Smooth Pancakes' Coaching Carousel Career

[mpgcrusader11]

Smooth......

Sounds like you are having a pretty good season. I decided to use you're model for advancing my coaching career, because I thought it was one of the more realistic routes I had seen so far.

I decided to start out as the OC of Idaho. And believe it or not, right now I'm 3-0. I wins have been over two push-overs in Bowling Green and Memphis (they are my home and home mid-major game) and Fresno State. I was hoping the Fresno State game would turn out to be a great game, and it was. I felt I had a chance to win the game because coming into it they were 0-2. I ended up winning the game 39-38. I scored with 25 seconds left, throwing for my fifth touchdown of the day. My QB went off. I went 42-65 throwing for 594 yards, 5 TDs and 1 INT. This is by far my best passing game I have ever had on NCAA. Most of my completions were short over the middle passes, with a few 20-30 yarders thrown in. I'm typically a run first guy, but have always employed the strategy of passing against teams that I know are better than me. It has always seemed to spread the defense out, ultimately giving me more room to run. I had a decent running game always, rushing for a net of 60 yards (my OL gave up 4 sacks, worth about 16 yards, two were on me for holding the ball to long). I was very pleased with this game, my next game is against Virginia going for 4-0. They have a weak rush defense (112th) and an overall pathetic one at that (108th) but somehow they are 4-1. Kinda scared they might torch my defense.

One of the big reasons I happen to be undefeated is the play of my defense. My first two games, Bowling Green (44-17) and Memphis (30-8), were just terrible and thier offenses proved it. I was surprised by the turnovers I created in those game. Coming into my game against Virginia, including an INT in the Fresno game, my turnover margin is +7. The Vandal defense kept me in the Fresno game, allowing no points in the second half (frankly, I found this unbelievable) Fresno's only points came off a 94 KO return for a TD. My defense is ranked 7th overall. And also, I'm very pleased with the play of my offensive line. I have easily been able to find holes to run through (I averaged about 150 yards my first two games) and they don't seem to be holding all too often.

Thanks for the work you put in, man!!

[SmoothPancakes]

Smooth......

I appreciate you reading and checking in man. That's awesome to hear you decided to use my model for career advancement. That was one of the things I was going for when I made it. I wanted to make it a long, slow climb up the ranks as a coach, as well as keep it somewhat of a real life-like pace, and not go from OC of a 1 star school to head coach of Alabama or something in a couple seasons. Keeps it fun, keeps it interesting.

Sounds like you're having quite the year in your dynasty. Good luck against Virginia man, hope you can pull it off. If you have the time and want to put in the effort, you should consider making a dynasty thread on here so everyone can follow your coach and teams from year to year. It may seem like it can be a lot of work, but as long as you pace yourself and don't try to do too much or play too many games in a short period of time, it can be a lot of fun. And I'm always happy to see more people posting dynasties and having more careers to follow along with. So you should give it some thought. It'd be a lot of fun to watch your dynasty and career play out.

And thanks. I'm glad to have you reading and posting and hope you enjoy the career of my coach. It's going to be an interesting ride, especially since I don't even have the slightest, remote clue of what schools and jobs I'm going to end up at in the future of this dynasty. It's all going to be played by the hip in the coaching carousel as my contracts expire and I look at possibly leaving one school for the next. In past years, I could either stay at one school the entire time, or retire/delete and recreate coaches at different schools in a mapped out progression plan. This time, all I can do is follow the career advancement rules I have placed upon myself in my house rules, and see what happens. It is impossible to even try to map out the future of my coach's career.

[SmoothPancakes]

As for my dynasty, I'm going to try and squeeze in the Troy game here in a little bit tonight, after I knock out recruiting. One huge game of note nationally. We have a #2 at #1 showdown this week, as #2 Alabama (8-0, 5-0 SEC) travels to #1 LSU (8-0, 5-0 SEC) for the battle of the #1 ranking and the battle of 1st place in the SEC West.

I may just have to watch that game in CPU vs. CPU mode. That could be entertaining to watch.

[JerzeyReign]

Eff the SEC!

[strattjw]

This game played out exactly as I thought it would. Arkansas State's offense is so damn explosive, I knew even before the coin toss, I was going to have to go punch for punch with the Red Wolves and hope I could keep up to have a chance to win. I did exactly that for most of the 1st half. Unfortunately, what I thought was the smart play, settling for a field goal with 11 seconds left in the half to cut the ASU lead in 4, rather than take a gamble and end up down 7 at halftime, came back and bit me in the ass, hard. Only Arkansas State would manage to turn around and return the ensuing kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown with no time left in the half.

That was pretty much the play that screwed me. I needed to stay within 7 of them to have a chance. Going into halftime down 11, with Arkansas State getting the ball to start the half, pretty much spelled out my doom. They would get 4 more touchdowns, all I could muster was a single touchdown, a field goal, and a safety immediately following an interception inside the Arkansas State 5 yard line.

The Arkansas State Red Wolves just joined UL Lafayette, and UCF, on my list of teams I am very much not looking forward to playing again in the future.

Those Red Wolves can really pounce! That team is loaded with talent and most of that talent will be there next season waiting for you

[mpgcrusader11]

I appreciate you reading and checking in man. That's awesome to hear you decided to use my model for career advancement. That was one of the things I was going for when I made it. I wanted to make it a long, slow climb up the ranks as a coach, as well as keep it somewhat of a real life-like pace, and not go from OC of a 1 star school to head coach of Alabama or something in a couple seasons. Keeps it fun, keeps it interesting.

Sounds like you're having quite the year in your dynasty. Good luck against Virginia man, hope you can pull it off. If you have the time and want to put in the effort, you should consider making a dynasty thread on here so everyone can follow your coach and teams from year to year. It may seem like it can be a lot of work, but as long as you pace yourself and don't try to do too much or play too many games in a short period of time, it can be a lot of fun. And I'm always happy to see more people posting dynasties and having more careers to follow along with. So you should give it some thought. It'd be a lot of fun to watch your dynasty and career play out.

