Coach Chambers' Journey to the Top: The Catastrophic Chippewas | A Relegation Dynasty

[jpfine]

Nice way for the Seniors to go out. Now a real matchup against the Irish. Cannot wait.

What a way to send the seniors out! Irish next though, can't wait to see this game. it's going to really put the team to the test.

Yeah, glad we could get that sort of win. Notre Dame should be tough. They've been up and down in the Top 25. They went 1-2 in the first two games, losing to a South Carolina team and a Michigan State team, that we almost beat. They've had a pretty solid season, but that loss to Michigan State and the glimmer of vulnerability against Kentucky, a team that we beat.... We could definitely grab this game. We'll see though.

[jpfine]

Rittenberg Roundup: Chips fall just short to Tier 1 Notre Dame

Adam Rittenberg, ESPN Senior Writer
November 30, 2013
-------------------------------------------
Notre Dame, IN - In a cold, rainy night, two ranked teams fought it out at Notre Dame Stadium. The home side was Notre Dame and the away side was... Central Michigan? In a bizarre turn of events this season, the Chippewas have been able to sneak into the Top 25 with a 9-2 record, making this the third week in the history of the program to be ranked in the Top 25. It's especially surprising to see them in the Top 25, as, in the new tiered, promotion and relegation system, Central Michigan is in the bottom tier. You would think that that would make them one of the worst teams in the nation.

But Coach Chambers has turned that around, in just his first year. "The entire Chippewa fanbase was shocked to see the team put in the bottom tier," said Andrew Chambers. "They had a solid season last year at 7-6, but, for some reason, the Committee put them in the bottom. For most others, that'd probably push them away from joining the Chips as head coach. It was the exact opposite for me. I wanted to be able to bring this team, that has a lot of talent, and bring them to the top. I wanted to prove everybody wrong that the Chippewas aren't a team you want to mess with. And, this year, I think we've accomplished much more than everybody thought was possible, even more than our own fans thought was possible."

The Chippewas truly have become a team to beat. Unfortunately, tonight, beaten they were. Notre Dame, who is ranked 3rd in the nation, topped the Chippewas, just barely, by a score of 37-35. A game that was seemingly over with just three minutes to go in the game, got turned into a tight game with roughly two minutes to go. Central Michigan just wasn't able to grab another score to take the lead.

Central Michigan started with the ball after Notre Dame decided to defer until the second half. On the first drive, the Chippewas tried to get a mix of the run game and the pass game going through Marcus Jackson and Marquis Harris. Although nonexistent the rest of the game, Harris ran the ball up the gut a couple times throughout the drive. However, the drive was halted on the 50-yard line after a Jackson throw went astray. The ball was seemingly targeted to Julius Peterson, but the ball flew away from the target and Reggie Jackson knocked the ball away. Senior punter Roderick Williams came out and booted the ball. However, he booted the ball too far, as it ended up bouncing through the end zone.

The Irish weren't able to get anything going on their first drive and they were forced to punt after just three plays from scrimmage. Corey Britton punted the ball to Joe Brown, who was able to get a couple yards out of the return. The Chippewas, led by Marcus Jackson and his throwing, were able to get the ball to around the 40-yard line. On a gutsy call by Justin Wade, the Chips went for it on fourth, but failed to convert, therefore giving the ball back to the Irish.

After another stop on defense for the Chippewas, the offense was rolling again and was able to get into the red zone with less than a minute to go. With two consecutive throws to Peterson, Marcus Jackson was able to score on a pass to Peterson and take the lead for the Chippewas. The half ended with a score that was in favor of Central Michigan, 7-0.

However, in the third quarter, the Irish came out guns ablazing and, at the end of the third, they were able to take the lead. Quarterback Chase Russ led the Irish to two straight passing touchdowns and a field goal that was ultimately kicked by Corey Britton. To keep the margin from getting too wide, Marcus Jackson was able to find Garrett Ward in the back of the end zone for a three-yard touchdown. The score at the end of the third was 17-14, with the home team leading.

