Smooth Pancakes' Coaching Carousel Career [Archive] - Page 4

SmoothPancakes

12-29-2012, 11:18 PM

Game Eleven

#7 :Tulsa: :@: :UTSA:

Game Notes

--- The 2015 season winding down, it was off to San Antonio for our final road game of the season to take on the UTSA Roadrunners. After a tough battle two weeks before against the Rice Owls, hopefully our team would have a better game against an average UTSA squad with mostly average stats. The Roadrunners are good defending the rush, ranked #33 in the nation in rushing defense, and have a decent passing game, ranked #39 in the nation in pass offense. Hopefully our defense would put up a stellar game today and our passing game could take advantage of UTSA’s #88 passing defense to help us get a win. We won the coin toss and elected to kick.

No return on the opening kickoff got the Roadrunners started at their 25 yard line to start the game. After starting the drive with an incomplete pass on first down, Tyrone Smith threw a pass to Stephen Alston that went for a gain of 13 yards and UTSA had an early first down. After a three yard rush by Jarod Allen and a two yard gain by Smith, the Roadrunners converted third and 5 when Smith connected with Alston again, this time for a pickup of 12 yards and a first down at our 45. Our defense would start to bite back, tackling Allen for a loss of three yards before sacking Smith for a 10 yard loss, leaving UTSA facing third and 23 from their 42 yard line. Smith’s third down pass would overshoot his intended target and land incomplete, and the Roadrunners were forced to punt for the first time today.

A 4 yard return by Kiel Fletcher on the 47 yard punt got our offense in action, starting at our 15 yard line. Taking the ball on first down, Fletcher rumbled up the middle, breaking a tackle before getting laid out at the 21 yard line for a 6 yard gain. Fletcher would take the ball again, picking up three yards before being brought down, leaving our offense looking at third and one. Keeping the ball himself, Brandon Booth was just barely able to sprint past the right tackle and fight ahead for a three yard gain before being spun down by the right end, giving us a first down at our 27 yard line and keeping the drive alive. Keeping it on the ground on first down, Booth pitched the ball left to Fletcher, who managed to break a tackle and fight forward for a gain of four yards. The officials would call a timeout after the play, as Fletcher was slow getting up and the trainers came out on the field. While waiting on word of the injury that Fletcher had suffered, Roy Smith, back after a 10 week stint on the bench with a broken collarbone, would see his first action since the fourth quarter of the New Mexico game clear back in week one. Smith took the ball on second down, rushing ahead for a 5 yard gain to set up third and two from our 35. After the play, word came down from the trainers that Fletcher had suffered a bruised elbow, and would be sidelined until at least halftime. Smith would manage to convert the third down, stumbling ahead off the left tackle for a four yard gain to advance the ball to the 39. Catching the defense sleeping, Booth went into the air on first down, connecting with Ryan Strong deep over the middle for a 29 yard gain and we had a new set of downs at the UTSA 32 yard line. Keeping it going through the air, Booth found Eric Hayden for a 6 yard gain to leave second and four. Taking the ball on the ground on the next play, Smith was able to fight his way ahead for a gain of 5 yards to move the chains at the 21 yard line. Booth’s first down pass into coverage was completed to Conner Jefferson for a gain of 16 yards and we had first and goal at the Roadrunners’ 5 yard line. Smith would punch it up the middle for the 5 yard touchdown rush to cap off the drive and we had a 7-0 lead with 3:27 left to go in the first quarter.

No return on the following kickoff again left UTSA starting from their 25. This time the Roadrunners would find little success. Smith rushed for three yards on first down, but an incomplete pass on the next play, followed by a four yard gain by Allen on third down left UTSA punting on fourth and four from their 31. A 5 yard return by Jefferson on the 49 yard punt gave our offense the ball at our 24 yard line. Smith would take the handoff on first down, rushing ahead for a 7 yard gain, but the off tackle play on second down would go nowhere, Smith tackled in the backfield for a loss of one yard to leave third and four. Booth’s pass on third down threaded the needle between the middle and outside linebackers, Jefferson catching the pass and turning up field for a 25 yard gain and a first down at the UTSA 44. Returning to our ground game on first down, it was very little for Smith on the ground, any holes closing quickly to leave him only a gain of two yards to the 43. Taking the pitch from Booth on second down, Strong was able to beat the linebacker to the sideline for a gain of 9 yards, giving us a first down at the 34 yard line. Booth’s pass to Jefferson on the comeback route went for a gain of 10 yards for a new set of downs at the 23 yard line, as the final couple seconds ticked off the clock. The first quarter was in the books, our lead at 7-0 and our offense in striking position for another score.

Opening up the second quarter from the UTSA 23 yard line, Smith would take the handoff up the middle, getting a pair of blocks and juking his way past the linebacker, rumbling all the way down to the 8 yard line for a 15 yard gain and first and goal. Booth would call his own number on the next play, keeping the snap, rushing past the left tackle and racing both the safety and linebacker to the pylon for the 8 yard touchdown and a 14-0 lead with 8:29 left in the second quarter.

A 16 yard return on the kickoff got UTSA back on the field at their 18 yard line. After a loss of two yards on the ground by Allen, Smith went into the air, finding Allen along the right sideline for a gain of 14 yards and a first down at the 30 yard line. The drive would come to an end three plays later, following a dropped pass and two incomplete throws. A fair catch on the 47 yard punt gave our offense the ball at our 23. Managing to avoid the blitzing linebacker, Smith was able to bounce outside on the first down rush for gain of 5 yards. Taking a stretch play all the way over to the opposite sideline, Smith was barely able to turn up field, picking up only a gain of three yards to leave third and two at the 31. Strong would get the first down on the next play, taking the handoff up the middle for a pickup of 10 yards. UTSA brought two of their linebackers on the next play, and Smith never had a chance, instantly being brought down for a loss of one yard to leave second and 11. Booth’s second down pass to Hayden on the slant route went for a gain of 8 yards to leave us looking at third and three. Eric Silva would haul in the pass from Booth for a pickup of 6 yards, giving us a first down at the UTSA 46 yard line, and putting Booth at exactly 100 yards passing for the game. After having his first down pass knocked down, Booth found Randy Newman on a hitch route for a 24 yard gain to get us down to the 22 yard line with 3:43 left in the half. After rushing forward for 9 yards on first down, Smith was able to get the new set of downs, gaining three yards to get us to the 10 yard line of the Roadrunners. Smith would find the end zone on the eleventh play of the drive, splitting the corner and safety thanks to a simultaneous pair of blocks, taking it in from 10 yards out for the score to make our lead 21-0 with 2:06 left in the second quarter.

UTSA started their new drive from the 24 yard line after a 25 yard kickoff return. It was a poor start as Allen was tackled for a loss of two yards. Two incomplete passes later, and the Roadrunners would again be forced to punt the ball away. A 10 yard return by Jefferson on the 48 yard punt gave us the ball at our 40 yard line with 1:30 left to go. Trying to at least get to field goal range in the limited time remaining, the attempt would prove for naught, as three straight passes by Booth were poorly thrown, sailing wide beyond their targets, and with 1:22 to go, we would punt it back to UTSA. The Roadrunners began at their 22 yard line after the 6 yard return on the 43 yard punt. It was another poor drive for the Roadrunners, Smith’s pass on first down carrying long, followed by our defense sacking Smith for a two yard loss. Smith would scramble forward for a pickup of three yards on third down, but it wouldn’t be enough as the punt team came out on fourth and 9. A fair catch on the 44 yard punt gave us the ball at our 33 yard line with 57 seconds to go. Smith would run it up the gut for a 10 yard pickup, followed by no gain, and we would let the clock expire, heading into halftime with a 21-0 lead.

Finally back on the field as the third quarter got underway, Fletcher took the kickoff back for a 16 yard gain and our offense was off and running from our 17 yard line. The defense wasn’t about to let Fletcher get new momentum built up, quickly bringing him down for a gain of two yards. Fletcher would manage to make the defense pay on the following play, hauling in a pass from Booth on the smash route for a gain of 17 yards and a first down at the 36. The toss play on first down was an absolute failure, Fletcher overwhelmed within seconds and brought down for a loss of four yards. Going to the air on second and 14, Booth was able to connect with Jefferson on a curl route for a gain of 17 yards and a new set of downs at midfield. Continuing through the air on first down, we had our first scare of the day, as Booth’s pass went high over Jefferson’s head and was nearly intercepted by the middle linebacker, though thankfully falling to the ground incomplete. Booth’s pass to Hayden on the next play went wide and we were left staring down third and 10. This time Booth would throw an interception, trying to hit Hayden deep down the left sideline, but the safety, Jacob Kennedy would grab the ball in front of Hayden, Kennedy’s third interception of his career, a new UTSA school record, and returned it 28 yards out to the UTSA 47 yard line before finally being knocked out of bounds.

The Roadrunners got moving quickly on their drive, as Smith threw a pass on a drag route to Guy McCauley for an 11 yard gain and a first down at our 42. The success wouldn’t last for long, the center getting flagged for holding, and the Roadrunners were left with first and 20 after the penalty. UTSA would get a new set of downs on the following play, as our defense was flagged for a 5 yard facemask after a 7 yard gain by Smith, giving UTSA a first down at our 40 yard line. The Roadrunners would get to our 26 yard line with a 13 yard completion to Adrian Valentine, before our defense finally dug its heels in the ground, sacking Smith for a three yard loss. An incomplete pass left UTSA looking at third and 13 from our 29. The drive would end up stalling out there, as Alston dropped the third down pass from Smith. The Roadrunners would take a gamble and go for it on first down, but with the receivers unable to get open, Smith was forced to scramble, only picking up 5 yards before being brought down at our 24 yard line, turning the ball over on downs.

Taking over on offense after the turnover on downs, it was no go on the ground for Fletcher, as the defense brought through almost instantly, taking Fletcher down for a loss of one yard. Booth would manage to get the first down himself, keeping the ball on an option play, being the linebacker and safety and turning it up field at the sideline, sprinting ahead for a 19 yard gain before being dragged down from behind at the 42 yard line. Receiving the pitch from Booth, Fletcher was able to fight forward for a 9 yard gain along the left hash, thanks in part to a downfield block by Hayden. Fletcher would pound it up the middle for an 11 yard gain and a first down at the UTSA 39 yard line. That 11 yard rush also put Hayden at exactly 1,400 yards rushing on the season. We would return the end zone on the next play, as Hayden caught a screen pass from Booth along the right hash mark, the linebackers and corner being sealed inside, Hayden turned outside and took it up along the sideline, beating the safety to the goal line for the 39 yard touchdown pass and a 28-0 lead with 2:48 left in the third quarter.

A 20 yard kickoff return got the Roadrunners back in action, starting at their 20 yard line. Two incomplete passes again left UTSA looking at a potential punt, but Smith would manage to convert third down, hitting Allen on a comeback route for a 16 yard gain. A 7 yard pass to Steve Bright got the Roadrunners out to their 43 yard line, where the drive would end with two incomplete passes to bring about fourth and three. Our punt return team would come through huge on fourth down, blocking the punt, recovering the ball and returning it all the way down to the UTSA 7 yard line before being tackled. With the turnover on the blocked punt, our offense game out looking at first and goal and only 7 yards away from another score. The offensive line proved worthless on first down, as the middle linebacker blew through untouched, tackling Fletcher for no gain. Fletcher would fight forward around the left tackle on second down, rushing it in for the 7 yard touchdown to put us up 35-0 with 1:03 left in the third quarter.

A 24 yard return on the kickoff this time, and the UTSA offense started their next drive from their 23 yard line. Smith threw a wounded duck on first down, completely missing his receiver, the ball landing 20 yards downfield in the secondary. Two more incomplete passes and it was another three and out for the ineffective UTSA offense. Fletcher would do whatever it took to keep his name high on the Heisman list, returning the 50 yard punt 73 yards all the way for a touchdown, extending our lead to 42-0 with 17 seconds to go. A touchback on the following kickoff left 9 seconds on the clock and UTSA at their 25 yard line to start. A three yard rush by Smith would leave the Roadrunners with second and 7 as the third quarter came to an end, our lead at 42 with just 9 minutes left to be played.

The Roadrunners would open the fourth quarter with a pair of 5 yards passes to Lamont Tyler and Bright, giving UTSA a first down at their 38 and ensuring this drive would not continue the trend and three and done. Consecutive passes to McCauley went for gains of 19 and 9 yards, before Smith hit Bright for a 9 yard gain to give UTSA a first down at our 24. After an incomplete pass on first down, Allen rushed ahead for a 5 yard gain, leaving the Roadrunners with third and 5. Allen would drop the pass from Smith on third down, and the Roadrunners were left with fourth and 5 at our 19. UTSA would once again gamble on fourth down, Smith’s pass intended for Bright sailing too high, and our offense took over at our 19 yard line on the turnover on downs.

Our second team offense came in to close out the game, Smith rushing ahead for a 5 yard gain, before picking up 7 yards to get the first down at our 31. Smith would exit the game, showing signs of another injury, Silva taking over the ball carrier duties. Silva would pick up 5 yards on the ground on first down, followed by a 7 yard gain to give us a new set of downs. It was determined that Smith had reinjured his previously broken collarbone, and while having his status listed as probable by the trainers, the high risk of re-injury ensured that he would remain benched for the rest of the game. Silva continued to pound it up the middle, rushing for a four yard gain. Silva would be brought down for a loss of one yard on the following play, leaving us with third and 7 at our 47 yard line as the clock ticked under four minutes. Going into the air to try and keep possession of the ball, Casey Bishop’s pass to a wide open Antoine Banks was dropped and we were forced to punt with 3:39 to play.

No return on the 48 yard punt left UTSA buried clear down on their 5 yard line to start the next drive. Allen was brought down for a loss of three yards, pushing the Roadrunners dangerously back towards their goal line. Smith’s second down pass to Allen was dropped, and UTSA was left looking at third and 13. An incomplete pass on third down would leave the Roadrunners punting away, the punter back up with very little room to work. They would manage to get the punt off, the three yard return by Fletcher on the 48 yard punt giving us the ball at the UTSA 47 yard line, 3:03 left on the clock. Silva took the ball on first down, rushing forward for an 11 yard gain to the 36 yard line, followed by a gain of three yards to leave second and 7, the clock ticking below two minutes. Taking the ball again, Silva fought forward for a gain of four yards, leaving us third and three, the clock starting to near one minute to play. A 5 yard gain by Silva would secure the first down, and Bishop would kneel the ball once to secure the 42-0 victory over UTSA, our third shutout of the season.

With the win, we improve to 10-1, 7-0 in C-USA action With the loss, UTSA falls to 5-6 and 3-5 in C-USA play. Up next, it’s back to our home field for Senior Night as we entertain the UTEP Miners.

Final Score
#7 :Tulsa: 42, :UTSA: 0

Stat(s) of the Game:
Tulsa Offense – A good day by Booth, ending with 197 yards and a touchdown through the air, to go with 30 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Fletcher was the player of the game, ending the day with 149 all purpose yards and two touchdowns. 6 people caught a pass today, five of them ending with double digit receiving yards, Jefferson again the top guy, ending his day with 68 yards on 4 receptions.

Tulsa Defense – An A+++ day by the defense. Others than two or three drives, UTSA never got past midfield and never had a chance to equalize the game.

Tulsa Kicking – No field goal attempts by Pratt, but did go 6-6 in PATs.

Scoring Summary

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

:Tulsa:
7
14
21
0
42

:UTSA:
0
0
0
0
0

Time
Team
Result
Play
Score

First Quarter

3:27
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
R. Smith, 5 yard run (A. Pratt kick)
:Tulsa: 7-0

Second Quarter

8:29
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
B. Booth, 8 yard run (A. Pratt kick)
:Tulsa: 14-0

2:06
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
R. Smith, 10 yard run (A. Pratt kick)
:Tulsa: 21-0

Third Quarter

2:48
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
E. Hayden, 39 yard pass from B. Booth (A. Pratt kick)
:Tulsa: 28-0

1:03
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
K. Fletcher, 7 yard run (A. Pratt kick)
:Tulsa: 35-0

0:17
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
K. Fletcher, returned punt 73 yards (A. Pratt kick)
:Tulsa: 42-0

Fourth Quarter

Game Stats

Tulsa
Stat
UTSA

42
Score
0

23
First Downs
9

412
Total Offense
150

42 - 215 - 4
Rushes - Yards - TD
12 - 17 - 0

11 - 19 - 1
Comp - Att - TD
12 - 35 - 0

197
Passing Yards
133

0
Times Sacked
3

6 - 9 (66%)
3rd Down Conversion
3 - 13 (23%)

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

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

6 - 4 - 0 (66%)
Red Zone - TD - FG
3 - 0 - 0 (0%)

1
Turnovers
1

0
Fumbles Lost
1

1
Intercepted
0

95
Punt Return Yards
6

16
Kick Return Yards
85

523
Total Yards
241

2 – 46.0
Punts - Average
7 - 47.9

1 - 12
Penalties
2 - 17

25:20
Time of Possession
10:40

Tulsa Contract Goals Update

Fail Impact
Goal
Progress
Pass Impact

Win 8 games in one season
:check:
:5greenarrow:

:3redarrow:
13+ passing TD in one season
:check:
:5greenarrow:

14+ points per game in each season
41
:5greenarrow:

:3redarrow:
7+ rushing TD in one season
:check:
:5greenarrow:

:5redarrow:
2400+ total offensive yards in one season
:check:
:5greenarrow:

:6redarrow:
2400+ total offensive yards in each season
:check:
:3greenarrow:

:3redarrow:
Win 4 games in one season
:check:
:3greenarrow:

:5redarrow:
2000+ total offensive yards in one season
:check:
:2greenarrow:

Job Security Status

100%

SmoothPancakes

12-29-2012, 11:50 PM

Alright, I tried to get the Top 25 recap and stuff done tonight, but I have been dozing off constantly for the past 15 minutes while simulating CPU games for the week. I am hanging on by a thread trying to stay awake, so it's gonna have to wait until tomorrow. I'm closing my laptop and laying down right after posting this, and at 12:50 right now, I will probably already be long gone and dead to the world by 12:55 I am so tired.

Look for the update, the UTEP game and the CCG games tomorrow.

SmoothPancakes

12-30-2012, 10:55 AM

Time for another look around the nation. Starting in the Top 25, a 21-0 first quarter does Sparky in, #1 Washington sailing to a 41-17 win over Arizona State. #2 Alabama cakewalks to a 42-16 win over #10 Texas A&M, thanks to a 28 point second quarter. Texas Tech put up a fight early on, but #3 Oklahoma prevails in the end, 41-28. It was a rough down for Wolverines fans, as #17 Iowa knocks off #4 Michigan 38-28. Ole Miss knocks off #8 LSU 28-24. #13 Clemson shellacked #20 Wake Forest 45-7. UCLA wins the battle of LA, knocking off #14 USC 28-24 thanks to a 15 point fourth quarter.

#16 Michigan State falls on the road at Northwestern, 21-14. Georgia Tech, in overtime, knocks off #18 Miami 34-31. #19 Texas scores a touchdown late to hold off Oklahoma State 28-21. #21 Fresno State holds off a 10 point rally by Air Force, downing the Falcons 24-17. With the loss, Air Force continues their face planting slide, falling from 4-0 and ranked #24 to now 4-6 and one game away from sitting at home during bowl season. #22 Nevada pulls away late to beat Utah State 42-25. #25 Louisville barely manages to edge out Syracuse thanks to a late field goal, 15-14.

For our readers, souljahbill,Southern Miss wins their fifth in a row, beating UAB 21-9 to improve to 7-4 (6-1 in C-USA) and secure the East Division title. Jaymo, as mentioned in the Top 25 recaps Arizona State loses to #1 Washington 41-17, dropping to 4-7 (2-6 Pac-12) and sitting at home watching the bowls for another year. Mors, West Virginia loses to #9 TCU 59-21, and with that, the Mountaineers are eliminating from the bowls for another year, dropping to 3-7 (1-6 Big 12). Other teams of interest, Arkansas State keeps their bowl hopes alive, beating Western Kentucky 18-6 in a battle for nothing but field goals, improving to 5-5 (2-3 Sun Belt).

On a C-USA note, Rice beats UTEP 36-17 to keep their bowls alive at 5-6. UTEP losing drops the Miners to 7-4 (5-2), officially clinching the West Division title for Tulsa, regardless of what happens in the UTEP-Tulsa game in week 13. Southern Miss further solidified their East Division title, winning their fifth in a row, beating UAB 21-9 to improve to 7-4 (6-1), 4-3 FIU the closest team to them. With that, the rematch is official, Southern Miss and Tulsa in the C-USA Championship Game. The location is still to be decided. If Tulsa loses and Southern Miss wins, the location will come down to tiebreakers. If Tulsa wins next week, they will host no matter what.

On a general note, maybe Washington State has a chance against the #1 Huskies. Washington State improves to 2-9 (2-6) with a 38-28 upset of 7-4 (4-4) Oregon.

And in the Nelson's "HA HA" game of the week, New Mexico State drops to 2-8 on the year with a 24-17 loss to FCS Northwest.

Looking at undefeated teams left, nobody new lost, our number of undefeated teams remains at 1. #1 Washington (11-0) is all that remains with an unblemished record this season.

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

Teams getting their first win this week were: Memphis (28-21 over 1-10 Tulane). With that win, Memphis snaps an 0-22 skid dating back to the beginning of the 2014 season.

Taking a look at the new Top 25 polls, starting in the Coaches Poll, Washington (61 first place votes) remains #1. Alabama and Oklahoma both remain #2 and #3. Auburn and Georgia both move up one to #4 and #5. Tulsa climbs one to #6. TCU jumps two to #7, Nebraska bumps up three to #8, Notre Dame and Clemson both climb three to #9 and #10. Michigan falls seven to #11, Iowa leaps five to #12, Houston moves up two #13. Texas A&M drops four to #14, Texas jumps four to #15. Fresno State climbs five to #16, USC falls three to #17. Nevada, Kansas State and Wyoming all jump four to #18, #19 and #20. LSU plummets thirteen spots to #21. Georgia Tech enters the poll at #22, Miami falls five to #23, Louisville climbs one to #24 and UCLA enters the poll this week at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Michigan State (from #16) and Wake Forest (from #20). Looking at Other Receiving Votes, Ohio State (150 votes) is #26, Wake Forest (142), SMU (106), Northwestern (85) and Virginia Tech (31) rounding out the Top 30.

In the Media Poll, Washington (65 first place votes) remains your #1. Alabama climbs one to #2 while Georgia drops one to #3. Oklahoma stayed at #4, Auburn jumped two to #5. Tulsa jumps two to #6. TCU jumps two to #7, Iowa leaps six to #8, Nebraska climbed one to #9, Notre Dame jumps two to #10. Clemson climbed four to #11, Michigan dropping six to #12, Houston jumps three to #13, Texas jumps four to #14, Texas A&M falls four to #15. USC fell three to #16, Fresno State and Nevada both jumped four to #17 and #18. LSU plummeted fourteen spots to #19. Georgia Tech climbed five to #20. Kansas State and Wyoming both jumped two to #21 and #22. Miami fell four spots to #23, Louisville enters the poll at #24 and UCLA enters the poll at #25. Dropping out this week were Michigan State (from #16) and Wake Forest (from #20).

Looking at the new BCS standings, Washington is #1, Alabama #2, Oklahoma #3, Georgia #4 and Auburn #5. Tulsa sits #6, TCU #7, Nebraska #8, Clemson #9 and Notre Dame #10.

Other notes for the week, despite spending half of the game injured, Kiel Fletcher remains #2 on the Heisman Watch list behind Georgia's Matt Blount.

Looking at Award Finalists lists, Kiel Fletcher is #5 on the Maxwell list, #2 on the Walter Camp list and #2 on the Walker list. Brandon Booth is #6 on the O'Brien list. LE Greg Wilkerson is #11 on the Lombardi list.

Looking at the first release of bowl projections, #6 Tulsa is projected to match up with #10 Clemson in the Orange Bowl. Looking at other BCS Bowl projections, they have #3 Oklahoma vs. #12 Iowa in the Rose Bowl, #5 Georgia vs. #8 Nebraska in the Sugar Bowl, #7 TCU vs. #18 Nevada in the Fiesta Bowl and #1 Washington vs. #2 Alabama in the BCS National Championship.

Other C-USA teams being projected to bowl games include: UTEP (vs. Northwestern in the TicketCity Bowl), Southern Miss (vs. SMU in the Liberty Bowl) and FIU (vs. Connecticut in the Beef O'Brady's Bowl). Those are the only bowl eligible teams right now, only Rice and UTSA still have a chance, both sitting at 5-6. UTSA plays Texas State in their final game, Rice plays North Texas.

Looking at bowl numbers, 34 bowls leave 68 slots.

The ACC has 9 eligible teams with Florida State (5-6) still having a shot. The Big 12 has four teams in, with Texas Tech (5-5) and Oklahoma State (4-6) still alive. The Big East has 6 teams eligible, Navy (5-5), USF (5-5), UCF (5-6) and ECU (5-5) all still with a chance. The Big Ten has 11 teams eligible, that will be their final number. C-USA has 4 teams eligible, UTSA (5-6) and Rice (5-6) remaining. Independents, Notre Dame is in (9-2). MAC has 7 teams eligible, Northern Illinois (5-6) the only one left with a chance. The Mountain West has 6 teams eligible, that's their final number. The Pac-12 will get 8 teams in, that's their final number. The SEC has 8 teams eligible, Florida (5-6) the only one remaining with a chance. The Sun Belt has only two teams eligible. Arkansas State (5-5), UL Lafayette (5-5), Troy (4-6), UL Monroe (4-6) and Western Kentucky (4-6) all remain alive. The WAC, only Wyoming is eligible. Idaho (5-5) is the only one with a chance.

So with 68 slots in 34 bowls, we currently have 67 teams bowl eligible, and 16 teams still with a chance of becoming bowl eligible, so multiple teams are gonna get screwed out of a bowl slot this year.

morsdraconis

12-30-2012, 11:02 AM

Man, the Orange Bowl would be a hell of a bowl game for you guys. Talk about making history for Tulsa.

SmoothPancakes

12-30-2012, 11:26 AM

Man, the Orange Bowl would be a hell of a bowl game for you guys. Talk about making history for Tulsa.

Yep. Clemson would be a bitch to play, but I'd welcome the challenge if I get there.

And I'll go ahead and update the list with two weeks left in the 2015 season.

#1 Washington ends at home with Washington State (2-9).

#2 Alabama ends at #4 Auburn (10-1).

#3 Oklahoma is home against Oklahoma State (4-6), then plays at #7 TCU (9-1).

#4 Auburn ends at home with #2 Alabama (10-1).

#5 Georgia ends at #22 Georgia Tech (8-3).

#6 Tulsa ends at home against UTEP (7-4).

#7 TCU ends at home against both #15 Texas (8-2) and #3 Oklahoma (9-1).

#8 Nebraska ends at home against #12 Iowa (9-2).

#9 Notre Dame ends at home against #17 USC (9-2).

#10 Clemson ends at South Carolina (7-4).

#11 Michigan ends at home against Ohio State (8-3).

#12 Iowa ends at #8 Nebraska (9-2).

#13 Houston ends at SMU (9-2).

SmoothPancakes

12-30-2012, 11:47 AM

Interesting, very interesting. I was already seeing some interesting scores on the first Studio Update of the game. The second Studio Update just presented new, even more interesting scores of top 10/25 action around the nation. ;)

morsdraconis

12-30-2012, 12:13 PM

Foreshadowing! :)

SmoothPancakes

12-30-2012, 01:39 PM

Game Twelve

:UTEP: :@: #6 :Tulsa:

Game Notes

--- And so we entered the final game of the regular season, Senior Night. Tonight would serve as the official goodbye to our seniors, though they could get a curtain call in two weeks in the C-USA Championship Game if they took care of business today to keep the CCG at home. The seniors saying goodbye in their final regular season home game included: QB Brandon Booth, HB Kiel Fletcher, FB Ryan Strong, RG Marcel Morris, DT Alex Collier, LOLB Kennard Morton and ROLB David Walker. We also had seven recruits visiting today for the game, with hopes of signing most or all of them within the next week or two. Our senior night opponent would be a challenge. Rival UTEP entered the game at 7-4 (5-2), and comes in the #21 ranked pass defense, so our passing game would be put to the test, and our running game would inevitably be relied on more than usual today. With the events of senior night and the visiting recruits, we decided to do away with our usual blue and gold uniforms in our final home game, breaking out our all-yellow alternates. UTEP won the coin toss and elected to kick.

A 24 yard kickoff return by Conner Jefferson gave our offense the ball at our 25 yard line to start the game. Taking the ball on first down, Kiel Fletcher fought ahead for a gain of 5 yards to get the drive moving. Another rush by Fletcher picked up two yards to leave us looking at third and three. Heading into the air, the pass from Brandon Booth to Jefferson was dropped and we were forced to punt the ball away. We wouldn’t have to in the end, as UTEP was flagged for encroachment on the fourth down play, and those 5 free yards were enough to give us a first down at our 36 and miraculously keep our drive going. Booth would keep the ball on first down, rushing past the left tackle before turning up field around the hash mark, fighting up the sideline for a gain of 13 yards to give us a first down at midfield. Fletcher would receive the pitch from Booth, running right towards the far sideline, managing to grab 8 yards before being pushed out of bounds. Fletcher would get stood up at the first down line, just able to get three yards and a first down at the 40 yard line of UTEP. Booth would keep the ball on the first down option play, picking up three yards to the 37. The second down play action pass didn’t fool the Miners, as the ball was nearly intercepted by the middle linebacker. Keeping in the air on third down, Booth was just barely able to sling a pass by inches past the outstretched hands of the linebacker and into the arms of Max Thompson for a 12 yard gain and a first down at the 24 yard line. Booth’s first down pass, forced to throw back across his body, never had a chance, landing 10 yards downfield as a wounded duck to leave second down. A dropped pass on the next play left us looking at third and 10. A pass to Ryan Strong would only manage 7 yards, leaving us fourth and three at the 18 and the field goal unit coming out. Alphonso Pratt would kick the 35 yard field goal through the uprights and we took a 3-0 lead with 4:08 left in the first quarter.

A touchback on the kickoff gave UTEP the ball for the first time today, starting at their 25. Robert Johnson got the Miners started with a two yard rush, but Mike Griffin would get brought down for a loss of four yards on the next play to leave third and 12. Reggie Robinson’s pass would get batted incomplete, and UTEP would be forced to punt after three short plays. A fair catch on the 46 yard punt left us the ball at our 31. Breaking his way out of a tackle on the first down rush, Fletcher would fight forward and rumble ahead for a gain of 16 yards and a new set of downs at the 47. Starting to find a rhythm and momentum on the ground, Fletcher picked up 6 yards on the carry, followed by a gain of three yards to leave third and one at the UTEP 44. Booth would keep the ball on third down, fighting up a gap between the right guard and tackle for a gain of three yards and a first down at the 41. Eric Hayden would haul in his first pass of the day, catching an 8 yard toss from Booth. Booth’s pass to Jefferson would get knocked down and we were left looking at third and two. Fletcher would bounce outside the left tackle to avoid the mass of bodies up the middle, managing to gain four yards for the first down at the 19 yard line. With that, the final 15 seconds would tick off the clock without another snap, bringing the first quarter to an end, our lead at 3-0.

Opening up the second quarter, we came out running an option left, Booth holding onto the ball for a 6 yard gain. Pounding it up the middle on second down, Fletcher rushed ahead for a 13 yard gain to set us up with first and goal from the 10 yard line. Going into the air on first down, we would get to the end zone for the first time today, Booth connected with Roy Smith over the middle for the 10 yard touchdown pass and a 10-0 lead with 7:49 left in the second quarter. No return on the kickoff left UTEP at their 25 yard line and looking for a response. They wouldn’t find one, as Johnson was tackled for a loss of three yards, before two incomplete passes would leave the Miners punting on fourth and 13. A fair catch on the 41 yard punt gave our offense the ball at our 37 yard line and looking for more blood.

Glancing off a tackle attempt on first down, Fletcher was able to keep the legs driving ahead before being brought down for a 10 yard gain to leave second and inches. Fletcher would get that inch and then some, fighting forward for a 9 yard rush and first down at the UTEP 45. Continuing on the ground, Fletcher picked up 5 yards on first down, before being brought down for no gain to leave third and 5. Going into the air, Booth would sail a pass over top the outstretch hands of the middle linebacker, connecting with Jefferson on the slant route for a gain of 14 yards and a first down at the 26 yard line of UTEP. Taking a shot deep, Booth’s pass to Jefferson was batted down at the goal line, leaving us second down. After making the Miners pay on the ground throughout the first half, Fletcher made them pay through the air, hauling in a pass from Booth for a 23 yard gain, giving us first and goal at the two yard line and primed to strike. Fletcher would punch it in on first down, tackled forward into the end zone for the two yard touchdown rush and a 17-0 lead with 3:40 left in the first half.

A touchback on the kickoff left UTEP again at their 25 yard line and falling farther behind. The Miners would move the ball this drive, as Robinson found Johnson over the top for a gain of 16 yards to the 41. That would be all they would get, as a pair of dropped passes by Griffin and an incomplete pass intended for David Bennett left the Miners with fourth and 10. Fletcher would return the 48 yard punt for 9 yards out to our 20 yard line, leaving us 2:58 on the clock. Fletcher pounded it ahead on first down for a gain of four yards, before the defense would leave the left side of the field wide open thanks to a blitz on the right side, allowing Fletcher to punch outside the left tackle and turn up field thanks to a downfield block from the tight end, picking up 23 yards for before finally being brought down at the 47 yard line by the safety. It was Smith’s turn to abuse the UTEP defense, getting a hole between the right guard and tackle, before turning towards the sideline and rushing up the line with nothing but green ahead for a 44 yard gain before being brought down from behind by the corner. That rush left us first and goal at the 9 yard line with 1:45 still on the clock. Fletcher would fight ahead for a three yard gain on first down, our first timeout stopping the clock with 1:15 left. Fletcher would fight forward for a gain of four yards to leave third and goal from the two yard line. That rush gave Fletcher the new Tulsa season record, giving him 1527 yards rushing for the year, breaking the old mark of 1523 set by Tarrion Adams back in 2008. Fletcher would manage to get two yards on the third down play, but was tackled short of the goal line, leaving fourth and goal just beyond the goal line. Opting out of the field goal due to the very poor angle, the ball sitting on the left hash mark, we kept the offense out for fourth down. With no time left on the clock, Fletcher would punch it in for the one yard touchdown rush. Pratt’s PAT made it 24-0 as we headed into halftime.

A 24 yard kickoff return gave UTEP the ball at their 31 yard line to begin the second half. It was more of the same for the Miners, as Robinson rushed forward for a two yard gain, before two incomplete passes left UTEP punting away once again. An 8 yard return on the 43 yard punt and our offense was back on the field at our 32. Fletcher took the ball up the middle for a 9 yard gain, before being brought down for no gain to leave third and one. Fletcher would keep the drive alive, rushing ahead for a gain of 5 yards and a first down at the 46. Taking the handoff outside, with no blockers and the safety and corner closing, Smith turned back inside, managing to get 7 yards before being brought down by the linebacker and safety. Breaking a pair of tackles, Fletcher would get the first down and keep the drive moving, rushing for 15 yards down to the UTEP 32 yard line. Fletcher kept it going, pounding the ball up the middle for a 13 yard gain as the UTEP defense had no answer for our run game. Fletcher would take the ball again, fighting forward for a pickup of 10 yards to give us first and goal at the 9 yard line. Fletcher would take the ball on first down, only managing to get one yard as he was swarmed by defenders, leaving us second and goal from the 8. Receiving a pitch from Booth on second down, Fletcher never had a chance, as the blitzing defensive end came through untouched to tackle him for a three yard loss to leave us third and goal from the 11. We would manage to get back to the end zone on third down, Booth connecting with Thompson near the corner of the end zone for the 11 yard touchdown pass and a 31-0 lead with 2:51 left in the third quarter.

A 19 yard kickoff return gave UTEP the ball at their 19 yard line for their next drive. The defense came out firing, sacking Robinson on first down for a loss of 8 yards. Robinson would come back on second down, hitting Johnson for a 14 yard gain, but an incomplete pass on third down would leave the Miners short, as they were forced to punt away on fourth and four. A 7 yard return by Fletcher on the 41 yard punt got our offense back in action at our 41 yard line. Fletcher picked up three yards on first down, before being tackled by the linebacker for no gain to leave us with third and 7. Booth’s pass to Smith would go for a gain of 11 yards to give us a first down at the UTEP 45 yard line. Fletcher would take the ball on first down, rushing ahead for a gain of 6 yards. That would bring the third quarter to an end, our lead at 31-0.

Starting the fourth quarter, Fletcher took the handoff from Booth for a gain of 7 yards to get the first down and keep the drive moving at the 32 yard line. Fletcher would keep it on the ground on first down, only managing to gain two yards before being swarmed. Receiving the toss right from Booth, Fletcher found nothing going, forced to stretch all the way to the far sideline for a whole one yard gain. Booth’s pass to Hayden was caught in stride, Hayden taking the ball all the way down to the one yard line before being pushed out of bounds short of the pylon. Fletcher would punch it in from one yard out for his third touchdown today, giving us a 38-0 lead with 6:55 to play.

A touchback left UTEP starting at their 25 yard line. A pair of dropped passes would leave the Miners with third down, Robinson scrambling for a 7 yard gain but it wouldn’t be enough, the punt team coming out once again. A fair catch on the 46 yard punt gave our offense the ball at our 21 yard line. The second team offense would come out to close out the game, and Fletcher’s day would come to an end with 192 yards rushing and three touchdowns. Smith would take the ball on first down, rushing for a gain of three yards. Smith would fight forward for four yards on the second down rush, leaving us with third and three, and the clock ticking under five minutes. Smith would get wrapped up for only a one yard gain, and we would be forced to punt away with 4:45 to go. An 8 yard return on the 49 yard punt gave UTEP the ball at their 29 yard line.

After a loss of four yards on the ground by Johnson, Robinson came out firing, finding Johnson for a gain of 23 yards and a quick first down at our 48. After an incomplete pass on first down, Robinson connected with Griffin for a gain of 13 and another first down at our 39. Three straight incomplete passes would leave the Miners stranded at our 39 yard line. They would go for it on fourth down, but the pass intended for Griffin was swatted away, giving our offense the ball on the turnover on downs with 3:27 to go. Smith took the ball on first down for a 7 yard gain, followed by a 13 yard dash up the middle for a first down at the UTEP 41 yard line, the clock down to nearly two minutes. Smith was hit for no gain on first down, followed by a rush of only one yard, to leave us third and 9 from the 40 yard line, 50 seconds on the clock. Silva would take the ball forward for a gain of 6 yards to leave us with fourth and three, 36 seconds left in the game. We would keep the offense on the field on fourth down, Silva taking the toss from Casey Bishop and running for the sideline to waste clock, before being tackled for a 5 yard loss at the 39 yard line with 14 seconds to go. UTEP would raise the white flag, a four yard rush by Johnson bring the game to an end, our fourth shutout of the season secured, 38-0 over UTEP.

With the win, we improve our record to 11-1, 8-0 in C-USA action. With the loss, UTEP drops to 7-5 on the season, 5-3 in C-USA play. Up next, it’s the C-USA Championship Game, as we host the game on our own home field against the Southern Miss Golden Eagles in a rematch from earlier in the season. Back in week 7, we traveled to Hattiesburg, Mississippi and Southern Miss, and in a hard fought battle, came out with a 38-26 victory. Looking at Southern Miss' season in full, the Golden Eagles started the year with back to back losses, losing 38-30 at Virginia before falling 17-6 at #10 Clemson. A 19-7 win at Louisiana Tech and a 37-7 win at Baylor got USM back to .500. A 30-27 overtime loss to #18 Nevada and the 38-26 loss to Tulsa would leave them sitting at 2-4. The Golden Eagles would then end the season on a 6 game winning streak, beating Rice 27-23, winning 27-22 at UTSA, gettinga 42-7 win at FAU, taking down FIU 30-21, beating UAB 21-9, before wrapping up the regular season with a 23-20 overtime victory at Marshall. Southern Miss will enter the C-USA CCG with an 8-4 record, 7-1 in C-USA action.

Final Score
#6 :Tulsa: 38, :UTEP: 0

Stat(s) of the Game:
- Tulsa Offense – A good, though quiet day by Booth. Only 123 yards passing, but did have two touchdowns, along with 25 yards rushing. A monster day by Fletcher, ending with 192 yards rushing and three touchdowns. 23 yards receiving and 24 yards in punt returns would give Fletcher 239 all purpose yards for the day. 6 receivers caught a ball today, 5 of them ending with double digits yards. Hayden led the way with 35 yards on two receptions.

- Tulsa Defense – Stone wall. That was what our defense was today, allowing practically nothing by the UTEP offense.

- Tulsa Kicking – A perfect day for Pratt, 1-1 in field goals with a 35 yard boot, 5-5 in PATs.

Scoring Summary

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

:UTEP:
0
0
0
0
0

:Tulsa:
3
21
7
7
38

Time
Team
Result
Play
Score

First Quarter

4:08
:Tulsa:
Field Goal
A. Pratt, 35 yard field goal
:Tulsa: 3-0

Second Quarter

7:49
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
R. Smith, 10 yard pass from B. Booth (A. Pratt kick)
:Tulsa: 10-0

3:40
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
K. Fletcher, 3 yard run (A. Pratt kick)
:Tulsa: 17-0

0:00
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
K. Fletcher, 1 yard run (A. Pratt kick)
:Tulsa: 24-0

Third Quarter

2:51
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
M. Thompson, 11 yard pass from B. Booth (A. Pratt kick)
:Tulsa: 31-0

Fourth Quarter

6:55
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
K. Fletcher, 1 yard run (A. Pratt kick)
:Tulsa: 38-0

Game Stats

UTEP
Stat
Tulsa

0
Score
38

5
First Downs
21

158
Total Offense
420

8 - 73 - 0
Rushes - Yards - TD
50 - 297 - 3

4 - 20 - 0
Comp - Att - TD
9 - 15 - 2

85
Passing Yards
123

1
Times Sacked
0

0 - 7 (0%)
3rd Down Conversion
8 - 13 (61%)

0 - 1 (0%)
4th Down Conversion
1 - 2 (50%)

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

1 - 0 - 0 (0%)
Red Zone - TD - FG
6 - 5 - 1 (100%)

0
Turnovers
0

0
Fumbles Lost
0

0
Intercepted
0

8
Punt Return Yards
24

38
Kick Return Yards
24

204
Total Yards
468

6 – 45.0
Punts - Average
1 - 50.0

1 - 5
Penalties
0 - 0

9:53
Time of Possession
26:07

Tulsa Contract Goals Update

Fail Impact
Goal
Progress
Pass Impact

Win 8 games in one season
:check:
:5greenarrow:

:3redarrow:
13+ passing TD in one season
:check:
:5greenarrow:

14+ points per game in each season
41
:5greenarrow:

:3redarrow:
7+ rushing TD in one season
:check:
:5greenarrow:

:5redarrow:
2400+ total offensive yards in one season
:check:
:5greenarrow:

:6redarrow:
2400+ total offensive yards in each season
:check:
:3greenarrow:

:3redarrow:
Win 4 games in one season
:check:
:3greenarrow:

:5redarrow:
2000+ total offensive yards in one season
:check:
:2greenarrow:

Job Security Status

100%

SmoothPancakes

12-30-2012, 02:36 PM

Time for another look around the nation. Starting in the Top 25, #1 Washington will go to the Pac-12 Championship game undefeated, beating rival Washington State 45-16 to win the Apple Cup. In the game of the week, #2 Alabama wins the Iron Bowl, scoring 14 unanswered in the fourth quarter to come back and beat #4 Auburn 28-24. It's Bedlam in Oklahoma, as Oklahoma State scores 10 points in the fourth quarter to knock off #3 Oklahoma 24-19. #22 Georgia Tech, with two late touchdowns, pulls away from and knocks off #5 Georgia 38-24.

#15 Texas scores a late touchdown to knock off #7 TCU 27-20. #8 Nebraska picks up a 28-12 win over #12 Iowa. #9 Notre Dame scores a touchdown in overtime to beat #17 USC 17-10. #10 Clemson manages to fight off South Carolina for the 31-28 win. #11 Michigan scores 21 points in the fourth quarter, including the game winner with 1:21 left to beat Ohio State 38-31. #13 Houston gets a late touchdown to take down SMU 27-20. This game was also a preview of the Big East championship game as Houston and SMU will meet again.

#16 Fresno State gets a 34-17 win over Hawaii. Colorado State counters a field goal in overtime with a touchdown to knock off #20 Wyoming 27-24. #21 LSU scores 20 points in the fourth quarter to escape Arkansas 27-23. #23 Miami barely holds on to beat North Carolina 27-25. And #25 UCLA holds off Stanford 30-24.

For our readers, souljahbill,Southern Miss wins their sixth in a row, beating Marshall 23-20 in overtime to improve to 8-4 (7-1 in C-USA) heading into the C-USA CCG rematch with Tulsa. Jaymo, Arizona State ends their year whooping ass, shutting out Arizona 27-0 to improve to 5-7 (3-6 Pac-12). Mors, West Virginia fought hard to the end, but lost 49-45 to Texas Tech, dropping to 3-8 (1-7 Big 12). Other teams of interest, Arkansas State become bowl eligible, beating Troy 31-28, improving to 6-5 (3-3 Sun Belt).

On a C-USA note, Rice loses 48-24 to North Texas to end 5-7, eliminating the Owls from a bowl game. UTSA beats Texas State 27-24 in overtime to become bowl eligible. And with our win over UTEP, Tulsa will host the C-USA Championship Game against Southern Miss.

Looking at undefeated teams left, nobody new lost, our number of undefeated teams remains at 1. #1 Washington (12-0) is all that remains with an unblemished record this season.

Turning to a more sadistic watch, who is still winless. Everyone manages to win at least one game this year.

Teams getting their first win this week were: UMass (14-10 over 4-8 Ball State).

Taking a look at the new Top 25 polls, starting in the Coaches Poll, Washington (61 first place votes) remains #1. Alabama remains #2. Tulsa jumps three spots to #3. Nebraska jumps four to #4, Notre Dame jumps four to #5. Auburn drops two to #6, Clemson and Michigan both climb three to #7 and #8. Texas jumps six to #9 and Georgia falls five to #10. Houston climbs two to #11, TCU drops five to #12, Texas A&M moves up one to #13, Fresno State jumps two to #14, Nevada leaps three to #15. Oklahoma plummets thirteen to #16, Kansas State jumps two to #17. Georgia Tech climbs four to #18, Iowa drops seven to #19, LSU moves up one to #20. Miami jumped two to #21, USC dropped five to #22, Louisville and UCLA both climb one to #23 and #24, and Wake Forest enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week was Wyoming (from #20). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Wyoming (273 votes) sits #26, followed by Northwestern (242), Virginia Tech (211), Michigan State (189) and SMU (81) to round out the top 30. FIU (36) sits #32.

In the Media Poll, Washington (65 first place votes) remains your #1. Alabama remains #2. Nebraska leaps six spots to #3. Tulsa climbs two to #4. Texas jumps nine ranks to #5, Notre Dame moves up four to #6. Auburn drops two to #7, Clemson jumps three to #8. Georgia drops six to #9, Georgia Tech leaping ten spots to #10. Michigan and Houston both climb one to #11 and #12. TCU drops six spots to #13, Texas A&M climbs one to #14 and Fresno State jumps two to #15. Iowa dropped eight spots to #16, Nevada climbed one to #17, Oklahoma freefalled fourteen spots to #18. LSU stayed at #19, Kansas State moved up one to #20. Miami jumped two to #21, USC dropped six to #22, Louisville and UCLA both moved up one to #23 and #24, and Wake Forest enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week was Wyoming (from #20). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Virginia Tech (257 votes) sits at #26, followed by Wyoming (192), Northwestern (181), Michigan State (105) and SMU (58) to round out the top 30.

Looking at the new BCS standings, Washington is #1, Alabama #2, Nebraska #3. Tulsa sits #4 and Notre Dame #5. Auburn is #6, Texas #7, Clemson #8, Michigan #9 and Georgia #10.

Other notes for the week, Kiel Fletcher remains #2 on the Heisman Watch list behind Georgia's Matt Blount.

Looking at Award Finalists lists, Kiel Fletcher is #2 on the Walter Camp list, #2 on the Walker list and #5 on the Maxwell list. Brandon Booth is #6 on the O'Brien list and #12 on the Maxwell list. LE Greg Wilkerson is #11 on the Lombardi list and #12 on the Nagurski list.

Looking at the newest bowl projections, #3 Tulsa is projected to match up with #4 Nebraska in the Rose Bowl. Looking at other BCS Bowl projections, they have #5 Notre Dame vs. #9 Texas in the Sugar Bowl, #7 Clemson vs. #6 Auburn in the Orange Bowl, #12 TCU vs. #15 Nevada in the Fiesta Bowl, and #1 Washington squaring off with #2 Alabama in the National Championship Game.

Other C-USA teams being projected to bowl games include: UTEP (vs. Ohio State in the TicketCity Bowl), Southern Miss (vs. Connecticut in the Liberty Bowl), FIU (vs. Cincinnati in the Beef O'Brady's Bowl) and UTSA (vs. BYU in the New Orleans Bowl). Those are the only bowl eligible teams right now, only Rice and UTSA still have a chance, both sitting at 5-6. UTSA plays Texas State in their final game, Rice plays North Texas.

Looking at bowl numbers, 34 bowls leave 68 slots.

The ACC has 9 eligible teams. The Big 12 has 5 teams in, with Oklahoma State (5-6) still alive. The Big East has 7 teams eligible, USF (5-6) and ECU (5-6) both still with a chance. The Big Ten has 11 teams eligible. C-USA has 4 teams eligible. Independents, Notre Dame is in (10-2). MAC has 8 teams eligible. The Mountain West has 6 teams eligible. The Pac-12 will get 8 teams in. The SEC has 9 teams eligible. The Sun Belt has only three teams eligible. UL Lafayette (5-6) and UL Monroe (5-6) both remain alive. The WAC, only Wyoming is eligible. Idaho (5-6) is the only one left with a chance.

So with 68 slots in 34 bowls, we currently have 72 teams bowl eligible, and 6 teams still with a chance of becoming bowl eligible, so multiple teams will guaranteed get screwed out of a bowl slot this year.

SmoothPancakes

12-30-2012, 03:32 PM

Had a bye week in week 14, so lets jump right into it.

Time for another look around the nation. Starting in the Top 25, #9 Texas holds on late to beat West Virginia 24-17. In the game of the week, #12 TCU holds on to beat #16 Oklahoma 34-23, the Sooners losing their second straight game. #14 Fresno State beats UNLV 44-17. Hawaii knocks off #15 Nevada 38-35. And #17 Kansas State pulls a 34-31 win over Iowa State out of their ass.

For our readers, souljahbill,Southern Miss had a bye week before the CCG, remaining at 8-4 (7-1 in C-USA). Mors, West Virginia fought hard to the end yet again, but lost 24-17 to #9 Texas to end the season 3-9 (1-8 Big 12). Other teams of interest, Arkansas State beats Louisiana-Lafayette 40-14, improving to 7-5 (4-3 Sun Belt).

On a C-USA note, no conference games this week. The C-USA CCG is set, 8-4 Southern Miss at 11-1 Tulsa.

On a personal note, Navy finally breaks the streak, beating Army 45-28.

Looking at undefeated teams left, nobody new lost, our number of undefeated teams remains at 1. #1 Washington (12-0) is all that remains with an unblemished record this season.

Turning to a more sadistic watch, who is still winless. Everyone manages to win at least one game this year.

Teams getting their first win this week were: UMass (14-10 over 4-8 Ball State).

Taking a look at the new Top 25 polls, starting in the Coaches Poll, the top 14 remained the same. Washington (61 first place votes) stayed #1, Alabama #2, Tulsa #3, Nebraska #4 and Notre Dame #5. Auburn was #6, Clemson #7, Michigan #8, Texas #9 and Georgia #10. Houston #11, TCU #12, Texas A&M #13 and Fresno State #14. Kansas State, Georgia Tech and Iowa moved up two to #15, #16 and #17. LSU, Miami and USC all jumped two to #18, #19 and #20. Oklahoma dropped five to #21, Louisville, UCLA and Wake Forest all moved up one to #22, #23 and #24. And Wyoming reentered the poll at #25. Dropping out this week was Nevada (from #15). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Nevada (219 votes) is #26, followed by Northwestern (210), Virginia Tech (174), Michigan State (139) and SMU (109) to round out the top 30. FIU (34 votes) is #31.

In the Media Poll, the top 9 remained the same. Washington (65 first place votes) remains your #1. Alabama #2. Nebraska #3. Tulsa #4. Texas #5, Notre Dame #6. Auburn #7, Clemson #8. Georgia #9. Michigan and Houston both moved up one to #10 and #11, Georgia Tech dropped two to #12. TCU, Texas A&M, Fresno State and Iowa all remained #13 through #16. LSU, Kansas State and Miami all jumped two to #17, #18 and #19. USC, Louisville, UCLA and Wake Forest all jumped two to #20, #21, #22 and #23. Oklahoma dropped six to #24. And Wyoming reentered the poll at #25. Dropping out this week was Nevada (from #15). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Virginia Tech (235 votes) is #26, followed by Northwestern (198), Nevada (171), Michigan State (161) and SMU (131) to round out the top 30. FIU (89 votes) is #31.

Looking at the new BCS standings, Washington is #1 (1.000 points), Alabama #2 (0.995 points), Tulsa sits #3 (0.986 points), Nebraska #4 (.0986 points) and Notre Dame #5 (0.976 points). Auburn is #6, Texas #7, Clemson #8, Michigan #9 and Georgia #10.

Other notes for the week, Kiel Fletcher remains #2 on the Heisman Watch list behind Georgia's Matt Blount. Blount is most likely going to win. He sits at 2,094 yards rushing and 28 TDs, 390 yards receiving and one TD for the year. Fletcher has 1,598 yards rushing and 23 TDs, 442 yard receiving and 3 TDs for the year. So it pretty much is Blount's to lose.

Looking at Award Finalists lists, Kiel Fletcher is #2 on the Walter Camp list, #2 on the Walker list and #5 on the Maxwell list. Brandon Booth is #6 on the O'Brien list and #12 on the Maxwell list. LE Greg Wilkerson is #11 on the Lombardi list and #12 on the Nagurski list.

Looking at the final bowl projections, #3 Tulsa is projected to match up with #4 Nebraska in the Rose Bowl. Looking at other BCS Bowl projections, they have #5 Notre Dame vs. #9 Texas in the Sugar Bowl, #7 Clemson vs. #6 Auburn in the Orange Bowl, #12 TCU vs. #14 Fresno State in the Fiesta Bowl, and #1 Washington squaring off with #2 Alabama in the National Championship Game.

Other C-USA teams being projected to bowl games include: UTEP (vs. Ohio State in the TicketCity Bowl), Southern Miss (vs. Connecticut in the Liberty Bowl), FIU (vs. Cincinnati in the Beef O'Brady's Bowl) and UTSA (vs. BYU in the New Orleans Bowl).

Looking at bowl numbers, 34 bowls leave 68 slots.

The ACC has 9 eligible teams. The Big 12 has 6 teams in. The Big East has 7 teams eligible. The Big Ten has 11 teams eligible. C-USA has 4 teams eligible. Independents, Notre Dame is in (10-2). MAC has 8 teams eligible. The Mountain West has 7 teams eligible. The Pac-12 will get 8 teams in. The SEC has 9 teams eligible. The Sun Belt has four teams eligible. The WAC, only Wyoming is eligible.

So with 68 slots in 34 bowls, 75 teams make it to bowl eligible, so 7 teams will get screwed out of a bowl slot this year.

SmoothPancakes

12-30-2012, 05:16 PM

I'm almost to the end of the first quarter of the CCG. All I'm gonna say is we have ourselves a baseball game. :D

morsdraconis

12-30-2012, 05:42 PM

Wow man! #4 and #3 in the BCS!! SO close. Now you just need a CCG upset by someone and you're in the promise land!

souljahbill

12-30-2012, 05:50 PM

This is the only time I'll ever root against :Southern_Miss:. Good luck, Smooth.

SmoothPancakes

12-30-2012, 06:25 PM

Wow man! #4 and #3 in the BCS!! SO close. Now you just need a CCG upset by someone and you're in the promise land!

Yeah, well I have to avoid getting upset in a CCG first. :D :(

This is the only time I'll ever root against :Southern_Miss:. Good luck, Smooth.

I appreciate the support man, even coming against your guys. I will say this, late third quarter, they are putting up one hell of a fight. This one I think is going down to the final seconds.

SmoothPancakes

12-30-2012, 07:18 PM

C-USA Conference Championship Game

:Southern_Miss: :@: #3 :Tulsa:

Game Notes

--- One game. One game was all that stood between us and a BCS berth as we would crash the party. One game was all that stood between us and a second straight C-USA championship. One game was all that stood between our seniors and going out on their home field the final time as winners. One game was all that remained.

This one looked to be a hell of a battle. Southern Miss came into the game on a 6 game winning streak, their last loss being against us back in week 7. Since then, Southern Miss had become the #16 defense in the nation, the #6 rushing defense and the #42 passing defense. Every aspect of our offensive attack would be challenged in this game. The only saving grace, the Golden Eagles entered with the #97 passing offense. We would again leave the normal blue and golds in the locker room, coming out in our all-blue alternates for the championship game. We won the coin toss and elected to kick.

Starting on the 25 yard line after the touchback, the Golden Eagles found out they were also going to be in for a challenge today, as our defense tackled Chris Williams for a two yard loss, before a pair of incomplete passes brought about a very early punt. A fair catch on the 46 yard punt gave our offense the ball at our 30. Kiel Fletcher took the ball on first down, only managing to pick up one yard on the ground. Taking the handoff, Fletcher would manage to find a hole, getting tackled forward for a 10 yard rush to get the first down at the 42 yard line. Fletcher would take the ball again, fighting forward for a gain of two yards to leave second and 8. Opening up the passing game, Brandon Booth found Conner Jefferson wide open on a slant route for what would have been at least a 15 yard gain and then some, but Jefferson was unable to hold onto the ball as he turned up field, and we were left with third and 8. Checking down from Thompson, Booth took a shot and launched it deep at the left sideline, where Eric Hayden had managed to beat the corner off the line, jumping to haul in the pass before being pushed out of bounds at the 22 yard line for a gain of 35 yards. Fighting off a tackle attempt, Fletcher was able to pick up 6 yards on the ground, followed by a rush up the middle for a three yard gain to leave third and one. Booth would keep the ball himself, getting leveled at the 12 yard line for a gain of one yard. The measurement by the refs left us with fourth and inches. The 29 yard field goal by Alphonso Pratt gave us a 3-0 lead with 3:56 left in the first quarter.

A touchback got the Golden Eagles back in action from their 25. It was a rough start to the drive, as Xavier Jones was sacked for a one yard loss on first down. A two yard pass to Williams left Southern Miss looking at third and 9, with the punt team coming out one play later after an incomplete pass intended for Dustin Fritz left USM with fourth down. A four yard return on the 47 yard punt got our offense back on the field at our 31 yard line. Taking a shot with the option, Booth was brought down for a loss of one yard on the opening play. Booth made one of his most boneheaded plays, scrambling to avoid the pressure, cutting back to the left and trying to keep the play alive, before being sacked while trying to throw the ball away, losing 20 yards on the sack overall to leave us buried on our 10 yard line with third and 31. Our offensive line would fail to block the blitz, and Booth was sacked for a second play in a row, this time for the safety, making the score 3-2 with 1:50 left in the first quarter.

A 19 yard return on the safety punt gave Southern Miss the ball at their 35 yard line. After a thrown away pass, Jones found Fritz for a 15 yard gain, a 5 yard facemask penalty tacked on to give Southern Miss a first down at our 35 yard line. After another thrown away pass, Williams rushed ahead for a 6 yard gain, before an incomplete pass left the Golden Eagles with fourth and four. They would take the gamble on fourth down, Jones’ pass to Reggie Adkins dropped and our offense took over on the turnover on downs from our 37 yard line. Fletcher took the handoff for a 7 yard gain, followed by tearing it up the gut for a pickup of 11 yards to give us a first down at the USM 45 yard line. That would be were the first quarter would come to an end, our lead, 3-2.

Fletcher got the second quarter opened with a one yard rush, but a penalty flag came out, our right tackle called for holding, leaving us with first and 20 at our 46. Fletcher picked up the lost yards, getting a 10 yard gain to leave us with second and 10. Booth’s pass to Roy Smith went for a gain of four yards to set up third and 6. Booth’s pass to Ryan Strong was broken up, leaving fourth and 6. Coach Ludwig would attempt a ridiculous 57 yard field goal, Pratt never having a chance of making it, and Southern Miss came out on offense at their 40 yard line. Williams broke a first down rush for 16 yards to get to our 44. A three yard scramble by Jones was followed with a one yard gain by Williams to leave third and 5. Williams would fight forward for a 5 yard rush, leaving the Golden Eagles looking at fourth and inches from our 34. Southern Miss would convert the fourth down, as Jones found Fritz for a two yard gain to get the first down at our 32. A pair of rushes by Williams for gains of four and 7 yards got USM down to our 21 yard line. An 8 yard rush by Josh Vaughn and an incomplete pass left Southern Miss with third and 8, before Jones connected with Joseph Pollard for the 13 yard touchdown pass and a 9-3 lead with 5:05 left in the second quarter.

Fletcher brought the kickoff out for a 22 yard return and our offense was back on the field at our 20 yard line. Coming out passing on first down, Booth hit Hayden on a slant route for a 22 yard gain to our 42 yard line, when a flag came out, the safety, Jason Reid, giving us even more yards as he got flagged for a 15 yard facemask on the tackle, giving us a first down at the USM 43 yard line. Going to the ground, Fletcher bounced it outside toward the left sideline, turning up field and getting 8 yards before being laid out. Booth would keep the ball on the next play, turning the corner for a three yards gain to get first down at the 32 yard line. Fletcher tried to take it off the left tackle on first down, but the linebacker was waiting and brought him down for no gain. A pass to Max Thompson went for a gain of 14 yards and we were able to get another first down at the 17 yard line. Fletcher took the handoff on first down, immediately brought down for no gain. Going with a toss right, Fletcher was brought down for a loss of three yards, leaving us with third and 13. Thompson would again save the drive, hauling in a pass on an out route for a gain of 15 yards to give us first and goal at the 5 yard line, our first timeout stopping the clock with 52 seconds to go. Fletcher was tackled for a loss of one yard on the first down carry, before fighting forward for a three yard gain to give us third and goal at the two yard line, our second timeout stopping play with 30 seconds to go. Fletcher would punch it in off the left tackle on the next play to give us a 10-9 lead with 28 seconds to go.

An 18 yard return on the kickoff gave Southern Miss the ball at their 18 yard line with 18 seconds left on the clock. A loss of two yards on the ground by Williams would bring the first half to an end, our lead 10-9 as we headed into halftime.

A touchback on the kickoff to open the second half gave our offense the ball at the 25 yard line. Taking the ball on first down, Fletcher found a hole outside the left guard, and nearly was able to break it for what would have been a 75 yard touchdown, but the safety came diving in to trip him up at the 42 yard line for an official gain of 17 yards and save the potential touchdown. Taking a chance with the option, Booth never had a chance to even try to pitch, instantly being brought down for a loss of three yards. A pass to Hayden went for a gain of 8 yards to leave us with third and 6. Booth’s third down pass to Jefferson was nearly intercepted, and we were forced to punt it away. A bad snap would force Carlos Wilcox to try and scramble with the ball on the aborted punt, being tackled for a loss of two yards to give Southern Miss the ball on our 45 yard line.

A 9 yard pass from Jones to Fritz was followed with a 6 yard rush by Vaughn, and USM had a quick first down at our 29. A pass to Pollard went for a 9 yard gain, before Vaughn would pick up another first down with a 7 yard rush down to our 17 yard line. Our defense would push back, sacking Jones for a 9 yards loss, leaving second and 19 at our 26. Jones found Chuck Lee for a 9 yard pickup, before connecting with Adkins for a 16 yard touchdown pass to put Southern Miss on top. The two-point conversion attempt was no good as Jones’ pass was batted down, and the score stood at 15-10 with 5:33 left to go in the third quarter.

A 19 yard kickoff return by Jefferson got our offense back underway from our 25. Fletcher was able to only find one yard on first down, and we headed into the air. Jefferson hauled in a pass from Booth and fought ahead for a 13 yard gain to get the first down at the 40 yard line. Keeping in the air, Booth found Thompson at midfield, juking and spinning away from the tackle attempt by the cornerback, before racing down the sideline for a 41 yard gain, getting shoved out at the 19 yard line by the safety. Smith hauled in a first down pass, shouldering his way through the cornerback for a couple extra yards, tackled by the linebacker at the 8 yard line for an 11 yard gain and first and goal. Fletcher took the first down carry, fighting through the defensive end for a three yard gain. Taking it up the middle, Fletcher was only able to gain two yards, leaving us third and goal at the three yard line. Booth would find Thompson over the middle on third down for the two yard touchdown pass. Going for the two point conversion, Fletcher hauled in the pass from Booth to make our lead 18-15 with 1:56 left in the third quarter.

A touchback gave Southern Miss the ball at their 25 yard line. The Golden Eagles came out passing, as Jones hit Adkins for a 21 yard gain to get to the 46. Our defense would manage to bring Jones down on the next play, sacking him for a 5 yard loss to leave second and 15. Our defense would do even better on the next play, forcing a fumble on the carry by Williams, Caleb Miller recovering the fumble that he caused to give our offense the ball at the 46 yard line of Southern Miss. Fletcher took the handoff on first down, fighting up the middle for a gain of 8 before being overwhelmed by the defense. Running off tackle on second down, Fletcher fought ahead for a 12 yard gain to get a first down at the 26 yard line as the third quarter came to an end, our lead holding at 18-15.

Bouncing outside, Fletcher fought ahead for a 10 yard gain and a first down at the 16. Fletcher was stood up for no gain on the first down carry. A one yard rush on second down by Fletcher left us with third and 9 at the 15. Booth’s pass on third down to Hayden went for only a 5 yard gain, leaving us with fourth and four at the 10. The 27 yard field goal by Pratt made it 21-15 with 6:47 left in the game. A touchback on the kickoff gave Southern Miss the ball at their 25. After an incomplete pass on first down, Jones found Pollard on a cross for a gain of 12 yards to get to the 37. After a 7 yard rush by Williams, Jones threw deep, hitting Adkins for a 34 yard strike on the go route, giving Southern Miss a first down at our 22 yard line. Following two straight dropped passes, Jones connected with Lee on the comeback for a gain of 14 yards, setting up first and goal at our 8 yard line. A 7 yard pass to Fritz got the Golden Eagles down to our one yard line, where Williams would punch it in for the touchdown. The extra point made gave Southern Miss a 22-21 lead with 5:02 left in the game.

We started our next drive on our 17 yard line after a 17 yard return by Fletcher. Booth found Jefferson on a slant route for a 6 yard gain to set up second and four, before connecting with Thompson on a smash route, gaining 21 yards and a first down at our 44 yard line, 4:24 left in the game. Fletcher took the ball on first down, but had no chance, brought down for no gain. Eric Silva would come through huge on second down, hauling in a pass over the middle and then racing down the field for a 27 yard gain before being tripped up by the middle linebacker at the 29 yard line, 3:38 left to play. Fletcher, weaving his way back and forth through the gaps up the middle, rumbled ahead for an 18 yard gain before the safeties converged on him, giving us first down at the 11 yard line as the clock ticked under three minutes. Fletcher took the handoff on first down, rushing around the right tackle for a pickup of three yards. Another two yard gain by Fletcher left us looking at third and 5 from the 6 yard line. Choosing to play the clock, Fletcher took it up the middle for a 5 yard gain, leaving us fourth and one. Pratt’s 18 yard field goal gave us a 24-22 lead with 1:12 left in the game.

A touchback on the kickoff left Southern Miss starting at their 25 yard line, 1:04 remaining and only two timeouts. Going to the air on first down, Jones could only find Fritz for a two yard gain, leaving the Golden Eagles with second and 8, their second timeout stopping play with 58 seconds to go. After an incomplete pass on second down, Jones threw to Williams out of the backfield, only picking up one yard to leave fourth and 7, 48 seconds left. A dropped pass by Adkins would seal the fate of the Southern Miss, as our offense took over at the USM 28 yard line on the turnover on downs, 34 seconds left on the clock. Kneeling the ball on first down, Southern Miss called their final timeout, stopping the clock with 33 seconds to go. Booth would kneel one more time and that would end the game, as the final 30 seconds ticked off the clock without another snap, sealing our 24-22 victory and the 2015 C-USA Conference Championship.

With the win, we improve our record to 12-1, 9-0 in C-USA action. With the loss, Southern Miss drops to 8-5 on the season, 7-2 in C-USA play. Up next, it's the wait to find out what bowl game we will play in and who we will face.

Final Score
#3 :Tulsa: 24, :Southern_Miss: 22

Stat(s) of the Game:
- Tulsa Offense – A good day by Booth, throwing for 226 yards and a touchdown, though he had those two boneheaded plays in the first quarter that led to the safety. Despite facing a very talented rushing defense, Fletcher was still able to find a way to get 141 yards rushing and one touchdown for the game. Only 5 receivers caught a ball today, all five getting into double digit yards. Thompson led the way this game with 94 yards and a touchdown on five receptions.

- Tulsa Defense – Some positive, some negative today by the defense. Had a bunch of drives that they stopped Southern Miss cold, then other drive they let Southern Miss just drive all over them. Thankfully made the stop at the very end to force the turnover on downs and secure the victory.

- Tulsa Kicking – Pratt did pretty good today. Went 3-4 in field goals, missing the ridiculous 57 yard attempt, but connecting on two extremely crucial kicks in the fourth quarter, including the game winning 18 yard boot. Also went 1-1 in PATs.

Scoring Summary

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

:Southern_Miss:
2
7
6
7
22

:Tulsa:
3
7
8
6
24

Time
Team
Result
Play
Score

First Quarter

3:59
:Tulsa:
Field Goal
A. Pratt, 29 yard field goal
:Tulsa: 3-0

1:50
:Southern_Miss:
Safety
Booth tackled in end zone, team safety
:Tulsa: 3-2

Second Quarter

5:05
:Southern_Miss:
Touchdown
J. Pollard, 12 yard pass from X. Jones (W. Alston kick)
:Southern_Miss: 9-3

0:28
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
K. Fletcher, 2 yard run (A. Pratt kick)
:Tulsa: 10-9

Third Quarter

5:33
:Southern_Miss:
Touchdown
R. Adkins, 16 yard pass from X. Jones (2-point conversion failed)
:Southern_Miss: 15-10

1:56
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
M. Thompson, 3 yard pass form B. Booth (2-point conversion good
:Tulsa: 18-15

Fourth Quarter

6:47
:Tulsa:
Field Goal
A. Pratt, 31 yard field goal
:Tulsa: 21-15

5:02
:Southern_Miss:
Touchdown
C. Williams, 1 yard run (W. Alston kick)
:Southern_Miss: 22-21

1:12
:Tulsa:
Field Goal
A. Pratt, 18 yard field goal
:Tulsa: 24-22

Game Stats

Southern Miss
Stat
Tulsa

22
Score
24

9
First Downs
16

235
Total Offense
331

15 - 71 - 1
Rushes - Yards - TD
38 - 105 - 1

15 - 28 - 2
Comp - Att - TD
14 - 17 - 1

164
Passing Yards
226

3
Times Sacked
2

3 - 8 (37%)
3rd Down Conversion
4 - 10 (40%)

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

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

3 - 3 - 0 (100%)
Red Zone - TD - FG
5 - 2 - 3 (100%)

1
Turnovers
0

1
Fumbles Lost
0

0
Intercepted
0

0
Punt Return Yards
4

37
Kick Return Yards
58

272
Total Yards
393

2 – 47.0
Punts - Average
0 - 0.0

2 - 20
Penalties
2 - 15

15:41
Time of Possession
20:19

Tulsa Contract Goals Update

Fail Impact
Goal
Progress
Pass Impact

Win 8 games in one season
:check:
:5greenarrow:

:3redarrow:
13+ passing TD in one season
:check:
:5greenarrow:

14+ points per game in each season
:check:
:5greenarrow:

:3redarrow:
7+ rushing TD in one season
:check:
:5greenarrow:

:5redarrow:
2400+ total offensive yards in one season
:check:
:5greenarrow:

:6redarrow:
2400+ total offensive yards in each season
:check:
:3greenarrow:

:3redarrow:
Win 4 games in one season
:check:
:3greenarrow:

:5redarrow:
2000+ total offensive yards in one season
:check:
:2greenarrow:

Job Security Status

100%

SmoothPancakes

12-30-2012, 07:23 PM

Oh for fuck's sake, thank you God, Allah, Buddha, Yahweh, Krishna, Vishnu, and Jobu. http://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx305/SmoothPancakes/Smilies/e289077.gif

I can finally come down from this feeling of impending heart attack. I think I need a cigarette. Maybe a bottle of whiskey. http://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx305/SmoothPancakes/Smilies/e6436.gif

morsdraconis

12-30-2012, 08:52 PM

Damn man. CLOSE game. Glad to see you pulled it out man. Congrats on the great fuckin' season. Hopefully it becomes a magical season.

SmoothPancakes

12-30-2012, 08:59 PM

Damn man. CLOSE game. Glad to see you pulled it out man. Congrats on the great fuckin' season. Hopefully it becomes a magical season.

Yeah, I was shitting myself after that field goal, when I realized that our defense still had to defend Southern Miss for another minute plus. Could see the entire season going down the shitter right there, especially since Southern Miss would need only a field goal to win. Somehow the defense pulled it out and stopped them.

SmoothPancakes

12-30-2012, 09:02 PM

Conference Championship Week

Conference
Winning Team
Record
Score
Losing Team
Record

:ACC_Championship:
(7) :Clemson:
12-1 (9-1)
28-21
(19) :Miami:
9-4 (8-2)

:Big_East:
(11) :Houston:
12-1 (9-0)
40-9
:SMU:
9-4 (7-2)

:B1G_Championship:
(4) :Nebraska:
11-2 (8-2)
55-17
:Rutgers:
7-6 (5-5)

:CUSA:
(3) :Tulsa:
12-1 (9-0)
24-22
:Southern_Miss:
8-5 (7-2)

:MAC_Championship:
:Western_Michigan:
11-2 (8-1)
28-13
:Ohio:
8-5 (7-2)

:Pac_12:
(1) :Washington:
13-0 (10-0)
45-20
(23) :UCLA:
9-4 (7-3)

:SEC_Championship:
(2) :Alabama:
12-1 (9-1)
36-35
(10) :Georgia:
10-3 (8-2)

morsdraconis

12-30-2012, 09:09 PM

:(

SO close to the MNC yet so far away.

:(

SmoothPancakes

12-30-2012, 09:09 PM

I am doing this special for the SEC Championship Game, to show how close I came.

Scoring Summary

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

:Georgia:
7
14
7
7
35

:Alabama:
10
14
0
12
36

Time
Team
Result
Play
Score

First Quarter

12:47
:Georgia:
Touchdown
M. Blount, 3 yard run (S. Watkins kick)
:Georgia: 7-0

7:50
:Alabama:
Field Goal
Z. Wright, 46 yard field goal
:Georgia: 7-3

2:15
:Alabama:
Touchdown
M. Casey, 49 yard pass from J. Johnson (Z. Wright kick)
:Alabama: 10-7

Second Quarter

13:35
:Georgia:
Touchdown
A. Greco, 11 yard pass from S. Kerr (S. Watkins kick)
:Georgia: 14-10

8:36
:Alabama:
Touchdown
M. Casey, 9 yard pass from J. Johnson (Z. Wright kick)
:Alabama: 17-14

1:12
:Georgia:
Touchdown
J. Nolan, 5 yard run (S. Watkins kick)
:Georgia: 21-17

0:43
:Alabama:
Touchdown
M. Casey, 27 yard pass from J. Johnson (Z. Wright kick)
:Alabama: 24-21

Third Quarter

10:42
:Georgia:
Touchdown
A. Greco, 18 yard pass from S. Kerr (S. Watkins kick)
:Georgia: 28-24

Fourth Quarter

10:03
:Georgia:
Touchdown
J. Nolan, 6 yard run (S. Watkins kick)
:Georgia: 35-24

7:40
:Alabama:
Touchdown
R. Mitchell, 44 yard pass from J. Johnson (2-point conversion failed)
:Georgia: 35-30

2:18
:Alabama:
Touchdown
T. Amos, 35 yard pass from J. Johnson (2-point conversion failed)
:Alabama: 36-35

SmoothPancakes

12-30-2012, 09:11 PM

:(

SO close to the MNC yet so far away.

:(

Yep. I said "OH FUCK!" out loud when I saw the game summary for the SEC game (my second to last game simulated, MAC was the last one I simmed) pop up and the score was 36-35.

SmoothPancakes

12-30-2012, 09:16 PM

Pre-Bowl Games Update

Final BCS Standings

Rank
LW
Team
Wins
Losses
Points

1
1
Washington
13
0
1.000

2
2
Alabama
12
1
.995

3
3
Tulsa
12
1
.986

4
4
Nebraska
11
2
.986

5
5
Notre Dame
10
2
.976

6
6
Auburn
10
2
.970

7
7
Texas
10
2
.967

8
8
Clemson
12
1
.965

9
9
Michigan
9
3
.959

10
11
Houston
12
1
.941

11
13
TCU
10
2
.934

12
12
Texas A&M
9
3
.934

13
14
Georgia Tech
9
3
.922

14
15
Fresno State
10
2
.915

15
10
Georgia
10
3
.907

16
18
Kansas State
8
4
.892

17
16
Iowa
9
3
.891

18
17
LSU
9
3
.890

19
19
Louisville
8
4
.874

20
21
USC
9
3
.870

21
23
Oklahoma
9
3
.861

22
24
Wake Forest
9
3
.861

23
20
Miami (FL)
9
4
.841

24
25
Northwestern
8
4
.827

25
---
Nevada
9
3
.824

Conference Standings

* - Played in Conference Championship Game

ACC

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

Atlantic Division

#1
(8) Clemson*
12-1
.920
9-1
419
247
6-0

#2
(22) Wake Forest
9-3
.750
7-2
349
258
4-2

#3
(19) Louisville
8-4
.660
6-3
308
271
4-2

#4
Florida State
5-7
.410
4-5
302
298
3-3

#5
NC State
7-5
.580
4-5
349
282
2-4

#6
Boston College
3-9
.250
2-7
224
313
1-5

#7
Syracuse
2-10
.160
1-8
185
315
1-5

Coastal Division

#1
(23) Miami (FL)*
9-4
.692
8-2
366
241
5-1

#2
Virginia Tech
8-4
.660
6-3
311
242
5-1

#3
(13) Georgia Tech
9-3
.750
6-3
347
253
4-2

#4
Virginia
7-5
.580
5-4
331
350
4-2

#5
North Carolina
6-6
.500
3-6
321
320
2-4

#6
Pittsburgh
3-9
.250
2-7
302
353
1-5

#7
Duke
1-11
.083
1-8
199
311
0-6

Big 12

Rank
Team
Record
Percentage
Conference Record
Points For
Points Against

#1
(11) TCU
10-2
.830
8-1
514
295

#2
(16) Kansas State
8-4
.660
7-2
351
275

#3
(7) Texas
10-2
.830
7-2
374
255

#4
(21) Oklahoma
9-3
.750
6-3
427
196

#5
Oklahoma State
6-6
.500
5-4
385
304

#6
Texas Tech
6-6
.500
4-5
360
379

#7
Iowa State
4-8
.330
3-6
312
369

#8
Kansas
4-8
.330
2-7
309
436

#9
Baylor
2-10
.160
2-7
292
425

#10
West Virginia
3-9
.250
1-8
269
439

Big East

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

American Division

#1
(10) Houston*
12-1
.920
9-0
414
181
5-0

#2
Connecticut
9-3
.750
6-2
343
294
4-1

#3
Cincinnati
8-4
.660
5-3
365
302
3-2

#4
Boise State
7-5
.580
5-3
328
267
3-2

#5
East Carolina
5-7
.410
2-6
333
333
2-3

#6
UCF
5-7
.410
2-6
353
344
2-3

National Division

#1
SMU*
9-4
.690
7-2
450
301
6-0

#2
Navy
7-5
.580
5-3
355
396
4-2

#3
USF
5-7
.410
3-5
246
285
3-3

#4
Temple
7-5
.580
3-5
253
270
3-3

#5
San Diego State
4-8
.330
3-5
246
312
2-4

#6
Tulane
2-10
.160
2-6
189
356
1-5

#7
Memphis
1-11
.080
1-7
175
480
0-6

Big Ten

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

Leaders Division

#1
Ohio State
8-4
.660
5-4
352
306
4-2

#2
Rutgers*
7-6
.530
5-5
322
324
4-2

#3
Illinois
6-6
.500
4-5
341
266
4-2

#4
Maryland
7-5
.580
4-5
337
311
3-3

#5
Penn State
6-6
.500
3-6
324
305
2-4

#6
Indiana
3-9
.250
2-7
222
328
2-4

#7
Purdue
4-8
.330
2-7
309
342
2-4

Legends Division

#1
(4) Nebraska*
11-2
.840
8-2
521
261
5-1

#2
(17) Iowa
9-3
.750
7-2
335
169
4-2

#3
(9) Michigan
9-3
.750
7-2
432
275
4-2

#4
Michigan State
8-4
.660
6-3
314
239
3-3

#5
(24) Northwestern
8-4
.660
5-4
349
318
3-3

#6
Wisconsin
6-6
.500
5-4
279
209
2-4

#7
Minnesota
2-10
.160
1-8
184
418
0-6

Conference USA

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

East Division

#1
Southern Miss*
8-5
.610
7-2
337
263
5-0

#2
Florida International
8-4
.660
5-3
322
228
4-1

#3
Marshall
4-8
.330
3-5
278
313
3-2

#4
Louisiana Tech
4-8
.330
2-6
223
336
2-3

#5
Florida Atlantic
3-9
.250
2-6
135
294
1-4

#6
UAB
3-9
.250
2-6
3320
359
0-5

West Division

#1
(3) Tulsa*
12-1
.920
9-0
520
166
5-0

#2
UTEP
7-5
.580
5-3
254
271
2-3

#3
North Texas
5-7
.410
4-4
294
310
3-2

#4
Middle Tennessee State
4-8
.330
4-4
243
358
2-3

#5
UTSA
6-6
.500
3-5
293
322
2-3

#6
Rice
5-7
.410
3-5
319
312
1-4

Independents

Rank
Team
Record
Percentage
Conference Record
Points For
Points Against

#1
(5) Notre Dame
10-2
.830
---
430
196

MAC

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

East Division

#1
Ohio*
8-5
.610
7-2
370
283
5-1

#2
Bowling Green
7-5
.580
6-2
291
270
6-0

#3
Miami University
7-5
.580
5-3
337
328
4-2

#4
Kent State
7-5
.580
4-4
274
267
3-3

#5
Akron
2-10
.160
1-7
216
366
1-5

#6
Buffalo
1-11
.080
1-7
228
338
1-5

#7
Massachusetts
1-11
.080
1-7
147
390
0-6

West Division

#1
Western Michigan*
11-2
.840
8-1
436
261
4-1

#2
Toledo
7-5
.580
6-2
415
365
3-2

#3
Eastern Michgian
7-5
.580
6-2
293
220
3-2

#4
Northern Illinois
6-6
.500
3-5
326
333
2-3

#5
Central Michigan
4-8
.330
3-5
251
331
2-3

#6
Ball State
4-8
.330
2-6
261
343
1-4

Mountain West

Rank
Team
Record
Percentage
Conference Record
Points For
Points Against

#1
(14) Fresno State
10-2
.830
6-1
422
254

#2
Hawaii
7-5
.580
6-1
303
274

#3
(25) Nevada
9-3
.750
6-1
393
290

#4
San Jose State
7-5
.580
4-3
316
334

#5
Colorado State
7-5
.580
2-5
339
312

#6
Utah State
6-6
.500
2-5
287
317

#7
Air Force
6-6
.500
2-5
296
249

#8
UNLV
1-11
.080
0-7
195
423

Pac-12

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

North Division

#1
(1) Washington*
13-0
1.000
10-0
512
222
5-0

#2
Oregon State
7-5
.580
6-3
317
302
2-3

#3
Stanford
7-5
.580
5-4
343
294
4-1

#4
Oregon
8-4
.660
5-4
432
272
2-3

#5
Washington State
2-10
.160
2-7
298
450
2-3

#6
Cal
3-9
.250
1-8
292
437
0-5

South Division

#1
(20) USC
9-3
.750
7-2
432
240
4-1

#2
UCLA*
9-4
.690
7-3
375
348
5-0

#3
Colorado
6-6
.500
4-5
373
339
1-4

#4
Arizona State
5-7
.410
3-6
329
381
2-3

#5
Arizona
6-6
.500
3-6
298
308
2-3

#6
Utah
2-10
.160
2-7
223
372
1-4

SEC

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

East Division

#1
(15) Georgia*
10-3
.760
8-2
484
314
5-1

#2
South Carolina
7-5
.580
6-3
357
353
6-0

#3
Tennessee
7-5
.580
4-5
380
255
3-3

#4
Florida
6-6
.500
4-5
373
322
3-3

#5
Vanderbilt
4-8
.330
2-7
328
384
2-4

#6
Kentucky
3-9
.250
2-7
224
332
1-5

#7
Missouri
3-9
.250
1-8
310
425
1-5

West Division

#1
(2) Alabama*
12-1
.920
9-1
491
282
6-0

#2
(6) Auburn
10-2
.830
7-2
393
237
5-1

#3
(18) LSU
9-3
.750
6-3
419
283
3-3

#4
(12) Texas A&M
9-3
.750
6-3
457
295
3-3

#5
Ole Miss
5-7
.410
4-5
294
341
3-3

#6
Arkansas
6-6
.500
4-5
376
332
1-5

#7
Mississippi State
4-8
.330
1-8
290
305
0-6

Sun Belt

Rank
Team
Record
Percentage
Conference Record
Points For
Points Against

#1
BYU
7-5
.580
5-2
369
313

#2
UL Monroe
6-6
.500
5-2
297
284

#3
Arkansas State
7-5
.580
4-3
354
263

#4
Troy
4-8
.330
4-3
274
337

#5
Army
6-6
.500
4-3
329
325

#6
Western Kentucky
5-7
.410
3-4
234
249

#7
UL Lafayette
5-7
.410
2-5
220
281

#8
Texas State
1-11
.080
1-6
150
389

WAC

Rank
Team
Record
Percentage
Conference Record
Points For
Points Against

#1
Wyoming
10-2
.830
3-0
514
179

#2
New Mexico
4-8
.330
2-1
213
310

#3
New Mexico State
4-8
.330
1-2
282
328

#4
Idaho
5-7
.410
0-3
223
310

Heisman Memorial Trophy

:Heisman_Trophy:

Rank
Player
Position
Team
1st
2nd
3rd
Total

#1
Matt Blount
HB
Georgia
523
214
40
2037

#2
Kiel Fletcher
HB
Tulsa
201
406
146
1561

#3
Riley Thompson
HB
Nebraska
36
89
312
598

#4
Joey Owens
HB
Notre Dame
16
62
222
394

#5
James Joseph
QB
Michigan
8
9
50
92

Award Winners

Award
Player
Position
Team
Year

:Heisman_Trophy:
Matt Blount
HB
Georgia
Junior

Maxwell
Matt Blount
HB
Georgia
Junior

Walter Camp
Matt Blount
HB
Georgia
Junior

Bednarik
Gemara Lawrence
CB
NC State
Senior

Nagurski
Ryan Bryant
LE
Connecticut
Junior (RS)

O'Brien
Derron Inman
QB
SMU
Senior (RS)

Walker
Matt Blount
HB
Georgia
Junior

Biletnikoff
Jeff Hill
WR
Miami University
Senior (RS)

Mackey
Tim Brewer
TE
NC State
Senior (RS)

Outland
Jacques Holmes
LT
Notre Dame
Senior (RS)

Rimington
Isaiah Washington
C
Nebraska
Senior (RS)

Lombardi
Ryan Bryan
LE
Connecticut
Junior (RS)

Best LB
Luke Davis
MLB
LSU
Senior (RS)

Thorpe
Gemara Lawrence
CB
NC State
Senior

Groza
Gary Weber
K
Oklahoma
Junior (RS)

Guy
Paul Muhammad
P
Georgia Tech
Senior (RS)

Best Returner
Mark Hall
WR
Iowa
Junior (RS)

All Americans

All-NCAA

1st Team

Position
Player
Team
Year

Offense

QB
Derron Inman
SMU
Senior (RS)

HB
Matt Blount
Georgia
Junior (RS)

HB
Kiel Fletcher
Tulsa
Senior

WR
Jeff Hill
Miami University
Senior (RS)

WR
Phillip Lee
SMU
Junior (RS)

TE
Tim Brewer
NC State
Senior (RS)

LT
Jacques Holmes
Notre Dame
Senior (RS)

C
Isaiah Washington
Nebraska
Senior (RS)

RG
Reggie Johnson
Alabama
Senior (RS)

RG
Trevor Leak
Texas
Senior (RS)

RT
Ed Manning
Alabama
Senior (RS)

Defense

LE
Ryan Bryant
Connecticut
Junior (RS)

RE
Eric Stanley
Clemson
Junior

DT
Preston Williams
Auburn
Senior

DT
Adam McKenzie
Hawaii
Junior (RS)

LOLB
Steve Walden
Cincinnati
Junior (RS)

MLB
Luke Davis
LSU
Senior (RS)

ROLB
Brian Miller
Arizona
Junior (RS)

CB
Alex Sims
Clemson
Junior (RS)

CB
Gemara Lawrence
NC State
Senior

FS
Jonathan Luke
Texas A&M
Junior

SS
Jamar Carter
Nevada
Freshman

K
Gary Weber
Oklahoma
Junior (RS)

P
Cedric Powers
Alabama
Senior

Returner
Mark Hall
Iowa
Junior (RS)

2nd Team

Position
Player
Team
Year

Offense

QB
Barrett Dailey
TCU
Senior (RS)

HB
Riley Thompson
Nebraska
Junior

HB
Joey Owens
Notre Dame
Junior

WR
Jimmy Weatherford
TCU
Senior (RS)

WR
Alfred Lamb
Houston
Junior

TE
Jared Denman
Bowling Green
Senior (RS)

LT
James Jackson
Texas
Senior

LT
John Cole
Michigan
Senior (RS)

LG
Jason Wright
Texas
Senior (RS)

C
Brandon Hall
Alabama
Senior (RS)

RG
Ben Prater
Nebraska
Senior (RS)

Defense

LE
Andrew Clark
Texas
Senior

LE
Jerome Ferguson
Washington
Junior (RS)

DT
Joel Young
Notre Dame
Sophomore (RS)

DT
Tom Alexander
Louisville
Senior (RS)

MLB
Akeem Peterson
West Virginia
Senior (RS)

ROLB
Lawrence Graham
Western Michigan
Junior

ROLB
Ronnie Burley
Nebraska
Senior

CB
Brandon Poole
Northwestern
Junior (RS)

CB
Fred Lester
TCU
Junior (RS)

FS
Jake Randle
Florida International
Senior (RS)

SS
Bryan Malone
Western Michigan
Senior

K
Chris Holiday
Arkansas State
Senior

P
Derrick Montgomery
Houston
Senior

Returner
Johnny Fisher
Cal
Senior

Freshman Team

Position
Player
Team
Year

Offense

QB
Micah Swan
Iowa
Freshman

HB
Isaiah Romero
Stanford
Freshman (RS)

HB
Curtis Rutledge
Air Force
Freshman

WR
Eric Hayden
Tulsa
Freshman

WR
Obadiah Strickland
Ohio
Freshman

TE
Jared Hawkins
LSU
Freshman

LT
Nathan Waters
South Carolina
Freshman (RS)

C
James Covington
Alabama
Freshman

RG
Reggie Williams
Alabama
Freshman

RG
Tyler Davis
Clemson
Freshman (RS)

RT
David Lumpkin
Clemson
Freshman (RS)

Defense

LE
Josh Gutierrez
Alabama
Freshman

RE
Kyler Taylor
Connecticut
Freshman

DT
Brandon Lawson
Michigan
Freshman

DT
Erik McLaughlin
TCU
Freshman (RS)

LOLB
Caleb Hogan
Colorado State
Freshman

LOLB
Quinton Smith
Nebraska
Freshman

MLB
Troy Wright
Ohio State
Freshman

CB
Brian Howard
Nevada
Freshman

CB
Gabe Wall
Georgia
Freshman

FS
Markell Medlock
Ohio State
Freshman

SS
Jamar Carter
Nevada
Freshman

K
Jon Montgomery
Houston
Freshman

P
Joe Houston
Nebraska
Freshman

Returner
Philip Durbin
Clemson
Freshman

All-Conference USA

1st Team

Position
Player
Team
Year

Offense

QB
Brandon Booth
Tulsa
Senior (RS)

HB
Kiel Fletcher
Tulsa
Senior

HB
Chris Williams
Southern Miss
Senior (RS)

WR
Connor Jefferson
Tulsa
Junior

WR
Tanner Hooper
Marshall
Senior

TE
Spencer Alford
UTEP
Junior (RS)

LG
Daniel Peters
Tulsa
Junior (RS)

C
Andre Young
Southern Miss
Senior (RS)

RG
Marcel Morris
Tulsa
Senior (RS)

RT
Jose Franklin
Southern Miss
Senior

RT
Cameron Powers
Tulsa
Sophomore (RS)

Defense

LE
Greg Wilkerson
Tulsa
Sophomore (RS)

RE
Seth Griffin
Florida International
Senior

DT
Chris Peoples
Tulsa
Sophomore (RS)

DT
Alex Collier
Tulsa
Senior (RS)

LOLB
David Mason
Southern Miss
Senior (RS)

LOLB
Corey Dunlap
Southern Miss
Senior

MLB
Josh Kelly
Southern Miss
Senior (RS)

CB
Alex McQueen
Florida International
Senior (RS)

CB
Eric Pearson
Southern Miss
Junior (RS)

FS
Jake Randle
Florida International
Senior (RS)

SS
Darnell Turner
Tulsa
Freshman

K
William Alston
Southern Miss
Junior (RS)

P
Tony Hodges
Florida International
Freshman

Returner
Nate Johnson
Middle Tennessee State
Senior (RS)

2nd Team

Position
Player
Team
Year

Offense

QB
Lamar Evans
Rice
Senior (RS)

HB
Mark Yates
North Texas
Senior

HB
Dan Davidson
Florida International
Sophomore (RS)

WR
Donald Thompson
Rice
Senior (RS)

WR
Mark Thompson
Tulsa
Junior (RS)

TE
Chris Humphrey
Louisiana Tech
Senior (RS)

LT
Jonathan Gallagher
UTEP
Senior (RS)

C
Travis Hearn
Tulsa
Sophomore (RS)

RG
Matt West
Florida International
Junior (RS)

RG
Lee Robinson
Rice
Junior (RS)

RT
Kyle Davis
Tulsa
Junior (RS)

Defense

LE
Michael Huston
North Texas
Senior

RE
Brad Vaughn
UTEP
Senior (RS)

DT
Eric Williams
North Texas
Senior

DT
George Conley
Southern Miss
Junior

MLB
Darrell Harvey
North Texas
Senior

ROLB
Mike Gibson
Middle Tennessee State
Senior (RS)

ROLB
Vince Gray
UTSA
Junior (RS)

CB
Ty Ferguson
Marshall
Senior

CB
Marcus Hicks
UTEP
Senior

FS
Shaun Robinson
Marshall
Junior

SS
Donovan Browning
Rice
Senior (RS)

K
Grant Mosely
Rice
Senior (RS)

P
Carlos Wilcox
Tulsa
Junior

Returner
Mike Griffin
UTEP
Junior (RS)

SmoothPancakes

12-30-2012, 09:22 PM

2015 Conference Champions

Conference
Team
Record
Conference Record

CCG Loser
Record
Conference Record

:ACC:
:Clemson:
12-1
9-1

:Miami:
9-4
8-2

:Big_12:
:TCU:
10-2
8-1

:Big_East:
:Houston:
12-1
9-0

:SMU:
9-4
7-2

:Big_Ten:
:Nebraska:
11-2
8-2

:Rutgers:
7-6
5-5

:CUSA:
:Tulsa:
12-1
9-0

:Southern_Miss:
8-5
7-2

:MAC:
:Western_Michigan:
11-2
8-1

:Ohio:
8-5
7-2

:Mountain_West:
:Fresno_State:
10-2
6-1

:Pac_12:
:Washington:
13-0
10-0

:UCLA:
9-4
7-3

:SEC:
:Alabama:
12-1
9-1

:Georgia:
10-3
8-2

:Sun_Belt:
:BYU:
7-5
5-2

:WAC:
:Wyoming:
10-2
3-0

JeffHCross

12-30-2012, 09:56 PM

Looking at the new BCS standings, Washington is #1 (1.000 points), Alabama #2 (0.995 points), Tulsa sits #3 (0.986 points), Nebraska #4 (.0986 points) and Notre Dame #5 (0.976 points). Auburn is #6, Texas #7, Clemson #8, Michigan #9 and Georgia #10.Ugh. We need computer polls in the game to avoid this tied BCS standing crap ...

Not to mention I don't think the points are being calculated accurately anyway ...

Oh for fuck's sake, thank you God, Allah, Buddha, Yahweh, Krishna, Vishnu, and Jobu. http://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx305/SmoothPancakes/Smilies/e289077.gif

I can finally come down from this feeling of impending heart attack. I think I need a cigarette. Maybe a bottle of whiskey. http://i766.photobucket.com/albums/xx305/SmoothPancakes/Smilies/e6436.gifThis is totally how I felt about my Week 6 powerhouse game :D

SmoothPancakes

12-30-2012, 10:20 PM

2015 Bowl Season Rundown

Bowl Game
Conference
Record
Team

Team
Record
Conference

Date/Result

:New_Mexico_Bowl:
:Mountain_West:
6-6 (2-5)
:Utah_State:
vs.
:Navy:
7-5 (5-3)
:Big_East:

12/15 - 3:00PM

:Famous_Idaho_Bowl:
:MAC:
7-5 (6-2)
:Toledo:
vs.
:Wyoming:
10-2 (3-0)
:WAC:

12/17 - 2:00PM

:New_Orleans_Bowl:
:CUSA:
6-6 (3-5)
:UTSA:
vs.
:BYU:
7-5 (5-2)
:Sun_Belt:

12/17 - 8:30PM

:Beef_O_Bradys_Bowl:
:CUSA:
8-4 (5-3)
:FIU:
vs.
:Cincinnati:
8-4 (5-3)
:Big_East:

12/20 - 8:00PM

:Poinsettia_Bowl:
:MAC:
7-5 (5-3)
:Miami_OH:
vs.
(25) :Nevada:
9-3 (6-1)
:Mountain_West:

12/21 - 5:00PM

:Las_Vegas_Bowl:
:Pac_12:
7-5 (5-4)
:Stanford:
vs.
:Hawaii:
7-5 (6-1)
:Mountain_West:

12/22 - 8:00PM

:Hawaii_Bowl:
:Mountain_West:
6-6 (2-5)
:Air_Force:
vs.
:North_Carolina:
6-6 (3-6)
:ACC:

12/24 - 3:00PM

:Independence_Bowl:
:Mountain_West:
7-5 (4-3)
:San_Jose_State:
vs.
:Virginia:
7-5 (5-4)
:ACC:

12/26 - 4:30PM

:LittleCaesars_Bowl:
:Big_Ten:
7-6 (5-5)
:Rutgers:
vs.
:Ohio:
8-5 (7-2)
:MAC:

12/27 - 2:00PM

:Belk_Bowl:
:ACC:
8-4 (6-3)
(19) :Louisville:
vs.
:SMU:
9-4 (7-2)
:Big_East:

12/27 - 4:30PM

:Military_Bowl:
:MAC:
7-5 (6-2)
:Bowling_Green:
vs.
:NC_State:
7-5 (4-5)
:ACC:

12/28 - 4:30PM

:Holiday_Bowl:
:Big_12:
6-6 (4-5)
:Texas_Tech:
vs.
:UCLA:
9-4 (7-3)
:Pac_12:

12/28 - 5:00PM

:Alamo_Bowl:
:Big_12:
9-3 (6-3)
(21) :Oklahoma:
vs.
(20) :USC:
9-3 (7-2)
:Pac_12:

12/29 - 8:00PM

:Champs_Sports_Bowl:
:Big_East:
12-1 (9-0)
(10) :Houston:
vs.
(22) :Wake_Forest:
9-3 (7-2)
:ACC:

12/29 - 8:00PM

:Insight_Bowl:
:Big_12:
6-6 (5-4)
:Oklahoma_State:
vs.
(24) :Northwestern:
8-4 (5-4)
:Big_Ten:

12/30 - 6:00PM

:Music_City_Bowl:
:SEC:
6-6 (4-5)
:Florida:
vs.
(13) :Georgia_Tech:
9-3 (6-3)
:ACC:

12/30 - 8:30PM

:Sun_Bowl:
:Pac_12:
7-5 (6-3)
:Oregon_State:
vs.
:Virginia_Tech:
8-4 (6-3)
:ACC:

12/31 - 12:00PM

:Armed_Forces_Bowl:
:Big_Ten:
7-5 (4-5)
:Maryland:
vs.
:Colorado_State:
7-5 (2-5)
:Mountain_West:

12/31 - 12:00PM

:Liberty_Bowl:
:Big_East:
9-3 (6-2)
:Connecticut:
vs.
:Southern_Miss:
8-5 (7-2)
:CUSA:

12/31 - 2:00PM

:Meineke_Texas_Bowl:
:Big_Ten:
8-4 (5-4)
:Ohio_State:
vs.
:Temple:
7-5 (3-5)
:Big_East:

12/31 - 2:00PM

:Chick_fil_A_Bowl:
:SEC:
7-5 (6-3)
:South_Carolina:
vs.
(23) :Miami:
9-4 (8-2)
:ACC:

12/31 - 7:30PM

:Fight_Hunger_Bowl:
:MAC:
7-5 (6-2)
:Eastern_Michigan:
vs.
:Oregon:
8-4 (5-4)
:Pac_12:

12/31 - 8:00PM

:Outback_Bowl:
:SEC:
9-3 (6-3)
(18) :LSU:
vs.
(9) :Michigan:
9-3 (7-2)
:Big_Ten:

1/1 - 11:00AM

:Capital_One_Bowl:
:SEC:
10-3 (8-2)
(15) :Georgia:
vs.
(17) :Iowa:
9-3 (7-2)
:Big_Ten:

1/1 - 1:00PM

:TaxSlayer_Gator:
:SEC:
7-5 (4-5)
:Tennessee:
vs.
:Michigan_State:
8-4 (6-3)
:Big_Ten:

1/1 - 1:00PM

:TicketCity_Bowl:
:CUSA:
7-5 (5-3)
:UTEP:
vs.
:Wisconsin:
6-6 (5-4)
:Big_Ten:

1/1 - 3:30PM

:Cotton_Bowl:
:SEC:
9-3 (6-3)
(12) :Texas_A&M:
vs.
(16) :Kansas_State:
8-4 (7-2)
:Big_12:

1/4 - 8:00PM

:BBVA_Compass_Bowl:
:Big_East:
7-5 (5-3)
:Boise_State:
vs.
:Arkansas:
6-6 (4-5)
:SEC:

1/6 - 2:00PM

:GoDaddycom_Bowl:
:MAC:
11-2 (8-1)
:Western_Michigan:
vs.
:UL_Monroe:
6-6 (5-2)
:Sun_Belt:

1/6 - 6:00PM

2015 BCS Bowls

Bowl Game
Conference
Record
Team

Team
Record
Conference

Date/Result

:Rose_Bowl:
:Big_Ten:
11-2 (8-2)
(4) :Nebraska:
vs.
(3) :Tulsa:
12-1 (9-0)
:CUSA:

1/1 - 5:00PM

:Sugar_Bowl:
Independent
10-2
(5) :Notre_Dame:
vs.
(7) :Texas:
10-2 (7-2)
:Big_12:

1/2 - 8:00PM

:Orange_Bowl:
:ACC:
12-1 (9-1)
(8) :Clemson:
vs.
(6) :Auburn:
10-2 (7-2)
:SEC:

1/3 - 8:00PM

:Fiesta_Bowl:
:Big_12:
10-2 (8-1)
(11) :TCU:
vs.
(14) :Fresno_State:
10-2 (6-1)
:Mountain_West:

1/4 - 8:00PM

:BCS_Trophy:
:SEC:
12-1 (9-1)
(2) :Alabama:
vs.
(1) :Washington:
13-0 (10-0)
:Pac_12:

1/7 - 8:00PM

SmoothPancakes

12-30-2012, 10:24 PM

So there you have it. I am rolling to Pasadena for the Rose Bowl and a showdown with #4 Nebraska

#1 Washington and #2 Alabama keep the Pac-12 vs. SEC National Championship showdown alive for a second straight year.

And a look at who got screwed out of a bowl game this year:

Big Ten

:Illinois: - (6-6)
:Penn_State: - (6-6)

MAC

:Kent_State: - (7-5)
:Northern_Illinois: - (6-6)

Pac-12

:Colorado: - (6-6)
:Arizona: - (6-6)

Sun Belt

:Arkansas_State: - (7-5)
:Army: - (6-6)

SmoothPancakes

12-31-2012, 10:33 AM

Rose Bowl

#4 :Nebraska: VS #3 :Tulsa:

Game Notes

--- Here we were once again, the conclusion of another season. This time we had done something no Tulsa squad, nor had any C-USA team ever done. We crashed the BCS. Our prize, a showdown with #4 Nebraska, the Big Ten Champions, in the Rose Bowl. We were going to more than have our work cut out for us. Nebraska was rated higher in all three areas of the game, they had the #3 offense in the nation, #9 rushing off and #17 passing offense, resulting in their averaging 40 points per game. Their defense was just as stout, ranking #5 in college football in total defense, #3 in passing defense. Their only true weakness, a #45 ranked rushing defense. It was going to take a completely perfect game from all three areas of our team to keep up with Nebraska in this one. We were the recognized home team for the game. We won the coin toss and elected to kick, opting to first see what our defense would be made up against the Cornhuskers offensive attack.

A touchback got the game started as Nebraska came out at their 25 yard line. Tommy Allen went into the air on the first place of the game, connecting with Paul Wade for a 13 yard gain. Our defense didn’t waste any time to prove themselves overmatched, as Allen found Wade for a second straight play, this time for a 32 yard bomb on the go route and Nebraska had a first down at our 29. An 8 yard pass to Alex Jones was followed with a scramble by Allen for a gain of 6 yards and the Cornhuskers had a first down at our 16. A 9 yard rush by John Johnson left second and one from the 7. Another rush by Johnson, for 7 yards gave Nebraska first and goal from our one yard line. Johnson would punch it in on the next play for the one yard touchdown and a 7-0 Nebraska lead with 7:21 left in the first quarter.

A 25 yard kickoff return by Kiel Fletcher gave our offense the ball at our 26 yard line to start our first drive. Fletcher took the handoff on first down, fighting forward for a four yard gain, followed by a pickup of 7 yards for a first down at the 37. Fletcher a found a hole off the right side of the center, pushing his way forward for a 9 yard gain. Another rush up the middle, Fletcher was able to bust out into the secondary for a gain of 16 yards and we had a first down at the Nebraska 37 yard line. Despite being hit at the line of scrimmage, Fletcher was able to continuing driving and fall forward for a gain of four yards. Brandon Booth’s pass intended for Connor Jefferson was batted down and we were left with third and 6. Booth found Max Thompson on an out route on the third down, going for a gain of 12 yards, giving us a new set of downs at the 22 yard line. Fletcher took the ball on first down, but found nowhere to go, tackled for only a gain of one yard. Booth’s pass on second down to Roy Smith picked up only two yards to leave us looking at third and 7 from the 19. Booth found Strong over the middle for a 7 yard gain, but it wasn’t enough as we were left with fourth and one at the 12. Coming here to win, we took the gamble and went for it on fourth and short. Fletcher proved why he was second in Heisman voting this year, breaking his way loose from what would have been a tackle for a loss, and fighting forward for a two yard gain and a first down at the 11 yard line. Fletcher took the first down carry off the left tackle, fighting ahead for 5 yards. Fletcher would score the equalizer on the next play, rushing it up the middle for the 6 yard touchdown to make it 7-all with 42 seconds left in the first quarter.

No return on the kickoff gave Nebraska the ball for their second drive at the 25. Johnson carried the ball for a 9 yard gain on the initial play. After an incomplete pass, Allen found Jones on third down for a pickup of 11 yards and a first down at the 46. After throwing the ball away on first down, Johnson took the rock and gained 7 yards on the ground to leave third and three at our 47 yard line. The final seconds would tick off the clock during the play, and the first quarter was in the books, all tied up 7-7.

Johnson got the second quarter opened up for Nebraska with a 9 yard rush and a first down at our 38 as the Cornhuskers attack continued at will. Allen threw an out route pass to Chance Doty for a 6 yard gain, before our defense tackled Johnson for a loss of one yard, leaving Nebraska with third and 5 from the 34 yard line. Johnson would convert the third down on the ground, breaking loose for a 10 yard rush to our 23 yard line. Another 10 yard rush by Johnson left Nebraska with second and inches at our 14. Johnson continued to pound the ball on the ground, picking up 6 yards to set up first and goal at the 8. After a two yard pass from Allen to Jordan and a four yard rush by Johnson, Nebraska was left with third and goal at our two yard line. Johnson would score his second touchdown of the game, pounding it in from two yards out to give Nebraska a 14-7 lead with seven minutes left in the second quarter.

Jefferson returned the kickoff for 24 yards, leaving our offense the ball at our 30 yard line. Fletcher continued to find success on the ground. With the gap closing instantly on the first down rush, Fletcher bounced outside through a hole near the left tackle, juked his way out of a tackle by the corner and rushed ahead for a 16 yard gain to the 46 yard line. Thanks to multiple downfield blocks, Fletcher was able to turn the corner and sprint up the left sideline for an 18 yard gain and a first down at the Nebraska 36 yard line. Smith tried to go off tackle on the first down carry, but a blitzing linebacker cut him off, forcing him to turn back up between the center and guard, managing to pick up 5 yards before being brought down. Going to the air on second down, Booth connected with Eric Hayden for 8 yards, giving us a first down at the 24 yard line. Booth tried to go deep to Hayden on first down, but the corner broke on the ball late and nearly intercepted it, the ball falling out of his hands and to the turf incomplete. Booth was able to just barely avoid the blitz on second down, throwing the ball to Thompson as he was hit for a 14 yard gain to leave us first down at the 11 yard line. Bouncing outside to avoid the linebackers, Fletcher was able to find a hole and pick up 7 yards to leave second and three at the four yard line. Taking it up the middle, Fletcher managed to pick up maybe one yard, leaving third and three at the three yard line. Booth’s third down pass to Thompson sailed incomplete, as Thompson got slowed down by a glancing shoulder from the linebacker, and we were forced to settle for a field goal. The 20 yard kick by Alphonso Pratt made it 14-10 with 2:47 left in the half.

A 19 yard kickoff return got Nebraska started at their 21 yard line. Our defense finally made a stand this drive, sacking Allen on first down for a two yard loss. After a 5 yard rush by Allen, Nebraska was left looking at third and 7 from their 23 yard line, 2:16 remaining. Allen would get the first down himself, scrambling from the pressure and picking up 9 yards for the first down at the 32 yard line. Two straight dropped passes left Nebraska with third down, Allen finding Wade for a 32 yard bomb over them middle and a first down at our 35 yard line, 1:35 to go. After another dropped pass and an incomplete pass, Allen found Jones on a slant route for a gain of 19 yard and a first down at our 17 yard line, Nebraska’s first timeout stopping the clock with 1:14 to play. Johnson took the ball on first down for a 5 yard rush down to our 12 yard line, the second timeout by Nebraska stopping play with 1:09 to go. An incomplete pass intended for Wade left the Cornhuskers with third and 5. That gap would grow larger, as Nebraska was flagged for false start, leaving their offense facing third and 10 from our 17 yard line. Allen’s third down pass to Doty was dropped in the end zone, the Cornhuskers would kick the 34 yard field goal, extending their lead to 17-10 with 56 seconds to go.

No return on the kickoff left our offense at our 25 yard line, 47 seconds left in the clock. After an incomplete pass on first down, Booth found Thompson for an 8 yard gain, leaving us third and two, our first timeout stopping the clock at 40 seconds. We would pick up the first down as Booth found Thompson again, this time for 12 yards to get to our 45 yard line, rushing to the line with 35 seconds to go. Booth took a chance, throwing deep down the left sideline to a streaking Hayden, but the cornerback Luke Kilpatrick jumped in front of Hayden to intercept the ball, giving Nebraska possession at their 30 yard line with 30 seconds to play. A 27 yard pass to Wade on first down got Nebraska quickly to our 43 yard line, 23 seconds and ticking. Our defense decided to help out, as we were flagged for pass interference, Nebraska getting a free first down at our 28 yard line with 11 ticks left. The Cornhuskers would find the end zone on the next play, as Doty hauled in the 28 yard touchdown pass from Allen to give Nebraska a 24-10 lead with three seconds remaining. A 22 yard kickoff return by Fletcher would bring the first half to an end, our offense with its work cut out for it, trailing 24-10 headed into halftime.

Opening up the second half, Fletcher brought the kickoff out for 24 yards, giving our offense the ball at the 23 yard line to start the third quarter. Fletcher took the ball on first down for a gain of four yards, before a three yard rush off the left tackle left us looking at third and three. Going to the air on third down, Booth’s pass to Jefferson was swatted away, deflected into the Hayden of a passing Hayden, but he was unable to hold on to the sudden ball in his hands and it fell to the ground incomplete, our punt team coming out on fourth down. A fair catch on the 44 yard punt gave Nebraska the ball at their 25 yard line. Allen continued throwing to his favorite target, hitting Wade for a 28 yard gain and a first down at our 47. A 10 yard rush by Johnson left second and inches, before Riley Thompson picked up three yards on the ground for the first down at our 33. Another deep pass to Wade went for a gain of 23 yards and Nebraska had a first down at our 11 yard line. After a dropped pass by Wade, Thompson ran ahead for a gain of four yards, leaving the Cornhuskers with third and 6 from our 7 yard line. A 5 yard pass to Wade got Nebraska down to our one yard line, but it was short of the first down and they were left with fourth and one. They would get their first down on the next play as the defense was flagged for pass interference. After tackling Johnson for a loss of two yards on first and goal, Allen found William Pryor for a three yard touchdown pass and a 31-10 lead with 5:41 left in the third quarter.

A 25 yard kickoff return by Fletcher gave our offense possession at our 28 yard line. Fletcher took the ball off the left tackle on first down, but only managed to get two yards as Nebraska was ready for our run game. A pass from Booth to Smith went for only a gain of one yard, and we were left looking at third and 7 from the 31. Booth never had a chance to get rid of the ball as the Cornhuskers brought the house, sacked for a 10 yard loss and leaving us punting on fourth and 17. A fair catch on the 44 yard punt gave Nebraska the ball at their 34 yard line and looking for more. Allen found Jones over the middle on first down for a 17 yard gain and Nebraska was back in our territory once more at our 48. A pair of rushes by Johnson for gains of 9 and one yards gave Nebraska a first down at our 38. A three yard rush by Allen followed by a 6 yard gain by Johnson left the Cornhuskers looking at third and inches. Johnson would pick up the first down on the ground, fighting ahead for a three yard gain to our 26 yard line. Another rush by Johnson, this time for 5 yards, was followed with a 9 yard gain by Allen and Nebraska once again had a first down at our 11 yard line. Allen would come out of the game after the play, suffering from back spasms, Bruce Stewart taking over the signal caller duties. After a dropped pass on first down, Stewart connected with Thompson for a 7 yard gain to leave third and three at our four yard line. A dropped pass by Wade would leave the field goal unit coming out, the 21 yard boot extending Nebraska’s lead to 34-10 with 1:45 left in the third quarter.

Fletcher returned the kickoff 19 yards out to our 20 yard line, as we were left desperately searching for a way to close the gap. Despite having a wide open Jefferson sprinting down the sideline, nothing would come of it as Booth was hit as he threw, the ball landing 5 yards away incomplete. Thompson would get us a first down, hauling in a 13 yard pass from Booth to get to the 32. Booth was again hit as he threw on first down, the wounded duck nearly picked out of the air by the defensive end, and we were left with second down. Scrambling to keep the play alive, Booth threw a pass over the middle, Hayden ripping the ball out of the linebacker’s hands and turning up field for some extra yards, a 21 yard gain in all for a first down at the Nebraska 46. We would finally get back to the end zone, as Fletcher hauled in a pass from Booth on the smash route, breaking loose for the tackle by the cornerback and going 46 yards to the house. The two-point conversion pass to Fletcher was good, making the score 34-18 with 51 seconds to play in the third quarter.

No return on the kickoff left Nebraska at their 25. After an 8 yard rush by Johnson, a dropped pass left Nebraska looking at third and two. Allen would keep the ball himself, rushing for a 6 yard gain and the first down out to the 39 yard line. A 6 yard rush by Johnson would bring the third quarter to an end, Nebraska leading 34-18.

Starting the fourth quarter with second and four from their 45 yard, Nebraska picked up another quick first down thanks to a 7 yard gain by Johnson to get to our 47. A two yard rush by Johnson was followed with a 12 yard pass to Wade down to our 32 yard line. Two straight passes to Doty, for gains of 18 and 10 yards, left Nebraska with second and inches at our 5 yard line, ready to put the game away. After a dropped pass on second down, Allen took the ball himself, rushing in for the 5 yard touchdown and a 41-18 lead with 7:35 left in the game.

A 25 yard kickoff return by Jefferson got our offense started at the 29 yard line. Pulling everything out of the playbook now, Booth found Hayden down the right sideline for a 25 yard gain to the Nebraska 47, Hayden unable to keep his balance and stay in bounds after the catch. After a three yard rush by Fletcher, Booth was hit as he threw, the defensive ends coming through at will, leaving us third and 7 at the 44. Booth would manage to get the third down pass off, connecting with Fletcher for a 29 yard gain to give us first down at the 15 yard line. Booth’s pass over the middle to Thompson was batted away, leaving us second down. Booth’s second down pass was nearly intercepted, leaving our drive in danger. Thompson was able to haul in the rainbow pass from Booth, just getting to the first down line as he was tackled for a 10 yard gain and first and goal at the 5. Smith would get us in the end zone, hauling in the pass from Booth and failing over a Nebraska defender for the 5 yard touchdown. Another successful two-point conversion pass to Fletcher made the score 41-26 with 6:16 left in the game.

A touchback on the kickoff left Nebraska at their 25 yard line, and our entire sideline praying that the defense would actually make a stop. Our prayers would not be answered. Nebraska came out firing on first down, Allen finding Wade for a 21 yard gain and first down at the 46 yard line. A 6 yard rush by Johnson got Nebraska back in our territory at our 48, before Allen threw a deep bomb to a streaking Wade for a 39 yard gain and first and goal at our 9 yard line. After two straight dropped passes, Pryor would finally manage to hold onto a ball, hauling in the 9 yard touchdown pass from Allen to give Nebraska a 48-26 lead with 5:14 left to play.

A touchback on the kickoff got our offense in action from our 25 yard line, time running out. Taking a deep shot, the first down pass to Fletcher was nearly intercepted by the safety, leaving us second down. An 11 yard pass to Thompson kept the drive alive as the clock ticked under 5 minutes. Threading the needle between the linebacker and safety, Booth found Hayden deep over the middle for a 29 yard gain, giving us first down at the Nebraska 35 yard line, 4:42 left in the game. The first down pass to Hayden was batted incomplete, leaving second down. The deep pass to Jefferson was batted down, and we were left with third and 10 from the 35. Thompson was able to get separation and haul in a pass from Booth for 11 yards to keep us breathing at the 24 yard line, 4:17 left to play. A pass to Fletcher on a smash route went for a gain of 9 yards, before Booth found Smith over the middle for the 15 yard touchdown. Another successful two-point conversion pass, this time to Thompson, and we cut the gap to 48-34 with 3:41 to go.

Nebraska would recover the onside kick at our 47 yard line, and our hopes shattered. When it was looking all but over, the defense would pull a rabbit out of its hat, as linebacker Marc Patterson intercepted Allen to give our offense new hope and new life at our 39 yard line, 3:34 remaining. Rolling off of a tackle attempt, Thompson hauled in a pass from Booth for a 16 yard gain, stepping out of bounds at the Nebraska 46. A first down pass to Fletcher on a stop and go route went for a 22 yard gain, giving us a first down at the 23 yard line. Thompson would haul in a 13 yard pass from Booth, giving us a first down at the 10 yard line as the clock ticked under three minutes. A 9 yard pass to Jefferson left us with second and one from the one yard line, where Fletcher would punch it on the ground. The PAT made it 48-41 and we were back in it, 2:30 left in the game.

Taking a chance with our defense, we kicked off deep, the ball going out of the end zone for a touchback, and Nebraska took over on offense at their 25 yard line, 2:23 remaining. Our defense proved as worthless as ever, as Allen threw deep to Jones for a 25 yard gain, giving Nebraska a first down at midfield. A rush by Allen went for four yards and we called our first timeout with 1:59 to go. A 5 yard rush by Johnson left Nebraska with third and one, our second timeout stopping the clock at 1:54. It would be all she wrote for our chances of a comeback, as Allen hit Wade through the air for a 13 yard gain, our third and final timeout doing little other than to delay the inevitable, the clock stopped with 1:51 to go. Johnson was tackled on first down for a loss of four yards, leaving second and 14. Thompson took the handoff with 1:26 remaining, picking up four yards, leaving Nebraska looking at third and 10 from our 29 yard line. An 8 yard pass from Allen to Pryor went for an 8 yard gain, and the Cornhuskers were left with fourth and two, 1:07 on the clock. The 38 yard field goal would seal the victory, giving Nebraska a 51-41 lead with 49 seconds to go.

A touchback on the kickoff left us at our 25 yard line, 42 seconds to play and down by 10. Airing it out and refusing to give up on first down, Booth found Hayden deep for a 36 yard gain, getting us down to the Nebraska 39 yard line. An incomplete pass on the following play would leave second down, 33 seconds remaining. Going down the right sideline, Smith was able to somehow leap up, sandwiched between the safety and the cornerback, and snag down the pass from Booth for a 29 yard gain, leaving us first and goal at the 10 yard line. An incomplete pass to Thompson left us second down, 24 seconds to go. Fletcher would get us in the end zone on the next play, hauling in the 10 yard touchdown pass from Booth to cut the score to 51-48 with 21 seconds to go. Nebraska would recover the onside kick, and that would be all she wrote, Nebraska kneeling the ball down once to seal the 51-48 win.

With the loss, we end our 2015 season at 12-2, 9-0 in C-USA action. With the win, Nebraska’s year comes to a close at 12-2, 8-2 in Big Ten play.

Final Score
#4 :Nebraska: 51, #3 :Tulsa: 48

Stat(s) of the Game:
- Tulsa Offense – It was a slow first half for Booth, including his interception that screwed us just before halftime, but he ultimately turned it around and ended the game with an impressive 424 yards passing and four touchdowns. A rather non-eventful day for Fletcher, as Nebraska defense gave up very little. 109 yards rushing and two touchdowns as all for him today, though he did end with 116 yards receiving and two touchdowns on five receptions. Looking at the receiving corps for today, six players caught a ball, four of them getting at least double digit yards, three of them reaching triple digits. Thompson led the way, hauling in 120 yards receiving on 10 catches. Next was Hayden with 119 yards receiving on 5 catches. Fletcher followed with 116 yards receiving on 5 catches, followed by Smith with 53 yards receiving and two touchdown on 5 catches.

- Tulsa Defense – Defense was mostly worthless today. Other than the one interception and holding Nebraska to three field goals on various drives, the defense basically got steamrolled every drive. Nebraska never punted a single time today, every drive either scoring points, throwing the one interception, or ending the half. The defense was completely abused by Nebraska receiver Paul Wade, who ended the day with 245 yards receiving on 11 catches, though he never recorded a touchdown.

- Tulsa Kicking – Pratt ended the day perfect, 1-1 in field goals with a 20 yard boot, and 3-3 in PATs.

Scoring Summary

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

:Nebraska:
7
17
10
17
51

:Tulsa:
7
3
8
30
48

Time
Team
Result
Play
Score

First Quarter

7:21
:Nebraska:
Touchdown
J. Johnson, 1 yard run (J. Williams kick)
:Nebraska: 7-0

0:42
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
K. Fletcher, 6 yard run (A. Pratt kick)
TIED 7-7

Second Quarter

7:00
:Nebraska:
Touchdown
J. Johnson, 1 yard run (J. Williams kick)
:Nebraska: 14-7

2:49
:Tulsa:
Field Goal
A. Pratt, 20 yard field goal
:Nebraska: 14-10

0:59
:Nebraska:
Field Goal
J. Williams, 33 yard field goal
:Nebraska: 17-10

0:03
:Nebraska:
Touchdown
C. Doty, 27 yard pass from T. Allen (J. Williams kick)
:Nebraska: 24-10

Third Quarter

5:41
:Nebraska:
Touchdown
W. Pryor, 2 yard pass from T. Allen (J. Williams kick)
:Nebraska: 31-10

1:48
:Nebraska:
Field Goal
J. Williams, 20 yard field goal
:Nebraska: 34-10

0:51
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
K. Fletcher, 46 yard pass from B. Booth (2-point conversion good
:Nebraska: 34-18

Fourth Quarter

7:35
:Nebraska:
Touchdown
T. Allen, 4 yard run (J. Williams kick)
:Nebraska: 41-18

6:16
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
R. Smith, 5 yard pass from B. Booth (2-point conversion good)
:Nebraska: 41-26

5:14
:Nebraska:
Touchdown
W. Pryor, 9 yard pass from T. Allen (J. Williams kick)
:Nebraska: 48-26

3:41
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
R. Smith, 15 yard pass from B. Booth (2-point conversion good)
:Nebraska: 48-34

2:30
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
K. Fletcher, 1 yard run (A. Pratt kick)
:Nebraska: 48-41

0:49
:Nebraska:
Field Goal
J. Williams, 38 yard field goal
:Nebraska: 51-41

0:21
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
10 yard pass from B. Booth (A. Pratt kick)
:Nebraska: 51-48

Game Stats

Nebraska
Stat
Tulsa

51
Score
48

28
First Downs
22

608
Total Offense
528

39 - 192 - 3
Rushes - Yards - TD
20 - 104 - 2

25 - 42 - 3
Comp - Att - TD
27 - 43 - 4

416
Passing Yards
424

1
Times Sacked
1

12 - 16 (75%)
3rd Down Conversion
5 - 9 (55%)

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

0 - 0 (0%)
2-Point Conv
3 - 3 (100%)

7 - 5 - 2 (100%)
Red Zone - TD - FG
6 - 5 - 1 (100%)

1
Turnovers
1

0
Fumbles Lost
0

1
Intercepted
1

0
Punt Return Yards
0

19
Kick Return Yards
164

627
Total Yards
692

0 – 0.0
Punts - Average
2 – 44.5

1 - 5
Penalties
2 - 18

16:10
Time of Possession
19:50

Tulsa Contract Goals Update

Fail Impact
Goal
Progress
Pass Impact

Win 8 games in one season
:check:
:5greenarrow:

:3redarrow:
13+ passing TD in one season
:check:
:5greenarrow:

14+ points per game in each season
:check:
:5greenarrow:

:3redarrow:
7+ rushing TD in one season
:check:
:5greenarrow:

:5redarrow:
2400+ total offensive yards in one season
:check:
:5greenarrow:

:6redarrow:
2400+ total offensive yards in each season
:check:
:3greenarrow:

:3redarrow:
Win 4 games in one season
:check:
:3greenarrow:

:5redarrow:
2000+ total offensive yards in one season
:check:
:2greenarrow:

Job Security Status

100%

JeffHCross

12-31-2012, 10:57 AM

Nice fight. Honestly, you should have been beaten, otherwise your sliders would definitely need reevaluated. But damn good fight.

