We have a football team too... Guru's UConn Huskies (NCAA 14)

[thesportsguru11]

Re: We have a football team too... Guru's UConn Huskies (NCAA 14)

I'm confident in Jordan Brown at QB, and Kelly Carlson as the backup. I doubt the offense changes too much around them, except for the fact that Brown can't run at all, which takes read options out of the mix. As such, don't forget about cornerback Linzell Tyson as a likely wildcat quarterback - it's rumored that Coach Belichick has some packages set up for him and will test them out in the opener against Iowa.

Running back is actually deeper than last year with freshmen Jonathan Shaffer and Scottie Phillips each available after redshirting, meaning UConn can go five-deep at running back. Judging how UConn ran by committee in the latter stages of last year, I'd expect Byers, Swift and Molden to all get their share of carries.

Ja'Montres Jones was an adequate blocking fullback last fall, but Dallas Freeman will have to step up and fill those shoes. Look out for Moss as a goalline receiving threat.

Our group of wideouts may be the deepest it has ever been as we enter the ninth season of this dynasty, and crazily enough, none of them are seniors. Speier will likely quietly head the group again while Byrom contributes with similar numbers and SportsCenter Top 10 catches. Devin Brown has played well all off-season and I expect him to have an even better year than last in the slot. Our backups are all veterans and capable, setting the stage for an explosive offense once again.

Tight end has me worried - I expect fullbacks Moss and Freeman to help out on the interior blocking wise, while I think Paige could be a threat receiving. Mirvil and Graves will be kept active, but aren't ready to play yet. Expect this to be a spot we hit hard in recruiting this year.

The line has me a little worried, but we do have some continuity with four starters returning, which is nice. Like other spots on the defense, I hope none of these guys get hurt as quality depth is severely lacking. Like tight end, I hope we can snag a couple highly rated recruits at all of these spots this year.

Bear in mind that Kevin Jones struggled a bit in fall camp, so we'll see if that carries over any into the regular season, and Michael Clark, despite barely hanging onto his right tackle job, did a good job in run and pass protection in the hundreds of snaps we ran over the last few weeks.

Kiel Hughes was able to take the hotly contested left end job late in camp and will start week one. If it doesn't work out, I'm happy with the depth we have behind him. I'd expect all of these guys to play in some capacity anyhow, be it as reserves or in mop-up duty. Mandrell will return for his third year of starting duty and is the only clear-cut starter amongst the crowd.

Broadricke will start again in the middle, but a few young guys will be afforded opportunities as well. I can't wait to see how true freshman Tarik Madison can make an impact.

I'm excited about the linebacker group this season - we have a nice mix of veterans with some younger stars and future stars. Nevertheless, I need everyone to stay healthy as we're not as deep as we have been in past years. We had a couple starters miss time last year with injuries and we're a little thinner than I'd like to be, especially on the outside. With Kion East moving down, I have the freedom to redshirt Meier and maybe Dortch as well depending on how the year goes. Avan Goulding should be a top backup to keep your eyes on as the year progresses.

Corner is another spot we're very thin at - Only three of these guys have any experience whatsoever. Like the linebackers, we need everyone to stay healthy. I'm hoping to ease in Tyson and Cooke as new guys in the back line without having to throw them into the fire.

We need Tony Rush to step up this year - he had a very rough 2021 and has been afforded one last shot to make nice, or else. Vic Castalanetta returns for his third year starting and is rock solid, while Aaron Brook serves as a capable backup at both slots.

Ricciardi and January were steady as freshmen and look to improve upon solid numbers as sophomores.

UConn opens up with a trip to Iowa City to take on former UConn DC Josh Conklin and his brand new Hawkeyes squad. UConn will get tested with some mid-level Power 5 competition in the Hawks and Vanderbilt (Neutral Site at Nissan Stadium), and have a huge showdown in the Civil ConFLiCT against UCF - in Hartford, for the first time since 2016. The ACC slate looks quite similar to last year, but we do get to face Virginia for the first time in five years, and Pitt for the first time in this dynasty's run.

In the ACC, the two games I'm most worried about are Virginia Tech and Notre Dame - lucky us, we get them both at home. Tech is almost as good as they were last year, and they beat us at home. I've got my eyes locked in on Notre Dame as well, we blew them out last year at their place and I know they're hungry for revenge.

We also get 3 CAC games on the schedule - UCF, Vandy and Louisville!

Guru's Crystal Ball

We lost a few of the best players in school history, and there isn't as much talent as last year, sure. However, that doesn't tamper my expectations for this year. I think the offense is going to be just as good as it was last year, and the defense should have enough experience to get the job done week in and week out. I'll be disappointed if we aren't in contention for a New Year's Bowl Game come season's end, and I think we could ultimately be in contention to repeat and win Title #3 as well!

I'm surprised Shav didn't go in the first. Looking forward to the year

I think the run of quarterbacks is the reason Shav got bumped to round 2, but also for some reason he only came in at 73 overall. Anyways, some late acquirees by the Colts will relegate him to the bench this year, but I think he'll be a solid contributor moving forward.

I'm pumped for the season as well - I actually played Week 1's game this morning before I leave tomorrow for a few days. Haven't played a game in about two months and I don't play with any regularity anymore so I hope I haven't accumulated any rust on the sticks!

