The Making of a Legend Part II "It's Miller Time".. CFB25

[Deuce2223]

Re: The Making of a Legend Part II "It's Miller Time".. CFB25

2035 FIU MEDIA GUIDE

FIU enters the season ranked #3 in the country after winning back to back National Championships.. Coach Barry Valdez has to be the hottest coaching name in the country not named Matt Miller and right now OC Clayton Dees is probably #3.. Valdez has done something even Miller hasn't accomplished.. He led Kentucky to a National Championship in 2031 and has led FIU to 3 straight National Championships since his arrival to the school winning the last 2 with perfect seasons as he has gone 46-3 since his arrival.

THE SCHEDULE

FIU will put it's 32 game win streak on the line in Week 1 on the road as they travel to Tallahassee to take on the Florida State Seminoles. FIU will then have a "Bye" in Week 2 before hosting FAU for the Shula Bowl in their only 2 non-conference games. FIU will play a 10 game ACC schedule this season, but with rumors swirling that FIU will leave the conference after 7 seasons to join the SEC this could be their last chance at a 5th ACC title in 7 years.

Here is a full look at this year's schedule

Week 1 @ Florida State
Week 2 "Bye"
Week 3 vs FAU "Shula Bowl"
Week 4 vs Rutgers
Week 5 @ Virginia
Week 6 vs #22 Maryland
Week 7 @ #9 Virginia Tech
Week 8 vs UCF
Week 9 @ Duke
Week 10 vs UNC
Week 11 @ USF
Week 12 vs #18 ECU "Senior Day"
Week 13 @ Miami "King of the City and Keyes to the City"

Dee's

"I think overall we got a pretty decent schedule.. it's split evenly 6 home and 6 away.. I think it will be fun to play both UCF and USF in conference play this season.. If the SEC move does take place I feel like this will be our last shot at extending the perfect season to 48 games but with FSU, #9 V.T. and Miami all on the road I don't think we will see it happen this year"

THE ROSTER

QB

*QB RS SR Kevin Pounds (91)
QB RS FR David Burgess (79)
QB RS SO Faitele Lutui (78)
QB RS JR Jose Lambo (76)
QB (R) FR George Cloud (77)
QB (R) FR Nathan Salyer (72)

Pounds returns for his final season.. Already the FIU career passing leader in Yards and Touchdowns, Pounds will look to become the ACC and NCAA leader in both catagories as well. Pounds also returns as the teams leading rusher.. For his career he has 15,508 yds passing with 158 TD's and 55 INT, well running for 1892 yds with 27 TD's.

The #2 job is wide open. RS FR D. Burgess currently has pushed his way past Lutui and Lambo on the depth chart but none of the 3 have ever thrown a career pass.

RB/FB

*RB RS SR Tim Trinidad (90)
RB RS SR Emari Allotey (91)
RB RS JR Keary Beary (86)
RB RS FR Cole Hitchcock (83)
RB (R) FR D'Andre Ibrahim (76)
RB (R) FR Emmett Kumah (76)

*FB RS SR Alejandro Higgins (84)
FB RS JR Trent Gage (78)


Tim Trinidad has 30 career rushing TD's including a career high 15 last season. Listed at 6'3 225lbs, Trinidad at times has looked like a slower version of Tavon Logan running through and over defenders.. He will get the first crack at being RB 1.

Allotey came to FIU as a WR but moved to RB 2 years ago but has yet to record a carry or a reception. Instead he has focused on the return game logging 65 KR for 1407 yds (23.8 avg) and 37 PR for 465 yds (12.6 avg). As RB #2 he will finally get a chance to see what he can do.

Byler also has yet to play a down well Hitchcock is coming off his redshirt season.


Higgins has been a 3 year starter at FB but has just 19 carries for 83 yds and 1 TD. Gage is a former RB turned FB who could see some action behind Trinidad as the Power back.

WR/TE

*WR RS JR Edward Marshall (89)
*WR RS SR Eric Longo (86)
*WR RS FR James Sills (86)
WR RS JR Devonta Ahmad (85)
WR SR Creed Gay (83)
WR RS FR Dalton Blough (74)
WR (R) FR Nigel Baggs (77)
WR (R) FR Sergio Nickey (77)
WR (R) FR Gordon Mohamed (76)
WR (R) FR Tevan Culliver (75)
WR (R) FR Jimmy Regis (75)
WR (R) FR Donald Owen (74)

*TE RS FR Tyler Bail (85)
TE RS JR Cam Coxie (83)
TE (R) FR Robert Bowles (77)

There are 12 WR's on the roster, 6 are True Freshman so they have a excuse but of the other 6 only Troy Transfer D. Ahmad and converted WR turned TE turned WR Eric Longo have recorded more then 17 receptions in their career.

Ahmad is starting the year as the team's #4 but he could push Longo for or Marshall for a bigger role. After posting 69 rec for 1171 yds and 8 TD in 2033 for the Trojans, Ahmad saw his #'s dip to 46 rec for 764 yds and 8 TD last season.

Marshall a former 5* Recruit has been buried on the depth chart but finally gets a shot at being a #1.. He has 17 career receptions for 273 yds and 2 TD.

Longo came to FIU as a 4* 6'5 WR but converted to TE last season and ended up with 36 rec for 469 yds and 5 TD's. Now is back at WR for his final season looking to showcase his ability to make plays.