SmoothPancakes

12-31-2012, 11:10 AM

2015 Bowl Season Rundown

Bowl Game
Conference
Record
Team
Results
Team
Record
Conference

:New_Mexico_Bowl:
:Big_East:
8-5 (5-3)
:Navy:
31-6
:Utah_State:
6-7 (2-5)
:Mountain_West:

:Famous_Idaho_Bowl:
:WAC:
11-2 (3-0)
:Wyoming:
38-24
:Toledo:
7-6 (6-2)
:MAC:

:New_Orleans_Bowl:
:Sun_Belt:
8-5 (5-2)
:BYU:
45-7
:UTSA:
6-7 (3-5)
:CUSA:

:Beef_O_Bradys_Bowl:
:Big_East:
9-4 (5-3)
:Cincinnati:
28-20
:FIU:
8-5 (5-3)
:CUSA:

:Poinsettia_Bowl:
:Mountain_West:
10-3 (6-1)
(25) :Nevada:
27-17
:Miami_OH:
7-6 (5-3)
:MAC:

:Las_Vegas_Bowl:
:Mountain_West:
8-5 (6-1)
:Hawaii:
31-30
:Stanford:
7-6 (5-4)
:Pac_12:

:Hawaii_Bowl:
:ACC:
7-6 (3-6)
:North_Carolina:
23-20
:Air_Force:
6-7 (2-5)
:Mountain_West:

:Independence_Bowl:
:ACC:
8-5 (5-4)
:Virginia:
51-14
:San_Jose_State:
7-6 (4-3)
:Mountain_West:

:LittleCaesars_Bowl:
:Big_Ten:
8-6 (5-5)
:Rutgers:
38-17
:Ohio:
8-6 (7-2)
:MAC:

:Belk_Bowl:
:Big_East:
10-4 (7-2)
:SMU:
48-17
(19) :Louisville:
8-5 (6-3)
:ACC:

:Military_Bowl:
:ACC:
8-5 (4-5)
:NC_State:
28-0
:Bowling_Green:
7-5 (6-2)
:MAC:

:Holiday_Bowl:
:Big_12:
7-6 (4-5)
:Texas_Tech:
52-13
:UCLA:
9-5 (7-3)
:Pac_12:

:Alamo_Bowl:
:Big_12:
10-3 (6-3)
(21) :Oklahoma:
31-21
(20) :USC:
9-4 (7-2)
:Pac_12:

:Champs_Sports_Bowl:
:ACC:
10-3 (7-2)
(22) :Wake_Forest:
35-14
(10) :Houston:
12-2 (9-0)
:Big_East:

:Insight_Bowl:
:Big_Ten:
9-4 (5-4)
(24) :Northwestern:
51-28
:Oklahoma_State:
6-7 (5-4)
:Big_12:

:Music_City_Bowl:
:SEC:
7-6 (4-5)
:Florida:
38-16
(13) :Georgia_Tech:
9-4 (6-3)
:ACC:

:Sun_Bowl:
:ACC:
9-4 (6-3)
:Virginia_Tech:
44-0
:Oregon_State:
7-6 (6-3)
:Pac_12:

:Armed_Forces_Bowl:
:Big_Ten:
8-5 (4-5)
:Maryland:
49-27
:Colorado_State:
7-6 (2-5)
:Mountain_West:

:Liberty_Bowl:
:CUSA:
9-5 (7-2)
:Southern_Miss:
31-24
:Connecticut:
9-4 (6-2)
:Big_East:

:Meineke_Texas_Bowl:
:Big_Ten:
9-4 (5-4)
:Ohio_State:
38-28
:Temple:
7-6 (3-5)
:Big_East:

:Chick_fil_A_Bowl:
:SEC:
8-5 (6-3)
:South_Carolina:
23-17
(23) :Miami:
9-5 (8-2)
:ACC:

:Fight_Hunger_Bowl:
:Pac_12:
9-4 (5-4)
:Oregon:
37-21
:Eastern_Michigan:
7-6 (6-2)
:MAC:

:Outback_Bowl:
:SEC:
10-3 (6-3)
(18) :LSU:
42-21
(9) :Michigan:
9-4 (7-2)
:Big_Ten:

:Capital_One_Bowl:
:SEC:
11-3 (8-2)
(15) :Georgia:
31-28 OT
(17) :Iowa:
9-4 (7-2)
:Big_Ten:

:TaxSlayer_Gator:
:Big_Ten:
9-4 (6-3)
:Michigan_State:
30-23 OT
:Tennessee:
7-6 (4-5)
:SEC:

:TicketCity_Bowl:
:Big_Ten:
7-6 (5-4)
:Wisconsin:
52-10
:UTEP:
7-6 (5-3)
:CUSA:

:Cotton_Bowl:
:SEC:
10-3 (6-3)
(12) :Texas_A&M:
45-31
(16) :Kansas_State:
8-5 (7-2)
:Big_12:

:BBVA_Compass_Bowl:
:SEC:
7-6 (4-5)
:Arkansas:
34-31
:Boise_State:
7-6 (5-3)
:Big_East:

:GoDaddycom_Bowl:
:MAC:
12-2 (8-1)
:Western_Michigan:
29-23
:UL_Monroe:
6-7 (5-2)
:Sun_Belt:

2015 BCS Bowls

Bowl Game
Conference
Record
Team
Results
Team
Record
Conference

:Rose_Bowl:
:Big_Ten:
12-2 (8-2)
(4) :Nebraska:
51-48
(3) :Tulsa:
12-2 (9-0)
:CUSA:

:Sugar_Bowl:
:Big_12:
11-2 (7-2)
(7) :Texas:
44-7
(5) :Notre_Dame:
10-3
Independent

:Orange_Bowl:
:ACC:
13-1 (9-1)
(8) :Clemson:
45-14
(6) :Auburn:
10-3 (7-2)
:SEC:

:Fiesta_Bowl:
:Mountain_West:
11-2 (6-1)
(14) :Fresno_State:
38-21
(11) :TCU:
10-3 (8-1)
:Big_12:

:BCS_Trophy:
:SEC:
13-1 (9-1)
(2) :Alabama:
45-42 OT
(1) :Washington:
13-1 (10-0)
:Pac_12:

SmoothPancakes

12-31-2012, 11:14 AM

2015 Bowl Challenge Cup Standings

Rank
Conference
Bowl Teams
Bowl Record
Percentage
Teams in AP Poll

1
:WAC:*
1
1-0
1.000
1

2
:SEC:
9
7-2
.778
5

3
:Big_Ten:
9
7-2
.778
5

4
:ACC:
9
6-3
.667
3

5
:Big_12:
6
3-3
.500
3

6
:Sun_Belt:*
2
1-1
.500
0

7
:Big_East:
7
3-4
.429
1

8
:Mountain_West:
7
3-4
.429
2

9
:CUSA:
5
1-4
.200
1

10
:Pac_12:
6
1-5
.167
2

11
:MAC:
6
1-5
.167
1

12
Independents*
1
0-1
.000
1

* - Ineligible for Bowl Challenge Cup

SmoothPancakes

12-31-2012, 11:19 AM

And so there you go. Alabama is your 2015 National Champion and the SEC and Big Ten tie for the 2015 Bowl Challenge Cup.

C-USA goes 1-4 (Southern Miss the lone winner), Pac-12 goes 1-5 (Oregon getting the lone win) and MAC goes 1-5 (Western Michigan the only winner) for the "we suck" conferences of 2015.

The Mountain West will remain on watch status. Although I said last season that they would have to go at least .500 this year in bowls to keep their automatic BCS bid, going 3-4 was close enough, Fresno State whooping TCU's ass in the Fiesta Bowl put the Mountain West over the top. They are still on watch status and anything beyond just barely below .500 next year will still be enough for them to potentially lose the automatic bid.

The Big East made a decent recovery after their 0-7 showing in 2014, but finishing below .500 means the Big East still will not even be considered for possibly getting their automatic bid back until at least 2017 or 2018.

As for our rankings, Tulsa ends the season ranked #6 in both the Coaches and Media polls, Nebraska finishes #2 in both polls.

SmoothPancakes

12-31-2012, 11:20 AM

New Tulsa Records in 2015

New Holder
Kiel Fletcher

Record Type
School Season

Record Stat
1,848 yards

Description
Rushing Yards (Season)

Previous Holder
Tarrion Adams

Previous Year
2008

Previous Record
1,523 yards

New Holder
Kiel Fletcher

Record Type
School Season

Record Stat
26 touchdowns

Description
Rushing Touchdowns (Season)

Previous Holder
Tarrion Adams

Previous Year
2008

Previous Record
14 touchdowns

SmoothPancakes

12-31-2012, 11:31 AM

Nice fight. Honestly, you should have been beaten, otherwise your sliders would definitely need reevaluated. But damn good fight.

Yeah, I was pretty much getting slapped around like a rag doll there after the first quarter. If it wasn't for pulling every single passing play out of my playbook down after down that had routes running 15 plus yards, I was looking at probably a 48-26 or 48-34 loss. Without that interception in the 4th quarter, it would have been at least 48-34, if not 55-34.

It wasn't pretty at halftime. Nebraska was outgaining me something like 315 to 150 and I only had something like 6 first downs for the first half. So they were taking it to me pretty hardcore. The score ended up being close, but beyond the numbers, Nebraska just bitchslapped me that game and had their way with my defense. As I pretty much was expecting to be the case. Of course, I wasn't really playing for the win (since I knew it would be damn near impossible), I was mostly playing to try and keep the score respectable.

SmoothPancakes

12-31-2012, 11:55 AM

2015 Final Top 25

Coaches Poll - Media Poll

Rank
Team
Record

Team
Record

1
:Alabama:
13-1 (9-1)

:Alabama:
13-1 (9-1)

2
:Nebraska:
12-2 (8-2)

:Nebraska:
12-2 (8-2)

3
:Washington:
13-1 (10-0)

:Texas:
11-2 (7-2)

4
:Clemson:
13-1 (9-1)

:Clemson:
13-1 (9-1)

5
:Texas:
11-2 (7-2)

:Washington:
13-1 (10-0)

6
:Tulsa:
12-2 (9-0)

:Tulsa:
12-2 (9-0)

7
:Fresno_State:
11-2 (6-1)

:Fresno_State:
11-2 (6-1)

8
:Texas_A&M:
10-3 (6-3)

:LSU:
10-3 (6-3)

9
:Notre_Dame:
10-3

:Texas_A&M:
10-3 (6-3)

10
:Auburn:
10-3 (7-2)

:Notre_Dame:
10-3

11
:Georgia:
11-3 (8-2)

:Auburn:
10-3 (7-2)

12
:LSU:
10-3 (6-3)

:Georgia:
11-3 (8-2)

13
:Houston:
12-2 (9-0)

:Houston:
12-2 (9-0)

14
:TCU:
10-3 (8-1)

:Wake_Forest:
10-3 (7-2)

15
:Wake_Forest:
10-3 (7-2)

:TCU:
10-3 (8-1)

16
:Oklahoma:
10-3 (6-3)

:Oklahoma:
10-3 (6-3)

17
:Michigan:
9-4 (7-2)

:Michigan:
9-4 (7-2)

18
:Wyoming:
11-2 (3-0)

:Wyoming:
11-2 (3-0)

19
:Nevada:
10-3 (6-1)

:Northwestern:
9-4 (5-4)

20
:Northwestern:
9-4 (5-4)

:Virginia_Tech:
9-4 (6-3)

21
:Iowa:
9-4 (7-2)

:Iowa:
9-4 (7-2)

22
:Virginia_Tech:
9-4 (6-3)

:Nevada:
10-3 (6-1)

23
:Michigan_State:
9-4 (6-3)

:Michigan_State:
9-4 (6-3)

24
:Western_Michigan:
12-2 (8-1)

:Western_Michigan:
12-2 (8-1)

25
:USC:
9-4 (7-2)

:Georgia_Tech:
9-4 (6-3)

SmoothPancakes

12-31-2012, 12:18 PM

Big surprise. I didn't even bother to test the market. I have inked a new four year deal with Tulsa. A tougher contract with a lot more red this time around.

Tulsa Four Year OC Contract Goals

Fail Impact
Goal
Progress
Pass Impact

:6redarrow:
21+ points per game each season

:6greenarrow:

Win 10 games in one season

:6greenarrow:

3300+ passing yards each season

:5greenarrow:

:6redarrow:
65% pass completions over the entire contract

:5greenarrow:

:5redarrow:
Win 6 games in one season

:5greenarrow:

:6redarrow:
15+ rushing TD in each season

:5greenarrow:

:4redarrow:
3200+ total offensive yards each season

:3greenarrow:

:5redarrow:
3400+ total offensive yards each season

:2greenarrow:

Job Security Status

46%

SmoothPancakes

12-31-2012, 01:20 PM

2015 Coaching Carousel

Team
Position
Previous Coach
Reason Left

New Coach
Previous Team
Previous Position
O/D Style

:NC_State:
Head Coach
Bill McGovern
Fired

Chuck Heater
:FIU:
Head Coach
FIU (Spread)\4-3

:Ohio:
Head Coach
Willie Simmons
Retired

Pat Hill
:Fresno_State:
Head Coach
Fresno State (Spread)\4-3

:Arkansas_State:
Head Coach
Hugh Freeze
Fired

Tyrone Nix
:Wake_Forest:
Head Coach
Wake Forest (Spread)\3-4

:Fresno_State:
Head Coach
Pat Hill
Contract expired, left for Ohio HC job

Rick Neuheisel
:UCLA:
Head Coach
UCLA (Spread)\4-3

:UCLA:
Head Coach
Rick Neuheisel
Contract expired, left for Fresno State HC job

Ivin Jaspser
:Akron:
Head Coach
Louisiana Tech (Air Raid)\4-3

:Wake_Forest:
Head Coach
Tyrone Nix
Contract expired, left for Arkansas State HC job

June Jones
:SMU:
Head Coach
SMU (Run and Shoot)\3-4

:Temple:
Head Coach
Steve Addazio
Fired

Mike Riley
:Oregon_State:
Head Coach
Oregon State (Pro)\4-3

:SMU:
Head Coach
June Jones
Contract expired, left for Wake Forest HC job

Hugh Freeze
:Arkansas_State:
Head Coach
Arkansas State (Spread)\4-3

:San_Diego_State:
Head Coach
Rocky Long
Fired

Bill McGovern
:NC_State:
Head Coach
NC State (Multiple)\4-3

:Cal:
Head Coach
David Lee
Fired

Jeff Casteel
:Washington_State:
Head Coach
Washington State (Air Raid)\3-4

:Duke:
Head Coach
David Cutcliffe
Fired

Houston Nutt
:Ole_Miss:
Head Coach
Ole Miss (Spread)\4-3

:Florida_State:
Offensive Coordinator
James Coley
Fired

David Cutcliffe
:Duke:
Head Coach
Duke (Pistol)

:Rice:
Head Coach
Mark Helfrich
Fired

Demetrius Riley
:Iowa_State:
Defensive Coordiator
Iowa State (Spread)\4-3

:MTSU:
Head Coach
Carl Torbush
Fired

Blake Anderson
:Southern_Miss:
Offensive Coordinator
Southern Miss (Spread)\4-3

:Missouri:
Defensive Coordinator
Wally Burnham
Fired

Marcus Riley
:Hawaii:
Defensive Coordinator
4-3

:Oklahoma_State:
Defensive Coordinator
Bill Young
Fired

Bob Diaco
:Wake_Forest:
Defensive Coordinator
3-4

:Ole_Miss:
Head Coach
Houston Nutt
Fired

David Lee
:Cal:
Head Coach
Cal (Pro)\3-4

:Oregon_State:
Head Coach
Mike Riley
Contract expired, left for Temple HC job

Tony Franklin
:Louisiana_Tech:
Offensive Coordinator
Louisiana Tech (Air Raid)\4-3

:Penn_State:
Defensive Coordinator
Tom Bradley
Fired

Kevin Cosgrove
:Akron:
Defensive Coordinator
4-3

:UNLV:
Head Coach
Jim Reid
Fired

Todd Orlando
:FIU:
Defensive Coordinator
FIU (Spread)\4-3

:North_Texas:
Head Coach
Mike Canales
Fired

Randy Stewart
:Illinois:
Defensive Coordinator
Illinois (Spread)\4-3

:West_Virginia:
Defensive Coordinator
Jim Knowles
Fired

Marcus Galloway
:Temple:
Defensive Coordinator
4-3

:Syracuse:
Head Coach
Jimbo Fisher
Fired

Steve Addazio
:Temple:
Head Coach
Temple (Multiple)\4-3

:FIU:
Head Coach
Chuck Heater
Left for NC State HC job

Howard Schnellenberger
:Temple:
Offensive Coordinator
Temple (Multiple)\4-3

:Akron:
Head Coach
Ivin Jasper
Left for UCLA HC job

James Coley
:Florida_State:
Offensive Coordinator
Florida State (Multiple)\4-3

:Arizona_State:
Defensive Coordinator
Steve Ellis
Fired

Greg Cruz
:MTSU:
Defensive Coordinator
4-3

:Central_Michigan:
Head Coach
Geoff Collins
Fired

Jimbo Fisher
:Syracuse:
Head Coach
Syracuse (Pro)\4-3

:Idaho:
Head Coach
Robb Akey
Fired

Butch Jones
:Western_Kentucky:
Offensive Coordinator
Western Kentucky (Pro)\4-3

:Illinois:
Defensive Coordinator
Randy Steward
Fired

Dave Cohen
:Western_Michigan:
Defensive Coordinator
4-2-5

:Kentucky:
Head Coach
Joker Phillips
Fired

Tom Bradley
:Penn_State:
Defensive Coordinator
Penn State (Multiple)\4-3

:Northern_Illinois:
Defensive Coordinator
Todd Grantham
Fired

Mike Canales
:North_Texas:
Head Coach
4-3

:Tulane:
Head Coach
Tim Landis
Fired

Joker Phillips
:Kentucky:
Head Coach
Kentucky (Pro)\4-3

:UAB:
Head Coach
Nathaniel Hackett
Fired

Jerry Kill
:Western_Kentucky:
Head Coach
Minnesota (Multiple)\4-3

:Washington_State:
Head Coach
Jeff Casteel
Fired

Chris Ball
:Washington_State:
Defensive Coordinator
Washington State (Air Raid)\3-4

:Western_Kentucky:
Head Coach
Jerry Kill
Fired

Tim Landis
:Tulane:
Head Coach
Army (Option)\3-4

:Temple:
Offensive Coordinator
Howard Schnellenberger
Fired

Carl Torbush
:MTSU:
Head Coach
MTSU (Air Raid)

:Wake_Forest:
Defensive Coordinator
Bob Diaco
Left for Oklahoma State DC job

Dave Steckel
:Cal:
Defensive Coordinator
3-4

:Temple:
Defensive Coordinator
Marcus Galloway
Left for West Virginia DC job

Steve Ellis
:Arizona_State:
Defensive Coordinator
3-3-5

:Hawaii:
Offensive Coordinator
Kevin Wilson
Retired

Tyson Hart
:Syracuse:
Offensive Coordinator
Syracuse (Pro)

:BC:
Defensive Coordinator
Mike London
Fired

Will Bryant
None
None
3-4

:Cal:
Defensive Coordinator
Dave Steckel
Fired

Bill Young
:Oklahoma_State:
Defensive Coordinator
4-3

:Syracuse:
Offensive Coordinator
Tyson Hart
Fired

John Latina
:Akron:
Offensive Coordinator
Akron (Spread)

:UCF:
Defensive Coordinator
John Skladany
Fired

Todd Grantham
:Northern_Illinois:
Defensive Coordinator
4-3

:Southern_Miss:
Offensive Coordinator
Blake Anderson
Left for MTSU HC job

Gary Nord
:Utah_State:
Offensive Coordinator
Utah State (Spread)

:Hawaii:
Defensive Coordinator
Marcus Riley
Left for Missouri DC job

Rocky Long
:San_Diego_State:
Head Coach
3-3-5

:FIU:
Defensive Coordinator
Todd Orlando
Left for UNLV HC job

Mike London
:BC:
Defensive Coordinator
4-3

:Western_Michigan:
Defensive Coordinator
Dave Cohen
Left for Illinois DC job

Wally Burnham
:Missouri:
Defensive Coordinator
4-3

:Iowa_State:
Defensive Coordinator
Demetrius Riley
Contract expired, left for Rice HC job

Mark Helfrich
:Rice:
Head Coach
4-2-5

:Memphis:
Defensive Coordinator
Jay Hopson
Fired

Robb Akey
:Idaho:
Head Coach
4-3

:Louisiana_Tech:
Offensive Coordinator
Tony Franklin
Left for Oregon State HC job

Geoff Collins
:Central_Michigan:
Head Coach
Central Michigan (Multiple)

:Akron:
Defensive Coordinator
Kevin Cosgrove
Left for Penn State DC job

Chauncey Stevens
None
None
3-3-5

:MTSU:
Defensive Coordinator
Greg Cruz
Left for Arizona State DC job

John Skladany
:UCF:
Defensive Coordinator
4-3

:Washington_State:
Defensive Coordinator
Chris Ball
Left for Washington State HC job

Jim Reid
:UNLV:
Head Coach
4-3

:Akron:
Offensive Coordinator
John Latina
Left for Syracuse OC job

Nathaniel Hackett
:UAB:
Head Coach
UAB (Pro)

:Utah_State:
Offensive Coordinator
Gary Nord
Left for Southern Miss OC job

Tyrell Downing
None
None
Florida State (Multiple)

:Western_Kentucky:
Offensive Coordinator
Butch Jones
Left for Idaho HC job

John Sims
None
None
Western Michigan (Pro)

Teams Changing Offensive Styles

Team
Previous Offensive Style
New Offensive Style

:NC_State:
Multiple
Spread

:Ohio:
Pistol
Spread

:UCLA:
Spread
Air Raid

:Wake_Forest:
Spread
Run and Shoot

:Temple: (HC)
Multiple
Pro

:SMU:
Run and Shoot
Spread

:San_Diego_State:
Pro
Multiple

:Cal:
Pro
Air Raid

:Duke:
Pistol
Spread

:Florida_State:
Multiple
Pistol

:MTSU:
Air Raid
Spread

:Ole_Miss:
Spread
Pro

:Oregon_State:
Pro
Air Raid

:UNLV:
Pistol
Spread

:Syracuse: (HC)
Pro
Multiple

:FIU:
Spread
Multiple

:Akron: (HC)
Spread
Multiple

:Central_Michigan:
Multiple
Pro

:Idaho:
One Back
Pro

:Kentucky:
Pro
Multiple

:Tulane:
One Back
Pro

:UAB:
Pro
Multiple

:Western_Kentucky: (HC)
Pro
Option

:Temple: (OC)
Pro
Air Raid

:Syracuse: (OC)
Multiple
Spread

:Louisiana_Tech:
Air Raid
Multiple

:Akron: (OC)
Multiple
Pro

:Utah_State:
Spread
Multiple

:Western_Kentucky: (OC)
Option
Pro

SmoothPancakes

12-31-2012, 02:36 PM

I'm in the middle of week 2 off-season recruiting. The off-season stuff will be up sometime later. Time to watch Tulsa whoop some Iowa State ass in the Liberty Bowl.

SmoothPancakes

12-31-2012, 05:21 PM

2015-2016 Off-Season

Players Leaving

Player
Position
Overall
Year
Reason
Overall of Next Player

Brandon Booth
QB
99
Senior (RS)
Pro Draft/Graduation
79

Kiel Fletcher
HB
94
Senior
Pro Draft/Graduation
95

David Walker
ROLB
92
Senior
Pro Draft/Graduation
79

Marcel Morris
RG
87
Senior (RS)
Graduation
67

Ryan Strong
FB
81
Senior
Graduation
N/A

Kennard Morton
LOLB
80
Senior
Graduation
78

Alex Collier
DT
72
Senior (RS)
Graduation
74

NFL Draft

Player
Position
Overall
Year
Projected Round
Drafted Round

Brandon Booth
QB
99
Senior (RS)
Round 1
Round 1

Kiel Fletcher
HB
94
Senior
Round 3
Round 3

David Walker
ROLB
92
Senior
Round 2
Round 2

Jason Stephens
FS
90
Senior
Round 5
N/A - Staying

Chad Fisher
WR
89
Junior
Round 7
N/A - Staying

Transfer Requests

Player
Position
Transferring From
Transferring To
Year
Overall
Reason
Admitted/Denied

James McDaniel
HB
UCLA
Tulsa
Freshman
66
Playing Time
Admitted

2015 Tulsa Recruiting Class

Player
Position
Position Rank
Tendency
Star Ranking
:sparq:
Overall
+/-
Notes

Jonathan Chambers
CB
#5
Coverage
:4star:
76.00
77
-3

Brad Stephens
QB
#9
Scrambler
:4star:
73.00
77
-1

Allen Moore
CB
#19
Hard Hitter
:4star:
76.00
76
-4

Erik Wallace
ATH
#14
Athlete
:4star:
76.00
73
-2

Christian Johnson
P
#30
Balanced
:1star:
40.00
73
+10
Gem

Ryan Lewis
ATH
#13
Athlete
:3star:
76.00
71
-4

Shaun Miller
FS
#10
Hard Hitter
:3star:
76.00
71
-1

Rashad Harvey
FS
#17
Hard Hitter
:3star:
76.00
69
-4

Courtney Jones
SS
#13
Hard Hitter
:3star:
67.00
69
+1

Connor Warren
TE
#79
Balanced
:2star:
55.00
69
+5
Gem / JUCO (JR)

P.J. Stephens
WR
#21
Speed
:3star:
76.00
68
-1

Lucas Gates
WR
#25
Possession
:3star:
76.00
68
-2

Kevin Jackson
WR
#44
Possession
:3star:
76.00
68
+2

Jason Jansen
DE
#21
Run Stopper
:3star:
71.00
68
0

Graham Minor
OLB
#55
Balanced
:3star:
64.00
68
+4

Marcus Mullins
TE
#42
Balanced
:3star:
63.00
68
+6
Gem

Ryan Roland
DT
#46
Run Stopper
:3star:
57.00
68
+4

Nick Harrison
MLB
#17
Coverage
:3star:
73.00
67
-2

Will Oliver
ATH
#50
Athlete
:3star:
64.00
67
+2

Cory Stevens
MLB
#59
Run Stopper
:3star:
64.00
67
+6
Gem

Pat Ross
T
#78
Pass Block
:3star:
57.00
67
+3

Eric Smith
G
#92
Balanced
:3star:
57.00
67
+5
Gem

Bill Grant
OLB
#45
Run Stopper
:3star:
64.00
65
-1

Joel Johnson
DE
#95
Balanced
:3star:
63.00
65
+3

Recruiting Class Rank

Rank: 13

Position Changes

Player
Position
Overall
New Position
Overall

Randy Newman
TE
75
FB
73

Kyle Alford
RG
61
LG
61

Joel Johnson
LE
65
RE
65

Nick Harrison
MLB
67
ROLB
68

Will Oliver
ATH
67
HB
76

Ryan Lewis
ATH
71
WR
71

Erik Wallace
ATH
73
QB
73

Training Results

Highest Overall Player - Brandon Price - HB - 99 OVR (+4)
Largest Training Increase - Jason Smith - RG - 87 OVR (+6)

Cut Players

Player
Position
Depth Chart Rank
Year
Overall

Brad Harvey
QB
4th
Junior (RS)
71

Yusef Moore
QB
5th
Sophomore
68

James McDaniel
HB
5th
Freshman (RS)
71

Travis Stephens
HB
6th
Sophomore
70

Chris Bradley
WR
5th
Junior (RS)
69

Brian Johnson
WR
6th
Freshman (RS)
69

Dwayne Hardy
WR
6th
Sophomore
68

Donald Robinson
WR
7th
Sophomore
68

Connor Warren
TE
4th
JUCO (JR)
69

Rashaun Williams
LE
4th
Senior (RS)
70

Jeff Miles
RE
4th
Junior (RS)
71

Jason Stanley
DT
3rd
Sophomore
68

Lorenzo Payne
DT
3rd
Sophomore
67

Trumaine Griffin
CB
3rd
Senior
74

Mark Irvin
CB
4th
Sophomore
70

Lamar Norton
CB
5th
Sophomore
70

Rashad Harvey
FS
4th
Freshman
69

Erik Irvin
SS
4th
Senior (RS)
69

Conference Changes

Team

Old Conference
New Conference

:Boise_State:

:Big_East:
:Mountain_West:

:Navy:

:Big_East: National Division
:Big_East: American Division

:UMass:

:MAC:
Independent

BCS Bowl Tie Ins

Slots
Conference
Bowl

Automatic Qualifier
:ACC:
Orange Bowl

Automatic Qualifier
:Big_Ten:
Rose Bowl

Automatic Qualifier
:Big_12:
Fiesta Bowl

Automatic Qualifier
:Mountain_West:
Any Bowl

Automatic Qualifier
:Pac_12:
Rose Bowl

Automatic Qualifier
:SEC:
Sugar Bowl

Open Slot
At Large
Any Bowl

Open Slot
At Large
Any Bowl

SmoothPancakes

12-31-2012, 06:05 PM

The following players have been redshirted for the 2016 season.

2016 Redshirt Players

Player
Position
Depth Chart Rank
Year
Overall

Eric Silva
HB
4th
Sophomore
78

Connor Jefferson
WR
1st
Senior
86

Tyrone Haynes
RE
1st
Senior
77

Tyler Fountain
CB
1st
Senior
81

Carlos Wilcox
P
1st
Senior
89

SmoothPancakes

12-31-2012, 06:07 PM

2016 Tulsa Football Schedule

Week
Home/Away
Team
Result
Score
Record
Game Notes

1
Home
:Texas_State:
Win
23-17 (http://www.thegamingtailgate.com/forums/showthread.php?2857-Smooth-Pancakes-Coaching-Carousel-Career&p=180855&viewfull=1#post180855)
1-0
Season/Home Opener

2
Away
(21) :Ohio_State:
Loss
12-14 (http://www.thegamingtailgate.com/forums/showthread.php?2857-Smooth-Pancakes-Coaching-Carousel-Career&p=180894&viewfull=1#post180894)
1-1

3
Away
:Fresno_State:
Win
27-24 2OT (http://www.thegamingtailgate.com/forums/showthread.php?2857-Smooth-Pancakes-Coaching-Carousel-Career&p=180990&viewfull=1#post180990)
2-1

4
Home
:North_Texas:
Loss
3-7 (http://www.thegamingtailgate.com/forums/showthread.php?2857-Smooth-Pancakes-Coaching-Carousel-Career&p=181094&viewfull=1#post181094)
2-2 (0-1)
Conference Opener

5
Away
:Louisiana_Tech:
Win
31-13 (http://www.thegamingtailgate.com/forums/showthread.php?2857-Smooth-Pancakes-Coaching-Carousel-Career&p=181487&viewfull=1#post181487)
3-2 (1-1)

6
Home
:UAB:
Win
63-10 (http://www.thegamingtailgate.com/forums/showthread.php?2857-Smooth-Pancakes-Coaching-Carousel-Career&p=181598&viewfull=1#post181598)
4-2 (2-1)
Homecoming

7
Home
:Toledo:
Loss
30-32 (http://www.thegamingtailgate.com/forums/showthread.php?2857-Smooth-Pancakes-Coaching-Carousel-Career&p=181750&viewfull=1#post181750)
4-3 (2-1)

8
---
Bye Week
---
---
---

9
Home
:Southern_Miss:
Loss
24-28 (http://www.thegamingtailgate.com/forums/showthread.php?2857-Smooth-Pancakes-Coaching-Carousel-Career&p=181760&viewfull=1#post181760)
4-4 (2-2)

10
Away
:MTSU:
Win
34-7 (http://www.thegamingtailgate.com/forums/showthread.php?2857-Smooth-Pancakes-Coaching-Carousel-Career&p=181945&viewfull=1#post181945)
5-4 (3-2)

11
Away
:Rice:
Win
31-7 (http://www.thegamingtailgate.com/forums/showthread.php?2857-Smooth-Pancakes-Coaching-Carousel-Career&p=181988&viewfull=1#post181988)
6-4 (4-2)

12
---
Bye Week
---
---
---

13
Home
:UTSA:
Win
27-0 (http://www.thegamingtailgate.com/forums/showthread.php?2857-Smooth-Pancakes-Coaching-Carousel-Career&p=182243&viewfull=1#post182243)
7-4 (5-2)
Senior Night

14
Away
:UTEP:
Win
21-0 (http://www.thegamingtailgate.com/forums/showthread.php?2857-Smooth-Pancakes-Coaching-Carousel-Career&p=182271&viewfull=1#post182271)
8-4 (6-2)

15
---
Bye Week
---
---
---

CCG
:CUSA:
:Marshall:
Win
22-0 (http://www.thegamingtailgate.com/forums/showthread.php?2857-Smooth-Pancakes-Coaching-Carousel-Career&p=182520&viewfull=1#post182520)
9-4 (7-2)
C-USA Championship Game

Bowl Game
:TicketCity_Bowl:
:Northwestern:
Loss
23-35 (http://www.thegamingtailgate.com/forums/showthread.php?2857-Smooth-Pancakes-Coaching-Carousel-Career&p=182790&viewfull=1#post182790)
9-5 (7-2)
TicketCity Bowl

--- The scores are hyperlinks to the posted game report of that game. Just click on the score/link to be taken to that game's posted report.

JeffHCross

12-31-2012, 06:23 PM

I'm sorry, but I am guaranteed to be rooting against you once :D

SmoothPancakes

12-31-2012, 06:43 PM

I'm sorry, but I am guaranteed to be rooting against you once :D

You wouldn't be the first one. :D

SmoothPancakes

12-31-2012, 06:55 PM

Tulsa Four Year OC Contract Goals - Year One

Fail Impact
Goal
Progress
Pass Impact

:6redarrow:
21+ points per game in each season
26
:6greenarrow:

Win 10 games in one season
9
:6greenarrow:

3300+ passing yards each season
:red-x:
:5greenarrow:

:6redarrow:
65% pass completions over the entire contract
61%
:5greenarrow:

:5redarrow:
Win 6 games in one season
:check:
:5greenarrow:

:6redarrow:
15+ rushing TD in each season
1/4 Completed
:5greenarrow:

:4redarrow:
3200+ total offensive yards each season
1/4 Completed
:3greenarrow:

:5redarrow:
3400+ total offensive yards each season
1/4 Completed
:2greenarrow:

Job Security Status

48%

--- Contract goal numbers and job security updated through Season 6, End of Season.

SmoothPancakes

12-31-2012, 07:16 PM

2016 Preseason Top 25

Rank
Team
2015 Record
Overall
Offense
Defense
Special Teams

1
:Alabama:
13-1
A+ (97)
A (94)
A- (93)
B

2
:Texas:
11-2
A+ (99)
A+ (99)
A+ (97)
A+

3
:Clemson:
13-1
A+ (99)
A+ (99)
A (95)
C+

4
:LSU:
10-3
A+ (97)
B+ (91)
A+ (97)
A+

5
:Nebraska:
12-2
A (95)
A (94)
B+ (89)
A+

6
:Notre_Dame:
10-3
A (95)
A (95)
B+ (89)
B+

7
:Washington:
13-1
B+ (89)
B+ (88)
B (86)
C+

8
:Georgia:
11-3
A+ (99)
A+ (99)
B+ (91)
B+

9
:Oklahoma:
10-3
A (95)
A- (92)
A- (93)
A+

10
:TCU:
10-3
A (95)
B+ (91)
A- (93)
A

11
:Auburn:
10-3
A (95)
A (94)
B (87)
B

12
:Michigan:
9-4
B+ (91)
B (86)
B+ (89)
C+

13
:Texas_A&M:
10-3
A (95)
A (94)
B (87)
B+

14
:Iowa:
9-4
B+ (91)
B+ (89)
B (87)
C+

15
:Michigan_State:
9-4
A (95)
A (95)
B (87)
B

16
:Virginia_Tech:
9-4
B+ (91)
B+ (88)
B+ (89)
A+

17
:USC:
9-4
A+ (99)
A+ (99)
A- (93)
B

18
:Houston:
12-2
B (85)
B+ (91)
C+ (76)
B+

19
:Oregon:
9-4
A+ (97)
A (95)
B+ (91)
B

20
:Wisconsin:
7-6
B+ (91)
A- (92)
B (86)
A+

21
:Ohio_State:
9-4
A- (93)
A- (92)
B+ (89)
C+

22
:Miami:
9-5
A+ (97)
A- (92)
A- (93)
C

23
:Georgia_Tech:
9-4
B+ (89)
B+ (89)
B (84)
C+

24
:Wake_Forest:
10-3
B- (81)
B- (83)
C+ (78)
B+

25
:NC_State:
8-5
B (85)
B+ (89)
C+ (78)
A+

C-USA Teams and 2016 Opponents

Rank
Team
2013 Record
Overall
Offense
Defense
Special Teams

21
:Ohio_State:
9-4
A- (93)
A- (92)
B+ (89)
C+

27
:Tulsa:
12-2
B+ (91)
A- (92)
B (84)
A+

28
:Fresno_State:
11-2
B- (81)
B- (83)
C+ (76)
B-

47
:Southern_Miss:
9-5
B (85)
B- (83)
B- (82)
A-

58
:Toledo:
7-6
C (75)
C (74)
C+ (76)
A+

81
:North_Texas:
5-7
C- (71)
C (72)
C- (71)
D

93
:MTSU:
4-8
D+ (67)
C- (70)
D+ (67)
B+

95
:Rice:
5-7
D+ (67)
C- (69)
C- (69)
D

97
:UTEP:
7-6
C (73)
C+ (78)
D+ (67)
B

102
:Louisiana_Tech:
4-8
C (75)
C+ (77)
C- (71)
D

106
:UTSA:
6-7
C- (69)
C (72)
D+ (67)
C+

116
:UAB:
3-9
D+ (67)
C- (70)
D (65)
B+

123
:Texas_State:
1-11
C- (69)
C (75)
D (63)
C+

SmoothPancakes

12-31-2012, 07:25 PM

Damn. The voters were NOT kind to me this year. Went all the way from #6 at the end of last season to #27 at the start of this season.

We surprisingly are a better team this year rating-wise, even with the loss of Booth and Fletcher. Our overall rating rose from 85 in 2015 to 91 in 2016. Our offense rating bumped up from 89 in 2015 to 92 in 2016. Our defense also climbed, going from 78 in 2015 to 84 in 2016. Special Teams moved from B+ last year to A+ this year.

Still a tough schedule this year. Ohio State is gonna be a massive challenge, Fresno State is gonna be a challenge, regardless of whether we're better rated or not. Toledo is no pushover and I have Southern Miss again, with our margin of victory over them in our two games last year being 12 and 2. The Golden Eagles have declined a little bit in each area since last season, but they will still be a tough one.

The rest of the schedule looks like it may be extremely easy. The C-USA (my conference opponents at least) SUCKS this year. Horrible, horrible and more horrible. Tulsa, Southern Miss and FIU are the only C-USA teams even in the Top 80 in the preseason polls. North Texas is the only other one to make it in the Top 90.

SmoothPancakes

12-31-2012, 09:35 PM

2016 Tulsa Two Deep Roster

Offense

Position
Rank
Name
Year
Overall

QB
1
Casey Bishop
Senior (RS)
85

QB
2
Brad Stevens
Freshman
77

HB
1
Brandon Price
Senior (RS)
99

HB
2
Roy Smith
Junior (RS)
76

FB
1
Randy Newman
Junior (RS)
78

FB
2
Nicholas Roberts
Senior (RS)
61

WR
1
Chad Fisher
Senior (RS)
93

WR
2
Eric Hayden
Sophomore
83

WR
3
Max Thompson
Senior (RS)
83

WR
4
Antoine Banks
Junior (RS)
78

TE
1
Nicholas Roberts
Senior (RS)
82

TE
2
Donny Jordan
Senior (RS)
75

LT
1
Marlon Smith
Junior (RS)
71

LT
2
Carl Meeks
Sophomore
67

LG
1
Daniel Peters
Senior (RS)
84

LG
2
Dennis Moody
Junior (RS)
77

C
1
Travis Hearn
Junior (RS)
80

C
2
Brett Hampton
Sophomore
69

RG
1
Jason Smith
Senior (RS)
88

RG
2
Will Carter
Sophomore (RS)
71

RT
1
Cameron Powers
Junior (RS)
78

RT
2
Kyle Davis
Senior (RS)
75

Defense

Position
Rank
Name
Year
Overall

LE
1
Greg Wilkerson
Junior (RS)
81

LE
2
Jason Williamson
Sophomore
72

RE
1
Miguel Ramsey
Sophomore
72

RE
2
Joel Johnson
Freshman
65

DT
1
Chris Peoples
Junior (RS)
79

DT
2
Shaun Jackson
Sophomore
73

DT
3
Devon Odom
Sophomore
71

DT
4
Ryan Roland
Freshman
68

LOLB
1
Spencer Jones
Senior (RS)
83

LOLB
2
A.J. Walton
Senior (RS)
77

MLB
1
Keith Battle
Senior (RS)
86

MLB
2
Jermaine Clark
Junior (RS)
79

ROLB
1
Marc Patterson
Senior (RS)
83

ROLB
2
Graham Minor
Freshman
68

CB
1
Jonathan Chambers
Freshman
77

CB
2
Chad Wheeler
Junior (RS)
77

CB
3
Allen Moore
Freshman
76

CB
4
Andy Malone
Sophomore
75

FS
1
Jason Stephens
Senior (RS)
94

FS
2
Clay Weiss
Junior (RS)
83

SS
1
Darnell Turner
Sophomore
78

SS
2
Chad Butler
Sophomore
71

K
1
Alphonso Pratt
Junior
94

K
2
Christian Johnson
Freshman
73

P
1
Alphonso Pratt
Junior
95

P
2
Christian Johnson
Freshman
73

SmoothPancakes

12-31-2012, 09:52 PM

Alright, that'll do it for me for tonight. I haven't decided yet what I'm gonna do. I'm considering taking a week or two off, let the batteries recharge and give Halo 4 some play time for the first time since the end of November.

JeffHCross

12-31-2012, 11:20 PM

Letting the batteries recharge is always a good idea. Because of personal business, I took two months off from the game and came back in early November. Felt like a brand new game.

SmoothPancakes

01-01-2013, 11:48 AM

Letting the batteries recharge is always a good idea. Because of personal business, I took two months off from the game and came back in early November. Felt like a brand new game.

Yeah, that was how it felt after I came back to it at the start of December. Fired it up as the NCAA bug continued to bite, finally taking Halo 4 out of the tray one night and jumping back in. It was like a brand new game and fun as hell. I kept wanting to just go from game to game (I would have if it wasn't for recruiting).

I don't know how long the break will be, I'll be honest I really wanted to fire NCAA up when I woke up earlier and jump right into the 2016 season. :D But, now that the bowl games for today have started, I should be good for at least today on staying away.

I might jump on real quick during the gap between the Outback/Capital One Bowls and the Rose Bowl, but it'd just be to get week 1 recruiting knocked out, so when I do eventually jump into the games, I can instantly start into game one instead of having to do recruiting first.

jaymo76

01-02-2013, 04:18 PM

SmoothPancakes

01-02-2013, 05:11 PM

Great work Smooth! I have said it before and I will say it again... Tiburon needs to hire you!! If their game could be an in-depth as your analysis i would never take NCAA out of my PS3. Enjoy your time away from the game.

I appreciate it jaymo. You guys who have been reading and following this entire time have been huge in keeping me pushing how far and how well I can take and make this dynasty. There have been numerous issues with this and past NCAA versions that would test the patience of even a Tibetan monk, but the love I have for college football and the enjoyment I get from doing and posting dynasties like this keep me going year after year.

As for EA, hell, if there was a place for me somewhere there, I certainly couldn't say no. To make a living, in whatever extent it would possibly be, with one of my favorite and most played video game series, how could I so no? :D That, and maybe then I'd be able to get a bug into the ears of some of the guys on trying to get some of the issues that have plagued the series and have riled us up for years actually fixed. :D

Thanks again man. And 2016 will be firing up soon enough. Still haven't turned my 360 on since New Year's Eve. Been doing nothing but watching the bowl games and enjoying my new Blu-ray player and diving into season 1 of Homeland. It might be Monday at least regardless before I would get the next season started, with work tomorrow night through Saturday night killing my evenings. And with evening college football games tonight through next Monday, that will pretty well eliminate every evening for me through Monday, along with the afternoon Saturday and Sunday due to the NFL playoffs.

But it won't be an extremely long break. I do have 4 seasons on my new contract to get through, so I would like to be done with those four years by end of March, giving me extra time for busy weeks at work. And then maybe trying to knock out one more contract after that, either at Tulsa or some other school, before NCAA '14 hits stores.

SmoothPancakes

01-08-2013, 08:25 PM

Oh for fuck's sake. I now wish I had not been able to get NCAA working again tonight. :fp: :smh: :bang: :sick:

SmoothPancakes

01-08-2013, 08:40 PM

And it gets even worse. Besides currently losing to lowly Texas State after one quarter, I just lost ANY chance I might have had just to compete with Ohio State and Fresno State. Starting QB Casey Bishop is out with a pulled hamstring and will be sidelined for three weeks, leaving greenhorn freshman Brad Stephens to lead the offense against my toughest opponents on the entire schedule. :smh:

JeffHCross

01-08-2013, 09:35 PM

"Oh look, I suddenly had a power outage." :whistle:

SmoothPancakes

01-08-2013, 09:43 PM

"Oh look, I suddenly had a power outage." :whistle:

:D :D :D

If I wasn't just now starting the fourth quarter and hadn't already played 3/4ths of the game, I might be tempted to accidentally brush my foot up against the plug of the power strip that powers my TV and 360, accidentally hard enough to knock it completely out of the outlet in the wall. :whistle: :D

SmoothPancakes

01-08-2013, 10:34 PM

Game One

:Texas_State: :@: :Tulsa:

Game Notes

--- The two-a-days are done at last. It’s now off to the races that is the 2016 campaign. Unlike years past, starting with the likes of Oklahoma, Utah, Texas A&M, Washington, etc, this time we we’re starting with a true cupcake. Texas State enters the game ranked dead last in the 2016 preseason polls, so it is looking good for our season opener, which would also serve as our home opener to the 2016 year. Texas State would be entering the game relying on a sophomore quarterback to lead them this season, as the junior quarterback who was head of the team last year ended with the season with a 36.6% passing completion rate, one touchdown and 13 interceptions, resulting in him riding the bench this year.

We would also be entering the season with a new face under center, as redshirt senior Casey Bishop takes over the QB duties with the graduation of Brandon Booth. A decent QB with 84-rated speed, 83-rated acceleration, 88-rated awareness, and throwing power and accuracy rated at 80 and 81, Bishop would figure well into our run game, continuing to give us multiple options on the ground and keeping open the potential for mixing option plays into the ground attack. Through the air, Bishop is quite untested. Seeing extremely limited action in 2014, Bishop only threw three passes, completing one for 7 yards passing. In 2015, Bishop upped those stats to 7 completions on 12 attempts for 96 yards and a touchdown, giving him a career total of 8-15 passing for 103 yards and one TD. If Bishop was ever going to have a warm up game to try and quickly slide into the shoes that Booth left behind, Texas State would be that game. Texas State won the coin toss and elected to kick, and we were underway.

Starting at our 23 yard line after the kickoff return, it was time to find out if Brandon Price would live up to his high rating. It didn’t take long for Price to live up to the hype, taking it up the middle on first down for an immediate 18 yard gain, as the Texas State defense proved to be more than overmatched by our offense. The Bobcats weren’t about to let themselves just get stepped all over, as the defensive end smashed through on the next play, bringing Price down for no gain. Going into the air on second down, Casey Bishop found Eric Hayden on a slant route for an 11 yard gain, giving us a first down at the 48 yard line. Keeping it going through the air, Bishop hit Max Thompson on an out route for a 14 yard gain to get us down to the 34 yard line. A pair of rushes by Price for 6 and 5 yards gave us another first down at the 23 yard line, as we neared the red zone. Two more rushes by Price, for gains of 6 and 8 yards, and we were looking at first and goal from the Texas State 8 yard line. Price fought forward for a 7 yard gain, leaving second and goal from the one. It turned out that Texas State’s goal line defense was better than their normal defense, as Price was stood up at the line for no gain, leaving third and goal. Going to the air on third down, Bishop found Chad Fisher over the middle for the one yard touchdown pass, and we took a 7-0 lead with 3:49 left in the first quarter.

A 20 yard kickoff return got Texas State started at their 22 yard line, and it would be a rough start. The defense welcomed the Bobcats’ offense to the 2016 season, sacking Shawn Douglas on the first play for a loss of two yards. The Bobcats would recover though, as Douglas connected with Marcus Owens for a gain of 15 yards and a first down at the 35. A four yard rush by Douglas and an 8 yard pass to Mike Malone gave Texas State another first down at the 47. Our defense was proving to be as worthless as Texas State’s, as Malone rushed ahead for 6 yards, followed by a 10 yard pass from Douglas to Kyle Lowery for a new set of downs at our 37. After knocking down a pass on first down, Douglas connected with Lowery again, this time deep over the middle for a 31 yard gain, and Texas State was set up with first and goal from our 6 yard line. Douglas would keep the ball himself, rushing it in for the 6 yard touchdown and deadlocking the score at 7-7 with 1:59 left in the first quarter.

An 18 yard kickoff return by Price left us starting from our 15 yard line. When you thought it couldn’t get any worse, it did. Bishop was unable to find an open receiver on first down, and with the pocket starting to show signs of impending collapse, scrambled to his right, before tucking the ball and turning up field. It would prove a mistake, as the cornerback broke off his block by Fisher and hit Bishop, knocking the ball loose. Defensive tackle Paul Bolden came running up and scooped up the fumble for Texas State, the fat man rumbling, bumbling and stumbling 20 yards to the end zone for the touchdown on the returned fumble and a 14-7 Texas State lead with 1:38 left in the first quarter. A touchback on the following kickoff left us starting at our 25 and looking for an answer. This drive thankfully started without disaster, as Price kept the ball on the ground, picking up gains of three yards and 8 yards to give us a first down at the 36 yard line. After rushing for 9 yards on first down, Price was able to spin away from a tackle attempt and fall forward for a three yard gain, giving us a new set of downs at the 48 yard line as the first quarter came to a close, Texas State leading 14-7.

Opening up the second quarter, it was backwards for our offense, as the option play was blown up almost instantly, Bishop brought down for a loss of one yard before having any chance to pitch the ball. It got even worse as Bishop was forced out of the game with an injury, backup and freshman QB Brad Stephens suddenly finding himself thrown to the wolves. Stephens proved to at least be a decent thrower, hitting Fisher on his first ever collegiate pass, throwing for an 8 yard gain to leave third and three at the Texas State 46 yard line. Forced out of the pocket on the next play, Stephens never had a chance of hitting his target downfield, the throw across his body woefully weak and short, not even managing to clear 10 yards before being batted down by the middle linebacker. The 48 yard punt on fourth down went out for a touchback and Texas State was back on the clock at their 20 yard line. The word of Bishop’s injury proved bad, as he was diagnosed with a pull hamstring and would be sidelined for at least three weeks, leaving greenhorn rookie Stephens to lead us the rest of the day against Texas State, as well as truly throwing him to the wolves against Ohio State and Fresno State in the next two weeks. Word was also passed down that freshman cornerback Jonathan Chambers would be out for the rest of the game as well, suffering from a dislocated shoulder.

Starting on their own 20 and now with all the momentum, Malone took the ball on the ground for three straight plays, managing gains of two, 5 and four yards to get the first down at the 31 yard line. A fourth straight rush by Malone picked up 7 yards to leave second and three. The drop would thankfully stall out two plays later, as a pair of dropped passes left Texas State punting for the first time today on fourth and three. An 8 yard return on the 42 yard punt gave us the ball at our 28 yard line. Unable to yet trust Stephens under center, we hit the ground running to start the drive, as price rumbled ahead for a gain of 6 yards on the first down carry, followed by a two yard pickup to leave third and two. Leaving our hopes in the hands of Price, he rushed ahead, fighting forward for a 7 yard gain to get the first down at the 43 yard line. A strong toss to the right only managed two yards, leaving second and long. Taking another chance with Stephens, his pass over the middle to Hayden sailed way too far in front, the linebacker nearly intercepting it but dropping it incomplete. Stephens finally managed to complete a pass to a receiver, hitting Fisher for an 11 yard gain to the Texas State 46. We would get a helping hand from the defense on the play, as cornerback Corey Hall was flagged for a facemask penalty, the 15 free yards giving us a first down at the 31 yard line. Price kept it going on the ground, picking up 6 yards on the first down carry. A two yard run on the next play left third and two at the 23 yard line. Roy Smith would come in on the next play to give Price a breather, a mistake in the timing, as Smith could only manage to get one yard on the ground, leaving fourth and one from the 22. The 39 yard field goal by Alphonso Pratt split the uprights, cutting the gap to 14-10 with 3:23 left in the second quarter.

A 24 yard kickoff return got Texas State started at their 23 yard line, just over three minutes left and looking to chew clock. Malone rushed forward for a three yard gain on first down, before our defense was flagged for pass interference, the 15 free yards giving Texas State a new set of downs at their 41 yard line, 2:49 to play. The drive would stall out at the 41, as three straight incomplete passes, one of them dropped, brought the punt team out. An 8 yard return on the 42 yard punt left our offense starting at our 25 yard line, 2:36 to play and all three timeouts left. We would get a chance to use any, as two incomplete passes and a sack for a loss of 8 yards brought out our own punt team on fourth and 18, giving Texas State the ball back at their 38 yard line with 2:05 remaining in the half.

Bryan Sims took the ball on first down for the Bobcats, rushing ahead for an 11 yard gain, before hauling in a pass from Douglas on the next play for 5 yards to leave second and 5 at our 46. After throwing away the ball on second down, Douglas found Curtis Williams, but the defense was able to trip him up for only a gain of two yards, leaving fourth and three from our 44 yard line. The Bobcats would refuse to go down quietly though, as Malone took the ball on the ground and converted the fourth down with a four yard rush to the 40 yard line, Texas State’s first timeout stopping the clock with 1:22 to go. Our defense was once again flagged for pass interference, and what originally looked like a pending punt just two plays earlier, was suddenly a Texas State first down at our 25 yard line. After throwing the ball away on first down, Douglas hit Lowery up the left sideline for an 11 yard gain and a first down at our 14 yard line, the Bobcats’ second timeout stopping the clock with 1:04. Our defense pushed back on the next play, taking down Owens for a loss of three yards. An incomplete pass intended for Owens left Texas State with third and 13 from the 17 yard line, just 53 seconds to go. Owens would drop the third down pass, and Texas State would bring out the field goal unit. The 34 yard field goal by Sam Humphrey was good, extending Texas State’s lead to 17-10 with 45 seconds left in the half.

A 21 yard kickoff return by Price left us sitting at our 20 yard line and only 34 seconds to work with. With Texas State getting the ball to start the second half, just going to the locker room wasn’t an option. After an incomplete pass on first down intended for Hayden, Stephens found Thompson along the left hash for a 12 yard gain and a first down at our 32 yard line, our first timeout stopping the clock with 26 seconds to go. Launching one up deep, somehow Price was able to jump up between the safety and the cornerback and haul in the prayer from Stephens, stumbling forward for a few more yards before fall down for a 40 yard gain and a first down at the Texas State 29 yard line, our second timeout stopping the clock with 19 seconds to go. Three straight incomplete passes would leave us empty-handed on offense, the field goal unit coming out. The 46 yard field goal by Pratt was good, cutting the score to 17-13 with 5 seconds left in the half. No return on the kickoff would bring the half to a close, Texas State leading 17-13.

A touchback got the second half opened up, Texas State starting at their 25 yard line. It was a short drive as three straight incomplete passes left Texas State punting the ball away. A fair catch by Price on the 42 yard punt got us underway from our 33 yard line. Much like the opening drive of the game, Price took the handoff on first down, tearing it up the middle for a 17 yard gain to give us first down at midfield. Now we just had to hope this drive would mirror that game opening drive, Price ripping it up the middle for a huge gain to start the drive and the drive ending in a touchdown. Price took the ball again, bouncing off the left tackle and fighting ahead for a 7 yard gain. Smith took the ball on the next play, driving forward through a tackle for a 6 yard gain and a first down at the 37 yard line. Stephens called his own number on the next play, keeping the ball and rushing off the right tackle, turning up field after getting cut off by the cornerback, finding a way to get 6 yards before being brought down by the collar. Price would finish off the drive on the next play, getting outside the defense, turning up the left sideline and taking it 32 yards to the house to give us a 20-17 lead with 6:46 left in the third quarter.

A touchback and Texas State was on the move from their 25. Malone took the ball on back to back plays, picking up two yards on first down, before rushing ahead for a 6 yard gain to set up third and two. An incomplete pass would leave Texas State’s offense suddenly seeming inept and the punt team coming out. A fair catch on the 43 yard punt got our offense back in action at our 24 yard line. After getting stood up for no gain on first down, Price took the handoff around the left tackle, but couldn’t find much going, managing only three yards to leave us with third and 7, and our offense suddenly seeming inept. Going back to the air, and already cringing at the pending result, Stephens’ pass intended Hayden ended up incomplete, once again sailing well too far in front of where Hayden actually ended up, and our punt team trotted out. A three yard return on the 50 yard punt got Texas state started at their 26 yard line. A pair of rushes by Douglas for gains of three and 6 yards left third and one, before Desmond Powers took the ball on third down, fighting forward for a two yard gain to give Texas State the first down at their 37. Douglas was brought down for a three yard loss on the next play, before again keeping the ball himself, managing 5 yards on the ground to set up third and 8. The drive would stall out as Douglas’ pass intended for Sims was dropped, and Texas State punted away on fourth down.

A 10 yard return by Price on the 49 yard punt gave us the ball at our 22 yard line, 3:04 left in the quarter. Price again gave us hope for this drive, breaking a rush up the middle for a 14 yard gain and an immediate first down at our 37 yard line. Another rush by Price went for a gain of 9, before Stephens kept the ball himself and fought ahead for a 4 yard rush and a first down at midfield. Continuing on the ground, Price never had a chance, as the middle linebacker blitzed through untouched for the tackle and a one yard loss. Stephens finally managed to complete another pass, hitting Hayden this time for a gain of 14 yards and a first down at the Texas State 38 yard line. The first down pass attempt to Smith was batted incomplete, before Stephens connected with Thompson for a gain of 16 yards and a first down at the 22. That was where the final seconds would tick off the clock and the quarter would come to an end, our (rare) lead holding at 20-17 with only 9 final minutes to play.

Starting the fourth quarter with first down from the 22 yard line and only a three point lead, we had to find some way to close out this drive. Price took the ball on the first down carry, pushing forward for a gain of 7 yards, before the defense stood tall, allowing only a gain of two yards by Price and leaving us with third and one at the 13 yard line. If the defense wanted to stop us, they were going to have to stop us on the ground. They would do exactly that... Price was swallowed up almost immediately by the middle linebacker for a loss of one yard, and we were forced to attempt a field goal on fourth and two. The 31 yard field goal by Pratt was good and we extended our lead to 23-17 with 7:20 left in the game.

A touchback got Texas State started at their 25 yard line, the Bobcats needing a touchdown to get back on top as time wound down. Douglas went into the air on first down, connecting with Lowery for a 13 yard gain to the 38 yard line. This drive looked to be anything but a short one, as Malone took the ball on the next play, gaining 9 yards up the middle to set up second and one. Our defense would gift the Bobcats a first down, as we got flagged for encroachment, giving Texas State a new set of downs at our 48 yard line. Douglas went to the air again on first down, finding Sims on an out route for a 5 yard gain to leave second and 5. Two incomplete passes intended for Owens and Sims would bring the drive crashing to a halt at our 43. Texas State opted to go for it on fourth down instead of punt, and they would convert, as Douglas hit Sims for a 6 yard pass and a first down at our 37 yard line. A 5 yard pass to Lowery was followed with a gain of two yards on the ground by Malone, leaving the Bobcats with third and three at our 30 yard line, 5:44 on the clock. An incomplete pass left Texas State again at the edge, looking at fourth and three. This time our defense would not allow them to convert, tackling Malone for a loss of four yards, the turnover on downs giving our offense the ball at our 34 yard line, 5:25 remaining.

Price took the ball up the middle on first down, picking up 6 yards and getting the clock ticking. Despite being hit at the line of scrimmage, Price kept the legs pumping and fought and clawed his way forward for a 6 yard gain before falling down, giving us a first down at our 45 yard line as the clock ticked down close to four minutes to go. A 6 yard rush by Price around the left tackle got us into Texas State territory at their 49 yard line. That rush also would put Price over a milestone for the day, giving him 204 yards rushing in the game. Another rush by Price gained 9 yards to get the first down at the 40 yard line of the Bobcats, the clock ticking below three minutes before our next snap. Price took the handoff again, this time spinning his way out of a pair of tackles along the right tackle and breaking up field for a 14 yard gain to give us first and 10 at the 27 yard line. The defense would finally start to fight back, tackling Price for a two yard loss on the next play, leaving second and 12 with 2:38 to play. Price went out for a breather on the next play, as Smith took the handoff, managing to fight his way ahead for a 7 yard gain, leaving us third and 6 from the 22 yard line, Texas State calling their first timeout to stop the clock with 2:16 to go. Price never had a chance on the third down rush, tackled immediately at the line of scrimmage for no gain, the second timeout by the Bobcats freezing the clock with 2:12 remaining. Pratt would choose the absolute worst time of the game to miss a field goal, his 39 yard kick sailing wide right, giving Texas State the ball at their 22 yard line, 2:10 to play and our lead only 6 points.

David Ray got the Bobcats started with an 8 yard rush, before our defense tackled Douglas for a loss of two yards, leaving Texas State with third and four, 1:57 left on the clock. A thrown away pass left Texas State’s hopes riding on one play. Those hopes would remain alive, as Douglas found Sims for a 9 yard gain and a first down at their 38 yard line, 1:42 to go. After two straight incomplete passes, Douglas connected with Lowery for a 13 yard gain and a first down at our 49 yard line, the clock now down to 1:21. After a dropped pass, Williams hauled in a pass from Douglas for a gain of 9 yards to leave second and one at our 40 yard line, clock at 1:07 and ticking. Malone would get the first down for the Bobcats, fighting ahead for two yards to the 39 yard line. Douglas spiked the ball on first down to stop the clock with 52 seconds to go. That spike was now looking like a potentially bad decision as opposed to winging up a pass, as two incomplete passes, the second one dropped by Lowery, now left Texas State with fourth and 10 from our 39 yard line, 42 seconds remaining. The fourth down pass deep to Malone was on target, but the ball was dropped by the receiving and all the hopes that Texas State had of a massive upset came crashing down with the turnover on downs.

Our offense came out to take over the ball at our 39 yard line with 40 seconds to go. Stephens took a knee with the ball on first down, Texas State using their final timeout to stop the clock with 39 seconds. Stephens would kneel down the ball one more time, and that would be all she wrote, as the final 38 seconds of the clock ticked off without another snap needed, our extremely hard fought win (MUCH more hard than it SHOULD have been) now secured, 23-17.

With the win, we improve our record to 1-0 to start the season. With the loss, Texas State drops to 0-1. Up next, it’s on the road for a huge challenge and test to our young team, a trip to Ohio Stadium to take on the #21 Buckeyes, even more daunting now with Casey Bishop sidelined with a pulled hamstring.

Final Score
:Tulsa: 23, :Texas_State: 17

Stat(s) of the Game:
- Tulsa Offense – A very short day for Bishop. He only managed three passes (though he did complete all three attempts) for 26 yards and one touchdown before getting injured. Stephens was so-so in the backup position, going 6-16 for only 99 yards. On the ground, It was all Price, all day. Price ended the game with 225 yards and one touchdown on 35 carries. Next closest was Smith with 14 yards rushing. Bishop committed our only turnover of the day, fumbling the ball that was returned for the touchdown and gave Texas State their early lead. Only four receivers caught a ball today, Thompson leading the way with 42 yards on 3 receptions. Fisher had 18 yards on a touchdown on three receptions.

- Tulsa Defense – A mixed day. They sucked in the first half, letting Texas State pretty much walk all over them, completely shut down Texas State in the second half.

- Tulsa Kicking – Pratt WAS perfect for the day until he fucked up the 39 yard field goal at the end that would have sealed the victory without a doubt for us. Instead we had to sit there sweating out the final two minutes of the game as Texas State drove down the field, hoping and praying our defense would manage to stop them. Ended the day 3-4 in field goals with a long of 46 and makes of 46, 39 and 31 yards, with a missed 39 yard attempt. He did at least manage to go a perfect 2-2 in PATs.

Scoring Summary

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

:Texas_State:
14
3
0
0
17

:Tulsa:
7
6
7
3
23

Time
Team
Result
Play
Score

First Quarter

3:49
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
C. Fisher, 1 yard pass from C. Bishop (A. Pratt kick)
:Tulsa: 7-0

1:59
:Texas_State:
Touchdown
S. Douglas, 6 yard run (S. Humphrey kick)
TIED 7-7

1:38
:Texas_State:
Touchdown
P. Bolden, returned fumble 20 yards (S. Humphrey kick)
:Texas_State: 14-7

Second Quarter

3:27
:Tulsa:
Field Goal
A. Pratt, 39 yard field goal
:Texas_State: 14-10

0:45
:Texas_State:
Field Goal
S. Humphrey, 33 yard field goal
:Texas_State: 17-10

0:05
:Tulsa:
Field Goal
A. Pratt, 46 yard field goal
:Texas_State: 17-13

Third Quarter

6:46
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
B. Price, 32 yard run (A. Pratt kick)
:Tulsa: 20-17

Fourth Quarter

7:23
:Tulsa:
Field Goal
A. Pratt, 31 yard field goal
:Tulsa: 23-17

Game Stats

Texas State
Stat
Tulsa

17
Score
23

17
First Downs
20

225
Total Offense
367

25 - 83 - 1
Rushes - Yards - TD
45 - 242 - 1

14 - 39 - 0
Comp - Att - TD
9 - 19 - 1

142
Passing Yards
125

1
Times Sacked
1

4 - 15 (26%)
3rd Down Conversion
3 - 10 (30%)

3 - 5 (60%)
4th Down Conversion
0 - 0 (0%)

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

5 - 1 - 1 (40%)
Red Zone - TD - FG
2 - 1 - 1 (100%)

0
Turnovers
1

0
Fumbles Lost
1

0
Intercepted
0

3
Punt Return Yards
26

44
Kick Return Yards
61

272
Total Yards
454

5 – 44.0
Punts - Average
3 - 47.0

1 - 15
Penalties
3 - 35

15:58
Time of Possession
20:02

Tulsa Contract Goals Update

Fail Impact
Goal
Progress
Pass Impact

:6redarrow:
21+ points per game in each season
23
:6greenarrow:

Win 10 games in one season
1
:6greenarrow:

3300+ passing yards each season
125
:5greenarrow:

:6redarrow:
65% pass completions over the entire contract
47%
:5greenarrow:

:5redarrow:
Win 6 games in one season
1
:5greenarrow:

:6redarrow:
15+ rushing TD in each season
1
:5greenarrow:

:4redarrow:
3200+ total offensive yards each season
367
:3greenarrow:

:5redarrow:
3400+ total offensive yards each season
367
:2greenarrow:

Job Security Status

46%

SmoothPancakes

01-08-2013, 10:37 PM

We are sooooooooooo fucked this season. Mm-hmm... :smh: I already know I'm gonna get absolutely violated by Ohio State, especially with Casey Bishop injured and a greenhorn freshman at QB. I'm now gonna know how Notre Dame felt last night against Alabama. :(

And I'm already in danger of failing contract goals only one game in. I've got to find some way to pull 14 more rushing TDs, 2900 and 3100 total offensive yards and 3200 passing yards out of my ass in only 11 games now with a pretty much inept offense (outside of Brandon Price).

SmoothPancakes

01-08-2013, 10:52 PM

Time for another look around the nation, a very short and sweet one this week. Including our game against Texas State, a grand total of three games were played in week one across the nation. In the only top 25 game, #11 Auburn beat Kentucky 24-7. In the game of the week, North Carolina knocked off Louisville 45-26, and we pulled a 23-17 win out of our ass over Texas State.

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, with only three games, no movement at all. Alabama (34 first place votes) remains #1, Texas (22 votes) #2, Clemson (2 votes) #3, LSU (1 vote) #4 and Nebraska (1 vote) #5. Notre Dame (1 vote) is #6, Washington #7, Georgia #8, Oklahoma #9 and TCU #10. Auburn (despite playing and winning in week one) remains #11, Michigan #12, Texas A&M #13, Iowa #14 and Michigan State #15. Virginia Tech is #16, USC #17, Houston #18, Oregon #19 and Wisconsin #20. The rest, Ohio State is #21, Miami (FL) #22, Georgia Tech #23, Wake Forest #24 and NC State #25. Nobody dropped out. Looking at Others Receiving Votes, South Carolina (160 votes) is #26, Tulsa (127 votes) is #27, followed by Fresno State (96), Northwestern (67) and Kansas State (39) to round out the Top 30.

Despite being a beast in one of only three games in week one, Price couldn't use the 200+ yard rushing day to propel him into an early Heisman candidate. Senior HB Matt Blount from Georgia is on top, looking for his second straight Heisman. Others on the list include Texas A&M QB David Williams (Senior (RS), Nebraska HB Riley Thompson (Senior), Notre Dame HB Joey Owens (Senior) and Wyoming(!) QB Jon Davis (Senior).

SmoothPancakes

01-09-2013, 01:13 AM

So I think they need to tweak Herbstreit a little bit. In his "predictions" when you look in-depth at a game matchup and scrolling on the bottom line, for the Tulsa at #21 Ohio State game, me coming away from pulling a 6 point win out of my ass over Texas State (who went 1-11 last season) and Ohio State starting their season with Tulsa, Herbstreit is picking Tulsa to win the game. Who in the hell would pick Tulsa to win at #21 Ohio State?

SmoothPancakes

01-09-2013, 02:28 AM

So this Ohio State game is both going how I expected it to, and not a damn way I expected it to. If you had told me that three straight turnovers would give me the ball either at midfield or inside Ohio State territory on three straight drives, and I only had 3 points to show for all that, I would have laughed. If you had told me that with 3 minutes left in the third quarter, Ohio State would have only 189 yards of total offense and I'd have 182 yards of total offense, I would have laughed. If you would have told me that I would multiple times get down inside the Ohio State 15 yard line, and as close as the OSU 1 yard line, and only have three field goal to show for all of it, I would have smacked you.

SmoothPancakes

01-09-2013, 03:28 AM

Game Two

:Tulsa: :@: #21 :Ohio_State:

Game Notes

--- Here it was. The toughest game of the our season. A road trip to Columbus, Ohio to face off with the #21 Ohio State Buckeyes. We already knew from the day the series was agreed to, that we were going to face a massive challenge with Ohio State. Unfortunately the challenge would be even bigger than anticipated. During our surprisingly tough and challenging victory over Texas State, starting QB Casey Bishop was lost for three weeks with a pulled hamstring, which would keep him sideline through the Fresno State game. Already falling over the cliff from the stud QB that Brandon Booth was to what Casey Bishop is, that cliff became even higher, as backup QB and freshman Brad Stephens in his very first game of his college career. For an encore he’d have to take on the highly rated Ohio State defense. Being thrown to the wolves so early and so violently will definitely help to shape him up into a starting QB for his remaining three years after this season, but at what cost to our season? Ohio State won the coin toss and elected to kick.

No return on the opening kickoff got our offense on the field at our 25 yard line to start. Brandon Price got us started with a pair of rushes, picking up four yards before being stopped for only a one yard gain to leave third and 5. Brad Stephens showed signs of brilliance, leading a 16 yard pass to Hayden just out of reach of the linebacker’s outstretched arms for a first down at the 46 yard line. Price took the ball up the middle for a 9 yard gain on the first down carry, followed by a hard fought 6 yards and a new set of downs at the Ohio State 40 yard, our offense managing to find a smooth rhythm early on despite the deafening roaring of the Buckeye faithful. Another run by Price picked up four yards, before an attempt to bounce outside the left tackle went for no gain to leave us third and 6. Despite getting open over the middle, Stephens’ pass to Chad Fisher was behind him, Fisher having to come to a dead stop to haul in the pass to his back, enabling the linebacker to immediately tackle him for only a one yard gain. Left with fourth and 5 at the Buckeyes 35 yard line, the field goal unit came out. Pratt proved successful on his first boot of the game, splitting the uprights on his 52 yard boot to give us a 3-0 lead with 4:23 left in the first quarter. It wasn’t the early victory that we wanted, but it was an early victory nonetheless.

A touchback on the following kickoff got Ohio State started from their 25 yard line. Corey Sutton took the ball on first down, rushing ahead for 11 yards and an immediate first down at the 36. After an incomplete pass on first down, Jon Mason got to intimately know our defense, as he was sacked for a 7 yard loss to leave the shocked Buckeyes staring at third and 17 from their own 29. The entire stadium went quiet as Mason was helped off the field, suffering from hip bursitis. While he would return after a little while, it was enough to force Ohio State’s backup QB, redshirt freshman Ryan Fraser into the game. Fraser’s first pass of his college career fell incomplete over the middle, and a stunned Ohio State crowd watched as their offense was forced to punt away on fourth and 17.

A fair catch on the 44 yard punt got our offense back out at our 27 yard line. Price continued to be as dangerous as ever, taking it up the middle for a gain of 8 yards, followed be a second straight 8 yard rush to give us a first down at our 43, Ohio State’s defense scrambling for a way to shut Price down. Price continued to bend the Buckeye defense over, as a pair of blocks by the tight end allowed him to rush forward for a pickup of 11 yards and a first down at the OSU 46. Roy Smith came in to give Price a breather, but was quickly tackled for no gain, wasting that down. Hayden hauled in his second pass of the day on a slant route, as the pass from Stephens fell right into his hands for a 13 yard gain and the chains moved to the Buckeye 32 yard line. Taking a shot deep to the end zone, the pass intended for Hayden was broken up at the goal line, leaving us with second down. Going back to the air on the next play, we got some huge luck breaking our way, as the pass from Stephens to Fisher was woefully underthrown, a lame duck waiting to be picked off by the safety. The safety instead batted it down, down right into the hands of a passing Price, who snagged out of mid-air for a stupidly impossible 13 yard gain and a first down at the 19 yard line. Going back to the ground, Price never had a chance on first down, tackled for a loss of one yard. Taking the pitch on the next play, Price was able to find a gap between the left tackle and guard, fighting his way forward for a 9 yard gain to set up third and two at the 11 yard line. That was where the first quarter would come to an end, the final three seconds ticking off with our lead at 3-0 and driving for more points against a stunned Ohio State squad.

Opening up the second quarter, the Ohio State defense was more than ready for us, as Price was brought down for no gain. It was all or nothing here. A field goal here would only let us be losing by one point instead of four when Ohio State scored their first touchdown. A field goal was for quitters. We wanted blood. Price got the job done on his second try, plowing into the mass of bodies for a hard fought two yards and first and goal from the Ohio State 8 yard line. Price took it up the middle on first down, picking up 5 yards to leave second and goal from the three. Price tried to pound it ahead gain, but could only manage one yard to leave third and goal at the two. Living and dying by the run game, Smith was tackled at the two for no gain, and the drive was squandered as Pratt kicked a 19 yard field goal to make our lead 6-0 with 6:33 left in the second quarter, a sour taste in our mouths, and this time, NOT a victory.

A 20 yard kickoff return got Ohio State started at their 18 yard line. Mason, back under center for the Bucks, found Tommy Sherman through the air for a four yard gain, before Randall Day took it up the middle for a pickup of 8 yards and a first down at the 30 yard line. A two yard rush by Day was followed with a 25 yard deep strike to Rogers and Ohio State was suddenly at our 44 yard line with a new set of downs. After a two yard rush by Mason, he struck again, throwing deep to Jason Fountain for a gain of 26 yards to set Ohio State up at our 16 yard line. After a 7 yard rush by Day, Mason went right back to the air, connecting with Kyle White for the 9 yard touchdown pass to give Ohio State a 7-6 lead, driving 82 yards down the field in a mere two minutes. This could get ugly.

Fisher returned the kickoff out 25 yards to our 24 yard line for our next drive, 4:36 left in the half. Breaking off a pair of tackles, Price was able to fight his way forward for a gain of 6 yards on first down. Tackled forward by both the middle and outside linebacker, Price was able to fall forward enough to pick up three yards and leave us with third and inches from the 34. Price was just barely able to pick up the first down, fighting forward for one yard to the 35 yard line. Stephens put his speed to work on the next play, the halfback, fullback and pulling guard all able to seal in the entire right side, allowing Stephens to sprint towards the sideline and turn up the field for a gain of 14 yards before being run out of bounds at our 49 yard line. A strong toss to the left proved nothing but disaster, as Ohio State brought a blitz right through the rushing lane, leaving Price trapped for a loss of four yards. The second down pass from Stephens fell incomplete, leaving us third and 14. Another woeful pass by Stephens brought out our punt team.

A 5 yard return on the 45 yard punt left Ohio State starting from their 14 yard line with 2:28 to go. It would be a short drive, as three straight incomplete passes by Mason left the Buckeyes punting the ball right back. A 9 yard return by Price on the 49 yard punt got us back in action from our 46 yard line, like nothing ever happened, 2:09 remaining. A quick strike over the middle to Hayden went for a gain of 9 yards to get us into OSU territory. Max Thompson had to dive for it, but was able to haul in a wide thrown pass from Stephens for 8 yards and a first down at the 37. Price was able to get wide open running at the sideline on a smash route, but the pass from Stephens sailed way too high and way too long, the incomplete pass leaving us second down with 1:18 left. A pass intended for Nicholas Roberts again sailed too high and too long, leaving us looking at third down. Any hope we might have had for a long field goal attempt went down in flames when Stephens was sacked for a 12 yard loss, pushing us all the way back out to the Ohio State 49 and left with fourth and 22.

A failed fake punt resulted in a loss of two yards and Ohio State took over at midfield with 53 seconds still to go and all three timeouts. The Buckeyes wasted no time in moving the ball, as Mason hit Sutton for a 19 yard gain to our 31, their first timeout stopping the clock at 50 seconds. After an incomplete pass, Day rushed forward for a 10 yard gain, leaving Ohio State with third and inches at the 21 yard line, their second timeout stopping play with 41 seconds to go. Mason picked up the first down with a two yard rush, before bombing one through the air to Jermaine Davis for a 19 yard strike, giving Ohio State first and goal at our one yard line, 23 seconds to go. Mason would spike the ball to stop the clock at 12 seconds, and leave them a couple options to get a touchdown. They would choose the air it out option, as Mason threw to White in the corner of the end zone for the one yard touchdown pass and a 14-6 lead with 8 seconds left in the half. A 20 yard kickoff return would wipe out the remaining time on the clock, and we headed to halftime with Ohio State leading 14-6 and getting the ball back to open the third quarter.

The Buckeyes wouldn’t get such a short field this time, as the kickoff to open the third quarter went out for a touchback, leaving Ohio State at their 25 yard line. It wouldn’t make too much difference, as after an incomplete pass on first down, Mason hit Day over the middle for a gain 18 yards and a first down at the 43 yard line. Our defense would bite back with a vengeance, as Sutton was tackled for a loss of one yard, followed by a three yard loss by Day to leave third and 14. Mason would find Davis over the middle for an 8 yard gain, but the ball was stripped loose, Andy Malone diving on the fumble to recover it and give us possession at the 50 yard line.

A quick pass to Fisher on first down went for a gain of 7 yards to leave second and three. Going back to the ground, Price was only able to manage one yard on the ground, leaving third and two. A diving attempt to bat the ball away by the linebacker allowed Smith to haul in the pass on third down along the right sideline, breaking loose from a tackle attempt with a spin move away from the cornerback, and picking up 11 yards before being brought down at the 31 yard line by the safety. Hayden hauled in a pass from Stephens on the next play, taking advantage of a frozen middle linebacker to turn up field and turn what would have only been maybe a 5 yard gain into a 13 yard pickup and a first down at the 19 yard line. A quick strike to Smith on the next play sailed incomplete, leaving second down. Roberts briefly hauled in the 14 yard strike from Stephens on the smash route, but was unable to hold on as he fell to the turf, leaving us looking at third and 10. Lofting up a prayer, Stephens was able to complete a pass to Thompson, but he was driven out of bounds for only a 9 yard gain, leaving us fourth and one at the 9 yard line. Going for it all on the ground, Price never had a chance, tackled immediately for a loss of one yard, and we turned the ball over on downs at the Ohio State 11 yard line.

It wouldn’t get any better for the Buckeyes. Two straight dropped passes left Ohio State with third down, before a pass to Rogers seemingly picked up 5 yards, but the defense was able to jar the ball loose for a second time, and also for a second time, the defense recovered, Jonathan Chambers smothering the ball at the Ohio State 18 yard line to give our offense back possession. Price took the handoff on first down, picking up three yards after a diving tackled by the outside linebacker. The second down pass intended for Thompson was nearly picked off, thankfully not as it would have been an 85+ yard pick six. A pass to Smith coming out of the backfield left enough of a gap between the coverage for Smith to turn up the sideline and race the linebacker to the 7 yard line, an 8 yard gain to set up first and goal at the 7, a generous spot by the ref also helping to get the first down. The first down pass intended for Fisher was knocked incomplete, as the corner and safety closed between Fisher and the ball to completely block off any chance of making a play. Keeping the ball himself on second down, Stephens had hope, meeting both the middle linebacker and right outside linebacker in the backfield for a two yard loss to leave third and goal at the 9. As if that wasn’t already bad enough, Stephens was taken out of the game with bruised ribs, sidelined for at least the rest of this drive, forcing our third string QB, also a freshman, Erik Wallace into the game under center. Wallace was able to complete the first pass of his career, throwing to and connecting with Hayden. Unfortunately it only went for a one yard gain to leave fourth and goal at the 8. The 25 yard field goal by Pratt closed the gap to 14-9 with 3:56 left in the third quarter.

A touchback on the kickoff again left Ohio State starting from their 25 yard line. After throwing the ball away on first down, Mason found Fountain open for a 5 yard gain, followed by a 7 yard rush by Day to give the Buckeyes the first down. The third quarter would continue to bitchslap the Ohio State offense, as for the third straight drive, the Buckeyes turned the ball over, Mason getting intercepted by Allen Moore to give our offense the ball at the Ohio State 43 yard line. Going to the air on first down, Stephens was unable to find any open receivers, instead taking advantage of a gap along the right hash mark, tucking the ball and running for a four yard gain to the 38 yard line. Keeping the ball on the ground, Price used the momentum of the tackle by the middle linebacker to roll forward and fall ahead for a 6 yard pickup and a first down at the 32. The defense was more than ready on the next play, as Price was cracked instantly for only a two yard gain. Taking a shot through the air, Price made the defense pay through the air instead of on the ground, hauling in a pass from Stephens for an 18 yard gain to give us a first down at the 13 yard line. A pass to Hayden went for a gain of only four yards, leaving us second and 6 from the 10. A second down rush by Price wouldn’t be enough, only gaining one yard to leave third and 5, the clock ticking under a minute. The drive would end in complete and total disaster, as the blitz broke through, taking Stephens down, while simultaneously knocking the ball loose from his grip. Surrounded by nothing but red, Stephens never had a chance as the middle linebacker Cole Johnson dove on the loose ball, the Buckeyes recovering the fumble at their 21 yard line.

A pair of 7 yard rushes by Day out to the 34 yard line would bring the third quarter to an end, Ohio State leading 14-9 and our hopes of scoring a touchdown from inside the Ohio State 15 yard line once again dashed for the umpteenth time today.

Ohio State opened the fourth quarter with a one yard dump pass to White to leave second and 9. After throwing the ball way on second down, Mason found Sutton open over the middle for a 14 yard gain and a first down at midfield. Our defense wouldn’t make it easy, tackling Day for a one yard loss, before managing to sack Mason for a loss of 5 yards to leave third and 16. Mason’s third down pass sailed incomplete and the Buckeyes were forced to punt. A 7 yard return on the 46 yard punt got us back on offense at our 17 yard line and looking for answers.

We would find some answers, as Price rumbled ahead up the middle for a gain of 11 yards to the 28 yard line. Price continued to find space on the ground, rushing forward for a 17 yard pickup out to our 45 yard line. Despite fighting forward for a gain of three or four yards, the rush by Price would be wiped out as a penalty flag came out for holding, leaving us staring down the barrel on first and 20. The first down pass was nearly intercepted, leaving us second and very long. Thompson was able to haul in a pass from Stephens for a 13 yard gain along the left sideline, leaving third and 7. Hayden would keep our drive alive, hauling in the 9 yard pass on a slant route to get the first down at the Ohio State 44 yard line. Turning back to the ground, Price fought forward for a gain of 7 yards to the 37. Price would have no chance at the first down on the next play, gobbled up in the backfield by the blitzing cornerback for a loss of two yards to leave us with third and 5. Going into the air, Price was able to slip out of the backfield undetected, hauling in a pass from Stephens for a 17 yard pick up, giving us a first down at the 22 yard line and extending the life of the drive. Smith took the handoff on first down, finding a gap up the middle past the center and following it all the way down to the 8 yard line for a 13 yard gain to leave first and goal. It was nothing going on first down as Price was quickly swallowed up for a loss of one yard, the clock down to 3:18 and ticking. Price was able to fight forward through a small gap on second down, getting four yards up the middle to leave third and goal at the 5. The third down pass to Antoine Banks was very nearly intercepted, knocked down by the safety to leave fourth and goal. We decided to take a gamble, attempting the field goal and relying on our defense. The 22 yard kick by Pratt was good, cutting the score to 14-12 with 2:37 to play, and three timeouts to stop the clock.

No return left Ohio State starting from their 25 yard line, 2:29 showing. Day rushed ahead for a two yard gain, followed by a 5 yard pickup by Mason to leave third and two. Ohio State would get the first down as Mason rushed ahead for a four yard gain to the 37 yard line, our first timeout stopping the clock with 1:43. Day was quickly brought down for a loss of one yard on the next play, our second timeout stopping the clock at 1:39. Day would fight forward for a four yard rush, leaving Ohio State with third and 7 at the 40 yard line, our third and final timeout stopping the clock with 1:33 to go. The Buckeyes would give us some help, Mason trying to throw for the first down, but his pass sailing high out of bounds and incomplete, stopping the clock on fourth and 7 with 1:28 remaining. A 10 yard return by Price on the 50 yard punt gave our offense back the ball at our 19 yard line, 1:21 left in the game.

A first down pass to Banks was nearly as disastrous as turning the ball over, the pass only going for a 5 yard gain, the clock ticking down under a minute before we could get the next snap off. The second down pass intended for Fisher sailed high and out of bounds, stopping play with 54 seconds left and leaving us with third and 5. It would Thompson coming through huge for us, hauling in the pass from Stephens on an out route along the left sideline, breaking loose from the linebacker covering him, sprinting downfield, breaking loose from a tackle attempt by the cornerback, and picking up even more yards, before finally be brought down by the safety at the Ohio State 37 yard line for a 38 yard gain in total. Stephens quickly spiked the ball to stop the clock with 46 seconds remaining. The second down pass to Smith was batted incomplete, leaving us third down. The worst possible thing that could have happened, the offensive line collapsed fast on the following play, Stephens sacked for a two yard loss to leave us with fourth and 12 at the 40 yard line, our hopes resting in a 57 yard goal attempt by Pratt. The offensive line would fuck us, as the tackle was flagged for a false start, pushing up out to the 45 yard line and leaving fourth and 17, a field goal attempt now not even possible. Our only option to go through the air, the fourth down pass intended for Price was broken up by the safety and with that ended any hopes we had. Mason only needed but to take one knee and the game was over, Ohio State holds on for the 14-12 victory.

With the loss, we fall to 1-1. With the win, #21 Ohio State opens up their season at 1-0. Up next, it’s back on the road as our slaughterhouse road trip continues with a visit to Fresno State.

Final Score
#21 :Ohio_State: 14, :Tulsa: 12

Stat(s) of the Game:
Tulsa Offense – Ended up being a fairly decent day for Stephens. Went 18-32 with 211 yards passing, through he did get sacked three times and was responsible for our only turnover of the game. Wallace tasted his first action of college football, going 1-1 with a 1 yard pass for his game. Price had a fair day, ending with 121 yards on 31 carries, though a huge letdown after his previous performance. 6 receivers caught a ball today, Thompson (67 yards on four receptions) and Hayden (65 yards on 7 catches) leading the way.

Tulsa Defense – Defense had a pretty outstanding day considering the team they were up against. Held an offense like that of Ohio State's to only 14 points and only 229 yards of offense. Unfortunately our own offense couldn't get the job done. Also had a huge day in the turnover department, intercepting one pass and forcing two fumbles, all on three consecutive drives in the third quarter.

Tulsa Kicking – Another perfect day for Pratt, going 4-4 in field goals with a long of 52. If only all those times we went for it on fourth down inside the Ohio State red zone, we had settled for even a single field goal attempt, Pratt might have had a chance to solely win the game for us. Just one more field goal would have potentially resulting in a 15-14 win rather than a 14-12 loss. Those decisions to go for it rather than kick the field goal would chew on the minds of the coaching staff for weeks.

Scoring Summary

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

:Tulsa:
3
3
3
3
12

:Ohio_State:
0
14
0
0
14

Time
Team
Result
Play
Score

First Quarter

4:23
:Tulsa:
Field Goal
A. Pratt, 52 yard field goal
:Tulsa: 3-0

Second Quarter

6:44
:Tulsa:
Field Goal
A. Pratt, 19 yard field goal
:Tulsa: 6-0

4:48
:Ohio_State:
Touchdown
K. White, 9 yard pass from J. Mason (W. Marquardt kick)
:Ohio_State: 7-6

0:08
:Ohio_State:
Touchdown
K. White, 1 yard pass from J. Mason (W. Marquardt kick)
:Ohio_State: 14-6

Third Quarter

3:59
:Tulsa:
Field Goal
A. Pratt, 25 yard field goal
:Ohio_State: 14-9

Fourth Quarter

2:40
:Tulsa:
Field Goal
A. Pratt, 22 yard field goal
:Ohio_State: 14-12

Game Stats

Tulsa
Stat
Ohio State

12
Score
14

21
First Downs
17

335
Total Offense
229

41 - 123 - 0
Rushes - Yards - TD
20 - 77 - 0

19 - 33 - 0
Comp - Att - TD
12 - 27 - 2

212
Passing Yards
152

3
Times Sacked
2

7 - 17 (41%)
3rd Down Conversion
4 - 10 (40%)

1 - 4 (25%)
4th Down Conversion
0 - 0 (0%)

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

6 - 0 - 3 (50%)
Red Zone - TD - FG
4 - 2 - 0 (50%)

1
Turnovers
3

1
Fumbles Lost
2

0
Intercepted
1

26
Punt Return Yards
5

45
Kick Return Yards
20

406
Total Yards
254

1 – 46.0
Punts - Average
4 - 48.0

2 - 15
Penalties
0 - 0

21:55
Time of Possession
14:05

Tulsa Contract Goals Update

Fail Impact
Goal
Progress
Pass Impact

:6redarrow:
21+ points per game in each season
17
:6greenarrow:

Win 10 games in one season
1
:6greenarrow:

3300+ passing yards each season
337
:5greenarrow:

:6redarrow:
65% pass completions over the entire contract
54%
:5greenarrow:

:5redarrow:
Win 6 games in one season
1
:5greenarrow:

:6redarrow:
15+ rushing TD in each season
1
:5greenarrow:

:4redarrow:
3200+ total offensive yards each season
702
:3greenarrow:

:5redarrow:
3400+ total offensive yards each season
702
:2greenarrow:

Job Security Status

46%

SmoothPancakes

01-09-2013, 03:33 AM

That third quarter makes me sick. :sick:

Three straight Ohio State drives end in turnovers.

Fumble - Recovered at 50 yard line, our drive would end on turnover on downs at the Ohio State 11 yard line.
Fumble - Recovered at the Ohio State 18 yard line, our drive would end with a 25 yard field goal.
Interception - Picked off at the Ohio State 43 yard line, our drive would end with Stephens fumbling the ball on a sack, Ohio State recovered at their 21 yard line.

Three straight drives starting fresh off of turnovers, beginning at midfield, the OSU 18 yard line and the OSU 43 yard line, and ALL we had to show for it was one goddamn field goal. :sick: :smh: :fp:

Absolutely damn pathetic. Our offensive failures on those three drives were almost as pathetic, if not MORE pathetic than Ohio State committing turnovers on three straight drives. :fp:

I don't know how the hell I'm gonna complete my contract goals, much less even win 6 games this year. With this offense, we wouldn't be able to even score a touchdown against a goddamn team full of nuns.

SmoothPancakes

01-09-2013, 04:08 AM

Time for another look around the nation. Starting in the Top 25, Bowling Green nearly left the sports world speechless, going down to #4 LSU, rushing out to a 21-7 first quarter lead and taking the Tigers all the way to overtime before falling 42-35. It didn't take long for our first massive upset of the 2016 season, as unranked Boise State defends the smurf turf, knocking off #5 Nebraska with ease, 40-21. Right behind the Cornhuskers, #7 Washington runs face first into a speed bump, falling 28-24 on the road at Pittsburgh to put any title hopes they might have had in jeopardy. The Panthers outscored Washington 15-0 in the fourth quarter to pull out the win.

#6 Notre Dame got all that they could handle from Navy, the Irish pulling out a 35-28 win over the Middies. #8 Georgia may have already just lost their chance at a title bid, as Arizona comes to play between the hedges and slaps around the Bulldogs 42-28. #11 Auburn holds off Marshall 31-24. #14 Iowa had to fight off a comeback by Maryland, the Hawkeyes holding on 24-19. #16 Virginia Tech had a field day against #18 Houston, smacking the Cougars 41-20. #17 USC had their hands full with unranked Wyoming, the Trojans scoring 10 points in the fourth quarter to pull out a 27-20 victory. And Kent State put up a heck of a fight, but #22 Miami ultimate prevailed 34-19.

For our readers, souljahbill,Southern Miss starts their year with a 45-20 win over FCS East to open the season 1-0. Jaymo, Arizona State starts their year 0-1 following a 49-28 ass whooping from Kansas. Looks like another year at home for Sparky. Mors, unfortunately I think you can kiss any hope of a bowl game goodbye already. Florida International roughs up West Virginia 38-27 to open the Mountaineers season at 0-1. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State opens up the season at 1-0 with a 38-14 dismantling of USF.

On a C-USA note, a little fun fact, C-USA teams went 7-3 in week 2 of the 2016 season. Florida International, MTSU, North Texas, Rice, Southern Miss, UTEP and UTSA all won. Granted, UTEP, MTSU, North Texas, Rice and Southern Miss all won against FCS teams, UTSA beat Eastern Michigan, only FIU had an impressive win with their victory over West Virginia. Of the losses, Tulsa lost 14-12 to #21 Ohio State, Marshall lost 31-24 to #11 Auburn, and Florida Atlantic got whipped 45-17 by San Diego State. Rice nearly had the "my god we suck" loss of the week, scoring a touchdown (but missing the PAT) with 9:38 left in the game to just barely eek out a 23-17 win over FCS Southeast. FCS SE was winning 14-3 at halftime, proving that Rice may be sucking the bottom of the conference standings this year.

Other notes, shit, Toledo might be a hard one after all. The Rockets open their year 1-0 with a 38-27 win over UCLA. Granted, Toledo did have to outscore UCLA a ridiculous 24-0 in the fourth quarter to pull the win out of their ass, but a win is a win, and an 11 point win over a team that finished 9-5 AND played in the Pac-12 championship game last season is still impressive.

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, the top four remain the same, Alabama (38 first place votes) #1, Texas (22 votes) #2, Clemson (1 vote) #3 and LSU #4. Notre Dame moves up one to #5, Oklahoma leaps three to #6 (despite having yet to play a single game), TCU jumps three to #7, Auburn, Michigan and Texas A&M also all climb three to #8, #9 and #10. Iowa, Michigan State, Virginia Tech and USC all jump up three spots to #11, #12, #13 and #14. Nebraska falls ten spots to #15. Oregon, Wisconsin and Ohio State all jump three ranks to #16, #17 and #18. Georgia drops eleven spots to #19, Miami jumps two to #20, Washington plummets fourteen spots to #21. Georgia Tech climbs one to #22, Wake Forest moves up one to #23, Boise State enters the poll for the first time this season at #24 and NC State remains stuck at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week was Houston (from #18). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Houston (259 votes) is #26, followed by South Carolina (218), Fresno State (129), Northwestern (85) and Arizona (63) to round out the Top 30.

SmoothPancakes

01-09-2013, 04:38 AM

Here's a video of the pass I described near the end of the first quarter, when Stephens threw an underpowered pass that was nearly intercepted by the linebacker, but instead batted up in the air and grabbed by Price for a stupid impossible 13 yard gain instead of either an incomplete pass or an INT.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxfR5MmVBps

morsdraconis

01-09-2013, 04:55 AM

SmoothPancakes

01-09-2013, 05:07 AM

Wow man. Talk about going from building on the insane success you had last season to being TOTALLY fucked the next season because of an injury to one of your most important players at the worst time in the season. :(

Yep. Forced to pull a 6 point win out of my ass against the 123rd ranked team in the 2016 season, and then not even able to score a single touchdown against Ohio State. :smh: Fresno State I have a feeling isn't going to be any prettier. I might start to have better success and put up better stats once I hit C-USA play and well as get Casey Bishop back at QB, but still, I would not be surprised to see me end up with 3 or 4 loss minimum by the time this season ends. While I'll still be playing for the win, I'm already pre-marking Fresno State as a loss, especially with Casey Bishop still injured. Toledo I'm no longer convinced I can be considered a favorite against, considering how bad my offense is right now, and they just knocked off UCLA in their first game. Southern Miss also looks to be a bitch to beat this year.

JeffHCross

01-09-2013, 06:51 PM

#21 :Ohio_State: 14, :Tulsa: 12I both feel absolutely horrible for you, and yet not at all.

SmoothPancakes

01-09-2013, 07:44 PM

I both feel absolutely horrible for you, and yet not at all.

:D Yeah, I figured you wouldn't be too upset with Ohio State winning.

I'm still not sure how I feel about that game, besides disgusted with my performance in that third quarter.

I mean the defense did the impossible, somehow holding a superior Ohio State offense to only 14 points, which is a huge victory by itself and gives me hope for the season when it comes to the defense. The defense may end up being an asset this season instead of the liability that it was the last two seasons. But offensively, to spend that much time, make that many trips inside the Ohio State red zone, and have only four field goals, 12 whole points, to show for it all, goddamn that rips it right out of you.

Now I just have to find some way to get the offense actually moving to have a chance against Fresno State.

SmoothPancakes

01-09-2013, 10:16 PM

Well if this Fresno State game ain't the goddamn tale of two halves. :fp:

SmoothPancakes

01-09-2013, 11:41 PM

Game Three

:Tulsa: :@: :Fresno_State:

Game Notes

--- Coming off of our loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes, there was no chance to settle down, as a second straight road trip, this time to Fresno State, loomed on the horizon. The Bulldogs entered the game with a 1-0 record and an offense that ranked in the top 50 in all three aspects. Our offense meanwhile, was rated in the 80s and 90s with the sole exception of our rushing offense, good enough to rate #59. We would have to hope our #20 defense would be able to keep putting up strong numbers and hope our offense would actually find a groove. All the analysts were pegging us as the underdogs going in, picking Fresno State to walk out with a win. It would be up to our offense to find the answers to prove them wrong. Fresno State won the coin toss and elected to receive the ball.

No return on the kickoff got Fresno State started at their 25 yard line to start. It was a very fast start for the Bulldogs, as Jim Bentley took the handoff on first down for a 5 yard gain, before Cedric Chavez launched a deep pass to Demetrius Howard for 28 yards and very fast first down at our 43 yard line. A 5 yard rush by Chavez was followed up with a loss of three yards on the ground by Bentley, leaving the Bulldogs with third and 8. What initially looked to be a quick scoring drive turned into nothing, as Bentley dropped the third down pass from Chavez, leaving Fresno State punting on fourth and 8 from our 41. The punt sailed out of the back of the end zone for a touchback and our offense was in action at our 20 yard line.

Brandon Price got our running game quickly established, breaking up the middle on the first down carry for a 14 yard gain to the 34 yard line. Rushing off the right tackle on the next play, Price was able to fight ahead for a 5 yard gain, before breaking loose from a tackle attempt in the backfield, pushing ahead and getting tackled forward across the line for a 6 yard gain and a first down at the 45. Brad Stephens kept the ball himself on the next play, rushing for the right sideline and picking up 7 yards before being pushed out of bounds. The pitch left to Price was blown up by the defense, as Price was tackled for a loss of two yards, leaving us with third and 5 at midfield. Chad Fisher would keep the drive alive, hauling in a pass over the middle from Stephens for a 15 yard gain and a first down at the 35 yard line. A hitch route allowed Antoine Banks to get separation from the cornerback on the next play, hauling in the deep pass from Stephens along the sideline and running towards the end zone, eventually getting pushed out by the safety at the 6 yard line for a 28 yard gain, setting up first and goal. It was no go on the ground on first down, as Price was quickly swallowed up for no gain, leaving second and goal. A pass to Randy Newman was even worse, as Newman was quickly overtaken by the cornerback and linebacker for a loss of three yards, leaving us with third and goal at the 9 yard line. Fisher was able to get the third down pass into his hands, but the safety made a timely hit, jarring the ball loose for an incomplete pass. We ultimately settled for a disappointing three points as Alphonso Pratt kicked the 26 yard field goal, giving us a 3-0 lead with 2:26 left in the first quarter.

The following kickoff went unreturned, and Fresno State was back on the field at their 25. Bentley got the drive off to a promising start with a 7 yard rush, but two straight dropped passes by Quentin Seymour left the stunned Bulldogs punting away on fourth and three. A 7 yard return by Price on the 43 yard punt got us back in action from our 31 yard line. Avoiding the blitzing linebacker, Price was able to skirt his way up the middle, picking up 7 yards before getting tackled by the safety. Stephens kept the ball for himself once again, turning it up the field just beyond the right tackle, managing to get 8 yards before being swarmed by the defense. Taking a shot on first down, the pass from Stephens intended for Nicholas Roberts was broken up by the middle linebacker, nearly intercepted, leaving us second down at the 46. Stephens was forced out of the pocket on second down, scrambling towards the far sideline, his pass intended for Roberts sailing way off target and out of bounds, leaving us facing third down. Fisher again nearly came through, again getting the ball into his hands, before a hit by the safety knocked the ball loose and incomplete, leaving us punting on fourth down. The punt sailed 55 yards and into the end zone for a touchback.

Starting at the 20 yard line, Bentley got Fresno State moving on first down with a 5 yard rush. After an incomplete pass on the next play, the Bulldogs managed to convert third down as Chavez hit Seymour over the middle for a 21 yard gain to the 46 yard line. A 6 yard rush by Bentley would get the Bulldogs into our territory, as the final seconds came off the clock. The first quarter was in the books, our lead sitting at 3-0, but Fresno State in position to make a drive.

Opening up the second quarter, Evan Johnson took the ball on the ground for Fresno State, fighting forward for three yards to leave third and one. Our defense would stop the Bulldogs cold on the next play, as Chavez was sacked for a 9 yard loss, leaving Fresno State punting on fourth and 10 from their 46. No return on the 43 yard punt got us underway on offense from our 10 yard line.

Price took the ball up the middle, fighting his way ahead for a 6 yard gain. Taking the ball on second down, Price was able to hit and turn the corner past the right tackle, spinning his way out of a diving tackle attempt by the cornerback and rumbling ahead for a 16 yard gain before being brought down by the safety at the 32 yard line. Roy Smith got his first action of the day, giving Price a breather, and it was a rough start, as the blitzing defense quickly overtook him for only a two yard gain. Despite being able to turn the corner, Price was only able to pick up four yards on second down, the defensive end disengaging from his battle with the left tackle to trip up Price and bring him down. Max Thompson was able to keep the drive breathing, hauling in a third down pass from 14 yard pass from Stephens to give us a new set of downs at the Fresno State 48. The success was short lived, as a blitzing linebacker left Price laying on the ground for no gain and a wasted down. Taking the ball on second down, despite being hit at the line of scrimmage, Price was able to stumble and fall forward for a 5 yard gain, leaving us third and 5. Fresno State picked the worse possible moment to blitz the entire secondary. Smith came out of the backfield and angled around over the middle. With all three linebackers blitzing, no one was there to interrupt the pass. Juking past one safety, Smith was able to sprint his way up the middle of the field for a 32 yard gain before being chased down from behind by the other safety at the 11 yard line. Taking the ball on first down, Price took it straight up the gut, picking up 9 yards to leave second and one at the two yard line. Price would get us inside the end zone on the next play, taking the pitch right from Stephens, racing towards the sideline and diving inside the pylon for the two yard touchdown, giving us a 10-0 lead with 2:56 left in the half.

A 16 yard kickoff return started Fresno State on their 17 yard line. Chevez started the drive with a 5 yard rush, but the defense was able to break through on second down and tackle Bentley for a loss of two yards, leaving the Bulldogs with third and 6. An incomplete pass would continue the offensive woes for the Bulldogs. An 8 yard return by Price on the 42 yard punt gave our offense the ball at our 46 yard line, 2:04 left in the half. Trying to go for the interception, the cornerback took himself out of the play, the ball sailing over his head and right into the outstretched arms of Fisher, who took the ball and raced 39 yards up the field before being tripped up at the 15 yard line, 1:55 on the clock. Price took the handoff, fighting ahead for 7 yards to leave second and three at the 8 yard line, the clock ticking towards one minute. Rushing the ball again on second down, Price drove into the pile in front of him, picking up three yards before ending up buried under a sea of red jerseys. The measurement left us short of the first down. We called our first timeout with 57 seconds left on the clock, sizing up the third and inches situation. Price would find the end zone a second time today, fighting loose of a tackle attempt at the line of scrimmage before stumbling his way forward and falling across the goal line for the 5 yard touchdown, extending the score to 17-0 with 53 seconds to go.

A touchback left Fresno State at their 25 yard line, just 46 seconds to work with but still all three timeouts. It would be a wasted drive. Chavez picked up four yards on a first down scramble, the Bulldogs calling their first timeout with 41 seconds to go. After an incomplete pass on second down, Bentley was wrapped up in the backfield for a loss of two yards, leaving fourth and 8 at the 27 yard line with 30 seconds to go and ticking. Price returned the 50 yard punt for 7 yards to our 30 yard line. A four yard rush by Price would be the final play, the remaining 12 seconds ticking off the clock as we headed into halftime with a 17-0 lead.

Opening up the third quarter, Price received the kickoff and return it for 17 yards, getting our offense on the field at our 16 yard line to start. The defense was ready and waiting for Price, as he was overrun in the backfield for a three yard loss, leaving second and 13. Keeping the pressure on our offense, Stephens was forced to scramble from the pass rush, only managing to pick up three yards before being wrapped up to leave third and 10. The defense would make it strike three on the next play, as the defense end broke through his blocker, sacking Stephens for a 7 yard loss to leave us punting on fourth and 17. It would only get worse. The Fresno State punt return team was able to break through and blocked the punt on fourth down, Bo Sherman recovering the fumble in the end zone to get Fresno State their first points of the game. The extra point made it 17-7, nothing but domination from the Bulldogs thus far.

No return on the kickoff left our offense at our 25 yard line looking for a response. A pitch right on first down went nowhere, as Price quickly found any escape routes blocked, forced to juke away from a defender and fight up-field just to get back to the line of scrimmage for no gain. It would even worse, as the blitzing outside linebacker came storming through untouched, knocking the ball loose as Stephens tried to throw it away. Marco Holmes was there to dive on the ball for the Bulldogs, giving Fresno State a first down at our 16 yard line. Bentley got the offense moving with an 8 yard rush on first down. The Bulldogs however would seemingly piss away their best opportunity of the game, as two incomplete passes by Chavez left the Bulldogs with fourth and two at our 8 yard line. Saying hell no to the field goal, the Bulldogs elected to go for it on fourth down, Chavez connecting with Seymour in the back of the end zone for the 8 yard touchdown for the successful conversion, and our lead was cut to 17-14 a mere three minutes into the second half.

Fisher returned the following kickoff 21 yards out to the 20 yard line for our next drive. A first down pass to Smith went backwards, as Smith was tackled for a loss of one yard. A pass on second down, intended for Eric Hayden was woefully overthrown, passing way out of the reach of Hayden and incomplete to leave third down, the crowd roaring now. The third down pass intended for Fisher was jumped on by the cornerback, nearly intercepted but thankfully dropped, and we were forced to punt on fourth and 11, our offense that was impossible to stop in the first half, now suddenly inept in the second half. A 17 yard punt return on the 45 yard boot gave Fresno State the ball at our 47 yard line. Bentley took the ball on first down, breaking loose up the middle for a 13 yard gain to our 34. After being tackled for a loss of two yards on first down, Bentley came back to break our defense through the air on second down, hauling in a 15 yard pass from Chavez to set up first and 10 at the 21 yard line. After a dropped pass on first down, Seymour caught a ball from Chavez for a 5 yard gain, leaving Fresno State with third and 5. Bentley would convert the third down, taking the ball around the right side for a 6 yard gain and first down at our 10 yard line. A pair of 5 yards passes from Chavez to Alvin Hodges and to Seymour left Fresno State with third and inches from our one yard line. Bentley would plunge into the end zone on the next play for the one yard touchdown rush and a 21-17 Fresno State lead with 3:10 left in the third quarter.

A touchback on the kickoff got us underway at our 25 yard line, desperately searching for answers after seeing our 17 point halftime lead disappear into a four point deficit in less than a quarter. Our offense finally remembered out to throw and catch a ball this drive, as Fisher caught a pass on first down for a 13 yard gain to get us to the 38. A 16 yard toss to Thompson gave us another first down at the Fresno State 46, finally rebuilding the momentum we had in the first half. Despite being intended for Hayden, Fisher cut Hayden off and dove for the ball, falling to the ground for a gain of 12 yards and another first down at the 35. The pass intended for Price on the smash route sailed out of bounds, leaving second down. Hayden finally managed to haul in his first catch of the game, breaking loose from the cornerback and turning up field for a 29 yard gain, brought down at the 5 yard line to set up first and goal. Taking the ball on first down, Price was unable to find much, wrapped up by the middle linebacker for a one yard gain. Going off the left tackle on second and goal, Price was able to drive into the end zone for his third time today, falling forward through a tackle for the four yard touchdown and a 24-21 lead with 54 seconds left in the third quarter.

No return left Fresno State starting at their 25 yard line. It was a drive much ado about nothing for the Bulldogs, as Bentley was tackled for a loss of three yards on first down. Chavez kept the ball on the next play for a gain of four yards to leave third and 9, before a pass to Howard only gain two yards, the punt team coming out on fourth down. A 9 yard return by Price on the 43 yard punt set our offense up at our 37 yard line as the third quarter came to an end, a late touchdown partially helping to recover from 6 minutes of utter disaster, a 24-21 lead heading into the final quarter.

Opening up the fourth quarter from our 37 yard line, it was nearly nothing going for Price on the ground, managing only gains of two and three yards to set up third and 5. Smith was able to haul in the third down pass from Stephens along the right sideline, but the linebacker was right there to push Smith out of bounds for only a four yard gain, leaving us with fourth and inches and the punt team coming out. The punt bounced into the end zone for a touchback and Fresno state began their drive from the 20. Chavez started off the drive with a 5 yard rush, but trying to keep the ball himself would end up in a setback, as Chavez was tackled for a loss of four yards on the next play, leaving Fresno State facing third and 9. Chavez threw up a deep pass to Bentley near midfield that landed in his hands, but trying to turn up field, Bentley lost control of the ball, dropping it incomplete and forcing a Fresno State punt.

Price called for a fair catch on the 43 yard punt and our offense was back out at our 35 yard line, just 6:39 away from victory. It would be a one play drive, as Price was met by the linebacker at the line of scrimmage, the ball knocked loose and recovered by Holmes, his second fumble recovery of the game, to give Fresno State possession at our 27 yard line. After a 5 yard pass to Seymour to get to our 22 yard line, our defense became a brick wall, forcing a pair of incomplete passes that left Fresno State stuck on fourth and 5. The Bulldogs would opt to go for it on fourth down, Chavez launching a pass into the end zone, but Andy Malone was there to jump the route and intercept the pass, returning it 25 yards out to our 20 yard line and keep our lead intact. A pitch to Price on first down ended in disaster, as the blitzing linebacker drove Price backwards for a loss of 6 yards, leaving us staring down the barrel of second and 16 at our 14 yard line. A second down pass from Stephens to Smith was damn near intercepted, the cornerback stepping up in front of Smith and simply standing there as the ball flew into his hands, but butterfingers would drop it, leaving third and very long. Trying to scramble from the pressure, Stephens wasn’t able to run fast enough, the defensive end diving at his feet, tripping him up for the four yard sack and forcing us to punt on fourth and 20 from our 10 yard line.

Our punt team managed to actually get the punt off this time, Howard returning the 49 yard punt 9 yards to midfield with 5 minutes left in the game. Howard would be the go to guy on first down, hauling a 22 yard pass from Chavez to get the Bulldogs to our 29 yard line. An 18 yard pass to Bentley gave Fresno State another first down, now at our 11. Chavez would try to pick up yards on the ground, but our defensive line was there to meet him, taking him down for no gain. A one yard rush by Hodges left the Fresno State offense in a bit of a rut, facing third and 9 from our 10 yard line. The defense would step up on the next play, forcing Chavez to throw the ball away to avoid the sack, leaving fourth down. This time the Bulldogs would kick the field goal, the 27 yard boot by Shaun Gschwend good to tie the game up at 24-all with 3:56 remaining.

A 23 yard kickoff return by Price advanced the ball to the 24 yard line, our offense searching for some success to at least get into field goal range. Spinning away from the defensive end, Price was able to fall forward for a 5 yard gain to get the drive started. Met at the 31 yard line, Price was rolled forward during the tackle by the middle linebacker, enough for 6 yards and a first down at the 34. Keeping it driving on the ground, Smith fought ahead for a pickup of 8 yards, leaving second and two at the 42 yard line. Breaking loose from the blitzing middle linebacker in the backfield, Price was able to find some way to drive forward enough and get pushed ahead by a tackler for a two yard gain and a first down at the 44 yard line, the clock closing in on two minutes. Taking the handoff on first down, the defense gave Price nowhere to go, tackled for only a one yard gain at the 46, the clock down to 1:46 and ticking. Taking a pitch to the right, Price was again unable to find any space, barely picking up one yard before being tripped up, our first timeout stopping the clock with 1:19 to play, facing third and 8 from our 47 yard line. Fisher was able to get just enough separation from the cornerback to haul in a 9 yard pass from Stephens, just getting the first down and keeping the drive breathing as we closed in on field goal range at the 44 yard line. Price never had a chance on the first down rush, tackled at the line of scrimmage for no gain, our second timeout stopping the clock with 54 seconds to go. A pass to Smith pushed us backwards, Smith barely avoiding a tackle before being pushed out of bounds for a one yard loss. While it stopped the clock for us, so we didn’t have to waste our final timeout, it did leave us with third and 11 at the 46. Facing a blitzing pass rush, Stephens was forced to dump the ball off to Newman, who was quickly tripped up by the outside linebacker for only a two yard gain, leaving fourth and 9 from the 43 yard line, Fresno State using their first timeout to stop the clock.

Unfortunately outside of field goal range, we were forced to punt it away with 46 seconds to play. The punt bounced into the end zone for a touchback, Fresno State starting from the 20 yard line with just 40 seconds to work with. Chavez found Howard for a 5 yard pass on first down, Fresno State’s second timeout of the half stopping the clock with 34 seconds to go. An encroachment penalty on our defense gave Fresno State a new set of downs at the 31 yard line, 30 seconds remaining. Our defense stood firm, sacking Chavez for a one yard loss, leaving the Bulldogs with second and 11, 24 seconds to go and ticking. Bombing it deep, the pass from Chavez intended for Howard was broken up by the cornerback and safety at our 25 yard line, the incomplete pass leaving third and 11 and only 12 seconds to go. Fresno State decided to take their chances in overtime, Bentley rushing forward for a 6 yard gain on third down, leaving fourth and 5 as the final 5 seconds ticked off the clock. That was the end of regulation, we headed to overtime tied 24-24.

We won the coin toss at the beginning of overtime and elected to go on defense first. Fresno State started their drive with an 8 yard pass to Howard, leaving second and two at the 17. Two dropped passes would leave the Bulldogs stranded. Even worse for Fresno State, the 34 yard field goal by Gschwend was wide left, and our offense took over needing only a field goal to win. A pair of rushes by Price left us moving nowhere but backwards, as Price was tackled for losses of one and four yards to leave us pushed out to the 30 yard line and facing third and 15. It would end up even worse, as multiple blitzing defenders broke through the line, sacking Stephens for a 9 yard loss, leaving us with fourth and 24 at the 39 yard line. Now out of field goal range, we had no choice but to go for it on fourth down. Throwing deep down the left sideline intended for Hayden, the pass from Stephens sailed long and out of bounds. With that, we headed for a second overtime, still tied at 24-all.

Opening up the second overtime on offense, we had to find some points here. Stephens was finally able to get a pass off on first down, but the completion to Fisher was only able to pick up two yards, leaving second and 8. Newman hauled in a pass from Stephens, just barely getting it off before getting hit, picking up only three yards to leave third and 5 at the 20 yard line, the Fresno State defense refusing to give up anything. Taking a long shot on third down with Price, he was only able to gain one yard on the ground, leaving fourth and four. The 36 yard field goal by Pratt was good, and we at least had a lead, up 27-24. Bentley got Fresno State moving quickly, with rushes of two, three and 5 yards to leave second and two at the 14 yard line. The defense would push back, tackling Chavez for a loss of three yards to leave the Bulldogs with third and four. Our defense would seal the victory on the next play, as Spencer Jones intercepted Chavez’s pass in the end zone to end the game in double overtime, a 27-24 victory.

With the much unexpected win, we improve to 2-1. With the loss, Fresno State drops to 1-1. Up next, it’s the start of conference action in 2016, as we head home to take on North Texas. The Mean Green enter the season 1-1, opening up the year with a 41-10 win over FCS Midwest, before losing 37-16 at #13 Nebraska.

Final Score
:Tulsa: 27, :Fresno_State: 24 – 2 OT

Stat(s) of the Game:
Tulsa Offense – First half, great, second half, sucked ass. Passing, Stephens did pretty good, going 17-26 for 214 yards, though no touchdowns, and he fumbled the ball once that screwed us during that third quarter. Looking at rushing, Price led the way with 99 yards and three touchdowns on 34 carries, but he also fumbled once that, again, screwed us during that third quarter. Receiving, 6 people caught a ball, Fisher led the way with 90 yards receiving on 6 catches.

Tulsa Defense – Defense had their work cut out for them, left with short field situations, but did enough to keep Fresno State in check and outside of the that third quarter, held the Bulldogs virtually scoreless.

Tulsa Kicking – A perfect day by Pratt. Went 2-2 in field goals, kicking 26 and 36 yard field goal, including the game winner in overtime, to go along with 3-3 in PATs.

Scoring Summary

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

:Tulsa:
3
14
7
0
3
27

:Fresno_State:
0
0
21
3
0
24

Time
Team
Result
Play
Score

First Quarter

2:26
:Tulsa:
Field Goal
A. Pratt, 26 yard field goal
:Tulsa: 3-0

Second Quarter

2:56
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
B. Price, 2 yard run (A. Pratt kick)
:Tulsa: 10-0

0:53
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
B. Price, 5 yard run (A. Pratt kick)
:Tulsa: 17-0

Third Quarter

7:24
:Fresno_State:
Touchdown
B. Sherman, fumble recovery in end zone (S. Gschwend kick)
:Tulsa: 17-7

6:04
:Fresno_State:
Touchdown
Q. Seymour, 7 yard pass from C. Chavez (S. Gschwend kick)
:Tulsa: 17-14

3:10
:Fresno_State:
Touchdown
J. Bentley, 1 yard run (S. Gschwend kick)
:Fresno_State: 21-17

0:54
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
B. Price, 4 yard run (A. Pratt kick)
:Tulsa: 24-21

Fourth Quarter

3:56
:Fresno_State:
Field Goal
S. Gschwend, 27 yard field goal
TIED 24-24

Overtime

---
---
---
----
TIED 24-24

Second Overtime

---
:Tulsa:
Field Goal
A. Pratt, 36 yard field goal
:Tulsa: 27-24

Game Stats

Tulsa
Stat
Fresno State

27
Score
24

16
First Downs
10

310
Total Offense
220

43 - 96 - 3
Rushes - Yards - TD
25 - 73 - 1

17 - 26 - 0
Comp - Att - TD
13 - 31 - 1

214
Passing Yards
147

4
Times Sacked
2

5 - 14 (35%)
3rd Down Conversion
3 - 16 (18%)

0 - 1 (0%)
4th Down Conversion
1 - 2 (50%)

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

6 - 3 - 2 (83%)
Red Zone - TD - FG
6 - 2 - 1 (50%)

3
Turnovers
2

3
Fumbles Lost
0

0
Intercepted
2

31
Punt Return Yards
26

61
Kick Return Yards
16

402
Total Yards
262

5 – 48.8
Punts - Average
7 - 44.0

2 - 7
Penalties
0 - 0

22:17
Time of Possession
13:43

Tulsa Contract Goals Update

Fail Impact
Goal
Progress
Pass Impact

:6redarrow:
21+ points per game in each season
20
:6greenarrow:

Win 10 games in one season
2
:6greenarrow:

3300+ passing yards each season
551
:5greenarrow:

:6redarrow:
65% pass completions over the entire contract
58%
:5greenarrow:

:5redarrow:
Win 6 games in one season
2
:5greenarrow:

:6redarrow:
15+ rushing TD in each season
4
:5greenarrow:

:4redarrow:
3200+ total offensive yards each season
1012
:3greenarrow:

:5redarrow:
3400+ total offensive yards each season
1012
:2greenarrow:

Job Security Status

46%

SmoothPancakes

01-10-2013, 12:13 AM

Time for another look around the nation. Starting in the Top 25, #7 TCU had a fight on their hands all day against Louisiana Tech. LTU led 14-6 at halftime, a 20-0 third quarter for TCU put the Horned Frogs up 26-14. LTU scored 13 points (missing a two-point try) to take a 27-16 lead, before two TCU touchdowns (and a two-point conversion) put 15 points up in the fourth quarter to give the purple faithful a 41-27 win. #9 Michigan had to do a little magic work to pull out a 27-20 win over BYU. Rutgers gets the upsets rolling, knocking off #12 Michigan State 52-31. This one was ugly, MSU putting up 15 points in the fourth quarter just to make it get within 21 at the final whistle. Arkansas State is proving a force to be reckoned with this year, as the Red Wolves improve to 2-0 with a 35-17 upset at #13 Virginia Tech.

#14 USC managed to hold on for a 31-21 win over Pittsburgh. #18 Ohio State had some trouble yet again this week, needing a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns to put away UCLA late, 28-17. #19 Georgia had a tough fight with Arkansas, eventually beating the Razorbacks 38-28. #20 Miami survived a hell of a scare from Louisville, the Hurricanes scoring the game winning touchdown with 10 seconds left to win 27-20. #21 Washington will officially not be making a return trip to the BCS title game, falling to 0-2 on the year with a 38-14 loss to Stanford. Arizona improves to 2-0 for the season with a 38-21 win over #23 Wake Forest. And it was a rough start for the Broncos, but a 24-0 fourth quarter advantage puts #24 Boise State over the top, 52-21, against SMU.

For our readers, souljahbill, that undefeated season for Southern Miss didn't last long, USM falls 30-27 at Air Force. Southern Miss had a 20-16 lead after three quarters and a 27-23 lead with 6 minutes to go, but an Air Force touchdown with 12 seconds to play put the Falcons on top. Jaymo, Arizona State gets their first win and improves to 1-1 with a 27-23 win over UCF. Mors, shockingly, West Virginia improves to 1-1 (1-0 Big 12) with a 31-30 win over Oklahoma State, though it did take a 21-3 fourth quarter advantage to pull it out. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State, as mentioned in the Top 25 rundown, improves to 2-0, knocking off #13 Virginia Tech 35-17.

On a C-USA note, MTSU is now 2-0, knocking off Minnesota 27-21. One week after storming the ramparts against West Virginia, Florida International gets their asses handed to them, 45-14 by Navy.

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, the top 11 remain the same, Alabama (33 first place votes) #1, Texas (22 votes) #2, Clemson (2 votes) #3, LSU (2 votes) #4, Notre Dame (1 vote) #5, Oklahoma (1 vote) #6, TCU #7, Auburn #8, Michigan #9, Texas A&M #10 and Iowa #11. USC, Nebraska and Oregon all jump two to #12, #13 and #14. Wisconsin and Ohio State jump two to #15 and #16, as does Georgia and Miami, both up two to #17 and #18. Michigan State falls seven to #19, Georgia Tech climbs two to #20, Rutgers enters the poll this week at #21. Boise State and NC State both jump two to #22 and #23, Virginia Tech plummets eleven to #24 and Arizona enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Washington (from #21) and Wake Forest (from #23). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Houston (155 votes) is #26, followed by Stanford (143), South Carolina (143), Northwestern (63) and Ole Miss (32) to round out the Top 30.

SmoothPancakes

01-10-2013, 11:40 PM

Currently nearing the end of the third quarter, myself and North Texas, we either are setting the mark the best damn defenses, or for the most god awful impersonations of an offense. I'm not sure which one yet.

SmoothPancakes

01-11-2013, 01:17 AM

Game Four

:North_Texas: :@: :Tulsa:

Game Notes

--- Coming off our miraculous win over the Fresno State Bulldogs, it was back to the friendly confines of home and the start of C-USA play against North Texas. We were coming into the game ranked very poorly. #103 in points per game, #104 in total offense, #97 in pass offense and #77 in rush offense, we were going to once again be forced to rely on our defense to keep the Mean Green at bay while our offense continued to work out the early season kinks. We unfortunately would still be without the services of Casey Bishop. While no longer being held out of action by the team doctors, Bishop was still listed on the injured list as questionable, leading to Bishop being benched for the week and give him a chance to fully heal back to 100% before putting him back under center. With that, it was once again the show of Brad Stephens on offense. North Texas won the coin toss and elected to kick as the rain poured from the sky like a waterfall.

A 20 yard kickoff return by Chad Fisher and our offense was out to start the game at our 21 yard line. Brandon Price took the ball on first down, but the North Texas defense was more than ready for our running game, tackling Price for no gain. Keeping the ball on second down, Price was only able to pick up three yards, our running game unable to find its footing early on. Going to the air on third down, Stephens chucked up a quick one to Fisher, completing the pass for a gain of 9 yards and keeping the drive moving at the 34 yard line. Price was able to fall forward through a tackle and gain four yards on the first down carry, before Stephens called his own number, shook off the blitzing linebacker and was able to get outside, the wide receiver sealing off the cornerback, rushing ahead for an 18 yard gain to the 44 yard line. Throwing a quick pass to Eric Hayden on the out route went for a gain of 11 yards, and we had a new set of downs at the 33. Passing to Hayden a second time, the completion only picked up two yards before Hayden was tackled. Taking the handoff up the middle, Price fought his way forward for a four yard gain, leaving third and three. An incomplete pass left us with fourth down, the 43 yard field goal attempt by Pratt no good.

Starting at their 26 yard line, the North Texas offense got the drive off and running with a three yard rush by Josh Waters, followed by a two yard gain to leave third and 5. The pass from Ryan George ended up overthrown, sailing out of bounds and leaving the Mean Green punting the ball. A 13 yard return by Price on the 47 yard punt got our offense on the field at our 35. Price took the ball on first down, rushing ahead for a 5 yard gain. Price received the handoff again, fighting forward for another 5 yard gain, leaving us with third and inches at the 44. The defense was more than ready for us, as Price was met at the line of scrimmage for no gain, leaving us punting away on fourth and one.

A fair catch on the 45 yard punt left North Texas to begin from their 10 yard line. It was a rough start, as Waters was tackled for a two yard loss, before George scrambled for two yards to set up third and 12. The drive would end on the next play as George was sacked for a loss of one yard, forcing North Texas to punt on fourth and 13 from their 8 yard line. A fair catch by Price on the 44 yard punt gave us the ball at our 48 yard line. Price took the ball on first down, tackled for only a four yard gain, until the penalty flag came out, a facemask penalty the call, and the 15 free yards moving the chains clear down to the North Texas 33 yard line. Price was only able to gain two yards, if that, as the Mean Green plowed through the line and took him down quickly. The running game would continue to see failure, as a pitch right to Price resulted in a loss of one yard, leaving third and 9 at the 32. That would be where the first quarter would come to a close, still a scoreless contest.

Opening up the second quarter, the North Texas defense brought the house, Stephens unable to get rid of the ball before being swarmed by three defenders, sacked for a loss of 8 yards and pushing us clear back to the 40 yard line. Taking a long shot, the 57 yard field goal by Pratt was no good, and North Texas was left in great field position. George got things started, rushing for a 5 yard gain, before throwing up a pass to Deshawn Banks, complete for a gain of 16 yards and a first down at our 40 yard line. Receiving the handoff, Waters rumbled his way for an 8 yard gain, before Brandon Carroll picked up the first down with a 3 yard pickup. Running the play action, George completed a pass to Bobby Booth for a one yard gain, followed by a rush by Waters for four yards to leave third and 5. The North Texas offense would take a massive blow, as Josh Waters was carted off the field after the play, a strained pectoral muscle the diagnosis, leaving him sidelined for the remainder of the game. George was forced to throw away the ball on the next play, leaving fourth and 5 from our 24 yard line. North Texas decided to roll the dice and went for it on fourth down, George’s pass intended for Mark Coleman falling incomplete.

