Smooth Pancakes' Coaching Carousel Career

[SmoothPancakes]

Yeah, my running game in my playbook pretty much was nothing but WB sweeps, FB dives and pitches. And not a single play from shotgun formation. So yeah, the playbook fix pretty much gutted my entire playbook, and essentially made it nothing but the Navy/Option playbook, which is what my custom playbook used for a base. So I'm gonna have to go in and try to repair it before I play my next game, otherwise I'm going to run into some issues against teams that can shut down my passing game, as I pretty much don't have a run game outside of my FBs, who all sat there fumbling every ball they touched, and pretty much all ended up injured at some point in the game, however briefly it may have been.

[SmoothPancakes]

Yep, my offensive playbook did indeed get boned. In my original playbook, I had it based off of Navy's playbook, but I had it customized to, along with Flexbone, include Full House, Power I, Shotgun and Ace. In the current playbook, after the updates/fixes EA made, I have a playbook with 375 plays of Flexbone, an undefined Shotgun, and an undefined Ace. Power I and Full House are completely erased.

So now I know why my playbook had essentially nothing in it during that game against ULM. Time to go to work. And unfortunately, as even in my original playbook Full House, Power I, Shotgun and Ace all are undefined, I'm going to have to try and piece it all back together from memory. At least I know what formations I had in the original playbook, so it'll make piecing it all back together somewhat easier.

And in this case, I think I'm going to restart both my offensive and defensive playbooks brand new from scratch. I already went through my entire defensive playbook and wrote down each formation and each play into Excel, so I know exactly what to go and get play-by-play and formation-by-formation. And offense, I have to rebuild it from scratch anyways, may as well start fresh instead of trying to correct this Frankenstein one I have right now.

[SmoothPancakes]

Alright, playbooks are done, more games to come this week. Going through while recreating my offensive playbook from scratch, I realized there were only a handful of plays that I used from Flexbone, so I decided to dump the Navy base for my playbook, and instead use Boise State as my base playbook, as it already had a lot of the formations that I use, and it had some other formations that I decided to newly include into my custom playbook, giving me a better mix of pass and run, along with more variety of the various pass and run plays, that I didn't have in my original one. It also worked well in practice mode, so it should be good to go now. So I'm happy with this new and improved offensive playbook and can't wait to hit the field against Mid Tennessee State and give it a go.

[SmoothPancakes]

Gonna start playing the next game against Mid Tennessee State here in the next 15-20 minutes or so, around 8pm EST. One thing I just realized, I set a new personal winning streak, having won the last 4 games in a row. My previous best was 3 in a row during the first season. Depending on how long it takes me to play, type up the game summary, and get the stats typed up in the tables on here, I might try to knock out two games tonight, leaving me with just 2 games and a bowl game left to play this season, that I might try to get all played and wrapped up tomorrow since I don't have to work tomorrow.

[morsdraconis]

Good luck man. You're kinda making me want to play again. Good thing I don't even have the ability to do so anymore (no longer have my 360).

[SmoothPancakes]

Good luck man. You're kinda making me want to play again. Good thing I don't even have the ability to do so anymore (no longer have my 360).

Thanks man. This should be an exciting finish. While I'm bowl eligible, this season still has a long way to go. The Sun Belt title isn't secure, and a winning season isn't secure. Besides Mid Tennessee State, I still have very tough games against Arkansas State, Florida Atlantic (which they may be 3-4 on the year, but they're our rivals, and they sucked last year and still beat us), and UL Lafayette (who may be 1-6, but were extremely tough to beat last year).

So while I may be 6-2 and 4-0 in the SBC right now, if things go horribly bad, I could end up as bad as 6-6 and 4-4 in the SBC once again. So we'll find out over these next two days.

[SmoothPancakes]

Game Nine





Game Notes

--- Coming down the homestretch of our two game road trip, on a four game winning streak, bowl eligible, and sole possession of first place in the Sun Belt Conference as the lone unbeaten team, things are looking very promising for the Golden Panthers. On the docket for today, an improved Mid Tennessee State team. While we defeated the Blue Raiders with ease last year, it’s a different season, a different team, and an improved team as evidenced by their already two victories, doubling their win total from last year with four games left to play. Whoever would win today, it was going to be done in the snow, as a storm system was going through Tennessee at the time of kickoff, resulting in heavy snowfall. Mid Tennessee State won the toss and elect to kick, a kick that resulted in a touchback, setting up our opening drive from our own 20.

It was evident early on that the receivers for both teams were going to have issues running routes as a pass attempt on 2nd and 6 fell incomplete due to Darrian Mallery slipping and falling while trying to cut. After converting for a first down on 3rd and 6, the offense got pushed right back thanks to a 9 yard sack. A couple more 3rd down conversions, and our offense found themselves inside the Blue Raiders 15 yard line. Two big passes to Dominique Rhymes, and a 6 yard rush by Jeremiah Harden on 1st and goal, and our offense was able to find the end zone after a 5 minute drive. Our defense proved more than up to the job as they quickly forced a 3 and out punt from the Blue Raiders, getting the ball back to our offense on our own 40 yard line. After advancing the ball to midfield, Jake Medlock, on 2nd and 13, was able to connect with Glenn Coleman for a 45 yard strike, resulting in 1st and goal from the MTSU 7 yard line. Three rushes later, we were facing 4th and goal from the MTSU 2 yard line. We put the ball into Mallary’s hand, and as final seconds of the first quarter ticked off the clock, Mallary didn’t let us down, finding the end zone to give us a two touchdown lead. With the extra point, our lead at the end of the first quarter was 14-0.

Unfortunately for Mid Tennessee State, the second quarter wasn’t any nicer than the first quarter. Despite a defensive penalty that gave MTSU a new set of downs, sacks of 5 and 11 yards would result in a net loss for 5 yards for that offensive drive, forcing MTSU to punt on 4th and 26. Mirroring the highlights of Navy, our offense went to the ground to start our first drive of the second quarter, rushing the ball on 8 straight plays before being forced to finally go the air on 3rd and 5. A 16 yard pass to Harden, and we had a new set of downs on the MTSU 19 yard line. We would ultimately get as close as the Mid Tennessee State 8 yard line, until a pair of busted runs and a pass that got knocked down in the end zone, forced us to settle for a 25 yard field goal with 2:07 left to play in the half. MTSU tried to get something going offensively, but were ultimate stopped once again after only three plays, electing to punt of 4th and inches from their own 30 yard line rather than take a gamble, giving us the ball back on our own 31 yard line with 1:36 left to play. Seeking to put the final nail in the coffin before halftime, we took the air hard, trying to push down the field as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, with 31 seconds left until half, our drive would come to an end after an incomplete pass on 3rd and 1 and from the MTSU 12 yard line. Griffin would hit a 30 yard field goal, giving us a 20-0 lead going into the locker room.

The start of the third quarter, our defense appeared slightly shaky, giving up 13 yards on two consecutive rushes, but ultimately shut MTSU down and forced another punt just three plays later. Unfortunately, our offense appeared to have stayed in the locker room, as our first offensive drive of the second half came to an immediate end after just three plays, forcing us to punt for the first time of the day. It didn’t take very long to get the ball back however, as a sack and two incomplete passes forced MTSU to punt the ball right back. Our offense however still had not found it’s mojo, as it quickly went three and out and punted the ball away yet again. Both teams proceeded to trade punts back and forth for most of the third quarter, until MTSU finally broke loose on offense, as Logan Kilgore connected with Arthur Williams for a 34 yard pass as time expired.

The Blue Raiders kept things going at the start of the fourth quarter with back to back passes of 21 yards to get down to our 11 yard line. A pass on 4th and 5 from our 6 yard line, and the Blue Raiders erased their goose egg from the scoreboard, making it a 20-7 game. While our offense finally found life, driving all the way from our own 20 down to the MTSU 35 yard, it was there at the 35 where we would come to a halt. Griffin however got some help as an offsides penalty on the defense on 4th down moved us up to the 30 yard line, giving Griffin a 47 yard field goal attempt, which he easily made, making it 23-7 with 4:44 left to play.