[whughes]

Re: We have a football team too... Guru's UConn Huskies (NCAA 14)

I’m excited to see how Kiel Hughes does, gotta carry strong on that namesake for me. Also I could see Aaron Brooks maybe seeing some time at corner in a dime or quarters package, specially if Tyson is going to be seeing snaps on offense. The defense looks solid enough either way though. However, I share your concern about the offensive line. If any of the starters go down your offense could struggle to control the line of scrimmage

[thesportsguru11]

Re: We have a football team too... Guru's UConn Huskies (NCAA 14)

UConn 2nd Team All-Americans:
LB Jevon Sapp

UConn 2nd Team All-ACC Selections:
DE James Mandrell
S Vic Castalanetta
CB Sam Barnett
MLB Mike Hill
WR Chamarkelle Byrom

Ed. Note: Apologies for the onslaught of posts the last few days - I've been home and wanted to get stuff up while I have the time. I'm out of town the next two days so hopefully that will be enough time for everyone to get caught up. Thanks for all of your continued support and for reading along!

I’m excited to see how Kiel Hughes does, gotta carry strong on that namesake for me. Also I could see Aaron Brooks maybe seeing some time at corner in a dime or quarters package, specially if Tyson is going to be seeing snaps on offense. The defense looks solid enough either way though. However, I share your concern about the offensive line. If any of the starters go down your offense could struggle to control the line of scrimmage

We don't really have any starpower on D (except maybe Jevon Sapp), but then again the only real weakness in my opinion is Hughes' DE spot, and even there we have solid depth, so I feel pretty good about that.

In my last practice sessions, Hughes got to the quarterback/in the backfield most consistently, so I gave him the job in a race too close to call otherwise - I knew you'd be a fan of the move! Hopefully he can have a solid year for us - I think six sacks is a nice number to shoot for considering he's someone who has barely played for us, but I'll continue to scout everyone and make changes to the lineup as necessary, so this is by no means set in stone.

Brook should easily get involved in a number of situations for us, as you've outlined. He's probably one of our top four DBs, but I don't really have a place for him just yet. My goal is to get Tyson as many reps possible at corner, but I want him on offense too and don't want to push him too hard. He looked gassed when he got in on defense against Iowa, as I'll talk about when I get to the game recap. Having someone like Brook to play a Brock Holt-esque super utility role and help platoon could be really beneficial for the team.

I've done a solid job recruiting bodies to the O-Line, but none of them ever really developed. The problem is that I like to run the ball a lot - as evidenced by our 1,900 and 950 yard rushers last year - and if anyone struggles on the line, the run game falls apart and we become one-dimensional on offense. Against good teams like VA Tech or Notre Dame, that could be a problem.

Now the new challenge for me is to get better O-Line prospects into the program (like Davis-Love, a 4-star guy from 2021's group) who could come in and start immediately. That's certainly my goal this recruiting cycle, as I've got a couple offensive tackles, guards and a trio of centers on the board at the moment.

[Deegeezy]

Re: We have a football team too... Guru's UConn Huskies (NCAA 14)

Hey man, just wanted to drop by to say congrats on winning another NC. You have truly turned UCONN into a dynasty.

Love how you're slow-playing the off-season. That should help keep things fresh for you while also giving your stick skills some time to get cold. I try to do the same thing to make sure I never fully get "in the zone," as it is easy to do if you play too frequently, non-stop.

LMAO @ Chamarkelle's TD celebration versus Louisville. It sure was very nice of the camerman to play along with it.



That is just an absolute legendary usage of one of the many unintended EA video game moments my friend. Love it.

[thesportsguru11]

Re: We have a football team too... Guru's UConn Huskies (NCAA 14)

Guru’s Take: Iowa

This is a team we are not familiar with - this is the first ever football meeting of these two schools. However, we are familiar with their head coach, as Josh Conklin was our defensive coordinator just last year. However, I think he’s a highly overrated coach who flopped out at Virginia a couple years ago and was not at all the primary reason for our national title last year; it was more Bill Cubit and Isaac Jackson.

Nevertheless, Iowa poses a threat as they have a lineup loaded with veterans - in fact, they only start two underclassmen on either side. We expect an up tempo offense to try and get us off balance as much as possible. They’re solid but don’t quite have the talent we do, especially on offense, so they’ve got to play to their strengths. Those are to get the ball in the hands of their skill players in Tommy Ragal and Jonathan Thomas. They do have a couple of solid receivers as well to make for a nice test of our secondary.

They have a solid front seven, but I doubt that they can keep up with our rushing attack all game long. We should be able to wear them down with a nice rotation including J.P. Byers, Ashanti Swift and Mike Molden. Their two impact defenders at safety in Noah Mesnikoff and David Miranda will be a nice test for our quarterback Jordan Brown as he makes his first start today. We hope he comes in and shows confidence throwing around a decent secondary - Lonte’ Speier, Chamarkelle Byrom and Devin Brown should help him out a lot.

Though we’re similar ratings wise, we should be able to win this game and I hope our guys come into the season opener with a sense of urgency. We have a tough schedule top to bottom, so picking up a win tonight is critical to getting our confidence and momentum pointing in the right direction.

---------------------------------------------------

Hey man, just wanted to drop by to say congrats on winning another NC. You have truly turned UCONN into a dynasty.

Love how you're slow-playing the off-season. That should help keep things fresh for you while also giving your stick skills some time to get cold. I try to do the same thing to make sure I never fully get "in the zone," as it is easy to do if you play too frequently, non-stop.

LMAO @ Chamarkelle's TD celebration versus Louisville. It sure was very nice of the camerman to play along with it.



