Fighting for Survival: NCAA 04 Idaho Vandals Dynasty

[SalamiGrease]

IDAHO (1-2) vs BOISE STATE (1-0) GAME PREVIEW

Matchup Preview *|* September 13, 2003
	@
Boise State Broncos (1-0, Away)		Idaho Vandals (1-2, Home)
Offensive Stats Comparison 28.0 Points Per Game 23.3 362.0 Total Offensive Yards 305.6 205.0 Rushing Yards 23.3 157.0 Passing Yards 282.3 Defensive Stats Comparison 307.0 Total Yards Allowed 342.6 91.0 Rushing Yards Allowed 105.6 216.0 Passing Yards Allowed 237.0 Injury Report None Ernest Davis (DE) 2 Tackles Game Notes Idaho has its first manageable game of the season in this contest. The Broncos are a strong team, and are coming off of a 12-1 season in 2002. However, their team is certainly exploitable, as it mainly focuses on the running game. Idaho will have to demonstrate some of the solid defense it had against USC while also not getting beat deep to beat the Broncos. BSU can win by controlling the line of scrimmage. Their guys in the trenches are much stronger and bigger than Idaho's, and if they can control TOP and the run game on both sides, they're pretty much guaranteed a win. They do have to be wary of Brian Lindgren's arm, as he has amassed 850 yards in three games, two of which have come against top-10 opponents.

[SalamiGrease]

After some deliberation, I’ve decided on some of the more detailed rules for the dynasty, as I wanted to see how it would work before finalizing everything.

- I need to turn the program around in 3 years, or face deletion of the dynasty. Turning the program around means achieving these things:

1. At least 2 .500 or above seasons

2. At least one bowl win

3. At least two top 3 finishes or 1 conference championship within the Sun Belt.

4. Achieve at least a 3 star prestige rating by the end of year 3.

If these goals are met, I will continue with the dynasty. Otherwise, it’s gone.


- Recruiting restrictions:

I’m going to be restricting point allowances and which recruits I can target by several factors:

1. For every loss to a team better than me, I lose 2% of my recruiting points. (So if I go 2-10 and get 100 points, then I have 80 I can actually use.)

2. For every loss to a team about equal or worse (same letter grade OVR or worse) I lose 5% of my points.

3. I may only target recruits of my prestige ranking or lower which are outside of Idaho and the states it borders.

4. Unless the prospect is in-state, they cannot be rated higher than 2 stars above my current prestige ranking.


I am already using the Idaho playbook, which I had never used before this dynasty, to give it a bit more flavor. I also turned the difficulty down from the UPA dynasty overall, but also increased it in several places such as defensive awareness to give the game a more realistic, less arcade-y feel. Definitely challenging, but far from what I had it at before.

[SalamiGrease]

BRONCOS WIN DESPITE MISCUES

Boise State halfback David Mikell throws out a stiff arm

The rivalry game between the Boise State Broncos and the Idaho Vandals generally produces some exciting football, and this one was no exception. Although the Broncos were heavily favored, Idaho had shown flashes of great football against some top-notch opponents.

The game opened with the two teams combining for one first down, as both teams stacked the box and Robert Ortega of Idaho tipped a third-down pass.

For the next couple of drives, however, the offenses were certainly on track. Boise State got their strong running attack going and Brian Lindgren seemingly found some combination of Jimmy Labita, Orlando Winston or Bobby Bernal-Wood. The score was 7-6, as the Vandals experienced a familiar problem: Not being able to punch the ball in when it mattered.

The second quarter was quite quiet, as neither team really moved the ball very far. The Vandals switched to a more aggressive blitz scheme, with Patrick Libey in particular making some key tackles on toss plays. Libey would credit his coaches after the game, saying that "This unit is so much more than just the players, we've really been able to bring out the best of our skillsets with the training and coaching that we've received. I'm blessed to be at Idaho."

Unfortunately for the Vandals, that same coaching staff called an aggressive blitz when BSU was trying to run out the clock before the half, and David Mikell took one 80 yards to the house. "It was a dumb call" Coach Kramer said after the game. "It might have looked good on paper, but you just can't risk that with as little time as they had left. We could've executed much better, don't get me wrong, but the decision was wrong."

After both teams started slow in the 2nd half, BSU quarterback Ryan Dinwiddie took a QB draw 30 yards upfield, and completed several key passes to put the Broncos in scoring range. Idaho, however, wasn't quite done yet. With Robert Ortega out with an ankle injury, backup Brandon Mascorro made a shoelace catch on an overthrown pass to give the Vandals the ball back.

Idaho still found a way to squander the opportunity, in true Vandal fashion. A bad Lindgren pick gave the Broncos the ball and eventually let them score on another long drive, putting them up 21-6 with three minutes remaining.

Idaho made a valiant comeback attempt, but it was too late to do much. After two long catches by Winston and Bernal-Wood (Who was filling in for an injured Cedric Thompson), Jimmy Labita made an incredible two-point catch. Boise State came back out onto the field, and just did what they had been doing all game: Breaking tackles and making blocks. By the time the Vandals got the ball back, there were four seconds left and the game was pretty much over.

Coach Kramer's press conference yielded a good summary of the day. "We played well... sometimes. Our execution needs to improve. There were missed red zone opportunities, missed tackles, and missed assignments. Boise State is a great football team, but I feel like today we beat ourselves."

After the 21-14 loss, Idaho visits #3 Kansas State before opening conference play. KSU has the best run game in the nation by far, averaging 350 yards a game, and a Heisman contender in Darren Sproles. They'll have to fix some of the run defense issues quickly if they want to keep the game even remotely close.

PHOTO GALLERY:


Brandon Mascorro's interception.

"AND LABITA COMES UP WITH IT! "Jimmy Labita's two-point grab highlighted a breakout game for the backup receiver.

Vandals deep threat Orlando Winston makes a touchdown grab.

Idaho's going to have a tough time keeping their program if this is how they play in the future, but this was always an underdog story.