The two teams exchanged touchdowns to start off the fourth quarter, but the Irish quickly slammed on the gas and went full steam ahead. Russ scored on the ground and, within 17 seconds, the Irish defense came up big. Steven Winston was able to take his second interception catch of the game to the house for 39 yards. Even after a blocked PAT by the Chippewas, the Irish led the game at this point, 37-21. The Chippewas tried to come back with two straight passing touchdowns from Marcus Jackson within just over a minute over the pick six. First to Roger High, then to Marquis Harris, Jackson single-handedly brought the Chips back into the game. However, it just wasn't enough. There was no scoring in the last two minutes and the Chips, even with three drives more after they scored, weren't able to get into field goal range for Webb, let alone the red zone. Notre Dame defeated Central Michigan, 37-35, in an instant classic.

Even though it was a loss, it wasn't a bad loss by any means. In fact, it was probably one of the better losses a team could take. Even with the loss, a spot in the Taco Bell Bottom Championship may be sealed up for the Chips. After all, the Chips have what most would feel is the strongest schedule in the bottom tiers and you can't deny access to a team that had played this well, even though the team was in the lowest tier. We'll have to see how the CFPR Committee decides to handle the Chippewa outlier.

Central Michigan Chippewas at Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Nov 30, 2013	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
#24 Central Michigan Chippewas (9-3)	0	7	7	21	35
#3 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (10-2)	0	0	17	20	37

Team Stats Comparison
	CMU	ND
Total Offense	521	406
Rushing Yards	37	130
Passing Yards	484	276
First Downs	23	15
Punt Return Yards	30	0
Kick Return Yards	86	46
Total Yards	637	452
Turnovers	3	0
3rd Down Conversion	9/16	7/12
4th Down Conversion	2/5	0/0
2-Point Conversion	1/2	0/0
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	5-3-0	4-3-1
Penalties	3-25	3-15
Possession Time	18:27	9:33

Scoring Summary
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		CMU	ND
0:13	(CMU) TD: J. Peterson, 3 Yd pass from M. Jackson (T. Webb kick)	7	0
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		CMU	ND
5:50	(ND) TD: A. Lloyd, 68 Yd pass from C. Russ (C. Britton kick)	7	7
3:40	(ND) TD: T. Jackson, 11 Yd pass from C. Russ (C. Britton kick)	7	14
2:10	(CMU) TD: G. Ward, 3 Yd pass from M. Jackson (T. Webb kick)	14	14
0:22	(ND) FG: C. Britton, 47 Yd FG	14	17
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		CMU	ND
6:05	(CMU) TD: G. Ward, 8 Yd pass from M. Jackson (T. Webb kick)	21	17
5:36	(ND) TD: C. Gardner, 5 Yd pass from C. Russ (C. Britton kick)	21	24
3:27	(ND) TD: C. Russ, 3 Yd run (C. Britton kick)	21	31
3:10	(ND) TD: S. Winston, returned interception 39 Yds (blocked kick)	21	37
3:00	(CMU) TD: R. High, 75 Yd pass from M. Jackson (2-Pt failed)	27	37
1:58	(CMU) TD: M. Harris, 23 Yd pass from M. Jackson (2-Pt)	35	37

Central Michigan Chippewas PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Marcus Jackson 31/53 484 5 3 Xavier Deloach 0/2 0 0 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Marquis Harris 16 42 2.6 0 Marcus Jackson 2 -9 -4.5 0 Derek Miller 1 1 1.0 0 Chad Perry 1 3 3.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Garrett Ward 11 147 13.3 2 Julius Peterson 6 68 11.3 1 Marquis Harris 5 59 11.8 1 Roger High 3 105 35.0 1 Jarvis Dowdell 3 49 16.3 0 Jermaine Harris 2 41 20.5 0 Joe Brown 1 15 15.0 0 BLOCKING PANCAKE SACK Steve White 0 1 Jake Phillips 0 1 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Jason Miller 6 0.0 0 0 Kevin Robinson 6 2.0 0 0 Jermaine Griffith 5 0.0 0 0 J.D. Reed 4 0.0 0 0 Justin Crum 4 0.0 0 0 Carlos Sullivan 4 0.0 0 0 Richard Lemon 3 0.0 0 0 Art Wilkerson 3 0.0 0 0 James Wilcox 2 1.0 0 0 Aaron Sharpe 2 0.0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Tim Webb 0/0 3/3 3 0 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Roderick Williams 1 50 50.0 0 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD Joe Brown 3 67 22.3 0 Garrett Ward 1 19 19.0 0 PUNT RETURN RET YDS AVG TD Joe Brown 3 30 10.0 0

