Wake Forest NCAA 12 Dynasty: Competitive Football Would be Nice!

[waytofailself]

Re: Wake Forest NCAA 12 Dynasty: Competitive Football Would be Nice!

Week 2
vs
Picking Up on All Cylinders


Brian Graham flips into the end zone in celebration of a fumble return

There is something to be said for starting out the gate fast. Normally it takes a squad a little while to gel, especially when breaking in a new quarterback. Of course, Army's option heavy offense does not require a QB to do a lot with his arm -- but on the Black Knight's first drive they went the distance on a spectacular play that stunned the home crowd.

And that's all that was heard of Army, as the Demon Deacons responded to the touchdown with 49 unanswered points en route to a 49-7 rout. No, the story of the night was the Wake Forest defense and their new, freshman QB Curtis Jenkins. Although he was errant in some passes, especially overthrowing open receivers, Jenkins wowed the crowd with his footwork.

Although Wake ran no designed run plays for him, Jenkins found opportunities to run and move the chains. He would not shy away from contact to move the chains, but usually there were so many open holes in the audience that he could gain chunks of yards before sliding. Patrick Mitchell was also effective on the ground and ran for three scores, Jenkins stole the show by rushing for over 100 yards and passing for over 150 yards. And unlike last year, he also avoided making any crippling mistakes.

The same cannot be said for the Black Knights. After forcing a Wake Forest 3 and out to start the half, the Black Knights got the ball back and looked primed to drive. But one errant option pitch out with a waiting Jimmy Jacques and the game started entering blowout territory. To make matters worse, the Black Knights fumbled on the first play the next drive, and the game was all but out of reach.

In the end, the Demon Deacons went on cruise control and were able to score on two more drives. The defense put on the clamps, and Coach Shapiro starts the season with the most lopsided win of his coaching tenure.

Army (0-0) at Wake Forest (0-0)
Sep 1, 2012 1 2 3 4 F Army 7 0 0 0 7 Wake Forest 14 7 21 7 49 Top Performers Army R. McMillan, 3 Tkls, 3 TFL, FF T. Newby, 4 Tlks, INT, DEFL Wake Forest P. Mitchell, 14 Car, 49 Yds, 3 TD C. Jenkins, 11-13, 157 Yds, TD, INT, 14 Car, 123 Yds	Team Stats Comparison ARMY WAKE First Downs 11 17 3rd Down Efficiency 2-9 7-11 4th Down Efficiency 1-1 0-0 Total Yards 276 369 Passing Yards 155 180 Rushing Yards 121 189 Penalties-Penalty Yards 2-10 3-25 Turnovers 6 1 Time of Possession 16:27 19:17
Scoring Summary FIRST QUARTER SCORING ARMY WAKE 7:08 (ARMY) J. Newberry, 54 Yd Pass from A. Hines 7 0 3:57 (WAKE) P. Mitchell, 1 Yd Run 7 7 1:18 (WAKE) P. Mitchell, 8 Yd Run 7 14 SECOND QUARTER SCORING ARMY WAKE 6:37 (WAKE) J. Little, 1 Yd Run 7 21 THIRD QUARTER SCORING ARMY WAKE 6:18 (WAKE) J. Jacques, 23 Yd Fumble Return 7 28 6:07 (WAKE) B. Graham, 28 Yd Fumble Return 7 35 5:38 (WAKE) J. Borwn, 14 Yd Pass from C. Jenkins 7 42 FOURTH QUARTER SCORING ARMY WAKE 4:50 (WAKE) P. Mitchell, 9 Yd Run 7 49
Army PASSING C/ATT YDS TD INT A. Hines 7-12 126 1 0 K. Buchanan 2-4 29 0 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD A. Hines 9 36 4.0 0 J. sellers 9 44 4.8 0 D. Pollard 5 29 5.8 0 K. Buchannan 4 16 4.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD G. Grant 4 71 17.7 0 J. Newberry 4 76 19.0 1 J. Silva 1 8 8.0 0 Wake Forest PASSING C/ATT YDS TD INT C. Jenkins 11-23 157 1 1 M. White 1-1 23 0 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD C. Jenkins 14 123 8.7 0 P. Mitchell 14 49 3.5 3 T. Lewis 2 17 8.5 0 J. Little 1 1 1.0 1 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD J. Brown 5 72 14.4 1 P. Mitchell 2 2 1.0 0 J. Hale 2 9 4.5 0 M. Woods 1 23 23.0 0 M. Peteers 1 18 18.0 0 B. Parrish 1 56 56.0 0

Coach's Take: This is what we've been seeing in practice these past few months. We're ready to play, and we're really going to be going places this season. Some people are going to say, "It's only Army." First, they're a strong squad, and being able to contain their running game is a big deal. Second, we executed on offense, and we forced turnovers on defense. Next week is going to be another test against Miami, but we're up for the challenge.

What's Next: Wake Forest takes (1-0) on the #9 Miami Hurricanes, who will be falling in the polls after dropping their opening game to Kansas State. Meanwhile, Army (0-1) faces off against Rutgers (0-1).

[Knickerbocker91]

Re: Wake Forest NCAA 12 Dynasty: Competitive Football Would be Nice!

Way to put a stamp on campus for Jenkins. Congrats on the win

[waytofailself]

Re: Wake Forest NCAA 12 Dynasty: Competitive Football Would be Nice!