And thanks. I'm glad to have you reading and posting and hope you enjoy the career of my coach. It's going to be an interesting ride, especially since I don't even have the slightest, remote clue of what schools and jobs I'm going to end up at in the future of this dynasty. It's all going to be played by the hip in the coaching carousel as my contracts expire and I look at possibly leaving one school for the next. In past years, I could either stay at one school the entire time, or retire/delete and recreate coaches at different schools in a mapped out progression plan. This time, all I can do is follow the career advancement rules I have placed upon myself in my house rules, and see what happens. It is impossible to even try to map out the future of my coach's career.

I'm interested in doing that......I'm actually getting pretty close to finishing up my first season. I'm 8-2 right now with the Vandals. I had a 5 game win streak going into my game against Utah State and lost 34-27 in overtime. I scored with about 8 seconds left on the clock, but got popped for a holding call. Would have won. I'm finishing up some summer classes, also. I'll probably post a summary of my first season, then begin a more in-depth analysis of my second season and beyond.

[SmoothPancakes]

Two notes. First, the results from the Troy game will be posted shortly, and I suck inside the red zone.

Second, I was incorrect, that #1 vs. #2 showdown between Alabama and LSU was not this week (Week 10), but is actually in Week 11, so I'll have a note about the results of that game after my game at Western Kentucky.

[SmoothPancakes]

Game Eight





Game Notes

--- This was a must win game if there ever was one, at least as far as Florida International is concerned. Sitting at 3-4 on the season, but most importantly, 1-2 in the Sun Belt Conference. Already two games behind conference leader Arkansas State, a third conference loss will officially shut the door on any hopes we might have had of making it back to back Sun Belt titles. We lost the coin toss, Troy elected to kick. We were able to slowly move the ball down the field, converting on 3rd down three times, before we eventually stalled out at the Troy 28 yard line, where Jack Griffin came on the field and kicked a 45 yard field goal to give us the early lead.

Our offense would get the ball right back on Troy’s first play on offense, as a fumbled ball was recovered by Jonathan Cyprien on the Troy 41 yard line, and advanced 5 yards down to the 36. We would get as far as the Troy 7 yard line, before having to settle for a second field goal. Troy’s second offensive drive, they were able to actually keep a hold on the football, though our defense was finally able to shut them down after they had advanced the ball to our 42 yard line, forcing the first punt of the game with 51 seconds left to go in the first quarter. We would punt for our first time on 48 seconds later, after going 3 and out on our drive. The start of the second quarter to begin Troy’s drive gave them a new found wind, and they proceeded to drive 62 yards in 7 plays to find the end zone.

We would try to respond, and were able to get as far as the Troy 3 yard line, before the Trojans defense shut us down on three straight plays, and forced a third field goal. A 3 and out defensive stop and a 16 yard punt return gave us the ball back on our own 48 yard line with 3 minutes left to play, and hope of expanding our lead out from just 2 points before halftime. The Troy 6 yard line was as close as we got, before having to settle for a fourth field goal on the day with 2 seconds left to play. Start of the second half found Troy starting on their 20 yard line. They wasted no time driving down the field, covering 80 yards in 13 plays, and only facing two 3rd down plays during the drive, before finding the end zone for a second time and once again retaking the lead. Then, for whatever reason, instead of kicking the extra point, they opted to go for the two point conversion and were successful.

We however, only managed to gain a single yard on our next drive, and were forced to punt the ball back to Troy. They however, never got the chance to get their drive going as a holding penalty of 1st down pushed them back to their 7 yard line. They would only recover 9 of those lost yards, and were forced to punt on 4th and 11 from their own 16 yard line, giving us the ball right on the 50 yard line. We once again failed to put it in the end zone, getting as close as the Troy 12 yard line. However, unlike our previous trips inside the Troy 20 yard line, this time Sir Shanks-a-lot decided to try the kick rather than Jack Griffin, and the 29 yard field goal attempt was missed.

Our defense held tough once again and forced another punt from the Trojans offense. After piecing together another offensive drive, we once again found ourselves inside the Troy 10 yard line, and once again, we were kept out of the end zone and forced to attempt a field goal. This time Jack Griffin decided to make the appearance with our field goal unit, and he successfully kicked the 20 yard field goal, tying the game up at 15 points apiece. Another punt forced by our defense, and we were given the ball back on our 34 yard line with a chance to take the lead. We were able to drive down as far as the Troy 2 yard line over 15 plays, before a pair of sacks brought our drive to an end, forcing us to attempt our 7th field goal of the day. Jack Griffin thankfully converted.

Our defense apparently didn’t realize that we only had a three point lead. Troy was finally able to move the ball on offense, going 87 yards in only 7 plays, ending with a 30 yard touchdown pass to take the 5 point lead with only 1:48 left to play in the game. Starting at our own 20 yard line, we were able to make it as far as our 33 yard line, before four straight incomplete passes ended any hopes of a win, and destroyed our chances and hopes at a Sun Belt Conference title for a second straight year.

Or maybe not. After only a 1 yard gain on the ground by Troy, after which our defense called time outs immediately, and then a sack for a loss of 6 yards on 3rd and 9, Troy attempted a 55 yard field goal and missed, giving us the ball back on our 38 yard line, with 59 seconds left to play. Another four straight incomplete passes later, it was now official. We had no time outs left and only 41 seconds on the clock.

With the loss, we drop to 3-5 on the season, 1-3 in Sun Belt Conference play. With the win, Troy improves to 5-2 on the year, 3-1 in the Sun Belt Conference. Up next for Florida International, we continue our adventures on the road, as we make our fourth straight trip away from home to take on Western Kentucky. The Hilltoppers come into the game with a 4-4 record, 2-3 in the Sun Belt Conference.