Notre Dame Fighting Irish PASSING C/A YDS TD INT Chase Russ 15/29 276 3 0 RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TD Randy Smith 16 101 6.3 0 Chase Russ 7 22 3.1 1 Jay Gordon 1 7 7.0 0 RECEIVING REC YDS AVG TD Caleb Gardner 3 37 12.3 1 Terrell Graham 3 74 24.6 0 Trevor Jackson 3 52 17.3 1 Randy Smith 3 26 8.6 0 Aaron Lloyd 2 79 39.5 1 Josh Ramsour 1 8 8.0 0 BLOCKING PANCAKE SACK David Cooper 2 0 Dave Burke 2 0 Aaron Lloyd 2 0 Greg Gilmore 2 1 Rickey Jenkins 1 2 DEFENSE TACK SACK INT TD Steven Winston 9 0.0 2 1 B.J. Williams 6 0.0 0 0 Kyle Wagner 6 0.0 0 0 Lance Broussard 5 0.0 0 0 Reggie Jackson 4 1.0 0 0 Todd Williams 4 1.0 0 0 David Griffin 3 0.0 0 0 Alonzo Culp 3 0.0 1 0 Shawn Forte 2 0.0 0 0 Charrod Mitchell 2 0.0 0 0 KICKING FG XP PTS LONG Corey Britton 1/3 4/5 8 47 PUNTING NO YDS AVG IN20 Corey Britton 3 126 42.0 1 KICK RETURN RET YDS AVG TD Richie Bracken 2 46 23.0 0

Central Michigan 2013 Schedule
DATE	OPPONENT	RESULT
Aug 31	vs Northern Iowa Panthers (Home Opener/Blackout)	Won, 38-19
Sep 7	vs Eastern Michigan Eagles (Rivalry)	Won, 45-7
Sep 14	at Michigan State Spartans	Lost, 37-30
Sep 21	at Northern Illinois Huskies	Lost, 34-31 (3OT)
Oct 5	vs Ball State Cardinals	Won, 59-57 (4OT)
Oct 12	vs Georgia State Panthers (Homecoming)	Won, 50-20
Oct 19	at Miami University RedHawks	Won, 50-49 (OT)
Oct 26	at Kentucky Wildcats	Won, 31-24
Nov 9	at Western Michigan Broncos (Rivalry)	Won, 31-10
Nov 16	vs Vanderbilt Commodores (Maroon Out)	Won, 31-13
Nov 23	vs Massachusetts Minutemen (Senior Night)	Won, 63-14
Nov 30	at Notre Dame Fighting Irish	Lost, 37-35

The Chippewas now wait to see who from Tier 7 they will play in the R+L Carriers Bowl on December 15.

[SilverBullet19]

Re: Coach Chambers' Journey to the Top: The Catastrophic Chippewas | A Relegation Dyn

Tough loss to ND, but its expected and realistic. You fought them well!

Good season, now get a win over tier 7 and "level up" if you will

[PeoplesChampGB]

Re: Coach Chambers' Journey to the Top: The Catastrophic Chippewas | A Relegation Dyn

Tough loss man. Looks like ND just sat back and turned off the burners at the end there. Oh well. Move on and get a win in that bowl game!

[jpfine]

Rittenberg Roundup: Around the League - Week 14

Adam Rittenberg, ESPN Senior Writer
December 8, 2013
-------------------------------------------
Indianapolis, IN - We're creeping closer and closer to the end of the regular season and to conference championship week, which could determine spots in both promotion and relegation playoffs and tiered playoffs. The race for these titles have been great all season and this past week could've ended some teams' playoff hopes.