That field goal may ultimately be the deciding factor, as MTSU’s offense once again drove against our defense with ease, connecting on passes of 25, 15, 6, 14, and 22 yards, as well as converting a 4th down attempt, to make it 23-13 with 2:51 left to play in the game. Unfortunately for the Blue Raiders, a two point conversion attempt was no good, leaving the score 23-13. An onside kick attempt was also no good for the Blue Raiders, as we were able to recover the ball on the MTSU 39 yard line. Seven straight rushes, three first downs, and all three MTSU timeouts used up with 1:36 left to play, and the coffin was finally nailed shut. 2nd and goal from the MTSU 3 yard line with 57 seconds left to play, and Shane Coleman piled on the dirt, scoring from three yards out to make it 30-13. A MTSU punt and a kneel by Medlock and that was the game.

With the win, we increase our winning streak to an all time best 5 straight, and improve our record for the year to 7-2, 5-0 in the Sun Belt Conference. Mid Tennessee State meanwhile drops to 2-6 for the year, 2-3 in conference action. Up next for the Golden Panthers, we have a bye week, then the first of two straight home games as we welcome Arkansas State to town. The Red Wolves are currently 4-5 for the season, 2-3 in the Sun Belt. They started off the year with a 45-35 win over Memphis, before losing at Oregon 45-14. They won the next two games, 37-17 over Dartmouth, and 21-16 at Louisiana-Monroe, before losing at Kentucky 49-21. They got back on the winning track with a 42-17 win against Western Kentucky, before losing three straight home games, 45-14 to Troy, and 47-44 in overtime to North Texas and 42-19 to Mid Tennessee State during our bye week.

As for our conference title hopes, Arkansas State is now eliminated from any title hopes. Our main threats now, Florida Atlantic, sitting at 4-5 on the year, but 4-1 in the SBC. If we completely collapse these finally three game, eve North Texas, currently 3-6 for the season, but 3-2 in the conference, and Troy, who currently sit at 8-2 for the year, 4-2 in the conference, have a chance.

Final Score
30, 13



Stat(s) of the Game:
FIU Offense – Our offense was truly a two headed monster today. The rushing game (with a proper playbook) was able to break loose, and Medlock had a good day, being able to make good passes and complete passes when needed.

FIU Defense – For the most part, it was a dominating day by the defense. Just have to work on that 4th quarter play. The first three quarters they were the Steel Curtain. The last quarter, they played like a bunch of 3rd stringers.

FIU Kicking – Another perfect day for Griffin. Made all of his field goals and extra points.



Scoring Summary

Team	1st Quarter	2nd Quarter	3rd Quarter	4th Quarter	Final Score
	14	6	0	10	30
	0	0	0	13	13

Time	Team	Result	Play	Score
First Quarter
3:54		Touchdown	J. Harden, 6 yard run (J. Griffin kick)	7-0
0:00		Touchdown	D. Mallary, 2 yard run (J. Griffin kick)	14-0
Second Quarter
2:09		Field Goal	J. Griffin, 25 yard field goal	17-0
0:31		Field Goal	J. Griffin, 30 yard field goal	20-0
Third Quarter
Fourth Quarter
7:56		Touchdown	A. Williams, 6 yard pass from L. Kilgore (O. Sellers kick)	20-7
4:48		Field Goal	J. Griffin, 47 yard field goal	23-7
2:57		Touchdown	A. Williams, 21 yard pass from L. Kilgore (2pt Conversion failed)	23-13
0:57		Touchdown	S. Coleman, 3 yard run (J. Griffin kick)	30-13

Game Stats

Florida International	Stat	Mid Tennessee State
30	Score	13
21	First Downs	7
389	Total Offense	234
52 - 149 - 3	Rushes - Yards - TD	17 - 62 - 0
18 - 32 - 0	Comp - Att - TD	10 - 27 - 2
240	Passing Yards	172
1	Times Sacked	4
11 - 20 (55%)	3rd Down Conversion	2 - 12 (16%)
2 - 2 (100%)	4th Down Conversion	2 - 2 (100%)
0 - 0 (0%)	2-Point Conv	0 - 1 (0%)
7 - 3 - 2 (71%)	Red Zone - TD - FG	2 - 1 - 0 (50%)
0	Turnovers	0
0	Fumbles Lost	0
0	Intercepted	0
33	Punt Return Yards	8
0	Kick Return Yards	50
422	Total Yards	292
4 – 41.0	Punts - Average	8 - 49.0
1 - 11	Penalties	2 - 9
21:45	Time of Possession	14:15

Florida International Contract Goals Update

Fail Impact	Goal	Progress	Pass Impact
	500+ rushing yards in each season	2/3 Passed
	Win 8 games in one season	7
	2000+ total offensive yards in each season	2/3 Passed
	7+ passing TD in one season
	10+ points per game in each season	34 PPG
	2400+ total offensive yards in one season
	Win 4 games in one season
	2000+ total offensive yards in one season

Job Security Status

65%

[morsdraconis]

Good game man. Looks like the new playbook helped, though 2.9 ypc on the ground is still mighty tough to swallow. I assume that Mallary himself did a better job and some of those were sacks though. Looks like Medlock had an efficent game though. 18 of 32 for 240 is definitely a good game for a team that's more built around running the ball than throwing it.

Two more wins (against Arkansas State and FAU) and you have yourself your first conference championship without even having to worry about what you do against UL Lafayette. Tough two game stretch coming up though. I'm sure, ratings wise, Arkansas State is still the best team in the Sun Belt. At least your two toughest games in the conference are at home this year.

[SmoothPancakes]

Good game man. Looks like the new playbook helped, though 2.9 ypc on the ground is still mighty tough to swallow. I assume that Mallary himself did a better job and some of those were sacks though. Looks like Medlock had an efficent game though. 18 of 32 for 240 is definitely a good game for a team that's more built around running the ball than throwing it.

Two more wins (against Arkansas State and FAU) and you have yourself your first conference championship without even having to worry about what you do against UL Lafayette. Tough two game stretch coming up though. I'm sure, ratings wise, Arkansas State is still the best team in the Sun Belt. At least your two toughest games in the conference are at home this year.

Yeah, it was a good win. I did start getting worried when MTSU turned it on and scored those two touchdowns in the 4th, but thankfully our defense did their job at the end. Well, that 2.9 ypc is a little skewed because I did a lot of running at the end to try and run down the clock, causing a lot of lost yardage due to being tackled for a loss or only one or two yards. Quite a few times I had to go to the air on third down to save the drive after failed rushes on 1st and 2nd downs. Regardless, it was nice having my actual HBs running the ball instead of all my 50-60 OVR rated FBs every carry. And yeah, Medlock did good today. Still some stupid and/or bad passes that got knocked down and could have potentially been interrupted, but still a good day overall.

Yeah, I'm going for that title, just preparing myself for the possible worse as well as these two games are going to be tough. Arkansas State does edge me out in overall and offense ratings. I'm just barely better than ASU on defense. They have a better rush offense and pass defense, which could be somewhat bad for me. I rely on my passing to save me on 3rd downs and anything longer than 3 yards. Florida Atlantic, we're dead even on all three ratings, and I am ranked better in every part of the game except pass defense, but it's still a rivalry game, so it'll probably be tough.

Also, just a general note, the SBC seems to be way down this year. Right now, myself and Troy are the only ones guaranteed to go to a bowl game, as I'm 7-2 and Troy is 8-2. The only other ones with a realistic chance are Florida Atlantic at 5-6 and Arkansas State at 4-5. Still with a slight chance, but pretty much eliminated already, North Texas and Mid Tennessee State, both at 3-6.

[SmoothPancakes]

Game Ten





Game Notes

--- Well, here we go. The homestretch of the season, three games left to go, still a very tight race for the Sun Belt Conference championship, which means every game still counts. Arkansas State may be entering this game with a 4-5 record, they may be 2-3 in the conference, but they are still a dangerous team, and while they cannot win the conference title, they can have a huge effect on it with games against us and Florida Atlantic still to play. One good thing about playing in south Florida, no snow. It was a beautiful evening in Miami as we hit the field, with the sun setting behind the scoreboard. Arkansas State won the coin toss and elected to kick.

