Have you ever gone into a game secretly hoping to loose?

[minikiller]

Lol probably not right? But that’s exactly what happened with me last night.

To set this up I imported my own team, put them in the American conference and had 4 great seasons with them. I was averaging 9-4 a season, 2 conference champs and 2 bowl wins. AA custom sliders. My fourth and last season before I jumped to ACC I went 14-0 and won it all. My team rating was an 88 so not crazy but that’s when I begin making sliders more difficult.

In any case I’m in my second year at ACC and am sitting 5-1. My rating is actually an 86 now. The game I “wanted” to drop was vs #8 Clemson who is a 96 overall. I just adjusted sliders again to make it tougher and in a way wanted to drop the game to prove I have decent sliders. Both teams had 2 turnovers and with a chance to put me away late they gave up a fumble. I went 80 yards to tie and bring it to OT. I then won in triple OT.

Thrilling exciting annoying I laughed I cried lmao but came away like...did I straight up earn that win or do I need more adjustments.

Haha anyway we both finished with 450plus yards of offense, my biggest thing is I still can’t stop the pass. I play 3-4 D typically. I’m 1st in the nation against the run giving up just under 80 a game but 122nd in passing giving up nearly 280.

[osubucki6]

Re: Have you ever gone into a game secretly hoping to loose?

I hate to lose. I'm used to playing games competitively so when I came back to NCAA it was a major adjustment for me because I was playing the CPU instead of another person and therefore was looking for somewhat sim results. I feel like I have to lose games in my dynasties and as long as I just straight up get beat I have no problem with it. What always bothers me is when it's just dumb stuff constantly as the reason I lose, like my defenders not playing the ball or dropped passes that turn into interceptions.

As for your game, I'd say you earned it depending on how you played. If you just spammed the same play over and over again that would probably change my answer but it sounds like you play as realistic as you can. I would say your slider set is probably okay but could be made more difficult if you want a bigger challenge.

Your defensive numbers are also on par with what's normal in the game. Passing numbers in simmed CPU games are always much lower than they are in real life which means user pass defense is going to be one of the worst in the country. The opposite is also true for run defense. And in comparison to me, those numbers are great. I'm giving up 207 rushing yards per game (6.2 yards per rush) and 267.6 passing yards per game. That leads to 41.8 points per game for my opponent and it all really frustrates me because for the last 4 years playing competitive Madden my defense has been my strong suit. It's just completely different between the two games and I feel like my players don't do anything I tell them to. I say this to let you know that as long as you're enjoying what you're doing, there is no need to adjust the sliders. If you like the way it plays then you're fine.

[Tuscaloosa]

Re: Have you ever gone into a game secretly hoping to loose?

Man, I've dedicated entire threads to it lol. On beast10's recommendation, I now control both offenses just to make sure my *** gets kicked when it needs to. There are still upsets, but they're pretty rare, as they should be.

[minikiller]

Re: Have you ever gone into a game secretly hoping to loose?

Thanks for the reply. I play on eight minute quarters, not sure if that lines up with yardage. It does seem that the CPU starts the game running well against me but the second they get two or three loss of yard plays they completely abandon the run because they’re passing works so well.

I cannot agree more about the cheese I sometimes face. There are literally times I line up on third and long and go there going to get it, and BOOM they somehow get it. I also noticed times where I’m holding Y harder than I’ve held my own baby boy LOL and my corner just watches the ball go over his head into the CPUs hands.

As far as plays I run, I typically use that ask Coach function and force myself to use that category. It ends up with me running the same 7 to 10 past plays throughout the game and probably 4 to 5 run plays

[RoyMela]

Re: Have you ever gone into a game secretly hoping to loose?

I always play to loose myself. But never to lose, if that is what you mean?

[SilverBullet19]

Re: Have you ever gone into a game secretly hoping to loose?

There are certainly games where I feel like I deserve to lose, and some where I hope the CPU puts me in my place. Losing a game keeps some element of realism alive, and can reinvigorate my excitement to play.

I won back-to-back National Championships in my dynasty, and had a winning streak of like 43 games. I was 13-1, 14-0, 14-0. My team was around low 90's at that point.

Going into 2023, I won my first couple games. Finally I came across Oklahoma. We were the top 2 in the nation. They jumped out to a huge lead, and I was like "yes, finally, a real challenge." I came roaring back but lost 43-38. CPU definitely earned it over me.

Then I faced Boise State in Boise. They were an 86, me an 88. They shut me down, we had an exciting 4th quarter and they picked me off to win it 30-27. One I expected to win, but was actually happy to lose.

Those two losses really made my dynasty more fun, honestly.

[arthurbays]

Re: Have you ever gone into a game secretly hoping to loose?

I have "wanted" to lose a game plenty of times.

I hate when the game becomes too easy or unrealistic so I always adjust sliders and strive for a competitive experience rather than an undefeated one.

I took Georgia State to a 10-3 season my first year as head coach last season which I was happy with because I even got upset by Troy on the road in the middle of the season.

This year I am 3-1 and my only loss so far was on the road against Boise.

I suggest searching up some All-American difficulty realism sliders because they make the game much more believable and fun to play. You won't have every game put up 1000 yards of offense and 100 points combined.