Matchup Preview | September 8, 2012
	@
#19 Miami (FL) Hurricanes (0-1, 0-0 Away)		Wake Forest Demon Deacons (1-0, 1-0 Home)
Game Notes Miami travels to Winston Salem hoping to get its season back on track after dropping its home opener against Kansas State 14-34. Although the Wake Forest Demon Deacons started off the season strong blowing out Army 49-7, the Hurricane squad will be a threat both on the ground and through the air. Wake's defense will need to step up again against far superior competition. Expect the Hurricanes to be aggressive and attempt to confuse true freshman QB Curtis Jenkins, while also using HB Darren Hooper to slash through the heart of the Wake Forest defense. If Miami can establish the run, they can take advantage of Wake's tendency to over pursue and burn them on the play action. The Deacons have been tough at home under Coach Shapiro, so this could be a close game. However, expect Miami's superior athleticism to outlast Wake's tenacity. The Hurricanes should be able to get its season back on track. Predicted final score: 31-17 Miami over Wake Forest.

[waytofailself]

Re: Wake Forest NCAA 12 Dynasty: Competitive Football Would be Nice!

Week 3
vs
Tropical Depression? Beautiful Day for Deacons

The crosswinds were strong and the rain was coming down in sheets at times. But it didn't matter -- the lights were on, the stands were packed, and the field was able to drain the rain without getting flooded. But the remnants of Tropical Storm Leslie were not the only thing to travel north from Florida -- the #19 Miami Hurricanes came to Winston Salem to take out their frustrations on Wake Forest.

Despite the remnants of Tropical Storm Leslie, the stands at BB&T Field were packed.

Both teams came out the gate wanting to fight. Miami was still stinging from its embarrassing loss against Kansas State last week, while Wake Forest seemed to have in its head that no one was giving them a shot in this game. There was a lot of extra curricular activity, but little in the way of points or offense. For awhile drives for both teams would stall at mid field, but all would change once Curtis Jenkins over threw his man and got picked off deep in Wake Forest territory.

Josh Harrell makes a diving catch give Miami a 7-3 lead.

It was like a scene from last season. The defense had been playing solid all game, but Miami's offense was able to score on the short field. Wake could not stop Josh Harrell, who ran inside on the slant after his defender slipped on the field. Of course, he had to make a diving catch from a slightly misplaced Jim McCormick throw -- but Harrell picked it out of the sky effortlessly.

That was not the only scene remnant of last season, as on the next drive Jenkins led the Deacs to the wrong kind of 3-and-out. Jenkins thought he had Brian Parrish open on an out route, but he misread the zone and a linebacker was waiting in the perfect spot to pick the ball out of the sky. Could this be a repeat of last year? Inconsistent quarterback play doing the team in? Coach Shapiro said that he would stick with his freshman through thick and thin because he could do so much despite taking a few risks -- but the home crowd had to be worried.

Miami drove down the field again for another quick scoring strike. But suddenly the wind, and the momentum, shifted. Miami's kicker stepped up for the routine extra point, only to have the ball sail right and bounce of the goal post. Wake was only down 13-3, and the Deacons played like they had a new lease on the game. Between Patrick Mitchell's runs finally breaking to the Miami 2nd level and Jenkins making plays with his feet when nothing was open through the air, the Deacons were able to close the half with another score.

From there, the name of the game was defense. Wake Forest defense. After the offense moved down the field to give Wake its first lead, Maurice Evans recovered an errant McCormick pitch out for a long touchdown to give Wake Forest a 24-13 advantage.

Then to make matters worse for the Hurricanes, James Cross stepped up with a huge interception that he returned for a score. McCormick tried a swing pass to the halfback, and he was wide open with no one in front of him. But Cross was playing man, and he stepped from behind Hooper to grab the ball and rumble the distance to the goal line. Not bad for the senior who has spent the past 4 years waiting for his shot.

In the end, the Wake Forest offense was able to cut down its mistakes, and the defense was able to force some key Miami turnovers. Although the Hurricanes were the ones who came out swinging, they will be leaving Winston Salem sucker punched and with two losses to start the season. The offense will be having nightmares, or at least be watching a lot of film of Senior DE Damon Taylor, who finished the game with an incredible three forced fumbles. Meanwhile, Wake Forest finally did what they struggled to do so much last year: they closed out the game.

