NCAA Football 10 UCLA Season Simulation: SDSU
by jlegs on Jul 20, 2009 12:39 PM PDT
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PrintBumped. GO BRUINS. - N
This will be the first in a series of posts that will follow how I play through our upcoming season schedule in NCAA Football 10's Dynasty Mode, where one can recruit and play through numerous seasons and years in an effort to build a "dynasty", or at least a recognized program, at your selected school. I'll provide a recap of the game, what to expect from the video game version of our opponent (which may or may not serve as useful scouting tool), and a breakdown of a key play or two with pictures and video. The AI difficulty is set at a higher level than the game's default, which is more representative of real-life play.
On paper and in the game, San Diego State would seem like a guaranteed win on the schedule, which was a thought held in the back of my mind as I approached this game. SDSU's ratings were worse with C's and our B-'s gave us the supposed ratings advantage headed into the game. Find out what happened after the flip.
The first half was surpising, in terms of both teams putting up the offensive numbers and exchanging TDs. SDSU's star running back was able to consistently gain yardage, despite the different blitz schemes I put up. The same could be said for their passing game, whether running a Cover 2 with man coverage underneath or blanketing everything in a Cover 3. On our side of the ball, it was actually pretty easy to run up against what seemed to be their base defensive set of a 3-3-5 (three downed linemen, three linebackers, 5 DBs). SDSU took a 7-0 lead on their first drive, which I answered with a long, but efficient drive of my own, capped off by this touchdown pass from Prince to Embree.
Here's a breakdown of that TD pass:
We are in a basic I-Formation, while SDSU seems to be lined up in a 3-4 or 3-3-5. Embree (on the left) will run a post while Austin and Moya (lined up on the right) will run ins on different levels (Moya runs up five yards and then makes the cut, while Austin runs up for ten). Jonathan Franklin, who I moved to the top of the depth chart at RB, will be the checkdown, running a simple route to the right flat.
Most of the time, it's easy to recognize if the defense drops into man or zone coverage, and it helps if you're familiar with the sport or just played the game a lot (in my case, both!). Anyways, SDSU has dropped into zone, with Cover 3 protection up top: the two corners drop back into zone as well as the FS, while the SS and two LBs drop into the lower level of zone coverage. SDSU has called a zone blitz in this particular case, as it frees up the remaining LB coming in from our right. I usually start my reads from left to right but in this case, the blitzing LB makes the decision process speed up. One choice is to dump it off to Franklin in the flat and that would be a moderate gain. Moya has a step on the LB he's matched up while Austin is caught in the thick of things. However, the post route that Embree is running is ideal for Cover 2 or Cover 3, especially with Austin and Moya running routes that take up the attention of those in the first level of coverage. Also note how the FS plays the middle of the end zone, leaving Embree room when he continues his route and only a single man on him. All that's left to do is pass the ball to him as he makes the break on the post route...
...and the play ends in a TD. Again, here's video of the play. (Note that visiting fans are actually located where they are in real games.)
The pace continued with a minute and a half left in the second quarter after tying the game up at 14-14. SDSU started their drive after the kickoff but their QB threw a pick-six, giving us the advantage into halftime. I jumped out to a 35-21 lead by the end of the third when turnovers struck in the fourth. A deflected ball at the line of scrimmage was intercepted by an SDSU lineman for a TD, and then with two minutes left, an underthrown pass from Prince to Austin ended up being returned for a TD, 35-35. Fortunately, I'm used to crunch time drives but I still had to deal with Prince's abilities as a QB, which are okay for now but will continue to develop as I play through the season. To sum it up, we were able to drive down to the SDSU 20 yard line, eating up the clock untl :03 showed, and Forbath drove in the game-winning FG, 38-35. Prince was 17-for-23 with 227 passing yards, 3 TDs, and 2 INTs. An exciting way to start off the season, but the lackluster play of the defense and the somewhat boneheaded mistakes late in the game will have to be cleaned up when I take our Bruins into Neyland Stadium, one of the Top 25 Toughest Places to Play in the game.
NOTE: Randall Carroll suffered a broken collarbone on his second play in the game in the first quarter...leading him to be out for the whole season. Stuff like that makes me wish the game allowed medical redshirts, but hey, you can't have everything. Oddly enough, he's like the fifth or sixth fastest person in terms of ratings...EA, you made a mistake, methinks.
This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of BruinsNation's (BN) editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of BN's editors.
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very interesting.
of course, it just makes me jones for the real thing that much more.
A coach is someone who can give correction without causing resentment. John Wooden
Quick Criticism :P
Isn’t it unfair for you to involve yourself in the game simulation — I would assume your skill level and play would effect the outcome of the game, unlike a game simulated computer versus computer. I wonder what the difference would be?
