B-Dawg's Air Force Falcons: Flying high A.F.

[BDawg35]

Re: B-Dawg's Air Force Falcons: Flying high A.F.

Oh, man! I need to add up my wins! I've played 9 versions of NCAA, only going over 10 seasons twice. Doubt I'm there, BDawg, congrats!

Thanks! A few months back, I was feeling particularly geeky and wanted to go back and put together a database with all of my records, game-by-game results (complete with game leaders), award winners. I had some games early in this dynasty where I was wondering, "Have I ever had a player do that before?" Now I know.

I'm about to drop a career retrospective with my top 10 wins (that should go up shortly) and my top 10 players (that will probably go up next week) just for some fun.

[BDawg35]

B-DAWG FLASHBACK: FIRST COACHING WIN



EDITOR’S NOTE: Without Win No. 1, there wouldn’t be win No. 1,000. Following is the game report from B-Dawg’s first official dynasty victory with Michigan in NCAA 2004. It was posted on the old MaddenMania site (pouring a sip).


Braylon Edwards struts into the end zone with one of his 3 touchdown
catches in B-Dawg’s first official NCAA Football dynasty mode victory.

Hot under
the collar
B-Dawg blasts Michigan defense
after opening win over Chippewas

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — How did B-Dawg celebrate his first college coaching victory?

By breaking a few things in the Michigan locker room, not to mention the big toe on his right foot after giving his office door a swift kick.

Gee, imagine what this dude is like when he loses.

B-Dawg’s fury was unleashed following the 10th-ranked Wolverines’ 63-28 rout of 110th-ranked Central Michigan on Aug. 30 in the 2003 season opener Saturday at Michigan Stadium.

B-Dawg had no problem with the 63 points Michigan put up, but he had major issues with the 28 points his defense surrendered to the lowly Chippewas.

“We keep playing defense like that and it’s going to be a long season in the Big Ten,” B-Dawg said. “We can kiss any talk of a national championship good-bye. Nothing against Central Michigan, but … well, they’re Central Michigan.”

Central Michigan quarterback Derrick Vickers went 20-for-36 for 381 yards, a touchdown and three picks. The game was actually somewhat in doubt late in the third quarter, as two touchdowns in the first five minutes of the third quarter got the Chippewas within 35-28.

Just when Michigan’s fickle fans were panicking, John Navarre came through with two touchdown passes to Braylon Edwards to boost Michigan’s lead to 49-28 with 8:12 left in the game.

Navarre was 15-for-30 for 358 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. Edwards made the most of his four catches, compiling 192 yards and three touchdowns as CMU had no one who could match his speed.

[BDawg35]

MOST MEMORABLE WINS: NO. 10



Version: NCAA 2004
Score: Baylor 41, Louisiana Tech 38 (2 OT)
ESPN Classic score: Not available
Game date: Aug. 30, 2008



Quarterback Kory Ramsey scores the winning touchdown on an 18-
yard keeper on fourth-and-three in double overtime.

Can it get any
better than this?
Bears rally from 21 points down,
win B-Dawg’s debut in 2 overtimes

RUSTON, La. (AP) — No matter how many years or how many games B-Dawg coaches at Baylor, it’s going to be awfully tough to top what happened in his debut with the Bears.

The Bears were shellshocked in the early going, falling behind 21-0 to a team with the same C+ overall rating. Baylor couldn’t stop the aerial attack led by Neal Adams and B-Dawg was beginning to wonder if an 0-12 season might be in the offing.

But B-Dawg soon discovered that, although his roster doesn’t have much, it does have the wheels of sophomore quarterback Kory Ramsey.

Ramsey, who has 76 SPD, ran 20 times for 91 yards and four touchdowns to orchestrate an amazing comeback in a 41-38 double-overtime victory over Louisiana Tech. Baylor snapped a 21-game losing streak.

Ramsey scored all four touchdowns from the fourth quarter on, winning it in the second overtime on a daring 18-yard keeper on fourth-and-three.

Louisiana Tech got the ball first in the second overtime and had to settle for a 32-yard field goal by Ryan Mayo. Baylor lost four yards on the first play of the second overtime and was in real trouble, because the Bears’ kicking simply blows. Ramsey scrambled on third and long and got within three yards of the first down. A field goal was possible, but iffy, so B-Dawg called for a hurry-up offense to keep Louisiana Tech from getting its goal-line personnel on the field. Ramsey took the snap and kept it himself on the option, cutting through a hole on the right side of the line and sprinting in for the winning touchdown.

“Curiously enough, this didn’t make my ‘Greatest Games’ list,” B-Dawg said. “But I don’t care what the game’s ‘Greatest Games’ engine says. I’ve played more than 300 games of NCAA 2004 and I’ll probably play hundreds more before NCAA 2005 drops. I will never forget this game for as long as I coach virtual football players.”

B-Dawg was wondering what he got himself into when Louisiana Tech easily tore up his defense in the early going, taking a 21-0 lead on three touchdown pass by Adams, who finished 24-for-42 for 352 yards, five touchdowns and no picks. His 68-yard bomb to Ellis Moses with 4:46 left in the second quarter made it 21-0.

Baylor got some hope when fullback Derrick Cage got the Bears on the board with a 1-yard run with 1:19 left in the second quarter. The teams traded touchdowns in the third quarter, leaving Baylor 14 points down entering the final quarter.

That’s when Ramsey took over, scoring on a 4-yard run with 5:05 left in the fourth to make it 28-21 and tying the game on a 14-yard run with 1:12 left in regulation time.

Louisiana Tech won the toss in overtime, so Baylor started out on offense. Ramsey put the Bears in the lead for the first time with a 3-yard run and the defense had Louisiana Tech in a fourth-and-10 situation on the following possession. However, Tech barely converted on fourth down and wound up forcing a second overtime on a 4-yard pass from Adams to tight end Bryce Finley.

Freshman quarterback James King showed promise. King, who plays in every formation except I-Normal, was 12-for-22 for 121 yards, one touchdown and no picks.

Freshman cornerback Clark Hennequet had four sacks, as Baylor figured the only way it could stop Tech was to blitz two corners from the Dime. The tactic had mixed results.