Our offense tried to start things off on the ground, but a stuffed run on 1st down, an 8 yard pass on 2nd down, and only a 1 yard gain by Darrian Mallary on 3rd down, and we were forced to punt right off the bat on 4th and 1. It wasn’t looking good as the Red Wolves were able to quickly march down the field with passes of 14 and 20 yards, followed by a couple strong rushes, before the Red Wolves made the first mistake of the game, throwing a pass that was intercepted by Emmanuel Souarin, who returned it 16 yards back to our 30 yard line. Our offense was able to get something going at first, getting a first down after a run by Mallary and a 6 yard pass by Jake Medlock to Dominique Rhymes. Unfortunately, things immediately plummeted off a cliff as Medlock threw a pass directly into the hands of Arkansas State middle linebacker, Nathan Herrold, who gave the Red Wolves possession on our 40 yard line. Thankfully, our defense this time held tough, giving up only 3 yards before forcing 4th down. The Red Wolves would attempt to convert on 4th and 7, however the pass fell incomplete, turning the ball over on downs and giving our offense another chance without penalty, while also saving Medlock’s neck from the wrath of my hands.

Things started off decently, with a 3 yard run by Mallary, followed by an 11 yard pass to Mallary, giving up 1st down on the 50 yard line. Then things once again plummeted off a cliff, as Medlock threw his second interception of the day, once again throwing it into the hands of Herrold, giving the Red Wolves the ball back at their own 45. This time the Arkansas State offense would not be denied, as they promptly drove down the field on us, scoring on a 2 yard rush by quarterback Phillip Butterfield, making it 7-0 with 2:07 left in the first quarter. Things would only get worse, as on the ensuing kickoff return, after a 33 yard return, Darrian Mallary was stripped of the ball, which was pounced on by the Red Wolves free safety Christ Hayes, giving the Wolves offense possession again on our 31 yard line. The Red Wolves found the end zone again two plays later after a 30 yard pass by Butterfield, followed by another TD run by Butterfield, this time from 1 yard out, giving the Red Wolves a 14-0 lead with 1:31 left in the quarter. Trying to avoid getting buried, after three straight runs by Mallary picked us up a first down, our offense took to the air, trying to blitz downfield, getting as far as the Arkansas State 21 yard line before the clock finally ran out, bring the first quarter to an end with the Red Wolves leading 14-0.

The second quarter started pretty much the same way the first quarter went. Medlock threw yet another interception, directly into the waiting arms of, once again, Herrold, his third interception of Medlock of the day. However, we would get extremely lucky, as Arkansas State turned the ball right back over, as halfback Sirgregory Thornton fumbled the ball, with Jonathan Cyprien jumping on it at the Red Wolves 23 yard line, giving our offense new life. Mallary wasted little time, breaking a 15 yard run, setting up 1st and goal on the ASU 7 yard line. One play later, Mallary found the end zone on a 7 yard run, cutting the Red Wolves lead in half. Things looked bad as Buttefield was able to connect on a 30 yard pass on the Red Wolves first play from scrimmage on their next drive, however, our defense, along with a false start penalty, were able to shut the offense down, forcing the Red Wolves to punt, though it went 47 yards, resulting in our possession starting on our own 5 yard line.

A pair of 8 yard rushes got us out of the shadow of our own goal posts, as well as a new set of downs, before Medlock finally completed a pass to our own teammates, a 32 yard pass to Jacob Younger, giving us 1st down just across midfield. An 11 yard rush by Mallary gave us another set of down, until Medsuck returned, throwing his fourth interception of the game, this one, for the first time all game, not to Herrold, but instead to free safety Jonathan Victorian, who returned it 27 yards to ASU’s 44 yard line. Arkansas State wasted little time, rushing the ball three times before Butterfield threw a 39 yard touchdown pass to make it 21-7 with 5 minutes left to play in the half. Our offense meanwhile couldn’t even get anything going our next drive, going quickly three and out and forced to punt.

Despite Butterfield connecting on a 29 yard pass, our defense was able to force them into a 4th and 8 situation. Instead of kicking a field goal, Arkansas State instead went for it, as Butterfield threw a 26 yard pass, setting up a 1 yard run for a touchdown one play later, making it 27-7 with 2:20 left to play in the quarter after the extra point was missed. Our offense again proved to be inept, going three and out a second time, though our defense thankfully held Arkansas State to very little offense, forcing their next drive to also end in a punt. That punt gave us the ball back on our own 3 yard line with 1:05 left to play. Our offense would again prove inept, and we would again punt. The Red Wolves didn’t waste the little time they had, as Butterfield connected on passes of 38 and 8 yards to score another touchdown with 16 seconds left to play, making it 34-7. Thankfully, halftime finally mercifully came.

While our defense was able to force Arkansas State to punt to start the second half, it didn’t matter much as our offense immediately went three and out. That would be bad, as Butterfield would make passes of 16 and 14 yards to get down to our 43 yard line, before he connected on a 43 yard touchdown bomb, making it 41-7 with 6:33 still to go in the third quarter. Finally, our offense started to find life, as Medlock started completing passes again, 43 yards to Junior Mertile, 22 yards to Younger, and 9 yards to Mallary, setting up 1st and goal from the ASU 5. A 4 yard rush by Mallary, no gain by Harden, a one yard QB sneak by Medlock, set up 4th and goal from the ASU half yard line. Another QB sneak by Medlock, and we finally found the end zone again, making it a, still, embarrassing 41-14 with 4:16 left to play in the third quarter.

More passes by Butterfield, many of them converting on 3rd down, got Arkansas State deep into our territory before the defense finally stopped the, forcing the Red Wolves to settle for a 33 yard field goal with 47 seconds left in the quarter. Some huge passed by Medlock, of 20, 48 and 12 yards, all coming on 3rd down, got our offense clear down to the Arkansas State goal line before the clock ran out on the end of the third quarter with the Red Wolves leading the way, 44-14.

The beginning of the fourth quarter was a bit anti-climactic, as we were starting on the “inches” line , needing only 2 seconds for Mallary to take the hand off and plow into the end zone, making it 44-21. This however only served to piss off Butterfield, who used passes of 24, 22, 7, 4, and yards, a couple of 4 and 5 yard rushes, a two yard penalty against the defense, and a 2 yard touchdown pass to make it 51-21 with 6:46 left to go in the game. While things got off to a bad start with a 12 yard loss on a sack, our offense finally got moving as Medlock was able to throw passes of 27, 12 and 10 yards to get us down to the Arkansas State 43 yard line. Facing 3rd and 1 from the 43, Mallary was able to break loose through the defense and took it to 43 yards to the house to make it 51-28 with 4:50 left to play. This was also a record setting run by Mallary, as it was his 16th rushing touchdown of the season, breaking Darriet Perry’s school record of 15 rushing TDs in a season, set last season.

Mario Cristobal decided to attempt an onside kick, which was recovered by Arkansas State at our 45 yard line, not that they needed the great field position. Seven plays later, Butterfield ran it in from 5 yards out to make it 58-28 with 3:33 left in the game. Our offense was more than ready to respond, as it only took two plays to find the end zone as Medlock was able to drop a pass in behind the secondary, into the wait hands of Coleman, who took it 67 yards to the house, making it 58-35 with 2:49 left. Another onside kick attempt, this time recovered by Arkansas State at our 43 yard line, again set the Red Wolves up with great field position. The Red Wolves chose to stick to just rushing the ball, still managing to get as close as our 4 yard line, before the clock finally ran out and the game came to a merciful end.