They opened their season with a 40-13 loss at Kentucky, managed to edge out Navy in their second game with a 14-13 win, then escaped Indiana State with a 31-28 win. WKU lost their following game to Arkansas State 31-19, dropped a game to Mid Tennessee State 28-21, before they found the win column again, getting their first conference victory over Florida Atlantic 29-14. They suffered their fourth loss the next week against Louisiana-Lafayette, losing 21-16, before rebounding with a 31-14 victory over Louisiana-Monroe last week. And they looked doomed to staying at home this bowl season, as after their game against us, they go on the road their last three games, at 8-0 #1 LSU, at 4-5 North Texas, and at 5-2 Troy.

Final Score
22, 18



Stat(s) of the Game:
FIU Offense – 7 times inside the Troy 20 yard line, no touchdowns.
FIU Running Backs – 198 yards rushing on 56 carries.
FIU Kicker Jack Griffin – 6 for 7 on field goals, long of 45 yards. Missed from 29 yards.



Scoring Summary

Team	1st Quarter	2nd Quarter	3rd Quarter	4th Quarter	Final Score
	6	6	0	6	18
	0	7	8	7	22

Team	Result	Play	Score
First Quarter
	Field Goal	J. Griffin, 45 yard field goal	3-0
	Field Goal	J. Griffin, 23 yard field goal	6-0
Second Quarter
	Touchdown	B. Moncrief, 27 yard pass from C. Robinson (M. Taylor kick)	7-6
	Field Goal	J. Griffin, 20 yard field goal	9-7
	Field Goal	J. Griffin, 24 yard field goal	12-7
Third Quarter
	Touchdown	S. Southward, 1 yard run (2-point conversion good)	15-12
Fourth Quarter
	Field Goal	J. Griffin, 22 yard field goal	TIED 15-15
	Field Goal	J. Griffin, 27 yard field goal	18-15
	Touchdown	S. Southward, 30 yard pass from C. Robinson (M. Taylor kick)	22-18

Game Stats

Florida International	Stat	Troy
18	Score	22
21	First Downs	13
374	Total Offense	297
56 - 198 - 0	Rushes - Yards - TD	23 - 56 - 1
10 - 27 - 0	Comp - Att - TD	18 - 31 - 2
176	Passing Yards	241
2	Times Sacked	2
7 - 19 (36%)	3rd Down Conversion	7 - 13 (53%)
1 - 3 (33%)	4th Down Conversion	0 - 0 (0%)
0 - 0 (0%)	2-Point Conversion	1 - 1 (100%)
7 - 0 - 5 (71%)	Red Zone - TD - FG	2 - 1 - 0 (50%)
0	Turnovers	1
0	Fumbles Losts	1
0	Intercepted	0
37	Punt Return Yards	0
68	Kick Return Yards	101
479	Total Yards	398
2 - 45.5	Punts - Average	5 - 46.0
3 - 29	Penalties	5 - 26
22:15	Time of Possession	15:45

Florida International Contract Goals Update

Fail Impact	Goal	Progress	Pass Impact
	500+ rushing yards in each season	1/3 Passed
	Win 8 games in one season	3
	2000+ total offensive yards in each season	1/3 Passed
	7+ passing TD in one season
	10+ points per game in each season	26 PPG
	2400+ total offensive yards in one season
	Win 4 games in one season	3
	2000+ total offensive yards in one season

Job Security Status

61%

[SmoothPancakes]

A couple quick game notes.

First, we suck, once again, inside the red zone. Failing to get a single touchdown despite getting inside Troy's 20 yard line 7 times, including multiple times where we got as close as the 3 or 5 yard line, completely screwed us out of any chance to win.

Second, Troy sucks when it comes to run defense. For the most part, they're pretty decent at pass defense, especially at the end of the game when I threw four straight incomplete passes, in two separate offensive drives, in the last 1:10 of the game. But their run defense sucks. Inside, outside, pitches, sweeps, counters, I was having a field day running the ball. At one point in the first half, I literally ran the ball 18 straight plays. Until those last two 4 and out drives at the end, I had only passed ball 18 times for the entire day, while rushing 56 times. Troy definitely has very poor rush defense.

Third, there goes any chance we had at the Sun Belt title. Arkansas State is no longer the conference leader due to their week 9 loss to North Texas. Instead, the Mean Green of North Texas are the new conference leaders, sitting at 4-1 on the season, while I'm currently in 7th place at 1-3. So any hopes of a conference title are long gone. Now we're just trying to play for either a 7-5 season, at the absolute best, or a 6-6 season, needing to go no worse than 3-1 these last four games to get back to .500.

[Basmare]

A couple quick game notes.

First, we suck, once again, inside the red zone. Failing to get a single touchdown despite getting inside Troy's 20 yard line 7 times, including multiple times where we got as close as the 3 or 5 yard line, completely screwed us out of any chance to win.

Second, Troy sucks when it comes to run defense. For the most part, they're pretty decent at pass defense, especially at the end of the game when I threw four straight incomplete passes, in two separate offensive drives, in the last 1:10 of the game. But their run defense sucks. Inside, outside, pitches, sweeps, counters, I was having a field day running the ball. At one point in the first half, I literally ran the ball 18 straight plays. Until those last two 4 and out drives at the end, I had only passed ball 18 times for the entire day, while rushing 56 times. Troy definitely has very poor rush defense.

Third, there goes any chance we had at the Sun Belt title. Arkansas State is no longer the conference leader due to their week 9 loss to North Texas. Instead, the Mean Green of North Texas are the new conference leaders, sitting at 4-1 on the season, while I'm currently in 7th place at 1-3. So any hopes of a conference title are long gone. Now we're just trying to play for either a 7-5 season, at the absolute best, or a 6-6 season, needing to go no worse than 3-1 these last four games to get back to .500.

I'm surprised about North Texas, in my OC career at MTSU, North Texas was 0-12...

[SmoothPancakes]

I'm surprised about North Texas, in my OC career at MTSU, North Texas was 0-12...