[BDawg35]

MOST MEMORABLE WINS: NO. 9



Version: NCAA 2005
Score: Michigan 6, Illinois 3
ESPN Classic score: Not available
Game date: Oct. 17, 2015


Illinois quarterback Rashard Moore was sacked 12 times.

Got offense?
Wolverines scrap for 6-3 win
in lowest-scoring game of dynasty

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — What do you get when you combine two highly rated defenses, new Heisman mode sliders and B-Dawg’s meager offensive skillz?

You get a final score like this: Michigan 6, Illinois 3.

Don’t term this game a defensive struggle — it was more like struggling offenses.

Michigan (7-0) had only 249 yards of offense, including abysmal 9-for-33 passing for 99 yards. Illinois had 160 yards, with freshman quarterback Rashard Moore going 5-for-19 for 41 yards and two picks while getting sacked 12 — count ’em — 12 times.

The combined points made this the lowest-scoring game ever in Madden franchise or NCAA dynasty mode for B-Dawg when not playing shorter quarters. B-Dawg also had a 6-3 victory over Northern Illinois at Buffalo in NCAA 2004, but using six-minute quarters. This dynasty uses nine-minute quarters.

The lowest-scoring game in the 12 years of this dynasty had been Michigan’s 14-0 victory over Notre Dame in 2004. The six points were the fewest by a winning team in this dynasty, the previous mark coming in Michigan’s 13-3 victory over Wisconsin in 2008.

Michigan’s 12 sacks were two shy of the dynasty record set against Wisconsin on Sept. 27, 2008. The Wolverines’ 19 tackles for losses were three short of the mark set at Indiana on Oct. 2, 2004.

The Wolverines have allowed only six points the last two weeks against teams ranked in the top 27 in the country.

“As bad as our offense is in Heisman mode, we feel like we’re always going to be in a game with our defense,” B-Dawg said.

Michigan and Illinois have two of the top defenses in the Big Ten Conference. Michigan is rated A-plus, while Illinois is rated A-minus on that side of the ball.

Jason Gray gave Michigan a 6-0 lead with a 29-yard field goal in the second quarter and a 30-yarder in the third. Illinois got its only points on a 45-yard field goal by Keenan Jones with 3:23 left in the game.

Illinois (3-3) got the ball back with 1:29 left at its own 28-yard line, but went four-and-out. The Illini had a nice drive to start the game, but fumbled in the red zone.

Illinois got in the red zone only twice, Michigan only three times. Illinois was 3-for-17 on third down, while Michigan was only 5-for-19. Michigan punted 11 times, while Illinois punted nine times.

Joey McBride ran 26 times for 139 yards to account for most of Michigan’s offense.

Senior outside linebacker Omari Ballard had a career game with four sacks, five tackles for losses and a team-high 12 tackles. Ballard came into the game with only three career sacks. B-Dawg used him as a spy on the outside against the speedy Moore, who ran 20 times for 59 yards, despite all the lost yardage in sacks. Senior defensive end Angelo Colon also had a career-high four sacks.

MICHIGAN 6, ILLINOIS 3
First quarter
No scoring
Second quarter
MICH: Gray 29 field goal, 8:01
Third quarter
MICH: Gray 30 field goal, 6:16
Fourth quarter
ILL: Jones 45 field goal, 3:23
PASSING LEADERS — Illinois: Rashard Moore 5-19-41, 0 TD, 2 int. Michigan: John Dixon 9-32-99, 0 TD, 1 int.; Biron Henry 0-1-0, 0 TD, 0 int.
RUSHING LEADERS — Illinois: Rashard Moore 20-59. Michigan: Joey McBride 26-139.
RECEIVING LEADERS — Illinois: Wendell Pennington 1-15. Michigan: Joey McBride 2-34.

[BDawg35]

MOST MEMORABLE WINS: NO. 8



Version: NCAA 2007
Score: Vanderbilt 50, LSU 43 (OT)
ESPN Classic score: 1,083
Game date: Nov. 1, 2014


Vanderbilt’s Corey Burton catches the winning touchdown pass in overtime.

BAYOU THRILLER
Vandy rallies from 19 down in last 4:35,
Burton’s 4th TD catch beats LSU in overtime

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — It’s tough to say what was more amazing: Vanderbilt’s comeback, Corey Burton’s individual heroics, the continued inept CPU play-calling when protecting a lead, or the fact that the Commodores control their fate in the Southeastern Conference.

How about going with “all of the above”?

Vanderbilt pulled off one of the greatest comebacks in school history, storming back from 19 points down in the final 4:35 of regulation time before beating 34th-ranked Louisiana State 50-43 in overtime on Nov. 1, 2014.

The 26th-ranked Commodores (6-3) forced overtime on Burton’s 38-yard catch and a 2-point pass to halfback Bryant McClellan with nine seconds left in regulation time. They took the lead when Burton caught a 12-yard pass from Ken Collins on the first series of overtime and won it when defensive end Joe Robinson picked off a pass in the end zone.

“I’ve got to be honest, I thought our comeback magic was gone,” Vanderbilt coach B-Dawg said. “We haven’t seemed to be as explosive this year, but when you’ve got a 99 OVR quarterback throwing to an impact receiver, miracles do occur.”

Backup quarterback Melvin Harris of LSU (5-3) entered in the third quarter when starter Sean Fowler was sidelined with an injury that will sideline him for two more weeks. Harris promptly threw two touchdown passes just 1:01 apart to give the Tigers a seemingly commanding 40-21 lead with 6:19 left in the game.

It was the Ken Collins Show after that, as the red-shirt junior quarterback threw three touchdown passes over the final 4:35, plus the 2-point pass that sent the game to overtime. He hit Burton with an 8-yard pass with 4:35 left, fullback Kory Johnson with a 12-yard strike with 3:19 to go and Burton again from 38 yards out with nine ticks on the clock. Collins threw to McClellan on the 2-point conversion. McClellan caught the ball at the 2-yard line and was able to get through a crease in the LSU defense to tie the game at 43.

Naturally, the CPU’s horrendous play-calling helped bail out the Commodores.

