Niagara Rhinos: An Alternate Universe NCAA 14 Dynasty

[Nunyerbiz]

From: Galoshes, Lunar ([email protected])
To: Nonek, Reinhold ([email protected])

Subject: End of regular season recruiting update

I've been largely playing by the rules this year... no lavish travel budget funded by my dad's 401k, no improper gifts... And targeting largely regional targets. Overall, probably a little less impressive than my work last year, but what do you expect when we play by the rules?

Here's an update on our full class so far, some of these guys I've talked about and some I haven't... My main goals were to establish a recruiting pipeline in Canada and Michigan and I've reached that goal.

The Committments

Latimer Iorg / TE / 4-star (78 OVR)
6'4" / 247 lbs / Port Falls, ID

Josh Lewis / OLB / 3-star (67 OVR)
6'3" / 252 lbs / Jackson, MI

Derek Hill / DE / 3-star (69 OVR)
6'4" / 243 lbs / Clawson, MI

Lamar Craft / CB / 3-star (68 OVR)
6'0" / 176 lbs / Sans Souci, SC

Derrick Sanders / CB / 3-star (69 OVR)
6'0" / 189 lbs / Barrie, CN

Brodus Baxa / DE / 3-star (67 OVR)
6'4" / 271 lbs / Niagara, CN

Lee White / HB / 3-star (70 OVR)
5'11" / 226 lbs / Ishpeming, MI

William Daye / T / 2-star (68 OVR)
6'6" / 290 lbs / Ottawa, CN

Jerome Bailey / G / 2-star (62 OVR)
6'5" / 285 lbs / Elk Plain, WA

Lamar Wolfe / OLB / 2-star (64 OVR)
6'2" / 211 lbs / Toccoa, GA

The Offseason Targets
These are the small handful of guys that we will be chasing right after bowl season. I think we should be able to land at least a couple of them.

Curtis Whitlock / K / 3-star
5'11" / 211 lbs / Tucumcari, NM
A big leg that would be a noticeable improvement over our current kicker. He showed minor interest in Niagara and we pounced, but came up just short on getting him to sign. He should be an easy commit after bowl season.

Cameron Charles / HB / 4-star
6'0" / 200 lbs / Auburn, AL
A possible replacement for Holly as a workhorse back, he had Niagara 5th on his list and we just sort of hung around. He clearly prioritized larger schools, but didn't get a lot of attention. Not terribly agile or quick, but has just shifty enough to occasionally make a man miss.

Darron Campbell / C / 3-star
6'3" / 294 lbs / Toronto, CN
We're in a dog fight with Miami (OH). He highly values program tradition, which makes no sense as he is interested in Niagara and Miami of Ohio. He has size and strength but not terribly impressive blocking technique. Still has potential to start as a freshman as we'll have an opening at center.

Eric Hughes / LB / 3-star
6'2" / 220 lbs / Jenison, MI
He's not the fastest or the most physically intimidating, but Eric has a high football IQ and solid tackling technique. With our LB core losing three of the base four starting LBs, he could be in the mix to start if we sign him. Currently in a battle with Maryland, the only other school to offer a scholarship.

[Nunyerbiz]

Dr. Schreibman was a placekicker for Niagara for three seasons starting in 1990. He is still the Rhinos all time leading scorer and has been widely recognized across southern Ontario as a Niagara Rhino superfan. His views do not necessarily express those of Niagara University.

Dr. Irv is back in the house! Here to bring you some exciting coverage of the Rhinos first ever NCAA bowl game! This is the biggest game in the program since I hit a 44 meter kick in a two meter snow drift to win the game against Saskatoon Tech back in 1991!

But before we get to that... a quick plug... and by plug, of course I mean Dr. Irv's exciting entry into the hair plug business! Are you a balding man? Lacking confidence? Well, if you want to regain that confidence and look like a doll head owned by a sadistic five year old... then call Dr. Irv today!

Little Caesar's Bowl!
We'll start off by looking at the roster matchups for this game... as the Rhinos will definitely have their work cut out for them.



Over the last month of the regular season, we all saw this Niagara offense slowly morph into a primarily rushing based team. The coaching staff was clearly getting frustrated by the interceptions and freshman QB Conrad Palinski was taking a beating in the pocket. Spreading the field with four wide receivers and diving inside on rushing plays became very effective. The offensive line just has to hold the point of attack for a moment to allow the halfback to squeeze through, they don't have to push any piles. This approach might not be effective against this Nebraska front four... they got some well-fed farmboys on that defensive line. If Niagara is forced to throw to win the game, it's probably going to be a tough slog. Nebraska has size and skill throughout their secondary.

On the defensive side, they are going to have to bend and not break. If they can stiffen up in the red zone and force some field goals, they might have a shot... But I will bet that Nebraska will move the ball at will on the ground. There is plenty of talent in the WR core to make the passing game a threat as well. While Niagara has improved since their week two loss to Oklahoma State, this Nebraska team is probably more talented, especially in the trenches on both sides of the ball.

Injury updates

On the Niagara side, senior halfback Malcolm Holly is fully recovered from an MCL sprain suffered almost two months ago. He is expected to roughly split carries with freshman Ty Welsh.

[djp73]

Very interested to see the bowl result. Also intrigued by the Oklahoma vs Louisiana national championship.