Our offense took over at our 24 yard line off the turnover on downs, both teams still looking for that first punch. A pair of rushes by Price for gains of four and two yards left us looking at third and four. Fisher was able to haul in a pass from Stephens, just getting across the line for a 6 yard gain to get the first down. Getting some blocks in front from the pulling linemen, Price was able to get outside and broke loose for a 21 yard gain, our first actual success on the ground, and a first down at the North Texas 44 yard line. That success was short lived as the blitzing defense took Price down for a one yard loss, leaving second and 11. It would only get worse as Stephens was forced to scramble, but couldn’t get far, the defensive end sacking him for a loss of 5 yards, leaving third and 16 at midfield. The defense would once again get to Stephens, sacking him for a second play in a row, this time for a 11 yard loss, as the entire right side of the defensive line broke through untouched, leaving Stephens no chance but to try and escape. Left with fourth and 27 from our 39 yard line, we punted away, the 49 yard punt caught on a fair catch call, North Texas starting at their 11 yard line. It was a quick start for the Mean Green, as George connected with Coleman for 13 yards to get to the 24. The defense would hit back, sacking George for a four yard loss to leave second and 14. George would find Andrew Cooper on the next play, but only picking up one yard to leave third and 13. A third down pass to Carroll went for a 10 yard gain, but not far enough, as North Texas punted away once again on fourth and three from their 31 yard line.

Price called for the fair catch on the 44 yard punt, our offense taking over at our 25 yard line, 2:09 left in the half. The defense was once again waiting for Price, who only managed to get two yards on the first down carry. With the run game essentially useless and time running short, it was into the air. The second down pass from Stephens to Hayden was complete over the middle, Hayden managing to sprint out to the 41 yard line for a 14 yard gain before being brought down. Stephens was just barely able to avoid another sack, getting the pass off to Max Thompson, who was promptly run out of bounds for a 12 yard gain, moving the chains to the North Texas 47 yard line, 1:23 left on the clock. A quick dump off to Fisher gained 9 yards, leaving second and one at the 38. Price took the ball up the gut, busting open a 10 yard gain to give us first down at the 28 yard line, our first timeout stopping the clock with 50 seconds to go. A pair of passes to Randy Newman were only able to pick up gains of 5 and one yards, leaving third and four at the 22 yard line, our second timeout stopping the clock with 29 seconds. Stephens was able to find Fisher for a 9 yard gain on the third down play, advancing to the ball to the 13 yard line. Rushing to the line, Stephens hit Newman out of the backfield for four yards, rushing back to the line and spiking the ball with 9 seconds left to set up third and 6. A quick pass to Roy Smith along the left sideline was thrown with too much air, forcing Smith to reach up to grab it, the momentum of the ball and catch forcing him to step out of bounds for only a one yard gain, leaving fourth and 5 at the 8 yard line and 5 seconds on the clock. As if we had pissed off karma at some point today, Pratt completely shanked the 25 yard field goal from the left hash, overcompensating and kicking it wide right, giving North Texas the ball at their 8 yard line with two seconds left. Cooper would run the ball up the middle for a three yard gain, and that would bring the second quarter to an end, the game still deadlocked and both teams searching for some points, ANY points.

The kickoff to open up the third quarter was returned for 16 yards out to the 18 yard line, as the North Texas offense came out. Carroll got the drive started with a two yard rush, followed by a three yard pickup by George. George then passed the ball to Carroll on third down, but only picking up two yards on the completion, North Texas was left punting away almost immediately on fourth and three. Price called fair catch on the 40 yard punt and we began our first drive of the second half from our 35 yard line. It was still nearly no-go on the ground game, Price only able to pick up three yards on the first down carry. Stephens kept the ball himself on second down, which ended in disaster as the defense blew through the line, tackling him for a loss of two yards to leave us with third and 9. The third down pass to Hayden wouldn’t be enough, Hayden only able to pick up 7 yards before being brought down, leaving fourth and two and punting away from the 43 yard line.

A 47 yard punt and a fair catch call left North Texas once again buried deep in their territory, starting from their 10 yard line. It was a backwards start for the Mean Green, as Cooper was tackled for a loss of two yards on first down, before George connected with Carroll for a 5 yard gain to leave third and 7. The drive would come to a quick end as Cooper was tackled once again for a loss of yards, this time for a negative three, and North Texas punted away on fourth and 10. A 12 yard punt return by Price on the 39 yard punt gave us our best positioning of the game, starting our drive at the North Texas 36 yard line, almost no way we could walk away without points this time. The offensive line did their jobs on first down, opening up a huge gap for Price to gain 9 yards. A first down would not be in the books, as Price was met for no gain, leaving third and one. Despite getting an advantage on the outside on the pitch right play, Price was driven clear to the sideline by the fast closing safety, ultimately pushed out of bounds for a loss of one yard, leaving the field goal unit coming out on fourth and two. Pratt again proved himself worthless, shanking the 46 yard field goal attempt wide right, and we would walk off the field again without points.

With the missed field goal, North Texas came out to start at their 29 yard line, 4:03 left in the third quarter. This time the Mean Green found some success, as Cooper took the ball on first down for a 9 yard gain, a 5 yard rush by Carroll picking up the first down at the 43 yard line. After a dropped pass by Carroll, George found Banks for a 16 yard pickup and a new set of downs at our 42. Throwing the ball away on first down, the offense got tagged with illegal hands to the face, leaving North Texas backed up with third and 16 at our 48 yard line. An incomplete pass, intended for Banks, would leave a promising drive stuck in the mud. No return on the 41 yard punt gave the ball to our offense at our 6 yard line. Taking the ball on first down, Price was able to break loose from a tackle and rumble ahead for 12 yards and a first down at the 22. The defense would be ready this time, as the middle linebacker blew through and tackled Price for no gain, leaving second and 10. The second down pass from Stephens, intended for Fisher was broken up by the cornerback, very nearly intercepted, leaving third down. Thompson would keep our drive alive, hauling in a pass from Stephens for a 19 yard gain and a first down at the 41 yard line. Breaking a pair of tackles, Price was able to fight his way clear down to the North Texas 46 yard line for a 13 yard gain, as our offense started to pick up steam. Bouncing outside, Price was able to fight ahead for three yards, leaving third and 7 at the 43 yard line, as the final couple seconds ticked off the clock. After three quarters, it was still an all defensive deadlock, both teams still unable to strike first blood, or any blood for that matter.

Opening up the fourth quarter, facing second and 7, Price took a pitch to the left, but never had a chance as the safety was coming on a blitz, meeting Price behind the left tackle for a four yard loss to set up third and 12 at the 48 yard line. Stephens was forced out of the pocket on the third down pass, driven towards the sideline before being forced to throw it away to avoid the sack, or his only other option, stepping out of bounds for a loss of yards. Left with fourth and 12, we punted away, the 49 yard booted ball bouncing into the end zone for a touchback, and North Texas taking over at their 20 yard line. Cooper got the drive started, picking up gains of two and 5 yards to leave third and two at the 28 yard line. It was then that the Mean Green would strike, and strike hard, as George launched up a deep bomb to Carroll, who had managed to get behind the coverage, hauling in the pass and taking it to the house for a 72 yard touchdown, giving North Texas a 7-0 lead with 7:24 left in the game.

Looking for an answer, our offense started our next drive at the 14 yard line after a 17 yard kickoff return by Fisher. Price finally started to find success on the ground, breaking up the middle for an 11 yard gain. The play would end horribly however, as Price didn’t get up after the play, laying on his back and holding his right arm. The diagnosis on the sidelines was a bruised elbow that would keep him out for at least a couple plays, a huge relief when hearing it was only a minor injury. Taking over in Price’s place, Smith took the ball on first down, picking up three yards. Fisher would get us the first down, hauling in a pass for 13 yards out to the 41 yard line. Despite being hit as he threw, Stephens was able to get off a rainbow floater, Thompson collecting the ball and turning up field for a 14 yard gain and a first down at the North Texas 45 yard line, the clock ticking under 6 minutes to play. Fisher was able to leave his cornerback cross footed, cutting back on a comeback route, juking away from the safety and was off to the races for a 41 yard gain before being driven out of bounds at the four yard line to leave first and goal. The defense was sure as hell not about to let our run game, nor our offense, strike on them now, as Price, finally back in the game, was tackled for no gain, leaving second down. Trying a pitch left, it was once again a disastrous result, the outside linebacker beating the block and tripping Price up for a four yard loss, leaving third and goal at the 8 yard line. The third down pass from Stephens to Donny Jordan wasn’t enough, Jordan wrapped up at the 5 yard line for only a three yard gain, leaving fourth and goal. Despite needing a touchdown, we settled for a field goal try, hoping to parlay the three points into a potential 10-7 win if we got the ball back and could score on the next drive. Pratt finally managed to kick the ball through the uprights for a change, booting the 22 yard kick down the middle and making the score 7-3 with 4:16 left in the game.

An 18 yard kickoff return gave North Texas the ball at their 17 yard line to start the drive. A pair of rushes by George went for gains of four and 5 yards, leaving third and one. Our defense would make a stand on the next play, forcing George to throw the ball away to leave fourth and one at the 26 yard line. The Mean Green would punt the ball, relying on their defense. Price returned the 38 yard punt for 9 yards to the 44 yard line, leaving 2:47 on the clock.

The first down pass to Fisher was knocked incomplete as he was hit, leaving second down. Threading the needle, Stephens was able to find Hayden over the middle, Hayden securing the ball just before being hit for a 12 yard gain to the 44 yard line. Catching the defense cheating, Stephens handed the ball off to Price, who broke up the gut for a 12 yard gain, giving us a first down at the 32 yard line. Stephens found Smith over the middle for a 5 yard pass to the 27, as the clock ticked below two minutes. The second down pass intended for Hayden was off the mark, sailing into open space incomplete, leaving third and 5. Stephens again threw off target, this time intended for Thompson, and our game was on the line as we lined up for fourth and 5 at the 27. Thompson kept us alive, grabbing the pass from Stephens, breaking off a tackle and fighting down to the 8 yard line for a 19 yard gain and first and goal. Both trying to find the end zone and play the clock, which had 1:28 left, Price took the ball on first down, but found nothing as the middle linebacker blew through the line and tackled Price for a one yard loss. Stephens was able to connect with Smith through the air for a 6 yard gain, leaving third and goal at the three yard line, the clock ticking at 42 seconds. Taking a shot in the end zone, the pass intended for Hayden was knocked incomplete, leaving fourth and goal with 31 seconds remaining. Stephens found Smith out nearly the right sideline, only one defender between him and the end zone. The pass was caught by Smith, who turned up the field and tried to juke by the linebacker, however the linebacker, who dove as he feet and was sliding past, was able to reach back with his right arm and trip Smith up, Smith falling to the turf at the two yard line, officially for a one yard gain, and short of the end zone. With that, we turned the ball over on downs, North Texas taking over on their two yard line with 26 seconds to go, our defense still with three timeouts left in a last ditch effort.

Our prayers would be answered, as Cooper tried to plow through the middle of the line on first down, getting as far as the 7 yard line before Keith Battle stripped the ball from his arms and then jumped on top of the fumble he had just caused. The turnover gave us the ball, first and goal at the 8 yard line, 21 seconds left in the game. Unable to find anyone open on first down, Stephens was forced to scramble. He tried to throw up a lob to Hayden, but it was batted out of the back of the end zone, leaving second and goal, 15 seconds to go. Calling a timeout to regroup, we came out on second down, Stephens completed a dump pass to Newman, only managing to pick up three yards to the 5 yard line, our second timeout stopping the clock with 10 seconds, facing third and goal. The defense brought all three linebackers on the play, Stephens forced to instantly scramble for his life, just barely able to chuck up a free for all in the end zone before being sacked. Newman dove for the ball and tried to haul it in, but it fell incomplete, leaving our hopes and prayers on one final play, as we lined up for fourth and goal from the 5 yard line, 5 seconds left to play. Stephens, unable to find anyone open, tried to make the play himself, taking off scrambling, juking past one defender, before the safety stepped up and met him at the goal line, Stephens going down one foot short of the goal line and the clock hit zeroes.

With the loss, we drop to 2-2, 0-1 in C-USA action, our 21 game home winning streak, as well as our 18 game C-USA winning streak, snapped in an excruciating manner. With the win, North Texas improves to 2-1, 1-0 in C-USA play. Up next, it's back on the road to take on Louisiana Tech. The Bulldogs enter the game 1-1 on the season, opening with a 41-27 loss at #7 TCU, before picking up a 31-6 victory on the road at Nevada.

Final Score
:North_Texas: 7, :Tulsa: 3

Stat(s) of the Game:
- Tulsa Offense – A fair day for Stephens, throwing 24-33 for 226 yards, but incompletions at the end killed us when we twice had first and goal and a touchdown needed to win. Price was the leading rusher, getting 121 yards on 31 carries. Six receivers caught a ball today, Fisher the leading go-to guy, ending with 87 yards on 6 catches.

- Tulsa Defense – Pretty much nothing but shutdown for the entire game. A 99% perfect day. That 1% being the 72 yard touchdown pass that put us behind.

- Tulsa Kicking – Easily the worst kicking day I have ever seen. Pratt ended 1-5 in field goals, the 22 yard kick near the end his only successful one. Shanked, shanked and more shanked, missing kicks from 43, 57, 25 and 46 yards, having absolutely no problem kicking the left or right, just completely impossible to kick them down the damn middle. If Pratt makes that 25 yard field goal just before halftime, we're kicking for a 9-7 win instead of forced to go for a touchdown at the end of the game.

Scoring Summary

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

:North_Texas:
0
0
0
7
7

:Tulsa:
0
0
0
3
3

Time
Team
Result
Play
Score

First Quarter

---
---
---
---
---

Second Quarter

---
---
---
---
---

Third Quarter

---
---
---
---
---

Fourth Quarter

7:24
:North_Texas:
Touchdown
B. Carroll, 72 yard pass from R. George (R. Woods kick)
:North_Texas: 7-0

4:19
:Tulsa:
Field Goal
A. Pratt, 22 yard field goal
:North_Texas: 7-3

Game Stats

North Texas
Stat
Tulsa

7
Score
3

9
First Downs
20

198
Total Offense
346

20 - 62 - 0
Rushes - Yards - TD
38 - 120 - 0

9 - 17 - 1
Comp - Att - TD
24 - 33 - 0

136
Passing Yards
226

2
Times Sacked
3

1 - 9 (11%)
3rd Down Conversion
4 - 16 (25%)

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

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

1 - 0 - 0 (0%)
Red Zone - TD - FG
7 - 0 - 1 (14%)

1
Turnovers
0

1
Fumbles Lost
0

0
Intercepted
0

0
Punt Return Yards
34

34
Kick Return Yards
37

232
Total Yards
417

7 – 42.1
Punts - Average
4 - 48.0

2 - 21
Penalties
0 - 0

14:56
Time of Possession
21:04

Tulsa Contract Goals Update

Fail Impact
Goal
Progress
Pass Impact

:6redarrow:
21+ points per game in each season
16
:6greenarrow:

Win 10 games in one season
2
:6greenarrow:

3300+ passing yards each season
777
:5greenarrow:

:6redarrow:
65% pass completions over the entire contract
62%
:5greenarrow:

:5redarrow:
Win 6 games in one season
2
:5greenarrow:

:6redarrow:
15+ rushing TD in each season
4
:5greenarrow:

:4redarrow:
3200+ total offensive yards each season
1358
:3greenarrow:

:5redarrow:
3400+ total offensive yards each season
1358
:2greenarrow:

Penalty

:2redarrow:
Lost to a lower ranked team

Job Security Status

43%

SmoothPancakes

01-11-2013, 01:28 AM

Time for another look around the nation. Starting in the Top 25, in the upset of the week, 2-1 Arkansas took down the mighty Tide, handing #1 Alabama their first loss, 21-16. Arkansas had a 21-10 lead before a touchdown and failed two-point conversion in the fourth quarter closed it to the 5-point final. #4 LSU had a hell of a time with UAB, the game tied 14-14 at halftime, and LSU only leading 28-21 after three quarters, but a 17-0 fourth quarter gave LSU the 45-21 win. In the game of the week, it was a 21-19 battle at halftime, but #5 Notre Dame pulled away in the second half to beat #19 Michigan State 44-29.

#6 Oklahoma, trailing 20-19 late, had to score 10 points in the fourth quarter to pull out a 29-20 win over Utah. South Carolina stayed perfect on the year, and handed #10 Texas A&M their first loss of the season in impressive fashion,demolishing the Aggies 59-35. #14 Oregon picked a 38-22 win over North Carolina, handing the Tar Heels their first loss. #15 Wisconsin had to use a 13-0 second half advantage to come back and beat Maryland 23-17. #16 Ohio State improved to 3-0 with their third straight close battle, holding on to beat UCF 38-31. #17 Georgia had to score 14 unanswered points to come back and beat Mississippi State 21-17.

#21 Rutgers continued their demolition drive in the Big Ten, beating Penn State 48-34, knocking yet another conference foe from the ranks of the unbeaten. #22 Boise State ended up with a fight, scoring late to pull away from Northern Illinois 31-24. #23 NC State used a 14-point fourth quarter to comeback and hold off Louisville 28-24. Oh how the mighty have fallen. After going 13-0 in the regular season and losing in the national title game last year, Washington falls to 0-3 this season, losing 26-7 to #24 Virginia Tech. Unlike Alabama, LSU and the rest of the perennial title contenders, looks like Washington was a one-hit wonder.

For our readers, souljahbill, Southern Miss improves to 2-1, picking up a 35-14 win over USF. Jaymo, Arizona State falls back below .500, dropping to 1-2 on the season with a 45-38 loss to Ohio, the Bobcats scoring 21 points in the fourth quarter to come back. Mors, victory is short lived, as West Virginia drops to 1-2 (1-1 Big 12) with a 41-38 overtime loss to Baylor. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State, looses their first of the year, dropping 28-16 to San Diego State to fall to 2-1.

Taking a look at the new Top 25 polls, in the Coaches Poll, your new #1 is Texas (34 first place votes) moving up one. Clemson (22 votes) moves up one to #2, LSU (4 votes) climbs one to #3, Notre Dame (1 vote) climbs one to #4 and Oklahoma jumps one to #5. TCU, Auburn and Michigan all climbed one to #6, #7 and #8. Iowa jumped two to #9, while Alabama fell nine to #10. USC climbed one to #11, Oregon jumped two #12, Nebraska stayed stuck at #13, Wisconsin and Ohio State both climbed one to #14 and #15. Georgia and Miami both climbed one to #16 and #17, Texas A&M fell eight to #18, Arkansas entered the poll this week at #19 and Georgia Tech remained at #20. Rutgers, Boise State and NC State all remained stuck at #21, #22 and #23. South Carolina entered the poll at #24, and despite winning last week over Washington, Virginia Tech drops one to #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Michigan State (from #19) and Arizona (from #25). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Arizona (231 votes) is #26, followed by Michigan State (214), Houston (171), Northwestern (110) and Ole Miss (94) to round out the Top 30.

In the first Media Poll of the year, Texas (37 first place votes) is #1, LSU (21 votes) #2, Clemson (4 votes) #3, Oklahoma (2 votes) #4 and Notre Dame (1 vote) #5. TCU is #6, Michigan #7, Auburn #8, Iowa #9, Alabama #10. Wisconsin #11, USC #12, Ohio State #13, Oregon #14, Nebraska #15, South Carolina #16, Miami #17, Arkansas #18, Texas A&M #19 and Georgia #20. Georgia Tech is #21, Rutgers #22, NC State #23, Boise State #24, and Michigan State #25. Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Virginia Tech (223 votes) is #26, followed by Houston (164), Arizona (155), Northwestern (155) and Ole Miss (105) to round out the Top 30.

morsdraconis

01-11-2013, 04:30 AM

Holy shit man. A lose to North Texas?! Looks like it's gonna be a LONG season.

SmoothPancakes

01-11-2013, 05:00 AM

Holy shit man. A lose to North Texas?! Looks like it's gonna be a LONG season.

Yeah. :(

North Texas always plays me tough as hell, so the fact that the game was tight the entire way was no surprise. But to lose at the end like that, god that rips it out of you. I'm gonna second guess myself for a long ass time about that fourth quarter. Sitting on the 5 yard line, took the gamble and went with a field goal, just to get something on the board and set up for the chance to win. And then having first and goal twice, only to go four and out both times, Jesus that's just pathetic. :smh:

Unfortunately, I still have another week of Brad Stephens at the helm. I've already advanced to the next week and have recruiting all knocked out ready to jump right into Louisiana Tech, sometime probably Saturday night. I looked at the injury list, Casey Bishop is still listed as questionable. As much as I want to throw him in and try and get the offense un-fucked, I don't want to risk him immediately getting re-injured and knocked out for even longer, so unfortunately, another week of Stephens. I guess there's a semi-positive out of it all, since after Bishop graduates this year, it's gonna be Stephens as my starter.

SmoothPancakes

01-15-2013, 12:04 AM

Game Five

:Tulsa: :@: :Louisiana_Tech:

Game Notes

--- Coming off of our first conference loss to North Texas, we were sitting at a cliff. At 2-2 on the season, another loss would leave us halfway to being ineligible for a bowl game. Sitting 0-1 in C-USA action, another conference loss would leave us with a massive uphill climb just to hope to reach the C-USA Championship game with two conference losses. A loss to the Bulldogs would be disastrous for the outcome of the remaining season. We would be in a for a battle as Louisiana Tech entered the game with the #10 passing offense in the nation, averaging 342.5 yards a game through the air. They also ranked #4 in the nation in passing defense, only giving up an average of 111 yards passing each week. It would be a battle to beat the Bulldogs, and we would no doubt have to rely on our running game to help us win. We won the coin toss and elected to kick.

No return on the opening kickoff got the game underway as Louisiana Tech started at their 25 yard line. Austin James took the ball on first down for the Bulldogs, picking up 6 yards on the ground, followed by a one yard rush by Paul Kelly to leave third and three. The defense would force the first punt of the day on the next play, as James was tacked for a four yard loss, leaving the Bulldogs punting away on fourth and 7. A fair catch by Brandon Price on the 45 yard punt gave our offense the ball at our 26 yard line.

Shaking off a tackle on first down, Price took the ball up the middle and fought for a gain of 5 yards. Another rush, for 8 yards, gave us a first down at the 39 yard line as the drive found momentum. The defense proved ready for us on the next play, as the off-tackle rush was quickly blown up, Price only managing a two yard gain. Brad Stephens tried to keep the ball himself on second down, but could only get one yard before being swarmed by multiple defenders. Going to the air on third down, Stephens was able to connect with Chad Fisher for a 12 yard pickup and a first down at the 46 yard line to keep the drive alive. Price took the ball again on first down, weaving his way through a couple developing holes for an 8 yard gain, before picking up the first down with a 9 yard dive up the gut. Taking it to the defense, Stephens threw deep to Nicholas Roberts on a smash route, completed for 20 yards downs to the 9 yard line. A facemask penalty on cornerback Adrian Johnson advanced the ball half the distance to the goal, giving us a first and goal at the 5 yard line. The pass from Stephens intended for Eric Hayden on first down sailed incomplete. Price tried to take the ball up the middle on second down, but was blown up for no gain, leaving third and goal. Throwing into the corner of the end zone, Hayden hauled in the 5 yard touchdown pass from Stephens, just getting his feet down before momentum carried him out of the back of the end zone. The extra point gave us a 7-0 lead with 2:54 left in the first quarter.

A 17 yard kickoff return started Louisiana Tech from their 19 yard line. Kelly went to the air on first down, finding Chaz Humphrey for a 9 yard gain. James tried to pick up the first down on the next play, but the defense took him down in the backfield for a loss of three yards, leaving third and 5. Kelly would advance the chains himself, rushing ahead for a 6 yard gain to the 31 yard line. After a pair of dropped passes that left third down, Kelly found Calvin Livingston downfield for a 16 yard pickup and a first down at the 46 yard line. A two yard pass to Livingston, followed by another incomplete pass, left LTU with third and 8. The air attack would keep the drive moving, as Kelly connected with James for a 17 yard gain down to our 35 yard line. The Louisiana Tech offense would experience its first setback of the day, as they were flagged for holding, moving them back to our 45 and left with first and 20. An 8 yard rush by James would cut out a massive chunk of the penalty, followed by a 7 yard pass to Humphrey to leave third and 5. The defense was able to get some pressure on the third down play, forcing Kelly to scramble, only managing two yards before being brought down to leave fourth and three. The Bulldogs apparently had never heard of a field goal, going for it on fourth down, Kelly completing a pass to Humphrey for 5 yards and the first down at our 22 yard line. A 7 yard rush by James would leave second and three at our 15 yard line as the final seconds ticked off the clock, the first quarter at a conclusion and our lead 7-0.

Opening up the second quarter, Kelly threw short to Chad Brown for a two yard gain, leaving third and one. The Bulldogs would find the end zone on the next play, as Kelly connected with Brett Pearson on the 13 yard touchdown pass to tie the game up at 7-all with 8:41 left in the quarter. A 21 yard kickoff return by Fisher got us started at our 25.

Price took the first down handoff up the middle, getting about 5 yards deep before being hit in the mid-section. The hit blasted the ball loose, bouncing backwards, where Stephens ran up and slid over top of the ball to recover the fumble, but leaving us with second and 12. Even worse, Price was injured on the play, diagnosed with bruised ribs that would keep him on the bench until at least halftime. Going to the air, Fisher hauled in a pass from Stephens 8 yards downfield, breaking loose from the tackle attempt by the cornerback, juking past the outside linebacker and getting the outside angle, before racing the safety up the sideline to the LTU 39 yard line, a 38 yard gain in all. A pass over the middle to a wide open Max Thompson sailed long, a perfect opportunity for at least 15-20 free and easy yards left wasted. Thompson would come through on the next play, hauling in a pass from Stephens on an out route along the edge of the sideline, picking up 16 yards as he was instantly shoved out of bounds. Going back to the ground game, Roy Smith found a hole outside the left guard, racing through the hole for a 12 yard gain down to just outside the 10 yard line. A three yard rush left second and 7. Trying to go off-tackle on second down, Smith never had a chance, the blitzing linebacker pulling him down from behind for no gain. Fisher was able to get a pass from Stephens into his hands, but a hit by the safety jarred the ball loose, leaving us with fourth down and a field goal attempt upcoming. The 24 yard field goal by Alphonso Pratt was good, and we took a 10-7 lead with 4:55 left in the second quarter.

A 17 yard kickoff return got the Bulldogs set up at their 21 yard line. Going to the air on first down, a dropped pass by James left second down, before our defense got flagged for pass interference, the 15 free yards giving the Bulldogs first down at the 36 yard line. After an incomplete pass, Kelly rushed for a 5 yard gain, followed by an 8 yard pass to Lorenzo Bolden for the first down at midfield. Another holding penalty pushed the offense back again, this time leaving first and 20 from their 40 yard line. An incomplete pass and a two yard dump pass to James left the Bulldogs stuck with third and 18. An incomplete pass intended for Pearson brought about the second LTU punt of the game. The punt would end in disaster for Louisiana Tech, as the punt was blocked by outside linebacker Graham Minor, knocked backwards before finally recovered by Minor to give our offense possession at the LTU 18 yard line. Taking a shot at the end zone, the first down pass was nearly intercepted at the two yard line, batted incomplete. This time the defense would hold onto the ball, the safety Andrew Yates jumping in front of the pass intended for Fisher, intercepting it and returning it 14 yards out to the 24 yard line.

Kelly started off the new drive for the Bulldogs with a two yard rush, before finding Bolden through the air for a 5 yard gain to leave third and three. The defense would rise to the occasion, forcing Kelly to throw the ball away and bring the punt team back out on fourth down. The Bulldogs this time would get the punt off, Fisher returning the 46 yard punt for 9 yards to give us the ball at our 32 yard line, 2:44 left in the quarter. Smith never had a chance on the ground, tackled almost instantly for a one yard gain. With the clock ticking, the air would have to be our savior this drive. Fisher was able to haul in the pass from Stephens on second down, but a diving tackle by the linebacker knocked the ball loose and incomplete. Stephens was able to connect with Thompson on the third down pass, but put too much zip on it, forcing Thompson to dive to catch the pass, falling to the ground one yard short, a gain of only 8 yards. The punt team came out on fourth and one, coach Ludwig opting not to take the fourth down risk at our 41 yard line.

A booming punt that went unreturned left Louisiana Tech starting at their 8 yard line with only 1:55 to play, only two timeouts left to use after calling one after our third down play. That would potentially end up not mattering as Kelly hit Pearson on first down for a 21 yard gain out to the 28 yard line. After throwing the ball away and having a pass intended for Tremaine Goddard fall incomplete, Kelly converted third down with a 26 yard strike to Bolden, advancing the ball to our 46 yard line, 1:25 left to play. Going on the ground, James was tackled for a three yard loss to leave second and 13, the clock continuing to tick. After throwing the ball away on second down, Kelly again converted third down through the air, finding Ray Hoffman deep for a 32 yard gain, setting up first down at our 17 yard line, a timeout stopping the clock with 53 seconds to go. The defense refused to give Kelly anything on the next two plays, forcing him to throw the ball away both times, leaving third down. A 6 yard pass to James left the Bulldogs with fourth and four from our 10 yard line, 42 seconds to go. The Bulldogs went for the 27 yard field goal, the kicking sailed wide and was no good, and our offense took over at our 20 yard line with 24 seconds to go.

With 24 seconds and all three timeouts, instead of kneeling down the ball, we decided to take a couple shots before half. The first shot immediately paid off, as Smith was able to take advantage of a blitz, hauling in a pass from Stephens and racing the safety to the LTU 30 yard line for a 50 yard gain. Our first timeout stopped the clock with 17 seconds to go, as we turned our thoughts from trying for a field goal to trying for a touchdown. The first down pass intended for Roberts was batted incomplete, leaving 14 seconds. The second down pass intended for Thompson sailed too long and incomplete, leaving 11 seconds. We would find the end zone on our third try, as Hayden hauled in a pass from Stephens on a slant route, getting behind the safety on the catch and with nothing but green in front of him, sprinting 30 yards for the touchdown reception, giving us a 17-7 lead with 6 seconds left before halftime. A touchback on the kickoff brought the first half to an end, as we headed into halftime with a 17-7 lead.

Opening up the second half, Fisher returned the kickoff 25 yards out to our 31 yard line, as the offense got ready to go again. Back from his injury in the first half, Price took the handoff up the middle for a four yard gain. Stevens kept the ball himself on second down, but never had a chance, as the blitzing middle and outside linebackers brought him down before he could even take three steps, tackling him for a three yard loss. Going into the air, Fisher was able to haul in a pass from Stephens for a 14 yard gain, giving us first down at the 46 yard line. A comeback route pass to Hayden picked up 22 yards and we found ourselves with first down at the LTU 32 yard line. A pass to Smith went for a gain of 11 yards, giving us first down at the 22. Price took the ball on the ground on the next play, gaining 6 yards to the 16. Another rush by Price picked up 6 yards and the first down at the 10 yard line, setting up first and goal. Continuing to pound it up the middle, Price took the ball again, gaining rushing forward for 7 yards to leave second and goal at the three yard line. Price would find the end zone on the next play, bouncing outside after finding the entire middle clogged up with blue jerseys and scoring the three yard touchdown to open our lead to 24-7 with 4:24 left in the third quarter.

A 15 yard kickoff return left Louisiana Tech started at their 12 yard line and looking for a response. They would find none, as two incomplete passes and a two yard toss to James left the Bulldogs punting on fourth and 8 at their 14 yard line. We were flagged for offside, leaving LTU with fourth and three from the 19. The 41 yard punt was returned for 11 yards by Fisher to give our offense the ball at the LTU 44 yard line. Price took the handoff up the middle, only able to gain two yards. Going to the air on second down, Fisher was able to get the pass in his hands, but the hit by the cornerback forced the ball loose and incomplete to leave third and 8. The pass to Roberts was caught momentarily, but he lost possession as he went to turn upfield, dropping the ball incomplete and leaving us punting on fourth down. The ensuing punt bounced into the end zone for a touchback.

Starting on the 25 yard line, Kelly got the Bulldogs moving with a 17 yard pass to Pearson. That would be all they would manage, as three straight incomplete passes left the punt team coming back out. A 7 yard return by Price on the 47 yard punt gave us the ball at our 22 yard line. Price was able to fight his way up the middle for a 6 yard gain. Stretching out the defense, the delayed handoff to Price worked like a charm, as Price was able to weave himself through the line of scrimmage and into the secondary for a 14 yard gain and a first down at the 43 yard line. Running play action on first down, the defense bit perfectly, as Smith ran a wheel route out of the backfield and was completely uncovered along the right sideline, but the pass from Stephens carried too far and sailed out of bounds incomplete. The second down pass intended for Fisher was batted incomplete, leaving our drive in danger of stalling. The third down pass to Randy Newman was completed, but only for a 7 yard gain, leaving us punting on fourth and three from midfield.

The 44 yard punt went unreturned, leaving Louisiana Tech starting from their 7 yard line. Three straight incomplete passes again left the Bulldogs offense sputtering and going nowhere. An 8 yard return by Price on the 47 yard punt gave us first down at the LTU 46 yard line, 18 seconds left in the quarter. Price took the first down carry up the middle for a 9 yard gain, leaving second and one as the final second ticked off and the third quarter came to an end, our lead sitting at 24-7.

Opening up the fourth quarter, Price picked up the first down with a 6 yard rush, getting us down to the 31 yard line. Taking the ball on first down, a blitz left nothing but green in front, but Price was unable to take advantage of the situation, as a defender laying on the ground grabbed onto his ankle, slowing him up until the rest of the defense was able to him down for only a 5 yard gain. The next play, nobody was going to get to Price’s ankles, as he took the toss around the right end and broke open for a 12 yard gain down to the 13 yard line. Another rush by Price went for a 6 yard gain, leaving second and four at the 7 yard line. Price plowed into the pile on second down, managing three yards to leave third and one. Refusing to give up now, Price took the handoff, swerving to the left to avoid the blitzing linebacker and instead hit the open hole, using the momentum of his body and that of a defender tackling him from behind to carry and drive him into the end zone for the 5 yard touchdown rush and a 31-7 lead with 6:07 left in the game.

A 20 yard kickoff return left Louisiana Tech starting from their 21 yard line, just about all hopes of a comeback now squashed. Those hopes would officially die as three straight incomplete passes doomed another drive in its infancy. A three yard return on a 43 yard punt gave us the ball at our 38 yard line, just 5:34 separating us from victory. A first down carry by Price picked two yards, leaving the clock ticking. Busting loose up the middle, Price was able to pick up 10 yards for the first down at midfield, keeping the clock moving, now under 5 minutes. Another rush by Price went for a 6 yard gain, keeping the clock in action and keeping us inching down the field towards another first down. Smith came in to give Price a rest, but the second down carry would go nowhere, as Smith was tackled for no gain by the blitzing middle linebacker, the clock falling below three minutes. Price took the third down handoff, seemingly destined to get the first down with a wide open gap of green in front, but a diving tackle by the middle linebacker pushed him to the side, stopping him short for only a three yard gain and leaving us punting on fourth and one.

The punt sailed out of the back of the end zone for a touchback, giving Louisiana Tech the ball at the 20 with 2:32 left to play. After an incomplete pass on first down, Kelly finally started to resemble a QB again, completing a pass to Goddard for a 21 yard gain, out to the 41 yard line. A pass to Brown went for a 7 yard gain, before our defense was flagged for pass interference, giving the Bulldogs a first down at our 36 yard line, 1:59 left in the game. After being forced to throw the ball away on first down, Kelly found Pearson deep up the left sideline for a 25 yard gain, down to our 11 yard line. The Bulldogs would find the end zone on the next play, as Kelly hit Brown for the 11 yard touchdown pass. Louisiana Tech went for the two-point conversion, but it was no good as the rush by Nick Jenkins was stopped short of the goal line, leaving the score 31-13 with 1:41 to play.

The Bulldogs attempted an onside kick, but our hands team recovered, giving us the ball at the LTU 40 yard line, just 1:36 remaining. Stephens and the offense came out, kneeling the ball down three times to run out the remaining time on the clock, and sealing our 31-13 victory over Louisiana Tech.

With the win, we improve to 3-2, 1-1 in C-USA action. With the loss, Louisiana Tech drops to 1-2, 0-1 in C-USA play. Up next, it’s back home to take on a new opponent, the Blazers of UAB. UAB enters with a record of 1-2, 1-0 in C-USA action. The Blazers opened the year with a 52-30 loss to North Carolina and lost 45-21 at #3 LSU, before picking up a 23-14 win over MTSU.

Final Score
:Tulsa: 31, :Louisiana_Tech: 13

Stat(s) of the Game:
Tulsa Offense – A pretty good day by Stephens, in quite possibly his last game starting. 233 yards and two touchdowns, but did throw the one interception. Price was the main man on the ground, rushing for 149 yards and touchdowns on 26 carries. Six receivers caught a ball today, Fisher leading the way with 64 yards on three receptions. Hayden was right behind with 57 yards and two touchdowns on three receptions.

Tulsa Defense – A decent day by the defense. Other than that scoring drive by LTU that spanned the first and second quarters, and the touchdown right at the very end, the defense held the Bulldogs essentially scoreless. They also recorded a blocked punt that gave us the ball at the 18 yard line (though the INT thrown by Stephens would ruin the pristine field position that blocked punt gave us).

Tulsa Kicking – A perfect day by Pratt. 1-1 in field goals with the 24 yard kick, and 4-4 in PATs.

Scoring Summary

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

:Tulsa:
7
10
7
7
31

:Louisiana_Tech:
0
7
0
6
13

Time
Team
Result
Play
Score

First Quarter

2:54
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
E. Hayden, 5 yard pass from B. Stephens (A. Pratt kick)
:Tulsa: 7-0

Second Quarter

8:41
:Louisiana_Tech:
Touchdown
B. Pearson, 13 yard pass from P. Kelly (R. Moore kick)
TIED 7-7

4:55
:Tulsa:
Field Goal
A. Pratt, 24 yard field goal
:Tulsa: 10-7

0:06
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
E. Hayden, 30 yard pass from B. Stephens (A. Pratt kick)
:Tulsa: 17-7

Third Quarter

4:24
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
B. Price, 3 yard run (A. Pratt kick)
:Tulsa: 24-7

Fourth Quarter

6:07
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
B. Price, 5 yard run (A. Pratt kick)
:Tulsa: 31-7

1:41
:Louisiana_Tech:
Touchdown
C. Brown, 11 yard pass from P. Kelly (2-pt conversion failed)
:Tulsa: 31-13

Game Stats

Tulsa
Stat
Louisiana Tech

31
Score
13

17
First Downs
13

390
Total Offense
282

36 - 157 - 2
Rushes - Yards - TD
11 - 28 - 0

12 - 24 - 2
Comp - Att - TD
21 - 47 - 2

233
Passing Yards
254

0
Times Sacked
0

5 - 11 (45%)
3rd Down Conversion
7 - 16 (43%)

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

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

7 - 3 - 1 (57%)
Red Zone - TD - FG
4 - 2 - 0 (50%)

1
Turnovers
1

0
Fumbles Lost
1

1
Intercepted
0

27
Punt Return Yards
0

46
Kick Return Yards
69

463
Total Yards
351

4 – 44.5
Punts - Average
6 - 45.2

4 - 43
Penalties
4 - 40

19:41
Time of Possession
16:19

Tulsa Contract Goals Update

Fail Impact
Goal
Progress
Pass Impact

:6redarrow:
21+ points per game in each season
19
:6greenarrow:

Win 10 games in one season
3
:6greenarrow:

3300+ passing yards each season
1010
:5greenarrow:

:6redarrow:
65% pass completions over the entire contract
60%
:5greenarrow:

:5redarrow:
Win 6 games in one season
3
:5greenarrow:

:6redarrow:
15+ rushing TD in each season
6
:5greenarrow:

:4redarrow:
3200+ total offensive yards each season
1748
:3greenarrow:

:5redarrow:
3400+ total offensive yards each season
1748
:2greenarrow:

Job Security Status

43%

SmoothPancakes

01-15-2013, 12:42 AM

Time for another look around the nation. Starting in the Top 25, #1 Texas had some trouble early on, tied 3-3 with Louisiana Lafayette after the first quarter, and at one point, only leading 17-10 in the middle of the second quarter. But the Longhorns eventually pulled away for a 34-10 win over the Ragin' Cajuns. #2 Clemson also had to weather an upset-hungry Duke squad, losing 17-14 going into the fourth quarter, before a pair of touchdowns put the Tigers ahead for the 28-17 win. The game of the week went to #4 Notre Dame, who jumped out to a 27-14 lead by the end of the third quarter, then held off a fourth quarter comeback, when trailing 28-27 with just a couple minutes left, scored the game winning touchdown with 2:10 to play to beat #8 Michigan 35-28.

#6 TCU escaped Stillwater with a 38-33 win over Oklahoma State. #9 Iowa came back from behind to beat #21 Rutgers 31-27. #10 Alabama won the SEC battle of the week, beating #24 South Carolina 38-20. In a Big Ten battle, it was #13 Nebraska triumphing, using a 21-0 third quarter to beat #15 Ohio State (and hand the Buckeyes their first loss), 38-24. Vanderbilt improved to 4-0 on the year, knocking off #16 Georgia. Mississippi State got back to .500 with a 35-21 upset of #18 Texas A&M. Ole Miss stayed undefeated at 3-0 with a 34-21 knock off of #20 Georgia Tech, knocking the Yellow Jackets from the ranks of the unbeaten. And #23 NC State scored a game winning touchdown with 2:15 to play to hold off Virginia 24-20 and stay undefeated at 4-0.

For our readers, souljahbill, Southern Miss improves to 3-1, picking up a 55-21 win over Connecticut. Jaymo, Arizona State drops to 1-3 (0-1 Pac-12) on the season with a 49-27 loss to Colorado. Mors, victory is short lived, as West Virginia drops to 1-3 (1-1 Big 12) with a 27-21 loss to Maryland. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State drops to .500, 2-2 on the year, with a 35-7 loss at Nevada.

In C-USA action, Marshall got a 33-21 win over North Texas, knocking the Mean Green down to 1-1 and getting us back even with them. Rice lost 17-10 to FAU, dropping them to 0-1 in conference. MTSU drops to 0-2 in conference with a 23-14 loss to UAB. UTEP and UTSA have yet to start conference play, both sitting at 0-0, but both also played impressively, despite losing. UTSA took Minnesota to overtime before falling 28-21. UTEP took Air Force to the wire, ultimately losing 31-27 as Air Force scored two unanswered touchdowns in the final minutes of the game. So despite opening the conference schedule with the loss to North Texas, we suddenly find ourselves tied with North Texas for the division lead, us the only two teams even with a C-USA victory in the West Division.

Taking a look at the new Top 25 polls, in the Coaches Poll, Texas (40 first place votes) remains #1, Notre Dame (21 votes) leaps two up to #2. Clemson falls one to #3, LSU falls one to #4, Oklahoma remains at #5. TCU and Auburn both remain at #6 and #7. Iowa, Alabama and USC all jump one to #8, #9 and #10. Oregon and Nebraska both climb one to #11 and #12. Michigan falls five to #13. Wisconsin remains at #14, Miami jumps two to #15, Arkansas leaps three to #16. Ohio State falls two to #17, Boise State jumps four to #18, NC State jumps four to #19 and Virginia Tech climbs five to #20. Ole Miss enters the poll this week at #21, Rutgers falls one to #22, Arizona enters the poll at #23, Georgia Tech falls four to #24, and Michigan State enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Georgia (from #16), Texas A&M (from #18) and South Carolina (from #24). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Georgia (160 votes) is #26, followed by Houston (155), South Carolina (140), Northwestern (139) and Texas A&M (69) to round out the Top 30.

In the first Media Poll of the year, Texas (37 first place votes) remains #1, LSU (22 votes) remains #2. Notre Dame (4 votes) jumps two to #3, Clemson (1 vote) falls one to #4 and Oklahoma (1 vote) falls one to #5. TCU remains at #6, Auburn climbs one to #7. Iowa, Alabama and Wisconsin all also climb one to #8, #9 and #10. USC moves up one to #11, Michigan falls five to #12, Nebraska jumps two #13, Oregon remains at #14 and Miami jumps two to #15. Arkansas moves up two to #16, Ohio State falls four to #17, NC State leaps give to #18, South Carolina drops three to #19, Boise State climbs four to #20. Ole Miss enters the poll at #21, Virginia Tech enters the poll at #22, Rutgers falls one to #23, Michigan State climbs one to #24 and Houston enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Georgia (from #16), Texas A&M (from #18) and Georgia Tech (from #20). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Arizona (198 votes) is #26, following by Georgia Tech (178), Northwestern (164), Georgia (96) and Texas A&M (54) to round out the Top 30.

morsdraconis

01-15-2013, 04:47 AM

Good bounce back game man. The conference is, at least, very much still up for grabs.

SmoothPancakes

01-15-2013, 06:12 AM

Good bounce back game man. The conference is, at least, very much still up for grabs.

Thanks man. I was worried for a bit there, between the LTU touchdown to tie it up and then only managing a field goal after that. Only up 10-7, the game was still wide open and I was worried. But the defense buckled down, and the offense surprisingly came to life, and we ended up rolling. It was great to get that win, gets us back above .500, gets us even in the conference and back into a tie for first place in the division.

UAB is gonna be a huge game. I've never played them before, so I have absolutely no clue what to expect. As well, I have a bunch of recruits visiting, going with an early season visit to try and either extend my leads over the second and third place teams, or using the push from the visits to jump the teams ahead of me and try and build up a lead and some early commits, stealing the recruits from other teams.

SmoothPancakes

01-15-2013, 10:05 PM

Now where the hell was this offense all season long?

SmoothPancakes

01-15-2013, 10:30 PM

Game Six

:UAB: :@: :Tulsa:

Game Notes

--- Fresh off our first conference victory of the season, propelling us back into a tie for first place in the West Division, it was back to our home field to take on a new opponent, the UAB Blazers. Without past on the field experience against UAB, all we had to go by were the stats. They were atrocious in defense, coming in with the #119 ranked defense and #118 ranked passing defense, making for a potential field day for our passing game. Their rushing defense wasn’t much better, ranked #74. They had woes of their own on offense, with the #95 ranked offense and #93 ranked passing offense. Their only saving grace was having a ranking of #59 in rush offense. One issue for us was that Brad Stephens would be starting for yet another game, as Casey Bishop remained on the injury list with a pulled hamstring, still listed as questionable, and us not wanting to take the chance and risk aggravating the injury before it healed 100%. UAB won the coin toss and elected to receive.

A 19 yard return on the opening kickoff gave UAB the ball to start at their 19 yard line. It was a quick start, as Davin Carpenter took the handoff twice for gains of two and 5 yards, before Adam Gardner completed a third down pass to Anthony Freeman for 13 yards and a first down at the 39. A 5 yard rush by Ryan Griffin was followed with a 7 yard gain by Gardner for a new set of downs. Two more rushes by Carpenter went for gains of four and 5 yards, before an incomplete pass by Gardner left the Blazers with fourth and inches on our 39 yard line. UAB elected to go for it on fourth down, Gardner connecting with Harvey Sullivan for a 5 yard gain and a first down. After an incomplete pass on first down, the defense was able to sack Gardner for a loss of one yard, leaving third and 11 from the 35. A dropped pass by Freeman would leave UAB stalled out at the 35. Apparently outside the field goal range of their kick, UAB punted the ball away, sailing out of the back of the end zone for a touchback, giving our offense the ball at the 20 yard line.

Taking the ball up the middle on first down, Brandon Price plowed through the line and broke into the open for a 13 yard gain to the 33 yard line. Price continued to show the UAB defense the way of life in Tulsa, as he stormed ahead for a 19 yard gain, giving us yet another first down at the UAB 48 yard line. The defense finally started to make a stand, tackling Price for only a gain of two yards. Testing out the Achilles heel of the UAB defense, we went to the air on second down, Brad Stephens completing a 21 yard pass to Chad Fisher to give us another first down at the 25 yard line. Stephens, just avoiding the sack, chucked up a pass to Eric Hayden, but the linebacker made a play on the ball and nearly intercepted it, the ball bouncing off his hands and falling to the ground nearby. We would find the end zone on the next play, as Stephens hit Max Thompson on an out route, Thompson pushing off a tackle attempt after making the catch, and with Hayden blocking the cornerback and sealing him inside, had nothing but green in front of him as he raced 25 yards up the sideline for the touchdown, giving us a 7-0 lead with 4:07 left in the first quarter.

No return on the kickoff left UAB starting from their 25 yard line. Carpenter got the drive started with a pair of rushes for gains of 6 and 7 yards. A pass from Gardner to Freeman picked up 8 yards to leave second and two at the 46. After an incomplete pass on second down, the defense broke through on third down, tackling Michael Rivers for a four yard loss to leave fourth and 6. A 5 yard return by Price on the 42 yard punt gave our offense the ball back at our 20 yard line. Stephens decided to go for the long bomb, heaving up a pass down the right sideline to Hayden, but the cornerback was able to get the jump in front of Hayden and bat the ball down incomplete. A second down pass to Fisher was complete for a gain of 12 yards and we had a first down at the 32 yard line. A smash route by Nicholas Roberts paid off with an 18 yard gain to midfield, as Stephens threaded the needle between the safety and cornerback to complete the pass. Keeping it going through the air, a pass to Fisher on a comeback route was completed for 16 yards, giving us first down at the UAB 34 yard line. A first down pass to Hayden was off target, nearly intercepted by the middle linebacker, leaving second down. A deep pass down the sideline to Hayden was momentarily brought down, but the hit by the safety knocked the ball loose while simultaneously pushing Hayden out of bounds before he could get his feet down. Finding Thompson over the middle, Stephens completed the pass for a 15 yard gain, keeping the drive alive with a first down at the 19 yard line. A first down pass to Donny Jordon picked up 16 yards and we had first and goal from the three yard line. Despite coming out in a goal line defense, the Blazers had no answer as Price took the handoff and sprinted into the end zone for the three yard touchdown and a 14-0 lead with 36 seconds left in the first quarter.

A 16 yard kickoff return left UAB starting from their 17 yard line on their next drive. After throwing the ball away on first down, Carpenter took the handoff for an 8 yard gain, leaving third and two. A thrown away ball would leave the Blazers punting on fourth and two. Unfortunately, the punt would never happen, as our defense was lured into an encroachment penalty, the Blazers getting 5 free yards and a first down at the 30 yard line as the first quarter came to an end, our lead at 14-0.

Opening up the second quarter, our defense continued to shoot themselves in the foot, getting flagged for a 15 yard facemask penalty, giving UAB a first down at the 45 yard line. A pass to Griffin went for 5 yards, before Gardner connected with Freeman for a 17 yard gain and a first down at our 33 yard line. A pair of rushes by Carpenter picked up two and 6 yards, leaving third and two from our 26. The Blazers would get the first down and then some, as Gardner completed a pass to Sullivan for 16 yards to set up first down at our 10 yard line. UAB would find the end zone on the next play, Gardner throwing up a pass to Griffin in the back of the end zone for the 10 yard touchdown, cutting our lead to 14-7. A 19 yard kickoff return by Price gave us the ball at our 20 yard line. We would find the end zone in one play, taking advantage of a two on one mismatch, Price hauling in a pass after Hayden lured the cornerback away, and racing both safeties, the cornerback and the outside linebacker 80 yards downfield for the touchdown, extending our lead out to 21-7 with 7:17 to go.

A touchback on the following kickoff gave UAB the ball at their 25. It seemed to be falling apart for the Blazers, as Gardner was tackled for a loss of three yards, followed by an incomplete pass to leave third and 13. Gardner would keep the drive alive though, finding Josh Smith up the right sideline for a 22 yard gain and a first down around the 45. The Blazers suffered their first miscue of the day, as the offense was flagged for false start, leaving first and 15. After getting tacked for a loss of three yards, Carpenter recovered and gained 7 yards on the next play, leaving UAB with third and 11. Carpenter would take the ball on the ground once more, fighting his way forward for 8 yards, but not enough as the Blazers facing fourth and four at our 49. No return on the 38 yard punt left our offense starting at our 11 yard line. Looking to do a little clock managed with 5:47 left, it was back to our ground game. Price continued to stuff it down the throats of the UAB defense, rushing ahead for an 11 yard gain to the 22. Rushing off the left tackle, Price was able to get 7 yards on first down. Keeping the ball himself, Stephens got a slew of block that sealed off the right edge of the defense, allowing him to get outside the cornerback and turn the corner up-field for a 19 yard gain and a first down at the 48 yard line. Going with a toss play, Price turned up inside after finding the outside route blocked, managing to fight ahead for a 6 yard gain. Going with the play action pass, the defense never had a chance, biting on the fake and allowing Price to swing out of the backfield on a wheel route, hauling in the pass from Stephens for a 23 yard gain and a first down at the 24 yard line. Going back into the air on first down, Stephens threw a tight spiral right over the head of the middle linebacker, into the arms of Hayden who managed to get behind the secondary and turn up the field untouched for the 24 yard touchdown and a 28-7 lead with 3:10 to play in the half.

A touchback on the kickoff left UAB starting from their 25 yard line and searching for answers as the game was quickly getting out of hand. The Blazers were able to find one answer, as Gardner hit Dan Wright over the middle for a 20 yard gain on first down. After an incomplete pass, Gardner picked up four yards with his legs, before finding Carpenter for a 14 yard gain to get a first down at our 37 yard line. The drive would stall there, as two incomplete passes and a sack for a loss of 7 yards left the Blazers punting on fourth and 17 from our 45 yard line. No return on the 32 yard punt gave our offense the ball to start at our 12 yard line, 1:36 left on the clock. The first down pass to Fisher hit him in the hands, but Fisher was unable to hold on, leaving second down. A missed tackled by the cornerback allowed Fisher to haul in a pass from Stephens on the comeback route, turn outside and race up the sideline to the UAB 45 yard line for a 43 yard gain. A first down pass intended for Hayden nearly ended in disaster, as the outside linebacker jumped the route and almost intercepted the pass. A smash route by Roberts allowed him to get the jump on the safety, hauling in the pass from Stephens and sprinting for a 31 yard gain before being pushed out of bounds at the 14 yard line. The defense finally got a victory against our offense, sacking Stephens on first down for a loss of 8 yards, leaving second and 18 from the 22. A bad pass by Stephens intended for Hayden left us with third and long. A pass to Thompson went for a gain of 17 yards, leaving fourth and one from the 5 yard line. Deciding to go for it on fourth and short, Price took the handoff from Stephens, bounced outside the left tackle and raced to the pylon for the 5 yard touchdown rush and a 35-7 lead with 22 seconds left in the first half.

A 23 yard kickoff return gave UAB the ball at their 25 yard line, but only 10 seconds on the clock. Carpenter would take the first down handoff for a gain of four yards, as UAB opted to head to halftime without any further damage, our lead 35-7.

A touchback on the kickoff to open the third quarter gave our offense the ball at our 25 yard line, looking for one more strike to put the final nail in the coffin before bringing out the young’uns. Breaking loose from a pair of tackles, Price took the first down carry for a 7 yard gain to the 32. Keeping it going on the ground, Price ran outside the left tackle, juking a defender before being pushed down by the safety for a 9 yard gain, but not before getting the first down at the 41 yard line. The defense was ready this time, as Price could only manage two yards before being brought down by a pair of defenders. Stephens would show the defense who’s boss this game, keeping the ball himself on second down, getting blocks to seal in the right side of the defense, turning up the field past the right tackle, juking away from the diving tackle by the safety, and racing the rest of the defense up the sideline for a 57 yard touchdown rush and a 42-7 lead with 7:10 left in the third quarter.

A touchback gave UAB the ball at their 25 yard line, all hopes of a win long dead and gone, now playing for pride and to save some face. They would find none of that on this drive, as three straight incomplete passes, two of them dropped, left UAB punting the ball right back. A 6 yard return on the 48 yard punt gave our offense the ball at our 33. The defense seemed all but ready to give up, as Price took the handoff, weaved us way through a couple of mini-holes, and picked up 17 yards to give us a first down at the 49 yard line. Disengaging off a block, the defensive tackle was able to avert another huge gain by Price, instead tackling him for only 5 yards to leave second down. A 6 yard gain by Price was enough for the first down, moving the chains to the UAB 40 yard line. Breaking loose from an ankle tackle, Price avoided the loss of yards and was able to fight forward for a four yard gain. This time the defense wouldn’t let him escape, tackling him for no gain to leave third and 6. A pass intended for Roy Smith was nearly intercepted, knocked incomplete to leave fourth down from the 36 yard line. Our offense got new life with the defense was flagged for roughing the kicker on the field goal attempt, giving us 15 free yards and a first down at the 21 yard line. Back out on the field, Price continued punishing the defense, busting up the middle for an 11 yard gain to set up first down at the 10 yard line. Price took it up the middle again for a 6 yard gain to leave second and four. Price would find the end zone again on the next play, rushing up the middle untouched for the 5 yard touchdown and a 49-7 lead with 3:29 left to go in the third quarter.

Another touchback on the kickoff and UAB again found themselves at their 25 yard line to start. After another dropped pass, this time Gardner found Smith for a 13 yard gain and a first down to the 38 yard line. Yet another dropped pass was followed with a 5 yard scramble by Gardner to leave third and 5. A pass to Carpenter for a gain of 7 yards gave UAB another first down at the 49 yard line. A deep strike to Wright for a 21 yard gain gave UAB a new set of downs at our 30 yard line, the Blazers suddenly in striking position. The drive would die there, as three straight incomplete passes, the last one dropped by Smith, left UAB stranded on fourth and 10. The 47 yard field goal by Willie Young cut the score to 49-10 with 1:52 to go in the third.

A touchback started our next drive at our 25 yard line, now working on chewing up clock and getting out of here without suffering any late, unnecessary injuries. Price started the drive with another 11 yard gain, giving us a quick first down at the 36 yard line as the clock ticked. Price took the ball again, rushing ahead for a 9 yard gain, before following that up with a 7 yard rush to get the first down at the UAB 48 yard line. That would be the last play of the quarter, as the final 28 seconds ticked off the clock without another snap, the third quarter coming to an end, our lead at 49-10.

Starting the fourth quarter, it was more of the same as Price took the handoff up the middle for a 7 yard gain. A 9 yard rush by Price got the first down at the 32 yard line, the clock continuing to tick. Bouncing outside on first down, Price was able to pick up four yards, followed by a 9 yard rush to get the first down at the 19 yard line. Giving Price a breather, Smith came in on first down, taking the handoff and continuing to pound the defense, rushing up the gut for a 14 yard gain to get first and goal at the 5 yard line. Continuing to pound the ball, Price took the handoff for a three yard gain to set up second and goal from the two yard line. Price would punch it in from 5 yard out on the next play for his fourth rushing touchdown of the game, extending our lead to 56-10 with 5:35 left in the game.

No return on the kickoff left UAB starting at their 25 yard line, the Blazers by now just trying to get the game done. After an incomplete pass on first down, Gardner completed a pass to Wright for 5 yards, but an incomplete pass on third down left the Blazers with fourth and 5 at their 30 yard line and punting once more. A 12 yard return by Price on the 40 yard punt gave us the ball at our 41 yard line, 4:50 left on the clock, and the second team offense on the field. The second team offense line was clearly weaker, as the UAB defense blew through to tackle Smith for a two yard gain on first down. A three yard gain by Smith left us with third and 5 at the 46 yard line, the clock ticking down to three and a half minutes left. Trying to keep the drive alive, Erik Wallace threw his first pass of his collegiate career, completing a two yard pass to Thompson, but it wasn’t enough as we punted away on fourth and three. The punt sailed deep, hitting down inside the 15 yard line and bouncing clear back into the end zone for a touchback.

Starting at the 20 yard line, the drive lasted one disastrous play for UAB, as Carpenter plowed into the pile on first down and was stripped of the ball, recovered by defensive tackle Chris Peoples, giving us possession at the UAB 26 yard line with 2:54 to play. Smith took the first down handoff, rushing through a pair of gaps for a 12 yard gain to the UAB 14 yard line. Another rush by Smith picked up three yards to the 11 yard line. Playing bumpers, Smith bounced his way around between defenders, moving forward inside the 5 yard line before being tackled forward by both the outside and middle linebackers, the momentum carrying all three into the end zone for the 11 yard touchdown rush and a 63-10 lead with 1:39 to play.

A 23 yard kickoff return gave UAB the ball at their 25 yard line. The Blazers refused to go down without a fight, as Justin Richardson, getting his first taste at QB, connected deep with Griffin for a 21 yard gain to set up first down at the 46 yard line. Another pass to Williams gained 9 yards to leave second and one at our 45 yard line, the clock down to one minute. After an incomplete pass left third down, Austin Richardson rushed up the middle for a 6 yard gain, getting the first down at our 39 yard line, the clock down to 45 seconds. After an incomplete pass on first down, A. Richardson plowed up the middle for an 8 yard gain to our 31 yard line, the clock down to 24 seconds. A 5 yard rush by A. Richardson would get the first down at our 26 yard line, the last 11 seconds ticking off the clock without another snap, our 63-10 victory now final.

With the win, we improve to 4-2, 2-1 in C-USA action. With the loss, UAB drops to 1-3, 1-1 in C-USA play. Up next, it's a home date with the Toledo Rockets. Toledo enters the contest with a 3-1 (1-1 MAC) record, opening the year with a 38-27 win over UCLA and a 31-17 victory at UMass. The Rockets suffered their first loss, 28-20 at rival Bowling Green, before recovering with a 27-24 win against Akron.

Final Score
:Tulsa: 63, :UAB: 10

Stat(s) of the Game:
- Tulsa Offense – In what may be his last game as starter for this season, Stephens had one hell of a day, throwing for 340 yards and three touchdowns, while also rushing for 68 yards and one touchdown on three carries. Price was without a doubt the player of the game, rushing for 197 yards and four touchdowns on 27 carries, while also ending with 103 yards receiving and one touchdown on two receptions. A pretty decent day for all rushers, as Smith ended with 47 yards and a touchdown on four carries, Stephens ended with 68 yards and a touchdown on three carries. 6 receivers caught a ball today, Price leading the way. Next up was Fisher who finished with 92 yards, but no touchdowns, on four receptions.

- Tulsa Defense – Another great day. Have up some big drives that let UAB get down into our territory, but only gave up 10 points for the day, which is always a victory in its own right.

- Tulsa Kicking – A perfect day for Pratt. Didn't attempt any field goals, but was 9-9 in PATs.

Scoring Summary

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

:UAB:
0
7
3
0
10

:Tulsa:
14
21
14
14
63

Time
Team
Result
Play
Score

First Quarter

4:07
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
M. Thompson, 25 yard pass from B. Stephens (A. Pratt kick)
:Tulsa: 7-0

0:36
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
B. Price, 3 yard run (A. Pratt kick)
:Tulsa: 14-0

Second Quarter

7:37
:UAB:
Touchdown
R. Griffin, 10 yard pass from A. Gardner (W. Young kick)
:Tulsa: 14-7

7:17
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
B. Price, 80 yard pass from B. Stephens (A. Pratt kick)
:Tulsa: 21-7

3:10
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
E. Hayden, 24 yard pass from B. Stephens (A. Pratt kick)
:Tulsa: 28-7

0:22
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
B. Price, 6 yard run (A. Pratt kick)
:Tulsa: 35-7

Third Quarter

7:20
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
B. Stephens, 57 yard run (A. Pratt kick)
:Tulsa: 42-7

3:29
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
B. Price, 5 yard run (A. Pratt kick)
:Tulsa: 49-7

1:56
:UAB:
Field Goal
W. Young, 46 yard field goal
:Tulsa: 49-10

Fourth Quarter

5:35
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
B. Price, 2 yard run (A. Pratt kick)
:Tulsa: 56-10

1:39
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
R. Smith, 11 yard run (A. Pratt kick)
:Tulsa: 63-10

Game Stats

UAB
Stat
Tulsa

10
Score
63

17
First Downs
24

306
Total Offense
654

23 - 100 - 0
Rushes - Yards - TD
37 - 312 - 6

16 - 38 - 1
Comp - Att - TD
14 - 22 - 3

206
Passing Yards
342

2
Times Sacked
1

7 - 16 (43%)
3rd Down Conversion
1 - 4 (25%)

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

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

4 - 1 - 0 (25%)
Red Zone - TD - FG
5 - 5 - 0 (100%)

1
Turnovers
0

1
Fumbles Lost
0

0
Intercepted
0

0
Punt Return Yards
23

81
Kick Return Yards
19

387
Total Yards
696

6 – 39.8
Punts - Average
1 - 52.0

2 - 20
Penalties
3 - 31

13:03
Time of Possession
22:57

Tulsa Contract Goals Update

Fail Impact
Goal
Progress
Pass Impact

:6redarrow:
21+ points per game in each season
26
:6greenarrow:

Win 10 games in one season
4
:6greenarrow:

3300+ passing yards each season
1352
:5greenarrow:

:6redarrow:
65% pass completions over the entire contract
61%
:5greenarrow:

:5redarrow:
Win 6 games in one season
4
:5greenarrow:

:6redarrow:
15+ rushing TD in each season
12
:5greenarrow:

:4redarrow:
3200+ total offensive yards each season
2402
:3greenarrow:

:5redarrow:
3400+ total offensive yards each season
2402
:2greenarrow:

Job Security Status

43%

SmoothPancakes

01-15-2013, 10:43 PM

I'll sum up my feelings and thoughts about that game in two simple gifs.

http://blacksportsonline.com/index/5odn3a.gif http://gifsoup.com/webroot/animatedgifs/155630_o.gif

SmoothPancakes

01-15-2013, 11:57 PM

Time for another look around the nation. Starting in the Top 25, #2 Notre Dame survived another scare, holding off a tenacious Nevada squad 49-44 in a wild shootout. Nevada returned a kickoff 99 yards for a TD with 1:30 left, but missed the 2-point conversion and failed to recover the onside kick to preserve the Irish victory. 4-1 Pittsburgh strikes the upset of the week, jumping out to an early lead and holding on to knock off #3 Clemson 31-21. Following right on the footsteps of Pittsburgh, Vanderbilt improves to 5-0 with a 45-28 upset and dismantling of #4 LSU.

#6 TCU needed a 17-0 run throughout the second half to come back from behind and pull out a 28-17 win over SMU. #21 Ole Miss improves to 4-0, scoring a late touchdown with 2:36 to play to knock off #9 Alabama 14-13, handing the Tide their second loss and officially eliminating any hopes Alabama had of defending their title. Idaho put up a hell of a fight, only trailing 17-14 against #11 Oregon midway through the third quarter, but a 17-0 run by the Ducks would put them ahead for good for the 34-14 win. The Big Ten continues to beat itself up, as Maryland improves to .500 on the year with a 24-13 upset of #13 Michigan.

Texas A&M hands #16 Arkansas their second loss of the year with a 42-35 win, scoring the game winner with 1:07 to play. #22 Rutgers hands #17 Ohio State their second straight loss, beating the Buckeyes 27-24 courtesy of a 21-0 second half comeback, scoring the winning touchdown with 2:35 left. #19 NC State improves to 5-0 on the year, scoring 17 straight points to pull out a 27-24 win over #20 Virginia Tech. Air Force knocks #18 Boise State from the ranks of the unbeaten (while the Falcons stay unbeaten themselves) with a 17-6 win over the Broncos. Washington State put up a hell of a fight, but #23 Arizona remains undefeated, holding on for the 38-24 win.

For our readers, souljahbill, Southern Miss improves to 4-1 (1-0 C-USA), picking up a 26-7 win over North Texas. Jaymo, Arizona State drops to 1-4 (0-2 Pac-12) on the season with a 45-28 loss to Stanford. Mors, West Virginia drops to 1-4 (1-2 Big 12) with a 38-31 loss to 4-0 Kansas. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State 2-2 on the year with a bye week.

In C-USA action, UTSA falls to 0-1 in-conference with a 38-28 loss to FIU. UTEP beats Marshall 37-28 to start 1-0 in conference play. Southern Miss beating North Texas 26-7 now drops the Mean Green a full game behind me. So despite opening the conference schedule with the loss to North Texas, we suddenly find ourselves with an outright grasp on first place in the West Division with a 2-1 conference record, UTEP right behind me at 1-0, North Texas further back at 1-2. Rice and UTSA are both sitting 0-1, MTSU in dead last at 0-3.

On another note, goodbye Oregon State from the ranks of undefeated teams. BYU knocks off Oregon State 35-32 to drop them to 4-1.

Looking at undefeated teams left, with #3 Clemson, #4 LSU, #18 Boise State, Illinois and Oregon State all losing this week, our number of undefeated teams sits at 18. #1 Texas (3-0), #2 Notre Dame (5-0), #5 Oklahoma (3-0), #6 TCU (5-0), #7 Auburn (5-0), #8 Iowa (5-0), #10 USC (5-0), #11 Oregon (3-0), #14 Wisconsin (4-0), #15 Miami (3-0), #19 NC State (5-0), #21 Ole Miss (4-0), #23 Arizona (5-0), Air Force (3-0), Colorado (4-0), Kansas (4-0), Northwestern (4-0) and Vanderbilt (5-0) all remain with an unblemished record this season.

Turning to a more sadistic watch, who is still winless. There remains 8 teams still looking for their first win: Central Michigan (0-5), Kentucky (0-5), Memphis (0-5), New Mexico State (0-5), UMass (0-5), USF (0-4), Western Kentucky (0-4) and Wyoming (0-4).

Teams getting their first win this week were: Eastern Michigan (24-16 over 2-2 Ohio), UCF (27-26 over 2-3 Navy) and Washington (51-3 over 0-4 Western Kentucky).

On a player/awards note, that 197 yards rushing with 4 TDs and 103 yards receiving with one TD performance catupaulted Brandon Price up to third on the Heisman Watch list behind Jordan Cooke (Notre Dame QB) and Matt Blount (Georgia HB). Also on the list behind Price is Andrew Schmidt (TCU QB) and Caleb Davis (North Carolina HB). That performance against UAB also had Price taking home NCAA Offensive Player of the Week honors. Curtis Franklin, senior left defensive end from FIU took home NCAA Defensive Player of the Week, with 10 tackles, 8 tackles for a loss, three assisted tackled and four sacks against UTSA. This was also Price's second C-USA Offensive Player of the Week selection of the season.

Taking a look at the new Top 25 polls, in the Coaches Poll, Notre Dame (34 first place votes) takes advantage of a win over Nevada and a bye week for Texas to leap the Longhorns and become the new #1. Texas (25 votes) drops one to #2. Oklahoma (1 vote) jumps two to #3, Auburn (1 vote) jumps three to #4, and Iowa jumps three to #5. TCU remains stuck at #6, USC jumps three to #7, Oregon jumps three to #8, Wisconsin and Miami both leap 5 to #9 and #10. Clemson falls eight to #11, Nebraska remains #12, NC State leaps six to #13, Vanderbilt enters the poll at #14, Ole Miss jumps six to #15, LSU drops twelve spots to #16. Alabama drops eight to #17, Arizona jumps five to #18, Rutgers moves up three to #19, Pittsburgh enters the poll at #20. Northwestern enters the poll at #21, Ohio State falls five to #22, Georgia Tech climbs one to #23, Arkansas falls eight to #24 and Texas A&M enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Michigan (from #13), Boise State (from #18), Virginia Tech (from #20) and Michigan State (from #25). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Michigan State (187 votes) is #26, followed by Michigan (185), Virginia Tech (151), Georgia (149) and Houston (139) to round out the Top 30. Also receiving votes are Boise State (109), South Carolina (105) and Colorado (45).

In the first Media Poll of the year, Texas (38 first place votes) remains #1, Notre Dame (23 votes) jumps one to #2, Oklahoma (1 vote) jumps two to #3, Auburn (1 vote) climbs three to #4, Iowa (1 vote) climbs three to #5 and TCU (1 vote) remains at #6. Wisconsin and USC both jump three to #7 and #8, while Oregon and Miami both jump five to #9 and #10. Ole Miss leaps ten to #11, Vanderbilt enters the poll at #12, NC State jumps five to #13, Clemson falls ten to #14 and Nebraska drops two to #15. LSU plummets fourteen to #16, Alabama falls eight to #17, Pittsburgh and Arizona both enter the poll at #18 and #19, while Rutgers climbs three to #20. South Carolina falls two to #21, Northwestern enters the poll at #22, Ohio State drops six to #23, Arkansas falls eight to #24 and Michigan State falls one to #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Michigan (from #13), Boise State (from #18), Virginia Tech (from #20) and Houston (from #25). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Michigan (217 votes) is #26, followed by Texas A&M (205), Houston (178), Georgia Tech (175) and Virginia Tech (109) to round out the Top 30. Also receiving votes are Georgia (102), Colorado (93), Boise State (66) and Fresno State (22).

SmoothPancakes

01-16-2013, 08:11 PM

Holy shit! What a horrible week to be in the top 25. I'm not even through the first quarter against Toledo and the scores I've seen during the studio updates. Damn...

SmoothPancakes

01-16-2013, 11:02 PM

Game Seven

:Toledo: :@: :Tulsa:

Game Notes

--- Fresh off our pounding of UAB, it was time for a break from conference action as we welcome the Toledo Rockets to town in our final non-conference game of the season. Toledo was sort of a mixed bag, coming in with the #48 passing offense, but also having the #94 rushing offense. On the other side of the ball, they were ranked #20 in the nation for rushing defense, but came in at #102 in pass defense. It would be a day of testing for our pass defense, as well as for our running game, going up against the #20 rush defense. Casey Bishop continued to be listed as questionable on the injury report with a pulled hamstring, giving Brad Stephens yet another start and notch on his belt in his young career. Turnovers would be a potential issue today, as the rain poured down. We won the coin toss and elected to kick.

A touchback on the opening kickoff gave Toledo the ball at their 25 yard line. Going to the air on first down, Randall Wallace completed a pass to Shaun Byrd for 9 yards, the drive off to a promising start, but two dropped passed would leave the Rockets stalled and the punt team coming out on fourth and one. A fair catch on the 48 yard punt got us started at our 18 yard line. It would be an extremely long day for the Rockets, as Brandon Price took the handoff on first down, ran through the hole up the middle, broke off a tackle by the middle linebacker, and with the near safety engaged in a block, was able to break out into the open and outrace the other safety and the cornerback down the field for the 82 yard touchdown run, breaking his old school record for longest run in a game of 81 yards. The extra point made our lead 7-0 with 8:16 to go in the first quarter.

Another touchback on the kickoff, and Toledo was again at their 25. Abraham Johnson took the ball on first down, gaining two yards, before dropped passes again plagued the Rockets, leaving them punting once more on fourth and 8.

A fair catch on the 52 yard punt got our offense started once again, this time at our 21 yard line. This time, the defense refused to let Price break loose into the open, forcing him back inside towards the middle of the field and tackling him a gain of only 6 yards. A 10 yard rush by Price picked up the first down at the 37 yard line, the defense not reacting to our run game and leaving huge holes for Price to exploit. Going on the ground on first down, it was a loss of two yards for Price as the defensive end blitzed around the corner and dove at his ankles, tripping him up in the backfield. Going through the air on second down, Brad Stephens led Eric Hayden perfectly, Hayden catching the pass in stride and able to turn up the field before the cornerback could tackle him, picking up 22 yards before being brought down by the safety at the Toledo 43 yard line. Another rush by Price picked up 9 yards, followed by a 12 yard rush up the middle to get the first down at the 23 yard line. Roy Smith took the ball on first down, giving Price a breather, and managed to fight forward for a 5 yard gain. Following his blocker up the middle, Price rode the ass of the left guard all the way down to the Toledo 8 yard line for a gain of 9 yards to set up first and goal. The defense was ready this time, tackling Price at the 7 yard line for a gain of one. Going with the play action, the pass to Price on the wheel route of the backfield was nearly intercepted, the cornerback jump in front of the ball and batting it down, the outside linebacker diving to the ground to try and grab the ball at the one yard line, but unable to catch it. The third down pass to Hayden was knocked incomplete, and left feeling the drive was completely wasted, Alphonso Pratt kicked a 24 yard field to extend our lead to 10-0 with 2:27 left in the first quarter.

A 19 yard kickoff return set Toledo up at their 24 yard line, looking for a response. They would find none, as three straight incomplete passes left the Rockets punting once again. A 26 yard return by Price on the 44 yard punt gave our offense the ball at the Toledo 43 yard line. Changing things up and going to the air on first down, Stephens connected with Chad Fisher for a 9 yard gain. Price took the ball on second down, able to get one yard but stood up at the line of scrimmage by the middle linebacker, leaving us facing third and inches at the 33. The defense was starting to prove tenacious, tackling Price again at the line of scrimmage for no gain, leaving fourth and inches. While debating whether to go for it on fourth down or attempt the 50 yard field goal, the final seconds ticked off the clock, bringing the first quarter to an end, our lead 10-0.

Opening up the second quarter, we decided to take a chance on the field goal, Pratt drilling the 50 yard kick down the middle of the uprights to give us a 13-0 lead with 8:56 to go in the first half. No return on the kickoff left Toledo starting at the now familiar 25 yard line. The Rockets still were unable to find any momentum. Wallace started the drive with a two yard rush, before Julius Anderson caught a two yard pass from Wallace. The pass on third and 6 was dropped by Byrd, and the Rockets again were forced to punt. An 8 yard return on the 46 yard punt gave our offense the ball at our 32 yard line. Price took the first down handoff up the middle for a three yard gain, before Stephens called his own number, rushing around the right tackle, the defensive line and linebackers sealed, and a block by the fullback that took the cornerback out of the play, allowing Stephens to race down the field for a 37 yard gain before being tripped up by the safety at the Toledo 28 yard line. Price took the ball on first down, bouncing outside the left tackle, picking up 14 yards to the Toledo 13. Stephens kept the ball again on the next play, running up the middle on a delayed rush, picking up 10 yards to the three yard line for first and goal. The drive would end in disaster there on the three, as attempting an option left, the pitch from Stephens to Price was grabbed out of midair, cornerback Mike Bozeman taking the fumble 95 yards to the house for the Rockets touchdown. The extra point cut our lead to 13-7 with 6:42 to go in the half.

A touchback on the kickoff left us starting at our 25 yard line, our lead now cut in half. Smith came in to start the drive at halfback, taking a pair of handoffs for 5 and 14 yards to give us a first down at the 44 yard line. Price received the handoff on the next play, fighting his way through the pile for a 6 yard gain. Going back on the ground, Price was stood up at the line for no gain, leaving us third and four. Forced to scramble on the third down pass, Stephens was stopped at the Toledo 46 yard line, leaving fourth and inches. Taking a chance on fourth down, Stevens never had a chance, the defense tackling him for a loss of four yards, Toledo taking over on the turnover on downs at the 50 yard line. The Rockets offense chose a great time to come to life, as Wallace threw a pair of passes to Larry Johnson, for gains of 5 and 28 yards to give Toledo a first down at the 16 yard line. The defense put up a fight, tackling Eric Lester for a loss of three yards, before an incomplete pass left Toledo with third and 13. Toledo would find the end zone on the next play, as A. Johnson hauled in a 19 yard pass from Wallace for the touchdown, the PAT giving Toledo a 14-13 lead with 2:54 remaining in the half.

A touchback got our offense started from the 25. Price took the first down carry up the middle for a 12 yard gain to the 37 yard line. Another rush went for a gain of 8 yards, before Price was tackled for a two yard gain to leave third and one at the 46. The defense was more than ready for us on third down, the defensive end breaking through and tackling Smith for a loss of one yard, leaving us punting on fourth and two. The punt ended up extending our drive, as Toledo was flagged for roughing the punter, the 15 free yards giving us a first down at the Toledo 40 yard line and our offense scrambling back out onto the field. A 10 yard gain by Price set up second and inches, a gain of four yards picking up the first down at the 25 yard line. Our first timeout stopped the clock with 1:09 remaining in the half. The first down pass attempt sailed incomplete, leaving second down. Antoine Banks hauled in a pass from Stephens for a 9 yard gain, Price converting third down with a 6 yard rush to give us a first down at the 10 yard line. We would find the end zone on the next play, Fisher pulling down a pass from Stephens for the 10 yard touchdown and a 20-14 lead with 29 seconds to play.

An 18 yard kickoff return started Toledo on their 21 yard line, 19 seconds remaining. The Rockets would head for locker room, as Lester took the ball on first down for a gain of two yards, the final 16 seconds running off the clock. We headed into halftime with the 20-14 lead.

Opening up the second half, Fisher took the kickoff back for 24 yards, giving our offense the ball at our 22 yard line to start. A pair of rushes by Price for gains of two and 5 yards left us looking at third and three. A pitch right resulted in a gain of four yards by Price to get the first down at the 33 yard line. Price never had a chance on first down, swarmed by three defenders for no gain. Taking another chance on the triple option, Stephens pitched the ball to Price, who was able to break up the left sideline for a 13 yard gain and a first down at the 46 yard line. Breaking loose from an ankle tackle, Price was able to push forward for a gain of four yards on the next play. Going play action on second down, the pass intended for Price was nearly intercepted, leaving third and 6. Stephens was forced to scramble from the instant pressure, only able to pick up two yards, leaving fourth and four at midfield.

No return on the 38 yard punt set Toledo up at their 8 yard line. After rushing for no gain on first down, Wallace went into the air, finding Lester down the right sideline for a 17 yard gain and a first down at the 26. Wallace was forced from the pocket on the next play, scrambling for a gain of only one yard, before a pair of incomplete passes left the Rockets stalled out and punting on fourth and 9. It would get even worse for the Rockets, as the punt was blocked, outside linebacker A.J. Walton recovered the fumbled ball at the Toledo three yard line to give us first and goal. The defense wasn't about to let us score easy, Price tackled for a two yard loss on the first down carry, leaving second and goal at the 5. A toss to the right resulted in a four yard gain, Price driven out of bounds just outside the goal line. Price never had a chance on third down, a diving linebacker pushing Price backwards and into the arms of the cornerback and safety, Price ending up tackled for a 7 yard loss at the 7 yard line. The 24 yard field goal by Pratt was good, giving us a 23-14 lead with 2:24 to play in the third quarter.

A touchback left Toledo starting from their 25 yard line. This time the Rockets weren't about to go quietly, as Wallace hit David Matthews for an 11 yard gain, before connecting with Byrd for a pickup of 17 yards to give the Rockets first down at our 47 yard line. After throwing the ball away on first down and a 6 yard rush by Lester, Wallace converted the third and four with a 17 yard pass to A. Johnson to give the Rockets first down at our 24. After an incomplete pass on first down another pass to A. Johnson for 17 yards set Toledo up with first and goal from our 7 yard line. Wallace scrambled on first down for four yards, before Lester punched it in on second down for the four yard touchdown rush, the extra point cutting our lead to 23-21 with 30 seconds to go in the third quarter. Price returned the ensuing kickoff 19 yards to the 23 yard line. Taking the handoff on first down, Price picked up three yards, and that would be the end of the third quarter, the final seconds ticking off with us holding on to a 23-21 lead.

Opening up the fourth quarter with second and 7, a pitch left to Price ended up going backwards, as Price was overrun by four defenders for a loss of three yards to leave third and 10. The third down pass intended for Fisher was nearly intercepted by the safety, but he was unable to hold onto the ball, as it fell to the ground incomplete. A shanked punt went for only 27 yards and unreturned, giving Toledo the ball at our 49 yard line. After an incomplete pass on first down, Toledo was flagged for holding, leaving the Rockets with second and 20. After another incomplete pass left third and very long, Wallace heaved deep, finding A. Johnson over the middle for a 39 yard gain, keeping the drive alive and giving Toledo a first down at our 20 yard line. A three yard rush by Byrd and an 8 yard pass to Anderson gave Toledo first and goal at our 9 yard line. Lester would finish the job on the next play, rushing around the right end for the 9 yard touchdown. Toledo then went for the two-point conversion, Lester diving into the end zone for the successful conversion to give Toledo a 29-23 lead with 7:12 to go.

A touchback on the kickoff left our offense at the 25 yard line and down by 6. A pair of three yard rushes by Price left us with third and 6. The third down pass intended for Hayden sailed too far in front, out of the reach of Hayden and dropping incomplete. A three yard return on the 47 yard punt gave Toledo the ball at their 24 yard line. The defense came out firing on first down, tackling Lester for a loss of two yards. Lester was able to pick up 5 yards on the next play, but an incomplete pass on third down left the Rockets punting the ball back on fourth and 7 with 5:37 to go. A 7 yard return on the 49 yard punt set us up at our 30 yard line. Going to the air, Stephens was just able to get the ball off before getting laid out, completing the pass to Max Thompson for a gain of 12 yards to the 42 yard line. Throwing to Price on the smash route, Stephens completed the pass on Price’s outside shoulder for a 23 yard gain along the right sideline to give us first down at the 35 yard line. A first down pass to Hayden brought our drive crashing to an end, as middle linebacker Chaz Mirvil stood up in front of the pass and intercepted it to give Toledo possession at their 28 yard line, 4:55 to go.

The drive started poorly for the Rockets, who were again flagged for holding, pushing Toledo back to their 18 yard line with first and 20. An 8 yard rush by Lester erased most of the penalty, followed by a four yard rush to leave third and 8. The defense forced Wallace to throw the ball away to avoid a sack, and Toledo once again brought out the punt team on fourth down. A 10 yard return by Price on the 47 yard punt gave us the ball at our 33 yard line, 4:09 now left in the game. A pass over the middle to Randy Newman went for a quick gain of 19 yards, giving us first down at the Toledo 48. Taking a shot down the right sideline, Stephens was able to toss the ball in over three defenders to Hayden for a 19 yard gain to give us a first down at the 29 yard line. We would find the end zone on the next play, as Fisher was able to get behind both the cornerback and safety, hauling in a pass from Stephens around the 5 yard line, and then actually being helped as the safety attempted to tackle him from behind, instead pushing him forward into the end zone for the 29 yard touchdown pass. Pratt’s PAT gave us a 30-29 lead with 3:34 to go.

A touchback left Toledo starting at their 25 yard line and down by one. The Rockets were unable to produce any offense, three straight incomplete passes forcing a punt and hoping the defense would respond. A fair catch on the 49 yard punt left us at our 25 yard line. Price never had a chance, swarmed for a two yard loss. Keeping the clock moving, the defense continued to fight back, tackling Newman for a loss of three yards, leaving us with third and 15 at the 20 yard line, the clock nearing two minutes to play. Bringing the house, Stephens was forced to instantly scramble, but before he could even try to throw the ball away, the linebacker dove at his ankles, tripping him up for the sack and a 12 yard loss, leaving us punting on fourth and 27 from our 8 yard line, Toledo’s first timeout stopping the clock with 2:09 remaining. No return on the 50 yard punt gave Toledo the ball at their 42 yard line with 1:59 to play. After an incomplete pass on first down, Wallace found A. Johnson for a 6 yard gain. A rush by Lester resulted in a loss of two yards, leaving Toledo with fourth and 6. The Rockets would turn the ball over on downs as Wallace was sacked for a loss of three yards, giving us possession at the Toledo 44 yard line with 1:33 to go, but Toledo still with two timeouts.

A 6 yard run by Price got us to the 38 yard line, Toledo’s second timeout stopping the clock with 1:30 to go. The defense came pouring through the line on second down, tackling Price for a loss of four yards to leave third and 8, Toledo’s final timeout stopping the clock with 1:27 left. Price took the ball on third down, getting met at the line of scrimmage by the middle linebacker and fumbling the ball backwards. left guard Dennis Moody jumped on the ball to recover it for our offense, the play ultimately going down as an 8 yard loss, leaving us fourth and 15 at midfield. Just when things couldn't get any worse, Toledo managed to break through and block the punt on fourth down, left outside linebacker Maurice Broussard recovering the fumble for Toledo at our 29 yard line with 1:04 remaining. After an incomplete pass on first down, Wallace found L. Johnson for a 9 yard gain. An incomplete pass left Toledo with fourth and one at the 21 yard line. The 38 yard field goal by W. Wade was good, and Toledo took a 32-30 lead with 37 seconds left in the game.

A touchback on the kickoff left us starting at our 25 yard line, losing by two points, 29 seconds on the clock, and all three timeouts still left. Thankfully a touchdown was not necessary, only needing to get into field goal range. The first down pass to Thompson nearly ended in disaster, as the outside linebacker jumped the route and nearly intercepted the pass, the ball going through his hands and incomplete. The second down pass was also nearly intercepted, as the safety come across, cutting in front of Nicholas Roberts, but dropped the ball incomplete, leaving third down, 22 seconds to go. Stephens finally managed to complete a pass on third down, connecting with Thompson for a 15 yard gain, giving us first down at the 40 yard line, our first timeout stopping the clock with 17 seconds to go. The first down pass intended for Fisher was knocked down incomplete, nearly intercepted by the outside linebacker. Stephens was just barely able to throw the ball in the ground on second down to avoid the sack, releasing the ball as he was going down to leave third down and 12 seconds left. Getting the ball off as he was hit, Stephens was able to lob up a pass to Thompson for a gain of 14 yards before being driven out of bounds, giving us a first down at the 46 yard line, stopping the clock with 8 seconds to go. A quick pass to Fisher went for a gain of 6 yards, leaving us second and four at the 40 yard line, our second timeout stopping the clock with four seconds to go, as the field goal team came out to attempt to kick for the win. The 57 yard field goal attempt by Pratt was no good, well short of the post. A Toledo player was sitting back in the end zone, catching the ball and returning the missed field goal all the way out to the Toledo 40 yard line before being tackled and ending the game, as we go down in agonizing defeat, 32-30.

With the loss, we fall to 4-3, 2-1 in C-USA action. With the win, Toledo improves to 4-1, 1-1 in MAC play. Up next, we get a bye week to reorganize before hosting Southern Miss. Southern Miss will also be coming into the game off a bye week. The Golden Eagles enter the game at 5-1, 2-0 in C-USA action. USM started the year with a 45-20 win over FCS East, before losing 30-27 at Air Force. Southern Miss since then has reeled off four straight wins, 35-14 at South Florida, 55-21 over Connecticut, 26-7 at North Texas and 34-7 against Rice.

Final Score
:Toledo: 32, :Tulsa: 30

Stat(s) of the Game:
- Tulsa Offense – A decent day for Stevens, ending 12-23 for 187 yards and two touchdowns, though he did throw one interception that screwed one of our drives. Stephens also ended the day with 44 yards rushing on 7 carries. Price was the player of the game for Tulsa, ending with 219 yards rushing and one touchdown on 37 carries, and setting a new school record with the longest run in school history of 82 yards, breaking his own old record of 81 yards. 6 receivers caught a ball today, Fisher by far was the leading receiver, ending the game with 54 yards receiving and two touchdowns on four receptions.

- Tulsa Defense – Great first quarter, decent second quarter, only being accountable for one touchdown that quarter. Still did pretty well in the third quarter, but sucked it up at times in the fourth quarter, letting Toledo drive down for those 11 points.

- Tulsa Kicking – A damn good day in all respects for Pratt. Did end up 3-4 in field goals, but made kicks of 24, 24 and 50 yards, only missing that 57 yard attempt at the end of the game. Also went 3-3 in PATs. Punting, gonna have to work on that. We ended up losing because our punt team let the ball get blocked there at the very end, giving Toledo the ball at our 29 yard line and a minute left, instead of potentially pinning them back inside their 20 or 30 yard line and forcing them to drive the field. That blocked punt was basically the top play that caused our loss today. Other plays contributed, but that blocked punt led directly to it, by giving Toledo prime field position to kick the game winning field goal and retake the lead.

Scoring Summary

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

:Toledo:
0
14
7
11
32

:Tulsa:
10
10
3
7
30

Time
Team
Result
Play
Score

First Quarter

8:16
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
B. Price, 82 yard run (A. Pratt kick)
:Tulsa: 7-0

2:27
:Tulsa:
Field Goal
A. Pratt, 24 yard field goal
:Tulsa: 10-0

Second Quarter

8:56
:Tulsa:
Field Goal
A. Pratt, 50 yard field goal
:Tulsa: 13-0

6:42
:Toledo:
Touchdown
M. Bozeman, returned fumble 95 yards (W. Wade kick)
:Tulsa: 13-7

2:54
:Toledo:
Touchdown
A. Johnson, 19 yard pass from R. Wallace (W. Wade kick)
:Toledo: 14-13

0:29
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
C. Fisher, 10 yard pass from B. Stephens (A. Pratt kick)
:Tulsa: 20-14

Third Quarter

2:24
:Tulsa:
Field Goal
A. Pratt, 24 yard field goal
:Tulsa: 23-14

0:30
:Toledo:
Touchdown
E. Lester, 3 yard run (W. Wade kick)
:Tulsa: 23-21

Fourth Quarter

7:12
:Toledo:
Touchdown
E. Lester, 9 yard run (2-pt conversion good)
:Toledo: 29-23

3:34
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
C. Fisher, 29 yard pass from B. Stephens (A. Pratt kick)
:Tulsa: 30-29

0:37
:Toledo:
Field Goal
W. Wade, 38 yard field goal
:Toledo: 32-30

Game Stats

Toledo
Stat
Tulsa

32
Score
30

9
First Downs
20

246
Total Offense
470

16 - 42 - 2
Rushes - Yards - TD
49 - 283 - 1

14 - 37 - 1
Comp - Att - TD
12 - 23 - 2

204
Passing Yards
187

1
Times Sacked
1

3 - 13 (23%)
3rd Down Conversion
4 - 14 (28%)

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

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

4 - 3 - 0 (75%)
Red Zone - TD - FG
5 - 1 - 2 (60%)

1
Turnovers
3

1
Fumbles Lost
2

0
Intercepted
1

8
Punt Return Yards
51

37
Kick Return Yards
43

291
Total Yards
564

7 – 48.3
Punts - Average
4 - 45.3

3 - 35
Penalties
1 - 15

14:14
Time of Possession
21:46

Tulsa Contract Goals Update

Fail Impact
Goal
Progress
Pass Impact

:6redarrow:
21+ points per game in each season
27
:6greenarrow:

Win 10 games in one season
4
:6greenarrow:

3300+ passing yards each season
1539
:5greenarrow:

:6redarrow:
65% pass completions over the entire contract
59%
:5greenarrow:

:5redarrow:
Win 6 games in one season
4
:5greenarrow:

:6redarrow:
15+ rushing TD in each season
13
:5greenarrow:

:4redarrow:
3200+ total offensive yards each season
2872
:3greenarrow:

:5redarrow:
3400+ total offensive yards each season
2872
:2greenarrow:

Penalty

:1redarrow:
Lost to a lower ranked team

Job Security Status

42%

SmoothPancakes

01-16-2013, 11:13 PM

Time for another look around the nation. Starting in the Top 25, an ugly week for the Top 25 teams. #1 Notre Dame had trouble early on, but pulled away in the second half to beat 1-4 UCF, 48-28. In the upset of the week, Texas Tech got back to .500, knocking off #2 Texas 51-38. #3 Oklahoma uses a 39-14 second half advantage to pull away from Kansas State 59-28. #4 Auburn whoops #24 Arkansas 42-10. In the game of the week, #9 Wisconsin takes down #5 Iowa 17-7, handing Iowa their first loss of the year.

#7 USC needed a big second half to hold off Oregon State 42-28. Stanford knocked off #8 Oregon 33-21, Oregon trying to play catch-up the entire game and failing. Continuing the string of top 10 upsets, #10 Miami suffered their first loss of the year, losing to Virginia 28-21. After being #3 a week ago, #11 Clemson has now lost two in a row, falling 35-33 to #23 Georgia Tech. #13 NC State had to score 19 straight points to pull a 33-32 comeback win out of their ass over 1-5 Syracuse. #15 Ole Miss won the battle of the unbeatens, defeating #14 Vanderbilt 42-9.

#16 LSU lost their second straight game, falling to Florida 31-10. Washington gets their second win of the year, pulling out a 28-27 win over #18 Arizona. #19 Rutgers needed a 28 point comeback and then overtime to defeat 1-4 Indiana 49-42. #20 Pittsburgh needed a late touchdown to hold off Virginia Tech 21-20. In a shocker, UMass gets their first win of the year, while handing #21 Northwestern their first loss of the year, with a 17-16 win over the Wildcats. #22 Ohio State scores 18 unanswered in the fourth quarter to pull out a 35-28 win over Maryland.

In all, the #2, #5, #8, #10, #11, #14, #16, #18 and #21 teams all lost this week. Not a kind week in the top 25 and definitely not in the top 10/15. In addition, 9 top 25 games were decided by 10 points or less, one game decided by two points, four games decided by one point.

For our readers, souljahbill, Southern Miss improves to 5-1 (2-0 C-USA), picking up a 34-7 win over Rice. Southern Miss now heads into a bye week before their trip to Tulsa. Jaymo, Arizona State remains 1-4 (0-2 Pac-12) on the season with a bye week this week. Mors, West Virginia drops to 1-5 (1-3 Big 12) with a 30-21 loss to 2-2 Iowa State. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State improves to 3-2 on the year with a 41-3 dismantling of Wake Forest.

In C-USA action, FIU beat UTEP 38-19 to drop the Miners to 1-1. UTSA beat UAB 49-30 to improve to 1-1. Rice falls to 0-2 with their 34-7 loss to Southern Miss. A non-conference game, Georgia escapes against Marshall, 31-23, scoring 21 straight points to come back and win. With those results, I retain first place in the West Division at 2-1. UTEP and UTSA are right behind me at 1-1. North Texas is further back at 1-2 and Rice (0-2) and MTSU (0-3) bring up the rear.

On a personal note, Navy is in line for the C-I-C trophy, knocking off Air Force 35-10, handing the Falcons their first loss.

Looking at undefeated teams left, with #2 Texas, #5 Iowa, #8 Oregon, #10 Miami, #14 Vanderbilt, #21 Northwestern and Air Force all losing this week, our number of undefeated teams drops clear down to 10. #1 Notre Dame (6-0), #3 Oklahoma (4-0), #4 Auburn (6-0), #6 TCU (6-0), #7 USC (6-0), #9 Wisconsin (5-0), #13 NC State (6-0), #15 Ole Miss (5-0), Colorado (5-0) and Kansas (4-0) all remain with an unblemished record this season.

Turning to a more sadistic watch, who is still winless. There remains 6 teams still looking for their first win: Central Michigan (0-6), Kentucky (0-6), Memphis (0-5), New Mexico State (0-5), USF (0-5) and Western Kentucky (0-4).

Teams getting their first win this week were: UMass (22-21 over 4-1 #21 Northwestern) and Wyoming (45-3 over FCS Northwest).

On a player/awards note, despite rushing for 219 yards and a TD, Brandon Price drops to fourth on the Heisman Watch list. Notre Dame QB Jordan Cooke remains first, followed by Georgia HB Matt Blount. TCU QB Andrew Schmidt jumps Price. New to the list this week is USC HB Jordan Lewis.

Taking a look at the new Top 25 polls, in the Coaches Poll, Notre Dame (38 first place votes) remains #1. Auburn (21 votes) leaps two spots to #2. Oklahoma (1 vote) remains #3. Wisconsin (1 vote) jumps five to #4, USC jumps two to #5. TCU still can't catch a break, remaining #6 yet again, NC State leaps six to #7, Ole Miss jumps seven to #8, Iowa falls four to #9 and Nebraska jumps two to #10. Texas plummets nine to #11, Oregon falls four to #12, Alabama jumps four to #13. Clemson fall three to #14, Rutgers climbs four to #15. Miami falls six to #16, Pittsburgh jumps three to #17, Georgia Tech climbs five to #18, Vanderbilt falls five to #19 and Ohio State moves up two to #20. Stanford enters the poll at #21, Texas A&M climbs three to #22, LSU falls seven #23, and Michigan and Colorado both enter the poll at #24 and #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Arizona (from #18), Northwestern (from #21) and Arkansas (from #24). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Texas Tech (193 votes) is #26, followed by Arizona (164), Georgia (97), Illinois (62) and Kansas (26) to round out the Top 30.

In the Media poll, Notre Dame (36 first place votes) climbs one to #1, Wisconsin (24 votes) leaps five to #2, Auburn (2 votes) climbs one to #3, Oklahoma (2 votes) falls one to #4 and USC (1 vote) jumps three to #5. TCU again remains stuck at #6, Ole Miss climbs four to #7, NC State jumps five to #8, Iowa falls four to #9 and Texas falls nine to #10. Nebraska moves up four to #11, Alabama jumps five #12, Oregon falls four to #13, Pittsburgh jumps four to #14 and Vanderbilt falls three to #15. Miami falls down six to #16, Rutgers jumps three to #17, Clemson drops four to #18, Georgia Tech enters the poll at #19 and Ohio State climbs three to #20. South Carolina remains #21, while Stanford, Texas Tech, Michigan and Colorado all enter the poll this week #22 through #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were LSU (from #16), Arizona (from #18), Northwestern (from #21), Arkansas (from #24) and Michigan State (from #25). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Texas A&M (205 votes) is #26, followed by LSU (200), Arizona (113), Illinois (101) and Kansas (75) to round out the Top 30.

SmoothPancakes

01-17-2013, 12:25 AM

On a bye week this week, so lets jump right into it.

Time for another look around the nation. Starting in the Top 25, #1 Notre Dame defends their top ranking, beating #21 Stanford 55-24. One week after losing their first game, #11 Texas hands #3 Oklahoma their first loss, winning the Red River Shootout over the Sooners 31-10. #4 Wisconsin scores 17 fourth quarter points to hold on for a 38-28 win over Oklahoma State. In the shocker of the week, 2-4 Arizona State scores 17 points in the fourth quarter to stun #5 USC 24-13, handing the Trojans their first loss. #6 TCU just manages to hold off Iowa State 24-19. #8 Ole Miss holds off #22 Texas A&M 31-24 to stay undefeated. #9 Iowa holds off a comeback bid by Purdue for 24-21 win.

#10 Nebraska loses their second of the year, falling 38-19 to Michigan State After making it to 5-0, #19 Vanderbilt now loses their second in a row, falling to #13 Alabama 35-23. #14 Clemson, just two weeks ago ranked #3 in the nation, has now lost their third straight game, falling 27-24 in overtime to 3-4 Louisville. One week after knocking off #10 Miami, Virginia comes back and knocks off #18 Georgia Tech 44-28. Surprising, with them sitting at 4-3 (2-3 ACC). The same week that #25 Colorado enters the poll, they lose their first game of the year, falling 32-29 in overtime to 2-5 Cal. Kentucky gets their first win of the year, handing #23 LSU its third straight loss, 24-17.

For our readers, souljahbill, Southern Miss remains 5-1 (2-0 C-USA) with a bye week. Tulsa is up next for USM. Jaymo, what an upset! Arizona State improves to 2-4 (1-2 Pac-12) with a 24-13 win over #5 USC! Mors, West Virginia finally gets another win, improving to 2-5 (2-3 Big 12) with a 30-28 win over Kansas State. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State remains at 3-2 with a bye week.

In C-USA action, what a poor week to have to play Miami. One week after Miami loses their first game of the year and falls from the #10 ranking, UTEP goes down to Florida and gets thrashed by the Hurricanes, 49-0. Marshall is laying it's claim to the East Division this year, beating FIU 41-17. Florida Atlantic is also in the mix with a 35-19 win over UAB. Louisiana Tech beats Rice 38-28, all but eliminating the Owls from the West Division. North Texas climbs right back on my ass with a 17-10 win over UTSA. The East Division looks to be a toss up. Southern Miss is 2-0, Florida Atlantic and Marshall both 3-1 and FIU and Louisiana Tech both 2-1 with UAB in last at 1-3. Who wins the East Division this year is gonna be anyone's guess. In the West Division, I remain on top at 2-1, North Texas is again right behind me at 2-2, UTEP at 1-1, UTSA at 1-2. MTSU and Rice are both last at 0-3, essentially all but eliminated from the race.

On a national note, Kansas suffers its first loss, 42-23 to Texas Tech.

Looking at undefeated teams left, with #3 Oklahoma #5 USC, #25 Colorado and Kansas losing this week, our number of undefeated teams drops clear down to 6. #1 Notre Dame (7-0), #2 Auburn (6-0), #4 Wisconsin (6-0), #6 TCU (7-0), #7 NC State (6-0) and #8 Ole Miss (6-0) all remain with an unblemished record this season.

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

Teams getting their first win this week were: Kentucky (24-17 over 3-3 #23 LSU), New Mexico State (45-17 over FCS East) and USF (41-21 over 1-4 Tulane).

On a player/awards note, the bye week did not hurt any, Brandon Price remains fourth on the Heisman Watch list. Notre Dame QB Jordan Cooke remains first, TCU QB Andrew Schmidt jumps to second, Georgia HB Matt Blount drops to third, and Notre Dame HB Joey Owens makes an appearance on the list in fifth.

Taking a look at the new Top 25 polls, in the Coaches Poll, Notre Dame (35 first place votes) remains #1. Auburn (22 votes) remains #2. Wisconsin (3 votes) jumps one to #3, NC State (1 vote) leaps three to #4, Ole Miss jumps three to #5. TCU gets screwed again, stuck at #6, Texas climbs four to #7, Iowa moves up one to #8, Oklahoma falls six to #9 and Oregon jumps two to #10. Alabama climbs two to #11, Rutgers jumps three to #12, Miami and Pittsburgh both jump three to #13 and #14 and Nebraska falls five to #15. USC tumbles eleven to #16, Ohio State jumps three to #17, Michigan climbs six to #18, Vanderbilt remains at #19, and Michigan State enters the poll at #20. Texas Tech enters the poll at #21, Georgia Tech falls four to #22, Virginia and Georgia both enter the poll at #23 and #24 and Stanford falls four to #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Clemson (from #14), Texas A&M (from #22), LSU (from #23) and Colorado (from #25). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Texas A&M (250 votes) is #26, followed by Clemson (248), Boise State (206), Florida State (156) and Arkansas (124) to round out the Top 30.

In the Media poll, Notre Dame (42 first place votes) remains #1, Auburn (21 votes) jumps one to #2, Wisconsin (1 vote) falls one to #3, Ole Miss (1 vote) climbs three to #4 and NC State climbs three to #5. TCU remains stuck at #6, Texas jumps three to #7, Iowa moves up one to #8, Oklahoma falls five to #9 and Alabama climbs two to #10. Oregon and Pittsburgh both jump two to #11 and #12, Miami and Rutgers both jump three to #13 and #14, while USC falls ten to #15. Ohio State moves up four to #16, Nebraska falls six to #17, Vanderbilt drops three to #18, Michigan climbs five to #19 and Texas Tech climbs three to #20. Michigan State enters the poll at #21, Georgia Tech falls three to #22, Virginia enters the poll at #23, Stanford falls two to #24 and Georgia enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Clemson (from #14), South Carolina (from #21) and Colorado (from #25). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Clemson (173 votes) is #26, followed by Texas A&M (165), Arkansas (140), Boise State (131) and Illinois (69) to round out the Top 30.

The first BCS standings of the year: #1 Notre Dame (1.000), #2 Auburn (.995), #3 Wisconsin (.989), #4 Ole Miss (.981), #5 NC State (.981), #6 TCU (.973), #7 Iowa (.962), #8 Texas (.958), #9 Oregon (.949) and #10 Alabama (.946).

SmoothPancakes

01-17-2013, 03:27 AM

Game Eight

:Southern_Miss: :@: :Tulsa:

Game Notes

--- Left stunned and trying to recover after our heart breaking loss to Toledo in our last game, it wasn’t going to get any easier, as Southern Miss came to town. The Golden Eagles entered the game averaging 37 points per game behind their #42 passing attack. On defense, they were a tough group, ranked #18 in the nation for total defense, #35 in rushing defense and #24 in passing offense with a +7 turnover differential. This one was shaping up to be one hell of a battle. We won the coin toss and elected to kick.

A touchback on the opening kickoff got Southern Miss started at their 25 yard line. Frank Wagner picked up 6 yards on the ground to start the drive, but a false start on the next play quickly erased that gain, leaving the Golden Eagles with second and 9. DeMarcus Lee didn’t let that stop them, connecting with Reggie Adkins for a 15 yard gain and a first down at the 42. Another pass, this time to Dustin Fritz for 14 yards got USM to our 44 yard line. Going deep, Lee hit Fritz again, this time for a 27 yard gain, and Southern Miss had a first down at our 17 yard line. A 10 yard pass to Fritz left second and inches, before a 5 yard rush by Wagner set up first and goal at our two yard line. After an incomplete pass on first down, Lee took the ball in himself, scoring on the two yard touchdown run and giving Southern Miss a 7-0 lead with 7:13 left in the first quarter.

A 25 yard kickoff return by Brandon Price got us set up at our 29 yard line, looking for an answer. Price nearly broke loose on the first down rush, managing 12 yards before being brought down at the 41. Another rush by Price was again nearly broken loose, the safety saving the touchdown, tackling Price for a 17 yard gain to get us to the USM 43. Keeping it on the ground, Price managed three yards before being brought down by the defensive end. The first pass of the day by Brad Stephens sailed off the mark and incomplete, leaving third and 7. Max Thompson spun around to catch the pass from Stephens and headed up the sideline for a 20 yard gain, the outside linebacker stopping him from potentially taking it to the house. A quick pass to Chad Fisher went for a gain of 8 yards, before Price took it up the gut for a 7 yard gain to set up first and goal at the 5 yard line. Price took the handoff on first down, fighting forward for a two yard gain to the three yard line. Taking it off the right tackle on second down, Price was able to push forward into the end zone. Unfortunately we would not tie the game up, as Alphonso Pratt shanked the PAT, leaving the score 7-6 with 3:09 left in the first quarter.

A touchback on the kickoff started the Golden Eagles again at their 25. Wagner took the ball on first down, fighting for a one yard gain, followed by a four yard rush by Lee. Wagner kept the ball on third down, managing to pick up three yards, but it wasn’t enough, as Southern Miss was forced to punt on fourth and two from their 33. A three yard return by Price on the 49 yard punt set us up at our 20 yard line. Price was met at the line of scrimmage with a wall of defenders, falling forward for a one yard gain. A pitch left on second down ended in a catastrophe, as Price was hit for a two yard loss, the ball coming out during the play. Southern Miss recovered the fumble at our 18 yard line. We caught a massive break when the referee stopped the action, declaring the play under review. It was determined the ball came out after Price’s knee was on the ground and the call on the field was overturned. With the fumble erased, we remained in control of the ball, though left with third and 13 at our 18 yard line. A pass to Eric Hayden was complete, but not enough, gaining only 8 yards to leave us punting away on fourth and four.

A fair catch on the 46 yard punt gave Southern Miss the ball at their 27 yard line. After an incomplete pass on first down, Wagner took the ball off the left tackle, picking up 6 yards to leave third down. Wagner would convert the third down with an 8 yard rush up the middle, moving the ball out to the 41 yard line. A 13 yard pass from Lee to Rich Callahan got the Golden Eagles into our territory at our 46. The USM passing attack was working like a machine now, as Lee connected with Adkins for a 22 yard gain down to our 24 yard line as the first quarter came to an end, Southern Miss leading 7-6.

Southern Miss opened up the second quarter with a four yard rush by Wager followed by a 12 yard pass from Lee to Wagner set up first and goal at our 7 yard line. The Golden Eagles would find the end zone on the next play, as Lee hit Fritz on a comeback route for the 7 yard touchdown and a 14-6 lead with 8:41 left in the second quarter.

A touchback on the kickoff started our drive at our 25. Going into the air on first down, Hayden snatched down a ball from Stephens around the 37 yard line, breaking away from the cornerback and turning up the field, racing to the Southern Miss 45 yard line before being brought down by the safety for a 30 yard gain. A first down rush by Price gained three yards. Stephens kept the ball himself, getting a couple blocks to keep the outside linebacker and cornerback occupied, racing the middle linebacker toward the sideline and turning up the field, the diving tackle by the middle linebacker failing. Stephens then raced up the sideline before being pushed out of bounds at the 19 yard line by the safety for a 22 yard rush. Taking the handoff up the middle, Price rumbled ahead for an 11 yard gain, giving us first and goal at the 8 yard line. Price never had a chance on first down, tackled for no gain. Going to the air on second down, Stephens connected with Hayden over the middle at the two yard line, the tackle attempts by the linebacker and safety, as well as Hayden’s momentum, carrying the entire pile forward into the end zone for the 8 yard touchdown. Going for the two point conversion, Stephens found Thompson in the back of the end zone for the two points, tying the game up at 14-all with 5:49 left in the second quarter.

An 18 yard kickoff return started the next Southern Miss drive at their 15 yard line. It was a poor start as Wagner was tackled for a two yard loss, but Lee quickly made it up with a 27 yard bomb to Callahan for a first down at the 40 yard line. After throwing the ball away on first down, Wagner rushed up the middle for a 5 yard gain, leaving third and 5. The Golden Eagles would be forced to punt after the third down pass intended for Fritz fell incomplete. A 9 yard return by Price on the 42 yard punt got us started at our 21 yard line.

The Golden Eagles were starting to key to our run game, Price only able to pick up two yards on the first down carry. Coming out with play action, Stephens found Price on the wheel route for a 7 yard gain, leaving third and one. Price picked up the first down on the ground, rushing ahead for a 5 yard gain to the 36 yard line. Keeping it on the ground on the next play, there was nowhere to go as Price was swallowed up for a one yard loss. Just barely avoiding the sack, Stephens was able to hit Fisher on a comeback route for a 24 yard gain and a first down at the USM 41. Another rush by Price turned from no gain into a 5 yard rush as Price kept the legs driving. The second down pass intended for Price was nearly intercepted, leaving us third and 5, the clock stopped with 1:17 to go. A pass to Thompson on the out route gained 14 yards and a first down at the 23 yard line, keeping the drive moving. The first down pass to Ray Smith was nearly intercepted, leaving second down. The second down pass, intended for Fisher, was also nearly intercepted, leaving third down and the defense ready and waiting for another pass attempt. A pass intended for Fisher up the right sideline was also nearly intercepted, as the safety jumped the pass, deflecting the ball incomplete. The 40 yard field goal attempt by Pratt was no good, leaving the score tied with 53 seconds to play in the half.

Southern Miss came out passing, Lee finding Fritz for a 7 yard gain, the Golden Eagles calling their first timeout to stop the clock with 48 seconds. A 34 yard pass gave USM a first down at our 36 yard line, looking for a quick strike before halftime. A four yard rush by Wagner got Southern Miss to our 32 yard line, their second timeout stopping play with 36 seconds. Our defense chose a wonderful time to help out, getting flagged for pass interference, the 15 free yards giving Southern Miss a first down at our 17 yard line with 30 seconds to go. Wagner took the ball around the right tackle for a 5 yard gain, before Lee hit Callahan in the back of the end zone for the 12 yard touchdown pass and a 21-14 lead with 15 seconds remaining in the half. Starting on our 25 yard line after the touchback, a three yard rush by Price would bring the half to an end, Southern Miss leading 21-14.

No return on the kickoff to open the second half got our offense underway from our 25 yard line and looking for the equalizer. Price took the handoff on first down, picking up four yards on the play. Price was slow to get up after the play and was helped to the sideline. The injury report from the staff saying that he suffered a bruised sternum and would be out for at least a couple plays, if not the rest of the drive. Taking over the rushing duties, Smith only managed gains of two and one yards on the next two plays, leaving us punting away on fourth and four with our running attack now diminished. A fair catch on the 50 yard punt left Southern Miss on their 18 yard line. Wagner started the drive with rushes of 6 and 9 yards out to the 33. After an incomplete pass on first down, Lee found Fritz for a 14 yard gain to the 48. The drive would thankfully stall out there, as Wagner dropped a pass on first down and the second down pass sailed incomplete, and Lee could only manage three yards on the third down scramble, leaving the punt team coming out on fourth and 7.

The punt sailed 49 yards, landing inside the 5 yard line and bouncing its way into the end zone for a touchback, leaving us starting at our 20 yard line. Hope returned for our running game, as Price came back out onto the field. Price proved that hope true as he broke open a first down run for an 11 yard gain to the 31. Price was able to pick up three yard on first down, the defense starting to cheat run. Running play action on second down, the defense was ready for it, covering all receivers and Stephens only just able to let the ball fly into the ground as he was hit from behind by the blitzing safety. Hayden hauled in the third down pass from Stephens, fighting his way through the tackle attempt by the linebacker and falling forward for an 8 yard gain, just getting us the first down. Taking a shot deep down the right sideline, Stephens connected with Fisher for a 34 yard gain to the USM 23 yard line. But there was controversy about whether Fisher got a foot in-bounds forcing a challenge by the officials. Unfortunately, the replay showed his heel going out of bounds while turning to make the catch, and the call was overturned, leaving us second and 10 at the 43. A pass over the middle to Randy Newman went for a gain of 7 yards, leaving third and three at midfield. We ended up going backwards, unable to get the play off in time, flagged for delay of game, leaving us with third and 8. The pass over the middle to Hayden wasn’t enough, only gaining 6 yards to leave fourth and two at the USM 49. Taking the gamble and going for it, Price sprinted through the gap for a 10 yard gain, and then some, as the safety, A.J. Fenton, was flagged for a facemask penalty, the 15 extra yards giving us a first down at the Southern Miss 24 yard line. Taking it up the middle on first down, Price rumbled ahead for an 11 yard gain down to the 13. Price never had a chance on the first down carry, tackled for no gain to leave second down. The quick throw to Fisher on a slant route was incomplete, the safety knocking the ball loose before Fisher could take possession. The third down pass to Newman was jumped by both the middle linebacker and outside linebacker, both trying to make a play on the ball the only thing keeping it from being intercepted, and we were left with fourth down. The 29 yard field goal by Pratt was good, cutting the Southern Miss lead to 21-17 with 1:10 left in the third quarter.

A touchback on the kickoff gave Southern Miss possession at their 25 yard line. A pair of rushes by Wagner for four and 6 yards gave the Golden Eagles a quick first down. Another 6 yard rush by Wagner and an incomplete pass left Southern Miss with third and four at the 41 yard line. The Golden Eagles wouldn’t be able to extend their lead, the third down pass dropped by Adkins and the punt team coming out on fourth down. A fair catch on the 47 yard punt gave us the ball at our 11 yard line, just four seconds left in the quarter. Price fought his way forward for an 8 yard gain, the third quarter coming to an end after the play, Southern Miss leading 21-17.

Opening up the fourth quarter, we took a shot deep at Fisher, the cornerback able to jump in front of the ball and knock it down, avoiding what would have been a large gain as Fisher had been able to beat him off the line. Price was able to scurry his way over the first down line with a 6 yard gain to the 26 yard line. Stephens tried to connect with Price on the smash route, but Fisher inadvertently broke up the play, moving in front the ball and getting hit in the back by the pass, leaving second down. A pass to Fisher on the next play gained 5 yards, leaving us third and 5. Thompson would keep our drive alive, hauling in the pass from Stephens just beyond the outstretched arms of the outside linebacker for a 14 yard gain and a first down at the 44 yard line. A deep bomb to Price went for a gain of 39 yards, pushed out of bounds at the 17 yard line, and we were in striking position. The first down pass to Newman was complete, Newman fighting forward for extra yards after a 7 yard gain. That extra fighting would cost us dearly as the defense stripped the ball out of Newman’s arms, defensive end JaredWright recovering the fumble and returning it 5 yards out to the 15 yard line for Southern Miss, ending the scoring threat and giving the Golden Eagles possession with 7:40 to play.

The defense was able to tackle Lee for a two yard loss on first down, but the positives were short lived, as Scott Johnson and Wagner combined for a pair of 7 yard runs to get the first down at the 27 yard line. A 6 yard rush by Wagner was followed with a 5 yard rush by Lee to the 39. Lee connected with Wagner for a 7 yard pass, followed by a three yard rush by Wagner to pick up the first down at the 49 yard line and keep the clock moving. After a 5 yard pass to Corey Powers, the defense would finally stand up, forcing an incomplete pass and allowing only a one yards gain on a third down pass to Adkins, leaving fourth and four at the 45. The punt sailed into the end zone for a touchback, giving us the ball on our 20 yard line with 5:25 to play. Not bothering to waste any more time with the ground game, Stephens found Fisher along the right hash for a 10 yard gain to leave second and inches. The pass to Newman went for three yards to get the first down. Avoiding the sack, Stephens found Thompson along the left sideline for an 18 yard gain out to the Southern Miss 48 yard line. We would find the end zone on the next play, the cornerback overrunning Fisher on a short comeback route, Fisher than both juking away from the safety, as well as the safety getting picked up in a block by Price, allowing Fisher to take it 48 yards to the house for the 24-21 lead with 4:28 to play.

A touchback on the kickoff left Southern Miss starting on their 25 yard line and looking to retake the lead. After a four yard rush by Lee, he went into the air and found Callahan for a 12 yard gain to the 41. Two straight incomplete passes and a 5 yard completion to Fritz left the Golden Eagles with fourth and 5 at their 46 yard line. Southern Miss would go for it on fourth down, the pass intended for Powers sailing incomplete, turning the ball over on downs at their 46 yard line, 3:26 left in the game. Price took the ball on first down, only able to gain one yard as the clock was set in motion. Price took a pitch to the right, finding nowhere to go, driven backwards for a 6 yard loss leaving third and 15 at the 49 yard line. Trying to go into the air, Stephens never had a chance, forced to instantly scramble before being tripped up for a two yard loss, leaving us punting on fourth and 17 with 2:16 to play. The punt sailed into the for a touchback and Southern Miss started at their 20 yard line.

Wagner was tackled for a two yard loss on the first down carry, followed by an incomplete pass to leave third and 12. The defense would give Southern Miss a free first down, flagged for pass interference to move the ball out to the 33 yard line. The defense toughened up after that, sacking Lee for a three yard loss. The Golden Eagles would go quietly though, as Lee hit Callahan for a 26 yard gain and first down at our 45 yard line. After a four yard rush by Lee, he found Callahan again, this time for 16 yards to set up a first down at our 25 yard line, the clock down to 1:09 to play. After two incomplete passes, Lee hit Adkins over the middle for a 12 yard gain, giving Southern Miss a first down at our 13 yard line, their second timeout stopping the clock with 51 seconds to go. After a dropped pass, Lee hit Fritz down the right sideline for the 13 yard touchdown pass, and Southern Miss took the 28-24 lead with 42 seconds left in the game.

No return on the kickoff left us on our 25 yard line and only 34 seconds to play. Price gave us some hope, hauling in a 23 yard pass from Stephens to give us a first down at the 48 yard line, our first timeout stopping the clock with 27 seconds to play. The first down pass to Fisher only managed to gain 8 yards as the cornerback Danny Walker quickly broke down into Fisher, but a mistake during the tackle would cost dearly, as Walker was flagged for a facemask penalty, the 15 extra yards giving us a first down at the USM 30 yard line with 23 seconds to play. The first down pass to Thompson was completed for 15 yards, giving us first down at the Southern Miss 15 yard line, but unable to get the organized, we were forced to burn out second timeout to stop the clock with 18 seconds to go. A pass to Newman gained 5 yards down to the 10 yard line, Newman fighting his way to the sideline and out of bounds to stop the clock with 14 seconds to play. Forced to dump off the ball to avoid a sack, the pass from Stephens to Smith went for no gain, and we were forced to burn out final timeout with 8 seconds to go. Forced to scramble for his life, Stephens was chased all the way to the sideline, shoved out of bounds for a 7 yard loss before he could even try to throw the ball away, leaving us fourth and 11 at the 16 yard line, only two seconds left on the clock. The entire game came down to this play. With no one able to get open, Stephens was forced to scramble and took off running for the end zone. He wouldn’t make it though as the safety came crashing down from the goal line, tackling him at the 11 yard line for a gain of only 5 yards. With that, the game came to an end as Southern Miss pulled out the 28-24 win.
Hay

With the loss, we fall to 4-4, 2-2 in C-USA action. With the win, Southern Miss improves to 6-1, 3-0 in C-USA play. Up next, we hit the road to take on MTSU, who enters the game 2-5, 0-4 in C-USA action. The Blue Raiders started the year with a 35-14 win over FCS Northwest, before upsetting Minnesota on the road 27-21. After that it was five straight losses, 44-24 to Marshall, 23-14 at UAB, 35-26 at FAU, 37-20 at Maryland and 30-10 at UTEP heading into their game with us.

Final Score
:Southern_Miss: 28, :Tulsa: 24

Stat(s) of the Game:
- Tulsa Offense – A good day for Stephens, ending 24-36 for 336 yards and two touchdowns. Price had a bit of a down day, but was still the leading rusher, ending with 118 yards and one touchdown on 26 carries. Receiving, 6 players caught a ball today, 5 of them catching at least three. Fisher led the way with 103 yard receiving and one touchdown on 6 receptions.

- Tulsa Defense – Pretty much got bowled over today. Didn't let Southern Miss get anything in the third quarter, but when the Golden Eagles did score, they pretty much had no trouble doing so, driving right down the field on us.

- Tulsa Kicking – A poor day for Pratt. 1-2 in field goals, missing on a 40 yard attempt, and then going 1-2 in PATs.

Scoring Summary

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

:Southern_Miss:
7
14
0
7
28

:Tulsa:
6
8
3
7
24

Time
Team
Result
Play
Score

First Quarter

7:13
:Southern_Miss:
Touchdown
D. Lee, 2 yard run (W. Alston kick)
:Southern_Miss: 7-0

3:09
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
B. Price, 4 yard run (missed kick)
:Southern_Miss: 7-6

Second Quarter

8:41
:Southern_Miss:
Touchdown
D. Fritz, 7 yard pass from D. Lee (W. Alston kick)
:Southern_Miss: 14-6

5:49
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
E. Hayden, 8 yard pass from B. Stephens (2-point conversion good)
TIED 14-14

0:15
:Southern_Miss:
Touchdown
R. Callahan, 12 yard pass from D. Lee (W. Alston kick)
:Southern_Miss: 21-14

Third Quarter

1:10
:Tulsa:
Field Goal
A. Pratt, 29 yard field goal
:Southern_Miss: 21-17

Fourth Quarter

4:28
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
C. Fisher, 48 yard pass form B. Stephens (A. Pratt kick)
:Tulsa: 24-21

0:42
:Southern_Miss:
Touchdown
D. Fritz, 12 yard pass from D. Lee (W. Alston kick)
:Southern_Miss: 28-24

Game Stats

Southern Miss
Stat
Tulsa

28
Score
24

22
First Downs
24

428
Total Offense
475

28 - 117 - 1
Rushes - Yards - TD
32 - 139 - 1

22 - 39 - 3
Comp - Att - TD
24 - 36 - 2

311
Passing Yards
336

1
Times Sacked
1

3 - 9 (33%)
3rd Down Conversion
7 - 14 (50%)

0 - 1 (0%)
4th Down Conversion
1 - 2 (50%)

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

7 - 4 - 0 (57%)
Red Zone - TD - FG
7 - 2 - 1 (42%)

0
Turnovers
1

0
Fumbles Lost
1

0
Intercepted
0

10
Punt Return Yards
12

18
Kick Return Yards
25

456
Total Yards
512

5 – 46.8
Punts - Average
3 - 47.0

3 - 35
Penalties
4 - 47

16:18
Time of Possession
19:42

Tulsa Contract Goals Update

Fail Impact
Goal
Progress
Pass Impact

:6redarrow:
21+ points per game in each season
26
:6greenarrow:

Win 10 games in one season
4
:6greenarrow:

3300+ passing yards each season
1875
:5greenarrow:

:6redarrow:
65% pass completions over the entire contract
61%
:5greenarrow:

:5redarrow:
Win 6 games in one season
4
:5greenarrow:

:6redarrow:
15+ rushing TD in each season
14
:5greenarrow:

:4redarrow:
3200+ total offensive yards each season
1/4 Completed
:3greenarrow:

:5redarrow:
3400+ total offensive yards each season
3347

:2greenarrow:

Job Security Status

42%

SmoothPancakes

01-17-2013, 03:28 AM

All I can say, is thank God, those fuckers Lee, Fritz and Adkins are all seniors and graduating after this year. I hate that goddamn unstoppable passing attack of Southern Miss. :smh:

SmoothPancakes

01-17-2013, 04:34 AM

Time for another look around the nation. Starting in the Top 25, #1 Notre Dame remains on top for at least another week, beating Central Michigan 56-21. The game of the week goes to #2 Auburn, who scores two unanswered touchdowns to beat #5 Ole Miss 31-17. Unranked Northwestern (6-1) makes their push to get back in the Top 25, knocking off #3 Wisconsin in dominating fashion, 41-16. Let the upsets continue, as Clemson scores a touchdown with 1:08 left in the game to knock off #4 NC State 38-31. #6 TCU had to put up a slew of points in the second half, but hold on to beat Kansas State 41-28.