After Vanderbilt got within 40-28, LSU got a 9-yard run on its first play and seemed content to work the clock on the ground. Nope. For some inexplicable reason, the CPU called for a pass on second-and-one, and a grateful Gary Mitchell picked off a pass from his strong safety position with 3:50 left in the game. With the outside receivers double-covered, Johnson was able to get open in the middle of the field for only the second touchdown catch by a fullback in the nine-year history of this dynasty. Darrell James, who came to Vanderbilt as a tight end, had one last season.

Feeling confident in the CPU’s ability to botch a late lead, B-Dawg elected not to go with an onside kick. Sure enough, after running for a first down on the first play of LSU’s next drive, Harris threw three straight incompletions to prevent precious time from coming off the clock.

The Commodores were unable to take advantage of the CPU’s charity work, however, as two big sacks left Collins staring at fourth-and-36. Facing a blitz, Collins was hit as he threw and free safety Rashad McCrimmon grabbed his second interception of the game and returned it to Vanderbilt’s 11-yard line with 1:04 to go.

Game over, right?

C’mon … you know better than that.

This time LSU stuck to the ground, but three runs netted only five yards. Vanderbilt used its three timeouts and the Tigers had to settle for a field goal that made it an eight-point game with 27 seconds left.

It was time to trust in the power of the impact circle as the Commodores took over at their own 21 with 24 seconds to go. The impact circle came through, as Burton made a diving 41-yard catch at LSU’s 38-yard line with 18 seconds left. Collins hurried to the line and hit Collins with a 38-yard touchdown pass on the same play call.

B-Dawg wanted options on the 2-point play, so he called for a play that would bring the halfback open over the middle if Burton was covered on the outside. Sure enough, McClellan got around the line and was wide open as the defense was preoccupied with covering Burton and blitzing Collins.

LSU won the toss in overtime and elected to go on defense, the only intellingent move the Tigers made down the stretch.

After two runs by McClellan gained 13 yards, LSU left a soft cushion on Burton, who caught a hook route at the 1-yard line, turned and walked into the end zone to give the Commodores their first lead since safety Lee Merriman’s 45-yard interception return put them up 7-3 in the first quarter.

It appeared the game would be heading for a second overtime when LSU got first-and-goal at Vandy’s 4-yard line. Rather than punch it in, the Tigers tried a pass. B-Dawg called a zone blitz out of the 4-2-5 and Robinson dropped back into coverage from his left defensive end spot to pick off a pass in the end zone and end the game.

“Once we got that touchdown in overtime, we could relax because we knew that at least we’d get the ball on the second possession of the next overtime and would know what we had to do,” B-Dawg said. “Quite frankly, I was already preparing mentally for the next overtime. I’m shocked that Robinson picked off that pass, because we had defensive backs who are PAID to make interceptions dropping passes all day. Did I say ‘paid’? I meant, who are ‘expected’ to make interceptions. Yeah, that’s it.”

Vanderbilt had 14 deflections, the most in the history of this dynasty. In addition to his interception return, Merriman had a team-high four deflections while cornerback Eric Hagler had three to go with a team-high 12 tackles.

Burton, who had recently fallen off the Heisman hype list, vaulted to No. 1 after catching 13 passes for 325 yards and four touchdowns. He also had three kick returns for 82 yards and five punt returns for 24 yards, giving him 431 all-purpose yards. He now has 60 catches for 1,407 yards and 10 touchdowns.

As a team, Vanderbilt is back in the top 25 in the coaches’ poll at No. 25 and is No. 26 in The Associated Press rankings.

More importantly, the Commodores are still in a good position to go to a third straight SEC Championship Game. They are 3-2 in the league heading into a huge home game against Florida, which leads the SEC East with a 4-2 record. Everyone else in the East has at least three losses. The key is that Georgia has three losses, because the Bulldogs would win the head-to-head tie-breaker with Vanderbilt.

The game registered 1,083 points on the Greatest Game scale, ranking seventh in B-Dawg’s personal settings. It’s Vanderbilt’s first victory ever over LSU, which was 2-0 against the Commodores in this dynasty. Vanderbilt now has at least one victory over every SEC opponent in B-Dawg’s nine-year run at the school.

PLAYAZ OF DA GAME
Corey Burton, Vanderbilt; T.J. Riley, LSU

VANDERBILT 50, LSU 43 (OT)
First quarter
LSU: King 25 field goal, 6:37
VANDY: Merriman 45 interception return (Carlson kick), 4:57
Second quarter
LSU: Riley 7 pass from Fowler (King kick), 6:21
LSU: McDonald 25 run (King kick), 3:49
VANDY: Burton 81 pass from Collins (Carlson kick), 3:20
LSU: King 18 field goal, :02
Third quarter
LSU: Stone 22 pass from Fowler (King kick), 3:03
Fourth quarter
VANDY: Johnson 1 run (Carlson kick), 7:59
LSU: Riley 39 pass from Harris (pass failed), 7:20
LSU: Mason 16 pass from Harris (King kick), 6:19
VANDY: Burton 8 pass from Collins (Carlson kick), 4:35
VANDY: Johnson 12 pass from Collins (Carlson kick), 3:19
LSU: King 23 field goal, :27
VANDY: Burton 38 pass from Collins (McClellan pass from Collins), :09
Overtime
VANDY: Burton 12 pass from Collins (Carlson kick)

[BDawg35]

MOST MEMORABLE WINS: NO. 7



Version: NCAA 2014
Score: Western Michigan 30, Northern Illinois 24
ESPN Classic score: 1,756
Game date: Sept. 30, 2017


David Landrum of Western Michigan unloads a game-winning Hail Mary at Northern Illinois.


Corey Davis won a jump ball against Thomas Wilkinson (43) at the 4-yard line on the game-winning Hail Mary.

CLASSIC REVISITED
B-Dawg wins on Hail Mary at NIU
for second time in coaching career

DeKALB, Ill. — DeKalb, Ill. isn’t exactly a hot vacation spot or one of the hippest college towns in America.

Yet, this town will always hold a special place in the heart of Western Michigan coach B-Dawg.

