Duel in the Desert - Arizona & Arizona State Dual Dynasty

[KG]

KG---------------------- NDAlum

Dynasty Site
Arizona - Arizona State Duel in the Desert Dynasty

Dynasty House Rules

Skill: All-American
Recruiting Difficulty: Heisman
Quarter Length: 8 minutes
Game Speed: Fast
Speed Threshold: 45
HFA: On
Ice the Kicker: On

Custom AI (User/CPU)

QB Accuracy: 20/40
Pass Blocking: 0/0
WR Catching: 50/50
RB Ability: 50/50
Run Blocking: 50/50
Pass Coverage: 50/55
Pass Rush: 20/20
Interceptions: 20/20
Rush Defense: 50/50
Tackling: 40/45
FG Power: 30/40
FG Accuracy: 15/50
Punt Power: 40/40
Punt Accuracy: 15/50
Kickoff Power: 30/30

[KG]

Preseason PAC-10 Poll

1. Oregon
2. USC
3. Stanford
4. Oregon State
5. California
6. Arizona (NDAlum)
7. Washington
8. UCLA
9. Arizona State (kgx2thez)
10. Washington State

QB Rankings
1. Jake Locker (Washington)
2. Andrew Luck (Stanford)
3. Nick Foles (Arizona)
4. Matt Barkley (USC)
5. Kevin Riley (Cal)

RB Rankings
1. Jacquizz Rodgers (Oregon State)
2. LaMichael James (Oregon)
3. Shane Vereen (Cal)
4. Chris Polk (Washington)
5. Allen Bradford (USC)

WR Rankings
1. James Rodgers (Oregon State)
2. Chris Owusu (Stanford)
3. James Kearse (Washington)
4. Ryan Whalen (Stanford)
5. Nelson Rosario (UCLA)

[KG]

Arizona Wildcats

Preview 2010

- By Richard Cirminiello

Head coach: NDAlum 1st year: 0-0 1st year overall: 0-0 Returning Lettermen Off. 22, Def. 17, ST 3 Lettermen Lost: 17

Ten Best Arizona Players 1. CB Trevin Wade, Jr. 2. DE Ricky Elmore, Sr. 3. RB Nic Grigsby, Sr. 4. C Colin Baxter, Sr. 5. T Adam Grant, Sr. 6. WR Juron Criner, Jr. 7. QB Nick Foles, Jr. 8. DE Brooks Reed, Sr. 9. RB Keola Antolin, Jr. 10. P Keenyn Crier, Sr.

2010 Schedule Sept. 4 at Toledo Sept. 11 FCSE Sept. 18 Iowa Sept. 25 California Oct. 2 OPEN DATE Oct. 9 Oregon State Oct. 16 at Washington St Oct. 23 Washington Oct. 30 at UCLA Nov. 6 at Stanford Nov. 13 USC Nov. 20 OPEN DATE Nov. 26 at Oregon Dec. 2 Arizona State (kgx)

Arizona has won eight games in back-to-back seasons for the first time in 15 years. Maintaining the momentum will require a short memory.

The Wildcats darn near won their first Pac-10 title in 2009, dropping a decisive double-overtime heartbreaker to eventual champ Oregon late in November. They also got waxed a month later by Nebraska, 33-0, in a Holiday Bowl whitewash that knocked the program down a peg or two. With Mike Stoops leaving for greener pastures, the job for new coach NDAlum and his staff this offseason will be to relocate the confidence that was left on the Qualcomm Stadium grass that dreary Dec. 30 night.

NDAlum will have some new hands on deck this fall after offensive coordinator Sonny ****s left to coach Louisiana Tech and defensive coordinator Mark Stoops took the same position at Florida State. Those are some big losses for the program. Still, even with new faces in new roles, the objectives remain the same.

On offense, Arizona wants to spread the field out and get the ball in the hands of its playmakers, like WR Juron Criner and backs Nic Grigsby and Keola Antolin. Bringing back 10 starters, including QB Nick Foles, gives NDAlum a lot to work with. The defense prefers to attack without blitzing and locking down opposing receivers with one of the most athletic defensive backfields this side of Troy. Revamping the interior of the line and the linebackers will be the top priority of Greg Brown and Tim Kish.

After laboring for years, Arizona finally appears to be out of choppy waters. Now what? In the ultra-competitive Pac-10, the coach hopes to build on last year’s regular season, completely forget the postseason, and guide the Wildcats to a third straight bowl game for just the second time in school history.