[canes21]

Re: Have you ever gone into a game secretly hoping to loose?

I know exactly what you are talking about, OP. In my most recent dynasty in Coach Mode with UMASS I had plenty of games where I "hoped" to lose to ensure my sliders were properly providing a challenge. The first 4 years of that dynasty I always found a way to beat a ranked team and pull off the upset which made me happy, but I always wanted to get put back into my place when facing better teams. I felt it was unrealistic for a team as untalented as mine to do too much in one season. Fortunately I'd go no better than 8-4 in any year. I was something like 28-20 in 4 years at UMass, but 4-1 against ranked teams. It was strange, but I was happy to lose 4+ each season because it felt realistic for a team of that caliber to lose that many even with good to great coaching.


My main goal in my dynasties is to have the game play out as if I am a good coach. I don't want to be an elite coach. So I do want to lose my fair share of games when I should and get upset every once in awhile.

[minikiller]

Re: Have you ever gone into a game secretly hoping to loose?

I always play to loose myself. But never to lose, if that is what you mean?

Right on with the beer. I literally checked twice to avoid stuff like that and yet still it happened. Lol 🍻

[blackscorpion11]

Re: Have you ever gone into a game secretly hoping to loose?

Sometimes I wish the cpu would play better and beat me like madden does

[nofx94]

Re: Have you ever gone into a game secretly hoping to loose?

I just had my most dominant performance ever against Cal in my 07 dynasty and I thought they'd be the first team to give me a challenge all year. They were ranked A+ across the board just like I was. I think the final was 45-0. I've never been so disappointed to win.

Two seasons ago I had two regular season losses that were assisted by lack of attention. It was exciting to keep things lively.

[acts238shaun]

Re: Have you ever gone into a game secretly hoping to loose?

Player lock is a great equalizer towards the CPU.

[huskerfan01]

Re: Have you ever gone into a game secretly hoping to loose?

Spoiler

Lol probably not right? But that’s exactly what happened with me last night.

To set this up I imported my own team, put them in the American conference and had 4 great seasons with them. I was averaging 9-4 a season, 2 conference champs and 2 bowl wins. AA custom sliders. My fourth and last season before I jumped to ACC I went 14-0 and won it all. My team rating was an 88 so not crazy but that’s when I begin making sliders more difficult.

In any case I’m in my second year at ACC and am sitting 5-1. My rating is actually an 86 now. The game I “wanted” to drop was vs #8 Clemson who is a 96 overall. I just adjusted sliders again to make it tougher and in a way wanted to drop the game to prove I have decent sliders. Both teams had 2 turnovers and with a chance to put me away late they gave up a fumble. I went 80 yards to tie and bring it to OT. I then won in triple OT.

Thrilling exciting annoying I laughed I cried lmao but came away like...did I straight up earn that win or do I need more adjustments.

Haha anyway we both finished with 450plus yards of offense, my biggest thing is I still can’t stop the pass. I play 3-4 D typically. I’m 1st in the nation against the run giving up just under 80 a game but 122nd in passing giving up nearly 280.

I can totally relate to this sentiment of ranking in the top for rush defense but horrible in pass defense. I seem to always allow like 60 rushing yards a game even though I run a 4-2-5 and defend pass 70 vs defend run 20. It just doesn't make sense, but it's mainly the sliders.

As for "wanting" to lose, I understand your point, but I haven't gotten to that point in my dynasty yet. I did a ULM dynasty and they have a 94 base OVR WR with ridiculous speed and their skill players mesh well with my custom playbook.

So in my second season, after going 4-8, I decided to test myself with a road game to Penn State which was ranked 11th at the time. Needless to say I found myself winning late in the 4th quarter, and these sliders were Heisman and the year before I got blown out by 40+ points to OU in non-con. I actually had a chance to win it, but went uber conservative and actually forced myself to lose it. I was 0-2 going into the game so it didn't feel right being 4-10 and beating an 11th ranked team on the road, especially because I was 4-1 in games that I played. (I mainly sim dynasties that I don't report over on OS)

[Deegeezy]

Re: Have you ever gone into a game secretly hoping to loose?

I never go into a game wanting to lose, but when I do, it is welcomed. Makes for better story-telling when adversity hits every now and then.

[AKEjcl41]

Re: Have you ever gone into a game secretly hoping to loose?

I've started this offseason (1st) after a dynasty reboot, and trying to improve the recruiting class of teams that finished in the top 10. Going through and giving each true freshman a +5 OVR ratings boost to keep the top teams at the top and keep them very competitive going against the user. I haven't faced a team that I've improved yet, or haven't been through a second season to see if it helps, but I don't like playing year 4 or 5 and having Army #1 and undefeated, Navy #3 and having top 10 recruiting classes. So my intent was to keep teams like USC, Alabama, Clemson, Ohio St, Michigan, Oklahoma, etc, at the top and make them harder to beat during bowl season or during the regular season when I get to a Power 5 school. Even though the top 10 will not always be the same, there will always be the usual suspects and I hope it creates more parity when I get to Power 5 level and not go 13-1, or 14-0 every year and win 7 0f 10 national championships. I already do all the hard sliders and play calling restrictions and house rules, so I'm basically just wondering if anyone has tried something like this...and their results.