Stills is a former 4* who this spring showcased the best hands on the team (93 catch).. He is also the fastest active WR on the roster (95 speed) and will play out of the slot a position that Emari Boenzi held for the last 4 seasons and we know what kind of #'s he put up.

Another former TE Creed Gay will look to fill the #5 WR spot along with Dalton Blough well Valdez redshirts 6 incoming Freshman.


Bail is a former 5* and was the #1 player in his class. A Athlete who could play either side of the ball, Bail will get a chance to be a main target for Pounds this season... We have seen TE play well in FIU's Offense in the past including D. Naanee's 1600 yd season.

O-LINE

*LT RS SO Kierre Coffman (91)
LT RS JR Tre Lamar (84)
LT RS FR Artie Redwine (84)
LT (R) FR Isaiah Cormier (78)

*LG RS SR Stephon Avril (95)
LG RS FR David Singer (83)
LG RS FR Rahim Meredith (81)
LG RS FR Joshua Valoaga (79)

*C RS SO Mitchell Cash (82)
C RS FR Darren Melton (82)
C (R) FR David Zamora (78)

*RG RS SR Finau Manuwai (96)
RG RS JR Stefon Boren (86)
RG RS JR Junior Chong (84)
RG RS JR Pete O'Grady (78)

*RT RS JR Rob Kent (87)
RT RS SO Dion Jackson (79)
RT (R) FR Morris Poole (82)
RT (R) FR Richard Lozano (82)

Cash and Kent are new starters.. Manuwai and Avril are 2 of the best OG's in the country and should be NFL picks at the end of the season. Well Coffman (former 5*) gave up just 1 sack last season protecting Pounds Blindside.

D-LINE

*DE RS SO Stephen Ezieke (89)
DE RS JR Ramon Torrez (87)
DE RS FR Cedric Lowell (76)

*DE RS SR Malachi Clifton (90)
DE RS SO Trayvon Leo (83)
DE RS FR Clark Dobson (75)

*DT RS SR Jason Peters (88)
DT RS JR Brian Small (87)
DT RS FR Jason Avant (85)
DT RS FR Greg Neilon (76)

Gone is Kerry St Pierre and his career leading sacks but Clifton (7 sacks) Ezeike (12.5 sacks) and J. Peters (8 sacks) have all shown the ability to get to the QB.

LB'S

*OLB RS JR Tremaine Swope (93)
OLB RS JR Chester Provo (92)
OLB RS SO Phil McKissic (80)

*OLB RS SR Dillion Brown (96)
OLB RS SO Richard Cleveland (86)
OLB RS SO Josh Cushing (81)
OLB RS FR Conner McAddley (81)

*MLB RS JR Avery Grubbs (89)
MLB RS FR Isaiah Stroud (81)
MLB RS FR Josh Okorafor (79)
MLB (R) FR Reed Shelley (78)

There is a solid chance that Provo will move to the inside and start over Grubbs but for now he is listed as the main backup at OLB.. Swope (8.5 sacks last season) and Brown (12 sacks 2 years ago) provide more pass rush from the outside. Provo is a proven tackler who had has 95 tackles in the past 2 years.

DB'S

*CB JR Major Mentor (85)
*CB JR Barry Maddox (84)
CB RS SO Josh Morales (81)
CB RS SO DeMarcus Figueroa (77)
CB RS SO Parker Huber (77)
CB (R) FR Ryland Loftus (83)
CB (R) FR Koren Cheridor (72)

*FS RS JR Brian Gutierrez (89)
*FS RS JR Dylan Boggs (87)
FS RS FR John Poujade (83)

*SS RS SO Mac Bhargava (82)
SS RS FR Mitch Finger (81)
SS (R) FR Moses Starks (77)

Major led the team with 7 INT's last season and he has 9 in his career.. The rest of the unit combines for 3 career INT's This unit is pretty young and untested..

ST

PK JR Trevor Costanzo (84)
P JR Anfernee Awe (79)

Costanzo has been solid connecting on 37/40 FG's and 173/174 XPT the past 2 seasons. He has a career long of 52

Awe has a 42.9 career average and a 39.4 Net average with a long of 62 yds.

KR/PR With Mentor and Maddux both CB1 and CB2 and Allotey taking on a bigger role at RB, the Panthers could try some new blook at the return team.

RS FR David Blough will likely get first crack with his 96 speed.

**I just realized KP's (QB Kevin Pounds) speed has bumped to a 97.. He is actually the 4th fastest player on the team.

RECRUITING

The Panthers go into the season with 84 players on the roster (11 Seniors, 21 Juniors, 13 Soph's and 39 combined Redshirt and Redshirting Freshman.)

With several underclassman expected to potentially turn pro early, Coach Valdez/Dees will look to fill 15 scholarships early and likely add a few players via the portal in the off-season as needed.

Of the 11 Seniors, 8 are on Offense (1 QB, 2 RB's, 1 FB, 2 WR, 2 O-Line) and 3 are on Defense (DT,DE,OLB).