Curtis Jenkins hangs on to score the final touchdown for Wake Forest

Miami (0-1) at Wake Forest (1-0)
Sep 18, 2012 1 2 3 4 F #19 Miami 0 13 0 0 13 Wake Forest 3 7 14 14 38 Top Performers Miami M. Chambers, 4 Rec, 51 Yds, TD J. Rodriguez, 7 Tak, 2 Sck, 2 Defl Wake Forest D. Taylor, 7 Tack, 6 Solo, 2 TFL, 3 FFumb, 1 FRec P. Mitchell, 20 Car, 94 Yds, 2 Rec, 8 Yds	Team Stats Comparison MIA WAKE First Downs 13 16 3rd Down Efficiency 4-9 3-8 4th Down Efficiency 1-1 0-0 Total Yards 365 352 Passing Yards 114 199 Rushing Yards 151 153 Penalties-Penalty Yards 2-15 2-10 Turnovers 5 3 Time of Possession 13:59 18:01
Scoring Summary FIRST QUARTER SCORING MIA WAKE 4:27 (WAKE) S. Gray, 33 Yd FG 0 3 SECOND QUARTER SCORING MIA WAKE 6:58 (MIA) J. Harrell, 12 Yd Pass from J. McCormick 7 3 5:21 (MIA) M. Chambers, 28 Yd Pass from J. McCormick (XP missed) 13 3 3:42 (WAKE) C. Jenkins, 7 Yd Run 13 10 THIRD QUARTER SCORING MIA WAKE 4:33 (WAKE) J. Little, 3 Yd Run 13 17 1:33 (WAKE) M. Evans, 75 Yd Fumble REturn 13 24 FOURTH QUARTER SCORING MIA WAKE 5:06 (WAKE) J. Cross, 64 Yd INT Return 13 31 4:24 (WAKE) C. Jenkins, 14 Yd Run 13 38
Miami PASSING C/ATT YDS TD INT J. McCormick 11-18 114 2 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD D. Hooper 21 112 5.3 0 J. McCormick 10 39 3.9 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD M. Chambers 4 51 12.7 1 J. Harrell 3 31 10.3 1 V. Sanders 2 25 12.5 0 J. Cobbs 1 4 4.0 0 D. Hopper 1 3 3.0 0 Wake Forest PASSING C/ATT YDS TD INT C. Jenkins 11-23 199 0 2 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD P. Mitchell 20 94 4.7 0 C. Jenkins 10 56 5.6 2 J. Little 1 3 3.0 1 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD M. Peters 5 59 11.8 0 B. Parrish 3 87 29.0 0 P. Mitchell 2 8 4.0 0 J. Brown 1 45 45.0 0

Coach's Take:This is how you want to start off conference play. A big match up under the lights against Top 25 competition. We had some miscues, but fortunately we had less than they did. Sometimes that is the difference, especially when the weather is such a factor. Miami is going to be okay, but today we were the better team. We came with it more. This is the kind of win teams are supposed to build off of. That's our goal next week: build.

What's Next: Wake Forest (2-0) travels to Atlanta to face Georgia Tech (2-0). Miami (0-2) will be in a lot of trouble if they do not get their first win next week, as they travel back to the U to face FCS cupcake Georgia Southern.

[waytofailself]

Re: Wake Forest NCAA 12 Dynasty: Competitive Football Would be Nice!

Matchup Preview | September 15, 2012
	@
Wake Forest Demon Deacons (2-0, 0-0 Away)		Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (2-0, 2-0 Home)
Offensive Stats Comparison 43.5 Points Per Game 28.5 721 Total Offensive Yards 884 342 Rushing Yards 597 379 Passing Yards 287 Defensive Stats Comparison 541 Total Yards Allowed 608 272 Rushing Yards Allowed 234 269 Passing Yards Allowed 374 +7 Turnover Differential 0 Game Notes Wake Forest travels to Atlanta to face Georgia Tech in a battle of the unbeatens. This will be a game of style vs style, with Wake's spread offense facing off against the Georgia Tech option attack. Wake already dismantled Army's option earlier this year, but GT has more talent along the front line and can also make plays through the air. HB Nathan West has been terrorizing defenses all season and averages 178.5 yards per game on the ground. Expect Wake's suspect run defense to be exposed, and expect Coach Shapiro to rely more on HB Patrick Mitchell with a true freshman at QB starting his first game in hostile territory. Although Wake Forest has performed better against higher quality opponents this season, there is little doubt that Georgia Tech has what it takes to win on its home field. Expect the 12th man to be the difference as the Yellow Jackets remain unbeaten by a 28-17 margin.

This week's look at the coach's poll is interesting not so much to see who has moved at the top -- largely because there has been little movement despite some big losses by TCU and Mississippi State. Instead, the bigger question is who has dropped out of the poll entirely. It was not a good week for the state of Florida (unless you're a Gators fan).

NCAA Football Rankings - Coaches Poll - Updated: Sep 15, 2012
RK	LW	TEAM (VOTES)	W	L	POINTS
1	1	Ohio State (38)	1	0	1502
2	2	Alabama (21)	2	0	1442
3	3	Stanford (1)	2	0	1424
4	4	Oklahoma (1)	2	0	1371
5	7	Auburn	2	0	1289
6	5	South Carolina	3	0	1270
7	6	Oregon	2	0	1214
8	8	Texas A&M	2	0	1105
9	10	Boise State	3	0	998
10	11	USC	2	0	962
11	14	Wisconsin	2	0	810
12	15	Penn State	2	0	761
13	9	Mississippi State	1	1	708
14	18	Pittsburgh	2	0	622
15	20	Arkansas	1	0	513
16	12	Oklahoma State	1	1	500
17	23	Texas	2	0	491
18	16	TCU	0	1	462
19	22	Utah	2	0	426
20	25	LSU	2	0	300
21	NR	Florida	2	0	260
22	13	Nebraska	1	1	258
23	NR	Northwestern	2	0	250
24	NR	Illinois	1	0	220
25	17	Michigan State	1	2	206

Others Receiving Votes:
Virginia Tech (182), NC State (106), UCF (69), Nevada (52), Michigan (34), Florida State (1)

Dropped Out
Miami (#19), Florida State (#21), UCF (#24)

Where to start. Miami got rocked on the road by a mediocre Wake Forest Squad. Florida State got blanked by Big East middling South Florida. In fact, the only respectable loss was UCF dropping a lopsided game to Pitt -- well, as respectable as a blowout loss can be.

It's still early in the season and many teams can still go to sleep at night with dreams of a national title dancing in their heads. But all it takes is one loss to turn those dreams to dust.

[waytofailself]

Re: Wake Forest NCAA 12 Dynasty: Competitive Football Would be Nice!