That is just an absolute legendary usage of one of the many unintended EA video game moments my friend. Love it.

Many thanks as always Geezy! I know how tough it is to find time to read/post in other threads, so your dropping in is greatly appreciated!

Due to school and and such, I only get to play when I have breaks and long weekends - that's part of the reason why I had to slow-play this offseason. I played through the offseason in one shot in December, then spent a few months trying to catch up. Now this past week, I was on my Spring Break so I was able to get a couple games in that will hopefully hold me over until the next time I can get to the PS3.

Slow-playing absolutely keeps things fresh, and coupled with the exciting young squad, I've been very excited about 2022. I've gotten two very interesting games so far, with more to come likely as I'll need to take another few weeks away from the game until my next long weekend.

To be honest, I was surprised we won it all last year, especially after the two losses we suffered early in the season. Lucky us, everyone else lost multiple games and we got hot at the right time. Though I don't think we have the talent across the board to repeat this year, we're in tremendous shape for the long haul thanks to the incredible young talent we have all across the roster. The first handful of recruiting classes in this dynasty were admittedly not all that great, so the fact that we've hit on so much young talent in the last three seasons means we're trending upward for sure.

I couldn't not include the Chamarkelle photo ... when you're a big time college football player, you find fans everywhere! Especially when it's snowing and too damn cold to play outside.. stay warm any way you can. Love the gif too!

Thanks again!

[Hellisan]

Re: We have a football team too... Guru's UConn Huskies (NCAA 14)

What a great find with Swift, thinking he was 70 and then he's 83, I don't think I had a guy rated that high since like NCAA 2008 or something.

The name Quendon Shakespeare made me crack up..

Hey your indoor practice facility is quite similar to ours.

I'm imagining that the QB to TE change requires some edits... But very cool because you see that all the time in college football. There is precedent for some serious success, I think my favorite case is SDSU FB Nick Bawden, who moved over from QB in 2015 or so. He embraced it, grew his hair out, gained a bunch of weight, got tattoos, and just LIT PEOPLE UP blocking for the successful backs the last couple of years including Penny, and he was rated the #1 FB by Pro Football focus one of those years.

How are you feeling about manual progression after a couple tries? Time sink versus reward? Can't tell you how glad I am to see somebody try it. I'm editing my guys right now, I still feel as though people have no idea how much fun it is to see something at least different to the normal "me too" ratings increase.

I tell you, when I'm editing my guys back to their last rating I actually know almost exactly how far to roll each number back without looking. I do look, but it takes me like 15-20 seconds to roll a guy back, and when I'm improving them, I hit the nail on the head the first time like half the time. You get a feel for the OVR rating, and get faster. Sykes... Ooof

What went into the decision not to redshirt Swift? The offense looks good all around, no major holes, good arm talent at QB, plenty of targets and runners and no distinct holes on the OL, although not beastly there either.

Looking forward to seeing what happens against my beloved Hawkeyes in week 1. I'm not going to root against you, but I'm hoping they give you a great game that is worthy of resplendent Kinnick Stadium.

[thesportsguru11]

Re: We have a football team too... Guru's UConn Huskies (NCAA 14)

What a great find with Swift, thinking he was 70 and then he's 83, I don't think I had a guy rated that high since like NCAA 2008 or something.

What went into the decision not to redshirt Swift?

The name Quendon Shakespeare made me crack up..

Hey your indoor practice facility is quite similar to ours.

Awesome comments and observations Helli, thank you so much as always! I’ll break this up and answer in little sections for organization.

Our contractors must have the same phone number or something! I’ve always liked the indoor field for some reason (not the Nike one though). I’m not sure why.. But maybe this could be a good side story where we “build” a new outdoor facility in the near future perhaps. I do feel bad for the kids though as it is theoretically summertime and they should be playing outside.

I’m not really sure what happened to make Swift’s scouting overall bust out, but then miraculously pick back up after signing day. These recruits were modified through the DB editor, so perhaps something went wrong in the spreadsheets. Imagine my reaction though when he popped up as 80+ overall! Certainly was not intentional on my end.

As both Luke Williamson and J.P. Byers dealt with injuries at different points two years ago, I wanted to be cautious by creating more of a multi back rotation offense last season. It worked with flying colors - Williamson ran for 1900 yards and Byers added 950. My thinking is if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!

While Byers has certainly proved he’s capable of running the show on his own, and though we’ve been relatively healthy at tailback for a long time, I still do worry about injuries. Byers, in my opinion, is the most talented back I’ve had going on nine seasons with UConn, and I want to keep him on the field for every game, especially as he could very well turn pro after this season is up.

As such, I think Swift is too good to keep off the field - sort of like Lonte’ and Chamarkelle last season. Mike Molden will definitely get some touches too, and we have Shaffer and Phillips if something dire happens, but I want our best backs on the field. Just so happens that Swift is one of them.

I'm imagining that the QB to TE change requires some edits... But very cool because you see that all the time in college football. There is precedent for some serious success, I think my favorite case is SDSU FB Nick Bawden, who moved over from QB in 2015 or so. He embraced it, grew his hair out, gained a bunch of weight, got tattoos, and just LIT PEOPLE UP blocking for the successful backs the last couple of years including Penny, and he was rated the #1 FB by Pro Football focus one of those years.