Dee's

"Right now our main focus is to improve our QB room and give us another player to push the current backups for the starting job next season. We would love to land a 5* or even 2 5* Recruits.. We also would love to find a impact guy at RB who could come in and start Day 1.. We feel really good about our WR dept (6 Redshirting Freshman) but it doesn't mean we won't shy away from signing a 5* talent if someone wants to come here.. Our focus on Defense will likely be OLB's and D-Line"

[Deuce2223]

Re: The Making of a Legend Part II "It's Miller Time".. CFB25

QB and WR is the only real question marks. Can De La Rosa cut down on the mistake, or is Diabate going to show him the bench? Outside of Tandy the WR corp looks to take a step back, but if they have good ratings they'll be fine.

Offensive line looks stout, could just ride the three headed horse in the backfield. And the defense is stacked, hard picturing a team having too much success running the ball.

Weird Michigan isn't getting scheduled. I thought they were one of the protected rivalries that stayed no matter what..

For Ohio State, I actually like my WR's alot.. Guyton was the only graduation.. Tull is was actually my #2 he just didn't get any kind of rating bump so his 81 looks weird against the other guy's but he players better then his rating. Lowe has elite speed and I think will be a guy who can put up some big #'s. I really like Tandy alot so I am just hoping he can stay healthy..

QB for sure is the ??? I have Akron in Week 1, I think the plan is to try and play Diabate in Q2/Q3 and actually get a look at Killings in the 4th.. So De La Rosa will probably only play the 1st Quarter. You are correct though. I think with the RB's I have, I could just rush for 5000 yds and have a Tavon Logan/Tompkins type season with Tam/McCracken..

I don't get the Michigan thing at all. For some reason I play Penn State every year and I played Illinois every year too until I moved them.. This is the first year playing USC, Oregon and Washington all in the same season.

[Deuce2223]

Re: The Making of a Legend Part II "It's Miller Time".. CFB25

BUCKEYES DOMINATE WEEK 1

Akron Zips at Ohio State Buckeyes
Sep 2, 2035	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Akron Zips ()	0	3	7	7	17
#1 Ohio State Buckeyes ()	14	21	14	13	62

Team Stats Comparison
	AKR	OSU
Total Offense	289	626
Rushing Yards	114	140
Passing Yards	167	486
First Downs	10	30
Punt Return Yards	0	14
Kick Return Yards	116	14
Total Yards	405	654
Turnovers	3	1
3rd Down Conversion	4/12	5/10
4th Down Conversion		1/1
2-Point Conversion
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals
Penalties	2-25
Possession Time	14:32	25;28

GAME RECAP

After questionable play at QB last season most assumed Ohio State would lean heavy on a talented O-line and group of RB's to lead the offense, but Coach Miller dialed up a different plan in Week 1 as the Buckeyes took on Akron to kickoff the season..

Coach Miller

"Alot of teams play a FCS program early in the season to get a look at young players and new starters, but we really felt like we wanted our guy's to have a opportunity to face a higher quality opponent. Well Akron isn't quite at our level yet they are among one of the better teams in the MAC and have some quality talent on both sides of the ball"

Well Akron does have talent it didn't really show much today in terms of stopping what could be a very potent passing attack by the Buckeyes.

SO QB Nick De La Rosa got the start and and threw 3 TD's completing 10/14 for 219 yds before giving way to RS JR Abdual Diabate..

Diabate looked even more dialed in as he comes in and leads the on 2 more scoring drives in the 2nd Quarter to give Ohio State the commanding (35-3) lead at the half.

Diabate would stay in at QB for the 3rd Quarter and would throw 2 more TD's to finish the day 12/16 for 216 yds with 3 TD's total.

Leading (49-10) to start the 4th, Miller would turn to RS SO Demarco Killings at QB, with the former 4* getting his first action since arriving in Columbus 2 years ago. It was a rough start for the young QB who would complete just 3/8 pass's for 51 yds well throwing his first INT, but Ohio State still managed to add on a pair of Lamar Dugans FG's and RS SO FB Lee DuBois would score his first career touchdown with a nice 6 yd run up the middle late in the 4th.

Well the Buckeyes air attack combined for 486 yds with 6 TD's the run game wasn't completely MIA., as Ohio State still ran the ball 30 times for 140 yds with 2 scores including Fredrick Tam's first TD of the season.

KEY PLAYERS

QB N. De La Rosa-10/14 (71%) 219 yds 3 TD
QB A. Diabate 12/16 (75%) 216 yds 3 TD
RB C. McCracken-14 carries 68 yds, 1 rec 10 yds
RB F. Tam-6 carries 49 yds 1 TD
FB L. DuBois-3 carries 14 yds 1 TD
WR N. Tull-5 rec 129 yds 1 TD
WR D. Lowe-6 rec 118 yds 2 TD
WR G. Cobb-6 rec 87 yds 1 TD
WR E. Tandy-3 rec 75 yds 1 TD
WR K. Ahlers-2 rec 42 yds 1 TD
Defense- 3 INT's (Booker, Darilek, Bulaga)

QB R. Thompkins 16/28 (57%) 167 yds 1 TD 3 INT
RB E. McCarthy-10 carries 78 yds 1 TD, 5 rec 50 yds
WR C. Maddox-1 carry 20 yds, 5 rec 50 yds
WR T. Roberg-2 rec 25 yds 1 TD


UP NEXT

Ohio State will stay home and host Top-25 ranked TCU in Week 2

RECRUITING NEWS

Coach Miller is off to a solid start with this year's recruiting class landing 3 Instant commits from a pair of CB's and 2 instate Ohio recruits.