Week 4
vs
Ahead of Schedule


Brian Parrish beats the zone to help Wake Forest to a big halftime lead.

Coach Shapiro said at the beginning of the season that he thought his team could improve from last year's 7-6 record if it was able to cut down on mistakes. But no one seemed to count on Wake Forest's defense to improve by leaps and bounds this season after losing two of its top defenders. It's one thing to shut down Army, and another to take a Miami squad by surprise in terrible weather. But to hold Georgia Tech to under 100 yards of total offense at home? Nearly unbelievable, but the final stat line does not lie.

Maybe it would have been a different game if star Yellow Jacket running back Nathan West had not been knocked out of the game with a concussion in the first quarter. But considering he was able to must one yard on six carries, maybe no one could stop the Wake Forest defense. When the Yellow Jackets tried to run the option, there were no open spaces. When they went to the air, the ball hawking defense was there to grab passes.

Sean Gray continues to struggle, missing a Field Goal from 22 yards out.

And although Wake Forest started with some struggles, including another embarrassing field goal miss and an untimely interception, when their offense began to click it didn't stop. Patrick Mitchell was a constant presence on the ground running out of the spread, but it was Curtis Jenkins who showed poise when facing the tough crowd. His target of choice was Senior slot receiver Jamal Brown. Any time the Jackets would bring pressure, Brown was there to grab the ball and move the chains. And Georgia Tech brought the pressure, often leaving whole spaces of the field open.

Although Jenkins took plenty of hits, he was not rattled. Instead, he took it in stride and began to find holes in the zone. By the second half, it was clear that Jenkins was playing far above his class -- reading defenses before the snap and throwing with confidence to receivers who would be open instead of ones who were already open. Probably the most telling was his final TD pass to backup Tight End Mark Purcell. Despite taking a huge hit on the corner blitz, Jenkins placed the ball perfectly -- although he'll be feeling the hit for sure tomorrow.

Curtis Jenkins goes long en route to a 300 yard passing day.

Overall it was a complete team effort for the Demon Deacons, and Georgia Tech had no answers. They were dominated on both sides of the ball. They were dominated at the line of scrimmage. Shapiro had his squad fired up and ready to play. Not to say that the Yellow Jackets slept on them, but no one is going to underestimate the Deacons in the future.

Wake Forest (2-0) at Georgia Tech (2-0)
Sep 15, 2012 1 2 3 4 F Wake Forest 7 14 0 10 31 Georgia Tech 0 0 7 0 7 Top Performers Wake Forest C. Jenkins, 19-34, 310 Yds, 9 Car, 69 Yds, 3 Tot TD B. Graham, 4 Tak, 1 Solo, 3 INT Georgia Tech R. McCoy, 14 Tak, 10 Solo, INT, 2 Def, FFum J. Meadows, 10 Car, 63 Yds, TD	Team Stats Comparison WAKE GT First Downs 21 7 3rd Down Efficiency 3-11 3-11 4th Down Efficiency 4-4 0-2 Total Yards 460 98 Passing Yards 310 33 Rushing Yards 150 65 Penalties-Penalty Yards 1-10 4-26 Turnovers 3 3 Time of Possession 20:28 12:02
Scoring Summary FIRST QUARTER SCORING WAKE GT 4:53 (WAKE) C. Jenkins, 12 Yd Run 7 0 SECOND QUARTER SCORING WAKE GT 3:07 (WAKE) J. Little, 1 Yd Run 14 0 0:57 (WAKE) B. Parrish, 38 Yd Pass from C. Jenkins 21 0 THIRD QUARTER SCORING WAKE GT 3:21 (GT) J. Meadows, 7 Yd Run 21 7 FOURTH QUARTER SCORING WAKE GT 4:09 (WAKE) M. Purcell, 20 Yd Pass from C. Jenkins 28 7 1:52 (WAKE) S. Gray, 31 Yd FG 31 7
Wake Forest PASSING C/ATT YDS TD INT C. Jenkins 19-34 310 2 2 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD P. Mitchell 19 76 4.0 0 C. Jenkins 9 69 7.6 1 J. LIttle 2 5 2.5 1 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD J. Brown 8 135 16.8 0 J. Hale 3 57 19.0 0 M. Purcell 3 33 11.0 1 M. Peters 2 19 9.5 0 T. Huggins 2 28 14.0 0 B. Parrish 1 38 38.0 1 Georgia Tech PASSING C/ATT YDS TD INT T. Galloway 4-18 33 0 2 D. Gunn 0-1 0 0 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD J. Meadows 10 63 6.3 1 T. Galloway 8 6 0.7 0 N. West 6 1 0.1 0 B. Norman 1 -5 -5.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD N. West 2 13 6.5 0 A. Tucker 1 7 7.0 0 B. Norman 1 13 13.0 0

Coach's Take: Our Seniors set the tone on defense, and the rest of our guys fell in line and kept the pressure going. This was a test for our squad. A hostile environment. A top tier team that nearly won the ACC last year. And we passed it. No, we were not perfect. But we did everything we needed to do and win. You can't ask for much more than what our defense gave us.

What's Next: Wake Forest (3-0) takes its unbeaten record to College Park to take on Maryland. Meanwhile, Georgia Tech (2-1) hits the road for its second conference game to take on UNC.

*Ed Note: After this game, tweaked some of SECElite's sliders to attempt to make the games more competitive.