Well, overall they suck, sort of, since they played a rough schedule. While they're 4-1 in the conference, they're 4-5 overall. Going down their schedule, they beat me (30-27), lost to Houston (23-45), lost to Texas (28-41), lost to Louisville (21-42), lost to Alabama (8-43), beat Florida Atlantic (24-16), beat Louisiana-Lafayette (27-17), lost to Louisiana-Monroe (21-28), and beat Arkansas State (31-27). And they are far from assured the league title. They still have games against Troy (5-2, 3-1 SBC), Western Kentucky (4-4, 2-3 SBC), and MTSU (1-7, 1-3 SBC).

My guess, is the league title is going to come down to the very last week, when Arkansas State goes to Troy. Arkansas State's currently 6-2, Troy is 5-2, both are 3-1 in the conference play. Left for Arkansas State, 2-5 FAU, 4-5 Louisiana-Lafayette, 1-7 MTSU, and 5-2 Troy. Left for Troy, 4-5 Navy (non-conference game), 4-5 North Texas, 2-5 FAU, 4-4 Western Kentucky, and 6-2 Arkansas State.

So I'm going to have to keep a closer eye on the league standings each week, as that race for the league title could get very interesting.

[Basmare]

Well, overall they suck, sort of, since they played a rough schedule. While they're 4-1 in the conference, they're 4-5 overall. Going down their schedule, they beat me (30-27), lost to Houston (23-45), lost to Texas (28-41), lost to Louisville (21-42), lost to Alabama (8-43), beat Florida Atlantic (24-16), beat Louisiana-Lafayette (27-17), lost to Louisiana-Monroe (21-28), and beat Arkansas State (31-27). And they are far from assured the league title. They still have games against Troy (5-2, 3-1 SBC), Western Kentucky (4-4, 2-3 SBC), and MTSU (1-7, 1-3 SBC).

My guess, is the league title is going to come down to the very last week, when Arkansas State goes to Troy. Arkansas State's currently 6-2, Troy is 5-2, both are 3-1 in the conference play. Left for Arkansas State, 2-5 FAU, 4-5 Louisiana-Lafayette, 1-7 MTSU, and 5-2 Troy. Left for Troy, 4-5 Navy (non-conference game), 4-5 North Texas, 2-5 FAU, 4-4 Western Kentucky, and 6-2 Arkansas State.

So I'm going to have to keep a closer eye on the league standings each week, as that race for the league title could get very interesting.

That's what makes the Sun Belt so interesting, not a very high level, but a very close competition. Good work on the contract goals, keep it up - I'm following with great interest!

[morsdraconis]

Nice! At least the conference has some interesting things happening, even if they are a bunch of teams that (outside of Arkansas State) don't have a prayer of winning a bowl game.

[SmoothPancakes]

Nice! At least the conference has some interesting things happening, even if they are a bunch of teams that (outside of Arkansas State) don't have a prayer of winning a bowl game.

Well, I'm hoping to make that Arkansas State and FIU. After FIU's victory over Toledo in the Little Caesars Bowl last year in real life, I'm hoping to make it back to back bowl games, and hopefully bowl game wins. I was hoping to make it back to back SBC titles, since they shared the conference title with Troy last year with a 6-2 record in the conference. They would have won the conference outright had they not blown it in a 28-27 loss to MTSU in the very last week of the season.

Obviously that chance is long gone for me in this dynasty. Though, looking back through their seasons on ESPN, last year was FIU's first non-losing (6-6 regular season)/winning season (7-6 after the bowl game), first bowl game, and first bowl game win since they started playing football in 2002, and started FBS play in 2005. So I'm hoping to keep the Golden Panthers on that track of non-losing seasons and maybe keep adding to their brand new bowl history.

[SmoothPancakes]

Game Nine





Game Notes

--- This week, we went on the road for our fourth straight game. After back to back losses to Arkansas State and Troy to knock us down to a 1-3 conference record, and 7th place in the Sun Belt, we needed to come away with a win this week to have any chance of finishing above .500 in the conference. As well, a loss today puts us squarely behind the eight ball, needing to win out the rest of the season just to make it to 6-6 and hope to have a chance at a bowl game. We won the coin toss and elected to kick, putting the start of the game in the hands of our defense.

Our defense answered the call, allowing Western Kentucky only 18 yards on their opening drive, before forcing the offense to punt the ball away to us. It became clear early on that it was going to be a passing kind of day, as the Hilltoppers were ready to shut down anything we tried to do on the ground. Unfortunately, it would have to wait until our next drive as we promptly went three and out in our first drive. After another Hilltopper punt, our offense was finally able to start piecing together a drive, focusing more on the pass than the run, getting down to the Western Kentucky 23 yard line before finally being stopped by the defense. Jack Griffin would attempt a 40 yard field goal, but it ended up sailing wide left.

A couple of traded punts would bring the end to a scoreless first quarter, as this was beginning to turn into a defensive battle. After taking possession of the ball at the start of the second quarter, we were able to start moving a bit better on the ground, and taking advantage of some miscues by the Western Kentucky defense, were able to drive the ball 69 yards down the field, ending with a 9 yard TD pass to Darriet Perry after Wesley Carroll audibled off of a run call due to the appearance of a heavy blitz call by the defense. Western Kentucky would attempt to respond, getting as far as midfield, before a holding penalty on 3rd and 4 brought a quick end to their drive. Our offense would fail to do anything on our next drive, that started on our own 10 yard line. Due to the poor field position, Western Kentucky was able to return the ensuing punt up to our own 48 yard line. Thanks to two offside penalties called on our defense, on 2nd and 8 and 2nd and 4, Western Kentucky was able to keep their driving moving down as far as our 10 yard line before settling for a 27 yard field goal to get on the scoreboard.

After forcing our offense to go three and out, Western Kentucky wasted no time in moving down the field, using a 26 yard pass, a 4th down and 2 conversion, some big runs, and a 15 yard facemask penalty on the defense to get all the way down to our 1 yard line before scoring the go-ahead touchdown on a 1 yard pass with 32 seconds left in the half. We would only get as close as a pass completed down to the WKU 15 yard line with no time left before hitting halftime. Our offensive drive to open the 2nd half would have to be a big one to get us back the lead and keep from falling in a potential hole.

