Gridiron Dynasty - Rockne DIA (non-BCS)

[joannes3000]

Welcome to Toledo, Coach! We are thrilled to have you leading our program and we are sure that you can lead us to great success.

Heriberto Phelps

President

University of Toledo

Brandon Booker

Athletic Director

University of Toledo

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Realistically I could've stayed at Appy State for 3 more seasons to milk the 100% rewards at DIAA, but the Toledo job was enticing due to their recent history. They have won consecutive CC's the past two seasons with a cumulative 38-6 record. In that time they have also been to three bowl games (Outback, Rose, New Orleans), albeit having lost all three contests. Their recent success should help immediately with our recruiting efforts.

[joannes3000]

QB Patrick Strickland is an extremely sound passer that will fit in extremely well with our passing game. Richard Henderson is a solid RB that leads a talented trio. We only return two WRs so we will need to add depth, but the two we return will be great leaders. We return two above average TEs and I will look to add a receiving threat for our passing formations. We return 5 on the OL which forms another solid unit which we will backfill with depth during recruiting.

We also return a sound DL group of 5, and much like the OL we will need to add depth at this position. We return 5 LBs, 5 of which will be incoming SRs, so we will be stockpiling this season to get ready for next season's exodus. We face a similar situation at DB. We have 7 returning DBs, 4 of which will also be SRs.

We have some dead weight to cut at special teams, with 4 total K/Ps on the team. We will rescind three scholarships at this position to free up the scholarships needed to round out our roster.

[joannes3000]

Coach,

I guess the rumors were true. Patrick Strickland (QB) is giving up his remaining eligibility and entering the NFL draft. He'll be hard to replace.

Brandon Booker

Director of Athletics

University of Toledo

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So much for Strickland returning for his senior season. JR James Pierce becomes the favorite to replace Strickland. Pierce isn't quite the ideal candidate, however, and neither is his current backup, JR Charles Anderson. Both have good game instinct, with Pierce rating above average and Anderson rating average. Both are far below average in technique, however. Both are also below average in strength. One last similarity is that both were AC signings, so it's a miracle that either one is even close to being servicable. Needless to say, with Strickland declaring early, we will be looking to recruit a QB that could see some major playing time as a FR.

[joannes3000]

My first attempt at DIA recruiting went fairly well. My biggest concern was the sheer size of our class. One big benefit of having such a large class is the sheer amount of money that you get. With 18 scholarships to fill we had a whopping 270k. Everyone gets the same amount per scholarship and longer standing coaches will have bowl money (which I don't have in my first year), but I was hoping to sign

some guys for far less than the allotted 15k per scholarship to help offset my monetary disadvantage.

The big downside to the large recruiting class is just that - the size of the class. 18 open scholarships is easily the largest recruiting class I've ever had to land, and there's little room for error. This class represents 36% of our total roster and I don't want to get saddled with bad recruits from the onset of my tenure at Toledo.

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With all this in mind, I intentionally got off to a very late start this recruiting season. With so many powerhouse schools nearby I didn't want to waste money on recruits that I had little to no chance of signing. I waited for the elites to place their markers first: Notre Dame, Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, and to a lesser extent Nebraska. After that, I waited for the uber BCS schools to do the same: Syracuse and Boston College. After that, it was a matter of picking and choosing my spots; deciding which BCS schools to battle against (usually recruits where I have a 2-1 distance advantage) and which non-BCS schools I was able to contend with. In the end we signed 18/18 recruits with some nice pieces in the mix.

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Offense

We needed a QB capable of starting right away but were unable to land one. Brian Becker has above average stamina; average technique and work ethic; and below average strength and game instinct. He should be a capable backup and we will try in upcoming seasons to land a legit starter.

We landed two solid RBs with this class; one being a converted DB. Christopher Cates (former DB) has excellent elusiveness; average strength, speed, and work ethic; and below average athleticism, stamina, hands, and technique. James Smith has above average strength, hands, and technique; average elusiveness, work ethic, and speed; and below average stamina and athleticism.

We landed three average WRs overall with this class. Matthew Buckner has average hands and work ethic; and below average athleticism, speed, stamina, game instinct, elusiveness, and technique. Thomas Devine has average speed, stamina, and hands; and below average athleticism, work ethic, game instinct, elusiveness, and technique. Jack Shirley has excellent elusiveness; above average stamina and technique; average speed and hands; and below average athleticism,

work ethic, and game instinct. This will be an area to improve in upcoming seasons.

