Sunday, July 27, 2008

Get well soon Jessie!!!

I ran across this today and wanted to share her story.

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Texas Tech vs Oklahoma - NCAA 09 Simulation

So I got bored and decided to run/watch a simulation of Texas Tech @ Oklahoma...and blog about it. The game was played at night, temperature was 37* at game time with a light breeze out of the north. In other words, your perfect November evening in Oklahoma. I let the game run on 6 minute quarters and All-American difficulty. Next time I'll probably run a simulation on 7 minute quarters for more accurate stats.

1st Quarter

- On OU's first play from scrimmage, Brandon Williams hits DeMarco Murray in the backfield and he fumbles. Jamar Wall picks it up and runs 33 yards to the endzone for a TD.



Texas Tech 7
Oklahoma 0

- Oklahoma goes 3 and out on their second series and Tech takes over at their own 30 yard line.

- Harrell finds Britton for a nice completion on 3rd down but it's a yard short of the 1st down and TT has to punt it away. A nice punt return from Murray and OU takes over on their own 39 yd line.

- DeMarco Murray leads the way on this drive, running for 23 yards on 3 carries. However, he was stopped for no gain by Marlon Williams on 3rd and 2 from at the 10 yd line and the Sooners have to settle for a field goal.

Texas Tech 7
Oklahoma 3


- A nice kick return by Aaron Crawford is negated by a clipping penalty and Texas Tech has to to start the drive at their own 12 yd line.

- Shannon Woods gains 12 yds on a HB screen on 3rd and 9 to keepthe drive going. The next play, Graham Harrell tries to run a speed option. Didn't work out so well. EA needs to take that play out of TT's playbook.

- Tech calls a fake punt on 4th and 3 at their own 48 yd line. The ball is snapped to the upback (Adam James) but he's stopped at the LOS for no gain.

---End of 1st Quarter---

Texas Tech 7
Oklahoma 3

- DeMarco Murray again leads the way with 9 rushing yards on 3 carries and 1 reception for 18 yds. However, the Sooners come up short and have to settle for a 33 yd FG.

Texas Tech 7
Oklahoma 6

- Eric Morris gets his first catch of the game, an 18 yd catch and run on a deep out that moves the ball out to midfield for the Red Raiders.

- On 3rd and 10, Crabtree makes a BEAUTIFUL catch on an 11 yd out route along the sideline to keep the drive alive. Tech now inside the red zone.

- Again on 3rd down, Crabtree catches a slant 2 yds shy of the marker but drags his defender far enough up field for another first down inside the 10 yd line.

- On 2nd and goal, Aaron Crawford is stopped at the goal line. On 3rd down, Shannon Woods gets stuffed in the backfield. Holding called but the penalty is declined.

- In typical Leach fashion, Tech goes for it on 4th down from the 2 yd line. Harrell fakes a run to Woods, pump fakes a fade to Crabtree, and finds a wide open Detron Lewis in the far corner of the endzone.

Texas Tech 14
Oklahoma 6

Middle 2nd Quarter


- Jamar Wall comes out of nowhere to break up what looks like a guaranteed completion from Bradford to Iglesias on 3rd down and the Sooners have to punt.



- On 3rd down at their own 38 yd line, Harrell makes an ill-advised pass and is picked off by SS Nic Harris, who returns it to the Tech 40 yd line. Just over a minute left in the quarter.

- The Swarm is once again up to the challenge in keeping the Sooners out of the endzone and a 55 yd FG attempt is wide right just before halftime.

- On the last play of the half, Harrell throws one up to the endzone but it's picked off by Brian Jackson at the goalline. He returns it all the way to the Tech 30 yd line before Rylan Reed sends him flying off the field...literally.

Texas Tech 14
Oklahoma 6


---HALFTIME---


Key Stats

Graham Harrell - 16 of 22 for 92 yds 1 TD 2 INT's
Sam Bradford - 8 of 11 for 47 yds


Shannon Woods - 4 carries for 13 yds, 2 catches for 11 yds
DeMarco Murray - 11 carries for 24 yds, 4 catches for 16 yds

Michael Crabtree - 4 catches for 29 yds
Jermaine Gresham - 2 catches for 11 yds


NOTE: OU is 0 of 5 on 3rd downs in the 1st half, has 5 first downs and 75 total yards of offense. By comparison, Texas Tech has 104 yds of offense, 8 first downs, and is 2 of 6 on 3rd downs.