With the loss, we drop to 7-3 on the season, and receive our first conference loss, falling to 5-1 in the Sun Belt Conference. Arkansas State improves to 5-5 overall, 3--3 in conference. Up next for the Golden Panthers, it's our hated rivals, the Owls of Florida Atlantic. FAU comes into the game with a 5-5 record, and tied with us for first place with a 5-1 Sun Belt record. The Owls started off the season 0-3, losing 27-18 to Vanderbilt, 42-24 to Missouri, and 60-0 at Michigan. They then picked up a 37-0 win against Western Kentucky and a 37-17 victory against Troy before falling to North Texas 31-7. They answered with two more back to back wins, 29-12 at Mid Tennessee State and 47-28 at Louisiana-Monroe, before losing a non-conference contest at Navy, 48-17, and winning over Louisiana-Lafayette 43-20 heading into their game with FIU.

Looking at the conference standings, next week will be the game of the season. 5-1 Florida International vs. 5-1 Florida Atlantic. Troy could still share the conference title as they are currently 5-2 in conference, with one game left to play, at Western Kentucky, but winning it outright is impossible, besides the fact that both FAU and FIU beat Troy earlier this season. North Texas is the only other one with a chance at the title, currently sitting at 4-2 in conference play, with very easy games against Louisiana-Monrore and at Western Kentucky remaining. FIU beat North Texas earlier in the year, North Texas defeated FAU in the middle of the season. Like Troy, the best North Texas can do is share the title with whoever wins the Florida Atlantic-Florida International game.

Meanwhile, bowl projections are out. Last week, we were projected to play in the New Orleans Bowl against 6-4 Tulsa. We are now projected to play 7-4 Southern Miss in the New Orleans Bowl. As for other Sun Belt teams, 5-5 Arkansas State is projected to play 10-2 #18 Nevada in the Poinsettia Bowl, 9-2 Troy is projected to play 8-3 Ohio in the Armed Forces Bowl, and 5-5 Florida Atlantic is projected to play 7-4 Miami University in the Godaddy.com Bowl.

Final Score
58, 35



Stat(s) of the Game:
- FIU Offense – Medlock started off sucking, throwing more interceptions than he had completions. He was able to turn it on after halftime, make a ton of great passes, but I still hold Medlock personally accountable for this loss, as his 4 interceptions screwed us pretty much immediately into the game.

- FIU Defense – Made some decent stops on drives, but for the most part sucked and was non-existent. Arkansas State’s offense ran and passed all over our defense pretty much at will.

- FIU Kicker Jack Griffin – Went 5 for 5 in extra points, that was all he did today.



Scoring Summary

Team	1st Quarter	2nd Quarter	3rd Quarter	4th Quarter	Final Score
	14	20	10	14	58
	0	7	7	21	35

Time	Team	Result	Play	Score
First Quarter
2:07		Touchdown	P. Butterfield, 1 yard run (B. Zalud kick)	7-0
1:31		Touchdown	P. Butterfield, 1 yard run (B. Zalud kick)	14-0
Second Quarter
8:28		Touchdown	D. Mallary, 8 yard run (J. Griffin kick)	14-7
4:59		Touchdown	T. Stockemer, 39 yard pass from P. Butterfield (B. Zalud kick)	21-7
2:20		Touchdown	F. Jackson, 1 yard run (missed kick)	27-7
0:16		Touchdown	R. Fleming, 7 yard pass from P. Butterfield (B. Zalud kick)	34-7
Third Quarter
6:33		Touchdown	F. Jackson, 42 yard pass from P. Butterfield (B. Zalud kick)	41-7
4:16		Touchdown	J. Medlock, 1 yard run (J. Griffin)	41-14
1:01		Field Goal	B. Zalud, 33 yard field goal	44-14
Fourth Quarter
8:59		Touchdown	D. Mallary, 1 yard run (J. Griffin kick)	44-21
6:46		Touchdown	A. Muse, 1 yard pass from P. Butterfield (B. Zalud kick)	51-21
4:50		Touchdown	D. Mallary, 43 yard run (J. Griffin kick)	51-28
3:33		Touchdown	P. Butterfield, 4 yard run (B. Zalud kick)	58-28
2:49		Touchdown	G. Coleman, 67 yard pass from J. Medlock (J. Griffin kick)	58-35

Game Stats

Arkansas State	Stat	Florida International
58	Score	35
26	First Downs	17
657	Total Offense	491
45 - 176 - 4	Rushes - Yards - TD	24 - 123- 4
30 - 50 - 4	Comp - Att - TD	18 - 40 - 1
481	Passing Yards	368
1	Times Sacked	0
11 - 17 (64%)	3rd Down Conversion	6 - 12 (50%)
1 - 2 (50%)	4th Down Conversion	1 - 1 (100%)
0 - 0 (0%)	2-Point Conv	0 - 0 (0%)
9 - 5 - 1 (66%)	Red Zone - TD - FG	4 - 3 - 0 (75%)
2	Turnovers	5
1	Fumbles Lost	1
1	Intercepted	4
19	Punt Return Yards	0
38	Kick Return Yards	182
714	Total Yards	673
3 – 47.3	Punts - Average	5 - 44.4
4 - 30	Penalties	7 - 49
20:31	Time of Possession	15:29

Florida International Contract Goals Update

Fail Impact	Goal	Progress	Pass Impact
	500+ rushing yards in each season	2/3 Passed
	Win 8 games in one season	7
	2000+ total offensive yards in each season	2/3 Passed
	7+ passing TD in one season
	10+ points per game in each season	34 PPG
	2400+ total offensive yards in one season
	Win 4 games in one season
	2000+ total offensive yards in one season
Penalty
	Lost to a lower ranked team

Job Security Status

59%

[SmoothPancakes]

That game sucked, Arkansas State whooped our asses. Nothing more really to say.

As for the national scene, the showdown of the season just got ruined. Going into week 10, Oklahoma State was 9-0, ranked #1 in the BCS, Oklahoma was 9-1, ranked #2 and both play each other on the last week of the season. It was going to be a hell of a week 15 game to decide who would represent the Big 12 in the BCS title game. That got ruined when #23 Baylor knocked off Oklahoma State last week 49-28. So, as of now, the BCS title game would be #1 Oklahoma, at 9-1, vs. #2 TCU, at 10-1. If either TCU or Oklahoma lose, LSU is the #3 team at 9-2 for the year.

Browsing through the conference standings... In the ACC Atlantic, Maryland leads the way at 9-2, 6-1, Clemson is the only other team with a chance at 9-2, 6-2. In the ACC Coastal, #12 Virginia Tech is currently the leader at 9-2, 5-2, #21 Georgia Tech the only other with a chance at 8-3, 5-3, and Georgia Tech does hold the head to head tiebreaker. In the Big 12, thanks to Baylor, #1 Oklahoma leads the way at 9-1, 7-0. #5 Oklahoma State is next at 9-1, 6-1, followed by Texas Tech at 8-2, 5-2 and #23 Baylor at 7-3, 5-2. In the Big East, #9 Pittsburgh currently is the leader at 8-2, 6-0, #2 TCU is the only remaining contender at 10-1, 7-1 (they lost to Pitt in week 2 31-28). In the Big Ten Leaders Division, the #11 Jerry Sandusky Nittany Lions are your division champions are at 11-1, 7-1. In the Legends Division, Iowa leads the way at 10-2, 6-2, Michigan is in second at 9-3, 5-2.

In Conference USA East, #14 Central Florida is the division champions at 11-0, 8-0. CUSA West is a mess. SMU at 7-4, 6-2, Houston at 8-3, 6-2, and Tulsa at 7-4, 6-2 all are tied and have a chance. SMU already beat Houston and plays Tulsa in their final game. Houston beat Tulsa the week before they lost to SMU. In the MAC East, it will be Miami University claiming the division at 7-4, 7-0. In the MAC West, Western Michigan currently leads at 8-3, 6-1, with Northern Illinois right behind at 8-3, 5-2, Western Michigan holding the head to head tiebreaker. In the Mountain West, it's a battle to the end. #19 San Diego State at 9-1, 6-0 and #8 Boise State at 8-2, 6-0 are tied for the conference title, and play each other in week 15 to decide who wins the conference.

In the PAC 12 North, #13 Stanford leads the way at 10-2, 7-2, Washington next at 8-3, 6-2, followed by #20 Oregon State at 8-3, 6-2. Stanford beat Washington, but Oregon State beat Stanford. In the PAC 12 South, #17 Utah is your leader at 9-2, 6-2, USC is next at 7-4, 5-3, USC holding the head to head tiebreaker.

