A World With Playoffs: Bowl Bound College Football Sim

[burnstuff]

aka: Pollsters for Algernon.



Bowl Bound College Football is a mixed game. It's text-based, there are no roster sets, it's extremely hard (the most recent winner of my OD was a computer-controlled Florida St) the pollsters are terrible and way too many games are won in the last few seconds.

However, the best part about this game is that it lets you simulate what a league with playoffs would look like. It uses the Wetzel plan (http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/footbal...-playoff112707) with neutral sites for each game due to an engine limitation. Also, it's technically possible for every team in the league to be human-controlled in an online dynasty, which can be a lot of fun (you only gameplan your games though, as head-to-head is not supported).

Since this is a sim meaning I don't control a team, I'll try to cover as much of the league as possible, instead of focusing on a single team.

[burnstuff]

Game of the Week:


(helmets thanks to Helmets by Matt)
#4 USC at #25 Notre Dame

Notre Dame has a tougher time getting to the playoffs due to not being able to get an automatic bid by winning their conference. Therefore this game is almost a must win for ND, while USC losing here while winning their conference would just mean a drop in seeding.

Matchup to Watch:

Heisman candidate QB Angel Hedrick of Notre Dame takes on a highly rated USC secondary, including CB Jerry Clay and FS John Pettit.

Prediction:

USC 24 Notre Dame 23


Upset Watch:

#14 California at Houston

An early season game in the hot Houston heat; Cal should watch out.

Polls: (only going to do top 10 since the polls don't copy/paste well)
Media:
1. Oklahoma
2. Florida
3. Texas
4. USC
5. Ohio St.
6. Georgia
7. LSU
8. Texas Tech
9. Oklahoma St.
10. Oregon St.

Coaches:
1. Oklahoma
2. Florida
3. Texas
4. USC
5. Ohio St.
6. LSU
7. Georgia
8. Texas Tech
9. Oklahoma St.
10. Alabama

Conference Predictions:

ACC: Georgia Tech
Big East: Cincinnati
Big 10: Ohio St.
Big 12: Oklahoma
C-USA: Houston
MAC: Central Michigan
MWC: TCU
Pac 10: USC
SEC: Florida
Sun Belt: Troy
WAC: Boise St.

[The GIGGAS]

I'm definitely following. BB is a great game.

[burnstuff]

Notre Dame 28 USC 25

On paper, USC won. They had 100 more total yards over the course of the game, an equal amount of turnovers, and perfect success in the red zone. However, Notre Dame got it done when it mattered, throwing the game-winning 49-yard touchdown pass with 2 minutes to go and stopping USC at their own 50 yard line on the ensuing drive.

Notre Dame QB Angel Hedrick went down in the 3rd quarter with a lower back injury and will be out for 1-3 more weeks. His backup Robert Wagner threw the game winning touchdown but was also intercepted by USC DT Todd Rosa.

The player of the game was USC RB Carlos Phillips. He was the leading rusher on both teams with 103 yards over 24 attempts, and his 3 touchdowns led to 18 of USC's 25 points.

Upset of the Week:

Houston 28 California 14

Cal simply got embarrassed. Although they had the ball for 35 minutes of the game, they didn't end up doing much with it, going 2/5 in the red zone.

Lowlights:

1st Quarter, 2:54 to go: Cal gets a 1st and goal on Houston's 7 when an unnecessary roughness penalty by OG Lenny Spencer sets them back to the 19. They make it back to the 7 on 4th down and Christopher Keyes misses a 25 yard field goal.

2nd Quarter, 10:07 to go: Christopher Keyes misses a 24 yard field goal.

4th Quarter, 1:52 to go: Freshman Cal TE Eddy Miller fumbles on the Houston 3, sealing the game for the Cougars.

Cal actually outplayed Houston for most of the game, but choking in the red zone and a 90 yard kick return TD by Houston WR Raymond Huerta lost them the game.

Offensive Player of the Week:

Throwing for 378 yards and 4 touchdowns is impressive, but doing it against a ranked SEC defense is incredible, especially when you're Ball State QB Francis Poore. He went 18/30 against Alabama including a 78 yard touchdown pass in the 3rd quarter, and was only intercepted once. Alabama won 33-30, but Ball State did much better than expected and MAC defenses are already gameplanning against Poore despite conference play not starting until Week 4.

