Smooth Pancakes' Coaching Carousel Career [Archive] - Page 6

SmoothPancakes

07-25-2013, 04:08 PM

Game Two

:Utah_State: :@: :Air_Force:

Game Notes

--- Reeling from our season-opening loss to rival Utah, we wouldn’t catch much of a break as we jumped straight into the beginning of conference play, heading back on the road with a visit to Colorado Springs to take on Air Force. The Falcons had gotten off to their own rough start, losing 28-21 to FCS East in their opener. We would face a tough battle nonetheless, as Air Force entered with the #7 rushing offense in the nation, putting up over 240 yards/game. Our defense would be challenged to shut the Falcons down on the ground. Our passing offense would also be in for a challenge, as the Falcons entered ranked #26 in passing defense, giving up only 151.0 yards through the air. We won the coin toss and elected to kick.

A 22 yard return on the opening kickoff got Air Force lined up at their 24 yard line to start the game. John Robinson took the ball on first down, bought down in the backfield for a two yard loss. A one yard rush by Robinson on the next play left the Falcons facing third and 11. Ryan Cook dropped back to pass on third down, but Caleb McBride broke through around the right tackle, sacking Cook for a 5 yard loss to bring out the Air Force punt team on fourth and 16. A 15 yard punt return by Eric McGuire on the 47 yard punt got us started with incredible field position at our 49 yard line.

Coming out on offense on first down, Preston Roberson received the handoff for a 5 yard gain around the right tackle, followed by a 6 yard rush up the middle to give us an early first down at the Air Force 40 yard line. Going outside the right guard, Roberson picked up three yards on the play to leave second and 7. Coming out in play action on second down, a pass from Adam Powers to Brian James was completed for a 13 yard gain, giving us a new set of downs at the 23 yard line, Air Force unable to slow us down. Lining up under center, Powers dropped back, trying to connect with McGuire on the play, but the pass was broken up by the outside linebacker, leaving second and 10. Lining up in the shotgun, Powers rifled a quick pass over the middle to Dre Martin, complete for a gain of 12 yards to pick up a new first down at the 11 yard line. Turning back to the ground game, Roberson was very nearly brought down for a loss by the middle linebacker, somehow able to pick up three yards on the play to set up second and 7. A run up the middle on second down gained three more yards to leave us facing third and four from the 6 yard line. A dump pass over the middle to Dre Martin was pulled down in the end zone for a 6 yard touchdown, putting us on the board first with a 7-0 lead with 4:14 left in the first quarter.

A 19 yard return on the kickoff got Air Force back in action at their 18 yard line. Air Force came out with a hard snap, trying to get us to jump offside, but the plan would backfire, the right tackle jumping to bring out a false start flag, instantly pushing the Falcons back to leave first and 15 from the 13 yard line. That would only delay the abuse our defense would suffer, as Robinson received the handoff going wide around the left tackle, the offensive line sealing our defense off and allowing Robinson to break into the open, taking it all the way to the house in one play for an 87 yard touchdown to tie the game back up at 7-7 with 3:58 on the clock.

A 23 yard return by McGuire on the kickoff got us back on the field at our 29 yard line. A handoff to Roberson on first down picked up three yards, followed by a two yard rush to leave third and 5. Lining up in the shotgun on third down, the pass intended for Matt Leierer ended up broken up by the outside linebacker, leaving us punting on fourth down as our offensive hit a wall this drive. A 12 yard return on the 37 yard punt gave Air Force possession from their 40 yard line.

Cook kept the ball on first down, taking off around the right tackle and picking up 6 yards on the play to leave second and four. Cook dropped back to pass on second down, but quickly took off scrambling in the face of pressure, tackled for only a two yard gain, leaving Air Force with third and two. Cook took off on an option play on third down, the defense doing their job and taking the pitch man out of the play, allowing the secondary to crash down and tackle Cook for a three yard loss, leaving the punt team coming out on fourth and 5. An 8 yard return by McGuire on the 40 yard punt got us lined up from our 22 yard line.

Coming out firing on first down, Powers found Brian James deep for a huge 34 yard gain, giving us a first down at the Air Force 44 yard line. A quick pass to McGuire on a comeback route was complete, picking up 16 yards to move the chains again, down to the 28 yard line. Turning to the ground game, Roberson was able to pick up four yards on first down, followed by a three yard rush to leave third and three. That would bring the first quarter to an end, all knotted up at 7-7.

Opening up the second quarter, we lined up at the 21 yard line, facing third and three. Powers dropped back from under center, chucking up a pass to Tim Fields near the right sideline, complete for a 15 yard gain to give us first and goal at the 6 yard line. Roberson received the handoff on first down, going to the left between the tackle and tight end, finding a massive hole to waltz into the end zone untouched for a 6 yard touchdown to give us a 14-7 lead with 8:40 left in the second quarter.

A touchback on the kickoff left Air Force starting from their 25 yard line. A triple option run to the right again resulted in our defense shutting things down, the pitch man instantly taken out of the play, letting the secondary converge on Cook, limiting him to only a two yard gain to leave second and 8. Running the option to the right, Cook still could find no love, run down from behind for no gain before he could get the pitch off, bringing up third and 8. While our rush defense was getting the job done, our pass defense was crapping the bed, Cook dropped back on third down, firing off a pass to an open Sam Sanders near the left hash for an 18 yard gain and a first down at the 45 yard line. A missed assignment by the defense on first down nearly killed us, as Cook was able to get the pitch off during the option right, Robinson taking the ball up the right sideline for an 8 yard gain, before finally being brought down by the last man in front him to save the touchdown. Lining up on second and two, Cook kept the ball himself around the right tackle, gaining 11 yards on the play to get the first down at our 36 yard line. Blitzing the CBs on first down, Cook never got a chance to get the pitch off, tackled immediately for only a one yard gain to bring up second and 9. Running play action, Cook was forced to scramble before he could find an open target, not getting far though as he was sacked for a four yard loss, leaving Air Force facing third and 13 from the 39. Bringing the house on third down, Cook was unable to get the pass off, sacked by outside linebacker Al Washington for a 7 yard loss, bringing out the punt team on fourth and 20. Adding a bit of insult to injury, that sack left Cook briefly sidelined with the wind knocked out of him, though it ultimately wouldn’t affect the action on-field with the upcoming punt. The punt landed at the 5 yard line, bouncing into the end zone for a touchback to get us started at our 20 yard line with 5:41 left in the first half.

Starting the drive on the ground, Roberson was able to get outside the left tackle for an 8 yard carry, followed by a two yard rush to leave third and inches. Taking the third down handoff straight up the middle, Roberson was officially recorded for a rush of no gain, but he was able to just barely inch his way over the first down line, moving the chains at the 30 yard line. Running a play action pass on first down, Powers was able to avoid a sack and find McGuire downfield for a 25 yard gain. Safety Curtis Stewart would increase the gain, tackling McGuire by his facemask to save a guaranteed touchdown, the 15 extra yards giving us a first down at the Air Force 30 yard line. Turning back to the run game on first down, Roberson rushed for a 6 yard gain, followed by a four yard rush by Brian Paris to get the first down at the 20. Tossing the ball right, Roberson received the toss, but a missed blocked allowed the cornerback to bring Roberson down for a two yard loss, leaving us with second and 12. Lining up in shotgun on second down, Powers tried to hit Martin over the middle, but the pass was intercepted by middle linebacker Bernard Jenkins, forcing the first turnover of the day by either team and giving Air Force possession at their 13 yard line.

Taking over at the 13 yard line after the interception, Air Force kept with their ground game, Robinson received a pitch to the left, but the defense was able to close down and drive him straight out of bounds for no gain on the play. An incomplete pass on second down intended for Sanders ended up incomplete, leaving third and long. Despite bringing the blitz on third down, Cook was able to get a pass off to Robinson for a 12 yard gain, giving the Falcons first down at the 25. Robinson received the handoff on first down, tackled for a three yard gain, followed by a rush for no gain by Cook on a triple option, leaving the Falcons facing third and 7. Air Force nearly fooled us, coming out with a screen pass on third down that left the nearest defender 10 yards downfield, but middle linebacker Lee Bradley quickly caught the screen, leaping one blocker and crashing down, managing to tackle Robinson for only a two yard gain to force the punt. We called our first timeout with 1:13 left on the clock to keep Air Force from running it down. A 13 yard return by McGuire on the 41 yard punt gave us the ball at our 43 yard line with 1:05 left before halftime.

Coming out passing on first down, Powers was able to make a big completion to Ryan Conley down the right sideline for a huge 33 yard gain, moving the sticks to the Air Force 23 yard line. A quick pass to David Douglas picked up 13 more yards, giving us a first down at the 10 yard line, 40 seconds on the clock. A pass over the middle to Martin gained 8 yards, leaving us with second and two from the two yard line, our second timeout called with 26 seconds to go. Taking a gamble on the ground, Roberson received the handoff, went around the right guard and just managed to fall forward through a pair of defenders for a two yard touchdown, increasing our lead to 21-7 with 23 seconds left until halftime.

A touchback on the kickoff got Air Force lined up at their 25. Cook dropped back to pass on first down, firing off a pass to Robinson along the left sideline, who was forced out of bounds for a 9 yard gain, stopping the clock with 17 seconds. A pass over the middle to Sanders was completed for a 13 yard gain, giving Air Force a first down at the 46 yard line, calling their second timeout with 13 seconds to go. Our defense would end up burnt to a crisp as Sanders broke free past the cornerback, allowing Cook to chuck up a rainbow pass for a 54 yard touchdown, cutting our lead to 21-14 with 6 seconds left in the half.

A 21 yard kickoff return by McGuire gave us the ball at the 23 yard line, one second on the clock. Roberson received the handoff on first down, picking up 5 yards on the play to run out the clock, taking us into halftime holding on to a 21-14 lead.

Opening up the second half, a 27 yard kickoff return by Roberson got us started from our 32 yard line to being the third quarter. Starting the drive on the ground, Roberson received the handoff for a 5 yard gain, followed by an 8 yard rush by Paris to move the chains to the 45 yard line. Keeping the ground attack going, Roberson came back in on first down, getting 7 yards on the carry. We also got a gift on the play as outside linebacker Larry Cummings was flagged for a facemask penalty on the tackle, giving us a first down all the way at the Air Force 33 yard line. Paris reentered the backfield on first down, gaining 6 yards on the first down carry, followed by a 5 yard rush to get the first down at the 23. With free reign on the ground, we keep the rushing attack going on first down, Roberson going up the middle for a four yard gain, before being limited to only a two yard gain to leave third and four. Lining up under center on first down, Powers dropped back, throwing a pass to Maurice Martin for a big 14 yard pickup, setting us up with first and goal at the four yard line. Turning back to the ground, Roberson received the handoff and waltzed his way into the end zone for the third time today, scoring a four yard touchdown to give us a 28-14 lead with 5:20 left in the third quarter.

A 22 yard return on the kickoff got Air Force lined up at their 20 yard line. Cook kept the ball himself on first down, rushing to the left and breaking into the open, a desperation shove out of bounds the only difference between a 10 yards gain and a touchdown. While the rush went for 10 yards, the refs marked the ball short, leaving second and inches. Josh Landry would pick up the first down, rushing for an 11 yard gain to move the sticks to the 41 yard line. A pitch right to Cory Davis netted 7 yards, followed by a one yard rush by Landry to bring up third and two. Cook kept the ball on a QB sneak, picking up four yards on the play to get a first down and keep the drive moving at our 47 yard line. A 9 yard rush by Cook turned into extra yards as safety Sam Vinson got flagged for a facemask penalty, giving Air Force a first down at our 22 yard line. A pitch to Landry on the option resulted in a missed tackled and a 22 yard touchdown, cutting our lead to 28-21 with 3:11 left in the third quarter.

A 28 yard return by McGuire got us started at our 28 yard line. Roberson started the drive with a 5 yard rush, followed by a 9 yard rush by Paris, picking up a first down at the 43 yard line. Keeping it on the ground, Roberson went up the gut for a gain of 6 yards, upon which Paris followed with a 7 yard rush, giving us a new set of downs at the Air Force 44 yard line. Roberson returned on first down, but was quickly tripped up for a two yard gain. Lining up under center, Powers dropped back to pass on second down, the ball intended for James sailing incomplete, leaving us facing third and 8. Coming out in shotgun, Powers was able to connect with Paris out of the backfield for a 15 yard completion, keeping our drive alive with a first down at the 27. Returning to the ground, Roberson managed 6 yards on the first down carry, followed by a four yard rush by Paris to get a first down at the 17. That would be the final play of the third quarter, our lead 28-21.

Opening up the fourth quarter from the Air Force 17 yard line, Roberson got us started on first down with a four yard rush, but it would come at a cost, Roberson suffering a concussion on the play that would leave him sidelined for the rest of the game. Paris came in on second down, receiving the handoff for a three yard gain to leave third and three. Putting the ball back into the hands of Paris, he weaved his way up the middle for an 8 yard rush, giving us first and goal at the two yard line. Paris would finish the job on first down, punching it in for a two yard touchdown to increase our lead to 35-21 with 7:28 left in the game.

A touchback on the kickoff gave Air Force the ball at their 25 yard line. Handing the ball off to Robinson, he managed two yards on the carry, before Cook was brought down for no gain on a read option, leaving Air Force facing third and 8. A missed interception attempt by Vinson allowed Joe Seymour to pull down the third down pass from Cook for a 33 yard gain, giving the Falcons a first down at our 41 yard line. Cook kept the ball on an option right, Mike Moses saving the touchdown with an ankle tackle, limiting the damage to only an 11 yard gain and a first down at our 30 yard line. Forced out of the pocket to avoid a sack, the off-balance pass from Cook intended for Ralph Mobley landed well short of the receiver, bringing up second down. Handing the ball off to Robinson, he was quickly brought down for only a one yard gain, leaving third and 9. A quick pass intended for Robinson ended up incomplete, Robinson unable to scoop the ball up before it hit the turf, bringing up fourth and 9, any hopes for a comeback riding on this play. Cook threw the ball deep into the end zone to Mike Pierre in a one on one situation, cornerback Jeremy Thurman jumping up at the last moment and deflecting the ball out of bounds with his right arm, forcing the turnover on downs at our 29 yard line with 5:33 left in the game.

Taking over after the turnover on downs, we turned right to our running game, Paris receiving the handoff for a 6 yard gain, followed by a 5 yard rush to get a first down at the 40. Paris was limited to a gain of two yards on first down, followed by James coming in for a big 9 yard rush, moving the chains to the Air Force 49 yard line to keep the clock ticking. Paris returned on first down, fighting his way to a 6 yard gain, before being stood up for no gain, leaving us facing third and four. Taking our chances on the ground, Paris received the handoff, immediately flattened for no gain to leave fourth and four. Air Force called their first time out with 2:16 left on the clock. The punt bounced down at the 6 yard line and unfortunately rolled into the end zone, giving Air Force the ball at their 20 yard line.

Air Force lined up on first down with 2:09 left on the clock, all the pressure on our defense now to close things out. Cook was hit as he threw on first down, the ball deflected backwards and incomplete, to bring up second down. Cook would manage to get the ball off on second down, connecting with Mobley for a 16 yard gain and a first down at the 36 yard line, but it would all go downhill from there. Dropping back to pass on first down, Cook was hit from behind by the backside blitz, the ball coming loose during the sack. Defensive tackle Marcus Garrett scooped up the fumble for our defense, unable to keep his balance and falling down after a three yard return. But the damage was done, the turnover via fumble gave our offense the ball at the Air Force 25 yard, only 1:52 left on the clock and Air Force left with two timeouts.

Air Force didn’t bother to challenge the fumble, allowing Paris to receive the first down handoff for a 7 yard gain, Air Force calling their second timeout with 1:48 left. A 5 yard rush by Paris ended up with extra yards, a facemask penalty on cornerback Mike Blake resulting in half the distance to the goal, giving us first and goal at the 6 yard line, the penalty stopping the clock with 1:45 left. Leierer received the ball on first down, stood up for no gain, Air Force calling their final timeout with 1:41 to go. With the Falcons no longer able to stop the clock, Powers came out on second down, dropping to a knee. Dropping to a knee with one second left on the play clock, it left us with fourth and goal, 50 seconds left on the clock. We would line up to kick the 28 yard field goal on fourth down, but a shanked kick by Richard Burnette resulted in Air Force getting the ball back at their 20 yard line, just 17 seconds left on the clock.

Dropping the defense back in Cover 4, the first down pass from Cook to Robinson resulted in only a 9 yard gain, leaving the clock running and Air Force scrambling to the line of scrimmage to spike the ball. Cook would drive the ball into the ground with four seconds left on the clock, leaving the Falcons facing third and one from their 29. Safety Charles Noble would end the game by nearly intercepting the off-target pass from Cook, knocking it incomplete with no time left on the clock. That would seal our first, hard fought, victory of the year, 35-21 over Air Force.

With the win, we improve to 1-1, 1-0 in Mountain West action. With the loss, Air Force drops to 0-2, 0-1 in Mountain West play. Up next, we head home for the first time this year, welcoming to town Ramius' old stomping grounds, Tulsa. The Golden Hurricanes enter the game 0-1, 0-0 in American Athletic Conference action. Tulsa opened their year with a 21-19 loss at home to former C-USA foe Rice.

Final Score
:Utah_State: 35, :Air_Force: 21

Stat(s) of the Game:
Utah State Offense - A better week for Powers, ending 12-16 for 203 yards, with one touchdown and one interception. Rushing, despite missing the fourth quarter, Roberson led the way with 104 yards and three touchdowns on 27 carries. Paris ended with 87 yards and one touchdown on 18 carries. Receiving, James was the top receiver with 47 yards on two receptions. Next was McGuire with 40 yards on two receptions. Martin had 26 yards but also the lone receiving touchdown on three receptions. In all, eight receivers caught a pass today, all eight receivers ended with double digit receiving yards.

Utah State Defense – Again, up and down. Had some horrible moments (88 yard TD run, 54 yard TD pass, 22 yard TD run) that allowed Air Force to stick with us most of the game, but shut things down in the fourth quarter, forcing and recovering a fumble and forcing a turnover on downs with a deflected pass in the end zone.

Utah State Kicking – Burnette shanked his only field goal attempt of the game from 28 yards out in the waning seconds of the game, but did go 5-5 in PATs.

Scoring Summary

Team
1st Quarter
2nd Quarter
3rd Quarter
4th Quarter
Final Score

:Utah_State:
7
14
7
7
35

:Air_Force:
7
7
7
0
21

Time
Team
Result
Play
Score

First Quarter

4:14
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
D. Martin, 6 yard pass from A. Powers (R. Burnette kick)
:Utah_State: 7-0

3:58
:Air_Force:
Touchdown
J. Robinson, 87 yard run (D. Kelly kick)
TIED 7-7

Second Quarter

8:40
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
P. Roberson, 6 yard run (R. Burnette kick)
:Utah_State: 14-7

0:23
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
P. Roberson, 2 yard run (R. Burnette kick)
:Utah_State: 21-7

0:06
:Air_Force:
TOuchdown
S. Sanders, 54 yard pass from R. Cook (D. Kelly kick)
:Utah_State: 21-14

Third Quarter

5:20
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
P. Roberson, 4 yard run (R. Burnette kick)
:Utah_State: 28-14

3:11
:Air_Force:
Touchdown
J. Landry, 22 yard run (D. Kelly kick)
:Utah_State: 28-21

Fourth Quarter

7:28
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
B. Paris, 2 yard run (R. Burnette kick)
:Utah_State: 35-21

Game Stats

Utah State
Stat
Air Force

35
Score
21

23
First Downs
10

399
Total Offense
337

49 - 196 - 4
Rushes - Yards - TD
29 - 171 - 2

12 - 16 - 1
Comp - Att - TD
9 - 15 - 1

203
Passing Yards
166

0
Times Sacked
4

6 - 9 (66%)
3rd Down Conversion
4 - 10 (40%)

0 - 1 (0%)
4th Down Conversion
0 - 1 (0%)

0 - 0 (0%)
2-Point Conv
0 - 0 (0%)

6 - 5 - 0 (83%)
Red Zone - TD - FG
0 - 0 - 0 (0%)

1
Turnovers
1

0
Fumbles Lost
1

1
Intercepted
0

34
Punt Return Yards
12

97
Kick Return Yards
62

530
Total Yards
411

2 – 40.0
Punts - Average
4 - 43.5

1 - 15
Penalties
4 - 41

21:41
Time of Possession
14:19

Utah State Coach Goals

Goal
XP Reward
Completed

Win a Game
100
x1

Score a Touchdown
25
x5

Force a Turnover
25
x1

Rush for 100 Yards
25
x1

Kneel Last Minute Q4 While Ahead
10
x1

3+ Sacks
50
x1

Opponent Under 300 Pass Yards
50
x1

Pass Completion over 50%
30
x1

Score 21 or More Points
50
x1

350+ Offensive Yards
50
x1

10+ First Downs
50
x1

4+ 3rd Down Conversions
25
x1

Utah State Contract Goals Update

Goal
Expectations
Progress

Target Wins Per Season
6
1

Job Security Status

55%

SmoothPancakes

07-25-2013, 04:10 PM

Taking a look around the nation, in the Top 25, in the game of the week, #8 South Carolina upsets #3 Georgia 31-24. #4 Stanford eases past rival San Jose State 37-10. The upset of the week goes to SMU, who goes on the road and stuns #5 Texas A&M 31-28. #19 Kansas State knocks off #6 Oregon 31-28. #7 Notre Dame beats Purdue 30-6. Virginia Tech takes down #10 Louisville 28-17. #11 Oklahoma destroys West Virginia 48-14. #13 TCU drops FCS Southeast 37-13.

#22 Ole Miss knocks off #14 Texas 37-25. #16 Boise State steamrolls FCS East 45-3. #18 LSU escapes from UAB 35-28. #20 Nebraska picked up an easy 45-19 win over Southern Miss. #21 Oregon State destroys Hawaii 48-17. In the "what the hell happened" game of the week, FCS West goes on the road and shocks #23 Arizona State 39-24. #24 Mississippi State gets a 37-7 win over FCS Southeast. And #25 Oklahoma State rolls UTSA 44-6.

For our readers, JeffHCross, #2 Ohio State remains 1-0 (0-0 Big Ten), with a bye week. Morsdraconis, West Virginia drops to 1-1 (0-1 Big 12) with a 48-14 destruction from #11 Oklahoma. Souljahbill, Southern Miss drops to 1-1 (0-0 C-USA) with a 45-19 whooping from #20 Nebraska. Jaymo, #23 Arizona State opens the year 0-1 (0-0 Pac-12), with an EMBARRASSING 39-24 loss to FCS West! LeeSO, Auburn drops to 0-2 (0-0 SEC), losing 27-24 to Arkansas State. SCClassof93, #8 South Carolina opens the year 1-0 (1-0 SEC) with a 31-24 upset of #3 Georgia. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State improves to 2-0 (0-0 Sun Belt) with a 27-24 victory over Auburn. Florida International remains 1-0 (0-0 C-USA) with a bye week. Navy remains 0-0 (0-0 American) with another bye week. Tulsa opens the year 0-1 (0-0 American) with a 21-19 loss to Rice.

In Mountain West action, #16 Boise State topped FCS East 45-3, Utah State beat Air Force 35-21, Nevada beat FCS West 23-12, San Diego State whooped New Mexico State 41-3, New Mexico knocked off UTEP 29-24, Fresno State escaped FCS West 38-31, #4 Stanford owned San Jose State 37-10, #21 Oregon State topped Hawaii 48-17, Washington whooped Wyoming 44-7 and Arizona beat UNLV 49-3.

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Alabama (41 first place votes) remains #1, Ohio State (20 votes) remains #2, Stanford climbs one to #3, South Carolina jumps four to #4 and Notre Dame climbs two to #5. Florida moves up three to #6, Georgia drops four to #7, Oklahoma climbs three to #8, Florida State jumps three to #9 and TCU climbs three to #10. Oregon drops five to #11, Boise State climbs four to #12, Kansas State leaps six to #13, Clemson climbs one to #14 and Michigan jumps two to #15. Virginia Tech enters the poll at #16, LSU climbs one to #17, Ole Miss jumps four to #18, Louisville drops nine to #19 and Nebraska remains #20. Oregon State remains #21, Texas A&M plummets seventeen to #22, Texas falls nine to #23, Mississippi State remains #24 and Oklahoma State (266 points) remains #25. Dropping out of the poll this week was Arizona State (from #23). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Northwestern (256 points) is #26, followed by Miami (232), USC (190), Michigan State (159) and Vanderbilt (82) to round out the Top 30. One other team getting votes this week is Wisconsin (23).

An early season look at the Heisman race, Texas A&M QB Zac Hopkins is #1 (LW: #1), Alabama QB Brad Hill is #2 (LW: #2), Ohio State QB Matt Cowan is #3 (LW: #3), Oklahoma QB Roger Barnes is #4 (LW: NR) and Louisville QB Jeff Johnston is #5 (LW: #4). Dropping off of the Heisman Watch list this week was Oregon QB Mark Harris (LW: #5).

SmoothPancakes

07-25-2013, 04:11 PM

Finally!!! A post in the hetero forum :D

:D Yep, managed to get some free time and was able to beat off that quick hitting flu (or whatever it actually was) and finally get Air Force in today. That's gonna be all for now though as I want to be out the door and up to work in the next 20 minutes, maybe I'll be able to get done with work and be home at a reasonable time tonight.

SCClassof93

07-25-2013, 04:12 PM

SC upsets UGAg for the fourth year in a row :D

SCClassof93

07-25-2013, 04:13 PM

:D Yep, managed to get some free time and was able to beat off that quick hitting flu (or whatever it actually was) and finally get Air Force in today. That's gonna be all for now though as I want to be out the door and up to work in the next 20 minutes, maybe I'll be able to get done with work and be home at a reasonable time tonight.

Not going to pm you or anything about my gaff:D but could you fix that quote before the grammar Nazi's come by???:D

SmoothPancakes

07-25-2013, 05:02 PM

SC upsets UGAg for the fourth year in a row :D

:D Yeah, I figured you'd be happy with that result. One of the lone bright spots this week, in an otherwise VERY ugly week, for readers teams.

Not going to pm you or anything about my gaff:D but could you fix that quote before the grammar Nazi's come by???:D

:D :D :D

Oh hell, I suppose, since you asked nicely, and didn't accuse me of being childish or attempting to troll. :D :D :D

jaymo76

07-25-2013, 10:00 PM

An FCS loss...???....??? You're killin' me man :fp:

SmoothPancakes

07-25-2013, 10:06 PM

An FCS loss...???....??? You're killin' me man :fp:

:D

Yeah, I shocked by that. Even in a new edition of the game, Arizona State finds thrilling new ways to perform epic face plants. Looks like that bowl-less streak is gonna be continuing in the desert.

souljahbill

07-25-2013, 11:12 PM

Next, we'll be whooped by Arkansas, then Boise St. That's what happened to me in RTG so I'm ready for the worst.

johntom2000

07-25-2013, 11:25 PM

Hey Smooth,

How is Nebraska doing?

SmoothPancakes

07-26-2013, 07:10 AM

Next, we'll be whooped by Arkansas, then Boise St. That's what happened to me in RTG so I'm ready for the worst.

Well, they can't do much worse than Arizona State did this week, going and losing to an FCS team. :D

Hey Smooth,

How is Nebraska doing?

They're ranked #20, 2-0 on the year. Beat Wyoming 45-14 and beat Southern Miss 45-19.

SCClassof93

07-26-2013, 07:20 AM

:D

Yeah, I shocked by that. Even in a new edition of the game, Arizona State finds thrilling new ways to perform epic face plants. Looks like that bowl-less streak is gonna be continuing in the desert.

Serves them right for placing their school (and team) on the surface of the sun. "Too hot to practice coach".

SmoothPancakes

07-26-2013, 10:52 AM

Serves them right for placing their school (and team) on the surface of the sun. "Too hot to practice coach".

Yeah, you might be onto something there. :D

SmoothPancakes

07-26-2013, 07:23 PM

Approaching halftime of the Tulsa game, and for the first time since playing '14, I'm now noticing just how fucking awful defense is in this game. :fp:

The last couple drives, there has been literally nothing I can fucking do. All of my defenders either end up completely blocked and taken out of the play, or if they manage to avoid being blocked or shed off a block, they still end up so far out of position that the offense can just sit there weaving their way through my defense to their heart's content, never at risk of being tackled.

If EA does not patch ANY sort of defense into the game soon, I'm not sure if I'll even last an entire season on '14. Still 3:20 left before halftime, and I almost don't even give a damn if I finish this game or not. It's not even remotely fun when I'm just getting repeatedly raped by the offense just because my defense has no chance from the moment the ball is snapped.

Either that, or I'm gonna have to do some serious goddamn overhauls to my sliders that would basically end up completely neutering the CPU offense (since I'm getting involuntarily violated both by ground and air).

Last game, two of Air Force's touchdowns came on an 87 yard run and a 54 yard pass. This game, Tulsa has scored on a 38 yard pass, a 59 yard run by the QB and a 9 yard pass that was aided by a 42 yard kickoff return where my kickoff team barely saved a return for a touchdown, and a 36 yard pass that nearly ended up being a 45 yard touchdown pass if not for a desperation dive tackle.

It is turning into a joke this game. Utah and Air Force were fun, because there was a defense for both teams, because we weren't scoring every day. But this game against Tulsa, it's fucking ridiculous at this point. With 3:20 left in the 2nd quarter, honestly, the game could freeze right now and I probably wouldn't care, in fact I'd almost be happy. :smh:

SmoothPancakes

07-26-2013, 08:13 PM

I swear to god, I honestly think Tulsa's gonna have to wait for another day (probably far in the future).

Not only took half an hour to finish the last three fucking minutes of the second quarter, but first offensive play of the third quarter by Tulsa, I get burned for a 57 yard rush in which my entire fucktarded defense doesn't even bother to attempt to disengage from their blocks or make an attempt to tackle the ball carrier until he's already gained 10 yards and is past most of the entire damn defense. Yet again, the only thing that saved it from being a 50+ yard touchdown was a desperation ankle tackle from behind.

Another thing that is pissing me off, it takes at least two or three defenders just to fucking tackle someone. One defender tries to tackle the ball carrier or receiver? Complete fucking waste of time. They'll just shake that tackle attempt off or break the tackle and just keep right on going. Sure, they may be slowed down because they have to regain their balance, but they'll still get at least an extra 5-10 yards before the rest of your defense can get to them.

Honestly, I think I'm done tonight. 15 seconds into the third quarter, I don't think I have the fucking patience for two more quarters of this shit. It's 9pm, I have to get to sleep since I have to get up at 2am for work. I thought I'd squeeze Tulsa in real quick tonight and give you guys a treat of another game played and posted before the weekend. But fuck this. I'm not getting even the least, tiniest bit of fucking enjoyment or fun from this shit, it's to the point of it'd be a chore just to finish the game, in which I'd probably spend most of the entire second half chewing clock just to end this shit, win or lose, just so I could be done with it. I'm aggravated, I'm pissed off, I'm annoyed, and I'm about to fucking spike my controller into the ground at any fucking second just to release this fucking tension. It'd be one thing if my defense was just getting beat on plays fairly, but my defense doesn't even have a fucking chance on just about any goddamn play. Every play, pass or run, the offense has already gained 5-10 yards before my defense even has a fucking clue of what's going on and tries to break off their blocks and run down whoever has the ball.

One play into the third quarter, Tulsa has run 32 plays on offense. 14 of those plays have resulted in gains of 15 yards or more. 8 of those 14 plays have resulted in gains of 20 yards or more. Their biggest plays? A 34 yard rush by the QB, a 38 yard touchdown pass, a 59 yard touchdown rush by the QB, a 36 yard pass, a 44 yard pass and a 57 yard rush. All in one half plus one play in the third quarter. There have been at least two or three plays that would have ended up being 50+ yard touchdowns if it hadn't been for me somehow pulling a diving ankle tackle from behind out of my ass to save the touchdown.

Honestly, I think this entire dynasty is going to be on permanent hold until either a magical set of sliders comes out that gives this game some goddamn resemblance of defense, or until EA gets off their asses and patches a fucking defense into this game.

johntom2000

07-28-2013, 09:58 PM

Smooth,

I use these sliders. I have great games. Give em a try. http://www.operationsports.com/forums/ncaa-football-sliders/641130-secelit3s-ncaa-14-heisman-sliders-built-realism-challenge.html

SmoothPancakes

07-28-2013, 10:48 PM

Smooth,

I use these sliders. I have great games. Give em a try. http://www.operationsports.com/forums/ncaa-football-sliders/641130-secelit3s-ncaa-14-heisman-sliders-built-realism-challenge.html

I'll give it a try, I appreciate the link. I'll check them out, see how well they work for me.

I was considering retrying Tulsa last night, but we had a storm pop up out of nowhere and blow through around 5pm yesterday, knocking down trees all over the place and knocking out power for entire parts of the city. We were lucky, our power only briefly flickered, but we ended up losing cable and internet the entire evening. Cable partially came back on around 11pm (some channels worked, other channels we got messages saying they'd be "available soon". Internet never came back up until 9 or 10 this morning. So instead of playing, since I wouldn't be able to post any results for a while, I just watched some blu-rays the rest of the evening until I was able to get Military Channel back on the TV.

Tonight, ended up sucked into Black Ops 2 custom games with a friend who hadn't been online in a couple weeks, so we spent the night playing since he was off work for the night.

So I haven't given up on anything, just took two days off. Not sure if I'll get anything in tomorrow. Gonna be going up to Toledo (a good 45 minutes up the highway) to see my grandma in the hospital for a couple hours (thankfully no longer in ICU), plus I got some free tickets from work to the minor league baseball team there in town, so gonna swing by and catch the game at noon. Leaving at 8:30 in the morning, spending time at the hospital before and after the game, if I'm lucky, maybe back home by 8 or 9pm tomorrow night, though by that time, I'll probably be sufficiently tired enough, I doubt I'll do much but watch some TV and fall asleep. So it'll probably be Tuesday before I can even try to play Tulsa again.

johntom2000

07-29-2013, 12:16 AM

Great to hear about your grandma. Sweet on the tickets!

SmoothPancakes

07-29-2013, 06:48 AM

Great to hear about your grandma. Sweet on the tickets!

Yeah, it's been very touch and go for a while. Went in on the 18th for what was supposed to be a one day procedure to replace the wires leading from her pacemaker. Instead she's still in after the idiot who did the procedure screwed it up for the second time in 5 years. Not only did one of the wire end up placed wrong, but he nicked her lung in the process, causing it to collapse. Went from a one day procedure to her sitting in ICU with chest tubes and a whole bunch of other stuff hooked up.

Went like that for a few days, until her arms started swelling, postponing the follow up surgery to correctly lay one of the wires that wasn't laying correct. After determining the swelling wasn't caused by blood clots, that one wire started a shitstorm, as one day her heart rate raced up to the 160s, her blood pressure was all over the place, it was repeatedly sending a shock out, they kept a crash cart right there on her bed all the way from ICU to the surgery room because her heart could have stopped at literally any second. Thankfully they were able to get her in and get the surgery done (it was a full surgery this time, cracked ribs and chest opened up and all), got the wire corrected and everything seems to be alright. There was a brief pulmonary issue yesterday, but other than that, she's been returned to a standard room with a possible release day of Wednesday, but who knows if that'll hold.

Either way, what a disaster it all has been. Went in for what was to be a quick one day procedure on the 18th, now, on the 29th, is still in the hospital, with one full week spent in ICU. I've already sworn off that hospital. I don't care if I end up in an accident directly in front of one of the hospitals under their name, I'm refusing treatment if they try to transport me to one of them. I'll crawl my way to a different hospital, one I know who has actually hired nurses and doctors who didn't come last in their classes at medical school.

And agreed on the tickets. :D I had the same deal last year. Got into work on Saturday morning one week, and there in the air studio were three sets of tickets for games Saturday, Sunday and Monday. There was a note with them giving me the option of giving them away on air or keeping them for myself. I gave away the Saturday and Sunday tickets since I couldn't use them, but kept the Monday tickets and went to the game. They were great seats. Like I said, only two or three rows up from the field, directly behind home plate. They're basically season holder tickets, probably from a CEO or something from one of the big local companies in town that occasionally will donate tickets to either give away on air or let staff there at the station go to a game.

Got into work this past Saturday morning, there was only one set of tickets, but same deal, I could give them away on air or keep them and use them myself. So what the hell, they're some of the best seats you can get, and trying to order tickets through the team itself (not sure if Stubhub even has tickets for minor league baseball), you can't even get remotely close to that same section unless you go up to the second level. And it works well, being a noon game this time around. Unfortunately, to get home from the ballpark, we have to drive through some shady neighborhoods to get back to US 24, so I'd rather have a noon game than a game at 6 or 7pm.

SCClassof93

08-28-2013, 07:32 AM

Well, EA has turned a great thread here upside down............needs a theme song :D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klpj4RHXjpg

SmoothPancakes

08-29-2013, 07:00 PM

jaymo76

08-30-2013, 11:44 PM

:D Yeah, I haven't even fired up or touched NCAA since I quit that game against Tulsa on July 26th. Now that college football is here (watching Tulsa-Bowling Green right now, flipping it to Utah State-Utah in a couple minute), it should get me back into the mood for football. I'm just gonna have to spend some time either trying to rework my current sliders or try to find new sliders. Something's gonna have to change, that much is for sure. There was just so much nonstop bullshit in that game when it came to the defense. Hopefully I can figure out something, because I was really having fun with Utah State, they're a fun team on offense.

On the flip side however, my free time has really plummeted off. High school football starts tomorrow night, so from 6pm until probably midnight I'll be at work for our HS football broadcast, and then I have to turn around mere hours later to go in and do my morning show on Saturday morning. So pretty much all of Friday and Saturday are completely lost from here until the end of October. And with a lot of free time on the other days currently being spent working around the house due to plans to do some remodeling work on it later this fall, I have almost no time for anything right now. At most, my free time is only between 8 or 10pm and whenever I hit the sack in the middle of the night.

Don't feel bad Smooth. I haven't had the interest to play either. I think the last time I played was the week before the Madden demo dropped. Sure I played the heck out of it in July and got my monies worth but I am only half way through season three. I was fairly happy with my sliders but my problem is that my UNLV team can roll Michigan and get beat up by New Mexico...???... Plus who knows if a patch to help the gameplay will ever come out? Yes I was playing but I just was not having any fun. I think it's time (if the game continues) that it needs a major shake-up. The gameplay and commentary and overall experience have become stale. I am actually really enjoying Madden 25 right now. Just looking at this forum it seems as though a number of people have stopped playing NCAA.

SmoothPancakes

08-30-2013, 11:50 PM

Yeah, it really is sad. I'm currently on a college football high (after watching Utah-Utah State last night and North Dakota State-Kansas State tonight. So if I can keep this high through the weekend (and I should with the slew of, what should be, great games Saturday, Sunday and Monday, I may be able to overlook the overall level of crap that is gameplay in '14 and the absence of defenses, and maybe have some fun with it again. We'll find out. It probably won't be until Sunday or Monday before I get a chance to fire up NCAA, if I do.

SmoothPancakes

09-03-2013, 01:46 AM

Well, there may be hope. I copied my Utah State dynasty into a new file, went into that new file and fired up Tulsa. Played a little better than when I last left it. The first quarter was actually pretty good. Gave up some legitimate gains, made some defensive stands, no BS plays by the CPU. Second quarter there were one or two BS plays, and you still can't fucking tackle someone with just one player, the offensive player just brushes the goddamn tackle off and keeps running, every single time, which is fucking stupid. I shouldn't have to gang-tackle every single ball carrier or receiver just to actually get the bastards tackled.

However, I think I may be able to deal with some of the bullshit again and give it another whirl, now that my football juices are flowing again thanks to the start of the college football season. A little late to start the game again from the beginning and go through the whole process of typing everything up (along with my DVR being 85% full due to me largely ignoring it for the past week), so I'm gonna spend the rest of tonight watching stuff on the DVR. But either tonight or sometime Wednesday, I'll try and fire up Tulsa for real and give it another serious whirl.

souljahbill

09-03-2013, 06:47 AM

Tried setting big hits and strip to conservative?

SmoothPancakes

09-03-2013, 06:20 PM

Yep. I always put those on conservative. I'd rather have my players focusing 100% on the tackle than trying to make a highlight reel or cause fumbles.

SmoothPancakes

09-14-2013, 03:29 PM

jaymo76

09-21-2013, 06:09 PM

I haven't forgotten about this. I'm currently unable to play due to a semi-broken right stick on my controller. I can still do stuff with it, but I can't get the game to recognize me moving the stick when trying to kick field goals, PATs or kickoffs. When I can barely squeak a PAT kick through the left corner of the uprights due to issues with the right stick, yeah, I'm not even going to try to play and put entire games on the line because of my inability to convert even simple PATs or short 30 yards or less field goals.

Thankfully, I have a new controller on the way from Amazon. Ordered it yesterday specially to have a brand new controller to use with Grand Theft Auto V. My new controller should arrive on Tuesday right along side GTA V. So sometime after Tuesday afternoon, I'll be getting this fired back up now that I'll be able to actually kick the ball again in the game.

Smooth, I played NCAA today for the first time since the first week of August. It's week 9 and my 9-0 UNLV squad went into NEVADA. The game was played in a blizzard and it was a huge defensive struggle... that's right, it was a defensive struggle!!! I won the game 14-9 as I stopped NEVADA on a 4th and 12 at my 36, with 52 seconds left. Total yards were only 252 (NEVADA) to 227 (UNLV). My qb didn't break 100 yards. I am still using my base sliders. I'm sure this is an anomaly but at least it offers me some hope that on occasion some games will be defensive. This game is one major patch away from greatness... yet sadly I suspect no patch is coming... :(

Anyways brother, I hope you give it a try again. I have always enjoyed your dynasty reports. Enjoy GTA for now...

SmoothPancakes

09-24-2013, 02:34 AM

Sweet mother of god. I feel like I'm about to have a heart attack.

SmoothPancakes

09-24-2013, 03:29 AM

Game Three

:Tulsa: :@: :Utah_State:

Game Notes

--- Fresh off our first win of the season, Utah State’s first win since 2018, and only fourth win since 2017, we finally reached our first home game of the season, welcoming our next big challenge to town, a familiar team for Coach Ramius, as the Golden Hurricanes of Tulsa traveled to Logan for a week three battle. While Ramius was offensive coordinator of a high ranking offense in years past, this year’s Tulsa squad was a shell of its former self, losing their lone game of the season thus far to Rice, 21-19.

In that game, Tulsa was little better than anemic, managing only 322 yards of offense, while giving up 364 yards on defense. Tulsa was lit up on the ground by Rice for 224 yards (good for #113 nationally), though their passing defense stemmed the blood loss, giving up only 140 yards through the air (#21 nationally). The Golden Hurricanes defense was also proficient at forcing turnovers, coming into the contest with a plus 2 turnover differential, good for 17th nationally. Needless to say, our suspect defense and lethargic running game would be relied on today. Tulsa won the coin toss, electing to kickoff first.

Preston Roberson got us off to an explosive start, receiving the kickoff in the end zone before breaking free up the right sideline, returning the kick 60 yards down the field before finally being cornered and pushed out of bounds at the Tulsa 41 yard line. Coming out on the ground to start our first offensive drive, Brian Paris could only manage one yard on the play. Turning to the pass on second down, Eric McGuire pulled down the pass from Adam Powers, good for a 20 yard gain and a first down at the 21 yard line. Keeping it in the air on first down, the pass intended for Dre Martin was broken up by the cornerback, leaving second and 10. Another deflected pass by the defense brought up third down, as the momentum of our drive started to falter. Powers managed to get the ball off to David Douglas for a 10 yard gain, but he was brought down just short of the marker, leaving us with fourth and inches at the 11 yard line. We would settle for the 28 yard field goal from Richard Burnette, giving us a 3-0 lead with 7:35 left in the first quarter.

A touchback on the following kickoff got Tulsa lined up from their 25 yard line to start their first drive of the game. Justin Whitaker received the handoff for a three yard gain, before an incomplete pass brought up third and 7. Our defense would find a way to screw it up, giving up a 40 yard completion from Jake Webb to Justin Whitaker, the Golden Hurricanes picking up a first down at our 32 yard line. Webb was forced to throw the ball away on first down, before a 7 yard pass to Nick Givens left Tulsa facing third and three. Whitaker would keep the drive moving, rushing for 6 yards and getting the first down at our 19. Mike Whitehead took over on first down, rushing for an 8 yard gain, followed by a four yard rush from Whitaker, setting up first and goal from our 7 yard line. A near interception by Lee Bradley stopped them on first down, but Tulsa wouldn’t be denied, Whitaker scoring on a 7 yard screen pass to give Tulsa a 7-3 lead with 6:01 left in the first quarter.

Roberson couldn’t repeat his magic, only gaining 18 yards on the kickoff return, setting us up at our 19 yard line. Roberson took the first down handoff for an 8 yard gain, followed by a four yard rush to get the first down at the 31. A three yard rush by Paris and a three yard rush by Roberson left us facing third and four. Lining up in the shotgun on third down, Matt Leierer was able to keep the drive alive with a 7 yard reception from Powers, moving the chains to the 44 yard line. Roberson kept pounding the ball at the Tulsa defense, picking up three yards on first down, before Powers hit Martin over the middle for an 11 yard gain and a new first down at the Tulsa 42. Continuing through the air, Conley was able to snag in a quick pass for an 8 yard gain, but it would be much more, as Tulsa cornerback Terrance Robinson was flagged for a facemask penalty, the 15 yards giving us a first down at the Tulsa 20 yard line. Roberson returned to the ground on first down, picking up 6 yards on the carry, followed by a 7 yard rush to set us up with first and goal at the Tulsa 7 yard line. Paris tried to punch it in on first down, but could only pick up three yards on the play. Roberson had worse luck, tackled for no gain on the carry, leaving third and goal at the three. Lining up under center, Powers was able to connect with McGuire on a slant route for a three yard touchdown, giving us a 10-7 lead with 1:16 left in the first quarter.

A 32 yard kickoff return by Whitaker got Tulsa set up from their 30 yard line. Whitaker received the handoff on first down, but found nowhere to run as he was tackled for a three yard loss. An incomplete pass by Webb put another Tulsa drive on the brink, facing third and 13. Our defense would find a way to screw up another third down, as Webb found Givens over the middle for a 22 yard gain, picking up the first down at the 49 yard line. Webb kept the ball on first down, rushing for 7 yards, but a false start on the next play pushed them back, facing second and 8. It was but a minor setback, as Webb connected with Chris Greene for a 12 yard strike, moving the chains to our 36 yard line. A 7 yard rush by Whitaker would bring the first quarter to a close, our lead holding at 10-7.

Opening up the second quarter, Tulsa lined up facing second and 7 from our 29 yard line. Our defense wasn’t going to go down completely without a fight, tackling Webb for a three yard loss to leave third and 6. Our defense however would turn right around and blow it, giving up a 7 yard completion to Whitaker and a first down at our 25. A 5 yard rush by Webb, followed by an incomplete pass intended for Givens, left Tulsa again facing third and 5. Tulsa again would convert, as Webb found Willie Callahan over the middle for an 8 yard gain and a first down at the 12. A one yard rush by Webb was followed with an incomplete pass intended for Callahan, leaving the Golden Hurricane facing third and 9. Tulsa would convert yet again, as Webb connected with Givens for an 11 yard touchdown, Tulsa retaking the lead, 14-10 with 7:40 left in the second quarter.

A 26 yard return by McGuire got us lined up at our 24 yard line to start our next drive. Roberson got the drive started with a 5 yard rush, followed by a three yard rush to bring up third and two. Paris would keep us moving on the ground, picking up 6 yards and the first down at the 39. Roberson took the ball on first down, picking up three yards to set up second and 7. Going into the air on second down, Paris was able to snag down a pass from Powers for a 13 yard gain, moving the chains to the Tulsa 46 yard line. Keeping the passing attack going, Powers found Douglas down the left sideline for a 16 yard gain and a first down at the 30. A four yard rush by Paris on first down, was followed up with a three yard rush by Roberson to bring up third and three. Paris would pick up three yards on the play, but was marked down just short of the first down marker, leaving us again facing fourth and inches at the 20 yard line. We would settle for another field goal, the 37 yard kick from Burnette good, cutting Tulsa’s lead to 14-13 with 3:27 left in the first half.

A touchback on the kickoff got Tulsa started at their 25 yard line. Whitaker opened up the drive with a 9 yard rush, followed by a 12 yard pass from Webb to Callahan to pick up the first down at the 47. Whitaker took the ball again on first down, picking up 5 yards on the carry, before Webb would commit the first error of the game, trying to run up the middle on a designed run on second down, hit at the line of scrimmage and fumbling the ball. Defensive tackle Adam Grant both forced and recovered the fumble, giving us the ball back at the Tulsa 49 yard line with 2:36 remaining.

Roberson received the handoff on first down, but could only manage two yards on the play. Dropping back in the shotgun, the pass intended for Martin was broken up by the outside linebacker, leaving third and 8. Douglas would keep us moving, pulling in a pass from Powers for a 16 yard gain and a first down at the Tulsa 31. Trying to hit McGuire on a deep curl, the defense nearly intercepted the pass, leaving us facing second and 10. An incomplete pass, intended for Douglas, left us again facing third down. Douglas was able to pull down the third down pass from Powers, but he was again stopped short, leaving fourth and one at the 22 yard line. A 39 yard field goal by Burnette put us back on top, 16-14, with 50 seconds left until halftime.

A 24 yard kickoff return by Whitehead set Tulsa up at their 22 yard line. Trying to go deep, Webb found it difficult to complete a pass, as throws to Callahan and Givens were both broken up, leaving the Golden Hurricane facing third and 10. For the first time in the game, Tulsa failed to convert on third down, Whitaker only picking up 5 yards on the ground, leaving fourth and 5 at the 26 yard line. A 17 yard punt return by McGuire gave us the ball at the 50 yard line, 25 seconds left on the clock and two timeouts in the bag.

Lining up at midfield, it was no secret we were coming out passing. Starting from the shotgun, Powers rifled off a pass to Douglas for a 12 yard gain and a quick first down at the 37 yard line. Sprinting to the line, we were able to get the ball snapped immediately, another pass to Douglas good for a 13 yard gain and another first down at the Tulsa 24, 17 seconds left on the clock. Sprinting to the line once more, Powers for Roberson for an 11 yard pick up, the first down stopping the clock with 12 seconds to go at the 13 yard line. Powers tried to connect with McGuire in the corner of the end zone, but the cornerback was able to break it up, leaving second and 10 with 8 seconds remaining. Martin would get the job done on second down, pulling in the pass on the out route at the two yard line, a failed interception attempt by the cornerback allowing Martin to turn up and dive into the end zone for a 13 yard touchdown. A two point conversion pass to Ryan Conley was successful, putting us up 24-14 with 5 seconds left before halftime.

An 8 yard return on the squib kickoff gave Tulsa the ball at their 43 yard line, just two seconds remaining in the half. The pass, deflected incomplete at the 5 yard line, brought the half to an end, our lead 24-14.

Opening up the second half, a 27 yard kickoff return by Whitehead got Tulsa lined up at their 24 yard line to start the third quarter. It took Tulsa all of one play to find the end zone, as Webb connected with Whitaker for a 76 yard touchdown, instantly cutting our lead down to 24-21 with 8:40 left in the third quarter.

A 25 yard kickoff return by McGuire got us started from our 21 yard line. Roberson started the drive with a three yard rush, followed by a two yard gain to leave us facing third and 5. Leierer would keep us moving on third down with a 7 yard reception from Powers, moving the sticks to the 33 yard line. Paris received the handoff on first down, gaining 5 yards on the play, followed by a one yard rush by Roberson to bring up third and four. Douglas would continue to be the man on third down, pulling in a 9 yard pass from Powers to give us another first down at the 48 yard line. A first down pass intended for McGuire was nearly intercepted by the middle linebacker, leaving us with second and 10. Douglas would continue to put up yards on the defense, diving for an 8 yard completion to leave third and two, followed by a 9 yard reception to get the first down at the Tulsa 35. Returning to the ground game, Roberson managed to gain four yards on the carry, followed by a 6 yard carry by Paris to bring up third and inches. Roberson would just manage to get across the line for a two yard gain, moving the chains to the 23 yard line. Leierer received the ball on first down, but was quickly brought down for only a one yard gain. Paris was able to snag down a high second down pass, good for a 7 yard gain, setting us up with third and two. Lining up under center, Powers fired off a pass to Tim Fields for a gain of 6 yards to give us first and goal at the 9 yard line. Roberson was able to gain four yards on the first down carry, before Paris received the handoff and powered into the end zone for a 5 yard touchdown, increasing our lead to 31-21 with 2:10 left in the third quarter.

A 25 yard return by Whitehead gave Tulsa the ball at their 22 yard line. Whitaker started the drive with a 12 yard rush out to the 34. Whitaker followed that up with a pair of rushes for gains of 6 and four yards, leaving Tulsa facing third and inches from their 44 yard line. The defense would win on this third down, as a heavy blitz broke through and sacked Webb for a 6 yard loss, bringing out the Tulsa punt team on fourth and 7. McGuire could only manage an 8 yard return on the 43 yard punt, lining us up at our 27 yard line with 55 seconds left in the third.

Starting from the 27, Paris took the handoff on first down for a four yard gain, followed by a second gain of four yards to leave us with third and two from the 35. That would be where the third quarter would come to an end, our lead 31-21.

Opening up the fourth quarter, we lined up at our 35 yard line, facing a big third and two. Paris would reign supreme on the play, busting through the left side of the line for a 15 yard gain and a first down at midfield. Another rush by Paris on first down picked up 5 yards, followed by a four yard carry by Brian James to leave third and one. Paris would get the first down and then some with a 6 yard rush, moving the chains to the Tulsa 35. Paris kept pounding the ball on the ground with a four yard first down rush, followed by a 6 yard gain to leave third and inches. Tossing the ball left to James ended in failure, as he was stopped short of the first down, leaving fourth and inches. It would get even worse, as Burnette hooked his 42 yard field goal attempt just left of the upright, giving Tulsa back the ball at their 25 yard line with 5:31 left in the game.

Tulsa quickly got the ball moving with a 12 yard completion from Webb to Greene, picking up a quick first down at the 37. After a rush for no gain by Mark Jackson, Webb overshot Trey Merritt through the air, leaving Tulsa with third and 10. A third down pass intended for Callahan was led too far in front of the receiver, allowing the defense to break it up and bring out the punt team on fourth down. A screwed up return by McGuire on the 55 yard punt left us buried deep at our own 8 yard line with 4:56 left in the game.

Paris received the ball on first down, but was quickly brought down for a loss of one yard, leaving second and 11 from the 7 yard line. Martin would keep us alive, pulling in a pass over the middle for a gain of 14 and the first down at the 21 yard line. Powers dropped back to pass on first down, but a heavy blitz by the defense hit him as he threw, the ball landing incomplete and bringing up second down. A deflected pass intended for McGuire left us with third and 10. The Tulsa defense again plastered Powers as he threw the ball, the wounded duck landing incomplete a couple yards to away to leave us punting on fourth and 10. We nearly caught a break as Whitaker muffed the punt, but he was able to quickly recover it and return it 16 yards to our 48 yard line with 3:28 left.

The defense was able to force an incomplete pass on first down, the blitz causing Webb to rush his pass, but Tulsa would get the last laugh on second down, as Webb launched a bomb to Callahan, completed for a 48 yard touchdown strike, putting Tulsa back within three points, 31-28, with 3:18 left in the game.

A 15 yard kickoff return by McGuire left us starting at our 18 yard line, looking to kill off as much of the remaining 3:15 as we could. Paris received the handoff on first down, picking up four yards on the carry. Paris received the ball again on second down, but was instantly brought down for no gain, leaving us facing third and 6 from the 22. Tulsa called their first timeout after the play, stopping the clock with 2:16 left to go. Douglas would be the savior yet again, pulling in a third down pass from Powers for gain of 12 yards and a first down at the 34 yard line. Tulsa called their second timeout, stopping the clock with 2:12 remaining. Going back to the ground, Paris could only manage a two yard gain, Tulsa’s final timeout called with 2:09 remaining. Paris would recover on second down with a 5 yard gain, leaving third and four from the 40. Paris took another crack at it, but could only get two yards on the third down play, leaving us facing fourth and two at our 42. Letting the clock tick down to 47 seconds remaining, we punt the ball away with a 5 MPH wind at our back. Whitaker only got a 14 yard return on the 40 yard punt, leaving the starting at their 31 yard line with just 38 seconds left in the game.

Tulsa nearly got a quick completion to Callahan down the left sideline, but a trio of defenders smacked him around in the air, causing the ball to fall incomplete and bring up second down with 33 seconds to go. Just when it couldn’t get any worse, Webb was sacked for a 7 yard loss by a four man rush, leaving third and 17 with the clock at 20 seconds and ticking. Webb was able to fire off a pass underneath to Givens, but a quick tackle by the cornerback brought him down Inbounds, leaving Tulsa facing fourth and 7 from their 34 yard line, the clock down to 7 seconds and still moving. In the biggest play of the game, Tulsa managed to get the ball snapped with just two seconds left on the clock. Webb heaved up a deep pass along the left sideline to Callahan, who had managed to slip past the secondary and had both the cornerback and safety chasing him. Callahan hauled in the pass at our 27 yard line and started sprinting for the end zone, with nothing but a desperation dive at the ankles tackle attempt standing between a three point win and a four point loss. Callahan was all the way to the 10 yard line, a Tulsa touchdown seemingly all but guaranteed, when cornerback Jeremy Thurman made his desperation dive at the ankles attempt, just barely catching the heel of Callahan's left foot, tripping him up and making him fall at the 7 yard line for only a 58 yard completion with no time left, saving the touchdown and saving the 31-28 victory over Tulsa.

With the win, we improve to 2-1, 1-0 in Mountain West action. With the loss, Tulsa drops to 0-2, 0-0 in American Athletic play. Up next, we head back on the road to take on conference foe San Jose State. The Spartans enter the game 1-3, 0-0 in Mountain West Conference action. San Jose State opened their year with a 15-14 win at home over FCS West, before losing 37-10 at #3 Stanford, 42-17 at Minnesota and 34-31 at North Texas.

Final Score
:Utah_State: 31, :Tulsa: 28

Stat(s) of the Game:
Utah State Offense - Another solid week for Powers, ending 22-32 for 234 yards and two touchdowns. Paris ended up the lead rusher, with 91 yards and one touchdown on 22 carries. Roberson disappeared in the second half, ending with only 64 yards on 18 rushes. Receiving, Douglas ended up top receiver today, with 114 yards on 10 receptions. Martin and McGuire both pulled in touchdown passes. In all, eight receivers caught a pass today, six receivers making it to double digit yards, Douglas the only one to reach triple digits.

Utah State Defense – Piss poor. Kept getting torched by Tulsa in the first half, the Golden Hurricane at one point a perfect 6-6 on third down conversions. Some halftime "adjustments", and defenses actually made an appearance in the second half as both teams had a bit harder of a time moving the ball after halftime. The defense did do one thing right, as defensive tackle Adam Grant forced and recovered a fumble just before halftime.

Utah State Kicking – Burnette went a solid 3-4 in field goals, with kicks from 27, 37 and 39 yards out. The only one he missed, from 42 yards out, ended up hooked just wide left of the upright, helped left by a 5 MPH wind coming partially from the right. He did go a perfect 2-2 in PATs.

Scoring Summary

Team
1st Quarter
2nd Quarter
3rd Quarter
4th Quarter
Final Score

:Tulsa:
7
7
7
7
28

:Utah_State:
10
14
7
0
31

Time
Team
Result
Play
Score

First Quarter

7:35
:Utah_State:
Field Goal
R. Burnette, 27 yard field goal
:Utah_State: 3-0

6:01
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
J. Whitaker, 7 yard pass from J. Webb (B. Wright kick)
:Tulsa: 7-3

1:16
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
E. McGuire, 3 yard pass from A. Powers (R. Burnette kick)
:Utah_State: 10-7

Second Quarter

7:40
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
N. Givens, 10 yard pass from J. Webb (B. Wright kick)
:Tulsa: 14-10

3:34
:Utah_State:
Field Goal
R. Burnette, 37 yard field goal
:Tulsa: 14-13

0:50
:Utah_State:
Field Goal
R. Burnette, 39 yard field goal
:Utah_State: 16-14

0:05
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
D. Martin, 13 yard pass from A. Powers (2-point conversion good)
:Utah_State: 24-14

Third Quarter

8:40
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
J. Whitaker, 74 yard pass from J. Webb (B. Wright kick)
:Utah_State: 24-21

2:10
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
B. Paris, 5 yard run (R. Burnette kick)
:Utah_State: 31-21

Fourth Quarter

3:18
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
W. Callahan, 48 yard pass from J. Webb (B. Wright kick)
:Utah_State: 31-28

Game Stats

Tulsa
Stat
Utah State

28
Score
31

11
First Downs
22

390
Total Offense
394

19 - 60 - 0
Rushes - Yards - TD
43 - 160 - 1

14 - 27 - 4
Comp - Att - TD
22 - 32 - 2

330
Passing Yards
234

2
Times Sacked
0

6 - 10 (60%)
3rd Down Conversion
12 - 18 (66%)

1 - 1 (100%)
4th Down Conversion
0 - 0 (0%)

0 - 0 (0%)
2-Point Conv
1 - 1 (100%)

3 - 2 - 0 (66%)
Red Zone - TD - FG
4 - 3 - 1 (100%)

1
Turnovers
0

1
Fumbles Lost
0

0
Intercepted
0

30
Punt Return Yards
25

114
Kick Return Yards
142

534
Total Yards
561

3 – 46.7
Punts - Average
2 - 42.5

2 - 20
Penalties
0 - 0

12:11
Time of Possession
23:49

Utah State Coach Goals

Goal
XP Reward
Completed

Win a Game
100
x1

Score a Touchdown
25
x3

Force a Turnover
25
x1

Rush for 100 Yards
25
x1

Play in an ESPN Classic Game
75
x1

Opponent Under 150 Rush Yards
50
x1

Pass Completion Over 50%
30
x1

100% Red Zone Efficiency
50
x1

Score 21 or More Points
50
x1

350+ Offensive Yards
50
x1

10+ First Downs
50
x1

4+ 3rd Down Conversions
25
x1

Utah State Contract Goals Update

Goal
Expectations
Progress

Target Wins Per Season
6
2

Job Security Status

100%

SmoothPancakes

09-24-2013, 03:29 AM

Taking a look around the nation, in the Top 25, in the upset of the week, #22 Texas A&M stuns #1 Alabama 47-24. #2 Ohio State rolls FCS Southeast 42-10 to secure their spot atop the rankings next week. #4 South Carolina barely escapes Vanderbilt 29-23. South Carolina had to score 15 points in the fourth quarter, the game winning touchdown coming with 2:49 left. In the game of the week, #5 Notre Dame beat #15 Michigan 30-20. #18 Ole Miss upsets #7 Georgia 33-14. #9 Florida State beat FCS Southeast 31-10.

#10 TCU beats Texas Tech 48-31. #11 Oregon defeats Tennessee 38-17 #12 Boise State beat Air Force 35-25. Miami leaves fans shocked, knocking off #14 Clemson 41-14. #16 Virginia Tech blanks FCS East 35-0. #17 LSU whoops Missouri 41-14. #19 Louisville escapes Kentucky 42-35. #20 Nebraska beats FCS Midwest 23-3. Utah upsets #21 Oregon State 16-14. #23 Texas demolishes BYU 66-13. Auburn knocks off #24 Mississippi State 27-10. And #25 Oklahoma State fought off FCS Southeast 28-16.

For our readers, JeffHCross, #2 Ohio State improves to 2-0 (0-0 Big Ten), with a 42-10 win over FCS Southeast. Morsdraconis, West Virginia improves to 2-1 (0-1 Big 12) with a 41-7 dismantling of Georgia State. Souljahbill, Southern Miss drops to 1-2 (0-0 C-USA) with a 34-13 loss to Arkansas. Jaymo, one week after losing to FCS West (:D), Arizona State improves to 1-1 (0-0 Pac-12), with a 33-10 win over Colorado State. LeeSO, Auburn improves to 1-2 (1-0 SEC), beating #24 Mississippi State 27-10. SCClassof93, #4 South Carolina improves to 2-0 (2-0 SEC) pulling a 29-23 win over Vanderbilt out of their ass. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State improves to 3-0 (1-0 Sun Belt) with a 19-17 victory over Troy. Florida International improves to 2-0 (0-0 C-USA) with a 21-0 win over FC East. Navy opens their year 0-1 (0-1 American) with a 20-3 loss to Cincinnati. Tulsa falls to 0-2 (0-0 American) with a 31-28 loss to Utah State.

In Mountain West action, #12 Boise State beat Air Force 35-25, Utah State fought off Tulsa 31-28, New Mexico beat Pittsburgh 31-10, UNLV knocked off Central Michigan 24-21 in overtime, Wyoming smacked FCS Midwest 59-14, Kent State edged out Hawaii 19-18, Minnesota thrashed San Jose State 42-17, Colorado knocked off Fresno State 35-28, and Arizona State beat down Colorado State 33-10.

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Ohio State (40 first place votes) climbs one to #1, Stanford (21 votes) moves up one to #2, Notre Dame jumps two to #3, South Carolina remains #4 and Florida climbs one to #5. Oklahoma jumps two to #6, Florida State climbs two to #7, TCU moves up two #8, Alabama falls eight to #9 and Oregon climbs one to #10. Boise State climbs one to #11, Kansas State jumps one to #12, Ole Miss leaps five to #13, Virginia Tech moves up two to #14 and Georgia drops eight to #15. LSU climbs one to #16, Texas A&M jumps five to #17, Louisville moves up one to #18, Nebraska climbs one to #19 and Michigan falls five to #20. Miami enters the poll at #21, Texas climbs one to #22, Clemson drops nine to #23, Oklahoma State climbs one to #24 and USC (180 points) enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Oregon State (from #21) and Mississippi State (from #24). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Wisconsin (122 points) is #26, followed by Oregon State (93), Arizona (92), North Carolina (60) and UCLA (60) to round out the Top 30. Other teams getting votes this week include Vanderbilt (29), Michigan State (17), Washington (8) and Mississippi State (8).

An early season look at the Heisman race, Texas A&M QB Zac Hopkins is #1 (LW: #1), Alabama QB Brad Hill is #2 (LW: #2), Arizona HB Kevin Simpson is #3 (LW: NR), Ohio State QB Matt Cowan is #4 (LW: #3) and Oklahoma QB Roger Barnes is #5 (LW: #4). Dropping off of the Heisman Watch list this week was Louisville QB Jeff Johnston (LW: #5).

SmoothPancakes

09-24-2013, 03:32 AM

Since my description of the game ending play no doubt does not do it justice, here to you go. First video is the wide sideline view, second video is the up close cinematic view.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtgiZeUu7GU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3Q8uqb1Hh8

7 yards. 7 bloody yards away from losing 35-31. Instead, the miraculous ankle tackle to save the touchdown and hold on to win 31-28.

SmoothPancakes

09-24-2013, 04:03 PM

On a bye week this week, so lets get right into it. Taking a look around the nation, in the Top 25, #1 Ohio State wins their first game as #1, beating #19 Nebraska 35-7. Arizona State scored the biggest upset of the week, knocking off #2 Stanford 27-24, kicking a game-winning 31 yard field goal with 9 seconds left. #3 Notre Dame beat rival Michigan State 30-20. #5 Florida beat Tennessee 38-14. #6 Oklahoma beat Kentucky 21-7. In the game of the week, #7 Florida State escaped #18 Louisville 27-24.

#9 Alabama picked up a 38-3 win over Colorado State. #11 Boise State defeated Fresno State 31-17. #12 Kansas State beat #22 Texas 24-17. #13 Ole Miss beat FCS Northwest 34-10. #14 Virginia Tech rolled Marshall 31-10. #15 Georgia beat Arkansas 41-27. #16 LSU rolled to a 37-17 win over Auburn. #17 Texas A&M blanked FCS Southeast 37-0. Connecticut knocked off #20 Michigan 38-31. #21 Miami got a 41-14 win over FCS Southeast. #23 Clemson escaped North Carolina State 31-24 in overtime.

For our readers, JeffHCross, #1 Ohio State improves to 3-0 (1-0 Big Ten), with a 35-7 win over #19 Nebraska. Morsdraconis, West Virginia improves to 3-1 (0-1 Big 12) with a 27-24 win over Maryland. Souljahbill, Southern Miss remains 1-2 (0-0 C-USA) with a bye week. Jaymo, Arizona State improves to 2-1 (1-0 Pac-12), hitting the road and shocking #2 Stanford 27-24. LeeSO, Auburn drops to 1-3 (1-1 SEC), losing to #16 LSU 37-17. SCClassof93, #4 South Carolina remains 2-0 (2-0 SEC) with a bye week. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State drops to 3-1 (1-0 Sun Belt) after being upset by Memphis 31-24. Florida International drops to 2-1 (0-0 C-USA) with a 20-0 loss to East Carolina. Navy drops to 0-2 (0-2 American) with a 34-26 loss to Houston. Tulsa improves to 1-2 (0-0 American) with a 34-20 win over Iowa State.

In Mountain West action, #11 Boise State beat Fresno State 31-17, Air Force beat Wyoming 42-21, Hawaii knocked off Nevada 26-21, UNLV beat FCS Northwest 24-10, Oregon State beat San Diego State 34-28, North Texas topped San Jose State 34-31 and #9 Alabama dismantled Colorado State 38-3.

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Ohio State (33 first place votes) remains #1, Notre Dame (24 votes) climbs one to #2, South Carolina (1 vote) climbs one to #3, Florida (1 vote) jumps one to #4 and Oklahoma (1 vote) moves up one to #5. Florida State (1 vote) climbs one to #6, TCU jumps one to #7, Alabama moves up one to #8, Oregon rises one to #9 and Boise State jumps one to #10. Kansas State climbs one to #11, Stanford drops ten to #12, Ole Miss remains #13, Virginia Tech remains #14 and Georgia remains #15. LSU remains #16, Texas A&M remains #17, Arizona State enters the poll at #18, Miami jumps two to #19 and Louisville falls two to #20. Nebraska drops two to #21, Clemson jumps one to #22, Oklahoma State climbs one to #23, USC moves up one to #24 and Wisconsin (253 points) enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Michigan (from #20) and Texas (from #22). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Oregon State (213 points) is #26, followed by Arizona (187), Texas (177), Georgia Tech (133) and UCLA (107) to round out the Top 30. Other teams getting points this week include Vanderbilt (69), Mississippi State (29) and Northwestern (1).

Taking a look at the first Top 25 Media Poll of the year, Ohio State (45 first place votes) is #1, South Carolina (20 votes) is #2, Florida is #3, Notre Dame is #4 and Kansas State is #5. TCU is #6, Florida State is #7, Texas A&M is #8, Alabama is #9 and Stanford is #10. Oregon is #11, Ole Miss is #12, Oklahoma is #13, Boise State is #14 and LSU is #15. Virginia Tech is #16, Arizona State is #17, Georgia is #18, Miami is #19 and Louisville is #20. Clemson is #21, Oklahoma State is #22, Wisconsin is #23, Nebraska is #24 and UCLA (177 points) is #25. Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Texas (167 points) is #26, followed by USC (166), Arizona (166), Georgia Tech (102) and Oregon State (94) to round out the Top 30. Other teams getting points this week include Mississippi State (31), West Virginia (12) and Michigan (9).

A look at the Heisman race, Miami QB David Horne is #1 (LW: NR), Florida State QB Chris Larson is #2 (LW: NR), Ohio State HB Ron Branch is #3 (LW: NR), Arizona HB Kevin Simpson is #4 (LW: #3) and TCU QB Sean Moore is #5 (LW: NR). Dropping off of the Heisman Watch list this week was Texas A&M QB Zac Hopkins (LW: #1), Alabama QB Brad Hill (LW: #2), Ohio State QB Matt Cowan (LW: #4) and Oklahoma QB Roger Barnes (LW: #5).

SmoothPancakes

09-25-2013, 03:56 AM

Game Four

:Utah_State: :@: :San_Jose_State:

Game Notes

--- Sitting with two wins on the season, it was back onto the road as we faced our second conference opponent of the year. San Jose State was going to be a tough nut to crack, as they entered with the #17 passing offense in the nation, putting up 294.8 yards/game. Thankfully that would be just about all our defense would have to contend with, as the Spartans managed only 100 yards/game on the ground, ranking #118 in the nation. Regardless, our defense and its inability to stop passes, would be in for a major challenge today. San Jose State won the coin toss and elected to kick.

Preston Roberson got us opened up with a 20 yard kickoff return, lining us up at our 19 yard line. Roberson started the drive with a 5 yard rush, followed by a three yard gain to leave third and three. Adam Powers lined up in the shotgun on third down, threading a pass through the secondary to Eric McGuire. McGuire was able to pull in the ball briefly, but a hit by the safety knocked the ball loose and incomplete, leaving us punting on fourth and three. A shanked 33 yard punt was muffed by the returner, but the Spartans were able to quickly pick it up and return it 12 yards to our 42 yard line.

Kevin Pierre got the drive started with a 6 yard rush, before being wrapped up for a two yard loss after a blitz, leaving the Spartans facing third and 6. Johnny Freeman rifled off a pass on third down to Kevin O’Brien, but he was unable to hold onto the ball, leaving fourth and 6 from our 38. Out of field goal range, the Spartans elected to go for it on fourth down. It would be nothing but money for the Spartans, as Freeman threw up a 38 yard touchdown pass to Bryant Vincent, giving San Jose State a 7-0 lead with 6:54 left in the first quarter.

It would take us only 12 seconds to equalize, as Roberson took the ball one yard deep in the end zone, and proceeded to weave his way through multiple blocks, before hitting the outside and sprinting up the right sideline for a 101 yard kickoff return, tying it up 7-7 with 6:42 remaining.

A touchback on the kickoff gave San Jose State the ball at their 25 yard line. A heavy blitz by our defense forced Freeman to throw a quick off-target pass to Bradley Davis, who wasn’t able to hold onto it as he went out of bounds, bringing up second and 10. Pierre took the handoff on second down, but wasn’t able to find a lane to run, brought down by the defense for no gain to leave third down. With pressure bearing down on him, Freeman threw a quick pass underneath to Pierre, but he was instantly tackled by the outside linebacker for a gain of only three yards, bringing out the punt team on fourth and 7. No return by McGuire on the 38 yard punt gave us back the ball at our 33 yard line.

Roberson got the drive started with a four yard rush around the right tackle, before being brought down for no gain after attempting to go up the middle. Dropping back to pass on third and 6, Powers was able to connect with David Douglas for an 11 yard gain and a first down at the 48 yard line. Powers followed that up with a 15 yard strike to McGuire, advancing the chains again, this time to the SJSU 36. Roberson received the handoff on first down, but never had a chance for much of a gain, quickly wrapped up by the blitzing linebacker for a gain of only one yard. A pass over the middle to Tim Fields was completed for a 9 yard gain, leaving us facing third and inches at the 27. Roberson took the ball on first down, managing to just barely get across the line of scrimmage for a two yard gain, moving the chains to the 25. Brian Paris, in his first carry of the game, got a huge hole courtesy of blocking by the line, allowing him to penetrate into the secondary for a 15 yard pickup and a first down at the 11 yard line. Roberson took the ball on first down, fighting his way to a three yard gain, followed by a two yard rush that left us facing third and 5 from the 6 yard line. Powers was able to connect with Dre Martin on a slant route, but the pass was behind Martin, forcing him to stop and reach back for the ball, allowing the defense to tackle him for a gain of only 5 yards, leaving fourth and one from the one yard line. Settling for a 19 yard field goal, the kick by Richard Burnette caught a bit of the crosswind, pushing it to the left and bouncing it off the left upright, no good.

San Jose State lined up at their 20 yard line after the missed field goal, Pierre taking the ball on the ground for a 6 yard gain, followed by a gain of four to leave third and inches. San Jose State tried to get cute on third down, as we brought the house. Freeman initially dropped back to pass, before taking off to his right on foot. Just before he was hit by the blitzing outside linebacker, he pitched the ball to Antoine Wyatt, but it wouldn’t work out for the Spartans, as Wyatt was immediately tackled for a four yard loss, bringing the punt team back out on fourth and four. That would be the final play of the first quarter, the score still all knotted up at 7-7.

Opening up the second quarter, an 8 yard punt return by McGuire on a 38 yard punt got us lined up at our 43 yard line to start our next drive. Roberson received the handoff on first down, but was quickly brought down for a gain of only one yard. Ryan Conley picked up a first down for us, hauling in a pass from Powers for a gain of 16 yards to the Spartan 39 yard line. Roberson took the ball on first down for a 5 yard gain, but we would end up going backwards, as Roberson was immediately stuffed on second down for a one yard loss, leaving us facing third and 6. An incomplete pass intended for McGuire, the pass by Powers underthrown, left fourth down and the field goal unit coming out. Burnette was able to just muscle the 52 yard field goal over the uprights, giving us a 10-7 lead with 6:44 left in the second quarter.

San Jose State opened up their drive through the air, but a dropped ball by Vincent left second and long. It wouldn’t take long for the Spartans to get a new set of downs, a screen pass to Pierre going for a 21 yard gain down the right sideline, before finally being pushed out of bounds at the 46. A blitz on first down forced Freeman to throw the ball away. Freeman dropped back on second down, but was sacked for a six yard loss, leaving the Spartans facing third and 16. Freeman launched a deep pass down the left sideline to Brian Allen, but instead of an almost sure touchdown, he was unable to hold onto the ball, dropping it incomplete to bring up fourth and long. A three yard loss on the return by McGuire, after a 32 yard punt, left us starting from our 25 yard line.

Our first play from scrimmage was nearly a disaster, as Powers found Michael Smith cutting across the middle, complete for what was a 13 yard gain, until Smith fumbled the ball as he was being tackled. Thankfully, before any of the defense could react, Douglas was running his route nearby and was able to quickly scoop up the loose ball to preserve possession at the 39 yard line. The call on the field ended up being reviewed, the refs reversing the fumble, saying his knee was down before the ball came loose. It was officially a 13 yard completion to Smith, leaving us instead at the 38 yard line. Roberson took the ball on first down for a 6 yard gain, before rumbling ahead for a pickup of 7 yards and a first down at the SJSU 49. Weaving his way through a gap in the defense, Roberson was able to continue punishing the Spartans with an 11 yard carry and a new set of downs at the 38. Coming to give Roberson a breather, Paris was able to pick up four yards on first down, followed by a second four yard rush to leave us facing third and two. Taking a chance on the ground, Roberson was stuffed for no gain on the carry to bring up fourth and two. The 47 yard field goal attempt by Burnette ended up coming up short, turning the ball over to San Jose State at their 30 yard line.

Pierre got the drive started for the Spartans with an 11 yard rush, giving them a quick first down at the 41. Another sack by the defense pushed Freeman and the Spartans back 7 yards, setting up second and 17. An incomplete pass, caught by O’Brien, but not before he was out of bounds, left San Jose State lining up on third and very long. A nearly intercepted third down pass brought the drive to an end with no damage, brining out SJSU’s punt team on fourth and 17. A 13 yard return by McGuire on the 37 yard punt got our drive started at our 41 yard line, just 1:36 left until halftime.

Coming out passing on first down, the pass intended for Martin fell incomplete, as Martin got caught in traffic during the play. Any chance of extending our lead before half ended on second down, as the pass intended for Douglas ended up thrown behind him, the ball promptly picked off by cornerback Marcus Allen, who got four yards on the return before being tackled at our 47 yard line.

A quick pass over the middle to Vincent on first down only picked up one yard, but not to be denied, Freeman went right back to Vincent on second down, the pass complete for a gain of 11 yards and a first down at our 34 yard line, San Jose State taking their first timeout with 1:17 left before half. Freeman found Davis on first down for a gain of three yards, the Spartans calling their second timeout with exactly one minute left in the quarter. We caught a massive break on second down, as Freeman heaved a pass into the end zone intended for Vincent, the cornerback blowing coverage on the play. A catch and it would have been a 31 yard touchdown, but Vincent would proceed to drop the completely wide open, uncontested pass, saving our defense and bringing up third and 7. The Spartans handed the ball off to Pierre on a delayed run, Pierre fighting his way to a 7 yard gain, but our defense managed to bring him down short of the first down marker, leaving fourth and inches from the 24 yard line, the clock down to 41 seconds and ticking. The Spartans lined up on fourth down, trying to get our defense to jump offside. It would only end up biting them in the ass, as a false start pushed them back to fourth and 5, leaving the field goal unit coming out. Our lead would end up secure, as the 46 yard field goal attempt by Demetrius Henry ended up getting caught in the crosswind and pushed wide left and no good, giving us the ball back at our 29 yard line with 19 seconds left on the clock.

Taking over after the missed field goal with only 19 seconds remaining, it was straight into the air on first down. Douglas pulled in a first down pass for a 14 yard gain and a first down at the 43 yard line, but he wasn’t able to get out of bounds before being tackled, forcing us to use our first timeout with 13 seconds remaining. An incomplete pass intended for Martin brought up second down, 10 seconds on the clock. Powers was able to fire off a pass to McGuire on second down, good for an 18 yard gain down to the SJSU 39 yard line, but our second timeout stopped the clock with only 5 seconds to go. We would have to manage a quick pass of at least 10 yards over the middle and immediate timeout if we had any hopes of a field goal before halftime. Conley was able to pull in the pass, and due to the outside linebacker overplaying the pass, had a wide open field in front of him. Instead of diving and calling timeout, Conley tried to sprint it in for a touchdown, but was chased down by the safety and cornerback for only a 34 yard gain, brought down at the 5 yard line with no time left. With that, we headed into halftime with only a 10-7 lead, our chance at extending it blown.

Opening up the second half, a 22 yard kickoff return gave San Jose State the ball at their 20 yard line to start the third quarter. Pierre got the drive started with an 11 yard rush and a quick first down for the Spartans, out to their 31 yard line. The defense was ready on first down, tackling Pierre for only a one yard gain, before a completion to Davis picked up 14 yards. To add salt to the wound, a flag for a facemask penalty was thrown on the tackle, giving the Spartans 15 extra yards and a first down at our 41 yard line. A screen pass to Vincent on first down gained 6 yards, followed by a 9 yard rush by Wyatt, giving San Jose State a first down at the 26 yard line. An incomplete pass on first down intended for Davis was almost intercepted before the ball could hit the ground, but the catch couldn’t be made, giving San Jose State second down and 10. A 10 yard rush by Pierre set the Spartans up with third and inches at our 17 yard line. Wyatt was able to get the first down and then some, rushing for a five yard gain down to our 12 yard line. A 9 yard rush by Pierre pushed the drive down to our three yard line, the Spartans lining up to second and one. Trying to pitch the ball to the right, our blitz blew the play up as Wyatt was brought down for a four yard loss, leaving third and 5 at the 8 yard line. The defense would come through in its biggest moment of the game, our zone defense leaving no one open for Freeman to throw to, as he took too long and ended up sacked for a 7 yard loss, bringing out the field goal unit on fourth and 12 from the 15. Henry squeaked the 32 yard field goal inside the right upright, tying the game back up at 10-10 with 5:22 left in the third quarter.

McGuire received the kickoff in the end zone, kneeling it down for a touchdown to start us at our 25. Roberson took the ball on first down, but was quickly brought down for only a gain of two yards. Lining up under center on second down, the pass intended for McGuire ended up nearly intercepted by the cornerback, in what would have almost assuredly been a pick six. An off-target pass intended for Douglas on third down was broken up, and we were forced to punt the ball right back on fourth and 8. A 25 yard punt return on the 41 yard punt gave San Jose State the ball at our 41 yard line. The booth reviewed the play, to see if Kevin Hill had stepped out of bounds. We ended up catching a break, as it was ruled that his right foot just went out of bounds while he was making a cut, leaving the Spartans instead starting at our 49 yard line.

The drive got started with a dropped pass by Vincent, bringing up second and 10. A 5 yard rush by Pierre set up third and 5. Dropping back for a screen pass, Freeman was unable to complete the throw to Pierre, ending up hit as he threw, with the wound duck ball falling to the turf incomplete, bringing out the punt team on fourth and 5. The 44 yard punt ended up bouncing down at the 5 yard line and rolling into the end zone for a touchback.

Taking over at our 20 yard line after the touchback, we came out passing on first down, hoping to eventually open up the run game. The first down pass intended for Martin ended up way over thrown and out of bounds, getting us off to a poor start. Douglas would get us some momentum, hauling in a pass on second down for a 14 yard gain, moving the chains to the 34. Roberson took the ball on first down, fighting his way through the defense for an 8 yard gain, before being brought down for a one yard pickup, leaving us facing third and one at the 43. Paris received the handoff on first down, managing to gain two yards and the first down at the 45 yard line to keep us in business. Powers kept the ball himself on first down, but had nowhere to run as the blitzing middle linebacker brought him down for a one yard loss. An 8 yard completion to Douglas got us close to a first down, lining up on third and three. Smith would keep us moving down the field with a 10 yard completion and a first down at the SJSU 37 yard line. Throwing a play action pass on first down, Powers hit Fields over the middle for a gain of 18 yards, moving the sticks to the 19 yard line. Turning back to the run game on first down, Roberson could only get one yard before being brought down by multiple defenders. That would be the last play as the final 10 seconds ticked off the clock, bringing the third quarter to an end, still all tied up at 10-10.

Opening up the fourth quarter, facing second and 9 from the San Jose State 18 yard line, Powers dropped back in the shotgun, trying to connect with Paris over the middle, but the ball was knocked loose and incomplete, leaving us lining up for third and 9. A pass to Douglas was broken up by the cornerback, and we were forced to take our chances on another field goal. Burnette managed to drill the 35 yard kick through the uprights, giving us a 13-10 lead with 8:50 left in the game.

A touchback on the kickoff gave the Spartans the ball at their 25 yard line. Freeman dropped back to pass on first down, waiting and waiting, looking for anyone to come open. It wouldn’t be as the blitz was finally able to break through, sacking Freeman for a 9 yard loss to leave second and 19 from the 16 yard line. Bringing the pressure again on second down, Pierre received the handoff but was immediately brought down for a one yard loss, setting up third and 20 at the 15. Freeman was able to avoid another sack, getting off a high pass to Vincent, but going up for the pass that was also behind him, his momentum carried him out of bounds for only a 7 yard gain, bringing out the punt team on fourth and 13. The failure of our return team to block left McGuire tackled for no return on the 36 yard punt, starting our drive from the 41 yard line.

Lining up on first down, despite being hit in the backfield, Roberson was able to pick up four yards on the carry, followed by a gain of only one yard, leaving us looking at third and 5. Douglas would come through huge for us on third down, hauling in a pass from Powers then beating the cornerback up the sideline for a major 32 yard gain, setting us up with a first down at the 21 yard line of San Jose State. A first down rush by Roberson picked up 6 yards around the right tackle, followed by a four yard carry by Paris to leave us facing third and inches from the 11 yard line. We put the ball back into the hands of Paris on third down, and he didn’t let us down, managing to gain one yard to set us up with first and goal from the 10 yard line. Paris kept the ball on first down, but again could only gain one yard. Powers kept the ball on second down, but couldn’t find anywhere to run, brought down for no gain to leave third and goal at the 9 yard line. Lining up in the shotgun on third down, a pass to Matt Leierer was complete, but also ended up for no gain, leaving us facing fourth and goal at the 9 yard line. The 26 yard field goal by Burnette made it inside the right upright, increasing our lead to 16-10 with 2:57 left in the game.

A touchback on the kickoff gave San Jose State the ball at their 25 yard line. Emptying the backfield on first down, the pass intended for Davis was nearly intercepted by the outside linebacker, unable to hold onto what would have been a certain pick six. A handoff to Pierre on second down went nowhere, as he was tackled for a one yard loss, leaving the Spartans lining up on third and 11, with 2:38 remaining. Freeman was able to avoid the sack on third down, getting off a pass to Allen, but another dropped interception kept the ball in Spartan hands. With 2:26 left in the game and all three timeouts left, San Jose State elected to punt the ball on fourth and 11 from their 24 yard line. A 5 yard return by McGuire on the 37 yard punt gave us possession at the 43 yard line, looking to close out the final 2:15 of the game.

Starting the drive on the ground, Paris received the handoff for a three yard gain, San Jose State calling their first timeout with 2:11 remaining. Another rush by Paris gained four yards, leaving us with third and three, San Jose State’s second timeout called with 2:08 to go. A third straight rush by Paris got the job done, picking up 11 yards on the play and a first down at the SJSU 38 yard line, the Spartans calling their third and final timeout with 2:05 left in the game. A first down rush by Paris ended up with no gain, bringing up second and 10, the clock under two minutes and ticking. A four yard rush by Paris set us up with third and 6, one minute left on the clock. An 8 yard rush by Paris on third down would seal the victory with a first down at the 26 yard line of San Jose State. Powers would take to a knee a single time, running out the final 10 seconds on the clock and our 16-10 win over San Jose State.

With the win, we improve to 3-1, 2-0 in Mountain West action. With the loss, San Jose State drops to 1-4, 0-1 in Mountain West play. Up next, we head back into non-conference action, as we hit the road to take on Old Dominion. The Monarchs enter the game 2-1, 0-1 in C-USA action. Old Dominion opened their year a 35-18 win over Idaho, then beat FCS West 45-20. They suffered their first loss to Louisiana Tech 40-16, before recovering and defeating FCS Southeast 26-21 heading into our game.

Final Score
:Utah_State: 16, :San_Jose_State: 10

Stat(s) of the Game:
Utah State Offense - A rather decent day for Powers, ending 15-25 for 217 yards, however, no touchdowns and one interception. Rushing, Roberson led the way with 73 yards on 22 carries. Paris followed up with 61 yards on 13 carries. Receiving, it was another big day by Douglas, who ended with a team high 79 yards on five receptions. A total of eight receivers caught at least one pass today, six of them ending with double digit yards.

Utah State Defense – Up and down once more. Rough first quarter, great second quarter. Partially rough third quarter, great fourth quarter. Three things killed San Jose State today. #1, constant blitzes that led to four coverage sacks. #2, switching in the middle of the first quarter from zone defense to mostly man defense. Rest of the game was 90-95% man defense, with always at least one LB or DB blitzing during the play. And finally #3, dropped passes. San Jose State suffered from seven dropped passes during the game, three by Vincent, and two each by Davis and O'Brien. One drop came on a wide open pass in the end zone that would have been a guaranteed touchdown, and the others came on some major key third down plays.

Utah State Kicking – A terrible day. Burnette did manage to stay above 50% for the day, going 3-5 in field goals, making from 52, 35 and 26 yards out, but missed on kicks of 19 and 47 yards. Can make a field goal from 52 yards out, but comes up short on a 47 yard kick. Sounds about right actually. :fp: He did manage to go 1-1 in PATs.

Scoring Summary

Team
1st Quarter
2nd Quarter
3rd Quarter
4th Quarter
Final Score

:Utah_State:
7
3
0
6
16

:San_Jose_State:
7
0
3
0
10

Time
Team
Result
Play
Score

First Quarter

6:54
:San_Jose_State:
Touchdown
B. Vincent, 38 yard pass from J. Freeman (D. Henry kick)
:San_Jose_State: 7-0

6:42
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
P. Roberson, returned kickoff 101 yards (R. Burnette kick)
TIED 7-7

Second Quarter

6:44
:Utah_State:
Field Goal
R. Burnette, 52 yard field goal
:Utah_State: 10-7

Third Quarter

5:22
:San_Jose_State:
Field Goal
D. Henry, 31 yard field goal
TIED 10-10

Fourth Quarter

8:50
:Utah_State:
Field Goal
R. Burnette, 34 yard field goal
:Utah_State: 13-10

2:57
:Utah_State:
Field Goal
R. Burnette, 26 yard field goal
:Utah_State: 16-10

Game Stats

Utah State
Stat
San Jose State

16
Score
10

19
First Downs
8

348
Total Offense
146

38 - 131 - 0
Rushes - Yards - TD
22 - 44 - 0

15 - 25 - 0
Comp - Att - TD
9 - 22 - 1

217
Passing Yards
102

0
Times Sacked
4

8 - 15 (53%)
3rd Down Conversion
1 - 11 (9%)

1 - 1 (100%)
4th Down Conversion
1 - 1 (100%)

0 - 0 (0%)
2-Point Conv
0 - 0 (0%)

4 - 0 - 2 (50%)
Red Zone - TD - FG
1 - 0 - 1 (100%)

1
Turnovers
0

0
Fumbles Lost
0

1
Intercepted
0

22
Punt Return Yards
30

119
Kick Return Yards
22

489
Total Yards
198

2 – 36.0
Punts - Average
7 - 37.9

1 - 15
Penalties
1 - 5

22:54
Time of Possession
13:06

Utah State Coach Goals

Goal
XP Reward
Completed

Win a Game
100
x1

Score a Touchdown
25
x1

Kick/Punt Return Touchdown
50
x1

3 Consecutive Wins
150
x1

45+ Yard Field Goal
10
x1

Rush for 100 Yards
25
x1

NCAA Record: Longest Kick Return (101)
300
x1

Kneel Last Min Q4 While Ahead
10
x1

3+ Sacks
50
x1

Opponent Under 150 Rush Yards
50
x1

Opponent Under 300 Pass Yards
50
x1

Pass Completion Over 50%
30
x1

350+ Offensive Yards
50
x1

10+ First Downs
50
x1

4+ 3rd Down Conversions
25
x1

Utah State Contract Goals Update

Goal
Expectations
Progress

Target Wins Per Season
6
3

Job Security Status

100%

SmoothPancakes

09-25-2013, 03:57 AM

Taking a look around the nation, in the Top 25, #1 Ohio State had a scare as they fought off San Diego State 24-17. In the game of the week, #5 Oklahoma upset #2 Notre Dame 28-17 behind a 14-point fourth quarter. #3 South Carolina beat Central Florida 45-21. #4 Florida escaped Kentucky 24-21. #6 Florida State survived a scare against Boston College, winning 34-31. #7 TCU beat SMU 31-14. #8 Alabama survived #13 Ole Miss 28-21. #9 Oregon defeated Cal 38-17. #10 Boise State topped Southern Miss 33-14.

#11 Kansas State beat Louisiana-Lafayette 34-17. Washington State knocked off #12 Stanford 37-34. Georgia Tech knocked off #14 Virginia Tech 27-21 in overtime. Tennessee knocked off #16 LSU 27-24. #17 Texas A&M topped Arkansas 27-10. #24 USC upset #18 Arizona State 35-25. Florida International knocked off #20 Louisville 38-14. Indiana knocked off #21 Nebraska 17-7. #22 Clemson held off Wake Forest 38-21. #23 Oklahoma State trounced West Virginia 42-3. #25 Wisconsin beat FCS West 34-7.

For our readers, JeffHCross, #1 Ohio State improves to 4-0 (1-0 Big Ten), with a 24-17 win over San Diego State. Morsdraconis, West Virginia drops to 3-2 (0-2 Big 12) with a 42-3 thrashing from #23 Oklahoma State. Souljahbill, Southern Miss drops to 1-3 (0-0 C-USA) with a 33-14 loss to #10 Boise State. Jaymo, #18 Arizona State falls to 2-2 (1-1 Pac-12), losing to #24 USC 35-25. LeeSO, Auburn remains 1-3 (1-1 SEC) with a bye week. SCClassof93, #3 South Carolina improves to 3-0 (2-0 SEC) with a 45-21 win over Central Florida. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State improves to 4-1 (1-0 Sun Belt) after knocking off Missouri 32-31. Florida International improves to 3-1 (0-0 C-USA) after knocking off #20 Louisville 38-14. Navy improves to 1-2 (1-2 American) with a 42-17 win over East Carolina. Tulsa improves to 2-2 (1-0 American) with a 24-21 win over South Florida.

In Mountain West action, Utah State beat San Jose State 16-10, UNLV topped New Mexico 27-21, Nevada beat Air Force 42-3, Hawaii beat Fresno State 34-24, #10 Boise State defeated Southern Miss 33-14, Wyoming beat Texas State 28-21, Colorado State edged out UTEP 31-24 and #1 Ohio State escaped San Diego State 24-17.

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Ohio State (33 first place votes) remains #1, Oklahoma (24 votes) jumps three to #2, South Carolina (3 votes) remains #3, Florida (1 vote) remains #4 and Florida State climbs one to #5. TCU jumps one to #6, Alabama climbs one to #7, Notre Dame drops six to #8, Oregon remains #9 and Boise State remains #10. Kansas State remains #11, Georgia jumps three to #12, Texas A&M climbs four to #13, Ole Miss drops one to #14 and Miami climbs four to #15. USC leaps eight to #16, Virginia Tech falls three to #17, Clemson jumps four to #18, Oklahoma State climbs four to #19 and Georgia Tech enters the poll at #20. Wisconsin climbs four to #21, Arizona State drops four to #22, LSU falls seven to #23, Oregon State enters the poll at #24 and Stanford (267 points) plummets thirteen spots to #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Louisville (from #20) and Nebraska (from #21). Looking at Other Receiving Votes, Texas (156 points) is #26, followed by UCLA (106), Vanderbilt (64), Washington (30) and Northwestern (2) to round out the Top 30.

Taking a look at the first Top 25 Media Poll of the year, Ohio State (43 first place votes) remains #1, South Carolina (21 votes) remains #2, Florida (1 vote) remains #3, Oklahoma leaps nine spots to #4 and TCU climbs one to #5. Kansas State falls one to #6, Florida State remains #7, Alabama climbs one to #8, Texas A&M drops one to #9 and Notre Dame falls six to #10. Oregon remains #11, Boise State climbs two to #12, Ole Miss drops one to #13, Georgia jumps four to #14 and Miami climbs four to #15. Clemson leaps five to #16, Oklahoma State climbs five to #17, USC enters the poll at #18, Virginia Tech drops three to #19 and Georgia Tech enters the poll at #20. Wisconsin climbs two to #21, LSU drops seven to #22, Arizona State falls six to #23, Stanford plummets fourteen spots to #24 and UCLA (282 points) remains #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Louisville (from #20) and Nebraska (from #24). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Texas (224 points) is #26, followed by Oregon State (188), Washington (105), Tennessee (89) and Vanderbilt (80) to round out the Top 30. Other teams getting points this week include Arizona (55), North Carolina (23), Michigan (13) and Northwestern (8).

A look at the Heisman race, Vanderbilt HB Jason Massey is #1 (LW: NR), Florida State QB Chris Larson is #2 (LW: #2), Ohio State HB Ron Branch is #3 (LW: #3), Texas A&M QB Zac Hopkins is #4 (LW: NR) and USC HB James Butler is #5 (LW: NR). Dropping off of the Heisman Watch list this week was Miami QB David Horne (LW: #1), Arizona HB Kevin Simpson (LW: #4) and TCU QB Sean Moore (LW: #5).

SmoothPancakes

09-25-2013, 03:58 AM

Sweet mother of god our offense sucks inside the red zone. It's a repeat of FIU on NCAA '12 all over again. Three field goals and a kickoff return for a touchdown was all that stood between me winning and me losing. :smh:

SCClassof93

09-25-2013, 07:24 AM

:popcorn:

SmoothPancakes

09-26-2013, 05:20 AM

Game Five

:Utah_State: :@: :Old_Dominion:

Game Notes

--- Coming off a hard fought defensive win over San Jose State, we headed back onto the road, this time to the east coast, to take on a new face in the FBS landscape, the Old Dominion Monarchs. While Old Dominion entered the game with a 3-1 record, it did come with a catch, the three wins were against FCS opponents and Idaho. We would again be in for a challenge, as the Monarchs entered with the #7 passing offense in the nation, putting up over 309 yards/game. Lucky for us, they were also one-dimensional, ranking #108 in rushing with only 116 yards/game. That would also potentially be the case for us, as ODU entered with the #17 rushing defense, only allowing 111 yards/game, meaning the air, and Old Dominion’s #66 passing defense, giving up 214 yards/game, would be our friend today on offense. Old Dominion won the coin toss and elected to kick.

Preston Roberson received the opening kickoff, returning it 26 yards out to the 27 yard line. Lining up on first down, Roberson received the handoff to start the drive, picking up 8 yards on the carry. Brian Paris took over on second down, gaining three yards to get a first down at the 39. A play action pass to Brian James on first down left the defense completely fooled, Adam Powers completing the throw for a 16 yard gain and a new first down at the Old Dominion 46 yard line. Roberson took back over the running game on first down, busting up the middle for an 12 yard gain, moving the chains once more to the 34. A three yard rush by Paris on first down was followed with a four yard gain, leaving us lining up on third and three. The third down pass intended for Eric McGuire ended up off-target, and nearly intercepted, leaving fourth and three. Richard Burnette nailed the 43 yard field goal to put us up 3-0 with 6:20 left in the first quarter.

A 20 yard return on the kickoff gave the Monarchs the ball at their 20 yard line to start. A first down screen pass from Daniel Whitfield to Josh Ryan was complete for a 5 yard gain, before the defense got a coverage sack on Whitfield for a loss of 6 yards, leaving Old Dominion looking at third and 12. A broken up pass intended for Ryan would bring the drive to a halt and bring out the punt team on fourth down. We caught a massive break when McGuire muffed the punt on a fair catch. An Old Dominion player dived for the ball but slid past it, allowing McGuire to jump on top of it and recover the fumble, keeping the ball in our possession at our 44 yard line.

Taking over on first down after the nearly lost fumble, Roberson received the handoff on first down, managing only three yards before the defense brought him down. Roberson came back on second down, finding a hole to the right side of the line, pushing through it for a 5 yard gain, setting up third and two. Taking another shot with Roberson, he fought his way up the middle for another 5 yard gain and a first down at the ODU 43 yard line. Pulling another play action pass out of our bag of tricks, Powers was able to connect with Jack Long near the left sideline, good for a gain of 11 yards and a new set of downs from the 32 yard line. Taking a shot deep, looking for our first offensive touchdown nearly 6 quarters and first passing touchdown in nearly 7 quarters, Powers launched a pass to Dre Martin in the end zone, but it wasn’t to be as the cornerback batted the pass incomplete, bringing up second down. A second down pass intended for McGuire was nearly intercepted, and we were once more on the brink with third down. David Douglas would save the drive, pulling in a pass from Powers for a 14 yard gain and a first down at the 18 yard line. Returning to the ground on first down, Roberson was quickly brought down for a three yard gain, followed by a one yard rush by Powers that left us facing third and 6. The third down pass intended for Tim Fields was broken up by the outside linebacker, nearly intercepted, leaving the field goal unit trotting out once more on fourth and 6. The 31 yard field goal by Burnette was good, increasing our lead to 6-0 with 2:03 left in the first quarter.

A 25 yard return on the kickoff got Old Dominion back in action at their 22 yard line. Whitfield dropped back to pass on first down, completing a pass to Cedric Ostrander for a three yard gain, but a roughing the passer penalty on safety Charles Noble would give the Monarchs a free set of downs at their 39 yard line. A screen pass intended for Marcus White was nearly intercepted for what would have been a guaranteed pick six by the cornerback, but he was unable to hold onto the ball, the incomplete pass bringing up second and long. A three yard completion to Jermaine McDonald left the Monarchs looking at third and 7, as they went into no-huddle. The third down pass intended for Brett Miller was off the mark and incomplete, bringing out the punt team on fourth and 7. A shanked 23 yard punt out of bounds gave us back the ball starting at our 34 yard line.

Lining up on first down, Roberson got the drive started with a four yard rush, followed by a gain of two on the keeper by Powers, leaving us looking at third and four. The third down play would be our biggest of the game, as Martin was able to snag down the pass from Powers, the cornerback’s failed dive to knock away the pass completely taking him out of the play, allowing Martin to turn up the sideline, sprint past the pursuing safety and race all the way to the end zone for a 59 yard touchdown reception and a 13-0 lead with 15 seconds left in the first quarter.

A 23 yard kickoff return gave Old Dominion the ball at their 23 yard line. The Monarchs weren’t about to go down without a fight, as Whitfield found Miller along the left sideline for a 17 yard completion and a first down at their 40 yard line. Whitfield then went back to Miller on first down, good for a gain of four yards. That would be the last play before the clock ran out, bringing the first quarter to an end with our lead 13-0.

Opening up the second quarter, Whitfield was able to get off a pass before the blitz could reach him, complete to Jamaal Johnson for a three yard gain, leaving third and three. He would be so fortunate on third down, as seven rushers forced him to dump the ball to avoid a sack, the pass intended for Miller falling well incomplete to bring up fourth and three. A 17 yard return by McGuire on the 37 yard punt gave us the ball at our 33 yard line.

Roberson got our drive started on the ground, rushing for a 6 yard gain, followed by a three yard pickup to leave us facing third and one. Keeping the ball in Roberson’s hands, he was able to extend the drive with a four yard rush, getting the first down at the 45 yard line. Paris took over rushing duties on first down, picking up 6 yards of his own, before Roberson fought his way to a three yard carry, setting up another third and one situation. Paris was the man to keep the drive alive, but he failed to come through, brought down for no gain to bring out our punt team on fourth and one from the ODU 45 yard line. A low 26 yard punt was caught with a fair catch, giving ODU back the ball at their 18.

Taking over on offense, the Monarchs got their drive started with a 10 yard completion to Nate Clark, picking up a quick first down at the 28. Keeping in the air on first, the pass intended for Ryan hit him in the hands but was dropped, leaving second and 10. The Monarchs caught us sleeping on second down, expecting a pass, but instead, a rush by McDonald going for a gain of 12 yards for a first down at the 40 yard line. Old Dominion’s drive would last one more play, as a play action fake caught us cheating, allowing Whitfield to find Johnson wide open 12 yards down field. Johnson caught the pass and did the rest of the work himself as he took it 60 yards to the house, cutting our lead to 13-7 with 5:04 left until halftime.

A 24 yard kickoff return by McGuire got us back in action at our 31 yard line, looking to respond. Roberson started the drive as he fought his way to an 8 yard gain, followed by a three yard rush to pick up the first down at the 42 yard line. Running play action pass on first down, the defense bit completely as Douglas was left entirely uncovered on his out route, hauling in the pass from Powers for an 18 yard gain and a new set of downs at the ODU 41 yard line. Lining up in the shotgun on first down, Powers threw up a perfectly timed pass to Martin, complete for a gain of 19 yards and a new first down at the 22. Roberson received the handoff on first down, but the defense refused to let him get loose, bringing him down for a two yard gain to leave second and 8. Lining up under center, Powers dropped back and rifled a quick pass to Fields, who pulled it in for a 6 yard gain, setting up third and two. Roberson received the handoff on third down, finding a hole for a 6 yard gain and picking up the first down, setting up first and goal at the ODU 8 yard line. Paris took the ball on first down, fighting his way forward for a 7 yard gain, leaving second and goal at the one yard line. Roberson tried to punch it in, but the play was blown up and he was tackled for a loss of one yard, setting up third and goal at the two. We would put the ball back into the hands of Paris on third down, and he wouldn’t let us down, as finding the middle blocked up, he bounced outside the left tackle and punched it in for the two yard touchdown, increasing our lead to 20-7 with 51 seconds left until halftime.

A touchback on the kickoff gave Old Dominion the ball at their 25 yard line, just 51 seconds to work with, but all three timeouts still in the bag. The defense was ready to kill any momentum, as they forced a coverage sack on first down, going for a loss of 7 yards to leave second and 17. In a head scratcher, Old Dominion didn’t use one of their timeouts, even as the clock ticked, not only huddling up, but then also waiting until there were only 9 seconds left on the play clock to snap the ball. In the end, Whitfield found McDonald for a four yard completion, pushed out of bounds at the 22 yard line to stop the clock with only 5 seconds remaining. The Monarchs seemingly were content to just head to the locker room, handing the ball off to McDonald on second down. He managed to gain 6 yards before being driven out of bounds with no time remaining, sending us into halftime with a 20-7 lead.

Opening up the second half, a touchback on the kickoff gave Old Dominion the ball at their 25 yard line to start the third quarter. Despite only rushing four linemen, we were able to get enough pressure on the quarterback, forcing Whitfield to throw the ball away on first down. An incomplete pass, intended for Miller left the Monarchs looking at third and 10. The booth ended up reviewing the play, to see if he was able to get his foot down before going out of bounds. They ended up reversing the call on the field, the pass instead completed for a four yard gain to leave Old Dominion only facing third and 6. McDonald would keep the drive moving, hauling in a pass from Whitfield for an 8 yard gain and a first down at the 36 yard line. Going no-huddle, the Monarchs kept the ball moving fast, as Whitfield found White down the right sideline for a 24 yard gain, moving the chains to our 40 yard line. Rushing to the line, a screen pass to Ryan gained 7 yards, followed by a one yard rush by McDonald to leave third and two. Whitfield kept the ball on a draw play, picking up 7 yards on the play. It would get worse though as a facemask penalty thrown on the tackle gave Old Dominion 12 extra yards and a first down at our 13 yard line. Whitfield kept the ball on first down, rushing for an 8 yard gain, followed by a three yard option pitch to Jerrell Payne, setting up first and goal at our two yard line. Our defense was ready for the run on first down, bringing the house and tackling Payne for a loss of two yards, leaving second and goal from the four. We only managed to delay the pain, as McDonald received the handoff on second down and raced into the end zone untouched for the four yard touchdown, cutting our lead to 20-14 with 6:41 left in the third quarter.

McGuire tried his best, and nearly broke free on the kickoff return, but was finally brought down after a 32 yard return, starting us from our 39 yard line. Roberson started the drive with a three yard carry, before a toss right to Paris picked up three yards to leave third and four. Going into the air on third down, Powers connected with Brian James for a 6 yard gain, picking up the first down at the ODU 49 yard line. A four yard rush by Paris was followed by a power option to the left. While Powers made the right read and pitched the ball to Roberson, he was unable to turn the corner, chased down from behind for a one yard loss to leave third and 7. Douglas would keep us in action, pulling in a third down pass from Powers for a gain of 10 yards, moving the sticks to the 36 yard line. Taking another shot deep on first down, Powers was never able to get the ball away, as a blitz broke through our line, sacking Powers for a 7 yard loss to leave second and 17. We were able to make up those lost yards as Powers found McGuire for a 15 yard completion, leaving third and two. Putting the ball into the hands of Roberson, he managed to carry his momentum through a tackle for a four yard gain, getting the first down at the Monarchs 23 yard line. A first down rush by Roberson picked up 7 yards, followed by a 6 yard gain by fullback John Harrington, giving us first and goal at the 10 yard line. Receiving the handoff on the draw, Roberson fought his way to a 5 yard gain on first down. A second down handoff to Paris netted four yards, setting up third and goal at the one. The ball was in Roberson’s hands on third down, but it turned out the defense wanted it more, as multiple defenders came through like gangbusters and tackled Roberson for a two yard loss, leaving us with fourth and goal at the three yard line. Despite being a freaking 20 yard chipshot, Barnette somehow found a way to miss the kick wide left, giving the ball back to Old Dominion at their 20 yard line with 30 seconds left in the third quarter.

Taking over at the 20 after the missed field goal, a first down pass from Whitfield intended for Miller was broken up by the trailing linebacker, leaving the Monarchs with second down. Whitfield came back on second down, connecting with McDonald for a 7 yard completion, leaving third and three. McDonald tried to convert the third down on the ground, but was stopped for only a two yard rush, bringing up fourth and one from the 29. That would be where the third quarter would come to an end, hanging onto a 20-14 lead.

Opening up the fourth quarter, the punt team came out for Old Dominion, facing fourth and one at their 29 yard line, trailing by only 6 points. A fair catch by McGuire on the 42 yard punt left us starting from our 28 yard line.

Handing the ball off on first down, Roberson got the drive started with a 6 yard gain, followed by a pickup of 5 yards to get the first down at the 40. Taking the ball on first down, Paris managed to get four yards on the ground. Running a play action on second down, Powers misread the defense and handed the ball off to Paris instead of passing it, only to have the play blown up as Paris was immediately tackled for a 5 yard loss, bringing up third and 11. Taking a shot down the left sideline, McGuire was able to get his hands on the ball, but the cornerback got his hands into the play and broke the pass up, leaving us punting on fourth and 11. A 12 yard return on the wind-hindered 35 yard punt, set Old Dominion up at their 37 yard line with 7:03 left in the game.

McDonald received the ball on first down, breaking multiple tackles on his way to a 21 yard rush and a first down at our 42 yard line, the offense feeding off the momentum of the defense. Whitfield kept the ball on first down on a read play, picking up 6 yards on the carry, before a second down screen pass to Ryan was immediately stopped for a loss of four yards, leaving the Monarchs facing third and 8. The Monarchs were able to get the job done on third down, as Whitfield found Clark over the middle for a 32 yard gain, giving Old Dominion first and goal at our 8 yard line. Expecting pass, the Monarchs fooled us with a run on first down, as McDonald broke a pair of tackles and stumbled and tripped his way into the end zone for an 8 yard touchdown rush, giving Old Dominion a 21-20 lead with 5:58 left in the game.

McGuire managed only a 21 yard return on the kickoff, leaving us starting at our 22 yard line. Coming out in the shotgun on first down, Powers connected with Ryan Conley for a 12 yard gain and a quick first down at the 34. Keeping in the air, the first down pass intended for Martin was overthrown, leaving second and long. McGuire would keep us moving with a 16 yard reception over the middle, advancing the ball to the 50 yard line. Continuing on first down, Powers found James for a gain of 7 yards, followed by a 5 yard rush by Paris to get the first down at the Old Dominion 38 yard line. Keeping the ball with Paris, he rushed for a 5 yard gain on first down, followed by a pickup of 5 more yards and a first down at the 28 yard line. It was time now for the Old Dominion defense to return the favor from earlier in the game, as a facemask penalty on the tackle by middle linebacker David Griffin set us up with a first down at the 14 yard line. Continuing on the ground, Paris fought his way to a three yard gain on first down, before picking up 5 yards up the middle to leave us facing third and two at the 5 yard line. James move from fullback into the halfback position on the third down play, receiving the handoff, but he was unable to capitalize, brought down for a one yard loss on the play to leave fourth and three at the 6 yard line. Running the play clock down to the last second, Burnette drilled the 23 yard field goal down the middle of the uprights, giving us a 23-21 lead with 2:04 remaining in the game.

A 20 yard return on the kickoff gave Old Dominion the ball at their 19 yard line with 1:59 remaining on the clock. Dropping back to pass on first down, Whitfield briefly connected with Miller on the play, before a hit by the safety jarred the ball loose and incomplete, leaving second and 10. Not giving Whitfield any chance to be comfortable in the backfield, we brought the heat on second down, the pressure forcing Whitfield to throw the ball away, leaving the Monarchs facing third and long. We would end up, naturally, getting burned on third down, as a blown assignment allowed White to race down the left sideline completely uncovered, hauling in the lob pass from Whitfield. Luckily for us, Whitfield put too much lob on the throw, as White had to slow down and reach back to haul in the pass, allowing both safeties to chase him down from behind, tackling him for a gain of 54 yards, the Monarchs set up with a first down at our 27 yard line. Keeping the momentum going, Whitfield found Miller along the right hash, good for a 13 yard gain and a first down from the 14. Our defense wasn’t going to make it easy for the Monarchs, as a heavy blitz broke through the line and hit Whitfield as he was attempting to throw the ball, causing a fumble. Despite his best efforts, defensive tackle Adam Grant was unable to pick up the fumble, as instead Old Dominion right guard Steve Jackson recovered the loose ball, tackled clear back at the 24 yard line for a loss of 10 yards on the play, leaving Old Dominion facing second and 20. A 7 yard rush by McDonald set up third and 14, as we called our first timeout with 1:08 left on the clock, not allowing the Monarchs the chance to run out the clock and kick a game-winning field goal. A four yard rush up the middle by Payne set the Monarchs up for a dead on field goal attempt on fourth and 10, our second timeout called with 1:05 remaining. The 31 yard field goal by George Thurman was good, giving Old Dominion a 24-23 lead with 1:02 left in the game.

A 24 yard kickoff return by Buck Castillo gave us the ball at our 27 yard line, just 57 seconds to go and only one timeout. Lining up in the shotgun, Powers connected with Douglas for a 19 yard completion and a first down at the 46 yard line. Rushing to the line, Powers hit Paris along the left sideline for a 7 yard gain, but he was unable to get out of bounds during the tackle. Rushing back to the line with the clock ticking, Powers tried to connect with McGuire along the right sideline, but he came down with the ball out of bounds, leaving third and three at the ODU 47 yard line, just 27 seconds left on the clock. Douglas would come through for us on third down, pulling in a pass from Powers for a 10 yard gain and a first down at the 38 yard line. With a 6 MPH wind blowing in our face, we were going to have to get closer before we could even think of a field goal by Burnette. Taking a shot at the end zone down the right sideline, the first down pass intended for McGuire was broken up by the cornerback, leaving second and 10, 18 seconds left. A pass over the middle to Martin was briefly caught for what would have been a 10 yard completion, until he was laid out by the safety, knocking the ball loose and incomplete to leave third down with 14 seconds to go. A 6 yard completion over the middle to James left us facing fourth and four from the 32 yard line, but lined up in the middle of the field for a field goal attempt. We called our final timeout with three seconds left in the game, bringing out Burnette and the field goal unit. Lining up for the 49 yard attempt, Old Dominion called their first timeout attempting to freeze Burnette. The freeze ended up working, as the kick by Burnette never had a chance, falling short and caught in the end zone by an Old Dominion player and returned out to their 30 yard line, before finally being tackled with no time left, sealing the 24-23 victory for Old Dominion.

With the loss, we fall to 3-2, 2-0 in Mountain West action. With the win, Old Dominion improves to 4-1, 0-1 in C-USA play. Up next, we return home for Homecoming night, and return to conference play against our toughest opponent of the year, #7 Boise State. The Broncos enter the game still perfect on the year at 5-0, 2-0 in Mountain West action. Boise State opened their year with a 35-21 win over Washington, then smoked FCS East 45-3. They beat Air Force 35-25, went on the road and beat Fresno State 31-17, before serving up a 33-14 defeat to Southern Miss.

Final Score
:Old_Dominion: 24, :Utah_State: 23

Stat(s) of the Game:
Utah State Offense - A solid day by Powers, ending 17-26 for 249 yards and one touchdown. Rushing, Roberson led the way with 102 yards on 24 carries. Paris had a good day with 52 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries. Receiving, Martin led the way with 78 yards and a touchdown on two receptions, followed closely by Douglas with 70 yards on five receptions. In all, eight receivers caught a pass today, six of them ending with double digit yards.

Utah State Defense – An alright day. Ended up with three coverage sacks against Whitfield, and did force a fumble at the end, but otherwise got burned a number of times, and gave up yards when it mattered most at the end of the game.

Utah State Kicking – Thank god Burnette is a senior. Went 3-5 today in field goals. Just one of those two misses would have been enough to win the game. Sure, he made from 43, 31 and 23 yards out, but he somehow missed a 20 yard chipshot and then came up short on the game-winning 49 yard attempt when Old Dominion called timeout to try and freeze him. End result, we lose by one instead of winning by two or five. He at least managed to go 2-2 in PATs.

Scoring Summary

Team
1st Quarter
2nd Quarter
3rd Quarter
4th Quarter
Final Score

:Utah_State:
13
7
0
3
23

:Old_Dominion:
0
7
7
10
24

Time
Team
Result
Play
Score

First Quarter

6:20
:Utah_State:
Field Goal
R. Burnette, 43 yard field goal
:Utah_State: 3-0

2:03
:Utah_State:
Field Goal
R. Burnette, 31 yard field goal
:Utah_State: 6-0

0:15
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
D. Martin, 59 yard pass from A. Powers (R. Burnette kick)
:Utah_State: 13-0

Second Quarter

5:04
:Old_Dominion:
Touchdown
J. Johnson, 60 yard pass from D. Whitfield (G. Thurman kick)
:Utah_State: 13-7

0:51
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
B. Paris, 2 yard run (R. Burnette kick)
:Utah_State: 20-7

Third Quarter

6:41
:Old_Dominion:
Touchdown
J. McDonald, 4 yard run (G. Thurman kick)
:Utah_State: 20-14

Fourth Quarter

5:58
:Old_Dominion:
Touchdown
J. McDonald, 8 yard run (G. Thurman kick)
:Old_Dominion: 21-20

2:04
:Utah_State:
Field Goal
R. Burnette, 23 yard field goal
:Utah_State: 23-21

1:02
:Old_Dominion:
Field Goal
G. Thurman, 31 yard field goal
:Old_Dominion: 24-23

Game Stats

Utah State
Stat
Old Dominion

23
Score
24

22
First Downs
12

411
Total Offense
321

46 - 162 - 1
Rushes - Yards - TD
17 - 68 - 2

17 - 26 - 1
Comp - Att - TD
18 - 27 - 1

249
Passing Yards
253

1
Times Sacked
3

10 - 17 (58%)
3rd Down Conversion
4 - 10 (40%)

0 - 0 (0%)
4th Down Conversion
0 - 0 (0%)

0 - 0 (0%)
2-Point Conv
0 - 0 (0%)

4 - 1 - 2 (75%)
Red Zone - TD - FG
3 - 2 - 1 (100%)

0
Turnovers
0

0
Fumbles Lost
0

0
Intercepted
0

16
Punt Return Yards
12

124
Kick Return Yards
86

551
Total Yards
419

2 – 31.5
Punts - Average
4 - 35.0

2 - 28
Penalties
1 - 14

23:28
Time of Possession
12:32

Utah State Coach Goals

Goal
XP Reward
Completed

Score a Touchdown
25
x2

Rush for 100 Yards
25
x1

3+ Sacks
50
x1

Play in an ESPN Classic Game
75
x1

Opponent Under 150 Rush Yards
50
x1

Opponent Under 300 Pass Yards
50
x1

Pass Completion over 50%
30
x1

Score 21 or More Points
50
x1

10+ First Downs
50
x1

350+ Offensive Yards
50
x1

10+ First Downs
50
x1

4+ 3rd Down Conversions
25
x1

Utah State Contract Goals Update

Goal
Expectations
Progress

Target Wins Per Season
6
3

Job Security Status

100%

SmoothPancakes

09-26-2013, 05:22 AM

Taking a look around the nation, in the Top 25, In the game of the week, #2 Oklahoma edged out #6 TCU 35-33, thanks to three straight touchdowns in the fourth quarter to take the lead with 1:10 left. Despite a returned kickoff for a touchdown by TCU after the last Sooners score, a failed two-point conversion gave OU the two point win. #3 South Carolina handled Kentucky 42-17. #4 Florida fought off Arkansas 22-15. #5 Florida State remained perfect, beating Maryland 21-7.

#7 Alabama thrashed Georgia State 45-7. #8 Notre Dame beat down #22 Arizona State 38-10. #9 Oregon rolled over Colorado 37-7. #11 Kansas State edged out #19 Oklahoma State 14-13. Tennessee shocked #12 Georgia 41-34. Auburn knocked off #14 Ole Miss 24-21. #15 Miami topped #20 Georgia Tech 33-17. #17 Virginia Tech escaped North Carolina 16-15. Syracuse scored an upset over #18 Clemson 28-3. Mississippi State shocked #23 LSU 36-24. And Washington knocked off #25 Stanford 31-18.

For our readers, JeffHCross, #1 Ohio State remains 4-0 (1-0 Big Ten) with a bye week. Morsdraconis, West Virginia improves to 4-2 (1-2 Big 12) with a 16-13 win over Baylor. Souljahbill, Southern Miss drops to 1-4 (0-1 C-USA) with a 42-23 loss to Florida International. Jaymo, #22 Arizona State falls to 2-3 (1-1 Pac-12), losing to #8 Notre Dame 38-10. LeeSO, Auburn improves to 2-3 (2-1 SEC), knocking off #14 Ole Miss 24-21. SCClassof93, #3 South Carolina improves to 4-0 (3-0 SEC) with a 42-17 win against Kentucky. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State remains 4-1 (1-0 Sun Belt) with a bye week. Florida International improves to 4-1 (1-0 C-USA) with a 42-23 win over Southern Miss. Navy falls to 1-3 (1-2 American) with a 24-17 loss to rival Air Force. Tulsa drops to 2-3 (1-1 American) with a 47-44 triple overtime loss at Connecticut.

In Mountain West action, San Diego State beat Nevada 27-17, San Jose State topped Hawaii 27-17, Fresno State beat Idaho 56-14, Air Force knocked off Navy 24-17, New Mexico State beat New Mexico 35-17 and Old Dominion edged out Utah State 24-23.

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Oklahoma (40 first place votes) climbs one to #1, Ohio State (21 votes) drops one to #2, South Carolina remains #3, Florida remains #4 and Florida State remains #5. Kansas State jumps five to #6, Boise State climbs three to #7, Alabama drops one to #8, Notre Dame drops one to #9 and Oregon drops one to #10. Miami climbs four to #11, USC jumps four to #12, TCU drops seven to #13, Texas A&M falls one to #14 and Wisconsin leaps six to #15. Virginia Tech climbs one to #16, Georgia falls five to #17, Tennessee enters the poll at #18, Oregon State jumps five to #19 and Oklahoma State falls one to #20. Georgia Tech falls one to #21, Ole Miss plummets eight to #22, Washington enters the poll at #23, Northwestern enters the poll at #24 and Arizona State (149 points) drops three to #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Clemson (from #18), LSU (from #23) and Stanford (from #25). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Utah (130 points) is #26, followed by Mississippi State (128), Arizona (87), Clemson (84) and Nebraska (22) to round out the Top 30. Other teams getting points this week include UCLA (11), LSU (11) and Michigan (9).

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Media Poll, Oklahoma (39 first place votes) jumps three to #1, South Carolina (21 votes) remains #2, Ohio State (3 votes) falls two to #3, Florida (1 vote) drops one to #4 and Kansas State (1 vote) climbs one to #5. Florida State climbs one to #6, Boise State jumps five to #7, Alabama remains #8, Miami vaults six to #9 and Notre Dame remains #10. Texas A&M falls two to #11, TCU drops seven to #12, Oregon falls two to #13, USC jumps four to #14 and Wisconsin leaps six to #15. Virginia Tech jumps three to #16, Oklahoma State remains #17, Tennessee enters the poll at #18, Georgia drops five to #19 and Georgia Tech remains #20. Ole Miss plummets eight to #21, Oregon State enters the poll at #22, Washington enters the poll at #23, Arizona enters the poll at #24 and Utah (118 points) enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Clemson (from #16), LSU (from #22), Arizona State (from #23), Stanford (from #24) and UCLA (from #25). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Mississippi State (108 points) is #26, followed by Clemson (97), Arizona State (94), Northwestern (60) and Nebraska (50) to round out the Top 30. Other teams getting points this week include LSU (29), UCLA (28) and Stanford (19).

A look at the Heisman race, Vanderbilt HB Jason Massey is #1 (LW: #1), Miami QB David Horne is #2 (LW: NR), Florida QB Brandon Dahl is #3 (LW :NR), Ohio State HB Ron Branch is #4 (LW: #3) and Georgia Tech QB Phil Terrell was #5 (LW: NR). Dropping off the Heisman Watch list this week was: Florida State QB Chris Larson (LW: #2), Texas A&M QB Zac Hopkins (LW: #4) and USC HB James Butler (LW: #5).

SmoothPancakes

09-26-2013, 05:22 AM

I can't really find and formulate the words for how I'm feeling after that game. :fp:

So I'll just let Dennis Green sum the game up for me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYKIcnj1MJY

SCClassof93

09-26-2013, 11:31 AM

SmoothPancakes

09-26-2013, 06:14 PM

Well, looks like I'm gonna be in it for the long haul on NCAA '14, with the series currently suspended for at least the next year, with the potential of being entirely cancelled sometime down the road. Thank god the jacked up defensive sliders that I did a couple games ago created some form of defense in this game, so I can actually keep playing and not hang up the cleats along with EA on the NCAA series. Tweak a little more, get a happy balance, and maybe I'll reach the 60 year dynasty limit for the first time ever in my history with NCAA Football.

SmoothPancakes

09-26-2013, 07:29 PM

Just a little teaser from the Boise State game. :)

http://nflbook.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/hail-mary.gif

jaymo76

09-26-2013, 08:04 PM

Just a little teaser from the Boise State game. :)

http://nflbook.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/hail-mary.gif

You recruited Tebow jr.??? :P

SmoothPancakes

09-26-2013, 08:10 PM

You recruited Tebow jr.??? :P

I wish. :D

souljahbill

09-26-2013, 08:40 PM

You recruited Tebow jr.??? :P

He has to have sex first.

SmoothPancakes

09-26-2013, 10:24 PM

Game Six

#7 :Boise_State: :@: :Utah_State:

Game Notes

--- We approached the midway point of the season on a bit of a down note after blowing last week’s game against Old Dominion. It wasn’t going to get any easier, as our Homecoming game opponent was none other than the #7 Boise State Broncos. To say we were going to be climbing a mountain was an understatement. The Broncos entered #11 in the nation in scoring, putting up 35.8 points/game. They had the #8 offense in the nation, gaining over 449.6 yards/game. Their passing offense was also #8 in the country, with 299 yards/game through the air. Their rushing attack was a lower-rated, coming in at #69 nationally, but still good for over 150.6 yards/game.

Their defense was also a buzzsaw, ranked #29 nationally in overall defense, giving up only 318.6 yards/game, ranked #26 in rushing defense, giving up only 125.6 yards/game and ranked #44 nationally in passing defense, giving up only 193 yards/game. We were going to have an uphill climb from the word go. Boise State won the coin toss and elected to kick.

A huge 43 yard kickoff return by Preston Roberson set us up at our 42 yard line to start the game. Roberson received the handoff on first down, fighting his way to a 6 yard gain, followed by a pickup of three yards, leaving us facing third and one. Brian Paris was able to convert the third down with a three yard rush, getting the first down at the Boise State 46 yard line. Running a play action pass on first down, the defense bit on the fake, but the pass from Adam Powers intended for Brian James fell short and incomplete, leaving second and 10. Dre Martin was able to pull down a pass from Powers for a gain of 8 yards, setting us up with third and two. Going back to James on third down, Powers was able to connect for an 8 yard gain and a first down at the 30 yard line. A three yard rush by Roberson on first down was followed with a 6 yard gain to leave third and one. Putting the ball into the hands of Roberson once more, he was able to fight his way forward for a gain of three and the first down at the 19 yard line. Returning to the play action on first down, Powers was able to just avoid a sack, rifling a pass over the middle to Eric McGuire for a 19 yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead with 5:12 left in the first quarter.

A touchback on the kickoff gave Boise State the ball at their 25 yard line. A pass over the middle from Mark Concepcion to Lance Burton got the drive started with an 11 yard gain and a quick first down at the 36. An incomplete pass on first down, wide of the receiver and nearly intercepted by our defense, left the Broncos and second with long. A 9 yard pass to Eric Miles left third and one, where Chris Martin received the ball on the ground, gaining three yards and the first down at the 48 yard line. A 21 yard rush by Concepcion on the read play moved Boise State well into our territory, a first down at our 31. We weren’t about to give up on defense, as Matt Pierce received the first down handoff, but was instantly stood up for a one yard loss to leave second and 11. Burton was able to come down with the rainbow pass from Concepcion, but a quick tackle limited the damage to just a 9 yard gain, setting up third and two. Fooled into playing the rush, we got burned by the Broncos as Concepcion faked the handoff and rifled a pass to Jason Henderson for a 9 yard pickup and a first down at our 14 yard line. Pierce again never had a chance on a first down handoff, the defense quickly swarming to bring him down for a one yard loss to bring up second and 11. A well timed blitz allowed our linebacker to break through the line untouched on the snap, forcing Concepcion to immediately scramble to his left and dump the ball over the middle. We had a chance at intercepting the ball, but were unable to come up with it, leaving third and 11. A third down pass to Tim Carpenter was complete over the middle, but the zone defense limited the damage and a diving tackle tripped him up for only a 10 yard gain, setting up fourth and one from our 5 yard line. The Broncos lined up to go for it on fourth down, Concepcion’s pass intended for Henderson was off target and landed harmlessly in the end zone, as we forced the turnover on downs and took over possession at our 5 yard line with 2:00 left in the first quarter.

Starting our drive at our 5 yard line, Roberson received the handoff on first down, picking up three yards on the play. A second down rush by Roberson gained only one yard after a blitz by the defense, leaving us with third and 6 from our 9 yard line. Threading the needle between three defenders, Powers was able to hit Martin down the left hash, the pass complete for a 23 yard strike and a first down at the 32 yard line. Keeping in the air on first down, Paris hauled in a pass from Powers for a 16 yard pickup and another first down at the 47. Handing the ball off to Paris on first down, he managed to get four yards on the play, pushing us into Boise State territory. That would bring the first quarter to an end, our surprising lead sitting at 7-0.

Opening up the second quarter, facing second and 6 at the Boise State 49 yard line, Roberson received the ball, fighting his way to a 7 yard gain and a first down at the 42. Taking a shot at the end zone on first down, the pass intended for Martin was nearly intercepted at the goal line, leaving second and 10. A second down pass intended for Ryan Conley was likewise nearly intercepted, and we found ourselves facing third and 10. The third down pass from Powers to Martin got batted away at the last moment, and our drive stalled out at the Boise 42. Besides being a 59 yard field goal attempt, we had a stiff 11 MPH wind blowing in our faces, so we were resigned to punting the ball away. The 42 yard punt bounced down at the 5 yard line, but ended up rolling to the end zone for a touchback, giving Boise State the ball at their 20 yard line.

Taking over at their 20, Matt Pierce received the handoff on first down, and was nearly instantly tackled for what would have been a four or 5 yard loss, but he managed to scramble out of a pair of tackles, fighting his way back near the line of scrimmage before finally being brought down for a loss of one yard, leaving second and 11. A four yard completion to Burton, his momentum carrying him out of bounds, left Boise State looking at third and 6. The defense came through when it mattered most, forcing a coverage sack on Concepcion for a 6 yard loss, forcing Boise State to trot out the punt team on fourth and 13. A 10 yard punt return on the 54 yard punt gave us the ball at our 39 yard line.

Starting on the ground on first down, Roberson received the handoff but was quickly dragged down from behind for a gain of only two yards. Dropping back in the shotgun, Powers found McGuire down the right sideline, who had beaten the cornerback off the line. A well place pass caught in stride by McGuire allowed him to sprint down the field for a 43 yard completion before being tripped up from behind at the Boise State 16 yard line. Forced to get rid of the ball immediately to avoid a sack, the first down pass intended for Martin was nearly intercepted at the 8 yard line, leaving us with second and long. A second down pass to Michael Smith was batted down at the line of scrimmage, setting up third and 10. Going right back to Smith, he was able to haul in the pass from Powers, but ended up tackled shy of the first down marker, a gain of only 9 yards to leave fourth and one. Settling for a 24 yard field goal, the kick by Richard Burnette bounced off the right upright and back into the end zone no good, giving Boise State the ball back at their 20 yard line, 5:32 left until halftime.

A first down pass from Concepcion to Pierce gained 6 yards, followed by a three yard pass to Burton that left Boise State looking at third and one. Concepcion would burn us for the second time tonight, keeping the ball on a read play and racing down the field for a 17 yard rush and a first down at the 46 yard line. Pierce followed that up with a 19 yard rush down the right sideline and a new set of downs at our 35. Concepcion tried to fool us again with a read play, but the outside linebacker read it and brought him down for a four yard loss, leaving second and 14. Despite bringing 8 guys on a blitz, Matt Daniels was able to break free and rumble for a 13 yard gain, setting up third and one from the 26. Pierce would get the first down and then some, picking up 15 yards down the left sideline to move the chains to our 11 yard line. A first down pass to Carpenter went for an 11 yard gain, the defense managing to tackle him just shy of the goal line, giving Boise State first and goal inside the one. Brian Ivey tried to punch it in a jet sweep, but the one defender between him and the end zone was able to hold him long enough for reinforcements to arrive and tackle him for a one yard loss, leaving second and goal at the two. Despite getting hit on him two yards deep, Pierce was able to drive through the tackle and push both him and the defender into the end zone for a two yard touchdown, tying the game up at 7-7 with 2:24 left until halftime.

A touchback on the kickoff gave us the ball at our 25 yard line for our next drive. Lining up in the shotgun, Powers tried to connect with McGuire over the middle, but the ball was nearly intercepted by the outside linebacker, leaving us with second and 10. Paris was able to pull in a ball from Powers for a 17 yard reception, getting a first down at the 42. A broken up pass intended for Conley found us again looking at second and long. Douglas was able to pull down a pass over the middle, but he was immediately tackled for only a 5 yard gain, bringing up third and 5. Powers dropped back on third down, but Boise State brought the house, sacking him for a 9 yard loss before he could release the ball, leaving us bringing out the punt team on fourth and 15. Boise State called their first timeout after the play, stopping the clock with 1:23 remaining until halftime. A 17 yard return on the 36 yard punt gave Boise State excellent field position, starting at their 43 yard line with 1:12 left.

Starting from their 43, Boise State went right into the air on first down, and wasted no time in burning us, as Miles hauled in the pass from Concepcion near our 40 yard line. A failed tackle by the safety at the 20 allowed Miles to trot the rest of the way into the end zone for a one play, 57 yard touchdown, giving Boise State a 14-7 lead with 1:03 left until halftime.

Another touchback on the kickoff, got us lined up from our 25 yard line. Coming out in shotgun on first down, the pass intended for McGuire got broken up as he ended up caught in traffic, leaving second and long. Throwing over the middle, Powers found Smith for a 13 yard gain and a first down at the 38 yard line. Rushing to the line, Powers quickly snapped the ball and dropped back, Conley getting open along the right sideline for a pickup of 16 yards and a first down at the Boise State 45 yard line. Staying in the no huddle, Powers tried to hit McGuire along the left sideline, but the cornerback was able to break it up, bringing up second down and stopping the clock with 42 seconds to go. The pass over the middle intended for Martin was broken up by the middle linebacker, leaving us facing third and 10. Douglas was able to haul in the third down pass from Powers, but he was unable to get the first down, brought down for a gain of 9 yards to leave us with fourth and one at the 36 yard line. We called our first timeout with 34 seconds left in the half, as we decided the course of action we wanted to take. Giving Burnette a shot on the 53 yard field goal, he came up just short of the goal post, the wind holding the ball up during the flight. The failed field goal gave the ball back to Boise State at their 36 yard line, 30 seconds left until halftime.

Taking over after the missed field goal, Boise State again wasted no time in capitalizing, as Concepcion found Ivey down the left sideline for a 33 yard gain, giving the Broncos a first down at our 31 yard line. The booth reviewed the play to see if Ivey got his foot down inbounds. The call on the field was confirmed, and Boise State lined up on first down with 25 seconds to go. The blitz on first down forced Concepcion to throw a bad pass, intended for Ivey, bringing up second down. Avoiding the blitz, Concepcion found Ivey at the 20 yard line. A failed tackle by the cornerback allowed Ivey to sprint towards the end zone, a tackled from behind by safety Carlton Herring bringing him down at the 6 yard line to save the touchdown. However, a facemask on the tackle by Herring aided the Broncos, the three yard penalty giving them first and goal from the three yard line with 14 seconds to go. Concepcion rolled out on the first down play, finding Carpenter at the goal line. Despite being hit in the back, pushing him back towards the two yard line, and three different defenders trying to tackle him, Carpenter somehow refused to go down, broke free and trotted into the end zone for the three yard touchdown, giving Boise State a 21-7 lead with 8 seconds left until halftime.

Yet another touchback on the kickoff gave us the ball at our 25 yard line, only 8 seconds to work with. Taking a shot deep down the right sideline, McGuire was able to get the jump on the cornerback and go up high to pull down the pass from Powers, complete for a 38 yard gain at the Boise State 37 yard line, a quick timeout stopping the clock with only two seconds left. Lining up for the Hail Mary, Mary showed us some serious love, as Roberson was able to slip past his defender, pull in the pass from Powers at the 20 yard line, and raced toward the end zone. Both the safety and the cornerback were able to catch up to him from behind at the three yard line, but in a brilliant display of athleticism, Roberson used a rolling tackle by the cornerback at the one yard line to roll over the top of his body, remaining off of the ground until he fell forward into the end zone just inside the goal line for a miraculous 37 yard touchdown pass, sending the fans into a frenzy, and closing the gap to 21-14 with no time left as we headed into halftime down by a touchdown.

Opening up the second half, a touchback on the kickoff gave Boise State the ball at their 25 yard line to start the third quarter. The Broncos started their drive through the air as Concepcion found Ivey for an 11 yard gain and a quick first down at the 36 yard line. An 11 yard completion to Burton moved the chains once more to the 47. Going to the opposite sideline, Burton pulled down a pass from Concepcion for a gain of three, followed by a four yard completion to Henderson to leave third and four. Martin was able to keep the drive moving with a four yard rush, giving Boise State a first down at our 43 yard line. A 32 yard rush by Pierce down the left sideline left the Broncos knocking on the door with a first down from our 11 yard line. Pierce was only able to gain one yard on the first down carry. We nearly were able to sack Concepcion on second down, but he was able to get the pass off. We nearly were able to intercept the pass, but our cornerback overshot the play, allowing Henderson to pull in the pass and walk into the end zone for a 10 yard touchdown, giving Boise State a 28-14 lead with 6:49 left in the third quarter.

A 31 yard kickoff return by McGuire set us up at our 28 yard line to start our drive. Roberson started us off with a four yard rush on first down, followed by a one yard rush by Paris to leave us facing third and 5. The third down pass by Powers intended for Douglas was deflected up in the air, our right tackle trying to catch it but failing to hold on, the incomplete pass bringing out our punt team on fourth and 5. A 16 yard return on the 45 yard punt gave Boise State the ball at their 36 yard line. Henderson picked up right where he left off against us, as he pulled down a pass from Concepcion for a 14 yard gain and a first down at midfield. A screen pass on first down was bit hook, line and sinker by our defense, allowing Pierce to gain 10 yards on the play and leave the Broncos with second and inches. Pierce tried to get the first down on the ground, but we were ready for him as we brought the house, Pierce ending up tackled for a three yard loss to set up third and three. A second heavy blitz forced Concepcion to throw away the ball, a victory for our defense as the punt team came out on fourth and three from our 44. A shanked punt to the right sideline sailed only 29 yards before going out of bounds, but we still were left starting our drive from our 14 yard line.

Starting our drive on the ground, Roberson received the handoff for a three yard gain, before a 19 yard completion over the middle to Martin got us a first down out at our 36 yard line. Staying in the air on first down, Powers wasn’t able to get the ball away, sacked by the blitz for a 6 yard loss, leaving us with second and 16. Powers was able to find Douglas near the right hash for a 10 yard completion, setting up third and 6. Another pass to Douglas only gained three yards, forcing us to punt on fourth and three. A 9 yard return on the 40 yard punt gave Boise State the ball at their 26 yard line.

A thrown away ball on first down by Concepcion left the Broncos starting in a hole on their drive, our defense unyielding thus far. Bringing the heat on second down, we were able to break through the line before Concepcion could get rid of the ball, sacking him for an 8 yard loss to leave Boise State facing third and 18. Concepcion was smacked as he threw the ball, but he was able to get the pass off intended for Carpenter. Our zone defense was ready, two defenders making a play on the pass that came down behind Carpenter. Unfortunately, neither one was able to intercept the pass. Regardless, it brought up fourth and 18, Boise State punting the ball back to us. A fair catch by McGuire on the 46 yard punt set us up at our 35 yard line.

Lining up after the punt, Roberson received the handoff on first down, but had nowhere to go as he was brought down for a one yard gain. Lining up under center, Powers dropped back and found McGuire for a 19 yard completion, giving us a first down at the Boise State 46 yard line. Running the power option to the right, it ended in disaster as Powers made the right read and pitched the ball to Roberson. While the defensive end broke down on Powers, the rest of the defense was ready and waiting for Roberson, tackling him for a four yard loss to leave second and 14. Lining up in the shotgun, Powers got a pass off to McGuire for a 9 yard gain, setting up third and 5. That would be the final play of the third quarter as the clock ran out, Boise State leading 28-14.

Opening up the fourth quarter, facing third and 5 at the Boise State 41 yard line, we came out in the shotgun, the pass from Powers intended for Douglas was underthrown and bounced off the turf, forcing us to punt once more on fourth and 5. The 41 yard punt bounced down inside the 10 yard line, but none of our players were able to it before it rolled into the end zone for a touchback.

Taking over at their 20 yard line after the punt, Boise State came out airing it out. Our blitz got to Concepcion, hitting him as he threw the ball, but he was still able to complete a pass to Carpenter for a 19 yard gain and a first down at the 39 yard line. Another blitz nearly brought down Concepcion, but he would again beat the blitz, finding Burton over the middle. A pair of missed tackles by our safeties left Burton with nothing but green in front of him, taking it to the house for a 61 yard touchdown, giving Boise State a 35-14 lead with 8:27 left in the game.

A touchback on the kickoff got us lined up at our 25 yard line, looking for a miracle to get us back in this game. McGuire nearly got us right back in it, pulling down a pass over the middle from Powers, strong arming away one defender, before being tripped up for a 25 yard gain at midfield. A first down pass down the left sideline to James gained 11 yards, moving the chains once more to the Boise State 39 yard line. Finally starting to find some semblance of an offense again, Powers connected with Douglas along the right sideline. Douglas turned up the field, shouldering off the tackle attempt by the outside linebacker, then spun his way out of a tackle attempt by the cornerback, sprinting up the field just out of the reach of the safety and diving into the end zone for a 39 yard touchdown, cutting Boise State’s lead down to 35-21 with 7:40 left in the game.

A 12 yard return on Burnette’s completely shanked 33 yard kickoff, gave Boise State great field position at their 43 yard line, and potentially ruined any hopes of a comeback. Concepcion kept the ball on first down with a read play, picking up 8 yards on the carry, followed by a 5 yard completion to Carpenter to get the first down at our 44 yard line. A 23 yard completion to Kyle Young got the Broncos a first down clear down at our 22 yard line, the Broncos rolling over our defense now. Another pass to Young picked up 9 yards, followed by Pierce receiving the handoff and punching it in for the 12 yard touchdown, giving Boise State a 42-21 lead with 6:16 left in the game.

A touchback on the kickoff got us back in action from our 25 yard line, as this point pretty much just trying to save face. Powers lined up in the shotgun, managing to somehow slip a pass between the hands of the outside linebacker and into the hands of McGuire, who caught the ball for a 14 yard gain and a new set of downs at our 39. Taking a shot deep down the right sideline, the pass intended for Martin was broken up by the cornerback, the safety coming in diving trying to intercept the ball, but he was unable to come up with it before it hit the ground, leaving second and 10. The second down pass to Douglas was way off the mark, sailing over his head and landing 10 yards down field, leaving us with third and long. Just to add insult to injury, Powers was unable to release the ball on third down, sacked by the defense for a 10 yard loss, leaving us punting on fourth and 20 at our 29 yard line. Boise State broke through and nearly blocked the punt, but we were able to just barely get it off, a fair catch called on the 39 yard punt to give Boise State the ball at their 31 yard line.

Lining up on first down, Pierce received the handoff but had no chance at positive yards, the blitz bringing him down for a two yard loss. Another handoff to Pierce ended even worse, as he was brought down in the backfield for a four yard loss, leaving the Broncos facing third and 16. Despite bringing plenty of pressure, Concepcion had enough time to find Carpenter down the left sideline, the pass complete for a huge 47 yard gain, giving Boise State a first down at our 27 yard line. Concepcion dropped back on first down, throwing the ball to Young, but a timely hit by the safety knocked the ball loose and incomplete, bringing up second down. A 14 yard completion to Henderson was all Boise State needed for a new set of downs, the ball lying at our 13 yard line. A quick pass over the middle found Ivey for an 11 yard gain, and the Broncos were knocking on the door with first and goal from our two yard line. Concepcion dropped back from under center, firing a pass to wide open Antonio Harrington, but he was unable to hold onto the ball, thankfully bringing up second and goal. Not to be denied, Concepcion found Burton in the left corner of the end zone for a two yard touchdown, and Boise State took a 49-21 lead with 3:24 left in the game.

A touchback on the kickoff gave us the ball at our 25 yard line. Raising the white flag, we brought in our second string offense on first down, Paris receiving the handoff and taking it up the middle for a 10 yard gain. Keeping the ball on the ground, we ended up going backwards as Paris was tackled for a one yard loss, leaving second and 11. Lining up in the shotgun on second down, redshirt freshman Jason Barnes threw his first pass of his career, hitting Conley over the middle for a 10 yard gain, but just shy of the marker, leaving us with third and inches. Paris took the ball on third down and fought his way to a 7 yard rush, picking up the first down at the Boise State 49 yard line. Continuing on the ground, Paris could only manage one yard on the first down carry, as Boise State brought the blitz on the play. Taking another shot down the field, Barnes connected with Smith for a gain of 7 yards, leaving third and three. Barnes was able to stay perfect in his limited action, finding Smith again on third down, this time for an 11 yard pickup, moving the chains to the Boise State 30 yard line. We called our first timeout with 33 seconds left in the game, hoping to find the end zone just once more before game’s end. A quick pass over the middle to Conley picked up 13 yards and a first down at the Boise State 18 yard line. Rushing to the line, Barnes tried to hit Douglas down the right sideline, but the ball was broken up at the goal line, leaving second and 10 with 22 seconds remaining. Smith pulled down the second down ball from Barnes, but he could only manage 8 yards on the play, leaving us facing third and two, our second timeout taken with 18 seconds to go. John Harrington kept us moving with a four yard reception, giving us first and goal at the 6 yard line. Rushing to the line, Barnes tried to hit Douglas in the back of the end zone, but it was broken up, leaving second and goal, 10 seconds on the clock. Trying to hit Douglas again, the play was again broken up, and we were left with third and goal, just three seconds on the clock. Conley would be the man of the hour, as Barnes found him over the middle for a 6 yard touchdown, cutting Boise State’s lead to 49-28 with one second left on the clock.

An 18 yard return on the squibbed kickoff left the clock with all zeroes, as Boise State walked out with a 49-28 win to spoil our Homecoming weekend.

With our second straight loss, we fall to 3-3, 2-1 in Mountain West action. With the win, Boise State improves to 6-0, 3-0 in Mountain West play. Up next, we return to the road to take on New Mexico. The Lobos enter the game 2-4, 0-2 in Mountain West action. New Mexico opened their year with a 28-21 loss to UTSA, before reeling off two wins in a row, 29-24 at UTEP and 31-10 at Pittsburgh. They've since gone into a slide, losing 27-21 to UNLV, 35-17 to New Mexico State and 34-31 at Wyoming heading into our game.

Final Score
#7 :Boise_State: 49, :Utah_State: 28

Stat(s) of the Game:
Utah State Offense - A good week for Powers, who ended 23-38 for 409 yards and three touchdowns. Barnes saw his first action of the season, going 7-10 for 58 yards and one touchdown. But it wouldn't be enough against the Boise State juggernaut. Rushing, practically dead. Roberson ended with 39 yards on 13 carries, Paris had 25 yards on seven carries. Receiving, McGuire led the day by far, ending with 167 yards and one touchdown on seven receptions. Next was Douglas with 66 yards and a touchdown on five receptions. Conley added a touchdown to his 45 yards on four catches. And Roberson had one touchdown with only one reception, his big 37 yard Hail Mary grab before halftime. In all, nine receivers caught a pass today, eight ended in double digit yards.

Utah State Defense – Turrible, turrible and more turrible. Gave up a season high 560 yards of offense, got burned for 443 yards passing and 5 touchdowns through the air, and gave up 117 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Only four possession did Boise State not score a touchdown, punting three times and turning the ball over on downs at our 5 yard line in the first quarter. The defense failed to force any turnovers today, the best they have to hang their hat on is three sacks, three sacks that ultimately mattered, nor affected, little.

Utah State Kicking – Burnette goes 0-fer for the day, ending 0-2 in field goals, bouncing a 24 yard attempt off the right upright, and coming up short on a 53 yard try. He did at least manage to go 4-4 in PATs.

Scoring Summary

Team
1st Quarter
2nd Quarter
3rd Quarter
4th Quarter
Final Score

:Boise_State:
0
21
7
21
49

:Utah_State:
7
7
0
14
28

Time
Team
Result
Play
Score

First Quarter

5:12
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
E. McGuire, 19 yard pass from A. Powers (R. Burnette kick)
:Utah_State: 7-0

Second Quarter

2:24
:Boise_State:
Touchdown
M. Pierce, 2 yard run (B. Richardson kick)
TIED 7-7

1:03
:Boise_State:
Touchdown
E. Miles, 57 yard pass from M. Concepcion (B. Richardson kick)
:Boise_State: 14-7

0:08
:Boise_State:
Touchdown
T. Carpenter, 3 yard pass from M. Concepcion (B. Richardson kick)
:Boise_State: 21-7

0:00
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
P. Roberson, 37 yard pass from A. Powers (R. Burnette kick)
:Boise_State: 21-14

Third Quarter

6:49
:Boise_State:
Touchdown
J. Henderson, 10 yard pass from M. Concepcion (B. Richardson kick)
:Boise_State: 28-14

Fourth Quarter

8:27
:Boise_State:
Touchdown
L. Burton, 61 yard pass from M. Concepcion (B. Richardson kick)
:Boise_State: 35-14

7:40
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
D. Douglas, 39 yard pass from A. Powers (R. Burnette kick)
:Boise_State: 35-21

6:16
:Boise_State:
Touchdown
M. Pierce, 12 yard run (B. Richardson kick)
:Boise_State: 42-21

3:24
:Boise_State:
Touchdown
L. Burton, 2 yard pass from M. Concepcion (B. Richardson kick)
:Boise_State: 49-21

0:01
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
R. Conley, 6 yard pass from J. Barnes (R. Burnette kick)
:Boise_State: 49-28

Game Stats

Boise State
Stat
Utah State

49
Score
28

21
First Downs
21

560
Total Offense
506

22 - 117 - 2
Rushes - Yards - TD
23 - 39 - 0

29 - 38 - 5
Comp - Att - TD
30 - 48 - 4

442
Passing Yards
467

2
Times Sacked
3

6 - 10 (60%)
3rd Down Conversion
8 - 16 (50%)

0 - 1 (0%)
4th Down Conversion
0 - 0 (0%)

0 - 0 (0%)
2-Point Conv
0 - 0 (0%)

6 - 5 - 0 (83%)
Red Zone - TD - FG
3 - 2 - 0 (66%)

0
Turnovers
0

0
Fumbles Lost
0

0
Intercepted
0

41
Punt Return Yards
9

29
Kick Return Yards
73

630
Total Yards
588

3 – 43.0
Punts - Average
6 - 41.0

0 - 0
Penalties
1 - 3

16:06
Time of Possession
19:54

Utah State Coach Goals

Goal
XP Reward
Completed

Score a Touchdown
25
x4

Pass for 250 Yards
25
x1

Opponent Under 150 Rush Yards
50
x1

Pass Completion Over 50%
30
x1

Score 21 or More Points
50
x1

350+ Offensive Yards
50
x1

10+ First Downs
50
x1

4+ 3rd Down Conversions
25
x1

Utah State Contract Goals Update

Goal
Expectations
Progress

Target Wins Per Season
6
3

Job Security Status

100%

SmoothPancakes

09-26-2013, 10:25 PM

Taking a look around the nation, in the Top 25, in the upset of the week, Texas stuns #1 Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry 56-24. #2 Ohio State beats Rutgers 35-3 to reclaim their throne at #1. Arkansas shocked #3 South Carolina 27-24. LSU stunned #4 Florida 31-28. #6 Kansas State survived Baylor 13-9. #7 Boise State ripped Utah State 49-28. #8 Alabama beat Kentucky 31-10. In the game of the week, #23 Washington knocked off #10 Oregon 24-14.

Arizona knocked off #12 USC 26-20. #13 TCU topped Kansas 34-17. #14 Texas A&M edged out #22 Ole Miss 20-13. #15 Wisconsin beat #24 Northwestern 31-7. #16 Virginia Tech downed Pittsburgh 17-6. Missouri upsets #17 Georgia 54-41 in four overtimes. #18 Tennessee topped South Alabama 21-6. #19 Oregon State beat Washington State 41-20. And #25 Arizona State beat Colorado 31-13.

For our readers, JeffHCross, #2 Ohio State improves to 5-0 (2-0 Big Ten) with 35-3 win over Rutgers. Morsdraconis, West Virginia remains 4-2 (1-2 Big 12) with a bye week. Souljahbill, Southern Miss remains 1-4 (0-1 C-USA) with a bye week. Jaymo, #25 Arizona State improves to 3-3 (2-1 Pac-12), beating Colorado 31-13. LeeSO, Auburn improves to 3-3 (2-1 SEC), beating FCS East 52-7. SCClassof93, #3 South Carolina drops to 4-1 (3-1 SEC) after getting knocked off by Arkansas 27-24. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State improves to 5-1 (2-0 Sun Belt) with a 35-25 win over Idaho. Florida International improves to 5-1 (2-0 C-USA) with a 17-10 win over UAB. Navy falls to 1-4 (1-3 American) with a 35-23 loss to Temple. Tulsa remains 2-3 (1-1 American) with a bye week.