What to watch for on offense: The continuing development of QB Nick Foles. The Michigan State transfer was beaten out for the starting job by Matt Scott last summer. He got the last laugh, however, taking over in September and going on to throw 19 touchdown passes and earn All-Pac-10 honorable mention. He was just a sophomore at the time, so there’s hope that his debut was just the beginning. At 6-5 and 245 pounds, Foles has a great arm, a deep ensemble of receivers, and an even better work ethic. With a little more consistency and a few less mistakes, he’s capable of drawing lots of attention from NFL scouts this fall.

What to watch for on defense: The new starting linebackers. How unsettling is the situation at linebacker? The Wildcats could begin the season with a pair of first-year JUCO transfers and a second-year sophomore in the opening day lineup. Plus, the second and third teams will be flush with freshmen. All three starters have graduated, leaving imports Derek Earls and Paul Vassallo, and young Jake Fischer as marked men. Arizona is already looking to replace both starting tackles, so the new linebackers will see loads of action as they clean up messes in run defense. Earls and Vassallo were actually heavily recruited and already participated in spring, which will flatten the learning curve.

The team will be far better if… the team trainer is bored. Over the last couple of seasons, the Wildcats have been besieged by injuries. What would have happened last year if TE Rob Gronkowski, RB Nic Grigsby, DE Brooks Reed, to name just three, didn’t miss all or part of 2009? Arizona needs to avoid the injury-bug, especially along both lines, if it’s going to compete for a Pac-10 title. One of these years, the program is hoping to see how it stacks up against the rest of the league when it has its full complement of stars.

The Schedule: It's not all that bad mostly because many of the big games are at home. There's a road trip to Oregon in late November and back-to-back away dates against UCLA and Stanford, but after starting out the year at Toledo, which is a must-win or else it'll be an uphill fight to get to a bowl. However, if the Cats get by the Rockets there's a great stretch from September 11th through October 30th with only one road trip and that's to Washington State. That means there must be some big wins at home to come up with a strong year, and the chances will be there with Iowa, Cal, Oregon State, Washington, USC, and the rivalry date against Arizona State all in Tucson.

Best offensive player: Senior RB Nic Grigsby. Yeah, you wouldn’t know it from last season, but that was because the former 1,000-yard rusher was limited by a shoulder problem to just 79 carries. Even then, he produced 567 yards and five touchdowns. He’s a game-breaker out of the backfield, with the acceleration and vision to take over games on the ground…provided he can play an entire season at full-strength. The staff is keeping its fingers crossed that Grigsby can recapture the form that made him a 2008 all-star.

Best defensive player: Junior CB Trevin Wade. One star cornerback leaves Tucson and another one steps up to take his place. The ‘Cats had Antoine Cason in 2008, Devin Ross in 2009, and now Wade, a returning All-Pac-10 second teamer. Just two years into his amateur career, he already has nine picks, flashing the ball skills and cover skills that make Pac-10 quarterbacks want to avoid his side of the field. He also had 71 tackles a year ago, showing no aversions to lowering his head and supporting in run defense.

Key player to a successful season: Junior DT Dominique Austin or junior Jonathan Hollins. Arizona is in pretty good shape just about everywhere except on the front seven of the defense. More specifically, the Wildcats need some stability in the middle. Earl Mitchell made things happen for the defense last year, a big reason why the team was a surprising 39th nationally versus the run. While Austin and Hollins don’t have to necessarily be Mitchell, they do need to occupy blockers and occasionally shoot the gap and make stops behind the line.

The season will be a success if ... the Wildcats bowl for a third consecutive year. Compete for a Pac-10 title? Maybe, but that could be asking too much considering the holes on defense, especially in a league with so much offensive firepower. Arizona needs to stay on the tracks by furthering a winning attitude that now permeates throughout Tucson. With so much talent on the offensive side of the ball, anything less than another postseason invitation will be considered a serious regression.

Key game: Sept. 18 vs. Iowa. Should Arizona be taken seriously on a national scale? The last time it was under the microscope, the program got dressed down by Nebraska in the Holiday Bowl. The Wildcats’ reputation will again be on the line versus a physical, blue-collar team that’ll get after them defensively. Another implosion in this type of a spot could damage the team’s psyche over the final three-quarters of the season.

