The World Gridiron Football Cup (NCAA 13)

[lionden_56]

Spoiler

The intent was the have a write-up with pictures followed by a wrap-up show with video highlights. Problem is for some reason I wasn't able to upload pictures to the EA server today (kept saying the server was unavailable, yet the videos went up just fine...). I'll try again tomorrow, but if this has the be the format that I use from here on out, so be it I guess.

World Cup - All Access

Hello again everyone, and welcome to World Cup - All Access on day one of the World Cup. Chris Fowler here with Kirk Herbstreit. And what a day it was. Defense was really the story of day one, wasn't it?



Herbstreit: It really was, and in two different ways. In our first game, the Argentine defense was really smothering, didn't let the Chinese do a lot on offense. Unfortunately for the Argentines, they did just enough. But in our second game, seven combined interceptions. The secondaries both showed they came to play in that one.

Fowler: Let's recap the opening day's action. First up, in the Rose Bowl, was Argentina and China.

Argentina at China
Oct 1,	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Argentina (0-1)	7	0	0	0	7
China (1-0)	0	0	7	3	10

Team Stats Comparison
Total Offense	175	318
Rushing Yards	39	186
Passing Yards	136	132
First Downs	8	19
Punt Return Yards
Kick Return Yards
Total Yards
Turnovers
3rd Down Converstion
4th Down Conversion
2-Point Conversion
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals
Penalties
Posession Time

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING
4:02	() E. Gonzalez 2yd pass from R. Casan	7	0
THIRD QUARTER SCORING
2:52	() S. Yao, 17yd pass from X.wu	7	7
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING
3:36	() 42 yd FG Bowen	7	10

Herbstreit: Argentina's defense was really good, but in the end, it was 3 missed field goals that did them in. The wind was blowing a little bit in Pasadena, but I think nerves just got the better of Ernesto Testa, the Argentine kicker.

Fowler: Here we'll see one of those missed field goals.



Herbstreit: He missed all of his attempts to the left. As you saw there, that one just never had a chance. I don't know if he overestimated the power of the wind, or what, but the kicking game was ugly.

Fowler: They can take a lot of positives away from this game, though, even though they lost it.

Herbstreit: For sure. The defense played lights out. They really only allowed China one real sustained drive, which resulted in the touchdown.

Fowler: Let's take a look at that pass.



Herbstreit: A nice playaction fake, drew the linebacker up, and Wu dropped it to his tight end right in front of the saftey. Well executed play.

Fowler: And even though he did fall back out of the endzone, the ball did cross the plane so it counted for six.

Herbstreit: China showed some defensive prowess in this game as well, though. They were very "bend but don't break," and were very good at getting off the field. Argentina went just 5 of 14 on 3rd downs. That's how China kept themselves in the game, and put themselves in the position to win it late.

Fowler: Argentina actually scored on their first posession, and after forcing a quick 3-and-out, it looked like they would take control of the game. Good job by China to not let that happen. Let's take a look at the touchdown.



Herbstreit: Great pocket presence by Cassin; he knows he's about to take a shot but still gets a great pass off to the hole in the zone for the touchdown.

Fowler: But as we said, despite a fantastic defensive effort, Argentina comes up just a little short, losing to China 10-7.

Our second game of the day was Haiti and Greece, in the Los Angeles Coliseum.

Greece at Haiti
Oct 1,	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Greece (1-0)	14	7	3	0	24
Haiti (0-1)	0	0	7	0	7

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING
3:58	() Bourbos 14 yd TD run	7	0
1:09	() Xydas 48 yd INT return	14	0
SECOND QUARTER SCORING
1:11	() V. Futoros, 45 yd pass from Papas	21	0
THIRD QUARTER SCORING
6:03	() Pierre, 40 yd pass from Pompey	21	7
1:59	() Karagiannis 29 yd FG	24	7

Herbstreit: Konstantinos Bourbos was a stud in this game for Greece. 176 yards on 23 carries and 1 touchdown for the Greeks. And he needed it, because Niko Papas threw 4 interceptions to go along with that touchdown pass.