Two of the greatest finishes of his coaching career have occurred on Northern Illinois’ field, the latest coming in the ninth-ranked Broncos’ 30-24 victory over the Huskies on Sept. 30, 2017.

Western (4-1) won it on the final play when Corey Davis hauled in a 56-yard Hail Mary from David Landrum, just 25 seconds after NIU had taken its first lead of the game, 24-23, on a 14-yard pass from Ben Greene to Jacob Thomas.

The epic finish produced an ESPN Classic score of 1,756 points, the third-highest total B-Dawg has ever registered since EA added the feature in NCAA 2005. The second-highest total on his all-time list is 1,820 points, produced when B-Dawg’s Eastern Michigan Hurons beat Northern Illinois 18-13 on a 55-yard pass from Jason Williams to halfback Greg White on the game’s final play.

“This finish brought back some great memories,” B-Dawg said. “I didn’t think the play had a chance of working. The problem with the Hail Mary is too many receivers get bunched to one side, drawing too many defenders. All it takes is one hand getting in the way and you’re done.”

After the Huskies’ go-ahead touchdown with 25 seconds left, Western got the ball at its own 24-yard line with 20 seconds remaining. Landrum hit receiver Jared Gray with a 20-yard pass to the 44 with 15 seconds remaining.

Two deep balls were broken up, leaving two seconds on the clock for one final play.

Landrum took the snap, rolled to his right and heaved the ball into traffic with defensive lineman Cole Lloyd bearing down on him. Landrum released the ball just before getting hit. Defensive back Thomas Wilkinson, who had knocked down the previous pass, leapt to swat the ball, but jumped too soon. Davis hauled in the ball at the 4-yard line and was able to reach the end zone because defensive back Brandon Mayes was too deep in the end zone.

From the comfort of his couch, B-Dawg put down the controller and put his face in his hands.

“I thought the play had no chance,” B-Dawg said. “I thought too many people were in the area. I was resigned to losing this game. I got emotional when the play worked. We practice so hard all week and I love these kids so much. All I want is for them to have success. I’m sorry if that makes me a softy.”

[Careless Whisper]

Re: B-Dawg's Air Force Falcons: Flying high A.F.

Congrats on 1K and Air Force's terrific season so far. Loving these retrospectives from your past NCAA treks, especially as someone who wasn't on MaddenMania (but has heard plenty about it) and generally loves looking through archived seasons.

[bh446066]

Re: B-Dawg's Air Force Falcons: Flying high A.F.

What's geekier? The Top 10 games of all time posting, or the fact I can remember reading them?

Cool stuff, man.

[dfsJunkie]

Re: MOST MEMORABLE WINS: NO. 10

Your history keeping makes this that much better. Don't think I've ever had a defensive player score twice in the same game.

[Knickerbocker91]

Re: MOST MEMORABLE WINS: NO. 10

Echoing sentiments, congrats on 1,000 wins and additional congrats for having your dynasties archived. I envy the ability to look back and see my old games, but I was young and didn't know I'd still be keeping stats so many years later.

[BDawg35]

Re: B-Dawg's Air Force Falcons: Flying high A.F.

Congrats on 1K and Air Force's terrific season so far. Loving these retrospectives from your past NCAA treks, especially as someone who wasn't on MaddenMania (but has heard plenty about it) and generally loves looking through archived seasons.

MaddenMania was so much fun. It seemed less corporate. I have fond memories, probably because it was my first video game message board, I "met" some guys there who I played online against a lot in the early days and my first dynasties were posted there.

What's geekier? The Top 10 games of all time posting, or the fact I can remember reading them?

Cool stuff, man.

How far back do you go? If you can remember anything of mine from NCAA 2004, you definitely go way back.

Your history keeping makes this that much better. Don't think I've ever had a defensive player score twice in the same game.

When that happened, I wondered if I ever had anyone score on two fumble returns. It seems like so much has to happen for that to happen. Players tend to just fall on fumbles. I saw my list of two-TD games on defense and went back through all of the previous game reports to see how they happened. Most were two interceptions. I think one or two were a fumble and an interception. Fun stuff.

Echoing sentiments, congrats on 1,000 wins and additional congrats for having your dynasties archived. I envy the ability to look back and see my old games, but I was young and didn't know I'd still be keeping stats so many years later.

I'm 58 now, so I was about 40 when I started doing this. I am a sports reporter for a newspaper, so I keep a lot of records related to the local sports I cover. It's just something that comes natural to me. So, I took it to the video game realm. I'm glad I still have all that stuff. It makes the current game reports more fun when something comes up that harkens to the past or is a record of some sort.

[BDawg35]

MOST MEMORABLE WINS: NO. 6



Version: NCAA 2004
Score: Baylor 14, Tennessee 12 (national championship)
ESPN Classic score: Unavailable
Game date: Jan. 3, 2012


Stacy Burgess is stopped on a 2-point run, preventing Tennessee from tying
the game with 49 seconds left.

A JOB WELL DONE
B-Dawg era at Baylor
ends with national crown

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — B-Dawg is leaving Baylor and the fine folks of Waco, Texas couldn’t be happier.

It’s not that Baylor fans dislike B-Dawg. Far from it. In fact, a statue of the legendary coach is being planned for the middle of campus.

No, the citizens of Waco are glad B-Dawg is packing his bags because it means the Bears are national champions.

B-Dawg’s task at Baylor is done. He promised a national championship and he delivered, as the Bears beat Tennessee 14-12 in a thrilling Sugar Bowl game on Jan.3, 2012.

It took B-Dawg four years to win the national title at Baylor after needing five years to turn the trick at Buffalo. Baylor was ranked No. 117 in the country four years ago and had a 21-game losing streak when B-Dawg came riding into Waco.

“It’s going to be sad to leave this place and these players, but everyone knew the rules when I was hired,” B-Dawg said. “Somewhere out there is a sorry excuse for a football program that needs my golden touch.”

Free safety Micah Colvin made a play Baylor fans will long remember to ensure victory for the Bears.

Tennessee had gotten within 14-12 on a 60-yard pass from Stuart Sprague to Troy Keith on fourth-and-two with 49 seconds left in the game. Keith caught the ball nine yards down the field and stiff-armed Johnnie McGruder and Luke Osborne on his way to the end zone.

