Niagara Rhinos: An Alternate Universe NCAA 14 Dynasty

[Nunyerbiz]

1) Remember Christian Okoye? This guy reminded me of him... with that big ole neck roll pad thingy. Not Christian Okoye scored the lone Utah TD on this run.

2) Corey Moses burns everyone for a 64 yard TD catch-n-run.

3) I don't recall running that many Dime sets... but somehow Dime corner Jamie Burnette pulled in two picks and led the team with nine tackles. Before this game, he had 25 career tackles and zero interceptions over 2.5 seasons.

4) Blimp shot of fullback Kenny Davis plunging in from 1-yard out for his 2nd rushing TD on the season.


NUNYER'S NOTES

The glorious return of the new / old / new again Gold and Royal Blue Pitt unis! Gotta love College Football Revamped. Although I did have my first in-game crash... first time I tried to play this game everything just froze around the midpoint of the 2nd quarter... but I think so far that's the only in-game crash I've had. Most of the crashes / instabilities I've seen have been in the player editor... Hang around too long in the editor and stuff starts slowly going sideways... so if you are editing players, back out and autosave often. I'd recommend every player or every other player.

As far as this game, Utah moved the ball at a somewhat consistent pace and put up yards... but all three of their turnovers were in the red zone (including one INT in the end zone). On the defensive side, they called an odd gameplan. Lots of blitzing backed by zone coverage, lots of Cover 2... and their front seven were not getting off blocks all that consistently. I manually played roughly three quarters and then did sim -> watch play at the end.

[Nunyerbiz]

The last three games of the year were relative yawners for the Rhinos, so I'm just going to give some quick recaps... then get to my last round of Senior player cards for the thread...

The Rhinos opponent in the National Title game is still up for grabs... VA Tech, GA Tech, LSU and UConn are all 10-1 teams that round out the Top 5. It would be neat if UConn actually made it... as they are the Rhinos "official" rivalry team in the game and I don't think I've ever played them.

WEEK 11 - MARYLAND AT NIAGARA

Maryland - 16
Niagara - 56

The Terps had four turnovers, including three interceptions and their defense just wasn't enough to slow down the Rhinos. Monte Hall had a decent game, with 272 yards passing with 3 TDs against only a single interception. The highlight on the defensive side was probably the first career interception for long-time reserve linebacker Ahmad Willis. The play actually gave me a reason to make him a senior card.


WEEK 12 - NIAGARA AT GEORGIA

Niagara - 34
Georgia - 24

The scoreboard was a lot closer than the actual game, as Georgia scored 14 points in garbage time against the 2nd string defense. Overall a very poor season for the Bulldogs, who finished an embarrassing 4-7. The passing game was poor, with no touchdowns and two interceptions... but the running game was solid with LaQuincey Kemp and option QB Hayden Fynbo both finishing with a pair of rushing TDs.


WEEK 13 - SENIOR DAY - PURDUE AT NIAGARA

Purdue - 17
Niagara - 44

With a 20-10 lead at halftime, the Rhinos definitely didn't bury the Boilermakers early... but as the game wore on and Purdue was forced to throw the ball more and more... the Rhinos pulled ahead. LaQuincy Kemp left the game with a back injury early in the 2nd half, so reserve Zonday "Chocolate Rain" Jefferson saw his first significant action of the season. His 12 carries for 83 yards almost doubled his season-long output and he scored his first touchdown of the year. On defense, senior All-American JR Dequindre had a disappointing Senior Day. While he registered a tackle for loss on the first play of the game, he had to leave with a concussion shortly thereafter and did not record any further stats.

[Nunyerbiz]

SENIOR DAY 2022!

For what is likely the final Senior Day post for this dynasty thread incarnation of the Niagara Rhinos, I decided to design my own cards... as I had run out of old school baseball cards that I wanted to copy.

While I'll probably keep playing this team here and there outside of Operation Sports, this season seemed like a good time to end the thread... The Rhinos are heading into another National Title game and have a bunch of key contributors leaving. It would be a bit of a reboot next season... and I figured I'd have to intentionally tear the team down or change teams or come up with some weird house rules to keep things interesting. Anyways, let's not steal anymore thunder from this great group of departing Niagara legends....