4* DE Alex Generals (#37 Overall/#2 OH/#4 DE) is listed at 6'4 285lbs from Cincinnati. He is a Run stopper who could transition to DT when he arrives on campus.

4* CB Miles Hargrave (#329 Overall/#10 OH/#34CB) is listed at 6'1 175lbs from Akron.. Hargrave excels at Man to Man coverage and could push for a PT as a true Freshman.

4* CB Salesi Kelikipi (#375 Overall/#46 FL/#39 CB) is listed at 6'2 183lbs and is from Daytona Beach FL. Like Hargrave, Kelikipi strength is man to man coverage and at 6'2 he should be able to match up with big WR's on the outside. With the Buckeyes Top-4 CB's all set to graduate, Kelikipi also could push for PT as a true freshman.

[Deuce2223]

Re: The Making of a Legend Part II "It's Miller Time".. CFB25

PANTHERS MAKE IT 33 STRAIGHT

Florida International Golden Panthers at Florida State Seminoles
Sep 2, 2035	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
#3 Florida International Golden Panthers ()	6	7	6	14	33
Florida State Seminoles ()	0	14	0	7	21

Team Stats Comparison
	FIU	FSU
Total Offense	412	332
Rushing Yards	52	89
Passing Yards	353	243
First Downs	14	12
Punt Return Yards	33	20
Kick Return Yards	70	58
Total Yards	515	410
Turnovers	0	3
3rd Down Conversion	10/17	7/12
4th Down Conversion		1/2
2-Point Conversion	0/1
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals
Penalties	5-32	5-45
Possession Time	22:56	17:04

GAME RECAP

FIU kicked off the 2035 season with their 33rd straight win defeating Florida State in what could become a future rivalry matchup should both teams find themselves in the SEC next season.

FIU came up short twice setting for a pair of Field Goals in the opening Quarter to take a (6-0) lead. The Panthers extended the lead to (13-0) early in the 2nd Quarter but the Seminoles battled back to take a (14-13) lead into the locker room.

Kevin Pounds would throw his 2nd TD of the day midway through the 3rd Quarter hitting RS FR James Stills on a 48 yd bomb to make it 19-14. FIU would leave the offense on the field trying to convert the 2pt play and make it a touchdown difference but came up short..

FSU would open up the 4th Quarter scoring with a 75 yd TD run by SR WR Hayden Perkins on a Jet Sweep to take the (21-19) lead, but Pounds and Stills would answer back with their 2nd TD connection of the day to give FIU the (26-21) lead. Then it was the FIU Defense coming up big.. Already with 1 INT on the day, FIU picks off JR QB Davide Ihedigo (83 ovr) for a 2nd time setting up another Pounds/Still touchdown as the Duo goes for the Hat trick to extend the lead to (33-21).. FIU would then seal the victory as OLB Tremaine Swope comes up with his first career INT..

KEY PLAYERS

QB K. Pounds-27/37 (72%) 353 yds 3 TD sacked once, 11 carries 24 yds 1 TD
RB E. Allotey 16 carries 35 yds, 6 rec 25 yds
RB T. Trinidad-1 carry 4 yds (Injuried)
WR J. Stills 7 rec 157 yds 3 TD
WR E. Marshall 4 rec 56 yds
WR E. Longo-5 rec 47 yds
WR D. Ahmad-1 rec 26 yds
TE T. Bail 3 rec 38 yds
FIU "D" 3 INT (Maddux, Swope, Brown)

INJURY REPORT

RB Tim Trinidad missed the entire game with a leg strain.. He should be good to go to return in Week 3 after the "Bye"

[Deuce2223]

Re: The Making of a Legend Part II "It's Miller Time".. CFB25

WEEK 1 AROUND THE NATION RECAP

Week 1 gave us plenty of action and several headline news.

#2 Alabama fell to #9 Virginia Tech (9-7) in a defensive battle.. The 2 teams swap spots in the rankings as VT moves to #2 and the Tide roll to #9.

#4 Notre Dame handled business in a Big Ten Week 1 showdown with #15 Cincinnati beating the Bearcats (27-20). With th loss Cincy drops to #20.

#6 Washington and #11 Purdue squared off in another Big Ten Week 1 Top-25 showdown and the Boilermakers come up short in their return to the Big Ten losing (38-24).. WIthe the loss Purdue drops to #18..

#7 Tennessee came out on top in another Top-25 battle with #18 ECU (45-27) dropping the Pirates to #25.

#21 Arkansas fell to #17 Georgia Tech (28-20) and #22 Maryland lost (34-20) to #5 LSU and both teams drop out of the rankings well Colorado and Colorado State join the rankings at #23 and #24.