Defensive Player of the Week:

Most defenses have a good day if they can sack the QB 5 times. This week, Cincinnati LB William Ochoa did that feat on his own as he sacked backup LSU QB Jeremy Brown 5 times on Saturday. He wasn't even blitzing every down out of Cincinnati's 4-2-5 either, and ended up with 13 tackles as well. LSU hung on to win 26-23 in 2OT.

[burnstuff]

Media Poll
Rank	Team	Conf	Record	Points	Top 25	SOS	Last	Next	Prev
1.	Oklahoma	B12	1-0 (0-0)	1607	0-0	17	W, 20-0 Northwestern	Indiana	1
2.	Florida	SEC	1-0 (0-0)	1550	0-0	35	W, 48-10 Northern Illinois	Memphis	2
3.	Texas	B12	1-0 (0-0)	1477	0-0	4	W, 33-7 at Brigham Young	Arizona	3
4.	Ohio State	B10	1-0 (0-0)	1427	0-0	99	W, 38-16 Central Michigan	Miami	5
5.	Georgia	SEC	0-0 (0-0)	1363	0-0	34	OPEN	#15 Georgia Tech	6
6.	LSU	SEC	1-0 (0-0)	1292	0-0	2	W, 26-23 Cincinnati	at #21 Missouri	7
7.	Texas Tech	B12	1-0 (0-0)	1207	0-0	10	W, 43-7 Ohio	#17 Iowa	8
8.	Oklahoma State	B12	1-0 (0-0)	1118	0-0	38	W, 24-23 Syracuse	Virginia	9
9.	USC	Pac10	0-1 (0-0)	1035	0-1	12	L, 25-28 at #19 Notre Dame	at Northwestern	4
10.	Oregon State	Pac10	1-0 (0-0)	952	0-0	22	W, 25-7 South Florida	at Texas Christian	10
11.	Alabama	SEC	1-0 (0-0)	868	0-0	27	W, 33-30 at Ball State	at Michigan	11
12.	Nebraska	B12	1-0 (0-0)	811	0-0	39	W, 43-25 at Virginia	at North Carolina	12
13.	Oregon	Pac10	1-0 (0-0)	751	0-0	23	W, 31-24 Memphis	#16 Virginia Tech	13
14.	Mississippi	SEC	1-0 (0-0)	681	0-0	20	W, 50-3 Minnesota	Southern Miss	15
15.	Georgia Tech	ACC	0-0 (0-0)	614	0-0	84	OPEN	at #5 Georgia	16
16.	Virginia Tech	ACC	1-0 (0-0)	572	0-0	69	W, 38-0 North Texas	at #13 Oregon	17
17.	Iowa	B10	0-0 (0-0)	514	0-0	55	OPEN	at #7 Texas Tech	18
18.	Arizona State	Pac10	1-0 (0-0)	471	0-0	42	W, 30-13 Southern Miss	at #22 Florida State	19
19.	Notre Dame	Indep	1-0 (0-0)	384	1-0	64	W, 28-25 #9 USC	at Michigan State	25
20.	California	Pac10	0-1 (0-0)	336	0-0	5	L, 14-28 at Houston	at Wisconsin	14
21.	Missouri	B12	0-0 (0-0)	257	0-0	16	OPEN	#6 LSU	20
22.	Florida State	ACC	0-0 (0-0)	208	0-0	44	OPEN	#18 Arizona State	21
23.	UCLA	Pac10	1-0 (0-0)	146	0-0	11	W, 41-24 at Bowling Green	Kansas State	22
24.	Auburn	SEC	1-0 (0-0)	78	0-0	1	W, 31-17 Indiana	Stanford	23
25.	Penn State	B10	1-0 (0-0)	47	0-0	93	W, 26-7 at South Carolina	at Temple	24
Others receiving votes
Michigan 46, Tennessee 44, Purdue 44, Arizona 42, Wisconsin 37, Baylor 32, Stanford 29, Washington 28, Texas A&M 28, Vanderbilt 28, Kansas State 24, Colorado 24, Arkansas 24, Mississippi State 23, Rutgers 18, West Virginia 16, Pittsburgh 16, Connecticut 11, Maryland 11, Navy 6, Michigan State 3, Duke 2
Dropped out of the Top 25

