Smooth Pancakes' Coaching Carousel Career

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Originally Posted by johntom2000

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Originally Posted by SmoothPancakes

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tried setting big hits and strip to conservative?

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

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

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

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SmoothPancakes

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

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

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

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

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

Game Three

:Tulsa: :@: :Utah_State:



Game Notes

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Final Score
:Utah_State: 31, :Tulsa: 28




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

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

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




Scoring Summary

Team	1st Quarter	2nd Quarter	3rd Quarter	4th Quarter	Final Score
:Tulsa:	7	7	7	7	28
:Utah_State:	10	14	7	0	31

Time	Team	Result	Play	Score
First Quarter
7:35	:Utah_State:	Field Goal	R. Burnette, 27 yard field goal	:Utah_State: 3-0
6:01	:Tulsa:	Touchdown	J. Whitaker, 7 yard pass from J. Webb (B. Wright kick)	:Tulsa: 7-3
1:16	:Utah_State:	Touchdown	E. McGuire, 3 yard pass from A. Powers (R. Burnette kick)	:Utah_State: 10-7
Second Quarter
7:40	:Tulsa:	Touchdown	N. Givens, 10 yard pass from J. Webb (B. Wright kick)	:Tulsa: 14-10
3:34	:Utah_State:	Field Goal	R. Burnette, 37 yard field goal	:Tulsa: 14-13
0:50	:Utah_State:	Field Goal	R. Burnette, 39 yard field goal	:Utah_State: 16-14
0:05	:Utah_State:	Touchdown	D. Martin, 13 yard pass from A. Powers (2-point conversion good)	:Utah_State: 24-14
Third Quarter
8:40	:Tulsa:	Touchdown	J. Whitaker, 74 yard pass from J. Webb (B. Wright kick)	:Utah_State: 24-21
2:10	:Utah_State:	Touchdown	B. Paris, 5 yard run (R. Burnette kick)	:Utah_State: 31-21
Fourth Quarter
3:18	:Tulsa:	Touchdown	W. Callahan, 48 yard pass from J. Webb (B. Wright kick)	:Utah_State: 31-28

Game Stats

Tulsa	Stat	Utah State
28	Score	31
11	First Downs	22
390	Total Offense	394
19 - 60 - 0	Rushes - Yards - TD	43 - 160 - 1
14 - 27 - 4	Comp - Att - TD	22 - 32 - 2
330	Passing Yards	234
2	Times Sacked	0
6 - 10 (60%)	3rd Down Conversion	12 - 18 (66%)
1 - 1 (100%)	4th Down Conversion	0 - 0 (0%)
0 - 0 (0%)	2-Point Conv	1 - 1 (100%)
3 - 2 - 0 (66%)	Red Zone - TD - FG	4 - 3 - 1 (100%)
1	Turnovers	0
1	Fumbles Lost	0
0	Intercepted	0
30	Punt Return Yards	25
114	Kick Return Yards	142
534	Total Yards	561
3 – 46.7	Punts - Average	2 - 42.5
2 - 20	Penalties	0 - 0
12:11	Time of Possession	23:49

Utah State Coach Goals

Goal	XP Reward	Completed
Win a Game	100	x1
Score a Touchdown	25	x3
Force a Turnover	25	x1
Rush for 100 Yards	25	x1
Play in an ESPN Classic Game	75	x1
Opponent Under 150 Rush Yards	50	x1
Pass Completion Over 50%	30	x1
100% Red Zone Efficiency	50	x1
Score 21 or More Points	50	x1
350+ Offensive Yards	50	x1
10+ First Downs	50	x1
4+ 3rd Down Conversions	25	x1

Utah State Contract Goals Update

Goal	Expectations	Progress
Target Wins Per Season	6	2

Job Security Status

100%

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Game Four

:Utah_State: :@: :San_Jose_State:



Game Notes

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Final Score
:Utah_State: 16, :San_Jose_State: 10




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

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

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




Scoring Summary

Team	1st Quarter	2nd Quarter	3rd Quarter	4th Quarter	Final Score
:Utah_State:	7	3	0	6	16
:San_Jose_State:	7	0	3	0	10

Time	Team	Result	Play	Score
First Quarter
6:54	:San_Jose_State:	Touchdown	B. Vincent, 38 yard pass from J. Freeman (D. Henry kick)	:San_Jose_State: 7-0
6:42	:Utah_State:	Touchdown	P. Roberson, returned kickoff 101 yards (R. Burnette kick)	TIED 7-7
Second Quarter
6:44	:Utah_State:	Field Goal	R. Burnette, 52 yard field goal	:Utah_State: 10-7
Third Quarter
5:22	:San_Jose_State:	Field Goal	D. Henry, 31 yard field goal	TIED 10-10
Fourth Quarter
8:50	:Utah_State:	Field Goal	R. Burnette, 34 yard field goal	:Utah_State: 13-10
2:57	:Utah_State:	Field Goal	R. Burnette, 26 yard field goal	:Utah_State: 16-10