[mm boost]

Re: Wake Forest NCAA 12 Dynasty: Competitive Football Would be Nice!

freakin awesome start to the season beating down Army, the canes, and GT. You guys are on a roll, and this new Jenkins QB looks to be really coming on as the season moves forward. Awesome job so far.

[moose141]

Re: Wake Forest NCAA 12 Dynasty: Competitive Football Would be Nice!

Crazy how well you've started this season out! Offense is just blasting people, and the defense has been nothing short of stellar. Hopefully this keeps up throughout conference play and you may have another crazy ACC Championship on your hands.

[SouthCar8]

Re: Wake Forest NCAA 12 Dynasty: Competitive Football Would be Nice!

Pre-Season Outlook

Ohio State is primed and ready to defend their title. Although they might not be the most talented squad in the country, they are well coached and have a lot of experience remaining on both sides of the ball.

NCAA Football Rankings - AP Top 25 - Updated: Aug 1, 2012
RK	TEAM (VOTES)	OVR	OFF	DEF
1	Ohio State	A	B+	A
2	Stanford	B+	B+	B+
3	Alabama	A	A	A
4	Oklahoma	A+	A+	A+
5	South Carolina	A	A	A-
6	Oregon	A+	A+	B+
7	Auburn	A+	A+	A
8	Texas A&M	B+	B	B+
9	Miami	A-	B+	B+
10	Mississippi State	A	A-	B+
11	Michigan State	B+	B+	B+
12	Boise State	B+	A	B-
13	USC	A-	A-	B+
14	Oklahoma State	B+	A-	B
15	Wisconsin	A	A	B+
16	Nebraska	A	A	B+
17	Notre Dame	B+	B+	B-
18	Pittsburgh	B+	B+	B-
19	Penn State	A	A+	B+
20	NC State	B+	B+	B+
21	TCU	A	A+	B+
22	Florida State	A	A-	A
23	Arkansas	A	A+	B
24	Utah	A-	A	B
25	LSU	A+	A+	A

There is not too much controversey in the polls at this point, but it remains to be seen how squads like Stanford, Texas A&M, and Florida State will handle losing their star quarterbacks. Meanwhile, look for teams like Penn State and LSU to possibly move up in the rankings in the future. Both squads have a lot of talented seniors who will be laying it all on the line this season.

Heisman Trophy Preseason Poll

Heisman Watch - Updated: Jul 31, 2012
NAME	POS	SCHOOL
Denard Robinson	QB	Michigan
Rex Burkehead	HB	Nebraska
DeVonte Holloman	HB	South Carolina
Roy Finch	HB	Oklahoma
Eddie Lacy	HB	Alabama

The field starts off with only a single QB -- that's a bit surprising considering the number of QBs that led the field last year. But these things happen in cycles. Still, there are a lot of names in play, and it is a long season. Robinson, while poised to have a great season, is hardly a consensus frontrunner.

Wake Forest is ranked #57 to start the season.

Pre-Season Projection

Miami (92 OVR)
NC State (89 OVR)
Florida State (95 OVR)
Virginia Tech (92 OVR)
Georgia Tech (89 OVR)
UNC (91 OVR)
Clemson (92 OVR)
Wake Forest (81 OVR)
Boston College (92 OVR)
Maryland (89 OVR)
Virginia (84 OVR)
Duke (86 OVR)

Honestly a little surprised to see Boston College ranked so low, but their late season slide really marred their early season success. Right now it looks like it's Miami or NC State's division to lose, although Florida State and Virginia Tech are in the mix like they are every year.

All your dynasty threads are amazing spent the past 2 hours reading through your basketball one and then this WF one!!! They are great reads!! Just one thing I need you to correct. The HB from South Carolina my college is not Devonte Holloman he plays DB its Marcus Lattimore haha

[waytofailself]

Re: Wake Forest NCAA 12 Dynasty: Competitive Football Would be Nice!

Way to put a stamp on campus for Jenkins. Congrats on the win

Thanks, he's truly made our team an offensive threat. And for whatever reason, he seems to have better composure in the pocket and won't fumble nearly every time he's sacked like a certain QB from last year.

freakin awesome start to the season beating down Army, the canes, and GT. You guys are on a roll, and this new Jenkins QB looks to be really coming on as the season moves forward. Awesome job so far.

Thanks. I'm a bit surprised by the results -- but hopefully slider adjustments will get it back in line. I'm having to work for my points -- maybe Jenkins is just that good for reasons I can't quite fathom.

Crazy how well you've started this season out! Offense is just blasting people, and the defense has been nothing short of stellar. Hopefully this keeps up throughout conference play and you may have another crazy ACC Championship on your hands.

What's the saying? "Not so fast my friend!" Nah, ACC championship would be great. Right now the goal is still to get 8 wins during the regular season -- that was kind of my unspoken goal going into the year. But maybe I set my sights too low. My defense has been a huge surprise. Maybe 3 Senior Starters at LB makes a bigger difference than I thought.

All your dynasty threads are amazing spent the past 2 hours reading through your basketball one and then this WF one!!! They are great reads!! Just one thing I need you to correct. The HB from South Carolina my college is not Devonte Holloman he plays DB its Marcus Lattimore haha

Fixed it. The brain fart must have just come from doing that late at night. And glad you liked the Bball dynsty as well. I'm not done with it at all. I've actually played halfway through the season -- I just need to write up games (I have notes jotted down of what happened, so it'll still be fresh).