In the SEC East, #16 Georgia wins the division with a 9-2, 6-2 record. In the SEC West, #3 LSU leads the way at 9-2, 6-1. After that, #15 Ole Miss is next at 8-3, 5-2, #6 Alabama at 9-2, 5-2, #24 Arkansas at 8-3, 5-2, and #7 Auburn at 9-2, 5-2. LSU has beaten Ole Miss and Alabama, lost to Auburn, and plays Arkansas in their season finale. Ole Miss beat Alabama, Arkansas and Auburn, but lost to LSU. Alabama beat Arkansas, but lost to Ole Miss and LSU and still has yet to play Auburn. Arkansas beat Auburn, but lost to Alabama and Ole Miss and still has to play LSU. And Auburn beat LSU, but lost to Arkansas and Ole Miss and still to play Alabama.

And in the WAC, Utah State is your leader at 8-2, 4-0, but Louisiana Tech, at 5-5, 2-1 still has a chance.

[morsdraconis]

Damn man. That was rough. Nasty way to lose, but it just makes your final two games that much more important.

[SmoothPancakes]

Game Eleven





Game Notes

--- This is it. The conference championship game essentially, as both the Owls and Golden Panthers enter the game with a 5-1 record in the Sun Belt Conference. This game as so many implications. A chance at an outright conference title, it’s against our hated rivals, and we have more than a handful of recruits attending the game, and it’s a chance at revenge after the Owls beat us last season. So much rides on the line today, so much at stake. It was a sunny afternoon in Miami, so weather would have no effect on this contest. Florida Atlantic won the coin toss and elected to kick, putting the ball in the hands of our offense to get us started out right.

Our offense did exactly that, as Darrian Mallary plowed through the middle of the line on 1st down to get an immediate 9 yard gain. Unfortunately, that promising start came with a huge penalty, as Mallary was injured on the play, suffering an abdominal tear that would sideline him for a week, ending his day on the field just 30 seconds into the contest. Jerermiah Harden proved more than ready to fill Mallary’s shoes, breaking a 12 yard run on 2nd down to give us a first down. Forcing the Owls to shut us down on the ground, we ran the ball on the first five straight plays of the game, advancing the ball 39 yards down to the Florida Atlantic 35 yard line, before we finally threw our first pass of the game. Unfortunately, our drive would come to an end as we were only able to get 5 yards on 3rd and 6 from the FAU 22 yard line, forcing us to settle for a 35 yard field goal.

Florida Atlantic’s first offensive drive started to bring back memories of Arkansas State, as they passed and ran their way all over our defense, before a 33 yard pass got them all the way down to our 4 yard line. Thankfully, a sack, a run for a loss of 4 yards, and an incomplete pass forced the Owls to instead walk away with only a 26 yard field goal, knotting the game up at 3 points apiece. Unlike the Arkansas State game, Jake Medlock this time proved his useful self, throwing decent passes and not throwing any interceptions, as we proceeded to work our way from our 25 yard line clear down to the Florida Atlantic 23 with a mix of passing and rushing, along with a couple key 3rd down conversions, before the clock ran out on the first quarter.

The beginning of the second quarter found us facing 2nd and 10 on the 23 yard line. Unfortunately, that would be the closest we would get as two incomplete passes, including a pass to a wide open Glenn Coleman in the front of the end zone that was overthrown, and we were forced to settle for another field goal, this one from 40 yards out. However, our offense got new life as Florida Atlantic fumbled the ball on the first play of their offensive drive, which was pounced on by cornerback Terrance Taylor, giving us new life at the FAU 19 yard line. Unfortunately, we were again forced to settle for a field goal as we would only get as close as the Owls 2 yard line, after which Coach Cristobal elected to kick the 19 yard field goal rather than let us attempt the touchdown, making it 9-3 with 6:56 left to play in the half.

Florida Atlantic’s offense meanwhile were unable to get anything going after the fumble on their previous drive, being hit with a false start penalty and a couple incomplete passes, forcing them to punt the ball away. A short punt, and punting from their 15 yard line, meant great field position for our offense, as we began our next drive from the 39 yard line. However, we too would end up going three and out, and punted the ball right back to the Owls. Florida Atlantic would take advantage this time, using passes of 32, 19, and 19 yards to get into our red zone, before an 8 yard touchdown pass from David Kooi to Deandre Richardson gave the Owls a 10-9 lead with 3:38 left to play in the second quarter.

Our offense remained on a cold streak, getting to our 40 yard line before being forced to punt the ball away. The defense at first gave up a 14 yard pass right off the bat to the Owls offense on the next drive, however two dropped passes and an incomplete pass, and the Owls were shut down and had to punt the ball back. A couple of short passes got our offense moving down the field, slowly, but surely. Then Medlock was able to connect with Elijah Maxey for 26 yards, advancing the ball clear down to the Owls 28 yard line with 1:37 left to play. It was the next play where the Owls made a fatal mistake, blitzing their entire linebacker corps, leaving the middle of the field wide open for Medlock to hit Harden, who took it 28 yards, untouched, to the end zone. An extra point later, and we were back on top, 16-10 with 1:23 left in the quarter. Unfortunately, the Owls weren’t done, connecting on passes 9, 12, 5, and 34 yards, before retaking the lead on a 12 yard touchdown pass to Williams, giving the Owls a 17-16 lead with 12 seconds left to play. Getting the ball back with 1 second left, we attempted a hail mary, but the pass was knocked down at the FAU 30 yard line, and that was the end of the half.

The beginning of the second half, the Owls came out firing on first down, picking up an immediate 1st down with a 10 yard pass. That was all they would get though as a holding penalty on 2nd and 8 would unravel their drive, forcing them to punt two plays later. On our first offensive play, Harden showed what a beast he is, breaking a 12 yard rush out to our 24 yard line, gaining those last 5 yards by dragging three Owls players with him before finally falling down for the 1st down. After a pair of incomplete passes, the Owls had a massive breakdown in their coverage, letting Coleman get behind their secondary, something Medlock took full advantage of, dropping a pass right into Coleman’s hands, who took the ball the entire 76 yards for the touchdown. Putting us back up by 5, Cristobal elected to go for the two point conversion, which was successfully converted as Medlock found Dominique Rhymes in the corner of the end zone, giving us a 24-17 lead with 7:13 to play in the 3rd quarter.

Feeling the pressure, the Owls offense were unable to get anything going, gaining only two yards on their ensuing offensive drive, before they were forced to punt the ball back to us. After a 3 yard rush and a 9 yard pass gave us a new set of downs at our 45 yard line, we went exclusively to Harden and the ground game, rushing the ball 8 straight plays all the way down to the FAU 9 yard line, forcing the Owls to stop us on the ground before we finally went back to the air. On 3rd and 4, although Harden was wide open across the middle, Medlock threw the pass too far ahead of him, the ball falling incomplete, and forcing us to kick a 26 yard field goal to extend our lead to 10 points with 3:02 left in the third quarter. The Owls offense needed only 7 plays to drive the ball 73 yards, using passes of 10 and 35 yards along the way, before scoring on a 5 yard rush from Javaris Giles, making it a 3 point game with 1:18 left to play in the quarter.

We once again went exclusively on the ground, forcing the Owls to stop our ground game, as we ran the ball four straight plays, advancing the ball from our 25 yard line to the Florida Atlantic 42 yard line, thanks in part to an 18 yard rush by Harden, before the clock ran out on the third quarter. Facing 2nd and 7 to start the fourth quarter, we finally took back to the air, which was a mistake as Medlock threw two incomplete passes, bringing our drive to an end just 10 seconds into the quarter. Thankfully, our defense rose to the occasion, getting a pair of sacks on Kooi, killing the Owls offensive drive before it had any chance to get going. Even better, it was a short punt, giving us the ball back at our own 42 yard line. We would only need a couple plays to make the drive a successful one, as Medlock was able to get a pass to Rhymes on 2nd and 7, who took it 49 yards down to the FAU 5 yard line. Two rushes later, and we found the end zone again as Coleman fell in from 3 yards out, extending our lead back to 10 points with 6:49 left to play in the game.

