NCAA Football 09 Playoffs

[TheGamingChef]

As promised I am going to run a simulation with the very popular 16 team playoff system that I tweaked to my liking and personalized earlier this season. I have been following it for a while and will occasionally post the results of the games on here. I will be using the base roster file of NCAA Football 09 on Xbox 360, with names - but no rating alterations.

In my experience this system, or one very similar to it, is easily the most popular playoff system for those who favor a 16 team playoff. Here's how the rules work:

1) Sixteen teams qualify for this playoff - all eleven conference champions as well as five at-large qualifiers.
2) The BCS ranking system will be kept. We will use these rankings to determine the at-large participants as well as to seed all 16 teams in the bracket.
3) The five at-large qualifiers will be the five highest rated teams in the BCS rankings that are not champions of their respective conferences, that meet the following criteria:
3a) All at-large participants must come from one of the six current "BCS" conferences (Pac 10, Big XII, Big 10, ACC, SEC, Big East)
3b) No conference may have more than three teams in the playoff - meaning no conference may have more than two at-large selections.
4) The first round games of the playoff will be played at the home stadiums of the higher seeded team.
5) The four quarterfinal games will be played at the sites of the Gator, Cotton, and Capital One bowls, as well as the Fiesta/Rose/Orange/Sugar Bowl sites on a rotating four-year schedule. The order for the bowl sites to select the game they want is in the reverse order of how I just listed them.
6) The two semifinal games will be played at the sites of the Fiesta/Rose/Orange/Sugar Bowl sites on a rotating four-year schedule. The order of site/game selection will also rotate.
7) The championship game will be played at the sites of the Fiesta/Rose/Orange/Sugar Bowl sites on a rotating four-year schedule.

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So, based on this system, here are the qualifiers in the NCAA Football 09 Playoff system. For the Xbox 360 simulation, I will supersim the games.

AUTOMATICS:
Virginia Tech (ACC automatic)
Oklahoma (Big XII automatic)
Cincinnati (Big East automatic)
Penn State (Big 10 automatic)
East Carolina (C-USA automatic)
Buffalo (MAC automatic)
Utah (Mountain West automatic)
USC (Pac 10 automatic)
Florida (SEC automatic)
Troy (Sun Belt automatic)
Boise State (WAC automatic)

AT-LARGES:
Texas
Alabama
Texas Tech
Ohio State
Georgia Tech

BRACKET:
#16 Troy @ #1 Oklahoma
#9 Boise State @ #8 Penn State

#12 Georgia Tech @ #5 USC
#13 Virginia Tech @ #4 Alabama


#14 East Carolina @ #3 Texas
#11 Cincinnati @ #6 Utah

#10 Ohio State @ #7 Texas Tech
#15 Buffalo @ #2 Florida

The first game features #16 seeded Troy Trojans, champions of the Sun Belt conference, facing off against the top seeded University of Oklahoma Sooners, the automatic entry from the Big XII conference, at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. I will post the results soon.

[firktaf]

That's a good bracket and I'm intrigued to see who wins. However, you broke your own rule.

"3a) All at-large participants must come from one of the six current "BCS" conferences (Pac 10, Big XII, Big 10, ACC, SEC, Big East)"

TCU wouldn't be in due to this. I think they should be in though sicne their only losses are to #1 Oklahoma and #6 Utah. It's up to you though to either change the stipulation or to switch out TCU with...Georgia Tech, I believe.

[TheGamingChef]

SOONERS SURVIVE SCARE IN NORMAN
Trojans Give Oklahoma All It Can Handle

A young Sooner fan registers his displeasure following a missed 54-yard field goal attempt by Tress Way late in the 4th quarter Saturday.

This game wasn't supposed to be this close.

The top ranked Oklahoma Sooners, shoo-ins for a spot in the national title game under the old "BCS" system, were given a "gimme" game in the first round of the 2008-09 playoffs.

From Troy, Alabama, came the lowly Troy Trojans, champions of the least prestigious conference in all of college football, the Sun Belt.

And the Trojans nearly went back to Alabama with a win. But after sixty minutes of intense, hard-fought football, the Trojans came up just short, falling 12-7 in Norman, OK.

"I can't tell you how proud I am of our boys right now," said an emotional Larry Blakeney, Troy head coach, following the game. "No one gave them a chance and for them to come out and have a chance to win right at the end? Just a phenomenal effort."

The Oklahoma offense, so potent throughout the course of the regular season, never found its rhythm against a surprisingly stout Troy defensive unit that only surrendered 370 yards on the night. Heisman hopeful Sam Bradford was held in check, completing 19 of 29 for just 225 and no touchdowns. Bradford did throw an interception at the end of the first half, however.

From the outset, it was obvious this battle would be a defensive one. The two teams traded punts before Tress Way knocked in a 41 yard field goal early. Following more punts, the Trojans shocked every fan in the stadium with a 71 yard touchdown pass from Tanner Jones to Cornelius Williams for a touchdown, to give the underdog a 7-3 lead in the 2nd quarter.