- Texas Tech will get the ball to start the second half and Aaron Crawford returns it to the 30 yd line.

- On their first play from scrimmage, Michael Crabtree is lined up in the backfield alongside Graham Harrell w/ Morris, Britton, Lewis, and Leong at WR. Tech runs a HB screen that nets them 7 yds. Nice wrinkle in the playbook.




- Eric Morris with 2 very uncharacteristic drops on back to back plays that would've given the Red Raiders a first down inside the 25 yd line. Not to worry though as Crabtree makes a nice grab along the sidelines to keep the drive alive.

- Graham Harrell keeps it himself on 1st and goal from the 3 yd line for the Texas Tech touchdown!!!




Texas Tech 21
Oklahoma 6


Middle 3rd


- Freshman Donnie Carona puts the kickoff through the back of the endzone with no wind blowing. Pretty impressive and hopefully we'll see plenty of that this year!

- DeMarco Murray does his best to lead the Sooners down the field but he's finally stuffed at the Tech 35. The Sooners try another FG from 51 yds out but this one is no good as it hits the crossbar and falls helplessly into the end zone.

- Wow...Tech tries ANOTHER fake punt from midfield. This time, it's P Jonathan LaCour pulling up and trying to throw to Adam James. However, his pass is knocked to the ground as the 3rd quarter comes to a close.

Texas Tech 21
Oklahoma 6


End of 3rd Quarter


- On the first play of the 4th quarter, Brian Duncan picks off a Sam Bradford pass and returns it to the Texas Tech 48.




- On the next play, Shannon Woods runs for 24 yds to the Oklahoma 28 yd line.

- Aaron Crawford breaks off a nice 15 yd run to get the ball down inside the 5 yd line.




- In what can only be described as superhuman, Michael Crabtree somehow comes up with this pass for a touchdown. As you can see below, it was likely intended for Aaron Crawford and it looks like OU LB Ryan Reynolds is about to intercept the pass. Well nevermind, I can't get the picture to upload. Long and short, Crabtree reaches around (or possibly through) Reynolds and pulls the ball in for a one handed TD.

Texas Tech 28
Oklahoma 6


Middle 4th


- Times are getting desperate for the Sooners. It's taken 2 consecutive 4th down conversions just to get the ball out to midfield. With just under 3 minutes left on the clock, it looks to be too little too late for the boys up ther ein Norman.

- Pete Richardson decides to put the game out of reach as he picks off a Sam Bradford pass at the Texas Tech 18 yardline, sealing all hopes of a late Sooner rally.

- Looking like they were going to run the clock out, Texas Tech runs a PA pass out of the goalline formation on 3rd and short and Harrell's pass is picked off by Lendy Holmes at the Tech 27 yd line.

- With just under a minute left, Bradford finds Juaquin Iglesias on 4th and goal for a meaningless touchdown. It's render further useless as DeMarco Murray is stuffed by 3 or 4 defenders trying to get the 2 point conversion.

- Demonstrating their ignorance, the OU faithful are chanting "OU...OU...OU" after Tech recovers the onside kick. Somewhere, I think I can hear the Tech students that made the trip inserting the word "sucks" after every "OU" from the rest of the crowd!

- On the last play of the game, Brandon Williams puts a beautiful swim move on Phil Loadholt (who's fresh out of rehab) and swats Sam Bradford's hail mary pass back in his face. Ballgame...

Texas Tech 28
Oklahoma 12


FINAL

Key Stats

Graham Harrell - 32 of 47 for 200 yds, 2 TD 3 INT's (one before halftime and another while trying to run out the clock)
Sam Bradford - 22 of 35 for 140 yds, 1 TD 2 INT's

Shannon Woods - 8 carries for 34 yds, 7 catches for 17 yds
DeMarco Murray - 18 carries for 49 yds, 4 catches for 16 yds


Michael Crabtree - 9 catches for 65 yds and 1 TD

Juaquin Iglesias - 6 catches for 33 yds and 1 TD


NOTE: OU was 2 of 12 on 3rd down, had 12 first downs and 193 total yards of offense. By comparison, Texas Tech has 236 yds of offense, 17 first downs, and was 7 of 13 on 3rd downs.