Unfortunately, someone forgot to tell our defense that the game was still going on, as Florida Atlantic needed just five plays to respond with a touchdown, throwing passes of 35, 22, 13, 5 and 9 yards to tighten the score back to 3 points with 5:37 left in the game. Our offense was unable to get those points back either, only advancing the ball 6 yards before punting it away with 4:06 left to play. We however got lucky, as Taylor added an interception to his earlier fumble recovery, picking off Kooi on the Owls first play from scrimmage, giving us the ball at the FAU 25 yard line. A huge 17 yard pass to Maxey on 3rd and 10 kept our drive alive, giving us new life at the FAU 8 yard line with 3:32 left to play. It took Harden just one play to find the end zone again, as he got a hole up the middle and took it 8 yards for the touchdown, giving us once again a 10 point lead with 3:02 left.

Facing a two score hole with little time left, the Owls committed yet another mistake, as Kooi threw yet another first down interception, making it two passes in a row by Kooi getting picked off, this one by Emmanuel Souarin, who returned it 26 yards down to the FAU 19 yard line, giving us a new set of downs with 2:42 left to play. We went immediately back to the ground, trying to chew up as much clock as we could. Three rushes were all we would get, as Harden got stopped for only a one yard gain on 3rd and 3, forcing us to attempt a field goal, which ended up getting blocked, leaving us with no points gained with 1:37 left to play.

Florida Atlantic knew time was short, using passes of 8, 25, 24, 8, and 5 yards, along with a 4 yard rush, to find the end zone on a 5 yard pass to Richardson, making it 41-38 with 37 seconds left to play. The Owls attempted an onside kick, knowing they had to recover it as they only had one time out left, but we were able to recover it, giving us possession on the FAU 44 yard line with 33 seconds left to play. Two rushes of 11 and 12 yards by Harden was all it took for the clock to run out, giving us a 41-38 victory over our hated rivals, our first win against Florida Atlantic since 2005, snapping a 6 game losing streak to the Owls.

With the win, we improve to 8-3 on the year, 6-1 in the Sun Belt Conference, and in the process, secure at least a share of our second ever conference championship. If we win next week over Louisiana-Lafayette, we'll win the title outright. With the loss, Florida Atlantic drops to 5-6 for the year, 5-2 in the conference. Next up, in our season finale, we hit the road to take on Louisiana-Lafayette, who is 2-9 on the year, 1-6 in the Sun Belt. The Ragin' Cajuns opened their year with a 34-31 overtime win against Stony Brook, before going on a 7 game losing streak, losing 27-15 to Akron, 38-3 at Connecticut, 52-17 at Ohio State, 35-31 at North Texas, 14-7 at Mid Tennessee State, 30-27 in overtime to Western Kentucky, and 45-7 at Troy. They finally got a second win against their rivals Louisiana-Monroe, 38-21, before losing 43-20 to Florida Atlantic and 42-25 to Arkansas State.

Looking at the conference standings, we have at least a share of the title, with our game against Louisiana-Lafayette remaining. Troy's season is done, sitting at 6-2 in the conference. Florida Atlantic still has a chance at a share, sitting at 5-2 in the conference with their final against at home against Arkansas State. North Texas has been eliminated, after they lost 27-20 to Louisiana-Monroe this week to fall to 4-3.

Looking at the newest bowl projections, we are still projected to play in the New Orleans Bowl, and now projected to play 7-5 SMU. Elsewhere in the conference, Arkansas State is projected to play in the Armed Forces Bowl against 6-6 Mississippi State, and Troy is projected to play in the Godaddy.com bowl against 8-4 Miami University. Florida Atlantic has been dropped from the bowl projections since last week.

Final Score
41, 38



Stat(s) of the Game:
- FIU Offense – Another two-headed monster game. Our running game tallied up 200 yards, Medlock was decent today, but still had a lot of stupid passes or passes that were completely overthrown or underthrown. Thankfully, no interceptions today.

- FIU Defense – Our defense is really beginning to worry me. They were a rock earlier in the season, but these last couple games, while making decent stops here and there and, for the most part, when needed, they have been giving up big plays more and more often lately.

- FIU Kicker Jack Griffin – An almost perfect day, going 4-5 on field goals, 40 yard being Griffin's longest, 3 for 3 on extra points.



Scoring Summary

Team	1st Quarter	2nd Quarter	3rd Quarter	4th Quarter	Final Score
	3	14	7	14	38
	3	13	11	14	41

Time	Team	Result	Play	Score
First Quarter
5:57		Field Goal	J. Griffin, 34 yard field goal	3-0
2:59		Field Goal	V. Zaccario, 25 yard field goal	TIED 3-3
Second Quarter
8:52		Field Goal	J. Griffin, 39 yard field goal	6-3
6:59		Field Goal	J. Griffin, 19 yard field goal	9-3
3:38		Touchdown	D. Richardson, 13 yard pass from D. Kooi (V. Zaccario kick)	10-9
1:23		Touchdown	J. Harden, 28 yard pass from J. Medlock (J.Griffin kick)	16-10
0:12		Touchdown	D. Williams, 12 yard pass from D. Kooi (V. Zaccario kick)	17-16
Third Quarter
7:13		Touchdown	G. Coleman, 76 yard pass from J. Medlock (2 point conversion successful)	24-17
3:05		Field Goal	J. Griffin, 26 yard field goal	27-17
1:18		Touchdown	J. Giles, 5 yard run (V. Zaccario kick)	27-24
Fourth Quarter
6:49		Touchdown	S. Coleman, 3 yard run (J. Griffin kick)	34-24
5:37		Touchdown	M. Cunningham, 8 yard pass from D. Kooi (V. Zaccario kick)	34-31
3:02		Touchdown	J. Harden, 8 yard run (J. Griffin kick)	41-31
0:37		Touchdown	D. Richardson, 5 yard pass from D. Kooi (V. Zaccario kick)	41-38

Game Stats

Florida Atlantic	Stat	Florida International
38	Score	41
20	First Downs	21
505	Total Offense	505
20 - 58 - 1	Rushes - Yards - TD	40 - 200- 2
31 - 53 - 4	Comp - Att - TD	16 - 36 - 2
447	Passing Yards	305
3	Times Sacked	0
9 - 16 (56%)	3rd Down Conversion	5 - 14 (35%)
1 - 1 (100%)	4th Down Conversion	0 - 0 (0%)
0 - 0 (0%)	2-Point Conv	1 - 1 (100%)
6 - 5 - 1 (100%)	Red Zone - TD - FG	9 - 2 - 3 (55%)
3	Turnovers	0
1	Fumbles Lost	0
2	Intercepted	0
0	Punt Return Yards	24
187	Kick Return Yards	98
692	Total Yards	627
5 – 45.6	Punts - Average	4 - 46.3
4 - 22	Penalties	6 - 44
14:40	Time of Possession	21:20

Florida International Contract Goals Update

Fail Impact	Goal	Progress	Pass Impact
	500+ rushing yards in each season	2/3 Passed
	Win 8 games in one season
	2000+ total offensive yards in each season	2/3 Passed
	7+ passing TD in one season
	10+ points per game in each season	35 PPG
	2400+ total offensive yards in one season
	Win 4 games in one season
	2000+ total offensive yards in one season

Job Security Status

69%

[SmoothPancakes]

It feels good to finally beat those bastards. Better yet, we got a massive commitment from our recruits. 12 total recruits committed, 5 and 7 players.

As for the national scene, mors, just for you, West Virginia beat #19 Pittsburgh 33-27, to improve to 5-6 for the year, with a chance to make it .500 with a win over 3-8 Rutgers this week. The national championship game would still be a battle between #1 Oklahoma (now 10-1, 8-0) vs. #2 TCU (now 11-1, 7-1). That can still change as #1 Oklahoma and #6 Oklahoma State (10-1, 7-1) play this week. Should Oklahoma lose, #3 LSU (10-2, 7-2) is the next in line for the title game.