Fowler: But, on the other side of the ball, Jean Pompey threw 3 picks of his one for Haiti, one of them taken all the way back for a score.

Herbstreit: The biggest difference in this game was the Greece capitalized on its turnovers, 14 points off their 3, whereas Haiti didn't, with just 7 points off those 4 interceptions.

Fowler: Let's take a look at that pick six.



Herbstreit: Pompey never should have thrown that pass. I'm not sure what he was thinking.

Fowler: What does this game say to the other two teams in the group?

Herbstreit: I think the message for everyone today was that defense will probably win this group. Both games were really defensive struggles, even if the Greek score doesn't look like it.

Fowler: I think Bourbos also sent a "look out for me" message to the group. Let's take a look at his touchdown run.



Herbstreit: Great blocking up front and good acceleration turned into an easy score.

Fowler: So after 1 day of competition, its the Greeks and Chinese on top of Group A. Be sure to tune in tomorrow to see the US play its first match against Ecuador, while Germany takes on South Korea. And of course, be sure to tune in to World Cup - All Access afterwards for highlights and recaps of the day's action. For Kirk Herbstreit, I'm Chris Fowler. Thanks for joining us.

[lionden_56]

So I realized that I forgot to post the standings table for group A...so here's that:



Also, I'd like some feedback on the video highlights. Do you like them? Not like them? Want photos too? How about the whole recap show in general? What would you like to see more of?

Group B's recap show (I'm doing it that way for at least one more group) will be posted later tonight. Germany vs. Korea is played, USA vs. Ecuador will be played before I go to work at 5pm central, and the update should hopefully be posted before I go to bed tonight.

[lionden_56]

Spoiler

Sorry, I forgot to write down the scoring summary for the Germany/Korea game. I'll do the best I can to summarize in the text. And I won't normally say which teams I controlled, but for today, since there was a big upset...I was 0-2 as user controlled teams :/

World Cup - All Access

Fowler: Good evening ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to World Cup - All Access. As always Chris Fowler alongside Kirk Herbstreit. And let's get right into it, as we had a stunner in Cowboy Stadium today.

Germany at Korea Republic
Oct 2, 2012	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Germany ()	7	3	0	0	10
Korea Republic ()	7	0	7	7	21

Herbstreit: Well Chris, we said it before the tournament started. South Korea is the biggest wild card in the field, and boy did they show it here today. Kai Hahn looked uncomfortable all day, thanks in large part to the pressure of the Korean defensive line.

Fowler: How much of the blame do you think you can put on Hahn's shoulders?

Herbstreit: Honestly, just about all of it. Carl Zimmer had a fantastic game, but those three turnovers were just too much to overcome. Now, truthfully, Germany's defense didn't look to impressive either, but they were stuck defending a short field most of the time.

Fowler: Let's take a look at some of the highlights. First, one of Hahn's 3 interceptions.



Herbstreit: It's a designed roll-out, but you can still see the amount of pressure the Koreans are getting on Hahn. This is a ball he probably shouldn't have thrown, but it was caused by the pressure of the defense.

Fowler: For the Koreans, though, it was really all about Ji-Woon Kim. He had a fantastic day, 10 of 15, 189 yards with 3 touchdown passes. Let's see the highlights from the two deep balls.





Herbstreit: The thing that really stands out for me, especially in that second highlight, is the amount of time he had in the pocket. The German pass rush was generating no pressure whatsoever.

Fowler: For Germany, what does this mean?

Herbstreit: Well, for one, it makes the next game against the United States even more important. There is a strong chance that it will be an elimination game for the Germans. If Korea beats Ecuador in the first game of the day, then the Germans have to beat the US or they won't be advancing.

To the actual football side of things, Hahn needs to play better. It is as simple as that. Zimmer showed that he can carry this team, but he needs help. Even if it means just not turning the ball over.

Fowler: Well, lets take a look at why next week's game might be an elimination game for the Germans. We just wrapped up the US and Ecuador.

