UPA Coyotes Dynasty NCAA 04
 

UPA COYOTES DYNASTY
NCAA 04 GameCube

Background:
The UPA Coyotes were my first created team after I was introduced to NCAA, and I had some great experiences playing with them. Unfortunately the memory card I was using got corrupted and I had to start over. But now I’ve fallen back in love with the game and so I decided to revive the team.

Story: The University of Pennsylvania-Altoona is located in Central Pennsylvania, where football is everyone’s Sunday pastime. From the Steelers to Pitt or Penn State and even the hometown single-A HS powerhouse Bishop Guilfoyle Marauders, everyone is talking or watching football. And on December 7th, 2021, the university announced a new football team, which would be competing in the FBS Independents, in place of UConn. Everyone was excited, and the first practices drew thousands of students, fans, and sportswriters alike. The head coach, Chauncey Goss, who quarterbacked the original coyotes, was hyping up the team every chance he got. The city and fans were ready for football season like they never had been before.
Excited until the first practice, where everyone realized that the team sucked.
There’s a long, long road ahead for the Coyotes.


(Sorry if the image is too large; still working out how to use everything on here. If you can tell me how to fix it would be much appreciated)

Re: UPA Coyotes Dynasty NCAA 04
 

SEASON PREVIEW
The UPA Coyotes Altoona’s new Division 1-A football team, the UPA Coyotes, just had its first week of practices. As thousands flocked to Mansion Park to see the team, we were able to get a good first peek at
how the team will perform. And if the practices are any indicator, Chauncey Goss and his team are going to be in for a long year.
That’s not to say that the team is without any talent. While Hector Morris, a 6-3 QB with decent power and accuracy stats of 65 each is penciled in as the starter, sophomores Oliver Dean and Jacob Caldwell look to challenge him for the job. Dean was the fan favorite early on, flexing his impressive 85 throw power on multiple long bombs during the initial practice. However, he also has a tendency to misuse that big arm, firing into coverage and missing simple routes. Caldwell, on the other hand, barely has the ability to throw 25 yards down the field. But you’d better believe that he’s getting the ball where it needs to be, with his 80 throw accuracy. The QB room might not impress year one, but it’ll be interesting to see how these players develop.

The running back room is interesting. Sophomore Lamont Carter is the starter, a balanced 70 OVR halfback with 71 Spd. He’s nothing special, but not terrible either. He should be a dependable option in year 1, unlikely to make mistakes but simultaneously not going to be the guy to make the big play. Behind him are Darrin Hernandez and Jeff Andrews, who look to improve but right now aren’t much of a threat to anything other than the team’s YPC.

Fullbacks could be a strength this year. FB Willis Fernández, brother of Darrin, has some of the best blocking on the team with an 80 RBK and PBK. The issue is that he has a hard time actually finding someone to use his skills on, often seeming lost due to his 36 awareness stat. If he develops he could become an important part of this team. He is backed up by 54 OVR Josh Bonner.

Receivers are nothing special. Junior Dominique Morant is the starter, with his two best attributes being his 73 Spd and 71 Catching. Unfortunately for the Coyotes, he is the only one over 60 OVR. The rest of the receivers are young guys with various issues, often being carrying, catching, and especially speed. None of them are above 75 speed, and separation is likely to be a big problem this year. The tight ends are more than forgettable. Ahmad Crockett, a Junior [RS], is the clear starter and he has 53 catching. These guys are strictly blockers, as Deshon Ulrich, the other tight end, is inferior in pretty much every stat.

The offensive line is a floodgate waiting to be broken. Ross Blount, a 61 OVR redshirt sophomore has had some impressive pancakes, but the unit has struggled to open up holes for their backs. And if you’re a quarterback, you’d better have insurance. These guys might hold OK against the scout team defense, but if you want to beat teams like Penn State or Pitt someday, you’re going to want to have slightly less than 4 guys in the backfield on every play. Likely going to be a problem group for a long, long time.

The Coyotes are better on the defensive side. Goss, despite being a quarterback, is known for his defensive knowledge which aided him in taking the job from the starter in his true freshman year.

The ends are Marquis Gardner and Mike Timmons, who are tall but not big. They have done OK generating pressure, but that is more likely due to solid technique than strength and quickness. The tackles are probably the best unit on this team. There are 6 on the 50-man roster, and the starters, Jermelle Lane and Demetric Long don’t disappoint. They are not fast, but have impressive strength stats of 80 and 77 respectively and have the potential to be consistent run-stuffers. Against the offensive line, it seemed like them and their backups Russel Gaines and Ryan Davidson got past the line of scrimmage more than the running backs did. This group looks like an actual low-tier FBS group, although their OVRs are not impressive. They are strong where it counts, and could surprise in year 1.

The linebackers have decent tackling, and that’s about it. No one is above 57 OVR. Brandon Bass has the highest speed of the group at 55, and many of them seem to be unaware of the play going on around them. They will need help from the rest of the defense to be productive. Dane Stephens, the starting MLB, is only a sophomore and looks like he has room to grow, however. We will see how he develops.

