs dropped a pass and then Hastings took a screen pass, followed some great blocks all the way into the end zone, TOUCHDOWN PENN STATE!!!

14-7 Penn State (:39 left in Q3)

After the kickoff, the Lions defense continued to put pressure on Blackwell, this time Breedlove picked him off at the Wisconsin 39. The coaches brought the offense together and stressed how important it was to ride this hot streak all the way through. The fans were getting louder and louder as it looked more and more bleak. They needed to quiet them right now. They had to do whatever it takes…

On 3rd down, Greer found Grabovez for 20 yards. Bullock got a carry that went for only one on first down. Then on a great play action fake to Billy, Greer turned around and delivered a strike to Neal Aaron for a Penn State touchdown!

21-7 Penn State (13:44 left in game)

Again, the coaches got the defense together this time and told them not to let up one bit. There is too much time on that clock. Things were looking bad for Wisconsin who would have to most likely ride the arm of Blackwell who already has thrown three interceptions. There was a lot of time left though, and they were at home.

Then it happened. Just what they didn’t need. A roughing the passer penalty, a 36-yard completion and then a 19-yard touchdown pass. In a matter of 2 minutes. Big score for the Badgers.

21-14 Penn State (11:22 left in game)

The drive was going well until it became 4th down. Greer was heating up. It was 4th and 2 on the 34, fringe field goal territory but they decided to go for it and Hastings didn’t even get close, a loss of three and a turnover on downs. The defense came up with a huge sack on the first down. Then Reed got six yards back and then a defensed pass by Herb Green forced the punt. The Nittany Lions would get the ball back with 6:11 on the clock that might as well of read “eternity”. The Badgers were feeling the momentum shift their way. Another stupid unsportsmanlike penalty hurt Penn State. They got after Greer really well and forced another punt. It was a bad one. They returned it 16 yards to the PSU 33. They were sure to score. They did just that. A touchdown toss to Starr from three yards out tied the game.

21-21 (3:52 left in game)

Another sack set them back. An incompletion and an 8-yard slant wouldn’t get the job done. The punt was short and the returner (Starr) was hit immediately and fumbled the ball. Unfortunately it went right to a Red shirt. They drove down and got the game-winning field goal. There was just :33 ticks left. They lose another heart breaker.

Final score: Wisconsin 24, Penn State 21

Post-game thoughts There could be some positives to come out of this game but the one prevailing thought is the amount of bonehead penalties and the amount of sacks allowed. The Badgers have a good defense but there is no reason they should’ve sacked Tito 6 times, and hurried him into bad throws 7 more times! Their inability to run the ball effectively hurt again. Hastings ran the ball 12 times for 6 yards. Bullock ended up with 6 carries for 13 yards.

The one guy that continually comes to play is WR Wally Downs. He made some big catches in this game, seven for 88 yards. Greer didn’t play too bad. He didn’t get picked and threw for 277 but was just 23 of 44. Much of that is on the terrible play of the offensive line. The defense did a nice job handling their stud RB Reed and even stopped him for a loss 12 times!

Reed ended up with 26 carries for 84 yards. The defense played well, came up with three interceptions but couldn’t keep Bernie Blackwell from beating them in the end. Another disappointing loss for the Nittany Lions and they now sit at just 4-3 on the season.

Code:

Freshman Year: Penn State University
Game Opp.               Att     Yds    Avg     TD   |   Rec   Yds   TD
1    Air Force           10     17     1.7     0    |    6     71    1
2    #9 Pittsburgh        5     33     6.6     0    |    1     2     0
3    Shelbyville          3     13     4.3     0    |    1     6     0
4    Minnesota            7     20     2.8     0    |    3     24    0
5    Iowa                 6     43     7.1     0    |    2     20    0
6    #11 Purdue           1     -1     -1.0    0    |    1     4     0  
7    #12 Wisconsin        6     13     2.1     0    |    3     19    0    
Season                   38     138    3.6     0    |   17     146   1

Career Stats
Games    Att      Yds      Avg      TD    |   Rec      Yds      TD   
6        38       138      3.6      0     |   17       146      1

mtaystl03 · 09-27-2005, 10:30 PM

Other College Action: Week Nine

In a huge Big XII showdown, #5 Oklahoma, fresh off their first loss in two years, beat #4 Nebraska, 49-24 in Lincoln, once again showing they are still a force to be feared.

Upset Special: #19 North Carolina State handed Bobby Bowden and the Seminoles their second loss of the season, winning 21-14 at FSU.

Upset Special: The Big 10 continues to beat up on each other. This time, unranked Michigan State beat #10 Ohio State 33-17 in East Lansing. They should move up in the rankings after that huge win.

#2 Michigan handled a tough test from Minnesota, 38-28 at the Metrodome.

Chris Finch, a DE from Texas came up with 7 tackles, 4.0 of which were sacks to earn Def. Player of the Week. The offensive honors went to Brian Glenn a WR at Arkansas State who had 10 receptions for 303 yards and 3 TD's!

Here is a look at the newest Top 25 Coaches' Poll:

Code:

  School                Record  Conf  Coach Fans  Ave    Rank  
Florida                 6-0     SEC   1     1     1.00    1       
Michigan                8-0     B10   2     2     2.00    2       
Miami of Florida        7-0     ACC   3     3     3.00    4       
Oklahoma                6-1     B12   4     5     4.50    7       
Texas                   6-1     B12   5     7     6.00    12      
**USC                   5-1     P10   6     6     6.00    8       
Purdue                  7-0     B10   7     4     5.50    3       
Nebraska                7-1     B12   8     12    10.00   11      
Georgia                 6-1     SEC   9     9     9.00    5       
Wisconsin               6-1     B10   10    8     9.00    6       
Tennessee               6-1     SEC   11    10    10.50   9       
Utah                    7-0     MOU   12    11    11.50   10      
Alabama                 6-1     SEC   13    13    13.00   14      
Louisiana State         6-1     SEC   14    17    15.50   15      
Florida State           5-2     ACC   15    18    16.50   29      
South Carolina          6-1     SEC   16    16    16.00   13      
Ohio State              5-2     B10   17    26    21.50   18      
Pittsburgh              6-1     BEA   18    22    20.00   20      
North Carolina State    7-1     ACC   19    21    20.00   19      
Virginia Tech           5-1     ACC   20    14    17.00   16      
Texas Christian         5-1     USA   21    20    20.50   22      
Boise State             5-1     WAC   22    19    20.50   27      
Boston College          6-2     BEA   23    23    23.00   24      
West Virginia           5-1     BEA   24    15    19.50   17      
Oregon                  5-2     P10   25    24    24.50   21

Noteable: Penn State is ranked #30.

BCS Standings

Code:

  School                Record  Conf  Comp  
1. Florida                 6-0     SEC   1.25
2. Michigan                8-0     B10   2.25
3. Purdue                  7-0     B10   2.50
4. Georgia                 6-1     SEC   5.50
5. Wisconsin               6-1     B10   6.00
6. South Carolina          6-1     SEC   6.00
7. Utah                    7-0     MOU   6.75
8. Miami of Florida        7-0     ACC   7.75

NFL Happenings: Week Seven

The Denver Broncos move to 6-0 on the season with a 31-20 win over the Baltimore Ravens at Invesco Field. So far this season they have rode the back of RB Tatum Bell, who has rushed for 520 yards and 7 touchdowns. Backup Maurice Clarett has pitched in with 273 yards and 2 more scores. QB Jake Plummer has done just enough to help control the clock while his favorite target has become TE Jeb Putzier who leads the team with 24 catches.

Tampa Bay QB Brian Griese was named offensive player of the week for his role in the Bucs' surprising 23-3 win over Philadlephia. He was 27-for-37 (72.9%) for 235 yards, 2 TD and 0 INT. A solid performance which he has made commonplace. This season he has a 96.6 passer rating so far this year.

Stephen Davis did it again for the Panthers, this time he rumbled for 141 yards to lead the league. Stephen Jackson, for the Rams, went for 107 and a score.

The inconsistent but big-play threat in Tennessee is Rod Gardner. He lead the league in receiving yards in week one (197) but had just 6 catches for 62 yards in the next three games combined. Until this week, when he caught 9 for 149 to help the reeling Titans win their first game.

All-Everything DE Jason Taylor recorded three sacks for the Dolphins and was named Defensive Player of the Week.

mtaystl03 · 10-01-2005, 05:39 PM

UPDATE

I figure to move this thing along and keep interest I am going to have to write a lot less. I can't go into detail of every drive. There will be a change in the format. Much quicker game results and less to read. I figure that will be easier to follow.

mtaystl03 · 10-01-2005, 06:04 PM

Game 8: #17 Ohio State Buckeyes (5-2) @ Penn State Nittany Lions (4-3)(-1)

Another big conference game. The Lions need to find a way to win another Big 10 game! The Buckeyes will be coming into town mad about last week’s loss to Michigan State.

This is no doubt a big game and Billy will most likely be the starter with Hastings hurting. They are saying he will still play but Billy will be the feature back against the great Ohio State defense.

The Buckeyes jumped in front early on a 7-yard TD run. They made it look easy. On the next drive, Billy got his first carry of the game and went for 7 yards. The Buckeyes took a 14-0 lead and things looked bleak.

Greer was able to find Adame in the back of the end-zone from 10 yards out on their next drive and then Baulig intercepted a pass and returned it for a TD. Just like that the game was tied and the crowd and momentum was squarely in the Nittany Lions favor.

The half ended at 14-14 and Billy had just 4 carries for 13 yards and one catch for 9 yards. He wasn't happy about the stats but was happy the game was tied. They could salvage their season with this one huge win over Ohio State.

Billy took the first carry in the 2nd half for a 9 yard gain. A big interception by Greer led to a Buckeye field goal. 17-14 Buckeyes. The Ohio State defense was flying all over the field, making big plays, hitting hard and giving Greer fits. They got another turnover, this time on a fumble and the Lion defense held them to another field goal. 20-14.

They were still very much in the game. There was a key 3rd-and-2 on a drive in the 3rd quarter and the coaching staff decided to give the ball to Hastings. He lost a yard and Billy went into a tantrum on the sidelines. He couldn't believe they would give him the ball under these circumstances, not only was Billy running well today, Hastings was hurt. His teammates calmed him down before JoePa could get wind of the outburst.

Then a huge play erased all memory of the prior injustice, when the special teams blocked a punt and Baulig pounced on it on the end zone! 21-20 PSU!

The defense held on and actually got a safety on the last play on intentional grounding to make the official final score 23-20. What a great game and a huge win for the Nittany Lions!

Final Score: Penn State 23, Ohio State 20.

Billy finished with 10 carries for 43 yards and 1 catch for 9 yards. More importantly, a huge win for the Lions!

Code:

Freshman Year: Penn State University
Game Opp.               Att     Yds    Avg     TD   |   Rec   Yds   TD
1    Air Force           10     17     1.7     0    |    6     71    1
2    #9 Pittsburgh        5     33     6.6     0    |    1     2     0
3    Shelbyville          3     13     4.3     0    |    1     6     0
4    Minnesota            7     20     2.8     0    |    3     24    0
5    Iowa                 6     43     7.1     0    |    2     20    0
6    #11 Purdue           1     -1    -1.0     0    |    1     4     0  
7    #12 Wisconsin        6     13     2.1     0    |    3     19    0
8    #17 Ohio State      10     43     4.3     0    |    1     9     0
Season                   48     181    3.8     0    |   18     136   1

Career Stats
Games    Att      Yds      Avg      TD    |   Rec      Yds      TD   
8        48       181      3.8      0     |    18      136      1

mtaystl03 · 10-01-2005, 09:58 PM

Game 9: Illinois Fighting Illini (5-3) @ Penn State University Nittany Lions (5-3)

Both teams are at 5-3 and need this game. The Lions have the advantage being at home and it should be a ruckus crowd and either team would likely creep back into the top 25 with a victory.

Billy officially gets the start for the first time (Hastings was on the field first in the last game) as things started out right for the Lions. Greer threw a screen pass to Billy who took it up field for 17 yards on the first play of the game. Neal Aaron got loose down the sidelines for a quick 7-0 lead for Penn State.

Billy got his first carry that went for 7 yards on the next drive. The Illini got a long pass but missed the extra point and then Greer found Grabovez for a TD to make it 14-6 PSU. They got pass-happy again and Greer threw his third TD of the first half, second to Aaron for a 21-6 lead.

With :43 left in the first half, after Billy already had a 17-yard run on the drive, powered his way into the end zone from 13 yards out for his first rushing touchdown!!! 28-6

They got a long pass and kicked a field goal to make it 28-9 at the half.

Greer hit on another TD pass to make it 35-9 right away. Illinois QB Byrant Newman threw three unanswered touchdown passes before Duesenberg hit a field goal to make it 38-30. One more field goal and that was the game. The Lions move to 6-3 on the season and 3-3 in the Big Ten.

Final Score: Penn State 41, Illinois 30.

Billy managed 58 yards (career high) on 13 carries (career high), scored his first rushing touchdown and grabbed four passes for 34 more yards. Another solid day for Bill.

Code:

Freshman Year: Penn State University
Game Opp.               Att     Yds    Avg     TD   |   Rec   Yds   TD
1    Air Force           10     17     1.7     0    |    6     71    1
2    #9 Pittsburgh        5     33     6.6     0    |    1     2     0
3    Shelbyville          3     13     4.3     0    |    1     6     0
4    Minnesota            7     20     2.8     0    |    3     24    0
5    Iowa                 6     43     7.1     0    |    2     20    0
6    #11 Purdue           1     -1    -1.0     0    |    1     4     0  
7    #12 Wisconsin        6     13     2.1     0    |    3     19    0
8    #17 Ohio State      10     43     4.3     0    |    1     9     0
9    Illinois            13     58     4.5     1    |    4     34    0
Season                   61     239    3.9     1    |   22     189   1

Career Stats
Games    Att      Yds      Avg      TD    |   Rec      Yds      TD   
9        61       239      3.9      1     |    22      189      1

mtaystl03 · 10-01-2005, 10:18 PM

Around College Football: Week 11

> #2 Miami (FL) continues to play great football. This time they handle #13 Florida State 43-13. They still get no love in the BCS Standings due to the weak schedule.

> Urban Meyer's Gators are staying in the thick of things with a hard-fought 14-10 win at Alabama.

>Both Tennessee and Texas move to 8-1 on the season and closer to a BCS bowl bid.

> Utah, Miami (FL) and Michigan remain the only unbeaten teams in the land.

Here is a look at the new top 25:

Code:

  School                Record  Conf  Coach Fans  Ave    Rank  
Michigan                9-0     B10   1     1     1.00    1       
Miami of Florida        9-0     ACC   2     2     2.00    4       
Oklahoma                8-1     B12   3     3     3.00    5       
Texas                   8-1     B12   4     6     5.00    11      
Florida                 7-1     SEC   5     4     4.50    2       
USC                     7-1     P10   6     5     5.50    10      
Wisconsin               8-1     B10   7     7     7.00    3       
Nebraska                8-1     B12   8     12    10.00   12      
Tennessee               8-1     SEC   9     10    9.50    7       
Georgia                 7-1     SEC   10    8     9.00    6       
Utah                    9-0     MOU   11    11    11.00   9       
Purdue                  8-1     B10   12    9     10.50   8       
South Carolina          7-1     SEC   13    14    13.50   13      
Pittsburgh              8-1     BEA   14    16    15.00   16      
Texas Christian         7-1     USA   15    15    15.00   19      
North Carolina State    8-1     ACC   16    17    16.50   17      
West Virginia           7-1     BEA   17    13    15.00   15      
Alabama                 7-2     SEC   18    19    18.50   14      
Florida State           6-3     ACC   19    21    20.00   30      
UCLA                    7-2     P10   20    18    19.00   20      
Virginia Tech           6-2     ACC   21    20    20.50   22      
Penn State              6-3     B10   22    27    24.50   18      
Boise State             6-2     WAC   23    23    23.00   28      
Colorado State          7-2     MOU   24    24    24.00   21      
Louisiana State         6-3     SEC   25    32    28.50   23

...and the BCS Standings...

Code:

  School                Record  Conf  Comp  Poll  Loss  Sched Total Rank  
1. Michigan                9-0     B10   1.75  1.00  0.00  0.60  3.35  1       
2. Wisconsin               8-1     B10   2.50  7.00  1.00  0.20  10.70 3       
3. Florida                 7-1     SEC   3.75  4.50  1.00  0.04  9.29  2       
4. Georgia                 7-1     SEC   5.25  9.00  1.00  1.16  16.41 6       
5. Tennessee               8-1     SEC   5.75  9.50  1.00  0.68  16.93 7       
6. Purdue                  8-1     B10   6.00  10.50 1.00  0.32  17.82 8       
7. Utah                    9-0     MOU   6.25  11.00 0.00  3.64  20.89 9       
8. South Carolina          7-1     SEC   7.50  13.50 1.00  2.04  24.04 13      

Miami, FL sits at #9

In and Around the NFL: Week 9

>The Detroit Lions and their new look squad remain the talk of the NFL. Behind new signal caller David Carr and running back Shaun Alexander, the Lions sit at 7-1.

>Carolina and Philadelphia are 7-2. Pittsburgh is 6-2.

>A pair of Panthers continue their dominance on offense as QB Jake Delhomme has the best QB Rating of any other player: 116.3. His 19-3 TD/INT ratio and 69.6 completion percentage are both tops in the leauge. Meanwhile, RB Stephen Davis is the first in the NFL to 1,000 rushing yards (officially 1,045). The second place runner is Rudi Johnson (CIN) at just 734.

Peregrine · 10-03-2005, 03:47 AM

Nice dynasty! Personally my choice (if I had one) would be to keep the detailed accounts of each game but trim back a lot of the NFL stuff and the other things going on in college, but that's just me, I skip over that stuff anyway!

mtaystl03 · 10-03-2005, 03:35 PM

Yeah, I hear ya. I will try to do that. I like keeping an eye on things going on around the NFL and College Football but if I have to cut back on something, that will definately go. Thanks.

mtaystl03 · 10-03-2005, 03:35 PM

A long week of practice for the #1 team in the nation was coming to a close and JoePa took the team together to let them know how this was their National Championship. They might not make a bowl game this year and there is one more game after this one but beating the #1 team in the nation, on the road, would be one of the greatest wins in the history of the stories Penn State football program.

Billy will be united with the #1 running back recruit – Leroy McCarthy who decided to go to Michigan. He is the #2 back but the difference is that the Wolverines love to run the ball. He has 60 carries for 321 yards and 4 TD’s. The #1 back, Wayne Bell, a sophomore gets the majority of the carries (192 for 1,038 yards). Should be a great game.