In Mountain West action, #7 Boise State beat Utah State 49-28, Wyoming topped New Mexico 34-31, San Jose State defeated Colorado State 38-17, San Diego State beat Air Force 33-6 and Hawaii knocked off UNLV 42-14.

With those results, looking at the current standings, in the Mountain Division, Boise State (3-0) is top dog, followed by Utah State (2-1) and Wyoming (1-1). After that it becomes muddled with Air Force (1-4), Colorado State (0-1) and New Mexico (0-2). In the West Division, San Diego State (2-0) sits on top, followed closely by Hawaii (3-1), San Jose State (2-1) and UNLV (1-1). After that, sits Nevada (1-2) and Fresno State (0-2).

Looking at undefeated teams left, #1 Oklahoma, #3 South Carolina, #4 Florida, #12 USC and North Texas all lost this week, dropping our number of undefeated teams to 7. #2 Ohio State (5-0), #5 Florida State (5-0), #6 Kansas State (6-0), #7 Boise State (6-0), #11 Miami (5-0), #15 Wisconsin (5-0) and Western Kentucky (5-0) all remain with an unblemished record this season.

Turning to a more sadistic watch, who is still winless. There remains 3 teams still looking for their first win: Central Michigan (0-6), Idaho (0-5) and Kentucky (0-5).

Teams getting their first win this week were: UL Monroe (34-31 in overtime over 2-4 Texas State).

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Ohio State (32 first place votes) climbs one to #1, Florida State (27 votes) jumps three to #2, Kansas State (1 vote) climbs three to #3, Boise State (1 vote) jumps three to #4 and Miami leaps six to #5. Alabama climbs two to #6, Notre Dame jumps two to #7, Wisconsin vaults seven to #8, Florida drops five to #9 and Oklahoma falls nine to #10. TCU climbs two to #11, Texas A&M jumps two to #12, Virginia Tech moves up three to #13, South Carolina plummets eleven to #14 and Oregon falls five to #15. Tennessee jumps two to #16, Oregon State climbs two to #17, USC drops six to #18, Washington climbs four to #19 and Oklahoma State remains #20. Georgia Tech remains #21, LSU enters the poll at #22, Arizona enters the poll at #23, Arizona State climbs one to #24 and Texas (204 points) enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Georgia (from #17), Ole Miss (from #22) and Northwestern (from #24). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Mississippi State (149 points) is #26, followed by Missouri (37), Western Kentucky (23), Ole Miss (19) and Nebraska (5) to round out the Top 30.

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Media Poll, Kansas State (44 first place votes) leaps four to take over #1, Florida State (21 votes) jumps four to #2, Ohio State remains #3, Miami climbs five to #4 and Boise State jumps two to #5. Alabama climbs two to #6, Notre Dame jumps three to #7, Wisconsin vaults seven to #8, Texas A&M climbs two to #9 and TCU jumps two to #10. Florida falls seven to #11, Oklahoma drops eleven to #12, South Carolina plummets eleven to #13, Virginia Tech climbs two to #14 and Tennessee jumps three to #15. Oklahoma State climbs one to #16, Washington jumps six to #17, LSU enters the poll at #18, Georgia Tech climbs one to #19 and Oregon falls seven to #20. USC drops seven to #21, Arizona climbs two to #22, Oregon State drops one to #23, Texas enters the poll at #24 and Mississippi State (222 points) enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Georgia (from #19), Ole Miss (from #21) and Utah (from #25). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Arizona State (167 points) is #26, followed by Western Kentucky (112), Ole Miss (110), Nebraska (62) and Missouri (62) to round out the Top 30.

A look at the Heisman race, Vanderbilt HB Jason Massey is #1 (LW: #1), Boise State QB Mark Concepcion is #2 (LW: NR), Florida State QB Chris Larson is #3 (LW: NR), TCU QB Sean Moore is #4 (LW: NR) and Ohio State HB Ron Branch is #5 (LW: #4). Dropping off the Heisman Watch list this week was: Miami QB David Horne (LW: #2), Florida QB Brandon Dahl (LW: #3) and Georgia Tech QB Phil Terrell (LW: #5).

SmoothPancakes

09-26-2013, 10:27 PM

Yeah, that went pretty much as expected. Maybe a little better than expected because going in I was planning on something more around 63-10. But yeah, Boise State is one hard bitch. And with that, any hope I had of winning the Mountain Division this year is gone, because I don't see anyone in the Mountain West capable of beating Boise State.

SCClassof93

09-27-2013, 08:09 AM

Arkansas? Really? How many times did you reset and re-sim that?:D:D:D and :fp:

SmoothPancakes

09-27-2013, 08:39 AM

Arkansas? Really? How many times did you reset and re-sim that?:D:D:D and :fp:

None. :)

They actually went final while I was still in the third quarter of my game with Boise. Right there in prime position and they crap the bed against the Hogs. Better talk to bdoughty and get some of the official Gaming Tailgate bumper dumpers ordered. Gonna need a whole lot of them in South Carolina. ;)

SCClassof93

09-27-2013, 08:48 AM

None. :)

They actually went final while I was still in the third quarter of my game with Boise. Right there in prime position and they crap the bed against the Hogs. Better talk to bdoughty and get some of the official Gaming Tailgate bumper dumpers ordered. Gonna need a whole lot of them in South Carolina. ;)

One can never have enough places to dump :nod:

At this point I would like to make a "public service announcement", not an official one however:smh:. Back in the 90s I lived in Buckhead, a suburb of Atlanta........tons of malls/shops/bars etc. Well, if you find yourself there the men's room at Neiman Marcus is enormous (a family of Kurds could live there), very clean, (I mean spotless), and I never saw the TP on backwards. Always nice to defile :nod:

Carry on :P

SmoothPancakes

09-27-2013, 08:56 AM

One can never have enough places to dump :nod:

At this point I would like to make a "public service announcement", not an official one however:smh:. Back in the 90s I lived in Buckhead, a suburb of Atlanta........tons of malls/shops/bars etc. Well, if you find yourself there the men's room at Neiman Marcus is enormous (a family of Kurds could live there), very clean, (I mean spotless), and I never saw the TP on backwards. Always nice to defile :nod:

Carry on :P

Very nice. :D

Hopefully I'll have New Mexico played sometime Sunday or Monday. Work has me swamped today and Saturday, with real college football taking up the rest of my free time on Saturday.

souljahbill

09-27-2013, 09:55 AM

SmoothPancakes

09-27-2013, 03:58 PM

Is BSU really USU's homecoming game? If so, that's dumb!

Not in real life. They had homecoming clear back in their second game of the season, September 14th against Weber State. For me in the game, I shoot for somewhere between weeks 5 and 8 to have my "homecoming" in the game. And unfortunately this season, the way the schedule played out, Boise State was my one and only opponent at home during that stretch.

SmoothPancakes

10-01-2013, 06:28 AM

Game Seven

:Utah_State: :@: :New_Mexico:

Game Notes

--- Stuck in the mud with a two game losing streak, it was back onto the road for our fifth time this season, with a trip to New Mexico. The Lobos were one of the weaker teams in the conference, giving us a shot at pulling something off. They entered ranking as among the worst teams in the nation In total offense, passing offense, total defense and passing defense. The only things they did good was rush the ball (155.2 yards/game to rank #58 nationally) and defend the run (giving up 139.5 yards/game to rank #55 nationally). They also held onto the ball, with a neutral turnover differential of zero, while we came in at negative two.

With a yet another touch stretch coming up, three of our final five opponents all sitting at 3-3, Hawaii at 3-4 and only Colorado State the truly bad, at 1-4, we were going to be in for a grind to the end. Sitting at 3-3 ourselves, going to a bowl game looked like a far and distant hope at this point in the season. For what seems like the first time all season, we finally won the opening coin toss, electing to kickoff first.

A touchback on the kickoff gave New Mexico the ball at their 25 yard line to start the game. Our first defensive play of the game was moderately successful, holding the Lobos to only a three yard completion, but a roughing the passer penalty on defensive end Pat Ashley bit us squarely in the ass, giving New Mexico an easy first down at the 43 yard line. Mike Robison kept the ball on first down, rushing for a gain of 9 yards, followed by a 7 yard completion to Mike Joyce, picking up the first down at our 40 yard line. We finally started to make a stand on defense, tackling James Mason for no gain on the first down carry, before bringing down Robison on a read play for a gain of only one yard, leaving third and 9. Caleb McBride broke through the offensive line on third down, sacking Robison for a 7 yard loss to bring out the New Mexico punt team on fourth and 16. The ball touched down at the one yard line and bounced into the end zone for a touchback, giving us the ball at our 20 yard line.

Lining up after the touchback, Preston Roberson got our drive started with an 8 yard rush around the right tackle, followed by a three yard carry to get the first down at the 31. Running a play action pass on first down, Eric McGuire was able to haul in the pass from Adam Powers, complete for gain of 16 yards and another set of downs at the 47 yard line. Continuing through the air on first down, Dre Martin hauled in a pass from Powers for another 16 yard gain and another first down at the Lobos 36. Returning to our ground game, Roberson found no love on the play, quickly brought down for no gain on the play. Running a power option on second down, Powers was able to pitch the ball to Roberson, but he was only able to pick up four yards to set up third and 6. Dropping back in the shotgun on third down, a 16 yard completion to Martin kept our drive alive with a first down at the 16 yard line. Roberson was able to fight his way to a four yard gain on the first down carry, followed by a second gain of four to leave us with second and two from the 8 yard line. It was then that New Mexico returned the favor with a defensive penalty, a facemask penalty called on defensive end Chris Myers during the tackle, half the distance to the goal setting us up with first and goal at the four yard line. Going toe to toe with the New Mexico defense on first down, Roberson received the handoff from Powers, bounced outside the right tackle and punched it in for the four yard touchdown, giving us a 7-0 lead with 3:24 left in the first quarter.

A touchback on the kickoff left New Mexico starting at their 25. Mason received the handoff on first down, but our defense gave him nowhere to go, bringing him down for a gain of only one yard on the play. Bringing the house on second down, it was a short play as what was originally intended to be a screen pass nearly turned into war crimes, Robison immediately throwing the ball away to save his hide, leaving third and 9. The drive would come to an end on the next play, as pressure forced Robison to throw the pass early. The ball was wildly off-target, thrown over the middle with no one but safety SamVinson in site, who promptly intercepted the pass and returned it 8 yards to the New Mexico 27 yard line.

Taking over after the interception, Roberson picked up right where he left off with a three yard gain on the ground, followed by a 5 yard rush to leave us with third and two. Putting our faith into the hands of Roberson, we handed it off for a third straight play. Roberson didn’t let us down, driving his way to a 7 yard gain and a first down at the Lobos 12 yard line. Calling a play action pass on first down, Powers found tight end Jack Long for a 9 yard reception, leaving us with second and one at the three yard line. Despite being met at the line of scrimmage, Roberson was able to somehow fall forward for a one yard gain, enough to get the first down and set up first and goal at the two. Brian Paris came in on first down and closed it out on his first attempt, plowing in for a two yard touchdown to increase our lead to 14-0 with 59 seconds left in the first quarter.

Another touchback on the kickoff, and New Mexico lined up once more from their 25 yard line. Going to the air on first down, Robison found Josh Smith along the right sideline for a four yard gain, followed by a 6 yard rush on the option by Mason, leaving third and one. Mason tried to repeat his success, but never had the chance, quickly brought down for a two yard loss to leave fourth and three. That would be the last play of the first quarter, our lead still 14-0.

Opening up the second quarter, New Mexico trotted out their punt team, facing fourth and three from their own 32. An 18 yard return by McGuire on the 38 yard punt got our next drive started in excellent field position at our 47 yard line.

Roberson started the drive with a four yard rush, before going off-tackle for another gain of four, leaving us looking at third and two. Keeping the ball in Roberson’s hands on third down, he never had a chance on the play, two linebackers blitzing through nearly untouched to tackle Roberson for no gain and force us to punt on fourth and two. A 12 yard return on a short 33 yard punt gave New Mexico the ball at their 24 yard line.

Mason finally found his running lane on first down, burning us for a 12 yard gain and a first down at the 36. Despite making contact in the backfield, Robison was able to avoid a sack on first down, scrambling for a 6 yard gain before being brought down from behind. A 7 yard rush by Mason gave the Lobos all the momentum they didn’t need, and a first down at midfield. Mason continued to torch our defense this drive, rushing for an 11 yard gain and another new set of downs at our 39 yard line. We caught a bit of a break on first down, as Joyce came back in and took the handoff, our defense quickly bringing him down for a gain of only two yards. The Lobos would end up going backwards, as Ashley made up for his earlier roughing the passer penalty by sacking Robison for a huge 12 yard loss on a failed screen pass, to leave New Mexico facing third and 20. Another screen pass on third down was completed, but equally unsuccessful as our defense quickly crashed down on Mason, tackling him for a gain of only one yard to force the return of the Lobos punt team on fourth and 19. The Lobos weren’t about to go down without swinging, as a surprise snap to Antonio Sykes on a fake punt run was immediately blown up by our punt return team, tackling Sykes for a loss of one yard and forcing the turnover on downs at our 49 yard line.

Taking over at our 49 yard line, we wasted little time in taking it to the Lobos. Powers came out in the shotgun and heaved a deep pass down the right sideline to Martin. Martin was briefly able to get his hands on the ball around the 10 yard line, but a quick hit by the cornerback unfortunately jarred the ball loose and incomplete, leaving us with second and long. Powers dropped back on second down, connecting with Paris for a 6 yard gain to leave third and four. Unfortunately, the drive would come to an end one play later as the third down pass intended for David Douglas was way overthrown and incomplete, forcing us to punt on fourth and four. A 15 yard return on the 32 yard punt got New Mexico back in action at their 27 yard line.

Mason tried to get the drive started with a rush up the middle, but we were more than ready for him, bringing the entire house (and the kitchen sink), resulting in a tackle for a loss of two yards on the play. A rushed, wounded duck pass by Robison was nearly intercepted by cornerback Buck Castillo, leaving the Lobos facing third and 12. A dropped pass over the middle by Nick Harris saved our hides and what would have been a sure first down, instead forcing New Mexico to punt once more on fourth and 12. A negative 10 yard return by McGuire on the 41 yard punt would only push us back even further, lining us up at our 23 yard line.

Starting the drive at our 23, we handed the ball off to Roberson on first down, managing a three yard gain on the play, to leave second and 7. Going into the air on second down, the pass intended for McGuire over the middle was nearly intercepted, and we were left with third down. Douglas would keep us moving, hauling in a pass from Powers for a 15 yard gain and a first down at the 41. Continuing through the air, Martin pulled down a high pass from Powers to pick up 16 yards and a new set of downs at the New Mexico 42 yard line. Keeping with the air attack, the first down pass intended for Michael Smith was broken up, leaving second down. That was when we received some bad news, learning that Martin was suffering from back spasms, forcing us to take him out of the game until at least after halftime. With Doulas moving into Martin’s slot, that gave Ryan Conley some field time, which he immediately made the most of, pulling in a pass from Powers for an 11 yard gain and a new first down at the 32. A pass over the middle to Paris gained 13 yards and a new set of downs at the 19 yard line, as our offense finally started to fall into a rhythm. A dangerous pass over the middle to McGuire ended up paying off, as he was able to just snag the pass from Powers out of the air at the goal line before the safety could intercept it, falling into the end zone for a 19 yard touchdown instead, giving us a 21-0 lead with 1:15 left until halftime.

Yet another touchback on yet another kickoff, left New Mexico starting from their 25 yard line yet once again. Our blitz on first down never gave the Lobos a chance, forcing Robison to throw the ball away to avoid a sack, leaving second and 10. A quick pass over the middle to Smith was barely completed, gaining 9 yards on the play to leave New Mexico facing third and one, the Lobos apparently in no hurry, huddling up with 57 seconds left, not even bothering to call one of their three remaining timeouts. It wouldn’t matter much, as a pitch left, left our entire defense chasing Mason down the left sideline, a drag down from behind tackle the only thing saving it from being a touchdown run, instead ending up a gain of 25 yards and a first down at our 40 yard line, New Mexico calling their first timeout with 41 seconds remaining. Mason kept burning us, this time through the air with a 12 yard reception from Robison on a screen pass, moving the chains to our 28 yard line, where the Lobos called their second timeout with 33 seconds to go. Our defense would get the last laugh, sacking Robison on back to back to plays, for losses for four yard and three yards, as our five man blitz, combined with a secondary in zone defense, left Robison nowhere near enough time to find an open receiver. The Lobos were forced to call their second timeout with 5 seconds left in the half, lining up for a 52 yard field goal on third and 17 from our 35 yard line. The kick never had a chance, not only coming up well short of the goalpost, but also sailed wide, wide to the right, giving us the ball at our 35 yard line with one second left on the clock.

Powers came out under center and simply took to a knee on first down, taking us into halftime with a 21-0 lead over New Mexico.

Opening up the second half, a 28 yard kickoff return by Roberson gave us the ball at our 23 yard line to start the third quarter. Starting the drive on the ground, Roberson took the handoff up the middle for a four yard gain, followed by a 9 yard rush by Paris to get us a first down at the 37. A wingback dive by Paris netted us 9 yards on first down, setting up second and inches. Roberson received the ball on second down, punching it outside the right tackle and turning up field, finding a pair of blocks to leave him with nothing but green in front of him. Despite his efforts, he was caught up to from behind by the safety and agonizingly dragged down from behind at the one yard line, the play going officially for a 53 yard rush. Lining up on first and goal at the one yard line, Paris would get all the glory with none of the work, punching it for a one yard touchdown to increase our lead to 28-0 with 7:12 left in the third quarter.

In a shocker, New Mexico brought the kickoff out of the end zone for the first time today, a 28 yard kickoff return getting their drive started from their 25 yard line, proving that the more things change, the more they stay the same. Continuing their reliance on screen passes, Robison was able to connect with Mason after getting most of our defense to bite, a diving tackle by the cornerback bringing him down to limit the damage to only a 12 yard gain and a first down at the 37 yard line. Despite the early success, things indeed were staying the same as our defense continued to punish the hell out of Robison, sacking him for the fifth time today, this time for a 7 yard loss to leave second and 17. It was going to take more than that to shake Robison however, who came right back and hit Smith over the middle on second down for a 14 yard gain, leaving third and two from the 44. Anticipating a run, we brought the blitz on third down. We anticipated right, as the Lobos ran an option to the left. Unfortunately, the Lobos also got damn good seal blocking, leaving only our cornerback and safety able to make a play on the option, but not before Robison was able to pick up 6 yards and the first down at midfield. The results were a little different on first down, as the defense again was able to get to Robison, sacking him for a sixth time today for a two yard loss to leave second and 12. Robison dropped back on second down and heaved a deep pass down the left sideline to Smith. Thankfully for us, as Smith had beaten the cornerback down the field, he was unable to hold onto the pass, dropping it incomplete to leave third and 12. Another screen pass, this time to Joyce, was completed, but he was forced out of bounds for only a 7 yard gain, leaving the punt team trotting out on fourth and 5 from our 44 yard line. Despite being a shanked punt that quickly sailed out of bounds, it still worked out for the Lobos, sailing 25 yards before going out of bounds at our 18 yard line.

Taking over after the punt, Roberson received the handoff for a four yard gain, followed by an 8 yard rush to get the first down at the 30 yard line. Running off the left tackle, Paris fought his way to a 5 yard gain, before Roberson was able to get outside and pick up 7 yards and a first down at the 42 yard line. Running a play action pass on first down, the halfback pass by Matt Leierer, intended for Martin, unfortunately was off the mark and nearly intercepted, leaving us with second down. Powers was also unable to throw on target on second down, his pass intended for Douglas nearly intercepted to leave third and long. Martin would keep us in action, hauling in a pass from Powers in traffic, then fighting his way over top of the body of his tackler, stretching for a couple extra yards, an 18 yard gain in total and a first down at the New Mexico 40 yard line. Roberson took the handoff on first down, picking up three yards on the carry. Turning back to the air on second and 7, Leierer hauled in a pass from Powers and clawed his way to a 6 yard gain, leaving us with third and one. Lining up on third down, Roberson was just able to get the job done on the ground, rushing for a two yard gain and a new set of downs at the 29. Paris kept us moving on the ground with a 13 yard rush, picking up an instant first down at the 16 yard line. With the defense cheating towards the run, Tim Fields was able to slip into the middle of the secondary from the tight end position, grabbing the pass from Powers and spinning his way over the top of a pair of defenders before finally coming down with a 16 yard completion, giving us first and goal at the one yard line. Winning a game of rock, paper, scissors in the huddle, Roberson won the right to take the ball on first down, punching it in for the one yard touchdown to open our lead to a commanding 35-0 with 53 seconds left in the third quarter.

A 23 yard kickoff return left New Mexico lining up at their 21 yard line to start their next drive. A rushed first down pass by Robison, trying to avoid being sacked for a seventh time, was well off the mark and incomplete, starting the drive off poorly with second and 10. Another rushed pass, as seven rushers were instantly breathing down his neck, was again off the mark and nearly intercepted, bringing up third and 10. Able to get off a clean pass on third down, it mattered little as the pass from Robison intended for David Turner was dropped near the first down line, leaving New Mexico punting away on fourth down. A 9 yard return by McGuire on the 41 yard punt gave us the ball at our 47 yard line, 29 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

Lining up at our 47, Roberson took the handoff on first down, taking advantage of a disorganized and unready New Mexico defense to pick up four yards on the play. That would be the final play of the third quarter as the clock ran out without another snap, our lead through three sitting at 35-0.

Opening up the fourth quarter, Roberson picked up right where he left off, rushing for an 8 yard gain around the right guard, picking up the first down at the New Mexico 41 yard line. Roberson kept pounding it away on first down, picking up 5 yards on the run, followed by a four yard rush by Paris to leave us facing third and one. Taking our chances on the ground, Paris received the third down handoff, quickly bouncing outside to avoid the blitz and gain four yards, moving the chains to the Lobos 29 yard line. Continuing to pound it away on the ground, Paris was a man determined to not be denied, fighting his way to an 8 yard gain. Brian James came in on second down, and made a statement with his first carry of the day, pushing and clawing through the pile of bodies for a 6 yard carry and a first down at the 15 yard line. Returning to the backfield on first down, Paris took the ball up the middle for a four yard rush, before receiving the ball on a wingback dive that ended in disaster, as he was instantly brought down for one yard loss to leave us facing third and 7. James would save the drive with a 9 yard reception from out of the backfield, setting up first and goal at the three yard line. Paris took the ball on first down, picking up only one yard to leave second and goal. James was able to complete the job on second down, getting spun around at the one yard line and falling backwards into the end zone for the two yard touchdown, giving us a 42-0 lead with 4:22 left in the game.

Returning to the norm, a touchback on the kickoff gave New Mexico the ball at their 25 yard line. It ended up being more of the same, as New Mexico’s offensive line proved it couldn’t even defend a three man rush. Robison ended up seeing the pocket quickly collapse with just our three down linemen rushing on the play. As he tried to step up past the pressure, defensive end Ashley was able to make contact on the play. Robison tried to cut outside of the pocket and scramble for it, but he was unable to shake Ashley during the move, ending up tripped for his seventh sack of the game, this one going for a loss of four yards to leave second and 14. That number would end up at number eight on the next play, as 5 down linemen were enough to force him to try and scramble again, tripped up and sacked for a one yard loss to leave third and 15. Finally bucking the trend of sacks, Robison was able to get the ball off on a third down screen pass, connecting with Mason on the play. With 8 defenders dropped back in pass zone coverage, it ended up not being enough by far, as a gang tackle brought Mason down for only a 5 yard gain, bringing out the New Mexico punt team on fourth and 10. A fair catch by McGuire on the 38 yard punt gave us the ball at our 36 yard line, just 3:00 left in the game.

Looking to run out the final minutes of the game, Paris received the first down handoff, finding 7 yards on the carry, followed by a second 7 yard rush to get the first down at midfield, the clock nearing two minutes. Paris took the ball for a third straight carry, but the defense was more than ready as the blitz brought him down for only a one yard gain on the play. James took over on second down, fighting his way to a four yard gain, leaving us with third and 5. Snapping the ball with 28 seconds left on the clock, Paris was able to gain 6 yards up the middle for the first down at the New Mexico 40 yard line. With 22 seconds remaining, we let the clock run out without taking another snap, sealing our 42-0 win over New Mexico. This ended up being a historic win for our squad, as we completed the first Utah State shutout in 17 years, the last shutout by a Utah State team coming clear back on October 25, 2003, when we shutout Arkansas State 49-0.

With the win, we improve to 4-3, 3-1 in Mountain West action. With the loss, New Mexico drops to 2-5, 0-3 in Mountain West play. Up next, it's our final non-conference game of the season, as we host in-state rival BYU to play for the Old Wagon Wheel. We would also normally be playing for the Beehive Boot, but since Utah has already defeated both us and BYU, they are the winners of the Beehive Boot for the 2020 season. The Cougars enter the game at 3-3 on the year as a FBS Independent. BYU opened their year with a 31-28 overtime win at Virginia, before dropping two straight, losing 66-13 at #23 Texas and 24-14 to Utah. They recovered with a 44-14 win over MTSU and a 31-21 win at Houston, before getting knocked off 38-17 by Bowling Green heading into our game.

Final Score
:Utah_State: 42, :New_Mexico: 0

Stat(s) of the Game:
Utah State Offense - A somewhat quiet day by Powers, ending 14-19 for 186 yards and one touchdown. Leierer, with a halfback pass, ended 0-1. The big noise today, the rushing game. Roberson ended with 150 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries. Paris was next with 86 yards and two touchdowns on 17 rushes. And James ended with 12 yards and one touchdown on three carries. Turning to receiving, Martin led all receivers with 66 yards on four receptions. Next up with McGuire with 35 yards and one touchdown on two catches. In all, despite rushing being king, nine receivers caught a pass today, six of them ending up in double digit yards for the game.

Utah State Defense – What a game! The defense pitches the first shutout for Utah State since 2003, they hold the New Mexico offense to an unheard of 115 yards of total offense, an intercepted pass that ended up in an offensive touchdown, and they sack the quarterback 8(!) times during the game. Multiple defenders got in on the sack party today, with defensive end Caleb McBride, defensive end Pat Ashley and middle linebacker Thomas Harris all ending up with 2.0 sacks each. Cornerback Mike Moses and defensive tackle Ernest Sims also both added 1.0 sacks each. Pure domination all game long, the kind that I have been waiting all season to see from this defense.

Utah State Kicking – Burnette went perfect today in field goals, successfully kicking 0-0. He also was perfect in PATs, going 6-6.

Scoring Summary

Team
1st Quarter
2nd Quarter
3rd Quarter
4th Quarter
Final Score

:Utah_State:
14
7
14
7
42

:New_Mexico:
0
0
0
0
0

Time
Team
Result
Play
Score

First Quarter

3:24
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
P. Roberson, 4 yard run (R. Burnette kick)
:Utah_State: 7-0

0:59
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
B. Paris, 2 yard run (R. Burnette kick)
:Utah_State: 14-0

Second Quarter

1:15
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
E. McGuire, 19 yard pass from A. Powers (R. Burnette kick)
:Utah_State: 21-0

Third Quarter

7:12
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
B. Paris, 1 yard run (R. Burnette kick)
:Utah_State: 28-0

0:53
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
P. Roberson, 1 yard run (R. Burnette kick)
:Utah_State: 35-0

Fourth Quarter

4:22
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
B. James, 2 yard run (R. Burnette kick)
:Utah_State: 42-0

Game Stats

Utah State
Stat
New Mexico

42
Score
0

25
First Downs
9

432
Total Offense
115

46 - 246 - 5
Rushes - Yards - TD
23 - 42 - 0

14 - 20 - 1
Comp - Att - TD
10 - 19 - 0

186
Passing Yards
73

0
Times Sacked
8

8 - 10 (80%)
3rd Down Conversion
2 - 10 (20%)

0 - 0 (0%)
4th Down Conversion
0 - 1 (0%)

0 - 0 (0%)
2-Point Conv
0 - 0 (0%)

6 - 6 - 0 (100%)
Red Zone - TD - FG
0 - 0 - 0 (0%)

0
Turnovers
1

0
Fumbles Lost
0

0
Intercepted
1

17
Punt Return Yards
26

28
Kick Return Yards
50

477
Total Yards
191

2 – 33.5
Punts - Average
6 - 38.5

1 - 15
Penalties
1 - 4

24:16
Time of Possession
11:44

Utah State Coach Goals

Goal
XP Reward
Completed

Win a Game
100
x1

Score a Touchdown
25
x6

Force a Turnover
25
x1

Rush for 100 Yards
25
x1

3+ Sacks
50
x1

Opponent Under 10 Points
75
x1

Shutout Opponent
100
x1

Opponent Under 150 Rush Yards
50
x1

Opponent Under 300 Pass Yards
50
x1

Pass Completion over 50%
30
x1

100% Red Zone Efficiency
50
x1

Score 21 or More Points
50
x1

350+ Offensive Yards
50
x1

10+ First Downs
50
x1

4+ 3rd Down Conversions
25
x1

Utah State Contract Goals Update

Goal
Expectations
Progress

Target Wins Per Season
6
4

Job Security Status

100%

SmoothPancakes

10-01-2013, 06:29 AM

Taking a look around the nation, in the Top 25, #1 Ohio State stays perfect with a 49-16 thrashing of Maryland. #2 Florida State barely survives, needing overtime to edge out Clemson 31-28. #4 Boise State thumps Nevada 31-3. In the upset of the week, North Carolina stuns #5 Miami 30-7. #6 Alabama steamrolls Arkansas 35-3. In the game of the week, #18 USC knocks off #7 Notre Dame 34-21. Illinois shocks #8 Wisconsin 28-21. #9 Florida beats Missouri 31-13.

The upsets continue as Kansas scores 14 points in the fourth quarter to stun #10 Oklahoma 24-23. #11 TCU edges out #20 Oklahoma State 23-21. Auburn shocks #12 Texas A&M 30-7. #13 Virginia Tech escapes with a 43-37 triple overtime win over Wake Forest. Washington State stuns #15 Oregon 48-21. #16 Tennessee knocked off #14 South Carolina 42-35. #17 Oregon State smokes Cal 37-10. #19 Washington blanks #24 Arizona State 34-0. #21 Georgia Tech rolls to a 35-14 win over Louisville. #22 LSU tops Ole Miss 41-24. Utah knocks off #23 Arizona 31-17. #25 Texas beats Toledo 37-13.

For our readers, JeffHCross, #1 Ohio State improves to 6-0 (3-0 Big Ten) with 49-16 win over Maryland. Morsdraconis, West Virginia remains 5-2 (2-2 Big 12) with a 35-17 win over Texas Tech. Souljahbill, Southern Miss improves to 2-4 (1-1 C-USA) with a 28-16 win over Massachusetts. Jaymo, #24 Arizona State drops to 3-4 (2-2 Pac-12), getting shutout by #19 Washington 34-0. LeeSO, Auburn improves to 4-3 (3-1 SEC), knocking off #12 Texas A&M 30-7. SCClassof93, #14 South Carolina drops to 4-2 (3-3 SEC) after losing their second in a row to #16 Tennessee, 42-35. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State remains 5-1 (2-0 Sun Belt) with a bye week. Florida International improves to 6-1 (3-0 C-USA) with a 31-15 win over Rice. Navy improves to 2-4 (2-3 American) with a 24-21 win over Central Florida. Tulsa improves to 3-3 (2-1 American) with a 31-23 win over Temple.

In Mountain West action, #4 Boise State beat Nevada 31-3, Utah State shutout New Mexico 42-0, Wyoming topped Colorado State 31-21 and Fresno State beat UNLV 34-24.

With those results, looking at the current standings, in the Mountain Division, Boise State (4-0) is top dog, followed by Utah State (3-1) and Wyoming (2-1). After that sits Air Force (1-4), Colorado State (0-2) and New Mexico (0-3), with Air Force and New Mexico both eliminated from the division race. In the West Division, San Diego State (2-0) sits on top, followed closely by Hawaii (3-1) and San Jose State (2-1). After that, sits Fresno State (1-2), UNLV (1-2) and Nevada (1-3).

Looking at undefeated teams left, #5 Miami and #8 Wisconsin both lost this week, dropping our number of undefeated teams to 5. #1 Ohio State (6-0), #2 Florida State (6-0), #3 Kansas State (6-0), #4 Boise State (7-0), and Western Kentucky (6-0) all remain with an unblemished record this season.

Turning to a more sadistic watch, who is still winless. There remains 1 team still looking for their first win: Idaho (0-6).

Teams getting their first win this week were: Central Michigan (28-17 over 4-3 Northern Illinois) and Kentucky (24-10 over FCS Southeast).

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Florida State (33 first place votes) jumps one to #1, Kansas State (25 votes) climbs one to #2, Ohio State (2 votes) shockingly drops two to #3, Boise State (1 vote) remains #4 and Alabama climbs one to #5. Florida leaps three to #6, TCU jumps four to #7, Virginia Tech climbs five to #8, Miami drops four to #9 and Notre Dame falls three to #10. Tennessee jumps five to #11, USC vaults six to #12, Oregon State jumps four to #13, Washington climbs five to #14 and Wisconsin falls seven to #15. South Carolina falls two to #16, Georgia Tech climbs four to #17, North Carolina enters the poll at #18, LSU jumps three to #19 and Oklahoma plummets ten to #20. Texas A&M sinks nine to #21, Western Kentucky enters the poll at #22, Texas jumps two to #23, Mississippi State enters the poll at #24 and Oklahoma State (295 points) drops five to #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Oregon (from #15), Arizona (from #23), and Arizona State (from #24). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Oregon (246 points) is #26, followed by Nebraska (203), Utah (182), Arizona (180) and Louisiana-Lafayette (144) to round out the Top 30. Other teams getting points this week include Michigan State (103), Missouri (79) and Auburn (61).

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Media Poll, Kansas State (39 first place votes) remains #1, Florida State (22 votes) remains #2, Ohio State (2 votes) remains #3, Boise State (2 votes) climbs one to #4 and Alabama jumps one to #5. TCU climbs four to #6, Florida jumps four to #7, USC vaults thirteen to #8, Tennessee leaps six to #9 and Miami falls six to #10. Virginia Tech climbs three to #11, Notre Dame drops five to #12, Washington climbs four to #13, Wisconsin falls six to #14 and LSU jumps three to #15. South Carolina drops three to #16, Georgia Tech climbs two to #17, North Carolina enters the poll at #18, Texas A&M falls ten to #19 and Oregon State moves up three to #20. Western Kentucky enters the poll at #21, Oklahoma falls ten to #22, Texas jumps one to #23, Oklahoma State drops eight to #24 and Mississippi State (387 points) remains #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Oregon (from #20) and Arizona (from #22). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Nebraska (240 points) is #26, followed by Utah (212), Arizona (205), Auburn (168) and Louisiana-Lafayette (135) to round out the Top 30. Two other teams getting points this week are Oregon (91) and Michigan State (88).

A look at the Heisman race, Vanderbilt HB Jason Massey is #1 (LW: #1), Boise State QB Mark Concepcion is #2 (LW: #2), Ohio State HB Ron Branch is #3 (LW: #5), TCU QB Sean Moore is #4 (LW: #4) and LSU HB Brett Miranda is #5 (LW: NR). Dropping off the Heisman Watch list this week was Florida State QB Chris Larson (LW: #3).

SmoothPancakes

10-01-2013, 06:31 AM

What a win! Advice to all of you still playing '14. If you want an easy win, schedule New Mexico. They suck! And I coach Utah State to their first shutout win since October 25th, 2003 when they shutout Arkansas State 49-0. What a hell of a game!

And with that, this goes back onto the backburner for now, as GTA Online is officially released! Time to jump over, download the title update and whoop some ass online in GTA for the rest of the day. :nod:

SCClassof93

10-01-2013, 10:42 AM

losing to a school that hired lame kiffen :smh::fp:

ram29jackson

10-01-2013, 03:25 PM

wondering..what sliders are you using now ? I want to try some

SmoothPancakes

10-02-2013, 07:51 AM

Game Eight

:BYU: :@: :Utah_State:

Game Notes

--- Continuing down the homestretch of our 2020 season, we returned home to take on another rival, the BYU Cougars, as we met up mid-season to play for the Old Wagon Wheel. While BYU entered the game at .500 on the year, and a more talented team than us on paper, it wasn’t translating into stats on the field. BYU statistically had the worst overall defense and worst passing defense in the entire nation. Their rushing defense wasn’t much better, ranked in the low 80s. Meanwhile, their offense was pedestrian, with all three offensive categories ranking either at #65 or #66. So while the Cougars had more talent, they had less success on the field. That was good news for our already dangerous passing game. We won the coin toss and elected to kick.

A 25 yard return on the kickoff gave BYU the ball at their 23 yard line to start the game. An incomplete pass from Raishaun Fontaine intended for Freddie Reid got the drive off to a less than stellar start for the Cougars. It wouldn’t take long for the Cougars to get some momentum going as William Hodges was able to pull down a pass for a gain of 13 and a first down at the 36. Hodges received the handoff on first down, but found nowhere to go, as he was quickly stretched toward the sideline, unable to turn up the field, and eventually brought down for no gain on the play. Fontaine would end up burning us as he took off on a scramble, gaining 31 yards on the play before we could finally bring him down at our 33 yard line. A quick pass to Hodges gained 5 yards to leave second and 5. The Cougars would end up going backwards as a heavy blitz by the defense broke through and got to Fontaine, sacking him for a 7 yard loss to leave third and 13. After avoiding a near sack, Fontaine managed to get a pass to Cedric Smith, complete for a gain of only 5 yards, setting up fourth and 8 from our 31. The 48 yard field goal by Phil Scott was good, giving BYU a 3-0 lead with 6:54 left in the first quarter.

A 33 yard kickoff return by Preston Roberson got us lined up at our 29 yard line for our first drive. Roberson got our drive started, receiving the first down handoff for a 5 yard gain, followed by a three yard rush to leave us with third and two. Taking our chances on the ground, Brian Paris took the ball outside the right tackle, picking up 8 yards and the first down at the 45 yard line. Roberson kept us moving on the ground with a 5 yard rush on first down. Coming out with a play action pass called on second down, it worked perfectly as the defense bit on the fake and the pass from Adam Powers to Dre Martin was complete for a 17 yard gain and a new set of downs at the BYU 33 yard line. Trying to hit Eric McGuire over the middle, the first error of the game was committed when middle linebacker Kenton Clemons intercepted the pass from Powers, returning it 6 yards before being tackled at the 31 yard line.

Taking over after the interception, BYU got off to a sluggish start as Fontaine’s pass intended for Andre Manning was wide off the mark, landing incomplete to bring up second down. We caught a massive break on second down, as a blitz wasn’t able to get enough pressure, leaving the middle of the field wide open with only a safety to cover. Travis McDonald was able to get his hands on the pass from Fontaine, but as he turned to head up the field, the ball slipped out of his hands and dropped incomplete, saving us and bringing up third and 10. Despite Reid pulling in the third down pass right along the first down line, a quick and timely hit by the safety left him falling backwards and coming up short, BYU forced to punt on fourth and inches. A 12 yard return by McGuire on the 40 yard punt gave us the ball at our 30 yard line.

Starting the drive off on the ground, Roberson never had a chance, as the linebackers came hard on first down, tackling him for only a one yard gain. Going into the air on second down, Powers ended up throwing his second interception in as many passes, a four yard interception return by safety Tavarious Powell giving BYU the ball right back at our 38 yard line.

Heading straight into the air on first down, Fontaine’s pass intended for Dustin Porter was dropped to bring up second down. Our defense answered right back on second down, as Caleb McBride came in from left defensive end and sacked Fontaine before he could release the ball. As Fontaine was going to the ground, he fumbled the ball against the ground, the fumble promptly scooped up by right defensive end Pat Ashley, who managed to return it 8 yards before being tackled at the BYU 44 yard line. The booth reviewed the play, and we got completed screwed on the call. The replay showed that the ball came loose a half second before he knee was down, but the refs still reverse the call on the field, ruling that his knee was down. Instead of having possession at the BYU 44 yard line, it was still BYU’s ball, third and 18 at our 46, McBride credited with a sack for a loss of 8 yards. Pissed off at the horrible call by the refs, we brought the house once more on third down, outside linebacker Casey Hunter coming in from the blind side and smoking Fontaine from behind, sacking him for a 7 yard loss and forcing BYU to punt the ball on fourth and 26 from their 47 yard line. A four yard return by McGuire on the 34 yard punt gave us the ball at our 22 yard line.

Starting the drive once more on the ground, Roberson found a little more success this time around, rushing up the middle for a 7 yard gain, followed by a four yard pickup, just enough to get the first down at the 33. Roberson kept pounding away on the ground, picking up three yards on the first down carry. Taking another shot at the play action pass, the defense bit once again, McGuire pulling down the pass from Powers for a 14 yard gain and a new set of downs at midfield. Returning to the ground, Roberson fought his way to a 10 yard gain and an immediate first down at the BYU 40. Paris came in on first down, rushing for a 9 yard gain on the play. Despite BYU bringing the blitz on second down, Roberson was just able to get one yard and a new set of downs at the 30 yard line. It would end up getting better than that, as middle linebacker Kenton Clemons was flagged for a facemask penalty on the tackle, the extra yards setting us up with a first down at the 15 yard line. That would be the final play of the first quarter as the clock ran out, BYU leading 3-0.

Opening up the second quarter, Roberson was able to gain three yards on the first down carry. Another successful play action pass got the defense to bit once more, and got tight end Jack Long open near the right sideline, the pass complete for a 10 yard gain to set us up with first and goal at the two yard line. Roberson would do the honors on first down, punching it in for the two yard touchdown to give us a 7-3 lead with 8:13 left in the second quarter.

A touchback on the kickoff got BYU underway from their 25 yard line. Despite bringing the heat on first down, it didn’t take long for us to get torched, Fontaine finding Bryan Scott deep down the left sideline. A failed attempt to push him out of bounds only increased the damage, the play ending up as a 42 yard gain and a first down for the Cougars at our 33 yard line. Hodges took the ball on the ground for a 9 yard rush, followed by a 7 yard gain to get the first down at our 17. Fontaine completed a 6 yard pass to Reid, before being forced to throw the ball away to avoid a sack. That would leave the Cougars lining up with third and four from our 11 yard line, a third down play that would get converted with a 9 yard completion over the middle to Scott, giving BYU first and goal at our one yard line. BYU beat our entire defensive line off the snap, and Hodges would have all the time in the world to trot into the end zone for a one yard touchdown to give BYU a 10-7 lead with 6:40 left until halftime.

A 25 yard kickoff return by Roberson gave us the ball at our 26 yard line to start the drive. Roberson received the handoff to get us started, plowing up the middle for a 9 yard gain, followed by a two yard gain by Paris to get the first down at the 38. A wingback dive by Paris on first down picked up 5 yards, before Roberson could only manage three yards on second down, leaving us with third and two. Taking a chance with Paris, he would end up getting the first down and then some, rushing for a 13 yard gain and a first down at the BYU 41 yard line. Calling another play action pass on first down, the defense was ready for us as the pass intended for Martin was nearly intercepted, leaving us with second down. The second down pass intended for David Douglas was way off the mark, and we faced third and long. Lining up in the shotgun on third down, the pass intended for McGuire was broken up, and we were forced to punt on fourth down. The ball bounced down at the BYU 10 yard line, but rolled into the end zone before we could down it, going for a 41 yard punt and a touchback to give BYU the ball at their 20 yard line.

It would take BYU all of one play to rape our defense, as Fontaine connected with Scott for an 80 yard touchdown pass, giving BYU a 17-7 lead with 4:00 left in the second quarter.

A huge 50 yard kickoff return by Roberson up the right sideline at least gave us some damn good field position, getting us lined up at our 49 yard line to start our next drive. Roberson got the drive started with a 6 yard rush up the middle, followed by an 8 yard dash by Paris to give us a first down at the BYU 37. Continuing on the ground, Roberson picked up four yard on the first down carry, followed by a three yard rush by Paris to leave third and three from the 30 yard line. Lining up in the shotgun on third down, Brian James would keep us moving, hauling in a pass from Powers over the middle for a 10 yard gain to move the chains to the BYU 19 yard line. Handing the ball off to Paris on first down, he fought his way to a 6 yard gain on the play, before Roberson returned to the backfield, only able to gain two yards to leave us facing third and two. Taking a shot on the ground, Paris received the third down handoff, miraculously somehow avoiding the blitz and just gaining two yards to set us up with first and goal at the 9 yard line. Roberson kept us moving forward with a big 6 yard gain on first down. Lining up on second and goal from the three yard line, Roberson was unable to gain anything, tackled for no gain to leave third and goal. Calling our first timeout with 19 seconds left in the half, we came out passing on third down, Powers finally able to make a good pass and find Douglas in the end zone for a three yard touchdown, cutting BYU’s lead to 17-14 with 15 seconds left until halftime.

A touchback on the kickoff gave BYU the ball at their 25 yard line. BYU sent some mixed signals on first down, as Hodges received the handoff, rushing for an 11 yard gain and a first down at their 36 yard line, before the Cougars called their first timeout to stop the clock with 12 seconds remaining. A deflected pass over the middle, intended for Scott, left BYU with second and 10, just 8 seconds to go. A screen pass to Hodges only gained 6 yards as he was tripped up from behind, leaving BYU with third and four from their 42 yard line, their second timeout taken with just three seconds to go before halftime. An incomplete Hail Mary pass brought the quarter to an end and took us into halftime, BYU lead 17-14.

Opening up the second half, a 44 yard kickoff return by Roberson gave us the ball at our 40 yard line to start the third quarter. Picking up where we left off on first down, Paris took the ball on first down for a three yard gain. Lining up under center on second down, a quick pass over the middle to Tim Fields was complete for a 13 yard gain, giving us a quick first down at the BYU 44. Roberson received the handoff on first down, but was immediately brought down for a gain of only one, leaving us with second and 9. Turning back to the air on second down, we would only go backwards as Powers was sacked for a 9 yard loss, leaving us facing third and 19. The third down pass intended for Douglas was broken up, and our promising drive came to a sudden halt on fourth and 19. A 19 yard punt return on the 38 yard punt gave BYU the ball at their 33 yard line.

A screen pass left us fooled, as Manning pulled in the ball from Fontaine and picked up 16 yards on the play, an ankle tackle saving us from further damage, but BYU still gained a first down at their 49 yard line. Hodges took the ball on first down, rushing for a four yard gain, before a pass to Smith was blown up, Smith tackled for a loss of one yard on the play to leave third and 7. Hodges never had a chance on third down, immediately tackled for a two yard loss to force BYU to punt on fourth and 9. The 50 yard punt would touch down at the 5 yard line and bounce into the end zone for a touchback, giving us the ball at our 20 yard line.

Opening up our drive on first down, Roberson received the ball on first down, fighting his way to a four yard gain. Lining up under center on second down, Powers dropped back, squeezing a pass through the hands of the outside linebacker and into the hands of Fields, good for a 10 yard gain and a first down at the 34. We finally started to find something on offense, McGuire breaking open across the middle for a 14 yard completion and a new set of downs at the 48. What would have been a sure gain of at least 20 yards, the pass to a wide open Ryan Conley bounced off his hands and incomplete, leaving us instead with second down and 10. Martin would thankfully come through and keep us moving, pulling in a pass from Powers for a gain of 21 yards and a first down at the BYU 31. Finally finding our mojo, Douglas pulled in a first down pass from Powers for a gain of 11 yards, moving the chains once more to the 21 yard line. Handing the ball off on first down, Roberson took the carry for a four yard gain, followed by a 6 yard rush to leave us with third and inches. Putting the ball into the hands of Paris, he was able to pound his way to a 7 yard gain, giving us first and goal at the four yard line. Taking a shot through the air, Powers hit Fields along the sideline for a three yard gain, leaving second and goal at the one yard line. Roberson would finish the drive off with a one yard touchdown, giving us a 21-17 lead with 1:58 left in the third quarter.

An 18 yard kickoff return got BYU started from their 16 yard line for their next drive. BYU came out passing, a screen pass to Manning gaining four yards to leave second and 6. Barely avoid a sack, Fontaine hit Manning again, this time for a 5 yard gain to leave the Cougars with third and one. After shaking off a tackle in the backfield, Fontaine was able to get an option pitch off to Hodges, who gained four yards on the play to pick up the first down at the 29. Hit as he threw, Fontaine managed to get the pass off to Porter, good for a 7 yard completion to bring up second and three. Continuing to bring the blitz, it would pay off on second down, as Fontaine rushed to get rid of the ball, the bad pass hanging in the air and intercepted by cornerback Mike Moses, returned 6 yards to the BYU 31 yard line.

Taking over at BYU’s 31 yard line after the interception, Roberson got our drive started on the ground with a 7 yard rush to leave second and three. That would be the last play of the third quarter as the clock ran out, our lead sitting at 21-17, but knocking on the door.

Opening up the fourth quarter, Roberson received the handoff once more, finding a gaping hole for a 13 yard gain and a quick first down at the 11 yard line. Dropping back to pass on first down, the ball intended for Martin was broken up, leaving second down. Keeping through the air, a 10 yard completion to Douglas left us just short, facing third and inches from the one yard line. Despite being stood up at the goal line, Roberson was able to get those inches, giving us first and goal from just outside the goal line. Paris would come in on first down and finish off the drive in one play, rushing in for the one yard touchdown to increase our lead to 28-17 with 8:00 left in the game.

A touchback on the kickoff gave BYU the ball at their 25 yard line. The Cougars weren’t about to go quietly, Fontaine connecting with Reid for a 22 yard gain and a quick first down at the 47 yard line. Another screen pass was completed to Porter, gaining 18 yards and moving the chains once more to our 35 yard line. A 5 yard completion to Reid was followed with a by a thrown away pass, as Fontaine was forced to get rid of the ball before two defenders collapsed on him, leaving the Cougars with third and 5. An incomplete pass intended for Scott brought up fourth and 5 for BYU, the Cougars going for it from our 29 yard line. The blitz did its job, forcing Fontaine to try and scramble on the play. While he originally had a gap, by the time he was able to get to it, a defender was close enough to stick an arm out and trip Fontaine up, his momentum not mixing well with his lost balance, as he fell forward to the ground for a gain of only two yards, and BYU turned the ball over on downs at our 27 yard line with 7:04 left in the game.

We came out passing on first down, looking to put this game to bed. A quick 9 yard completion to Douglas was followed with a three yard rush by Paris to get the first down at the 39. Martin kept us moving down the field with a 12 yard reception and a new set of downs at the BYU 49. Another pass to Douglas gained 9 yards, before a pass intended for Matt Leierer was intercepted by middle linebacker Joe Barry, returned 10 yards to the BYU 37 yard line.

A quick pass to Erik Parker gained nothing for the Cougars, brought down immediately for no gain to bring up second and 10. Avoiding a sack, Fontaine found Hodges out of the backfield, but he was also hit immediately, tackled for a loss of two yards to leave third and 12. An incomplete pass intended for Porter over the middle left BYU punting the ball away on fourth down. A 5 yard return by McGuire on the 34 yard punt gave us the ball at our 36 yard line.

Lining up in the shotgun on first down, the pass intended for Douglas was off the mark and incomplete, brining up second down. Conley tried to haul in a pass down the right sideline, but he was unable to come down with it, leaving third and 10. A poorly timed blitz by BYU took all of the linebackers out of the play, allowing Fields to get open from the tight end position, and taking advantage of the blown coverage, race down the field for a massive 64 yard touchdown, giving us a 35-17 lead with 4:12 left in the game.

A touchback on the kickoff again gave BYU the ball at their 25 yard line. The Cougars again called for a screen pass, Hodges managing to break out of one tackle, power drive his way through a second tackle, and push the third tackle attempt backwards with his momentum before finally being driven out of bounds for a 5 yard gain. Fontaine dropped back to pass, but the pressure forced him to scramble, upon which he scrambled directly into the arms of a defender, ending up sacked for a three yard loss, bringing up third and 8. Yet another screen pass to Hodges ended up going for a 20 yard gain and a first down at the 47. The defense wasn’t about to make it easy, getting to and sacking Fontaine once more, this time for a loss of 7 yards to bring up second and 17. A quick pass over the middle to Daniel Frank gained 10 yards, setting BYU up with third and 7. We caught a break as the third down pass intended for Porter sailed on him and wound up behind the receiver, the ball landing incomplete to bring up fourth and 7. Going for it on fourth down, Fontaine would never have a chance, the pressure forcing him out of the pocket and sacking him for a four yard loss to force the turnover on downs at the BYU 46 yard line.

Despite the lead and only two minutes left in the game, we came out in shotgun on first down, but Powers would end up sacked for an 8 yard loss to leave second and 18. Back to back completions to Douglas went for gain of 8 and 13 yards, getting us the first down at the BYU 33 yard line, just 1:09 left on the clock. Lining up on first down, Powers would take to a single knee to run out the clock and seal the win, 35-17 and take home the Old Wagon Wheel.

With the win, we improve to 5-3, 3-1 in Mountain West action. With the loss, BYU drops to 3-4 in Independent play. Up next, it’s back into conference action as we welcome Hawaii to town. The Warriors enter the game 4-4, 4-1 in Mountain West action. Hawaii opened their year with a three game losing streak, losing 41-17 to #9 USC, 48-17 at #20 Oregon State and 19-18 at Kent State. They finally got in the win column with a 26-21 win at Nevada and a 34-24 victory over Fresno State. They lost to San Jose State 27-17 before picking up a 42-14 win at UNLV and a 24-21 win over Colorado State.

Final Score
:Utah_State: 35, :BYU: 17

Stat(s) of the Game:
Utah State Offense - A very poor day by Powers. He did got 18-29 for 251 yards and two touchdowns, but he also threw three interceptions, including two in the first quarter that occurred on consecutive passes by him, and in turn allowed BYU to build an early lead. Rushing, Roberson led the way with 109 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries. Paris had 72 yards and one touchdown on 13 rushes. Receiving, Fields ended up leading the way with 90 yards and a touchdown on four receptions out of the tight end position. Douglas also added 63 yards and a touchdown on seven catches. In all, a mostly quiet day as only six receivers caught a pass today, all six ending with double digit yards.

Utah State Defense – Good, and bad. The good, five more sacks and an interception, plus what would have been a fumble recovery if not for the idiot refs, and also held BYU to officially only 31 yard rushing, though a lot of damage was done due to lost yardage on sacks. The bad, got torched constantly in the first half, including giving up an 80 yard touchdown pass. Ended up getting torched for 285 yards through the air today.

Utah State Kicking – Burnette is perfect once more, going 0-0 in field goals and 5-5 in PATs.

Scoring Summary

Team
1st Quarter
2nd Quarter
3rd Quarter
4th Quarter
Final Score

:BYU:
3
14
0
0
17

:Utah_State:
0
14
7
14
35

Time
Team
Result
Play
Score

First Quarter

6:54
:BYU:
Field Goal
P. Scott, 48 yard field goal
:BYU: 3-0

Second Quarter

8:13
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
P. Roberson, 2 yard run (R. Burnette kick)
:Utah_State: 7-3

6:40
:BYU:
Touchdown
W. Hodges, 1 yard run (P. Scott kick)
:BYU: 10-7

4:00
:BYU:
Touchdown
B. Scott, 80 yard pass from R. Fontaine (P. Scott kick)
:BYU: 17-7

0:15
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
D. Douglas, 3 yard pass from A. Powers (R. Burnette kick)
:BYU: 17-14

Third Quarter

1:58
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
P. Roberson, 1 yard run (R. Burnette kick)
:Utah_State: 21-17

Fourth Quarter

8:00
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
B. Paris, 1 yard run (R. Burnette kick)
:Utah_State: 28-17

4:12
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
T. Fields, 64 yard pass from A. Powers (R. Burnette kick)
:Utah_State: 35-17

Game Stats

BYU
Stat
Utah State

17
Score
35

12
First Downs
23

316
Total Offense
413

16 - 31 - 1
Rushes - Yards - TD
42 - 162 - 3

22 - 34 - 1
Comp - Att - TD
18 - 29 - 2

285
Passing Yards
251

5
Times Sacked
2

3 - 11 (27%)
3rd Down Conversion
9 - 11 (81%)

0 - 2 (0%)
4th Down Conversion
0 - 0 (0%)

0 - 0 (0%)
2-Point Conv
0 - 0 (0%)

1 - 1 - 0 (100%)
Red Zone - TD - FG
4 - 4 - 0 (100%)

1
Turnovers
3

0
Fumbles Lost
0

1
Intercepted
3

19
Punt Return Yards
20

43
Kick Return Yards
149

378
Total Yards
582

4 – 40.0
Punts - Average
2 - 39.5

1 - 15
Penalties
0 - 0

18:27
Time of Possession
17:33

Utah State Coach Goals

Goal
XP Reward
Completed

Win a Game
100
x1

Score a Touchdown
25
x5

Force a Turnover
25
x2

Pass for 250 Yards
25
x1

Rush for 100 Yards
25
x1

Kneel Last Minute Q4 While Ahead
10
x1

3+ Sacks
50
x1

Opponent Under 150 Rush Yards
50
x1

Beat a Rival School
50
x1

Opponent Under 300 Pass Yards
50
x1

Pass Completion Over 50%
30
x1

100% Red Zone Efficiency
50
x1

Score 21 or More Points
50
x1

350+ Offensive Yards
50
x1

10+ First Downs
50
x1

4+ 3rd Down Conversions
25
x1

Utah State Contract Goals Update

Goal
Expectations
Progress

Target Wins Per Season
6
5

Job Security Status

100%

SmoothPancakes

10-02-2013, 07:52 AM

Taking a look around the nation, in the Top 25, #1 Florida State gets a 35-13 win over NC State. #2 Kansas State doubles up West Virginia 40-20. #3 Ohio State tops Penn State 41-17. The game of the week goes to #5 Alabama, who smokes #11 Tennessee 52-20. #6 Florida beat FCS Southeast 28-9. #23 Texas upsets #7 TCU 27-14. #8 Virginia Tech edges out Duke 38-28. In the upset of the week, Boston College knocks off #9 Miami 35-19. #10 Notre Dame beats Air Force 29-14. #12 USC whoops Utah 44-7. Stanford shocks #13 Oregon State 30-27 in overtime. #14 Washington keeps rolling with a 30-0 shutout of California. #15 Wisconsin tops Michigan 37-10.

Missouri goes on the road and knocks off #16 South Carolina, 34-31. The Gamecocks, at one point #3 in the nation, have now lost three straight. Virginia upends #17 Georgia Tech 38-21. #18 North Carolina escapes Army in overtime, 31-24. #19 LSU scored 14 points in the fourth quarter to escape with a 40-34 win over FCS Southeast. #20 Oklahoma dismantles Texas Tech 44-21. #21 Texas A&M beats Vanderbilt 35-24. Troy goes on the road and upsets #22 Western Kentucky 13-10 in overtime, ruining the perfect season for the Hilltoppers. #24 Mississippi State survives Kentucky 21-14. Iowa State knocked off #25 Oklahoma State 30-29, the Cyclones moving to a shocking 3-1 in the Big 12.

For our readers, JeffHCross, #3 Ohio State improves to 7-0 (4-0 Big Ten) with 41-17 win over Penn State. Morsdraconis, West Virginia drops to 5-3 (2-3 Big 12) with a 40-20 loss to #2 Kansas State. Souljahbill, Southern Miss improves to 3-4 (2-1 C-USA) with a 17-13 win over North Texas. Jaymo, Arizona State remains 3-4 (2-2 Pac-12) with a bye week. LeeSO, Auburn remains 4-3 (3-1 SEC) with a bye week. SCClassof93, #16 South Carolina drops to 4-3 (3-3 SEC) after losing their third in a row to Missouri, 34-31. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State improves to 6-1 (3-0 Sun Belt) with a 14-7 win over Louisiana-Lafayette. Florida International remains 6-1 (3-0 C-USA) with a bye week. Navy improves to 3-4 (3-3 American) with a 35-30 win over South Florida. Tulsa improves to 4-3 (3-1 American) with a 45-7 thumping of Tulane.

In Mountain West action, Nevada edges out UNLV 24-23, Fresno State beats San Diego State 44-7, San Jose State whoops Wyoming 34-9, Hawaii tops Colorado State 24-21, Utah State dispatches BYU 35-17 and #10 Notre Dame beats Air Force 29-14.

With those results, looking at the current standings, in the Mountain Division, Boise State (4-0) is top dog, followed by Utah State (3-1) and Wyoming (2-2). After that sits Air Force (1-4), Colorado State (0-3) and New Mexico (0-3), with Air Force, Colorado State and New Mexico all eliminated from the division race. In the West Division, Hawaii (4-1) sits on top, followed closely by San Jose State (3-1), San Diego State (2-1) and Fresno State (2-2). After that, sits Nevada (2-3) and UNLV (1-3).

Looking at undefeated teams left, #22 Western Kentucky lost this week, dropping our number of undefeated teams to 4. #1 Florida State (7-0), #2 Kansas State (7-0), #3 Ohio State (7-0) and #4 Boise State (7-0) all remain with an unblemished record this season.

Turning to a more sadistic watch, who is still winless. There remains 1 team still looking for their first win: Idaho (0-6).

Teams getting their first win this week were: None.

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Florida State (35 first place votes) remains #1, Kansas State (24 votes) remains #2, Ohio State (1 vote) remains #3, Boise State (1 vote) remains #4 and Alabama remains #5. Florida remains #6, Virginia Tech climbs one to #7, Notre Dame jumps two to #8, USC moves up three to #9 and Wisconsin jumps five to #10. Washington climbs three to #11, TCU drops five to #12, North Carolina jumps five to #13, LSU climbs five to #14 and Tennessee drops four to #15. Texas leaps seven to #16, Oklahoma climbs three to #17, Texas A&M jumps three to #18, Miami plummets ten to #19 and Oregon State drops seven to #20. Mississippi State climbs three to #21, South Carolina drops six to #22, Oregon enters the poll at #23, Missouri enters the poll at #24 and Nebraska (315 points) enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Georgia Tech (from #17), Western Kentucky (from #22) and Oklahoma State (from #25). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Georgia Tech (251 points) is #26, followed by Arizona (248), Michigan State (184), Arkansas State (109) and Auburn (103) to round out the Top 30. Other teams getting points this week include Washington State (73), Stanford (36), Western Kentucky (33) and Utah (30).

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Media Poll, Kansas State (45 first place votes) remains #1, Florida State (20 votes) remains #2, Ohio State remains #3, Boise State remains #4 and Alabama remains #5. Florida climbs one to #6, USC jumps one to #7, Virginia Tech jumps three to #8, Notre Dame climbs three to #9 and Washington leaps three to #10. Wisconsin climbs three to #11, TCU drops six to #12, Texas vaults ten to #13, LSU climbs one to #14 and North Carolina jumps three to #15. Tennessee drops seven to #16, Texas A&M climbs two to #17, Oklahoma moves up four to #18, Miami drops nine to #19 and Mississippi State climbs five to #20. Nebraska enters the poll at #21, South Carolina drops six to #22, Oregon State falls three to #23, Arizona enters the poll at #24 and Missouri (274 points) enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Georgia Tech (from #17), Western Kentucky (from #21) and Oklahoma State (from #25). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Georgia Tech (268 points) is #26, followed by Oregon (227), Auburn (224), Michigan State (172) and Arkansas State (141) to round out the Top 30. Other teams getting points this week include Western Kentucky (89), Utah (78), Washington State (51) and Louisiana-Lafayette (31).

A look at the Heisman race, Vanderbilt HB Jason Massey is #1 (LW: #1), Ohio State HB Ron Branch is #2 (LW: #3), LSU HB Brett Miranda is #3 (LW: #5), Boise State QB Mark Concepcion is #4 (LW: #2) and TCU QB Sean Moore is #5 (LW: #4). No one dropped off the Heisman Watch list this week.

SmoothPancakes

10-02-2013, 07:54 AM

Jesus Christ. Throw three interceptions and we still manage to win by 18 points. I never would have believed that if someone had told me that before the game. When BYU went up 17-7 on that 80 yard touchdown pass, I thought that was it. I thought I was on my way to getting smoked by 20+. Still can't believe we actually managed to come back, pull ahead and win.

SmoothPancakes

10-03-2013, 02:45 AM

Game Nine

:Hawaii: :@: :Utah_State:

Game Notes

--- Back on a winning streak and one game shy of becoming bowl eligible, it was back into conference play as we hosted Hawaii. While Hawaii came into the game with a 4-4 record, sitting at 4-1 in Mountain West play, that record was a bit inflated. While their record looks good, all four wins have come against teams with a combined record of 13-17, and two of their losses came to a 4-4 San Jose State and a 1-7 Kent State.

Looking at their stats, to say they are a bad team statistically would be an understatement. The Warriors enter the game with an offense ranked #104 in the nation, only putting up 332.4 yards/game. They only manage 131.3 yards/game on the ground (rank: #90) and 201.1 yards/game through the air (rank: #85). On defense they’re just as bad, giving up over 396 yards/game (to rank #98 in the nation), giving up 151.5 yards/game on the ground (ranking #78 nationally) and giving up well over 244.5 yards/game passing (coming in with a ranking of #103 in the nation). That would certainly bode well for us on our home field, especially with multiple recruits making their official visit to campus during this game. Hawaii won the coin toss and elected to kick.

A touchback on the kickoff gave us the ball at our 25 yard line. Preston Roberson got the drive started with a 6 yard rush on first down, followed by an 8 yard gain to get an early first down at the 39 yard line. Contniuing to pound it away on the ground, Roberson took the ball on first down around the right tackle, fighting his way to a gain of 8 yards. Brian Paris took over on second down, picking up three yards on the play to move the chains to midfield. Roberson received the handoff on first down, but was quickly brought down for a gain of only one yard. Running a play action pass on second down, the pass intended for tight end Jake Long was incomplete, leaving us with third and 9. Lining up in the shotgun, Adam Powers dropped back and rifled a pass to David Douglas, good for an 11 yard reception and a first down at the Hawaii 39. Continuing through the air, Eric McGuire pulled down a pass for an 18 yard gain, moving the chains once more to the 22 yard line. Michael Smith was able to haul in a first down pass, good for a pickup of 8 yards, followed by a 9 yard completion to Brian James, giving us first and goal at the 5 yard line. Handing the ball off to Roberson on first down, he strolled straight up the middle for a 5 yard touchdown, giving us a 7-0 lead with 5:19 left in the first quarter.

A touchback on the kickoff gave Hawaii the ball at their 25 yard line to start their drive. The Warriors came out throwing as Travis Kearny pulled down a pass from Jose Sanders, good for a 12 yard gain and a quick first down at the 37. A 5 yard rush by Kalvin Banks was followed with a 19 yard completion to Randall Roth, Hawaii moving the chains to our 39 yard line. A 6 yard completion to Kearney was followed with an incomplete pass as Sanders was forced to throw the ball away, leaving the Warriors facing third and four. Cornelius Watson would keep the drive moving with a 13 yard reception, giving Hawaii a first down at our 20 yard line. No gain on the first down rush by Banks left Hawaii with second and long. On second down, despite what should have been THREE separate sacks on Sanders, he somehow managed to spin or just plain power through multiple tackles before finally sliding down for a 7 yard gain, leaving third and three. An 8 yard completion to Kearny would keep the drive moving with first and goal at our 6 yard line. A near interception on the first down pass intended for Eric Williams left second and goal. Banks received the second down handoff, picking up three yards on the play to set up third and goal from the three. A pitch right would defeat our blitz up the middle, giving Banks a free pass into the end zone for a three yard touchdown, tying the game up 7-7 with 2:07 left in the first quarter.

A 27 yard kickoff return by Roberson left us starting at our 23 yard line. Roberson got the drive started with a four yard rush, before Powers dropped back from under center and connected with tight end Tim Fields for a 17 yard gain and a first down at the 45. A quick first down pass to Douglas was good for a gain of 12 yards and a new set of downs at the Hawaii 43, followed by a 17 yard completion to McGuire to further move the chains to the 26. Trying to keep the air attack going, the pass intended for McGuire was initially caught, until a hit from behind by the safety knocked the ball loose and incomplete, bringing up second down. Douglas kept us moving with a 14 yard reception, good for a first down at the 11 yard line. We would finish off the drive on the next play as Powers found McGuire over the middle for an 11 yard touchdown, giving us a 14-7 lead with 27 seconds left in the first quarter.

A touchback on the kickoff got Hawaii underway at their 25 yard line. Banks got the drive started on the ground, breaking his way out of SIX tackles before finally being pushed out of bounds for an 18 yard gain and a first down at the 43 yard line. Sanders tried to take off on first down in the face of pressure, but never made it as the blitz would get to him, middle linebacker Lee Bradley sacking him for a three yard loss to leave second and 13. That would be the final play of the first quarter, our lead 14-7.

Opening up the second quarter, a 17 yard rush by Banks, breaking yet two more tackles, would negate the sack on the previous play and move the chains to our 43 yard line. A deflected pass by safety Sam Vinson saved us on the first down pass by Sanders, leaving Hawaii with second and long. A screen pass on second down was blown up as Banks was hit and tackled the instant he caught the pass, brought down for a 5 yard loss to bring up third and 15. A 5 yard completion to Banks on third down would leave the Warriors short and bring out the Hawaii punt team on fourth and 10 from our 43. The 43 yard punt bounced down at the 7 yard line and went into the end zone for a touchback, starting our drive from our 20 yard line.

Lining up on first down at our 20, Roberson was only able to gain one yard on the handoff, leaving second and 9. Dumping off a pass to Paris, he was able to pull it in for a 12 yard completion and a first down at the 33. Despite a blitz by Hawaii, Roberson was able to gain 7 yards on the first down rush, followed by a four yard rush to get the first down at the 44 yard line. Paris took over on first down, but was immediately brought down for no gain on the play, leaving second and 10. Going into the air on second down, the pass intended for Dre Martin landed incomplete as he got caught up in traffic over the middle, leaving us with third and 10. After doing it on the ground, Roberson would get it done through the air, pulling down a pass from Powers for a 17 yard gain and a first down at the Hawaii 39 yard line. Returning to the ground on first down, Paris found better success this time with a 5 yard rush up the middle, followed by a gain of 9 yards to get the first down at the 25 yard line. Roberson took over on first down, rushing for 8 yards around the right tackle, followed by a two yard rush that left us just short, setting up third and inches. Paris was able to get the job done with a four yard rush around the left guard, giving us a first down at the 11 yard line. Lining up under center on first down, Powers would drop back and hurl a pass to Fields out of the tight end slot, caught just inside the goal line for an 11 yard touchdown and a 21-7 lead with 3:47 left in the second quarter.

A touchback on the kickoff gave Hawaii the ball at their 25 yard line once more. Avoid a sack on first down, Sanders was able to connect with Kearney along the right sideline, the pass good for a 20 yard gain and a first down at the 45 yard line. The pressure keeping after Sanders, he was able to dump off the ball just before being leveled, the pass caught by Justin Keyes off to the left, but he was immediately tackled for no gain on the play, leaving second and 10. Watson was able to pull in a pass from Sanders, good for a four yard gain to set up third and 6. Another screen pass to Banks was good for a 13 yard gain, giving Hawaii the first down at our 38 yard line. A near interception by Bradley left Hawaii with second and long, before a 9 yard reception by Watson left Hawaii lining up on third and one. A delayed pitch to Banks gained 6 yards and the first down at our 22 yard line. Again breaking out of three separate sack attempts, Sanders was able to keep on his feet long enough to gain one yard on the scramble, setting up second and 9, Hawaii calling their first timeout with 1:31 left in the half. Bradley wouldn’t be denied on second down, plowing through the line and sacking Sanders for an 8 yard loss to leave third and 17, our first timeout called with 1:27 left on the clock. A failed screen pass to Banks resulted in a loss of three yards, leaving fourth and 20 from our 32 yard line, our second timeout taken with 1:22 remaining. The 49 yard field goal attempt by Cory Leach was no good, the kick coming up just short as the ball inched underneath the cross bar, giving us the ball at our 32 yard line, 1:19 remaining.

Taking over after the missed field goal, it was straight into the air on first down, as Martin pulled in a pass from Powers for a 13 yard gain and a first down at the 46. Fields kept us moving with a 17 yard reception and a first down at the Hawaii 37 yard line. Rushing straight back to the line, Powers was able to connect with Douglas, good for a gain of 18 yards and a new set of downs at the 19 yard line. Rushing back to the line again, a pass intended for Martin in the end zone was broken up, leaving second down with 44 seconds left until halftime. The second down pass intended for McGuire was batted away, bringing up third and 10 with 41 seconds to go. Ryan Conley would keep us moving on third down, pulling down a pass from Powers for a 13 yard gain, setting up first and goal at the Hawaii 7 yard line. James would finish the drive off, catching a pass from Powers at the two yard line and then powering his way into the end zone for the 7 yard touchdown, giving us a 28-7 lead with 23 seconds remaining before halftime.

Another touchback on the kickoff again left Hawaii starting at their 25 yard line. A screen pass to Banks netted Hawaii a 6 yard gain, their second timeout taken with 17 seconds left. An incomplete pass on second down, intended for Kearney, brought up third and four, 13 seconds remaining. A deflected pass at the line of scrimmage would up hanging in the air, nearly intercepted by defensive end Pat Ashley, but the left tackle kept him from being able to get his hands on the ball, the pass landing incomplete to bring up fourth and four with 5 seconds remaining. A 5 yard return by McGuire on the 36 yard punt would leave zeroes on the clock and take us into halftime with a 28-7 lead.

Opening the second half, a touchback on the kickoff gave Hawaii the ball at their 25 yard line to start the third quarter. Hawaii came out firing on first down, the deep pass down the left sideline intended for Randall Roth thankfully off the mark and incomplete, leaving second and 10. Pressure on second down forced a bad pass, intended for Banks, that left Hawaii facing third and long. Another incomplete pass, this time intended for Kearney, left the Hawaii drive stalling out and the punt team coming onto the field. A 14 yard return by McGuire on the 37 yard punt set us up with excellent field position, starting our drive at Hawaii’s 48 yard line.

Lining up on first down, Roberson the drive started with a four yard rush up the middle, followed by a second four yard rush to leave us with third and two. A three yard rush by Paris would just get us the first down, moving the chains to the 37 yard line. Continuing to pound it away on the ground, Roberson could only manage three yards on the first down carry before being swarmed by defenders. Lining up on second down, Powers dropped back from under center and found Fields for an 11 yard gain to pick up another first down at the 24. Roberson took the ball on first down, but Hawaii was ready for him, tackling him for a gain of only one yard. Throwing out of the shotgun, the pass intended for Martin was broken up, leaving us with third and 9. Douglas would just manage to keep us going, pulling down a pass from Powers for a 9 yard gain, a generous spot by the refs giving us a first down at the 14 yard line. McGuire was initially able to get a hand on the first down pass into the end zone, but a hit from behind by the safety and from the side by the cornerback jarred the ball loose and incomplete, leaving second down. Martin was able to pull down a quick pass from Powers on second down, good for a gain of 8 yards to leave us with third and two. Putting the drive into the hands of Roberson, we handed it off on third down, but while he was able to gain two yards, the refs marked him short, leaving fourth and one from the four yard line. Settling for three points, the 21 yard field goal by Richard Burnette went right down the middle, giving us a 31-7 lead with 4:14 left in the third quarter.

Another touchback led to another drive starting from the 25 yard line for Hawaii. An incomplete pass intended for Williams left Hawaii with second and 10. The pressure got to Sanders on second down, forcing him to throw away the ball to leave third and long. A 10 yard completion to Watson left the Warrior just short, forced to punt on fourth and inches from their 35. A 19 yard return by McGuire on the 35 yard punt got us started at our 49 yard line for our next drive.

Roberson got the drive started on the ground, picking up three yards on the carry, followed by a 7 yard rush by Paris to leave us with third and inches. Roberson got the ball on third down, and just barely got the first down, hit at the line of scrimmage but twisting and falling forward for a two yard gain to get the first down at the Hawaii 40 yard line. Another rush by Roberson gained three yards on first down, before Paris was able to fight his way through a pile of bodies for a 6 yard gain to leave us with third and one. Our drive would end up stalling out as Roberson was held to just a one yard gain, leaving us facing fourth and inches from the 30 yard line. The 47 yard field goal attempt by Burnette would come up short, giving Hawaii the ball at their 30 yard line, 50 seconds left in the third quarter.

An incomplete pass on first down, intended for Kearney, got the drive off to a poor start for Hawaii, the Warriors stuck in the middle of an offensive slump. Another incomplete pass, thrown wide of Kearney, the intended receiver, brought up another third and long for Hawaii. We would get our biggest break of the game on third down, as Luis Ramsey somehow was left uncovered on the play. He pulled down the pass from Sanders near the sideline, but instead of a major gain and a first down, his momentum carried him out of bounds for only a 5 yard gain, leaving the punt team trotting out on fourth and 5. A fair catch by McGuire on the 35 yard punt gave us the ball at our 29 yard line.

Starting the drive once more on the ground, Roberson received the first down handoff for a four yard gain. That would be the final play of the third quarter, our lead standing at 31-7.

Opening up the fourth quarter, Roberson fought his way to a three yard gain, setting up third and three. Roberson would fail to get the job down, tackled for a one yard gain to leave us punting on fourth and two. An 11 yard return on the 42 yard punt set Hawaii up at their 32 yard line.

The drive got off to another poor start, as Sanders was forced to throw the ball away, leaving second down. The Warriors started to find some life on second down, as Sanders found Banks over the middle for a 17 yard gain and a first down at the 48 yard line. The defense wasn’t about to go down without a fight, as defensive tackle Marcus Garrett sacked Sanders for a 7 yard loss to leave second and 17. A 6 yard pass over the middle to Watson set up third and 11. It would take one play for our defense to get burned, failed coverage allowing Ramsey to pull down a pass down the right sideline from Sanders and take it to the house for a 52 yard touchdown. The Warriors went for the two-point conversion, the pass from Sanders to Williams good, cutting our lead to 31-15 with 6:15 left in the game

A 5 yard return on a shanked kickoff gave us the ball at our 23 yard line to start our drive. Roberson received the handoff on first down, fighting his way to a three yard gain, followed by a huge 16 yard rush by Paris to get us the first down at the 42 yard line. Another rush by Paris gained 8 yards, before fighting his way to a pickup of four yards and the first down at the 46 yard line. Lining up in the shotgun on first down, Powers was able to hook up with McGuire for a 12 yard gain, moving the chains down to the Hawaii 34 yard line. An incomplete pass intended for McGuire sailed long and incomplete, bringing up second down. Dropping back out of the shotgun on second down, Powers was forced to scramble from the pressure, chased down from behind and sacked for a loss of two yards to leave us with third and 12. A pass to Douglas on third down would go for a gain 10 yards, but leave us short, trying for a field goal on fourth and two. The 43 yard field goal by Burnette curved wide left, giving Hawaii the ball at their 26 yard line.

Hawaii came out in the shotgun to start their drive, but our defense would be the winner of the play, as defensive end Caleb McBride sacked Sanders for a 5 yard loss, leaving second and 15. The Warriors would come back strong on second down, as Sanders connected with Kearney for a 19 yard gain and a first down at the 40, followed by a 26 yard completion to Ramsey to move the chains once more to our 34 yard line, Hawaii calling their first timeout with 2:40 left in the game. Launching up a pass on first down, Williams was able to get behind the secondary and pull in the ball for a 34 yard touchdown. A successful two point conversion pass to Watson further cut our lead to 31-23 with 2:35 left in the game.

Hawaii going for the onside kick, we were able to recover the kick, giving us a first down at the Hawaii 40 yard line. Handing the ball off on first down, Paris was immediately brought down for no gain to leave second and 10. Trying to chew up the clock, Paris took the ball on second down for a 6 yard carry, setting up third and four, Hawaii calling their second timeout with 1:39 left in the game. Paris was unable to get the job done on third down, tackled for a gain of only three yards to leave fourth and one at the 30 yard line, Hawaii’s final timeout called with 1:33 remaining. Burnette would again fail us, kicking the 47 yard field goal attempt wide right, giving Hawaii the ball back at their 30 yard line with 1:29 to go.

Taking over after the missed field goal, the drive couldn’t have gotten off to a poorer start for the Warriors, as McBride got his second sack of the day, bringing Sanders down for a 5 yard loss to leave second and 15 and the clock ticking. Hawaii wasn’t ready to call it quits though, Sanders finding Roth down the left sideline for a 15 yard gain and a first down at the 40 yard line, Roth just getting out of bounds to stop the clock with 1:07 remaining. A pass to Williams on an out route was good for a 21 yard gain and a first down at our 38 yard line, Williams tackled out of bounds to stop the clock with 1:02 to go. Sanders found Kearney near the left sideline for a 13 yard gain and a first down at our 25 yard line. Rushing to the line, Sanders tried to connect with Williams over the middle on first down, but an interception by outside linebacker Al Washington at our 14 yard line, returned 17 yards out to our 31 yard line, would put the comeback on ice with 47 seconds left in the game. Powers would kneel twice to run out the clock and seal the 31-23 win to get us bowl eligible for the 2020 season.

With the win, we improve to 6-3, 4-1 in Mountain West action and become bowl eligible. With the loss, Hawaii drops to 4-4, 4-2 in Mountain West play. Up next, we hit the road for our final road game of the year, a trip to UNLV. The Rebels enter the game at 4-5, 2-3 in Mountain West action. UNLV opened their year rough, losing 24-0 at Minnesota and 49-3 to #24 Arizona. They finally got in the win column with three straight victories, beating Central Michigan 24-21 in overtime, beating FCS Northwest 24-10 and getting a 27-21 win at New Mexico. The fell off the wagon after that, losing three in a row, 42-14 to Hawaii, 34-24 at Fresno State and 34-23 at Nevada, before recovering with a 24-21 win over San Jose State heading into our game.

Final Score
:Utah_State: 31, :Hawaii: 23

Stat(s) of the Game:
Utah State Offense - A good day (and rebound) by Powers, going 22-30 for 273 yards and three touchdowns. Rushing, Roberson led the way with 89 yards and one touchdown on 24 carries. Paris ended with 75 yards on 14 catches. Receiving, Douglas was the top receiver with 73 yards on six receptions. For those scoring touchdowns, McGuire ended with 58 yards and one touchdown on four catches, Fields ended his day with 55 yards and one touchdown on four receptions and James had 16 yards and one touchdown on two catches. In total, nine different receivers caught a pass today, eight of them ending with double digit yards. On the negative side, McGuire ended the day with two drops, Martin ending with one dropped pass.

Utah State Defense – Good and bad once more. Hawaii's first drive, awful. Rest of the first quarter and all of the second and third quarters, great. Fourth quarter, terrible. The fourth quarter alone nearly blew the game for us. Thankfully, the lone turnover, an interception with 47 seconds left, sealed the win for us, and the defense did manage to get five sacks.

Utah State Kicking – Absolutely freaking awful. Thank god Burnette is a senior, because I don't think I could put up with another season of so much suck. Burnette ends the game 1-4 in field goals, drilling a 21 yard kick from the middle of the field, but missing wide left on a 47 yard try, missing wide left on a 43 yard try and missing wide right on a 47 yard try. Douchebag McGee did at least manage to go 4-4 in PATs. But he nearly screwed us. One more touchdown and successful two-point conversion by Hawaii, and we were going to be tied up. One of those three missed field goals by Burnette would have never put us in that situation with less than a minute left.

Scoring Summary

Team
1st Quarter
2nd Quarter
3rd Quarter
4th Quarter
Final Score

:Hawaii:
7
0
0
16
23

:Utah_State:
14
14
3
0
31

Time
Team
Result
Play
Score

First Quarter

5:19
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
P. Roberson, 6 yard run (R. Burnette kick)
:Utah_State: 7-0

2:07
:Hawaii:
Touchdown
K. Banks, 3 yard run (C. Leach kick)
TIED 7-7

0:27
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
E. McGuire, 11 yard pass from A. Powers (R. Burnette kick)
:Utah_State: 14-7

Second Quarter

3:47
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
T. Fields, 11 yard pass from A. Powers (R. Burnette kick)
:Utah_State: 21-7

0:23
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
B. James, 7 yard pass from A. Powers (R. Burnette kick)
:Utah_State: 28-7

Third Quarter

4:14
:Utah_State:
Field Goal
R. Burnette, 21 yard field goal
:Utah_State: 31-7

Fourth Quarter

6:15
:Hawaii:
Touchdown
L. Ramsey, 52 yard pass from J. Sanders (2-point conversion good)
:Utah_State: 31-15

2:35
:Hawaii:
Touchdown
E. Williams, 34 yard pass from J. Sanders (2-point conversion good)
:Utah_State: 31-23

Game Stats

Hawaii
Stat
Utah State

23
Score
31

15
First Downs
25

356
Total Offense
431

14 - 32 - 1
Rushes - Yards - TD
41 - 158 - 1

25 - 40 - 2
Comp - Att - TD
22 - 30 - 3

324
Passing Yards
273

5
Times Sacked
1

6 - 12 (50%)
3rd Down Conversion
7 - 12 (58%)

0 - 0 (0%)
4th Down Conversion
0 - 0 (0%)

2 - 2 (100%)
2-Point Conv
0 - 0 (0%)

1 - 1 - 0 (100%)
Red Zone - TD - FG
5 - 4 - 1 (100%)

1
Turnovers
0

0
Fumbles Lost
0

1
Intercepted
0

10
Punt Return Yards
37

0
Kick Return Yards
30

366
Total Yards
498

5 – 37.6
Punts - Average
1 - 42.0

0 - 0
Penalties
0 - 0

13:46
Time of Possession
22:14

Utah State Coach Goals

Goal
XP Reward
Completed

Win a Game
100
x1

Score a Touchdown
25
x4

3 Consecutive Wins
150
x1

Force a Turnover
25
x1

Pass for 250 Yards
25
x1

Rush for 100 Yards
25
x1

Kneel Last Minute Q4 While Ahead
10
x1

3+ Sacks
50
x1

Opponent Under 150 Rush Yards
50
x1

Pass Completion Over 50%
30
x1

100% Red Zone Efficiency
50
x1

Score 21 or More Points
50
x1

350+ Offensive Yards
50
x1

10+ First Downs
50
x1

4+ 3rd Down Conversions
25
x1

Utah State Contract Goals Update

Goal
Expectations
Progress

Target Wins Per Season
6
6

Job Security Status

100%

SmoothPancakes

10-03-2013, 02:47 AM

Taking a look around the nation, in the Top 25, in the game of the week and the upset of the week, #19 Miami demolishes #1 Florida State 38-7 to crush the national title dreams of the Seminoles. #2 Kansas State stakes their claim on the top ranking, beating Iowa State 35-7. #3 Ohio State stays perfect, beating Purdue 31-9. #4 Boise State stays flawless, beating Colorado State 38-20 behind a 5 touchdown day by Mark Concepcion. #5 Alabama destroys FCS East 59-7. #6 Florida edges out Georgia 31-23.

#7 Virginia Tech beats Boston College 38-28. #8 Notre Dame whoops Navy 41-17. #9 USC topped #20 Oregon State 16-6. Iowa knocks off #10 Wisconsin 27-17. #12 TCU holds on to beat West Virginia 34-23. #13 North Carolina edges out rival NC State 26-20. #24 Missouri knocks off #15 Tennessee 37-20. #16 Texas beat Kansas 31-14. #18 Texas A&m beats Kentucky 31-21. #22 South Carolina finally breaks their three game losing streak, knocking off #21 Mississippi State 42-24. #25 Nebraska fights off Northwestern 41-31.

For our readers, JeffHCross, #3 Ohio State improves to 8-0 (5-0 Big Ten) with 31-9 win over Purdue. Morsdraconis, West Virginia drops to 5-4 (2-4 Big 12) with a 34-23 loss to #12 TCU. Souljahbill, Southern Miss falls to 3-5 (2-2 C-USA) with a 20-15 loss to Marshall. Jaymo, Arizona State improves to 4-4 (3-2 Pac-12) with a 24-17 win over Washington State. LeeSO, Auburn improves to 5-3 (4-1 SEC) with a 29-17 win over Arkansas. SCClassof93, #22 South Carolina improves to 5-3 (4-3 SEC), finally breaking their three game losing streak with a 42-24 win over #21 Mississippi State. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State falls to 6-2 (3-1 Sun Belt), losing a stunner, 37-34 in double overtime to South Alabama. Florida International improves to 7-1 (4-0 C-USA) with a 45-10 win over Old Dominion. Navy drops to 3-5 (3-3 American) with a 41-17 loss to #8 Notre Dame. Tulsa improves to 5-3 (4-1 American) with a 45-6 thumping of SMU.

In Mountain West action, #4 Boise State tops Colorado State 38-20, Utah State outlasts Hawaii 31-23, Fresno State dominated Nevada 28-3, San Diego State tops New Mexico 31-10, UNLV knocks off San Jose State 24-21 and Air Force wins the Commander-in-Chief's trophy for 2020, edging out Army 10-7.

With those results, looking at the current standings, in the Mountain Division, Boise State (5-0) remains top dog, followed by Utah State (4-1) and Wyoming (2-2). After that sits Air Force (1-4), Colorado State (0-4) and New Mexico (0-4), with Air Force, Colorado State and New Mexico all eliminated from the division race. In the West Division, San Diego State (3-1) sits on top, followed closely by Hawaii (4-2), San Jose State (3-2) and Fresno State (3-2). After that, sits UNLV (2-3) and Nevada (2-4).

Looking at undefeated teams left, #1 Florida State lost this week, dropping our number of undefeated teams to 3. #2 Kansas State (8-0), #3 Ohio State (8-0) and #4 Boise State (8-0) all remain with an unblemished record this season.

Turning to a more sadistic watch, who is still winless. There remains 1 team still looking for their first win: Idaho (0-6).

Teams getting their first win this week were: None.

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Kansas State (40 first place votes) climbs one to #1, Ohio State (21 votes) climbs one to #2, Boise State jumps one to #3, Alabama climbs one to #4 and Florida moves up one to #5. Virginia Tech climbs one to #6, Notre Dame jumps one to #7, USC moves up one to #8, Florida State drops eight to #9 and Washington climbs one to #10. TCU jumps one to #11, North Carolina climbs one to #12, LSU moves up one to #13, Miami leaps five to #14 and Texas climbs one to #15. Oklahoma climbs one to #16, Texas A&M jumps one to #17, Wisconsin drops eight to #18, South Carolina climbs three to #19 and Missouri jumps four to #20. Oregon climbs two to #21, Nebraska jumps three to #22, Georgia Tech enters the poll at #23, Arizona enters the poll at #24 and Oregon State (222 points) drops five to #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Tennessee (from #15) and Mississippi State (from #21). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Michigan State (219 points) is #26, followed by Tennessee (134), Mississippi State (115), Iowa (103) and Auburn (102) to round out the Top 30. Other teams getting points this week include Arizona State (4) and Western Kentucky (2).

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Media Poll, Kansas State (39 first place votes) remains #1, Ohio State (23 votes) jumps one to #2, Boise State (3 votes) climbs one to #3, Alabama moves up one to #4 and Florida climbs one to #5. USC jumps one to #6, Virginia Tech climbs one to #8, Miami pole vaults eleven to #8, Notre Dame remains #9 and Washington remains #10. Florida State drops nine to #11, TCU remains #12, LSU climbs one to #13, Texas drops one to #14 and North Carolina remains #15. Texas A&M climbs one to #16, Oklahoma moves up one to #17, South Carolina jumps four to #18, Wisconsin drops eight to #19 and Missouri jumps five to #20. Nebraska remains #21, Arizona jumps two to #22, Georgia Tech enters the poll at #23, Oregon enters the poll at #24 and Oregon State (177 points) drops two to #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Tennessee (from #16) and Mississippi State (from #20). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Michigan State (173 points) is #26, followed by Auburn (163), Mississippi State (162), Iowa (101) and Tennessee (97) to round out the Top 30. One other team getting points this week is Western Kentucky (61).

In the first BCS rankings of the year: #1 Kansas State (1.000), #2 Ohio State (0.995), #3 Boise State (0.989), #4 Alabama (0.982), #5 Florida (0.978), #6 Virginia Tech (0.971), #7 USC (0.968), #8 Notre Dame (0.963), #9 Washington (0.952) and #10 Miami (0.947).

A look at the Heisman race, Ohio State HB Ron Branch is #1 (LW: #2), Vanderbilt HB Jason Massey is #2 (LW: #1), Boise State QB Mark Concepcion is #3 (LW: #4), Arizona HB Kevin Simpson is #4 (LW: NR) and LSU HB Brett Miranda is #5 (LW: #3). Dropping off the Heisman Watch list this week was TCU QB Sean Moore is (LW: #5).

SmoothPancakes

10-05-2013, 07:15 AM

jaymo76

10-05-2013, 10:41 PM

UNLV shall be coming sometime this weekend. I ended up playing GTA Online with Punter and some others until 3:45 AM Friday morning (too late to fire up a game of NCAA). It might be sometime tonight overnight, or maybe Sunday sometime. I suppose that's the one good thing with the NCAA series being suspended/cancelled. I'm no longer in a rush to try and constantly plow through games and seasons, trying to squeeze as many out before the next game arrives each July. :D I can just cruise and take my time now, since I'm going to be rolling with NCAA '14 for at least the next two years (and possibly forever).

I'm using UNLV this season. They have some talent in my dynasty. I will be interested to see how they play against you in your world. Looking forward to the update.

As to your discussion of not needing to rush a game due to no 15, I was actually thinking that for sake of staying in an NCAA mindset that I am going to create my own thread (though no way as detailed as yours) and tell the story of my dynasty. I think it would be great for everyone on this site to do this. It would be a way to truly keep the game alive IMO.

SmoothPancakes

10-06-2013, 07:59 AM

I'm using UNLV this season. They have some talent in my dynasty. I will be interested to see how they play against you in your world. Looking forward to the update.

As to your discussion of not needing to rush a game due to no 15, I was actually thinking that for sake of staying in an NCAA mindset that I am going to create my own thread (though no way as detailed as yours) and tell the story of my dynasty. I think it would be great for everyone on this site to do this. It would be a way to truly keep the game alive IMO.

Nice! I'm looking forward to your dynasty. :)

Yeah, I would love to see this section come back to life. There's not really anything holding anyone back anymore. It's not like busy schedules will limit the playing and dynasty posting time people have before the next edition release. :D

I know I'm going to be keeping this dynasty going well into the future. My main issue will be when to decide to leave for a new team. I made my move from FIU to Tulsa when '13 came out. I made my move from Tulsa to Utah State when '14 came out. Now I'll have to decide when to move on since there's no new edition to plan around.

SmoothPancakes

10-13-2013, 05:36 PM

Game Ten

:Utah_State: :@: :UNLV:

Game Notes

--- One week after reaching bowl eligibility with a young Utah State squad, it was back onto the road for our final time this season, with a trip to take on UNLV. Despite entering with a 4-5 record, UNLV didn’t have any real bad losses. The worst losses would be to a 4-5 Hawaii and a 4-4 Nevada. The rest came against 5-4 Minnesota, 6-2 Arizona and 6-3 Fresno State, so they won when they were supposed to and for the most part lost when they were supposed to.

Their numbers however didn’t reflect the record. UNLV entered the game as a total abomination on offense, ranked #119 in points per game (18.1 point/game), #112 in total offense (314.1 yards/game) and #119 in pass offense (156.2 yards/game). The only decent offensive stat for UNLV was their rushing game, ranked #61 (157.9 yards/game). Defense was much better, their rush defense their worst rated at #80 (153.3 yards/game), with total defense coming in at #43 (336.9 yards/game) and pass defense sitting at #26 (183.6 yards/game). One stat that would potentially decide this game would be turnovers. We entered the game with a turnover differential of negative two (ranked #82), while UNLV entered at negative seven (ranked #113). With two semi-decent defenses colliding in this game, turnovers very well could be what decides who carries the day. We won the coin toss and elected to kick.

A touchback on the opening kickoff gave UNLV the ball at their 25 yard line to start the game. A screen pass from Gary Alvarez to Antonio Matthews on first down picked up only three yards for the Rebels, leaving second and 7. Alvarez kept it on the option play on second down, but a blitz by the defense left him with nowhere to run, brought down for a loss of one yard to set up third and 8. The Rebels would keep going backwards, as outside linebacker Casey Hunter came blitzing in from the blind side, sacking Alvarez from behind for a 6 yard loss to leave UNLV punting on fourth and 14. A 20 yard return by Eric McGuire on the short 33 yard punt left us with incredible field position, starting our first drive at the UNLV 34 yard line.

Lining up at the Rebels 34 to start our first drive of the game, Preston Roberson started the drive on the ground with a 7 yard rush, followed by a gain of 6 to move the chains to the 21. Continuing to pound away on the ground, Roberson fought his way to a 6 yard gain, followed by a three yard rush by Brian Paris to leave us with third and one. Roberson would come through for us with a three yard gain, giving us first and goal from the UNLV 9 yard line. Paris took over on first down, gaining three yards on the play, followed by a big 5 yard rush by Roberson to set up third and goal from the one yard line. Paris would get the call on third down, punching it in for a one yard touchdown, giving us a 7-0 lead with 5:06 left in the first quarter.

A 34 yard kickoff return gave UNLV the ball at their 33 yard line. Forced to rush the first down pass, the throw from Alvarez down the middle of the fields was wide of the receiver and fell incomplete. A 28 yard rush by Alvarez on the option keeper gave UNLV life on offense and a first down at our 39 yard line. Going no huddle, Alvarez connected with Jamie Boone for a quick 12 yard completion and a new set of downs at our 26 yard line. After an incomplete pass on first down, Alvarez found Joe Triplett for a gain of 5 yard to leave third and 5. An incomplete pass, intended again for Triplett, left the Rebels facing fourth down at our 22. A field goal wouldn’t be enough, as Alvarez dropped back and found Triplett over the middle for a 21 yard completion, giving the Rebels first and goal at our one yard line. Triplett, targeted for the fourth play in a row, would pull in the quick pass on first down and fall into the end zone for the one yard touchdown, tying the game up at 7-7 with 4:09 left in the first quarter.

A 16 yard kickoff return by Roberson got us started at our 22 yard line. Roberson started the drive on the ground with a three yard rush, the UNLV defense ready for the run that time. A play action pass on second down ended in utter failure, as Adam Powers pitched the ball to Paris for the HB pass, the throw from Paris intended for McGuire nothing but a wounded duck that landed incomplete 7 yards downfield, leaving us with third and 7. Dre Martin would keep the driving moving, pulling in the third down pass from Powers for a 17 yard completion and a first down at the 42. Looking to take advantage of UNLV’s less than stellar pass defense, we came right back at them on first down, Powers finding James along the right hash for a 13 yard strike, moving the chains to the UNLV 45 yard line. A 9 yard completion to McGuire was followed by a 12 yard strike to David Douglas, giving us a new set of downs at the 24. McGuire would end the drive for us on the next play, streaking down the left sideline while Martin and Douglas took the cornerback and outside linebacker out of the play, allowing McGuire to pull in the pass from Powers at the two yard line and beat the safety into the end zone for a 24 yard touchdown, giving us a 14-7 lead with 1:59 left in the first quarter.

A touchback on the kickoff gave UNLV the ball at their 25 yard line. Erick Parrish got the drive started with a three yard rush, before being tackled for no gain to leave third and 7. Forced to rush his pass in the face of a blitz, Alvarez’s third down throw intended for Jacob Hudson was well off-target and incomplete, leaving the punt team coming out on fourth and 7. A 16 yard return by McGuire on the 37 yard punt gave us the ball at the UNLV 49 yard line.

Roberson got our drive started on the ground with a 5 yard rush to the right side, before diving up the middle for a gain of four to leave third and inches. Roberson would just barely get the first down, rushing for one yard to move the sticks to the UNLV 38 yard line. That would be the final play of the first quarter, our lead 14-7 over the Rebels.

Opening up the second quarter, Roberson received the handoff on first down, only able to gain two yards on the play. The second down play action pass intended for tight end Jack Long was intercepted by outside linebacker Darren Morris, returned one yard to give UNLV the ball at their 32 yard line.

Taking over after the interception, the Rebels handed the ball off to Parrish on first down, the blitz by the defense leaving Parrish nowhere to run and resulting in the play ending in a four yard loss to leave second and 14. Alvarez dropped back on second down and dumped the ball off to Parrish, but the defense limited the damage to only two yards to bring up third and 12. Alvarez never had a chance to find an open receiver on the third down play, as cornerback Mike Moses came blitzing in from the blind side, sacking Alvarez for a 5 yard loss to leave UNLV punting on fourth and 17. A 16 yard return by McGuire on the 38 yard punt gave us possession at the UNLV 48 yard line.

Coming out passing on first down, Powers shook off his previous interception and connected with Martin over the middle for a 17 yard completion, instantly moving the chains to the 31 yard line. Paris kept us moving with a 13 yard reception for a first down at the 18. Ryan Conley would finish off the drive on the next play, pulling in a pass from Powers over the middle for an 18 yard touchdown, increasing our lead to 21-7 with 6:29 left in the second quarter.

A 19 yard return on the kickoff gave UNLV the ball at their 20 yard line. Parrish received the handoff on first down, but was quickly brought down for a loss of one yard on the play. Alvarez was hit as he threw on second down, the pass landing incomplete to bring up third and 11. A screen pass to Parrish gained 8 yards, but it wasn’t enough, forcing the punt team to come out on fourth and three. A 13 yard return by McGuire on the 43 yard punt got us back in action from our 43 yard line.

Coming out passing again on first down, Michael Smith pulled down a first down pass from Powers for a 9 yard gain, before the quick pass intended for Conley was broken up, nearly intercepted, to leave us with third and one. Roberson came in to take the ball on third down, picking up three yards on the ground to move the chains to the UNLV 45 yard line. Keeping on the ground, Roberson received the handoff on first down, fighting his way to an 8 yard gain, before safety Devon White tackled him by his facemask at the end of the run, the 15 yard penalty giving us a first down and a big boost at the Rebels 22 yard line. Continuing to move the ball on the ground, Roberson plowed up the middle for a pair of 7 yard gains, setting us up with first and goal from the 8 yard line when all was said and done. Keeping the ball himself on first down, Powers tried to go off the right tackle, only managing a single yard on the play. A second down pass to Tim Fields resulted in a gain of only one yard, leaving third and goal at the 6 yard line. Douglas would come through for us on third down, getting open in the corner of the end zone and hauling in the pass from Powers for a 6 yard touchdown to increase our lead to 28-7 with 2:10 left in the second quarter.

A 22 yard kickoff return gave UNLV the ball at their 25 yard line. Parrish received the handoff on first down, gaining one yard on the play, the Rebels calling their first timeout with 2:01 to go. An incomplete pass on second down, intended for Hudson, left the Rebels facing third and 9. Alvarez’s throw on third down, intended for Boone, was far off the mark and incomplete, bringing out the punt team on fourth down. A 15 yard return by McGuire on the 40 yard punt got us back on the field at our 48 yard line.

Coming out passing on first down, the pass from Powers, initially intended for Martin, incidentally got broken up by McGuire, who was cutting past on his route. The ball bounced off of McGuire’s pads and up into the air, giving McGuire the chance to pull in the ball, somehow the pass ending up complete for an 11 yard gain and a first down at the UNLV 41 yard line. The first down pass intended for Douglas would end up an utter failure, the ball intercepted by safety Tony Johnson, who returned it 14 yards to the UNLV 39 yard line with 1:23 left until halftime.

Taking over after the interception, the Rebels started their drive on the ground, Parrish rushing for a 6 yard gain on the play. An incomplete screen pass on second down would bring about third and four for the Rebels. Despite the blitz forcing a rushed pass, Alvarez was able to get the ball off to Triplett for a gain of 9 yards and a first down at our 46 yard line, Triplett tackled out of bounds to stop the clock with 56 seconds remaining. Alvarez threw up a 7 yard completion to Michael Neal on first down, the Rebels calling their second timeout with 50 seconds to go. The second down pass intended for Boone was off the mark and incomplete, forcing UNLV into a third and three situation. A heavy blitz on third down paid off, Parrish receiving the handoff and only able to pick up two yards on the play, leaving the Rebels with fourth and one. We called our first timeout of the half with 42 seconds remaining. Going for it on fourth down, Alvarez never had a chance to get the pass off, as nearly the entire defense came blitzing after him, sacking him for a four yard loss and forcing the turnover on downs at our 42 yard line, 38 seconds remaining.

Taking over after the turnover on downs, a first down pass to Roberson ended up knocked incomplete, followed by an incomplete pass intended for McGuire. Douglas would keep our drive alive on third down, pulling in a pass from Powers and shouldering his way through a defender for a 12 yard gain and a first down at the UNLV 46 yard line. Rushing to the line, Fields would make the next big play, managing to slip behind the middle linebacker out of the tight end slot from the right side, pulling in the pass for a 30 yard gain and a first down at the 16 yard line, our second timeout called with 11 seconds left in the half. We received some bad news after the play, as we found out Douglas had strained his back during his previous reception, the injury leaving him sidelined for two quarters. A first down pass over the middle intended for Martin was briefly caught, but contact by the safety knocked the ball loose and incomplete, leaving second down with 8 seconds to go. McGuire would finish the job on second down, going one and one with cornerback and pulling on the pass first for a 16 yard touchdown, giving us a 35-7 lead with four seconds on the clock.

A 15 yard kickoff return gave UNLV the ball at their 42 yard line, just one second left on the clock. The pass deep down the right sideline was broken up, and we headed into halftime with a 35-7 lead.

Opening up the second half, McGuire returned the kickoff 19 yards to our 21 yard line to start the third quarter. Starting the drive on the ground, Roberson fought his way to barely a two yard gain on first down. Keeping on the ground, Roberson was quickly tripped up for a gain of only three yards, leaving third and 5. Dropping back on third down, Powers tried to connect with Martin, but the pass was broken up by the outside linebacker, and we were forced to punt on fourth down. A 16 yard return on the 40 yard punt gave UNLV the ball at their 49 yard line.

The Rebels got their drive off to a disappointing start, as the first down pass intended for Kasey Ryan was broken up, leaving second down. Hudson got the drive moving with a 13 yard reception and a first down at our 38 yard line, followed by a 10 yard completion to Ryan to leave second and inches. Hudson would get the first down with a 7 yard completion, moving the chains to our 22 yard line. A four yard completion to Hudson was followed by an incomplete pass, intended for John Williams, leaving third and 6 at our 18, UNLV’s no-huddle ripping our defense to shreds. We would catch a major break on third down, as the pass intended for Hudson would have been a sure first down, but he was unable to hold onto the ball, dropping it incomplete to leave fourth down. The 35 yard field goal by Kalvin Merritt cut our lead to 35-10 with 6:49 left in the third quarter.

A 15 yard kickoff return by Roberson got us lined up at our 19 yard line. Roberson took the handoff on first down, but found nowhere to run, tackled for no gain on the play. Going into the air on second down, Powers tried to connect with McGuire, but the pass was broken up by the middle linebacker, leaving third and 10. Everything would continue to go downhill for us in the second half, as Powers threw his third interception of the game, the pass picked off by cornerback Scott McKenzie, who then returned it 23 yards for a touchdown, further cutting our lead to 35-17 with 6:10 remaining in the third quarter.

We weren’t about to go down without a fight as McGuire received the kickoff, finding a hole and breaking free up the left sideline. He had a chance to take it to the house, but was caught up from behind, tackled for a 59 yard return, getting our offense started at the UNLV 34 yard line. Paris got our drive started on the ground with a 5 yard rush, followed by a gain of 8 to get the first down at the 20. Roberson came back in on first down, taking the ball up the middle for a 5 yard gain. However, a flag came out during the tackle, a facemask penalty called on cornerback Marcus Nance. The half the distance to the goal penalty gaining up 7 yards and giving us a first down and goal at the 8 yard line. Roberson kept pounding away on the ground, picking up three yards on the first down carry. Paris would take the ball on second down and finish off the drive, punching it in for a 5 yard touchdown to increase our lead to 42-17 with 4:33 left in the third quarter.

A touchback on the kickoff gave UNLV the ball at their 25 yard line to start their next drive. A screen pass to Parrish on first down resulted in no gain on the play. Parrish would still get the last laugh, taking the ball on second down and burning us for a 24 yard gain on the ground and a first down at the 49 yard line. Going no huddle on first down, Alvarez tried to connect with Antonio Matthews over the middle, but the pass was broken up to leave second and 10. Bringing the blitz on second down, Alvarez was forced to throw the ball away, bringing up third and 10. On a ridiculous third down conversion, Alvarez chucked up a pass down the left sideline for Ryan, who jumped up and dove for the pass, pulling it in for a 20 yard completion and a first down at our 32 yard line. Our defense would then proceed to shoot itself in the foot, defensive end Caleb McBride getting flagged for encroachment, giving UNLV first and 5 at our 27. Bringing the blitz again on first down, Alvarez dropped back for a screen pass, but was unable to make the throw, instead try to get rid of the ball as he was gang tackled. It nearly ended in disaster for the Rebels, as the ball merely rose up into the air and hung there. It was nearly intercepted by two different defenders, but they were unable to come down with it, the ball landing incomplete to bring up second and 5. The second down pass intended for Parrish was dropped incomplete, and the Rebels faced third down. It would be only downhill from there as another attempted screen pass resulted in Alvarez being sacked for a 9 yard loss, bringing up fourth and 14 from our 36 yard line. The 36 yard punt bounced into the end zone for a touchback, giving us the ball at our 20 yard line.

Lining up at our 20 yard line, Roberson got the drive started with a 7 yard rush, followed by a two yard rush by Powers that left us with third and one. Paris would take the ball on first down, rumbling his way to a 13 yard gain and a first down at the 42 yard line. A pair of rushes by Paris went for gains of four and 5 yards, setting up third and one. Brian James took the ball on third down, tackled for a loss of one yard on the play, forcing us to punt on fourth and two from midfield. In our best punt of the entire season, the 47 yard boot by EdAllen landed at the UNLV 7 yard line and bounced down to the two yard line, where a sprinting Moses came diving in to down it at the UNLV two yard line and leave the Rebels buried.

Taking over at their own two yard line after the punt, the first down pass intended for Michael Neal was broken up at the one yard line, leaving second and 10. Only our defense would find a way to screw up that positioning, allowing an 11 yard rush by Parrish and a first down at the 13 yard line. An incomplete pass intended for Neal was followed by a dropped pass by Boone to bring up third and 10. A third straight incomplete pass, intended for Boone, would bring the third quarter to an end, our lead sitting at 42-17.

Opening up the fourth quarter, UNLV lined up for a punt on fourth and 10 from their 13 yard line. We nearly blocked the punt, but the Rebels were just barely able to get it off, a fair catch by McGuire on the 37 yard kick giving us the ball at our 49 yard line.

Paris took the ball on first down, rushing for a 6 yard gain, followed by a 14 yard rush and a first down at the UNLV 30. Paris continued to pound the ball away on the ground, picking up 7 yards on first down. James took over on second down, just managing to gain three yards and get the first down at the 20 yard line. A play action pass to Fields was complete as the defense bit the fake, the completion going for a 15 yard gain to give us first and goal at the 5 yard line. Conley would get us back to the end zone on the next play, pulling in the pass from Powers for a 5 yard touchdown to expand our lead to 49-17 with 6:54 left in the game.

A 22 yard kickoff return got the Rebels back in action from their 21 yard line. The Rebels started right where they left off, as the first down pass from Alvarez to Boone fell incomplete to bring up second down. UNLV would finally get positive yards again, as Hudson pulled in a pass from Alvarez for a 26 yard gain and a first down at the 47 yard line. The Rebels would then double down on the passing game, Alvarez launching a bomb to Williams, who hauled in the pass and beat our secondary to the end zone for a 53 yard touchdown, cutting our lead to 49-24 with 6:29 left in the game.

A 28 yard kickoff return by Buck Castillo got us back on the field at our 25 yard line. Paris started our drive with a 5 yard rush, followed by a gain of 10 to get the first down at the 40 yard line. James took the ball on first down for three yards. Our drive would come crashing to an end on second down, as Paris initially had gained about 6 yards on the play, seemingly just short of the first down. Then during the tackle, the ball popped loose and ended up on the ground behind the pile of bodies, the fumble recovered by defensive end Chad Riggs, returned two yards to give UNLV the ball at our 46 yard line. Despite trying to challenge the fumble, we were not allowed to, and UNLV got to keep possession of the ball.

The Rebels got the drive started with a one yard completion to Ryan, before Neal hauled in a pass down the left sideline and shredded us for a 22 yard gain and a first down at our 23 yard line. Dumping off a first down pass to Parrish, our defense was ready this time, tackling him out of bounds for a two yard loss to leave second and 12. A 12 yard completion to Matthews kept the sticks moving to our 13 yard line. Alvarez kept the ball on an option play on first down, gaining one yard on the rush, before our defense blitzed through and tackled Parrish for a three yard loss to leave third and 12. Our defense would hold, forcing a bad pass that landed in the end zone incomplete, bringing up fourth and 12. Down by 25 with under four minutes to play, UNLV lined up to go for it on fourth down, essentially needing a touchdown or bust on this play. A deflected pass by middle linebacker Lee Bradley would end those hopes for the home crowd, forcing the turnover on downs with 3:41 left in the game.

Taking over at our 15 yard line after the turnover on downs, Paris started our drive with a three yard rush around the right tackle, before being brought down for no gain to leave us with third and 7. Martin would keep our drive moving, pulling in a pass from Powers for a 14 yard gain and a first down at the 32 yard line with 2:23 left in the game. Paris received the handoff on first down, fighting his way to a 5 yard gain on the play, followed by a carry for no gain by James, setting up third and 5 with one minute left to go. With the clock low enough, Powers took to a knee with 32 seconds left in the game, the clock running out without another snap needing to be taken, sealing our 49-24 win over the Rebels.

With the win, we improve to 7-3, 5-1 in Mountain West action. With the loss, UNLV drops to 4-6, 2-4 in Mountain West play. Up next, we have a bye week before returning home for our final two games of the year, starting with a visit from Colorado State. The Rams enter the game 2-8, 1-5 in Mountain West action. Colorado State opened their year with a 29-14 loss to rival Colorado, a 33-10 loss at Arizona State and a 38-3 whooping at #4 Alabama. They finally got in the win column with a 31-24 win over UTEP, before going back on a 5 game slide. They lose 38-17 to San Jose State, 31-21 at Wyoming, 24-21 at Hawaii, 38-20 to #3 Boise State, 28-3 to Nevada. The Rams would finally recover with a 21-20 upset of New Mexico heading into our game.

Final Score
:Utah_State: 49, :UNLV: 24

Stat(s) of the Game:
Utah State Offense - Good and bad today by Powers when it came to passing. The good, 18-27 for 241 yards and 5 touchdowns. The bad, three interceptions. Rushing, Paris ended up being the best on the ground, ending with 102 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries, though he did have one fumble. Roberson ended with 87 yards rushing on 20 carries. Receiving, McGuire led the way with 60 yards and two touchdowns on four receptions. Douglas had 30 yards and one touchdown on three catches. And Conley ended with 23 yards and two touchdowns on two receptions. In all, eight receivers caught a pass today, seven ended with double digit yards.

Utah State Defense – First half, incredible. Dominating. Shut down defense. Second half? Ugh. UNLV started to shred our defense in the second half, especially when going no-huddle. Thankfully we already had such a large lead by then that we were able to stop the blood loss and keep our lead.

Utah State Kicking – Burnette went perfect today, 0-0 in field goals, 7-7 in PATs.

Scoring Summary

Team
1st Quarter
2nd Quarter
3rd Quarter
4th Quarter
Final Score

:Utah_State:
14
21
7
7
49

:UNLV:
7
0
10
7
24

Time
Team
Result
Play
Score

First Quarter

5:06
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
B. Paris, 1 yard run (R. Burnette kick)
:Utah_State: 7-0

4:09
:UNLV:
Touchdown
J. Triplett, 1 yard pass from G. Alvarez (K. Merritt kick)
TIED 7-7

1:59
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
E. McGuire, 24 yard pass from A. Powers (R. Burnette kick)
:Utah_State: 14-7

Second Quarter

6:29
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
R. Conley, 18 yard pass from A. Powers (R. Burnette kick)
:Utah_State: 21-7

2:10
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
D. Douglas, 6 yard pass from A. Powers (R. Burnette kick)
:Utah_State: 28-7

0:04
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
E. McGuire, 16 yard pass from A. Powers (R. Burnette kick)
:Utah_State: 35-7

Third Quarter

6:53
:UNLV:
Field Goal
K. Merritt, 34 yard field goal
:Utah_State: 35-10

6:10
:UNLV:
Touchdown
S. McKenzie, returned interception 23 yards (K. Merritt kick)
:Utah_State: 35-17

4:33
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
B. Paris, 5 yard run (R. Burnette kick)
:Utah_State: 42-17

Fourth Quarter

6:54
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
R. Conley, 5 yard pass from A. Powers (R. Burnette kick)
:Utah_State: 49-17

6:29
:UNLV:
Touchdown
J. Williams, 53 yard pass from G. Alvarez (K. Merritt kick)
:Utah_State: 49-24

Game Stats

Utah State
Stat
UNLV

49
Score
24

22
First Downs
12

437
Total Offense
276

45 - 196 - 2
Rushes - Yards - TD
17 - 42 - 0

18 - 28 - 5
Comp - Att - TD
21 - 45 - 2

241
Passing Yards
234

0
Times Sacked
4

9 - 13 (69%)
3rd Down Conversion
2 - 13 (15%)

0 - 0 (0%)
4th Down Conversion
1 - 3 (33%)

0 - 0 (0%)
2-Point Conv
0 - 0 (0%)

6 - 6 - 0 (100%)
Red Zone - TD - FG
3 - 1 - 1 (66%)

4
Turnovers
0

1
Fumbles Lost
0

3
Intercepted
0

79
Punt Return Yards
15

134
Kick Return Yards
111

650
Total Yards
402

2 – 44.0
Punts - Average
7 - 38.3

1 - 5
Penalties
2 - 23

25:18
Time of Possession
10:42

Utah State Coach Goals

Goal
XP Reward
Completed

Win a Game
100
x1

Score a Touchdown
25
x7

Rush for 100 Yards
25
x1

Kneel Last Minute Q4 While Ahead
10
x1

3+ Sacks
50
x1

Opponent Under 150 Rush Yards
50
x1

Opponent Under 300 Pass Yards
50
x1

Pass Completion over 50%
30
x1

100% Red Zone Efficiency
50
x1

Score 21 or More Points
50
x1

350+ Offensive Yards
50
x1

10+ First Downs
50
x1

4+ 3rd Down Conversions
25
x1

School Record: Pass TD/Game (5)
200
x1

Utah State Contract Goals Update

Goal
Expectations
Progress

Target Wins Per Season
6
:check: (7)

Job Security Status

100%

SmoothPancakes

10-13-2013, 05:38 PM

Taking a look around the nation, in the Top 25, #1 Kansas State blanked Texas Tech 23-0. #2 Ohio State rolled over Michigan State 41-16. #3 Boise State doubled up Army 38-17. In the game of the week, #4 Alabama topped #13 LSU 41-23. In the upset of the week, Vanderbilt knocked off #5 Florida 27-20. #6 Virginia Tech defeated #14 Miami 28-7. #7 Notre Dame beat Pittsburgh 35-7. #8 USC topped Cal 20-7. #9 Florida State beat Wake Forest 31-21. #10 Washington demolished Colorado 42-10

#11 TCU beat Iowa State 43-40 in triple overtime. #12 North Carolina beat Virginia 27-17. #15 Texas topped West Virginia 34-10. #16 Oklahoma beat Baylor 55-21. #17 Texas A&M held off Mississippi State 31-24. BYU knocked off #18 Wisconsin 21-19. #19 South Carolina beat FCS East 41-22. Kentucky knocked off #20 Missouri 17-13. #21 Oregon topped Stanford 28-21. #23 Georgia Tech defeated Boston College 24-10. And UCLA knocked off #24 Arizona 28-19.

For our readers, JeffHCross, #2 Ohio State improves to 9-0 (6-0 Big Ten) with 41-16 win over Michigan State. Morsdraconis, West Virginia drops to 5-5 (2-5 Big 12) with a 34-10 loss to #15 Texas. Souljahbill, Southern Miss improves to 4-5 (3-2 C-USA) with a 34-7 win over Old Dominion. Jaymo, Arizona State improves to 5-4 (4-2 Pac-12) with a 27-21 win over Utah. LeeSO, Auburn improves to 6-3 (5-1 SEC) with a 35-24 win over Tennessee. SCClassof93, #19 South Carolina improves to 6-3 (4-3 SEC), beating FCS East 41-22. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State falls to 6-3 (3-2 Sun Belt), losing 28-27 to Louisiana-Monroe. Florida International improves to 8-1 (5-0 C-USA) with a 24-17 win over Massachusetts. Navy drops to 4-5 (4-3 American) with a 27-21 win over Connecticut. Tulsa falls to 5-4 (4-2 American) with a 34-14 loss to East Carolina.

In Mountain West action, Utah State beat UNLV 49-24, Nevada topped Colorado State 28-3, New Mexico knocked off Air Force 33-17, Fresno State beat Wyoming 30-21, San Diego State came from behind to beat San Jose State 31-24, and #3 Boise State beat Army 38-17.

With those results, looking at the current standings, in the Mountain Division, Boise State (5-0) remains top dog, followed by Utah State (5-1). After that sits Wyoming (2-3), New Mexico (1-4), Air Force (1-5) and Colorado State (0-5), with all four teams eliminated from the division race. In the West Division, San Diego State (4-1) sits on top, followed closely by Hawaii (4-2) and Fresno State (4-2). After that, sits San Jose State (3-3), Nevada (3-4) and UNLV (2-4), with San Jose State, Nevada and UNLV all eliminated.

Looking at undefeated teams left, nobody lost this week, leaving our number of undefeated teams at 3. #1 Kansas State (9-0), #2 Ohio State (9-0) and #3 Boise State (9-0) all remain with an unblemished record this season.

Turning to a more sadistic watch, who is still winless. There remains 1 team still looking for their first win: Idaho (0-8).

Teams getting their first win this week were: None.

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Kansas State (34 first place votes) remains #1, Ohio State (26 votes) remains #2, Boise State (1 vote) remains #3, Alabama remains #4 and Virginia Tech climbs one to #5. Notre Dame jumps one to #6, USC climbs one to #7, Florida State moves up one to #8, Washington climbs one to #9 and TCU jumps one to #10. North Carolina climbs one to #11, Texas jumps three to #12, Oklahoma climbs three to #13, Florida drops nine to #14 and Texas A&M climbs two to #15. South Carolina climbs three to #16, Oregon jumps four to #17, Miami drops four to #18, Nebraska climbs three to #19 and Georgia Tech moves up three to #20. LSU drops eight to #21, Oregon State climbs three to #22, Iowa enters the poll at #23, Auburn enters the poll at #24 and Wisconsin (216 points) drops seven to #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Missouri (from #20) and Arizona (from #24). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Arizona State (185 points) is #26, followed by Western Kentucky (175), Michigan State (148), Florida International (107) and Arizona (85) to round out the Top 30. One other team getting votes this week is UCLA (38).

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Media Poll, Kansas State (37 first place votes) remains #1, Ohio State (25 votes) remains #2, Boise State (3 votes) remains #3, Alabama remains #4 and Virginia Tech jumps two to #5. USC remains #6, Notre Dame climbs two to #7, Washington jumps two to #8, Florida State moves up two to #9 and TCU climbs two to #10. North Carolina leaps four to #11, Texas jumps two to #12, Texas A&M climbs three to #13, Oklahoma jumps three to #14 and Florida drops ten to #15. South Carolina climbs two to #16, Miami drops nine to #17, Nebraska jumps three to #18, Georgia Tech climbs four to #19 and Oregon jumps four to #20. Oregon State jumps four to #21, LSU falls nine to #22, Auburn enters the poll at #23, Iowa enters the poll at #24 and Western Kentucky (199 points) enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Wisconsin (from #19), Missouri (from #20) and Arizona (from #22). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Wisconsin (180 points) is #26, followed by Florida International (126), Michigan State (120), Arizona State (117) and Arizona (82) to round out the Top 30.

In the new BCS rankings: #1 Kansas State (1.000), #2 Ohio State (0.995), #3 Boise State (0.989), #4 Alabama (0.982), #5 Virginia Tech (0.979), #6 Notre Dame (0.971), #7 USC (0.971), #8 Washington (0.960), #9 North Carolina (0.947) and #10 Florida State (0.947).

A look at the Heisman race, Ohio State QB Matt Cowan is #1 (LW: NR), Vanderbilt HB Jason Massey is #2 (LW: #2), Boise State QB Mark Concepcion is #3 (LW: #3), Ohio State HB Ron Branch is #4 (LW: #1) and Arizona HB Kevin Simpson is #5 (LW: #4). Dropping off the Heisman Watch list this week was LSU HB Brett Miranda (LW: #5).

SmoothPancakes

10-13-2013, 07:04 PM

On a bye week this week, so lets get right to it.

Taking a look around the nation, in the Top 25, in the game of the week and the upset of the week, #10 TCU knocked off #1 Kansas State 27-13. #2 Ohio State topped Illinois 55-10. #3 Boise State whooped Wyoming 52-14. #4 Alabama beat Mississippi State 34-13. #5 Virginia Tech escaped FCS Midwest 45-39 in triple overtime. FCS Midwest led 26-14 in the early fourth, the Hokies scored 15 to take the lead, FCS tied up with a field goal at the end to force overtime. #6 Notre Dame blanked North Texas 48-0.

Stanford knocked off #7 USC 45-35. Syracuse upset #8 Florida State 20-14. #9 Washington beat UCLA 34-21. #11 North Carolina escaped Pittsburgh 23-17. #12 Texas beat Oklahoma State 35-19. #13 Oklahoma topped Iowa State 41-21. #14 Florida doubled up0 #16 South Carolina 28-14. Utah knocked off #17 Oregon 49-13. #18 Miami beat Duke 38-7. #19 Nebraska fought off #25 Wisconsin 38-26. #20 Georgia Tech held off Clemson 33-21. #22 Oregon State fought off Arizona State 42-35. Georgia upset #24 Auburn 38-24.

For our readers, JeffHCross, #2 Ohio State improves to 10-0 (7-0 Big Ten) with 55-10 win over Illinois. Morsdraconis, West Virginia improves to 6-5 (3-5 Big 12) with a 14-11 win over Kansas. Souljahbill, Southern Miss improves to 5-5 (4-2 C-USA) with a 9-3 win over Florida Atlantic. Jaymo, Arizona State drops to 5-5 (4-3 Pac-12) with a 42-35 loss to #22 Oregon State. LeeSO, #24 Auburn drops to 6-4 (5-2 SEC) with a 38-24 loss to Georgia. SCClassof93, #16 South Carolina falls to 6-4 (4-4 SEC), losing 28-14 to #14 Florida. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State improves to 7-3 (4-2 Sun Belt), with a 29-20 win over Texas State. Florida International improves to 9-1 (6-0 C-USA) with a 20-14 win over UTEP. Navy improves to 5-5 (5-3 American) with a 35-16 win over Memphis. Tulsa falls to 5-5 (4-3 American) with a 32-27 loss to Houston.

In Mountain West action, #3 Boise State beat Wyoming 52-14, Colorado State knocked off New Mexico 21-20, San Jose State topped Nevada 45-24 and San Diego State blanked Hawaii 26-0.

With those results, looking at the current standings, in the Mountain Division, Boise State (6-0) remains top dog, followed by Utah State (5-1). After that sits Wyoming (2-4), New Mexico (1-5), Air Force (1-5) and Colorado State (1-5), with all four teams eliminated from the division race. In the West Division, San Diego State (5-1) sits on top, followed closely by Fresno State (4-2). After that, sits Hawaii (4-3), San Jose State (4-3), Nevada (3-5) and UNLV (2-4), with all four teams eliminated.

Looking at undefeated teams left, #1 Kansas State lost this week, dropping our number of undefeated teams to 2. #2 Ohio State (10-0) and #3 Boise State (10-0) are all that remain with an unblemished record this season.

Turning to a more sadistic watch, who is still winless. There remains 1 team still looking for their first win: Idaho (0-9).

Teams getting their first win this week were: None.

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Ohio State (36 votes) climbs one to #1, Boise State (25 votes) jumps one to #2, Alabama climbs one to #3, Virginia Tech climbs one to #4 and Notre Dame jumps one to #5. Kansas State drops five to #6, TCU climbs three to #7, Washington moves up one to #8, North Carolina jumps two to #9 and Texas climbs two to #10. Oklahoma climbs two to #11, Florida jumps two to #12, Texas A&M moves up two to #13, USC drops seven to #14 and Miami climbs three to #15. Nebraska jumps three to #16, Georgia Tech climbs three to #17, Florida State drops ten to #18, LSU climbs two to #19 and Oregon State jumps two to #20. Iowa climbs two to #21, Western Kentucky enters the poll at #22, Michigan State enters the poll at #23, South Carolina drops eight to #24, and Florida International (222 points) enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Oregon (from #17), Auburn (from #24) and Wisconsin (from #25). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Arizona (165 points) is #26, followed by Utah (111), Stanford (68), Vanderbilt (28) and Oregon (27) to round out the Top 30.

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Media Poll, Ohio State (43 votes) climbs one to #1, Boise State (22 votes) jumps one to #2, TCU leap seven to #3, Alabama remains #4 and Virginia Tech remains #5. Kansas State drops five to #6, Notre Dame remains #7, Washington remains #8, North Carolina climbs two to #9 and Texas climbs two to #10. Oklahoma leaps three to #11, Texas A&M climbs one to #12, Florida jumps two to #13, Miami moves up three to #14 and USC drops nine to #15. Nebraska moves up two to #16, Georgia Tech climbs two to #17, Oregon State leaps three to #18, Florida State drops ten to #19 and LSU climbs two to #20. Iowa climbs three to #21, Western Kentucky jumps three to #22, Florida International enters the poll at #23, Michigan State enters the poll at #24 and South Carolina (252 points) drops nine to #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Oregon (from #20) and Auburn (from #23). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Arizona (219 points) is #26, followed by Utah (157), Virginia (115), NC State (74) and Vanderbilt (36) to round out the Top 30. Other teams getting points this week include BYU (35), Oregon (12) and Missouri (3).

In the new BCS rankings: #1 Ohio State (1.000), #2 Boise State (0.995), #3 Alabama (0.987), #4 Virginia Tech (0.981), #5 TCU (0.979), #6 Kansas State (0.974), #7 Notre Dame (0.974), #8 Washington (0.963), #9 North Carolina (0.958) and #10 Texas (0.952).

A look at the Heisman race, Ohio State QB Matt Cowan is #1 (LW: #1), Boise State QB Mark Concepcion is #2 (LW: #3),Vanderbilt HB Jason Massey is #3 (LW: #2), Ohio State HB Ron Branch is #4 (LW: #4) and Arizona HB Kevin Simpson is #5 (LW: #5). No one dropped off the Heisman Watch list this week.

SmoothPancakes

10-14-2013, 07:09 PM

Game Eleven

:Colorado_State: :@: :Utah_State:

Game Notes

--- Returning home for our final two games of the season, first up was a visit from the Colorado State Rams. There wasn’t much to be said about this game other than how big the margin of victory would be. Terrible doesn’t even sum up the Rams. They entered the game ranked #123 in points/game (16.1), #117 in total offense (301.8 yards/game), #105 in rush offense (115.0 yards/game), #104 in pass offense (186.8 yards/game), #112 in total defense (419.8 yards/game), #113 in rush defense (170.1 yards/game) and #109 in pass defense (249.7 yards/game). The only ranking they avoided a 100+ ranking on was turnover differential, their negative two differential giving them a ranking of #73. We won the coin toss and elected to kick.

A touchback on the kickoff got Colorado State started at their 25 yard line. The drive got off to a poor start as Ryan Buchanan’s pass on first down, intended for Bryce Gallagher, landed incomplete. A second down rush by James Nichols ended up going backwards, Nichols tackled for a one yard loss, and the Rams were left facing third and 11. Adam Wade would keep the drive alive for the Rams, getting open down the left sideline and pulling in the pass from Buchanan for an 18 yard gain, just getting both toes down before falling out of bounds, picking up the first down at the 42 yard line. Tevita Wilson initially bobbled the first down pass from Buchanan, but was able to catch it on the second attempt. Unfortunately for him, the defense was already on him by that point, as Wilson ended up tackled for no gain on the play, setting up second and 10. The blitz came through for us on second down, Buchanan almost escaping a pair of defenders, but ending up tripped up at the last second and sacked for a 6 yard loss, leaving third and 16 for the Rams. Nichols took the handoff on third down, but had nowhere to run, brought down for no gain on the play to bring out the Colorado State punt team on fourth and 16. A 17 yard return by Eric McGuire on the 36 yard punt gave us the ball to start at our 44 yard line.

Preston Roberson got our drive started on the ground, busting his way up the middle for a 10 yard gain to leave second and inches. The Rams would bring the blitz on second down, but Roberson was still able to gain two yards on the play, picking up a first down at the Colorado State 44 yard line. Roberson kept pounding away with a pair of four yard rushes, leaving us with third and two. Brian Paris would fail to come through, only gaining one yard on the play to bring up fourth and one from the 35. The 52 yard field goal by Richard Burnette was good, giving us a 3-0 lead with 4:26 left in the first quarter.

A 28 yard kickoff return gave the Rams the ball at their 27 yard line. Nichols got the drive started with a one yard rush, followed by a 16 yard pass from Buchanan to Wade, picking up a first down at the 44 yard line. We caught a break on first down as the Rams got flagged for a false start, pushing the offense back into first and 15. Nichols took the ball on first down for a gain of four yards, before an incomplete pass intended for Roger Martinez left the Rams facing third and 11. A deep bomb down the left sideline on third down, intended for Martinez, was thankfully broken up by our cornerback at our 10 yard line, saving what would have been a Rams touchdown. That incomplete pass brought another drive to an end, Colorado State bringing their punt team back out on fourth and 11. A 27 yard return by Roberson on the 40 yard punt got us back in action at our 42 yard line.

Roberson got our drive started on the ground with a 6 yard rush, followed by a three yard rush by Paris to leave us with third and one. We would again fail to convert on third down, Roberson stood up at the line of scrimmage for no gain, forcing us to bring out our punt team for the first time today on fourth and one from the Rams 49 yard line. The 49 yard punt bounced down at the 5 yard line and rolled into the end zone for a touchback, giving the Rams the ball at their 20 yard line.

Buchanan was forced to throw the ball early on first down, the pass sailing incomplete. Going back into the air on second down, Buchanan’s throw intended for Gallagher was off the mark, and the Rams were left facing third and 10. The Rams would commit the first error of the game, Buchanan throw the ball up to avoid a sack, the hanging duck over the middle of the field promptly intercepted by safety Sam Vinson, who returned it 10 yards to the Colorado State 17 yard line.

Lining up at the Rams 17 yard line after the interception, Roberson got our drive started with a 6 yard rush up the middle, before being brought down in the backfield for a loss of one yard, leaving us facing third and 5. Dropping back in the shotgun on third down, Adam Powers rifled a pass over the middle to McGuire, but the pass was likewise intercepted by middle linebacker Kyle Kerr, who was immediately tackled, giving Colorado State the ball back at their three yard line.

The Rams came out on offense from their three yard line after the interception, and Nichols was ready this time, breaking outside the right tackle for an 8 yard gain on the first down carry. That would be the final play of the first quarter, our lead still just 3-0.

Opening up the second quarter of this surprising defensive battle, Nichols was able to get three yards on the second down carry, picking up a first down at the 14 yard line. A 23 yard rush by Buchanan on the QB read picked up another quick first down at the 37 yard line, our defense suddenly struggling. A 7 yard rush by Nichols was followed with a 6 yard gain by Matt Schneider, moving the chains to midfield. Another rush by Nichols picked up 14 yards, finally pushed out of bounds for a first down at our 36. A QB read on first down finally ended in a win for our defense, Buchanan hit immediately in the backfield for a four yard loss to leave second and 14. Nichols tried to take the ball on second down, but likewise met the defense for an instant four yard loss, setting the Rams back into a third and 18 situation. Those previous plays would only briefly stop the bleeding, before it turned into full on hemorrhaging, as Martinez pulled down a third down pass from Buchanan along the left sideline for a 44 yard gain, a desperation tackle bringing him down at our one yard line to give the Rams first and goal. Nichols would punch it in on first down for the one yard touchdown, and Colorado State took a 7-3 lead with 6:34 left in the second quarter.

A 24 yard kickoff return by McGuire left us starting at our 28 yard line. Roberson got the drive started with a three yard rush. Calling a play action pass on second down, the pass intended for tight end Jack Long left us with third and 7. David Douglas would get our offense finally picking up some momentum, pulling in a 10 yard pass from Powers for a first down at the 42. Dre Martin kept us moving with a 16 yard reception, moving the chains again to the Colorado State 43 yard line. Keeping the aerial attack going, Brian James pulled in an 8 yard pass, followed by a 10 yard completion to Michael Smith, giving us a first down at the 25. A diving catch by Ryan Conley went for a big 21 yard gain, and set us up with first and goal at the four yard line. Roberson received the handoff on first down and bowled his way over a pair of defender, forcing his way into the end zone for a four yard touchdown, giving us a 10-7 lead with 4:21 left until halftime.

A touchback on the kickoff got Colorado State back on offense at their 25 yard line. Wade got the drive started with an 11 yard completion and a first down at the 36 yard line. Nichols took over on first down, managing only two yards on the carry, followed by a gain of three yards to bring up third and 5. Buchanan dropped back to pass on third down, but a diving sack by defensive end Caleb McBride brought Buchanan down for a 9 yard loss, nipping this drive in the bud and forcing the Rams to punt on fourth and 14. An 18 yard return by Roberson on the 41 yard punt gave us the ball at our 46 yard line. The field position came at a price however as Roberson limped off the field after the tackle, diagnosed with a hip pointer that would leave him sidelined until after halftime.

Lining up on first down, Paris took the ball on first down, but could only manage a two yard gain on the play. Going into the air on second down, Martin kept us moving with a 14 yard reception and a first down at the Rams 38 yard line. A dump pass on first down to Matt Leierer gained us 7 yards on the play. We then got a helping hand from the defense, as a facemask penalty on the tackle by safety Cody Brooks gave us the ball and a first down at the Rams 16 yard line. Paris took the handoff on first down for a four yard gain, followed by a 9 yard completion from Powers to James, setting us up with first and goal at the two yard line. Paris received the handoff on first down, but was brought down for a three yard loss on the play, leaving second and goal from the five yard line, our first timeout called with 53 seconds left on the clock. Paris was able to gain those two yards back, but we were still left facing third and goal at the three. A quick pass over the middle to McGuire was caught right on the goal line, good for a three yard touchdown to give us a 17-7 lead with 8 seconds left in the half.

A 13 yard return on the squibbed kickoff left Colorado State starting at their 48 yard line with 5 yards left on the clock. The Hail Mary pass was batted down at our 15 yard line, and with no time left on the clock, we headed into halftime with a 17-7 lead.

Opening up the second half, a 21 yard kickoff return by Roberson got us started at our 25 yard line to start the third quarter. Beginning on the ground, Roberson received the handoff for a gain of only two yards. Running an option play on second down, the successful pitch to Paris gained us 9 yards and a first down at the 37. Roberson took the ball again on first down, but could only gain one yard on the carry. Running a play action pass on first down, the halfback pass trick play failed as Roberson’s throw intended for McGuire was way off target, leaving third and 9. Martin would again come through for us with a 17 yard reception and a first down at the Colorado State 45 yard line. A dive by Roberson on first down only gained three yards, before Powers was brought down for a three yard loss, leaving us lining up on third and 10. Douglas would save the drive on third down, pulling in a pass from Powers for gain of 18 yards, moving the chains to the Rams 26 yard line. Another rush by Roberson resulted in no gain on the play, leaving second and 10. Tim Fields would get in on the action on second down, pulling in a pass from Powers out of the tight end position for a 17 yard gain, giving us first and goal at the 10 yard line. Another shot on the ground by Roberson finally netted good yardage, gaining 6 yards up the middle to leave second and goal at the four. Paris took over on second down, gaining two yards outside the left guard, before Roberson was stood up at the goal line for a one yard gain, leaving fourth and goal at the one. Going for it all on fourth down, the play almost ended in disaster as Paris was hit at the goal line and fumbled the ball forward into the end zone. Tight end Maurice Martin was able to dive on top of the loose ball before the defense and recover it for the one yard touchdown, giving us a 24-7 lead with 3:58 left in the third quarter.

A touchback on the kickoff gave Colorado State the ball at their 25 yard line. A first down pass to Henry Watkins went for no gain on the play, followed by an 18 yard rush by Nichols that kept the drive moving with a first down at the 42 yard line. Shaking off three tackles, Nichols fought his way to a 5 yard gain on first down, before being dragged down for a gain of four yards, leaving the Rams with third and one. The Rams would continue to pound our defense, Schneider taking the third down handoff for a gain of 7 yards and a first down at our 42 yard line. Going into the air on first down, Wade pulled a pass from Buchanan for a 10 yard gain and another quick first down at our 32. Nichols took the ball on first down for a 5 yard gain, followed by a 7 yard scramble by Buchanan to get the first down at our 20 yard line. Nichols kept plugging away at our defense, but was limited to a gain of only two yards on first down, before rushing for a 5 yard pickup to leave third and three. Wilson would get the Rams back on the board, pulling in a pass from Buchanan for a 13 yard touchdown, cutting our lead to 24-14 with 34 seconds left in the third quarter.

It would take us just mere seconds to re-expand our lead, as McGuire received the kickoff at our four yard line, found a hole to the right side of the kickoff team and turned up the right sideline, sprinting all the way to the end zone for a 98 yard kickoff return for a touchdown, putting us up 31-14 with 21 seconds left in the third quarter.

A touchback on the kickoff gave Colorado State the ball at their 25 yard line. Tyler Adams got the drive started with an 11 yard reception from Buchanan, moving the chains to the 36 yard line. Nichols received the handoff on first down, but was quickly tackled in the backfield for a one yard loss, leaving the Rams facing second and 11. That would be the last play of the third quarter, the clock hitting zeros on our 31-14 lead.

Opening up the fourth quarter, the Rams lined up facing second and 11, where Watkins pulled down a pass from Buchanan for a 9 yard gain to leave third and two. Nichols would keep the drive alive with an 18 yard rush, giving the Rams a first down at our 38 yard line. Our defense nearly sacked Buchanan on the first down pass, but he was able to throw the ball away at the last second, bringing up second and 10. A bad second down pass intended for Wade suddenly threatened the drive, the Rams facing third and long. Schneider was able to pull in the screen pass from Buchanan, but a diving tackle tripped him up and limited the gain to only 6 yards, leaving fourth and four from our 32. The Rams kept their offense on the field, going for it on fourth down, and they would convert as Wilson pulled in a pass from Buchanan for a 12 yard gain and a first down at our 19 yard line. A quick 10 yard completion to Wade set Colorado State up with first and goal at our 9 yard line. Buchanan kept the ball on a QB read, but was quickly brought down in the backfield for a two yard loss, leaving second and goal from the 11. We caught a huge break on second down as a wide open Gallagher got his hands on the pass from Buchanan at the 5 yards line, but dropped the ball as he went to turn towards the end zone, the dropped pass bringing up third and goal. Buchanan was able to connect with Adams over the middle of the field on third down, but the defense kept him short of the end zone, spinning him down for a 10 yard gain to leave fourth and goal at the one yard line. The Rams lined up again to go for it on fourth down, but Nichols never had a chance, as the pitch right was blown up by multiple defenders, pushing Nichols back and finally tackling him for a 7 yard loss on the play, forcing the turnover on downs at our 8 yard line with 6:26 left in the game.

Taking over on offense after the turnover, Roberson took the ball on first down for a three yard gain, looking to run down some clock during the drive. Roberson kept at it on second down, fighting his way to an 8 yard gain and a first down at the 20 yard line. Another rush by Roberson picked up 7 yards, followed by a four yard gain by Paris to get the first down at our 30 yard line. Roberson took the ball on first down, picking up 6 yards on the play, before Paris managed to squeak his way to a two yard gain, leaving third and two. Roberson was just able to get the first down, gaining three yards on the carry to move the sticks to our 41 yard line. A rush by Paris gained three yards on first down, followed by a four yard rush to bring up third and three. Roberson came in on third down, but was stopped short for a gain of only two yards, leaving us with fourth and one from midfield. Punting the ball with 2:28 on the clock, an 18 yard return on the 38 yard punt left Colorado State starting their drive at their 29 yard line, just 2:18 remaining in the game.

The Rams came out firing on first down as Wilson pulled in a pass for a 19 yard gain and a first down at the 48 yard line. We got our biggest break of the game on first down, as Wade managed to slip past the secondary and was wide open for a sure touchdown at our 15 yard line, but as he jumped up to haul in the pass from Buchanan, the ball hit his fingertips and he dropped the pass, the incompletion leaving second and 10, 2:05 to go. Another dropped pass by a wide open Mike Smith, and the Rams were left facing third and 10. A screen pass on third down ended in utter disaster for us as Nichols pulled in the pass from Buchanan, and while a wall of blockers, took it all the way to the house for a 52 yard touchdown, cutting our lead to 31-21 with 1:51 left in the game.

Charles Noble was able to recover the onside kick, giving us the ball at the Colorado State 41 yard line with 1:47 to go. Roberson took the ball for a one yard gain, the Rams calling their first timeout with 1:44 remaining. Another rush by Roberson picked up four yards, leaving third and 5, the second Colorado State timeout taken with 1:41 to go. Roberson could only gain one yard on the third down carry, Colorado State taking their final timeout with 1:37 left, as we lined up on fourth and four from the 35 yard line. The 52 yard field goal by Burnette was no good, hooking just wide left, giving Colorado State the ball back at their 35 yard line with 1:33 to go in the game.

Taking over after the missed field goal, the Rams came out throwing deep on first down, but dropped passes would continue to plague the offense, as Wade was unable to come down with the ball at our 30 yard line, leaving second down. The blitz on second down forced Buchanan to throw away the ball, bringing up third and 10. Another screen pass to Nichols went for a 27 yard completion, Nichols getting out of bounds to give the Rams a first down at our 38 yard line, the clock stopped with 1:17 to go. An overshot pass by Buchanan, intended for Wade, left second down for the Rams, four less seconds on the clock. Right when it mattered most, the offense would collapse under the pressure, as outside linebacker Casey Hunter broke through the line on the blind side, hitting Buchanan from behind, and knocking the ball loose during the sack. McBride was there to immediately scoop up the ball and return the fumble four yards before losing his balance at the 50 yard line.

With the recovered fumble, we took over on first down at midfield with 1:09 left in the game, Powers twice dropping to a knee to run out the clock and seal our very hard fought 31-21 win over the surprising Colorado State Rams.

With the win, we improve to 8-3, 6-1 in Mountain West action. With the loss, Colorado State drops to 2-9, 1-6 in Mountain West play. Up next, we close out our 2020 schedule with a home showdown against rival Wyoming. The Cowboys enter the game 5-6, 3-4 in Mountain West action. Wyoming opened their year rough, losing 45-14 at #13 Nebraska and 44-7 to #10 Washington. They finally got in the win column with a 59-14 trouncing of FCS Midwest, before falling 42-21 at Air Force. Sitting at 1-4, Wyoming then went on a three game winning streak, picking up a 28-21 win at Texas State, a 34-31 win over New Mexico and a 31-21 win against Colorado State. After that, they went on a three game slide, losing 34-9 at San Jose State, 30-21 to Fresno State and 52-14 at #8 Boise State. The Cowboys got back on track with a 38-20 win over Hawaii heading into their showdown in The Rodeo with us.

Final Score
:Utah_State: 31, :Colorado_State: 21

Stat(s) of the Game:
Utah State Offense - A rather quiet day from Powers, going only 12-14 for 150 yards and one touchdown, but also threw one interception. Roberson was 0-1 in his only pass of the game. Rushing, Roberson led the way with 87 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries. Paris had only 34 yards on 13 carries. Receiving, Martin led the way with 47 yards on three receptions. McGuire had three yards and the only receiving touchdown on his one reception of the day. In all, eight receivers caught a pass today, six ended with double digit yards.

Utah State Defense – Played great shutdown defense in the first quarter and part of the second quarter. From then on to the end of the game, it was try your luck on whether our defense would stop the Rams or just roll over from drive to drive. They did do some good with an interception in the first quarter, the recovered fumble at the end of the game and three sacks in between.

Utah State Kicking – So-so. Burnette went 1-2 in field goals, making one from 52 yards out, and then missing one from 52 yards out. He did manage to go 4-4 in PATs.

Scoring Summary

Team
1st Quarter
2nd Quarter
3rd Quarter
4th Quarter
Final Score

:Colorado_State:
0
7
7
7
21

:Utah_State:
3
14
14
0
31

Time
Team
Result
Play
Score

First Quarter

4:26
:Utah_State:
Field Goal
R. Burnette, 52 yard field goal
:Utah_State: 3-0

Second Quarter

6:34
:Colorado_State:
Touchdown
J. Nichols, 1 yard run (A. Love kick)
:Colorado_State: 7-3

4:21
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
P. Roberson, 4 yard run (R. Burnette kick)
:Utah_State: 10-7

0:08
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
E. McGuire, 3 yard pass from A. Powers (R. Burnette kick)
:Utah_State: 17-7

Third Quarter

3:58
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
M. Martin, fumble recovery in end zone (R. Burnette kick)
:Utah_State: 24-7

0:34
:Colorado_State:
Touchdown
T. Wilson, 13 yard pass from R. Buchanan (A. Love kick)
:Utah_State: 24-14

0:21
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
E. McGuire, returned kickoff 96 yards (R. Burnette kick)
:Utah_State: 31-14

Fourth Quarter

1:51
:Colorado_State:
Touchdown
J. Nichols, 52 yard pass from R. Buchanan (A. Love kick)
:Utah_State: 31-21

Game Stats

Colorado State
Stat
Utah State

21
Score
31

18
First Downs
15

369
Total Offense
264

30 - 101 - 1
Rushes - Yards - TD
41 - 114 - 1

17 - 32 - 2
Comp - Att - TD
12 - 15 - 1

268
Passing Yards
150

3
Times Sacked
0

7 - 13 (53%)
3rd Down Conversion
5 - 11 (45%)

1 - 2 (50%)
4th Down Conversion
1 - 1 (100%)

0 - 0 (0%)
2-Point Conv
0 - 0 (0%)

3 - 2 - 0 (66%)
Red Zone - TD - FG
4 - 2 - 0 (50%)

2
Turnovers
1

1
Fumbles Lost
0

1
Intercepted
1

18
Punt Return Yards
62

41
Kick Return Yards
144

428
Total Yards
470

3 – 39.7
Punts - Average
2 - 43.5

2 - 20
Penalties
0 - 0

15:05
Time of Possession
20:55

Utah State Coach Goals

Goal
XP Reward
Completed

Win a Game
100
x1

Score a Touchdown
25
x4

Kick/Punt Return Touchdown
50
x1

Force a Turnover
25
x2

5 Consecutive Wins
250
x1

45+ Yard Field Goal
10
x1

Rush for 100 Yards
25
x1

Kneel Last Minute Q4 While Ahead
10
x1

3+ Sacks
50
x1

Opponent Under 150 Rush Yards
50
x1

Opponent Under 300 Pass Yards
50
x1

Pass Completion Over 50%
30
x1

Score 21 or More Points
50
x1

10+ First Downs
50
x1

4+ 3rd Down Conversions
25
x1

Utah State Contract Goals Update

Goal
Expectations
Progress

Target Wins Per Season
6
:check: (8)

Job Security Status

100%

SmoothPancakes

10-14-2013, 07:10 PM

Taking a look around the nation, in the Top 25, #1 Ohio State shutout Indiana 35-0. In the upset of the week, San Diego State stuns #2 Boise State 24-16. #3 Alabama trounces Missouri 55-21. #5 Notre Dame beat BYU 16-6. In the game of the week, #6 Kansas State edges out #11 Oklahoma 34-31. #20 Oregon State knocked off #8 Washington 36-24. #18 Florida State upset #9 North Carolina 33-13. Auburn knocked off #12 Florida 37-21.

#19 LSU shocked #13 Texas A&M 42-25. #14 USC whooped Colorado 38-14. #15 Miami beat Virginia 34-24. #16 Nebraska topped Penn State 35-10. #17 Georgia Tech destroyed FCS Southeast 49-13. #21 Iowa beat Michigan 35-23. UTEP knocks off #22 Western Kentucky 45-24. Northwestern upsets #23 Michigan State 48-42 in overtime. Ole Miss knocks off #24 South Carolina 34-20. Marshall shocks #25 Florida International 35-16.

For our readers, JeffHCross, #1 Ohio State improves to 11-0 (8-0 Big Ten) with 35-0 win over Indiana. Morsdraconis, West Virginia remains to 6-5 (3-5 Big 12) with a bye week. Souljahbill, Southern Miss improves to 6-5 (5-2 C-USA) with a 52-29 win over MTSU. Jaymo, Arizona State improves to 6-5 (5-3 Pac-12) with a 21-17 win over UCLA. LeeSO, Auburn improves to 7-4 (6-2 SEC) with a 37-21 upset of #12 Florida. SCClassof93, #24 South Carolina falls to 6-5 (4-5 SEC), losing 34-20 to Ole Miss. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State improves to 8-3 (5-2 Sun Belt), with a 33-7 win over Georgia State. Florida International falls to 9-2 (6-1 C-USA) with a 35-16 loss to Marshall. Navy remains 5-5 (5-3 American) with a bye week. Tulsa improves to 6-5 (5-3 American) with a 42-25 win over Memphis.

In Mountain West action, San Diego State shocks #2 Boise State 24-16, Utah State edges out Colorado State 31-21, Wyoming beats Hawaii 38-20, Air Force knocks off UNLV 38-19, Fresno State upended New Mexico 56-17 and Nevada beats Army 41-17.

With those results, looking at the current standings, in the Mountain Division, Boise State (6-1) remains top dog, followed by Utah State (6-1), the race going down to the final week. After that sits Wyoming (3-4), Air Force (2-5), New Mexico (1-6) and Colorado State (1-6), with all four teams eliminated from the division race. In the West Division, San Diego State (6-1) sits on top, followed closely by Fresno State (5-2). After that, sits Hawaii (4-4), San Jose State (4-3), Nevada (3-5) and UNLV (2-5), with all four teams eliminated.

That sets up some major games in week 14 to decide the division races. Wyoming visits Utah State, New Mexico is at Boise State, Fresno State hits the road to play San Jose State and San Diego State is at UNLV.

Looking at undefeated teams left, #2 Boise State lost this week, dropping our number of undefeated teams to 1. #1 Ohio State (11-0) is all that remains with an unblemished record this season.

Turning to a more sadistic watch, who is still winless. There remains 1 team still looking for their first win: Idaho (0-10).

Teams getting their first win this week were: None.

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Ohio State (61 votes) remains #1, Alabama climbs one to #2, Virginia Tech jumps one to #3, Notre Dame moves up one to #4 and Kansas State climbs one to #5. TCU jumps one to #6, Texas leaps three to #7, Boise State drops six to #8, USC climbs five to #9 and Washington drops two to #10. Florida State leaps seven to #11, Miami jumps three to #12, Nebraska climbs three to #13, LSU jumps five to #14 and Georgia Tech moves up two to #15. Oregon State climbs four to #16, North Carolina drops eight to #17, Oklahoma falls seven to #18, Iowa climbs two to #19 and Texas A&M drops seven to #20. San Diego State enters the poll at #21, Florida plummets ten to #22, Utah enters the poll at #23, Oregon enters the poll at #24 and Auburn (257 points) enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Western Kentucky (from #22), Michigan State (from #23), South Carolina (from #24) and Florida International (from #25). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Stanford (252 points) is #26, followed by Northwestern (164), NC State (107), Wisconsin (63) and Louisiana-Lafayette (21) to round out the Top 30.

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Media Poll, Ohio State (65 votes) remains #1, Alabama jumps two to #2, TCU remains #3, Virginia Tech climbs one to #4 and Kansas State climbs one to #5. Notre Dame moves up one to #6, Texas climbs three to #7, Boise State drops six to #8, Oregon State leaps nine to #9 and Florida state vaults nine to #10. Miami climbs three to #11, Washington falls four to #12, USC climbs two to #13, Nebraska jumps two to #14 and Georgia Tech moves up two to #15. LSU jumps four to #16, Oklahoma drops six to #17, North Carolina falls nine to #18, Iowa rises two to #19 and Texas A&M falls eight to #20. San Diego State enters the poll at #21, Florida drops nine to #22, Utah enters the poll at #23, Auburn enters the poll at #24, and Oregon (253 points) enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Western Kentucky (from #22), Florida International (from #23), Michigan State (from #24) and South Carolina (from #25). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Northwestern (241 points) is #26, followed by NC State (240), Fresno State (158), Stanford (137) and Wisconsin (109) to round out the Top 30. Other teams getting points this week include Louisiana-Lafayette (94), Florida International (82), Tennessee (50), and Utah State (15).

In the new BCS rankings: #1 Ohio State (1.000), #2 Alabama (0.995), #3 Virginia Tech (0.987), #4 TCU (0.981), #5 Notre Dame (0.979), #6 Kansas State (0.979), #7 Texas (0.968), #8 Boise State (0.963), #9 USC (0.947) and #10 Washington (0.945).