The game remained without major incident until, with 3:13 remaining in the half, superstar DeMarco Murray pulled off a fantastic 54 yard rush into the end zone to put the lead back into Sooner hands. "I gotta give full credit to my o-line," Murray said. "That hole just opened up wide and I jumped through it."

It seemed as if a 10-7 halftime score was inevitable until the ball was placed back into Bradford's hands. Bradford led the Sooners on a late drive to the Trojan 1-yard line, until a holding penalty placed the ball back at the 11. With 0:08 remaining in the half, Bradford's pass was intercepted at the Troy 2 by Trevor Ford. In a pleasant surprise to Sooner fans (that may have saved the game), Trojan running back DuJuan Harris was tackled in the end zone on the last play of the half to give a 12-7 edge to OU at the intermission.

"They [the players] seemed in shock at halftime," said Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops. "It wasn't a pleasant locker room. We expected to walk onto the field and be declared the champion, and give all the credit in the world to [Troy]. They came in ready to play."

In the second half, the defensive battle continued, with neither side making up much ground throughout the entire 3rd quarter and part of the 4th. Early in the 4th quarter, Troy tailback DuJuan Harris made his second major mistake of the game, fumbling the ball and resulting in another turnover.

After one first down, OU's offense sputtered. With a 12-7 lead and about 3 minutes to play, Coach Stoops faced a tough decision. 4th and 7 at the Troy 37-yard line with 2:42 to play. Despite the fact that his defense had been stifling the Troy offense, Stoops elected for a long field goal try rather than a pooch punt. True freshman Tress Way trotted onto the field for his second attempt of the game. Way's 54-yard attempt fell short, and Troy took over possession down five points at their own 44-yard line.

It was then that the Troy offense caught on fire. With Oklahoma dropping seven and eight defenders into pass coverage, DuJuan Harris broke off consistent six and seven yard rushes to push the ball down the field. "During that drive you could hear a pin drop throughout the whole stadium," said OU quarterback Sam Bradford. "I really can't describe in words the feelings that I had. I was just sick. I felt really sick the whole time."

Troy pounded the ball, primarily on the ground, all the way to the Oklahoma 15-yard line. With all three timeouts remaining and 1:15 remaining on the clock, the Trojan sideline's excitement could be seen all across the stadium. But the next play deflated their championship dreams. Sophomore running back DuJuan Harris, already responsible for two Trojan turnovers, dropped a pitch from quarterback Tanner Jones at the 11-yard line. A monstrous pile ensued with both teams fighting for the ball. In the end, junior linebacker Keenan Clayton came up with the ball for the Sooners. A collective sigh of relief was felt throughout the state of Oklahoma. Bradford came on the field and was able to earn one first down to let the clock expire.

"This isn't all on DuJuan [Harris]," said Coach Blakeney. "This isn't on him at all. He played one of the best games of his life. This was a team effort. Our team gave 100% and it wasn't enough. Sometimes another team is better than yours."

Troy finishes the season with an 8-5 mark. The Sooners improve to 13-1 and advance to play the winner of the Boise State @ Penn State matchup in the quarterfinals at a site to be determined.

UPDATED BRACKET:

#1 Oklahoma vs. Winner of #8/#9
#9 Boise State @ #8 Penn State

#12 Georgia Tech @ #5 USC
#13 Virginia Tech @ #4 Alabama


#14 East Carolina @ #3 Texas
#11 Cincinnati @ #6 Utah

#10 Ohio State @ #7 Texas Tech
#15 Buffalo @ #2 Florida

[TheGamingChef]

Quote: Originally Posted by firktaf

That's a good bracket and I'm intrigued to see who wins. However, you broke your own rule. "3a) All at-large participants must come from one of the six current "BCS" conferences (Pac 10, Big XII, Big 10, ACC, SEC, Big East)" TCU wouldn't be in due to this. I think they should be in though sicne their only losses are to #1 Oklahoma and #6 Utah. It's up to you though to either change the stipulation or to switch out TCU with...Georgia Tech, I believe.

Excellent catch man. I didn't even check to see if any team broke that rule because I didn't expect to have to mess with it.

I too believe TCU is more worthy than Georgia Tech, but I put that stipulation in the rules because I feel it would make the system more acceptable to the BCS conference. I dunno, just thought it would be more realistic. I think I've fixed the brackets properly, but if you see anything else wrong, please let me know!

The next game - Boise State @ Penn State - may be posted later today, but possibly tomorrow.

[Squeezee12]

this is awesome. very curious to see how this turns out. are you supersim or watching the game play by play?

[jacory12]

Yeah really good job on the bracket. Its a good idea to have the at-large teams come from BCS conferences.

[MillardMavs]

will be fun to keep in tack. Good luck. I will be following

[TheGamingChef]

Quote: Originally Posted by Squeezee12

this is awesome. very curious to see how this turns out. are you supersim or watching the game play by play?

I am strictly supersim right now, which shows how weird the Troy-OU score really is! Boise State-Penn State had a FANTASTIC finish which I will post in detail about tomorrow...