That big offensive drive would never happen, as a stifling Western Kentucky defense kept us from getting even a single yard before having to punt the ball away. The Hilltoppers seemed to be unstoppable at first on their following drive, overcoming a holding penalty to still keep the drive alive, however a defensive stop on 3rd down, and an incomplete pass on a 4th down conversion attempt, would turn the ball over to our offense. We would drive the ball as far as the Western Kentucky 39 yard line, before a pass attempt on 4th down was intercepted and returned 88 yards, a new NCAA record, all thanks to my dumbass offensive players running around like chickens with their heads cut off instead of actually trying to tackle the guy. 7 missed tackles on the interception return. My players all suck!

Our next offensive drive, we were able to move the ball once again down into Western Kentucky territory, getting as far as the Hilltopper 6 yard line, before a pass on 3rd and 5 was intercepted in the Western Kentucky end zone and the defender tackled for a touchback. Despite a pair of penalties on our defense, they were able to finally stop the Western Kentucky offense and force another punt, giving us the ball back on our 35 yard line. Another drive and trip down into the Western Kentucky red zone, this time, we refused to be denied, getting a first and goal on the WKU 2 yard line, and used the running game to get us into the end zone this time after having the two previous drives end in interceptions. With that score, we were able to get back within 3 points with a minute left to play in the 3rd quarter.

Our defense continued their bend but don’t break ways, giving up a pair of first downs, but eventually shutting down the Western Kentucky offense, and forcing a punt at the very end of the 3rd quarter. Our offense needed only one play to score a touchdown after another audible off of a run play, and a stroke of luck on a batted pass, allowed Wayne Times to race down the field for a 63 yard touchdown pass that gave us back the lead early in the 4th quarter. After the defense of both teams forced each other’s offenses to punt, Western Kentucky got the ball back and was ready to retake the lead, quickly advancing the ball from their own 25 yard line across midfield into our territory. However, an interception by Kenneth Dillard on 3rd and 5 gave us the ball back on our 39 yard line with 5 minutes to play. Western Kentucky’s defense would continue to be a brick wall however, stopped us on 3rd and 1 and forcing another punt.

We started to lose a bit of faith in our defense after Western Kentucky completed a 27 yard pass out to our 49 yard line, however, the defense buckled down and on 2nd and 5, proceeded to force three straight incomplete passes to force the turnover on downs and give us back the ball with just under 3 minutes to play. Lots of rushes and two or three first downs, and would we be able to escape with a victory. We were able to do exactly that, managing to gain two first downs, and forcing Western Kentucky to use up all of their timeouts, running out the rest of the clock, calling our last and final play on 3rd and 5 from the Western Kentucky 29 yard line with 10 seconds left in the game.

With the win, we improve to 4-5 on the season, 2-3 in the Sun Belt Conference, keeping our bowl hopes for the year alive. With the loss, Western Kentucky drops to 4-5 on the year, 2-4 in the Sun Belt Conference. This loss just ended any hopes Western Kentucky had at a winning season and pretty much ended their hopes for a bowl game. Remaining on the schedule for the Hilltoppers, are three straight road games to 8-0 #1 LSU, 4-5 North Texas, and 6-2 Troy. A very difficult stretch to come out with a 2-1 record against.

Next up for Florida International, it’s our 5th straight, and final, road game of the season as we travel to take on our rivals, Florida Atlantic. Florida Atlantic comes into this game with a 3-5 record on the year, 3-2 in the Sun Belt Conference, riding a two game winning streak. The Owls are coming off of their biggest win of the season, as they knocked off conference leader Arkansas State this week, with a 28-27 win thanks to two touchdowns in the 4th quarter, including the game winner with 1:10 left to play in the game. Otherwise, it’s been a tough year for Florida Atlantic, as they opened their year with a 38-17 loss at #20 Florida, then were shut out 35-0 at #15 Michigan State. A bye week did little good as a road trip to #12 Auburn ended in a 47-20 loss. They would finally find the win column in their first conference game with a 31-21 win over Louisiana-Lafayette before losing 24-16 at North Texas, and 29-14 at Western Kentucky. The Owls would then quickly add to that lone win, with a 24-19 victory vs. Mid Tennessee State, and the 28-27 upset victory on the road at Arkansas State, leading them into their rivalry game, at home with FIU, on a two game winning streak.

Final Score
21, 17



Stat(s) of the Game:
FIU Offense – Great yards, poor job on 3rd down conversions.
FIU QB Wesley Carrol – 37% completion percentage, 2 TDs but 2 INTS, including one that was returned a new NCAA record 88 yards for a touchdown.
FIU Defense – Played a great bend but don’t break game, but still gave up 403 yards of offense to WKU.



Scoring Summary

Team	1st Quarter	2nd Quarter	3rd Quarter	4th Quarter	Final Score
	0	7	7	7	21
	0	10	7	0	17

Team	Result	Play	Score
First Quarter
Second Quarter
	Touchdown	D. Perry, 9 yard pass from W. Carroll (J. Griffin kick)	7-0
	Field Goal	C. Tinius, 27 yard field goal	7-3
	Touchdown	W. McNeal, 1 yard pass from K. Jakes (C. Tinius kick)	10-7
Third Quarter
	Touchdown	R. Beard, returned interception 88 yards (C. Tinius kick)	17-7
	Touchdown	D. Perry, 2 yard run (J. Griffin kick)	17-14
Fourth Quarter
	Touchdown	W. Times, 63 yard pass from W. Carroll (J. Griffin kick)	21-17

Game Stats

Florida International	Stat	Western Kentucky
21	Score	17
17	First Downs	15
484	Total Offense	403
42 - 152 - 1	Rushes - Yards - TD	36 - 146 - 0
13 - 35 - 2	Comp - Att - TD	13 - 39 - 1
332	Passing Yards	257
1	Times Sacked	1
7 - 19 (36%)	3rd Down Conversion	5 - 18 (27%)
1 - 2 (50%)	4th Down Conversion	1 - 3 (33%)
0 - 0 (0%)	2-Point Conversion	0 - 0 (0%)
6 - 2 - 0 (33%)	Red Zone - TD - FG	5 - 1 - 1 (40%)
2	Turnovers	1
0	Fumbles Losts	0
2	Intercepted	1
57	Punt Return Yards	16
66	Kick Return Yards	65
607	Total Yards	484
7 - 42.0	Punts - Average	8 - 44.3
8 - 55	Penalties	4 - 45
19:30	Time of Possession	16:30