2009 Fun Stats:
- Arizona outscored opponents 105-58 in the first quarter
- Arizona fell just one yard short of 5,000 total yards for the season
- Arizona ranked in the top 10 nationally in both kickoff and punt returns

[KG]

Arizona State Sun Devils

Preview 2010

By Pete Fiutak

Head coach: kgx2thez 1st year at ASU: 0-0 1st year overall: 0-0 Returning Lettermen Off. 23, Def. 24, ST 3 Lettermen Lost: 18

Ten Best Arizona State Players 1. LB Vontaze Burfict, Soph. 2. PK Thomas Weber, Sr. 3. DT Lawrence Guy, Jr. 4. CB Omar Bolden, Jr. 5. DT Saia Falahola, Sr. 6. WR Kerry Taylor, Sr. 7. WR Gerell Robinson, Jr. 8. LB Brandon Magee, Jr. 9. DE James Brooks, Jr. 10. RB Cameron Marshall, Soph.

2010 Schedule Sept. 4 FCS SE Sept. 11 FCSW Sept. 18 at Wisconsin Sept. 25 Oregon Oct. 2 at Oregon State Oct. 9 at Washington Oct. 16 OPEN DATE Oct. 23 at California Oct. 30 Washington State Nov. 6 at USC Nov. 13 Stanford Nov. 20 OPEN DATE Nov. 26 UCLA Dec. 2 at Arizona (NDAlum)

After beginning his Sun Devil career 8-0, Dennis Erickson slumped to an 11-18 mark and thus was replaced by new coach Kgx2thez. Relatively unknown, many have begun wondering if the coach has what it takes to turn things around. Last year’s eight losses were the most by the school since 1994, a tipping point that’s going to make 2010 a crossroads year at Arizona State.

The strangest twist in the Sun Devils’ recent problems is that the offense, not the defense, has been the main culprit. The arrival of former coach Dennis Erickson was supposed to bring an inventive and balanced attack that rose to a Pac-10 level, but instead Arizona State has been feeble and lacked any pop. It responded by hiring head coach KG, who’s installing an up-tempo, no-huddle system designed to keep the chains moving and opponents on their heels. It sounds good in theory, but do the Devils have the personnel to make it work? While it’s not a bad collection of talent, it’s also not going to keep the league’s defensive coordinators up at night.

The key for Arizona State—again—will be at quarterback. Out of the physically gifted trio of Brock Osweiler, Steven Threet, and Samson Szakacsy, the staff needs to cull a consistent triggerman capable of running KG’s system and distributing the ball. If unsuccessful here, it’s unlikely the program will be able to escape mediocrity in 2010.

Did the Sun Devils overachieve with the fast start in 2007, or has it been underachieving ever since? It’s a question that needs to be addressed sooner than later because the rest of the Pac-10 is beginning to pass them by.

What to watch for on offense: The quarterback competition. Comparatively speaking, nothing else will seem to matter quite the same in August. Hulking sophomore Brock Osweiler and Michigan transfer Steven Threet are the primary combatants, though neither was able to pull away in the spring. The raw talent and strong arms are there, but now one of them needs to put it all together and do his part to help turn around an impotent attack that ranked 102nd and 67th in passing efficiency over the last two seasons, respectively.

What to watch for on defense: The perimeter pass rush. Oh, Arizona State will get plenty of push from the interior, but it also needs to generate pressure from the defensive ends. While Dexter Davis didn’t get to the quarterback nearly as often as the staff would have like, he did draw plenty of attention from opposing blockers. If the secondary is going to remain stingy, it’ll need more help up front from the likes of James Brooks, Greg Smith, and Jamaar Jarrett, who are all in the hunt for a starting job.

The team will be far better if … it improves in close games. Sure, Arizona State was 4-8 last season, yet they actually outscored opponents 268-253. The problem was that the Sun Devils routinely got off to slow starts and didn’t have the offensive firepower to claw all the way back. In fact, six of their losses were by no more than 11 points and four were by five points or fewer. Had even two of those nail-biters gone in its direction, the program would have been bowl-eligible.

The Schedule: The Sun Devils have to play five road games in Pac 10 play, and they're not easy with USC and Cal to deal with along with the rivalry date at Arizona and tough games against Oregon State and Washington. The key will be the middle of the season with three road games in a row and just one home date from September 11th to November 6th. The only two home games in a row are right off the bat, and they could be costly. Last year Kansas State went 6-6 and didn't go bowling because it played two FCS teams, and ASU could have the same issues with Portland State and Northern Arizona on the slate. There isn't a sure-thing win anywhere else outside of the October 30th game against Washington State.

Best Offensive Player: Senior PK Thomas Weber. Hey, Weber is one of the premier kickers in the country, but this is hardly an ideal situation for the offense. The former All-American and first freshman ever to win the Groza Award, he gives the Sun Devils their best chance to put points on the board. He can also reach the uprights from beyond 50 yards, meaning the offense doesn’t have to travel too deep into enemy territory in order to be in scoring range.