Ecuador at United States
Oct 2, 2012	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Ecuador ()	7	0	0	0	7
United States ()	7	28	0	0	35

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING
5:20	() Palmer 11 yd Run	0	7
0:24	() Rojas 59 yd Run	7	7
SECOND QUARTER SCORING
4:23	() Palmer 8 yd Run	7	14
3:15	() Robinson 64 yd pass from Palmer	7	21
2:41	() Palmer 17 yd Run	7	28
0:41	() McKinney, 13 yd pass from Palmer	7	35

(I realize there's a typo on the graphic; turnovers should be 2, not 0 for Ecuador. I can't fix it until I get home from work).

Fowler: This one went a little bit more as expected.

Herbstreit: Yeah, the US was never in doubt in this one. Palmer really stole the show, both with his arms and his legs. He threw 2 touchdowns, and ran for 3 more. I think the US showed more of an option game than we anticipated, and certainly more than Ecuador expected.

Fowler: With that in mind, let's take a look at one of those touchdowns.



Herbstreit: Simple option read play, run to perfection. This was the way the game went for the US, just about everything went as expected. The Cotton Bowl crowd got a good show.

Fowler: What can Ecuador take away from this game?

Herbstreit: Their running game was quite good. Rojas ran for 149 yards and a touchdown.

Fowler: Let's take a look at that touchdown.



Herbstreit: He got a few good blocks from his wide outs, then turned on the afterburners once he got around the corner to avoid the diving linebacker. If they keep this up, they'll have a chance against Korea.

Fowler: Speaking of Korea, what can we look forward to with this group next week.

Herbstreit: Well, essentially both games next week will be elimination games for Ecuador and Germany. And one thing to keep in mind about Korea. There was a lot of talk in the qualifiers about their long-shot chances and their remarkable comeback, which started with them losing the first two games of their region. But they haven't actually lost a game since then. They're the hottest team coming into this tournament, and shouldn't be overlooked.

Fowler: We'll leave you with the standings from Group B after their first game day. We hope you join us again tomorrow the Group C's first games. Can't wait to see what happens in the so-called "group of death." Until then, goodnight, from World Cup - All Access.

[lionden_56]

Sorry folks, but barring a miracle happening tonight, it looks like the next update is going to be on Sunday. I'm going to be out of town and super busy tomorrow and Saturday. I'll be getting back home Saturday night, so there might be a chance that I can get two games and an update in, but it doesn't look too promising.

If you are following, please don't forget about me. Just a crazy work weekend coming up for me.

[jayenomics]

Can not believe Germans lost to South Korea!

[lionden_56]

Considering I was controlling Germany, neither could I.

Something is up with the interceptions in this game, though. Like, the one I posted (the 1st one I threw) was a legit interception. I made a bad pass, it happens. But it feels like once you throw one interception, the CPU interception slider magically jumps to max or something, because I've never had a game where I threw just one interception. The CPU always picks me off at least once or twice more. I didn't post the other two from that game because they left me, as a player, shaking my head, and didn't look realistic at all.

I had actually started to play Brazil vs. Canada (game 1 of the next group), and had already thrown 2 interceptions on insane plays by the defense (the ball actually went through the ground in the catching animation on one of them, still counted as a pick). But then the game froze on me, so I'm going to have to start that one over. But I've messed with the sliders, and nothing seems to work...CPU interceptions in this game or just insane.

Like I said, busy day, still at work today, and I'll be out of town for ~11 hours tomorrow, so next update probably coming Sunday night or Monday. Thanks for your patience.

[lionden_56]

Spoiler

Sorry for the long delay. Unfortunately, life happens sometimes

World Cup - All Access

Fowler: Hello again everyone and welcome back to World Cup - All Access, as we break down game day number 3; group C's first day on the field. I'm joined, as always, by Kirk Herbstreit. Kirk, our first look at our Group of Death, what did you think?


Herbstreit: Well Chris, one thing is for sure, and that is there's a lot of talent in this group. We knew that Canada, Brazil, and Japan all had dreams of reaching the elimination rounds and beyond, so putting them all in the same group would be extremely interesting. All three showed just how good they can be.