NCAA Football Rankings - AP Top 25 - Updated: Dec 1, 2013
RK	LW	TEAM (VOTES)	W	L	POINTS
1	1	Cincinnati (61)	11	0	1525
2	4	Ohio State	9	3	1339
3	2	Nebraska	10	1	1336
4	3	Notre Dame	10	2	1268
5	6	Kansas State	9	3	1137
6	8	Washington	10	2	1063
7	10	Ole Miss	8	4	983
8	11	Missouri	10	2	957
9	5	Michigan	9	3	898
10	12	Texas	8	4	893
11	13	Virginia Tech	9	3	872
12	14	Alabama	9	3	822
13	18	Arkansas	9	3	783
14	16	Oklahoma	7	4	736
15	21	Northwestern	10	2	562
16	7	Texas A&M	8	4	561
17	23	South Carolina	8	4	475
18	9	Louisville	8	4	434
19	25	Georgia	7	5	406
20	--	Syracuse	8	4	393
21	--	NC State	9	3	345
22	--	Tulsa	9	3	298
23	24	Central Michigan	9	3	271
24	--	Michigan State	7	5	250
25	20	Iowa	8	4	228

In the Top 25, there were some upsets, especially in the second half of the rankings. San Jose State defeated Northern Illinois, Oregon, who was previously 1st in the nation, scrapped back some pride and beat rival Oregon State, and USC defeated rival UCLA. Arkansas defeated Texas A&M in the only upset where both teams were ranked this week, and Syracuse beat Louisville in a close matchup.

Top 25 Results
(1) Cincinnati def. Western Kentucky, 35-14
(2) Nebraska def. (20) Iowa, 35-28
(3) Notre Dame def. (24) Central Michigan, 37-35
(4) Ohio State def. (5) Michigan, 21-17
(18) Arkansas def. (7) Texas A&M, 47-24
(8) Washington def. Washington State, 59-14
Syracuse def. (9) Louisville, 26-17
(10) Ole Miss def. Mississippi State, 30-23
(11) Missouri def. Kentucky, 38-35
(12) Texas def. Akron, 41-13
(13) Virginia Tech def. Virginia, 47-10
(14) Alabama def. Tennessee, 42-10
San Jose State def. (15) Northern Illinois, 31-6
Oregon def. (17) Oregon State, 28-17
USC def. (19) UCLA, 21-17
Indiana def. (22) Purdue, 31-26
(25) Georgia def. Georgia Tech, 34-10

Top 25 Matchups
(1) Cincinnati (11-0) vs UNLV (3-8)
(14) Oklahoma (7-4) vs Oklahoma State (5-6)

Relegation Watch
Tier 1
SEC: West Virginia (3-8, 1-7)
Pac-12: Washington State (3-9, 2-7)
Tier 2
Big Ten: Virginia (2-9, 1-8)
Big 12: California (1-11, 1-8)
Tier 3
ACC: Wake Forest (3-9, 0-9)
American: Louisiana Tech (4-8, 2-7)
Tier 4: UL Lafayette (5-6, 2-6)
Tier 5: Toledo (3-7, 2-6)
Tier 6: Memphis (1-10, 0-8)
Tier 7: Idaho (1-10, 1-7)

Heisman Watch - Updated: Dec 1, 2013
NAME	POS	SCHOOL		SEASON STATS
Kyle Cox	QB	Nebraska		208-320, 2743 Yds, 143 Car, 711 Yds, 40 TDs
Jesse Hines	QB	Texas A&M		237-404, 3202 Yds, 183 Car, 860 Yds, 43 TDs
Robert Jackson	QB	Missouri		189-384, 2618 Yds, 196 Car, 1021 Yds, 33 TDs
Ryan Jones	QB	Louisville		190-345, 2761 Yds, 169 Car, 718 Yds, 33 TDs
Kenneth Kelly	HB	Iowa		195 Car, 1177 Yds, 23 Rec, 384 Yds, 17 TDs

Kyle Cox and Jesse Hines swapped places and Robert Jackson and Ryan Jones swapped places this week. Kenneth Kelly remains in 5th place.

Tier 8 Conference Standings - Updated: Dec 1, 2013
TEAM	REC	PCT	CONF	PF	PA	STRK
Central Michigan	9-3	0.750	12 pts.	494	321	L1
Kent State	6-5	0.545	4 pts.	303	273	L2
Akron	2-10	0.167	2 pts.	156	383	L2
New Mexico State	2-10	0.167	1 pt.	271	435	L4
UMass	2-10	0.167	1 pt.	181	380	L2
Georgia State	3-9	0.250	0 pts.	215	400	W1

Central Michigan and Akron, the only two teams in Tier 8 who played, both lost this week to ranked opponents. At the moment, it looks like Central Michigan will be playing Idaho in the R+L Carriers Bowl on December 15 for the fight for Tier 7, but it could all change this week.