Simulation of the 2008 Season - Part II

I'm working my way through a campus legend season right now (I'm a backup QB for Georgia) and here's how the game has simulated the 2008 season so far (I'm through November 1st games). I'll update this again after I get to the end of the regular season.

BCS Rankings (only undefeated teams)
1. Wisconsin
2. Oklahoma
3. Missouri
4. Texas Tech
5. West Virginia
8. Pitt

Top 10 Rankings (Coaches/AP)
1. Wisconsin
2. Oklahoma
3. Missouri
4. Texas Tech
5. West Virginia
6. Pitt/Ohio State
7. Ohio State/USC
8. USC/Pitt
9. Auburn/Arizona State
10. Arizona State/Auburn

Top 5 Heisman Contenders
1. Lucas Taylor
2. Graham Harrell
3. Jeremy Maclin
4. DeMarco Murray
5. Chase Daniel

Texas Tech stats
Graham Harrell - 247 of 330 (74.8%) for 3153 yds (350 ypg) 37 TD's 4 INT's

Michael Crabtree - 70 catches for 912 yds (101.3 ypg) and 11 TD's
Eric Morris - 60 catches for 565 yds (62.7 ypg) and 8 TD's
Ed Britton - 45 catches for 602 yds (66.8 ypg) and 7 TD's
Detron Lewis - 23 catches for 295 yds (32.7 ypg) and 2 TD's

Shannon Woods (starting RB) - 28 catches for 498 yds (55.3 ypg) and 6 TD's
Aaron Crawfod - 26 catches for 376 yds (41.7 ypg) and 7 TD's

Top Defensive Players
Brian Duncan - 44 tackles w/ 8 TFL, 2 sacks and 1 INT
Victor Hunter - 43 tackles w/ 23 TFL and 2 sacks
Marlon Williams - 37 tackles w/ 7 TFL and 8 sacks
Rajon Henley - 34 tackles w/ 9 TFL and 3 sacks
Jake Ratliff - 32 tackles w/ 9 TFL and 4 sacks
Brandon Williams - 24 w/ 12 TFL and 5 sacks
Colby Whitlock - 18 tackles w/ 7 TFL and 4 sacks
Jamar Wall - 18 tackles, 3 INT's (1 returned for TD), 11 passes defended

Misc Stats
Team has 35 sacks (3.75 per game).
Team is allowing 21.2 ppg.
Turnover differential is +10 (23 takeaways, 13 giveaways).
We've committed 58 penalties...roughly 65th in the country.
Wisconsin is last with 79 penalties.
42% conversion rate on 3rd down.
66% conversion rate on 4th down.

Team Rankings
Pass Offense - #1 (followed by BYU, New Mexico State, Mizzou, and SMU)
Rush Offense - #119 (only 216 yds...Hawaii at 463 yds and SMU at 464 yds)
Total Offense - #3 (Georgia and Mizzou are Top 2)

Pass Defense - #46
Rush Defense - #42
Total Defense - #41


Texas Tech Schedule/Results
vs Eastern Washington 55-5
@ Nevada 56-10
vs SMU 42-28
vs UMass 49-7
@ Kansas State 46-14
vs Nebraska 45-35
@ A&M 38-30
@ Kansas45-37
vs Texas42-25
vs Oklahoma St
@ Oklahoma

Big 12 Standings
#3 Mizzou 9-0 (5-0)
#2 Oklahoma 9-0 (5-0)
#4 Texas Tech 9-0 (5-0)
Oklahoma State 6-3 (3-2)
Texas A&M 7-2 (3-2)
#14 Kansas 7-2 (3-2)
#19 Texas 6-3 (2-3)
Nebraska 6-3 (2-3)
Kansas State 4-5 (1-4)
Iowa State 2-7 (1-4)
Colorado 2-7 (0-5)
Baylor 1-8 (0-5)