The secondary is pretty strong overall. Raleigh Sawyer, the senior cornerback is probably the best player on the team and has taken leadership of the defense. Austin Dukes, Irvin Erwin and Ryan Norwood have all demonstrated the ability to win balls 1v1, and play very aware and aggressive football. The issue is that they sometimes don’t have the speed to back up that aggressiveness, and often get beat deep. UPA will have to play a lot of deep zones if they don’t want to get picked apart in the pass game.

The safety position lacks depth, but 65 OVR sophomore Graham Pollard and 59 OVR senior Leroy Morgan have played above their skill level and should give the Coyotes some support in the secondary. Seems like a boom-or-bust position group overall, as they do not have impressive ratings across the board, and could be picked apart when facing better teams. Covering Dominique Morant is going to be much different than when Larry Fitzgerald comes to town.

The specialists are uninspiring at best, although that is most likely accentuated by the user sucking at the game. The most interesting part of the group is Keenan Lavin, who stands at 7’0 and 235 pounds, most of that being muscle. Whether that helps his leg or not remains to be seen. The punter, Steve Martin, does not boast a super impressive leg, and might be challenged by Lavin for his job. He is only a freshman, however, and so has some cushion in terms of performance.

Overall, it’s hard to imagine the Coyotes winning a game against an FBS opponent this year. It’s possible, but unless the team demonstrates above-average toughness and will, their skill sets are definitely not enough to take them even close to a bowl appearance. Coach Goss has talked up the players’ drive and the chip that has been put on their shoulders, and the Coyotes certainly seem to be a pretty strong group of kids. The issue with that is that a strong group of kids is not enough to win football games. And UPA will undoubtedly find that out if their preseason projections are any indicator.

Stay tuned. Goss's team may not achieve much in year one, but he's no stranger to underdog stories.

Re: UPA Coyotes Dynasty NCAA 04
 

2003 Schedule:

1: Bye
2: Vs Penn
3: At Army
4: Vs #12 Pittsburgh
5: At Buffalo
6: At #23 Purdue
7: Vs Temple
8: At North Carolina
9: Bye
10: Vs Akron
11: At Western Michigan
12: Vs Rutgers
13: At Wake Forest
14: Vs Navy
15: Bye
16: Bye

Division: 1A independents

Re: UPA Coyotes Dynasty NCAA 04
 

I forgot to add some of the rules for this dynasty:

• Heisman Difficulty
• All sliders at default for CPU, +2 for human, as my play now game against Penn to test the team ended 42 to 3 and that was sufficient enough for me to change the difficulty from normal Heisman if only slightly. There is an exception for WR catching, which is maxed for human and CPU (Drops are way too common in this game)
• Recruiting wise, I am not restricting who I can recruit but rather the amount of points I get, as this seems to work better for the old recruiting system. (-5% recruiting points for every loss, -5% for every loss of more than 25 pts, and -10% if I lose to an FCS team.)

other than that pretty much default settings.

Re: UPA Coyotes Dynasty NCAA 04
 

WEEK 1 HEADLINES

SI Headline: Tough Season Start: #14 Washington opens its season with a huge game against #1 Ohio State.

College football opened with only two season-opening games. Firstly, Darren Sproles and the KSU wildcats effortlessly rolled over the Cal Golden Bears, leading 38-0 at halftime before putting the subs in. Sproles, who’s name has come up in the preseason Heisman conversation quite often, only needed 20 carries to amass 107 yards and 4 touchdowns on the day. San Jose State, on the other hand, didn’t start off so well. They beat Grambling State by a single point, and had to come back in the 4th quarter with a key fumble return for a TD in order to secure the victory. Most of the exciting action comes next week, with a slate including both a game with 2 players in the Heisman Watch in Washington v. Ohio State, and a clash of top ten powers in Auburn vs USC. The new football program UPA plays their first game against Penn as well, although that game is likely to turn ugly, as the Coyotes’ squad is ranked lower in every category than the Quakers. Whatever may happen, this season of college football is primed to be a great one.

Re: UPA Coyotes Dynasty NCAA 04
 

UPA vs Penn Game Preview

Overview: The Coyotes come into this game with a lower OVR in every category. However, coach Goss believes that the Quakers have several exploitable weaknesses, especially in the secondary with a pair of very slow and unaware safeties. But the Coyotes are going to be hard-pressed to keep Penn off the board themselves, as UPA’s tackling in a scrimmage vs Penn back in the spring and vs their own offense has been nothing short of atrocious. They allowed a whopping 16.2 YPC in the scrimmage, averaging no less than 3.0 broken tackles per play. The passing offense is in good shape, however, and coach Goss is supposedly bringing in a new playbook focused around passing the football. Penn seems primed to run the ball down the Coyotes’ throats, as they have been running almost entirely tackle, dive, and toss plays in practice this week. With snow and fog in the forecast, this one might very well turn from a shootout into an old-fashioned slugfest, despite both teams’ defensive shortcomings.