A look at the Heisman race, Ohio State QB Matt Cowan is #1 (LW: #1), Boise State QB Mark Concepcion is #2 (LW: #2),Vanderbilt HB Jason Massey is #3 (LW: #3), Ohio State HB Ron Branch is #4 (LW: #4) and Arizona HB Kevin Simpson is #5 (LW: #5). No one dropped off the Heisman Watch list this week.

Looking at Awards Finalists, defensive tackle Marcus Garrett somehow qualified as a finalist for the Lombardi Trophy, though he is currently ranked #10 on the list.

Looking at the bowl picture, 15 teams punched their tickets this week, giving us 72 teams that have reached the 6 win plateau. 11 teams saw their bowl hopes end, leaving 17 teams still having a chance (however small it may be) of getting there, to leave 89 teams total fighting for 68 bowl slots.

Looking at the first bowl projections of the year, if they hold out, it's a trip to the Las Vegas Bowl for Utah State fans, taking on #24 Oregon (7-4, 5-3) out of the Pac-12. The New Orleans Bowl would feature Southern Miss (6-5, 5-2 C-USA) matching up with Troy (7-4, 6-1 Sun Belt). #1 Ohio State (11-0, 8-0 Big Ten) would meet up with #2 Alabama (10-1, 7-1 SEC) in the National Championship game.. The Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl would be a showdown between Arizona State (6-5, 5-3 Pac-12) and Louisiana-Lafayette (7-3, 4-2 Sun Belt).

The Holiday Bowl would have West Virginia (6-5, 3-5 Big 12) matching up with #23 Utah (7-4, 5-3 Pac-12). The Meineke Car Care Bowl would feature South Carolina (6-5, 4-5 SEC) vs. Michigan State (7-4, 5-3 Big Ten). The BBVA Compass Bowl would feature Navy (5-5, 5-3 American) vs. North Texas (7-4, 4-3 C-USA). The GoDaddy.com Bowl would have Arkansas State (8-3, 5-2 Sun Belt) vs. Toledo (8-3, 7-1 MAC). And the Hawaii Bowl would have Florida International (9-2, 6-1 C-USA) taking on Nevada (6-5, 3-5 Mountain West).

Looking at the BCS projections, the Rose Bowl would feature #6 TCU (9-2, 6-2 Big 12) against #10 Washington (9-2, 7-1 Pac-12). The Fiesta Bowl has #5 Kansas State (10-1, 7-1 Big 12) matching up with Houston (8-3, 7-1 American). The Sugar Bowl has #4 Notre Dame (9-2) matching up with San Diego State (8-3, 6-1 Mountain West). The Orange Bowl features a battle between #3 Virginia Tech (10-1, 7-1 ACC) and #8 Boise State (10-1, 6-1 Mountain West). And in the national championship game, #2 Alabama (10-1, 7-1 SEC) takes on #1 Ohio State (11-0, 8-0 Big Ten).

SmoothPancakes

10-14-2013, 09:36 PM

Nearing the end of the third quarter against Wyoming, all I'm going to say for now is fuck Wyoming and their goddamn no-huddle. :fp:

jaymo76

10-14-2013, 11:42 PM

Nearing the end of the third quarter against Wyoming, all I'm going to say for now is fuck Wyoming and their goddamn no-huddle. :fp:

:D Oh man don't I know it. The darn no huddle in this game is just a killer. Good luck!

SmoothPancakes

10-15-2013, 12:00 AM

Game Twelve

:Wyoming: :@: :Utah_State:

Game Notes

--- This was it. The end of the 2020 season and a showdown with rival Wyoming in "Bridger's Battle" on Senior Night. As if this being a rivalry game wasn’t going to already make it a bitter battle, Wyoming entered the game sitting at 5-6 on the year and needing one more win to reach bowl eligibility, which meant they’d be fighting all the harder, while we entered the game tied with #8 Boise State for first place in the Mountain Division. A win today and a Boise State loss, would send us into the Mountain West Championship Game against either San Diego State or Fresno State.

The home crowd said farewell to our seniors tonight, including: Halfback John Harrington, fullback Brian James, wide receiver Michael Smith, tight end Tim Fields, left tackle Paul Huffman, center Brad Edwards, right guard Chaz Sanders, right tackle Johnny Henderson, defensive end Pat Ashley, defensive end Erik Clark, defensive tackle Marcus Garrett, middle linebacker Lee Bradley, middle linebacker Thomas Harris, middle linebacker Steve Goins, free safety Carlton Herring and kicker Richard Burnette,

Entering the game, the Cowboys were a mixed bag. They ranked #86 in total offense (352.8 yards/game), a horrid rush offense (#99 at 120.7 yards/game), but a decent pass offense (#49 at 232.1 yards/game). On the flip side, their defense was just plain awful, total defense ranked #114 (421.4 yards/game), rush defense ranked #116 (171.8 yards/game) and pass defense ranked #108 (249.5 yards/game).

This was most likely going to be a battle through the air, as our #31 pass offense (249.8 yards/game) matched up with their #108 pass defense (249.5 yards/game), while their #49 pass offense (232.1 yards/game) matched up with our #103 pass defense (244.5 yards/game). Who would be able to throw the ball better and more accurate, and who would be able to limit the turnovers, would likely decide this battle. We won the coin toss and elected to kick. As if this game wasn’t already going to be tough, we would have to deal with a 13 MPH crosswind all game, making any field goal attempts today extremely difficult, and essentially eliminating any field goal attempts from outside 30-35 yards.

A 25 yard kickoff return gave Wyoming the ball at their 22 yard line. This could be a long game as Sean Pittman kept the ball on a QB read, breaking into the open for a massive 40 yard gain on the play, giving Wyoming a first down at our 38 yard line. The defense wasn’t about to make it easy however, as they broke through on first down and sacked Pittman for a 5 yard loss, bringing up second and 15. The Cowboys would get on the board in just three plays, as our defense bit hook, line and sinker on a screen pass, allowing Brad Thomas to pull in the pass from Pittman and take it to the house for a 43 yard touchdown, giving Wyoming a 7-0 lead with 8:10 left in the first quarter.

A 24 yard kickoff return by Eric McGuire got us start at our 25 yard line. Preston Roberson got us started on the ground, but the defense got to him quickly for a gain of only one yard on the play. A second rush by Roberson went better, gaining 6 yards on the play, leaving us with third and four. Going into the air on third down, the pass intended for Dre Martin was deflected by the defensive line, forcing us to punt on fourth and four. A 20 yard return on the 38 yard punt gave Wyoming the ball at midfield.

An 11 yard completion to Vincent Pope got the Cowboys off and running on their drive, followed by a 10 yard pass to Andrew Hill and a first down at our 29 yard line. P.J. Williams got in on the action on first down, diving for a 21 yard completion to give Wyoming first and goal at our 8 yard line, the no-huddle offense by the Cowboys just ripping our defense to shreds. Hill came back on first down and pulled in a pass from Pittman for a 6 yard gain, before an incomplete pass intended for Williams, batted out of the back of the end zone, left Wyoming with third and goal from our two yard line. Our defense would come through as Thomas was brought down for a one yard loss on the carry, leaving the Cowboys kicking on fourth and goal. The 20 yard field goal by Daniel Young put Wyoming up 10-0 with 5:47 left in the first quarter.

A touchback on the kickoff gave us the ball at our 25 yard line. Coming out passing on first down, Tim Fields got us moving on first down with a 17 yard completion from Adam Powers, giving us a new set of downs at the 42. A pass over the middle to McGuire gained us 17 more yards and another first down at the Wyoming 41. Dropping back into the shotgun on first down, the pass intended for Martin fell incomplete, leaving second down. A 12 yard completion to Brian Paris kept our offense moving with a new set of downs at the 29. Powers was forced to throw the ball away on first down to avoid the sack, leaving second and 10. David Douglas pulled in an 8 yard reception on second down, leaving us with third and two. Brian James would keep us moving forward with a 12 yard completion, setting up first and goal from the 8 yard line. The first down pass intended for McGuire was nearly intercepted in the end zone, leaving second and goal. Douglas would get us on the board on second down, pulling in the pass from Powers for an 8 yard touchdown, cutting Wyoming’s lead to 10-7 with 4:08 left in the first quarter.

A touchback on the kickoff gave Wyoming the ball at their 25 yard line. A rush by Pittman on first down resulted in a two yard loss, leaving second and 12. Williams pulled in a pass on second down for an 8 yard gain, leaving third and four at the 31. The defense would rise to the occasion on third down, as safety Sam Vinson came in on the delayed blitz and sacked Pittman for an 8 yard loss, forcing Wyoming to punt on fourth and 12. A 10 yard return by McGuire on the 38 yard punt gave us the ball at our 49 yard line.

Lining up under center on first down, the first down pass intended for Fields ended in disaster as it was intercepted by outside linebacker Mike Kramer, returned four yards to set Wyoming up on offense at their 44 yard line.

Taking over after the interception, Wyoming came out passing with a four yard completion to Pope, followed by an incomplete pass intended for Michael Davis to leave third and 6. Williams would keep the drive moving with an 11 yard reception and a first down at our 41 yard line. Another four yard completion to Pope was followed by a loss of four yards on the ground by Thomas, leaving third and 10 for the Cowboys. A deflected pass by Vinson at our 10 yard line brought the drive to an end. A touchback on the 41 yard punt got us back in action from our 20 yard line.

Starting from the shotgun this drive, Powers was hit as he threw, the ball landing incomplete to bring up second down. A 9 yard completion to Douglas at least got us some yards and left us with third and one. Turning to Roberson on third down, he was able to pick up 5 yards on the ground and a first down at the 34. Running a play action pass on first down, the ball was batted away incomplete. A 9 yard completion to Martin set us up with another third and one. Roberson would again convert with an 8 yard rush, moving the chains to the Wyoming 49 yard line. We would take our first lead of the game on the next play, as two crossing routes near the right sideline caused the outside linebacker and cornerback to collide and take each other out of the play, while a downfield block by McGuire sealed off the safety, allowing Ryan Conley to pull in the pass from Powers and sprint up the sideline for a 49 yard touchdown, giving us a 14-10 lead with 15 seconds left in the first quarter.

A 22 yard kickoff return got Wyoming back in action from their 22 yard line. Pittman kept the ball on first down, rushing for two yards on the play. That would be the final play of the first quarter, our lead over Wyoming standing at 14-10.

Opening up the second quarter, Thomas took the ball on second down, but was instantly stopped for a one yard loss, leaving third and 9. The defense would come through once more on third down, as five defenders combined to bring down and sack Pittman for a 9 yard loss, forcing Wyoming to punt once more on fourth and 18 from their 14 yard line. A 9 yard return by McGuire on the 41 yard punt got our drive started from the Wyoming 47 yard line.

Lining up on first down, a quick pass to Martin on a comeback route netted us a fast 15 yard pickup and a first down at the 31 yard line. Dropping back into the shotgun on first down, a pass over the middle to McGuire gained 17 yards and moved the chains once more to the 15 yard line. Bringing the running game back into things, Roberson took the handoff for a four yard gain, followed by a gain of 6 to leave us with third and inches. Roberson would convert yet again with a two yard rush, giving us first and goal at the three yard line. A little misdirection caught the defense sleeping, allowing Roberson to punch it in on first down for the three yard touchdown, increasing our lead to 21-10 with 6:24 left in the second quarter.

A touchback on the kickoff gave Wyoming the ball at their 25 yard line. The Cowboys got off to a poor start, as a pass over the middle sailed incomplete, landing nowhere near a receiver on the play, to bring up second down. Pope pulled down a 13 yard completion on second down, picking up a first down at the 38 yard line. The rushing game then burned us, as an option play resulted in Pittman pitching the ball to Williams, who raced down the sideline for a 37 yard gain and a first down at our 25 yard line. Williams then came back on first down and pulled in a pass from Pittman along the left sideline for a gain of 7 yards, before our defense finally managed to briefly stop the no-huddle bleeding thanks to middle linebacker Lee Bradley sacking Pittman for a four yard loss to bring up third and 7. Pressure by the defense forced Pittman to throw the ball away to avoid a guaranteed sack, leaving fourth and 7 from our 22 yard line. But the Cowboys weren’t about to kick the field goal, leaving the offense out to go for it on fourth down. That attempt on fourth down would end up biting Wyoming in the butt, as the defense was able to get pressure on Pittman and force him to hurry a pass to Williams, the ball floating in the air and allowing cornerback Buck Castillo to jump up and intercept the pass. Castillo was able to get separation from Williams as he came back down from the jump and proceeded to return it all the way to the house for an 81 yard interception return for a touchdown, giving us a 28-10 lead with 5:11 left in the second quarter.

A touchback on the kickoff left Wyoming starting at their 25 yard line once more. It would take Wyoming all of one whole play to return the score, as a missed tackle during the reception over the middle by Nathan Jenkins left him wide open with no one between him and the end zone, allowing him to outrun those chasing him all the way to the end zone for a 75 yard touchdown, pulling Wyoming back to within 28-17 with 5:00 left in the second quarter.

A 19 yard kickoff return by Roberson got us started from our 21 yard line for our next drive. Starting the drive on the ground, Roberson received the handoff for a 5 yard gain, followed by a four yard carry by Paris to leave us with third and one. Keeping the ball in Roberson’s hands, he was able to pick up 5 yards and get the first down at the 35 yard line. Running a play action pass on first down, Powers was unable to get rid of the ball before the defense got to him, sacking him for a 5 yard loss to leave us with second and 15. Dropping back in the shotgun on second down, Martin was able to pull in a 14 yard reception from Powers to set up third and one. Putting the ball into the hands of Roberson once more, he was able to fight his way to a four yard gain, moving the chains to the 47 yard line. Paris took over on first down, picking up four yards on the play, followed by a quick pass over the middle to Fields that was broken up by the middle linebacker, the incomplete pass leaving third and 6. Douglas kept us moving with an 11 yard reception, moving the sticks to the Wyoming 38 yard line. A quick fade route by McGuire gained us 16 yards and another first down, moving us to the 22 yard line. The first down pass intended for McGuire was nearly intercepted, leaving us facing second and 10. Going over the middle to Paris picked up 11 yards and the first down at the 11 yard line. Dumping off the ball to Smith, he was able to pull the pass in for a gain of 6 yards, leaving second and four from the 5 yard line. Roberson took the handoff up the middle for a four yard gain, setting up third and one at the two. Roberson tried to punch it in on third down, but was stood up in the backfield for a one yard loss, leaving fourth and two from the three yard line. Lining up for the 20 yard field goal, Richard Burnette nailed the kick through the uprights, increasing our lead to 31-17 with one second left before halftime.

A 12 yard return on the squibbed kickoff ran out the clock and took us into halftime with a 31-17 lead.

A quick look at the halftime stats of this battle, Wyoming entered half with 212 yards passing, 46 yards rushing, 258 yards of total offense. Utah State had 231 yards passing, 56 yards rushing, and 287 yards of total offense. Including special teams, Wyoming had 336 total yards, Utah State had 347 total yards. Both teams had thrown for two touchdowns as well as one interception, Utah State had one rushing touchdown whereas Wyoming had none.

Opening up the second half, a 28 yard kickoff return by Roberson got us started at our 27 yard line to begin the third quarter. Roberson started our drive on the ground with a 7 yard rush, followed by a 6 yard rush by Paris to get the first down at the 41. Another rush by Paris picked up 5 yards on the play, before Roberson returned to the backfield, fighting his way to a four yard gain to leave third and one. Paris did the honors on third down, diving for a four yard gain and the first down at the Wyoming 45 yard line. Despite the blitz by the defense, Roberson was able to pick up 9 yards on the first down carry, followed by a three yard dive by Paris to move the chains to the 34. Calling a play action pass on first down, Jack Long was able to get open from the tight end slot, hauling in the pass from Powers for a 15 yard gain and a new set of downs at the 19 yard line. Taking off on first down, Powers was able to catch the defense sleeping and race his way to a 13 yard gain, giving us first and goal from the 6 yard line. The first down pass intended for Martin was nearly intercepted in the end zone, leaving second and goal. Handing the ball off to Roberson, he was brought down for no gain on the play, leaving third and goal at the 6. The defense would win the battle, sacking Powers for a 7 yard loss, leaving us with fourth and goal from the 13 yard line. The 30 yard field goal by Burnette was good, increasing our lead to 34-17 with 4:48 left in the third quarter.

A 21 yard kickoff return gave Wyoming the ball at their 18 yard line. A 10 yard completion to Williams left second and inches. Our defense would again end up scorched to a crisp as an option play left us sucking our thumbs, multiple missed tackles allowing Thomas to race down the left sideline for a 72 yard touchdown, closing our lead to 34-24 with 4:14 left in the third quarter.

A 38 yard kickoff return by Roberson got us underway from our 40 yard line. The first down pass intended for Conley was broken up over the middle leaving second and 10. Forced to scramble from the pressure, Powers would be unable to evade the defense, ultimately sacked for a 10 yard loss to leave us facing third and 20. The third down pass intended for Douglas would end up incomplete, forcing us to pass on fourth and very long. A fair catch on the 41 yard punt gave Wyoming the ball at their 28 yard line.

Lining up on first down, Williams got the Cowboys going with a 14 yard reception and a first down at the 42 yard line. Thomas took the ball on first down for a 6 yard gain, followed by a QB read by Pittman for a 24 yard gain and a first down at our 28 yard line. Davis pulled in a pass for a 13 yard gain, moving the chains to our 16. Keeping the ball on the option keeper, Pittman gained two yards, before a QB read play gained 11 yards, setting up first and goal from our two yard line. Pittman had nowhere to go on first down, as the blitz instantly brought him down for a four yard loss, leaving second and goal at the 7 yard line. Another rush by Pittman resulted in a two yard loss, setting up third and goal at the 9. A third down screen pass to Thomas ended in failure, as the defense brought him down for no gain, leaving Wyoming attempting a field goal on fourth down. The 25 yard field goal by Young cut our lead to one possession, 34-27 with 1:03 left in the third quarter.

A 49 yard kickoff return by Roberson got our next drive started in Wyoming territory, lining up at the Cowboys 48 yard line. Paris took the ball on first down, rushing for a four yard gain on the play. Lining up under center on second down, Martin dropped the pass from Powers, leaving third and 6. Roberson would make the defense pay through the air for a change, sneaking out of the backfield and hauling in the rifle pass from Powers, then racing down the field before being tripped up for a 35 yard gain, giving us first and goal at the 8 yard line. An 8 yard rush up the middle by Paris would leave us with second and goal at the one yard line. That would be the final play of the third quarter, our lead standing at 34-27.

Opening up the fourth quarter, we lined up facing second and goal from the one yard line. Paris took the handoff, fighting his way into the end zone for the one yard touchdown, increasing our lead to 41-27 with 8:58 left in the game.

A touchback on the kickoff gave Wyoming the ball at their 25 yard line. The QB read by Pittman on first down gained 7 yards, before a dropped pass by a wide open Pope left Wyoming with third and three. Despite shaking off three tackles, we were able to somehow stop Thomas short of the first down, limiting him to just two yards to leave Wyoming facing fourth and one from their 34 yard line. Going for it on fourth down, the Cowboys would get it with an 11 yard rush by Thomas. Going no huddle on first down, the pressure by the defense forced a hurried pass intended for Davis, that fell well incomplete to bring up second down. A 9 yard completion to Brandon McDonald was followed by another screw up by our defense, as our secondary either took each other out or got blocked out of the play, allowing Jonathan Horner to pull in the pass from Pittman and take it to the house for a 47 yard touchdown, cutting our lead once more to 41-34 with 7:34 left in the game.

A 19 yard kickoff return by Castillo got us started at our 20 yard line. Paris took the handoff on first down, but was quickly brought down for a one yard gain. Dropping back into the shotgun on second down, Powers found Douglas for an 11 yard gain, getting the first down at the 32. Another rush by Paris gained 5 yards, followed by a 9 yard gain to get the first down at the 46. Continuing to pound away on the ground, James took the ball on first down for a 5 yard rush. Paris returned on second down, picking up 6 yards on the play to get another first down at the Wyoming 43 yard line. Paris kept plugging away on the ground with a three yard rush, as we continued to work the clock down to four minutes and ticking. Another big rush by Paris gained 8 yards and moved the chains once more to the 32 yard line. James took over on first down, picking up three yards on the play, followed by a 6 yard rush to leave third and one. It was then we got some bad news, Paris would be sideline for the remainder of the quarter with bruised ribs, leaving James to carry on the running duties. James took the handoff on third down, but the defense was ready and waiting for him, bringing him down for no gain to leave us facing fourth and one from the 23 yard line, Wyoming calling their first timeout with 2:05 left in the game. Attempting a 40 yard field goal, the wind pushed the kick by Burnette wide left and no good, leaving our lead at just seven points and giving Wyoming the ball at their 23 yard line with 2:01 left to play.

Taking over after the missed field goal, Wyoming came out running Wildcat, as a pair of rushes by Thomas from the QB position went for gains of one and 10 yards, giving Wyoming a first down at their 34 yard line. Another rush by Thomas went for two yards, before fighting his way to a 10 yard gain and a first down at the 47 yard line. Another rush by Thomas went for no gain, before a facemask penalty on defensive end Pat Ashley during the second down rush gave Wyoming a first down at our 36 yard line with 57 left in the game. Pittman returned to the backfield on first down, a diving reception by Jenkins going for a 17 yard gain and a new set of downs at our 19 yard line, Wyoming calling their second timeout with 51 seconds left to play. McBride would come through huge on first down, sacking Pittman for an 8 yard loss. Pittman would spike the ball on second down, bringing up third and 18 from the 27 yard line, 35 seconds left to go. We caught a huge break as a dropped pass by Williams left Wyoming with fourth and 18, 29 seconds to go, the game on the line. A 24 yard pass to Pope would get the conversion, giving Wyoming first and goal at our three yard line. Wyoming tried to punch it in on first down on the ground, but we stopped Williams for only a gain of two yards and just short of the end zone, forcing Wyoming to call their last timeout with just three seconds left on the clock, facing second and goal from just outside the goal line. Going into the air instead of trying on the ground, Pittman would find Williams on the goal line for a one yard touchdown pass, tying the game up at 41-41 with no time left on the clock, sending us into overtime.

We won the coin toss and elected to go on defense first. The Cowboys got off to a rough start as Thomas dropped the pass from Pittman, leaving second and 10. Going five wide on second down, Pittman found Thomas for a 13 yard gain and a first down at the 12 yard line. The first down play would leave our secondary tripping over themselves, allowing Thomas to pull in the pass from Pittman and race up the sideline for the 12 yard touchdown, giving Wyoming a 48-41 lead.

Starting our drive on the ground, James took the ball on first down, rushing his way to a 5 yard gain, followed by a huge 10 yard carry to get the first down at the 10 yard line. That run would get even bigger, as a facemask penalty on cornerback Charles Foster set us up with first and goal from the 5 yard line. James would receive the handoff on first down, keep the legs pumping and drive his way into the end zone for the 5 yard touchdown. Proving that God hates us, Burnette’s PAT bounced off the left upright and fell back into the end zone, costing us the tie and a second overtime, instead handing Wyoming a 48-47 overtime victory. Partial blame goes to the announcers for jinxing us by mentioning what a big kick it was and how even a simple PAT could be missed in such a big moment of the game.

With the depressing loss, we drop to 8-4, 6-2 in Mountain West action and lose any shot we had at the division title. With the win, Wyoming improves to 6-6, 4-4 in Mountain West play, the Cowboys become bowl eligible and they win the first ever "Bridger's Battle" game. Up next, we wait to see what bowl game we’ll end up in and who we’ll face.

Final Score
:Wyoming: 48, :Utah_State: 47

Stat(s) of the Game:
Utah State Offense - An alright day by Powers. He wasn't as accurate by still managed to go 19-32 for 292 yards and two touchdowns, but also had one interception and got sacked three times. Rushing, Roberson led the way with 73 yards and one touchdown on 17 carries. Paris had 71 yards and one touchdown on 15 carries, and James ended with 35 yards and one touchdown on 8 carries. Receiving, McGuire led the way with 50 yards on three receptions. Douglas ended with 47 yards and one touchdown on five catches. Conley had 49 yards and one touchdown on one reception. In all, a season high ten different receivers caught a pass today, nine ending with double digit yards. An eleventh receiver, tight end Maurice Martin, ended with no catches but dropped one pass.

Utah State Defense – Awful, awful and more awful. Got absolutely slaughtered by Wyoming's no-huddle offense in the first quarter, allowing the Cowboys to jump out to a quick 10-0 lead. The defense did make some stops through the game, sacked Pittman five times, and Castillo did return an interception an NCAA record 81 yards for a touchdown. But they kept folding when it mattered most, especially in the fourth quarter, blowing a two touchdown lead, including the game-tying score with no time left. They weren't any better in overtime either, essentially letting Wyoming trot into the end zone.

Utah State Kicking – Started off good, ending horribly. Burnette went 2-3 in field goals, making from 20 and 30 yards out, but missed a 40 yard kick that would have given us a 10 point lead with two minutes left. He also ended up less than perfect on PATs, going 5-6 in extra points, the lone miss being the costliest, as he bounced the game-tying PAT off the left upright in overtime, handing Wyoming the one point win. Thank god he is a senior and I never have to see him again after the bowl game.

Scoring Summary

Team
1st Quarter
2nd Quarter
3rd Quarter
4th Quarter
Overtime
Final Score

:Wyoming:
10
7
10
14
7
48

:Utah_State:
14
17
3
7
6
47

Time
Team
Result
Play
Score

First Quarter

8:10
:Wyoming:
Touchdown
B. Thomas, 43 yard pass from S. Pittman (D. Young kick)
:Wyoming: 7-0

5:47
:Wyoming:
Field Goal
D. Young, 20 yard field goal
:Wyoming: 10-0

4:08
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
D. Douglas, 8 yard pass from A. Powers (R. Burnette kick)
:Wyoming: 10-7

0:15
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
R. Conley, 49 yard pass from A. Powers (R. Burnette kick)
:Utah_State: 14-10

Second Quarter

6:24
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
P. Roberson, 3 yard run (R. Burnette kick)
:Utah_State: 21-10

5:11
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
B. Castillo, returned interception 81 yards (R. Burnette kick)
:Utah_State: 28-10

5:00
:Wyoming:
Touchdown
N. Jenkins, 75 yard pass from S. Pittman (D. Young kick)
:Utah_State: 28-17

0:01
:Utah_State:
Field Goal
R. Burnette, 20 yard field goal
:Utah_State: 31-17

Third Quarter

4:48
:Utah_State:
Field Goal
R. Burnette, 30 yard field goal
:Utah_State: 34-17

4:14
:Wyoming:
Touchdown
B. Thomas, 72 yard run (D. Young kick)
:Utah_State: 34-24

1:03
:Wyoming:
Field Goal
D. Young, 26 yard field goal
:Utah_State: 34-27

Fourth Quarter

8:58
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
B. Paris, 1 yard run (R. Burnette kick)
:Utah_State: 41-27

7:34
:Wyoming:
Touchdown
J. Horner, 47 yard pass from S. Pittman (D. Young kick)
:Utah_State: 41-34

0:00
:Wyoming:
Touchdown
P. Williams, 1 yard pass from S. Pittman (D. Young kick)
TIED 41-41

Overtime

---
:Wyoming:
Touchdown
B. Thomas, 12 yard pass from S. Pittman (D. Young kick)
:Wyoming: 48-41

---
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
B. James, 5 yard run (missed kick)
:Wyoming: 48-47

Game Stats

Wyoming
Stat
Utah State

48
Score
47

18
First Downs
25

562
Total Offense
462

26 - 190 - 1
Rushes - Yards - TD
44 - 170 - 3

25 - 37 - 5
Comp - Att - TD
19 - 32 - 2

372
Passing Yards
292

5
Times Sacked
3

2 - 11 (18%)
3rd Down Conversion
9 - 14 (64%)

2 - 4 (50%)
4th Down Conversion
0 - 0 (0%)

0 - 0 (0%)
2-Point Conv
0 - 0 (0%)

6 - 2 - 2 (66%)
Red Zone - TD - FG
6 - 4 - 2 (100%)

1
Turnovers
1

0
Fumbles Lost
0

1
Intercepted
1

20
Punt Return Yards
19

78
Kick Return Yards
171

660
Total Yards
652

3 – 40.7
Punts - Average
2 - 40.0

1 - 5
Penalties
1 - 15

12:36
Time of Possession
23:24

Utah State Coach Goals

Goal
XP Reward
Completed

Score a Touchdown
25
x6

Defensive Touchdown
50
x1

Force a Turnover
25
x1

Pass for 250 Yards
25
x1

Rush for 100 Yards
25
x1

NCAA Record: Longest INT Return (81 Yards)
300
x1

3+ Sacks
50
x1

Play in an ESPN Classic Game
75
x1

Pass Completion Over 50%
30
x1

100% Red Zone Efficiency
50
x1

Score 21 or More Points
50
x1

350+ Offensive Yards
50
x1

10+ First Downs
50
x1

50 Touchdowns (Season)
250
x1

4+ 3rd Down Conversions
25
x1

Utah State Contract Goals Update

Goal
Expectations
Progress

Target Wins Per Season
6
:check: (8)

Job Security Status

100%

SmoothPancakes

10-15-2013, 12:01 AM

Taking a look around the nation, in the Top 25, #1 Ohio State wins twice, beating rival Michigan 35-16, and keeps Michigan home for the holidays as the Wolverines end the year 5-7. #2 Alabama thrashes #25 Auburn 56-10. #3 Virginia Tech escapes Virginia 31-21. #4 Notre Dame blanks Stanford 30-0. #5 Kansas State fights off Kansas 28-21. Baylor stuns #6 TCU 35-21. Texas Tech shocks #7 Texas 27-24 in overtime. #8 Boise State escapes New Mexico 24-21 in overtime.

UCLA knocks off #9 USC 27-20. Washington State stuns #10 Washington 18-15. #22 Florida upsets #11 Florida State 21-14. Pittsburgh shocks #12 Miami 27-24. #13 Nebraska tops #19 Iowa 45-17. #14 LSU beats Arkansas 33-14. #15 Georgia Tech beats Georgia 24-10. #24 Oregon knocks off #16 Oregon State 35-23. #17 North Carolina beats Duke 37-7. #20 Texas A&M tops Missouri 38-21. #21 San Diego State beats UNLV 30-17. Colorado knocks off #23 Utah 27-21.

For our readers, JeffHCross, #1 Ohio State finishes 12-0 (9-0 Big Ten) with 35-16 win over Michigan, ending Michigan's year at 5-7. Morsdraconis, West Virginia finishes 7-5 (4-5 Big 12) with a 23-21 win over Iowa State. Souljahbill, Southern Miss finishes 7-5 (6-2 C-USA) with a 20-17 win over UAB. Jaymo, Arizona State finishes 6-6 (5-4 Pac-12) with a 42-28 loss to Arizona. LeeSO, Auburn finishes 7-5 (6-3 SEC) with a 56-10 thumping from #2 Alabama. SCClassof93, South Carolina finishes 7-5 (4-5 SEC), beating Clemson 34-17. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State remains 8-3 (5-2 Sun Belt) with a bye week. Florida International finishes 10-2 (7-1 C-USA) with a 34-31 win over Florida Atlantic. Navy improves to 6-5 (6-3 American) with a 34-17 win over Tulane. Tulsa finishes 7-5 (6-3 American) with a 35-14 win over Cincinnati.

In Mountain West action, #8 Boise State escapes New Mexico 24-21 in overtime, #21 San Diego State tops UNLV 30-17, Wyoming stuns Utah State 48-47 in overtime, Colorado State beats Air Force 13-10, Fresno State beats San Jose State 35-19, Army defeats Hawaii 35-28 and BYU knocks off Nevada 24-20.

With those results, looking at the current standings, in the Mountain Division, Boise State (7-1) wins the division, followed by Utah State (6-2), Wyoming (4-4), Air Force (2-6), Colorado State (2-6) and New Mexico (1-7). In the West Division, San Diego State (7-1) wins the division, followed by Fresno State (6-2), Hawaii (4-4), San Jose State (4-4), Nevada (3-5) and UNLV (2-6). That sets up the Conference Championship rematch from last week, week 13, when San Diego State shocked then-#2 Boise State 24-16 and cost them their perfect record and their national title hopes.

Looking at undefeated teams left, no one lost this week, leaving our number of undefeated teams at 1. #1 Ohio State (12-0) is all that remains with an unblemished record this season.

Turning to a more sadistic watch, who is still winless. There remains 1 team still looking for their first win: Idaho (0-11).

Teams getting their first win this week were: None.

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Ohio State (61 votes) remains #1, Alabama remains #2, Virginia Tech remains #3, Notre Dame remains #4 and Kansas State remains #5. Boise State climbs two to #6, Nebraska leaps six to #7, LSU climbs six to #8, Georgia Tech jumps six to #9 and North Carolina vaults seven to #10. Oklahoma jumps seven to #11, Florida leaps ten to #12, Florida State drops two to #13, TCU falls eight to #14 and Texas A&M climbs five to #15. San Diego State jumps five to #16, Oregon leaps seven to #17, USC drops nine to #19, Washington falls nine to #19 and Texas plummets thirteen to #20. Oregon State drops five to #21, Wisconsin enters the poll at #22, Louisiana-Lafayette enters the poll at #23, Fresno State enters the poll at #24 and Illinois (193 points) enters the poll at #25). Dropping out of the poll this week were Miami (from #12), Iowa (from #19), Utah (from #23) and Auburn (from #25). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Iowa (181 points) is #26, followed by Florida International (147), Miami (93), Western Kentucky (89) and Tennessee (71) to round out the Top 30. One other team getting points this week is Michigan State (27).

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Media Poll, Ohio State (65 votes) remains #1, Alabama remains #2, Virginia Tech climbs one to #3, Kansas State jumps one to #4 and Notre Dame moves up one to #5. Boise State climbs two to #6, Nebraska jumps seven to #7, Georgia Tech jumps seven to #8, LSU climbs seven to #9 and Florida leaps twelve to #10. Oklahoma leaps six to #11, North Carolina jumps six to #12, TCU drops ten to #13, Oregon vaults eleven to #14 and Florida State falls five to #15. Texas A&M climbs four to #16, San Diego State jumps four to #17, USC drops five to #18, Oregon State falls ten to #19 and Washington drops eight to #20. Texas plummets fourteen to #21, Fresno State enters the poll at #22, Wisconsin enters the poll at #23, Illinois enters the poll at #24 and Louisiana-Lafayette (296 points) enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Miami (from #11), Iowa (from #19, Utah (from #23) and Auburn (from #24). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Florida International (269 points) is #26, followed by Iowa (259), Miami (248), Western Kentucky (231) and Tennessee (219) to round out the Top 30. Other teams getting points this week include Michigan State (157), Arkansas State (145), Arizona (101) and Troy (9).

In the new BCS rankings: #1 Ohio State (1.000), #2 Alabama (0.995), #3 Virginia Tech (0.989), #4 Notre Dame (0.981), #5 Kansas State (0.981), #6 Boise State (0.974), #7 Nebraska (0.968), #8 LSU (0.960), #9 Georgia Tech (0.953) and #10 North Carolina (0.947).

A look at the Heisman race, Ohio State QB Matt Cowan is #1 (LW: #1), Boise State QB Mark Concepcion is #2 (LW: #2), Arizona HB Kevin Simpson is #3 (LW: #5), Ohio State HB Ron Branch is #4 (LW: #4) and Vanderbilt HB Jason Massey is #5 (LW: #3). No one dropped off the Heisman Watch list this week.

Looking at Awards Finalists, defensive tackle Marcus Garrett somehow qualified as a finalist for the Lombardi Trophy, though he is currently ranked #10 on the list.

Looking at the bowl picture, 6 teams punched their tickets this week, giving us 78 teams that have reached the 6 win plateau. 10 teams saw their bowl hopes end, leaving 1 team (Army) still having a chance (however small it may be) of getting there, to leave 79 teams total fighting for 68 bowl slots. Either 10 or 11 teams (depending on what Army does vs. Navy) will be missing a bowl game this year.

Looking at the newest bowl projections of the year, if they hold out, it's a trip to the Poinsettia Bowl for Utah State fans for a rematch, taking on rival BYU (7-5). The New Orleans Bowl would feature Southern Miss (7-5, 6-2 C-USA) matching up with Troy (8-4, 7-1 Sun Belt). #1 Ohio State (12-0, 9-0 Big Ten) would meet up with #2 Alabama (11-1, 8-1 SEC) in the National Championship game.. The New Mexico Bowl would be a showdown between Arizona State (6-6, 5-4 Pac-12) and Connecticut (8-4, 6-3 American).

The Meineke Car Care Bowl would have West Virginia (7-5, 4-5 Big 12) matching up with #25 Illinois (8-4, 5-4 Big Ten). The Russell Athletic Bowl would feature South Carolina (7-5, 4-5 SEC) vs. #13 Florida State (9-3, 7-2 ACC). The Belk Bowl would feature Navy (6-5, 6-3 American) vs. Virginia (7-5, 6-3 ACC). The Little Caesars Pizza Bowl would have Arkansas State (8-3, 5-2 Sun Belt) vs. Buffalo (8-4, 6-3 MAC). And the AutoZone Liberty Bowl would have Florida International (10-2, 7-1 C-USA) taking on Ole Miss (6-6, 4-5 SEC).

Looking at the BCS projections, the Rose Bowl would feature #4 Notre Dame (10-2) against #19 Washington (9-3, 7-2 Pac-12). The Fiesta Bowl has #5 Kansas State (11-1, 8-1 Big 12) matching up with Houston (9-3, 8-1 American). The Sugar Bowl has an all-Mountain West showdown as #6 Boise State (11-1, 7-1 Mountain West) matches up with #16 San Diego State (9-3, 7-1 Mountain West). The Orange Bowl features a battle between #3 Virginia Tech (11-1, 8-1 ACC) and #7 Nebraska (10-2, 7-2 Big Ten). And in the national championship game, #2 Alabama (11-1, 8-1 SEC) takes on #1 Ohio State (12-0, 9-0 Big Ten).

SmoothPancakes

10-15-2013, 12:02 AM

:D Oh man don't I know it. The darn no huddle in this game is just a killer. Good luck!

Yeah, I officially hate Wyoming now. From now on, to hell with the run, I am passing every down and running up the score against Wyoming. Screw them and that damn no-huddle. :fp:

SmoothPancakes

10-15-2013, 12:07 AM

Also, just on a general note, this is a historic season for readers teams. For the first time ever, in the 10 seasons I've been playing this dynasty, never before until now has every single reader's team made it to bowl eligibility.

Ohio State went 12-0, West Virginia went 7-5, Southern Miss went 7-5, Arizona State went 6-6, Auburn went 7-5, South Carolina went 7-5, Arkansas State is currently 8-3 (one game remaining), Florida International went 10-2, Navy is currently 6-5 (one game remaining) and Tulsa went 7-5.

That is absolutely unheard of in this dynasty. Usually one or two teams (usually Arizona State :D) ends up with a losing record, but this time everyone hit 6 or more wins. Impressive.

SmoothPancakes

10-15-2013, 12:13 AM

Oh yeah, my thoughts after that Wyoming game.

http://img.read.ru/images/illustrations/1266173748176329519.jpg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCOGH--E_80

SmoothPancakes

10-15-2013, 12:33 AM

On a bye week for the final week of the season, so lets get right to it.

Taking a look around the nation, in the Top 25, #11 Oklahoma beats Oklahoma State 44-24, #20 Texas tops Baylor 31-17 and #23 Louisiana-Lafayette beats South Alabama 31-21.

For our readers, JeffHCross, #1 Ohio State finishes 12-0 (9-0 Big Ten). Morsdraconis, West Virginia finishes 7-5 (4-5 Big 12). Souljahbill, Southern Miss finishes 7-5 (6-2 C-USA). Jaymo, Arizona State finishes 6-6 (5-4 Pac-12). LeeSO, Auburn finishes 7-5 (6-3 SEC). SCClassof93, South Carolina finishes 7-5 (4-5 SEC). Other teams of interest, Arkansas State finishes 9-3 (6-2 Sun Belt) with a 45-42 win over New Mexico State. Florida International finishes 10-2 (7-1 C-USA). Navy finishes 6-6 (6-3 American) with a 21-7 loss to Army. Tulsa finishes 7-5 (6-3 American).

Looking at the current Mountain West Conference standings, in the Mountain Division, Boise State (7-1) wins the division. In the West Division, San Diego State (7-1) wins the division. That sets up the Conference Championship rematch from week 13, when San Diego State shocked then-#2 Boise State 24-16 and cost them their perfect record and their national title hopes.

Looking at undefeated teams left, no one lost this week, leaving our number of undefeated teams at 1. #1 Ohio State (12-0) is all that remains with an unblemished record this season.

Turning to a more sadistic watch, who is still winless. Idaho (0-12) finishes the 2020 season winless.

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Ohio State (61 votes) remains #1, Alabama remains #2, Virginia Tech remains #3, Notre Dame remains #4 and Kansas State remains #5. Boise State remains #6, Nebraska remains #7, LSU remains #8, Georgia Tech remains #9 and North Carolina remains #10. Oklahoma remains #11, Florida remains #12, Florida State remains #13, TCU remains #14 and Texas A&M remains #15. San Diego State remains #16, Oregon remains #17, USC remains #19, Washington remains #19 and Texas remains #20. Oregon State remains #21, Wisconsin remains #22, Louisiana-Lafayette remains #23, Fresno State remains #24 and Illinois (269 points) remains #25. Nobody dropped out this week. Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Iowa (230 points) is #26, followed by Florida International (204), Miami (153), Western Kentucky (127) and Tennessee (70) to round out the Top 30. One other team getting points this week is Michigan State (38).

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Media Poll, Ohio State (65 votes) remains #1, Alabama remains #2, Virginia Tech remains #3, Kansas State remains #4 and Notre Dame remains #5. Boise State remains #6, Nebraska remains #7, Georgia Tech remains #8, LSU remains #9 and Florida remains #10. Oklahoma remains #11, North Carolina remains #12, TCU remains #13, Florida State climbs one to #14 and Oregon drops one to #15. Texas A&M remains #16, San Diego State remains #17, USC remains #18, Washington climbs one to #19 and Oregon State drops one to #20. Texas remains #21, Fresno State remains #22, Wisconsin remains #23, Illinois remains #24 and Louisiana-Lafayette (318 points) remains #25. Nobody dropped out this week. Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Florida International (288 points) is #26, followed by Iowa (240), Miami (205), Western Kentucky (182) and Tennessee (129) to round out the Top 30. Other teams getting points this week include Michigan State (101), Arkansas State (72) and Arizona (33).

In the new BCS rankings: #1 Ohio State (1.000), #2 Alabama (0.995), #3 Virginia Tech (0.989), #4 Kansas State (0.981), #5 Notre Dame (0.981), #6 Boise State (0.974), #7 Nebraska (0.968), #8 LSU (0.960), #9 Georgia Tech (0.954) and #10 North Carolina (0.947).

A look at the Heisman race, Ohio State QB Matt Cowan is #1 (LW: #1), Boise State QB Mark Concepcion is #2 (LW: #2), Arizona HB Kevin Simpson is #3 (LW: #3), Ohio State HB Ron Branch is #4 (LW: #4) and Vanderbilt HB Jason Massey is #5 (LW: #5). No one dropped off the Heisman Watch list this week.

Looking at Awards Finalists, defensive tackle Marcus Garrett somehow qualified as a finalist for the Lombardi Trophy, though he is currently ranked #10 on the list.

Looking at the bowl picture, Army punched their tickets this week, giving us 79 teams that have reached the 6 win plateau. That's it. With that, 79 teams total are fighting for 68 bowl slots, and will leave 11 teams missing a bowl game this year.

Looking at the newest bowl projections of the year, if they hold out, it's a trip to the Poinsettia Bowl for Utah State fans, taking on UCLA (6-6, 4-5 Pac-12). The New Orleans Bowl would feature Southern Miss (7-5, 6-2 C-USA) matching up with Troy (8-4, 7-1 Sun Belt). #1 Ohio State (12-0, 9-0 Big Ten) would meet up with #2 Alabama (11-1, 8-1 SEC) in the National Championship game.. The New Mexico Bowl would be a showdown between Arizona State (6-6, 5-4 Pac-12) and Connecticut (8-4, 6-3 American).

The Holiday Bowl would have West Virginia (7-5, 4-5 Big 12) matching up with #17 Oregon (8-4, 6-3 Pac-12). The Famous Idaho Potato Bowl would feature South Carolina (7-5, 4-5 SEC) vs. Miami University (7-5, 6-3 MAC). The AT&T Cotton Bowl would have Auburn (7-5, 6-3 SEC) vs. #20 Texas (8-4, 6-3 Big 12). The GoDaddy.com Bowl would have Arkansas State (9-3, 6-2 Sun Belt) vs. Toledo (9-3, 8-1 MAC). And the Hawaii Bowl would have Florida International (10-2, 7-1 C-USA) taking on Wyoming (6-6, 4-4 Mountain West).

Looking at the BCS projections, the Rose Bowl would feature #4 Notre Dame (10-2) against #19 Washington (9-3, 7-2 Pac-12). The Fiesta Bowl has #5 Kansas State (11-1, 8-1 Big 12) matching up with Houston (9-3, 8-1 American). The Sugar Bowl has an all-Mountain West showdown as #6 Boise State (11-1, 7-1 Mountain West) matches up with #16 San Diego State (9-3, 7-1 Mountain West). The Orange Bowl features a battle between #3 Virginia Tech (11-1, 8-1 ACC) and #7 Nebraska (10-2, 7-2 Big Ten). And in the national championship game, #2 Alabama (11-1, 8-1 SEC) takes on #1 Ohio State (12-0, 9-0 Big Ten).

morsdraconis

10-15-2013, 09:23 AM

Do you sim the PATs or somethin'? I've NEVER missed a PAT in any football game EVER.

SmoothPancakes

10-15-2013, 11:08 AM

Do you sim the PATs or somethin'? I've NEVER missed a PAT in any football game EVER.

Nope, I just straight up boned it under the pressure. :fp:

It was a massive point and kick, there was a 13 MPH crosswind, and the announcers, right as we were lining up for the kick, started talking about the pressure of a kick like that and how even a short PAT kick like that could be missed under the pressure of the situation with the game on the line.

Naturally, that made me completely aware of my stick movements during the PAT and trying to make them as straight and perfect as possible, and thus during the kick, I completely boned it and shot the right stick up at a angle instead of straight up, sending it into the left upright instead of through the middle. :fp:

SmoothPancakes

10-15-2013, 12:59 PM

Conference Championship Week

Conference
Winning Team
Record
Score
Losing Team
Record

:ACC_Championship:
(3) :Virginia_Tech:
12-1 (9-1)
38-7
(13) :Florida_State:
9-4 (7-3)

:AAC:
:Houston:
10-3 (9-1)
34-31
:Navy:
6-7 (6-4)

:B1G_Championship:
(1) :Ohio_State:
13-0 (10-0)
42-38
(7) :Nebraska:
10-3 (7-3)

:CUSA:
:FIU:
11-2 (8-1)
17-14
:Western_Kentucky:
10-3 (7-2)

:MAC_Championship:
:Toledo:
10-3 (9-1)
28-21
:Buffalo:
8-5 (6-4)

:Mountain_West:
(6) :Boise_State:
12-1 (8-1)
42-30
(16) :San_Diego_State:
9-4 (7-2)

:Pac_12:
(18) :USC:
10-3 (7-3)
29-26
(19) :Washington:
9-4 (7-3)

:SEC_Championship:
(2) :Alabama:
12-1 (9-1)
44-17
(12) :Florida:
9-4 (6-4)

SmoothPancakes

10-15-2013, 01:24 PM

Pre-Bowl Games Update

Final BCS Standings

Rank
LW
Team
Wins
Losses
Points

1
1
Ohio State
13
0
1.000

2
2
Alabama
12
1
.995

3
3
Virginia Tech
12
1
.989

4
5
Notre Dame
10
2
.981

5
4
Kansas State
11
1
.981

6
6
Boise State
12
1
.974

7
8
LSU
8
4
.966

8
9
Georgia Tech
10
2
.962

9
11
Oklahoma
9
3
.955

10
10
North Carolina
9
3
.955

11
7
Nebraska
10
3
.944

12
13
TCU
9
3
.939

13
15
Oregon
8
4
.924

14
16
Texas A&M
9
3
.920

15
17
USC
10
3
.918

16
20
Texas
8
4
.914

17
21
Oregon State
8
4
.900

18
12
Florida
9
4
.878

19
22
Wisconsin
8
4
.875

20
24
Fresno State
9
3
.860

21
23
Illinois
8
4
.859

22
25
UL Lafayette
9
3
.850

23
14
Florida State
9
4
.848

24
---
Iowa
8
4
.832

25
---
Florida International
11
2
.827

Conference Standings

* - Played in Conference Championship Game

ACC

Rank
Team
Record
Percentage
Conference Record
Points For
Points Against
Division Record

Atlantic Division

#1
(23) Florida State*
9-4
.690
7-3
327
292
5-1

#2
Louisville
7-5
.580
5-4
321
315
5-1

#3
NC State
7-5
.580
4-5
304
254
3-3

#4
Boston College
5-7
.410
3-6
298
303
2-4

#5
Syracuse
5-7
.410
3-6
279
299
3-3

#6
Clemson
3-9
.250
2-7
272
359
2-4

#7
Wake Forest
5-7
.410
2-7
292
332
1-5

Coastal Division

#1
(3) Virginia Tech*
12-1
.920
9-1
409
242
5-1

#2
(8) Georgia Tech
10-2
.830
7-2
358
205
4-2

#3
(10) North Carolina
9-3
.750
6-3
320
203
4-2

#4
Virginia
7-5
.580
6-3
367
331
3-3

#5
Miami
8-4
.660
5-4
366
238
3-3

#6
Pittsburgh
4-8
.330
4-5
251
322
2-4

#7
Duke
4-8
.330
1-8
257
343
0-6

American Athletic Conference

Rank
Team
Record
Percentage
Conference Record
Points For
Points Against
Division Record

East Division

#1
Central Florida
7-5
.580
6-3
367
299
3-2

#2
Connecticut
8-4
.660
6-3
436
306
2-3

#3
Navy*
6-7
.460
6-4
321
331
4-1

#4
Temple
7-5
.580
5-4
295
232
4-1

#5
East Carolina
5-7
.410
4-5
266
310
1-4

#6
South Florida
4-8
.330
3-6
275
369
1-4

West Division

#1
Houston*
10-3
.760
9-1
423
315
5-0

#2
Tulsa
7-5
.580
6-3
388
274
4-1

#3
Cincinnati
6-6
.500
5-4
288
246
3-2

#4
SMU
4-8
.330
3-6
284
394
1-4

#5
Tulane
2-10
.160
1-8
243
426
1-4

#6
Memphis
3-9
.250
1-8
264
359
1-4

Big 12

Rank
Team
Record
Percentage
Conference Record
Points For
Points Against

#1
(5) Kansas State
11-1
.910
8-1
334
213

#2
(16) Texas
8-4
.660
6-3
405
239

#3
(9) Oklahoma
9-3
.750
6-3
456
293

#4
(12) TCU
9-3
.750
6-3
383
291

#5
West Virginia
7-5
.580
4-5
264
300

#6
Baylor
6-6
.500
4-5
320
280

#7
Iowa State
4-8
.330
4-5
311
355

#8
Texas Tech
5-7
.410
3-6
256
342

#9
Kansas
5-7
.410
2-7
291
290

#10
Oklahoma State
4-8
.330
2-7
322
312

Big Ten

Rank
Team
Record
Percentage
Conference Record
Points For
Points Against
Division Record

East Division

#1
(1) Ohio State*
13-0
1.000
10-0
506
179
6-0

#2
Michigan State
8-4
.660
6-3
398
247
5-1

#3
Maryland
6-6
.500
6-3
263
326
3-3

#4
Michigan
5-7
.410
4-5
338
320
3-3

#5
Penn State
5-7
.410
3-6
313
334
2-4

#6
Rutgers
4-8
.330
2-7
302
369
2-4

#7
Indiana
4-8
.330
2-7
258
326
0-6

West Division

#1
(11) Nebraska*
10-3
.760
7-3
341
262
6-0

#2
(19) Wisconsin
8-4
.660
6-3
352
209
3-3

#3
(24) Iowa
8-4
.660
5-4
301
269
4-2

#4
(21) Illinois
8-4
.660
5-4
354
333
4-2

#5
Northwestern
7-5
.580
4-5
374
337
2-4

#6
Purdue
3-9
.250
2-7
251
363
1-5

#7
Minnesota
5-7
.410
2-7
278
326
1-5

Conference USA

Rank
Team
Record
Percentage
Conference Record
Points For
Points Against
Division Record

East Division

#1
(25) Florida International*
11-2
.840
8-1
325
220
5-1

#2
Marshall
8-4
.660
6-2
323
242
6-0

#3
Southern Miss
7-5
.580
6-2
281
293
4-2

#4
Florida Atlantic
6-6
.500
3-5
284
251
3-3

#5
Old Dominion
6-6
.500
2-6
285
317
2-4

#6
UAB
4-8
.330
2-6
260
294
1-5

#7
Massachusetts
1-11
.080
0-8
146
394
0-6

West Division

#1
Western Kentucky*
10-3
.760
7-2
396
223
5-1

#2
MTSU
8-4
.660
6-2
337
296
5-1

#3
North Texas
7-5
.580
4-4
310
314
3-3

#4
Louisiana Tech
5-7
.410
4-4
293
355
2-4

#5
UTSA
6-6
.500
4-4
303
337
2-4

#6
Rice
5-7
.410
3-5
226
351
2-4

#7
UTEP
2-10
.160
2-6
305
327
2-4

Independents

Rank
Team
Record
Percentage
Conference Record
Points For
Points Against

#1
(4) Notre Dame
10-2
.830
---
364
168

#2
BYU
7-5
.580
---
296
342

#3
Army
6-6
.500
---
248
261

MAC

Rank
Team
Record
Percentage
Conference Record
Points For
Points Against
Division Record

East Division

#1
Miami University
7-5
.580
6-3
302
299
2-3

#2
Buffalo*
8-5
.610
6-4
375
291
5-0

#3
Ohio
7-5
.580
5-4
358
267
2-3

#4
Bowling Green
6-6
.500
3-6
293
247
2-3

#5
Kent State
4-8
.330
3-6
222
326
3-2

#6
Akron
1-11
.080
1-8
203
416
1-4

West Division

#1
Toledo*
10-3
.760
9-1
382
281
5-0

#2
Central Michigan
5-7
.410
5-4
247
327
3-2

#3
Northern Illinois
7-5
.580
5-4
336
284
2-3

#4
Ball State
6-6
.500
5-4
342
287
2-3

#5
Eastern Michigan
5-7
.410
4-5
276
357
1-4

#6
Western Michigan
4-8
.330
3-6
259
282
2-3

Mountain West

Rank
Team
Record
Percentage
Conference Record
Points For
Points Against
Division Record

Mountain Division

#1
(6) Boise State*
12-1
.920
8-1
469
237
5-0

#2
Utah State
8-4
.660
6-2
395
307
3-2

#3
Wyoming
6-6
.500
4-4
324
401
3-2

#4
Colorado State
3-9
.250
2-6
195
344
2-3

#5
Air Force
4-8
.330
2-6
231
312
1-4

#6
New Mexico
3-9
.250
1-7
251
349
1-4

South Division

#1
San Diego State*
9-4
.690
7-2
356
265
4-1

#2
(20) Fresno State
9-3
.750
6-2
433
267
4-1

#3
San Jose State
5-7
.410
4-4
291
300
2-3

#4
Hawaii
4-8
.330
4-4
266
345
3-2

#5
Nevada
6-6
.500
3-5
271
260
1-4

#6
UNLV
4-8
.330
2-6
223
363
1-4

Pac-12

Rank
Team
Record
Percentage
Conference Record
Points For
Points Against
Division Record

North Division

#1
Washington*
9-4
.690
7-3
400
228
3-2

#2
(13) Oregon
8-4
.660
6-3
352
267
3-2

#3
(17) Oregon State
8-4
.660
5-4
380
264
3-2

#4
Washington State
6-6
.500
4-5
303
299
4-1

#5
Stanford
6-6
.500
4-5
344
314
2-3

#6
California
2-10
.160
1-8
198
344
0-5

South Division

#1
(15) USC*
10-3
.760
7-3
388
254
3-2

#2
Utah
7-5
.580
5-4
318
289
2-3

#3
Arizona
8-4
.660
5-4
371
300
3-2

#4
Arizona State
6-6
.500
5-4
285
332
3-2

#5
UCLA
6-6
.500
4-5
316
294
3-2

#6
Colorado
5-7
.410
2-7
279
341
1-4

SEC

Rank
Team
Record
Percentage
Conference Record
Points For
Points Against
Division Record

East Division

#1
(18) Florida*
9-4
.690
6-4
340
276
5-1

#2
Tennessee
7-5
.580
5-4
322
337
4-2

#3
Missouri
6-6
.500
4-5
340
356
4-2

#4
South Carolina
7-5
.580
4-5
388
313
3-3

#5
Vanderbilt
6-6
.500
4-5
353
295
3-3

#6
Georgia
5-7
.410
3-6
367
358
1-5

#7
Kentucky
2-10
.160
1-8
236
359
1-5

West Division

#1
(2) Alabama*
12-1
.920
9-1
542
202
5-1

#2
(14) Texas A&M
9-3
.750
7-2
377
254
4-2

#3
(7) LSU
8-4
.660
6-3
393
326
4-2

#4
Auburn
7-5
.580
6-3
329
288
4-2

#5
Ole Miss
6-6
.500
4-5
337
286
1-5

#6
Mississippi State
7-5
.580
4-5
345
322
3-3

#7
Arkansas
3-9
.250
1-8
208
355
0-6

Sun Belt

Rank
Team
Record
Percentage
Conference Record
Points For
Points Against

#1
Troy
8-4
.660
7-1
332
278

#2
Arkansas State
9-3
.750
6-2
350
290

#3
(22) UL Lafayette
9-3
.750
6-2
337
189

#4
UL Monroe
5-7
.410
5-3
292
341

#5
South Alabama
6-6
.500
5-3
291
280

#6
Texas State
5-7
.410
3-5
313
291

#7
Georgia State
2-10
.160
2-6
148
402

#8
New Mexico State
4-8
.330
2-6
290
386

#9
Idaho
0-12
.000
0-8
188
417

Heisman Memorial Trophy

:Heisman_Trophy:

Rank
Player
Position
Team
1st
2nd
3rd
Total

#1
Matt Cowan
QB
Ohio State
571
172
37
2094

#2
Mark Concepcion
QB
Boise State
131
359
218
1329

#3
Kevin Simpson
HB
Arizona
34
98
220
518

#4
Ron Branch
HB
Ohio State
33
100
196
495

#5
Patrick Jean
QB
South Carolina
8
33
67
157

Award Winners

Award
Player
Position
Team
Year

:Heisman_Trophy:
Matt Cowan
QB
Ohio State
Junior

Maxwell
Matt Cowan
QB
Ohio State
Junior

Walter Camp
Kevin Simpson
HB
Arizona
Junior

Bednarik
Roderick Lloyd
CB
Miami University
Senior

Nagurski
Avery Rush
LOLB
West Virginia
Senior (RS)

O'Brien
Matt Cowan
QB
Ohio State
Junior

Walker
Kevin Simpson
HB
Arizona
Junior

Biletnikoff
Henry Freund
WR
Alabama
Sophomore

Mackey
Michael Cohen
TE
South Carolina
Junior

Outland
Ryan Jackson
LG
Ohio State
Senior

Rimington
Glenn Conley
C
Virginia Tech
Senior (RS)

Lombardi
Erik Nicholas
DT
Notre Dame
Junior (RS)

Best LB
Jeff Rogers
ROLB
BYU
Senior

Thorpe
Drew Johnson
CB
Kansas State
Junior (RS)

Groza
Marcel Tremblay
K
USC
Junior

Guy
Justin George
P
Texas A&M
Sopohmore (RS)

Best Returner
Anthony Henderson
WR
Alabama
Sophomore

All Americans

All-NCAA

1st Team

Position
Player
Team
Year

Offense

QB
Matt Cowan
Ohio State
Junior

HB
Kevin Simpson
Arizona
Junior

HB
Ron Branch
Ohio State
Senior

WR
Gerald Edmonds
Texas A&M
Sophomore (RS)

WR
Henry Freund
Alabama
Sophomore

TE
Michael Cohen
South Carolina
Junior

LT
Joey Rush
Alabama
Junior

LT
Cornell McDonald
Ohio State
Senior (RS)

LG
Ryan Jackson
Ohio State
Senior

C
Glenn Conley
Virginia Tech
Senior (RS)

RG
Brett Rice
Alabama
Senior (RS)

Defense

LE
Evan Black
Boise State
Junior (RS)

RE
Omarr Perkins
Virginia Tech
Junior

DT
Ira Bracken
Alabama
Junior (RS)

DT
Erik Nicholas
Notre Dame
Junior (RS)

LOLB
Avery Rush
West Virginia
Senior (RS)

MLB
Paul Washington
MTSU
Senior (RS)

ROLB
Jeff Rogers
BYU
Senior

CB
Drew Johnson
Kansas State
Junior (RS)

CB
Roderick Lloyd
Miami University
Senior

FS
Chad Harris
Mississippi State
Senior (RS)

SS
Bo Payne
Kansas State
Senior

K
Marcel Tremblay
USC
Junior

P
Billy Graham
Boise State
Senior (RS)

Returner
Anthony Henderson
Alabama
Sophomore

2nd Team

Position
Player
Team
Year

Offense

QB
Mark Concepcion
Boise State
Senior (RS)

HB
David Ward
Connecticut
Junior (RS)

HB
Jason Massey
Vanderbilt
Senior (RS)

WR
Erik Rogers
Ohio State
Junior

WR
Brian Ivey
Boise State
Junior (RS)

TE
Jesse Scott
Virginia Tech
Junior

LT
Chris Bower
Boise State
Senior (RS)

LT
Bobby Cowan
Texas A&M
Senior

LG
T.J. Fuller
Boise State
Senior (RS)

C
Deon Hall
Ohio State
Senior (RS)

RG
Dante Jackson
Nebraska
Senior (RS)

Defense

LE
Todd Sparks
Nebraska
Senior (RS)

RE
Rico Novak
Alabama
Senior (RS)

DT
Jason Jones
Nebraska
Senior (RS)

DT
Jonathan Ball
Missouri
Junior (RS)

LOLB
Lewis Wilson
Ohio State
Junior

MLB
Cory Greene
USC
Junior

ROLB
James Cobbs
Arizona
Senior

CB
Taylor Mason
Nebraska
Senior

CB
Isaac Johnson
Virginia Tech
Senior

FS
Justin Johnson
LSU
Junior

SS
Nicholas Palmer
Boise State
Senior (RS)

K
Ken Montoya
TCU
Sophomore

P
Brett Bean
Virginia Tech
Sophomore

Returner
Alphonso Joseph
Louisville
Senior (RS)

Freshman Team

Position
Player
Team
Year

Offense

QB
Brian McDaniel
Penn State
Freshman

HB
Adam Sands
Florida
Fresman

HB
Michael Muse
Michigan
Freshman

WR
Brian Franklin
Texas A&M
Freshman

WR
Donte Hodge
Texas A&M
Freshman

TE
Ashley Warren
Florida
Freshman (RS)

C
Mario Williams
Central Florida
Freshman (RS)

RG
Terrell Pierce
USC
Freshman (RS)

RG
Tony Parson
Texas A&M
Freshman (RS)

RT
Marcus Everett
Virginia Tech
Freshman (RS)

RT
Ted McDowell
Ohio State
Freshman (RS)

Defense

LE
David Maxey
Kansas State
Freshman

RE
Alex Rhodes
LSU
Freshman

DT
Matto Romero
Iowa
Freshman (RS)

DT
Carlos Wynn
Alabama
Freshman

LOLB
Nicholas Bush
Nebraska
Freshman (RS)

LOLB
Victor Stevenson
Iowa State
Freshman

MLB
Paul Williams
South Carolina
Freshman (RS)

CB
Mike Moses
Utah State
Freshman (RS)

CB
Robert Kramer
Virginia Tech
Freshman

FS
Willie Gaston
Ohio State
Freshman

SS
Joe Cameron
Kansas State
Freshman (RS)

K
Jermaine Sykes
West Virginia
Freshman

P
Dionte Sarria
Florida State
Freshman (RS)

Returner
Tyrell Walker
TCU
Freshman

All-Mountain West

1st Team

Position
Player
Team
Year

Offense

QB
Mark Concepcion
Boise State
Senior (RS)

HB
Derrick Martin
Fresno State
Sophomore

HB
Matt Pierce
Boise State
Sophomore (RS)

WR
David Rogers
Fresno State
Sophomore (RS)

WR
Brian Ivey
Boise State
Junior (RS)

TE
Brian Jones
San Diego State
Junior

LT
Matt Carter
Fresno State
Senior (RS)

LT
Chris Bower
Boise State
Senior (RS)

LG
T.J. Fuller
Boise State
Senior (RS)

C
Reggie Anderson
Boise State
Senior (RS)

RG
Andre Rhodes
Boise State
Senior (RS)

Defense

LE
Evan Black
Boise State
Junior (RS)

RE
Lance Smith
San Diego State
Junior (RS)

DT
Adam Grant
Utah State
Junior (RS)

DT
Marcus Garrett
Utah State
Senior (RS)

MLB
Lee Bradley
Utah State
Senior (RS)

ROLB
Casey Hunter
Utah State
Sophomore (RS)

ROLB
Clint Sykes
Boise State
Sophomore

CB
Tyrone Larsen
Boise State
Senior (RS)

CB
Justin Sanchez
Colorado State
Senior

FS
Carlton Herring
Utah State
Senior (RS)

SS
Nicholas Palmer
Boise State
Senior (RS)

K
Ben Richardson
Boise State
Sophomore

P
Billy Graham
Boise State
Senior (RS)

Returner
Eric Miles
Boise State
Sophomore

2nd Team

Position
Player
Team
Year

Offense

QB
Ben Gallagher
Fresno State
Senior (RS)

HB
Preston Roberson
Utah State
Junior (RS)

HB
John Robinson
Air Force
Junior

WR
William Pierce
San Diego State
Senior (RS)

WR
Tim Carpenter
Boise State
Senior (RS)

TE
Jason Henderson
Boise State
Sophomore (RS)

LT
Joseph Heath
San Diego State
Senior

LG
Steve Lewis
San Diego State
Senior (RS)

C
Brad Edwards
Utah State
Senior (RS)

RG
Slade Anderson
Fresno State
Junior (RS)

RT
Grant Stover
San Diego State
Sophomore (RS)

Defense

LE
Mike Miranda
Nevada
Junior (RS)

RE
Brandon Justice
Boise State
Sophomore (RS)

DT
Cam Pruitt
Boise State
Sophomore (RS)

DT
Jeremy Vaughn
Boise State
Senior (RS)

LOLB
Don Luke
San Diego State
Senior (RS)

LOLB
Bryan Allen
Boise State
Junior (RS)

MLB
Jonathan Thompson
San Diego State
Junior (RS)

CB
Rodney Shelby
Boise State
Junior (RS)

CB
Ryan Ball
Nevada
Senior (RS)

FS
Nick Greco
San Diego State
Senior (RS)

SS
Sam Vinson
Utah State
Junior (RS)

K
Kalvin Merritt
UNLV
Senior

P
Shawn Hart
San Diego State
Junior (RS)

Returner
Eric McGuire
Utah State
Junior

souljahbill

10-15-2013, 01:27 PM

SmoothPancakes

10-15-2013, 01:54 PM

1) Sorry about the loss.
2) Yay for :Southern_Miss:
3) I wouldn't sweat Wyoming too much. After 2 or 3 recruiting classes, you'll own them.
4) Where do you intend to ultimately end up? Navy? Ohio St.? A big time school that needs to be resurrected (like LSU pre-Saban)?

Yeah, it was rough. We'll see about Wyoming. Right now, that damn no-huddle is a killer. I couldn't believe it when I went down 10-0 in just a few minutes into the game. I thought it was about to turn ugly if we didn't slow them down. Even if they take a hit because of recruiting, as long as they constantly run that damned no-huddle, my defense is gonna be in for some long afternoons. We were just getting shredded play after play, unable to truly get organized and ready before they snapped the ball again.

Yep, Southern Miss recovered nicely. It started off ugly for the season, but they pulled through and at least got to 7 wins. They never really had much of a chance at the conference title game, with FIU and Western Kentucky going off on everyone else in the conference, but they still had a good year. While all 10 teams on my "for the readers + other teams of interest" list made it to 6 or more wins, we'll have to see if everyone gets into a bowl game or ends up shut out.

As for where I intend to ultimately end up, still not sure yet. Right now I'm just sort of going along for the ride on wherever the coaching carousel takes me. I'd like to make coaching stops in each conference at least once, so that leaves the MAC, ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC for future stops, if I go that route. I do want to make a stop at Navy at some point, but whether that will be my ultimate and final landing spot or not, I don't know yet. Right now, just leaving my options open, that way when I decide to move on to my next school, I just jump and see where I land with no specific destination in mind.

SmoothPancakes

10-15-2013, 02:03 PM

2020 Conference Champions

Conference
Team
Record
Conference Record

CCG Loser
Record
Conference Record

:ACC:
:Virginia_Tech:
12-1
9-1

:Florida_State:
9-4
7-3

:AAC:
:Houston:
10-3
9-1

:Navy:
6-7
6-4

:Big_12:
:Kansas_State:
11-1
8-1

:Big_Ten:
:Ohio_State:
13-0
10-0

:Nebraska:
10-3
7-3

:CUSA:
:FIU:
11-2
8-1

:Western_Kentucky:
10-3
7-2

:MAC:
:Toledo:
10-3
9-1

:Buffalo:
8-5
6-4

:Mountain_West:
:Boise_State:
12-1
8-1

:San_Diego_State:
9-4
7-2

:Pac_12:
:USC:
10-3
7-3

:Washington:
9-4
7-3

:SEC:
:Alabama:
12-1
9-1

:Florida:
9-4
6-4

:Sun_Belt:
:Troy:
8-4
7-1

SmoothPancakes

10-15-2013, 04:10 PM

2020 Bowl Season Rundown

Bowl Game
Conference
Record
Team

Team
Record
Conference

Date/Result

:New_Mexico_Bowl:
:Mountain_West:
6-6 (3-5)
:Nevada:
vs.
:Arizona_State:
6-6 (5-4)
:Pac_12:

12/15 - 12:30 PM

:Famous_Idaho_Bowl:
:MAC:
8-5 (6-4)
:Buffalo:
vs.
:Mississippi_State:
7-5 (4-5)
:SEC:

12/15 - 4:30 PM

:Poinsettia_Bowl:
:Pac_12:
6-6 (4-5)
:UCLA:
vs.
(20) :Fresno_State:
9-3 (6-2)
:Mountain_West:

12/20 - 8:00 PM

:Beef_O_Bradys_Bowl:
:CUSA:
8-4 (6-2)
:MTSU:
vs.
:Connecticut:
8-4 (6-3)
:AAC:

12/21 - 7:30 PM

:New_Orleans_Bowl:
:CUSA:
7-5 (6-2)
:Southern_Miss:
vs.
:Troy:
8-4 (7-1)
:Sun_Belt:

12/22 - 12:00 PM

:Las_Vegas_Bowl:
:Pac_12:
8-4 (5-4)
:Arizona:
vs.
:San_Diego_State:
9-4 (7-2)
:Mountain_West:

12/22 - 3:30 PM

:Hawaii_Bowl:
:CUSA:
10-3 (7-2)
:Western_Kentucky:
vs.
:Utah_State:
8-4 (6-2)
:Mountain_West:

12/24 - 8:00 PM

:LittleCaesars_Bowl:
:Big_Ten:
7-5 (4-5)
:Northwestern:
vs.
:Miami_OH:
7-5 (6-3)
:MAC:

12/26 - 7:30 PM

:Military_Bowl:
:MAC:
7-5 (5-4)
:Northern_Illinois:
vs.
:Army:
6-6
Independent

12/27 - 3:30 PM

:Holiday_Bowl:
:Big_12:
7-5 (4-5)
:West_Virginia:
vs.
(13) :Oregon:
8-4 (6-3)
:Pac_12:

12/27 - 3:30 PM

:Belk_Bowl:
:ACC:
8-4 (5-4)
:Miami:
vs.
:Temple:
7-5 (5-4)
:AAC:

12/27 - 6:00 PM

:Independence_Bowl:
:Pac_12:
6-6 (4-5)
:Stanford:
vs.
:NC_State:
7-5 (4-5)
:ACC:

12/28 - 2:00 PM

:Russell_Athletic:
Independent
7-5
:BYU:
vs.
(10) :North_Carolina:
9-3 (6-3)
:ACC:

12/28 - 6:00 PM

:Meineke_Texas_Bowl:
:Big_Ten:
8-4 (5-4)
(24) :Iowa:
vs.
:Baylor:
6-6 (4-5)
:Big_12:

12/28 - 9:00 PM

:Armed_Forces_Bowl:
:CUSA:
8-4 (6-2)
:Marshall:
vs.
:Wyoming:
6-6 (4-4)
:Mountain_West:

12/29 - 12:00 PM

:Fight_Hunger_Bowl:
:Sun_Belt:
9-3 (6-2)
(22) :Louisiana:
vs.
(17) :Oregon_State:
8-4 (5-4)
:Pac_12:

12/29 - 4:30 PM

:Alamo_Bowl:
:Big_12:
9-3 (6-3)
(9) :Oklahoma:
vs.
:Washington:
9-4 (7-3)
:Pac_12:

12/29 - 7:00 PM

:BWW_Bowl:
:Big_12:
9-3 (6-3)
(12) :TCU:
vs.
:Maryland:
6-6 (6-3)
:Big_Ten:

12/29 - 10:00 PM

:Music_City_Bowl:
:SEC:
6-6 (4-5)
:Ole_Miss:
vs.
:Louisville:
7-5 (5-4)
:ACC:

12/31 - 12:00 PM

:Sun_Bowl:
:Pac_12:
7-5 (5-4)
:Utah:
vs.
:Virginia:
7-5 (6-3)
:ACC:

12/31 - 2:00 PM

:Liberty_Bowl:
:SEC:
7-5 (4-5)
:South_Carolina:
vs.
(25) :FIU:
11-2 (8-1)
:CUSA:

12/31 - 3:30 PM

:Chick_fil_A_Bowl:
:SEC:
7-5 (5-4)
:Tennessee:
vs.
(23) :Florida_State:
9-4 (7-3)
:ACC:

12/31 - 7:30 PM

:Heart_of_Dallas:
:AAC:
7-5 (6-3)
:UCF:
vs.
(21) :Illinois:
8-4 (5-4)
:Big_Ten:

1/1 - 12:00 PM

:TaxSlayer_Gator:
:SEC:
6-6 (4-5)
:Missouri:
vs.
:Michigan_State:
8-4 (6-3)
:Big_Ten:

1/1 - 12:00 PM

:Capital_One_Bowl:
:SEC:
9-3 (7-2)
(14) :Texas_A&M:
vs.
(11) :Nebraska:
10-3 (7-3)
:Big_Ten:

1/1 - 12:30 PM

:Outback_Bowl:
:SEC:
7-5 (6-3)
:Auburn:
vs.
(19) :Wisconsin:
8-4 (6-3)
:Big_Ten:

1/1 - 12:30 PM

:Cotton_Bowl:
:SEC:
9-4 (6-4)
(18) :Florida:
vs.
(16) :Texas:
8-4 (6-3)
:Big_12:

1/3 - 8:00 PM

:BBVA_Compass_Bowl:
:SEC:
6-6 (4-5)
:Vanderbilt:
vs.
:Washington_State:
6-6 (4-5)
:Pac_12:

1/4 - 12:30 PM

:GoDaddycom_Bowl:
:MAC:
10-3 (9-1)
:Toledo:
vs.
:Arkansas_State:
9-3 (6-2)
:Sun_Belt:

1/5 - 9:00 PM

2020 BCS Bowls

Bowl Game
Conference
Record
Team

Team
Record
Conference

Date/Result

:Rose_Bowl:
Independent
10-2
(4) :Notre_Dame:
vs.
(15) :USC:
10-3 (7-3)
:Pac_12:

1/1 - 4:30 PM

:Fiesta_Bowl:
:Big_12:
11-1 (8-1)
(5) :Kansas_State:
vs.
:Houston:
10-3 (9-1)
:AAC:

1/1 - 8:00 PM

:Sugar_Bowl:
:Mountain_West:
12-1 (8-1)
(6) :Boise_State:
vs.
(8) :Georgia_Tech:
10-2 (7-2)
:ACC:

1/2 - 8:00 PM

:Orange_Bowl:
:ACC:
12-1 (9-1)
(3) :Virginia_Tech:
vs.
(7) :LSU:
8-4 (6-3)
:SEC:

1/3 - 8:00 PM

:BCS_Trophy:
:SEC:
12-1 (9-1)
(2) :Alabama:
vs.
(1) :Ohio_State:
13-0 (10-0)
:Big_Ten:

1/6 - 8:00 PM

SmoothPancakes

10-15-2013, 04:11 PM

So there you have it. We end up heading for the islands of Hawaii to take on a familiar opponent, Western Kentucky.

Elsewhere, Arizona State takes on Nevada in the New Mexico Bowl, Southern Miss faces Troy in the New Orleans Bowl, West Virginia battles #13 Oregon in the Holiday Bowl, South Carolina and #25 Florida International collide in the Liberty Bowl, Arkansas State meets Toledo in the GoDaddy.com Bowl and #1 Ohio State goes into the showdown with #2 Alabama for the National Championship game.

One game of note, it's a rematch in the Gator Bowl as Missouri and Michigan State meet for the second year in a row. Last year, Michigan State topped Missouri 31-24. Will the Tigers get revenge?

And in terms of bowl numbers, SEC has the most of any conference with 11 teams getting into a bowl game.

Looking through the standings, 79 teams made it bowl eligible with only 68 slots. Eleven teams got screwed this year.

And a look at who got screwed out of a bowl game this year:

American

:Tulsa: - (7-5)

:Cincinnati: - (6-6)

:Navy: - (6-7)

C-USA

:North_Texas: - (7-5)

:UTSA: - (6-6)

:FAU: - (6-6)

:Old_Dominion: - (6-6)

MAC

:Ohio: - (7-5)

:Ball_State: - (6-6)

:Bowling_Green: - (6-6)

Sun Belt

:South_Alabama: - (6-6)

So there you go. Tulsa, North Texas and Ohio all get shut out with a 7-5 record. Old Dominion and South Alabama both go 6-6 in their first year in FBS action but get left home. Conference USA has the most teams sitting home this season with four schools left bowl-less.

SmoothPancakes

10-15-2013, 10:14 PM

Hawaii Bowl

:Western_Kentucky: VS :Utah_State:

Game Notes

--- Here we were, the conclusion of Ramius’ first season at Utah State. A rough ending to the season saw us lose our final game of the year in heartbreaking fashion to rival Wyoming, finishing second in the Mountain Division, missing out on a chance at the Mountain West title, and end up in the Hawaii Bowl against a familiar face, the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers.

Our passing defense would be put to its toughest test of the year, going up against the #11 passing offense of the Hilltoppers, who came in averaging 272.2 yards/game through the air. They were definitely more passing oriented as their rushing game entered ranked #87 (135.2 yards/game). That was still good enough to have the #21 offense in the nation (407.8 yards/game). If we could shut down their passing game and force them to rely on the run, we’d certainly be in at least a decent position. If they were able to air it out all over us, it could be a long day. It’d certainly be a tall task for our defense, as our passing defense entered the game #113 in the nation, giving up 255.2 yards/game.

While Western Kentucky was a bit one-sided on offense, they were an dynamo on defense. Facing our toughest defensive challenge of the season, Western Kentucky entered the game with the #4 total defense (giving up only 291.7 yards/game), #8 rush defense (117.4 yards/game) and #8 pass defense (174.3 yards/game). So it didn’t matter if we ran the ball or threw the ball, either way we would be going up against a top 10 defense. The question was, would our #22 passing offense (253.3 yards/game) and our #64 rush offense (151.7 yards/game) be able to loosen their defense up and allow us to move the ball down the field. We won the coin toss and elected to kick.

A touchback on the kickoff gave Western Kentucky the ball at their 25 yard line to start the game. J.B. Ferguson dropped back from the shotgun on first down, only to get a rude awakening by our defense, as Caleb McBride pushed through from the defensive end position and sacked Ferguson for a 9 yard loss, putting the Hilltoppers in an instant hole on second and 19. A 9 yard completion to Cole Stephens regained those lost yards, leaving third and 10. Ferguson was unable to find an open receiver on third down and was forced to throw the ball away to avoid a sack, bringing out the punt team on fourth and 10, an early win for our defense. An 8 yard return by Eric McGuire on the 43 yard punt got us started from our 39 yard line.

Preston Roberson got our drive started on the ground with a four yard rush, followed by a gain of four to leave third and two. Keeping the ball in the hands of Roberson, he was just able to get the first down with a three yard rush, moving the chains to midfield. Brian Paris came in on first down, driving for a three yard gain on the play. Western Kentucky would then give us a helping hand, a facemask penalty on cornerback Brandon Gibbons advancing the ball 15 more yards, giving us a first down at the Hilltoppers 31 yard line. Roberson took over again on first down, punching it up the middle for a four yard gain, followed by a three yard pickup to set up third and three. Running a play action pass on third down, the pass intended for tight end Tim Fields was broken up by the middle linebacker, leaving us kicking on fourth and three. The 41 yard field goal by Richard Burnette was good, giving us a 3-0 lead with 5:35 left in the first quarter.

Another touchback gave Western Kentucky the ball at their 25 yard line once more. Bradley Steele got the offense moving on first down, pulling in a pass from Ferguson for a 17 yard gain and a first down at the 42. We caught a break on first down as Milton Newton dropped the pass over the middle, leaving second and 10. McBride would come through again on second down, recording his second sack of the game, bringing Ferguson down for a four yard loss to leave third and 14. The third down pass from Ferguson intended for Charles Olson was way off the mark and long, falling incomplete to bring the punt team out once more on fourth and 14. A 6 yard return by McGuire on the 38 yard punt got us back on the field at our 29 yard line.

Roberson started our drive with only a one yard gain, the Western Kentucky defense ready for the rush. Dropping back into the shotgun on second down, the pass from Adam Powers intended for Dre Martin was nearly intercepted, bringing up third and 9. David Douglas was just barely keep our drive alive with a 9 yard reception, getting the first down at the 40 yard line. Another rush by Roberson picked up 10 yards and a new set of downs at midfield. Roberson kept pounding away with a four yard rush, followed by a three yard gain by paris to leave us with third and three. Lining up under center on third down, a huge catch by Brian James, followed by breaking a pair of tackles and tight roping his way up the sideline, gained us 24 yards and set us up with a first down at the Western Kentucky 19 yard line. Roberson took the ball on first down for a four yard carry, followed by a four yard dive to leave us with third and two. Roberson took the ball on third down, stood up at the 10 yard line, but by keeping his legs driving, he was able to use his momentum to fall across the first down line for a three yard gain, giving us first and goal at the 8 yard line. Roberson was only able to get three yards on the first down rush, before a three yard gain by James set up third and goal at the two yard line. Roberson would receive the handoff on third down, and punched his way into the end zone for a two yard touchdown, giving us a 10-0 lead with 9 seconds left in the first quarter.

A 21 yard kickoff return gave Western Kentucky the ball at their 20 yard line. The first down pass by Ferguson intended for Steele was batted incomplete, bringing up second down. Steele received the handoff on second down, but was quickly brought down for a one yard loss, leaving third and 11. That would be the final play of the first quarter, our lead 10-0.

Opening up the second quarter, Ferguson threw up a prayer, caught by Olson near the line of scrimmage, but the secondary pounced on him and limited the gain to only two yards, forcing another punt by the Hilltoppers on fourth and 9. A 13 yard return by McGuire on the 40 yard punt gave us the ball at midfield.

Powers started the drive under center, quickly dropping back and finding Fields over the middle for an 11 yard gain, giving us a quick first down at the Western Kentucky 39. Roberson took over on first down, rushing his way to a four yard gain, before being stood up for no gain to leave us with third and 6. Forced to get rid of the ball to avoid a sack, Powers dumped the pass off to Paris, who could only get three yards on the play, leaving us lining up for a kick on fourth and three. The 48 yard field goal by Burnette was good, giving us a 13-0 lead with 6:45 left in the second quarter.

A 26 yard return on the kickoff got Western Kentucky lined up at their 26 yard line. Coming out 5 wide on first down, Newton pulled in a pass from Ferguson for a 16 yard gain along the left sideline, getting the Hilltoppers moving with a first down at the 42. Nathan Smith pulled in a pass over the middle on first down, good for a 9 yard gain, followed by a two yard rush by Steele to get a new set of downs at our 46. Newton pulled in a pass from Ferguson on first down, immediately hit as he caught it for a gain of only two yards, leaving second and 8. Finding no one open and the pressure closing in, Ferguson took off scrambling on second down, sprinting his way to a 22 yard gain before safety Sam Vinson could bring him down, giving the Hilltoppers a first down at our 22 yard line. Steele pulled in a 7 yard reception along the right sideline, followed by Ferguson scrambling for a 6 yard gain to get the first down, setting up first and goal from our 9 yard line. Steele took the ball up the middle for a 7 yard gain, before being stood up for no gain to leave third and goal at the two yard line. Kevin Slater would get the job done on third down, bouncing outside after we jammed the middle and trotting into the end zone for a two yard touchdown, cutting our lead to 13-7 with 3:50 left in the first half.

Our lead would go right back up to 13 points on the kickoff, as a McGuire took the kickoff at our 5 yard line, clear over just a couple feet away from the sideline. A pair of blocks that left Western Kentucky players laying on their backs opened up a gaping hole up the sideline for McGuire, who sprinted through, outran the outside defender and then beat the final guy to the end zone, diving from three yards out to get into the end zone for a 95 yard kickoff return for a touchdown, putting us back up 20-7 with 3:39 left in the second quarter.

A touchback on the kickoff gave Western Kentucky the ball at their 25 yard line. Western Kentucky nearly took those points right back, as Steele received the handoff from Ferguson on first down, found a big hole around the left tackle and broke free down the field, taking advantage of the absence of our blitzing linebackers. Steele nearly took it in for a 75 yard touchdown, but safety Carlton Herring was just barely able to get a hand on his ankle and trip him up shy of the end zone, the run officially going for a 73 yard gain, giving Western Kentucky first and goal from our two yard line. Western Kentucky decided to go into the air on first down, dumping up a pass over the middle intended for tight end Jason Langford, the pass intercepted by Vinson on the goal line, who was immediately tackled, giving us the ball back at our one yard line.

Roberson would receive the handoff on first down, stopped for no gain on the play to leave second and 10. Another rush by Roberson resulted in no gain, setting up third and 10 at our one yard line. Going into the shotgun on third down, Powers was unable to find an open receiver and took off scrambling, but was tripped up just inside the end zone, sacked for a safety, cutting our lead to 20-9 and punting the ball away. A 28 yard return on the safety punt gave Western Kentucky the ball at our 47 yard line for their next drive, 1:58 left before halftime.

Our defense answered back on first down, as Ferguson also tried to scramble from the pressure, ending up sacked for a four yard loss to bring up second and 14, Western Kentucky calling their first timeout with 1:55 left in the quarter. Another sack thanks to the blitz went for a one yard loss against the offense, bringing about third and 15. A screen pass to Steele ended in disaster for the Hilltoppers, Steele tackled for a one yard loss to leave them punting on fourth and 16. The Hilltoppers let the clock tick down before punting, the ball bouncing down at the 7 yard line and rolling into the end zone for touchback, giving us the ball at our 20 yard line, 39 seconds left on the clock.

Lining up in the shotgun on first down, the first down pass intended for Martin was broken up by the cornerback, bringing up second down. Our drive would come to an end on second down as a deep pass down the left sideline intended for McGuire was intercepted by cornerback Russell Morgan at the WKU 35 yard line, who proceeded to return it 35 yards to our 30 yard line. To make matters worse, left tackle Paul Huffman was flagged for a facemask penalty on the tackle, the 15 free yards setting Western Kentucky up with a first down from our 15 yard line with 24 seconds remaining on the clock.

Steele received a handoff on first down, rushing up the middle for a 5 yard gain, Western Kentucky calling their second timeout with 21 seconds to go. We brought the house on second down, the move paying off as Steele took the ball and was promptly brought down for a two yard loss, leaving third and 7. Saving their timeout, Western Kentucky rushed back to the line, Ferguson lined up in the shotgun. Dropping back on the snap, Ferguson was unable to find anyone open, and with the clock ticking down to just mere seconds left, he took off scramble, avoiding one diving tackle and meeting Vinson at the one yard line, where he proceeded to power his way through Vinson and into the end zone for the 12 yard touchdown, further cutting our lead to 20-16 with one second left until halftime.

Roberson took the kickoff back for a 22 yard return, but was unable to break free. That would leave no time left on the clock, sending us into halftime with only a 20-16 lead.

Opening up the second half, a 32 yard kickoff return by McGuire gave us the ball at our 28 yard line to start the third quarter. Roberson started our drive on the ground with a 5 yard rush up the gut, followed by a four yard gain to leave us with third and one. Going for the conversion on the ground, Paris received the ball on third down, fighting his way to a 5 yard gain and the first down at the 41 yard line. Pulling out a play action pass on first down, the pass intended for tight end Jack Long was broken up, bringing up second down. The second down pass over the middle intended for McGuire ended up intercepted by middle linebacker Zach Rhodes, who returned it 13 yards to our 36 yard line.

Taking over at our 36 yard line after the interception, Ferguson tried to connect with Newton on first down, but he would drop the pass incomplete to leave second and 10. A second down rush by Steele gained two yards, bringing up third and 8 for the Hilltoppers. Going into the air on third down, Ferguson’s pass intended for Newton was off the mark and incomplete, leaving fourth and 8 from our 34 yard line. Western Kentucky went for the long field goal, 51 yard field goal by Mark Foster had the distance but stayed just wide of the left upright, and we took back over at our 34 yard line, the previous interception going without any damage received.

Lining up after the missed field goal, Roberson started us on the ground with a 7 yard rush, followed by a 5 yard gain to get the first down at the 46 yard line. Paris took over on first down, picking up four yards on the play, before a second down power option pitch to Roberson left us going backwards for a four yard loss, bringing about third and 10. Lining up in the shotgun, Powers rifled a pass off to Douglas, but he was brought down just shy of the first down line, the pass complete for a gain of only 9 yards to leave fourth and one from the WKU 45 yard line. An 8 yard return on the 27 yard punt gave Western Kentucky the ball at their 25 yard line.

Ferguson dropped back on first down, forced to rush his throw to avoid a sack. That rushed pass, intended for Steele, would be left hanging in the air and force Steele to reach back for it, allowing our defense to lay Steele out and break up the completion to leave second down. A screen pass to Steele on second down left us burned, as he took it up the sideline for a 24 yard gain, getting a first down at the 49 yard line. A dump pass to Newton picked up 14 yards and a new set of downs at our 37 yard line. Ferguson would also burn us yet again, taking off scrambling on the first down play, breaking three different tackles along the way to a 24 yard gain and a first down at our 13 yard line. Steele took the ball on first down, gaining 7 yards on the play, followed by yet another scramble by Ferguson, who took it into the end zone for a 6 yard touchdown, giving Western Kentucky a 23-20 lead with 3:10 left in the third quarter.

A 29 yard kickoff return by Roberson got us started from our 24 yard line. Roberson took the ball on first down, spinning his way to a 7 yard gain, followed by a three yard gain by Paris to leave third and inches. Paris would take the handoff on third down, just getting one yard on the play to pick up the first down at the 35 yard line. Lining up under center on first down, Powers dropped back and connected with Martin for a 10 yard gain to leave second and inches. A spinning 5 yard rush by Roberson would get us another first down at midfield. Dropping back into the shotgun on first down, Powers was able to hook up with Douglas for a 10 yard gain and a new set of downs at the Western Kentucky 40 yard line. Continuing through the air on first down, the defense brought pressure on the play and forced a rush pass from Powers, the ball intended for Paris sailing deep into the secondary and incomplete, bringing up second and 10. Ryan Conley would keep us moving on second down with a 19 yard reception, pushed out of bounds at the 22 yard line. Trying to thread the needle on first down, the pass intended for Michael Smith was intercepted by outside linebacker Jason Douglas, returned three yards to the Western Kentucky 24 yard line with 21 seconds left in the third quarter.

Taking over after the interception, Western Kentucky went straight into the air, but Ferguson’s pass intended for Olson was off the mark and sailed out of bounds. The second down pass from Ferguson sailed right past the outstretched hands of our cornerback and into the hands of Smith for a 13 yard gain, giving the Hilltoppers a first down at the 37. Steele would keep the ball moving with a 15 yard rush up the middle, picking up another first down at our 48 yard line. That would be the final play of the third quarter, Western Kentucky holding a 23-20 lead and driving for more.

Opening up the fourth quarter, Ferguson tried to scramble on the first down pass play, but we were able to limit the damage to just one yard, leaving second and 9. Steele took the second down handoff up the middle for an 11 yard gain, picking up another first down at our 36. A screen pass to Stephens on first down would go for a 16 yard pickup, an ankle tackle saving the touchdown, Western Kentucky instead ending up with another first down at our 20 yard line. Another scramble by Ferguson gained four yards, before an incomplete pass intended for Smith, the ball bouncing off his finger tips and falling to the ground, brought up third and 6. A quick pass to Newton would pick up 9 yards and the first down, giving Western Kentucky first and goal from our 7 yard line. Ferguson kept it on a QB sneak, fighting his way to a 6 yard gain to set up second and goal at the one yard line. Ferguson tried to punch it in himself again, but was brought down for no gain on the play, leaving third and goal at the one. The third down handoff to Steele was blown up for a two yard loss, and Western Kentucky was forced to settle for a field goal. The 20 yard field goal by Foster was good, extending Western Kentucky’s lead to 26-20 with 6:06 left in the game.

A 27 yard kickoff return up the sideline by Roberson got us started at our 29 yard line. Paris started us on the ground on first down, only getting three yards on the carry. Going under center on second down, the pass intended for James was incomplete, leaving us with third and 7. The third down pass to Douglas would keep us breathing, as he pulled in the ball for a 16 yard completion and a first down at the 48 yard line. Staying in the shotgun on first down, James was briefly able to pull in the pass from Powers, but dropped it when he was hit by the middle linebacker, bringing up second down. A quick pass to Roberson gained us 5 yards, setting up third and 5. Douglas was able to get his hands on the ball, but a hit from behind knocked it loose, leaving fourth and 5. Down by 6 with only 4:41 left in the game, we went for it on fourth down. Paris pulled in the pass from Powers, but he was stopped for a gain of only three yards, and we would turn the ball over on downs at the Western Kentucky 44 yard line. The news would get even worse as Paris was examined on the sideline after the play, diagnosed with a bruised shoulder that would keep him out for the rest of the game.

Taking over after the turnover on downs, it wouldn’t start pretty as a hard snap count got us to jump on first down, flagged for encroachment to give the Hilltoppers first and 5. Ferguson was forced to get rid of the ball on first down to avoid a sack, the pass to Smith on target, but the ball bounced off his fingertips twice and sailed towards one of our defenders. Unfortunately he was unable to come down with it, the ball landing incomplete to bring up second and 5. A scramble by Ferguson gained 8 yards and got the first down at our 42 yard line. Cornerback Buck Castillo made the tackle on the play, but ended up needing help to the sideline, diagnosed with a bruise sternum that would end his day. The defense would rise to the occasion on first down, as middle linebacker Lee Bradley sacked Ferguson for a 5 yard loss, leaving second and 15. Ferguson was forced to throw the ball away on second down to avoid another sack, forcing third and 15. That play would also send Ferguson to the sideline with broken ribs, ending his season. Coming in as replacement quarterback on third down, Bryan Woodard tried to connect with Newton along the left sideline, but his pass sailed long and carried out of bounds, bringing out the punt team on fourth and 15. The 48 yard punt would bounce down at the 8 yard line and go into the end zone for a touchback, starting our drive at our 20 yard line, 3:48 left in the game.

Coming out passing on first down, Powers found McGuire for a 9 yard gain. Going no huddle on second down, the pass intended for McGuire was broken up to bring up third and one. Douglas would keep us moving with a 16 yard reception, getting out of bounds at the 45 yard line. The first down pass intended for James was nearly intercepted by the safety, bringing up second down. Douglas would save us again, hauling in a pass along the sideline and getting his toes down before falling out of bounds, the pass good for a 27 yard pickup and a first down at the Western Kentucky 28 yard line, 2:59 left on the clock. The first down pass intended for Fields was nearly intercepted, bringing up second down. A second down pass to Douglas ended up dropped, bringing up third and 10. Conley was able to pull in a pass from Powers for a 10 yard gain, but was stopped just shy of the first down line, leaving fourth and inches. Going for it on fourth down, James took the ball up the middle for a four yard rush, moving the chains to the WKU 15 yard line. An 11 yard reception by McGuire set us up with first and goal at the four yard line. James took the ball on first down for a one yard gain, leaving second and goal at the three. Going under center on second down, Powers threw a quick pass to Conley who caught it at the one yard line and beat the cornerback inside the pylon for the three yard touchdown. Burnette’s extra point gave us a 27-26 lead with 1:15 left in the game.

A 32 yard kickoff return gave Western Kentucky the ball at their 29 yard line, 1:11 remaining. Newton got the drive started with a 5 yard reception, getting out of bounds to stop the clock, followed by a 6 yard rush by Steele to get the first down at the 41 yard line. Woodard tried to scramble from the pressure on first down, but was sacked for a two yard loss. While calling out the snap count, a hard count got McBride to jump offside, the penalty leaving second and 7 at the 44 yard line, 23 seconds left in the game. A second down pass to Newton was complete for a 6 yard gain to leave third and one, Western Kentucky calling their first timeout with 16 seconds to go. Woodard’s pass on first down, intended for Stephens, sailed incomplete, bringing fourth and one, 12 seconds left. Steele took the ball up the middle for a 6 yard gain to get the first down at our 44 yard line, Western Kentucky calling their second timeout with 9 seconds remaining. Our defense would let us down when it mattered most, as Olson was able to slip behind the secondary on first down and haul in a pass from Woodard for a massive 32 yard gain, giving Western Kentucky a first down at our 12 yard line. The Hilltoppers called their final timeout with four seconds left to line up for the game-winning field goal. We called our second timeout, hoping to freeze the kicker. Lining up for the kick again, we used our final timeout, hoping to put the kicker on ice. We caught the biggest break of our entire season as the 29 yard field goal by Foster was no good, missing just wide right of the right upright and giving us the ball back at our 20 yard line with one second left. A kneel down by Powers and we secured the seemingly impossible 27-26 win over Western Kentucky.

With the win, we end our 2020 season at 9-4, 6-2 in Mountain West action. With the win, Western Kentucky’s year comes to a close at 10-4, 7-2 in C-USA play.

Final Score
:Utah_State: 27, :Western_Kentucky: 26

Stat(s) of the Game:
- Tulsa Offense – A horrible day for Powers, ending 17-32 for 195 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions. Rushing, Roberson led the way with 76 yards and one touchdown on 23 carries. Paris ended with 23 yards on seven rushes and James had 13 yards on four rushes. Receiving, Douglas was our top receiver with 87 yards on six receptions. Next was Conley with 32 yards and one touchdown on three catches. In all, we had eight receivers catch a pass today, six of them end with double digit yards.

- Tulsa Defense – Good and bad. The good, an interception and 7 sacks. The bad, 371 yards of total offense and 196 yards of rushing given up, including 66 yards and two touchdowns to their quarterback. The defense made some good stops, but they also got burned multiple times. Our goose was going to be cooked had it not been for their kicker missing the game-winning field goal at the end.

- Tulsa Kicking – A perfect day (thank god) by Burnette in his last ever game as an Aggie. He finished 2-2 with kicks from 48 and 41 yards out, and then went 3-3 in PATs.

Scoring Summary

Team
1st Quarter
2nd Quarter
3rd Quarter
4th Quarter
Final Score

:Western_Kentucky:
0
16
7
3
26

:Utah_State:
10
10
0
7
27

Time
Team
Result
Play
Score

First Quarter

5:38
:Utah_State:
Field Goal
R. Burnette, 41 yard field goal
:Utah_State: 3-0

0:09
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
P. Roberson, 2 yard run (R. Burnette kick)
:Utah_State: 10-0

Second Quarter

6:45
:Utah_State:
Field Goal
R. Burnette, 48 yard field goal
:Utah_State: 13-0

3:50
:Western_Kentucky:
Touchdown
K. Slater, 2 yard run (M. Foster kick)
:Utah_State: 13-7

3:39
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
E. McGuire, returned kickoff 95 yards (R. Burnette kick)
:Utah_State: 20-7

2:08
:Western_Kentucky:
Safety
Team Safety: A. Powers sacked in end zone
:Utah_State: 20-9

0:01
:Western_Kentucky:
Touchdown
J. Ferguson, 12 yard run (M. Foster kick)
:Utah_State: 20-16

Third Quarter

3:10
:Western_Kentucky:
Touchdown
J. Ferguson, 6 yard run (M. Foster kick)
:Western_Kentucky: 23-20

Fourth Quarter

6:06
:Western_Kentucky:
Field Goal
M. Foster, 20 yard field goal
:Western_Kentucky: 26-20

1:15
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
R. Conley, 3 yard pass from A. Powers (R. Burnette kick)
:Utah_State: 27-26

Game Stats

Western Kentucky
Stat
Utah State

26
Score
27

18
First Downs
18

371
Total Offense
302

31 - 196 - 3
Rushes - Yards - TD
36 - 107 - 1

16 - 30 - 0
Comp - Att - TD
17 - 32 - 1

175
Passing Yards
195

7
Times Sacked
1

3 - 11 (27%)
3rd Down Conversion
9 - 15 (60%)

1 - 1 (100%)
4th Down Conversion
1 - 2 (50%)

0 - 3 (0%)
2-Point Conv
0 - 2 (0%)

6 - 3 - 1 (66%)
Red Zone - TD - FG
2 - 2 - 0 (100%)

1
Turnovers
3

0
Fumbles Lost
0

1
Intercepted
3

8
Punt Return Yards
27

105
Kick Return Yards
202

484
Total Yards
531

5 – 44.8
Punts - Average
1 – 28.0

1 - 15
Penalties
4 - 30

17:07
Time of Possession
18:53

Utah State Coach Goals

Goal
XP Reward
Completed

Win a Game
100
x1

Score a Touchdown
25
x3

Kick/Punt Return Touchdown
50
x1

Force a Turnover
25
x1

45+ Yard Field Goal
10
x1

Rush for 100 Yards
25
x1

Kneel Last Minute Q4 While Ahead
10
x1

3+ Sacks
50
x1

Play in an ESPN Classic Game
75
x1

Opponent Under 300 Pass Yards
50
x1

Pass Completion Over 50%
30
x1

100% Red Zone Efficiency
50
x1

Score 21 or More Points
50
x1

10+ First Downs
50
x1

4+ 3rd Down Conversions
25
x1

Utah State Contract Goals Update

Goal
Expectations
Progress

Target Wins Per Season
6
:check: (9)

Job Security Status

100%

SmoothPancakes

10-15-2013, 11:21 PM

2020 Bowl Season Rundown

Bowl Game
Conference
Record
Team
Results
Team
Record
Conference

:New_Mexico_Bowl:
:Pac_12:
7-6 (5-4)
:Arizona_State:
42-20
:Nevada:
6-7 (3-5)
:Mountain_West:

:Famous_Idaho_Bowl:
:MAC:
9-5 (6-4)
:Buffalo:
31-19
:Mississippi_State:
7-6 (4-5)
:SEC:

:Poinsettia_Bowl:
:Pac_12:
7-6 (4-5)
:UCLA:
31-14
(20) :Fresno_State:
9-4 (6-2)
:Mountain_West:

:Beef_O_Bradys_Bowl:
:AAC:
9-4 (6-3)
:Connecticut:
34-20
:MTSU:
8-5 (6-2)
:CUSA:

:New_Orleans_Bowl:
:Sun_Belt:
9-4 (7-1)
:Troy:
14-13
:Southern_Miss:
7-6 (6-2)
:CUSA:

:Las_Vegas_Bowl:
:Pac_12:
9-4 (5-4)
:Arizona:
28-21
:San_Diego_State:
9-5 (7-2)
:Mountain_West:

:Hawaii_Bowl:
:Mountain_West:
9-4 (6-2)
:Utah_State:
27-26
:Western_Kentucky:
10-4 (7-2)
:CUSA:

:LittleCaesars_Bowl:
:Big_Ten:
8-5 (4-5)
:Northwestern:
41-10
:Miami_OH:
7-6 (6-3)
:MAC:

:Military_Bowl:
:MAC:
8-5 (5-4)
:Northern_Illinois:
21-18
:Army:
6-7
Independent

:Holiday_Bowl:
:Big_12:
8-5 (4-5)
:West_Virginia:
31-17
(13) :Oregon:
8-5 (6-3)
:Pac_12:

:Belk_Bowl:
:AAC:
8-5 (5-4)
:Temple:
24-20
:Miami:
8-5 (5-4)
:ACC:

:Independence_Bowl:
:ACC:
8-5 (4-5)
:NC_State:
26-23 OT
:Stanford:
6-7 (4-5)
:Pac_12:

:Russell_Athletic:
:ACC:
10-3 (6-3)
(10) :North_Carolina:
27-7
:BYU:
7-6
Independent

:Meineke_Texas_Bowl:
:Big_12:
7-6 (4-5)
:Baylor:
30-27
(24) :Iowa:
8-5 (5-4)
:Big_Ten:

:Armed_Forces_Bowl:
:CUSA:
9-4 (6-2)
:Marshall:
34-24
:Wyoming:
6-7 (4-4)
:Mountain_West:

:Fight_Hunger_Bowl:
:Sun_Belt:
10-3 (6-2)
(22) :Louisiana:
30-23
(17) :Oregon_State:
8-5 (5-4)
:Pac_12:

:Alamo_Bowl:
:Pac_12:
10-4 (7-3)
:Washington:
28-21
(9) :Oklahoma:
9-4 (6-3)
:Big_12:

:BWW_Bowl:
:Big_12:
10-3 (6-3)
(12) :TCU:
48-35
:Maryland:
6-7 (6-3)
:Big_Ten:

:Music_City_Bowl:
:SEC:
7-6 (4-5)
:Ole_Miss:
34-21
:Louisville:
7-6 (5-4)
:ACC:

:Sun_Bowl:
:ACC:
8-5 (6-3)
:Virginia:
57-16
:Utah:
7-6 (5-4)
:Pac_12:

:Liberty_Bowl:
:SEC:
8-5 (4-5)
:South_Carolina:
31-24
(25) :FIU:
11-3 (8-1)
:CUSA:

:Chick_fil_A_Bowl:
:SEC:
8-5 (5-4)
:Tennessee:
27-14
(23) :Florida_State:
9-5 (7-3)
:ACC:

:Heart_of_Dallas:
:Big_Ten:
9-4 (5-4)
(21) :Illinois:
28-14
:UCF:
7-6 (6-3)
:AAC:

:TaxSlayer_Gator:
:Big_Ten:
9-4 (6-3)
:Michigan_State:
36-20
:Missouri:
6-7 (4-5)
:SEC:

:Capital_One_Bowl:
:Big_Ten:
11-3 (7-3)
(11) :Nebraska:
45-21
(14) :Texas_A&M:
9-4 (7-2)
:SEC:

:Outback_Bowl:
:SEC:
8-5 (6-3)
:Auburn:
23-19
(19) :Wisconsin:
8-5 (6-3)
:Big_Ten:

:Cotton_Bowl:
:Big_12:
9-4 (6-3)
(16) :Texas:
13-10
(18) :Florida:
9-5 (6-4)
:SEC:

:BBVA_Compass_Bowl:
:Pac_12:
7-6 (4-5)
:Washington_State:
48-21
:Vanderbilt:
6-7 (4-5)
:SEC:

:GoDaddycom_Bowl:
:MAC:
11-3 (9-1)
:Toledo:
48-24
:Arkansas_State:
9-4 (6-2)
:Sun_Belt:

2020 BCS Bowls

Bowl Game
Conference
Record
Team
Results
Team
Record
Conference

:Rose_Bowl:
Independent
11-2
(4) :Notre_Dame:
23-17
(15) :USC:
10-4 (7-3)
:Pac_12:

:Fiesta_Bowl:
:Big_12:
12-1 (8-1)
(5) :Kansas_State:
52-17
:Houston:
10-4 (9-1)
:AAC:

:Sugar_Bowl:
:ACC:
11-2 (7-2)
(8) :Georgia_Tech:
31-24
(6) :Boise_State:
12-2 (8-1)
:Mountain_West:

:Orange_Bowl:
:ACC:
13-1 (9-1)
(3) :Virginia_Tech:
35-13
(7) :LSU:
8-5 (6-3)
:SEC:

:BCS_Trophy:
:Big_Ten:
14-0 (10-0)
(1) :Ohio_State:
35-31
(2) :Alabama:
12-2 (9-1)
:SEC:

SmoothPancakes

10-15-2013, 11:22 PM

2020 Bowl Challenge Cup Standings

Rank
Conference
Bowl Teams
Bowl Record
Percentage
Teams in AP Poll

1
:Big_12:
6
5-1
.830
5

2
:MAC:
4
3-1
.750
0

3
:Sun_Belt:
3
2-1
.660
1

4
:Big_Ten: (2)
8
5-3
.630
4

5
:ACC: (2)
8
5-3
.630
3

6
:Pac_12: (1)
10
5-5
.500
4

7
:AAC: (1)
4
2-2
.500
0

8
:SEC:
11
4-7
.360
5

9
Independent
3
1-2
.330
1

10
:CUSA:
5
1-4
.200
1

11
:Mountain_West:
6
1-5
.160
1

1 - Tied based on winning percentage, but final order based on number of bowl wins.
2 - Tied with 5-3 records.

SmoothPancakes

10-15-2013, 11:24 PM

And so there you go. Ohio State is your 2020 national champion, and the Big 12 goes 5-1 in bowl games to win the 2020 Bowl Challenge Cup.

On the other side of the coin, the Mountain West goes 1-5 for the bowl season to claim the "we suck" conference title of 2020.

For readers teams, Utah State edges out Western Kentucky 27-26 in the Hawaii Bowl, Arizona State tops Nevada 42-20 in the New Mexico Bowl, Troy beats Southern Miss 14-13 in the New Orleans Bowl, West Virginia knocks off #13 Oregon 31-17 in the Holiday Bowl, South Carolina upsets #25 Florida International 31-24 in the Liberty Bowl, Auburn knocks off #19 Wisconsin 23-19 in the Outback Bowl, Toledo doubles up Arkansas State 48-24 win the GoDaddy.com Bowl, and #1 Ohio State claims the National Championship, topping #2 Alabama 35-31 in the national title game.

The American stayed even this year, going 2-2, though Houston did get whooped by Kansas State in the Fiesta Bowl. The American will keep their automatic bid, but they will be watched closely in future seasons. An abysmal 1-5 finish by the Mountain West has their automatic bid in jeopardy. Anything less than a .500 finish by the Mountain West next year will result in their automatic BCS bid being stripped.

SmoothPancakes

10-15-2013, 11:34 PM

2020 Final Top 25

Coaches Poll - Media Poll

Rank
Team
Record

Team
Record

1
:Ohio_State:
14-0

:Ohio_State:
14-0

2
:Virginia_Tech:
13-1

:Virginia_Tech:
13-1

3
:Notre_Dame:
11-2

:Georgia_Tech:
11-2

4
:Kansas_State:
12-1

:Kansas_State:
12-1

5
:Georgia_Tech:
11-2

:Notre_Dame:
11-2

6
:Alabama:
12-2

:Alabama:
12-2

7
:North_Carolina:
10-3

:Boise_State:
12-2

8
:Boise_State:
12-2

:North_Carolina:
10-3

9
:Nebraska:
11-3

:TCU:
10-3

10
:TCU:
10-3

:Nebraska:
11-3

11
:Texas:
9-4

:Texas:
9-4

12
:Louisiana:
10-3

:Louisiana:
10-3

13
:Oklahoma:
9-4

:Oklahoma:
9-4

14
:Illinois:
9-4

:Illinois:
9-4

15
:Washington:
10-4

:Washington:
10-4

16
:Texas_A&M:
9-4

:Texas_A&M:
9-4

17
:USC:
10-4

:USC:
10-4

18
:Tennessee:
8-5

:Tennessee:
8-5

19
:LSU:
8-5

:West_Virginia:
8-5

20
:West_Virginia:
8-5

:LSU:
8-5

21
:Arizona:
9-4

:Michigan_State:
9-4

22
:Michigan_State:
9-4

:South_Carolina:
8-5

23
:FIU:
11-3

:FIU:
11-3

24
:South_Carolina:
8-5

:Arizona:
9-4

25
:UCLA:
7-6

:Fresno_State:
9-4

SmoothPancakes

10-15-2013, 11:42 PM

Utah State Coach Goals

Goal
XP Reward
Completed

Win a Bowl Game
400
x1

Rank First in Rush Yards Allowed
250
x1

Rank First in Sacks
250
x1

Rank Top 5 in Red Zone %
150
x1

Earn a Bowl Bid
150
x1

Win a Game
100
x9

1st-Team All-Conference
75
x5

Rank Top 10 in Rushing TDs
75
x1

Play in an ESPN Classic Game
75
x2

Kick/Punt Return Touchdown
50
x3

2nd-Team All-Conference
50
x4

Freshman All-American
50
x1

SmoothPancakes

10-16-2013, 01:35 AM

Utah State was so happy with this season's results, they offered me a 6 year extension on my contract. That would put me under contract as Utah State's head coach through the 2026-27 season.

After mulling it over, I decided to turn it down. I'm still under contract for another two seasons, but between this year and the extension, that'd be 7 years that I'd be stuck at Utah State. Now I enjoyed my first season at Utah State. They're a fun team, they play in a fun conference, which provided me multiple close and entertaining games this season. But 7 years is a long time to be tied down to one school.

As much as I loved my time at Tulsa, by my 5th and 6th year there, I was definitely ready to take my next step, move on and call a new school home. After a while, playing the same schools every seasons (even as fun as the C-USA and Big East schools were), it just starts to get a little stale seeing the same teams and offenses.

Tulsa was a bit different, in that I started with a two year contract, so I was able to get my feet wet before signing the four year extension that kept me there six years. This time, I've been at Utah State only one season, we have some big changes coming to our roster between graduation and recruits, so next year will be a battle, but to sign away the next six years and be stuck at Utah State until 2026, that's just too much right now.

Who knows what kind of job offers I might see by year three or four, as the coaching carousel grinds away. Right now, I'd be able to see what's available at the end of year three. I wouldn't have that option if I signed the extension.

SmoothPancakes

10-16-2013, 01:55 AM

2020 Coaching Carousel

Team
Position
Previous Coach
Reason Left

New Coach
Previous Team
Previous Position
O/D Style

:Clemson:
Head Coach
Chad Morris
Fired

Tim Beckman
:Toledo:
Head Coach
Toledo (Spread) \ 4-3

:Missouri:
Head Coach
Dan Mullin
Fired

Kurt Van Valkenburgh
:Ohio_State:
Defensive Coordinator
Ohio State (Spread) \ 4-3

:Cal:
Head Coach
Jeff Tedford
Fired

Ron English
:MTSU:
Head Coach
MTSU (Air Raid) \ 4-3

:Arkansas:
Head Coach
Will Muschamp
Fired

Howard Schnellenberger
:FIU:
Head Coach
FIU (Multiple) \ 4-3

:Minnesota:
Head Coach
John Klacik
Fired

Jim Bollman
:Ohio_State:
Offensive Coordinator
Ohio State (Spread) \ 4-3

:Toledo:
Head Coach
Tim Beckman
Left for Clemson HC job

Mike Ward
:Toledo:
Defensive Coordinator
Toledo (Spread) \ 4-3

:Central_Michigan:
Head Coach
Bobby Hauck
Fired

Gregg Brandon
:Louisiana:
Head Coach
UL Lafayette (Spread) \ 4-3

:Kentucky:
Head Coach
Norm Chow
Fired

Matt Campbell
:Toledo:
Offensive Coordinator
Toledo (Spread) \ 4-3

:FIU:
Head Coach
Howard Schnellenberger
Left for Arkansas HC job

Vic Koenning
:Western_Kentucky:
Head Coach
Western Kentucky (Pro) \ 4-3

:Louisiana:
Head Coach
Gregg Brandon
Left for Central Michigan HC job

Steve Brown
:North_Carolina:
Defensive Coordinator
North Carolina (Spread) \ 4-2-5

:USF:
Head Coach
Pat Hill
Fired

Ken Karcher
:South_Carolina:
Offensive Coordinator
South Carolina (Multiple) \ 4-3

:MTSU:
Head Coach
Ron English
Left for California HC job

Gene Chizik
:Louisiana:
Defensive Coordinator
UL Lafayette (Spread) \ 4-3

:Western_Kentucky:
Head Coach
Vic Koenning
Left for Florida International HC job

Mark Stoops
:Georgia_Tech:
Defensive Coordinator
Georgia Tech (Option) \ 4-3

:Hawaii:
Head Coach
Greg Brown
Retired at age 66

Tyrell Downing
:Utah_State:
Offensive Coordinator
Utah State (Spread) \ 4-3

:Colorado_State:
Head Coach
Steve Fairchild
Fired

Chad Morris
:Clemson:
Head Coach
Clemson (Pistol) \ 4-3

:USC:
Defensive Coordinator
Joe Tresey
Retired at age 67

Mike London
:FIU:
Defensive Coordinator
4-3

:Ohio_State:
Defensive Coordinator
Kurt Van Valkenburgh
Left for Missouri HC job

Gary Emanuel
:Marshall:
Defensive Coordinator
4-3

:Ohio_State:
Offensive Coordinator
Jim Bollman
Left for Minnesota HC job

Dan Mullin
:Missouri:
Head Coach
Missouri (Spread)

:North_Carolina:
Defensive Coordinator
Steve Brown
Left for UL Lafayette HC job

Will Muschamp
:Arkansas:
Head Coach
4-3

:South_Carolina:
Offensive Coordinator
Ken Karcher
Left for South Florida HC job

Bobby Hauck
:Central_Michigan:
Head Coach
Central Michigan (Multiple)

:Georgia_Tech:
Defensive Coordinator
Mark Stoops
Left for Western Kentucky HC job

Tom Mason
:Western_Kentucky:
Defensive Coordinator
4-3

:Clemson:
Offensive Coordinator
Mike Sanford
Fired

John Klacik
:Minnesota:
Head Coach
Minnesota (Multiple)

:Clemson:
Defensive Coordinator
Norm Parker
Fired

Eric Howard
None
None
4-3

:Connecticut:
Offensive Coordinator
Mike Cummings
Retired at age 67

Pat Hill
:USF:
Head Coach
USF (Pro)

:Akron:
Head Coach
Vance Bedford
Fired

Steven Elbert
None
None
Stanford (Pro) \ 3-4

:Arkansas:
Offensive Coordinator
Greg Peterson
Fired

Steve Fairchild
:Colorado_State:
Head Coach
Colorado State (One Back)

:Arkansas:
Defensive Coordinator
Dave Wommack
Fired

Norm Chow
:Kentucky:
Head Coach
4-3

:Cal:
Offensive Coordinator
Jim Michalczik
Fired

Blake Anderson
:Memphis:
Head Coach
Memphis (Spread)

:Cal:
Defensive Coordinator
Bill Young
Fired

Brian Jefferson
None
None
4-3

:Colorado:
Defensive Coordinator
Frank Spaziani
Fired

Lamar Gaines
None
None
4-3

:Pitt:
Offensive Coordinator
Lincoln Riley
Fired

Jeff Tedford
:Cal:
Head Coach
California (Air Raid)

:UMass:
Head Coach
Ian Shields
Fired

Ben Long
None
None
Miami University (One Back) \ 4-3

:Toledo:
Defensive Coordinator
Mike Ward
Left for Toledo HC job

Jared Richardson
None
None
4-3

:Toledo:
Offensive Coordinator
Matt Campbell
Left for Kentucky HC job

Rick Neuheisel
:Tulane:
Head Coach
Tulane (Pro)

:Central_Michigan:
Offensive Coordinator
Nick McCall
Fired

Vance Bedford
:Akron:
Head Coach
Akron (Spread)

:Kentucky:
Offensive Coordinator
Eric Price
Fired

Mike Sanford
:Clemson:
Offensive Coordinator
Clemson (Pistol)

:Kentucky:
Defensive Coordinator
Tyrone Williams
Fired

Norm Parker
:Clemson:
Defensive Coordinator
4-3

:Purdue:
Offensive Coordinator
Jon Embree
Fired

Nick McCall
:Central_Michigan:
Offensive Coordinator
Central Michigan (Multiple)

:Purdue:
Defensive Coordinator
Brian Randle
Fired

Greg Mattison
:USF:
Defensive Coordinator
4-3

:Idaho:
Head Coach
Pat Narduzzi
Fired

Frank Spaziani
:Colorado:
Defensive Coordinator
Colorado (Multiple) \ 4-3

:Tulane:
Head Coach
Rick Neuheisel
Fired

Lincoln Riley
:Pitt:
Offensive Coordinator
Pittsburgh (Pro) \ 4-3

:Memphis:
Head Coach
Blake Anderson
Fired

Ian Shields
:UMass:
Head Coach
UMass (Spread) \ 4-3

:Louisiana:
Defensive Coordinator
Gene Chizik
Left for MTSU HC job

Brian Randle
:Purdue:
Defensive Coordinator
4-3

:Utah_State:
Offensive Coordinator
Tyrell Downing
Left for Hawaii HC job

Jon Embree
:Purdue:
Offensive Coordinator
Purdue (Spread)

:FIU:
Defensive Coordinator
Mike London
Left for USC DC job

Reggie Gates
:New_Mexico_State:
Defensive Coordinator
3-4

:Hawaii:
Defensive Coordinator
Gary Emanuel
Left for Ohio State DC job

Clancy Pendergast
:UTEP:
Defensive Coordinator
3-4

:Hawaii:
Offensive Coordinator
Mike Riley
Retired at age 71

Mike Johnson
:Indiana:
Offensive Coordinator
Indiana (Air Raid)

:North_Texas:
Defensive Coordinator
Paul Hunter
Retired at age 66

Phillip Estes Rhodes
:Memphis:
Defensive Coordinator
3-4

:Indiana:
Offensive Coordinator
Mike Johnson
Fired

Jim Michalczik
:Cal:
Offensive Coordinator
California (Air Raid)

:USF:
Offensive Coordinator
Brian Stinespring
Fired

Greg Peterson
:Arkansas:
Offensive Coordinator
Arkansas (Pro)

:USF:
Defensive Coordinator
Greg Mattison
Fired

Buddy Green
:Tulane:
Defensive Coordinator
4-3

:Western_Kentucky:
Defensive Coordinator
Tom Mason
Left for Georgia Tech DC job

Tyrone Williams Anderson
:Kentucky:
Defensive Coordinator
4-3

:Akron:
Defensive Coordinator
Chauncey Stevens
Retired at age 67

Dave Wommack
:Arkansas:
Defensive Coordinator
4-3

:Akron:
Offensive Coordinator
Nathaniel Hackett
Fired

Brian Stinespring
:USF:
Offensive Coordinator
USF (Pro)

:Georgia_State:
Offensive Coordinator
Jeff Jagodzinski
Fired

Eric Price
:Kentucky:
Offensive Coordinator
Kentucky (Air Raid)

:Georgia_State:
Defensive Coordinator
Jesse Minter
Fired

Bill Young
:Cal:
Defensive Coordinator
4-3

:UTEP:
Defensive Coordinator
Clancy Pendergast
Fired

Jesse Minter
:Georgia_State:
Defensive Coordinator
3-4 Multiple

:UMass:
Offensive Coordinator
Derek Dooley
Fired

Craig Bray
:Tulane:
Offensive Coordinator
Tulane (Pro)

:UMass:
Defensive Coordinator
Marty English
Fired

Zach Everett
:Idaho:
Defensive Coordinator
4-3

:Idaho:
Offensive Coordinator
Grant Heard
Fired

Jeff Jagodzinski
:Georgia_State:
Offensive Coordinator
Georgia State (Pro)

:Idaho:
Defensive Coordinator
Zach Everett
Fired

Marty English
:UMass:
Defensive Coordinator
4-3

:Tulane:
Offensive Coordinator
Craig Bray
Fired

Michael Walker
None
None
Arkansas (Pro)

:Tulane:
Defensive Coordinator
Buddy Green
Fired

Michael Hammond
None
None
3-4

:Memphis:
Defensive Coordinator
Phillip Estes Rhodes
Fired

Clay Rivers
None
None
3-4

:New_Mexico_State:
Defensive Coordinator
Reggie Gates
Fired

Corey McCormick
None
None
4-2-5

Jobs I Was in the Running For

Team
Position
Candidate Rank
Offered Job

:Clemson:
Head Coach
4th
No

:Missouri:
Head Coach
4th
No

:Cal:
Head Coach
3rd
No

:Arkansas:
Head Coach
4th
No

:Minnesota:
Head Coach
3rd
No

:Toledo:
Head Coach
2nd
No

:Central_Michigan:
Head Coach
4th
Yes

:Kentucky:
Head Coach
4th
Yes

:FIU:
Head Coach
1st
Yes

:Louisiana:
Head Coach
3rd
No

:USF:
Head Coach
2nd
Yes

:MTSU:
Head Coach
3rd
Yes

:Western_Kentucky:
Head Coach
3rd
Yes

:Hawaii:
Head Coach
2nd
Yes

:Colorado_State:
Head Coach
3rd
Yes

:Ohio_State:
Offensive Coordinator
3rd
Yes

:South_Carolina:
Offensive Coordinator
2nd
Yes

:Clemson:
Offensive Coordinator
2nd
Yes

:Connecticut:
Offensive Coordinator
2nd
Yes

:Akron:
Head Coach
2nd
Yes

:Arkansas:
Offensive Coordinator
4th
Yes

:Cal:
Offensive Coordinator
1st
Yes

:Pitt:
Offensive Coordinator
2nd
Yes

:UMass:
Head Coach
3rd
Yes

:Toledo:
Offensive Coordinator
2nd
Yes

:Central_Michigan:
Offensive Coordinator
4th
Yes

:Kentucky:
Offensive Coordinator
4th
Yes

:Purdue:
Offensive Coordinator
3rd
Yes

:Idaho:
Head Coach
4th
Yes

:Tulane:
Head Coach
2nd
Yes

:Memphis:
Head Coach
4th
Yes

:Hawaii:
Offensive Coordinator
1st
Yes

:Indiana:
Offensive Coordinator
1st
Yes

:USF:
Offensive Coordinator
3rd
Yes

:Akron:
Offensive Coordinator
2nd
Yes

:Georgia_State:
Offensive Coordinator
3rd
Yes

:UMass:
Offensive Coordinator
1st
Yes

:Idaho:
Offensive Coordinator
1st
Yes

:Tulane:
Offensive Coordinator
3rd
Yes

Notes of Interest

In big name head coach firings, Chad Morris is shown the door at Clemson, Missouri fires Dan Mullen, Jeff Tedford is canned at Cal, Will Muschamp gets the ax at Arkansas, Norm Chow is canned at Kentucky, USF fires Pat Hill and Steve Fairchild gets thrown out at Colorado State.

Utah State ends up with a new offensive coordinator in Jon Embree, who transitions over from Purdue. This after our original OC, Tyrell Downing, leaves to become Hawaii's new head coach.

Clemson completely cleaned house this off-season, firing their entire coaching staff in hopes of not repeating another 3-9 season. Cal (2-10), Kentucky (2-10), USF (4-8), Tulane (2-10), Idaho (0-12), Akron (1-11) and UMass (1-11) all also completely clean house.

Toledo's coaching staff gets shaken up from top to bottom, with head coach Tim Beckman leaving to become Clemson's new head coach, OC Matt Campbell leaving to become Kentucky's new head coach, and DC Mike Ward stepping into Toledo's newly-vacant head coach slot.

Success is tough at the top. It's that much tougher when you end up with a coaching staff turnover. Ohio State loses their OC, Jim Bollman, who leaves to become Minnesota's new head coach, and DC Kurt Van Valkenburgh, who leaves to become Missouri's new head coach.

Florida International also experienced shakeup as head coach Howard Schnellenberger left for the Arkansas head coach job, while DC Mike London left for the same position at USC.

Hawaii had a shakeup of their own, as their head coach and OC both retired, while their DC bolted for the same job at Ohio State.

Had some really tempting offers this year, between Head Coach at Florida International, Kentucky, Western Kentucky and Hawaii, to OC offers from Ohio State, Clemson, South Carolina, Cal and Pitt.

SmoothPancakes

10-16-2013, 04:03 AM

2020-21 Off-Season

Players Leaving

Player
Position
Overall
Year
Reason
Overall of Next Player

Brad Edwards
C
88
Senior (RS)
Graduation
68

Richard Burnette
K
82
Senior (RS)
Graduation
N/A

Johnny Henderson
RT
78
Senior (RS)
Graduation
69

Marcus Garrett
DT
78
Senior (RS)
Graduation
76

Tim Fields
TE
77
Senior (RS)
Graduation
65

Paul Huffman
LT
77
Senior (RS)
Graduation
70

Lee Bradley
MLB
76
Senior (RS)
Graduation
70

Thomas Harris
MLB
76
Senior (RS)
Graduation
70

Carlton Herring
FS
76
Senior (RS)
Graduation
N/A

Michael Smith
WR
71
Senior (RS)
Graduation
79

Pat Ashley
RE
70
Senior (RS)
Graduation
84

Steve Goins
MLB
68
Senior (RS)
Graduation
70

John Harrington
HB
64
Senior (RS)
Graduation
82

Chaz Sanders
RG
62
Senior (RS)
Graduation
70

Erik Clark
LE
62
Senior
Graduation
70

Dustin Parker
FS
62
Freshman
Transfer
N/A

Brian James
FB
60
Senior
Graduation
N/A

NFL Draft

Player
Position
Overall
Year
Projected Round
Drafted Round

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

Transfer Requests

Player
Position
Transferring From
Transferring To
Year
Overall
Reason
Admitted/Denied

Dustin Parker
FS
Utah State
Texas
Freshman
62
Playing Time
---

2020 Utah State Recruiting Class

Player
Position
Position Rank
Tendency
Star Ranking
:sparq:
Overall
+/-
Notes

Leonard Hart
CB
#28
Balanced
:3star:
67.00
78
+8
GEM

Shelton Woods
G
#24
Balanced
:3star:
57.00
76
+5
GEM

Justin Dunn
MLB
#2
Balanced
:4star:
73.00
76
-2

Shaun Peterson
DE
#31
Balanced
:3star:
63.00
73
+3

Jesse Breedlove
CB
#25
Balanced
:3star:
67.00
72
+2

Justin Wallace
T
#35
Balanced
:3star:
57.00
71
+2

Johnny Sullivan
MLB
#24
Run Stopper
:3star:
64.00
71
-1

Derrick Perez
MLB
#50
Run Stopper
:3star:
64.00
71
+3

Pat Williams
QB
#16
Pocket Passer
:3star:
65.00
70
-1

Doug Marcus
K
#34
Accurate
:1star:
40.00
70
+4

Jason Baker
OLB
#34
Run Stopper
:3star:
64.00
69
-1

Craig Cruz
CB
#20
Coverage
:3star:
67.00
69
---

Jesse Wright
K
#15
Accurate
:2star:
50.00
69
-2

Aaron Allen
WR
#281
Possession
:1star:
48.00
68
+2
JUCO (JR)

Kyle Mitchell
FS
#19
Coverage
:3star:
67.00
67
-3

Jon Morris
WR
#221
Speed
:2star:
59.00
65
+6
GEM

Walter Johnson
FB
#56
Balanced
:1star:
49.00
63
+4

Kevin Thomas
G
#28
Balanced
:3star:
57.00
62
-8
BUST

Paul Rodgers
G
#156
Balanced
:1star:
40.00
61
+6
GEM

Drew Triplett
DT
#109
Balanced
:3star:
57.00
60
-3

Marcus Williams
DT
#155
Pass Rusher
:1star:
40.00
52
---

Darrell Archie
FB
#69
Blocking
:1star:
49.00
50
+10
GEM

Roger Coleman
FB
#65
Balanced
:1star:
49.00
48
+2

Recruiting Class Rank

Rank: 55

Position Changes

Player
Position
Overall
New Position
Overall

Paul Rodgers
RG
61
C
62

Sean Baker
RT
68
LT
68

Training Results

Highest Overall Player - Adam Powers - QB - 92 OVR (+5)
Largest Training Increase - Preston Roberson - HB - 88 OVR (+6)

Cut Players

Player
Position
Depth Chart Rank
Year
Overall

Roger Coleman
FB
3rd
Freshman
48

Marcus Williams
DT
4th
Freshman
52

Charles Thomas
MLB
6th
Freshman (RS)
65

Jesse Wright
K
2nd
Freshman
69

Conference Changes

Team

Old Conference
New Conference

---

---
---

BCS Bowl Tie Ins

Slots
Conference
Bowl

Automatic Qualifier
:ACC:
Orange Bowl

Automatic Qualifier
:AAC:
Any Bowl

Automatic Qualifier
:Big_Ten:
Rose Bowl

Automatic Qualifier
:Big_12:
Fiesta Bowl

Automatic Qualifier
:Mountain_West:
Any Bowl

Automatic Qualifier
:Pac_12:
Rose Bowl

Automatic Qualifier
:SEC:
Sugar Bowl

Open Slot
At Large
Any Bowl

SmoothPancakes

10-16-2013, 04:35 AM

2021 Utah State Football Schedule

Week
Home/Away
Team
Result
Score
Record
Game Notes

1
Home
:Utah:
Loss
35-38 (http://www.thegamingtailgate.com/forums/showthread.php?2857-Smooth-Pancakes-Coaching-Carousel-Career&p=225313&viewfull=1#post225313)
0-1
Season Opener
Home Opener
Battle of the Brothers
Beehive Boot

2
Away
:Tulsa:
Loss
21-42 (http://www.thegamingtailgate.com/forums/showthread.php?2857-Smooth-Pancakes-Coaching-Carousel-Career&p=225371&viewfull=1#post225371)
0-2

3
Home
:Old_Dominion:
Loss
30-31 (http://www.thegamingtailgate.com/forums/showthread.php?2857-Smooth-Pancakes-Coaching-Carousel-Career&p=225394&viewfull=1#post225394)
0-3
Homecoming

4
Away
:BYU:
Loss
27-28 (http://www.thegamingtailgate.com/forums/showthread.php?2857-Smooth-Pancakes-Coaching-Carousel-Career&p=226354&viewfull=1#post226354)
0-4
The Old Wagon Wheel
Beehive Boot

5
---
Bye Week
---
---
---
---

6
Home
:Fresno_State:
Loss
38-62 (http://www.thegamingtailgate.com/forums/showthread.php?2857-Smooth-Pancakes-Coaching-Carousel-Career&p=226468&viewfull=1#post226468)
0-5 (0-1)
Conference Opener

7
Away
:Hawaii:
Loss
62-65 3OT (http://www.thegamingtailgate.com/forums/showthread.php?2857-Smooth-Pancakes-Coaching-Carousel-Career&p=227359&viewfull=1#post227359)
0-6 (0-2)

8
Home
:New_Mexico:
Win
45-7 (http://www.thegamingtailgate.com/forums/showthread.php?2857-Smooth-Pancakes-Coaching-Carousel-Career&p=227400&viewfull=1#post227400)
1-6 (1-2)

9
Away
:Colorado_State:
Win
30-29 (http://www.thegamingtailgate.com/forums/showthread.php?2857-Smooth-Pancakes-Coaching-Carousel-Career&p=227463&viewfull=1#post227463)
2-6 (2-2)

10
Home
#18 :Boise_State:
Loss
17-24 (http://www.thegamingtailgate.com/forums/showthread.php?2857-Smooth-Pancakes-Coaching-Carousel-Career&p=227829&viewfull=1#post227829)
2-7 (2-3)

11
Away
:Air_Force:
Loss
20-24 (http://www.thegamingtailgate.com/forums/showthread.php?2857-Smooth-Pancakes-Coaching-Carousel-Career&p=227902&viewfull=1#post227902)
2-8 (2-4)

12
---
Bye Week
---
---
---

13
Home
:UNLV:
Win
42-13 (http://www.thegamingtailgate.com/forums/showthread.php?2857-Smooth-Pancakes-Coaching-Carousel-Career&p=228210&viewfull=1#post228210)
3-8 (3-4)
Senior Night

14
Away
:Wyoming:
Win
42-14 (http://www.thegamingtailgate.com/forums/showthread.php?2857-Smooth-Pancakes-Coaching-Carousel-Career&p=228224&viewfull=1#post228224)
4-8 (4-4)
Bridger's Battle

15
---
Bye Week
---
---
---

CCG
:Mountain_West:
Bye Week
---
---
---
Mountain West Championship Game

Bowl Game
Bowl Game
Bye Week
---
---
---
2021 Bowl Game

--- The scores are hyperlinks to the posted game report of that game. Just click on the score/link to be taken to that game's posted report.

SmoothPancakes

10-16-2013, 04:42 AM

The following players have been redshirted for the 2021 season.

2021 Redshirt Players

Player
Position
Depth Chart Rank
Year
Overall

Adam Powers
QB
1st
Senior
92

Matt Leierer
HB
4th
Senior
72

Eric McGuire
WR
1st
Senior
83

Dre Martin
WR
1st
Senior
79

Tim Peterson
LG
2nd
Senior
73

Paul Rodgers
C
2nd
Freshman
62

Shelton Woods
RG
1st
Freshman
76

Perry Johnson
LOLB
2nd
Senior
77

Buck Castillo
CB
3rd
Senior
72

Lawrence Coker
CB
5th
Junior
64

SmoothPancakes

10-16-2013, 02:12 PM

2021 Preseason Top 25

Rank
Team
2020 Record
Overall
Offense
Defense
Special Teams

1
:Ohio_State:
14-0
A+ (99)
A+ (99)
A (95)
D-

2
:Alabama:
12-2
A+ (99)
A+ (99)
A+ (99)
B

3
:Notre_Dame:
11-2
A+ (97)
A+ (97)
A+ (99)
A

4
:Virginia_Tech:
13-1
A (95)
A+ (97)
A (95)
B

5
:Texas:
9-4
A (95)
A+ (97)
A- (93)
B

6
:North_Carolina:
10-3
B+ (90)
B+ (90)
B+ (90)
A

7
:LSU:
8-5
B+ (91)
B+ (91)
A- (93)
B+

8
:Oklahoma:
9-4
A (95)
A+ (99)
A- (92)
A

9
:Texas_A&M:
9-4
A+ (97)
A+ (99)
A- (93)
A-

10
:USC:
10-4
A+ (97)
A+ (99)
A (95)
A+

11
:Nebraska:
11-3
A- (93)
A (95)
B+ (90)
B-

12
:Washington:
10-4
A+ (97)
A+ (97)
A (95)
A-

13
:Kansas_State:
12-1
B+ (88)
B+ (90)
B (87)
B

14
:Michigan_State:
9-4
A- (93)
A+ (97)
A- (92)
B

15
:Georgia_Tech:
11-2
B+ (90)
B+ (90)
B+ (90)
B-

16
:Oregon:
8-5
A- (93)
A (95)
A- (92)
A

17
:TCU:
10-3
B+ (91)
A- (93)
B+ (90)
A

18
:Boise_State:
12-2
B (84)
B (86)
B (87)
C+

19
:South_Carolina:
8-5
A- (93)
A (95)
A- (92)
B+

20
:Tennessee:
8-5
B+ (90)
B+ (90)
B+ (88)
B+

21
:Auburn:
8-5
B+ (90)
A- (93)
B+ (88)
D-

22
:Arizona:
9-4
B+ (91)
A (95)
B+ (88)
C+

23
:Florida:
9-5
A (95)
A- (93)
A+ (99)
A+

24
:West_Virginia:
8-5
B+ (88)
B+ (90)
B+ (88)
C+

25
:Illinois:
9-4
B- (83)
B (86)
B- (82)
B+

Mountain West Teams and 2021 Opponents

Rank
Team
2020 Record
Overall
Offense
Defense
Special Teams

18
:Boise_State:
12-2
B (84)
B (86)
B (87)
C+

39
:Fresno_State:
9-4
B- (81)
B (84)
C+ (78)
B

50
:San_Diego_State:
9-5
B (86)
B+ (88)
B (87)
B

52
:BYU:
7-6
B (84)
B+ (88)
B- (80)
D+

54
:Utah:
7-6
B+ (88)
B+ (88)
B+ (90)
B+

62
:Utah_State:
9-4
B- (81)
C+ (79)
B- (82)
D

71
:Tulsa:
7-5
C+ (79)
B- (83)
C+ (76)
B+

84
:San_Jose_State:
5-7
C (74)
C+ (77)
C (75)
D

91
:Wyoming:
6-7
C+ (79)
C+ (79)
B- (80)
B-

96
:Nevada:
6-7
B- (83)
B (84)
B- (80)
C+

98
:Old_Dominion:
6-6
C (74)
C+ (79)
C- (70)
D-

111
:Colorado_State:
3-9
C (75)
C+ (77)
C (75)
B-

112
:Hawaii:
4-8
C+ (79)
B (84)
C (75)
B

113
:UNLV:
4-8
C (74)
C+ (79)
D+ (68)
D

115
:Air_Force:
4-8
C (75)
C (75)
C+ (76)
D

119
:New_Mexico:
3-9
C- (70)
C (72)
C- (70)
D-

"For Our Readers" Teams

Rank
Team
2020 Record
Overall
Offense
Defense
Special Teams

1
:Ohio_State:
14-0
A+ (99)
A+ (99)
A (95)
D-

19
:South_Carolina:
8-5
A- (93)
A (95)
A- (92)
B+

21
:Auburn:
8-5
B+ (90)
A- (93)
B+ (88)
D-

24
:West_Virginia:
8-5
B+ (88)
B+ (90)
B+ (88)
C+

42
:FIU:
11-3
B- (81)
B- (81)
B- (82)
C

44
:Arizona_State:
7-6
B+ (88)
B+ (91)
B (85)
B+

59
:Arkansas_State:
9-4
B- (81)
B- (83)
B- (80)
C-

71
:Tulsa:
7-5
C+ (79)
B- (83)
C+ (76)
B+

81
:Southern_Miss:
7-6
C (74)
C (75)
C (73)
B-

105
:Navy:
6-7
C+ (79)
C+ (79)
C+ (78)
B

SmoothPancakes

10-16-2013, 02:32 PM

2021 Utah State Two Deep Roster

Offense

Position
Rank
Name
Year
Overall

QB
1
Jason Barnes
Sophomore (RS)
81

QB
2
Ross Brown
Junior (RS)
75

HB
1
Preston Roberson
Senior (RS)
88

HB
2
Brian Paris
Junior
80

FB
1
Walter Johnson
Freshman
63

FB
2
Darrell Archie
Freshman
50

WR
1
Travis Munoz
Senior (RS)
78

WR
2
David Douglas
Junior
78

WR
3
Ryan Conley
Senior (RS)
76

WR
4
Max Rhodes
Junior (RS)
73

WR
5
Aaron Allen
Freshman
68

TE
1
Maurice Martin
Senior (RS)
70

TE
2
Jack Long
Sophomore (RS)
67

LT
1
Derek Smith
Sophomore (RS)
75

LT
2
Sean Baker
Sophomore (RS)
71

LG
1
Brian Johnson
Senior (RS)
73

LG
2
Kevin Thomas
Freshman
62

C
1
Adam Jefferson
Senior (RS)
75

C
2
---
---
---

RG
1
Jason Oliver
Senior (RS)
74

RG
2
---
---
---

RT
1
Jake Lee
Junior (RS)
74

RT
2
Justin Wallace
Freshman
71

Defense

Position
Rank
Name
Year
Overall

LE
1
Caleb McBride
Junior (RS)
76

LE
2
Freddie Wilson
Senior (RS)
66

RE
1
Kevin Tolbert
Senior (RS)
88

RE
2
Shaun Peterson
Freshman
73

DT
1
Adam Grant
Senior (RS)
81

DT
2
Ernest Sims
Junior (RS)
78

DT
3
Scott Flanagan
Sophomore
66

DT
4
Drew Tripplett
Freshman
60

LOLB
1
Al Washington
Senior (RS)
83

LOLB
2
John Hale
Sophomore (RS)
71

MLB
1
Justin Dunn
Freshman
76

MLB
2
Sean Edwards
Junior (RS)
75

ROLB
1
Casey Hunter
Junior (RS)
80

ROLB
2
Arthur Lee
Senior (RS)
75

CB
1
Kevin Moore
Senior (RS)
89

CB
2
Leonard Hart
Freshman
78

CB
3
Jesse Breedlove
Freshman
72

CB
4
Jeremy Thurman
Senior (RS)
72

FS
1
Charles Noble
Junior (RS)
73

FS
2
Kyle Mitchell
Freshman
67

SS
1
Sam Vinson
Senior (RS)
80

SS
2
Sam Richwalski
Junior (RS)
76

K
1
Doug Marcus
Freshman
70

K
2
Ed Allen
Junior
76

P
1
Ed Allen
Junior
76

P
2
Doug Marcus
Freshman
70

KR
1
Preston Roberson
Senior (RS)
98

KR
2
David Douglas
Junior
93

PR
1
Preston Roberson
Senior (RS)
98

PR
2
David Douglas
Junior
93

SmoothPancakes

10-16-2013, 02:34 PM

Utah State Three Year HC Contract Goals - Year Two

Goal
Expectations
Progress

Target Wins Per Season
7
4

Job Security Status

100%

--- Contract goal numbers and job security updated through Season 11, Off-season.

SmoothPancakes

10-16-2013, 04:24 PM

Alright, so expectations went up. After last season, the target number on my contract has now gone up to 7 wins.

With the schedule we have this season, that is going to be a tall task. Practically every game on our schedule is going to a battle. I'm already expecting losses to Boise State, Fresno State and probably Utah. BYU, I'm going to have to play perfect football to win.

Tulsa, Wyoming and Hawaii all have the talent to make for very difficult games against them. Even Colorado State has improved a bunch this year, making them a more dangerous team. Even Air Force will probably put up a fight.

UNLV, New Mexico and Old Dominion are probably the only games that appear to be safe wins.

morsdraconis

10-16-2013, 04:58 PM

Holy shit! WVU won a bowl game in your dynasty! It's like a Christmas fuckin' miracle.

SmoothPancakes

10-16-2013, 05:10 PM

Holy shit! WVU won a bowl game in your dynasty! It's like a Christmas fuckin' miracle.

:D Yeah, West Virginia did decent last year. Finished 8-5, won the Holiday Bowl over Oregon and ended the year ranked 20th.

West Virginia could have another good year, ranked 88 overall, 90 on offense and 88 on defense. Only issue, their first game of the season, the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game vs. #2 Alabama. :fp:

But it gets better, with FCS East and Maryland your other non-conference games. So figure 2-1 in non-conference play, just need four more wins to get bowl eligible.

dhook27

10-18-2013, 10:28 PM

Whats Toledos and Oh St notable games in your dynasty?

jaymo76

10-18-2013, 10:50 PM

Finally ASU :Arizona_State: has a winning season in your dynasty. For awhile there Smooth I thought you were game fixing... :D

SmoothPancakes

10-18-2013, 11:13 PM

Whats Toledos and Oh St notable games in your dynasty?

Not sure, I'll have to check next time I'm online, maybe tomorrow night or Sunday.

Finally ASU :Arizona_State: has a winning season in your dynasty. For awhile there Smooth I thought you were game fixing... :D

:D I was trying my damnedest. Then stupid EA had to go and change it so that the results for each week were simulated while advancing the weeks. Sort of ruined my efforts. ;)

SCClassof93

10-30-2013, 09:46 AM

"Clemson cleans house" will take awhile, purdy dirty up there :D

SCClassof93

10-30-2013, 09:49 AM

When I grow up I want to be like smooth and be able to create and insert pretty tables, charts and graphs :nod:

SmoothPancakes

11-02-2013, 11:34 PM

When I grow up I want to be like smooth and be able to create and insert pretty tables, charts and graphs :nod:

Now that's a good goal to have in life! :up: :)

After a nice "vacation" from football (mostly due to work hours being an utter bitch for the last couple weeks), looking to get the first game with Utah fired up tomorrow.

I'm a little tempted to do it tonight, but I'm tired as hell, going on only 6 total hours of sleep since 4:30 AM Friday morning. So I'm not gonna try to get it in tonight.

Tomorrow however, should work out. Denver's on a bye week this week, so not really any NFL games that truly interest me or that I absolutely have to watch, so I should be able to get Utah played and maybe even knock out Tulsa.

SmoothPancakes

11-07-2013, 01:50 PM

Game One

:Utah: :@: :Utah_State:

Game Notes

--- The start of another season had arrived, and with it, we jumped right into the fire in our first game with hatred renewed, as the Utes of Utah came to town for the Battle of the Brothers, with both teams looking to get a leg up in the tri-battle for the Beehive Boot with BYU. It was going to be a staunch test for our first game of the season, especially with Utah entering the game much more highly rated and touted by the national media. While our defense was being rated respectably this year, we were going to have to find a miracle on offense, with sophomore second-string QB Jason Barnes taking over under center this year, while Adam Powers would sit on the sideline under a senior year redshirt. Would the decision to keep Powers around for one more year pan out? Or would not using him here and now come back to bite us in the ass? Utah won the coin toss and elected to kick.

A 26 yard return by David Douglas got our 2021 season opened up at our 22 yard line. We got our first drive started on the ground, as Preston Roberson took the ball off-tackle for a three yard gain on the play. A second rush by Roberson picked up four yards, bringing up our first third down of the season, facing third and three. Dropping back from under center on third down, Jason Barnes threw his first pass of his career, finding fullback Walter Johnson coming out of the backfield to the right side for a 10 yard completion and a first down at our 39 yard line. Returning to the ground, Roberson picked up where he left off with a 7 yard carry, followed by a four yard gain to just get the first down at the 49. Continuing with the rushing game, Roberson pounded his way through the line for a 6 yard pickup, before Brian Paris took over with a 7 yard gain, moving the chains to the Utah 37 yard line. Continuing with what works, Roberson picked up 7 yards on the ground, followed by a three yard carry to pick up another first down at the 27. Following the mantra “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, Paris took the ball on first down for a gain of 5 yards, followed by a 6 yard rush by Roberson to get yet another first down at the 16 yard line. Roberson took the ball on first down, gaining 5 yards on the play, before Paris stumbled and bumbled his way to a 6 yard gain up the middle, giving us first and goal from the 5 yard line. Roberson punched the first down handoff straight up the middle, fighting his way to a four yard gain, leaving second and goal at the one yard line. Roberson received the handoff on second down, but a timely blitz by the middle linebacker brought him down for a one yard loss, leaving third and goal at the two yard line. Despite the failed attempt on the previous play, we would find the end zone on third down as Paris punched it in for a two yard touchdown to cap off a monstrous 16 play, 78 yard drive, nearly all on the ground, that took an entire 6 minutes off the clock, giving us a 7-0 lead with 2:55 left in the first quarter.

It would take Utah all of 12 seconds to respond, as Adam Jennings took the kickoff at the two yard line, and proceeded to weave his way through our kick team, taking the ball all the way back for a 98 yard kickoff return for a touchdown, tying the game back up at 7-7 with 2:43 left in the first quarter.

A 21 yard kickoff return by Roberson got us lined up at our 19 yard line for our next drive. Roberson got the drive started with a 5 yard carry around the right tackle, before punching it up the middle for a 6 yard gain and a first down at the 30 yard line. Paris took over on first down with a 5 yard rush, followed by a gain of one yard to leave us facing third and four. Lining up in the shotgun on third down, Barnes took the snap and tried to rifle a pass over the middle to Travis Munoz, but the pass was broken up by the middle linebacker, leaving us punting on fourth and four. A 16 yard return on the 40 yard punt gave Utah the ball at their 40 yard line.

The Utes offense came out for the first time of the entire game, with 1:04 left on the clock in the first quarter. Utah would waste absolutely no time in shredding our defense to pieces behind their no-huddle offense. Jason McNeil got the drive started with a 6 yard pass to Marty Gray, followed by an 18 yard rush by Michael Chavez around the left tackle, setting up a first down at our 36 yard line. Going back to the air, McNeil found Gray again for a three yard gain over the middle, followed by a high toss long the right sideline to Sam Hamby that went for a gain of 13 yards and a first down at our 20 yard line. McNeil would do the rest of the damage, taking off rushing around the right end for a 16 yard gain, pushed out of bounds at the four yard line to set up first and goal. McNeil then scrambled up the middle on first down for a gain of three yards, nearly driving his way into the end zone before being stuffed and brought down short of the goal line, leaving second and goal at the one yard line. That would be the final play of the first quarter as the clock ran out, the score still tied 7-7.

Opening up the second quarter, Utah lined up with second and goal from the one yard line. Derrick Johnson would have little trouble finding the end zone as he beat our blitz to the outside and waltzed his way into the end zone for a one yard touchdown, giving Utah a 14-7 lead with 8:58 left in the second quarter.

A 24 yard kickoff return by Roberson got us started at our 24 yard line for our next drive. Bouncing off of one defender in the backfield, Roberson took the first down handoff up the middle, managing to pick up 5 yards on the play, followed by a three yard rush by Paris to leave us with third and two. Taking our chances on the ground, Roberson took the ball on third down, picking up two yards on the play but stopped just short of the first down marker, leaving fourth and inches from the 34 yard line. With the offensive explosiveness that Utah showed on their first drive, it was going to matter little whether they just needed to cross 34 yards or 84 yards, and needing to keep up with that explosive offense every way and chance we could, we elected to make the extremely ballsy play, going for it on fourth and inches from our 34 yard line. Roberson received the huge handoff, and came through for our offense with a four yard carry, giving us new life at our 38 yard line. Paris took the ball on first down, picking up four yards on the play, before Roberson got stuffed for a gain of only two yards to leave third and four. Returning to the air on third down, we called a play action pass, the pass from Barnes to Cedric McKinney surprisingly good for a 12 yard completion and a first down at the Utah 44 yard line. Opening up the playbook a little, we came out in the shotgun on first down, Barnes finding Munoz along the right sideline for a 26 yard gain and a new set of downs at the 18 yard line. After shaking off the cornerback, Munoz had nothing but green field in front of him and easily could have taken it to the house, but he tried to put on the jets a little too soon while turning up field and started to lose his balance, never quite recovering it and ultimately falling forward at the 18 instead of finding the end zone. A quick pass from the shotgun to Ryan Conley on first down went for a big 15 yard gain, setting us up with first and goal from the three yard line. Returning to the ground on first down, Roberson tried to punch it up the middle, gaining one yard on the play to leave second and goal from the two. Paris came in on second down, but was likewise unsuccessful, gaining only one yard to bring up third and goal at the one yard line. Roberson received the ball yet again on third down, officially gaining one yard on the play, but still not finding the end zone, leaving us with fourth and goal just outside the goal line, and looking at another tough call to make on fourth down. After going for it on fourth and inches from our 34 yard line, it would be stupid to not go for it on fourth and goal inside the one yard line, essentially fourth and inches at the goal line, so we lined up in the power I and Roberson would finally get the job done on the fourth attempt, punching it in for a one yard touchdown and tying the game back up at 14-14 with 3:46 left in the second quarter.

Utah would kneel the kickoff down in the end zone for a touchback, taking the ball at their 25 yard line to start their next drive. Chavez got the drive started with a 13 yard rush and a first down at the 38 yard line. The defense would finally claim a victory on first down, as McNeil held onto the ball too long, ending up sacked by defensive tackle Adam Grant for a 5 yard loss, bringing up second and 15. Chavez recovered those lost yards with a 12 yard rush to leave third and three. McNeil dropped back again on third down, firing off a pass over the middle to a wide open Derrick Barrett, but he tried to turn up the field too soon and ended up dropping the pass, which was nearly intercepted off the ground by our secondary, leaving Utah’s punt team coming out on fourth and three. A huge 34 yard return by Roberson on the 41 yard punt got us set up from our 48 yard line, 2:39 left until halftime.

Starting the drive in the air, Barnes tried to find tight end Marcus Martin over the middle on first down, but the pass was broken up, leaving second and long. Dropping into the shotgun on second down, Barnes was able to connect with Munoz near the right hash, good for a 13 yard gain and a first down at the Utah 39 yard line. Conley came through for us on first down, pulling in the pass from Barnes for a pickup of 17 yards and a new set of downs at the 22. Continuing through the air on first down, Barnes found Munoz again, this time for a 15 yard gain to give us first and goal at the 7 yard line. Handing the ball off on first down, Roberson took the ball for a two yard gain, leaving second and goal at the 5 yard line. Another rush by Roberson gained another two yards, bringing up third and goal at the three. We would end up walking away from that great drive with absolutely no points to show for it, as the pass from Barnes over the middle, intended for Douglas, was intercepted by outside linebacker Gerald Irvin in the end zone, who dropped to a knee for the touchback, giving Utah the ball at their 25 yard line, 33 seconds left on the clock.