[Deuce2223]

Re: The Making of a Legend Part II "It's Miller Time".. CFB25

BUCKEYES RUN ALL OVER THE FROGS

TCU Horned Frogs at Ohio State Buckeyes
Sep 9, 2035	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
#16 TCU Horned Frogs (1-0)	7	7	0	11	25
#1 Ohio State Buckeyes (1-0)	7	17	3	16	43

Team Stats Comparison
	TCU	OSU
Total Offense	451	495
Rushing Yards	105	337
Passing Yards	337	158
First Downs	14	27
Punt Return Yards	0	34
Kick Return Yards	33	55
Total Yards	484	584
Turnovers	2	3
3rd Down Conversion	4/11	8/12
4th Down Conversion	1/3
2-Point Conversion	1/1	0/1
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals
Penalties	5-30	2-18
Possession Time	17:30	22:30

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		TCU	OSU
4:23	(OSU) F. Tam 2 yd run (PAT)	0	7
1:27	(TCU) C. Kendricks 12 yd run (PAT)	7	7
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		TCU	OSU
5:45	(OSU) N. Tull 3 yd pass from N. De La Rosa (PAT)	7	14
3:54	(TCU) C. Kenricks 27 yd run (PAT)	14	14
2:48	(OSU) D. Lowe 26 yd pass from N. De La Rosa (PAT)	14	21
0:46	(OSU) L. Dugans 38 yd FG	14	24
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		TCU	OSU
3:21	(OSU) L. Dugans 40 yd FG	14	27
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		TCU	OSU
9:23	(OSU) V. Te'o 50 yd run (2pt no good)	14	33
7:37	(TCU) L. Longarce 40 yd FG	17	33
1:56	(OSU) F. Tam 4 yd run (PAT)	17	40
0:50	(TCU) C. Trufant 52 yd pass from D. Alworth (2pt Good)	25	40
0:15	(OSU) L. Dugans 45 yd FG	26	43

TCU Horned Frogs PASSING C/A YDS TD INT D. Alworth 22/33 337 1 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD C. Kendricks 16 87 5.4 2 D. Alworth 7 27 3.8 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD A. Rosario 6 57 9.5 T. Verrett 4 72 18.0 C. Garrison 4 66 16.5 T. Draft 3 48 16.0 C. Trufant 2 73 36.5 1

Ohio State Buckeyes PASSING C/A YDS TD INT N. De La Rosa 10/20 158 2 3 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD C. McCracken 23 183 7.9 F. Tam 8 44 5.5 2 L. DuBoise 6 36 6.0 V. Te'o 4 72 18.0 1 N. De La Rosa 3 2 0.6 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD N. Tull 3 37 12.3 1 E. Tandy 2 21 10.5 D. Lowe 2 36 18.0 1 G. Cobb 2 25 12.5 K. Ahlers 1 39 39.0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD E. Clemens 4 1 J. Giguere 10 F. Pounds 11 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG L Dugans 3/3 4/4 46

GAME RECAP

Tied (7-7) after the 1st Quarter of play, TCU would keep things close as JR RB Cortex Kendricks scores a 2nd TD with a nice run midway through the 2nd Quarter to make it 14-14 with just under 4 minutes to play in the half.

Ohio State wasted little time as they take the lead (21-14) on a De La Rosa 26 yd strike to D'Angelo Hall with 2:48 to play.. The Buckeyes then extended their lead to (24-14) with a Lamar Dugans FG.

Ohio State opened up the 2nd half with the ball as Dugans adds FG #2 to extend the lead to (27-14).

De La Rosa would throw (2) 3rd Quarter INT's to kill 2 more scoring opportunities but the Buckeye D comes up with a INT of their own and forces a fumble as neither team adds points.

Still (27-14) as we head into the 4th.. Curtius McCracken would break off 2 nice 1st down runs before coming out of the game for a breather and RS Freshman Vilami Te'o would deliver with is first career TD going 50 yds for the score.. Ohio State would try and attempt the 2pt play but fail making it (33-14). TCU would settle for a 40 yd FG making it (33-17) but another solid 80 yd play with 9 runs totaling 72 yds of that drive including a 4 yd run by F. Tam would help seal the deal as Ohio State makes it (40-17) with under 2 minutes to play.

TCU wasn't giving up though as Darren Alworth hits Cardale Trufant on a 52 yd pass for the score and after the 2pt play it was (40-25).. TCU had no choice but to try for the onside kick, but the Buckeyes recovered and with 0:15 seconds to play Dugans comes in and knocks down his 3rd FG to seal the deal..

UP NEXT

Ohio State retains the #1 ranking going into their Week 3 matchup with #19 Texas Tech.. The Red Raiders are (0-1) on the season after falling to #13 Oklahoma (52-28) in Week 2.

[Deuce2223]

Re: The Making of a Legend Part II "It's Miller Time".. CFB25

BUCKEYES DEFENSE SHINES BIG ON THE ROAD

GAME RECAP


Texas Tech came into the game coming off a disappointing loss to open their season falling (52-28) to Oklahoma and it didn't get any better hosting the Buckeyes..

Ohio State dominated both sides of the ball holding TTU to just 147 yards of Total Offense including just 125 yds through the air.. The Buckeye Defense had a shutout going until the final minutes when TTU rather then try for a 4th and 4 kick a FG just to get points on the scoreboard.

Ohio State led (17-0) at the half and was lead (37-0) when the FG was kicked so it didn't make a ton of sense unless someone was betting on not getting shutout.

After a solid Week 1 performance against Akron, SO QB Nick De La Rosa continued to look solid at times but also not so great at times as he completes just 58% of his pass's throwing for 328 yds with 2 TD and 1 INT.