Florida International Contract Goals Update

Fail Impact	Goal	Progress	Pass Impact
	500+ rushing yards in each season	1/3 Passed
	Win 8 games in one season	4
	2000+ total offensive yards in each season	1/3 Passed
	7+ passing TD in one season
	10+ points per game in each season	25 PPG
	2400+ total offensive yards in one season
	Win 4 games in one season
	2000+ total offensive yards in one season

Job Security Status

63%

[SmoothPancakes]

First off, here's the video of that batted pass that was then caught by my receiver and taken for a touchdown. The first time in NCAA 12 I had seen my receivers actually catch a batted pass.



As for the game notes, Western Kentucky is a good opponent. They shut my run game down right away, forcing me to go almost exclusively to the air for the first couple drives. But after a while, they loosened up on defense and my ground game was able to start moving. They can be a dangerous team, as they made some huge plays to keep drives alive throughout the game. Thankfully, my defense played a bend but don't break defense all game, and kept them from burying us. After that 88 yard interception return by the Western Kentucky defense, I thought that was going to be it, the flood gates would open and the Hilltoppers offense would put up multiple touchdowns suddenly on me. Thankfully the defense kept that from happening.

Our offense however, while we were able to move the ball, was still bad. Two straight drives, where we got deep into WKU territory, and they both ended in interceptions, one of which was the (new) NCAA record 88 yard TD return. The sad thing, we very well may have ended up losing that game 17-14 if not for that incredibly lucky grab on the batted pass by my receiver. I think that makes at least 2 or 3 of my four wins now that we were able to end up winning thanks to a lot of luck on some plays that ended up in our favor. Now time to see how I can do in a hostile environment as we play our rivals FAU, at FAU in the next week.

[SmoothPancakes]

Also of note, the Sun Belt is now thrown even more into chaos. North Texas may still have a chance yet. Florida Atlantic, who was 2-5, 2-2 in the Sun Belt, at the time, pulled off an upset no one saw coming, and knocked off Arkansas State 28-27, scoring two 4th quarter touchdowns, the last coming with 1:10 left in the game. That loss drops the Red Wolves to 3-2 in conference, giving 4-1 North Texas and 3-1 Troy the possible inside track to a conference title. And even if Arkansas State still has a chance at 3-2, that means a new contender is also entering the race as Florida Atlantic is now 3-2 in the Sun Belt as well. If the Owls beat me next week, they could move from a bottom half of the conference finish, to a surprise contender for the title.

As for national games of note, it was a rough week in the top 25. First, there is a new #1 team in the nation, as #2 Alabama knocked off #1 LSU 31-10. The game however was closer than that, as Alabama was only leading 17-10 after 3 quarters, and scored two touchdowns in the last 5 minutes of the game to blow it open. After that, #3 USC, who was 8-0 at the time, was knocked off by 4-4 Colorado, 31-24. #6 Oklahoma, who came into the week at 7-1 and undefeated in the Big XII, got upset by 4-4 Texas A&M 35-28. 4-4 Texas Tech beat a 5-2 #16 Texas squad, 30-16. 4-3 Cincinnati beat 7-1 #18 Pittsburgh, 20-13. And #24 Auburn, at 5-3 on the year, very narrowly avoided losing to 5-4 Tennessee, needing double overtime to win 34-28.

With LSU and USC losing, there are only 5 undefeated teams left in college football. New #1 Alabama at 9-0, Florida State (currently #4) at 9-0, Boise State (currently #5) at 8-0, SMU (currently #12) at 9-0, and Houston at 9-0. Based on this week's results, the National Championship right now would be between Alabama and Florida State if the season ended, Boise State would once again be on the outside looking in at #3.

As for conference races nationally, in the ACC, in the Atlantic Division, #4 Florida State is top dog at 6-0, #25 NC State is second at 3-2. Coastal Division, Miami (FL) and #15 Georgia Tech are both tied at 5-1 thanks to Miami's loss to Duke. Virginia Tech and Duke are behind them at 3-2. The Big 12 is anyone's guess. Thanks to Texas A&M, #6 Oklahoma, #11 Oklahoma State and Texas A&M are now all tied on top at 5-1, with #21 Kansas State right behind at 4-2, Missouri and Texas Tech are 3-3. The Big East is also impossible to pick. #18 Pittsburgh and USF are tied at 3-1, with Cincinnati right behind them at 2-1 and Syracuse and Louisville after that at 2-2. The Big Ten, in the Leaders Division, #23 Penn State and #20 Wisconsin are battling it out at 4-1, #17 Ohio State behind at 3-2. The Legends Division finds #9 Nebraska sitting fairly comfortable on top at 5-0, with #22 Iowa, #19 Michigan, and #14 Michigan State all behind at 3-2.

C-USA, in the East Division, Southern Miss is on top at 5-1, right behind them is UCF at 3-2 and ECU and Marshall at 3-3. In the West Division, it's going down to the wire, as #12 SMU is 6-0 and Houston (who despite being 8-0 overall is unranked) is 6-0. Tulsa is lagging behind at 4-3. In the MAC, the East Division is a cluster. Temple leads at 6-0, Miami University is 5-0, Ohio 4-1, with Bowling Green in the back seat at 3-2. The West Division is much clearer, as Central Michigan is the leader at 5-1, Northern Illinois the closest contender at 3-2. The Mountain West replaces LSU-Alabama this week, with the showdown of the week next week. Leading the conference is #13 TCU at 4-0, behind them is #5 Boise State at 3-0, with San Diego State trailing behind at 3-1 and Colorado State at 2-1. TCU and Boise State play each other this week, for the league, and Boise for a possible national title shot.