We were hoping for a receiving threat at TE but with none readily available, we went for a low-cost backup. Joe Waters has above average athleticism and stamina; average hands; and below average speed, work ethic, strength, blocking, game instinct, and technique. This will be a primary area of need next season.

We did well with our 3 OL recruits, with one of them likely to crack the starting 5 as a FR. Bruce Dixon has excellent blocking and work ethic; above average strength, athleticism, and stamina; average technique; and below average game instinct. Todd Torres has above average strength and blocking; average stamina; and below average athleticism, work ethic, game instinct, and technique. Brian White (RS) has excellent work ethic; above average strength; average athleticism; and below average stamina, blocking,

game instinct, and technique.

Defense

We did pretty good with our 3 DL recruits. Larry Moran has above average strength; average work ethic and tackling; and below average athleticism, stamina, game instinct, and technique. Willie Murphy has above average tackling; average athleticism and strength; and below average work ethic, stamina, game instinct, and technique. Juan West has above average strength, work ethic, and stamina; average game

instinct; and below average athleticism, tackling, and technique.

We did well with our 2 LB recruits. William

Hanson has above average strength, tackling, speed, and elusiveness; and average athleticism, stamina, work ethic, and technique. Mark Villanueva (converted DB) has above average speed and elusiveness; average strength, tackling, and stamina; and below average athleticism, work ethic, and technique.

We did fairly well with our 3 DB recruits. Jay Ingram has average speed, stamina, tackling, and elusiveness; and below average athleticism, work ethic, hands, game instinct, and technique. Jeffrey Moore has above average work ethic, stamina, and tackling; average speed; and below average athleticism, game instinct, elusiveness, and technique. Troy Robinson has above average speed; average work ethic, stamina, and tackling; and below average athleticism, game instinct, elusiveness, and technique. These guys should develop into decent players but we will look for a bonafide shutdown guy in upcoming seasons.

[joannes3000]

Recruit rankings are in and we landed the #58 class. This is the first time in a LONG time that I haven't been in the top 25, let alone the top 50. Even my Leahy recruiting class that featured 3 AC recruits placed #45. With this being my first season at a school coupled with the fact that Toledo has just recently started eclipsing the 10 win mark, I can live with a mediocre class by my standards.

Looking closer at the rankings the first non-BCS school checking in was Fresno State at #29 with BCS schools dominating recruiting as expected with their prestige. The first MAC school to make the list was Northern Illinois at #49. Ball State checks in slightly ahead of us at #55. The remaining active human teams landed the #72-#74 going to Western Michigan, Kent State, and Miami (OH).

Both NIU and Ball State are in the same division, so them landing better classes doesn't help our longterm forecast for the time being. I like the top recruits we landed, however, especially our OL and RB combo. If both of those guys pan out then we will have two key pieces to our offensive game plan. We also did well with our DL and LB signings, which will ultimately help slow down opposing running games and help our defensive game plan. So while I feel like we got the ranking we deserved because we clearly didn't sign a deep class, I think our key players match up well with those that signed within the conference.

[joannes3000]

With the season set to get under way, I think we're in pretty good shape. Typical of my first season at a new team, there are areas that I see as weaknesses. Our OL is only slightly better than what we had at Appy State, which will limit our running game until we bring in more talent. The same can be said about our DL, which means we will have just as much trouble stopping the run as we will running ourselves.

One thing I've noticed in discussions about DIA is the fact that offenses seem to be nearly unstoppable, making the first team to turn the ball over or punt usually the loser in any given game. Given the weaknesses I mentioned, it looks like we will be in for a fairly rough first season. I think our balanced attack will help make up for the overall weakness of our running game. Our defensive shortcomings will likely be the determining factor in a lot of our games, however, and I'm being overly pessimistic that we will lose because we won't be able to force enough punts/turnovers to win shootouts.

Thankfully we have 6 sim teams on our schedule, making for hopefully 6 easy wins. Of the 7 games we have against human teams I think we will be at least competitive in all of them. The first three games will help me get a feel for both the level of coaching I can look forward to, as well as just how heavily offenses are favored at the DIA level.