The Buckeyes run game today put up 183 yds and 2 scores but it got a boost from the WR core as both E. Tandy and N. Tull got into the action.. Tandy took a jet sweep 40 yds finishing the day with 2 carries for 42 yds well Tull added a 11 yd TD run late in the 4th Quarter. FINAL SCORE OHIO STATE-37 TEXAS TECH-3

KEY PLAYERS

QB N. De La Rosa-20/34 (58%) 328 yds 2 TD 1 INT, 4 carries 6 yds
RB C. McCracken-14 carries 127 yds
RB V. Te'o-5 carries 8 yds 1 TD, 2 rec 30 yds
WR E. Tandy-2 carries 42 yds, 3 rec 107 yds 1 TD
WR N. Tull-2 carries 18 yds 1 TD, 2 rec 34 yds
WR D. Lowe-5 rec 86 yds 1 TD
TE J. Trejo-7 rec 71 yds

UP NEXT

Ohio State will return home to start Big Ten play hosting (1-2) Nebraska..

The Cornhuskers kicked off their season with a Week 1 loss vs Oregon (24-16) then lost to Oklahoma State on the road (35-13) before beating Minnesota (27-17) in Week 3.

[redsox907]

Re: The Making of a Legend Part II "It's Miller Time".. CFB25

Rough game for De La Rosa against TCU, but the running game really shined. Probably going to be a throwback year for the Buckeyes, hopefully De La Rosa can make enough plays once the defense puts 10 guys in the box

[Deuce2223]

Re: The Making of a Legend Part II "It's Miller Time".. CFB25

Rough game for De La Rosa against TCU, but the running game really shined. Probably going to be a throwback year for the Buckeyes, hopefully De La Rosa can make enough plays once the defense puts 10 guys in the box

Yeah i don't know what it is. I want to love De La Rosa. His ability ratings make me think he should be really good. He is 96 THP vs Diabate has 90 THP, but so many of his INT's are balls thrown short of the WR on 1 on 1 coverage. And his completion % at times takes a dive cause the WR gets drilled over throws middle by the Defender and drops the ball because the timing is just slightly.off

[redsox907]

Re: The Making of a Legend Part II "It's Miller Time".. CFB25

Yeah i don't know what it is. I want to love De La Rosa. His ability ratings make me think he should be really good. He is 96 THP vs Diabate has 90 THP, but so many of his INT's are balls thrown short of the WR on 1 on 1 coverage. And his completion % at times takes a dive cause the WR gets drilled over throws middle by the Defender and drops the ball because the timing is just slightly.off

Deep Accuracy plays a huge role in the deep passing I'm pretty sure. I too have had more success with QBs with less THP. Semonza only had 89 THP, but threw beautiful deep balls, opposed to Awe who had 96 THP but his accuracy lacked and left a lot of them short.

[Deuce2223]

Re: The Making of a Legend Part II "It's Miller Time".. CFB25

BUCKEYES TEAM REPORT

**So I don't know how many of you had issues with the forums over the weekend but I had issues not just accessing my own thread but even loading and reading others as well.. So instead of posting a recap after each game, I spent most of my weekend playing some games when I wasn't outside enjoying the spring weather throwing Discs.. So with that said I am going to do a little bit different of a update to catch everyone up through Week 6.**


BUCKEYS START 2-0 IN BIG TEN PLAY


Ohio State moved to 5-0 on the season with win over Nebraska (34-6) and Minnesota (49-28).. Both the Huskers and Gophers are struggling this season currently sitting at (1-5) going into Week 7.

DE LA ROSA

It's been somewhat of a roller coaster season for QB Nick De La Rosa. Through 5 games, the Sophomore has completed 56% of his pass's for 1175 yds with 13 TD and 7 INT.

Well it's tough to say the Buckeyes need to make a change well sitting #1 in the country at 5-0, rumors coming out of the locker room is the leash is getting much shorter with the former 5* as not just fan's are starting to believe RS JR Abdul Diabate could be the better fit to lead this team to a potential Big Ten Championship and playoff run.

Diabate relieved De La Rosa in the Buckeyes win over Minnesota in Week 6 and reports are Coach Miller has yet to name a starting QB for Ohio State's Week 7 matchup with USC.

BUCKEYES TRIO OF TERROR

When Dave Jones graduated and took his 2000 yd season with him to the NFL some wondered if former 5* RB's Cameron McCracken and Viliami Te'o were ready to step up and be the "Lighting" to Frederick Tam's "Thunder".. So far the answer is yes.

McCracken who finished with over 700 yds on the ground last season despite Jones getting the bulk of the carries, has picked up were Jones left off leading the team with 82 carries for 637 yds (127.4 avg) well adding 1 TD.

Tam (31 carries 151 yds 4.9 avg) has also picked up where he left off (scored 17 TD's in 2033, and 24 in 2034) as he leads the team with 6 TD's in 4 games of action.

Te'o, getting his first taste of action after redshirting last year has been a beast so far backing up McCracken with 19 carries for 131 yds (6.9 avg) well adding 2 TD's.

TRIO PART II

The Buckeyes don't just have 3 RB's excelling this season. they got 3 WR's doing the same in the passing game despite inconsistent play at QB.

JR Nick Tull leads the team with 23 rec for 369 yds and 5 TD, RS SO D'Angelo Lowe has 19 rec for 338 yds and 4 TD and JR WR Ezekiel Tandy has 15 rec for 315 yds and 4 TD as all 3 have a legit shot at 1000 yd seasons.