Central Michigan doesn't have a game until the R+L Carriers Bowl. The team they will play is yet to be determined.

[jpfine]

Rittenberg Roundup: Around the League - Week 15

Adam Rittenberg, ESPN Senior Writer
December 8, 2013
-------------------------------------------
Indianapolis, IN - We're creeping closer and closer to the end of the regular season and to conference championship week, which could determine spots in both promotion and relegation playoffs and tiered playoffs. The race for these titles have been great all season and this past week could've ended some teams' playoff hopes.

NCAA Football Rankings - AP Top 25 - Updated: Dec 8, 2013
RK	LW	TEAM (VOTES)	W	L	POINTS
1	1	Cincinnati (61)	12	0	1525
2	2	Ohio State	9	3	1238
3	3	Nebraska	10	1	1203
4	4	Notre Dame	10	2	1144
5	5	Kansas State	9	3	1086
6	6	Washington	10	2	1045
7	7	Ole Miss	8	4	981
8	8	Missouri	10	2	949
9	9	Michigan	9	3	895
10	10	Texas	8	4	842
11	11	Virginia Tech	9	3	805
12	12	Alabama	9	3	761
13	13	Arkansas	9	3	718
14	14	Oklahoma	8	4	681
15	15	Northwestern	10	2	641
16	16	Texas A&M	8	4	587
17	17	South Carolina	8	4	547
18	18	Louisville	8	4	508
19	19	Georgia	7	5	464
20	20	Syracuse	8	4	434
21	21	NC State	9	3	403
22	22	Tulsa	9	3	368
23	23	Central Michigan	9	3	333
24	24	Michigan State	7	5	288
25	25	Iowa	8	4	261

Nothing has changed in the Top 25 after both Cincinnati and Oklahoma defeated UNLV and Oklahoma State, respectively. The win for Cincinnati hands them an undefeated regular season in Tier 4.

Top 25 Results
(1) Cincinnati def. UNLV, 48-24
(14) Oklahoma def. Oklahoma State, 31-24

Conference Championships
SEC: (4) Notre Dame (10-2) vs (12) Alabama (9-3)
Pac-12: (3) Nebraska (10-1) vs (16) Texas A&M (8-4)
Big Ten: (20) Syracuse (8-4) vs (21) NC State (9-3)
Big 12: Boise State (7-5) vs (8) Missouri (10-2)
ACC: (15) Northwestern (10-2) vs Indiana (9-3)
American: (22) Tulsa (9-3) vs SMU (7-5)

Promotion-Relegation Playoffs - Updated: Dec. 8, 2013
Date	Bowl Games	Away	Home	Score	Tier
Dec. 15	R+L Carriers	#23 Central Michigan (9-3)	Idaho (1-11)	0-0	Tier 7
Dec. 15	Taxslayer Gator	Wake Forest (3-9)	Louisiana Tech (4-8)	0-0	Tier 3
Dec. 16	Meineke Car Care	UTEP (10-2)	Memphis (1-11)	0-0	Tier 6
Dec. 16	Bridgepoint Holiday	Boston College (9-3)	Toledo (3-8)	0-0	Tier 5
Dec. 16	Kraft Fight Hunger	Mid. Tennessee St. (9-3)	UNLV (3-9)	0-0	Tier 4
Dec. 21	Belk	TBD	Virginia (2-9)	0-0	Tier 2
Dec. 21	Valero Alamo	TBD	California (1-11)	0-0	Tier 2
Dec. 21	Buffalo Wild Wings	#1 Cincinnati (12-0)	TBD	0-0	Tier 3
Dec. 22	Chick-fil-A	TBD	West Virginia (3-9)	0-0	Tier 1
Dec. 22	Sheraton Hawai'i	TBD	Washington State (3-9)	0-0	Tier 1

All the bowl games on December 15 and 16 are filled to the brim with teams, but in the rest of the promotion-relegation playoffs, teams are yet to be determined.