Taking over at the 25 yard line after the interception, McNeil lined up in the shotgun, finding Hamby over the middle for a quick 12 yard gain and a first down at the 32 yard line, Utah calling their first timeout with 29 seconds left. Firing off a quick dump pass, McNeil found Gray on first down, and it nearly turned into points, as Gray broke his way out of two tackles, turning a gain of maybe 8 yards into a 29 yard gain, a desperation dive at the ankles tackle bringing him down and keeping it from turning into 7 points. That would leave Utah with first and 10 from our 39 yard line, the Utes calling their second timeout with 21 seconds to go. We caught a break on first down, as a pass from McNeil, completed to Oliver Harris along the left sideline, was ultimately ruled incomplete as Harris had to go up in the air to pull it down, his feet coming down out of bounds to leave Utah with second and 10. We dropped everyone, including their grandmother, back into coverage on second down, and for the most part, were able to limit the damage as McNeil had to settle for a 10 yard completion to Chavez. It did still work out as the gain went for a first down at our 29 yard line, the Utes rushing to the line with the clock momentarily stopped. Snapping the ball with 11 seconds left and ticking, our prevention defense failed to prevent on first down, as McNeil lofted up a pass to a wide open Harris in the end zone for a 29 yard touchdown, giving Utah a 21-14 lead with 6 seconds left until halftime, the Utes covering 75 yards in just 27 seconds.

Roberson received the kickoff in the end zone, just dropping to a knee for the touchback to give us the ball at our 25 yard line, 6 ticks left on the clock. Taking a shot for the hell of it, Barnes dropped back from the shotgun, launching up a Hail Mary pass down the right sideline. Our prayers would be half answered, as Conley was able to somehow snag down the pass, but he was promptly tackled by two Utah defenders at the Utah 26 yard line for a 49 yard completion. That would be as there was no time left on the clock, taking us into halftime, Utah leading 21-14.

Opening up the second half, a 20 yard kickoff return by Harris got Utah lined up from their 20 yard line to start the third quarter. A screen pass to Chavez got things started with a 9 yard gain, followed by a 6 yard gain on the ground to pick up the first down at the 36 yard line. Chavez took the ball on first down for a pickup of four yards, before we caught a break as the second down pass from McNeil to Hamby near our 45 yard line was dropped by Hamby as he went out of bounds, the incomplete pass bringing up third and 6. Despite getting a chance to regroup for the third down play, our defense would still give up the play as McNeil found Barrett for a 9 yard completion along the left sideline, picking up the first down at the 49 yard line. Turning to the ground game, Johnson took over, but our defense was more than ready for him, limiting him to rushing gains of just two and three yards, leaving Utah facing third and 5 at our 45. The rush on second down would come at a cost as Johnson remained on the field after the play, suffering a strained back that would leave him out for at least a quarter, and put a dent into Utah’s running back corps. A good blitz forced McNeil to dump the pass off to Barrett, who was promptly tackled for a gain of only a single yard, but it would all be for naught, as a flag came out on the tackle, a facemask penalty called on safety Charles Noble, turning fourth and four into a first down for Utah at our 29 yard line. Chavez would take to the ground on the first down play, rushing up the middle for an 8 yard gain, followed by a two yard carry that was stopped just short, leaving Utah facing third and inches. Our defense would finally claim victory as McNeil tried to convert the third down himself, only to be brought down in the backfield for a two yard loss by middle linebacker Justin Dunn, bringing up a field goal attempt on fourth and three. The 38 yard field goal by John Bell was good, giving Utah a 24-14 lead with 6:08 left in the third quarter.

Roberson fielded the kickoff 6 yards deep in the end zone, simply dropping to a knee to take the touchback and get us underway from our 25 yard line. Starting our drive on the ground, Roberson took the first down handoff for a four yard rush, followed by a 5 yard gain that left us looking at third and one. Utah didn’t make it easy, but Roberson was able to fight his way to a three yard gain and pick up the first down at the 36 yard line. Paris came in on first down, only able to get two yards on the rush before being swarmed by defenders. Lining up under center, Barnes dropped back on second down, firing off a pass to tight end Jack Long for a gain of 12 yards and a first down at midfield. Roberson returned to the backfield on first down, fighting his way to a four yard gain, before driving for a pickup of 5 yards to bring up third and one. Trying to catch the defense sleeping, a play action pass on third down, intended for McKinney, was broken up by the outside linebacker, leaving us with fourth and one from the Utah 41 yard line. Unfortunately too far out of field goal range, we brought out the punt team on fourth down. Ed Allen would come through huge for us on the play, kicking a perfect corner coffin punt out of bounds at Utah’s four yard line to leave their offense buried.

Taking over at the four yard line after the punt, the Utes were going to have to get the ball moving to leave the shadow of their end zone. It would only get more dangerous for the red and white, as Dunn broke through on a play action pass, not falling for the fake and sacking McNeil for a three yard loss, McNeil just barely avoid the safety, but leaving Utah lining up on second and 13 from inside the one yard line. Chavez would recover two of those lost yards on the ground, leaving third and 11 from the three yard line, before turning on on third down and burning us around the right tackle, going for a 14 yard carry and getting the first down at the 17 yard line. After a one yard carry by Chavez, McNeil came out in the shotgun on second down, trying to connect with Hamby deep over the middle, who thankfully, for us, dropped the pass and put a fork in what would have been at least a 20 yard gain, leaving Utah facing third and 9. Forced to rush his pass to avoid a sack by the blitzing Dunn, McNeil’s hurried throw intended for Barrett sailed high and long, landing incomplete between a pair of defenders to leave the Utes punting the ball back on fourth down. There was no return by Roberson on the 45 yard punt as he muffed the catch, thankfully able to dive on top of it before the nearest Utah player, who was still 10 yards downfield, was able to make a play on the fumble. That failed punt return left us starting our next drive from our 37 yard line.

Lining up after the punt, Roberson was unable to find any gap or seam on the first down carry, meeting nothing but a wall of white and brought down for no gain on the play. Dropping back into the shotgun on second down, Barnes tried to connect with Douglas over the middle, but the ball was broken up by the middle linebacker, leaving third and 10. Trying through the air again, Barnes was able to find Conley cutting open across the right hash, but he was hit as he went to release the pass, the ball going straight up in the air and harmlessly landing on the ground just mere feet away, leaving us punting the ball right back on fourth down. A 15 yard return by Jennings on the 37 yard punt got Utah back in action from their 40 yard line.

Chavez tried to get things started on the ground for the Utes, but met the brick wall that is defensive end Caleb McBride, brought down in the backfield for a three yard loss to leave second and 13. An incomplete pass by McNeil intended for Harris would leave the Utes again facing a third and long as our defense started to make, and take, a stand. That stand would last for another play, as 6 rushers left McNeil scrambling to find someone open, only to end up sacked by defensive tackle Ernest Sims for a loss of 8 yards, bringing out the punt team on fourth and 21. That would be the last play of the third quarter however as the clock ran out without another snap, Utah holding onto a 24-14 lead.

Opening up the fourth quarter, Utah lined up to punt the ball away on fourth and 21, a 13 yard return by Roberson on the 37 yard punt giving us the ball at our 45 yard line to start. Roberson took the ball on first down for a four yard gain, before a play action pass on second down would end up biting us in the ass in supreme fashion, the pass intercepted near the left hash by Jennings, who proceeded to return it all the way to the end zone for a 58 yard interception return for a touchdown, increasing Utah’s lead to 31-14 with 8:14 left in the game. This was turning out to be quite the defensive and special teams game for Jennings, who already had a 98 yard kickoff return for a touchdown to go along with his now 58 yard interception return for a touchdown.

A 24 yard kickoff return by Leonard Hart gave us the ball at our 23 yard line for our next drive, looking for a miracle with only 8 minutes left and down by 17. Coming out passing on first down, Barnes was briefly able to connect with Douglas over the middle, but he dropped the pass after being hit by the safety, the ball landing incomplete to bring up second down. Taking a shot deep down the left side line for Munoz, he was unable to come down with the pass from Barnes, leaving us with third and 10. The third down pass to Max Rhodes would be the drive saver, going for a gain of 12 yards and a first down at the 35 yard line. Aaron Allen pulled in a 5 yard completion on first down, followed by a 12 yard pass to Martin to pick up the first down at the Utah 48 yard line. Dropping back in the shotgun on first down, Barnes tried to hit Dante May over the middle, only to end up throwing his third interception of the game, as outside linebacker Ben McKenzie picked off the pass and returned it four yards to the 46 yard line.

Taking over after the interception, McNeil came out passing on first down, connecting with Harris over the middle for 5 yards, before keeping the ball himself and rushing for a two yard gain to bring up third and three. Chavez would pick up the first down with a 13 yard carry, moving the chains to our 35 yard line. McNeil would then put Utah back on the board, faking the handoff to Chavez, which our defense bit hook, line and sinker, and with a couple blockers, took off for the right sideline and took it all the way in for a 35 yard touchdown, increasing Utah’s lead to 38-14 with 6:04 on the clock, Utah’s entire drive lasting a whole 42 seconds.

A 19 yard kickoff return by Douglas left us starting our next drive at our 16 yard line. While any hope for a comeback was essentially over, we were still going to try and save face, coming out throwing on first down, the pass over the middle to Douglas good for a 14 yard gain and a first down at the 30 yard line. Greg Miller pulled in a 5 yard pass on first down, followed by a 65 yard touchdown pass to Rhodes, in one of the oddest plays in this coach’s history. Rhodes was swarmed by defensive players after the catch, with no less than four Utah players at any one time, 6 defenders in total involved in a gang tackle. However, Rhodes would ride the wave of bodies, somehow managing to avoid having any part of his body hit the ground, and eventually managing to get back on his feet. While the mass of Utah defenders were still trying to untangle themselves, as well as the two or three offensive players who had gotten involved, Rhodes was able to get his feet under him and take off running for the end zone with nothing but green in front of him, outracing cornerback Erik Collins to the end zone, Collins not able to initiate a tackle attempt until Rhodes was already at the one yard line and going into the end zone. The PAT cut Utah’s lead to 38-21 with 5:15 left in the game and gave us maybe a glimmer of hope.

Still down by 17 with only 5 minutes left in the game, we just couldn’t trust our defense enough to get the job done, and then went for the onside kick. Unfortunately it was not meant to be as Clint Lee recovered the ball for the Utes, giving the possession at our 45 yard line. Coming out passing on first down, Dunn was able to somehow slip through the offensive line and get to McNeil, sacking him for a three yard loss on the play. Utah came out passing again on second down, as McNeil made up the lost yards with a three yard completion to Maurice Allen, before dumping off the ball on a third down screen pass to Chavez, who was quickly brought down for a gain of only three yards, leaving Utah punting on fourth and 7. The ball landed at the 5 yard line and bounced into the end zone for a touchback, getting our next drive underway at the 20 yard line.

Our drive got off to a rough start, as the pass from Barnes intended for Rhodes was nearly intercepted, ultimately falling incomplete to bring up second down. A 12 yard completion to Conley kept us moving forward with a first down at the 32 yard line. Rhodes would come through with a 16 yard grab along the right sideline, falling backwards out of bounds to stop the clock at the 47 yard line. Jennings almost had his second interception of the game, getting his hands on the pass intended for Conley, but unable to hold onto it, the incompletion bringing up second and 10. Barnes tried to connect with Douglas on second down, but his pass was overthrown and incomplete, leaving us with third and 10. Rhodes would come through for us with an 11 yard reception, getting the first down at the Utah 42 yard line. Rushing to the line of scrimmage, Barnes tried to go right back to Rhodes, but the cornerback made a good play on the ball and broke the pass up while simultaneously taking down Rhodes, leaving us with second down. Munoz was able to pick up the first down with a 14 yard completion, moving the chains to the Utah 28 yard line. Going deep down the left side line, the second attempt to Munoz was no good, broken up in the end zone by the safety to leave second and 10. Barnes would end up holding onto the ball too long on second down, sacked for an 8 yard loss to leave third and 18, forcing us to call our first timeout with 2:52 left in the game. Paris would come through huge for us on third down, slipping out of the backfield and beating the outside linebacker to a high pass, good for a 31 yard gain to set up first and goal from the 6 yard line. Martin would get us back into the end zone, getting open out of the tight end position and hauling in the quick pass from Barnes, cutting Utah’s lead to 38-28 with 2:34 left in the game.

Going once more for the onside kick, Utah would again recover as Gray came up with the football, the Utah offense starting their drive at our 40 yard line. The Utes were definitely trying to run out the remainder of the clock, which worked perfectly for our bring the entire house blitzing defense, as McNeil twice tried to keep the ball himself on the ground, instead ending up tackled for losses of four and three yards, leaving Utah facing a third and 17 situation, our second timeout finally called with 1:49 left on the clock. Bringing everything and the kitchen sink once more, Chavez would only manage a 6 yard gain, forcing Utah to punt the ball away on fourth and 11 from our 41 yard line, our third and final timeout taken with 1:45 left on the clock. The 41 yard punt would land just inside the end zone for a touchback, giving us the ball back at our 20 yard line, 1:40 left to work with.

Coming out passing on first down, Barnes took a shot deep down the left sideline, but the cornerback would break up the pass intended for Munoz, leaving second down. Conley would get us moving on second down with a 13 yard reception and a first down at the 33 yard line. Going no-huddle, Barnes tried to find Conley again, but a diving pass deflection by the safety broke the pass up and left second and 10 once more. A pass down the sideline intended for Douglas sailed long and out of bounds, leaving third down. Miller would come through with a 12 yard reception and a first down at our 45 yard line. Going back to the line without huddling, Barnes tried to find Munoz over the middle, but the play was broken up to bring about another second down. Rhodes would come through huge for us once more, finding a gap in the secondary up the right sideline, hauling in a pass from Barnes and sprinting for the end zone, eventually caught up to and dragged down from behind for a 51 yard gain, setting up first and goal at the four yard line, though it would come at a minor cost as Rhodes would end up sideline for brief remainder of the game with a bruised thigh. It would take us just one more play to punch it in the end zone, as Barnes connected with Long from the tight end position for a four yard touchdown, further cutting Utah’s lead to 38-35 with 54 seconds left in the game.

Hoping and praying that the third time would be the charm for us, we lined up for our third onside kick of the quarter, but it was not meant to be as Barrett recovered the kick, giving Utah the ball at our 42 yard line, the Utes needing only kneel the ball twice to run out the rest of the clock and hand us a 38-35 defeat to start the year.

With the loss, we open our 2021 season 0-1, 0-0 in Mountain West action and lose our shot at winning the Beehive Boot for another year. With the win, Utah opens their year 1-0, 0-0 in Pac-12 play, the Utes once again getting the inside track to the Beehive Boot. Up next, we hit the road for the first time of the season, with a trip to Oklahoma to take on the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes. This will be Tulsa's first game of their season, after opening week one with a bye week.

Final Score
:Utah: 38, :Utah_State: 35

Stat(s) of the Game:
Utah State Offense - A good, yet horrible day for Barnes in his first career start. He did end up going 25-44 for 452 yards and three touchdown, however those three touchdowns came in the final 5 minutes of the game when we were airing it out just to try and make a comeback. He also ended up throwing three interceptions, one thrown in the end zone that ruined a drive clear down inside Utah's 10 yard line, and then also threw a pick six that put helped Utah start piling on points in the early fourth quarter. Rushing, Roberson led the way with 104 yards and one touchdown on 29 carries. Paris had 36 yards and one touchdown on 10 rushes.

Receiving, Rhodes led the way with 155 yards and one touchdown on five catches. Conley had 106 yards on five receptions. Martin ended with 18 yards and one touchdown on one receptions, Long with 16 yards and one touchdown on two catches. In total we had 11 different receivers catch at least one pass today (WR - Allen, Conley, Douglas, Miller, Munoz, Rhodes. TE - Long, Martin, McKinney. HB - Paris. FB - Johnson), 10 receivers ended with double digit yards, Rhodes and Conley the only two to reach triple digit yards.

Utah State Defense – They had some good moments, namely four sacks and eight tackles for a loss, as well as actually forcing Utah to punt a handful of times. But otherwise, some useless as Utah for a while there was stringing together drive after drive and refusing to either let us pull ahead or forcing us to play catch up.

Utah State Kicking – A very quiet day for freshman kicker Doug Marcus in his first career game. He never attempted a field goal, but did go a perfect 5-5 in PATs.

Scoring Summary

Team
1st Quarter
2nd Quarter
3rd Quarter
4th Quarter
Final Score

:Utah:
7
14
3
14
38

:Utah_State:
7
7
0
21
35

Time
Team
Result
Play
Score

First Quarter

2:55
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
B. Paris, 2 yard run (D. Marcus kick)
:Utah_State: 7-0

2:43
:Utah:
Touchdown
A. Jennings, returned kickoff 98 yards (J. Bell kick)
TIED 7-7

Second Quarter

8:58
:Utah:
Touchdown
D. Johnson, 1 yard run (J. Bell kick)
:Utah: 14-7

3:46
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
P. Roberson, 1 yard run (D. Marcus kick)
TIED 14-14

0:06
:Utah:
Touchdown
O. Harris, 29 yard pass from J. McNeil (J. Bell kick)
:Utah: 21-14

Third Quarter

6:11
:Utah:
Field Goal
J. Bell, 38 yard field goal
:Utah: 24-14

Fourth Quarter

8:14
:Utah:
Touchdown
A. Jennings, returned interception 58 yards (J. Bell kick)
:Utah: 31-14

6:04
:Utah:
Touchdown
J. McNeil, 35 yard run (J. Bell kick)
:Utah: 38-14

5:15
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
M. Rhodes, 65 yard pass from J. Barnes (D. Marcus kick)
:Utah: 38-21

2:34
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
M. Martin, 6 yard pass from J. Barnes (D. Marcus kick)
:Utah: 38-28

0:54
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
J. Long, 4 yard pass from J. Barnes (D. Marcus kick)
:Utah: 38-35

Game Stats

Utah
Stat
Utah State

38
Score
35

12
First Downs
28

257
Total Offense
584

29 - 124 - 2
Rushes - Yards - TD
40 - 132 - 2

13 - 19 - 1
Comp - Att - TD
25 - 44 - 3

133
Passing Yards
452

4
Times Sacked
1

4 - 10 (40%)
3rd Down Conversion
8 - 14 (57%)

0 - 0 (0%)
4th Down Conversion
2 - 2 (100%)

0 - 0 (0%)
2-Point Conv
0 - 0 (0%)

2 - 1 - 1 (100%)
Red Zone - TD - FG
5 - 4 - 0 (80%)

0
Turnovers
3

0
Fumbles Lost
0

0
Intercepted
3

31
Punt Return Yards
47

123
Kick Return Yards
110

411
Total Yards
741

5 – 41.8
Punts - Average
3 - 38.0

0 - 0
Penalties
1 - 15

11:21
Time of Possession
24:39

Utah State Coach Goals

Goal
XP Reward
Completed

Score a Touchdown
25
x5

Pass for 250 Yards
25
x1

Rush for 100 Yards
25
x1

3+ Sacks
50
x1

Opponent Under 150 Rush Yards
50
x1

Opponent Under 300 Pass Yards
50
x1

Pass Completion Over 50%
30
x1

Score 21 or More Points
50
x1

350+ Offensive Yards
50
x1

10+ First Downs
50
x1

4+ 3rd Down Conversions
25
x1

Utah State Contract Goals Update

Goal
Expectations
Progress

Target Wins Per Season
7
0

Job Security Status

100%

SmoothPancakes

11-07-2013, 02:08 PM

Taking a look around the nation, in the Top 25, in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game, it was all #2 Alabama as the Tide whooped #24 West Virginia 52-10. In the game of the week, #3 Notre Dame thumped #4 Virginia Tech 48-10. #5 Texas beat North Texas 52-13. Miami knocked off #7 LSU 28-27. #10 USC beat Fresno State 35-21. #11 Nebraska topped Florida Atlantic 31-21.

#12 Washington edged out Hawaii 24-22. The 2021 Texas Kickoff Classic ended in upset as #20 Tennessee knocked off #13 Kansas State 42-20. #19 South Carolina edged out Mississippi State 31-28. #22 Arizona blew out UNLV 49-7. #23 Florida beat Idaho 49-3. And in a special, non-top 25 contest, the 2021 Cowboys Classic went to Oklahoma State, who topped Florida State 41-24.

For our readers, JeffHCross, #1 Ohio State remains 0-0 (0-0 Big Ten) with a bye week. Morsdraconis, #24 West Virginia opens 0-1 (0-0 Big 12) with a 52-10 loss to #2 Alabama. Souljahbill, Southern Miss remains 0-0 (0-0 C-USA) with a bye week. Jaymo, Arizona State remains 0-0 (0-0 Pac-12), with a bye week. LeeSO, #21 Auburn remains 0-0 (0-0 SEC) with a bye week. SCClassof93, #19 South Carolina opens the year 1-0 (1-0 SEC) with 31-28 win over Mississippi State. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State remains 0-0 (0-0 Sun Belt) with a bye week. Florida International opens their year 0-1 (0-0 C-USA) with a 41-24 loss to Central Florida. Navy remains 0-0 (0-0 American) with a bye week. Tulsa remains 0-0 (0-0 American) with a bye week.

In Mountain West action, Air Force blanked Georgia State 45-0, Colorado State won the Rocky Mountain Showdown over Colorado 34-17, #10 USC topped Fresno State 35-21, #12 Washington edged out Hawaii 24-22, #22 Arizona destroyed UNLV 49-7 and Utah beat Utah State 38-35. Not a good start for the Mountain West, as we go 2-4 in the first week of the new season.

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Notre Dame (36 first place votes) jumps two to become the #1 team, Ohio State (22 votes) drops one to #2, Alabama (2 votes) falls one to #3, Texas (1 vote) climbs one to #4 and North Carolina jumps one to #5. Oklahoma jumps two to #6, Texas A&M climbs two to #7, USC moves up two to #8, Nebraska jumps two to #9 and Washington climbs two to #10. Virginia Tech drops seven to #11, Michigan State climbs two to #12, Georgia Tech jumps two to #13, Oregon moves up two to #14 and LSU falls eight to #15. TCU moves up one to #16, Tennessee climbs three to #17, Boise State remains #18, Miami enters the poll at #19 and South Carolina drops one to #20. Auburn remains #21, Kansas State falls nine to #22, Arizona drops one to #23, Florida falls one to #24 and Illinois (247 points) remains #25. Dropping out of the poll this week was: West Virginia (from #24). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, UCLA (223 points) is #26, followed by Baylor (116), West Virginia (90), Northwestern (86) and Oregon State (58) to round out the Top 30. Other teams getting points this week include Washington State (49), Stanford (45), Ole Miss (31) and Iowa (6).

An early season look at the Heisman race, Ohio State QB Matt Cowan is #1, Arizona HB Kevin Simpson is #2, Connecticut HB David Ward is #3, Georgia Tech QB Phil Terrell is #4 and Alabama HB Derek Scott is #5.

SmoothPancakes

11-07-2013, 02:37 PM

The Utah game really was not as close as the score makes it appear. By and large, we were getting our asses handed to us all game long.

A lot of our yards got racked up on drives where we ended up throwing an interception (driving all the way down to the goal line and throwing an interception in the end zone for instance) or on drives where we started deep in our territory, got out to midfield or into Utah territory, but still ended up forced to punt.

Utah also had a lot fewer yards due to their scoring on special teams and defense. Thanks to a 98 yard kickoff return, Utah's offense never touched the ball until just a minute or so left in the first quarter. Same with the 58 yard interception return, their offense spent a large portion of the fourth quarter on the sidelines.

So just looking at the score, and the stats showing us out-gaining Utah on offense by over 327 yards, it appears that this was one hell of a slobber-knocker game. In reality, it was an ass-whooping that we somehow managed to only lose by 3 points instead of 20 or more.

SmoothPancakes

11-07-2013, 04:02 PM

I'm currently in the second quarter of the game against Tulsa, 8 minutes left in the quarter, and Tulsa has now scored on touchdown passes of 52 and 57 yards, both times over the middle in traffic, both times my defender engages in a full body wrap tackle attempt, both times the receiver just shakes it off like it's nothing and proceeds to outrun my entire defense to the end zone. This is bringing up every single memory of playing these sons of bitches last season. :fp:

I've already decided, NEVER AGAIN, am I scheduling Tulsa. To hell with this shit. It's one thing to get beat fair, but these cheap ass scores that Tulsa keeps getting (both last season's game and now) are doing nothing but aggravating me. To hell with them, they're off my schedule permanently in the future.

SmoothPancakes

11-08-2013, 09:32 AM

Game Two

:Utah_State: :@: :Tulsa:

Game Story

--- Coming off our season-opening loss at the hands of Utah, it was time to jump into our first road trip of the year, hitting the road to take on Tulsa. Unfortunately we really didn’t have anything to go on in regards to Tulsa, as they had a bye week in week 1. All we had to really go by were the subjective numerical ratings of both teams. Overall, we held a slight edge, while Tulsa was rated as having the superior offense, and our defense rated as the by far superior unit. Looking at head to head, our offense (rated 79), would be going up against Tulsa defense (rated 76), while our defense (rated 82) would be going up against Tulsa’s offense (rated 83). If those ratings were anything close to true, it could result in one hell of a game this afternoon. We won the coin toss and elected to kick.

Aided by a 12 MPH wind, the opening kickoff sailed out of the back of the end zone for a touchback, giving Tulsa the ball at their 25 yard line to start the game. David Dykes got the drive started on the ground, brought down in the backfield for a three yard loss to bring up second and 13. Dykes would come back with an 8 yard gain, leaving third and 5. A blitz by our defense on third down forced Ryan Wilson to rush his pass, the ball intended for Marcel Leak sailing long and incomplete to bring out the punt unit. Despite muffing the punt, Preston Roberson was able to field the 43 yard punt and return it 7 yards to our 36 yard line.

Lining up for our first drive of the game, we came out on the ground, looking to get a feel for the gold and blue. Roberson received the handoff but found nowhere to run, only able to get two yards on the play before being swarmed by defenders. Another rush by Roberson picked up three yards on the play, leaving us facing an early third and 5. Lining up in the shotgun on third down, Jason Barnes was able to get a pass off to Travis Munoz, who had enough separation from the cornerback to field the pass for a 14 yard gain and a first down at the Tulsa 46 yard line. Roberson took over again on the ground on first down, managing three yards on the play, followed by a 7 yard rush to get the first down at the 35. Brian Paris took over on first down with a pair of rushes going for gains of four and three yards, bringing up another third down and three. Lining up under center on third down, the play action pass from Barnes to Cedric McKinney caught the defense sleeping, the pass good for a gain of 11 yards, moving the chains down to the 17 yard line. Roberson returned the backfield on first down, only able to get three yards on the carry, followed by a huge 8 yard rush around the left tackle, giving us first and goal at the 6 yard line. Paris received the handoff on first down, fighting his way straight up the middle for a four yard gain, leaving second and goal at the two. Roberson tried to punch it in, but got stood up for a gain of one yard, setting up third and goal at the one yard line. Roberson would not be denied this time, fighting his way through a pile of bodies and falling into the end zone for a one yard touchdown run, giving us a 7-0 lead with 3:02 left in the first quarter.

Another wind-aided kickoff led to another touchback, and Tulsa got started once more from their 25 yard line. Dykes got the drive started on the ground, stood up for a one yard gain, followed by a 10 yard pass from Wilson to Leak for a first down at the 36 yard line. Wilson kept the ball on first down, rushing around the right end for a gain of 12 yards, moving the chains once more to the 48 yard line. Dykes tried to take the ball on a delayed handoff, but our defense was ready and stopped him for no gain. Dropping back from under center on second down, Wilson rifled a pass over the middle intended for Willie Callahan, but while Callahan was able to grab the ball briefly, a well timed hit by the safety knocked the ball loose and incomplete, bringing up third and 10. Callahan would come back over the middle again on third down, the outside linebacker making contact after the catch for what would have been fourth down, but Callahan proceeded to shake the tackle loose and with nothing but green in front of him, outran the entire defense to the end zone for a 52 yard touchdown pass, tying the game up at 7-7 with 2:07 left in the first quarter.

A 23 yard kickoff return by David Douglas got us back in action from our 25 yard line. Roberson took the handoff on first down, rushing his way to a 6 yard gain around the right tackle, followed by a dive up the middle for 7 yards and a first down at the 38 yard line. Paris took over with a four yard gain on first down, before Roberson fought his way to gain of 6 yards and another set of downs at the 48. Continuing with our ground assault, we would end up going backwards on first down as the blitz left nowhere to run, Paris slowed down by his blocker and promptly tackled for a two yard loss. Calling a play action pass on second down, the throw from Barnes to Walter Johnson only picked up four yards, leaving us with third and 8. That would be the final play of the first quarter, the score all knotted up at 7-7.

Opening up the second quarter, we faced a tall task, lining up on third and 8 from midfield. Lining up in the shotgun, Max Rhodes would come through for us, getting open down the right sideline and hauling in the pass from Barnes for a gain of 22 yards and a first down at the Tulsa 28 yard line. An incomplete pass over the middle intended for Aaron Allen left us lining up on second and long. It would get worse as Barnes would make his first mistake of the game, his pass over the middle intended for Douglas intercepted by cornerback Tommy Bullock, who managed a one yard return before being tackled at the 24 yard line.

Taking over after the interception, Dykes wasted little time in burning us with a 19 yard dash, picking up a first down at the 43 yard line. Going into the air on first down, the pass from Wilson intended for Leak was rushed due to the blitz and thus off the mark, leaving cornerback Kevin Moore with all the time in the world to make an interception attempt, but he was unable to hold onto the ball and dropped it, leaving Tulsa in possession on second and 10. We would get burned once more as Trey Merritt caught a pass over the middle from Wilson, broke his way out of a tackle and raced the defense to the end zone for a 57 yard touchdown, giving Tulsa a 14-7 lead with 8:10 left in the second quarter.

The kickoff sailed into the end zone for a touchback, giving us the ball at our 25 yard line. Roberson got the drive started on the ground with a three yard rush, followed by a gain of 6 yards around the left tackle, leaving us facing third and one. Leaving our drive in the hands of Roberson, he took the third down handoff up the middle for a four yard rush, picking up the first down at the 38 yard line. Paris took over in the backfield on first down, fighting his way to a 5 yard gain, before a 5 yard rush by Roberson brought about third and inches. It would be Paris’ turn to convert on third down, taking the handoff and racing up the middle for a 5 yard gain and a new set of downs at the Tulsa 48 yard line. The defense was more than ready for us on first down, Roberson quickly brought down for a gain of only one yard on the play. Lining up under center on second down, Barnes dropped back and tried to connect with McKinney on the play action pass, but the defense didn’t bite on the fact and the pass ended up batted down incomplete, leaving us facing third and 9. Lining up in the shotgun on third down, the third down pass intended for Ryan Conley was way off the mark and sailed over Conley’s head, landing incomplete and bringing out our punt team on fourth and 9. A 10 yard return by Malcolm Crawford on the 35 yard punt gave Tulsa the ball at their 22 yard line.

Coming out passing on first down, Wilson rifled off a pass to Dykes for a four yard gain, before Wilson tried to keep the ball himself on a delayed run, the defense breaking through on a heavy blitz and meeting Wilson in the backfield, tackling him for a four yard loss and leaving Tulsa facing third and 10. Despite lining up in the shotgun, Wilson never had a chance to get a pass off, the blitz forcing him to scramble almost immediately, before eventually being chased down from behind by outside linebacker Al Washington, sacked for a 7 yard loss and bringing out the punt team on fourth and 17 from the 15 yard line. A 20 yard return by Roberson on the 47 yard punt got us back on offense with great field position, starting at the Tulsa 43 yard line.

Beginning the drive on the ground, Roberson received the handoff around the left guard for a 6 yard rush, followed by a three yard rush by Paris to leave third and one. Keeping it on the ground, Paris took the handoff up the middle for a 9 yard gain, picking up the first down at the 25 yard line. Lining up under center on first down, Barnes dropped back and fired off a quick pass to tight end Maurice Martin, good for a 14 yard pickup and a new set of downs at the 11 yard line. Another quick pass to Martin on a comeback route was good for an 8 yard gain, leaving second and two at the three yard line. Handing the ball off to Roberson on second down, he fought his way forward for a two yard gain, leaving third and inches at the one yard line. Roberson would need only one more play to find the end zone, punching it in for a one yard touchdown, his second of the game, to even things back up at 14-14 with 39 seconds left until halftime.

A 21 yard kickoff return by Callahan got Tulsa started from their 23 yard line, 35 seconds left to work with. It would take Tulsa only one play to regain the lead, as a missed tackle on the dump pass to Leak led to an easy 77 yard touchdown reception, giving Tulsa the lead 21-14 with 23 seconds to go in the half.

A touchback on the kickoff gave us the ball at our 25 yard line, only 23 seconds left, but all three timeouts. Lining up in the shotgun, there were no doubts about our intentions. Trying to hit Rhodes up the right sideline, the pass was broken up by the cornerback, leaving second down, 18 seconds left. Going back to Rhodes on second down, he pulled in the pass from Barnes for a 12 yard gain and a first down at the 37 yard line, getting out of bounds to stop the clock with 14 seconds to go. Going the opposite side of the field, Conley was able to come back and pull in a pass from Barnes for 13 more yards and a new set of downs at the Tulsa 49 yard line, our first timeout called with 9 seconds to go. Conley would come through for us again with a 19 yard reception on an out route, brought down at the Tulsa 30 yard line, our second timeout called with just three seconds left in the half. We lined up for a 47 yard field goal, despite the 12 MPH wind blowing in our faces. Unfortunately the attempt by Doug Marcus fell well short, Crawford fielding the kick and returning it out to the 14 yard line before being brought down to bring the half to an end, Tulsa leading 21-14.

Opening up the second half, a 26 yard kickoff return by Roberson gave us the ball at our 27 yard line to start the third quarter. Starting the drive on the ground, Roberson took the handoff up the middle for a 5 yard gain, followed by a 6 yard dash by Paris, picking up a quick first down at the 38. Roberson returned on first down, but was only able to get two yards on the play as the defense was starting to cheat to the run. Running a play action pass on second down, the defense was cheating, but nearly enough, as the pass intended for McKinney was nearly intercepted, bringing up third and 8. Conley would keep us moving forward on third down, pulling in a pass from Barnes for a 10 yard completion and a new set of downs at the Tulsa 49 yard line. Returning to the ground, Roberson got us off and running again with a 5 yard pickup, before Paris fought and clawed his way to a two yard gain, leaving us with third and three. Lining up under center on third down, Barnes tried to find Douglas over the middle, but the pass was broken up by the middle linebacker. Taking our chances with a 12 MPH wind from our backs, we lined up for a miracle 59 yard field goal. Unfortunately, even with the aid of the wind, the kick never had a chance, and Tulsa took over at their 42 yard line.

Tulsa wasted little time in moving the ball on first down, as Wilson found Callahan down the right sideline for a 14 yard gain and a quick first down at our 44 yard line. The drive would end up stalling out there however, as our pass coverage and blitz combined to force a pair of bad throws by Wilson, culminating in a dropped pass by Merritt on third down that left the Golden Hurricane punting the ball away. The 44 yard punt sailed into the end zone for a touchback, starting our next drive from the 20 yard line.

Looking to continue controlling the clock, we started the drive on the ground, Roberson taking full advantage of great blocking as he sprinted his way to a 12 yard gain and a first down at the 32 yard line. Roberson followed that up with a 5 yard rush, before Paris took over with a carry of only two yards to leave us with third and three. Despite the early success, our drive would likewise stall out as Barnes was hit as he threw, the incomplete pass forcing a punt on fourth and three. A 9 yard return by Crawford on the 43 yard punt got Tulsa back on offense from their 27 yard line.

Our defense would win the first battle of this drive, as a heavy blitz left Dykes trapped in the backfield on the delayed handoff, the defense bringing him down immediately for a loss of 5 yards and putting Tulsa in an early hole with second and 15. A lateral to Chris Greene would end up going for a 13 yard gain, followed by a 25 yard rush by Wilson to get the first down at our 40 yard line. Dykes would take back over on first down, only managing to get one yard on the ground, before burning our defense through the air, receiving the screen pass from Barnes and racing up the left sideline for a 39 yard touchdown, giving Tulsa a 28-14 lead with 2:50 left in the third quarter.

A 26 yard kickoff return by Conley got us back in action from our 22 yard line. Handing the ball off on first down, Paris was immediately stood up at the line of scrimmage for no gain. Going into the air on second down, Munoz would get us moving with a reception over the middle, good for a gain of 16 yards and a new set of downs at the 38 yard line. Dante May would keep us moving with an 11 yard reception out of the backfield, moving the chains once more to the 49. The first down pass intended for Rhodes was broken up by the outside linebacker, bringing up second and 10. The defense would again do its job, forcing Barnes to hold on to the ball too long, ending up hit as he threw and the ball landing incomplete just a few yards away. Lining up in the shotgun on third and 10, the pass to Conley was good for a 17 yard completion, saving our drive and picking up the first down at the Tulsa 34 yard line. Douglas would keep us moving with an 11 yard reception over the middle, moving the sticks once more to the 24. Rhodes would keep the positive momentum rolling with a 14 yard pass from Barnes, setting up first and 10 at the 10 yard line. Trying to hit Munoz on a comeback route, the cornerback reacted and batted the ball away incomplete, leaving second down. Another incomplete pass, intended for Martin, brought about third and 10. Lining up in the shotgun on third down, Barnes found Conley near the right hash for an 8 yard gain, but it wouldn’t be enough, leaving us facing fourth and two at the two yard line. Not willing to take the chance on the ground, we settled for the points, as we needed any points right now, and lined up for a 19 yard field goal. Even then, we still couldn’t get anything, as the field goal was blocked, Tulsa taking back possession from their 20 yard line with 16 seconds left in the third quarter.

Dykes wasted little time in moving the ball against us with a 15 yard rush and a first down at the 35 yard line, a desperation diving tackle the only thing saving it from being for an 80 yard touchdown. Dykes tried to burn us again on the ground, but he was quickly brought down for no gain to bring up second and 10. That would be the final play of the third quarter as the clock ran out, Tulsa holding a 28-14 lead.

Opening up the fourth quarter, a screen pass to Dykes went for a huge 22 yard gain, giving Tulsa a first down at our 43 yard line. Wilson went over the middle on first down, trying to connect with Lee Nash, but he was unable to hold onto the pass and dropped it incomplete, bringing up another second down. We caught another break as a pass to a wide open Chris Greene was likewise dropped, leaving Tulsa facing third and 10. The defense would come through in the clutch, cornerback Jeremy Thurman sacking Wilson from behind for a 7 yard loss, leaving Tulsa punting on fourth and 17 and preserving our hopes of a comeback. The 51 yard punt landed in the end zone for a touchback, giving us the ball at our 20 yard line.

Coming out in the shotgun to start the drive, Barnes tried to connect with Douglas over the middle, but the pass was broken up to leave second down. Rhodes would come through for us on the second down play, hauling in a 19 yard pass from Barnes before his momentum carried him out of bounds, giving us a first down at the 39 yard line. Another pass to Rhodes would pick up 10 more yards and gave us another set of downs at the 49. The defense wasn’t about to quit, finally sacking Barnes for a 9 yard loss, leaving us with second and 19. Trying to hit Allen on an out route, the pass would be jumped and intercepted by middle linebacker Doug Casey, who returned the interception 27 yards down to our 20 yard line.

Taking over at our 20 yard line after the interception, Tulsa needed just two plays to find the end zone, as a pass over the middle to Greene went for an 11 yard gain, giving the Golden Hurricane first and goal from our 9 yard line, but an option play to the left resulted in a perfectly timed pitch from Wilson to Dykes, who was able to trot his way into the end zone for a 9 yard touchdown, giving Tulsa a 35-14 lead with 6:55 left in the fourth quarter.

The wind-aided kickoff sailed into the back of the end zone, kneeled down for a touchback to give us the ball at our 25 yard line. Now down by three possessions, we had no choice but to air it out from here. Taking a shot deep down the right sideline, the pass intended for Douglas landed incomplete, bringing up second down. Barnes tried to connect with May over the middle on second down, but he led the receiver by a little too much, the ball sailing past May and landing incomplete 10 yards downfield, leaving us with third and 10. Rhodes would get us some positive yards, but the completion on third down only gained 9 yards, leaving fourth and one. Taking the gamble, we lined up to go for it on fourth and one from our 34 yard line. Paris received the fourth down handoff and would get the job done with a gain of 6 yards, giving us new life from our 40 yard line. Trying to hit Munoz over the middle of the field, the pass would end in disaster as Barnes threw his third interception of the game, and Casey intercepted his second pass of the game, the pick returned four yards to give Tulsa possession at their 48 yard line with 5:38 left to play.

Leak got Tulsa moving through the air with a 12 yard reception and a first down at our 40 yard line. After a three yard rush by Dykes, Greene was able to get the first down on an option pitch to the right, moving the chains to our 27 yard line. Dykes would burn us yet again with a 16 yard rush to the left side, setting up a first down at the 11 yard line. Going into the air on first down, Wilson found Green near the left sideline for a 5 yard gain, before the defense answered back by blowing up a handoff to Dykes in the backfield, tackling him for a four yard loss to leave Tulsa facing third and 9 from the 10 yard line. Bringing the house on third down, we forced Wilson to scramble and throw an off balance pass across his body, the throw intended for Crawford landing incomplete at his feet at the goal line, bringing out Tulsa’s field goal unit on fourth down. Our special teams would come through huge on the 27 yard field goal attempt by Brian Wright, as Thurman came barreling through and managing to get a hand in front of the ball and block it backwards, leaving Wright no choice but to dive on top of the ball at the 21 yard line before cornerback Jesse Breedlove could recover it. Either way, we took over possession at our 21 yard line with 4:04 left in the game.

Once again coming out passing on first down, Munoz was able to get us moving with a 12 yard completion and a first down at the 33. Sailing up a pass to Conley on first down, he was able to pull in the ball for a 42 yard gain and a first down at the Tulsa 26 yard line. It would end up getting even sweeter as a facemask penalty called on Tulsa cornerback Gary Rawls during the tackle gave us 13 extra yards, with a first down now at the Tulsa 13 yard line. Allen would pull down a first down pass from Barnes for a 12 yard pickup, setting up first and goal at the one yard line. Paris would take the ball on first down, punching it in for the one yard touchdown to cut Tulsa’s lead to 35-21 with 3:11 left in the game.

With only three minutes left in the game, and Tulsa able to essentially drive on our defense at will, we had no choice but to take a shot at the onside kick. It wasn’t meant to be as Greene recovered the kickoff, and gained a couple yards, before being brought down at our 39 yard line. Tulsa’s offense took over after the onside kick, just 39 yards away from putting this game on ice. Dykes did his best to do just that, rushing for a 10 yard gain on first down, breaking out of three tackles along the way, to leave Tulsa with second and inches. Tulsa abandoned their no-huddle offense, instead now killing the clock. A 5 yard rush by Dykes would pick up the first down at our 23 yard line. Calling our second remaining timeout, we stopped the clock with 2:22 left, but little gain expected. Wilson would finish the game off by himself, faking the handoff to Dykes and then bobbing and weaving his way through our defense for a 23 yard touchdown rush, putting Tulsa up 42-21 with 2:17 left in the game.

A kick into the back of the end zone resulted in a touchback, and we started again from our 25 yard line. There wasn’t much point in continuing to air it out in hopes of a comeback, and pointlessly continue to try we did. Barnes tried to connect with Rhodes on the out route, but he ended up being hit as he threw, the ball landing incomplete. Barnes came back over the middle on second down, trying to connect with Douglas, but the pass was nearly intercepted by the middle linebacker, leaving third and 10. Conley would get us positive yards with a 17 yard reception and a first down at the 42 yard line, followed by a 13 yard completion to May, moving the chains once more to the Tulsa 45. Sailing it long on first down, Munoz was able to get his hands on the pass down at the 5 yard line, but he was unable to hold on and dropped the pass incomplete to bring up second down. Allen would get us some more yards with a 7 yard reception along the sideline, setting up third and three. Johnson was able to come down with the third down pass from Barnes, but it wouldn’t be enough, going for only a gain of two yards to leave fourth and one at the 36 yard line, just 1:15 left on the clock. Raising the white flag of surrender, instead of going for it on fourth and one, we elected to attempt the 53 yard field goal. Even that wouldn’t go right for us. Despite just having enough distance, the kick from Marcus sailed wide left, another drive again ending with no points, and Tulsa taking over at their 36 yard line.

Tulsa would quickly run the final 46 seconds off the clock, as Wilson dropped to a knee on first down. Tulsa got a little controversial at the end, as with 10 seconds left in the game, instead of just simply taking another knee, Wilson handed the ball off to Dykes, who ran up the middle for a ? yard gain and nearly was able to break it loose, finally being tackled at the 44 yard line to end the game and seal the 42-21 win for Tulsa.

With the loss, we fall to 0-2, 0-0 in Mountain West action. With the win, Tulsa opens their year at 1-0, 0-0 in American Athletic Conference play. Up next, we return home to take on Old Dominion. The Monarchs enter the game 0-1, 0-0 in C-USA action. Old Dominion got their season opened up in week two with a 37-10 loss at NC State.

Final Score

:Tulsa: 42, :Utah_State: 21

Stats of the Game:
Utah State Offense - A horrible day by Barnes. The only good he did today, despite going 26-46, was throwing for 345 yards. To book end the good with bad, he also threw three more interceptions, giving his six interceptions thrown in just two games. Rushing, Roberson led the way with 104 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries. Paris ended with 53 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries. Receiving, Conley led the way with 125 yards on seven receptions. In all, nine receivers caught a pass today, eight ending with double digit yards, Conley the only one to reach triple digits.

Utah State Defense – Worthless, pathetic, horrible, should be drug out to the street and shot. Take your pick. Gave up 449 yards of offense, gave up touchdown passes of 52, 57, 77 and 39 yards, as well as giving up touchdown runs from 9 and 23 yards out. Absolutely terrible.

Utah State Kicking – A horrible day for Marcus in his first true time game kicking field goals, ending up 0-4 in field goal attempts. Not all were his fault. Two, from 47 and 59 yards out, were from long distances, one kicking into the wind, the other with the wind at his back but still an incredibly long distance. A 19 yard attempt ended up blocked. The only field goal attempt that was truly his fault was the 53 yard kick at the end, that had the distance (thanks to wind at his back) but ended up going wide left. Only positive today, Marcus ended up 3-3 in PATs.

Scoring Summary

Team
1st Quarter
2nd Quarter
3rd Quarter
4th Quarter
Final Score

:Utah_State:
7
7
0
7
21

:Tulsa:
7
14
7
14
42

Time
Team
Result
Play
Score

First Quarter

3:02
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
P. Roberson, 1 yard run (D. Marcus kick)
:Utah_State: 7-0

2:07
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
W. Callahan, 52 yard pass from R. Wilson (B. Wright kick)
TIED 7-7

Second Quarter

8:10
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
T. Merritt, 57 yard pass from R. Wilson (B. Wright kick)
:Tulsa: 14-7

0:39
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
P. Roberson, 1 yard run (D. Marcus kick)
TIED 14-14

0:23
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
M. Leak, 77 yard pass from R. Wilson (B. Wright kick)
:Tulsa: 21-14

Third Quarter

2:50
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
D. Dykes, 39 yard pass from R. Wilson (B. Wright kick)
:Tulsa: 28-14

Fourth Quarter

6:55
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
D. Dykes, 9 yard run (B. Wright kick)
:Tulsa: 35-14

3:11
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
B. Paris, 1 yard run (D. Marcus kick)
:Tulsa: 35-21

2:17
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
R. Wilson, 23 yard run (B. Wright kick)
:Tulsa: 42-21

Game Stats

Utah State
Stat
Tulsa

21
Score
42

30
First Downs
12

493
Total Offense
449

40 - 148 - 3
Rushes - Yards - TD
25 - 147 - 2

26 - 46 - 0
Comp - Att - TD
11 - 20 - 4

345
Passing Yards
302

1
Times Sacked
2

11 - 17 (64%)
3rd Down Conversion
2 - 7 (28%)

1 - 1 (100%)
4th Down Conversion
0 - 0 (0%)

0 - 0 (0%)
2-Point Conv
0 - 0 (0%)

4 - 3 - 0 (75%)
Red Zone - TD - FG
2 - 1 - 0 (50%)

3
Turnovers
0

0
Fumbles Lost
0

3
Intercepted
0

26
Punt Return Yards
19

73
Kick Return Yards
22

592
Total Yards
490

2 – 39.5
Punts - Average
4 - 46.5

0 - 0
Penalties
1 - 13

26:17
Time of Possession
9:43

Utah State Coach Goals

Goal
XP Reward
Completed

Score a Touchdown
25
x3

Pass for 250 Yards
25
x1

Rush for 100 Yards
25
x1

Opponent Under 150 Rush Yards
50
x1

Pass Completion over 50%
30
x1

Score 21 or More Points
50
x1

350+ Offensive Yards
50
x1

10+ First Downs
50
x1

4+ 3rd Down Conversions
25
x1

Utah State Contract Goals Update

Goal
Expectations
Progress

Target Wins Per Season
7
0

Job Security Status

100%

SmoothPancakes

11-08-2013, 09:32 AM

Taking a look around the nation, in the Top 25, #1 Notre Dame destroyed Purdue 52-9. #2 Ohio State opened their year by thrashing Kent State 63-21. #3 Alabama edged out Vanderbilt 35-28. #5 North Carolina topped Rice 30-7. The game of the week went to #6 Oklahoma, who bested #17 Tennessee 45-28. #7 Texas A&M ran it up over FCS East 63-14. #8 USC whooped Boston College 48-21. UCLA scored an upset over #10 Washington 24-10. #11 Virginia Tech recovered from week 1 with a 45-10 beat down of Western Michigan. #12 Michigan State whooped Eastern Michigan 51-3.

#13 Georgia Tech squeaked one out over Tulane 17-3. #14 Oregon fought off Wyoming 28-24. #15 LSU escaped Louisiana-Monroe 31-28. #16 TCU pulled away from FCS Midwest 38-20. In a neutral site game, it was Ole Miss knocking off #18 Boise State 28-20. #19 Miami recovered from their opening loss by dismantling Louisiana Tech 42-7. In a second neutral site game, the upsets continued as East Carolina knocked off #20 South Carolina 38-34. #21 Auburn demolished #22 Kansas State 52-7. #23 Arizona beat UTSA 37-17. #24 Florida beat Arkansas 37-13. #25 Illinois fought off FCS Northwest 35-23.

For our readers, JeffHCross, #2 Ohio State opens their year 1-0 (0-0 Big Ten) with a 63-21 win over Kent State. Morsdraconis, West Virginia improves to 1-1 (0-0 Big 12) with a 42-25 win over FCS East. Souljahbill, Southern Miss opens their year 1-0 (0-0 C-USA) with a 27-17 win over FCS Southeast. Jaymo, Arizona State opens their year 1-0 (0-0 Pac-12) with a 63-38 shellacking of Rutgers. LeeSO, #21 Auburn opens 1-0 (0-0 SEC) with a 52-7 dismantling of #22 Kansas State. SCClassof93, #20 South Carolina drops to 1-1 (1-0 SEC) after getting knocked off by East Carolina 38-34. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State opens their year 1-0 (1-0 Sun Belt) with a 38-20 win over Idaho. Florida International drops to 0-2 (0-0 C-USA) with a 42-10 loss to Louisville. Navy opens their year 1-0 (1-0 American) with a 28-17 win over SMU. Tulsa opens their year 1-0 (0-0 American) with a 42-21 win over Utah State.

In Mountain West action, San Diego State beat FCS Northwest 24-17, San Jose State beat Memphis 35-30, #14 Oregon edged out Wyoming 28-24, Ole Miss knocked off #18 Boise State 28-20, FCS Midwest stunned Colorado State 20-17 in overtime, Oregon State doubled up Hawaii 34-17, Washington State held off Nevada 31-24, Missouri escaped New Mexico 38-35 in overtime, Stanford topped UNLV 38-7 and Tulsa beat Utah State 42-21.

Another terrible week for the Mountain West, going a combined 2-8, with the worst loss of the week coming on Colorado State's 20-17 overtime loss to FCS Midwest.

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Notre Dame (41 first place votes) remains #1, Ohio State (20 votes) remains #2, Alabama remains #3, Texas remains #4 and North Carolina remains #5. Oklahoma remains #6, Texas A&M remains #7, USC remains #8, Nebraska remains #9 and Virginia Tech climbs one to #10. Michigan State climbs one to #11, Georgia Tech jumps one to #12, Oregon moves up one to #13, TCU jumps two to #14 and LSU remains #15. Washington drops six to #16, Miami climbs two to #17, Auburn jumps three to #18, Arizona leaps four to #19 and Tennessee drops three to #20. UCLA enters the poll at #21, Florida climbs two to #22, Illinois moves up two to #23, Ole Miss enters the poll at #24 and Boise State (184 points) drops seven to #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were: South Carolina (from #20) and Kansas State (from #22). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Baylor (162 points) is #26, followed by Northwestern (84), West Virginia (84), Oregon State (58) and Washington State (21) to round out the Top 30.

An early season look at the Heisman race, Ohio State QB Matt Cowan is #1 (LW: #1), Arizona HB Kevin Simpson is #2 (LW: #2), Alabama HB Derek Scott is #3 (LW: #5), Connecticut HB David Ward is #4 (LW: #3) and Notre Dame QB Mike Harper is #5 (LW: NR). Dropping off of the Heisman Watch List this week was Georgia Tech QB Phil Terrell (LW: #4).

SmoothPancakes

11-08-2013, 01:38 PM

Game Three

:Old_Dominion: :@: :Utah_State:

Game Story

--- Returning home after the humiliating loss to Tulsa, it was time for Homecoming as we welcomed Old Dominion to town. There wasn’t too much to be said about the Monarchs, their only game of the season coming on a 37-10 thrashing from NC State. Due to that one game, all of their offensive and defensive rankings were in the 100s, with the exception of their passing offense, which ranked #79, putting up only 189 yards/game. So, for the third straight week, we would essentially be going into the unknown, not enough information about our opponent known due to lack of games played. Looking at the subjective team ratings, we held the advantage in overall rating (81 to 74), but it a bit of a false advantage. We both entered the game with matching 79 rated offenses. Our advantage came on defense, where we out-rated Old Dominion 82-70. We won the coin toss and elected to kick.

A 24 yard kickoff return by Harvey Lewis gave Old Dominion the ball to start the game at their 23 yard line. It took Old Dominion all of one play to burn the hell out of our defense, as Daniel Whitfield connected with Nate Clark on a screen pass up the left sideline for a huge 53 yard gain and a first down at our 24 yard line. It would take just one more play for the Monarchs to get on the scoreboard as Whitfield found Clark again, this time along the right sideline, who broke a tackle and took it into the end zone for a 24 yard touchdown, giving Old Dominion a 7-0 lead with 8:40 still left in the first quarter.

David Douglas almost answered right back for us, taking the kickoff return up the right sideline, avoiding a pair of tackles and juking his way past the kicker. He almost took it to the house, but got dragged down from behind and limited to an 82 yard kickoff return, giving our offense the ball to start at the Old Dominion 15 yard line. Starting our drive on the ground, Preston Roberson found barely any success on the handoff, quickly brought down for a two yard gain, followed by a rush by Brian Paris that was blown up for no gain, leaving third and 8, our potential to run the ball today suddenly in question. Lining up in the shotgun on third down, Jason Barnes tried to throw up a pass to Ryan Conley, but the ball got battled down by a defensive lineman, completely blowing the great opportunity and forced to miserably settle for a field goal. The 30 yard field goal by Doug Marcus just barely squeaked inside the right upright, giving Marcus his first successful field goal of his young collegiate career and cutting Old Dominion’s lead to 7-3 with 7:26 left in the first quarter.

Another 24 yard return by Lewis on the kickoff got Old Dominion back in action from their 22 yard line. Coming out passing, Whitfield found Brett Miller near the right hash, the play limited to only a two yard gain. Whitfield tried to connect with Miller again on the left side, but safety Charles Noble read the pass and made a play on the ball, cutting on the pass for what would have been a guaranteed pick six, if only Noble had actually caught the ball instead of batting it down, leaving the ball in Old Dominion’s hands on third and 8. We caught a huge break as Whitfield’s pass intended again for a wide open Miller was overthrown and incomplete, forcing the Monarchs to punt it away. Even the punt almost ended in disaster, as Roberson muffed the catch, safety Sam Vinson just barely picking up the ball at our 38 before an Old Dominion player could. We would then catch a break as Lewis was flagged for a facemask penalty on the tackle, the 15 free yards setting us up with a first down at the Monarchs 47 yard line.

Roberson started our drive on the ground, only able to pick up two yards as Old Dominion was more than prepared to shut down our run game today. Abandoning the run on second down, Barnes lined up under center for the play, dropping back and rifling a pass to tight end Maurice Martin for a 10 yard gain and a first down at the 35 yard line. Barnes tossed up a pass to Max Rhodes on first down, but the play was broken up by the outside linebacker, bringing up second down. Conley came through for us on second down, pulling in a pass from Barnes for an 11 yard gain, moving the chains down to the 23. Travis Munoz got in on the action on first down, hauling in a pass from Barnes for a pickup of 16 yards, setting us up with first and goal at the 7 yard line. Giving the ground game another chance, Roberson received the handoff on first down, driving his way to a two yard gain, leaving second and goal from the 5. Another rush by Roberson picked up 5 yards, but he was stood up just shy of the goal line, leaving us facing third and goal inside the one yard line. The third time would be the charm for Roberson, as he took the ball from Barnes and punched it in for the one yard touchdown, giving us a 10-7 lead with 3:39 left in the first quarter.

A 19 yard kickoff return by Lewis gave Old Dominion the ball at their 17 yard line for their next drive. Coming out passing, a screen pass to Clark picked up a quick 7 yards, before a reverse option keeper by Whitfield resulted in a 20 yard gain and a first down at the 44 yard line. Jermaine McDonald then proceeded to burn us on the ground, rushing up the middle for a 17 yard carry, moving the chains once more to our 39 yard line. Going back into the air on first down, Whitfield found Marcus White for a four yard gain, before an incomplete pass along the sideline intended for Clark gave our defense a break from Old Dominion’s no-huddle offense, the Monarchs left facing third and 6. Despite our best efforts on the blitz, Whitfield was able to avoid a sack and dump off a pass to Jamaal Johnson for a 6 yard gain to get the first down. Another screen pass to Miller on first down then went for more yardage, as he was able to break out of a tackle on his way to a 15 yard pickup and a new set of downs at our 14 yard line. The defense finally won a minor victory, tackling Sean Pugh in the backfield on the first down handoff for a two yard loss, followed by Whitfield being brought down in the backfield on the QB keeper for a four yard loss, leaving the Monarchs in a third and 16 hole. Bringing the blitz on third down, we were able to force Whitfield to rush his pass, intended for Clark, the ball well off the mark and landing incomplete to bring up fourth and 16. Despite facing fourth and very long from our 20 yard line, the Monarchs were not content to settle for the game-tying field goal, instead lining up to go for it on fourth down. Whitfield heaved up a pass into the back of the end zone, intended for Clark, but Vinson was able to get his body between Clark and the ball and break up the pass, forcing the turnover on downs and giving us the ball at our 20 yard line.

Taking over after the turnover, we gave our run game another chance to open things up, Roberson taking the first down handoff for a four yard gain, before being stuffed for no gain to leave us facing third and 6. Lining up in the shotgun, a quick pass to Conley on an out route would end up going for so much more than a first down, a misplay by the safety allowing Conley to get haul in the pass, put on the jets and get to the sideline, where a downfield block by Munoz took the cornerback out of the play, enabling Conley to sprint down the field all the way to the end zone for a 76 yard touchdown, giving us a 17-7 lead with 30 seconds left in the first quarter.

A 25 yard kickoff return by Josh Ryan got the Monarchs underway from their 24 yard line. McDonald tried to get the drive started on the ground, but penetration by our defense line blew the play up, resulting in a four yard loss to bring up second and 14. Clark was able to make up for the lost yards with an 8 yard reception from Whitfield, leaving third and 6. That would be the final play of the first quarter, the clock running out with our lead sitting at 17-7.

Opening up the second quarter, Old Dominion came out of their huddle with a third and 6 situation, Miller would keep the drive alive with a 14 yard reception and a first down at the 42 yard line. Keeping in the air, Whitfield connected with Ryan for an 8 yard gain, followed by a 5 yard rush by McDonald that moved the chains once more to our 45 yard line. McDonald tried to repeat his success on first down, but was stood up for a gain of only one yard. Bringing the blitz on second down, we were able to disrupt the pass play, Whitfield’s rushed pass intended for Clark nowhere near its intended target, bringing up third and 9. Our defense would fail on third down, giving up a 16 yard pass to Ryan and giving Old Dominion a new set of downs at our 28 yard line. Whitfield kept the air attack going on first down, trying to connect with Johnson over the middle, but he was unable to hold onto the ball, dropping it incomplete. Second down would end up with more burns for our defense, Whitfield getting the ball off before being flattened, the pass complete to Jason Thomas, who broke his way through three different tackles on his way to a 28 yard touchdown, cutting our lead to 17-14 with 7:47 left in the second quarter.

Douglas was unable to repeat his prior success, only managing a 24 yard kickoff return this time, to give us the ball at our 28 yard line. Starting our drive on the ground, Roberson fought his way to a four yard gain, before a blitz by the defense resulted in a two yard loss, leaving us facing third and 8. Lining up in the shotgun on third down, Conley kept our drive alive with a 16 yard reception from Barnes, moving the chains to the 45 yard line. Trying to connect with Walter Johnson, the first down pass from Barnes was intercepted by outside linebacker Jon Brown, returned two yards to give Old Dominion back possession at our 47 yard line.

Taking over after the interception, Whitfield went into the air on first down, trying to connect with Johnson, but we would catch a break as Noble came in from behind to break up the pass, leaving second down. The defense would start to build some momentum, as defensive tackle Ernest Sims broke in from the blind side, sacking Whitfield for a 7 yard loss to leave third and 17. Our defense would win this battle, as our zone coverage held out long enough to allow defensive tackle Adam Grant to shed his block and get to Whitfield, sacking him for an 8 yard loss before he could get rid of the ball. The back to back sacks left Old Dominion’s drive stopped in the mud and the Monarchs punting the ball away on fourth and 25. An 11 yard return by Roberson on the 36 yard punt got us back on the field starting from our 36 yard line.

Taking over on offense, we came out passing on first down, Barnes getting the pass into the hands of tight end Jack Long, but he was unable to hold onto the ball, the incomplete pass leaving second down. Rhodes would come through for us on second down, getting open over the middle for a big 23 yard gain and a first down at the Old Dominion 41 yard line. Barnes tried to hit Conley on an out route to the left side of the field, but it was nearly intercepted by the cornerback, bringing up second and 10. Going right back to Conley on second down, it would pay off with a 12 yard reception, moving the chains to the 29. Looking to change things up a little, Barnes handed the ball off to Roberson on first down, the carry going for a three yard pickup, followed by a big 8 yard rush to get the first down at the 18 yard line. Keeping the running game going, Roberson took the ball on first down, picking up 6 yards on the play, before Paris punched it up the middle for a three yard pickup, leaving us with third and one. Roberson would get the third down conversion and then some with a 5 yard rush, setting us up with first and goal from the four yard line. Roberson took the ball on first down, but was quickly brought down for no gain on the play. A second down carry by Roberson picked up two yards, leaving third and goal from the two yard line. Paris came in on third down, getting the job done as he found the tiniest of holes and drove his way into the end zone for a two yard touchdown, extending our lead to 24-14 with 1:05 left until halftime.

A 31 yard kickoff return by Ryan got Old Dominion back on offense from their 31 yard line, just 59 seconds to work with. It was a poor start to the drive for the Monarchs, as the pressure by our front four forced Whitfield to just throw the ball away, bringing up second down. Coming back on second down, Whitfield was able to connect with Clark for a four yard gain, but he went down in bounds, leaving the clock running. Instead of using one of their three timeouts, the Monarchs rushed to the line and quickly snapped the ball, Whitfield initially trying to find a target through the air before taking off running through a gap, breaking his way through three separate tackle attempts before finally being brought down for a 23 yard gain and a first down at our 43 yard line, Old Dominion calling their first timeout with 34 seconds left. Throwing over the middle on first down, Whitfield found Miller cutting across for an 8 yard gain, but Old Dominion was forced to use their second timeout with 30 seconds remaining. Lining up on second and two. Whitfield was forced to scramble almost immediately, but it wouldn’t help, as he was dragged down from behind by defensive end Caleb McBride, sacked for a two yard loss to bring up third and 5. Old Dominion rushed back to the line of scrimmage, holding onto their last timeout, despite the clock still ticking down, currently at 13 seconds. Unbelievably, Whitfield was seemingly sacked for what should have been a 7 yard loss, but he apparently fumbled the ball before hitting the ground. The ball ended up fumbled into an empty part of the field, center Peter Stuckey the closest player to the ball, recovering the fumble for Old Dominion and proceeding to rumble his way to a 14 yard fumble return, giving Old Dominion a first down at our 25 yard line, the Monarchs calling their final timeout with 5 seconds left on the clock. We tried to challenge the fumble, but (because NCAA ’14 is a piece of crap) we weren’t allowed to challenge the play. Despite only 5 seconds left and no timeouts remaining, Old Dominion chose not to go for the 42 yard field goal, instead lining up to go for the touchdown on first down. Whitfield threw up a prayer into the end zone, but cornerback Jesse Breedlove was there to intercept the pass, returning it 12 yards before being brought down at the 12 yard line with no time left on the clock, taking us into halftime with a 24-14 lead.

Opening up the second half, a 22 yard kickoff return by Douglas gave us the ball at our 24 yard line to start the third quarter. Starting the drive on the ground, Roberson took the first down handoff from Barnes for a 6 yard gain, followed by an 8 yard rush and a first down at the 38. Paris took over on first down with a 6 yard carry, before Roberson punched it up the middle for a pickup of four yards, moving the chains to the 48 yard line. Starting to find some steam on the ground, Paris kept us moving with a 6 yard gain, before rumbling his way to a gain of 9 yards and another first down at the Monarchs 37 yard line. Continuing to pound it away, Roberson got back in the action with a 9 yard rush, followed by a three yard carry to move the sticks once more to the 24. With the defense starting to key on the run, Roberson was only able to gain three yards on first down. Running a play action pass on second down, the defense bit hook, line and sinker, allowing Johnson to get open in the flats for a 17 yard reception, giving us first and goal at the four yard line. Handing the ball off on first down, Roberson was only able to pick up one yard on the run, before being brought down for a two yard loss, leaving us facing third and goal from the 5. Lining up under center on third down, Barnes tried to hit Munoz over the middle, but it was broken up, nearly intercepted, by the middle linebacker, leaving us kicking on fourth and goal. The 22 yard field goal by Marcus increased our lead to 27-14 with 4:13 left in the third quarter.

A 21 yard kickoff return by Lewis got Old Dominion started on their drive at their 21 yard line. Coming out passing on first down, a screen pass to Clark went for a 12 yard gain and a quick first down at the 33 yard line. After limiting a first down pass to Miller to just one yard, the Monarchs got a helping hand by our defense, Pugh initially brought down in the backfield for a loss, but a very late flag came out after the play, a facemask penalty on the tackle by outside linebacker Al Washington, giving Old Dominion 15 yards and a new set of downs at the 48 yard line. Going over the middle on first down, Whitfield found Ryan for an 8 yard completion, before throwing deep to Miller for a gain of 20 yards and a first down at our 25 yard line, our defense calling a timeout to try and put the brakes on the Monarchs no-huddle offense. Trying to limit the damage, the defense got to Whitfield on first down, forcing him to dump the pass into the ground to avoid a sack, bringing up second and 10. Feeling the pressure once more, Whitfield tried to scramble on second down, getting back near the line of scrimmage before being brought down by Grant. Though the play officially went for no gain, it was ruled a sack by Grant (his second of the game), leaving Old Dominion lining up on third and 10. Johnson would come through for the Monarchs with an 11 yard reception, getting the first down at our 14 yard line. Going with a hard snap count on first down, it would backfire on the offense, a false start penalty called on the left tackle pushing them back 5 yards, lining up on first and 15. They would keep going backwards and McDonald was brought down for a two yard loss on the carry, setting up second and 17. Keeping the ball on a QB read, Whitfield faked our defense out and picked up 13 yards on the ground to leave third and four. McDonald would try to get the job done on the ground, but was stood up for a gain of only one yard, forcing Old Dominion to settle for a 24 yard field goal by Tony McCarthy, cutting our lead to 27-17 with 1:42 left in the third quarter.

A 25 yard kickoff return by Douglas got us back in action from our 28 yard line, looking to put this game out of reach. Roberson got our drive started on the ground with a 5 yard rush, followed by a gain of two yards to bring up third and three. Taking a shot through the air on third down, the pass intended for Munoz was just broken up by the cornerback, forcing us to punt on fourth down. An 8 yard return by Lewis on the 34 yard punt gave Old Dominion the ball at their 38 yard line. Our defense would come through huge on first down, as middle linebacker Justin Dunn intercepted a pass from Whitfield, returning it 5 yards to give us back possession at the Monarchs 38 yard line.

Lining up after the turnover, Roberson pounded his way up the middle for a 9 yard gain. That would be the final play of the third quarter, our lead standing at 27-17.

Opening up the fourth quarter, we lined up on second and one, Roberson kept us moving with a two yard rush, getting the first down at the 27. A three yard rush by Roberson was followed with an 8 yard dash, moving the chains once more to the 16 yard line. Paris took over on first down, but could only manage a one yard gain, leaving us with second and 9. Running a play action pass on second down, the toss intended for Cedric McKinney was nearly intercepted, the incompletion making it third down. Lining up in the shotgun on third down, Barnes tried to hit Douglas over the middle, but it was again broken up, forcing us to settle for another field goal attempt on fourth down. The 32 yard field goal by Marcus was good, increasing our lead to 30-17 with 7:21 left in the game.

A 28 yard kickoff return by Lewis gave Old Dominion back the ball at their 27 yard line. The Monarchs wasted little time in moving this ball this drive, Whitfield launching a deep pass to Miller for a 22 yard gain and a quick first down at the 49 yard line. The defense wasn’t about to just roll over however, as Washington was able to break through unblocked on first down, getting the coverage sack on Whitfield for an 8 yard loss to bring up second down. Whitfield got the pass off on second down, but Butterfingers Johnson bobbled and ultimately dropped the pass, leaving Old Dominion facing third and 18. Whitfield dropped back for a screen pass on third down, but the throw intended for McDonald didn’t arrive, as Whitfield was hit from behind as he threw, the pass spiking into the ground incomplete and bringing out Old Dominion’s punt team on fourth and 18. A muffed catch by Douglas on the 41 yard punt sent the ball ricocheting backwards, Douglas diving on top of the loose ball for a 7 yard loss, leaving our offense stuck starting our drive at our 13 yard line.

Handing the ball off on first down, Paris was only able to pick up three yards on the first down carry, followed by a three yard rush by Johnson to leave third and four. Barnes tried to get a pass off to Martin, but he was hit as he went to throw, the ball landing a couple feet away incomplete and forcing us to punt the ball right back on fourth and four. A four yard return by Lewis on a shanked 30 yard punt gave Old Dominion great field position at our 45 yard line.

Old Dominion started their drive in the air, a quick screen pass to Ryan going for a 20 yard gain and a first down at our 25 yard line. Whitfield tried the same thing on the other side of the field, but Miller was unable to hold onto the pass, dropping it incomplete to bring up second down. A second down pass over the middle to Miller gained 11 yards and a first down at our 11 yard line, our defense calling a second timeout to stop the Monarchs going no-huddle and set up for the first down play. The Monarchs would end up getting back to the end zone on the next play regardless, as Whitfield hit Joe Williams along the sideline with another screen pass, this going taken to the house for an 11 yard touchdown, cutting our lead to 30-24 with 4:54 left in the game.

A 21 yard kickoff return by Douglas got us lined up at our 28 yard line for our next drive. Looking to kill off some clock, we came out running on first down, Paris picking up four yards on the play, followed by a second four yard gain to leave third and two. Paris would get the all-important first down with a two yard rush, moving the chains to the 38 yard line and keeping the clock running with three minutes and counting. Paris found nowhere to run on first down, stood up at the line of scrimmage for no gain. Handing the ball off on second down, Johnson was also stood up for no gain, leaving third and 10, Old Dominion calling their first timeout with 2:16 left in the game. Lining up in the shotgun on third down, the pass intended for Dante May was broken up, forcing us to punt on fourth down. An 11 yard return by Lewis on the 43 yard punt gave Old Dominion the ball at their 30 yard line, 2:03 left on the clock.

Our defense started out with an advantage, as the first down blitz forced Whitfield to throw the ball away to avoid a sack, leaving second down. A quick pass to Clark picked up 5 yards, before a deep pass intended for Ryan was broken up at the last minute by Vinson at our 20 yard line, bringing up the deciding fourth and 5 play with 1:39 left in the game. Our defense would choose its worse moment to screw up, a hard snap count causing Grant to jump the snap offside, the 5 free yards giving Old Dominion a free first down at the 40 yard line and ruining our chance to secure the victory. Despite the screw up, the defense refused to give up, the coverage forcing Whitfield to dance around in the pocket, giving McBride enough time to come in off the defense end slot and sack Whitfield for an 8 yard loss, leaving second and 18, the clock still ticking. Pat Nicholson would get the Monarchs moving forward with a 14 yard reception, before an incomplete pass intended again for Nicholson was thrown off the mark, bringing up another deciding fourth down and four, exactly one minute left in the game. Our defense would utterly blow it, as Clark was able to get open across the middle, hauling in a pass from Whitfield and taking off sprinting for the end zone, only finally tripped up inside the 10 yard line, the play going for a 46 yard gain and giving Old Dominion first and goal from our 8 yard line, the Monarchs calling their second timeout with 53 seconds left. A screen pass to Williams went for a two yard gain, but he was able to get out of bounds to stop the clock, leaving second and goal from the 6 with 47 seconds remaining. A four yard reception by Thomas picked up four yards to leave third and goal from the two. Rushing to the line, Old Dominion quickly snapped the ball, but our defense would make the biggest play of the game, sacking Whitfield for a 7 yard loss, creating fourth and goal at the 9 yard line, Old Dominion calling their final timeout with 22 seconds left on the clock. Lining up on the all-deciding fourth down, the Monarchs would strike a death blow, as Whitfield heaved up a pass to Nicholson, who came down with it in the back of the end zone for a 9 yard touchdown, giving Old Dominion a 31-30 lead with 19 seconds left in the game.

A 24 yard kickoff return by Conley gave our offense the ball at our 26 yard line, just 15 seconds to work with and only one timeout in the bag. Trying to take a shot deep, Barnes was never able to even get the ball off, the defense instantly in his face and sacking him for a 9 yard loss, leaving second and 19 and forcing us to use our only remaining timeout to stop the clock with 12 seconds left. Calling a Hail Mary on second down, Barnes heaved up a pass to Conley, but it was broken up by the defense to leave third and 19, just 6 seconds remaining. Another Hail Mary effort to Munoz was likewise broken up, and with no time left on the clock, that was all she wrote, as Old Dominion stunned us 31-30 and ruined our Homecoming weekend.

With the loss, we drop to 0-3, 0-0 in Mountain West action. With the win, Old Dominion improves to 1-1, 0-0 in C-USA play. Up next, we head back on the road for our final non-conference game of the year, a trip to BYU to play for the Old Wagon Wheel. The Cougars enter the game 1-2 on the year. BYU opened their season with a 55-38 win at Connecticut, before losing 30-3 at Central Florida and 27-24 to Virginia.

Final Score
:Old_Dominion: 31, :Utah_State: 30

Stat(s) of the Game:
Utah State Offense - Another bad day by Barnes, ending 8-21 for 181 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Rushing, Roberson led the way with 103 yards and one touchdown on 29 carries. Paris ended with 46 yards and one touchdown on 14 carries. Receiving, Conley was the lead receiver with 115 yards and one touchdown on four catches. In all, we had only five receivers catch a pass today, all five ended in double digit yards, Conley was the only one to catch more than one pass and only one to end in triple digit yards.

Utah State Defense – The good? Two interceptions, 8 sacks, even a forced fumble. The bad? 31 points, 417 yards of total offense and 396 yards of passing given up, as well as giving up two fourth down conversions on the final drive of the game by Old Dominion.

Utah State Kicking – The only bright spot of the day, as Marcus was perfect in the game. He went 3-3 in field goals, with kicks from 30, 22 and 32 yards out, and went 3-3 in PATs.

Scoring Summary

Team
1st Quarter
2nd Quarter
3rd Quarter
4th Quarter
Final Score

:Old_Dominion:
7
7
3
14
31

:Utah_State:
17
7
3
3
30

Time
Team
Result
Play
Score

First Quarter

8:40
:Old_Dominion:
Touchdown
N. Clark, 24 yard pass from D. Whitfield (T. McCarthy kick)
:Old_Dominion: 7-0

7:26
:Utah_State:
Field Goal
D. Marcus, 30 yard field goal
:Old_Dominion: 7-3

3:39
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
P. Roberson, 1 yard run (D. Marcus kick)
:Utah_State: 10-7

0:30
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
R. Conley, 76 yard pass from J. Barnes (D. Marcus kick)
:Utah_State: 17-7

Second Quarter

7:47
:Old_Dominion:
Touchdown
J. Thomas, 28 yard pass from D. Whitfield (T. McCarthy kick)
:Utah_State: 17-14

1:05
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
B. Paris, 2 yard run (D. Marcus kick)
:Utah_State: 24-14

Third Quarter

4:13
:Utah_State:
Field Goal
D. Marcus, 22 yard field goal
:Utah_State: 27-14

1:30
:Old_Dominion:
Field Goal
T. McCarthy, 24 yard field goal
:Utah_State: 27-17

Fourth Quarter

7:21
:Utah_State:
Field Goal
D. Marcus, 32 yard field goal
:Utah_State: 30-17

4:54
:Old_Dominion:
Touchdown
J. Williams, 11 yard pass from D. Whitfield (T. McCarthy kick)
:Utah_State: 30-24

0:19
:Old_Dominion:
Touchdown
P. Nicholson, 9 yard pass from D. Whitfield (T. McCarthy kick)
:Old_Dominion: 31-30

Game Stats

Old Dominion
Stat
Utah State

31
Score
30

18
First Downs
16

417
Total Offense
321

20 - 21 - 0
Rushes - Yards - TD
44 - 140 - 2

29 - 47 - 4
Comp - Att - TD
8 - 21 - 1

396
Passing Yards
181

8
Times Sacked
1

6 - 14 (42%)
3rd Down Conversion
6 - 13 (46%)

2 - 3 (66%)
4th Down Conversion
0 - 0 (0%)

0 - 0 (0%)
2-Point Conv
0 - 0 (0%)

4 - 2 - 1 (75%)
Red Zone - TD - FG
5 - 2 - 3 (100%)

2
Turnovers
1

0
Fumbles Lost
0

2
Intercepted
1

23
Punt Return Yards
10

169
Kick Return Yards
195

609
Total Yards
526

3 – 38.7
Punts - Average
3 - 36.0

2 - 20
Penalties
2 - 20

12:20
Time of Possession
23:40

Utah State Coach Goals

Goal
XP Reward
Completed

Score a Touchdown
25
x3

Force a Tunrover
25
x2

Rush for 100 Yards
25
x1

3+ Sacks
50
x1

Play in an ESPN Classic Game
75
x1

Opponent Under 150 Rush Yards
50
x1

100% Red Zone Efficiency
50
x1

Score 21 or More Points
50
x1

10+ First Downs
50
x1

4+ 3rd Down Conversions
25
x1

Utah State Contract Goals Update

Goal
Expectations
Progress

Target Wins Per Season
7
0

Job Security Status

100%

SmoothPancakes

11-08-2013, 01:38 PM

Taking a look around the nation, in the Top 25, #1 Notre Dame won a neutral site contest over Syracuse 49-28. In the game of the week, #2 Ohio State demolished #10 Virginia Tech 49-17. In the upset of the week that sent shock waves across the nation, Toledo goes into Bryant-Denny Stadium and shocks #3 Alabama 37-34, the Rockets scoring 17 points in the fourth quarter, including the game winning 3 yards touchdown pass with 45 seconds left. #21 UCLA knocked off #4 Texas 44-31. #5 North Carolina topped East Carolina 26-6.

#6 Oklahoma routed FCS Southeast 69-10. #7 Texas A&M survived Vanderbilt 41-31. #8 USC took care of business against Washington State 52-26. Fresno State shocked #9 Nebraska 38-31 in double overtime. #11 Michigan State thrashed Wyoming 49-7. #12 Georgia Tech topped Wake Forest 34-7. #13 Oregon whooped Colorado State 35-3. Missouri upset #15 LSU 27-24. #16 Washington topped Stanford 45-27. Mississippi State stunned #18 Auburn 49-17. #19 Arizona handled Nevada 42-24. Arkansas knocked off #20 Tennessee 28-24. #22 Florida doubled up #24 Ole Miss 42-21. Arkansas State shocked #23 Illinois 38-21. Connecticut handed #25 Boise State their second consecutive loss, 31-27.

For our readers, JeffHCross, #2 Ohio State improves to 2-0 (0-0 Big Ten) with a 49-17 thrashing of #10 Virginia Tech. Morsdraconis, West Virginia remains 1-1 (0-0 Big 12) with a bye week. Souljahbill, Southern Miss remains 1-0 (0-0 C-USA) with a bye week. Jaymo, Arizona State remains 1-0 (0-0 Pac-12) with a bye week. LeeSO, #18 Auburn drops to 1-1 (0-1 SEC) with a 49-17 hammering from Mississippi State. SCClassof93, South Carolina improves to 2-1 (2-0 SEC) a 56-28 dismantling of Georgia. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State improves to 2-0 (1-0 Sun Belt) with a 38-21 stunning of #23 Illinois. Florida International drops to 0-3 (0-0 C-USA) with a 48-14 loss to Pittsburgh. Navy drops to 1-1 (1-1 American) with a 45-17 loss to Cincinnati. Tulsa drops to 1-1 (0-0 American) with a 41-20 loss to Florida Atlantic.

In Mountain West action, Fresno State shocked #9 Nebraska 38-31 in double overtime, New Mexico beat UTSA 20-17, San Diego State topped Temple 33-24, San Jose State stunned Minnesota 37-17, #11 Michigan State destroyed Wyoming 49-7, #13 Oregon whooped Colorado State 35-3, #19 Arizona topped Nevada 42-24, Connecticut knocked off #25 Boise State 31-27, Colorado beat Hawaii 23-13, Louisiana Tech handled UNLV 51-24 and Old Dominion knocked off Utah State 31-30.

A little better this week, but still awful by the Mountain West. We ended the week 4-7. The best win in conference was Fresno State shocking #9 Nebraska 38-31 in double overtime. Worst loss was #25 Boise State losing to a winless Connecticut.

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Ohio State (38 first place votes) jump one to become the new #1, Notre Dame (22 votes) drops one to #2, North Carolina (1 vote) leaps two to #3, Oklahoma climbs two to #4 and Texas A&M jumps two to #5. USC jumps two to #6, Michigan State leaps four to #7, Georgia Tech vaults four to #8, Texas drops five to #9 and Oregon climbs three to #10. TCU climbs three to #11, Alabama plummets nine to #12, Washington jumps three to #13, Miami climbs three to #14 and Virginia Tech drops five to #15. UCLA jumps five to #16, Arizona climbs two to #17, Nebraska falls nine to #18, Florida moves up three to #19 and Baylor enters the poll at #20. LSU drops six to #21, Missouri enters the poll at #22, West Virginia enters the poll at #23, Auburn drops six to #24 and Fresno State (167 points) enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were: Tennessee (from #20), Illinois (from #23), Ole Miss (from #24) and Boise State (from #25). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Oregon State (157 votes) is #26, followed by Mississippi State (67), Ole Miss (64), Houston (4) and Toledo (2) to round out the Top 30.

A look at the Heisman race, Ohio State QB Matt Cowan is #1 (LW: #1), Arizona HB Kevin Simpson is #2 (LW: #2), Notre Dame QB Mike Harper is #3 (LW: #5), Mississippi State HB Anthony Hopkins is #4 (LW: NR) and Texas A&M QB Zac Hopkins is #5 (LW: NR). Dropping off of the Heisman Watch List this week was Alabama HB Derek Scott (LW: #3) and Connecticut HB David Ward (LW: #4).

jaymo76

11-08-2013, 08:08 PM

Damn Smooth! Tough luck starting the season.

SmoothPancakes

11-08-2013, 08:15 PM

Damn Smooth! Tough luck starting the season.

Yeah. :(

Off to a horrible start this year. It's beginning to look like redshirting Adam Powers and putting sophomore Jason Barnes under center was a mistake. I really wanted to keep Powers around for another season, but maybe I should have just kept him as the starter and let him go without using his redshirt year.

It also doesn't help having to deal with all of these damned no-huddle teams. Utah wasn't bad on offense, they just plain whooped us. Tulsa destroyed us because of that damn no-huddle and them racking up touchdown after touchdown from 40+ yards out. And Old Dominion, while we largely controlled and played well, eventually we fell apart at the end against their constant no-huddle offense.

Regardless, it's not looking good. Old Dominion was one of three or four games where I could be considered the favorite and/or expected to win. Right now, if I'm very lucky, I might win 3 games this year, barring any shocking upsets. Powers better be ready to come out whooping ass next season, because next season very well may end up being for my job.

jaymo76

11-08-2013, 08:53 PM

Yeah. :(

Off to a horrible start this year. It's beginning to look like redshirting Adam Powers and putting sophomore Jason Barnes under center was a mistake. I really wanted to keep Powers around for another season, but maybe I should have just kept him as the starter and let him go without using his redshirt year.

It also doesn't help having to deal with all of these damned no-huddle teams. Utah wasn't bad on offense, they just plain whooped us. Tulsa destroyed us because of that damn no-huddle and them racking up touchdown after touchdown from 40+ yards out. And Old Dominion, while we largely controlled and played well, eventually we fell apart at the end against their constant no-huddle offense.

Regardless, it's not looking good. Old Dominion was one of three or four games where I could be considered the favorite and/or expected to win. Right now, if I'm very lucky, I might win 3 games this year, barring any shocking upsets. Powers better be ready to come out whooping ass next season, because next season very well may end up being for my job.

Yes, the no huddle is a bit ridiculous at times. The one way I have addressed it is setting my gameplan to aggressive and then hot routing my two D's and putting them on as qb spies. Sometimes it works...

SmoothPancakes

11-08-2013, 09:55 PM

Yes, the no huddle is a bit ridiculous at times. The one way I have addressed it is setting my gameplan to aggressive and then hot routing my two D's and putting them on as qb spies. Sometimes it works...

Yeah, we'll have to see how things play out. Good thing is, there aren't too many no-huddle teams in the Mountain West, maybe one or two. Most, if not all of my no-huddle atrocities last year and this year have largely been limited to the non-conference schedule (namely Tulsa and Old Dominion). So that will help. Now I just need to get Barnes settled the hell down. Currently sitting at 4 touchdowns and 7 interceptions through three games. :fp:

Unfortunately, it'll be a few days before the BYU game. I'm still stuck at work right now, I'll be going in for my morning show from 3am (sleeping in an extra hour tonight) until 9am, and have to go back in tomorrow night for night two of high school playoff football. So it'll be sometime Sunday before I could even try to play. With Denver being aired here on Sunday afternoon, it might be Sunday night or Monday before I get around to BYU.

SmoothPancakes

11-17-2013, 02:58 PM

I'm hoping to try and get a game a little later on. If I still have power that is. About to get slammed by a shit ton of severe (and tornado warned) storms in the next 30-60 minutes. Considering we lost power for a good 30 minutes or so back in August when it was just lightly raining(!), I don't exactly have any confidence in our power grid here. So if the power either stays or gets put back on quickly, I might try and squeeze in a game before the Chiefs-Broncos game.

jaymo76

11-17-2013, 03:19 PM

Smooth, get in as many games as you can before Friday. With the ps4 I don't even want to turn on my ps3... Damn you O'bannon et al. for taking away my NCAA next gen!!!!!

SmoothPancakes

11-17-2013, 03:46 PM

:D Well, I should still be good. I'll probably play the hell out of the Xbox One for a couple days, but right now, I'm only getting Dead Rising 3, Forza Motorsport 5 and Ryse: Son of Rome to kick off my next-gen game collection. I'm not planning on getting any more games beyond that until at least Black Friday or Cyber Monday, and beyond that, probably not until January or later. So NCAA 14 will still get a lot of play time. Plus I'm gonna try to the pass through (or whatever it's actually called), running my 360 through my Xbox One, so I can easily jump over to NCAA 14 from whatever game I'm playing at the time on my Xbox One. Whether I keep it like that though, will depend on any signal lag going from the 360, through the Xbox One and to the TV.

SmoothPancakes

11-17-2013, 04:40 PM

Alright, I should be good to go. Storms are already two counties to my east, never lost power or internet, despite a brief tornado warning in the southern part of the county, we avoided the tornado threat as it stayed in the counties just south of us. Ended up getting poured on and a good solid blow job from Mother Nature.

So I'll probably be firing up my next game vs. BYU in a little bit here.

SmoothPancakes

11-18-2013, 10:59 PM

I got the BYU game done. Had to split it in half, got the first half in this afternoon, had to leave for 2 1/2 hours for a live remote at work, then finished up the second half this evening. I'll be posting it sometime in the morning tomorrow, after I get all of the weekly recap stuff done for the rest of the NCAA.

SmoothPancakes

11-19-2013, 08:46 PM

Game Four

:Utah_State: :@: :BYU:

Game Story

--- Coming off a last second, heart-breaking loss to Old Dominion on Homecoming weekend, we were left winless as we reached the quarter mark of the season. We were going to have to turn it around fast if we wanted any hopes of saving this season and reaching a bowl game at the end. A loss today would put us squarely behind the eight ball and needing multiple upsets to save things. A win wouldn’t be easy, as it meant achieving victory on the road at a talented BYU squad in the battle for The Old Wagon Wheel. The rankings weren’t going to be much help, as BYU entered ranked in the 100’s for total and rushing offense, as well as total and passing defense. Overall they seemed mediocre in their offensive and defensive stats, but they had huge advantage in head to head offense over us, and that could end up very well being the difference. We won the coin toss and elected to kick.

A 26 yard kickoff return by Dustin Porter gave BYU the ball at their 26 yard line to start the game. Raishaun Fontaine came out passing on first down, but found little success as his throw sailed out of bounds and incomplete to bring up second down. The Cougars found some minor success on second down as Fontaine connected with John Doty for a three yard gain, leaving third and 7. Forced to throw away the ball on third down to avoid a sack, Fontaine and the BYU offense would trot off the field, the punt team coming out on fourth down. An 18 yard return by Preston Roberson on the 45 yard punt gave us great field position, starting our first drive from our 44 yard line.

Starting our opening drive on the ground, Roberson received the first down handoff and pounded his way to a 7 yard gain. Brian Paris would take the ball on second and three, picking up 6 yards and the first down at the BYU 43 yard line. Roberson came back in, rushing for a pair of two yard gains to leave third and 6. It was nothing but bad news after the second down rush by Roberson, as he didn’t get up after the play. Roberson was diagnosed with a mild concussion, leaving him sidelined for the rest of the game, just two minutes into the contest. That was going to put an immediate dent in our offense so early on. Running a play action pass on third down, third string tight end Cedric McKinney was able to get open on a flag route and pull in the third down pass from Jason Barnes for a huge 25 yard gain and a first down at the 14 yard line. Returning to the ground, Paris took the ball up the gut for a 6 yard gain, before plowing his way around the right tackle for a 5 yard gain, giving us first and goal from the three yard line. Despite being met by a defender at the one yard line, Paris was able to roll forward through the tackle and let momentum carry both players into the end zone for a three yard touchdown run, giving us a 7-0 lead with 5:08 left in the first quarter.

A 29 yard kickoff return by James Fry set the Cougars up at their 26 yard line. William Hodges got BYU started with an 8 yard rush on first down, before a play action pass intended for Erik Parker ended up off the mark and incomplete, bringing up third and two for the Cougars. Going right back to Parker on third down, he was able to pull in the screen pass and shake off one defender, but he would end up stood up right at the first down line. The refs would spot him shy of the first down, forcing BYU to punt on fourth and inches. A booming 59 yard punt by BYU was not returned, as the returner let the punt bounce down at the 10 yard line. Unfortunately for us, the ball did not bounce and roll its way into the end zone, but rather came to a dead stop at the four yard line, where it was downed by the punt team and leaving us buried deep in our territory.

Lining up at our four yard line after the punt, Paris looked to get us moving forward on first down, but would instead go backwards, as a blitz by BYU resulted in a three yard loss, leaving us even more in dire straits, facing second and 13 at our one yard line. Travis Munoz would save us and we would avert disaster as he pulled in the second down pass from Barnes for a 14 yard gain and a first down at the 15 yard line. Paris took the ball on first down for a three yard gain, but would then go backwards, tackled in the backfield for a one yard loss to leave us facing third and 8. Barnes was slammed into from behind as he went to throw on third down, the pass drilling straight into the back of the right tackle and incomplete, forcing our punt team out on fourth down. A 15 yard return by Fry on the 43 yard punt gave BYU the ball at our 45 yard line.

Fontaine would catch our defense sleeping, faking us out with a fake handoff and then keeping the ball himself, racing through a huge hole to the left side of the line and down the field, pushed out of bounds to save the touchdown and limited to a 38 yard gain, giving BYU first and goal at our 7 yard line. It would take Hodges just one play to score the equalizer, bouncing outside the left tackle for a 7 yard touchdown run to tie it up at 7-7 with 1:31 left in the first quarter.

Ryan Conley received the kickoff, racing up the right sideline and finding a hole on his way to a 40 yard kickoff return, an ankle tackle all that kept it from going to the house, and getting our offense back in action at our 41 yard line. Paris took the ball on first down for a four yard gain, before a play action pass to McKinney ended up broken up by the cornerback, leaving third and 6. Trying to connect with Max Rhodes over the middle, the pass from Barnes was deflected, and our great field position was squandered as the punt team came out on fourth and 6. The 55 yard punt bounced down at the 5 yard line and into the end zone for a touchback.

Lining up at the 20 yard line after the touchback, Hodges was only able to pick up one yard on the first down carry for BYU. The Cougars would go backwards as a screen pass to Hodges on second down resulted in a 5 yard loss, leaving BYU facing third and 14. That would be the last play as the clock ran out, bringing the first quarter to an end, the score all knotted up at 7-7.

Opening up the second quarter, Fontaine tried to go right back to Hodges on third down, but was hit as he threw, the incomplete pass bringing out the punt team on fourth and 14. A 23 yard return by David Douglas on the 41 yard punt gave us the best field position so far today, lining up at BYU’s 35 yard line.

Lining up on offense from the BYU 35, Paris took the ball on first down for a three yard gain, followed by a gain of 8 yards, picking up the first down at the 24. Another rush by Paris resulted in another three yard gain. Lining up on second and 7, Barnes dropped back from under center and tried to connect with tight end Jack Long, but the pass was broken up at the goal line, leaving third and 7. Coming out in the shotgun on third down, Barnes was able to fire off a pass to fullback Walter Johnson, who pulled in the pass for a 7 yard gain. We would get screwed on the measurement however, as we were left with fourth and inches from the 14 yard line. We came out lining up on offense on fourth down, going with a hard snap count to try and draw the defense offside. It would backfire however as our right guard jumped, the false start penalty pushing us back 5 yards. Forced to settle for three points, the 36 yard field goal by Doug Marcus was good, giving us a 10-7 lead with 6:36 left in the game.

A 35 yard kickoff return by Fry gave BYU the ball from their 34 yard line. Hodges was only able to gain one yard on the first down play, but a facemask penalty on safety Sam Vinson resulted in 15 free yards for the Cougars, giving them a first down at midfield. A screen pass along the left sideline to Hodges went for a 15 yard gain and a first down at our 35 yard line, our defense suddenly unable to stop the Cougars offense. Travis McDonald kept BYU moving with a 7 yard reception, before Hodges got stood up for a two yard loss, leaving BYU facing third and 5. A screen pass to Hodges went for exactly 5 yards, giving BYU a fresh set of downs at our 25 yard line. Fontaine was forced to throw the ball away on first down to avoid a sack. He’d come right back on second down and rifle off a pass to Hodges for a 21 yard gain, giving the Cougars first and goal from our four yard line. Parker took the first down handoff, fighting his way to a one yard gain, before a dropped pass in the end zone by Doty left the Cougars facing third and goal at the three yard line. Our defense would come through in the eleventh hour, as Fontaine chucked up a pass into the corner of the end zone. Despite being outnumbered three to two, middle linebacker Sean Edwards would somehow come down with the ball for the interception, tackled in the end zone for a touchback and giving us the ball at our 20 yard line with 4:08 left in the half.

Starting from our 20 yard line, Paris took the ball to get the drive underway, but was quickly brought down for no gain on the play. Lining up in the shotgun on second down, the pass intended for Douglas got a little too much air under it and sailed over Douglas’ head, leaving third and 10. Conley would come through for us on third down with an 11 yard gain, picking up the first down at the 31 yard line. Lining up under center on first down, Barnes dropped back to pass but never had a chance of getting the ball off, instantly sacked for a 7 yard loss, leaving us with second and 17. Trying to connect with Rhodes on second down, the pass was batted down incomplete, bringing up third and very long. Throwing a bomb down the left sideline, the pass intended for Munoz was incomplete, and we were forced to punt on fourth and 17. Despite a solid punt deep into BYU territory that resulted in a fair catch call, the Cougars would still end up with great field position, as a fair catch interference penalty on cornerback Mike Moses gave BYU 15 free yards and gave them the ball at their 49 yard line.

Taking over after the punt and penalty, Fontaine came out firing with a 6 yard pass to McDonald, before an option play ended in disaster, Fontaine instantly brought down for a loss of four yards. The pass on third and 8, intended for Porter was broken up, and BYU brought out their pun team on fourth down. A touchback on the 49 yard punt got us back in action from our 20 yard line, 1:33 left before halftime.

With limited time, we came out passing on first down to start our drive, but the pass intended for Munoz was nearly intercepted, bringing up a quick second down. The second down pass intended for Conley was also broken up, and we were left facing third and 10. Conley would come through huge for us, pulling in the third down pass from Barnes and taking it for a 25 yard gain and a first down at the 45 yard line. Finally starting to find a groove, Barnes found Dante May for an 11 yard pickup and another first down at the BYU 44. Rhodes was able to get the first down pass in his hands briefly, before three defenders swarmed on him and jarred the ball loose, leaving second down. Going right back to Rhodes on second down, he would haul in the pass from Barnes for a 14 yard gain to move the chains to the BYU 30 yard line, as we called our first timeout with 39 seconds left in the half. Douglas would keep us moving with a 15 yard reception for a first down at the 15 yard line. Rushing to the line, we called a quick play action pass, the defense biting on the fake and allowing Johnson to get open along the left sideline, as he pulled in the pass from Barnes just a fraction of a second before going out of bounds, good for a 10 yard gain to give us first and goal from the 5 yard line, and more importantly, stopping the clock with 29 seconds left. Paris took the handoff on first down, fighting his way forward for a three yard gain to leave second and goal from the two yard line, our second timeout taken with 24 seconds left. Paris would only need one more try to punch it in, muscling his way into the end zone for a two yard touchdown, increasing our lead to 17-7 with 20 seconds left until halftime.

A 23 yard kickoff return by Fry left BYU starting at their 22 yard line, 17 seconds remaining. A quick pass to Hodges netted 8 yards, leaving second and two, Hodges getting out of bounds to leave just 11 seconds on the clock. Despite the blitz, Fontaine was able to get a deep pass off, Daniel Frank going up in the air to pull in the ball for a 39 yard strike and a first down at our 31 yard line, BYU quickly calling their first timeout with 6 seconds left. Heaving one up into the end zone, a game of volleyball broke out as five different players from both teams batted the ball around before it finally landing incomplete out of bounds. That game of volleyball would also further help us, as beside just the incomplete pass, it lasted long enough for the final second to tick off the clock and bring the second quarter to an end without another play, as we headed into halftime with a 17-7 lead.

Opening up the second half, Conley returned the kickoff 26 yards out to our 29 yard line to get the third quarter underway. Paris got our drive started on the ground, but was stood up for no gain on the play. Keeping it on the ground, Paris managed four yards on the play, bringing up third and 6. Barnes dropped back on third down and rifled a pass to Munoz, good for a 16 yard gain and a first down at the 49 yard line. Another rush by Paris again went for no gain, leaving second and 10. Throwing up a pass to Conley on second down, the ball got batted down by the cornerback, setting up another third down. The third down pass from Barnes to Douglas was likewise incomplete, and we were forced to punt on fourth and 10. The 50 yard punt sailed into the end zone for a touchback, giving BYU the ball at their 20 yard line.

Hodges got BYU’s drive started with a two yard rush up the middle, followed by a 10 yard pass from Fontaine to Doty for a first down at the 32 yard line. A screen pass to Hodges on first down went for a four yard gain, followed by a massive 44 yard completion to Doty, who caught the pass near the first down line, got some good blocking, shed three tackles and then dragged a final defender another 5 yards before going down for a first down at our 20 yard line. Returning to the ground game on first down, Hodges took the handoff up the middle for a gain of 9 yards. The Cougars would rediscover the end zone as Fontaine dropped back on second down and threw a pass over the middle to McDonald, good for an 11 yard touchdown to cut our lead to 17-14 with 4:49 left in the third quarter.

A 27 yard kickoff return by Douglas gave us the ball at our 24 yard line for our next drive. The Cougars continued to key on our run game, as Paris was limited to only one yard on the first down rush, leaving second and 9. A pass down the left sideline on second down, intended for Munoz, was just barely batted away by the cornerback, who spun around at the last second and was just able to get a couple fingers on the ball to deflect it away, bringing up third down. A pass over the middle to Conley was completed, but the defender made the play and limited him to just an 8 yard gain, forcing us to punt on fourth and inches from our 34 yard line. A 13 yard return by Fry on the 39 yard punt got BYU back on the field at their 39 yard line.

Lining up on first down, BYU went straight into the air on first down. It would end up being a mistake as the pass over the middle from Fontaine was intercepted by Kevin Moore, who returned it 7 yards to give our offense possession at the BYU 34 yard line.

Taking over after the interception, we also came out passing, Barnes connecting with Aaron Allen for a 12 yard gain and a first down at the 22 yard line. Finally finding some success on the ground, Paris took the first down handoff up the middle for an 8 yard gain, followed by a two yard rush to leave third and inches at the 12 yard line. Despite being forced outside, Paris would manage to just get one yard and pick up the first down at the 11 yard line. A four yard rush by May was followed up with a one yard carry to leave us with third and 5 from the 6 yard line. Trying to thread the needle over the middle, the pass from Barnes to Munoz was broken up at the goal line, forcing us to settle for a field goal on fourth down. The 23 yard field goal by Marcus was good, extending our lead to 20-14 with 20 seconds left in the third quarter.

A 26 yard kickoff return by Porter set the Cougars up from their 23 yard line. Opening up the drive in the air, Fontaine found McDonald over the middle for a quick 14 yard gain and a first down at the 37. Rolling out on the play action fake, Fontaine tried to connect with McDonald again in the flats, but the pass was intercepted yet again by Moore, his second of the game, this time returned 37 yards for a touchdown, giving us a 27-14 lead over BYU as the third quarter came to a close.

Opening up the fourth quarter, Fry returned the kickoff 28 yards, starting BYU from their 29 yard line. BYU wasted little time in trying to answer for that score, as Hodges took the handoff to the right side and sprinted up the sideline for a 48 yard rush, finally pushed out of bounds for a first down at our 24 yard line. Going into the air on first down, Fontaine tried to connect with McDonald, but the pass fell incomplete, bringing up second down. Firing off a pass to Doty, the throw from Fontaine was good for a gain of 9 yards, leaving third and one. Lining up on third down, Fontaine would keep the ball on the QB read, rushing for a 14 yard gain to give BYU first and goal from our one yard line. Hodges would punch it in on the first place for a one yard touchdown, cutting our lead to 27-21 with 7:50 left in the game.

A 28 yard kickoff return by Douglas got us lined up at our 25 yard line. Paris took the first down handoff up the middle for a 5 yard gain, followed by another 5 yard gain to leave us with third and inches. Paris was nearly brought down in the backfield, but just managed to get a yard to move the chains at the 36 yard line. May came in on first down, taking the handoff for a 7 yard rush, followed by a two yard gain by Paris to leave us with third and one. Paris received the ball on third down, but found nowhere to run as he was quickly met in the backfield for a one yard loss, bringing out our punt team on fourth and two. A 5 yard return by Fry on the 41 yard punt gave BYU the ball at their 20 yard line, 4:24 left in the game.

Coming out with a screen pass on first down, BYU took advantage of our heavy blitz as Fontaine dumped the ball off to Hodges for a 17 yard gain and a first down at the 37. Handing the ball off on first down, Hodges was immediately swarmed by the blitz for a three yard loss, leaving second and 17. Going into the air on second down, Fontaine found Hodges over the middle for a four yard gain, bringing up a big third and 9 for BYU. Fontaine tried to get the ball off on third down, but the blitz got to him as he threw, and the wounded duck would land harmlessly on the turf to bring out the punt team on fourth down. The punt would land at the 15 yard line and bounced the rest of the way into the end zone, a 62 yard punt in all, for a touchback, 3:12 left in the game.

Paris got our drive off and running on the ground, fighting his way to an 8 yard gain, before being stood up for no gain to leave third and two. Trying to get the first down on the ground, Paris could only pick up one yard on the play, BYU calling their first timeout with 2:13 left in the game. We were forced to punt the ball on fourth and one from our 29 yard line, Fry with a 14 yard return on the 35 yard punt to give BYU the ball at their 49 yard line.

Throwing up a quick pass on an out route, McDonald hauled in the pass from Fontaine for a 15 yard gain before his momentum carried him out of bounds for a first down at our 36 yard line. We challenged the catch, as it appeared he failed to get his foot down in-bounds, but the play stood after the review, as he just got his right foot down before going out. With that, we were left with two timeouts for the final two minutes of the game. Fontaine dropped back to pass on first down, but was forced to scramble due to the pressure from our four guys up front. He didn’t get very far though, sacked by defensive tackle Caleb McBride for a two yard loss to leave second and 12 and the clock still running. Dropping back to pass once more, this time Fontaine would find an open receiver, completing a pass to Porter up the left sideline for a 26 yard gain, giving BYU a first down at our 13 yard line, 56 seconds left on the clock. Still not calling a timeout, Fontaine handed the ball off to Hodges on first down, who took it up the middle for a 7 yard gain, leaving second and three from our 6 yard line, the clock down to 35 seconds and still ticking. Going back into the air on second down, Fontaine threw up a pass to McDonald in the middle of the end zone, a diving interception attempt by Vinson completely removing him from the play and turning the play into a game of catch for McDonald, the pass complete for a 6 yard touchdown, giving BYU a 28-27 lead with 20 seconds left in the game.

A 33 yard kickoff return by Douglas gave our offense the ball at our 32 yard line, 15 seconds remaining and two timeouts in the bag. Going into the air on first down, Barnes connected with Conley along the left sideline for a 7 yard gain, Conley both trying to drive for extra yards as well as get out of bounds. He would accomplish neither and wasted precious seconds, our second timeout taken with just 9 seconds left on the clock. Trying to throw deep to Allen on second and three, the pass ended up landing incomplete at his feet, leaving us with third and three from our 38 yard line, just four seconds left on the clock. The Hail Mary pass from Barnes would be less than stellar, the pass traveling a whole whopping 30 yards before being swatted down by the BYU secondary, clinching the 28-27 victory for the Cougars.

With the loss, we fall to 0-4, 0-0 in Mountain West action. With the win, BYU improves to 2-2. Up next, we get a bye week before returning home to open up conference play with a tough Fresno State team. The Bulldogs enter 1-2, 0-0 in Mountain West action. Fresno State opened the year with a 35-21 loss at #4 USC, before knocking off #17 Nebraska 38-31 in overtime. While ranked #24, the Bulldogs would suffer their second setback of the season, knocked off by Idaho 32-23 heading into our game.

Final Score

:BYU: 28, :Utah_State: 27

Stats of the Game:
Utah State Offense - A meh day for Barnes, ending 13-29 for 174 yards, no touchdowns or interceptions. Rushing, Paris led the way with 78 yards on 29 carries and two touchdowns. May finished with 12 yards on three carries. In extremely limited action, Roberson ended with 11 yards on three carries. Receiving, Conley was the go-to guy today with 51 yards on four receptions. In all, eight receivers caught a pass today, all eight ended with double digit yards.

Utah State Defense – Good and bad. The good, three interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown. The bad, fell apart in the second half and let BYU put up 21 points in the final two quarters.

Utah State Kicking – A perfect day for Marcus, going 2-2 in field goals from 36 and 23 yards out, and went 3-3 in PATs.

Scoring Summary

Team
1st Quarter
2nd Quarter
3rd Quarter
4th Quarter
Final Score

:Utah_State:
7
10
10
0
27

:BYU:
7
0
7
14
28

Time
Team
Result
Play
Score

First Quarter

5:08
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
B. Paris, 3 yard run (D. Marcus kick)
:Utah_State: 7-0

1:31
:BYU:
Touchdown
W. Hodges, 7 yard run (J. McCarthy kick)
TIED 7-7

Second Quarter

6:36
:Utah_State:
Field Goal
D. Marcus, 36 yard field goal
:Utah_State: 10-7

0:20
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
B. Paris, 2 yard run (D. Marcus kick)
:Utah_State: 17-7

Third Quarter

4:49
:BYU:
Touchdown
T. McDonald, 11 yard pass from R. Fontaine (J. McCarthy kick)
:Utah_State: 17-14

0:20
:Utah_State:
Field Goal
D. Marcus, 23 yard field goal
:Utah_State: 20-14

0:00
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
K. Moore, returned interception 37 yards (D. Marcus kick)
:Utah_State: 27-14

Fourth Quarter

7:50
:BYU:
Touchdown
W. Hodges, 1 yard run (J. McCarthy kick)
:Utah_State: 27-21

0:20
:BYU:
Touchdown
T. McDonald, 6 yard pass from R. Fontaine (J. McCarthy kick)
:BYU: 28-27

Game Stats

Utah State
Stat
BYU

27
Score
28

15
First Downs
14

268
Total Offense
385

36 - 94 - 2
Rushes - Yards - TD
20 - 172 - 2

13 - 29 - 0
Comp - Att - TD
17 - 30 - 2

174
Passing Yards
213

1
Times Sacked
1

6 - 16 (37%)
3rd Down Conversion
2 - 8 (25%)

0 - 0 (0%)
4th Down Conversion
0 - 0 (0%)

0 - 0 (0%)
2-Point Conv
0 - 0 (0%)

4 - 2 - 2 (100%)
Red Zone - TD - FG
5 - 4 - 0 (80%)

0
Turnovers
3

0
Fumbles Lost
0

0
Intercepted
3

40
Punt Return Yards
46

154
Kick Return Yards
165

462
Total Yards
596

6 – 44.2
Punts - Average
5 - 51.2

3 - 35
Penalties
0 - 0

23:22
Time of Possession
12:38

Utah State Coach Goals

Goal
XP Reward
Completed

Score a Touchdown
25
x3

Defensive Touchdown
50
x1

Force a Turnover
25
x3

Play in an ESPN Classic Game
75
x1

Opponent Under 300 Pass Yards
50
x1

100% Red Zone Efficiency
50
x1

Score 21 or More Points
50
x1

10+ First Downs
50
x1

4+ 3rd Down Conversions
25
x1

Utah State Contract Goals Update

Goal
Expectations
Progress

Target Wins Per Season
7
0

Job Security Status

100%

SmoothPancakes

11-19-2013, 08:48 PM

Taking a look around the nation, in the Top 25, #1 Ohio State thumped Minnesota 49-3. Michigan entered South Bend and shocked #2 Notre Dame 31-15. #3 North Carolina topped Flroida State 27-17. South Carolina knocked off #5 Texas A&M 42-30. #6 USC fought off Oregon State 17-13. Northwestern stunned #7 Michigan State 28-27, the Wildcats scoring on a 15 yard touchdown pass with four seconds left in the game. #8 Georgia Tech smoked Marshall 42-10.

#9 Texas beat Kansas 45-17. #12 Alabama topped Florida Atlantic 45-10. #13 Washington defeated Illinois 38-28. #14 Miami edged out Louisville 38-35. #15 Virginia Tech beat Wake Forest 42-17. Utah inched past #16 UCLA 22-21, coming back from a 21-0 deficit. California upset #17 Arizona 31-25. #19 Florida defeated Tennessee 35-21. Kentucky shocked #21 LSU 24-6. #24 Auburn beat #22 Missouri 23-7. #23 West Virginia holds off Maryland 31-27.

For our readers, JeffHCross, #1 Ohio State improves to 3-0 (1-0 Big Ten) with a 49-3 thrashing of Minnesota. Morsdraconis, #23 West Virginia improves to 2-1 (0-0 Big 12) with a 31-27 win over Maryland. Souljahbill, Southern Miss drops to 1-1 (0-0 C-USA) with a 31-17 loss to Syracuse. Jaymo, Arizona State improves to 2-0 (1-0 Pac-12) with a 38-28 win over Colorado. LeeSO, #24 Auburn improves to 2-1 (1-1 SEC) with a 23-7 win over #22 Missouri. SCClassof93, South Carolina improves to 3-1 (3-0 SEC) a 42-30 upset of #5 Texas A&M. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State drops to 2-1 (1-0 Sun Belt) with a 20-17 overtime loss to Western Michigan. Florida International remains 0-3 (0-0 C-USA) with a bye week. Navy improves to 2-1 (2-1 American) with a 49-10 trashing of Houston. Tulsa drops to 1-2 (0-1 American) with a 47-40 double overtime loss to South Florida.

In Mountain West action, Colorado State edged out UTEP 32-31, Air Force blanked Rutgers 31-0, Nevada topped FCS Midwest 41-6, BYU edged out Utah State 28-27, Indiana beat San Jose State 35-25, New Mexico State won the Rio Grande Rivalry over New Mexico 38-35 in overtime, Louisiana-Monroe knocked off San Diego State 34-26 and Louisiana-Lafayette topped Boise State 34-13.

A bad week for Mountain West teams, going 3-5 as a conference. The best win, if you can call it that, was Colorado State beating a 2-1 UTEP squad. Meanwhile, my how the mighty have fallen. After battling all season for the Mountain Division title, Boise State and Utah State have opened this season a combined 0-7. :fp:

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Ohio State (35 first place votes) remains #1, North Carolina (22 votes) climbs one to #2, Oklahoma (3 votes) climbs one to #3, USC (1 vote) jumps two to #4 and Georgia Tech moves up three to #5. Texas jumps three to #6, Oregon climbs three to #7, TCU moves up three to #8, Alabama climbs three to #9 and Notre Dame drops eight to #10. Washington jumps two to #11, Miami moves up two to #12, Texas A&M falls eight to #13, Virginia Tech moves up one to #14 and Michigan State drops eight to #15. Michigan enters the poll at #16, Nebraska moves up one to #17, Florida climbs one to #18, South Carolina enters the poll at #19 and Baylor remains #20. Northwestern enters the poll at #21, Auburn jumps two to #22, West Virginia remains #23, Fresno State climbs one to #24 and UCLA (249 points) drops nine to #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were: Arizona (from #17), LSU (from #21) and Missouri (from #22). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Mississippi State (245 points) is #26, followed by Missouri (189), Oregon State (161), Toledo (149) and Louisiana-Lafayette (116) to round out the Top 30. Other teams getting points this week include Arizona (86), Arizona State (51), NC State (34) and Kansas State (27).

Taking a look at the first Top 25 Media Poll, Ohio State (42 first place votes) is #1, North Carolina (22 votes) is #2, USC (1 vote) is #3, Oklahoma is #4 and Oregon is #5. Georgia Tech is #6, Texas is #7, Notre Dame is #8, Miami is #9 and TCU is #10. Alabama is #11, Texas A&M is #12, Washington is #13, Michigan is #14 and Michigan State is #15. Virginia Tech is #16, Florida is #17, Nebraska is #18, Baylor is #19 and South Carolina is #20. UCLA is #21, Auburn is #22, Northwestern is #23, West Virginia is #24 and Mississippi State (262 points) is #25. Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Fresno State (183 points) is #26, followed by Missouri (181), Oregon State (156), Arizona State (127) and Louisiana-Lafayette (92) to round out the Top 30. Other teams getting points include Utah (85), Arizona (79), NC State (35) and Toledo (26).

A look at the Heisman race, Alabama QB Aaron Walters is #1 (LW: NR), Ohio State QB Matt Cowan is #2 (LW: #1), Texas A&M QB Zac Hopkins is #3 (LW: #5), Florida QB Brandon Dahl is #4 (LW: NR) and Mississippi State HB Anthony Hopkins is #5 (LW: #4). Dropping off of the Heisman Watch List this week was Arizona HB Kevin Simpson (LW: #2) and Notre Dame QB Mike Harper (LW: #3)

SmoothPancakes

11-19-2013, 08:50 PM

On a bye week, so lets jump into it.

Taking a look around the nation, in the Top 25, the upset of the week goes to Clemson, who knocked off #2 North Carolina 17-14. #3 Oklahoma beat Iowa State 30-18. #4 USC eased past California 38-10. Louisville shocked #5 Georgia Tech 49-42. #6 Texas thrashed #23 West Virginia 45-7. The game of the week went to #15 Michigan State, who upset #7 Oregon 42-25. #8 TCU topped SMU 31-17.

Ole Miss knocked off #9 Alabama 35-16. #11 Washington struggled past Georgia State 23-7. #12 Miami rolled over #17 Nebraska 45-28. #13 Texas A&M topped Arkansas 42-24. #16 Michigan out-slugged #21 Northwestern 45-35. Kentucky knocked off #18 Florida 45-17. #22 Auburn fought off Tennessee 39-34. Idaho went on the road and stunned #24 Fresno State 32-23. #25 UCLA beat Colorado 34-13.

For our readers, JeffHCross, #1 Ohio State remains 3-0 (1-0 Big Ten) with a bye week. Morsdraconis, #23 West Virginia drops to 2-2 (0-1 Big 12) with a 45-7 thumping from #6 Texas. Souljahbill, Southern Miss drops to 1-2 (0-0 C-USA) with a stunning 31-28 loss to FCS Northwest. Jaymo, Arizona State improves to 3-0 (1-0 Pac-12) with a 35-21 win over Old Dominion. LeeSO, #22 Auburn improves to 3-1 (2-1 SEC) with a 39-34 win over Tennessee. SCClassof93, #19 South Carolina remains 3-1 (3-0 SEC) a bye week. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State remains 2-1 (1-0 Sun Belt) with a bye week. Florida International drops to 0-4 (0-0 C-USA) with a 31-27 loss to Oklahoma State. Navy improves to 3-1 (3-1 American) with a 27-17 win over Memphis. Tulsa drops to 1-3 (0-2 American) with a 37-0 loss to Temple.

In Mountain West action, Nevada beat Wyoming 42-24, San Diego State topped Colorado State 40-14, San Jose State edged out Air Force 17-10, Hawaii beat New Mexico 35-28 and Idaho knocked off #24 Fresno State 32-23.

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Ohio State (38 first place votes) remains #1, Oklahoma (21 votes) climbs one to #2, USC (1 vote) jumps one to #3, Texas moves up two to #4 and TCU (1 vote) jumps three to #5. Notre Dame jumps four to #6, Miami climbs five to #7, Washington moves up three to #8, Michigan State leaps six to #9 and North Carolina drops eight to #10. Texas A&M climbs two to #11, Oregon drops five to #12, Georgia Tech falls eight to #13, Virginia Tech remains #14 and Michigan climbs one to #15. South Carolina climbs three to #16, Baylor jumps three to #17, Louisville enters the poll at #18, Alabama drops ten to #19 and Clemson enters the poll at #20. Auburn climbs one to #21, Nebraska drops five to #22, Ole Miss enters the poll at #23, UCLA climbs one to #24 and Northwestern (161 points) drops four to #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Florida (from #18), West Virginia (from #23) and Fresno State (from #24). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Oregon State (137 points) is #26, followed by Florida (108), Toledo (94), West Virginia (88) and Central Florida (87) to round out the Top 30. Other teams getting points this week include Louisiana-Lafayette (73), Arizona (9) and Arizona State (1).

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Media Poll, Ohio State (44 first place votes) remains #1, USC (21 votes) climbs one to #2, Oklahoma jumps one to #3, Texas moves up three to #4 and Michigan State leaps ten to #5. Notre Dame climbs two to #6, Miami moves up two to #7, TCU jumps two to #8, Texas A&M climbs three to #9 and North Carolina drops eight to #10. Washington jumps two to #11, Oregon drops seven to #12, Michigan climbs one to #13, Georgia Tech falls eight to #14 and Virginia Tech moves up one to #15. Baylor jumps three to #16, South Carolina climbs three to #17, Louisville enters the poll at #18, Clemson enters the poll at #19 and UCLA moves up one to #20. Alabama plummets ten to #21, Auburn remains #22, Nebraska falls five to #23, Ole Miss enters the poll at #24 and Oregon State (167 points) enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Florida (from #17), Northwestern (from #23), West Virginia (from #24) and Mississippi State (from #25). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Florida (163 points) is #26, followed by Northwestern (113), Arizona State (101), Louisiana-Lafayette (101) and Central Florida (67) to round out the Top 30. Other teams getting points this week include West Virginia (41) and LSU (30).

A look at the Heisman race, Texas A&M QB Zac Hopkins is #1 (LW: #3), USC HB William Mann is #2 (LW: NR), Alabama QB Aaron Walters is #3 (LW: NR), Washington QB Wesley Gross is #4 (LW: NR) and Ohio State QB Matt Cowan is #5 (LW: #2). Dropping off of the Heisman Watch List this week was Florida QB Brandon Dahl (LW: #4) and Mississippi State HB Anthony Hopkins (LW: #5).

SCClassof93

11-20-2013, 01:58 PM

Good stuff! Finally caught up with the thread.

souljahbill

11-20-2013, 05:24 PM

31-28 to an FCS team?

Even our virtual team sucks.

:fp:

SmoothPancakes

11-20-2013, 06:29 PM

Good stuff! Finally caught up with the thread.

Appreciate it man. Now I just wish the results of the season were going better right now. :fp:

31-28 to an FCS team?

Even our virtual team sucks.

:fp:

:D I was waiting for your next visit and comment on that game. Yeah, Southern Miss completely shat the bed that game. But hey, at least they have one win so far thsi season. :fp:

SmoothPancakes

11-20-2013, 07:56 PM

Game Five

:Fresno_State: :@: :Utah_State:

Game Story

--- Stuck spinning our tires in the middle of a four game losing streak to open our season, the search for that elusive first victory was not about to get any easier, as we returned home to open up our conference schedule with a visit from Fresno State. While we, at the moment, largely won the head to head statistical rankings battle, that did nothing but continue the trend of recent weeks that saw us enter with a statistical advantage, only to walk out with a loss. Fresno State was superior overall on offense and they had the #31 pass offense (259.7 yards/game) to back it up. Our pass defense (ranked #96, giving up 261.0 yards/game) was going to be put to the test and would have to make some stops. Most importantly, our offense would have to actually get some drives going and put some points up in the second half if we wanted to end our losing streak and stop blowing leads in the second half of the game. We won the coin toss and elected to kick.

A 24 yard kickoff return by David Rogers gave Fresno State the ball at their 23 yard line. The Bulldogs would waste no time in moving the ball as Robert Brooks pulled in a pass over the middle from Dan Williams, shaking off a tackle and racing down the field for a 45 yard gain, brought down from behind at our 32 yard line for a quick first down. Dropping back from under center on first down, Williams tried to dump of a screen pass to Damian Ramsour, but defensive end Caleb McBride got in the way and deflected the ball incomplete with his body, bringing up second down and putting a brief halt to Fresno State’s no-huddle offense. Derrick Martin received the handoff from the shotgun on second down, but penetration by McBride resulted in a loss of 5 yards on the play, leaving Fresno State in a third and 15 hole. Despite giving up the massive gain on the first play of the game, our defense would end up with a victory early on, as the third down blitz forced Williams to rush his pass intended for Ramsour, the ball not even clearing the line of scrimmage but instead going straight into the butt of the center to leave fourth and 15 from the 37 yard line. Fresno State would line up for a field goal on fourth down, and despite being lined up dead center of the field and having enough power behind the kick, Tariq Bain would shank the 54 yard field goal attempt wide to the left, and we’d take over on offense from our 37 yard line.

Lining up after the missed field goal, we started our first drive of the game with good field position, and looked to take advantage of that, coming straight out of the gates firing. The first down pass from Jason Barnes to Aaron Allen was on the money, but a hit from behind by the outside linebacker turned an 11 yard gain into a dropped pass, and we were left with second down. Trying to hit Travis Munoz over the middle, the pass was broken up by the middle linebacker, and instead of taking advantage of the great field position, we were now just trying to gain any yards this drive. We would finally move the ball forward, but a 9 yard pass to Ryan Conley wouldn’t be enough, and we were forced to punt on fourth and 9. A 5 yard return by Quentin Hayford on the 37 yard punt gave Fresno State the ball at their 22 yard line.

The Bulldogs again wasted no time in coming out swinging, an 11 yard completion from Williams to Andrew Ferguson picking up a quick first down at the 33 yard line. The Bulldogs would find our territory once more on the next play as Williams threw deep over the middle to Terrance Green for a gain of 21 yards, moving the chains to our 45 yard line. A screen pass to Martin netted Fresno State 10 more yards and another first down at our 35 yard line. Going no-huddle on first down, we caught a breather as Williams tried to connect with Martin again, but his pass was off the mark and sailed long, bringing up second down. Despite limiting another screen pass to Martin to just a 10 yard gain, Fresno State would still gain big yards thanks to a roughing the passer penalty against McBride, the 12 yard half the distance to the goal penalty giving Fresno State a first down from our 13 yard line. Middle linebacker Justin Dunn would save a touchdown on first down as he was able to get his hand between the ball and intended receiver Robert Brooks, knocking the pass incomplete to bring up second down. It would all be for naught as Williams connected with Green over the middle for a 13 yard gain, safety Sam Vinson just barely bringing him down shy of the goal line to set up first and goal inside the one yard line. An encroachment penalty on McBride on first down would move the ball a couple inches closer to the goal line. We caught a massive break on first down as a wide open Brooks cut across the middle of the end zone, not a soul defending against him, but the hurried pass from Williams would end up behind Brooks and he was unable to hold onto the ball as he reached behind him to grab it, the dropped pass resulting in second and goal. Faking the handoff on first down, Williams tried to keep the ball himself, but was met in the backfield for a one yard loss, leaving third and goal from the two yard line, our defense just one play away from making one hell of a defensive stand. Handing the ball off to Martin on third down, our defense would walk away with the biggest victory of their young season, tackling Martin for a one yard loss on the play to leave fourth and goal from the three yard line. Despite being pushed up against the wall, facing first and goal just inches from the goal line, our defense would win the battle and force Fresno State to settle for a 20 yard field goal, giving the Bulldogs a 3-0 lead with 5:44 left in the first quarter.

A 31 yard kickoff return by Preston Roberson got us back in action from our 30 yard line. Starting on the ground this drive, Barnes handed the ball off to Roberson, a 7 yard gain the result of the play. Another handoff on second down picked up four yards and gave us a first down at the 41 yard line. Brian Paris took over on first down, but was brought down by the collar for a gain of only one yard, leaving second and 9. Dropping back from under center on second down, Barnes tried to connect with tight end Maurice Martin over the middle, but the pass ended up intercepted by middle linebacker Chris Reid, returned 5 yards to our 45 yard line.

Taking over after the interception, Fresno State started this drive on the ground, Martin picking up one yard with the carry, before a dropped pass by Martin over the middle brought up a third and 9 for the Bulldogs. Vinson would save our bacon, as he jumped up to deflect a pass along the sideline intended for Jermaine Fenton out of bounds and incomplete, forcing Fresno State to punt on fourth down, the Bulldogs failing to capitalize on the interception. The 44 yard punt would hit at the 5 yard line and bounce into the end zone for a touchback, giving us the ball at our 20 yard line.

Lining up after the touchback, Roberson got us off and, well, stumbling with a one yard rush on first down, followed by a 5 yard gain to leave third and four. Dropping back from under center on third down, Barnes rifled a pass to David Douglas, who briefly had possession of the ball, before a pair of defense combined to force a dropped pass and our punt team trotted out on fourth and four. A fair catch on the 42 yard punt gave Fresno State the ball at their 31 yard line.

It would take the Bulldogs all of one play to build on their lead, a deep pass down the left sideline completed to Ramsour near the 45 yard line, before he bowled over Vinson and sprinted his way to a 69 yard touchdown, giving Fresno State a 10-0 lead with 2:37 left in the first quarter.

Douglas was only able to manage a 17 yard kickoff return, leaving us starting our next drive from our 17 yard line. Coming out passing on first down, Barnes would thread the needle over the middle to Douglas, the pass good for a 22 yard gain and a quick first down at the 39 yard line. Trying to connect with Allen along the right sideline, the pass would end up broken up to bring up second down. Conley would keep us moving on second down, getting enough separation from the defense to pull in a 15 yard pass from Barnes, putting us in Fresno State territory for the first time today with a first down at the Bulldogs 47 yard line. Continuing with the air attack, the first down pass to Douglas was batted away incomplete, before a deep pass intended for Allen was batted away and nearly intercepted off the ground, leaving us with third and long. Our drive would come to a close as the third down pass intended for Conley was thrown behind him, the ball nearly intercepted by the cornerback to bring out our punt team on fourth and 10. The 47 yard punt would land at the 7 yard line and roll into the end zone for a touchback, giving Fresno State the ball at their 20 yard line.

Fresno State’s drive would at least last longer than one play this time, as good coverage by our secondary, and a penetrating blitz by the line and linebackers forced Williams to throw the ball away on first down, at least giving our defense a minor victory. Martin took the handoff on second down, only able to pick up one yard on the play to set up third and 9. A screen pass to Martin would result in our unraveling, the pass going for a 28 yard gain and a first down at the 49 yard line. Going no-huddle after the play, Fresno State kept our defense backpedaling with a 28 yard completion to Brooks to move the chains once more to our 23. Throwing another screen pass to Martin, he would turn it into a gain of 20 yards, stepping out of bounds at the three yard line to give Fresno State first and goal. Martin would then cap the drive on first down, pulling in a dump pass from Williams and driving into the end zone for a three yard touchdown, giving Fresno State a 17-0 lead with 34 seconds left in the first quarter.

A 26 yard kickoff return by Douglas gave us the ball once more from our 25 yard line. Roberson got our drive started on the ground with a 5 yard rush, followed by a gain of three to leave us facing third and two. That would be the last play of the first quarter, Fresno State leading it 17-0.

Opening up the second quarter, we lined up on third and two from our 33 yard line, Roberson receiving the handoff and barreling up the field for an 8 yard gain, getting us a rare first down at the 41 yard line. Roberson received the ball again on first down, but was quickly stood up at the line of scrimmage, the play resulting in no gain. Running a play action pass on second down, the pass intended for tight end Cedric McKinney was nearly intercepted by the cornerback, leaving us facing third and 10. Going over the middle, Barnes was able to connect with Paris, but the play would result in a gain of just 9 yards, bringing out our punt team once again on fourth and one at midfield. An 8 yard return by Heyford on the 34 yard punt gave Fresno State possession from their 23 yard line.

A quick throw on first down to Fenton picked up a quick 12 yard gain and a first down at the 35 yard line. Going back to Fenton, the pass from Williams on first down was good for a 5 yard pickup, before a third straight pass to a wide open Fenton was dropped, the incompletion leaving third and 5. Throwing a pass behind the line of scrimmage to Martin, it would result in the Bulldogs going backwards as a quick tackle pushed Martin out of bounds for a four yard loss, leaving Fresno State punting on fourth and 9. A 16 yard return by Roberson on the 38 yard punt put our offense back on the field at our 42 yard line.

Roberson received the ball on first down, rushing for a four yard gain, followed by a second four yard rush that left us facing third and two. Leaving the ball in the hands of our halfbacks, Paris took the handoff up the middle for a big 9 yard gain, giving us a first down at the Fresno State 41 yard line, the farthest we had advanced so far. Roberson would keep it going with another four yard rush, before a play action pass to McKinney was completed for a 26 yard gain, setting us up with a first down at the 11 yard line. Returning to the ground, Roberson received the handoff for a four yard gain, followed by a three yard rush to leave us with third and three from the four yard line. Lining up under center on third down, Barnes dropped back three steps and hurled a pass into the end zone, hitting Douglas in stride for a four yard touchdown, cutting Fresno State’s lead to 17-7 with 3:22 left in the second quarter.

A 22 yard kickoff return by Hayford set Fresno State up at their 22 yard line. The Bulldogs would waste little time in moving the ball, as a diving Ramsour pulled in the first down pass from Williams for a huge 36 yard gain and a first down at our 42 yard line. Another deep pass over the middle to Ferguson went for a gain of 28 yards, moving the chains to our 14. The defense would answer back on first down, as a safety blitz resulted in safety Charles Noble breaking through and sacking Williams for an 8 yard loss, bringing up second and 18. Forced to rush his throw to avoid another sack, the pass from Williams intended for Green was nowhere near the receiver, sailing into nothing but a giant patch of green and landing incomplete to leave third and 18. Heaving one deep into the back of the end zone, the pass intended for David Rogers was overthrown and sailed out of bounds, forcing Fresno State to settle for three points. The 39 yard field goal by Bain increased Fresno State’s lead to 20-7 with 2:30 left until halftime.

A touchback on the kickoff set us up from our 25 yard line. Coming out passing on first down, a quick throw to Max Rhodes went for a big gain of 23 yards and gave us a quick first down at the 48 yard line. Continuing through the air, the pass from Barnes to Conley was right on target, but a well timed hit by the outside linebacker knocked the ball loose, leaving second down. Trying to throw deep to Munoz, the pass was underthrown and nearly intercepted by the safety, leaving us with third and 10. Douglas would keep our drive alive, hauling in a pass over the middle from Barnes for a 21 yard gain and moving the chains to the Fresno State 31 yard line. Handing the ball off to Roberson on first down, he rumbled his way to a 7 yard gain, before a play action pass to McKinney was batted away incomplete, leaving us facing third and three. Lining up under center, Barnes rifled a pass to Douglas, but it was nearly intercepted by the outside linebacker before it could even barely cross the line of scrimmage, bring out our field goal unit. The 41 yard field goal by Doug Marcus cleared the crossbar with a couple yards to spare, cutting Fresno State’s lead to 20-10 with 1:28 left in the second quarter.

Fresno State wouldn’t even need to bring out their offense to build their lead back up, as Rogers would take the kickoff one yard deep in his end zone, broke through a pair of defenders and got into open space up the left sideline, taking the kickoff all the way back to the house for a 101 yard kickoff return for a touchdown, increasing Fresno State’s lead to 27-10 with 1:15 left in the half.

Douglas made his best attempt to imitate Rogers, breaking three different tackle attempts and tight-roping his way up the right sideline, but was eventually brought down and limited to a 45 yard kickoff return, setting our offense up at our 44 yard line, just 1:07 left to work with. Barnes tried to connect with Conley on first down, but his pass was woefully underthrown, missing its intended target by over 10 yards short. The second down pass from Barnes, this time intended for Munoz, would not fair much better, the ball coming up short and landing in the middle of a pack of Bulldogs defenders, the attempted interception resulting in an incomplete pass to leave third and 10. Barnes would never even get the ball off on third down, sacked for an 8 yard loss to leave us punting on fourth and 18, the Bulldogs calling their first timeout with 56 seconds left in the second quarter. A 34 yard return by Hayford on the 41 yard punt, punter Eric Allen the last man left to save what would have been guaranteed return for a touchdown, gave Fresno State the ball at our 45 yard line, 43 seconds remaining.

Dropping back to pass on first down, Williams seemed to be covered in lube as two different linemen tried to sack him, only for him to slip out of their grasp, ultimately throwing the ball into the ground 10 yards downfield to bring up second and 10. Our defense would catch a break as a dropped pass by Green left Fresno State with third down and long. Taking a shot deep down the right sideline, the pass intended for Ramsour would not reach its target, the ball intercepted by cornerback Kevin Moore at our 10 yard line and returned 20 yards before being pushed out of bounds at the 30 with 25 seconds remaining.

Going straight into the air on first down, the pass from Barnes hit Rhodes in the hands, but he was unable to hold onto the ball, dropping it incomplete to leave second down, 20 seconds to go. Barnes would find Conley on second down, but he was brought down for a gain of just 9 yards, our first timeout called with 16 seconds remaining. Launching up a pass over the middle, Rhodes would redeem himself with a 26 yard gain and a first down at the Fresno State 35 yard line, our second timeout called with 10 seconds to go. A deep pass to Munoz was completed near the 10 yard line, but Munoz had to come back to grab it, limiting what would have been a touchdown into just a 29 yard gain, giving us first and goal from the 5 yard line, our third and final timeout taken with four seconds left. While a field goal would help, we wanted 7 points. With only four seconds left, it would have to be a very quick pass on first down, one that would absolutely get into the end zone. We would do exactly that as Barnes lined up under center, taking two steps back and throwing a fastball to Douglas on a quick slant route, Douglas catching the pass at the two yard line and diving into the end zone for the 5 yard touchdown, cutting Fresno State’s lead to 27-17 with two seconds left until halftime.

Fresno State take drop to the knee in the end zone to take a touchback on the kickoff, giving them the ball at their 25 yard line. Instead of taking a shot on a Hail Mary, Williams instead handed the ball off to Martin, which was nearly as good a choice, Martin breaking into the secondary before finally being brought down by one of our last defenders for a 16 yard gain, taking us into halftime with Fresno State leading 27-17.

Opening up the second half, a huge 52 yard kickoff return by Douglas gave us the ball at our 47 yard line to start the third quarter. Starting the drive on the ground, Roberson fought his way to a four yard gain, followed by a three yard rush by Paris to set up third and three. Walter Johnson would get us the first down, pulling in a pass from Barnes for gain of 12 yards, moving the chains to the Fresno State 33 yard line. Taking a shot deep at Munoz, the ball never had a chance of reaching its target, three defenders converging to knock the ball down and incomplete. The second down pass intended for Rhodes was likewise knocked down incomplete, leaving us with third and long. Going back to Rhodes on third down, he was able to come down with the pass from Barnes, but it wouldn’t be enough as he was limited to an 8 yard gain, forcing us to settle for a field goal on fourth and two. Unfortunately even that would be a fruitless venture, the 42 yard field goal attempt by Marcus hooked wide left, giving Fresno State the ball at their 25.

Our blitz on first down left the Bulldogs with little to work with, as Williams was laid out right after he released the pass, and Brooks was unable to haul in the wobbly ball, it landing incomplete to get the Bulldogs off to a less than stellar start. That would only last one play, as an 11 yard pass to Brooks was supplemented with a facemask penalty against Noble, the 15 free yards giving Fresno State a first down at our 49 yard line. Our four man pass rush proved to be enough on first down, getting enough penetration to force Williams to throw the ball away. The second down pass would be more successful, complete to Green for a gain of 17 yards and a first down at our 31 yard line. Continuing through the air, Williams connected with Fenton for a three yard gain, followed by a two yard pass to Rogers, leaving third and 5. Our defense would essentially gift the Bulldogs a first down as McBride was flagged for encroachment, resulting in third and inches. Williams would skip the first down and just go straight for the end zone with a QB read, turning the left corner and rushing it in for a 21 yard touchdown, giving Fresno State a 34-17 lead with 5:19 left in the third quarter.

A 54 yard kickoff return up the left sideline by Roberson gave our offense back the ball at our 49 yard line for our next drive. Paris got the drive started with a two yard rush, inching us into Fresno State territory, followed by a 17 yard completion to tight end Jack Long to get the first down at the Bulldogs 32 yard line. Another pass to Long gained 9 yards on the play, the first down coming on a 5 yard rush by Roberson to the Fresno State 19 yard line. Keeping it on the ground, Paris was quickly brought down for just a two yard gain. Heading into the air on second down, Barnes was able to hook up with Conley for a 10 yard pickup, setting up first and goal from the 7 yard line. Roberson headed straight up the middle on first down, fighting his way to a 5 yard gain, leaving second and goal from the two. A two yard rush by Paris would leave us just short, third and goal just inches from the goal line. Roberson would get the job done on third down, punching it in for the one yard touchdown to cut Fresno State’s lead to 34-24 with two minutes left in the third quarter.

A 29 yard kickoff return by Rogers got an extra boost, as a facemask penalty on the tackle by safety Kyle Mitchell added 15 yards to the play, setting Fresno State up with the ball at their 44 yard line. A heavy blitz on first down ended up getting to Williams, as he was hit by McBride from behind, the ball coming out during the sack. However, instead of being ruled a fumble, the refs waved it off as an incomplete pass, and Fresno State retained possession with second down. Another blitz forced a rushed pass by Williams, the second down screen pass intended for Martin ended up overthrown and incomplete, bringing up a big third down. We would catch a break as the pass over the middle intended for Green was broken up, and Fresno State was forced to punt on fourth down. A shanked punt by the Fresno State kicker sailed just 22 yards straight out of bounds, giving us possession at our 34 yard line.

Starting up our drive on the ground, Paris took the first down handoff for a 7 yard gain, followed by a four yard rush that he was just able to get across the line, good for a first down at the 45. Another rush by Paris netted us three yards. Running a play action pass on second down, McKinney was able to get the ball in his hands, but a hit to the back by the cornerback was enough to jar the ball loose and incomplete, leaving third and 7. The third down pass intended for Munoz was nearly intercepted and that would bring another drive to an end with fourth and 7. With no time left on the clock, Hayford would field the 34 yard punt and dodge, duck, dip, dive and dodge his way through our entire punt team, returning it all the way for an 83 yard touchdown, giving Fresno State a 41-24 lead at the end of the third quarter.

Opening up the fourth quarter, Douglas returned the kickoff 33 yards to get us lined up from our 30 yard line. Paris started our drive with a pair of four yard rushes, leaving us facing third and two. He would somehow manage to get two yards, clawing his way over top of the body of a defender to just get a first down at the 40 yard line. Trying to launch one deep, Barnes got hit in the back as he threw the ball, the pass sailing into the ground 15 yards downfield for an incomplete pass. A pass down the right sideline intended for Douglas was broken up by the cornerback, and we lined up with third down and long. Trying just to even get a first down, the pass over the middle intended for Munoz was intercepted by middle linebacker Kory Slaughter, who returned it 33 yards before finally being driven out of bounds at our 16 yard line.

Lining up at our 16 yard line after the interception, Williams connected with Green for a four yard reception, followed by a four yard rush by Martin to leave third and two. The Bulldogs would return to the end zone on third down with an 8 yard touchdown pass to Green, giving Fresno State a 48-24 lead with 6:45 left in the game.

A 29 yard kickoff return by Douglas got us back in action from our 29 yard line. Needing a miracle, we went straight into the air on first down, Barnes finding Greg Miller for a 15 yard gain and a first down at the 44 yard line. A pass to Martin over the middle gained us 5 yards, followed by a diving 18 yard grab by Conley, moving the chains to the Fresno State 34 yard line. A pass to Allen gained us 17 yards and another set of downs at the 17. A diving catch by Allen picked up a quick 14 yards and we had first and goal at the three yard line. Roberson took the handoff on first down and plowed his way into the end zone for a three yard touchdown, cutting Fresno State’s lead to 48-31 with 5:19 left in the game.

Going for the onside kick, it wasn’t meant to be as Fenton recovered it for Fresno State at our 43 yard line. The Bulldogs weren’t about to let us back in this one, Williams heaving up a pass to the end zone, dropping it in beyond our safety and into the hands of Rogers at the three yard line, Rogers trotting the rest of the way into the end zone for a one play, 43 yard touchdown, putting Fresno State back up 55-31 with 5:11 left in the game.

A 30 yard kickoff return by Douglas put our offense back on the field at our 30 yard line. Coming out firing again, the pass to Rhodes was broken up to leave second and 10. Conley would get us moving with a 17 yard reception over the middle for a first down at the 47 yard line. The first down pass intended for Rhodes was again broken up, nearly intercepted, leaving us with another second down. The second down pass to Conley ended up sailing long and incomplete, setting up third down. Munoz would come through in the clutch with an 18 yard reception to move the chains to the Fresno State 35 yard line. Conley, despite being sandwiched by two defenders, would come through massively by pulling in a high pass from Barnes for a 33 yard gain, giving us first and goal at the two yard line. Roberson would again need just one play to punch it in for a two yard touchdown, cutting Fresno State’s lead once more to 55-38 with 4:08 remaining.

The onside kick again failed, again recovered by Fenton to give Fresno State the ball at our 40 yard line. The Bulldogs got off to a slow start as the first down pass intended for Green ended up incomplete, bringing up second down. Our blitz got to Williams on second down, forcing him to throw the ball away to avoid a sack, leaving third and 10. The third down pass by Williams again ended up incomplete, as he threw too far in front of Ramsour to complete the pass. The 40 yard punt sailed into the end zone for a touchback, putting us back in action from our 20 yard line with 3:50 to play.

We got the drive started with a 10 yard completion to Rhodes, leaving second and inches at the 30. Going right back to Rhodes on second down, he would move the chains for us with a 9 yard reception to the 39 yard line. Munoz went up high for a very deep pass down the left sideline, but the cornerback and safety were able to jar the ball loose from his hands, the ball landing incomplete to bring up second down. The second down pass intended for Conley ended up getting deflected by the crossing Munoz, and that would leave third down. Launching one deep to Allen, the pass from Barnes ended up intercepted by cornerback James Poland, who returned it straight down the sideline 36 yards, finally brought down at our 14 yard line with 2:55 left in the game.

Taking over at our 14 yard line after the interception, Williams would get the job done himself, keeping the ball on first down on a QB read and rushing it in for a 14 yard touchdown, increasing Fresno State’s lead to 62-38 with 2:51 remaining.

A 38 yard kickoff return by Moore got us back in action from our 32 yard line, this one essentially over. Taking a shot deep, Munoz would this time hold onto the ball after going up over top of the cornerback for it, good for a gain of 32 yards and a first down at the Fresno State 36 yard line. A deep pass down the opposite sideline intended for Conley was broken up at the two yard line, leaving second down. The second down pass over the middle to Long got broken up by the outside linebacker, and we again faced third and long. Trying to hit Rhodes on an out route, the pass from Barnes would end up sailing high and long, landing incomplete out of bounds to leave us with fourth and 10. The fourth down pass over the middle intended for Dante May was broken up by the middle linebacker, and we turned it over on downs at the Fresno State 36 yard line, essentially the icing on the cake of a Fresno State win as the Bulldogs took over with 2:13 to go.

A first down handoff to Martin ended up in a two yard loss from the Bulldogs. Adding insult to injury, Martin took the ball straight up the middle on second down, breaking loose for a 58 yard gain, tackled by his ankles to save the touchdown and give Fresno State first and goal at our 8 yard line, 1:23 remaining, not even bothering to use our three timeouts as we raised the white flag. Thomas Freeman took over in the backfield with a 5 yard rush, before the QB keeper by Williams resulted in a two yard loss, leaving third and goal from the 5. That would be the final play of the game as the Bulldogs let the clock run out without another snap, Fresno State winning in domination fashion, 62-38.

With the loss, we drop to 0-5, 0-1 in Mountain West action. With the win, Fresno State improves to 2-2, 1-0 in Mountain West play. Up next, we head back on the road to take on Hawaii. The Warriors enter the game 1-4, 1-0 in Mountain West action. Hawaii opened their year on a three game losing streak, dropping games to #7 Washington 24-22, Oregon State 34-17 and at Colorado 23-13. The Warriors would finally break into the win column by beating New Mexico 35-28, before falling at #19 Auburn 31-14 heading into our game.

Final Score
:Fresno_State: 62, :Utah_State: 38

Stat(s) of the Game:
Utah State Offense - A bad day for Barnes. Started the game something like 2-15. Ended up going 28-61 (45%) for 441 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions. Rushing, Roberson led the way with 77 yards and three touchdowns on 20 carries. Paris had 42 yards on 12 rushes. Receiving, Conley led the way with 111 yards on seven receptions. Douglas ended with 52 yards and both receiving touchdowns on four catches. In total, 11 different receivers caught a pass today, nine ending with double digit yards, Conley the only one to reach triple digits.

Utah State Defense – The good? One lone interception. The bad? 62 points, 421 yards passing, 525 yards of total offense. If we include special teams, 130 punt return yards, 179 kick return yards, 834 total yards, 101 yard kickoff return for a TD and an 83 yard punt return for a TD. 5 of Fresno State's 8 touchdowns came on plays of 20 yards or more.

Utah State Kicking – Perfection was elusive today. Marcus ended 1-2 in field goal attempts, successfully kicking a 41 yard field goal, but hooking a 42 yard kick wide left. He did at least go 5-5 in PATs.

Scoring Summary

Team
1st Quarter
2nd Quarter
3rd Quarter
4th Quarter
Final Score

:Fresno_State:
17
10
14
21
62

:Utah_State:
0
17
7
14
38

Time
Team
Result
Play
Score

First Quarter

5:44
:Fresno_State:
Field Goal
T. Bain, 20 yard field goal
:Fresno_State: 3-0

2:37
:Fresno_State:
Touchdown
D. Ramsour, 69 yard pass from D. Williams (T. Bain kick)
:Fresno_State: 10-0

0:34
:Fresno_State:
Touchdown
D. Martin, 3 yard pass from D. Williams (T. Bain kick)
:Fresno_State: 17-0

Second Quarter

3:22
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
D. Douglas, 4 yard pass from J. Barnes (D. Marcus kick)
:Fresno_State: 17-7

2:30
:Fresno_State:
Field Goal
T. Bain, 39 yard field goal
:Fresno_State: 20-7

1:28
:Utah_State:
Field Goal
D. Marcus, 41 yard field goal
:Fresno_State: 20-10

1:15
:Fresno_State:
Touchdown
D. Rogers, returned kickoff 101 yards (T. Bain kick)
:Fresno_State: 27-10

0:02
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
D. Douglas, 5 yard pass from J. Barnes (D. Marcus kick)
:Fresno_State: 27-17

Third Quarter

5:19
:Fresno_State:
Touchdown
D. Williams 22 yard run (T. Bain kick)
:Fresno_State: 34-17

2:00
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
P. Roberson, 1 yard run (D. Marcus kick)
:Fresno_State: 34-24

0:00
:Fresno_State:
Touchdown
Q. Hayford, returned punt 83 yards (T. Bain kick)
:Fresno_State: 41-24

Fourth Quarter

6:45
:Fresno_State:
Touchdown
T. Green, 8 yard pass from D. Williams (T. Bain kick)
:Fresno_State: 48-24

5:19
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
P. Roberson, 3 yard run (D. Marcus kick)
:Fresno_State: 48-31

5:11
:Fresno_State:
Touchdown
D. Rogers, 43 yard pass from D. Williams (T. Bain kick)
:Fresno_State: 55-31

4:08
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
P. Roberson, 2 yard run (D. Marcus kick)
:Fresno_State: 55-38

2:51
:Fresno_State:
Touchdown
D. Williams, 15 yard run (T. Bain kick)
:Fresno_State: 62-38

Game Stats

Fresno State
Stat
Utah State

62
Score
38

16
First Downs
25

525
Total Offense
552

14 - 104 - 2
Rushes - Yards - TD
33 - 111 - 3

23 - 45 - 4
Comp - Att - TD
28 - 61 - 2

421
Passing Yards
441

1
Times Sacked
1

3 - 11 (27%)
3rd Down Conversion
9 - 20 (45%)

0 - 0 (0%)
4th Down Conversion
0 - 1 (0%)

0 - 0 (0%)
2-Point Conv
0 - 0 (0%)

6 - 3 - 2 (100%)
Red Zone - TD - FG
5 - 5 - 0 (100%)

1
Turnovers
3

0
Fumbles Lost
0

1
Intercepted
3

130
Punt Return Yards
16

179
Kick Return Yards
351

834
Total Yards
919

4 – 36.3
Punts - Average
6 - 40.0

0 - 0
Penalties
5 - 48

13:52
Time of Possession
22:08

Utah State Coach Goals

Goal
XP Reward
Completed

Score a Touchdown
25
x5

Force a Turnover
25
x1

Pass for 250 Yards
25
x1

Rush for 100 Yards
25
x1

Opponent Under 150 Rush Yards
50
x1

100% Red Zone Efficiency
50
x1

Score 21 or More Points
50
x1

350+ Offensive Yards
50
x1

10+ First Downs
50
x1

4+ 3rd Down Conversions
25
x1

Utah State Contract Goals Update

Goal
Expectations
Progress

Target Wins Per Season
7
0

Job Security Status

100%

SmoothPancakes

11-20-2013, 07:57 PM

Taking a look around the nation, in the Top 25, #1 Ohio State out-gunned Cincinnati 52-45 with a 15 yard touchdown pass with 1:18 left in the game. In the game of the week, #2 Oklahoma won the Red River Rivalry over #4 Texas 31-28. #3 USC handled Arizona State 40-21. #5 TCU beat Kansas State 37-17. #6 Notre Dame whooped #10 North Carolina 49-21. #7 Miami defeated Boston College 28-7. Illinois knocked off #9 Michigan State 27-20. #11 Texas A&M dominated Texas State 56-6.

#12 Oregon escaped Utah 27-21. #13 Georgia Tech held off #20 Clemson 26-17. #14 Virginia Tech topped NC State 27-3. Kentucky knocked off #16 South Carolina 38-28. #17 Baylor thrashed Texas Tech 48-17. #18 Louisville beat Virginia 45-31. #21 Auburn beat Hawaii 31-14. #22 Nebraska escaped Rutgers 33-28. #23 Ole Miss topped Louisiana-Lafayette 24-6. #24 UCLA beat California 31-17. And #25 Northwestern held off Purdue 20-13.

For our readers, JeffHCross, #1 Ohio State improves to 4-0 (1-0 Big Ten) with a 52-45 win over Cincinnati. Morsdraconis, West Virginia remains 2-2 (0-1 Big 12) with a bye week. Souljahbill, Southern Miss drops to 1-3 (0-0 C-USA) with a 34-7 loss to BYU. Jaymo, Arizona State drops to 3-1 (1-1 Pac-12) with a 40-21 loss to #3 USC. LeeSO, #21 Auburn improves to 4-1 (2-1 SEC) with a 31-14 win over Hawaii. SCClassof93, #16 South Carolina drops to 3-2 (3-1 SEC) a 38-28 loss to Kentucky. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State improves to 3-1 (1-0 Sun Belt) with a 44-24 upset of Arkansas. Florida International drops to 0-5 (0-1 C-USA) with a 38-35 loss to Rice. Navy improves to 4-1 (3-1 American) with a 34-3 win over Air Force, putting Navy in the driver's seat for the C-I-C Trophy. Tulsa improves to 2-3 (1-2 American) with a 38-35 upset of Central Florida.

In Mountain West action, Fresno State beat Utah State 62-38, Wyoming topped Colorado State 24-21, Boise State beat UNLV 24-14, New Mexico edged FCS Northwest 24-14, #21 Auburn topped Hawaii 31-14, Navy whooped Air Force 34-3 and New Mexico State knocked off San Jose State 20-17.

Looking at undefeated teams left, #20 Clemson, Arizona State, Central Florida, Cincinnati, Louisiana-Lafayette and NC State all lost this week, dropping our number of undefeated teams to 11. #1 Ohio State (4-0), #2 Oklahoma (4-0), #3 USC (6-0), #5 TCU (3-0), #7 Miami (5-0), #15 Michigan (4-0), #17 Baylor (4-0), Army (5-0), Indiana (4-0), Oklahoma State (4-0) and Penn State (5-0) all remain with an unblemished record this season.

Turning to a more sadistic watch, who is still winless. There remains 8 teams still looking for their first win: Florida International (0-5), Massachusetts (0-6), Miami University (0-5), SMU (0-5), Tulane (0-5), UNLV (0-4), Utah State (0-5) and UTSA (0-5).

Teams getting their first win this week were: Boise State (24-14 over 0-4 UNLV), Buffalo (20-17 over 2-3 Western Michigan), Wisconsin (38-14 over 1-4 Minnesota) and Wyoming (24-21 over 2-4 Colorado State).