#13 Miami escapes with a 31-29 win over Florida State. #16 USC is going for a tumble, losing to Utah 35-28 after the Utes score 15 unanswered points in the fourth quarter. The battle of Michigan goes to Sparty, as #20 Michigan State takes down #18 Michigan 42-31. #22 Georgia Tech knocks off #14 Pittsburgh 28-21. #19 Vanderbilt loses their third straight game, falling to South Carolina 34-23. And #21 Texas Tech narrowly avoids getting upset, holding off Duke 24-23.

For our readers, souljahbill, obviously, Southern Miss improves to 6-1 (3-0 C-USA) with their win over Tulsa. Jaymo, Arizona State drops to 2-5 (1-3 Pac-12) losing 42-37 to Washington. Mors, West Virginia stayed at 2-5 (2-3 Big 12) with a bye week. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State improves to 4-2 (1-0 Sun Belt) with a 17-13 win over Army.

In C-USA action, North Texas gets shellacked by Louisiana-Lafayette 55-0. UTEP beats MTSU 30-10, UTSA takes down Florida Atlantic 21-6 and FIU tops Louisiana Tech 24-9 The East Division is a little clearer but still a toss-up. Southern Miss sits on top at 3-0, FIU and Marshall right behind at 3-1. Trailing is FAU (3-2) and Louisiana Tech (2-2). UAB (1-3) is all but eliminated. In the West Division, UTEP takes over first place at 2-1. Tulsa, North Texas and UTSA all sit tied for second at 2-2. Rice (0-3) still has an outside chance, MTSU (0-4) is pretty much eliminated.

Looking at undefeated teams left, with #3 Wisconsin, #4 NC State and #5 Ole Miss losing this week, our number of undefeated teams drops down to 3. #1 Notre Dame (8-0), #2 Auburn (7-0) and #6 TCU (8-0) are all that remain with an unblemished record this season.

Turning to a more sadistic watch, who is still winless. There remains 2 teams still looking for their first win: Central Michigan (0-7) and Memphis (0-7).

Teams getting their first win this week were: Western Kentucky (31-14 over 3-3 Troy).

On a player/awards note, the small numbers against Southern Miss ends up hurting Brandon Price, dropping him to fifth on the Heisman Watch list. Notre Dame QB Jordan Cooke is first, TCU QB Andrew Schmidt is second, Georgia HB Matt Blount third, and North Carolina HB Caleb Davis jumps to fourth.

Taking a look at the new Top 25 polls, in the Coaches Poll, Auburn (32 first place votes) jumps one to #1, Notre Dame (28 votes) falls one to #2, TCU (1 vote), after weeks of being stuck in the same spot, finally moves up three to #3, Texas jumps three to #4 and Iowa moves up three to #5. Oklahoma and Oregon both jump three to #6 and #7, Ole Miss falls three to #8, Alabama moves up two to #9 and NC State falls six to #10. Rutgers climbed one to #11, Wisconsin falls nine to #12, Miami stayed in place at #13, Nebraska moved up one to #14 and Ohio State jumped two to #15. Michigan State climbs four to #16, Georgia Tech jump five to #17, Pittsburgh falls four to #18, Texas Tech jumps two to #19 and Northwestern enters the poll at #20. Clemson reenters the poll at #21, Virginia, Georgia and Stanford all climb one to #22, #23 and #24. And Texas A&M enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were USC (from #16), Michigan (from #18) and Vanderbilt (from #19). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Michigan (268 votes) is #26, followed by USC, (265), Boise State (226), Vanderbilt (121) and Florida State (23) to round out the Top 30.

In the Media poll, Auburn (42 first place votes) jumps one spot to #1, Notre Dame (22 votes) falls one to #2, TCU (1 vote) climbs three to #3, Texas and Iowa both climb three to #4 and #5. Oklahoma climbs three to #6, Ole Miss falls three to #7, Alabama and Oregon both move up two #8 and #9 and NC State falls five to #10. Wisconsin tumbles eight to #11, Miami and Rutgers move up one to #12 and #13, Ohio State jumps two to #14 and Clemson reenters the poll at #15. Nebraska climbs one to #16, Georgia Tech jumps five to #17, Northwestern reenters the poll at #18, Michigan State jumps two to #19 and Pittsburgh fall eight to #20. Texas Tech drops one to #21, Virginia, Stanford and Georgia all move up one to #22, #23 and #24, and USC falls ten spots to #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Michigan (from #18) and Vanderbilt (from #19). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Texas A&M (295 votes) is #26, followed by South Carolina (279), Michigan (268), Vanderbilt (250) and Boise State (245) to round out the Top 30. Other teams getting votes include Arizona (90), Air Force (79), Florida State (48) and BYU (41).

Looking at the new BCS standings: #1 Auburn (1.000), #2 Notre Dame (.995), #3 TCU (.989), #4 Texas (.984), #5 Iowa (.978), #6 Oklahoma (.973), #7 Ole Miss (.965), #8 Oregon (.962), #9 Alabama (.959) and #10 Wisconsin (.942).

SmoothPancakes

01-17-2013, 04:36 AM

And that will do it for me for now. Along with it being time to hit the sack, two losses in one night is more than enough for me to call it a night. I've already got all the recruiting for week 10 done, so I'll probably hit up the MTSU game sometime in the evening after I get home from work, most likely after 8 or 9pm.

morsdraconis

01-17-2013, 04:47 AM

Wow man. TOUGH season for ya. :(

SmoothPancakes

01-17-2013, 05:01 AM

Wow man. TOUGH season for ya. :(

Yeah. :( I knew it was gonna be. Losing Booth and Fletcher to graduation already hurt. Then having Casey Bishop go down in week one, ugh. Unfortunately, for the past however many weeks, Bishop is still listed on the injury report, he was questionable, now he's listed as probable, though I'll probably wait until he's at absolute 100% before bringing him back. Stephens has made some big strides the last couple weeks, and I don't want to yank him out and throw in a, maybe, 90-95% Bishop in his place. Still playing for a bowl game though and still in the middle of the fight for the West Division title, so all is not lost. Just not gonna be a double digit win season. Still should be a respectable year in the end, especially with the likes of 2-5 MTSU, 1-5 Rice and 3-4 UTSA coming up in the next couple weeks.

SmoothPancakes

01-17-2013, 05:10 AM

Now that the 8,000th post has been made elsewhere and is out of the way, back to the dynasty, I also have just added a new table to the front page in my Coach Statistics post. Now, to go along with Coach Win-Loss Records, Coach Milestones and Coach Career Win-Loss vs. Opponent, I have added the brand new table of Coach Career Win-Loss vs. Conference.

So now I can see how I stack up against the competition from conference to conference. For instance, after adding all the numbers and games together, realizing I'm 2-0 vs. the Mountain West, 2-0 vs. the ACC (both wins against Duke) and 5-1 vs. the MAC (the only loss being this season to Toledo). I've also never played an Independent team, and have yet to play a team from the SEC.

So some interesting comparisons there that I'll now be updating with each game along with the rest of the tables in those first couple posts.

SmoothPancakes

01-17-2013, 05:14 AM

Wow man. TOUGH season for ya. :(

Also, I'll say this, I'm not too upset about Southern Miss. Yeah, it sucks them scoring at the end to pull out the win like that, but looking at the Team Stats after the game, goddamn, we were nearly a reflection of each other in the stats. Southern Miss played probably the closest damn game statistically in my entire time at Tulsa. It was truly a back and forth game between, essentially, two dead equal teams. So I can't be too upset, because they pretty much just straight up beat me and were right there equal to me statistically. It wasn't, like some of my other games, a loss where fuck ups by the offense and defense lost it for us and while I was statistically the superior team. Southern Miss just plain did what they had to do to and put up the yards needed to pull out the win. So I hand it to the Golden Eagles for that. They earned that win.

JeffHCross

01-17-2013, 07:15 AM

That's what you get for scheduling Ohio teams!

SmoothPancakes

01-17-2013, 07:26 AM

That's what you get for scheduling Ohio teams!

Yeah, yeah. :glare:

SmoothPancakes

01-17-2013, 07:29 AM

I will say, what a bitch my four losses have been. Lost to Ohio State by 2, to North Texas by 4, to Toledo by 2 and to Southern Miss by 4. Talk about harsh.

souljahbill

01-18-2013, 06:15 AM

So, although I'll always root for real people over virtual teams, there is a small amount of satisfaction/pride in knowing :Southern_Miss: won. :)

SmoothPancakes

01-18-2013, 06:46 AM

So, although I'll always root for real people over virtual teams, there is a small amount of satisfaction/pride in knowing :Southern_Miss: won. :)

:D I was wondering when you'd make an appearance after that game.

Like I said in one of my posts above, I'll hand it to Southern Miss, they beat me straight up. The team stats were almost a mirror of each other, so they matched me play for play, yard for yard, score for score, and did what they had to do to pull it out at the end. I can't be upset about it. Ohio State, North Texas, Toledo, yeah, those games pissed me off because we shot ourselves in the foot multiple times in all three of those games. Southern Miss, they got the job done slightly better than I did.

So my hat's off to the Golden Eagles, and I hope I can somehow pull out this West Division title, and Southern Miss holds on for the East Division, so we can have a C-USA Championship game rematch to look forward to. Between the two regular season games our teams have played, as well as last year's insane C-USA CCG, another CCG rematch this season would already be guaranteed to end up being a completely insane game like the last three have been.

SmoothPancakes

01-18-2013, 07:41 AM

Game Nine

:Tulsa: :@: :MTSU:

Game Notes

--- Reeling from back to back losses, it was onto the road to take on the Blue Raiders of MTSU, hoping to right the ship and stay in the West Division race. We would have a good shot of doing that, as MTSU entered ranked #111 in total offense, #112 in pass offense and #79 in rush offense. Ranked in the mid-60s for total, passing and rushing defense, hopefully our offense would be able to find a rhythm against the Blue Raiders. MTSU won the coin toss and elected to kick.

A touchback on the opening kickoff got our offense started at our 25 yard line. A first down rush by Brandon Price picked up 6 yards. Keeping the ball on second down, Price was able to fight his way ahead for a 5 yard gain and the first down at the 35. Continuing on the ground, an off tackle rush by Price went for a gain of 15 yards thanks to some big blocks, getting us across to the MTSU 49 yard line. Pushing his way through a tackle, Price picked up another first down, finding 11 yards on the ground to get to the 39. The play however ended badly, as Price didn’t get up afterwards, helped off the field by the trainers. The diagnosis was a dislocated thumb, leaving Price sidelined for a bit. The defense finally managed to slow down our run game, tackling Roy Smith for a one yard gain on first down. Coming out with play action, Brad Stephens launched a pass downfield to Donny Jordan for a 16 yard gain to give us first down at the 21. A pair of rushes by Smith went for gains of 9 and four yards to give us first and goal at the 9 yard line. Smith took the ball on first down, managing only two yards to the 7. A second down pass to Eric Hayden was complete for a four yard gain, leaving third and goal at the three yard line. We’d find the end zone on the next play, as Stephens lobbed the ball over the linemen to Smith for the three yard touchdown pass and a 7-0 lead with 3:16 left in the first quarter.

MTSU started their offensive drive at their 25 after the touchback. It was a quick start for the offense, as Trevor Mendoza hit Chad Payne for an 18 yard gain to the 43 yard line. A 5 yard pass to Jeremy Gates got the Blue Raiders close to midfield, but their drive would end there, as safety Darnell Turner intercepted a pass from Mendoza, giving us the ball at our 47 yard line with 2:36 remaining in the quarter. Back on the field after his injury, Price was stood up at the line no gain on the first down carry. A second down pass to Chad Fisher was thrown on target, but a hard hit by the safety jarred the ball loose and incomplete. A failed coverage assignment by the cornerback allowed Fisher to get open down the right sideline, hauling in a poorly thrown pass from Stephens for a 26 yard gain, just before momentum carried him out of bounds, giving us first down at the MTSU 26 yard line. The first down pass intended for Max Thompson was played by the cornerback, and nearly intercepted, leaving second down. The second down pass intended for Nicholas Roberts sailed long and off target, Stephens hit as he was releasing the ball. A dropped pass by Hayden over the middle would leave us kicking a field goal. The 43 yard kick by Alphonso Pratt was good, extending our lead to 10-0 with 1:10 left in the first quarter.

A touchback on the kickoff left MTSU at their 25 yard line. The Blue Raiders started through the air, as Mendoza connected with Payne for a 6 yard gain, followed by a 19 yard pass to Payne for a first down at the 50 yard line. An 8 yard rush by Payne was followed with a two yard pass to Tom Richardson, leaving MTSU with third and inches at our 40. They would keep the drive moving, Mendoza finding Richardson again, this time for 11 yards to our 29 as the first quarter came to an end, our lead at 10-0.

Opening up the second quarter, after two incomplete passes, the Blue Raiders converted third down as Mendoza hit Richardson again for 21 yards, giving first and goal at our 7 yard line. Mendoza tried to keep the ball himself, but was tackled for a loss of three yards, leaving second and goal at the 10. An 8 yard rush by Payne got the Blue Raiders down to our three yard line with third and goal. They would punch it in on the next play, Payne driving up the middle for the three yard touchdown rush, cutting our lead to 10-7 with 7:59 left in the second quarter.

A 20 yard kickoff return by Fisher got us started on our next drive at our 21 yard line. Price took the ball on first down, picking up 9 yards, before fighting his way across the line of scrimmage for two yards and a first down at the 33 yard line. Keeping the ball himself, Stephens was only able to pick up one yard as the safety came sprinting up to meet him. A pitch right likewise resulted in little gain, Price getting spun around and falling backwards into the pile of bodies for a three yard gain to leave third and 6. We were able to keep the drive breathing, Stephens connected with Hayden for a 15 yard gain to the MTSU 49 yard line. After a 6 yard pass to Hayden get us down to the 43, Stephens kept the ball himself, running for what would have been a first down, before the ball was stripped loose, middle linebacker Jeremiah Wilson recovering the fumble for MTSU and returning it 14 yard to our 49 yard line with 4:46 to play in the first half.

Mendoza went into the air on first down, connecting with Gates for a 5 yard gain, but two incomplete passes would thankfully kill the drive. Punting away on fourth and 5 from our 45 yard line, the ball sailed into the end zone for a touchback, giving us possession at our 20 yard line with 4:16 remaining, no damage suffered from the turnover. Breaking up the middle, Price picked up 10 yards to get a quick first down. Another rush picked up 11 yards to get us out to our 41. A quick pass to Hayden gained 12 yards and got us across midfield to the MTSU 47 yard line. The defense came charging in on first down, sacking Stephens for a four yard loss to leave second and 14. A pass to Roberts was initially caught, but knocked loose by the cornerback to force the incompletion. Thompson kept us moving, grabbing a pass from Stephens for a gain of 18 yard yards and a first down at the 32 yard line. Fisher came through huge for us on the next play, catching a pass over the middle and avoiding the diving tackle by the linebacker, racing all the way down to the one yard line before getting tackled by the safety, a 32 yard gain, to leave first and goal inside the one yard line. Price was unable to punch it in on first down, getting stood up at the line of scrimmage, again remaining on the field after the play with an injury. It was worse news this time, as it was revealed that Price had broken his collarbone, ending his season and his career, and killing any hopes of a Heisman trophy. Smith would get the job done on second down, falling forward through a tackle attempt by the middle linebacker to score the one yard touchdown and open our lead to 17-7 with 47 seconds left in the half.

A touchback on the kickoff started MTSU on their 25 yard line with 39 seconds to go. The drive started with promise as Mendoza found Barrett Washington for a 12 yard gain to the 37. It would crash to an end however as middle linebacker Keith Battle intercepted Mendoza’s pass on first down, returning it 15 yards to the MTSU 23 yard line with 26 seconds on the clock. A quick pass over the middle to Fisher gained 10 yards down to the 13 yard line, our first timeout stopping the clock with 22 seconds. A pass to Hayden went for a gain of 12 yards, giving us first and goal at the one yard line, our second timeout stopping the clock with 18 seconds remaining. Smith would shake off a tackle attempt by the middle linebacker and drive into the end zone for the one yard touchdown rush and a 24-7 lead with 16 seconds to go. A 24 yard kickoff return gave MTSU the ball at their 24 yard line with four seconds remaining. The Blue Raiders would raise the white flag on the first half, Payne rushing ahead for a three yard gain to bring the second quarter to an end, our halftime lead at 24-7.

Opening up the third quarter, Lance Mills returned the kickoff 21 yards out to the 26 yard line for the MTSU offense. After giving up two touchdowns in a 30 second span to end the first half, the Blue Raiders were looking for any sort of a response to get back into this game. Mendoza came out firing, throwing an incomplete pass before connecting with Edward Walker for a 12 yard gain. After another incomplete pass, Mendoza hit Washington for 7 yards to leave third and three. A dropped ball by Payne would end the drive on fourth and three from the 45, the punt team coming out. A 9 yard return by Fisher on the 43 yard punt got us started at our 21. A first down carry by Smith only gained two yards, the Blue Raiders ready for our run game. A play action pass on first down was batted incomplete, leaving third and 8. The third down pass intended for Hayden was broken up, nearly intercepted by the outside linebacker, and we were forced to punt the ball back. A four yard return on the 44 yard punt got MTSU started at their 37 yard line. It turned out to be a drive to nowhere for the Blue Raiders, as two dropped passes gave way to a sack for a loss of 8 yards, and the MTSU punt team came out on fourth and 18.

An 8 yard return on the 49 yard punt set our offense up at our 29 yard line, looking to get a drive going this time. Smith never had a chance on first down, tackled for no gain by the middle linebacker. Stephens kept the ball himself on second down, but only managed to pick up two yards as the cornerback quickly collapsed down on the play and forced Stephens inside to the linebackers. Taking a shot deep, the third down pass intended for Fisher was batted incomplete, leaving us punting once again. A fair catch on the 44 yard punt left MTSU at their 24 yard line to start. With our offense suddenly stuck in mud after losing Price to injury, our defense at least was continuing to come through, tackling Payne for a loss of two yards, followed by two incomplete passes that forced MTSU to punt the ball away yet again. A three yard return by Fisher on the 46 yard punt got our offense started at our 34 yard line. Smith finally started to find his stride this drive, rushing ahead for a gain of 10 yards, leaving second and inches. Smith would put his mark on the game, rushing up the middle, breaking through a tackle by the middle linebacker, bouncing outside and outracing both safeties and the cornerback to the house for the 56 yard touchdown rush, his third touchdown of the game, and a 31-7 lead with 3:53 to play.

A touchback on the kickoff left MTSU at their 25 yard line and hopes of a comeback quickly fading. After an incomplete pass to start the drive, Mendoza was able to find Richardson over the middle for an 11 yard gain out to the 36. Keeping in the air, Mendoza found Gates on first down for a gain of 5 yards, but two incomplete passes would cut the drive short, as MTSU punted away on fourth and 5. A fair catch on the 47 yard punt left us starting from our 12 yard line on our next drive. Taking the handoff on first down, Smith was able to gain three yards up the middle. Keeping the ball on the ground, another three yard rush left us looking at third and four. A quick pass over the middle to Jordan went for a gain of 7 yards and picked up the first down at the 25 yard line. Smith never had a chance on the first down rush, the middle linebacker blowing up the play for a loss of one yard. Keeping the ball himself, Stephens was chased all the way to a sideline, managing to gain 8 yards to set up third and three. That would be the final play of the third quarter as the clock hit all zeroes, our leading holding at 31-7.

Starting the fourth quarter looking at third and three from the 32, the third down pass intended for Fisher hit him in the hands, but was broken up by the safety and left us punting away. A three yard return on the 53 yard punt gave MTSU the ball at their 18 yard line. It would be another short drive for the Blue Raiders, as Payne was tackled for a two yard loss, followed by two more incomplete passes to bring the punt team out on fourth and 12. A 6 yard return by Fisher on the 48 yard punt set us up at our 42 yard line.

Smith was able to bounce outside on the first down carry for a 5 yard gain, followed by a 7 yard rush to get the first down at the 46 yard line. A 5 yard rush by Randy Newman was followed with a one yard gain by Smith to leave third and four. Just when things couldn’t get any worse for our run game, Smith was slow getting up after the play and brought over to the sideline. It was then determined that he had suffered a mild concussion that would leave him on the bench for the remainder of the game, leaving fullback Newman to take over the rushing duties for the rest of the game. A quick pass over the middle to Fisher was completed for a big 20 yard gain, giving us a first down at the 20 yard line. A rush up the middle by Newman gained 9 yards to leave second and one, the clock ticking under 5 minutes. A two yard rush by Fisher picked up the first down, giving us first and goal at the 9 yard line. Newman took the first down carry up the middle for a two yard gain to the 7 yard line, the clock now down below four minutes. Another rush gained one yard to leave third and goal at the 6 yard line, less than three minutes to play. Newman took the handoff straight up the gut, seemingly about to punch it in for a score, but he was brought down by the middle linebacker at the one yard line for a 5 yard rush, leaving fourth and goal on the one. The 18 yard field goal by Pratt was good, extending our lead to 34-7 with 2:23 left to play.

A touchback left the MTSU offense coming back onto the field at their 25 yard line. The Blue Raiders started with an 8 yard pass from Mendoza to Payne against our second team defense, before Payne was wrapped up for a two yard loss to leave third and four. A three yard rush by Mendoza wouldn’t be enough to save the drive, as the Blue Raiders punted away one final time on fourth and one. A 28 yard return by Fisher on the 48 yard punt left our offense starting at our 45 yard line, just 1:32 away from victory. Stephens and the offense came out to close out the game, kneeling the ball down three times to seal the 34-7 victory.

With the win, we improve to 5-4, 3-2 in C-USA action. With the loss, Middle Tennessee State drops to 2-6, 0-5 in C-USA play. Up next, our road trip takes us to Rice. The Owls enter the game 1-6, 0-4 in C-USA action. Rice opened their year with a 23-17 win over FCS Southeast, but it's been all downhill ever since. A 28-21 loss to Troy, 54-17 loss at #3 Texas, 17-10 loss to Florida Atlantic, 34-7 loss at Southern Miss, 38-28 loss at Louisiana Tech and a 31-14 loss to UTSA leave the Owls tumbling downhill into their game against Tulsa.

Final Score
:Tulsa: 34, :MTSU: 7

Stat(s) of the Game:
Tulsa Offense – Stephens had a pretty good day, going 13-22 for 180 yards passing and one touchdown. Only negative was that he committed our only turnover getting stripped while rushing with the ball in the first half. It had started off a promising day for Price, but going down with the broken collarbone, ending his collegiate career, he ended the day with only 71 yards on 11 carries. Smith would end up being the leading rusher today, ending with 105 yards and three touchdowns on 15 carries, to go along with one reception for three yards and a touchdown. Smith was directly involved on all four touchdowns we scored today. Five receivers caught a ball today, Fisher was the top target, catching four passes for 88 yards.

Tulsa Defense – Other than that one touchdown drive in the second quarter, it was nothing but shut down defense today, along with two interceptions that set up a touchdown and a field goal in the first half.

Tulsa Kicking – A perfect day by Pratt. Went 2 for 2 in field goals, kicking 44 and 18 yard field goals. Also went 4-4 in PATs.

Scoring Summary

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

:Tulsa:
10
14
7
3
34

:MTSU:
0
7
0
0
7

Time
Team
Result
Play
Score

First Quarter

3:16
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
R. Smith, 3 yard pass from B. Stephens (A. Pratt kick)
:Tulsa: 7-0

1:10
:Tulsa:
Field Goal
A. Pratt, 44 yard field goal
:Tulsa: 10-0

Second Quarter

7:59
:MTSU:
Touchdown
C. Payne, 2 yard run (M. Craig kick)
:Tulsa: 10-7

0:47
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
R. Smith, 1 yard run (A. Pratt kick)
:Tulsa: 17-7

0:16
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
R. Smith, 2 yard run (A. Pratt kick)
:Tulsa: 24-7

Third Quarter

3:53
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
R. Smith, 56 yard run (A. Pratt kick)
:Tulsa: 31-7

Fourth Quarter

2:23
:Tulsa:
Field Goal
A. Pratt, 18 yard field goal
:Tulsa: 34-7

Game Stats

Tulsa
Stat
MTSU

34
Score
7

19
First Downs
7

384
Total Offense
158

41 - 204 - 3
Rushes - Yards - TD
9 - 16 - 1

13 - 22 - 1
Comp - Att - TD
14 - 32 - 0

180
Passing Yards
142

1
Times Sacked
1

6 - 12 (50%)
3rd Down Conversion
3 - 10 (30%)

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

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

5 - 3 - 1 (80%)
Red Zone - TD - FG
4 - 1 - 0 (25%)

1
Turnovers
2

1
Fumbles Lost
0

0
Intercepted
2

54
Punt Return Yards
7

20
Kick Return Yards
45

458
Total Yards
210

3 – 47.3
Punts - Average
7 - 47.0

0 - 0
Penalties
0 - 0

23:53
Time of Possession
12:07

Tulsa Contract Goals Update

Fail Impact
Goal
Progress
Pass Impact

:6redarrow:
21+ points per game in each season
27
:6greenarrow:

Win 10 games in one season
5
:6greenarrow:

3300+ passing yards each season
2055
:5greenarrow:

:6redarrow:
65% pass completions over the entire contract
61%
:5greenarrow:

:5redarrow:
Win 6 games in one season
5
:5greenarrow:

:6redarrow:
15+ rushing TD in each season
1/4 Completed
:5greenarrow:

:4redarrow:
3200+ total offensive yards each season
1/4 Completed
:3greenarrow:

:5redarrow:
3400+ total offensive yards each season
1/4 Completed
:2greenarrow:

Job Security Status

42%

SmoothPancakes

01-18-2013, 08:03 AM

Time for another look around the nation. Starting in the Top 25, it was a short lived stay at #1 for Auburn, as 4-4 LSU shocks Auburn in overtime, 35-28, wasting a 14 point comeback Auburn had made at the end of the game just to tie it up and force the overtime period. #2 Notre Dame will reclaim their top ranking, with a 55-17 dismantling of West Virginia. #4 Texas had their hands full with Kansas State, pulling away late for the 38-20 win. #5 Iowa hands #20 Northwestern their second loss, winning 35-21. #8 Ole Miss recovers from their first loss with a 38-20 win over Arkansas.

Mississippi State improves to 6-2 and puts themselves in position to bust back into the top 25 with a 24-17 upset of #9 Alabama, knocking the Tide down to an uncharacteristic 6-3 on the year. One week after their first loss of the season, #10 NC State rebounds with a 35-26 victory over North Carolina. #11 Rutgers had a little trouble early with UMass, but eventually pulled out the 38-21 victory. In a non-conference battle, #22 Virginia shocks #12 Wisconsin in Madison, 41-34. #13 Miami picks up a 31-14 win over #18 Pittsburgh. #15 Ohio State gets taken down to the wire but pulls out a 17-14 win over Indiana. Baylor obliterates #19 Texas Tech 49-21. And #24 Stanford uses a 20-0 second half advantage to put away a spunky 1-6 San Jose State, 30-13.

For our readers, souljahbill, Southern Miss continues to stake their claim on first place in the East Division, improving to 7-1 (4-0 C-USA) with a 33-21 win over Florida Atlantic. Jaymo, Arizona State improves to 3-5 (2-3 Pac-12), knocking off 5-3 Utah 23-13. Mors, as mentioned in the Top 25 recap, West Virginia falls to 2-6 (2-3 Big 12) with a 55-17 whooping from #2 Notre Dame. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State improves to 5-2 (2-0 Sun Belt) with a 27-6 win over BYU.

In C-USA action, UTSA beats Rice 31-14, Louisiana Tech whoops UTEP 42-16, Florida International beats UAB 31-9, Southern Miss takes down Florida Atlantic 33-21, and UCF wins a non-conference game over Marshall 24-14.

With those results, looking at the current standings, in the East Division, Southern Miss (4-0) stands on top, followed by Florida International (4-1), Marshall (3-1) and Louisiana Tech (3-2). Florida Atlantic (3-3) might have an outside chance, but they're most likely eliminated, as it UAB (1-4). In the West Division, Tulsa and UTSA are both tied in first place (3-2), followed by both North Texas and UTEP (2-2). Rice (0-4) and MTSU (0-5) have both been officially eliminated.

The showdown for the East Division (technically) will take place in week 11, as Southern Miss (4-0) goes on the road to Florida International (4-1). Marshall (3-1) will try and keep pace with a road game at Florida Atlantic. If Marshall can win out the next couple weeks, they'll get their chance in week 14 with a road game at Southern Miss.

Looking at undefeated teams left, with #1 Auburn losing this week, our number of undefeated teams drops down to 2. Just #2 Notre Dame (9-0) and #3 TCU (8-0) remain with an unblemished record this season.

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

Teams getting their first win this week were: Central Michigan (35-20 over 5-3 Toledo).

On a player/awards note, goodbye any outside hope of a Heisman Trophy. With the broken collarbone sidelining Brandon Price for the rest of the season (and thus the rest of his career), Price has already disappeared off the Heisman Watch list. Notre Dame QB Jordan Cooke tops the list in first, followed by Georgia HB Matt Blount climbing up into second, TCU QB Andrew Schmidt drops to third, North Carolina HB Caleb Davis remains fourth and Rutgers HB Ben Parham making a new appearance on the list in fifth.

Taking a look at the new Top 25 polls, in the Coaches Poll, Notre Dame (34 first place votes) moves up one to retake #1, TCU (27 votes) climbs one to #2, Texas climbs one to #3, Iowa moves up one to #4 and Oklahoma jumps one to #5. Oregon and Ole Miss both climb one to #6 and #7, NC State jumps two to #8, Rutgers jumps two to #9 and Auburn falls nine to #10. Miami, Nebraska and Ohio State all jump two to #11, #12 and #13, as does Michigan State and Georgia Tech jumping two to #14 and #15. Wisconsin falls four to #16, Virginia leaps five to #17, Alabama falls nine to #18, Clemson climbs two to #19 and Georgia climbs three to #20. Mississippi State enters the poll at #21, Stanford jumps two to #22, Northwestern falls three to #23, Texas A&M climbs one to #24 and Pittsburgh falls seven to #25. Dropping out of the poll this week was Texas Tech (from #19). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, USC (256 votes) is #26, followed by Boise State (228), LSU (216), Vanderbilt (186) and Southern Miss (10) to round out the Top 30.

In the Media poll, Notre Dame (43 first place votes) climbs one to retake #1, TCU (22 votes) climbs one to #2, Texas, Iowa and Oklahoma all jump one to #3, #4 and #5. Ole Miss jumps one to #6, Oregon climbs two to #7, NC State jumps two to #8, Miami climbs three to #9 and Auburn falls nine to #10. Rutgers and Ohio State both jump two to #11 and #12, Nebraska and Georgia Tech climb three to #13 and #14, and Clemson remains stuck at #15. Wisconsin falls five to #16, Michigan State jumps two to #17, Virginia climbs four to #18, Alabama falls eleven to #19 and Mississippi State enters the poll at #20. Stanford jumps two to #21, Northwestern falls three to #22, Georgia and USC both climb one to #23 and #24, and Texas A&M enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Pittsburgh (from #18) and Texas Tech (from #19). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Pittsburgh (284 votes) is #26, followed by Vanderbilt (253), Boise State (237), LSU (176) and Arizona (175) to round out the Top 30. Three other teams are also picking up votes this week: Southern Miss (104), Texas Tech (62) and North Carolina (18)

Looking at the new BCS standings: #1 Notre Dame (1.000), #2 TCU (.995), #3 Texas (.989), #4 Iowa (.984), #5 Oklahoma (.978), #6 Oregon (.970), #7 Ole Miss (.970), #8 BC State (.956), #9 Auburn (.948) and #10 Miami (.944).

SmoothPancakes

01-18-2013, 09:30 AM

So I'm currently giving it some thought, while late in the first quarter against Rice, but I might "retire" Casey Bishop for the rest of the season. He's still sitting on the injury list as Probable from his pulled hamstring injury. After recovering from the initial time out, he spent at least three weeks, if not four, listed as questionable, and now has been probable for the last two (maybe 3?), and I wouldn't be surprised to see him still on the list next week.

There are only three games left after Rice. Sure, Casey Bishop is a better rated QB (85 OVR, 80 THP, 81 THA) than Brad Stephens (78 OVR, 83 THP, 79 THA), but it's not by much, and they're pretty much even in regards to the two throwing ratings. The big boost for Bishop comes in Awareness (89 to 64 for Stephens). Even if Bishop came back next week, it'll be his first game back since the very first game of the season, since the first or second quarter (or whenever it was) against Texas State. Meanwhile, while Stephens started out very green and very rough in those first couple games after Texas State, he has matured big time and has been more consistent in his throws than he was 6-7 weeks ago.

Bishop's stat line for 2016 reads 3-3 passing for 26 yards and one touchdown and two rushes for 5 yards. Stephens has come together very well, currently sitting at 139-233 for 2,026 yards and 10 touchdowns while throwing only two interceptions all year, while also rushing for 100 yards and a touchdown on 51 carries. Now he does suck at holding the ball, as Stephens has committed four rushing fumbles, but he has still played lights out for being a freshman in his first season on the team. With Bishop being a redshirt senior who is graduating after this season, I may very well just leave him on the bench for the rest of the year, even after he gets back to 100% and finally comes off the injury list, and stick with Stephens for the remainder of the year, let him get all those remaining snaps and hopefully use that as a springboard into next season when Stephens will be my full time starter the entire year.

SmoothPancakes

01-18-2013, 12:27 PM

Game Ten

:Tulsa: :@: :Rice:

Game Notes

--- Coming away from our dominating victory over MTSU that snapped a two game losing streak, it was time to go after a two game winning streak and clinch a bowl berth. The only thing standing in our way of our sixth victory was one-win Rice. The Owls were sliding farther and farther down with each passing week, entering on a six game losing streak. Coming into the rivalry showdown with us, it would without a doubt serve as no great way to break that losing streak than by knocking off us and winning the Battle for the Williams Trophy. With Brandon Price out for the season and he career at a conclusion with a broken collarbone last week, and Roy Smith, while skilled, by far less talented than Price, taking over the starting duties, it was all but certain we would have to rely heavily on our passing game and our defense today. That boded well for us, as Rice entered with the #122 offense in the nation, ranking #111 in rushing and #116 in passing averaging only 17 points a game and less than 156 yards rushing and passing per contest. Their defense wasn’t any better, ranked #117 in the nation, giving up 460 yards a game, while also ranking #100 in rush defense and #107 in pass defense. Hopefully our players would not get lulled into thinking it was a sure thing and avoid getting surprised like so many teams had experienced this season. We won the coin toss and elected to kick, getting the shindig underway.

It was a booming kickoff and sailed out for a touchback, and Rice started at their 25 yard line. D'Juan Gray took the ball to start the drive, rushing for a two yard gain, before the defense pushed back, tackling him for a three yard loss to leave third and 11. A one yard rush by Tim Schneider was all the Owls could manage, and the punt team came out. A fair catch on the 47 yard punt gave our offense our first possession from our 28 yard line.

Taking the ball on first down, Roy Smith rushed ahead for a 6 yard gain to leave second and four. Shaking off a tackle, Smith was able to bust up the hole for a gain of 5 and pick up the first down at the 39 yard line. Another rush by Smith went for 5 yards, before Brad Stephens kept the ball himself and rushed for four yards to leave third and one. Randy Newman took the third down handoff up the middle, gaining 7 yards for a first down at the Rice 46. A quick pass to Donny Jordan caught the defense sleeping, going for a gain of 8 yards. Punching back with the left jab, Smith took the second down handoff for a 9 yard gain around the left tackle to get the first down at the 29 yard line. Rice brought the house on first down, which only served to hurt them as Eric Hayden cut across the wide open middle, hauling in the pass and turning up the field for a 15 yard gain and a first down at the 14 yard line. After an incomplete pass on first down, Stephens hit Chad Fisher for a 10 yard gain to set up first and goal at the four yard line. Smith was tripped up on first down for no gain, leaving second and goal, before Newman took the ball and pounded it in for the four yard touchdown rush and a 7-0 lead with 2:31 left in the first quarter.

A 20 yard return on the kickoff set Rice up for their second drive at their 22 yard line. After an incomplete pass on first down, Schneider ran for a two yard gain to leave third and 8, before Gray threw to Clifton King for a 12 yard gain and a first down at the 36 yard line. After Schneider was tackled for a loss of three yards on the first down carry, Gray connected with King again for 5 yards to leave third and 9. The Owls would pick up the first down and then some as Gray threw deep to Derek Carter for a 26 yard gain and a first down at our 37 yard line. After two incomplete passes, the Owls could only manage a 7 yard toss from Gray to Mark White before the drive seemed to stall out at our 30 yard line. The Owls weren’t about to settle for a field goal, and instead went for it on fourth down, Phil Morse rushing for three yards and the first down at our 26 yard line. After a one yard rush by Schneider, Gray threw to Justin Nolan for 16 yards to give Rice first and goal at our 9 yard line. That would be where the first quarter would come to a close, our lead 7-0 but in danger.

Opening up the second quarter with first and goal at our 9 yard line, Schneider took the ball for a 5 yard gain to get Rice to our four yard line. A three yard scramble by Gray left the Owls with third and goal at our one yard line. The Owls would punch it in on the next play, as Gray dove into the end zone for the one yard touchdown to tie the game up at 7-7 with 8:29 left in the second quarter.

A 19 yard kickoff return by Fisher got us underway at our 22 yard line looking for a response. After a one yard rush on first down, Smith was able to bust outside, get a block that took the cornerback out of the play, and race down the field angling toward the sideline for a 25 yard gain out to the 48 yard line before the safety was able to catch up. Newman took the ball on first down for a 9 yard gain, leaving second and one at the Rice 43, before Smith was just able to get across for a two yard gain and a first down at the 41. The first down pass intended for Fisher was broken up, leaving second down. Fisher hauled in a pass from Stephens for a gain of 6 yards, leaving third and four. The third down pass was off the mark, leaving us with fourth down. The 51 yard field goal attempt by Alphonso Pratt was no good, and Rice took over at their 34 yard line, 5:12 left in the quarter.

After a dropped pass on first down, Gray connected with Carter on second down for a 15 yard gain to get out to midfield. A 10 yard pass to White left second and inches, turning into third and inches after an incomplete pass. Gray would keep the ball himself on third down, stood up at the line of scrimmage for no gain, the Owls left with fourth and inches at our 40 yard line. They would go for it on fourth down, but the defense would again rise to the occasion, tackling Morse for no gain, holding three straight plays and refusing to give up those inches, forcing the turnover on downs and giving us the ball at our 40. A first carry by Smith gained two yards, before Stephens found Fisher for a gain of 15 and a first down at the Rice 43 yard line. Stephens was just barely able to release the ball as he was hit, the pass falling to the ground 5 yards away and incomplete. Stephens was again nearly sacked as the defense brought the house, again just barely able to let go of the ball, falling incomplete to leave third and 10. The third down pass from Stephens sailed as he was forced to quickly get rid of it to avoid the sack, the cornerback rushing up with plenty of time to bat away the lob pass incomplete, leaving fourth down at the 43 yard line. The punt sailed into the end zone for a touchback, and Rice took over at their 20.

The Owls opened their drive up with an incomplete pass on first down, before Gray was tackled for a one yard loss to leave third and 11. Gray took a chance throwing deep, our defense hawking to the ball and cornerback Jonathan Chambers intercepting the pass, giving us back possession at the Rice 24 yard line with 2:38 left in the half. Smith never had a chance on first down, as the middle linebacker blew through and tackled him for no gain. The outside linebacker batted the pass intended for Fisher incomplete, leaving third and 10. The third down pass appeared to be successful, as Smith hauled in a quick pass from Stephens around the 10 yard line, for what would have been at least a 14 yard gain, but a vicious hit by the safety jarred the ball loose and incomplete before Smith could fully take possession. That left us with fourth and 10, Pratt coming out to attempt another field goal. The 41 yard kick was good this time, and we took a 10-7 lead with 1:52 to play.

A touchback on the kickoff left Rice starting at their 25 yard line. A two yard rush by Gray and a pair of incomplete passes left the Owls going nowhere fast, a timeout by the defense stopping the clock with 1:35 left ahead of the punt. A fair catch on the 43 yard punt gave us the ball at our 29 yard line, 1:29 left on the clock and two timeouts. Stephens was finally able to get a precise pass off, hitting Thompson for an 11 yard gain to the 40 yard line. The defense then chose to help us out, outside linebacker Bryan Williams getting flagged for defensive facemask, the 15 free yards giving us a first down at the Rice 45 yard line. Stephens threw up a pass to Smith on the smash route on first down gained 22 yards down to the 23 yard line. Racing up to the line before the clock started ticking, Stephens was able to find Fisher over the middle for a 14 yard gain and first and goal at the 8 yard line, 1:15 left on the clock. Throw up a high pass to Hayden in the corner of the end zone, he came down with the pass for the 8 yard touchdown to extend our lead to 17-7 with 1:04 left in the half.

No return on the following kickoff left Rice starting from their 25, now trailing by double digits and only 55 seconds on the clock. Our pass coverage forced Gray to dump off the ball short to Nolan for a 5 yard gain, the Owls burning their first timeout with 51 seconds to go. After a dropped pass, Gray connected with Issac Hart for 21 yards to get to our 49 yard line, their second timeout stopping time with 40 seconds left. Three straight incomplete passes left Rice stuck with fourth down and 29 seconds remaining. The Owls came out showing punt, but instead tried to go for the fake pass, but our punt rush was too fast, sacking punter Darnell Roach for a three yard loss, forcing the turnover on downs with 22 yards left, ball on the Rice 47 yard line.

With two timeouts still in the bag and only 47 yards in front of us, we decided to go for the home run right now. Going for that home run quickly paid off, as a coverage failure by the defense allowed Smith to get wide open down the right sideline, hauling in the pass from Stephens for a 30 yard gain, down to the Rice 18 yard line, our second timeout stopping the clock with 17 seconds. We got some bad news after the play, as Smith came off the field with an injury, determined to be a bruised elbow that would keep out for the remainder of the half. In range to take shots into the end zone now, it was time to go for the touchdown. The first down pass into the corner of the end zone intended for Nicholas Roberts was broken up, leaving second down. We would find the end zone on the next play, as Thompson hauled in the pass from Stephens around the 8 yard line, racing the linebacker to the pylon for the 18 yard touchdown, opening our lead up to 24-7 with 8 seconds left before halftime.

A touchback on the following kickoff left Rice at their 25 yard line, just one second remaining on the clock. Schneider took the ball on first down, looking to just end the half, but even then the Owls couldn’t catch a break, as our defense stormed the backfield, tackling Schneider for a three yard loss. With that, the second quarter came to an end and we headed into halftime leading 24-7 after a late flurry of points.

Opening up the third quarter, Fisher returned the opening kickoff back 25 yards to our 24 yard line to start our next drive. Taking the ball on first down, Smith broke loose for an 11 yard gain out to the 35 yard line. Keeping the ball on the next play, Smith was stood up for no gain, leading up back into the air. The pass from Stephens intended Hayden was off the mark, sailing out of bounds as Stephens was forced to throw on the run, leaving us third and 10. The third down pass for Hayden was swatted away by the outside linebacker, and we were forced to punt away. A 10 yard return on the 46 yard punt gave Rice the ball on their 29 yard line. It was a very short drive, as two incomplete passes and a dropped ball left the Owls punting back without moving a single yard.

A 9 yard return by Fisher on the 47 yard punt set us up at our 33 yard line. A pair of rushes by Smith went for gains of 7 and 6 yards to get the first down at the 46 yard line. Another rush picked up 5 yards to leave second and 5 at the Rice 49. Newman took the ball on the next play, fighting ahead for three yards, leaving third down and two. Keeping the ball himself, Stephens picked up two yards, leaving fourth and inches. Instead of punting, most likely for a touchback, we elected to go for it on fourth down, Smith just barely getting one yard to get the first down and keep the drive moving. A 7 yard rush by Smith was followed with a four yard gain by Newman to get the first down at the 32 yard line. Continuing to run the ball down the throats of the Rice defense, Smith broke loose from a tackle in the backfield, stumbling ahead for a 5 yard gain to leave second and 5. A toss to the left to Newman only picked up one yard, leaving third and four. A quick out route pass to Jordan picked up 7 yards and the first down at the Rice 19 yard line. Smith rumbled up the middle on first down for a 7 yard gain, followed by another pickup of 7 yards to set up first and goal at the four yard line, where the third quarter would come to a close, our lead still 24-7.

Starting the fourth quarter with a 24-7 lead and looking at first and goal at the four yard line, it was time to put this one away. Smith took the ball on first down, rushing ahead for three yards before being tackled inside the one yard line. Smith never had any hope on the next play, the middle linebacker blowing through untouched, tackling Smith for a loss of two yards, leaving third and goal at the three yard line. Coming out on third down trying to catch the Owls off guard, we ran option on the play. Stephens was able to pitch the ball to Newman just as he was getting hit by the cornerback, Newman turning to catch the ball and then spinning around to his outside, racing the safety and the linebacker to the pylon for the 3 yard touchdown rush and a 31-7 lead with 7:38 to play.

An 18 yard kickoff return got the Owls started back on offense at their 22 yard line. The drive started promising with a 5 yard pass from Gray to White, but a pair of incomplete passes brought it quickly to an end, the Owls once again punting the ball. A 5 yard return by Fisher on the 49 yard punt gave us the ball at our 28 yard line, just 7 minutes away from victory. Smith took the first down handoff, only able to gain one yard, leaving second and 9. Taking the ball on the second down, Smith got a massive hole up the middle, racing out to the 42 yard line for a 13 yard gain and a first down. Another rush, this time by Newman picked up 6 yards, followed by a 10 yard gain by the big fullback to get the first down at the Rice 42 yard line, the clock down to 5 minutes remaining. A 10 yard rush by Fisher gave us another first down at the 32 yard line, the clock down to near four minutes to go. Newman took the ball on the next play, fighting ahead for a 5 yard gain, followed by a two yard gain to leave third and three on the 25 yard line. Stephens kept the ball himself, sprinting up the middle on the delayed rush, picking up 6 yards for the first down at the 18 yard line, the clock down to 2:28. A pair of rushes by Newman went for two yards each, leaving third and 6 at the 14 yard line, one minute left in the game. A four yard rush by Fisher left us with fourth and two at the ? yard line, but it wouldn’t matter, as we were able to run out the final 37 seconds without taking another snap, sealing the 31-7 victory and winning the Battle for the Williams Trophy for the third year in a row.

With the win, we improve to 6-4, 4-2 in C-USA action and become bowl eligible. With the loss, Rice drops to 1-7, 0-5 in C-USA play. Up next, one more bye week before our final home game of the season against UTSA, potentially playing for the West Division title in the game.

Final Score
:Tulsa: 31, :Rice: 7

Stat(s) of the Game:
Tulsa Offense – Another good game by Stephens, ending 12-23 for 164 yards and two touchdowns. Rushing, Smith had a good day, ending with 126 yards rushing on 24 carries, along with 52 yards receiving on two receptions. Newman got the glory on the ground, rushing for 58 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries. Receiving, five players caught a ball today, Smith led in yards with 52 yards on two receptions, Fisher led in catches with 45 yards on four receptions.

Tulsa Defense – Outside of that one drive that spanned the end of the first quarter and start of the second quarter, a great day by the defense allowing pretty much not a thing.

Tulsa Kicking – A split day for Pratt, going 1-2 in field goal, making from 41, missing from 51. Pratt did go 4-4 in PATs.

Scoring Summary

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

:Tulsa:
7
17
0
7
31

:Rice:
0
7
0
0
7

Time
Team
Result
Play
Score

First Quarter

2:31
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
R. Newman, 4 yard run (A. Pratt kick)
:Tulsa: 7-0

Second Quarter

8:29
:Rice:
Touchdown
D. Gray, 1 yard run (L. Ferguson kick)
TIED 7-7

1:55
:Tulsa:
Field Goal
A. Pratt, 41 yard field goal
:Tulsa: 10-7

1:04
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
E. Hayden, 8 yard pass from B. Stephens (A. Pratt kick)
:Tulsa: 17-7

0:08
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
M. Thompson, 18 yard pass from B. Stephens (A. Pratt kick)
:Tulsa: 24-7

Third Quarter

---
---
---
---
---

Fourth Quarter

7:38
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
R. Newman, 3 yard run (A. Pratt kick)
:Tulsa: 31-7

Game Stats

Tulsa
Stat
Rice

31
Score
7

22
First Downs
6

372
Total Offense
132

42 - 208 - 2
Rushes - Yards - TD
13 - 10 - 1

172- 23 - 2
Comp - Att - TD
10- 30 - 0

164
Passing Yards
122

0
Times Sacked
0

4 - 10 (40%)
3rd Down Conversion
4 - 12 (33%)

1 - 1 (100%)
4th Down Conversion
1 - 3 (33%)

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

6 - 4 - 0 (66%)
Red Zone - TD - FG
1 - 1 - 0 (100%)

0
Turnovers
1

0
Fumbles Lost
0

0
Intercepted
1

14
Punt Return Yards
10

44
Kick Return Yards
38

430
Total Yards
180

2 – 44.5
Punts - Average
4 - 47.3

1 - 15
Penalties
1 - 15

25:24
Time of Possession
10:36

Tulsa Contract Goals Update

Fail Impact
Goal
Progress
Pass Impact

:6redarrow:
21+ points per game in each season
27
:6greenarrow:

Win 10 games in one season
6
:6greenarrow:

3300+ passing yards each season
2219
:5greenarrow:

:6redarrow:
65% pass completions over the entire contract
60%
:5greenarrow:

:5redarrow:
Win 6 games in one season
:check:
:5greenarrow:

:6redarrow:
15+ rushing TD in each season
1/4 Completed
:5greenarrow:

:4redarrow:
3200+ total offensive yards each season
1/4 Completed
:3greenarrow:

:5redarrow:
3400+ total offensive yards each season
1/4 Completed
:2greenarrow:

Job Security Status

48%

SmoothPancakes

01-18-2013, 12:44 PM

Time for another look around the nation. Starting in the Top 25, #5 Oklahoma is try to make their case for a national time game visit, beating West Virginia 35-17. #6 Oregon was able to avoid the upset, holding off Arizona late for a 35-23 win. After working their way back up to the rankings, #7 Ole Miss heads for another tumble, losing to Tennessee 30-17. It was a battle, tied 14-14 going into the fourth quarter, but #8 NC State pulls out the 24-14 win over Florida State. Maryland scores an upset of #9 Rutgers 35-21.

The once mighty #1 falls even farther, as #10 Auburn loses for the second straight week, 44-34 to #24 Texas A&M. Virginia Tech knocked off #11 Miami 31-26. #13 Ohio State escaped with a 31-24 win over Purdue. North Carolina scored a 31-20 upset over #15 Georgia Tech, scoring 14 straight to pull away for the win. #17 Virginia came out on top of #25 Pittsburgh 34-24. Once completing for a berth in the national title game, the Tide could be falling completely out of the top 25, as LSU beats #18 Alabama 28-24, dropping the Crimson Tide to 6-4 on the year with their second straight loss.

After a 17-17 tie at halftime, #19 Clemson ran roughshod over Boston College in the second half on the way to a 41-17 win. #20 Georgia scored 21 straight points during teh second half to come back and beat South Carolina 31-28. One week after reentering the rankings, #21 Mississippi State is gonna faceplant straight out of them, losing 35-20 to 2-7 Syracuse. #23 Northwestern looks to be headed out of the rankings, losing 35-28 to #12 Nebraska. It was an insane fourth quarter. The score was 13-7 Nebraska after three quarters, Nebraska outscoring Northwestern 22-21 in the fourth quarter alone.

For our readers, souljahbill, the battle for East Division supremacy goes to Southern Miss, who tops Florida International 31-21, improving to 8-1 (5-0 C-USA). Jaymo, Arizona State falls to 3-6 (2-4 Pac-12), losing 45-38 to Oregon State. ASU had the lead, but the Beavers scored the winning TD with 2:02 left. Mors, as mentioned in the Top 25 recap, West Virginia falls to 2-7 (2-4 Big 12) with a 35-17 loss to #5 Oklahoma, leaving the Mountaineers home for another bowl season. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State improves to 6-2 (3-0 Sun Belt) with a 33-24 win over Western Kentucky.

In C-USA action, Marshall wallops Florida Atlantic 42-0, UTSA tops MTSU 17-13, North Texas knocks off UTEP 24-14, Southern Miss beats Florida International 31-21 and in non-conference action, Northern Illinois escapes UAB 21-16.

With those results, looking at the current standings, in the East Division, Southern Miss (5-0) remains on top, trailed closed by Marshall (4-1). That week 14 showdown between Southern Miss and Marshall may just be for all the marbles barring any upsets. After that sits Florida International (4-2) and Louisiana Tech (3-2). Florida Atlantic (3-4) and UAB (1-4) are officially eliminated. In the West Division, it's now a tie on top between Tulsa and UTSA (both at 4-2), making the week 13 game of UTSA at Tulsa essentially for the West Division title. Just behind us is North Texas (3-2), followed by UTEP (2-3). Rice (0-5) and MTSU (0-6) are officially eliminated.

Looking at undefeated teams left, nobody lost this week, our number of undefeated teams remains at 2. Just #1 Notre Dame (9-0) and #2 TCU (9-0) remain with an unblemished record this season.

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

Memphis failed to get their first win this week, but they tried, falling in overtime 34-31 to 2-6 Tulane.

Taking a look at the new Top 25 polls, in the Coaches Poll, Notre Dame (40 first place votes) remains #1, TCU (21 votes) remains #2, Texas #3, Iowa #4, Oklahoma #5 and Oregon #6. NC State makes the first move, up one to #7, Nebraska, Ohio State and Michigan State all jump four spots to #8, #9 and #10. Virginia climbs five spots to #12, Auburn falls three to #13, Ole Miss drops seven to #14 and Rutgers falls six to #15. Clemson and Georgia both climb three to #16 and #17, Texas A&M jumps six to #18, Stanford bumped up three to #19, Miami fell nine to #20 while Georgia Tech fell six to #21. LSU, Maryland, USC and Boise State all enter the poll this week #22 through #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Alabama (from #18), Mississippi State (from #21), Northwestern (from #23) and Pittsburgh (from #25). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, North Carolina (291 votes) is #26, followed by Vanderbilt (234), Southern Miss (223), Northwestern (215) and Tennessee (177) to round out the Top 30. Other teams getting votes are Alabama (153), Air Force (127) and SMU (70).

In the Media poll, Notre Dame (38 first place votes) remains #1, TCU (27 votes) remains #2. The rest of the top 5 are the same, Texas #3, Iowa #4 and Oklahoma #5. Oregon jumps one to #6, NC State climbs one to #7, Ohio State and Nebraska both jump four to #8 and #9, and Wisconsin leaps six to #10. Clemson climbs four to #11, Michigan State moves up five to #12, Ole Miss falls seven to #13, Auburn drops four to #14 and Virginia climbs three to #15. Texas A&M leaps nine to #16, Rutgers fell six to #17, Stanford climbed three to #18, Georgia jumps four to #19 and Miami dropped eleven to #20. Georgia Tech fell seven to #21, USC climbed two to #22, and LSU, North Carolina and Boise State all enter the poll this week at #23, #24 and #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Alabama (from #18), Mississippi State (from #21) and Northwestern (from #23). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Vanderbilt (265 votes) is #26, followed by Maryland (258), Northwestern (217), Tennessee (196) and Southern Miss (150) to round out the Top 30. Alabama is the lone other team picking up any votes this week, getting 48.

Looking at the new BCS standings: #1 Notre Dame (1.000), #2 TCU (.995), #3 Texas (.989), #4 Iowa (.984), #5 Oklahoma (.978), #6 Oregon (.973), #7 NC State (.967), #8 Nebraska (.959), #9 Ohio State (.959) and #10 Wisconsin (.948).

SmoothPancakes

01-18-2013, 01:44 PM

On a bye week, so lets jump right into it.

Time for another look around the nation. Starting in the Top 25, #1 Notre Dame moves one step closer to the national title game with a 59-24 win over Boston College. #3 Texas makes a move for the championship game, beating Kansas 45-27. In the game of the week, #4 Iowa has an easy day with #10 Michigan State 35-18. After climbing back up the ranking, #7 NC State is going for a fall, losing to 4-6 Wake Forest 49-38. #8 Nebraska scores 17 straight points to put away #11 Wisconsin 24-13. #12 Virginia shoots up the rankings, then promptly gets knocked off, 38-21 by 5-6 Louisville. It's a hard life in the SEC, as Auburn goes from undefeated and #1, to suffering their third straight loss, 42-35 to #17 Georgia.

Florida State plays upset artist, beating #16 Clemson 35-28. #18 Texas A&M pulls out a 34-24 win over #22 LSU. The Hurricanes fall, as Duke knocks off #20 Miami 35-16. #21 Georgia Tech avoids the upset, beating Virginia Tech 24-17. Indiana knocks off #23 Maryland 28-17. Arizona counters a fourth quarter safety with a touchdown with 5 minute to play, edging out #24 USC 27-26. #25 Boise State enters the poll this week, and then just barely avoids dropping right back out, holding on to pull a 28-26 win over Nevada out of their ass. The deciding margin occurred when Nevada returned an interception 56 yards for a touchdown with 3:18 left, went for the two-point conversion but failed.

For our readers, souljahbill, Southern Miss beats Louisiana Tech 27-7, improving to 9-1 (6-0 C-USA). Jaymo, Arizona State falls to 3-7 (2-5 Pac-12), losing 34-31 to UCLA, eliminating Sparky from bowl contention. Mors, West Virginia remains 2-7 (2-4 Big 12) with a bye week. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State falls to 6-3 (3-1 Sun Belt) with a 27-10 loss to Louisiana-Monroe.

In C-USA action, Marshall tops UAB 38-27, Southern Miss beats Louisiana Tech 27-7, Florida International beats North Texas 38-17, UTEP takes down UTSA 38-14, MTSU wins over Rice 52-35. In non-conference action, Syracuse beats Florida Atlantic 30-17.

With those results, looking at the current standings, in the East Division, Southern Miss (6-0) remains on top, trailed closed by Marshall (5-1). That week 14 showdown between Southern Miss and Marshall is still on track for all the marbles barring any week 13 upsets. After that sits Florida International (5-2). Louisiana Tech (3-3), Florida Atlantic (3-4) and UAB (1-5) are officially eliminated. In the West Division, thanks to UTEP's win, Tulsa (4-2) now sits on top. Just behind us is UTSA (4-3), followed by UTEP and North Texas (both 3-3). MTSU (1-6) and Rice (0-6) are officially eliminated.

Looking at undefeated teams left, nobody lost this week, our number of undefeated teams remains at 2. Just #1 Notre Dame (10-0) and #2 TCU (9-0) remain with an unblemished record this season.

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

Taking a look at the new Top 25 polls, in the Coaches Poll, Notre Dame (39 first place votes) remains #1, TCU (22 votes) remains #2, Iowa jumps one to #3, Texas falls one to #4. Oklahoma and Oregon remain #5 and #6. Nebraska and Ohio State both climb one to #7 and #8, Ole Miss jumps five to #9, Georgia leaps seven to #10. Rutgers moves up four to #11, Texas A&M leaps six to #12, Wisconsin fell two to #13, Stanford jumps five to #14, NC State falls eight to #15. Georgia Tech jumps five to #16, Auburn falls four to #17, Michigan State drops eight to #18, Boise State climbs six to #19 and North Carolina enters the poll at #20. Southern Miss enters the poll at #21, Arizona and Alabama enter at #22 and #23, Miami drops four to #24 and Clemson falls nine to #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Virginia (from #12), LSU (from #22), Maryland (from #23) and USC (from #24). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, USC (185 votes) is #26, followed by Virginia (160), Colorado (157), San Diego State (143) and Mississippi State (119) to round out the Top 30. One other the getting some votes this week, Northern Illinois (28).

In the Media poll, the top 6 remains the same, Notre Dame (36 first place votes) #1, TCU (29 votes) #2, Texas #3, Iowa #4, Oklahoma #5 and Oregon #6. Nebraska jumps two to #7, Ohio State remains #8, Ole Miss climbs four to #9, Georgia leaps nine to #10. Rutgers jumps six to #11, Texas A&M moves up four to #12, Stanford climbs five to #13, Wisconsin falls four to #14, and NC State drops eight to #15. Georgia Tech climbs five to #16, Auburn falls three to #17, Michigan State tumbles six to #18, Boise State jumps six to #19 and North Carolina climbs four to #20. Clemson plummets ten to #21, Southern Miss enters the poll at #22, Alabama and Arizona both enter at #23 and #24, and USC falls three to #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Virginia (from #12), Miami (from #20) and LSU (from #22). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Miami (226 votes) is #26, followed by San Diego State (140), Mississippi State (110), Colorado (82) and Virginia (55) to round out the Top 30.

Looking at the new BCS standings: #1 Notre Dame (1.000), #2 TCU (.995), #3 Iowa (.986), #4 Texas (.986), #5 Oklahoma (.978), #6 Oregon (.973), #7 Nebraska (.967), #8 Ohio State (.962), #9 Ole Miss (.956) and #10 Georgia (.951).

Taking a look at the first bowl projections of the year, if they hold out, it's a trip to the New Orleans Bowl for Tulsa fans, to take on 7-2 Louisiana-Monroe from the Sun Belt. The AutoZone Liberty Bowl would be #21 Southern Miss (9-1) vs. Cincinnati (7-3).

Looking at the BCS bowl projections, in the Rose Bowl, #3 Iowa matches up with #6 Oregon. The Sugar Bowl features #10 Georgia vs. #19 Boise State. The Orange Bowl has #15 NC State vs. #7 Nebraska. The Fiesta Bowl, #4 Texas takes on #9 Ole Miss. And in the national championship game, #2 TCU takes on #1 Notre Dame.

JeffHCross

01-18-2013, 05:04 PM

Why am I not considered a "for our readers"? ;)

SmoothPancakes

01-18-2013, 06:08 PM

Why am I not considered a "for our readers"? ;)

:D

I think it's been because I usually just copy/paste the weekly recap from week to week, and when I first started doing those early on, you were an occasional visitor/commenter, so I never thought about adding you/Ohio State to the list.

I'll go ahead and add them in the future weeks/seasons though. I already specifically simulate the Ohio State games from week to week, instead of letting them auto-sim when I advance the week, just to see how they did (same with Toledo, BG, etc. I may be root for Navy, but I still have a soft spot for the local Ohio teams), so it'd just be a matter of tagging you onto the "for the readers" section.

I'll include you/Ohio State in the next update after the UTSA game, whenever I get around to actually playing it this weekend.

JeffHCross

01-18-2013, 06:42 PM

Thanks. If nothing else, that'd make it easier on knowing where to look in your recap :D

SmoothPancakes

01-20-2013, 02:10 PM

Holy shit! It's snowing in Tulsa! This UTSA game is the first time I have played a game in the snow ever since I started this dynasty clear back at FIU.

SmoothPancakes

01-20-2013, 04:09 PM

Game Eleven

:UTSA: :@: :Tulsa:

Game Notes

--- Back on a winning streak that kept us in the race for the West Division, it was time for our final home game of the year to say goodbye to our seniors. A great class of players would be saying goodbye to the Tulsa faithful, including: QB Casey Bishop, HB Brandon Price, WR Chad Fisher, WR Max Thompson, TE Nicholas Roberts, TE Donny Jordan, LG Daniel Peters, RG Jason Smith, RT Kyle Davis, LOLB Spencer Jones, LOLB A.J. Walton, MLB Keith Battle, ROLB Marc Patterson and FS Jason Stephens. The Roadrunners were as weak offensively as MTSU and Rice, but they had a much better offense, that our offense would have to overcome to keep UTSA from hanging around throughout the game. A heavy snowfall leaving the field white would test the offenses in the slippery conditions. UTSA won the coin toss and elected to kick.

A 16 yard kickoff return by Jason Stephens got our offense started at our 18 yard line. A first down carry by Roy Smith picked up four yards, followed by a 5 yard gain to leave third and one. Randy Newman took the ball up the middle for a 6 yard gain, giving us first down at the 34. Continuing to pound the ball, Smith picked up 5 yards, before taking the handoff around the left tackle for 8 yards and the first down at the 47. Running play action on first down, the pass by Brad Stephens was wildly off target and incomplete. Going back to the air on second down, Stephens hit Chad Fisher over the middle for a 14 yard gain and a first down at the UTSA 39 yard line. Another pass to Fisher gained 19 yards to get us down to the 20 yard line. Breaking loose from a tackle, Smith took the ball up the middle, fighting forward for a 9 yard gain. A one yard rush picked up the first down, setting up first and goal at the 10. After a two yard rush by Smith, it was back into the air as Stephens hit Eric Hayden over the middle for the 8 yard touchdown pass and a 7-0 lead with 3:43 left in the first quarter.

The Roadrunners began their opening drive from their 25 yard line, after a touchback on the kickoff. Johnnie Tyree took the ball on first down, but was quickly tackled for a one yard loss. After an incomplete pass, Tyree again met our defense, tackled for a two yard loss to leave UTSA punting on fourth and 13. A four yard return by Fisher on the 46 yard punt set our offense up at our 35 yard line. We nearly found the end zone on the first play, as Smith took the handoff and broke loose through the secondary, rushing all the way to the UTSA 34 yard line for a 30 yard gain, where a desperation dive by the safety tripped Smith up and saved what would have been a guaranteed touchdown. Keeping it going on the ground, Smith picked up 6 yards on the next play, before taking the handoff, avoiding the linebacker and busting open to take it 28 yards for the touchdown and a 14-0 lead with 1:50 left in the first quarter.

Another touchback on the kickoff left UTSA again at their 25 yard line. The Roadrunners would manage to gain positive yards this drive, as Adrian Valentine picked up four yards on the ground, before two incomplete passes left UTSA punting one more on fourth and 6. A fair catch on the 49 yard punt gave our offense the ball at our 22 yard line. The defense had almost no answer for our run game, as Smith took the ball again and broke for a 13 yard gain, giving us first down at our 35. A pair of rushes by Smith went for gains of 6 and three yards to leave third and one at the 44. Smith would pick up the first down and then some, rushing for a gain of 10 yards to the UTSA 46 yard line. The final seconds would tick off the clock, and the first quarter came to an end, our lead 14-0.

Opening the second quarter, the defense finally managed to slow down our run game, as the middle linebacker blitzed through to tackle Smith for no gain. Looking to keep the defense honest, Stephens threw up a 14 yard pass to Hayden down to the 32. Another pass, this time to Max Thompson, picked up 15 yards, giving us a first down at the 17 yard line. A pass to Fisher gained 6 yards, followed by a 5 yard pass to Newman to set up first and goal at the 6 yard line. A rush by Smith went for a two yard gain, before being tackled for no gain to leave third and goal at the four yard line. The third down pass intended for Fisher was batted incomplete, and we were forced to settle for a field goal. The 21 yard kick by Alphonso Pratt was good, extending our lead to 17-0 with 6:04 left in the second quarter.

No return on the following kickoff gave UTSA the ball at their 25. Tyree took the ball on first down for a three yard gain, before an incomplete pass left third and 7. The Roadrunners would finally pick up a first down, as Marcus Leonard connected with Tyree for an 8 yard pass out to the 36 yard line. After an incomplete pass, Leonard rushed for four yards, before another incomplete pass stranded the drive on fourth and 6. A 16 yard return by Fisher on the 46 yard punt set our offense up at our 29 yard line. After picking up three yards on first down, Smith was again tackled for no gain, leaving our offense with third and 7. The pass by Stephens intended for Smith sailed long and incomplete, leaving our punt team trotting out. A 5 yard return on the 50 yard punt left UTSA starting on their 22 yard line. After a three yard rush by Tyree, Leonard threw deep to Stephen Alston for a 28 yard gain and a first down at our 47 yard line. Tyree was tackled for a three yard loss on the next play, before recovering those lost yards to leave the offense with third and 10. A third down pass to Cortez Estes was completed for a 14 yard gain, moving the Roadrunners down to our 33. Another pass, this time to Tyree for a gain of 15 yard, gave UTSA a first down at our 19 yard line. Tyree took the ball on the ground for a 7 yard gain to our 12 yard line, before a false start penalty set the offense back, leaving second and 8 at our 17. Tyree was then tackled for a three yard loss, leaving the Roadrunners looking at third and 11. An incomplete pass would leave UTSA short of the end zone, settling for a field goal attempt. The goose egg would remain on the scoreboard, as the 36 yard kick by Kyle Ostrander was no good, giving our offense the ball at our 20 yard line with 1:48 left in the half.

Throwing deep on first down paid off, as Fisher hauled in the pass from Stephens, racing down the sideline before being run out of bounds at the UTSA 30 yard line for a 50 yard gain. A first down pass to Hayden picked up 8 yards, before an incomplete pass left us with third and two. Taking a shot up the middle, Smith gained three yards to get the first down at the 19 yard line, our first timeout stopping the clock with 1:12 left in the quarter. A pass to Fisher gained 8 yards, followed by an incomplete pass, stopping the clock with 48 seconds. Another rush by Smith gained two yards, enough to give us first and goal at the 8 yard line, our second timeout stopping the clock with 45 seconds. After an incomplete pass on first down, Stephens found Donny Jordan for a four yard gain, leaving third and goal at the four yard line. The third down pass intended for Hayden in the back of the end zone was broken up, leaving the field goal unit coming out with 22 seconds left. The 21 yard kick by Pratt was good, opening our lead up to 20-0 with 19 seconds remaining.

After a touchback on the kickoff, Tyree was tackled for a two yard loss, the final seconds ticking off and the second quarter coming to end, as we headed to halftime with a 20-0 lead.

No return on the kickoff to open the third quarter gave UTSA the ball at their 25 yard line. The drive started off poorly, as Leonard was sacked for a 10 yard loss, leaving second and 20. Leonard found Steve Bright for a gain of 5 yards, followed by a 9 yard pass to Guy McCauley, but it wasn’t enough, as the Roadrunners punted away on fourth and 6.

A 6 yard return by Fisher on the 45 yard punt gave us the ball at our 32. A pair of rushes by Smith for gains of 5 and four yards left us looking at third and one, before Smith took the ball and pounded it up the middle, picking up 11 yards and the first down at the UTSA 49 yard line, the Roadrunners again searching for a way to stop our run game. Newman took the ball for a gain of three yards, before a pass to Fisher picked up 15 yards and a first down at the 31 yard line. The first down pass from Stephens sailed long and out of bounds, forced to rush by the pass by the defense. A quick pass over the middle to Hayden, as the secondary cleared out after other receivers, was completed for a 21 yard gain, leaving us first and goal at the 9 yard line. Smith picked up two yards on the ground, before a failed run by Stephens resulted in a loss of three yards, leaving us with third and goal at the 10 yard line. The third down pass was completed to Max Thompson for 10 yards, but the tackled by the cornerback kept him just shy of the end zone, leaving us fourth and goal, the tip of the ball just inches shy of the goal line. Going for it on fourth down, Smith punched it in for the one yard touchdown rush, expanding our lead to 27-0 with 2:35 left in the third quarter.

A touchback on the kickoff started the Roadrunners at their 25 yard line, any hope of even trying to comeback all but extinguished with that last score. After a dropped pass, the defense got flagged for defensive holding, the 5 yard penalty moving the Roadrunners to their 30 yard line and a new set of downs. Tyree picked up three yards on the first down rush, before the defense broke through and sacked Leonard for a loss of 8 yards on the next play, leaving third and 15. A two yard pass to Valentine left UTSA punting away on fourth and 13. A fair catch on the 45 yard punt gave us the ball at our 28 yard line, 1:37 left in the third quarter. Smith took the ball on first down, picking up two yards, followed by a 7 yard rush to leave third and one. Keeping the ball on the ground, Newman rumbled ahead for a gain of 8 yards and the first down at our 44 yard line, where the third quarter would come to an end, our lead at 27-0.

Opening up the fourth quarter, Smith took the handoff up the middle for a 9 yard gain to leave second and one at the UTSA 47. A three yard gain by Smith picked up the first down on the next play. A delay of game penalty pushed up back to the 49 yard line, leaving first and 15. It was even further back that we went as Smith was tackled for a two yard loss on a pitch right, leaving second and 17. Stephens was hit as he tried to throw the ball, the lame duck pass nearly intercepted by dropped incomplete, leaving third and 17. An off target pass by Stephens sailed incomplete, leaving us punting away. No return on the 42 yard punt gave UTSA possession at their 8 yard line. After an incomplete pass on first down, the defense got flagged for illegal contact, giving the Roadrunners a first down at the 15 yard line. After a two yard pass to Alston, the defense was flagged for defensive holding, giving UTSA a first down at the 22 yard line. Three incomplete passes later left the Roadrunners punting the ball away on fourth down.

A fair catch on the 42 yard punt set us up at our 35 yard line, just 6:18 away from victory. Smith rushed ahead for a four yard gain. Trying to eat up the clock before snapping the ball again, the offense took too long to snap it, flagged for delay of game, pushing us back to our 34 yard line and second and 11. Trying to recover the lost yards, the second down pass intended for Fisher was batted incomplete. The drive would only get worse, as Stephens was sacked for a loss of 9 yards, leaving us punting on fourth and 20. A fair catch on the 43 yard punt gave UTSA the ball at their 30 yard line. Three incomplete passes quickly ended the drive, Fisher calling for a fair catch on the 44 yard punt, returning possession at our 25 yard line.

The second team offense came out to close out the game, Smith rushing for a 5 yard gain on first down. Another rush picked up 6 yards and the first down at the 36. Smith rushed for a three yard gain on the first down carry, followed by a pickup of two yards to leave third and 5. A. Banks was able to bounce outside around the right tackle and just get to the first down line for a 5 yard gain and the first down at the 46 yard line. Another rush by Banks went for a gain of 6 yards to the UTSA 48. A 6 yard gain by Banks picked up the first down at the 42 yard line with 54 seconds left, Erik Wallace kneeling the ball down once to close out the 27-0 victory.

With the win, we improve to 7-4, 5-2 in C-USA action. With the loss, UTSA drops to 5-6, 4-4 in C-USA play. Up next, it's back on the road to close out the season at UTEP, who enters at 6-5, 4-3 in C-USA action. The Miners opened their year with a 38-14 win over FCS Southeast and a 41-17 win against New Mexico State. They suffered their first loss, 31-27 at Air Force, recovered with a 37-28 win at Marshall, before losing two straight, 38-19 at Florida International and a 49-0 shutout at the hands of #24 Miami (FL). UTEP picked up a 30-10 win over MTSU, but then lost two straight, 42-16 to Louisiana Tech and 24-14 at North Texas. The Miners fought back to .500 with a 38-14 win at UTSA, before beating Rice 26-14 to set up the battle for the West Division win week 14.

Final Score
:Tulsa: 27, :UTSA: 0

Stat(s) of the Game:
- Tulsa Offense – A good day for Stephens, ending 14-25 for 196 yards and one touchdown. A huge day for Smith, rushing for 202 yards and two touchdowns on 35 carries. Five receivers caught a ball today, Fisher leading the group with 112 yards on six receptions, Hayden ended the day with 51 yards and a touchdown on four catches.

- Tulsa Defense – Shut down defense all day long. Couldn't be more proud of the defensive effort today.

- Tulsa Kicking – A perfect day for Pratt, kicking 2-2 field goals, both 21 yard kicks, and 3-3 PATs.

Scoring Summary

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

:UTSA:
0
0
0
0
0

:Tulsa:
14
6
7
0
27

Time
Team
Result
Play
Score

First Quarter

3:43
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
E. Hayden, 8 yard pass from B. Stephens (A. Pratt kick)
:Tulsa: 7-0

1:50
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
R. Smith, 28 yard run (A. Pratt kick)
:Tulsa: 14-0

Second Quarter

6:04
:Tulsa:
Field Goal
A. Pratt, 21 yard field goal
:Tulsa: 17-0

0:19
:Tulsa:
Field Goal
A. Pratt, 21 yard field goal
:Tulsa: 20-0

Third Quarter

2:35
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
R. Smith, 1 yard run (A. Pratt kick)
:Tulsa: 27-0

Fourth Quarter

---
---
---
---
---

Game Stats

UTSA
Stat
Tulsa

0
Score
27

4
First Downs
22

151
Total Offense
420

12 - 34 - 0
Rushes - Yards - TD
45 - 224 - 2

7 - 23 - 0
Comp - Att - TD
14 - 25 - 1

117
Passing Yards
196

3
Times Sacked
1

2 - 10 (20%)
3rd Down Conversion
7 - 13 (53%)

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

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

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

0
Turnovers
0

0
Fumbles Lost
0

0
Intercepted
0

5
Punt Return Yards
26

0
Kick Return Yards
16

156
Total Yards
462

7 – 46.0
Punts - Average
3 - 46.0

1 - 5
Penalties
5 - 29

10:53
Time of Possession
25:07

Tulsa Contract Goals Update

Fail Impact
Goal
Progress
Pass Impact

:6redarrow:
21+ points per game in each season
27
:6greenarrow:

Win 10 games in one season
7
:6greenarrow:

3300+ passing yards each season
2415
:5greenarrow:

:6redarrow:
65% pass completions over the entire contract
59%
:5greenarrow:

:5redarrow:
Win 6 games in one season
:check:
:5greenarrow:

:6redarrow:
15+ rushing TD in each season
1/4 Completed
:5greenarrow:

:4redarrow:
3200+ total offensive yards each season
1/4 Completed
:3greenarrow:

:5redarrow:
3400+ total offensive yards each season
1/4 Completed
:2greenarrow:

Job Security Status

48%

SmoothPancakes

01-20-2013, 04:51 PM

Time for another look around the nation. Starting in the Top 25, #1 Notre Dame steamrolls Western Michigan 35-3, one win away from assuring themselves a spot in the national title game. #2 TCU stays in line with Notre Dame, smoking West Virginia 45-24. #3 Iowa returned a kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown with 1:46 left in the game to hold off Michigan 31-28. #5 Oklahoma holds off a 28 point fourth quarter comeback by Texas Tech to win 48-42.

#7 Nebraska had some trouble early on, but piled up the points late for a 59-28 win over Minnesota. LSU destroys #9 Ole Miss 51-21, handing the Rebels their third loss in five weeks. #23 Alabama wallops #12 Texas A&M 59-35. #13 Wisconsin races out to a 20-3 halftime lead, then holds on for the 23-17 upset of #8 Ohio State. #24 Miami knocks off #16 Georgia Tech 24-3. #18 Michigan State escaped with a 28-25 double overtime victory over Northwestern.

For our readers, souljahbill, #21 Southern Miss beats UAB 42-7, improving to 10-1 (7-0 C-USA). Jaymo, Arizona State improves to 4-7 (3-5 Pac-12) with a 48-31 win over Washington State. Mors, West Virginia drops to 2-8 (2-5 Big 12), losing 45-24 to #2 TCU. Jeff, Ohio State falls to #13 Wisconsin, 23-17, dropping to 8-3 (5-3 Big Ten). Other teams of interest, Arkansas State falls to 6-4 (3-2 Sun Belt), getting knocked off 31-28 by Texas State.

In C-USA action, Marshall tops UAB 38-27, Southern Miss beats UAB 42-7, Tulsa beats UTSA 27-0, Florida International takes down Florida Atlantic 20-17 in double overtime, MTSU defeats North Texas 24-17, UTEP picks up a 26-14 victory over Rice and Marshall escapes Louisiana Tech.

With those results, week 14 will be for all the marbles in both divisions. In the East Division, it comes down to Southern Miss (7-0) and Marshall (6-1), with Marshall traveling to Southern Miss. In the West Division, it comes down to Tulsa (5-2) and UTEP (4-3), with Tulsa traveling to UTEP.

Looking at undefeated teams left, nobody lost this week, our number of undefeated teams remains at 2. Just #1 Notre Dame (11-0) and #2 TCU (10-0) remain with an unblemished record this season.

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

Taking a look at the new Top 25 polls, in the Coaches Poll, Notre Dame (34 first place votes) remains #1, TCU (27 votes) remains #2, Iowa, Texas and Oklahoma remain #3, #4 and #5, Oregon and Nebraska remains #6 and #7. Georgia climbs two to #8, Wisconsin jumps four to #9 and Rutgers moves up one to #10. Stanford and NC State jump two to #11 and #12, Ohio State falls five to #13, Auburn jumps three to #14 and Michigan State climbs three to #15. Boise State climbs three to #16, Alabama jumps six to #17, North Carolina and Southern Miss climb two to #18 and #19 and Ole Miss falls eleven to #20. Miami climbs three to #21, Arizona remains #22, Clemson jumps two to #23, and LSU and USC enter the poll at #24 and #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Texas A&M (from #12) and Georgia Tech (from #16). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Texas A&M (265 votes) is #26, followed by Virginia (231), San Diego State (152) Georgia Tech (120) and Mississippi State (113) to round out the Top 30. Northern Illinois (82) is also receiving votes.

In the Media poll, the top 7 remains the same, Notre Dame (36 first place votes) #1, TCU (29 votes) #2, Texas #3, Iowa #4, Oklahoma #5, Oregon #6 and Nebraska #7. Wisconsin leaps six to #8, Georgia climbs one to #9 and Rutgers climbs one to #10. Stanford jumps two to #11, NC State climbs three to #12, Ohio State falls five to #13, Auburn jumps three to #14 and Michigan State jumps three to #15. Boise State jumps three to #16, Alabama climbs six to #17, North Carolina climbs two to #18, Ole Miss drops ten to #19 and Southern Miss climbs two to #20. Clemson remains #21, Miami enters the poll at #22, Arizona and USC climb one to #23 and #24, and LSU enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Texas A&M (from #12) and Georgia Tech (from #16). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Texas A&M (276 votes) #26, followed by San Diego State (238), Mississippi State (190), Virginia (185) and Georgia Tech (132) to round out the Top 30. Northern Illinois (122) is also receiving votes.

Looking at the new BCS standings: #1 Notre Dame (1.000), #2 TCU (.995), #3 Iowa (.986), #4 Texas (.986), #5 Oklahoma (.976), #6 Oregon (.973), #7 Nebraska (.967), #8 Georgia (.959), #9 Wisconsin (.959) and #10 Rutgers (.937).

Taking a look at the newest bowl projections, if they hold out, it's a trip to the New Orleans Bowl for Tulsa fans, to take on 7-4 BYU from the Sun Belt. The AutoZone Liberty Bowl would be #19 Southern Miss (10-1) vs. Connecticut (7-4). #13 Ohio State (8-3) would make a trip to the Gator Bowl to take on Vanderbilt (8-4)

Looking at the BCS bowl projections, in the Rose Bowl, #3 Iowa matches up with #6 Oregon. The Sugar Bowl features #8 Georgia vs. #11 Stanford. The Orange Bowl has #12 NC State vs. #7 Nebraska. The Fiesta Bowl, #4 Texas takes on #16 Boise State. And in the national championship game, #2 TCU takes on #1 Notre Dame.

SmoothPancakes

01-20-2013, 07:07 PM

Game Twelve

:Tulsa: :@: :UTEP:

Game Notes

--- Well, here it was. The regular season finale. A trip on the road to take on our hated rivals, the UTEP Miners. And this game would be much more than a rivalry, it be to decide who would win the West Division and play for the C-USA Championship against the winner of Marshall-Southern Miss. Our defense would be tested this week, as UTEP enters the game with the #13 passing attack in the nation, averaging 285 yards a game through the air. On top of that, the Miners have the #26 passing defense in the nation, but their weakness is the run, ranked #105 defending the rush, giving up nearly 200 yards a game on the ground. It would be a true battle today. It was a bright and sunny one at the Sun Bowl in El Paso, a complete reversal from the Snow Bowl that was Tulsa last week. We won the coin toss and elected to kick.

The opening kickoff went out for a touchback, and UTEP began at their 25 yard line. Doug Prater started things off with a two yard rush, before a false start set the Miners back, the penalty leaving second and 13. Rich Livingston went into the air on second and long, hitting Spencer Alford for a 10 yard gain to leave third and three. Prater would take the handoff on third down, fighting for a gain of two yards, but it wouldn’t be enough and the Miners would punt away on fourth and one. A fair catch by Chad Fisher on the 48 yard punt gave us the ball at our 18 yard line.

Coming out firing, the deep pass intended for Nicholas Roberts was batted away incomplete. The second down pass for Chad Fisher was broken up by the outside linebacker, leaving third down. Max Thompson was able to get enough separation to haul in the third down pass from Brad Stephens for a gain 15 yards and a first down at the 32 yard line. Spinning off of a tackle, Roy Smith picked up four yards on the first down carry, followed by a 6 yard gain to get the first down at the 42 yard line. Randy Newman took the ball on first down, breaking outside the right tackle for a two yard gain, before getting up slow. Word from the trainers was a bruised sternum, keeping him out for a little while. Smith plowed ahead of second down, picking up 8 yards to get the first down. A first down pass to Eric Hayden was completed for a gain of 8 yards, leaving second and two. A rush up the middle by Smith picked up 11 yards and gave us another first down at the UTEP 28 yard line. Throwing up to Fisher on a comeback route, the play ended in disaster as the strong safety James Bryant jumped the ball, intercepting it to give UTEP the ball at their 17 yard line.

Taking over after the interception, Prater was tackled for a three yard loss, before Livingston threw a deep bomb to David Bennett, complete for a gain of 35 yards to set up first down at the 49. A three yard rush moved UTEP into our territory at the 48. After an incomplete pass, UTEP converted third and 7 with an 11 yard pass from Livingston to Mike Griffin, for a first down at our 37. Our defense answered back with an interception of their own, cornerback Chad Wheeler jumping the pass from Livingston intended for Griffin, giving us the ball at our 24 yard line.

Smith took the ball on first down, getting three yards before being stood up by the linebacker. A pass over the middle to Hayden picked up 10 yards and a first down at the 37. A quick pass to Fisher gained 9 yards, followed by a one yard rush by Smith to leave us looking at third and inches. Smith was able to avoid the blitz by the middle linebacker, plunging up the middle for a 9 yard gain and a first down at the UTEP 44 yard line. The next play ended in an immediate setback, as the Stephens was sacked for an 11 yard loss, leaving us with second and 21 as the first quarter came to an end, still scoreless.

Opening up the second quarter facing second and very long, a pass to Thompson on an out route picked up 16 yards, leaving third and 5. Going deep to Hayden, the safeties continued to prove to be a serious goddamn pain in the ass, as free safety Danny Holmes jumped the pass and intercepted the ball, returning the pick 9 yards to the 31 yard line. A pair of rushes by Prater for gains of three and 7 yards left third and inches, before a 5 yard rush picked up the first down at the 46 yard line. Livingston completed a deep pass to Griffin for 23 yards and a first down at our 31 yard line. After a three yard rush by Prater, Livingston was tackled for a loss of two yards, leaving third and 9 at our 29. A 14 yard pass to Bennett converted the third down, UTEP now at our 15 yard line. A 6 yard rush by Prater was followed with a loss of two yards by Griffin to leave third and 5 at our 10 yard line. A dropped pass by Alford would save our defense, the Miners forced to kick a field goal. We would catch an even bigger break, as the 27 yard field goal by Joel Hill was no good, shanked wide left, and our offense took over at our 20 yard line.

Smith was only able to get two yards on the first down carry, before Fisher hauled in a pass from Stephens for a gain of 8 yards and a first down at the 30. Potentially stupidly, we kept the passing attack up, Thompson catching a pass for a 13 yard gain out to the 43. Running a smash route, Smith hauled in a pass along the far sideline for a 14 yard gain and a first down at the UTEP 43. Smith stumbled ahead for a four yard gain, followed by a pickup of 6 yards from Newman to get the first down at the 32 yard line. A pitch left was blown up, resulting in no gain. Fisher hauled in the off balance pass from Stephens for a 5 yard gain, leaving third and 5. Our offense made the first big strike of the day, getting down to the UTEP four yard line with a 22 yard pass from Stephens to Smith, setting up first and goal, our first timeout stopping the clock with 1:27 remaining. Smith plowed ahead for a four yard gain, leaving second and goal from one foot out. We would strike first blood on the next play, Smith leaping into the end zone from one yard out to take a 7-0 lead with 53 seconds to go.

A touchback on the kickoff left UTEP starting at their 25 yard line, 46 seconds left until halftime. After an incomplete pass on first down, Prater took the ball up the middle for a three yard rush, followed by an 8 yard gain to get a first down at the 36 yard line, UTEP’s first timeout stopping the clock with 31 seconds. A 7 yard pass to Griffin was followed with an 8 yard toss to Paul Denman, giving UTEP a first down at our 48 yard line, their second timeout stopping the clock with 19 seconds. The defense struck back as Livingston was sacked for a 9 yard loss, pushing UTEP back to their 43 yard line with 11 seconds remaining. A 12 yard pass to Griffin would see the remaining seconds run off the clock, and we headed into halftime with a 7-0 lead.

Starting the third quarter, a touchback on the kickoff gave our offense the ball at our 25 yard line. Smith opened up the drive with a 7 yard rush, followed by a 12 yard sprint up the middle to get a first down at the 44 yard line. Another rush on the next play picked up three yards to leave second and 7. A quick pass to Donny Jordan picked up 10 yards and a first down at the UTEP 42 yard line. Taking the ball on first down, Smith had nowhere to go, tackled by the middle linebacker for no gain. A toss up to Thompson was completed for a gain of 12 yards and a first down at the UTEP 30. Stephens kept the ball himself on the next play, getting a block to seal off the cornerback and then racing the safety to the sideline for an 18 yard gain down to the 12 yard line. A rush up the middle by Smith went for a gain of 7 yards, followed by a two yard rush by Newman to leave third and one at the three yard line. Smith was able to drive across the line for a two yard gain, giving us first and goal at the one yard line. Newman would punch it in for the one yard touchdown rush on the next play, giving us a 14-0 lead with 3:22 remaining in the third quarter, the drive taking nearly two-thirds of the quarter off the clock.

No return on the following kickoff left UTEP searching for an answer. Griffin started the drive with a four yard rush, following by a 9 yard pass from Livingston to Prater to get the first down at the 38 yard line. Bennett and Griffin both rushed for four yard gains to leave third and two, when the defense struck a wound, sacking Livingston for a 5 yard loss to leave the Miners with fourth and 8 at their 41. An 8 yard return by Fisher on the 49 yard punt gave us the ball at our 17 yard line, looking for a score to potentially put the game away. Or kill another 6 minutes off the clock like last drive. The first play went nowhere fast, as the middle linebacker blew through untouched, tackling Smith for no gain. Going into the air on second down, Hayden hauled in a pass from Stephens for a 12 yard gain to get the first down at the 29 yard line. Smith picked up 6 yards on the first down carry, followed by a 6 yard gain by Newman to get a new set of downs at the 41 yard line, as the third quarter came to an end, our lead at 14-0.

Opening up the fourth quarter, Smith took the handoff up the middle, fight out to midfield for a 9 yard gain. A blitz by the defense brought Smith down for no gain on the followed play, leaving third and one at the 50. The middle linebacker did his best, but it wasn’t quite good enough as Smith fell forward under the tackle attempt for a two gain and a first down at the UTEP 48 yard line. A 10 yard rush by Newman left second and inches at the 38 yard line. Smith would get the first down on the next play, rushing up the middle for 7 yards to the 32 yard line. Catching the defense cheating, Stephens threw up a quick toss to Hayden for a 15 yard gain and a first down at the 16 yard line. We would find the end zone on the next play, as Fisher hauled in the pass from Stephens right on the goal line for the 16 yard touchdown pass and a 21-0 lead with 6:30 left in the game.

A touchback on the kickoff got UTEP started at their 25 yard line, the Miners looking for the must have touchdown to get back in the game. UTEP started the drive in the air, as Livingston hit Alford for an 8 yard gain, before taking the ball on the ground himself for a 5 yard rush and the first down at the 37. A pass to Bennett for 6 yards was followed with a 20 yard strike to Alford, giving UTEP a first down at our 37 yard line, 5:30 left to play. After a pair of dropped passes, UTEP took a shot deep, but our defense responded as cornerback Allen Moore intercepted the second UTEP pass of the day, giving our offense the ball at our 15 yard line, 5:01 left on the clock. Smith picked up a quick first down with an 11 yard gain out to the 26. Another rush for a gain of 6 yards, was followed with a two yard gain to leave third and two at the 34 yard line. The third down rush by Smith was blown up, as he was instantly driven back and wrapped up by the defensive end for a 5 yard loss, leaving fourth and 7 at the 29 yard line. A 9 yard return by Griffin on the 44 yard punt set UTEP up at their 36 yard line with 2:48 left to go in the game.

The defense effectively sealed the game on the first play from scrimmage, as Malone intercepted his second pass of the day, third of the game by the defense, giving us possession at the UTEP 44 yard line. Smith picked up three yards on first down, followed by a four yard rush by Newman to leave third and three. UTEP knew they were beat, not even bothering to call one of their three timeouts as the clock ticked under two minutes. A 10 yard rush by Newman picked up the first down at the 26 yard line, clinching the victory as Stephens needed to only kneel down the ball twice to run out the clock on our 21-0 victory.

With the win, we improve to 8-4, 6-2 in C-USA action and win the West Division. With the loss, UTEP drops to 6-6, 4-4 in C-USA play. Up next, one more bye week before we play for the C-USA Championship against the winner of the Marshall-Southern Miss game.

Final Score
:Tulsa: 21, :UTEP: 0

Stat(s) of the Game:
Tulsa Offense – A so-so day by Stephens. He did end 15-19 for 186 yards and a touchdown, but two interceptions also could have potentially screwed us if not for our defense. Smith led the way on the ground with 123 yards and a touchdown on 29 carries. Five receivers caught a ball today, Thompson the leading receiver with 56 yards on four catches, Hayden next up with 45 yards on four catches, followed by Fisher with 39 yards and a touchdown on four catches.

Tulsa Defense – Let UTEP drive down deep into our territory a number of times, but did end up with three interceptions that killed UTEP drives before any damage could be done.

Tulsa Kicking – A perfect day by Pratt. No field goals, but did go 3-3 in PATs.

Scoring Summary

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

:Tulsa:
0
7
7
7
21

:UTEP:
0
0
0
0
0

Time
Team
Result
Play
Score

First Quarter

---
---
---
---
---

Second Quarter

0:53
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
R. Smith, 1 yard run (A. Pratt kick)
:Tulsa: 7-0

Third Quarter

3:22
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
R. Newman, 1 yard run (A. Pratt kick)
:Tulsa: 14-0

Fourth Quarter

6:30
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
C. Fisher, 16 yard pass from B. Stephens (A. Pratt kick)
:Tulsa: 21-0

Game Stats

Tulsa
Stat
UTEP

21
Score
0

23
First Downs
10

353
Total Offense
215

41 - 167 - 2
Rushes - Yards - TD
17 - 52 - 0

15 - 19 - 1
Comp - Att - TD
12 - 20 - 0

186
Passing Yards
163

1
Times Sacked
2

6 - 8 (75%)
3rd Down Conversion
4 - 8 (50%)

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

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

3 - 3 - 0 (100%)
Red Zone - TD - FG
3 - 0 - 0 (0%)

2
Turnovers
3

0
Fumbles Lost
0

2
Intercepted
3

8
Punt Return Yards
9

0
Kick Return Yards
0

361
Total Yards
224

1 – 44.0
Punts - Average
2 - 49.0

0 - 0
Penalties
1 - 5

23:21
Time of Possession
12:39

Tulsa Contract Goals Update

Fail Impact
Goal
Progress
Pass Impact

:6redarrow:
21+ points per game in each season
27
:6greenarrow:

Win 10 games in one season
8
:6greenarrow:

3300+ passing yards each season
2601
:5greenarrow:

:6redarrow:
65% pass completions over the entire contract
61%
:5greenarrow:

:5redarrow:
Win 6 games in one season
:check:
:5greenarrow:

:6redarrow:
15+ rushing TD in each season
1/4 Completed
:5greenarrow:

:4redarrow:
3200+ total offensive yards each season
1/4 Completed
:3greenarrow:

:5redarrow:
3400+ total offensive yards each season
1/4 Completed
:2greenarrow:

Job Security Status

48%

JeffHCross

01-20-2013, 07:32 PM

How the hell did you get through a season so quickly. Lmao. 48-0 in two games. Maybe you need to change conferences. :D

SmoothPancakes

01-20-2013, 08:08 PM

Time for another look around the nation. Starting in the Top 25, #1 Notre Dame punches their ticket to the national title game, beating #25 USC 44-23. #2 TCU takes one step closer to the title game, escaping #4 Texas 31-26. #7 Nebraska scores an ass-whooping 45-14 upset of #3 Iowa. #5 Oklahoma survives the Bedlam this season, beating Oklahoma State 45-24. #6 Oregon wins the Civil War over Oregon State 48-28. #8 Georgia gets a win over rival Georgia Tech 30-7. #15 Michigan State knocks off #9 Wisconsin 38-24.

#12 NC State uses a 17 point fourth quarter to pull away from Boston College 38-17. Michigan improves to 6-6 on the year and becomes bowl eligible with a 41-17 dismantling of #13 Ohio State in Columbus. #17 Alabama wins the Iron Bowl, taking down #14 Auburn 48-38. #16 Boise State closes out their year with a heart attack game, edging out Utah State 41-38 in overtime. The Golden Eagles come up short, as Marshall scores a touchdown with 11:06 left in the game to knock off #19 Southern Miss 24-21.

Mississippi State knocks off #20 Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl, 37-24. #22 Miami takes down #18 North Carolina 42-21. Sparky may not be going bowling, but he's dancing, as Arizona State upends rival #22 Arizona 28-21, a 90 yard returned interception with 1:11 to go in the third quarter the score that put the Sun Devils ahead for the win. The Battle for the Palmetto State goes to #23 Clemson, with a 42-14 win over South Carolina. Arkansas knocks off #24 LSU 34-31.

For our readers, souljahbill, sorry man, #19 Southern Miss shits the bed, losing to Marshall 24-21, dropping to 10-2 (7-1 C-USA), losing the East Division and a spot in the C-USA championship game to Marshall. Jaymo, Arizona State improves to 5-7 (4-5 Pac-12) knocking off rival #22 Arizona, 28-21. Mors, West Virginia improves to 3-8 (3-5 Big 12) with a 30-29 win over Texas Tech. Jeff, Ohio State gets their asses handed to them by Michigan, 41-17, dropping to 8-4 (5-4 Big Ten). Other teams of interest, Arkansas State improves to 7-4 (4-2 Sun Belt) with a 24-18 win over Troy.

In C-USA action, Tulsa beats UTEP 21-0, Marshall knocks off #19 Southern Miss 24-21, UTSA beats Texas State 30-27, North Texas gets a 20-15 win over Rice, and Louisiana Tech beats UAB 45-24

With those results, the C-USA Conference Championship Game will be Marshall (7-4. 7-1) vs. Tulsa (8-4 (6-2) in Huntington, West Virginia.

Looking at undefeated teams left, nobody lost this week, our number of undefeated teams remains at 2. Just #1 Notre Dame (12-0) and #2 TCU (11-0) remain with an unblemished record this season.

Turning to a more sadistic watch, who is still winless. Memphis wraps up another winless season at 0-12.

Taking a look at the new Top 25 polls, in the Coaches Poll, Notre Dame (36 first place votes) remains #1, TCU (25 votes) remains #2, Nebraska leaps four spots to #3, Oklahoma climbs one to #4, Oregon climbs one to #5, Georgia jumps two to #6, Texas falls three to #7, Iowa drops five to #8, Rutgers moves up one to #9 and Stanford climbs one to #10. NC State climbs one to #11, Michigan State jumps three to #12, Boise State and Alabama both jump three to #13 and #14, and Miami leaps six to #15. Wisconsin drops seven to #16, Clemson jumps six to #17, Texas A&M enters the poll at #18, Auburn drops five to #19, Mississippi State enters the poll at #20, San Diego State enters the poll at #21, Southern Miss falls three to #22, Ohio State drops ten spots to #23, Northern Illinois enters the poll at #24 and North Carolina drops seven spots to #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Ole Miss (from #20), Arizona (from #22), LSU (from #24) and USC (from #25). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Maryland (171 votes) is #26, followed by Ole Miss (85), SMU (64), Ohio (27) and USC (13) to round out the Top 30.

In the Media poll, TCU (40 first place votes) jumps one to #1, Notre Dame (25 votes) drops one to #2, Nebraska leaps four to #3, Oklahoma climbs one to #4, Oregon moves up one to #5. Texas falls three to #6, Georgia and Rutgers jump two to #7 and #8, Michigan State climbs six spots to #9 and Iowa drops six to #10. Stanford and NC State both remain stuck at #11 and #12, Alabama climbs four spots to #13, Boise State jumps two to #14, Miami leaps seven to #15. Wisconsin falls eight to #16, Clemson moves up four to #17, Mississippi State, Texas A&M and San Diego State all enter the poll at #18, #19 and #20. Auburn drops seven to #21, Southern Miss falls two to #22, Northern Illinois enters the poll at #23, Ohio State plummets eleven to #24 and North Carolina tumbles seven to #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Ole Miss (from #20), Arizona (from #22), LSU (from #24) and USC (from #25). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Ole Miss (141 votes) is #26, followed by Maryland (80), Nevada (75), USC (54) and Ohio (48) to round out the Top 30. Vanderbilt (34) is also receiving votes.

Looking at the new BCS standings: #1 Notre Dame (.997), #2 TCU (.997), #3 Nebraska (.989), #4 Oklahoma (.984), #5 Oregon (.978), #6 Georgia (.970), #7 Texas (.966), #8 Iowa (.957), #9 Michigan State (.949) and #10 Rutgers (.946).

Taking a look at the newest bowl projections, if they hold out, it's a trip to the New Orleans Bowl for Tulsa fans, to take on 8-4 BYU from the Sun Belt. Southern Miss is now projected to visit the TicketCity Bowl and face off with Northwestern (7-5). #13 Ohio State (8-4) would make a trip to the Insight Bowl to take on Baylor (6-5)

Looking at the BCS bowl projections, in the Rose Bowl, #3 Nebraska matches up with #5 Oregon. The Sugar Bowl features #6 Georgia vs. #10 Stanford. The Orange Bowl has #11 NC State vs. #8 Iowa. The Fiesta Bowl, #4 Oklahoma takes on #13 Boise State. And in the national championship game, #2 TCU takes on #1 Notre Dame.

SmoothPancakes

01-20-2013, 08:10 PM

How the hell did you get through a season so quickly. Lmao. 48-0 in two games. Maybe you need to change conferences. :D

Other than Thursday through Saturday, most of my evenings are free enough to play two games a night, so I can quickly knock them out.

:D Well, UTSA isn't very good. UTEP, winning 21-0 surprised me after how tight the first half way. But three interceptions and a missed field goal killed any chance UTEP had at putting points on the board. Without those INTs and if they make that field goal, I have no doubt that game was going to go down to the very last second, the way they were playing in that first quarter.

SmoothPancakes

01-20-2013, 08:44 PM

Final bye week (and week of the regular season) before the CCGs.

Time for another look around the nation. Starting in the Top 25, #2 TCU punches their ticket to the national title game, doubling up #4 Oklahoma 48-24. And #7 Texas smokes West Virginia 42-21.

For our readers, souljahbill, #22 Southern Miss ends the regular season 10-2 (7-1 C-USA). Jaymo, Arizona State ends their season 5-7 (4-5 Pac-12). Mors, West Virginia drops to 3-9 (3-6 Big 12) with a 42-21 loss to #7 Texas. Jeff, Ohio State ends the regular season 8-4 (5-4 Big Ten). Other teams of interest, Arkansas State improves to 8-4 (5-2 Sun Belt) with a 31-17 win over Louisiana-Lafayette.

The C-USA Conference Championship Game will be Marshall (7-4. 7-1) vs. Tulsa (8-4 (6-2) in Huntington, West Virginia.

Looking at undefeated teams left, nobody lost this week, our number of undefeated teams remains at 2. Just #1 Notre Dame (12-0) and #2 TCU (12-0) remain with an unblemished record this season.

Turning to a more sadistic watch, who is still winless. Memphis wraps up another winless season at 0-12.

Taking a look at the new Top 25 polls, in the Coaches Poll, Notre Dame (36 first place votes) remains #1, TCU (25 votes) remains #2, Nebraska remains #3, Oregon moves up one to #4, Georgia climbs one to #5. Texas, Iowa and Rutgers all climb one to #6, #7 and #8, Oklahoma drops five to #9 and Stanford remains #10. NC State, Michigan State, Boise State, Alabama and Miami all remain #11 through #15. Wisconsin, Clemson, Texas A&M, Auburn and Mississippi all remain #16 through #20. San Diego State, Southern Miss, Ohio State, Northern Illinois and North Carolina all remain #21 through #25. No one dropped out this week. Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Maryland (228 votes) is #26, followed by Ole Miss (188), SMU (148), Ohio (120) and USC (68). Vanderbilt (28) is also receiving votes.

In the Media poll, TCU (45 first place votes) remains #1, Notre Dame (20 votes) remains #2, Nebraska remains #3, Oregon and Texas jump one to #4 and #5. Georgia and Rutgers both jump one to #6 and #7, Oklahoma drops four to #8, Iowa climbs one to #9 while Michigan State drops one to #10. Stanford, NC State, Alabama, Boise State and Miami all remain #11 through #15. Wisconsin, Clemson, Mississippi State, Texas A&M and San Diego State all remain #16 through #20. Auburn, Southern Miss, Northern Illinois, Ohio State and North Carolina all remain #21 through #25. No one dropped out this week, Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Ole Miss (269) is #26, followed by Maryland (230), Nevada (153), USC (153) and Ohio (126) to round out the Top 30. SMU (76) and Vanderbilt (76) are also receiving votes.

Looking at the new BCS standings: #1 Notre Dame (.997), #2 TCU (.997), #3 Nebraska (.989), #4 Oregon (.984), #5 Georgia (.976), #6 Texas (.973), #7 Iowa (.962), #8 Oklahoma (.957), #9 Rutgers (.954) and #10 Michigan State (.945).

Taking a look at the newest bowl projections, if they hold out, it's a trip to the New Orleans Bowl for Tulsa fans, to take on 8-4 Cincinnati from the Big East. #22Southern Miss is now projected to visit the TicketCity Bowl and face off with Northwestern (7-5). #23 Ohio State (8-4) would make a trip to the Insight Bowl to take on Oklahoma State (6-6)

Looking at the BCS bowl projections, in the Rose Bowl, #3 Nebraska matches up with #4 Oregon. The Sugar Bowl features #5 Georgia vs. #10 Stanford. The Orange Bowl has #11 NC State vs. #7 Iowa. The Fiesta Bowl, #6 Oklahoma takes on #13 Boise State. And in the national championship game, #2 TCU takes on #1 Notre Dame.

JeffHCross

01-20-2013, 08:58 PM

So, Memphis has 1 win in five seasons? Or how many do they have?

SmoothPancakes

01-20-2013, 09:06 PM

So, Memphis has 1 win in five seasons? Or how many do they have?

I just went back through all my posted seasons and looked up their records. To put it simply, they're terrible. :D

2011 - 1-11
2012 - 1-11
2013 - 2-10
2014 - 0-12
2015 - 1-11
2016 - 0-12

SmoothPancakes

01-22-2013, 11:02 AM

C-USA Conference Championship Game

:Tulsa: :@: :Marshall:

Game Notes

--- It was a hard fought road, but we made it back to the C-USA Conference Championship Game. Unexpectedly, we would not be facing a rematch with Southern Miss, but instead of showdown with Marshall, the first playing the Thundering Herd in Coach Ramius’ career, after Marshall knocked off the Golden Eagles in week 14. Marshall offensively entered the game as a middling team, neither great nor bad in any area on offense. Defensively, they entered with the #8 passing defense in the nation, but also with the #109 rushing defense. Hopefully our boys would be ready to play and avoid getting upset by Marshall like happened to Southern Miss. With a snowstorm a blowing in Huntington, West Virginia, Marshall won the coin toss and elected to kick.

A touchback on the opening kickoff got us off and running, our offense starting from the 25. Roy Smith took the ball on the opening play, picking up 6 yards on the ground, followed by a 5 yard rush to get the first down. Throwing up a pass to Eric Hayden, the ball was nearly intercepted by the safety, leaving second down. Going over the middle on the next play, this time Hayden was able to get to the ball, hauling in the pass for a 13 yard gain and a first down at the 49 yard line. A 6 yard rush by Smith was followed with a 9 yard gain by Randy Newman to get the first down at the Marshall 36. Smith took the handoff for a 5 yard gain, before Newman rumbled ahead for 9 yards and a first down at the 23 yard line. We would find the end zone on the next play, as the Brad Stephens kept the ball, all the blocks lining up, allowing him to race down the left sideline for the 23 yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead with 6:21 left in the first quarter.

A 17 yard kickoff return started Marshall at their 21. After an incomplete pass on first down, David Ferguson hit Lance Rose for a 10 yard gain, leaving third and inches. That third and inches would turn into first down for our offense, as Montrell Collins hauled in a pass for a 13 yard gain, but was stripped of the ball, cornerback Allen Moore recovering the fumble to give us possession at the Marshall 43 yard line. A pair of rushes by Smith for gains of four yards each left us looking at third and two. Smith was able to get the ball to the first down marker for two yard gain, moving the chains to the 33. Going into the air on first down, Stephens hit Chad Fisher for a 15 yard gain down to the 17. A 6 yard gain by Smith was followed up with a pickup of one yard by Newman to leave third and three. Smith could only manage one yard on the third down carry to the Marshall 9 yard line, leaving the field goal unit coming out. The 27 yard kick by Alphonso Pratt was good, extending our lead to 10-0 with 2:54 left in the first quarter.

Marshall began their next drive on the 25 after the kickoff. Brian Baker started with a two yard rush, followed by a 7 yard gain by Rose to leave third and inches. Opting to go for the pass instead of the run, the throw from Ferguson to Rose was batted incomplete, leaving fourth and inches. An 8 yard return by Fisher on the 42 yard punt set our offense up at our 31. There wasn’t much going on first down, as Smith was quickly wrapped up for a one yard gain. The defense again gave nothing, Smith only able to get one yard to leave third and 8. Stephens never had a chance on third down, forced to throw the ball into the ground just as the blitzing safety hit him, leaving fourth and 8. A 10 yard return on the 45 yard punt gave Marshall possession at their 33 yard line. An incomplete pass, a two yard rush by Baker and a dropped ball by Nigel Lambert left the drive stalled out and the punt team coming out on fourth and 8. A fair catch gave us back possession at our 22 yard line. A 10 yard rush by Smith out to the 32 yard line picked up the first down, as the final seconds ticked off the clock, the first quarter coming to an end with our lead 10-0.

Opening up the second quarter, another 10 yard rush by Smith gave us a first down at the 42 yard line. Keeping it going on the ground, Smith rumbled ahead for an 11 yard gain and a first down at the Marshall 47. The first down pass to Fisher was initially caught, but a big hit to the back by the cornerback jarred the ball loose and incomplete. A missed interception attempt by the outside linebacker allowed Hayden to haul in a pass from Stephens for a 16 yard gain down to the 31 yard line. Throwing to Nicholas Roberts, Stephens was able to get the ball out just before getting hit, Roberts catching the pass on his way out of bounds for a 13 yard gain down to the 18 yard line. A pass to Max Thompson on an out route gained 9 yards, leaving second and two, followed by a 5 yard run by Smith to set up first and goal at the four yard line. The first play was nothing short of a disaster, as Newman was quickly swarmed by green jerseys, pushing off of one tackle attempt and running for the sideline, but quickly pushed further backwards and tackled for a four yard loss to the 8 yard line. A second down rush by Smith picked up three yards, leaving third and goal at the 5. The drive would crash to an end on the next play, as Stephens was sacked for a 9 yard loss, leaving us attempting a field goal from the 14 yard line. The 31 yard field goal attempt by Pratt was no good, leaving the score 10-0 with 5:13 left to go in the half.

Taking over at the 20 yard line, Baker got Marshall started on offense with a 5 yard rush, before Ferguson was tackled for a loss of three yards to leave third and 8. Ferguson would be forced to scramble on third down, picking up four yards, but not enough as the punt team came out on fourth and four. An 8 yard return by Fisher on the 43 yard punt returned possession to our offense at our 39 yard line. Keeping the ball on first down, Stephens was quickly tackled for a loss of three yards. A failed option play on second down resulted in another three yard loss by Stephens, immediately brought down by both the defensive end and the middle linebacker, leaving us facing third and 16. The third down pass intended for Fisher was broken up, and the punt team came out. A fair catch on the 48 yard punt got Marshall started at their 19 yard line. Baker started the drive with a 6 yard rush out to the 25, before an incomplete pass left third and four. The Thundering Herd would commit their second turnover of the game, as Ferguson was intercepted by cornerback Jonathan Chambers, giving us the ball at the Marshall 34 yard line.

A 7 yard rush by Smith was followed with a 6 yard gain to get the first down at the 21 yard line, 2:18 left in the half. A pitch to Newman resulted in us going backwards, tackled for a loss of three yards. The second down pass intended for Hayden sailed long and incomplete, leaving third and 13. Newman would keep the drive alive, hauling in a short pass from Stephens and then racing the safety and outside linebacker to and up the sideline for a 16 yard gain, leaving first and goal at the 7 yard line. Smith never had a chance on first down, swarmed by the defense for a three yard loss, our first timeout stopping the clock with 1:09 to go. Smith picked up one yard up the middle, leaving third and goal at the 9 yard line. The third down pass to Donny Jordan was broken up by the outside linebacker, leaving fourth and goal with 40 seconds to go. The 26 yard field goal by Pratt was good, giving us a 13-0 lead with 37 seconds remaining.

Marshall started their next drive on the 25 yard line after a touchback on the kickoff. Three straight incomplete passes, two of them dropped, left the Thundering Herd punting the ball with 16 seconds to go. An 18 yard return by Fisher on the 47 yard punt gave us the ball at our 45 yard line with 8 seconds to go. Taking a shot deep for the hell of it, the deep bomb down the right sideline intended for Fisher sailed long and out of bounds, leaving three seconds on the clock. A 5 yard rush up the middle by Smith brought the first half to an end, our lead 13-0.

Opening up the third quarter, the kickoff sailed out of the end zone for a touchback, Marshall taking over at their 25 yard line. It would only keep getting worse for the green and white faithful, as Chambers intercepted his second pass of the day, giving us the ball on the Marshall 30 yard line. Smith was quickly brought down for a one yard gain on the first down carry. Stephens kept the ball himself on the next play, a block taking down the cornerback and opening up the corner, Stephens racing all the way down to the four yard line for a 25 yard rush to set up first and goal. The first down rush by Smith went for a loss of two yards. Keeping the ball on second and goal, Stephens also couldn’t find an opening on the ground, tackled for another loss of two yards, leaving third and goal at the 8 yard line. Stephens tried to hit Hayden in the back of the end zone, but the ball sailed too high and out of the end zone incomplete, leaving fourth and goal. The 25 yard field goal by Pratt was good, extending our lead to 16-0 with 6:55 left in the third quarter.

A touchback on the kickoff gave Marshall the ball at their 25 yard line. Ferguson picked up three yards on first down for Marshall, before the defense would force yet another turnover, cornerback Chad Wheeler causing and then recovering a fumble by Baker to give us possession at the Marshal 35 yard line. Smith picked up 8 yards on the first down carry, before being immediately tackled in the backfield for a one yard loss to leave third and three. Newman took the ball on third down, tripped forward for a three yard gain to leave fourth and inches. The 42 yard field goal by Pratt was good, increasing our lead to 19-0 with 4:31 to play in the third quarter.

No return on the kickoff left Marshall again at their 25 yard line. After a dropped pass by Wesley Anderson, the Thundering Herd finally found some success, as Ferguson hit Albert Jenkins for a 13 yard gain and a first down at the 38. Another pass to Jenkins picked up 17 yards to our 45 yard line. Two incomplete passes and a two yard rush by Baker would leave the drive stalled out, Marshall punting on fourth and 8 from our 43 yard line. The punt sailed out of the end zone for a touchback, our offense taking over at our 20 yard line. A pair of rushes by Smith picked up gains of three and 5 yards to give us third and two at the 28 yard line. The toss left to Newman sent us backwards, tackled for a loss of four yards and punting on fourth and 7. A 5 yard return on the 46 yard punt gave Marshall possession at the 36 yard line. It was a rough start, as a holding penalty sent the Herd backwards. Another holding penalty made it even more daunting for Marshall, left with first and 10 at the 16 yard line. After an incomplete pass on first down, the defense forced its fifth turnover of the game, middle linebacker Jermaine Clark stripping the ball out of the arms of Collins after he received a pass from Ferguson and recovering the fumble at the Marshall 29 yard line.

A pair of rushes by Smith picked up gains of two and four yards to leave third and four. Stephens kept the ball himself on the next play, spinning his way out of two tackles, but ultimately only able to gain one yard, leaving fourth and three. That would be the final play of the third quarter, as the last five seconds ticked off the clock, our lead holding at 19-0.

Opening up the fourth quarter, the 39 yard field goal attempt by Pratt was good, extending our lead now to 22-0 just three seconds into the fourth. A 24 yard kickoff return set Marshall up at their 23 yard line, an uphill climb in front of them, but not impossible. Airing it out, Ferguson completed a 7 yard past to Jenkins before hitting Collins for a gain of 13 yard and a first down at the 43 yard line. A pass to Rose for 5 yards was followed with an 8 yard strike to Anderson and another first down at our 45. Ferguson would find Collins for an 11 yard gain on the next play and a new set of downs at our 34 yard line, before three straight incomplete passes, the last one dropped by Lambert, left Marshall stuck in the mud on fourth and 10. The Herd elected to go for it, the pass intended for Baker sailing incomplete, and we took over on downs at our 34 yard line.

Stephens took the ball on first down, only managing to pick up two yards, followed by a 7 yard rush by Smith to leave third and one at the 42. The Marshall defense again denied us on third down, the middle linebacker blitzing through and blowing up the play, tackling Smith for a two yard loss to leave fourth and three. A fair catch on the 44 yard punt set Marshall up at their 16 yard line with 5:57 to go. After a pair of incomplete passes, Ferguson hit Lambert deep for a 26 yard gain and a first down at the 42 yard line. Three more incomplete passes, including yet another dropped ball by Lambert, left the Herd facing fourth and 10. Marshall would covert the fourth down, as Ferguson hit Rose down the right sideline for a 25 yard gain to set up first down at our 33 yard line. A pair of incomplete passes and a false start penalty left Marshall with third and 15. They would turn the ball over on downs two plays later, Collins dropping two consecutive passes.

With the turnover on downs, we took over on offense at our 38 yard line, 4:44 left to play in the game. The defense continued to shut down our run game, Smith tackled for a three yard loss on the first down carry. An incomplete pass intended for Fisher was nearly intercepted, leaving third and 13. With a heavy blitz coming, Stephens rolled out and tried to scramble, but was tripped up by the outside linebacker for an 11 yard sack, leaving us punting on fourth and 24. A 10 yard return on the 51 yard punt gave Marshall the ball at their 34 yard line. Marshall went right to the air on first down, Ferguson finding Rose for a 10 yard gain and a first down at the 44. After two incomplete passes, a 27 yard throw to Anderson converted the third down and gave Marshall a first down at our 29 yard line. An 8 yard pass to Anderson was followed with two incomplete passes, leaving fourth and two at our 21. A 5 yard toss to Jenkins got the first down for the Herd, moving the chains to our 16 yard line. Two incomplete passes and a loss of four yards by Baker left Marshall looking at fourth and 14 at our 19 yard line, 2:29 left in the game. Our defense would respond, sacking Ferguson for an 8 yard loss and forcing the turnover on downs at our 27 yard line with 2:19 remaining.

Taking over at our 27 yard line after the turnover on downs, Smith took the first down carry for a 6 yard gain to the 33. A 6 yard rush by Newman would get the first down at the 39 yard line, and that would be all she wrote, as Stephens would only need to kneel down the ball twice to run the final 1:34 off the clock, giving us a 22-0 victory and clinching the C-USA Championship for another year.

With the win, we improve to 9-4, 7-2 in C-USA action and win the 2016 C-USA Championship. With the loss, Marshall drops to 8-5, 7-2 in C-USA play. Up next, the wait to find out who we will play in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl.

Final Score
:Tulsa: 22, :Marshall: 0

Stat(s) of the Game:
Tulsa Offense – A very quiet day by Stephens, only throwing 6-15 for 81 yard, also had 18 yards rushing and the only touchdown of the game on the ground. Smith led the way on the ground with 126 yard rushing on 32 carries. Receiving, five players caught a ball, Hayden the leader with 29 yards on two receptions.

Tulsa Defense – An insane day defensively, ending with a very much uncharacteristic 5 turnovers to keep Marshall from ever being a threat.

Tulsa Kicking – A busy day for Pratt, going 5-6, making kicks of 27, 26, 25, 42 and 39 yards, while missing from 31 yards out. Also went 1-1 in PATs.