Fowler: Let's take a look at our first game of the day, from Indianapolis, Indiana and Lucas Oil Stadium, it was Canada and Brazil.

Canada at Brazil
Oct 3, 2012	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Canada (1-0)	0	14	0	14	28
Brazil (0-1)	0	7	0	7	14

Scoring Summary
SECOND QUARTER SCORING
4:12	() Landry 41 yd INT return	7	0
2:31	() Massa, 15yd pass from Rivaldo	7	7
1:20	() Nash 20 yd Run	14	7
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING
5:56	() Bernier, 19yd pass from Friend	21	7
4:14	() Luiz 1 yard run	21	14
1:11	() Nash 9 yd run	28	14

Herbstreit: The first thing I want to say is that this game was actually closer than the final score indicates. Canada got a late 4th quarter score when Brazil was forced to go for it on 4th down and turned it over somewhat deep in their own territory.

Fowler: The thing that I notice right away is that Brazil actually played a better game, according to most of the stats.

Herbstreit: Well, the one stat that really matters, the turnovers, was to Canada's favor.

Fowler: Speaking of turnovers, lets take a look at the first touchdown of this game:



Herbstreit: This is actually quite similar to the interception we saw in the Germany/South Korea game yesterday. Pressure on Rivaldo causes him to throw it in to double coverage, and then he has to watch the defender streaking back to the other endzone.

Fowler: He recovered from that misstep pretty well, though. Here he connects for a touchdown to level the score at 7.



Herbstreit: The protection was much better this time. He had plenty of time to get through his progression and find the open receiver. Well done, there.

Fowler: But the Canadians were just a little too much today. Here we see Canada taking the lead for good on a bullet from Friend.



Herbstreit: That's quite the pass. Moving to his right, throwing back with his left, and it's a perfect strike to Bernier near the goal line. That's the type of throw that makes him so dangerous. His ability to get out of the pocket and make a throw on the run like that will leave defensive coordinators scratching their heads all tournament long.

Fowler: So Canada advances to 1 and 0 in the group stage, looking forward to their date with Japan next week. That game, at Ford Field, will be the battle of the unbeatens in Group C, as Japan was also successful against Sweden tonight.

Sweden at Japan
Oct 3, 2012	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Sweden ()	0	0	0	0	0
Japan ()	7	7	7	0	21

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING
0:52	() Okazaki 15 yd pass from Tsumura	7	0
SECOND QUARTER SCORING
3:52	() Tsumura 11yd run	14	0
THIRD QUARTER SCORING
3:44	() Yukio 2yd Run	21	0

Herbstreit: This was a pretty good statement game for Japan. They took control early and it was never in doubt.

Fowler: Masashi Tsumura had a fantastic game; scoring 1 touchdown through the air, another with his legs.



Herbstreit: Linebacker gets a little too aggressive here, and tries to jump the route. Unfortunately that leaves nothing but green in front of Okazaki to end zone.

Fowler: And here we see Tsumura making something out of nothing:



Herbstreit: Sweden really didn't do anything wrong on this play. The coverage was good, and Tsumura was flushed out of the pocket. He just had the awareness to tuck it and run to the endzone for 6.

Fowler: Japan's tailback Naoki Yukio also added a score on a two yard goal line dive in the third quarter. Anything to say about this game, Kirk?

Herbstreit: Like you said, Chris, Japan was really in control of this one the whole way, and they showed how they can dominate a game. They could have easily put more points on the board in the second half, but they were content to just run out the clock. It'll be interesting to see if that strategy comes back to hurt them when the tie-breaker time rolls around.

Fowler: Here are the current standings for Group C after 1 gameday.



Fowler: Thank you for joining us on World Cup - All Access, and we hope you join us tomorrow for the end of opening round games. It'll be Group D live from Pennsylvania. Mexico and Australia at 3:30 Eastern on ESPN, and England and Paraguay at 7:30 Eastern on ESPN 2. And, as always, join us afterwards here on World Cup - All Access for highlights and analysis. Thanks for tuning in, and good night.