With all that said I don't know that we will be able to reach the same level that Toledo has been at for the past two seasons - 14 wins and a CC. I think we will at least win 10 games and depending on how quickly I can adapt my game planning, I don't think it would be impossible to win 12 or 13 games.

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11/10/07 at New Mexico

11/11/07 Oregon State

11/12/07 Arkansas

[joannes3000]

New Mexico made for a good first game in my DIA coaching career as they were a sim team. We dialed in my sim game plan and rolled. We ran for 403/5 and passed for 134/1. 48-14 W

Our first live fire came in game two against a human coached Oregon State team. We were down 21-10 at halftime but managed to narrow the gap to 21-17 going into the 4th quarter. Not being one to shy from dramatics, we scored a TD with 28 seconds left and made the 2 point conversion to send the game into OT. We stopped Oregon State at the 18 in the 2nd OT and they missed a FG to open the door for us. We made good on our possession, scoring a TD for the win. We ran for 214/4 and passed for 260/1.

35-42 (2OT) W

Arkansas is a human coached team but they are in the first season of a rebuild. Without the talent to compete, we rolled to our 3rd consecutive victory. We ran for 243/1 and passed for 208/5.

16-45 W

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Three games into the season and we have 3 wins to show for it, with a quality win against a BCS school in Oregon State and another solid victory against another BCS school in Arkansas. It looks like our offensive game plan is translating well at the DIA level, keeping defenses from keying in on one particular aspect of our balanced attack. Our defense seems to be holding up so far also, although we've only been in one high-scoring affair (OSU). Opposing offenses are completing over 58% of their passes, though, and this will pose a problem when we face up against an accomplished passing attack.

The next three games will help solidify my thoughts on our team at this point, bringing two human coached teams (Houston, Texas A&M) before the next sim team (Ohio) comes to town.

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11/13/07 at Houston

11/14/07 Texas A&M

11/15/07 Ohio

[joannes3000]

Our early season run continued on the road against Houston. They were a good measuring stick for our team because they are similar in talent to ours, along with being in a non-BCS conference. We ran for 160/2 and passed for 376/4.

45-22 W

Our final OOC game was against a Texas A&M team that was undermanned at DL. With only 6 on the roster, we went into full run mode and dared them to stop us. They didn't, as we passed 8 times and ran 55 times. We ran for 450/5 and passed for 128/1.

20-42 W

Now it's time for the games that count a little more (in regards to tie-breakers). Ohio is a sim team and our game plan against sim teams seems to be working. We ran for 553/8 and passed for 105/0.

9-56 W

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At about the halfway point in the regular season, we're sitting very pretty at 6-0 overall and 1-0 in the conference. While I'm happy with our record so far, and our offensive/defensive performances, I still don't feel like we've played a quality opponent other than Oregon State. If you recall, we had to sneak into OT against them and managed to pull out the win. Oregon State along with Houston are the only teams we've played so far without losing records, with both of those teams sitting at 3-3.

Looking forward at the schedule, we only have 3 games against human teams from this point on. We play Western Michigan and Ball State at home before playing on the road against Northern Illinois. These games will have a big impact on who goes to the CC because we all play in the same division, and it will also impact our chances of an upper-level bowl game. As of now we are ranked #15 but a loss at any point will likely mean a huge drop in the polls because of our weak schedule.

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11/16/07 Buffalo (#87)

11/17/07 at Eastern Michigan (#115)

11/18/07 #23 Western Michigan (#22)

[joannes3000]

Buffalo was the first of two tuneup games before our divisional matchup with Western Michigan. We were 30.5 point favorites and we covered the spread with ease. We ran for 496/8 and passed for 103/1.

6-63 W

Tuneup number 2 was Eastern Michigan. Once again, we managed to cover the spread, this time 25.5. We ran for 467/6 and passed for 67/1.

49-17 W

Finally, the first of three critical divisional matchups. As of now, there is a 3-way race atop the western division with myself, Western Michigan, and Ball State within 1 game of each other with the home stretch in sight. We took a 20-17 lead into halftime and would start the 2nd half with the ball. We made good on that advantage by taking a 34-24 lead into the 4th and walked away with the win. We ran for 292/4 and passed for 235/2 with our balanced attack out of the Pro set being difficult to stop.

31-41 W

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With 4 games to go, we are at the top of our division and have one final games to worry about. The game against Ball State will determine who goes to the CC. Ball State is currently one game behind us both in overall record and conference record, but a loss to them will even all of that up and they will own the H2H tiebreaker.

