Ivy & Lace, Bronze Turkeys & The School That Never Was (NCAA10, PS3)

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PLAINFIELD HEADS TO FIRST BOWL SINCE 1966
What a way for Skip Hobelitz to end his career. The son of the legendary Hop-Along Hobelitz will be taking his team through the tunnel to a bowl game for the first time since the school returned to major college football a decade ago. The last time the school went to a bowl, it was a win against Grambling in the defunct Pasadena Bowl, held at the same site of the Rose Bowl.

Skip Hobelitz was there, of course, fresh off being cut from the AFL New York Titans summer roster. "I didn't want to be. I was mad that I wasn't playing ball someplace. But here I was with dad. On the sideline. I think it made him at peace to have me around and by the end of the year, by the time we got to Pasadena, I was pretty glad I was there too."

Well no more worries, the fans are thrilled and have jammed phone lines to get tickets to the school's first major bowl bid ever. Will this help the school's search for a replacement for Hobelitz?

"You'd have to think the residual effect would be huge for the program," said Mitch Lupica of the Chicago Tribune. "They're on the rise. People are starting to really take notice again of this school. Not just as a throwback to what major college football was all about, but, as a modern representation of a championship squad."

One thing few people are talking about is the Plainfield's undefeated record in bowl games. The school was 10-0 in largely minor bowls from 1938-1966, but Hobelitz says this is a new era.

"Let's face it. A lot of those games were exhibitions almost. We had fun, sure, but...let's not carried away. These times and those times are way different. The alumni will come down and have a good time with us in New Orleans for this one. But they'll even notice how much the game has changed."

One thing that hasn't changed, however, is a desire for players in Noreaster Green and Yellow to leave the site with a win.

"We pretty much expect it of ourselves," said Heisman winner Ken Kirkpatrick. "Say what you want, no one wants to be the first team to lose the streak. We wanted to get back to a bowl game and we wanted to win one," he said.

With #1 Florida (13-0) and #2 Chicago (12-0) both undefeated in the national title game, no one is thinking about a split national title, so there's little concern about that here. Just finishing the year strong. Speaking of Chicago, their return to major college football has been seamless. They're seeking their first national title since 1913 against a Florida squad that knows a little something about winning.

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SPEED. OF. THE. GAME.

EA Sports: NCAA Football 10 Photo

EA Sports: NCAA Football 10 Photo

EA Sports: NCAA Football 10 Photo

That was the name of the game though, for the first half of it. Plainfield simply faced nothing like it all year long. Hobelitz's high octane offense relies too heavily, in my mind, on the passing game and option runs that force the halfback to almost create his own opportunities. We need a playbook that's more balanced and that's the first we're going to look for in a new coach.

Heisman winner Ken Kirkpatrick looked like an ordinary person out there today. In spite of that, you could split the game into two halves. In the first half, he had 2 picks. In the second, just one. Overall, he finished 22 of 34 for 290 yards passing with 4 TDs and 3 picks. He also ran for 138 yards on 15 carries. Those turnovers proved costly and Charlie Greer sputtered all day and never got a foothold, rushing for only 37 yards, which isn't going to cut it.

You can give Oklahoma credit, as they were prepared for us. But the truth of the matter is, this was a game we should've won and we simply failed to execute. It really exposed the flaws in our current system, despite the talent we possess on both sides of the ball and shows us what we'll need to do if we want to be an elite program and win national titles.

Final Score: Oklahoma 45, Plainfield 39

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COACHING INTERVIEWS

Now it's time to get down to business and hire a replacement coach for Skip Hoeblitz before the offseason really gets underway.

We currently run the Mississippi State playbook, with a 4-3 defensive scheme.

Let's get the interviews underway, shall we? I'll bring up their file again and then we'll get down to the stuff we need to know about each:

First up we have GENO REYES
AGE: 39
CURRENT JOB: HEAD COACH, NEW MEXICO STATE
RECRUITING BOOST IN: CALIFORNIA, NEW MEXICO, ARIZONA
PLAYBOOK: Oregon State
DEFENSE: 3-3-5

BILLY HART
AGE: 46
CURRRENT JOB: OFFENSE COORDINATOR, TENNESSEE TITANS
RECRITING BOOST IN: CANADA, NEW YORK, MICHIGAN
PLAYBOOK: Notre Dame
DEFENSE: 4-3

NORRIS JACKSON
AGE: 38
CURRENT JOB: ASSISTANT HEAD COACH/DBS COACH, OREGON
RECRUITING BOOST IN: TEXAS, OREGON, WASHINGTON
PLAYBOOK: TCU
DEFENSE: 4-3

ELLIOT WILLIAMS
AGE: 55
CURRENT JOB: OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR, NORTHWESTERN
RECRUITING BOOST IN: MICHIGAN, ILLINOIS, MISSOURI
PLAYBOOK: TENNESSEE
DEFENSE: 3-4

WILSON MANNING
AGE: 45
CURRENT JOB: DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR, MISSISSIPPI
RECRUITING BOOST IN: MISSISSIPPI, FLORIDA, NORTH CAROLINA
PLAYBOOK: NORTH TEXAS
DEFENSE: 4-2-5

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While alumni and booster input will weigh heavily on our decision on a new coach, we're also going to measure the interview process. The interview is comprised of a game of 1 minute quarters against Lafayette, which I didn't include in this dynasty, but they're a D level team.

It's an opportunity for us to test both sides of the ball, to see how a particular set of schemes might fit us and our personnel. I take Kirkpatrick out of these games, since he'll be graduating, too.