I love stories like Bawden’s. These are the really selfless guys who deserve good things for sticking with it when things get rough. I love hearing about guys like Blake Bell, Bucky Hodges, Tanner McEvoy who are of similar backstory. Recruited as QB, didn’t quite work out, made it elsewhere. Just goes to show how patience is a virtue, as the sport is so unpredictable. I’m disappointed this doesn’t happen more often in the video games though…

When we recruited Paige, we were in dire need of backup QB help, and he was a nice body to have for two seasons. The decision to move him became easier after we got Jordan Brown to commit, and then solidified after Kelly Carlson’s nice offseason this year. He’s a great athlete but not well suited to play QB at the college level.

It didn’t take too much editing - all I needed to do were up his blocking attributes to simulate an offseason of training at that position, put on some weight, change some equipment and voila, he fits a position of need for us nicely. I don’t think AP will put on any tattoos or long hair (though he is from Cali so you never know..), but I hope it works out for us until we can get a better blocking tight end hopefully through recruiting this year.

How are you feeling about manual progression after a couple tries? Time sink versus reward? Can't tell you how glad I am to see somebody try it. I'm editing my guys right now, I still feel as though people have no idea how much fun it is to see something at least different to the normal "me too" ratings increase.

I tell you, when I'm editing my guys back to their last rating I actually know almost exactly how far to roll each number back without looking. I do look, but it takes me like 15-20 seconds to roll a guy back, and when I'm improving them, I hit the nail on the head the first time like half the time. You get a feel for the OVR rating, and get faster. Sykes... Ooof

A few summers back, I edited rosters with the PS3 community team, so I too have developed a pretty good feel for what needs to come up/down when adjusting overall ratings. Funny how that works… Nevertheless, it is really is rewarding to see not everyone progressing at the same rate because that’s not how it works in real life. Guys do lose confidence after a rough season, a bad injury or knowing that someone is coming after their starting job, and I think that’s reflected in some of my edits. A great real-life example I’m familiar with involves (now former) BC tailback Jon Hilliman, who was awesome as a freshman in ‘14, solid as a sophomore in ‘15, got hurt in 2016 and redshirted, was less than spectacular in his first few games in ‘17 and then got blitzed by A.J. Dillon on the depth chart midseason. I appreciate how the manual edits take away the linear approach EA put into place regarding development, because stories like Hilliman’s do happen and should be accounted for realism’s sake.

Sykes was a guy I really liked when he signed, but the kid just can’t block. In his defense, I may have stalled his development by putting him at center as a freshman to compete for the starting job, then moving him back to tackle the next year when Lawron Leak won that spot. I remember reading somewhere that right tackles are at a great disadvantage in the game for some reason, but regardless you can’t play if you give up four sacks in two quarters, which he did last year against Penn State. I could try to move him again (what a story that would be), but sadly I think he’s a lost cause at this point.

The offense looks good all around, no major holes, good arm talent at QB, plenty of targets and runners and no distinct holes on the OL, although not beastly there either.

The only question marks on offense essentially boil down to is Alex Paige going to be a competent blocker at tight end, and can Michael Clark continue to hold the fort at right tackle?

If those things happen in our favor, there is no reason that we can’t end up with similar numbers as our record-setting offense last year (6,500 yards in total, I think?) - I doubt there is too much dropoff, if any at all, with Jordan Brown under center instead of Ice-Jax, especially with our tremendous depth at receiver, as you mentioned. I don’t want to jinx our new young starter, but I seriously think that Jordan is the most talented QB we’ve had so far despite having not yet started a game… not to mention he’s exactly the guy to make this particular pro-style, multi-back offense run.

Looking forward to seeing what happens against my beloved Hawkeyes in week 1. I'm not going to root against you, but I'm hoping they give you a great game that is worthy of resplendent Kinnick Stadium.

I hope it’s a good game too! (Though I lie slightly because I’ve already played it ). Kinnick is such a neat venue, and I think this will be a good game to wrap up our little Big 10 series, especially as our DC last year is Iowa’s new head guy.

Great games are always fun to play, but this is a team I’d like to see us beat handily. We’re rather evenly matched, but I feel like we have more talent on offense and we should be able to wear them down with our running back committee. It would be really nice to come out and start the season off with a good win as we have a challenging schedule top to bottom.

Once again, thanks for the awesome comments Helli!

Thanks all for hanging in there! I have a mini-vacation for Easter next weekend so I’m hoping to get the Iowa game posted soon!

[thesportsguru11]

Re: We have a football team too... Guru's UConn Huskies (NCAA 14)

20 --- 0-1

(11) 41 --- 1-0

The Prodigy

Jordan Brown shines with record-tying five touchdown passes as UConn offense stellar in opening day rout



Jordan Brown and his five touchdowns have the UConn hype train rolling full-force.

Ice-Jax who?

The hype surrounding now sophomore quarterback and Texas native Jordan Brown has been real since the second we started recruiting him (and when I compared him to Tom Brady). In his first career start Saturday evening in a hostile Kinnick Stadium, the kid delivered.

Brown keyed UConn to a 41-20 opening day victory over former defensive coordinator Josh Conklin and his new Iowa Hawkeyes with a five touchdown, 331 yard performance, shredding a veteran Iowa defense all night long.

“I felt in command all night”, commented Brown after the clock hit zeroes. “Coach Belichick and Coach Cubit do a tremendous job preparing us, and I think the success we had tonight is a result of that.”

UConn sure looked prepared, as they raced out to a 21-0 lead off their first three possessions and never looked back. The Huskies received the opening kick and methodically worked their way downfield, concluding a perfect 14-play, 75-yard drive with a six yard touchdown pass to junior running back Mike Molden.