Coyotes’ keys to victory:
Blitz effectively, and allow the front seven to do the work tackling rather than the undersized and underpowered secondary. Get big splash plays in the passing game, and keep the Quakers on their heels from the get-go.

Quakers’ keys to victory:
Run the ball like they did before, and dominate the line of scrimmage. If the Quakers are to keep the coyotes off the board, they should rely on time of possession and conservative defense to limit big plays and scoring runs.


Prediction: Quakers 24, Coyotes 10. The Coyotes simply are not strong enough fundamentally to beat even the lowest of the low on Heisman difficulty. Hector Morris throws 2 costly picks and Penn’s HB #20 runs for 200 yards.

Re: UPA Coyotes Dynasty NCAA 04
 

UPA Loses 28-21 Heartbreaker on Turnovers, Mistakes

The UPA Coyotes got their first taste of action this Saturday, and although the foggy and damp Pennsylvania weather caused its fair share of miscues by both teams, the game certainly did not disappoint those who watched it. The game started with a bang, as Penn’s kickoff returner was nailed by CB Irvin Erwin and coughed up the ball, which Erwin then recovered after a scuffle. UPA then used their momentum immediately, as Hector Morris threw a beautiful 22 yard spiral to Nate Morant, who’s performance, along with his brother’s, turned out to be one for the ages. Penn took no time to march down the field, in what looked like a repeat of the scrimmage game. But the Coyotes defense reached deep within themselves and hit the runner four times in beautiful wrap up tackles, and got the ball back after stopping the Penn fullback on a 4th and short. Soon, exploiting a sluggish Penn secondary, both Dominique and Nate Morant come up with beautiful contested catches, with other receivers pitching in as UPA marched to the Penn 5, aiming to take a 14-0 lead. Unfortunately, as would happen many, many more times throughout the game, fate was not on the side of the Coyotes. Halfback Lamont Morris fumbled after a stray hit on what seemed to be a sure touchdown run, and Penn recovered. After a couple run plays, Penn went to the play action and used the Coyote’s aggressive defense against them, scoring on an eighty yard passing play, where the receiver slipped the safety and never looked back. The Coyotes offense gave another gift to the Quakers, when Hector Morris stared down his receiver and waved him towards the middle of the field, all in the view of a Penn cornerback who jumped the pass and took it to the house. After another Coyotes drive ended in a 5 yard rushing touchdown, they got the ball back on an interception and drove down the field. But this time, a miscommunication by offensive lineman Jax Cox let a Penn DT through the line and handed him a strip sack on a silver platter. Penn then scored another long touchdown with a play-action pass, which brought the teams to the half.

The second half was largely similar. The coyotes drove down the field multiple times, but a pair of interceptions put their turnover total at 5 on the day, and also gave Penn an easy touchdown drive which started at the UPA 28. The Coyotes also missed a field goal and had a 50 yard bomb to Dominique Morant nullified due to a holding penalty. With the score at 28-14 with 3:50 left to go, the game seemed out of reach.

Out of reach, that is, until Demetric Long took things into his own hands. On a 3rd and 2 from the Penn 25, he punched the ball out, and gave the Coyotes a quick touchdown drive, with Nate Morant catching 3 passes including the touchdown. The Coyotes kicked the ball off, but were unable to stop the Quakers in 3 downs after middle linebacker Dane Stephens was pancake blocked, and his man got open. But after 3 more stops, including a 3rd and 1, the Coyotes got the ball back with 51 seconds, no timeouts, and a 7 point deficit. It was then that Dominique and Nate Morant’s hidden talents began to shine. A N. Morant 40 yarder and Dominique M. 25 yarder gave the Coyotes the ball at the Penn 15. Seven nation army was blaring, and the team hurried up to the line. Hector Morris dropped back. The line held, but a cornerback flushed him out of the backfield. As a linebacker pressured him from the front, he lofted a pass to a wide open receiver… and missed by a yard. A yard from tying the game. A game with so many interceptions and fumbles and missed opportunities, once again just out of reach for the Coyotes. After what should’ve been the end, the Coyotes’ three last plays were desperate shots at the end zone, two overthrown and one tipped and deflected, aimed for Nate in the hopes that he could add to his 11-175-2 performance. But this was not the case. A classic game in the future, but a devastating defeat in the present.

The coyotes lost the battle, but after the potential we saw from some players which did not emerge until today, they might have a shot at some wins. They’ll travel to West Point next week to play Army, where hopefully a week of rest and planning will combine with better weather for less mistakes. And maybe, just maybe, a W on the schedule.

Re: UPA Coyotes Dynasty NCAA 04
 

This is cool man. As far as the image stuff goes, I know I (and probably most others on here) upload the pictures/screenshots/whatever to an image hosting website like imgur. Then you can use the bbcode link it'll give you to copy paste into your post. That way you can place it where you want it etc.