Other than their game against us, Ball State has no more games against human teams so it is all but certain that they will finish no worse than 7-1 within the conference. That leaves us in the driver's seat going into our home game against Ball State.

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11/19/07 at Bowling Green (#87)

11/20/07 Ball State (#30)

11/21/07 at Northern Illinois (#75)

11/22/07 at Central Michigan (#118)

[joannes3000]

Bowling Green was nothing more than a warmup before our game against Ball State, making it a perfect trap game. The game was actually close at the half (21-14) before we blew the game open in the 3rd quarter. We ran for 366/4 and passed for 111/2.

42-23 W

At last, the game to decide who goes to the CC! Defense ruled the 1st quarter, where the only scoring was a Ball State FG. Our offense got in gear in the 2nd, however, and we rattled off 3 TDs to take a 20-13 lead into the half. The game was tied late in the 3rd when we forced a key fumble and got the ball back with a 27-20 lead. We went up by 2 TDs early in the 4th and the game never got close from there. We ran for 327/4 and passed for 208/2.

27-41 W

With the CC wrapped up, the only thing keeping us from an undefeated regular season was this game against Northern Illinois. NIU scored the opening TD to take a lead and never saw it again. We took the lead with just under 2 minutes to go in the 1st and rolled to a 28-14 halftime lead. NIU never came within 14 points from that point on. We ran for 286/5 and passed for 237/2. Injury: RB James Smith gets hurt in this relatively meaningless game and likely won't be 100% going into the CC... Smith is last on the depth chart, but we only carry 5 RBs That makes for some depth issues, which isn't what I wanted going into the CC against Miami(OH).

49-24 W

After losing James Smith the game before, could Central Michigan rub salt in the wound and pull the upset against us? Not a chance. We were up 28-0 at the half and managed to score even more than that in the 2nd half. We ran for 393/6 and passed for 280/3.

63-7 W

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Looking back, here's what I posted at the beginning of the season:

With all that said I don't know that we will be able to reach the same level that Toledo has been at for the past two seasons - 14 wins and a CC. I think we will at least win 10 games and depending on how quickly I can adapt my game planning, I don't think it would be impossible to win 12 or 13 games.

Going into the CC we're 13-0 and I like my chances of winning the CC and going 14-0 into bowl games. Our matchup in the CC will be our biggest test of the season so far, however. Miami(OH) has more playmakers on offense than we do, so it could be a long day if we start to fall behind. Our offense should be a good test for their defense as well, however, so it could be a shootout.

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11/23/07 at #24 Miami (OH)

[joannes3000]

Miami(OH) got the ball to start the game and had no problem marching down the field. We managed to stop them just within the redzone and held them to a FG. We got to showcase our offense next, staying in Pro the entire time as we marched 65 yards for a TD without even seeing a 3rd down. Miami(OH) responds with a 69 yard TD drive of their own. We ended the 1st quarter with the ball and down 10-7.

Our first drive of the 2nd quarter was going smoothly until we got to the 6 yard line. We manage to get 2 yards, leaving us with 4th and goal from their 4 yard line. Rather than settle for a FG, we went for it and scored on a TD pass. Not to be overdone, Miami(OH) drives 58 yards and answers with another TD. On our following possession, we go 67 yards and score yet another TD leaving Miami(OH) 2 minutes before the half. With two clutch 3rd down conversions, Miami(OH) gets down to the 18 before kicking a FG with 1 second on the clock. Going into the half, we have a razor-thin 21-20 lead. At this point, neither of our teams has turned the ball over or punted.

We get the ball to open the 3rd quarter and pick up where we left off, driving 74 yards for a TD. Miami(OH) turns around and returns the favor, driving 82 yards for yet another TD. We end the 3rd quarter facing a 4th down on their 6 yard line, holding a 28-27 lead.

We open the 4th quarter conservatively, opting for a FG to take a 31-27 lead. Miami(OH) proceeds to carve up our defense, not seeing a 3rd down until they get close to our redzone, but our defense stepped up in time to hold them to a FG. We start the next drive with just under 9 minutes left in the game and we roll down the field (again) for a TD and a 38-30 lead. Miami(OH) finally shows signs of slowing down, getting flagged for a critical holding penalty that ended with a punt. 52 minutes into the game and we finally saw a turnover! We start to run out the clock but draw our own holding penalty, setting us back to our 24 with 1:30 to go, staring at 1st and 20. Our offense does what it did all game long, however, as we rip off a 25 yard run out of the Pro set to get a first down that allowed us to run out the rest of the clock.