Appearing to be caught off guard, Conklin’s Hawkeyes went three and out on their first possession, and the rout was on from there. Chamarkelle Byrom struck with a 43 yard catch and run on a curl route to the left side before Lonte’ Speier cleaned up with a ten yard touchdown catch. Just four minutes into the contest, Iowa trailed 14-0 and had lost all momentum.

Another Iowa drive stalled out after that, and was promptly followed by another long touchdown drive and a passing touchdown, this time from junior Marcus Rodgers. With three touchdown passes in the first quarter, the UConn contingent who made the trek to Iowa looked delirious in response to the performance of their new QB.

Iowa did eventually get their offense going, scoring on a Tommy Ragal option run and a 47 yard Rafael Perdomo field goal to cut the halftime deficit to 24-10. Ragal was fantastic, throwing 30 of 43 for 312 yards and a score, while tight end Kellen Davis set a school record with 14 catches and Jason Hartman added 100 yards through the air. However, the Hawkeyes got started late and just couldn’t keep up. They needed to play perfect ball and couldn’t do it.

Tommy Ragal (LEFT) had a good day through the air and on the ground, but struggled to get Jonathan Thomas (RIGHT) going at tailback.

Iowa’s best chance to close the gap came shortly after the half, driving downfield. Trailing by 14, Ragal took a shot to the end zone for Hartman and it looked like he had snuck behind Sam Barnett. Tony Rush kept chase, though, and hustling over from his deep zone assignment, used all of his 6-foot-2 frame to snag the pass for the interception.

With Rush having a tough year last fall, a big play to help shut the door went a long way, especially as the defense put together a solid effort overall. Senior linebacker Mike Hill led the way with a career-high 15 tackles while Kiel Hughes, Jevon Sapp and A.J. Paxston each tallied a sack.

UConn played a solid game on defense, led by senior linebacker Mike Hill (LEFT) and his career-high 15 tackles as well as safety Tony Rush (RIGHT).

A well-rounded effort indeed, but nevertheless Brown was still the star. With his fourth and fifth touchdowns to Rodgers and slot man Devin Brown in the third quarter, Iowa’s hopes were deflated early.

The fact that UConn was able to coast to the finish was certainly a positive considering not everything fell UConn’s way. Speier left the game injured (back spasms, he’ll be good to go next week), and the running game struggled to get going all night. Star tailback J.P. Byers failed to cross 100 yards for the fourth straight game dating back to last season, while new backfield mates Molden and mega-freshman Ashanti Swift were quiet as well. Athlete dynamo Linzell Tyson failed to impress in his first touches on offense and put together a less than inspiring debut at cornerback.

Despite the struggles of others, however, it’s hard to ignore that UConn looks to still be in good hands as their title defense has gotten off to a good start. They will travel to play Vanderbilt (CAC Head Coach Dale Miller) in Nissan Stadium next week as part of the Bridgestone 2022 Kickoff pres. by Franklin American Mortgage.

Marcus Rodgers (LEFT), Lonte’ Speier (CENTER) and the underrated Devin Brown caught four of Jordan Brown’s five TD passes.

Extra Mustard:

- Jordan Brown’s five TD’s tie a single-game school record set multiple times by Dan Orlovsky and Isaac Jackson (and I'm going to fix his equipment for our home opener in Week 3).
- This game wraps up the scheduled portion of UConn’s Big Ten matchups, first organized in 2019. They went 6-1 in the series.

Connecticut Huskies at Iowa Hawkeyes
Aug 27, 2022	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
#11 Connecticut Huskies (1-0)	21	3	14	3	41
Iowa Hawkeyes (0-1)	0	10	3	7	20

Team Stats Comparison
	CONN	IOWA
Total Offense	511	445
Rushing Yards	162	133
Passing Yards	349	312
First Downs	24	22
Punt Return Yards	34	14
Kick Return Yards	0	0
Total Yards	545	459
Turnovers	1	1
3rd Down Conversion	6-12 (50%)	12-19 (63%)
4th Down Conversion	1-1	0-0
2-Point Conversion	0-0	0-0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	5-4-1 (100%)	3-2-1 (100%)
Penalties	0-0	3-15
Possession Time	18:37	17:23

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		CONN	IOWA
5:20	(CONN) J. Brown 6 pass Molden (Ricciardi kick)	7	0
4:01	(CONN) J. Brown 10 pass Speier (Ricciardi kick)	14	0
:01	(CONN) J. Brown 10 pass Rodgers (Ricciardi kick)	21	0
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		CONN	IOWA
6:18	(IOWA) Ragal 14 run (Perdomo kick)	21	7
3:00	(IOWA) Perdomo 47 FG	21	10
:48	(CONN) Ricciardi 43 FG	24	10
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		CONN	IOWA
6:50	(CONN) J. Brown 38 pass D. Brown (Ricciardi kick)	31	10
3:57	(IOWA) Perdomo 34 FG	31	13
:57	(CONN) J. Brown 13 pass Rodgers (Ricciardi kick)	38	13
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		CONN	IOWA
5:24	(CONN) Ricciardi 22 FG	41	13
1:24	(IOWA) Ragal 14 pass Newman (Perdomo kick)	41	20