Scoring Summary

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

:Tulsa:
10
3
6
3
22

:Marshall:
0
0
0
0
0

Time
Team
Result
Play
Score

First Quarter

6:21
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
B. Stephens, 23 yard run (A. Pratt kick)
:Tulsa: 7-0

2:54
:Tulsa:
Field Goal
A. Pratt, 27 yard field goal
:Tulsa: 10-0

Second Quarter

0:37
:Tulsa:
Field Goal
A. Pratt, 26 yard field goal
:Tulsa: 13-0

Third Quarter

6:55
:Tulsa:
Field Goal
A. Pratt, 25 yard field goal
:Tulsa: 16-0

4:31
:Tulsa:
Field Goal
A. Pratt, 42 yard field goal
:Tulsa: 19-0

Fourth Quarter

8:57
:Tulsa:
Field Goal
A. Pratt, 39 yard field goal
:Tulsa: 22-0

Game Stats

Tulsa
Stat
Marshall

22
Score
0

16
First Downs
10

241
Total Offense
244

52 - 160 - 1
Rushes - Yards - TD
11 - 31 - 0

6 - 15 - 0
Comp - Att - TD
16 - 49 - 0

81
Passing Yards
213

2
Times Sacked
1

2 - 13 (15%)
3rd Down Conversion
2 - 13 (14%)

0 - 0 (0%)
4th Down Conversion
2 - 5 (40%)

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

6 - 0 - 3 (50%)
Red Zone - TD - FG
1 - 0 - 0 (0%)

0
Turnovers
5

0
Fumbles Lost
3

0
Intercepted
2

34
Punt Return Yards
25

0
Kick Return Yards
41

275
Total Yards
310

5 – 47.0
Punts - Average
5 - 44.0

0 - 0
Penalties
4 - 35

21:36
Time of Possession
14:24

Tulsa Contract Goals Update

Fail Impact
Goal
Progress
Pass Impact

:6redarrow:
21+ points per game in each season
26
:6greenarrow:

Win 10 games in one season
9
:6greenarrow:

3300+ passing yards each season
2682
:5greenarrow:

:6redarrow:
65% pass completions over the entire contract
60%
:5greenarrow:

:5redarrow:
Win 6 games in one season
:check:
:5greenarrow:

:6redarrow:
15+ rushing TD in each season
1/4 Completed
:5greenarrow:

:4redarrow:
3200+ total offensive yards each season
1/4 Completed
:3greenarrow:

:5redarrow:
3400+ total offensive yards each season
1/4 Completed
:2greenarrow:

Job Security Status

48%

SmoothPancakes

01-22-2013, 11:20 AM

Conference Championship Week

Conference
Winning Team
Record
Score
Losing Team
Record

:ACC_Championship:
(11) :NC_State:
11-2 (8-2)
31-16
:Duke:
7-6 (6-4)

:Big_East:
:Connecticut:
9-4 (7-2)
41-21
(21) :San_Diego_State:
10-3 (7-2)

:B1G_Championship:
(8) :Rutgers:
11-2 (8-2)
35-28
(3) :Nebraska:
10-3 (8-2)

:CUSA:
:Tulsa:
9-4 (7-2)
22-0
:Marshall:
8-5 (7-2)

:MAC_Championship:
:Ohio:
10-3 (8-2)
34-27 OT
(24) :Northern_Illinois:
10-3 (8-2)

:Pac_12:
:USC:
9-4 (7-3)
35-31
(4) :Oregon:
11-2 (8-2)

:SEC_Championship:
(5) :Georgia:
11-2 (9-1)
49-17
(20) :Mississippi_State:
8-5 (7-3)

SmoothPancakes

01-22-2013, 12:39 PM

Pre-Bowl Games Update

Final BCS Standings

Rank
LW
Team
Wins
Losses
Points

1
1
Notre Dame
12
0
1.000

2
2
TCU
12
0
.995

3
9
Rutgers
11
2
.986

4
5
Georgia
11
2
.984

5
6
Texas
10
2
.980

6
7
Iowa
10
2
.970

7
8
Oklahoma
10
2
.970

8
3
Nebraska
10
3
.959

9
11
Stanford
9
3
.949

10
4
Oregon
11
2
.949

11
10
Michigan State
8
4
.941

12
12
NC State
11
2
.935

13
13
Boise State
11
1
.918

14
14
Alabama
8
4
.917

15
15
Miami
8
4
.912

16
16
Wisconsin
8
4
.911

17
17
Clemson
8
4
.884

18
19
Texas A&M
8
4
.881

19
29
Auburn
8
4
.879

20
---
USC
9
4
.877

21
22
Ohio State
8
4
.858

22
24
North Carolina
8
4
.852

23
23
Southern Miss
10
2
.850

24
---
Maryland
8
4
.829

25
---
Ole Miss
8
4
.827

Conference Standings

* - Played in Conference Championship Game

ACC

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

Atlantic Division

#1
(12) NC State*
11-2
.846
8-2
415
298
4-2

#2
Florida State
7-5
.580
5-4
298
274
4-2

#3
(17) Clemson
8-4
.660
5-4
419
254
4-2

#4
Louisville
6-6
.500
4-5
350
314
3-3

#5
Wake Forest
4-8
.330
3-6
355
425
3-3

#6
Boston College
4-8
.330
2-7
248
350
2-4

#7
Syracuse
4-8
.330
1-8
254
317
1-5

Coastal Division

#1
(15) Miami (FL)
8-4
.660
6-3
325
200
3-3

#2
(22) North Carolina
8-4
.660
6-3
387
309
4-2

#3
Georgia Tech
7-5
.580
6-3
305
278
3-3

#4
Duke*
7-6
.530
6-4
293
306
4-2

#5
Virginia
7-5
.580
4-5
365
302
4-2

#6
Pittsburgh
5-7
.410
4-5
284
292
1-5

#7
Virginia Tech
6-6
.500
4-5
322
279
2-4

Big 12

Rank
Team
Record
Percentage
Conference Record
Points For
Points Against

#1
(2) TCU
12-0
1.000
9-0
466
250

#2
(5) Texas
10-2
.830
7-2
522
225

#3
(7) Oklahoma
10-2
.830
7-2
486
273

#4
Baylor
7-5
.580
5-4
359
383

#5
Oklahoma State
6-6
.500
4-5
383
281

#6
Kansas State
4-8
.330
3-6
293
368

#7
Iowa State
4-8
.330
3-6
240
355

#8
West Virginia
3-9
.250
3-6
308
438

#9
Texas Tech
5-7
.410
3-6
316
374

#10
Kansas
4-8
.330
1-8
293
455

Big East

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

American Division

#1
Connecticut*
9-4
.690
7-2
463
357
3-2

#2
Cincinnati
8-4
.660
5-3
405
244
4-1

#3
Central Florida
6-6
.500
5-3
312
311
3-2

#4
Navy
6-6
.500
4-4
330
294
2-3

#5
Houston
6-6
.500
4-4
388
358
2-3

#6
East Carolina
6-6
.500
3-5
313
302
1-4

National Division

#1
San Diego State*
10-3
.760
7-2
382
265
5-0

#2
SMU
8-4
.660
6-2
389
357
3-2

#3
Temple
5-7
.410
4-4
272
371
3-2

#4
USF
3-9
.250
3-5
244
345
3-2

#5
Tulane
3-9
.250
1-7
213
398
1-4

#6
Memphis
0-12
.000
0-8
230
418
0-5

Big Ten

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

Leaders Division

#1
(3) Rutgers*
11-2
.840
8-2
538
316
5-1

#2
(21) Ohio State
8-4
.660
5-4
335
293
5-1

#3
Maryland
8-4
.660
5-4
289
238
4-2

#4
Indiana
5-7
.410
4-5
322
295
3-3

#5
Penn State
5-7
.410
3-6
286
262
3-3

#6
Purdue
3-9
.250
2-7
203
385
1-5

#7
Illinois
3-9
.250
1-8
286
353
0-6

Legends Division

#1
(8) Nebraska*
10-3
.760
8-2
457
294
5-1

#2
(6) Iowa
10-2
.830
7-2
364
219
4-2

#3
(11) Michigan State
8-4
.660
6-3
399
315
5-1

#4
(16) Wisconsin
8-4
.660
6-3
351
268
3-3

#5
Northwestern
7-5
.580
5-4
362
250
2-4

#6
Michigan
6-6
.500
4-5
348
291
2-4

#7
Minnesota
2-10
.160
0-9
216
460
0-6

Conference USA

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

East Division

#1
(23) Southern Miss
10-2
.830
7-1
404
203
4-1

#2
Marshall*
8-5
.610
7-2
334
269
5-0

#3
Florida International
8-4
.660
6-2
331
299
3-2

#4
Louisiana Tech
6-6
.500
4-4
281
263
2-3

#5
Florida Atlantic
4-8
.330
3-5
231
329
1-4

#6
UAB
1-11
.080
1-7
216
435
0-5

West Division

#1
Tulsa*
9-4
.690
7-2
348
159
4-1

#2
North Texas
5-7
.410
4-4
187
265
4-1

#3
UTEP
6-6
.500
4-4
286
302
3-2

#4
UTSA
6-6
.500
4-4
279
279
2-3

#5
Middle Tennessee State
4-8
.330
2-6
252
307
2-3

#6
Rice
1-11
.080
0-8
191
348
0-5

Independents

Rank
Team
Record
Percentage
Conference Record
Points For
Points Against

#1
(1) Notre Dame
12-0
1.000
---
564
293

#2
UMass
3-9
.250
---
203
341

MAC

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

East Division

#1
Ohio*
10-3
.760
8-2
392
283
5-0

#2
Kent State
6-6
.500
6-3
264
252
3-2

#3
Bowling Green
6-6
.500
5-4
335
286
4-1

#4
Miami University
6-6
.500
5-4
335
297
2-3

#5
Buffalo
3-9
.250
2-7
206
368
1-4

#6
Akron
3-9
.250
1-8
243
323
0-5

West Division

#1
Northern Illinois*
10-3
.760
8-2
414
268
4-1

#2
Western Michigan
7-5
.580
6-3
354
305
2-3

#3
Toledo
7-5
.580
5-4
303
285
3-2

#4
Central Michigan
3-9
.250
3-6
274
415
3-2

#5
Ball State
4-8
.330
3-6
232
383
2-3

#6
Eastern Michigan
3-9
.250
3-6
267
359
1-4

Mountain West

Rank
Team
Record
Percentage
Conference Record
Points For
Points Against

#1
(13) Boise State
11-1
.910
7-1
406
240

#2
Colorado State
7-5
.580
6-2
344
315

#3
Nevada
8-4
.660
6-2
419
263

#4
Hawaii
6-6
.500
5-3
293
338

#5
Fresno State
6-6
.500
4-4
359
308

#6
Air Force
7-5
.580
4-4
330
324

#7
Utah State
5-7
.410
3-5
310
303

#8
San Jose State
1-11
.080
1-7
171
344

#9
UNLV
1-11
.080
0-8
166
437

Pac-12

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

North Division

#1
(10) Oregon*
11-2
.840
8-2
480
215
4-1

#2
(9) Stanford
9-3
.750
7-2
428
282
4-1

#3
Washington
6-6
.500
5-4
323
324
2-3

#4
Oregon State
6-6
.500
4-5
487
436
3-2

#5
Cal
4-8
.330
3-6
353
467
2-3

#6
Washington State
1-11
.080
0-9
284
530
0-5

South Division

#1
(20) USC*
9-4
.690
7-3
354
324
2-3

#2
Arizona
8-4
.660
5-4
397
297
3-2

#3
Utah
6-6
.500
4-5
311
327
3-2

#4
Colorado
7-5
.580
4-5
384
396
2-3

#5
UCLA
5-7
.410
4-5
321
387
2-3

#6
Arizona State
5-7
.410
4-5
377
410
3-2

SEC

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

East Division

#1
(4) Georgia*
11-2
.840
9-1
484
317
5-1

#2
South Carolina
7-5
.580
5-4
423
357
3-3

#3
Vanderbilt
8-4
.660
5-4
359
263
4-2

#4
Missouri
5-7
.410
4-5
297
386
4-2

#5
Tennessee
5-7
.410
3-6
289
386
2-4

#6
Florida
5-7
.410
3-6
353
354
2-4

#7
Kentucky
4-8
.330
2-7
251
344
1-5

West Division

#1
Mississippi State*
8-5
.610
7-3
315
257
5-1

#2
(14) Alabama
8-4
.660
5-4
410
238
2-4

#3
(25) Ole Miss
8-4
.660
5-4
387
305
3-3

#4
(18) Texas A&M
8-4
.660
5-4
484
387
3-3

#5
(19) Auburn
8-4
.660
5-4
415
300
3-3

#6
LSU
6-6
.500
3-6
384
331
3-3

#7
Arkansas
4-8
.330
3-6
306
359
2-4

Sun Belt

Rank
Team
Record
Percentage
Conference Record
Points For
Points Against

#1
Arkansas State
8-4
.660
5-2
307
233

#2
BYU
8-4
.660
5-2
342
298

#3
UL Monroe
8-4
.660
4-3
314
294

#4
Army
6-6
.500
4-3
236
211

#5
Western Kentucky
4-8
.330
4-3
271
341

#6
Texas State
5-7
.410
3-4
327
259

#7
UL Lafayette
5-7
.410
2-5
289
271

#8
Troy
4-8
.330
1-6
232
351

WAC

Rank
Team
Record
Percentage
Conference Record
Points For
Points Against

#1
Wyoming
8-4
.660
3-0
421
211

#2
Idaho
8-4
.660
1-2
299
244

#3
New Mexico
6-6
.500
1-2
301
296

#4
New Mexico State
6-6
.500
1-2
352
356

Heisman Memorial Trophy

:Heisman_Trophy:

Rank
Player
Position
Team
1st
2nd
3rd
Total

#1
Matt Blount
HB
Georgia
411
242
100
1817

#2
Jordan Cooke
QB
Notre Dame
180
258
221
1277

#3
Andrew Schmidt
QB
TCU
107
182
252
937

#4
Ben Parham
HB
Rutgers
73
81
166
547

#5
Joey Owens
HB
Notre Dame
12
21
42
120

Award Winners

Award
Player
Position
Team
Year

:Heisman_Trophy:
Matt Blount
HB
Georgia
Senior

Maxwell
Jordan Cooke
QB
Notre Daem
Junior (RS)

Walter Camp
Matt Blount
HB
Georgia
Senior

Bednarik
James Culp
ROLB
Cincinnati
Senior

Nagurski
Calvin Johnson
LE
Boise State
Sophomore

O'Brien
Jordan Cooke
QB
Notre Dame
Junior (RS)

Walker
Matt Blount
HB
Georgia
Senior

Biletnikoff
Gerald Brown
WR
Oregon State
Senior

Mackey
Jake Jones
TE
Notre Dame
Senior

Outland
Drew Morris
LT
Rutgers
Senior

Rimington
Nick Johnson
C
Oregon
Senior (RS)

Lombardi
Calvin Johnson
LE
Boise State
Sophomore

Best LB
James Culp
ROLB
Cincinnati
Senior

Thorpe
Terry Barnes
SS
Oklahoma
Senior (RS)

Groza
John Brothers
K
Boise State
Senior (RS)

Guy
Dennis Reese
P
Wisconsin
Junior (RS)

Best Returner
Ben Parham
HB
Rutgers
Senior (RS)

All Americans

All-NCAA

1st Team

Position
Player
Team
Year

Offense

QB
Jordan Cooke
Notre Dame
Junior (RS)

HB
Matt Blount
Georgia
Senior

HB
Tom Hardin
Texas
Senior

WR
Gerald Brown
Oregon State
Senior

WR
Justin Hill
NC State
Senior (RS)

TE
Jake Jones
Notre Dame
Senior

LT
Drew Morris
Rutgers
Senior

C
Nick Johnson
Oregon
Senior (RS)

RG
Jermey Jackson
Georgia
Senior (RS)

RG
Bruce Alexander
TCU
Senior (RS)

RT
Eric Bowling
Notre Dame
Senior (RS)

Defense

LE
Calvin Johnson
Boise State
Sophomore

LE
Jaron Stanford
Ohio State
Senior

DT
Paul Ralph
USC
Junior (RS)

DT
Marcus Williams
Rutgers
Junior (RS)

MLB
Josh Brown
Texas
Senior

ROLB
James Culp
Cincinnati
Senior

ROLB
Nathan Wesley
Nebraska
Junior (RS)

CB
William Hill
Miami (FL)
Senior

CB
Cory Brooks
Connecticut
Senior (RS)

FS
Ivan Bennett
Connecticut
Senior (RS)

SS
Terry Barnes
Oklahoma
Senior (RS)

K
John Brothers
Boise State
Senior (RS)

P
Dennis Reese
Wisconsin
Junior (RS)

Returner
Kevin Mitchell
Auburn
Senior

2nd Team

Position
Player
Team
Year

Offense

QB
Bruce Grigsby
Rutgers
Senior

HB
Ben Parham
Rutgers
Senior (RS)

HB
Kevin Moore
USC
Senior (RS)

WR
Alfred Lamb
Houston
Senior

WR
Ernest Carr
Texas A&M
Junior (RS)

TE
John Davis
Rutgers
Freshman

LT
Dwayne Wesley
Stanford
Senior (RS)

LG
Chris Washington
USC
Senior

C
Avery Dawson
Texas
Seinor (RS)

RG
Joe Walker
Notre Dame
Junior (RS)

RT
Kerry Johnson
Texas
Senior

Defense

LE
Jerome Ferguson
Washington
Senior (RS)

RE
Cedric Copeland
San Diego State
Senior (RS)

DT
Chris Peoples
Tulsa
Junior (RS)

DT
Maurice Lemon
TCU
Senior (RS)

LOLB
David Weber
Northern Illinois
Senior (RS)

MLB
Jared Day
Cincinnati
Senior

ROLB
Justin Douglas
Oklahoma
Senior (RS)

CB
J.J. Newsome
Mississippi State
Senior

CB
Brett Flowers
Oklahoma
Senior (RS)

FS
Nick Kidd
TCU
Junior (RS)

SS
Josh Downing
Boise State
Senior (RS)

K
Gary Weber
Oklahoma
Senior (RS)

P
Mark Holland
TCU
Junior (RS)

Returner
Shawn Edmonds
Arizona State
Junior

Freshman Team

Position
Player
Team
Year

Offense

QB
Brad Stephens
Tulsa
Freshman

HB
Eric Davis
Penn State
Freshman (RS)

HB
Brian Baker
Marshall
Freshman

WR
Rob Brown
Iowa
Freshman

WR
Rob Anderson
Kansas State
Freshman

TE
John Davis
Rutgers
Freshman

LT
Walter Harris
Nebraska
Freshman

LG
Terrell Diggs
Georgia
Freshman

C
David Jones
Georgia
Freshman (RS)

RG
Kevin Wilson
Notre Dame
Freshman

RT
Ricky Noel
Notre Dame
Freshman

Defense

LE
Brian Fernandez
Auburn
Freshman

LE
Brennan Stephens
Wyoming
Freshman

DT
Eddie Moore
Rutgers
Freshman

DT
John Walker
Notre Dame
Freshman

LOLB
Matt Houston
UCLA
Freshman

MLB
Joseph Amos
East Carolina
Freshman

ROLB
T.J. Bell
Wisconsin
Freshman

CB
Jonathan Chambers
Tulsa
Freshman

CB
Ryan Small
NC State
Freshman

FS
Brandon Smith
NC State
Freshman (RS)

SS
Joe Manning
Idaho
Freshman

K
John Smith
USC
Freshman

P
David Cooke
Miami (FL)
Freshman

Returner
Josh Walton
Notre Dame
Freshman (RS)

All-Conference USA

1st Team

Position
Player
Team
Year

Offense

QB
Demarcus Lee
Southern Miss
Senior

HB
Brandon Price
Tulsa
Senior

HB
Dan Davidson
Florida International
Junior (RS)

WR
Reggie Adkins
Southern Miss
Senior

WR
Rich Callahan
Southern Miss
Junior (RS)

TE
Dustin Fritz
Southern Miss
Senior

C
Ben Williams
Southern Miss
Senior (RS)

RG
Jason Smith
Tulsa
Senior (RS)

RG
Matt West
Florida International
Senior (RS)

RT
Brad Morton
Southern Miss
Senior

RT
Cameron Powers
Tulsa
Junior (RS)

Defense

LE
Jerome McCullough
Florida Atlantic
Junior (RS)

LE
Curtis Franklin
Florida International
Senior

DT
Chris Peoples
Tulsa
Junior (RS)

DT
George Conley
Southern Miss
Senior

LOLB
Justin Durbin
Southern Miss
Senior (RS)

MLB
Erik Dowdell
Southern Miss
Senior (RS)

ROLB
Joe Thomas
UTEP
Senior (RS)

CB
Danny Walker
Southern Miss
Senior

CB
Ronald Thomas
Florida International
Senior

FS
Jacob Kennedy
UTSA
Senior

SS
James Bryant
UTEP
Senior (RS)

K
Alphonso Pratt
Tulsa
Junior

P
Tony Hodges
Florida International
Sophomore

Returner
Roy Crews
Rice
Senior (RS)

2nd Team

Position
Player
Team
Year

Offense

QB
Paul Kelly
Louisiana Tech
Senior

HB
Frank Wagner
Southern Miss
Junior (RS)

HB
Roy Smith
Tulsa
Junior (RS)

WR
James Weber
Florida International
Senior

WR
Montrell Collins
Marshall
Senior

TE
Spencer Alford
UTEP
Senior (RS)

LT
Joe Jenson
Southern Miss
Sophomore

LT
Joe Bowling
Florida International
Senior (RS)

LG
Daniel Peters
Tulsa
Senior (RS)

C
Ernest McConnell
Florida International
Senior (RS)

RG
Curtis Jones
Southern Miss
Senior

Defense

LE
Greg Wilkerson
Tulsa
Junior (RS)

RE
Dennis Dudley
Southern Miss
Junior (RS)

DT
Jamal Palmer
Florida International
Sophomore

DT
Ray Hawk
Florida Atlantic
Senior (RS)

MLB
Jeremiah Wilson
Middle Tennessee State
Senior (RS)

ROLB
Dustin Petty
Southern Miss
Junior

ROLB
Cedric Sampson
Florida International
Sophomore (RS)

CB
Derrick Cantrell
Southern Miss
Senior

CB
Mario Greco
UTEP
Senior (RS)

FS
A.J. Fenton
Southern Miss
Freshman (RS)

SS
Nick Scott
UTSA
Senior (RS)

K
William Alston
Southern Miss
Senior (RS)

P
Jesse Hickman
Louisiana Tech
Senior

Returner
Mike Griffin
UTEP
Senior (RS)

SmoothPancakes

01-22-2013, 12:40 PM

Interesting. So Georgia HB Matt Blount wins the Heisman for the second year in a row, and Southern Miss dominates the All-C-USA All Americans.

SmoothPancakes

01-22-2013, 12:45 PM

2016 Conference Champions

Conference
Team
Record
Conference Record

CCG Loser
Record
Conference Record

:ACC:
:NC_State:
11-2
8-2

:Duke:
7-6
6-4

:Big_12:
:TCU:
12-0
9-1

:Big_East:
:Connecticut:
9-4
7-2

:San_Diego_State:
10-3
7-2

:Big_Ten:
:Rutgers:
11-2
8-2

:Nebraska:
10-3
8-2

:CUSA:
:Tulsa:
9-4
7-2

:Marshall:
8-5
7-2

:MAC:
:Ohio:
10-3
8-2

:Northern_Illinois:
10-3
8-2

:Mountain_West:
:Boise_State:
11-1
7-1

:Pac_12:
:USC:
9-4
7-3

:Oregon:
11-2
8-2

:SEC:
:Georgia:
11-2
9-1

:Mississippi_State:
8-5
7-3

:Sun_Belt:
:Arkansas_State:
8-4
5-2

:WAC:
:Wyoming:
8-4
3-0

SmoothPancakes

01-22-2013, 02:10 PM

2016 Bowl Season Rundown

Bowl Game
Conference
Record
Team

Team
Record
Conference

Date/Result

:New_Mexico_Bowl:
:Mountain_West:
7-5 (4-4)
:Air_Force:
vs.
:Toledo:
7-5 (5-4)
:MAC:

12/15 - 3:00PM

:Famous_Idaho_Bowl:
:MAC:
7-5 (6-3)
:Western_Michigan:
vs.
:Virginia:
7-5 (4-5)
:ACC:

12/17 - 2:00PM

:New_Orleans_Bowl:
:CUSA:
8-4 (6-2)
:FIU:
vs.
:Arkansas_State:
8-4 (5-2)
:Sun_Belt:

12/17 - 8:30PM

:Beef_O_Bradys_Bowl:
:CUSA:
8-5 (7-2)
:Marshall:
vs.
:Cincinnati:
8-4 (5-3)
:Big_East:

12/20 - 8:00PM

:Poinsettia_Bowl:
:Big_East:
6-6 (4-4)
:Houston:
vs.
:Nevada:
8-4 (6-2)
:Mountain_West:

12/21 - 5:00PM

:Las_Vegas_Bowl:
:Pac_12:
6-6 (4-5)
:Utah:
vs.
:Colorado_State:
7-5 (6-2)
:Mountain_West:

12/22 - 8:00PM

:Hawaii_Bowl:
:CUSA:
6-6 (4-4)
:Louisiana_Tech:
vs.
:Bowling_Green:
6-6 (5-4)
:MAC:

12/24 - 3:00PM

:Independence_Bowl:
:Mountain_West:
6-6 (5-3)
:Hawaii:
vs.
(17) :Clemson:
8-4 (5-4)
:ACC:

12/26 - 4:30PM

:LittleCaesars_Bowl:
:Big_Ten:
6-6 (4-5)
:Michigan:
vs.
:Northern_Illinois:
10-3 (8-2)
:MAC:

12/27 - 2:00PM

:Belk_Bowl:
:ACC:
7-6 (6-4)
:Duke:
vs.
:San_Diego_State:
10-3 (7-2)
:Big_East:

12/27 - 4:30PM

:Military_Bowl:
:MAC:
6-6 (6-3)
:Kent_State:
vs.
:Louisville:
6-6 (4-5)
:ACC:

12/28 - 4:30PM

:Holiday_Bowl:
:Sun_Belt:
8-4 (4-3)
:UL_Monroe:
vs.
:Washington:
6-6 (5-4)
:Pac_12:

12/28 - 5:00PM

:Alamo_Bowl:
:Big_12:
7-5 (5-4)
:Baylor:
vs.
(10) :Oregon:
11-2 (8-2)
:Pac_12:

12/29 - 8:00PM

:Champs_Sports_Bowl:
:Big_East:
9-4 (7-2)
:Connecticut:
vs.
(22) :North_Carolina:
8-4 (6-3)
:ACC:

12/29 - 8:00PM

:Insight_Bowl:
:Big_12:
6-6 (4-5)
:Oklahoma_State:
vs.
(21) :Ohio_State:
8-4 (5-4)
:Big_Ten:

12/30 - 6:00PM

:Music_City_Bowl:
:SEC:
8-4 (5-4)
:Vanderbilt:
vs.
:Florida_State:
7-5 (5-4)
:ACC:

12/30 - 8:30PM

:Sun_Bowl:
:Pac_12:
8-4 (5-4)
:Arizona:
vs.
:Georgia_Tech:
7-5 (6-3)
:ACC:

12/31 - 12:00PM

:Armed_Forces_Bowl:
:CUSA:
6-6 (4-4)
:UTEP:
vs.
:Fresno_State:
6-6 (4-4)
:Mountain_West:

12/31 - 12:00PM

:Liberty_Bowl:
:Big_East:
8-4 (6-2)
:SMU:
vs.
(23) :Southern_Miss:
10-2 (7-1)
:CUSA:

12/31 - 2:00PM

:Meineke_Texas_Bowl:
:Big_Ten:
8-4 (5-4)
(24) :Maryland:
vs.
:LSU:
6-6 (3-6)
:SEC:

12/31 - 2:00PM

:Chick_fil_A_Bowl:
:SEC:
8-4 (5-4)
(25) :Ole_Miss:
vs.
(15) :Miami:
8-4 (6-3)
:ACC:

12/31 - 7:30PM

:Fight_Hunger_Bowl:
:ACC:
6-6 (4-5)
:Virginia_Tech:
vs.
:Colorado:
7-5 (4-5)
:Pac_12:

12/31 - 8:00PM

:Outback_Bowl:
:SEC:
8-4 (5-4)
(14) :Alabama:
vs.
(11) :Michigan_State:
8-4 (6-3)
:Big_Ten:

1/1 - 11:00AM

:Capital_One_Bowl:
:SEC:
8-5 (7-3)
:Mississippi_State:
vs.
(8) :Nebraska:
10-3 (8-2)
:Big_Ten:

1/1 - 1:00PM

:TaxSlayer_Gator:
:SEC:
8-4 (5-4)
(18) :Texas_A&M:
vs.
(16) :Wisconsin:
8-4 (6-3)
:Big_Ten:

1/1 - 1:00PM

:TicketCity_Bowl:
:CUSA:
9-4 (7-2)
:Tulsa:
vs.
:Northwestern:
7-5 (5-4)
:Big_Ten:

1/1 - 3:30PM

:Cotton_Bowl:
:SEC:
7-5 (5-4)
:South_Carolina:
vs.
(7) :Oklahoma:
10-2 (7-2)
:Big_12:

1/4 - 8:00PM

:BBVA_Compass_Bowl:
:Big_East:
6-6 (5-3)
:UCF:
vs.
(19) :Auburn:
8-4 (5-4)
:SEC:

1/6 - 2:00PM

:GoDaddycom_Bowl:
:MAC:
10-3 (8-2)
:Ohio:
vs.
:BYU:
8-4 (5-2)
:Sun_Belt:

1/6 - 6:00PM

2016 BCS Bowls

Bowl Game
Conference
Record
Team

Team
Record
Conference

Date/Result

:Rose_Bowl:
:Big_Ten:
11-2 (8-2)
(3) :Rutgers:
vs.
(20 :USC:
9-4 (7-3)
:Pac_12:

1/1 - 5:00PM

:Sugar_Bowl:
:SEC:
11-2 (9-1)
(5) :Georgia:
vs.
(9) :Stanford:
9-3 (6-2)
:Pac_12:

1/2 - 8:00PM

:Orange_Bowl:
:ACC:
11-2 (8-2)
(12) :NC_State:
vs.
(6) :Iowa:
10-2 (7-2)
:Big_Ten:

1/3 - 8:00PM

:Fiesta_Bowl:
:Big_12:
10-2 (7-2)
(5) :Texas:
vs.
(13) :Boise_State:
11-1 (7-1)
:Mountain_West:

1/4 - 8:00PM

:BCS_Trophy:
:Big_12:
12-0 (9-0)
(2) :TCU:
vs.
(1) :Notre_Dame:
12-0 (0-0)
Independent

1/7 - 8:00PM

SmoothPancakes

01-22-2013, 02:12 PM

So there you have it. In a surprise move, the AutoZone Liberty Bowl says "FU" to conference champion Tulsa and instead picks #23 Southern Miss. With it being an even year, as the (now) #2 team in regards to bowl selection, Tulsa drops down to the TicketCity Bowl against 7-5 Northwestern (which C-USA is the rep vs. the Big Ten in even years).

#1 Notre Dame takes on #2 TCU in the National Championship Game.

Looking through the standings, 78 teams made it bowl eligible with only 68 slots. A lot of teams getting screwed.

And a look at who got screwed out of a bowl game this year:

Big East

:East_Carolina: - (6-6)
:Navy: - (6-6)

C-USA

:UTSA: - (6-6)

MAC

:Miami_OH: - (6-6)

Pac-12

:Oregon_State: - (6-6)

Sun Belt

:Army: - (6-6)

WAC

:Idaho: - (8-4)
:Wyoming: - (8-4)
:New_Mexico: - (6-6)
:New_Mexico_State: - (6-6)

souljahbill

01-22-2013, 05:39 PM

Sigh :fp:

We WOULD lose to Marshall.

SmoothPancakes

01-22-2013, 05:47 PM

Sigh :fp:

We WOULD lose to Marshall.

:D You knew it was going to happen. I was sitting there before I simmed the game, thinking "I just know this game is gonna fuck Southern Miss over", and sure enough. :D

But hey, I beat Marshall for you, and you guys still got to go to the Liberty Bowl since they apparently wanted Southern Miss over Tulsa.

JeffHCross

01-22-2013, 09:26 PM

Three shutouts in a row?

Time to change conferences, sir. That level of dominance is simply unacceptable.

SmoothPancakes

01-22-2013, 09:52 PM

Three shutouts in a row?

Time to change conferences, sir. That level of dominance is simply unacceptable.

They must just be that bad, because I haven't touched sliders in two seasons. I've gone from pathetic losses and tight battles down to the last second, to a couple shutouts. UTSA pretty much just simply sucks. UTEP had the three turnovers that hurt them and killed potential scoring drives. And Marshall, well, you aren't gonna score points when you commit 5 turnovers. And Marshall wasn't even dominance. A whole one touchdown and a bunch of field goals, and still got outgained in yards by Marshall. So their turnovers were the reason they didn't score any points and weren't right there fighting for the win.

Unless I were to move Tulsa to the Big East or something in this coming off-season (which such a move has been rumored but not actually happened yet, so I'd be jumping the gun), there's not much I can do. I've still got another three years on my contract with Tulsa, so it's not even like I can jump to a new team elsewhere.

JeffHCross

01-22-2013, 09:59 PM

SmoothPancakes

01-23-2013, 03:50 AM

How that post read to me:
Blah blah blah I'm blah blah blah too chicken blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah to move blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah to a new conference blah blah blah blah blah blah blah.

:D

Not at all. Tulsa just hasn't moved to a new conference yet. I'm trying to keep my conferences as realistic as possible (as possible with the restrictions forced upon me by being forced to keep the goddamn WAC around). If the real life Tulsa moves to the Big East, I'll move mine there. So if you want that move to happen immediately, email Tulsa and tell them to hurry their asses up working out a deal with the Big East. ;)

SmoothPancakes

01-24-2013, 12:30 PM

Well Jeff, I don't think you have to worry about another shutout. :( :smh:

SmoothPancakes

01-24-2013, 03:09 PM

TicketCity Bowl

:Tulsa: VS :Northwestern:

Game Notes

--- Here we were once again, the conclusion of another season. Despite winning the C-USA Championship for the 2016 season, we were shafted out of the Liberty Bowl, dropping down to the TicketCity Bowl and a matchup with Northwestern. It would be a tough battle, as Northwestern had a more than skilled defense, to go along with the #36 passing attack in the nation. Hopefully our defense would be able to keep us in the game. Northwestern was the recognized home team for the game, a sunny day in Dallas. Northwestern won the coin toss and elected to kick.

A touchback on the opening kickoff got our first drive of the game started at our 25 yard line. Roy Smith took the opening handoff, fighting his way forward for a 9 yard gain against the Wildcats defense. An 11 yard rush by Smith picked up the first down at the 45 yard line on the next play. Taking the ball on first down, Randy Newman was able to pick up two yards, before a one yard rush by Smith left third and 7. Forced to scramble due to the collapsing pocket, Brad Stephens was able to avoid the defensive tackle and break open, getting tackled forward across the first down line for a 10 yard gain to the Northwestern 42. A quick pass to Eric Hayden picked up 15 yards, moving the chains down to the 27 yard line. Taking the ball on first down, Smith was only able to get one yard, the defense breaking through the line to blow up the play. A pitch left never had a chance, the defensive end slowing Smith down, allowing the cornerback and linebacker to close in for the tackle and a four yard loss. Going into the air on third and 13, the pass to Donny Jordan picked up only 5 yards, leaving us with fourth and 8. The 42 yard field goal by Alphonso Pratt was good, giving us a 3-0 lead with 4:19 left in the first quarter.

A 19 yard kickoff return gave Northwestern the ball at their 18 yard line.Ryan Smith started the Wildcats with a 5 yard rush, before Smith launched a deep pass to Andy McDonald for a 24 yard gain and first down at the 47 yard line. McDonald was tackled on the next play for a three yard loss, followed by a three yard pickup by Josh White to leave the Wildcats with third and 10. A 7 yard pass from Smith to Joel Thompson wouldn’t be enough, leaving fourth and three at the 46. Northwestern would run a fake field goal, the pass from kicker Ryan Mills intended for cornerback Alonzo Galloway falling incomplete and turning the ball over on downs. Starting on our 46 after the turnover, the defense wasn’t about to let our run game get moving again, Smith tackled for a one yard gain on first down. Keeping the ball on second down, Stephens was only able to get two yards before being swarmed by purple jerseys. Going into the air on third and 7, the pass to Antoine Banks picked up only four yards, leaving fourth and three at the Northwestern 47 yard line. The punt sailed long and bounced into the end zone, giving Northwestern the ball at their 20.

Opening the drive for Northwestern, White took the ball on consecutive plays, picking up a pair of two yard gains for the Wildcats, leaving third and 6. The drive would remain alive as Smith connected with Laurence Hollis for 14 yards out to the 38. Smith attempted to run the ball on first down, but the defense broke through the line and tackled him for a four yard loss, followed by an incomplete pass on the next play to leave third and 14. Northwestern would keep moving though as Smith connected with White for a 16 yard gain to the 49 yard line. That would end up being the final play of the first quarter, our lead 3-0.

Opening up the second quarter, Smith threw deep over the middle to Jerrell Sanders for a 19 yard gain to our 32 yard line. A 6 yard rush by Smith was followed with a 9 yard pass to McDonald down to our 16. The Wildcats would find the end zone on the next play, White breaking loose and rushing it in for the 16 yard touchdown and a 7-3 lead with 8:12 to play in the half.

An 18 yard return got us set up at our 17 yard line and looking for answers. Throwing on first down, Hayden hauled in a pass for a 6 yard gain, but the Northwestern defense would say hello to Stephens on the next play, sacking him for an 9 yard loss to leave third and 13. A 12 yard pass to Max Thompson would leave us one yard short, the punt team coming out on fourth down. A 7 yard return on the 50 yard punt gave Northwestern possession at their 30 yard line. Smith was tackled for a four yard loss on a designed run on first down, followed by an incomplete pass to leave third and 14. Northwestern nearly had the first down on a deep pass, but the ball was dropped by Thomas Scott, bringing out the punt team for the Wildcats. A fair catch on the 46 yard punt gave us possession at our 27. Going into the air on first down, Stephens threw to Nicholas Roberts on a smash route, but outside linebacker Nate Gschwend was there to jump the route, intercepting the ball and giving Northwestern possession at our 39 yard line.

Starting at our 39 yard line after the interception, Smith connected with McDonald for an 18 yard gain down to our 20 yard line. A two yard rush by Smith was followed with a 5 yard rush by White, before Smith picked up the first down himself with a 6 yard gain on the ground, giving the Wildcats first and goal at our 7 yard line. A 5 yard rush by Smith got Northwestern down to our two yard line, where Smith would go into the air, hitting Thompson for a two yard touchdown pass and a 14-3 lead with 4:38 left in the second quarter.

An 18 yard kickoff return gave us the ball at our 20 yard line and looking for a response. The first down pass intended for Hayden sailed incomplete. Stephens found Newman over the middle for a 5 yard gain on the next play, leaving third and 5. We kept the drive alive as Stephens found Chad Fisher for a 9 yard gain out to the 34 yard line. Keeping in the air on the next play, Hayden slipped past the cornerback and was streaking down the left sideline wide open. The pass from Stephens would never find its way to Hayden though, as Galloway broke over from the middle of the field and intercepted the pass, returning it 6 yards to our 46 yard line. After an incomplete pass on first down, White took the ball up the middle for an 8 yard rush, before a one yard gain by White left Northwestern with fourth and one at our 38. The Wildcats would surprisingly punt it, the ball sailing out of the end zone for a touchback.

Starting on our 20 yard line after the punt, we quickly abandoned the pass and returned to the ground game. That provided no success either, as Smith was tackled for losses of one and two yards to leave us facing third and 13. Northwestern called their first timeout of the half with two minutes to go. The third down pass intended for Hayden was off target, sailing behind Hayden’s back and incomplete, leaving the punt team coming out. A 7 yard return on the 48 yard punt gave Northwestern the ball at their 41 yard line, 1:52 left on the clock. Two incomplete passes got the drive started, followed by a false start penalty that left Northwestern with third and 15. The Wildcats would covert the third and long, as Smith found Hollis for a 19 yard gain to our 45 yard line. A pass to Thompson was followed with a 16 yard strike to McDonald, setting Northwestern up with first down at our 21 yard line, 1:10 remaining. After an incomplete pass and a dropped ball, Northwestern returned to the end zone with a 21 yard touchdown pass from Smith to White, giving the Wildcats a 21-3 lead with 46 seconds remaining.

A 24 yard kickoff return by Fisher set us up at our 32 yard line, 35 seconds to go and all three timeouts. It was horrible start to the drive, as Stephens was sacked for an 11 yard loss, our first timeout stopping the clock with 31 seconds. Stephens was able to connect deep with Smith for a 27 yard gain to the 48 yard line. Rushing to the line, the first down pass intended for Hayden sailed incomplete, stopping the clock with 22 seconds. A pass intended for Roberts was broken up by the cornerback, leaving us third and 10, 18 seconds to go. An 11 yard pass to Thompson picked up the first down at the 41 yard line, our second timeout stopping the clock with 14 seconds. The defense got to Stephens once again, sacking him for an 8 yard loss, leaving us with second and 18 at our 49 yard line, our final timeout stopping the clock with 5 seconds to go. Throwing up a hail mary, the pass by Stephens was underpowered and well short, intercepted by cornerback Mario Bryant to end the half, Northwestern dominating 21-3.

No return on the kickoff to start the third quarter gave Northwestern the ball at their 25 yard line. Smith started off the drive with a 5 yard pass to Sanders, followed by an incomplete pass to leave third and 5. Another incomplete pass would bring the drive to an end, a 7 yard return by Fisher on the 45 yard punt giving us possession at our 32 yard line. Opening up through the air, Stephens found Fisher for a 9 yard gain to leave second and one at the 41. Smith was able to find a hole up the middle on second down, sprinting ahead for a 14 yard gain and a first down at the Northwestern 45 yard line. A first down pass to Fisher was broken up by the safety, nearly intercepted, leaving us second down. A pass to Jordan along the sideline picked up a 12 yard and a first down at the 33 yard line. Hayden was able to beat his man off the line on the next play, Stephens heaving a pass deep into the end zone and Hayden leaping up to haul in the 33 yard touchdown pass, cutting Northwestern’s lead to 21-10 with 7:05 left in the third quarter.

No return on the kickoff set Northwestern up at their 25. After an incomplete pass on first down, Smith hit White for a 15 yard gain to the 40 yard line. The defense fought back, tackling Smith for a three yards loss and forcing an incomplete pass to leave third and 13. A sack for a 10 yard loss capped off the drive for the defense, leaving Northwestern punting on fourth and 23. A fair catch on the 40 yard punt gave us possession at our 32 yard line. A 12 yard pass to Fisher got a quick first down at the 44 yard line. Smith picked up 6 yards on the ground, followed by an 8 yard gain to get the first down at the Northwestern 41 yard line. A quick pass to Roberts avoided the sack and picked up 17 yards to get us down to the 24 yard line. The first down pass intended for Banks sailed incomplete, before Hayden was able to break inside on his man and haul in a 21 yard pass from Stephens to give us first and goal at the three yard line. Trying to take it up the middle on first down, Smith was quickly wrapped up for a one yard loss. Stephens had no luck as well, as the defense instantly broke through and tackled Stephens for a loss of four yards to leave third and goal at the 8 yard line. The third down pass to Thompson was complete, but Thompson was stopped short of the goal line, tackled for a 7 yard gain to leave fourth and goal at the one yard line. Going for it when so close, Smith took the ball on fourth down, was forced outside by the defense and made a move towards the goal line, only to be tripped up by the linebacker at the one yard line, turning the ball over on downs.

Taking over at their one yard line after the turnover, Northwestern got a 6 yard rush by White to get out of their end zone, followed by a 7 yard rush for a first down at the 14. After two incomplete passes, Smith found Sanders for a 9 yard gain, leaving fourth and one and the punt team coming out. A fair catch on the 46 yard punt gave us the ball at our 30 yard line. A pitch left to Smith resulted in a loss of four yards, followed by a 7 yard pass to Jordon to leave third and 7. Throwing to Newman, he was just able to get across the first down line, breaking a tackle and stumbling forward before falling down for an 8 yard gain and a first down at the 42 yard line. A quick pass to Fisher picked up 9 yards, before Newman was tackled for a one yard loss left us with third and two. That would be the final play of the third quarter, as the clock expired before we could get another snap off, Northwestern leading 21-10.

Opening up the fourth quarter, Stephens kept the ball on third down, only able to get one yard before the blitzing linebacker brought him down from behind. The 49 yard punt sailed down to the 5 yard line before bouncing the rest of the way into the end zone for a touchback. Northwestern began their drive on the 20 yard line with 8:27 left in the game. Smith opened up the drive with a 6 yard rush, before passing to Thompson for a 5 yard gain at the 31 yard line. Sanders was tackled for a two yard loss on the next play, followed by a four yard rush by White to leave third and 8 at the 32. The Wildcats would keep the drive alive as Smith completed a deep bomb to McDonald for a 29 yard gain and a first down at our 38 yard line. A 25 yard pass to Thompson set up a first down at our 14. Our defense had no answer for the pass attack, as Smith connected with White for a 12 yard gain to give Northwestern first and goal at our two yard line. White would do the honors on the next play, rushing it in for the two yard touchdown, extending Northwestern’s lead to 28-10 with 6:45 left in the game.

A 23 yard kickoff return set our offense up at our 28 yard line, losing by a lot and with little time remaining. Going into the air on first down, a missed interception attempt by the safety allowed Roberts to haul in a deep pass from Stephens for a 35 yard gain, driven out of bounds at the Northwestern 37. The first down pass intended for Hayden was broken up, nearly intercepted, leaving second down. A 13 yard strike over the middle to Fisher moved the chains to the 25 yard line. Taking a shot at the end zone on first down, Stephens was able to lob a ball up and over the reach of the cornerback, into the waiting arms of Fisher for the 25 yard touchdown. Going for the two point conversion, Stephens was sacked for a 9 yard loss before he could release the ball, leaving the score 28-16 with 5:53 to play.

No return gave Northwestern the ball at their 25 yard line, a 12 point lead and 6 minutes away from victory. White took the ball on first down, picking up 7 yards, followed by a 5 yard pass from Smith to Thompson to get the first down at the 37. A 5 yard pass to Hollis gave way to a 12 yard rush by White and another first down at our 45 yard line. A 27 yard strike to Hollis moved Northwestern down to our 18 yard line, the Wildcats clearly not content with running out the clock, but looking to tack on more points. Our defense would help them do just that, as we were flagged for pass interference, the 15 yard penalty setting up first and goal at our three yard line. Scott would punch it in on the next play for the three yard touchdown, increasing Northwestern’s lead to 35-16 with 4:30 to play.

A 20 yard kickoff return get us started at our 21 yard line, 4:19 to remaining and all hopes of a comeback nearly dashed. The first down pass intended for Fisher was broken up, followed by an incomplete pass to Hayden to leave third and 10. A 20 yard pass to Thompson kept us breathing, giving us a first down at the 41 yard line. The first down pass intended for Banks was broken up by the safety. The second down pass intended for Hayden sailed too high and too long, leaving third down. Fisher saved the drive on the next play, hauling in a 17 yard pass from Stephens to get the first down at the Northwestern 42. The first down pass intended for Hayden was nearly intercepted, leaving second down. A 10 yard pass to Hayden left us third and inches. Rushing to the line, Stephens tried to pick up the first down himself, but was quickly brought down by the middle linebacker for a two yard loss, leaving fourth and two, our first timeout stopping the clock with 3:04 to go. Jordan was able to get open coming out of the backfield, hauling in the pass from Stephens for an 8 yard gain. A flag came out during the play, cornerback Corey Robinson flagged for a facemask, the 15 yards giving us a first down at the Northwestern 13 yard line. Fisher caught a pass for a 7 yard gain to get us down to the 6 yard line, before Roberts hauled in a pass over the middle for the 6 yard touchdown, the extra point cutting the gap to 35-23 with 2:35 left in the game.

Any hopes we had of a comeback ended with Northwestern recovered the onside kick at our 41 yard line. Scott took the ball on first down for a three yard gain, before being tackled for a loss of two yards to leave third and 9. An incomplete pass on third down stopped the clock with 1:51 to go, the Northwestern punt sailed out of the end zone for a touchback.

Our offense came out, starting at our 20 yard line with 1:46 to go and two timeouts remaining. Throwing deep, Stephens found Hayden for behind his man for a 35 yard gain to the Northwestern 45 yard line, getting out of bounds to stop the clock with 1:41 to go. Northwestern was not about to give up, sacking Stephens for an 8 yard loss. Rushing back to the line, Stephens was able to avoid a second sack, shaking the defender off, but his deep pass to Fisher sailed incomplete, leaving third and 18 with 1:21 to go. The defense again broke through, getting to Stephens before he was able to even try to throw the ball, sacking him for a 9 yard loss to leave fourth and 27, our second timeout stopping the clock with 1:17 to go. Chucking up a prayer, Newman kept us alive, out jumping the safety to haul in the 31 yard bomb, giving us a first down at the Northwestern 31 yard line. Fisher was able to haul in a pass for a 15 yard gain down to the 16 yard line, shaking off the tackle and escaping to the sideline to stop the clock with 56 seconds to go. The first down pass intended for Hayden sailed incomplete. Stephens was able to hit Thompson for a 12 yard gain on the next play, leaving first and goal at the four yard line with 48 seconds to go. Shaking off one sack attempt, Stephens scrambled off to his left. With the end zone cut off by defenders, he attempted to get out of bounds, but was sacked for a one yard loss just shy of the sideline, forcing our third and final timeout to stop the clock with 40 seconds to go. A second down pass to Roberts was stopped short for a three yard gain, leaving third and goal at the one yard, racing to the line as the clock continued to run. Stephens was quickly forced out of the pocket, scrambling but finding any path to the end zone blocked, racing to the sideline for no gain, leaving fouth and goal on the one yard line, 16 seconds to go. Looking to punch it up the gut on fourth down, Stephens never had a chance, the entire defense instantly breaking through to tackle Stephens for a two yard loss, turning the ball over on downs with 13 seconds to go.

Taking over on their two yard line, Northwestern ran off the final 13 seconds with a 5 yard rush by Scott, Northwestern clinching the 35-23 victory in the Ticketcity Bowl.

With the loss, we end our 2016 season at 9-5, 7-2 in C-USA action. With the win, Northwestern’s year comes to a close at 8-5, 5-4 in Big Ten play.

Final Score
:Northwestern: 35, :Tulsa: 23

Stat(s) of the Game:
- Tulsa Offense – When actually completing passes, it was a great day for Stephens, going 33-50 for 466 yards and three touchdowns, his best day passing all year. However, he also threw three interceptions in the first half and was sacked 7 times. Rushing was nonexistent. Smith ended the day with 41 yards on 14 carries, but all those sacks added up to -40 on 13 carries for Stephens. Eight receivers caught a ball today, Hayden leading the way with 120 yards and a touchdown on 6 receptions, Fisher right behind with 117 yards and a touchdown on 9 receptions as our lone 100-yard guys. Seven guys in total ended with double digit yards for the game.

- Tulsa Defense – Hot and cold. About sums it up. Great defense in the first and third quarter. Horrible defense in the second and fourth quarters.

- Tulsa Kicking – A perfect day for Pratt, 1-1 in field goals with the 42 yard kick, and 2-2 in PATs.

Scoring Summary

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

:Tulsa:
3
0
7
13
23

:Northwestern:
0
21
0
14
35

Time
Team
Result
Play
Score

First Quarter

4:19
:Tulsa:
Field Goal
A. Pratt, 42 yard field goal
:Tulsa: 3-0

Second Quarter

8:12
:Northwestern:
Touchdown
J. White, 16 yard run (R. Mills kick)
:Northwestern: 7-3

4:38
:Northwestern:
Touchdown
J. Thompson, 1 yard pass from R. Smith (R. Mills kick)
:Northwestern: 14-3

0:46
:Northwestern:
Touchdown
J. White, 21 yard pass from R. Smith (R. Mills kick)
:Northwestern: 21-3

Third Quarter

7:05
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
E. Hayden, 33 yard pass from B. Stephens (A. Pratt kick)
:Northwestern: 21-10

Fourth Quarter

6:45
:Northwestern:
Touchdown
J. White, 1 yard run (R. Mills kick)
:Northwestern: 28-10

5:53
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
C. Fisher, 25 yard pass from B. Stephens (2-point conversion failed)
:Northwestern: 28-16

4:30
:Northwestern:
Touchdown
T. Scott, 3 yard run (R. Mills kick)
:Northwestern: 35-16

2:35
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
N. Roberts, 6 yard pass from B. Stephens (A. Pratt kick)
:Northwestern: 35-23

Game Stats

Tulsa
Stat
Northwestern

23
Score
35

22
First Downs
19

468
Total Offense
408

29 - 2 - 0
Rushes - Yards - TD
28 - 98 - 3

33 - 50 - 3
Comp - Att - TD
22 - 38 - 2

466
Passing Yards
310

7
Times Sacked
1

6 - 15 (40%)
3rd Down Conversion
6 - 13 (46%)

2 - 4 (50%)
4th Down Conversion
0 - 1 (0%)

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

3 - 1 - 0 (33%)
Red Zone - TD - FG
4 - 4 - 0 (100%)

3
Turnovers
0

0
Fumbles Lost
0

3
Intercepted
0

7
Punt Return Yards
14

103
Kick Return Yards
19

578
Total Yards
441

4 – 48.5
Punts - Average
6 – 42.5

2 - 30
Penalties
2 - 18

19:50
Time of Possession
16:10

Tulsa Contract Goals Update

Fail Impact
Goal
Progress
Pass Impact

:6redarrow:
21+ points per game in each season
26
:6greenarrow:

Win 10 games in one season
9
:6greenarrow:

3300+ passing yards each season
3148
:5greenarrow:

:6redarrow:
65% pass completions over the entire contract
61%
:5greenarrow:

:5redarrow:
Win 6 games in one season
:check:
:5greenarrow:

:6redarrow:
15+ rushing TD in each season
1/4 Completed
:5greenarrow:

:4redarrow:
3200+ total offensive yards each season
1/4 Completed
:3greenarrow:

:5redarrow:
3400+ total offensive yards each season
1/4 Completed
:2greenarrow:

Job Security Status

48%

SmoothPancakes

01-24-2013, 03:14 PM

That's gonna leave a mark. :(

The first half was atrocious. I wrote down the halftime stats.

Halftime Stats

Tulsa

4 yards rushing on 14 carries
95 yards passing, 9-16
99 total offense
6 first downs

Northwestern

50 yards rushing on 15 carries, 1 TD
173 yards passing, 12-21, 2 TD
223 yards total offense
9 first downs

The second half was at least good for us offensively, but that first half of absolutely nothing on offense pretty much killed our chances to win.

morsdraconis

01-24-2013, 03:59 PM

Tough break man. :(

Hopefully next year will be brighter.

SmoothPancakes

01-24-2013, 04:50 PM

Tough break man. :(

Hopefully next year will be brighter.

Yeah, but it wasn't surprising. Northwestern had a much better offense and a bit better defense, so it was pretty much going to be an uphill battle no matter what. Those three interceptions certainly didn't help any.

souljahbill

01-24-2013, 05:40 PM

Already going into year 3? This is around the time where your team gets too good in conference but suck against the big boys.

SmoothPancakes

01-24-2013, 05:47 PM

Already going into year 3? This is around the time where your team gets too good in conference but suck against the big boys.

End of year 3. I'll be starting year 4 at Tulsa next season.

souljahbill

01-24-2013, 05:52 PM

End of year 3. I'll be starting year 4 at Tulsa next season.

Wow! Seems like yesterday that you just started this. I see the beginning of your conference domination this season.

SmoothPancakes

01-24-2013, 06:53 PM

Wow! Seems like yesterday that you just started this. I see the beginning of your conference domination this season.

Yeah, it's a little bit. Louisiana Tech and Southern Miss are still pains in the ass. North Texas will probably still be a tough game. The rest, this season, Marshall had 5 turnovers, UTEP had 3 turnovers, UTSA plain and simple sucks, so I wasn't surprised those were easy wins (surprised they were shutouts though), so it's not full domination yet, but it may be getting there, especially against the teams I play in the West Division.

I'll find out next year when I lose most of the rest of my original NCAA '13 roster. Next season will be 95% all recruits, so it will be the first true test season.

SmoothPancakes

01-24-2013, 09:59 PM

2016 Bowl Season Rundown

Bowl Game
Conference
Record
Team
Results
Team
Record
Conference

:New_Mexico_Bowl:
:MAC:
8-5 (4-4)
:Toledo:
33-6
:Air_Force:
7-6 (4-4)
:Mountain_West:

:Famous_Idaho_Bowl:
:ACC:
8-5 (4-5)
:Virginia:
27-13
:Western_Michigan:
7-6 (6-3)
:MAC:

:New_Orleans_Bowl:
:Sun_Belt:
9-4 (5-2)
:Arkansas_State:
49-7
:FIU:
8-5 (6-2)
:CUSA:

:Beef_O_Bradys_Bowl:
:CUSA:
9-5 (7-2)
:Marshall:
27-20
:Cincinnati:
8-5 (5-3)
:Big_East:

:Poinsettia_Bowl:
:Big_East:
7-6 (4-4)
:Houston:
42-28
:Nevada:
8-5 (6-2)
:Mountain_West:

:Las_Vegas_Bowl:
:Mountain_West:
8-5 (6-2)
:Colorado_State:
24-14
:Utah:
6-6 (4-5)
:Pac_12:

:Hawaii_Bowl:
:CUSA:
7-6 (4-4)
:Louisiana_Tech:
34-31
:Bowling_Green:
6-7 (5-4)
:MAC:

:Independence_Bowl:
:ACC:
9-4 (5-4)
(17) :Clemson:
43-13
:Hawaii:
6-7 (5-3)
:Mountain_West:

:LittleCaesars_Bowl:
:Big_Ten:
7-6 (4-5)
:Michigan:
32-28
:Northern_Illinois:
10-4 (8-2)
:MAC:

:Belk_Bowl:
:Big_East:
11-3 (7-2)
:San_Diego_State:
31-21
:Duke:
7-7 (6-4)
:ACC:

:Military_Bowl:
:ACC:
7-6 (4-5)
:Louisville:
42-17
:Kent_State:
6-7 (6-3)
:MAC:

:Holiday_Bowl:
:Pac_12:
7-6 (5-4)
:Washington:
49-10
:UL_Monroe:
8-5 (4-3)
:Sun_Belt:

:Alamo_Bowl:
:Big_12:
8-5 (5-4)
:Baylor:
31-28
(10) :Oregon:
11-3 (8-2)
:Pac_12:

:Champs_Sports_Bowl:
:Big_East:
10-4 (7-2)
:Connecticut:
38-24
(22) :North_Carolina:
8-5 (6-3)
:ACC:

:Insight_Bowl:
:Big_12:
7-6 (4-5)
:Oklahoma_State:
25-24
(21) :Ohio_State:
8-5 (5-4)
:Big_Ten:

:Music_City_Bowl:
:ACC:
8-5 (5-4)
:Florida_State:
31-24
:Vanderbilt:
8-5 (5-4)
:SEC:

:Sun_Bowl:
:ACC:
8-5 (6-3)
:Georgia_Tech:
27-10
:Arizona:
8-5 (5-4)
:Pac_12:

:Armed_Forces_Bowl:
:Mountain_West:
7-6 (4-4)
:Fresno_State:
38-17
:UTEP:
6-7 (4-4)
:CUSA:

:Liberty_Bowl:
:Big_East:
9-4 (6-2)
:SMU:
34-17
(23) :Southern_Miss:
10-3 (7-1)
:CUSA:

:Meineke_Texas_Bowl:
:SEC:
7-6 (3-6)
:LSU:
24-12
(24) :Maryland:
8-5 (5-4)
:Big_Ten:

:Chick_fil_A_Bowl:
:SEC:
9-4 (5-4)
(25) :Ole_Miss:
33-14
(15) :Miami:
8-5 (6-3)
:ACC:

:Fight_Hunger_Bowl:
:ACC:
7-6 (4-5)
:Virginia_Tech:
42-30
:Colorado:
7-6 (4-5)
:Pac_12:

:Outback_Bowl:
:Big_Ten:
9-4 (6-3)
(11) :Michigan_State:
37-14
(14) :Alabama:
8-5 (5-4)
:SEC:

:Capital_One_Bowl:
:Big_Ten:
11-3 (8-2)
(8) :Nebraska:
35-28
:Mississippi_State:
8-6 (7-3)
:SEC:

:TaxSlayer_Gator:
:Big_Ten:
9-4 (6-3)
(16) :Wisconsin:
33-24
(18) :Texas_A&M:
8-5 (5-4)
:SEC:

:TicketCity_Bowl:
:Big_Ten:
8-5 (5-4)
:Northwestern:
35-23
:Tulsa:
9-5 (7-2)
:CUSA:

:Cotton_Bowl:
:SEC:
8-5 (5-4)
:South_Carolina:
38-31
(7) :Oklahoma:
10-3 (7-2)
:Big_12:

:BBVA_Compass_Bowl:
:Big_East:
7-6 (5-3)
:UCF:
34-24
(19) :Auburn:
8-5 (5-4)
:SEC:

:GoDaddycom_Bowl:
:MAC:
11-3 (8-2)
:Ohio:
24-21
:BYU:
8-5 (5-2)
:Sun_Belt:

2016 BCS Bowls

Bowl Game
Conference
Record
Team
Results
Team
Record
Conference

:Rose_Bowl:
:Pac_12:
10-4 (7-3)
(20) :USC:
34-29
(3) :Rutgers:
11-3 (8-2)
:Big_Ten:

:Sugar_Bowl:
:SEC:
12-2 (9-1)
(5) :Georgia:
29-24
(9) :Stanford:
9-4 (6-2)
:Pac_12:

:Orange_Bowl:
:ACC:
12-2 (8-2)
(12) :NC_State:
38-31
(6) :Iowa:
10-3 (7-2)
:Big_Ten:

:Fiesta_Bowl:
:Big_12:
11-2 (7-2)
(5) :Texas:
28-14
(13) :Boise_State:
11-2 (7-1)
:Mountain_West:

:BCS_Trophy:
Independent
13-0 (0-0)
(1) :Notre_Dame:
49-24
(2) :TCU:
12-1 (9-0)
:Big_12:

SmoothPancakes

01-24-2013, 10:06 PM

2016 Bowl Challenge Cup Standings

Rank
Conference
Bowl Teams
Bowl Record
Percentage
Teams in AP Poll

1
Independents*
1
1-0
1.000

2
:Big_East:
6
5-1
.830

3
:ACC:
10
7-3
.700

4
:Big_12:
5
3-2
.600

5
:Big_Ten:
9
5-4
.560

6
:SEC:
9
4-5
.440

7
:CUSA:#
6
2-4
.330

8
:MAC:#
6
2-4
.330

9
:Mountain_West:#
6
2-4
.330

10
:Sun_Belt:^
3
1-2
.330

11
:Pac_12:
7
2-5
.290

12
:WAC:*
0
0-0
.000

* - Ineligible for Bowl Challenge Cup
# - Tied with 2-4 records.
^ - Tied based on winning percentage, but finished 10th due to only one win compared to two for the other conferences.

SmoothPancakes

01-24-2013, 10:12 PM

And so there you go. Notre Dame is your 2016 National Champion and the Big East wins the 2016 Bowl Challenge Cup.

The Pac-12 goes 2-5 for the bowl season to claim the "we suck" conference title of 2016.

The Mountain West got a save by me last year and kept their automatic bid. They had to go .500 (or one game under .500 with an impressive win) to keep that bid secure. They failed to do so. A 2-4 showing this year with 3 blowout losses, kills the automatic bid for the Mountain West.

The Big East made a damn great recovery after their 0-7 showing in 2014, finishing 3-4 last year and winning the Cup this year with a 5-1 mark. If the Big East finishes above .500 next bowl season, they may get their automatic bid back for the 2018 season.

SmoothPancakes

01-24-2013, 10:29 PM

2016 Final Top 25

Coaches Poll - Media Poll

Rank
Team
Record

Team
Record

1
:Notre_Dame:
13-0

:Notre_Dame:
13-0

2
:Georgia:
12-2 (9-1)

:Georgia:
12-2 (9-1)

3
:Texas:
11-2 (7-2)

:Texas:
11-2 (7-2)

4
:TCU:
12-1 (9-0)

:TCU:
12-1 (9-0)

5
:NC_State:
12-2 (8-2)

:NC_State:
12-2 (8-2)

6
:Nebraska:
11-3 (8-2)

:Nebraska:
11-3 (8-2)

7
:Rutgers:
11-3 (8-2)

:Michigan_State:
9-4 (6-3)

8
:Michigan_State:
9-4 (6-3)

:Rutgers:
11-3 (8-2)

9
:Iowa:
10-3 (7-2)

:USC:
10-4 (7-3)

10
:Wisconsin:
9-4 (6-3)

:Iowa:
10-3 (7-2)

11
:Boise_State:
11-2 (7-1)

:Wisconsin:
9-4 (6-3)

12
:Clemson:
9-4 (5-4)

:Oklahoma:
10-3 (7-2)

13
:Oklahoma:
10-3 (7-2)

:Boise_State:
11-2 (7-1)

14
:Stanford:
9-4 (6-2)

:Clemson:
9-4 (5-4)

15
:USC:
10-4 (7-3)

:Stanford:
9-4 (6-2)

16
:Oregon:
11-3 (8-2)

:Oregon:
11-3 (8-2)

17
:Ole_Miss:
9-4 (5-4)

:Ole_Miss:
9-4 (5-4)

18
:SMU:
9-4 (6-2)

:Ohio:
11-3 (8-2)

19
:Ohio:
11-3 (8-2)

:SMU:
9-4 (6-2)

20
:Miami:
8-5 (6-3)

:Miami:
8-5 (6-3)

21
:Southern_Miss:
10-3 (7-1)

:Southern_Miss:
10-3 (7-1)

22
:San_Diego_State:
11-3 (7-2)

:San_Diego_State:
11-3 (7-2)

23
:Connecticut:
10-4 (7-2)

:Connecticut:
10-4 (7-2)

24
:Michigan:
7-6 (4-5)

:Michigan:
7-6 (4-5)

25
:Florida_State:
8-5 (5-4)

:South_Carolina:
8-5 (5-4)

SmoothPancakes

01-24-2013, 10:33 PM

WOW! :o

I'm only three teams into the Coaching Carousel and there has already been a MAJOR shocker.

Edit - Holy fuck. Make that multiple major shockers.

SmoothPancakes

01-24-2013, 11:50 PM

2016 Coaching Carousel

Team
Position
Previous Coach
Reason Left

New Coach
Previous Team
Previous Position
O/D Style

:LSU:
Head Coach
Les Miles
Fired

Steve Kragthrope
:LSU:
Offensive Coordinator
LSU (Multiple) \ 4-3

:Missouri:
Head Coach
Gary Pinkel
Fired

Bud Foster
:Virginia_Tech:
Defensive Coordinator
Virginia Tech (Multiple) \ 4-3

:Northwestern:
Head Coach
Pat Fitzgerald
Fired

Nick Holt
:Alabama:
Defensive Coordinator
Alabama (One Back) \ 3-4

:Ohio_State:
Head Coach
Urban Meyer
Fired

Jim McElwain
:Alabama:
Offensive Coordinator
Alabama (One Back) \ 3-4

:Stanford:
Head Coach
David Shaw
Fired

Pep Hamilton
:Stanford:
Offensive Coordinator
Stanford (Pro) \ 3-4

:Tennessee:
Head Coach
Derek Dooley
Fired

Al Golden
:NC_State:
Defensive Coordinator
NC State (Multiple) \ 4-3

:Washington:
Head Coach
Steve Sarkisian
Fired

Dave Aranda
:Washington:
Defensive Coordinator
Washington (Pro) \ 4-3

:Cincinnati:
Head Coach
Derek Frazier
Fired

Greg Schiano
:Rutgers:
Head Coach
Rutgers (Pro) \ 4-3

:Rutgers:
Head Coach
Greg Schiano
Contract expired, left for Cincinnati HC job

Mike Sherman
:Michigan:
Offensive Coordinator
Michigan (Multiple) \ 4-3

:Alabama:
Offensive Coordinator
Jim McElwain
Contract expired, left for Ohio State HC job

David Cutcliffe
:Florida_State:
Offensive Coordinator
Duke (Pistol)

:Alabama:
Defensive Coordinator
Nick Holt
Contract expired, left for Northwestern HC job

Paul Pasqualoni
:Connecticut:
Head Coach
4-3

:Clemson:
Defensive Coordinator
Greg Brown
Fired

Norm Parker
:Iowa:
Defensive Coordinator
4-3

:Iowa:
Offensive Coordinator
Ken O'Keefe
Retired at age 70

Dan Mullen
:Mississippi_State:
Head Coach
Mississippi State (Spread)

:Iowa:
Defensive Coordinator
Norm Parker
Contract expired, left for Clemson DC job

Mike Stoops
:Arizona:
Head Coach
3-3-5

:Michigan:
Offensive Coordinator
Mike Sherman
Contract expired, left for Rutgers HC job

Greg McMackin
:Hawaii:
Head Coach
Hawaii (Pro)

:Mississippi_State:
Head Coach
Dan Mullen
Contract expired, left for Iowa OC job

Joe Tumpkin
:Arizona_State:
Head Coach
Arizona State (Spread) \ 3-3-5

:Utah:
Head Coach
Kyle Whittingham
Fired

Houston Nutt
:Duke:
Head Coach
Ole Miss (Spread) \ 4-3

:Virginia_Tech:
Defensive Coordinator
Bud Foster
Contract expired, left for Missouri HC job

Willy Robinson
:Arkansas:
Defensive Coordinator
4-3

:Wisconsin:
Defensive Coordinator
Chris Ash
Fired

Pat Fitzgerald
:Northwestern:
Head Coach
4-3

:Pitt:
Head Coach
Tom Graham
Fired

John Shoop
:North_Carolina:
Offensive Coordinator
North Carolina (Spread) \ 4-2-5

:Connecticut:
Head Coach
Paul Pasqualoni
Contract expired, left for Alabama DC job

Kevin Sumlin
:Houston:
Head Coach
Houston (Air Raid) \ 3-4

:Houston:
Head Coach
Kevin Sumlin
Contract expired, left for Connecticut HC job

Art Briles
:Baylor:
Head Coach
Baylor (Spread) \ 4-3

:LSU:
Offensive Coordinator
Steve Kragthorpe
Left for LSU HC job

David Shaw
:Stanford:
Head Coach
Stanford (Pro)

:Arizona:
Head Coach
Mike Stoops
Fired

Larry Fedora
:Southern_Miss:
Head Coach
Southern Miss (Spread) \ 4-3

:Arizona_State:
Head Coach
Joe Tumpkin
Contract expired, left for Mississippi State HC job

Mike Sabock
:Arizona_State:
Offensive Coordinator
Arizona State (Spread) \ 3-3-5

:Stanford:
Offensive Coordinator
Pep Hamilton
Left for Stanford HC job

Paul Petrino
:Baylor:
Offensive Coordinator
Western Kentucky (Pro)

:NC_State:
Defensive Coordinator
Al Golden
Left for Tennessee HC job

Mark Stoops
:Florida_State:
Defensive Coordinator
4-3

:North_Carolina:
Offensive Coordinator
John Shoop
Left for Pittsburgh HC job

Steve Sarkisian
:Washington:
Head Coach
Washington (Pro)

:Southern_Miss:
Head Coach
Larry Fedora
Contract expired, left for Arizona HC job

Seth Littrell
:Arizona:
Offensive Coordinator
Arizona (Spread) \ 3-3-5

:Washington:
Defensive Coordinator
Dave Aranda
Left for Washington DC job

Kyle Walker
:Duke:
Defensive Coordinator
4-3

:Arkansas:
Defensive Coordinator
Willy Robinson
Contract expired, left for Virginia Tech DC job

Dave Wommack
:Purdue:
Defensive Coordinator
4-3

:Baylor:
Head Coach
Art Briles
Contract expired, left for Houston HC job

Noel Mazzone
:New_Mexico:
Head Coach
New Mexico (Pistol) \ 3-4

:BC:
Head Coach
Frank Spaziani
Fired

George DeLeone
:Connecticut:
Offensive Coordiantor
Connecticut (Pro) \ 4-3

:BYU:
Defensive Coordinator
Tom Kish
Fired

Chris Rippon
:Baylor:
Defensive Coordinator
4-3

:Colorado:
Head Coach
Robert Gillespie
Fired

Les Miles
:LSU:
Head Coach
LSU (Multiple) \ 4-3

:Duke:
Head Coach
Houston Nutt
Contract expired, left for Utah HC job

Tom Herman
:Iowa_State:
Offensive Coordinator
Iowa State (Spread) \ 4-3

:Eastern_Michigan:
Head Coach
Mark Criner
Fired

Dave Baldwin
:Navy:
Offensive Coordinator
Navy (Option) \ 3-4

:Florida_State:
Offensive Coordinator
David Cutcliffe
Contract expired, left for Alabama OC job

John Donovan
:Vanderbilt:
Offensive Coordinator
Vanderbilt (Pro)

:Florida_State:
Defensive Coordinator
Mark Stoops
Contract expired, left for NC State DC job

Payam Saadat
:Ole_Miss:
Defensive Coordinator
4-3

:Hawaii:
Head Coach
Greg McMackin
Contract expired, left for Michigan OC job

Greg Brown
:Clemson:
Defensive Coordinator
Clemson (Spread) \ 4-3

:Indiana:
Head Coach
Tom O'Brien
Fired

Steve Farmer
:UL_Monroe:
Offensive Coordinator
UL Monroe (Spread) \ 3-3-5

:Kansas:
Head Coach
Turner Gill
Fired

Marty English
:Kansas:
Defensive Coordinator
Kansas (Pro) \ 3-4

:New_Mexico:
Head Coach
Noel Mazzone
Contract expired, left for Baylor HC job

Dennis Franchione
:Texas_State:
Head Coach
Texas State (Spread) \ 4-2-5

:Arizona_State:
Offensive Coordinator
Mike Sabock
Left for Arizona State HC job

Turner Gill
:Kansas:
Head Coach
Kansas (Pro)

:Miami_OH:
Head Coach
Don Treadwell
Fired

Mike MacIntyre
:Utah_State:
Defensive Coordiantor
Utah State (Spread) \ 4-3

:New_Mexico_State:
Head Coach
DeWayne Walker
Fired

Chris Ash
:Wisconsin:
Defensive Coordinator
Wisconsin (Pro) \ 4-3

:Penn_State:
Offensive Coordinator
Galen Hill
Fired

John Sims
:Western_Kentucky:
Offensive Coordinator
Western Michigan (Pro)

:Vanderbilt:
Offensive Coordinator
John Donovan
Left for Florida State OC job

Urban Meyer
:Ohio_State:
Head Coach
Ohio State (Spread)

:Connecticut:
Offensive Coordinator
George DeLeone
Contract expired, left for Boston College HC job

Derek Frazier
:Cincinnati:
Head Coach
Cincinnati (Spread)

:USF:
Head Coach
Todd Fitch
Fired

Will Muschamp
:Kentucky:
Defensive Coordinator
Kentucky (Pro) \ 3-4

:Arizona:
Offensive Coordinator
Seth Littrell
Contract expired, left for Southern Miss HC job

Jimbo Fisher
:Central_Michigan:
Head Coach
Syracuse (Pro)

:San_Jose_State:
Head Coach
Jimmy Burrow
Fired

Tom Kish
:BYU:
Defensive Coordinator
BYU (Pro) \ 3-4

:Buffalo:
Head Coach
Jeff Quinn
Fired

Buddy Green
:Texas_Tech:
Defensive Coordinator
Texas Tech (Air Raid) \ 4-3

:Central_Michigan:
Head Coach
Jimbo Fisher
Fired

Bobby Hauck
:Minnesota:
Defensive Coordinator
Minnesota (Multiple) \ 4-3

:Texas_State:
Head Coach
Dennis Franchione
Fired

Kyle Whittingham
:Utah:
Head Coach
Utah (Multiple) \ 4-3

:Duke:
Defensive Coordinator
Kyle Walker
Left for Washington DC job

Tom Graham
:Pitt:
Head Coach
4-3

:Purdue:
Defensive Coordinator
Dave Wommack
Left for Arkansas DC job

Brian Randle
None
None
4-3

:Navy:
Offensive Coordinator
Dave Baldwin
Contract expired, left for Eastern Michigan HC job

Tom O'Brien
:Indiana:
Head Coach
Indiana (Air Raid)

:Ole_Miss:
Defensive Coordinator
Payam Saadat
Left for Florida State DC job

Tracy Claeys
:Colorado:
Defensive Coordinator
4-3

:Texas_Tech:
Defensive Coordinator
Buddy Green
Fired

Phil Elmassian
:UMass:
Defensive Coordinator
4-3

:UL_Monroe:
Offensive Coordinator
Steve Farmer
Left for Indiana HC job

Steve Axman
:Kansas:
Offensive Coordinator
Kansas (Pro)

:Kansas:
Offensive Coordinator
Steve Axman
Left for Louisiana Monroe OC job

Galen Hill
:Penn_State:
Offensive Coordinator
Penn State (Multiple)

:Kentucky:
Defensive Coordinator
Will Muschamp
Left for South Florida HC job

Tyrone Williams
None
None
4-3

:Baylor:
Offensive Coordinator
Paul Petrino
Left for Stanford OC job

Kim Helton
:UAB:
Offensive Coordinator
UAB (Pro)

:Baylor:
Defensive Coordinator
Chris Rippon
Contract Expired, left for BYU DC job

Mark Criner
:Eastern_Michigan:
Head Coach
4-3

:Colorado:
Defensive Coordinator
Tracy Claeys
Fired

Frank Spaziani
:BC:
Head Coach
4-3

:Rice:
Offensive Coordinator
John Regan
Fired

Todd Fitch
:USF:
Head Coach
USF (Multiple)

:Illinois:
Offensive Coordinator
Doug Nussmeier
Fired

Robert Gillespie
:Colorado:
Head Coach
Colorado (Pro)

:Iowa_State:
Offensive Coordinator
Tom Herman
Contract expired, left for Duke HC job

Gary Pinkel
:Missouri:
Head Coach
Missouri (Spread)

:UAB:
Offensive Coordinator
Kim Helton
Fired

Doug Nussmeier
:Illinois:
Offensive Coordinator
Illinois (Spread)

:UMass:
Offensive Coordinator
Dan Dodd
Fired

Derek Dooley
:Tennessee:
Head Coach
Tennessee (Pro)

:UMass:
Defensive Coordinator
Phil Elmassian
Fired

DeWayne Walker
:New_Mexico_State:
Head Coach
4-3

:Minnesota:
Defensive Coordinator
Bobby Hauck
Left for Central Michigan HC job

Jimmy Burrow
:San_Jose_State:
Head Coach
4-3

:Kansas:
Defensive Coordinator
Marty English
Left for Kansas HC job

Dustin Hamilton
None
None
4-3

:Utah_State:
Defensive Coordinator
Mike MacIntyre
Left for Miami University HC job

Manuel Gold
None
None
3-4

:San_Jose_State:
Defensive Coordinator
Kent Baer
Retired at age 69

Anton Hagen
None
None
4-3

:Western_Kentucky:
Offensive Coordinator
John Sims
Left for Penn State OC job

John Regan
:Rice:
Offensive Coordinator
Rice (Spread)

Jobs I Was in the Running For

Team
Position
Candidate Rank
Offered Job

:Eastern_Michigan:
Head Coach
1st
No

:Florida_State:
Offensive Coordinator
2nd
No

:Indiana:
Head Coach
4th
No

:Kansas:
Head Coach
4th
No

:Arizona_State:
Offensive Coordinator
4th
Yes

:Miami_OH:
Head Coach
4th
Yes

:New_Mexico_State:
Head Coach
2nd
Yes

:Penn_State:
Offensive Coordinator
1st
Yes

:Vanderbilt:
Offensive Coordinator
4th
Yes

:Connecticut:
Offensive Coordinator
3rd
Yes

:USF:
Head Coach
4th
Yes

:Arizona:
Offensive Coordinator
3rd
Yes

:San_Jose_State:
Head Coach
4th
Yes

:Buffalo:
Head Coach
2nd
Yes

:Central_Michigan:
Head Coach
4th
Yes

:Texas_State:
Head Coach
4th
Yes

:Navy:
Offensive Coordinator
2nd
Yes

:UL_Monroe:
Offensive Coordinator
1st
Yes

:Kansas:
Offensive Coordinator
1st
Yes

:Baylor:
Offensive Coordinator
4th
Yes

:Rice:
Offensive Coordinator
3rd
Yes

:Illinois:
Offensive Coordinator
4th
Yes

:Iowa_State:
Offensive Coordinator
3rd
Yes

:UAB:
Offensive Coordinator
2nd
Yes

:UMass:
Offensive Coordinator
2nd
Yes

:Western_Kentucky:
Offensive Coordinator
2nd
Yes

SmoothPancakes

01-24-2013, 11:52 PM

DAMN! There was some serious shaking up the college ranks! :D

And I sat there thinking long, hard and serious about that Navy OC job offer. I was so damn tempted to take, and that was the only out I have allowed myself to leave a contract before it's end, is a job offer from Navy. I gave it some damn serious thought, but ultimately decided to turn it down and coach out the remaining three years on my contract.

SmoothPancakes

01-25-2013, 02:11 AM

2016-17 Off-Season

Players Leaving

Player
Position
Overall
Year
Reason
Overall of Next Player

Brandon Price
HB
99
Senior (RS)
Pro Draft/Graduation
82

Jason Stephens
FS
94
Senior (RS)
Pro Draft/Graduation
87

Chad Fisher
WR
93
Senior (RS)
Pro Draft/Graduation
90

Jason Smith
RG
88
Senior (RS)
Graduation
76

Casey Bishop
QB
86
Senior (RS)
Graduation
82

Keith Battle
MLB
86
Senior (RS)
Graduation
85

Daniel Peters
LG
84
Senior (RS)
Graduation
84

Max Thompson
WR
83
Senior (RS)
Graduation
90

Nicholas Roberts
TE
83
Senior (RS)
Graduation
73

Marc Patterson
ROLB
83
Senior (RS)
Graduation
73

Spencer Jones
LOLB
83
Senior (RS)
Graduation
69

A.J. Walton
LOLB
77
Senior (RS)
Graduation
69

Donny Jordan
TE
75
Senior (RS)
Graduation
73

Kyle Davis
RT
75
Senior (RS)
Graduation
83

Eric Smith
RG
67
Freshman
Homesick - Transfer
76

NFL Draft

Player
Position
Overall
Year
Projected Round
Drafted Round

Brandon Price
HB
99
Senior (RS)
Round 1
Round 1

Jason Stephens
FS
94
Senior (RS)
Round 2
Round 2

Chad Fisher
WR
93
Senior (RS)
Round 3
Round 3

Transfer Requests

Player
Position
Transferring From
Transferring To
Year
Overall
Reason
Admitted/Denied

Eric Smith
RG
Tulsa
Houston
Freshman
67
Home Sick
Admitted

2016 Tulsa Recruiting Class

Player
Position
Position Rank
Tendency
Star Ranking
:sparq:
Overall
+/-
Notes

Carl Barnes
TE
#3
Receiving
:4star:
71.00
77
+1

Luke Payne
DT
#10
Run Stopper
:4star:
66.00
76
+2

Robert Harper
FB
#3
Receiving
:1star:
49.00
75
+4

Antoine Reese
SS
#6
Hard Hitter
:4star:
76.00
75
+3

Mike Phillips
G
#23
Balanced
:4star:
66.00
75
+3

Danny Ray
MLB
#43
Coverage
:3star:
64.00
73
+6
Gem

Mikal Hartman
CB
#102
Hard Hitter
:3star:
67.00
72
+2
JUCO (SO)

Brent Rogers
MLB
#9
Coverage
:3star:
73.00
71
-3

Jared Keyes
MLB
#41
Run Stopper
:3star:
64.00
71
+5
Gem

Nate Dixon
CB
#31
Coverage
:3star:
67.00
71
+4

Reggie Swain
DT
#22
Balanced
:3star:
57.00
71
+2

Randy Gray
K
#46
Power
:1star:
40.00
71
+2
JUCO (JR)

David Glover
K
#26
Accurate
:2star:
50.00
71
+3

Paul Moyer
G
#53
Run Block
:3star:
57.00
71
+5
Gem

J.R. Miller
CB
#50
Hard Hitter
:3star:
67.00
71
+6
Gem

Kyle Jones
ATH
#45
Athlete
:3star:
71.00
71
+3

Freddie Woods
ATH
#42
Athlete
:3star:
76.00
71
+2

Eddie Luke
OLB
#17
Run Stopper
:3star:
64.00
70
0

Ryan Taylor
TE
#12
Balanced
:3star:
63.00
70
+1

Garrett Newman
QB
#40
Scrambler
:3star:
65.00
69
+5
Gem

Tariq Smith
WR
#13
Balanced
:3star:
76.00
69
-1

Russ Lee
QB
#43
Scrambler
:3star:
65.00
68
+4

Todd Harrell
SS
#22
Hard Hitter
:3star:
67.00
68
+2

James Williams
FB
#18
Balanced
:1star:
49.00
67
+3

Lamarr Warren
MLB
#49
Balanced
:3star:
64.00
67
+1

Recruiting Class Rank

Rank: 9

Position Changes

Player
Position
Overall
New Position
Overall

Freddie Woods
ATH
71
QB
76

Kyle Jones
ATH
71
HB
72

Training Results

Highest Overall Player - Alphonso Pratt - K - 98 OVR (+4)
Largest Training Increase - Jermaine Clark - MLB - 85 OVR (+6)

Cut Players

Player
Position
Depth Chart Rank
Year
Overall

Garrett Newman
QB
5th
Freshman
69

James Williams
FB
3rd
Freshman
67

Ryan Taylor
TE
3rd
Freshman
70

Ryan Roland
DT
3rd
Sophomore
73

Cory Stevens
MLB
6th
Freshman (RS)
72

Lamarr Warren
MLB
7th
Freshman
67

Mikal Hartman
CB
4th
JUCO (SO)
72

Nate Dixon
CB
5th
Freshman
71

Todd Harrell
SS
4th
Freshman
68

Randy Gray
K
3rd
JUCO (JR)
71

Conference Changes

Team

Old Conference
New Conference

:San_Diego_State:

:Big_East:
:Mountain_West:

:Louisiana_Tech:

:CUSA: East Division
:CUSA: West Division

:MTSU:

:CUSA: West Division:
:CUSA: East Divison

:Army:

:Sun_Belt:
:Big_East: National Division

:UMass:

Independent
:Sun_Belt:

BCS Bowl Tie Ins

Slots
Conference
Bowl

Automatic Qualifier
:ACC:
Orange Bowl

Automatic Qualifier
:Big_Ten:
Rose Bowl

Automatic Qualifier
:Big_12:
Fiesta Bowl

Automatic Qualifier
:Pac_12:
Rose Bowl

Automatic Qualifier
:SEC:
Sugar Bowl

Open Slot
At Large
Any Bowl

Open Slot
At Large
Any Bowl

Open Slot
At Large
Any Bowl

SmoothPancakes

01-25-2013, 02:16 AM

Alright, so with the new C-USA divisions being just recently announced, I have switched Louisiana Tech and MTSU around to match the real life divisions.

With that, my yearly protected rivalry with Southern Miss is now over, Louisiana Tech and Southern Miss are matched back up as a protected rivalry. My new protected rival is now Marshall. Options were either Marshall (a decent team that may provide decent competition every year), MTSU (which sucks, and, dating back to my FIU days, I'm sick of playing) or UAB (who is horrible and would probably be blowouts every year). Marshall easily won out over those three choices.

SmoothPancakes

01-25-2013, 02:21 AM

The following players have been redshirted for the 2017 season.

2017 Redshirt Players

Player
Position
Depth Chart Rank
Year
Overall

Brett Hampton
C
2nd
Junior
76

Jason Williamson
LE
2nd
Junior
76

Miguel Ramsey
RE
2nd
Junior
77

Shaun Jackson
DT
1st
Junior
77

Anthony Clement
MLB
2nd
Junior
79

Andy Malone
CB
3rd
Junior
80

Chad Butler
FS
3rd
Junior
75

Alphonso Pratt
K
1st
Senior
98

Christian Johnson
P
2nd
Sophomore
78

SmoothPancakes

01-25-2013, 02:24 AM

I'm taking a risk this season. I'm gonna put Pratt on redshirt this year. 98 OVR, 99 Kick Power and 97 Kick Accuracy, he should be maxed out come next season after sitting out this year on a redshirt. David Glover, my backup kicker, is 71 OVR, 71 Kick Power and 72 Kick Accuracy. A major drop off that very well could potentially cost me games, but Glover would be starting next year regardless if I leave Pratt playing this year and he graduates. I'm sticking Pratt on the sidelines for this season and saving him for a 5th year next year, when he should be 99 OVR, 99 KPW and 99 KAC.

SmoothPancakes

01-25-2013, 02:37 AM

2017 Tulsa Football Schedule

Week
Home/Away
Team
Result
Score
Record
Game Notes

1
---
Bye Week
---
---
---

2
Home
:UNLV:
Win
21-18 (http://www.thegamingtailgate.com/forums/showthread.php?2857-Smooth-Pancakes-Coaching-Carousel-Career&p=185024&viewfull=1#post185024)
1-0
Season/Home Opener

3
Away
:Toledo:
Win
31-10 (http://www.thegamingtailgate.com/forums/showthread.php?2857-Smooth-Pancakes-Coaching-Carousel-Career&p=185317&viewfull=1#post185317)
2-0

4
Home
:New_Mexico:
Win
27-6 (http://www.thegamingtailgate.com/forums/showthread.php?2857-Smooth-Pancakes-Coaching-Carousel-Career&p=186772&viewfull=1#post186772)
3-0

5
Away
:UAB:
Win
38-14 (http://www.thegamingtailgate.com/forums/showthread.php?2857-Smooth-Pancakes-Coaching-Carousel-Career&p=186940&viewfull=1#post186940)
4-0 (1-0)
Conference Opener

6
Home
:Marshall:
Win
12-7 (http://www.thegamingtailgate.com/forums/showthread.php?2857-Smooth-Pancakes-Coaching-Carousel-Career&p=187308&viewfull=1#post187308)
5-0 (2-0)

7
Away
#20 :Oklahoma_State:
Loss
6-63 (http://www.thegamingtailgate.com/forums/showthread.php?2857-Smooth-Pancakes-Coaching-Carousel-Career&p=190388&viewfull=1#post190388)
5-1 (2-0)

8
Home
:FIU:
Loss
16-19 2OT (http://www.thegamingtailgate.com/forums/showthread.php?2857-Smooth-Pancakes-Coaching-Carousel-Career&p=190762&viewfull=1#post190762)
5-2 (2-1)

9
Away
:UTSA:
Win
26-3 (http://www.thegamingtailgate.com/forums/showthread.php?2857-Smooth-Pancakes-Coaching-Carousel-Career&p=191165&viewfull=1#post191165)
6-2 (3-1)

10
Home
:Rice:
Loss
25-28 (http://www.thegamingtailgate.com/forums/showthread.php?2857-Smooth-Pancakes-Coaching-Carousel-Career&p=191251&viewfull=1#post191251)
6-3 (3-2)

11
Home
:UTEP:
Loss
32-45 (http://www.thegamingtailgate.com/forums/showthread.php?2857-Smooth-Pancakes-Coaching-Carousel-Career&p=191285&viewfull=1#post191285)
6-4 (3-3)
Senior Night

12
---
Bye Week
---
---
---

13
Away
:North_Texas:
Win
34-7 (http://www.thegamingtailgate.com/forums/showthread.php?2857-Smooth-Pancakes-Coaching-Carousel-Career&p=191381&viewfull=1#post191381)
7-4 (4-3)

14
Away
:Louisiana_Tech:
Win
24-14 (http://www.thegamingtailgate.com/forums/showthread.php?2857-Smooth-Pancakes-Coaching-Carousel-Career&p=191387&viewfull=1#post191387)
8-4 (5-3)

15
---
Bye Week
---
---
---

CCG
:CUSA:
Bye Week
---
---
---
C-USA Championship Game

Bowl Game
:Armed_Forces_Bowl:
:Boise_State:
Loss
20-21 (http://www.thegamingtailgate.com/forums/showthread.php?2857-Smooth-Pancakes-Coaching-Carousel-Career&p=191466&viewfull=1#post191466)
8-5 (5-3)
Armed Forces Bowl

--- The scores are hyperlinks to the posted game report of that game. Just click on the score/link to be taken to that game's posted report.

SmoothPancakes

01-25-2013, 03:45 AM

Tulsa Four Year OC Contract Goals - Year Two

Fail Impact
Goal
Progress
Pass Impact

:6redarrow:
21+ points per game in each season
24
:6greenarrow:

Win 10 games in one season
8
:6greenarrow:

3300+ passing yards each season
:red-x:
:5greenarrow:

:6redarrow:
65% pass completions over the entire contract
59%
:5greenarrow:

:5redarrow:
Win 6 games in one season
:check:
:5greenarrow:

:6redarrow:
15+ rushing TD in each season
2/4 Completed
:5greenarrow:

:4redarrow:
3200+ total offensive yards each season
2/4 Completed
:3greenarrow:

:5redarrow:
3400+ total offensive yards each season
2/4 Completed
:2greenarrow:

Job Security Status

38%

--- Contract goal numbers and job security updated through Season 7, Bowl Week.

SmoothPancakes

01-25-2013, 03:46 AM

2017 Preseason Top 25

Rank
Team
2016 Record
Overall
Offense
Defense
Special Teams

1
:Texas:
11-2
A (95)
A (94)
B+ (89)
A

2
:Georgia:
12-2
A (95)
A- (92)
B+ (91)
A+

3
:TCU:
12-1
B (87)
B+ (88)
B- (80)
A-

4
:Notre_Dame:
13-0
A+ (99)
A+ (97)
A- (93)
A+

5
:Nebraska:
11-3
A (95)
B+ (91)
B+ (91)
A+

6
:Michigan_State:
9-4
A- (93)
B+ (89)
B+ (91)
B

7
:Clemson:
9-4
A- (93)
B+ (91)
B+ (89)
B

8
:USC:
10-4
A+ (99)
A+ (99)
A- (93)
A-

9
:Oklahoma:
10-3
A+ (97)
A (94)
A- (93)
B

10
:Rutgers:
11-3
B- (83)
B- (80)
B- (82)
C+

11
:Wisconsin:
9-4
A- (93)
B+ (88)
A- (93)
A

12
:Miami:
8-5
A- (93)
B+ (91)
B+ (91)
C+

13
:Iowa:
10-3
B+ (91)
B+ (89)
B (87)
C-

14
:Oregon:
11-3
B+ (91)
B+ (91)
B (86)
B+

15
:Alabama:
8-5
A+ (97)
A- (92)
A (95)
A

16
:Stanford:
9-4
B+ (89)
B+ (89)
B (86)
B-

17
:Florida_State:
8-5
A (95)
B+ (91)
B+ (91)
B+

18
:South_Carolina:
8-5
A- (93)
B+ (89)
B+ (89)
A

19
:LSU:
7-6
A- (93)
B+ (91)
B+ (89)
A+

20
:NC_State:
12-2
B (85)
B (84)
B- (82)
B

21
:Michigan:
7-6
B+ (91)
B+ (89)
B (86)
B

22
:Boise_State:
11-2
B+ (89)
B+ (88)
B (86)
C+

23
:Ole_Miss:
9-4
C+ (79)
B- (83)
C (74)
C+

24
:Texas_A&M:
8-5
B+ (89)
B+ (91)
B- (82)
A+

25
:Northwestern:
8-5
B- (83)
B (84)
C+ (78)
C+

C-USA Teams and 2017 Opponents

Rank
Team
2013 Record
Overall
Offense
Defense
Special Teams

35
:Southern_Miss:
10-3
C+ (79)
B (84)
C- (71)
B-

45
:Tulsa:
9-5
B (87)
B (86)
B (86)
A+

49
:Oklahoma_State:
7-6
B+ (89)
B+ (88)
B (86)
C+

61
:Marshall:
9-5
C+ (77)
C (75)
C+ (78)
B

69
:FIU:
8-5
C (73)
C (75)
C (73)
C-

71
:Toledo:
8-5
C (75)
C+ (77)
C (73)
D

75
:Louisiana_Tech:
7-6
C- (71)
C (72)
C (73)
D

92
:UTSA:
6-6
D (63)
C- (69)
D (60)
C-

96
:MTSU:
4-8
D (65)
C (74)
D- (59)
D-

99
:North_Texas:
5-7
D+ (67)
C (74)
D (61)
C-

104
:UTEP:
6-6
C- (69)
C (74)
D (65)
A-

109
:New_Mexico:
6-6
D (63)
D+ (66)
D (63)
B

110
:FAU:
4-8
D (61)
D+ (66)
D (61)
C+

116
:UNLV:
1-11
C- (71)
C (75)
C- (69)
D

119
:UAB:
1-11
D+ (67)
C- (70)
D (63)
C+

122
:Rice:
1-11
C- (69)
C- (69)
C- (71)
C-

SmoothPancakes

01-25-2013, 04:02 AM

2017 Tulsa Two Deep Roster

Offense

Position
Rank
Name
Year
Overall

QB
1
Brad Stephens
Sophomore
82

QB
2
Erik Wallace
Sophomore
78

HB
1
Will Oliver
Freshman (RS)
82

HB
2
Roy Smith
Senior (RS)
80

FB
1
Randy Newman
Senior (RS)
85

FB
2
Robert Harper
Freshman
75

WR
1
Connor Jefferson
Senior (RS)
90

WR
2
Eric Hayden
Junior
88

WR
3
Antoine Banks
Senior (RS)
81

WR
4
Bobby Smith
Senior (RS)
79

TE
1
Carl Barnes
Freshman
77

TE
2
Marcus Mullins
Sophomore (RS)
73

LT
1
Marlon Smith
Senior (RS)
75

LT
2
Pat Ross
Freshman (RS)
72

LG
1
Dennis Moody
Senior (RS)
84

LG
2
Kyle Alford
Sophomore (RS)
73

C
1
Travis Hearn
Senior (RS)
85

C
2
---
---
---

RG
1
Will Carter
Junior (RS)
76

RG
2
Mike Phillips
Freshman
75

RT
1
Cameron Powers
Senior (RS)
83

RT
2
Kyle Davis
Senior (RS)
75

Defense

Position
Rank
Name
Year
Overall

LE
1
Greg Wilkerson
Senior (RS)
85

LE
2
Jason Jansen
Sophomore
74

RE
1
Tyrone Haynes
Senior (RS)
82

RE
2
Miguel Ramsey
Junior
77

DT
1
Chris Peoples
Senior (RS)
84

DT
2
Luke Payne
Freshman
76

DT
3
Devon Odom
Junior
76

DT
4
Reggie Swain
Freshman
71

LOLB
1
Eddie Luke
Freshman
70

LOLB
2
Bill Grant
Freshman (RS)
69

MLB
1
Jermaine Clark
Senior (RS)
85

MLB
2
Danny Ray
Freshman
73

ROLB
1
Graham Minor
Sophomore
73

ROLB
2
Nick Harrison
Sophomore
63

CB
1
Tyler Fountain
Senior (RS)
85

CB
2
Chad Wheeler
Senior (RS)
83

CB
3
Jonathan Chambers
Sophomore
82

CB
4
Allen Moore
Sophomore
82

FS
1
Clay Weiss
Senior (RS)
87

FS
2
Shaun Miller
Sophomore
76

SS
1
Darnell Turner
Junior
82

SS
2
Antoine Reese
Freshman
75

K
1
David Glover
Freshman
71

K
2
Carlos Wilcox
Senior (RS)
93

P
1
Carlos Wilcox
Senior (RS)
93

P
2
David Glover
Freshman
71

SmoothPancakes

01-25-2013, 04:05 AM

Alright, that's the end for tonight, time to call it a night. It'll be a bit before any updates. I have an extremely busy next two days, and then after I drag my ass through Saturday, I'm not sure what exactly I'll do on Sunday. I may just spend the day another game, maybe even more than one day, give me a chance to do a mini-recharge before diving right back into it.

morsdraconis

01-25-2013, 05:04 AM

SmoothPancakes

01-25-2013, 10:48 AM

Based on overall projections, you should have a great season on your hands. Hopefully injuries don't plague you again. Looks like next year is gonna be a tough year for you though. Offensive line is pretty much all gonna be leaving after this year and your backups don't look like they'll be able to step in efficiently.

We'll find out. I'm definitely not gonna count my chickens before they hatch. Regardless of projections, Oklahoma State will be a bitch, Toledo's back on the schedule again, FIU and Marshall are two of my cross-division opponents, and I now have to deal with both Louisiana Tech and North Texas every year in-division. And UTEP, despite their ratings, could also be a surprise this year.

So I honestly could see this season going anywhere from 6-6 to 10-2.

JeffHCross

01-28-2013, 08:43 PM

Well Jeff, I don't think you have to worry about another shutout. :( :smh:They're not in your conference :D

2016 Final Top 25
Curious ... did this change at all since the last poll before the bowls? Seems to me that it does not.

Re: Urban Meyer: The FUCK?!

SmoothPancakes

01-28-2013, 08:55 PM

They're not in your conference :D
Curious ... did this change at all since the last poll before the bowls? Seems to me that it does not.

Re: Urban Meyer: The FUCK?!

Just saying, it wasn't another shutout. :D

Yeah, it changed some. Nebraska for instance dropped from #3 to #6. Some other changes here and there. Teams definitely didn't move very much, but there was some changes.

Yeah, that surprised the HELL out of me. Urban Meyer, Les Miles, David Shaw, etc. The big name coaches who got canned shocked me. When I get a chance, I'll jump on and check out what Urban's contract was before he got canned. I've taken to making a new save file every season at the end of the bowl games and at the end of the CC, so I can go back and look stuff up like contracts or stats from the previous seasons if needed.

JeffHCross

01-28-2013, 09:06 PM

Yeah, it changed some. Nebraska for instance dropped from #3 to #6. Some other changes here and there. Teams definitely didn't move very much, but there was some changes.Interesting. This last year in Powerhouse the teams didn't change at all post-bowl. Not sure what caused that.

That'd be cool about Urban's contract. I did a similar thing with saving my offline dynasties periodically (the last time I played one :D).

SmoothPancakes

01-28-2013, 09:24 PM

SmoothPancakes

01-28-2013, 10:29 PM

Interesting. This last year in Powerhouse the teams didn't change at all post-bowl. Not sure what caused that.

That'd be cool about Urban's contract. I did a similar thing with saving my offline dynasties periodically (the last time I played one :D).

An ugly contract for Urban. He had 22% job security at the end of the 2016 season, the third and final year of his contract

Fail Impact
Goal
Progress
Pass Impact

:6redarrow:
Finish a season ranked in the BCS Top 25
:red-x:

:4redarrow:
Finish 5th or better in the conference each season
:red-x:

:1redarrow:
Win 75% of your conference games in one season
:red-x:

:1redarrow:
Win 50% of your games vs the Top 25 in one season
:red-x:

:1redarrow:
Finish a season ranked in the BCS Top 10
:red-x:

:1redarrow:
Beat a rival opponent each season
:red-x:

Win 10 games in one season
:red-x:

Win 100% of your games vs Top 25 in one season
:red-x:

Win a BCS bowl game
:red-x:

Win 12 games in one season
:red-x:

Sign 10 4-star prospect(s) in one regular season
:red-x:

Win 8 games in every season
:check:
:2greenarrow:

Win 100% of your rivalry games in one season
:check:
:2greenarrow:

Make it to a bowl game each season
:check:

Sign 1 Top 100 prospect(s) each regular season
:check:

JeffHCross

01-28-2013, 10:54 PM

Ugly, yes, but if we went three years without a Top 25 finish, that would probably be the result.

SmoothPancakes

01-28-2013, 11:20 PM

Ugly, yes, but if we went three years without a Top 25 finish, that would probably be the result.

Good point.

SmoothPancakes

02-12-2013, 07:03 AM

Alright, time to get back into this. I had a nice two week break, during which I bought The Godfather Collection: The Coppola Restoration on blu-ray, and after watching parts 1 and 2 back to back one night, it made me want to play The Godfather and Godfather II games, so pulled those out of my collection and spent the last two weeks playing the storyline of those games. So with those two games completed, it was either jump into Halo 4 or AC3, or come back and start knocking out this new season. So, time to knock out the season, see if I can be done by March 1st, take another week or two break, try to have the next season done by early to mid-April, take another short break, and then try to have the final season of my contract played and done by mid to late-May, giving me a good solid month and a half to two months to rejuvenate ahead of the NCAA '14 release.

SmoothPancakes

02-12-2013, 07:35 AM

Had a bye week in week 1, so short and simple.

Taking a look around the nation, a very short and sweet one this week. In the lone top 25 game of the week, #8 USC walloped Utah 38-17. Elsewhere, Louisville beat North Carolina 38-24, and Kentucky took down Auburn 30-25.

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, with only three games, no movement at all. Texas (32 first place votes) remains #1, Georgia (24 votes) #2, TCU (3 votes) #3, Notre Dame (1 vote) #4 and Nebraska (1 vote) #5. Michigan State is #6, Clemson #7, USC #8, Oklahoma #9 and Rutgers #10. Wisconsin is #11, Miami #12, Iowa #13, Oregon #14, Alabama #15, Stanford #16, Florida State #17, South Carolina #18, LSU #19 and NC State #20. The rest of the top 25, Michigan #21, Boise State #22, Ole Miss #23, Texas A&M #24 and Northwestern #25. Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Virginia Tech (170 votes) is #26, followed by Louisville (97), Virginia (78), Georgia Tech (24) and Baylor (12) to round out the Top 30.

Any early season look at the post-Matt Blount Heisman era, Notre Dame QB Jordan Cooke is #1 on the watch list, followed by Georgia HB Joel Nolan at #2, TCU HB Clark Richardson #3, Notre Dame HB Larue Barnes #4 and Oklahoma State QB Nathan Gordon #5.

SmoothPancakes

02-12-2013, 12:58 PM

:D :D :D

I just got an update for MTSU at #2 Georgia with 10 minutes left in the second quarter. No way in hell the score holds, but :D :D :D nonetheless. :D

SmoothPancakes

02-12-2013, 06:39 PM

Game One

:UNLV: :@: :Tulsa:

Game Notes

--- The opening of the 2017 season was here at last, a home date with the UNLV Rebels. We would find out if all those starts that Brad Stephens made under center last year would pay off, or if he would stink up the joint. UNLV won the coin toss and elected to kick, putting our offense to the test right away.

A 21 yard kickoff return by Eric Hayden got us started at the 21 for our first drive of the new season. Taking his first handoff of his collegiate career, halfback Will Oliver, a redshirt freshman, took the ball up the middle for a 7 yard gain. Oliver was able to shake off a tackle and drive forward for four yards on the next play to pick up the first down at the 32. After another four yard run by Oliver, it was time to test the air game, as Brad Stephens hit Connor Jefferson for a 6 yard gain and a first down at the 43. A first down pass intended for Hayden was nearly intercepted, followed by Oliver getting stood up in the backfield for a two yard loss to leave third and 12. Antoine Banks would keep the drive alive, managing to get enough separation to haul in a 15 yard pass and a first down at the UNLV 44. A quick pass over the middle to Jefferson went for a gain of 6, followed by a 7 yard dump pass to Roy Smith to get us down to the 31 yard line. A flag at the end of the play went against UNLV safety Mike Blankenship, called for facemask, and the 15 extra yards set us up with a first down at the 16 yard line. Oliver took the ball off the right tackle on the next play, only able to pick up one yard before being brought down. With UNLV stacking the box, Stephens checked off of the run, instead lobbing up a pass Into the corner of the end zone to Hayden, who had beaten his man off the line, for the 15 yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead with 3:43 left in the first quarter.

After no return on the kickoff, the Rebels were on the field to start their offensive drive at their 25 yard line. Aaron Manning got things started with a two yard rush, before Julius Bell connected with Chris Walker for a 10 yard gain and a first down at the 37. After Bell threw the ball away on first down, Manning was able to pick up 5 yards up the middle to leave third and 5. A 7 yard pass from Bell to Derek Riley would keep the Rebels running with a first down at midfield. Another 5 yard rush by Manning was followed with a dropped ball by Alex Lee to leave third and 5. Manning would attempt to get the new set of downs himself, but a one yard gain would leave the punt team coming out on fourth and four. No return on the 40 yard punt left our offense buried at our four yard line with 1:51 left to go in the quarter.

Oliver took the ball on first down, busting through a hole outside the left guard for a 10 yard gain to get us a first down at the 14 yard line and away from the shadow of our end zone. Stephens kept the ball himself on first down, but found nowhere to go, only managing two yards around the right tackle before being swarmed by defenders. Receiving a toss to the left, Oliver was able to make his way toward the sideline and turn up field for a 5 yard gain to leave third and three at the 21. Going off tackle on the next play, Oliver was able to get outside, but a glancing tackle attempt by the cornerback pushed Oliver off balance and backwards, allowing the safety to close in before he could fully recover his footing, being tackled for only a two yard gain to leave fourth and one and the punt team coming out.

A shanked 32 yard punt gave UNLV the ball at their 45 yard line with only four seconds left in the quarter. A dropped pass by Charles Jackson would end the first quarter with our lead 7-0.

Opening up the second quarter, UNLV faced second down after the dropped pass. That would quickly turn into a first down as Bell threw deep to Riley for a 24 yard gain and a first down at our 31 yard line. Bell followed that up with a 21 yard pass to Jackson and the Rebels had first and goal at our 10 yard line. UNLV would see their drive decimated as safety Darnell Turner intercepted a pass from Bell at our two yard line, returning it 17 yards out to our 19 yard line to set up the offense. It would be a poor start to the drive as tight end Marcus Mullins was flagged for holding, leaving us with first and 19 at our 10 yard line. Oliver was only able to gain two yards on the first down rush, leaving second and 17. Hayden was able to get open over the middle, hauling in a pass from Stephens for a 12 yard gain to set up third and 5 at the 23. Forced to scramble, Stephens was able to get to the first down line, tackled for a 6 yard gain to move the chains at the 30 yard line. Smith took the handoff on first down, bouncing outside for a two yard gain, followed by a three yard pickup by Oliver to leave third and 5. Forced to scramble once again as the pocket collapse, Stephens was only able to get two yards before being tripped up, leaving fourth and three and the punt team coming out. A 6 yard return on a 49 yard punt gave UNLV the ball at their 20 yard line with 5:23 to go.

Manning got the drive started with gains of 5 and 7 yards out to the 32. After a dropped pass on first down, a 15 yard facemask penalty by our defense was tacked on to the end of a 7 yard run by Manning to give the Rebels a first down at our 46. Another rush by Manning picked up 5 yards, before Lee hauled in an 8 yard pass from Bell to get the first down at the 33. The Rebels got back inside our red zone with a 17 yard strike to Jackson down to our 16 yard line. A 7 yard rush by Manning and an incomplete pass left third and three at our 9 yard line. A dropped pass by Josh Henderson would stall the drive out, the 26 yard field goal by Tim Simon good to cut our lead to 7-3 with 3:27 left in the half.

A 25 yard kickoff return by Jefferson got our offense started at our 31 yard line. A dropped pass by Oliver left us with second down. Hayden hauled in a pass from Stephens for a 6 yard gain to leave third and four. The third down pass intended for Jefferson was batted incomplete, and we were forced to punt. A 9 yard return on the 44 yard punt set UNLV up at their 28 yard line with 2:31 to go. A 7 yard pass to Jackson was followed up with a one yard rush by Bell to leave third and two. The Rebels would pick up the new first down with a 14 yard pass to Riley out to midfield. After a dropped pass by Lee, a pass interference penalty gave UNLV 15 free yards and a new set of downs at our 35. Two incomplete passes left the drive looking in danger, but a 14 yard strike to Marshall Briggs moved the chains to our 21 yard line with 1:29 left to go. The drive again appeared to be at a conclusion as two dropped passes by Riley and an incomplete pass intended for Jackson left the Rebels with fourth down at the 21. Instead of kicking the field goal, UNLV went for it on fourth down, Bell connecting with Jackson for a 11 yard gain to our 9 yard line, before finding Jackson gain for a 9 yard touchdown strike. A failed extra point left UNLV with a 9-7 lead with 51 seconds left in the half.

Jefferson returned the kickoff 18 yards out to our 15 yard line with 40 seconds to go. With all three timeouts still in our pocket, we opted to take a chance. Stephens connected with Banks for a 17 yard gain to the 32 yard line, getting out of bounds with 36 seconds to go. After an incomplete pass on first down, Stephens launched up a prayer down the left sideline, Hayden just managing to get in front of the corner to bring down the pass for a 41 yard gain and a first down at the UNLV 27 yard line, our first timeout stopping the clock with 26 seconds. A quick pass to Jefferson to avoid the blitz went for 8 yards, leaving second and two, our second timeout stopping the clock with 22 seconds. A pass on secnd down to Hayden on an out route was complete for a 17 yard gain before being pushed out of bounds at the two yard line, leaving first and goal with 17 seconds to go. Oliver was tackled for a loss of one yard on first down, our final timeout stopping the clock with 12 seconds to go. The second down pass from Stephens intended for Smith was jumped and intercepted by outside linebacker Trey Clancy in the end zone, who instead of trying to run it back with mostly nothing but green in front of him, opted to take a knee for the touchback with 7 seconds to go. A one yard rush by Manning brought the first half to an end, UNLV leading 9-7.

No return on the kickoff got the third quarter started, UNLV beginning from their 25 yard line. Manning started the drive with a pair of four yard rushes to set up third and two at the 33. An incomplete pass would doom the drive, as the Rebels punted away. A 7 yard return by Jefferson on the 41 yard punt got us started at our 32. Oliver started the drive with a four yard rush, before being tackled for a loss of one yard to leave third and 7. Stephens was able to keep the drive moving, avoiding the blitz and throwing up a pass to Bobby Smith for a gain of 17 yards and a first down at the UNLV 49. Oliver was able to pick up one yard on first down, before a 10 yard pass to Randy Newman got the first down at the 38 yard line. We would find the end zone for the second time today, as Hayden was able to beat the cornerback off the line and get behind both the corner and the safety, leaping up in the end zone for the 38 yard touchdown pass to put us back in front, 14-9, with 5:51 left in the third quarter.

No return on the kickoff left UNLV to start at their 25. Two incomplete passes left the Rebels looking at third down, before Bell found Briggs for a 12 yard gain and a first down at the 37. After a two yard rush by Bell and a dropped pass, Bell connected with Lee for a 12 yard gain to convert the third down and move the chains to our 49. A pair of 6 yard rushes by Manning was followed with a 7 yard pass from Bell to Henderson and a 7 yard pass to Briggs to get another first down at our 22 yard line. Manning took the ball on the next play, rushing ahead for a 10 yard gain to leave second and inches, before picking up one yard on the ground to get the first down at our 12 yard line. A two yard rush by Manning was followed with a loss of two yards by Bell to leave third and 10. Our defense would make its first strike of the day, sacking Bell for a four yard loss to leave the Rebels facing fourth and 14. The 33 yard field goal by Simon was good, cutting our lead to 14-12 with 2:36 to go in the third quarter.

Jefferson returned the following kickoff 23 yards out to our 25 yard line to start. A 9 yard pass to Smith got the drive started, before Oliver broke loose for a 10 yard rush and a first down at the 44 yard line. Stephens would make his second error of the day, as cornerback Kevin Fields jumped the pass intended for Jefferson, intercepting it and returning it 6 yards to set UNLV up at our 42 yard line. Our defense wasn’t about to go down without a fight, sacking Bell for an 8 yard loss on first down. A dropped pass and a 5 yard completion to Henderson would leave the Rebels punting on fourth and 13. A touchback on the punt gave us back possession at our 20 yard line with 1:11 left in the quarter. Oliver picked up four yard on the first down carry, before a pitch right picked up 9 yards and the first down at the 33. Trying to get back into the saddle, the first down pass intended for Hayden was nearly intercepted by the outside linebacker, leaving second down. The pass on the next play intended for Newman was broken up by the cornerback, leaving third and 10. Hayden would save the drive, breaking loose over the middle, shaking off a tackle while a second tackle attempt failed as the defender overshot, allowing Hayden to turn up the field into even more green space, fighting ahead for a 33 yard gain before being brought down at the UNLV 34 yard line. That would bring the third quarter to an end as the final 8 seconds ticked off, our lead a meager 14-12.

Opening the fourth quarter at the UNLV 34 yard line, Oliver was only able to get one yard on the ground, as the defense wasn’t allowing anything moving. Coming out in play action, the pass failed miserably, as Stephens was intercepted for the third time today, safety Nick Allen cutting off Hayden to steal the ball and returning the interception 33 yards out to midfield before Stephens was able to cut off his angle and take him down. It was a poor start to the drive for UNLV, as they were flagged for delay of game, but Manning quickly erased the lost yards with a 5 yard rush to leave second and 10. A four yard rush by Manning was followed up with a 9 yard pass to Jackson to get the first down at our 37. An 11 yard pass to Jackson advanced the ball again, setting up first down at our 26. Bell was tackled for a two yard loss on a first down carry, before Manning gained 7 yards on the ground to leave third and 5. The defense would rise to the occasion, sacking Bell for an 8 yard loss to leave the Rebels with fourth and 13 at our 29. Instead of attempting the field goal, UNLV instead threw deep, as Bell found Riley for the 29 yard touchdown pass. The two-point conversion was no good, and UNLV’s lead remained 18-14 with 6:30 to play in the game.

Jefferson returned the following kickoff 19 yards out to our 19 yard line. A field goal would no longer do any good, a touchdown was now mandatory. The first down pass to Jefferson sailed high and long, falling incomplete out of bounds. Banks would get us moving on the next play, hauling in a pass from Stephens for a gain of 15 yards to the 34 yard line. Jefferson was able to get the ball in his hands on the next play, but a hard hit by the safety jarred the ball loose and incomplete. Leaving the right outside linebacker confused and trying to choose between two people to cover, Smith was able to get wide open in the flats for a 16 yard gain and a first down at midfield. Another pass to Smith picked up 11 yards and a new set of downs at the UNLV 39. Oliver was finally able to find some more success on the ground, picking up 8 yards on first down, followed by a 6 yard rush to move the chains to the 25 yard line. A false start penalty moved us back 5 yards, of which Oliver was able to gain back one yard, leaving second and 14. Smith would save the drive once again, hauling in a 15 yard pass over the middle from Stephens to get a first down at the 15 yard line, the clock now under four minutes to play. Oliver was able to fight his way ahead for an 8 yard gain, followed by a two yard pickup by Smith to leave third and inches at the 5 yard line. Oliver was able to fall forward for a three yard gain to set up first and goal at the UNLV two yard line, the clock down to 2:28 and ticking. Oliver was only able to get one yard on the first down rush, as the blitz slowed him down enough to keep him from crossing the goal line. Oliver would finally punch it in on the next play, running in standing up for the one yard touchdown and a 21-18 lead with 1:16 left in the game. The gamble to run down the clock on the last two or three plays appeared as though it was going to pay off.

No return on the following kickoff left UNLV starting at their 25 yard line, 1:08 left to go. After an incomplete pass, Bell connected with Lee for an 11 yard gain, the Rebels using their first timeout with 58 seconds to go. The defense would punch back, sacking Bell for a three yard loss, the second UNLV timeout stopping play with 54 seconds left. After an incomplete pass, Bell connected with Walker for an 8 yard gain, leaving UNLV’s hopes riding on a fourth and 5 play from their 41 yard line. The pass rush would get to Bell, his desperation pass only sailing 5 yards before falling harmlessly to the ground, and our offense took over on downs to close out the final 35 seconds with a single kneel by Stephens. UNLV would use their final timeout, requiring a second kneel down by Stephens, but that would be all that was needed, as we clinched the hard fought 21-18 win over UNLV.

With the win, we open the 2017 season at 1-0. With the loss, UNLV starts their year 0-1. Up next, it's on the road to seek revenge against the Toledo Rockets. The Rockets enter the game 0-1, coming off a 48-17 loss to #6 Michigan State.

Final Score
:Tulsa: 21, :UNLV: 18

Stat(s) of the Game:
- Tulsa Offense – A rough day for Stevens. Did go 20-31 for 314 yards and two touchdowns, but three interceptions pretty much ruined the day for his stats. An alright first game for Oliver, but not great, only 84 yards on 24 carries and one touchdown. Hayden was the beast of the game in receiving, ending with 162 yards on 7 receptions and two touchdowns. 6 receivers ended up catching a pass today.

- Tulsa Defense – Pretty poor defense today. Two of the three interceptions didn't help the defense too much, but they were being driven on pretty steadily all day but a much inferior UNLV offense. This could spell disaster against teams with even better offenses than UNLV.

- Tulsa Kicking – A perfect day to the start of David Glover's kicking career, ending 3-3 in PATs, no field goal attempts though.

Scoring Summary

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

:UNLV:
0
9
3
6
18

:Tulsa:
7
0
7
7
21

Time
Team
Result
Play
Score

First Quarter

3:43
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
E. Hayden, 15 yard pass from B. Stephens (D. Glover kick)
:Tulsa: 7-0

Second Quarter

3:30
:UNLV:
Field Goal
T. Simon, 26 yard field goal
:Tulsa: 7-3

0:51
:UNLV:
Touchdown
C. Jackson, 8 yard pass from J. Bell (missed kick)
:UNLV: 9-7

Third Quarter

5:51
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
E. Hayden, 38 yard pass from B. Stephens (D. Glover kick)
:Tulsa: 14-9

2:39
:UNLV:
Field Goal
T. Simon, 33 yard field goal
:Tulsa: 14-12

Fourth Quarter

6:30
:UNLV:
Touchdown
D. Riley, 28 yard pass from J. Bell (2-pt conversion failed)
:UNLV: 18-14

1:16
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
W. Oliver, 1 yard run (D. Glover kick)
:Tulsa: 21-18

Game Stats

UNLV
Stat
Tulsa

18
Score
21

21
First Downs
20

334
Total Offense
414

23 - 85 - 0
Rushes - Yards - TD
32 - 100 - 1

21 - 42 - 2
Comp - Att - TD
20 - 31 - 2

249
Passing Yards
314

4
Times Sacked
0

6 - 14 (42%)
3rd Down Conversion
5 - 8 (62%)

1 - 2 (50%)
4th Down Conversion
0 - 0 (0%)

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

5 - 1 - 2 (60%)
Red Zone - TD - FG
5 - 2 - 0 (40%)

1
Turnovers
3

0
Fumbles Lost
0

1
Intercepted
3

18
Punt Return Yards
7

0
Kick Return Yards
106

352
Total Yards
527

3 – 42.7
Punts - Average
3 - 48.0

2 - 20
Penalties
7 - 79

14.:53
Time of Possession
21:07

Tulsa Contract Goals Update

Fail Impact
Goal
Progress
Pass Impact

:6redarrow:
21+ points per game in each season
21
:6greenarrow:

Win 10 games in one season
1
:6greenarrow:

3300+ passing yards each season
:red-x:
:5greenarrow:

:6redarrow:
65% pass completions over the entire contract
61%
:5greenarrow:

:5redarrow:
Win 6 games in one season
:check:
:5greenarrow:

:6redarrow:
15+ rushing TD in each season
1
:5greenarrow:

:4redarrow:
3200+ total offensive yards each season
414
:3greenarrow:

:5redarrow:
3400+ total offensive yards each season
414
:2greenarrow:

Job Security Status

48%

SmoothPancakes

02-12-2013, 06:39 PM

This could be a long season. :fp:

morsdraconis

02-12-2013, 08:02 PM

Wow. Won by the skin of your teeth. Yikes.

SmoothPancakes

02-12-2013, 08:05 PM

Time for another look around the nation. Starting in the Top 25, in the upset shocker of the week, Middle Tennessee State goes down to #2 Georgia and SHOCKS the Bulldogs 28-24. MTSU had a 14-6 halftime lead, still led 21-14 after three, and scored the game winning touchdown with 2:41 left in the game to leave the college football world stunned. Right on the heels of MTSU's upset, Arizona pulls an upset of their own, chopping down #3 TCU 35-24, scoring 14 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to complete the upset.

#10 Rutgers falls down and goes boom to start the season, losing 28-7 to Virginia. #11 Wisconsin took #18 South Carolina behind the woodshed to the tune of 47-27. Oregon State scored a 38-35 upset of #16 Stanford. #17 Florida State had some trouble early on, but eventually pulled away from Marshall 40-28. #21 Michigan escaped upset this week, scoring twice in the fourth quarter to comeback from behind and beat Army 35-28. #25 Northwestern needed a touchdown with 1:12 left in the game to comeback from behind and escape Florida International 31-27.

For our readers, souljahbill, Southern Miss opens up the season 1-0 with a 22-17 win over Miami University. Jaymo, Arizona State opens up 1-0 with a 58-14 dismantling of FCS Midwest. Mors, West Virginia starts 1-0 with a 38-14 win over Central Michigan. Jeff, Ohio State jumps out 1-0 with a 31-9 win over FCS East. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State had a bye week.

In C-USA action, MTSU shocks #2 Georgia 28-24 (thank god MTSU isn't on my schedule this year), UAB falls short against Washington 28-19, Florida International can't pull off the upset, losing 31-27 to #25 Northwestern. UTSA smokes Memphis 42-10, Rice downs Duke 20-17, #8 USC shellacs North Texas 44-21, and the rest were against FCS teams.

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Texas (38 first place votes) remains #1, Notre Dame (22 votes), jumps two to #2, Nebraska (1 vote) jumps two to #3, Michigan State jumps two to #4 and Clemson jumps two to #5. USC and Oklahoma both climb two to #6 and #7, Wisconsin leaps three to #8, Miami and Iowa also jump three to #9 and #10. Oregon and Alabama both jump three to #11 and #12, TCU falls ten to #13, Florida State moves up three #14 and Georgia plummets thirteen spots to #15. LSU climbs three to #16, Rutgers falls seven to #17, NC State jumps two to #18, Arizona enters the poll at #19, Michigan jumps one to #20. Boise State and Ole Miss both jump one to #21 and #22, Virginia enters the poll at #23, Texas A&M remains stuck at #24 and South Carolina falls seven to #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Stanford (from #16) and Northwestern (from #25). Looking at Others Receiving Votes: Northwestern (275 votes) is #26, followed by Virginia Tech (220), Louisville (190), Stanford (146) and Georgia Tech (109) to round out the Top 30. SMU (21 votes) and Mississippi State (19 votes) are also getting votes this week.

Looking at the new Heisman watch, Notre Dame QB Jordan Cooke remains #1, followed by Georgia HB Joel Nolan at #2, TCU HB Clark Richardson at #3, USC HB Jordan Lewis at #4 and Notre Dame HB Larue Barnes at #5.

SmoothPancakes

02-12-2013, 08:05 PM

Wow. Won by the skin of your teeth. Yikes.

Yeah, it was not a pretty game at all. :(

SmoothPancakes

02-16-2013, 12:04 AM

Game Two

:Tulsa: :@: :Toledo:

Game Notes

--- Coming off a very difficult win over UNLV, it was on the road we headed to take on the Toledo Rockets, looking for revenge after losing to them at home last year. Toledo fared much worse than us in their first game, getting destroyed by #6 Michigan State 48-17. However, we couldn’t allow that to let our guard down, after last year’s game against the Rockets. We won the coin toss and elected to kick.

A touchback on the opening kickoff got the game started, as Toledo began at their 25 yard line. Eric Lester took the ball on first down, but found nowhere to go, as the defense broke through and tackled him for a three yard loss. After a dropped pass by Lester, the third down pass by Randall Wallace fell incomplete and the Rockets were forced to punt very early on. A fair catch by Conner Jefferson got our offense lined up at our 35 yard line for our opening drive.

Will Oliver took the ball on first down, rushing for a 6 yard gain, followed by a 5 yard pickup to get the first down. Testing Toledo with the pass ended poorly, as the middle linebacker blew through the line and sacked Brad Stephens for a 9 yard loss, leaving second and 19 at the 37, nearly back where we started. The pass to Eric Hayden on second down went for an 8 yard gain, leaving third and 11. A failed assignment pickup by the safety allowed Hayden to get open along the left sideline on the third down play, hauling in the pass from Stephens for a 16 yard gain and a fresh set of downs at the Toledo 39 yard line. Conner Jefferson made the biggest play of the drive, breaking past the corner and into open space down the right sideline to haul in a 28 yard pass from Stephens, setting up first down at the 11 yard line. A pair of rushes by Oliver picked up 6 yards to leave us looking at third and four from the 5 yard line. Trying to catch the defense sleeping, a pitch left to Oliver failed horribly, ending in a loss of two yards. The 24 yard field goal by David Glover was good and we took a 3-0 lead with 3:30 left in the first quarter.

Lester took the kickoff back 20 yards for Toledo, giving the Rockets the ball at their 22 yard line for their next drive. After a dropped pass by Abraham Johnson, Lester ran for a 5 yard gain up the middle to leave third and 5. A two yard rush by Wallace would end up short, and the Rockets would be forced to punt away once again. A 9 yard return by Jefferson got us up and running at our 33 yard line for our next drive. Keeping the ball on the ground on first down, Oliver was able to pick up 5 yards, before being wrapped up for no gain on the following play, leaving us looking at third and 5. A quick pass from Stephens to Randy Newman picked up 5 yards, just enough for the first down at the 44 yard line. A pass over the middle to Hayden picked up 7 yards, followed by a rush for no gain by Oliver to leave third and three and leaving Oliver banged up after the play. The final ten seconds of the quarter would tick off, bringing the first quarter to an end, our lead 3-0.

Opening up the second quarter, the third down pass intended for Jefferson was batted down by the outside linebacker, leaving us punting away. A touchback on the punt gave Toledo the ball at their 20 yard line for their next possession. Lester started the drive breaking loose for a 9 yard rush, before an incomplete pass left the Rockets looking at third and one. A three yard rush by Lester was enough to get the first down, moving the chains to the 32 yard line. The Rockets finally started to find a groove, as Wallace connected with David Matthews for a 12 yard gain and a first down at the 43. A pair of rushes by Larry Johnson and Lester each went for a loss of two yards, leaving Toledo in the hole with third and 14. A drive that showed promise would come to an end as the third down pass by Wallace sailed incomplete, leaving the Rockets punting on fourth down.

A fair catch by Jefferson gave us the ball at our 19 yard line. Breaking up the middle, Roy Smith was able to gain 7 yards, as it was learned that Oliver would be sidelined for the remainder of the game with a mild concussion. Smith took the handoff on second down, but was unable to gain any yards, as the blitzing outside linebacker tripped him up at the line of scrimmage. Keeping the ball himself on third down, Stephens was able to turn the corner around the right tackle, and thanks to some timely blocks, break out into the open for a 17 yard rush and a first down at the 43 yard line. Going with a play action pass on first down, it would be the end of our drive as the pass intended for Newman was intercepted by cornerback Eric King, returned for one yard to the Toledo 49 yard line.

Leroy Wright started the Rockets with a 5 yard rush on first down, followed by a one yard gain from Lester to leave third and four. Despite the great field position, it would be another wasted drive by the Rockets as an incomplete pass on third down would once again doom a drive. A touchback on the punt gave us the ball back at our 20 yard line. Calling a screen play on first down, Jefferson hauled in the pass and with some downfield blocking, turned the screen pass into a 22 yard gain to set up first down at the 42. After an incomplete pass on first down, Hayden was able to haul in a pass from Stephens for a 10 yard gain, leaving us looking at third and inches from the Toledo 49 yard line. Smith would be unable to get the job done, as the middle linebacker stood him up at the line, and the outside linebacker came in to finish him off for no gain to leave fourth and one. The punt sailed into the end zone for a touchback, leaving the Rockets to start from their 20 yard line with 3:00 left in the quarter.

The defense wasn’t about to give the Rockets anything on offense, sacking Wallace for a one yard loss, then following that up with tackling Lester for a two yard loss, leaving Toledo facing third and 13. A two yard gain on a scramble would be all Wallace could muster, the Rockets punting away on fourth and 11. A fair catch by Jefferson on the 42 yard punt set our offense up at our 38 yard line with 2:17 remaining. The first down pass was nearly intercepted by the outside linebacker, leaving second down. The second down pass intended for Antonio Banks was broken up by the safety, leaving us with third down. When our offense seemed all but inept, Bobby Smith saved our drive, hauling in a prayer of a pass over the cornerback’s head and tight roping the sideline for a 35 yard gain before being pushed out at the Toledo 27 yard line. A pass to Carl Barnes was completed for a 22 yard gain along the right sideline, setting up first and goal at the 5 yard line with 1:38 to go. Smith was able to pick up two yards on the ground after bouncing outside the left tackle, leaving second and goal from the three. Smith had no hope of positive gain, as he was quickly stood up by two defenders, tackled for a loss of one yard to leave third and goal from the four yard line. Eric Silva would come in on third down, finding a small gap to penetrate and punch through into the end zone to finish off the drive and open our lead up to 10-0 with 13 seconds to go before halftime.

An 18 yard kickoff return by Lester gave Toledo the ball at their 22 yard line with three seconds left on the clock, a 5 yard rush by Lester running out the clock and taking us into halftime with a 10-0 lead and receiving the ball to start the second half.

Opening up the third quarter, the kickoff went into the end zone for a touchback, and we began our drive from the 25 yard line. A pair of rushes by Smith to start the drive went for gains of three and 5 yards, leaving us with third and two from the 33. The defense wasn’t about to just roll over, as Smith was tackled for no gain on the third down play, leaving us punting away on fourth and two. A 9 yard return by L. Johnson on the 48 yard punt started Toledo from their 28. Johnson quickly turned around after the punt return and hauled in a first down pass from Wallace for a 12 yard gain to get the Rockets moving down the field. After an incomplete pass on first down, Lester was able to pick up three yards on the ground to leave Toledo looking at third and 7. Wallace would be forced to scramble on third down to avoid the pressure, picking up only two yards and leaving the Toledo punt team coming out on fourth and 5. Jefferson called for a fair catch on the 46 yard punt, leaving our offense to start from our 9 yard line.

The Rockets were more than focused on shutting down our run game, as Smith was only able to get one yard, if that, before being quickly swarmed by blue jerseys. Taking another chance with the play action pass, Jefferson got the job done this time, getting separation from the cornerback and hauling in the pass from Stephens for a 27 yard gain and a first down at the 36 yard line. Smith took the ball on first down, picking up 5 yards up the middle, before managing to get only a single yard to leave us looking at third and four. Jefferson was able to get his hands on the third down pass from Stephens, for what would have been at least a 15 yard gain, but an instantaneous hit by the safety was able to jar the ball loose and incomplete, leaving us punting away on fourth down. We would get further bad news from that play, as Smith suffered a bruised shoulder on the play, leaving him sidelined for a while. A fair catch on the 44 yard punt left Toledo started from their 14 yard line. Toledo was still unable to rediscover their rhythm on offense, as two incomplete passes and a loss of four yards by Lester left yet another drive squandered and the punt team coming out on fourth and 14. It would only get worse for the Rockets as the punt was blocked in the end zone, recovered by middle linebacker Jared Keyes for a touchdown, extending our lead to 17-0 with 3:07 left in the third quarter.

Toledo was left really looking down the barrel after the touchdown by our special teams, and that seemingly triggered something in the offense, who started from their 18 yard line after a 16 yard kickoff return by Lester. The offense wasted no time whatsoever in moving the ball, as A. Johnson quickly hauled in a deep pass over the middle for a 32 yard gain and a first down at midfield. Matthews followed that up with a 13 yard catch and a new set of downs at our 36 yard line. Continuing through the air, A. Johnson caught a pass from Wallace for a 13 yard gain, followed by an 11 yard reception by L. Johnson to leave the Rockets with a first down at our 12 yard line. After a two yard rush by Lester, Wallace’s pass intended for Wright in the back corner of the end zone was swatted out of bounds and incomplete, leaving Toledo with third and 8. The Rockets would come up short on their drive, as Wallace’s third down pass was batted away, Toledo settling for a 27 yard field goal from Heath Black, cutting our lead to 17-3 with 1:57 to go in the quarter.

A 20 yard kickoff return by Jefferson got us started at our 23 yard line. Smith took the first down handoff for a 6 yard gain, before breaking a 10 yard rush up the middle to get the first down at the 39 yard line. Another rush by Smith went for 7 yards, which would bring the third quarter to an end, our lead 17-3.