Coaches Poll
Rank	Team	Conf	Record	Points	Top 25	SOS	Last	Next	Prev
1.	Oklahoma	B12	1-0 (0-0)	1504	0-0	17	W, 20-0 Northwestern	Indiana	1
2.	Florida	SEC	1-0 (0-0)	1435	0-0	35	W, 48-10 Northern Illinois	Memphis	2
3.	Texas	B12	1-0 (0-0)	1368	0-0	4	W, 33-7 at Brigham Young	Arizona	3
4.	Ohio State	B10	1-0 (0-0)	1304	0-0	99	W, 38-16 Central Michigan	Miami	5
5.	LSU	SEC	1-0 (0-0)	1257	0-0	2	W, 26-23 Cincinnati	at #22 Missouri	6
6.	Georgia	SEC	0-0 (0-0)	1177	0-0	34	OPEN	#15 Georgia Tech	7
7.	Texas Tech	B12	1-0 (0-0)	1124	0-0	10	W, 43-7 Ohio	#17 Iowa	8
8.	Oklahoma State	B12	1-0 (0-0)	1045	0-0	38	W, 24-23 Syracuse	Virginia	9
9.	USC	Pac10	0-1 (0-0)	991	0-1	12	L, 25-28 at #20 Notre Dame	at Northwestern	4
10.	Alabama	SEC	1-0 (0-0)	935	0-0	27	W, 33-30 at Ball State	at Michigan	10
11.	Oregon State	Pac10	1-0 (0-0)	871	0-0	22	W, 25-7 South Florida	at Texas Christian	11
12.	Oregon	Pac10	1-0 (0-0)	830	0-0	23	W, 31-24 Memphis	#14 Virginia Tech	12
13.	Nebraska	B12	1-0 (0-0)	764	0-0	39	W, 43-25 at Virginia	at North Carolina	13
14.	Virginia Tech	ACC	1-0 (0-0)	708	0-0	69	W, 38-0 North Texas	at #12 Oregon	15
15.	Georgia Tech	ACC	0-0 (0-0)	640	0-0	84	OPEN	at #6 Georgia	16
16.	Mississippi	SEC	1-0 (0-0)	602	0-0	20	W, 50-3 Minnesota	Southern Miss	17
17.	Iowa	B10	0-0 (0-0)	543	0-0	55	OPEN	at #7 Texas Tech	18
18.	Penn State	B10	1-0 (0-0)	473	0-0	93	W, 26-7 at South Carolina	at Temple	19
19.	California	Pac10	0-1 (0-0)	415	0-0	5	L, 14-28 at Houston	at Wisconsin	14
20.	Notre Dame	Indep	1-0 (0-0)	349	1-0	64	W, 28-25 #9 USC	at Michigan State	25
21.	Florida State	ACC	0-0 (0-0)	293	0-0	44	OPEN	#23 Arizona State	20
22.	Missouri	B12	0-0 (0-0)	241	0-0	16	OPEN	#5 LSU	21
23.	Arizona State	Pac10	1-0 (0-0)	192	0-0	42	W, 30-13 Southern Miss	at #21 Florida State	22
24.	Auburn	SEC	1-0 (0-0)	151	0-0	1	W, 31-17 Indiana	Stanford	23
25.	UCLA	Pac10	1-0 (0-0)	108	0-0	11	W, 41-24 at Bowling Green	Kansas State	24
Others receiving votes
Michigan 85, Tennessee 63, Wisconsin 40, Arizona 37, Michigan State 37, Stanford 35, Texas A&M 32, Baylor 32, Colorado 27, Washington 24, Vanderbilt 20, Kansas State 20, Arkansas 18, Mississippi State 17, West Virginia 17, Rutgers 14, Maryland 11, Pittsburgh 9, Connecticut 9, Navy 8, Duke 8, Army 8, San Diego State 5, Iowa State 2
Dropped out of the Top 25

[The GIGGAS]

Damn, I love the schedules teams in this game make. What does the whole VT schedule look like?

[burnstuff]

Team Schedule
WEEK	OPPONENT	SCORE
1	North Texas	W 38-0
2	at #13 Oregon	-
3	#2 Florida	-
4	at Wake Forest	-
5	at #15 Georgia Tech	-
6	Maryland	-
7	at #22 Florida State	-
8	North Carolina	-
9	Miami	-
10	at Duke	-
11	OPEN	-
12	OPEN	-
13	OPEN	-
14	Virginia	-
15	OPEN	-

Very bizarre.

[The GIGGAS]

Those three open dates kill the schedule (we don't need that much prep for UVA, lol), but I like the facing of Florida.