Nevertheless, I appreciate your analysis.
I own the game as well.
But have yet to try the dynasty mode.
I have downloaded a free roster (Lanteri87) and according to it Craig Shepperd is our leading RB and Derrick Coleman and Christian Ramirez are not there — I wonder if this is fault of NCAA or the rosters…have you used any rosters?
...and the code for PS3
The code is different to get the named rosters for the two different systems.
360: Lanteri87
PS3: buckeye02
There are a few things that I’m disappointed about with our roster. First, as was stated, Craig Sheppard is our starting running back. Then, we still have many transfers/retirees on our roster (Forcier, Rasshan, Dean, Dominique Johnson, etc.). Randall Carroll should have far better agility (88) and acceleration (92).Logan Paulsen is a 70 overall, our 4th rated tight end (by the way, Pressley is a beast on this game!), Datone Jones is a 66 overall and the worst DE we have on the roster, and our two O-line studs (Hasiak & Su’a Filo) are nowhere to be found (strangely though, our O-line is not that bad and Sheppard happens to be averaging 5.6 yrds/carry and 123 yrds/game in my season!). These are just some of the omissions that should have been corrected with the updates. You would think that this wouldn’t be too difficult, seeing that it is someones job to oversee such matters on such an expensive project. Oh well, gotta get back to my game!
I have the rosters for PS3
and while there are mistakes here and there, I’ve edited them and moved players off the depth chart accordingly. It’s nothing that a quick roster edit can’t fix; the purpose behind these named rosters are to just get the players named and it’s up to individual gamers to make the edits they want.
Anyways, that’s why I play on All-American…I’ve played a lot and it’s presented me with losses. Why would SDSU get so close to us in the first place? =p I think that my skill level is balanced out by the mediocrity of our team in the game…using any of our RBs compared to using Jahvid Best from Cal is an entirely different beast. You can only do so much with average or low-rated players, IMO…but that’s why I play Dynasty Mode, to get those ratings boosted as the season progresses.
GO BRUINS!
So you balance out the unfair mediocrity?
Not that I’m really criticizing your analysis. Just curious how a normal cpu v. cpu would fair (I think EA Sports actually does a season projection based on their game with like 100 different simulations averaged or something…)
Also, do you feel UCLA is underranked? I do. Washington has straight B’s and other than Locker there still…well…mediocre Washington.
I think balanced out wasn't the term I should have used
because even though I’ve played numerous online matches and in some tournaments, there are some things you can’t compensate for.
I would do a CPU vs. CPU sim/dynasty, but probably later on. The main motivation behind me doing this, like I did for the first couple of games last season, is that I run my offense pretty much like the pro-style that we do. Sometimes the AI just does the dumbest things when I simmed games from last year’s edition that would only be from a video game…lol. As for an actual sim itself, I did a lot with 09 and I think they are fairly accurate and representative of how the game would play out most of the time.
I do think our defense severely underranked; it is NOT a B-. UW doesn’t deserve straight B’s, as well, and I don’t think Stanford warrants straight C’s for that matter.
GO BRUINS!
Agree
I don’t think UCLA’s defense plays like a B- in the game, but the offense is horrendous. I’m 2-0 online against Michigan and Notre Dame, and both wins were because the defense made big plays at the end of the game.
by AllHailMightyBruins on Jul 20, 2009 9:32 AM PDT up reply actions
Roster Update
I think one roster update fixes UW’s attributes to like a C+ Overall – B- Offense, C+ Defense (i think)
Or maybe that was an old one.
This game just makes me so excited
for the season XD. Even though it signifies the end of summer, its the one bright spot ;)
rocky long!!!
I don’t know if the San Diego defense in this game is based on the one’s Long ran at New Mexico, but I know it is difficult to tell who is coming at you at any time. I have seen them play several times and know any offensive line better be ready for a lot of stunts. I figure this game will be the opposite with the offenses trying to find a way to score. Don’t under estimate Long as it should be a very interesting game.
Real life game
If we lose to San Diego Stinking State, I will need years of therapy. I still haven’t recovered from the Notre Dame game at the Rose Bowl.
Bonus points if you recall the origin of the phrase “San Diego Stinking State.”
Ditto on the ND game. Ugh. Should have never stopped tailgating. I think our QB threw for more ND touchdowns than theirs did.
RE the phrase: wasn’t that a cal QB back in the day? (mid-nineties if i recall correctly?)
Origin of "San Diego Stinkin' State"
QB Dave Barr of the Cal Bears, a squad so good that Gilbertson dropped 2 of 3 to the AZTECS.