Connecticut Huskies PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Jordan Brown 21-29 331 5 1 Linzell Tyson 1-2 18 0 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD J.P. Byers 21 87 4.1 0 Ashanti Swift 8 27 3.3 0 Mike Molden 7 36 5.1 0 Linzell Tyson 3 11 3.6 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Lonte' Speier 6 74 12.3 1 Marcus Rodgers 5 75 15.0 2 Chamarkelle Byrom 4 88 22.0 0 Devin Brown 3 57 19.0 1 Mike Molden 1 6 6.0 1 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Mike Hill 15 (1) 0 0 0 Alex Brown 6 0 0 0 A.J. Paxston 5 (1) 1 0 0 Jevon Sapp 5 (2) 1 0 0 Tony Rush 5 0 1 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Anthony Ricciardi 2-2 5-5 11 44

Iowa Hawkeyes PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Tommy Ragal 30-43 312 1 1 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Jonathan Thomas 18 89 4.9 0 Tommy Ragal 15 36 2.3 1 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Kellen Davis 14 133 9.4 0 Jason Hartman 6 102 17.0 0 Quentin Newman 3 32 10.6 1 John Cowan 3 28 9.3 0 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Noah Mesnikoff 11 0 1 0 Will Audet 8 (3) 0 0 0 David Miranda 6 0 0 0 Jakari Alston 6 0 0 0 Aairon Johnston 6 0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Rafael Perdomo 2-2 2-2 8 48

Next Week: (11) --- 1-0 @ --- 0-0

[Deuce2223]

Re: We have a football team too... Guru's UConn Huskies (NCAA 14)

Congrats on the opening week win. Looks like Brown is the real deal.

Will be interesting to see how you handle splitting all the carries among that talented backfield.

I just took over Florida with Kellen Moore in my thread they have 3 RB's on the roster that are a 91,90 and 89 Overall respectfully but the 89 was a Heisman Top-5 Preseason returning 1000 yd rusher, well the 90 was the original starter last year before getting hurt in Week 1 but previous year rushed for almost 1000 yds and the 91 however has been gotten a total of 10 carries over 3 years. I am only 1 week into the season, but so far I actually like the skill sets of the 91 Overall kid,but trying to figure out a story line where he takes over the starting job.

[HARLEE23]

Re: We have a football team too... Guru's UConn Huskies (NCAA 14)

My OC career isn't going the way I thought! lol

[War Daddy Rambo]

Re: We have a football team too... Guru's UConn Huskies (NCAA 14)

Will be interesting to see how you handle splitting all the carries among that talented backfield.

I just took over Florida with Kellen Moore in my thread they have 3 RB's on the roster that are a 91,90 and 89 Overall respectfully but the 89 was a Heisman Top-5 Preseason returning 1000 yd rusher, well the 90 was the original starter last year before getting hurt in Week 1 but previous year rushed for almost 1000 yds and the 91 however has been gotten a total of 10 carries over 3 years. I am only 1 week into the season, but so far I actually like the skill sets of the 91 Overall kid,but trying to figure out a story line where he takes over the starting job.

I would say get him reps in the game and if he is more productive, give him more carries. With 3 RB's that high I would split carries as much as conveniently possible (just a few motions w/ right joy stick on xbox360 to sub HB package) and give the most productive guy the starting nod.

Last season in my dynasty I had a clear cut starter that was close to mid-80's and three RB's in between 75-79. I can't recall exactly, but all 3 RB's were Seniors and 1 point away from each other with the highest rated starting heading down. I try to get everybody a couple carries in a game.

DC started like:
Jack (85)
Hollins (79)
Richardson (78)
Powers (77)

Richardson was unfortunate and got crushed or stopped at the LOS every time he touched it. Don't recall him breaking any tackles either so that didn't earn him any more reps. So Powers moves up to 3 after he breaks a 60+ yard TD and Richardson goes to full-time (2nd on DC) KR and PR while being buried on Depth Chart...

In his Junior year Courtney Powers had 8 carries 80 yards and 1 TD... most of it came from a 70 yard TD run. Limited sample size. but his recent 60+ YD TD didn't go unnoticed.

Anyway, Hollins did ok at best. Powers did better. Powers eventually stole the #2 RB spot and for a few games received more carries than he did in his entire career. Not that he did much with it but I gave him the chance, and I didn't really get to work the 'promotion' or increase in carries into a story-line like I wanted to... but it happened lol. Powers finished with 35 carries and 153 yards w/ 2 TD... most of it coming from a 60+ yard rush. Hollins finished with 55 carries, 293 yards, and 2 TD. Neither that impressive but both got opportunities.

in actuality my #2 is kind of like a split carry #2 RB since I had a RB/WR convert that played slot and was officially the #2 RB on the depth chart in most games.



Not sure where I was getting at, few distractions IRL and lost track of my thought process a couple times lol but my point is give him a shot in game and let the results speak for themselves. If you need a storyline, he (or other players) came begging for the opportunity to prove himself. He is showing out in practice. Leading by example. His effort hasn't gone unnoticed in practice and he'll be awarded come game time.

if I had 3 RB's with 90's... I'd go full-blown running back committee. even if it meant designating each RB to a quarter... this guy plays first, this dude plays second, this one goes 3rd, and whoever is having the best game plays the 4th.

[thesportsguru11]

Re: We have a football team too... Guru's UConn Huskies (NCAA 14)



*Just wanted to say that the Around the NCAA Set-Up is still a work in progress - I hit a wall trying to put together the graphics so some of these things might change next week.