Browsing through the conference standings... In the ACC Atlantic, #23 Maryland wins the division at 10-2, 7-1, Clemson finishes second at 10-2, 6-2. In the ACC Coastal, #11 Virginia Tech wins the division at 10-2, 6-2, #17 Georgia Tech finish second at 9-3, 5-3. In the Big 12, #1 Oklahoma leads the way at 10-1, 8-0. #5 Oklahoma State is second at 10-1, 7-1, both teams playing each other this week. In the Big East, #2 TCU currently is the leader at 11-1, 7-1, #19 Pittsburgh is the only remaining contender at 8-3, 6-1. TCU's season is done, Pittsburgh plays 4-7 Louisville. In the Big Ten Leaders Division, the #11 Jerry Sandusky Nittany Lions are your division champions are at 11-1, 7-1. In the Legends Division, #25 Michigan is shown as the division leader/winner, at 10-2, 6-2. #18 Iowa and #8 Michigan State also both finishing 10-2, 6-2.

In Conference USA East, #14 Central Florida is the division champions at 12-0, 9-0. CUSA West, Houston takes the title, finishing 9-3, 7-2. Tulsa finishes second at 8-4, 7-2, Houston beat Tulsa week 12, 35-28 in OT. In the MAC East, it will be Miami University claiming the division at 8-4, 8-0. In the MAC West, Western Michigan takes the division at 8-4, 6-2, with Northern Illinois finishing second at 9-3, 6-2. Western Michigan beat Northern Illinois head to head 14-7. In the Mountain West, it's still a battle to the end. #16 San Diego State at 10-1, 7-0 and #7 Boise State at 9-2, 7-0 are tied for the conference title, and play each other in week 15 to decide who wins the conference.

In the PAC 12 North, #12 Stanford is your division champions at 10-2, 7-2, #24 Washington finishes second at 9-3, 7-2, Stanford beating Washington head to head. In the PAC 12 South, #14 Utah takes the title at 10-2, 7-2, USC finishes second at 8-4, 6-3. In the SEC East, #22 Georgia wins the division with a 9-3, 6-2 record. In the SEC West, #3 LSU takes the division with a 10-2, 7-1 record, #5 Auburn finishes second at 10-2, 6-2. And in the WAC, Utah State is your winner at 9-2, 4-0.

[morsdraconis]

At least we beat sPitt. That always makes a season better (even if, in real life, a 6-6 or 5-7 season under Holgorsen would be absolutely unacceptable).


Great win of those damn Owls. Hell of a game. I thought you might blow it there for a minute.

Now you just gotta take care of business against a UL Lafayette team that shouldn't be a worry, but man is your defense playing terrible. Funny thing is, I actually completely forgot that you are playing just as the OC in this dynasty. I was kinda wondering why you were having so much trouble stopping teams, but that makes sense now. You're actually watching the plays unfold instead of simming them aren't ya? I haven't noticed any weird glitches with the time of possession so you must be.

[SmoothPancakes]

At least we beat sPitt. That always makes a season better (even if, in real life, a 6-6 or 5-7 season under Holgorsen would be absolutely unacceptable).


Great win of those damn Owls. Hell of a game. I thought you might blow it there for a minute.

Now you just gotta take care of business against a UL Lafayette team that shouldn't be a worry, but man is your defense playing terrible. Funny thing is, I actually completely forgot that you are playing just as the OC in this dynasty. I was kinda wondering why you were having so much trouble stopping teams, but that makes sense now. You're actually watching the plays unfold instead of simming them aren't ya? I haven't noticed any weird glitches with the time of possession so you must be.

Yeah, I thought you'd like that result.

Yeah, I thought I might blow it there for a minute too. After we failed to do anything on that last offensive drive, then the Owls drove down and scored with 30 seconds left, I suddenly got this horrible feeling that they were going to recover the onside kick and I would lose. Thank god we recovered it and my nightmare didn't come true. Feels great to finally beat them, especially since the real FIU team, until this year, had not beaten FAU since 2005.

Yeah, my defense has really been letting me down lately. They played great (for the most part) in our win against Duke, and played outstanding during the first half of the conference schedule, but these last 2 or 3 games, they have sucked and been unreliable. Hopefully our incoming recruits next season will change that. And yeah, that's one thing I hate about being OC, is my defense screws me so much, and there's not a single thing I can do about it.

Yeah, I watch all the plays, lets me see what happens on the plays and also helps in writing the game summary.

As for UL Lafayette, well, I'm at this very moment at halftime of my game against them. Let me just say this, the stats at halftime are insane. My offense is completely one-sided right now, and that's not a bad thing. Unfortunately, I'm not giving any more than that cliffhanger and saving it for the full game recap.

[SmoothPancakes]

Game Twelve





Game Notes

--- So here we are. The season finale against 2-9 Louisiana-Lafayette. We clinched at the least a share of the Sun Belt Conference title last week when we held on to beat our rivals, the Florida Atlantic Owls, for the first time since 2005. However, Troy is sitting right there behind us at 6-2 on the year, so we have to win today against the Ragin’ Cajuns to win the title outright. The good thing, we are by far a superior team when it comes to ratings. We rate C across the board in overall, offense and defense. ULL rates D, D+ and D. So a big advantage there. Hopefully we can use that advantage and get a win today. Weather could have an effect on this game as the rain was pouring as the teams came out onto the field. ULL won the coin toss and elected to receive, hoping to use the first possession of the game to get a lead and an advantage to start the game.

That was almost what happened. Facing 3rd and 11 on their own 25 yard line, our defense gave them 15 free yards thanks to pass interference, keeping the Ragin’ Cajuns drive alive. They would use a couple more third down conversions, getting as close as our 36 yard line before our defense finally stopped them, forcing ULL to punt the ball, which ended up going in the end zone for a touchback. Unfortunately, our first drive of the game didn’t do too much, as we only were able to make it to midfield before being forced to punt. Thankfully, our defense stopped them after only giving up 18 yards, forcing another ULL punt.

Our second drive of the game got off to a great start after a 24 yard run by Jeremiah Harden, who was starting today as Darrian Mallary was still questionable due to an abdominal tear. During this drive, ULL felt the power of our running game, as we drove the ball 64 yards on 7 straight rushes, before we finally had to go to the air on 2nd and goal from the ULL 10 yard line. A 9 yard pass by Jake Medlock to Harden set up 3rd and goal on the 1 yard line. That one play was all we needed as Harden plunged into the end zone on the next play from 1 yard out, giving us a 7-0 lead with 15 seconds left to play in the first quarter. Two incomplete passes by the Ragin’ Cajuns, and the first quarter came to an end.

A pass for only 5 yards was the first play of the second quarter by ULL, forcing the Cajuns to punt the ball back to us, giving us possession again just 20 seconds into the quarter. Living by the saying “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, we went right back to the running game, covering 20 yards on 5 rushes, before Medlock audibled to a quick pass at the line on the sixth play, 1st and 10 from the ULL 33 yard line, as ULL showed a heavy blitz. That gained us a quick 6 yards, and it was right back to running the ball. We would run the ball three more times before an incomplete 3rd down pass forced us to settle for a 35 yard field goal, giving us a 10-0 lead with 5:54 left in the half. Three straight incomplete passes, and ULL was punting the ball back to us. After picking up another first down on the ground, a pass for only 1 yard on 3rd down forced us to punt the ball away with 3:49 left to play.

A sack and an incomplete pass doomed ULL’s drive from the very beginning, with only a minute coming off the clock before the Ragin’ Cajuns punted the ball back to us. Once again going back to the ground game, six straight rushes was all it took for us to cover 60 yards, as Harden punched through the defense and took it 23 yards to the end zone, giving us a 17-0 lead with 1:19 left to play until halftime. The Ragin’ Cajuns finally found some offense, advancing the ball at ease, including a point mid-drive where they were hit with a holding penalty, only for the defense to commit a pass interference penalty the very next play, swinging from 2nd and 20 on their own 41, to 1st and 10 on our 44. ULL would try for a hail mary with 5 seconds left, with Blaine Gautier completing a 30 yard pass to Darryl Surgent, however it was 2 yards too short as Surgent was tackled at the 2 yard line as the clock ran out, bring us to halftime with a 17-0 lead.