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Oklahoma (37 first place votes) jumps one to #1, Ohio State (22 votes) drops one to #2, USC (1 vote) remains #3, TCU (1 vote) climbs one to #4 and Miami jumps two to #5. Notre Dame remains #6, Washington climbs one to #7, Michigan leaps seven to #8, Texas falls five to #9 and Texas A&M climbs one to #10. Baylor jumps six to #11, Oregon remains #12, Georgia Tech remains #13, Virginia Tech remains #14 and North Carolina drops five to #15. Louisville jumps two to #16, Michigan State drops eight to #17, Alabama climbs one to #18, Auburn jumps two to #19 and Nebraska climbs two to #20. Ole Miss climbs two to #21, Illinois enters the poll at #22, UCLA moves up one to #23, Clemson drops four to #24 and Northwestern (216 points) remains #25. Dropping out of the poll this week was South Carolina (from #16). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Oregon State (196 points) is #26, followed by South Carolina (194), Florida (160), Kentucky (133) and Oklahoma State (129) to round out the Top 30. One other team getting points this week is Toledo (92).

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Media Poll, Oklahoma (43 first place votes) jumps two to #1, Ohio State (21 votes) drops one to #2, USC (1 vote) falls one to #3, Miami climbs three to #4 and TCU jumps three to #5. Notre Dame remains #6, Michigan leaps six to #7, Texas A&M climbs one to #8, Washington jumps two to #9 and Texas drops six to #10. Baylor jumps five to #11, Oregon remains #12, Georgia Tech climbs one to #13, Virginia Tech moves up one to #14 and Michigan State drops ten to #15. North Carolina falls six to #16, Louisville moves up one to #17, UCLA jumps two to #18, Alabama rises two to #19 and Auburn climbs two to #20. Illinois enters the poll at #21, Nebraska climbs one to #22, Clemson drops four to #23, Ole Miss remains #24 and Oregon State (288 points) remains #25. Dropping out of the poll this week was South Carolina (from #17). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Florida (248 points) is #26, followed by South Carolina (220), Kentucky (189), Northwestern (184) and Oklahoma State (133) to round out the Top 30.

A look at the Heisman race, Texas A&M QB Zac Hopkins is #1 (LW: #1), USC HB William Mann is #2 (LW: #2), Ohio State QB Matt Cowan is #3 (LW: #5), Louisville QB Jeff Johnston is #4 (LW: NR) and Florida QB Brandon Dahl is #5 (LW: NR). Dropping off of the Heisman Watch List this week were Alabama QB Aaron Walters (LW: #3) and Washington QB Wesley Gross (LW: #4).

jaymo76

11-23-2013, 01:26 PM

SmoothPancakes

11-24-2013, 06:22 AM

Well Smooth now that you have your ONE... do you see a time in the near future where you are playing NCAA? As I told you earlier I am just loving next gen too much right now to even look at my PS3. Between the best game ever made (2k14), Madden 25, Resogun (a super cool indie game) and Contrast (another awesome indie game) AND watching people on Twitch I honestly don't know when I will get back to NCAA. Before Christmas? Probably not! After Christmas? Well I'm hoping for a few PS4 games so who knows???

P.S. Are you getting Madden? I know you're not a huge Madden guy but it is significantly better on next gen. That will totally meet a lot of my football fix. Truth by told I am expecting huge things for Madden 15, or whatever they are going to call it.

P.S.2 Do you have Dead Rising? People are saying it's a blast. Ryse Son of Rome looks good too. (damn exclusives! lol)

I'm still going to try. In fact, yesterday after work, before I went to sleep, I moved my TV and did some stretching and acrobatics and managed to get my 360 power cord and its HDMI cord in through the back of the entertainment center, so all I have to do is figure out the exact arrangement on the shelf between my 360 and my cable box and get it plugged in, and I'll be able to fire my 360 up and get back into my dynasty.

As for when I'll actually get back into my dynasty, that still remains to be seen. Despite having my ONE in my possession since 11:15am Friday, I've gotten to play maybe 3 hours of it so far, mostly in Forza 5, maybe 30 minutes in Dead Rising 3. Between work, sleep and Navy football, I haven't even fired up one of my games since around 4pm Friday afternoon. So today and tomorrow, any gaming will be spent 100% on ONE games. Tuesday and Wednesday I'm busy all day with work. So it could still be Thanksgiving Day or next weekend before I get the dynasty back up and running.

2K14 is the next game I plan to get, and that will definitely eat up loads of time. :D I may get Madden at some point. I bought Madden 13 last year when my friend got it for Christmas, so me and him could play online together. It had a lot of issues though. If Madden 25 is a lot better, I'll look into picking it up sometime in the near future.

And yes, I have Dead Rising 3. I only have 3 games so far for my ONE, but they were all Day One editions of the Xbox One exclusives, getting Dead Rising 3, Forza 5 and Ryse: Son of Rome. So those will be keeping me mighty busy. :D Today I'll probably be focusing on Dead Rising 3 and Ryse: Son of Rome. I'm only 30 minutes into DR3, but I'll probably fire up Ryse first, since I have yet to even start that for the first time. Should be a fun day. :nod:

And keep me apprised of some very good PS4 games. I'm planning on adding a PS4 to my entertainment center sometime either towards the end of 2014 or 2015, so I'll be looking for some good PS4 exclusives to pick up for it. :up:

SmoothPancakes

12-01-2013, 06:41 PM

So while catching up on the last two weeks of the Walking Dead, I've been doing some more research online. It looks like a rivalry has been born. As I mentioned back in July, fans of both Utah State and Wyoming were trying to start a movement and get the unofficial rivalry between Utah State and Wyoming made into an official rivalry with a traveling trophy. Looks like the calls and emails to the ADs of both schools paid off, as an official named rivalry with a traveling trophy was announced this past Monday.

The Utah State-Wyoming game is now officially known as "Bridger's Battle", with the winning team taking home the traveling "Bridger Rifle", a .50 caliber Rocky Mountain Hawken rifle. I've updated my schedule back on page 72 to reflect this change, and will also be updating my schedule from last season, as well as last season's Utah State-Wyoming game post to change things from "The Rodeo" (an unofficial name I was using for the rivalry at the time) to the current "Bridger's Battle".

https://fbexternal-a.akamaihd.net/safe_image.php?d=AQBWqZvT6Z5NlSVD&w=398&h=208&url=https%3A%2F%2Fscontent-b.xx.fbcdn.net%2Fhphotos-frc3%2Fq71%2Fs720x720%2F1453563_648353985215646_33 09143_n.jpg&cfs=1&upscale

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BZ76wCeCMAIgUjw.jpg

http://www.utahstateaggies.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/112513aab.html

LOGAN, Utah - Utah State University and the University of Wyoming announced Monday that both schools have adopted a rivalry series in football that will begin this weekend and be referred to as "Bridger's Battle" in reference to celebrated Wyoming/Utah mountain man Jim Bridger.

Utah State officially joined the Mountain West Conference this past summer and as members of the Mountain Division will play Wyoming every season on the gridiron. The winner of the annual contest will take home the traveling "Bridger Rifle," a .50 caliber Rocky Mountain Hawken rifle that was popular among mountain men and widely considered to be what Bridger carried. Each year's game score will be notched into the maple stock.

The first official "Bridger's Battle" game will occur on Saturday November 30, 2013 when Utah State hosts Wyoming in Logan. Kickoff is scheduled for 12 p.m.

"It has been fun working with Wyoming Athletics Director Tom Burman and his staff on the Bridger's Battle game," said USU Vice President and Athletics Director Scott Barnes. "Our historic rivalry, geographic proximity and institutional commonalities make a rivalry trophy a no brainer. It's gratifying to see a rivalry being restored when in so many cases recently, the wave of conference realignment has forced several to fall."

"I think the concept of Bridger's Battle and the traveling rifle trophy is a good idea by both universities," said USU head coach Matt Wells. "The Wyoming series is one of the oldest in school history, and it will add great significance annually to the game."

As part of 1862's Morrill Act, both the University of Wyoming and Utah State University share the distinction of being "land-grant" institutions, providing invaluable educational and leadership opportunities in their respective states. The schools' football teams share a colorful history as well. The Cowboys and Aggies have met on the gridiron a total of 63 times, which is USU's fourth-most played series, with the first meeting occurring on November 21, 1903 in Logan. USU leads the all-time series, 35-24-4.

The states of Wyoming and Utah share much more in common than just a border. Both states are considered part of the American West, conjuring up images of cowboys, sodbusters, trappers and trailblazers. Much of the United States' western nostalgia can be attributed to the pioneering spirit that was embodied in the settlers who adventured into this wild frontier.

Born in 1804, Bridger is widely recognized as the foremost mountain man in the history of the American West. Bridger was one of the first Americans to set foot in Yellowstone Park, documenting the natural wonders of what would become the nation's first national park and establishing the first fur trading post in the area.

While leading the Stansbury Expedition in 1849, Bridger helped construct a route that would one day become part of the Transcontinental Railroad. Bridger spent a majority of his life in the Rocky Mountain region, primarily in the areas now known as Wyoming and Utah, trapping, guiding and exploring. Bridger's impact on western U.S. history is immense, providing much of the folklore the general public now identifies as the early west.

Along with Bridger's Battle, Utah State shares a rivalry series with in-state foe BYU as both teams have played for the "Old Wagon Wheel" since 1948. Overall, the series dates back to 1922 as the two teams have played one another 81 times, which is USU's second-most played rivalry game.

Utah State's old rivalry is with the University of Utah as the two schools have met 111 times in what is often referred to as the "Battle of the Brothers".

Utah State, Utah and BYU have competed for the "Beehive Boot" since 1971, a traveling trophy that signifies instate football supremacy among Division I universities from the state of Utah.

-USU-

SmoothPancakes

12-03-2013, 10:24 PM

Game Six

:Utah_State: :@: :Hawaii:

Game Story

--- Still trying to break this damned losing streak and achieve that still elusive first victory as we neared the halfway point of the season, we’d get probably one of our best shots as we traveled to take on a 1-4 Hawaii squad. The Warriors were definitely a middle of the road team, putting up offensive numbers to rank in the uppers 70s to mid 80s across the board. Their total and rushing defense were horrid (mid to upper 110s), while they had an average pass defense (#78). What would decide this game would be our ability to cease turning the ball over and complete drives instead of punting 6+ times a game. We’d also need our special teams to step up big this week, after giving up a 101 yard kickoff return and an 83 yard punt return both for a touchdown last week against Fresno State. If we could make those changes, we’d have a chance at getting win #1, despite all the talking heads picking Hawaii to win. Hawaii won the coin toss and elected to kick.

A 37 yard kickoff return by David Douglas got us lined up from our 37 yard line to begin the game. Preston Roberson received the handoff on first down, picking up 6 yards to start our drive. A 4 yard rush on second down would be enough for the first, moving the chains to the 47. Brian Paris would take over on first down, fighting his way to a 6 yard gain, followed by a three yard rush by Roberson to bring up our first third down of the day on third and one. Roberson would just manage to pick up the first down, despite being stood up at the line, officially given a one yard gain to move the sticks to the Hawaii 43 yard line. Paris received the ball on first down, pushing his way through the line to a gain of 8 yards. Lining up on second and two, Roberson took the handoff straight up the middle, picking up two yards on the play, but he was marked short to leave us facing third and inches. Roberson would be unable to convert, dragged down from behind for no gain to bring up fourth and inches from the 33 yard line. The 50 yard field goal attempt by Doug Marcus was no good, falling well short of the upright, giving Hawaii the ball at their 33 yard line with 4:59 left in the first quarter.

Jose Sanders came out passing on first down for the Warriors, but a blitz by our linebackers left a defender getting through untouched, forcing Sanders to throw the ball away to avoid a sack, getting Hawaii’s drive off to a less than stellar start. Another pass attempt on second down, this time intended for Nate Rose, was well off the mark and wide of the target, the incomplete pass bringing up third and 10. Sanders would never get the third pass off, sacked by outside linebacker Casey Hunter for a 7 yard loss to bring out the Hawaii punt team on fourth and 17. An 18 yard return by Roberson on the 38 yard punt gave us the ball starting from the Hawaii 47 yard line.

Handing the ball off on first down, Roberson was able to fight his way to a 5 yard gain, before a second down rush by Paris netted four yards to leave us with third and one. Taking another gamble on the ground, Roberson would be successful this time, finding a gap and pounding his way to an 11 yard gain, giving us a first down at the Hawaii 27 yard line. Another rush by Paris gained 7 yards, followed by an 8 yard scramble by Roberson to move the chains to the 12 yard line. Paris kept the ball moving on first down with a 5 yard carry, before a 6 yard rush by Roberson gave us first and goal at the one yard line. We would end up going backwards on first down, as the defense blitzed straight through our offensive line and tackled Paris for a four yard loss, leaving second and goal from the 5 yard line. Calling a play action pass on second down, the defense would bite fully and leave tight end Cedric McKinney wide open in the corner of the end zone for a 5 yard touchdown from Jason Barnes, giving us a 7-0 lead with 1:01 left in the first quarter.

A 20 yard return by Dennis Griffin started Hawaii from their 20 yard line this drive. Another bad pass by Sanders, intended for Aaron Lester, was nearly intercepted by the secondary, leaving second down. A screen pass to Kalvin Banks would result in Hawaii going backwards, as our defense blew up the play for a three yard loss, setting up third and 13. Sanders would heave up a pass to Walter White on third down, but it again would be woefully off target and incomplete, forcing another Hawaii punt. A 17 yard return by Roberson on the 38 yard punt gave us even better field position this time around, starting our drive from the Hawaii 39 yard line.

Coming out firing on first down, we took a shot deep down the left sideline to Travis Munoz, but the pass was broken up by the safety, and nearly intercepted by three different defenders as a volleyball game broke out, leaving us with second and 10. A deep pass over the middle to Douglas was complete for a 21 yard gain, giving us a first down at the Hawaii 17 yard line. That would be the final play of the first quarter, our lead 7-0 as we headed into the break.

Opening up the second quarter, we kept our passing attack going on first down, but it would meet disaster, as the first down pass to Munoz was complete at the three yard line. That was when everything hit a brick wall, as Munoz was hit from behind by the safety, causing a fumble. Safety Michael Fields was there to pick up the loose ball for Hawaii and proceeded to race down the sideline all the way to the end zone for a 93 yard returned fumble for a touchdown. Believing that it should have been ruled an incomplete pass instead of a fumble, as Munoz didn’t have enough time to cleanly possess the ball before it was knocked loose, we challenged the fumble. It was not meant to be as the play was upheld, allowing Hawaii to tie the game up 7-7 on the fumble return and leaving us with just two timeouts for the rest of the half, with 8:45 left in the second quarter.

A 30 yard kickoff return by Ryan Conley got us started from our 27 yard line. Coming out passing on first down, Barnes connected with Conley for a 12 yard gain and a quick first down at the 39. Max Rhodes kept us moving with a 14 yard grab to move the chains to the Hawaii’s 47 yard line. Walter Johnson got in on the action on first down with a 12 yard reception from Barnes, giving us a first down at the 35. Trying to connect with Conley on first down, the pass down the left sideline was broken up by the cornerback, nearly intercepted, before falling incomplete out of bounds to bring up second down. Rhodes came through for us on second down with a 15 yard completion to refresh the downs at the 19 yard line. Another pass, this time to Douglas, was good for a 12 yard gain to set us up with first and goal at the 8 yard line, Hawaii’s defense in full blown meltdown now. Roberson would put us back on the board on first down, receiving the handoff from Barnes and pounding his way straight up the middle and into the end zone for an 8 yard touchdown, giving us a 14-7 lead with 6:58 left in the second quarter.

Our lead would last just mere seconds, as Randall Roth received the kickoff one yard deep in the end zone, and, going up the right sideline, proceeded to shoulder his way through no less than 6 different members of our kickoff team, eventually breaking in the open and returning the kickoff 101 yards for a touchdown, tying things up at 14-14 with 6:43 left in the second quarter. At this point, Hawaii had run 6 offensive plays, going 1-5 passing for negative three yards, and a sack for a loss of 7 yards, leaving Hawaii with negative 10 yards of total offense. And yet because of defense and special teams, it was tied 14-14.

A 20 yard kickoff return by Roberson left us starting from our 16 yard line for our next drive. Roberson started our drive on the ground with a two yard rush, followed by a quick pass over the middle to tight end Jack Long for a 13 yard gain and a first down at the 31. A first down scramble by Barnes to avoid a sack would pay off, as he wheeled around to the right and turned up the field for a 19 yard gain on the ground to move the chains to midfield. It would end up being a very costly play as Barnes didn’t get up after the play. The injury ended up being a bruised sternum, sidelining Barnes for the rest of the game. With that, redshirt junior Ross Brown would be called upon to lead the offense for the rest of the game, taking his first snaps of his collegiate career. Resuming play after the injury, Roberson got our offense back in motion with a 6 yard rush, followed by a 5 yard carry by Paris to get the first down at the Hawaii 39 yard line. Roberson took the ball on first down for a gain of 6 yards, while Paris would continue to follow up behind with a 7 yard rush on second down, moving the chains to the 26. Continuing the two-headed combination, a first down rush by Roberson for 6 yard was followed by a three yard gain by Paris, leaving us with third and one at the 16. Roberson would get the job done on third down with a three dash up the middle, moving the chains to the Hawaii 13 yard line. Changing up the order, Paris took the ball on first down for a 5 yard gain, before a second down rush by Roberson resulted in no gain, leaving third and 5 from the 8 yard line. Dropping back to pass on third down, Brown would start his collegiate passing career in a big way, connecting with Douglas in the end zone for an 8 yard touchdown, giving us a 21-14 lead with 1:59 left in the second quarter.

Our kickoff team was quickly turning out to be a major issue today, as Hawaii nearly had their second straight kickoff return for a touchdown, Dennis Griffin finding himself a big hole, shouldering his way through one tackle attempt, and breaking free down the middle of the field. It would have been a touchdown had Griffin been just a little bit faster. Luckily he wasn’t and our kickoff team was able to drag him down from behind for “only” a 74 yard kickoff return, giving Hawaii the ball at our 28 yard line. Sanders came out firing to start the drive, connecting with Banks on a first down screen pass for an 8 yard gain, before finding Travis Kearney over the middle for a gain of 7 yard and a first down at our 13 yard line. Hawaii called their first timeout with 1:24 remaining. A 12 yard completion over the middle to Roth would leave Hawaii knocking on our door with first and goal from the one yard line, Hawaii calling their second timeout with 1:19 left. Sanders would fake the handoff and keep it himself around the left end, trotting into the end zone for the one yard touchdown, tying the game back up at 21-21 with 1:16 left.

A 24 yard kickoff return by Roberson gave us the ball at our 23 yard line, 1:11 left to work with. We were about to find out if Brown was going to cut it as a QB, needing to cover 77 yards in just over a minute. Brown got us off to a fine start, connecting with Conley for a 12 yard gain and a new set of downs at the 35. Rushing to the line of scrimmage, a quick snap resulted in a 17 yard completion from Brown to Munoz for a first down at the Hawaii 48 yard line. That would be all we would get as things would again come crashing down, Brown trying to connect with Aaron Allen along the sideline, only to be intercepted by cornerback Willie Henry. Keeping with tradition in this contest, Henry would proceed to return the interception 65 yards for a touchdown, giving Hawaii a 28-21 lead with 37 seconds remaining.

A 49 yard kickoff return by Douglas would give us the ball at our 48 yard line, leaving us a chance to do something with two timeouts and 30 seconds still on the clock. Shaking off the previous interception, Brown found Conley over the middle on first down for a 15 yard gain to move the chains to the Hawaii 37 yard line. Sprinting to the line, we were able to get the snap off with only one second ticking off the clock. Dropping back to pass on first down, pressure from the defense forced Brown to abandon the pocket. Rolling out to his right, Brown wasn’t going to be able to get the job done on the ground, as the defense started closing in on him, but throwing on the run across his body (something our other quarterbacks haven’t been able to figure out how to do), Brown rifled a pass downfield to Munoz, who was able to dive forward and grab the ball before it hit the ground, giving us a first down at the Hawaii 15 yard line, our second timeout called with 19 seconds left. Brown lined up in the shotgun on first down, finding Conley over the middle, complete for a 14 yard gain to give us first and goal at the one yard line. Racing to the line, Brown spiked the ball to stop the clock with 13 seconds left. We put the ball in the hands on Paris on second and goal, Paris initially stood up at the goal line, until the defender fell backward during the tackle attempt, dragging Paris into the end zone with him for a one yard touchdown, tying the game up at 28-28 with 11 seconds remaining.

Proving that our special teams were total trash, Griffin would receive the kickoff at the goal line, proceeding to sprint his way down the right sideline, while our entire kickoff team was laying on their backs, and take it back 100 yards for a touchdown, giving Hawaii a 35-28 lead with no time left on the clock, sending us into halftime down by a score.

Opening up the second half, pur kickoff team would finally do something, as Griffin could only manage a 29 yard kickoff return to leave Hawaii starting from their 27 yard line to start the third quarter. After seeing barely any action the entire second quarter, our defense was ready for blood. Cornerback Jesse Breedlove would provide that blood as he led five different defenders in sacking Sanders for a 9 yard loss, putting Hawaii into an immediate second and 19 hole. The second down pass intended for Griffin ended up incomplete, bringing up third and very long for the Warriors. In a head scratching play call, Hawaii would hand the ball off on third and 19, Banks trapped in the backfield for a one yard loss, bringing out Hawaii’s punt team on fourth and 20. A 19 yard return by Douglas on the 35 yard punt gave our offense great field position, starting from the Hawaii 34 yard line.

Starting our drive on the ground, Paris took the first down handoff for a 6 yard gain, followed by a 5 yard pickup to get the first down at the 23 yard line. After a four yard rush by Dante May, Brown dropped back from under center and found Munoz over the middle, needling a pass between two defenders for an 18 yard completion, giving us first and goal at the two yard line. Paris would cap off the drive on first down with a two yard touchdown run, evening the score back up at 35-35 with 6:22 left in the third quarter.

A 30 yard kickoff return by Roth gave Hawaii the ball from their 28 yard line. It would end up being a very brief drive, as an incomplete pass intended for Rose, a ball thrown away to avoid a sack and a two yard rush by Banks left Hawaii punting the ball away on fourth and 8. A 6 yard return by Douglas on the 35 yard punt left us starting from our 41 yard line.

Paris took the first down handoff, but found little room to run, brought down for a gain of only one yard on the play. Changing things up on second down, an attempted option play ended in disaster as Brown was brought down for a three yard loss, leaving us facing third and 12. It would go from bad to worse, as Brown tried to connect with Munoz over the middle, the pass intercepted by middle linebacker Mike Clement, who returned it 13 yards before finally being brought down at our 33 yard line.

Taking over from our 33 yard line after the interception, Hawaii came out passing on first down, our defense nearly able to return the favor as the pass intended for White was broken up, nearly intercepted, by safety Sam Vinson. Coming out on second down with an empty backfield, Sanders was forced to get rid of the ball to avoid the sack, leaving third and 10 for the Warriors. Lester would come through in the clutch for the green and black, hauling in a pass over the middle from Sanders for a 22 yard gain and a first down at our 12 yard line. Going no huddle on first down, Banks would receive the first down handoff, and despite our heavy blitz, slither his way through the defense and take it in for a 12 yard touchdown, giving Hawaii a 42-35 lead with 3:53 left in the third quarter.

A 52 yard kickoff return by Conley gave us the ball at our 47 yard line, the offense looking to respond. Things would go from disaster to full on catastrophe in a matter of 10 seconds, as Brown dropped back to pass on first down, sacked from behind by safety Nate Johnson. During the sack, Johnson was able to strip the ball loose, defensive end Brian Perkins picking up the fumble and rumbling his 262 pounds all the way to the end zone for a 37 yard fumble return for a touchdown, increasing Hawaii’s lead to 49-35 with 3:37 left in the third quarter.

A 46 yard kickoff return by Conley got us back on the field from our 41 yard line, looking for any ray of hope this drive. A first down rush by Paris gained 7 yards, followed by a 5 yard rush to get the first down at the Hawaii 47 yard line. A carry by May on first down would pick up four yards, leaving second and 6. Dropping back to pass on second down, Brown found Munoz over the middle for a 13 yard gain and a first down at the 29 yard line. Tight end Maurice Martin got in on the action on first down, pulling in a pass from Brown for a 19 yard pickup to give us first and goal from the 10 yard line. A three yard pass to May on first down was followed by a one yard completion to Johnson to leave third and goal at the 6 yard line. The third down pass intended for a wide open May was off the mark, forced up to decide between a field goal or going for it on fourth down. Deciding we needed something out of this drive, we settled for the field goal, the 23 yard kick good to cut Hawaii’s lead to 49-38 with 46 seconds left in the third quarter.

An 18 yard kickoff return by Roth left Hawaii starting from their 19 yard line, not all hope yet lost as long as our defense could continue doing its job. A very quick throw on first down intended for Rose would have been bad for our defense, but we lucked out as the pass was high and sailed over Rose’s head, leaving Hawaii with second down. Cornerback Kevin Moore would get a hand on the second down pass intended for Kearney, breaking it up to bring up third and 10 for the Warriors. A serious mismatch on the third down play, that left one receiver completely undefended, forced us to piss away our first timeout of the second half. Relining up on third down, it would be all for naught as White pulled down the third down pass for an 11 yard gain, moving the chains to the 30 yard line. Going no huddle on first down, Sanders found Banks over the middle for a short three yard gain, before our defense would strike back, sacking Sanders for a loss of 8 yards to leave third and 14. That would be the final play of the third quarter as the last few seconds ticked off the clock, Hawaii leading 49-38.

Opening up the fourth quarter, Hawaii lined up on third and 14, looking to keep their drive alive. Handing the ball off on third down, Banks was briefly able to break past the defensive line, but he would only manage a 5 yard gain before being spun down from behind, leaving Hawaii’s punt team coming out on fourth and 9. A 19 yard return by Douglas on the 40 yard punt got our offense back on the field from our 47 yard line, 8:25 left in the game.

Lining up on first down at our 47 yard line, we came out passing from the get go. Unfortunately Brown would choose now to fall apart, his pass to a completely undefended Rhodes horrendously overthrown and incomplete, bringing up second down. A quick pass to Martin over the middle would finally get us moving, picking up 16 yards and a first down at the Hawaii 36 yard line. A first down pass to Munoz picked up six yards, before a brief completion to Conley was knocked incomplete, leaving third and four. Kevin Moore would come through for us on third down with a 9 yard reception, moving the chains to the 21 yard line. Greg Miller would come in on first down, pulling in a 19 yard reception over the cornerback’s head, setting us up with first and goal from the two yard line. Allen would put us back on the board on first down, pulling in the quick pass from Brown for a two yard touchdown, cutting Hawaii’s lead to 49-45 with 6:56 left in the game.

A 24 yard kickoff return by Griffin set Hawaii up from their 25 yard line. We caught a massive break on first down, as blown coverage by our secondary left White completely undefended a good 30 yards down the left sideline. White would however turn out to have butterfingers and let the ball go right off his hands and out of bounds, bringing up second down. After throwing the ball away to avoid a sack on second down, Roth would briefly pull in the third down pass from Sanders, only to have it knocked loose and incomplete by Vinson to leave the Warriors punting on fourth and 10. A 9 yard return by Conley on the 41 yard punt left us lining up at our 43 yard line.

Coming out on first down, we decided to take a shot down the field and challenge the defense. What a mistake that would be as the ball went right through the hands of Conley and instead was intercepted by cornerback Brian Morris, giving Hawaii back the ball at their 17 yard line.

Taking over after the interception, Micah Smart would pull in a first down pass from Sanders for a 10 yard gain, marked just short to leave second and inches. A quick pass to Rose gained one yard on the play, moving the chains to the 27 yard line. With Hawaii going no huddle, we were forced to burn our second timeout to give our defense a chance to reorganize. A 5 yard completion to Rose was followed by a 19 yard pass right back to Rose, picking up a first down at our 48 yard line. Our defense would get a brief breather as the first down pass intended for White was dropped incomplete, bringing up second down. A deep pass to a fully stretched out diving Kearney was completed on first down for a 29 yard gain, giving Hawaii a first down at our 19 yard line. Sanders was forced to throw the ball away on first down as he was leveled by the blitz, leaving second and 10. Hawaii caught a break on second down, as defensive end Caleb McBride hit Sanders from behind, causing the pass from Sanders to essentially go straight up in the air, and nearly intercepted by one of our defensive linemen, the play leaving third and 10. Despite being level again by McBride, Sanders was just able to get the pass off, intended for White. White however would fail his job, as he dropped the pass that hit him squarely in the hands near the first down line, Hawaii ultimately forced to settle for a field goal. We were nearly able to block the kick, but the 36 yard field goal by Cory Leach was good, giving Hawaii a 52-45 lead with 5:25 left in the game.

A 37 yard kickoff return by Conley gave our offense the ball from our 37 yard line. Starting the drive on the ground, May took the first down handoff for a 7 yard gain, quieting down the raucous Hawaii crowd. A 9 yard rush by May would pick up the first down at the 48 yard line. Making a surprise appearance in the backfield, Munoz received the handoff on first down, taking it for a gain of 7 yards, followed by a three yard rush by May to get the first down at the 37 yard line. Munoz would take the ball again for a three yard rush, before a play action pass left Conley beating his defender, pulling in the pass near the left hash, avoiding the ankle tackle and turning up the sideline for a 26 yard gain before being pushed out of bounds to give us first and goal at the 8 yard line. That play would leave the stadium nearly silent as it took the air out of the crowd. May took the ball on first down for a two yard gain, followed by a 5 yard rush by Munoz to leave third and goal at the one yard line. Lining up in goal line formation, May officially gained one yard, but was held short of the goal line, leaving fourth and goal from just outside the end zone. Going for it on fourth and goal, Brown would keep it on the QB sneak, driving his way into the end zone off his center for the one yard touchdown. Marcus would drill the PAT right down the middle to tie the game up at 52-52 with 1:01 left in the game.

Griffin would only manage a 25 yard kickoff return, Hawaii’s offense taking over from their 26 yard line, 57 seconds on the clock. It would end up being a series that left everyone in the stadium in complete confusion. Hawaii came out passing on first down, as Sanders found Banks for a 5 yard completion. Racing to the line in no-huddle, Hawaii let the clock just tick down, not snapping the ball until there was two seconds left on the play clock. The second down play would result in Sanders being sacked for a 9 yard loss, leaving third and 14 for Hawaii, the Warriors finally using a timeout with 14 seconds left. Dropping back to pass on third down, the defense would again get to Sanders, sacking him for an 8 yard loss as he tried to roll out of the pocket, bringing up fourth and 22 from the 14 yard line. Instead of forcing us to use our final timeout or just letting the clock expire, Hawaii called their second timeout to stop the clock with 7 seconds to go before lining up to punt. We went all out to block the punt, but were unable to do so. Conley was forced to call for a fair catch on the 40 yard punt to keep the clock from expiring during the play, giving us the ball at our 45 yard line, two seconds remaining. Our prayers were almost answered as Conley was able to pull down the deep pass at the 14 yard line, but he would get tackled from behind at the 8 yard line for a gain of 47 yards, and we would head for overtime.

We won the coin toss and elected to go on defense first. Coming out passing on first down, Sanders connected with Kearney for a 13 yard gain and a quick first down at the 12 yard line. Throwing underneath, Sanders found White for a 5 yard gain, before a pass intended for Rose bounced off the back of our defender, leaving Hawaii facing third and 5 from our 7 yard line. Sanders chucked up a pass to White near the first down line, but an aware defender limited the damage to just a four yard gain and kept White short of the first down, forcing Hawaii to settle for a field goal on fourth and one from our three yard line. It would turn into fourth and 6 from the 8 yard line as a false start penalty backed the line of scrimmage up. Leach would nail the 25 yard field goal, giving Hawaii a 55-52 lead.

Lining up for our turn in overtime, we decided to stick with what had been working so far, as Brown handed the ball off to May for a 5 yard carry, before he would be stood up for a one yard gain to leave third and four from the 19. Lining up in the shotgun on third down, Brown dumped the ball off to fullback Darrell Archie, but while he would pick up four yards on the play, he would be marked short of the first down, leaving fourth and inches from the 15 yard line. While it was only inches, we would choose not to take the gamble and settle for the 32 yard field goal by Marcus, tying the game back up at 55-55 and sending us into a second overtime.

Returning to the field on offense, May was only able to initially gain two yards on the first down carry, but defensive end Lorenzo Robertson would help us out, as he was flagged for a facemask penalty on the tackle. The 15 free yards would set us up with a first down from the Hawaii 12 yard line. Another rush by May had better success, going for a 7 yard gain to set up second and three. Munoz took the ball on second down, fighting his way to a three yard gain, leaving third and inches from the two yard line. Receiving the handoff on third down, May plowed into the line and dived forward, awarded one yard on the play to give us first and goal from the one yard line. May would get stuffed for no gain on the first down carry, followed by a rush for no gain by Munoz, bringing up third and goal. Repeating the end of the fourth quarter, Brown would keep the ball himself on the QB sneak and drive his way into the end zone for a one yard touchdown, giving us a 62-55 lead.

It would take Hawaii exactly one play to respond, as a screen pass to Banks resulted in a 25 yard touchdown, and we were tied back up at 62-62 and headed into overtime number three.

Starting the third overtime, Hawaii lined back up from the 25 yard line. Sanders came out firing over the middle, trying to connect with Rose 15 yards downfield, but Vinson would be there to break the pass up and leave Hawaii with second down. Despite being hit as he threw, Sanders was able to get a pass off to Kearney for a 17 yard gain and set up first and goal at the 8 yard line. Hawaii would end up going backwards on first down, as Banks was brought down in the backfield for a three yard loss, leaving second and goal from the 11 yard line. A second down pass to White gained 7 yards, leaving the Warriors with third and goal at the four yard line. Our defense would come through huge on third down, sacking Sanders for an 8 yard loss, forcing Hawaii to settle for a field goal attempt on fourth and goal from the 13 yard line. The 30 yard field goal by Leach was good, putting Hawaii back on top 65-62.

Lining up for our possession in the third overtime, May got us started on the ground with a four yard carry up the middle. Lining up under center on second down, Brown tried to hit Martin over the middle from the tight end position, but the pass would be intercepted by ?, Brown throwing his school record-tying fourth interception of the game. That would bring the game to an end and let Hawaii walk out with the 65-62 triple overtime victory.

With the loss, we fall to 0-6, 0-2 in Mountain West action. With the win, Hawaii improves to 2-4, 2-0 in Mountain West play. Up next, we return home to take on New Mexico. The Lobos enter the game 2-4, 0-2 in Mountain West action. New Mexico opened their year with a 36-31 loss at Missouri, before beating UTSA 20-17. A 38-35 overtime loss at New Mexico State was followed by a 38-28 defeat to Hawaii. New Mexico would get back on track with a 24-14 win over FCS Northwest before falling 21-18 at San Diego State.

Final Score

:Hawaii: 65, :Utah_State: 62 – 3 OT

Stats of the Game:
Utah State Offense - In very limited action, Barnes went 9-11 for 117 yards and one touchdown before being lost due to injury. Brown, in as replacement, ended 19-26 for 271 yards, with two touchdowns and four interceptions. Rushing, Roberson led the way with 78 yards and one touchdown on 17 carries. Next was Paris with 73 yards and two touchdowns and 17 carries. May followed with 51 yards on 14 rushes. Munoz had 16 yards on 5 carries. Brown ended up -11 yards, but two touchdowns, on four carries and Barnes had one rush for 19 yard.

Receiving, we had a record high 13 different players catch a pass today. Conley led the way with 126 yards on six receptions. Next was Munoz with 88 yards on six catches. Douglas had 41 yards and one touchdown on three receptions. Martin ended with 36 yards on two catch, Rhodes with 29 yards on two catches. Miller had one catch for 19 yards, Long ended with one catch for 13 yards. Johnson had two catches for 13 yards, Moore had one reception for 9 yards, McKinney ended with 5 yards and one touchdown on one reception. Archie picked up four yards with his one catch, May had one catch for three yards and Allen recorded two yards and one touchdown in his only catch of the game.

Utah State Defense/Special Teams – The defense actually was very solid today. They held Hawaii to negative yards on the ground (thanks to 6 sacks) and limited the Warriors to just 165 yards of total offense. Hawaii was able to put together a couple touchdown drives, but almost always due to a very short field. And the limited Hawaii to just a field goal at the end so we needed only a touchdown to tie.

Special teams was a disaster. In the second quarter alone, two kickoff returns for 101 yards and 99 yards. Hawaii ended up with 416 kick return yards by the end of the game. Also, while it wasn't all special teams related, I'll just put it here, Hawaii scored just about every way possible on us today. A 101 yard kickoff return, a 99 yard kickoff return, a 93 yard fumble return, a 65 yard interception return and a 37 yard fumble return. The second quarter alone was ridiculous, with both kickoff returns, the interception return and one fumble return, all 65 yards or greater, taking place and allowing Hawaii to not only stick right with us the entire quarter despite essentially never seeing offense, but also to take a lead into halftime. About the only thing missing today was a punt return, a blocked or missed field goal returned and a safety. Otherwise, it was all seen today.

Utah State Kicking – A less than perfect day for Marcus, going 2-3 in field goals from 23 and 32 yards out while missing a 50 yard attempt short. Marcus also went 8-8 in PATs.

Scoring Summary

Team
1st Quarter
2nd Quarter
3rd Quarter
4th Quarter
Overtime
Final Score

:Utah_State:
7
21
10
14
10
62

:Hawaii:
0
35
14
3
13
65

Time
Team
Result
Play
Score

First Quarter

1:01
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
C. McKinney, 5 yard pass from J. Barnes (D. Marcus kick)
:Utah_State: 7-0

Second Quarter

8:45
:Hawaii:
Touchdown
M. Fields, returned fumble 93 yards (C. Leach kick)
TIED 7-7

6:58
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
P. Roberson, 8 yard run (D. Marcus kick)
:Utah_State: 14-7

6:43
:Hawaii:
Touchdown
R. Roth, returned kickoff 101 yards (C. Leach kick)
TIED 14-14

1:59
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
D. Douglas, 8 yard pass from R. Brown (D. Marcus kick)
:Utah_State: 21-14

1:16
:Hawaii:
Touchdown
J. Sanders, 1 yard run (C. Leach kick)
TIED 21-21

0:37
:Hawaii:
Touchdown
W. Henry, returned interception 65 yards (C. Leach kick)
:Hawaii: 28-21

0:11
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
B. Paris, 1 yard run (D. Marcus kick)
TIED 28-28

0:00
:Hawaii:
Touchdown
D. Griffin, returned kickoff 99 yards (C. Leach kick)
:Hawaii: 35-28

Third Quarter

6:22
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
B. Paris, 2 yard run (D. Marcus kick)
TIED 35-35

3:53
:Hawaii:
Touchdown
K. Banks, 12 yard run (C. Leach kick)
:Hawaii: 42-35

3:37
:Hawaii:
Touchdown
B. Perkins, returned fumble 37 yards (C. Leach kick)
:Hawaii: 49-35

0:46
:Utah_State:
Field Goal
D. Marcus, 23 yard field goal
:Hawaii: 49-38

Fourth Quarter

6:56
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
A. Allen, 2 yard pass from R. Brown (D. Marcus kick)
:Hawaii: 49-45

5:25
:Hawaii:
Field Goal
C. Leach, 36 yard field goal
:Hawaii: 52-45

1:01
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
R. Brown, 1 yard run (D. Marcus kick)
TIED 52-52

First Overtime

---
:Hawaii:
Field Goal
C. Leach, 25 yard field goal
:Hawaii: 55-52

---
:Utah_State:
Field Goal
D. Marcus, 32 yard field goal
TIED 55-55

Second Overtime

---
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
R. Brown, 1 yard run (D. Marcus kick)
:Utah_State: 62-55

---
:Hawaii:
Touchdown
K. Banks, 25 yard pass from J. Sanders (C. Leach kick)
TIED 62-62

Third Overtime

---
:Hawaii:
Field Goal
C. Leach, 30 yard field goal
:Hawaii: 65-62

Game Stats

Utah State
Stat
Hawaii

62
Score
65

35
First Downs
9

614
Total Offense
165

58 - 226 - 5
Rushes - Yards - TD
11 - (-37) - 2

28 - 37 - 3
Comp - Att - TD
20 - 40 - 1

388
Passing Yards
202

1
Times Sacked
6

7 - 12 (58%)
3rd Down Conversion
2 - 12 (16%)

1 - 1 (100%)
4th Down Conversion
0 - 0 (0%)

0 - 0 (0%)
2-Point Conv
0 - 0 (0%)

12 - 8 - 2 (83%)
Red Zone - TD - FG
5 - 2 - 3 (100%)

6
Turnovers
0

2
Fumbles Lost
0

4
Intercepted
0

87
Punt Return Yards
0

291
Kick Return Yards
416

992
Total Yards
581

0 – 0.0
Punts - Average
7 - 38.9

0 - 0
Penalties
2 - 17

27:41
Time of Possession
8:19

Utah State Coach Goals

Goal
XP Reward
Completed

Score a Touchdown
25
x8

Pass for 250 Yards
25
x1

Rush for 100 Yards
25
x1

3+ Sacks
50
x1

Play in an ESPN Classic Game
75
x1

Opponent Under 150 Rush Yards
50
x1

Opponent Under 300 Pass Yards
50
x1

Pass Completion Over 50%
30
x1

Score 21 or More Points
50
x1

10+ First Downs
50
x1

4+ 3rd Down Conversions
25
x1

Utah State Contract Goals Update

Goal
Expectations
Progress

Target Wins Per Season
7
0

Job Security Status

91%

SmoothPancakes

12-03-2013, 10:25 PM

Taking a look around the nation, in the Top 25, #2 Ohio State handled #22 Illinois 51-37. #3 USC beat Utah 34-22. Iowa State knocked off #4 TCU 24-17. Florida State dismantled rival #5 Miami 38-10. #6 Notre Dame escaped Virginia 30-26. #8 Michigan topped Rutgers 34-20. #10 Texas A&M survived Mississippi State 34-27. Washington State knocked off #12 Oregon 42-31.

Pittsburgh upset #15 North Carolina 33-30 in triple overtime. #24 Clemson knocked off #16 Louisville 34-17. #18 Alabam demolished Kentucky 41-7. #19 Auburn came back with a 17 point fourth quarter to defeat #21 Ole Miss 27-17. Penn State remained perfect, knocking off #20 Nebraska 27-6. And #25 Northwestern survived Minnesota 47-35.

For our readers, JeffHCross, #2 Ohio State improves to 5-0 (2-0 Big Ten) with a 51-37 win over #22 Illinois. Morsdraconis, West Virginia remains 2-2 (0-1 Big 12) with a bye week. Souljahbill, Southern Miss improves to 2-3 (1-0 C-USA) with a 17-14 win over UTSA. Jaymo, Arizona State drops to 3-2 (1-2 Pac-12) with a 24-19 loss to Stanford. LeeSO, #19 Auburn improves to 5-1 (3-1 SEC) with a 27-17 win over #21 Ole Miss. SCClassof93, South Carolina improves to 4-2 (4-1 SEC) a 45-14 win over Arkansas. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State remains 3-1 (1-0 Sun Belt) with a bye week. Florida International improves to 1-5 (1-1 C-USA) with a 49-30 win over Louisiana Tech. Navy improves to 5-1 (4-1 American) with a 14-7 win over South Florida. Tulsa drops to 2-4 (1-3 American) with a 45-17 loss to Connecticut.

In Mountain West action, Hawaii beat Utah State 65-62 in triple overtime, Colorado State routed UNLV 40-17, Boise State topped San Jose State 24-10, Nevada edged out Air Force 25-21, Fresno State held off Wyoming 34-28 and San Diego State escaped New Mexico 21-18.

Looking at undefeated teams left, #4 TCU and #5 Miami both lost this week, dropping our number of undefeated teams to 9. #1 Oklahoma (4-0), #2 Ohio State (5-0), #3 USC (7-0), #8 Michigan (5-0), #11 Baylor (4-0), Army (5-0), Indiana (5-0), Oklahoma State (4-0) and Penn State (6-0) all remain with an unblemished record this season. Of the 9 undefeated teams remaining, four of them hail from the Big Ten.

Turning to a more sadistic watch, who is still winless. There remains 6 teams still looking for their first win: Miami University (0-6), SMU (0-6), Tulane (0-5), UNLV (0-5), Utah State (0-6) and UTSA (0-6).

Teams getting their first win this week were: Florida International (49-30 over 3-3 Louisiana Tech) and Massachusetts (31-28 OT over 2-4 Florida Atlantic).

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Oklahoma (32 first place votes) remains #1, Ohio State (27 votes) remains #2, USC (1 vote) remains #3, Michigan (1 vote) jumps four to #4 and Baylor leaps six to #5. Notre Dame remains #6, Washington remains #7, Texas climbs one to #8, Texas A&M moves up one to #9 and Georgia Tech climbs three to #10. Virginia Tech climbs three to #11, Michigan State jumps five to #12, TCU drops nine to #13, Alabama climbs four to #14 and Auburn jumps four to #15. Miami drops eleven to #16, Clemson leaps seven to #17, Penn State enters the poll at #18, Oregon falls seven to #19 and UCLA climbs three to #20. Oklahoma State enters the poll at #21, Louisville drops six to #22, Northwestern climbs two to #23, Oregon State enters the poll at #24 and South Carolina (178 points) enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were North Carolina (from #15), Nebraska (from #20), Ole Miss (from #21) and Illinois (from #22). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, North Carolina (154 points) is #26, followed by Florida (142), Illinois (67), Indiana (31) and Army (8) to round out the Top 30.

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Media Poll, Oklahoma (41 first place votes) remains #1, Ohio State (22 votes) remains #2, USC (1 vote) remains #3, Michigan (1 vote) climbs three to #4 and Baylor leaps six to #5. Notre Dame remains #6, Texas A&M climbs one to #7, Washington moves up one to #8, Texas jumps one to #9 and Georgia Tech climbs three to #10. Virginia Tech jumps three to #11, Michigan State climbs three to #12, TCU drops eight to #13, UCLA jumps four to #14 and Miami plummets eleven to #15. Alabama moves up three to #16, Auburn climbs three to #17, Clemson jumps five to #18, Penn State enters the poll at #19 and Oregon falls eight to #20. Oklahoma State enters the poll at #21, Louisville drops five to #22, Oregon State climbs two to #23, Florida enters the poll at #24 and South Carolina (231 points) enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were North Carolina (from #16), Illinois (from #21), Nebraska (from #22) and Ole Miss (from #24). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Northwestern (178) is #26, followed by Illinois (172), North Carolina (165), Indiana (163) and Army (1) to round out the Top 30.

A look at the Heisman race, Texas A&M QB Zac Hopkins is #1 (LW: #1), Ohio State QB Matt Cowan is #2 (LW: #3), USC HB William Mann is #3 (LW: #2), Florida QB Brandon Dahl is #4 (LW: #5) and Louisville QB Jeff Johnston is #5 (LW: #4). No one dropped off the Heisman Watch list this week.

SmoothPancakes

12-03-2013, 10:30 PM

I really don't have anything to say after a game and after a loss like that. I'm at a loss of words. About the only thing to say, that was by far the oddest goddamn game I have ever played. Other than a safety, a punt return, a blocked punt/field goal, a blocked punt field goal return and/or a missed field goal return, that game pretty much had everything. If there was a way for something to happen and a way to score a touchdown, it happened in this game. And it happened AGAINST us every single goddamn time.

I just don't even know. How in the hell do you put up 614 yards of total offense, 992 yards TOTAL yards after adding in punt and kick returns, and STILL lose? How the hell do you turn the ball over 6 times and yet still be able to force overtime and/or play for the win at the end? How in the hell do you give up two kickoff returns, two fumble returns and an interception return all for a touchdown and even still stay within 30?

I still have no clue what the hell happened that game. I doubt I'll ever figure out what the hell happened. All I can do now is focus on New Mexico before my job security ends up in the crapper. This season is essentially already a lost cause. Sure, I could win 6 in a row and still manage to somehow become bowl eligible. With Boise State and Colorado State still on the schedule however, it's not gonna happen. At this point, I'm playing just to get enough wins (if I can even get ANY wins) and save my ass and keep my job for the final year of my contract.

SmoothPancakes

12-04-2013, 07:02 PM

Game Seven

:New_Mexico: :@: :Utah_State:

Game Story

--- Still searching for that first victory as we entered the back half of the season, one of our maybe two or three legitimate chances to still get wins this season was up next as New Mexico came to town. The Lobos had come out on the losing end in the first half of the season, only winning two of their six games, however, they were all hard fought contests, as the largest margin of victory or defeat was only 10 points, and four of their six games had been decided by just three points. We meanwhile would have our work cut out for us, as New Mexico had a rushing offense ranked in the low 40s, their total offense ranked in the low 50s, and the #40 rush defense in the nation. A +4 turnover differential (good for a #19 ranking) against our -10 differential (good for #122 nationally), and this one could come down to our passing game and whether or not we could avoid turning the ball over. We won the coin toss and elected to kick.

A 27 yard kickoff return by James Mason gave New Mexico the ball to start at their 28 yard line. A QB Read by Mike Robison got the drive started with a 6 yard gain, followed by another rush by Robison for a huge 39 yard gain, finally pushed out of bounds at our 27 yard line. A standard handoff to Mike Joyce picked up two yards on first down, followed by a three yard loss by Joyce after being brought down in the backfield by the blitz, leaving New Mexico facing third and 11. Hurrying a pass to avoid being sacked, the throw from Robison intended for Jordan Curry landed well short of the target and incomplete, leaving fourth and 11. Instead of attempting a 45 yard field goal, the Lobos lined up to go for it on fourth down. It would be a failed attempt as putside linebacker Casey Hunter came blitzing in and sacked Robison for a 7 yard loss, forcing the turnover on downs and giving us the ball at our 35 yard line.

Taking over after the change of possession, Preston Roberson would get us off and running with a 5 yard carry, followed by a three yard rush to leave us with third and two. Lining up under center on third down, a quick pass from Jason Barnes to tight end Maurice Martin went for a gain of 13 yards and gave us a first down at the New Mexico 44 yard line. Handing the ball off on first down, Roberson picked up four yards on the play, followed by another four yard gain to leave us with third and two. Taking a chance on the ground this time, Brian Paris would manage to spin his way through a tackle and across the first down line for a four yard gain, moving the chains to the 32 yard line. Roberson fought his way to a three yard gain on first down, leaving second and 7. That play would set up the play action on second down, which the defense bit entirely on, allowing tight end Cedric McKinney to get open along the left sideline. He hauled in the pass near the 15 yard line and then raced for the end zone, the tackle by the safety failing as McKinney fell forward enough to be awarded the 28 yard touchdown, giving us a 7-0 lead with 4:12 left in the first quarter.

A 28 yard kickoff return by Joyce set New Mexico up from their 30 yard line for their next drive. Mason took the ball on first down for a three yard gain, followed by a deflected pass by safety Sam Vinson, the incompletion leaving third and 7. Mason would try to pick up the first down on the ground, but he was only able to get three yards, bringing out the Lobos punt team on fourth and four. A 6 yard return by Roberson on the 31 yard punt gave us the ball from our 38 yard line.

We would start this drive again on the ground, but the defense was ready this time as Roberson could only manage a single yard on the play. Dropping back into shotgun on second down, Travis Munoz was able to go up and pull down the high pass from Barnes for a 10 yard gain, picking up the first down at our 49 yard line. Trying to connect with Ryan Conley on first down, the pass from Barnes completely got away from him and sailed high and very long out of bounds, bringing up second and 10. Another attempt to Conley was likewise incomplete, Conley ruled out of bounds on the catch to leave third down. The referees called for an official review after the play, and we caught a huge break as the refs overturned the call on the field and ruled it a catch for a 16 yard gain, moving the chains to the New Mexico 35 yard line. A first down rush by Roberson went for a two yard gain, before Barnes was brought down for a one yard loss on the second down carry, leaving us with third and 9. The pass over the middle intended for Paris was broken up by the middle linebacker, and that would bring our drive to an end on fourth and 9. We’d take the gamble of a 50 yard field goal, due to a four MPH wind at our back. Even with the wind, it wouldn’t be enough as the kick by Doug Marcus fell well short, giving New Mexico the ball at their 33 yard line.

Taking over after the missed field goal, Robison tried to keep the ball on a QB read, but our defense was more than ready this time, tackling him for a three yard loss to leave second and 13. With our defensive blitz breathing down his neck, Robison would try to scramble, running straight into the arms of defense end Caleb McBride. While Robison was able to spin his way out of the sack by McBride, his momentum carried him a good 12 yard back from the line of scrimmage. Instead of just taking the loss of yards, Robison would continue trying to make something out of nothing. That nothing would turn into disaster for the Lobos as defensive tackle Ernest Sims came in right behind McBride and tried to make a sack of his own, stripping the ball out of Robison’s hands in the process. With four blue jerseys and only a single white jersey in the vicinity, defensive end Kevin Tolbert had no problem diving on top of the fumble and recovering it for our defense, giving us possession at the New Mexico 19 yard line.

Lining up after the fumble recovery, we would need just one play to find the end zone again as Barnes lofted up a rainbow pass to a wide open Max Rhodes in the corner of the end zone, good for a 19 yard touchdown to give us a 14-0 lead with 12 seconds left in the first quarter.

A 31 yard kickoff return by Joyce got New Mexico back in action at their 29 yard line. Mason would receive the handoff on first down, rumbling his way straight up the middle for a 15 yard gain and a first down at the 44 yard line. That would be the final play of the first quarter, as we entered the break with a 14-0 lead.

Opening up the second quarter, another rush by Mason gained 14 yards and moved the chains once more to our 42 yard line. Our defense would finally win a round, the blitz breaking through to tackle Mason for a loss of three yards to bring up second and 13. It would be a double whammy for the Lobos as Mason was injured on the play, diagnosed with a dislocated knee that would leave him sidelined for 10 weeks, effectively ending his season. With our defense focusing on the QB to keep Robison from torching us again, it would pay off as he tried to keep the ball on another QB read, the play blown up for a four yard loss that brought about third and 17. It would only go from bad to worse, the blitz putting pressure on Robison and sending him scrambling right into the open arms of outside linebacker Al Washington, who sacked him for a 6 yard loss and brought out the New Mexico punt team on fourth and 23. The Lobos would take a huge gamble on fourth down, running a fake punt run on fourth down. It would utterly fail however as Antonio Sykes was immediately tackled for no gain, forcing the turnover on downs and giving us the ball at the Lobos 45 yard line.

Lining up after the turnover, Roberson got our drive started on the ground with a 6 yard rush, followed by an 8 yard gain to move the chains to the 31 yard line. Another rush by Roberson picked up four yards to bring up second and 6. Giving the ball to Walter Johnson, the handoff to the fullback caught the defense off guard, allowing Johnson to gain 8 yards and the first down at the 18 yard line. Calling a play action pass on first down, the defense again bit on the fake, allowing McKinney to get open for a 12 yard pass from Barnes, giving us first and goal at the 7 yard line. A first down rush by Roberson gained 5 yards, leaving second and goal from the two. Roberson would need only one more play to punch it in, driving forward for the two yard touchdown to increase our lead to 21-0 with 5:03 left in the second quarter.

A 22 yard kickoff return by Joyce started New Mexico from their 23 yard line, the Lobos starting to tumble further and further down the rabbit hole. A handoff to David Turner on the end around picked things up right where the left off for New Mexico, as the play ended in a four yard loss, bringing up second and 14. A screen pass to Dante Tyler finally moved the ball forward with a 12 yard completion, the Lobos left facing third and two after the gain. Rolling out on a play action pass, Robison may have briefly been able to get our defense to bite on the fake, but it wouldn’t have mattered as his pass downfield intended for Curry was way wide and off the mark, the incomplete pass bringing out the punt team on fourth and two. A 22 yard return by Roberson on the 33 yard punt gave us the ball at the New Mexico 43 yard line for our next drive.

Lining up in Lobos territory to start our drive, we were looking to start nailing the coffin shut, even before halftime. Coming out passing, a first down pass to Conley gained 8 yards, followed by a 17 yard pass to Munoz to pick up the first down at the 19 yard line. We would return to the end zone on the next play as Barnes hit tight end Jack Long over the middle, Long driving the final 7 yards through the safety and into the end zone for the 19 yard touchdown, giving us a 28-0 lead with 3:12 left before halftime.

A 27 yard kickoff return by Ron Thomas put the Lobos back on the field from their 27 yard line, the gaping hole getting ever bigger and ever deeper. Despite throwing an incomplete pass on first down, the Lobos would come right back at us on second down, as Robison hit David Turner over the middle and three failed tackle attempts by our secondary resulted in Turner taking it all the way for a 73 yard touchdown, cutting our lead to 28-7 with 2:53 left in the first half.

A 38 yard kickoff return by Roberson got us good field position, starting our drive from our 43 yard line. Taking a deep shot down the right sideline on first down, the pass intended for Rhodes came up short and was broken up by the cornerback to bring up second down. Going up over the head of the cornerback on second down, Aaron Allen was able to pull in the deep pass from Barnes for a 29 yard gain, giving us a first down at the New Mexico 28 yard line. A first down pass to Johnson picked up 9 yards, followed by a 16 yard completion to David Douglas to give us first and goal at the three yard line. Roberson took the first down handoff for a one yard gain, leaving second and goal. Another rush by Roberson resulted in no gain, bringing up third and goal from the two. Lining up under center on third down, Barnes dropped back and tried to connect with Munoz over the middle, but the pass was broken up to bring up fourth and goal with two seconds left. The 20 yard field goal by Doug Marcus with no time left on the clock gave us a 31-7 lead as we headed into halftime.

Opening up the second half, we would get the third quarter started with a touchdown right off the bat, as Roberson received the kickoff at our 5 yard line and proceeded to shake and bake his way down the field for a 95 yard kickoff return for a touchdown, increasing our lead to 38-7 just a mere 12 seconds into the second half.

A 28 yard kickoff return by Joyce left the Lobos trying to respond, starting at their 27 yard line. Starting through the air, the first down pass from Robison intended for Turner was broken up by cornerback Kevin Moore, and the Lobos found themselves facing a quick second down. A second down screen pass to Joyce ended up going for a 17 yard gain down the left sideline, giving New Mexico a first down at the 44 yard line. Robison tried to scramble to avoid the blitz on first down, but Sims wasn’t about to have any of that, dragging him down from behind for the sack and a three yard loss, bringing up second and 13. Rushing his pass on second down, the throw from Robison intended for Jesse Jackson was swatted down with authority by Vinson, and the Lobos found themselves facing third and 13. Managing to avoid a coverage sack on third down, the pass from Robison to Joyce would still end up for a loss of one yard, bringing out the punt team on fourth and 14. No return by Roberson on the 33 yard punt left us starting our next drive from our 26 yard line.

Starting our drive on the ground, Roberson took the first down handoff for a gain of three yards, followed by a 6 yard dash by Paris to bring up third and one. Roberson would get the call on third down, sprinting through the gap for a 9 yard pickup and a new set of downs at the 44 yard line. Running a play action pass on first down, the pass to Johnson would only pick up one yard on the play, leaving second and 9, the defense ready for us that time. Lining up in the shotgun on second down, Barnes rifled a pass over the middle to Douglas for a 14 yard gain, moving the chains once more to the New Mexico 41 yard line. Trying to connect with Johnson over the middle on first down, the pass from Barnes was nearly intercepted, leaving us second down. A bad pass to a wide open Conley, the ball overshooting him by a good 5-10 yards, brought up third and 10 and left our drive treading water. A pass down the left sideline intended for Douglas was jumped by the cornerback and broken up, and we were forced to punt on fourth down. A 10 yard return by Joyce on the short 23 yard punt gave New Mexico the ball at their 27 yard line.

Lining up on offense, the Lobos came out punching on first down, as Robison connected with Joyce down the left sideline, Moore forced to come all the way over from the opposite side of the field to chase Joyce down and tackle him short of the end zone, the 70 yard pass giving the Lobos first and goal at our three yard line. Sykes took the ball on first down, picking up maybe a yard on the play to bring up second and goal. A handoff to Patrick Brown went for no gain and New Mexico found themselves looking at third and goal from just inside the three yard line. An option play on third down would result in a failure for the Lobos, as Robison tried to pitch the ball to Joyce, only to have the pitch fouled up and a fumble caused by McBride. Despite two defenders diving on top of the fumble, Joyce would somehow come up with the recovery for New Mexico, Joyce officially marked for a 7 yard loss on the play to leave the Lobos kicking the ball on fourth and goal from the 10 yard line. Despite initially having first and goal from our three yard line, the Lobos would ultimately end up with nothing to show for it as the 27 yard field goal attempt was blocked by cornerback Jeremy Thurman, the loose ball recovered by middle linebacker Justin Dunn to give us possession at our 17 yard line.

Taking over after the blocked field goal attempt, Roberson got our drive started on the ground with a 5 yard run, followed by a four yard rush to bring up third and one. Roberson would pick up the conversion himself with a four yard dash, moving the chains to the 30 yard line. Paris kept us moving forward with a four yard carry, to go along with a four yard rush by Roberson to bring up another third and one. Roberson would get the job done for the second time this drive with a 7 yard pickup, giving us a first down at the 45. The defense was ready and waiting for us on first down, as Paris was immediately brought down for no gain on the play. Calling for a play action pass on second down, McKinney would come through for us with a 19 yard reception, moving the sticks to the New Mexico 36 yard line. Keeping the air attack going, Rhodes was able to pull down the first down pass from Barnes for a 19 yard gain and a first down at the 18 yard line. Trying to connect with Munoz over the middle on first down, the defense would break the pass up to leave second down. That would also be the final play of the third quarter, our lead sitting at 38-7 as we entered the final stanza.

Opening up the fourth quarter, we lined up on second and 10 from our 18 yard line. Barnes dropped back from under center and fired off a pass to Paris for a 9 yard gain, leaving third and one for our offense. Roberson would come through on third down once more with a three yard rush, giving us first and goal at the 5 yard line. Roberson took the first down handoff, but found nowhere to run as he was stopped for no gain, leaving second and goal. A dive by Johnson picked up four yards to bring up third and goal from inside the one yard line. Roberson would get the job done yet again on third down, punching it in for the one yard touchdown to increase our lead to 45-7 with 6:57 left in the game.

A 22 yard kickoff return by Joyce gave New Mexico the ball at their 22 yard line for their next drive. Dropping back to pass on first down, Robison found Nick Harris along the left sideline for a 12 yard gain and a quick first down at the 34 yard line. The first down pass intended for Joyce sailed long and out of bounds to bring up second down. Another cross-field chase and tackle by Moore would save another touchdown as Brown was finally brought down after a 58 yard completion, the play giving New Mexico first and goal from our 8 yard line. It would quickly turn into first and goal from the 13 yard line as the right tackle was flagged for a false start before the first down snap. Joyce took the ball on first down for a four yard gain, leaving second and goal at the 9. Another handoff to Joyce resulted in an immediate tackle in the backfield for a two yard loss, bringing up third and goal at the 11. Our defense would continue to make its goal line stand, as the third down screen pass to Joyce was limited to a gain of just a single yard, leaving fourth and goal at the 10. Instead of attempting another field goal to put additional points up and save face, the Lobos elected to go for broke and kept the offense on the field on fourth down. Bringing the house on the blitz, Robison would never have a chance to get the pass off as he was sacked from behind by Washington for a 7 yard loss to force the turnover on downs at our 18 yard line. Twice now New Mexico had broken a long play, had a guaranteed touchdown ruined by Moore pursuing the play from the other side of the field, and then after having first and goal after the play, end up with absolutely nothing to show for it.

Taking over after the turnover on downs, we came out rushing the ball, looking to kill off some of the remaining 5 minutes in the game. Paris got things started with a 6 yard carry, before being brought down for gain of just one yard to leave third and two. Lining up under center on third down, Barnes dropped back and rifled off a quick pass to Rhodes for a 7 yard gain and a first down at the 32 yard line. Returning to the ground game, Paris kept us moving with a 6 yard rush, followed by a three yard gain to set up third and one. Dante May would get the call on third down, rushing for a 5 yard gain to pick up the first down at the 46 yard line. Paris returned to the backfield on first down, rumbling his way to an 11 yard gain and a new set of downs at the New Mexico 43 yard line. A 5 yard rush by May, followed by a four yard carry by Paris left us with another third down and one situation. Paris officially was recognized with a one yard gain on the third down play, but we ultimately were left facing fourth and inches from the 33 yard line. With a 50 yard field goal out of the question, we had no choice but to go for it on fourth down. Paris would get the job down with a 12 yard carry up the middle, giving us a first down at the 21 yard line with 56 seconds left in the game. Snapping the ball with 28 seconds left, Barnes would drop to a knee and we wouldn’t need to run another play as the clock ran out on our 45-7 victory, giving us our first win of the 2021 season and breaking a 6 game losing streak.

With the long searched after win, we improve to 1-6, 1-2 in Mountain West action. With the loss, New Mexico drops to 2-5, 0-3 in Mountain West play. Up next, it’s back on the road as we head to Colorado State. The Rams enter the game at 3-4, 1-2 in Mountain West action. Colorado State opened their year with a 34-17 rivalry win over Colorado. Then the wheels came off as they lost 20-17 in overtime to FCS Midwest and 35-3 at Oregon. They got back in the win column with a 32-31 victory at UTEP, but added then added two more losses, 40-14 to San Diego State and 24-21 at Wyoming, before recovering with a 40-17 win at UNLV heading into our game.

Final Score
:Utah_State: 45, :New_Mexico: 7

Stat(s) of the Game:
Utah State Offense - Barnes had a very good day today, ending 18-26 for 265 yards and three touchdowns. Rushing, Roberson led the way with 88 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries. Paris had 59 yards on 12 carries, Johnson ended with 12 yards on two rushes and May with 10 yards on two carries. Receiving, McKinney ended up leading the way out of the tight end slot with 59 yards and one touchdown on three catches. Rhodes added 45 yards and one touchdown on three receptions and Long had 19 yards and one touchdown on one catch. In all, we had 10 receivers catch a pass today, nine of them ended with double digit yards.

Utah State Defense/Special Teams – Other than the 270 yards of offense given up and the one long touchdown, the defense had an outstanding day, recording a fumble and 5 sacks as well as making two goal line stands after facing first and goal twice. Special teams also contributed better today, returning a kickoff 95 yards and blocking a field goal.

Utah State Kicking – Perfection was elusive today. Marcus ended 1-2 in field goal attempts, successfully kicking a 20 yard field goal, but coming up short on a 50 yard attempt. He did at least go 6-6 in PATs.

Scoring Summary

Team
1st Quarter
2nd Quarter
3rd Quarter
4th Quarter
Final Score

:New_Mexico:
0
7
0
0
7

:Utah_State:
14
17
7
7
45

Time
Team
Result
Play
Score

First Quarter

4:12
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
C. McKinney, 28 yard pass from J. Barnes (D. Marcus kick)
:Utah_State: 7-0

0:12
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
M. Rhodes, 19 yard pass from J. Barnes (D. Marcus kick)
:Utah_State: 14-0

Second Quarter

5:03
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
P. Roberson, 2 yard run (D. Marcus kick)
:Utah_State: 21-0

3:12
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
J. Long, 19 yard pass form J. Barnes (D. Marcus kick)
:Utah_State: 28-0

2:53
:New_Mexico:
Touchdown
D. Turner, 73 yard pass from M. Robison (D. Sands kick)
:Utah_State: 28-7

0:00
:Utah_State:
Field Goal
D. Marcus, 20 yard field goal
:Utah_State: 31-7

Third Quarter

8:48
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
P. Roberson, returned kickoff 95 yards (D. Marcus kick)
:Utah_State: 38-7

Fourth Quarter

6:57
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
P. Roberson, 1 yard run (D. Marcus kick)
:Utah_State: 45-7

Game Stats

New Mexico
Stat
Utah State

7
Score
45

7
First Downs
20

270
Total Offense
431

23 - 28 - 0
Rushes - Yards - TD
42 - 166 - 2

8 - 15 - 1
Comp - Att - TD
18 - 26 - 3

242
Passing Yards
265

5
Times Sacked
1

0 - 7 (0%)
3rd Down Conversion
9 - 13 (69%)

0 - 3 (0%)
4th Down Conversion
1 - 1 (100%)

0 - 0 (0%)
2-Point Conv
0 - 0 (0%)

2 - 0 - 0 (0%)
Red Zone - TD - FG
5 - 4 - 1 (100%)

2
Turnovers
0

2
Fumbles Lost
0

0
Intercepted
0

9
Punt Return Yards
27

182
Kick Return Yards
133

461
Total Yards
591

3 – 32.7
Punts - Average
1 - 24.0

1 - 5
Penalties
0 - 0

10:55
Time of Possession
25:05

Utah State Coach Goals

Goal
XP Reward
Completed

Win a Game
100
x1

Score a Touchdown
25
x6

Kick/Punt Return Touchdown
50
x1

Force a Turnover
25
x2

Pass for 250 Yards
25
x1

Rush for 100 Yards
25
x1

Kneel Last Min Q4 While Ahead
10
x1

3+ Sacks
50
x1

Opponent Under 10 Points
75
x1

Opponent Under 150 Rush Yards
50
x1

Opponent Under 300 Pass Yards
50
x1

Pass Completion Over 50%
30
x1

100% Red Zone Efficiency
50
x1

Score 21 or More Points
50
x1

350+ Offensive Yards
50
x1

10+ First Downs
50
x1

4+ 3rd Down Conversions
25
x1

Utah State Contract Goals Update

Goal
Expectations
Progress

Target Wins Per Season
7
1

Job Security Status

100%

SmoothPancakes

12-04-2013, 07:04 PM

Taking a look around the nation, in the Top 25, #1 Oklahoma beat Kansas 35-17. #2 Ohio State dominated Nebraska 49-10. #4 Michigan held off Maryland 24-14. Kansas State knocked off #5 Baylor 38-31 to ruin the Bears perfect season. #6 Notre Dame walloped Stanford 56-7. Arizona knocked off #7 Washington 17-14. #9 Texas A&M outlasted #15 Auburn 34-27. #10 Georgia Tech just barely escaped North Carolina 28-27. #11 Virginia Tech beat Duke 35-3.

#12 Michigan State topped Wisconsin 42-28. #13 TCU handed #21 Oklahoma State their first loss of the year, 50-27. #14 Alabama defeated Arkansas 34-10. #16 Miami rebounded from last week's loss with a 44-17 thrashing of Virginia. #17 Clemson beat Pittsburgh 20-9. #18 Penn State topped Rutgers 40-13. #20 UCLA handled #19 Oregon 42-20. #22 Louisville beat Boston College 31-24. #25 South Carolina rolled Tennessee 44-10.

For our readers, JeffHCross, #2 Ohio State improves to 6-0 (3-0 Big Ten) with a 49-10 win over Nebraska. Morsdraconis, West Virginia improves to 3-2 (1-1 Big 12) with a 27-16 win over Texas Tech. Souljahbill, Southern Miss improves to 3-3 (2-0 C-USA) with a 34-24 win over North Texas. Jaymo, Arizona State drops to 3-3 (1-3 Pac-12) with a 28-7 loss to Utah. LeeSO, #15 Auburn drops to 5-2 (3-2 SEC) with a 34-27 loss to #9 Texas A&M. SCClassof93, #25 South Carolina improves to 5-2 (5-1 SEC) a 44-10 win over Tennessee. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State improves to 4-1 (1-0 Sun Belt) with a 27-24 win over Akron. Florida International improves to 2-5 (2-1 C-USA) with a 42-14 win over Massachusetts. Navy drops to 5-2 (4-2 American) with a 38-28 loss to Connecticut. Tulsa improves to 3-4 (2-3 American) with a 35-31 win over SMU.

In Mountain West action, Utah State whooped New Mexico 45-7, San Jose State topped UNLV 24-14, San Diego State edged out Nevada 31-24, Air Force beat Hawaii 30-24, BYU upset Boise State 27-10, Ole Miss beat Fresno State 20-14 and Florida Atlantic knocked off Wyoming 41-13.

Looking at undefeated teams left, #5 Baylor and #21 Oklahoma State both lost this week, dropping our number of undefeated teams to 7. #1 Oklahoma (5-0), #2 Ohio State (6-0), #3 USC (7-0), #4 Michigan (6-0), #18 Penn State (7-0), Army (6-0) and Indiana (6-0) all remain with an unblemished record this season. Of the 7 undefeated teams remaining, four of them hail from the Big Ten.

Turning to a more sadistic watch, who is still winless. There remains 3 teams still looking for their first win: SMU (0-7), UNLV (0-6), and UTSA (0-7).

Teams getting their first win this week were: Miami University (34-27 over 2-5 Kent State), Tulane (27-15 over 2-4 Memphis) and Utah State (45-7 over 2-5 New Mexico).

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Oklahoma (35 first place votes) remains #1, Ohio State (23 votes) remains #2, USC (2 votes) remains #3, Michigan (1 vote) remains #4 and Notre Dame climbs one to #5. Texas jumps two to #6, Texas A&M moves up two to #7, Georgia Tech climbs two to #8, Virginia Tech jumps two to #9 and Michigan State jumps two to #10. Penn State leaps seven to #11, TCU climbs one to #12, Alabama moves up one to #13, Baylor drops nine to #14 and Miami climbs one to #15. Washington falls nine to #16, Clemson remains #17, UCLA jumps two to #18, Auburn drops four to #19 and Louisville climbs two to #20. Arizona enters the poll at #21, Indiana enters the poll at #22, Northwestern remains #23, Oregon State remains #24 and South Carolina (248 points) remains #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Oregon (from #19) and Oklahoma State (from #21). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Oklahoma State (221 points) is #26, followed by Army (191), Florida (179), Oregon (121) and Illinois (115) to round out the Top 30. One other team getting points this week is Kansas State (84).

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Media Poll, Oklahoma (38 first place votes) remains #1, Ohio State (21 votes) remains #2, USC (5 votes) remains #3, Michigan (1 vote) remains #4 and Notre Dame climbs one to #5. Texas A&M jumps one to #6, Texas climbs two to #7, Georgia Tech moves up two to #8, Virginia Tech jumps two to #9 and Michigan State climbs two to #10. TCU climbs two to #11, Penn State leaps seven to #12, Miami jumps two to #13, Baylor drops nine to #14 and UCLA drops one to #15. Alabama remains #16, Washington falls nine to #17, Clemson remains #18, Louisville jumps three to #19 and Auburn falls three to #20. Arizona enters the poll at #21, Oregon State climbs one to #22, Indiana enters the poll at #23, Florida remains #24 and South Carolina (285 points) remains #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Oregon (from #20) and Oklahoma State (from #21). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Northwestern (281 points) is #26, followed by Oklahoma State (240), Army (228), Illinois (193) and Oregon (128) to round out the Top 30. Other teams getting points this week include Kansas State (115) and Ole Miss (1).

In the first BCS rankings of the year: #1 Oklahoma (1.000), #2 Ohio State (0.995), #3 USC (0.989), #4 Michigan (0.984), #5 Notre Dame (0.979), #6 Texas A&M (0.971), #7 Texas (0.971), #8 Georgia Tech (0.963), #9 Virginia Tech (0.958) and #10 Michigan State (0.945). Others: #20 Auburn (0.875) and #25 South Carolina (0.835).

A look at the Heisman race, Ohio State QB Matt Cowan is #1 (LW: #2), Texas A&M QB Zac Hopkins is #2 (LW: #1), USC HB William Mann is #3 (LW: #3), Notre Dame QB Mike Harper is #4 (LW: NR) and Louisville QB Jeff Johnston is #5 (LW: #5). Dropping off the Heisman Watch list this week was Florida QB Brandon Dahl (LW: #4).

SmoothPancakes

12-04-2013, 07:06 PM

Finally! It only took half the season, but finally that goddamn gorilla is off our back! Where the hell was that offense and defense combination all season? If anything, that win may very well save my ass for another season, as my job security went from 91% (after falling last week) back up to 100%. So as long as I don't go winless these last 5 games of the season, I should be in decent shape on job security by the end of the season and have a chance to reload for next season.

souljahbill

12-04-2013, 09:05 PM

Damn. Utah State breaks their losing streak with a 45-7 win over New Mexico. :( I really wanted to see the streak continue.

:p :D ;)

Congrats!

SmoothPancakes

12-04-2013, 10:10 PM

:p :D ;)

Congrats!

Smartass. :D

Thanks. It was one serious goddamn challenge to finally get that first win, but damn it feels great to have it. And in such total dominating fashion too.

Looking ahead at the schedule, if my defense and offense continue to play as well as they did against New Mexico, I could conceivably be considered a favorite against Air Force and UNLV. Boise State is all but assured a loss, Colorado State is the favored team, and Wyoming in a toss-up.

So I might be able to make it to 4-8. Realistically, I'll probably go 2-10 or 3-9. Worse case, the team goes back to sucking and we stumble to a 1-11 season.

jaymo76

12-04-2013, 10:50 PM

SmoothPancakes

12-04-2013, 11:03 PM

Good to see your back Smooth. Interesting update on the Hawaii game. Ah the joys of Tiburon football... :D :fp: Don't try to make sense of anything with NCAA 14. That's the best advice I can give you brother.

Good to be back. :) I pissed around so much time during my initial play-through of the story in Dead Rising 3, having too much fun going around slaughtering horde after horde of zombies, that I only have 1 day, 7 hours left to complete the story, and I'm only in the middle of chapter 3 (out of 7 chapters). So I'm gonna have to restart the story so I can actually go through and focus on completing the story next time without ending up behind the ticking clock eight ball.

So, I figured it was probably a good time to jump back over to NCAA for a bit, since the college football bug has been biting me for the past week.

Yeah, that Hawaii game was just one of those games where it felt like it was predetermined that I was going to lose. It didn't matter what I did, it was only a matter of time before I got screwed again by something. But, thankfully the served up lamb that was New Mexico was next up on the platter, allowing me to finally claim that elusive first win of the season. Now it's just trying to save this season as best as I can. I'm hoping for at best a 4-8 finish, expecting either 3-9 or 2-10 and dreading ending 1-11.

SmoothPancakes

12-05-2013, 10:12 PM

Game Eight

:Utah_State: :@: :Colorado_State:

Game Story

---Finally out of our winless rut, it was back on the road with a trip to Colorado State, looking to build on our first win of the season and put together a winning streak. It would not be easy. The Rams, while not great, also weren’t terrible. Colorado State entered the game with offensive rankings of #44 for rushing and #81 for passing. They were more even on defense, coming in at #56 in rush defense and #49 in pass defense. Seeing as we had the #84 rush offense and the #111 pass defense, that could cause some issues for us during the game. We won the coin toss and elected to kick.

A 24 yard kickoff return by Matt Schneider gave Colorado State the ball at their 25 yard line to open the game. Our defense came out swinging and landed a punch from the get-go, as middle linebacker Justin Dunn broke through the line on a blitz and sacked Travis Bright for a 6 yard loss, pushing the Rams back to second and 16. It wouldn’t take the Rams long to torch our defense, as a missed play by safety Sam Vinson over the middle allowed Willie Medley to pull in the pass from Bright and sprint down the field with no one in front of him. Luckily for us, cornerback Kevin Moore was faster and managed to chase Medley down from behind after a 63 yard gain that gave Colorado State a first down at our 18 yard line. Going no-huddle on first down, Bright kept the ball himself, but would only gain one yard on the play. The defense would push the Rams backwards on second down, as the option play was blown up by our blitz, Bright tackled for a 5 yard loss to leave the Rams facing third and 14. Third down would go even worse for the Rams, as Dunn recorded his second sack of the game, bringing Bright down for an 8 yard loss to set up fourth and 22 from the 30 yard line. With 47 yards apparently being outside the range of their kicker, the Rams lined up to go for it on fourth down. Bright dropped back on fourth down and heaved up a pass to Medley in the end zone, but Vinson was able to get the jump on Medley and go up first, batting the ball with his fingertips, just enough to cause it to fall to the ground just out of the reach of Medley in the back of the end zone, forcing the turnover on downs and giving us the ball at our 30 yard line.

Taking over after the turnover, it was Preston Roberson getting our drive started, as he received the handoff on first down, gaining just one yard on the play. An attempt at running the option on second down was immediately blown up as the blitz brought down Jason Barnes for a one yard loss before he could even try to make a move or pitch the ball, leaving third and 10. Dropping back to pass on third down, the pass from Barnes intended for Travis Munoz was off the mark and sailed over his head and incomplete, bringing out our punt team on fourth down. A 14 yard return by Schneider on the 40 yard punt gave Colorado State the ball at their 43 yard line.

Lining up on first down, the Rams came out passing to start their drive. That drive would last just one play as the pass intended for Medley was intercepted in mid-flight by cornerback Charles Noble, who returned it three yards to give us back possession at the Colorado State 42 yard line.

Returning to offense after the interception, we tried to strike back right away through the air, the first down pass from Barnes intended for Max Rhodes nearly intercepted right back by Colorado State’s middle linebacker. Sticking through the air on second down, Barnes was able to connect with Ryan Conley along the left sideline for an 18 yard gain and a first down at the 25 yard line. Going back to our ground game, Roberson took the first down handoff up the middle for an 11 yard pickup, moving the chains once more to the 14. Roberson took the ball once more on first down, but would see a gain of only one yard this time around. The second down pass from Barnes to Walter Johnson was complete over the middle, Johnson able to get 7 yards on the reception to bring up third and two. Taking our chances on the ground on third down, Roberson found a hole to the right of the center, sprinted through and then dove the final two yards into the end zone to beat the defense and score a 6 yard touchdown, giving us a 7-0 lead with 4:07 left in the first quarter.

A 22 yard kickoff return by Schneider set up Colorado State’s offense at their 21 yard line. The QB keeper on first down by Bright went for a big 18 yard gain and a first down at the 39 yard line. Another QB read by Bright picked up 9 more yards, before the defense finally trapped him on second down for a loss of 5 yards, setting up third and 7. The drive would come to an abrupt end on third down due to a wide open DeMetrius Newby dropping the pass from Bright, forcing Colorado State to punt the ball away on fourth and 7. A 17 yard return by Roberson on the 40 yard punt gave us the ball at our 34 yard line for our next drive.

Roberson got our drive off and running with a first down handoff for a gain of three yards, before Brian Paris got tackled in the backfield for a loss of two yards, leaving us facing third and 9. Despite the defense reading the fake of our third down play action pass, Barnes was still able to complete the pass to Cedric McKinney for an 11 yard gain and a fresh set of down at our 46. That gain would be instantly wiped out on first down as outside linebacker John Bowen broke through and sacked Barnes from behind for an 11 yard loss to leave second and 21. The shot down the right sideline on second down, intended for David Douglas was broken up by the cornerback, bringing about third down. Lining up under center on third down, Barnes dropped back and rifled off a pass to tight end Maurice Martin, who was just barely able to get across the first down line for a 22 yard gain before being flattened on his back by the safety, giving us a first down at the Colorado State 43 yard line. Roberson took the ball on first down, gaining four yards on the play, followed by an 8 yard scramble to pick up the first down at the 31 yard line. That would be the last play of the quarter as the final seconds ticked off the clock, our lead holding at 7-0.

Opening up the second quarter with first down from the Rams 31 yard line, we decided to take a shot at the end zone, Barnes hooking up with Munoz down the right sideline near the 5 yard line. Munoz was unable to take it the last couple yards as he was nearly instantly brought down by the safety, the play going for a 27 yard gain to give us first and goal at the four yard line. Roberson received the handoff on first down, but was almost immediately wrapped up, gaining maybe one yard on the play. We would gain even more at the conclusion of the play as a penalty flag came out, middle linebacker Kyle Kerr getting flagged for a facemask penalty on the tackle, setting us up with first and goal from just outside the one yard line. Roberson would receive the handoff and again dive into the end zone for a one yard touchdown, increasing our lead to 14-0 with 8:24 left in the second quarter.

A 27 yard kickoff return by Adam Wade put Colorado State back in action from their 24 yard line. Newby got the drive started with a one yard rush, before Medley went deep and pulled in a pass from Bright for a gain of 19 yards and a first down at the 44 yard line. Trying to burn our defense on the QB read, Bright was unable to find anywhere to run, our defense keeping him in check this time and bringing him down for a four yard loss to bring up second and 14. A dropped pass by Roger Martinez denied both Moore and Vinson the chance to decimate him from behind, but it did result in the Rams facing third and long. Bright tried to throw back across his body and deep down the left sideline to Henry Watkins on third down, but the pass ended up behind the receiver and made it very easy for cornerback Leonard Hart to play the ball and swat it down, though it also would have been the easiest interception of his career if he had tried that. Regardless, it brought Colorado State’s drive to an end and the Rams lined up to punt on fourth down. The 60 yard punt would bounce down at the 17 yard line and roll into the end zone for a touchback, giving us the ball at our 20 yard line.

Lining up after the touchback, Roberson started our drive on the ground, receiving the first down handoff from Barnes for a 7 yard gain, followed by a three yard rush to get the first down at the 30 yard line. Paris took over on first down, fighting his way to a 6 yard gain to bring up second and four. Roberson took the ball on second down but would come up short, gaining only three yards on the play to leave us facing third and one. It would fall to Paris to get that last yard and extend our drive, which he would just barely do, rushing for a one yard gain and just clearing the markers to move the chains at the 41 yard line. Roberson returned to the backfield on first down, but he was almost immediately brought down, gaining only two yards on the carry. Running a play action pass on second down, this time the Rams bit hook, line and sinker, allowing McKinney to get wide open along the right sideline for a 22 yard gain and a first down at the Rams 36 yard line. Douglas would keep us moving with a 20 yard reception over the middle and a new set of downs at the 16. Lining up under center on first down, Barnes dropped back and hurled a pass to tight end Jack Long, good for a 10 yard gain but just short of the first down to leave us with second and inches. Roberson received the handoff on second down, and despite being met at the line of scrimmage by the middle linebacker, was able to keep his legs driving just enough to gain officially one yard and give us first and goal from the 5 yard line. Roberson would keep at it on first down, fighting his way to a four yard gain, leaving second and goal at the one. Paris would end up going backwards on second down, met in the backfield by the defensive end to bring up third and goal from the two. It would be Roberson or bust on third down as we kept it on the ground, Roberson receiving the handoff and his lucky dive once again propelling him into the end zone for a two yard touchdown, his third score of the game, giving us a 21-0 lead with 1:40 left until halftime.

A 29 yard kickoff return by Schneider got the Rams offense back on the field at their 27 yard line. They still had all three timeouts, but little time to work with. The Rams came out passing on first down as Bright connected with Schneider for an 11 yard gain and a quick first down at the 38. Going no-huddle, the rushed play would result in the Rams going backwards, as our safety blitz allowed Vinson to come through the line completely untouched and sack Bright for an 8 yard loss, leaving second and 18, the Rams calling their first timeout with 1:26 to go. The blitz would nearly get to Bright again, forcing him to throw the ball away to bring up third and very long. Trying to go over the middle, Bright threw a pass intended for Adam Wade, but Noble was there to deflect the ball incomplete, bringing out Colorado State’s punt team on fourth and 18. Roberson would only mange two or three yards on the return after he muffed the 46 yard punt, leaving us starting our drive from our 28 yard line with only 1:11 left before halftime.

Coming out firing, Barnes tried to hit Munoz over the middle, but the pass got broken up by the middle linebacker to leave second down. Second down wasn’t much better, as Barnes got hit from behind as he tried to throw it, the ball landing incomplete just feet away to leave third and 10. The defense again would make contact on Barnes and his third down pass intended for Rhodes ended up in an entirely different area code, forcing our punt team out on fourth down. A fair catch on the 41 yard punt would end with Colorado State getting 15 free yards, as cornerback Mike Moses was flagged for kick catch interference, handing the Rams the ball at midfield with 55 seconds remaining.

Dropping back to pass on first down for the Rams, Bright definitely had some happy feet as the pocket collapsed around him, first trying to find a hole to scramble before firing off a pass intended for Martinez, the ball falling a couple yards short to bring up second down. Bright would be more collected the second time around, finding Schneider in the flats for an 11 yard gain and a first down at our 39 yard line, Schneider getting out of bounds to stop the clock with 45 seconds left. Another blitz by our defense would result in the first down pass being thrown away by Bright to avoid a sack, and the Rams facing second and 10. A screen pass to Newby picked up 5 yards, leaving third and 5, the Rams using their second timeout with 37 seconds left. Wade would come through for the Rams on third down, pulling down the pass from Bright along the left sideline for a 14 yard gain and a first down at our 20 yard line, tackled out of bounds to stop the clock with 30 seconds left. Surprisingly handing the ball off on first down, it worked as Newby caught our defense off guard and picked up 10 yards up the middle, giving Colorado State first and goal from our 10 yard line. Rushing to the line, Bright connected with Kyle Lumpkin on a screen pass, but the defense stopped him for no gain, and stopped him in bounds to keep the clock moving. Not using their last timeout, the Rams snapped the ball with 8 seconds left, Bright forced to scramble almost instantly due to our blitz. He would ultimately end up sacked for a 6 yard loss, leaving Colorado State with third and goal from the 15 yard line, the Rams just managing to call their final timeout with two seconds left. Lining up for a field goal on third down, the 32 yard kick by Alvin Love was good, cutting our lead to 21-3 as we headed into halftime.

Opening up the second half, a 15 yard kickoff return by Roberson gave us the ball at our 17 yard line to start the third quarter. Roberson got our drive started on the ground with a 5 yard rush, followed by a handoff to Paris for a 16 yard gain and a first down at the 38 yard line. Another rush by Paris picked up two yards on first down, before Roberson got stood up for just a two yard gain, leaving third and 6. The third down pass from Barnes to Munoz hit the receiver in the hands, but the middle linebacker was able to jar the ball loose with a well timed hit, leaving us punting on fourth down. Schneider received the punt at his 18 yard line, got some early blocking and sprinted up the left sideline. After breaking one tackle near the 40 yard line, he wouldn’t be touched again as he would return the punt all the way back for an 82 yard touchdown, further cutting our lead to 21-10 with 6:58 left in the third quarter.

It would go from bad to worse for us as Douglas fumbled the ensuing kickoff. The fumble rolled into the end zone, Douglas going into retrieve it and just getting back outside of the end zone before being gang-tackled at our one yard line, leaving our offense up against the wall. Roberson took the handoff on first down, picking up maybe one yard on the play to bring up second and 9. Paris took the ball on second down, but a blitz by the defense would trap him in the end zone for a safety and our meltdown would continue, our lead now only 21-12 with 6:14 left in the third quarter.

A 26 yard return by Wade on the 54 yard safety punt gave Colorado State great field position, the Rams starting at our 49 yard line. Starting on the ground, Newby took the first down handoff for an 8 yard gain. A screen pass to Watkins on second down nearly ended in a disaster for the Rams, as Watkins fumbled the ball, but it would roll out of bounds before anyone could claim it, the play officially going for a loss of one yard and leaving third and three. Newby would keep the drive moving with a 7 yard rush, picking up the first down at the 45 yard line. Another rush by Newby went for a gain of 7, followed by a QB read by Bright down the left sideline for a 19 yard gain, leveled out of bounds by Noble to leave the Rams with first and goal at the 9 yard line. Going into the air on first down, Bright tried to connect with Tyler Adams over the middle, but Adams was unable to maintain possession around the three yard line, dropping the ball incomplete to bring up second and goal. A QB keeper by Bright on second down netted the Rams two yards, leaving Colorado State with third and goal at the 7. Throwing a screen pass on third down, Bright was able to connect with Schneider but our defense was ready and waiting, bringing Schneider down for a four yard loss to bring up fourth and goal from the 11 yard line. The Rams would settle for another kick, the 28 yard field goal further cutting our lead down to 21-15 with 4:25 left in the third quarter.

A 33 yard kickoff return by McKinney put our offense back on the field from our 29 yard line. Roberson started our drive on the ground with a 9 yard rush around the right end, followed by Paris initially trying to take it up the middle on second down, only to bounce outside around the left tackle, get to the corner and turn up the sideline with nothing but green in front of him, outracing the nearest defender all the way down the field for a 62 yard touchdown, putting us up 28-15 with 3:37 left in the third quarter.

This third quarter quickly started resembling a track meet, as our lead instantly shrunk right back down as Schneider received the kickoff at the one yard line, found a hole along the left hash, spun his way out of a tackle attempt around the 23 yard line and then broke free up the sideline, coasting to a 99 yard touchdown on the return, closing our lead right back up to 28-22 with 3:23 left in the third quarter.

Roberson tried to respond back on his own, but he wouldn’t quite make it, returning the kickoff 39 yards down the left sideline before the last man to beat managed to push him out of bounds, lining our offense up at our 35 yard line. Paris received the ball on first down, rushing for a four yard gain, before bouncing outside once again to avoid the cluster of bodies up the middle, outracing one player but ultimately brought down by the safety for a 22 yard gain, giving us a first down at the Colorado State 38 yard line. Dante May came in on first down, but found nowhere to run as he ran into green with every turn he made, tackled for no gain to leave second and 10. Calling a play action pass on second down, the prayer down the middle intended for Martin ended up swatted down, leaving third and long. Lining up in the shotgun on third down, the pass intended for Douglas was broken up by the middle linebacker, bringing up fourth down. An 8 yard return by Clayton Rivas on the line drive 22 yard punt returned possession to Colorado State at their 23 yard line.

The drive didn’t get off to the greatest of starts for the Rams, as Bright tried to needle a pass to Martinez through four defenders. The ball instead was nearly intercepted, but unfortunately would land incomplete, leaving second down. A screen pass from Bright to Newby ended up gaining 15 yards, as Hart, the only defender standing between the play being a modest gain or a long touchdown, made the open field tackle and limited the damage to a first down at the 38 yard line. Going no-huddle on first down, Bright connected with Medley for a 6 yard gain, followed by a screen pass to Wade that picked up a big 20 yards and a new set of downs at our 36 yard line. The Rams continue to shove their no-huddle offense right down our throat, as Newby took the ball on the ground for a three yard rush, followed by another screen pass to Newby on second down, this time for a massive gain of 31 yards, a diving tackle by Moore forcing Newby out of bounds just inches away from the goal line, setting Colorado State up with first and goal from inside the one. Despite a less than desired defensive play call on first down due to the no-huddle offense of the Rams, we were able to bring Newby down for a three yard loss on the first down carry, pushing the Rams back to face second and goal from our four yard line. We finally got a chance to regroup as the Rams huddled up for the first time this drive on second down, and it paid off as Schneider was tackled by outside linebacker Casey Hunter for a one yard loss, bringing up third and goal at the 5 yard line. That would be the final play of the third quarter as the last three seconds ticked off the clock, our now tiny lead sitting at 28-22, but the Rams loudly pounding on the front door.

Opening up the fourth quarter, Colorado State lined up on third and goal from our 5 yard line, the offense coming out in 5 wide. Rushing only our two defensive tackles and dropping nine back into coverage, Bright quickly abandoned the pass and took off running, but his hopes of scoring were quickly dashed, as multiple defenders closed on him, Bright opting to slide his way to a three yard gain, setting up fourth and goal at our two yard line. The Rams weren’t about to settle for a field goal, the offense staying on the field this time around. The keeper by Bright would end up failing this time, as our goal line defense won the play, tackling Bright for a three yard loss and forcing the turnover on downs at our 5 yard line.

Taking over on the turnover on downs, we lined up to run the ball on first down, Paris receiving the handoff, only to be met at the line of scrimmage and brought down for no gain. Another rush by Paris would send our drive straight over a chasm, as Paris had the ball stripped from him at the 6 yard line, safety R.J. Holland recovering the fumble for Colorado State and returning it officially for two yards before being tackled, giving the Rams first and goal at our two yard line.

Suddenly thrust back on defense after the fumbled by Paris, despite some acrobatics by Bright, we were able to continue our goal line stand from the previous drive, as two defender stood Bright up at the goal line, the play recorded as a two yard gain (but short of the end zone) to bring up second and goal inside the one, the ball essentially resting just inches away from the goal line. The Rams weren’t about to be denied this time, as Newby took the handoff around the left end, his speed too much for our slower defensive tackles who never had a chance of catching him on his wide angle around the left side of the pile of bodies on his way into the end zone for a one yard touchdown, giving Colorado State a 29-28 lead with 7:32 left in the game.

A 17 yard kickoff return by Conley got us back on the field at our 21 yard line. Paris started our drive with a 5 yard rush, thankfully not fumbling this time, followed by a two yard dive to leave us with third and three. Lining up under center on third down, Barnes dropped back into the pocket and quickly fired off a pass to Long, but it wasn’t meant to be as the ball instead bounced off the back of the helmet of the middle linebacker, forcing us to punt on fourth and three. An 8 yard return by Schneider on the 37 yard punt gave the Rams the ball at their 43 yard line.

Leading by one, the Rams started their drive on the ground as Newby received the first down handoff, only gaining one yard on the play. Going no-huddle on second down, Colorado State would end up going backwards as our defense broke through before Bright could get a pass off, sacking him for a 6 yard loss to leave third and 15. Once again feeling the pressure, Bright rolled out briefly and fired a pass downfield intended for Wade. The ball wouldn’t end up anywhere near its target and instead was nearly intercepted by a diving Vinson, the incompletion bringing out Colorado State’s punt team on fourth and 15 with 5:34 left in the game. A 32 yard return by Douglas on the 43 yard punt set us up right at midfield for our next drive.

Starting our drive off on the ground, Paris got us started huge as he was able to get to the corner and turn up the right sideline, juking past one defender before finally being brought down for a 31 yard gain, giving us a first down at the Colorado State 18 yard line and putting in great position to retake the lead. May took over on first down, only able to gain two yards on the carry. Running a play action pass on second down, it turned into one of the most messed up plays in this coach’s history. The Rams defense ended up biting on the fake, allowing McKinney to get open along the right sideline, hauling in the pass from Barnes around the 5 yard line. As he tried to dive into the end zone from the two yard line, he was hit from the side by safety Cody Brooks, who managed to knock the ball loose, the ball sitting on the ground at the two yard line. With McKinney and Brooks were both still on the ground, cornerback Clayton Rivas came swooping in to scoop up the fumble. As he did so, his momentum continued to carry him backwards into the end zone just inside of the goal line, while at the same time trying to regain his balance. Trying to tackle Rivas before he could recover his balance and try to return the fumble, Johnson came running in from the fullback position and planting at the two yard line, dove forward at Rivas. His dive was quite ugly, as instead of even making contact with Rivas, he simply faceplanted in the end zone a yard or two in front of Rivas. As it would turn out, that would still be enough by Johnson, as Rivas was still unable to regain his balance, and Johnson’s legs entering his running lane only made the problem worse, causing Rivas to stumble and fall forward a good yard inside in the end zone, awarding us a safety of our own and putting us back on top 30-29 with 4:24 left in the game, and best of all, getting the ball back on the safety punt. To add insult to injury, or maybe more accurately, injury to insult, Colorado State middle linebacker Kyle Kerr ended up injured on the play, sidelined for a quarter with a sprained ankle, thus bringing his day to a close.

A 20 yard return by Conley on the 56 yard safety punt gave our offense back the ball at our 43 yard line, looking to run out as much of the final 4:16 as we could. Paris got our drive started on the ground with a two yard rush around the right tackle, before a dive up the middle by May went forward for a gain of 7 yards to leave us with third and one. Paris was met at the line of scrimmage by the defensive end, but he would get that one almighty yard, moving the chains with a first down at the Colorado State 47 yard line, the clock down to three minutes and ticking. Paris kept us moving on first down, breaking through a hole in the middle and nearly break loose for a touchdown, but an ankle tackle would trip him up and limit the run to a 14 yard gain, good for another first down at the 34. An 8 yard rush by May on first down was followed by the defense standing May up for no gain, leaving third and two from the 25 yard line, Colorado State taking their first timeout with 1:52 remaining. Paris returned to the backfield on third down, but even he would be unable to finish the job, tackled for a one yard loss to leave us with fourth and three, Colorado State’s second timeout called with 1:48 left. Somehow, Doug Marcus ended up missing the 43 yard field goal SHORT, and Colorado State got the ball back at their 26 yard line with 1:44 left in the game, down by only one point and needing only a field goal to win, instead of down by four and needing a touchdown.

The Rams weren’t about to take their sweet time, as Bright came out passing on first down, standing up in the face of pressure from our blitz and hitting Wade over the middle, a bad tackle attempt by the safety allowing Wade to run downfield for a 30 yard gain, tackled at our 43 yard line. Rushing a pass on first down after the Rams went no-huddle, the ball intended again for Wade was off the mark and incomplete, bringing up second down, 1:35 left in the game. Defensive tackle Adam Grant would utterly ruin the second down screen pass attempt by the Rams, as Grant managed to get to Bright before he could throw the ball, sacking him for a 10 yard loss and leaving the Rams facing third and 20 at their 47 yard line, the clock down to 1:20 and ticking as Colorado State saved their last timeout. A 10 yard completion to Wade would bring up the play of the game, Colorado State lining up on fourth and 10 from our 43 yard line. Despite the clock ticking down, the Rams tried a hard snap count. Unfortunately, it would work as defensive end Caleb McBride jumped offside, the 5 yard penalty helping the Rams by leaving just fourth and 5 from the 38 yard line. The defense would rein supreme as the blitz forced Bright to take off scrambling, running straight into the waiting arms of the blitzing Dunn, who recorded his third sack of the day against Bright, this one going for a 7 yard loss and forcing the turnover on downs at our 46 yard line, just 27 seconds left on the clock.

Barnes dropped to a knee on first down, Colorado State using their third and final timeout with 26 seconds remaining. One more kneel down by Barnes and our second straight victory, a 30-29 upset of Colorado State, was final.

With the win, we improve to 2-6, 2-2 in Mountain West action. With the loss, Colorado State drops to 3-5, 1-3 in Mountain West play. Up next, we return home for a visit from annual buzz saw Boise State. The Broncos enter the game a bit beaten up, coming in at 2-5, 2-1 in Mountain West action. Boise State started their year off with a 28-20 loss to Ole Miss, a 31-27 loss at Connecticut and a 34-14 whooping from Louisiana-Lafayette. The Broncos finally turned things around with a 24-14 win against UNLV and a 24-10 win at San Jose State. They've since gone back into a slide, losing 27-10 to BYU and 35-23 at Fresno State heading into our game.

Final Score

:Utah_State: 30, :Colorado_State: 29

Stats of the Game:
Utah State Offense - A rather quiet day for Barnes, going 9-19 for 151 yards, no touchdowns, no interceptions. Rushing, Paris led the way today with 164 yards and one touchdown on 19 carries (thanks in part to his 62 yard TD run). Next up was Roberson with 76 yards and three touchdowns on 20 carries, and May ended with 17 yards on 5 rushes. Receiving, McKinney was the top receiver with 47 yards on three catches. In all, seven receivers caught at least one pass, McKinney was the only one to have more than one reception with three catches. Six receivers ended with double digit yards.

Utah State Defense/Special Teams – The defense was shutdown solid for the entire first half. They fell apart a bit in the third quarter, and was good and bad in the fourth quarter. Special teams again was bad, giving up a 98 yard kickoff return and an 81 yard punt return, both in the third quarter, that allowed Colorado State to get back in the game when it was turning into potentially a blow out.

Utah State Kicking – Marcus missed his only field goal attempt of the day, from 43 yards out. He did go 4-4 in PATs.

Scoring Summary

Team
1st Quarter
2nd Quarter
3rd Quarter
4th Quarter
Final Score

:Utah_State:
7
14
7
2
30

:Colorado_State:
0
3
19
7
29

Time
Team
Result
Play
Score

First Quarter

4:07
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
P. Roberson, 6 yard run (D. Marcus kick)
:Utah_State: 7-0

Second Quarter

8:24
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
P. Roberson, 1 yard run (D. Marcus kick)
:Utah_State: 14-0

1:40
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
P. Roberson, 2 yard run (D. Marcus kick)
:Utah_State: 21-0

0:00
:Colorado_State:
Field Goal
A. Love, 32 yard field goal
:Utah_State: 21-3

Third Quarter

6:58
:Colorado_State:
Touchdown
M. Schneider, returned punt 81 yards (A. Love kick)
:Utah_State: 21-10

6:14
:Colorado_State:
Safety
Team Safety: B. Paris tackled in end zone
:Utah_State: 21-12

4:25
:Colorado_State:
Field Goal
A. Love, 28 yard field goal
:Utah_State: 21-15

3:37
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
B. Paris, 62 yard run (D. Marcus kick)
:Utah_State: 28-15

3:23
:Colorado_State:
Touchdown
M. Schneider, returned kickoff 98 yards (A. Love kick)
:Utah_State: 28-22

Fourth Quarter

7:32
:Colorado_State:
Touchdown
D. Newby, 1 yard run (A. Love kick)
:Colorado_State: 29-28

4:24
:Utah_State:
Safety
Team Safety: C. Rivas tackled in end zone
:Utah_State: 30-29

Game Stats

Utah State
Stat
Colorado State

30
Score
29

17
First Downs
13

391
Total Offense
250

48 - 240 - 4
Rushes - Yards - TD
28 - 20 - 1

9 - 19 - 0
Comp - Att - TD
15 - 28 - 0

151
Passing Yards
230

1
Times Sacked
7

6 - 12 (50%)
3rd Down Conversion
2 - 10 (20%)

0 - 0 (0%)
4th Down Conversion
0 - 3 (0%)

0 - 0 (0%)
2-Point Conv
0 - 0 (0%)

4 - 3 - 0 (75%)
Red Zone - TD - FG
5 - 1 - 2 (60%)

2
Turnovers
1

2
Fumbles Lost
0

0
Intercepted
1

51
Punt Return Yards
111

122
Kick Return Yards
222

564
Total Yards
583

4 – 35.0
Punts - Average
4 - 47.5

2 - 20
Penalties
1 - 1.5

23:17
Time of Possession
12:43

Utah State Coach Goals

Goal
XP Reward
Completed

Win a Game
100
x1

Score a Touchdown
25
x4

Force a Turnover
25
x1

Rush for 100 Yards
25
x1

Kneel Last Minute Q4 While Ahead
10
x1

3+ Sacks
50
x1

Opponent Under 150 Rush Yards
50
x1

Opponent Under 300 Pass Yards
50
x1

Score 21 or More Points
50
x1

350+ Offensive Yards
50
x1

10+ First Downs
50
x1

4+ 3rd Down Conversions
25
x1

Utah State Contract Goals Update

Goal
Expectations
Progress

Target Wins Per Season
7
2

Job Security Status

100%

SmoothPancakes

12-05-2013, 10:13 PM

Taking a look around the nation, in the Top 25, #1 Oklahoma escaped West Virginia 24-21. #2 Ohio State slipped past Rutgers 28-21. #3 USC survived Colorado 31-27. #4 Michigan held off Minnesota 28-21. In the upset of the week, Arizona State knocked off #5 Notre Dame 41-38 in double overtime. #6 Texas beat #12 TCU 38-17. #7 Texas A&M topped LSU 44-26. Virginia stunned #8 Georgia Tech 26-21. #9 Virginia Tech edged out North Carolina 28-24. #10 Michigan State ruined #22 Indiana's perfect record 24-7.

Maryland knocked off #11 Penn State 35-16, knocking the Nittany Lions from the unbeaten ranks. #13 Alabama defeated Tennessee 28-19. #14 Baylor held off Oklahoma State 34-27. #15 Miami beat Duke 42-14. #16 Washington trounced California 62-13. NC State upset #17 Clemson 28-7. #18 UCLA thrashed MTSU 42-10. #19 Auburn beat Purdue 35-21. #20 Louisville handled Florida State 42-20. Washington State stunned #21 Arizona 38-31. #23 Northwestern beat Iowa 21-9. Utah knocked off #24 Oregon State 44-31. Missouri knocked off #25 South Carolina 33-31.

For our readers, JeffHCross, #2 Ohio State improves to 7-0 (4-0 Big Ten) with a 28-21 win over Rutgers. Morsdraconis, West Virginia drops to 3-3 (1-2 Big 12) with a 24-21 loss to #1 Oklahoma. Souljahbill, Southern Miss improves to 4-3 (3-0 C-USA) with a 31-20 win over Massachusetts. Jaymo, Arizona State improves to 4-3 (1-3 Pac-12) with a 41-38 double overtime upset of #5 Notre Dame. LeeSO, #19 Auburn improves to 6-2 (3-2 SEC) with a 35-21 win over Purdue. SCClassof93, #25 South Carolina drops to 5-3 (5-2 SEC) a 33-31 loss to Missouri. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State improves to 5-1 (2-0 Sun Belt) with a 37-12 win over New Mexico State. Florida International remains 2-5 (2-1 C-USA) with a bye week. Navy drops to 5-3 (4-3 American) with a 25-21 loss to Central Florida. Tulsa improves to 4-4 (3-3 American) with a 23-21 win over Memphis.

In Mountain West action, Utah State edged out Colorado State 30-29, Air Force beat Wyoming 17-14, San Jose State beat New Mexico 34-14, Fresno State topped Boise State 35-23, Nevada held off BYU 31-26 and San Diego State smacked Houston 40-21.

Looking at undefeated teams left, #11 Penn State and #22 Indiana both lost this week, dropping our number of undefeated teams to 5. #1 Oklahoma (6-0), #2 Ohio State (7-0), #3 USC (8-0), #4 Michigan (7-0) and Army (6-0) all remain with an unblemished record this season.

Turning to a more sadistic watch, who is still winless. There remains 2 teams still looking for their first win: UNLV (0-6), and UTSA (0-8).

Teams getting their first win this week was: SMU (28-14 over 1-6 Tulane).

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Oklahoma (39 first place votes) remains #1, Ohio State (21 votes) remains #2, USC (1 vote) remains #3, Michigan remains #4 and Texas climbs one to #5. Texas A&M moves up one to #6, Virginia Tech jumps two to #7, Michigan State climbs two to #8, Alabama jumps four to #9 and Baylor climbs four to #10. Miami jumps four to #11, Washington climbs four to #12, Notre Dame drops eight to #13, UCLA climbs four to #14 and TCU falls three to #15. Auburn climbs three to #16, Louisville jumps three to #17, Army enters the poll at #18, Penn State falls eight to #19 and Northwestern climbs three to #20. Georgia Tech plummets thirteen to #21, Indiana remains #22, Clemson drops six to #23, Arizona falls three to #24 and Oregon (163 points) enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Oregon State (from #24) and South Carolina (from #25). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Washington State (145 points) is #26, followed by Illinois (117), Oklahoma State (105), Kansas State (63) and Kentucky (13) to round out the Top 30. One other team getting points this week is Arizona State (6).

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Media Poll, Oklahoma (39 first place votes) remains #1, Ohio State (24 votes) remains #2, USC (1 vote) remains #3, Michigan (1 vote) remains #4 and Texas A&M climbs one to #5. Texas jumps one to #6, Virginia Tech moves up two to #7, Michigan State jumps two to #8, Miami climbs four to #9 and Baylor jumps four to #10. Alabama leaps five to #11, UCLA climbs three to #12, Notre Dame drops eight to #13, Washington moves up three to #14 and TCU falls four to #15. Louisville jumps three to #16, Auburn climbs three to #17, Georgia Tech falls ten to #18, Army enters the poll at #19 and Penn State plummets eight to #20. Northwestern enters the poll at #21, Indiana climbs one to #22, Arizona drops two to #23, Clemson falls six to #24 and Illinois (229 points) enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Oregon State (from #22), Florida (from #24) and South Carolina (from #25). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Washington State (203) is #26, followed by Oregon (187), Kansas State (139), Oklahoma State (131) and Oregon State (88) to round out the Top 30. Other teams getting points this week include Kentucky (82), Arizona State (35) and Central Florida (9).

Taking a look at the new BCS rankings: #1 Oklahoma (1.000), #2 Ohio State (0.995), #3 USC (0.989), #4 Michigan (0.984), #5 Texas (0.976), #6 Texas A&M (0.976), #7 Virginia Tech (0.968), #8 Michigan State (0.963), #9 Alabama (0.952) and #10 Miami (0.952). Others: #16 Auburn (0.896).

A look at the Heisman race, Ohio State QB Matt Cowan is #1 (LW: #1), Texas A&M QB Zac Hopkins is #2 (LW: #2), Louisville QB Jeff Johnston is #3 (LW: #5), Alabama QB Aaron Walters is #4 (LW: NR) and Notre Dame QB Mike Harper is #5 (LW: #4). Dropping off the Heisman Watch list this week was USC HB William Mann (LW: #3).

SmoothPancakes

12-05-2013, 10:18 PM

Ok, so Colorado State was apparently the addendum to the Hawaii game. A punt return for a touchdown, a kickoff return for a touchdown, TWO safeties (one for each team), sweet Jesus. These last couple games have been some serious odd ass games. I've seen things I've never seen before in an NCAA game.

As for Boise State and the rest of the schedule, this is going back on hiatus until probably Sunday at the earliest. I have a roughly 17 hour day tomorrow with an all day live drive from 6am to 7pm on one station, live drives from 8-10am and 3-5pm on another station, a HS football state title game at 11am, HS basketball at 7:30pm. I'm not going to be home once from 5:30am until 9:30pm at the earliest. Then I turn around Saturday morning, get up at 2:30am, work in studio from 3:30-8:30am, then spend the rest of the day at a live drive as the 13 hours from day one extends into a second day from 7am-3pm. Finally, after 3pm-ish on Saturday afternoon, my two days of hell come to a close and I can pass the hell out for the rest of the weekend.

SmoothPancakes

12-05-2013, 10:40 PM

Here's the video from the game-winning pass/fumble/safety. One of the most bizarre damn plays I've ever seen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcUExmDGZ0s

SmoothPancakes

12-11-2013, 03:09 AM

Game Nine

:Boise_State: :@: :Utah_State:

Game Story

--- In the midst of a surprising two game winning streak, we were going to be hard pressed to advance it to three in a row as an under-performing, but always dangerously talented Boise State team entered Romney Stadium. Head to head in ratings, Boise State was easily better than us on both offense and defense. Looking at national rankings, our offense had performed better to date than that of the Broncos, but their defense was one of the better ones in college football, entering #23 nationally in total defense, #37 nationally in rush defense and #27 nationally in pass defense. It was going to be a up-hill battle anyway we looked at it. We won the coin toss and elected to kick.

A 25 yard kickoff return by Travis Bolden gave Boise State the ball at their 27 yard line to start the game. The first down pass from Danny Chavis, intended for Kyle Young, was broken up by the defense near the first down line, leaving Boise State with an early second down. The second down pass from Chavis to Bolden was briefly caught along the first down line, before a well timed hit by safety Sam Vinson knocked the ball loose to bring up third down. The Broncos would find a way to get the first down, as Chavis threw a pass into the middle of the defense, a diving Young coming down with the ball for a 14 yard gain and a first down at the 42 yard line. Put under immediate pressure by the first down blitz, Chavis was forced to throw the ball away to bring up another second down. Bringing the house on second down, our blitz would end up blowing up in our face, as a screen pass to Matt Pierce left him wide open along the right sideline, able to run his way along the sideline for a 34 yard gain, finally pushed out of bounds for a first down at our 25 yard line. A quick pass over the middle to Bolden ended up dropped by the receiver, setting up second and 10 for the third time this drive. A quick pass to Matt Morton picked up 10 yards on the play, Morton tackled just shy of the first down line to leave Boise State with third and inches. Chris Martin would take the handoff on first down and had no trouble picking up the first down, rushing for a gain of four yards to move the chains to our 11 yard line. Pierce would finish the drive off on first down, bouncing outside the right guard and taking it in for an 11 yard touchdown, giving Boise State a 7-0 lead with 7:27 left in the first quarter.

A 22 yard kickoff return by David Douglas got us started from our 24 yard line. Starting our drive on the ground, Preston Roberson took the handoff up the middle for a 5 yard gain, followed by a two yard gain to leave us looking at third and three. Lining up under center on third down, Jason Barnes dropped back from under center and fired off a pass to Maurice Martin, the pass complete for a 24 yard gain and a big first down at the Boise State 45 yard line. Throwing from the shotgun on first down, Barnes found Travis Munoz over the middle for an 18 yard gain and another set of downs at the 27. The first down pass from Barnes to Douglas was broken up by the outside linebacker, leaving us facing second down. Handing the ball off on second down, Roberson fought his way to a 7 yard gain to bring up third and three. The third down pass from Barnes, intended for Ryan Conley, was no good as Barnes got hit as he threw, forcing us to settle for three points. We wouldn’t even get that, as the 37 yard field goal by Doug Marcus was no good, bouncing off the right upright and landing in the end zone, giving Boise State the ball at their 20 yard line.

Lining up on first down, the Broncos came out passing again as Chavis tried to connect with Young over the middle, but the pass ended up behind the receiver and incomplete, leaving Boise State with a familiar second and 10. Our blitz would finally win a round on second down, as middle linebacker Justin Dunn came blitzing through between the right guard and tackle, chasing a scrambling Chavis down from behind to sack him for a 7 yard loss, setting up third and 17. A third down screen pass to Pierce initially hit him in the hands, but a well timed hit by Dunn was enough to jar the ball loose and incomplete, forcing Boise State to punt on fourth down. A 8 yard return by Roberson on the 38 yard punt set us up with beautiful field position at the Boise State 42 yard line.

Taking over at the Broncos 42 yard line after the punt, Roberson went to work on the ground on first down, taking the handoff for a two yard gain to leave second and 8. The second down pass intended for Munoz was nearly intercepted by the cornerback, and we were left with third down and 8. A quick pass to tight end Jack Long on a comeback route picked up 11 yards over the middle, saving our drive with a first down at the 30 yard line. Taking the ball on the ground on first down, Roberson was again limited to just a two yard gain. Trying to get a little tricky on second down, an attempt flea flicker ended in disaster as the blitzing defense blew the play up within moments of the snap, causing a fumble on the play. Left tackle Derek Smith would thankfully recover the fumble for our offense, but he would end up stumbling backwards while picking it up off the ground, tackled by the defense for a 10 yard loss on the play to bring up third and 18. Conley briefly had the first down for us, pulling in a pass from Barnes for what appeared to be a 20 yard gain, before a hit from behind by the safety knocked the ball loose and incomplete, leaving us punting on fourth and 18. The 38 yard punt would bounce down at the three yard line and roll into the end zone for a touchback, giving Boise State the ball at their 20 yard line.

Starting their drive on the ground, the Broncos pitched the ball to Pierce towards the right sideline, Pierce shaking off two tacklers before finally being dragged down for a one yard gain. That one yard gain would turn into extra however, as Dunn was flagged for a facemask penalty on the play, the 15 free yards setting Boise State up with a first down at the 36 yard line. Our defense would win a minor victory on first down, forcing Chavis to throw the ball away to avoid a sack, leaving second down. Pierce took the ball on the ground on second down, but our defense was ready and waiting, bringing him down for a gain of just two yards to bring up third and 8 for the offense. It would turn into a first down as Chavis connected with an open Bolden over the middle for a 16 yard gain, moving the chains to our 46 yard line. The defense would again screw up a first down play by the Broncos, as Chavis was again forced to get rid of the ball, throwing it out of bounds to bring up second down. P.J. Nance would keep the offense moving on second down, as a misread by our outside linebacker allowed Nance to get open near the left sideline and pull in a pass from Chavis for a 17 yard pickup and a first down at the 29. Going to the ground on first down, Pierce took the handoff for a three yard gain, followed by a 12 yard rush around the left tackle to give Boise State another first down at our 14 yard line. That would be the final play of the first quarter, Boise State holding onto a 7-0 lead.

Opening up the second quarter, Boise State lined up on first down from our 14 yard line. It would take them just one play to get back into the end zone as Eric Miles cut across the field and got open just a yard into the end zone, hauling in the pass from Chavis for a 14 yard touchdown to give Boise State a 14-0 lead with 8:57 left in the second quarter.

A 23 yard kickoff return by Douglas gave us the ball at our 26 yard line for our next drive. Handing the ball off on first down, Roberson plowed up the middle for a 5 yard gain, followed by a three yard rush that left us looking at third and two. Lining up under center on third down, Barnes dropped back and rifled a quick pass to Martin, but it wasn’t meant to be as the outside linebacker just got a hand on the ball to deflect it incomplete, and our punt team came out once more on fourth and short. A 38 yard punt out of bounds gave Boise State the ball at their 27 yard line.

Lining up on first down from their 27 yard line, Boise State came out passing, but the throw from Chavis to Bolden was dropped incomplete, leaving second and 10. Going with an empty backfield on second down, Chavis was able to avoid a sack and complete a pass to Morton, but the defense limited it to just a four yard gain, bringing up third and 6 for the offense. Our defense would fail against as Chavis hit Jason Henderson over the middle for a 22 yard gain, giving Boise State a first down at our 47 yard line, causing a chorus of boos from our, maybe, quarter capacity crowd. One could potentially make the case that Boise State’s fans outnumbered our own fans on our home field. Keeping the aerial assault going, Chavis hit Bolden for a four yard gain on first down, followed by a 5 yard pass to Henderson to set up third and one. Dunn would save our defense on third down, deflecting a pass intended for Jason Meyer along the right sideline to force fourth and short. Boise State, sitting at our 38 yard line, elected to go for it on fourth down. Despite lining up in a goal line defense to stop the assured run, it wouldn’t matter one bit as Pierce took the handoff and went straight up the middle through the heart of our defense, briefly breaking into the open before being dragged down from behind for a 14 yard gain, giving the Broncos a first down at our 24 yard line. Another handoff to Pierce picked up three yards, before our defense would finally come through on second down, Vinson blitzing in from the safety position and sacking Chavis from behind for a 7 yard loss to leave Boise State facing third and 14. Despite putting pressure on Chavis, he was able to step up in the pocket and fire a pass to the end zone intended for Miles. We would catch a break as Vinson came through again, getting his body in front of Miles to break up the pass and force Boise State to settle for a field goal on fourth down. It was shaping up to be a clanking kind of day, as the 45 yard field goal by Ben Richardson, kicked from the right hash mark, sailed across the face of the goal post and appeared to be going wide, until at the last moment it clanked off the left upright and fell into the end zone no good, giving us the ball at our 28 yard line. Thus far, one field goal attempt apiece, both teams have clanked a kick off the uprights, Utah State the right upright, Boise State the left upright. And ironically enough, both missed field goals happened on the very same goal post.

Taking over after the missed field goal, we came out with our rushing game leading the way, Roberson taking the first down handoff for an 8 yard gain, followed by a 6 yard dash around the right end to pick up a quick first down at the 41 yard line. Another rush by Roberson netted three yards, making it second and 7. Calling a play action pass on second down, Barnes was able to avoid being sacked from behind and rolled out to his right. Throwing on the run, Barnes was able to complete a pass to tight end Cedric McKinney, though the on the move throw left it underthrown and forced McKinney to come back for it, resulting in a completion for a gain of only four yards, leaving us lining up on third and three. Giving the ball to Roberson on third down, he was able to find a hole for a four yard gain and keep our drive moving, advancing the chains to the Boise State 48 yard line. Throwing on first down, Barnes connected with Munoz for a 9 yard gain, followed by Roberson being stood up for no gain to bring up third and one. Brian Paris came in on third down, fighting his way to a 5 yard gain to pick up the first down at the 34 yard line. Keeping through the air on first down, Barnes found Conley for a 9 yard gain, before a pass over the middle intended for Long was nearly intercepted by the outside linebacker, leaving third and one. Lining up on third down, Roberson received the handoff and went straight up the middle for a gain of three yards and a first down at the 21 yard line. Rushing to the line after the first down play, a quick audible into a play action pass was sufficient to keep the defense guessing, allowing McKinney to get open for an 11 yard gain and a first down at the 10 yard line, our first timeout called with 43 seconds left in the second quarter. Lining up in the shotgun on first down, the pass intended for Walter Johnson was broken up by the middle linebacker to bring up second down. We would finally reach the end zone on the next play, as the second down pass to Conley along the left hash was hauled in near the three yard line. From there, Conley was able to beat the descending safety to the goal line and his momentum carried him into the end zone for a 10 yard touchdown, cutting Boise State’s lead in half to 14-7 with 37 seconds left until halftime.

A 20 yard kickoff return by Pierce left Boise State starting from their 19 yard line, just 33 seconds left. Chavis dropped back on first down, but our coverage left no one open and forced him to attempt a bad pass to Pierce, the ball broken up and incomplete by our secondary to leave second down. Dropping back to pass once more, Chavis again came up pressure, managing to shake his way out of one sack and standing up in the pocket, only to get flattened from behind by 273 pound defensive end Kevin “Bubba” Tolbert, sacked for a 6 yard loss to leave third and 16. Boise State seemingly was content to just into halftime with the 7 point lead, as they didn’t call a timeout and huddled up after the sack, the clock down to 22 seconds and still ticking. That would in fact end up being the last play of the half as the clock ran out without another snap, and we headed into halftime, Boise State holding a 14-7 lead.

Opening up the second half, a 33 yard kickoff return by Douglas gave us the ball at our 33 yard line to start the third quarter. Roberson got us started on the ground with a two yard run, before Barnes tried to keep the ball himself on second down, only to get demolished for a three yard loss to bring up third and 11. Lining up in the shotgun on third down, Barnes was able to connect with Munoz over the middle for a 16 yard gain, keeping our drive alive with a first down at the 49 yard line. Returning to the ground, Roberson was able to pick up four yards on the first down carry, followed by a three yard rush by Paris that left us facing third and three. Lining up under center on third down, Barnes dropped back and threw a quick pass to Johnson for a 9 yard gain, moving the chains to the Boise State 36 yard line. A pair of rushes by Roberson only went for gains of two and four yards, leaving us lining up on third and four. Going into the air on third down, a dump pass to Dante May went for a four yard gain, but it wasn’t enough for the refs, as we were marked short, fourth and inches from the 26. Not trusting Marcus enough on a 43 yard field goal from the hash, we went for it on fourth down, Roberson taking the handoff up the middle for a 6 yard gain to pick up the first down at the 21 yard line. Roberson kept us moving on the ground with a four yard rush, followed by a three yard rush by Paris to leave third and three. Lining up under center on third down, Barnes dropped back and rifled a quick pass to Johnson for a 5 yard gain, giving us first and goal at the 9 yard line. Roberson took the handoff on first down, but was lucky if he even got one yard, leaving second and goal. An option pitch to Paris on second down only resulted in us going backwards, Paris tackled for a two yard loss to leave third and goal at the 10 yard line. The pass, intended for Martin over the middle, got deflected up in the air at the line of scrimmage. Conley tried to race over from the left side of the field and actually got his hands on the ball for a moment, but he was unable to hold on and it landed incomplete, bringing up fourth and goal. About to give the entire coaching staff a damn heart attack, the 27 yard field goal by Marcus sailed right towards the right upright, again, and clanked off the right upright, again! Very luckily for us, this time, instead of clanking dead center on the middle of the upright, hit at an angle from the left half, causing the ball to carom off the upright and miraculously through the goal post for three points to cap off the 16 play, 6:41 long drive, further cutting Boise State’s lead down to 14-10 with 2:19 left in the third quarter.

A 23 yard kickoff return by Bolden gave Boise State the ball at their 25 yard line, the Broncos looking to respond. Starting the drive in the air, Chavis fired up a pass to Miles for a quick 8 yard gain, leaving second and two. Turning to the ground, an end around by Miles picked up 6 yards and gave Boise State the first down at the 40 yard line. Our first down blitz would pan out, as Chavis was forced to throw the ball away to avoid being sacked, leaving second and 10 for the Broncos. Our blitz would be decidedly less effective on second down, as Chavis stepped up in the pocket this time and found Morton for a 22 yard gain, giving Boise State a first down at our 38 yard line. Pierce took the ball on first down, rushing for a four yard gain, followed by another handoff for a pickup of 11 yards and a first down at our 24 yard line. Keeping the ball himself, Chavis would take off running on first down, picking up a pair of blocks on his way to an 18 yard gain, sprinting all the way down to our 6 yard line where the Broncos would have first and goal. Pitching the ball to Pierce on first down, Boise State would go nowhere but backwards, Pierce instantly surrounded by blue jerseys and tackled for a loss of 5 yards, leaving Boise State with second and goal from our 11 yard line. That would be the final play of the third quarter as the clock hit all zeroes, Boise State holding a 14-10 lead and knocking on our front door.

Opening up the fourth quarter, Pierce would make up those lost yards from the previous play, taking the handoff around the right tackle and shedding a pair of tackles before finally being brought down for a 6 yard gain, the result bringing up third and goal from the 5 yard line. Trying to pass the ball on third down, Chavis found himself under immediate pressure as we brought the house, initially wrapped up by McBride from behind, before trying to dump the ball off to Bolden while in the process of being sacked. The ball would not reach its target, instead ending up in the thigh of the center and incomplete, forcing the Broncos to settle for a field goal on fourth and goal. The 22 yard field goal by Richardson was good, finally a kick that didn’t touch one of the uprights in any way, shape or form, giving Boise State a 17-10 lead with 8:31 left in the fourth quarter.

A 24 yard kickoff return by Douglas gave us the ball at our 28 yard line, needing a touchdown to even things up. Starting our drive on the ground, Roberson took the first down handoff for a four yard gain, followed by a rush by Paris for no gain, leaving third and 5. Munoz would come through for us on third down with a 13 yard reception from Barnes, giving us a fresh set of downs at the 45 yard line. Returning to the ground on first down, Paris was stood up for a gain of only one yard, leaving second and 9. A second down pass across the field to Conley was good for a pickup of 11 yards, moving the chains once more to the Boise State 43 yard line. Keeping through the air on first down, Barnes tried to connect with Douglas deep down the right sideline, but the cornerback closed on the pass too quickly and broke it up to bring up second and 10. Aaron Allen would get us some positive yards on second down, pulling in a pass from Barnes for a 5 yard gain. A 9 yard catch by Paris over the middle would keep our drive moving with a first down at the 29 yard line. Roberson returned to the backfield on first down with a 9 yard rush up the middle, before Paris would get stood up for no gain to leave third and one. Going no huddle, we audibled to a play action pass out of the same formation, but while we would catch the defense slightly off guard, it ultimately wouldn’t matter as the pass caught by Johnson along the right hash would be dropped just moments later as the cornerback made contact on Johnson, the dropped pass leaving us with fourth and one. Needing a touchdown to tie, we decided to take our chances and go for it on fourth down. After the hard snap count failed to get Boise State to jump offside, we would run our play as designed, Barnes keeping it on the QB sneak, picking up two yards to give us a fresh breath of air and a new set of downs at the 18 yard line. Handing the ball off on first down, Paris got a massive hole up the middle, combined with plowing over a pair of Boise State defenders, Paris rushed his way to a 16 yard gain before being spun down to give us first and goal at the two yard line. Paris would finish the drive off on first down, dashing through the defense and into the end zone for a two yard touchdown, tying the game up at 17-17 with 3:52 left to play.

A 27 yard kickoff return by Pierce gave Boise State the ball at their 25 yard line, lining up in a whole brand new ballgame. Handing the ball off on first down, Pierce took the ball for an 8 yard gain around the right tackle, leaving second and two. Matt Daniels would pick up the first down with a two yard gain, giving Boise State a first down at the 35 yard line. Chavis kept the ball himself on first down, only gaining two yards on the play to leave second and 8. Cornerback Kevin Moore almost made the biggest defensive play of the game, getting between Young and the pass from Chavis, initially getting his hands onto the ball, but unable to complete the interception, instead dropping the ball incomplete to leave Boise State in possession on third and 8. We would catch a huge break on third down as Chavis again targeted Young, who this time was sprinting down the left sideline completely behind his secondary. Luckily for us, the pass from Chavis caught too much air and overshot Young by a good 10 yards, the incomplete pass forcing Boise State to punt the ball away on fourth and 8. A botched punt return by Douglas nearly screwed us, Douglas managing to just recover the 39 yard punt at our 33 yard line before a Boise State player could dive on it.

The botched punt would leave us starting our drive from our 33 yard line instead of potentially closer to midfield, just 2:27 left on the clock. Lining up on first down, Paris took the first down handoff up the middle for a three yard gain to leave second and 7. Lining up under center on second down, Barnes dropped back and threw a play action pass to McKinney, but the defense wouldn’t bite on the fake, the pass broken up incomplete to leave us facing third and 7. The third down pass intended for Conley would also end up broken up, and just like that, we were forced to punt the ball back on fourth down. A fair catch by Bolden on the 42 yard punt left Boise State lining up from their 21 yard line, just 1:35 remaining.

Lining up on first down at their 21 yard line, time was short for the Broncos. A first down screen pass to Pierce picked up 11 yards and a quick first down at the 32 yard line. Going no-huddle on first down, Chavis tried to launch a pass down the left sideline to Miles, but Moore was there to get in front of the ball and break it up, leaving second and 10, 1:22 left on the clock. Another screen pass to Pierce gained four yards to leave third and 6. It could have been so much more as a missed tackle left Pierce with nothing but green in front of him, but he would be unable to gain his balance and would fall down, limiting his gain on that play. Despite just 1:06 on the clock, Boise State didn’t call a timeout, and chose to huddle up, as they faced an important third down play. Boise State wouldn’t get anything out of the play as the pass from Chavis intended for Morton was off the mark and sailed out of bounds, leaving the Broncos punting the ball away on fourth and 6. Sending the house after the punt, we came up just short of blocking it, no return by Douglas on the 41 yard punt giving us the ball at our 22 yard line, 48 seconds left in the game.

Lining up in the shotgun on first down, we had a lot of yards to gain and little time to gain them. In the worst possible timing, the first down pass down the left sideline intended for Conley ended up being intercepted by safety Mike Washington for the game's first turnover, his momentum taking him out of bound without a return, giving Boise State the ball at our 46 yard line, 44 seconds remaining.

Lining up at our 46 yard line after the interception, the Broncos came out in the shotgun and needed just one play to set themselves up for victory, as Chavis connected with Bolden over the middle, Bolden able to break free from his defender and race up field before being tackled from behind for a 34 yard gain, giving Boise State a first down, dead center of the field, at our 12 yard line, our first timeout called with 37 seconds remaining. Boise State wasn’t about to just settle for a field goal, as Pierce took the first down handoff and rolled outside to the left, picking up a pair of blocks and finding his way into the end zone for a 12 yard touchdown, giving Boise State a 24-17 lead with 32 seconds left in the game.

A 21 yard kickoff return by Conley left us only starting at our 22 yard line, just 27 seconds remaining. A first down pass to Conley only gained 9 yards, forcing us to take our second timeout with 19 seconds left, facing second and one. Trying to hit Max Rhodes deep over the middle, the pass got broken up by the outside linebacker to leave us with third and short, 15 seconds to go. Another pass downfield, this time intended for Munoz, was again incomplete, and we lined up on fourth and one with 10 seconds to play. Rhodes would keep us on life support as he was able to pull in a pass from Barnes for a 14 yard gain and a first down at the 45 yard line. Rushing to the line of scrimmage with 5 seconds left, we quick snapped it and Barnes rifled a pass to Munoz down the right sideline, but it again would be broken up, leaving second down and just one second left on the clock. Calling our last timeout to reorganize, we came out for the last play of the game. Praying for a successful Hail Mary, the pass deep down the middle to Allen near the 10 yard line would end like damn near every other pass did, broken up, and that was the game as Boise State walked out with a 24-17 win.

With the loss, we drop to 2-7, 2-3 in Mountain West action and are eliminated from bowl game eligibility. With the win, Boise State improves to 3-5, 3-1 in Mountain West play. Up next, it’s back on the road as we head to Colorado Springs to take on Air Force. The Falcons enter the game 5-3, 2-2 in Mountain West action. Air Force opened up their year with a 45-0 pounding of Georgia Southern and a 31-0 thrashing of Rutgers, before suffering a 17-10 loss to San Jose State, a 34-3 loss to Navy and a 25-21 loss at Nevada. The Falcons would break the losing streak and reverse trend, reeling off three straight wins, 30-24 over Hawaii and 17-14 at Wyoming, finishing with a huge win, knocking off ranked rival #18 Army 27-24 in overtime. That victory could cause issues for us, as we'd be entering enemy territory at the Air Force Academy, one week after they not only beat rival Army, but also beat a rival Army that was undefeated and ranked #18 at the time. Nothing like throwing fuel on a fire.

Final Score
:Boise_State: 24, :Utah_State: 17

Stat(s) of the Game:
Utah State Offense - A mediocre day for Barnes, going 18-35 for 191 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Rushing, Roberson led the way with 82 yards on 23 carries, Paris ended the day with 31 yards and one touchdown on 10 carries. Receiving, Munoz was the top receiver today with 56 yards on four catches. Next was Conley with 39 yards and the lone receiving touchdown on four receptions. In total, ten different receivers caught at least one pass today, seven of them ending with double digit yards.

Utah State Defense/Special Teams – For the most part, a fairly good defense today. Collapsed on a couple drive that result in points for Boise State, but otherwise, held firm and put together some tough defensive stands that either forced Boise State to punt or left them attempting field goals.

Utah State Kicking – Perfection was elusive once again today. Marcus ended 1-2 in field goal attempts, successfully kicking a 27 yard field goal, but bouncing a 37 yard attempt off the right upright. He did at least go 2-2 in PATs.

Scoring Summary

Team
1st Quarter
2nd Quarter
3rd Quarter
4th Quarter
Final Score

:Boise_State:
7
7
0
10
24

:Utah_State:
0
7
3
7
17

Time
Team
Result
Play
Score

First Quarter

7:27
:Boise_State:
Touchdown
M. Pierce, 11 yard run (B. Richardson kick)
:Boise_State: 7-0

Second Quarter

8:57
:Boise_State:
Touchdown
E. Miles, 14 yard pass from D. Chavis (B. Richardson kick)
:Boise_State: 14-0

0:37
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
R. Conley, 10 yard pass from J. Barnes (D. Marcus kick)
:Boise_State: 14-7

Third Quarter

2:19
:Utah_State:
Field Goal
D. Marcus, 27 yard field goal
:Boise_State: 14-10

Fourth Quarter

8:31
:Boise_State:
Field Goal
B. Richardson, 22 yard field goal
:Boise_State: 17-10

3:52
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
B. Paris, 2 yard run (D. Marcus kick)
TIED 17-17

0:32
:Boise_State:
Touchdown
M. Pierce, 12 yard run (B. Richardson kick)
:Boise_State: 24-17

Game Stats

Boise State
Stat
Utah State

24
Score
17

16
First Downs
18

313
Total Offense
303

21 - 94 - 2
Rushes - Yards - TD
35 - 112 - 1

15 - 33 - 1
Comp - Att - TD
18 - 35 - 1

219
Passing Yards
191

3
Times Sacked
0

4 - 10 (40%)
3rd Down Conversion
10 - 18 (55%)

1 - 1 (100%)
4th Down Conversion
3 - 3 (100%)

0 - 0 (0%)
2-Point Conv
0 - 0 (0%)

4 - 3 - 1 (100%)
Red Zone - TD - FG
4 - 2 - 1 (75%)

0
Turnovers
1

0
Fumbles Lost
0

0
Intercepted
1

0
Punt Return Yards
8

93
Kick Return Yards
121

406
Total Yards
432

3 – 38.7
Punts - Average
3 - 39.3

0 - 0
Penalties
1 - 15

14:41
Time of Possession
21:19

Utah State Coach Goals

Goal
XP Reward
Completed

Score a Touchdown
25
x6

Rush for 100 Yards
25
x1

3+ Sacks
50
x1

Play in an ESPN Classic Game
75
x1

Opponent Under 150 Rush Yards
50
x1

Opponent Under 300 Pass Yards
50
x1

Pass Completion Over 50%
30
x1

10+ First Downs
50
x1

4+ 3rd Down Conversions
25
x1

Utah State Contract Goals Update

Goal
Expectations
Progress

Target Wins Per Season
7
2

Job Security Status

100%

SmoothPancakes

12-11-2013, 03:10 AM

Taking a look around the nation, in the Top 25, #1 Oklahoma fought off #15 TCU 31-21. #2 Ohio State smoked Maryland 42-17. #3 USC dominated #24 Arizona 41-10. In the game of the week, #8 Michigan State knocked off #4 Michigan 20-14. #5 Texas held off Kansas State 48-34. Ole Miss scored the upset of the week, knocking off #6 Texas A&M 24-17. #7 Virginia Tech beat Boston College 34-21. #9 Alabama manhandled LSU 47-17. #10 Baylor edged out Iowa State 24-13.

#12 Washington handled #25 Oregon 41-28. #13 Notre Dame beat Navy 41-20. #14 UCLA destroyed Stanford 48-10. #16 Auburn defeated Arkansas 35-21. #17 Louisville beat Syracuse 34-24. Air Force knocked off #18 Army 27-24 in overtime, ruining the perfect season of the Black Knights. #20 Northwestern survived Nebraska 27-24. #21 Georgia Tech topped Duke 38-17. Rutgers handed #22 Indiana their second straight upset loss, 26-21 and Wake Forest knocked off #23 Clemson 35-26.

For our readers, JeffHCross, #2 Ohio State improves to 8-0 (5-0 Big Ten) with a 42-17 win over Maryland. Morsdraconis, West Virginia improves to 4-3 (2-2 Big 12) with an extremely tight 37-35 win over Kansas, thanks to a 19 yard field goal with 12 seconds left. Souljahbill, Southern Miss improves to 5-3 (4-0 C-USA) with a 44-41 win over Old Dominion. Jaymo, Arizona State improves to 5-3 (2-3 Pac-12) with a 38-35 win over Oregon State. LeeSO, #16 Auburn improves to 7-2 (4-2 SEC) with a 35-21 win over Arkansas. SCClassof93, South Carolina improves to 6-3 (6-2 SEC) a 63-7 violation of Vanderbilt. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State improves to 6-1 (3-0 Sun Belt) with a 34-13 win over South Alabama. Florida International drops to 2-6 (2-2 C-USA) with a 38-10 loss to UAB. Navy drops to 5-4 (4-3 American) with a 41-20 loss to #13 Notre Dame. Tulsa drops to 4-5 (3-4 American) with a 14-7 loss to Houston.

In Mountain West action, Boise State beat Utah State 24-17, Nevada topped Colorado State 31-23, San Diego State edged out Hawaii 30-25, New Mexico beat Wyoming 14-7 in overtime, Fresno State topped UNLV 38-24 and Air Force knocked off #18 Army 27-24 in overtime.

Looking at undefeated teams left, #4 Michigan and #18 Army both lost this week, dropping our number of undefeated teams to 3. #1 Oklahoma (7-0), #2 Ohio State (8-0) and #3 USC (9-0) all remain with an unblemished record this season.

Turning to a more sadistic watch, who is still winless. There remains 2 teams still looking for their first win: UNLV (0-7), and UTSA (0-8).

Teams getting their first win this week were: None.

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Oklahoma (39 first place votes) remains #1, Ohio State (21 votes) remains #2, USC (1 vote) remains #3, Texas climbs one to #4 and Michigan State jumps three to #5. Virginia Tech moves up one to #6, Alabama jumps two to #7, Michigan drops four to #8, Baylor climbs one to #9 and Miami jumps one to #10. Washington climbs one to #11, Notre Dame moves up one to #12, UCLA jumps one to #13, Auburn climbs two to #14 and Louisville jumps two to #15. Texas A&M falls ten to #16, Penn State climbs two to #17, Northwestern jumps two to #18, Georgia Tech moves up two to #19 and TCU drops five to #20. Washington State enters the poll at #21, Oklahoma State enters the poll at #22, Kentucky enters the poll at #23, Army drops six to #24 and Arizona (183 points) drops one to #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Indiana (from #22), Clemson (from #23) and Oregon (from #25). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Arizona State (176 points) is #26, followed by Louisiana-Lafayette (159), Ole Miss (125), South Carolina (114) and Central Florida (96) to round out the Top 30. Other teams getting points this week include Florida (70), West Virginia (55), Arkansas State (53) and Indiana (5).

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Media Poll, Oklahoma (36 first place votes) remains #1, Ohio State (28 votes) remains #2, USC (1 vote) remains #3, Michigan State leaps four to #4 and Texas jumps one to #5. Virginia Tech climbs one to #6, Michigan drops three to #7, Miami moves up one to #8, Baylor climbs one to #9 and Alabama jumps one to #10. UCLA moves up one to #11, Notre Dame climbs one to #12, Washington jumps one to #13, Louisville climbs two to #14 and Texas A&M drops ten to #15. Auburn climbs one to #16, Georgia Tech moves up one to #17, Penn State jumps two to #18, Northwestern climbs two to #19 and TCU drops five to #20. Washington State enters the poll at #21, Oklahoma State enters the poll at #22, Arizona remains #23, Army drops five to #24 and Kentucky (165 points) enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Indiana (from #22), Clemson (from #24) and Illinois (from #25). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Arizona State (141 points) is #26, followed by UCF (93), Florida (68), Ole Miss (63) and Louisiana-Lafayette (50) to round out the Top 30. Other teams getting points include West Virginia (11) and Arkansas State (8).

Taking a look at the new BCS rankings: #1 Oklahoma (1.000), #2 Ohio State (0.995), #3 USC (0.989), #4 Michigan State (0.981), #5 Texas (0.981), #6 Virginia Tech (0.974), #7 Michigan (0.966), #8 Alabama (0.960), #9 Miami (0.958) and #10 Notre Dame (0.942). Others: #15 Auburn (0.905).

A look at the Heisman race, Ohio State QB Matt Cowan is #1 (LW: #1), Texas A&M QB Zac Hopkins is #2 (LW: #2), Louisville QB Jeff Johnston is #3 (LW: #3), Alabama QB Aaron Walters is #4 (LW: #4) and Notre Dame QB Mike Harper is #5 (LW: #5). No one dropped off the Heisman Watch list this week.

Looking at Awards Semifinalists, middle linebacker Justin Dunn somehow qualified as a semifinalist for Best LB, though he is currently ranked #10 on the list.

Looking at the bowl picture, 14 teams punched their tickets this week, giving us 34 teams that have reached the 6 win plateau. 4 teams, including Utah State saw their bowl hopes end, leaving 80 teams still having a chance (however small it may be) of getting there, to leave 114 teams total fighting for 68 bowl slots.

SmoothPancakes

12-11-2013, 03:12 AM

Well, that's it. It was a nice run, but I'm gonna be sitting at home this holiday season as my run of 10 straight bowl games as coach comes to an end.

SmoothPancakes

12-11-2013, 07:53 PM

Game Ten

:Utah_State: :@: :Air_Force:

Game Story

---Playing for pride now after being eliminated from eligibility for a bowl game, it was back on the road to take on Air Force as we headed down the home stretch of the 2021 season. Much like Boise State, it was going to be an uphill challenge and require a fundamentally perfect game for us to keep right there with the Falcons. We were going to be in for a true test as Air Force entered the game with the #1 rushing offense in the nation, running for nearly 258.9 yards/game. With the #126 passing offense, averaging only 96.1 yards/game, it was going to be run and run often, and our rush defense was going to have to rise to the occasion. Meanwhile, our #74 rush offense (152.1 yards/game) was going to have to be a go-to part of our offense today, as our #13 pass offense (287.6 yards/game) collided with Air Force’s #1 pass defense (142.6 yards/game). After the showing our passing game put up against Boise State, going up against the #1 pass defense wasn’t exactly a confidence booster for the coaching staff. We won the coin toss and elected to kick.

A 28 yard kickoff return by Joe Seymour got Air Force started at their 30 yard line to open the game. Knowing that Air Force was going to come out running, we brought the blitz on first down, managing to break through and tackle John Robinson in the backfield for a two yard loss, the Falcons left facing second and 12. Scott Byrd would keep the ball on second down, rushing forward up the middle for a 5 yard gain to set up third and 7. Surprisingly going for a pass so early in the game, Byrd connected with Seymour over the middle right along the first down line for a 7 yard gain, giving Air Force a new set of downs at the 40 yard line. Even more surprisingly, Air Force tried to pass for a second play in a row on first down, the pass deep down the middle to a crossing Sam Sanders was no good, sailing past behind the receiver to leave second and 10. It would be second down where we would see our first option disaster of the game, as Byrd kept the ball on the option keeper, racing down the right sideline and breaking his way out of two tackles before being dragged down from behind for a 30 yard gain to give Air Force a first down at our 30 yard line. A blitz by safety Sam Vinson would send Air Force backwards again, Craig Williams tackled for a three yard loss. It would be a wasted play as middle linebacker Justin Dunn would get flagged for a facemask penalty at the end of an 8 yard run by Williams, the penalty going half the distance to the goal to give Air Force a first down at our 12 yard line. Briefly dropping back to pass, Byrd quickly took off running to the right on a delayed option, but it would be too late as cornerback Charles Noble came blitzing through the line right into the path of Byrd, sacking him for a 5 yard loss to leave second and 15. Robinson took the option handoff on second down, briefly having a chance to break the corner before defensive end Caleb McBride was able to shed his blocker and tackle Robinson for a gain of only one yard, bringing up third and 14. Expecting the pass, we were more than ready on third down as Byrd was forced to scramble from the pressure, trying heave up a pass into the end zone to Seymour while on the move. That would hinder the pass as the ball would barely cross the goal line before landing incomplete, a good 5 yards short of where Seymour was in the back of the end zone. That incomplete pass would leave Air Force with fourth and 14 and the field goal team trotting out. The 32 yard field goal by Aaron West sailed through the uprights, giving Air Force a 3-0 lead with 5:55 left in the first quarter.

A 48 yard kickoff return by David Douglas gave us incredible field position, starting our first drive of the game from our 48 yard line. Handing the ball off to Preston Roberson, he took it straight up the middle for an 8 yard gain, dropping the gauntlet on the first play. Another rush by Roberson would pick up three yards, while not as impressive, it was enough to get the first down at the Air Force 40 yard line. Brian Paris would enter the backfield on first down, taking the handoff for a gain of 8 yards, after which Roberson came back in and took the ball around the right tackle, fighting his way to a four yard gain to pick up another first down at the 29 yard line. The Falcons’ defense packed in tight on the line on first down, but unluckily for them, it would be in the wrong areas, allowing Roberson to punch his way through the line for a 7 yard carry, leaving second and three. Looking to keep the defense cheating, Barnes dropped back from under center with a play action pass, but the pass intended for Cedric McKinney would be well defended and knocked down incomplete, leaving us with third and three. Putting the ball back into the hands of Roberson on third down, he would keep us moving with a 5 yard gain on the ground, moving the chains to the 17 yard line. Paris returned to the backfield on first down, taking the handoff for a 5 yard gain, followed by a dive up the middle by Roberson for a pickup of just two yards, leaving us facing third and three. Taking our chances with Paris on third down, he would fail to come through, gaining only one yard on the play to leave us with fourth and two. Settling for three points, the 26 yard field goal by Doug Marcus was good, tying the score up at 3-3 with 1:50 left in the first quarter.

A 21 yard kickoff return by Seymour put the Falcons offense back on the field at their 22 yard line. Byrd would keep the ball on the first down option play, rushing to the left side for a 13 yard gain before being brought down by the last defender in sight, giving Air Force a first down at the 35 yard line. Again somehow slipping out of a pair of tackles, Byrd took off sprinting down the left sideline for a 28 yard gain, Vinson chasing him down from behind and dragging him down to save what would have been an assured touchdown, instead leaving Air Force with a fresh set of downs at our 37 yard line. Our defense would finally win a round, as McBride was able to trap and tackle Robinson in the backfield for a two yard loss, bringing up second and 12. Holding onto the ball on the option keeper, Byrd was able to get free around the right end for a 9 yard gain after the defensive end failed to contain, setting up the offense with third and three. Bringing the blitz on third down, we would get super lucky, as despite Robinson shaking his way out of two different tackle attempts, he still would fail to get the first down, a diving tackle by cornerback Kevin Moore stopping him for a gain of only two yards to leave fourth and one at the 28 yard line. That would be the final play of the first quarter, the score all knotted up at 3-3.

Opening up the second quarter, attempting a field goal from the 28 yard line was apparently outside the reach of Air Force’s kicker, as the Falcons lined up to go for it on fourth down. Briefly dropping back to pass, Byrd wouldn’t even wait long enough to let his receivers get 10 yards downfield, quickly rolling out to the left and sprinting up the field through a gap for an 8 yard gain, picking up the first down at our 19 yard line. Keeping the pitch man covered up on first down, Byrd was left with nowhere to pitch the ball on the option play, allowing our defense to collapse down on top of him for a one yard loss, leaving the Falcons with second and 11. Another great round of defense would result in Byrd getting tackled for a 5 yard loss, but it would only be temporary, as Dunn got flagged for a facemask penalty on the play, the 12 yard half the distance to the goal penalty setting Air Force up with a first down at our 13 yard line. Byrd would keep the ball himself on the first down option play, rushing for a 6 yard gain to leave second and four. Our defense would start to push back, as Byrd tried to keep the ball again, this time met by a wall of defenders and tackled for a three yard loss, setting up third and 7. Dropping back to pass on third down, Byrd would connect with Ralph Mobley along the left sideline, a missed open field tackle allowing Mobley to pick up the first down before being tripped up by his ankles for an 8 yard gain, saving the touchdown but giving Air Force first and goal at our two yard line. The Falcons would need just one play to find the end zone, as Byrd left our defensive end on an island, trying to defend both Byrd and the pitchman, resulting in the pitchman getting covered, allowing Byrd to keep it and punch it in for a two yard touchdown, putting Air Force up 10-3 with 7:03 left in the second quarter.

A 35 yard kickoff return by Roberson gave us the ball at our 42 yard line to start our next drive. Handing the ball off on first down, Paris got us started on the ground with a four yard rush, followed by a three yard gain by Roberson to set up third and three. Lining up under center on third down, Barnes dropped back and rifled a quick pass to tight end Jack Long, the pass over the middle complete for a 15 yard gain to give us a new set of downs at the Air Force 36 yard line. Returning to the running game, Roberson was able to find a hole on first down, fighting his way through the defense to a 9 yard gain, followed by a 6 yard pickup to give us a first down at the 21. Another rush by Roberson would initially go for an 8 yard carry, but safety Brandon Watson would help us out even more, as he was flagged for a facemask penalty on the tackle, the 7 yard half the distance to the goal penalty setting us up with first and goal from the 7 yard line. Paris would enter the backfield on first down, taking the handoff from Barnes for a gain of four yards, bringing up second and goal from the three. Roberson would need just one crack at it to put us in the end zone, finding a hole outside the left guard and punching it in for the three yard touchdown, tying the game back up at 10-10 with 3:52 left in the second quarter.

A 24 yard kickoff return by Robinson gave Air Force the ball at their 23 yard line. Proving that our rushing defense still sucks, Byrd kept the ball on the first down option play, finding a gap to the right of the line for a 12 yard gain, giving Air Force a quick first down at the 35 yard line. It would get even worse on the next play as our defensive line ended up tripping all over each other, allowing Byrd to find a gaping hole to the left side of the field, turning up the field and running for a 37 yard carry before finally being chased down from behind, Air Force coming away from the play with a first down at our 29 yard line. We would catch a brief break as the Falcons offensive line got flagged for a false start penalty on first down, pushing them back to first and 15 from the 34. Would it ultimately matter? Not the way this drive was going. Byrd would keep it on first down for a 7 yard gain, followed by a handoff to Robinson that would result in no gain on the play, setting up a big third and 8. Our defense would come through for us on third down as the blitz forced a bad pass by Byrd, the pass, intended for Sanders, sailing long and out of bounds near the goal line to bring up fourth and 8. The Falcons would go for it once again on fourth down, but our defense would win the day as Byrd’s pass intended for Mobley was rushed and off the mark, turning the ball over on downs at our 27 yard line, just 2:14 left until halftime.

Lining up at our 27 yard line after the turnover on downs, we came out passing on first down as we had limited time to move the ball. Spreading the field, Travis Munoz was able to get open cutting over the middle, pulling in the pass from Barnes for an 8 yard gain to leave second and two. The second down pass, intended for Walter Johnson, ended up incomplete to bring up third and short. Ryan Conley would keep us moving as he pulled in the third down pass from Barnes, good for a gain of 9 yards and a first down at the 45 yard line. The first down pass, intended for Conley, got disrupted by the outside linebacker to bring up a quick second down. Long would come through for us on second down, getting open up the field from the tight end position, pulling in a 17 yard pass from Barnes to get the first down at the Air Force 38 yard line. Another 17 yard pass, this time to Douglas on a slant route, would set us up with a new set of downs at the 21 yard line, 1:03 left in the half. A pair of passes to Aaron Allen would go for gain of 8 and three yards, picking up a first down at the 10 yard line, our first timeout taken with 33 seconds left before halftime. We would find the end zone on the next play as Conley was able to get open along the right hash, pulling in the pass from Barnes at the three yard line and turning toward the end zone. While he was met and tackled at the goal line by the safety, he apparently got the ball across as he was awarded with a 10 yard touchdown reception, giving us a 17-10 lead with 29 seconds remaining in the second quarter.