Needing two points to tie the game, Tennessee called for a run by bruising All-American fullback Stacy Burgess — who lines up at halfback, by the way. Burgess ran off left tackle, but Colvin stopped him dead in his tracks to keep the Bears up by two points.

“Micah Colvin owns the goal line, he just owns it,” B-Dawg said. “I can’t begin to count how many times he’s picked off a pass in the end zone to end a scoring threat.”

Tennessee owned the first half, using a ball-control attack to rack up a 10:45 to 1:15 advantage in time of possession and a 162-37 advantage in total yards. The Vols could only manage two short second-quarter field goals by Rashaud Zeigler and led 6-0 at the break.

“We were really lucky not to be down by more,” B-Dawg said.

Facing third-and-six from its own 26-yard line on the first series of the second half, Baylor quarterback Melvin Jordan threw a 10-yard hook route to Mario Jackson that became a 74-yard touchdown when cornerback Derrick Nix got burnt going for the pick.

“That not only gave us the lead, but gave us some life,” B-Dawg said. “If that pass falls incomplete, I shudder to think what would have happened.”

Baylor stretched its lead to 14-6 on a 1-yard run by Rickey Costa on fourth-and-goal with 5:13 left in the game.

After Tennessee got within two, Jeff Downing recovered the onside kick and the Bears ran out the clock.

Baylor managed only 203 yards of offense, but 121 came on three catches by Jackson. Jordan’s bid to become B-Dawg’s first 1,000-yard rushing quarterback fell seven yards short when he managed only 27 yards on 14 carries. Jordan finished with 993 yards and 16 touchdowns on 187 carries.

Keith was the star of the game, catching seven passes for 212 yards. Burgess had 42 yards on 11 carries.

In other BCS games, Ohio State beat USC 37-21 in the Rose Bowl, Colorado State avenged last year’s national championship loss to Buffalo with a 37-34 victory in the Fiesta Bowl, and North Texas beat Virginia Tech 20-13 in the Orange Bowl.

[BDawg35]

MOST MEMORABLE WINS: NO. 5



Version: NCAA 2009
Score: Oregon State 52, Texas 49 (Fiesta Bowl)
ESPN Classic score: Unknown
Game date: Jan. 1, 2012


John Morton (26) takes advantage of a Jack Marcellus block (right) on the winning 73-yard TD run.


Anthony Watkins taunts the Texas mascot after a 42-yard fumble return.

A COMEBACK
FOR THE AGES
Beavers rally from 28 down
to shock Texas in Fiesta Bowl

GLENDALE, Ariz. — It took nearly 14 full games, but Nathan Martin finally looked like a freshman.

Martin put up silly numbers at Texas this season, throwing 51 touchdown passes and 5 interceptions during the regular season to win the Heisman Trophy. He bumped his stats to 53 touchdown passes and only 5 interceptions through the midway point of the third quarter against fourth-ranked Oregon State in the Fiesta Bowl, helping the ninth-ranked Longhorns build a seemingly insurmountable 49-21 lead.

The key word: “seemingly.”

In one of the greatest comebacks in B-Dawg’s video game coaching career, the Beavers stormed back with 31 unanswered points from late in the third quarter on to win a 52-49 shocker on Jan. 1, 2012. Freshman John Morton’s 73-yard run with 2:08 remaining gave the Beavers the winning touchdown.

It was B-Dawg’s second-greatest comeback ever and his greatest ever from a second-half deficit.

While coaching at Vanderbilt in NCAA 2007, B-Dawg’s Commodores fell behind 31-0 against Florida on Nov. 10, 2012, then scored 13 points late in the first half en route to a 41-38 victory. The biggest second-half deficit he ever rallied from was in Madden 2004, when his Detroit Lions trailed the Dallas Cowboys 41-14 late in the third quarter before scoring 24 points in a 60-second span to jump-start at 45-44 victory.

“The primary thought in my mind was to not let them clown us on a national stage and score 70 points or more,” B-Dawg said. “We took a deep breath, started running the ball to slow up their momentum, and the next thing you know things started going our way.”

The comeback wouldn’t have been possible had Martin not imploded and looked like … well, a freshman.

Two of Oregon State’s four touchdowns down the stretch came directly off of turnovers by Martin, an Oregon native who had the Beavers low on his list of schools during the recruiting process. Strong safety Lance Mitchell had a 39-yard interception return with 2:08 left in the third quarter, just 18 seconds after a 6-yard pass from Ricky Higgins to Jerome Hart began the comeback.

Linebacker Anthony Watkins had an interception with 54 seconds left in the third quarter, only the sixth thrown all season by Martin. If Watkins had any wheels, he would have scored a touchdown, but he was caught from behind. The scoring opportunity — and, it appeared, Oregon State’s chances — ended when Adrian Charles dropped a fourth-and-two pass from Texas’ 24-yard line with four seconds left in the third.

“I just exhaled and thought, ‘Well, we gave it a shot,’” B-Dawg said.

Martin’s follies would continue, however.

While running a slot option play, Martin fumbled the pitchout intended for receiver Malcolm Williams. Williams was about to fall on the ball, but was bumped away by defensive end Burke Ellis. Watkins had fallen to the ground, but got up, secured the gift, turned and ran 42 yards for a touchdown with 7:30 left in the game, cutting the Longhorns’ lead to 49-42.

It was a game again.

Oregon State’s defense didn’t allow a point after a 2-yard run by DeSean Hales with 5:28 left in the third quarter put Texas ahead 49-21. Ellis stuffed a keeper by Martin on third-and-eight to keep the strong defensive play going.

The Beavers got first-and-goal at the 9-yard line, but settled for a field goal with 3:46 left in the game when a screen pass to Morton from the 7-yard line went for a 2-yard loss.

“There was plenty of time still,” B-Dawg said. “I didn’t know if the CPU would start working the click, which they did, but I figured we could give them a couple first downs and still have enough time for one last drive.”

Ellis came up huge again, stopping Hales for a 1-yard loss on third-and-four. Oregon State took over at its own 27 with 2:19 and three timeouts remaining.