PEREZ LOOKING TO ADD HIS NAME TO THE RECORD BOOKS

WITH 5.5 Sacks on the season through the first 5 games, SR OLB John Perez is on pace to break the Ohio State single season record held by Chase Young (17) set in 2019.. Perez now with 40 sacks in his career has already set a new Career record for the Buckeyes and is just 3 sacks away from breaking the Big Ten record of 42 set by Notre Dame's Jimmy Tommer..

INJURY REPORT

Th Buckeyes have struggled with injuries the past 3 seasons and this year is no different as we currently have 3 players on the IR.

JR DE Cortez Summer (84) is out for the next 3 weeks with a Torn Bicep

RS FR LT Taylor Ring (86) is out for the game against USC with a Dislocated Elbow.

SR FS Shaq Booker (87) is out for the next 5 weeks with a Dislocated Hip..

RECRUITING NEWS

After starting the season with 3 instant commitments in Week 1, it's been a slow go on the recruiting trail this season for Coach Miller but he did get 1 more commitment this week after the Minnesota game..

4* RB George Kircus (#38 Overall/#5 TX/#3 RB) has signed on.. Listed at 6'0 194 lbs from Newton Texas, Kircus is a receiving back who will likely redshirt and be viewed as a potential backup to Te'o down the road.

Reports are both Ohio state and FIU are still battling for 5* RB Desean Pryor (#31 Overall/#3 FL/#2 RB).. With the Buckeyes scheduling a Week 9 visit to Columbus and the Panthers currently having a Week 12 visit scheduled.. Well Alabama trails at #3.

[Deuce2223]

Re: The Making of a Legend Part II "It's Miller Time".. CFB25

FIU PANTHERS TEAM REPORT

PERFECT PANTHERS

FIU is 5-0 Overall and 3-0 in ACC play on the season extending their winning streak to 37 games..

FIU opened their season with a (33-21) win over Florida State in Week 1..

The Panthers then played their closest Battle in 10 years with the FAU Owls in the "Shula Bowl" winning (21-18) in Week 3 coming off their "Bye Week".

FIU has then gone on to win 3 straight in ACC play (likely their last season) with wins over Rutgers (56-13), Virginia (34-13) and Maryland (42-20)..

The Panthers will head to Blacksburg VA in Week 7 to play against the #21 (3-2) Virginia Tech Hokies in a rematch of last year's ACC Championship game.

KEVIN POUNDS

KP is having a solid Senior season currently on pace to break both Case Keenum's Career Passing record (19,217 yds) and Miami's Legend Coffee's ACC Record (17.338).

Pounds through the first 5 games has completed 70% of his pass's for 1299 yds with 15 TD's and 3 INT.. He also leads the Panthers in rushing with 62 carries for 292 yds with 3 TD..

For his career Pounds currently sits at 16,807 yds passing and 2184 yds rushing. with over 200 combined TD's.

RUN GAME

RS SR's Tim Trinidad and Emari Allotey are no Tavon Logan/Tristian Tompkins but the duo isn't at least giving the Panthers almost 100 yds combined each game well scoring 6 touchdowns (Trinidad 50 carries 212 yds 5 TD/Allotey 45 carries 193 yds 1 TD).

STILL STEPPING BECOMING THE #1

With the graduation of the Panthers Top-5 WR's last season (3 Seniors/2 early entries), so far former 4* RS FR James Stills has stepped up. Stills leads the Panthers with 30 rec for 384 yds and has scored a team high 8 TD's so far through 5 games.

RS SR Eric Longo moved back from TE to WR this season and has become a reliable #2.. Longo has 29 rec for a team high 409 yds and has scored 5 TD's.

INJURY REPORT

SR LG Stephon Avril (92) is considered a potential NFL draft pick at the end of the year, but sadly FIU will be without the 6'5 322lb guard for at least the next 12 weeks with a Broken Tailbone.

RECRUITING NEWS

Going into Week 7 the Panthers have yet to sign anyone but but currently are #1 on 12 of of the Top 17 players on the Panther Big Board and #2 on 4 of the others..

The 1 player however that FIU has currently fallen to #3 is the players who currently sits in the #1 spot on the Big Board.

5* QB Deontae Stoudemire (#20 Overall/#2 GA/#2 QB) is listed at 6'6 202lbs from Longanville GA. He would be the perfect replacement for Kevin Pounds, but so far Alabama is #1 for his services with Tennessee #2, well FIU is currently trying to hold off Louisville for the #3 spot With Florida and Georgia at #5/6

[xboxxerx]

Re: The Making of a Legend Part II "It's Miller Time".. CFB25

Forums have been bugged for a few days now. Everyone has been talking about it. Steve mentioned it and said they are trying to figure out what is causing it. They actually seem to be doing better tonight.

Question for you though Deuce. With FIU. I know you play a couple games at least every season. Do you slow slim and watch games as well, or do you just sim them to the end? What playbook are they using? I ask cause I always see people complaining about results when it comes to simming, but FIU is doing great.

Sent from my SM-S928U using Operation Sports mobile app

[Deuce2223]

Re: The Making of a Legend Part II "It's Miller Time".. CFB25

BUCKEYES DOMINATE TROJANS!!