Game 10: Penn State University Nittany Lions (6-3) @ #1 Michigan Wolverines (9-0)

The Nittany Lions travel to Ann Arbor to try to wreck the hopes of the nation’s top team. The Wolverines are now 9-0 and on their way to the National Championship game.

On his first carry of the game, Billy ran a counter for 15 yards. Greer threw an interception on that drive. Michigan was sloppy on their first possession and PSU got close again but Duesenberg missed a field goal. No score at the end of the first quarter.

Michigan struck first when Bell ran it in from 3 yards out. 7-0 Michigan. Later in the first half, Herb Green came up with a big interception of Coleman. Then Greer threw a screen to Billy, who turned it up field for 22 yards. That drive stalled and the half ended with the game at 7-0 Michigan.

Billy had 5 carries for 29 yards in the first half. He looked good but just wasn’t getting the carries needed to really get rumbling. Nonetheless, the game was well within reach.

The Wolves came out firing in the second half and got a 15 yard TD strike to take a 14-0 lead. The Michigan defense was flying all over the place. The were all but impenetrable. The PSU defense was just so tired from being on the field so long that Wayne Bell ran another touchdown, this one from 12 yards out. Lorenzo Coleman found Darrin Hines later in the 4th quarter to all but put it away.

The Nittany Lions did get on the board finally at the end of the game when Greer found Dean Grabovez and then hit Chris Long for the 2-point conversion.

Final Score: Michigan 31, Penn State 8

Billy was impressive in this game but the pass-happy offense limited him to 9 carries for 36 yards on the ground. He also caught 2 passes for 31 yards including the big 22-yarder.

It was a disappointing result, especially being that close at half time. I think the fans are starting to recognize Billy as a threat and they believe he should get the ball more often. I don’t see that changing and with just one game left, Billy might become frusterated.

Code:

Freshman Year: Penn State University
Game Opp.               Att     Yds    Avg     TD   |   Rec   Yds   TD
1    Air Force           10     17     1.7     0    |    6     71    1
2    #9 Pittsburgh        5     33     6.6     0    |    1     2     0
3    Shelbyville          3     13     4.3     0    |    1     6     0
4    Minnesota            7     20     2.8     0    |    3     24    0
5    Iowa                 6     43     7.1     0    |    2     20    0
6    #11 Purdue           1     -1    -1.0     0    |    1     4     0  
7    #12 Wisconsin        6     13     2.1     0    |    3     19    0
8    #17 Ohio State      10     43     4.3     0    |    1     9     0
9    Illinois            13     58     4.5     1    |    4     34    0
10   #1 Michigan          9     36     4.0     0    |    2     31    0    
Season                   70     275    3.9     1    |   24     220   1

Career Stats
Games    Att      Yds      Avg      TD    |   Rec      Yds      TD   
10       70       275      3.9      1     |    24      220    1

mtaystl03 · 10-03-2005, 04:11 PM

The season would come to a close this week when the Penn State Nittany Lions travel to Michigan State for the final regular season game. At 6-4, it is doubtful they will be eligible for any bowls, so this is it for the freshman year for Billy Bullock…

Another big deal in this game is that the Nittany Lions would get back their best play maker on offense, Willy Esparza who has finished his rehab from a major injury earlier in the year.

Game 11: Penn State University Nittany Lions (6-4) (-8) @ Michigan State Spartans (6-4)

This is a big game for both teams. They each have a chance to finish ahead of one another in the final Big 10 standings. Should be a good final game.

The game started with Greer having a hot hand as JoePa shows no signs of abandoning the pass-happy scheme. He was picked off on that drive. The next drive started at the one-yard line after a great punt. He was intercepted again, this time Billy made his first official tackle, saving a touchdown. They cashed in on that miscue, 7-0 Michigan St.

The Lions call no running plays as they drive down the field and tie the game. Billy is clearly getting frustrated and the coaching staff just doesn’t seem to care one bit. 7-7. Another penalty-ridden drive was ended with another TD toss, 14-7 MSU.

As the first quarter came to a close, Billy had no touches. When he finally did get one, he got no blocking and had to fight for the one yard he did get. Then Greer threw another interception. Things just fell apart from there. The Lions couldn’t do anything on offense and Billy had just two carries for 3 yards. They basically gave up late in the half down 20-7 and had a punt blocked that led to another MSU touchdown. At the half it was 27-7 MSU. Coach Paterno looked tired. He didn’t even address the team. He told the Seniors that this was their last game and they better pick it up or they will have to live with this memory the rest of their lives.

They played an inspired second half, only to come up just short, 27-24. Coach was so proud of the comeback he broke into tears. He knew this team deserved better than a 6-5 record.

Final Score: Michigan State 27, Penn State 24.

Billy finished the day with 6 carries for 44 yards and no catches. He was overshadowed by Hastings who was getting healthy from the shoulder injury. They still believe Hastings will be the man next year as well. That will be determined later on.

That concludes the freshman season for Billy Bullock, here is look at the final numbers:

Code:

Freshman Year: Penn State University
Game Opp.               Att     Yds    Avg     TD   |   Rec   Yds   TD
1    Air Force           10     17     1.7     0    |    6     71    1
2    #9 Pittsburgh        5     33     6.6     0    |    1     2     0
3    Shelbyville          3     13     4.3     0    |    1     6     0
4    Minnesota            7     20     2.8     0    |    3     24    0
5    Iowa                 6     43     7.1     0    |    2     20    0
6    #11 Purdue           1     -1    -1.0     0    |    1     4     0
7    #12 Wisconsin        6     13     2.1     0    |    3     19    0
8    #17 Ohio State      10     43     4.3     0    |    1     9     0
9    Illinois            13     58     4.5     1    |    4     34    0
10   #1 Michigan          9     36     4.0     0    |    2     31    0
11   Michigan State       6     44     7.3     0    |    0     0     0
Season                   76     318    4.1     1    |   24     220   1

Career Stats
Games    Att      Yds      Avg      TD    |   Rec      Yds      TD   
11       76       318      4.1      1     |    24      220      1

mtaystl03 · 10-03-2005, 04:41 PM

COLLEGE AND NFL SEASONS IN REVIEW

The Michigan Wolverines kept their great season in tact and stayed unbeaten and would play for the National Championship, against Urban Meyer's 11-1 Florida Gators team. They edged out Miami (FL), Wisconsin and Georgia.

The game saw Florida hang in there for a long time. They actually took a 14-7 lead and had a chance to put the game away but they couldn't take advantage. Then the Wolves flexed their muscles and won a National Championship 28-14 final!

Michigan QB Lorenzo Blades threw all four touchdown passes. He finishes his college career like anybody could dream of!

Congratulations are in order for the 2006 National Champion: MICHIGAN WOLVERINES (12-0)

2006 Heisman Trophy Race

The four finalists include some pretty darn good players that we are familar with:

QB Moe Perry (Oklahoma) is the favorite. He won last year and this is his Senior year, he can vote for himself.

RB Brandon Daniels (West Virginia) has now run for 2,000+ yards two years in a row. The Senior doesn't get much love because of the schedule he plays. This year he rumbled for 2,211 yards and 29 TD (he gets my vote).

QB Hardy Randle (Miami, FL) had a miraculous season with a 193.9 rating. He also led the Hurricanes to an undefeated season.

Freshman QB Mo Jells (Purdue), who torched the Lions this year ended up with 42 touchdown passes for the Boilermakers!! Unbelieveable. He is a true freshman folks. He already took home Big 10 Conference player of the Year and Top Offensive Freshman awards. He is a long shot for the Heisman this year but it wouldn't surprise anybody if he got one before departing.

In one of the closest races in recent memory, Hardy Randle beat out Moe Perry by one vote!

NFL coming soon...

mtaystl03 · 10-03-2005, 04:47 PM

I have noticed over time that a lot of the players' names are being changed as I go through with this career. Billy's has stayed the same but others have changed. This is quite frusterating. I don't know if there is some sort of bug. Has anybody heard of this happening?

Peregrine · 10-03-2005, 05:29 PM

Hmm that's strange, I don't remember if TCY has the same copy protection as FOF but I know with FOF if there is a problem with your license info (have you recently re-installed the game?) then this will happen.

mtaystl03 · 10-05-2005, 03:13 PM

I have no idea but it is killing me. I have to guess at who these players are. Unfortunately, I might have to end this one. Billy's name was just changed when I test simmed ahead to see how he was doing.

09-23-2005, 02:10 PM	#20
mtaystl03 High School Varsity Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: St. Louis, MO	Game 2: #3 Penn State Nittany Lions (1-0) @ #9 Pittsburgh Panthers (0-0) (E) The line of ‘even’ says it all. This game can go either way. A big time match-up early on in the college football season that will set the tone for each squad’s year. The Lions defense started out with a stop on 3rd and one, forcing the three-and-out from the Panthers. Sure enough, Billy Bullock trotted out onto the field as the starter. They started with three pass plays, the first two falling incomplete but the third was completed for 16 yards. Then, the give was to Bullock who matched his season total on 10 carries with a 17 yard run on the first running play of the game! Another long pass play of 30 yards from Greer to Lyle set up the Lions deep in enemy territory. The first score was actually recorded by Calvin Hastings who was brought onto the field and took a screen pass to the house from 22 yards away to give the Lions an early advantage. That was Greer’s 4th TD pass of the season. Billy was thrilled. He had 2 carries for 21 yards on the drive and his boys were winning. 7-0 Penn State (9:40 left in Q1) Pitt returned the ball 62 yards on the ensuing kickoff was all for naught as the Lions defense held strong and forced a fumble and got possession back. They did go three-and-out with Hastings getting the call on the only running play, he got one yard. They punted and on Pitt’s next drive they had a roughing the passer and unnecessary roughness on back-to-back plays to put Pitt at midfield. It was getting chippy out there and the bad blood was starting to boil a little. The fans were into it. Pitt was faced with a tough decision on 4th and four for the 32 of Penn State. Instead of trying to force a long field goal, they went for it. The pass was dropped and the Lions took over. Greer was sacked for a loss of six and then threw two incompletions in a row and they punted. The first quarter ended with Pitt driving at the PSU 37. That drive stalled and they went for it again on fourth down. They didn’t get it and after Greer drove the Lions deep into Pitt territory, they too failed to convert on fourth down! Pitt had a nice drive and kicked a field goal to put some points on the board. 7-3 Penn State (4:07 in Q2) Billy got a carry for no gain on the next drive that ended with Greer throwing his first interception of the season. Pitt clearly had the momentum as the home crowd was going nuts. If they could score before half-time it would be huge. Instead, the Lions got old ‘Mo’ back in a huge way when Mel Woodard stepped in front of a Clyde Harrison pass and returned the interception 35 yards to the house! 14-3 Penn State (1:13 left in first half) The half ended with a long completion of 42 yards but no points. HALF TIME Each position coach was screaming at their guys, begging them for more, stressing how important this game was and how it wasn’t anywhere close to being over. Billy had three carries in the first half for 21 yards. He was wondering who would be the most carries in the 2nd half as all three have touched the ball quite a bit. Coach Paterno got the group together to stress that they need to keep up the tight defense and stay away from the stupid penalties. It was going to be a battle. Second Half On the opening drive of the second half, Billy got his fourth carry and battled for 8 yards. Later on, Hastings did the same. Bill then caught a swing pass at the 12 and was gang tackled as the blocking broke down in front of him. His fifth carry was for four yards before Greer was sacked and we settled for a field goal. Ryan Duesenberg was good from 26 for his first points of the season. 17-3 Penn State (10:07 left in Q3) The defense held strong forcing a punt and the return was just past midfield (Pitt 48). Hastings got two carries on the drive and Pitt got their crowd back in the game with a blocked field goal. Both teams struggled to get much going but Penn State broke through with Hastings getting the majority of the touches and Greer found Aaron for 46 yards. The third quarter ended with Duesenberg’s second short field goal. 20-3 Penn State (0:00 left in Q3) Pitt needs to score quickly or this game will be over. They did just that with two long passes (36 and 30 yards) and capped off by a 4 yard touchdown pass from Harrison to Omar Logan. Big score for Pitt, crowd back in it as well. 20-10 Penn State (12:52 left in game) Greer pretty much put the dagger in the heart of the Panthers with a 63-yard touchdown strike to Wally Downs. 27-10 Penn State (10:29 left in game) Pitt got a field goal but Greer threw two more touchdown passes before it was all said and done. His first was another 52-yard bomb to Downs. Then he found Toby Ackerman for a 7-yard strike. That means both Hastings and Ackerman found the end zone in this game and Billy didn’t. It was hard to be upset though and Billy was in much more of a partying mood after this big-time win on prime time television (ABC). This pretty much solidifies Penn State as a legitimate force to be reckoned with. Final Score: Penn State 40, Pitt 13. Post-game thoughts: While it is discouraging that both other backs scored, Bullock did contribute. He finished the game with 5 carries for 33 yards, by far the best output. Hastings managed just 22 yards on 10 carries and Ackerman actually didn’t even get a carry. QB Tito Greer was outstanding, earning player of the game award by throwing for 444 yards and 4 touchdowns! He even managed to get three different receivers 100+ yards. They filled in nicely for the injured Esparza. Neal Aaron and Isaac Lyle both caught 6 passes for 122 and 112 yards respectively. Wally Downs was also big, catching four long passes for a total of 142 yards and 2 scores. Code: Billy Bullock Career At-A-Glance: Freshman Year: Penn State University Game Opp. Att Yds Avg TD \| Rec Yds TD 1 Air Force 10 17 1.7 0 \| 6 71 1 2 #9 Pittsburgh 5 33 6.6 0 \| 1 2 0 Career Stats Games Att Yds Avg TD \| Rec Yds TD 2 15 50 3.3 0 \| 7 73 1 __________________ Go STL Sports! Last edited by mtaystl03 : 09-27-2005 at 09:42 PM.

09-23-2005, 02:32 PM	#23
mtaystl03 High School Varsity Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: St. Louis, MO	Billy was clearly frustrated after the game. He called his dad to talk things over. “I am better than those guys, dad. I know it. They may be older but I am better. I think Coach is mad at me or something. Something isn’t right,” he said. His father’s advice was to go talk to him. Find out where he stands, clear the air about if he has somehow slipped into the doghouse or something. Billy took the advice and went to talk to coach Paterno. He asked if he was mad at him. He asked if something was wrong. Coach simply told him that Billy is a freshman. Not many freshmen come into big-time college football and start right away. He is a true-freshman; he didn’t even get a red-shirt. He told him he isn’t mad at him. He said that there are times when he just doesn’t feel like talking. He advised him not to look to far into things but he was happy he came to talk to him. Many players are intimidated and don’t want to do that. Needless to say, he was somewhat relieved. He understood that it would be an amazing thing to start as a true freshman. He had a whole new outlook on things. With a bye week coming up, he would work his ass off in practice and help this team anyway he can. This could be the best chance he has to win that National Championship right now. You never know what is going to happen in the future. --- Other College Football in Week 3 The big game this week was #5 USC playing host to #16 Boston College. The Trojans continue to win football games, taking this one 42-21. Pittsburgh bounced back from their loss to Penn State, by beating #22 Texas A&M, 31-21 on the road. That makes the win for our Lions a little bigger. #1 Oklahoma may never lose a game. They murdered Louisville 51-0 this week. Illinois RB Kelly Thomas was the offensive player of the week after taking 35 carries for 229 yards and four touchdowns in the 41-16 win over North Texas. Ron Zook has the Fightin' Illini playing good football. In the newest rankings they are #16. Lorenzo Murray, Michigan State's DE was defensive player of the week with 7 tackles, 3 assists and 3.5 sacks. Top 25: Code: School Record Conf Coach Fans Ave Rank Oklahoma 2-0 B12 1 1 1.00 25 Florida 1-0 SEC 2 3 2.50 21 Michigan 2-0 B10 3 4 3.50 5 Texas 2-0 B12 4 5 4.50 15 USC 2-0 P10 5 2 3.50 1 Miami of Florida 2-0 ACC 6 7 6.50 11 Ohio State 2-0 B10 7 13 10.00 3 Georgia 1-0 SEC 8 8 8.00 26 Wisconsin 2-0 B10 9 6 7.50 16 Nebraska 2-0 B12 10 14 12.00 22 Tennessee 2-0 SEC 11 11 11.00 12 Penn State 3-0 B10 12 16 14.00 4 Alabama 2-0 SEC 13 18 15.50 2 Louisiana State 2-0 SEC 14 20 17.00 13 Washington State 3-0 P10 15 9 12.00 7 Illinois 2-0 B10 16 21 18.50 8 Purdue 2-0 B10 17 10 13.50 9 Kansas State 2-0 B12 18 15 16.50 14 South Carolina 1-0 SEC 19 25 22.00 45 Auburn 1-0 SEC 20 24 22.00 35 Utah 1-0 MOU 21 27 24.00 38 Texas Christian 1-0 USA 22 22 22.00 24 Mississippi 3-0 SEC 23 19 21.00 18 Iowa 2-0 B10 24 12 18.00 10 North Carolina State 3-0 ACC 25 29 27.00 17 --- The NFL had its kickoff weekend this Sunday. Not only did Brett Favre not retire, he came out in week one and dominated. He led his defending champion Packers over Minnesota 47-14. He threw five touchdowns and 378 yards! New Lions QB David Carr had a nice opening game, leading the new look Lions over the Bears 31-21. Carr threw 4 TD’s. Rookie RB David Fields was taken in the 1st round (#21 overall) by the Atlanta Falcons to replace T.J. Duckett, who signed with the Jets in the off-season. Fields won a National Championship with Oklahoma last year. He and Warrick Dunn were expected to split carries but in the pre-season, he won the job. In week one, he led the league with 22 carries for 141 yards. OLB Mark Simoneau was defensive player of the week for making 9 tackles, a sack and an interception for the Eagles in their 31-7 win over Washington. __________________ Go STL Sports! Last edited by mtaystl03 : 09-23-2005 at 02:49 PM.