OFFENSE



From completely unheralded two-star recruit to starting the National Championship game, it's been a crazy ride for 5th year senior Monte Hall... Nobody ever expected him to start, including yours truly. At best, he'd be the career Frank Reich backup type. While he didn't exactly set the world on fire, with 39 career TD passes against 31 interceptions, he did enough to guide Niagara to a perfect regular season record in his one year as a starter. His 3,165 yards passing are currently 5th in the NCAA, although he'll likely drop after conference championship week. He ends his career at an impressive 95 OVR, 99 AWR, 85 THP, 92 THA.




A bit of a lumbering power back compared to some of the Niagara halfbacks that came before him, LaQuincey still managed to leave his mark on the program. He finishes with back-to-back seasons of over 1,000 yards rushing (1,073 in 2021 and 1,010 in 2022). He was largely a backup during his first two seasons and his 2,525 career yards and 5.0 ypc didn't exactly threaten the team record books. He was never a home run hitter, with a paltry 22 yard carry being his career high... but he knew how to do the dirty work between the tackles and always seemed to fall forward for that extra yard when the team needed it. He finishes 91 OVR with 88 SPD and 94 BTK.

Trivial Sidebar: I have two sons and they are aware of this thread, although they don't really pay it any attention. That said, my younger son got a kick out of the Dull CPU Rename thing... and occasionally comes up with name suggestions. One of those was the name "LaQuiznos Quincy" with the backstory that he was named after his mother's favorite sub shop. I laughed but decided that was a bit too absurd even for the Rhinos, so I just truncated it to "LaQuincey" and used the dull CPU last name.




Kordivido "The Colonel" Sanders will definitely be earning on living on Sundays next season. While his production stagnated a bit this season, he's still an elite talent. In four seasons in Niagara, two as a starter, Sanders pulled down 114 catches for 1,926 yards and 24 TDs. His 92 SPD, 97 ACC and 99 CTH will translate very well to the NFL.




As a bit of an afterthought as a JUCO recruit, Matt Leach didn't even get the decency of a Dull CPU Rename. I never thought he was going be anything more than the 4th man in the 4WR sets. After only pulling down 11 catches for 138 yards in his junior year, that prediction seemed sound. However Leach blossomed in his senior year. He beat out disappointing sophomore Marquelle Reese for the slot receiver role this season and never looked back... Inexplicably becoming Monte Hall's favorite target in the process. He managed to lead the team in the three major receiving categories: 52 catches, 789 yards, 9 TDs. While I doubt he'll make the cut at the next level, he certainly left his mark with Niagara... A perfect pairing with Monte Hall... two unexpected team leaders.




If there is one position where the Rhinos have found consistency, it's at tight end. Four years of Latimer Iorg starting immediately followed by four years of Nicos Papadatos. While he had big shoes to fill, Nicos was up to the challenge. Blessed with size, soft hands and solid blocking technique, he was the total package. He finishes his career with 137 catches for 1,562 yards and 15 touchdowns. Not to overlook his blocking, Papadatos managed to lead the team in pancake blocks in two of his four seasons. Rated at 96 OVR with 86 SPD, 88 CTH and 86 RBK, Nicos will most likely be one of the first TE's off the board in the next NFL draft.



DEFENSE




Easily the most dominant 3-4 linebacker in the history of the Rhinos, J.R. was a wrecking ball in the backfield. In three seasons as a starter, he average 60 tackles (24 TFL) and 9 sacks per season. He'll most definitely be a 1st rounder in the next draft, as he has the burst and strength to edge rush and the speed and instincts to play coverage. He finishes his career at 99 OVR, 90 SPD, 98 ACC, 94 BSH, 97 PUR and 99 POW. He was a beast and will be impossible to replace in the near term.

Trivial Sidebar: Anybody from the Metro Detroit area will know the inspiration for his name... There are two major roads on the east side of the city / the eastern suburbs: John R. (named after a former Detroit mayor I think) and Dequindre (named after a large farm owner from the late 1800s). I combined the two for J.R. Dequindre. That's as trivial as trivia can get!




Although often overshadowed by Dequindre, in many ways Forrest Fowler had the more impressive career. Unlike J.R. who was primarily a pass rusher, Forrest did everything. Also a three year starter, he actually finished with more total tackles (182 vs 172). He had 60 career tackles for loss along with 20 sacks, 3 interceptions and 9 forced fumbles. His 92 OVR probably makes him a longshot for the NFL, but he is still impressively rated with 99 ACC, 94 BSH, 99 PUR and 96 POW.