Heisman Watch - Updated: Dec 1, 2013
NAME	POS	SCHOOL		SEASON STATS
Kyle Cox	QB	Nebraska		208-320, 2743 Yds, 143 Car, 711 Yds, 40 TDs
Jesse Hines	QB	Texas A&M		237-404, 3202 Yds, 183 Car, 860 Yds, 43 TDs
Robert Jackson	QB	Missouri		189-384, 2618 Yds, 196 Car, 1021 Yds, 33 TDs
Ryan Jones	QB	Louisville		190-345, 2761 Yds, 169 Car, 718 Yds, 33 TDs
Kenneth Kelly	HB	Iowa		195 Car, 1177 Yds, 23 Rec, 384 Yds, 17 TDs

Everybody remains in the place they were last week for the Heisman Watch, as no one played this past week. Kyle Cox and Jesse Hines will face off in the Pac-12 Championship, so look for that game to be a huge passing game.

On December 15, Central Michigan will play Idaho in the R+L Carriers Bowl in New Orleans to grab promotion to Tier 7. Then, on December 19, the Chippewas will play in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl in Detroit in the Taco Bell Bottom Championship. (Honestly, I know the timeline makes no sense, but it's whatever at this point. Some teams will end up playing five games in the postseason. I'll try to fix it for next season.)

[jpfine]

Tough loss to ND, but its expected and realistic. You fought them well!

Good season, now get a win over tier 7 and "level up" if you will

Tough loss man. Looks like ND just sat back and turned off the burners at the end there. Oh well. Move on and get a win in that bowl game!

Yeah, tough to lose to Notre Dame, but, honestly, I'm glad we could put up a fight at this point. It's tough because my game plan heading in was literally just try to eat up clock, which I did for the first half, but failed to do in the second. Idaho should be easy to beat, so I wanna say we're locked into Tier 7 at the moment. We'll see though. The real test, I think, will be the Taco Bell Bottom Championship.

So, to follow up on that, I've automatically put myself at 1 seed, as we are ranked. In the announcement of the format, I said that if any team is ranked nationally, they're in. Obviously, we're ranked. But I'm gonna need your help to seed the other teams and all that, with this playoff and the other ones. I'll probably make a Google Form and have you guys answer the survey that way, so I can get some votes. I'll inform you when we get to that point.

Anyways, I just wanted to update you guys on where I'm at. So, I wanted to get more out today, but I have to wake up tomorrow early to get somewhere. I've simmed to the bowl games, so the file is ready to edit, but I'm gonna get the Conference Championship Around the League out, then have the Heisman Winner announced. I might do an article for the other awards, but I probably won't. As a spoiler, Garrett Ward won an award this year, so I'd say we had a successful season with him. I have no idea when I'll be back tomorrow, so I'll let you know when I get back and I'll start working on getting out the articles. Super excited to get the first postseason out, but it may take a while, because it takes a while to edit and because it's a lot of playoffs and stuff. Hopefully, it'll go smoothly, but we'll see. I want to get it down by the end of Winter Break and hopefully get started on Season 2. Thanks for sticking with me and I'll (hopefully) continue this through the semester. I'll let you know more as I continue on with life.

[jpfine]

Rittenberg Roundup: Around the League - Conference Championships

Adam Rittenberg, ESPN Senior Writer
December 14, 2013
-------------------------------------------
Indianapolis, IN - Tonight, the conference championships have finished, which have filled out the rest of the promotion-relegation playoffs.

NCAA Football Rankings - AP Top 25 - Updated: Dec 14, 2013
RK	LW	TEAM (VOTES)	W	L	POINTS
1	1	Cincinnati (61)	12	0	1525
2	2	Ohio State	9	3	1231
3	5	Kansas State	9	3	1101
4	6	Washington	10	2	1066
5	7	Ole Miss	8	4	1010
6	8	Missouri	11	2	983
7	3	Nebraska	10	2	947
8	9	Michigan	9	3	934
9	12	Alabama	10	3	934
10	10	Texas	8	4	887
11	11	Virginia Tech	9	3	853
12	4	Notre Dame	10	3	791
13	13	Arkansas	9	3	774
14	16	Texas A&M	9	4	774
15	14	Oklahoma	8	4	728
16	15	Northwestern	11	2	703
17	17	South Carolina	8	4	613
18	18	Louisville	8	4	576
19	19	Georgia	7	5	532
20	21	NC State	10	3	499
21	23	Central Michigan	9	3	400
22	24	Michigan State	7	5	353
23	25	Iowa	8	4	325
24	--	North Carolina	8	4	290
25	--	Northern Illinois	9	3	229