09-23-2005, 03:31 PM	#24
mtaystl03 High School Varsity Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: St. Louis, MO	Week four was a bye week for the Nittany Lions. They took a few days off to recover from injuires and look at a ton of film. Billy promised to work hard and do whatever he can to make an impact in the next game in week five at Minnesota. Here is a look at what happened in and around college football in week four: #17 Purdue handed Notre Dame their fourth loss in a row this season (0-4), 52-0. Charlie Weis may have more on this plate than he bargained for. #1 Oklahoma and #2 Florida had no trouble this week. The Sooners beat Johnson City 63-7 and the Gators beat #28 ranked Colorado State, 35-3. UPSET: #29 Michigan State lost to Rice at home 33-22. Players of the week O: Walt Logan, RB, Georgia Tech: 30 carries for 285 yards and 3 TD's. D: Derrick Madison, DT, Kansas: 11 tackles, 4.5 sacks. NFL: Week Two Ten teams move to 2-0 on the season: Pittsburgh, Houston, Buffalo, New York Jets and Denver in the AFC. Detroit, Atlanta, New York Giants, Philadelphia and Seattle in the NFC. Defending champion Green Bay lost 14-12 to the Bills this week. Drew Bledsoe picked up player of the week honors with 408 yards and 2 touchdowns as they won the shootout with Indianapolis 30-27. DE Simeon Rice had three sacks for the Buccaneers this week in their 41-13 win over Baltimore this week. Trent Green threw 4 touchdowns in the Chiefs win over the Rams. His main target was Craphonso Thorpe who had four receptions for 142 yards and 2 touchdowns. David Fields once again led the league in rushing yards this week with 119 in the Falcons win over Cleveland 14-7. He has yet to find the end zone but he does have 260 rushing yards to lead the league. __________________ Go STL Sports!

09-24-2005, 07:04 PM	#31
mtaystl03 High School Varsity Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: St. Louis, MO	It is time to prepare for a great Purdue team. They are sitting at 5-0 this season, ranked #11 in the nation and have won 11 strait games. The Lions need to find a way to go on the road, into West Lafayette and get a win. It will be a highly contested battle. The Lions had a hard week of practice, preparing for the Boilermakers. Billy was in good sprits all week long. He worked hard and is ready to contribute in anyway he possibly can. Purdue is coming off two strait emotional conference wins both 20-17 wins over Ohio State and Michigan State. They will be pumped up. Their QB Mo Jells has very similar numbers to Tito Greer with 15 TD-4 INT, 1,498 yards. They also split their running back duties between T.J. Reed (162 yards) and Leroy Smith (191 yards). They, like Penn State, are a pass-first offense. They have three equally talented wide receivers which allows them to spread the field. It is amazing how much they have been able to spread the ball around. Here are their top 3 wide receivers and their stats: Code: Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc YAC TD 84 Arnie Ballard WR 53 32 474 14.8 196 3 89 Sammy Tillery WR 45 29 435 15.0 223 8 82 Herb Makofske WR 45 31 452 14.5 187 5 Game 6: #16 Penn State Nittany Lions @ #11 Purdue Boilermakers (-12) In one of the biggest games in recent memory for the Penn State Nittany Lions, the boys travel to West Lafayette, IN to take on #11 Purdue, as they try to snap their 11-game winning streak. Greer started hot, on the first play he hit Grabovez for a 24 yard play. He was roughed on the play so it took just one play to get to the Purdue 37 yard line. He connected on two more passes to Aaron and Grabovez before two icompletions forced the Lions to kick a field goal. 3-0 Penn State (12:09 left in Q1) Jells wasted no time catching up to Greer in passing yards by finding his man 45 yards downfield. The drive stalled however when they got an intentional face mask. They went for it and didn’t get it on 4th down. Greer came right back down the field and found Wally Downs 40 yards down the field. Again the drive stalled and Duesenberg nailed a 40-yarder. 6-0 Penn State (8:28 left in Q1) The Nittany Lion defense forced another rare three-and-out for the Boilermakers. The Lions went for it on 4th and 5 from the 40-yard line and Hastings could only get three. Then Jells had a big 22-yard pass play to T.J. Reed to the two yard line. They got them to third down but Jells found Reed again for the score. 7-6 Purdue (0:03 left in Q1) Greer was intercepted on the first pass of the next drive, forcing the fans into a frenzy and handing even more momentum Purdue’s way. Jells again wasted no time in finding Arnie Ballard for a 21 yard touchdown. 14-6 Purdue (14:04 left in Q2) Things were falling apart for Greer who started so hot. He threw two incompletions on the next drive and another interception to their defensive lineman Junior Lageman. They didn’t need to go far and then Jells found his tight end wide open on a play-action fake on the one-yard line. 21-6 Purdue (11:27 left in first half) Things were falling apart for Penn State. They couldn’t get the ball in the end zone early and now they couldn’t complete a pass. Greer threw his third INT on the next drive. Jells then found Makofske for his fourth TD toss in the first half! He is leaving no doubt who is the better quarterback. 28-6 Purdue (7:24 left in half) Paterno is going to stick with his man Greer. Tito has never looked so pissed off. He completed passes of 60 and 32 yards, both to Wally Downs to get to the Purdue 4, only to have the next pass picked off AGAIN!?! The wheels have officially fallen off. Just when things couldn’t get any worse, the Lions forced the Boilers back to their own seven yard line and a 3rd and 24. Jells hit Ballard for 46 yards! The Penn State defense finally made a play, intercepting Jells in the end zone. It was Shannon Wayne on the pick. The offense stalled again and amazingly Cole Collier picked Jells off again! That is six combined interceptions in the first half. The only difference is that Jells also has 4 touchdown passes. Greer threw three incompletions to end the half. Half-time This was quite possibly one of the worst halves of football Joe Pa has ever seen and he let his team know about it. “I have seen a lot of football in my days here and that may have been the most pathetic, uninspired half of football I have ever seen,” he said. Billy didn’t touch the ball. He simply sat in the corner, stunned by the developments. Coach told them the game wasn’t over but if they played anything less than perfect in the 2nd half, it would be over really quick. Second Half The Lions came out with a flare. They stopped the Boilers and got the ball at midfield. Greer continued to go for it all. He found Downs 20 yards downfield and Wally made the most out of the play. He was pushed out of bounds at the three yard line. They refuse to run the ball. There were two incompletions and much to Billy Bullock’s dismay, they called Ackerman’s number who made the play and scored. He wasn’t so much upset they scored but that they don’t have the confidence in him yet. 28-13 Purdue (12:38 left in Q3) The next play could go down in the books as the turning point in the game. All of the sudden Jells couldn’t find his touch. He was intercepted by Cole Collier at the 20 and had an open run into the end zone!!! Jells has thrown three strait interceptions after four strait touchdowns. 28-20 Purdue (11:11 left in Q3) Purdue came right down the field but had to settle for a field goal. For some reason I get the feeling that field goals aren’t going to win this game. 31-20 Purdue (6:14 left in Q3) Billy got his first carry and was wrapped up for a loss of a yard. The Boilermakers came up with a huge stop on 3rd and 3 and forced a punt. Their tailback Leroy Smith broke out a 40 yard run to the 8, setting up Jells’ 5th touchdown pass of the game and suddenly the game is just as far out of reach as it once was. 38-20 Purdue (0:44 left in Q3) The next drive was haunted by penalties after the kickoff was returned to midfield. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, combined with a sack and a holding penalty forced another Penn State field goal. 38-23 Purdue (13:03 left in game) The next drive was smothered by the Penn State defense but another illegal block penalty put them in tough territory from the start. Then Greer threw his 5th interception of the game! The Boilers took advantage and got three. 41-23 Purdue (6:20 left in the game) That all but guaranteed the win for Purdue. And if that didn’t do it, Greer’s 6th INT sure did! Unbelievable. Gary Blades came into the game and led the team down the field and ended it with a touchdown pass to Neal Aaron from 18 yards out. 41-29 Purdue (1:45 left in game) The onside kick failed. They got the ball back after a fumble and Blades did all he could to lead them down the field. The game ended on a sack. Final score: Purdue 41, Penn State 29. Post-game thoughts After a great game, Tito Greer took about five steps backwards. The Lions threw for 509 yards between their two quarterbacks and ended with negative yards rushing!!! Purdue had 409 yards passing and 89 rushing. Billy didn’t do well but it’s not like he got a true shot. They didn’t run the ball at all. He had one carry for -1 yards and 1 catch for 4 yards. The Nittany Lions hopes of a big-time bowl game are dashed and now it is back to the drawing board. Meanwhile, the Purdue Boilermakers have entered elite status in college football. Code: Billy Bullock Career At-A-Glance: Freshman Year: Penn State University Game Opp. Att Yds Avg TD \| Rec Yds TD 1 Air Force 10 17 1.7 0 \| 6 71 1 2 #9 Pittsburgh 5 33 6.6 0 \| 1 2 0 3 Shelbyville 3 13 4.3 0 \| 1 6 0 4 Minnesota 7 20 2.8 0 \| 3 24 0 5 Iowa 6 43 7.1 0 \| 2 20 0 6 #11 Purdue 1 -1 -1.0 0 \| 1 4 0 Season 32 125 4.0 0 \| 14 127 1 Career Stats Games Att Yds Avg TD \| Rec Yds TD 6 32 125 4.0 0 \| 14 127 1 __________________ Go STL Sports! Last edited by mtaystl03 : 09-24-2005 at 07:09 PM.

09-24-2005, 08:45 PM	#32
mtaystl03 High School Varsity Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: St. Louis, MO	Around College Football: Week Seven #2 Florida continues to play well under Urban Meyer. They handled their second consecutive tough test, this time handing Georgia their first loss of the season, 26-10. One could argue that #3 Michigan has to be considered among the top two now, they beat up on #7 Wisconsin, 34-18. Steve Spurrier's S.C. Gamecocks beat #8 Tennessee on the road 23-21 in dramatic fashion. #1 Oklahoma handled Baylor with ease 49-3. Big 10 Scoreboard #3 Michigan 34, #7 Wisconsin 18 #11 Purdue 41, #16 Penn State 29 Iowa 29, #22 Illinois 10 Michigan State 24 @ Minnesota 14 #12 Ohio State 41, Northwestern 0 Updated Big 10 Standings: Code: School W L T Pct PF PA W L T Pct PF PA Streak Purdue 6 0 0 1.000 268 63 3 0 0 1.000 81 63 Won 12 Michigan 6 0 0 1.000 211 60 3 0 0 1.000 86 37 Won 7 Ohio State 5 1 0 .833 227 49 2 1 0 .666 107 30 Won 2 Wisconsin 4 1 0 .800 225 98 1 1 0 .500 66 51 Lost 1 Michigan State 3 2 0 .600 125 98 1 1 0 .500 41 34 Won 1 Indiana 1 4 0 .200 73 181 1 1 0 .500 37 70 Lost 1 Penn State 4 2 0 .666 283 104 1 2 0 .333 97 84 Lost 1 Illinois 4 2 0 .666 175 130 1 2 0 .333 64 78 Lost 1 Minnesota 4 2 0 .666 177 109 1 2 0 .333 72 82 Lost 2 Iowa 3 3 0 .500 193 116 1 2 0 .333 63 85 Won 1 Northwestern 2 4 0 .333 105 167 0 3 0 .000 20 120 Lost 3 Heisman Trophy winner Mo Perry in Oklahoma had another huge week this week as he was 19-for-25 for 329 yards, 3 TD and 0 INT as Oklahoma remains unbeaten. Perry gets Offensive Player of the Week. Maryland DE Brent Finley recorded 5.0 sacks for the Terps this week and gets the Defensive Player of the Week. Oklahoma will lose their spot a top the standings as their strength of schedule is going to kill them. They have yet to play a team in the top 50. They will finally be tested in their next two games: at #9 Texas and then at #6 Nebraska. Miami's Hardy Randle was 14-of-15 for 239 yards and 4 TD's before being taken out of the game. The Hurricanes went on to beat Wake Forest 70-6. Brandon Daniels went over the 1,000 yard mark with his 179 yard, 2 TD performance this week. He is at 1,074 and 17 TD's through six games. Amazing. Here are the new rankings: Code: School Record Conf Coach Fans Ave Rank Oklahoma 5-0 B12 1 1 1.00 4 Florida 5-0 SEC 2 2 2.00 1 Michigan 6-0 B10 3 3 3.00 2 Miami of Florida 6-0 ACC 4 4 4.00 5 Nebraska 6-0 B12 5 6 5.50 6 Texas 4-1 B12 6 8 7.00 15 USC 4-1 P10 7 7 7.00 10 Purdue 6-0 B10 8 5 6.50 3 Florida State 4-1 ACC 9 10 9.50 20 Ohio State 5-1 B10 10 16 13.00 9 South Carolina 5-0 SEC 11 9 10.00 8 Georgia 4-1 SEC 12 13 12.50 7 Utah 5-0 MOU 13 14 13.50 11 Wisconsin 4-1 B10 14 12 13.00 12 Tennessee 4-1 SEC 15 17 16.00 13 Louisiana State 5-1 SEC 16 21 18.50 16 Washington State 5-1 P10 17 11 14.00 19 Alabama 4-1 SEC 18 20 19.00 14 Boston College 5-1 BEA 19 18 18.50 18 UCLA 5-1 P10 20 15 17.50 17 Pittsburgh 5-1 BEA 21 27 24.00 29 Penn State 4-2 B10 22 33 27.50 27 Auburn 4-1 SEC 23 25 24.00 22 Texas Christian 4-1 USA 24 26 25.00 33 North Carolina State 5-1 ACC 25 28 26.50 25 Amazingly, the BCS rankings have Florida playing Purdue in the National Champtionship game. Oklahoma's weak schedule really hurt them. They will take care of that in the next two weeks. --------- NFL Happenings: Week Five The Philadelphia Eagles are now the only 5-0 team in the league. Denver and Detroit are 4-0. 2-time reigning MVP Peyton Manning was named offensive player of the week after a quiet start to the season. This week he was 23-for-32 for 370 yards, 5 TD and no interceptions. His Colts beat Buffalo 35-3. Another rookie running back came out of nowhere and this week it was for Billy's favorite team and undefeated Eagles. Former Wisconsin running back Dale Dawson, who was taken with the 25th overall pick, ran for 119 yards and 2 TD's against New Orleans. Dawson was taken after Brian Westbrook took off for Minnesota in the off-season. Marvin Harrison, Andre Johnson, Nate Burleson and Randy Hymes (STL) all caught 2 TD passes. Hymes is an undrafted player out of Grambling. He bounced between Seattle and Baltimore last year before landing in St. Louis. He has started three games and has 290 yards and three TD's this year. Miami Dophins LB Zach Thomas was named Defensive player of the week when he made 8 tackles, 3 assists, 2 sacks and 2 passes defensed. It was a great overall game for Thomas in the Miami win. __________________ Go STL Sports! Last edited by mtaystl03 : 09-24-2005 at 09:38 PM.

09-22-2005, 01:16 AM	#2
mtaystl03 High School Varsity Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: St. Louis, MO	Meet Billy Bullock. He is a hard runner. He is from Wyncote, PA. He attends Cheltenham High School and he is looking for a place to continue his football career. He will play his senior season and field offers from many of the top programs in the country. Rivals.com ranks him as the #2 running back prospect in the nation. Here is the profile in the magazine. “The cream of the crop in the running back department this season is Billy Bullock. Bullock is a smart, bruising back who knows what to do with the rock when handed to him. He will soon start fielding offers from the best schools in the nation and whoever is lucky enough to get him will benefit greatly. Bullock is from Wyncote, PA and attends Cheltenham High School, home of the Bobcats. At press time, just four games into his senior season, he has rushed 135 times for 1,002 yards and 14 scores. Yes, that is FOUR games! We could be looking at the next big thing. This kid is the real deal. He does it on the field and off, gaining a 4.00 GPA, a 1459 on his SAT and the heralds of all his teachers and administrators. He might be a little on the small side but he packs a punch. He stands at just 5-7 and 177 pounds.” Those are high praises from a respected publication, but listen to what one scout from the University of Tennessee had to say: “This kid reminds me of Jim Brown. He runs with a purpose and knows how to play the game. No records are safe with this kid coming to town. Look out!” Here is some more personal information about Billy: He is 18 years old and was born February 3, 1987. His parents are divorced but both still very active in his life. His father, Jim Bullock, is a firefighter and former football player himself. He went to Penn State and played fullback. He was hard-nosed and got a look from a couple professional teams but never made a roster. He is still bitter about that today and wants nothing more than to see his son succeed. His mother, Angela Robinson, is a kindergarten teacher in a nearby school district. She has raised her son on the importance of education; she wants nothing more than Billy to receive the best education he possibly can so that if football doesn’t work out, he will have something to fall back on. He spends almost all of his free time working on his game, in the weight room, doing drills, running, everything he can to give himself a competitive edge. He is considered by many to be too small, he wants nothing more than to prove them wrong. He lives in Wyncote, PA just outside of Philadelphia. Needless to say, he is a HUGE Eagles fan and his ultimate dream is do someday dawn that jersey. He will be rooting for the Eagles religiously and hopes to get to a game or two this season. The divorce took place when Billy was a freshman at Cheltenham and it was a rough time for him. He was no doubt talented and made the varsity football team but had a mean streak that saw him get caught drinking, getting in fights and struggling in classes. He was naturally gifted and could get A’s on tests without even studying. He didn’t start his freshman year because he was stuck behind a talented running back named Mack McCormick who ended up going to Penn State. The two never got along. McCormick is red-shirting he junior year for the Nittany Lions due to some academic problems but still figures in their plans in the future. That may have a little something to do with Bullock’s choice to go to Penn State. He is a cocky player who thinks he will be the next Emmitt Smith, he is disgusted that Rivals ranked even one player ahead of him. That player is Leroy McCarthy from Muskegon, MI. Another goal added to the many Billy has placed on himself is to become better than Leroy in every facet of the game. Bullock wants to stay close to home and would love to play for the beloved Nittany Lions but won’t commit to anywhere yet. He wants to keep his options open. He wants to win and wants to play football for a living. He doesn’t care about the academic prestige of any schools much to his mother’s dismay. When schools start approaching him, they better be smart, because chances are he will be doing most of the negotiating… __________________ Go STL Sports! Last edited by mtaystl03 : 09-22-2005 at 02:24 AM.

09-22-2005, 01:18 AM	#3
mtaystl03 High School Varsity Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: St. Louis, MO	As his senior campaign rolls on he will start fielding offers from the top programs in the nation. The first school to call was one of the most prestigious in the nation, the University of Southern California Trojans. Bullock has thought about the dream of moving far away to the other coast to play for a team like USC, UCLA or even Cal, but he knows it’s a long shot. Anyway, the call from Pete Carroll was no surprise and it is the first of many. They talk for a while and Coach Carroll hints that he and an assistant coach are going to come to a game to watch. The fact that he would travel all the way across the country just to see him play does mean a lot. As mentioned, Billy wants to stay close to home and here is a list of colleges in proximity to his home. He practically lives on the University of Temple campus but doesn’t envision playing for the Owls. Temple (5 miles) Rutgers (45) Navy (106) Army (107) Maryland (122) Penn State (151) UConn (193) Syracuse (215) Virginia (231) West Virginia (256) Billy’s week five game in front of a packed house that included Mr. Pete Carroll saw him take over, carrying the ball (and the team) 36 times for 267 yards and 4 TDs. He also caught 5 passes for 68 more yards and another score. On defense he made 11 tackles from his safety position and recorded a half of a sack. Here are his combined numbers from the first five games of his Senior year: Code: att. yards avg. TD Rushing: 171 1,269 7.42 18 rec. yards avg. TD Receiving: 16 406 15.6 4 tack sacks INT Defense: 42 2.5 2 No calls after this game but Coach Carroll was undoubtedly impressed with what he saw. He came into the locker room after the game and addressed the team for a nice performance and had a sit down with Billy, his parents and his coach. They talked for a while and it was productive. Coach Carroll said he would set aside a day for Billy to come visit the campus in Los Angeles, everybody said it wasn’t a sure thing but that he would definitely consider. __________________ Go STL Sports! Last edited by mtaystl03 : 09-22-2005 at 01:19 AM.