In the PAC-12, the North Division finds #7 Oregon on top at 6-0, with #8 Stanford right behind with a 6-1 record. Oregon State and Washington bring up the rear with 3-3 records. In the South Division, #3 USC still has a firm grip on first place, despite this week's loss to Colorado, with a 5-1 record. Behind them is Arizona at 4-3 and Colorado at 3-3. In the SEC, the East Division find South Carolina on top with a 4-3 record, with this week's game with Florida deciding the division, as Florida is right behind them at 3-4. In the West Division, #2 Alabama's win bumps them up to first place with a 6-0 record, #1 LSU drops down to second with a 5-1 record, and #10 Mississippi State is in third with a 4-1 record. And in the WAC, Louisiana Tech right now finds themselves on top at 4-1, but it's wide open as Fresno State and New Mexico State (!?) are right behind at 3-1, Nevada is next in line at 2-1, and Utah State brings up the rear at 1-2.

[morsdraconis]

Interesting stuff. Makes me want to play out a season without changing stuff up instead of changing everything like I had been doing.

Good win over Western Kentucky. They are definitely not the whipping boys they were last year.

[SmoothPancakes]

Interesting stuff. Makes me want to play out a season without changing stuff up instead of changing everything like I had been doing.

Good win over Western Kentucky. They are definitely not the whipping boys they were last year.

Yeah, I decided to keep the conferences realistic for this dynasty (gonna change up a bunch of conferences in a new dynasty later down the road) and it's making things really interesting as they play out.

And thanks. Western Kentucky, despite their wins coming against poor teams, had me a bit worried. You're right, they're definitely not the whipping boys they used to be, and I wouldn't be surprised to see them being competitive in the Sun Belt over these three years I'm at FIU. They were on track to winning it after 88 yard interception return for a TD. Then I had that major fluke catch off the tipped pass that was taken for the touchdown.

Now I'm worried about Florida Atlantic. After getting that huge upset of Arkansas State, they just showed they have the skills and talent to pull off big wins. I suppose I'll find out in a little bit later tonight when I play the game.

[SmoothPancakes]

Game Ten





Game Notes

--- Well, November 12th is here. Our big game at our rivals, the Florida Atlantic Owls. Sitting at 3-5 on the season, with games still to play against Troy, UAB, and UL Monroe, we would love nothing more than to beat the Owls and put them on the brink of a losing season. Likewise, a defeat by the Owls, and we’re on the brink of a losing season. This was going to be a huge game, not just because of the rivalry, but the team that loses, could very well find themselves ending the year below .500 and watching the bowl games instead of possibly playing in one. We lost the coin toss, Florida Atlantic elected to kick. Time to get this party started.

Our first drive of the game, we were able to push the ball nearly 40 yards downfield behind a fierce and nearly unstoppable ground game, but a stop for no gain on 3rd and 1 on the Owls 42 yard line appeared to bring our opening drive to an end. Instead, coach Cristobal was not about to let up on this Florida Atlantic defense, choosing to go for it on 4th down, successfully converting thanks to a 5 yard gain by Dudley LaPorte. Using this new set of downs, we were able to start pushing down the field again, getting clear down to the Florida Atlantic 5 yard line, before back to back stops by the defense and 2nd and 1 and 3rd and 1, forced us to finally settle for a field goal instead of the touchdown we were hoping for.

Florida Atlantic would take over and start slowing piecing together a giant drive. Unfortunately for the Owls, their drive would start off badly as Caleb Vincent intercepted a pass attempt to give us the ball back. Their defense would stop us after only a couple plays, forcing both teams into a trading of punts for the rest of the first quarter. A couple of plays into our first drive of the second quarter, our offense would once again get down inside the FAU 5 yard line, getting as close as the 2, before a holding penalty on 2nd and goal would keep us from finding the end zone and force us to again settle for a field goal. Our defense came out ready and put an instant stop to the Owls offense, keeping them from gaining any yards and having to punt. Unfortunately, we would do the same only a few plays later after the Florida Atlantic defense finally started adjusted to our previously unstoppable run game. An incomplete pass on 3rd and 6 would end our drive. Our defense once again did their jobs and forced an Owls punt. Our offense was able to move the ball 20 yards downfield into FAU territory at the 44 yard line. However, an interception on 1st and 10 would end our drive.

Florida Atlantic appeared ready to finally erase the 0 on the scoreboard, using a 29 yard pass on 1st down to get down to our 30 yard line. However, an interception on 3rd and 6 by Jose Cheeseborough gave the ball back to our offense on our own 20 yard line with 1:25 left to play. Our offensive drive got off to a horrible start, as a sack, a holding penalty, and an incomplete pass forced us into a 3rd and 24 situation from our own 6 yard line. We managed to convert thanks to a hole in the defensive coverage, and were able to eventually pass our way down to the FAU 1 yard line before we would have to settle for our third field goal as time expired.

After punts by both of our offenses, Florida Atlantic got the ball back for their second drive of the half, and wasted little time moving down the field, gaining consecutive first downs on four straight rushes, then using passes of 25 and 19 yards to advance the ball all the way down to our goal line. They would only need one more play after that to find the end zone on the ground. Our offense tried to respond, even turning to a WR screen pass to get a first down to keep our drive alive, unfortunately, we would never get farther than our own 45 yard line before having to punt. Our defense buckled down and forced another FAU punt, and even though our offense started from our own 45 yard line in great field position, we would proceed to lose three yards, rather than gain any, on the drive and punt the ball right back.

The Owls were ready to score again and take the lead from us, using a 23 yard pass right before the end of the 3rd quarter, and multiple big runs to get down inside our 25 yard line. However, a defensive stand on three straight plays, forced Florida Atlantic to attempt a 40 yard field goal, which their kicked ended up clanking off the left upright, returning possession back to us. With 7:30 left in the game, and clinging to a two point lead, we knew we needed a touchdown here to keep our chances for a win alive. We were able to advance the ball out to the Florida Atlantic 45 yard line, before the Owls defense intercepted their second pass of the day. The FAU defender had a great chance of taking the interception return to the house, but Wesley Carroll, after throwing the interception, was not about to let that happen, making the touchdown saving tackle at the 50 yard line, cutting the return down to only a short 21 yards, as opposed to a possible 70 yard return.