Teams, such as Alabama and Notre Dame, went up and down based off of their conference championship result but, for the most part, the rankings stayed the same

Conference Championships
SEC: (12) Alabama def. (4) Notre Dame, 41-10
Pac-12: (16) Texas A&M def. (3) Nebraska, 28-23
Big Ten: (21) NC State def. (20) Syracuse, 24-17
Big 12: (8) Missouri def. Boise State, 24-7
ACC: (15) Northwestern def. Indiana, 31-16
American: SMU def. (22) Tulsa, 34-31

Promotion-Relegation Playoffs - Updated: Dec. 14, 2013
Date	Bowl Games	Away	Home	Score	Tier
Dec. 15	R+L Carriers	#23 Central Michigan (9-3)	Idaho (1-11)	0-0	Tier 7
Dec. 15	Taxslayer Gator	Wake Forest (3-9)	Louisiana Tech (4-8)	0-0	Tier 3
Dec. 16	Meineke Car Care	UTEP (10-2)	Memphis (1-11)	0-0	Tier 6
Dec. 16	Bridgepoint Holiday	Boston College (9-3)	Toledo (3-8)	0-0	Tier 5
Dec. 16	Kraft Fight Hunger	Mid. Tennessee St. (9-3)	UNLV (3-9)	0-0	Tier 4
Dec. 21	Belk	#16 Northwestern (11-2)	Virginia (2-9)	0-0	Tier 2
Dec. 21	Valero Alamo	SMU (8-5)	California (1-11)	0-0	Tier 2
Dec. 21	Buffalo Wild Wings	#1 Cincinnati (12-0)	TBD	0-0	Tier 3
Dec. 22	Chick-fil-A	#20 NC State (10-3)	West Virginia (3-9)	0-0	Tier 1
Dec. 22	Sheraton Hawai'i	#6 Missouri (11-2)	Washington State (3-9)	0-0	Tier 1

Other than the Buffalo Wild Wings, which is part of a playoff-like setup, every other bowl for promotion-relegation playoffs are set up. Missouri and NC State are looking good to be able to sneak into the Pac-12 and the SEC respectively on December 22. SMU, who upsetted Tulsa in the American Conference Championship, is looking to join the Big 12 in a Valero Alamo Bowl against a 1-11 California. Northwestern, defeating Indiana in the ACC Championship, looks to defeat a 2-9 Virginia in the Belk Bowl. The other bowls were filled last week.

[thesportsguru11]

Re: Coach Chambers' Journey to the Top: The Catastrophic Chippewas | A Relegation Dyn

I'll have to get caught up on this later today, but just wanted to drop in and say I love the idea of tiers and the relegation/promotion system. Not something I would personally try, but it looks like this will work well for you. Taco Bell Bottom Championship, that's awesome wordplay.

Regardless of what happens against Idaho and beyond, you've had a tremendous season getting ranked, tallying 9 wins and (almost!) beating Notre Dame. A season or two with your own recruits and you'll be winning those close games soon. Good luck against Idaho!

[jpfine]

I'll have to get caught up on this later today, but just wanted to drop in and say I love the idea of tiers and the relegation/promotion system. Not something I would personally try, but it looks like this will work well for you. Taco Bell Bottom Championship, that's awesome wordplay.

Regardless of what happens against Idaho and beyond, you've had a tremendous season getting ranked, tallying 9 wins and (almost!) beating Notre Dame. A season or two with your own recruits and you'll be winning those close games soon. Good luck against Idaho!

Thanks for checking in, Guru! If I can get the game to work, I think this might go far... (Trying to fix the game right now, it's acting funny with the pro-rel playoffs at the moment. Have a backup on hand, so I might just go through the bowl season regularly and start the playoffs next year, but I would really want to get the playoffs and such going in the first year. I'm gonna be working on it all day today to try to fix the problem.) Anyways, I'm glad we had such a great season and, at this point, I think I'm cool with being pretty good right off the get-go, as long as I'm nowhere near the National Championship for a couple years. Also, there's no special shortcut I can use to get to Tier 1, and that's really the whole point of this dynasty - to get up there and stay there for a couple years. Thanks again, Guru!

