NCAA 14 OS Old School: Steve_OS vs. TCrouch

[TCrouch]

Still have some work to do if I'm going to compete with the better teams. This wasn't as close as the score indicates.

[Steve_OS]

I see you SNUCK it in one more time eh TC? I might as well change my username to 77-7.

[TCrouch]

Yep! That's an epic accomplishment, the likes of which may never again be done around these parts.

[TCrouch]

2014 Updates

So far, Memphis and GSU have started 2014 strong. After each team has had 5 games (now into week 9 of 2014), here's a brief rundown of where we both sit:

Memphis



Steve's Tigers came out of the gates strong, taking it to Mid Tennessee State 42-28 on the back of a 21-point 4th quarter explosion. He seemed primed to carry that over into the next game, but the Houston Cougars had other ideas. They exploded for 45 points in a 45-28 shredding in Memphis that dropped them to 1-1.

Not one to throw in the towel, Coach Noah got the offense humming in an OT thriller, knocking off Rutgers 51-45 on the road to move to 2-1. Then the real whooping came, as #18 UCLA did anything and everything they wanted to the Tigers defense, killing them 40-19 despite Steve's offense having a decent outing against the Bruins' much higher rated defense. At 2-2, the Tigers were staring square in the face of the 93 overall UCF Golden Knights. A loss would really put pressure on a Memphis squad that has hovered around .500 since Steve took the OC job. A win could springboard them to bigger things in 2014.

A win it was. The Tigers jumped all over the Knights 35-21 on the back of Maurice James' 20-for-26, 309 yard, 3 TD, 0 INT day. So after 5 games, Memphis is a solid 3-2 (1-1 Conference) and looking ahead to home games against Temple, USF, and BYU, as well as a road game against the Cincinnati Bearcats in the next month.

Even with some up-and-down play, Memphis can easily come out of that 3-1, or even 4-0 if everything falls right against BYU. Worst case, USF could play surprising ball and leave them 2-2, which would still put them over .500 at 5-4 with a quarter season left to play. If the bounces go their way, they could be 6-3 or 7-2 at that point, which would be hard for the bowl schedulers to ignore.

Georgia State



The Panthers have enjoyed a Cinderella 2014 so far. After annihilating Air Force out of the gates 45-0, they then struggled to put away FCS Southeast on a last-minute field goal 31-28. At 2-0, they rode a wave of momentum into Southern Miss, where they ran all over the Golden Eagles 30-10.

Feeling good about themselves at 3-0, they traveled to #5 Washington, and did all they could to put up a fight...but the Huskies were much too much for them. In a game that they "only" lost 35-21, the score wasn't indicative of how big a mismatch this was. The Huskies probably could have hung 50 on them had they not turned the ball over a couple of times in the red zone while messing around with a big (3 TD+) lead. In the weeks since, that Washington team has assumed the #1 ranking in the country, so it's somewhat of a moral victory for a young Georgia State team.

Dropped to 3-1, the Panthers headed to Troy to see if they can regain some momentum or whether the players would fold up shop. Coach Crouch got an inspired effort from his offense, who tallied 20 first downs and 357 yards on the road in a 42-21 victory to move to 4-1.

Looking ahead, the Panthers look to avenge an embarrassing 2013 loss to the Texas State Bobcats, followed by home games against South Alabama, UL Lafayette, and UL Monroe in the upcoming month. Coming out of that stretch 3-1 would place them at 7-2, in solid position for a bowl berth in 2014.

[Steve_OS]

You don't know how fired up I was to win that UCF game.

[TCrouch]

(5-2) Memphis Tigers, (6-1) Georgia State Panthers surging



With 2 more victories apiece, the GSU Panthers and Memphis Tigers have moved into the lead in each of their respective conferences. GSU easily thumped Texas State 34-21, and the hapless University of South Alabama 37-7 the past two weeks, while Memphis knocked off Temple 38-33 and USF 35-31.

Now, the conference fate will be decided for the Panthers, as they face the Ragin' Cajuns, Warhawks, and Hilltoppers in the next 3 weeks. Then they travel to Stanford in what will likely be their second toughest game of the season, and finish the season hosting Arkansas State.

Memphis gets a 1-week break from Conference play in week 11, hosting BYU before they embark on a season-ending conference schedule. They will then travel to Cincinnati, Connecticut, and Louisville before returning home to avenge the infamous SMU game from 2013.

With just over a month to play, both teams are in the driver's seat, and completely control their own destinies.

[Steve_OS]

Infamous INDEED!

[Steel_Penny]

Steve will stomp a mudhole in SMU this year.

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