Thanks for the compliments all of you. Glad you're enjoying it -- and hopefully things can stay interesting. I don't want this to turn into a "Watch WFU go Techmo Super Bowl on X" Dynasty.

[waytofailself]

Re: Wake Forest NCAA 12 Dynasty: Competitive Football Would be Nice!

Matchup Preview | September 22, 2012
	@
Wake Forest Demon Deacons (3-0, 1-0 Away)		Maryland Terrapins (2-1, 1-1 Home)
Offensive Stats Comparison 39.3 Points Per Game 37.0 1181 Total Offensive Yards 1384 689 Passing Yards 985 492 Rushing Yards 399 Defensive Stats Comparison 639 Total Yards Allowed 1064 302 Passing Yards Allowed 676 337 Rushing Yards Allowed 388 +7 Turnover Differential -3 Game Notes Wake Forest is not sneaking up on anyone anymore. After receiving 98 points in the Coach's poll, the Demon Deacons are officially on the national radar after a hot start that includes knocking off the Miami Hurricanes and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Maryland is also a strong squad who enters the game only having dropped a matchup against a very worthy West Virginia team that went down to the wire. Maryland is one of the strongest passing teams in the nation. Led by QB Matthew Copeland, the Terps will go to the air early and often. Of course, Copeland is the old hand at QB, as many people are starting to take notice of Wake's true freshman QB Curtis Jenkins. He leads the team both in rushing and passing. In the end the difference in this game will be Wake's suffocating, ball hawking defense. Maryland has not faced the likes of DE Damon Taylor, who earned NCAA defensive player of the week honors two weeks ago against Miami with 3 forced fumbles, and FS Brian Graham, who picked off Georgia Tech QBs three times last week. It could be close, but Wake should pull out the win 38-27.

[waytofailself]

Re: Wake Forest NCAA 12 Dynasty: Competitive Football Would be Nice!

Week 5
vs
Defense Brings Deacons All The Way Back

Matthew Copeland entered today's game having thrown 10 touchdowns and only one interception. After today's game, the entire Terrapin offense needs to go back to the drawing board -- or at least to ball control boot camp. Wake Forest scored 21 unanswered points in the 2nd Quarter to take a lead they would never relinquish. And after a 2nd half where neither offense could get on track, the Demon Deacons leave College Park, MD undefeated thanks to a 21-10 victory.

The game started out as a showcase for Maryland's ground game. David Scott gashed through Wake's interior run defense early and often. With the weather getting very nasty, the ground game had to be reliable and Scott pulled through. But after scoring their first field goal both Scott and star QB Copeland got in trouble with both fumbles and throwing picks.

Wake Forest was being handed points to put on the board -- and they could do nothing with the opportunities. In fact, the Deacons were having trouble hanging on to the ball themselves and found themselves in a 10-0 hole after FB John Little fumbled the ball while going for a short 3rd down conversion. Maryland returned the fumble for a TD and looked in control.

Huggins reaches for the sky for a huge gain during the 2nd Quarter.

But the momentum shifted in the second quarter when Scott attempted to reach for the first down marker and had the ball knocked out of his hand. Nickle Back Aaron Hall grabbed the loose ball and ran it all the way back for a score that broke open the levee. The Wake defense would continue to force turnovers for the rest of the game -- including another outstanding game by James Cross that featured 11 solo tackles and 2 forced fumbles. How was he buried on the bench all these years?

In the end, the Deacons were able to do just enough to win. They limited Maryland's offensive opportunities, while at the same time taking advantage of great field position to punch in two more scoring drives in the 2nd quarter. As ugly as the second half was, Wake Forest will take putting the clamps on the Terrapins and winning their second straight game on the road.

Wake Forest (3-0) at Maryland (2-1)
Sep 22, 2012 1 2 3 4 F Wake Forest 0 21 0 0 21 Maryland 10 0 0 0 10 Top Performers Wake Forest J. Cross, 11 Tckl, 11 Solo, TFL, 2 FF K. Anderson, 4 Tckl, 2 TFL, Sck, 2 INT Maryland P. Harris, 5 Tkls, TFL, Sck, INT, 3 Def C. Lee, 5 Tckls, TFL, 3 Def	Team Stats Comparison WAKE MD First Downs 13 17 3rd Down Efficiency 4-11 6-12 4th Down Efficiency 0-1 0-0 Total Yards 317 317 Passing Yards 222 156 Rushing Yards 95 161 Penalties-Penalty Yards 6-55 0-0 Turnovers 2 7 Time of Possession 16:05 15:55
Scoring Summary FIRST QUARTER SCORING WAKE MD 5:35 (MD) D. Christian, 42 Yd FG 3 0 4:33 (MD) J. Scott, 35 Yd Fumble Return 10 0 SECOND QUARTER SCORING WAKE MD 6:44 (WAKE) A. Hall, 83 Yd Fumble Return 10 7 5:16 (WAKE) J. Little, 1 Yd Run 10 14 1:22 (WAKE) C. Jenkins, 10 Yd Run 10 21
Wake Forest PASSING C/ATT YDS TD INT C. Jenkins 14-32 222 0 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD P. Mitchell 15 70 4.6 0 C. Jenkins 8 24 3.0 1 J. Little 1 1 1.0 1 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD J. Brown 7 90 12.8 0 M. Peters 2 23 11.5 0 B. Parrish 2 25 12.5 0 P. Mitchell 1 28 28.0 0 T. Huggins 1 52 52.0 0 J. Hale 1 4 4.0 0 Maryland PASSING C/ATT YDS TD INT M. Copeland 14-25 156 0 4 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD D. Scott 28 144 5.1 0 T. Olsen 2 19 9.5 0 C. Smith 1 5 5.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD C. Smith 4 48 12.0 0 J. Bowie 4 64 16.0 0 D. Scott 2 17 8.5 0 M. O'COnnor 2 9 4.5 0 D. Robinson 2 18 9.0 0

Coach's Take: Once again our defense steps up and bails us out. We were looking down the barrel of the gun until Hall picked up the ball and took it the distance. I swear, I've never seen him run that fast in practice. We're fortunate that we were able to force so many turnovers -- that seems to make us or break us this season...and so far we've been making it real good.