[lionden_56]

World Cup - All Access

Fowler: Hello and welcome once again to World Cup - All Access here on ESPN. And let me take a deep breath before we begin here to catch my breath from the exciting games that we had today. Two games that came right down to the wire, were every play mattered.


Herbstreit: This was, by far, the best of the four days. I hope this group continues to impress.

Fowler: Let's take a look at our first game of the day, England and Australia from Heinz Field.

England at Australia
Oct 4, 2012	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
England (0-0-1)	7	7	0	14	28
Australia (0-0-1)	0	14	14	0	28

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		ENG	AUS
2:12	(ENG) Sisk 1yd Run	7	0
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		ENG	AUS
6:58	(ENG) Sisk 2yd Run	14	0
4:00	(AUS) Fleming 2yd Run	14	7
3:40	(AUS) Fowlkes 41yd INT return	14	14
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		ENG	AUS
5:30	(AUS) Jackson, 12yd pass from Dorsey	14	21
3:15	(AUS) Dorsey 12yd run	14	28
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		ENG	AUS
3:50	(ENG) Sisk 15yd run	21	28
0:00	(ENG) Stone, 12yd pass from Sisk	28	28

Fowler: Our first tie of the tournament, but it really doesn't feel like a tie, does it?

Herbstreit: No, it really doesn't. This one feels like a win for England and a loss for Australia, that's for sure.

We pick it up in the 3rd quarter.



Fowler: Dorsey connects with Jackson to put Australia up 28 to 14. But the lead wouldn't last. England scores with about 4 minutes left in the game, and after a defensive stand, they got the ball back with enough time for one last drive. With 5 seconds left on the clock, they had one last shot at the endzone:



Fowler: Are you surprised they kicked the extra point instead of going for two and the win?

Herbstreit: Not really. After a comeback drive like that, you want to take your point and move on. No point in risking making that drive all for nothing.

Fowler: Now, normally that would be our exciting game for the day, but that was before Mexico and Paraguay took the field in Philadelphia. We're going to go through the highlights before showing you the box score, because this is a "You have to see it to believe it" game.

We start in the second quarter, Paraguay already up 14-0



That score makes it 21-0. A few minutes later, though, Mexico finally gets themselves on the board.



We jump ahead to the fourth quarter. Mexico trails by 6 with time winding down.



Lugo's 9 yard run and subsequent extra point puts Mexico ahead by one. It looks like they'll be able to pull off the miracle comeback, until the ensuing kickoff, where the unthinkable happens for Mexico:



Meza is the hero, with a 96 yard kickoff return to put Paraguay back on top for good.

Herbstreit: This was without question the best game of the tournament so far. Mexico showed great resilience coming back from such a big hole, and it has to be such a huge blow to lose a game like that.

Mexico at Paraguay
Oct 4, 2012	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Mexico (0-1)	0	7	7	14	28
Paraguay (1-0)	7	17	0	11	35

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		MEX	PAR
2:47	(PAR) Silva 1yd run	0	7
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		MEX	PAR
6:56	(PAR) Perez, 15yd pass from Silva	0	14
3:32	(PAR) Ayala, 2yd pass from Silva	0	21
1:27	(MEX) Lugo 11yd run	7	21
0:00	(PAR) Prono 34yd FG	7	24
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		MEX	PAR
2:34	(MEX) Peralta, 14yd pass from Alverez	14	24
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		MEX	PAR
6:30	(PAR) Prono 30yd FG	14	27
5:17	(MEX) Lugo 1yd run	21	27
2:23	(MEX) Lugo 9yd run	28	27
2:12	(PAR) Meza 96yd kick return (2pt converstion)	28	35

Fowler: So let's take a look at how the standings for group D fall:



One week down, two to go in group play. We hope you join us again on Monday for Group A's second games. Until then, this is Chris Fowler for Kirk Herbstreit, goodnight.

Spoiler

Sorry for the short update, I've been uber busy with work and stuff.