Around the ACC

ACC Standings - Week 1 Conference Standings - Updated: Aug 29, 2022
TEAM	REC	PCT	CONF	PF	PA	STRK
#11 UConn	1-0	1.000	0-0	41	20	W 41-20, IOWA
#14 Georgia Tech	1-0	1.000	0-0	35	14	W 35-14, SCAR
#12 Pitt	0-0	.000	0-0
#5 Virginia Tech	0-0	.000	0-0
#16 North Carolina	0-0	.000	0-0
#20 N.C. State	0-0	.000	0-0
#19 Notre Dame	0-0	.000	0-0
Syracuse	0-0	.000	0-0
Duke	0-0	.000	0-0
Louisville	0-0	.000	0-0
Wake Forest	0-0	.000	0-0
Clemson	0-0	.000	0-0
Virginia	0-0	.000	0-0
Boston College	0-0	.000	0-0
Miami-FL	0-1	.000	0-0	13	34	L 13-34, TENN
Florida State	0-1	.000	0-0	27	32	L 27-32, EMU

[thesportsguru11]

Re: We have a football team too... Guru's UConn Huskies (NCAA 14)

My OC career isn't going the way I thought! lol

Sadly no, but to be expected as Maryland is a weaker link in the Big 10. You guys were close two years ago as you were at one point 5-1 and ranked before tailsliding to the finish.

Take solace in the fact that you've been recruiting extremely well over the last two seasons, particularly at the skill positions. If the Terps retain you for a few years, I think you guys can be contenders in the Big 10 before long. Just be happy you've gotten a shot at a power program and the head coaching jobs should come around soon!

Congrats on the opening week win. Looks like Brown is the real deal.

Will be interesting to see how you handle splitting all the carries among that talented backfield.

I just took over Florida with Kellen Moore in my thread they have 3 RB's on the roster that are a 91,90 and 89 Overall respectfully but the 89 was a Heisman Top-5 Preseason returning 1000 yd rusher, well the 90 was the original starter last year before getting hurt in Week 1 but previous year rushed for almost 1000 yds and the 91 however has been gotten a total of 10 carries over 3 years. I am only 1 week into the season, but so far I actually like the skill sets of the 91 Overall kid,but trying to figure out a story line where he takes over the starting job.

Thanks Deuce! Brown looked really good, but history is not necessarily on his side - we have a lousy track record with "QBs of the Future". Bryant Shirreffs was solid but unspectacular in the early seasons, and then few years ago David Hamilton looked really good in his debut, and Tanner Dean-Lowry was tremendous in our opener two years ago. Both D-Ham and TDL left the program by the end of those seasons. However, Brown has the most potential of all of them so hopefully things can work out for the best here!

For my tailback depth chart I think Byers will get the majority of touches with Swift and Molden coming in in certain packages. Byers is a bit of a speed rusher with good burst, so I want him on outside runs. Swift looks to be more of a straight line runner so I want him doing the between the tackles stuff and Molden will spell either at any given time. I think that's a good solution for now, and we'll adjust as necessary.

I saw that you had made the move up - congrats on building a winner at CSU and then accepting the gig at Florida - eerie to Jim McElwain, but hopefully with better results!

For your depth chart, there's nothing wrong with a storyline saying Player X worked harder in practice and has passed the current starter or has earned some reps in game situations. Realistic and fair, as I see it. I'll check your report to see what these guys can do, but certainly their skillsets aren't all the same so you'll want to utilize them in different ways. I could see a scenario where you put one guy in for heavy sets with extra blocking between the tackles, a speed back for outside running in three or four-wide sets, and then a guy to do everything else.

I would say get him reps in the game and if he is more productive, give him more carries. With 3 RB's that high I would split carries as much as conveniently possible (just a few motions w/ right joy stick on xbox360 to sub HB package) and give the most productive guy the starting nod.

Last season in my dynasty I had a clear cut starter that was close to mid-80's and three RB's in between 75-79. I can't recall exactly, but all 3 RB's were Seniors and 1 point away from each other with the highest rated starting heading down. I try to get everybody a couple carries in a game.

DC started like:
Jack (85)
Hollins (79)
Richardson (78)
Powers (77)

Richardson was unfortunate and got crushed or stopped at the LOS every time he touched it. Don't recall him breaking any tackles either so that didn't earn him any more reps. So Powers moves up to 3 after he breaks a 60+ yard TD and Richardson goes to full-time (2nd on DC) KR and PR while being buried on Depth Chart...

In his Junior year Courtney Powers had 8 carries 80 yards and 1 TD... most of it came from a 70 yard TD run. Limited sample size. but his recent 60+ YD TD didn't go unnoticed.

Anyway, Hollins did ok at best. Powers did better. Powers eventually stole the #2 RB spot and for a few games received more carries than he did in his entire career. Not that he did much with it but I gave him the chance, and I didn't really get to work the 'promotion' or increase in carries into a story-line like I wanted to... but it happened lol. Powers finished with 35 carries and 153 yards w/ 2 TD... most of it coming from a 60+ yard rush. Hollins finished with 55 carries, 293 yards, and 2 TD. Neither that impressive but both got opportunities.

in actuality my #2 is kind of like a split carry #2 RB since I had a RB/WR convert that played slot and was officially the #2 RB on the depth chart in most games.



Not sure where I was getting at, few distractions IRL and lost track of my thought process a couple times lol but my point is give him a shot in game and let the results speak for themselves. If you need a storyline, he (or other players) came begging for the opportunity to prove himself. He is showing out in practice. Leading by example. His effort hasn't gone unnoticed in practice and he'll be awarded come game time.

if I had 3 RB's with 90's... I'd go full-blown running back committee. even if it meant designating each RB to a quarter... this guy plays first, this dude plays second, this one goes 3rd, and whoever is having the best game plays the 4th.