The kickoff would go into the end zone, kneeled down for a touchback to give Air Force the ball at their 25 yard line. Lining up in the shotgun on first down, the pass from Byrd intended for Sanders was nowhere even near any receiver, landing incomplete over the middle to leave second down. Lining up in the shotgun once more, a blown coverage by our defense would allow Seymour to get behind his defender, and after shaking off one tackle, run free down the right sideline. Dunn, who came sprinting from the middle linebacker position to chase Seymour down from behind would save the assured touchdown and limit the damage to a, still painful, 62 yard completion, giving Air Force a first down at our 13 yard line, the Falcons using their first timeout with 16 seconds left. The pressure would win out on first down, as Byrd tried to take off scramble after briefly dropping back in the shotgun, only to be sacked by Dunn for a four yard loss, leaving second and 14, Air Force calling their second timeout with 12 seconds to play. The defense would prevail once more, as the blitz would force Byrd to roll out of the pocket and straight into the arms of McBride, sacked for a 7 yard loss to leave third and 21 from our 24 yard line, Air Force calling their final timeout with two seconds left. Going for it on third down, we dropped everybody into the coverage. Despite that, Byrd was almost able to connect with a receiver in the end zone, a last minute deflection breaking up the pass and sending us into halftime with a 17-10 lead.

Opening up the second half, a 25 yard kickoff return by Roberson gave us the ball at our 25 yard line to start the third quarter. Starting our drive on the ground, Roberson was only able to manage a two yard gain, leaving second and 8. Trying a little option play of our own, Barnes was able to pick up 8 yards on the keeper, enough to give us a first down at the 35 yard line. Another rush by Roberson went for a three yard gain, setting up second and 7. Running a play action pass on second down, the throw to Johnson would result in a 5 yard gain, leaving us looking at third and two. Taking a chance on the ground on third down, Roberson took the handoff up the middle for a four yard gain, moving the chains to the 46 yard line. A dive by Roberson from the wingback slot picked up three yards, followed by a toss to Paris that would result in a loss of one yard, setting up third and 8. Dropping back in the shotgun on third down, Barnes was able to connect with Conley for a 16 yard gain along the left sideline, picking up the first down at the Air Force 35 yard line. Another pass out of the shotgun, this time to Munoz, went for a 17 yard gain to give us a first down at the 18 yard line. Handing the ball off on first down, Roberson found hardly anywhere to run, quickly brought down for a gain of just two yards. Giving the ball to Johnson on a fullback dive on second down, he would only manage a two yard gain on the play, but the defense would give us much more, as a facemask penalty on middle linebacker Bernard Jenkins resulted in a 7 yard half the distance to the goal flag and gave us first and goal from the 7 yard line. Handing the ball off to Roberson on first down, he would gain only one yard on the play, leaving second and goal from the 6. A second down rush by Paris would pick up three yards, setting up third and goal at the three yard line. Calling an audible to a play action pass on third down, it would be for naught as the pass intended for McKinney overshot its target, leaving fourth and goal. The 20 yard field goal by Marcus was good, increasing our lead to 20-10 with 3:18 left in the third quarter.

A 21 yard kickoff return by Robinson gave Air Force the ball at their 23 yard line. A well timed pitch by Byrd allowed Robinson to break free down the left sideline, running for a 44 yard gain before finally being chased down from behind and pushed out of bounds to give Air Force a first down at our 33 yard line. Trying to run a screen pass on first down, our defense wouldn’t allow the Falcons the chance to complete it, as the blitz would get to Byrd too quickly, his pass intended for Williams instead ending up in the ground just a few feet away to bring second down. Handing the ball off to Robinson, Air Force would only gain one yard on the play as our defense was ready, leaving third and 9 for the Falcons. Dropping back to pass on third down, despite the blitz, Byrd would get the pass off, but the ball, intended for Seymour, would be poorly thrown and sail out of bounds, bringing up fourth and 9. Going for it once again on fourth down, the Falcons would end up getting a helping hand from McBride, as he jumped offside on the hard snap count, leaving just fourth and four for the Air Force offense to convert. Despite getting the fourth down pass off, the Falcons would fail to convert, as the pass to Williams would be complete, but he would end up instantly tackled out of bounds for a two yard loss, turning the ball over on downs at our 30 yard line.

Lining up on offense after the turnover, we got the drive off and running the ground, as Roberson gained maybe one yard on the first down carry, if that, leaving second and 10. Another rush by Roberson would go for a 6 yard gain to leave us facing third and four. Dropping back to pass on third down, Barnes would take off scrambling, throwing across his body to Douglas. While Douglas would be able to get his hands on the ball, the defense made quick contact on the play and jarred the ball loose and incomplete, forcing us to punt on fourth down, the first punt of the game for either team. A 9 yard return by Seymour on the 39 yard punt gave Air Force the ball at their 34 yard line.

Our defense would pick up a quick victory on first down, as despite Byrd getting off a successful pitch to Robinson, Robinson’s momentum after grabbing the pitch would carry him straight out of bounds for a one yard loss, putting the Falcons in an early hole on second and 11. Robinson would make up that lost yard on second down, and only that lost yard, as a one yard gain set up third and 10. Dunn would bring the drive to an end with a giant swat of the ball on a pass intended for Seymour, forcing Air Force to punt on fourth down. An 11 yard return by Roberson on the 48 yard punt gave us the ball at our 29 yard line.

Lining up on first down, we came out business as usual, as Roberson received the handoff from Barnes, taking it for a three yard rush. That would be the final play of the third quarter, our lead sitting at 20-10.

Opening up the fourth quarter, disaster would strike as Roberson was stripped in the backfield by the defense, safety Curtis Stewart just diving on the ball before Barnes could recover it, recovering the fumble for Air Force and giving the Falcons the ball right back at our 30 yard line.

Taking over after the fumble recovery, Byrd would take full advantage of it, breaking out of and hurdling over four different tackle attempts, finally dragged down after a 28 yard gain, leaving Air Force lining up on first and goal from the two yard line. A toss to Robinson would end in points as a slew of blockers allowed Robinson to trot into the end zone untouched for a two yard touchdown, cutting our lead to 20-17 with 8:36 left in the game.

A 23 yard kickoff return by Roberson gave us the ball at our 29 yard line, looking to run out a lot of clock and put more points on the board. Paris would get our drive started with a two yard rush up the middle, followed by a 6 yard gain by Roberson to leave third and two. Paris would just barely keep our drive alive with a two yard rush, moving the chains to the 40 yard line. Another rush by Roberson would go for a two yard gain, followed by a four yard rush that set up third and three. Putting the ball into the hands of Paris, he would fail to come through for us, tackled for no gain, forcing our punt team to come out on fourth and three from the 47 yard line. The 53 yard punt landed at the 5 yard line and bounced into the end zone for a touchback, giving Air Force the ball at their 20 yard line with 5:01 remaining.

Taking over at their 20 yard line, Air Force was only down by one score, but only had 5 minutes to traverse the length of the field. Robinson would sure help out that issue, as he received the first down option pitch from Byrd, taking it up the left sideline for a 24 yard gain before being pull down from behind for a first down at the 44 yard line. A 6 yard gain by Byrd on the option keeper was followed with a play action pass from Byrd to Sanders that hit him in the hands, only to be dropped incomplete, leaving third and four. Robinson would take the handoff on third down, tackled for no gain on the play to leave fourth down and four. The hard snap cadence by the Falcons would again screw our defense, as defensive tackle Ernie Sims jumped offside, the penalty awarding Air Force a first down at our 45 yard line. Due to that big of a screw up, despite by one of our, by far, two best defensive tackles, he got pulled from the game and benched for at least the remainder of the current drive. Trying to take advantage of the fresh set of downs, Byrd found nowhere to go on first down, tackled for a three yard loss to leave second and 13. The Falcons would find their rhythm on second down, as Byrd connected with Robinson through the air for a 32 yard completion and a first down at our 17 yard line. Air Force would need just one more play to find the end zone again, as a well timed pitch to Seymour left our defense chasing after him. We wouldn’t get to him as downfield blocking left him a lane straight into the end zone for a 17 yard touchdown, putting Air Force on top 24-20 with 3:07 left in the game.

A 21 yard kickoff return by Douglas left us starting our drive from our 24 yard line. Opening up play on the ground, Barnes handed the ball off to Paris, who was immediately tackled for a one yard gain to leave second and 9. Dropping back into the shotgun on second down, Barnes connected with a wide open Conley for a 12 yard gain and a first down at the 37 yard line. Returning to under center on first down, Barnes dropped back and threw a quick pass to tight end Maurice Martin, but the ball was off the mark and sailed behind Martin’s back, landing incomplete to bring up second down. Going back into the shotgun, Barnes found Munoz over the middle on a slant route for an 18 yard gain, managing to slip a pass right by the head of the outside linebacker to get us a fresh set of downs at the Air Force 45 yard line. Trying to hit Max Rhodes along the right sideline, the drive would come crashing to an end as Stewart, who opened the fourth quarter by recovering a fumble for Air Force, would now step up and intercept the pass from Barnes to Rhodes, returning it 7 yards before being tackled at the Air Force 40 yard line, giving the Falcons the ball with 1:40 left in the game.

Taking over after the interception, Air Force wasted no time in trying to run out the clock, as a pitch to Robinson gained four yards to leave second and 6, our first timeout called with 1:36 remaining. A pitch the opposite way to Williams would end up gaining 6 yards, the defense just barely managing to keep him short of the first down line, leaving third and inches, our second timeout called with 1:30 to play. A 5 yard rush by Robinson would pretty much seal the win for the Falcons, giving them a first down at our 45 yard line, our final timeout called with 1:26 left in the game. A handoff to Williams would end up going for a loss of three yards to leave second and 13, our defense not quite yet giving up. Snapping the ball with 45 seconds left, a pitch to Robinson would leave him open field up the left sideline, Robinson taking it for a giant 25 yard gain to give Air Force another first down at our 23 yard line, just 37 seconds left. Byrd would snap the ball with 10 seconds left and drop to a knee to bring the game to an end, Air Force winning 24-20.

With the loss, we drop to 2-8, 2-4 in Mountain West action. With the win, Air Force improves to 6-3, 3-2 in Mountain West play and reach bowl eligibility. Up next, we get a bye week before returning home for Senior Night against UNLV. The Rebels enter the game 0-9, 0-5 in Mountain West action. UNLV opened their schedule with a 49-7 loss at Arizona, a 38-7 loss at Stanford, a 51-24 loss to Louisiana Tech, a 24-14 loss at Boise State and a 40-17 loss to Colorado State. They fell 24-14 at San Jose State, lost 38-24 at Fresno State, got shutout 38-0 by Hawaii and lost 33-14 to Nevada heading into our game.

Final Score

:Air_Force: 24, :Utah_State: 20

Stats of the Game:
Utah State Offense - An up and down day for Barnes, going 13-20 for 155 yards and one touchdown, but throwing one interception on his final pass of the game. Rushing, Roberson led the way with 95 yards, one touchdown and one fumble on 24 carries. Paris had 29 yards on 11 carries, Barnes had 8 yards on one carry and Johnson had two yards on one rush. Receiving, Conley led the way with 47 yards and one touchdown on four catches. In total, we had six receivers catch at least one pass today, five of them ended with double digit yards.

Utah State Defense/Special Teams – Good against the pass, god awful against the run. Turns out our high national ranking in rush defense is a fluke, as the first run-heavy team we face, they torch us left, right and center.

Utah State Kicking – A rare perfect day for Marcus, going 2-2 in field goals from 26 and 20 yards out, while also going 2-2 in PATs.

Scoring Summary

Team
1st Quarter
2nd Quarter
3rd Quarter
4th Quarter
Final Score

:Utah_State:
3
14
3
0
20

:Air_Force:
3
7
0
14
24

Time
Team
Result
Play
Score

First Quarter

5:55
:Air_Force:
Field Goal
A. West, 32 yard field goal
:Air_Force: 3-0

1:50
:Utah_State:
Field Goal
D. Marcus, 26 yard field goal
TIED 3-3

Second Quarter

7:03
:Air_Force:
Touchdown
S. Byrd, 2 yard run (A. West kick)
:Air_Force: 10-3

3:52
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
P. Roberson, 4 yard run (D. Marcus kick)
TIED 10-10

0:29
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
R. Conley, 10 yard pass from J. Barnes (D. Marcus kick)
:Utah_State: 17-10

Third Quarter

3:18
:Utah_State:
Field Goal
D. Marcus, 20 yard field goal
:Utah_State: 20-10

Fourth Quarter

8:36
:Air_Force:
Touchdown
J. Robinson, 2 yard run (A. West kick)
:Utah_State: 20-17

3:07
:Air_Force:
Touchdown
J. Seymour, 17 yard run (A. West kick)
:Air_Force: 24-20

Game Stats

Utah State
Stat
Air Force

20
Score
24

18
First Downs
17

289
Total Offense
396

37 - 134 - 1
Rushes - Yards - TD
41 - 289 - 3

13 - 20 - 1
Comp - Att - TD
5 - 15 - 0

155
Passing Yards
107

0
Times Sacked
3

6 - 10 (60%)
3rd Down Conversion
3 - 10 (30%)

0 - 0 (0%)
4th Down Conversion
1 - 3 (33%)

0 - 0 (0%)
2-Point Conv
0 - 0 (0%)

4 - 2 - 2 (100%)
Red Zone - TD - FG
5 - 3 - 1 (80%)

2
Turnovers
0

1
Fumbles Lost
0

1
Intercepted
0

11
Punt Return Yards
9

149
Kick Return Yards
93

449
Total Yards
498

2 – 46.0
Punts - Average
1 - 48.0

4 - 35
Penalties
3 - 19

19:14
Time of Possession
16:46

Utah State Coach Goals

Goal
XP Reward
Completed

Score a Touchdown
25
x2

Rush for 100 Yards
25
x1

3+ Sacks
50
x1

Opponent Under 300 Pass Yards
50
x1

Pass Completion Over 50%
30
x1

100% Red Zone Efficiency
50
x1

10+ First Downs
50
x1

4+ 3rd Down Conversions
25
x1

Utah State Contract Goals Update

Goal
Expectations
Progress

Target Wins Per Season
7
2

Job Security Status

96%

SmoothPancakes

12-11-2013, 07:55 PM

Taking a look around the nation, in the Top 25, in the upset of the season, 3-6 Eastern Michigan went into Norman and STUNNED #1 Oklahoma 31-24, scoring the game winning touchdown on a 63 yard interception return for a touchdown with 1:43 left in the game. In the game of the week, #2 Ohio State just barely hanged on to beat #5 Michigan State 34-31 in overtime. Stanford stunned #3 USC 21-14. #4 Texas beat Iowa State 34-14. #6 Virginia Tech thrashed Pittsburgh 42-13. #7 Alabama destroyed Mississippi State 44-7.

#17 Penn State shocked #8 Michigna 31-24. #20 TCU knocked off rival #9 Baylor 45-28. #19 Georgia Tech stunned #10 Miami 28-14. Arizona State knocked off #11 Washington 31-24. #12 Notre Dame dominated Utah 38-10. #13 UCLA topped #25 Arizona 33-27 in overtime. #14 Auburn beat Georgia 24-17. #15 Louisville beat UTEP 45-17. #18 Northwestern held off Rutgers 38-33. Oregon State upset #21 Washington State 37-14. #22 Oklahoma State escaped West Virginia 27-24. #23 Kentucky topped Vanderbilit 17-10. And #24 Army smoked Kent State 45-7.

For our readers, JeffHCross, #2 Ohio State improves to 9-0 (6-0 Big Ten) with a 34-31 overtime win over #5 Michigan State. Morsdraconis, West Virginia drops to 4-4 (2-3 Big 12) with 27-24 loss to #22 Oklahoma State. Souljahbill, Southern Miss improves to 6-3 (5-0 C-USA) with a 38-14 win over Florida Atlantic, punching their bowl ticket. Jaymo, Arizona State improves to 6-3 (3-3 Pac-12) with a 31-24 upset of #11 Washington, punching their bowl ticket. LeeSO, #14 Auburn improves to 8-2 (5-2 SEC) with a 24-17 win over Georgia. SCClassof93, South Carolina drops to 6-4 (6-3 SEC) a 35-30 loss to Florida. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State drops to 6-2 (3-1 Sun Belt) with a 24-3 loss to Louisiana-Monroe. Florida International improves to 3-6 (3-2 C-USA) with a 39-28 win over Old Dominion. Navy improves to 6-4 (5-3 American) with a 37-31 double overtime win over Temple, giving Navy bowl eligibility. Tulsa drops to 4-6 (3-5 American) with a 27-7 loss to Cincinnati.

In Mountain West action, Air Force edged out Utah State 24-20, Fresno State gained bowl eligibility, beating Nevada 31-21, Hawaii blanked UNLV 38-0, San Diego State pulled away from San Jose State 24-17 and Boise State beat Wyoming 27-13.

Looking at undefeated teams left, #1 Oklahoma and #3 USC both lost this week, dropping our number of undefeated teams to 1. #2 Ohio State (9-0) is the only team remaining with an unblemished record this season.

Turning to a more sadistic watch, who is still winless. There remains 2 teams still looking for their first win: UNLV (0-8), and UTSA (0-9).

Teams getting their first win this week were: None.

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Ohio State (61 votes) climbs one to become the #1, Texas jumps two to #2, Virginia Tech climbs three to #3, Alabama jumps three to #4 and Notre Dame leaps seven to #5. Michigan State drops one to #6, UCLA jumps six to #7, Auburn leaps six to #8, Penn State vaults eight to #9 and USC drops seven to #10. Michigan falls three to #11, Louisville climbs three to #12, Texas A&M jumps three to #13, Georgia Tech moves up five to #14 and Baylor drops six to #15. Miami drops six to #16, TCU climbs three to #17, Northwestern remains #18, Oklahoma plummets eighteen to #19 and Washington drops nine to #20. Oklahoma State jumps one to #21, Arizona State enters the poll at #22, Kentucky remains #23, Army remains #24 and Louisiana-Lafayette (315 points) enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Washington State (from #21) and Arizona (from #25). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Ole Miss (238 points) is #26, followed by Central Florida (179), Florida (158), Oregon State (95) and Washington State (93) to round out the Top 30. One other team getting points this week is San Diego State (19).

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Media Poll, Ohio State (65 votes) climbs one to become the new #1, Texas jumps three to #2, Virginia Tech climbs three to #3, Alabama leaps six to #4 and UCLA vaults six to #5. Penn State jumps twelve to #6, Michigan State drops three to #7, Notre Dame jumps four to #8, Georgia Tech climbs eight to #9 and Louisville moves up four to #10. Michigan drops four to #11, TCU jumps eight to #12, USC falls ten to #13, Texas A&M climbs one to #14 and Auburn climbs one to #15. Miami drops eight to #16, Baylor falls eight to #17, Oklahoma plummets seventeen to #18, Northwestern remains #19 and Oklahoma State climbs two to #20. Arizona State enters the poll at #21, Washington drops nine to #22, Army climbs one to #23, Kentucky jumps one to #24 and Central Florida (242 points) enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Washington State (from #21) and Arizona (from #23). Looking at Other Teams Receiving Votes, Louisiana-Lafayette (189) is #26, followed by Florida (181), Ole Miss (161), Oregon State (49) and San Diego State (33) to round out the Top 30.

Taking a look at the new BCS rankings: #1 Ohio State (1.000), #2 Texas (0.995), #3 Virginia Tech (0.989), #4 Alabama (0.984), #5 UCLA (0.974), #6 Notre Dame (0.971), #7 Michigan State (0.971), #8 Penn State (0.955), #9 Louisville (0.947) and #10 Michigan (0.944). Others: #13 Auburn (0.930), #21 Arizona State (0.864).

A look at the Heisman race, Ohio State QB Matt Cowan is #1 (LW: #1), Notre Dame QB Mike Harper is #2 (LW: #5), Texas A&M QB Zac Hopkins is #3 (LW: #2), Louisville QB Jeff Johnston is #4 (LW: #3) and Alabama QB Aaron Walters is #5 (LW: #4). No one dropped off the Heisman Watch list this week.

Looking at Awards Semifinalists, middle linebacker Justin Dunn somehow qualified as a semifinalist for Best LB, though he is currently ranked #6 on the list.

Looking at the bowl picture, 10 teams punched their tickets this week, giving us 44 teams that have reached the 6 win plateau. 8 teams saw their bowl hopes end, leaving 62 teams still having a chance (however small it may be) of getting there, to leave 106 teams total fighting for 68 bowl slots.

jaymo76

12-11-2013, 09:07 PM

That's rough man. How has the recruiting gone this year? One strong class can turn everything around.

SmoothPancakes

12-11-2013, 09:11 PM

On a bye week, so lets get right to it.

Taking a look around the nation, in the Top 25, in the game of the week, #1 Ohio State thrashed #9 Penn State 41-15. #2 Texas beat #21 Oklahoma State 55-35. #16 Miami knocked off #3 Virginia Tech 24-23. #5 Notre Dame fought off #18 Northwestern 38-31. #6 Michigan State topped Rutgers 38-24. #7 UCLA edged out #22 Arizona State 38-35.

#11 Michigan held off Indiana 30-22. #12 Louisville beat Wake Forest 31-10. Pittsburgh knocked off #14 Georgia Tech 17-12. #19 Oklahoma knocked off #15 Baylor 41-31. #17 TCU topped Kansas 38-21. Utah shocked #20 Washington 24-14. #24 Army upset #23 Kentucky 21-11. #25 Louisiana-Lafayette thumped South Alabama 49-14.

For our readers, JeffHCross, #1 Ohio State improves to 10-0 (7-0 Big Ten) with a 41-15 overtime win over #9 Penn State. Morsdraconis, West Virginia drops to 4-5 (2-4 Big 12) with 35-14 loss to Kansas State. Souljahbill, Southern Miss drops to 6-4 (5-1 C-USA) with a 17-10 loss to Florida International. Jaymo, #22 Arizona State drops to 6-4 (3-4 Pac-12) with a 38-35 loss to #7 UCLA. LeeSO, #8 Auburn remains to 8-2 (5-2 SEC) with a bye week. SCClassof93, South Carolina improves to 7-4 (6-3 SEC) a 41-17 win over Washington State. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State improves to 7-2 (4-1 Sun Belt) with a 24-17 win over Georgia State. Florida International improves to 4-6 (4-2 C-USA) with a 17-10 win over Southern Miss. Navy remains 6-4 (5-3 American) with a bye week. Tulsa improves to 5-6 (3-5 American) with a 42-26 win over Wyoming.

In Mountain West action, Colorado State beat Boise State 35-14, San Jose State topped Hawaii 28-16, Fresno State beat San Diego State 42-13, New Mexico shocked Air Force 27-14, Nevada beat UNLV 33-14 and Tulsa defeated Wyoming 42-26.

With those results, looking at the current standings, in the Mountain Division, Boise State (4-2) sits on top, followed by Air Force (3-3), a three way tie between Colorado State, Utah State and New Mexico (all 2-4) and finally Wyoming (1-5). In the West Division, Fresno State (6-0) claims the top spot, followed by San Diego State (5-1), Nevada and San Jose State (both 4-2), Hawaii (3-3) and last UNLV (0-6).

Looking at undefeated teams left, no one lost this week, leaving our number of undefeated teams at 1. #1 Ohio State (10-0) is the only team remaining with an unblemished record this season.

Turning to a more sadistic watch, who is still winless. There remains 2 teams still looking for their first win: UNLV (0-9), and UTSA (0-10).

Teams getting their first win this week were: None.

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Ohio State (61 votes) remains #1, Texas remains #2, Alabama climbs one to #3, Notre Dame jumps one to #4 and Michigan State climbs one to #5. UCLA jumps one to #6, Auburn climbs one to #7, USC moves up two to #8, Michigan jumps two to #9 and Louisville climbs two to #10. Virginia Tech drops eight to #11, Texas A&M climbs one to #12, Miami jumps three to #13, Penn State falls five to #14 and TCU climbs two to #15. Oklahoma jumps three to #16, Army leaps seven to #167, Baylor drops three to #18, Northwestern falls one to #19 and Louisiana-Lafayette climbs five to #20. Central Florida enters the poll at #21, Oklahoma State drops one to #22, Florida enters the poll at #23, Georgia Tech plummets ten to #24 and Oregon State (262 points) enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Washington (from #20), Arizona State (from #22) and Kentucky (from #23). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Kentucky (180 points) is #26, followed by South Carolina (148), Marshall (138), Fresno State (136) and Arizona State (118) to round out the Top 30.

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Media Poll, Ohio State (65 votes) remains #1, Texas remains #2, Alabama climbs one to #3, UCLA jumps one to #4 and Notre Dame climbs three to #5. Michigan State moves up one to #6, Miami leaps nine to #7, Louisville jumps two to #8, Michigan moves up two to #9 and USC climbs three to #10. Virginia Tech falls eight to #11, Auburn climbs three to #12, Penn State drops seven to #13, TCU tumbles two to #14 and Texas A&M drops one to #15. Oklahoma climbs two to #16, Army jumps six to #17, Georgia Tech plummets nine to #18, Baylor falls two to #19 and Central Florida climbs five to #20. Louisiana-Lafayette enters the poll at #21, Northwestern drops three to #22, Oklahoma State falls three to #23, Florida enters the poll at #24 and Oregon State (280 points) enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Arizona State (from #21), Washington (from #22) and Kentucky (from #24). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Fresno State (174 points) is #26, followed by Arizona State (170), Kentucky (162), Marshall (152) and South Carolina (121) to round out the Top 30. One other team getting points this week is Stanford (47).

Taking a look at the new BCS rankings: #1 Ohio State (1.000), #2 Texas (0.995), #3 Alabama (0.989), #4 Notre Dame (0.981), #5 UCLA (0.979), #6 Michigan State (0.976), #7 Michigan (0.958), #8 USC (0.958), #9 Louisville (0.958) and #10 Miami (0.952). Others: #12 Auburn (0.945).

A look at the Heisman race, Ohio State QB Matt Cowan is #1 (LW: #1), Notre Dame QB Mike Harper is #2 (LW: #2), Louisville QB Jeff Johnston is #3 (LW: #4), Texas A&M QB Zac Hopkins is #4 (LW: #3) and UCLA QB Mark Wilson is #5 (LW: NR). Dropping off of the Heisman Watch list this week was Alabama QB Aaron Walters (LW: #5).

Looking at Awards Finalists, middle linebacker Justin Dunn somehow qualified as a finalist for Best LB, though he is currently ranked #6 on the list.

Looking at the bowl picture, 13 teams punched their tickets this week, giving us 57 teams that have reached the 6 win plateau. 11 teams saw their bowl hopes end, leaving 38 teams still having a chance (however small it may be) of getting there, to leave 95 teams total fighting for 68 bowl slots.

Looking at the first bowl projections of the year, if they hold out, the Hawaii Bowl would feature Southern Miss (6-4, 5-1 C-USA) matching up with San Jose State (6-4, 4-2 Mountain West). The Russell Athletic Bowl would match-up Navy (6-4, 5-3 American) against #13 Miami (8-2, 5-2 ACC). The Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl would feature Arkansas State (7-2, 4-1 Sun Belt) against Arizona State (6-4, 3-4 Pac-12). The Chick-fil-A Bowl would match-up #7 Auburn (8-2, 5-2 SEC) against #10 Louisville (9-2, 6-2 ACC). The Gator Bowl would feature South Carolina (7-4, 6-3 SEC) vs. #9 Michigan (8-2, 5-2 Big Ten). The BCS National Championship Game would host a showdown between #2 Texas (9-2, 6-1 Big 12) against #1 Ohio State (10-0, 7-0 Big Ten).

Looking at the BCS projections, the Rose Bowl would feature #4 Notre Dame (9-2) against #8 USC (9-1, 7-1 Pac-12). The Fiesta Bowl has #16 Oklahoma (8-1, 6-0 Big 12) matching up with #21 Central Florida (9-1, 6-1 American). The Sugar Bowl has #3 Alabama (8-2, 6-1 SEC) matching up with Fresno State (7-3, 6-0 Mountain West). The Orange Bowl features a battle between #11 Virginia Tech (7-3, 6-1 ACC) and #6 UCLA (10-1, 7-1 Pac-12). And in the national championship game, #2 Texas (7-2, 6-1 Big 12) takes on #1 Ohio State (10-0, 7-0 Big Ten).

SmoothPancakes

12-11-2013, 09:27 PM

That's rough man. How has the recruiting gone this year? One strong class can turn everything around.

Yeah, this year actually isn't too far off from my preseason projections. I knew it was gonna be a rough one, just didn't think quite this rough. For recruiting, despite my miserable record, I'm actually doing fairly damn good. Utah has some good players to pick from, and thanks to last year's success, I had a whole bunch of recruits with me in their top 3. So far I've signed 17 players, ranging from a 70 OVR C and MLB to a 63 OVR SS. Majority of them are 3-star recruits with a 2-star or 1-star recruit sprinkled in here and there. I did snag one 4-star recruit from right here in Utah (the 70 OVR center).

I'm still going after 9 other players, with 8 of them ranging from a 70 OVR, 3-star HB to a 62 OVR, 3-star DE. Majority of them are 3-stars with one 4-star, a 66 OVR WR from Texas that I'm in a recruiting battle with Houston and Western Kentucky for.

There is one player that would be a grand slam home run if I sign, and that I put on the board and loaded with points as a Hail Mary recruit. Adam Washington, a 79 OVR (after scouting) 5-star WR, hailing from Pleasant View, Utah. He had shockingly had me #1 on his list back at the beginning of the year in preseason recruiting, so I took the gamble and ran with it. Right now, I'm amazingly holding onto first, with Washington second (-1,275 points) and BYU in third (-1,695 points). Those are the only challengers for me as #4 is Boise State (-11,305) and #5 is Oklahoma (-11,610), both eliminated and locked out.

I've got everything I possibly can poured into the guy, and he visits this next week against UNLV. Helping me out even more, both BYU (31-26 to Nevada) and Washington (24-14 to Utah) lost during their weeks that he visited them, so that may have helped keep them from gaining much ground or jumping me. If I can sign him, he will be a huge focus next season on my passing game, especially when Adam Powers returned from his redshirt season.

So thanks to last season's success, this recruiting class should be pretty good. Next season may be a different story as I'll be coming off of an at best 4-8, at worst 2-10, season, which may hurt me when it comes to interest from recruits and how highly they ranked me on their lists in the preseason.

SmoothPancakes

12-15-2013, 04:04 AM

Game Eleven

:UNLV: :@: :Utah_State:

Game Story

--- That time of the year had arrived at last. As we continued playing for now pride and trying to notch another win or two on our belt before the close of the year, it was time to once again say goodbye to another great group of seniors during their last home game. Making this an even more difficult game, besides our offensive and defensive woes, was UNLV entering the contest winless on the season, and no doubt the Rebels would be looking to get that first win of the year over our squad and spoil senior night for us.

The home crowd said farewell to our seniors tonight, including: Halfback Preston Roberson, halfback Dante May, wide receiver Travis Munoz, wide receiver Ryan Conley, tight end Maurice Martin, left guard Brian Johnson, center Adam Jefferson, right guard Jason Oliver, defensive end Freddie Wilson, defensive end Kevin Tolbert, defensive tackle Adam Grant, left outside linebacker Al Washington, right outside linebacker Arthur Lee, cornerback Kevin Moore, cornerback Jeremy Thurman and strong safety Sam Vinson.

Entering the game, to say UNLV was bad would be an understatement. The Rebels entered the game #126 nationally in scoring offense (13.4 points/game), #125 in total offense (284.0 yards/game), #116 in rushing offense (116.6 yards/game) and #118 in passing offense (167.4 yards/game). Defense wasn’t a whole ton greater, as they entered #83 nationally in total defense (400.2 yards/game), #119 in rush defense (192.9 yards/game) and their only bright spot, #40 nationally in pass defense (207.3 yards/game). With a -11 turnover differential, good for #119 nationally, they were almost as bad as our -12 (ranked #123). While our rush offense (#74, 150.3 yards/game) and our pass defense (#89, 246.5 yards/game) didn’t exactly make us a spring chicken, hopefully we’d be able to get a passing and rushing mix on track and break loose offensively against the Rebels, while hoping our defense would continue the same that teams before us had done, and hold UNLV down. UNLV won the coin toss and elected to kick.

A 22 yard kickoff return by David Douglas gave us the ball at our 24 yard line to start the game. Opening up our first drive of the game, Preston Roberson took the handoff on first down for a 5 yard gain, followed by another rush of 5 yard to get the first down at the 34 yard line. Roberson took another handoff, fighting his way to a three yard gain, before a rush by Brian Paris resulted in an 8 yard carry and a new set of downs at the 45 yard line. Taking the ball out of the wingback slot, Roberson plowed straight ahead for a four yard pickup, followed by a 5 yard rush to leave us looking at third and one. Giving the ball right back to Roberson, he would find a hole around the right guard for a gain of 5 yards and a first down at the UNLV 41 yard line. Paris received the handoff on first down, but the Rebels defense was waiting for us this time, tackling Paris for a gain of just one yard. Lining up under center on second down, Jason Barnes dropped back with a play action fake and found Cedric McKinney for an 11 yard gain, giving us a new set of downs at the 29. Going right back to the ground and pound method, Roberson received the handoff for a four yard gain, followed by another gain of four yards around the right tackle to leave us with third and two. Roberson would get the first down and then something, rumbling up the middle for a 12 yard gain to set up first and goal at the 9 yard line. Another dive from the wingback slot resulted in a two yard rush by Dante May, followed by a four yard carry by Roberson to set up third and goal at the three yard line. Paris would finish off the drive on third down with a dash into the end zone for a three yard touchdown, giving us a 7-0 lead with 2:43 left in the first quarter.

A 26 yard kickoff return by Antonio Matthews out to the 26 yard line, would end in the first screw up of the game, as a facemask penalty called on outside linebacker John Hale during the tackle gave UNLV an extra 15 yards and got their first drive underway from the 40 yard line. Gary Alvarez kept the ball on a first down option play, finding an opening and torching our offense for a 21 yard gain right off the bat, giving UNLV a first down at our 39 yard line. Going no huddle and shoving it right down our throats, Alvarez found Joe Triplett over the middle for a 7 yard completion, followed by a two yard rush by Dusty Edwards to leave third and inches. Despite nearly being tackled in the backfield, Alvarez would break out of the tackle and tear off up the field for a 15 yard gain and a first down at the 14 yard line. A three yard rush by Edwards was followed by a gain of 8 yards on the ground by Kasey Ryan, giving the Rebels first and goal from our three yard line. Alvarez would finish the drive off one play later with an option keeper for a three yard touchdown, tying the game up at 7-7 with 1:10 left in the first quarter.

A 25 yard kickoff return by Roberson got us back in action from our 27 yard line. Taking the handoff on first down, Roberson fought his way to a three yard gain, leaving second and 7. Lining up under center on second down, Barnes dropped back and threw a quick pass to tight end Jack Long for a gain of 13 yards and a fresh set of downs at the 43. Lining up in the shotgun, Barnes connected with Douglas for a 15 yard gain, but Douglas ended up fumbling the ball after trying to break a tackle, the ball picked up by the Rebels defense and returned to our 45 yard line. In-stadium replays showed the ball not coming out until after Douglas was already down by his knee, so we challenged the play. The referees would end up reversing the call on the field, ruling that the ground caused the fumble, so we got the ball back with a first down at the UNLV 42 yard line and averted disaster. That would end up being the last play of the first quarter as the last 10 seconds ran off the clock without another snap, taking us into the quarter break deadlocked at 7-7.

Opening up the second quarter with a first down at the UNLV 42, we came out passing as Barnes connected with Ryan Conley for a 12 yard gain and a quick first down at the 30 yard line. Trying to connect with Paris out of the backfield, the pass got broken up by the middle linebacker, leaving second down. Lining up under center on second down, a pass to Long over the middle resulted in a big 20 yard pickup, setting us up with a first down at the 10 yard line. Looking to put this drive to bed, Barnes dropped back from the shotgun and sailed a high flyer into the end zone to Roberson, the pass complete for a 10 yard touchdown and a 14-7 lead with 8:21 left in the second quarter.

A 22 yard kickoff return by George Walters gave UNLV the ball at their 21 yard line. Coming out passing on first down, Alvarez tried to throw deep on first down to a wide open John Williams, but he would end up dropping the pass as it hit him squarely in the hands, resulting in second and 10. A handoff to Edwards went straight up the middle for a gain of 11 yards and a first down at the 31 yard line. Proving to be an elusive little SOB, Alvarez would keep the ball again on an option play, breaking free from two different tackles for a 21 yard gain, giving the Rebels a first down at our 47 yard line. The defense would finally start to show some life, getting to Alvarez and keeping him contained this time, tackling him for a four yard loss to leave second and 14. A handoff to Kevin Davis picked up just two yards, setting up third and 12. Dropping back to pass on third down, Alvarez would never have a chance, as the blitz would get to him before he could get rid of the ball, sacked for a 6 yard loss to bring out UNLV’s punt team on fourth and 18. A 29 yard return by Roberson on the 39 yard punt set us up with a first down at our 44 yard line.

Lining up after the punt, we came out galloping as Roberson took the handoff for a four yard gain, followed by a dive by May from the wingback slot for a 5 yard pickup. Instead of third and one, it would get a whole lot sweeter as a facemask penalty on middle linebacker Ryan Nunez on the tackle would set us up with a first down at the UNLV 32 yard line. The defense would limit Roberson to just a two yard gain on first down, leaving second and 8. Running a play action pass on second down, a flying cornerback broke up the pass to a wide open Douglas, leaving third down. Dropping back to pass on third down, Barnes was able to connect with Conley for an 8 yard gain, leaving us with fourth and inches at the 22 yard line. Taking the gamble on fourth down, Barnes gave the ball to Walter Johnson, the handoff going for a three yard gain and a new set of downs at the 19 yard line. Taking the ball on first down, Roberson was again limited to a minor gain, only getting one yard on the carry. A blown up play on second down would result in Paris being tackled for a four yard loss, leaving us looking at third and 13. Going over the top on third down, Munoz would keep us moving with a 15 yard reception, setting us up with first and goal from the 7 yard line. Roberson took the ball on first down, fighting his way to a three yard gain, followed by a three yard rush by Paris to leave third and goal at the one yard line. Roberson would get the job done, following his blocker and punching it in for the one yard touchdown, putting us on top 21-7 with 2:14 left in the second quarter.

A 24 yard kickoff return by Matthews got UNLV underway from their 23 yard line. Coming out passing from the get go, it would be a pure victory by our defense, as the first down pass to Williams was blown up by our defense, Williams immediately tackled for no gain on the play. A screen pass on second down to Edwards would only pick up three yards to leave third and 7, before the third down blitz our defense left Alvarez trapped and forced him to throw the ball away, bringing out UNLV’s punt team with 1:08 left until halftime. A 10 yard return by Roberson on the 41 yard punt got us started from our 42 yard line.

Lining up at our 42 yard line with just 59 seconds on the clock, there was no secret what our game plan was going to be. Starting the drive under center, Barnes dropped back and rifled a pass to Long for a 16 yard gain and a quick first down at the UNLV 42 yard line. Proving that we too could go no-huddle, Barnes rushed us to the line, setting up in the shotgun, and got off a quick snap and throw to Munoz, the pass good for a gain of 18 yard and another first down at the 24 yard line. Trying to throw over the middle to Long on first down, the pass would end up batted down by the middle linebacker, leaving us with second and 10, 34 seconds on the clock. The second down pass intended for Munoz was nearly intercepted by the cornerback, and we found ourselves with third and long. The pass on third down went to Conley, who was able to pull it in before getting stood up right at the first down line by the cornerback. It was close, but we got a favorable call by the refs, the play going for a 11 yard gain and a first down at the 13. Going right back to Conley on first down, he was again able to pull in the pass, this time for an 8 yard pickup, leaving second and two from the 5 yard line, as we called our first timeout with 21 seconds left on the clock. Taking a gamble on second down, we gave the ball to Roberson, who took the handoff up the middle for a four yard gain, setting up first and goal from the one yard line. Not calling a timeout, we quickly lined right back up, taking advantage of the briefly stopped clock, and before the defense could get organized, we snapped the ball and gave it right back to Roberson, who punched it in for the one yard touchdown, increasing our lead to 28-7 with 15 seconds left in the second quarter.

A 28 yard kickoff return by Matthews gave UNLV the ball at their 27 yard line, just 11 seconds left on the clock. Dropping back 8 defenders in coverage, it nearly bit us in the ass as Alvarez handed the ball off to Edwards, who proceeded to break a pair of tackles and run it straight up the middle for a 21 yard gain, finally brought down at the 48 yard line, UNLV calling their first timeout with 5 seconds left. Dropping three back very deep, we were prepared for Alvarez’s deep pass, the ball broken up and swatted down incomplete at our three yard line, sending us into halftime with a 28-7 lead.

Opening up the second half, a 27 yard kickoff return by Walters set UNLV up with the ball at their 27 yard line to start the third quarter. A first down handoff to Edwards resulted in a four yard gain, followed by a pass to Williams along the sideline for a pickup of four yards to leave third and two. Edwards would end up picking up the first down, taking the third down handoff up the middle for a 14 yard gain, giving UNLV a first down at the 49 yard line. Our defense would start to find life on first down, as the blitz would get to Alvarez, sacking him for a 5 yard loss to leave second and 15. A handoff to Kevin Davis would result in a one yard loss as he got tripped up at the ankles, setting up a big third and 16 early in the third. Going deep on third down, the pass from Alvarez to Jacob Hudson nearly went for a giant gain down inside our 20 yard line, but a jumping Hudson was unable to hold onto the ball, as it bounced off his hands and then proceeded to get kicked away by his legs as he fell to the ground, leaving the punt team coming out on fourth and 16. A 22 yard return by Roberson on the 44 yard punt set us up at our 35 yard line.

Lining up on first down from the 35, we let Roberson do his thing with a three yard rush up the middle, followed by a four yard carry by Paris to leave third and three. Keeping it on the ground, Roberson lined up in the wingback slot, taking the handoff and diving up the middle for a 6 yard rush and a first down at the 49 yard line. A first down rush by Paris would go for a big 14 yard carry, moving the chains once more to the UNLV 37 yard line. Keeping it going on first down, Roberson took the ball, fighting his way to a four yard gain, followed by a three yard pickup to leave third and three. Roberson, despite three different blockers, would get stood up for no gain on third down, leaving us with fourth and three from the 30 yard line. Taking a shot at the 47 yard field goal, the ball would miss just a hair underneath the crossbar, giving the ball back to UNLV at their 30 yard line.

Taking over after the missed field goal, a first down handoff to Edwards resulted in a 21 yard gain as tackle attempt after tackle attempt was broken and shouldered through, giving UNLV a quick first down at our 49 yard line. Another handoff to Edwards would go less successful this time, the defense managing to wrap him up for a two yard loss, leaving second and 12. A quick pass to Hudson went for a four yard gain, before another pass to Hudson on third down resulted in a 10 yard pickup and a first down our 37 yard line. The defense would at least put up a fight again, tackling Alvarez on first down for a five yard loss, leaving the Rebels with second and 15. A handoff to Edwards would go for a 5 yard gain to leave third and 10, but the defense would prevail once more, as defensive end Caleb McBride would break through the line, sacking Alvarez for a three yard loss to bring out the punt team once more on fourth and 13. The 40 yard punt would sail straight into the end zone for a touchback, giving us the ball at our 20 yard line.

Lining up at the 20 after the touchback, we kept the ball on the ground to see what our halfbacks could do, but Roberson would be limited to just a two yard gain on the play. Pitching the ball to Paris on second down, he was able to keep us moving as he took the pitch for a gain of 10 yards, moving the chains to the 32 yard line. Another first down rush by Roberson would result in another two yard gain, leaving second and 8. Taking a shot at a play action pass on second down, Barnes was able to connect with McKinney for a 13 yard gain and a first down at the 46 yard line. Another first down rush by Roberson gained 5 yards, followed by a 10 yard dash by Paris to give us a first down at the UNLV 39 yard line. That would be the last play before the clock ran out, bringing the third quarter to a close with our lead holding at 28-7.

Opening up the fourth quarter, we lined up at the UNLV 39 yard line with a first down, Roberson taking the handoff up the middle for a 5 yard gain, followed by a 4 yard pickup to leave us with third and one. The third down handoff to Paris would pick up three yards, advancing the chains to the 26 yard line. Another play action pass to McKinney would result in the defense completely selling out for the fake, leaving McKinney all by himself in the secondary, hauling in the pass from Barnes near the 15 yard line and taking it the rest of the way for a 26 yard touchdown, putting us up 35-7 with 7:44 left in the game.

A 23 yard kickoff return by Matthews gave UNLV the ball at their 22 yard line. A first down screen pass to Edwards went for a 7 yard gain. The Rebels would end up going backwards as Alvarez would fail to get the second down pass off in time, sacked for a 5 yard loss to leave third and 8. Screwing it up in a way that only our defense could, Edwards took the third down handoff from Alvarez and rushed around the left side of the action, taking it up the field for a 38 yard gain and a first down at our 38 yard line. Going into the air on first down, Alvarez tried to throw to Triplett in the flats, but middle linebacker Al Washington was able to get a hand on the ball and deflect it away, leaving second down. A handoff to Davis resulted in a three yard gain to leave third and 7. The defense wouldn’t fail this time around, as McBride broke through the line and chased down a rolling out Alvarez, flattening him from behind and sacking him for a 7 yard loss, bringing out the punt team once more on fourth and 14. The 42 yard punt would bounce into the end zone for a touchback, giving us the ball from our 20 yard line.

Taking over after the touchback, we came out passing on first down, but the pass intended for Long was broken up by a diving safety, leaving second down. Dropping back into the shotgun on second down, Barnes tried to connect with Douglas, but the pass was likewise broken up to bring up third and 10. The third down pass intended for Conley would end up intercepted, outside linebacker Johnny Hall picking it off and taking it 27 yards all the way back for a touchdown. UNLV would shank the PAT to lessen the damage, only cutting our lead to 35-13 with 5:53 left in the game.

UNLV came out looking to kick the ball onside, forcing us to call our first timeout to get our return team reorganized. Long would recover the onside kick for us, giving us the ball at the UNLV 46 yard line. After an incomplete pass on first down, Barnes was able to connect with Conley for an 8 yard gain, leaving us with third and two. Paris would get the conversion as he took the handoff up the middle, picking up 5 yards and a first down at the 33 yard line. Two more incomplete passes were followed with another 8 yard completion to Conley, setting up a fourth and two situation. Rather than taking a chance on the 42 yard field goal, we gave the ball to Paris, who able to just gain two yards and the first down at the 23 yard line. A play action pass on first down to McKinney resulted in an 11 yard completion, giving us another first down at the 12 yard line. Barnes tried to go over the middle to tight end Maurice Martin, but the ball got broken up, leaving second down. A quick pass on second down to Conley would give us an 11 yard gain, setting up first and goal at the one yard line. Paris would need to just one try cover that one yard, receiving the handoff on first down and punching it in for the one yard touchdown, increasing our lead to 42-13 with 3:41 left in the game.

A 29 yard kickoff return by Walters got UNLV back on the field from their 28 yard line. The defense would continue to come after the offense, even despite the lead, as McBride would sack Alvarez for a four yard loss on first down, leaving second and 14. An encroachment penalty on the defense took away that sack, making it second and 9 at the 29 yard line. Alvarez would try to keep the ball himself on second down, but was quickly brought down in the backfield for a 5 yard loss, leaving UNLV facing third and 14. To make it all the worse, that play brought an end to Alvarez’s season, as he didn’t get up after the tackle, diagnosed with a dislocated elbow that would leave him sidelined for 9 weeks. Bringing the house on third down, McBride would welcome backup QB Martin Mitchell to the game, blitzing through the line and sacking him for a four yard loss, leaving UNLV punting on fourth and 18. A fair catch by Douglas on the 39 yard punt gave us the ball from our 41 yard line.

Taking over after the punt, despite the lead, Barnes came out passing on first down, hitting Munoz over the middle for a 13 yard gain and quick first down at the UNLV 46 yard line. A first down pass intended for Conley ended up broken up by the outside linebacker, leaving second and 10. Lining up under center on second down, Barnes connected with Johnson for a gain of 8 yards, leaving third and two. A four yard rush by Paris would convert the third down and give us a new set of downs at the UNLV 34 yard line. With 1:33 left and ticking, we would call off the dogs, Barnes twice dropping to a knee to run out the remaining clock and seal our 42-13 win.

With the win, we improve to 3-8, 3-4 in Mountain West action. With the loss, UNLV drops to 0-10, 0-7 in Mountain West play. Up next, it’s back on the road to close out the 2021 season as we head to Wyoming for Bridger's Battle. The Cowboys enter the game 1-10, 1-6 in Mountain West action. Wyoming opened their year with a 28-24 loss at Oregon, then lost 49-7 to #4 Michigan State and lost 42-24 to Nevada. The Cowboys would get their lone win of the season in week 5, 24-21 against Colorado State. After that, it was all downhill for Wyoming, losing 34-28 at #24 Fresno State, losing 41-13 to Florida Atlantic, losing 17-14 to Air Force, falling 14-7 in overtime at New Mexico, losing 27-13 at Boise State, falling 42-26 to Tulsa and losing 30-27 at San Diego State heading into our game.

Final Score
:Utah_State: 42, :UNLV: 13

Stat(s) of the Game:
Utah State Offense - A solid day for Barnes, going 20-32 for 254 yards, two touchdowns, though one interception. Rushing, Roberson led the way with 101 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries. Paris ended with 65 yards and two touchdowns on 15 rushes. May had 9 yards on two carries. Receiving, Conley led the way with 65 yards on 7 receptions. McKinney had 61 yards and one touchdown on four catches. Roberson had the other receiving touchdown, to go along with 10 yards on one reception. In all, seven receivers caught at least one pass today, six ended with double digit yards.

Utah State Defense/Special Teams – Damn solid defending the pass, as well as a very productive day by the blitz, recording 7 sacks as a team, defensive end Caleb McBride accounting for 6 of them in a career day. Against the run, predominantly the option and especially against the no-huddle? God awful. Only some timely stops and good pass defense kept UNLV from gaining any serious momentum after that first touchdown.

Utah State Kicking – A largely quite day for Marcus. After missing a 47 yard field goal on our first drive of the third quarter, we didn't bother trying another field goal for the day, Marcus ending the game 0-1. He did go 6-6 in PATs at least.

Scoring Summary

Team
1st Quarter
2nd Quarter
3rd Quarter
4th Quarter
Final Score

:UNLV:
7
0
0
6
13

:Utah_State:
7
21
0
14
42

Time
Team
Result
Play
Score

First Quarter

2:43
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
B. Paris, 3 yard run (D. Marcus kick)
:Utah_State: 7-0

1:10
:UNLV:
Touchdown
G. Alvarez, 3 yard run (J. Mack kick)
TIED 7-7

Second Quarter

8:21
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
P. Roberson, 10 yard pass from J. Barnes (D. Marcus kick)
:Utah_State: 14-7

2:14
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
P. Roberson, 1 yard run (D. Marcus kick)
:Utah_State: 21-7

0:15
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
P. Roberson, 1 yard run (D. Marcus kick)
:Utah_State: 28-7

Third Quarter

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

Fourth Quarter

7:44
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
C. McKinney, 26 yard pass from J. Barnes (D. Marcus kick)
:Utah_State: 35-7

5:53
:UNLV:
Touchdown
J. Hall, returned interception 27 yards (missed kick)
:Utah_State: 35-13

3:41
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
B. Paris, 1 yard run (D. Marcus kick)
:Utah_State: 42-13

Game Stats

UNLV
Stat
Utah State

13
Score
42

10
First Downs
28

176
Total Offense
428

28 - 141 - 1
Rushes - Yards - TD
47 - 174 - 4

7 - 12 - 0
Comp - Att - TD
20 - 32 - 2

35
Passing Yards
254

7
Times Sacked
0

4 - 10 (40%)
3rd Down Conversion
10 - 14 (71%)

0 - 0 (0%)
4th Down Conversion
2 - 2 (100%)

0 - 0 (0%)
2-Point Conv
0 - 0 (0%)

1 - 1 - 0 (100%)
Red Zone - TD - FG
5 - 5 - 0 (100%)

0
Turnovers
1

0
Fumbles Lost
0

0
Intercepted
1

0
Punt Return Yards
60

176
Kick Return Yards
49

352
Total Yards
537

6 – 41.0
Punts - Average
0 - 0.0

1 - 15
Penalties
2 - 20

10:43
Time of Possession
25:17

Utah State Coach Goals

Goal
XP Reward
Completed

Win a Game
100
x1

Score a Touchdown
25
x6

Pass for 250 Yards
25
x1

Rush for 100 Yards
25
x1

Kneel Last Minute Q4 While Ahead
10
x1

3+ Sacks
50
x1

Opponent Under 150 Rush Yards
50
x1

Opponent Under 300 Pass Yards
50
x1

Pass Completion Over 50%
30
x1

100% Red Zone Efficiency
50
x1

Score 21 or More Points
50
x1

350+ Offensive Yards
50
x1

10+ First Downs
50
x1

4+ 3rd Down Conversions
25
x1

School Record: Sacks/Game (6)
200
x1

School Record: Rush TD/Season (16)
300
x1

Utah State Contract Goals Update

Goal
Expectations
Progress

Target Wins Per Season
7
3

Job Security Status

100%

SmoothPancakes

12-15-2013, 04:05 AM

Taking a look around the nation, in the Top 25, #1 Ohio State blanked Indiana 35-0. #2 Texas beat #18 Baylor 34-20. #12 Texas A&M knocked off #3 Alabama 42-25. #5 Michigan State outlasted #14 Penn State 33-27. In the game of the week, #6 UCLA handled #8 USC 41-27. #7 Auburn beat LSU 30-14. #9 Michigan topped Iowa 35-14. #10 Louisville edged out NC State 27-21. #24 Georgia Tech knocked off #11 Virginia Tech 17-13.

#13 Miami escaped North Carolina 18-15. In the upset of the week, Texas Tech upset #15 TCU 31-24. #16 Oklahoma edged out Kansas State 41-38. Stanford upset #17 Army 21-17. Wisconsin stunned #19 Northwestern 35-27. #20 Louisiana-Lafayette manhandled Texas State 45-3. #21 Central Florida beat Temple 44-27. Kansas shocked #22 Oklahoma State 21-7. Missouri knocked off #23 Florida 38-35. Washington upset #25 Oregon State 28-13.

For our readers, JeffHCross, #1 Ohio State improves to 11-0 (8-0 Big Ten) with a 35-0 win over Indiana. Morsdraconis, West Virginia improves to 5-5 (3-4 Big 12) with 38-24 win over Iowa State. Souljahbill, Southern Miss improves to 7-4 (6-1 C-USA) with a 38-19 win over UAB. Jaymo, Arizona State improves to 7-4 (4-4 Pac-12) with a 52-14 domination of Washington State. LeeSO, #7 Auburn improves to 9-2 (6-2 SEC) with a 30-14 win over LSU. SCClassof93, South Carolina remains 7-4 (6-3 SEC) a bye week. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State improves to 8-2 (5-1 Sun Belt) with a 23-17 win over Troy. Florida International drops to 4-7 (4-3 C-USA) with a 40-21 loss to Marshall. Navy remains 6-4 (5-3 American) with a bye week. Tulsa remains 5-6 (3-5 American) with a bye week.

In Mountain West action, Utah State beat UNLV 42-13, Air Force topped Colorado State 45-21, Fresno State edged out San Jose State 28-26, San Diego State escaped Wyoming 30-27, Hawaii knocked off Nevada 38-28 and Boise State beat New Mexico 28-17.

With those results, looking at the current standings, in the Mountain Division, Boise State (5-2) sits on top, followed by Air Force (4-3), Utah State (3-4), Colorado State and New Mexico (both 2-5) and finally Wyoming (1-6). In the West Division, Fresno State (7-0) claims the top spot, followed by San Diego State (6-1), Hawaii, Nevada and San Jose State (all 4-3) and last UNLV (0-7).

Looking at undefeated teams left, no one lost this week, leaving our number of undefeated teams at 1. #1 Ohio State (11-0) is the only team remaining with an unblemished record this season.

Turning to a more sadistic watch, who is still winless. There remains 1 team still looking for their first win: UNLV (0-10).

Teams getting their first win this week were: UTSA (37-34 over 3-8 MTSU).

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Ohio State (61 votes) remains #1, Texas remains #2, UCLA jumps three to #3, Michigan State climbs one to #4 and Notre Dame drops one to #5. Auburn moves up one to #6, Michigan jumps two to #7, Texas A&M climbs four to #8, Louisville jumps one to #9 and Alabama drops seven to #10. Miami climbs two to #11, USC drops four to #12, Oklahoma moves up three to #13, Louisiana-Lafayette jumps six to #14 and Central Florida leaps six to #15. Penn State falls two to #16, Georgia Tech jumps seven to #17, Army falls one to #18, Virginia Tech drops eight to #19 and South Carolina enters the poll at #20. Stanford enters the poll at #21, Marshall enters the poll at #22, Baylor tumbles five to #23, Fresno State enters the poll at #24 and Washington (245 points) enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were TCU (from #15), Northwestern (from #19), Oklahoma State (from #22), Florida (from #23) and Oregon State (from #25). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Arizona State (238 points) is #26, followed by Ohio University (169), Arkansas State (155), TCU (135) and Illinois (95) to round out the Top 30. Other teams getting points this week include San Diego State (75), Virginia (42) and Toledo (21).

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Media Poll, Ohio State (65 votes) remains #1, Texas remains #2, UCLA climbs one to #3, Notre Dame jumps one to #4 and Michigan State moves up one to #5. Texas A&M leaps nine to #6, Louisville climbs one to #7, Miami drops one to #8, Michigan remains #9 and Auburn jumps two to #10. Alabama drops eight to #11, USC falls two to #12, Oklahoma jumps three to #13, Georgia Tech climbs four to #14 and Central Florida jumps five to #15. Penn State falls three to #16, Louisiana-Lafayette jumps four to #17, Army drops one to #18, Virginia Tech tumbles eight to #19 and Fresno State enters the poll at #20. Stanford enters the poll at #21, Arizona State enters the poll at #22, Marshall enters the poll at #23, South Carolina enters the poll at #24 and Baylor (269 points) falls six to #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were TCU (from #14), Northwestern (from #22), Oklahoma State (from #23), Florida (from #24) and Oregon State (from #25).

Taking a look at the new BCS rankings: #1 Ohio State (1.000), #2 Texas (0.995), #3 UCLA (0.989), #4 Notre Dame (0.981), #5 Michigan State (0.981), #6 Texas A&M (0.968), #7 Louisville (0.963), #8 Michigan (0.963), #9 Auburn (0.960) and #10 Miami (0.955). Others: #21 South Carolina (0.861), #22 Arizona State (0.849).

A look at the Heisman race, Ohio State QB Matt Cowan is #1 (LW: #1), Louisville QB Jeff Johnston is #2 (LW: #3), UCLA QB Mark Wilson is #3 (LW: #5), Texas A&M QB Zac Hopkins is #4 (LW: #4) and Notre Dame QB Mike Harper is #5 (LW: #2). No one fell off the Heisman Watch list this week.

Looking at Awards Finalists, middle linebacker Justin Dunn somehow qualified as a finalist for Best LB, though he is currently ranked #6 on the list.

Looking at the bowl picture, 6 teams punched their tickets this week, giving us 63 teams that have reached the 6 win plateau. 7 teams saw their bowl hopes end, leaving 25 teams still having a chance (however small it may be) of getting there, to leave 88 teams total fighting for 68 bowl slots.

Looking at the newest bowl projections, if they hold out, the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl would feature Toledo (8-3, 6-2 MAC) against Navy (6-4, 5-3 American). The Hawaii Bowl would feature Southern Miss (7-4, 6-1 C-USA) matching up with Air Force (7-4, 4-3 Mountain West). The Meineke Car Care Bowl would match up Indiana (7-4, 4-4 Big Ten) against West Virginia (5-5, 3-4 Big 12). The Sun Bowl would feature Arizona State (7-4, 4-4 Pac-12) against #17 Georgia Tech (8-3, 6-3 ACC). The Gator Bowl would feature South Carolina (7-4, 6-3 SEC) vs. Northwestern (7-4, 6-2 Big Ten). The Outback Bowl would match-up #6 Auburn (9-2, 6-2 SEC) against Illinois (7-4, 6-2 Big Ten). The GoDaddy.com Bowl would feature Ohio (9-2, 7-1 MAC) against Arkansas State (8-2, 5-1 Sun Belt). The BCS National Championship Game would host a showdown between #2 Texas (8-2, 7-1 Big 12) against #1 Ohio State (11-0, 8-0 Big Ten).

Looking at the BCS projections, the Rose Bowl would feature #4 Notre Dame (9-2) against #3 UCLA (11-1, 8-1 Pac-12). The Fiesta Bowl has #13 Oklahoma (9-1, 7-0 Big 12) matching up with #24 Fresno State (8-3, 7-0 Mountain West). The Sugar Bowl has #8 Texas A&M (8-2, 6-2 SEC) matching up with #15 Central Florida (10-1, 7-1 American). The Orange Bowl features a battle between #9 Louisville (10-2, 7-2 ACC) and #4 Michigan State (8-3, 5-3 Big Ten). And in the national championship game, #2 Texas (8-2, 7-1 Big 12) takes on #1 Ohio State (11-0, 8-0 Big Ten).

SmoothPancakes

12-15-2013, 04:10 AM

A big, much needed win. At least we now have a chance of closing out the year at 4-8 if we can beat Wyoming next week. Still a pathetic record after last season, but 4-8 is much more preferable than 2-10.

That win also was a goldmine. Besides coming on senior day, I had pretty much every remaining unsigned recruit on my board visiting that game, and afterwards ended up signing 6 of them at the end of the week. The three players that still haven't signed, the first, I lead Central Michigan by 625 points, the second I lead Houston by 1,165 points and the third I trail Colorado State by 60 points.

So I should be in good shape to get at least the first two. If I don't get them within in these last two weeks of the season, I'll be pouring every single point I have into both of them in the off-season. The third player is essentially just a fallback in case all hell breaks loose and one of the first two happen to sign with someone else.

SmoothPancakes

12-15-2013, 11:58 AM

Game Twelve

:Utah_State: :@: :Wyoming:

Game Story

--- It had arrived. After a long season filled with some ups and a whole lot of downs, the conclusion of the 2021 season was here. It was a much different close to the year compared to a year ago. Last year, playing for a slight hope in the MWC CCG, playing to improve our bowl prospects, playing to a 9-4 record, the second most wins in one season in school history. Fast forward one year later, and we’re slogging our way to the end of the year with a 3-8 record, spending the bowl season at home, and already looking ahead to our winter weight lifting program and recruiting trips before the final game of the season has even been played.

To wrap up a decidedly disappointing 2021 campaign, it was onto the road to take on Wyoming in the second ever edition of “Bridger’s Battle”. After falling apart over the course of essentially the entire second half, and then losing because of a missed PAT in overtime, we were looking for some revenge this year in the course of our attempt to get a fourth victory. Lining up in our favor was the fact that Wyoming had been through an even tougher season, stumbling into the contest at 1-10.

The Cowboys were woeful in every aspect of the game, putting up only 18.8 points/game (#114 nationally), 332.2 yards/offense (#110 nationally), 118.8 yards/rushing (#116 nationally), passing, the only bright spot, came in at 213.4 yards/game (#79 nationally). On defense, they were pitiful, giving up 425.6 yards/game (#103 nationally), 181.0 yards/rushing (#106 nationally) and 244.6 yards/passing (#92 nationally), with a turnover differential of negative 8 to go along with those poor numbers. And yet, despite all of that, despite our offense and defense being well-ranked, that douchenozzle Kirk Herbstreit picked Wyoming to win. Hopefully that would be all the bulletin board material we’d need. Wyoming won the coin toss and elected to kick.

A 26 yard kickoff return by Preston Roberson got us started from our 21 yard line. Handing the ball off on first down, Roberson took it straight up the middle for a 7 yard gain, followed by a four yard carry by Brian Paris to get the first down at the 32 yard line. A handoff to Roberson gained four yards, followed by a 5 yard pickup to leave us with third and one. Paris would get the job done with a four yard rush, moving the chains to the 46. Continuing to pound it, Roberson took the handoff and broke out of tackle by the blitzing defense, fighting his way to a four yard gain. Paris took over on second down, finding a hole along the right side for a 6 yard carry, giving us another first down at the Wyoming 44 yard line. Roberson took the ball on first down, rushing for 8 yards on the play, followed by a three yard carry to advance the sticks to the 33. Paris kept us moving along with a three yard rush, followed by a 6 yard rush by Roberson to set up third and one. Roberson would get the first down, fighting his way to a two yard gain to the 22 yard line. A first down rush by Paris picked up 5 yards, followed by a 6 yard gain to give us another first down at the 11 yard line. Roberson returned to the backfield on first down, taking the handoff for a three yard gain, followed by a two yard rush by Paris to leave third and 5. The 17th rush of the drive would prove to be the charm, as Roberson took the handoff straight up the middle, taking it in untouched for a 6 yard touchdown to cap off the 17 play, 79 yard drive that last 6 minutes and 17 seconds, and give us a 7-0 lead with 2:43 left in the first quarter.

A 26 yard kickoff return by Jamie Morales set Wyoming up at their 26 yard line. The Cowboys wasted no time in coming out firing on our defense, as Sean Pittman dropped back from under center and rifled a pass to Nathan Jenkins for a 13 yard gain and a quick first down at the 39 yard line. Going to the no-huddle right off the bat, Pittman dropped back into the shotgun, tossing a three yard pass to Jenkins along the sideline. It would be a short lived gain, as the second down handoff to Brandon Stover was blown up by our defense, Stover tackled for a four yard loss to leave third and 11. Huddling up on third down would help our defense more than Wyoming’s offense, as we were able to reorganized and prepare, our third down blitz leaving Pittman with no time to find a receiver, and enabling outside linebacker Casey Hunter to come in blitzing and sack the scrambling Pittman for an 8 yard loss, bringing out the punt team on fourth and 19. A 15 yard return by Roberson on the 43 yard punt got us back in action from our 41 yard line.

Lining up after the punt, it was right back to business as usual as Roberson took the first down handoff for a four yard gain, though it would come at a cost, Roberson suffering a bruised ankle on the play, that would leave him out for at least the next couple plays, if not the remainder of the quarter. Resuming play after the injury, a 6 yard rush by Paris left us facing third and inches. A 5 yard rush by Paris would pick up the first down and extend the drive at the yard line. A first down carry by Paris would pick up three yards. Snapping the ball with one second left, the play action pass surprisingly did not fool the defense, but fullback Walter Johnson was still able to get open in the flats, Jason Barnes hitting him for a 9 yard gain to still pick up the first down at the Wyoming 32 yard line. That would be the final play of the first quarter, our lead at 7-0.

Opening up the second quarter, we changed up tactics, coming out in the shotgun on first down. We probably should have stuck with the ground game, as the pass over the middle intended for David Douglas was intercepted by middle linebacker Alan Larson, who returned it 21 yards before losing his balance, giving Wyoming back the ball at their 47 yard line.

Taking over after the interception, Pittman dropped back to pass on first down, just getting rid of the ball before being flattened by the defense, his pass to Jenkins complete along the sideline for a 5 yard gain to leave second and 5. Stover would end up resetting the downs with a 6 yard rush up the middle, moving the ball to our 42 yard line. Bringing the blitz on first down, a pitch to Stover would put him squarely in the middle of our blitzing defenders, resulting in him going nowhere but backwards, tackled for a four yard loss to leave second and 14. A quick pass to Stover on second down was completed, but he was quickly driven out of bounds by the secondary, the completion only gaining three yards to leave third and 11. The drive would come to an end on third down as Pittman lined up in the shotgun and threw a pass over the middle to P.J. Williams, the pass an errant one from the start as it wobbled its way over the head of Williams and incomplete to bring out the punt team on fourth and 11. The 43 yard punt bounced into the end zone for a touchback, giving us the ball at our 20 yard line.

Lining up on first down after the touchback, Barnes lined up under center, handing the ball off to Paris for a 6 yard gain as our rushing attack got us started. Another rush by Paris gained three yards, leaving us with third and one. Roberson returned to the game on third down, taking the handoff from Barnes straight up the middle for a 7 yard rush and a first down at the 36 yard line. A first down carry by Roberson gained two yards, followed by a three yard gain to leave third and 5. A third down play action pass to Johnson went for an 8 yard gain, giving us a first down near midfield. Lining up in the shotgun on first down, Barnes called for the quick snap, firing off a pass to Max Rhodes along the right sideline, Rhodes pulling in the pass OFF of the cornerback’s helmet, good for a 24 yard gain and a quick reset of the downs at the Wyoming 26 yard line. Returning to the ground, Roberson took the first down handoff for a three yard gain, followed by a 7 yard rush to pick up the first down at the 16. Paris came in on first down, taking the handoff from Barnes, finding a hole outside the left guard and following it all the way to an 11 yard rush, giving us first and goal at the 5 yard line. Roberson received the handoff on first down for a three yard gain. Lining up on second and goal, Roberson wouldn’t be denied this time, punching it in for a two yard touchdown to give us a 14-0 lead with 4:04 left in the second quarter.

A 33 yard kickoff return by Morales gave Wyoming the ball at their 30 yard line. Coming out passing from the start, we were essentially helpless this drive, as Wyoming went with a no-huddle, 5-wide offense the entire drive. Pittman started the drive off with a three yard completion to Brandon McDonald, followed by a 24 yard strike to Vincent Pope, giving the Cowboys a first down at our 42 yard line. Another pass to McDonald went for a 12 yard gain and a quick reset of the downs at our 30. After connecting with Pope for a brief two yard completion, Pittman would find Jenkins down the left sideline, Jenkins breaking out of two tackles on his way to a 28 yard touchdown reception, cutting our lead to 14-7 with 3:11 left in the second quarter.

A 22 yard kickoff return by Douglas gave us the ball at our 25 yard line. Starting our drive through the air, Barnes found Travis Munoz over the middle on first down for a 12 yard gain, quickly moving the chains to the 37 yard line. It would take just one more play to score, as we sent trips to the right side, the defensive play call leaving the cornerback trying to cover two receivers, allowing Rhodes to get open on a flag route. The cornerback tried to make up for the failed defensive coverage, diving at Rhodes as he caught the ball, but a quick shimmy by Rhodes sent the cornerback faceplanting into the grass, and with a blocker and a sideline full of nothing but green, Rhodes took off sprinting for the end zone, outracing the safety and diving across the goal line for a 63 yard touchdown, landing a right hook of our own to put us up 21-7 with 2:35 left before halftime.

A 25 yard kickoff return by Morales gave the ball back to Wyoming at their 22 yard line. Starting the drive off in the air once more, Pittman dropped back from under center on first down and threw a quick pass to Pope along the sideline, Pope just pulling it in before going out of bounds for a three yard gain. Trying to connect with Pope again, this time over the middle, the ball hit him in the hands but he was quickly popped by the middle linebacker, dropping the ball incomplete to bring up third and 7. In a questionable play call, Wyoming ran a delayed handoff, as Pittman gave the ball to Stover on third down, but our defense was ready and quickly tackled Stover for a two yard loss, forcing Wyoming to punt on fourth and 9, our first timeout called to stop the clock with 2:13 remaining. A big 26 yard punt return by Roberson on the 43 yard punt set us up pretty, starting our drive at the Wyoming 41 yard line.

Lining up on first down from the Wyoming 41 yard line, we came out passing as Barnes lined up in the shotgun, throwing a quick pass to Ryan Conley for a 9 yard gain. With plenty of time left, we huddled up on second down. Coming out once more in the shotgun, Barnes was able to find Douglas over the middle for a big 17 yard completion, giving us a first down at the Wyoming 15 yard line. A first down pass to Johnson gained 7 yards, before a quick no-huddle play nearly resulted in disaster, the pass intended for Conley ending up floating across the line of scrimmage and nearly intercepted, leaving us with third and three. Handing the ball off on third down, Paris took the ball up the middle for a 7 yard gain, stopped just shy of the goal line to give us first and goal inside the one yard line. After being stood up for no gain on first down, Roberson took the no-huddle handoff on second down, punching it in for the one yard touchdown to increase our lead to 28-7 with 28 seconds left until halftime.

A 22 yard kickoff return by Williams left Wyoming lining up from their 20 yard line. Wyoming would settle for escaping to halftime, a four yard rush by Pittman the last play of the half, sending us into halftime with a 28-7 lead.

Opening up the second half, a 31 yard kickoff return by Andrew Hill gave Wyoming the ball at their 28 yard line to start the third quarter. Starting their drive on the ground, Pittman handed the ball off to Stover, who found a big hole along the right side of the line and broke into the open for a 21 yard rush, giving Wyoming a quick first down at the 49 yard line. A 9 yard rush by Stover was followed by an option keeper by Pittman, who took it around the right end for an 18 yard gain and a first down at our 24 yard line. A handoff to Stover on first down was blown up by our defense, Stover tackled for a two yard loss. Our defense would get back to Pittman on second down, cornerback Jeremy Thurman coming in on the blitz to sack Pittman for an 8 yard loss, leaving Wyoming with third and 20. Despite the blitz, Pittman would manage to get a pass off, connecting with a somehow wide open Pope cutting across the middle for a 28 yard gain, giving Wyoming first and goal at our 5 yard line. Pittman tried to throw a high pass to Pope just inside of the goal line, Pope briefly getting his hands on the ball, before a timely hit by the middle linebacker knocked it loose and incomplete, leaving second and goal. An attempted option play on second down was completely blown up by our blitz, Pittman instantly tackled for a four yard loss to bring up third and goal at the 9 yard line. A screen pass would be our undoing, as Pittman lofted a pass to Stover for a 9 yard touchdown, cutting our lead down to 28-14 with 6:58 left in the third quarter.

A 21 yard kickoff return by Roberson gave us the ball at our 22 yard line. A first down handoff to Paris went for a 5 yard gain, followed by a 5 yard rush to leave us with third and inches, that rush putting Roberson over 1,000 yards rushing for the season. Paris would keep our drive alive on third down, rushing for a pickup of three yards to move the chains to the 34 yard line. A handoff to Roberson on first down was quickly stopped by the defense for a gain of just one yard. Running a play action pass on second down, the pass intended for tight end Cedric McKinney was broken up by the outside linebacker, leaving third and 9. Dropping back from under center, Barnes was able to sail a pass over the heads of the linebackers, and right into the hands of tight end Maurice Martin for a gain of 22 yards, giving us a first down at the Wyoming 43 yard line. Trying to thread the needle on first down, the pass to tight end Jack Long on a flag route would end up intercepted by outside linebacker Jesse Moore, returned 18 yards up the sideline to give Wyoming back the ball at their 47 yard line.

Taking over after the interception, Stover wasted little time in torching our defense, taking the handoff from Pittman and breaking three different tackle attempts on his way to a 20 yard gain, giving Wyoming a first down at our 33 yard line. A two yard pass to Jenkins was followed with a two yard rush by Stover, leaving Wyoming with third and 6. We would get lucky on third down as Pittman’s pass intended for Pope was rushed due to the blitz, the ball overshooting its target and landing incomplete to force Wyoming to attempt a field goal on fourth and 6. The 46 yard field goal by Daniel Young would come up short, bouncing off of the crossbar just to the inside of the right upright, giving us back possession at our 29 yard line.

Starting our new drive on the ground, Roberson took the first down handoff for a 6 yard gain, before being quickly brought down for a gain of just one yard, leaving third and three. Going into the air on third down, Barnes was able to connect with Conley for a 10 yard gain, giving us a fresh set of downs at the 45 yard line. Taking a shot over the middle on first down, the pass intended for Douglas was broken up by the middle linebacker, bringing up second down. Aaron Allen would keep us moving with an 8 yard reception, setting up third and two. Turning to Paris on third down, he was able to find a hole up the middle, sprinting through it for a 10 yard gain to move the chains to the Wyoming 37 yard line. Another rush by Paris gained three yards, followed by a 5 yard dash to set up another third and two. Dante May entered the backfield on third down, his first carry of the game going for a pickup of four yards, giving us a first down at the 25. A first down carry by Paris went for a gain of just one yard, leaving second and 9. Running a play action pass on second down, this time the defense would bite on the fake, allowing McKinney to get open near the left sideline, hauling in the pass from Barnes for a 19 yard gain to give us first and goal at the 5 yard line. That would be the final play of the third quarter, our lead sitting at 28-14.

Opening up the fourth quarter, we lined up on first and goal, looking to score an insurance touchdown. Paris took the ball for a three yard gain to leave second and goal from the two. The defense refused to give us anything, as a diving defender on the blitz brought Paris down for a one yard loss, pushing us back to third and goal at the three yard line. A quick pass to McKinney on third down would give us that desired score with a three yard touchdown reception, increasing our lead to 35-14 with 7:55 left in the game.

A 37 yard kickoff return by Williams gave Wyoming great field position, lining up for their next drive at their 38 yard line. Our defense would need just one play to essentially put this game on ice, as Pittman dropped back to pass on first down, trying to connect with Pope along the left hash mark. The ball would never find its intended target however as cornerback Jesse Breedlove stepped in front of the ball and intercepted it, taking off running towards the end zone, returning the interception 38 yards before being dragged down from behind at the three yard line.

Lining up on first and goal from Wyoming’s three yard line after the interception, Paris took the handoff on first down, but was brought down for no gain, leaving second and goal. Giving the ball to Darrell Archie on a fullback dive, he would fair only marginally better, tackled for a gain of one yard to leave third and goal from the two yard line. Determined to put this one in no matter what, Barnes kept the ball on a QB sneak, getting behind his center and driving his way into the end zone for a two yard touchdown, putting us up 42-14 with 6:29 remaining in the game.

A 24 yard kickoff return by Hill gave Wyoming back the ball at their 24 yard line. Coming out passing on first down, Pittman connected with Stover on a screen pass, good for an 11 yard gain and a quick first down at the 35. After an incomplete pass on first down, the offense would go backwards as defensive end Caleb McBride sacked Pittman for a 5 yard loss, leaving third and 15. Pittman connected with Pope over the middle of the field on third down, but it wouldn’t be enough as the defense limited the damage to just a 9 yard gain, forcing Wyoming to punt the ball on fourth and 6. A 15 yard return by Douglas on the 44 yard punt gave us the ball at our 31 yard line.

Lining up on first down from the 31, we came out looking to take as much time off of the remaining 5:17 that was showing on the clock. Paris got our drive started with a 7 yard carry, followed by a three yard rush to get the first down at the 42. May took the ball on first down, but he was quickly stood up for no gain, leaving second and 10. A second down rush by Paris would only gain one yard on the play, setting up third and 9. Lining up in the shotgun on third down, Barnes found Conley on an out route for a 17 yard gain, keeping our drive moving with a first down at the Wyoming 40 yard line. Returning to the ground, Paris took the handoff for a 6 yard gain, followed by a three yard rush by May to leave third and one. Paris would manage to get the job done, getting spun around and falling down backwards for a four yard gain to give us a first down at the 27 yard line with 58 seconds left. An error by our offense resulted in the snap not getting off in time, flagged for a delay of game penalty to leave first and 15 with 35 seconds left. Managing to actually get the snap off in time, Barnes dropped to a knee and ran out the clock without another snap, giving us a 42-14 win over Wyoming to close out our 2021 season.

With the win, we end our season 4-8, 4-4 in Mountain West action. With the loss, Wyoming ends their year 1-11, 1-7 in Mountain West play. Up next, it’s time to hit the road and start recruiting as we spend the bowl season at home watching on TV.

Final Score

:Utah_State: 42, :Wyoming: 14

Stats of the Game:
Utah State Offense - A so-so day for Barnes, ending 14-19 for 228 yards with two touchdowns, but also two interceptions. Rushing, Paris ended up leading the way with 121 yards on 28 carries. Next up was Roberson with 93 yards and three touchdowns on 24 rushes, followed by May with 8 yards on three carries, Barnes with, officially, zero yards but one touchdown and Archie with one yard on one carry. Receiving, Rhodes was the leading receiver with 87 yards and one touchdown on two catches, thanks to that 63 yard TD reception. McKinney also had 22 yards and a touchdown on two catches. In all, eight receivers caught a pass today, seven of them ending with double digit yards, Rhodes and McKinney the only two with touchdowns.

Utah State Defense/Special Teams – Good and bad. They made some good stops that resulted in punts, but they also got burned at times against the no-huddle, especially when Wyoming was running 5-wide. The big highlight of the day was Breedlove's interception that was returned 38 yards down to the 5 yard line.

Utah State Kicking – A perfect day for Marcus, pretty much because we never attempted a field goal. He did however go 6-6 in PATs.

Scoring Summary

Team
1st Quarter
2nd Quarter
3rd Quarter
4th Quarter
Final Score

:Utah_State:
7
21
0
14
42

:Wyoming:
0
7
7
0
14

Time
Team
Result
Play
Score

First Quarter

2:43
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
P. Roberson, 6 yard run (D. Marcus kick)
:Utah_State: 7-0

Second Quarter

4:04
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
P. Roberson, 2 yard run (D. Marcus kick)
:Utah_State: 14-0

3:11
:Wyoming:
Touchdown
N. Jenkins, 28 yard pass from S. Pittman (D. Young kick)
:Utah_State: 14-7

2:35
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
M. Rhodes, 63 yard pass from J. Barnes (D. Marcus kick)
:Utah_State: 21-7

0:28
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
P. Roberson, 1 yard run (D. Marcus kick)
:Utah_State: 28-7

Third Quarter

6:58
:Wyoming:
Touchdown
B. Stover, 9 yard pass from S. Pittman (D. Young kick)
:Utah_State: 28-14

Fourth Quarter

7:55
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
C. McKinney, 3 yard pass from J. Barnes (D. Marcus kick)
:Utah_State: 35-14

6:29
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
J. Barnes, 2 yard run (D. Marcus kick)
:Utah_State: 42-14

Game Stats

Utah State
Stat
Wyoming

42
Score
14

25
First Downs
9

451
Total Offense
198

58 - 223 - 4
Rushes - Yards - TD
15 - 44 - 0

14 - 19 - 2
Comp - Att - TD
15 - 21 - 2

228
Passing Yards
154

0
Times Sacked
3

16 - 16 (100%)
3rd Down Conversion
2 - 7 (28%)

0 - 0 (0%)
4th Down Conversion
0 - 0 (0%)

0 - 0 (0%)
2-Point Conv
0 - 0 (0%)

5 - 5 - 0 (100%)
Red Zone - TD - FG
1 - 1 - 0 (100%)

2
Turnovers
1

0
Fumbles Lost
0

2
Intercepted
1

56
Punt Return Yards
0

68
Kick Return Yards
193

575
Total Yards
391

0 – 0.0
Punts - Average
4 - 44.0

1 - 5
Penalties
0 - 0

27:04
Time of Possession
8:56

Utah State Coach Goals

Goal
XP Reward
Completed

Win a Game
100
x1

Score a Touchdown
25
x6

Force a Turnover
25
x1

Rush for 100 Yards
25
x1

Kneel Last Minute QB While Ahead
10
x1

3+ Sacks
50
x1

Opponent under 150 Rush Yards
50
x1

Beat a Rival School
50
x1

Opponent Under 300 Pass Yards
50
x1

Pass Completion Over 50%
30
x1

100% Red Zone Efficiency
50
x1

Score 21 or More Points
50
x1

350+ Offensive Yards
50
x1

10+ First Downs
50
x1

50 Touchdowns (Season)
250
x1

4+ 3rd Down Conversions
25
x1

Utah State Contract Goals Update

Goal
Expectations
Progress

Target Wins Per Season
7
4

Job Security Status

100%

SmoothPancakes

12-15-2013, 11:59 AM

Taking a look around the nation, in the Top 25, in the game of the week, #1 Ohio State edged out #7 Michigan 31-26. In the upset of the week, BYU stunned #2 Texas 31-21. #4 Michigan State beat Maryland 35-10. #12 USC knocked off #5 Notre Dame 38-31. #10 Alabama shocked #6 Auburn 45-31. #8 Texas A&M fought off Missouri 38-31. #11 Miami topped Pittsburgh 45-14. #13 Oklahoma manhandled Texas Tech 47-14. #14 Louisiana-Lafayette edged out Arkansas State 20-17.

#15 Central Florida handled South Florida 34-24. #16 Penn State held off Indiana 31-24. #17 Georgia Tech rolled Georgia 44-7. #18 Army beat Western Kentucky 42-16. #19 Virginia Tech topped Virginia 34-18. #20 South Carolina took down Clemson 41-21. #22 Marshall breezed past Southern Miss 34-13. #23 Baylor beat West Virginia 34-14. Hawaii shocked #24 Fresno State 42-17. #25 Washington wins the Apple Cup, as they dominated Washington State 59-14.

For our readers, JeffHCross, #1 Ohio State improves to 12-0 (9-0 Big Ten) with a 31-26 win over #7 Michigan. Morsdraconis, West Virginia falls to 5-6 (3-5 Big 12) with 34-14 loss to #23 Baylor. Souljahbill, Southern Miss drops to 7-5 (6-2 C-USA) with a 34-13 loss to #22 Marshall. Jaymo, Arizona State drops to 7-5 (4-5 Pac-12) with a 34-21 loss to Arizona. LeeSO, #6 Auburn drops to 9-3 (6-3 SEC) with a 45-31 loss to #10 Alabama. SCClassof93, #20 South Carolina improves to 8-4 (6-3 SEC) a 41-21 win over Clemson. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State drops to 8-3 (5-2 Sun Belt) with a 20-17 loss to #14 Louisiana-Lafayette. Florida International ends their year 5-7 (5-3 C-USA) with a 34-10 win over Florida Atlantic. Navy drops to 6-5 (5-4 American) with a 24-17 loss to East Carolina. Tulsa improves to 6-6 (4-5 American) with a 27-14 win over Tulane.

In Mountain West action, Hawaii shocked #24 Fresno State 42-17, Utah State beat Wyoming 42-14, Colorado State edged out New Mexico 28-24, Nevada whooped San Jose State 49-28, San Diego State dominated UNLV 31-7 and Air Force knocked off Boise State 17-10.

With those results, looking at the current standings, in the Mountain Division, Air Force and Boise State (both 5-3) sit on top, but Air Force wins the tiebreaker over Boise State by way of a 17-10 win over the Broncos in week 14. After that sits Utah State (4-4), Colorado State (3-5), New Mexico (2-6) and Wyoming (1-7). In the West Division, Fresno State and San Diego State (both 7-1) claim the top spot, Fresno State winning the tiebreaker by way of a 42-13 win over San Diego State in week 12, followed by Hawaii and Nevada (both 5-3), San Jose State (4-4) and last UNLV (0-8). So assuming the tiebreakers play out correctly, it will be Air Force vs. Fresno State for the Mountain West CCG.

Looking at undefeated teams left, no one lost this week, leaving our number of undefeated teams at 1. #1 Ohio State (12-0) is the only team remaining with an unblemished record this season.

Turning to a more sadistic watch, who is still winless. There remains 1 team still looking for their first win: UNLV (0-11).

Teams getting their first win this week were: None.

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Ohio State (61 votes) remains #1, UCLA climbs one to #2, Michigan State jumps one to #3, Alabama leaps six to #4 and Texas A&M jumps three to #5. Louisville climbs three to #6, USC jumps five to #7, Miami moves up three to #8, Oklahoma jumps four to #9 and Notre Dame drops five to #10. Michigan drops four to #11, Louisiana-Lafayette jumps two to #12, Auburn falls seven to #13, Central Florida climbs one to #14 and Penn State moves up one to #15. Georgia Tech moves up one to #16, Army climbs one to #17, Texas plummets sixteen to #18, Virginia Tech remains #19 and South Carolina remains #20. Stanford remains #21, Marshall remains #22, Baylor remains #23, Washington climbs one to #24 and Ohio University (329 points) enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week was Fresno State (from #24). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, TCU (255 points) is #26, followed by Illinois (235), San Diego State (215), Connecticut (110) and Arkansas State (107) to round out the Top 30. One other team getting points this week is Florida State (34).

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Media Poll, Ohio State (65 votes) remains #1, UCLA climbs one to #2, Michigan State jumps two to #3, USC leaps eight to #4 and Texas A&M climbs one to #5. Louisville jumps one to #6, Alabama climbs four to #7, Miami remains #8, Notre Dame drops five to #9 and Oklahoma climbs three to #10. Central Florida jumps four to #11, Georgia Tech climbs two to #12, Michigan falls four to #13, Louisiana-Lafayette climbs three to #14 and Penn State jumps one to #15. Auburn drops six to #16, Army climbs one to #17, Texas plummets sixteen to #18, Virginia Tech remains #19 and Stanford climbs one to #20. Marshall climbs two to #21, South Carolina jumps two to #22, Baylor moves up two to #23, Washington enters the poll at #24 and TCU (311 points) enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Fresno State (from #20) and Arizona State (from #22). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, San Diego State (256 points) is #26, followed by Ohio University (256), Illinois (245), Connecticut (149) and Arkansas State (128) to round out the Top 30. One other team getting points this week is Florida State (48).

Taking a look at the new BCS rankings: #1 Ohio State (1.000), #2 UCLA (0.995), #3 Michigan State (0.989), #4 Texas A&M (0.979), #5 Alabama (0.976), #6 USC (0.976), #7 Louisville (0.974), #8 Miami (0.963), #9 Notre Dame (0.955) and #10 Oklahoma (0.942). Others: #15 Auburn (0.910), #21 South Carolina (0.867).

A look at the Heisman race, Ohio State QB Matt Cowan is #1 (LW: #1), Texas A&M QB Zac Hopkins is #2 (LW: #4), Louisville QB Jeff Johnston is #3 (LW: #2), Alabama QB Aaron Walters is #4 (LW: NR) and UCLA QB Mark Wilson is #5 (LW: #3). Falling off the Heisman Watch list this week was Notre Dame QB Mike Harper (LW: #5).

Looking at Awards Finalists, middle linebacker Justin Dunn somehow qualified as a finalist for Best LB, though he is currently ranked #6 on the list.

Looking at the bowl picture, 9 teams punched their tickets this week, giving us 72 teams that have reached the 6 win plateau. 13 teams saw their bowl hopes end, leaving 3 teams still having a chance (however small it may be) of getting there, to leave 75 teams total fighting for 68 bowl slots.

Looking at the newest bowl projections, if they hold out, the New Mexico Bowl would feature Navy (6-5, 5-4 American) against Arizona State (7-5, 4-5 Pac-12). The Armed Forces Bowl would feature Southern Miss (7-5, 6-2 C-USA) matching up with San Jose State (6-6, 4-4 Mountain West). The Chick-fil-A Bowl would feature #20 South Carolina (8-4, 6-3 SEC) vs. #6 Louisville (10-2, 7-2 ACC). The Cotton Bowl would match-up #13 Auburn (9-3, 6-3 SEC) against #18 Texas (8-3, 7-1 Big 12). The GoDaddy.com Bowl would feature #25 Ohio (10-2, 8-1 MAC) against Arkansas State (8-3, 5-2 Sun Belt). The BCS National Championship Game would host a showdown between #2 UCLA (11-1, 8-1 Pac-12) against #1 Ohio State (12-0, 9-0 Big Ten).

Looking at the BCS projections, the Rose Bowl would feature #3 Michigan State (9-3, 6-3 Big Ten) against #4 Alabama (9-3, 7-2 SEC). The Fiesta Bowl has #9 Oklahoma (10-1, 8-0 Big 12) matching up with #14 Central Florida (11-1, 8-1 American). The Sugar Bowl has #5 Texas A&M (9-2, 7-2 SEC) matching up with Fresno State (8-4, 7-1 Mountain West). The Orange Bowl features a battle between #8 Miami (10-2, 7-2 ACC) and #12 Louisiana-Lafayette (10-1, 7-0 Sun Belt). And in the national championship game, #2 UCLA (11-1, 8-1 Pac-12) takes on #1 Ohio State (12-0, 9-0 Big Ten).

SmoothPancakes

12-15-2013, 12:24 PM

On a bye week, so lets get right to it.

Taking a look around the nation, in the Top 25, #5 Texas A&M thrashed UNLV 73-7. #9 Oklahoma survived Oklahoma State 38-35. #12 Louisiana-Lafayette doubled up Louisiana-Monroe 28-14. #17 Army beat Navy 24-14. #18 Texas beat Texas Tech 31-21. Kansas knocked off #23 Baylor 35-23.

For our readers, JeffHCross, #1 Ohio State remains 12-0 (9-0 Big Ten) with a bye week. Morsdraconis, West Virginia improves to 6-6 (4-5 Big 12) with 34-24 win over TCU. Souljahbill, Southern Miss remains 7-5 (6-2 C-USA) with a bye week. Jaymo, Arizona State remains 7-5 (4-5 Pac-12) with a bye week. LeeSO, #13 Auburn remains 9-3 (6-3 SEC) with a bye week. SCClassof93, #20 South Carolina remains 8-4 (6-3 SEC) with a bye week. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State improves to 9-3 (6-2 Sun Belt) with a 20-13 win over Texas State. Florida International remains 5-7 (5-3 C-USA) with bye week. Navy drops to 6-6 (5-4 American) with a 24-14 loss to #17 Army. Tulsa remains 6-6 (4-5 American) with a bye week.

In Mountain West action, #5 Texas A&M destroyed UNLV 73-7.

Looking at the current standings, in the Mountain Division, Air Force and Boise State (both 5-3) sit on top, but Air Force wins the tiebreaker over Boise State by way of a 17-10 win over the Broncos in week 14. After that sits Utah State (4-4), Colorado State (3-5), New Mexico (2-6) and Wyoming (1-7). In the West Division, Fresno State and San Diego State (both 7-1) claim the top spot, Fresno State winning the tiebreaker by way of a 42-13 win over San Diego State in week 12, followed by Hawaii and Nevada (both 5-3), San Jose State (4-4) and last UNLV (0-8). So assuming the tiebreakers play out correctly, it will be Air Force vs. Fresno State for the Mountain West CCG.

Looking at undefeated teams left, no one lost this week, leaving our number of undefeated teams at 1. #1 Ohio State (12-0) is the only team remaining with an unblemished record this season.

Turning to a more sadistic watch, who is still winless. UNLV will end the year 0-12.

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Ohio State (61 votes) remains #1, UCLA remains #2, Michigan State remains #3, Alabama remains #4 and Texas A&M remains #5. Louisville remains #6, USC remains #7, Miami remains #8, Oklahoma remains #9 and Notre Dame remains #10. Michigan remains #11, Louisiana-Lafayette remains #12, Auburn remains #13, Central Florida remains #14 and Penn State remains #15. Georgia Tech remains #16, Army remains #17, Texas remains #18, Virginia Tech remains #19 and South Carolina remains #20. Stanford remains #21, Marshall remains #22, Washington climbs one to #23, Ohio jumps one to #24 and Illinois (222 points) enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week was Baylor (from #23). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, San Diego State (197 points) is #26, followed by Connecticut (153) Arkansas State (127), Florida State (67) and Kentucky (36) to round out the Top 30.

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Media Poll, Ohio State (65 votes) remains #1, UCLA remains #2, Michigan State remains #3, USC remains #4 and Texas A&M remains #5. Louisville remains #6, Alabama remains #7, Miami remains #8, Notre Dame remains #9 and Oklahoma remains #10. Central Florida remains #11, Georgia Tech remains #12, Michigan remains #13, Louisiana-Lafayette remains #14 and Auburn climbs one to #15. Penn State drops one to #16, Army remains #17, Texas remains #18, Virginia Tech remains #19 and Stanford remains #20. Marshall remains #21, South Carolina remains #22, Washington climbs one to #23, San Diego State enters the poll at #24 and Ohio University (256 points) enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Baylor (from #23) and TCU (from #25). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Illinois (203 points) is #26, followed by Connecticut (170), Arkansas State (131), Florida State (78) and Oregon (39) to round out the Top 30.

Taking a look at the new BCS rankings: #1 Ohio State (1.000), #2 UCLA (0.995), #3 Michigan State (0.989), #4 Texas A&M (0.979), #5 Alabama (0.976), #6 USC (0.976), #7 Louisville (0.974), #8 Miami (0.963), #9 Notre Dame (0.955) and #10 Oklahoma (0.943). Others: #14 Auburn (0.914), #21 South Carolina (0.868).

A look at the Heisman race, Ohio State QB Matt Cowan is #1 (LW: #1), Texas A&M QB Zac Hopkins is #2 (LW: #2), Louisville QB Jeff Johnston is #3 (LW: #3), Oklahoma QB Rogers Barnes is #4 (LW: NR) and Alabama QB Aaron Walters is #5 (LW: #4). Falling off the Heisman Watch list this week was UCLA QB Mark Wilson (LW: #5).

Looking at Awards Finalists, middle linebacker Justin Dunn somehow qualified as a finalist for Best LB, though he is currently ranked #6 on the list.

Looking at the bowl picture, 1 team punched their tickets this week, giving us 73 teams that have reached the 6 win plateau. 2 teas saw their bowl hopes end, to leave 73 teams total fighting for 68 bowl slots.

Looking at the newest bowl projections, if they hold out, the New Mexico Bowl would feature East Carolina (6-6, 5-4 American) against Arizona State (7-5, 4-5 Pac-12). The New Orleans Bowl would match-up North Texas (6-6, 5-3 C-USA) against Arkansas State (9-3, 6-2 Sun Belt). The Meineke Car Care Bowl would feature Nebraska (6-6, 5-4 Big Ten) against West Virginia (6-6, 4-5 Big 12). The Armed Forces Bowl would feature Southern Miss (7-5, 6-2 C-USA) matching up with San Jose State (6-6, 4-4 Mountain West). The Chick-fil-A Bowl would feature #20 South Carolina (8-4, 6-3 SEC) vs. #6 Louisville (10-2, 7-2 ACC). The Cotton Bowl would match-up #13 Auburn (9-3, 6-3 SEC) against #18 Texas (8-3, 7-1 Big 12). The BCS National Championship Game would host a showdown between #2 UCLA (11-1, 8-1 Pac-12) against #1 Ohio State (12-0, 9-0 Big Ten).

Looking at the BCS projections, the Rose Bowl would feature #3 Michigan State (9-3, 6-3 Big Ten) against #4 Alabama (9-3, 7-2 SEC). The Fiesta Bowl has #9 Oklahoma (11-1, 9-0 Big 12) matching up with #14 Central Florida (11-1, 8-1 American). The Sugar Bowl has #5 Texas A&M (10-2, 7-2 SEC) matching up with Fresno State (8-4, 7-1 Mountain West). The Orange Bowl features a battle between #8 Miami (10-2, 7-2 ACC) and #12 Louisiana-Lafayette (10-1, 7-0 Sun Belt). And in the national championship game, #2 UCLA (11-1, 8-1 Pac-12) takes on #1 Ohio State (12-0, 9-0 Big Ten).

SmoothPancakes

12-15-2013, 12:25 PM

Holy shit! It's insanity in the Conference Championship games!

SmoothPancakes

12-15-2013, 12:54 PM

Conference Championship Week

Conference
Winning Team
Record
Score
Losing Team
Record

:ACC_Championship:
(8) :Miami:
11-2 (8-2)
23-20
(6) :Louisville:
10-3 (7-3)

:AAC:
(14) :UCF:
12-1 (9-1)
42-16
:Houston:
8-5 (6-4)

:B1G_Championship:
(1) :Ohio_State:
13-0 (10-0)
52-21
(25) :Illinois:
8-5 (7-3)

:CUSA:
(22) :Marshall:
11-2 (8-1)
24-22
:Western_Kentucky:
8-5 (6-3)

:MAC_Championship:
(24) :Ohio:
11-2 (9-1)
31-28 2OT
:Central_Michigan:
7-6 (7-3)

:Mountain_West:
:Air_Force:
9-4 (6-3)
28-12
:Fresno_State:
8-5 (7-2)

:Pac_12:
(23) :Washington:
9-4 (6-4)
49-23
(2) :UCLA:
11-2 (8-2)

:SEC_Championship:
(5) :Texas_A&M:
11-2 (8-2)
52-42
:Kentucky:
8-5 (7-3)

SmoothPancakes

12-15-2013, 08:05 PM

Pre-Bowl Games Update

Final BCS Standings

Rank
LW
Team
Wins
Losses
Points

1
1
Ohio State
13
0
1.000

2
3
Michigan State
9
3
.995

3
8
Miami (FL)
11
2
.984

4
5
Alabama
9
3
.981

5
4
Texas A&M
11
2
.981

6
6
USC
10
2
.979

7
9
Notre Dame
9
3
.963

8
2
UCLA
11
2
.960

9
10
Oklahoma
11
1
.958

10
11
Michigan
9
3
.944

11
7
Louisville
10
3
.944

12
12
Georgia Tech
9
3
.928

13
13
Central Florida
12
1
.927

14
15
Louisiana-Lafayette
11
1
.912

15
14
Auburn
9
3
.910

16
22
Washington
9
4
.907

17
16
Penn State
9
3
.897

18
18
Texas
9
3
.889

19
17
Army
10
2
.889

20
19
Virginia Tech
8
4
.889

21
20
Stanford
7
5
.867

22
21
South Carolina
8
4
.860

23
23
Marshall
11
2
.835

24
24
Ohio University
11
2
.826

25
---
Connecticut
9
3
.816

Conference Standings

* - Played in Conference Championship Game

ACC

Rank
Team
Record
Percentage
Conference Record
Points For
Points Against
Division Record

Atlantic Division

#1
(11) Louisville*
10-3
.760
7-3
445
311
5-1

#2
Florida State
7-5
.580
6-3
369
332
4-2

#3
Clemson
7-5
.580
5-4
312
297
3-3

#4
Boston College
5-7
.410
4-5
256
321
3-3

#5
NC State
6-6
.500
3-6
288
252
2-4

#6
Syracuse
5-7
.410
3-6
282
329
2-4

#7
Wake Forest
5-7
.410
3-6
268
304
2-4

Coastal Division

#1
(3) Miami (FL)*
11-2
.840
8-2
401
273
5-1

#2
(20) Virginia Tech
8-4
.660
7-2
350
247
4-2

#3
(12) Georgia Tech
9-3
.750
6-3
349
207
4-2

#4
Virginia
6-6
.500
5-4
336
367
4-2

#5
Duke
6-6
.500
3-6
296
337
2-4

#6
Pittsburgh
5-7
.410
2-7
259
337
2-4

#7
North Carolina
4-8
.330
2-7
286
290
0-6

American Athletic Conference

Rank
Team
Record
Percentage
Conference Record
Points For
Points Against
Division Record

East Division

#1
(13) Central Florida*
12-1
.920
9-1
499
313
5-0

#2
(25) Connecticut
9-3
.750
7-2
456
307
4-1

#3
Navy
6-6
.500
5-4
306
282
2-3

#4
South Florida
6-6
.500
5-4
329
237
2-3

#5
East Carolina
6-6
.500
5-4
374
370
2-3

#6
Temple
3-9
.250
3-6
316
345
0-5

West Division

#1
Cincinnati
8-4
.660
6-3
381
265
3-2

#2
Houston*
8-5
.610
6-4
361
365
5-0

#3
Tulsa
6-6
.500
4-5
298
359
3-2

#4
SMU
2-10
.160
2-7
197
360
2-3

#5
Tulane
2-10
.160
2-7
263
403
2-3

#6
Memphis
2-10
.160
1-8
231
341
0-5

Big 12

Rank
Team
Record
Percentage
Conference Record
Points For
Points Against

#1
(9) Oklahoma
11-1
.910
9-0
456
292

#2
(18) Texas
9-3
.750
8-1
462
284

#3
TCU
7-5
.580
4-5
375
309

#4
Kansas State
5-7
.410
4-5
329
376

#5
Kansas
5-7
.410
4-5
313
312

#6
Baylor
7-5
.580
4-5
342
302

#7
Oklahoma State
7-5
.580
4-5
407
359

#8
West Virginia
6-6
.500
4-5
299
368

#9
Texas Tech
5-7
.410
3-6
310
406

#10
Iowa State
2-10
.160
1-8
230
352

Big Ten

Rank
Team
Record
Percentage
Conference Record
Points For
Points Against
Division Record

East Division

#1
(1) Ohio State*
13-0
1.000
10-0
576
264
6-0

#2
(2) Michigan State
9-3
.750
6-3
412
234
5-1

#3
(17) Penn State
9-3
.750
6-3
343
274
3-3

#4
(10) Michigan
9-3
.750
6-3
343
242
3-3

#5
Indiana
7-5
.580
4-5
316
280
1-5

#6
Maryland
5-7
.410
3-6
321
316
2-4

#7
Rutgers
3-9
.250
2-7
296
400
1-5

West Division

#1
Illinois*
8-5
.610
7-3
390
409
5-1

#2
Northwestern
7-5
.580
6-3
340
339
4-2

#3
Nebraska
6-6
.500
5-4
332
356
4-2

#4
Iowa
5-7
.410
3-6
264
263
2-4

#5
Wisconsin
3-9
.250
3-6
329
362
3-3

#6
Purdue
3-9
.250
2-7
222
365
2-4

#7
Minnesota
2-10
.160
1-8
243
430
1-5

Conference USA

Rank
Team
Record
Percentage
Conference Record
Points For
Points Against
Division Record

East Division

#1
(23) Marshall*
11-2
.840
8-1
411
255
6-0

#2
Southern Miss
7-5
.580
6-2
304
296
4-2

#3
Florida International
5-7
.410
5-3
322
370
4-2

#4
Florida Atlantic
5-7
.410
3-5
313
368
2-4

#5
UAB
5-7
.410
3-5
359
357
1-5

#6
Old Dominion
3-9
.250
2-6
290
409
2-4

#7
Massachusetts
2-10
.160
2-6
212
432
2-4

West Division

#1
Western Kentucky*
8-5
.610
6-3
368
251
5-1

#2
North Texas
6-6
.500
5-3
340
350
4-2

#3
Louisiana Tech
6-6
.500
4-4
305
351
3-3

#4
Rice
6-6
.500
4-4
355
353
3-3

#5
MTSU
4-8
.330
4-4
304
374
2-4

#6
UTEP
5-7
.410
3-5
331
311
2-4

#7
UTSA
2-10
.160
2-6
230
384
2-4

Independents

Rank
Team
Record
Percentage
Conference Record
Points For
Points Against

#1
(19) Army
10-2
.830
---
341
201

#2
(7) Notre Dame
9-3
.750
---
485
272

#3
BYU
6-6
.500
---
312
287

MAC

Rank
Team
Record
Percentage
Conference Record
Points For
Points Against
Division Record

East Division

#1
(24) Ohio*
11-2
.840
9-1
420
217
5-0

#2
Bowling Green
7-5
.580
5-4
288
261
4-1

#3
Buffalo
4-8
.330
4-5
262
307
3-2

#4
Akron
3-9
.250
3-6
197
322
2-3

#5
Miami University
2-10
.160
2-7
234
374
1-4

#6
Kent State
2-10
.160
1-8
170
402
0-5

West Division

#1
Central Michigan*
7-6
.530
7-3
336
316
3-2

#2
Ball State
6-6
.500
6-3
252
280
4-1

#3
Toledo
8-4
.660
6-3
348
283
2-3

#4
Northern Illinois
7-5
.580
5-4
314
291
2-3

#5
Western Michigan
6-6
.500
4-5
298
291
3-2

#6
Eastern Michigan
4-8
.330
3-6
219
349
1-4

Mountain West

Rank
Team
Record
Percentage
Conference Record
Points For
Points Against
Division Record

Mountain Division

#1
Air Force*
9-4
.690
6-3
312
228
4-1

#2
Boise State
5-7
.410
5-3
244
278
3-2

#3
Utah State
4-8
.330
4-4
409
377
3-2

#4
Colorado State
5-7
.410
3-5
297
328
2-3

#5
New Mexico
4-8
.330
2-6
259
317
2-3

#6
Wyoming
1-11
.080
1-7
221
387
1-4

West Division

#1
San Diego State
10-2
.830
7-1
343
270
4-1

#2
Fresno State*
8-5
.610
7-2
395
361
4-1

#3
Hawaii
5-7
.410
5-3
349
335
3-2

#4
Nevada
7-5
.580
5-3
373
315
2-3

#5
San Jose State
6-6
.500
4-4
271
298
2-3

#6
UNLV
0-12
.000
0-8
141
408
0-5

Pac-12

Rank
Team
Record
Percentage
Conference Record
Points For
Points Against
Division Record

North Division

#1
(16) Washington*
9-4
.690
6-4
431
271
5-0

#2
Oregon
7-5
.580
5-4
357
339
2-3

#3
(21) Stanford
7-5
.580
5-4
332
373
2-3

#4
Oregon State
7-5
.580
4-5
353
279
3-2

#5
Washington State
6-6
.500
4-5
363
484
2-3

#6
California
4-8
.330
3-6
310
379
1-4

South Division

#1
(8) UCLA*
11-2
.840
8-2
463
294
4-1

#2
(6) USC
10-2
.830
7-2
415
264
4-1

#3
Utah
6-6
.500
5-4
284
325
3-2

#4
Arizona
7-5
.580
4-5
376
281
3-2

#5
Arizona State
7-5
.580
4-5
401
362
1-4

#6
Colorado
2-10
.160
0-9
276
367
0-5

SEC

Rank
Team
Record
Percentage
Conference Record
Points For
Points Against
Division Record

East Division

#1
Kentucky*
8-5
.610
7-3
321
298
5-1

#2
Florida
8-4
.660
6-3
393
291
3-3

#3
(22) South Carolina
8-4
.660
6-3
486
299
3-3

#4
Georgia
5-7
.410
4-5
384
324
4-2

#5
Tennessee
5-7
.410
3-6
313
350
3-3

#6
Missouri
4-8
.330
3-6
296
435
2-4

#7
Vanderbilt
5-7
.410
2-7
356
368
1-5

West Division

#1
(5) Texas A&M*
11-2
.840
8-2
493
319
5-1

#2
(4) Alabama
9-3
.750
7-2
446
253
4-2

#3
(15) Auburn
9-3
.850
6-3
371
280
3-3

#4
Ole Miss
7-5
.580
4-5
275
265
3-3

#5
LSU
5-7
.410
3-6
271
351
3-3

#6
Mississippi State
6-6
.500
3-6
335
265
2-4

#7
Arkansas
3-9
.250
2-7
221
363
1-5

Sun Belt

Rank
Team
Record
Percentage
Conference Record
Points For
Points Against

#1
(14) UL Lafayette
11-1
.910
8-0
399
169

#2
Arkansas State
9-3
.750
6-2
322
225

#3
UL Monroe
7-5
.580
5-3
336
285

#4
Texas State
5-7
.410
4-4
250
351

#5
Troy
4-8
.330
4-4
274
318

#6
South Alabama
4-8
.330
3-5
221
366

#7
New Mexico State
4-8
.330
2-6
260
418

#8
Georgia State
3-9
.250
2-6
230
378

#9
Idaho
3-9
.250
2-6
262
377

Heisman Memorial Trophy

:Heisman_Trophy:

Rank
Player
Position
Team
1st
2nd
3rd
Total

#1
Matt Cowan
QB
Ohio State
584
180
21
2133

#2
Zac Hopkins
QB
Texas A&M
167
495
114
1604

#3
Jeff Johnston
QB
Louisville
28
88
494
754

#4
Roger Barnes
QB
Oklahoma
3
9
71
98

#5
Mark Wilson
QB
UCLA
0
9
56
74

Award Winners

Award
Player
Position
Team
Year

:Heisman_Trophy:
Matt Cowan
QB
Ohio State
Senior

Maxwell
Matt Cowan
QB
Ohio State
Senior

Walter Camp
Matt Cowan
QB
Ohio State
Senior

Bednarik
Mark Woods
LOLB
Virginia Tech
Junior (RS)

Nagurski
Anthony Smith
RE
UCLA
Junior (RS)

O'Brien
Matt Cowan
QB
Ohio State
Senior

Walker
Derek Scott
HB
Alabama
Junior

Biletnikoff
Stanley Fields
WR
Louisville
Senior

Mackey
Landon Williams
TE
Louisville
Senior (RS)

Outland
Mike Perry
C
Ohio State
Junior

Rimington
Mike Perry
C
Ohio State
Junior

Lombardi
Anthony Smith
RE
UCLA
Junior (RS)

Best LB
Mark Woods
LOLB
Virginia Tech
Junior (RS)

Thorpe
Keith Stanley
CB
Boston College
Senior (RS)

Groza
Ray Hill
K
Notre Dame
Senior

Guy
Brett Bean
P
Virginia Tech
Junior

Best Returner
Andrew Atkins
CB
Louisville
Senior (RS)

All Americans

All-NCAA

1st Team

Position
Player
Team
Year

Offense

QB
Matt Cowan
Ohio State
Senior

HB
John Robinson
Air Force
Senior

HB
Kevin Simpson
Arizona
Senior

WR
Erik Rogers
Ohio State
Senior

WR
Stanley Fields
Louisville
Senior

TE
Joseph Arnold
Illinois
Senior

LG
Tommy Davis
Ohio State
Junior (RS)

LG
Zac Hawkins
Stanford
Senior (RS)

C
Mike Perry
Ohio State
Junior

RT
Paul Sullivan
Oklahoma
Senior (RS)

RT
Derek Jones
Ohio State
Junior

Defense

RE
Anthony Smith
UCLA
Junior (RS)

RE
Kurt Meadows
South Carolina
Senior

DT
Ralph Joseph
Miami (FL)
Junior (RS)

DT
Robert Davis
Michigan
Junior

LOLB
Mark Woods
Virginia Tech
Junior (RS)

MLB
Cory Greene
USC
Senior

ROLB
Chris Brown
Ohio State
Junior

CB
Drew Johnson
Kansas State
Senior (RS)

CB
Brett Richardson
Michigan
Senior

FS
Andy Hill
Auburn
Senior

SS
Brian Rutledge
Ohio
Senior (RS)

K
Matt Corbett
Central Florida
Senior

P
Jeff Greer
Michigan
Senior

Returner
Vernon Johnson
Houston
Junior

2nd Team

Position
Player
Team
Year

Offense

QB
Cedric McIntosh
Central Florida
Senior (RS)

HB
Bo Dean
Central Florida
Senior (RS)

HB
Derek Scott
Alabama
Junior

WR
Joe Johnson
East Carolina
Senior (RS)

WR
Jamie Douglas
Ohio State
Senior

TE
Landon Williams
Louisville
Senior (RS)

LT
Jermaine Love
Oklahoma
Senior (RS)

LG
Robbie Lewis
Oklahoma
Senior (RS)

C
Ryan Booker
Miami (FL)
Senior (RS)

RG
Justin Morris
Ohio State
Senior

RT
Erick Norton
Stanford
Senior (RS)

Defense

LE
Dave Mooney
Clemson
Senior (RS)

LE
Ryan Cook
Central Florida
Junior (RS)

DT
Gary Shaw
Texas
Sophomore (RS)

DT
Terence Graves
Illinois
Senior (RS)

MLB
John Freund
Ohio State
Junior

ROLB
Marcus Franklin
Ohio State
Senior

ROLB
Keith Howell
Central Florida
Senior (RS)

CB
John Miranda
Georgia Tech
Senior

CB
Keith Stanley
Boston College
Senior (RS)

FS
Brian Curry
Western Kentucky
Senior (RS)

SS
Chris Henderson
Alabama
Senior

K
Mark Foster
Western Kentucky
Senior

P
Brett Bean
Virginia Tech
Junior

Returner
Andrew Atkins
Louisville
Senior (RS)

Freshman Team

Position
Player
Team
Year

Offense

QB
Brian Brewster
Michigan
Freshman (RS)

HB
Stephen Bell
Troy
Fresman

HB
Terrence Brown
Oklahoma
Freshman

WR
Nick Rogers
Michigan
Freshman (RS)

WR
Tyler Washington
Louisiana Tech
Freshman (RS)

TE
Daniel Smith
Missouri
Freshman

LG
Jamaal Bailey
UCLA
Freshman (RS)

C
Byron Jones
UCLA
Freshman

RG
Anthony Walker
Miami (FL)
Freshman

RT
B.J. Wilkinson
Ohio State
Freshman

RT
T.J. Smiley
Ohio State
Freshman

Defense

LE
Kerry Irvin
UCLA
Freshman (RS)

RE
Chris Powell
Rice
Freshman

DT
Matt Harrington
East Carolina
Freshman

DT
Logan Pitts
Arkansas
Freshman

LOLB
Davon Barr
Michigan
Freshman

MLB
Justin Dunn
Utah State
Freshman

ROLB
Dustin Kaplan
Notre Dame
Freshman (RS)

CB
Ricky King
North Carolina
Freshman (RS)

CB
David Moore
Nevada
Freshman

FS
Jeff Collins
North Texas
Freshman

SS
Derek Walker
Duke
Freshman

K
Rory Leak
Texas
Freshman

P
Eric Battle
Miami (FL)
Freshman

Returner
Parker Robbins
Arizona
Freshman (RS)

All-Mountain West

1st Team

Position
Player
Team
Year

Offense

QB
Nate Mosley
Nevada
Senior (RS)

HB
John Robinson
Air Force
Senior

HB
Preston Roberson
Utah State
Senior (RS)

WR
Josh Brooks
Nevada
Senior

WR
David Rogers
Fresno State
Junior (RS)

TE
Brian Jones
San Diego State
Senior

LT
E.J. Little
San Diego State
Senior (RS)

LG
Max Cobbs
San Diego State
Junior (RS)

C
Tyler Toth
San Diego State
Junior (RS)

RG
Ryan Curry
San Diego State
Sophomore (RS)

RT
Grant Stover
San Diego State
Junior (RS)

Defense

LE
Evan Black
Boise State
Senior (RS)

RE
Lance Smith
San Diego State
Senior (RS)

DT
Drew Jackson
San Jose State
Senior (RS)

DT
Chris Irby
Fresno State
Senior (RS)

MLB
Justin Dunn
Utah State
Freshman

ROLB
Wendell Britton
San Diego State
Senior

ROLB
Clint Sykes
Boise State
Junior

CB
Manuel Veney
San Diego State
Senior (RS)

CB
Greg Blair
San Jose State
Junior

FS
Charles Noble
Utah State
Junior (RS)

SS
Melvin Nash
Fresno State
Senior

K
Cory Leach
Hawaii
Senior (RS)

P
Shawn Hart
San Diego State
Senior (RS)

Returner
Matt Schneider
Colorado State
Junior

2nd Team

Position
Player
Team
Year

Offense

QB
Dan Williams
Fresno State
Senior (RS)

HB
Joel Williams
San Diego State
Senior (RS)

HB
Derrick Martin
Fresno State
Junior

WR
Damian Ramsour
Fresno State
Senior (RS)

WR
Derrick Barber
San Diego State
Junior (RS)

TE
Robert Brooks
Fresno State
Senior (RS)

LT
Brett Frederick
Nevada
Senior (RS)

LT
Jamie Gray
Air Force
Senior

C
Bryan Lopez
San Diego State
Junior (RS)

RG
Slade Anderson
Fresno State
Senior (RS)

RG
Mark Wilson
Nevada
Senior (RS)

Defense

LE
Kyle Faulk
San Diego State
Senior (RS)

LE
Caleb McBride
Utah State
Junior (RS)

DT
Brian Britt
San Diego State
Senior

DT
Anthony Bates
Air Force
Senior

LOLB
Joe Fine
Nevada
Junior (RS)

MLB
Jonathan Thompson
San Diego State
Senior (RS)

ROLB
Jesse Moore
Wyoming
Senior

CB
James Poland
Fresno State
Senior (RS)

CB
David Moore
Nevada
Freshman

FS
Nate Johnson
Hawaii
Junior

SS
Bo Reese
Boise State
Senior (RS)

K
Jeff Hines
San Diego State
Junior

P
Pete Coker
Fresno State
Sophomore

Returner
Dennis Griffin
Hawaii
Sophomore (RS)

SmoothPancakes

12-15-2013, 08:07 PM

2021 Conference Champions

Conference
Team
Record
Conference Record

CCG Loser
Record
Conference Record

:ACC:
:Miami:
11-2
8-2

:Louisville:
10-3
7-3

:AAC:
:UCF:
12-1
9-1

:Houston:
8-5
6-4

:Big_12:
:Oklahoma:
11-1
9-0

:Big_Ten:
:Ohio_State:
13-0
10-0

:Illinois:
8-5
7-3

:CUSA:
:Marshall:
11-2
8-1

:Western_Kentucky:
8-5
6-3

:MAC:
:Ohio:
11-2
9-1

:Central_Michigan:
7-6
7-3

:Mountain_West:
:Air_Force:
9-4
6-3

:Fresno_State:
8-5
7-2

:Pac_12:
:Washington:
9-4
6-4

:UCLA:
11-2
8-2

:SEC:
:Texas_A&M:
11-2
8-2

:Kentucky:
8-5
7-3

:Sun_Belt:
:Louisiana:
11-1
8-0

SmoothPancakes

12-15-2013, 08:07 PM

2021 Bowl Season Rundown

Bowl Game
Conference
Record
Team

Team
Record
Conference

Date/Result

:New_Mexico_Bowl:
:AAC:
6-6 (5-4)
:East_Carolina:
vs.
:Arizona_State:
7-5 (4-5)
:Pac_12:

12/15 - 12:30 PM

:Famous_Idaho_Bowl:
:MAC:
6-6 (6-3)
:Ball_State:
vs.
:Cincinnati:
8-4 (6-3)
:AAC:

12/15 - 4:30 PM

:Poinsettia_Bowl:
:ACC:
6-6 (3-6)
:Duke:
vs.
:Fresno_State:
8-5 (7-2)
:Mountain_West:

12/20 - 8:00 PM

:Beef_O_Bradys_Bowl:
:CUSA:
6-6 (4-4)
:Louisiana_Tech:
vs.
:Washington_State:
6-6 (4-5)
:Pac_12:

12/21 - 7:30 PM

:New_Orleans_Bowl:
:CUSA:
6-6 (5-3)
:North_Texas:
vs.
(14) :Louisiana:
11-1 (8-0)
:Sun_Belt:

12/22 - 12:00 PM

:Las_Vegas_Bowl:
:Pac_12:
7-5 (5-4)
(21) :Stanford:
vs.
:San_Diego_State:
10-2 (7-1)
:Mountain_West:

12/22 - 3:30 PM

:Hawaii_Bowl:
:CUSA:
7-5 (6-2)
:Southern_Miss:
vs.
:Nevada:
7-5 (5-3)
:Mountain_West:

12/24 - 8:00 PM

:LittleCaesars_Bowl:
:Pac_12:
7-5 (4-5)
:Arizona:
vs.
:Central_Michigan:
7-6 (7-3)
:MAC:

12/26 - 7:30 PM

:Military_Bowl:
:MAC:
8-4 (6-3)
:Toledo:
vs.
(19) :Army:
10-2
Independent

12/27 - 3:30 PM

:Holiday_Bowl:
:Big_12:
7-5 (5-4)
:Oklahoma_State:
vs.
(6) :USC:
10-2 (7-2)
:Pac_12:

12/27 - 3:30 PM

:Belk_Bowl:
:ACC:
7-5 (6-3)
:Florida_State:
vs.
:UL_Monroe:
7-5 (5-3)
:Sun_Belt:

12/27 - 6:00 PM

:Independence_Bowl:
:MAC:
7-5 (5-4)
:Bowling_Green:
vs.
:Virginia:
6-6 (5-4)
:ACC:

12/28 - 2:00 PM

:Russell_Athletic:
Independent
6-6
:BYU:
vs.
(11) :Louisville:
10-3 (7-3)
:ACC:

12/28 - 6:00 PM

:Meineke_Texas_Bowl:
:Big_Ten:
6-6 (5-4)
:Nebraska:
vs.
:West_Virginia:
6-6 (4-5)
:Big_12:

12/28 - 9:00 PM

:Armed_Forces_Bowl:
:CUSA:
8-5 (6-3)
:Western_Kentucky:
vs.
:San_Jose_State:
6-6 (4-4)
:Mountain_West:

12/29 - 12:00 PM

:Fight_Hunger_Bowl:
:AAC:
9-3 (7-2)
(25) :Connecticut:
vs.
:Utah:
6-6 (5-4)
:Pac_12:

12/29 - 4:30 PM

:Alamo_Bowl:
:Big_12:
7-5 (4-5)
:TCU:
vs.
(8) :UCLA:
11-2 (8-2)
:Pac_12:

12/29 - 7:00 PM

:BWW_Bowl:
:Big_12:
7-5 (4-5)
:Baylor:
vs.
:Northwestern:
7-5 (6-3)
:Big_Ten:

12/29 - 10:00 PM

:Music_City_Bowl:
:SEC:
6-6 (3-6)
:Mississippi_State:
vs.
:Clemson:
7-5 (5-4)
:ACC:

12/31 - 12:00 PM

:Sun_Bowl:
:Pac_12:
7-5 (5-4)
:Oregon:
vs.
(12) :Georgia_Tech:
9-3 (6-3)
:ACC:

12/31 - 2:00 PM

:Liberty_Bowl:
:Pac_12:
7-5 (4-5)
:Oregon_State:
vs.
(23) :Marshall:
11-2 (8-1)
:CUSA:

12/31 - 3:30 PM

:Chick_fil_A_Bowl:
:SEC:
8-4 (6-3)
(22) :South_Carolina:
vs.
(20) :Virginia_Tech:
8-4 (7-2)
:ACC:

12/31 - 7:30 PM

:Heart_of_Dallas:
:MAC:
7-5 (5-4)
:Northern_Illinois:
vs.
:Indiana:
7-5 (4-5)
:Big_Ten:

1/1 - 12:00 PM

:TaxSlayer_Gator:
:SEC:
7-5 (4-5)
:Ole_Miss:
vs.
(10) :Michigan:
9-3 (6-3)
:Big_Ten:

1/1 - 12:00 PM

:Capital_One_Bowl:
:SEC:
8-5 (7-3)
:Kentucky:
vs.
:Illinois:
8-5 (7-3)
:Big_Ten:

1/1 - 12:30 PM

:Outback_Bowl:
:SEC:
8-4 (6-3)
:Florida:
vs.
(17) :Penn_State:
9-3 (6-3)
:Big_Ten:

1/1 - 12:30 PM

:Cotton_Bowl:
:SEC:
9-3 (6-3)
(15) :Auburn:
vs.
(18) :Texas:
9-3 (8-1)
:Big_12:

1/3 - 8:00 PM

:BBVA_Compass_Bowl:
:AAC:
8-5 (6-4)
:Houston:
vs.
:NC_State:
6-6 (3-6)
:ACC:

1/4 - 12:30 PM

:GoDaddycom_Bowl:
:MAC:
11-2 (9-1)
(24) :Ohio:
vs.
:Arkansas_State:
9-3 (6-2)
:Sun_Belt:

1/5 - 9:00 PM

2021 BCS Bowls

Bowl Game
Conference
Record
Team

Team
Record
Conference

Date/Result

:Rose_Bowl:
:SEC:
9-3 (7-2)
(4) :Alabama:
vs.
(16) :Washington:
9-4 (6-4)
:Pac_12:

1/1 - 4:30 PM

:Fiesta_Bowl:
:Big_12:
11-1 (9-0)
(9) :Oklahoma:
vs.
(13) :UCF:
12-1 (9-1)
:AAC:

1/1 - 8:00 PM

:Sugar_Bowl:
:SEC:
11-2 (8-2)
(5) :Texas_A&M:
vs.
(7) :Notre_Dame:
9-3
Independent

1/2 - 8:00 PM

:Orange_Bowl:
:ACC:
11-2 (8-2)
(3) :Miami:
vs.
:Air_Force:
9-4 (6-3)
:Mountain_West:

1/3 - 8:00 PM

:BCS_Trophy:
:Big_Ten:
9-3 (6-3)
(2) :Michigan_State:
vs.
(1) :Ohio_State:
13-0 (10-0)
:Big_Ten:

1/6 - 8:00 PM

SmoothPancakes

12-15-2013, 08:08 PM

So there you have it. Arizona State takes on East Carolina in the New Mexico Bowl, Southern Miss faces Nevada in the Hawaii Bowl, West Virginia battles Nebraska in the Meineke Car Care Bowl, South Carolina and #20 Virginia Tech tangle in the Chick-fil-A Bowl, Auburn meets #18 Texas in the Cotton Bowl, Arkansas State matches up with #24 Ohio in the GoDaddy.com Bowl and it's an all Big Ten showdown as the BCS falls flat on its face, with #1 Ohio State taking on #2 Michigan State for the National Championship game in a rematch of a 34-31 overtime Ohio State win back on week 11.

One game of note, (14) Louisiana-Lafayette gets shut out of a BCS berth, tumbling all the way to the New Orleans Bowl to face North Texas.

And in terms of bowl numbers, the Pac-12 has the most of any conference with 10 teams getting into a bowl game, followed closely by the ACC (9 teams, SEC (8 teams), Big Ten (8 teams) and MAC (6 teams).

Looking through the standings, 73 teams made it bowl eligible with only 68 slots. Five teams got screwed this year.

And a look at who got screwed out of a bowl game this year:

American

:Navy: - (6-6)

:USF: - (6-6)

:Tulsa: - (6-6)

C-USA

:Rice: - (6-6)

MAC

:Western_Michigan: - (6-6)

So there you go. Navy and Tulsa both get screwed out of a bowl game for the second year in a row. Everyone who got left out was only 6-6, so no 7 or 8 win teams were left at home this year. The American Athletic Conference has the most teams sitting home this season with three schools left bowl-less.

jaymo76

12-15-2013, 09:09 PM

Strange to see Alabama at the Rose Bowl. I would have figured AF would go there and Ala would face Miami at the Orange Bowl. Anyways... go Huskies!

SmoothPancakes

12-15-2013, 09:20 PM

2021 Bowl Season Rundown

Bowl Game
Conference
Record
Team
Results
Team
Record
Conference

:New_Mexico_Bowl:
:AAC:
7-6 (5-4)
:East_Carolina:
37-28
:Arizona_State:
7-6 (4-5)
:Pac_12:

:Famous_Idaho_Bowl:
:AAC:
9-4 (6-3)
:Cincinnati:
24-10
:Ball_State:
6-7 (6-3)
:MAC:

:Poinsettia_Bowl:
:Mountain_West:
9-5 (7-2)
:Fresno_State:
45-17
:Duke:
6-7 (3-6)
:ACC:

:Beef_O_Bradys_Bowl:
:Pac_12:
7-6 (4-5)
:Washington_State:
48-41 OT
:Louisiana_Tech:
6-7 (4-4)
:CUSA:

:New_Orleans_Bowl:
:Sun_Belt:
12-1 (8-0)
(14) :Louisiana:
38-17
:North_Texas:
6-7 (5-3)
:CUSA:

:Las_Vegas_Bowl:
:Pac_12:
8-5 (5-4)
(21) :Stanford:
40-24
:San_Diego_State:
10-3 (7-1)
:Mountain_West:

:Hawaii_Bowl:
:Mountain_West:
8-5 (5-3)
:Nevada:
30-7
:Southern_Miss:
7-6 (6-2)
:CUSA:

:LittleCaesars_Bowl:
:MAC:
8-6 (7-3)
:Central_Michigan:
31-24
:Arizona:
7-6 (4-5)
:Pac_12:

:Military_Bowl:
Independent
11-2
(19) :Army:
24-20
:Toledo:
8-5 (6-3)
:MAC:

:Holiday_Bowl:
:Pac_12:
11-2 (7-2)
(6) :USC:
35-14
:Oklahoma_State:
7-6 (4-5)
:Big_12:

:Belk_Bowl:
:ACC:
8-5 (6-3)
:Florida_State:
49-10
:UL_Monroe:
7-6 (5-3)
:Sun_Belt:

:Independence_Bowl:
:ACC:
7-6 (5-4)
:Virginia:
48-41
:Bowling_Green:
7-6 (5-4)
:MAC:

:Russell_Athletic:
Independent
7-6
:BYU:
33-30 OT
(11) :Louisville:
10-4 (7-3)
:ACC:

:Meineke_Texas_Bowl:
:Big_Ten:
7-6 (5-4)
:Nebraska:
24-17
:West_Virginia:
6-7 (4-5)
:Big_12:

:Armed_Forces_Bowl:
:Mountain_West:
7-6 (4-4)
:San_Jose_State:
21-16
:Western_Kentucky:
8-6 (6-3)
:CUSA:

:Fight_Hunger_Bowl:
:AAC:
10-3 (7-2)
(25) :Connecticut:
41-37
:Utah:
6-7 (5-4)
:Pac_12:

:Alamo_Bowl:
:Pac_12:
12-2 (8-2)
(8) :UCLA:
38-19
:TCU:
7-6 (4-5)
:Big_12:

:BWW_Bowl:
:Big_12:
8-5 (4-5)
:Baylor:
24-17
:Northwestern:
7-6 (6-3)
:Big_Ten:

:Music_City_Bowl:
:ACC:
8-5 (5-4)
:Clemson:
35-10
:Mississippi_State:
6-7 (3-6)
:SEC:

:Sun_Bowl:
:ACC:
10-3 (6-3)
(12) :Georgia:
35-28
:Oregon:
7-6 (5-4)
:Pac_12:

:Liberty_Bowl:
:Pac_12:
8-5 (4-5)
:Oregon_State:
31-21
(23) :Marshall:
11-3 (8-1)
:CUSA:

:Chick_fil_A_Bowl:
:SEC:
9-4 (6-3)
(22) :South_Carolina:
41-37
(20) :Virginia_Tech:
8-5 (7-2)
:ACC:

:Heart_of_Dallas:
:MAC:
8-5 (5-4)
:Northern_Illinois:
28-27
:Indiana:
7-6 (4-5)
:Big_Ten:

:TaxSlayer_Gator:
:Big_Ten:
10-3 (6-3)
(10) :Michigan:
21-10
:Ole_Miss:
7-6 (4-5)
:SEC:

:Capital_One_Bowl:
:SEC:
9-5 (7-3)
:Kentucky:
34-13
:Illinois:
8-6 (7-3)
:Big_Ten:

:Outback_Bowl:
:SEC:
9-4 (6-3)
:Florida:
27-24 OT
(17) :Penn_State:
9-4 (6-3)
:Big_Ten:

:Cotton_Bowl:
:Big_12:
10-3 (8-1)
(18) :Texas:
29-10
(15) :Auburn:
9-4 (6-3)
:SEC:

:BBVA_Compass_Bowl:
:AAC:
9-5 (6-4)
:Houston:
21-20
:NC_State:
6-7 (3-6)
:ACC:

:GoDaddycom_Bowl:
:MAC:
12-1 (9-1)
(24) :Ohio:
21-14
:Arkansas_State:
9-4 (6-2)
:Sun_Belt:

2021 BCS Bowls

Bowl Game
Conference
Record
Team
Results
Team
Record
Conference

:Rose_Bowl:
:SEC:
10-3 (7-2)
(4) :Alabama:
37-20
(16) :Washington:
9-5 (6-4)
:Pac_12:

:Fiesta_Bowl:
:Big_12:
12-1 (9-0)
(9) :Oklahoma:
42-31
(13) :UCF:
12-2 (9-1)
:AAC:

:Sugar_Bowl:
:SEC:
12-2 (8-2)
(5) :Texas_A&M:
35-31
(7) :Notre_Dame:
9-4
Independent

:Orange_Bowl:
:ACC:
12-2 (8-2)
(3) :Miami:
49-14
:Air_Force:
9-5 (6-3)
:Mountain_West:

:BCS_Trophy:
:Big_Ten:
14-0 (10-0)
(1) :Ohio_State:
42-28
(2) :Michigan_State:
9-4 (6-3)
:Big_Ten:

SmoothPancakes

12-15-2013, 09:24 PM

2021 Bowl Challenge Cup Standings

Rank
Conference
Bowl Teams
Bowl Record
Percentage
Teams in AP Poll

1
:AAC:
5
4-1
.800
2

2
Independent
3
2-1
.660
3

3
:SEC:
8
5-3
.630
5

4
:Mountain_West:
5
3-2
.600
0

5
:ACC:
9
5-4
.560
4

6
:Pac_12: (1)
10
5-5
.500
3

T-7
:Big_12: (1) (2)
6
3-3
.500
2

T-7
:MAC: (1) (2)
6
3-3
.500
1

9
:Big_Ten:
8
3-5
.380
4

10
:Sun_Belt:
3
1-2
.330
1

11
:CUSA:
5
0-5
.000
0

1 - Tied based on winning percentage, but final order based on number of bowl wins.
2 - Tied with 3-3 records.

SmoothPancakes

12-15-2013, 09:24 PM

And so there you go. Ohio State is your 2021 national champion, winning their second national title in a row, and the American Athletic Conference goes 4-1 in bowl games to win the 2021 Bowl Challenge Cup.

On the other side of the coin, the Conference USA is held winless, going 0-5 for the bowl season to claim the "we suck" conference title of 2021.

For readers teams, East Carolina knocks off Arizona State 37-28 in the New Mexico Bowl, Nevada routs Southern Miss 30-7 in the Hawaii Bowl, Nebraska beats West Virginia 24-17 in the Meineke Car Care Bowl, #22 South Carolina edges out #20 Virginia Tech 41-37 in the Chick-fil-A Bowl, #18 Texas upsets #15 Auburn 29-10 in the Cotton Bowl, #24 Ohio University beats Arkansas State 21-14 in the GoDaddy.com Bowl and and #1 Ohio State claims the National Championship, topping #2 Michigan State 42-28 in the national title game.

The American claimed the Bowl Challenge Cup this year, going 4-1, though Central Florida did lose to Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl. Because of the best record during the bowl season, the American will keep their automatic bid secured for at least the next two seasons. An abysmal 3-2 finish by the Mountain West has saved their automatic bid for another year, as they had to finish at least .500. While 3-2 is a huge improvement over last season, they will still be watched closely over the next few years.

SmoothPancakes

12-15-2013, 09:26 PM

Strange to see Alabama at the Rose Bowl. I would have figured AF would go there and Ala would face Miami at the Orange Bowl. Anyways... go Huskies!

Hell, I'm still trying to wrap my head around how a 9-3 Michigan State got into the national title game over the likes of an 11-1 Oklahoma, a 12-1 UCF, a 12-2 Texas A&M, 11-2 Miami (FL) and a 10-2 USC. :D

Overall, this was one extremely weird bowl season with some of the match-ups that were made.

jaymo76

12-15-2013, 09:35 PM

Hell, I'm still trying to wrap my head around how a 9-3 Michigan State got into the national title game over the likes of an 11-1 Oklahoma, a 12-1 UCF, a 12-2 Texas A&M, 11-2 Miami (FL) and a 10-2 USC. :D

Overall, this was one extremely weird bowl season with some of the match-ups that were made.

How close was the BCS ratings between the teams? three losses for a NC team is truly bizarre. Was the BIG the #1 rated conference for 2021?

SmoothPancakes

12-15-2013, 09:46 PM

How close was the BCS ratings between the teams? three losses for a NC team is truly bizarre. Was the BIG the #1 rated conference for 2021?

These were my last BCS rankings update before going into the CCGs.

Taking a look at the new BCS rankings: #1 Ohio State (1.000), #2 UCLA (0.995), #3 Michigan State (0.989), #4 Texas A&M (0.979), #5 Alabama (0.976), #6 USC (0.976), #7 Louisville (0.974), #8 Miami (0.963), #9 Notre Dame (0.955) and #10 Oklahoma (0.943). [B]Others: #14 Auburn (0.914), #21 South Carolina (0.868).

And no. The SEC was the #1 conference (A+ grade, 16.7 avg. rank), followed by the ACC (A, 20.2) and then the Big Ten (A-, 21.5).

SmoothPancakes

12-15-2013, 09:48 PM

2021 Final Top 25

Coaches Poll - Media Poll

Rank
Team
Record

Team
Record

1
:Ohio_State:
14-0

:Ohio_State:
14-0

2
:Texas_A&M:
12-2

:Texas_A&M:
12-2

3
:Alabama:
10-3

:Miami:
12-2

4
:Miami:
12-2

:Alabama:
10-3

5
:USC:
11-2

:USC:
11-2

6
:Oklahoma:
12-1

:Oklahoma:
12-1

7
:UCLA:
12-2

:UCLA:
12-2

8
:Michigan:
10-3

:Michigan:
10-3

9
:Louisiana:
12-1

:Georgia_Tech:
10-3

10
:Michigan_State:
9-4

:Michigan_State:
9-4

11
:Texas:
10-3

:Louisiana:
12-1

12
:Georgia_Tech:
10-3

:UCF:
12-2

13
:Army:
11-2

:Texas:
10-3

14
:UCF:
12-2

:Army:
11-2

15
:Notre_Dame:
9-4

:Notre_Dame:
9-4

16
:South_Carolina:
9-4

:Stanford:
8-5

17
:Stanford:
8-5

:South_Carolina:
9-4

18
:Ohio:
12-2

:Ohio:
12-2

19
:Auburn:
9-4

:Louisville:
10-4

20
:Louisville:
10-4

:Connecticut:
10-3

21
:Connecticut:
10-3

:Auburn:
9-4

22
:Penn_State:
9-4

:Florida:
9-4

23
:Florida:
9-4

:Florida_State:
8-5

24
:Florida_State:
8-5

:Penn_State:
9-4

25
:BYU:
7-5

:BYU:
7-5

SmoothPancakes

12-15-2013, 09:55 PM

Utah State Coach Goals

Goal
XP Reward
Completed

Rank First in Red Zone %
250
x1

Rank First in Rush Yards Allowed
250
x1

Rank Top 5 in Sacks
125
x1

1st-Team All-Conference
75
x3

Rank Top 10 in Rushing TDs
75
x1

2nd-Team All-Conference
50
x1

Freshman All-American
50
x1

SmoothPancakes

12-15-2013, 11:15 PM

2021 Coaching Carousel

Team
Position
Previous Coach
Reason Left

New Coach
Previous Team
Previous Position
O/D Style

:Georgia:
Head Coach
Kirby Smart
Fired

Todd Grantham
:UCF:
Head Coach
UCF (Multiple) \ 4-3

:LSU:
Head Coach
Steve Kragthorpe
Fired

Steve Brown
:Louisiana:
Head Coach
North Carolina (Spread) \ 4-2-5

:South_Carolina:
Head Coach
Mark Dantonio
Retired at age 68

Matt Campbell
:Kentucky:
Head Coach
Toledo (Spread) \ 4-3

:Wisconsin:
Head Coach
Bret Bielema
Fired

Doc Holiday
:Marshall:
Head Coach
Marshall (Spread) \ 4-3

:Arkansas:
Head Coach
Howard Schnellenberger
Fired

Brian Bohannon
:Fresno_State:
Head Coach
Fresno State (Spread) \ 3-4

:UCF:
Head Coach
Todd Grantham
Left for Georgia HC job

Dan Mullin
:Ohio_State:
Offensive Coordinator
Missouri (Spread) \ 4-3

:Marshall:
Head Coach
Doc Holiday
Left for Wisconsin HC job

Gary Emanuel
:Ohio_State:
Defensive Coordinator
Marshall (Spread) \ 4-3

:Rutgers:
Head Coach
Derek Mason
Fired

Josh Heupel
:Oklahoma:
Offensive Coordinator
Oklahoma (Multiple) \ 3-4

:Kentucky:
Head Coach
Matt Campbell
Left for South Carolina HC job

Brent Pease
:USC:
Offensive Coordinator
USC (Pro) \ 4-3

:Fresno_State:
Head Coach
Brian Bohannon
Left for Arkansas HC job

Mark Stoops
:Western_Kentucky:
Head Coach
Georgia Tech (Option) \ 4-3

:Minnesota:
Head Coach
Jim Bollman
Fired

Rob Ianello
:Texas_A&M:
Offensive Coordinator
Texas A&M (Air Raid) \ 4-3

:Colorado:
Head Coach
Dan Enos
Fired

Jim Bollman
:Minnesota:
Head Coach
Ohio State (Spread) \ 4-3

:Miami_OH:
Head Coach
Dave Steckel
Fired

Ruffin McNeil
:Ohio:
Defensive Coordinator
Ohio (Pistol) \ 4-3

:Louisiana:
Head Coach
Steve Brown
Left for LSU HC job

Matt Canada
:Louisiana:
Offensive Coordinator
UL Lafayette (Spread) \ 4-3

:Western_Kentucky:
Head Coach
Mark Stoops
Left for Fresno State HC job

Charlie Taaffe
:UCF:
Offensive Coordinator
UCF (Multiple) \ 4-3

:Purdue:
Head Coach
Kevin Sumlin
Fired

Todd Bradford
:Washington:
Offensive Coordinator
Washington (Pro) \ 4-2-5

:Iowa_State:
Head Coach
Scott Shafer
Fired

Chuck Heater
:San_Jose_State:
Head Coach
San Jose State (Pro) \ 4-3

:SMU:
Head Coach
Hugh Freeze
Fired

Mark D'Onofrio
:Miami:
Defensive Coordinator
Miami (Pro) \ 4-3

:San_Jose_State:
Head Coach
Chuck Heater
Left for Iowa State HC job

Gary Nord
:UCLA:
Offensive Coordinator
UCLA (Spread) \ 3-4

:Miami:
Defensive Coordinator
Mark D'Onofrio
Left for SMU HC job

Tyrone Williams Anderson
:Western_Kentucky:
Defensive Coordinator
4-3

:Wyoming:
Head Coach
Kurt Roper Parks
Fired

Steve Kragthorpe
:LSU:
Head Coach
LSU (Pro) \ 4-3

:Ohio_State:
Offensive Coordinator
Dan Mullin
Left for UCF HC job

Kirby Smart
:Georgia:
Head Coach
Georgia (Pro)

:Ohio_State:
Defensive Coordinator
Gary Emanuel
Left for Marshall HC job

Nick Howell
:Arkansas_State:
Defensive Coordinator
4-3

:Oklahoma:
Offensive Coordinator
Josh Heupel
Left for Rutgers HC job

Howard Schnellenberger
:Arkansas:
Head Coach
FIU (Multiple)

:USC:
Offensive Coordinator
Brent Pease
Left for Kentucky HC job

Bob Toledo
:Stanford:
Offensive Coordinator
Stanford (Pro)

:Texas_A&M:
Offensive Coordinator
Rob Ianello
Left for Minnesota HC job

Bill Lazor
:Nevada:
Offensive Coordinator
Nevada (Pistol)

:Washington:
Offensive Coordinator
Todd Bradford
Left for Purdue HC job

Butch Jones
:Army:
Offensive Coordinator
Army (Option)

:LSU:
Offensive Coordinator
David Shaw
Fired

Blake Whitaker
None
None
Ole Miss (Spread)

:Stanford:
Offensive Coordinator
Bob Toledo
Left for USC OC job

Mike Shultz
:East_Carolina:
Offensive Coordinator
ECU (Air Raid)

:UCLA:
Offensive Coordinator
Gary Nord
Left for San Jose State HC job

Dave Steckel
:Miami_OH:
Head Coach
Miami University (One Back)

:UTSA:
Head Coach
Kevin Brown
Retired at age 65

Bret Bielema
:Wisconsin:
Head Coach
Wisconsin (Pro) \ 3-4

:Missouri:
Defensive Coordinator
Marcus Riley
Fired

Mark Banker
:Oregon_State:
Defensive Coordinator
4-3

:Oregon_State:
Defensive Coordinator
Mark Banker
Left for Missouri DC job

Darrell Hazell
:Kent_State:
Head Coach
4-3

:UNLV:
Head Coach
Doug Marrone
Fired

Ray Humphrey
None
None
Southern Miss (Air Raid) \ 4-3

:Wisconsin:
Defensive Coordinator
Pat Fitzgerald
Fired

Chris Thomas
None
None
4-2-5

:UCF:
Offensive Coordinator
Charlie Taaffe
Left for Western Kentucky HC job

Kevin Sumlin
:Purdue:
Head Coach
Purdue (Pro)

:Iowa:
Offensive Coordinator
Steve Sarkisian
Retired at age 69

Dan Enos
:Colorado:
Head Coach
Colorado (Multiple)

:Oklahoma_State:
Defensive Coordinator
Bob Diaco
Retired at age 65

Pete Rekstis
:Houston:
Defensive Coordinator
3-4

:Kansas_State:
Defensive Coordinator
Steve Stanard
Retired at age 69

Scott Shafer
:Iowa_State:
Head Coach
4-3

:Arkansas:
Offensive Coordinator
Steve Fairchild
Fired

Charlie Benson
None
None
Nevada (Pistol)

:Arkansas:
Defensive Coordinator
Norm Chow
Fired

Josh Koch
:Indiana:
Defensive Coordinator
4-3

:Army:
Offensive Coordinator
Butch Jones
Left for Washington OC job

Hugh Freeze
:SMU:
Head Coach
SMU (Run and Shoot)

:BC:
Offensive Coordinator
Dave Clawson
Fired

Todd Fitch
:Rice:
Offensive Coordinator
Rice (Spread)

:Houston:
Defensive Coordinator
Pete Rekstis
Left for Oklahoma State DC job

Derek Mason
:Rutgers:
Head Coach
4-3

:Ohio:
Defensive Coordinator
Ruffin McNeil
Left for Miami University HC job

Troy Reffett
:UL_Monroe:
Defensive Coordinator
3-3-5

:Western_Kentucky:
Defensive Coordinator
Tyrone Williams Anderson
Left for Miami (FL) DC job

Ryan Glover
None
None
4-3

:Arkansas_State:
Defensive Coordinator
Nick Howell
Left for Ohio State DC job

Keon Edwards
None
None
3-4

:Colorado:
Offensive Coordinator
George O'Leary
Fired

Kurt Roper Parks
:Wyoming:
Head Coach
Wyoming (Spread)

:Colorado:
Defensive Coordinator
Lamar Gaines
Fired

Dustin Hamilton
:Kansas:
Defensive Coordinator
3-4

:Indiana:
Defensive Coordinator
Josh Koch
Left for Arkansas DC job

Kevin Pierce
None
None
4-3

:Kansas:
Defensive Coordinator
Dustin Hamilton
Left for Colorado DC job

David Hayford
None
None
4-3

:Kent_State:
Head Coach
Darrell Hazell
Fired

Joker Phillips
:Louisiana_Tech:
Offensive Coordinator
Louisiana Tech (Spread) \ 4-3

:Louisiana_Tech:
Offensive Coordinator
Joker Phillips
Left for Kent State HC job

Caleb Thomas
None
None
BYU (Air Raid)

:Miami_OH:
Offensive Coordinator
Ralph Brewer
Fired

David Shaw
:LSU:
Offensive Coordinator
LSU (Pro)

:Miami_OH:
Defensive Coordinator
Ron Zook
Fired

Doug Marrone
:UNLV:
Head Coach
4-3

:Minnesota:
Offensive Coordinator
John Pennington
Fired

David Lee
:Wake_Forest:
Offensive Coordinator
Wake Forest (Spread)

:Minnesota:
Defensive Coordinator
Jimmy Burrow
Fired

Pat Fitzgerald
:Wisconsin:
Defensive Coordinator
3-4

:Nevada:
Offensive Coordinator
Bill Lazor
Left for Texas A&M OC job

Matt Limegrover
:Rutgers:
Offensive Coordinator
Rutgers (Pro)

:Wake_Forest:
Offensive Coordinator
David Lee
Left for Minnesota OC job

Dave Clawson
:BC:
Offensive Coordinator
Boston College (Multiple)

:Rutgers:
Offensive Coordinator
Matt Limegrover
Fired

Todd Berry
:UTSA:
Offensive Coordinator
UTSA (Multiple)

:Rutgers:
Defensive Coordinator
Kerry Lowe
Fired

Marcus Riley
:Missouri:
Defensive Coordinator
4-3

:Louisiana:
Offensive Coordinator
Matt Canada
Left for Louisiana-Lafayette HC job

Rob Phenicie
:Kent_State:
Offensive Coordinator
Kent State (Multiple)

:Wyoming:
Offensive Coordinator
Steve Axman
Retired at age 65

John Pennington
:Minnesota:
Offensive Coordinator
Minnesota (Multiple)

:Wyoming:
Defensive Coordinator
Dan Brown
Retired at age 66

Kerry Lowe
:Rutgers:
Defensive Coordinator
4-3

:Iowa_State:
Defensive Coordinator
Mark Helfrich
Retired at age 66

Neal Neathery
:UTSA:
Defensive Coordinator
4-3

:San_Jose_State:
Defensive Coordinator
Anton Hagen
Retired at age 68

Jim Moore
:Kent_State:
Defensive Coordinator
4-3

:Iowa_State:
Offensive Coordinator
Gary Pinkel
Fired

George O'Leary
:Colorado:
Offensive Coordinator
Colorado (Multiple)

:Rice:
Offensive Coordinator
Todd Fitch
Left for Boston College OC job

Nick Rolovich
:SMU:
Offensive Coordinator
SMU (Run and Shoot)

:UL_Monroe:
Defensive Coordinator
Troy Reffett
Left for Ohio University DC job

Jon Heacock
:SMU:
Defensive Coordinator
3-4

:East_Carolina:
Offensive Coordinator
Mike Schultz
Left for Stanford OC job

Ralph Brewer
:Miami_OH:
Offensive Coordinator
Miami University (One Back)

:SMU:
Offensive Coordinator
Nick Rolovich
Fired

Steve Fairchild
:Arkansas:
Offensive Coordinator
Colorado State (One Back)

:SMU:
Defensive Coordinator
Jon Heacock
Fired

Ron Zook
:Miami_OH:
Defensive Coordinator
Multiple D

:Kent_State:
Offensive Coordinator
Rob Phenicie
Fired

Gary Pinkel
:Iowa_State:
Offensive Coordinator
Iowa State (Spread)

:Kent_State:
Defensive Coordinator
Jim Moore
Fired

Norm Chow
:Arkansas:
Defensive Coordinator
4-3

:Old_Dominion:
Defensive Coordinator
Rich Nagy
Fired

Jimmy Burrow
:Minnesota:
Defensive Coordinator
4-3

:UTSA:
Offensive Coordinator
Todd Berry
Fired

Frank Cignetti
:Memphis:
Offensive Coordinator
Memphis (Spread)

:UTSA:
Defensive Coordinator
Neal Neathery
Fired

Rich Nagy
:Old_Dominion:
Defensive Coordinator
4-3

:UNLV:
Offensive Coordinator
Dana Holgorsen
Fired

Josh Silva
None
None
Kansas State (Multiple)

:UNLV:
Defensive Coordinator
Brian Stewart
Fired

Lamar Gaines
:Colorado:
Defensive Coordinator
4-3

:Memphis:
Offensive Coordinator
Frank Cignetti
Fired

Dana Holgorsen
:UNLV:
Offensive Coordinator
UNLV (Spread)

Jobs I Was in the Running For

Team
Position
Candidate Rank
Offered Job

:Iowa_State:
Head Coach
1st
No

:SMU:
Head Coach
1st
No

:San_Jose_State:
Head Coach
2nd
No

:Wyoming:
Head Coach
2nd
Yes

:Ohio_State:
Offensive Coordinator
2nd
Yes

:Oklahoma:
Offensive Coordinator
3rd
Yes

:USC:
Offensive Coordinator
4th
Yes

:Texas_A&M:
Offensive Coordinator
2nd
Yes

:Washington:
Offensive Coordinator
2nd
Yes

:LSU:
Offensive Coordinator
2nd
Yes

:Stanford:
Offensive Coordinator
1st
Yes

:UCLA:
Offensive Coordinator
2nd
Yes

:UTSA:
Head Coach
2nd
Yes

:UNLV:
Head Coach
2nd
Yes

:UCF:
Offensive Coordinator
1st
Yes

:Iowa:
Offensive Coordinator
3rd
Yes

:Arkansas:
Offensive Coordinator
2nd
Yes

:Army:
Offensive Coordinator
2nd
Yes

:BC:
Offensive Coordinator
4th
Yes

:Colorado:
Offensive Coordinator
4th
Yes

:Kent_State:
Head Coach
1st
Yes

:Louisiana_Tech:
Offensive Coordinator
2nd
Yes

:Miami_OH:
Offensive Coordinator
1st
Yes

:Minnesota:
Offensive Coordinator
2nd
Yes

:Nevada:
Offensive Coordinator
4th
Yes

:Wake_Forest:
Offensive Coordinator
2nd
Yes

:Rutgers:
Offensive Coordinator
2nd
Yes

:Louisiana:
Offensive Coordinator
3rd
Yes

:Wyoming:
Offensive Coordinator
3rd
Yes

:Iowa_State:
Offensive Coordinator
3rd
Yes

:Rice:
Offensive Coordinator
2nd
Yes

:East_Carolina:
Offensive Coordinator
2nd
Yes

:SMU:
Offensive Coordinator
2nd
Yes

:Kent_State:
Offensive Coordinator
3rd
Yes

:UTSA:
Offensive Coordinator
1st
Yes

:UNLV:
Offensive Coordinator
1st
Yes

:Memphis:
Offensive Coordinator
1st
Yes

Notes of Interest

Multiple teams saw their entire coaching staffs shaken up, as the entire staffs are replaced at Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa State, Kent State, Miami University, Minnesota, Rutgers, SMU, UNLV, UTSA and Wyoming.

Despite only going 4-8 this year, I saw a lot of offers come my way, primarily for offensive coordinator positions, and at schools not necessarily coming off great seasons. The OC offers at Ohio State, USC, Washington, LSU, Oklahoma and UCLA were VERY tempting.

It's tough to be the king, as successful seasons saw Ohio State lose both of their offensive coordinators to head coach jobs in the American Athletic Conference and Conference USA, while Louisiana-Lafayette's head coach hit the road for the head coach position at LSU.