What's Next: Wake Forest (4-0) returns home to play a struggling Florida State squad. Maryland (2-2) remains at home and faces Clemson.

[waytofailself]

Re: Wake Forest NCAA 12 Dynasty: Competitive Football Would be Nice!

Matchup Preview | September 29, 2012
	@
Florida State Seminoles (1-3, 0-1 Away)		Wake Forest Demon Deacons (4-0, 2-0 Home)
Game Notes Who is this team? Maybe it's time we stop saying "This is the week that FSU turns it around" and start seeing the Seminoles for who they are. A directionless team that lost a lot on offense when EJ Manuel bolted early for the NFL. But no one expected the drop off to be this drastic, including dropping games against South Florida and Duke. Of course, Duke is no joke this season and neither is Wake Forest. Although the latter has yet to break into the top 25, the Wake Forest Demon Deacons have rode stellar defensive play and an opportunistic offense to an undefeated record. Every week it is someone different stepping up to the plate. Meanwhile, Florida State QB Kenneth Mitchell has done his best to take Manuel's place but has been off and on. It will be up to the Seminole defense to stop Wake's offense. On paper there is a wide talent gap between Wake Forest and Florida State. But on the field has been a totally different story for both teams. The field is where today's game will be played, so expect the Deacons to continue Tallahassee's misery 21-17.

Ed Note: forgot to save before FSU game, so pregame stat comparison is unavailable for this game.

[waytofailself]

Re: Wake Forest NCAA 12 Dynasty: Competitive Football Would be Nice!

Week 6
vs
Sound the Alarm, It's an Air Raid

At one time, Wake Forest QB Curtis Jenkins was very close to being a Florida State Seminole. For Florida State, who have struggled especially with quarterback play, today's game looked to be a vision of what could have been in their lost season. For the Demon Deacons, every game is another showing of what is yet to come. But Florida State was hardly about to roll over and concede defeat. Oh no, today both teams went to the air early and often at BB&T Field in a game that was not decided until the final minutes.

In a game with over 700 yards passing, there were many plays like this.

"[Florida State] came out angry," remarked Coach Shapiro at half time with his team down 20-17. And it was true, the game was very physical and neither team was shying away from contact on the field or after the play. "But if you're going to come out angry, you have got to use it," continued Shapiro, "It's a recipe for disaster if you lose discipline."

The remark, of course, was in reference to both quarterbacks. Both Jenkins and Kenneth Mitchell threw two picks in the first half, including each throwing crippling red zone INTs on successive drives. But even with the mistakes and miscues, a quiet first quarter erupted into a fireworks show just before halftime.

For most of the game, Wake Forest was content to drop back a bunch of defenders into coverage and let Mitchell pick apart the offense. Oftentimes he was able to. Sometimes it would result in long touchdown grabs, but more often than not it was a simple matter of moving the chains and keeping the punt unit on the sidelines. But with so many people dropping into coverage, Florida State was also able to take advantage of plenty of open running lanes. Raymond Stokes had one of his most efficient days of the season, although he was never able to break into the end zone.

Meanwhile, Jenkins was putting up a light show of his own. All of his practice this year is beginning to pay off, because he hardly overthrew his receivers today. No, instead his passes kept pace with the men running after them. And even if the passes were not ideally placed, Parrish, Huggins, and Brown all fought for jump balls and consistently came down with them.

Paradoxically, a game with such high scoring and potent offense from both sides came down to defense. Florida State had a great game plan that could be useful for other teams facing the Deacs in the future: completely clamp down on Wake's running game. There was no room for Patrick Mitchell to go anywhere the entire game. Instead, the Seminoles left it up to the freshman QB to beat them with his arm.

Consider this one of the few Raymond Stokes runs that got snuffed out behind the line.

As for Wake Forest, they may have given up more rushing yards than they would have liked. But there was one positive aspect of their coverage scheme -- they baffled and confused Kenneth Mitchell. "By about the 3rd quarter we knew we were in his head," said Brian Graham, "We didn't even need to disguise our blitz or man anymore. He would just throw up prayers like he had no idea where the defense was."

Although the score line was close throughout a game that featured six lead changes, the biggest difference between the team was FSU's untimely mistakes. Kenneth Mitchell threw 5 picks for the game. It's the same story as is has been the entire year for the Seminoles -- every time it looks like something good is about to happen on the field, the entire team takes two or three steps back. But it cannot all fall on Mitchell. Florida State had the lead midway through through the 4th quarter and were driving for another score. The rattled QB was getting back into his groove. On 3rd and 10, he found Eddie Dunlap for a good outlet pass to move the chains, only to watch as Dunlap turned to run up field but got stripped.