“Burke Ellis is one of the unsung heroes of this team,” B-Dawg said. “You don’t read much about him, because he doesn’t get an insane number of sacks and doesn’t take picks to the hizzie, but his ability to stuff the run was huge for us time and time again this year.”

The Beavers (12-1) wouldn’t require the timeouts.

Morton, who scored on a 65-yard run on HB Gut in the second quarter, bounced that same call outside the left tackle, got a huge seal block from freshman receiver Jack Marcellus and was in the clear for the game-winning 73-yard touchdown run on the first play of the next possession with 2:08 to go.

It was yet another addition to the growing John Morton highlight reel. He finished the game with 226 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries. He also caught six passes for 64 yards.

Since taking over from an injured Zach Frederick early in the Washington State game, Morton ran 189 times for 1,339 yards and 17 touchdowns over the last seven games.

“If John Morton stays healthy, it won’t matter what Nathan Martin does the next few years: He won’t win another Heisman Trophy,” B-Dawg said. “John Morton will have the bronze statue on lock the next two years, then he’ll probably turn pro on me. His OVR isn’t that high, so I may be able to talk him into staying when that day comes. In the meantime, I’m just going to enjoy the feeling of 94 SPD in my hands.”

The one thought that nagged B-Dawg’s mind was this: Did Morton score too quickly?

No worries.

Texas took over at its own 29 with 2:04 and three timeouts left. Martin was shaken up on outside linebacker Mike Robinson’s second sack of the game. Eric Stephens came in and nearly threw a pick, but it was dropped by cornerback Jeff Cox. In a bizarre move, the CPU called a run on third-and-eight, gaining only six yards.

On fourth-and-12, Stephens threw a short pass to Williams near the left sideline. Williams was driven out of bounds by cornerback Kevan Walker with 1:12 remaining, short of the first down.

It was “ball game” when Morton ran for a first down on second-and-seven with 1:03 remaining.

“This is a huge step for our program, winning a BCS bowl game and beating a team like Texas,” B-Dawg said. “It does nag at me a bit that we’re only 79 OVR, still too low to be going 12-1 and winning BCS bowl games. I’ll re-evaluate the sliders, but maybe I’ll just roll with this and see what happens. John Morton’s 94 SPD was obviously a game-changing addition to our lineup. In this particular game, the turnovers were a major reason we were able to come back.”

Freshman cornerback Earl Washington set a dyNASTY record in the first quarter with a 99-yard kickoff return.

Oregon State is 4-0 in bowl games under B-Dawg, beating Wyoming in the 2008 Armed Forces Bowl, Missouri 32-16 in the 2009 Holiday Bowl and Pittsburgh 41-34 in the 2010 Sun Bowl.

[BDawg35]

MOST MEMORABLE WINS: NO. 4



Version: NCAA 2012
Score: Michigan 44, The U 41 (3 OT, Rose Bowl)
ESPN Classic score: 1,434
Game date: Jan. 1, 2017


Michigan quarterback Michael Mack threw three touchdown passes in the final 3:50 of
regulation time.


Darren Rawls hauls in one of Michigan’s three touchdown catches in the final minutes of
the fourth quarter.

BACK FROM THE DEAD
Michigan rallies from 21 down in fourth,
wins 3-OT Rose Bowl thriller over The U

PASADENA, Calif. — If B-Dawg wasn’t such a stat whore, one of the greatest comebacks of his video game coaching career never would’ve taken place.

Michael Mack would’ve been on the sidelines, watching someone else try to clean up his mess in the Rose Bowl against The U.

But Mack is a highly rated freshman quarterback who has become a pet project of B-Dawg’s. The Michigan coach hopes to get four highly productive seasons out of him to see if he can break some of his all-time records.

So, Mack stayed in the game, despite The U’s 31-10 lead with nearly four minutes remaining, and despite the fact he hadn’t led Michigan’s offense to a single touchdown all day.

The hope was that Mack would rack up a few more yards, maybe another touchdown pass, to complete his freshman stat sheet.

What Mack did was beyond what even the most optimistic Michigan fan could’ve hoped.

Mack threw three touchdown passes in the final 3:50 of the fourth quarter to tie the game and threw another in the second overtime, as sixth-ranked Michigan beat the third-ranked Hurricanes in a 44-41 triple-overtime instant classic on Jan. 1, 2017.

Mack threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to sophomore receiver George Prince with 3:50 left, a 29-yarder to tight end Andrew Jackson with 2:03 left and a 68-yarder to true freshman Darren Rawls with 1:24 to go. He also hit sophomore receiver Orlando Williams with a 6-yard scoring strike in the second overtime.

Michigan’s defense kept The U scoreless on the first possession of the third overtime, as cornerback Victor Johnson tackled John Chase four yards short of a first down on a fourth-and-20 pass.

The Wolverines (13-1) just needed a field goal to win it. After five running plays, Michigan won it on a 28-yard field goal by Corey Oliver.

“I play my games late at night,” B-Dawg said. “I’m going to have a hard time sleeping after this one. The adrenaline will be flowing until the early hours of the morning. When folks see me at work and wonder why I look so tired, I’ll tell them, ‘You’d look tired, too, if you just won a triple-overtime Rose Bowl in an epic comeback at 1 a.m.’ And they will understand.”

Mack had a Tebow-esque performance, sucking for more than three quarters before getting red-hot down the stretch. After throwing four straight incompletions with about six minutes left, Mack’s line read 11-for-26 for 106 yards, no touchdowns and no picks. From there, he went 10-for-17 for 207 yards, 4 touchdowns and no picks.

“You saw Michael Mack’s coming out party today,” B-Dawg said. “He showed a lot of character by battling through a horrible performance. He will build off of this going into next year and will be a much better quarterback for it. He has a chance to be one of my all-time greats.”

Michigan’s only touchdown until the late stages of the fourth quarter came on a 73-yard interception return by senior cornerback Joseph White with 6:36 left in the second quarter, giving the Wolverines a 10-7 lead.

The U (11-2) scored the next 24 points, taking a seemingly insurmountable 31-10 lead on a 39-yard touchdown pass from Heisman Trophy runner-up Jermaine Richards to Chris Patterson with 4:24 left in the fourth quarter.