I know this is obvious, but
I had to slow the game down against the much tougher teams because we still don’t have enough offensive play makers. There were a lot of 4 and outs and turnovers took big hits on us. I notice the D-line got pushed around quite a bit when the opposition ran. I don’t know if the D-line is focus or strength is during the pass or what. I was extremely pissed at how godly Terrell Pryor and Tim Tebow are and UCLA gets dissed in terms of attributes.
:I wish they had Brian Prices cool hairdoo as well ;)
Those Running QB's
…are so cheap. When they roll out of the pocket they should have like wayyyy less accuracy, but yet, they don’t.
Other gaming communities call it an aspect of “cheesing” (like cheating), such as always going for it on 4th down, Fake Special teams plays etc…
the players at sdsu
I’m a student at sdsu but a big bruin fan since my older brother went there. Unfortunately my other older brother went to u$c.
After watching a couple of the sdsu games last year and watching some of the practices I don’t think sdsu’s skill level is up to par with ucla. The players ucla just seem bigger and faster. With that being said I think this game game should be a breeze for ucla.
Agreed
Living down here in SD I am (forced) to look in on a few SDSU games/practices and, no offense sdsubruin, but the football program is a joke. There was a column in the SD Tribune several months back posing a real serious debate of whether the program should even continue to exist (from a financial standpoint). Recruiting has been down, way down, for several years. Fan support is virtually nonexistent.
Even with the issues facing our team, this should be a methodical, comfortable victory. To say I would be disappointed in a 38-35 score, or anything resembling that, would be a huge understatement.
by godblesstyus95 on Jul 21, 2009 3:48 AM PDT up reply actions
Brady Hoke
How has he been working out for them so far? Any thoughts? My impression of him is that he is a solid no non-sense coach. No?
Well
if there has been any coverage of the subject, I haven’t seen it. College football (more specifically SDSU football) is treated as sort of a fringe sport down here. It’s unbelievable how little coverage SDSU football receives in the media. So honestly I haven’t read or seen much of the subject.
by godblesstyus95 on Jul 21, 2009 8:09 PM PDT up reply actions
Geezerness showing
I don’t understand how these games work. Does the player call the plays? And for both sides? And if one play works, shouldn’t it work over and over again, i.e., how does a machine change the way it thinks about a particular situation. How can there be an upset? If EA chooses to make one team the most dominant, how does any other team upset them.
Also, and more important, if I buy the game and plug in just$c*, can I make them go 0-11 by calling the quarterback take a knee play every down, and having my last string punter playing middle linebacker?
As you can see, I’m not into EA games. I’m actually much more interested in the lawsuit against EA. I wonder if they’ve set up a simulation for that one?
Haha @ the EA lawsuit
There was some fiasco upon the game’s release that the rosters were all screwed up and EA had to release a quick fix for it…who knows if that had anything to do with the lawsuit.
As for the game: you can play a game against the AI, a friend (provided you have another controller), or over the Internet with someone else who has a copy of the game. You have free reign on the plays you want to call and each team has a playbook pretty much taken from real life, ranging from simple run and pass plays to play action to end arounds to our wildcat formation (complete with a double pass from the RB to QB to WR…haven’t gotten it to work yet). The game’s AI is adaptive, especially on harder difficulties, and they always change up their schemes: running the same play over and over doesn’t work. For example constantly running the ball up the middle will cause the defensive line to pinch or to bring the safeties up, so you’ll have to break an outside run or call play action. Calling the same pass play won’t work either because you never know if it’s against man or zone coverage, or if it’s a zone blitz…you have to read the defense much like an actual QB. Granted, there are competitive, professional gamers I’ve played against who exploit specific parts of the game to guarantee success, but they are few and far between (and I don’t do that…it’s lame and boring).
The thing about upsetting the Top 25 teams is that you have to play smart. You can’t go out there and sling 50 yard bombs or expect to break huge run every time. It’s about grinding out the clock with a consistent running game, mixed up with some high percentage passing plays and play action. More importantly, you can’t turn the ball over and the defense has to make stops. It plays out as it should in real life, at least against the AI. Against human opponents…it’s another story.
And yes, depth charts are completely customizable, so you can totally mix up SC’s depth chart, run them through a simulated season, and see them pretty much get owned.
GO BRUINS!
SDSU's star running back was able to consistently gain yardage
I hope he has a name, as of now there is no “star rb”. A lot of AZTEC fans are looking towards a true freshman from Texas who has yet to take a snap in practice.
Rocky Long is the DC and is in the process of installing the 3-3-5 defense he ran at New Mexico.
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