[callmetaternuts]

Re: Coach Chambers' Journey to the Top: The Catastrophic Chippewas | A Relegation Dyn

Just caught up. Awesome idea. Looking forward to the conclusion of Season 1.

[moose141]

Re: Coach Chambers' Journey to the Top: The Catastrophic Chippewas | A Relegation Dyn

Hoping you can get things figured out on the editing side! You've really earned your stripes this season with some good wins and very solid performances in those losses to Michigan State and Notre Dame; it would be a crime if you didn't get a chance to earn that first promotion this season!

[jpfine]

Just caught up. Awesome idea. Looking forward to the conclusion of Season 1.

Thank you, I appreciate it! Hope you enjoy and continue to follow along!

Hoping you can get things figured out on the editing side! You've really earned your stripes this season with some good wins and very solid performances in those losses to Michigan State and Notre Dame; it would be a crime if you didn't get a chance to earn that first promotion this season!

Yeah, we're getting there. Hopefully, I can get it fixed before I get back to school, but nothing for certain. I think this class of Chippewas has really been special, with the bowl win last season (in 2012) and this season. I think we can beat a 1-11 Idaho team, but anything can happen. (Should be a blowout tho:wink We could make some history as the first official team to earn promotion, which would be a treat. I'm ready to have some conference competition and have an easier schedule. So our winning ways could very well continue.

[jpfine]

Update

At the moment, I'm pretty sure that I fixed the problem. I'm gonna test it out and, if I got it, I'll resume posting. Either way, I'm gonna get the Match Preview out and, hopefully, I can play the game against Idaho and get the article out by the end of the day. I don't have much to do for New Years', so I think I can get a lot out.

[jpfine]

Rittenberg Roundup: Pro-Rel Playoff Preview

Adam Rittenberg, ESPN Senior Writer
December 15, 2013
-------------------------------------------
New Orleans, LA - Andrew Chambers and Central Michigan have traveled to the Bayou to face off against Tier 7 side Idaho. Idaho, who went 1-11 and 1-8 in conference, are facing relegation and the game against the Chippewas will determine their fate.

"I'm super excited to be able to participate in this, the first pro-rel playoff in history," said Chambers, "and I can't wait for the game. I think we have what it takes to beat the Vandals and to get to Tier 7, but we need to keep our minds straight and go out there and play like we normally do. If we do that, I don't think we'll have any problems."

Rittenberg Roundup: Pro-Rel Playoff Preview | December 15, 2013
	@
#23 Central Michigan Chippewas (9-3, 3-3 Away)		Idaho Vandals (1-11, 0-7 Home)
Offensive Stats Comparison 41.2 Points Per Game 16.1 489.8 Total Offensive Yards 304.8 112.8 Rushing Yards 108.6 377.0 Passing Yards 196.3 Defensive Stats Comparison 26.8 Points Allowed 35.0 338.3 Total Yards Allowed 451.0 99.8 Rushing Yards Allowed 161.3 238.5 Passing Yards Allowed 289.7 Injury Report Landon Phillips ACL (Out for Season) Marcus Barclay Torn rotator cuff (Out for Season)

The Chippewas have three players returning in James Mitchell, Matt Lane and Brandon Cox. Mitchell comes back after suffering a torn abdominal in the game against Miami University. Mitchell claimed, "I'm glad to be able to be back and to get the postseason started."

With Mitchell and Cox back, Chambers may try to really get the running game going again, especially with his highest rusher back. However, Cox may not get as many touches as he may have hoped as, on paper, Chambers has put Cox in the third position for running back. "I think Marquis has truly shown what he is capable of and I think, at the moment, he knows the playbook better, he has more experience, and he's the better option right now."

The Chippewas need to not get in over their head this game. The defense has really been lackluster the last couple games and they really need to prevent the Vandals from making the big plays, on third-down especially.

Projected Score
Central Michigan, 49-10

The Chippewas should easily take care of Idaho. The Vandals have not had a good season, at 1-11, and relegation for this side is almost inevitable. How bad the game is for Idaho is dependent on how much Chambers looks to beat them by.