Florida Atlantic was more than ready to take advantage, driving down the field on us and scoring the go ahead touchdown with 4:30 left to play in the game, then tacking on a two point conversion just for good measure. While we would manage to get our ensuing offensive drive advanced 15 yards out to our 35 yard line, another bad pass by Carroll, led to another interception, that led to Florida Atlantic once again having the ball starting at midfield. Florida Atlantic once again wasted no time in scoring a touchdown, thanks in part to a 40 yard touchdown rush by Alfred Morris. They would successfully convert their second two point conversion of the day. With only 3 minutes to play, and down by 14, we knew it was time to air it out. The Owls defense also knew this, bringing a delayed blitz that resulted in Carroll getting sacked for an 11 yard loss, and putting our offensive drive in an immediate hole that we could not climb out of. What was hoped to be a drive that would end in a touchdown, resulted in a punt after only three plays.

We however got a huge break, as a fumble by the Owls offense on 2nd and 6 was recovered by Aaron Davis. Our offense wasted no time, as Carroll hit Times for a 33 yard gain down the right sideline, to set up 1st and goal on the FAU 4 yard line with 1:30 left to play. We only needed one more play to find the end zone. Coach Cristobal attempted the onside kick, and we nearly recovered as a FAU played batted the ball away while trying to catch it. Unfortunately, one of the Owls players was able to pounce on it before our players, giving the Owls the ball back on our own 35 yard line with only 1:25 left in the game. Our defense needed to become a brick wall and hope our three time outs, and now first downs by the Owls, would do the job. Our defense did exactly that, using a three yard loss on a 1st down rush to force the Owls to throw on 3rd down, which ended up incomplete. The Florida Atlantic kicker then missed his 40 yard field goal attempt wide right, giving us the ball back on our 31 yard line with 1:05 to play, and one time out still left to use.

Unfortunately, four straight incomplete passes, and that was the end of any chance we had to win today. With the loss, we drop to 4-6 on the season, 2-4 in the Sun Belt Conference. With the win, Florida Atlantic improves to 4-5 on the year, 4-2 in the Sun Belt Conference, propelling the Owls right into the thick of the conference title race. Up next for us, we end our season with back to back home games, the first of which we welcome Louisiana-Monroe to town. The Warhawks enter the game with a 4-6 record, 3-3 in the Sun Belt, coming off a 23-17 overtime win over 1-8 Mid Tennessee State.

Taking a look at the Warhawks season, they opened with a 31-7 loss at #10 Florida State, beat Grambling State 42-18, lost to #14 TCU 40-21, dropped a 45-10 contest to Iowa, fell to Arkansas State 31-21, and lost to Troy 40-7. The finally snapped their 4 game losing streak when they beat North Texas 28-21, but lost the following week to Western Kentucky 31-14. They since have gone on a two game winning streak, defeating rival Louisiana-Lafayette 24-17, and then defeated Mid Tennessee State in overtime, 23-17, leading into their game against us Golden Panthers.

Final Score
23, 16



Stat(s) of the Game:
FIU Offense – Failed to score a touchdown until the last 1:30 of the game, despite 7 trips into the FAU red zone.
FIU Defense – Played great for the first half, collapsed and allowed three Owls touchdowns in the final 10 minutes of the game. Also gave up 146 yards passing on only 8 passes.
FIU Kicking – Jack Griffin went 3 for 3 on field goals, the only reason we were still in the game at the end.



Scoring Summary

Team	1st Quarter	2nd Quarter	3rd Quarter	4th Quarter	Final Score
	3	6	0	7	16
	0	0	7	16	23

Team	Result	Play	Score
First Quarter
	Field Goal	J. Griffin, 22 yard field goal	3-0
Second Quarter
	Field Goal	J. Griffin, 22 yard field goal	6-0
	Field Goal	J. Griffin, 18 yard field goal	9-0
Third Quarter
	Touchdown	A. Morris, 1 yard run (V. Zaccario kick)	9-7
Fourth Quarter
	Touchdown	A. Morris, 1 yard run (2-point conversion good)	15-9
	Touchdown	A. Morris, 40 yard run (2-point conversion good)	23-9
	Touchdown	D. Perry, 4 yard pass from W. Carroll (J. Griffin kick)	23-16

Game Stats

Florida International	Stat	Florida Atlantic
16	Score	23
20	First Downs	12
324	Total Offense	291
42 - 98 - 0	Rushes - Yards - TD	31 - 145 - 3
16 - 31 - 1	Comp - Att - TD	8 - 23 - 0
226	Passing Yards	146
2	Times Sacked	2
6 - 15 (40%)	3rd Down Conversion	2 - 10 (20%)
1 - 2 (50%)	4th Down Conversion	0 - 0 (0%)
0 - 0 (0%)	2-Point Conversion	2 - 2 (100%)
7 - 1 - 3 (57%)	Red Zone - TD - FG	2 - 2 - 0 (100%)
2	Turnovers	3
0	Fumbles Losts	1
2	Intercepted	2
0	Punt Return Yards	17
27	Kick Return Yards	37
351	Total Yards	345
8 - 44.6	Punts - Average	9 - 45.5
4 - 28	Penalties	1 - 5
21:45	Time of Possession	14:15

Florida International Contract Goals Update

Fail Impact	Goal	Progress	Pass Impact
	500+ rushing yards in each season	1/3 Passed
	Win 8 games in one season	4
	2000+ total offensive yards in each season	1/3 Passed
	7+ passing TD in one season
	10+ points per game in each season	24 PPG
	2400+ total offensive yards in one season
	Win 4 games in one season
	2000+ total offensive yards in one season

Job Security Status

63%