Opening up the fourth quarter, a pitch to the right failed miserably, as Smith was tackled for a two yard loss, leaving us with third and 5. A pass intended for Banks was broken up by the middle linebacker and the punt team came out. No return on the 50 yard punt left the Rockets buried deep at their four yard line, still alive, but a long climb to make in the final 8 minutes of the game. That climb would end up buried under an avalanche, as Lester took the ball on first down, picking up four yards up the middle before fumbling the ball, cornerback Tyler Fountain recovering the ball to set our offense up with possession and first and goal from the Toledo 8 yard line. Smith took the ball up the middle on first down, picking up 5 yards to leave second and goal from the three. Smith was able to gain two yards on the next carry, leaving us with third and goal from the one yard line. Smith would punch it in on the next play for the one yard touchdown, increasing our lead to 24-3 with 6:42 left in the game.

A 15 yard kickoff return got Toledo set up at their 15 yard line, looking just to save some face at this point. After an incomplete pass on first down, the Rockets finally started to find some movement, as Matthews hauled in a pass from Wallace for a 10 yard gain to leave third and inches, upon which L. Johnson caught a pass along the right sideline for a 13 yard gain and a first down at the 37 yard line. After another pass to Matthews for a 9 yard gain, Wallace would make his first miscue of the day, as his pass intended for Matthews was intercepted by middle linebacker Jermaine Clark, giving us back possession of the ball at the Toledo 48 yard line with 5:31 to play.

A pair of rushes by Smith ended with little fanfare, with a gain of two yards and a loss of one yard leaving us looking at third and 9, the clock down to 4:33 and ticking. The third down pass intended for Jefferson was batted down at the line by the defensive tackle, leaving us punting away on fourth and 9. No return on the 44 yard punt left Toledo buried at their three yard line with exactly 4:00 left on the clock. As if it couldn’t get any worse for Toledo, it inevitably did, as Lester took the handoff on first down, wrapped up at the two yard line, and before being tackled down, had the ball stripped loose, promptly being picked up by Fountain, returning the fumble the two yards to the end zone for a touchdown to make our lead 31-3 with 3:55 to go in the game.

A 22 yard kickoff return after the extra point gave Toledo the ball back to start at their 23 yard line and still trying to somehow save some tiny bit of face. After an incomplete pass on first down, Wallace was able to find A. Johnson open over the middle for a 13 yard gain to get a first down at the 36 yard line. Another 13 yard pass, this time to L. Johnson, gave the Rockets another first down at the 49 yard line, and seemingly on their way. Taking a prayer, Wallace heaved up a pass deep down the left sideline, but put too much air under it, as it sailed long and well out of bounds. Wright would keep the drive moving however as he caught an 11 yard pass from Wallace on second down to move the chains to our 40 yard line. After a loss of three yards on a carry by Wallace, Lester took the ball around the right tackle for a 7 yard gain to leave Toledo looking at third and 6. Lester would get the job done and then some, turning the corner around the right tackle and busting into the open, racing the safety for a 28 yard gain all the way down to our 8 yard line. The Rockets would finally find the end zone on the next play, as Wallace connected with Matthews for the 8 yard touchdown pass to cut the score to 31-10 with 2:25 left in the game.

Toledo, still holding on to the slimmest of slim hopes of a comeback, attempted an onside kick, but it was promptly recovered by our hands team, giving us the ball at the Toledo 45 yard line with 2:21 to go. A pair of two yard rushes by Smith left us with third and 6 at the 41 yard line, the clock nearing one minute to play. Taking over on third down, Silva took the third down handoff, breaking loose up the middle for a 14 yard gain and a first down at the 26 yard line with 52 seconds left to play. A three yard rush by Smith would be the final play of the game, as the last 21 seconds ticked off the clock, sealing our 31-10 victory.

With the win, we improve to 2-0. With the loss, Toledo drops to 0-2. Up next, we head back home to take on New Mexico. The Lobos enter the game 0-2, opening the season with a 38-31 loss at Illinois, before losing 31-19 at Fresno State.

Final Score
:Tulsa: 31, :Toledo: 10

Stat(s) of the Game:
Tulsa Offense – A decent day for Stephens, ended the day 10-18 for 180 yards, though he had no touchdowns and threw one interception. With Oliver going out early on with a mild concussion, it was Smith who led the way rushing, ending with 65 yards and one touchdown on 24 carries. Five receivers caught a ball today, Jefferson the go to guy, ending with 77 yards on three receptions. Next up was Hayden, who ended the day with 41 yards and four receptions.

Tulsa Defense – Had their ups and downs. Pretty much kept Toledo stuck in mud the first half. The second half, still slowed Toledo down and kept them out of the end zone until the very end, but the Rockets were able to put together a number of large drives against us.

Tulsa Kicking – A perfect day by Glover, ending 1-1 in field goals with the 24 yard kick in the first quarter, and ending 4-4 in PATs.

Scoring Summary

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

:Tulsa:
3
7
7
14
31

:Toledo:
0
0
3
7
10

Time
Team
Result
Play
Score

First Quarter

3:34
:Tulsa:
Field Goal
D. Glover, 24 yard field goal
:Tulsa: 3-0

Second Quarter

0:13
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
E. Silva, 4 yard run (D. Glover kick)
:Tulsa: 10-0

Third Quarter

3:12
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
J. Keyes, fumble recovery in endzone (D. Glover kick)
:Tulsa: 17-0

2:00
:Toledo:
Field Goal
H. Black, 26 yard field goal
:Tulsa: 17-3

Fourth Quarter

6:42
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
R. Smith, 1 yard run (D. Glover kick)
:Tulsa: 24-3

3:55
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
T. Fountain, returned fumble 2 yards (D. Glover kick)
:Tulsa: 31-3

2:25
:Toledo:
Touchdown
D. Matthews, 8 yard pass from R. Wallace (H. Black kick)
:Tulsa: 31-10

Game Stats

Tulsa
Stat
Toledo

31
Score
10

11
First Downs
12

292
Total Offense
230

36 - 112 - 2
Rushes - Yards - TD
21 - 60 - 0

10 - 18 - 0
Comp - Att - TD
13 - 28 - 1

180
Passing Yards
170

1
Times Sacked
1

7 - 14 (50%)
3rd Down Conversion
3 - 11 (27%)

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

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

8 - 2 - 1 (37%)
Red Zone - TD - FG
4 - 1 - 1 (50%)

1
Turnovers
4

0
Fumbles Lost
3

1
Intercepted
1

9
Punt Return Yards
9

20
Kick Return Yards
91

321
Total Yards
330

6 – 47.5
Punts - Average
6 - 44.0

0 - 0
Penalties
0 - 0

20:40
Time of Possession
15:20

Tulsa Contract Goals Update

Fail Impact
Goal
Progress
Pass Impact

:6redarrow:
21+ points per game in each season
26
:6greenarrow:

Win 10 games in one season
2
:6greenarrow:

3300+ passing yards each season
:red-x:
:5greenarrow:

:6redarrow:
65% pass completions over the entire contract
61%
:5greenarrow:

:5redarrow:
Win 6 games in one season
:check:
:5greenarrow:

:6redarrow:
15+ rushing TD in each season
3
:5greenarrow:

:4redarrow:
3200+ total offensive yards each season
706
:3greenarrow:

:5redarrow:
3400+ total offensive yards each season
706
:2greenarrow:

Job Security Status

48%

SmoothPancakes

02-16-2013, 12:10 AM

Time for another look around the nation. Starting in the Top 25, in the upset shocker of the week, Navy starts their season off 1-0, shocking The Lone Star State with a 34-27 win over #1 Texas. In the game of the week, #2 Notre Dame steamrolled #20 Michigan to the tune of 52-14. #3 Nebraska defends their ranking, handing #17 Rutgers it's second straight loss, 31-21. #4 Michigan State had trouble early on, tied with Central Michigan 21-21 at halftime, but the Spartans turned it on in the second half on their way to a 49-28 win over the Chippewas. Maryland keeps the upsets rolling, improving to 2-0 with a 34-31 win over #8 Wisconsin.

#10 Iowa scores the game-winning touchdown with 1:52 to play to hold off rival Iowa State, 30-27. #11 Oregon scores 10 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to comeback against Stanford, 17-13. #13 TCU uses a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns to escape Arizona State with a 48-38 win. Virginia Tech scores an upset over the Seminoles with a 45-20 win over #14 Florida State. #15 Georgia had their work cut out for them, holding off Arkansas for a 38-31 win. #16 LSU scores twice in the fourth quarter to get a 42-31 win over #25 South Carolina. #22 Ole Miss edged out Missouri 31-28. And #24 Texas A&M scores 21 straight in the fourth quarter to pull away from Illinois and avoid the upset, 49-35.

For our readers, souljahbill, Southern Miss improves to 2-0 with a 34-28 win over Penn State. Jaymo, Arizona State drops to 1-1, losing 48-38 to #13 TCU. Mors, West Virginia drops to 1-1 (0-1 Big 12) with a 30-20 loss to Oklahoma State. Jeff, Ohio State improves to 2-0, pulling out a 21-14 win over Western Kentucky. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State opens their year 1-0 with a 34-14 win over Tulane.

In C-USA action, Southern Miss knocks off Penn State 34-28, Idaho shocks Marshall 13-12, NC State takes down North Texas 27-7, Florida International falls to Washington State 35-28, Indiana whoops UAB 38-17, UCF has their way with Louisiana Tech 45-28, Louisville escapes UTSA 38-35, Florida Atlantic loses to Miami University 42-35, Minnesota pulls it out against Rice 41-34, Wake Forest bitchslaps UTEP 48-14, and Texas State takes down MTSU 35-21. With all 12 C-USA teams in action, we went 2-10 as a conference this week. :fp:

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Notre Dame (32 first place votes) moves up one to #1, Nebraska (23 votes) climbs one to #2, Michigan State (3 votes) moves up one to #3, Clemson (2 votes) jumps one to #4 and USC (1 vote) jumps one to #5. Oklahoma climbs one to #6, Miami jumps two to #7, Iowa, Oregon and Alabama all jump two #8, #9 and #10. TCu climbs two to #11, Georgia and LSU both jump three to #12 and #13, Texas falls thirteen spots to #14 and NC State climbs three to #15. Wisconsin falls eight to #16, Arizona jumps two to #17, Maryland enters the poll at #18, Boise State jumps two to #19 and Ole Miss climbs two to #20. Florida State drops seven spots to #21, Virginia moves up one to #22, Virginia Tech enters the poll at #23, Rutgers falls seven to #24 and Texas A&M drops one to #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were: Michigan (from #20) and South Carolina (from #25). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Michigan (244 votes) is #26, followed by Northwestern (235), Louisville (163), Georgia Tech (94) and Mississippi State (64) to round out the Top 30. Other teams getting votes include: Arkansas State (55), South Carolina (36) and San Diego State (19).

Looking at the new Heisman watch, Notre Dame QB Jordan Cooke remains #1, followed by Georgia HB Joel Nolan at #2, USC HB Jordan Lewis at #3, TCU HB Clark Richardson at #4 and Louisville HB Reggie Morse at #5.

SmoothPancakes

02-16-2013, 12:11 AM

With that, before I have to leave for work in 50 minutes, I'll just say a simple, WAY TO GO NAVY! :D

JeffHCross

02-17-2013, 04:27 PM

Way too many upsets with the EA sim engine. :smh:

Of course, that's probably going to happen with any sim engine that uses a one-time simulation for a result.

SmoothPancakes

02-17-2013, 04:41 PM

Way too many upsets with the EA sim engine. :smh:

Of course, that's probably going to happen with any sim engine that uses a one-time simulation for a result.

I can agree with you there. You only need look back through this dynasty and look the top 25 recaps to see a load of upsets (and just as many near upsets) each week.

Obviously there will always been upsets to some extents, but they can get insane at times in this game.

SmoothPancakes

02-27-2013, 05:05 AM

Game Three

:New_Mexico: :@: :Tulsa:

Game Notes

--- Back home after our surprisingly easy win over Toledo, it was time to take on another old opponent, the Lobos of New Mexico. Entering the game 0-2, New Mexico was a sort of mixed bag, coming in with offensive rankings all in the mid-50s in the nation, but defensive rankings all 91st or worse. Hopefully that would bode well for our very subpar rushing offense, and maybe give our poor passing defense a break. We won the coin toss and elected to kick.

The opening kickoff went for a touchback, starting New Mexico at their 25. Nathan Lewis got the drive started for the Lobos with a four yard rush, before Will Robbins hit Roland Powell over the middle for an 8 yard gain and a first down. A rush by Danny Robinson went for a three yard loss, made up with a three yard rush by Robbins to leave third and 10. An incomplete pass would bring the drive to an end. A fair catch on the 49 yard punt gave our offense the ball at our 13 yard line to begin. Will Oliver got the drive started, fighting his way forward for a two yard gain, followed by a 5 yard rush to leave third and three at the 20. Pitching the ball right, Oliver never had a chance, as the cornerback and linebacker overwhelmed the tight end, followed by the rest of the defense to tackle him for a four yard loss, leaving us punting on fourth and 7. A fair catch on the 44 yard punt gave New Mexico the ball at their 39 yard line.

Robinson started things with a pair of four yard rushes to leave third and two, which was coverted with an 8 yard pass from Robbins to Wade Wilkerson for a first down at our 44 yard line. After an incomplete pass, Robinson broke a 7 yard rush to set up third and three, but an incomplete pass would stall things out at our 37 yard line. After a 5 yard false start penalty, the Lobos opted to skip the fourth down conversion and instead punt it, the punt sailing into the end zone for a touchback.

Starting from our 20 yard line, Oliver was able to find a hole up the middle for a 6 yard gain, followed by a rush of four yards to leave third and inches at the 30. Taking the third down rush up the gut, Oliver was stood up at the line, but able to get to the outside shoulder of the defensive tackle, was able to keep his legs driving and fall forward for a one yard gain and a first down at the 31. With the run game stuck in the mud, it was time to open up the air game, as Brad Stephens completed his first pass of the day, connecting with Eric Hayden for an 11 yard gain and a first down at the 42 yard line. The second pass attempt ended much worse, as the defensive end beat his blocker, coming in from the right side to sack Stephens for a 9 yard loss. The offensive line was going to need an ass whooping at halftime, as Stephens was very nearly sacked for a second straight play, this time from the left side, as he was hit just as he tried to throw deep to Hayden, the ball knocked out and incomplete just yards away to leave third and 19. Just barely getting the throw off this time, Stephens was able to connect with Antonio Banks along the left sideline, a downfield block by Hayden taking the cornerback out of the picture, allowing Banks to scramble up the sideline before being pushed out of bounds by the outside linebacker at the New Mexico 47 yard line for a 20 yard gain and a new set of downs. Heading back to the ground game, Oliver was able to pick up 5 yards up the middle. A designed run for Stephens on the next play ended in no gain, leaving third and four from the 41 yard line. Coming over the middle, Banks was able to grab a quick pass from Stephens for a 5 yard gain, the defense unable to drive him back behind the first down line before forward momentum over the line had already been established, giving us a first down at the 37. Getting lucky on the next play, Stephens hit Hayden down the left hash mark for a 17 yard gain, the cornerback attempting to intercept the ball, but missing, allowing Hayden to turn up field for a couple extra yards to the 20 yard line. Chucking a ball up into the corner of the end zone for Conner Jefferson, the play was broken up by the cornerback, leaving second down. Diving for an off-target pass, Jefferson was able to redeem himself by hauling in a 10 yard pass over the middle from Stephens, leaving third and inches at the 10 yard line. Oliver would finish the job on the next play, breaking through a tackle attempt at the line by the defensive tackle, finding a hole up the middle, and then pushing through another tackle attempt at the two yard line, dragging the safety into the end zone with him for the 10 yard touchdown rush and a 7-0 lead with 45 seconds left in the quarter.

A touchback on the kickoff gave New Mexico the ball at their 25 yard line. Robbins got their drive started with a 7 yard rush, before an incomplete pass left third and three. Robinson would keep the drive alive, breaking loose for a gain of 8 yards to get the first down at the 40 yard line. A 7 yard rush by Robinson would leave second and three from the 47, and that would be where the first quarter would come to a close, our lead 7-0.

Opening up the second quarter, Robinson picked up another first down for the Lobos with a four yard rush to move the chains to our 49. Two more rushes by Robinson for 7 and four yards gained yet another first down for New Mexico at our 38 yard line. Robinson continued putting on a rushing clinic, picking up four yards on the next play, before our defense finally responded back, tackling Robinson for a loss of three yards to leave the Lobos facing third and 9. An incomplete pass would stall out the drive. The punt would sail out of the end zone for a touchback, leaving us starting from our 20 yard line.

Oliver finally was able to break his first long run of the day, hitting the gap around the right tackle, turning up field after breaking off a tackle and initially having nothing but green and appearing to be headed for a long touchdown, but a quick move by the safety allowed him to tackle Oliver for only a 21 yard gain, setting us up with a first down at our 41. No gain on the following carry, followed by an incomplete pass to leave third down. Jefferson was able to keep our drive breathing, hauling in a bullet pass from Stephens for a 10 yard gain, holding onto the ball while being hit immediately after, to set up the first down at the Lobos 49. A pass to Randy Newman picked up four yards, after which Oliver got us a new set of downs with an 11 yard rush down to the New Mexico 34 yard line. Oliver kept the momentum going, finally finding his gear, rushing for a 13 yard gain to the 21. A four yard gain by Oliver was followed with an 8 yard rush to leave us with first and goal at the 9 yard line. We seemed to finally break the backs of the defense, as Roy Smith took the handoff on first down, weaving his way up the middle, running into the end zone standing up for the 9 yard touchdown and a 14-0 lead with 4:46 left in the half.

The kickoff return nearly ended in disaster for New Mexico, as the ball was fumbled during the return, recovered by Dustin Stone at the 17 yard line to keep the Lobos from falling over the cliff. A pair of rushes by Robinson for gains of 8 and 5 yards gave the Lobos a first down at their 31 yard line. Two more rushes by Robinson, going for pickups of 7 and 8 yards gave another first down at the 45 yard line. After an incomplete pass, Robinson got New Mexico across midfield with a 7 yard rush, followed by a 6 yard rush by Wilkerson to get the first down at our 41 yard line. Robinson was tackled for a two yard loss on the next play, followed by an incomplete pass to leave third and 12 from the 43. Another incomplete pass would leave yet another New Mexico drive stalled out in our territory. The Lobos would attempt to go for the conversion, but the fourth down pass was batted incomplete, and our we took over on offense at our 43 yard line on the turnover on downs.

Taking the handoff, Oliver was able to pick up one yard on the first down carry. Rushing the pass on the next play to beat the blitz, Stephens was able to miraculously hook up with Jefferson over the right hash mark, who was able to get behind his man, hauling the pass in and racing 55 yards down field before being tripped up in a desperation attempt tackled by the safety at the one yard line, leaving us with first and goal with 1:45 left to play. Oliver would need only one play to finish the drive, fighting his way through a tackle and into the end zone for the one yard touchdown to increase our lead to 21-0 with 1:42 to play in the half.

No return on the following kickoff left New Mexico starting from their 25 yard line with 1:34 left to play. Robbins started the drive with a 5 yard scramble, the Lobos calling their first time out with 1:28 to go. After an incomplete pass, a 5 yard pass to Tyrell Cox left New Mexico with fourth and inches from their 35. Our defense would help them as a pass interference penalty gave New Mexico a first down at midfield. After a pair of incomplete passes, Robbins connected with Robinson for a 12 yard pass on third down, moving the chains to our 38 yard line, the second New Mexico timeout stopping play with 54 seconds to go. After another incomplete pass, Robbins hit Robinson again, this time for an 18 yard gain to our 20 yard line with 42 seconds remaining. An incomplete pass and a loss of two yards by Robinson left the Lobos facing third and 12 with only 28 seconds to go. Robbins was able to cut that distance down with a 9 yard pass to Lewis, but New Mexico was still left with fourth and three at our 13 yard line and 18 seconds left on the clock. The Lobos would try for a 30 yard field goal, but the kick was no good, wide left, and we headed into halftime with a 21-0 lead.

Jefferson got the second half started with a 24 yard kickoff return, giving us the ball at our 23 yard line. Oliver kept the ground game going, taking the ball on first down for a gain of 8 yards, followed by a rush of 5 yards and a first down at the 36. After a loss of one yard by Oliver, in a little trickeration, Oliver took the direct snap and threw to Jefferson down the right sideline for a 24 yard gain, giving us a first down at the 41 yard line and leaving the defense confused. Three straight incomplete passes would bring our drive to an end, as the punt sailed into the end zone for a touchback.

After an incomplete pass on first down, Robbins connected with Robinson for a 9 yard gain to leave New Mexico with third and one from the 29. The drive would stall out there as an incomplete pass on third down left the punt team coming out. A 5 yard punt return by Jefferson on the 44 yard punt gave us the ball at our 31 yard line. Oliver took the ball to start the drive, breaking off a pair of rushes for gains of four and 5 yards, leaving third and one, before busting up the middle for a 14 yard carry and a first down at the New Mexico 46. Smith took the handoff on the next play, fighting his way forward for a four yard gain. Going with a play action pass on second down, Oliver was able to haul in a pass from Stephens down the left sideline for a 17 yard gain down to the Lobos 25 yard line. A screen pass to Jefferson on first down picked up 5 yards, followed by a loss of two yards by Stephens to leave us with third and 7. An incomplete pass would leave us with fourth down and the field goal unit coming out. The 39 yard field goal attempt by David Glover was no good, the ball just missing the crossbar. A pair of incomplete passes and a 6 yard rush by Robinson would likewise limit the drive of the Lobos, leaving them punting on fourth and four. A fair catch on the 44 yard punt set our offense up at our 28 yard line.

A first down pass to Carl Barnes was completed for a 15 yard gain, quickly moving us and giving a first down at the 43 yard line. Oliver kept it going with a 13 yard rush up the middle, giving us another first down at the New Mexico 44 yard line, as the Lobos defense started to show more and more signs of tiredness. After a 5 yard rush by Oliver on first down, he was tackled for a loss of two yards on the next play, leaving us with third and 5. The pass intended for Hayden was batted down incomplete, leaving our punt team coming out. A bad snap on the punt left Carlos Wilcox scrambling on the play, tackled for a three yard loss, giving New Mexico possession at their 44 yard line. After two incomplete passes, the Lobos finally got moving, as Robbins connected with Robinson for a 15 yard gain to our 41 yard line. After another incomplete pass, another pass to Robinson gained 10 yards to leave second and inches, Robbins keeping the ball himself and rushing for three yards to get the first down at our 29. Three incomplete passes would seemingly bring yet another drive to an end for New Mexico. But instead of trying a long field goal, the Lobos opted to go for it on fourth down, Robbins finding Cox over the middle for 10 yards and a first down at our 19 yard line. A false start penalty would push the offense backwards, leaving them facing first and 15. An incomplete pass on first down would bring the third quarter to a close, our lead 21-0.

Opening up the fourth quarter, two more incomplete passes left New Mexico with fourth and 15 from our 24 yard line. The Lobos again opted to go for it on fourth down, but the pass intended for Lewis was broken up, and with the turnover on downs, we took over at our 24 yard line. Oliver got the drive started with a pair of rushes for gains 7 and 10 yards to pick up the first down at the 41 yard line. A 16 yard pass from Stephens to Hayden got us into Lobos territory with a first down at the New Mexico 43. Stephens then kept the ball himself, rushing around the right tackle for a 16 yard gain and a new set of downs at the 27. Forced to scramble two plays in a row, Stephens was able to gain 7 yards the first time and three yards the second time to leave us looking at third and inches from the 17 yard line. Stephens never had a chance on the third down play, as the outside linebacker blitzed through untouched, sacking Stephens for an 8 yard loss before he had even completed his full drop back. Left with fourth and 8 from the 25 yard line, the 42 yard field goal by Glover was good, giving us a 24-0 lead with 6:51 to play in the game.

No return on the following kickoff gave New Mexico the ball at their 25 yard line and still looking for an answer. They wouldn’t find it this drive, as two incomplete pass and a three yard scramble by Robbins left the Lobos punting away on fourth and 7. A fair catch on the 46 yard punt set our offense up at our 26 yard line. Oliver got us rolling with a two rushes for 5 and 8 yards to get a first down at the 39 yard line, before breaking off another run for 8 yards. Smith would pick up the first down on the next play, breaking up the middle for a 16 yard gain to the New Mexico 37. A 6 yard rush by Oliver was followed up with a rush for no gain by Smith to leave third and four. Stephens tried to get the first down himself, but never made it, as the middle linebacker blitzed through and tackled him for a loss of three yards. Taking a shot deep, the 52 yard field goal by Glover split the uprights, extending our lead to 27-0 with 3:14 left in the game.

A touchback on the kickoff left New Mexico once again starting from their 25 yard line. After two incomplete passes to start the drive, Robbins connected with Powell for a 13 yard gain and a first down at the 38 yard line. After an incomplete pass on first down, Robinson took the ball on the ground for two consecutive plays, picking up gains of four and 8 yards to get the first down at midfield. Another incomplete passes was followed with a three yard rush by Robinson to leave third and 7, before Robbins connected with Robinson through the air for a 15 yard strike and a first down at our 32. A 6 yard pass to Powell was followed with a three yard rush by Wilkerson to leave third and one. Robinson would keep the drive moving with a 6 yard rush to move the chains down to our 18 yard line. An 8 yard pass from Robbins to Mike Hall got the Lobos the closest they had been all game to our end zone, leaving second and two at our 10 yard line with 1:11 left to play. A two yard rush by Robbins moved the ball down to the 8 yard line, leaving third and inches, New Mexico’s first timeout stopping the clock with 59 seconds. A 5 yard rush by Andrew Davis would get the conversion, setting up first and goal from our three yard line, the Lobos second timeout stopping the clock with 52 seconds to go. Robinson was able to get one yard on the first down carry, before finally punching the Lobos into the end zone for the first time in the game with a two yard rush up the middle. The extra point by Adrian Johnson was no good, sailing wide left, only cutting our lead to 27-6 with 38 seconds left on the clock.

The Lobos attempted an onside kick, but the ball was recovered by our hands team, giving us a first down at the New Mexico 42 yard line with only 33 seconds to go. A single kneel down by Stephens was all that was needed, sealing the 27-6 victory to stay perfect on the year.

With the win, we improve to 3-0 ahead of our conference opener. With the loss, New Mexico continues searching for their first win of the year, dropping to 0-3 on the season. Up next, it's back on the road as we open up conference play with a trip to UAB. The Blazers enter the game 1-2 on the year, opening with a 28-19 loss at Washington and a 38-17 loss against Indiana, before picking up their first win of the season, 38-7 against Memphis.

Final Score
:Tulsa: 27, :New_Mexico: 6

Stat(s) of the Game:
- Tulsa Offense – A good day for Stephen, ending 13-20 for 192 yards and one touchdown. Oliver led the way on the ground, rushing for 176 yards and two touchdowns on 30 carries. Through the air, Jefferson ended up our go to guy, with 104 yards and a touchdown on 5 receptions. In all, six guys caught a pass today.

- Tulsa Defense – Bent all to hell, but didn't break. New Mexico made a number of drives down inside our 20, 30 or 40 yard lines, but the defense never let them get a thing until the garbage time touchdown in the final seconds.

- Tulsa Kicking – Glover was nearly perfect today, going 2-3 in field goals, making kicks from 42 and 52 yards out, but missing a 39 yard attempt. Also went 3-3 in PATs.

Scoring Summary

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

:New_Mexico:
0
0
0
6
6

:Tulsa:
7
14
0
6
27

Time
Team
Result
Play
Score

First Quarter

0:45
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
W. Oliver, 10 yard run (D. Glover kick)
:Tulsa: 7-0

Second Quarter

4:46
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
R. Smith, 9 yard run (D. Glover kick)
:Tulsa: 14-0

1:42
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
W. Oliver, 1 yard run (D. Glover kick)
:Tulsa: 21-0

Third Quarter

---
---
---
---
---

Fourth Quarter

6:51
:Tulsa:
Field Goal
D. Glover, 42 yard field goal
:Tulsa: 24-0

3:14
:Tulsa:
Field Goal
D. Glover, 52 yard field goal
:Tulsa: 27-0

0:38
:New_Mexico:
Touchdown
D. Robinson, 2 yard run (missed kick)
:Tulsa: 27-6

Game Stats

New Mexico
Stat
Tulsa

6
Score
27

19
First Downs
22

291
Total Offense
421

35 - 145 - 1
Rushes - Yards - TD
44 - 205 - 3

14 - 48 - 0
Comp - Att - TD
14 - 22 - 1

146
Passing Yards
216

0
Times Sacked
2

11 - 22 (50%)
3rd Down Conversion
6 - 12 (50%)

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

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

4 - 1 - 0 (25%)
Red Zone - TD - FG
5 - 3 - 1 (80%)

0
Turnovers
0

0
Fumbles Lost
0

0
Intercepted
0

0
Punt Return Yards
5

18
Kick Return Yards
24

309
Total Yards
450

6 – 43.7
Punts - Average
2 - 43.0

2 - 10
Penalties
1 - 15

13:56
Time of Possession
22:04

Tulsa Contract Goals Update

Fail Impact
Goal
Progress
Pass Impact

:6redarrow:
21+ points per game in each season
26
:6greenarrow:

Win 10 games in one season
3
:6greenarrow:

3300+ passing yards each season
:red-x:
:5greenarrow:

:6redarrow:
65% pass completions over the entire contract
61%
:5greenarrow:

:5redarrow:
Win 6 games in one season
:check:
:5greenarrow:

:6redarrow:
15+ rushing TD in each season
6
:5greenarrow:

:4redarrow:
3200+ total offensive yards each season
1127
:3greenarrow:

:5redarrow:
3400+ total offensive yards each season
1127
:2greenarrow:

Job Security Status

48%

SmoothPancakes

02-27-2013, 05:34 AM

Time for another look around the nation. Starting in the Top 25, in the game of the week, #1 Notre Dame pulls out a 37-20 win over #3 Michigan State. #2 Nebraska had to sweat out a 20-10 win over Air Force, trailing 10-6 after three quarters, scoring the final 14 points of the game in the fourth quarter to get the win. Florida International held a 6-0 lead midway through the second quarter, but #8 Iowa turned it on from their, coasting to a 45-12 win. #9 Oregon picks up an easy 42-17 win over #20 Ole Miss. In the upset shocker of the week, Texas Tech takes #11 TCU behind the woodshed to the tune of 52-35.

Navy tried to pull off a second straight upset, trailing only 7-6 after one quarter, but it wasn't meant to be as #13 LSU went on for the 49-23 win. #15 NC State barely remains perfect on the year, handing Louisville their first loss of the season, 26-24. #16 Wisconsin barely escaped Temple at home with a 38-30 victory. #21 Florida State needed double overtime to escape #22 Virginia, 30-27. #24 Rutgers trips up #18 Maryland, 20-17, in overtime.

For our readers, souljahbill, Southern Miss improves to 3-0 with a 24-21 win over Colorado State. Jaymo, Arizona State drops to 1-2 (0-1 Pac-12), losing 42-35 to Washington State. Mors, West Virginia improves to 2-1 (1-1 Big 12) with a 31-14 win over Baylor. Jeff, Ohio State falls to 2-1, getting slapped around like a rag doll, losing 42-0 to Troy. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State improves to 2-0 with a 27-7 win over MTSU.

In C-USA action, Tulsa beats New Mexico 27-6, UAB gets a 38-7 win over Memphis, Florida Atlantic downs Utah State 30-6, Southern Miss escapes Colorado State 24-21, Marshall obliterates Louisiana Tech 45-10, UTEP eases to a win, 35-7, over New Mexico State, Mid Tennessee State loses 27-7 to Arkansas State, Rice falls to Toledo 30-7, and Florida International gets blasted by #8 Iowa 45-12. One week after going 2-10 as a conference, we turn around with a 6-4 mark.

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Notre Dame (36 first place votes) remains #1, Nebraska (22 votes) remains #2, Clemson (1 vote) moves up one to #3, USC (1 vote) moves up one to #4, and Oklahoma (1 vote) moves up one to #5. Miami, Iowa and Oregon all jump one to #6, #7 and #8, Michigan State falls six to #9 and Alabama remains #10. Georgia and LSU both climb one to #11 and #12, NC State jumps two to #13, Texas remains #14 and Wisconsin moves up one to #15. Arizona climbs one to #16, Boise State jumps two to #17, Florida State moves up three to #18, Rutgers leaps five to #19 and Virginia Tech climbs three to #20. Maryland falls three to #21, Texas A&M climbs two to #23, TCU plummets twelve to #23, Ole Miss drops four to #24 and Michigan enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week was Virginia (from #22). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Virginia (186 votes) is #26, followed by Georgia Tech (145), Mississippi State (116), Arkansas State (64) and Southern Miss (9) to round out the Top 30.

Looking at the first Top 25 Media Poll of the season, Notre Dame (43 first place votes) is #1, Nebraska (21 votes) is #2, Clemson (1 vote) is #3, USC is #4 and Oklahoma is #5. Miami and Iowa are #6 and #7, Alabama is #8, Michigan State is #9 and Oregon is #10. LSU is #11, Texas #12, Georgia #13, Wisconsin is #14 and Arizona is #15. NC State and Virginia Tech are #16 and #17, Florida State is #18, Texas A&M #19 and Boise State #20. Rutgers is #21, Maryland #22, TCU #23, Virginia #24 and Michigan #25. Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Ole Miss (275 votes) is #26, followed by Georgia Tech (251), Mississippi State (220), Southern Miss (174) and Louisville (122) to round out the top 30. Also getting votes are Arkansas State (97) and Houston (48).

Looking at the new Heisman watch, Notre Dame QB Jordan Cooke remains #1, followed by Miami (FL) QB Jason Day at #2, Oregon QB David Lewis at #3, Georgia Tech HB Brandon Terrell at #4 and Georgia HB Joel Nolan at #5.

SmoothPancakes

03-01-2013, 04:33 AM

Game Four

:Tulsa: :@: :UAB:

Game Notes

--- Fresh off our win over New Mexico, it was back onto the road to start our conference slate, with a trip to take on UAB. While UAB entered the game with a less than impressive offense and defense, our own offense wasn’t turning many heads, with total offense and rushing offense rankings flirting with the 100s for national ranking. Even our passing stats were pedestrian compared to seasons past. Hopefully we’d be able to start the conference portion of the season on a positive note. We won the coin toss and elected to kick.

A 15 yard kickoff return got the Blazers starting, albeit poorly, from their 14 yard line. Tim Beck took the ball on the first play of the game, picking up two yards on the ground, before Adam Gardner threw up a 9 yard pass to Clayton Harris to get a first down at the 25. That fast start to the drive for UAB would implode on the next play, as Gardner was intercepted by cornerback Tyler Fountain, setting our offense up at the UAB 27 yard line for our first drive of the game. Oliver got the drive off to a great start with a 12 yard run up the middle to get a first down at the 15. Another rush by Oliver went around the left tackle for a second 12 yard gain, and we were looking at first and goal from the three yard line. Oliver would punch it in on the next play, taking up the middle for the three yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead with 7:18 left in the first quarter.

UAB got better field position the second time around, as a 19 yard kickoff return set the Blazers up at their 21 yard line. After an incomplete pass on first down, Beck took the ball up the middle for a 7 yard rush. The Blazers would convert third and three as Gardner connected with Harvey Sullivan for a 9 yard gain to get the first down at the 37 yard line. After another incomplete pass on first down, Beck took the handoff for three yards, before an 8 yard pass from Gardner to Sullivan got another first down at the 47. Another incomplete pass was followed with a 7 yard rush by Beck, before the defense made a stand on third down, tackling Gardner for a three yard loss, leaving UAB punting away on fourth and 6. The punt sailed 49 yards into the end zone for a touchback, setting us up at our 20 yard line.

Oliver was quickly turning into a one man show, taking the handoff up the middle for a 14 yard gain and a first down. Two more rushes by Oliver went for gains of 7 and 5 yards, giving us a first down at the 46 yard line. Plowing his way over the safety, Roy Smith took the ball up the middle on first down for a 10 yard gain, setting up second and inches. Oliver would get the first down and then some, rumbling his way for 11 yards down to the 33 yard line, where UAB would make their second mistake of the day, a 15 yard facemask penalty tacked on to the end of the play, giving us a first down instead at the 18 yard line. Keeping the school lesson in running going, a four yard carry by Oliver was backed up with a 6 yard rush by Smith, giving us first and goal at the UAB 8 yard line. Backed up into a corner, the UAB defense finally started to make their presence known, as Oliver was only able to get two yards on the first down carry. A 5 yard gain on the next play by Oliver left us with third and goal from the two yard line, as the clock ticked under one minute left in the quarter. The defense never had a chance as Oliver forced his way into the end zone, giving us a 14-0 lead with 15 seconds left.

A touchback on the kickoff left UAB starting from their 25 yard line. Three straight incomplete passes by Gardner would bring the punt team out for the Blazers, and bring the first quarter to an end, our lead at 14-0.

Starting the second quarter, Connor Jefferson called for a fair catch on the 44 yard punt, leaving our offense to start at our 31 yard line. Oliver started our drive with a 7 yard run over the left tackle, before being brought down by the middle linebacker for no gain on the next play, leaving us with third and three. Continuing the domination on the ground, Oliver picked up the first down with a 5 yard rush to the 43. Smith got back into the rushing action, taking a handoff up the middle for an 11 yard gain and a first down at the UAB 46. Oliver was able to pick up 7 yards on the first down carry before being drug down from behind by the middle linebacker. Oliver got the first down on the next play, and then some, finding a massive gap between the left guard and tackle, riding that hole all the way for a 13 yard gain and a first down at the 25. Keeping the ball on first down, Brad Stephens was able to pick up three yards on the ground, followed by a 9 yard rush by Oliver to get a new set of downs at the 13 yard line. Oliver continued to punish the Blazers, going straight up the middle for a 10 yard gain to set up first and goal at the three yard line. Smith came in to give Oliver a breather, but was only able to pick up one yard on the first down carry. Returning to the backfield, Oliver took the ball on second down, punching in the two yard touchdown for his third score of the day, making it 21-0 with 3:49 left in the second quarter.

No return on the following kickoff left UAB starting from their 25 yard line and looking for any kind of response now. They would find one, but not the one they wanted, as Gardner was sacked for an 8 yard loss on the first down play. A pair of scrambles by Gardner was only able to pick up three yards and one yard, leaving the Blazers punting away on fourth and 14. Our defense was feeling generous and got flagged for offside, moving the ball up 5 yards and leaving UAB looking at fourth and 9. Finally getting the ball off, Jefferson returned the 41 yard punt for four yards, setting us up at our 37 yard line with 2:50 left on the clock.

Oliver continued putting on a rushing exhibition, taking it up the middle for a 13 yard gain to get the first down at midfield. Two more rushes by Oliver went for gains of 7 and 8 yards, moving the chains to the UAB 35 yard line as the clock neared two minutes remaining. Shaking off a pair of tackles during the play, Oliver was nearly able to break loose for the touchdown, brought down by the ankles for only an 18 yard gain by the outside linebacker, giving a first down at the UAB 17. Coming in to give Oliver a break, Smith kept the ground domination going, taking the ball around the right tackle for a 12 yard gain to set up first and goal at the 5 yard line. Smith fought forward for a four yard gain on the first down play, leaving second and goal from the one. Back in the game, Oliver punched in the one yard touchdown for his fourth score of the day, increasing our lead to 28-0 with 1:25 left before halftime.

A 17 yard kickoff return set UAB up at their 19 yard line for their next drive. It was once again off to a poor start, as the defense sacked Gardner for a 10 yard loss, immediately putting the Blazers into a second and 20 hole. The Blazers wouldn’t recover from that hole, as Jared Witherspoon dropped a pass from Gardner, and Beck was tackled for a loss of three yards, leaving the punt teaming coming out on fourth and 23. A 6 yard punt return by Jefferson on the 47 yard punt got us starting from the UAB 48 yard line with only 53 seconds to go. UAB made their first true defensive play of the game, smacking Oliver in the backfield for a one yard loss, forcing us to call our second timeout of the half, left with only two to start the drive after the defense used the first. Just when all seemed lost, as Oliver was stopped for no gain to leave third and 11, Stephens proved the savior of the hour. We rushed to the line in no huddle, coming out in triple option to the right. Multiple great and successful blocks allowed Stephens and Oliver to get to the right sideline and turn the corner up the field. There, Stephens decided to keep the ball, turning on the afterburners and racing the outside linebacker and one of the safeties up the sideline, seemingly going in for a touchdown before the second safety came sprinting in from out of the picture, shoving Stephens out of bounds at the two yard line to leave first and goal with 27 seconds to go before halftime. Smith came in on the next play, but found nothing going, as he was tackled for a loss of one yard. Oliver would again finish the job, rushing in for the three yard touchdown, his fifth score of the day, increasing our lead to 35-0 with 19 seconds left in the quarter.

A touchback on the kickoff gave UAB the ball at their 25 yard line with 11 seconds to go. A rush by Beck for a loss of three yards would bring the first half to a merciful end for UAB, as we headed into the half with a dominating 35-0 lead.

Opening up the third quarter, Eric Hayden returned the kickoff 18 yards out to our 20 yard line to set up the offense. Figuring why change a successful thing, we kept it going on the ground, as what would have been only a three yard gain by Oliver turned into an 18 yard gain courtesy of a 15 yard facemask penalty by the middle linebacker, giving us a first down at the 38 yard line. The UAB defense was finally showing signs of being tired of getting slapped around, as Oliver was wrapped up for a one yard loss on the first down carry. Trying the triple option a second time proved decidedly less successful, as Stephens was hit for a two yard loss, leaving third and 13. Keeping the ball himself on third down, Stephens had a chance of breaking open after shaking off one tackle, but he wasn’t able to recover fast enough, as the safety swooped in to tackle him for only a one yard gain near the right sideline. With that, we were forced to punt for the first time today on fourth and 12. A 9 yard return by Witherspoon on the 52 yard punt set UAB up at their 21 yard line.

This time the Blazers found life on offense, as Gardner connected with Witherspoon for a 20 yard gain and a first down at the 41 yard line. After two straight dropped passes by Witherspoon, Harris hauled in a deep pass from Gardner for a 30 yard gain, and UAB found themselves with a first down at our 29 yard line. After an incomplete pass on first down, Gardner connected with Sullivan for an 8 yard gain to leave third and two, but the Blazers would fail to convert, as Beck was tackled for a loss of 5 yards, leaving fourth and 7. Opting to go for it on fourth down, the Blazers would get that conversion, as Gardner hit Witherspoon over the middle for a 24 yard gain, setting up first and goal from our two yard line. Beck would finish the drive off on the next play with a rush up the middle for the two yard touchdown, cutting our lead to 35-7 with 5:05 left in the third quarter.

Jefferson returned the following kickoff for 22 yards, leaving us the ball at our 19 yard line. Our running game suddenly seemed in danger as Oliver was again tackled for no gain. He would get us into good position however on the next play, as the rush around the left tackle went for a gain of 9 yards, leaving third and inches from the 29. A two yard rush by Oliver would get the job done, giving us a first down at the 31 yard line. Fighting his way through a pile of players, Smith took the first down handoff for a 5 yard gain, before a one yard rush by Oliver left third and four. A pitch right to Oliver ended in failure, as he was tackled for a two yard loss, our punt team coming out a second time on fourth and 6. A fair catch by Witherspoon on the 49 yard punt left UAB starting from their 16 yard line.

After a dropped pass on first down, Beck hauled in a pass from Gardner for a gain of 9 yards, leaving the Blazers with third and one. A 6 yard rush by Beck would complete the conversion, moving the chains to the 31 yard line. A pass to Witherspoon on the next play went for 11 yards, followed by a 21 yard bomb to Sullivan to give UAB a first down at our 37. Another pass to Witherspoon went for an additional 11 yards to the 26. After an incomplete pass on first down, Harris was able to haul in a pass from Gardner for a pickup of 10 yards and a first down at our 16 yard line. Beck took the ball on the ground on the next play, fighting his way forward for a four gain, followed by a 6 yard rush to set up first and goal from our 6 yard line. That would be where the third quarter would come to an end, our lead holding at 35-7, but UAB knocking on the door.

Opening up the fourth quarter, Beck continued pounding it up the middle on the ground, getting four yards on the first down carry down to our two yard line. The Blazers would go through the air on the next play, as Gardner connected with Beck for the two yard touchdown, cutting our lead to 35-14 with 8:42 left in the game.

A 19 yard kickoff return by Hayden started us off from our 27 yard line, looking to stave off the comeback attempt. Oliver started the drive off with a four yard rush up the middle, followed by a 5 yard scamper to leave third and one. Oliver was able to just barely get across the first down line on the next play before being drug back by the outside linebacker, limited to only a one yard gain, but enough to get the first down at the 37 yard line. Stumbling his way forward through a pair of tackle attempts, Smith fought his way to a 9 yard gain. We received bad news after the play, finding out that Oliver had suffered an abdominal strain and would be out for the rest of the game. Busting up the middle on second down, Smith was able to break open for an 11 yard rush, moving the chains to the UAB 43 yard line as the clock ticked under 6 minutes. Smith picked up 5 yards on the first down carry, followed by a two yard rush from Eric Silva to leave third down and three. Smith kept the drive moving, fighting his way ahead for a four yard gain and a first down at the 33 yard line. Smith kept punching the ball up the middle, picking up 7 yards on the first down rush, followed by a three yard gain to leave third and inches. Silva would get the job done, rushing into the pile for a one yard gain and first down at the 22 yard line with three minutes left in the game. Smith was only able to pick up three yards on first down, followed by a 6 yard rush by Silva to leave third and one. Smith converted the third down, fighting his way through a pair of tackles to gain 5 yards, leaving us with first and goal from the 8 yard line. Silva came in to take the ball on first down, picking up three yards up the middle to get us to the 5 yard line. Smith took the ball on second down, gaining four yards on the rush to leave third and goal from the one yard line with less than a minute to play. Silva wasn’t able to punch it in, despite his best efforts, tackled for no gain at the goal line, leaving fourth and goal with 27 seconds left in the game. We settled for a 17 yard field goal by David Glover, expanding our lead to 38-14 with 16 seconds left to play.

A touchback on the kickoff left UAB with only 9 seconds to go, starting from their 25 yard line. A pair of rushes by Harris for 5 yards and four yards would put the cap on the bottle, as the final two seconds ran off the clock on our 38-14 victory.

With the win, we improve to 4-0, 1-0 in C-USA action. With the loss, UAB drops to 1-3, 0-1 in C-USA play. Up next, it's back home for a showdown with Marshall. The Thundering Herd enter the game with a 2-2 record, 2-0 in C-USA action. The Herd started their year with a 40-28 loss to #13 Florida State, followed by a 13-12 loss to Idaho. They then spanked Louisiana Tech 45-10 before getting a 45-21 win at UTSA.

Final Score
:Tulsa: 38, :UAB: 14

Stat(s) of the Game:
Tulsa Offense – Pretty much no day for Stephens outside of four rushes for 49 yards, of which 48 of those yards came on one play. Oliver was by far the king today, rushing for 200 yards and 5 touchdowns on 37 carries. Smith came a distant second, with 96 yards on 17 carries. Receiving? What receiving?

Tulsa Defense – A fantastic first half, rather pathetic second half. About the only reason UAB didn't score more points than they did, was because our run game was killing so much clock, it should be considered genocide.

Tulsa Kicking – A perfect day by Glover, ending 1-1 in field goals with the 17 yard kick at the end of the game, and ending 5-5 in PATs.

Scoring Summary

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

:Tulsa:
14
21
0
3
38

:UAB:
0
0
7
7
14

Time
Team
Result
Play
Score

First Quarter

7:18
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
W. Oliver, 3 yard run (D. Glover kick)
:Tulsa: 7-0

0:15
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
W. Oliver, 2 yard run (D. Glover kick)
:Tulsa: 14-0

Second Quarter

3:49
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
W. Oliver, 2 yard run (D. Glover kick)
:Tulsa: 21-0

1:25
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
W. Oliver, 1 yard run (D. Glover kick)
:Tulsa: 28-0

0:19
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
W. Oliver, 3 yard run (D. Glover kick)
:Tulsa: 35-0

Third Quarter

5:05
:UAB:
Touchdown
T. Beck, 1 yard run (M. Kent kick)
:Tulsa: 35-7

Fourth Quarter

8:42
:UAB:
Touchdown
T. Beck, 2 yard pass from A. Gardner (M. Kent kick)
:Tulsa: 35-14

0:19
:Tulsa:
Field Goal
D. Glover, 17 yard field goal
:Tulsa: 38-14

Game Stats

Tulsa
Stat
UAB

38
Score
14

23
First Downs
12

358
Total Offense
212

63 - 358 - 5
Rushes - Yards - TD
17 - 40 - 1

0 - 0 - 0
Comp - Att - TD
13 - 26 - 1

0
Passing Yards
172

0
Times Sacked
2

8 - 11 (72%)
3rd Down Conversion
4 - 9 (44%)

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

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

8 - 5 - 1 (75%)
Red Zone - TD - FG
1 - 1 - 0 (100%)

0
Turnovers
1

0
Fumbles Lost
0

0
Intercepted
1

10
Punt Return Yards
9

59
Kick Return Yards
51

427
Total Yards
272

2 – 51.0
Punts - Average
4 - 45.3

3 - 33
Penalties
2 - 30

23:51
Time of Possession
12:09

Tulsa Contract Goals Update

Fail Impact
Goal
Progress
Pass Impact

:6redarrow:
21+ points per game in each season
29
:6greenarrow:

Win 10 games in one season
4
:6greenarrow:

3300+ passing yards each season
:red-x:
:5greenarrow:

:6redarrow:
65% pass completions over the entire contract
61%
:5greenarrow:

:5redarrow:
Win 6 games in one season
:check:
:5greenarrow:

:6redarrow:
15+ rushing TD in each season
11
:5greenarrow:

:4redarrow:
3200+ total offensive yards each season
1485
:3greenarrow:

:5redarrow:
3400+ total offensive yards each season
1485
:2greenarrow:

Job Security Status

46%

SmoothPancakes

03-01-2013, 04:34 AM

Now THAT is a game that would make Navy proud! :D

Edit: Oh yeah, and welcome to post #1000 of this thread. The first of many more thousands of posts to come!

SmoothPancakes

03-01-2013, 05:33 AM

Time for another look around the nation. Starting in the Top 25, a HORRIBLE day for top 25 teams, #1 Notre Dame wins their battle of the unbeatens over Purdue, whooping the Boilermakers 56-21. #12 LSU proves the power and might of the SEC, as they edge out #2 Nebraska in the game of the week, 45-38. Virginia proved to be too much for the Tigers, as #3 Clemson fell in defeat this week, 30-25. In the upset of the week, Arkansas State stays perfect on the year, handing #4 USC their first loss of the season with a 42-38 defeat, the Red Wolves scoring twice in the final three minutes of the game, including the game winning touchdown with 38 seconds to go, to get the upset win.

#5 Oklahoma has some trouble early on, but poured on the points and pulled away in the second half to beat Nevada 34-13. #6 Miami barely escapes Wake Forest, winning 31-28 in overtime. Previously winless Penn State keeps the upsets rolling, knocking off previously unbeaten #7 Iowa, 30-17. Cal trips up #8 Oregon, knocking the ducks from the ranks of the unbeaten, 48-38. #9 Michigan State has their way with #19 Rutgers, whooping them to the tune of 55-27. South Carolina gets their first win of the season, while handing #10 Alabama their first loss of the season, with a 38-27 upset of the Tide.

#11 Georgia scores the game winner with 7 minutes left in the game to hand Vanderbilt their first loss of the year, 35-28. Georgia Tech wins a second battle of the unbeatens, improving to 4-0 and dropping #13 NC State to 3-1 with a 28-16 upset of the Wolfpack. #15 Wisconsin fights off a comeback bid by Illinois, to hold on for the 42-35 victory. #16 Arizona escapes and stays perfect on the year with a 37-34 overtime win at Washington. #17 Boise State suffered their first loss of the year as Colorado State abused the Broncos, 42-14. Another battle of the unbeatens results in upset, as Mississippi State stays flawless, knocking off #22 Texas A&M 35-30. Oklahoma State stays perfect on the season while knocking #23 TCU to 1-3 for the year (and without a doubt out of the top 25), in a 42-20 thrashing. And Wyoming scores an upset over #24 Ole Miss, 21-10.

In all, the #2, #3, #4, #7, #8, #10, #13, #17, #18, #22, #23 and #24 teams all lost this week. Additionally, #5 Oklahoma had trouble in the first half, #6 Miami needed overtime to win, #11 Georgia had to score the game winning with 7 minutes left, #15 Wisconsin had to fight off a 14 point comeback by Illinois, and #16 Arizona needed overtime to win their game. On top of that, 11 teams suffered their first loss today in games involving top 25 teams.

For our readers, souljahbill, Southern Miss improves to 4-0 with a 47-27 rout of Connecticut. Jaymo, Arizona State drops to 1-3 (0-1 Pac-12), losing 31-24 to Hawaii. Mors, West Virginia drops to 2-2 (1-1 Big 12) with a 31-17 loss to #21 Maryland. Jeff, Ohio State improves to 3-1 (1-0 Big Ten), picking up a 45-21 win over Minnesota. Other teams of interest, Arkansas State improves to 3-0 with a 42-38 shocker of #4 USC.

In C-USA action, Tulsa beats UAB 38-14, Southern Miss gets a 47-27 win over Connecticut, Rice smacks Tulane 35-17, Marshall shellacks UTSA 45-21, MTSU edges out North Texas 31-24, UTEP takes down Florida International 27-21 (dropping FIU to 0-4 for the year), Louisiana Tech loses to Louisiana-Monroe 20-14 and Texas State slaps that ass against Florida Atlantic, 49-10.

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Notre Dame (35 first place votes) remains #1, Oklahoma (23 votes) jumps three to #2, Miami (2 votes) jumps three to #3, Nebraska falls two to #4, Michigan State climbs four to #5, LSU (1 vote) leaps six to #6, Georgia moves up four to #7, Clemson drops five to #8, USC falls five to #9 and Texas climbs four to #10. Wisconsin and Arizona both jump four to #11 and #12, Florida State moves up five to #13, Alabama falls four to #14 and Virginia Tech jumps five to #15. NC State drops three to #16, Iowa plummets ten to #17, Maryland jumps three to #18, Oregon falls eleven to #19 and Arkansas State enters the poll at #20. Georgia Tech enters the poll at #21, Virginia enters this week at #22, Mississippii State enters at #23, Michigan climbs one to #24 and South Carolina enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Boise State (from #17), Rutgers (from #19), Texas A&M (from #22), TCU (from #23) and Ole Miss (from #24). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Oklahoma State (253 votes) is #26, followed by Rutgers (190), Boise State (179), Texas A&M (175), Southern Miss (125) to round out the Top 30.

Looking at the first Top 25 Media Poll of the season, Notre Dame (45 first place votes) remains #1, LSU (20 votes) pole vaults nine spots to #2, Oklahoma climbs two ranks to #3, Miami jumps to #4 and Nebraska falls three to #5. Michigan State climbs three to #6, Clemson falls four to #7, USC falls four to #8, Georgia jumps four to #9 and Virginia pole vaults fourteen to #10. Texas moves up one to #11, Wisconsin and Arizona both jump two to #12 and #13, Arkansas State debuts in the poll this week at #14 and Virginia Tech climbs two to #15. Florida State jumps two to #16, Alabama falls nine to #17, Iowa tumbles eleven to #18, Georgia Tech enters the poll at #19 and Maryland climbs two to #20. NC State drops five to #21, Mississippi State enters the poll at #22, Oregon free falls thirteen to #23, Michigan climbs one to #24 and Oklahoma State enters the poll this week at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Texas A&M (from #19), Boise State (from #20), Rutgers (from #21) and TCU (from #23). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Texas A&M (283 votes) is #26, followed by South Carolina (236), Southern Miss (211), Rutgers (151) and Boise State (142) to round out the Top 30. Also receiving votes this week are: Tulsa (81), BYU (32), Stanford (30) and TCU (14).

Looking at the new Heisman watch, Georgia Tech HB Brandon Terrell leapfrogs four spots to become the new #1 in the Heisman Watch, followed by Miami (FL) QB Jason Day at #2 (LW: #2), Georgia HB Joel Nolan at #3 (LW: #5), Notre Dame QB Jordan Cooke at #4 (LW: #1), and Arizona QB E.J. McCoy at #5 (LW: NR). Falling off the Heisman Watch list this week was Oregon QB David Lewis (LW: #3).

morsdraconis

03-01-2013, 07:11 AM

Jesus man! Not one pass?! :)

Good game. Looks like you're off to a good start again. Hopefully it continues for ya.

SmoothPancakes

03-01-2013, 07:26 AM

Jesus man! Not one pass?! :)

Good game. Looks like you're off to a good start again. Hopefully it continues for ya.

:D Yep. The running game was so damn good in the first half, I didn't want to stop using it unless UAB forced me to go to the pass. I got to halftime without a single pass, and then from there on out, it was doing whatever I could to emulate Navy and try to complete a full game without passing once. Unfortunately it meant punting a couple times, but I was able to pull off that massive 18 play drive in the fourth quarter and just keep the running going straight to the end.

And we'll find out. I've played the cupcake portion of the schedule so far. Despite playing me tough, UNLV was pretty much a cupcake from day one, and New Mexico definitely was a cupcake. Toledo I got by with a win because they couldn't hold onto the ball. And UAB just plain sucks. The schedule starts getting interesting, with Marshall, Oklahoma State and FIU in the next three weeks alone.

SmoothPancakes

03-05-2013, 11:32 AM

Game Five

:Marshall: :@: :Tulsa:

Game Notes

--- Headed back home still perfect on the year, it was time for our next test of the season, as the Marshall Thundering Herd came to town. While sporting a 2-2 record, the Herd had a better passing offense, total offense and scored more points per game than us, while ranking just 10 spots behind us nationally in rushing. It would take another flawless performance and a day of domination by our superior defense to hold off any potential upset bid. A win today would also give us a chance to put a dent into Marshall’s 2-0 conference record and their East Division title hopes. We won the coin toss and elected to kick.

A 15 yard kickoff return left the Herd starting at their 13 yard line for their first drive of the game. It was a rough start as Brian Baker was tackled for a four yard loss on first down, before recovering those lost yards with a 6 yard gain to leave third and 9. An incomplete pass would bring the Marshall drive to an early end. Marshall’s misfortune was our gain, as a 9 yard punt return by Connor Jefferson on the 43 yard punt gave us possession for our first drive at the Marshall 48 yard line. Will Oliver flashed signs of the previous game, as he immediately took the ball up the middle for a 9 yard gain on first down. A four yard rush on second down got the job done, moving the chains to the Marshall 35 yard line. Coming out throwing on the first down play, Brad Stephens connected with Jefferson for a 12 yard gain and another first down at the 23. Hauling in the pass just before the safety could make a play on it, Eric Hayden was able to hold onto the pass from Stephens for a 15 yard gain, setting us up with first and goal at the 8 yard line. Marshall wasn’t about to just hand over the touchdown, as Oliver could only manage a single yard on two rushes, leaving us with third and goal from the 6 yard line. The third down pass to Carl Barnes went for a gain of 5 yards, but it wasn’t enough, as we faced fourth and goal at the one yard line. Choosing to go for the safe points this early on, we elected to kick the field goal, Derek Glover booting the 19 yard kick through the uprights from the right hash mark, giving us a 3-0 lead with 4:09 left in the first quarter.

A touchback on the kickoff left Marshall beginning from their 25 yard line for their next drive. Baker started the drive with a three yard run, before Thomas Wright completed a pass to Matt Archer for a one yard gain to leave third and 6. The Herd would end up going backwards on the next play as the defense sacked Wright for a 9 yard loss, leaving Marshall punting away on fourth and 15. A 5 yard return by Jefferson on the 41 yard punt gave us the ball at our 43 to start our next drive. A first down pass from Stephens to Barnes was broken up by the cornerback, followed by a broken up pass intended for Marcus Mullins, leaving us stuck with third and 10. Taking a shot deep on third down, the deep ball intended for Hayden was broken up by the safety, leaving us punting without a single yard gained on the drive. A fair catch on the 43 yard punt left Marshall starting from their 13 yard line.

Marshall got some early yards to start the drive, as a 5 yard facemask penalty was tacked onto the end of a 6 yard run by Baker, giving Marshall a first down at their 25 yard line. A 5 yard rush by Wright and a four yard rush by Baker left Marshall looking at third and one from their 34 yard line. Wright would get the first down on the next play with a three yard rush to the 37, and Marshall finally had some momentum built up. Baker kept it going on the next play with a three yard rush, before Wright was brought down in the backfield for a loss of three yards to suddenly leave Marshall with their backs against the wall, facing third and 10. A third down pass from Wright was dropped by Lance Rose, and all that momentum stopped in its tracks, as Marshall’s punt unit came out once again. Some fortune for Marshall at least, a fair catch on their 46 yard punt left us pinned back at our 16 yard line to start our next drive with 1:32 remaining in the quarter.

Coming out throwing on first down, the pass intended for Jefferson was rushed to avoid a sack, resulting in the ball going off target and ended up nearly intercepted by both the safety and the cornerback. Trying a pitch to the left on second down ended in pure failure, as multiple defense came plowing through the left side of the line, tackling Oliver immediately for a 5 yard loss, leaving third and 15. Stephens was able to hook up with Hayden for an 11 yard gain, but it wasn’t enough and the punt team came out on fourth and four. The Marshall punt return team chose to make their first major mistake of the day, as the defense was flagged for roughing the punter, giving us 15 free yards and an automatic first down at our 37 yard line and keeping our drive alive. The first place of our continued drive didn’t go well, as Stephens was hit as he tried to throw the ball, it landing like a wounded duck 5 yards away and incomplete. Throwing a screen pass on second down, Hayden was able to haul in the pass from a scrambling Stephens and turn it up field for a 17 yard gain and a first down at the Marshall 46 yard line. That would bring the first quarter to an end, our lead at 3-0, but our offense driving.

Opening up the second quarter, Oliver took the handoff up the middle on first down, shaking of a tackle on the line of scrimmage, but only for minor gain, as he could only pick up two yards. Throwing the kitchen sink at the Marshall defense now, Stephens kept the ball on a power option to the right, picking up 9 yards before being swarmed, enough to get the first down at the Herd 35 yard line. A pair of rushes by Oliver picked up gains of 6 and three yards to leave us looking at third and inches from the 25. Roy Smith was given the duty of picking up the first down on the next play, but he failed to do so, instead tackled for a two yard loss to leave us with fourth and three at the 27. Glover’s second field goal of the day, a 44 yard boot, extended our lead to 6-0 with 5:51 left in the first half.

No return on the kickoff left Marshall again starting from their 25 yard line. This time the Herd started finding success through the air, as Wright connected with Rose for a 5 yard gain, followed by a 7 yard pass to James Watts to get the first down at the 37. Marshall suffered a slight setback when Wright was sacked for a one yard loss. The setback would only grow as Rose dropped two straight passes, earning himself chants from the hostile home crowd of “butterfingers”, forcing Marshall to punt away on fourth and 11. A fair catch by Jefferson on the 41 yard punt got us started from our 23 yard line. Oliver attempted to take the ball up the middle on first down, but found nothing going, only managing one yard before being tripped up. Bouncing outside the right tackle on second down, Oliver found better luck, nearly breaking open for the first down but was brought down by the linebacker on a shoestring tackle at the 33 yard line, leaving us with third and inches. Oliver never had a chance on third down, as he was quickly hounded by multiple defenders. Despite cutting back and up to dive for the first down line, Oliver was engaged in a tackle and brought down, officially, for a one yard loss, leaving us punting on fourth and one. A 6 yard return on the 51 yard punt set Marshall up at their 22 yard line.

Marshall opened up their drive through the air as Wright connected with Archer on consecutive plays, for gains of 5 and 13 yards to get the first down at the 40 yard line. Wright continued to one-up himself, finding Watts deep down the right sideline for a 23 yard gain and a new set of downs at our 37. Wright was forced to scramble on the next play, managing three yards before being forced out of bounds, followed by an incomplete pass to leave third and 7. The offense would end up moving backwards from there, as a false start penalty left the Herd looking at third and 12 from our 39 yard line. Marshall would rise up to the challenge, as Wright hit Wesley Anderson over the middle for a 15 yard gain and a first down at our 24 yard line. Two incomplete passes and another false start penalty again left Marshall staring into a hole, as they faced third and 15. This time they would fail to meet the challenge, as the pass intended for Watts was knocked incomplete. The 46 yard field goal attempt by Jason Hicks was no good, sailing wide right, turning the ball over to us at our 29 yard line with only 1:28 left in the half.

Starting with so limited time on the clock, it was immediately into the air from the word go. Jefferson was able to get wide open over the middle of the field, but a well timed hit on Stephens right as he went to throw the ball resulted in an incomplete pass into the ass of the center. A pass from Stephens to Barnes went for a 10 yard gain, leaving us with third and inches, but an end around sweep by Hayden resulted in us going backwards, as he was tackled for a four yard loss and we were forced to punt on fourth and 5. A fair catch on the 42 yard punt gave Marshall the ball at their 23 yard line with 56 seconds remaining and two timeouts. Wright got the drive started with a quick 18 yard strike to Baker for a first down at the 40 yard line. After an incomplete pass, our defense pushed back, sacking Wright for a loss of 9 yards, leaving Marshall with third and 19 and forcing them to use their second timeout with 38 seconds to go. A third down pass from Wright to Baker ended up gaining one yard, bringing out the punt unit on fourth and 18. Jefferson called for a fair catch on the 41 yard punt, giving us the ball at our 25 yard line with 21 seconds to go. Oliver took the first down handoff up the middle for a 12 yard gain, giving us a first down at the 37 yard line, as the final 15 seconds ticked off the clock, our lead holding at 6-0 headed into halftime.

Opening up the third quarter, a 19 yard kickoff return by Jefferson got us started at our 20 yard line to begin the second half. Oliver found yards hard to gain early on, only managing gains of four and two yards to leave us with third and four. Jefferson kept our drive alive and moving, hauling in a pass right over the head of the cornerback for a 16 yard gain and a first down at the 42 yard line. Going off the left tackle on first down, Oliver could only pick up one yard, as the Marshall defense was no longer allowing anything on the ground. Coming out with play action, the defense bit as Eric Silva came out of the backfield toward the right sideline uncovered, hauling in the pass from Stephens for a 16 yard gain and a first down at the Marshall 41. We received word after the play that Will Oliver would be sidelined for a couple plays due to a bruised knee, the high re-injury risk not worth keeping him in the game. Coming out shooting the gap on his first carry this drive, Smith picked up 7 yards up the middle to leave second and three. He would end up reversing that on the next play, tackled for a one yard loss to leave our drive facing third and four at the 35 yard line. Finding nobody open and feeling the pressure, Stephens scrambled for the first down himself, spinning his way out of a pair of tackles and stumbling forward for a 6 yard gain to the 29 yard line. Taking a shot deep into the end zone, the pass intended for Jefferson was broken up by the safety, leaving second down. Stephens was able to find Hayden over the middle for an 8 yard gain, leaving third and two from the 20. Smith never had a chance on third down, tackled for a two yard loss to leave fourth and four from the 22. The 39 yard field goal by Glover was good, increasing our lead to 9-0 with 4:10 left in the third quarter.

No return on the following kickoff got Marshall started from their 25 yard line, as Baker took the first down handoff up the middle for a four yard gain. An incomplete pass to Watts and a dropped pass by Anderson left Marshall again bringing out the punt unit on fourth down. A 9 yard punt return by Jefferson on the 42 yard punt set us up at our 38 yard line for our next drive. Back in the backfield, Oliver was able to grab three yards on the first down carry, followed by a gain of only one yard to leave third and 6. Forced to scramble, Stephens was able to get the first down and then some, getting all the way to the Marshall 44 yard line before the ball was jarred loose, recovered by outside linebacker Charlie Parker to give Marshall possession of the ball at their 42 yard line.

Wright got the drive started with a designed run that resulted in a three yard loss, before recovering to find Anderson in the flats for a 7 yard gain to set up third and 6. The Thundering Herd were able to convert the third down with a 10 yard pass from Wright to Archer, moving the chains to our 44 yard line. Another pass to Anderson went this time for a 24 yard gain, and Marshall found themselves with a first down at our 20. An incomplete pass was followed with a 9 yard completion to Rose, setting up third and one at the 11 yard line. The incomplete pass intended for Archer left Marshall with a decision to make, facing fourth and one from our 11 yard line, down 9 with 1:07 left in the third quarter. The Herd made their decision, and conquered, as Baker rumbled up the middle for a 5 yard gain to set up first and goal at our 6 yard line. Baker picked up four yards on first down to advance the ball to our two yard line, before an incomplete pass intended for Anderson left Marshall with third and goal. Baker would punch it in on the next play from two yards out, cutting our lead to 9-7 with 29 seconds left to play in the third quarter.

Hayden returned the following kickoff 23 yards out to our 24 yard line. Despite only leading by two points, the fact of the matter was that we were still leading, and only 9 minutes away from victory. Going to the ground on first down, Oliver took the ball up the middle for an 8 yard gain, leaving second and two as the final seconds ticked off the clock, bring the third quarter to an end with our lead cut down to 9-7.

Starting the fourth quarter, we kept the ground game going as Oliver rushed forward for a 7 yard gain and a first down at the 38. Trying to cut back to avoid a closing gap on first down cost Oliver some yards, as he was instead brought down sooner, only able to gain two yards before being tackled. The Marshall defense refused to give any budge to our run game, as Smith was brought down for a two yard loss on the next play, leaving us facing third and 10 and forcing us into the air. That ended up proving fatal, as the third down pass intended for Jefferson was jumped and intercepted by cornerback Ryan Barron, returned three yards to our 43 yard line where Marshall took over.

Baker started the drive for Marshall with a 5 yard rush, before being tackled for a loss of two yards to leave third and 7 at our 40 yard line. An incomplete pass for Archer averted disaster from that interception, our defense saving the asses of our offense. The defense however nearly broke out the champagne a little too early, as Marshall went for it on fourth down, nearly completing a 30 yard strike downfield, but the pass was dropped by Baker inside our 10 yard line to turn the ball over on downs, our offense taking over at our 40 yard line.

Oliver was only able to pick up a single yard on the first down carry, Marshall still not letting anything go on the ground. Coming out in power option, it ended up going nowhere but backwards, as Oliver received the pitch from Stephens, only to be tackled for a loss of 6 yards, leaving us with third and 15 and again forced into the air. With plenty of time to pass, Stephens made the most of the play, sniping in a pass to Hayden over the middle for an 18 yard gain, followed by a 15 yard facemask penalty tagged on courtesy of cornerback Bernard Jones, giving us a first down at the Marshall 32 yard line, as the clock kept ticking towards 5 minutes to play. Oliver took the first down handoff up the middle 6 yard gain, leaving us in good shape on second down, for a change. Smith got to within one yard of the first down, but a holding penalty on right tackle Cameron Powers spoiled what good shape we were in, leaving us stuck with second and 13. The second down pass to a WIDE open Hayden overshoot its target and sailed incomplete, leaving us with third down. Throwing up to Hayden in the end zone, the cornerback jumped the pass and batted it incomplete, leaving us with fourth and 13 from the 35. Instead of trying the field goal, the punt unit ended up coming out, the ball bouncing into the end zone for a touchback to leave Marshall starting from their 20 yard line with 3:51 left to play.

It was no go for Marshall, as two incomplete passes and a dropped ball by Baker left the Herd looking at fourth and 10. A 6 yard punt return by Jefferson on the 49 yard punt set our offense up at our 37 yard line, just 3:37 away from another victory. A designed rush by Stephens ended up going nowhere but backwards, as nearly the entire defense broke through on a blitz, resulting in a loss of 6 yards. Oliver took the ball on second down, but never had any chance, as three different defenders broke through to tackle him for a one yard loss, leaving us with third and 17. Running the play clock all the way down to zero, we called our first timeout with 2:16 left to play, Throwing over the middle to Jefferson, the pass from Stephens only picked up 11 yards, leaving fourth and 6 from the 41 yard line with 2:12 to go. A fair catch on the 36 yard punt left Marshall starting from their 23 yard line.

The Thundering Herd ended up going backwards, as they were tagged with a false start penalty, leaving first and 15. A pair of dropped passes, and it would get worse for Marshall, as a holding penalty tacked on another 15 yards, leaving them facing third and 25 from the 8 yard line. Marshall was able to make nearly all of that up, as Wright connected deep with Rose for a 23 yard gain to leave fourth and two at the 31. The fourth down rush by Baker ended in failure as he was tackled for a loss of four yards, turning the ball over on downs at their 28 yard line. Looking to run down as much clock as possible, Oliver took the ball up the middle for a one yard gain, Marshall’s first timeout stopping the clock with 1:41 to go. The drive nearly ended in disaster as Oliver fumbled the ball in the crowded line of scrimmage, center Travis Hearn jumping on the loose ball to recover it for our offense, leaving third and 6 and Marshall’s second timeout stopping the clock with 1:33 to play. Oliver took the ball up the middle for a one yard run on the next play, leaving fourth and 5 from the 23 yard line, Marshall’s third and final timeout stopping play with 1:26 to go. Forcing Marshall into a do or die touchdown situation, Glover booted a 40 yard field goal through the uprights to increase our lead to 12-7 with 1:23 to play.

No return on the kickoff left Marshall starting from their 25 yard line, no timeouts remaining and only 1:15 in which to cross 75 yards. Two incomplete passes left Marshall in a dire situation, facing third and 10 and in danger of sealing their fate. Wright was able to find Archer on the next play for a 7 yard gain, but the Herd would still need to find three yards just for the simple first down with only one minute exact left on the clock. An incomplete pass on fourth down would put the dagger in the heart of the comeback chances for Marshall, our offense taking over on the turnover on downs at the Marshall 32 yard line with 48 seconds to go. A pair of kneel downs by Stephens was all that was required to finish off the very difficult 12-7 victory over Marshall.

With the win, we improve to 5-0 on the year, 2-0 in C-USA action. With the loss, Marshall falls back under .500, dropping to 2-3 for the season, 2-1 in C-USA play. Up next, it's back onto the road to close out our non-conference schedule with a trip to #20 Oklahoma State. The Cowpokes enter the game 3-0, 2-0 in Big-12 action. Oklahoma State started the year with a 59-20 win over FCS Southeast, followed by a 30-20 win at West Virginia and a 42-20 dismantling of TCU.

Final Score
:Tulsa: 12, :Marshall: 7

Stat(s) of the Game:
- Tulsa Offense – A rather bad day for Stephens. Completed just over half of his throws, only ended with 133 yards passing, had no touchdowns and threw an interception, along with committing a fumble. Oliver led the way on the ground with 77 yards on 26 carries. Receiving, Hayden was the go to guy, hauling in 5 passes for 69 yards.

- Tulsa Defense – Other than the one drive in the third quarter, did a pretty damn good job. Bent a couple times (the drive that ended in a missed field goal), but overall had a great day that gave us a win with our snoozing offense.

- Tulsa Kicking – Glover ended up the player of the game, going a perfect 4-4 in field goals, with successful kicks from 19, 39, 40 and 44 yards out.

Scoring Summary

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

:Marshall:
0
0
7
0
7

:Tulsa:
3
3
3
3
12

Time
Team
Result
Play
Score

First Quarter

4:09
:Tulsa:
Field Goal
D. Glover, 19 yard field goal
:Tulsa: 3-0

Second Quarter

5:51
:Tulsa:
Field Goal
D. Glover, 44 yard field goal
:Tulsa: 6-0

Third Quarter

4:10
:Tulsa:
Field Goal
D. Glover, 39 yard field goal
:Tulsa: 9-0

0:29
:Marshall:
Touchdown
B. Baker, 2 yard run (J. Hicks kick)
:Tulsa: 9-7

Fourth Quarter

1:23
:Tulsa:
Field Goal
D. Glover, 40 yard field goal
:Tulsa: 12-7

Game Stats

Marshall
Stat
Tulsa

7
Score
12

9
First Downs
12

194
Total Offense
224

17 - 30 - 1
Rushes - Yards - TD
38 - 91 - 0

15 - 39 - 0
Comp - Att - TD
12 - 22 - 0

164
Passing Yards
133

3
Times Sacked
0

4 - 16 (25%)
3rd Down Conversion
3 - 15 (20%)

1 - 4 (25%)
4th Down Conversion
0 - 0 (0%)

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

2 - 1 - 0 (50%)
Red Zone - TD - FG
5 - 0 - 1 (20%)

0
Turnovers
2

0
Fumbles Lost
1

0
Intercepted
1

23
Punt Return Yards
29

15
Kick Return Yards
42

232
Total Yards
295

7 – 43.7
Punts - Average
5 - 45.0

6 - 55
Penalties
3 - 26

15:30
Time of Possession
20:30

Tulsa Contract Goals Update

Fail Impact
Goal
Progress
Pass Impact

:6redarrow:
21+ points per game in each season
25
:6greenarrow:

Win 10 games in one season
5
:6greenarrow:

3300+ passing yards each season
:red-x:
:5greenarrow:

:6redarrow:
65% pass completions over the entire contract
60%
:5greenarrow:

:5redarrow:
Win 6 games in one season
:check:
:5greenarrow:

:6redarrow:
15+ rushing TD in each season
11
:5greenarrow:

:4redarrow:
3200+ total offensive yards each season
1709
:3greenarrow:

:5redarrow:
3400+ total offensive yards each season
1709
:2greenarrow:

Job Security Status

48%

SmoothPancakes

03-05-2013, 12:07 PM

Time for another look around the nation. Starting in the Top 25, in the game of the week, #1 Notre Dame scores the game winning touchdown with 8 seconds left to play, defeating #3 Miami (FL) 31-24, knocking the Hurricanes from the ranks of the unbeaten. Pittsburgh shakes up the polls, handing #8 Clemson its second loss, 34-14. Kentucky got a taste of blood, scoring with 1:22 left in the game to knock off #10 Texas 28-24. #12 Arizona holds on late to stay perfect and beat Stanford, 42-35. #13 Florida State escapes winless Syracuse 27-24. #14 Alabama barely holds on against Ole Miss, winning 31-29. #15 Virginia Tech stayed perfect on the year, absolutely abusing and violating #16 NC State to the tune of 39-7.

#17 Iowa wins their Big Ten battle against #18 Maryland, dropping the Terps 28-14. #19 Oregon needed a 13 point fourth quarter to avoid upset at the hands of winless Louisiana-Lafayette, the Ducks hanging on for a 37-21 win. #20 Arkansas State keeps their perfect season rolling along with a 31-17 win at Missouri. #22 Virginia holds on for a 42-27 win over North Carolina. #23 Mississippi State keeps their perfect record intact, doubling up Florida 28-14. Western Kentucky leaves the Palmetto State stunned, as the Hilltoppers score 22 points in the fourth quarter to topple #25 South Carolina 35-34.

For our readers, souljahbill, Southern Miss improves to 5-0 (1-0 C-USA) with a 48-14 rout of UTSA. Jaymo, Arizona State drops to 1-4 (0-2 Pac-12), losing a 36-35 heartbreaker to Colorado. Mors, West Virginia improves to 3-2 (2-1 Big 12) with a 16-10 loss win at Kansas. Jeff, Ohio State improves to 4-1 (2-0 Big Ten), picking up a 28-7 win over Rutgers. Other teams of interest, #20 Arkansas State improves to 4-0 with a 31-17 win at Missouri.

In C-USA action, Tulsa beats Marshall 12-7, Southern Miss beats UTSA 48-14, UTEP whoops UAB 42-24, Rice takes down MTSU 35-14, North Texas gets a 20-3 win over Florida Atlantic, and #2 Oklahoma utterly destroys Louisiana Tech 48-10.

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Notre Dame (38 first place votes) remains #1, Oklahoma (22 votes) remains #2, LSU (1 vote) jumps three to #3, Nebraska remains #4 and Michigan State remains #5. Georgia jumps one to #6, Miami falls four to #7, Arizona climbs four to #8, USC remains #9 and Virginia Tech leaps five to #10. Wisconsin remains #11, Florida State moves up one to #12, Alabama climbs one to #13, Georgia Tech leaps seven to #14 and Arkansas State climbs five to #15. Iowa climbs one to #16, Mississippi State jumps six to #17, Oregon moves up one to #18, Clemson tumbles eleven to #19 and Oklahoma State enters the poll at #20. Virginia moves up one to #21, Texas falls twelve to #22, NC State drops seven to #23, Michigan remains #24 and Maryland falls seven to #25. Dropping out of the poll this week as South Carolina (from #25). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Pittsburgh (323 votes) is #26, followed by BYU (258), Southern Miss (184), Tulsa (119) and Texas Tech (65) to round out the Top 30. Other teams getting votes this week include Colorado State (16) and Ohio State (14).

Looking at the first Top 25 Media Poll of the season, Notre Dame (36 first place votes) remains #1, LSU (24 votes) remains #2, Oklahoma (4 votes) remains #3, Nebraska climbs one to #4 and Michigan STate climbs one to #5. USC jumps two to #6, Georgia climbs two to #7, Miami drops four to #8, Virginia Tech (1 vote) leaps six to #9 and Arizona jumps three to #10. Wisconsin climbs one to #11, Arkansas State jumps two to #12, Virginia falls three to #13, Georgia Tech jumps five to #14 and Florida State moves up one to #15. Alabama jumps one to #16, Mississippi State climbs five to #17, Iowa remains #18, Oklahoma State moves up six to #19 and Clemson drops thirteen to #20. Oregon climbs two to #21, Pittsburgh enters the poll at #22, Texas falls eleven spots to #23, Michigan remains #24 and Maryland falls five to #25. Dropping out of the poll this week was NC State (from #21). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, NC State (285 votes) is #26, followed by BYU (284), Southern Miss (277), Tulsa (219) and Northwestern (119) to round out the Top 30. Other teams getting votes this week include TCU (87), Texas Tech (79), Colorado State (69) and Ohio State (66).

Looking at the new Heisman watch, Georgia Tech HB Brandon Terrell remains #1 in the Heisman Watch, followed by Notre Dame QB Jordan Cooke at #2 (LW: #4), LSU HB Steven McMillan at #3 (LW: NR), Michigan State QB Bo Wade at #4 (LW: NR) and Miami (FL) QB Jason Day at #5 (LW: #2). Falling off the Heisman Watch list this week was Georgia HB Joel Nolan (LW: #3) and Arizona QB E.J. McCoy (LW: #5).

souljahbill

03-05-2013, 06:29 PM

Disclaimer: This post is not a part of Smooth's dynasty. It's a part of mine.

Check this out:
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/03/06/ery2yqyh.jpg

SmoothPancakes

03-20-2013, 03:56 PM

Disclaimer: This post is not a part of Smooth's dynasty. It's a part of mine.

Check this out:

Sweet! Ramius going to the big time! :D

As for this dynasty, it's going to be coming back to life. After being without it for the past two weeks, I finally got by laptop back yesterday evening from getting the CPU fan replaced. So updates will be coming again now that I actually have access to my various dynasty documents, word files and spreadsheets again.

The good thing is I'm not in so much a rush this year to get done before NCAA '14 releases. After having to wait on patches that delayed me from being able to even start my dynasty in '13 until mid-August, I'm not going to make the jump to NCAA '14 until I'm sure it's fine and ready for me to jump immediately into my dynasty on it. So I pretty much have until August or whenever to get through the remaining two and a half seasons on my contract at Tulsa. Which is good because my time is gonna be getting split between FIFA 13, NCAA 13 and SimCity, so updates won't be quite so often or fast-paced as they have been, as I give the two other games some play time as well.

SmoothPancakes

03-27-2013, 06:40 AM

Well, it's all but official, Tulsa is heading to the Big East. The only thing left to be done is the Big East presidents to vote on it. With the move to be happening in 2014 in real life, I'll be moving Tulsa to the Big East immediately at the end of the next off-season. So there you go Jeff, no more dominating Conference USA for me. :D

souljahbill

03-27-2013, 09:20 AM

Woohoo!!! C-USA is all about :Southern_Miss: again!

jaymo76

03-27-2013, 02:16 PM

Come on Smooth.. step up and schedule Arizona State next season. Enough of these "cupcakes." I dare you to take on one of the worst teams in the PAC 12 :D:easy:

SmoothPancakes

03-27-2013, 03:18 PM

Woohoo!!! C-USA is all about :Southern_Miss: again!

:D They'll blow it. ;)

Come on Smooth.. step up and schedule Arizona State next season. Enough of these "cupcakes." I dare you to take on one of the worst teams in the PAC 12 :D:easy:

:D Well, you know, I had to get back a ways to get to my last updated schedule post, but it just so turns out that I do still have one opening on my 2018 non-conference schedule. I might just have to put a little Pac-12 action on my schedule.

jaymo76

03-31-2013, 01:49 AM

Smooth this is an FYI post. I recently started playing my dynasty again and as I was reminded, you are still the HC at San Jose St. You went 4-7 this season and now after two seasons you have a record of 8-16 with an approval rating of 49%. You are in year two of three but you are in tough to keep your job. With a D- prestige you are second lowest behind Lary Coker at UTSA.

I am about to play the NC game as BYU versus my old team. I will let you know your fate in my dynasty at the end.

jaymo76

03-31-2013, 03:45 AM

SmoothPancakes

04-02-2013, 08:48 AM

As a follow up to the above, in year 7, BYU goes 13-0 and beats Rice (my former oc team) 38-6 to win the BCS. As for the fate of coach pancakes... you were spared. You will get a third season at San Jose after-all. Your rating is now 40% and you need to win 8 games next season and beat 75% of your rivals if you wish to stay HC at San Jose St.

Okay back to your dynasty now... just thought I would share to see how different dynasties progress.

Damn. Not making things easy on myself. :(

I need to try and keep dynasties straight better. :D I was looking back at souljahbill's post, about me becoming OC at Vanderbilt, then at your post, wondering when the hell I left Vanderbilt and become HC at San Jose State. :D For whatever reason, it didn't immediately click that it was your dynasty and not souljahbill's. :fp:

souljahbill

04-02-2013, 04:41 PM

Damn. Not making things easy on myself. :(

I need to try and keep dynasties straight better. :D I was looking back at souljahbill's post, about me becoming OC at Vanderbilt, then at your post, wondering when the hell I left Vanderbilt and become HC at San Jose State. :D For whatever reason, it didn't immediately click that it was your dynasty and not souljahbill's. :fp:

HC at Vanderbilt.

SmoothPancakes

04-02-2013, 05:09 PM

HC at Vanderbilt.

It was head coach? Damn, I thought it was OC. See what I mean? It can get hard to keep track of. :D

SmoothPancakes

04-03-2013, 12:20 PM

I've finally gotten around to getting back into my dynasty. I've been meaning to play a game or two since Monday, but ended up getting sidetracked with various things both days and never got the chance. I'm 3 minutes into the Oklahoma State game, and I'm wishing right now I had been sidetracked again today as well. :( Anybody got some spare lube? :smh: :fp:

SmoothPancakes

04-03-2013, 03:56 PM

Game Six

:Tulsa: :@: #20:Oklahoma_State:

Game Notes

--- Coming off the very difficult win over Marshall, where we faced an offensive ineptitude of epic proportions, it was back onto the road to face our toughest challenge yet, a visit to one of our rivals, #20 Oklahoma State. To say our defense was going to have its hands full would be a severe understatement. The Cowpokes enter the game with the #4 scoring offense in the nation, averaging just under 44 points per game, while racking up 462 yards of total offense, ranking #18 in the nation, and passing for 317 yards each contest, good enough for #9 in the country. This would be a far cry from the offenses of UNLV, New Mexico or UAB. Oklahoma State’s defense was mediocre, giving up over 350 yards per game, ranking 40th in the nation, but our offense would still have to find a way to overcome its incompetence from the Marshall game if we were to have any hope.

A contest was held in the week leading up to the game to determine a name for the previously unnamed rivalry. Many different names were submitted, including some simple ones like Okie-geddon, Tulstilly, The Red Dirt Apathy Bowl, The Highway 412 Shotgun Challenge, The Arkansas River Rivalry and The Old Money Rivalry. Some more colorful submissions were made, including The Arkansas River Fuckfest and the "Who The Fuck Has Seen A Hurricane In Oklahoma" Bowl. But the name that was selected as the winner in the end and will bear the name of the Oklahoma State-Tulsa rivalry going into the future, was The Golden Poke Bowl. Heading into the game, Oklahoma State won the coin toss and elected to kick, putting out offense to the test first.

A touchback on the opening kickoff started us at our 25 yard line for the first offensive drive of the game, and the Golden Poke Bowl was underway. Going on the ground to start the drive, Will Oliver was able to pick up four yards on the ground. Oliver kept the ball again on the next play, fighting his way forward before being tripped just before the first down line, picking up 5 yards on the carry to set up third and one at the 34. Third time proved to NOT be the charm, as Oliver was swallowed up quickly for no gain, and our punt team was forced to come out on fourth and one. Oklahoma State wasted little time in digging the knife into us, as the 51 yard punt was taken by Zac Williams at the Oklahoma State 15 yard line and taken all the way back to the house for an 85 yard punt return touchdown, giving Oklahoma State a very early 7-0 lead, with 7:18 left in the first quarter.

A 20 yard kickoff return by Eric Hayden on the kickoff set us up at our 22 yard line for a second try on offense. Oliver took the handoff on first down, managing to get only two yards before being brought down by the middle linebacker, leaving second and 8. Going to the air for the first time today, the pass from Brad Stephens intended for Hayden was broken up by the safety, leaving third and long from the 23. The third down pass intended for Roy Smith was rushed under the pressure of the defense and the loud and hostile crowd, causing the pass from Stephens to carry long and overshoot Smith, bringing our punt team out for the second time today, only two and a half minutes into the contest. This time our punt team did its job, forcing Williams to call for a fair catch on the 43 yard punt, giving Oklahoma State the ball at their 33 yard line. Now it was time for our defense to be put to the test, our offense and special teams already having failed their previous tests.

It didn't take long for the defense to be overwhelmed by the Oklahoma State offense, as Nathan Gordon chucked up a deep pass to Chad Russ on first down, completed for a 29 yard gain to move the ball to our 37 yard line. We caught a minor break when the offense was flagged for false start, moving the ball back to leave first and 15. It was but a minor setback for the Cowboys, when Gordon connected with Kyle Cunningham on the next play for a 38 yards gain to set up first and goal at our four yard line. The Cowboys found the end zone for the second time today, as Gordon kept the ball himself with a pair of two yard sneaks to punch it into the end zone, giving Oklahoma State a 14-0 lead with 5:42 left in the quarter.

No return on the following kickoff left us starting from our 25 yard line and looking for an answer, any answer, to claw our way out of this quick and early hole. Oliver took the ball up the middle on the first down carry, but could only manage a single yard before being swarmed by multiple defenders. We were finally able to pick up our initial first down of the game, as Connor Jefferson hauled in a 14 yard pass from Stephens to advance the chains to the 40 yard line. Jefferson came through a second time, hauling in a bullet pass on an out route, catching the ball for a 12 yard gain just before running out of bounds to give us a first down at the Oklahoma State 48 yard line. Hoping that would be enough to open up the ground game, our run attempt proved futile, as Oliver was leveled in the backfield by the middle linebacker for a one yard loss, leaving second and 11. Hayden was able to get enough separation from the cornerback on the next play to haul in a pass for a gain of 8 yards, leaving us with third and three from the 41. Going back into the air on third down, Stephens was able to lob up a pass over the middle linebacker’s head and into the arms of Smith for a gain of 13 yards and a first down at the 28 yard line. The running game still proved near-worthless, as Smith could only fight his way forward for a three yard gain, leaving second and 7. Pitching the ball to the right, Oliver was able to get an early pair of blocks, allowing him to turn up field for a 6 yard gain before being tripped up, leaving third and one at the 19. Oliver would fail to convert the first down on the next play, wrapped up in the backfield for a loss of one yard, leaving fourth and two at the 21 yard line. The 38 yard field goal attempt by David Glover was good, finally getting us on the board and cutting the gap to 14-3 with 2:10 left in the quarter.

Z. Williams received the following kickoff, returning it 20 yards out to the 18 yard line for Oklahoma State’s next drive. Starting through the air, Gordon was able to connect with Tyler Reyes for an 8 yard gain, followed by a 6 yard rush by Cornelius Lane to pick up the first down at the 32 yard line. The Cowboys headed back into the air as Gordon connected with Russ for a 12 yard strike out to the 44. Oklahoma State experienced its first incomplete pass of the game, as Z. Williams dropped the ball from Gordon on first down, before the second down pass intended for Kyle Williams sailed long and incomplete, bringing up third down. Our defense actually proved to have a backbone, as the third down pass to K. Williams went for a gain of only 8 yards, leaving fourth and two for the Cowboys. That backbone quickly disappeared on the next play, as Lane broke up the middle for an 8 yard rush, converting fourth down and moving the ball to our 40 yard line. Gordon was forced to scramble on the next play, but made the most of it as he was able to pick up 9 yards, followed by a 10 yard rush by Z. Williams to get the first down at our 21 yard line. Keeping the domination going on the ground, Lane took the first down carry for a 7 yard rush, leaving second and three from our 13 yard line. As the final four seconds ticked off the clock, Gordon threw up a pass over the middle to K. Williams, completed for a 13 yard gain to leave the Cowboys with first and goal at the one foot line, bringing the first quarter to an end with a 14-3 Oklahoma State lead.

It took only two seconds into the second quarter for Oklahoma State to find the end zone again, as Lane punched it in on the ground for the one yard touchdown, opening the lead up to 21-3 with 8:58 left in the second quarter. A touchback on the following kickoff got our offense started at our 25 yard line, and looking for any sign of hope and life now. With our run game almost non-existent, it was directly to the passing game on first down, which paid off immediately as Jefferson was able to snag in a pass for a gain of 15 yards, giving us a first down at the 40 yard line. Keeping through the air, Oliver was able to haul in a quick pass from Stephens for a pick of up 8 yards, leaving second and two. Oliver tried to pick up the first down on the ground, but had no luck at all, as he was brought down for a one yard loss to leave third and three. The third down pass intended for Randy Newman was nearly intercepted by the cornerback (which would have been a guaranteed pick-six), bringing out our punt team on fourth and three.

A shanked punt gave Oklahoma State decent field position, as they started their next drive from their 29 yard line. Gordon went into the air on first down, finding Lane for a 9 yard gain, followed by a three yard rush by Lane to get the first down at the 40 yard line. Lane continued on the ground with a 7 yard rush to the 47 yard line, where the Cowboys made their first big strike of the drive, as Gordon threw a deep bomb to K. Cunningham for a 34 yard gain, setting up a first down at our 19 yard line. The Cowboys needed just one more play, as Gordon connected with K. Williams for the 19 yard touchdown to extended their lead to 28-3 with 6:14 left in the second quarter.

Jefferson brought out the kickoff for a 23 yard return, setting our offense up at our 25 yard line, the hole getting deeper and deeper every time. The first down pass intended for Hayden was nearly intercepted by the outside linebacker, and our drive got off to a less than promising start. Jefferson continued to prove himself a go-to receiver this game, hauling in a pass from Stephens for a 13 yard gain right before the cornerback made contact, giving us a first down at the 37 yard line. Taking a chance with a deep bomb to Hayden, the ball got hung up in the wind just long enough for the safety to close the distance and make a play on the ball, nearly intercepting it, but ultimately knocking it incomplete to leave second down. The second down pass intended for Carl Barnes was nearly completed along the right sideline, but a diving swat by the cornerback allowed him to get his hand in front of the ball, knocking it out of bounds and incomplete to leave third and long and our offense again teetering on the edge of the cliff. Stephens was finally able to complete a pass again, finding Marcus Mullins cutting over the middle of the field, but it wouldn’t be enough as Mullins could only gain 8 yards before being brought down, leaving us punting away once again on fourth and two.

We finally got our first big break on special teams, as Adrian Crosby was unable to return the 44 yard punt for any yards, burying the Oklahoma State offense at their own 10 yard line to start their next drive. Our defense also came through, tackling Lane on first down for a loss of four yards to push the Cowboys back to their 6 yard line and leave them facing second and 14. Gordon was able to cut that number in half as he connected with Cunningham for a 7 yard pass to leave third down from the 13, but an incomplete pass intended for K. Williams would bring about the first Oklahoma State punt of the day on fourth and 7. A fair catch by Jefferson on the 51 yard punt gave us the ball back at our 35 yard line. Going to the air on first down, Oliver was able to sneak out of the backfield without a defender on him, hauling in a pass from Stephens for an 8 yard gain to the 43 yard line. Going on the ground on second down, Oliver could only manage one yard, leaving us with third and one from the 44. Putting our faith in the run game, Oliver was able to pick up one yard on the carry, but a bad spot left us short with fourth and inches. Coach Ludwig wasn’t willing to go for it after being unable to get the first down on the previous play, and the punt team came out yet again. A fair catch was called by Z. Williams on the 44 yard punt, and the Cowboys began their next drive from their 11 yard line.

Our defense was finally seeming to catch some breaks, as the first down pass from Gordon was dropped by Russ, leaving second down. Lane took the ball on the ground the next two plays, but was unable to get enough yards, rushing for gains of 5 and four yards to leave the Cowboys facing fourth and one from the 20 yard line. A 9 yard punt return by Jefferson on the 46 yard punt continued our streak of improving field condition, as we began our next drive from the 43 yard line. Pitching the ball to the left to Oliver on first down proved disastrous, as Oliver was tackled for a 5 yard loss, immediately putting us in a hole on the drive. A pass attempt over the middle intended for Hayden was batted incomplete by the middle linebacker, leaving us with third and 15. Chucking up a prayer down the left sideline, Antoine Banks proved the savior of the drive, out-jumping the cornerback and beating him through the air to the ball, hauling it in for a 55 yard gain and getting us the deepest into Oklahoma State territory we had been all game, setting up first and goal at the 7 yard line. Oliver took the ball on first down, picking up two yards to leave second and goal at the five yard line. Taking the ball on the ground again, Oliver was able to push his way forward for a four yard gain, leaving third and goal at the one yard line. Smith came in on the third down play, but was unable to punch the ball in, met at the line of scrimmage by a pair of defender and tackled for no gain, bringing up fourth and goal on the one yard line. We were forced to call our first time out after the play, stopping the clock with just 6 seconds left before halftime. We were ultimately forced to settle for an 18 yard field goal by Glover, cutting the lead to 28-6 with four second to play. A touchback on the following kickoff would bring the first half to a merciful end, as it was all Oklahoma State early on, heading into halftime with a 28-6 lead.

No return on the kickoff to open up the second half, got the Oklahoma State offense lined up at its 25 yard line to begin. Lane took the ball on first down and was able to gain two yards, before the air strike campaign began again, as Gordon found K. Williams for a 21 yard pickup and a first down at the 48 yard line. Taking advantage of the pass-first defense, Lane was able to break loose for a 12 yard rush to our 39 yard line, followed by a 19 yard pass from Gordon to K. Williams to set up another first down at our 20 yard line. A pair of rushes by Lane for gains of 6 and four yards left the Cowboys looking at third and one, Z. Williams doing the honors with a 6 yard end-around rush to set up first and goal at our four yard line. Z. Williams would punch it in on the next play with a four yard rush, opening the lead up to 35-6 with 7:07 left in the third quarter.

A 24 yard kickoff return by Banks got our offense lined up at our 23 yard line. The Oklahoma State defense was re-energized after the touchdown, and it showed as Oliver was blasted and thrown like a rag doll for no gain by the middle linebacker on first down. It was nowhere but backwards on the next play, as a quick pass to Newman resulted in a loss of one yard, leaving us with third and 11, our offense once again proving impotent. A pass over the middle was completed to Barnes, but it wouldn’t be enough as he could only manage 8 yards on the play, leaving the punt team trotting out on fourth and three.

A fair catch by Z. Williams on the 46 yard punt gave Oklahoma State possession at their 24 yard line. The Cowboys wasted little time in moving the ball, as a 10 yard pass from Gordon to Lane left second and inches. Lane would convert the first down on the next play with a three yard rush to the 37 yard line. After a first down pass to Lane picked up zero yards, Gordon found K. Williams over the middle for a 9 yard strike to leave third and one. The Cowpokes would continue their air assault, as Gordon converted the third down with a 10 yard pass to Lane out to our 44 yard line. Returning to the ground game, Lane took the ball for a pair of carries, picking up gains of 5 and 7 yards to get the first down at our 33. Our defense won a minor battle, forcing Gordon to throw the ball away on first down, but it was a short lived victory as Gordon turned around the next play and threw a 24 yard strike to Reyes to set up first and goal at our 9 yard line. Lane rushed the ball for a 6 yard gain on the next play, before keeping the ball on second down and rushing it into the end zone for the three yard touchdown, giving Oklahoma State a 42-6 lead with 3:11 left in the third quarter.

Hayden received the following kickoff, returning it 19 yards out to our 25 yard line, our offense now just trying to find some sign of life and try to at least keep the score within a 40-point margin. Going into the air of first down, we were finally pushed over the cliff, as Nick Kennedy came over the from the safety position to intercept a pass intended for Hayden up the left sideline, returning it 14 yards to our 25 yard line, where the Cowboys’ offense took over. The offense wasted little time, as Gordon connected with K. Williams for a 13 yard gain to our 12 yard line. Lane then took the ball on the ground, rushing for a four yard gain, before being tackled for a loss of two yards to leave third and 8 at the 10 yard line. Our defense would save our asses, as Gordon’s pass intended for Russ was batted incomplete, forcing the Cowboys to settle for a field goal. We would get an even bigger break, as the 28 yard field goal by Marcus Williams sailed wide right and no good, our offense taking over at our 20 yard line with 2:02 left in the third quarter.

Going to the air on first down, Stephens almost committed his second straight turnover, as his pass intended for Banks was nearly intercepted by the safety, leaving second down. Forced to dump the ball to avoid a sack, the toss from Stephens to Hayden went for only a two yard completion, leaving our offense looking at third and 8 from the 22. The pass intended for Barnes was long and overshot the target, though there was a case made for a possible pass interference penalty as Barnes was held up by the outside linebacker, but no flag was thrown, bringing out our punt team on fourth down. A fair catch by Z. Williams on the 47 yard punt gave Oklahoma State the ball at their 30 yard line. Lane started the drive with a pair of rushes for two and 7 yards, leaving third and inches at the 40. A third straight rush by Lane would convert the third down with a three yard gain, moving the chains to the 44 yard line. Russ now took over with a three yard carry of his own, before a pass from Gordon intended for Lane fell incomplete, leaving the Cowboys with third and 7. They would manage to convert the third down as Gordon connected with K. Williams for a 13 yard strike, setting up first down at our 41 yard line. The third quarter would come to an end as Gordon threw a deep pass to Cunningham, completed for a 26 yard gain to set up first down at our 16 yard line. That would conclude the third quarter, as Oklahoma State held on to a 42-6 lead and in position to extend it even more.

Opening up the fourth quarter, Oklahoma State brought out their second team offense, as they felt their lead secure enough to pull the starters. Lane took the ball on the ground on first down, but was unable to find an opening, tackled by the defense for a loss of two yards. Throwing his first pass of the game, second-stringer Adam Wade completed a pass to K. Williams for a 13 yard strike, giving the Cowboys first and goal at our 5 yard line. Wade would stay perfect through the air with a 5 yard touchdown pass to David Tate, extending the Oklahoma State lead to 49-6 with 8:26 left in the game.

Jefferson received the following kickoff, returning it 24 yards out to our 27 yard line. The first down pass was more of the same, as the ball intended for Barnes was batted down by the cornerback, leaving second down. Pulling out everything, including the kitchen sink, Stephens threw up a deep bomb to Hayden, who was wide open after beating his man off the line. However, Hayden dropped what would have been either a 50+ yard gain or a 70+ yard touchdown pass, leaving our deflated offense facing third and long. The third down pass intended for Jefferson never had a chance, as Stephens was hit in the back as he went to pass, the ball flying backwards 15 yards, though thankfully ruled incomplete, bringing out the punt team on fourth and 10.

A fair catch by Z. Williams on the 50 yard punt gave Oklahoma State’s offense the ball at their 22 yard line. We caught an instant break, as the Cowboys were flagged for holding, pushing them back to the 12 yard line and left facing first and 20. Z. Williams took the ball on first down, rushing for a 7 yard gain, followed by a 5 yard scramble by Wade to leave third and 8. Wade would remain perfect through the air, connecting with Russ for a 9 yard pass and a first down at the 34 yard line. Wade finally threw his first incomplete pass, as the ball intended for Z. Williams was broken up, leaving second down. It didn’t take Wade long through to get back on the horse, as he found K. Williams for a 12 yard completion on the next play and a first down at the 46. After Wade threw the ball away on first down, Z. Williams took the handoff for a gain of three yards, leaving the Cowboys with third and 7. The third down pass intended for K. Williams was knocked incomplete, and the Oklahoma State punt team came out on fourth down.

No return by Jonathan Chambers on the 37 yard punt got our offense started from our 12 yard line with 6:30 left in the game. With any hope of a comeback long since extinguished, drowned, shot, hanged, drawn and quartered, our second team offense came out on the field to take over for the remainder of the game. Going into the air on first down, it was more of the same, as Erik Wallace’s first pass of the game, intended for Jefferson, was batted incomplete by the cornerback. The second team defense for Oklahoma State was not about to give us a break, as Wallace was sacked for a 12 yard loss on second down, nearly for a safety, leaving us facing third and 22 from inside our one yard line. The quick pass on third down intended for Smith was broken up by the outside linebacker, leaving our punt team buried in our end zone. The Oklahoma State punt return team took full advantage of that situation, as they broke through and blocked the punt on the fourth down play, Paul Chapman recovering it in the end zone for the touchdown, increasing the lead to 56-6 with 5:46 to play.

A 16 yard kickoff return by Hayden got our offense started at our 15 yard line, now just trying to end the game as quickly as possible. Oliver took the ball on first down, fighting his way forward for a three yard gain, when we got some help from the defense courtesy of a 15 yard facemask penalty, giving us a first down at the 34 yard line. Oliver kept the ball on first down for a 6 yard gain, followed by a three yard rush by Smith to leave third and one at the 42. Taking the ball on third down, Smith was unable to find anywhere to run, quickly brought down for a two yard loss to leave fourth and three. The 46 yard punt was returned for 5 yards by Z. Williams, leaving Oklahoma State starting at their 18 yard line. The drive last a whole whopping one play, as Z. Williams took the handoff, broke a pair of tackles and broke loose up the sideline, sprinting to the house for the 82 yard touchdown rush and a 63-6 lead with 3:03 left in the game.

No return on the following kickoff left us starting at our 25 yard line. Smith took the first down handoff for a two yard gain, as we tried to chew off as much clock as we could. The Oklahoma State defense sure had no intentions of letting up, as Smith was slapped around by both the middle linebacker and outside linebacker for no gain, leaving third and 8. Smith was finally able to make a positive gain, rushing for 8 yards, but stopped just shy of the first down line, leaving us punting away on fourth and inches. A fair catch by Z. Williams on the 45 yard punt gave Oklahoma State possession at their 20 yard line with 1:11 left on the clock. Z. Williams was tackled for a three yard loss on the first down carry, followed by a 9 yard rush to leave third and four at the 26, just 46 seconds to play. Wade kept the ball himself on third down, scrambling for one yard to leave fourth down and three with 29 seconds left. That would be the final play as the clock ran out without another snap being taken, bring the game to a merciful end, Oklahoma State easily walking out with a 63-6 victory to take home the Golden Poke Bowl trophy.

With the humiliating loss, we drop to 5-1, 2-0 in C-USA action. With the dominating win, #20 Oklahoma State improves to 4-0, 2-0 in Big 12 play. Up next, it's back to the friendly confines of home to take on Florida International, who enter the game 1-4, 1-1 in C-USA action. The Golden Panthers opened up their year rough, losing 31-27 to Northwestern, losing 35-28 at Washington State, losing 45-12 at #12 Iowa and losing 27-21 to UTEP. FIU finally got into the win column with a 38-20 win at North Texas, headed into their trip to Tulsa.

Final Score
#20 :Oklahoma_State: 63, :Tulsa: 6

Stat(s) of the Game:
Tulsa Offense – A horrible day all-around. Stephens ended the game 13-26 for 163 yards, no touchdowns and one interception. Oliver was our leading rusher with a whole 28 yards on 17 carries. Banks was the leading receiver in yards with his 55 yard reception, his lone reception of the game. Jefferson led receivers overall with 54 yards on four catches. In all, 8 players caught a ball today, 5 of them ending with double digit yards.

Tulsa Defense – No comment...

Tulsa Kicking – A perfect day by Glover, ending 2-2 in field goals with kicks of 18 and 38 yards.

Scoring Summary

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

:Tulsa:
3
3
0
0
6

:Oklahoma_State:
14
14
14
21
63

Time
Team
Result
Play
Score

First Quarter

7:41
:Oklahoma_State:
Touchdown
Z. Williams, returned punt 85 yards (M. Williams kick)
:Oklahoma_State: 7-0

5:42
:Oklahoma_State:
Touchdown
N. Gordon, 2 yard run (M. Williams kick)
:Oklahoma_State: 14-0

2:13
:Tulsa:
Field Goal
D. Glover, 38 yard field goal
:Oklahoma_State: 14-3

Second Quarter

8:58
:Oklahoma_State:
Touchdown
C. Lane, 1 yard run (M. Williams kick)
:Oklahoma_State: 21-3

6:14
:Oklahoma_State:
Touchdown
K. Williams, 18 yard pass from N. Gordon (M. Williams kick)
:Oklahoma_State: 28-3

0:04
:Tulsa:
Field Goal
D. Glover, 18 yard field goal
:Oklahoma_State: 28-6

Third Quarter

7:07
:Oklahoma_State:
Touchdown
Z. Williams, 4 yard run (M. Williams kick)
:Oklahoma_State: 35-6

3:11
:Oklahoma_State:
Touchdown
C. Lane, 3 yard run (M. Williams kick)
:Oklahoma_State: 42-6

Fourth Quarter

8:26
:Oklahoma_State:
Touchdown
D. Tate, 5 yard pass form A. Wade (M. Williams kick)
:Oklahoma_State: 49-6

5:46
:Oklahoma_State:
Touchdown
P. Chapman, blocked punt, fumble recovered in end zone (M. Williams kick)
:Oklahoma_State: 56-6

3:03
:Oklahoma_State:
Touchdown
Z. Williams, 82 yard run (M. Williams kick)
:Oklahoma_State: 63-6

Game Stats

Tulsa
Stat
Oklahoma State

6
Score
63

7
First Downs
24

192
Total Offense
596

25 - 29 - 0
Rushes - Yards - TD
38 - 235 - 5

13 - 28 - 0
Comp - Att - TD
24 - 34 - 2

163
Passing Yards
361

1
Times Sacked
0

2 - 15 (13%)
3rd Down Conversion
5 - 11 (45%)

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

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

8 - 0 - 2 (25%)
Red Zone - TD - FG
8 - 6 - 0 (75%)

2
Turnovers
0

1
Fumbles Lost
0

1
Intercepted
0

9
Punt Return Yards
90

126
Kick Return Yards
20

327
Total Yards
706

10 – 46.0
Punts - Average
3 - 45.7

1 - 15
Penalties
3 - 30

18:49
Time of Possession
17:11

Tulsa Contract Goals Update

Fail Impact
Goal
Progress
Pass Impact

:6redarrow:
21+ points per game in each season
22
:6greenarrow:

Win 10 games in one season
5
:6greenarrow:

3300+ passing yards each season
:red-x:
:5greenarrow:

:6redarrow:
65% pass completions over the entire contract
60%
:5greenarrow:

:5redarrow:
Win 6 games in one season
:check:
:5greenarrow:

:6redarrow:
15+ rushing TD in each season
11
:5greenarrow:

:4redarrow:
3200+ total offensive yards each season
1901
:3greenarrow:

:5redarrow:
3400+ total offensive yards each season
1901
:2greenarrow:

Job Security Status

48%

SmoothPancakes

04-03-2013, 04:02 PM

Time for another look around the nation. Starting in the Top 25, #1 Notre Dame defended their throne with a 59-7 whooping of UCLA. IN the upset of the week, Kansas State (undefeated, but unranked), knocked off #2 Oklahoma 30-24, handing the Sooners their first loss of the year. Florida got back to .500 on the season as they knocked off previously undefeated #3 LSU, 24-17. #4 Nebraska pulled away late for a 33-17 win over Penn State, opening the door for a jump to #2 thanks to Oklahoma and LSU both losing.

#21 Virginia handed out a beatdown on #7 Miami (FL), easily winning 41-17. Arkansas handed #8 Arizona its first loss of the year, as the Razorbacks rolled to a 38-21 win. #9 USC held on for a 42-28 victory over one-win Colorado. #10 Virginia Tech needed a 16 point fourth quarter to pull away from Pittsburgh 37-23. #15 Arkansas State improved to 5-0 with a 49-23 thrashing of winless Memphis. #16 Iowa took home the game of the week as they knocked off #11 Wisconsin 42-35.

#17 Mississippi State escaped Nevada 30-27, kicking the game winning 30 yard field goal late in the fourth quarter to remain perfect for the season. #18 Oregon had some trouble early on, but eventually pulled away from Utah, 41-31. #19 Clemson knocked off #14 Georgia Tech 38-31. #22 Texas rolled to a 63-32 victory over rival Texas Tech. Syracuse got their first win of the year, knocking off #23 NC State 17-10, and Ohio State improved to 5-1 on the year, scoring a 35-26 upset of #25 Maryland.

For our readers, souljahbill, Southern Miss improves to 6-0 (2-0 C-USA) with a 27-7 rout of Rice. Jaymo, Arizona State improves to 2-4 (1-2 Pac-12), winning 38-26 over Washington. Mors, West Virginia falls to 3-3 (2-2 Big 12) with a 27-17 loss to Iowa State. Jeff, Ohio State improves to 5-1 (3-0 Big Ten), picking up a 35-26 win over #25 Maryland. Other teams of interest, #15 Arkansas State improves to 5-0 with a 49-23 win over Memphis. On a personal note, Navy sets themselves up for the CIC Trophy this season with a 28-23 win over Air Force.

In C-USA action, Tulsa gets violated by #20 Oklahoma State, 63-6. Marshall whoops Central Florida 44-6. Southern Miss beats Rice 27-7. UTSA beats MTSU 31-21. Florida International gets their first win of the year, beating North Texas 38-20. UAB edges out Florida Atlantic 31-26. And Oregon State holds off UTEP 17-13.

With those results, looking at the current standings, in the East Division, Southern Miss (2-0) sits on top, followed by Marshall (2-1) and Florida International (1-1). Beyond that sit MTSU and UAB (both 1-2) and Florida Atlantic (0-2). In the West Division, it's a tie on top between Tulsa and UTEP (both at 2-0). Just behind us is Rice (1-1), followed by UTSA and North Texas (both at 1-2) and Louisiana Tech (0-1).

Looking at undefeated teams left, #2 Oklahoma, #3 LSU, #8 Arizona, #14 Georgia Tech, Texas State and Tulsa all lost this week, dropping our number of undefeated teams to 8. #1 Notre Dame (6-0), #10 Virginia Tech (5-0), #15 Arkansas State (5-0), #17 Mississippi State (6-0), #20 Oklahoma State (4-0), BYU (5-0), Kansas State (4-0) and Southern Miss (6-0) all remain with an unblemished record this season.

Turning to a more sadistic watch, who is still winless. There remains 4 teams still looking for their first win: Memphis (0-6), New Mexico (0-5), Tulane (0-5) and UL Lafayette (0-4).

Teams getting their first win this week were: Ball State (34-31 over 2-3 Kent State), Florida International (38-20 over 1-4 North Texas), Syracuse (17-10 over 3-3 #23 NC State) and UMass (21-19 over 3-2 Western Kentucky).

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Notre Dame (50 first place votes) remains #1. Nebraska jumps two to #2, Virginia Tech (11 first place votes) leaps seven to #3, Michigan State climbs one to #4 and Georgia moves up one to #5. USC climbs three to #6, Mississippi State leaps ten spots to #7, Florida State moves up four to #8, Arkansas State jumps six to #9 and Oklahoma falls eight to #10. Alabama jumps two to #11, Iowa moves up four to #12, Oklahoma State climbs seven to #13, Kansas State enters the poll at #14 and Miami falls eight to #15. LSU plummets thirteen spots to #16, Clemson climbs two to #17, Arizona falls ten to #18, Oregon drops one to #19 and Wisconsin drops nine spots to #20. Virginia remains #21, Georgia Tech falls eight spots to #22, Texas drops one to #23, BYU enters the poll at #24 and Michigan falls one to #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were NC State (from #23) and Maryland (from #25). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Southern Miss (263 votes) is #26, followed by Arkansas (257), Ohio State (167), Pittsburgh (118) and TCU (32) to round out the Top 30. Other teams getting votes this week include Northwestern (29).

Looking at the new Top 25 Media Poll of the season, Notre Dame (40 first place votes) remains #1. Virginia Tech (24 votes) jumps seven spots to #2, Nebraska moves up one to #3, Michigan State climbs one to #4 and USC jumps one to #5. Georgia climbs one to #6, Virginia jumps six to #7, Arkansas State (1 vote) moves up four to #8, Mississippi State leaps eight to #9 and Oklahoma falls seven to #10. Oklahoma State jumps eight spots to #11, Florida State climbs three to #12, Iowa jumps five to #13, Kansas state enters the poll at #14 and Alabama moves up one to #15. LSU plummets fourteen spots to #16, Miami drops nine spots to #17, Clemson moves up two to #18, Wisconsin drops eight to #19 and Arizona falls ten to #20. Oregon remains at #21, Georgia Tech falls eight to #22, Texas remains #23, BYU enters the poll at #24 and Michigan drops one to #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Pittsburgh (from #22) and Maryland (from #25). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Southern Miss (284 votes) is #26, followed by Arkansas (263), Pittsburgh (233), Ohio State (163) and Northwestern (155) to round out the Top 30. Other teams getting votes this week include TCU (107), Maryland (32) and Stanford (29).

Looking at the new Heisman watch, Notre Dame QB Jordan Cooke climbs back to #1 (LW: #2), followed by Georgia HB Joel Nolan at #3 (LW: NR), LSU HB Steven McMillan at #3 (LW: #3), Arizona QB E.J. McCoy at #4 (LW: NR) and Virginia Tech HB Jay Smith at #5 (LW: NR). Falling off the Heisman Watch list this week were Georgia Tech HB Brandon Terrell (LW: #1) Michigan State QB Bo Wade (LW: #4) and Miami (FL) QB Jason Day at (LW: #5).

SmoothPancakes

04-03-2013, 04:02 PM

No comment on the Oklahoma State game. :( :smh: :fp: :fp: :fp:

SmoothPancakes

04-05-2013, 09:06 PM

Game Seven

:FIU: :@: :Tulsa:

Game Notes

--- Fresh off our humiliating loss to Oklahoma State, it was back into conference action for the remainder of the season, as we tried to regroup after the last game and still try to shake off our offensive slump we’ve been in for two games now. The Golden Panthers of Florida International would be as good an opponent as any to do just that, entering the game with just one win on the season, coming in the previous week with an 18 points victory over North Texas. It would be a tough battle though as FIU entered with the #4 rushing defense in the nation, only giving up 112 yards per game on the ground, meaning our passing game would have to lead the way today if we were going to win. We won the coin toss and elected to kick.

No return on the opening kickoff got the game started for the Golden Panthers at their 25 yard line. Our defense made an immediate statement to start the game, tackling Jeff Robinson for a four yard loss on the first down carry. A pair of incomplete passes, and our defense successfully ended the first FIU drive without giving up a yard. A fair catch by Connor Jefferson on the 47 yard punt left our offense in great field position, starting at our 31 yard line.

Testing the run game on first down, Will Oliver took the handoff up the middle for a 7 yard gain, followed by a two yard rush to leave third and one at the 40 yard line. Taking our chances on the ground, Oliver was able to plow across the line of scrimmage ahead of a diving defender for a 5 yard gain and the first down at our 45 yard line. Staying on the ground on the first down play, Oliver never had a chance as the defense quickly closed off the outside, forcing Oliver back towards the middle, with no holes open and no hope of escape, managing only two yards before being taken down by the ankles. Going through the air on second down, Eric Hayden was just barely able to get his hands on the pass from Brad Stephens before the outside linebacker could, picking up 5 yards on the play to leave third and two. Returning the ball to the hands of Oliver, he wasn’t able to push it over the first down line, only picking up one yard before the defense was able to wrestle him down, leaving us with fourth and one on the FIU 46 yard line. A pooch punt by Carlos Wilcox for 27 yards gave way to a return of only two yards, leaving Florida International beginning their next drive from their 19 yard line.

The first down pass by Kevin Holt, intended for Brian Davidson fell incomplete, getting the Golden Panthers off to a bad start. Robinson took the ball up the middle on second down, but was only able to gain two yards before being overwhelmed by the defense, leaving third and 8. As if things couldn’t get any worse for FIU, a false start penalty pushed the offense back 5 yards, leaving them now facing third and 13. Holt’s third down pass was nowhere near the intended target, and the punt team came out for the second time today. A fair catch by Jefferson on the 42 yard punt improved our field position even more, starting this time from our own 40 yard line.

Shaking off a tackled that would have resulted in a loss of multiple yards, Oliver somehow recovered and was able to pound his way up field on the heels of the left tackle for a gain of 9 yards, getting our drive off to a quick promising start. The FIU defense wasn’t about to make it easy however, as Oliver managed only a single yard on the next play, leaving us faced with third and inches at midfield. It was a close call on the third down play, as Oliver got swung sideways by a diving tackle attempt and would have potentially ended up with no gain, but a secondary tackle made the difference, as it pushed Oliver over the first down line for a two yard gain and moved the chains to the FIU 48 yard line. Going through the air on first down, Stephens was forced to immediately dump the pass off to Oliver to avoid a sack from the overwhelming blitz. Oliver was able to shake off one tackle with a juke, but was hit by a second defender almost instantly afterwards, tackled for no gain to leave second and long. Hayden came through with our first big play of the day, as he cut over the middle and dove for an off-target pass, hauling the ball in for a 14 yard gain to give us a first down at the 33 yard line. Hayden kept it going on first down, cutting out at the last second to leave the cornerback trailing behind, hauling in the pass from Stephens for a 12 yard gain just before running out of bounds, moving the ball down to the 21. Taking a shot at the corner of the end zone, the first down ball intended for Marcus Mullins was batted incomplete by the safety, leaving second down. Hayden kept us going on offense, getting enough separation from the cornerback to grab the pass from Stephens for a 9 yard gain, leaving third and one at the 12 yard line. The Golden Panthers proved more than ready for us on the ground, as Oliver was quickly brought down for a loss of one yard, bringing out the field goal unit, as our offensive woes continued to keep us out of the end zone. The 30 yard field goal by Derek Glover was good, and we took a 3-0 lead with 1:09 left in the first quarter.

A touchback on the kickoff left Florida International starting from their 25 yard line, looking to equalize or take the lead. Robinson did his best to make sure that happened, as a pair of 7 yard rushes gave the Golden Panthers a quick first down at their 39 yard line. After an incomplete pass on first down, Holt was forced to scramble for a three yard gain, leaving the offense with third and 7. An incomplete pass on third down, intended for Joey Ginn, brought the drive screeching to a halt, as we weren’t the only team on this field suffering from a completely inept offense. A fair catch by Jefferson on the 46 yard punt left us buried deep in our territory, starting our next drive from our 11 yard line with two seconds left in the quarter. A one yard rush by Oliver brought the first quarter to an end, our lead holding at 3-0.

Opening up the second quarter, it was back into the air, hoping to find some more success through that method. That success was not meant to be, as the pass deep down the left sideline intended for Hayden was intercepted by cornerback Mark Thomas, giving Florida International the ball at their 44 yard line. After throwing away the ball on first down, Holt was finally able to complete a pass, finding David Lee open over the middle for a 12 yard gain, advancing the chains to our 44 yard line. After a loss of two yard by Robinson and an incomplete pass, it looked like another doomed drive for FIU, until Robinson kept the wheels moving with a 16 yard reception and a first down at our 31 yard line. A quick pass to Cole Phillips for two yards was followed with a 19 yard strike to Jermaine West, giving FIU a first down at our 10 yard line. Robinson took the ball on first down, rushing up the middle for a gain of 9 yards, setting up second down from our one yard line. Robinson would then finish the job, punching it in from one yard out, giving FIU a 7-3 lead with 7:16 left in the second quarter.

Hayden returned the following kickoff 19 yards to set our offense up at our 19 yard line. It was back into the saddle for Stephens, as he connected with Jefferson on a post route for a 17 yard gain and a first down at our 36. Pulling out everything under the sun now to find a spark for our offense, a pass to a wide open Antoine Banks over the middle was unfortunately broken up by the middle linebacker, prematurely ending what would have been a large gain. Rolling with the play action fake, we kept the chains moving as Carl Barnes was able to break loose heading toward the left sideline, jumping up and coming down with the high pass just before his momentum carried him out of bounds for a 20 yard gain and a first down at the FIU 44 yard line. Another pass over the middle to Banks kept up chugging right along for a gain of 21 yards down to the FIU 23 yard line. Unfortunately all that positive momentum came crashing down as Stephens was sacked for a 6 yard loss on the next play, leaving us with second and 16 from the 29 yard line. Proving that all momentum was lost, a perfect pass to a wide open Hayden over the middle was dropped and fell incomplete, leaving third and 16. Trying to get off a pass to Jefferson, Stephens never had a chance as he was hit from behind during the throw, causing the ball to go skipping along the field 10 yards down field. Left facing fourth and 16, the field goal unit came out to try and tack another three points on the board. The 46 yard field goal by Glover was good, cutting FIU’s lead to 7-6 with 5:16 left in the second quarter.

No return on the kickoff left the Golden Panthers starting from their 25 yard line and clinging to a one point lead. Robinson got the drive started with a four yard rush, but that was as far as FIU would make it. Holt was tackled for a one yard loss on the next play, followed by an incomplete pass intended for Ginn, to leave the Golden Panthers punting on fourth and 7. A fair catch by Jefferson on the 49 yard punt gave us possession from our 22 yard line.

Returning to the ground game, we finally found some success rushing the ball, as Oliver took the first down handoff up the middle for a 14 yard gain and a first down at our 36. Keeping it going on the ground, Oliver was able to shake off a tackled attempt by the defensive end, breaking outside the left tackle and racing the outside linebacker for a 10 yard gain to get the first down at the 46. Receiving a pitch to the right, Oliver scampered toward the far sideline, pushed out of bounds by the outside linebacker for a 6 yard gain. Returning the air on second down, the pass intended for Hayden was broken up by the middle linebacker, leaving us facing third and four just inside FIU territory. Third down provided the most heartbreaking play of the game, as Jefferson was able to beat his man down the right sideline, nothing within 10 yards of him and nothing but green grass and the end zone ahead of him. The pass from Stephens appeared on target, but ended up carrying long, landing incomplete in the back of the end zone just out of the reach of Jefferson’s outstretched arms, leaving the punt team coming out on fourth down. The punt sailed 49 yards into the end zone for a touchback, leaving FIU starting from their 20 yard line with 2:45 to go.

The drive started poorly for the Golden Panthers, as Holt was tackled for a loss of one yard, followed by a 5 yard false start penalty to leave FIU facing second and 16. Robinson took the ball on second down, but could only manage two yards, setting up third and 14. The Golden Panthers would do their best, as Holt connected with Davidson for a 12 yard gain, but it wasn’t enough as the punt team came out on fourth and two. A fair catch by Jefferson on the 43 yard punt gave us back the ball at our 29 yard line with two minutes left before half.

The first down pass intended for Hayden was broken up by the middle linebacker, bringing up second down. Roy Smith was able to give us forward progression, hauling in a pass for a gain of 5 yards, leaving third and 5. The third down pass intended for Banks never had a chance, as three defenders broke through the line, hitting Stephens as he went to through, leaving the ball dangerously tossed up in the air, though thankfully no defender could come down with it. A fair catch on the 48 yard punt gave FIU back the ball at their 18 yard line. After an incomplete pass intended for Ginn, Holt was able to find Davidson down the right sideline for a 22 yard gain, moving the chains to the FIU 41 yard line with one minute left. We finally caught our big break, as Ginn hauled in a pass from Holt at our 40 yard line, but was stripped of the ball, the fumble recovered by free safety Clay Weiss, giving us back possession at our 40 yard line with 27 seconds to play.