[Nunyerbiz]

[Nunyerbiz]

College Bowl Results

Category D:
"I don't think this Bowl exists anymore"


Insert Random Sponsor Poinsettia Bowl
Missouri (6-7) - 34
Nevada (9-5) - 36

Little Caesar's Bowl
Nebraska (7-6) - 59
Niagara (9-4) - 38



Category C:
"Please move to the lower bowl so this doesn't look so embarrassing on TV"


New Mexico Bowl
Colorado State (10-3) - 29
Washington State (6-7) - 27

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
Buffalo (8-6) - 21
BYU (9-4) - 34

Beef'O'Brady's Bowl
Florida Atlantic (7-6) - 33
Houston (6-7) - 30

New Orleans Bowl
Marshall (9-4) - 38
UL Monroe (8-5) - 41

Sheraton Hawaii Bowl
LA Tech (9-4) - 16
Air Force (9-4) - 21

Russell Athletic Bowl
#21 UConn (10-3) - 49
Florida State (9-5) - 32

Armed Forces Bowl
Navy (9-5) - 21
San Diego State (9-4) - 28

BBVA Compass Bowl
Ohio (8-5) - 17
Oklahoma State (7-6) - 41

Go Daddy Bowl
Toledo (9-5) - 24
#14 UCF (10-3) - 38

Meineke Car Care Bowl
Iowa (7-6) - 17
Kansas State (7-6) - 24

Maaco Las Vegas Bowl
#18 Arizona (9-4) - 28
New Mexico (8-6) - 23

Heart of Dallas Bowl
Oregon State (7-6) - 42
Minnesota (6-7) - 10


Category B:
"We're starting to pay attention now that Christmas is over"


Military Bowl
Ball State (9-4) - 20
Cincinnati (6-7) - 14

Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl
#22 TCU (9-4) - 44
#23 Penn State (9-4) - 14

Holiday Bowl
Indiana (6-7) - 28
#24 Utah (10-3) - 35

Belk Bowl
Maryland (8-5) - 45
Central Michigan (6-7) - 24

Independence Bowl
Temple (7-6) - 25
Virginia (7-6) - 38

Fight Hunger Bowl
#20 Georgia (8-5) - 28
California (6-7) - 25

Alamo Bowl
Texas Tech (8-5) - 21
#12 USC (10-3) - 24

Music City Bowl
Arkansas (8-5) - 20
Syracuse (7-6) - 7

Sun Bowl
Stanford (7-6) - 31
#11 Miami (10-3) - 39

Liberty Bowl
Ole Miss (7-6) - 35
Army (11-3) - 16

Chick-fil-a Bowl
Texas A&M (8-5) - 45
Clemson (9-4) - 24

Gator Bowl
Mississippi State (6-7) - 14
#6 Wisconsin (10-3) - 41


Category A:
"I'm skipping Grandma's Funeral to Watch This"


Outback Bowl
#19 South Carolina (10-4) - 35
#15 Notre Dame (10-3) - 41

Capital One Bowl
#25 Auburn (9-4) - 29
#8 Ohio State (11-3) - 42

Rose Bowl
#13 Michigan State (11-3) - 14
#17 UCLA (9-5) - 37

Fiesta Bowl
#2 Virginia Tech (12-1) - 26
#10 Oregon (12-2) - 23

Sugar Bowl
#5 Alabama (12-2) - 14
#3 Texas (12-2) - 38

Cotton Bowl
#16 Florida (10-3) - 44
Baylor (8-5) - 6

Orange Bowl
#7 Georgia Tech (12-2) - 56
#9 Louisville (11-2) - 53



BCS Championship
#4 UL Lafayette (12-1) - 20
#1 Oklahoma (14-0) - 49

[Nunyerbiz]

Nunyer's Notes

I tried to get the bowl game in late last night, but the PS3 froze with 17 seconds left in the 3rd quarter when I went into the replay system to get a screenshot. I was losing 31-10 at the time. They weren't nearly as dominant on offense compared to the completed game but were scary good on defense. I might have had 150 yards of offense and they were putting up an insane pass rush.

For the actual game, as you can see they were pushing us around in the running game. I either stopped them behind the line or they went for 15+ yards. I typically don't like running when I have a fast QB, as I think it can become cheese pretty easily.. especially with fatigue off where there is less penalty for doing it... but in this game where it was pretty clear that I wasn't going to win, I took off with Palinski just about every time my first two reads were covered. He is a dangerous runner in the open field, elusive enough to make the first guy miss just about every time. I had one juke where the defender leaped completely out of bounds, it was pretty silly looking... I'll have to remember to add that to whatever highlight video I do in the future.

My goal is to get through the offseason tomorrow evening. I might be simplifying the offseason manual progression to save some time... still kicking around ideas. Last time it took about two hours just for that part.

Also, as always... any suggestions on next year's non-conference games are appreciated. I'm thinking of having Syracuse visit Niagara the year after next and scheduling a Big Ten team this year.... and maybe a visit to the Kibbie Dome?

[LopaKa]

Solid season for the Rhinos! You guys definitely exceeded expectations. Now it’s time to win the division! As for non conference games, my vote goes to a little tropical vacation for Coach Reinhold with a trip to the islands to play Hawaii.

[OBinKC]

It was still a great season, and things can only go up from here. I like the morph into a “spread em out to run” game. In fact, my Idaho coach Pat Fitzkennedy will be attending some Nonek coaching clinics to figure out how to get a run game going!

I would say that the Kibbie Dome is a fun place to play - when you’re winning. And I have no doubt the Rhinos can put on a show for the tens of Vandal fans in attendance!