Best Defensive Player: Sophomore LB Vontaze Burfict. Every once in a while, you can just see the greatness oozing from a young player. Burfict is one such example. Every bit as gifted as advertised, he hit the ground running as a rookie, parlaying 69 tackles, seven tackles for loss, two sacks, and two forced fumbles into Pac-10 Defensive Freshman of the Year. A 6-3, 245-pound guided missile from middle linebacker, he could be the face of the program as early as this season.

Key players to a successful season: The offensive line. Sure, the quarterback makes a lot of sense as well, but if the front wall can’t finally get its act together, no hurler will survive the onslaught. Arizona State has struggled mightily in the trenches over the past few seasons, enduring a slew of injuries and failing to make life easier for the skill players. Now, they must overcome the season-ending knee injury to LG Jon Hargis, the heart of the group. Anonymous to many, unproven linemen, such as Brice Schwab, Zach Schlink, and Evan Finkenberg, will impact the direction of the Devils in 2010.

The season will be a success if ... the Sun Devils can somehow scrap their way back to .500. They’ll be 2-0 after opening with Portland State and Northern Arizona, but the schedule gets thorny after that point. There are trips to Wisconsin, Oregon State, Washington, Cal, USC, and Arizona, and visits from Oregon and Stanford. It’s going to take seven wins to bowl because of the two FCS games, an unlikely result considering this tough slate.

Key game: Dec. 2 at Arizona. There’s a strong likelihood the Sun Devils won’t be playing their rival for postseason eligibility, so this could qualify as a de facto bowl game. The Wildcats have won the last two in the series and have pulled ahead in the Pac-10 hierarchy, meaning Arizona State will have ample motivation for revenge when they make the short trip south to Tucson.

2009 Fun Stats:
- Red zone touchdowns: Arizona State 55% – Opponents 43%
- Average yards per rush: Arizona State 3.7 – Opponents 3.4
- First quarter scoring: Arizona State 44 - Opponents 87

[KG]

2010 Season Game 1 Scouting Report (Arizona State)

FCS SE (0-0) @ Arizona State (0-0)

Offensive Game Plan
+ Execute. After a dismal showing offensively in 2009, new coach KG has installed a new high-octane up-tempo Air Raid offense. The question is whether former Wolverine Threet can handle the quarterbacking duties. If he can't, SO. Brock Osweiler is waiting in the wings.
+ Protect the ball. The last time we saw Threet he was sucking it up in a Michigan jersey. One way of taking the pressure off Threet will be to establish a running game early. If they can't do that, look for ASU to throw a lot of WR screens.

Defensive Game Plan
+ Pressure the QB. The Sun Devils boasted the 26th best defense last year which was impressive considering how long they were on the field. With an up-tempo offense they could be on the field even longer this year.
+ Aggressive blitz packages. FCS SE doesn't have the offensive line or WR corp to scare any FCS Team. ASU needs to go out there and dominate from the opening kickoff. The defense needs to prove it's 2009 form was not a joke.


EDIT: Both games were blowouts so I will pick up right where AZ did in week 3.

[rjsuperfly66]

Its nice the way the schedule sets up, both of you battling for a good bowl game.

[NDAlum]

Arizona moves to 3-0 with Huge Victory over #8 Iowa

Sr. HB Nic Grigsby stole the show in the second half as he had 185 yards rushing highlighted by a 72-yard touchdown run to make it 28-10 in the fourth quarter. The Iowa offense had a tough time protecting Ricky Stanzi, who was sacked 7 times in the game.

Iowa had a 7-0 lead early after a great first drive, but Arizona's defense would clamp down the rest of the way. Sr. DE Ricky Elmore followed up his 4-sack game with a 3-sack performance, making a strong case for All-America teams.

Arizona now opens up Pac-10 play when Cal visits.

*Slider impressions*

Just too many sacks for both. Other than that they're freakin' awesome!

[NDAlum]

Looks like Arizona State falls to Wisconsin 28-19 in a tough fought game.

KG how these sliders feel man? Honestly all the stats look absolutely on point!

*One slight slider change*
Pass block moved to 10 for both HUM & CPU

Sack totals through 3 games:
Arizona St. - 12
Arizona - 20

The leader in 2010 averaged ~4/gm

I'm finding it too easy to beat the offensive linemen. Also KG you had 5 sacks against Wisky who has a ridiculous O-line.

Just for a little more offense & time for both teams!