09-22-2005, 01:24 AM	#4
mtaystl03 High School Varsity Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: St. Louis, MO	Things were going good for Billy. The media in Philadelphia was all over him, wanting pictures, interviews and all that fun stuff but it is the policy of the team and coaches that no player or coach should talk to the media more than once in a given week. Every once in a while, Billy is allowed to go on the radio and field questions from fans and he loves talking about the Eagles. When asked on a show once what he thought about the escalating situation in Eagles came with Donovan McNabb and Terrell Owens, he simply said this, “Hey. My goal is to someday be a teammate of both those guys so I don’t want to say anything that could get me in trouble already [laugh]. That is their business, they will work it out and the Eagles will be right back in the Super Bowl.” Everybody knows that Billy isn’t anywhere near declaring where he wants to continue his career. They also know that he is focused on winning a state title and with the Bobcats sitting pretty at 5-0, he sees no reason why that can’t happen. On a Wednesday night Billy received a call from Sports Illustrated who wanted to do a feature article on the top 10 players in the nation. He was supposed to answer some questions and pose for some pictures. He would do so later in the year. He was excited about the opportunity. The other players they would feature were: Kent Ellison (G) – 6’4” 310 lbs. from Phoenix, AZ B.J. Lovelace (T) – 6’2” 273 lbs. from Oak Harbor, WA Leroy McCarthy (RB) – 5’11” 184 lbs. from Muskegon, MI (Billy’s new assumed rival) Lance Hopper (QB) – 5”11” 184 lbs. from Bayou Le Batre, AL Glenn Minnick (DE) – 6’0” 228 lbs. from Richmond, VA Tim Anderson (ILB) – 6’1” 216 lbs. from Apple Valley, CA Edgar Krug (QB) – 6’2” 204 lbs. from Austin, TX Brenden Brandon (T) – 6’4” 277 lbs. from Laurel, DE Christian Benson (OLB) 6’2” 227 lbs. from Ault, CO Billy quickly became obsessed with the other players that would be featured with him. He couldn’t wait to read about himself in Sports Illustrated and follow where these other great players would go to school. He immediately thought about Ellison, Lovelace and Brandon all blocking for him someday. __________________ Go STL Sports!

09-22-2005, 01:27 AM	#5
nfg22 College Benchwarmer Join Date: Mar 2004	liking it so far keep it up...

09-22-2005, 01:32 AM	#6
mtaystl03 High School Varsity Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: St. Louis, MO	In week 6 the Bobcats suffered their first set back of the season. Things quickly came back to earth. Billy ran 33 times for 137 yards and 2 TD’s, his lowest output by far this season. He caught 4 passes for 64 yards and recorded 10 tackles and a sack on defense. After the game a newspaper reporter asked him if he felt that none of his teammates want to win as badly as he does. His response was professional: “Nope. Everybody sweats just as much as I do, they work just as hard and they are just as tired. We all want to win but tonight we ran into a good squad and they beat us. Simple as that.” When Billy got home that night his dad was waiting for him in the kitchen of his mother’s home (his mom had full custody). He said that Frank Beamer from the University of Virginia Tech called earlier that day and wanted to approach him. He was excited, but he didn’t really want to talk about it. He hated losing that much. He didn’t feel right talking about where he was going to play next year after their hopes for state were all but dashed that very night. His father told him that sometimes there are more important things and he didn’t want to hear any of that. He called some of the guys and met them at a local restaurant to hang out. He didn’t get to go out much and just hang with his buddies. He had a good time and realized that he should give Coach Beamer a call in the morning. The Hokies wasted no time is offering him a campus visit. His mom liked the idea of him being closer to home (the USC talks were scaring her quite a bit). He liked the idea of playing for a team that recently has produced some great NFL players, the likes of Lee Suggs, Kevin Jones and Michael Vick. Beamer told him to think about coming up for a game and he could meet some of the guys. The word spread around Hokie country that they were talking to Billy and the watch was on. Now two major programs had made contact and invited him to visit their campuses. The hard part has just begun. He wanted to concentrate on his senior season and give everything he had to his teammates now, but with visits, calls, letters, interviews and the hoopla now surrounding him, he knew it would be tough. He got good news when he watched the Eagles battle the hated New York Giants and come away with the victory 15-7 at home. __________________ Go STL Sports!

09-22-2005, 01:32 AM	#7
mtaystl03 High School Varsity Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: St. Louis, MO	Thanks nfg! __________________ Go STL Sports!

09-22-2005, 01:33 AM	#8
mtaystl03 High School Varsity Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: St. Louis, MO	The next big-time suitor to visit Billy was none other than Charlie Weis and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Billy knows all about Coach Weis from his days with the New England Patriots, winning all those rings, leading a great offense and he could only imagine the possibilities of playing for a guy like that. Coach Weis made a surprise visit to Cheltenham High School one Tuesday morning as the team had a bye week, Billy was well rested. The principal called over the loud speaker that Billy needed to some to the office, that he had a visitor. Coach Weis introduced himself, even though it wasn’t necessary and the short, stocky Bullock did the same. He informed Billy that he wants to see what he can do. They went out to the field after the school day completed and they had a personal workout in which Billy ran some sprints, caught some passes out of the backfield and some other scouting-type drills. Weis was no doubt impressed. That night, they sat down for dinner. Coach explained to Billy, his mother, father and high school coach, John Robinson, that he is looking to rebuild the great tradition at Notre Dame. To do so, he needs to land quality kids like Billy. He needs guys that can cut it in the classroom and on the field. He saw Bullock as a guy that could fill those shoes and when he left for the night, he left a lasting impression on the whole family. Notre Dame immediately rose to the top of the list of candidates. The Bobcats went back to work that week with a re-dedicated star. Billy Bullock was determined to win a state championship, no matter what it took. He rallied his teammates, got the team together and they knew they were following behind somebody special. Most of the team was taller than him, fewer were stronger, only one or two were as dedicated and none of them had the heart that Billy possessed. Nobody he ever played against on that high school football field had anywhere near the heart and love for the game. On Friday night Billy and his band of Bobcats went out and destroyed their opponent. Billy was the focal point once again, carrying the ball 25 times for 186 yards (7.4 avg.) and three touchdowns. He added 7 more catches for 87 and another score. His six tackles in the secondary proved to be enough for Cheltenham to win and move to 6-1 on the season. Unbeknownst to Billy, a special guest was in the crowd that night. He was actually sitting up in the press box because there was no way he would be able to be anywhere near the fans that filled Hubert J. Buckley Memorial Stadium that night. Joe Paterno would be mobbed by adoring fans. Screaming to him that he better keep that boy in state. Billy Bullock was born to be a Nittany Lion many believed. After that night, Coach Paterno thought the same thing. That next day Billy read in the paper that Coach was at the game. He almost fell out of his chair. ‘How did they keep that from me?’ he thought. He knew he was coming over that day and it was soon becoming too much for him to handle. He was scared. This was the one coach that he thought could strike fear in him. The one man that could make him feel small. Just then, the doorbell rang. Coach Paterno was smiling when Billy opened the door. Suddenly, the sight of him standing there eased his tension. He held out his hand and made sure the coach knew that it was his pleasure to meet him. Billy told him that he dreamed of dawning the navy and white since he was young but never thought it would be possible. After a nice lunch, Coach set up a visit and Billy didn’t hesitate. He accepted and would visit the Pennsylvania State University campus that next week. First thing’s first, he had a couple tickets to the Philadelphia Eagles/Minnesota Vikings game and he wasn’t going to miss that for the world. He didn’t get to go to many games, his mother and father weren’t well off and he wasn’t stupid enough to accept gifts from alumni and boosters. He just wanted to go to the game with his dad and watch his favorite player, Donovan McNabb play the game. He saw a victory as the Eagles upended the Vikings 17-7. McNabb was 20-31 for 205 yards and two touchdowns in the game and the Eagles were 2-0. Life was good. Teams interested in Billy: __________________ Go STL Sports! Last edited by mtaystl03 : 09-22-2005 at 03:13 PM.

09-22-2005, 03:09 PM	#9
mtaystl03 High School Varsity Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: St. Louis, MO	Things were going good for Billy until he realized that he needed to get to work on his studies, while juggling interviews, practice, keeping in tip-top shape and talking to coaches every night. Sometimes he wanted to be just another player, getting a call every once in a while. Let’s meet a couple of Billy’s better teammates who are being looked at by D-I schools. His quarterback Chuck Guffey isn’t relied on much but is getting offers from Buffalo and UTEP. Mike Price was at a game and figured it would be a waste of time to talk to Billy but he liked what he saw in Guffey. Buffalo holds the upper hand right now as they have offered him a scholarship. The main man on the offensive line who opens the holes for Bullock is Tyrus Boland, one of Billy’s best friends since Pop Warner football. Billy is always quick to give credit to his teammates, especially Ty. He has received offers from Idaho and Louisiana Tech. Billy continues his great play as he took 35 carries for 233 more yards, 2 more touchdowns and 5 catches for 108 yards. He had 5 tackles and a sack in the 2nd half. They were winning by so much that Coach decided to sit him on defense the second half to keep him from being overextended. The Bobcats once again jumped on Billy’s back and found themselves 6-1 and in the hunt for the playoffs. Meanwhile, a couple more teams drew interest in Billy, Frank Solich called from Nebraska and the Bob Stoops (Oklahoma) visited the house. All this attention was bearing down on Billy pretty hard. He had a big test the next day but spent all night planning his visit to Penn State the next week. He started to wonder when this would all be over. He wants to win a state championship so bad and he feels like he is slating the team by worrying about his own situation more. Nobody else thinks that. They know Billy is the real deal and they just want him to succeed. More than anything they just want him to go to Penn State. Next week would be a defining week. Coach Paterno decided to have Billy come up on Friday since the team didn’t play this week and he would meet the team and watch the game with Purdue. If he liked it there would be no doubt where he was going. By the way, the Eagles won again. They are now 3-0 and McNabb and T.O. are doing just fine. They have hooked up 23 times for 324 yards but no touchdowns. Other NFL news: The inspired New Orleans Saints and new-look Oakland Raiders are also 3-0. The defending champs are also 2-0. Arizona Cardinals wide out Anquan Boldin and new QB Kurt Warner have been going off in the first three weeks. Despite an 0-3 record, Boldin already has 27 catches for 508 yards and 2 touchdowns. Warrick Dunn is off to a hot start in Atlanta. He leads the league with 382 yards and SIX touchdowns already. Billy's Updated Choices: __________________ Go STL Sports! Last edited by mtaystl03 : 09-22-2005 at 03:15 PM.

09-22-2005, 03:18 PM	#10
mtaystl03 High School Varsity Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: St. Louis, MO	Friday came along and with no game, the team was off practice and Billy got off school for an official visit to Penn State. He got there about 11 a.m. and was met by Coach Paterno, the offensive coordinator/running backs coach Galen Hall and recruiting coordinator Mike McQueary, who he had many conversations with on the phone. They immediately brought him to the dining hall where he was met by a few current players to help welcome him and show him around. He first met starting Senior starting QB Andy Pilgrim. Pilgrim is having a great season leading his team to a 5-0 record and a #8 ranking in the nation. This looked really good to Billy who wants to win a national championship. A couple other big-time recruits were on the trip with him. QB Kenneth Kerr from Horsham, PA and Hatboro-Horsham High School, one which was ranked just below Cheltenham in the state rankings. Kerr is ranked at #29 in the nation and the 6th best QB. Sammie Pleasant is a big offensive tackle from Goose Creek, SC. He is 6’6” 310 lbs and is considered in the top 5 offensive lineman available. Trent Crawford is a wide receiver from Ohio and is considering Penn State along with the likes of Oklahoma, Texas and USC. He would stay with Pilgrim and spend most of his time with Aaron Neal, a sophomore wide receiver and Cole Collier, a junior defensive back. They would show him around and show him a good time. That night, they all just hung out as the team was preparing for a heated battle with Purdue the next day. They talked all night about how great it was to play there and how much respect they have for Coach Paterno and the entire coaching staff. Most importantly, they talked about how awesome it was to play in front of 107,282 screaming fans at Beaver Stadium every home game! He got along with all the other recruits pretty well. He developed a nice relationship with Kerr, who could soon become his biggest rival if they meet in the playoffs. Kerr was almost certain he was going to Penn State while the other two were open to anything. Kerr told all of them to just go to PSU and they would win a National Championship. They all kind of giggled but had he had serious look on his face. Here is a look at Beaver Stadium on the campus of Penn State University: The next day the team was off preparing and Billy went along to all the meetings. He spent the game on the sidelines away from the team but still getting an idea of what it would be like to play in that amazing atmosphere. The game: #8 Penn State vs. Purdue University Pilgrim threw an interception on the second play of the game but Purdue could only manage a field goal. Penalties got the best of the Nittany Lions offense on the second possession and they were forced to punt. The first play of the Boilermakers drive was intercepted and that was the first Billy heard the roar of the close to 110,000 fans inside Beaver Stadium! He was exhilarated. Purdue seemed to come to play this day as they scored a touchdown to take an early 10-0 lead. Penn State drove down the field and got a field goal and then returned an interception for a TD later in the 2nd quarter. They place went nuts as it was tied at 10. They then forced a safety to make it 12-10 but fumbled the kickoff to Purdue. An ugly game early on. The Boilermakers took that momentum and got a field goal and touchdown to make the score 20-12 at the half. At half time nobody seemed worried. Billy liked that confidence. They just knew they needed to run the ball more effectively and protect Pilgrim who had been sacked five times in the game so far. With 5 minutes left in the 3Q with both teams playing fairly even ball, they got another sack in the end-zone to draw it to 20-14. The Lions scored on the next possession to move it to 21-20. Things were looking good until a big play from Purdue tied the game at 28-28 late. Then with no time on the clock, the Boilers nailed a 49 yard field goal to win the game! The crowd fell silent. The players hung their heads. Coach Paterno ran into the locker and proceeded to explain to the team what they needed to do from here on out to avoid something like that happening again. The players were crushed. It ended any hopes of a National Championship and they thought Billy would be turned off to Penn State. They were wrong. __________________ Go STL Sports!

09-23-2005, 01:50 PM	#11
mtaystl03 High School Varsity Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: St. Louis, MO	Billy loved everything about the trip. He loved the guys, loved the atmosphere, loved the coaching staff, loved the campus and he knew he wanted to go there. He went home and told his dad that he was positive that he was going to go to Penn State. He was advised to look at the other schools but Billy was having none of that. “I want to sign with them right now,” he said. His dad, knowing how stubborn his son was, sat back, smiled and said, “I always knew you would be a Lion.” They called Coach Robinson at Cheltenham to let him know. He was surprised but relieved. He knew how important this high school season was to Billy and to get this out of the way was huge. They then called Mike McQueary, the recruiting coordinator to let him know. He was excited and told them to hang on the line and he would put them through directly to Coach Paterno. He was also thrilled to hear the news. The biggest decision of his life was made in one visit. He wanted to announce it at the pep-rally before next Friday’s first district playoff at home. The announcement was made that he had made his decision and most people were able to put two and two together but others thought the tough loss that he witnessed turned him away. Friday came along and the gym was packed with fans, students, media, cameras and everything that comes with the territory. He was focused on the game, he led the students in a cheer for Cheltenham but they all wanted to know where he was going. The place fell silent and he said with a crack in his voice, “I have decided to continue my football career at Penn State University and play for Coach Paterno!” The place erupted. The media was all over him. They all quickly ran into the tunnel that led to the basketball locker rooms to take cover and the press was allowed in for a quick press conference. He fielded all of the general questions about what made him make the decision, and all those good things. Billy couldn’t even remember what he said; he was so relieved to get that off his chest. He could now focus on winning a state championship. Since Billy has made the decision to join the long list of great running backs to come out of Penn State including Curtis Enis, Ki-Jana Carter and most recently Larry Johnson of the Kansas City Chiefs. Enis and Salaam struggled in the NFL and right now L.J. is stuck behind a great back in Priest Holmes. Bullock wants to become the greatest back to ever put on a Nittany Lion uniform, but right now he wants to solidify his spot as Cheltenham’s best player ever. They recently announced they would retire his number 33 at the conclusion of the season. Bullock ran behind Tyrus Boland who recently accepted an offer to attend the University of Idaho all the way to the state championship game! They would play against Kenneth Kerr and his Horsham Lions. Kerr hasn’t announced where he was going to school but every sign points towards Penn State. What a team those two could make in four years together. Cheltenham QB Chuck Guffey also recently announced that he would play at Temple and the three D-I committees would battle for the game of their lives. Pennsylvania High School D-5 State Championship game To make a long story short we will skip ahead to the fourth quarter with :25 left on the clock and Horsham leading 33-28. Bullock already has carried the ball 40 times for 321 yards and three touchdowns but fumbled on the goal line his last possession. Kerr was putting on a show, rushing for 124 yards and passing for 240 more with all four touchdowns scored (2 rush, 2 pass). Cheltenham has possession on their own 45 yard line. Guffey has been shut down the whole game. They need to run the ball and only have one timeout remaining. They decide they will win or lose on their horse, Billy Bullock. The give is a counter-weak to the left side and Billy breaks through the line of scrimmage, he feels the adrenaline rushing through his veins, he breaks two more tackles and finds himself in the open field. The clock is ticking on his high school career and he wants nothing more than to punch the ball in the end zone. He out runs the last defender and at the last second he is tripped up by a last ditch effort from a retreating defensive back. Billy fell at the two-yard line. He was exhausted, couldn’t feel his legs, got up and the team got to the line. Guffey called the final time out with :08 on the clock. Everybody in the place knew who was going to get the ball. It was do or die. This next play would live with Billy for the rest of his life. He knew that he needed to battle the elements, the fatigue. He remembered something his dad told him when he was young and has reiterated to him throughout his career: “Fatigue makes cowards of us all”. He didn’t want it to beat him. Before he could gather himself, Guffey was handing him the ball with his eyes wide open, the student sections from both sides were clasping their hands together in hope. Bullock sees nothing, bounces to the outside. He uses his superior speed to get some room between him and the next defender, all of the sudden, a fellow Senior wide receiver named Mike Borsic came out of nowhere to level the last defender. Borsic played four years for Cheltenham but never got any respect. He was undersized, not too smart and possibly the least athletic kid on the team. That block sprung Bullock into the end-zone for the game-winning score. The team piled on. Billy didn’t even have time to react. Not that he could even catch his breath. He has accomplished the first major goal in his football career. After the game the cameras were surrounding Billy and Guffey. Before he would even answer a question, he grabbed Borsic and made sure the cameras got a glipse of the man that made it happen. He said, “This is a team game, everybody needs to contribute and you all might have missed it at the time, but when you watch that play again you need to see what this guy did. He laid the best block in the history of high school football! He won us a State Championship!” Mike didn’t say a word. He was speechless. It was his 15 seconds of fame and Bullock could’ve taken all the credit, but that was the way he was. Next up: A College Football National Championship. __________________ Go STL Sports!