GENO REYES had the first interview. He beat Lafayette 17-14. We can call that a good interview. I mean, we were actually down 14-10 with about 36 seconds left and we managed to win, but I think some might say that was too close to comfort and that Reyes might not be quite ready for prime time yet. My inclination is to agree, though he has potential and we need to see what the other guys bring to the table.

BILLY HART came up next. He beat Lafayette 14-0. Obviously in a short game, you don't get to see everything. But I feel like his offensive did something we weren't able to do against Oklahoma and that's get the run game moving. The schemes were there for pretty much anything I wanted to do and I really dug that. Plus, we had our usual 4-3 defense and I think that was a boon, too. He'll move onto the second interview phase, for sure. I just have a good feeling about him.

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Three more to go. I've decided to mix things up for the next three interviews, as in, they won't all necessarily play the same school. So long as everyone gets a D rated school in this round, I'm not much concerned with what school it is, as it otherwise might get easier for the guys down the line if they're getting the same exact test ahead of time (since it's me all 5 times, etc.)

NORRIS JACKSON is now on tap. He'll be playing NYU, who are also a D overall team, because I wanted to mix it up a bit. Well, all I can say is the game was really uninspiring. The offense sputtered and while we missed a field goal to end the 2nd half, it just didn't give me any real confidence that we'd be able to have the sort of explosiveness that I'm accustomed to with this ballclub. He beat NYU 3-0 and whereas Reyes did some tactical things that made me believe that if we came to crunch time he could work out of a jam, Jackson didn't inspire that sort of confidence.

ELLIOT WILLIAMS came to town yesterday and we had a great chat with him. He went up against Colorado College, another D overall team. He beat them 14-0 in a show that was really impressive on the defensive side of the ball. I mean, our defense was just stifling and it was a joy to watch. I don't think they're that good, so it's not something you can cash at the bank, but still, he's got to be someone we bring back for another conversation I believe.

WILSON MANNING was the last of the interviewees and of course, he comes highly recommended by boosters and alumni. He told us an entertaining story about how, when he was being recruited by Hop-Along Hobelitz to come to Plainfield, that he couldn't even place it on the map and that, his mother wanted him to come here because she thought it'd be safe and his dad wanted him to go to a bigger named school. So that it's like destiny that he's now here back in Plainfield after all those years.

But the proof is in the pudding and so, we put him to the test. He will go up against Lafayette as the earlier candidates did. He won 14-0 and it would've been higher, had there not been in a pick in the end zone thrown late in the 2nd quarter. That said, I'm not sure I come away super impressed despite the score. I think right now, I need to see a bit more from him to get a more complete picture.

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We've decided to invite Billy Hart, Elliot Williams and Wilson Manning back for 2nd interviews.

This time, they're going to face an A+ overall rated non-FBS team though (more created schools in my db) and the game will be increased to 3 minute quarters.

First up will be Elliot Williams and he'll face off against UT-San Antonio. He wins the game 21-18 against a tough defense and Plainfield maintains the lead throughout the game. I have some questions about his scheme, though and it's suitablity for our program. If we bring him in, he'll need an OC that can handle the playcalling, because it won't be him.

Next up, we'll have Wilson Manning and he'll be playing Xavier. Should be an interesting test against a wild card of a coaching candidate. He wins the game against Xavier 27-21, which gets sealed on a late 52-yard field goal and with the ball and over a minute to go, Xavier couldn't convert and we get the win. I thought it was a very strong performance.

Finally, Billy Hart arrives at Old Muhlenberg, which is what people call the original campus of the university, since that's its on a location of a hospital that bore that name at one time.

Hart will take on Cloud Peak University in his game. I guess we'll see how he does.

Wellll....I dunno what to think. The boys just didn't execute. You know, I loved some of the playcalling, but it was poor execution that made believe the result was how it was. We lost 14-7 to Cloud Peak. They're a very good team, of course, which was the point. To make them play tough schools and see how they do.

Now we're faced with a dilemma. Hart was the favorite heading into this round, but now we have to think about something else. One of the ideas I was kicking around, was bringing in Reyes along with someone else to serve on his staff. Because I like his youthful energy, just wasn't as convinced that his system would be a great fit for us.

I'm not sure what we're going to do yet. We'll sit down, think about it as a staff, talk about it and then come up with a solution. Naturally, the input of alumni, trustees and boosters will matter a ton, but I haven't heard from many of them yet. The few I have heard from were bullish on Hart, but I'm curious how the Manning fans feel now and whether folks think one of the others might work better.

It could go a lot of different ways, but we need to get a decision made, so we can start recruiting.

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PLAINFIELD TO UNVEIL NEW HEAD COACH IN PRESS CONFERENCE WEDNESDAY AT 2PM

PLAINFIELD -- The Plainfield University Noreasters have their head coach to replace the retiring Skip Hobelitz. The new coach will be just the third in school history, as Hobelitz and his father Hop, were the first two and piloted the school's program successfully for over a combined sixty years.

No word on who the new coach will be, but ESPN's Joe Schad is reporting that Billy Hart, the offensive coordinator of the Tennessee Titans who recently announced he would not return to the team after this season when his contract ran out, is the leading candidate right now and should "barring any complications" be the new head coach.

This is a decisive moment for new Plainfield University athletic director D.C. Harris, who is new to the program himself, but is an alum of Plainfield and understands the need for continuity and a solid gameplan for the program in the future.

A press conference is scheduled tomorrow afternoon for 2pm at Van Blake Hall.