Following is the anatomy of an epic comeback:

The U had covered the middle of the field like a blanket the entire game, but allowed Prince to get wide open on a post route for a 34-yard touchdown with 3:50 left. The scoring drive took three plays, covering 45 yards in 34 seconds.

Michigan didn’t try an onsides kick, counting on The U to make a foolish mistake. Sure enough, the Hurricanes came out throwing, milked some clock, then threw an incompletion to stop the clock. A third-and-8 run by Matt Boyd was stuffed with 2:47 left.

Michigan began its next drive at its own 28 with 2:41 to go. The fifth-play of a 72-yard drive that took 38 seconds was a quick out to Jackson, who took it 29 yards down the left side, cutting The U’s lead to 31-24 with 2:03 remaining.

Michigan had two timeouts left, but went for an onside kick this time. Chase fell on it for The U, but more of EA’s wretched CPU clock-management logic played right into the Wolverines’ hands. The U came out in a five-wide look, gaining 8 yards on first down, before a run was stuffed and Richards threw another clock-stopping incompletion on third-and-2. On fourth-and-2, Richards’ pass was way off the mark against pressure with 1:46 left.

Armed with an opportunity, thanks to the geniuses at EA Sports, Michigan took full advantage. Two deep balls intended for senior Ryan King were incomplete. On third-and-10, Mack got the best blocking EVER against a three-man rush, sitting in the pocket and waiting for a post route to Rawls to clear the coverage. Rawls caught the ball going right to left and sprinted down the field for a 68-yard touchdown with 1:24 left. It was Rawls’ first career touchdown.

Did Michigan score too soon? The U was in business when a 49-yard bomb to Patterson set up the Hurricanes at Michigan’s 27. John Dukes stuffed a draw for a 3-yard loss and Richards threw an incompletion on third down. With no faith in their kicker, the Hurricanes went for it on fourth-and-13. In a precursor to the game-clinching tackle, Johnson stopped Chase just inches short of the first down, an enormous play that got lost in the shuffle of the great comeback.

Another blunder by the CPU came on Michigan’s next possession. After a sack drove the Wolverines back to their own 9-yard line for a third-down play, The U chose not to call its final timeout. Michigan was more than happy to let the clock expire.

Michigan got the ball first in overtime. Both teams kicked a field goal after failing to convert runs on third-and-short.

On third-and-four from the 6-yard line, Williams caught a touchdown pass from Mack to put Michigan up, 41-34. The U tied it on a third-and-24 jump ball to Patterson for a 39-yard touchdown.

White and Devin Ricks dropped sure interceptions on the first two plays of the third overtime. Charles Jenkins followed with a 10-yard sack before Johnson stopped Chase four yards short of a first down on fourth-and-20. Michigan got into easy field goal range when Sean Fernandez had a 7-yard run on the first play of the third overtime. After four more runs, Oliver’s 28-yarder won it.

“I’d like to take credit for being a coaching genius, I’d like to say it was our superior talent,” B-Dawg said. “Sure, those factors were important, but the biggest key to this comeback was that EA did its typical lousy job of programming how the CPU manages the clock late in the game.”

This game got an ESPN Classic score of 1,434 points, B-Dawg’s third-highest score in NCAA ’12.

Freshman defensive tackle Joe Hill had 4.5 sacks, giving him 13.5 for the season. He finished second in the country to Temple senior defensive end Ryan Wilson, who had 14.5.

[BDawg35]

MOST MEMORABLE WINS: NO. 3



Version: NCAA 2007
Score: Vanderbilt 41, Florida 38
ESPN Classic score: Not available
Game date: Nov. 10, 2012


Florida’s Corey Cabral fumbles on a hit by Ulysses Heckel.


Vanderbilt’s Jason Lewis had two interceptions in an epic comeback win over Florida.

RISING FROM THE GRAVE
Down 31-0, Vandy rallies to beat Florida
by 3 in B-Dawg’s greatest comeback ever

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — In the year of the comeback for Vanderbilt, the Commodores staged a comeback for the ages.

A new chapter has been added to the lore of college football, as 13th-ranked Vanderbilt stormed back from a 31-0 deficit late in the first half to pull out a scintillating 41-38 victory over 53rd-ranked Florida on Nov. 10, 2012.

It wasn’t quite as big a comeback as Michigan State charging back from 35 points down in the second half against Northwestern in 2006, but it was certainly more meaningful. While those real-life Spartans were heading nowhere, Vanderbilt has kept its hopes alive for its first-ever berth in the Southeastern Conference championship game by improving to 8-2 overall and 5-1 in the SEC.

This was B-Dawg’s biggest comeback in any video game, eclipsing a classic Madden 2004 game against the Dallas Cowboys. B-Dawg’s Detroit Lions trailed 41-14 late in the third quarter of that game before scoring 24 points in a 60-second span en route to a 45-44 victory.

Florida took a 31-0 lead with 2:33 left in the second quarter, a deficit that seemed too much for even this resilient Vanderbilt team. The Commodores had rallied from three-possession deficits in three of their last five games, coming back from 19-0 down in the first quarter against South Carolina, 33-16 down in the third quarter against Mississippi and 34-17 down in the third quarter against Alabama.

So, in retrospect, B-Dawg knew all along that the Commodores were capable of coming back, right?

“No way,” the veteran coach said. “I thought we were dead in the water. I was starting to think about how much work we have ahead of us so that maybe next year we have a shot to win the SEC. You just don’t come back from 31-0 down, though we almost rallied from 35 points down against Tennessee two years ago. Maybe that experience stuck with our players and let them know that, if they were patient and plugged away, the breaks would start to go their way.”

Running back Steve Meade scored three touchdowns for Florida in the first 4:24 of the game and scored his fourth touchdown on an 18-yard pass from Shaun Johnson to make it 31-0 with 2:33 left in the first half. Four turnovers by Vanderbilt contributed to the onslaught.

A small ray of light occurred for the Commodores when they made Florida settle for a field goal late in the first quarter after the Gators had second-and-goal at the 1-yard line following a fumble, though things got worse for Vanderbilt before they got better.