Ohio State Buckeyes at USC Trojans
Jan 1,	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
#1 Ohio State Buckeyes (5-0)	7	24	14	14	59
USC Trojans (3-2)	0	7	6	7	20

Team Stats Comparison
	OSU	USC
Total Offense	644	308
Rushing Yards	281	33
Passing Yards	363	258
First Downs	33	8
Punt Return Yards	29	16
Kick Return Yards	45	67
Total Yards	718	391
Turnovers	0	1
3rd Down Conversion	8/13	3/10
4th Down Conversion	2/2	0/1
2-Point Conversion		0/1
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals
Penalties	0-0	2-10
Possession Time	24:43	15:17

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		OSU	USC
6:11	(OSU) C. McCracken 5 yd run (PAT)	7	0
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		OSU	USC
9:35	(OSU) C. McCracken 1 yd run (PAT)	14	0
5:12	(OSU) N. Tull 11 yd pass from N. De La Rosa (PAT)	21	0
1:56	(OSU) K. Ahlers 15 yd pass from N. De La Rosa (PAT)	28	0
0:40	(USC) DJ Frank 4 yd pass from J. Keglar (PAT)	28	7
0:00	(OSU) L. Dugans 33 yd FG	31	7
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		OSU	USC
7:47	(USC) DJ Frank 60 yd pass from J. Keglar (2pt No Good)	31	13
7:30	(OSU) C. McCracken 68 yd run (PAT)	38	13
4:30	(OSU) F. Tam 3 yd run (PAT)	45	13
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		OSU	USC
5:26	(OSU) N. Tull 8 yd pass from N. De La Rosa (PAT)	52	13
1:46	(USC) S. Amatova 16 yd pass from M. Gainwall (PAT)	52	20
0:10	(OSU) D. Lowe 14 yd pass from N. De La Rosa (PAT)	59	20

Ohio State Buckeyes PASSING C/A YDS TD INT N. De La Rosa 26/37 363 4 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD C. McCracken 17 155 9.1 3 F. Tam 8 76 9.5 1 V. Teo 3 32 10.6 L. Dubois 3 17 5.6 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD E. Tandy 9 87 9.6 D. Lowe 6 106 17.6 1 N. Tull 4 45 11.2 2 K. Ahlers 3 59 19.6 1 J. Trejo 2 27 13.5 G. Cobb 1 22 22.0 M Trueblood 1 17 17.0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD J. Perez 5 1.0 G. Carmichael 4 1.0 N. Costanzo 3 1.0

USC Trojans PASSING C/A YDS TD INT J. Keglar 9/14 172 2 M. Gainwall 5/10 86 1 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD D. Rachal 11 29 2.6 J. Keglar 10 19 1.9 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD D. Frank 5 132 26.4 2 J. Avila 2 41 20.5 M. Maybin 2 33 16.4 S. Amatova` 2 32 16.0 D. Burks 1 11 11.0

GAME RECAP

Ohio State moves to 6-0 on the season and 3-0 in Big Ten play picking up their first win over USC in the Coach Miller era. The Buckeyes dominated the first half taking a (28-0) lead before USC finally got on the scoreboard.

Despite leading (31-7) at the half and (31-13) early in the 3rd Quarter, the Buckeyes never took their foot off the offense gas pedal as they score 4 more times to close out the victory..

With rumors all week that QB Nick De La Rosa was probably 1 INT away from losing his starting job, the Sophomore stepped up playing one of the best games of his career as the pass's for a season high 363 yds with 4 TD's and no INT's..

The run game continued to be dominate.. JR RB Cameron McCracken came into the game with just 1 rushing TD on the season but ended the game with a hat trick scoring 3 times including a 68 yd TD run early in the 3rd.

Backup RB Viliami Te'o made the most of his 3 carries going 32 yds to avg (10.6 yds per carry).

UP NEXT

Ohio State will stay on the Westcoast for a Week 8 matchup @ #11 (4-2) Washington...

INJURY REPORT

JR TE Joe Trejo (88) hits the IR with a Hamstring tear.. The Tulsa transfer is expected to miss the next 8 weeks.. Trejo has 11 rec for 126 yds on the season.

[Deuce2223]

Re: The Making of a Legend Part II "It's Miller Time".. CFB25

Forums have been bugged for a few days now. Everyone has been talking about it. Steve mentioned it and said they are trying to figure out what is causing it. They actually seem to be doing better tonight.

Question for you though Deuce. With FIU. I know you play a couple games at least every season. Do you slow slim and watch games as well, or do you just sim them to the end? What playbook are they using? I ask cause I always see people complaining about results when it comes to simming, but FIU is doing great.

Sent from my SM-S928U using Operation Sports mobile app

So far I have played FIU and the Rutgers game. I plan on playing most of the game this year cause I would really like to see Pounds break the record and if I sim I don't know if he will have good enough games. Example against FAU he only threw for 181 yds with 2 TD and 1 INT and against Virginia he only threw for 232 yds with 2 TD and 2 INT.

When I sim I am they are using the Wisconsin playbook cause current Head Coach Barry Valdez is actually Luke Fickell the former Wisconsin Coach.

When I actually play the games I have been using the same custom playbook that I run with Ohio State.. My custom book basically is like 7 different Shotgun formations including a recently added 3 TE formation, the Flexbone and I-Form for running and I still have a Wildcat formation from when I had a couple ex QB's turned RB but currently non of my RB's are former QB.. Rasmussen was but he graduated.

I do see some odd things sometimes with sim scores.. Most of the times it's just upsets of Top-25 teams by teams that shouldn't win, but this year #9 V.T. beat #2 Alabama in Week 1 (7-6).