09-23-2005, 01:53 PM	#12
mtaystl03 High School Varsity Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: St. Louis, MO	College Football/NFL Seasons in Review: The College Football season was dominated by two teams, USC and Oklahoma. There was little doubt throughout the season that these two powerhouses would meet in the National Championship game for the second strait year. Bob Stoops’ Sooners were led by QB Moe Greer who threw for 43 touchdowns compared to just 13 INT and 3,487 yards passing. A balanced rushing attack was led by Senior David Washington, who had 847 yards and 11 touchdowns. Pete Carroll’s Trojans were seeking the three-peat. The Sooners came out and avenged last seasons loss with an impressive 28-3 victory and a perfect season! Their great Quarterback Moe Perry threw three touchdowns and no interceptions in the game. Penn State beat Missouri in their bowl game in dominating fashion, 46-12. The Nittany Lions finished 9-3 on the season and a final ranking of #13. Heisman Trophy Finalists: Moe Perry, QB, OU (3,700 yards, 46 TD, 13 INT, 5 rush TD) Hunter Glover, QB, ND (3,663 yards, 33 TD, 21 INT) Terrell Fields, QB, UGA (3,107 yards, 25 TD, 6 INT) Tommie Gibson, QB, Utah (2,644 yards, 25 TD, 6 INT, 6 rush TD) Brandon Daniels, RB, WVU (2,001 rushing yards, 24 TD) In a close race, OU’s Moe Perry wins the Heisman trophy with 118 votes. Terrell Fields was runner-up followed by Brandon Daniels, Tommie Gibson and Hunter Glover. National Football League The NFL season saw one of its legends solidify his spot among the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game. Brett Favre led the Green Bay Packers to the best overall record in the league (14-2) by throwing for 4,361 yards, second only to Peyton Manning, and 35 touchdowns, also second to Manning and Drew Brees’ 36. The thing that sets Favre apart from Manning this season was his just 10 interceptions giving him a 107.9 passer rating, the best in the league. Michael Vick came of age for the Atlanta Falcons as he finally recorded his first truly breakout season. He threw for 3,700+ yards and 31 TD, compared to 11 INT! He also ran for 402 yards. Another feel good story saw Carolina Panthers veteran running back Stephen Davis come back from serious knee surgery to lead the league in rushing with 1,603 yards and touchdowns with 16. Fred Taylor is another candidate for comeback player of the year, finishing second to Davis 1,581 yards and 10 scores. Leonard Henry takes the cake for surprise player of the year, stepping up for the injured Curtis Martin and rushing for 1,392 yards, good enough for fifth in the NFL. Rookie Cedric Benson (Texas) had a monster rookie year for the Bears, amassing 1,304 yards and six touchdowns. Receiving the football, former hold out Hines Ward ended up leading the league with 111 catches. Miami’s Chris Chambers lead the league in yards with 1,495, 20 yards ahead of Arizona’s Anquan Boldin. They caught 8 and 6 TD’s respectively. The leader of the TD category comes from the upstart and feel good story of the year, Joe Horn of the New Orleans Saints. The Saints were the talk of the NFL all year following the devastation of the city by Hurricane Katrina. They rallied to post an 11-5 record and a first-round playoff bye. Here are the NFL playoff teams with seeds: AFC 1. New York Jets (13-3) 2. Oakland Raiders (11-5) 3. Indianapolis Colts (11-5) 4. San Diego Chargers (11-5) 5. New England Patriots (11-5) 6. Baltimore Ravens (10-6) NFC 1. Green Bay Packers (14-2) 2. New Orleans Saints (11-5) 3. Philadelphia Eagles (11-5) 4. Carolina Panthers (10-6) 5. St. Louis Rams (9-7) 6. Seattle Seahawks (9-7) Obviously, Billy is happy that his beloved Eagles are in the thick of things once again. Let’s see how they do in the playoffs: Wild Card Round: Carolina 28 at St. Louis 10 > The Marc Bulger-less Rams couldn’t contain the Panthers. Stephen Davis ran for 248 yards in this game, furthering his case for MVP honors! Indianapolis 26, New England 16 > This proved to be the year that Peyton Manning finally beat Tom Brady and those hated Pats. The dream of a three-peat in Boston ends just as the Trojans bid fell short in the college ranks. Manning threw for 311 yards, nine times hooking up with Marvin Harrison for 149 of those yards. San Diego 17 at Baltimore 0 > The stout Chargers defense didn’t allow any breathing room for the Ravens. They couldn’t run the ball a lick and LaDanian Tomlinson got loose for two touchdowns. Seattle 27 at Philadelphia 24 > Much to Billy’s dismay the Eagles lost at home in the opening round of the playoffs. Shaun Alexander rushed for 141 yards in the game to lead the Seahawks to the upset victory. We will have a new NFC Champion this season as well. __________________ Go STL Sports!

09-23-2005, 01:54 PM	#13
mtaystl03 High School Varsity Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: St. Louis, MO	Conference Semi-final Round New Orleans 37 Carolina 19 > Three Aaron Brooks’ touchdown passes in the first half to three different receivers set the tone for the amazing story to continue. They held Stephen Davis to 63 yards on 15 carries, forcing Jake Delhomme to beat him. They sacked him four times and picked him off once. The Saints are in the NFC Championship game! Green Bay 23 Seattle 13 > In a re-match of the game three years ago that saw the Seattle Seahawks and quarterback Matt Hasselbeck throw a game-ending interception in overtime only saw much of the same. Possible MVP Brett Favre threw two touchdown passes as the frigid Lambeau Field proved too much for the Seahawks. NFC Championship game: New Orleans Saints @ Green Bay Packers Indianapolis 38 at Oakland 24 > In a game that promised fireworks, the Colts went into the Black Hole and took care of business. Peyton Manning threw five touchdown passes, two to running back Edgerrin James, who also ran for 128 yards. He also found his tight end Dallas Clark twice. New York Jets 31, San Diego 17 > Curtis Martin made his return to the field by running 34 time for 174 yards and two touchdowns for the Jets. QB Chad Pennington was effective, going 14-24 for 175 yards, a TD and no INT. The defense swarmed Brees and Tomlinson all day long. AFC Championship game: Indianapolis Colts @ New York Jets The Colts and Saints magic ran out and the Jets, behind C-Mart played the Packers in the Super Bowl. It started with Pennington finding Martin on a swing pass. Then Favre hit his running back Ahman Green for two strait scores. Ryan Longwell nailed 2 field goals to make it 20-7. The Jets made a last ditch effort when Martin scored from 3-yards out with 6:34 remaining but Packers would hold on and complete the dream season. Brett Favre can go out on his own terms, if he so chooses. NATIONAL CHAMPION: Oklahoma Sooners (12-0) SUPER BOWL CHAMPS: Green Bay Packers (17-2) Awards: MVP: Peyton Manning Offensive Player of the Year: Peyton Manning Defensive Player of the Year: Brian Urlacher Offensive Rookie of the Year: Cedric Benson Defensive Rookie of the Year: Demarcus Ware Off-Season Movement: The biggest contract given in the off-season was by the St. Louis Rams to Pro Bowl DE Darren Howard from New Orleans. He joins Leonard Little to make one of the most feared pass rushes in the league. Other big names moving: QB Drew Brees – Texans DT John Abraham – Chiefs QB David Carr – Lions RB Edgerrin James – Ravens T Jeff Backus – Chiefs RB Jamal Lewis – Colts RB Shaun Alexander – Lions S Adam Archuleta – Seahawks LB Anthony Simmons – Packers DT Corey Simon – Dolphins DT Julian Peterson – Chargers CB Nate Clements – Giants LB Dan Morgan – Raiders LB Tommy Polley – Bills TE Bubba Franks – Cardinals RB DeShaun Foster – Saints QB Joey Harrington - Cardinals Rookie Draft: Round One 1. Cleveland - DiCaprio, Russell, T, Louisiana State 2. Buffalo - Baxter, Clay, T, Mississippi 3. Denver - Price, Bryce, WR, Washington 4. Tennessee - Garmon, Deon, T, Michigan 5. Washington - Floyd, Butch, WR, Michigan 6. San Francisco - Connell, Shane, ILB, Utah 7. New York G - Fisher, Pat, OLB, Miami, Florida 8. Dallas - Conley, Terrell, QB, Tennessee 9. Cleveland - Ingle, Toby, DT, Southern California 10. Tampa Bay - McCarthy, Ray, T, Miami, Florida 11. Chicago - Flannery, Dominic, WR, Ohio State 12. Houston - Andersen, Stanley, DT, Iowa 13. Arizona - Strong, Ellis, QB, Michigan 14. Cincinnati - Emerson, Terrance, CB, Virginia Tech 15. Kansas City - Edwards, Andy, RB, Florida State 16. Pittsburgh - Barnes, Frank, RB, Michigan 17. Jacksonville - O'Neill, Randall, DE, Notre Dame 18. Pittsburgh - Tucker, Reggie, CB, UCLA 19. Seattle - Picard, Donny, WR, Oklahoma 20. St. Louis - Howe, Norman, OLB, California 21. Atlanta - Fields, David, RB, Oklahoma 22. Miami - Bard, George, DE, Iowa 23. Baltimore - Bates, Ralph, RB, Michigan 24. Carolina - Brecht, Dixon, CB, Texas Tech 25. Philadelphia - Dawson, Dale, RB, Wisconsin 26. New England - Stephens, Tracy, RB, Florida State 27. San Diego - Rubin, Cary, DE, Tennessee 28. Indianapolis - Brazzell, Graham, ILB, UCLA 29. Oakland - Green, Jeremy, OLB, Florida State 30. New Orleans - Schneiter, Kenny, OLB, Texas 31. New York J - Ambrose, Harris, T, Louisiana State 32. Green Bay - Hoover, Richard, CB, Utah Note: Penn State Senior RB Roosevelt Goodwin was drafted in the 3rd round by Seattle (#83 overall). QB Andy Pilgrim went un-drafted. __________________ Go STL Sports!

09-23-2005, 02:01 PM	#14
mtaystl03 High School Varsity Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: St. Louis, MO	One of the reasons our boy Billy Bullock chose to become a Nittany Lion is because of the great history of tailbacks to wear the Blue and White. Curt Warner (79-82), Blair Thomas (85-89), Curtis Enis (95-97), Ki-Jana Carter (92-94) and most recently Larry Johnson (99-02). Here is a look at the top ten all-time leading rushers for the Nittany Lions in their storied history. A list that Bullock hopes to see his name climb to the top of by the time he is done: Code: name yards att YPA TD #1 WARNER, Curt 3,398 649 5.2 24 #2 THOMAS, Blair 3,301 606 5.4 21 #3 ENIS, Curtis 3,256 565 5.7 36 #4 DOZIER, D.J. 3,227 624 5.1 25 #5 JOHNSON, Larry 2,953 460 6.4 26 #6 MITCHELL, Lydell 2,934 501 5.8 38 #7 CARTER, Ki-Jana 2,829 395 7.1 34 #8 SUHEY, Matt 2,818 633 4.4 26 #9 CAPPELLETTI, John* 2,639 519 5.0 29 #10 McCOO, Eric 2,253 415 5.4 12 Those are some pretty big names. Of the players on that list, only one is playing in the NFL right now and that is Larry Johnson of the Kansas City Chiefs. He backs up Preist Holmes but should soon get a starting job. Johnson holds the single-season and single-game rushing records that are probably not going to be broken. In 2002, L.J. ran for 2,087 yards on 271 carries (a 7.7 average) and 20 TD's. Second on the list is Lydell Mitchell's 1,567 i n 1971. Ki-Jana Carter ran dor 1,539 his Junior season in 1994 and former Heisman trophy winner John Cappelletti managed 1,522 in '73. The most amazing record that Johnson holds is the single-game records. He broke the record for rushing yards in a game three different times in that 2,000+ yard season of '02. He first broke Curt Warner's record of 256 yards when he ran all over the Wildcats of Northwestern for 258 yards. Later in the season, he broke that record with 279 against Illinois. He wasn't done though. Against Indiana, on the second ot last game of the season he ran for an amazing 327 yards. He holds all three of the top single-game performances. That is a quick look at PSU rushing records, next we will look at the off-season and how PSU did recruiting around their golden child Bullock. __________________ Go STL Sports! Last edited by mtaystl03 : 09-23-2005 at 02:04 PM.

09-23-2005, 02:05 PM	#15
mtaystl03 High School Varsity Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: St. Louis, MO	According to Rivals.com the Penn State recruiting class was the 4th best in the nation. Only Texas, Michigan and USC had a better class. Here is the list of the top 10 recruiting classes for the class of 2009: 1. Texas 2. Michigan 3. USC 4. Penn State 5. Texas A&M 6. Illinois 7. Virginia 8. UCLA 9. Georgia Tech 10. Washington It appears Ron Zook (Illinois) and Tyrone Willingham (Washington) are making their presence felt early on. PENN STATE RECRUITING CLASS: Class of 2009 1. Billy Bullock – RB – Wyncote, PA - #2 RB, #7 overall* 2. Kendall Greer – OLB – Hookstown, PA - #2 OLB, #17 overall 3. Trent Jarvis – OLB – Tunkhannock, PA - #3 OLB, #25 overall 4. Kenneth Kerr – QB – Horsham, PA - #6 QB, #29 overall 5. Sammie Pleasant – T – Goose Creek, SC - #6 T, #34 overall 6. Kenneth Berube – ILB – Levittown, NY - #2 ILB, #45 overall 7. Rodney Ingalls – DE – Toelle, UT - #8 DE, #58 overall 8. Dominic Howe – G – Merced, CA - #5 G, #72 overall *We are happy to see Rivals.com say that the both offensive linemen, Pleasant and Howe are primarily run blockers! __________________ Go STL Sports!

09-23-2005, 02:08 PM	#17
mtaystl03 High School Varsity Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: St. Louis, MO	Bullock and the other two backs battled all pre-season for the right to start for the Nittany Lions. When it was all said and done, Calvin Hastings was named the starter for week one against Air Force. Billy was upset but he knows that he will get his shot sooner or later. On to Happy Valley for Billy’s first game! It was a nice day and Billy longed for the day to put on this uniform and run out in front of that many screaming fans. The blood, sweat and tears from the pre-season are dried up and it’s time to play for real. Although, Billy isn’t the starter, he could play a role in the game. He is ready and the butterflies are rumbling in his stomach. Air Force got the ball first and promptly threw an interception to LB Kenneth Breien. Hastings first carry went for zero yards on Penn State’s first offensive play. After a nice pass from Greer to Aaron, Hastings pounded the ball in the end zone from four yards out. 7-0 Penn State After forcing a 3-and-out the Nittany Lions got the ball back and Greer found Esparza from 19-yards out for the score! 10:26 left in the first quarter. 14-0 Penn State >>With 2:14 left in the first quarter Billy saw his first action. He was in on a play that called for him to run a screen. He did just that and Greer threw the ball to him only to have an Air Force defender jump in front and bat it away. There was nothing but green in front of him and he was disappointed with the outcome. Greer didn’t throw it hard enough. Penn State had good field position again on their third drive of the game, starting at the AF 34 yard line. A couple penalties set them back but eventually Greer sighted Aaron open in the back of the end zone from 10 yards out. 21-0 Penn State (:35 left in Q1) >>In a rough way to start his collegiate career, Billy Bullock took his first carry and was immediately hit in the backfield for a loss of three yards. 13:48 in Q2 and Bullock is officially a Nittany Lion. Hopefully the first of many touches in his career there! Even more hopeful is that he will gain some positive yards. On third down of that drive, after Greer once again led them downfield, Hastings followed a beautiful block from Carpenter into the end zone for another 4-yard touchdown run. Penn State is just dominating this game and it doesn’t appear to be slowing up any. 28-0 Penn State (12:00 left in Q2) This is getting out of control! The Lions force a three-and-out again, return the 28 yard punt 27 yards to the 29 of AF. They then get an 18-yard run from Hastings followed by Greer’s 3rd touchdown pass of the game. This time it went to Downs from 9-yards out. 35-0 Penn State (9:51 left in Q2) >>The backups were already in the game for Penn State and backup QB Gary Blades found Billy Bullock for a 10 yard passing play. The first catch of his career and first-down as well. He should see plenty of action as this game continues to get out of hand. Blades next pass was a 46 yard bomb to Willie Esparza, and the two hooked up on the next play for an 11-yard scoring strike! Unbelieveable. 42-0 Penn State (7:23 left in Q2) >>The fans can’t even believe how well this team is playing. There is no reason for the starters to stay out there and risk getting hurt. This could be a special season. On another sad note for Bullock, the other running back Ackerman’s first carry was a 12-yard touchdown run. While the team is playing very well, Bullock is being overshadowed early on. 49-0 Penn State (4:34 left in Q2) >>With 3:48 left in the first half, Air Force finally got their first first-down. They did so on an 11-yard pass on third and 5. At this point in the game they have a total of 18 total yards. >>If things couldn’t get worse personally for Bullock, he dropped a pass which was nullified by a spearing penalty on Air Force. The jitters have taken over and for the first time in his life he is somewhat doubting his ability. He is happy the team is playing so well but he wants to get in on the fun. We skip ahead to the end of the game with the final score 80-0 Penn State! They just played awesome. Billy finished with 10 carries for 17 yards, a 1.7 average as he was stuffed at the line 3 times. On a high note, he did catch 6 passes for 71 yards and scored his first collegiate touchdown on a 24-yard hookup from third string QB Bubba Palmer. Final score: Penn State 80, Air Force 0 Palmer finished with 3 touchdowns in the game. Greer threw his three before being taken out in the first quarter. The player of the game was Willie Esparza, who caught 7 passes for 184 yards and 2 touchdowns. Penn State 1-0! Code: Billy Bullock Career At-A-Glance: Freshman Year: Penn State University Game Opp. Att Yds Avg TD \| Rec Yds TD 1 Air Force 10 17 1.7 0 \| 6 71 1 Career Stats Games Att Yds Avg TD \| Rec Yds TD 1 10 17 1.7 0 \| 6 71 1 __________________ Go STL Sports!