We ended up running for 336/4 and passing for 159/1. We also allowed 203/1 on the ground and 230/2 in the air. Getting that much out of our running game against a top-notch defense was extremely encouraging. It reinforced the notion that our balanced offense is definitely hard to deal with. The most telling stat of the game, however, was the fact that there were zero turnovers and one punt all game long. In the end, we got one extra possession which made the difference in a one possession game.

38-30 W

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All I can say at this point is wow! Talk about hitting the ground running. My first season at the DIA level is one win away from being perfect. We're 14-0, conference champs, and BCS Bowl bound! Here's the email I had waiting after our game with Miami(OH):

From: Brandon Booker

To: Coach joannes3000

Subject: Congratulations, Coach!

Sent: 11/23/07 2:48PM

I just got off the phone with the organizers of the Sugar Bowl and I've accepted their invitation. Great job this year, Coach. I think the exposure we will get playing in this game will really help out the program, not to mention recruiting next season.

Keep up the good work!

Brandon Booker

Athletic Director

University of Toledo

Being the only non-BCS school to crash the BCS party, we are in for quite a matchup. We will be facing the Big 10 conference champ, Minnesota, and without even looking at the team it's safe to say that we will be facing a superior team in terms of talent.

[AHF]

Congrats on the big year!

Do you have a sense of how much of a boost an appearance in a BCS bowl will be to your recruiting?

[joannes3000]

Quote:

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Congrats on the big year!

Do you have a sense of how much of a boost an appearance in a BCS bowl will be to your recruiting?

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We had 7 teams (every human-coached team) make bowls, netting everyone in the conference $51,000 in additional recruiting money. The most noticeable boost is the amount of money that you get. The following chart shows how much each school in a conference gets for teams getting bowl invites:

Bowl Level Additional Money

BCS $15,000

Level 4 $10,000

Level 3 $8,000

Level 2 $6,000

Level 1 $4,000

Beyond that, it helps to build on our winning tradition: 3rd straight season with at least 14 wins, 3rd consecutive CC, 2nd BCS bowl game in 3 years, 4 bowl games in a row. That's about as dominant as you can get for a non-BCS school, minus a National Championship berth.

This success will be short-lived, however, because our OOC slate for next season is going to be absolutely brutal. Here's a sneak peek into next season:

#3 USC 14-0

#11 Miami (FL) 11-2

#4 Florida State 12-2

at Missouri 8-6

#22 Marquette 12-2

That's 4 teams ranked in the top 25 of the final regular season poll. That's 3 elite teams in USC, Miami, and FSU. That's 4 Hall of Fame coaches at USC, Miami, FSU, and Marquette. The one game that I've labeled as a must win even before the end of this season is the game against Mizzou. We'll realistically go into conference play at 1-4, but the way I see it, as long as we take care of business during conference play we can still defend our CC.

[joannes3000]

Our first drive was a dominating 5 minute, 69 yard TD march that showed our Pro offense is a force to be reckoned with. Minnesota returns fire by running right at us and we are unable to stop them before they score a TD. Our next drive is much like our first one, attacking out of the Pro on our way to another TD and a 14-7 lead at the end of the 1st quarter.

Minnesota seems content to do nothing but run and I can't blame them. They go right down the field again to tie the score at 14. Not to be outdone, our offense continues to shine, moving right down the field for another TD without even having to convert a 3rd down. Our defense finally clamped down on Minnesota's next drive, forcing a 52 yard FG attempt that sailed wide. With just under 2 minutes to go, we manage to drive down the field and get into FG range ourselves and kick a last second FG to go into halftime with a 24-14 lead.

Minnesota's offense gets back on track to start the 3rd, scoring a TD to cut our lead down to 3 points. We were knocking on the door at their 9 yard line on our next drive when disaster struck. We gave up a sack on 1st and goal, putting us at the 17. A 2nd down pass falls incomplete, leaving us with 3rd and goal from the 17. We connect on a 15 yard pass on 3rd down, but Minnesota forced and recovered a fumble for the first turnover of the game. Minnesota makes good on the opportunity and scores a TD to take a 28-24 lead into the final quarter.