We caught a big break as Jefferson brought down a pass from Stephens for an 11 yard gain, then received a gift courtesy of a facemask penalty on cornerback John Everett, giving us a first down at the FIU 34 yard line. Going through the air on first down, we took a shot deep at the end zone, but the cornerback was able to make a play, breaking up the pass intended for Hayden. Trying our luck over the middle, the pass intended for Banks overshot the target, sailing incomplete and brought up third and long as the clock stopped at 12 seconds. Just trying to get a first down now, the pass intended for Jefferson never had a chance as it was swatted down at the line of scrimmage, bringing up fourth and long with 5 seconds to go. Glover nailed the 51 yard field goal right down the middle, giving us a 9-7 lead with two seconds left on the clock. No return on the following kickoff brought the second quarter to an end, as we headed into halftime hanging onto a two point lead.

Starting the third quarter, we got a huge boost right off the bat as Jefferson returned the kickoff 32 yards out to our 31 yard line. Again trying our luck on the ground, Oliver was able to escape outside for a 6 yard gain, leaving second and four. There would be no such success on the next play, as Oliver was hit in the backfield for a loss of one yard, bringing up third and 5. Smith kept us breathing as he hauled in a pass along the right hash, picking up a gain of 9 yards and the first down at the 44 yard line. Firing off a pass to avoid a sack, the throw from Stephens intended for Jefferson fell incomplete, bringing up second down. Jefferson was able to haul in the next pass thrown to him, but it only gained 5 yards when all was said and done, leaving us facing third and 5 at our 49 yard line. It was Randy Newman’s turn to play savior, cutting over the middle from the tight end position, diving for the wayward pass and coming down with it for a 12 yard gain and a first down at the FIU 39 yard line. The next play turned out to be the biggest of the game, as Stephens chucked up a prayer toward the end zone, Hayden reaching over the head of the cornerback and grabbing the ball just before he fell down out the back of the end zone for the 39 yard touchdown pass, finally ending our streak of futility after 12 straight quarters without a touchdown, dating back to halftime of the UAB game. The extra point by Glover gave us a 16-7 lead with 5:59 left in the quarter.

No return on the kickoff left FIU starting from their 25 yard line and now staring at a 9 point deficit. Robinson was unable to find anything going on first down, tackled for a loss of one yard, before our defense decided to assist, getting flagged for pass interference to give the Golden Panthers 15 free yards and a first down at their 39 yard line. Our defense was able to recover, tackling Robinson for a loss of three yards before forcing a pair of incomplete passes, bringing out the FIU punt team on fourth and 13. A fair catch by Jefferson on the 44 yard punt left us starting from our 19 yard line.

Turning back to the run game to start our next drive, Oliver was quickly brought down by the defensive end for a one yard loss. Going back into the air on second down, it would only get worse as Stephens was sacked for a four yard loss, leaving us with third and 15. Forced to scramble to avoid the blitz, the third down pass down the left sideline intended for Smith was off target, nearly intercepted by the cornerback but thankfully dropped incomplete, bringing out the punt team. A three yard return on the 44 yard punt gave FIU possession at their 43 yard line. This time the Golden Panthers got immediate momentum, as Robinson rushed for 6 yards on first down, before Holt connected with Davidson for an 11 yard gain and a first down at our 39 yard line. We would get lucky as the momentum would stop there, Robinson getting tackled for a loss of three yards and a pair of incomplete passes leaving their drive stalled out with fourth and 13 from our 43 yard line. The punt sailed into the end zone for a touchback, starting our drive again from the 20.

Coming out in play action, the defense continued to bruise up Stephens, as he was almost instantly sacked for a three yard loss, immediately putting us in a hole. A second down pass to Smith went for no gain, unable to shake off the outside linebacker, leaving us looking at third and 13. The defense continued their domination on third down, as Stephens tried to take off and scramble, only to immediately met by a spying linebacker, sacked for a two yard loss and leaving us punting on fourth and 15. A fair catch on the 46 yard punt left FIU beginning their next drive from their 38 yard line. It was the Robinson show to start the drive, as three straight rushes for gains of 6, three and four yards gave FIU a quick first down at our 49 yard line. Robinson kept the ball moving on first down with a 7 yard rush, followed by an 8 yard pass from Holt to Lee to advance the ball down to our 35 yard line with a new set of downs. After Robinson was tackled for a two yard loss, Holt was able to make up those yards with a four yard scramble to leave third and 8 from the 33, as the third quarter came to a conclusion, our lead holding at 16-7.

Opening up the fourth quarter, it appeared the drive was going to end at our 33 yard line after an incomplete pass on third down, but the Golden Panthers were not going to be denied, as they went for it on fourth down, Holt completing the pass to Ginn for 12 yards and new life at our 21 yard line. Robinson tried to take the ball on the ground, but was met by our defense for a loss of two yards to leave second and 12. Holt would then take over, throwing a pass to the corner of the end zone to Davidson, completed for the 23 yard touchdown to cut our lead to 16-14 with 8:21 to play.

A 19 yard kickoff return by Hayden got us started from our 24 yard line, as we had to find a way to pad our lead. Going on the ground on first down, Oliver was able to break up the middle for a 6 yard gain, followed by an 8 yard gain to get the first down at our 37 yard line. Riding that horse for as long as it would trot, Oliver was able to get 6 yards on the first down carry. The good news would however quickly be killed with bad news, as the training staff had to go out and help Oliver off the field after the play, diagnosed with elbow bursitis, benching him for the remainder of the game. Taking over the rushing duties, Smith took the second down handoff for a 9 yard gain and a first down at the FIU 48 yard line. Keeping the ball pounding on the ground, Smith broke free for a 10 yard gain and a first down at the 38 yard line. Going outside the left tackle, Smith was unable to find an opening, stretched all the way to the sideline and ultimately tackled for no gain. Going back to the air on second down, Stephens was able to find Eric Silva for a 10 yard gain to leave third and one. Putting our first down hopes in the hands of Smith, it was not meant to be as he was quickly met in the backfield and pushed back for a four yard loss, leaving fourth and 5 from the 33 yard line. Attempting a 50 yard field goal, the kick from Glover was pushed to the left by the wind, ending up wide left and no good, giving FIU the ball back at their 33 yard line with 3:56 to play.

Holt started the drive with a three yard rush, followed by a pass to Davidson for 5 yards, leaving FIU with third and two. Jason Jackson was able to pick up the first down with a three yard carry, moving the chains to the 45 yard line. A two yard rush by Holt was undone with a loss of three yards by Robinson, leaving the Golden Panthers staring down the barrel of third and 11. FIU was unable to convert the third down, as Holt’s pass to Robinson went for only a gain of two yards, leaving fourth and 9. The 52 yard punt spelled all sorts of bad news for us, as we were pinned deep at our two yard line, leaving us in horrible position. Trying to find some breathing room, the first down carry by Smith ended up in a loss of one yard, pushing us back to our one yard line. With nowhere to go, we were forced into the air. An instant blitz forced Stephens to run for his life, picking up three yards on the scramble to get us out to the four yard line. What yards we were able to gain were quickly erased, as the both outside linebackers blitzed in around the guards completely untouched before Stephens could even try and make a move with the ball, sacking him one yard in the end zone for the safety, knotting the game up at 16-all with 1:55 left in the game.

A 24 yard return on the safety punt gave FIU the ball back at their 42 yard line with 1:44 left to find the go-ahead score. That go-ahead score would never come. After an incomplete pass on first down, cornerback Chad Wheeler killed Florida International’s drive with an interception, giving us the ball back at the FIU 47 yard line and 1:35 left to work. Hayden was able to haul in the first down pass from Stephens, but was instantly hit by both the cornerback and middle linebacker, knocking the ball loose and incomplete. Throwing up a pass intended for Smith, the ball was nearly intercepted by the cornerback, batted incomplete to bring up third and long. Throwing a quick pass to Mullins to avoid a sack, the completion went for only two yards, leaving us with fourth and 8 from the 45 yard line. The punt sailed into the end zone for a touchback, giving FIU the ball at their 20 yard line.

Taking over from the 20 with 1:12 to play, the first down pass from Holt to Davidson was dropped, getting the FIU drive off to a poor start. After another incomplete pass, this time intended for Lee, our defense helped out a little, getting flagged for a spot of the foul facemask, giving FIU 5 yards and a new set of downs at their 25. After another incomplete pass, Holt found West for an 8 yard gain, leaving third and two from the 32 yard line with 49 seconds remaining. The third down pass from Holt intended for Lee sailed long and incomplete. An 8 yard return by Jefferson on the 49 yard punt gave us the bal back at our 27 yard line with 38 seconds to play.

Throwing deep, the first down pass intended for Hayden was nearly intercepted by the cornerback, bringing up second down. Jefferson got us moving with a 14 yard reception along the left sideline to the 41 yard line, getting out of bounds to stop the clock with 30 seconds to go. Mullins was able to haul in the first down pass from Stephens, but was quickly tackled for a gain of only 7 yards, our first timeout stopping the clock with 26 seconds to go. Jefferson kept us moving again, hauling in an 11 yard pass from Stephens to give us a first down at the 41 yard line, our second timeout stopping play with 22 seconds to go. Left with only one timeout and 22 seconds, we had to take some shots closer to the end zone. The first down pass intended for Banks sailed long and out of bounds, bringing up second down with 18 seconds to go. The defense delivered a deathblow to our hopes, as the outside linebacker blitzed through untouched, sacking Stephens for a 7 yard loss to bring up third and 17 at the 48 yard line. Our third and final timeout stopped the clock with 14 seconds to go. We caught a huge break as Hayden was able to slip past his man down the left sideline, hauling in the deep pass for a 44 yard gain to give us first and goal at the three yard line. Unfortunately it proved to be a double edged sword, as the final 7 seconds ran off the clock before we could get lined up for a field goal, bringing regulation to an end in a 16-16 tie.

Opening up the first overtime, Florida International won the coin toss and elected to go on defense first, putting us immediately to the test. Taking the first down handoff up the middle, Smith was able to pick up 7 yards, leaving second and three at the 18 yard line. Trying to go around the left tackle on second down, Smith never had a chance, met in the backfield for a 5 yard loss to bring up third and 8. Stephens dropped back to pass on third down, the outside linebacker blitzing through untouched, hitting Stephens as he went to pass, knocking the ball loose. defensive end Khalid Mason broke off his blocker and dove for the ball, scooping up the fumble for Florida International and sticking the knife in the wound.

Our defense wasn’t about to just give up however, as they were able to break through and sack Holt for a 7 yard loss on first down, putting the Golden Panthers into a hole of their own. That hole lasted all of one play, as Holt connected with Robinson on second down for 16 yards, leaving third and one at the 16 yard line. Our defense at least refused to back down though, tackling Robinson for no gain to bring up fourth and one. We would catch an even bigger break, as the 33 yard field goal by Jordan Vaughn was no good, sailing wide right, taking us into a second overtime still tied at 16.

Opening up the second overtime, Smith got us started with a 9 yard rush to bring up second and one at the 16. Smith was able to get the first down this time around, rushing up the middle for three yards to get us to the 13 yard line. Staring off the new set of downs, Smith picked up three yards on the ground, followed by a one yard rush to leave third and 6 at the 9 yard line. The third down pass intended for Jefferson in the back of the end zone was batted incomplete, bringing out the field goal unit on fourth down. As if fate herself were twisting the knife in our wound, Glover’s 26 yard field goal attempt bounced off the right upright and fell no good, giving the ball back to FIU with the score still knotted up.

It was another rough start for the Golden Panthers, as Robinson was tackled for a loss of three yards, before Lee was able to pick up four yards on the ground to leave third and 9 at the 24 yard line. Our defense all but pretty much sealed our fate, when they were flagged for pass interference on third down, giving FIU 15 free yards and first and goal at the 9 yard line. After an incomplete pass on first down, Robinson was able to pick up 5 yards up the middle, leaving third and goal at the 6 yard line. Another rush by Robinson on third down went for a gain of four yards, advancing the ball to the two yard for fourth and goal. Vaughn would complete the job this time, kicking the 18 yard field goal through the middle of the uprights, giving Florida International the 19-16 double overtime victory.

With our second straight loss, we drop to 5-2 on the year, 2-1 in C-USA action. With the win, Florida International wins their second game in a row, improving to 2-4 for the season, 2-1 in C-USA play. Up next, it's back onto the road as we make a trip to UTSA, who enter the game 2-4 on the year, 1-3 in C-USA action. The Roadrunners started their year with a 42-10 win at Memphis, before going into a three game slide, losing 38-35 at Louisville, 45-21 to Marshall and 48-14 at Southern Miss. They finally got back in the win column with a 31-21 win over MTSU before losing 42-28 at UTEP coming into our game.

Final Score
:FIU: 19, :Tulsa: 16 – 2OT

Stat(s) of the Game:
- Tulsa Offense – Stephens was off and on. Some good passes, other horrible passes. Ended 21-36 for 267 yards, threw for one touchdown (our first since halftime of the UAB game, spanning 12 quarters without one) but also threw one interception and got sacked seven times. Oliver led the way on the ground with 83 yards on 20 attempts. Receiving, we set a new team record with nine different receivers catching at least one pass, Hayden by far was king of the hill with 123 yards and one touchdown on six receptions. Seven receivers caught passes for double digit yards.

- Tulsa Defense – Actually did rather good. For the most part held FIU in check and forced two turnovers. The offense just didn't do enough to take advantage of the defense's performance.

- Tulsa Kicking – Glover had a so-so game. Ended up 3 for 5 in field goals, connecting from 31, 46 and 51 yards out. Also went 1-1 in PATs. But missed on kicks of 26 and 50 yards, the 26 yard kick potentially being enough to force a third overtime.

Scoring Summary

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

:FIU:
0
7
0
9
3
19

:Tulsa:
3
6
7
0
0
16

Time
Team
Result
Play
Score

First Quarter

1:09
:Tulsa:
Field Goal
D. Glover, 31 yard field goal
:Tulsa: 3-0

Second Quarter

7:16
:FIU:
Touchdown
J. Robinson, 1 yard run (J. Vaughn kick)
:FIU: 7-3

5:19
:Tulsa:
Field Goal
D. Glover, 46 yard field goal
:FIU: 7-6

0:02
:Tulsa:
Field Goal
D. Glover, 51 yard field goal
:Tulsa: 9-7

Third Quarter

5:59
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
E. Hayden, 39 yard pass from B.Stephens (D. Glover kick)
:Tulsa: 16-7

Fourth Quarter

8:21
:FIU:
Touchdown
B. Davidson, 22 yard pass from K. Holt (J. Vaughn kick)
:Tulsa: 16-14

1:55
:FIU:
Safety
Tulsa Safety
TIED 16-16

Overtime

---
---
---
---
---

Second Overtime

---
:FIU:
Field Goal
J. Vaughn, 18 yard field goal
:FIU: 19-16

Game Stats

Florida International
Stat
Tulsa

19
Score
16

12
First Downs
20

244
Total Offense
333

33 - 56 - 1
Rushes - Yards - TD
39 - 66 - 0

15 - 37 - 1
Comp - Att - TD
21 - 36 - 1

188
Passing Yards
267

1
Times Sacked
7

3 - 15 (20%)
3rd Down Conversion
5 - 16 (31%)

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

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

7 - 2 - 1 (42%)
Red Zone - TD - FG
5 - 0 - 1 (20%)

2
Turnovers
2

1
Fumbles Lost
1

1
Intercepted
1

4
Punt Return Yards
8

24
Kick Return Yards
70

272
Total Yards
411

9 – 46.8
Punts - Average
6 - 41.0

4 - 40
Penalties
5 - 45

16:20
Time of Possession
19:40

Tulsa Contract Goals Update

Fail Impact
Goal
Progress
Pass Impact

:6redarrow:
21+ points per game in each season
21
:6greenarrow:

Win 10 games in one season
5
:6greenarrow:

3300+ passing yards each season
:red-x:
:5greenarrow:

:6redarrow:
65% pass completions over the entire contract
60%
:5greenarrow:

:5redarrow:
Win 6 games in one season
:check:
:5greenarrow:

:6redarrow:
15+ rushing TD in each season
11
:5greenarrow:

:4redarrow:
3200+ total offensive yards each season
2234
:3greenarrow:

:5redarrow:
3400+ total offensive yards each season
2234
:2greenarrow:

Penalty

:2redarrow:
Lost to a lower ranked team

Job Security Status

45%

SmoothPancakes

04-05-2013, 09:20 PM

Time for another look around the nation. Starting in the Top 25, #1 Notre Dame needed 17 second-half points to pull away from Baylor, 24-10. The game of the week went to #2 Nebraska, who easily beat #4 Michigan State 24-7. Despite trailing at halftime, #5 Georgia came back and held on for a 28-13 win over #11 Alabama. #6 USC had their way with Arizona State, slapping the Sun Devils around 66-21. #7 Mississippi State pulled a win out of their ass courtesy of a touchdown with 50 seconds left to beat Tennessee 27-24. #9 Arkansas State got a lot of luck to keep climbing the rankings with a 28-21 win over Louisiana-Monroe.

#10 Oklahoma won the Red River Shootout in a 41-35 shootout over #23 Texas. #12 Iowa pulled away late to beat Purdue 34-24. West Virginia shocked the nation as they went on the road and handed #14 Kansas State its first loss of the year in dominating fashion, 45-24. #15 Miami (FL) scored a rivalry upset as they knocked off #8 Florida State 37-28. #18 Arizona held on for a 20-17 win over NC State. #19 Oregon escaped Colorado 31-17. Ohio State held on to knock off #20 Wisconsin 19-14. #21 Virginia edged out #22 Georgia Tech 38-35. And #24 BYU needed a late field goal to edge out Troy 17-16 and stay unbeaten.

For our readers, souljahbill, Southern Miss remains 6-0 (2-0 C-USA) with a bye week. Jaymo, Arizona State drops to 2-5 (1-3 Pac-12), after getting abused 66-21 by #6 USC. Mors, West Virginia improves to 4-3 (3-2 Big 12) by shocking previously unbeaten #14 Kansas State 45-24. Jeff, Ohio State improves to 6-1 (4-0 Big Ten), picking up a 19-14 win over #20 Wisconsin. Other teams of interest, #9 Arkansas State improves to 6-0 (1-0 Sun Belt) with a 28-21 win over Louisiana-Monroe.

In C-USA action, Florida International beats Tulsa 19-16 in double overtime. UTEP whoops UTSA 42-28. Louisiana Tech beats UAB 45-35. Marshall picks up a win over Florida Atlantic 34-17. Rice edges out North Texas 23-17. And Wake Forest dominates MTSU 59-14.

With those results, looking at the current standings, in the East Division, Southern Miss (2-0) sits on top, followed by Marshall (3-1) and Florida International (2-1). Beyond that sit MTSU (1-2), followed by UAB (1-3) and Florida Atlantic (0-3). In the West Division, UTEP (3-0) takes over the top spot, followed by Tulsa and Rice (both 2-1). Just behind us is Louisiana Tech (1-1), followed by UTSA and North Texas (both at 1-3).

Looking at undefeated teams left, with #14 Kansas State losing this week, that drops our number of undefeated teams to 7. #1 Notre Dame (7-0), #3 Virginia Tech (6-0), #7 Mississippi State (7-0), #9 Arkansas State (6-0), #13 Oklahoma State (5-0), #24 BYU (6-0) and Southern Miss (6-0) all remain with an unblemished record this season.

Turning to a more sadistic watch, who is still winless. There remains 3 teams still looking for their first win: Memphis (0-7), New Mexico (0-5) and Tulane (0-6).

Teams getting their first win this week were: Louisiana-Lafayette (30-14 over 1-5 UMass).

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Notre Dame (36 first place votes) remains #1. Virginia Tech (23 votes) moves up one to #2, Nebraska falls one to #3, Mississippi State (1 vote) jumps three to #4 and Georgia remains #5. Arkansas State (1 vote) climbs three to #6, USC falls one to #7, Oklahoma leaps five to #8, Oklahoma moves up one to #9 and Michigan State drops six to #10. Iowa moves up one to #11, Miami climbs three to #12, Florida State falls five to #13, LSU just two to #14 and Alabama drops four to #15. Clemson climbs one to #16, Arizona and Oregon both climb one to #17 and #18, Virginia jumps two to #19 and BYU moves up four to #20. Southern Miss enters the poll at #21, Ohio State enters the poll at #22, Michigan climbs two to #23, Kansas State falls ten to #24 and Georgia Tech drops three to #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Wisconsin (from #20) and Texas (from #23). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Pittsburgh (129 votes) is #26, followed by Wisconsin (124), Texas (97), TCU (94) and Northwestern (76) to round out the Top 30.

Looking at the new Top 25 Media Poll of the season, Notre Dame (44 first place votes) remains #1. Virginia Tech (21 votes) remains #2, Nebraska remains #3, Mississippi State jumps five spots to #4, and Arkansas State climbs three to #5. USC drops one to #6, Georgia falls one to #7, Oklahoma State jumps three to #8, Oklahoma climbs one to #9 and Virginia drops three to #10. Michigan State falls seven to #11, Iowa climbs one to #12, Miami jumps four to #13, LSU moves up two to #14 and Florida State drops three to #15. Clemson climbs two to #16, Arizona jumps three to #17, Alabama drops three to #18, BYU climbs five to #19 and Oregon moves up one to #20. Southern Miss enters the poll at #21, Michigan climbs three to #22, Ohio State enters the poll at #23, Georgia Tech drops two to #24 and Kansas State tumbles eleven spots to #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Wisconsin (from #20) and Texas (from #23). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Pittsburgh (247 votes) is #26, followed by Wisconsin (230), Northwestern (201), Texas (188) and TCU (160) to round out the Top 30. Other teams also getting votes this week include Maryland (131), Stanford (107) Auburn (100) and Texas Tech (67).

Looking at the first BCS standings of the year: #1 Notre Dame (1.000), #2 Virginia Tech (0.995), #3 Nebraska (0.989), #4 Mississippi State (0.984), #5 Georgia (0.973), #6 USC (0.970), #7 Arkansas State (0.968), #8 Oklahoma State (0.956), #9 Michigan State (0.947) and #10 Oklahoma (0.946).

Looking at the new Heisman watch, Georgia HB Joel Nolan retakes #1 (LW: #2), followed by Virginia Tech HB Jay Smith at #2 (LW: #5), Notre Dame HB Larue Barnes at #3 (LW: NR), LSU HB Steven McMillan at #4 (LW: #3), and Georgia Tech HB Brandon Terrell re-entering the list at #5 (LW: NR) to give us an all HB Heisman Watch list. Falling off the Heisman Watch list this week were Notre Dame QB Jordan Cooke (LW: #1) and Arizona QB E.J. McCoy (LW: #4).

jaymo76

04-06-2013, 08:15 PM

No comment on the Oklahoma State game. :( :smh: :fp: :fp: :fp:

Wow! I hope you had some Vaseline... that looks like it hurt a lot :D I don't think I have had a loss that bad and I suspect if I did I would need a new TV and a new controller as the two would make contact for sure.

SmoothPancakes

04-06-2013, 08:53 PM

Wow! I hope you had some Vaseline... that looks like it hurt a lot :D I don't think I have had a loss that bad and I suspect if I did I would need a new TV and a new controller as the two would make contact for sure.

There were a couple times I came close to throwing it. I think by halftime, I was sort of desensitized to the abuse I was receiving and just trying to get it over with. The first half I was pissed off at the way the game was going, but second half I was calmer, just trying to end it, which ended up taking even longer.

The FIU game was probably more aggravating because we got down in their territory a bunch of times, but couldn't do a damn thing once we got close. Then to give up the safety right at the end that tied the game up, then to fumble the ball in the first OT and then miss the field goal in the second OT, ugh... :fp:

Thankfully UTSA sucks absolute ass so my next game will hopefully end better, but with as badly as the offense has been sucking (12 straight quarters without a touchdown until the third quarter of the FIU game), UTSA might not even be an easy game now.

SmoothPancakes

04-07-2013, 08:27 PM

Tulsa Announces Move to Big East

By Staff Reports on Oct 25, 2017, at 10:42 AM

TULSA – It's official: Tulsa is a member of the Big East Conference. The Tulsa Golden Hurricane will join the current Big East Conference in all sports in 2018, commissioner Michael Aresco announced today.

The announcement came during a press conference Tuesday morning with new Tulsa athletic director Derrick Gragg and Tulsa President Steadman Upham. There has been speculation about the Tulsa-Big East possibility since December.

Tulsa’s Big East affiliation becomes official July 1, 2018 and is for all sports. “That was one of the things that we felt very strongly about,” Upham said. “If we change conferences, we want to do it as a university.”

Beginning with the 2018-19 academic year, the conference will consist of the University of Central Florida, the University of Cincinnati, the University of Connecticut, East Carolina University, the University of Houston, the University of Memphis, Southern Methodist University, the University of South Florida, Temple University, Tulane University, the University of Tulsa and the U.S. Naval Academy.

Tulsa becomes the seventh member of Conference USA to accept a Big East membership invitation. The others are Memphis, SMU, Houston, Tulane, East Carolina and Central Florida.

The new conference affiliation is the sixth home to University of Tulsa athletic teams. Tulsa’s first league membership came in the Oklahoma Collegiate Conference from 1914-28, the Big Four Conference (1929-32), the Missouri Valley Conference (1935-96, football affiliation ended after 1985 season), the Western Athletic Conference (1996-2004) and Conference USA (2005-present). They won the C-USA Championship in 2005, 2014, 2015 and 2016, and claimed the West Division title 7 times.

Tulsa’s switch to the Big East is expected to result in a substantial revenue spike for the athletic department.

In Conference USA, it is expected that TU’s 2017-18 media-rights payment will amount to about $1.5 million.

In the Big East, which recently concluded negotiations with CBS and ESPN on new television contracts, the annual media-rights revenue should be in the $3.5 million-$4.5 million range annually, a source told the Tulsa World in January.

Tulsa competes in 18 sports. The school fields men’s teams in basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer, tennis, indoor and outdoor track & field. Women’s teams compete in basketball, cross country, golf, rowing, soccer, softball, tennis, indoor and outdoor track & field, and volleyball.

Tulsa’s enrollment of 3,160 undergraduate students is the smallest in the FBS Division of the NCAA.

Meanwhile, Conference USA has already replaced Tulsa by luring Western Kentucky from the Sun Belt.

SmoothPancakes

04-08-2013, 02:49 PM

Tulsa Adds Home-and-Home Series with Arizona State, Boise State and Vanderbilt

By Staff Reports on Oct 26, 2017, at 2:25 PM

TULSA — One day after announcing that the future of Tulsa sports would reside in the new Big East at the beginning of the 2018-19 academic year, it was announced that Tulsa had agreed to new home-and-home series on the gridiron with Arizona State, Boise State and Vanderbilt.

With the new additions to the future schedule, Arizona State will visit Tulsa in 2018, with the Golden Hurricane visiting Sun Devil Stadium in 2019. Both Boise State and Vanderbilt will come to Skelly Field at H. A. Chapman Stadium in the 2019 season, with Tulsa traveling to Boise and Nashville in 2020.

The addition of Arizona State rounds out the 2018 schedule, with road trips to Texas State and UNLV, to go along with home contests against Arizona State and the Oklahoma Sooners. The Boise State and Vanderbilt additions complete the 2019 schedule along with road contests at Arizona State and Oklahoma, while Tulsa will host Boise State and Vanderbilt.

The new series with Arizona State, Boise State and Vanderbilt extends the list of highly competitive non-conference opponents on the future schedules of the Golden Hurricanes that have seen Tulsa in recent years play the likes of Fresno State, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Utah.

With the addition of Arizona State, Boise State and Vanderbilt, the Golden Hurricanes have filled out their 2018 and 2019 non-conference schedules and set the ground work for the 2020 season. Listed below are the upcoming and future non-conference schedules for Tulsa:

2018
Oklahoma
at Texas State
at UNLV
Arizona State

2019
at Oklahoma
at Arizona State
Boise State
Vanderbilt

2020
at Boise State
at Vanderbilt

jaymo76

04-08-2013, 08:07 PM

Nice! Looking forward to the game updates. PS... nice touch with the newspaper-like articles.

SmoothPancakes

04-09-2013, 02:33 AM

Nice! Looking forward to the game updates. PS... nice touch with the newspaper-like articles.

Thanks. Yeah, I sort of flirted with newspaper-like articles when mentioning updated schedules in the past, so wanted to keep that flow. And I'm looking forward to those Arizona State games, scheduled at your requests. :) I made certain to get them schedule during the next two seasons while I'm still at Tulsa. I would like to play Boise State and Vanderbilt more than once, but unless I sign a contract extension with Tulsa and stay around even longer than I've already been there, I'll be moving on at the end of the current contract, starting at my team on NCAA '14 like I did with Tulsa and '13.

And there should hopefully be some new game updates posted sometime late Tuesday or else Wednesday. I've been plowing the hell out of some stuff on my blu-ray player most of the days Sunday and Monday, so never got a chance to get any games in, opting instead to make my future posts regarding schedules and Tulsa's transition to the Big East.

SmoothPancakes

04-10-2013, 02:46 AM

Game Eight

:Tulsa: :@: :UTSA:

Game Notes

--- Heading onto the road on a painful two game losing streak, we would try to get the monkey off our back, and get our offense back to shape, with a trip to UTSA. The couple games played hell with our stats and rankings, as our offense tumbled clear down into the 100s in all categories this week, ranked #116 for total offense, #102 for rush offense and #106 for pass offense, with our 21.5 points per game good enough for only #106 in the nation. Those rankings resulted in UTSA entering the game with a statistically superior offense and a higher ranking nationally. Our saving grace was that despite the Oklahoma State game, our defense was still highly ranked, giving us an edge over the Roadrunners. Their rush defense was the highest ranked category, coming in 45th in the nation. However, our offense had been inept for multiple games now, we were on a losing streak, and we were entering the Alamo Dome, UTSA’s home stadium. Anything could happen. UTSA won the coin toss and elected to kick.

No return on the opening kickoff got us started at our 25 yard line to begin the game. Will Oliver took the handoff on first down, managing to pick up three yards on the carry. Keeping it on the ground on second down, Oliver was met in the backfield by the middle linebacker, tackled for a loss of one yard to bring up third and 8. Avoiding a sack, Brad Stephens was able to get the ball off to Randy Newman, but Newman was quickly hit and brought down for a gain of only four yards, leaving our punt team coming out on fourth and four. A fair catch on the 43 yard punt gave UTSA the ball at their 25 yard line. Brandon Gilliam got the drive started with a 9 yard rush, followed by a two yard gain for the first down. That would be all the Roadrunners would get however, as cornerback Chad Wheeler intercepted a deep bomb first down pass from Adam Moss, giving us back possession at our 37 yard line.

It was clear our woes were no behind us yet, as Stephens was quickly sacked by the defensive end for an 8 yard loss, bringing up second and 18. Antoine Banks got us finally moving in the right direction, as he was able to get behind the linebackers and haul in a pass for a gain of 24 yards, giving us a first down at the UTSA 46 yard line. The defensive end nearly sacked Stephens for a second time this drive, but Stephens was hit as he was throwing the ball, resulting in an incomplete pass in the dirt a couple yards away. Trying to find Conner Jefferson along the left sideline, the pass from Stephens was broken up by the cornerback, batted into the chest of the safety and nearly intercepted, bringing up third and long. Just getting the ball off before being hit by the defensive end, Stephens was able to complete the pass to Carl Barnes for a 9 yard gain, leaving fourth and one at the 37 yard line. Instead of trying the 54 yard field goal, Coach Ludwig, for whatever reason, called out the punt team, the punt sailing into the end zone for a touchback.

Starting on the 20 yard line, the drive got off to a rough start for UTSA, as Moss was sacked for a three yard loss on first down. Gilliam was able to make up those yards with a three yard rush, before an incomplete pass intended forGuy McCauley brought the drive to an end. A fair catch by Jefferson on the 42 yard punt gave us the ball back at our 37 yard line. Marcus Mullins was able to get his hands on the first down pass from Stephens, but the middle linebacker made a quick hit on Mullins to break the play up and cause the ball to fall incomplete. The defense continued to make Stephens their bitch, the defensive tackle breaking through and sacking him for an 11 yard loss, bringing up third and 21. Stephens was slow to get up after the play, helped off the field by the trainers. He was diagnosed with a concussion, knocking him out for the rest of the game, putting second stringer and sophomore Erik Wallace in the game at QB. Coming out throwing deep in his first snap under center, the deep bomb down the left sideline intended for Eric Hayden was broken up by the cornerback, leaving the punt team coming out on fourth down. A 5 yard return on the 52 yard punt got UTSA started at their 26 yard line for their next drive.

Moss started the drive for the Roadrunners with a four yard rush, before completing a dump pass to Shannon Sullivan for only a two yard gain, bringing up third and four. The third down pass from Moss was off-target and batted incomplete by the safety, leaving the Roadrunners punting the ball right back. A fair catch by Jefferson on the 42 yard boot found us starting from our 25 yard line for our next drive. With the passing game essentially beheaded, encased in concrete, wrapped in chains and thrown into the ocean, it was back to the running game to start this drive. Oliver was able to shake ‘n bake his way to a 6 yard gain, followed by a 7 yard rush to get the first down at the 39 yard line. Another rush by Oliver gained four yards, followed by a 6 yard dash to get another first down on the ground at our 49 yard line. Roy Smith kept the action going on the ground with a 5 yard rush, with Oliver following up with a 7 yard gain to get yet another first down at the UTSA 38. The Roadrunners finally managed to slow down our run game, as Oliver was tackled on the next play by the defensive tackle for a loss of one yard, bringing up second and 11. Coming out in play action, the pass intended for Smith was broken up by the safety, leaving third down and 11 from the 39. It wouldn’t get any better, as the pass intended for Hayden was nearly intercepted by the middle linebacker, who wasn’t able to hang on as he fell backwards to the ground after jumping to grab the ball. The ensuing punt sailed 48 yards and into the end zone for a touchback.

Taking over at the 20 yard line, UTSA got some help from our defense, who was flagged for a 12 yard spot of the foul penalty, giving the Roadrunners a new set of downs at their 32 yard line. The defense at least managed to get some revenge on the next play, sacking Moss for a four yard loss. The defense got an even bigger measure of revenge, sacking Moss again, this time for a loss of 11 yards, leaving UTSA facing third and 25 from their 17 yard line. The third down desperation heave by Moss sailed out of bounds and incomplete, bringing out the punt team. Jefferson called for a fair catch on the 41 yard punt, giving our offense the ball on our 41 yard line with three seconds left on the clock. The UTSA defense got the last laugh of the quarter, tackling Oliver for a loss of one yard, as the first quarter came to an end, still scoreless.

Starting the second quarter, Bobby Smith got us moving as he hauled in a pass from Wallace for an 8 yard gain to leave third and three. Trying our luck on the ground worked out for a change, as Oliver rumbled ahead for 10 yards and the first down at the UTSA 41 yard line. Oliver made the first big play of the day, getting a huge hole to run through, juking away from one tackler, and then breaking out of a second tackle attempt on his way to a 31 yard rush, finally brought down from behind at the UTSA 11 yard line. Smith finally got us on the board, driving straight up the middle for the 11 yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead with 7:48 left in the second quarter.

A 19 yard kickoff return got the Roadrunners started at their 21 yard line for their next drive, looking for an answer. They wouldn’t find that answer as three straight incomplete passes, two intended for Steve Bright and one intended for Sullivan brought the drive to a quick conclusion. A fair catch by Jefferson on the 44 yard punt got us the ball back at our 35 yard line and looking to add to the score. Oliver initially had a hole to run through, but was slow getting there, instead brought down by the middle linebacker for a gain of only three yards. Going into the air on second down, Wallace was able to connect with Hayden for a 12 yard gain, giving us a first down at midfield to keep the drive moving. Taking our chances through the air again, Jefferson was able to pull in the pass from Wallace just before the cornerback could make a move on the ball, good for a gain of 15 yards and another first down at the UTSA 35 yard line. Finally finding success through the air, Wallace just beat the pass rush and got a pass off to Banks for a 28 yard gain, setting up first and goal from the 7 yard line. Oliver took the ball on first down, carrying it for 6 yards down to the one yard line. We unfortunately took another hit, as Oliver didn’t get right up after the play, After being helped to the sidelines, it was determined he was suffering from back spasms, leaving him sidelined for a little while. With Oliver injured on the bench, Smith would be required to finish off the job again. He would do exactly that, punching it in for the one yard touchdown rush, giving us a 14-0 lead with 5:24 to play before halftime.

No return on the following kickoff left the Roadrunners starting again at their 25 yard line. Two incomplete passes, both intended for Gilliam got this drive off to an equally unproductive start, followed by a pass complete to Bright for only a two yard gain, leaving UTSA once again punting the ball away. A 5 yard return by Jefferson on the 46 yard punt advanced the ball to our 31 yard line for our next offensive drive. Keeping the pistons driving on the ground game, Smith took the first down handoff up the middle for an 11 yard gain, getting our drive off to an immediate success. Going around the left tackle on the next play, Smith was able to pick up four yards, followed by a 6 yard rush around the right tackle by Oliver, stretched all the way to the far sideline as Oliver fought for every yard he could down to the UTSA 47 yard line. Keeping the ball on first down, Wallace was unable to gain any yards, leaving second and long. We nearly had a first down on the next play, as Hayden cut across the field and was able to break wide open, but the pass from Wallace hit Hayden directly in the hands and bounced out, falling to the ground incomplete. Smith was able to keep us moving, coming out of the backfield and hauling in a pass from Wallace for an 11 yard gain and a first down at the UTSA 36. Going back to the ground game, Oliver was able to pick up one yard on the play, but a flag came out on the play, seemingly for a facemask penalty. We instead got a punch to the gut as the flag was for holding, leaving us with first and 20 from the 46 yard line. Forced into the air, Wallace was able to thread the needle between the middle and outside linebackers, completing an 11 yard pass to Jefferson to leave second and 9. The second down pass intended for Jefferson was nearly completed, but got broken up by the cornerback at the last moment to leave third and 9. Hayden came through for us on the third down play, beating the safety the linebacker to the ball for a 15 yard gain and a first down at the 20 yard line. Trying to keep the defense honest, it was back to the ground game on first down, as Oliver took it straight up the middle for a 14 yard gain. It wasn’t meant to be however as a flag came out, hit with a second holding penalty this drive, leaving us with first and 20 from the 30 yard line and only 1:32 left on the clock. Forced to dig ourselves out of another hole, we again had to abandon the run game. Jefferson gave us a huge play, sacrificing his body to make the catch for a 15 yard gain, getting laid out by the safety immediately after. The play left us with only second and 5 at the 15 yard line, able to get back to business with the clock continuing to tick. The second down pass to Newman was completed for a gain of 9 yards, setting up first and goal at the 7 yard line with 1:02 left before halftime. Oliver took the ball up the middle on first down, picking up three yards to the four yard line, our first timeout stopping the clock with 49 seconds. Oliver would need only one more play, fighting his way up the middle before being tackled forward by the linebacker, their momentum carrying Oliver into the end zone for the four yard touchdown rush. The extra point by Derek Glover was no good, blocked by the defense, leaving our lead 20-0 with 47 seconds left before halftime.

A 21 yard kickoff return set UTSA up at their 26 yard line, but it cost them some major time, as only 36 seconds remained after the play. Moss attempted to throw deep to Bright, but the pass was broken up by our safeties, resulting in nothing but wasted time on the play. Our defense did lend a hand, flagged for a 5 yard facemask penalty, giving the Roadrunners a first down at their 31 yard line. UTSA started to now find some success, as Moss connected on a pass to Brock Bennett for 12 yards and a first down at the 43. The first timeout by the Roadrunners stopped the clock with 21 seconds left. After an incomplete pass on first down, our defense struck a deathblow, sacking Moss for an 8 yard loss, leaving UTSA facing third and 18 from their 35 yard line, their second timeout stopping the clock with just 12 seconds to go. Another incomplete pass, intended again for Bennett, brought their drive to an end, as they punted away on fourth and 18 with only 9 seconds to go. An 8 yard return by Jefferson on the 47 yard punt gave us the ball at our 26 yard line, just two ticks left on the clock. Oliver took the handoff on the final play of the half, tackled for no gain by both the outside and middle linebackers, taking us into halftime with a 20-0 lead.

Opening up the third quarter, the kickoff sailed long and into the end zone for a touchback, starting UTSA at their 25 yard line to begin the second half. It was a very poor start for the Roadrunners, as a holding penalty left them facing first and 20 from their 15 yard line. An incomplete pass and a ball dropped by a Gilliam left the Roadrunners facing third and 20. They made a great attempt to keep the drive alive, as Moss was able to finally connect with Bennett on third down, but the pass went for a gain of only 18 yards, ultimately bringing out the punt team on fourth and two. A fair catch by Jefferson gave us the ball at our 25 yard line for our first drive of the second half.

Oliver continued to add to his rushing total, as he took the first down handoff between the left tackle and guard for a 9 yard gain. Oliver gained the first down on the next play, spinning off of a tackle attempt and fighting ahead for a 6 yard rush to the 41 yard line. Fighting his way through a pile of bodies, Smith was able to find his way to the 47 yard line for a 6 yard gain. Despite being hit by the defensive tackle and middle linebacker in the backfield on the next play, Oliver’s momentum carried the pile forward for a three yard gain to leave us with third and one. The defense was ready however on third down, stopping Oliver just short of the first down line, bringing up fourth and inches at midfield. Added punishment to the wound, Oliver again failed to get up after the play, suffering from a strained bicep that would again keep him sidelined for a while. The punt on fourth down landed at the 5 yard line and bounced into the end zone for a touchback.

Taking over at the 20 yard line, UTSA continued to have little luck in the starts of their drives, as the first down pass from Moss was batted down at the line of scrimmage. Two more incomplete passes and it was another wasted drive for the Roadrunners. A 10 yard return by Jefferson on the 48 yard punt got our next drive underway at our 41 yard line. Smith was able to shake off a defender on his way to a 6 yard rush, followed by a short battle for a 7 yard gain to get the first down at the UTSA 46 yard line. A first down pitch to the left to Smith resulted in only a two yard gain, leaving second and 8. Keeping the ball himself on second down, Wallace was able to get a couple of key blocks and turn up the field outside the right tackle for a 7 yard rush that caught the defense by surprise. Oliver was finally cleared to return to action, coming in to convert on third and one. The conversion wouldn’t happen though, as the defense broke through to tackle Oliver in the backfield for a one yard loss, leaving the punt team coming out on fourth and two. The punt bounced down at the one yard line and rolled over into the end zone, starting UTSA from their 20 yard line.

It was another rough start for the Roadrunners, as Moss had his pass on first down deflected, before Gilliam dropped the ball on the next play to bring up third and long. They finally got something going their way on third down, as Jake Williams hauled in a pass from Moss for a 22 yard gain and a first down at the 42 yard line. Gilliam tried to take the ball up the gut on first down, but was caught with his pants down in the backfield, tackled for a two yard loss, before managing to recover those lost yards on the next play with a 6 yard rush, bringing up third and 7. Gilliam tried to be the hero of the hour, but failed, tackled for a gain of only four yards, leaving the Roadrunners facing fourth and two at midfield. After being the goat on the previous play, Gilliam succeeded in filling the hero role this play, taking the fourth down handoff up the middle for a 5 yard gain, giving UTSA new life at our 45 yard line. The Roadrunners then struck a blow to our defense, as McCauley came down with a pass from Moss down the right sideline for a 24 yard gain and a first down at our 21 yard line. After two incomplete passes, both intended for Sullivan, he somewhat redeemed himself, catching a third down pass from Moss for a 7 yard gain, though not enough as UTSA was left with fourth and three at our 14 yard line. The Roadrunners would ultimately settle for a 31 yard field goal by Richard Young, cutting our lead to 20-3 with 34 seconds left in the third quarter.

A 17 yard kickoff return by Jefferson got us started in our worst field position of the game, beginning at our 15 yard line. Oliver took the first down handoff up the middle for a four yard gain, before fighting off a pair of tackles around the right tackle to get 6 yards and the first down at our 25 yard line, bringing the third quarter to an end, our lead 20-3.

Opening up the fourth quarter, we went into the air on first down, Hayden making a huge play, cutting across the middle of the field, beating the cornerback and safety to the ball and then cutting up field at an angle to escape the other cornerback following Jefferson across. Jefferson picked off the second safety, allowing Hayden to break free angling toward the sideline, racing both cornerbacks and a safety down the field, making it all the way down to the UTSA 32 yard line before getting tripped up from behind by the safety, a 43 yard gain in all and putting us in great position to expand on our lead. Oliver tried to take the ball up between the right guard and tackle, but could only manage two yards before being swarmed by defenders. Heading out around the left tackle, the middle linebacker made a great move to cut over and stand Oliver up just across the line for only another two yard gain, leaving third and 6. Wallace nearly completed a pass to Newman, who would have been able to get inside the 20 yard line, but the middle linebacker made another great play, swatting the ball incomplete to bring up fourth down. Glover came out and coolly connected on the 45 yard field goal to extend our lead to 23-3 with 7:16 left in the game.

A touchback on the kickoff left UTSA starting again from their 25 yard line, hoping to add on to what they accomplished the previous drive. It wasn’t meant to be however. Bright dropped the first down pass from Moss, before managing to hold onto the ball on second down for a 7 yard gain. After another incomplete pass intended for Bright on third down, the Roadrunners, puzzlingly went for it on fourth down from their own 32 yard line, the pass intended for Sullivan falling incomplete, turning it over on downs to start our next drive at UTSA’s 32. With the Roadrunners all but defeated and demoralized, we brought out the run game to start the drive, looking to chew up some of the remaining six and a half minutes left in the game. Despite being able to shake off the tackle of a blitzing outside linebacker, the middle linebacker was also able to blitz through, finishing off the job and tackling Oliver for a two yard loss to leave third and 9. Jefferson hauled in the third down pass from Wallace for a four yard gain, leaving us with fourth and 5. Glover came back out and drilled the 44 yard field goal attempt through the uprights, expanding our lead to 26-3 with 4:43 left to play.

A touchback on the kickoff got UTSA starting once again at their 25 yard line. After an incomplete pass on first down, Gilliam took the ball up the middle, managing to fight his way ahead for a three yard gain. This time the Roadrunners were able to move the ball, as Bright actually held on to the third down pass from Moss for an 11 yard pickup and a first down at the 39. That was the only success they would find though, as a dropped pass by McCauley and two more incomplete passes left the drive stopped on fourth and 10. The Roadrunners would once again attempt to go for it, and would once again fail, the fourth down pass falling to the ground incomplete in the secondary, our offense taking over at the UTSA 39 yard line after the turnover on downs, 3:41 remaining on the clock.

Oliver continued to have some trouble gaining yards, only able to pick up two yards on the first down carry. Oliver tried to get up the middle on second down, but was stopped for no gain, leaving third and 8. Trying to rush it up the middle again, Oliver was only able to get one yard, leaving fourth and 7. The fourth down punt sailed out of the back of the end zone, giving UTSA possession at their 20 yard line with 1:57 remaining.

It was another failed drive for the Roadrunners, as two incomplete passes and a dropped ball by Gilliam brought about yet another fourth and long. This time UTSA elected to punt instead of convert the fourth down, Jefferson returning the 46 yard punt 7 yards to our 40 yard line, with 1:32 left to go. Oliver took the first down handoff up the middle for a 6 yard gain, followed by another pickup of 6 yards to get the first down at the UTSA 48 yard line with just 50 seconds remaining. Wallace would take a single knee to run out the clock and clinch our 26-3 victory over the Roadrunners, breaking our two game losing streak.

With the win, we improve to 6-2, 3-1 in C-USA action and become bowl eligible. With the loss, UTSA falls to 2-5, 1-4 in C-USA play. Up next, it's back home for the start of our final two home games of the year, hosting Rice. The Owls enter the game 5-3, 3-1 in C-USA action. Rice started their year with a 20-17 upset of Duke, before losing 41-34 to Minnesota and 30-7 to Toledo. The Owls then picked up a pair of wins, 35-17 at Tulane and 35-14 at MTSU, before losing 27-7 to Southern Miss. Shaking off the loss, Rice has since gotten a 23-17 win at North Texas and a 34-24 win at Florida Atlantic heading into their trip to Tulsa. With both of us 3-1 in the conference and a half-game behind UTEP, next week's game will essentially decide the front-runner to challenge UTEP for first place in the division.

Final Score
:Tulsa: 26, :UTSA: 3

Stat(s) of the Game:
Tulsa Offense – Stephens, in his very limited action before being injured, went 3-6 for 37 yards and two sacks. Wallace had his best passing day of his career, going 11-17 for 167 yards. Rushing, Oliver was finally a beast, rushing for 141 yards and one touchdown on 33 carries. Smith had a decent day, with 52 yards and two scores on 9 carries. Receiving, Hayden led the way with 70 yards on three receptions, thanks in part to his 43 yard catch. Jefferson had the most catches, hauling in four passes for 41 yards receiving. Banks also had a great day, with 52 yards on two catches. In all, seven receivers caught a ball, five of them for double digit yards.

Tulsa Defense – An absolutely dominating day, holding UTSA to three points and 139 yards of offense. Sacked Moss four times and got one interception. The defense continues to be the clear star of the show, although the offense is finally showing signs of life and may give the defense a run for their money in future contests.

Tulsa Kicking – A nearly perfect day for Glover. Went 2 for 2 in field goals, connecting from 44 and 45 yards out. But went 2 for 3 in PATs.

Scoring Summary

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

:Tulsa:
0
20
0
6
26

:UTSA:
0
0
3
0
3

Time
Team
Result
Play
Score

First Quarter

---
---
---
---
---

Second Quarter

7:48
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
R. Smith, 11 yard run (D. Glover kick)
:Tulsa: 7-0

5:24
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
R. Smith, 1 yard run (D. Glover kick)
:Tulsa: 14-0

0:47
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
W. Oliver, 4 yard run (missed kick)
:Tulsa: 20-0

Third Quarter

0:34
:UTSA:
Field Goal
R. Young, 31 yard field goal
:Tulsa: 20-3

Fourth Quarter

7:20
:Tulsa:
Field Goal
D. Glover, 45 yard field goal
:Tulsa: 23-3

4:47
:Tulsa:
Field Goal
D. Glover, 44 yard field goal
:Tulsa: 26-3

Game Stats

Tulsa
Stat
UTSA

26
Score
6

19
First Downs
6

383
Total Offense
139

47 - 179 - 3
Rushes - Yards - TD
9 - 34 - 0

14 - 23 - 0
Comp - Att - TD
9 - 41 - 0

204
Passing Yards
105

2
Times Sacked
4

3 - 12 (25%)
3rd Down Conversion
2 - 15 (13%)

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

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

3 - 3 - 0 (100%)
Red Zone - TD - FG
2 - 0 - 1 (50%)

0
Turnovers
1

0
Fumbles Lost
0

0
Intercepted
1

30
Punt Return Yards
5

17
Kick Return Yards
40

430
Total Yards
184

7 – 42.4
Punts - Average
9 - 44.8

4 - 37
Penalties
1 - 10

22:52
Time of Possession
13:08

Tulsa Contract Goals Update

Fail Impact
Goal
Progress
Pass Impact

:6redarrow:
21+ points per game in each season
22
:6greenarrow:

Win 10 games in one season
6
:6greenarrow:

3300+ passing yards each season
:red-x:
:5greenarrow:

:6redarrow:
65% pass completions over the entire contract
60%
:5greenarrow:

:5redarrow:
Win 6 games in one season
:check:
:5greenarrow:

:6redarrow:
15+ rushing TD in each season
14
:5greenarrow:

:4redarrow:
3200+ total offensive yards each season
2617
:3greenarrow:

:5redarrow:
3400+ total offensive yards each season
2617
:2greenarrow:

Job Security Status

45%

SmoothPancakes

04-10-2013, 03:05 AM

Time for another look around the nation. Starting in the Top 25, in the upset of the week, #2 Virginia Tech becomes the latest team to fall from perfection, as North Carolina deep fries the Hokies, 45-21. #4 Mississippi State stayed perfect with a 31-6 win over #14 LSU. #5 Georgia scored a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns to pull away from Missouri late, 42-28. #6 Arkansas State kept their incredible year rolling, escaping with a 31-24 win over one-win UMass. #7 USC used a 2:1 second half scoring advantage to down #18 Oregon 56-42. #8 Oklahoma State suffered their first loss in dominating fashion, as Baylor improved to 2-4 with a 45-17 thrashing of the Cowpokes.

#9 Oklahoma scores a late fourth quarter touchdown to escape one-win Kansas 24-17. #10 Michigan State came out on top in their battle with #23 Michigan, winning 35-16. #15 Alabama manages to hold on for a 30-20 win over Tennessee. NC State scored a 24-16 rivalry upset of #16 Clemson. #17 Arizona needed a late miracle to comeback and beat Oregon State 28-24. #20 BYU kept their perfect record alive, beating Louisiana-Monroe 38-14. #21 Southern Miss barely kept their spotless record intact, needing an overtime field goal to escape Louisiana Tech, 41-38. #22 Ohio State pulled away late to beat Penn State 23-10. #24 Kansas State will be making a quick exit from the polls, losing their second straight game, 49-21 to TCU.

For our readers, souljahbill, #21 Southern Miss improves to 7-0 (3-0 C-USA) with a 41-38 overtime win over Louisiana Tech. Jaymo, Arizona State drops to 2-6 (1-4 Pac-12) after a 28-23 loss to Utah. Mors, West Virginia remains 4-3 (3-2 Big 12), on a bye week this week. Jeff, #22 Ohio State improves to 7-1 (5-0 Big Ten), picking up a 23-10 win over Penn State. Other teams of interest, #6 Arkansas State improves to 7-0 (2-0 Sun Belt) with a 31-24 win over UMass.

In C-USA action, Tulsa steamrolls UTSA 26-3, #21 Southern Miss hangs on to beat Louisiana Tech 41-38 in OT, Marshall whoops UAB 35-16, Florida International whoops MTSU 41-17, Rice downs Florida Atlantic 34-24 and North Texas wins a non-conference battle over Louisiana-Lafayette 38-23.

With those results, looking at the current standings, in the East Division, #21 Southern Miss (3-0) sits on top, followed by Marshall (4-1) and Florida International (3-1). Still technically in it, but essentially eliminated are MTSU (1-3), UAB (1-4) and Florida Atlantic (0-4). Over in the West Division, UTEP (3-0) continues to lead the division, with Tulsa and Rice (both 3-1) sitting right on UTEP's heels. Behind that is Louisiana Tech (1-2), North Texas (1-3) and UTSA (1-4). The October 31st game between Rice and Tulsa will essentially line up the marbles for the winner to make a challenge at UTEP for the division lead, as Tulsa plays UTEP on one week later on November 7th, and Rice plays UTEP two weeks later on November 14th.

Looking at undefeated teams left, with #2 Virginia Tech and #8 Oklahoma State losing this week, that drops our number of undefeated teams to 5. #1 Notre Dame (7-0), #4 Mississippi State (8-0), #6 Arkansas State (7-0), #20 BYU (7-0) and #21 Southern Miss (7-0) all remain with an unblemished record this season.

Turning to a more sadistic watch, who is still winless. There remains 2 teams still looking for their first win: New Mexico (0-6) and Tulane (0-7).

Teams getting their first win this week were: Memphis (14-7 over 2-6 Army).

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Notre Dame (32 first place votes) remains #1. Mississippi State (25 votes) jumps two to #2. Arkansas State (4 votes) climbs three to #3. Nebraska falls one to #4 and Georgia remains stuck at #5. USC climbs one to #6, Oklahoma jumps two to #7, Michigan State moves up two to #8, Iowa jumps two to #9 and Miami climbs two to #10. Florida State jumps two to #11, Virgniia Tech drops ten to #12, Alabama jumps two to #13, BYU leaps six to #14 and Arizona climbs two to #15. Virginia jumps three to #16, LSU falls three to #17, Southern Miss jumps three to #18, Ohio State climbs three to #19 and Oklahoma State tumbles twelve spots to #20. Oregon falls three spots to #21, Georgia Tech climbs three places to #22, TCU enters the poll this week at #23, Wisconsin enters the poll at #24 and Clemson drops nine spots to #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Michigan (from #23) and Kansas State (from #24). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Michigan (234 votes) is #26, followed by Texas (226), North Carolina (212), Kansas State (104) and Texas Tech (73) to round out the Top 30. Other teams also getting votes this week include Auburn (53), South Carolina (5) and Stanford (1).

Looking at the new Top 25 Media Poll of the season, Notre Dame (37 first place votes) remains #1. Mississippi State (27 votes) jumps two to #2. Arkansas State (1) climbs two to #3. Nebraska falls one spot to #4 and USC climbs one to #5. Georgia moves up one to #6, Oklahoma jumps two to #7, Michigan State climbs three to #8, Virginia moves up one to #9 and Iowa climbs two to #10. Miami jumps two to #11, Virginia Tech drops ten to #12, Florida State climbs two to #13, BYU leaps five to #14 and Arizona jumps two to #15. Alabama moves up two to #16, Southern Miss climbs four to #17, LSU drops four to #18, Oklahoma State plummets eleven to #19 and Ohio State jumps three to #20. Georgia Tech moves up three to #21, Oregon drops two to #22, Wisconsin enters the poll this week at #23, TCU enters the poll at #24 and Michigan falls three to #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Clemson (from #16) and Kansas State (from #25). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Clemson (264 votes) is #26, followed by North Carolina (238), Texas (208), Kansas State (72) and Auburn (70) to round out the Top 30. Other teams also getting votes this week include Stanford (56), Houston (27), Texas Tech (23) and South Carolina (20).

Looking at the new BCS standings: #1 Notre Dame (1.000), #2 Mississippi (0.995), #3 Arkansas State (0.988), #4 Nebraska (0.984), #5 Georgia (0.976), #6 USC (0.976), #7 Michigan State (0.962), #8 Oklahoma (0.958), #9 Miami (0.949) and #10 Florida State (0.940).

Looking at the new Heisman watch, Georgia HB Joel Nolan remains #1 (LW: #1), followed by TCU QB Robert Henderson at #2 (LW: NR), Georgia Tech HB Brandon Terrell at #3 (LW: #5), Virginia Tech HB Jay Smith at #4 (LW: #2) and Ohio State QB Ryan Fraser at #5 (LW: NR). Falling off the Heisman Watch list this week were Notre Dame HB Larue Barnes (LW: #3) and LSU HB Steven McMillan (LW: #4)

SmoothPancakes

04-10-2013, 07:47 PM

Game Nine

:Rice: :@: :Tulsa:

Game Notes

--- With the losing streak finally over, and our offense rediscovered against UTSA, it was back to Tulsa for the first of our last two home games this season. Two home games that would potentially decide who would win the West Division as ourselves, Rice and UTEP all play each other over a three week period. With UTEP leading the way in the division, and ourselves and Rice just a half game behind, the winner between ourselves and Rice would set the stage for a showdown with UTEP for the division lead.

It wasn’t going to be easy to get there, as Rice entered as a very much improved team over their 1-11 record last season. Besides entering the game with a 5-3 record, Rice comes into the contest with a highly rated pass offense and defense. The Owls rank #38 in the nation in pass offense, putting up 246.6 yards a game through the air. On defense, Rice has the #32 defense in the country, giving up 346.6 yards a contest, the #46 rush defense in the nation, giving up 161.7 yards a game and the #26 pass offense, giving up 184.8 yards a game. With our offense still lacking, despite the numbers put up against UTSA, leaving us ranked #111 for total offense (327.1 yards/game), #96 for rush offense (142.5 yards/game) and #103 for pass offense (184.6 yards/game), it looked to be shaping up to be one hell of a Battle for the Williams Trophy. Rice won the coin toss and elected to receive.

A 16 yard kickoff return by Mark White got the Owls started off at their 16 yard line to open the game. It was a rough start for Rice, as D'Juan Gray was tackled for a two yard loss on the first play, leaving the Owls facing second and 12. Gray took the ball a second time, picking up three yards on the ground to leave third and 9. The next play proved that our defense would be challenged today, as Gray dropped back to pass on third down, connecting with Jon Mitchell for a 26 yard gain over the middle to get the first down at the 43 yard line. Finding a rhythm now, Braylon Elliott took the first down handoff for a 6 yard gain, before hauling in a pass from Gray for a pickup of 12 yards and another set of downs at our 39 yard line. Gray kept the ball on first down, rushing for three yards, followed by a 7 yard rush by Tim Schneider, leaving third and one from the 30. The Owls would see their momentum come to an end, as Gray was tackled for a loss of two yards, bringing up fourth and three from the 32 yard line. The Owls opted to go for it on fourth down instead of kicking the field goal, looking to strike an early blow, but our defense proved the victor, tackling Schneider for a three yard loss, forcing the turnover on downs and giving us the ball at our 35 yard line.

Oliver got our drive off to a great start, finding a huge hole up the middle and nearly breaking loose, ending up tackled for a 9 yard gain to bring up second and one. The next play, Oliver was able to break loose through the hole and get into the secondary, brought down by the safety for a 12 yard gain and a first down at the Rice 44 yard line, their rushing defense not quite up to snuff. Hitting another hole and getting into the secondary, Oliver had a chance to take it to the house, plowing over top of the safety, but was tripped up as the safety held onto his ankles for dear life, bringing Oliver down for only a 12 yard gain and a first down at the 32 yard line. Oliver continued his punishment of the apparently overrated and over-ranked Rice rushing defense, picking up 9 yards around the right tackle on first down. The Owls were unable to stop Oliver on second down, the outside linebacker unable to hold on to his tackle attempt in the backfield, allowing Oliver to get across the line of scrimmage for a three yard gain and the first down at the Rice 20 yard line. It started to look like 6 straight rushes would be enough for the Rice defense to stiffen up, as Roy Smith was brought down for only a one yard gain on the first down carry. Throwing some play action at the defense, the pass from Brad Stephens intended for Connor Jefferson was off-target, thrown into the back of the cornerback to bring up third and 9. Stephens threw up a pass to a wide open Jefferson on third down, but the safety was able to drop down in time and make a play on the ball, dropping it incomplete to bring up fourth down. Despite the great drive, we would fail to put up any points as the 36 yard field goal attempt by Derek Glover was no good, just missing wide right of the uprights.

Taking over at their 20 yard line, Rice looked to improve upon their previous drive. It was going to be tough after the start to this drive, as Schneider was tackled for a two yard loss on first down. Gray was able to make up those lost yards, rushing for a gain of two to leave third and 10. The drive would fail to match the success of the previous drive, as Gray’s pass intended for Elliott fell incomplete, bringing out the punt team on fourth down. A four yard return by Jefferson on the 45 yard punt got our offense set up at our 39 yard line.

Coming out rushing the ball, the defense nearly trapped Oliver in the backfield, but a missed tackle by the middle linebacker allowed Oliver to escape up the middle, once again nearly breaking loose, eventually getting tripped up by the safety, the last defender between Oliver at the end zone, for a 12 yard gain and a first down at the Rice 49 yard line. The defense was starting to key on the run game again, as Oliver could only manage three yards on the first down carry. They weren’t keying enough however, as an off-tackle play by Oliver picked up 9 yards to get us yet another first down at the Rice 37. Changing it up on first down, Stephens completed a pass to Eric Hayden for a 16 yard gain, getting us back down to the Rice 20 yard line with a new set of downs. Running an option around the right side, Stephens kept the ball and was able to pick up 6 yards to set up second and four. Taking the handoff around the left tackle, a diving tackle by the middle linebacker limited Oliver to only a one yard gain, leaving third and three from the 13. Going straight up the middle on third down, Oliver got some huge help from the defense, a tackle by the defensive end carried both players forward across the line of scrimmage, officially a four yard rush by Oliver, giving us first and goal at the 9 yard line. Oliver never had a chance on first down, as multiple defenders broke through on a blitz, tackling Oliver for a loss of one yard to push us back to the 10 yard line. Going with a stretch play to the left on second down, Oliver could only pick up one yard before being brought down at the 9 yard line, bringing up third and goal. Hayden would complete the drive for us on the third down play, running along the back edge of the end zone, hauling in the 9 yard touchdown pass from Stephens with no time remaining on the clock. The extra point by Glover gave us a 7-0 lead as the first quarter came to an end.

Opening up the second quarter, a 20 yard kickoff return gave Rice the ball at their 31 yard line to start their next drive. Gray kept the ball on first down for a two yard gain, before a dropped pass by Schneider left the Owls facing third and 8. It would be another failed drive, as Elliott dropped the third down pass from Gray, bringing the punt team back out. The drive ended in disaster for the Owls, as our defense blocked the punt, middle linebacker Danny Ray recovering the fumble clear back at the Rice 8 yard line to set up an immediate first and goal for our offense. Hayden doubled our score, hauling in his second touchdown reception of the day on the 8 yard pass, giving us a 14-0 lead with 8:19 left in the second quarter.

A 20 yard kickoff return got the Owls started at their 21 yard line for their next drive, looking for any success this time around. They got exactly that as a pass interference penalty on our defense gave Rice 15 free yards and a first down at the 36 yard line. It was backwards from there however, as Schneider was tackled twice for a four yard loss, leaving Rice facing third and 18. The third down pass from Gray intended for Elliott was batted incomplete, bringing yet another drive to an early conclusion. The Owls were able to get the punt off this time, Jefferson returning the 48 yard punt 5 yards to our 29 yard line.

Oliver took the ball on first down, able to avoid the blitzing middle linebacker and pick up an 8 yard gain, followed by a four yard rush to get the first down at the 41 yard line. Going into the air on first down, the pass intended for Hayden was nearly intercepted first by the middle linebacker and then by the safety, diving for the deflected pass. The second down play nearly ended in a ridiculous catch Antoine Banks, the outside linebacker getting hand up and one the ball, deflecting it up and into the hands of Banks, who was unable to hold onto it. As the ball fell towards the ground, with Banks’ momentum carrying him away from the ball, he spun around and tried to grab the ball just before it hit the ground, the ball bouncing off his finger tips and falling incomplete. Throwing it up on third down, we came up just short of the first down, as Marcus Mullins hauled in the pass from Stephens, but was tackled for only an 8 yard gain, leaving the punt team coming out on fourth and two. In an unusual play call for Coach Ludwig, we came out and run a fake punt, the pass from Carlos Wilcox intended for outside linebacker Graham Minor falling incomplete, turning the ball over on downs at our 49 yard line.

The Owls were ready to take advantage of the incredible field position this time around. After a short hiccup in the form of a three yard loss by Gray on first down, he turned around and fired off a pass to Elliott for a 26 yard gain and a first down at our 26 yard line. Keeping the ball on the ground on first down, Gray rushed for two yards, followed by a 6 yard gain by Schneider to set up third and two. The Owls would see yet another close drive stall, as Elliott dropped the third down pass from Gray to bring up fourth and two from the 18 yard line. The Owls would also walk away with no points, as the 35 yard field goal by Lawrence Ferguson was no good, giving us the ball back at our 20 yard line.

The Rice defense was more than ready for our ground game this time around, tackling Oliver for a one yard gain. Going into the air, the second down pass from Stephens to Smith was batted out of bounds incomplete, bringing up third and 9. Dropping back on third down, Stephens was able to shake off a sack attempt, but was forced to roll out to the right and scramble as the pocket imploded. Trying to make a dash toward the right sideline, the outside linebacker moved up and met Stephens well behind the line of scrimmage, knocking the ball loose during the tackle. We got very lucky as left tackle Marlon Smith dove for the loose ball, managing to beat the defensive tackle to it to recover the ball. Officially it went down as a sack on Stephens for an 8 yard loss, with the fumble adding an additional four yards to the deficit, but the result was essentially the same. A large loss and the punt team coming out on fourth and 21 from our 9 yard line. A fair catch by Rice on the 48 yard punt set the Owls up from their 43 yard line.

This time the Owls would fail to take advantage of the good field position, as Gray was tackled on consecutive plays for losses of three and two yards, before throwing an incomplete pass on third down, bringing out the punt team on fourth and 15 from their 38 yard line. A 7 yard return by Jefferson on the 43 yard punt got us underway from our 26 yard line for our next drive with 3:22 left on the clock. The defense never gave Stephens a chance on first down, as our passing attempt ended in failure by way of a sack for a loss of two yards. The defense continued to attempt to make Stephens a human piñata, nearly sacking him a second time, forcing Stephens to take off scrambling, picking up two yards before being gang tackled at the 26 yard line to bring up third and long. Lining up on third down, Rice used their first timeout of the half before we could snap the ball, stopping the clock with two minutes remaining before halftime. The defense, with a new found ferocity, were able to get a second sack on Stephens, the outside linebacker blitzing through an open gap and flattening Stephens before he was able to even complete his drop back, sacking him for a 9 yard loss to bring up fourth and 19, Rice’s second timeout stopping the clock with 1:58 to go. A fair catch on a poor 36 yard punt, gave Rice the ball at their 47 yard line with 1:52 to play.

This time around the Owls were able to get the ball moving quickly, as Gray connected with Elliott for a 12 yard gain, followed by a 12 yard pass to White for another first down at our 29 yard line, the clock down to 1:37. Gray found White again, this time for a 7 yard pickup, before an incomplete pass brought up third and three with 1:14 left to play. The Owls were able to successfully convert third time this time around, Elliott hauling in the pass from Gray for an 11 yard gain to get to our 11 yard line, 1:07 remaining on the clock. After a two yard rush by Gray, he threw a pass over the middle to Schneider for an 8 yard gain, leaving third and one at our one yard line, 50 seconds to go before halftime. Our defense refused to go down without a fight, sacking Gray for a one yard loss, leaving the Owls facing a tough decision, left with fourth and two from our two yard line and 38 seconds on the clock. Rice would opt to kick the field goal, Ferguson again botching any chance for Rice to put points on the board, his 20 yard field goal going wide left and no good.

With the missed field goal, we took over on offense from our 20 yard line with 21 seconds left on the clock. Planning to handoff to Oliver and run out the clock, he finally managed to break the defense’s back, getting into the secondary and cutting loose, racing down the field for a 35 yard gain before being tripped up from behind, giving us a first down at the Rice 45 yard line with 14 seconds to go. Deciding to try and build on that great run, it was into the air on first down, Hayden hauling in a pass from Stephens for a 10 yard gain, giving us a first down at the 35 yard line, our second timeout stopping the clock with 10 seconds to go. Trying to take a shot at the end zone, Stephens was just barely able to get rid of the ball to avoid a sack from the blitzing linebacker, leaving second down with 7 seconds remaining. Taking another shot at the end zone, the pass intended for Hayden was just off the mark, Hayden unable to come down with it, bringing up third down from the 35 yard line and three seconds to go. Glover came through for us right at the end, curving a 52 yard field goal attempt through the wind and right down the middle of the uprights to extend our lead to 17-0 as we headed into halftime.

Opening up the second half, a touchback on the kickoff got our offense started at our 25 yard line, looking to add to our lead. Oliver took the handoff up the middle getting about 6 yards on the run before being flattened on his back by the safety. Keeping it going on the ground, Oliver tried to sneak through a hole outside the right guard, but got quickly wrapped up by multiple defenders for no gain to leave third and four. Going to the air, Stephens threw up a pass over the middle on third down, intended for Hayden, but both Jefferson and Hayden got driven into each other by their defenders, leaving defensive end Gary Stewart free to jump up and intercept the pass, returning it 5 yards to set up Rice at our 34 yard line.

Going to the air to start the drive, Gray connected with White for a 7 yard gain, followed with a 5 yard pass to Elliott to give the Owls a first down at the 22. Another drive would seemingly stall for Rice, as three straight incomplete passes brought up fourth and long. With two missed field goals already, the Owls opted to go for it on fourth down, our defense failing to defend as Gray connected with Elliott on a 21 yard pass down the right sideline, setting up first and goal from our one yard line. Gray would do the honors on the next play, rushing it in from one yard out to cut our lead to 17-7 with 6:31 remaining in the third quarter.

A touchback once again got us started at our 25 yard line, hoping for better results this time around. Oliver was able to spin off an initial tackle attempt, before dragging two defenders forward with him for a 5 yard gain on first down. Trying to go around the right tackle on second down, Oliver was quickly brought down for a one yard loss, leaving third and 6. Dropping back to pass, Stephens never had a chance, as the left defensive end broke off his block at the same time the outside linebacker came blitzing in through a hole, both combining to sack Stephens for an 8 yard loss to leave us punting on fourth and 14. A fair catch called on the 48 yard punt got Rice underway from their 31 yard line.

It looked to be a short drive, as Gray’s pass on first down was broken up, followed by a rush from Schneider for a loss of three yards to bring up third and 13. But Gray was able to connect with White and convert the third down on a 24 yard pass, moving the chains to our 48 yard line. After a dropped pass by James Harmon, Schneider picked up two yards on the ground to leave third and 8. This time the Owls would fall short, Gray’s pass to Elliott complete for only a 5 yard gain, leaving fourth and three at the 41 yard line. The Owls attempted to go for it on fourth down, but cornerback Jonathan Chambers ended the drive with an interception, giving us the ball at our 35 yard line.

Taking the handoff on first down, Oliver was able to somehow spin off of a tackle attempt and pick up three yards. Looking to avoid the blitz, Stephens threw away the ball on second down, but ended up getting flagged for intentional grounding, double screwing us with the 10 yard penalty and a loss of down leaving us facing third and 17. Throwing up a deep bomb to Hayden, the Rice defense returned the favor, cornerback Mike Washington intercepting the pass from Stephens and returning it 24 yards to give the Owls the ball at their 43 yard line. It was an uneventful start to the drive as Schneider was tackled for a three yard loss, before catching a pass from Gray for a mere two yard gain to leave third and 11. The Owls were able to get the first down as Elliott hauled in a pass from Gray for a 15 yard gain, moving the ball to our 43 yard line. After a dropped ball by White and an incomplete pass, Elliott was again able to haul in a pass from Gray, but only for a 5 yard gain this time around, leaving the Owls facing fourth and 5 from our 38 yard line. Rice attempted to go for it, but the ball was dropped by a wide open Derek Carter, turning the ball over on downs at our 38 yard line with 1:49 left in the third quarter.

Going to the air on first down, the pass intended for Hayden was nearly intercepted, bringing up second and long. Trying to hit Jefferson down the right sideline, the pass from Stephens was off-target, sailing out of bounds incomplete, leaving third down, as our offensive woes returned with a vengeance. The third down pass over the middle was broken up by the middle linebacker, bringing out the punt team on fourth down. A 6 yard return on the 50 yard punt gave Rice the ball at their 17 yard line.

Gray started the drive with a four yard rush, that was then partially erased with a rush by Schneider for a loss of two yards. Going through the air on third and 8, the pass from Gray was swatted down at the line of scrimmage, bringing another drive to a young end. A 7 yard return by Jefferson on the 42 yard punt gave us the ball at our 41 yard line, 42 seconds left in the third quarter.

Proving that our offensive woes were back and worse than ever, Oliver took the handoff on first down, rushing around the right tackle, only to get the crap smacked out of him by the outside linebacker, fumbling the ball in the process. Despite two of our players diving for the ball, cornerback Bobby Christian came sprinting in and scooped up the fumble and was off to the races before anyone to make a tackle attempt, returning the fumble 40 yards for a touchdown, cutting our lead to 17-14 with 34 seconds to go in the third quarter.

A 16 yard kickoff return by Jefferson set our offense up at our 22 yard line, looking for any sign of life after the last three drives. Taking another chance on Oliver, he took the first down handoff, but could only manage a single yard, leaving second and 8 as the final seconds ticked off the clock, bringing the third quarter to an end with our lead now down to three points, 17-14.

Opening up the fourth quarter, an incomplete pass intended for Hayden got us off to a sour start, leaving third and 9 at the 23. The defense rose up to the occasion on third down, the outside linebacker swinging around the right tackle and coming in to sack Stephens for a 7 yard loss, ending our drive with little success as the punt team came out on fourth and 16. A fair catch on the 43 yard punt set up Rice up in good position, starting their next drive at their 41 yard line. The Owls likewise ended up with an unsuccessful drive, as two incomplete passes and a sack for a four yard loss brought out the Rice punt team on fourth and 14. A 10 yard return by Jefferson on the 50 yard punt saved us from poor field position, getting us started at our 22 yard line.

It was another drive of offensive failure, as two incomplete passes, both intended for Hayden, left third down. Stephens dropped back to pass on the third down play, but a late blitz by the middle linebacker flushed him out of the pocket, forcing Stephens to scramble towards the right sideline, managing to get four yards before being driven out of bounds by 5 different defenders. That left fourth and 6 on the scoreboard and another appearance by the punt team as our offense continued to face-plant in the second half. A 7 yard return on the 45 yard punt got the Rice offense started at their 36 yard line for the next drive. The Owls looked to take advantage of our offensive woes, as Gray connected with White on first down for a 20 yard gain to move the chains to our 44 yard line. After an incomplete pass on first down, Gray was forced to scramble for a two yard gain, leaving the Owls with third and 8. Schneider would come through to keep the drive moving, hauling in a pass from Gray for a 12 yard gain and a first down at our 30 yard line. Schneider rushed the ball on first down, picking up four yards, but had that success partially erased on the next play, tackled for a two yard loss to leave third and 8 once again. It would be White saving the drive this time, pulling down a deep pass from Gray for 27 yards to set up first and goal at our two yard line. The Owls this time went through the air for the score, as Gray connected with Bryan Foster for the two yard touchdown pass, giving Rice a 21-17 lead with 5:53 left in the game.

A 23 yard kickoff return by Hayden got our offense set up at our 25 yard line, looking for anything now. The first down pass over the middle intended for Hayden was batted down incomplete, nearly intercepted by both the outside linebacker and the safety in the process. Finally managing to get some positive yards, Oliver hauled in a pass from Stephens for a 7 yard gain, leaving third and three. The defense continued to make Stephens a plaything, sacking him for a 6 yard loss, leaving the punt team coming out on fourth and 9. A four yard return on the 43 yard punt got Rice started at their 35 yard line with 4:41 left in the game.

Rice was clearly ready to run out the clock, as Schneider took the ball on the ground three straight plays, picking up gains of 5 and three yards, before converting third and two with a 5 yard rush to get to the 48 yard line. Having established the run, Rice went back into the air, as Gray connected with Elliott for a 19 yard gain and a first down at our 33 yard line. After a dropped pass by Ricky Parker, Schneider tried to take the ball up the middle, but was stood up for no gain, leaving the Owls with third and long. It was clear our defense had been broken, as Gray completed the third down pass to an open White for a pickup of 24 yards to set up first and goal at our 8 yard line. A three yard rush by Schneider was followed with a four yard rush by Gray to leave third and goal from our one yard line. Fullback Ed Williams did the honors this time around, rushing in the one yard touchdown, extending Rice’s lead to 28-17 with 2:26 left in the game.

A 16 yard kickoff return by Hayden left our offense starting at our 16 yard line, only 2:16 left on the clock and trying to find a way to make up 11 points. Not only was our defense broken, but so was our offense, as multiple defenders blitzed through on first down, sacking Stephens for a 7 yard loss and putting us in an immediate hole. Throwing up a bomb on second down, the pass intended for Hayden was broken up by the cornerback, leaving third and 17 from our 9 yard line. We finally found some success, as Stephens completed the third down pass to Banks for 17 yards, leaving fourth and one at the 25. With no choice but to go for it, Stephens finally was able to hook up with Hayden, who was nearly able to break loose and take it to the house, but a diving tackle by the safety ended the play for a gain of only 17 yards, giving us a first down at our 42 yard line, our first timeout stopping the clock with 1:21 left to play. Heaving a pass deep down the right sideline, Jefferson made the biggest play of the day, hauling in the pass for a 46 yard gain to give us a first down at the Rice 11 yard line. A pass to Banks on first down went for a 10 yard gain, setting up first and goal at the one. Oliver would finish off the job on the next play, rushing it in for the one yard touchdown. Going for the two point conversion, the pass to Oliver was completed, cutting the score to 28-25 with 1:02 left on the clock.

We attempted the onside kick, but Rice was able to recover it, taking over at midfield with 59 seconds on the clock and our defense with only two timeouts to use. Schneider took the ball up the middle on first down for a 7 yard gain, our second timeout stopping the clock with 52 seconds. Gray kept the ball on second down, our defense making a stand and holding him to only two yards, leaving third and one at our 41 yard line, our last timeout stopping the clock with 46 seconds. Our defense then made its biggest play of the game, tackling Schneider for a two yard loss, leaving fourth and three at our 43 yard line, 41 seconds left on the clock. The Owls brought the punt team out, the ball sailing into the end zone for a touchback with 22 seconds left to play.

Starting from our 20 yard line and only 22 seconds to go, it was all deep bombs from here on out. Launching up a rocket on first down, Hayden was somehow able to come down with the pass over the top of the cornerback’s head, complete for a 41 yard gain. A quick spike by Stephens stopped the clock with 15 seconds to go, leaving second and 10 from the Rice 39 yard line. Throwing the ball toward the right sideline, the pass was completed to Jefferson, but he was unable to turn up field or get out of bounds, instead tackled inbound for a two yard gain. Trying to rush to the line of scrimmage to spike the ball, we were able to get lined up but couldn’t get the snap off in time as the final second ticked off the clock, sealing the 28-25 win for Rice.

With the loss, we drop to 6-3 on the year, 3-2 in C-USA action. With the win, Rice improves to 6-3 for the season, 4-1 in C-USA play and takes over the driver’s seat to challenge UTEP for the division lead. Up next, it's our last home game of the year, as the UTEP Miners come to town, entering with a 5-3 record on the year, 3-1 in C-USA action. UTEP got their season started with a 37-19 win over Youngstown State, before losing 48-14 to Wake Forest. They shook off the loss with a 35-7 win at New Mexico State, a 27-21 win at Florida International and a 42-24 win at UAB. Their three game win streak came to an end with a 17-13 loss at Oregon State, before rebounding with a 42-28 win over UTSA. They then fell flat on their faces, losing 31-23 to 2-7 Florida Atlantic.

Final Score
:Rice: 28, :Tulsa: 25

Stat(s) of the Game:
- Tulsa Offense – A horrible day for Stephens. At one point he was 5-20 for a whopping 55 yards. He at least semi-redeemed himself, ending the day 12-29 for 192 yards and two touchdowns, but also threw two interceptions and was sacked seven times. He keeps chucking up interceptions or has another piss-poor day passing like that, and he may just end up getting benched and hand the reigns over to backup Erik Wallace. Rushing was the bright spot of the day, as Oliver ended with 137 yards rushing and one touchdown on 24 carries, to go along with seven yards receiving on one reception. Receiving, only five players caught a pass today, Hayden leading the way with 101 yards and two touchdowns on six receptions. Only three players had double digit receiving yards.

- Tulsa Defense – A tale of two halves. Fantastic in the first half, utterly atrocious in the second half. They can bend and either give very little or give nothing at all. But when they break, they BREAK and the floodgate open (See: Oklahoma State, Rice). They did manage to recover a fumble and intercept a pass, but it didn't help too much in the end.

- Tulsa Kicking – Glover potentially cost us the game. He went 1-2 in field goal, connecting from 52 yards out, but missing from 36 yards. That 36 yard field goal very well may have meant our two-point conversion would have been for the tie rather than to get within three. The one area he was perfect was PATs, ending 2-2.

Scoring Summary

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

:Rice:
0
0
14
14
28

:Tulsa:
7
10
0
8
25

Time
Team
Result
Play
Score

First Quarter

0:00
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
E. Hayden, 9 yard pass from B. Stephens (D. Glover kick)
:Tulsa: 7-0

Second Quarter

8:19
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
E. Hayden, 8 yard pass from B. Stephens (D. Glover kick)
:Tulsa: 14-0

0:00
:Tulsa:
Field Goal
D. Glover, 52 yard field goal
:Tulsa: 17-0

Third Quarter

6:31
:Rice:
Touchdown
D. Gray, 1 yard run (L. Ferguson kick)
:Tulsa: 17-7

0:34
:Rice:
Touchdown
B. Christian, returned fumble 40 yards (L. Ferguson kick)
:Tulsa: 17-14

Fourth Quarter

5:53
:Rice:
Touchdown
B. Foster, 1 yard pass from D. Gray (L. Ferguson kick)
:Rice: 21-14

2:26
:Rice:
Touchdown
E. Williams, 1 yard run (L. Ferguson kick)
:Rice: 28-14

1:02
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
W. Oliver, 1 yard run (Two-point conversion good)
:Rice: 28-25

Game Stats

Rice
Stat
Tulsa

28
Score
25

17
First Downs
14

353
Total Offense
295

37 - 40 - 2
Rushes - Yards - TD
35 - 103 - 1

23 - 44 - 1
Comp - Att - TD
12 - 30 - 2

313
Passing Yards
192

2
Times Sacked
7

9 - 22 (40%)
3rd Down Conversion
2 - 14 (14%)

1 - 4 (25%)
4th Down Conversion
1 - 2 (50%)

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

6 - 2 - 0 (33%)
Red Zone - TD - FG
5 - 3 - 0 (60%)

2
Turnovers
3

1
Fumbles Lost
1

1
Intercepted
2

17
Punt Return Yards
33

54
Kick Return Yards
55

424
Total Yards
383

6 – 46.2
Punts - Average
7 - 46.9

1 - 10
Penalties
5 - 45

16:30
Time of Possession
19:30

Tulsa Contract Goals Update

Fail Impact
Goal
Progress
Pass Impact

:6redarrow:
21+ points per game in each season
22
:6greenarrow:

Win 10 games in one season
6
:6greenarrow:

3300+ passing yards each season
:red-x:
:5greenarrow:

:6redarrow:
65% pass completions over the entire contract
59%
:5greenarrow:

:5redarrow:
Win 6 games in one season
:check:
:5greenarrow:

:6redarrow:
15+ rushing TD in each season
2/4 Completed
:5greenarrow:

:4redarrow:
3200+ total offensive yards each season
2912
:3greenarrow:

:5redarrow:
3400+ total offensive yards each season
2912
:2greenarrow:

Penalty

:2redarrow:
Lost to a lower ranked team

Job Security Status

42%

SmoothPancakes

04-10-2013, 07:50 PM

Time for another look around the nation. Starting in the Top 25, #1 Notre Dame continues to defend their #1 ranking, beating Stanford 34-13. In candidate for upset of the week, Kentucky improves to 6-3 on the year with a 51-28 thrashing of #2 Mississippi State. In the game of the week, #3 Arkansas State keeps their BCS hopes alive, handing #14 BYU their first loss of the season, 38-31. Another candidate for upset of the week goes to 6-2 Michigan, who knocked off #4 Nebraska 31-24 in overtime. #7 Oklahoma had a bunch of trouble, needing 21 points in the fourth quarter to beat Iowa State 45-35. Northwestern knocks off #9 Iowa in overtime, 38-31.

#10 Miami fights off Pittsburgh 28-21. #11 Florida State edges out Wake Forest 28-21. #12 Virginia Tech scores a late touchdown to escape Boston College 34-27. #15 Arizona State had trouble in the first half, but pulled away for a 55-24 thumping of Washington State. #17 LSU holds on against Auburn 24-17. The winner of the upset of the week goes to 3-6 MTSU, who knocks off #18 Southern Miss 17-12, ruining the perfect season for the Golden Eagles. #19 Ohio State gets the job done against Indiana, 24-10. #20 Oklahoma State gets a 41-21 win over one-win Kansas. Arizona State wallops #21 Oregon 45-28. #22 Georgia Tech holds off Duke 20-13.

For our readers, souljahbill, #18 Southern Miss sees their perfect season implode, dropping to 7-1 (3-1 C-USA) with a 17-12 loss to 3-6 MTSU, the Golden Eagles only able to manage four field goals. Jaymo, Arizona State improves to 3-6 (2-4 Pac-12) with a big 45-28 upset of #21 Oregon. Mors, West Virginia drops to 4-4 (3-2 Big 12), with a 31-30 loss to SMU, the Mustangs scoring 17 points in the fourth quarter, including the game winner with 52 seconds left in the game. Jeff, #19 Ohio State improves to 8-1 (6-0 Big Ten), picking up a 24-10 win over Indiana. Other teams of interest, #3 Arkansas State improves to 8-0 (3-0 Sun Belt) with a 38-31 win over previously unbeaten #14 BYU.

In C-USA action, Rice edges out Tulsa 28-25, Florida Atlantic improves to 2-7 with a shocking 31-23 upset of UTEP. Florida International wins a 49-42 shootout over UAB. UTSA gets a 38-21 win over Louisiana Tech, and MTSU pulls off one of the biggest upset of the week, stunning #18 Southern Miss 17-12.

With those results, looking at the current standings, in the East Division, Marshall and Florida International (both 4-1) claim the top spot in the division, followed by #18 Southern Miss (3-1) and MTSU (2-3). Eliminate from contention are Florida Atlantic (1-4) and UAB (1-5). Over in the West Division, with FAU's uspet, Rice (4-1) is the new division leader, followed by UTEP (3-1) and Tulsa (3-2). Eliminated from contention are UTSA (2-4) and North Texas and Louisiana Tech (both 1-3).

Looking at undefeated teams left, with #2 Mississippi State, #14 BYU and #18 Southern Miss losing this week, that drops our number of undefeated teams to 2. #1 Notre Dame (8-0) and #3 Arkansas State (8-0) are the only teams remaining with an unblemished record this season.

Turning to a more sadistic watch, who is still winless. No more teams are searching for that first win, everyone will end the year with at least one victory.

Teams getting their first win this week were: New Mexico (38-14 over Western Carolina) and Tulane (42-28 over 1-8 Memphis).

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Notre Dame (33 first place votes) remains #1. Arkansas State (28 votes) climbs one to #2. Georgia jumps two to #3, USC climbs two to #4 and Oklahoma moves up two to #5. Michigan State jumps two to #6, Miami climbs three to #7, Florida State moves up three to #8, Virginia Tech jumps three to #9 and Mississippi State falls eight to #10. Nebraska drops seven to #11, Alabama moves up one to #12, Arizona jumps two to #13, Virginia climbs two to #14 and LSU moves up two to #15. Despite losing, BYU only drops two to #16, Iowa falls eight to #17, Ohio State jumps one to #18, Oklahoma State moves up one to #19 and Kentucky enters the poll this week at #20. Georgia Tech climbs one to #21, Michigan re-enters the poll at #22, TCU remains #23, Northwestern enters the poll at #24 and Wisconsin drops one to #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Southern Miss (from #18), Oregon (from #21) and Clemson (from #25). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Clemson (339 votes) is #26, followed by Texas (284), North Carolina (249), Texas Tech (197) and South Carolina (133) to round out the Top 30. Other teams also getting votes this week include Southern Miss (97), Houston (88), NC State (83) and Kansas State (2).

Looking at the new Top 25 Media Poll of the season, Notre Dame (42 first place votes) remains #1. Arkansas State (23 votes) climbs one to #2, USC jumps two to #3, Georgia moves up two to #4 and Oklahoma climbs two to #5. Michigan State moves up two to #6, Virginia jumps two to #7, Miami climbs three to #8, Virginia Tech jumps three to #9 and Mississippi State falls eight to #10. Nebraska drops seven to #11, Florida State moves up one to #12, Arizona jumps two to #13, Alabama climbs two to #14 and Michigan leaps ten to #15. BYU drops two to #16, LSU moves up one to #17, Oklahoma State jumps one to #18, Iowa falls nine to #19 and Ohio State remains stuck at #20. Georgia Tech remains #21, Kentucky enters the poll this week at #22, Wisconsin remains #23, TCU remains #24 and Northwestern enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Southern Miss (from #18) and Oregon (from #21). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Clemson (324 votes) is #26, followed by North Carolina (292), Texas (256), Texas Tech (142) and Southern Miss (116) to round out the Top 30. Other teams also getting votes this week include Houston (112), South Carolina (74) and NC State (25).

Looking at the new BCS standings: #1 Notre Dame (1.000), #2 Arkansas State (0.995), #3 Georgia (0.986), #4 USC (0.986), #5 Michigan State (0.973), #6 Oklahoma State (0.973), #7 Miami (0.965), #8 Mississippi State (0.951), #9 Florida State (0.951) and #10 Virginia (0.949).

Looking at the new Heisman watch, Georgia HB Joel Nolan remains #1 (LW: #1), followed by Georgia Tech HB Brandon Terrell at #2 (LW: #3), Virginia Tech HB Jay Smith at #3 (LW: #4), Arizona QB E.J. McCoy at #4 (LW: NR) and Michigan State QB Bo Wade at #5 (LW: NR). Falling off the Heisman Watch list this week were TCU QB Robert Henderson (LW: #2), and Ohio State QB Ryan Fraser (LW: #5).

souljahbill

04-10-2013, 07:55 PM

:fp:

SmoothPancakes

04-10-2013, 08:08 PM

:D I had a feeling you'd have something to say about the week's results.

jaymo76

04-10-2013, 08:11 PM

Damn Smooth... you better get that approval rating up or you won't be around for the Arizona St series. You may be in tough with some of your goals. Good luck brother!

SmoothPancakes

04-10-2013, 08:20 PM

Damn Smooth... you better get that approval rating up or you won't be around for the Arizona St series. You may be in tough with some of your goals. Good luck brother!

I'm trying. :( All these damn goals are length of the contract or each season goals, so I can't gain crap for bumps in approval rating. And while they hand out penalties for losing to a lower ranked team like candy, like hell they'll give anything for knocking off a better team. I think I'm gonna end up riding by the seat of my pants the next two off-seasons.

SmoothPancakes

04-11-2013, 12:39 AM

Game Ten

:UTEP: :@: :Tulsa:

Game Notes

--- Heading into Senior Night off the loss to Rice, our hopes of another West Division title rested in this game against rival UTEP. With Rice and UTEP both with only one conference loss, a third loss in the conference would eliminate us from contention. As is customary, the fans filled the stadium to bid farewell to the outgoing seniors in their last home game, including: HB Roy Smith, FB Randy Newman, WR Connor Jefferson, WR Antoine Banks, WR Bobby Smith, LT Marlon Smith, LG Dennis Moody, C Travis Hearn, RT Cameron Powers, LE Greg Wilkerson, RE Tyrone Haynes, DT Chris Peoples, MLB Jermaine Clark, CB Tyler Fountain, CB Chad Wheeler, FS Clay Weiss and P Carlos Wilcox.

It looked to be another battle, as UTEP with similar numbers as Rice. The Miners enter putting up 29.1 points/game (#59 nationally), with 400.2 yards of offense (#59), 124.6 yards rushing (#109) and 275.6 yards passing (#18). On defense, they give up 373.6 yards/game (#49 nationally), with 148.2 yards rushing (#29) and 225.3 yards passing (#70). To go along with a strong rated defense, they enter with a +7 turnover differential, good enough for #15 in the nation. Coming off our turnover-fest last week against Rice, that number could be trouble. UTEP won the coin toss and elected to kick.

A touchback on the opening kickoff got us started at our 25 yard line. Testing out the run game, Will Oliver took the handoff on first down and fought his way to a three yard gain. A second rush by Oliver went for a gain of four yards, leaving third and three. Continuing to feel out of the defense, Oliver took the ball and bounced outside the left tackle, able to pick up 7 yards and a first down at the 39 yard line before being taken down by the defense. Oliver took the next play up the middle, able to gain one yard, but he didn’t get up after the play, having to be helped off the field, dealing a big blow to our run game against a tough run defense. Oliver was thankfully only diagnosed with a strained bicep, keeping him out of action for a little while. Lining up on second down, both the right guard and right tackle jumped the snap, pushing us back 5 yards to leave second and 14. Throwing up a pass on second down, Jefferson was able to get the ball into his arms, but a vicious hit by the safety jarred the ball loose and incomplete, bringing up third and 14. Trying to thread the needle to Eric Hayden, the pass from Brad Stephens was wildly off-target and intercepted by safety Danny Holmes, who returned it 31 yards down the sideline before being pushed out of bounds by Stephens at our 20 yard line.

UTEP wasted no time at all cashing in on the interception, as Rich Livingston connected with Ben Robertson over the middle for a 20 yard touchdown pass, giving UTEP an immediate 7-0 lead with 6:37 to play in the first quarter.

A touchback on the kickoff got us again started at our 25 yard line, Stephens’ position under center on the hot seat. Stephens was able to actually hook up with Hayden this time, completing the pass down the left hash for a 21 yard gain and a first down at the 46 yard line. Jefferson got in on the action, catching a pass from Stephens for a 13 yard pickup and first down at the UTEP 41. Going back to the run game now that Oliver had returned, we never got the play off, as we were flagged for false start, pushed back to the 46 and left facing first and 15. Stephens was just barely able to get rid of the ball to avoid the sack, leaving second and very long. Getting separation from the defender on an out route, Jefferson was able to haul in the ball for a 22 yard gain and a first down at the 24 yard line, keeping the drive moving. Oliver took the first down handoff up the middle, able to get 7 yards on the play, followed by a gain of 6 to get the first down at the UTEP 11 yard line. Going outside the left tackle, Oliver was able to pound his way down to the two yard line for a gain of 9. Oliver tried to take it up the middle on second down, but could only get maybe a yard, left with third and inches from the two. Taking the handoff and leaping over the pile, Roy Smith jumping into the end zone for the two yard touchdown rush to even up the score at 7-7 with 3:28 left in the first quarter.

No return on the following kickoff left UTEP starting at their 25 yard line, their offense now getting its first true action of the game. The Miners seemed more than ready, as Brandon Johnson took the ball on the ground for a four yard rush, followed by a 10 yard pass to Robertson to get the first down at the 39 yard line. After an incomplete pass, Martin Ward got tackled for a loss of two yards, leaving UTEP facing third and 12. We caught a break as the third down pass intended for Johnson fell incomplete, bringing out the punt team on fourth and long. A 10 yard return by Jefferson on the 48 yard punt got us set up at our 24 yard line for the next drive.

Hit from behind, helping his momentum to carry him forward, Oliver was able to get 9 yards on the first down carry, followed by a 5 yard rush to get the first down at the 38. Going into the air on first down, Jefferson went up and was able to bring down the pass from Stephens for a gain of 12 yards and a new set of downs at the 49 yard line. Oliver again went out of the game, suffering from bruised ribs that would again keep him sidelined for a little while. Trying our luck with Smith running the ground game, it ended in complete and total disaster, as Smith was hit and fumbled the ball at the line of scrimmage, the fumble picked up by defensive end Nick Cole. It was almost like looking at a replay of last week’s disaster, as Cole scooped up the fumble and could have returned it to the house, but he got tripped up at the last moment and could only return it four yards before falling down at our 42 yard line.

Taking over after the turnover, Livingston connecting with Lance Cunningham for a 9 yard gain, followed by a four yard rush from Johnson to get the first down at our 28. After two dropped passes by Robertson and Ward, Livingston threw up a deep bomb in the end zone, caught by Robertson for the 28 yard touchdown, giving UTEP a 14-7 lead with 10 seconds left in the first quarter. A touchback on the kickoff left us starting again from our 25 yard line. A two yard gain up the middle by Oliver was the last play of the quarter, as the final two seconds ran off the clock, bringing the first quarter to an end, UTEP leading 14-7.

Opening up the second quarter, Oliver shook off a tackle attempt in the backfield and was able to pick up three yards on the second down play, leaving third and 5 from the 30 yard line. The third down pass intended for Hayden fell incomplete, bringing out the punt team. A 7 yard return by Robertson on the 46 yard punt gave UTEP the ball at their 30 yard line. Johnson got the drive started with a 5 yard rush, but that would be the only success for the Miners, as two incomplete passes brought the drive to an end on fourth and 5. Jefferson called for a fair catch on the 42 yard punt, setting us up at our 23 yard line for our next drive.

Taking the handoff around the right tackle, Oliver was able to hit the next level, only the safety saving the day and tackling him for a 10 yard gain and a first down at the 33 yard line. A rush around the other end, Oliver was able to pick up 6 yards, followed by a three yard rush to leave third and one at the 42. Living and dying by the ground game, Oliver was nearly brought down by the ankles in the backfield, but broke loose, hit a hole in the second level and broke free for a 16 yard gain before being brought down from behind at the UTEP 42. Trying to trick the defense with a play action pass, they weren’t fooled by it as the pass intended for Randy Newman was broken up, nearly intercepted by the safety, leaving second down. Reading a heavy blitz coming, Stephens quickly dumped off the ball to Hayden, complete for a gain of 6 yards to leave third and four at the 37. With another all-out blitz by the linebackers, Stephens quickly launched a pass down the middle of the field, brought down by Hayden, who then, thanks a double pick block by Jefferson that took both the cornerback and safety out of position, Hayden was able race downfield for a 37 yard touchdown to knot the game up at 14-14 with 5:19 left in the second quarter.

No return on the following kickoff left UTEP starting at their 25 yard line, looking to recapture the lead. That plan would never come to fruition, as a rush by Johnson for a loss of three yards and two incomplete passes left the punt team quickly coming out on fourth and 13. A 10 yard return by Jefferson on the 42 yard punt gave us amazing field position, starting from our 46 yard line. Oliver tried to find a hole on first down, but was quickly brought down for only a one yard gain. Going into the air on the next play, the pass intended for Jefferson was nearly intercepted by the safety, who had it in his hands for a moment before stumbling and tripping over his own feet, losing control of the ball to bring up third and 9. Much like UTEP’s drive, ours ended with little fanfare, as the third down pass intended for Hayden was batted away by the outside linebacker, bringing out the punt team on fourth down. We did catch one huge break, as UTEP was unable to return the 46 yard punt, leaving them trapped at their own 7 yard line to start their next drive.

The Miners tried to take a shot deep downfield on first down, and nearly were successful, but Jake Moore was unable to hold onto the ball, dropping it incomplete. Johnson kept the ball on the ground on the next play, picking up four yards on the play to leave third and 6 at the 11. The Miners would convert third down this time around, Cunningham leaping up to catch the pass from Livingston for a 13 yard gain and a first down at the 24 yard line. Another pass to Cunningham went for 22 yards and immediate fresh seto f downs at the 46 yard line, UTEP starting to find some momentum. Johnson kept the ball on first down, picking up two yards, before the second down pass intended for Ward fell incomplete to leave third and 8. The Miners were able to get another third down conversion, Moore holding on to the ball this time for a 10 yard completion, moving the chains to our 42 yard line. Livingston followed that up with a 12 yard completion to Ward, picking up yet another set of downs at our 30 yard line, our defense unable to keep up. Johnson ran the ball on the next play, getting one yard for his troubles, followed by a 6 yard gain to set up third and three at the 23. UTEP needed only one more play to conclude the drive, as Livingston connected with Cunningham yet again, this time for a 23 yard touchdown and a 21-14 lead with 1:48 left before halftime.

A touchback on the kickoff got us started at our 25 yard line, only 1:40 to work with on our drive. Going into the air over the middle, Jefferson got us started with a 10 yard reception and a first down at the 35. Throwing deep down the left sideline on the next play, Hayden was able to come down with the pass, and nearly broke free, but the safety was able to get a hand on his ankle, bringing him down for a 26 yard gain and a first down at the UTEP 38 yard line, 1:23 left on the clock. Throwing to Smith out of the backfield, he was able to get three yards, followed by a 10 yard pass to Newman for a first down at the 25 yard line. Rushing up the ball, Stephens connected with Newman for a second play in a row, this time for an 8 yard gain, setting up second and two at the 17 yard line, our first timeout stopping the clock with 34 seconds to play. Throwing up over the middle on the next play, Hayden was able to come down with the ball for a 12 yard gain, giving us first and goal at the 6 yard line. Rushing up to the line, we took a chance at pounding it in, but Smith was tackled for a two yard loss, leaving second and goal at the 8 yard line, calling our second timeout with 27 seconds left. Throwing to Hayden on a short slant, the pass from Stephens was complete for a 5 yard gain, leaving the clock running. Sprinting back to the line, Stephens threw up a ball intended for Antoine Banks in the back of the end zone, but the middle linebacker was able to get a hand on the ball, knocking it incomplete, leaving fourth and goal with 8 seconds to go. The 20 yard field goal attempt by David Glover was good, cutting UTEP’s lead to 21-17 with 5 seconds to go. A 27 yard kickoff return by Johnson ran out the remainder of the clock, as we headed into halftime trailing UTEP 21-17.

Opening up the second half, no return on the kickoff gave UTEP the ball at their 25 yard line to start the third quarter. Jason Taylor got the drive started with a pair of rushes for 8 and 6 yards, picking up a quick first down at the 39 yard line. Another 6 yard rush by Taylor was followed with a 6 yard rush by Cunningham, and the Miners had a first down at our 49 yard line. UTEP headed into the air on first down and second down, but both times Cunningham dropped the ball, bringing up third and long. Opting to take the deep bal chance instead of just getting the first down, the ploy worked out for UTEP, as Livingston connected with Moore for a gain of 22 yard and a first down at our 27 yard line. After throwing the ball away on first down, Livingston found Ward over the middle for an 11 yard gain and a new set of downs at our 16 yard line, our defense unable to find an answer to the UTEP offense. After an incomplete pass intended for Ward, Taylor took the ball around the left tackle, gaining 7 yards on the ground to leave third and three. Our defense finally won a battle, tackling Alvin Powers for a two yard loss, leaving UTEP with fourth and 5 from our 11 yard line. We won a second battle, when the 28 yard field goal attempt by Joel Hill was no good, sailing wide right, to give us back the ball at our 20 yard line with no new damage taken.

Oliver took the ball up the middle on first down, rumbling this way to an 11 yard carry and a first down at the 31 yard line. Keeping it going on the ground, Oliver was able to get 5 yards on the rush, leaving second and 5. Keeping the ball himself on a designed run, Stephens was able to get multiple block and broke free down the right sideline for a 28 yard rush clear down to the UTEP 36 yard line. Taking the ball up the hole on first down, Oliver got 6 yards on the play, followed by a loss of two yards while attempting to go around the right tackle, leaving third and 6. The third down pass intended for Newman was off the target, flying into the shin of a UTEP defender and incomplete. Attempting a 48 yard field goal on fourth down, the kick by Glover easily had the distance, but he didn’t get enough counter push by the wind, the ball clanking into the left upright and falling into the end zone no good, giving UTEP back the ball at their 31 yard line.

Coming out throwing on first down, the pass intended for Ward was dropped, leaving the Miners with a quick second and long. After Livingston scrambled for a three yard gain, he found Ward again, who was able to hang on this time for an 8 yard pickup and a first down at the 43 yard line. A two yard rush by Livingston was followed with yet another dropped pass by Ward, leaving third and 8. The Miners would be unable to convert this time around, as the third down pass fell incomplete, bringing out the punt unit on fourth and long.

It was our turn this time to get pinned deep, as no return by Antonio McKinney on the 48 yard punt left our offense starting at our 7 yard line. A blitz by the middle linebacker limited Oliver to only a single yard, bringing up second and 9 at the 8. Trying to circle around the outside of the left tackle, Oliver was brought down in the backfield, for a three yard loss, leaving us with third and 12 at the 6 yard line and in danger. Stephens made a great play initially to avoid a sack, scrambling through a gap and trying to make the first down line at the sideline, but when multiple defenders closed off the route, Stephens tried to turn back to his left and find another place to run. While trying to escape back to the left, the far cornerback, who had come all the way across the field from the left sideline, hit Stephens from behind and stripped the ball loose. With nothing but five white jerseys around, defensive end Steve Jones scooped up the ball and practically moon walked unopposed 5 yards into the end zone for the touchdown, giving UTEP a 28-17 lead with 1:59 left in the third quarter.

A 25 yard kickoff return by Jefferson got us started out at our 30 yard line, looking for any sign of life support now as the third quarter slowly drew to a close. Going up to get a high pass, Hayden was able to come down with the ball for a 9 yard reception at the 39 yard line. Oliver took the second down handoff up the middle, just barely getting one yard to get the first down at the 40 yard line. Stephens had a wide open target in Jefferson, who broke free of coverage on a comeback route, but Stephens was unable to get the pass off, hit as he threw, causing the ball to rocket into the ground and incomplete. Stephens was able to connect with Hayden on the second down play for a 7 yard gain, but the third down pass to Marcus Mullins came up short, picking up only two yards to leave fourth and one at the 49. No return on the 48 yard punt set a new best in the game for pinning deep, leaving UTEP starting from their three yard line for their next drive.

The Miners didn’t remain there for long, as Moore took the ball on first down and picked up four yards on the ground, followed by a 20 yard pass from Livingston to Taylor to get a first down at the 27 yard line. That would be the final play of the quarter, as the last seconds ticked off the clock, bringing the third quarter to an end, UTEP leading 28-17.

Opening up the fourth quarter, Taylor took the ball on the ground but could only manage a single yard. Cunningham then took his turn in the ground game, fighting forward for a 7 yard rush to leave third and two at the 35. Livingston would convert the third down, getting a 6 yard rush out to the 41 yard line. Livingston then turned around on the next play and threw up an 18 yard pass to Taylor for a first down at our 41 yard line, our defense almost completely helpless to stop the drive. If they hadn’t already, our defense finally broke on the next play, as Ward pulled in a deep pass from Livingston for a 29 yard gain, set UTEP up with a first down at our 12 yard line. A first down pass to Mike Howell picked up 9 yards, down to the three yard line, before Howell caught a second pass from Livingston, this time for the three yard touchdown, giving UTEP a 35-17 lead with 7:26 to play in the game, putting us in an extremely deep hole.

Jefferson tried his best to get our comeback efforts off to a good start, returning the kickoff 21 yards out to our 26 yard line for our next drive. The defense was more than energized, as Stephens was blasted as he tried to throw on first down, the ball falling incomplete and leaving second down. Hayden was able to beat the cornerback off the line on the next play and get extremely wide open down the left sideline, Stephens sailing the pass down the field, but he a bit too much air under it, the ball falling just out of the reach of Hayden, in what was a guaranteed touchdown pass, leaving third and long and our offense deflated at the missed opportunity. Stephens was at least able to recover on the next play, connecting with Banks along the right sideline for a 23 yard gain and a first down at midfield to keep the drive alive. A pass to Jefferson along the right hash went for a 10 yard gain, leaving second and inches at the 40. Stephens was able to get the ball off to Hayden, who was breaking open over the middle, but the safety cut across at the last minute and was able to get a hand on the ball, knocking it incomplete to bring up third and inches. In desperate need of a first down, it was back to the ground game temporarily as Oliver rumbled ahead for an 8 yard gain, advancing the chains to the 33 yard line. Returning to the air game, we took another gamble at the end zone, this time Stephens not putting too much air on it, and Hayden was able to come down with the ball along the back edge of the end zone for the 33 yard touchdown pass. Going for the two-point conversion, Stephens was able to get the ball off and into the hands of Smith, successfully completing the conversion to cut the score to 35-25 with exactly six minutes left in the game.

No return on the ensuing kickoff left UTEP starting at their 25 yard line, looking to put the game on ice. Our defense put up a great effort on first down, batting down the pass intended for Moore, but they had no answer on second down, as Livingston connected with Howell for 27 yards and a first down at our 48 yard line. Another pass, this time to Cunningham, was completed for a 12 yard gain and a new set of downs at our 37, UTEP looking to respond to our previous score and seal their win. After an incomplete pass on first down, Taylor took the ball up the middle for a 5 yard gain, followed by a 9 yard pass along the right sideline to Joe Carlton to reset the downs at our 23 yard line. The Livingston to Cunningham connection screwed us again, as the first down pass resulted in a 23 yard touchdown pass and a 42-25 lead for UTEP with 4:40 left to play.

Jefferson returned the kickoff 18 yards out to our 17 yard line, and trailing by 17 points with only 4:30 left in the game, it was starting to look hopeless. Stephens tried to throw to Banks deep down the middle of the field on first down, but the safety was able to break off his block nearby and make a play on the ball, knocking it incomplete. The second down pass wasn’t much better, as the ball intended for Carl Barnes was broken up by the middle linebacker, leaving third and long. The third down pass attempt, intended for Banks, never had a chance as Stephens was hit as he threw, the ball landing a couple yards away incomplete. All but waving the white flag, the punt team came out on fourth down, a 10 yard return on the 47 yard punt giving UTEP the ball at their 45 yard line.

Starting the drive with 4:10 to go, Taylor took the handoff on first down for a four yard gain, followed by a three yard rush from Livingston to leave third and three at our 48 yard line. Our defense finally decided to make a stand, tackling Taylor for a four yard loss, bringing out UTEP’s punt unit on fourth and 7. That quickly turned into fourth and two as we got flagged for offside. Courtesy of those extra 5 yards that UTEP got, McKinney was unable to return the 44 yard punt, matching the Miners for deepest starting position of the game, coming out on offense at our three yard line. Putting the ball in the hands of Oliver, he was able to get up the middle of the pile for a 6 yard gain, giving us some breathing room. Threading the needle between the cornerback and safety, Stephens was able to complete the second down pass to Jefferson for a 16 yard gain and a first down at our 25. Banks nearly made a huge play on first down, going up over the safety and outside linebacker to get his hands on the ball, but was unable o hold on as he fell back to earth, the incomplete pass leaving second down. Trying to find Banks again on the next play, the pass never had a chance as the safety dropped down from on top, breaking up the play and leaving third and long. A bad third down pass, intended for Hayden but thrown into the hands of the middle linebacker, was thankfully dropped incomplete, but resulted in fourth and long with 2:25 to play. Going for it on fourth down, the pass intended for Smith sailed long and fell incomplete, turning the ball over on downs at our 25 yard line.

Taylor took the handoff on first down, picking up 6 yards for UTEP, followed by an off-target pass intended for Ward at the front corner of the end zone, the ball sailing out of bounds and incomplete, the Miners apparently intent to run up the score as much as they can. We avoided allowing that to happen, as Taylor was stripped of the ball on the next play, the fumble on third down recovered by defensive end Tyrone Haynes, giving us back the ball at our 21 yard line with 1:48 left on the clock. Throwing up a deep bomb down the left sideline, putting a Tulsa spin on the Immaculate Reception, Hayden went up, behind both the safety and outside linebacker who had dropped back to cover him, and somehow, between five hands all trying to make a play on the ball, snagged it out of the air. The momentum of both the safety and linebacker carried them a couple yards further downfield, allowing Hayden the time to land, turn around, and cut towards the sideline. Both defenders turned to chase after him, but Hayden had already gotten enough of a head start on both of them, racing both players, and the second safety who had since come racing over from across the other side of the field, avoiding the diving tackle attempt by the linebacker and diving into the end zone for 79 yard touchdown pass, cutting the deficit to 42-32 with 1:37 to play.

We unfortunately were unable to parley that ungodly completion into a bigger advantage, as UTEP recovered the onside kick, taking over at our 41 yard line with 1:33 to go. Taylor took the ball on first down and picked up 5 yards on the ground, our first timeout freezing the clock with 1:29 left. Another 5 yard rush left us just barely hanging onto hope, as Taylor was stopped short to leave third and inches, our second timeout stopping the clock with 1:22 remaining. We caught an even bigger break, as Livingston threw up a pass into the end zone on third down, the ball intended for Howell batted incomplete, stopping the clock with 1:19 left and saving our third timeout. Any extremely slim hopes we had all depending on if UTEP would go for it on fourth and short or kick a field goal. The Miners opted to go for the field goal, the 48 yard kick by Hill splitting the uprights, giving UTEP a 45-32 lead with 1:15 to go.

A touchback on the following kickoff left just 1:07 left on the clock as we took over at our 25 yard line. Needing another Tulsa Miracle reception, the deep bomb intended for Jefferson, in man coverage, sailed too long and fell incomplete, leaving second down and 1:02 on the clock. Not even faking that it was going to be a short pass, Stephens was able to just barely avoid the pass rush and launch a 34 yard pass to Oliver, giving us first down at the UTEP 41. Racing to the line, throwing to Oliver again, the play was broken up by the outside linebacker, stopping the clock with 53 seconds to go. Getting favorable coverage again, Hayden was unable to make the miraculous catch this time, the cornerback and safety playing volleyball for a few seconds before the ball landed incomplete in the end zone. With third down and 46 seconds to go, Stephens had Hayden wide open down the right sideline, but never got the chance to release the ball, sacked for a 9 yard loss to bring up fourth and 19 at the UTEP 49, our final timeout stopping the clock with 43 seconds to go. The defense again turned Stephens into a piñata, sacking him for another 9 yard loss and forcing the turnover on downs at our 42 yard line with 41 seconds left to play.

The offense trotted out onto the field, Livingston taking a knee twice to run out the clock and secure the 45-32 win for UTEP, all but eliminating us from contention for the C-USA West Division title.

With the loss, we drop to 6-4 on the year, 3-3 in C-USA action. With the win, UTEP improves to 6-3 for the season, 4-1 in C-USA play, setting up the Rice-UTEP showdown next week for the West Division driver’s seat as the season winds down. Up next,, we head into a bye week, before it's back onto the road, the start of a two game road trip to end the season, as we visit North Texas. The Mean Green will enter the game with a 4-5 record, 3-3 in C-USA action. North Texas started the year with a 44-21 loss at USC, followed with a 27-7 loss to NC State and a 31-24 loss to MTSU. They finally got in the win column with a 20-3 victory at Florida Atlantic, before losing 38-20 to Florida International and 23-17 to Rice. They then went on a three game win streak, beating Louisiana-Lafayette 38-23, getting a 22-14 win at UTSA and picking up a 28-21 overtime win over Louisiana Tech ahead of our trip to Denton.

Final Score
:UTEP: 45, :Tulsa: 32

Stat(s) of the Game:
- Tulsa Offense – Stephens had a better day this week, ending 22-45 for 398 yards and three touchdowns (though 79 yards and one TD came on the "Tulsa Miracle" play), but he did have one interception, that very nearly got him benched the rest of the game, if he had ended up throwing one more INT. Rushing, it was again the Oliver show, ending with 122 yards on 25 carries. Smith had the lone rushing touchdown, to go with just 6 yards on four rushes. Receiving, without a doubt a career day for Hayden, ending the game with 235 yards receiving and three touchdowns on 10 receptions. Next closest was Jefferson with 83 yards on six receptions. In all, seven receivers caught a ball during the game, five receivers making it into double digit yards, Hayden the lone receiver to hit triple digits in yards for the game.

- Tulsa Defense – As stated during the Rice game, when the defense breaks, and floodgates open. UTEP broke the defense early on, and we were left playing catch-up the entire game. A couple horribly timed turnovers padded their lead and we could never keep up, just as the defense had trouble keeping up with the UTEP passing game.

- Tulsa Kicking – Another non-perfect game for Glover, ending 1-2 in field goals, successfully making a 20 yard kick, but missing the 48 yard kick that clanked of the upright in the third quarter. Ultimately, it would have made little difference, us losing only by 10 instead of 13, but without that UTEP field goal at the end, we could have had a chance to tie if Glover had converted. He at least was perfect in PATs this time around, ending 3-3.

Scoring Summary

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

:UTEP:
14
7
7
17
45

:Tulsa:
7
10
0
15
32

Time
Team
Result
Play
Score

First Quarter

6:37
:UTEP:
Touchdown
B. Robertson, 19 yard pass from R. Livingston (J. Hill kick)
:UTEP: 7-0

3:28
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
R. Smith, 2 yard run (D. Glover kick)
TIED 7-7

0:10
:UTEP:
Touchdown
B. Robertson, 28 yard pass from R. Livingston (J. Hill kick)
:UTEP: 14-7

Second Quarter

5:19
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
E. Hayden, 37 yard pass from B. Stephens (D. Glover kick)
TIED 14-14

1:48
:UTEP:
Touchdown
L. Cunningham, 23 yard pass from R. Livingston (J. Hill kick)
:UTEP: 21-14

0:05
:Tulsa:
Field Goal
D. Glover, 20 yard field goal
:UTEP: 21-17

Third Quarter

1:59
:UTEP:
Touchdown
S. Jones, returned fumble 5 yards (J. Hill kick)
:UTEP: 28-17

Fourth Quarter

7:26
:UTEP:
Touchdown
M. Howell, 3 yard pass from R. Livingston (J. Hill kick)
:UTEP: 35-17

6:00
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
E. Hayden, 33 yard pass from B. Stephens (Two-point conversion good)
:UTEP: 35-25

4:40
:UTEP:
Touchdown
L. Cunningham, 23 yard pass from R. Livingston (J. Hill kick)
:UTEP: 42-25

1:37
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
E. Hayden, 79 yard pass from B. Stephens (D. Glover kick)
:UTEP: 42-32

1:15
:UTEP:
Field Goal
J. Hill, 48 yard field goal
:UTEP: 45-32

Game Stats

UTEP
Stat
Tulsa

45
Score
32

18
First Downs
20

432
Total Offense
535

31 - 94 - 0
Rushes - Yards - TD
33 - 137 - 1

21 - 42 - 5
Comp - Att - TD
22 - 45 - 3

338
Passing Yards
398

0
Times Sacked
3

8 - 16 (50%)
3rd Down Conversion
6 - 16 (37%)

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

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

6 - 1 - 0 (16%)
Red Zone - TD - FG
4 - 1 - 1 (50%)

1
Turnovers
3

1
Fumbles Lost
2

0
Intercepted
1

17
Punt Return Yards
20

27
Kick Return Yards
64

476
Total Yards
619

5 – 45.0
Punts - Average
4 - 47.5

0 - 0
Penalties
3 - 15

14:34
Time of Possession
21:26

Tulsa Contract Goals Update

Fail Impact
Goal
Progress
Pass Impact

:6redarrow:
21+ points per game in each season
23
:6greenarrow:

Win 10 games in one season
6
:6greenarrow:

3300+ passing yards each season
:red-x:
:5greenarrow:

:6redarrow:
65% pass completions over the entire contract
58%
:5greenarrow:

:5redarrow:
Win 6 games in one season
:check:
:5greenarrow:

:6redarrow:
15+ rushing TD in each season
2/4 Completed
:5greenarrow:

:4redarrow:
3200+ total offensive yards each season
2/4 Completed
:3greenarrow:

:5redarrow:
3400+ total offensive yards each season
2/4 Completed
:2greenarrow:

Penalty

:2redarrow:
Lost to a lower ranked team

Job Security Status

38%

SmoothPancakes

04-11-2013, 12:55 AM

Time for another look around the nation. Starting in the Top 25, #1 Notre Dame just barely held onto their seat at the top, trailing Navy 7-0 after one, leading 10-7 at halftime, trailing 14-10 after the third quarter, and then losing 21-17 halfway through the fourth quarter, only finally getting the win with a 42 yard touchdown pass with 4:43 to go to pull out the 24-21 win over Navy.

#2 Arkansas State faced the toughest test of the week, quickly falling behind Texas State 21-7 after the first quarter. The Red Wolves managed to pull within 28-21 at halftime, and trailed 35-28 at the end of the third quarter. It was starting to look dismal for Arkansas State, as a Texas State field goal in the early fourth gave the Bobcats a 38-28 lead. But the Red Wolves fought back, scoring a pair of touchdowns, the second one coming with 3:28 left to play, to pull out the 42-38 win over Texas State.

South Carolina becomes bowl eligible thanks to a 24-20 upset of #3 Georgia, ruining the hopes of the Bulldogs for a title game appearance. #5 Oklahoma received all they could handle from West Virginia. A 7-7 tie after one, a 10-10 tie at halftime, a 17-10 West Virginia lead after three quarters and a 24-10 West Virginia lead in the early fourth quarter, the Sooners reeled off 21 fourth quarter points, scoring the game winner on a 13 yard touchdown pass with 15 seconds remaining to beat the Mountaineers 31-24.

The game of the week sees #9 Virginia Tech knock off #7 Miami 31-17 in a battle for ACC supremacy. #8 Florida State fights off a late comeback by NC State to beat the Wolfpack 49-42. #24 Northwestern raced out to a 24-7 lead over #11 Nebraska, gave up 17 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to end up tied, before scoring with 20 seconds to play to down the Huskers 31-24. #12 Alabama wins the SEC battle of the week, beating #15 LSU 23-7. Utah shocked the home Wildcat crowd, scoring 17 points in the fourth quarter, and 24 straight going back to the end of the third quarter to knock off #13 Arizona, 38-24. Pittsburgh defended their home turf with a 48-45 overtime upset of #14 Virginia.

One week after losing to Arkansas State and seeing their perfect record unraveled, #16 BYU recovers with a 42-10 thrasing of UL-Lafayette. #18 Ohio State had a hell of a time with Purdue. Despite leading 20-7 at halftime and 23-10 after the third quarter, Purdue made a comeback in the fourth quarter to take a 24-23 lead, Ohio State scoring a field goal with 3:34 remaining to retake the lead 26-24, and then adding another field goal with 14 seconds left in the game to seal the 29-24 win over the Boilermakers.

#19 Oklahoma State pulls out a late 28-23 win over Kansas State (now losers of four straight since starting 4-0). Vanderbilt scores a 38-21 upset of #20 Kentucky to get to 5-5 on the year. #21 Georgia Tech held on to beat North Carolina 38-20. #22 Michigan downs #25 Wisconsin 39-35, thanks to a 22 point fourth quarter comeback, and 25 unanswered points going back to a field goal with 2 minutes left in the third and #23 TCU escaped Kansas with a 27-21 win over the Jayhawks.

For our readers, souljahbill, Southern Miss, one week after an embarrassing loss, improves to 8-1 (4-1 C-USA) with a 42-13 thumping of Florida Atlantic to stay alive in the East Division race. Jaymo, where the hell has this team been? Arizona State improves to 4-6 (3-4 Pac-12), knocking off Cal 48-31. Mors, West Virginia put up a hell of a fight (see the Top 25 recap for details), but drops to 4-5 (3-3 Big 12), with a 31-24 loss to #5 Oklahoma. Jeff, #18 Ohio State themselves had a hell of a battle (also see Top 25 recap for details), but improve to 9-1 (7-0 Big Ten), with a 29-24 win at Purdue. Other teams of interest, #2 Arkansas State barely improves to 9-0 (4-0 Sun Belt) with a 42-38 win over Texas State (again, see Top 25 recap for details)

In C-USA action, UTEP beats Tulsa 45-32, Rice pulls out a 31-24 win over Louisiana Tech, Southern Miss thumps Florida Atlantic 42-13, Marshall downs Florida International 24-12, North Texas picks up a 22-14 win over UTSA, and in non-conference action, San Diego State beats UAB 34-14.

With those results, looking at the current standings, in the East Division, Marshall (5-1) now claims sole possession of the top spot, followed closely by Southern Miss (4-1) and Florida International (4-2). MTSU (2-3) and UAB and Florida Atlantic (both 1-5) are all eliminated. Some showdowns will decide the division. Southern Miss travels to FIU next week, and then Southern Miss travels to Marshall in the last game of the season for both teams, so the East Division is very much still alive. Over in the West Division, Rice (5-1) remains top dog, followed by UTEP (4-1). Tulsa (3-3) and North Texas (2-3) trail behind, but we're pretty much all but eliminated now. UTSA (2-5) and Louisiana Tech (1-5) are officially eliminated. That sets up the UTEP at Rice showdown next week to decide the front runner (and most likely winner) of the division.

Looking at undefeated teams left, no new teams lost this week, keeping our number of undefeated teams at 2, though both teams were seriously tested. #1 Notre Dame (9-0) and #2 Arkansas State (9-0) are the only teams remaining with an unblemished record this season.

Turning to a more sadistic watch, who is still winless. No more teams are searching for that first win, everyone will end the year with at least one victory.

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Notre Dame (33 first place votes) remains #1. Arkansas State (28 votes) remains #2. USC moves up one to #3, Oklahoma climbs one to #4 and Michigan State climbs one to #5. Virginia Tech jumps three to #6, Florida State climbs one to #7, Mississippi State jumps two to #8, Georgia drops six to #9 and Alabama moves up two to #10. Miami drops four to #11, BYU climbs four to #12, Iowa jumps four to #13, Ohio State moves up four to #14 and Oklahoma State jumps four to #15. Nebraska drops five to #16, Georgia Tech jumps four to #17, Northwestern leaps six to #18, Michigan climbs three to #19 and South Carolina enters the poll at #20. Virginia drops seven spots to #21, TCU moves up one to #22, LSU falls eight to #23, Arizona tumbles eleven to #24 and Clemson re-enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Kentucky (from #20) and Wisconsin (from #25). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Texas (271 votes) is #26, followed by Texas Tech (204), Southern Miss (137), Houston (88) and San Diego State (51) to round out the Top 30. Other teams also getting votes this week include Wyoming (29) and Pittsburgh (15).

Looking at the new Top 25 Media Poll of the season, Notre Dame (42 first place votes) remains #1. Arkansas State (23 votes) remains #2, USC remains #3, Oklahoma climbs one to #4 and Virginia Tech jumps four to #5. Michigan State remains #6, Mississippi State moves up three to #7, Florida State jumps four to #8, Georgia falls five to #9 and Alabama climbs four to #10. BYU vaults five to #11, Miami drops four to #12, Michigan climbs two to #13, Oklahoma State moves up four to #14 and Virginia falls eight to #15. Iowa climbs three to #16, Ohio State moves up three to #17, Northwestern leaps seven spots to #18, Nebraska falls eight places to #19 and Georgia Tech climbs one to #20. South Carolina enters the poll this week at #21, Arizona falls nine to #22, TCU moves up one to #23, LSU tumbles seven to #24 and Clemson re-enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Kentucky (from #20) and Wisconsin (from #25). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Texas (246 votes) is #26, followed by Texas Tech (215), Pittsburgh (189), Southern Miss (185), and Houston (133) to round out the Top 30. Other teams also getting votes this week include Wyoming (66), San Diego State (15) and Auburn (6).