09-23-2005, 02:09 PM	#18
mtaystl03 High School Varsity Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: St. Louis, MO	Other first week college football action saw #5 USC beat up on Missouri 41-7. #10 LSU beat #21 Notre Dame 24-8. #7 Boston College took care of Florida State 17-9. #2 Miami (FL) beat up on SMU 59-7. Week One Players of the week: O: Lionel Hardy, QB, Ole Miss: 446 yards and 6 TD’s D: Brady Hancock, DE, Washington State: 6 tackles, 3.0 sacks The pollsters were so impressed with the thorough beat down of Air Force that the Nittany Lions jumped from #14 to #3! The rankings aren’t too important after the first week so we won’t post them this time. Billy and the Nittany Lions are now preparing for #9 Pittsburgh, a rivalry that will be renewed at Pitt. Should be an exciting game and will really show where the Lions stand. >>Needless to say, Billy was a little discouraged with the outcome, having both other running backs run for two touchdowns but he can take little solace in the fact that he had a great day catching the ball and scored his first collegiate touchdown in his first game! Both parents were at the game and afterwards took him out to eat. The campus was rowdy all night but Billy wasn’t in the mood to go out and get drunk. He wanted to hang out for a while and hit the sack. He already started thinking about the game with Pitt. >>It was a long, hard week of practice that saw Billy make strides. He became the clear #2 back and could possibly get the start according to Joe Pa. Calvin Hastings is already starting to struggle in the classroom and could be punished. Coach Paterno stressed that this early game would decide the fate of the rest of the season. He got the boys ready to play. You can throw out the records or any other concrete statistical data, Pitt simply doesn’t like Penn State and the feeling is mutual. This one will be a knock down, drag out fight to the finish. The team did receive some very bad news. Star WR Willie Esparza, who scored twice in the opening game, was injured at practice and might miss significant time. He won’t play for sure against Pitt and we will get more information when it becomes available. __________________ Go STL Sports!

09-23-2005, 02:13 PM	#22
mtaystl03 High School Varsity Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: St. Louis, MO	School has started and Billy was having no trouble with his general education, lower level classes that he is taking towards his degree in English. If something were to happen and he wasn’t able to play pro football, he wanted to be a writer. His first semester, he is taking Accounting I, Architecture I, Genetics I, Marketing I and English I. He should breeze through the classes and if something comes up that he needs help with there are plenty of tutors around campus that would do anything to help a football player get good grades On the field, the Nittany Lions take their new #12 ranking into their match up with a small independent school in the S-8 conference, University of Shelbyville Vikings. This game shouldn’t and won’t even be close as the Lions will play in front of another sold out crowd at Beaver Stadium and the Vikes don’t want anything to do with Tito Greer and company. At this point, Tito is 2nd in the nation in passing yards with 618, only behind Lionel Hardy of Ole Miss who, through two games, has 795 yards and 10 touchdowns! The game will be televised nationally on TV5. Game 3: #9 Shelbyville Vikings (0-1) @ #12 Penn State Nittany Lions (2-0) This one could get ugly at Beaver Stadium. The Lions look to improve on the #12 ranking and sneak into the top 10 with a convincing win. The game started slow and the only fireworks in the first couple of possessions was a 35-yard run by the Vikings tailback. When the defense got it figured out, Greer threw a touchdown pass to Isaac Lyle from 9 yards out. Hastings got 5 carries on the drive and Ackerman caught a pass. Billy stayed on the sideline but should figure to get some touches later in the game. Duesenberg missed the extra point and the sloppiness continued. 6-0 Penn State (5:31 left in Q1) The Lions were stopped on their next drive as penalties hurt them. When they got the ball back, Greer found a wide open Wally Downs for a 31-yard hook up and then nailed Dean Grabovez with a 5-yard strike. They went for two and Tito found Lyle to make up for the missed PAT. 14-0 Penn State (14:28 left in Q2) The defense forced a fumble and Greer quickly led them downfield again and it was capped off by a three-yard touchdown run by Calvin Hastings. His third rushing touchdown of the season and he is solidifying his role as the starting back. Ackerman dropped a pass on that series. Billy still waits patiently on the sidelines. He just wants to get in the game in front of all these fans. 21-0 Penn State (8:34 left in Q2) Hastings broke free on the next possession for a 19-yard TD run. His second of the game and fourth of the season. 28-0 Penn State (4:20 left in Q2) Right before half-time, Shannon Wayne intercepted a pass and returned it 75 yards for a touchdown. That was the second INT return for a touchdown this season for the Lions defensive unit. 35-0 PSU (3:00 left in half) Shelbyville went to their backup quarterback, Marvin Farley who got the job done, sparked by a pass interference penalty but found an open receiver (Derrick Labelle) for an 11-yard TD strike. Joe Pa wasn’t amused by this at all. 35-7 PSU (1:21 left in half) The Lions finished the half having to punt and it was blocked. Heading into the locker room, they had no idea that coach was going to react the way he did. Half Time “THOSE LAST MOMENTS OF THAT HALF WERE PATHETIC! JUST PATHETIC! YOU LET THEM DRIVE DOWN AND SCORE A TOUCHDOWN ON YOU!!!?! HOW COULD YOU LET THAT HAPPEN? THEN THEY BLOCK A PUNT!? YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME. THERE IS NO WAY YOU CAN PLAY LIKE THIS AGAINST A TOP RANKED TEAM, WE WOULD GET MURDERED! PICK IT UP AND PLAY LIKE CHAMPIONS, EVERY PLAY, EVERY PLAY!” The team was in shock. They thought they would get some simple instructions and the usual calm coach. They were wrong. Meanwhile, Billy didn’t see the field in the first half. He started questioning if he was in coaches doghouse or something. He recalled that at practice coach didn’t answer him when he said “hello”. He may be over analyzing the situation but he was definitely starting to worry. Calvin Hastings had 10 carries for 48 yards and two scores at the half. Second Half The team was rejuvenated and got a quick 3-and-out and drove down the field. Hastings and Ackerman both got a carry before Tito Green once again found Isaac Lyle for a 25 yard TD. 42-7 Penn State (13:04 left in Q3) >>Billy got his first carry of the game on the next drive and took it up the middle for five hard earned yards. Greer was wisely taken out of the game just in time for Bubba Palmer to come in and throw his 4th TD as a backup, this one when to Grabovez, his second score in the game. 49-7 Penn State (8:41 left in Q3) The next possession was the Palmer-Lyle show. Four completed passes in a row including a one-yard play action to Bullock for the score. Billy wasn’t happy. He wanted the ball. Why would they continue to throw all over this hapless team? 56-7 PSU (4:25 left in Q3) Ackerman came into the game and shined. He had two carries for 17 yards and three receptions for 20 more, before capping off the drive with an 8-yard screen pass turned into a touchdown. Billy could only watch from the sidelines and wonder if something was going on that he wasn’t aware of. By the way, that is Palmer’s 5th TD pass this year. Greer has only four more than him! Also, Isaac Lyle was injured on the play. He slowly walked to the sideline, holding his shoulder and it doesn’t look good. This could be another huge blow if he is hurt for some time. 63-7 PSU (13:23 left in game) >>Billy got his second carry on the next drive and took it for 6 yards, giving him two carries for 11 yards. For some reason, the team continued to go to the air. The Lions are definitely a passing team this year. They ended up kicking a field goal. 66-7 Penn State (6:48 left in game) Billy got one more carry for 2 yards and caught a pass for 6 yards in mop up duty. The Lions went on to destroy the Vikings. Final score: Penn State 66, Shelbyville 7. Post-game thoughts: It was another big day for sudden Heisman candidate Tito Greer. He threw for 268 and 3 TD’s with 0 INT’s. He now has 10 touchdowns on the season. Bubba Palmer did another nice job in relief, tossing two of his own even though he was picked off once. Isaac Lyle had 7 catches for 78 yards and three touchdowns. This team has definitely become a pass-first offense. With 17 total passing touchdowns from three different quarterbacks compared to five combined rushing TD’s (4 for Hastings, 1 for Ackerman). On that note, the mood was somber in the locker room after the game despite the win because team doctors revealed that Lyle dislocated his shoulder and would be sidelined for most likely the rest of the season. This is the second huge blow to the receiving corps. The player of the game was on the defensive side of the ball, defensive end Craig Burroughs who had three sacks. Billy finished with just three carries for 13 yards and 1 catch for 6 yards. After three games now, the Nittany Lions are 3-0 and outscoring opponents 186-20! Code: Billy Bullock Career At-A-Glance: Freshman Year: Penn State University Game Opp. Att Yds Avg TD \| Rec Yds TD 1 Air Force 10 17 1.7 0 \| 6 71 1 2 #9 Pittsburgh 5 33 6.6 0 \| 1 2 0 3 Shelbyville 3 13 4.3 0 \| 1 6 0 Season 18 63 3.5 0 \| 8 79 0 Career Stats Games Att Yds Avg TD \| Rec Yds TD 3 18 63 3.5 0 \| 8 79 1 __________________ Go STL Sports! Last edited by mtaystl03 : 09-27-2005 at 09:44 PM.

09-24-2005, 02:58 AM	#25
mtaystl03 High School Varsity Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: St. Louis, MO	Well, the long break is over and the Lions are ready to go back to work. This time they will travel to Minneapolis, MN to take on the Golden Gophers of Minnesota. This is the beginning of conference play and the Gophers never take anybody lightly. They are ranked #27, just outside the top 25 as they are also 3-0. They beat Baylor, Southern Mississippi and Idaho. If Penn State is to keep their Championship hopes alive, it starts today against this Minnesota squad. Game 4: #12 Penn State Nittany Lions (3-0) vs. Minnesota Golden Gophers (3-0) (-4) This is the first Big 10 game for both teams. Minnesota is a tough place to play and the odds makers actually favor the 27th ranked Gophers! Should be interesting to see if they can stop the passing attack of Penn State. It started ugly. Penn State defense came up with a three-and-out right off the bat. The punt was short and returned 11 yards to the Minnesota 30 yard line. Greer was picked off on the second offensive play. The Lion defense held strong again. When PSU got the ball back, they drove down the field but penalties and a sack forced them to go for it on 4th and long. They didn’t convert. MINN did their best impression of the Lion offense on their next possession as they had some nice plays but had a 4th down play fall incomplete to turn it over on downs. Calvin Hastings was getting plenty of carries early on and doing well. Billy made his first impact on the game in the next drive with a 12 yard reception as he went over the middle of the field to make the play. He then got the next carry and picked up 7 hard earned yards right up the gut. The 3rd and 3 play broke down and Greer was stopped short trying to scramble for it. The punt was downed at the MINN 4 yard line. :36 left in Q1. The defense made a stop and the punt went out of bounds at the MINN 41 yard line. The drive saw a sack, a long 25 yard past, Hastings lose three yards and then Duesenberg nailed a 38-yard field goal to put the Lions on the board first. 3-0 Penn State (11:01 left in Q2) Minnesota had a nice drive the next time out and their quarterback Harvey Davis found the tailback Korey Wilson running free over the middle of the field. He hit him with a beautiful 30-yard touchdown strike and the Nittany Lions found themselves in unfamiliar territory: losing for the first time this year. 7-3 Minnesota (8:32 left in Q2) Billy got the first carry and was wrapped up for one yard. An illegal formation penalty pushed them back and then Greer completed a short pass to Ackerman and missed a pass to Bullock. The Penn State defense found themselves on the run quite a bit on the next drive. They started back at their own 28 and drove all the way down the field. A 3rd down defensive pass interference penalty hurt. Then the Gophers went to the option and got down to the 8 yard line where they finally stalled with :37 left in the half. They kicked the field goal to go up a touchdown. 10-3 Minnesota (:32 left in half) Half Time It wasn’t a good start for the Lions. Minnesota was dictating the play. The offense was spurting and couldn’t quite finish a drive. Penalties were also piling up. All coaches stressed that they needed to clean it up and really focus. They have to come out of the gates quick or they won’t like the results. Second Half Hastings took the advice to heart as he took the kickoff 22 yards and then took the first carry of the second half strait up the middle right behind Dustin Carpenter and rumbled 64 yards for the touchdown! It was his 5th rushing TD of the year and by far the longest run of his career. Billy was the first player to congratulate him on the sidelines as winning has overshadowed any selfishness on this team. 10-10 (14:21 left in Q3) The defense continued to rack up penalties. A defensive holding and then encroachment, luckily the Gophers missed the FG. Then on the next drive, Bullock got one carry for three yards but another false start penalty and two incompletions led to another punt. The Gophers took the ball down the field, mostly relying on the run. They did fumble the ball at the 16 yard line but they actually recovered it and took it all the way to the 8. That set up 3rd and 5 at the 5 yard line. The Lions came up with a big stop and Minnesota settled for three. 13-10 (3:32 left in Q3) Calvin Hastings was cramping up and needed some relief. The Lions returned the short kick all the way into MINN territory (46). Bullock had a three yard run, then lost those three yards and FUMBLED on the next run. The ball bounced right into the hands of Minnesota. He was clearly bothered by this on the sidelines. Both the running backs coach and even Hastings came over to him and told him things would be alright. It happens. They need him to continue to play. He took that to heart. He was relieved to see the defense come up with a big stop. On the next drive Tito Greer decided to wake up. He found Neal Aaron for 16 yards and then a new receiver Ricardo Adame for a 51-yard strike to the 22>. Bullock caught a screen pass and made 14 hard yards out of it. He then took the next carry six yards to the 2 yard line. By that time, Hastings was feeling better and finished the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run. He came right over to Billy to make sure he knew it was him that set it up. Billy totally forgot about the fumble. The sideline was rejuvenated. Coach Paterno, who doesn’t say much to players during the game, pounded Billy’s shoulder pads as he stood on the sideline cheering on the defense. That was enough for Billy. 17-13 Penn State (11:40 left in game) There was a lot of time left in this game and the defense needed to repeat the stop from last possession. The defense gave up runs of 6 and 4 to Korey Wilson, but on the next play they forced a fumble and Kenyon Breedlove recovered it. Greer completed a 15 yard pass, then threw a screen to Billy who was tackled immediately behind the line for a loss of 2. They settled for a field goal and led by a touchdown. They don’t want to let Minnesota hang around. 20-13 Penn State (8:14 left in game) Minnesota drove down the field and decided to kick a field goal with 3:51 left. That was a questionable call but they wanted points. 20-16 Penn State (3:51 left in game) Big offensive drive for Penn State. They gave the ball to Hastings twice and he picked up 10 and 8 yards. He lost three on the next carry and Greer couldn’t pick them up. They were forced to punt and set up the heroics from the Golden Gophers. A 27-yard pass to Gene Hope was followed by another HUGE catch by Hope, this one was 48 yards to the 10 yard line. There was 1:16 left in the game. The next play, they scored a touchdown, all but crushing the Lions hopes. 23-20 Minnesota (1:07 left in game) A holding call, two incompletions and then the Gophers ended it with an exclamation point when Buddy Koplitz intercepted Greer and returned it 55 yards to end the hopes. 30-20 Minnesota (:34 left) To add insult to injury, Greer threw another pick and the Gophers came up huge in this one. Final Score: Minnesota 30, Penn State 20 Billy and the team was crushed. They played hard but Minnesota played that much harder. It was tough to swallow. The big run at the beginning of the second half and all the chances to put it away were killer. Turnovers and penalties ended up being the story. Hastings ended up with 10 carries for 93 yards and two touchdowns. Greer was a dismal 16-of-32 for 225 yards, no touchdowns and 3 interceptions. On defense, Breedlove was big making 11 tackles and LB Ethan Baulig had 11 tackles and 9 assists. Billy had 7 carries for 20 yards and caught 3 passes for 24 yards. The fumble didn’t end up hurting them but it could’ve changed some momentum. It would be a long trip home to State College. Code: Billy Bullock Career At-A-Glance: Freshman Year: Penn State University Game Opp. Att Yds Avg TD \| Rec Yds TD 1 Air Force 10 17 1.7 0 \| 6 71 1 2 #9 Pittsburgh 5 33 6.6 0 \| 1 2 0 3 Shelbyville 3 13 4.3 0 \| 1 6 0 4 Minnesota 7 20 2.8 0 \| 3 24 0 Season 25 83 3.3 0 \| 11 103 1 Career Stats Games Att Yds Avg TD \| Rec Yds TD 4 25 83 3.3 0 \| 11 103 1 __________________ Go STL Sports! Last edited by mtaystl03 : 09-27-2005 at 09:45 PM.

09-24-2005, 03:43 AM	#26
Izulde Head Coach Join Date: Sep 2004	Great story so far. On the bright side, Billy looks to be developing into a nice all-purpose back. __________________ 2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty)

09-24-2005, 11:06 AM	#27
mtaystl03 High School Varsity Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: St. Louis, MO	Yeah, he is a true freshman so he has plenty of time. He seems to be slipping ahead of Ackerman and Hastings is a Junior so hopefully by his Junior year it will be his job. Thanks for reading. __________________ Go STL Sports!