We open the 4th quarter with a TD drive that featured a critical 4th down conversion on 4th and 4. We missed the XP, however, leaving us with a 30-28 lead. No matter, as Minnesota drives for another TD to take a 35-30 lead. We return the kickoff almost to midfield and score a TD of our own. A successful 2pt conversion gives us a 3 point lead with just under 5 mins to play. We get Minnesota in a 3rd and 9 situation but they convert with a 10 yard pass. They enter the redzone with 1:30 to go, but a chop block leaves them with 25 yards for a first down and 26 for a TD. Two straight runs leaves them with 3rd and 14 with 57 seconds left in the game. Our defense couldn't come up with a critical stop, however, and we gave up a TD pass. They missed the XP, giving us a sliver of hope. We return the ball to the 31, leaving us 31 seconds to drive about 50 yards to get within FG range. We give up a sack on 1st down and that pretty much wrapped up the game. Time ran out with us at midfield, ending our Cinderella run.

Remember that fumble we lost in the 3rd? That was the only turnover the entire game and it ended up costing us in the end. Even a FG from that possession could've affected the outcome, and a TD would have put the pressure on Minnesota. As it played out, however, we were in catch-up mode for the 4th quarter and our defense couldn't handle the pressure.

Our offense took it to a superior defense, though, to the tune of 215/1 on the ground and 266/4 in the air for a total of 481 yards. Our defense got absolutely manhandled on the ground, however, giving up 355 out of a total 499 yards to Minnesota's rushing attack.

41-38 L

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We end the season on a bit of a sour note, given that we were able to hang with a BCS school in a BCS bowl until the last drive of a game. The CC and 14 wins don't feel so good after suffering our only loss this season. We didn't get lucky getting that close to pulling that upset either. Minnesota couldn't stop me on offense except once.

We put ourselves on the radar, however, and I think I put myself on the radar as a coach to be reckoned with. We took the CC from a brutal Big 10 to the brink of a loss with an upstart non-BCS school with a hotshot coach at the helm. We ended the season ranked 13th, with the next highest non-BCS school checking in at 17th.

[AHF]

Does a close loss help you more than a blowout loss or is that just a horseshoes and handgrenades sort of thing?

[joannes3000]

Quote:

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Does a close loss help you more than a blowout loss or is that just a horseshoes and handgrenades sort of thing?

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Unfortunately, a loss is simply a loss. One quick update for the offseason is that the MAC nearly emptied out this season, with several coaches moving to different DIA schools. I started looking at some BCS schools that were vacant, but I'm leaning heavily toward staying at Toledo for a while now that the conference is about half full with human coaches. I should have a relative strangle hold on the conference during recruiting, and I've learned to tiptoe around the Ohio Valley while Notre Dame, Michigan, and Ohio State get first dibs.

I looked long and hard at the vacant Colorado job because it's a BCS school but decided against it. I actually applied for the vacated Florida job before withdrawing my application because I was underqualified (A loyalty required, I have an A-). And I hate to admit it since I'm a UGA fan, but Florida would have been a dream job because it's an elite school. My back-to-back CCs would've made me a serious contender too.

I don't plan on moving, but I have my eyes on a complete rebuilder in the Big East - Temple! It's a BCS school in a ripe NE recruiting area. The sim tries to mimic real life, so the big recruiting areas are CA, TX, the SE, and the Ohio Valley; but it also generates recruits based somewhat on how many total schools are in an area regardless of division. The NE is chock full of schools at DIII and DIAA, so it has a surplus of quality recruits for only a handful of DIA programs. That's how you get schools like Boston College, Connecticut (back-to-back NCs), Penn State and Syracuse dominating more than elite schools like Texas and all the Florida schools.

[joannes3000]

This season's class was mediocre again by my estimation. I feel that we landed a few studs but that was easily made up for by the duds in the class. My slow approach worked like a charm, as we were able to beat several BCS schools for recruits. My eagerness to land a few studs with this class caused me to settle on several players that will be nothing more than career backups.

I must admit that I didn't spend enough time recruiting for Toledo because I was also recruiting for my brother's team and my freebie account. Not to mention my current obsession with HBD. I'm also all but resigned to move onto a BCS school after this season, so I was very ho-hum with Toledo. End result? A decent class with a few nice blue chip recruits, but also two AC recruits.