Looking at the new BCS standings: #1 Notre Dame (1.000), #2 Arkansas State (0.995), #3 USC (0.989), #4 Oklahoma (0.981), #5 Michigan State (0.976), #6 Virginia Tech (0.976), #7 Mississippi State (0.965), #8 Florida State (0.965), #9 Georgia (0.957) and #10 Alabama (0.951).

Looking at the new Heisman watch, Georgia HB Joel Nolan remains #1 (LW: #1), followed by Georgia Tech HB Brandon Terrell at #2 (LW: #2), Virginia Tech HB Jay Smith at #3 (LW: #3), Michigan State QB Bo Wade at #4 (LW: #5) and Notre Dame QB Jordan Cooke re-entering the list at #5 (LW: NR). Falling off the Heisman Watch list this week was Arizona QB E.J. McCoy (LW: #4).

SmoothPancakes

04-11-2013, 02:03 AM

On a bye week so lets jump right into it. Starting in the Top 25, after last week's close call, #1 Notre Dame costs to a 35-7 win over Boston College to defend the #1 ranking. #3 USC barely escapes #24 Arizona 31-24. #4 Oklahoma scores the game-winning touchdown with 1:42 to play to defeat Baylor 38-31. #13 Iowa slays #5 Michigan State 31-28. #6 Virginia Tech escapes, thanks to two fourth quarter touchdowns, with a 21-14 win over #17 Georgia Tech. #7 Florida State escapes #25 Clemson with a 38-35 overtime win.

The game of the week goes to #10 Alabama, who takes down #8 Mississippi State 42-35. #9 Georgia falls down and goes boom for the second week in a row, losing 20-17 in overtime to Auburn. #14 Ohio State continued to pull close wins out of their ass, using two touchdowns and two field goals to beat Illinois 20-7. Iowa State (3-6) scores a huge upset of #15 Oklahoma State, 34-31. #16 Nebraska uses a 20-0 second half advantage to beat Wisconsin 34-14. #19 Michigan knocks off #18 Northwestern 37-21. Texas A&M gets back to .500 on the year, knocking off #23 LSU 34-31.

For our readers, souljahbill, Southern Miss, improves to 9-1 (5-1 C-USA) with a 45-28 win over Florida Atlantic. Jaymo, Arizona State wins their third in a row, improving to 5-6 (4-4 Pac-12), scoring twice in the last 4:44 of the game, including the game-winning 30 yard field goal with 13 seconds to play to knock off UCLA 45-42. Mors, West Virginia remains 4-5 (3-3 Big 12), with a bye week. Jeff, #14 Ohio State improves to 10-1 (8-0 Big Ten), pulling out a 20-7 win over Illinois. Other teams of interest, #2 Arkansas State remains 9-0 (4-0 Sun Belt) with a bye week.

In C-USA action, Southern Miss beats Florida International 45-28, Marshall thumps UMass 45-7, UTEP pimp slaps Rice 49-14, North Texas edges out Louisiana Tech 28-21 in overtime, Florida Atlantic pulls out a 24-21 win over MTSU, and in non-conference action, Syracuse whoops UTSA 48-17.

With those results, looking at the current standings, in the East Division, Marshall and Southern Miss (both 5-1) are tied for the division lead, making November 28th (barring any upsets the week before) in Marshall the showdown for the division. Florida International (4-3), MTSU (2-4), Florida Atlantic (2-5) and UAB (1-5) are all eliminated. In the West Division, UTEP (5-1) takes over control of the top with Rice (5-2) trailing behind. Tulsa and North Texas (both 3-3), UTSA (2-5) and Louisiana Tech (1-5) are all eliminated. Rice just has UTSA left, UTEP plays Louisiana Tech and North Texas, so the division will come down to Rice winning their last game, and then whether or not UTEP finishes with two wins, a win and a loss or two losses.

Looking at undefeated teams left, no new teams lost this week, keeping our number of undefeated teams at 2. #1 Notre Dame (10-0) and #2 Arkansas State (9-0) are the only teams remaining with an unblemished record this season.

Turning to a more sadistic watch, who is still winless. No more teams are searching for that first win, everyone will end the year with at least one victory.

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Notre Dame (37 first place votes) remains #1. Arkansas State (24 votes) remains #2. USC remains #3, Oklahoma remains #4 and Virginia Tech moves up one to #5. Florida State climbs one to #6, Alabama jumps three to #7, Iowa moves up five to #8, Miami climbs two to #9 and BYU jumps two to #10. Michigan State falls six to #11, Mississippi State drops four to #12, Ohio State moves up one to #13, Nebraska climbs two to #14 and Michigan leaps four to #15. Georgia falls seven to #16, South Carolina moves up three to #17, Virginia climbs three to #18, TCU jumps three to #19 and Georgia Tech drops three to #20. Auburn enters the poll this week at #21, Northwestern falls four to #22, Texas enters the poll at 23, Southern Miss re-enters at #24 and Houston enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Oklahoma State (from #15), LSU (from #23), Arizona (from #24) and Clemson (from #25). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Oklahoma State (215 votes) is #26, followed by Arizona (198), San Diego State (183), Wyoming (113) and Northern Illinois (113) to round out the Top 30. Other teams also getting votes this week include Utah (81) and Oregon (38).

Looking at the new Top 25 Media Poll of the season, Notre Dame (40 first place votes) remains #1. Arkansas State (25 votes) remains #2, USC remains #3, Oklahoma remains #4 and Virginia Tech remains #5. Alabama jumps four to #6, Florida State climbs one to #7, Iowa leaps eight to #8, BYU jumps two to #9 and Miami moves up two to #10. Mississippi State falls four to #11, Michigan climbs one to #12, Michigan State drops seven to #13, Ohio State climbs three to #14 and Virginia remains #15. Nebraska moves up three to #16, Georgia drops eight to #17, South Carolina climbs three to #18, TCU jumps four to #19 and Georgia Tech remains #20. Auburn enters the poll this week at #21, Northwestern falls four to #22, Texas enters the poll at #23, Oklahoma State falls ten to #24 and Southern Miss re-enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Arizona (from #22), LSU (#24) and Clemson (#25). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Arizona (241 votes) is #26, followed by Houston (202), Wyoming (162), San Diego State (118) and Oregon (44) to round out the Top 30. Other teams also getting votes this week include Utah (3) and Northern Illinois (3).

Looking at the new BCS standings: #1 Notre Dame (1.000), #2 Arkansas State (0.995), #3 USC (0.989), #4 Oklahoma (0.980), #5 Virginia Tech (0.978), #6 Alabama (0.970), #7 Florida State (0.970), #8 Iowa (0.955), #9 Miami (0.954) and #10 BYU (0.943).

Looking at the new Heisman watch, Georgia HB Joel Nolan remains #1 (LW: #1), followed by Georgia Tech HB Brandon Terrell at #2 (LW: #2), Virginia Tech HB Jay Smith at #3 (LW: #3), Notre Dame QB Jordan Cooke at #4 (LW: #5) and Michigan State QB Bo Wade at #5 (LW: #4). No one fell off the list this week.

Looking at the very first bowl projections of the year, if they hold out, it's a trip to the Hawaii Bowl for Tulsa fans, taking on 5-4 (3-3) Temple out of the Big East. The AutZone Liberty Bowl would feature #24 Southern Miss (9-1, 5-1 C-USA) matching up with #25 Houston (7-2, 4-2 Big East). #13 Ohio State (10-1, 8-0 Big Ten) would head out west to the Rose Bowl and a showdown with #3 USC (9-1, 8-0 Pac-12).

Looking at the BCS projections, the Rose Bowl would feature #13 Ohio State (10-1, 8-0 Big Ten) against #3 USC (9-1, 8-0 Pac-12). The Sugar Bowl has #17 South Carolina (6-4, 6-2 SEC) matching up with #6 Florida State (8-2, 7-2 ACC). The Orange Bowl has #5 Virginia Tech (9-1, 7-1 ACC) matching up with #8 Iowa (8-2, 5-2 Big Ten). The Fiesta Bowl features a battle between #4 Oklahoma (8-1, 5-1 Big 12) and #7 Alabama (8-2, 5-2). And in the national championship game, #2 Arkansas State (9-0, 4-0 Sun Belt) takes on #1 Notre Dame (10-0), the Irish looking for their second straight title.

SmoothPancakes

04-12-2013, 12:00 AM

Game Eleven

:Tulsa: :@: :North_Texas:

Game Notes

--- Stuck on yet another two game losing streak, and eliminated from the C-USA West Division race, we were left wondering where it all went wrong. A 5-0 start to the season, the year was full of promise, only to then end up stuck in a 1-4 slide over our last five games. Not only was the OC coaching seat getting warmer with each passing week, but our hopes of a bowl game also could be in jeopardy. Officially, only 56 teams, including ourselves, made it to bowl eligibility by this week, but another 35 teams still had hopes (however slim some of those hopes might be) of getting to 6 wins. With only 68 bowl slots up for contention, if even half of those teams are able to obtain that elusive 6th win, a potential 6-6 record may end up not being enough and we could end up on the outside looking in.

It wasn’t going to get any easier, as we seemed to still be running the gauntlet of good defensive teams. North Texas may only be 4-5 on the year, but they entered with the #37 defense in the nation, giving up only 359.8 yards/game. They ranked even better against the run, coming in at #20 (142.4 yards/game) and were still in the top 50% in pass defense at #59 (217.4 yards/game). While we had a better offense, going by the number, turning the ball over six times (three interceptions, three fumbles) in our last two games, and giving up 10 sacks on those same two games, whatever success we do manage on offense often gets reversed with the damage caused from the turnovers and sacks. We had to find a way to stop the flood of sacks and turnovers, and keep our defense from breaking to avoid our current slide going further downhill. North Texas won the coin toss and elected to kick.

The opening kickoff sailed into the end zone for a touchback, and we got our first drive of the game started at our 25 yard line. Breaking away from our usual pattern of establishing the run first, we came out firing, trying to set the tone of the game, and set the tone we did. In a very slow developing play, Brad Stephens dropped back and waited and waited and waited until Connor Jefferson was the first receiver to finally get open, cutting across the middle on a slant. The pass was on-target, Jefferson hauling in the ball and turning up the field for a 28 yard gain and an immediate first down at the North Texas 47 yard line. Throwing up the ball to avoid a sack, the pass intended for Eric Hayden was broken up by the outside linebacker, bringing up second down. Jefferson made his second catch of the game on the next play, tight-roping the right sideline to haul in an overthrown pass from Stephens, complete for a 30 yard gain and a first down at the 17. Taking advantage of the pass-first defense, Will Oliver took the first down handoff up the middle, picking up 6 yards on the play. Going off the left tackle on second down, Oliver got hit by the defensive end at the 6 yard line, spinning clockwise through the air will falling forward, able to cover the last 5 yards in the air and get the ball over the goal line before landing on the ground to get the 11 yard touchdown and give us a 7-0 lead with 7:34 to go in the first quarter.

A 16 yard kickoff return left the Mean Green starting from their 17 yard line, looking to respond. That response would have to wait, as a rush for a three yard loss by Andrew Cooper, followed by two incomplete passes from Brian Sanchez left North Texas bringing out the punt team. A fair catch by Jefferson on the 48 yard punt set us up at our 36 yard line, in a rare occasion, playing with the lead.

Leading off with the ground game this time around, Oliver took the ball on first down for a gain of 6 yards, followed by a 7 yard rush to get the first down at the 49 yard line. Oliver took his third handoff of the drive on third down, finding a large hole and busting into the secondary. While trying to break out of a tackle attempt, the safety came diving in, jarring the ball loose. Despite multiple attempts by North Texas players to dive on the loose football, we got a huge break as Carl Barnes was able to recover the fumble, Barnes ending up credited in the books with a 13 yard rush that had most of the work done by Oliver. Either way, we were able to end up with a first down at the 38 yard line after the play, though narrowly. Despite not recovering the fumble, just the fact that a fumble was caused energized the North Texas defense, as Oliver was quickly brought down for a one yard gain on the first down play. Trying to find Hayden over the middle on second down, the play was broken up by the middle linebacker, leaving us facing third and 9. Dumping off the ball to avoid a sack, Roy Smith came down with the pass, but could only pick up 7 yards before being tackled, leaving fourth and two. The 47 yard field goal attempt by Derek Glover split the uprights, extending our lead to 10-0 with 3:55 left in the first quarter.

No return on the kickoff left North Texas again starting at the 25. This time the Mean Green were able to find offensive success, as Sanchez connected with Rob Moss over the middle for a 10 yard gain and a first down at the 35. Cooper took the ball on first down, picking up three yards on the play, but then promptly lost them, tackled for a three yard loss on the next down to leave third and 10. An incomplete pass from Sanchez sealed the fate on another drive, the North Texas punt team coming out again. A 7 yard return by Jefferson on the 48 yard punt saved some field position for us, giving us the ball at our 24 yard line.

Oliver kept the rushing show going, taking the first down handoff straight up the middle for a 10 yard gain to leave second and inches at the 34. North Texas was more than ready for the second down play, the outside linebacker blitzing in to meet Oliver in the backfield for a one yard loss, leaving third and one. The Mean Green would get the job done, blitzing hard on the left side and able to break through and cut Oliver down for a one yard loss, leaving the punt team coming out on fourth and two. A fair catch on the 47 yard punt got North Texas underway at their 20 yard line.

It was a very rough start for the Green, as a 10 yard holding penalty quickly pushed them back, leaving first and 20 from the 10 yard line. They were able to make up those yards though, as Sanchez found Cooper for an 8 yard gain, followed by a 9 yard pass to E.J. Jackson to leave third and three. The third down pass was less than successful, complete to Deshawn Banks for a single yard to leave fourth and two. The 46 yard punt was returned for four yards by Jefferson, and our offense came back out at our 29 yard line. Oliver took the first down handoff around the right tackle, the defense still refusing to give up anything as he was tackled for no gain. That would bring the first quarter to an end, our lead holding at 10-0.

Opening up the second quarter, with the running game effectively neutralized, it was into the air on second down. That proved to be a mistake, as the pass over the middle intended for Hayden ended up directly in the hands of middle linebacker Steve Prince for the interception, giving North Texas back the ball at our 40 yard line. Cooper got the drive started with a three yard rush, followed by a 5 yard gain by Sanchez to leave third and two. Our defense rose to the occasion on third down, sacking Sanchez for a loss of two yards, leaving the Mean Green with fourth and four at our 34 yard line. Apparently not trusting their kicker, North Texas opted to go for it on fourth down instead of attempt the field goal, the pass intended for Mark Coleman broken up to force the turnover on downs.

Returning to the field on offense, it was turning into a “pick your poison” moment, with a running game that was, at the moment, being shut down, and a passing game led by a quarterback who had just thrown his fourth interception in three games. Choosing the poison of the running game, Oliver was able to prove the less deadly option, finding a way to get 6 yards on the first down carry. Oliver tried to stretch the second down play toward the far sideline, but was quickly run down by the outside linebacker for a gain of one yard, leaving third and three. Pitching the ball to the left on third down, Oliver tried his best, but couldn’t make it, tackled for a two yard gain to leave fourth and one. No return on the 45 yard punt left North Texas starting at their 13 yard line for the next drive.

It seemed like another short drive was in store, as the first down pass by Sanchez fell woefully incomplete, but he was able to connect with Brandon Carroll on the next play for a 19 yard gain, getting the Mean Green moving with a first down at the 32. The drive would come to a end three plays later, as two incomplete passes and a four yard rush by Cooper left the punt team trotting out on fourth and 6. A 6 yard return by Jefferson on the 46 yard punt and we were back in action at our 24 yard line. Oliver was able to avoid a tackle in the backfield, racing toward the left sideline and managing a 7 yard gain to the 31. Heading back to the right on second down, Oliver tried to turn it up around the right hash to avoid the cornerback, but was quickly pushed by the safety who had quickly crashed down, only getting two yards on the play to leave third and one. Smith never had a chance to convert on third and short, tackled for a two yard loss to leave fourth and three. A fair catch on the 45 yard punt and North Texas was back on the field at their 24.

North Texas again showed some signs of life on offense, as Sanchez found Carroll over the middle for an 8 yard gain. But two incomplete passes would doom yet another drive, as the punt team came back out on fourth and two. A fair catch by Jefferson on the 44 yard punt, and it was back in to action at our 23 yard line. Leaving the run game in the back of the playbook this drive, the results quickly paid off as Jefferson broke open deep over the middle, hauling in the pass from Stephens for a 25 yard gain and a first down at the 49. Trying to hit Hayden on the post route, the ball was broken up (thankfully not intercepted) by the safety, leaving second and long. Antoine Banks was able to haul in a pass from Stephens for a 7 yard gain, leaving third and three at the NT 44. Keeping the passing attack going, the pass intended for Barnes was batted down by the middle linebacker, leaving fourth and three. The punt landed at the 5 yard line, bouncing into the end zone for a touchback.

North Texas came out firing this drive, and it paid off, as Sanchez found Jackson for a big 26 yard gain and an immediate first down at the 46 yard line. Another pass, this time to Coleman for 16 yards, and North Texas had a new set of downs at our 38. After an incomplete pass on first down, our defense struck back with a vengeance, sacking Sanchez for an 11 yard loss, leaving the Mean Green facing third and 21 from the 49 yard line. They would only go backwards, as Cooper was tackled for a two yard loss, ending a drive that held massive potential and promise with the punt team trotting out on fourth and 23. North Texas would get the last laugh, as no return on the 41 yard punt left our offense to start our next drive at the 10 yard line. Oliver took the ball on first down, but was gobbled up in the backfield for a one yard loss. The next play would end in disaster, as Oliver plowed up the middle of the line, getting about four yards before he was stripped of the ball, the fumble recovered by outside linebacker Anthony Brant to give North Texas the ball at our 12 yard line with 46 seconds left before halftime.

Our defense wasn’t going to make it easy on the Mean Green, sacking Sanchez for a three yard loss on first down, the first timeout by the offense stopping the clock with 42 seconds. They were able to make up the lost yards as Sanchez found Carroll for a 9 yard gain, leaving third and four at our 7 yard line, the second timeout stopping the clock with 36 seconds to go. An incomplete pass intended for Jackson left the North Texas coaching staff with a decision to make, as they faced fourth and four from our 7 yard line. The Mean Green came out in field goal formation, but it ended up being a ballsy fake field goal, as backup quarterback and holder Tim Bush hit David Jackson in the end zone for the 7 yard touchdown, cutting our lead to 10-7 with 26 seconds left on the clock. A touchback on the kickoff gave us the ball at our 25 yard line, Oliver taking the handoff up the middle for no gain, running the final 15 seconds off the clock to bring the second quarter to an end, as we headed into halftime with a 10-7 lead.

Opening up the third quarter, a touchback on the kickoff gave North Texas the ball at their 25 yard line to begin the second half. It was looking like another short drive for the green faithful, as two dropped passes by Jackson left North Texas facing third and long. It ended up being a short drive on the next play, as cornerback Chad Wheeler intercepted a pass from Sanchez near midfield, returning it 38 yards before being tackled at the North Texas 10 yard line to give us first and goal. The first down rush by Oliver picked up 7 yards, leaving second and goal at the three. Oliver would punch it in on the next play, plowing into the mass of bodies ahead of him and driving and pushing forward into the end zone for the three yard touchdown and a 17-7 lead with 7:59 left in the third quarter.

No return on the following kickoff left North Texas again trailing by double digits, as they began their drive at their 25 yard line. Our defense gave them some major help, as a 15 yard facemask penalty at the end of a two yard run set North Texas up with a first down at the 42 yard line. Cooper took the handoff on first down, but found nowhere to go, tackled for a three yard loss. Trying his luck a second time, Cooper was able to gain 7 yards on the ground, leaving third and 6 from the 46. That third and 6 turned into third and 11 courtesy of a false start penalty, turning a molehill into a mountain for the offense. North Texas nearly converted third down, as Sanchez found Moss over the middle for an 11 yard gain, but the refs marked him short, leaving fourth and inches at our 48 yard line. Cooper would get the job done, converting fourth and short with a 5 yard rush to get the fresh set of downs at our 44. After an incomplete pass on first down, Cooper took the ball around the left tackle, fighting his way to a four yard gain, followed by a four yard gain by Sanchez on a scramble to bring up fourth and two at the 36. North Texas would again try to convert fourth down, failing this time as Ryan Morales was tackled for a two yard loss, turning the ball over on downs at our 38 yard line.

Taking over at the 38, Oliver took the ball on first down, but found no success at all on the ground, quickly brought down for no gain. Going into the air on second down, the pass intended for Jefferson was nearly intercepted by the outside linebacker but thankfully dropped, leaving third and long. Stephens was able to hook up with Smith along the right hash on third down, but it wouldn’t be enough as Smith was tackled for a gain of only 8 yards, leaving the punt unit coming out on fourth and two. No return on the 51 yard punt gave us top rank in the punting war, leaving North Texas buried at their three yard line.

North Texas wouldn’t remain there for long however, as a pair of rushes by Cooper for gains of three and 8 yards got a quick first down at the 14 yard line. A two yard rush by Sanchez was followed with a pass to Jackson for a 13 yard gain and first down at the 29. Our defense again screwed us, flagged for another facemask on a four yard carry, giving North Texas 19 free yards and a first down at the 48 yard line. A 5 yard rush by Carroll was followed by an incomplete pass to leave third and 5. Sanchez was able to complete the third down pass to Carroll, but the defense quickly brought him down for only a one yard gain, leaving fourth and four at our 46, North Texas once again failing to parlay a facemask penalty (and a bunch of free yards) by the defense into points. The punt sailed 49 yards into the end zone for a touchback, giving us back the ball at our 20 yard line.

Giving the run game a chance, Oliver took the first down handoff up the middle, fighting his way to a three yard gain. On second down, Oliver was a supposed to go between the left tackle and guard, but finding the hole closed, bounced outside. With the safety crashing down to make a play, Oliver stretched out toward the sideline, getting a small edge and able to get 12 yards on the play before being wrestled down at the 35 yard line, thought it came at a price as Oliver was sidelined for a couple plays with back spasms. Following his blockers on first down, Smith was able to break into the second level around the right tackle, turning up at the last second to cut off the cornerback, tackled forward from behind by the safety for a 10 yard gain and a first down at the 45 yard line. Shaking off one tackle in the backfield, Smith was unable to break free from the defensive tackle, brought down for no gain to leave second and long. Countering to the left on second down, Eric Silva could only manage three yards, leaving third and 8 at the 47. Going into the air on third down, Stephens was able to hook up with Randy Newman for an 8 yard gain and a first down at the North Texas 45 yard line. That would bring the third quarter to an end as the final 10 seconds ran off the clock, our lead holding at 17-7.

Starting the fourth quarter, Stephens kept the ball himself, going off the right tackle, but could only get three yards before all the holes closed up and the defense surrounded him. Taking a chance with an option play, Stephens was able to get the pitch off at the last second to Smith, who picked up four yards on the play to leave third and three. Silva made the play of the drive, hauling in a pass from Stephens for a 10 yard gain and a first down at the 27. Smith hauled in a first down pass from Stephens, juking away from a diving tackler and picking up 6 yards on the play, though it too came at a price, Smith sidelined after the play with a bruised elbow, keeping him out for a while. Barely avoiding a sack, Stephens got the ball off to Banks for a 6 yard gain and a first down at the 15 yard line, keeping the drive moving. A quick pass to Kyle Jones was complete for four yards, followed by a 10 yard pass to Oliver to set up first and goal at the one yard line. Despite being hit in the backfield by two defenders, Oliver was able to keep the legs pumping and carry all three of them into the end zone for the one yard touchdown, giving us a 24-7 lead and all but sealing the victory with 5:30 left on the clock.

A touchback on the kickoff gave North Texas the ball at their 25 yard line, any hopes the Mean Green had of getting back in this game nearly all vaporized. Cooper got the drive started with an 8 yard rush, followed by an 8 yard pass from Sanchez to Banks, setting up a first down at the 40 yard line. Sanchez connected with Banks a second time, this one a 19 yard gain to move the chains to our 41 yard line. Cooper took the ball on first down, but was tackled for a loss of three yards, followed by an incomplete pass from Sanchez to bring up third and 13. The third down pass intended for Cooper fell incomplete, and North Texas was left facing fourth and very long at our 44 yard line. The Mean Green went for it on fourth down, but the pass from Sanchez was batted down at the line of scrimmage, forcing the turnover on downs at our 44 with 4:15 left in the game.

Oliver took the handoff on first down, plowing his way up the middle for a 10 yard gain, with an extra 15 yards tacked on thanks to a facemask penalty on safety Rodney Cronin on the tackle, giving us a first down at the North Texas 31 yard line. Oliver had a chance at breaking through a hole on first down, but a quick tackle by the defensive tackle saved the big gain, taking Oliver down for just three yards to leave second and 7. Taking a shot through the air, the pass intended for Hayden was broken up by the safety, leaving third and 7. Hayden was able to haul in the pass the second time around, good for a gain of 8 yards and the first down at the 20 yard line. Keeping it in the air, Stephens was able to get off the pass to Banks for a 13 yard pickup, giving us first and goal at the 7 yard line. Throwing on first down, the pass intended for Newman was broken up. Threading the needle between both cornerbacks and both safeties, Stephens was able to hook up with Jefferson for the 7 yard touchdown, giving us a 31-7 lead with 3:04 left in the game. Some people make call our pass heavy drive nothing but running up the score, and they would be correct, as we took out many of our frustrations from our current 1-4 slide on the North Texas defense.

A 21 yard kickoff return got North Texas set up at their 23 yard line for their next drive. It looked to be a short drive, as two dropped passes by Cooper left the Mean Green facing third and long. Sanchez finally completed a pass to Coleman on the third down play, good for a 10 yard gain, but an unfavorable spot by the refs left North Texas stuck with fourth and inches at the 33 yard line. The Mean Green attempted to go for it on fourth down, but Cooper never had a chance on the carry, tackled for a three yard loss to force the turnover on downs at the 30 yard line with 2:29 left to play.

If we were accused of running up the score last drive, the North Texas fans were screaming bloody murder this drive, as we came out throwing from the start. Unfortunately, the defense refused to give us anything, three straight incomplete passes to Oliver, Banks and Newman leaving us facing fourth and 10 at the 30 yard line. We were still able to put some points on the board, as Glover nailed a 47 yard field goal down the middle to extend our lead to 34-7 with 2:15 left to play.

A 15 yard kickoff return left North Texas beginning at their 16 yard line. It was straight backwards as Cooper was tackled for a four yard loss, followed by an incomplete pass to leave third and 14. The third down pass, intended for Coleman, was broken up by the safety, leaving the punt team coming out at their 12 yard line. A 13 yard return on a 38 yard punt gave us back the ball at the North Texas 37 yard line, just 1:40 remaining. Calling off the dogs, Oliver took the first down handoff up the middle for a three yard gain, followed by a two yard rush to leave third and 5 with 45 seconds to go. On the final play of the game, Oliver was tackled for a one yard gain, as the last 10 seconds ticked off the clock, giving us the 34-7 victory to claim only our second win in the last six games.

With the win, we improve to 7-4, 4-3 in C-USA action. With the loss, North Texas falls to 4-6, 3-4 in C-USA play. Up next, it’s back onto the road to wrap up our regular season, with a trip to Louisiana Tech. The Bulldogs enter the game at 3-8 on the year, 2-5 in C-USA action. Louisiana Tech opened their season with a 38-9 win over Jacksonville State, before going on a four game losing streak, losing 45-28 at Central Florida, 45-10 at Marshall, 20-14 at Louisiana-Monroe and 48-10 at Oklahoma. They got back in the win column with a 45-35 win over UAB. It was then right back into a second four game losing streak, starting with a 41-38 overtime loss at Southern Miss, a 38-21 loss to UTSA, a 31-24 defeat at Rice and a 28-21 overtime loss to North Texas. Louisiana Tech then got their biggest win of the season, going on the road and knocking off UTEP 28-10 to give them a giant morale boost heading into our regular season ending contest.

Final Score
:Tulsa: 34, :North_Texas: 7

Stat(s) of the Game:
Tulsa Offense – A fairly decent day for Stephens, ending 15-26 for 177 yards and one touchdown, but he also threw an interception, his fourth in three games. Thankfully it didn't screw us. Rushing, it was all Oliver, ending with 110 yards and three touchdowns on 29 carries. Only black marks were the two fumbles, one lost, that Oliver coughed up. Receiving, Jefferson led the way today, ending with 90 yards and the lone receiving touchdown of the game on four receptions. In all, eight receivers caught a pass today, and five receivers ended the game with double digit receiving yards.

Tulsa Defense – A great day by the defense, holding North Texas to 7 points, sacking the QB three times and ending with one interception. Need more games like that.

Tulsa Kicking – A perfect day for Glover, ending 2-2 in field goal, both from 47 yards out, and 4-4 in PATs.

Scoring Summary

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

:Tulsa:
10
0
7
17
34

:North_Texas:
0
7
0
0
7

Time
Team
Result
Play
Score

First Quarter

7:34
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
W. Oliver, 11 yard run (D. Glover kick)
:Tulsa: 7-0

3:55
:Tulsa:
Field Goal
D. Glover, 47 yard field goal
:Tulsa: 10-0

Second Quarter

0:26
:North_Texas:
Touchdown
D. Jackson, 6 yard pass from T. Bush (R. Woods kick)
:Tulsa: 10-7

Third Quarter

7:59
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
W. Oliver, 3 yard run (D. Glover kick)
:Tulsa: 17-7

Fourth Quarter

5:30
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
W. Oliver, 1 yard run (D. Glover kick)
:Tulsa: 24-7

3:04
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
C. Jefferson, 7 yard pass from B. Stephens (D. Glover kick)
:Tulsa: 31-7

2:15
:Tulsa:
Field Goal
D. Glover, 47 yard field goal
:Tulsa: 34-7

Game Stats

Tulsa
Stat
North Texas

34
Score
7

15
First Downs
10

307
Total Offense
229

35 - 130 - 3
Rushes - Yards - TD
22 - 42 - 0

15 - 26 - 1
Comp - Att - TD
17 - 40 - 1

177
Passing Yards
187

0
Times Sacked
3

3 - 11 (27%)
3rd Down Conversion
0 - 15 (0%)

0 - 0 (0%)
4th Down Conversion
2 - 6 (33%)

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

6 - 4 - 0 (66%)
Red Zone - TD - FG
4 - 1 - 0 (25%)

2
Turnovers
1

1
Fumbles Lost
0

1
Intercepted
1

17
Punt Return Yards
0

0
Kick Return Yards
52

324
Total Yards
281

5 – 46.6
Punts - Average
8 - 45.4

2 - 30
Penalties
4 - 45

24:49
Time of Possession
11:11

Tulsa Contract Goals Update

Fail Impact
Goal
Progress
Pass Impact

:6redarrow:
21+ points per game in each season
24
:6greenarrow:

Win 10 games in one season
7
:6greenarrow:

3300+ passing yards each season
:red-x:
:5greenarrow:

:6redarrow:
65% pass completions over the entire contract
58%
:5greenarrow:

:5redarrow:
Win 6 games in one season
:check:
:5greenarrow:

:6redarrow:
15+ rushing TD in each season
2/4 Completed
:5greenarrow:

:4redarrow:
3200+ total offensive yards each season
2/4 Completed
:3greenarrow:

:5redarrow:
3400+ total offensive yards each season
2/4 Completed
:2greenarrow:

Job Security Status

38%

SmoothPancakes

04-12-2013, 12:48 AM

Time for another look around the nation. Starting in the Top 25, #1 Notre Dame moves one game away from another perfect regular season and a second straight title game berth with a 45-10 thrashing of UMass. #2 Arkansas State manages to keep their BCS dream alive with a 29-17 victory over Western Kentucky. #3 USC rolls over UCLA 59-7, ending the hopes of a bowl game for Bruins fans. #4 Oklahoma thumps Texas Tech 45-17. Maryland keeps their bowl hopes alive, stunning #6 Florida State 20-14. #7 Alabama fights off Texas A&M 35-21. #8 Iowa downs #15 Michigan 35-14. #9 Miami scores 17 straight points between the third and fourth quarters to come back and fight off #20 Georgia Tech, 20-16.

#11 Michigan State beats down #22 Northwestern 55-21. Arkansas sends #12 Mississippi State to their third straight loss, 18-10. #14 Nebraska steamrolls Minnesota 48-6. #16 Georgia whoops Kentucky 48-17. #17 South Carolina holds off Florida 20-13. #18 Virginia scores 17 points in the fourth quarter, including the game-winner with 1:25 left to comeback and beat Duke 34-27. #19 TCU holds on to beat West Virginia 35-25. Oklahoma State makes a case for re-entry to the top 25, with a 27-17 upset of #23 Texas. #24 Southern Miss rolls to a 52-14 beating of UAB. Connecticut whoops #25 Houston 45-14.

For our readers, souljahbill, #24 Southern Miss, improves to 10-1 (6-1 C-USA) with a 52-14 win over UAB. Jaymo, Arizona State remains 5-6 (4-4 Pac-12) with a bye week ahead of the Duel in the Desert. Mors, West Virginia falls to 4-6 (3-4 Big 12), with a 35-24 loss to #19 TCU. Jeff, #13 Ohio State remains 10-1 (8-0 Big Ten) with a bye week ahead of The Game. Other teams of interest, #2 Arkansas State improves to 10-0 (5-0 Sun Belt) with a 29-17 win over Western Kentucky. On a personal note, Navy improves to 6-5 (4-3 Big East) with a 38-17 win over Army to claim the C-I-C Trophy.

In C-USA action, Tulsa beats North Texas 34-7, #24 Southern Miss smacks UAB 52-14, in the upset of the week, Louisiana Tech knocks off UTEP 28-10, Marshall beats MTSU 45-21, UTSA matches Louisiana Tech and knocks off Rice 21-17, and in non-conference action, Florida International knocks off Missouri 45-35 to keep their bowl hopes alive.

With those results, looking at the current standings, in the East Division, Marshall and Southern Miss (both 6-1) remain tied for the division and set up the major showdown next week in Marshall with the division and a C-USA Championship Game spot on the line. In the West Division, both UTEP and Rice lose this week, which costs Rice a huge opportunity to even things up. As it stands, UTEP (5-2) remains #1, followed by Rice (5-3) and technically Tulsa (4-3), but we would lose out on any tiebreakers so we're out. Rice is done for the year, UTEP has one last game at home with North Texas. Even if UTEP were to lose, they still hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over Rice (thanks to that 49-14 thrashing last week) and should have the West Division now sealed up.

Looking at undefeated teams left, no new teams lost this week, keeping our number of undefeated teams at 2. #1 Notre Dame (11-0) and #2 Arkansas State (10-0) are the only teams remaining with an unblemished record this season.

Turning to a more sadistic watch, who is still winless. No more teams are searching for that first win, everyone will end the year with at least one victory.

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Notre Dame (33 first place votes) remains #1. Arkansas State (28 votes) remains #2. USC remains #3, Oklahoma remains #4 and Virginia Tech remains #5. Iowa climbs two to #6, Alabama remains #7, Miami moves up one to #8, BYU jumps one to #9 and Michigan State climbs one to #10. Ohio State jumps two to #11, Nebraska climbs two to #12, Georgia moves up three to #13, South Carolina climbs three to #14 and Virginia jumps three to #15. TCU climbs three to #16, Auburn moves up four to #17, Florida State tumbles twelve to #18, Michigan falls four to #19 and Mississippi State drops eight to #20. Oklahoma State re-enters the poll at #21, Southern Miss jumps two to #22, Arizona enters the poll at #23, San Diego State enters the poll at #24 and Northern Illinois enters the poll this week at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Georgia Tech (from #20), Northwestern (from #22), Texas (from #23) and Houston (from #25). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Arkansas (204 votes) is #26, followed by Georgia Tech (181), Utah (179), Oregon (151) and Kansas State (102) to round out the Top 30. Other teams getting votes this week include SMU (90), Northwestern (78), Colorado State (37) and Texas (30).

Looking at the new Top 25 Media Poll of the season, Notre Dame (45 first place votes) remains #1. Arkansas State (20 votes) remains #2, USC remains #3, Oklahoma remains #4 and Virginia Tech remains #5. Alabama remains #6, Iowa climbs one to #7, BYU jumps one to #8, Miami moves up one to #9 and Michigan State climbs three to #10. Ohio State jumps three to #11, Virginia climbs three to #12, Nebraska moves up three to #13, Georgia climbs three to #14 and South Carolina jumps three to #15. TCU climbs three spots to #16, Auburn jumps four to #17, Michigan falls six spots to #18, Mississippi State drops eight to #19 and Florida State plummets thirteen ranks to #20. Oklahoma State moves up three to #21, Southern Miss jumps three to #22, Arizona enters the poll at #23, San Diego State enters the poll this week at #24 and Arkansas enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were Georgia Tech (from #20), Northwestern (from #22) and Texas (from #23). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Northern Illinois (175 votes) is #26, followed by Oregon (168), Georgia Tech (154), Utah (135) and SMU (62) to round out the Top 30. Other teams getting votes this week includes Colorado State (19).

Looking at the new BCS standings: #1 Notre Dame (1.000), #2 Arkansas State (0.995), #3 USC (0.989), #4 Oklahoma (0.982), #5 Virginia Tech (0.978), #6 Iowa (0.970), #7 Alabama (0.970), #8 Miami (0.959), #9 Michigan State (0.951) and #10 BYU (0.951).

Looking at the new Heisman watch, Georgia HB Joel Nolan remains #1 (LW: #1), followed by Notre Dame QB Jordan Cooke at #2 (LW: #4), Michigan State QB Bo Wade at #3 (LW: #5), USC HB Blake Cross at #4 (LW: NR) and Georgia Tech HB Brandon Terrell at #5 (LW: #2). Falling off the Heisman Watch list this week was Virginia Tech HB Jay Smith (LW: #3).

Looking at the bowl picture, 5 teams were knocked out this week as they hit 7 losses. 62 teams have reached the 6 win plateau, 25 teams still have a chance (however small it may be) of getting there, to leave 87 teams total fighting for 68 bowl slots.

Looking at the newest bowl projections, if they hold out, it's a trip to the Hawaii Bowl for Tulsa fans, taking on Wyoming (7-3, 1-1) out of the WAC. The AutZone Liberty Bowl would feature #22 Southern Miss (10-1, 6-1 C-USA) matching up with Connecticut (6-4, 5-2 Big East). #11 Ohio State (10-1, 8-0 Big Ten) would head out west to the Rose Bowl and a showdown with #3 USC (10-1, 9-0 Pac-12).

Looking at the BCS projections, the Rose Bowl would feature #11 Ohio State (10-1, 8-0 Big Ten) against #3 USC (10-1, 9-0 Pac-12). The Sugar Bowl has #14 South Carolina (7-4, 7-2 SEC) matching up with #8 Miami (8-3, 6-2 ACC). The Orange Bowl has #5 Virginia Tech (9-1, 7-1 ACC) matching up with #7 Alabama (9-2, 6-2 SEC). The Fiesta Bowl features a battle between #4 Oklahoma (9-1, 6-1 Big 12) and #6 Iowa (9-2, 6-2 Big Ten). And in the national championship game, #2 Arkansas State (10-0, 5-0 Sun Belt) takes on #1 Notre Dame (11-0), the Irish looking for their second straight title.

SmoothPancakes

04-12-2013, 04:44 AM

Game Twelve

:Tulsa: :@: :Louisiana_Tech:

Game Notes

--- With our second two game losing streak history, it was back onto the road to conclude the regular season, and our last C-USA game, at Louisiana Tech. We would finally catch a break, as the Bulldogs entered the game with a less than stellar defense, their highest ranking coming in at #80 nationally in pass defense (231.2 yards/game). However, on the other side of the coin, the Bulldogs entered with the #14 passing offense, throwing for over 277.8 yards a game. That would be the only saving grace for them, as their running game was an abomination, ranked #118, gaining only 87.9 yards/game on the ground. If we could finally put an end to the turnovers and our defense shut down the passing game, we would be able to end the regular season on a high note. But, we couldn’t afford to overlook the Bulldogs. After all, at 3-8 on the season, they had nothing to lose, playing for honor and memories in front of their home crowd and trying to send their seniors out on top. Louisiana Tech won the coin toss and elected to kick.

A 21 yard kickoff return by Eric Hayden got the game opened up, as our offense came out to start at the 20 yard line. Leading with the running game this time around, the Bulldogs were more than ready for us, as Will Oliver was quickly tackled for no gain. Going into the air on second down to try and shut up the fans, they would only roar louder when middle linebacker Chad Palmer intercepted the pass intended for Hayden, returning it two yards to set Louisiana Tech up at our 27 yard line. Titus Brothers took the ball on first down, picking up four yards on the ground, before dropping back to pass, his throw intended for Brett Pearson falling incomplete to bring up third and 6. Our defense struck back, sacking Brothers for a 10 yard loss, leaving Louisiana Tech with fourth and 16 at the 32. Our dumbass defense then gave those yards right back, slapped with roughing the kicker, giving Louisiana Tech 15 free yards and a first down at the 17. The Bulldogs took full advantage of our defense’s gift, as Brothers connected with Nick Jenkins for a 15 yard gain, leaving first and goal at the two yard line. Louisiana Tech would get on the board on the next play, as Brothers hit Matthew Anderson in the back of the end zone for the two yard touchdown, going up 7-0 with 7:20 left in the first quarter.

Conner Jefferson got us off to a much better start this time around, returning the kickoff 25 yards out to our 33 yard line. Throwing up a pass to Jefferson, it was away off-target, sailing over Jefferson’s head and nearly intercepted by the safety. Trying to hit Roy Smith on the next, the middle linebacker batted down the ball, leaving third down, still not single offensive yard gained. Taking a shot down the right sideline, the pass intended for Jefferson was broken up by the cornerback, leaving the punt team coming out. A fair catch on the 47 yard punt got Louisiana Tech back on offense at their 20 yard line.

It was looking like a long day for our defense, as Brothers came out firing, hitting Ray Hoffman for a 22 yard pass and an immediate first down at the 41. After an incomplete pass, Jenkins got tackled for a two yard loss, leaving third and 12. The Bulldogs were nearly able to convert, Hoffman pulling in a second pass for a 9 yard gain, but they were left with fourth and four. Louisiana Tech came out in punt formation but ran a fake punt, the pass from Ryan Moore intended for Mike Valentine falling incomplete, turning the ball over on downs at the Bulldogs’ 48 yard line.

Trying to prove that our passing game could do something, the first down pass intended for Hayden was broken up by the middle linebacker, and we still were held without a completion or any offensive yards gained. Antoine Banks would be the savior of our offense, hauling in a pass from Stephens along the right sideline for a 12 yard gain, giving us our first completed pass, our first offensive yards and first down number one with 5:48 left in the quarter. Turning that completion into some momentum, Jefferson reeled in a 7 yard pass to leave second and three. Jefferson tried to get the first down on the play, but the pass intended for him was batted away by the outside linebacker, leaving third and short. Randy Newman would keep the drive alive, catching a pass from Stephens for a 6 yard pickup to move the chains to the 23 yard line. Returning to the run game, Oliver made the most of it, breaking up the middle for a 10 yard gain to leave second and inches. Keeping the ball on second down, Oliver fought his way forward for a four yard gain, setting up first and goal at the 10 yard line. A heavy blitz on first down limited Oliver to just a single yard, bringing up second and goal at the 9. Pulling out the option play, the Bulldogs never had a chance, as Stephens turned the corner outside the right tackle, got up field and pitched the ball to Oliver at the last moment, Oliver rumbling over a defender for the 9 yard touchdown to tie the game up at 7-7 with 3:28 left in the first quarter.

A touchback on the kickoff got Louisiana Tech started at their 25. It was more of the same head banging on wall inducing play, as Brothers connected with Hoffman for a 7 yard gain, followed by an incomplete pass to leave third and three. Our defense then continued to slit their own throats, a 15 yard pass interference penalty giving Louisiana Tech a first down at their 47. Brothers found Jenkins on first down for a 7 yard gain, before the Bulldogs suffered a setback from a false start penalty, leaving second and 8. After an incomplete pass to force third down, it got even worse, as a holding penalty on the offense pushed them back ever further, leaving third and 18 at the 39 yard line. Louisiana Tech very nearly still managed to convert it, as Anderson broke free down the left sideline, but the pass from Brothers was dropped, bringing out the punt team on fourth and 18. A fair catch by Jefferson on the 43 yard punt got us back on the field at our 18 yard line.

Oliver did his damnedest to break free on the first down carry, fighting all the way into the secondary for a 14 yard rush and a first down at the 32. Tossing the ball to the right, Oliver never had any hope, receiving the ball only to have to break free of a tackle right away, and then get swarmed before he could recover, tackled for a 5 yard loss. Looking to recover the lost yards, it was into the air, as the pass from Stephens hit Jefferson right in the hands, but he was unable to hang on during contact from the cornerback and safety, bringing up third and 15. Banks was able to get his hands on the third down pass, but timely contact by the outside linebacker broke the play up, the ball dropped incomplete to bring out the punt team. A fair catch on the 48 yard punt gave Louisiana Tech the ball at the 25.

Hoffman started the drive with a two yard rush, followed by an incomplete pass intended for Jenkins to bring up third and 8. The Bulldogs got very close to converting, Brothers finding Anderson open over the middle, but the defense was able to bring him down for only a 7 yard gain, leaving the Bulldogs punting on fourth and one. A 10 yard punt return by Jefferson on the 39 yard punt and we were back in action at our 36 yard line. Abandoning any fancy running plays, Oliver took a pair of handoffs for gains of 5 and two yards, leaving third and three at the 43 yard line. That would be where the first quarter would come to an end, as the clock hit all zeroes, still a 7-7 tie.

Opening up the second quarter, facing third and three, we came out in a run play designed for Oliver, but with the linebackers sneaking up to the line, Stephens quickly checked off to a pass play, Marcus Mullins coming out of the tight end position to grab a 9 yard pass from Stephens for the first down at the Louisiana Tech 48 yard line. Getting a big hole thanks to the blitzing linebackers, and a timely block, Oliver took the first down carry for an 11 yard gain and a first down at the 37. Trying to keep the defense guessing, we came out passing on first down, Smith catching a pass from out of the backfield, and thanks to a great block by Hayden, was able to race down the sideline for a 30 yard gain, finally brought down by the safety at the LTU 7 yard line to set up first and goal. Thanks to a couple blocks, Oliver was able to pick up 5 yards on the first down carry, leaving second and goal at the two. Receiving the handoff on second down and leaping into the air, Smith dove up and over the mass of bodies in front of him and into the end zone for the two yard touchdown, giving us a 14-7 lead with 7:30 left in the second quarter.

A 22 yard kickoff return got Louisiana Tech back on the field at their 21 yard line, looking for a response. They wouldn’t find one as three straight incomplete pass, two of them dropped, brought the drive to a sudden end. A fair catch by Jefferson on the 44 yard punt got us back in action at our 35 yard line. Putting the ball back into the hands of Oliver, he was able to weave his way past a couple different blocks on his way to an 11 yard rush and a first down at the 46. The next carry was decidedly less successful, as Oliver was tackled for no gain to bring up second and long. Returning to the pass attack, the defense struck blood, sacking Stephens for an 8 yard loss to leave us with third and 18. The third down pass intended for Oliver fell incomplete, and a drive that started with promise ended in disaster, as the punt team came out on fourth down. Just to rub our faces in it even more, we got tagged with a false start penalty on the punt, pushing us back 5 yards to fourth and 23. Finally getting the punt off, a four yard return on the 46 yard kick set Louisiana Tech up at their 25.

The Bulldogs came out firing short passes, as Brothers connected with both Pearsonand Anderson for 5 yard gains to get the first down at the 35 yard line. The drive would stall out there, as two incomplete passes and a completion to Jenkins for one yard left the Bulldogs punting on fourth and 9, this game suddenly turning into a defensive battle after the early offensive displays. A three yard return by Jefferson on the 45 yard punt left us at our 21 yard line.

Coming out firing through the air on first down, it paid off as Jefferson was able to get enough separation from his man to haul in the pass and pick up some extra yards, finally tackled at the 49 yard line for a 28 yard gain. Continuing through the air on second down, Stephens connected with Bobby Smith along the right sideline for a 19 yard pickup and a first down at the Louisiana Tech 32. We got some back news after the play, Jefferson suffering from back spams, keeping him sidelined for at least the rest of the drive. The pass intended for R. Smith was no good, batted incomplete to bring up second down. A quick pass to Carl Barnes went for 5 yards, leaving third and 5. Trying to find Hayden along the left sideline, the pass was broken up by the outside linebacker, nearly intercepted in the process. Left with fourth and 5 from the 27 yard line, the 44 yard field goal by David Glover split the uprights, extending our lead to 17-7 with 3:16 left before halftime.

A touchback on the following kickoff gave Louisiana Tech the ball at their 25 yard line, looking for any points here. It was a good start for the Bulldogs, as Chaz Humphrey pulled down a pass from Brothers for 8 yards. Our defense helped out again, tagged with a 5 yard facemask penalty at the end of an 11 yard rush by Brothers, setting up first down at the 49 yard line. After an incomplete pass on first down, the Bulldogs crossed midfield on a 6 yard rush by Jenkins to leave third and four. The drive would stall at our 45 after an incomplete pass on third down. The Bulldogs again came out running a fake punt, but the pass by Moore fell incomplete, turning the ball over on downs at our 45 yard line with 2:20 left before half.

Throwing on first down, Banks hauled in a pass from Stephens for a 10 yard gain, giving us a quick first down at the LTU 44 yard line. Welcoming Jefferson back to the field, Stephens threw up a pass to him along the right sideline, complete for a gain of 20 yards and a first down at the 25 yard line. Handing off the ball on first down, Oliver spun off an initial tackle attempt in the backfield, fighting for two yards to bring up second and 8. Returning to the pass, Barnes was able to beat the middle linebacker to the ball, turning up field and running down to the 7 yard line for a 16 yard completion to give us first and goal. Giving the ball to Smith, he was able to pick up three yards on the play, setting up second and goal at the four. Oliver took the ball on second down, picking up two yards to leave third and goal at the two yard line, our first timeout stopping the clock with 29 seconds to go. Oliver would get the job done on the next play, following his blocker straight up the middle for the two yard touchdown and a 24-7 lead with 27 seconds left until halftime.

A touchback on the kickoff left Louisiana Tech started from their 25. The Bulldogs waived the white flag on the first half, Robbie Washington taking the ball up the middle for a three yard gain, running out the final seconds and taking us into halftime with a 24-7 lead.

Opening up the third quarter, Brad Jackson returned the kickoff 24 yards to set Louisiana Tech up at their 26 yard to start the third quarter. Our defense continued to play their asses off, sacking Brothers for a three yard loss on first down. Brothers was able to get those yards back on the next play, scrambling for a gain of three, leaving third and long. An incomplete pass intended for Hoffman brought the drive to an end exactly where it started. A fair catch called by Jefferson on the 48 yard punt gave us our first possession of the second half at our 26 yard line.

Receiving the pitched ball to the left, Oliver never had a chance, as a blitz by the defense left him nowhere to go, tackled for a 6 yard loss to leave second and 16. Hayden was able to make up the lost yards, hauling in a pass from Stephens for a 7 yard gain, giving us third and 9. A pass along the right sideline to Banks reeled in 11 yards and a first down at the 38 yard line. Oliver took the handoff on first down, unable to find anywhere to go, tackled for no gain. Returning to the passing game, a diving catch by Jefferson picked up 8 yards to leave third and two. Smith was able to get the third down conversion, rumbling ahead for a gain of four yards to move the chains to midfield. Dumping the ball to avoid a sack, the pass was complete to Oliver, but he was quickly tackled in the backfield, resulting in a 5 yard loss to leave second and 15. Hit as he threw, the pass from Stephens intended for Newman was a wounded duck, landing at the heels of the right tackle to bring up third down. Banks was able to get his hands on the third down pass, but came up short, picking up only 14 yards to leave us punting away on fourth and one. The punt sailed into the end zone for a touchback.

Taking over at their 20 yard line, Louisiana Tech still couldn’t get their passing game restarted, as three straight incomplete passes brought another drive to an end without any gain. A 5 yard return by Jefferson on the 43 yard punt, and we were back in action at our 42. Oliver was able to pick up four yards on the first down carry, followed by an 8 yard rush to get the first down at the LTU 46 yard line. Smith would end up slaughtering the drive on the next play, hit in the backfield and fumbling the ball, the fumble recovered by defensive end SteveLuke to give Louisiana Tech possession at our 42 yard line.

After an incomplete pass on first down, Brothers finally found success through the air, connecting with Chad Brown for a 14 yard gain and a first down at our 28 yard line. After two incomplete passes intended for Hoffman, Humphrey pulled down a ball for a gain of 5 yards, leaving the Bulldogs with a decision to make, go for it on fourth and 5 or kick the field goal. Going for it on fourth down, the Bulldogs would end up pushed back, a holding penalty leaving them facing fourth and 15 at the 33. Apparently with a kicker unable to kicking a 50 yard field goal, the Bulldogs punted the ball for a touchback, giving us back the ball without an damage at the 20.

An 8 yard gain on first down by Oliver was followed by a three yard gain to get the first down at the 31. Oliver tried to get outside the left tackle on the next play, but was tackled for a loss of one yard. Taking over for Oliver for second down, Smith committed his second fumble of the game, recovered thankfully by right guard Will Carter for a loss of 11 yards, leaving third and 22 and Smith getting benched in favor of sophomore Eric Silva. Dropping back to pass, Stephens was blasted as he went to throw, the ball going straight up and hanging perilously long in the air, nearly intercepted by the second defender involved in the sack. A fair catch on the 47 yard punt gave Louisiana Tech back the ball at their 34 yard line.

The drive got off to a poor start thanks in part to a false start penalty, immediately putting the Bulldogs in a hole. Three incomplete passes would again see another drive come to an uneventful end, as the punt team came out on fourth and 15. A three yard return by Jefferson on the 43 yard punt gave us back at our 31 yard line. Oliver took the ball on first down, picking up four yards, followed by a three yard rush by Newman to leave third and three. That would be the final play of the quarter, as the last seconds ticked off the clock bringing the third quarter to an end, our lead still 24-7.

Opening up the fourth quarter, we went into the air to get the first down, Barnes coming down with the pass for a 7 yard gain to move the chains to the 45. Keeping it going, Newman hauled in a pass for a 10 yard gain, leaving second and inches. Trying to get the first down on the ground Silva never had a chance on the handoff, tackled immediately for a four yard loss to bring up third and 5. Newman was able to pull down the third down pass from Stephens, just getting to the first down line before being tackled, picking up 5 yards and the first down at the LTU 45. A first down pass to Silva gained only one yard, followed by a 5 yard throw to Banks to leave third and four at the 39. Putting the ball into the hands of Smith, he could only get one yard on the play, leaving fourth and three at the 38. Attempting a 55 yard field goal, the kick by Glover just skirted underneath the crossbar and no good, giving Louisiana Tech the ball at their 38.

After an incomplete pass on first down, we got tagged with a penalty that resulted in only 8 yards and a first down at the 45 yard line. Brothers used that new set of downs to hit Hoffman over the middle for an 8 yard gain, followed by an incomplete pass to leave third and two. Brothers would keep the ball himself on third down, rushing for 5 yards to convert at our 41 yard line. After a dropped ball by Anderson and an incomplete pass on second down, Brothers connected with Brown for a 17 yard gain and a first down at the 24. The drive would come to an end, as Brothers took a shot at the end zone, middle linebacker Jermaine Clark intercepting the pass at the goal line and returning it 14 yards, giving us back at the ball at our 14.

Taking over after the interception, Oliver picked up three yards up the middle, followed by a one yard gain to leave third and 6. Going to the air on third down, the pass intended for Barnes overshot him and landed incomplete, bringing out the punt team. We got new life on the punt, thanks to a roughing the punter penalty to give us 15 yards and a new set of downs at our 33. Shaking off one tackle, Silva couldn’t recover in time for the second defender, brought down for a one yard loss, followed by a four yard loss by Smith to leave third and 15. The defense would complete the whooping on this drive, sacking Stephens for a 9 yard loss before he could throw the ball, leaving the punt team returning to the field on fourth and 24. Carlos Wilcox was able to get the punt off this time, a fair catch on the 45 yard boot setting Louisiana Tech up at their 36.

Coming out passing, Brothers completed two passes to Anderson for gains of 5 and 8 yards, getting a quick first down at the 49 yard line. With the clock dropping under two minutes to play, Brothers found Pearson for a 5 yard gain, followed by a 10 yard pass to Mark Rose for another first down at our 36. After two incomplete passes, Brothers connected with Hoffman for 10 yards, but the officials marked him short of the marker, leaving fourth and inches at the 26 yard line. Going for it on fourth down, Brothers found Hoffman for 17 yards to set up first and goal at our 9 yard line. The defense got to Brothers on the next play, sacking him for a loss of 7 yards, leaving second and goal at the 16. Brothers was able to recover the lost yardage, finding Pearson for an 8 yard gain, bringing up third and goal at the 8 yard line with just 1:02 left in the game. Louisiana Tech would finally get back into the end zone, as Humphrey pulled down the 8 yard touchdown pass from Brothers, cutting our lead to 24-14 with 53 seconds to go.

Bobby Smith recovered the onside kick for us, sending the offense out at the LTU 46 yard line to kneel out the final 50 seconds. The Bulldogs apparently weren’t content with just throwing in the towel, calling their first timeout after the play to stop the clock with 49 seconds to go. Since they weren’t ready to give up, we came out passing on second down, which proved to be a mistake, as Stephens was once again sacked for a 9 yard loss, leaving third and 21 at the 43 yard line, LTU’s second timeout stopping play with 46 seconds to go. Oliver stuck the knife in the heart, hauling in deep pass from Stephens for a 28 yard gain and a first down at the LTU 29 yard line. The Bulldogs called their final timeout, stopping the clock with 41 seconds to go. With no timeouts remaining for Louisiana Tech, Stephens was finally able to take to a knee one time and run out the clock on our 24-14 win over the Bulldogs.

With the win, we improve to 8-4, 5-3 in C-USA action. With the loss, Louisiana Tech falls to 3-9, 2-6 in C-USA play. Up next, the long wait to see how the remaining 5-win teams play out and then where we would go for a bowl game, if we manage to hold on to a bowl slot.

Final Score
:Tulsa: 24, :Louisiana_Tech: 14

Stat(s) of the Game:
Tulsa Offense - Ignoring yet another interception (his fifth in four games), it was actually a pretty good day for Stephens, who overcame a rough start passing to end 23-37 for 250 yards. He did get sacked three times though that killed our rushing numbers. Oliver led the way on the ground with 101 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries. Unfortunately his numbers were torpedoed in the team stats thanks to negative 30 yards by Stephens in the three sacks, negative 5 yards by Silva, negative 7 yards by Newman, negative 11 yards by right guard Carter and negative 6 yards by fullback Robert Harper, those last two coming on recovered fumbles. Receiving, Jefferson was the top receiver, ending with 63 yards on four receptions. Banks at the most catches of the day, ending with five receptions for 52 yards. In all, we set a new team record, 10 different receivers caught at least one pass, seven of them ending with double digit yards for the game.

Tulsa Defense – A bad start, no thanks to Stephens throwing the interception, but they settled down and other than the desperation drive by Louisiana Tech at the very, they held the Bulldogs virtually silent the whole day.

Tulsa Kicking – Almost had a perfect day, but ended up 1-2 in field goal, hitting from 44 yards out, but missing from 55, a kick that needed just a hair more power to get it over the crossbar. Did end up a perfect 3-3 in PATs though.

Scoring Summary

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

:Tulsa:
7
17
0
0
24

:Louisiana_Tech:
7
0
0
7
14

Time
Team
Result
Play
Score

First Quarter

7:20
:Louisiana_Tech:
Touchdown
M. Anderson, 2 yard pass from T. Brothers (R. Moore kick)
:Louisiana_Tech: 7-0

3:28
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
W. Oliver, 9 yard run (D. Glover kick)
TIED 7-7

Second Quarter

7:30
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
R. Smith, 2 yard run (D. Glover kick)
:Tulsa: 14-7

3:16
:Tulsa:
Field Goal
D. Glover, 44 yard field goal
:Tulsa: 17-7

0:27
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
W. Oliver, 2 yard run (D. Glover kick)
:Tulsa: 24-7

Third Quarter

---
---
---
---
---

Fourth Quarter

0:53
:Louisiana_Tech:
Touchdown
C. Humphrey, 7 yard pass from T. Brothers (R. Moore kick)
:Tulsa: 24-14

Game Stats

Tulsa
Stat
Louisiana Tech

24
Score
14

21
First Downs
10

302
Total Offense
235

40 - 52 - 3
Rushes - Yards - TD
7 - 21 - 0

23 - 37 - 0
Comp - Att - TD
24 - 56 - 2

250
Passing Yards
214

3
Times Sacked
3

8 - 17 (47%)
3rd Down Conversion
3 - 15 (20%)

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

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

4 - 3 - 0 (75%)
Red Zone - TD - FG
4 - 2 - 0 (50%)

2
Turnovers
1

1
Fumbles Lost
0

1
Intercepted
1

21
Punt Return Yards
4

46
Kick Return Yards
46

369
Total Yards
285

6 – 45.8
Punts - Average
8 - 42.8

5 - 48
Penalties
6 - 55

20:56
Time of Possession
15:04

Tulsa Contract Goals Update

Fail Impact
Goal
Progress
Pass Impact

:6redarrow:
21+ points per game in each season
24
:6greenarrow:

Win 10 games in one season
8
:6greenarrow:

3300+ passing yards each season
:red-x:
:5greenarrow:

:6redarrow:
65% pass completions over the entire contract
58%
:5greenarrow:

:5redarrow:
Win 6 games in one season
:check:
:5greenarrow:

:6redarrow:
15+ rushing TD in each season
2/4 Completed
:5greenarrow:

:4redarrow:
3200+ total offensive yards each season
2/4 Completed
:3greenarrow:

:5redarrow:
3400+ total offensive yards each season
2/4 Completed
:2greenarrow:

Job Security Status

38%

SmoothPancakes

04-12-2013, 05:46 AM

Time for another look around the nation. Starting in the Top 25, in the game of the week, #1 Notre Dame clinches their spot in the title game with a dominating 55-31 win over #3 USC to capture the Jeweled Shillelagh. Notre Dame had a 7-0 lead after the first quarter, some back and forth scoring saw Notre Dame take a 24-10 halftime lead. USC was able to chip into it a little, as the Irish lead 34-24 after the third quarter. But a 21-7 fourth quarter scoring advantage won it for the Irish, as the Trojan couldn't keep it up. Meanwhile, #2 Arkansas State keeps their BCS title game hopes alive, scoring on a 5 yard run with 1:22 left in the game to hold off Troy, 24-17.

Bedlam ends in bedlam, as #21 Oklahoma State whoops #4 Oklahoma 49-21. #5 Virginia Tech gets a 41-21 win over #15 Virginia. #6 Iowa holds off a late comeback, slipping past #12 Nebraska 21-19. It was #17 Auburn taking the Iron Bowl this year, as they jumped out to a 17-0 lead and rolled to a 24-10 win over #7 Alabama. #8 Miami escapes with a 42-38 win over North Carolina, the Hurricanes scoring the 28 yard game-winning touchdown pass with 59 seconds left in the game. Western Kentucky scores a huge upset, taking out #9 BYU's BCS hopes with a 33-17 win. #10 Michigan State edges out Wisconsin 24-21.

It was insanity at The Game, as #11 Ohio State an #19 Michigan went to double overtime after Ohio State knotted up the score with 1:42 left in the game. Ohio State had a 17-14 lead after one, it was tied up 24-24 at halftime, Michigan led 31-24 after three quarters, Ohio State tied it up midway through the fourth, Michigan retook the lead with 5 minutes to play, and then Ohio State had the touchdown at 1:42 to go to force overtime. Michigan opened up the OT period with a two yard touchdown run, to which Ohio State promptly answered with a 25 yard touchdown pass. The Buckeyes then turned around, drove down and scored with a two yard touchdown run, Michigan unable to punch in the equalizer, handing the Buckeyes the win in a 52-45 double OT thriller.

Georgia Tech knocks off #13 Georgia 38-7. Clemson picks up a rivalry win, taking down #14 South Carolina 45-21. Texas scored 14 points in the fourth quarter, throwing the game-winning 9 yard touchdown pass with 12 seconds to go, to knock off #16 TCU. Florida gets to .500 and keeps their bowl hopes alive, knocking off rival #18 Florida State 34-24. #20 Mississippi State broke their three game losing streak, beating rival Ole Miss 30-13 to close out the regular season. #22 Southern Miss pulls out a 34-13 win over Marshall. Despite one hell of a fight by Sparky, #23 Arizona proved to be too much for Arizona State, as the Wildcats won 45-35 to extinguish ASU's bowl hopes. Eastern Michigan makes it to bowl eligibility, upsetting #25 Northern Illinois 20-17.

For our readers, souljahbill, #22 Southern Miss improves to 11-1 (7-1 C-USA) with a 34-13 win over Marshall, clinching their spot in the C-USA title game. Jaymo, Arizona State put up a hell of a fight, but falls to 5-7 (4-5 Pac-12) with a 45-35 loss to #23 Arizona, eliminating the Sun Devils bowl hopes. Mors, West Virginia sees their bowl hopes end, falling to 4-7 (3-5 Big 12), with a 38-31 loss to Texas Tech. Jeff, #11 Ohio State closes out the regular season 11-1 (9-0 Big Ten) with one hell of a wild 52-45 double overtime win over #19 Michigan. Check out the Top 25 recap for the details. Other teams of interest, #2 Arkansas State improves to 11-0 (6-0 Sun Belt) with a 24-17 win over Troy.

In C-USA action, Tulsa beats Louisiana Tech 24-14, #22 Southern Miss beats Marshall 34-13, UTEP gets a 20-10 win over North Texas, Florida International goes 6-2 to end the year after a disastrous 0-4 start to get bowl eligible, beating Florida Atlantic 45-21, UAB beats MTSU 28-23, and in non-conference rivalry action, Texas State gets a 31-28 win over UTSA.

With those results, in the East Division, #22 Southern Miss (7-1) claims the division over Marshall (6-2). In the West Division, UTEP (6-2) claims the division over Rice and Tulsa (both 5-3). That sets up the battle in the C-USA Championship Game, UTEP on the road at Southern Miss.

Looking at undefeated teams left, no new teams lost this week, keeping our number of undefeated teams at 2. #1 Notre Dame (12-0) and #2 Arkansas State (11-0) are the only teams remaining with an unblemished record this season.

Turning to a more sadistic watch, who is still winless. No more teams are searching for that first win, everyone will end the year with at least one victory.

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Notre Dame (36 first place votes) remains #1. Arkansas State (25 votes) remains #2. Virginia Tech moves up two to #3, Iowa jumps two to #4 and Miami climbs three to #5. USC falls three to #6, Ohio State jumps four to #7, Michigan State climbs two to #8, Oklahoma falls five to #9 and Auburn jumps seven to #10. Alabama falls four to #11, Oklahoma State leaps nine to #12, BYU drops four to #13, Mississippi State climbs six to #14 and Southern Miss jumps seven to #15. Virginia falls one to #16, Georgia Tech enters the poll this week at #17, Arizona jumps five to #18, Nebraska falls seven to #19 and San Diego State climbs four to #20. Georgia falls eight to #21, Oregon enters the poll at #22, Texas enters the poll at #23, TCU drops eight spots to #24 and Kansas State re-enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were South Carolina (from #14), Florida State (from #18), Michigan (from #19) and Northern Illinois (from #25). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Michigan (228 votes) is #26, followed by LSU (202), Northwestern (143), Colorado State (85) and Houston (69).

Looking at the new Top 25 Media Poll of the season, Notre Dame (38 first place votes) remains #1. Arkansas State (27 votes) remains #2, Virginia Tech climbs two to #3, Iowa moves up three to #4 and Miami jumps four to #5. USC falls three to #6, Michigan State climbs three to #7, Ohio State climbs three to #8, Auburn leaps eight to #9 and Oklahoma State vaults eleven spots to #10. Oklahoma drops seven spots to #11, Alabama falls six to #12, BYU drops five to #13, Mississippi State climbs five to #14 and Virginia drops three to #15. Southern Miss moves up six spots to #16, Arizona jumps six to #17, Georgia Tech enters the poll at #18, San Diego State climbs to #19 and Nebraska drops seven to #20. Oregon enters the poll at #21, Georgia drops eight spots to #22, Texas enters the poll at #23, Michigan falls six to #24 and TCU drops nine to #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were South Carolina (from #14), Florida State (from #18) and Arkansas (from #25). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, LSU (243 votes) is #26, followed by Colorado State (194), Northwestern (189), Kansas State (186) and South Florida (106) to round out the Top 30. Others teams getting votes this week includes Air Force (78) and Houston (36).

Looking at the new BCS standings: #1 Notre Dame (1.000), #2 Arkansas State (0.995), #3 Virginia Tech (0.989), #4 Iowa (0.984), #5 Miami (0.978), #6 USC (0.973), #7 Michigan State (0.965), #8 Auburn (0.954), #9 Ohio State (0.953) and #10 Alabama (0.943).

Looking at the new Heisman watch, Georgia HB Joel Nolan remains #1 (LW: #1), followed by Notre Dame QB Jordan Cooke at #2 (LW: #2), Georgia Tech HB Brandon Terrell at #3 (LW: #5), Michigan State QB Bo Wade at #4 (LW: #3), USC HB Blake Cross at #5 (LW: #4) . No one fell off the Heisman Watch list this week.

Looking at the bowl picture, 9 teams were knocked out this week as they hit 7 losses, but many more made it in. 72 teams have reached the 6 win plateau, 3 teams still have a chance (however small it may be) of getting there, to leave as many as 75 teams total fighting for 68 bowl slots.

Looking at the newest bowl projections, if they hold out, it's a trip to the Armed Forces Bowl for Tulsa fans, taking on #20 San Diego State (8-3, 5-3) out of the Mountain West. The AutoZone Liberty Bowl would feature #15 Southern Miss (11-1, 7-1 C-USA) matching up with Houston (8-4, 5-3 Big East). #7 Ohio State (11-1, 9-0 Big Ten) would head out west to the Rose Bowl and a showdown with #6 USC (10-2, 9-0 Pac-12).

Looking at the BCS projections, the Rose Bowl would feature #7 Ohio State (11-1, 9-0 Big Ten) against #6 USC (10-2, 9-0 Pac-12). The Sugar Bowl has South Carolina (7-5, 7-2 SEC) matching up with #5 Miami (9-3, 7-2 ACC). The Orange Bowl has #3 Virginia Tech (10-1, 8-1 ACC) matching up with #10 Auburn (9-3, 6-3 SEC). The Fiesta Bowl features a battle between #12 Oklahoma State (9-2, 6-2 Big 12) and #4 Iowa (10-2, 7-2 Big Ten). And in the national championship game, #2 Arkansas State (11-0, 6-0 Sun Belt) takes on #1 Notre Dame (12-0), the Irish looking for their second straight title.

SmoothPancakes

04-12-2013, 06:25 AM

A bye week on the last week of the season, lets jump right into it. Starting in the Top 25, #2 Arkansas State punches their ticket to crash the BCS Championship game, beating Louisiana-Lafayette 34-10. #9 Oklahoma won the game of the week, beating #24 TCU 42-34 thanks to a 28-0 fourth quarter. #12 Oklahoma State held on for a 42-34 win over Texas Tech. #13 BYU barely edged out UMass, 38-35. Boise State knocked off #20 San Diego State 38-27. #23 Texas beat West Virginia 36-17 and #25 Kansas State beat Iowa State 31-24.

For our readers, souljahbill, #22 Southern Miss remains 11-1 (7-1 C-USA) with a bye week ahead of the C-USA title game. Jaymo, Arizona State remains 5-7 (4-5 Pac-12) with a bye week, their season done. Mors, West Virginia falls to 4-8 (3-6 Big 12), with a 36-17 loss to #23 Texas. Jeff, #11 Ohio State remains 11-1 (9-0 Big Ten) with a bye week ahead of the Big Ten title game. Other teams of interest, #2 Arkansas State improves to 11-0 (6-0 Sun Belt) with a 24-17 win over Troy.

No C-USA action this week, the conference done for the season.

In the conference race, in the East Division, #22 Southern Miss (7-1) claims the division over Marshall (6-2). In the West Division, UTEP (6-2) claims the division over Rice and Tulsa (both 5-3). That sets up the battle in the C-USA Championship Game, UTEP on the road at Southern Miss.

Looking at undefeated teams left, no new teams lost this week, keeping our number of undefeated teams at 2. #1 Notre Dame (12-0) and #2 Arkansas State (12-0) are the only teams remaining with an unblemished record this season.

Turning to a more sadistic watch, who is still winless. No more teams are searching for that first win, everyone will end the year with at least one victory.

Taking a look at the new Top 25 Coaches Poll, Notre Dame (39 first place votes) remains #1. Arkansas State (22 votes) remains #2. Virginia Tech remains #3, Iowa remains #4 and Miami remains #5. USC remains #6, Ohio State remains #7, Michigan State remains #8, Oklahoma remains #9 and Auburn remains #10. Alabama remains #11, Oklahoma State remains #12, BYU remains #13, Mississippi State remains #14 and Southern Miss remains #15. Virginia remains #16, Georgia Tech remains #17, Arizona remains #18, Nebraska remains #19 and Georgia climbs one to #20. Oregon climbs one to #21, Texas jumps one to #22, Kansas State climbs two to #23, Michigan re-enters the poll at #24 and LSU enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were San Diego State (from #20) and TCU (from #24). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Northwestern (220 votes) is #26, followed by Houston (159), Air Force (139), South Florida (128) and Florida State (60) to round out the Top 30. Other teams getting votes this week includes Northern Illinois (48), Hawaii (25) and Texas State (19).

Looking at the new Top 25 Media Poll of the season, Notre Dame (41 first place votes) remains #1. Arkansas State (24 votes) remains #2, Virginia Tech remains #3, Iowa remains #4 and Miami remains #5. USC remains #6, Michigan State remains #7, Ohio State remains #8, Auburn remains #9 and Oklahoma climbs one to #10. Oklahoma State falls one to #11, Alabama remains #12, BYU remains #13, Mississippi State remains #14 and Virginia remains #15. Southern Miss remains #16, Arizona remains #17, Georgia Tech remains #18, Nebraska climbs one to #19 and Oregon jumps on to #20. Georgia climbs one to #21, Texas jumps one to #22, Michigan moves up one to #23, LSU enters the poll at #24 and Kansas State enters the poll at #25. Dropping out of the poll this week were San Diego State (from #19) and TCU (from #25). Looking at Others Receiving Votes, Northwestern (235 votes) is #26, followed by Air Force (183), South Florida (169), Houston (96) and Texas State (50) to round out the Top 30. Other teams getting votes this week include Hawaii (39) and Northern Illinois (12).

Looking at the new BCS standings: #1 Notre Dame (1.000), #2 Arkansas State (0.995), #3 Virginia Tech (0.989), #4 Iowa (0.984), #5 Miami (0.978), #6 USC (0.973), #7 Michigan State (0.965), #8 Auburn (0.954), #9 Ohio State (0.953) and #10 Alabama (0.943).

Looking at the new Heisman watch, Georgia HB Joel Nolan remains #1 (LW: #1), followed by Notre Dame QB Jordan Cooke at #2 (LW: #2), Georgia Tech HB Brandon Terrell at #3 (LW: #3), Michigan State QB Bo Wade at #4 (LW: #4) and USC HB Blake Cross at #5 (LW: #5) . No one fell off the Heisman Watch list this week.

Looking at the bowl picture, 2 teams saw their bowl bids end, one made it in. 73 teams have reached the 6 win plateau to become bowl eligible, leaving 73 teams fighting for 68 bowl slots.

Looking at the newest bowl projections, if they hold out, it's a trip to the Armed Forces Bowl for Tulsa fans, taking on Boise State (8-4, 5-4) out of the Mountain West. The AutoZone Liberty Bowl would feature #15 Southern Miss (11-1, 7-1 C-USA) matching up with Houston (8-4, 5-3 Big East). #7 Ohio State (11-1, 9-0 Big Ten) would head out west to the Rose Bowl and a showdown with #6 USC (10-2, 9-0 Pac-12).

Looking at the BCS projections, the Rose Bowl would feature #7 Ohio State (11-1, 9-0 Big Ten) against #6 USC (10-2, 9-0 Pac-12). The Sugar Bowl has South Carolina (7-5, 7-2 SEC) matching up with #5 Miami (9-3, 7-2 ACC). The Orange Bowl has #3 Virginia Tech (11-1, 8-1 ACC) matching up with #10 Auburn (9-3, 6-3 SEC). The Fiesta Bowl features a battle between #12 Oklahoma State (9-2, 6-2 Big 12) and #4 Iowa (10-2, 7-2 Big Ten). And in the national championship game, #2 Arkansas State (11-0, 6-0 Sun Belt) takes on #1 Notre Dame (12-0), the Irish looking for their second straight title.

SmoothPancakes

04-12-2013, 06:36 AM

Conference Championship Week

Conference
Winning Team
Record
Score
Losing Team
Record

:ACC_Championship:
(3) :Virginia_Tech:
12-1 (9-1)
32-28
:Florida_State:
8-5 (7-3)

:Big_East:
:USF:
10-3 (9-0)
35-25
:Houston:
8-5 (5-4)

:B1G_Championship:
(7) :Ohio_State:
12-1 (10-0)
42-14
(4) :Iowa:
10-3 (7-3)

:CUSA:
(15) :Southern_Miss:
12-1 (8-1)
38-22
:UTEP:
8-5 (6-3)

:MAC_Championship:
:Kent_State:
8-5 (7-3)
42-35
:Northern_Illinois:
9-4 (7-3)

:Pac_12:
(6) :USC:
11-2 (10-0)
42-13
(21) :Oregon:
9-4 (6-4)

:SEC_Championship:
(14) :Mississippi_State:
10-3 (7-3)
31-7
:South_Carolina:
7-6 (7-3)

SmoothPancakes

04-12-2013, 06:39 AM

Man, just think of where Ohio State would be in the national title race right now if they hadn't gotten their asses whooped 42-0 by 6-6 Troy back in the third week of the season. :smh:

As for who ended up where in the bowl games, you'll have to wait and see. Time for me to hit the sack. Later on this afternoon I'll get around to typing up the Pre-Bowl Games Update, the Conference Champions list and then the Bowl Season Rundown. Until then, keeping it all a mystery wrapped up in suspense. :)

SmoothPancakes

04-12-2013, 07:23 PM

Pre-Bowl Games Update

Final BCS Standings

Rank
LW
Team
Wins
Losses
Points

1
1
Notre Dame
12
0
1.000

2
2
Arkansas State
12
0
.995

3
3
Virginia Tech
12
1
.986

4
9
Ohio State
12
1
.986

5
5
Miami (FL)
9
3
.978

6
6
USC
11
2
.973

7
7
Michigan State
9
3
.967

8
8
Auburn
9
3
.959

9
10
Alabama
9
3
.949

10
11
Oklahoma
10
2
.948

11
12
Oklahoma State
10
2
.935

12
4
Iowa
10
3
.934

13
13
Mississippi State
19
3
.923

14
14
BYU
10
2
.911

15
15
Virginia
9
3
.899

16
16
Georgia Tech
8
4
.894

17
17
Southern Miss
12
1
.891

18
18
Nebraska
8
4
.884

19
19
Arizona
9
3
.880

20
20
Georgia
8
4
.875

21
21
Michigan
8
4
.856

22
23
Texas
8
4
.853

23
24
LSU
8
4
.842

24
25
Kansas State
8
4
.839

25
---
Northwestern
8
4
.827

Conference Standings

* - Played in Conference Championship Game

ACC

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

Atlantic Division

#1
Florida State*
8-5
.610
7-3
406
365
6-0

#2
Wake Forest
7-5
.580
5-4
384
304
4-2

#3
Clemson
7-5
.580
4-5
420
264
3-3

#4
Boston College
5-7
.410
4-5
317
362
3-3

#5
Syracuse
5-7
.410
3-6
275
332
3-3

#6
NC State
5-7
.410
3-6
298
308
2-4

#7
Louisville
4-8
.330
1-8
338
414
0-6

Coastal Division

#1
(3) Virginia Tech*
12-1
.920
9-1
447
225
5-1

#2
(5) Miami (FL)
9-3
.750
7-2
383
278
4-2

#3
(15) Virginia
9-3
.750
6-3
416
297
4-2

#4
(16) Georgia Tech
8-4
.660
5-4
335
246
3-3

#5
Pittsburgh
6-6
.500
5-4
333
297
2-4

#6
North Carolina
6-6
.500
4-5
420
381
3-3

#7
Duke
2-10
.160
1-8
258
445
0-6

Big 12

Rank
Team
Record
Percentage
Conference Record
Points For
Points Against

#1
(11) Oklahoma State
10-2
.830
7-2
488
271

#2
(10) Oklahoma
10-2
.830
7-2
441
295

#3
(22) Texas
8-4
.660
7-2
466
307

#4
(24) Kansas State
8-4
.660
5-4
379
349

#5
Texas Tech
7-5
.580
5-4
429
394

#6
TCU
7-5
.580
5-4
399
371

#7
Iowa State
4-8
.330
3-6
329
351

#8
West Virginia
4-8
.330
3-6
311
321

#9
Baylor
4-8
.330
3-6
363
362

#10
Kansas
1-11
.080
0-9
261
479

Big East

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

American Division

#1
Cincinnati
8-4
.660
5-3
341
206
2-3

#2
Connecticut
6-6
.500
5-3
355
327
4-1

#3
Houston*
8-5
.610
504
416
349
4-1

#4
Navy
6-6
.500
4-4
309
345
2-3

#5
East Carolina
5-7
.410
4-4
338
341
2-3

#6
Central Florida
4-8
.330
2-6
232
306
1-4

National Division

#1
South Florida
10-3
.760
9-0
425
265
5-0

#2
SMU
8-4
.660
6-2
377
359
4-1

#3
Temple
6-6
.500
4-4
280
266
2-3

#4
Army
4-8
.330
3-5
273
344
2-3

#5
Tulane
1-11
.080
1-7
271
383
1-4

#6
Memphis
1-11
.080
1-7
217
458
1-4

Big Ten

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

Leaders Division

#1
(4) Ohio State*
12-1
.920
10-0
369
243
6-0

#2
Penn State
6-6
.500
5-4
288
322
4-2

#3
Rutgers
4-8
.360
4-5
278
305
3-3

#4
Maryland
6-6
.500
3-6
284
316
2-4

#5
Illinois
5-7
.410
3-6
319
372
3-3

#6
Indiana
4-8
.330
2-7
287
339
2-4

#7
Purdue
4-8
.330
2-7
271
317
1-5

Legends Division

#1
(7) Michigan State
9-3
.750
7-2
341
253
4-2

#2
(12) Iowa*
10-3
.760
7-3
405
306
5-1

#3
(21) Michigan
8-4
.660
6-3
400
358
4-2

#4
(25) Northwestern
8-4
.660
6-3
347
381
3-3

#5
(18) Nebraska
8-4
.660
6-3
381
237
3-3

#6
Wisconsin
5-7
.410
3-6
378
329
2-4

#7
Minnesota
2-10
.160
0-9
239
449
0-6

Conference USA

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

East Division

#1
(17) Southern Miss*
12-1
.920
8-1
466
259
4-1

#2
Marshall
8-4
.660
6-2
377
209
4-1

#3
Florida International
6-6
.500
5-3
365
358
3-2

#4
UAB
3-9
.250
2-6
292
417
2-3

#5
Florida Atlantic
3-9
.250
2-6
261
377
1-4

#6
Middle Tennessee State
3-9
.250
2-6
235
385
1-4

West Division

#1
UTEP
8-5
.610
6-3
379
317
4-1

#2
Rice
7-5
.580
5-3
285
306
3-2

#3
Tulsa
8-4
.660
5-3
292
234
3-2

#4
North Texas
4-8
.330
3-5
214
278
2-3

#5
UTSA
4-8
.330
3-5
292
369
2-3

#6
Louisiana Tech
3-9
.250
2-6
291
374
1-4

Independents

Rank
Team
Record
Percentage
Conference Record
Points For
Points Against

#1
(1) Notre Dame
12-0
1.000
---
500
192

MAC

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

East Division

#1
Kent State*
8-5
.610
7-3
380
347
4-1

#2
Ohio
7-5
.580
6-3
311
253
4-1

#3
Akron
6-6
.500
5-4
304
379
3-2

#4
Bowling Green
5-7
.410
3-6
333
338
2-3

#5
Buffalo
3-9
.250
3-6
311
391
1-4

#6
Miami University
3-9
.250
2-7
268
376
1-4

West Division

#1
Northern Illinois*
9-4
.690
7-3
402
297
4-1

#2
Toledo
7-5
.580
6-3
361
280
4-1

#3
Eastern Michigan
6-6
.500
5-4
296
310
3-2

#4
Western Michigan
5-7
.410
5-4
286
340
2-3

#5
Central Michigan
4-8
.330
3-6
335
416
1-4

#6
Ball State
3-9
.250
3-6
270
430
1-4

Mountain West

Rank
Team
Record
Percentage
Conference Record
Points For
Points Against

#1
Air Force
9-3
.750
8-1
373
275

#2
Hawaii
8-4
.660
7-2
349
282

#3
Colorado State
8-4
.660
6-3
389
263

#4
Boise State
8-4
.660
5-4
404
248

#5
San Diego State
8-4
.660
5-4
365
288

#6
Fresno State
7-5
.580
5-4
416
243

#7
Nevada
5-7
.410
5-4
311
327

#8
UNLV
3-9
.250
2-7
243
343

#9
San Jose State
2-10
.160
1-8
185
420

#10
Utah State
2-10
.160
1-8
222
416

Pac-12

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

North Division

#1
Oregon*
9-4
.690
6-4
451
379
4-1

#2
Cal
7-5
.580
5-4
421
379
5-0

#3
Stanford
6-6
.500
4-5
354
339
2-3

#4
Oregon State
5-7
.410
4-5
294
356
2-3

#5
Washington
5-7
.410
3-6
345
386
2-3

#6
Washington State
2-10
.160
1-8
268
454
0-5

South Division

#1
(6) USC*
11-2
.840
10-0
600
301
5-0

#2
(19) Arizona
9-3
.750
7-2
410
331
3-2

#3
Utah
9-3
.750
6-3
406
315
3-2

#4
Arizona State
5-7
.410
4-5
445
437
1-4

#5
Colorado
4-8
.330
3-6
322
380
3-2

#6
UCLA
3-9
.250
2-7
287
453
0-5

SEC

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

East Division

#1
(20) Georgia
8-4
.660
7-2
380
264
5-1

#2
South Carolina*
7-6
.530
7-3
352
373
6-0

#3
Missouri
5-7
.410
4-5
401
387
4-2

#4
Tennessee
6-6
.500
4-5
283
243
3-3

#5
Kentucky
6-6
.500
4-5
314
387
1-5

#6
Florida
6-6
.500
3-6
329
285
1-5

#7
Vanderbilt
5-7
.410
2-7
286
335
1-5

West Division

#1
(13) Mississippi State*
10-3
.760
7-3
378
287
4-2

#2
(8) Auburn
9-3
.750
6-3
398
248
4-2

#3
(9) Alabama
9-3
.750
6-3
385
253
5-1

#4
(23) LSU
8-4
.660
5-4
375
310
3-3

#5
Arkansas
7-5
.580
4-5
409
341
3-3

#6
Texas A&M
6-6
.500
4-5
413
407
2-4

#7
Ole Miss
2-10
.160
1-8
292
404
0-6

Sun Belt

Rank
Team
Record
Percentage
Conference Record
Points For
Points Against

#1
Arkansas State
12-0
1.000
7-0
409
257

#2
(14) BYU
10-2
.840
5-2
373
203

#3
Texas State
9-3
.750
4-3
395
297

#4
Western Kentucky
7-5
.580
4-3
326
238

#5
Troy
6-6
.500
3-4
365
208

#6
UL Lafayette
3-9
.250
3-4
239
369

#7
UMass
2-10
.160
2-5
213
472

#8
UL Monroe
1-11
.080
0-7
224
440

WAC

Rank
Team
Record
Percentage
Conference Record
Points For
Points Against

#1
Idaho
9-3
.750
2-1
306
259

#2
Wyoming
8-4
.660
2-1
355
266

#3
New Mexico
5-7
.410
1-2
334
296

#4
New Mexico State
3-9
.250
1-2
228
371

Heisman Memorial Trophy

:Heisman_Trophy:

Rank
Player
Position
Team
1st
2nd
3rd
Total

#1
Joel Nolan
HB
Georgia
402
234
118
1792

#2
Jordan Cooke
QB
Notre Dame
222
284
207
1441

#3
Blake Cross
HB
USC
111
177
281
968

#4
Brandon Terrell
HB
Georgia Tech
32
44
106
290

#5
Jay Smith
HB
Virginia Tech
13
32
49
152

Award Winners

Award
Player
Position
Team
Year

:Heisman_Trophy:
Joel Nolan
HB
Georgia
Senior

Maxwell
Jordan Cooke
QB
Notre Dame
Senior (RS)

Walter Camp
Joel Nolan
HB
Georgia
Senior

Bednarik
Kevin Hall
ROLB
Arizona
Senior (RS)

Nagurski
Charlie Parker
LOLB
Marshall
Senior

O'Brien
Jordan Cooke
QB
Notre Dame
Senior (RS)

Walker
Joel Nolan
HB
Georgia
Senior

Biletnikoff
McKinley Thornton
WR
Texas
Senior

Mackey
Eric Cummings
TE
Northern Illinois
Junior (RS)

Outland
Zac Hollis
LG
Notre Dame
Senior (RS)

Rimington
Adam Lewis
C
USC
Senior (RS)

Lombardi
Aaron Perkinds
RE
Virginia Tech
Senior (RS)

Best LB
Charlie Parker
LOLB
Marshall
Senior

Thorpe
Scott Lambert
CB
Arizona
Junior (RS)

Groza
Jarvis Williams
K
Nebraska
Senior (RS)

Guy
Brian Washington
P
Texas
Senior (RS)

Best Returner
Joel McCoy
WR
Oregon
Senior (RS)

All Americans

All-NCAA

1st Team

Position
Player
Team
Year

Offense

QB
Jordan Cooke
Notre Dame
Senior (RS)

HB
Joel Nolan
Georgia
Senior

HB
Blake Cross
USC
Senior (RS)

WR
Andrew Moss
Florida State
Senior (RS)

WR
Marcus Owns
Texas State
Senior (RS)

TE
Eric Cummings
Northern Illinois
Junior (RS)

LT
Maurice Randolph
Notre Dame
Senior (RS)

LG
Evan Jones
Ohio State
Senior (RS)

LG
Zac Hollis
Notre Dame
Senior (RS)

C
Adam Lewis
USC
Senior (RS)

RT
Stephen Richardson
USC
Senior

Defense

LE
Dane Malone
Virginia Tech
Junior (RS)

RE
Aaron Perkins
Virginia Tech
Senior (RS)

DT
Antonio Hayes
Virginia
Senior (RS)

DT
Corey Johnson
Ohio State
Sophomore (RS)

LOLB
Kyler Smith
USC
Senior (RS)

LOLB
Charlie Parker
Marshall
Senior

MLB
Troy Simmons
Georgia Tech
Senior (RS)

CB
Doug Horne
Iowa
Senior (RS)

CB
Dan Hickman
Oregon
Senior (RS)

FS
Matt Neal
Ohio State
Junior (RS)

SS
Corey Taylor
Georgia
Junior

K
Jarvis Williams
Nebraska
Senior (RS)

P
Vernon Barnett
Ohio State
Sophomore (RS)

Returner
Demetrius Carlson
Texas Tech
Senior (RS)

2nd Team

Position
Player
Team
Year

Offense

QB
Bo Wade
Michigan State
Senior (RS)

HB
Brandon Terrell
Georgia Tech
Sophomore (RS)

HB
Jay Smith
Virginia Tech
Senior (RS)

WR
McKinley Thornton
Texas
Senior

WR
Brandon Bailey
Cal
Senior

TE
Greg Flowers
South Florida
Junior (RS)

LT
Kevin Galloway
Oregon
Senior (RS)

C
Terrance Rodgers
Michigan State
Senior (RS)

RG
Marcus Holley
Notre Dame
Senior (RS)

RG
Adrian Webb
Ohio State
Senior

RT
Akeem Pace
Ohio State
Junior

Defense

LE
Anthony Walker
Iowa
Senior (RS)

RE
Spencer Jackson
Ohio State
Sophomore (RS)

DT
John Stephens
Iowa
Senior (RS)

DT
Carl Landrum
BYU
Junior

LOLB
Gerard Goss
Mississippi State
Senior (RS)

MLB
Travis Hamilton
Oklahoma
Senior (RS)

ROLB
Nate Smith
Texas Tech
Junior (RS)

CB
Tom Smith
Oklahoma State
Senior (RS)

CB
Charles Mansfield
USC
Senior (RS)

FS
Andrew Keyes
Notre Dame
Junior

SS
Glenn Woods
Nebraska
Sophomore (RS)

K
Roger Simmons
Auburn
Sophomore

P
Willie Merrick
Alabama
Sophomore

Returner
Joel McCoy
Oregon
Senior (RS)

Freshman Team

Position
Player
Team
Year

Offense

QB
Andy Sampson
Texas A&M
Freshman

HB
Will Oliver
Tulsa
Freshman (RS)

HB
Justin Jones
Georgia
Freshman

WR
Lamar Mathis
Air Force
Freshman

WR
Stephen Stewart
Utah
Freshman

TE
Shane Weber
East Carolina
Freshman

LT
Mike Landry
Ohio State
Freshman (RS)

LT
Maurice Love
USC
Freshman (RS)

LG
J.J. Baker
Notre Dame
Freshman

LG
Courtney Baker
Oklahoma
Freshman (RS)

C
Pat Fine
Auburn
Freshman (RS)

Defense

RE
Tom Perez
Tennessee
Freshman

RE
Will Lewis
Notre Dame
Freshman

DT
Corey Tucker
Auburn
Freshman

DT
Jon Nelson
Nebraska
Freshman

LOLB
Joe Davenport
Oregon
Freshman (RS)

LOLB
C.J. Lundy
Wyoming
Freshman

MLB
Antonio Parker
Texas
Freshman

CB
Brian Cook
Virginia
Freshman

CB
Patrick Thomas
Ohio State
Freshman

FS
Eric Moore
Northern Illinois
Freshman

SS
Colby Siegel
TCU
Freshman (RS)

K
Terrell Hansen
Southern Miss
Freshman

P
Rickey Lewis
Michigan State
Freshman

Returner
Spencer Sullivan
Western Michigan
Freshman

All-Conference USA

1st Team

Position
Player
Team
Year

Offense

QB
Desmond Concepcion
Southern Miss
Senior (RS)

HB
Jeff Robinson
Florida International
Junior (RS)

HB
Will Oliver
Tulsa
Freshman (RS)

WR
Steve Kelley
Southern Miss
Junior (RS)

WR
Brett Pearson
Louisiana Tech
Junior (RS)

TE
Mike Howell
UTEP
Sophomore

LT
Joe Jenson
Southern Miss
Junior

LG
Shedrick Taylor
Southern Miss
Junior (RS)

C
Travis Hearn
Tulsa
Senior (RS)

RG
Darrell Washington
Southern Miss
Junior (RS)

RT
Cameron Powers
Tulsa
Senior (RS)

Defense

RE
Dennis Dudley
Southern Miss
Senior (RS)

RE
Gary Steward
Rice
Junior (RS)

DT
Anthony McRae
Southern Miss
Senior

DT
Anthony Christian
Rice
Senior (RS)

LOLB
Charlie Parker
Marshall
Senior

LOLB
Shannon Harrell
UTEP
Junior

MLB
Adam Livingston
UTEP
Freshman

CB
Bernard Jones
Marshall
Senior

CB
Brad Jackson
Louisiana Tech
Senior (RS)

FS
Danny Holmes
UTEP
Junior

SS
Brad Sullivan
Southern Miss
Junior (RS)

K
Terrell Hansen
Southern Miss
Freshman

P
Carlos Wilcox
Tulsa
Senior (RS)

Returner
David Lee
Florida International
Senior (RS)

2nd Team

Position
Player
Team
Year

Offense

QB
Rich Livingston
UTEP
Sophomore

HB
Frank Wagner
Southern Miss
Senior (RS)

HB
Brian Baker
Marshall
Sophomore

WR
Rich Callahan
Southern Miss
Senior (RS)

WR
Ben Robertson
UTEP
Senior (RS)

TE
Joey Ginn
Florida International
Sophomore (RS)

LT
Matt O'Neal
Marshall
Senior (RS)

LG
Dennis Moody
Tulsa
Senior (RS)

LG
Chris Greene
UTEP
Junior

C
Landon Moody
Florida International
Junior (RS)

RT
Bryan Bryant
Southern Miss
Junior

Defense

LE
Greg Wilkerson
Tulsa
Senior (RS)

RE
Steve Jones
UTEP
Junior

DT
Kevin Williams
Louisiana Tech
Junior (RS)

DT
Chris Peoples
Tulsa
Senior (RS)

MLB
Albert Lowe
Marshall
Junior (RS)

ROLB
Dustin Petty
Southern Miss
Senior

ROLB
Cedric Sampson
Florida International
Junior (RS)

CB
Chad Williams
Southern Miss
Sophomore (RS)

CB
Bobby Christian
Rice
Junior

FS
Maurice Tate
Florida Atlantic
Senior (RS)

SS
Ryan Sullivan
Rice
Sophomore (RS)

K
David Glover
Tulsa
Freshman

P
James Carter
Marshall
Senior (RS)

Returner
Kris Scott
Florida Atlantic
Senior

SmoothPancakes

04-12-2013, 07:26 PM

What in the hell are they putting in the water in Georgia? A Georgia HB wins the Heisman Trophy for the third year in a row, to go along with three straight Walter Camps and three straight Walkers. Notre Dame QB Jordan Cooke meanwhile ends up runner-up in the Heisman voting for a second year in a row.

SmoothPancakes

04-12-2013, 07:32 PM

2017 Conference Champions

Conference
Team
Record
Conference Record

CCG Loser
Record
Conference Record

:ACC:
:Virginia_Tech:
12-1
9-1

:Florida_State:
8-5
7-3

:Big_12:
:Oklahoma_State:
10-2
7-2

:Big_East:
:USF:
10-3
9-0

:Houston:
8-5
5-4

:Big_Ten:
:Ohio_State:
12-1
10-0

:Iowa:
10-3
7-3

:CUSA:
:Southern_Miss:
12-1
8-1

:UTEP:
8-5
6-3

:MAC:
:Kent_State:
8-5
7-3

:Northern_Illinois:
9-4
7-3

:Mountain_West:
:Air_Force:
9-3
8-1

:Pac_12:
:USC:
11-2
10-0

:Oregon:
9-4
6-4

:SEC:
:Mississippi_State:
10-3
7-3

:South_Carolina:
7-6
7-3

:Sun_Belt:
:Arkansas_State:
12-0
7-0

:WAC:
:Idaho:
9-3
2-1

SmoothPancakes

04-12-2013, 08:11 PM

2017 Bowl Season Rundown

Bowl Game
Conference
Record
Team

Team
Record
Conference

Date/Result

:New_Mexico_Bowl:
:Mountain_West:
7-5 (5-4)
:Fresno_State:
vs.
:Temple:
6-6 (4-4)
:Big_East:

12/15 - 3:00PM

:Famous_Idaho_Bowl:
:MAC:
7-5 (6-3)
:Ohio:
vs.
:Western_Kentucky:
7-5 (4-3)
:Sun_Belt:

12/17 - 2:00PM

:New_Orleans_Bowl:
:CUSA:
7-5 (5-3)
:Rice:
vs.
(14) :BYU:
10-2 (5-2)
:Sun_Belt:

12/17 - 8:30PM

:Beef_O_Bradys_Bowl:
:CUSA:
8-5 (6-3)
:UTEP:
vs.
:Connecticut:
6-6 (5-3)
:Big_East:

12/20 - 8:00PM

:Poinsettia_Bowl:
:MAC:
6-6 (5-4)
:Eastern_Michigan:
vs.
:Hawaii:
8-4 (7-2)
:Mountain_West:

12/21 - 5:00PM

:Las_Vegas_Bowl:
:Pac_12:
7-5 (5-4)
:Cal:
vs.
:Air_Force:
9-3 (8-1)
:Mountain_West:

12/22 - 8:00PM

:Hawaii_Bowl:
:CUSA:
6-6 (5-3)
:FIU:
vs.
:Kentucky:
6-6 (4-5)
:SEC:

12/24 - 3:00PM

:Independence_Bowl:
:Mountain_West:
8-4 (6-3)
:Colorado_State:
vs.
:Clemson:
7-5 (4-5)
:ACC:

12/26 - 4:30PM

:LittleCaesars_Bowl:
:SEC:
6-6 (3-6)
:Florida:
vs.
:Kent_State:
8-5 (7-3)
:MAC:

12/27 - 2:00PM

:Belk_Bowl:
:ACC:
7-5 (5-4)
:Wake_Forest:
vs.
:SMU:
8-4 (6-2)
:Big_East:

12/27 - 4:30PM

:Military_Bowl:
:MAC:
7-5 (6-3)
:Toledo:
vs.
:North_Carolina:
6-6 (4-5)
:ACC:

12/28 - 4:30PM

:Holiday_Bowl:
:Big_12:
7-5 (5-4)
:TCU:
vs.
:Utah:
9-3 (6-3)
:Pac_12:

12/28 - 5:00PM

:Alamo_Bowl:
:Big_12:
8-4 (5-4)
(24) :Kansas_State:
vs.
(19) :Arizona:
9-3 (7-2)
:Pac_12:

12/29 - 8:00PM

:Champs_Sports_Bowl:
:Big_East:
10-3 (9-0)
:USF:
vs.
(15) :Virginia:
9-3 (6-3)
:ACC:

12/29 - 8:00PM

:Insight_Bowl:
:Big_12:
7-5 (5-4)
:Texas_Tech:
vs.
(18) :Nebraska:
8-4 (6-3)
:Big_Ten:

12/30 - 6:00PM

:Music_City_Bowl:
:SEC:
7-5 (4-5)
:Arkansas:
vs.
:Pitt:
6-6 (5-4)
:ACC:

12/30 - 8:30PM

:Sun_Bowl:
:Pac_12:
9-4 (6-4)
:Oregon:
vs.
(16) :Georgia_Tech:
8-4 (5-4)
:ACC:

12/31 - 12:00PM

:Armed_Forces_Bowl:
:CUSA:
8-4 (5-3)
:Tulsa:
vs.
:Boise_State:
8-4 (5-4)
:Mountain_West:

12/31 - 12:00PM

:Liberty_Bowl:
:Big_East:
8-4 (5-3)
:Cincinnati:
vs.
(17) :Southern_Miss:
12-1 (8-1)
:CUSA:

12/31 - 2:00PM

:Meineke_Texas_Bowl:
:Big_Ten:
6-6 (5-4)
:Penn_State:
vs.
:Texas_A&M:
6-6 (4-5)
:SEC:

12/31 - 2:00PM

:Chick_fil_A_Bowl:
:SEC:
9-3 (6-3)
(9) :Alabama:
vs.
:Florida_State:
8-5 (7-3)
:ACC:

12/31 - 7:30PM

:Fight_Hunger_Bowl:
:Mountain_West:
8-4 (5-4)
:San_Diego_State:
vs.
:Stanford:
6-6 (4-5)
:Pac_12:

12/31 - 8:00PM

:Outback_Bowl:
:SEC:
7-6 (7-3)
:South_Carolina:
vs.
(21) :Michigan:
8-4 (6-3)
:Big_Ten:

1/1 - 11:00AM

:Capital_One_Bowl:
:SEC:
8-4 (7-2)
(20) :Georgia:
vs.
(12) :Iowa:
10-3 (7-3)
:Big_Ten:

1/1 - 1:00PM

:TaxSlayer_Gator:
:SEC:
8-4 (5-4)
(23) :LSU:
vs.
(25) :Northwestern:
8-4 (6-3)
:Big_Ten:

1/1 - 1:00PM

:TicketCity_Bowl:
:CUSA:
8-4 (6-2)
:Marshall:
vs.
:Maryland:
6-6 (3-6)
:Big_Ten:

1/1 - 3:30PM

:Cotton_Bowl:
:SEC:
9-3 (6-3)
(8) :Auburn:
vs.
(22) :Texas:
8-4 (7-2)
:Big_12:

1/4 - 8:00PM

:BBVA_Compass_Bowl:
:Big_East:
8-4 (5-4)
:Houston:
vs.
:Tennessee:
6-6 (4-5)
:SEC:

1/6 - 2:00PM

:GoDaddycom_Bowl:
:MAC:
9-4 (7-3)
:Northern_Illinois:
vs.
:Texas_State:
9-3 (4-3)
:Sun_Belt:

1/6 - 6:00PM

2017 BCS Bowls

Bowl Game
Conference
Record
Team

Team
Record
Conference

Date/Result

:Rose_Bowl:
:Big_Ten:
12-1 (10-0)
(4) :Ohio_State:
vs.
(6) :USC:
11-2 (10-0)
:Pac_12:

1/1 - 5:00PM

:Sugar_Bowl:
:SEC:
10-3 (7-3)
(13) :Mississippi_State:
vs.
(10) :Oklahoma:
10-2 (7-2)
:Big_12:

1/2 - 8:00PM

:Orange_Bowl:
:ACC:
12-1 (9-1)
(3) :Virginia_Tech:
vs.
(7) :Michigan_State:
9-3 (7-2)
:Big_Ten:

1/3 - 8:00PM

:Fiesta_Bowl:
:Big_12:
10-2 (7-2)
(11) :Oklahoma_State:
vs.
(5) :Miami:
9-3 (7-2)
:ACC:

1/4 - 8:00PM

:BCS_Trophy:
:Sun_Belt:
12-0 (7-0)
(2) :Arkansas_State:
vs.
(1) :Notre_Dame:
12-0 (0-0)
Independent

1/7 - 8:00PM

SmoothPancakes

04-12-2013, 08:17 PM

So there you have it. Tulsa makes a trip to the Armed Forces Bowl to take on Boise State, giving fans an early preview of the 2019/2020 match-ups. Southern Miss takes on Cincinnati in the Liberty Bowl, Ohio State meets up with USC in the Rose Bowl.

#1 Notre Dame takes on #2 Arkansas State in the National Championship Game.

Looking through the standings, 73 teams made it bowl eligible with only 68 slots. Five teams got screwed this year.

And a look at who got screwed out of a bowl game this year:

Big East

:Navy: - (6-6)

MAC

:Akron: - (6-6)

Sun Belt

:Troy: - (6-6)

WAC

:Idaho: - (9-3)
:Wyoming: - (8-4)

So, there you go. Navy, Idaho and Wyoming all get screwed out of a bowl game for a second straight year. Despite picking up 3 wins in their last 5 games, a 24-21 loss to Bowling Green in the last game of the year screws Akron out of a bowl game with their 6-6 record (I'm very disappointed in this, I was rooting for Akron to get to 6 wins and get a bowl berth, but the bowl gods screw them over in the end). Navy also gets screwed out of a bowl game thanks to a 38-31 season-ending loss to East Carolina.

SmoothPancakes

04-12-2013, 11:01 PM

Armed Forces Bowl

:Tulsa: VS :Boise_State:

Game Notes

--- Here we were once again, the conclusion of another season. A rough ending to the season saw us end up third in the West Division and drop down into the Armed Forces Bowl and a matchup with Boise State. This game would set the tone for the 2019 and 2020 home and home between the Broncos and Golden Hurricane.

To put it simply, we were going to have our hands full! Boise State entered the game #25 in points per game (33.6 points/game), #11 in total offense (454.5 yards/game), #19 in rush offense (210.4 yards/game) and #39 in pass offense (244.0 yards/game). On the other side of the ball, the Broncos ranked #2 in the nation in total defense (314.1 yards/game), #33 in rush defense (151.8 yards/game) and #3 in the nation in pass defense (162.3 yards/game).

As if all that didn’t already give us a sinking feeling, Boise State was ranked #1 in the nation for turnover differential, with a +19. With our offense unable to avoid fumbling the ball or throwing interceptions in the last 6 games, that number alone spelled potential disaster in the four quarters ahead. We would have to play a perfect game if we were going to win this one. We won the coin toss and elected to kick, putting our defense out and into the fire first.

A touchback on the opening kickoff got the game underway, as Boise State started at their 25 yard line. The Broncos got the ball moving quickly, with a four yard rush by Greg Johnson, followed by an 11 yard pass from Lionel Howard to Pat Rodgers to get the first down at the 40 yard line. Our defense grew a backbone, tackling Howard for a three yard loss, then forcing an incomplete pass to leave third and 13. We would win the first battle of the game, as Howard was sacked for a 7 yard loss, leaving the Boise punt team coming out on fourth and 20. A 9 yard return by Connor Jefferson on the 44 yard punt gave us our first possession at our 36 yard line.

Will Oliver took the ball up the middle on first down, only about to get one yard on the play. Tossing the ball to the right, a couple key blocks and a slow outside linebacker allowed Oliver to get to the sideline and turn the corner, racing down the field for a 23 yard gain and a first down at the Boise State 40 yard line. Oliver never had a chance on first down, overrun by defenders for only a one yard gain. Going into the air on second down, Brad Stephens never got the ball off, the defensive end tearing through his block and sacking Stephens for an 8 yard loss to leave third and 17 at the 47. Eric Hayden would save the drive on third down, getting just enough separation from the cornerback to haul in the ball for a 23 yard gain and a first down at the 24. Returning to the ground, we still had no luck whatsoever, Oliver tackled for no gain. Returning to the air, Eric Silva made a ridiculous catch along the right hash, the throw from Stephens off-target, bouncing off the facemask of the outside linebacker. Silva didn’t give up on the play however, diving to the ground for the ball and coming up with the catch for a 7 yard gain to leave second and three. The third down pass to Randy Newman was complete, but not enough, only picking up two yards to leave fourth and two. We would end up with nothing to show for the drive, as the 33 yard field goal by Derek Glover went wide and no good, giving Boise State back the ball at their 20 yard line.

Our defense was actually putting on a good show for a change, as Johnson was tackled for a loss of one yard on first down, followed by a pair of incomplete passes to bring out the punt team again on fourth and 11. A 5 yard return by Jefferson on the 50 yard punt and we were back in action at the 35. Taking the handoff on first down, Oliver was somehow able to avoid a tackled at the line of scrimmage, fighting his way forward for an 8 yard gain to leave second and two. Oliver would get the first down on the next play with a gain of four yards to the 47 yard line. Throwing a curveball at the defense, we came out running option, a play that ended up successful as a late pitch to Oliver picked up 17 yards and a first down at the Boise State 36 yard line. The success came with a penalty though, as Oliver was slow to get up after the play, diagnosed with elbow bursitis, leaving him on the bench for at least the rest of the drive. Looking to take advantage of the run, we came out in play action, but we ended up losing yards on the play, Roy Smith catching the pass from Stephens, but quickly tackled for a loss of three yards to leave second and 13. Coming out in the shotgun, a pass that was intended for Antonio Banks was off the target, but still completed as Jefferson happened to be in the right position, reaching back to grab the pass then turning and hauling ass up the sideline for a 29 yard gain and a first down at the 11 yard line. Smith had no hope on the first down carry, the defensive tackle breaking through at the snap of the ball and tackling Smith right after the handoff for a loss of three yards. Returning to the air, Carl Barnes was able to get open over the middle from the tight end spot, catching the pass from Stephens at the three yard line and diving for the end zone. He would ultimately be marked down at the one yard line for a 13 yard gain, giving us first and goal on the doorstep. Coming back from his injury earlier in the drive, Oliver was met at the line of scrimmage for no gain, bringing up second and goal. Trying our luck again on the ground, Oliver was again met at the line of scrimmage, but this time was able to turn and fall forward across the goal line to strike first blood with the one yard touchdown and give us a 7-0 lead with 21 seconds left in the first quarter.

A 20 yard kickoff return left Boise State starting at their 19 yard line, just 9 seconds on the clock. A 15 yard pass from Howard to Clay Scott would give the Broncos a quick first down at the 34 yard line, bringing the first quarter to a end, our lead 7-0.

Starting the second quarter, Boise State tried to go through the air again, but the pass was batted incomplete, leaving second down. That didn’t deter the Broncos though, as Howard came right back firing on the next play, connecting with Johnson for a 24 yard gain and a first down at our 43 yard line, our touchdown awakening the sleeping giant in Boise State. A 5 yard pass to Rodgers was followed up with a two yard rush by Johnson to set up third and three. We would catch a huge break, as the third down pass intended for Sean Johnson was dropped, bringing up fourth and three at the 36. That wouldn’t stop us from shooting ourselves in the foot, as a 5 yard facemask penalty on a three yard fourth down rush gave Boise State a fresh set of downs at our 28. The defense continued to put up a fight however, tackling Johnson for a loss of three yards, before he regained those yards with a three yard rush to leave third and 10. An incomplete pass would bring up fourth and long. That didn’t stop or faze the Broncos however, as they came out firing away on fourth down, Howard connecting with Rodgers for a 21 yard gain to set up first and goal at our 7 yard line. An incomplete pass on first down was followed with a three yard rush by Howard to leave third and goal at the four. Rodgers would finish the drive off with a four yard touchdown rush, tying up the game at 7-7 with 6:46 left before halftime.

A touchback on the kickoff left us starting from our 25. Handing off the ball on first down, Oliver picked up three yards on the play, followed by an 8 yard run to give a first down at the 37. Keeping the ball on first down, Stephens had nowhere to go as a blitz left him on his back for a three yard loss. Trying to hit Barnes over the middle on second down, the safety dropped down to bat away the ball, leaving third and 13. Trying to find Banks on third down, Stephens was hit as he threw, the wounded duck landing incomplete to bring out the punt team. A fair catch on the 46 yard punt got Boise State back in action at their 21.

Howard started off the drive with a 5 yard rush, followed by an offside penalty on the defense to give Boise a free first down at their 31. The defense struck back on the next play however, sacking Howard for a 10 yard loss to leave second and 20. A dropped pass by Rodgers brought up third and very long. Howard was able to complete the third down pass to Khalif Newell, but it went for only a gain of 8 yards, leaving the punt team coming out on fourth and 12. A fair catch by Jefferson on the 48 yard punt got us back on the field at the 23. Hitting the hole between the left tackle and guard, Oliver was able to bust outside and up the left sideline, picking up 24 yards on the carry before being ran down from behind at the 47 yard line. Keeping it on the ground on first down, Oliver gained four yards, followed by a two yard rush to leave third and four. The third down pass to Newman was complete, but he got ran out of bounds for only a two yard gain, leaving fourth and two at the Boise 45. Softly booting a 34 yard punt on fourth down, Johnson called for a fair catch to leave Boise State starting at their 10 yard line with 2:40 left before half.

Our defense couldn’t wait to screw themselves over this drive, instantly getting tagged with pass interference, the 15 free yards giving Boise a first down at the 25 yard line. Howard followed that up with a 12 yard pass to Newell, and then a 22 yard pass to Rodgers, very quickly giving the Broncos a first down at our 41 yard line. Johnson took the ball on first down for a 5 yard rush and then hauled in a pass from Howard for a gain of 15 yard, setting up a first down at our 21. Howard kept the ball on the first down play, picking up 5 yards to leave second and 5. Johnson would the finish off the drive on second down, breaking outside the right tackle and taking it to the house for the 16 yard touchdown to give Boise State a 14-7 lead with 1:35 left before halftime.

A touchback on the kickoff left us starting from our 25 yard line, just 1:27 to work with. Banks was able to pull down the first down pass from Stephens, the ball thrown just in time to avoid the rush, gaining 13 yards on the play and getting out of bounds at the 38 yard line to stop the clock with 1:22 to go. A pass to Smith picked up 7 yards, our first timeout stopping the clock with 1:12 to play. Firing up a pass over the middle, the ball intended for Hayden was batted down, leaving third and three at the 45. The third down pass intended for Banks was underthrown, dropping into the grass incomplete in front of Banks to bring out the punt team on fourth down. No return on the booming 50 yard punt left Boise State at their 5 yard line, just one minute to play. A three yard rush by Nick Keller, a 6 yard rush by Johnson and a dropped ball by Terry Wall left Boise State with fourth and one at their 13 yard line, just 28 seconds on the clock. A 16 yard return by Jefferson on the 43 yard punt set us up at the Boise State 41 yard line, 19 seconds left on the clock and at least a chance to get a field goal if anything.

The first down pass intended for Jefferson was again underthrown, leaving second down, just 14 seconds to go. Throwing over the middle on second down, Newman pulled down the pass in front of the middle linebacker, able to cut up field fast enough to gain 19 yards on the play, tackled at the 22 yard line. Our last timeout stopped the clock with 9 seconds to go, just enough time for one shot at the end zone. The pass intended for Banks was broken up by the safety, bringing out the field goal unit with 5 seconds left. Glover kicked the 39 yard field goal through the uprights, cutting Boise State’s lead to 14-10 with one second left. A touchback on the kickoff brought the first half to an end, Boise State leading 14-10.

Opening up the second half, a 14 yard kickoff return by Hayden got the third quarter started, our offense coming out at our 13 yard line. A diving tackle by the defensive end tripped up Oliver on first down, only picking up four yards on the play to leave second and 6. Keeping the ball again on second down, Oliver could only get two yards to bring up third and four. Jefferson would keep the drive alive, jumping up and pulling down the third down pass for an 8 yard gain and a first down at the 28. A four yard run by Oliver on first down was followed with a 5 yard gain to bring up third and one. Oliver needed helped off the field after the play, suffering a mild concussion that would bench him for the rest of the game and end his season. Taking over for the injured Oliver, Smith took the handoff on third and one, fighting ahead for a gain of 5 and a first down at the 42. Coming out passing on first down, Jefferson was able to get the ball in his hands, but contact in the back by the cornerback jarred the ball loose, the ball nearly intercepted by the safety while falling to the ground, leaving second and long. Hayden was able to pull down a pass from Stephens for a 9 yard gain, leaving us looking at third and one. Going for it on the ground, Smith was able to convert with a four yard rush and a first down at the Boise State 45 yard line. Coming out passing, the ball originally intended for Banks ended up in the hands of Smith, as Stephens was hit as he threw, the wounded duck grabbed out of the air by Smith and run for a 7 yard gain to set up second and three. Trying to get the first down on the ground, Smith was hit for a two yard gain, leaving third and one. Breaking up the middle of the pile, Smith rumbled ahead for a 6 yard gain, getting another first down at the Broncos 31. Passing on first down, Stephens connected with Eric Silva for a huge gain of 30 yards, setting up first and goal at the one yard line. Silva took the first down handoff, getting to the goal line before being smeared by multiple defenders to leave second down. Smith would get the job done on the next play, getting across the goal line for the one yard touchdown, taking a 17-14 lead with 3:40 left in the third quarter, the long 15 play drive chewing up nearly two-thirds of the quarter.

A 16 yard kickoff return got Boise State lined up at their 21 yard line, looking for a response. They would fail to find one, as two incomplete passes and a 5 yard rush by Johnson brought the drive to a premature end on fourth and 5. A fair catch called by Jefferson on the 48 yard punt gave us the ball at our 26 yard line. Smith got the drive started with a 6 yard rush, followed by a rush for no gain to leave third and four. Going into the air on third down, Newman was able to haul in the pass from Stephens, but a quick tackle by the outside linebacker left a gain of just a single yard on the play, our punt team coming out on fourth and three. A fair catch on the 46 yard punt got Boise State back in action at their 22 yard line.

The Broncos came out firing as Howard found Quinton Moore for a 7 yard gain, but an incomplete pass and a one yard rush by Johnson would again leave Boise short, punting away on fourth and two. We caught a massive break on the punt return, as Jefferson fumbled the catch, promptly diving on the ball to recover the fumble and leave our offense starting at our 27 yard line. Smith could only get three yards on the first down carry, followed by an option play that saw Stephens immediately hit in the backfield for a loss of three yards to bring up third and long. Barely avoiding a sack, Stephens was able to get the ball off to Banks for a gain of 11 yards and a first down at the 38. That would be the last play of the quarter as the final 8 seconds ticked off the clock to bring the third quarter to end, our lead holding at 17-14.

Opening up the fourth quarter, Smith carried the rock up the middle for a 6 yard gain before breaking loose and taking it to the house for a 56 yard touchdown. But just when we thought we had increased our lead to double digits, we got punched right in the gut, the officials calling off the play due to a holding penalty, going from a 24-14 lead to second and 13 at the 35 yard line. Passing over the middle, we were able to at least reverse the damage, the pass completed to Kyle Jones for a 14 yard gain and a first down at the 49. Coming out throwing on first down, Silva made another massive play, hauling in a deep pass from Stephens and racing the safety down to the Boise State 11 yard line for a 40 yard gain. Rushing up the middle, Jones picked up four yards on the first down play, followed by a one yard loss by Smith to leave third and 7. The third down pass intended for Silva was broken up by the safety, bringing out the field goal unit on fourth down. Glover kicked the 25 yard field goal down the middle, extending our lead to 20-14 with 6:49 left in the game.

A 16 yard kickoff return set Boise State up at their 18 yard line for their next drive. That drive would last all of one play, as cornerback Tyler Fountain stripped Johnson of the ball, promptly recovering the fumble he had just caused to give us a first down at the Boise State 19 yard line. Smith took the first down carry for a gain of 7 yards, then picked up four yards outside the right tackled to give us first and goal at the 9 yard line. Receiving the pitch from Stephens, Silva never had a chance as the defense closed off every escape route, tackling him for a loss of three yards to push us back to the 12. A second down rush by Smith resulted in a two yard gain, leaving third and goal at the 10 yard line. Going into the air, the third down pass to Jefferson went for only a three yard gain, leaving fourth and goal. Going for it on fourth down to put the game away, Silva was quickly tackled for no gain on the play, turning the ball over on downs at the Boise State 8 yard line.

After an incomplete pass on first down, Johnson took the ball on the ground for a 10 yard gain and a first down at the 18. Howard finally got back into his rhythm, connecting with Scott for a 22 yard gain and a new set of downs at the 40. Our defense again felt the need to help them out, flagged for a 15 yard facemask penalty at the end of a four yard run by Johnson, giving the Broncos a first down at our 41 yard line. Keller took the ball next, picking up 7 yards on the carry, followed by a 17 yard strike from Howard to Moore to set up first down at our 16 yard line. Continuing with the air assault, Howard found Kyle Hill for a 7 yard gain, followed by an incomplete passes intended for Johnson, leaving third and three at our 9 yard line. Johnson would convert the third down, breaking free up the middle for a 9 yard rush to set up first and goal at the one. The Broncos, abandoning the run for whatever reason, found themselves facing third down after two dropped passes by Rodgers. They would then go backwards, Johnson tackled for a loss of two yards to leave fourth and goal at the three yard line. Going for it on fourth down, Johnson would redeem himself, punching through the hole outside the right guard and scoring the three yard touchdown, giving Boise State a 21-20 lead with 2:32 left in the game.

A 14 yard kickoff return by Hayden left us buried deep, starting at our 11 yard line and limited time. The defense would make one of their biggest plays of the game on first down, getting into the backfield and sacking Stephens for a 7 yard loss before he could get the ball off to Newman. Left with second and 17, Smith would get us out of the jam, hauling in the pass for a 22 yard gain to the 26 yard line. Rushing to the line, Stephens connected with Banks for a gain of 14 and another first down at the 39. Lining right back up, Stephens hit Smith cutting across the middle for a gain of 7 yards, our first timeout stopping the clock with 1:22 to go. Keeping through the air, Stephens found Newman for a three yard gain and a first down, rushing back to the line. Throwing up a first down pass, Silva brought down the ball for a gain of 8 yards, leaving second and two at the 42 yard line, our second timeout called to stop play with 1:06 to go. Forced to dump the ball to avoid a sack, the pass to Silva ended up going for a loss of two yards, leaving the clock ticking. Racing back to the line, Stephens quickly snapped the ball, rifling a pass to Jones for a four yard gain and a first down, Jones getting out of bounds at the 41 yard line. Throwing a pass to Robert Harper on first down, Harper was able to pick up 5 yards on the play, but was brought down just inches away from the out of bounds line, leaving the clock ticking. Quickly spiking the ball to stop the clock, we were left facing third and 5 at the 36 yard line, just 25 seconds left on the clock. Dropping back to pass on third down, the defense brought the entire linebackers corps, sacking Stephens for a loss of 9 yards, leaving us facing fourth and 14 at the 44 yard line, our last timeout stopping the clock with 15 seconds to go. Stephens dropped back to pass on fourth down, hitting Banks along the left sideline. Banks made a cut to try and get past the cornerback and safety, but was wrapped up and rolled over just shy of the first down line for a gain of only 13 yards, turning the ball over on downs at the 31 yard line with 10 seconds to go.

Howard took a single knee to run out the final seconds, and Boise State celebrated a 21-20 Armed Forces Bowl victory.

With the loss, we end our 2017 season at 8-5, 5-3 in C-USA action. With the win, Boise State’s year comes to a close at 9-4, 5-4 in Mountain West play.

Final Score
:Boise_State: 21, :Tulsa: 20

Stat(s) of the Game:
- Tulsa Offense – Finally a day with no turnovers, but we still couldn't get the win. Overall a decent day for Stephens, ending 28-36 for 308 yards. Rushing, Oliver led the way with 113 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries, despite spending half the game out with a concussion. Receiving, Silva was the star of the day, ending with 83 yards on five receptions. Banks was next in line with 51 yards on four receptions. In all, 10 players caught a pass today, 8 players ending with double digit yards receiving.

- Tulsa Defense – Hot and cold. About sums it up. Great defense in the first and third quarter. Horrible defense in the second quarter and blew it right at the end of the fourth quarter.

- Tulsa Kicking – Glover ended 2-3 in field goals, connecting on kicks of 25 and 39 yards, but missed from 33 yards out. He did end 2-2 in PATs.

Scoring Summary

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

:Tulsa:
7
3
7
3
20

:Boise_State:
0
14
0
7
21

Time
Team
Result
Play
Score

First Quarter

0:21
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
W. Oliver, 1 yard run (D. Glover kick)
:Tulsa: 7-0

Second Quarter

6:46
:Boise_State:
Touchdown
P. Rogers, 4 yard run (B. Means kick)
TIED 7-7

1:35
:Boise_State:
Touchdown
G. Johnson, 16 yard run (B. Means kick)
:Boise_State: 14-7

0:01
:Tulsa:
Field Goal
D. Glover, 39 yard field goal
:Boise_State: 14-10

Third Quarter

3:40
:Tulsa:
Touchdown
R. Smith, 1 yard run (D. Glover kick)
:Tulsa: 17-14

Fourth Quarter

6:49
:Tulsa:
Field Goal
D. Glover, 25 yard field goal
:Tulsa: 20-14

2:32
:Boise_State:
Touchdown
G. Johnson, 2 yard run (B. Means kick)
:Boise_State: 21-20

Game Stats

Tulsa
Stat
Boise State

20
Score
21

23
First Downs
13

435
Total Offense
275

41 - 127 - 2
Rushes - Yards - TD
24 - 84 - 3

28 - 36 - 0
Comp - Att - TD
14 - 30 - 0

308
Passing Yards
191

3
Times Sacked
2

7 - 15 (46%)
3rd Down Conversion
2 - 11 (18%)

0 - 2 (0%)
4th Down Conversion
2 - 2 (100%)

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

6 - 2 - 1 (50%)
Red Zone - TD - FG
4 - 3 - 0 (75%)

0
Turnovers
1

0
Fumbles Lost
1

0
Intercepted
0

37
Punt Return Yards
0

28
Kick Return Yards
52

500
Total Yards
327

4 – 44.5
Punts - Average
6 – 47.7

5 - 52
Penalties
0 - 0

19:48
Time of Possession
16:12

Tulsa Contract Goals Update

Fail Impact
Goal
Progress
Pass Impact

:6redarrow:
21+ points per game in each season
24
:6greenarrow:

Win 10 games in one season
8
:6greenarrow:

3300+ passing yards each season
:red-x:
:5greenarrow:

:6redarrow:
65% pass completions over the entire contract
59%
:5greenarrow:

:5redarrow:
Win 6 games in one season
:check:
:5greenarrow:

:6redarrow:
15+ rushing TD in each season
2/4 Completed
:5greenarrow:

:4redarrow:
3200+ total offensive yards each season
2/4 Completed
:3greenarrow:

:5redarrow:
3400+ total offensive yards each season
2/4 Completed
:2greenarrow:

Job Security Status

38%

souljahbill

04-12-2013, 11:50 PM