09-24-2005, 11:27 AM	#28
mtaystl03 High School Varsity Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: St. Louis, MO	Around College Football: Week 5 The Minnesota game wasn't the only upset in the Big 10 this week. #7 Ohio State lost to #17 Purdue 20-17 on the road. The Game of the Week ended up being #11 Tennessee winning on a last second field goal over #13 Alabama at home, 30-27. #1 Oklahoma continues to dominate like no other, blankings Mizzou at Farout Field, 48-0. The #2 and #3 teams in the land, narrowly escaped upsets this week. #2 Florida and Urban Meyer hung on to beat Arkansas 24-20 and #3 Michigan edged upstart #16 Illinois at home, 21-16. Unranked Oregon beat #15 Washington State at home 27-22 and Notre Dame finally won a game, beating UConn 45-17 on the road. Jesse Hawkins of Louisiana-Lafayette threw for 345, completing 34-of-49 passes and four touchdowns in the Rajun' Cajuns 56-17 thrashing of Utah State to earn him Offensive Player of the Week award. The Defensive award goes to Lance Gordon, a DT from Stanford, who recorded 5.0 sacks in Stanford's 33-18 win over Arizona State. New Top 25: Code: School Record Conf Coach Fans Ave Rank Oklahoma 4-0 B12 1 1 1.00 6 Florida 3-0 SEC 2 2 2.00 1 Michigan 4-0 B10 3 4 3.50 8 Texas 3-0 B12 4 5 4.50 7 USC 3-0 P10 5 3 4.00 4 Miami of Florida 4-0 ACC 6 7 6.50 9 Georgia 3-0 SEC 7 8 7.50 2 Wisconsin 4-0 B10 8 6 7.00 11 Nebraska 4-0 B12 9 11 10.00 10 Tennessee 3-0 SEC 10 10 10.00 3 Purdue 4-0 B10 11 9 10.00 5 South Carolina 3-0 SEC 12 13 12.50 12 Ohio State 3-1 B10 13 21 17.00 14 Florida State 2-1 ACC 14 18 16.00 35 Auburn 3-0 SEC 15 16 15.50 17 Utah 3-0 MOU 16 19 17.50 18 Texas Christian 3-0 USA 17 15 16.00 20 West Virginia 4-0 BEA 18 12 15.00 13 Penn State 3-1 B10 19 24 21.50 22 Alabama 3-1 SEC 20 25 22.50 16 Louisiana State 3-1 SEC 21 30 25.50 24 Minnesota 4-0 B10 22 26 24.00 21 Washington State 3-1 P10 23 17 20.00 23 Stanford 4-0 P10 24 14 19.00 15 Boston College 3-1 BEA 25 22 23.50 28 --------- NFL Happenings: Week Three The remaining undefeated teams through three weeks are: Houston, Buffalo, Denver, Detroit, Atlanta and Philadelphia. Billy is starting to get quite excited about the prospects of yet another Philly playoff appearance. He has noticed a leveling off of rooting too much for the Eagles. He is now so worried about his own career, and with the NFL being the next step, it doesn't seem so distant to him. He was no doubt pumped up to see his boy Donovan McNabb pick up Off. Player of the Week with his 25-for-33, 310 yards and five touchdowns in a shootout win over St. Louis. Marc Bulger and Jake Delhomme each threw four touchdowns this week and Stephen Davis finally broke out again this year, rushing for 141 yards and a touchdown for Carolina. The Panthers had a great game and former Eagle Todd Pinkston was the leading receiver with 5 catches for 138 yards and two touchdowns. The Panthers beat up on Seattle 45-29. Chargers OLB Shawn Merriman recorded six tackles and three sacks this week to pick up Defensive Player of the Week honors. __________________ Go STL Sports! Last edited by mtaystl03 : 09-24-2005 at 11:34 AM.

09-24-2005, 01:18 PM	#29
mtaystl03 High School Varsity Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: St. Louis, MO	It was no doubt a tough loss for the team as they drop to #19 in the rankings and it doesn’t get any easier from here on out. Next up is a very solid Iowa team that after a fast start has lost their last two games to Iowa State and Indiana. They feature a power running game with two backs, Casey Dawson and Aaron Jenkins. If the Lions defense can’t stop the run, it will be a long day. The Hawkeyes always come to play and they need their first Big 10 win just as bad as the Lions. The game is at home so that is one major advantage for PSU. Game 5: Iowa Hawkeyes (2-2 / 0-1) vs. #19 Penn State Nittany Lions (3-1 / 0-1) (-15) Both teams in dire need of a conference win. The Hawkeyes have lost their last two games but always come to play against Penn State. Some bad blood has been brewing between these two teams for quite some time. What a start for the Nittany Lions and QB Tito Greer. After vowing to never play like he did last week, he goes right to the air, connecting with Neal Aaron on pass plays of 15, 33 and then the scoring strike of 28 yards. The Lions didn’t even attempt a run. 7-0 Penn State (12:49 left in Q1) The defense stopped the first pass play attempted by Iowa for a loss of 4 yards. They then held strong for a run of nothing and an incompletion. The house was going nuts. After Iowa forced a punt, the Hawkeyes got an unsportsmanlike penalty and then Trent Jarvis intercepted Terrance Coleman at the Iowa 27. Billy got his first run for three yards, Hastings got 5 yards and then Greer hit Aaron again from 19 yards out! 14-0 Penn State (7:41 left in Q1) Things calmed down for a little while when the defense managed another stop of Iowa, Billy got free for 13 yards, his second longest rush of his career. On 3rd-and-1, Hastings was pushed back for a loss of one and PSU punted. The crowd has never been so loud as it was when the defense stopped Iowa with runs of -3, 2 and -2 to force another 3-and-out. The next drive saw Greer throw incomplete twice and then hit Billy for 8 yards but they had to punt. The defense got sloppy on the next drive, going off-side twice and allowing Coleman to find his favorite target Zach Estep for a 30-yard gain to the 31 of PSU. They figured it out and held strong forcing a turnover on downs after they went for it on 3rd and 10 from the 31. Then more fireworks from Tito Greer as he threw a bomb to Wally Downs for a 68-yard touchdown strike, his third of the game already. 21-0 Penn State (9:37 left in half) The defense was on top of its game this week but the special teams made a big mistake when an Iowa player got free and blocked the punt attempt. They recovered the ball and ran it in from 12 yards out to get on the board. 21-7 Penn State (6:57 left in half) That stunned the crowd and the Lions offense stalled on the next drive with Billy getting a carry for four yards. The defense again stepped it up when the Hawkeyes were running on momentum down the field only to have a fourth and two play stopped for a loss on the play! The place erupted. That is how the half ended. Half-time The defensive coaches were stressing to their guys to keep it up. The offensive coaches were stressing to keep control of the ball, turnovers would kill them. Coach Paterno took the team together to let them know how important this game is to their season. He also emphasizes how important it is for them to come out and take it to them right away in the second half, a lot like they did against Minnesota. A 14-point lead is nothing. Second half The Lion “D” came up with a quick 3 and out, the punt was downed at the PSU 11 yard line. After a 15 yard pass to Grabovez, two incompletions and a drop led to a Lion punt. Then Iowa started driving down the field, got to the 28 yard line of PSU and then on 3rd and 8, Shannon Wayne intercepted the Coleman pass and returned it 89 yards for the touchdown. That is the third defensive INT return for a TD this season. 28-7 PSU (10:07 left in 3Q) The next drive lasted only two plays until the defense forced another fumble and Herb Green jumped on it at the Iowa 22. After a 12 yard run by Hastings, two false start penalties, Greer hit Wally Downs from 20 yards for his fourth TD toss of the day. Penn State was starting to run away with this one. The house was rocking. 35-7 PSU (8:41 left in 3Q) The Penn State stifling defense came up with two more turnovers on their next two drives, sandwiched by a PSU punt. Herb Green was involved in both again, picking off a pass and then jumping on another fumble created by a Burroughs sack. Bullock had a four yard run and then Duesenberg kicked a field goal. 38-7 PSU (3:01 left in 3Q) The Iowa offense finally figured it out, hitting a 44-yard pass and then Aaron Jenkins ran one in from 15 yards out. They went for two and didn’t convert. 38-13 PSU (14:51 left in game) The Penn State offense was having their way. Hastings broke out a 31 yard run, giving him 9 carries for 59 yards at that point. Bullock caught a 12 yard pass to the seven and Wally Downs caught a 7-yard TD pass from Greer, who now had five TD passes! 45-13 PSU (10:07 left in game) After another stop, Billy had a nice drive, taking two carries, one went for 10 yards and the next play got a 9 yard run. Greer hit Ricardo Adame 29 yards downfield to the 9. The drive stalled and Duesenberg kicked another field goal. This team was looking like a power house, dominating every facet of the game. 48-13 PSU (4:17 left in the game). The Hawkeyes had a decent ball movement and the Nittany Lions ran out the clock to hold on and get their first conference win in decisive fashion. Final Score Penn State 48, Iowa 13 Post-game thoughts Tito Greer was awesome in this game, throwing for 336 yards, 5 TD and no picks! Wally Downs emerged as his favorite target, hauling in eight passes for 178 yards and three touchdowns. Downs was officially named the player of the game. The defense also played great, piling up 5 sacks, 3 interceptions and 3 fumbles. Billy had his most effective game, rushing six times for 43 yards, a 7.1 average. He also caught two passes for 20 yards. He has finally surpassed his receiving total with rushing yards. It was a great game all the way around and the Lions are back on track! Code: Billy Bullock Career At-A-Glance: Freshman Year: Penn State University Game Opp. Att Yds Avg TD \| Rec Yds TD 1 Air Force 10 17 1.7 0 \| 6 71 1 2 #9 Pittsburgh 5 33 6.6 0 \| 1 2 0 3 Shelbyville 3 13 4.3 0 \| 1 6 0 4 Minnesota 7 20 2.8 0 \| 3 24 0 5 Iowa 6 43 7.1 0 \| 2 20 0 Season 31 126 4.0 0 \| 13 123 1 Career Stats Games Att Yds Avg TD \| Rec Yds TD 5 31 126 4.0 0 \| 13 123 1 __________________ Go STL Sports! Last edited by mtaystl03 : 09-27-2005 at 09:46 PM.

09-24-2005, 02:12 PM	#30
mtaystl03 High School Varsity Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: St. Louis, MO	Around College Football: Week 6 #2 Florida continued their dream season with a solid 13-7 win over #15 Auburn at The Swamp. UPSET SPECIAL Unranked Kansas State beat #4 Texas 28-27 in Texas! #11 Purdue escaped a scare from Michigan State in East Lansing, winning 20-17. UPSET SPECIAL #5 USC was beaten by unranked and struggling Arizona State 35-34 in the desert!! BIG 10 ACTION #11 Purdue 20 @ Michigan State 17 #13 Ohio State 49, Indiana 10 #19 Penn State 48, Iowa 13 #3 Michigan 31 @ Northwestern 3 Illinois 38, #22 Minnesota 28 Illinois appears to be for real. They beat Minnesota at home and Ron Zook as the Fighting Illini playing good football. Here is a look at the Big 10 Standings: Code: School W L T Pct PF PA W L T Pct PF PA Streak Purdue 5 0 0 1.000 227 34 2 0 0 1.000 40 34 Won 11 Michigan 5 0 0 1.000 177 42 2 0 0 1.000 52 19 Won 6 Wisconsin 4 0 0 1.000 207 64 1 0 0 1.000 48 17 Won 12 Penn State 4 1 0 .800 254 63 1 1 0 .500 68 43 Won 1 Ohio State 4 1 0 .800 186 49 1 1 0 .500 66 30 Won 1 Illinois 4 1 0 .800 165 101 1 1 0 .500 54 49 Won 1 Minnesota 4 1 0 .800 163 85 1 1 0 .500 58 58 Lost 1 Indiana 1 4 0 .200 73 181 1 1 0 .500 37 70 Lost 1 Michigan State 2 2 0 .500 101 84 0 1 0 .000 17 20 Lost 2 Iowa 2 3 0 .400 164 106 0 2 0 .000 34 75 Lost 3 Northwestern 2 3 0 .400 105 126 0 2 0 .000 20 79 Lost 2 Billy Joe Jones, QB, UConn was player of the week going 40-for-50 for 386 yards and six touchdowns in the Huskies 52-3 win over Buffalo. Erik George a DE from Oregon had 10 tackles and 3.5 sacks to pick up defensive player of the week. Player Watch: Miami (FL) Senior QB Hardy Randle is off to an amazing start. He has completed 95-of-137 passes (69.3%) for 1,474 yards, 15 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. His passer rating right now is 191.4! Player Watch: West Virginia RB Brandon Daniels, who ran for 2,001 yards last year is looking to eclipse that mark this season. So far, in five games, he has amassed 871 yards and 15 TD's (he scored 24 a year ago). His YPG right now is 174.2, last year he was at 166.7. Needless to say, he leads the nation by over 100 yards. New Top 25: Code: School Record Conf Coach Fans Ave Rank Oklahoma 4-0 B12 1 1 1.00 4 Florida 4-0 SEC 2 2 2.00 1 Michigan 5-0 B10 3 3 3.00 3 Miami of Florida 5-0 ACC 4 5 4.50 5 Georgia 4-0 SEC 5 6 5.50 2 Nebraska 5-0 B12 6 9 7.50 9 Wisconsin 4-0 B10 7 4 5.50 8 Tennessee 4-0 SEC 8 8 8.00 7 Texas 3-1 B12 9 11 10.00 17 USC 3-1 P10 10 10 10.00 15 Purdue 5-0 B10 11 7 9.00 6 Ohio State 4-1 B10 12 18 15.00 11 Florida State 3-1 ACC 13 13 13.00 27 South Carolina 4-0 SEC 14 12 13.00 10 Utah 4-0 MOU 15 16 15.50 12 Penn State 4-1 B10 16 22 19.00 18 Louisiana State 4-1 SEC 17 25 21.00 20 Washington State 4-1 P10 18 15 16.50 19 Boston College 4-1 BEA 19 21 20.00 22 Alabama 3-1 SEC 20 26 23.00 14 Stanford 5-0 P10 21 14 17.50 13 Illinois 4-1 B10 22 27 24.50 16 Kansas State 4-1 B12 23 20 21.50 21 UCLA 4-1 P10 24 17 20.50 24 Clemson 2-1 ACC 25 19 22.00 35 ------- Around the NFL: Week Four Buffalo, Detroit and Philadelphia move to 4-0 on the season. Denver had a bye and sit at 3-0. Byron Leftwich threw for 279 yards and three touchdowns in a 28-21 win over the New York Jets. It was their first win of the season. Leftwich was named offensive player of the week. Drew Brees threw for 410 yards and one TD for Houston but they fell to Indianapolis 28-24. They are now 3-1. An undrafted player, Derek Diaz out of Stanford led the Buffalo Bills to a 31-28 win over Tennessee. He threw for 244 yards, 2 TD and 0 INT filling in for the injured J.P. Losman. Stephen Davis had another huge day for the Panthers. He took 35 carries for 215 yards and a touchdown in their 28-26 win over Dallas. He easily took over the league lead from David Fields with 528 yards. Fields is in 2nd with 364 as he could only manage 30 yards on 10 carries against the stout Eagles defense this week. Jamal Lewis eclipsed the 100 yard marker for the first time in an Indy uniform. He rumbled for 128 and two scored against Houston. St. Louis' Torry Holt led all receivers this week with 9 catches for 219 yards and a TD. Jaguars' DE Marcellus Wiley had 3.0 sacks and was named Defensive Player of the Week. __________________ Go STL Sports! Last edited by mtaystl03 : 09-24-2005 at 02:17 PM.

09-24-2005, 09:37 PM	#33
mtaystl03 High School Varsity Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: St. Louis, MO	The Nittany Lions have some time to look back and reflect upon what just happened. They have dropped to #22 in the coaches poll with their two losses but they are the only team in the Top 25 with two losses. The next major opponent, Wisconsin is sitting at #14. They have a game in week eight against Illinois in Champaign. That is no gimme. It will give the Lions a chance to really examine what they do well. One thing everybody knows they do well is run the ball with their stud back Troy Reed. He is a big-time back. A Senior who has 830 yards so far this season which is good enough for 4th in the nation. College Football Week in Review: Week Eight The no-doubt game of the week was in the Big XII where defending National Champion Oklahoma, who many said would fall because of their weak early schedule played in Texas. The Longhorns came to play and handed Oklahoma their first loss in the last two years, 13-9. A defensive battle won by the Longhorns. The Longhorns were #6 coming into the game despite the loss to Kansas State earlier this year. #2 Florida just moved into the #1 spot without a doubt. They handled #11 South Carolina on the road 37-14. They have beat top 25 team three weeks in a row now and should sit a top the next poll. #5 Nebraska survived a scare against Iowa State, 10-9 in Ames, IA. #8 Purdue won again. This time they beat Minnesota on the road 37-21! Arizona State pulled off their second strait upset. This time they surprised #17 Washington State, 18-13. Two weeks ago the Sun Devils stunned the college football world by beating #5 USC by a point. Bobby Bowden and the Florida State Seminoles are back! They handled a tough road game at Georgia Tech, 21-19. Another great Big 10 game saw #3 Michigan survive at home against Iowa, 37-30. Wisconsin did handle Illinois but it wasn't easy. The final was 26-24. UConn's Billy Joe Jones was the Offensive Player of the Week for the second time this season. This time he was 31-43 for 417 yards, 4 TD, 0 INT. Iowa's ILB Earl Downing did his part, intercepting three passes, making 12 tackles and 1.5 sacks! Iowa lost a heartbreaker to #3 Michigan in Ann Arbor. Hardy Randle continues his Heisman pace, this time going 25-35 for 327, 4 TD's and 1 INT. His TD-INT ratio right now is 24-4! Rating at 199.5. The newest Coaches Poll Top 25 has no Penn State (officially at #26) Code: School Record Conf Coach Fans Ave Rank Florida 6-0 SEC 1 1 1.00 1 Michigan 7-0 B10 2 2 2.00 2 Miami of Florida 7-0 ACC 3 3 3.00 5 Nebraska 7-0 B12 4 6 5.00 4 Oklahoma 5-1 B12 5 5 5.00 12 Texas 5-1 B12 6 8 7.00 11 Florida State 5-1 ACC 7 9 8.00 17 Purdue 7-0 B10 8 4 6.00 3 USC 4-1 P10 9 7 8.00 13 Ohio State 5-1 B10 10 14 12.00 9 Georgia 5-1 SEC 11 11 11.00 6 Wisconsin 5-1 B10 12 10 11.00 7 Tennessee 5-1 SEC 13 13 13.00 8 Utah 6-0 MOU 14 12 13.00 10 Louisiana State 6-1 SEC 15 17 16.00 16 Alabama 5-1 SEC 16 16 16.00 15 South Carolina 5-1 SEC 17 21 19.00 14 Pittsburgh 6-1 BEA 18 23 20.50 21 North Carolina State 6-1 ACC 19 25 22.00 23 Virginia Tech 4-1 ACC 20 18 19.00 22 Colorado State 6-1 MOU 21 26 23.50 20 West Virginia 5-1 BEA 22 15 18.50 18 Texas Christian 4-1 USA 23 27 25.00 32 Boise State 4-1 WAC 24 24 24.00 36 Washington State 5-2 P10 25 19 22.00 26 ------- NFL Recap: Week Six Philadelphia and Detroit lose and Denver wins. That leaves the Broncos as the only remaining undefeated team at 5-0. Jake Delhomme threw five touchdown passes for the Panthers in their 35-17 win over previously unbeaten Philadelphia. LaMont Jordan led all rushers with 151 yards and a score in the Raiders 27-3 win over Cleveland. Both David Fields and Warrick Dunn ran for exactly 110 yards for Atlanta as the Falcons move to 4-2 with a 34-28 win over Tampa Bay. Edgerrin James was struggling for some time in Baltimore but finally got to 100 yards this week in a 30-15 win over San Diego. His high in the previous five games was 78 yards. Stephen Davis managed 90 yards against the Eagles to hold on to the league lead at 714 yards. 2nd is Fields at 572 and Rudi Johnson moved into 3rd with 482. Green Bay's ILB Nick Barnett picked off two passes and had a sack in the Packers in their 28-17 win over Detroit. __________________ Go STL Sports! Last edited by mtaystl03 : 09-24-2005 at 09:50 PM.