After a booth review, it was determined that Dunlap had indeed caught the ball and fumbled, and the ball belonged to Wake Forest with plenty of time on the clock to take the go ahead score. The Demon Deacons once again attempted to feed the ball to Patrick Mitchell to no avail. But on the next play, Jenkins and Co. showed they only needed two plays to take control of the game for good.

Huggins puts Wake in the lead for the last time.

Wake ran a play that called for a number of crossing routes to beat FSU's zone coverage. But Huggins managed to do a little more than bust the zone when he blew by his man while running a clear out route. Jenkins placed the ball perfectly in the end zone, and Wake Forest took a 31-27 lead with minutes let to play.

It was all on the defense to close out the game. Last year this was an aspect of the game that Coach Shapiro's team struggled with -- but that was last year. Here there was not nearly as much closing out to do. The Seminoles moved quickly and efficiently to attempt to get a final touchdown. But once again inconsistent quarterback play did them in. Mitchell had a receiver open on a long post route but severely under-threw the ball. Wake's secondary, who was sitting in Cover 2, converged on the errant pass. Ken Anderson, with an army of blockers in front of him, sealed the victory by returning the pick for touchdown.

For the first time since plastering Furman in August, Florida State seemed to finally play up to its talent. But oddly enough, Wake Forest came out better, stronger, and made the plays it needed to in order to win the game. The question might no longer be "Are these Deacons for real?" Instead, it might be, "How far can they go?"

Florida State (1-3) at Wake Forest (4-0)
Sep 29, 2012 1 2 3 4 F Florida State 3 17 0 7 27 Wake Forest 3 14 7 14 38 Top Performers Florida State E. Rawlins, 9 Rec, 181 Yds, 2 TD K. McClain, 7 Rec, 124 Yds, TD Wake Forest R. Dobzinski, 8 Tckl, 6 Solo, 3 FF, INT C. Jenkins, 15-28, 283 Yds, 14 Car, 38 Yds, 4 Tot TD	Team Stats Comparison FSU WAKE First Downs 17 12 3rd Down Efficiency 6-12 5-11 4th Down Efficiency 0-1 0-0 Total Yards 504 347 Passing Yards 419 283 Rushing Yards 85 64 Penalties-Penalty Yards 3-25 2-6 Turnovers 8 2 Time of Possession 14:26 17:34
Scoring Summary FIRST QUARTER SCORING FSU WAKE 4:38 (FSU) R. Morris, 41 Yd FG 3 0 0:53 (WAKE) S. Gray, 41 Yd FG 3 3 SECOND QUARTER SCORING FSU WAKE 3:04 (WAKE) M. Peters, 8 Yd Pass from C. Jenkins 3 10 1:31 (FSU) E. Rawlins, 12 Yd Pass from K. Mitchell 10 10 1:08 (WAKE) J. Brown, 57 Yd Pass from C. Jenkins 10 17 0:51 (FSU) E. Rawlins, 69 Yd Pass from K. Mitchell 17 17 0:00 (FSU) R. Morris, 19 Yd FG 20 17 THIRD QUARTER SCORING FSU WAKE 0:36 (WAKE) C. Jenkins, 9 Yd Run 20 24 FOURTH QUARTER SCORING FSU WAKE 6:47 (FSU) K. McClain, 46 Yd Pass from K. Mitchell 27 24 4:02 (WAKE) T. Huggins, 44 Yd Pass from C. Jenkins 27 31 1:32 (WAKE) K. Anderson, 66 Yd INT Return 27 38
Florida State PASSING C/ATT YDS TD INT K. Mitchell 28-43 419 3 5 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD R. Stokes 18 94 5.2 0 K. Fisher 1 0 0.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD E. Rawlins 9 181 20.1 2 K. McClain 7 124 17.7 1 R. Stokes 5 26 5.2 0 A. Little 4 26 6.5 0 J. Hughes 1 17 17.0 0 E. Dunlap 1 13 13.0 0 J. Baker 1 32 32.0 0 Wake Forest PASSING C/ATT YDS TD INT C. Jenkins 15-28 283 3 2 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD C. Jenkins 14 38 2.7 1 P. Mitchell 11 10 0.9 0 J. Little 2 16 8.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD J. Brown 8 130 16.2 1 B. Parrish 2 87 43.5 0 T. Huggins 1 44 44.0 1 M. Peters 1 8 8.0 1 J. Hale 1 3 3.0 0 M. Purcell 1 11 11.0 0 P. Mitchell 1 0 0.0 0

Coach's Take: Anyone who says that this year's Florida State team is bad is a moron. Yes a moron. Forget their record for a sec. We had to fight harder for this win than any other on the season. That's how it goes though: we've got a zero in our loss column. We're going to be getting everyone's best shot now. It takes a lot to overcome losing 8 turnovers, but the Seminoles had a great game plan and nearly beat the odds to pull it off. But we were ready for them, and we were able to keep ourselves under control. You can't ask for much more than that, especially with the stakes being so high in the fourth quarter.

What's Next: Wake Forest (5-0) continues its surprising victory tour by facing NCAA bottom feeder San Jose State University next week. The same cannot be said for Florida State (1-4), who will have an extra week to contemplate this loss before facing Virginia Tech.

[mm boost]

Re: Wake Forest NCAA 12 Dynasty: Competitive Football Would be Nice!

solid, solid wins man. The Deacs are for real, and it looks like you got a dangerous QB in Jenkins. This could be a big season if you guys keep this up. I am just wondering when you guys will finally get ranked. Keep on truckin' bro!