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Simulation of the 2008 Season (courtesy of NCAA 09)

Holy hell...it's a blog post on FOR. We haven't had one of these in over a month. Yes yes...I'm alive but haven't had too much time to come with anything worth posting. Well with the release of NCAA 2009, that has all changed. I decided to use the game to simulate the 2008 season and share my results with you. Obviously we're looking at a sample size of 1...but for the most part it seems reasonable enough. I'm working my way through a campus legend season right now (I'm a backup QB for Georgia) and here's how the game has simulated the 2008 season so far (I'm through October 11th games). I'll update this again after I get through the Texas game, Oklahoma game, and then post a final one.

A few things to note:

- The game is missing Brandon Sesay and McKinner Dixon. I can't yet edit rosters to have them in the game as there is a roster glitch that EA is working on.
- The game has Victor Hunter as starting MLB and Brian Duncan as starting LOLB. Duncan will be starting at MLB and Sam Fehoko will likely be 2nd on the depth chart over Hunter.
- The First BCS rankings will come out after the next week of games and I'll include those with the Texas game update.

Top 10 Rankings (Coaches/AP)
1. Wisconsin
2. Oklahoma
3. Missouri
4. Texas Tech/West Virginia
5. West Virginia/Texas Tech
6. Auburn
7. Kansas
8. Texas (lost to OU in OT)
9. Ohio State (lost to Wisconsin)
10. USC (lost to Ohio State)

Top 5 Heisman Contenders
1. Graham Harrell (166.7 rating, 186 of 256 (73%) for 2409 yds (401.5 ypg) 29 TD 3 INT
2. Chase Daniel
3. Lucas Taylor, WR Tennessee (41 catches for 853 yds (142 ypg) and 11 TD's
4. Tim Tebow
5. Sam Bradford

Texas Tech stats
Michael Crabtree 38 catches for 507 yds (84.5 ypg) and 6 TD's
Eric Morris - 39 catches for 422 yds (70.3 ypg) and 7 TD's
Ed Britton - 33 catches for 438 yds (73 ypg) and 5 TD's
Detron Lewis - 18 catches for 191 yds (31.8 ypg) and 2 TD's
Shannon Woods (starting RB) - 18 catches for 279 yds (46.5 ypg) and 4 TD's
Aaron Crawfod - 17 catches for 302 yds (50.3 ypg) and 4 TD's

Top 6 tacklers are Duncan (LOLB), Hunter (MLB), M Williams (ROLB), Henley, Ratliff, Collier (ROLB).

Williams, Duncan, and Ratliff all have 4 sacks. Team has 24 sacks (4 per game).

Team Rankings
Pass Offense - #1 (followed by Mizzou, SMU, BYU, and New Mexico State)
Rush Offense - #119 (only 212 yds...Hawaii at 305 yds and SMU at 350 yds)
Total Offense - #16 (Hawaii is #119...looks like June Jones knew when to leave)

Pass Defense - #21 (OU is #22, A&M #9, Texas #8)
Rush Defense - #16 (OU is #10, Mizzou #13, Kansas #14, Texas #15)
Total Defense - #16 (OU #15, A&M #14, Mizzou #13, Texas #8)


Texas Tech Schedule/Results
vs Eastern Washington 55-5
@ Nevada 56-10
vs SMU 42-28
vs UMass 49-7
@ Kansas State 46-14
vs Nebraska 45-35
@ A&M
@ Kansas
vs Texas
vs Oklahoma St
@ Oklahoma

Big 12 Standings
#3 Mizzou 6-0
#7 Kansas 6-0
#2 Oklahoma 6-0
#4 Texas Tech 6-0
Oklahoma State 4-2 (1-1) lost to Mizzou
#8 Texas 5-1 (1-1) lost to OU
#25 Texas A&M 5-1 (1-1) lost to Okie Lite
Iowa State 2-4 (1-1)
Colorado 2-4 (1-1)
Nebraska 4-2 (0-2)
Kansas State 3-3 (0-2)
Baylor 1-5 (0-2)