SmoothPancakes

12-16-2013, 01:54 AM

2021-22 Off-Season

Players Leaving

Player
Position
Overall
Year
Reason
Overall of Next Player

Kevin Moore
CB
90
Senior (RS)
Graduation
78

Kevin Tolbert
RE
89
Senior (RS)
Graduation
73

Preston Roberson
HB
89
Senior (RS)
Graduation
80

Al Washington
LOLB
84
Senior (RS)
Graduation
77

Adam Grant
DT
81
Senior (RS)
Graduation
78

Sam Vinson
SS
80
Senior (RS)
Graduation
76

Travis Munoz
WR
80
Senior (RS)
Graduation
83

Ryan Conley
WR
76
Senior (RS)
Graduation
83

Dante May
HB
76
Senior (RS)
Graduation
80

Adam Jefferson
C
75
Senior (RS)
Graduation
70

Arthur Lee
ROLB
75
Senior (RS)
Graduation
81

Jason Oliver
RG
74
Senior (RS)
Graduation
---

Brian Johnson
LG
73
Senior (RS)
Graduation
73

Jeremy Thurman
CB
72
Senior (RS)
Graduation
78

Maurice Martin
TE
71
Senior (RS)
Graduation
68

Craig Cruz
CB
69
Freshman
Transfer
78

Freddie Wilson
LE
66
Senior (RS)
Graduation
77

NFL Draft

Player
Position
Overall
Year
Projected Round
Drafted Round

Kevin Moore
CB
90
Senior (RS)
4th
4th

Kevin Tolbert
RE
89
Senior (RS)
7th
7th

Transfer Requests

Player
Position
Transferring From
Transferring To
Year
Overall
Reason
Admitted/Denied

Craig Cruz
CB
Utah State
Temple
Freshman
69
Playing Time
---

2020 Utah State Recruiting Class

Player
Position
Position Rank
Tendency
Star Ranking
:sparq:
Overall
+/-
Notes

Adam Washington
WR
#6
Possession
:5star:
76.00
79
+2

Tyson Taylor
HB
#29
Speed
:3star:
69.00
70
+3

Randy Thomas
C
#13
Balanced
:4star:
66.00
70
-3

Joshua Porter
MLB
#48
Coverage
:3star:
64.00
70
+3

Benjamin Silva
HB
#67
Speed
:3star:
69.00
68
+3

Raymond Watson
FB
#13
Blocking
:2star:
60.00
68
-4

T.J. Bell
G
#109
Balanced
:2star:
50.00
68
+1

Steve Jones
DE
#110
Pass Rusher
:3star:
63.00
68
+3

Allen Salyer
FS
#14
Balanced
:3star:
67.00
68
-1

Tristan Muhammad
WR
#96
Possession
:3star:
67.00
67
+1

Steve Simpson
DE
#145
Run Stopper
:3star:
63.00
67
+4

Lance Nash
DT
#56
Balanced
:3star:
57.00
67
+1

Freddie Arnold
P
#19
Accurate
:2star:
50.00
67
---

Zack Coleman
HB
#42
Power
:3star:
69.00
66
---

Trent Allen
WR
#56
Speed
:4star:
76.00
66
-3

Seth Dawson
WR
#104
Possession
:3star:
67.00
66
---

Xavier Simmons
DT
#31
Run Stopper
:3star:
57.00
66
-1

Leroy Phillips
WR
#52
Balanced
:3star:
69.00
65
-3

Steve Sanders
G
#82
Pass Block
:3star:
57.00
63
-2

Dwayne Thompson
SS
#40
Balanced
:3star:
67.00
63
-2

Recruiting Class Rank

Rank: 19

Position Changes

Player
Position
Overall
New Position
Overall

Joshua Porter
MLB
70
LOLB
70

Derrick Perez
MLB
71
ROLB
69

Training Results

Highest Overall Player - Adam Powers - QB - 96 OVR (+4)
Largest Training Increase - Ryan Smith - QB - 78 OVR (+7)

Cut Players

Player
Position
Depth Chart Rank
Year
Overall

Darrell Archie
FB
3rd
Sophomore
55

Seth Dawson
WR
6th
Freshman
66

Leroy Phillips
WR
6th
Freshman
65

Conference Changes

Team

Old Conference
New Conference

---

---
---

BCS Bowl Tie Ins

Slots
Conference
Bowl

Automatic Qualifier
:ACC:
Orange Bowl

Automatic Qualifier
:AAC:
Any Bowl

Automatic Qualifier
:Big_Ten:
Rose Bowl

Automatic Qualifier
:Big_12:
Fiesta Bowl

Automatic Qualifier
:Mountain_West:
Any Bowl

Automatic Qualifier
:Pac_12:
Rose Bowl

Automatic Qualifier
:SEC:
Sugar Bowl

Open Slot
At Large
Any Bowl

SmoothPancakes

12-16-2013, 03:13 AM

Utah State Inks Series with Miami University, Michigan

By Staff Reports on June 16, 2022, at 6:25 AM

LOGAN — As the summer heats up and football practices begin, the coaches and players of Utah State found out just exactly who they'd be playing this upcoming season, as the final pieces of the 2022 schedule were put together, with Utah State agreeing to a home and home series with Miami University, while signing an agreement with Michigan for a "two for one" series, with Michigan hosting two games at The Big House, while playing a third game at a neutral site.

With the new additions to the future schedule, Miami University will visit Utah State in 2022, with the Aggies visiting Oxford, Ohio in 2023. Utah State will travel to Michigan in 2022 and 2023, wrapping up the three game slate in 2024 with a neutral site game at a location to be determined at a future date.

The Utah State athletic department also announced extensions to the annual Beehive Boot series with both BYU and Utah, extending both of those series through the 2027 season.

The new series with Michigan extends the list of highly competitive non-conference opponents on the future schedules of the Aggies, that have seen Utah State in recent years play the likes of Auburn, BYU, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas A&M, Tulsa, USC, Utah and Wisconsin.

With the addition of Miami University and Michigan, Utah State has filled out their 2022 and 2023 non-conference schedules and set the groundwork for the 2024 season. Listed below are the upcoming and future non-conference schedules for Utah State:

2022
at Utah
at Michigan
BYU
Miami University

2023
Utah
at Michigan
at BYU
at Miami University

2024
at Utah
Michigan (at neutral site)
BYU

2025
Utah
at BYU

2026
at Utah
BYU

2027
Utah
at BYU

SmoothPancakes

12-16-2013, 03:16 AM

2022 Utah State Football Schedule

Week
Home/Away
Team
Result
Score
Record
Game Notes

1
Away
:Utah:
Win
17-15 (http://www.thegamingtailgate.com/forums/showthread.php?2857-Smooth-Pancakes-Coaching-Carousel-Career&p=229334&viewfull=1#post229334)
1-0
Season Opener
Battle of the Brothers
Beehive Boot

2
---
Bye Week
---
---
---

3
Away
#9 :Michigan:
Loss
28-49 (http://www.thegamingtailgate.com/forums/showthread.php?2857-Smooth-Pancakes-Coaching-Carousel-Career&p=229395&viewfull=1#post229395)
1-1

4
---
Bye Week
---
---
---

5
Home
:BYU:
Win
33-10 (http://www.thegamingtailgate.com/forums/showthread.php?2857-Smooth-Pancakes-Coaching-Carousel-Career&p=229466&viewfull=1#post229466)
2-1
Home Opener
The Old Wagon Wheel
Beehive Boot

6
Away
:Nevada:
Win
21-3 (http://www.thegamingtailgate.com/forums/showthread.php?2857-Smooth-Pancakes-Coaching-Carousel-Career&p=231617&viewfull=1#post231617)
3-1 (1-0)
Conference Opener

7
Home
:Fresno_State:
Win
35-25 (http://www.thegamingtailgate.com/forums/showthread.php?2857-Smooth-Pancakes-Coaching-Carousel-Career&p=236398&viewfull=1#post236398)
4-1 (2-0)

8
Away
:New_Mexico:
Loss
17-21 (http://www.thegamingtailgate.com/forums/showthread.php?2857-Smooth-Pancakes-Coaching-Carousel-Career&p=236624&viewfull=1#post236624)
4-2 (2-1)

9
Home
:Colorado_State:
Win
52-0 (http://www.thegamingtailgate.com/forums/showthread.php?2857-Smooth-Pancakes-Coaching-Carousel-Career&p=236740&viewfull=1#post236740)
5-2 (3-1)
Homecoming

10
Away
:Boise_State:
Win
31-28 (http://www.thegamingtailgate.com/forums/showthread.php?2857-Smooth-Pancakes-Coaching-Carousel-Career&p=236892&viewfull=1#post236892)
6-2 (4-1)

11
Home
:Air_Force:
Win
24-7 (http://www.thegamingtailgate.com/forums/showthread.php?2857-Smooth-Pancakes-Coaching-Carousel-Career&p=1734958988&viewfull=1#post1734958988)
7-2 (5-1)

12
Home
:Miami_OH:
Win
38-14 (http://www.thegamingtailgate.com/forums/showthread.php?2857-Smooth-Pancakes-Coaching-Carousel-Career&p=1734959229&viewfull=1#post1734959229)
8-2 (5-1)

13
Away
:UNLV:
Win
34-7 (http://www.thegamingtailgate.com/forums/showthread.php?2857-Smooth-Pancakes-Coaching-Carousel-Career&p=1734959686&viewfull=1#post1734959686)
9-2 (6-1)

14
Home
:Wyoming:
Win
24-7 (http://www.thegamingtailgate.com/forums/showthread.php?2857-Smooth-Pancakes-Coaching-Carousel-Career&p=1734959730&viewfull=1#post1734959730)
10-2 (7-1)
Senior Night
Bridger's Battle

15
---
Bye Week
---
---
---

CCG
:Mountain_West:
Bye Week
---
---
---
Mountain West Championship Game

Bowl Game
:Las_Vegas_Bowl:
:Washington:
Win
19-13 (http://www.thegamingtailgate.com/forums/showthread.php?2857-Smooth-Pancakes-Coaching-Carousel-Career&p=1734959897&viewfull=1#post1734959897)
11-2 (7-1)
Las Vegas Bowl

--- The scores are hyperlinks to the posted game report of that game. Just click on the score/link to be taken to that game's posted report.

SmoothPancakes

12-16-2013, 03:20 AM

Utah State Three Year HC Contract Goals - Year Three

Goal
Expectations
Progress

Target Wins Per Season
7
11

Job Security Status

100%

--- Contract goal numbers and job security updated through Season 12, End of Season.

SmoothPancakes

12-16-2013, 03:21 AM

The following players have been redshirted for the 2022 season.

2022 Redshirt Players

Player
Position
Depth Chart Rank
Year
Overall

Brian Paris
HB
1st
Senior
85

David Douglas
WR
2nd
Senior
82

Aaron Allen
WR
3rd
Senior
73

Kevin Thomas
LG
2nd
Sophomore
68

Justin Wallace
RT
2nd
Sophomore
75

Steve Jones
LE
2nd
Freshman
68

Scott Flanagan
DT
2nd
Junior
71

Joshua Porter
LOLB
3rd
Freshman
70

Johnny Sullivan
MLB
3rd
Sophomore
76

Jason Baker
ROLB
3rd
Sophomore
73

Jesse Breedlove
CB
2nd
Sophomore
78

Kyle Mitchell
FS
2nd
Sophomore
71

Dwayne Thompson
SS
2nd
Freshman
63

Ed Allen
P
1st
Senior
82

SmoothPancakes

12-16-2013, 03:50 AM

2022 Preseason Top 25

Rank
Team
2021 Record
Overall
Offense
Defense
Special Teams

1
:Ohio_State:
14-0
A+ (97)
A+ (97)
A (95)
C-

2
:Alabama:
10-3
A+ (99)
A+ (99)
A+ (97)
A

3
:Texas_A&M:
12-2
A+ (97)
A+ (99)
A- (92)
A+

4
:USC:
11-2
A (95)
A+ (99)
A- (92)
A

5
:Miami:
12-2
A+ (97)
A+ (97)
A+ (97)
A+

6
:Oklahoma:
12-1
A- (93)
A+ (99)
B+ (90)
C+

7
:Michigan_State:
9-4
B+ (91)
A (95)
B+ (90)
C

8
:Notre_Dame:
9-4
A+ (97)
A (95)
A+ (97)
D

9
:Michigan:
10-3
A (95)
A+ (97)
A- (92)
D-

10
:Texas:
10-3
A+ (99)
A+ (99)
A (95)
B-

11
:South_Carolina:
9-4
A- (93)
A (95)
A- (93)
B-

12
:Stanford:
8-5
A (95)
A+ (99)
A- (92)
C-

13
:UCLA:
12-2
A (95)
A+ (97)
A- (93)
B-

14
:Florida_State:
8-5
A+ (97)
A (95)
A+ (99)
B-

15
:Georgia_Tech:
10-3
B+ (91)
B+ (91)
A- (92)
A-

16
:Florida:
9-4
A- (93)
A- (93)
A (95)
B+

17
:Louisville:
10-4
B+ (88)
B+ (90)
B (87)
C

18
:Clemson:
8-5
A- (93)
A (95)
A- (92)
B+

19
:UCF:
12-2
B (84)
B (86)
B- (82)
C

20
:Washington:
9-5
B+ (91)
B+ (90)
A- (93)
A+

21
:Auburn:
9-4
B+ (91)
B+ (91)
B+ (90)
C-

22
:Virginia_Tech:
8-5
A- (93)
A (95)
A- (93)
A-

23
:Oregon_State:
8-5
B (86)
B+ (91)
B- (82)
D-

24
:Nebraska:
7-6
A- (93)
A (95)
A- (93)
A

25
:Virginia:
7-6
B+ (88)
B+ (90)
B (87)
B+

Mountain West Teams and 2022 Opponents

Rank
Team
2021 Record
Overall
Offense
Defense
Special Teams

9
:Michigan:
10-3
A (95)
A+ (97)
A- (92)
D-

36
:San_Diego_State:
10-3
B (86)
B+ (90)
B- (83)
B

37
:BYU:
7-6
B- (83)
B- (83)
B- (82)
D-

43
:Utah:
6-7
B (86)
B+ (88)
B (85)
B+

54
:Fresno_State:
9-5
B (84)
B+ (88)
B- (82)
A

61
:Nevada:
8-5
B- (83)
B (84)
B- (82)
C+

63
:Air_Force:
9-5
C (75)
C+ (77)
C (75)
C

65
:Hawaii:
5-7
C+ (79)
C+ (79)
C+ (76)
C

84
:Boise_State:
5-7
B (86)
B+ (90)
B- (83)
B

89
:Utah_State:
4-8
B (84)
B (84)
B- (83)
D

90
:San_Jose_State:
7-6
C+ (77)
B- (81)
C (75)
C

95
:Colorado_State:
5-7
B- (81)
B- (81)
B- (82)
D

110
:Miami_OH:
2-10
C+ (77)
C+ (77)
C+ (78)
D-

112
:Wyoming:
1-11
C (75)
C (74)
C+ (78)
D+

114
:New_Mexico:
4-8
C (74)
C+ (77)
C (73)
D-

121
:UNLV:
0-12
C (74)
C (77)
C- (71)
C

"For Our Readers" Teams

Rank
Team
2021 Record
Overall
Offense
Defense
Special Teams

1
:Ohio_State:
14-0
A+ (97)
A+ (97)
A (95)
C-

11
:South_Carolina:
9-4
A- (93)
A (95)
A- (93)
B-

21
:Auburn:
9-4
B+ (91)
B+ (91)
B+ (90)
C-

44
:Arizona_State:
7-6
A- (93)
A (95)
B+ (90)
C-

53
:Arkansas_State:
9-4
B- (83)
B (86)
B- (80)
B-

56
:West_Virginia:
6-7
A- (93)
A- (93)
A- (93)
C

78
:Tulsa:
6-6
B- (81)
B (84)
C+ (78)
C

79
:Navy:
6-6
B- (83)
B (84)
B- (82)
C+

86
:FIU:
5-7
B (84)
B (86)
B- (83)
B-

102
:Southern_Miss:
7-6
C+ (77)
B- (81)
C (75)
C+

SmoothPancakes

12-16-2013, 04:20 AM

2022 Utah State Two Deep Roster

Offense

Position
Rank
Name
Year
Overall

QB
1
Adam Powers
Senior (RS)
96

QB
2
Jason Barnes
Junior (RS)
91

HB
1
Matt Leierer
Senior (RS)
76

HB
2
Tyson Taylor
Freshman
70

FB
1
Walter Johnson
Sophomore
68

FB
2
Raymond Watson
Freshman
68

WR
1
Eric McGuire
Senior (RS)
87

WR
2
Dre Martin
Senior (RS)
83

WR
3
Max Rhodes
Senior (RS)
82

WR
4
Adam Washington
Freshman
79

WR
5
Greg Miller
Junior
72

TE
1
Jack Long
Junior (RS)
73

TE
2
Cedric McKinney
Senior (RS)
71

LT
1
Derek Smith
Junior (RS)
80

LT
2
Sean Baker
Junior (RS)
76

LG
1
Tim Peterson
Senior (RS)
79

LG
2
Steve Sanders
Freshman
63

C
1
Randy Thomas
Freshman
70

C
2
Paul Rodgers
Freshman (RS)
69

RG
1
Shelton Woods
Freshman (RS)
81

RG
2
T.J. Bell
Sophomore
68

RT
1
Jake Lee
Senior (RS)
79

RT
2
---
---
---

Defense

Position
Rank
Name
Year
Overall

LE
1
Caleb McBride
Senior (RS)
81

LE
2
---
---
---

RE
1
Shaun Peterson
Sophomore
78

RE
2
Leroy Fuqua
Junior (RS)
72

DT
1
Ernest Sims
Senior (RS)
84

DT
2
Lance Nash
Freshman
67

DT
3
Xavier Simmons
Freshman
66

DT
4
Drew Tripplett
Sophomore
65

LOLB
1
Perry Johnson
Senior (RS)
81

LOLB
2
John Hale
Junior (RS)
75

MLB
1
Justin Dunn
Sophomore
81

MLB
2
Sean Edwards
Senior (RS)
80

ROLB
1
Casey Hunter
Senior (RS)
86

ROLB
2
Derrick Perez
Sophomore
74

CB
1
Leonard hart
Sophomore
82

CB
2
Buck Castillo
Senior (RS)
78

CB
3
Mike Moses
Junior (RS)
78

CB
4
Lawrence Coker
Junior (RS)
69

FS
1
Charles Noble
Senior (RS)
78

FS
2
Allen Salyet
Freshman
68

SS
1
Sam Richwalski
Senior (RS)
81

SS
2
---
---
---

K
1
Doug Marcus
Sophomore
76

K
2
Freddie Arnold
Freshman
66

P
1
Freddie Arnold
Freshman
66

P
2
Doug Marcus
Sophomore
76

KR
1
Eric McGuire
Senior (RS)
99

KR
2
Leonard Hart
Sophomore
91

PR
1
Eric McGuire
Senior (RS)
99

PR
2
Leonard Hart
Sophomore
91

SmoothPancakes

12-16-2013, 04:28 AM

Alright, that should do it for all the preseason stuff. Looking over my schedule, it will be another challenging year, especially with the addition of #9 Michigan.

Running down the list of games and the expectations, based on the preseason rankings as well as team ratings:

at Utah - Toss-up leaning toward a loss
at Michigan - Loss
BYU - Toss-up
at Nevada - Toss-up
Fresno State - Toss-up leaning toward a loss
at New Mexico - Win
Colorado State - Toss-up
at Boise State - Toss-up leaning toward a loss
Air Force - Toss-up leaning toward a win
Miami U - Win
at UNLV - Win
Wyoming - Win

Based on those expectation and predictions, I'm looking at 4 games I should expect to win (5 if I include the toss-up leaning towards a win against Air Force). There is really technically only one game I should expect to lose, that being the road trip to Michigan. However, there are also four games that are a toss-up, leaning towards a loss. And then there are three games that are a true toss-up that could go either way.

So logically, I'm looking at a potential record somewhere between 8-4 and 4-8 this season. Of course, this is NCAA Football, and all logic gets hanged, shot, drawn, quartered and thrown out the window the second you fire up any given game, so I very well likely could go anywhere from 14-0 to 0-12. :D :fp:

Also, three new teams on the schedule this year, as Coach Ramius, for the first time, faces Michigan, Nevada and Miami University. With those three game, Ramius has now played 58 different teams across the FBS landscape. That puts him just over 46% of all teams in the NCAA that he has coached against at least once thus far.

jaymo76

12-23-2013, 09:54 PM

FYI Air Force is a tough team in my dynasty. The games are usually ultra-competitive.

SmoothPancakes

12-24-2013, 09:18 AM

FYI Air Force is a tough team in my dynasty. The games are usually ultra-competitive.

That's why I have them as a toss-up. :D Comparing my team to their team in regards to ratings, I should have an edge, but they are a tough pain in the ass to play, so it's gonna be a battle either way.

I'm hoping to get the new season kicked off later this week. I was busy as hell last week. HS basketball broadcasts, I was filling in on the afternoon air shift on our country station, I had a bunch of stuff going on at home, so I never got any games played. The only thing I did all week in regards to my Xbox One or 360 was firing up Netflix a couple times throughout the week.

Not sure, doubt, I'll get any games played today or tomorrow (for obvious reasons). Not sure if I'll get the chance on Thursday either, since I'll be going into work on Thursday to work on weekend shows and church programs, getting them ready to go for Saturday and Sunday. Friday may be my best bet. I don't have basketball Friday, essentially, I don't have anything to do on Friday. Only thing this entire weekend is my Saturday morning air shift and then basketball at 6pm Saturday night. Other than that, my entire Friday, Saturday and Sunday will be free. So other than watching college football bowl games, I should be able to get some games in.

SmoothPancakes

01-01-2014, 01:06 PM

One thing I just realized as I type up my intro to the Utah game, I think we are going to be a very pass heavy team this year. :fp:

Halfbacks Preston Roberson (1st string last year) and Dante May (3rd string last year) both graduated. Brian Paris (2nd string last year) is sitting out this season as a redshirt. So that leaves senior Matt Leierer as my 1st string halfback this year, who has run the ball a grand total of twice in my three years at Utah State. After him, it's all true freshmen. True freshman Tyson Taylor as backup, true freshman Benjamin Silva as my 3rd stringer and true freshman Zack Coleman as my 4th stringer. :fp:

SmoothPancakes

01-01-2014, 06:06 PM

Game One

:Utah_State: :@: :Utah:

Game Story

--- The wait was over, no more practices, no more two-a-days, no more sweating away in the August heat. The start of another season had arrived, and with it, we jumped right into the fire in our first game with hatred renewed, as we headed down the highway to take on the Utes of Utah for the Battle of the Brothers, with both teams looking to get a leg up in the tri-battle for the Beehive Boot with BYU. Despite being on the road, and despite coming off a very poor season last year, we had some confidence heading into this contest, as we were much more evenly matched with Utah this time around.

We had a quite respectably ranked defense this year, and our offense was going to be back to almost full speed, with senior Adam Powers back under center to lead our offensive attack after sitting out last year with a redshirt. While we lost some talented receivers in Travis Munoz and Ryan Conley, as well as tight end Maurice Martin, to go along with some hits to the offensive line, we were able to fill the holes with the return of some players who sat out with redshirts last season, including receivers Eric McGuire and Dre Martin. The biggest question mark would be our running game. Losing star halfback Preston Roberson to graduation was going to be a tough hole to fill. That hole was made even tougher to fill with the loss of third-stringer Dante May to graduation, as well as second-stringer Brian Paris being sidelined this year with a redshirt. That would leave senior Matt Leierer, who has rushed the ball a grand total of two times in his entire collegiate career, as our starting halfback, true freshman Tyson Taylor as our backup halfback and true freshman Benjamin Silva filling in as third-string halfback. Utah won the coin toss and elected to kick.

A 30 yard kickoff return by Leonard Hart gave us the ball at our 29 yard line to start the season. Starting the drive on the ground, Matt Leierer took the handoff from Adam Powers for a four yard rush, followed by a four yard gain to leave us looking at third and two. Leaving the ball in the hands of Leierer, he would get the job done with a three yard rush to pick up the first down at the 40 yard line. A first down dive by Tyson Taylor from the wingback slot went for a big gain of 8 yards, before a two yard rush by Leierer left us just short of the first down, lining up on third and inches. Powers would do the honors himself, taking the snap and pushing forward for a one yard rush, moving the chains to the Utah 49 yard line. Another wingback dive, this time by Leierer, went for a gain of 12 yards and another quick first down at the 36. Going into the air on first down, Powers dropped back and rifled a pass to Dre Martin, complete for a 14 yard gain and a new set of downs at the 22. Another first down pass, this time intended for Eric McGuire, was nearly intercepted, leaving second and 10. Lining up under center, Powers dropped back and hit tight end Cedric McKinney over the middle for a 15 yard gain, setting us up with first and goal from the 7 yard line. A first down rush by Leierer resulted in a three yard gain, followed by a four yard rush that left us with third and goal just inches from the goal line. It would not be meant to be, as Leierer was met at the line of scrimmage and stood up for no gain, leaving fourth and goal just outside the goal line. Taking the gamble and going for it on fourth down, potentially setting up a rhythm for this season, we would fail to gain even 6 inches, as the fourth down QB sneak by Powers ended in failure, Utah’s defense stopping us twice from inside the one yard line to force the turnover on downs and take over at the one.

Lining up in their own end zone after the turnover on downs, Utah came out running on first down, as Jason McNeil kept the ball on first down for a two yard gain, giving the Utes a little bit of breathing room. That trickle would turn into a waterfall as Michael Chavez took the second down handoff straight up the middle for a 55 yard gain, torching our defense to a first down at our 42 yard line. A first down screen pass intended for Matt Dahl was dropped, setting up second and 10. A carry by Chavez went for a gain of 5 yards to leave third and 5. Lining up on a big third down, McNeil would find Clint Lee near the right sideline, but he would get tackled for a minor gain of just two yards, bringing up fourth and three for Utah. Going for it on fourth down as well, Utah lined up in the shotgun for the play. The Utes would also see failure on their fourth down attempt, as our coverage left no one open for McNeil to throw to, defensive end Leroy Fuqua able to break through his blocker and get the coverage sack on McNeil for a 5 yard loss, forcing the turnover on downs at our 40 yard line.

Beginning our next drive on the ground, Leierer got us started with a 5 yard rush around the left end, followed by a dash up the middle for a 5 yard carry, giving us a quick first down at midfield. Another rush by Leierer would pick up just two yards, setting up second and 8. Running a play action pass on second down, the throw to fullback Raymond Watson was on-target, but a hit by the cornerback knocked the ball loose and incomplete to leave third down. Max Rhodes would keep us breathing on third down, pulling in the pass from Powers for a gain of 13 yards, moving the chains to the Utah 35 yard line. A quick pass over the middle on first down, intended for fullback Walter Johnson, ended up sailing behind him and incomplete, setting up a quick second down. Powers would recover on second down, finding Martin coming across the middle on a slant route for a 13 yard completion and another first down at the 22 yard line. Everything would come crashing to a halt on first down however, as Powers took a shot into the end zone, the pass intended for McGuire, only to have it intercepted by cornerback Alvin Jackson, Jackson falling out of the back of the end zone for a touchback to give Utah the ball at their 20 yard line.

Forced back onto the field after the interception, our defense wasn’t about to take it easy on the Utes offense, as a first down handoff to Chavez resulted in a four yard loss in the face of our blitz, leaving second and 14. That would be the final play of the first quarter, the score still knotted up at 0-0.

Starting the second quarter, our defensive victory would be short lived as Utah came out with a screen pass on second down, McNeil connecting with Chavez for a 16 yard gain and a first down at the 32 yard line. Another pass to Chavez resulted in another big gain, this time for 23 yards, and Utah lined up on first down from our 45 yard line. McNeil was forced to throw the ball away on a first down play action pass to avoid a sack, leaving second and 10. A pass to Clint Lee along the left sideline would result in two different defenders shaken off and a run up the sideline for an 18 yard gain, moving the chains to our 27. Derrick Johnson took the handoff on first down, only gaining two yards on the play to leave second and 8. A second down handoff to Chavez would again be blown up by the defense for a four yard loss, setting up third and 12. Despite Hart falling down on the coverage, a rushed pass to McNeil to avoid the pressure, intended for Maurice Allen fell well short of the receiver and incomplete, leaving Utah with fourth and long from our 29. Utah would settle for a 46 yard field goal by Sam Mayhew, giving the Utes a 3-0 lead with 7:11 left in the second quarter.

A 32 yard kickoff return by McGuire gave us the ball at our 25 yard line. Leierer got our drive started with a three yard rush, followed by a pitch to the right that resulted in an 11 yard gain and a first down at the 38 yard line. A first down pass over the middle intended for Martin ended in disaster again, as cornerback Erik Collins intercepted the pass, returning it 7 yards to our 40 yard line.

Taking over at our 40 yard line after the interception, McNeil dropped back to pass on first down and lofted the ball to Dahl. Our defense nearly got us the ball back as safety Charles Noble almost intercepted the pass, ultimately dropping it incomplete as he hit the ground to bring up second down for the Utes. Our defense would keep putting up their best efforts, as McNeil would end up sacked for a 5 yard loss on the second down pass attempt, leaving Utah with third and 15. McNeil dropped back to pass on third down, and this time our defense would get the ball back for us, as the pass intended for Chavez was intercepted along the right sideline by Hart, returned two yards before going out of bounds at our 35 yard line.

Lining up on first down after our defense got the ball back, Leierer started our drive with a 7 yard dash, followed by a one yard rush that left us with third and two. Taking our chances on the ground, a third down dive by Leierer from the wingback slot would pick up three yards and get the first down at the 47. An attempted option play on first down was utterly blown up by the defense, as both Powers and Leierer was instantly taken out by the defense, Powers tackled for a two yard loss on the play. A play action pass to tight end Jack Long went for an 11 yard gain, leaving third and one. Leierer took the ball on third down, rumbling for a 9 yard gain and a first down to keep us in action at the Utah 35 yard line. A two yard rush by Leierer was followed with a pass from Powers to Johnson over the middle for an 11 yard gain, moving the chains to the 22 yard line. Lining up under center on first down, the pass over the middle intended for McKinney was nearly intercepted by the middle linebacker, leaving second and 10. Greg Miller would keep the ball moving for us with a 10 yard reception near the left hash, giving us a first down at the 12 yard line. Leierer took the ball straight up the middle on first down, pumping his way to an 8 yard gain, before being stood up for no gain on the next play to leave third and two at the four yard line. Taylor would take the ball on third down, but could only manage a single yard as Utah’s defense again would shut us down inside the red zone, leaving fourth and one from the Utah three yard line, just 29 seconds left on the clock. We had gambled already and lost, but hoping our luck would turn around, we took the gamble once more, calling timeout to stop the clock with 27 seconds to play. Lining up on fourth and one, Leierer took the handoff and would succeed this time, fighting his way to a two yard gain to give us first and goal at the one yard line. We called our second timeout with 23 seconds to play, looking for at least two attempts at punching it in. We would end up only needing a single try, as Leierer took the first down handoff, found a gap to the left of the center and laid out, diving into the end zone for the one yard touchdown to give us a 7-3 lead with 21 seconds left before halftime.

A 23 yard kickoff return by Chavez gave Utah the ball at their 24 yard line, 17 seconds to work with. A first down screen pass to Chavez gained 16 yards and a first down at the 41 yard line, but tackled inbounds, forcing Utah to call their first timeout with 9 seconds left. Another screen pass to Chavez gained 7 yards, getting out of bounds at the 48 yard line with just four seconds remaining. McNeil would never even get the chance to throw the final pass, as McBride broke off his block and managed to get to McNeil right as he was winding up to throw, sacking him for a 7 yard loss that brought the second quarter to an end. With that, we headed into halftime holding onto a surprising 7-3 lead.

Opening up the second half, Johnson returned the kickoff 21 yards to give Utah the ball at their 25 yard line to start the third quarter. A diving deflection by safety Sam Richwalski broke up a first down pass attempt intended for Lee, bringing up an immediate second down for the Utes. A screen pass over the middle to Roger Armstrong went for a 9 yard gain, leaving Utah with third and one. A quick pass on third down connected with Dahl for a 6 yard gain and a first down at the 41 yard line, the Utes taking advantage of our run-cheating defense. Put under immediate pressure by our blitzing defense, McNeil was left dancing on his first down pass attempt, before throwing an on the move, off-balanced pass across his body, intended for Armstrong clear across the field along the opposite sideline. Instead of finding Armstrong, the very poorly thrown pass found its way right into the arms of cornerback Buck Castillo, who returned it 9 yards to give us the ball at the Utah 41 yard line.

Leierer started our offensive drive on the ground with a 7 yard carry, followed by a three yard rush that left us facing third and inches. Taylor would take the third down handoff, fighting his way to a four yard gain to pick up the first down at the 27 yard line. A four yard rush by Leierer was followed by a 10 yard dash up the middle to move the chains to the Utah 13 yard line. Taylor took the ball on first down, but was immediately dragged down by the blitzing cornerback for no gain, leaving second and 10. Lining up under center on second down, Utah completely sold out on the play action pass, leaving Watson completely uncovered along the right sideline, hauling in the pass from Powers and trotting into the end zone for a 13 yard touchdown, increasing our lead to 14-3 with 5:19 left in the third quarter.

A 24 yard kickoff return by Johnson gave Utah the ball at their 26 yard line. A bullet pass to Ronnie Wilson ended up sailing out of bounds behind the receiver and incomplete, leaving an early second down. A failed interception attempt by Noble allowed Dahl to haul in the second down pass from McNeil, taking it for a gain of 19 yards and giving Utah a first down at the 45 yard line. Chavez took the ball on first down for a one yard gain, followed by a 10 yard completion to Allen, the ball from McNeil thrown across his body, and Allen somehow picking that ball up before it hit the ground, resulting in a first down at our 44 yard line. A dropped pass by a wide open Wilson turned what would have been a sure first down into an incompletion, resulting in second down. McNeil would end up meeting our defensive line on the next play, as defensive tackle Ernest Sims broke through the block by the center and tripped up McNeil, credited with a sack for a 7 yard loss to leave Utah facing third and 17. The third down pass over the middle intended for Allen was broken up by Richwalski, and Utah was forced to punt on fourth down, our defense holding despite the early success by the Utes. The 51 yard punt would land at the four yard line and bounce into the end zone for a touchback.

Lining up after the touchback, Leierer got us off and running with a first down carry for a gain of 7 yards, followed by a rush for no gain to leave us looking at third and three. Dropping back into the shotgun on third down, Powers connected with Benjamin Silva out of the backfield for a huge 12 yard gain, picking up the first down at the 39 yard line. Turning back to the ground game, Leierer picked up four yards on the first down handoff, before Taylor was brought down by the blitz for a one yard loss to leave us with third and 7. Blown coverage by the defense allowed Max Rhodes to get open along the left hash, the pass complete for a 10 yard gain and a new set of downs at the Utah 48 yard line. Taylor took the handoff on first down, fighting his way to a 6 yard gain, followed by a three yard rush by Silva to set up third and one. Taylor would get the third down conversion, taking the handoff straight up the gut for a three yard carry, moving the chains to the 36 yard line. A first down carry by Taylor would pick up three yards, leaving us with second and 7. That would be the final play of the third quarter, our lead holding at 14-3 and looking to add on to it.

Opening up the fourth quarter, we lined up at the Utah 34 yard line facing second and 7. Lining up under center, Powers dropped back and rifled a pass to McKinney, but it was broken up, nearly intercepted, by the middle linebacker, leaving third down. The third down pass from Powers to Martin was on the mark, but while Martin was initially able to pull the ball in, he would end up dropping it as the hit from behind by the safety jarred the ball loose and incomplete. Out of field goal (for our kicker at least) and forced to go for it on fourth down, we would fail to convert as Powers was forced to dump the ball off underneath to Rhodes, a completion that would gain only two yards and give the ball back to Utah at their 32 yard line.

McNeil dropped back to pass on first down, Utah looking to close the 11 point gap right now, but his pass heaved deep down the right sideline intended for Wilson sailed long and out of bounds, bringing up second down. A second down screen pass to Chavez resulted in a 12 yard gain and a first down, Chavez shoved out of bounds at the 44 yard line. Handing the ball off on first down, Chavez picked up just two yards before our defense brought him down. A missed open field tackle by Hart allowed Allen to pull in the second down pass from McNeil, nearly taking it all the way to the house until a diving ankle tackle by Richwalski tripped him up for a 54 yard gain, setting Utah up with first and goal from our one yard line. Chavez would need just one play to punch it in for the one yard touchdown. Looking to further cut our lead down, the Utes went for the two point conversion, but the pass from McNeil to Armstrong in the corner of the end zone was overthrown and incomplete, our lead only cut to 14-9 with 7:49 left in the game.

A 21 yard kickoff return by McGuire left us lining up from our 19 yard line. Taylor got our drive started with a 6 yard rush around the left tackle, followed by a 6 yard dive up the middle, picking up a first down at the 31. Another handoff to Taylor resulted in a three yard gain, leaving second and 7, as we tried to chew up as much clock as we could. Naturally, we would throw our lead away as the second down pass intended for Rhodes was intercepted by outside linebacker Ben McKenzie, who returned it 39 yards for a touchdown. Utah would again go for the two point conversion, but the pass to Allen, completed this time, would result in the play being no good as he was brought down at the two yard line, leaving Utah’s lead at just 15-14 with 5:45 left in the game.

A 25 yard kickoff return by Hart gave us the ball at our 24 yard line for our next drive. After a three yard rush by Taylor on first down, we were able to catch Utah with the play action pass, Powers connecting with Watson for an 11 yard gain and a first down at the 38. Another rush by Taylor gained 5 yards, followed by a wingback dive by Taylor for a one yard gain, leaving third and four. Lining up in the shotgun on third down, blown coverage by the defense allowed Rhodes to get open and haul in the pass this time, complete for a 12 yard gain and a first down at the Utah 44 yard line. Taylor kept us moving with a three yard rush, before a pass over the middle to Johnson was broken up by the middle linebacker, leaving third and 7. Rhodes would come through for us yet again on third down, this time hauling in an 11 yard completion to move the chains to the 30 yard line and keep the clock ticking away. Taylor took the ball on first down for a 7 yard carry, followed by a three yard rush that left us facing third and inches, Utah calling their first timeout to stop the clock with 1:08 left in the game. Lining up for a huge third down play, Taylor was able to get the first down and then some, rushing for a gain of 7 yards to move the sticks to the 13 yard line. Utah didn’t bother to call a timeout this time, and the clock kept ticking under a minute. Trying to get us lined up for the game-winning field goal attempt, Taylor took the ball on first down for a three yard gain, followed by a second three yard rush to leave third and four. Silva then came on third down and fought his way to a two yard gain, setting up fourth and two at the 5 yard line, as we called our first timeout with four seconds left in the game. As expected, as we lined up for the 22 yard field goal attempt, Utah called their second timeout to try and freeze our kicker. They would do the same thing again as we lined up a second time, calling their final timeout. Lining up for the third time, the chip shot 22 yard field goal by Doug Marcus sailed through the uprights, giving us a 17-15 lead with one second left on the clock.

A squib kick up the middle was picked up by tight end Matthew Brown and returned 14 yards, the game seemingly over. As usual, the game couldn’t end there as we tried to find new ways to screw ourselves out of wins, this time by middle linebacker Sean Edwards being flagged for a facemask penalty during the tackle on the return, the 15 yards giving Utah the ball at our 38 yard line and an untimed down to screw us out of victory. McNeil lined up in the shotgun and chucked up the Hail Mary pass. Miraculously, we would not blow it, as safety Allen Salyer went up at the 5 yard line and intercepted the pass, returning it 5 yards before falling to the ground to seal our 17-15 season opening win over rival Utah and claim the Battle of the Brothers for 2022.

With the win, we open our 2022 season 1-0, 0-0 in Mountain West action. With the loss, Utah starts their year 0-1, 0-0 in Pac-12 play. Up next, we get a bye week to rest before it's back on the road as we play our biggest game of the season, a trip to the Big House to face #9 Michigan.

Final Score

:Utah_State: 17, :Utah: 15

Stats of the Game:
Utah State Offense - A rough return to action for Powers, going 14-24 for 158 yards and one touchdown, but also three interceptions. Rushing, Leierer led the way with 127 yards and one touchdown on 29 carries. Taylor ended with 74 yards on 20 rushes, Silva had 6 yards on two carries and Powers had zero yards rushing on three carries. Receiving, Rhodes was the top receiver with 48 yards on five receptions. Watson had 24 yards and the lone receiving touchdown on two catches. In all, eight receivers caught at least one pass during the game, all eight ending with double digit yards.

Utah State Defense/Special Teams – Surprisingly very good. Despite being put into tough situations by our offense, the defense held Utah scoreless in the first and third quarter, held them to only a field goal in the second quarter, and it wasn't until the fourth quarter that Utah's offense started to finish drives with touchdowns. A big part of that was some key stops and sacks on third downs, as well as three interceptions, one each by Salyer, Castillo and Hart. This could be a great season if the defense can keep playing like every game the entire year.

Utah State Kicking – A perfect day for Marcus, going 1-1 in field goal attempts, connecting on the game-winning 22 yard attempt, as well as going 2-2 in PATs.

Scoring Summary

Team
1st Quarter
2nd Quarter
3rd Quarter
4th Quarter
Final Score

:Utah_State:
0
7
7
3
17

:Utah:
0
3
0
12
15

Time
Team
Result
Play
Score

First Quarter

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

Second Quarter

7:14
:Utah:
Field Goal
S. Mayhew, 46 yard field goal
:Utah: 3-0

0:21
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
M. Leierer, 1 yard run (D. Marcus kick)
:Utah_State: 7-3

Third Quarter

5:19
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
R. Watson, 13 yard pass from A. Powers (D. Marcus kick)
:Utah_State: 14-3

Fourth Quarter

7:49
:Utah:
Touchdown
M. Chavez, 1 yard run (2-point conversion failed)
:Utah_State: 14-9

5:45
:Utah:
Touchdown
B. McKenzie, returned interception 39 yards (2-point conversion failed)
:Utah: 15-14

0:01
:Utah_State:
Field Goal
D. Marcus, 22 yard field goal
:Utah_State: 17-15

Game Stats

Utah State
Stat
Utah

17
Score
15

24
First Downs
10

365
Total Offense
228

54 - 207 - 1
Rushes - Yards - TD
13 - 36 - 1

14 - 24 - 1
Comp - Att - TD
12 - 24 - 0

158
Passing Yards
192

0
Times Sacked
4

12 - 16 (75%)
3rd Down Conversion
1 - 5 (20%)

1 - 3 (33%)
4th Down Conversion
0 - 1 (0%)

0 - 0 (0%)
2-Point Conv
0 - 2 (0%)

4 - 2 - 1 (75%)
Red Zone - TD - FG
1 - 1 - 0 (100%)

3
Turnovers
3

0
Fumbles Lost
0

3
Intercepted
3

0
Punt Return Yards
0

107
Kick Return Yards
82

472
Total Yards
310

0 – 0.0
Punts - Average
1 - 51.0

1 - 15
Penalties
0 - 0

22:56
Time of Possession
13:04

Utah State Coach Goals

Goal
XP Reward
Completed

Win a Game
100
x1

Score a Touchdown
25
x2

Force a Turnover
25
x3

Rush for 100 Yards
25
x1

3+ Sacks
50
x1

Play in an ESPN Classic Game
75
x1

Opponent under 150 Rush Yards
50
x1

Beat a Rival School
50
x1

Opponent Under 300 Pass Yards
50
x1

Pass Completion Over 50%
30
x1

350+ Offensive Yards
50
x1

10+ First Downs
50
x1

4+ 3rd Down Conversions
25
x1

Utah State Contract Goals Update

Goal
Expectations
Progress

Target Wins Per Season
7
1

Job Security Status

100%

SmoothPancakes

01-01-2014, 06:07 PM

Taking a look around the nation, in the Top 25, in the game of the week, #11 South Carolina stunned #2 Alabama 24-22. #3 Texas A&M beat Georgia 55-31. #5 Miami barely escaped Toledo 27-24. #8 Notre Dame topped #10 Texas 48-23. #9 Michigan fought off #23 Oregon State 28-21. #12 Stanford whooped Northwestern 48-7. #13 UCLA manhandled #25 Virginia 52-7. #14 Florida State survived Texas State 31-28 Boise State knocked off #21 Auburn 35-28. And #24 Nebraska thumped BYU 45-13. In non-top 25 action, in the 2022 Texas Kickoff Classic, it was Texas Tech defeating Arkansas 33-26.

For our readers, JeffHCross, #1 Ohio State remains 0-0 (0-0 Big Ten) with a bye week. Morsdraconis, West Virginia remains 0-0 (0-0 Big 12) with a bye week. Souljahbill, Southern Miss opens the year 0-1 (0-0 C-USA) with a 41-17 loss to Mississippi State. Jaymo, Arizona State opens the year 0-1 (0-0 Pac-12), with a shocking 34-24 loss to New Mexico. LeeSO, #21 Auburn opens the year 0-1 (0-0 SEC) with a 35-28 loss to Boise State. SCClassof93, #11 South Carolina opens the year 1-0 (1-0 SEC) with a stunning 24-22 upset of #2 Alabama. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State remains 0-0 (0-0 Sun Belt) with a bye week. Florida International remains 0-0 (0-0 C-USA) with a bye week. Navy remains 0-0 (0-0 American) with a bye week. Tulsa remains 0-0 (0-0 American) with a bye week.

In Mountain West action, Boise State stunned #21 Auburn 35-28, Utah State knocked off Utah 17-15, Colorado State took the Rocky Mountain Showdown over Colorado 48-17 and New Mexico shocked Arizona State 34-24.

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Ohio State (32 first place votes) remains the #1 team, Texas A&M (26 votes) climbs one to #2, USC (2 votes) climbs one to #3, Miami (1 vote) jumps one to #4 and Oklahoma moves up one to #5. Notre Dame jumps two to #6, Michigan State remains #7, South Carolina jumps three to #8, Michigan remains #9 and Alabama drops eight to #10. Stanford climbs one to #11, UCLA jumps one to #12, Florida State moves up one to #13, Georgia Tech rises one to #14 and Florida jumps one to #15. Louisville jumps one to #16, Texas drops seven to #17, Clemson remains #18, Central Florida remains #19 and Washington remains #20. Virginia Tech climbs one to #21, Nebraska jumps two to #22, Oregon enters the poll at #23, Kentucky enters the poll at #24 and Oregon State (145 points) drops two to #25. Dropping out of the poll this week was Auburn (from #21) and Virginia (from #25). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, LSU (89 points) is #26, followed by Connecticut (58), San Diego State (43), Ole Miss (28) and Virginia (25) to round out the Top 30.

An early season look at the Heisman race, Texas A&M QB Zac Hopkins is #1, UCLA QB Mark Wilson is #2, Notre Dame QB Mike Harper is #3, Alabama HB Derek Scott is #4 and Miami HB Tony Martinez is #5.

SmoothPancakes

01-01-2014, 06:27 PM

Summing up my thoughts on the end of the game.

Facemask penalty to give Utah an untimed down at our 38 yard line:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOvbvmPi-cI

and

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wcKpoAQKj4

The interception to end the game:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fZCCAqoSwY

SmoothPancakes

01-01-2014, 09:38 PM

On a bye week, so lets get right into it.

Taking a look around the nation, in the Top 25, #1 Ohio State beat Northern Illinois 42-7. In the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game, #18 Clemson knocked off #2 Texas A&M 56-39. Washington State shocked #3 USC 41-35. #4 Miami outgunned #22 Nebraska 37-28. In the game of the week, #6 Notre Dame beat #16 Louisville 48-30. #23 Oregon upset #7 Michigan State 38-31. #8 South Carolina fought off Georgia 54-45.

In the 2022 Cowboys Classic, Wisconsin knocked off #10 Alabama 49-40. #11 Stanford beat Colorado 35-24. #12 UCLA thrashed UNLV 42-3. #14 Georgia Tech blanked Tulane 45-0. #15 Florida topped Florida Atlantic 56-21. #17 Texas held off Rice 42-33. #20 Washington escaped Hawaii 27-21. #21 Virginia Tech throttled East Carolina 59-28. Auburn recovered from week one by knocking off #24 Kentucky 41-24. #25 Oregon State beat FCS Midwest 45-12.

For our readers, JeffHCross, #1 Ohio State opens the year 1-0 (0-0 Big Ten) with a 42-7 win over Northern Illinois. Morsdraconis, West Virginia opens the year 1-0 (1-0 Big 12) with a 41-28 win over Texas Tech. Souljahbill, Southern Miss improves to 1-1 (0-0 C-USA) with a 31-14 win over Texas State. Jaymo, Arizona State improves to 1-1 (0-0 Pac-12) with a 39-24 win over FCS East. LeeSO, Auburn improves to 1-1 (1-0 SEC) with a 41-24 upset of #24 Kentucky. SCClassof93, #8 South Carolina improves to 2-0 (2-0 SEC) with a 54-45 win over Georgia. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State opens the year 0-1 (0-0 Sun Belt) with a 30-14 loss to Missouri. Florida International opens the year 1-0 (0-0 C-USA) with a 48-0 win over FCS East. Navy remains 0-0 (0-0 American) with a bye week. Tulsa remains 0-0 (0-0 American) with a bye week.

In Mountain West action, Air Force beat Old Dominion 31-14, Boise State beat BYU 34-14, New Mexico shocked NC State 38-14, Colorado State stunned Minnesota 28-22, UCLA slapped UNLV 42-3, Washington edged out Hawaii 27-21, Utah escaped Fresno State 45-38, California outlasted San Diego State 28-24, Arizona handled Nevada 47-21, Eastern Michigan topped Wyoming 28-14 and FCS Midwest knocked off San Jose State 24-21.

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Ohio State (35 first place votes) remains the #1 team, Miami (23 votes) climbs two to #2, Oklahoma (1 vote) jumps two to #3, Notre Dame (1 vote) jumps two to #4 and South Carolina (1 vote) climbs three to #5. Michigan moves up three to #6, Stanford jumps four to #7, Texas A&M drops six to #8, UCLA climbs three to #9 and Florida State jumps three to #10. Georgia Tech moves up three to #11, USC drops nine to #12, Florida climbs two to #13, Michigan State falls seven to #14 and Clemson only climbs three to #15. Washington State enters the poll at #16, Texas remains #17, Central Florida climbs one to #18, Washington jumps one to #19 and Oregon climbs three to #20. Virginia Tech remains #21, Louisville drops six to #22, Alabama falls thirteen to #23, Oregon State climbs one to #24 and Nebraska (215 points) drops three to #25. Dropping out of the poll this week was Kentucky (from #24). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Connecticut (205 points) is #26, followed by Ole Miss (127), Auburn (117), Louisiana-Lafayette (51) and Cincinnati (14) to round out the Top 30. Other teams getting points this week include Virginia (14) and Maryland (1).

An early season look at the Heisman race, Texas A&M QB Zac Hopkins is #1 (LW: #1), UCLA QB Mark Wilson is #2 (LW: #2), Notre Dame QB Mike Harper is #3 (LW: #3), Stanford QB Roger Langford is #4 (LW: NR) and Miami HB Tony Martinez is #5 (LW: #5). Falling off the Heisman Watch list this week was Alabama HB Derek Scott (LW:#4).

SmoothPancakes

01-01-2014, 11:12 PM

One thing I'm thinking of, as I sit in the early second quarter against Michigan, I may have to up my quarter length.

Right now I'm sitting at 9 minutes per quarter, which I've been rolling with since my OC days at FIU on NCAA '12. Lately I've noticed, and especially so in the first quarter against Michigan, it is not all unusual anymore for me to chew up over half of a quarter on a single offensive drive. Unless I'm in a two minute offense or going up-tempo/no-huddle, I take my time on offense. I take my time choosing plays, I take my time lining up and reading the defense, and it is not at all unusual for me to snap the ball with only 5-10 seconds left on the play clock, even without chew clock turned on.

As a result, some games I've noticed, both myself and the CPU can struggle to reach even 50 or 60 offensive plays for the game. I'm debating on an increase in time to 10 or 11 minutes per quarter, see if maybe that will give both teams some increased offensive production and more snaps.

SmoothPancakes

01-02-2014, 07:10 PM

Game Two

:Utah_State: :@: #6 :Michigan:

Game Story

--- In one game we had already shown improvement over last season, earning a victory in the very first game of the season, instead of the seventh game of the season like last year. However, our “undefeated” record was going to be put right to the immediate test against the toughest opponent we would face the entire season, as we hit the road to the Big House to take on a big, tough, mean Michigan team ranked 6th in the nation, a Wolverines squad coming off of a win over a then-#23 ranked Oregon State team. To say that today was not going to be easy would be the understatement of all understatements.

While the sample size was small, with only one game to pull stats from, the stats Michigan put up in that one game were impressive to say the least. Against a ranked Oregon State team, Michigan put up 482 yards of offense (#17 nationally), 186 yards rushing (#30 nationally) and 296 yards passing (#22 nationally). Defensively, they only gave up 356 yards of offense (#35 nationally), 139 yards rushing (#36 nationally) and 217 yards passing (#53 nationally). On the flip side, in our one game, against a moderately decent Utah squad, we put up 365 yards of offense (#80 nationally), 207 yards rushing (#22 nationally) and 158 yards passing (#103 nationally). Defensively, we only gave up 228 yards of offense (#7 nationally), 36 yards rushing (#2 nationally) and 192 yards passing (#34 nationally).

We would quickly find out whether or not those defensive ratings were grossly overrated. Needless to say, we weren’t going to get much love from the pundits, nor from Vegas, who had Michigan as a 27.5 point favorite in this game. Michigan won the coin toss and elected to kick, putting our offense on the spot right away.

A 17 yard kickoff return by Eric McGuire got us started at our 24 yard line for our first drive of the game. Matt Leierer took the first down handoff up the middle for a four yard gain to get the drive underway. A third rush by Leierer went for a 7 yard gain and we were able to get an early first down at the 35 yard line. Another rush by Leierer gained four more yards, followed by a 5 yard gain to set up third and one. Tyson Taylor came in on third down and took the handoff, fighting his way to a two yard gain to reset the downs at the 46 yard line. Continuing to pound away on the ground, Leierer could only pick up one yard on the first down carry, the defensive stop sending the already deafening crowd into a fury. Taking advantage of our run, run and run some more start, the second down play action pass caught Michigan cheating, allowing Raymond Watson to get open from the tight end slot for an 18 yard gain and a first down at the Michigan 35 yard line. A first down rush by Leierer gained three yards, before a second down power option attempt resulted in Adam Powers being tackled for a one yard loss, bringing up third and 8. Despite the roaring crowd, we would somehow get the first down on the third down pass. Powers threw over the middle, the pass intended for Dre Martin, only to have the ball broken up by the middle linebacker. However, before the ball hit the ground, McGuire was able to snag the ball out of the air for what was ruled on the field as a 10 yard completion and a first down at the 23 yard line. The play wouldn’t be reviewed, and whether it really was a catch or not could now no longer be questioned as we snapped the ball, Leierer taking the handoff on first down for a four yard gain. Taylor would enter the backfield on second down, fighting forward for a 7 yard gain on the ground to give us yet another first down at the 13. Lining up under center on first down, Powers dropped back and quickly rifled a pass over the middle to tight end Jack Long, who briefly pulled in the pass near the two yard line before being flattened by both safeties to knock it incomplete. Another pass over the middle, this time to Taylor, was again briefly caught before being jarred loose by a tackle, leaving us with third down. The third time would prove to be the charm as a pass off near the right sideline to Greg Miller was completed for a 12 yard gain, setting us up with first and goal from the one yard line. A one yard rush by Leierer moved the ball just inches away from the goal line, but not enough for the touchdown, leaving second and goal. A second attempt by Leierer would get the job done and he punched it in for the one yard touchdown, giving us a 7-0 lead with 2:35 left in the first quarter and stunning the crowd to near total silence. Needless to say, if we had any hope of winning today, we were going to have to have drives exactly like that. A drive that lasted 17 plays and chewed up over two-thirds of the entire first quarter, keeping Michigan’s potent offense stuck sitting and watching from the sidelines.

A 28 yard kickoff return by Michael Muse however unleashed that potent offense, as the Wolverines lined up for their first drive of the game from the 28 yard line. Our blitz at least momentarily was effective, limiting the first down rush by Ray Smith to just a one yard gain, bringing up second and 9. Another rush by Smith went for a gain of 6, setting up third and three. The offense for Michigan started to show their skill, as Smith took the handoff on third down, rushing straight up the middle through the heart of our defense for a 13 yard gain, picking up the first down at the 48 yard line. Selling out on the blitz on first down would only serve to screw us, as Carl Ginn faked the handoff and quickly took a three step drop back, chucking up a pass to a wide open, completely uncovered Freddie Hall, who torched us for a 46 yard completion before finally being pushed out of bounds to give Michigan first and goal at our 6 yard line. A pitch to the right to Smith gained two yards, setting up second and goal at the four. Muse would cap off the drive on second down, taking the handoff around the left tackle and scurrying into the end zone for a four yard touchdown, tying the game back up at 7-7 with 41 seconds left in the first quarter.

A 14 yard kickoff return by Leonard Hart left us starting at our 22 yard line. A first down carry by Leierer only gained two yards, followed by a four yard rush to leave third and four. That would be the final play as the clock ran out, ending the first quarter knotted up at 7-7.

Opening the second quarter, we lined up in the shotgun on third and four, as Powers rifled a pass right by the head of the outside linebacker and into the hands of Taylor, the pass complete for a 13 yard gain and a first down at the 41 yard line. A first down rush by Leierer resulted in a one yard loss as the defense filled the backfield in an instant, leaving second and 11. The second down pass intended for McGuire was nearly intercepted by the cornerback, setting up third and long. Dropping into the shotgun on third down, Powers went right back to McGuire, connecting with him for a 16 yard completion and a big first down to keep our drive alive at the Michigan 43 yard line. A first down carry by Leierer went for an 8 yard gain, followed by a one yard loss to leave third and three. Lining up under center on third down, Powers dropped back and quickly threw to Cedric McKinney, the pass complete for a 9 yard gain and a first down at the 28. Going into the shotgun on first down, trips to the right and a convergence of passing routes left Michigan’s secondary running into each other, allowing Adam Washington to get open on a flag route for a 23 yard gain, giving us first and goal at the 5 yard line, the crowd entirely deflated and taken out of the game by now. Leierer received the handoff on first down, but was stood up for no gain to leave second and goal. Another rush by Leierer resulted in a three yard gain, leaving third and goal at the two yard line. Taking our chances on the ground, the crowd livened for third down. Leierer took the handoff and found the slimmest of holes to dive through hand avoid the closing defense, scoring a two yard touchdown and giving us a stunning 14-7 lead with 4:45 left in the second quarter.

A 27 yard kickoff return by Michael Bates gave Michigan the ball at their 27 yard line. The drive got off to a poor start as the first down pass ended up sailing out of bounds and incomplete. It would get worse as the Wolverines tried to run an option play on second down, Ginn tackled for a four yard loss to leave third and 14. As has become the norm, our defense would screw the pooch on third down, as a very drawn out screen pass from Ginn to Smith left our defense chasing after Smith, finally managing to drive him out of bounds after a 37 yard reception, giving Michigan a first down at our 40 yard line. Ginn would drop back to pass on first down, forced to roll out from the pressure, but instead of getting rid of the ball, ended up dragged down from behind and sacked for a 7 yard loss, leaving second and 17. The offense would make up some of the lost yards as Ginn connected with Heath McAfee for a 6 yard gain near the left sideline, but Michigan was still left facing third and 11. Bringing the blitz on third down would result in a victory for our defense, sacking Ginn a second time this drive, this time for a 5 yard loss to leave the Wolverines punting on fourth and 16. No return by McGuire on the 40 yard punt left us starting at our 6 yard line.

Lining up deep in our territory, Leierer got the drive started with a 7 yard rush, followed by a two yard gain to leave third and one. Keeping it on the ground on third down, Leierer would get shut down for no gain, leaving us with fourth and one, Michigan calling their first timeout with 1:47 left in the half. A 21 yard return by Muse on the 40 yard punt left Michigan with great field position at our 35 yard line.

Taking over after the punt, the Wolverines came out passing as Ginn found Hakim Watson for a quick 12 yard strike and a first down at the 23 yard line. Ginn dropped back to pass on first down, but quickly attempted to scramble to avoid the blitz, ending up sacked in the process for a three yard loss, leaving second and 13. In a shocking turn of events, Ginn chucked up a very dangerous pass into double coverage, trying to connect with Alex King near the 18 yard line. Instead, the pass would end up intercepted by cornerback Charles Noble, who proceeded to return it 19 yards to our 40 yard line before losing his balance and stumbling to the ground, giving us back the ball with 50 seconds remaining in the half.

Returning to the field after the interception, we came out looking to quickly move the ball down the field. The first down pass from Powers down the left sideline, intended for McGuire, ended up broken up by the cornerback, leaving second down. Washington would get us moving with a 12 yard reception along the right sideline, tackled out of bounds for a first down at the Michigan 48 yard line, stopping the clock with 42 seconds to go. We would end up giving the ball right back to Michigan as the first down pass intended for Max Rhodes was intercepted by safety Dan Holycross, returned 12 yards to give the Wolverines possession at their 45 yard line with 33 seconds to go.

Our defense would again break Michigan’s pass coverage and turn Ginn into a piñata, sacking him for a huge 9 yard loss to leave second and 19 and force Michigan to call their second timeout with 29 seconds remaining. Ginn would prove on second down that he does have some legs if he can escape our defense, scrambling to avoid the pass rush and getting into open field, running down the right sideline for a 26 yard gain before finally being shoved out of bounds at our 37 yard line with 21 seconds to go. Lining up in the shotgun on first down, Ginn threw underneath to Jon Ford, who was quickly tackled for a three yard gain before he could get out of bounds. With the clock still running, Michigan quickly lined up and snapped the ball, Ginn throwing along the right sideline to Nick Rogers, who was tackled short of the first down for a 6 yard gain, as well as tackled in bounds, forcing Michigan to burn their third and final timeout with three seconds left, facing third and one at our 29 yard line. Instead of attempting the lengthy field goal, the Wolverines went for it on third down, Ginn chucking the ball into the pile of Michigan and Utah State bodies in the end zone, but the ball would end up batted down incomplete, sending us into halftime with a shocking 14-7 lead that would have people nationwide taking notice.

Opening up the second half, Muse returned the kickoff 22 yards to give Michigan the ball at the 21 yard line to start the third quarter. Dropping back to pass on first down, Ginn threw a pass over the middle to a wide open Michael Bates, only to have Butterfingers dropp the pass incomplete, bringing up second down. Another screen pass on second down would end disastrously for our defense, as Smith caught the pass and took it up the left sideline, breaking two tackles and outrunning the rest of our defense for a 79 yard touchdown reception, tying the game back up at 14-14 just two plays into the second half with 8:41 left in the third quarter.

A 16 yard kickoff return by Hart gave us the ball at our 24 yard line, looking for an answer as the hostile crowd returned to life. Leierer took the first down handoff, fighting his way to a two yard gain, followed by a three yard rush that left us with third and 5. Lining up in the shotgun on third down, Powers tried to fire a ball over the middle to Martin, but the ball ended up broken up by the cornerback, forcing us to punt on fourth down. It would instantly get worse as Muse fielded the punt, getting some big blocks to the left side of the field and took the return straight up the sideline, outracing multiple diving tackle attempts for a 69 yard punt return touchdown, giving Michigan their first lead of the game, 21-14 with 7:28 left in the third quarter.

A huge 49 yard kickoff return by Hart gave us the ball with excellent field position, starting at the Michigan 41 yard line and looking to stop the bleeding. Leierer took the ball on first down, but the reenergized Michigan defense stifled him for a gain of just one yard, leaving second and long. Going into the air on second down, we lined up in the shotgun as Powers dropped back and threw a pass to Rhodes, good for an 11 yard gain and a first down at the 29 yard line. Another pass from the shotgun, intended for McGuire, nearly found the hands of the middle linebacker, the pass broken up to leave second and long. Dumping off the ball underneath on second down, Powers was able to connect with Miller for a 5 yard gain, leaving us a reasonably manageable third and 5. Lining up under center on third down, Powers dropped back and hurled a quick pass up the middle to Long, complete for a 12 yard gain and a first down at the 12 yard line. The first down rush by Leierer gained only two yards to leave second and 8. Running a play action pass on second down, the defense bit just enough to allow Watson to get open on a flag route, hauling in the pass at the one yard line and turning into the end zone just in front of the safety for a 10 yard touchdown, knotting things up once more at 21-21 and again stunning the home crowd.

Our special teams again nearly blew things for us, as Muse took the kickoff straight up the right sideline for a 59 yard return, only finally driven out of bounds by kicker Doug Marcus at our 40 yard line. Smith took the ball on first down straight up the middle for a 7 yard gain, followed by a three yard carry to get the first down at our 30 yard line. Going into the air on first down, McAfee would claim the Butterfingers honor, as the pass that hit him squarely in the hands was dropped, ruining a chance Michigan had for a big gain with no defender within 5 yards of him. Despite bringing the heat on second down, Ginn kept the ball on second down with a QB read play, and found room to run around the right tackle for an 11 yard gain before finally being spun down for a first down at our 19 yard line. Smith would cap the drive off on first down, taking the handoff from Ginn and running around the right end, right past three defenders who failed to react in time, taking it in for the 19 yard touchdown to give Michigan a 28-21 lead with 3:55 left in the third quarter.

A 17 yard kickoff return by McGuire left us starting at our 25 yard line, looking to once again stem the bleeding. A first down rush by Leierer nearly ended in disaster as he was stripped of the ball, tight end Long diving on the loose ball to recover it for our offense, Long ultimately credited with the three yard gain on the play that left us with second and 7. Another rush by Leierer would pick up 5 yards, setting up third and two. Not trusting Leierer to get the job done this time on third down, we lined up in the shotgun, Powers dumping off a quick pass to Taylor that resulted in a three yard gain and a first down at the 37. Trying our luck on first down, we lined up in 5 wide, Powers chucking the ball deep intended for Martin, but the ball was broken up by the cornerback at the Michigan 15 yard line, leaving second and 10. Staying in the air on second down, the pass over the middle intended for Martin was nearly intercepted by the middle linebacker, but he was unable to hold onto the ball and dropped it incomplete, keeping it in our possession with third and long. Rhodes would keep us breathing on third down, hauling in a pass from Powers and just getting to the first down line for a 10 yard completion, moving the chains at the 47 yard line. A 6 yard rush on first down by Leierer was followed by a gain of just one yard, leaving third and three. Lining up under center on third down, Powers dropped back and hurled a quick pass to McGuire on a slant, the toss complete for a 5 yard gain to extend our drive at the Michigan 42 yard line. Martin would keep us moving on first down, hauling in a pass from Powers for a 12 yard gain and another reset of the downs at the 30 yard line. Looking to connect with McKinney over the middle on first down, he was briefly able to pull in the pass from Powers, but lost the ball as he was hit by the safety, the incompletion bringing up second down. Another incomplete pass, this time intended for McGuire, brought up third and 10. Third time would be the charm as Powers would connect with McGuire this time around, this time for a 30 yard touchdown pass as McGuire was able to snake his way between the secondary, knotting the game up once again at 28-28 with three seconds left in the third quarter.

A 26 yard kickoff return by Muse to the 26 yard line would bring the third quarter to a close, the score all tied up at 28-28 in a game that nobody in the nation saw playing out like this.

Opening up the fourth quarter, Michigan lined up to start their drive at the 26 yard line, the Wolverines still trying to pull away from our scrappy Utah State squad. It didn’t take Michigan to start lighting our defense up, as Smith took the first down handoff right up the middle for an 11 yard gain, advancing the chains to the 37. Ginn briefly dropped back to pass, before quickly taking off in a scramble attempt, only to scramble right into our defensive line and end up sacked for a two yard loss, bringing up second and 12. Smith took the ball on second down, trying to find a lane around the left end only to end up tackled for a one yard gain, leaving third and 11. The defense would win again on third down, as defensive end Caleb McBride broke through his blocker and hit Ginn, knocking the ball loose. While a Michigan lineman would recover the fumble, it was ultimately marked down in the book as a sack for an 8 yard loss, forcing Michigan’s punt team onto the field on fourth and 23. Our special teams would once again screw us, this time as McGuire bobbled the punt return, the fumbled ball recovered by a Michigan gunner to give the ball right back to the Wolverines at our 36 yard line.

Michigan lined up on first down from our 36 yard line after the fumbled punt return. Smith wasted little time in taking advantage of the turn of events, receiving the first down handoff, racing around the left end and sprinting up the sideline for a 29 yard rush to give Michigan first and goal from our 7 yard line, a desperation dive that forced him out of bounds the only thing that kept it from being a touchdown run. Dropping back to pass on first down, Ginn found a wide open field in front of him as the offensive line drove our pass rush out of the way, allowing Ginn to take off scrambling and punch it in himself for a 7 yard touchdown, giving Michigan a 35-28 lead with 7:11 left in the game.

An 18 yard kickoff return by McGuire gave us the ball at our 25 yard line and in dire need of points. Starting our drive in the shotgun, Powers quickly hit Martin over the middle for a 6 yard gain, before a pass up the middle to Long gained 12 yards, giving us a first down at the 44 yard line. A first down pass intended for Watson was nearly intercepted by the outside linebacker, bringing up second down. McGuire would keep us moving with a 13 yard reception over the middle, moving the chains to the Michigan 43 yard line. A first down pass to Washington along the right sideline was briefly caught, but a hit to the back by the safety knocked it loose to bring up second down. Martin would come through for us on second down, as the blitz by the defense left the middle of the field completely uncovered, allowing Martin to pull in the pass from Powers for a 15 yard gain and another first down at the 28 yard line. A risky pass over the middle to Taylor paid off, as Powers whistled that pass just over the head of the middle linebacker and into the hands of Taylor for a 16 yard reception, giving us a new set of downs at the 12 yard line. The first down pass intended for Miller was nearly intercepted by the cornerback, leaving us with second down. Rhodes would push us forward with a 9 yard reception over the middle, leaving third and one at the three yard line. Taking a chance on the ground, Leierer took the third down handoff and dived forward for a miraculous two yard gain, giving us first and goal at the one yard line. Leierer received the handoff on first down, but was instantly hit in the backfield for a one yard loss, leaving second and goal at the two yard line. Another rush attempt by Leierer resulted in no gain, bringing up third and goal at the two. Lining up under center on third down, Powers took a shot through the air on a pair of quick slant routes, but he would be unable to get the pass off, hit as he tried to throw resulting in an incomplete pass and leaving us with fourth and goal. With only 3:12 remaining in the game and a field goal doing us absolutely no good, we had no choice but to go for it on fourth down. We were forced to call our first timeout of the half to set up the play, as the play clock starting running out before we could get lined up. Looking to catch the defense by surprise, we took a major gamble, running a play action pass on fourth down. While the defense did bite a little bit, it wasn’t enough as the Wolverines were able to break up the pass intended for Long in the back of the end zone, albeit with a painful looking jumping, half twisting, behind the back swat to knock the ball down, forcing the turnover on downs and giving Michigan the ball at their two yard line with 3:08 remaining in the game.

Lining up on first down in the run game, Michigan was going to have to earn these yards, as we brought the house on first down. Ryan Griffin took the ball on first down, rushing up the middle for a 5 yard gain. We would get some help from Michigan’s offensive line on second down. While trying to run down the clock and running a hard snap count, the right tackle flinched and was flagged for false start, pushing the Wolverines back four yards to leave second and 9 at the four yard line, as well as stopping the clock for us, keeping them from being able to run it down for another 12 seconds. Smith got the call on second down, rushing for a gain of only one yard to leave third and 8, our second timeout called with 2:27 remaining. It would all be for nothing as Smith took the ball again on third down, breaking four separate tackle attempts and pushing his way forward for a 9 yard gain, finally driven out of bounds to give Michigan a first down at the 13 yard line. Brining the entire house on first down, it would end up supremely biting us in the ass as Michigan ran a fake and instead of handing the ball off, Ginn dropped back three steps and rifled a pass to McAfee. McAfee shook loose from his coverage and with a downfield block eliminating the only remaining Aggies defender in front of him, took it up the sideline unchallenged for an 87 yard touchdown, giving Michigan a 42-28 lead with 1:40 left in the game.

A 17 yard kickoff return by McGuire gave us the ball at our 26 yard line, just 1:37 left and down by two scores. Anything short of a miracle today would not be enough. Lining up in the shotgun on first down, Powers hurled a quick pass over the middle to Martin for a 12 yard gain and a quick first down at the 38 yard line. Hurrying to the line, Powers took a shot deep, trying to connect with McGuire, but the pass got broken up to leave second down. Another pass intended for McGuire again got broken up by the defense, bringing up third and long. Martin would keep us on life support with a 17 yard reception over the middle, giving us a first down at the Michigan 45 yard line. The plug would be yanked out on that life support one play later, as a pass over the middle intended for Rhodes was intercepted by outside linebacker Davon Barr, returned 9 yards to give Michigan the ball at our 49 yard line with 1:07 left on the clock and no way to get the ball back.

Lining up on first down after the interception, Michigan came out running the ball as Smith took the handoff around the left end for a 7 yard gain, our final timeout worthlessly called to stop the clock with 1:01 remaining in the game, only delaying the inevitable. Rubbing salt into the already hemorrhaging wound, our defense would find one last way to faceplant and fail, as Smith took the second down handoff around the right end, beating our containment and racing up the right sideline, beating a last desperation dive by Hart to take it in for a 42 yard touchdown, increasing Michigan’s lead to 49-28 with 53 seconds left in the game.

A 20 yard kickoff return by Hart gave us the ball at our 29 yard line, just 48 seconds left in the contest. With nothing left to play for, we decided what the hell and subbed in our second team offense, hoping to give them at least two or three plays of offensive experience in one of the top college stadiums in the nation. It would end up being just one play, as the first down pass over the middle from Jason Barnes, intended for Rhodes, was intercepted by middle linebacker Melvin Williams, who returned it 11 yards to our 24 yard line to give Michigan back possession with 42 seconds remaining.

Lining up after the interception, Ginn would twice drop to a knee and run out the remaining time on the clock, giving Michigan the 49-28, harder than expected fought, victory.

With the loss, we drop to 1-1, 0-0 in Mountain West action. With the win, Michigan improves to 2-0, 0-0 in Big Ten play. Up next, we get another bye week before finally heading home for the first time this season as we host BYU in a battle for the Old Wagon Wheel, as well as the Beehive Boot. The Cougars enter the game 1-3 on the season. BYU opened their year losing at #24 Nebraska 45-13 and losing to Boise State 34-14. The Cougars would get into the win column by a victory at Southern Miss 52-28, before losing to #6 Michigan 59-17.

Final Score

#6 :Michigan: 49, :Utah_State: 28

Stats of the Game:
Utah State Offense - Another rough day for Powers as he ends the day 25-44 for 309 yards and two touchdown, but also two interceptions. Barnes, in only one play of the game, ended 0-1 with one interception. Rushing, Leierer led the way with 77 yards and two touchdowns on 30 carries, Taylor had 9 yards on two rushes, Long had three yards on one rush and Powers ended with negative one yard on one rush. Receiving, McGuire led the way with 74 yards and a touchdown on five receptions. Watson had 28 yards and the other receiving touchdown on two catches. In total, nine receivers caught at least one pass today and eight of them ended with double digit yards.

Utah State Defense/Special Teams – About what I expected defensively, and for the first half, better in fact. Our defense did an incredible job in the first half, limiting the Michigan offense to only a couple of drives and only 7 points. The second half however, they started to show their fatigue, as Michigan wrecked them for 42 points in the third and fourth quarters, with touchdown passes of 79 yards and 19 yards and touchdown runs of 42 yards and 7 yards, as well as multiple broken tackles, multiple missed tackles and multiple failed chances to stop the Wolverines from picking up a first down. Special teams was especially horrible, giving up a 69 yard punt return for a touchdown, as well as a fumble on one of our punt returns that ended up giving Michigan back the ball deep in our territory and let the Wolverines take the lead for good at 35-28.

Utah State Kicking – Another perfect day for Marcus, only because he didn't attempt any field goals. He did go 4-4 in PATs.

Scoring Summary

Team
1st Quarter
2nd Quarter
3rd Quarter
4th Quarter
Final Score

:Utah_State:
7
7
14
0
28

:Michigan:
7
0
21
21
49

Time
Team
Result
Play
Score

First Quarter

2:35
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
M. Leierer, 1 yard run (D. Marcus kick)
:Utah_State: 7-0

0:41
:Michigan:
Touchdown
M. Muse, 4 yard run (G. Smith kick)
TIED 7-7

Second Quarter

4:45
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
M. Leierer, 3 yard run (D. Marcus kick)
:Utah_State: 14-7

Third Quarter

8:41
:Michigan:
Touchdown
R. Smith, 79 yard pass from C. Ginn (G. Smith kick)
TIED 14-14

7:28
:Michigan:
Touchdown
M. Muse, returned punt 69 yards (G. Smith kick)
:Michigan: 21-14

5:00
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
R. Watson, 10 yard pass from A. Powers (D. Marcus kick)
TIED 21-21

3:55
:Michigan:
Touchdown
R. Smith, 19 yard run (G. Smith kick)
:Michigan: 28-21

0:03
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
E. McGuire, 30 yard pass from A. Powers (D. Marcus kick)
TIED 28-28

Fourth Quarter

7:11
:Michigan:
Touchdown
C. Ginn, 7 yard run (G. Smith kick)
:Michigan: 35-28

1:40
:Michigan:
Touchdown
H. McAfee, 87 yard pass from C. Ginn (G. Smith kick)
:Michigan: 42-28

0:53
:Michigan:
Touchdown
R. Smith, 42 yard run (G. Smith kick)
:Michigan: 49-28

Game Stats

Utah State
Stat
Michigan

28
Score
49

24
First Downs
10

397
Total Offense
439

34 - 88 - 2
Rushes - Yards - TD
28 - 163 - 4

25 - 45 - 2
Comp - Att - TD
8 - 13 - 2

309
Passing Yards
276

0
Times Sacked
6

14 - 17 (82%)
3rd Down Conversion
3 - 6 (50%)

0 - 1 (0%)
4th Down Conversion
0 - 0 (0%)

0 - 0 (0%)
2-Point Conv
0 - 0 (0%)

4 - 3 - 0 (75%)
Red Zone - TD - FG
3 - 3 - 0 (100%)

4
Turnovers
1

1
Fumbles Lost
0

3
Intercepted
1

0
Punt Return Yards
90

164
Kick Return Yards
160

561
Total Yards
689

2 – 40.0
Punts - Average
2 - 40.0

0 - 0
Penalties
1 - 4

23:39
Time of Possession
12:21

Utah State Coach Goals

Goal
XP Reward
Completed

Score a Touchdown
25
x4

Force a Turnover
25
x1

Pass for 250 Yards
25
x1

3+ Sacks
50
x1

Opponent Under 300 Pass Yards
50
x1

Pass Completion Over 50%
30
x1

Score 21 or More Points
50
x1

350+ Offensive Yards
50
x1

10+ First Downs
50
x1

4+ 3rd Down Conversions
25
x1

Utah State Contract Goals Update

Goal
Expectations
Progress

Target Wins Per Season
7
1

Job Security Status

97%

SmoothPancakes

01-02-2014, 07:11 PM

Taking a look around the nation, in the Top 25, in the game of the week, #1 Ohio State handled #21 Virginia Tech 38-21. #3 Oklahoma, after being tied 21-21 at halftime and leading only 35-28 in the early fourth quarter, hammered Fresno State 56-28. #4 Notre Dame dropped Purdue 41-14. #5 South Carolina thrashed East Carolina 45-7. #6 Michigan beat Utah State 49-28. #7 Stanford edged Arizona State 38-28. #9 UCLA humiliated Nevada 49-6. #10 Florida State pulled away from Virginia 38-24.

#11 Georgia Tech topped Wake Forest 38-10. #12 USC beat #24 Oregon State 41-17. #13 Florida handled Ole Miss 24-7. #14 Michigan State demolished Central Michigan 48-3. #15 Clemson obliterated Tulane 45-3. Wyoming shocked #16 Washington State 27-24. Penn State knocked off #18 Central Florida 42-14. #19 Washington held off Boise State 38-17. #20 Oregon topped Georgia State 41-17. Kentucky knocked off #22 Louisville. #23 Alabama held off Vanderbilt 36-24. #25 Nebraska beat Maryland 52-24.

For our readers, JeffHCross, #1 Ohio State improves to 2-0 (0-0 Big Ten) with a 38-21 win over #21 Virginia Tech. Morsdraconis, West Virginia improves to 2-0 (1-0 Big 12) with a 42-10 win over FCS East. Souljahbill, Southern Miss falls to 1-2 (0-0 C-USA) with a 52-28 loss to BYU. Jaymo, Arizona State drops to 1-2 (0-1 Pac-12) with a 38-28 loss to #7 Stanford. LeeSO, Auburn improves to 2-1 (2-0 SEC) with a 38-24 win over Mississippi State. SCClassof93, #5 South Carolina improves to 3-0 (2-0 SEC) with a 45-7 win over East Carolina. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State improves to 1-1 (0-0 Sun Belt) with a 34-6 win over FCS Northwest. Florida International remains 1-0 (0-0 C-USA) with a bye week. Navy opens the year 1-0 (1-0 American) with a 38-21 win over SMU. Tulsa opens the year 1-0 (0-0 American) with a 47-27 win over Florida Atlantic.

In Mountain West action, Wyoming knocked off #16 Washington State 27-24, Hawaii topped FCS Midwest 28-18, San Diego State beat FCS Midwest 41-24, #3 Oklahoma manhandled Fresno State 56-28, #6 Michigan trounced Utah State 49-28, #9 UCLA dominated Nevada 49-6, #19 Washington topped Boise State 38-17 and Pittsburgh beat San Jose State 28-10.

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Ohio State (38 first place votes) remains the #1 team, Miami (22 votes) remains #2, Oklahoma (1 vote) remains #3, Notre Dame remains #4 and South Carolina remains #5. Michigan remains #6, Stanford remains #7, Texas A&M remains #8, UCLA remains #9 and Florida State remains #10. Georgia Tech remains #11, USC remains #12, Florida remains #13, Michigan State remains #14 and Clemson remains #15. Texas climbs one to #16, Washington jumps two to #17, Oregon moves up two to #18, Alabama jumps four to #19 and Virginia Tech climbs one to #20. Nebraska jumps four to #21, Connecticut enters the poll at #22, Central Florida drops five to #23, Penn State enters the poll at #24 and Auburn (161 points) enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week was Washington State (from #16), Louisville (from #22) and Oregon State (from #24). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Louisiana-Lafayette (139 points) is #26, followed by Kentucky (128), Cincinnati (105), Oregon State (71) and Louisville (71) to round out the Top 30. Other teams getting points this week include Marshall (60), Arizona (55), Wisconsin (36) and Ole Miss (29).

An early season look at the Heisman race, Texas A&M QB Zac Hopkins is #1 (LW: #1), Notre Dame QB Mike Harper is #2 (LW: #3), UCLA QB Mark Wilson is #3 (LW: #2), Stanford QB Roger Langford is #4 (LW: #4) and Auburn HB Nick Bowers is #5 (LW: NR). Falling off the Heisman Watch list this week was Miami HB Tony Martinez (LW: #5).

SmoothPancakes

01-02-2014, 08:45 PM

I have to say, despite how badly our offense, defense and special teams all screwed the pooch in the fourth quarter, I'm damn proud of them. To go into the Big House, against the #6 ranked team in the nation, and put up that kind of a fight. Hold Michigan to just a single touchdown for the entire first half, have a 14-7 halftime lead, be tied with them at the end of the third quarter, that is one hell of an impressive showing by our team. Taking away the collapse in the fourth quarter, and the defense/special teams failures in the third quarter, that was one of the best damn performances by our team my entire team at Utah State. If they can keep playing like that and come out and perform like that in future games, we can make some noise this year and at the minimum get over the 6-win hump.

SmoothPancakes

01-02-2014, 09:36 PM

Rolling on with another bye week.

Taking a look around the nation, in the Top 25, #1 Ohio State beat Minnesota 49-24. #3 Oklahoma escaped Tulsa 31-24. #4 Notre Dame dropped Syracuse 41-24. #9 Texas A&M knocked off #5 South Carolina 38-16. #6 Michigan routed BYU 59-17. #7 Stanford escaped Arizona 42-38. #8 UCLA doubled up Washington State 56-28. #10 Florida State held off Duke 34-21. #11 Georgia Tech beat NC State 45-10. #12 USC topped California 35-23. #13 Florida edged Tennessee 34-24.

Ohio toppled #14 Michigan State 40-14. #15 Clemson beat North Carolina 45-26. Louisiana-Lafayette shocked #17 Washington 28-9. San Diego State stunned #18 Oregon 35-28. #19 Alabama smoked Colorado State 48-21. #20 Virginia Tech hammered Georgia State 49-13. #21 Nebraska defeated South Alabama 34-13. #22 Connecticut topped Houston 42-35. #23 Central Florida beat Middle Tennessee State 27-17. Northwestern upset #24 Penn State 36-22. #25 Auburn beat Idaho 45-27.

For our readers, JeffHCross, #1 Ohio State improves to 3-0 (1-0 Big Ten) with a 49-24 win over Minnesota. Morsdraconis, West Virginia drops to 2-1 (1-0 Big 12) with a 38-31 loss to Maryland. Souljahbill, Southern Miss remains 1-2 (0-0 C-USA) with a bye week. Jaymo, Arizona State improves to 2-2 (0-1 Pac-12) with a 45-17 win over Arkansas State. LeeSO, #25 Auburn improves to 3-1 (2-0 SEC) with a 45-27 win over Idaho. SCClassof93, #5 South Carolina drops to 3-1 (2-1 SEC) with a 38-16 loss to #9 Texas A&M. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State drops to 1-2 (0-0 Sun Belt) with a 45-17 loss to Arizona State. Florida International drops to 1-1 (0-0 C-USA) with a 38-33 loss to Illinois. Navy improves to 2-0 (2-0 American) with a 31-21 win over Memphis. Tulsa drops to 1-1 (0-0 American) with a 31-24 loss to #3 Oklahoma.

In Mountain West action, San Diego State knocked off #18 Oregon 35-28, UNLV beat Troy 38-21, Air Force topped UAB 38-17, Wyoming beat Northern Illinois 35-24, Boise State outlasted Virginia 52-42, Alabama smoked Colorado State 48-21, South Florida lit up Nevada 40-14, Wisconsin hammered San Jose State 41-10 and Colorado edged out Hawaii 31-28.

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Ohio State (39 first place votes) remains the #1 team, Miami (21 votes) remains #2, Oklahoma (1 vote) remains #3, Notre Dame remains #4 and Michigan climbs one to #5. Texas A&M jumps three to #6, Stanford remains #7, UCLA remains #8, Florida State climbs one to #9 and Georgia Tech jumps one to #10. Florida jumps two to #11, South Carolina drops seven to #12, USC falls one to #13, Clemson climbs one to #14 and Texas jumps one to #15. Alabama climbs three to #16, Virginia Tech jumps three to #17, Nebraska moves up three to #18, Connecticut jumps three to #19 and Louisiana-Lafayette enters the poll at #20. Central Florida jumps two to #21, Washington falls five to #22, Auburn climbs two to #23, Michigan State drops ten to #24 and Oregon (186 points) drops seven to #25. Dropping out of the poll this week was Penn State (from #24). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Cincinnati (170 points) is #26, followed by Ohio (89), Oregon State (81), Marshall (70) and San Diego State (52) to round out the Top 30. One other team getting points this week is TCU (27).

Taking a look at the first Top 25 Media Poll, Ohio State (37 first place votes) is the #1 team, Miami (25 votes) is #2, Texas A&M is #3, Notre Dame (2 votes) is #4 and Oklahoma (1 vote) is #5. Michigan is #6, Stanford is #7, Clemson is #8, Florida State is #9 and UCLA is #10. South Carolina is #11, Georgia Tech is #12, USC is #13, Florida is #14 and Texas is #15. Virginia Tech is #16, Louisiana-Lafayette is #17, Alabama is #18, Nebraska is #19 and Connecticut is #20. Auburn is #21, Washington is #22, Oregon is #23, Cincinnati is #24 and Michigan State (191 points) is #25. Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Central Florida (191 points) is #26, followed by Ohio (129), Oregon State (119), San Diego State (78) and Marshall (73) to round out the Top 30. Other teams getting points this week include LSU (71), TCU (63), Kansas (41) and Wisconsin (23).

An early season look at the Heisman race, UCLA QB Mark Wilson is #1 (LW: #3), Notre Dame QB Mike Harper is #2 (LW: #2), Stanford QB Roger Langford is #3 (LW: #4), Texas A&M QB Zac Hopkins is #4 (LW: #1) and Auburn HB Nick Bowers is #5 (LW: #5). No one fell off the Heisman Watch list this week.

SmoothPancakes

01-03-2014, 09:31 PM

Game Three

:BYU: :@: :Utah_State:

Game Story

--- Heading home for the first time in our 2022 season, we entered the game hoping to build on our offense and defense successes from the Michigan contest. While we ultimately ran out of gas and ended up losing by double digits, we had some of our best offensive and defensive production in years, especially against such a highly ranked and talented program. With our prior victory over Utah, a win today over BYU would give us possession of the Beehive Boot for the first time since the 2012 season. A look at the stats from BYU’s first four games, they were by a middle of the road to slightly worse team, they were decent in defending the run, horrible in defending the pass, and their best hope for a win would be via their own passing game. BYU won the coin toss and elected to kick.

A 19 yard kickoff return by Leonard Hart gave us the ball at our 27 yard line to start the game. Starting our drive on the ground, Matt Leierer took the first down handoff up the middle for a 6 yard gain, followed by a two yard rush that left us with third and two. Taking another shot on the ground, Leierer was able to get the conversion with a 6 yard carry, moving the chains to the 41 yard line. Tyson Taylor took over on first down, busting around the right end for a gain of 7 yards, followed by a 5 yard rush to give us another first down at the BYU 47 yard line. Running a play action pass on first down, the BYU defense wasn’t fooled, as the pass from Adam Powers intended for Raymond Watson got broken up, leaving second down. Lining up under center on second down, Powers dropped back quickly and rifled a pass over the middle intended for tight end Cedric McKinney. It wouldn’t reach its target however as the pass was intercepted by outside linebacker Jeff Higgins, who returned the ball 11 yards before being brought down at the BYU 43 yard line.

Taking over after the interception, BYU came out with some sneakiness, running a screen pass on their first play of the game, as Raishaun Fontaine connected with William Hodges for a 10 yard gain, leaving second and inches. A 10 yard rush by Hodges would do the job, moving the chains to our 38 yard line. Another pass to Hodges again left us chasing him, as he was finally tripped up along the right sideline for a 21 yard gain, giving BYU a first down at our 17 yard line. We would finally contain Hodges on first down, limiting him to just a two yard gain on the ground. A dropped pass by Reggie Hendrix would result in BYU facing their first third down of the drive, lining up with third and 8. Fontaine would never get the third down pass off, as outside linebacker Casey Hunter came in from Fontaine’s blind side and sacked him for a 7 yard loss, leaving fourth and 15 from our 22 yard line. BYU apparently didn’t have a kicker capable of making a 39 yard field goal, as the Cougars lined up to go for it on fourth and very long. Our defense would get the job done on fourth down, as the pass from Fontaine intended for Travis McDonald was broken up by cornerback Buck Castillo near our 5 yard line, forcing the turnover on downs.

Taking back possession of the ball after the turnover on downs, we got lined up on our 22 yard line, looking to make this drive just a little bit more successful. Leierer started our drive with a three yard scramble, before a power option pitch to Taylor left the defense tripping over their feet and gained us 10 yards and got the first down at the 34 yard line. Lining up in the shotgun on first down, Powers tried to connect with Eric McGuire over the middle, but the safety was able to break the pass up, leaving second down. Staying in the shotgun on second down, Powers hurled up a pass to Max Rhodes along the opposite sideline, who proceeded to shake his way out of one tackle and tip toe up the sideline before finally being driven out of bounds for a 34 yard reception, giving us a first down at the BYU 32 yard line. Turning back to the ground game, Leierer was immediately wrapped up for a gain of just one yard, leaving second and 9. Lining up under center on second down, Powers dropped back and found Walter Johnson out of the backfield for a 6 yard gain, setting up third and three. A quick pass to Dre Martin on the slant route gained us 10 yards and a fresh set of downs at the 15 yard line. A dive up the middle by Taylor from the wingback slot gained 7 yards on the first down carry, followed by a one yard rush by Leierer that left us facing third and two. Taking our chances on the ground, Leierer was able to get the job done with a four yard rush to give us first and goal at the three yard line. Taylor took a crack at the end zone on first down and was able to find a gap in the blitz, plowing his way into the end zone for a three yard touchdown, giving us a 7-0 lead with 1:04 left in the first quarter.

An 18 yard kickoff return by Hodges gave BYU the ball at their 19 yard line. Hodges took the handoff on first down, but found absolutely nowhere to run as our blitz brought him down in the backfield for a two yard loss. That success would last just one play as Hodges would turn around on second down and burn us for a 15 yard rush, giving BYU a first down at the 32. A first down pass to John Diggs picked up a quick 11 yards and another first down at the 43. Fontaine was just barely able to avoid being sacked, throwing up a dangerous pass intended for Hendrix, but while cornerback Charles Noble jumped the route, he was unable to intercept the pass, leaving second down. A blown defensive play turned what should have been third and maybe short, into a 37 yard pass reception for Hodges, giving BYU a brand spanking new first down at our 21 yard line. A delayed handoff on first down to Hodges picked up three yards. Lining up on second and 7, Fontaine would do the job himself as he rolled out on a QB read and raced up the field untouched for an 18 yard touchdown, tying the game up at 7-7 with 8:33 left in the second quarter.

It would take us just 11 seconds to respond as Hart took the kickoff at our 6 yard line and took off towards the right sideline. A pair of blocks in front of him left both of the guys on the end of BYU’s kickoff team laying flat on their backs, allowing Hart to break free down the sideline and turn on the jets. Another block further downfield eliminated both the kicker and the only Cougar capable of catching up to Hart, enabling him to take the kickoff all the way back for a 94 yard touchdown, giving us a 14-7 lead with 8:22 left in the second quarter.

A 24 yard kickoff return by Hodges set BYU back up on offense from their 25 yard line. A quick pass on first down to Brandon Smith picked up a fast 8 yards for the offense, making it second and two. Fontaine tried to keep the ball himself on second down, but was quickly tripped up in the backfield by the blitz for a 5 yard loss, leaving third and 7. A timely hit by Noble broke up a pass over the middle intended for Hendrix, and on fourth and 7, BYU was forced to punt. A three yard return by McGuire on the 38 yard punt gave us the ball at our 37 yard line.

Coming out in the shotgun on first down, we looked to take a chance deep right off the bat, but the pass down the left sideline intended for McGuire was off the mark and incomplete, leaving second down. The pass on second down intended for Rhodes got batted away from behind by the outside linebacker, and we were left facing third and 10. Taking a chance and going back to Rhodes on third down, he was able to pull in the pass this time for a 15 yard gain, moving the chains to the BYU 48 yard line. A pass over the middle to Martin picked up 17 yards and gave us another fresh set of downs at the 30. Trying to keep the air attack going, an off-balance pass to Greg Miller forced him to come back for the ball, allowing the defense to close on him and force him out of bounds immediately after the catch for no gain, leaving second and 10. A second down pass over the middle to Taylor would get the job done, as he pulled it in for a 16 yard gain and a new first down at the 14 yard line. Another bad pass to Miller resulted in him being tackled yet again for no gain, but instead of facing second and 10, we would get a helping hand from the defense, as middle linebacker Joe Barry was flagged for a facemask infraction on the tackle, the half the distance to the goal penalty gaining us 7 yards and giving us first and goal from the 7 yard line. Leierer took the ball on first down, finding a hole around the right guard and diving for the end zone, but he would come up short, credited with a 6 yard gain to leave second and goal inside the one yard line. Leierer would still fail to get in on second down, getting caught up on the center and tackled sideways for no gain, leaving third and goal outside the goal line. With nothing but mere inches separating the ball and the goal line, Leierer took the ball for a third time, and while again getting turned sideways by the defense, he was able to fall over the goal line this time for the one yard touchdown, increasing our lead to 21-7 with 4:33 left in the second quarter.

A 22 yard kickoff return by Hodges gave BYU the ball at their 24 yard line, the Cougars now finding themselves in a two score hole. Forced to get rid of the ball in a hurry to avoid the blitz, Fontaine found Daniel Frank over the middle, though luckily for us, Frank was unable to turn the wide open field into a big gain, as he lost his balance and fell to the ground for a pickup of only two yards. Our blitz would fail on second down, as Fontaine got the pass away and a failed break on the ball by our cornerback allowed McDonald to haul the pass in and take it down the right sideline for a 43 yard gain, finally dragged down from behind to give BYU a first down at our 31 yard line. A quick pass to Hodges behind the line of scrimmage would turn into a two yard loss of yards, as the defense quickly brought Hodges down before he could turn up the field, leaving BYU with second and 12. A mix of our secondary keeping the receivers wrapped up and our pass rush on second down forced Fontaine to get rid of the ball to avoid a sack, as BYU found themselves quickly facing third and long. Fontaine wouldn’t have any hope on third down as we brought 8 players on the blitz, the safety breaking through and forcing Fontaine to hold onto the ball while he tried to evade the sack, only to end up trapped as 6 other defenders quickly closed on him like a trap, ultimately sacking him for an 8 yard loss and leaving BYU punting on fourth and 20 from our 41 yard line. The 41 yard punt would bounce down at the three yard line and roll into the end zone for a touchback, giving us the ball at our 20 yard line.

Taking over after the touchback, we again came out on first down looking to take a shot down the field, this time running a play action pass that left tight end Jack Long wide open near the right sideline for a big 34 yard gain and an immediate first down at the BYU 46 yard line. Trying to go deep over the middle to Martin, the pass got broken up by the safety at the last moment, leaving second and 10. Passing to Rhodes on second down, the outside linebacker made a late move at the route and tried to intercept the pass, but he was just a fraction of a second late as Rhodes snagged in the pass while the linebacker’s momentum carried him past the play, allowing Rhodes to turn up the field briefly before being tackled for a 14 yard gain and a new set of downs at the 32 yard line. Throwing over the middle on first down, Powers connected with McGuire on a slant route after the outside linebacker and the cornerback both ran into each other, letting McGuire break open over the top for a 17 yard strike and yet another first down at the 14 yard line. Lining up under center on first down, Powers dropped back and fired a pass to Taylor, only to have it intercepted by defensive end Kendrick Chandler, who returned it two yards before being tackled at the BYU 14 yard line.

BYU’s offense lined up at their 14 yard line after the devastating interception, the Cougars left with just 1:45 remaining on the clock. BYU seemed almost intent to just run out the clock as Fontaine took the snap and tried to take off running on a QB read play. Unfortunately for him, we were bringing the house on first down, resulting on Fontaine running straight into multiple defenders that quickly brought him down for a 5 yard loss, setting up second and 15. Seemingly not ready to yet throw in the towel, BYU called their first timeout after the play, stopping the clock with 1:43 remaining. The defense would strike again on second down as the corner blitz broke past both tackles and into the backfield, sacking Fontaine for a 7 yard loss to leave BYU buried deep, facing third and 22 from their own two yard line. Josh Melton took the handoff on third down, but our blitz limited him to a gain of only two yards on the play, leaving BYU punting on fourth and 20 from their four yard line, our first timeout called to stop the clock with 59 seconds left. Taking a gamble on the return, with BYU punting in such cramped quarters, and bringing everybody to try and block the punt, we were unable to block the punt, but we did the next best thing and didn’t allow the punt to get off, as safety Allen Salyer broke through around the right end and instead of diving to try and get in front of the ball, instead ran right into the punter and tackled him out of the back of the end zone for a safety, increasing our lead to 23-7 with 58 seconds left.

A 24 yard return by Hart on the kickoff following the safety gave our offense the ball at the BYU 44 yard line, just 47 seconds left on the clock and two timeouts left in our pocket. We took a minor gamble on first down, and ran a play action pass. Instead of finding McKinney, the intended target, the ball would end up in the hands of Lawrence Hughes, the BYU cornerback who returned the interception 10 yard before being tackled at the 37 yard line.

BYU’s offense returned to the field after our third interception of the game, the Cougars needing to cover 63 yards in just 40 seconds, and with only two timeouts to aid them. The Cougars, head scratchingly, handed the ball off to Hodges on first down, who was quickly brought down for a gain of just one yard, leaving second and 9 and forcing BYU to instantly burn their second timeout with 37 seconds remaining. Managing to avoid a sack, Fontaine got the pass off to James Fry along the left sideline, but he would proceed to bobble the ball, allowing Noble to close in and hit him from behind to knock the ball incomplete, leaving third and 9, 33 seconds left in the half. We would end up getting the ball right back on third down, as the pass from Fontaine, intended for Hendrix, was intercepted by Hart at the BYU 49 yard line. Hart, after managing to avoid going out of bounds, streaked up the sideline for a 31 yard interception return before being tripped up from a desperation ankle dive by the only defender who could stop him, resulting in us taking over on offense at the BYU 18 yard line with 24 seconds left on the clock.

Lining up at the BYU 18 yard line after the interception, we went straight into the air with just 24 seconds left, as Powers connected with Rhodes near the right hash, unfortunately, for a 9 yard gain after the safety was able to bring him down quickly after the catch, leaving second and one from the 9 yard line and forcing us to use our second timeout with 18 seconds left on the clock. The second down pass over the middle intended for McGuire was nearly intercepted by the outside linebacker, leaving us facing third and one, 15 seconds left on the clock. The third down pass over the middle intended again for McGuire was likewise broken up by the middle linebacker, bringing up fourth and one, 11 seconds remaining. The 26 yard field goal by Doug Marcus split the uprights, extending our lead to 26-7 with 8 seconds remaining in the half.

With 8 seconds left on the clock, there was too much time for a squib kick to use up, and it would leave BYU in rather decent field position, so we opted to kickoff deep, a 20 yard kickoff return by Fry leaving BYU lining up at their 19 yard line with just 5 seconds left. Dropping everybody deep for an expected pass ended up not being needed, as Fontaine handed the ball off to Hodges, who rushed for a 10 yard gain before being brought down to leave second and inches. The Cougars wouldn’t get a chance at another play as the clock hit all zeroes during the tackle, sending us into halftime with a 26-7 lead.

Opening up the second half, a 19 yard kickoff return by Fry gave BYU the ball at their 19 yard line to start the third quarter. Fontaine briefly dropped back to pass on first down before taking off scrambling with inhuman acceleration, sprinting across the line of scrimmage before anyone on our defense could even react, ultimately gaining 16 yards on the play before sliding for the first down at the 35 yard line. A first down screen pass to Melton resulted in no gain on the play, making it second and 10. A quick pass by Fontaine intended for McDonald ended up being swatted down by Noble, bringing up third and 10 for the Cougars. We got lucky on third down as the pass over the middle intended for Hendrix was dropped, saving our secondary who were out of position and would have led to a potential touchdown on that play. Instead, BYU was left with fourth and 10 and were forced to punt the ball away. A three yard return by McGuire on the 30 yard punt gave us the ball at our 37 yard line.

Lining up after the punt, it was back to our roots as Leierer took the first down handoff for a gain of only one yard, leaving second and 9. With the Cougars surprisingly ready still for our run game, it was back into the air on second down as Powers dropped back and tried to connect with McGuire, only to have the pass dropped incomplete to bring up third down. Rhodes would get us positive gain on third down, but it wouldn’t be enough as he was immediately tackled after the catch, limited to just an 8 yard gain, leaving fourth and one at the 46 yard line. A very short, under-kicked punt nearly worked in our favor as the ball ended up bouncing straight into the shins of Fry and then ricocheted back towards the direction the punt came. Unfortunately, our closest player was locked up in a block and was unable to shed it in time, as Fry was able to run up and dive on top of the loose ball to reclaim it for BYU, giving them a first down at their 33 yard line.

Taking over after the nearly disastrous punt return, the Cougars got their drive started through the air, but it was a less than stellar start as Fontaine was forced to throw the ball away, resulting in a quick second down. We would get burned on second down as Hodges pulled in a screen pass near the left sideline and while tip toeing and working his way up the sideline, managed to somehow forced four different defenders to miss him, before finally be violently shoved out of bounds after a 34 yard gain that gave BYU a first down at our 32 yard line. Dropping back to pass again on second down, Fontaine tried to connect with McDonald on the opposite sideline, but he ended up telegraphing his throw, the resultant pass ending up intercepted by Hart for his second pick of the day, returned 10 yards before McDonald tripped him up at our 38 yard line.

Lining up at our 38 yard line after the interception, Taylor received the ball on first down on a dive from the wingback slot, stuffed by the defense for a gain of just two yards, BYU keeping our run game under tight control this half. Running a play action pass on second down, the pass to Johnson ended up gaining us only two yards as well, leaving third and 6. Rhodes would keep our drive alive this time, as he hauled in the third down pass for a gain of 12 yards to move the chains to the BYU 47 yard line. A first down power option pitch to Taylor also netted just two yards, our run game nearly worthless this second half. Lining up under center on second down, Powers dropped back and threw a pass over the middle to Long for a 13 yard completion, keeping the drive moving with a first down at the 32 yard line. Returning to the shotgun on first down, the pass intended for Rhodes was broken up by the cornerback, leaving second down. Martin would keep us moving on the next play as he broke open over the middle on a slant route, the pass good for a 19 yard pickup and a new set of downs from the 13 yard line. Trips to the left in the short field would leave the defense running into each other and allowed Miller to get open on an out route, pulling in the pass from Powers and heading for the pylon for a 13 yard touchdown, increasing our lead to 33-7 with 3:12 left in the third quarter.

A 28 yard kickoff return by Fry gave BYU the ball from their 28 yard line, the Cougars almost out of all hope of a comeback in this one. Fontaine came out passing on first down, connecting with McDonald for an 11 yard gain and a quick first down at the 39. Going five wide on first down, Fontaine found Taylor Hayes along the right sideline for an 18 yard strike, pushed out of bounds at our 43 yard line. A first down pass over the middle to Smith gained 13 yards and the Cougars kept their streak of first downs going with a new set of downs at our 30 yard line. Fry would keep the streak going as he pulled in the first down pass from Fontaine for a 16 yard gain, moving the chains yet again to our 14 yard line, our defense suddenly incapable of stopping anything at all. Turning to their ground game, Fontaine handed the ball off to Fry on first down, our defense finally managing to do something as he was quickly brought down for no gain on the play, leaving second and 10. We were able to bring Fry down extremely quickly on second down, but a facemask penalty on Hunter turned what would have been a two or three yard loss into a 7 yard half the distance to the goal gain, giving BYU first and goal from our 7 yard line. Running a play action fake on first down left Fontaine scrambling for his life as our blitz closed in on him. Taking off scrambling, he had a chance at the touchdown but a tackle attempt at his ankles that left him spinning around caused him to lose his balance and fall to the turf, the play officially recorded as a sack for a two yard loss to bring up second and goal at the 9 yard line. Hodges took the ball on second down, rushing straight up the middle for a 7 yard gain before being body slammed by the last man standing between him and the end zone, leaving third and goal at the two yard line. Hodges would fail on the third down attempt, trying to take the handoff around the right end, only to run into multiple defenders and end up tackled for no gain, forcing BYU to settle for a field goal on fourth and goal from the two. The 19 yard field goal by Joshua McCarthy was good, cutting our lead to 33-10 with 11 seconds left in the third quarter.

An 18 yard kickoff return by Hart gave us the ball at our 20 yard line, looking to put this game on ice. Tossing the dice, we ran the ball on first down, Leierer fighting his way to a four yard gain to leave second and 6. That would be the final play of the third quarter, our lead sitting at a commanding 33-10.

Opening up the fourth quarter, we lined up on second and 6, still trying to get our run game going consistently. Another rush by Leierer would gain just two yards, as he continued failing to get a kick of speed when needed to hit the hole, instead letting the defense bringing him down at the line of scrimmage. Lining up on third and four, we ran a play action pass, the extremely ballsy wingback toss pass play call paying off as Taylor went in motion to the right, receiving the pitch from Powers on the snap and after avoiding the blitzing defensive end, chucked a pass downfield to a double teamed Martin, who managed to beat both defenders to the ball and not only pull it in, but hold onto it as he was sandwiched on the tackle, the play resulting in a shocking 13 yard completion and a first down at the 39 yard line. A botched pitch on first down, caused by the defensive blitz, resulted in a fumble near the line of scrimmage which Powers quickly dived on top of to recover for our offense, Powers credited with a one yard gain on the play to leave second and one. Dropping back to pass on second down, Powers would be unable to get the pass away as he was sacked from behind by the cornerback for a loss of 7 yards, leaving third and 15. Powers was again hit in the backfield by the defense, this time fumbling the ball instead of being sacked, though Leierer was nearby to save our hides and recover the loose ball, leaving us punting away on fourth and 20. An 11 yard return by Fry on the 37 yard punt gave BYU the ball at their 43 yard line.

The first play of BYU’s drive saw Fontaine drop back to pass, but he was forced to throw the ball away as we kept his targets under wrap and bottled him up to keep him contained, resulting in second down. Another incomplete pass, this time intended for McDonald, sailed long and incomplete to bring up third down. Unfortunately, our defense couldn’t keep it up on third down as Smith hauled in a pass for a 16 yard gain on an out route, tackled out of bounds to give BYU a first down at our 41 yard line. Rushing only our four front linemen now and dropping everyone else into coverage, Fontaine was forced to take off scrambling, managing to stiff arm his way past one of the defense tackles and one of the defensive ends, before the linebackers collapsed down and brought him down for a loss, the play recorded by the officials as a sack for a loss of four yards, making it second and 14. Keeping Fontaine contained on first down, he had no choice but to take a chance down the field, but his pass intended for Smith sailed long and well out of bounds, leaving third and 14. Taking a chance on the ground on third down, Fontaine handed the ball off to Hodges, who was able to pick up 6 yards before being spun down from behind to bring up fourth and 8 and the Cougars lining up to go for it. Despite needing just 8 yards, just needing to get to our 31 yard line, Fontaine would take a shot down the left sideline, looking to connect with Hendrix near our 20 yard line. In this case, the pass would not make it to the intended target as cornerback Mike Moses jumped the route, intercepted the ball and returning it 7 yards before being dragged down, giving us possession at our 27 yard line with 4:45 left in the game.

Lining up on first down after the interception, we came out running as we tried to run some time off of the clock, Leierer taking the first down handoff up the middle for a gain of four yards. Another rush by Leierer would be more productive as he took the handoff initially up the middle, but was forced to bounce outside to find space, racing the defense to the left sideline before being tackled for a gain of 6 yards and a first down at the 37 yard line. Another handoff to Leierer gained just two yards, followed by a 6 yard carry by Taylor to set up third and two, needing this first down to be able to run out the final couple minutes. Leierer would get the conversion with a 6 yard rush up the gut, giving us a first down at the BYU 49 yard line with 2:05 remaining on the clock. Sensing the impossibility of their situation, BYU didn’t bother calling any of their three timeouts as the clock continued ticking away. A first down rush by Leierer went for a 10 yard gain that left us looking at second and inches. Snapping the ball with 53 seconds left on the clock, Taylor received the handoff for a two yard gain, getting the first down at the 38 yard line, and with 45 seconds left on the clock, a single knee was all that remained until final victory. Lining up in victory formation on first down, Powers snapped the ball with 25 seconds left and kneeled down, running out the final sections and sealing our 33-10 victory over BYU. This proved to be quite the massive victory, as it resulted in not only a victory over rival BYU, but the return of the Old Wagon Wheel to Logan and Utah State’s first possession of the Beehive Boot since 2012, winning the tri-way battle for the boot with victories over both Utah and BYU. It was also a milestone victory for Coach Marko Ramius, who recorded his 100th victory as a coach in the college ranks.

With the win, we improve to 2-1, 0-0 in Mountain West action. With the loss, BYU drops to 1-4. Up next, it’s back on the road as we visit neighboring Nevada for our 2022 conference opener. The Wolf Pack enter the game 0-3, 0-0 in Mountain West action. Nevada stumbled right out of the gate to open their year with a 47-21 loss to Arizona, a 49-6 hammering at #8 UCLA and then a 40-14 drubbing at South Florida.

Final Score
:Utah_State: 33, :BYU: 10

Stat(s) of the Game:
Utah State Offense - Another poor day for Powers, going 18-30 for 241 yards and one touchdown, but also ending with another three interceptions. Due to a trick play, Taylor ended up 1-1 for 13 yards in passing today. Rushing, Leierer led the way with 61 yards and one touchdown on 21 carries, Taylor had 39 yards and one touchdown on 8 rushes, Powers ended with negative 9 yards on two rushes. Receiving, Rhodes led the way with 92 yards on six receptions. Miller had 14 yards and the lone receiving touchdown today on three catches. In total, seven receivers caught at least one pass today, six ended the day with double digit yards.

Utah State Defense/Special Teams – A solid day by the defense. Ended the game with three interceptions that kept BYU's offense consistently cut off at the knees. Still gave up 237 yards passing though, having trouble a couple of times stopping anything and everything BYU threw out there, as well as trouble stopping Hodges at times on the ground. Special teams was solid today with a pair of decent punts and then a kickoff return by Hart to immediately respond after BYU's lone touchdown, not allowing the BYU the chance to build up any momentum off of their score.

Utah State Kicking – A perfect day for Marcus going 1-1 in field goals with a 26 yard kick, and going 4-4 in PATs.

Scoring Summary

Team
1st Quarter
2nd Quarter
3rd Quarter
4th Quarter
Final Score

:BYU:
0
7
3
0
10

:Utah_State:
7
19
7
0
33

Time
Team
Result
Play
Score

First Quarter

1:04
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
T. Taylor, 3 yard run (D. Marcus kick)
:Utah_State: 7-0

Second Quarter

8:33
:BYU:
Touchdown
R. Fontaine, 18 yard run (J. McCarthy kick)
TIED 7-7

8:22
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
L. Hart, returned kickoff 94 yards (D. Marcus kick)
:Utah_State: 14-7

4:33
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
M. Leierer, 1 yard run (D. Marcus kick)
:Utah_State: 21-7

0:58
:Utah_State:
Safety
Team Safety: A. Payne tackled in end zone
:Utah_State: 23-7

0:11
:Utah_State:
Field Goal
D. Marcus, 26 yard field goal
:Utah_State: 26-7

Third Quarter

3:12
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
G. Miller, 13 yard pass from A. Powers (D. Marcus kick)
:Utah_State: 33-7

0:11
:BYU:
Field Goal
J. McCarthy, 19 yard field goal
:Utah_State: 33-10

Fourth Quarter

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

Game Stats

BYU
Stat
Utah State

10
Score
33

14
First Downs
20

283
Total Offense
345

23 - 46 - 1
Rushes - Yards - TD
31 - 91 - 2

15 - 30 - 0
Comp - Att - TD
19 - 31 - 1

237
Passing Yards
254

5
Times Sacked
1

1 - 9 (11%)
3rd Down Conversion
8 - 11 (72%)

0 - 3 (0%)
4th Down Conversion
0 - 0 (0%)

0 - 0 (0%)
2-Point Conv
0 - 0 (0%)

3 - 1 - 1 (66%)
Red Zone - TD - FG
5 - 3 - 1 (80%)

3
Turnovers
3

0
Fumbles Lost
0

3
Intercepted
3

10
Punt Return Yards
5

129
Kick Return Yards
152

422
Total Yards
502

3 – 36.7
Punts - Average
2 - 32.5

1 - 7
Penalties
1 - 7

15:00
Time of Possession
21:00

Utah State Coach Goals

Goal
XP Reward
Completed

Win a Game
100
x1

Score a Touchdown
25
x4

Kick/Punt Return Touchdown
50
x1

Force a Turnover
25
x3

Pass for 250 Yards
25
x1

Kneel Last Minute Q4 While Ahead
10
x1

3+ Sacks
50
x1

Opponent Under 150 Rush Yards
50
x1

Beat a Rival School
50
x1

Opponent Under 300 Pass Yards
50
x1

Pass Completion Over 50%
30
x1

Score 21 or More Points
50
x1

10+ First Downs
50
x1

4+ 3rd Down Conversions
25
x1

Utah State Contract Goals Update

Goal
Expectations
Progress

Target Wins Per Season
7
2

Job Security Status

100%

SmoothPancakes

01-03-2014, 09:32 PM

Taking a look around the nation, in the Top 25, #1 Ohio State routed Wisconsin 42-14. #2 Miami topped Louisville 31-21. #3 Oklahoma handled Tennessee 45-24. #4 Notre Dame defeated Pittsburgh 37-21. #5 Michigan beat Northwestern 37-14. #6 Texas A&M survived Arkansas 42-35. #7 Stanford beat Utah 49-37. In the game of the week, #8 UCLA outlasted #22 Washington 35-28. #9 Florida State barely beat out Wake Forest 31-28. #10 Georgia Tech escaped Temple 21-20.

Kentucky stunned #11 Florida 20-10. #12 South Carolina walloped Washington State 52-20. #13 USC edged out #25 Oregon 42-35 in overtime. Duke knocked off #14 Clemson 31-21. #16 Alabama fought off Ole Miss 28-20. #17 Virginia Tech topped NC State 27-7. #19 Connecticut toppled Tulsa 52-20. #20 Louisiana-Lafayette beat Louisiana Tech 35-13. #21 Central Florida escaped Tulane 14-10. #23 Auburn edged out Missouri 38-31. #24 Michigan State beat Illinois 49-35.

For our readers, JeffHCross, #1 Ohio State improves to 4-0 (2-0 Big Ten) with a 42-14 win over Wisconsin. Morsdraconis, West Virginia surprisingly improves to 3-1 (2-0 Big 12) with a 42-38 win over Oklahoma State. Souljahbill, Southern Miss remains 1-2 (0-0 C-USA) with a bye week. Jaymo, Arizona State remains 2-2 (0-1 Pac-12) with a bye week. LeeSO, #23 Auburn improves to 4-1 (3-0 SEC) with a 38-31 win over Missouri. SCClassof93, #12 South Carolina improves to 4-1 (2-1 SEC) with a 52-20 win over Washington State. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State improves to 2-2 (0-0 Sun Belt) with a 39-38 win over Marshall. Florida International drops to 1-2 (0-1 C-USA) with a 21-17 loss to Western Kentucky. Navy improves to 3-0 (3-0 American) with a 45-28 win over Houston. Tulsa drops to 1-2 (0-1 American) with a 52-20 loss to #19 Connecticut.

In Mountain West action, Utah State beat BYU 33-10, Hawaii topped Colorado State 35-28, Air Force handled UNLV 31-10, San Jose State knocked off Wyoming 44-40 and New Mexico improves to a shocking 3-0 by beat Fresno State 42-24.

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Ohio State (41 first place votes) remains the #1 team, Miami (20 votes) remains #2, Oklahoma remains #3, Notre Dame remains #4 and Michigan remains #5. Texas A&M remains #6, Stanford remains #7, UCLA remains #8, Florida State remains #9 and Georgia Tech remains #10. South Carolina climbs one to #11, USC jumps one to #12, Texas moves up two to #13, Alabama jumps two to #14 and Virginia Tech climbs two to #15. Nebraska climbs two to #16, Connecticut jumps two to #17, Louisiana-Lafayette climbs two to #18, Florida drops eight to #19 and Central Florida climbs one to #20. Auburn jumps two to #21, Michigan State climbs two to #22, Cincinnati enters the poll at #23, Kentucky enters the poll at #24 and Ohio (174 points) enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Clemson (from #14), Washington (from #22) and Oregon (from #25). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Washington (168 points) is #26, followed by Oregon State (124), Clemson (103), San Diego State (71) and Oregon (64) to round out the Top 30. One other team getting points this week is TCU (61).

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Media Poll, Ohio State (36 first place votes) remains #1 team, Miami (21 votes) remains #2, Notre Dame (6 votes) climbs one to #3, Texas A&M drops one to #4 and Oklahoma (1 vote) remains #5. Michigan (1 vote) remains #6, Stanford remains #7, Florida State climbs one to #8, UCLA jumps one to #9 and South Carolina climbs one to #10. Georgia Tech moves up one to #11, USC climbs one to #12, Texas jumps two to #13, Virginia Tech moves up two to #14 and Louisiana-Lafayette climbs two to #15. Alabama jumps two to #16, Nebraska moves up two to #17, Connecticut climbs two to #18, Florida drops five to #19 and Auburn climbs one to #20. Cincinnati jumps three to #21, Central Florida enter the poll at #22, Michigan State jumps two to #23, Clemson plummets sixteen to #24 and Kentucky (203 points) enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Washington (from #22) and Oregon (from #23). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Ohio (182 points) is #26, followed by Washington (156), Oregon State (120), San Diego State (92) and Oregon (69) to round out the Top 30. One other team getting points this week is Indiana (19).

An early season look at the Heisman race, UCLA QB Mark Wilson is #1 (LW: #1), Notre Dame QB Mike Harper is #2 (LW: #2), Stanford QB Roger Langford is #3 (LW: #3), Auburn HB Nick Bowers is #4 (LW: #5) and Ohio State HB Tom Williams is #5 (LW: NR). Falling off the Heisman Watch list this week was Texas A&M QB Zac Hopkins (LW: #4).

SmoothPancakes

01-03-2014, 09:44 PM

Now, while this season is going much better, sitting at 2-1 as we reach the quarter mark of the schedule, Jesus our passing game is horrible this year.

The dynasty season record (counting every season at FIU, Tulsa and Utah State) for most interceptions in one season is 17, set by Brandon Booth during my first season at Tulsa (the same year he also set the season record for most TD passes at 47).

So far, through three games of this current season, Powers has a grand total of 708 yards passing, 4 touchdowns and 8 interceptions! Right now he's on pace for 32 interceptions by season's end if he keeps going at this rate. Just for comparison, in real college football, this season's interception leader, for all 125 (or whatever the number is) teams, is Washington State QB Connor Halliday, who led the entire NCAA by throwing 22 interceptions this season (along with 34 touchdowns).

This could be a long year, despite starting 2-1. If we can't stop throwing 3 or 4 damn interceptions every game, we're gonna end up losing multiple games just solely because we can't stop turning the ball over.

jaymo76

01-03-2014, 10:11 PM

If we can't stop throwing 3 or 4 damn interceptions every game, we're gonna end up losing multiple games just solely because we can't stop turning the ball over.

Smooth are you playing next gen Madden now??? :D On next gen madden and NCAA I have thrown more pics this year than any other (well maybe I threw more in NCAA 08 on 360???). Defenders have an uncanny ability to contort their bodies and move great distances quickly. When I think my QB is ice cold I throw in the backup and it uses changes how aggressive the cpu plays.

Good luck next game!

SmoothPancakes

01-03-2014, 10:41 PM

Smooth are you playing next gen Madden now??? :D On next gen madden and NCAA I have thrown more pics this year than any other (well maybe I threw more in NCAA 08 on 360???). Defenders have an uncanny ability to contort their bodies and move great distances quickly. When I think my QB is ice cold I throw in the backup and it uses changes how aggressive the cpu plays.

Good luck next game!

:D Yeah, I'm wondering if someone switched the labels on my discs. At least two interceptions every single game, it's gonna kill us as this season goes on.

Appreciate it. Nevada is going to be an interesting one. 0-3, got blown out in all three games, and they're a team I've never played before, so it's going to be a pure unknown test.

souljahbill

01-04-2014, 08:09 AM

I lowered CPU picks with my sliders. What I noticed is that the secondary is either completely out of position or in perfect position. There's very little inbetween so swats are too low and picks are too high.

SmoothPancakes

01-04-2014, 10:08 AM

Yep, that's what I've discovered. Every play, every pass, it's either going to have a receiver be completely open due to the secondary out of position or the secondary will be guaranteed to swat the ball down/intercept the ball. Unfortunately, I'm not sure what all I can do. I already have interceptions turned down to a low enough level that if I go any lower, the CPU will never intercept a single pass. So I'm basically stuck between a rock and a hard place. Throw 3+ interceptions every game, or go entire seasons without ever throwing a single interception. :smh:

SmoothPancakes

02-02-2014, 03:15 PM

Game Four

:Utah_State: :@: :Nevada:

Game Story

--- Coming off our rivalry win over BYU, we headed back onto the road to open up conference play for another season, this time with a trip to a winless Nevada squad. It was not a successful season thus far for the Wolf Pack, entering 0-3 with one of the worst statistical teams in college football. They only averaged 13.7 points/game (#125 nationally), their offense only put up 268.7 yards/game (#125 nationally), 101.7 yards rushing (#118 nationally) and 167.0 yards passing (#117 nationally). Defense was even worse, where Nevada was giving up a whopping 546.0 yards/game (#125 nationally), with 240.7 yards rushing (#125 nationally) and 305.3 yards passing (#120 nationally). Even their turnover differential was one of the worst, entering the game with a differential of negative 5, good for a national ranking of #112. We won the coin toss and elected to kick.

A 15 yard kickoff return by Eric Kenney gave Nevada the ball at their 20 yard line to start the game. The Wolf Pack came out passing on first down as Charles Tidwell heaved up a duck to Wallace Harris, good for a 15 yard completion and a quick first down at the 35 yard line. Kenney took the ball on first down for an 8 yard rush, followed by a four yard carry by Lorenzo Harris to pick up another first down at the 47. Kenney took the handoff on first down, but had nowhere to run as the blitz quickly brought him down for a four yard loss, leaving second and 14. Another handoff to Kenney gained three yards, setting up third and 11. Despite shaking off a sack attempt from behind, Tidwell was unable to find an open receiver and threw the ball over the middle into open space, the incomplete pass leaving fourth and 11 and bringing out the Nevada punt team. A 7 yard return by Eric McGuire on the 34 yard punt gave us the ball at our 26 yard line.

Starting our first drive of the game at our 26 yard line, Matt Leierer got us underway with a four yard rush up the middle, followed by a rush around the left end for a 6 yard gain, good for a first down at the 36 yard line. Calling the power option on first down was disastrous, as the pitch from Adam Powers to Tyson Taylor was interrupted by the defense, resulting in a fumble bouncing all over the field. Thankfully, right guard Shelton Woods was able to fall on top of the loose football, limiting the damage to a loss of 6 yards to leave second and 16. Lining up in the shotgun on second down, we were able to make up those lost yards and then some as Powers connected with McGuire over the middle for an 18 yard pickup, giving us a fresh set of downs at the 49. A first down rush by Leierer gained four yards, followed by a one yard rush to leave third and 5. Lining up under center on third down, Powers rifled a pass to tight end Cedric McKinney, the pass complete for a 12 yard gain to advance the chains to the Nevada 33 yard line. Returning to the ground on first down, Leierer rushed ahead for a gain of 5 yards, followed by a three yard rush that left third and two. Taking our chances on the ground on third down, Taylor was able to get the job done with a 5 yard rush around the left tackle, picking up the first down at the 20 yard line. Running a play action pass on first down caught the defense with their pants down, enabling McGuire to get open on an out route and haul in the pass from Powers for a 16 yard gain, setting up first and goal from the four yard line. The first down rush by Leierer ended up going backwards, tackled for a one yard loss to leave second and goal at the 5. A toss left to Taylor gained only a single yard, leaving third and goal from our original starting spot at the four yard line. The third time would prove to be the charm as a slant route by Dre Martin across the middle of the end zone was enough for him to get open and pull in the pass from Powers for a four yard touchdown, giving us a 7-0 lead with 1:07 left in the first quarter.

A 22 yard kickoff return by Kenney got some additional help by our kickoff team, as Adam Washington was flagged for a facemask penalty during the tackle, the 15 free yards resulting in a first down at the 43 yard line for Nevada. Our defense continued to shutdown the Nevada running game, as Kenney took the first down handoff only to be tackled for a three yard loss, leaving second and 13. Tidwell tried to take off running on a QB keeper, but he too was quickly brought down, tackled for no gain to bring up third and 13. Even going into the air on third down wasn’t going to get the job done, as a screen pass to Harris was completed and looked to gain some yards, but a diving tackle at the ankles by defensive tackle Ernest Sims was enough to bring Harris somersaulting to the ground for no gain, bringing out Nevada’s punt team on fourth and 13. That would be the final play of the first quarter, our lead sitting at 7-0.

Opening up the second quarter with a Nevada punt, a 5 yard return by McGuire on the 34 yard punt got us back in action from our 31 yard line.

Lining up on first down after the punt, we came out passing on first down, but the pass intended for McKinney was broken up by the cornerback, leaving a quick and disappointing second down. Another incomplete pass, this time intended for McGuire, and our drive was quickly in danger of coming to an end. Powers would never get the pass off on third down, sacked from behind for a 9 yard loss to leave us punting the ball right back on fourth and 19. A 14 yard return by John Thomas on the 42 yard punt gave Nevada the ball at the 50 yard line to start their next drive.

Another Nevada drive got off to yet another loss, as the Wolf Pack tried to run the option on first down, only to quickly get tackled before he could get the pitch off, resulting in another four yard loss and leaving second and 14. A second down pass intended for Greg Burnett got broken up by the secondary, and Nevada was left with third and 14. A pair of missed tackles would doom us on third down, allowing Burnett to haul in the pass this time around and race our safeties for the sideline for a 14 yard gain and a first down at our 40 yard line. Kenney kept the offense moving with a 9 yard rush, followed by a 5 yard gain to get another first down at the 26. A 7 yard rush by Tidwell was followed with a two yard completion from Tidwell to Kenney, setting up third and one. Tidwell would fake the handoff to Kenney and try to do the job himself, but was set airborne on the tackle by Sims, resulting in a three yard loss to leave fourth and four at the 20 yard line. It would get even worse for Nevada, was the 37 yard field goal by Micah Whitehead bounced off the right upright and no good, giving us back the ball at our 20 yard line.

Leierer got our next drive started off on the ground, taking the handoff straight up the middle for an 8 yard gain, followed by a 6 yard carry to get an early first down at the 34. Another rush by Leierer picked up 7 yards, before a two yard carry by Taylor left us looking at third and one. Leierer took the handoff on third down and was able to just get across the line for a two yard gain, moving the chains at the 45 yard line. A play action pass on first down to McGuire was complete, going for a gain of 13 yards and giving us a new set of downs at the Nevada 42 yard line. Trying to go back to McGuire on first down, the pass got broken up by the Nevada secondary, leaving second down. Powers tried to connect with Max Rhodes on second down, but the pass sailed long and wide, the incompletion bringing up third and 10. Forced to roll out to avoid the blitz, Powers tried to connect with an open Washington along the right sideline, but throwing across his body while on the move, the pass from Powers was woefully off target and sailed out of bounds, leaving us stranded on fourth down. A four yard return by Garry Davis on the 30 yard punt gave Nevada the ball at their 26 yard line.

Nevada opened their drive up with a screen pass to Kenney, but our defense was able to string him along horizontally enough to eventually force him out of bounds for a gain of just two yards. Faking the handoff on second down, Tidwell again tried to roll out to the left and tuck it and run, managing to gain four yards this time before our defense tripped him up short of the first down, leaving the offense looking at third and four. Going into the air on third down, despite having two receivers wide open together along the right sideline, Tidwell was unable to hit either of them, his wounded duck of a pass sailing over both receivers and landing incomplete out of bounds to force a punt on fourth and four. A 13 yard return by McGuire on the 41 yard punt got us back in action from our 40 yard line.

Lining up on first down with just a minute and a half left until halftime, we came right out passing on first down, as Powers connected with McGuire for a 12 yard gain and a quick first down at the Nevada 48 yard line. All of that momentum would quickly be shot and thrown overboard, as middle linebacker Derrick Williams intercepted the first down pass by Powers over the middle, returning it 12 yards to give the ball right back to Nevada’s offense at our 44 yard line.

Coming out on first down, Nevada went right into the air but nearly had it backfire, as cornerback Leonard Hart almost intercepted the first down pass intended for John Miller, leaving Nevada with a quick second down. A dropped pass by a wide open Jeremy Fontenot left Nevada staring at third and long. A third down screen pass to Kenney would gain just three yards before being tackled out of bounds, leaving Nevada with fourth and 7 and stopping the clock with 1:03 remaining. The 41 yard punt would bounce into the end zone for a touchback, giving us the ball at our 20 yard line, 57 seconds left to go.

Beginning our drive from the 20, we still had all three timeouts and wanted a chance for at least a field goal before half’s end. The first down pass over the middle intended for Martin was almost again disastrously intercepted, the thankfully dropped and incomplete pass leaving second down. Rhodes would get us moving on second down, pulling in the pass from Powers for a 17 yard gain and a fresh set of downs at the 37 yard line. Sprinting to the line, another quick pass to Rhodes caught the defense off guard and allowed for a very quick 12 yard gain, giving us yet another first down at the 49 yard line, our first timeout called with 43 seconds remaining. The first down pass intended for Greg Miller was broken up by the outside linebacker, leaving second and 10. The second down pass to Rhodes was complete, but he was stopped short for a gain of just 9 yards, leaving third and one and forcing us to call our second timeout with 33 seconds to go. Trying to get the first down with a quick rush, it wasn’t meant to be as Leierer was tackled for a two yard loss, leaving fourth and three with the clock still ticking. Taking a gamble on fourth down, as we were well outside of field goal range, the play action pass intended for McGuire got broken up along the left sideline, turning the ball over on downs at the Nevada 44 yard line with 11 seconds left.

Taking over after the turnover on downs, Nevada came out running a screen pass on first down, the pass from Tidwell to Kenney resulting in a two yard loss to leave second and 12, Nevada calling their first timeout with 7 seconds remaining. Yet another screen pass from Tidwell to Kenney went for a even bigger loss, this time going backwards for 5 yards, leaving Nevada with third and 17, their second timeout taken with two seconds left. The Hail Mary attempt down the left sideline was batted down incomplete, sending us into halftime with a 7-0 lead.

Opening up the second half, a 29 yard kickoff return by Hart gave us the ball at our 32 yard line to start the third quarter. Leierer got our drive started on the ground, picking up two yards before behind horsecollared from behind. Leierer was quickly stood up for no gain on the second down carry, leaving us with third and 8. Martin was briefly able to pull in the third down pass from Powers, but he would drop the ball on contact by the cornerback, leaving us punting on fourth down. A 10 yard return by John Thomas on the 32 yard punt gave Nevada the ball at their 44 yard line.

The Wolf Pack started their drive on the ground, Kenney rushing for a 6 yard gain around the left tackle to bring up second and four. That gain would get reversed on second down, as defensive end Shaun Peterson came blitzing in from the blind side and sacked Tidwell for a 7 yard loss, leaving Nevada facing third and 11. The third down pass over the middle, intended for Miller, sailed over the head of the receiver and incomplete, forcing Nevada to punt once more. An 11 yard return by McGuire on the 36 yard punt set us up at our 31 yard line.

We again started our offense drive on the ground, Leierer taking the first down handoff for again a two yard gain, leaving second and 8. Abandoning the run game and heading into the air on second down, the move paid off as Powers connected with Rhodes for a huge 18 yard gain and a first down at the Nevada 48 yard line. Taking a gamble with the power option on first down resulted in snake eyes, as the pitch to Leierer sent us backwards with a four yard loss, leaving second and 14. Our aerial assault would again come through, as Powers lined up under center, before firing a pass over the middle to tight end Jack Long, complete for a 22 yard gain and a new set of downs at the Nevada 30 yard line. A comeback pass to McGuire netted us 12 more yards and another first down at the 18. Our running game finally opening up, Leierer was able to take the ball on first down, powering his way to a 10 yard gain to leave second and inches at the 9 yard line. A two yard rush by Leierer would get the job done and give us first and goal at the 7 yard line. A first down rush by Taylor would only gain two yards, leaving second and goal from the 5. A dangerous pass to McGuire, that somehow wasn’t intercepted, ended up complete at the goal line for a 5 yard touchdown, extending our lead to 14-0 with 2:34 left in the third quarter.

A 24 yard kickoff return by Kenney gave Nevada the ball at their 27 yard line for their next drive. Nevada wasted no time in trying to respond, as a pair of missed tackles allowed Kenney to break free for a 28 yard rush, giving Nevada a quick first down at our 45 yard line. A rush by Harris the opposite direction ended up gaining 33 yards, giving Nevada a first down at our 12 yard line, our defense suddenly shoving their heads up their ass. A first down pass to Fontenot gained three yards, followed by a four yard rush by Kenney to leave third and three. Blitzing like hell on third down, Kenney would be unable to get outside the tackles this time, brought down in the backfield for a three yard loss to leave fourth and 6 at the 8 yard line. Unfortunately our shutout was no more, as Whitehead sent the 25 yard field goal sailing through the uprights to cut our lead to 14-3 with 53 seconds left in the third quarter.

A 29 yard kickoff return by McGuire gave us the ball at our 27 yard line. Leierer got our drive started with a 5 yard rush up the middle, followed by a 6 yard gain to get the first down at the 38 yard line. That would be the final play of the third quarter, our lead standing at 14-3.

Opening up the fourth quarter, Leierer tried to keep us moving on the ground, but got quickly stood up for no gain to leave second down. Going into the air on second down, the pass over the middle to Martin was good for a big 19 yard gain, giving us a first down at the Nevada 43 yard line. Leierer managed three yards on the first down carry, before seemingly being tackled for no gain. Instead, a late flag came out for a facemask penalty on Nevada safety Garry Davis, the 15 free yards giving us a first down at the 24 yard line. Taylor kept us going on the ground with a four yard carry, followed by a 6 yard gain to leave third and inches. Leierer would return to the backfield on third down, fighting his way to a two yard gain and a first down at the 12 yard line. Taylor kept plugging away on first down with a 5 yard carry, followed by a 5 yard rush by Leierer to bring up another third and inches at the two. Leierer would settle to end the drive on third down, taking the handoff and diving into the end zone for a two yard touchdown, increasing our lead to 21-3 with 5:16 left in the game.

A 32 yard kickoff return by Thomas gave Nevada the ball at their 32 yard line. Dropping back to pass on first down, Tidwell was able to avoid a sack by defensive end Caleb McBride, but it would still be a wasted down as he was hit as he threw, his pass intended for Fontenot going backwards and landing incomplete to bring up second down. Managing to actually get the ball off on second down, the result was still the same, as the pass intended for Fontenot sailed incomplete and left Nevada with third and 10. Taking a shot deep down the middle on third down, our defense would put an end to the drive as safety Sam Richwalski intercepted the pass to give us back possession at our 35 yard line.

Taking over after the interception, our offense lined up at our 35 yard line, just 4:57 away from victory. Leierer got our drive started with a rush up the middle for three yards, followed by a second three yard gain to leave us with third and four at the 41 yard line. Running a play action pass on third down, the pass intended for fullback Raymond Watson was broken up by the outside linebacker, leaving us punting on fourth down. A very solid 42 yard punt angled towards the opposite sideline, landed at the 20 yard line and promptly bounced out of bounds, leaving Nevada lining up for their next drive at their 17 yard line.

Nevada came out passing to start their drive, as Tidwell rifled a pass to Miller for a 10 yard gain and a quick first down at the 27. Going no huddle on first down, Tidwell tried to connect with Harris over the middle, but the pass sailed long and incomplete, leaving second down. Despite bringing a heavy blitz, Tidwell was able to get the pass off, finding Harris over the middle for a 15 yard gain and a first down at the 42 yard line. Going no huddle again, Nevada tried to get cute with a pass behind the line of scrimmage to Kenney, but he was sent helicoptering through the air during the tackle by Hart, the play going for a three yard loss to leave second and 13. As if an 18 yard completion to #7, giving Nevada a first down at our 43 yard line wasn’t bad enough, a roughing the pass flag on McBride was really killer, as the penalty gave Nevada even more free yards and set them up with a first down at our 28 yard line after the dust had all settled. Again going no huddle on first down, this time our defense would set up to the plate, sacking Tidwell from behind for a 7 yard loss to leave Nevada with second and 17, the clock at 2:12 and still ticking. The defense would win another round, as our second down blitz again resulted in a sack, Sims tripping up Tidwell for a second 7 yard loss, bringing up third and 24 from our 42 yard line, the clock continuing to tick away. Tidwell dropped back to pass on third down, and nearly was sacked again despite just a four man pass rush, but while he was able to get the pass off this time, the result was still negative, as the ball intended for Harris was broken up, leaving fourth and 24, the game coming down to this one play as the clock stopped with 1:32 remaining. Sending everybody back to defend the pass as Nevada went for it on fourth down, the Wolf Pack would never have a chance as Richwalski intercepted his second pass of the game, giving us the ball at our 9 yard line with 1:24 remaining in the game.

Taking over at our 9 yard line after the interception, Taylor started our drive on first down with a three yard rush to leave second and 7. Nevada seemingly accepted their defeat and didn’t bother to use any of their three timeouts, and so with 40 seconds left on the clock, Powers dropped to a knee, leaving third and 9, the play clock and game clock exactly in sync. We wouldn’t need to take another snap as the game clock would run out just a hair before the play clock hit zero, sealing our 21-3 victory over Nevada.

With the win, we improve to 3-1, 1-0 in Mountain West action. With the loss, Nevada drops to 0-4, 0-1 in Mountain West play. Up next, we head back home to take on a second straight winless team, as Fresno State comes to town. The Bulldogs enter the game 0-4, 0-1 in Mountain West play. Fresno State opened their year with a 45-38 loss to Utah, then lost 56-28 at #3 Oklahoma, 42-24 to New Mexico and finally got edged out at Ole Miss 25-22.

Final Score

:Utah_State: 21, :Nevada: 3

Stats of the Game:
Utah State Offense - A fair day for Powers, going 14-25 for 189 yards, two touchdowns, but also one interception. Rushing, Leierer led the way with 85 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries. Taylor had 28 yards on 8 rushes. Receiving, McGuire was the top receiver with 76 yards and a touchdown on six catches. Martin added 23 yards and a touchdown on two receptions. In all, only five receivers caught a pass today, all five ending with double digit yards.

Utah State Defense/Special Teams – A dominating day, giving up just 144 yards of offense, limiting Nevada to just 71 yards rushing and a shocking 73 yards passing. Other than two plays where Nevada ran for gains of 28 and 33 yards on their way to a field goal, the defense kept Nevada locked up on offense all game.

Utah State Kicking – Another perfect day for Marcus, only because he didn't attempt any field goals. He did go 3-3 in PATs.

Scoring Summary

Team
1st Quarter
2nd Quarter
3rd Quarter
4th Quarter
Final Score

:Utah_State:
7
0
7
7
21

:Nevada:
0
0
3
0
3

Time
Team
Result
Play
Score

First Quarter

1:07
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
D. Martin, 4 yard pass from A. Powers (D. Marcus kick)
:Utah_State: 7-0

Second Quarter

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

Third Quarter

2:34
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
E. McGuire, 5 yard pass from A. Powers (D. Marcus kick)
:Utah_State: 14-0

0:53
:Nevada:
Field Goal
M. Whitehead, 24 yard field goal
:Utah_State: 14-3

Fourth Quarter

5:16
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
M. Leierer, 2 yard run (D. Marcus kick)
:Utah_State: 21-3

Game Stats

Utah State
Stat
Nevada

21
Score
3

19
First Downs
9

291
Total Offense
144

39 - 102 - 1
Rushes - Yards - TD
20 - 71 - 0

14 - 25 - 2
Comp - Att - TD
13 - 26 - 0

189
Passing Yards
73

1
Times Sacked
3

6 - 11 (54%)
3rd Down Conversion
1 - 11 (9%)

0 - 1 (0%)
4th Down Conversion
0 - 1 (0%)

0 - 0 (0%)
2-Point Conv
0 - 0 (0%)

3 - 3 - 0 (100%)
Red Zone - TD - FG
2 - 0 - 1 (50%)

1
Turnovers
2

0
Fumbles Lost
0

1
Intercepted
2

36
Punt Return Yards
28

56
Kick Return Yards
96

383
Total Yards
266

4 – 35.0
Punts - Average
5 - 37.4

2 - 30
Penalties
1 - 15

24:23
Time of Possession
11:37

Utah State Coach Goals

Goal
XP Reward
Completed

Win a Game
100
x1

Score a Touchdown
25
x3

Force a Turnover
25
x2

Rush for 100 Yards
25
x1

Kneel Last Minute Q4 While Ahead
10
x1

3+ Sacks
50
x1

Opponent Under 10 Points
75
x1

Opponent Under 150 Rush Yards
50
x1

Opponent Under 300 Pass Yards
50
x1

Pass Completion Over 50%
30
x1

100% Red Zone Efficiency
50
x1

Score 21 or More Points
50
x1

10+ First Downs
50
x1

4+ 3rd Down Conversions
25
x1

Utah State Contract Goals Update

Goal
Expectations
Progress

Target Wins Per Season
7
3

Job Security Status

100%

SmoothPancakes

02-02-2014, 03:16 PM

Taking a look around the nation, in the Top 25, in the upset of the week, winless Wake Forest shocked #2 Miami 27-20. #5 Michigan held off Illinois 38-24. Oklahoma State knocked off #6 Texas A&M 42-24. #7 Stanford escaped Washington State 31-21. #9 Florida State defeated Maryland 31-16. #10 Georgia Tech topped Clemson 31-14. #11 South Carolina fought off #24 Kentucky 30-26.

#12 USC beat Utah 31-17. #13 Texas beat Cal 45-21. #14 Alabama doubled up FCS Southeast 48-24. #15 Virginia Tech thrashed Syracuse 37-13. #16 Nebraska escaped Rutgers 20-13. #23 Cincinnati knocked off #17 Connecticut 41-17. Army upset #19 Florida 35-20. Tulsa shocked #20 Central Florida 45-24. #25 Ohio steamrolled Eastern Michigan 44-3.

For our readers, JeffHCross, #1 Ohio State remains 4-0 (2-0 Big Ten) with a bye week. Morsdraconis, West Virginia improves to 4-1 (3-0 Big 12) with a 21-10 win over Kansas. Souljahbill, Southern Miss improves to 2-2 (1-0 C-USA) with a 30-24 win over UTEP. Jaymo, Arizona State improves to 3-2 (1-1 Pac-12) with a 41-31 win over Oregon State. LeeSO, #21 Auburn remains 4-1 (3-0 SEC) with a bye week. SCClassof93, #11 South Carolina improves to 5-1 (3-1 SEC) with a 30-26 win over #24 Kentucky. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State remains 2-2 (0-0 Sun Belt) with a bye week. Florida International drops to 1-3 (0-1 C-USA) with a 35-28 loss to LSU. Navy improves to 4-0 (3-0 American) with a 34-24 win over Air Force. Tulsa improves to 2-2 (1-1 American) with a 45-24 win over #20 Central Florida.

In Mountain West action, Utah State beat Nevada 21-3, San Diego State edged Boise State 34-27, Colorado State beat UTSA 38-14, New Mexico beat New Mexico State 56-14, Ole Miss topped Fresno State 25-22, Navy beat Air Force 34-24, South Alabama knocked off San Jose State 31-24 and North Carolina thumped Hawaii 59-14.

Looking at undefeated teams left, #2 Miami, #17 Connecticut, Air Force and Kansas all lost this week, dropping our number of undefeated teams to 15. #1 Ohio State (4-0), #3 Oklahoma (3-0), #4 Notre Dame (5-0), #5 Michigan (5-0), #7 Stanford (6-0), #8 UCLA (5-0), #9 Florida State (5-0), #10 Georgia Tech (5-0), #18 Louisiana Lafayette (4-0), #23 Cincinnati (4-0), Indiana (4-0), Kansas State (5-0), Navy (4-0), New Mexico (4-0), TCU (5-0) all remain with an unblemished record this season.

Turning to a more sadistic watch, who is still winless. There remains 12 teams still looking for their first win: Akron (0-4), Florida Atlantic (0-5), Fresno State (0-4), Louisville (0-5), Memphis (0-5), Nevada (0-4), New Mexico State (0-6), Old Dominion (0-5), Purdue (0-4), Rice (0-4), Tulane (0-5), UTSA (0-5).

Teams getting their first win this week were: Central Michigan (27-20 over 1-3 Miami University), South Alabama (31-24 over 1-4 San Jose State), Toledo (32-26 over 0-4 Akron), Virginia (31-24 over 0-5 Louisville) and Wake Forest (27-20 over 3-1 Miami).

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Ohio State (34 first place votes) remains the #1 team, Notre Dame (25 votes) jumps two to #2, Oklahoma (1 vote) remains #3, Michigan (1 vote) climbs one to #4 and Stanford jumps two to #5. UCLA climbs two to #6, Florida State jumps two to #7, Georgia Tech moves up two to #8, South Carolina climbs two to #9 and USC jumps two to #10. Texas jumps two to #11, Louisiana-Lafayette leaps six to #12, Alabama climbs one to #13, Virginia Tech moves up one to #14 and Nebraska climbs one to #15. Cincinnati leaps seven to #16, Miami plummets fifteen to #17, Texas A&M drops twelve to #18, Auburn jumps two to #19 and Michigan State climbs two to #20. Connecticut drops four to #21, Ohio climbs three to #22, Washington enters the poll at #23, TCU enters the poll at #24 and Florida (138 points) drops six to #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Central Florida (from #20) and Kentucky (from #24). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, San Diego State (123 points) is #26, followed by Indiana (117), Army (111), Oregon (61) and Kansas State (53) to round out the Top 30. One other team getting points this week is Kentucky (28).

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Media Poll, Ohio State (36 first place votes) remains #1 team, Notre Dame (22 votes) climbs one to #2, Michigan (2 votes) jumps three to #3, Oklahoma (3 votes) climbs one to #4 and Stanford (1 vote) moves up two to #5. Florida State (1 vote) climbs two to #6, UCLA jumps two to #7, Georgia Tech jumps three to #8, South Carolina climbs one to #9 and Louisiana-Lafayette leaps five to #10. USC moves up one to #11, Texas climbs one to #12, Virginia Tech rises one to #13, Cincinnati leaps seven to #14 and Alabama jumps one to #15. Nebraska climbs one to #16, Miami plummets fifteen to #17, Texas A&M drops fourteen to #18, Auburn climbs one to #19 and Michigan State jumps three to #20. Connecticut drops three to #21, Ohio enters the poll at #22, Indiana enters the poll at #23, Washington enters the poll at #24 and TCU (157 points) enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Florida (from #19), Central Florida (from #22), Clemson (from #24) and Kentucky (from #25). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, San Diego State (144 points) is #26, followed by Florida (129), Kansas State (108), Oregon (79) and Clemson (66) to round out the Top 30. One other team getting points this week is Army (35).

An updated look at the Heisman race, Stanford QB Roger Langford is #1 (LW: #3), UCLA QB Mark Wilson is #2 (LW: #1), Notre Dame QB Mike Harper is #3 (LW: #2), Georgia Tech QB Phil Terrell is #4 (LW: NR) and Alabama WR Henry Freund is #5 (LW: NR). Falling off the Heisman Watch list this week was Auburn HB Nick Bowers (LW: #4) and Ohio State HB Tom Williams (LW: #5).

SmoothPancakes

05-03-2014, 07:49 PM

Game Five

:Fresno_State: :@: :Utah_State:

Game Story

--- The 2022 season neared the halfway point as we returned home for the second time this season and prepared to entertain the Fresno State Bulldogs. We were by far the favorites in this game, entering with a 3-1 record while Fresno State stumbled in at 0-4. The Bulldogs had a great rushing offense, ranked #13 in the nation, averaging 213.5 yards/game, but everything else about them was awful, with a #101 offense (359.8 yards/game), a #124 pass offense (146.3 yards/game), the #111 defense (454.5 yards/game), the #120 rushing defense (208.8 yards/game) and the #76 passing defense (245.8 yards/game).

On the flip side, our offense sucked, while our defense was great. We entered the game ranked #105 in both offense (349.5 yards/game) and rushing offense (122.0 yards/game) and #71 in pass offense (273.5 yards/game). Defense was what would carry us in this game, as we entered with the #5 defense (273.5 yards/game), the #1 rushing defense (79.0 yards/game) and the #27 passing defense (194.5 yards/game). Our defense would be what would lead us to victory. Our offense and the regular committing of turnovers would be what would lead us to defeat. Fresno State won the coin toss and elected to kick.

It would take a mere 11 seconds for the first score of the game to be made as Eric McGuire set a new NCAA record by returning the opening kickoff 105 yards for a touchdown, giving us a 7-0 lead with 8:49 still left in the first quarter.

Terrance Green tried his best to replicate the feat for Fresno State, but he would only manage to return the kickoff 26 yards before being dragged down by the ankles, giving the Bulldogs the ball at their 25 yard line. Justin Greer got the offense started for Fresno State, taking a first down handoff up the middle for a gain of just one yard. Quarterback Laron Banks kept the ball on a second down option right, rushing for a gain of three yards to leave third and 6. Thomas Freeman would keep the Bulldogs’ drive alive with an 11 yard reception along the sidelines, shedding one tackle before getting across the first down marker, moving the chains to the 40 yard line. Greer took the handoff on first down, gaining four yards on the carry, followed by an 11 yard option carry by Freeman to pick up another first down for Fresno State at our 45 yard line. The Bulldogs would continue to torch our defense with the option on first down, as Banks kept the ball and turned up the field for a 23 yard gain, pulled down from behind to save the touchdown, giving Fresno State a first down at our 22 yard line. A 6 yard rush by Greer kept the ball moving forward, followed by a two yard gain by Greer to leave third and two. Greer would complete the trifecta with a three yard run to move the chains to the 11 yard line. Reggie Jones took the ball on first down, but he was quickly stuffed for no gain, followed by a three yard run by Greer on second down to set up third and 7. Our defense would get some help from the Bulldogs as the offense got whistled for a false start penalty, leaving their offense facing third and 12 from the 13 yard line. Dropping back to throw his first pass of the game, Banks would never get the chance to complete it as the blitzing defense immediately closed in for the kill, sacking him for a 6 yard loss and leaving Fresno State kicking on fourth and 18. Tariq Bain drilled the 35 yard field goal right down the middle to cut our lead to 7-3 with 4:30 left in the first quarter.

After McGuire’s kickoff return to start the game, Fresno State understandably opted to kickoff to Leonard Hart this time. Hart nearly made them pay again however as he was able to return the kickoff 32 yards and had plenty of open land in front of him, but an ankle tackle from behind would spoil a potential second scoring kickoff return and leave our offense lining up at our 27 yard line. Matt Leierer got our drive started with a three yard carry up the middle, followed by a 7 yard rush around the left side to pick up an early first down at the 37. A third straight rush to start the drive would go nowhere, as Leierer was quickly tackled for only a one yard gain. Dropping back for his first pass of the day, Adam Powers would quickly wish he had not done so, as freshman cornerback Daniel Matthews immediately jumped the pass and intercepted it, giving Fresno State the ball at our 43 yard line.

Chris Vincent got Fresno State started this time on the ground, taking an option pitch to the right for a three yard gain. A QB option keeper would leave our defense burnt to a crisp, as multiple broken tackles would result in a 32 yard rush by Banks, setting the Bulldogs up with first and goal from our 8 yard line. Greer would take the handoff on first down, rushing up the middle for a 7 yard gain to leave second and goal at the one yard line. Greer again took the handoff but our defense was able to meet him at the line, resulting in no gain on the play to leave third and goal. The third time would prove to be the charm for Greer as he took the handoff and waltzed right in behind our blitz to score the one yard touchdown, giving Fresno State a 10-7 lead with 1:22 left in the first quarter.

McGuire was only able to make it 22 yards on the kickoff return, leaving us starting from our 15 yard line. Leierer got us started with a 6 yard carry on first down, followed by a 5 yard rush to gain the first down at the 26 yard line. Leierer kept us moving with a four yard rush, before a mere one yard gain would leave us facing third and 5. That would be the final play of the first quarter as the clock ran out, Fresno State leading 10-7.

Opening up the second quarter facing third down, we decided to try our luck once more through the air, where Raymond Watson would prove lucky as he pulled in the pass from Powers for a 6 yard gain and a first down at the 37 yard line. A first down carry by Leierer picked up 6 more yards, followed by a four yard gain for another first down near midfield. Tyson Taylor would take over on first down, but he would only manage a single yard before being driven into the ground. Dropping back to pass from under center, Powers was able to connect with McGuire on a comeback route, the completed pass gaining 10 yards and moving the chains to the Fresno State 41 yard line. Max Rhodes would keep us moving through the air, as he pulled down a first down pass from Powers for a quick 11 yard gain and another first down at the 30 yard line. Returning to the ground, Leierer took advantage of the defense blitzing, leaving a large hole up the middle for him to gain 8 yards on the first down carry. A second rush by Leierer would go for a three yard gain, moving the chains once more to the 18 yard line. Taylor would again try his luck on the ground, this time managing a four yard gain, followed by a four yard rush by Leierer to leave us facing third and two. Taking our chances on the ground, Leierer was just barely able to beat the blitz to the first down line for a two yard gain, giving us first and goal at the 8 yard line. Taylor would keep our rushing attack going with a two yard gain, before taking the handoff on second down and finding a hole up the middle and proceeding to waltz untouched into the end zone for a 6 yard touchdown, giving us a 14-10 lead with 4:27 left in the second quarter, capping off a 17 play, 85 yard drive.