Although he could occasionally look lost in coverage, particularly early in his career, Shovante was always an insanely talented run-support safety and eventually developed into an excellent centerfielder. He averaged 60 tackles per season and finishes his career with 9 interceptions. He is one of the top three strong safeties in all of NCAA and should be playing on Sundays next season. He's rated as a 93 OVR with 93 SPD, 99 AWR and 98 ZCV.




A local Canadian kid from Northern Ontario, Krupski played his redshirt freshman season as a dime back but has been a starter ever since. He steadily developed into a top-tier cornerback, pulling down 15 career interceptions and showing a nose for run support with 16 career tackles for loss. He's been so good the last two seasons, that opposing QBs have rarely tested him. With 96 OVR, 97 SPD, and a clean sweep of 99s at AWR, MCZ and ZCV... he's likely going early in the draft.




Our first of only two benchwarmer seniors... it never quite came together for Chauncey. Although he was always one of the fastest players on the team (96 SPD as a freshman), his overall awareness and coverage skills were always lagging just behind those ahead of him on the depth chart. He spent two seasons backing up Shovante Banks at SS and only really saw action on special teams. Then for his last two seasons, he moved over to backup free safety and saw regular snaps in 6DB sets. He responded well enough, registering 37 tackles, 1 sack, 1 INT and 2 pass deflections in those final two seasons of reserve work.




The only reason Ahmad "Whatchu talkin bout" Willis even gets a player card is because he managed to haul in the lone interception of his career against Maryland a few weeks ago... and therefore I actually had a screenshot of him. One of those guys that just couldn't catch a break... When it was theoretically his turn to start at MLB in the 4-3 base, Gwilym Iorg emerged and stole his thunder. When he was set to compete for the 2nd MLB spot in the new 3-4 a couple of seasons ago, Buck Manahan emerged. He likely would have started for 2-3 seasons on probably 80% of the teams in the country... but he just couldn't break through with Niagara. If I could have forced him to transfer, I would have prior to his redshirt junior season. He finished his wasted potential of a career with 11 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble and that one, lonely interception that is immortalized in the image above...


Next update will be a preview of the National Title game... once I find out who the Rhinos are playing... along with the Pitt recap.

[Nunyerbiz]

PITT WRAP-UP

The Panthers finished the season ranked #20 with an 8-4 record. They went 3-1 down the stretch. They easily won two home games against Utah and Arkansas State by a combined score of 77-20. Then going on the road, they won an overtime thriller against South Carolina by a score of 38-31. In the regular season finale, Pitt dropped a 57-55 triple overtime barnburner against #3 LSU in Baton Rouge. Despite the loss, the pollsters obviously appreciated the effort that the Panthers gave against a Top 3 team on the road, as they actually moved up two spots from 22nd to 20th in the polls.

They will play in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl (or the Redbox Bowl based on the updated CFR logos... or maybe the Redbox Fights Kraft Fighting Hunger Bowl). They will face the 6-6 and unranked Stanford Cardinal.


FINAL TOP 25

NCAA Football Rankings - AP Top 25 - Updated: Dec 1, 2022
RK	LW	TEAM (VOTES)	W	L	POINTS
1	1	Niagara (61)	12	0	1525
2	2	Virginia Tech	11	1	1209
3	3	LSU	11	1	1187
4	6	Texas	10	3	1159
5	7	Army	12	1	1038
6	8	Alabama	10	2	982
7	13	Ohio State	11	2	902
8	11	Central Michigan	11	2	873
9	5	Oklahoma	10	3	847
10	4	Connecticut	11	2	843
11	12	Penn State	10	2	836
12	14	Georgia Tech	10	2	764
13	9	Nebraska	11	2	747
14	16	California	8	4	680
15	21	Boise State	11	2	614
16	19	Navy	8	4	572
17	10	Arizona	10	3	553
18	20	Texas A&M	8	4	537
19	15	San Diego State	11	2	500
20	22	Pittsburgh	8	4	466
21	--	Florida State	7	6	454
22	--	Arizona State	8	5	454
23	23	Mizzou	9	3	436
24	25	Oregon	8	4	360
25	--	Michigan State	8	4	290

DA NATTY

The Rhinos will face the Fightin Gobblers of Virginia Tech for the 2022 National Title. The Hoakies only loss of the season came in week eight against #3 LSU by a score of 42-25. As is usual for a VA Tech team, they feature an insanely prolific running game, averaging almost 290 yards per game. Their ground game is lead by 2022 Heisman winning halfback Trey Hayden. The senior gained 1,719 yards on the ground with 22 touchdowns. His teammates are no slouch either. Senior QB Michael Thomas threw for 1,944 yards with an amazing ratio of 19 touchdowns against only 1 interception. He added another 837 yards and 6 TDs on the ground.