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Offense

With 3 currently on the roster it wasn't a necessity, but I recruited a QB to RS this season. We will be graduating our best QB after the season and I wanted to have a little competition for the starting QB spot. Douglas Morris has above average athleticism, speed, strength, and elusiveness; average game instinct, technique, and work ethic; and below average stamina. With a season to grow, he could be an offensive catalyst by his JR year.

RB talent was a bit thin this year, as I saw Oklahoma and Connecticut scoop up top recruits this season. As a result, we settled for less elusive RBs, but they were fairly strong in other core areas. Dennis Delgado has above average speed; average strength, elusiveness, technique, and work ethic; and below average athleticism, stamina, and hands. Larry McGuire has above average speed and strength; average elusiveness, technique, work ethic, and stamina; and below average athleticism.

WR talent was also fairly thin this year. This position also shows how we wound up with a mediocre class. One of my incoming WRs is a stud and the other is an absolute dud. Ernest Cohen has no place on a DIAA roster, much less a DIA roster. He has average speed, work ethic, and stamina; and below average athleticism, hands, technique, and elusiveness. Miguel Jackson, on the other hand, is one of my blue chippers who is a converted RB. He has above average athleticism, hands, elusiveness, and stamina; average speed, work ethic, and technique.

TE is another good example of our class. James Adams is a DIAA blocking-only TE. He has above average strength; below average athleticism, work ethic, stamina, blocking, hands, and technique. Juan Barton on the other hand, is another blue chip recruit. He has above average speed, strength, hands, work ethic, stamina, and elusiveness. I don't even consider elusiveness as a core TE stat, but this illustrates how big of a receiving threat he is going to be. He also has average athleticism, blocking, and technique. I originally thought to switch Barton to RB, but he is going to do some serious damage as a receiving TE out of Trips.

Our OL haul leaves much to be desired. Paul Baker has average strength and stamina; and below average athleticism, blocking, game instinct, work ethic, and technique. Robert Carpenter has excellent strength; above average athleticism and work ethic; average stamina; and below average blocking, game instinct, and technique.

Defense

Sticking with this season's recruiting theme, we landed one stud and one average DL. Robert Carr has average stamina, strength and tackling; and below average athleticism, work ethic, game instinct, and technique. Walter Gutierrez has excellent strength and tackling; above average athleticism and game instinct; average technique; and below average work ethic and stamina.

We struck out completely at LB this season. Douglas McGraw is a converted DB and will hopefully only see spot duty. He has average speed, hands, and work ethic; and below average athleticism, stamina, strength, tackling, game instinct, and technique. I may have to switch to a 5-2 because we have horrible depth at LB this season.

We did ok with our DB recruit. Kenneth Mack has excellent elusiveness; average speed and technique; and below average athleticism, work ethic, stamina, hands and game instinct.

Our final non AC recruit was K Ronald Miller. Our two unfilled roster spots were filled in typical AC fashion - one kicker and one punter. You can never undervalue depth at special teams.

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The recruit rankings has us pegged with the #80 class in the country. Kent State led the MAC with the #48 class, followed by Ohio (#58), Ball State (#72), Western Michigan (#74), Northern Illinois (#77), then us. That leaves us with the 6th best class in the conference which would normally concern me. With none of the teams placing in the top 25, nobody really set themselves apart with their class.

Another reason I'm overly optimistic about how our class stacks up is the fact that we landed 4 of the top 15 recruits in the conference. Kent State has 3, Ohio has 1, Ball State has zero, Western Michigan has 2, and Northern Illinois has zero. Walter Gutierrez is the #1 DL and #2 overall prospect. Juan Barton is the #2 TE and #5 overall prospect. Miguel Jackson is the #2 WR and #6 overall prospect. Kenneth Mack is the #2 DB and #11 overall. I like my chances of continuing my conference dominance due to the fact that we signed several heavy hitters at key positions.

[joannes3000]

Our first 5 games of the season will be a test of perseverance. We'll be lucky to win 2 games during the opening stretch before in-conference play provides a break. We play 3 sim teams during conference play, which should be gimme wins with the talent we now have on board at Toledo. Our home game against Northern Illinois looks to be a big one, as gemonyx is a returning coach and it could determine who goes to the CC from our side of the division. Our other tough conference game is also at home against Kent State, with toe64 being another returning coach.