A 24 yard kickoff return by David Rogers would get Fresno State back in action from their 24 yard line. An errant pass intended for Green got the drive off to a sour start, but it didn’t last for long as Greer took a handoff up the middle on second down, breaking free into the secondary for a 28 yard rush and a first down at our 48 yard line. Jones received the ball on first down, rushing for a gain of four yards, followed by no gain on a rush by Greer, who was stuffed at the line of scrimmage. A false start penalty before the snap on third down would leave Fresno State facing third and 11. Our defense would make up for the earlier miscue by our offense, as the third blitz forced a rushed pass from Banks, the ball underthrown of the intended receiver and ultimately intercepted by cornerback Mike Moses, who returned it four yards to give us the ball at our 46 yard line.

Lining up on offense after the interception, we had the perfect chance to score before halftime and seize some semblance of control in this game. Leierer got us started with a 5 yard rush around the right tackle, followed by a 5 yard dive up the middle to pick up a first down at the Fresno State 44 yard line and get some momentum building for our drive. Despite limited time on the clock, we opted to continue with our run game, as a 6 yard rush by Leierer was followed up with a 6 yard carry by Taylor, gaining us a new set of downs at the 31 yard line as we hit the two minute mark. Taking a shot through the air, we were able to catch the Bulldogs defense sleeping, as tight end Cedric McKinney hauled in a short pass over the middle for a 15 yard gain, moving the chains to the 16 yard line while only 16 seconds removed from the clock. Leierer returned to the backfield on first down, rushing for a 5 yard gain, followed by a 9 yard dash to set us up with first and goal from the three yard line, just over a minute remaining until halftime. Taylor would take the handoff on first down and plow up the middle, scoring his second touchdown of the day with a three yard touchdown rush, giving us a 21-10 lead with 46 seconds remaining until halftime.

A 21 yard kickoff return by Green gave Fresno State the ball at their 24 yard line, 42 seconds left. Dropping back into a prevent defense, Fresno State was limited to just a 9 yard pass from Banks to Jermaine Fenton, Fenton making it out of bounds however to stop the clock with 37 ticks left. A screen pass to Greer on second down would gain less than a year, leaving Fresno State facing third and inches, racing to the line with the clock still ticking. Instead of trying to pick up the first down with a rush or short pass, Banks threw up a ball near the left sideline, intended for Vincent 15 yards downfield, but cornerback Buck Castillo was there to bat it down incomplete, forcing Fresno State to punt the ball from their own 33 yard line with 14 seconds remaining. A 7 yard return by McGuire left us starting at our 29 yard line, just 6 seconds left on the clock. Instead of heaving up a dangerous pass, we opted instead to take a knee and head into halftime holding a 21-10 lead.

Opening up the second half, a 27 yard kickoff return by Green gave Fresno State the ball at their 26 yard line to start the third quarter. Greer got their drive started with a dash straight up the middle for a 9 yard gain, followed by an option keeper by Banks, good for a four yard gain and a first down at the 38 yard line. Freeman tried to run a reverse on first down, but he was quickly shut down by defensive end Caleb McBride, tackled for a two yard loss to leave second and 12. Running the triple option on second down, Banks was able to get the pitch off to Vincent, but the play would end up going for no gain as a pair of blitzing cornerbacks shut down any chances for option success. Going into the air on third down, Banks was able to find a wide open Fenton, who made the catch while falling backwards out of bounds for a 20 yard gain, giving Fresno State a first down at our 44 yard line. Greer would pick up torching our defense again as he received the handoff on first down, finding a gap around the right side for a 10 yard gain, leaving second and inches. Banks would end up converting with an option keeper to the left, breaking free for a 14 yard carry and a first down at our 20 yard line. Another option pitch, this time to Marvin Williams, gained 7 yards before he was driven out of bounds at the 13 yard line. Banks would finish off the drive on the next play, keeping the ball again during an option run and breaking three different tackle attempts on his way to a 13 yard touchdown rush, cutting our lead to 21-17 with 6:19 left in the third quarter.

A big 37 yard kickoff return by Hart, that would have gone for more if not for a lucky ankle tackle, set our offense up at our own 35 yard line for our first offensive drive of the second half. Leierer got our drive started on the ground as he rushed up the middle for a 6 yard gain, followed by a four yard dash around the left side that came up just short, leaving us with third and inches. The third time would prove to be the charm for Leierer, as he was able to pick up three yards on the carry, giving us a first down at the 48 yard line. Managing to catch the defense cheating towards the run, Powers dropped back on first down and was able to rocket a pass to Rhodes, good for a 16 yard gain to move us into Fresno State territory with a first down at their 36 yard line. Leierer tried to keep us moving on the ground with a first down rush, but he was only able to manage a two yard gain before being wrapped up. The next play would end up being the last for our drive, as Leierer received a designed pitch from Powers going around the left side. A timely blitz by the Fresno State defense, as well as a couple key blocks by our receivers and fullback, left Leierer with nothing but wide open green between the left sideline and hash mark, allowing him to sprint untouched into the end zone for a 34 yard touchdown, giving us a 28-17 lead with 3:54 left in the third quarter.

A 23 yard kickoff return by Rogers got Fresno State back in action from their 22 yard line. Despite running the triple option around the left side, which appeared it would be fatal for our defense, they were able to somehow quickly recover and adapt to the play, forcing Banks to pitch the ball off to Freeman, who was then quickly dragged down for a gain of just three yards, some rare success by our defense against the option, leaving Fresno State with second and 7. Unfortunately the success was short lived as the Bulldogs came right back at us with the option, this time to the right side, Banks holding onto the ball this time and fighting forward for a 9 yard gain to give Fresno State a first down at the 34 yard line. Another option play saw Banks hold onto the ball again, this time though the defense was able to limit the damage to just four yards. Another option play nearly turned into disaster for the Bulldogs, as a heavy blitz by our defense forced Banks to try and make a risky pitch in the middle of traffic. The pitch was unsuccessful, as the ball ended up on the ground as a fumble. Unfortunately, luck was not any further on our side, as Vincent was right next to the ball and was able to scoop it up to recover the fumble for the Bulldogs and ultimately gain a single yard on the play, leaving third and 5. Fresno State would manage to extend their drive on third down through the air, as Banks rifled off a quick two step pass that found its way into the hands of Green, good for a 6 yard gain and a first down at the 45 yard line. Banks kept the ball on another first down option play, but with our defense starting to get better recognizing where it’s going before the snap, they were able to quickly shut him down and limit him to a single yard gain, leaving second and 9. Banks again kept the ball on an option play to the right, but with a cornerback blitz on, Castillo was able to speeding down from the sideline and blindside Banks near the line of scrimmage, again limiting the gain to just a single yard, bringing up third and 8. This time Banks would not get the third down pass off, as defensive tackle Ernest Sims would break through his blocker, sacking Banks for a 7 yard loss and forcing Fresno State to punt on fourth and 15 from their 40 yard line. A 10 yard return by McGuire on the 41 yard punt gave us the ball at our 28 yard line.

Lining up after the punt return, our offense was sitting at the beginning of a possibly game deciding drive. With only 53 seconds left in the third quarter, a touchdown on this drive (especially if it came after chewing more than a few minutes off the clock), would give us an 18 point lead with less a quarter to go in the game, putting Fresno State squarely behind the 8-ball and forcing them to have to take some big risks and potentially gamble with at least one or two onside kicks if they wanted any chance at a victory. Leierer would get this important drive started again on the ground, taking a handoff up the middle for a 6 yard carry, followed by a three yard rush to leave us facing third and one. That would be the last play as the final couple seconds ticked off the clock, bringing the third quarter to an end with our leading standing at 28-17.

Opening up the fourth quarter, we lined up looking to convert on third and one from our 37 yard line, but we would fail to get it was Leierer got tripped up by his own blocker, allowing Fresno State’s defense to finish the job and bring him down for no gain, setting up fourth and inches from our 37 yard line. Unwilling to take a fourth down gamble from our own 37 yard line while holding an 11 point lead, we brought out the punt team. Proving that we have nothing but bad luck, freshman punter Freddie Arnold would end up shanking the punt out of bounds after traveling just a miserable 19 yards, giving Fresno State prime position with the ball at their 43 yard line.

Fresno State started their drive in outstanding field position after the massive screw up by our punter, and they didn’t waste any time in taking advantage of it, as a successful option pitch from Banks to Freeman would go for a 6 yard gain, followed by a massive 24 yard rush on the option keeper by Banks, giving Fresno State a first down at our 27 yard line. Freeman would keep the torch burning hot as he took the option pitch from Banks, broke one tackle, juked another defender and went up the left sideline for an 18 yard gain, setting the Bulldogs up with first and goal from our 9 yard line. Banks would finish off the anal abuse on first down with another option keeper, racing untouched into the end zone for a 9 yard touchdown. Just to prove that our defense was his bitch, the Bulldogs would go for the two point conversion, Banks again abusing us with another option keeper and again racing into the end zone untouched, cutting our lead to 28-25 with 7:14 left in the game.

A 37 yard kickoff return by Hart got us lined up at our 32 yard line, now in desperate need of a touchdown to keep any hopes of winning this game alive, as our defense cannot in any way be trusted to stop Fresno State’s option offense. Leierer got our hopefully scoring, and clock killing, drive off to a good start with a 7 yard sprint up the middle, followed by a 6 yard rush around the left side to get us a first down at the 44. Keeping the ground game going, and the clock running, Leierer again took the ball on first down, finding a small gap, managing a gain of 5 yards to set up second and 5. Taking over on second down, Taylor took the handoff on second down, but was quickly tripped up for a gain of just two yards, leaving us facing third and three at the Fresno State 49 yard line. After the results on the ground on third and short the previous drive, we opted for the air this time, a decision which would pay off big as Rhodes was able to pull down a pass from Powers, good for a 16 yard gain and a new set of downs at the Fresno 33. Keeping the clock moving, now down to four minutes remaining, we returned to the run game, Leierer taking the ball on first down for a gain of 6 yards to leave second and four. Leierer would keep us moving forward with a four yard rush on second down, but he was marked just shy of the first down line, leaving us facing a monumental third and inches. We opted to put the ball, and potentially the whole game, into the hands of Leierer on third down, and he would not let us down as he was able to dash across the line before being dragged down a blitzing cornerback, the play good for a four yard rush and a first down at the Fresno State 20 yard line, just 2:39 remaining on the clock as we continued chewing off every last possible second we could. Taylor took over in the backfield on first down, managing just a three yard gain before being slammed to the ground, leaving second and 7, Fresno State calling their first timeout with 2:16 to play. A second down rush by Leierer would gain another three yards, setting up a big third down and four from the 14 yard line, Fresno State calling their second timeout with 2:13 left. Going into the air on third down, we would fail to convert as the pass intended for McGuire was broken up by the defense, leaving fourth and four with 2:10 to play. Unfortunately, we only had one option, and that was to go for it on fourth down. Leading by three points with two minutes to go, a field goal would do nothing but require Fresno State to score a touchdown to win, and with the way their offense had been manhandling and having their way with our defense all game, a defensive stand cannot reasonably be hoped for or expected. In this case, worst case scenario, we fail the fourth down attempt, Fresno State drives down and either scores a touchdown anyways, or settles for a field goal with no time left to force overtime. A field goal now does nothing but ensure Fresno State goes all out for a touchdown and most likely guarantees us a loss. Going for it on fourth down, our offense would come through HUGE as tight end Jack Long was able to find some open space over the middle, hauling in a pass from Powers for a massive 12 yard gain, giving us first and goal at the two yard line and forcing Fresno State to burn their final timeout with 2:06 remaining, setting us up for our best odds at victory all day. Leierer would need just one play to put us back in the end zone, scoring a two yard touchdown to give us a 35-25 lead with 2:04 to play.

A 25 yard kickoff return by Green gave Fresno State the ball at their 26 yard line, needing a touchdown, onside kick, and either a second touchdown or a field goal with only 1:59 remaining and no timeouts available. The good news, this would potentially put an end to their triple option as the Bulldogs needed to cover a lot of yards in little time, making the pass the more appealing choice. In a near worst case scenario, the drive would start very poorly for the Bulldogs as our simple four man pass rush was able to break through their blocks, pressuring and ultimately sacking Banks for a 6 yard loss, leaving second and 16 with the clock ticking away. Racing to the line, Banks quickly spiked the ball to stop the clock with 1:42 remaining, but in the process leaving Fresno State facing third and 16, essentially needing a miracle now just to even be in a position to score and then start praying for a possible onside kick. Bringing a couple blitzers and putting Banks under immediate pressure, it turned out, despite having the backbone required to run the triple option, that he wilts under pressure while standing in the pocket trying to pass, as he threw up a hurried and errant pass intended for Rogers, the ball landing well over 5 yards short of its intended target, leaving Fresno State with fourth and 16 from their 21 yard line, any hopes and prayers the Bulldogs might have all coming down to just this single play. Dropping back everybody possible and just rushing three defenders, we weren’t about to make it an easy conversion for the Bulldogs. Their hopes would last all of about one second, as Banks received the snap in the shotgun, dropped maybe two steps and then rifled the ball to Green. While the pass to Green was completed, it was completed while Green was in the middle of four of our defenders, resulting in him instantly being tackled for just a 6 yard gain and Fresno State turning the ball over on downs at their 27 yard line with 1:35 remaining.

With the 10 point victory sealed after the turnover, Powers took three victory formation kneels and ran out the clock on our, extremely, hard fought 35-25 victory.

With the win, we improve to 4-1, 2-0 in Mountain West action. With the loss, Fresno State drops to 0-5, 0-2 in Mountain West play. Up next, it’s back on the road yet again as we head to New Mexico. The Lobos enter the game 5-0, 2-0 in Mountain West play. New Mexico opened their year with a 34-24 win at Arizona State, then beat NC State 34-14. They toppled Fresno State 42-24, slaughtered New Mexico State 56-14 and embarrassed Hawaii 35-0. This could get ugly...

Final Score
:Utah_State: 35, :Fresno_State: 25

Stat(s) of the Game:

Utah State Offense - An almost non-existent day from Powers, as he only went 7-9 for 86 yards, with no touchdowns and one interception. Rushing, Leierer led the way with a big 180 yards and two touchdowns on 34 carries while Taylor ended with 27 yards and two touchdowns on 8 rushes. Receiving, Rhodes led the way with 43 yards on three receptions. Only five receivers caught a pass today, Rhodes was the only one with more than one reception. Four of the five reached double digit yards, none had a receiving touchdown.

Utah State Defense/Special Teams – Probably the worst defensive game I have ever witnessed. Drive after drive after drive, Fresno State just absolutely torched, abused and assaulted the defense with the triple option. If the defense shut down the pitch guy, Banks would keep and ended up torching us for 116 yards on his own. If the defense shut down Banks, he pitched it to Greer or Freeman who would then do their own burning of our defense.

Today was a day for the rushing game. The defenses both sucked, but neither team made it beyond 86 yards in passing and neither team reached 300 yards of total offense, solely because all either team did was run. Fresno State ran 49 offensive plays, 39 of which were runs. We ran 55 offensive plays, 46 of which were runs. Both teams took slow grinds up the field on the ground, which in turn kept the clock running, which in turn kept the number of plays and overall the number of yards gained down. Otherwise, with these piss poor defenses on both sides, both teams probably would have topped 450+ yards of total offense.

Utah State Kicking – A perfect day for Marcus, attempting no field goals, but he did go 5-5 in PATs.

Scoring Summary

Team
1st Quarter
2nd Quarter
3rd Quarter
4th Quarter
Final Score

:Fresno_State:
10
0
7
8
25

:Utah_State:
7
14
7
7
35

Time
Team
Result
Play
Score

First Quarter

8:49
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
E. McGuire, return kickoff 105 yards (D. Marcus kick)
:Utah_State: 7-0

4:30
:Fresno_State:
Field Goal
T. Bain, 35 yard field goal
:Utah_State: 7-3

1:22
:Fresno_State:
Touchdown
J. Greer, 1 yard run (T. Bain kick)
:Fresno_State: 10-7

Second Quarter

4:27
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
T. Taylor, 6 yard run (D. Marcus kick)
:Utah_State: 14-10

0:46
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
T. Taylor, 3 yard run (D. Marcus kick)
:Utah_State: 21-10

Third Quarter

6:19
:Fresno_State:
Touchdown
L. Banks, 13 yard run (T. Bain kick)
:Utah_State: 21-17

3:54
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
M. Leierer, 35 yard run (D. Marcus kick)
:Utah_State: 28-17

Fourth Quarter

7:14
:Fresno_State:
Touchdown
L. Banks, 9 yard run (2-point conversion good)
:Utah_State: 28-25

2:04
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
M. Leierer, 2 yard run (D. Marcus kick)
:Utah_State: 35-25

Game Stats

Fresno State
Stat
Utah State

25
Score
35

13
First Downs
18

292
Total Offense
285

39 - 239 - 3
Rushes - Yards - TD
46 - 199 - 4

6 - 10 - 0
Comp - Att - TD
7 - 9 - 0

53
Passing Yards
86

3
Times Sacked
0

5 - 10 (50%)
3rd Down Conversion
5 - 8 (62%)

0 - 1 (0%)
4th Down Conversion
1 - 1 (100%)

1 - 1 (100%)
2-Point Conv
0 - 0 (0%)

4 - 3 - 1 (100%)
Red Zone - TD - FG
3 - 3 - 0 (100%)

1
Turnovers
1

0
Fumbles Lost
0

1
Intercepted
1

0
Punt Return Yards
17

143
Kick Return Yards
231

435
Total Yards
533

2 – 43.5
Punts - Average
1 - 19.0

2 - 10
Penalties
0 - 0

15:05
Time of Possession
20:55

Utah State Coach Goals

Goal
XP Reward
Completed

Win a Game
100
x1

Score a Touchdown
25
x5

Kick/Punt Return Touchdown
50
x1

Three Consecutive Wins
150
x1

Force a Turnover
25
x1

Rush for 100 Yards
25
x1

NCAA Record: Longest Kick Return (105 Yards)
300
x1

Kneel Last Minute Q4 While Ahead
10
x1

3+ Sacks
50
x1

Opponent Under 300 Pass Yards
50
x1

Pass Completion Over 50%
30
x1

100% Red Zone Efficiency
50
x1

Score 21 or More Points
50
x1

10+ First Downs
50
x1

4+ 3rd Down Conversions
25
x1

Utah State Contract Goals Update

Goal
Expectations
Progress

Target Wins Per Season
7
4

Job Security Status

100%

SmoothPancakes

05-03-2014, 07:53 PM

Taking a look around the nation, in the Top 25, #1 Ohio State defeated Illinois 35-24. #2 Notre Dame slipped past #17 Miami (FL) 30-23. In the game of the week, #3 Oklahoma claimed the Red River Rivalry this year, beating #11 Texas 28-24. #4 Michigan nipped Rutgers 31-30. #5 Stanford routed #23 Washington 49-26. #6 UCLA dominated Cal 45-24. #9 South Carolina survived Arkansas 27-21.

#10 USC rolled Colorado 52-21. #15 Nebraska defeated Penn State 21-14. #16 Cincinnati beat East Carolina 20-14. Mississippi State knocked off #18 Texas A&M 34-27. #19 Auburn beat Ole Miss 24-10. #20 Michigan State topped Purdue 28-17. #21 Connecticut defeated Tulane 24-6. #22 Ohio beat Central Michigan 28-6. Iowa State shocked #24 TCU 29-28. LSU stunned #25 Florida 20-17.

For our readers, JeffHCross, #1 Ohio State improves to 5-0 (3-0 Big Ten) with a 35-24 win over Illinois. Morsdraconis, West Virginia drops to 4-2 (3-1 Big 12) with a 36-33 double overtime loss to Kansas State. Souljahbill, Southern Miss improves to 3-2 (2-0 C-USA) with a 23-21 win over UTSA. Jaymo, Arizona State drops to 3-3 (1-2 Pac-12) with a 55-38 loss to Washington State. LeeSO, #19 Auburn improves to 5-1 (4-0 SEC) with a 24-10 win over Ole Miss. SCClassof93, #9 South Carolina improves to 6-1 (4-1 SEC) with a 27-21 win over Arkansas. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State remains 2-2 (0-0 Sun Belt) with a bye week. Florida International improves to 2-3 (1-1 C-USA) with a 40-37 overtime win against Louisiana Tech. Navy improves to 5-0 (4-0 American) with a 56-30 win over South Florida. Tulsa drops to 2-3 (1-2 American) with a 31-10 loss to Temple.

In Mountain West action, Utah State beat Fresno State 35-25, New Mexico abused Hawaii 35-0, Nevada knocked off Wyoming 45-38, San Diego State topped Colorado State 51-35, San Jose State upset Air Force 31-24 and Boise State slipped past UNLV 24-19.

Looking at undefeated teams left, #24 TCU and Indiana both lost this week, dropping our number of undefeated teams to 13. #1 Ohio State (5-0), #2 Notre Dame (6-0), #3 Oklahoma (4-0), #4 Michigan (6-0), #5 Stanford (7-0), #6 UCLA (6-0), #7 Florida State (5-0), #8 Georgia Tech (5-0), #12 Louisiana Lafayette (4-0), #16 Cincinnati (5-0), Kansas State (4-0), Navy (5-0), New Mexico (5-0) all remain with an unblemished record this season.

Turning to a more sadistic watch, who is still winless. There remains 9 teams still looking for their first win: Akron (0-5), Florida Atlantic (0-6), Fresno State (0-5), Louisville (0-6), Memphis (0-5), Old Dominion (0-6), Purdue (0-5), Tulane (0-6), UTSA (0-6).

Teams getting their first win this week were: Nevada (45-38 over 2-3 Wyoming), New Mexico State (45-24 over 1-4 Texas State) and Rice (36-20 over 2-4 UAB).

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Notre Dame (38 first place votes) jumps one to #1, Ohio State (21 votes) drops one to #2, Michigan (1 vote) climbs one to #3, Oklahoma (1 vote) drops one to #4 and Stanford remains #5. UCLA remains #6, Florida State remains #7, Georgia Tech remains #8, Louisiana-Lafayette jumps three to #9 and South Carolina drops one to #10. USC drops one to #11, Cincinnati leaps four to #12, Alabama remains #13, Virginia Tech remains #14 and Nebraska remains #15. Texas drops five to #16, Auburn climbs two to #17, Michigan State jumps two to #18, Connecticut moves up two to #19 and Miami drops three to #20. Ohio climbs one to #21, San Diego State enters the poll at #22, Kansas State enters the poll at #23, Army enters the poll at #24 and Washington (84 points) drops two to #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Texas A&M (from #18), TCU (from #24) and Florida (from #25). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Wisconsin (83 points) is #26, followed by LSU (76), Navy (72), Kentucky (56) and Texas A&M (26) to round out the Top 30.

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Media Poll, Ohio State (45 first place votes) remains the #1 team, Notre Dame (20 votes) remains #2, Michigan remains #3, Stanford climbs one to #4 and Florida State jumps one to #5. Oklahoma drops two to #6, UCLA remains #7, Georgia Tech remains #8, Louisiana-Lafayette jumps one to #9 and South Carolina drops one to #10. USC remains #11, Cincinnati jumps two to #12, Virginia Tech remains #13, Alabama climbs one to #14 and Nebraska climbs one to #15. Texas drops four to #16, Auburn climbs two to #17, Michigan State jumps two to #18, Connecticut climbs two to #19 and Ohio jumps two to #20. Miami drops four to #21, Kansas State enters the poll at #22, San Diego State enters the poll at #23, Wisconsin enters the poll at #24 and Army (88 points) enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Texas A&M (from #18), Indiana (from #23), Washington (from #24) and TCU (from #25). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Indiana (67 points) is #26, followed by Navy (54), LSU (21), Washington (12) and Marshall (3) to round out the Top 30.

An updated look at the Heisman race, Stanford QB Roger Langford is #1 (LW: #1), UCLA QB Mark Wilson is #2 (LW: #2), Notre Dame QB Mike Harper is #3 (LW: #3), USC QB Frank Campbell is #4 (LW: NR) and Auburn HB Nick Bowers is #5 (LW: NR). Falling off the Heisman Watch list this week was Georgia Tech QB Phil Terrell (LW: #4) and Alabama WR Henry Freund (LW: #5).

jaymo76

05-03-2014, 09:05 PM

Good to see you back at it Smooth! Do you find it tough to go from the 1 graphics back to the 360 crowds, field, etc.? I totally noticed it in my own dynasties,.

SmoothPancakes

05-03-2014, 11:04 PM

Good to see you back at it Smooth! Do you find it tough to go from the 1 graphics back to the 360 crowds, field, etc.? I totally noticed it in my own dynasties,.

Yeah, I've been meaning to get back into this for a while now, I just never ever seem to get around to it. I think about it one day, and even though I have the time, I'll end up having something on TV catch my eye and three hours later, I still haven't turned my 360 on. By that point, as it gets into evening, I have stuff to do around the house and I start getting tired since I've been waking up between 4:30 and 6am every day for the past week or two since my internal clock is fubar right now. So, I never end up getting a game in even though I had an entire free day to do so.

In fact, this very game, against Fresno State, took four days to complete, I kid not. I started this game Wednesday evening, I got the first half played and got sidetracked with something, and by the time I got settled back down, it was almost 9pm and I was getting tired, knowing there was no way I'd get the second half played and all the post game stuff typed up that night. So I left the game and my 360 sit the entire overnight Wednesday night. I was going to finish the game Thursday, got sidetracked again with stuff around the house, and while I had felt perfectly fine earlier in the day, by the time I could have sat down and finish the game, I was feeling tired and sort of sluggish, so I didn't feel like even trying to sit there trying to finish the game. So I left it sit again overnight Thursday night. Work and other stuff killed most of my Friday and by Friday evening, I was tired and sort of worn down that I did pretty much nothing but watch TV and dick around on my phone. So it sat yet again Friday night. Had to work up until noon today, was doing a couple other things, then around 4pm, I finally sat down, switched my TV back to the HDMI input of my 360, and finally unpaused and played the second half of the game.

So, I started the game Wednesday evening around 5 or 6pm, got one half in, then never got a chance to finish until around 4pm today. :D :fp: But, I finally got the game finished, and my poor 360 can finally be turned off and allowed to rest after running nonstop for four days.

Hopefully, I can manage to actually get full games in during a single sitting from here on out. The biggest issues right now is being so busy with things around the house due to what my mother is going through, plus my back has been hurting like a bitch for two weeks now. I don't know if it's a pulled or torn muscle or if it's a pinched nerve or something. It can depend, but simply standing or up and walking around can cause my back to hurt like hell. Other times, like this morning at work, I can move around reasonably well without really any pain. So that's also sort of killed my ability to play this past week or two, since sitting up at times causes my back to hurt, leaving me laying down and completely sprawled out on the couch while watching TV or relaxing, not in the best of positions when trying to play a game of NCAA and type up all the associated details in the game summary for this thread.

As for graphics, honestly, I haven't had a problem switching back and forth. I've been joining my friend in dicking around some older games like MLB 2K13 and Midnight Club: LA recently, so graphics and the stadiums/crowds in something like NCAA Football 14 isn't that big a deal for me to step back to. Now if it was night and day graphics, like going from what we have now on the PS4/One, to something comparable to what we had way back on the PS1 or PS2 or one of those other late 90s/early 2000s consoles, well, then we'd have an issue. :D

jaymo76

05-04-2014, 06:03 PM

I think before I begin my next NCAA season (probably late May or early June) I am going to edit players from my team and each team I play. Specifically I am going to edit the player injury attribute. Last two seasons injuries have been non-existent. It really hurts the overall realism of the game for me. Have you had this issue as well Smooth?

SmoothPancakes

05-05-2014, 06:56 AM

I've had some injuries pop up here and there. Probably not near as many as there should be, but I'd have to give some thought as to actually changing ratings or not.

SmoothPancakes

05-09-2014, 12:06 AM

Game Six

:Utah_State: :@: :New_Mexico:

Game Story

--- Hitting the halfway point of the season, while it had been a successful campaign thus far, as we entered our sixth game at 4-1, game number six was going to be the biggest game of the year so far in the Mountain Division, as we put our 2-0 conference record on the line against New Mexico, the Lobos entering the contest 5-0, 2-0 MWC. Whoever would win today would have a leg up on potentially claiming the Mountain Division title this season.

It would not at all be simple. New Mexico had turned into a juggernaut in the making over the last year or two, as the Lobos entered the game ranked #5 nationally in points (41.0 points/game), the #2 offense (517.0 yards/game) and the #4 rushing offense (264.6 yards/game). Their passing offense was not quite up to snuff, only ranking #47 (252.4 yards/game), but with the #4 rushing offense and the #2 overall offense, this could turn ugly in a hurry. Defense wasn’t much better on the news, as New Mexico had the #9 defense in the nation (302.6 yards/game) and the #5 passing defense (152.8 yards/game). Their only weak spot on defense was their rush defense, ranking at #42 (149.8 yards/game). Seeing as how our best offensive ranking stood at #95 with rushing offense (137.4 yards/game) and the other offensive rankings were above 100, this was shaping up to be a long, rough day. Just to make matters were, New Mexico came strolling in with a +7 turnover differential, ranking them #3 in the nation for forcing turnovers, while we stumbled in at #85 with a differential of negative two. We won the coin toss and elected to kick.

A 19 yard kickoff return by James Mason got New Mexico underway from their 20 yard line. Mike Robison ran a QB keeper on first down for a gain of just one yard, leaving the Lobos with second and 9. Proving that today could be a long day for our defense, Mason received the handoff on second down, sprinting around the right end and up the field for a 22 yard rush, giving the Lobos a first down at their 43 yard line. A 6 yard gain by Patrick Brown was followed by a three yard rush by Mason to leave third and one. Mason tried to pick up the first down on the ground, but his rush attempt up the middle was quickly met by our blitz, resulting in a two yard loss to leave New Mexico punting on fourth and three. A 7 yard return by Eric McGuire on the 36 yard punt got us started at our 21 yard line.

Matt Leierer got our first offensive drive moving on the ground as he received the handoff on first down, fighting his way to a 6 yard gain. A second rush by Leierer would pick up 5 yards, moving the chains early on to the 32 yard line. The third time would prove not to be the charm, as Leierer’s third straight run was almost instantly stuffed, gaining only a single yard to leave us with second and 9. Taking a shot through the air on second down, the pass over the middle intended for tight end Jack Long was nearly intercepted, bringing up third and 9. Max Rhodes would come through huge on third down, as he pulled in a pass from Adam Powers and was able to get up field for a 17 yard gain, picking up a first down at the New Mexico 49 yard line. A first down pitch left to Tyson Taylor ended horribly, as Taylor was unable to find an opening and was tackled in the backfield for a four yard loss, leaving us with second and 14. Dre Martin would save the drive as he was able to get open over the middle, the pass from Powers completed for a 15 yard gain and a first down at the 39 yard line. Staying in the air on first down, it again was nearly a mistake as the pass intended for Raymond Watson was almost intercepted, bringing up second down. A dropped pass over the middle by Taylor would leave our drive struggling to stay above water, as we faced third and 10. Rhodes would again play savior, this time just barely picking up a first down for us with a 10 yard reception to move the chains to the 29 yard line. Returning to our ground game, Leierer was able to weave his way up the middle for an 8 yard gain, followed by a 6 yard rush to pick up the first down at the 14 yard line. Another handoff, this time to Taylor, resulted in another 8 yard gain around the right tackle, before a two yard carry by Leierer set us up with first and goal from the Lobos’ four yard line. Using some great blocking, Taylor was able to just barely punch it in on his first try, scoring a four yard touchdown to give us a 7-0 lead with 2:06 left in the first quarter.

A 22 yard kickoff return by T.J. Gunn got New Mexico back in action from their 23 yard line. Mason picked it right back up on first down with a 12 yard rush and a quick first down for the Lobos at their 35 yard line. This was already turning into a very long day, as Mason completely torched our defense on first down, breaking free down the sideline for a 51 yard gain before being chased down and pushed out of bounds from behind at our 14 yard line. Brown took over on first down, shaking off a pair of tackles on his way to a four yard rush, followed by a 5 yard rush by Nick Harris to leave third and one at our four yard line. Robison would do the honors himself, keeping it on an option left and racing in for a four yard touchdown, tying the game up at 7-7 with 39 seconds left in the first quarter.

A huge 39 yard kickoff return up the right sideline by Leonard Hart gave us incredible field position for our second drive, kicking things off from our 48 yard line. Leierer got us moving with a rush around the left end, but he was only able to pick up three yards before being dragged down. A second rush by Leierer went for 5 yards, leaving third and two. That would be the final play of the first quarter, the game tied up at 7-7.

Opening up the second quarter, we lined up on third and two from the New Mexico 44 yard line, badly needing some points out of this drive after the abuse our defense took last quarter. Leierer would come through huge for us, as he was able to find a hole to sneak past the blitz and into the secondary for an 11 yard rush and a first down at the New Mexico 33 yard line. Catching the Lobos napping a little, Powers was able to rocket a quick pass up the middle to tight end Cedric McKinney, good for a 14 yard gain and another fresh set of downs at the 19 yard line. Returning to the ground game, Leierer rushed for a 5 yard gain on first down, followed by a four yard rush that set up third and one. Leierer tried to convert on third down, but he was stopped just short of the first down marker, leaving us with fourth and inches at the 9 yard line. Settling for the fourth down kick, Doug Marcus nailed the 26 yard field goal down the middle, giving us a 10-7 lead with 6:48 left in the second quarter.

That lead was almost short lived as Mason was also able to find much success with a kickoff return up the right sideline, returning the kick for 48 yards before being chased down from behind and forced out of bounds at New Mexico’s 48 yard line. Continuing to pound it out, Mason took the first down handoff for a gain of just one yard, followed by a two yard carry to leave third and 7. Our defense would come through huge on third down, as a screen pass to Brown ended up being blown up by our secondary, Brown immediately tackled for a two yard loss to force New Mexico to punt away on fourth and 9. A 5 yard return by McGuire on the 36 yard punt left us beginning from our 20 yard line.

Leierer started our drive off on the ground, rushing for a 6 yard gain up the middle, followed by a four yard rush to pick up an early first down at the 30 yard line. Changing things up a little on first down, Powers dropped back to pass, but with all the receivers locked down, the defense was able to break through and sack Powers for a 10 yard loss after a failed scramble attempt, leaving us with second and 20. Lining up in the shotgun on second down, Dre Martin would potentially save the drive with a 19 yard reception over the middle, leaving just third and one. Leierer would take advantage of the situation, rushing around the right guard for a gain of 6 yards and, at one point, an improbable first down at the 45 yard line. Taylor would keep the drive moving on first down, taking a handoff around the left end for an 8 yard gain, before an 8 yard rush by Leierer would move the chains to the New Mexico 39 yard line. A short pass over the middle to McKinney would turn into a gain of 18 yards as he was able to break free up the sideline, giving us a new set of downs at the 21 yard line. Leierer tried to keep things moving on the ground, managing only a three yard gain on the first down carry, followed by a four yard rush by Taylor to set up third and three. Rhodes would come through for us once again on third down, pulling down a 12 yard pass from Powers to set us up with first and goal from the Lobos two yard line. Taylor tried to score his second touchdown of the game, but he was met at the line of scrimmage by the defense, tackled for no gain to leave second and goal, as we called our first timeout of the half with 27 seconds left until halftime. Leierer returned to the backfield on second down, and would waste no time in adding on to our lead, pushing into the end zone for a two yard touchdown and giving us a 17-7 lead with 25 seconds left in the second quarter.

A 23 yard kickoff return by Gunn gave New Mexico the ball at their 24 yard line. We dropped nearly our entire defense back on first down, rushing only three players as we expected the pass. New Mexico had different thoughts however as Robison kept the ball and took off running on a designed run play and picked up 11 yards on the carry, the Lobos calling their first timeout with 16 seconds left. Once again rushing only three defenders, the Lobos this time did drop back to pass, but they would only go backwards as our secondary kept the New Mexico receivers locked up tight and enabled our three rushing linemen to somehow break through and sack Robison for a 7 yard loss, leaving second and 17 from the 27 yard line. New Mexico apparently decided to cut their losses, as they didn’t bother calling either of their two remaining timeouts as the final 10 seconds ticked off the clock, sending us into halftime holding a surprising 17-7 lead and receiving the ball to start the second half.

Opening up the second half, a 21 yard kickoff return by Hart gave us the ball at our 27 yard line to being the third quarter. Leierer began our drive on the ground, as he fought his way up the middle for an 8 yard gain, followed by a four yard rush to pick up a first down at the 39 yard line. Another rush by Leierer gained three yards as he was tackled from behind, before being quickly spun down near the line of scrimmage for a one yard gain on the second down carry, leaving us facing third and 6. Benjamin Silva would keep us moving on third down, as he hauled in a pass from Powers for an 11 yard gain and a first down at the New Mexico 47 yard line. Returning to the ground game, a 6 yard rush by Leierer was followed by a carry for a gain of 7 yards, moving the chains once more to the 34 yard line. Taylor took over duties on first down, but could only manage a two yard gain to leave second and 8. A quick pass over the middle to Long was good for a gain of 11 yards and a new set of downs at the 20 yard line. Taking a shot on first down, Powers lined up in the shotgun and sailed a pass into the end zone intended for McGuire, only to have it intercepted by cornerback Matthew Ortiz, who was tackled in the end zone for a touchback to give New Mexico the ball at their 20 yard line.

Lining up at their 20 yard line after the interception, the Lobos quickly picked up where they left off from the first half, as a QB keeper by Robison went for a 16 yard rush and a quick first down at the 36. Robison kept the ball yet again on first down, gaining 6 yards this time. Dropping back to pass on second down, Robison waited a few seconds before taking off scrambling, racing his way to a 18 yard rush and a first down at our 40 yard line, Robison singlehandedly accounting for all 40 yards so far gained in this drive. Finally giving the ball to someone else, the change in ball carrier didn’t matter the slightest as Mason proceeded to burn our defense for a 16 yard gain, resetting the downs once more at our 24 yard line. Mason kept the pain coming with an 11 yard rush and another set of downs at the 13. Our defense would finally win a battle on first down as they were able to limit Brown to just a three yard rush, but the victory would be short lived as Mason took the handoff on second down, rushing straight up the middle and breaking four tackles on his way to trotting into the end zone for a 10 yard touchdown, cutting our lead to 17-14 with 3:12 remaining in the third quarter. The Lobos traversed 80 yards in just 7 plays that drive, all of them on the ground, and it only took them 1:57 to cover that distance. Our team managers were promptly sent to the nearly Sam’s Club for multiple industrial sized tubs of lube.

A 30 yard kickoff return by McGuire gave our offense the ball starting from our 35 yard line. Leierer got this drive started off with an 8 yard gain on the ground, before being wrapped up near the line of scrimmage for just a one yard gain, leaving third and one. Taylor thankfully would come through for us when we needed him most, breaking free on the ground for a 6 yard carry and a first down at the 49 yard line. Leierer returned to the backfield on first down, but was decidedly less successful, as he could only manage a three yard gain on the play, before Taylor got stood up for a gain of just two yards, leaving us facing third and 5. The drive would come crashing to an end on the next play, as the third down pass from Powers intended for Rhodes was horribly overthrown, landing incomplete to leave us punting on fourth and 5. A fair catch by Gunn on the 29 yard punt gave New Mexico the ball from their 16 yard line.

It was more of the same from the New Mexico offense, as Robison kept the ball for himself, ran around the left end and up the left sideline, shaking off three tackle attempts on his way to a 44 yard rush, giving the Lobos a first down at our 39 yard line. Thankfully the Lobos would end up going backwards on first down, as Mason was met in the backfield on an end around, tackled for a three yard loss to leave second and 13. That would be the final play of the third quarter as the clock ran out, our lead just barely hanging on at 17-14.

Opening up the fourth quarter, the Lobos ran a quick pass as Jordan Curry pulled down the ball on a crossing route, only to be quickly tackled by the mob of defenders around him, resulting in a gain of just three yards to leave third and 10. Robison dropped back to pass on third down, but a blitz by our defense had him under instant pressure and forced him to roll out to his right. Despite the speed he had flashed a great many times during his many previous runs, he was clearly still trying to pass as he was quickly caught up to from behind by multiple defenders, ultimately resulting in a sack for a loss of 7 yards and forcing the Lobos to punt on fourth and 17. A 7 yard return by McGuire on the 34 yard punt gave us the ball at our 18 yard line.

Leierer started our drive on the ground with a 7 yard rush, followed by a two yard carry to leave us facing third and one. Taylor would again answer when called upon, rushing for a four yard gain on third down to move the chains to the 31 yard line. Returning to the backfield on first down, Leierer received the handoff and busted up the middle for a 7 yard gain, before squeaking his way to a four yard carry, just picking up a first down at the 42 yard line. Taylor received the handoff on first down, but he was immediately tackled at the line for no gain, leaving second and 10. Dropping back to pass from under center, Powers was able to connect with Long over the middle, the pass complete for a 10 yard gain and a first down at the New Mexico 47 yard line. Our rushing game was seemingly useless now as Taylor was once again stopped for no gain on first down. Taking a shot with a play action pass on second down, the ball intended for Long was underthrown and incomplete, leaving us with third and 10. Lining up in the shotgun on third down, Powers tried to connect with Rhodes, but he was hit as he released the ball, causing the pass to go wounded duck and sail into the ground, the incomplete pass forcing us to punt on fourth and 10 with 4:05 left in the game. A 13 yard return by Gunn on the 34 yard punt gave New Mexico the ball at their 26 yard line.

The Lobos shockingly came out passing on first down, Robison just managing to avoid the blitz and poorly dump the ball off to David Turner, who had to dive for the pass, the completion picking up two yards to leave second and 8. A screen pass to Mason likewise would go poorly for the Lobos, as Mason was immediately tackled for a four yard loss, bringing up third and 12. Robison would never get a chance to get the pass off on third down, as we brought 7 defenders, overwhelming the offensive line and sacking Robison for an 8 yard loss to leave New Mexico punting on fourth and 20, just 2:26 left in the game. A 10 yard return by McGuire on the 38 yard punt gave us our best field position of the game, as we lined up with the ball at the New Mexico 44 yard line.

Starting our drive at the Lobos’ 44 yard line and only 2:17 left in the game, we came out running the ball as Taylor took the handoff for a four yard gain, New Mexico calling their first timeout with 2:14 to play. The Lobos would win the battle on second down, tackling Taylor in the backfield for a one yard loss, leaving third and 9, New Mexico’s second timeout called with 2:11 remaining. Going into the air on third down, Adam Washington would come through for us as he pulled in the pass from Powers, however he also failed us as he caught the pass then was carried out of bounds by his momentum, only picking up 6 yards on the play and leaving us punting on fourth and two, New Mexico calling their third and final timeout with 2:07 remaining. The punt would sail into the end zone for a touchback, giving New Mexico the ball at their 20 yard line with 2:02 left in the game.

Returning to their roots proved the wise decision for the Lobos, as they came out running on first down, Mason receiving the handoff and rushing around the right end, breaking multiple tackles on his way to a 29 yard gain and a first down at the 49 yard line. Things would then start to unravel from there, as Robison dropped back to pass on first down, only to end up sacked for a 7 yard loss. Robison was then forced to rush everyone to the line and spike the ball to stop the clock with 1:37 left, leaving the Lobos facing third and 17. Handing the ball off on third down, Brown tried to save the drive, but he ended up being tripped up for a two yard loss, leaving fourth and 19, the clock ticking away with 1:18 to go. New Mexico would get a huge helping hand from our defense, as their fourth down pass attempt was intercepted, only to have the play reversed due to defensive end Caleb McBride being called for an offside penalty, setting up fourth and 14 with 59 seconds left. The Lobos would take full advantage of the reversal of fortune, as a screen pass to Brown was completed for a 17 yard gain, giving New Mexico a first down at our 38 yard line with 49 seconds remaining. We caught one of our biggest breaks of the game on first down, as Turner was able to give his cover the slip, leaving him open for a guaranteed touchdown. Instead, Turner would proceed to bobble and drop the pass at the three yard line, leaving New Mexico lining back up on second down. Proving that lightning can and does indeed strike the same place twice, New Mexico ran the exact same play a second time in a row, and Turner again got past the secondary for the second play in a row, this time catching the pass from Robison in stride and trotting untouched into the end zone for a 38 yard touchdown reception, giving New Mexico a 21-17 lead with just 39 seconds left in the game.

A 16 yard kickoff return by McGuire gave us the ball at our 22 yard line, 35 seconds left on the clock, but still all three timeouts in the bag. A first down pass attempt over the middle to Martin was nearly intercepted by the middle linebacker, thankfully dropped incomplete to leave second down. Another pass attempt over the middle, this time intended for Long, was again broken up to leave us facing third and long, just 27 seconds to go. Able to at least gain something, we went short on third down, as Powers connected with Rhodes for a 12 yard gain and a first down at the 34 yard line, a quick timeout stopping the clock with 23 seconds left. A quick first down pass intended for McGuire was, as usual, broken up, leaving second down. Greg Miller would come through huge for us on second down, getting separation on a crossing route over the middle, allowing him to pull in the pass from Powers for a gain of 23 yards and a first down at the New Mexico 43 yard line, our second timeout quickly called to freeze the clock with 15 seconds remaining. Throwing up a long pass to Martin on first down, it was broken up at the last second by the safety, leaving second down and just 9 seconds left. Still stuck on the 43 yard line, we chucked up a pass over the middle, the pass only to end up broken up to leave third and 10 with just four seconds left on the clock. Throwing up a prayer on third down, Martin was able to slip behind both defenders on him, but the pass ended up a little underthrown, allowing the defenders to cut off an open Martin in the end zone and bat the ball down at the 5 yard line, the incomplete pass coming with no time left on the clock to seal the 21-17 win for New Mexico.

With the loss, we drop to 4-2, 2-1 in Mountain West action. With the win, New Mexico improves to 6-0, 3-0 in Mountain West play. Up next, we return home as we welcome the Colorado State Rams into town on Homecoming Weekend. The Rams enter the game 4-3, 1-2 in Mountain West action. Colorado State opened their year with a 48-17 win over Colorado and a 28-22 victory against Minnesota. After that, they went on a two game slide, losing 48-21 at #9 Alabama and 35-28 at Hawaii. The Rams would recover with a 38-14 win at UTSA, but would lose the next week 51-35 to #17 San Diego State before demolishing Wyoming 49-10 to inch about .500 on the year.

Final Score

:New_Mexico: 21, :Utah_State: 17

Stats of the Game:
Utah State Offense - A poor day for Powers, going 13-26 for 177 yards, with no touchdowns and one interception. Rushing, Leierer led the way with 146 yards and one touchdown on 31 carries. Taylor ended with 37 yards and one touchdown on 14 carries. Receiving, Rhodes was the top receiver with 51 yards on four catches. In all, seven receivers caught at least one pass today. Eight were targeted, but Taylor dropped his only targeted pass. Of the seven receivers with at least one catch, six ended with double digit yards.

Utah State Defense/Special Teams – Another piss poor day for the defense, as they get absolutely torched by another nationally top ranked rushing attack, giving up 239 yards rushing to the Lobos on just 28 total carries. Even passing wasn't really kept in check as New Mexico proceeded to go 7 of 8 passing, albeit for only a pedestrian 61 yards. All around another terrible day by the defense, a terrible day that cost us the division lead.

Utah State Kicking – Another perfect day for Marcus, going 1-1 in field goals with a 26 yard kick and 2-2 in PATs.

Scoring Summary

Team
1st Quarter
2nd Quarter
3rd Quarter
4th Quarter
Final Score

:Utah_State:
7
10
0
0
17

:New_Mexico:
7
0
7
7
21

Time
Team
Result
Play
Score

First Quarter

2:06
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
T. Taylor, 4 yard run (D. Marcus kick)
:Utah_State: 7-0

0:39
:New_Mexico:
Touchdown
M. Robison, 4 yard run (D. Sands kick)
TIED 7-7

Second Quarter

6:48
:Utah_State:
Field Goal
D. Marcus, 25 yard field goal
:Utah_State: 10-7

0:25
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
M. Leierer, 2 yard run (D. Marcus kick)
:Utah_State: 17-7

Third Quarter

3:12
:New_Mexico:
Touchdown
J. Mason, 10 yard run (D. Sands kick)
:Utah_State: 17-14

Fourth Quarter

0:39
:New_Mexico:
Touchdown
D. Turner, 38 yard pass from M. Robison (D. Sands kick)
:New_Mexico: 21-17

Game Stats

Utah State
Stat
New Mexico

17
Score
21

23
First Downs
11

350
Total Offense
282

46 - 173 - 2
Rushes - Yards - TD
28 - 239 - 2

13 - 26 - 0
Comp - Att - TD
7 - 8 - 1

177
Passing Yards
61

1
Times Sacked
4

9 - 14 (64%)
3rd Down Conversion
1 - 6 (16%)

0 - 0 (0%)
4th Down Conversion
1 - 1 (100%)

0 - 0 (0%)
2-Point Conv
0 - 0 (0%)

3 - 2 - 1 (100%)
Red Zone - TD - FG
2 - 2 - 0 (100%)

1
Turnovers
0

0
Fumbles Lost
0

1
Intercepted
0

29
Punt Return Yards
13

103
Kick Return Yards
111

482
Total Yards
407

3 – 33.0
Punts - Average
4 - 36.5

1 - 5
Penalties
0 - 0

24:12
Time of Possession
11:48

Utah State Coach Goals

Goal
XP Reward
Completed

Score a Touchdown
25
x2

Rush for 100 Yards
25
x1

3+ Sacks
50
x1

Play an ESPN Classic Game
75
x1

Opponent Under 300 Pass Yards
50
x1

Pass Completion Over 50%
30
x1

100% Red Zone Efficiency
50
x1

350+ Offensive Yards
50
x1

10+ First Downs
50
x1

4+ 3rd Down Conversions
25
x1

Utah State Contract Goals Update

Goal
Expectations
Progress

Target Wins Per Season
7
4

Job Security Status

100%

SmoothPancakes

05-09-2014, 12:08 AM

Taking a look around the nation, in the Top 25, in the game of the week, #1 Notre Dame escaped from #11 USC 42-35 in overtime. #2 Ohio State destroyed Houston 45-14. #3 Michigan slipped past Maryland 42-35. #4 Oklahoma sailed by Kansas 48-27. #5 Stanford beat Troy 59-28. Oregon stunned #6 UCLA 38-20. #7 Florida State shellacked NC State 42-7. #8 Georgia Tech walloped North Carolina 42-6. #9 Louisiana-Lafayette shut out Idaho 49-0. Tennessee upset #10 South Carolina 37-34 in overtime.

BYU knocked off #12 Cincinnati 38-26. #13 Alabama got by Arkansas 35-28. #14 Virginia Tech beat Duke 34-10. #16 Texas topped Iowa State 49-35. Texas A&M stunned #17 Auburn 49-46. Wisconsin knocked off #18 Michigan State 24-21. Navy upended #19 Connecticut 24-21. Virginia upset #20 Miami 37-10. Buffalo shocked #21 Ohio 35-6. #22 San Diego State escaped Nevada 19-17. #23 Kansas State just slipped by TCU 36-35. #24 trout slapped Wake Forest 49-13. #25 Washington beat Arizona 23-10.

For our readers, JeffHCross, #2 Ohio State improves to 6-0 (3-0 Big Ten) with a 45-14 win over Houston. Morsdraconis, West Virginia drops to 4-3 (3-2 Big 12) with a 23-20 overtime loss to Baylor. Souljahbill, Southern Miss drops to 3-3 (2-0 C-USA) with a 36-35 loss to Kentucky. Jaymo, Arizona State remains 3-3 (1-2 Pac-12) with a bye week. LeeSO, #17 Auburn drops to 5-2 (4-1 SEC) with a 49-46 loss to Texas A&M. SCClassof93, #10 South Carolina drops to 6-2 (4-2 SEC) with a 37-34 overtime loss to Tennessee. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State improves to 3-2 (1-0 Sun Belt) with a 34-7 win over New Mexico State. Florida International improves to 3-3 (2-1 C-USA) with a 40-23 win over Massachusetts. Navy improves to 6-0 (5-0 American) with a 24-21 win over #19 Connecticut. Tulsa improves to 3-3 (2-2 American) with a 34-27 win over SMU.

In Mountain West action, #22 San Diego State beat Nevada 19-17, New Mexico beat Utah State 21-17, San Jose State topped UNLV 24-17, Air Force beat Hawaii 24-21, Colorado State whooped Wyoming 49-10 and Fresno State beat Central Michigan 33-21.

Looking at undefeated teams left, #6 UCLA and #12 Cincinnati both lost this week, dropping our number of undefeated teams to 11. #1 Notre Dame (7-0), #2 Ohio State (6-0), #3 Michigan (7-0), #4 Oklahoma (5-0), #5 Stanford (8-0), #7 Florida State (6-0), #8 Georgia Tech (6-0), #12 Louisiana Lafayette (5-0), #23 Kansas State (5-0), Navy (6-0), New Mexico (6-0) all remain with an unblemished record this season.

Turning to a more sadistic watch, who is still winless. There remains 6 teams still looking for their first win: Akron (0-6), Florida Atlantic (0-6), Memphis (0-6), Old Dominion (0-7), Purdue (0-6), UTSA (0-7).

Teams getting their first win this week were: Fresno State (33-21 over Central Michigan), Louisville (32-29 OT over Boston College) and Tulane (45-28 over 0-6 Memphis).

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Notre Dame (34 first place votes) remains #1, Ohio State (23 votes) remains #2, Michigan (1 vote) remains #3, Stanford (2 votes) climbs one to #4, Oklahoma (1 vote) drops one to #5. Florida State jumps one to #6, Georgia Tech moves up one to #7, Louisiana-Lafayette climbs one to #8, Alabama leaps four to #9 and Virginia Tech jumps four to #10. Nebraska climbs four to #11, UCLA drops six to #12, USC falls two to #13, Texas jumps two to #14 and Kansas State leaps eight to #15. Navy enters the poll at #16, San Diego State jumps five to #22, South Carolina drops eight to #18, Wisconsin enters the poll at #19 and Army climbs four to #20. Auburn drops four to #21, Cincinnati plummets ten to #22, Texas A&M enters the poll at #23, Washington climbs one to #24 and Connecticut (275 points) drops six to #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Michigan State (from #18), Miami (from #20) and Ohio (from #21). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Oregon (243 points) is #26, followed by Michigan State (232), Kentucky (160), New Mexico (99) and Indiana (90) to round out the Top 30. One other team picking up points this week is Marshall (51).

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Media Poll, Ohio State (4 first place votes) remains the #1 team, Notre Dame (23 votes) remains #2, Michigan (1 vote) remains #3, Stanford (1 vote) remains #4 and Florida State remains #5. Georgia Tech jumps two to #6, Oklahoma drops one to #7, Louisiana-Lafayette climbs one to #8, Virginia Tech leaps four to #9 and Alabama moves up four to #10. Nebraska jumps four to #11, Texas climbs four to #12, USC drops two to #13, UCLA falls seven to #14 and Kansas State leaps seven to #15. Navy enters the poll at #16, Wisconsin jumps seven to #17, San Diego State climbs five to #18, South Carolina drops nine to #19 and Auburn falls three to #20. Army climbs four to #21, Cincinnati plummets ten to #22, Connecticut drops four to #23, Indiana enters the poll at #24 and Michigan State (237 points) falls seven to #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Ohio (from #20) and Miami (from #21). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Oregon (232 points) is #26, followed by Texas A&M (223), Washington (178), New Mexico (81) and Marshall (70) to round out the Top 30. One other team picking up points this week is Clemson (8).

In the first BCS rankings of the year: #1 Notre Dame (0.997), #2 Ohio State (0.997), #3 Michigan (0.989), #4 Stanford (0.984), #5 Florida State (0.974), #6 Oklahoma (0.974), #7 Georgia Tech (0.971), #8 Virginia Tech (0.951), #9 Alabama (0.951) and #10 Louisiana-Lafayette (0.949). Others: #15 Navy (0.897), #18 South Carolina (0.886) and #20 Auburn (0.871).

An updated look at the Heisman race, Stanford QB Roger Langford is #1 (LW: #1), Notre Dame QB Mike Harper is #2 (LW: #3), UCLA QB Mark Wilson is #3 (LW: #2), Ohio State QB Jordan Watkins is #4 (LW: NR) and USC QB Frank Campbell is #5 (LW: #4). Falling off the Heisman Watch list this week was Auburn HB Nick Bowers is (LW: #5).

SmoothPancakes

05-09-2014, 12:17 AM

Sweet Jesus our defense sucks against the run. :fp:

Now, I don't know how the hell this could be possible, but we are currently ranked #12 in the nation in rushing defense, despite giving up, somehow, exactly 239 yards rushing for two games in a row. 478 yards rushing against our defense in two combined games, 478 yards rushing on only 67 total carries in those two games. All of those rushing yards given up in just those few plays, and we're still somehow ranked #12 in the nation for rushing defense. Talk about absurd.

Either way, we suck. We suck bad when it comes to defending the run. It doesn't get any better as we still play Colorado State (#39 rushing, 180.0 yards/game), Boise State (#90, 140.7 yards/game), Air Force (#5, 239.8 yards/game), Miami University (#50, 175.3 yards/game), UNLV (#123, 90.4 yards/game) and Wyoming (#54, 174.5 yards/game). There's a lot of potential rushing yards to be gained on our defense, ESPECIALLY when we play Air Force. I'm gonna have to have an semi of lube shipped in for that one.

jaymo76

05-09-2014, 08:01 PM

SmoothPancakes

05-09-2014, 08:17 PM

IMO stats in NCAA 14 are pretty borked. Basically if you don't run a hurry up, spread offense you will be near the bottom of the league in offense. Way too many cpu teams put up way, way, way too many yards in the simulated games.

True, but looking back at what numbers my defense gave up in opponents' rushing games the last two games, those numbers might be on the low side after I get done playing them! :D :fp:

SmoothPancakes

05-12-2014, 02:14 AM

Game Seven

:Colorado_State: :@: :Utah_State:

Game Story

--- As we entered the second half of the 2022 season, it was back home for Homecoming Weekend and a visit from the Colorado State Rams. The slaughterhouse games continued as the Rams came in with average rankings on offense and defense. They had the #45 offense in the nation (418.0 yards/game), the #39 rushing offense (180.0 yards/game) and the #57 passing offense (238.0 yards/game). On defense, the Rams ranked #28 nationally in total defense (347.3 yards/game), #60 in rushing defense (160.9 yards/game) and #18 in pass defense (186.4 yards/game). Throw on top of that the #23 scoring offense (35.3 points/game) and a ranking of #40 nationally in turnover differential, standing at plus-2.

On the flip side, we limped into the contest ranked #113 nationally in total offense (338.8 yards/game), the #85 rushing offense (143.3 yards/game) and #107 passing offense (195.5 yards/game). Defensively, we still rated as one of the top defenses in the nation, sitting on top at #1 for total defense (278.2 yards/game), #12 in rushing defense (132.3 yards/game) and #3 in passing defense (145.8 yards/game). We ranked a pedestrian #89 in scoring offense (25.2 points/game) and sat #88 in turnover differential, standing at negative-3. In regards to the conference race, today was a must win as we sat in a tie for second place in the Mountain Division with Air Force, both teams sitting with a 2-1 conference record, one game behind New Mexico and their 3-0 conference mark. A loss today would effectively eliminate us from an outright division title. Colorado State won the coin toss and elected to kick.

A massive 57 yard kickoff return by Leonard Hart got us off to an incredible start to begin the game, giving our offense the ball at the Colorado State 49 yard line before we even took a single snap. Beginning the drive proper on the ground, Matt Leierer took the hand off on first down, but could only pick up two yards before being leveled by the middle linebacker. A second rush by Leierer did a little better, picking up four yards to leave us facing third and four. Going into the air on third down, a quick pass over the middle to tight end Cedric McKinney would keep our drive moving with an 18 yard reception and a first down at the 25 yard line. A blitz by the Colorado State defense again kept our run game in check, Leierer forced to spin away from a tackle in the backfield, allowing the rest of the defense to close and tackle him for just a two yard gain. Returning to the air on second and 8, Adam Powers lined up in the shotgun and rifled a pass to Max Rhodes, the pass completed for a gain of 16 yards, setting us up with first and goal from the Colorado State 7 yard line. A first down rush by Leierer resulted in a gain of 5 yards, leaving us with second and goal from the two. Tyson Taylor would come in on second down and finish the drive off on his first attempt, receiving the hand off from Powers, finding a hole outside the right guard and leaping up and over a defender and into the end zone for a two yard touchdown rush, giving us a 7-0 lead with 6:15 left in the first quarter.

A 20 yard kickoff return by Matt Schneider gave Colorado State the ball at their 21 yard line. The drive got off to a bit of a sour start as Ryan Buchanan dropped back to pass and threw up a bullet intended for Henry Watkins. The throw was off the mark however and landed well wide of Watkins, bringing up second down. Dropping back to pass again on second down, Buchanan was forced to hurry a pass to avoid a sack, the quick ball caught by Tyler Adams for a four yard gain to leave third and 6. Targeting Watkins a second time, Buchanan was able to complete the pass this time, as Watkins was able to pull in the ball for an 18 yard gain and a first down at the 43 yard line. Everything would quickly unravel for the Rams after that as they went no huddle on first down. Dropping back once more, the pass from Buchanan, intended for Sean Gray, was quickly jumped upon and intercepted by senior safety Charles Noble, who proceeded to race up the field untouched for a 45 yard interception returned for a touchdown, giving us a 14-0 lead with 5:38 left in the first quarter.

It would continue to go from bad to worse for the Rams. During the kickoff return, Schneider fielded the ball at the one yard line, returning it out to around the 17 yard line before being violently hit by middle linebacker Sean Edwards, the ball coming loose during the tackle. A mass of bodies, with multiple players from each team, dived and piled on top of the ball, with outside linebacker Derrick Perez coming out the victor to give our offense the ball at the Colorado State 18 yard line. The Rams however were not about to just hand possession back to us on their doorstep, as they proceeded to challenge the fumble on the play. Unfortunately they would win the challenge, as Schneider’s knee was ruled down before the ball came loose, resulting in the play being reversed and Colorado State holding on to possession of the ball at their 17 yard line. Coming out on first down, the Rams threw a screen pass to Schneider to start the drive, but our defense was able to quickly bring him down for just a one yard gain. That success wouldn’t last for long however as Colorado State instantly went into full blown no huddle offense, a second down pass to Ronald Phillips picking up 12 yards and a new set of downs at the 30 yard line. After an offside penalty called on outside linebacker Perry Johnson, Buchanan kept the ball on a designed QB keeper, rushing for 5 yards to leave second and inches. Continuing with the no huddle, Demetrius Newby would then make his presence known, taking a hand off from Buchanan, breaking FIVE different tackles, and rushing up the sideline for a 39 yard carry, giving Colorado State a first down at our 22 yard line. Another rush by Newby on first down resulted in a four yard gain, before a false start penalty pushed the Rams back 5 yards, leaving second and 11. Bringing the house on second down, we were able to force Buchanan to throw the ball away to avoid taking the sack, bringing up third down. Buchanan would fail to avoid the blitz a second time, as middle linebacker Justin Dunn was able to break through the line unblocked and proceeded to sack Buchanan for an 8 yard loss, leaving Colorado State with fourth and 19 from our 31 yard line. Shockingly, the Rams opted to not attempt the 48 yard field goal, instead punting from such a close distance. Proving that the football gods hate us, the very short field punt worked out in Colorado State’s favor, as Sean Roberson drilled a 29 yard punt out of bounds, forcing our offense to take over from our own one yard line.

Lining up just outside the goal line after the coffin corner punt by the Rams, Leierer had a tall task of gaining yards on the ground on first down. He would manage to do just that, finding a hole for a gain of 6 yards and getting our huddle out of the end zone, leaving second and four. Leierer would receive the handoff once more on second down, picking up another 6 yards and getting a first down at the 13 yard line. Catching the defense sleeping on first down as we lined up under center, McKinney was able to slip past the middle linebacker and get wide open up the middle of the field, hauling in a pass from Powers for a gain of 22 yards and a quick first down at the 35 yard line. Returning to our ground game, Leierer took the ball on first down for a gain of 5, before being tackled for no gain on a second down carry, leaving us with third and 5. Lining up in the shotgun on third down, Powers was able to connect with Dre Martin on a crossing route, the pass complete for an 11 yard gain and a new set of downs at the Colorado State 49 yard line. Leierer kept us moving on first down, as he found a hole outside the left tackle, rushing for a gain of 5 yards on the play, followed by a three yard rush to leave us facing third and two. Despite the short yardage, we opted to take a shot through the air on third down, as Powers launched a quick pass to Leierer, who initially was able to get his hands on it, before a hard hit by the safety knocked it loose and incomplete, leaving us punting on fourth down. The 41 yard punt by Freddie Arnold would land near the 7 yard line and bounce into the end zone for a touchback.

Taking over at their 20 yard line after the touchback, Colorado State came out passing on first down as Buchanan rifled a pass to Gray, complete for a gain of 9 yards to leave second and one. That would be the final play of the first quarter as the last three seconds ticked off the clock, our lead standing at 14-0.

Opening up the second quarter, the Rams came out passing on second down, but with our defense creating pressure and breathing down the neck of Buchanan, he was forced to make a rushed throw intended for the Gray, the poorly thrown ball spiking into the ground incomplete just 5 yards down the field. The Rams wouldn’t be denied on third down and one however, as Buchanan kept the ball on an option play to the right, breaking out of one tackle and rushing for a 7 yard gain, picking up a first down at the 35 yard line. Newby took over on first down, stiff arming one defender on his way to a 5 yard gain. Colorado State would end up going backwards however as our defense blitzed on second down, Buchanan finding himself under instant pressure as he dropped back to pass. Buchanan tried to scramble and roll out to his right, but he would end up rolling right into the arms of defensive end Caleb McBride, who sacked him for a loss of 6 yards to leave third and 11. The Rams went into a huddle on third down, but it would do them little good as our four man rush put pressure on Buchanan, collapsing the pocket in on him and forcing him to throw a bad pass down field intended for Watkins, cornerback Buck Castillo getting his arms up in front of Watkins to swat the ball away, forcing the Rams to punt the ball on fourth and 11. A 16 yard return by Eric McGuire on the 45 yard punt gave us the ball at our 37 yard line.

Starting a new drive with pretty decent field position, Leierer started us on the ground, finding a small hole along the left side that allowed him to gain three yards, leaving second and 7. Our drive would come screeching to an end on the next play as a pass attempt over the middle intended for McKinney was intercepted by middle linebacker Brandon Reed, returned three yards to give Colorado State the ball at our 48 yard line.

Taking over after the interception, the Rams came out passing the ball, as Buchanan dropped back and tried to fire a pass to Adams, the would-be first down ball thankfully broken up by Castillo to force second down. A blitz by our defense on second down forced Buchanan to throw the ball away, as our defense started to show signs of life and made it third and 10. In the end, our defense would win the ball right back for us as Buchanan hurled up a ball into coverage on third down, trying to reach his intended target of Brandon Powell near the 23 yard line. Instead, the under thrown ball would be cut off by Johnson, the interception returning possession of the ball to our offense at our 21 yard line.

Taking over at our 21 yard line after the interception, Leierer tried to get us moving on the ground, but could only manage a two yard gain, followed by a second two yard rush to leave us facing third and 6. Saying our prayers and taking a chance through the air, Powers would connect with Rhodes for a gain of 9 yards and a first down at the 35 yard line. Keeping the air game going, Powers, firing a pass from the shotgun, found McGuire over the middle for a 15 yard gain, giving us yet another fresh set of downs at midfield. Returning to the ground on first down, Leierer found a hole up the middle for a 9 yard gain, which was followed up with a 5 yard rush by Taylor to move the chains once more to the Colorado State 37 yard line. Continuing to pound the rock, Leierer returned to the backfield on first down, fighting for a gain of 6 yards, before a 5 yards rush to reset the downs once more, the ball laying at the 26 yard line. Hoping to catch the defense sleeping on first down, we came out running a play action pass on first down, Powers rolling out to his right to avoid the instant collapse of the pocket before firing a bullet to Martin for a 14 yard gain and a new first down at the 12 yard line. Leierer took a hand off on first down, but never had a chance as he was instantly leveled at the line of scrimmage, tackled for no gain to leave second down and long. Dropping back from under center, Powers slung a quick pass over the middle to Raymond Watson, who caught it near the 7 yard line and was able to juke past the nearest defender, fighting his way toward the goal line and turning a minor gain into a 10 yard play, setting us up with first and goal from the two yard line. Returning to the ground on first down, Leierer took the hand off, fighting forward for one yard, leaving second and goal at the one. Taylor would once again come in on second down and pilfer a score from Leierer’s stats, as Taylor dived up the middle for the one yard touchdown, giving us a 21-0 lead with 2:22 left in the second quarter.

A 24 yard kickoff return by Schneider gave Colorado State the ball at their 23 yard line. A failed interception attempt by Castro allowed Buchanan to complete a first down pass to Powell, good for a gain of 10 yards to move the chains to the 33 yard line. Keeping in the air on first down, Buchanan tried to connect with Tevita Wilson over the middle, but the play was broken up by Noble, forcing second and 10. A comeback pass to Adams on second down would pick up 6 yards for the Rams, setting up an important third and four play. Despite putting pressure on Buchanan with our pass rush, the Rams would still convert as a blown assignment by our secondary left Watkins wide open on the left side of the field, allowing him to pull in a pass for a 16 yard gain and a first down at our 45 yard line. It would all unravel from there however as we brought the blitz on first down, forcing Buchanan to try and scramble backwards to avoid a sack. He would fail in that attempt, five different defenders breaking through the pass blocking and collapsing on top of Buchanan. During the melee, Buchanan, trying to make one last ditch effort to avoid a sack, got hit in the back as he tried to spin away from a tackle, fumbling the ball in the process. For a few seconds of mayhem, no fewer than 11 different players gangpiled on top of the ball, but in the end it would be McBride coming up with the fumble for our defense to force the turnover and give us the ball at the Colorado State 42 yard line with 1:40 left in the half.

This time, the Rams were unable to challenge the obvious fumble, and we lined up on offense looking to sling the rock. It would be a poor start to the drive however as Powers tried to connect with Rhodes, only to have the pass dropped as Rhodes was hit from behind by the outside linebacker. Lining up on second down, Powers tried to connect with McGuire over the middle, but he would end up leading McGuire too much and throw the ball out of reach, resulting in third and 10. A second attempt to Rhodes would pay off this time, as he was able to pull in the ball from Powers and hold onto it this time, the pass good for a gain of 12 yards and a first down at the 30 yard line. Throwing from the shotgun on first down, Powers was able to find Martin over the middle, the pass good for a gain of 8 yards, but leaving the clock running. Hurrying to the line, we tried to audible to a run play, but it was quickly blown up as Powers failed to hand the ball off to Taylor while the defense brought the house, Powers just barely able to get back to the line of scrimmage to avoid a loss on the play. We called our first timeout of the half after the play, stopping the clock with 48 seconds left. Going into a hurry up offense, Powers handed the ball off to Leierer, who was able to fight ahead for a 6 yard rush to get a first down at the 15 yard line. Rushing to the line of scrimmage to take advantage of the stopped clock, we called a play action pass out of the same formation. The defense bit on the play action fake hook, line and sinker, allowing McGuire to slip past his man on a flag route while the linebacker who should have been defending him started moving up to try and stop the fictitious run. This allowed McGuire to cut outside in between the cornerback and the safety, pulling in the pass from Powers near the 5 yard line and trotting into the corner of the end zone untouched for a 15 yard touchdown pass, giving us a 28-0 lead with 39 seconds left until halftime.

A 24 yard kickoff return by Newby gave Colorado State the ball at their 26 yard line, just 35 seconds to go. A screen pass to Newby on first down resulted in Colorado State moving backwards, as Newby barely had enough time to catch the ball before being leveled by Castro, the tackle resulting in a 5 yard loss to leave second and 15. Sitting on their own 21 yard line with just 28 seconds left until halftime, the Rams pretty much just threw in the towel, huddling up after the play and not bothering to use any of their three uncalled timeouts. The Rams would let the clock run all the way down to just two seconds before snapping the ball. In the end, the Rams still almost pulled a rabbit out of the hat, as they ran another screen pass, this time getting a good pass off to an open Schneider. With plenty of blocking in front of him, Schneider was able to focus on running down field and breaking through five different tackle attempts for those players who were able to actually get close to him. While he was able to get down the field for a huge gain, it wouldn’t be enough as our defense would eventually force him out of bounds after a 42 yard gain, sending us into halftime with a, thankfully still, 28-0 lead.

Opening up the second half, a 27 yard kickoff return by Newby gave Colorado State the ball at their 26 yard line to start the third quarter. Colorado State’s drive would last all of one play, as Buchanan dropped back to pass on first down, managing to just avoid the blitz and heaving a deep pass 30 yards down the left sideline intended for Adams. Unfortunately for Adams, Buchanan and the Rams, the pass happened to be a hair under thrown and Castillo just happened to be trailing two yards behind Adams, leaving him in perfect position to jump up in front of Adams and intercept the ball, returning it 9 yards to the Colorado State 47 yard line.

Lining up at the Rams 47 after the interception, we let our ground game get the second half started for our offense, as Leierer took the hand off on first down, fighting through a pair of tackles on his way to a 6 yard gain, followed by a 7 yard rush to pick up a first down at the 34 yard line. Taylor took over on first down, but he was quickly spun down for a gain of just a single yard, leaving second and 9. That wouldn’t last for long as we ran a play action pass out of the same formation, once again fooling the defense with the fake hand off which allowed McGuire to get open on an out route, Powers connecting with McGuire for a big 18 yard gain and a first down at the 14 yard line. Trying to go through the air on first down, the defense was ready to play lock down D, resulting in all receivers being covered and Powers nearly being sacked, just able to dump the ball off as he was hit, resulting in an incomplete pass to bring up second down. Powers would not be denied however on second down, as he found Rhodes near the right hash along the 7 yard line, Rhodes managing to pull the ball in and then high-step his way out of a tackle attempt by the outside linebacker, trotting the rest of the way into the end zone untouched for a 14 yard touchdown reception, giving us a 35-0 lead with 7:20 left in the third quarter.

A 21 yard kickoff return by Schneider gave Colorado State the ball at their 20 yard line for their next drive. The nightmare of a game would continue for Buchanan as he dropped back to pass on first down. With the blitz collapsing the pocket and defensive tackle Ernest Sims having just beaten the tackle and having a clear path to Buchanan’s body, he chucked up a high rainbow prayer intended for Powell along the right sideline. Instead, it would be safety Sam Richwalski coming up from the side to cut off the play and jumping in front of the ball, intercepting it while in the air and getting one foot down along the sideline before his momentum carried him out of bounds for another forced turnover, giving us back the ball at the Colorado State 37 yard line.

Lining up after the interception with some of our best field position all game, we got the drive started on the ground, as Leierer took the hand off and tried to find some room, only to be brought down after a gain of just two yards. Lining up in the shotgun on second down, Powers took a HUGE gamble and slung a pass into the middle of triple coverage. Somehow, despite being in the very close quarters mass of three defenders, McGuire was able to somehow how pull down the threading the needle pass to avert a potential turnover and instead turn the play into a gain of 16 yards, giving us a first down at the 20 yard line. Continuing with our passing game on first down, tight end Jack Long pulled down a pass along the right sideline for a 9 yard gain, which was then followed by a 5 yard rush by Leierer, setting us up with first and goal from the 6 yard line. Taylor entered the backfield on first down, but was only able to pick up a single yard on the carry. Leierer tried his luck on second and goal, finding some room to run outside the right tackle, picking up four yards on the play to leave us facing third and goal at the one yard line. Taylor would once more swipe a touchdown from Leierer’s stats, as he took the rock on third down, punching it up the middle for a one yard touchdown to extend our lead to 42-0 with 4:15 left in the third quarter.

A 21 yard kickoff return by Schneider got Colorado State lined up at their 24 yard line. Having had four of their last five drives, and last two drives in a row, end on turnovers, specifically three interceptions and a fumble, the Rams were no doubt praying to every god ever mentioned in history to put together some sort of successful drive this time. Their prayers would seem to be answered as Buchanan was able to complete a pass to Powell down the right side of the field, good for a 19 yard gain and a first down at the 43 yard line. The success would be short lived however as the Rams attempted to run a screen pass on first down. However, due to our defense coming on an all out blitz, McBride was able to break through the line unblocked and dived at the ankles of Buchanan, tripping him up and sacking him for a 10 yard loss before he could try and release the ball, resulting in the Rams being left facing second and 20. Colorado State would go backwards yet again as defensive tackle Lance Nash came plowing through his blocker, sacking Buchanan from behind for a 7 yard loss, leaving third and 17 form the 26 yard line and putting the Rams back nearly where the drive originally started from. In probably the biggest failure by our defense all day, Buchanan would get off a pass on third down, complete underneath the coverage to Gray. The only problem would be that Gray would shake off the tackle attempt of the nearest defender. With Castillo locked up in a block down field near the first down marker, Gray was able to cover the yards needs before running into any more defenders, the total play going for a gain of 30 yards and giving the Rams a first down at our 44 yard line. Running no huddle on first down, Colorado State took advantage of our disorganized defense and was able to run a successful screen pass, Buchanan connecting with Newby for a 9 yard gain to leave second and short. Our defense would strike back however, as a blitz on the second down pass attempt left Buchanan scrambling, only to be tripped up and sacked for a 7 yard loss, leaving third and 7. Another screen pass attempt was quickly destroyed by our blitz, forcing Buchanan to keep dropping back to avoid a sack. Finally, after dropping back 15 yards to keep away from the defense, Buchanan threw the ball away, heaving it out of bounds to escape the sack. While the drive could technically be considered a success, as Colorado State actually managed to move the ball this time, getting as far as our 35 yard line, and all without committing a turnover, it was still officially a failure as the Rams continued to leave a big old goose egg up on the scoreboard. The 42 yard punt would sail long and into the end zone for a touchback, giving us the ball at our 20 yard line.

Starting our drive from our 20 yard line after the touchback, Leierer got us off and running once more, picking up three yards after a dash up the middle. Dropping back from under center on second down, a quick pass to McKinney resulted in an 8 yard gain and a first down at the 32 yard line. Dropping back into the shotgun on first down, Powers tried to connect with McGuire over the middle, but the pass was nearly intercepted by the middle linebacker, leaving second and 10. Powers tried to hit Long on second down, but the ball was likewise swatted away, this time by the outside linebacker, leaving us with third and long. A third down pass attempt, this time to Rhodes, would finally hit its target, the pass complete just beyond the outstretched arms of the cornerback, good for a gain of 19 yards and a first down at the Colorado State 49 yard line. Taylor got our ground game back in action on first down, rushing up the middle for a four yard gain, followed by a three yard rush by Leierer to leave third and three. The third down pass attempt, intended for Rhodes, was broken up near the line of scrimmage to leave us punting on fourth and three. That would end up being the final play of the third quarter as the clock ran out, our lead sitting at a commanding 42-0.

Opening up the fourth quarter, our punt team lined up on fourth and three from the Colorado State 42 yard line. A pooch punt from Arnold traveled 29 yards, upon which Schneider called for a fair catch in the face of two of our gunners. That fair catch would leave Colorado State beginning their new drive from their 12 yard line. Despite the blowout score, the Rams refused to give up as Buchanan came out passing on first down, slinging the ball into a tight spot between the arms of Richwalski and into the hands of Watkins, the pass good for a gain of 9 yards. Attempting to throw again on second and one, the Rams would only end up going backwards as our 5 man rush defeated Colorado State’s clearly outmatched offensive line, resulting in Buchanan being sacked yet again, this time for a 7 yard loss to leave third and 8. Huddling up this time, the Rams came out on third down surprisingly running the ball, but it wouldn’t be enough as Newby would be tackled just short of the first down line, gaining only 7 yards to force a punt on fourth and one. A 6 yard return by McGuire on the 44 yard punt left us starting from our 41 yard line.

Leierer would get our drive started, as usual, on the ground, rushing up the middle for a gain of 6 yards, followed by a 10 yard rush outside the right tackle, giving us a quick and easy first down at the Colorado State 44 yard line. Taylor would take over on first down, finding a hole for a 6 yard carry, followed by a gain of four yards to get another first down at the 34. A third straight rush by Taylor would result in a 7 yard gain, leaving us with second and three. Running no-huddle on second down, we called a play action pass, hoping to catch the defense off guard. It would do exactly that as McGuire was able to find a gap between the cornerback, outside linebacker and safety, pulling down the pass from Powers for a gain of 14 yards and a first down at the 13 yard line. Handing the reigns back over to the run game, a new face appeared in the backfield as Benjamin Silva took the hand off on first down, fighting his way to a 7 yard gain, followed by a one yard run by Taylor to leave third and two. Passing on third down, Powers was able to sneak a pass into the end zone behind the back of the outside linebacker and into the hands of Rhoads, resulting in a 5 yard touchdown pass to increase our lead to 49-0 with 4:06 left in the game.

A 26 yard kickoff return by Newby gave Colorado State the ball at their 29 yard line. Despite rushing only five men, the offensive line for the Rams still had trouble containing our pass rush, forcing Buchanan to throw the ball out of bounds to avoid the sack, leaving second down. It would get even worse on second down with just a four man pass rush, as McBride was able to shed his blocker and nearly sack Buchanan, forcing him to quickly throw up a pass intended for Wilson. This time the ball was right on target instead of the usual under thrown, however Wilson stopped short on running his route at the last second and squared up to catch the ball in anticipation of being clobbered from behind by Noble upon reception. Due to that sudden stop and square up, the ball traveled past Wilson’s position, enabling cornerback Mike Moses to come running up and intercept the ball, returning it 6 yards to the Colorado State 36 yard line, where Powell tackled him. It would proceed to get worse for the Rams, as Powell, trying to quickly bring down Moses, who was trying to stiff arm his way out of Powell’s tackle, proceeded to tackle Moses by his facemask, the 15 yard penalty assessed at the end of the play, resulting in our offense instead lining up on first down from the Colorado State 21 yard line.

Lining up on offense after yet another interception, Taylor got us moving forward on first down with a 7 yard rush up the middle, followed by a two yard carry to leave us facing third and one. Taylor would fail to convert the third down, tackled for no gain on the play to leave fourth down. Out of position for a field goal, sitting on the hash mark at a sharp angle and with a strong wind blowing across the goal post, we opted not to try the Mickey Mouse field goal attempt, instead letting Powers run a QB sneak on fourth and one in hopes of converting and running out the clock. It was not meant to be however as he was quickly brought down for no gain, forcing a turnover on downs at the 12 yard line.

Taking over at their own 12 yard line with just 2:11 left in the game, Colorado State refused to go quietly, as Buchanan kept slinging up passes. Our defense blitzed on first down, forcing Buchanan to throw the ball away. A simple four man rush somehow managed Buchanan to throw up another hurried, high rainbow throw. It would result in exactly the same end game as every single other high rainbow throw he had tossed up all game. The ball, intended for Watkins near the 25 yard line, was intercepted by a jumping Castillo, his momentum carrying him out of bounds to give us the ball at the Colorado State 22 yard line.

Lining up at Colorado State’s 22 yard line after the ungodly seventh forced turnover by our defense, we set about trying to kill off the final 2:02 on the clock and bring this game to a merciful end. Powers handed the ball off to Taylor on first down, but a blitz by the Rams defense quickly brought him down for no gain to leave second and 10. Taylor would manage to spin and fight his way to an 8 yard gain on the second down carry, setting up third and two, still over a minute on the clock. Instead of hoping Taylor could get the job done this time, we decided to try a conversion through the air. It wasn't meant to be, as the throw from Powers to a wide open Rhodes sailed long and incomplete, leaving fourth and two. This time, despite being on the 13 yard line, we sitting at a decent enough angle to attempt the 30 yard field goal. The kick by Doug Marcus somehow miraculously was good, the ball actually ricocheting off the right upright and somehow managing to inside and over the crossbar for a successful 30 yard field goal, giving us a 52-0 lead with 45 seconds left in the game.

A 22 yard kickoff return by Schneider gave the Rams the ball at their 23 yard line, just 40 seconds left in this lopsided contest. Still insisting on going down swinging, Colorado State and Buchanan came out passing once again, and once again, Buchanan threw up a very ill advised, high rainbow pass across the field to the left sideline, again targeting Watkins on an out route. And again, Castillo was there to jump the pass and intercept the ball for an even more ungodly eighth forced turnover of the game, giving us the ball at the Colorado State 35 yard line with 34 seconds left in the game.

Lining up at the Colorado State 35 yard line after the eighth forced turnover by our defense today, Powers would simply take a single knee to run out the final 34 seconds on the clock and bring our 52-0 drubbing of the Rams to an end.

With the win, we improve to 5-2, 3-1 in Mountain West action. With the loss, Colorado State drops to 4-4, 1-3 in Mountain West play. Up next, it’s back on the road yet again as we head to Boise State. The Broncos enter the game at 4-2, 1-1 in Mountain West action. Boise State opened their season with a 35-28 win over #21 Auburn and a 34-14 victory at BYU. They suffered their first defeat in week three, 38-17 at the hands of #24 Washington. The Broncos would recover with a 52-42 win at Virginia, but would then lose their second game, 34-28 at #17 San Diego State. Boise State would recover once again, beating UNLV 24-19 and defeating Fresno State 38-21 heading into our game.

Final Score
:Utah_State: 52, :Colorado_State: 0

Stat(s) of the Game:

Utah State Offense - Powers had an impressive day, going 19-28 with 253 yards and three touchdowns. Only sour note was one interception. Rushing, Leierer led the way with 117 yards on 28 carries. Taylor had 49 yards and three touchdowns on 16 rushes. Silva had 7 yards on one carry. Receiving, McGuire led all receivers with 77 yards, as well as having one touchdown on five receptions. Rhodes ended the day with 75 yards and two touchdowns on six catches. In total, six receivers caught a pass today, five of them ending with double digit yards. Rhodes and McGuire were the only ones to have a receiving touchdown, Leierer and Rhodes each had one drop.

Utah State Defense/Special Teams – By far the best defensive game I have ever witnessed. Just the fact that our defense forced 8 turnovers alone is just jaw dropping. To force 7 interceptions in ungodly, the forced fumble and fumble recovery were incredible. The 7 sacks were just the icing on the cake. Castillo set a new team single game record with three interceptions in the game. Richwalski, Noble, Johnson and Moses each had one interception. McBride had a forced fumble and fumble recovery. McBride also finished with three sacks, Dunn and Nash each had two.

If the defense can continue to play like this every single game the rest of this season, there is nothing that can stop us from achieving a Mountain West title. The question is, can they continue to play like this every single game the rest of the season?

Utah State Kicking – A perfect day for Marcus, going 1-1 in field goal with a 30 yard kick, and going 7-7 in PATs.

Scoring Summary

Team
1st Quarter
2nd Quarter
3rd Quarter
4th Quarter
Final Score

:Colorado_State:
0
0
0
0
0

:Utah_State:
14
14
14
10
52

Time
Team
Result
Play
Score

First Quarter

6:15
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
T. Taylor, 2 yard run (D. Marcus kick)
:Utah_State: 7-0

5:38
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
C. Noble, returned interception 45 yards (D. Marcus kick)
:Utah_State: 14-0

Second Quarter

2:22
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
T. Taylor, 1 yard run (D. Marcus kick)
:Utah_State: 21-0

0:39
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
E. McGuire, 15 yard pass from A. Powers (D. Marcus kick)
:Utah_State: 28-0

Third Quarter

7:20
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
M. Rhodes, 14 yard pass from A. Powers (D. Marcus kick)
:Utah_State: 35-0

4:15
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
T. Taylor, 1 yard run (D. Marcus kick)
:Utah_State: 42-0

Fourth Quarter

4:06
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
M. Rhodes, 5 yard pass from A. Powers (D. Marcus kick)
:Utah_State: 49-0

0:45
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
D. Marcus, 30 yard field goal
:Utah_State: 52-0

Game Stats

Colorado State
Stat
Utah State

0
Score
52

9
First Downs
22

195
Total Offense
424

13 - 14 - 0
Rushes - Yards - TD
48 - 171 - 3

14 - 31 - 0
Comp - Att - TD
19 - 28 - 3

181
Passing Yards
253

7
Times Sacked
0

4 - 9 (44%)
3rd Down Conversion
8 - 12 (66%)

0 - 0 (0%)
4th Down Conversion
0 - 1 (0%)

0 - 0 (0%)
2-Point Conv
0 - 0 (0%)

1 - 0 - 0 (0%)
Red Zone - TD - FG
8 - 6 - 1 (87%)

8
Turnovers
1

1
Fumbles Lost
0

7
Intercepted
1

0
Punt Return Yards
22

195
Kick Return Yards
57

390
Total Yards
503

4 – 40.0
Punts - Average
2 - 35.0

2 - 20
Penalties
1 - 5

12:26
Time of Possession
26:58

Utah State Coach Goals

Goal
XP Reward
Completed

Win a Game
100
x1

Score a Touchdown
25
x7

Defensive Touchdown
50
x1

Force a Turnover
25
x7

Pass for 250 Yards
25
x1

Rush for 100 Yards
25
x1

Kneel Last Minute Q4 While Ahead
10
x1

3+ Sacks
50
x1

Opponent Under 10 Points
75
x1

Shutout Opponent
100
x1

Opponent Under 150 Rush Yards
50
x1

Opponent Under 300 Pass Yards
50
x1

Pass Completion Over 50%
30
x1

Score 21 or More Points
50
x1

350+ Offensive Yards
50
x1

10+ First Downs
50
x1

4+ 3rd Down Conversions
25
x1

Utah State Contract Goals Update

Goal
Expectations
Progress

Target Wins Per Season
7
5

Job Security Status

100%

SmoothPancakes

05-12-2014, 02:15 AM

Taking a look around the nation, in the Top 25, in the game of the week, #2 Ohio State slipped past Rutgers 24-17. #3 Michigan survived Minnesota 27-21. #4 Stanford beat Oregon State 42-21. In the game of the week, #5 Oklahoma outlasted #15 Kansas State 42-32. #6 Florida State shut out Louisville 45-0. #7 Georgia Tech escaped Virginia 24-19. #8 Louisiana-Lafayette shut out New Mexico State 28-0. Tennessee possum stomped #9 Alabama 41-17. #10 Virginia Tech toppled North Carolina 41-18.

#11 Nebraska stomped #19 Wisconsin 45-13. #12 UCLA whooped Utah 35-14. #13 USC thrashed Arizona State 55-35. TCU knocked off #14 Texas 41-37. #16 Navy topped Central Florida 45-28. North Texas shocked #17 San Diego State 49-45. Missouri knocked off #18 South Carolina 41-31. Florida International stunned #21 Auburn 35-13. #22 Cincinnati escaped Temple 28-23. LSU knocked off #23 Texas A&M 47-35. #24 Washington topped Cal 38-21. #25 Connecticut beat East Carolina 31-3.

For our readers, JeffHCross, #2 Ohio State improves to 7-0 (4-0 Big Ten) with a 24-17 win over Rutgers. Morsdraconis, West Virginia improves to 5-3 (4-2 Big 12) with a 28-25 win over Iowa State. Souljahbill, Southern Miss improves to 4-3 (3-0 C-USA) with a 31-22 win over Massachusetts. Jaymo, Arizona State drops to 3-4 (1-3 Pac-12) with a 55-35 loss to #13 USC. LeeSO, #21 Auburn drops to 5-3 (4-2 SEC) with a 35-13 loss to Florida International. SCClassof93, #18 South Carolina drops to 6-3 (4-3 SEC) with a 41-31 loss to Missouri. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State improves to 4-2 (2-0 Sun Belt) with a 28-3 win over Idaho. Florida International improves to 4-3 (3-1 C-USA) with a 35-13 upset of #21 Auburn. #16 Navy improves to 7-0 (6-0 American) with a 45-28 win over Central Florida. Tulsa improves to 4-3 (3-2 American) with a 38-6 win over Memphis.

In Mountain West action, North Texas stunned #17 San Diego State 49-45, Utah State shut out Colorado State 52-0, New Mexico topped San Jose State 41-20, Air Force beat Wyoming 38-28, Boise State topped Fresno State 38-21 and UNLV beat Nevada 24-20.

Looking at undefeated teams left, #15 Kansas State lost this week, dropping our number of undefeated teams to 10. #1 Notre Dame (7-0), #2 Ohio State (7-0), #3 Michigan (8-0), #4 Stanford (9-0), #5 Oklahoma (6-0), #6 Florida State (7-0), #7 Georgia Tech (7-0), #8 Louisiana Lafayette (6-0), #16 Navy (7-0) and New Mexico (7-0) all remain with an unblemished record this season.

Turning to a more sadistic watch, who is still winless. There remains 4 teams still looking for their first win: Florida Atlantic (0-7), Memphis (0-7), Old Dominion (0-8), UTSA (0-8).

Teams getting their first win this week were: Akron (24-14 over 5-2 Ball State) and Purdue (42-26 over 4-3 Bowling Green).

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Notre Dame (35 first place votes) remains #1, Ohio State (24 votes) remains #2, Michigan (1 vote) remains #3, Stanford (1 vote) remains #4 and Florida State jumps one to #5. Oklahoma drops one to #6, Georgia Tech remains #7, Louisiana-Lafayette remains #8, Virginia Tech climbs one to #9 and Nebraska moves up one to #10. UCLA climbs one to #11, Navy leaps four to #12, USC remains #13, Kansas State moves up one to #14 and Army climbs five to #15. Cincinnati leaps six to #16, Alabama drops eight to #17, Washington climbs six to #18, Connecticut jumps six to #19 and TCU enters the poll at #20. Texas plummets seven to #21, Wisconsin drops three to #22, New Mexico enters the poll at #23, Oregon enters the poll at #24 and Kentucky (200 points) enters the poll at #25. Dropping out this week were San Diego State (from #17), South Carolina (from #18), Auburn (from #21) and Texas A&M (from #23). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Indiana (193 points) is #26, followed by Tennessee (186), LSU (169), San Diego State (145) and Marshall (122) to round out the Top 30. Other teams getting points this week are Clemson (67), South Carolina (37), Northwestern (33) and Boise State (9).

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Media Poll, Ohio State (37 first place votes) remains the #1 team, Notre Dame (24 votes) remains #2, Michigan (1 vote) remains #3, Stanford (1 vote) remains #4 and Florida State (1 vote) remains #5. Georgia Tech (1 vote) remains #6, Oklahoma remains #7, Louisiana-Lafayette remains #8, Virginia Tech remains #9 and Nebraska climbs one to #10. Navy leaps five to #11, USC climbs one to #12, UCLA moves up one to #13, Kansas State jumps one to #14 and Army and leaps six to #15. Cincinnati jumps six to #16, Alabama plummets seven to #17, Connecticut jumps five to #18, Texas drops seven to #19 and Indiana climbs four to #20. Wisconsin drops four to #21, TCU enters the poll at #22, New Mexico enters the poll at #23, Oregon enters the poll at #24 and Washington (240 points) enters the poll at #25. Dropping out this week were San Diego State (from #18), South Carolina (from #19), Auburn (from #20) and Michigan State (from #25). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Marshall (138 points) is #26, followed by Tennessee (119), San Diego State (102), Clemson (84) and Kentucky (76) to round out the Top 30. One other team receiving points this week is LSU (39).

In the latest BCS rankings: #1 Ohio State (0.997), #2 Notre Dame (0.997), #3 Michigan (0.989), #4 Stanford (0.984), #5 Florida State (0.977), #6 Georgia Tech (0.971), #7 Oklahoma (0.971), #8 Virginia Tech (0.955), #9 Nebraska (0.952) and #10 Louisiana-Lafayette (0.950). Others: #11 Navy (0.934), #25 New Mexico (0.834).

An updated look at the Heisman race, Stanford QB Roger Langford is #1 (LW: #1), UCLA QB Mark Wilson is #2 (LW: #3), Notre Dame QB Mike Harper is #3 (LW: #2), USC QB Frank Campbell is #4 (LW: #5) and Ohio State QB Jordan Watkins is #5 (LW: #4). No one fell off the list this week.

jaymo76

05-12-2014, 07:25 PM

Damn! That's quite the beating. Nice work Smooth. Out of curiosity how is UNLV doing this season???

SmoothPancakes

05-12-2014, 08:08 PM

Damn! That's quite the beating. Nice work Smooth. Out of curiosity how is UNLV doing this season???

Yeah, I have no idea what it was that game.

For some reason, even with just a four man pass rush, we were getting constant pressure on Buchanan. Colorado State's offensive line just wasn't very good. The pocket would collapse almost instantly or one or two people were able to quickly break through their blockers and make a move at Buchanan, forcing a bad pass. Buchanan would also constantly throw up really high, rainbow arc passes, especially along the sidelines. With the ball hanging in the air for so long, especially with it seemingly constantly overthrown or underthrown, it was pretty much easy pickings for my secondary to intercept the pass.

It was split mostly half and half on CPU picks and user picks, with such a slow, high arcing pass and such a long time for it to complete its arc and reach the receiver, it seemed like every pass was ending in an interception, especially in those final two or three drives that Colorado State had right at the very end.

Now, I am hoping that was just one very very very extreme outlying result and that it doesn't for some reason occur more often. I haven't touched any of my sliders since my last games back in January and early February, and I've hardly played NCAA in the last couple months, so how this team was suddenly able to just go Hulk Mode like that, I have no clue what the hell triggered that kind of defense that game.

As for UNLV, I can't say with total certainty at the moment. I'm actually in the middle of the first quarter of the Boise State game, if I can ever finish it. I started the Boise State game around 3pm this afternoon, and I'm still sitting in the middle of the first quarter right now. It's been paused and I haven't gotten a chance to resume playing since around 4:30-5pm.

However, I went back through the previous weekly recaps so far this season. Based on the weekly results in the Mountain West, I believe that UNLV is currently 2-4 (1-3 MWC). They opened with a 42-3 loss at UCLA, beat Troy 38-21, lost to Air Force 31-10, lost to Boise State 24-19, lost to San Jose State 24-17 and beat Nevada 24-20. When I get done with my game against Boise State, I'll take a closer look and check to make sure that's the right record.

SmoothPancakes

05-13-2014, 11:41 PM

Game Eight

:Utah_State: :@: :Boise_State:

Game Story

--- Coming off our dominating shutout of Colorado State, it was unfortunately right back onto the road, as we traveled to take on budding rival Boise State. This again was going to be a win at all costs game. After the results of the previous week, New Mexico still led the Mountain Division with a 4-0 conference record, ourselves and Air Force were still tied for second at 3-1, and Boise State was nipping at our heels with a 2-1 mark. With only four conference games left in the season, to lose and potentially fall behind New Mexico by two games, would be extremely difficult to overcome, especially as New Mexico holds the head to head tiebreaker, and would essentially all but officially eliminate us from contention for the division title.

It wasn’t going to be an easy one today. The Broncos came in averaging 32.4 points/game (#36 nationally), had the #72 offense (390.4 yards/game), the #91 rush offense (141.7 yards/game) and the #46 pass offense (248.7 yards/game). Today would potentially be a change of pace for our defense, as the Broncos appeared to have more of a pass-oriented offense, meaning our secondary would have to be on top of their game today. On the flip side, our running game would probably be what would carry our offense today, as Boise State entered at #57 for total defense (391.0 yards/game), #84 for rush defense (174.7 yards/game) and #40 for pass defense (216.3 yards/game). Looking at turnover differential, the Broncos had been able to force some turnovers throughout the season, sitting ranked #47 in the nation with a differential of plus-two. Meanwhile, our massive game against Colorado State, where we forced eight turnovers, skyrocketed us from a dismal ranking and a negative differential, to now standing at #30 in the nation with a turnover differential of plus-four. The talking heads all expected a close game, but due to Boise State having home field advantage on the smurf turf, they all picked the Broncos to prevail. We won the coin toss and elected to kick.

A 44 yard kickoff return by Travis Bolden, who broke upwards of 6 different tackles during the return, gave Boise State the ball at their 47 yard line. David Andrews received the hand off on first down, but our defense was able to break through quickly and tackle him in the backfield for a loss of one yard, leaving second and 11. Faced with a collapsing pocket, Danny Chavis, after originally dropping back to pass, tucked the ball and took off running, picking up 5 yards on the ground before being brought down to leave the Broncos facing third and 6. After shedding three different tackle attempts while trying to stay alive in the pocket, our defense would finally get a hold on Chavis and bring him down, sacking him for a one yard loss to force Boise State to punt on fourth and 7. The punt would sail 50 yards and into the end zone for a touchback, giving us the ball at the 20 yard line.

Coming out for our first drive of the game, Matt Leierer got us started on the ground, rushing up the middle for a 5 yard gain, followed by a 6 yard rush to get a quick first down at the 31 yard line. Continuing to pound the ball on the ground, Leierer kept us moving forward on first down, fighting his way to another 6 yard gain, before a second down rush by Tyson Taylor would just barely result in a four yard gain, just enough to move the chains to the 41 yard line. Sticking with the mantra “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it”, we continued to pound away with the running game, Leierer taking the first down hand off for a four yard gain, followed by a 6 yard rush on an impromptu dash outside around the right tackle, just picking up another first down at the Boise State 49 yard line. Another carry on first down, this time by Taylor, netted us a gain of two yards. Taylor would receive the ball once more on second down, fighting his way up the middle for a pickup of 6 yards to leave us facing third and two. Despite the defense no doubt now cheating toward the run, we decided to take the gamble on the ground on third down. Taylor took the hand off and punched straight up the middle behind the center. He got to the first down line before being pulled down from behind by the defensive tackle. A horrible spot by the officials claimed it was just a one yard run and that Taylor was actually a couple inches short of the first down. Left facing fourth and inches on the 39 yard line, our only options were to go for it on fourth down or punt. Coach Ramius decided to take Option C instead, and challenged the spot of the ball. That challenge would pay off huge for our offense, as the officials reversed the call on the field, giving Taylor an extra yard on the play, giving us a first down at the Boise State 38 yard line. Refusing to give up on our run game on first down, Taylor took the ball around the left guard, fighting his way through the defense for a 5 yard gain. Going no-huddle on second down, we tried to catch the defense sleeping, running a play action pass from the same formation as the previous run. Adam Powers dropped back to pass but found his initial target covered by an alert and aware cornerback. However, with the outside linebacker biting on the fake, Raymond Watson was able to get open out of the fullback slot, pulling in the pass from Powers for a 5 yard gain, tackled just short of the first down marker to set up third and inches. Leierer returned to the backfield on third down, but it wasn’t meant to be as he got stuffed at the line of scrimmage for no gain, leaving fourth and one at the 29 yard line. Attempting a 46 yard field goal from dead center of the hash marks, kicker Doug Marcus was unable to convert the kick. Instead, the kick was so short that the ball just barely cleared the goal line before it fell to the ground, over 7 yard short of the cross bar.

Due to the missed field goal, Boise State got the ball back at their 29 yard line to begin their next drive. The defense would pick up right where it left off on first down, as defensive end Caleb McBride immediately got past his blocker with a perfect swim move and in a matter of seconds, was climbing on Chavis’ back, sacking him from behind for a 5 yard loss to leave second and 15. Running a screen pass on second down, Chavis was able to avoid the pressure long enough to dump the ball off to Andy Robinson, but it would be essentially a wasted play as Robinson was immediately tripped up and tackled for a gain of just one yard, bringing up third and a long 14 yards for the Broncos. Chavis again nearly got sacked on third down, Boise State’s offensive line just unable to successfully block our regular blitzes. Chavis, however, would manage to keep the play alive a couple seconds longer as he twisted his way out of the ankle tackle attempt, trying to just throw the ball downfield, only to have it swatted back in his face by the defensive line that was quickly closing in on him. The incomplete pass, intended for Bolden, would leave Boise State bringing out their punt team once more on fourth down. No return by McGuire on the 41 yard punt gave us the ball at our 34 yard line.

Coming out passing on first down this time around, Powers made a quick drop back and tried to rifle a pass into the arms of a defended Dre Martin, but the pass sailed a little long and allowed the cornerback to get his hands in front of the ball, batting it down and incomplete. The second pass would be more successful, as Powers dropped back from under center, firing a bullet over the middle to tight end Jack Long, who was able to get behind the middle linebacker and split the safeties, leaving him wide open between the hash marks for a 22 yard completion and a first down at the Boise State 44 yard line. Returning to the ground on first down, Leierer found a small hole around the right guard, fighting for a four yard gain on the play, followed by a 9 yard rush through a massive hole, giving us a new set of downs at the 31 yard line. That would be the final play as the clock hit all zeroes, bringing the first quarter to an end still in a scoreless tie.

Opening up the second quarter, we lined up on first down at the Boise State 31 yard line, a third straight rush by Leierer going around the left end for a gain of 7 yards, before being stood up on second down for just a one yard gain, leaving us facing third and two. With the defense starting to key towards the run game, we came out in shotgun on third down, Powers connecting with Rhodes along the left sideline on an out route, the pass complete for a big 16 yard gain that set us up with first and goal from the 7 yard line. Taylor took the ball on first and goal, fighting for maybe a one yard gain. Another rush on second and goal, this time by Leierer, went straight up the middle for a gain of 5 yards to bring up third and goal at the one yard line. As has become the custom the entire season, Taylor would reenter the game for the final offensive play of the drive to steal all the glory and stats from Leierer, Taylor this time taking the hand off and plunging straight forward for the one yard touchdown, giving us a 7-0 lead with 6:35 left in the second quarter.

A 20 yard kickoff return by Matt Morton gave Boise State the ball at their 22 yard line. A first down screen pass would go from near disaster to near gold as Chavis was able to just barely avoid a sack by McBride and fired off a screen pass to Andrews near the far sideline. Andrews caught the ball a couple yards behind the line of scrimmage, but with a couple of yards of clear field and a pair of missed tackles, he was able to turn it from a loss into a 9 yard gain before finally being pushed out of bounds to leave second and one. The very next play, the drive would go from near gold to down the toilet as Chavis was forced to throw up a hurried pass, the ball sailing high and long 28 yards down the field intended for Bolden. The ball would never reach its intended target however as cornerback Buck Castillo proceeded to intercept his fourth pass in two games, managing a single yard on the return before being tackled at our 45 yard line.

Lining up after the interception, this could be a game changing drive as it presented us with an opportunity to take a two touchdown lead and silence the hostile and raucous Boise crowd. If we could take the fans out of the game and claim a 14 point lead, that would give us an immeasurable boost of momentum. Starting on the ground once more, Leierer took the ball and ran right around the end and up the field, fighting and clawing his way to a gain of 9 yards, following that up with a 6 yard carry to give us a quick first down at the Boise State 40 yard line. Leierer tried to keep us moving with his third straight carry, but the Broncos blitzed both inside linebackers, trapping Leierer behind the center and bringing him down after a gain of just two yards. Lining up under center on second and 8, we went into the air as Powers made a quick drop back, firing a pass to Watson from out of the backfield, complete for an 11 yard gain and a new set of downs at the 27. Continuing through the air on first down, Taylor got in on the passing game, pulling down a pass from Powers for a four yard gain. Threading the needle on second down, Powers was able to somehow sneak a pass between the outstretched arms of the cornerback, his failed interception attempt allowing Martin to get behind him and pull in the pass, turning up the field for a couple extra yards before being tackled for a total 18 yard gain, setting us up with first and goal from the 5 yard line. Leierer got first crack at the end zone on first and goal, fighting his way up the middle for a three yard gain to set up second and goal from the two. Taylor tried to steal another touchdown from Leierer’s stats, but the defense would win the second round, tackling Taylor for no gain on the play to bring up third and goal at the two. Leierer would finally get a chance at another rushing touchdown as he returned to the backfield on third and goal, taking the hand off from Powers and plowing straight up the middle. Leierer would make sure he took full advantage of this chance to add another touchdown to his stats, finding a hole between the center and right guard and ramming through at full speed for the two yard touchdown rush, giving us a 14-0 lead with 2:30 left in the second quarter.

A 25 yard kickoff return by Bolden gave Boise State the ball at their 26 yard line. Despite a great four man rush by our defense, Chavis was somehow able to shake and shoulder his way out of two different sack attempts, before stepping up in the nonexistent pocket and rifling a cross the body pass down the left side of the field, past our cornerback and into the arms of tight end Jason Meyer, the absurdly completed pass going for a 22 yard gain and a first down at the 48 yard line. Despite very limited time on the clock, the Broncos took their time to huddle up and call a proper play. It would be time wasted however as our defense blitzed on first down, putting pressure on Chavis and forcing him to scramble to his right, throwing a very rushed pass down the right side of the field intended for Meyer, this time the pass sailing way long and over Meyer’s head and landing incomplete. Another failed sack attempt would leave our secondary getting burned, as Chavis shook off McBride and fired a bullet to Bolden near the right sideline, Bolden then breaking through a pair of tackle attempts on his own while on his way to a 33 yard reception to give Boise State a first down at our 19 yard line. The Broncos would call their first timeout with 1:54 left on the clock. Our shutout would end on the very next play as Chavis again shook off a sack attempt and hit Morton on a crossing route over the middle near the 5 yard line. A failed tackle during the catch allowed Morton to outrace safety Sam Richwalski into the end zone for a 19 yard touchdown pass, cutting our lead in half to 14-7 with 1:48 left until halftime.

A 34 yard kickoff return by Leonard Hart gave us the ball at our 32 yard line, just 1:43 left to work with. Coming out passing on first down, Powers tried to float a pass over the Boise State secondary and into the hands of streaking tight end Cedric McKinney, but the safety was able to jump the route and swat the ball away, the incompletion leaving second down and 10. Lining up in the shotgun on second down, Powers dropped back and hurled a pass over the middle to McGuire on a slant route, picking up a gain of 15 yards and a new set of downs at the 47 yard line. Keeping through the air, Powers found Martin on an out route for a 10 yard gain, but he was stopped just short of the first down, leaving second and inches and the clock still running. Racing to the line in no-huddle, we made a quick audible, upon which Powers dropped back from the shotgun and connected with Adam Washington near the left hash, the completion going for a gain of 9 yards and resetting the downs at the Boise State 34 yard line. We would call our first timeout after the play, stopping the clock with 1:04 remaining. We would get that two touchdown lead right back on the next play as Powers found Rhodes on an out route near the right sideline, connecting with Rhodes near the 25 yard line. It would be all Rhodes after that as he violently shouldered safety Mike Washington out of the way, then immediately juked his way past cornerback Scott Stephens at the 22 yard line, before turning up the field and racing the final 20 yards to the end zone, diving over the goal line near the pylon to beat the closing defenders, scoring on a 34 yard touchdown pass to give us a 21-7 lead with 56 seconds left until halftime.

A 21 yard kickoff return by Morton left Boise State lining up from their 22 yard line, just 50 seconds left after the return. Chavis dropped back from under center on first down, trying to get off a pass in the face of our blitzing defensive line and linebackers, only to end up pancaked before he could complete a throwing motion, sacked for a four yard loss to leave second and 14. Boise State seemingly was ready to get hit the locker room, as the clock ticked down under 30 seconds and the Broncos didn’t even attempt to call one of their two remaining timeouts. Boise State would settle for a rush on second down, Andrews taking the hand off straight up the middle for a 6 yard gain to leave third and 8, just 14 seconds to go and still no intent to call a timeout. That, in fact, would end up being the final play as the Broncos started trotting off to the locker room without attempting to line up again, sending us into halftime holding a 21-7 lead and receiving the second half kickoff with a chance to tack on more points.

Opening up the second half, we would only need 11 seconds to tack on those extra points, as McGuire received the kickoff three yards deep into the end zone, running up the left hash before cutting outside and up the left sideline, taking advantage of a couple big blocks that sealed the outside of Boise State’s kickoff team in. Those blocks allowed McGuire to sprint up the left sideline untouched all the way for a 103 yard kickoff return touchdown, giving us a 28-7 lead with 8:49 still remaining in the third quarter.

A 33 yard kickoff return by Morton gave Boise State the ball at their 36 yard line, the Broncos in desperate need of a response here as the game quickly slipped more and more out of their reach. Starting the drive on the ground, Andrews took a pitch around the right side for a four yard gain, followed by a 5 yard rush up the middle to leave third and one. Running a play action fake on third down, the Broncos got our defense to bite, allowing Meyer to get open over the middle for a 17 yard completion from Chavis, picking up the first down at our 38 yard line. A screen pass on first down was almost disastrous for Boise State, as our defense read the screen and defensive tackle Ernest Sims almost had an interception for the big boys on the line, getting his hands on the ball and ultimately deflecting it incomplete to leave second down. Bringing a blitz on second down, an unblocked defender was able to immediate penetrate the backfield, forcing Chavis to throw the ball away to avoid an otherwise assured sack, bringing up third and 10. The Broncos would convert on third down yet again, as Meyer was again able to get wide open over the middle of the field, pulling in the pass from Chavis for a gain of 27 yards and a first down at our 11 yard line. Running the ball on first down, Andrews took the hand off up the middle for a four yard gain. Boise State would then go into the air on second down, Chavis dropping way back before slinging a pass to Andrews from out of the backfield, who caught it at the goal line and turned into the end zone for a 7 yard touchdown reception, cutting our lead to 28-14 with 6:52 left in the third quarter.

Understandably, the Broncos opted to kick off to the opposite side of the field this time, where Hart received the kickoff 5 yards deep into the end zone. Racing up the right side of the field behind a wall of blockers, he tried his best to imitate McGuire’s previous return, getting a couple blocks that allowed him to spring outside and up the sideline, returning the kickoff 44 yards before finally being run down the side and tackled at the 39 yard line. Leierer got us off and running on first down, picking up just one yard on a carry around the right end, followed by a four yard run to leave third and 5. Lining up in the shotgun on third down, Powers threw a very risky pass over the middle to avoid the blitz, somehow completing it as tight end Jack Long laid out to reach the ball, catching it as he landed for a 16 yard gain and a first down at the Boise State 40 yard line. Continuing through the air on first down, Powers tried to connect with Martin, but the pass was broken up by the outside linebacker to leave second down. Sticking with the passing game, Powers tried to hit McGuire on a comeback route along the right sideline, but a well timed read by the cornerback allowed him to jump the pass and nearly intercept it, thankfully just swatting it down incomplete to leave us facing third and 10. Watson would come through huge for us on third down, as he came out of the backfield and cut across the middle of the field, uncovered long enough to pull in a pass from Powers for an 11 yard gain, tackled at the 29 yard line. Returning to the ground on first down, Taylor took the ball and pounded straight up a hole between the right guard and tackle, fighting his way into the secondary for a 12 yard gain and a first down at the 17. Leierer returned to the backfield on first down, picking up three yards on the carry, followed by a four yard rush to leave third and three. We’d put it all on the shoulders of Taylor on third down, but he was unable to get the job done, only picking up a single yard before being stood up by the blitzing outside linebacker, leaving fourth and two from the 9 yard line. The 26 yard field goal by Marcus was good, increasing our lead to 31-14 with 3:12 left in the third quarter.

A 24 yard kickoff return by Morton got Boise State lined up from their 26 yard line. Andrews got the Broncos moving on the ground, taking the hand off and plowing his way up the middle for a 14 yard gain, moving the chains to the 40 yard line. Forcing a pair of missed tackles on another first down rush, Andrews would pick up 12 more yards and reset the downs once more at our 48 yard line. Dropping back to pass on first down, Chavis would never get the chance to the release the ball, as a 6 man blitz blew through Boise State’s line right off the snap, forcing Chavis to roll out to his right. That would only delay the inevitable as he was quickly sacked from behind for a 7 yard loss, leaving second and 17. Throwing over the middle on second down, Chavis tried to connect with Meyer, but Richwalski was able to just get his hand in front of the ball to deflect it, forcing third and long. An overthrown pass on third down, intended for Bolden, would bring the drive to an uneventful end and force Boise State to punt the ball away. The punt would sail 55 yards, landing down at the 10 yard line and bouncing into the end zone for a touchback, giving us the ball at our 20 yard line.

Starting our drive on the ground, Leierer was only able to manage a two yard gain on the first down carry, followed by a three yard rush that left us facing third and 5, Boise State’s defense starting to shut down our run game more and more. Dropping back to pass on third down, Powers tried to hit Martin over the middle but it was broken up by the safety, forcing us to punt on fourth and 5. A 13 yard return by Morton on the 41 yard punt gave Boise State the ball at their 46 yard line.

Coming out passing on first down, Chavis made a circus pass to Morton, somehow completing it for a 16 yard gain to quickly move the Broncos into our territory at the 38 yard line. Chavis tried to connect with tight end Jason Henderson on first down, but the pass was dropped incomplete, leaving second down. Lining up in the shotgun, Chavis was able to find Adam Dean over the middle for a gain of 7 yards, leaving third and three. That would be the final play of the third quarter as the clock ran out, our lead sitting at 31-14, but Boise State driving in our half of the field.

Opening up the fourth quarter, Boise State lined up on third and three, the ball sitting at our 31 yard line. That third and three would turn into third and 8 due to a false start penalty, giving our defense at least a partial advantage. That advantage would disappear as Henderson hauled in a pass from Chavis for a gain of 10 yards, giving Boise State the first down at our 26 yard line. A first down pass to Henderson gained 6 yards over the middle, followed by a four yard rush by Andrews that moved the chains once more to our 16 yard line. Another hand off to Andrews gained just a single yard on first down. Chavis dropped back to pass on second down, but with all the receivers covered and the pocket quickly collapsing, he took off scrambling, somehow avoid a sack as he ran right past McBride. Once he got past the pocket, he found open space inside the 10 yard line. A broken tackle near the 8 yard line allowed him to continue advancing the ball for a cumulative gain of 13 yards before being tackled at our two yard line, setting Boise State up with first and goal. The Broncos would need just one play to add points to the board as Chavis chucked a quick pass up to Morton in the end zone, good for a two yard touchdown reception to cut our lead to 31-21 with 7:25 left in the game.

A huge 58 yard kickoff return by Hart up the right sideline gave our offense impeccable field position, starting our drive from the Boise State 45 yard line. Leierer got us off and running with a 5 yard carry, followed by a one yard rush to leave third and four. A failed interception attempt by the outside linebacker would bite Boise State squarely in the ass, as the pass from Powers to Rhodes was completed, Rhodes able to turn up the field with no defender around thanks to the outside linebacker laying on the ground behind him. Rhodes quickly sprinted up the field and turned what would have been only a 9 or 10 yard gain into a 22 yard completion, giving us a first down at the Boise State 16 yard line. Another rush by Leierer went for 5 more yards, followed by a second 5 yard carry to set us up with first and goal at the Boise State 6 yard line. Taylor entered the backfield on first down and took the hand off from Powers. Pure utter disaster would strike during the play as Taylor plowed straight up the middle toward the goal line, getting as close as the three yard line before getting stood up by the middle linebacker. While still pumping his legs and trying to drive into the end zone, a Boise State defender was able to knock the ball loose from Taylor’s arms, the ball flying backwards away from the goal line and back towards Powers behind all the action. Powers tried to dive on top of the fumble, but defensive end Brandon Justice would get to it first, scooping the ball at the 13 yard line and, due to Powers diving at the ground during his fumble attempt, sprinting all the way down the field for an 87 yard fumble return for a touchdown, further cutting our lead down to 31-28 with 5:11 left in the game.

Another huge kickoff return by Hart, this time for 47 yards, got us lined up from our own 43 yard line. Just barely holding onto a three point lead, our offense strategy just become clock killer as got started on the ground with a two yard rush by Leierer, trying to let as many of the remaining 5 minutes tick away as possible. Unfortunately, the Boise State defense had other plans, as a second two yard rush by Leierer left us facing third and 6. We would be able to keep the drive alive as we went into the air on third down, Powers connecting with Rhodes for a gain of 11 yards and a first down at the Boise State 42 yard line. Returning to the ground on first down, we would go absolutely nowhere as Taylor was instantly met at the line of scrimmage and tackled for no gain, though we were able to keep the clock ticking away. A second rush by Taylor would be a hair more successful, picking up three yards to bring up third and 7, the clock still ticking towards two minutes as Boise State didn’t use any of their three time outs. Going into the air on third down, Powers was able to complete a pass to Martin, but it wouldn’t be enough as he was immediately tacked for only a 6 yard gain, leaving us with fourth and one from the 32 yard line. Boise State called their first timeout after the play, stopping the clock with 2:03 remaining. Sitting at the 32 yard line, we had no choice but to go for it on fourth down as Marcus had already come nearly the entire end zone short of a 46 yard field goal attempt back in the first quarter, thus immediately ending any consideration on a 49 yard field goal attempt this time around. We’d put the ball into the hands of Taylor, hoping he’d be able to get the job done. Our hopes were crushed as Taylor was tackled at the line of scrimmage for no gain, Boise State forcing the turnover on downs and taking over on offense at their 32 yard line.

Taking over after the turnover on downs, Boise State lined up at their 32 yard line with exactly two minutes left on the clock, needing a field goal to force overtime or a touchdown to potentially win. Our defense was able to win a pair of victories early on, as a four man pass rush put enough pressure on Chavis to force him to throw the ball away. Trying to run the ball on second down, Andrews was only able to gain a single yard before being brought down, leaving Boise State facing third and 9. It would be the third play that Boise State would win a battle, as our defense got torched through the air, Morton streaking open down the left sideline and hauling in a pass from Chavis for a 34 yard gain, giving the Broncos a first down at our 33 yard line with 1:28 left to play. Chavis was again forced to throw away the ball on first down, just barely avoiding being sacked by McBride, but the celebration by the defense would be short lived as Chavis came back on second down, throwing a heater over the middle to Henderson for a 12 yard completion and a first down at our 21 yard line. Our defense would recover in a big way on first down, as the blitz was able to break through and managed to actually sack Chavis this time, resulting in an 8 yard loss to bring up second and 18 from the 29 yard line. Boise State would call their second timeout after the play, stopping the clock with exactly one minute left to play. Chavis would get a pass off on second down, finding Randy Wheeler near the left sideline for an 8 yard gain, leaving third and 10. Going into no-huddle on third down, the Broncos raced to the line and made a quick audible. Chavis dropped back to pass but McBride was able to swim move his way past the right tackle. Running all out at Chavis to try and sack him again, he made contact as Chavis tried to juke away to the left. That would end up being the undoing of the Broncos offense, as the juke move to the left of McBride left the ball right in McBride’s path, who hit hard enough to cause Chavis to fumble the ball. With Chavis taken out of the play by McBride, that allowed defensive end Shaun Peterson, who had just beaten the left tackle and was closing on Chavis from behind, to come swooping in and scoop the ball up in one fluid motion, recovering the fumble and advancing it four yards to our 32 yard line, giving us possession with 40 seconds left on the clock and all but securing a hard fought three point win.

Lining up on first down at our 32 yard line after the fumble, despite Boise State having one timeout left, that they would no doubt use, with only 40 seconds left on the clock we were able to come out and line up in victory formation right from the outset. Powers dropped to a knee on first down, only getting one second off the clock before Boise State called their final timeout with 39 seconds left in the game. Powers would drop to a knee a second time, Boise State unable to stop the clock this time, and that would be the final play of the game as the last 38 seconds ran off without the need for another snap, sealing a close, hard fought 31-28 victory over a very tough Boise State team.

With the win, we improve to 6-2, 4-1 in Mountain West action and make it back to bowl eligibility after failing to qualify for a bowl game last season. With the loss, Boise State drops to 5-3, 2-2 in Mountain West play. Up next, we start a two game home stand against Air Force. The Falcons enter the game at 5-3, 3-1 in Mountain West action. Air Force started their year on a three game win streak, beating Old Dominion 31-14, UAB 38-17 and UNLV 31-10. The Falcons would then lose their next two games, 34-24 at Navy and 31-24 to San Jose State. They'd recover with two more wins, defeating Hawaii 24-21 and Wyoming 38-28 before losing to their other service academy rival in a 49-25 defeat to #13 Army.

Final Score

:Utah_State: 31, :Boise_State: 28

Stats of the Game:
Utah State Offense - A solid day for Powers, going 15-20 for 210 yards and one touchdown. Rushing, Leierer led the way with 114 yards and one touchdown on 28 carries. Taylor ended with 33 yards and one touchdown on 14 rushes. Receiving, Rhodes was the top receiver of the day with 83 yards and one touchdown on four receptions. In all, seven receivers caught at least one pass today, five of them ending up with double digit yards.

Utah State Defense/Special Teams – A less stellar day than their performance against Colorado State, but overall a solid day. The defense forced two turnovers today, an interception and then the game clinching forced fumble and fumble recovery with 40 seconds left. They also completely shut down Boise State's running game and for the most part was able to keep the Broncos relatively in check when it came to the passing game. The defensive line and linebackers also had their way today with Chavis, sacking him six times throughout the game and forcing many rushed throws as they put constant pressure on him all game long.

On the special teams side of the ball, another great day as McGuire had another kickoff return for a touchdown, this time for 103 yards, while Hart had numerous solid 30 and 40+ yard kickoff returns of his own that often left us starting our drives from our 40 yard line or better.

Utah State Kicking – Marcus failed to go perfect today, finishing one for two on field goals with a successful 26 yard kick but a failed 46 yard attempt. He did go 4-4 in PATs.

Scoring Summary

Team
1st Quarter
2nd Quarter
3rd Quarter
4th Quarter
Final Score

:Utah_State:
0
21
10
0
31

:Boise_State:
0
7
7
14
28

Time
Team
Result
Play
Score

First Quarter

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

Second Quarter

6:35
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
T. Taylor, 1 yard run (D. Marcus kick)
:Utah_State: 7-0

2:30
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
M. Leierer, 2 yard run (D. Marcus kick)
:Utah_State: 14-0

1:48
:Boise_State:
Touchdown
M. Morton, 19 yard pass from D. Chavis (B. Richardson kick)
:Utah_State: 14-7

0:56
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
M. Rhodes, 34 yard pass from A. Powers (D. Marcus kick)
:Utah_State: 21-7

Third Quarter

8:48
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
E. McGuire, returned kickoff 103 yards (D. Marcus kick)
:Utah_State: 28-7

6:52
:Boise_State:
Touchdown
D. Andrews, 7 yard pass from D. Chavis (B. Richardson kick)
:Utah_State: 28-14

3:12
:Utah_State:
Field Goal
D. Marcus, 26 yard field goal
:Utah_State: 31-14

Fourth Quarter

7:25
:Boise_State:
Touchdown
M. Morton, 2 yard pass from D. Chavis (B. Richardson kick)
:Utah_State: 31-21

5:11
:Boise_State:
Touchdown
B. Justice, returned fumble 87 yards (B. Richardson kick)
:Utah_State: 31-28

Game Stats

Utah State
Stat
Boise State

31
Score
28

17
First Downs
12

353
Total Offense
265

44 - 143 - 2
Rushes - Yards - TD
18 - 35 - 0

15 - 20 - 1
Comp - Att - TD
16 - 26 - 3

210
Passing Yards
230

0
Times Sacked
6

7 - 11 (63%)
3rd Down Conversion
4 - 8 (50%)

0 - 1 (0%)
4th Down Conversion
0 - 0 (0%)

0 - 0 (0%)
2-Point Conv
0 - 0 (0%)

4 - 2 - 1 (75%)
Red Zone - TD - FG
3 - 3 - 0 (100%)

1
Turnovers
2

1
Fumbles Lost
1

0
Intercepted
1

0
Punt Return Yards
12

284
Kick Return Yards
162

637
Total Yards
439

1 – 41.0
Punts - Average
3 - 49.0

0 - 0
Penalties
1 - 5

21:53
Time of Possession
14:07

Utah State Coach Goals

Goal
XP Reward
Completed

Win a Game
100
x1

Score a Touchdown
25
x4

Kick/Punt Return Touchdown
50
x1

Force a Turnover
25
x2

Rush for 100 Yards
25
x1

Kneel Last Minute Q4 While Ahead
10
x1

3+ Sacks
50
x1

Opponent Under 150 Rush Yards
50
x1

Opponent Under 300 Pass Yards
50
x1

Pass Completion Over 50%
30
x1

Score 21 or More Points
50
x1

350+ Offensive Yards
50
x1

10+ First Downs
50
x1

4+ 3rd Down Conversions
25
x1

Utah State Contract Goals Update

Goal
Expectations
Progress

Target Wins Per Season
7
6

Job Security Status

100%

SmoothPancakes

05-13-2014, 11:41 PM

Taking a look around the nation, in the Top 25, in the game of the week, it showcased the worst defenses ever in the entire 120+ year history of college football, as #12 Navy knocked off #1 Notre Dame in triple overtime 77-73. This was a game that consisted of a 57 yard TD run by Notre Dame, an 86 yard TD run by Navy, two returned interceptions by Notre Dame, one for 20 yards and the other for 50 yards, passing touchdowns by Navy for 61 yards 62 yards and 51 yards. A 50 yard punt return TD by Navy and then a game winning 30 yard TD pass by Navy, those just the MAJOR highlights among an ungodly large scoring summary. Notre Dame racked up 52 points in just the second and third quarters alone. Navy racked up 56 points in just the second half alone. Both teams combined for 1,559 yards of total offense and 1,215 yards passing.

#2 Ohio State rolled over Maryland 31-3. #3 Michigan dominated Michigan State 45-14. #24 Oregon stunned the undefeated Cardinal, upsetting #4 Stanford 40-35. In the upset of the week, Miami shocked unbeaten rival #5 Florida State 34-28. #6 Oklahoma got past Iowa State 31-21. #7 Georgia Tech blasted Duke 49-14. #8 Louisiana-Lafayette barely survived a one-win Georgia State squad, winning 17-13. #9 Virginia Tech beat Boston College 31-10. #10 Nebraska outgunned Northwestern 34-24.

Colorado shocked #11 UCLA 52-35. #13 USC topped Arizona 44-24. #21 Texas knocked off #14 Kansas State 52-35. #15 Army kept rolling along, beating Air Force 49-25. #16 Cincinnati shut out Tulane 31-0. #18 Washington topped Arizona State 35-28, the Huskies scoring 21 points in the fourth quarter, including a game-winning 52 yard touchdown pass with 46 seconds left in the game. #19 Connecticut outlasted BYU 44-37. #22 Wisconsin defeated Illinois 42-31. #23 New Mexico topped Wyoming 31-21. Missouri toppled #25 Kentucky 38-35.

For our readers, JeffHCross, #2 Ohio State improves to 8-0 (5-0 Big Ten) with a 31-3 win over Maryland. Morsdraconis, West Virginia remains 5-3 (4-2 Big 12) with a bye week. Souljahbill, Southern Miss improves to 5-3 (4-0 C-USA) with a 45-33 win over Old Dominion. Jaymo, Arizona State drops to 3-5 (1-4 Pac-12) with a 35-28 loss to #18 Washington. LeeSO, Auburn drops to 5-4 (4-3 SEC) with a 38-20 loss to Arkansas. SCClassof93, South Carolina drops to 6-4 (4-4 SEC) with a 20-19 loss to Vanderbilt. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State improves to 5-2 (3-0 Sun Belt) with a 26-14 win over South Alabama. Florida International improves to 5-3 (4-1 C-USA) with a 35-30 win over UAB. #12 Navy improves to 8-0 (6-0 American) with a 77-73 3OT in over #1 Notre Dame. Tulsa drops to 4-4 (3-3 American) with a 55-31 loss to Houston.

In Mountain West action, #23 New Mexico beat Wyoming 31-21, Utah State outlasted Boise State 31-28, Nevada shocked Colorado State 25-14, UNLV beat Fresno State 35-24, San Diego State topped Hawaii 24-16 and #15 Army stomped Air Force 49-25.

Looking at undefeated teams left, #1 Notre Dame, #4 Stanford and #5 Florida State both lost this week, dropping our number of undefeated teams to 7. #2 Ohio State (8-0), #3 Michigan (9-0), #6 Oklahoma (7-0), #7 Georgia Tech (8-0), #8 Louisiana Lafayette (7-0), #12 Navy (8-0) and #23 New Mexico (8-0) all remain with an unblemished record this season.

Turning to a more sadistic watch, who is still winless. There remains 3 teams still looking for their first win: Memphis (0-8), Old Dominion (0-9) and UTSA (0-8).

Teams getting their first win this week were: Florida Atlantic (38-35 over 1-7 Minnesota).

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Ohio State (39 first place votes) climbs one to #1, Michigan (21 votes) climbs one to #2, Georgia Tech (1 vote) jumps four to #3, Oklahoma moves up two to #4 and Navy leaps seven to #5. Louisiana-Lafayette climbs two to #6, Notre Dame drops six to #7, Virginia Tech moves up one to #8, Nebraska jumps one to #9 and Stanford falls six to #10. USC moves up two to #11, Florida State drops seven to #12, Army climbs two to #13, Cincinnati jumps two to #14 and Alabama rises two to #15. Washington jumps two to #16, Texas leaps four to #17, Connecticut climbs one to #18, New Mexico jumps four to #19 and TCU remains #20. Oregon climbs three to #21, Kansas State plummets eight to #22, Wisconsin drops one to #23, Miami enters the poll at #24 and Indiana (290 points) enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were UCLA (from #11) and Kentucky (from #25). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Tennessee (248 points) is #26, followed by UCLA (243), LSU (233), San Diego State (209) and Marshall (191) to round out the Top 30. Other teams getting points this week include Ohio (122), Florida (34), Northwestern (27) and Ole Miss (18).

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Media Poll, Ohio State (41 first place votes) remains the #1 team, Michigan (23 votes) climbs one to #2, Georgia Tech (1 vote) jumps three to #3, Navy leaps seven to #4 and Oklahoma climbs two to #5. Louisiana-Lafayette moves up two to #6, Notre Dame drops five to #7, Virginia Tech climbs one to 8, Nebraska moves up one to #9 and Stanford drops six to #10. USC moves up one to #11, Florida State plummets seven to #12, Army climbs two to #13, Oregon leaps ten to #14 and Cincinnati moves up one to #15. Alabama climbs one to #16, Texas jumps two to #17, Connecticut remains #18, New Mexico climbs four to #19 and Wisconsin moves up one to #20. Kansas State drops seven to #21, Miami enters the poll at #22, Indiana drops three to #23, TCU falls two to #24 and Washington (355 points) remains #25. Dropping out of the poll this week was UCLA (from #13). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Marshall (217 points) is #26, followed by Tennessee (192), San Diego State (169), UCLA (97) and LSU (92) to round out the Top 30.

In the newest BCS rankings: #1 Ohio State (1.000), #2 Michigan (0.995), #3 Georgia Tech (0.989), #4 Navy (0.981), #5 Oklahoma (0.981), #6 Notre Dame (0.968), #7 Louisiana-Lafayette (0.965), #8 Virginia Tech (0.960), #9 Nebraska (0.958) and #10 Stanford (0.952). Others: #13 Army (0.923), #21 New Mexico (0.865).

An updated look at the Heisman race, Stanford QB Roger Langford is #1 (LW: #1), Notre Dame QB Mike Harper is #2 (LW: #3), Michigan QB Carl Ginn is #3 (LW: NR), USC QB Frank Campbell is #4 (LW: #4) and Navy QB Jarrod Brooks is #5 (LW: NR). Dropping off the Heisman Watch list this week was UCLA QB Mark Wilson (LW: #2) and Ohio State QB Jordan Watkins (LW: #5).

SmoothPancakes

09-09-2014, 04:02 AM

Game Nine

:Air_Force: :@: :Utah_State:

Game Story

--- We were able to do what was required of us last week, and got the road victory against Bose State. However, it was much of the same story this week. Win and keep our division title hopes alive. Lose, and essentially be eliminated from the title race. New Mexico still held down the top spot in the Mountain Division with a 5-0 conference record. We trailed a game behind with a 4-1 mark, while Air Force sat just behind us at 3-1. New Mexico already held the head to head tie breaker over us, so we were essentially sitting two games back of New Mexico, with only three conferences games to go for each of us. New Mexico would basically have to lose out, we would have to win out. There was hope however, as after a short non-conference stint with Louisville, New Mexico closed out their season at Air Force, against Boise State and at Colorado State. Two losses out of those three games and us winning our three remaining conference games would get the job done. Unfortunately all we could control was our own results.

Our first test, as we entered the final quarter of the 2022 season, was a home contest with Air Force. Our running defense, though highly ranked, was going to be in for a serious challenge today as Air Force brought the triple option into town, ranked #6 in the nation for rushing offense (233.1 yards/game). However, our defense couldn’t afford to be caught cheating on the run as Air Force could also pass when needed. Despite a national ranking of #119 for passing offense, Air Force came in averaging 166.9 yards/game through the air.

On the flip side, we were going to have to figure out something on offense, as Air Force boasted the #19 overall defense (352.1 yards/game) and the #12 passing defense (185.6 yards/game). Even their rushing defense wasn’t terrible despite a #71 national ranking, entering with an average of 166.6 yards/game. Our offense meanwhile was still anemic, ranked #109 nationally (351.3 yards/game), #87 nationally in rushing (146.8 yards/game) and #101 nationally in passing (204.5 yards/game). Our keys to victory, simple, shut down Air Force’s run game and discover an offense that could beat their top 15 passing defense and top 20 overall defense. We won the coin toss and elected to kick.

A 24 yard kickoff return by Joe Seymour gave Air Force the ball to start the game at their 25 yard line. An option keeper by QB Scott Byrd resulted in a two yard gain. Our defense would fail the first key to victory on the second play of the game, as Craig Williams took a late pitch from Byrd and rumbled 73 yards to the end zone for a touchdown, giving Air Force a 7-0 lead with 8:21 left in the first quarter.

A 28 yard kickoff return by Leonard Hart would get us started at our 25 yard line for our first drive. Also starting our drive on the ground, Matt Leierer received the handoff on first down, powering his way around the right guard for a 6 yard gain, followed by a second 6 yard rush to give us a first down at the 37. Leierer would keep us moving with a four yard rush on first down, followed by a big 7 yard carry to move the chains once more to the 48 yard line. Air Force didn’t seem to have much of an answer early on for our run game, as Tyson Taylor came in on first down and pounded it up the middle for a 6 yard carry, followed by a big 10 yard rumble by Leierer, just beating the left side blitz by the Falcons defense to the line of scrimmage, to gain another first down at the Air Force 35 yard line. After a seventh straight rush, a three yard gain by Leierer, left us with second and 7, we headed into the air for the first time of the game. Adam Powers lined up in the shotgun on second down, trying to connect with Eric McGuire over the middle, only to have it broken up by the middle linebacker. Powers would try to hit tight end Jack Long over the middle on third down, but cornerback Joe Patterson managed to jump the pass at the last minute and intercept the ball, giving Air Force possession at their 22 yard line.

A first down handoff to Williams would only pick up three yards for the Falcons, our defense shifting their strategy and focusing on the pitch man more this drive. Byrd would make up for the low gain with a big 13 yard run on second down, giving Air Force a first down at the 38 yard line. Despite the safety coming off the corner right into the path of Byrd on the option play, he would end up overrunning the play and allow Byrd to turn up and slip downfield for the gain. ***Editor’s note – It’s been so long since I last played, I stupidly made a rookie mistake here and accidentally pressed the timeout button before the next play, leaving Utah State just two timeouts for the rest of the half.*** Scott White to receive the pitch next on first down, taking it around the right end and up the sideline for a 9 yard gain, leaving second down and short. Air Force tried to get the first down quick and easy with a fast handoff up the middle to White, but our defense was ready to stop him, stuffing White at the line of scrimmage for no gain to leave third and one. Unfortunately, the second time would be the charm for White, who managed to pick up a first down up the middle with a three yard carry to our 49 yard line. A pitch right to Williams would end up going for a big 17 yard gain, our defense unable to do anything to shut down the Falcons on offense. Lining up from our 33 yard line, Byrd would call his own number on first down, keeping it and dashing up the middle for a 6 yard gain. Stanley Kirk would keep the ball moving on second down with a 6 yard rush to get the first down at our 21 yard line. Our defense would finally win a battle on first down, as defensive end Shaun Peterson was able to break through his blocker and blow up a reverse play, tackling Williams for a three yard loss to leave second and 13. Byrd would keep the ball on the option keeper, but he was only able to pick up two yards before being tripped up, leaving Air Force facing third and 11. Taking their first chance through the air, Air Force sent receivers out wide on both sides with Byrd lined up in the shotgun. Despite only rushing four as we dropped back into a zone defense, those four performed masterfully, dominating Air Force’s run-oriented offensive line, putting fast pressure on Byrd in the pocket. Forced to scramble to his right to avoid the approaching defensive tackle, Byrd had almost no room to maneuver as the right defensive end also closed from the side. Byrd was left out of options and threw up an ill advised pass across his body and into the end zone, intended for Michael Davis. It might have been a highlight touchdown, had it not been for Utah State outside linebacker Casey Hunter in front of Davis, there to intercept the ball for a touchback and give us possession at our 20 yard line.

Lining up on first down after the turnover, we resumed our rushing attack, as Leierer took a first down handoff from Powers for a 9 yard gain around the right tackle, followed by a quick four yard dash up the middle for a first down at the 33 yard line. Leierer would continue to pound the ball with a 6 yard carry, followed by a three yard rush to leave us facing third and one. That would be the final play of the quarter as the clock would expire before another snap, the first quarter ending with Air Force on top 7-0.

Lining up at the start of the second quarter, our offense faced third and one from our 42 yard line, needing to find a way to get points on the board this drive. Leierer would keep our drive alive as he barreled forward for a four yard gain to get the first down at the 46. Leierer would keep us moving with a 5 yard rush on first down. He would just manage to move the markers with his second down rush, just making it to the first down line for a 5 yard gain at the Air Force 44 yard line. Taylor would enter the backfield on first down, picking up three yards on the play, followed by a 6 yard rush to leave us facing third and one. Sticking to our ground game on third down, Leierer would return to the field for the big play, rushing for a big four yard gain to give us another first down at the 31 yard line. Another first down rush by Leierer would be less successful this time, only gaining three yards on the play. He would only manage another three yards on second down, tackled to leave us with third and four. Taking a gamble through the air on third down, Powers would manage to complete the pass this time, hitting Max Rhodes along the left sideline for an 8 yard gain and a first down at the Falcons 17 yard line. Resuming our rushing attack on the fifteenth play of the drive, Leierer took the handoff from Powers and sprinted through a huge gap between the right guard and tackle for a 10 yard gain, tackled at the Air Force 7 yard line to give us first and goal. Leierer’s first crack at the end zone would result in a 5 yard gain, giving us second and goal at the two yard line. Taylor would come in on second down and take the handoff from Powers, finishing off the job with a two yard touchdown run, tying the game up at 7-7 with 4:20 left to play, capping off a 17 play, 80 yard drive that took 6:28 off the clock.

A 20 yard kickoff return by Robert McCarthy got the Air Force offense back on the field at their 23 yard line. A handoff to Williams on first down would go for just a 5 yard gain (considered a success with the way this defense has played), followed by a delayed handoff to Williams that was blown up for no gain to leave Air Force facing third and 5. Lining up in the shotgun on third down, Air Force tried their luck again through the air, but the four man rush once again quickly broke through Air Force’s inadequate pass blocking, getting into Byrd’s face right as he tried to throw a pass to Chad Rogers. Instead of going forward, the pass would fly backwards incomplete as Hunter would disrupt Byrd’s throwing motion with a sack attempt, leaving the Falcons punting on fourth down. An 18 yard punt return by McGuire on the 44 yard boot would give us the ball at our 45 yard line with 3:13 left until halftime.

Lining up on first down, we stuck to our run game, giving the ball to Leierer on first down for a 5 yard carry, followed by a 7 yard gain to give us a new set of downs at the Air Force 43. Leierer would keep us moving with a 10 yard rush off the right tackle, picking up a quick new first down at the 32 yard line. Taylor would come in next, but he would only manage a three yard gain before being tripped up from behind. Leierer tried to pick up the remaining yards on second down, but he could only get two yards on the carry, leaving us with third and 5. That play would come at an even bigger cost as Leierer was forced to exit the game with a strained back, that would leave him sidelined for at least two quarters. If we were lucky, he could possibly return in the fourth quarter, otherwise his day (and quite possibly our run game) would be done. A third down pass attempt, intended for Rhodes, would sail wide, bringing our drive to an end on fourth and 5. Doug Marcus would attempt a 45 yard field goal, but it would end up just short of the crossbar, giving Air Force the ball on downs at their 28 yard line, just 1:03 remaining on the clock.

Lining up in the shotgun on first down, Byrd dropped back and threw a quick pass to Josh Daniels, good for only a two yard gain. Furthermore, Daniels was tackled inbounds, forcing Air Force to call their first timeout and stop the clock with 57 seconds to go. Byrd was forced to throw the ball away to avoid a sack, as our pass rush decimated the Falcons’ pass blocking, leaving third and 8 for Air Force. The Falcons would return to their roots on third down, as Williams took a handoff from Byrd straight up the middle for an infuriating 11 yard gain, giving Air Force a first down at their 40 yard line, their second timeout called to stop the clock with 51 seconds remaining. Lining up in the shotgun on first down, Byrd was forced to scramble to avoid the pass rush, managing to pick up 6 yards on the ground before being spun down. Rushing to the line with the clock still ticking, Byrd tried to get a pass off intended for Rogers, but had the ball swatted away as he was nearly sacked, leaving Air Force with third and four from their 47 yard line, just 36 seconds left on the clock. A much delayed option pitch to Williams would again burn our defense, this time for an 8 yard rush that kept the drive alive with a first down at our 45 yard line. Despite having one timeout remaining, Air Force rushed to the line and Byrd dropped back to pass, chucking up a ball deep down the middle of the field, intended for White, only to have the pass intercepted by safety Allen Salyer, giving us possession at our 10 yard line with 20 seconds left until halftime.

Coming up to the line of scrimmage after the interception, with a 90 yard field ahead of us and almost no time to work with, we opted to just take a knee, run off the final 20 seconds and head to the locker room, ready to receive the kickoff at the start of the third quarter. With that, we entered halftime, the game still all knotted up at 7-7, neither team able to find consistent success at finishing offensive drives and separate themselves from each other. In a telling halftime stat as to these two offenses today, Air Force had passed for two yards through two quarters, Utah State for 8. The Falcons had 160 yards rushing, Utah State had 139.

Opening up the second half, Eric McGuire would get the second half started in a BIG way, taking the kickoff up the left sideline and through a gap into the open, almost taking it all the way, before being wrestled down from behind for a 72 yard kickoff return, giving us the ball at the Air Force 27 yard line to start the third quarter. Taylor would get us started on first down with a 6 yard rush, followed by a 6 yard carry to move the chains to the 15 yard line. Keeping it on the ground on first down, Taylor was quickly brought down by the defense, only able to gain two yards to leave second and 8. A quick second down pass to Raymond Watson would be good for a gain of 6 yards, setting up third and two. Taylor would end up plowing forward into a wall, but he was able to drive his legs just enough to pick up three yards to give us first and goal at the four yard line. Taylor would need just one more carry to cap off the drive, blasting forward for a four yard touchdown rush, giving us a 14-7 lead with 6:35 left in the third quarter.

A 16 yard return by Seymour gave Air Force the ball at the 16 yard line, our crowd finding life for the first time since the first quarter. Byrd would try to run the option left, but a couple of blown blocks would leave him scrambling to find open space, and upon finding none, ending up tackled for a one yard loss to leave second and 11. Byrd would make up for it on second down, faking a handoff to the slotback and keeping it himself, rushing up the middle for an 11 yard gain, stopped just short of the line to leave third and inches. On a perceived do or die moment for our defense, they would choose to do as the stacked box would be the perfect play call. Air Force opted to hand the ball off to White for a quick dash up the middle, but our stacked box quickly broke through the offensive line and hit White in the backfield, tackling him for a two yard loss and forcing Air Force to punt the ball on fourth and two. A booming 56 yard punt would roll out of bounds, leaving us starting our next drive from our 19 yard line.

Lining up with decidedly less optimum field position, starting this time at our own 19 as opposed to Air Force’s 27 the previous drive, we had no choice but to work with what we had been given. Taylor would get our drive started with an off tackle rush, picking up 6 yards on the play. Another 6 yard carry by Taylor would get us off to a quick start with a first down at the 31. Taylor would continue to plug away at the defense with a 5 yard first down carry, followed by a 6 yard rush to move the chains to the 42 yard line. Benjamin Silva would make his first appearance of the day on first down, receiving the handoff from Powers for 6 yard gain to leave second and four. Taylor would return on second down, dashing through a hole for a gain of 9 yards and a first down at the Air Force 43 yard line. Staying on the ground on first down, Taylor would manage to fight his way to a four yard gain, but the defense would end up giving us a helping hand, as a flag was thrown on the play, a facemask penalty called on middle linebacker Blake Norwood giving us 15 free yards and a first down at the 24 yard line. Taylor tried to keep us moving on first down, but a blitz by the defense would leave him trapped for just a two yard gain, setting up second and 8. Taking a chance through the air on second down, Powers dropped back from the shotgun and found a wide open McGuire cutting across the middle, the pass complete for a 16 yard gain to give us first and goal at the 6 yard line. Lining up on first down, Taylor took the handoff and fought his way to a four yard gain, leaving second and goal from the two. Taylor would have to drive his way through a pair of defenders on second down, but he was able to squeeze his way through and into the end zone for a two yard touchdown carry, giving us a 21-7 lead with 1:09 left in the third quarter.

A 23 yard kickoff return by Seymour set Air Force up at their 23 yard line. Stanley Kirk would get the Falcons off and running with a 16 yard option pitch up the right sideline, giving Air Force a quick first down at their 39 yard line, the Falcons finally finding cracks in our rushing defense for the first time since the first quarter. Williams would receive the handoff on first down, but was quickly brought down for no gain on the play to leave second and long. We got lucky on second down as Air Force surprisingly dropped back to pass. With 6 defenders blitzing on the play, Byrd was left with no time to find an open receiver and was thankfully forced to throw the ball away to bring up third and 10. Byrd would have no chance to get rid of the ball on third down, as he would be driven right into the arms of Peterson, sacked for a 7 yard loss to leave Air Force punting on fourth and 17. That would be the final play of the third quarter, our lead holding at 21-7.

Opening up the fourth quarter, Air Force lined up to punt the ball from their 32 yard line. A 19 yard return by McGuire on the 40 yard punt would give us the ball to start at our 47 yard line. Trying to continue the dominance of our ground game, Taylor received the first down handoff but was quickly leveled by multiple defenders, tackled for no gain on the play. Another rushing attempt on second down would likewise end poorly, Taylor only gaining a single yard on the play to leave third and 9. Coming out on third down in the shotgun, Powers was able to rifle a pass between three defenders and into the arms of McGuire, good for a 16 yard gain and a first down at the Air Force 36 yard line. Taylor received the handoff on first down, picking up four yards on the carry as we tried to kill more clock with our ground game. Taylor would follow that up with a three yard carry to leave third and three. Taking the gamble on the ground, Taylor was able to find and penetrate a hole for a 6 yard gain, picking up the first down at the 23 yard line. Taylor would keep us moving with a three yard rush, followed by a spinning 7 yard rush that would see Taylor fall forward across the first down line to move the chains to the Air Force 13. Leierer would make his first return to the backfield since he left in the second quarter with an injury, receiving the handoff from Powers for a three yard carry to leave second and 7. Another rush by Leierer would gain four yards to set up third and three, before coming up short on third down, gaining just a single yard to leave us facing fourth and two from the four yard line. Holding a two touchdown lead with just 3:48 left in the game, we decided we’d rather extend that to a three possession lead rather than take the fourth down gamble. The 21 yard field goal by Marcus was good, extending our lead to a nearly insurmountable 24-7 margin with only 3:41 left in the game.

A 25 yard kickoff return by Robert McCarthy gave Air Force the ball at their 25 yard line, the Falcons in desperation mode, down by 17 points with just three and a half minutes remaining. Lining up in the shotgun on first down, Byrd was quickly hounded by our pass rush, leading him to make the potentially game deciding fatal error, throwing up an errant pass intended for Davis, only to have it intercepted by cornerback Mike Moses, who had been between Davis and Byrd the entire time before the ball ever left Byrd’s hand. Moses would return the interception four yards before being wrestled down, giving us possession at the Air Force 35 yard line with 3:32 remaining.

Lining up on first down, we resumed our running game, as Powers handed off to Leierer for a three yard carry, followed by a pinball machine 7 yard rush that saw Leierer bounce off three different defenders on his way to the first down marker at the 24 yard line. Another first down carry by Leierer picked up four yards, followed by a second four yard gain to leave us with third and two. Taylor would take the third down handoff up the gut for a 7 yard gain, giving us first and goal at the 10 yard line. With first and goal and only 1:22 left on the clock, instead of trying to punch it in for meaningless stats and potentially embarrass a service academy, we opted to kneel out the final minute of the game, sealing our 24-7 victory over Air Force, a victory that was much closer and harder to achieve than the score indicated.

With the third straight win, we improve to 7-2, 5-1 in Mountain West action. With the loss, Air Force drops to 5-4, 3-2 in Mountain West play. Up next, it’s another game day at home as we step out of conference play for the final time this season, welcoming the Miami (OH) Red Hawks to town. The Red Hawks enter the game at 1-8, 1-7 in Mid American Conference action. Miami (OH) opened their season with 31-14 loss at Northern Illinois and a 35-10 loss to #14 Cincinnati. They would get in the win column with a 26-25 win over Eastern Michigan in week three, before going on a 6 game slide, losing 27-20 at Central Michigan, 31-24 to Ball State, 38-35 at Kent State, 45-31 to Buffalo, 17-14 at Akron and 48-21 to Bowling Green.

Final Score
:Utah_State: 24, :Air_Force: 7

Stat(s) of the Game:

Utah State Offense - Powers had a largely inactive day, only going 4-7 for 46 yards and one interception. The workhorses of the offense were Leierer and Taylor in the rushing game. Leierer ended the day with 148 yards on 29 rushes. Taylor had 115 yards and three touchdowns on 27 carries. Silva had 6 yards on one rush. Receiving, McGuire caught two passes for 32 yards, Rhodes had one catch for 8 yards and Watson had one catch for 6 yards.

Utah State Defense/Special Teams – Horrible first quarter. First gave up a 73 yard touchdown run on the second play of the game, then had trouble shutting down the option the entire first quarter. After a switch in strategy, spending less focus on the pass and focusing more on the QB and pitchman, as well as calling fewer man defensive plays and going more zone play calls, we finally managed to get a leg up on the option and shut Air Force's offense down. Also a big day individually as Hunter ended an Air Force drive with an interception in our end zone, Salyer ended a drive with an interception at our 10 yard line and Moses essentially ended the game with an interception in the final minutes to kill off Air Force's last drive of the game. Thankfully the option offense is behind us for another year, unless we face one in a bowl game.

Utah State Kicking – A mediocre day for Marcus, going 1-2 in field goal with a 21 yard kick and a 45 yard miss, while also going 3-3 in PATs.

Scoring Summary

Team
1st Quarter
2nd Quarter
3rd Quarter
4th Quarter
Final Score

:Air_Force:
7
0
0
0
7

:Utah_State:
0
7
14
3
24

Time
Team
Result
Play
Score

First Quarter

8:21
:Air_Force:
Touchdown
C. Williams, 73 yard run (A. West kick)
:Air_Force: 7-0

Second Quarter

4:20
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
T. Taylor, 2 yard run (D. Marcus kick)
TIED 7-7

Third Quarter

6:35
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
T. Taylor, 4 yard run (D. Marcus kick)
:Utah_State: 14-7

1:09
:Utah_State:
Touchdown
T. Taylor, 2 yard run (D. Marcus kick)
:Utah_State: 21-7

Fourth Quarter

3:41
:Utah_State:
Field Goal
D. Marcus, 21 yard field goal
:Utah_State: 24-7

Game Stats

Air Force
Stat
Utah State

7
Score
24

7
First Downs
23

179
Total Offense
309

23 - 177 - 1
Rushes - Yards - TD
60 - 263 - 3

1 - 8 - 0
Comp - Att - TD
4 - 7 - 0

2
Passing Yards
46

1
Times Sacked
0

3 - 7 (42%)
3rd Down Conversion
7 - 10 (70%)

0 - 0 (0%)
4th Down Conversion
0 - 0 (0%)

0 - 0 (0%)
2-Point Conv
0 - 0 (0%)

0 - 0 - 0 (0%)
Red Zone - TD - FG
5 - 3 - 1 (80%)

3
Turnovers
1

0
Fumbles Lost
0

3
Intercepted
1

0
Punt Return Yards
36

106
Kick Return Yards
98

285
Total Yards
443

3 – 47.7
Punts - Average
0 - 0.0

1 - 15
Penalties
0 - 0

8:03
Time of Possession
27:57

Utah State Coach Goals

Goal
XP Reward
Completed

Win a Game
100
x1

Score a Touchdown
25
x3

3 Consecutive Wins
150
x1

Force a Turnover
25
x3

Rush for 100 Yards
25
x1

Kneel Last Minute Q4 While Ahead
10
x1

Opponent Under 10 Points
75
x1

Opponent Under 300 Pass Yards
50
x1

Pass Completion Over 50%
30
x1

Score 21 or More Points
50
x1

10+ First Downs
50
x1

Force 20 Turnovers (Season)
350
x1

4+ 3rd Down Conversions
25
x1

Utah State Contract Goals Update

Goal
Expectations
Progress

Target Wins Per Season
7
7

Job Security Status

100%