Lee Corso picks the Hoakies.... so you know we're screwed.

[Nunyerbiz]

RHINOS DOMINATE HOAKIES FOR 3-PEAT NATIONAL TITLE!
Niagara pitches a shutout as VA Tech and Heisman Winner Hayden held to 136 yards of total offense

Although Niagara was considered the consensus favorite in Vegas, even the most grizzled bookmaker couldn't have predicted what happened tonight. The Rhinos defense delivered a performance for the ages, making the 2nd ranked Hoakies look like a squad from your local retirement home. The Rhinos racked up five sacks, three interceptions and held Heisman winning halfback Trey Hayden to 26 yards on only four carries.

"I'm not really sure what they were thinking with their gameplan", said Niagara Head Coach Rusty Nonek, "I know we have a very good run defense... but you gotta feed your big dogs... and their QB just didn't feed the dog."

Indeed, Virginia Tech QB Michael Thomas looked lost for most of the game. He missed open pitch opportunities to Hayden in the option game, had happy feet in the pocket and generally made poor decisions when he had time to throw.

On the Niagara side, their gameplan was nothing short of predictable. Run the ball until VA Tech showed they could stop it. While there were very few big plays, the Rhinos methodically racked up 279 yards with a 6.6 ypc average. QB Monte Hall wasn't spectacular, matching his two TD passes with two bad interceptions, but was a solid game manager outside of the pair of turnovers. Halfback LaQuincey Kemp grinded out tough yards the entire game. While he failed to get to 100 yards, he registered a number of critical gains on 3rd and short to keep drives alive. Those ended up being critical, as the game remained close until the complete collapse of the Hoakies in the 4th quarter.

For Niagara, they cement their legacy as one of the great college football dynasties of this era. They've completed the Natty 3-Peat and have won four of the last six National Championships.

"I feel pretty good about what we've done with this program," said Nonek, "I'll feel a lot better after the statute of limitations runs out on all that illegal [expletive] our scouting department has pulled over the years."

-------------------------






-------------------------

NUNYER'S NOTES

Ugh. The dreaded "CPU QB Happy Feet" game. This was some of worst CPU QB play I've seen in awhile. He didn't want to pitch it to his stud HB, he wanted to scramble when he should of passed, he wanted to pass when he should have scrambled. It was just ugly. That said, their defense was actually pretty solid. Thanks to an early INT and long FG attempt that missed, we had a couple of short fields to work with... and still only managed to score 17 in the first half. The wheels really came off for VA Tech in the 4th when the scrambling QB was forced into pocket passing mode. The INTs and sacks just piled up and it got out of hand pretty quickly. If it wasn't for a poor interception of my own where I hit the wrong button and going to conservative clock at the start of the 4th... I probably could have scored 2-3 more TDs. A bit of an anti-climatic end ... but at least it was an ending on a high note.

Oh snap... forgot about the Pitt game... I played the game myself and handled Stanford pretty easily, with a final of 54-28. Stanford lost three fumbles and threw an interception... and those turnovers were converted into 24 points for Pitt... and that was essentially the difference in the game. They racked up yards and scored points on pretty much every drive where they didn't commit a turnover. I had three interceptions myself, but one was with no time on the clock before halftime and meant nothing, the 2nd INT also meant nothing as Stanford fumbled the ball back to me a few plays later. The final INT was in garbage time in the 4th quarter when I was just trying to run up the score... but the game ended with Stanford failing on a hail mary. So despite an even 3 vs 3 turnover score, their turnovers lead to 24 points while the Pitt turnovers led to zero points.

I'm sure I'll have some type of low-key thread recap post at some point... but for now... thanks to everybody who has taken time to read this stuff over the last almost two years of real time and 10 seasons of Rhinos football. I had a lot of fun and hope you guys did as well! Thanks again!

[djp73]

sorry to have missed the wrapping up of this. congrats on another natty and an outstanding dynasty. looking forward to your next project!