The remaining games should be entertaining, as we stack up fairly evenly against everyone else within the conference. I think our conference opener, a road game against Miami (OH), could set the tone for the rest of the season. If we win that game I think it will send the message that the road to the CC runs through Toledo.

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12/15/07 #2 USC 0-0

12/16/07 #6 Miami (FL) 0-0

12/17/07 #4 Florida State

12/18/07 at Missouri 0-0

12/19/07 Marquette 0-0

Yep, that's 3 of the top 6 teams to start off the season!

[joannes3000]

Well, we hung in with USC for 2 quarters. We forced two turnovers in the first half and were only down 14-7 at halftime. Reality set in afterwards, however. We ran for 120/1 and passed for 161/1/0. Our offense put up 281 yards and our defense allowed 594.

42-14 L

We did a little better against Miami, managing to keep the score tied at 14 going into halftime. 14 unanswered points in the 3rd was the difference and I was mildly surprised that we came so close. This game gave me hope that we could engineer at least one upset before we start conference play. We ran for 78/0 and passed for 332/5/0. Our offense put up 410 yards and our defense allowed 463.

49-35 L

Another close game against another powerhouse, this time it was Florida State. We were down 24-14 at the half, and kept it close the rest of the way through. We ran for 123/1 and passed for 195/3/0. Our offense put up 318 yards and our defense allowed 416.

38-27 L

Finally, a breakthrough! After getting our heads beat in to open the season, our game against Mizzou is actually fair in terms of talent. Not facing an all-world team, we took a 17-0 lead into the half and cruised to victory. We ran for 150/2 and passed for 265/1/0. Our offense put up 415 yards and our defense allowed 235.

23-7 W

The final game of OOC play was against 4-0 Marquette. Their team is significantly better than Missouri but not nearly as good as USC, Miami, or FSU. We held a 14-3 lead at halftime and played to a tie in the 2nd half for the win. We ran for 168/1 and passed for 240/2/0. Our offense put up 408 yards and our defense allowed 288.

10-21 W

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I've never been happier to start a season 2-3. We earned our two wins and were rewarded with a top 25 ranking going into conference play (#25), despite our 3 losses - testament to our SOS. Conference play begins with probably our biggest obstacle coming first.

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12/20/07 at Miami (OH)

12/21/07 at Akron

12/22/07 Kent State

12/23/07 Bowling Green

12/24/07 Northern Illinois

12/25/07 Central Michigan

12/26/07 at Western Michigan

12/27/07 at Ball State

[joannes3000]

Sorry for the holiday delay!

This was NOT how I expected to start our in-conference slate. We were down 21-7 at the half due to a turnover and sloppy play. We buckled down in the 2nd half and took the lead late in the 4th, only to lose the game on a TD with 1 minute to play. I'll blame home-field advantage for the loss, and if I get a chance to match up with Miami (OH) again in the CC, I'm confident that I can win. We ran for 167/2 and passed for 244/1/0. Our offense put up 411 yards and our defense allowed 357.

24-27 L

We took out our frustration against sim-coached Akron. We were up 31-7 at the half and kept hammering away in the 2nd half. We ran for 505/7 and passed for 205/3/0. Our offense put up 710 yards and our defense allowed 210.

73-10 W

We come home for our first home game of conference play and got blitzed by Kent State. We came out flat in the first half again and trailed 10-7. We woke up in the 2nd half, however, and pulled out the win. We ran for 372/4 and passed for 105/0/0. Our offense put up 477 yards and our defense allowed 245.

17-28 W

Game 4 brought another sim team in Bowling Green and another easy victory. We ran for 490/5 and passed for 106/2/0. Our offense put up 596 yards and our defense allowed 278.

13-48 W

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At the halfway marker of conference play, we are straddled with that single loss against Miami (OH). Our CC destiny is still in our hands, however, as we have yet to lose against a divisional foe. The road to a CC will still run through us as long as we continue to win out against our division.

The end of the season could prove to be very exciting, as our final two games are on the road against Western Michigan and Ball State. If we take care of business to that point those games will be elimination games, with the losers sitting home for the CC. I like our chances, but I also liked our chances of going undefeated during conference play. Our first big game will be at home against division rival Northern Illinois.

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12/24/07 Northern Illinois

12/25/07 Central Michigan

12/26/07 at Western Michigan

12/27/07 at Ball State