As a sign of just how DOMINANT our running game was during the first half, some stats. At halftime, we had gained 12 first downs and 218 total offensive yards. Of those yards, we had 186 yards rushing on 29 carries and 2 rushing TDs. We meanwhile went 5-7 passing for 32 yards. Louisiana-Lafayette had more first downs (8) than we even had in passing attempts. ULL meanwhile only had 132 yards total offense at halftime. Pure dominance on the ground.

Start of the second half, again, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. To the ground we go! In a 14 play drive that started on our 20 yard line, we only passed twice, once on the third play of the drive on 3rd and 7, and at the very end, an incomplete pass on 3rd and goal from the ULL 5 yard line. We did get as close as the ULL 3 yard line, before Shane Coleman was tackled for a two yard loss, forcing us to attempt the pass. Unfortunately, Coleman again bit us, as he slipped on the wet field while making a sharp cut, causing the pass that Medlock had just released to Coleman to go flying past and landing harmlessly in the end zone. As a result, we walked away with just 3 points that drive, courtesy of a 22 yard field goal by Griffin, making to 20-0 with 4:43 left to play in the third quarter, and UL Lafayette had not even touched the ball yet in the second half.

Thankfully, our defense went back to holding tough, giving up just 5 yards on ULL’s next drive, forcing another punt and giving the ball right back with only 40 seconds off the clock. Our next offensive drive, we would only need 5 rushes before finding the end zone, as Coleman broke loose on 2nd and 3 from our 49 yard line to score a touchdown from 51 yards out, making it 27-0 with 2:37 left in the third quarter. Despite giving up a 12 yard pass, our defense was able to eventually hold the Ragin’ Cajuns and force a punt from the ULL 42 yard line, getting the ball back into the hands of our running backs with 1:39 left in the quarter. Five more rushes, moving the ball from our 16 to our 47 yard line, brought about the end of the third quarter with us leading 27-0.

Unfortunately, the new quarter brought about an end to our drive, as three plays later, after an incomplete pass on 3rd and 7, we were punting the ball back to the Ragin’ Cajuns. ULL started moving the ball on their next drive, with passes of 5 and 13 yards right off the bat, but a sack on 2nd and 10 quickly brought their drive crashing to an end and they had to punt the ball back, keeping the shutout intact. On our next offensive drive, well, it only took the Ragin’ Cajuns three and a half quarters, but they finally were able to shut us down a second straight time on the ground, as a dropped pass on 3rd and 7 forced us to punt the ball away yet again. The Cajuns meanwhile got absolutely nothing going, gaining a net 2 yards on their offensive drive, before punting the ball right back. Bad news for ULL was, those two failed drives by our offense appeared to be flukes, as the terror that is our backfield reappeared. 14 straight rushes, and not a single pass, moved our offense from our 23 yard line all the way down to the ULL 3 yard line, before 4th and goal forced us to kick a 20 yard field goal, making it 30-0 with 2 seconds left to play in the game, chewing up essentially all of the 5 minutes and 34 seconds that were on the clock at the start of our drive. The kickoff return brought about the end of the game, securing the second ever shutout in school history, and our first since our 42-0 win over Butler in 2002.

With the win, we improve to 9-3 on the season, 7-1 in the Sun Belt Conference. With the loss, UL Lafayette drops to 2-10, 1-7 in the conference. Up next, well, I don't know. Whoever our bowl opponent will officially be.

As for the conference, your outright 2012 Sun Belt Conference champions, the Florida International Golden Panthers, finishing with a record of 7-1, one game ahead of 6-2 Troy. Looking at the bowl season, ourselves, Troy (10-2, 6-2), and Arkansas State (7-5, 5-3) are the only teams to become bowl eligible, as Florida Atlantic dropped their final two games to us and Arkansas State to end the year 5-7.

Final Score
30, 0



Stat(s) of the Game:
FIU Offense – Running. Is. God. 69 rushes, to 11 passes, and the Ragin’ Cajuns could barely stop us all game.

FIU Defense – Finally, our defense showed the skill that they showed earlier in the season, pitching our first shutout since 2002.

FIU Kicking – Griffin had another perfect day, going 3-3 for on field goals and 3-3 on extra points.



Scoring Summary

Team	1st Quarter	2nd Quarter	3rd Quarter	4th Quarter	Final Score
	7	10	10	3	30
	0	0	0	0	0

Time	Team	Result	Play	Score
First Quarter
0:15		Touchdown	J. Hardin, 1 yard run (J. Griffin kick)	7-0
Second Quarter
5:58		Field Goal	J. Griffin, 34 yard field goal	10-0
1:19		Touchdown	J. Harden, 23 yard run (J. Griffin kick)	17-0
Third Quarter
4:46		Field Goal	J. Griffin, 21 yard field goal	20-0
2:37		Touchdown	S. Coleman, 51 yard run (J. Griffin kick)	27-0
Fourth Quarter
0:02		Field Goal	J. Griffin, 20 yard field goal	30-0

Game Stats

Florida International	Stat	UL Lafayette
30	Score	0
25	First Downs	10
474	Total Offense	181
69 - 434 - 3	Rushes - Yards - TD	15 - 54- 0
6 - 11 - 0	Comp - Att - TD	11 - 32 - 0
40	Passing Yards	127
0	Times Sacked	3
7 - 14 (50%)	3rd Down Conversion	4 - 13 (30%)
0 - 0 (0%)	4th Down Conversion	0 - 0 (0%)
0 - 0 (0%)	2-Point Conv	0 - 0 (0%)
4 - 1 - 3 (100%)	Red Zone - TD - FG	3 - 0 - 0 (0%)
0	Turnovers	0
0	Fumbles Lost	0
0	Intercepted	0
25	Punt Return Yards	0
0	Kick Return Yards	22
499	Total Yards	203
4 – 46.8	Punts - Average	9 - 43.0
2 - 30	Penalties	4 - 30
26:53	Time of Possession	9:07

Florida International Contract Goals Update

Fail Impact	Goal	Progress	Pass Impact
	500+ rushing yards in each season	2/3 Passed
	Win 8 games in one season
	2000+ total offensive yards in each season	2/3 Passed
	7+ passing TD in one season
	10+ points per game in each season	34 PPG
	2400+ total offensive yards in one season
	Win 4 games in one season
	2000+ total offensive yards in one season

Job Security Status

69%

[SmoothPancakes]

Pure. Unadulterated. Domination. Via rushing.

[SmoothPancakes]

Now that I finally have a break from work for a day or two, about to enter Championship Week. Looking back at week 15, some good games. On a personal note, Navy edged out Army 29-28 with a 39 yard field goal with 14 seconds left to play. In the game of the year for the Mountain West, #7 Boise State beat #16 San Diego State 37-31. Boise (8-0) wins the MWC, San Diego State (7-1) finishes second. For mors, sorry man, 4-8 Rutgers beat West Virginia 24-10, leaving the Mountaineers at home for a second year with a 5-7 record. And the BCS championship game will be represented by the Big 12, as #1 Oklahoma beat #6 Oklahoma State, 29-19. #2 TCU is currently in line to play Oklahoma in the championship game, however, LSU is close enough behind TCU in the BCS rankings, that they could potentially jump TCU if they win the SEC Championship game.

[SmoothPancakes]

Conference Championship Week

Conference	Winning Team	Record	Score	Losing Team	Record
	(11)	11-2 (7-2)	34-31	(23)	10-3 (7-2)
	(9)	12-1 (8-1)	42-24	(25)	10-3 (6-3)
	(7)	13-0 (10-0)	35-21		9-4 (7-3)
		9-4 (9-0)	28-23		8-5 (6-3)
	(12)	11-2 (8-2)	42-35	(14)	10-3 (7-3)
	(3)	11-2 (8-1)	39-25	(22)	9-4 (6-3)

Unlike last year, no upsets on conference championship week this year.