Great stuff, Rambo. I had a similar situation last season where I had a clear cut starter (Luke Williamson) but wanted to get J.P. Byers some touches after he had a pair of 100+ yard games in the Playoff. They spelled each other, everyone stayed healthy and we had a little shy of 3,000 rushing yards last season. I agree that performance should dictate touches, and that's what will happen this season. Byers will get the lion's share of touches to start as he's the best (similar to what you did with Jack, then everyone else) but I'll make changes as need be. Three similarly talented backs should be an even workload for all until you find a guy you like the best in game.

[thesportsguru11]

Re: We have a football team too... Guru's UConn Huskies (NCAA 14)

Week 1 Headlines

Henderson's Eastern Michigan Eagles pull biggest upset in school history against Florida State; Southern Miss hangs on to top South Alabama in first CAC game of season; most teams kick off next week after slim Week 1 Schedule


HC Quinn Shea (thesportsguru11): BYE (0-0)

Next Week: vs. Tennessee (1-0)


HC Dale Miller (glunsford): BYE (0-0)

Next Week: vs. #11 UConn (1-0)

HC Bob Trebell (DrGravyBoat): BYE (0-0)

Next Week: vs. UC Davis

HC Sam Freday (RoundingThird): BYE (0-0)

Next Week: vs. Iowa State - CAC GAME!

HC Kaelyn Willingham (kswgrad2012): BYE (0-0)

Next Week: vs. Eastern Washington

HC Connor Turley (convict38): BYE (0-0)

Next Week: vs. Florida A&M

HC William Brooks (TheOtherPotterGuy): BYE (0-0)

Next Week: @ Texas Tech (0-0)

OC Brian Woodard (mattynokes): BYE (0-0)

Next Week: @ Louisiana Tech (0-0)

OC Jordan James (HARLEE23): BYE (0-0)

Next Week: @ USF (0-0)


OC Tyrell Coley (Knickerbocker91): BYE (0-0)

Next Week: vs. Rice (0-0)


DC Brennan Smith (bryan3169) BYE (0-0)

Next Week: BYE


OC Ricky Jacobsen (slicknick3822): BYE (0-0)

Next Week: @ UNLV (0-0) CAC GAME!


DC Bud Kilmer Jr. (xboxxerx): BYE (0-0)

Next Week: vs. Indiana (0-0)

OC Matthew King (ThaBoss18): BYE (0-0)

Next Week: vs. UT-Martin

OC Emmett Nama (BookWork123): BYE (0-0)

Next Week: BYE

OC Ryan Sorbera (YaBoySorbs): BYE (0-0)

Next Week: @ San Diego State (0-0) CAC GAME!


OC Equanimeous St. Brown Sr. (TheRosterMaster): BYE (0-0)

Next Week: vs. UT-Chattanooga

OC J.J. Mac (RedRaider10): BYE (0-0)

Next Week: @ Western Kentucky (0-0)

OC Trent Davis (UKWildcat999): W (1-0), 22-6 vs. South Alabama (0-1) CAC WIN!

B. Carter: 10-23,106 yds
M. Harper: 27 rush, 159 yds, TD
J. Garrett: 3 rec, 42 yds
C. Pardon: 5-5 FG, long 55, 16 total points

Next Week: BYE

OC Frankie Francisco (BigPlayJ1220): BYE (0-0)

Next Week: @ #14 Georgia Tech (1-0)

OC Brian Grant (LadiesAndEdelman): BYE (0-0)

Next Week: vs. Kentucky (0-1)

OC Richard Harrison (itsbigmike): BYE (0-0)

Next Week: vs. Youngstown State

OC Max Crenshaw (whughes): BYE (0-0)

Next Week: @ Clemson (0-0)

OC Jerome Baumann (RaiderAid89): BYE (0-0)

Next Week: vs. Indiana State

OC Ryan Malloy (FootballFanatik): BYE (0-0)

Next Week: @ #6 Cal (0-0)

OC Caleb Henderson (NewscasterNews4): W (1-0) 32-27 vs. Florida State (0-1)

J. Bryant: 18-29, 298 yds, 3 TD
C. Dukes: 12 rush, 75 yds
D. Daniels: 10 rec, 208 yds, 2 TD
B. Motley: 4 rec, 63 yds, TD

Next Week: @ FIU (0-0)

OC Theron Sorensen (ronnysauce): BYE (0-0)

Next Week: vs. South Alabama (0-1) CAC GAME!

OC Foxke Brihay (nofx94): BYE (0-0)

Next Week: vs. Temple (0-0) CAC GAME!

OC Brett Favre (hudso3): L (0-1) 6-22 vs. Southern Miss (0-1) CAC LOSS!

G. Moran: 13-34, 116 yds, 13 rush, 45 yds
B. Jackson: 12 rush, 54 yds
P. Hill: 8 rec, 79 yds
A. Pablano: 2-4 FG, long 43

Next Week: @ Bowling Green (0-0)

OC Spanky Westside (Trevor3_2009): BYE (0-0)

Next Week: vs. Alabama A&M

OC Laurence Gilbert (Mike7Vinas): BYE (0-0)

Next Week: BYE

[slicknick3822]

Re: We have a football team too... Guru's UConn Huskies (NCAA 14)

Oooo Freday is going down!