Game Stats

Utah State	Stat	San Jose State
16	Score	10
19	First Downs	8
348	Total Offense	146
38 - 131 - 0	Rushes - Yards - TD	22 - 44 - 0
15 - 25 - 0	Comp - Att - TD	9 - 22 - 1
217	Passing Yards	102
0	Times Sacked	4
8 - 15 (53%)	3rd Down Conversion	1 - 11 (9%)
1 - 1 (100%)	4th Down Conversion	1 - 1 (100%)
0 - 0 (0%)	2-Point Conv	0 - 0 (0%)
4 - 0 - 2 (50%)	Red Zone - TD - FG	1 - 0 - 1 (100%)
1	Turnovers	0
0	Fumbles Lost	0
1	Intercepted	0
22	Punt Return Yards	30
119	Kick Return Yards	22
489	Total Yards	198
2 – 36.0	Punts - Average	7 - 37.9
1 - 15	Penalties	1 - 5
22:54	Time of Possession	13:06

Utah State Coach Goals

Goal	XP Reward	Completed
Win a Game	100	x1
Score a Touchdown	25	x1
Kick/Punt Return Touchdown	50	x1
3 Consecutive Wins	150	x1
45+ Yard Field Goal	10	x1
Rush for 100 Yards	25	x1
NCAA Record: Longest Kick Return (101)	300	x1
Kneel Last Min Q4 While Ahead	10	x1
3+ Sacks	50	x1
Opponent Under 150 Rush Yards	50	x1
Opponent Under 300 Pass Yards	50	x1
Pass Completion Over 50%	30	x1
350+ Offensive Yards	50	x1
10+ First Downs	50	x1
4+ 3rd Down Conversions	25	x1

Utah State Contract Goals Update

Goal	Expectations	Progress
Target Wins Per Season	6	3

Job Security Status

100%

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

:popcorn:

Game Five

:Utah_State: :@: :Old_Dominion:



Game Notes

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Final Score
:Old_Dominion: 24, :Utah_State: 23




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

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

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




Scoring Summary

Team	1st Quarter	2nd Quarter	3rd Quarter	4th Quarter	Final Score
:Utah_State:	13	7	0	3	23
:Old_Dominion:	0	7	7	10	24

Time	Team	Result	Play	Score
First Quarter
6:20	:Utah_State:	Field Goal	R. Burnette, 43 yard field goal	:Utah_State: 3-0
2:03	:Utah_State:	Field Goal	R. Burnette, 31 yard field goal	:Utah_State: 6-0
0:15	:Utah_State:	Touchdown	D. Martin, 59 yard pass from A. Powers (R. Burnette kick)	:Utah_State: 13-0
Second Quarter
5:04	:Old_Dominion:	Touchdown	J. Johnson, 60 yard pass from D. Whitfield (G. Thurman kick)	:Utah_State: 13-7
0:51	:Utah_State:	Touchdown	B. Paris, 2 yard run (R. Burnette kick)	:Utah_State: 20-7
Third Quarter
6:41	:Old_Dominion:	Touchdown	J. McDonald, 4 yard run (G. Thurman kick)	:Utah_State: 20-14
Fourth Quarter
5:58	:Old_Dominion:	Touchdown	J. McDonald, 8 yard run (G. Thurman kick)	:Old_Dominion: 21-20
2:04	:Utah_State:	Field Goal	R. Burnette, 23 yard field goal	:Utah_State: 23-21
1:02	:Old_Dominion:	Field Goal	G. Thurman, 31 yard field goal	:Old_Dominion: 24-23

Game Stats

Utah State	Stat	Old Dominion
23	Score	24
22	First Downs	12
411	Total Offense	321
46 - 162 - 1	Rushes - Yards - TD	17 - 68 - 2
17 - 26 - 1	Comp - Att - TD	18 - 27 - 1
249	Passing Yards	253
1	Times Sacked	3
10 - 17 (58%)	3rd Down Conversion	4 - 10 (40%)
0 - 0 (0%)	4th Down Conversion	0 - 0 (0%)
0 - 0 (0%)	2-Point Conv	0 - 0 (0%)
4 - 1 - 2 (75%)	Red Zone - TD - FG	3 - 2 - 1 (100%)
0	Turnovers	0
0	Fumbles Lost	0
0	Intercepted	0
16	Punt Return Yards	12
124	Kick Return Yards	86
551	Total Yards	419
2 – 31.5	Punts - Average	4 - 35.0
2 - 28	Penalties	1 - 14
23:28	Time of Possession	12:32

Utah State Coach Goals

Goal	XP Reward	Completed
Score a Touchdown	25	x2
Rush for 100 Yards	25	x1
3+ Sacks	50	x1
Play in an ESPN Classic Game	75	x1
Opponent Under 150 Rush Yards	50	x1
Opponent Under 300 Pass Yards	50	x1
Pass Completion over 50%	30	x1
Score 21 or More Points	50	x1
10+ First Downs	50	x1
350+ Offensive Yards	50	x1
10+ First Downs	50	x1
4+ 3rd Down Conversions	25	x1

Utah State Contract Goals Update

Goal	Expectations	Progress
Target Wins Per Season	6	3

Job Security Status

100%