B-Dawg did something he’s never really done before, putting in veteran players with higher composure ratings while things were unraveling. Red-shirt freshman quarterback Ken Collins was pulled in favor of fifth-year senior Josh Hayden after throwing a pick and fumbling the ball. Hayden was only 2-for-10 with two picks, so Collins came back in and would eventually engineer the comeback.

Maybe the best move was putting third-year junior running back Kevin Harrell in the game in place of freshman Bryant McClellan. Harrell ran 20 times for 115 yards and a touchdown, as B-Dawg purposely tried to slow things down on the ground. Vanderbilt had minus-9 rushing yards in the first half, but had 107 in the second half.

“There was no grand plan to running the ball, other than to help prevent the score from becoming 80-0,” B-Dawg said. “What happened was we slowly eroded their momentum and were in a position to get back in the game once all the monkey business ceased.”

After falling behind 31-0, Vanderbilt scored 41 straight points over a span of less than two full quarters.

The Commodores lost star receiver Jason Toth to a strained Achilles’ tendon just 1:40 into the game, an injury which isn’t expected to keep him out of their next game. That injury provided an opportunity for freshman receiver Corey Burton, who caught four passes for 26 yards and his first two career touchdowns. It was an 8-yard pass from Collins to Burton with 1:06 left in the first half that ignited the comeback.

The Commodores then thwarted a fourth-and-five attempt in their own territory late in the first half. That gave Vanderbilt enough time for Collins to find another backup receiver, Vince Spencer, on a 43-yard Hail Mary with two seconds left in the half. A failed 2-point pass left the halftime score at Florida 31, Vanderbilt 13.

“We were pretty stoked going into the locker room at halftime, because we were down only three possessions,” B-Dawg said. “We’ve been coming back from that kind of deficit all season. It didn’t seem that difficult at all.”

It took Vanderbilt a while to get going in the second half, but there was no slowing down the Commodores once they got rolling.

Vanderbilt didn’t score in the second half until Collins hit Derrick Brantley on a third-and-eight tipped 9-yard pass with 2:48 left in the third quarter to make it 31-20.

A defense that had been biatch-slapped throughout the first half now rose to the occasion, with star middle linebacker Ulysses Heckel forcing receiver Corey Cabral to fumble the ball on a reverse. Linebacker John Johnson recovered, giving Vanderbilt the ball at Florida’s 37-yard line with 2:21 left in the third.

A daring run call on third-and-6 produced a first down, as Harrell ran to Florida’s 5-yard line. From there, Collins hooked up with Burton to cut Florida’s lead to 31-27 with 59 seconds left in the third.

“At this point, it’s our game,” B-Dawg said. “I didn’t need to see plus-five blinking on our side of the screen. You just had a feeling that we owned this game now and it was just a matter of time before we took it.”

It didn’t take much time, as it turned out.

The next time Vanderbilt got the ball, Spencer hauled in a 46-yard pass on third-and-21 and Harrell broke off a 19-yard run to the 1-yard line, setting up fullback Darrell James’ 1-yard run with 6:51 left in the game. Vanderbilt had come all the way back, leading 34-31, but there was still plenty of time left.

Enter junior cornerback Jason Lewis, who grabbed his second interception of the game at Florida’s 40-yard line with 6:26 remaining. Harrell came up with another clutch run, running to the 15-yard line for a first down on third-and-five when B-Dawg was content to set up the ball for a field goal that would have required Florida to score a touchdown and kick an extra point to take the lead. Harrell put Vanderbilt up 41-31 on a 2-yard run with 4:51 left, making it 28 points for the Commodores in a span of 7:39 of playing time.

Held in check since its early offensive explosion, Florida didn’t go down quietly. The Gators made it a three-point game on a 4-yard touchdown pass from Johnson to Mike Richardson with 2:58 left.

The Commodores were on the verge of running out the clock when disaster struck. James, who had run for two first downs on the drive, had the ball jarred loose by Adam Vaughn with 27 seconds left in the game at Florida’ 34-yard line. Defensive end Daniel Payne, who has 70 SPD, missed on his initial attempt to scoop up the loose ball, or else he would have had a chance to take it back all the way. Instead, he simply fell on the ball at the 34.

Florida got down to Vanderbilt’s 43-yard line with five seconds left. With the clock running, the Gators snapped the ball with :01 showing, but defensive end Tony Edwards put an exclamation mark on the victory by sacking Johnson.

Meade became the first Vanderbilt opponent to get 100 yards rushing and receiving, running 21 times for 108 yards and catching four passes for 116.

Collins responded to being benched early by finishing 23-for-37 for 356 yards, four touchdowns and one pick.

In addition to Burton, Toth’s injury opened up an opportunity for Spencer, who had five catches for 120 yards. Brantley caught seven passes for 107 yards. Center Freddy Wright tied a dynasty record with 10 pancakes, but did allow a rare sack.

“As long as I’m at the sticks, I will never forget this game,” B-Dawg said. “These are the moments you fire up the system for. Sometime down the road, we’ll have another huge comeback and this game will be the measuring stick as a test of its greatness.”

PLAYAZ OF DA GAME
Steve Meade, Florida; Ken Collins, Vanderbilt

VANDERBILT 41, FLORIDA 38
First quarter
FLA: Meade 57 run (Massey kick), 6:06
FLA: Meade 79 pass from Johnson (Massey kick), 3:49
FLA: Meade 2 run (Massey kick), 3:36
FLA: Massey 25 field goal, 1:28
Second quarter
FLA: Meade 18 pass from Johnson (Massey kick), 2:33
VANDY: Burton 8 pass from Collins (Harris kick), 1:06
VANDY: V.Spencer 43 pass from Collins (pass failed), :02
Third quarter
VANDY: Brantley 9 pass from Collins (Harris kick), 2:48
VANDY: Burton 5 pass from Collins (Harris kick), :59
Fourth quarter
VANDY: James 1 run (Harris kick), 6:51
VANDY: Harrell 2 run (Harris kick), 4:51
FLA: Richardson 4 pass from Johnson (Massey kick), 2:58