09-26-2005, 05:02 PM	#34
mtaystl03 High School Varsity Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: St. Louis, MO	Game 7: Penn State Nittany Lions (4-2) @ #12 Wisconsin Badgers (-12) A huge game for the Lions. This team can not lose any more games if they want in a bowl game. The Badgers will look to run Troy Reed all over the defense. The game will be nationally televised on TV5. The first drive of the game by Wisconsin was unsuccessful. The defense looked really good, forcing an incompletion, then stopping Bell for 2 yards and their QB Blackwell for a loss of one. The punt was terrible but the Nittany Lions couldn’t do anything with the field position. Greer threw two incompletions and then was sacked. The next drive, Reed ran all over the field and their fullback scored to get them on the board first. 7-0 Wisconsin (5:32 left in Q1) Another drive was stalled because of an offensive pass interference penalty followed by a sack. Ackerman was on for a play and after the pass was incomplete, he hobbled off the field. Then, right when the defense gets some momentum, stopping Reed for a loss of one and then -4, they connect on a 20-yard pass play. They completed another third-and-13 before LB Eric Chandler came up with a big interception. At this point, Reed has some long runs but has also been stopped behind the line of scrimmage 6 times. He has around 11 carries for 29 yards. If the Lions can hold him in check and make Blackwell beat them, they have a shot. Billy got the first carry of the next drive, taking it 7 yards before he was thrown to the turn and the refs threw a flag for unsportsmanlike conduct. Greer was then sacked, Hastings lost two yards and a 3-yard pass was completed. Another punt. The next drive saw Wisconsin get into some trouble with an offensive holding call. They completed a 17 yard pass on 2nd and 18 but the Nittany Lions defense stopped the run for no gain. They punted and Cole Collier brought the ball back 22 yards to the Wisconsin 42. He was just tripped up by the last man or he would’ve taken it to the house. They know they need to cash in on this drive. Billy got his second carry for 2 yards before they sacked Greer AGAIN, this time jarring the ball loose and recovering it. Both defenses got stops on the next possessions and then when Wisconsin got the ball back, the Lions did it again. They get the ball with 2:52 left in the half and need to put something on the board. The offense couldn’t do anything with it as the Badgers defense has been stifling. That got us to half-time. Half-Time Considering the circumstances, this wasn’t a terrible half for the Lions. They are down one touchdown on the road. If they can hang around, they might be able to break a big one. The offense could only muster 48 yards (just 5 rushing) on them in the first half. That has to improve. They do get the ball to start the half and they have been known to come out of the locker room fired up. Second half Things couldn’t be more frustrating for the Lions right now. Every time they get close, a stupid penalty pushes them back. On this drive, Greer found Wally Downs three different times for first downs but a hold pushed them back and they couldn’t recover. The punt was great, at the Wisconsin 6. Then came a big play. The Badgers were going for the jugular right away. Blackwell dropped back and fired deep. His main target Juan Starr was waiting for the ball until Shannon Wayne stepped in front of it and picked it off! He had a full head of steam going and was tackled at the one yard line!! Big play. The first play was a pass that was blocked. Then they went to play action and he was hurried to the point of throwing the ball away so that set up a 3rd and 1 basically on the goal line. They gave it to Hastings and he barreled in for the tying score! 7-7 Penn State (10:18 left in Q3) The defense got a stop and the Badgers countered with one of their own. When they got the ball back it was quite obvious they wanted to establish Troy Reed. He bolted for runs of 10, 11 and 18 yards before they got to the 17 of Penn State forced with a 4th and one. The give was to Reed and Cortez and Schroeder got great penetration to stop him in the backfield. The Lions took over! First play of the next drive was a pass to Bullock who turned it up field for a gain of 13 yards. Greer went right back to Billy for 8 more. Then he found Grabovez for 24 to the Wisconsin 40. Hastings took a carry for no gain, followed by a hot Greer finding Hardy for 17 yards to the 23. Wally Downs dropped a pass and then Hastings took a screen pass, followed some great blocks all the way into the end zone, TOUCHDOWN PENN STATE!!! 14-7 Penn State (:39 left in Q3) After the kickoff, the Lions defense continued to put pressure on Blackwell, this time Breedlove picked him off at the Wisconsin 39. The coaches brought the offense together and stressed how important it was to ride this hot streak all the way through. The fans were getting louder and louder as it looked more and more bleak. They needed to quiet them right now. They had to do whatever it takes… On 3rd down, Greer found Grabovez for 20 yards. Bullock got a carry that went for only one on first down. Then on a great play action fake to Billy, Greer turned around and delivered a strike to Neal Aaron for a Penn State touchdown! 21-7 Penn State (13:44 left in game) Again, the coaches got the defense together this time and told them not to let up one bit. There is too much time on that clock. Things were looking bad for Wisconsin who would have to most likely ride the arm of Blackwell who already has thrown three interceptions. There was a lot of time left though, and they were at home. Then it happened. Just what they didn’t need. A roughing the passer penalty, a 36-yard completion and then a 19-yard touchdown pass. In a matter of 2 minutes. Big score for the Badgers. 21-14 Penn State (11:22 left in game) The drive was going well until it became 4th down. Greer was heating up. It was 4th and 2 on the 34, fringe field goal territory but they decided to go for it and Hastings didn’t even get close, a loss of three and a turnover on downs. The defense came up with a huge sack on the first down. Then Reed got six yards back and then a defensed pass by Herb Green forced the punt. The Nittany Lions would get the ball back with 6:11 on the clock that might as well of read “eternity”. The Badgers were feeling the momentum shift their way. Another stupid unsportsmanlike penalty hurt Penn State. They got after Greer really well and forced another punt. It was a bad one. They returned it 16 yards to the PSU 33. They were sure to score. They did just that. A touchdown toss to Starr from three yards out tied the game. 21-21 (3:52 left in game) Another sack set them back. An incompletion and an 8-yard slant wouldn’t get the job done. The punt was short and the returner (Starr) was hit immediately and fumbled the ball. Unfortunately it went right to a Red shirt. They drove down and got the game-winning field goal. There was just :33 ticks left. They lose another heart breaker. Final score: Wisconsin 24, Penn State 21 Post-game thoughts There could be some positives to come out of this game but the one prevailing thought is the amount of bonehead penalties and the amount of sacks allowed. The Badgers have a good defense but there is no reason they should’ve sacked Tito 6 times, and hurried him into bad throws 7 more times! Their inability to run the ball effectively hurt again. Hastings ran the ball 12 times for 6 yards. Bullock ended up with 6 carries for 13 yards. The one guy that continually comes to play is WR Wally Downs. He made some big catches in this game, seven for 88 yards. Greer didn’t play too bad. He didn’t get picked and threw for 277 but was just 23 of 44. Much of that is on the terrible play of the offensive line. The defense did a nice job handling their stud RB Reed and even stopped him for a loss 12 times! Reed ended up with 26 carries for 84 yards. The defense played well, came up with three interceptions but couldn’t keep Bernie Blackwell from beating them in the end. Another disappointing loss for the Nittany Lions and they now sit at just 4-3 on the season. Code: Freshman Year: Penn State University Game Opp. Att Yds Avg TD \| Rec Yds TD 1 Air Force 10 17 1.7 0 \| 6 71 1 2 #9 Pittsburgh 5 33 6.6 0 \| 1 2 0 3 Shelbyville 3 13 4.3 0 \| 1 6 0 4 Minnesota 7 20 2.8 0 \| 3 24 0 5 Iowa 6 43 7.1 0 \| 2 20 0 6 #11 Purdue 1 -1 -1.0 0 \| 1 4 0 7 #12 Wisconsin 6 13 2.1 0 \| 3 19 0 Season 38 138 3.6 0 \| 17 146 1 Career Stats Games Att Yds Avg TD \| Rec Yds TD 6 38 138 3.6 0 \| 17 146 1 __________________ Go STL Sports! Last edited by mtaystl03 : 09-27-2005 at 09:47 PM.

09-27-2005, 10:30 PM	#35
mtaystl03 High School Varsity Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: St. Louis, MO	Other College Action: Week Nine In a huge Big XII showdown, #5 Oklahoma, fresh off their first loss in two years, beat #4 Nebraska, 49-24 in Lincoln, once again showing they are still a force to be feared. Upset Special: #19 North Carolina State handed Bobby Bowden and the Seminoles their second loss of the season, winning 21-14 at FSU. Upset Special: The Big 10 continues to beat up on each other. This time, unranked Michigan State beat #10 Ohio State 33-17 in East Lansing. They should move up in the rankings after that huge win. #2 Michigan handled a tough test from Minnesota, 38-28 at the Metrodome. Chris Finch, a DE from Texas came up with 7 tackles, 4.0 of which were sacks to earn Def. Player of the Week. The offensive honors went to Brian Glenn a WR at Arkansas State who had 10 receptions for 303 yards and 3 TD's! Here is a look at the newest Top 25 Coaches' Poll: Code: School Record Conf Coach Fans Ave Rank Florida 6-0 SEC 1 1 1.00 1 Michigan 8-0 B10 2 2 2.00 2 Miami of Florida 7-0 ACC 3 3 3.00 4 Oklahoma 6-1 B12 4 5 4.50 7 Texas 6-1 B12 5 7 6.00 12 USC 5-1 P10 6 6 6.00 8 Purdue 7-0 B10 7 4 5.50 3 Nebraska 7-1 B12 8 12 10.00 11 Georgia 6-1 SEC 9 9 9.00 5 Wisconsin 6-1 B10 10 8 9.00 6 Tennessee 6-1 SEC 11 10 10.50 9 Utah 7-0 MOU 12 11 11.50 10 Alabama 6-1 SEC 13 13 13.00 14 Louisiana State 6-1 SEC 14 17 15.50 15 Florida State 5-2 ACC 15 18 16.50 29 South Carolina 6-1 SEC 16 16 16.00 13 Ohio State 5-2 B10 17 26 21.50 18 Pittsburgh 6-1 BEA 18 22 20.00 20 North Carolina State 7-1 ACC 19 21 20.00 19 Virginia Tech 5-1 ACC 20 14 17.00 16 Texas Christian 5-1 USA 21 20 20.50 22 Boise State 5-1 WAC 22 19 20.50 27 Boston College 6-2 BEA 23 23 23.00 24 West Virginia 5-1 BEA 24 15 19.50 17 Oregon 5-2 P10 25 24 24.50 21 Noteable: Penn State is ranked #30. BCS Standings Code: School Record Conf Comp 1. Florida 6-0 SEC 1.25 2. Michigan 8-0 B10 2.25 3. Purdue 7-0 B10 2.50 4. Georgia 6-1 SEC 5.50 5. Wisconsin 6-1 B10 6.00 6. South Carolina 6-1 SEC 6.00 7. Utah 7-0 MOU 6.75 8. Miami of Florida 7-0 ACC 7.75 NFL Happenings: Week Seven The Denver Broncos move to 6-0 on the season with a 31-20 win over the Baltimore Ravens at Invesco Field. So far this season they have rode the back of RB Tatum Bell, who has rushed for 520 yards and 7 touchdowns. Backup Maurice Clarett has pitched in with 273 yards and 2 more scores. QB Jake Plummer has done just enough to help control the clock while his favorite target has become TE Jeb Putzier who leads the team with 24 catches. Tampa Bay QB Brian Griese was named offensive player of the week for his role in the Bucs' surprising 23-3 win over Philadlephia. He was 27-for-37 (72.9%) for 235 yards, 2 TD and 0 INT. A solid performance which he has made commonplace. This season he has a 96.6 passer rating so far this year. Stephen Davis did it again for the Panthers, this time he rumbled for 141 yards to lead the league. Stephen Jackson, for the Rams, went for 107 and a score. The inconsistent but big-play threat in Tennessee is Rod Gardner. He lead the league in receiving yards in week one (197) but had just 6 catches for 62 yards in the next three games combined. Until this week, when he caught 9 for 149 to help the reeling Titans win their first game. All-Everything DE Jason Taylor** recorded three sacks for the Dolphins and was named Defensive Player of the Week. __________________ Go STL Sports! Last edited by mtaystl03 : 09-27-2005 at 10:32 PM.

10-01-2005, 05:39 PM	#36
mtaystl03 High School Varsity Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: St. Louis, MO	UPDATE I figure to move this thing along and keep interest I am going to have to write a lot less. I can't go into detail of every drive. There will be a change in the format. Much quicker game results and less to read. I figure that will be easier to follow. __________________ Go STL Sports!

10-01-2005, 06:04 PM	#37
mtaystl03 High School Varsity Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: St. Louis, MO	Game 8: #17 Ohio State Buckeyes (5-2) @ Penn State Nittany Lions (4-3)(-1) Another big conference game. The Lions need to find a way to win another Big 10 game! The Buckeyes will be coming into town mad about last week’s loss to Michigan State. This is no doubt a big game and Billy will most likely be the starter with Hastings hurting. They are saying he will still play but Billy will be the feature back against the great Ohio State defense. The Buckeyes jumped in front early on a 7-yard TD run. They made it look easy. On the next drive, Billy got his first carry of the game and went for 7 yards. The Buckeyes took a 14-0 lead and things looked bleak. Greer was able to find Adame in the back of the end-zone from 10 yards out on their next drive and then Baulig intercepted a pass and returned it for a TD. Just like that the game was tied and the crowd and momentum was squarely in the Nittany Lions favor. The half ended at 14-14 and Billy had just 4 carries for 13 yards and one catch for 9 yards. He wasn't happy about the stats but was happy the game was tied. They could salvage their season with this one huge win over Ohio State. Billy took the first carry in the 2nd half for a 9 yard gain. A big interception by Greer led to a Buckeye field goal. 17-14 Buckeyes. The Ohio State defense was flying all over the field, making big plays, hitting hard and giving Greer fits. They got another turnover, this time on a fumble and the Lion defense held them to another field goal. 20-14. They were still very much in the game. There was a key 3rd-and-2 on a drive in the 3rd quarter and the coaching staff decided to give the ball to Hastings. He lost a yard and Billy went into a tantrum on the sidelines. He couldn't believe they would give him the ball under these circumstances, not only was Billy running well today, Hastings was hurt. His teammates calmed him down before JoePa could get wind of the outburst. Then a huge play erased all memory of the prior injustice, when the special teams blocked a punt and Baulig pounced on it on the end zone! 21-20 PSU! The defense held on and actually got a safety on the last play on intentional grounding to make the official final score 23-20. What a great game and a huge win for the Nittany Lions! Final Score: Penn State 23, Ohio State 20. Billy finished with 10 carries for 43 yards and 1 catch for 9 yards. More importantly, a huge win for the Lions! Code: Freshman Year: Penn State University Game Opp. Att Yds Avg TD \| Rec Yds TD 1 Air Force 10 17 1.7 0 \| 6 71 1 2 #9 Pittsburgh 5 33 6.6 0 \| 1 2 0 3 Shelbyville 3 13 4.3 0 \| 1 6 0 4 Minnesota 7 20 2.8 0 \| 3 24 0 5 Iowa 6 43 7.1 0 \| 2 20 0 6 #11 Purdue 1 -1 -1.0 0 \| 1 4 0 7 #12 Wisconsin 6 13 2.1 0 \| 3 19 0 8 #17 Ohio State 10 43 4.3 0 \| 1 9 0 Season 48 181 3.8 0 \| 18 136 1 Career Stats Games Att Yds Avg TD \| Rec Yds TD 8 48 181 3.8 0 \| 18 136 1 __________________ Go STL Sports! Last edited by mtaystl03 : 10-01-2005 at 09:57 PM.

10-01-2005, 09:58 PM	#38
mtaystl03 High School Varsity Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: St. Louis, MO	Game 9: Illinois Fighting Illini (5-3) @ Penn State University Nittany Lions (5-3) Both teams are at 5-3 and need this game. The Lions have the advantage being at home and it should be a ruckus crowd and either team would likely creep back into the top 25 with a victory. Billy officially gets the start for the first time (Hastings was on the field first in the last game) as things started out right for the Lions. Greer threw a screen pass to Billy who took it up field for 17 yards on the first play of the game. Neal Aaron got loose down the sidelines for a quick 7-0 lead for Penn State. Billy got his first carry that went for 7 yards on the next drive. The Illini got a long pass but missed the extra point and then Greer found Grabovez for a TD to make it 14-6 PSU. They got pass-happy again and Greer threw his third TD of the first half, second to Aaron for a 21-6 lead. With :43 left in the first half, after Billy already had a 17-yard run on the drive, powered his way into the end zone from 13 yards out for his first rushing touchdown!!! 28-6 They got a long pass and kicked a field goal to make it 28-9 at the half. Greer hit on another TD pass to make it 35-9 right away. Illinois QB Byrant Newman threw three unanswered touchdown passes before Duesenberg hit a field goal to make it 38-30. One more field goal and that was the game. The Lions move to 6-3 on the season and 3-3 in the Big Ten. Final Score: Penn State 41, Illinois 30. Billy managed 58 yards (career high) on 13 carries (career high), scored his first rushing touchdown and grabbed four passes for 34 more yards. Another solid day for Bill. Code: Freshman Year: Penn State University Game Opp. Att Yds Avg TD \| Rec Yds TD 1 Air Force 10 17 1.7 0 \| 6 71 1 2 #9 Pittsburgh 5 33 6.6 0 \| 1 2 0 3 Shelbyville 3 13 4.3 0 \| 1 6 0 4 Minnesota 7 20 2.8 0 \| 3 24 0 5 Iowa 6 43 7.1 0 \| 2 20 0 6 #11 Purdue 1 -1 -1.0 0 \| 1 4 0 7 #12 Wisconsin 6 13 2.1 0 \| 3 19 0 8 #17 Ohio State 10 43 4.3 0 \| 1 9 0 9 Illinois 13 58 4.5 1 \| 4 34 0 Season 61 239 3.9 1 \| 22 189 1 Career Stats Games Att Yds Avg TD \| Rec Yds TD 9 61 239 3.9 1 \| 22 189 1 __________________ Go STL Sports! Last edited by mtaystl03 : 10-03-2005 at 03:36 PM.

10-03-2005, 03:47 AM	#40
Peregrine Pro Starter Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Cary, NC	Nice dynasty! Personally my choice (if I had one) would be to keep the detailed accounts of each game but trim back a lot of the NFL stuff and the other things going on in college, but that's just me, I skip over that stuff anyway!