To the Top of the Mountain: Massachusetts State Mountaineers (NCAA 07)

[thesportsguru11]

Premise/Background Info about the Dynasty:

I’ve been watching football for most of my short life, and while I have a true passion for the NFL and college games, college football has always held a special place in my heart. My favorite era of college football was probably from 1997-2009, and even though I don’t remember much the 90’s stuff, I’ve read up on it and sounded great. I still really miss the days of just putting the TV on ESPNNews’ College Football Overdrive on Saturdays and just watching them flip to games all over the country all day.

I enjoyed the living hell out of NCAA 07. I got years of entertainment with Road To Glory, and dozens of dynasties that have gone down in personal lore. To this day, I still believe this is the best video game I have ever played.

As previously mentioned, the goal here is to do a flashback dynasty of sorts, going back to NCAA 07 on my PS2 and the 2006 season and just having some fun playing against the great players of that time, changing history in a way with new schools coming to the top of the CFB landscape each year, new dynasties and legacies being created, bringing Massachusetts State to the top of college football.

Some other things to note about this dynasty: Massachusetts State is completely created. All things about this school are made-up. However, when I reach the bio about Canton, that is real. I used to live in the area, and have family there currently. I’ve always thought of it as my second home.

So that’s that. In short, I’ll be spending a portion of my summer break playing with a created school in a time era that holds a special place in my heart. Enjoy.

[thesportsguru11]

Yes, this is long and not necessarily needed info. But bear with me.

Game/Platform: NCAA Football 07 for PS2 (EA Sports)
Rosters: Created by Me
Sliders: Default Heisman difficulty (will change if necessary)
5 minute quarters

About the Rosters:
The rosters were completed by myself in 2012 over months of work and research. I basically spent the majority of that summer working on that and a set for NCAA March Madness 06 when I wasn’t camping. Anyway, the set was based off the default rosters, so guys who were dismissed/transferred before the 2006 started are still on the roster. (Rhett Bomar, Jevan Snead and Ramonce Taylor are 3 big names off the top of my head that I can think of which apply to these rules.)

Every player in the game has been named accurately according to the default roster. I would have shot for more accuracy and removed Bomar, Snead and those guys, but you can’t change a player’s year of eligibility in this game, so I didn’t bother with that and left them. Some notable players were missing off the default roster, specifically Junior College transfers and notable true freshmen. So I went back and created them in with the correct team, rating based off H.S./Juco stats and scouting reports from Scout.com, year, height, weight and equipment (to an extent). Some notables I added were: Taylor Mays, Kam Chancellor, Andy Dalton, LeSean McCoy (on Miami), Reshad Jones, Ryan Torain, etc. I believe there were somewhere between 20-25 players added to the roster. (I can provide a full list if upon request).

Coaches will be named and edited to resemble the start of the 2006 season. (So no Randy Walker, who to the best of my knowledge is portrayed in the game, Pat Fitzgerald will be coaching Northwestern. When we reach 2007, Indiana coach Terry Hoeppner will be removed, as he passed away before the ‘07 season started.) I have more flexibility editing coaches, so for retirees like Bobby Bowden and Joe Paterno I’ll see what I can do about editing those guys out of the dynasty after 3 or 4 seasons when they retired in real life. I have to redo my research as I lost my sheet with all the names and coaches ages on it, so I’ll track that and let coaches retire when the time is correct. I’ll “hire” small coaches to bigger schools if they have a run of success, and “fire” coaches at bigger programs if they struggle for a period of time (within reason of course).

Sliders/Difficulty:
I’ll be playing on Heisman difficulty with the default sliders to start. In the past dynasties, I’ve had no problems getting competitive, realistic games out of the default sliders. 5 minute quarters, no advanced play clock. So that’s where I’ll start. As always, I’m open to adjusting pieces if things get out of hand. Unfortunately, there is no way to adjust recruiting difficulty, so it might be easier than I would hope getting commits to come to play in Canton. But as there is no way around this, we will just have to deal with it.

House Rules:
No extreme cheese, that is obvious for every dynasty. It’s acceptable to run pass heavy or run heavy depending on what best fits the team I have, but so long as I’m not abusing the A.I., we will be good. (It’s not easy to do that anyway based off of experience with this game on Heisman).
For recruiting, there is a problem in this game where sometimes CPU guys who are not on your radar will sign with you, regardless of caliber, rating, etc. There is nothing that I know of that can be done to fix this. So with that said, no signing 2 5 star prospects at positions where only one starts, (like QB, K, P, etc.) unless that problem arises. No cutting seniors. No ifs ands or buts about it. Seniors have worked their tails off to get this far in their careers, sometimes sitting through 4 seasons just to start in their 5th as a redshirt senior. Therefore, they deserve to stick around for a final season, even if their role won’t be huge.

If sophomores or juniors wish to declare for the NFL Draft, I am allowed to try and convince them to stay if I choose. My role is the coach in this dynasty, so I am allowed to decide who can stay and go. If a player wishes to transfer, I am not allowed to persuade them to stay.

How Recruiting Works in NCAA 07:
Figured I’d give this little spiel for the folks who never played the older NCAA games. Recruiting is a bit different than it is now. Surprisingly, it’s not far off from NCAA 14.

In the preseason, you are allowed to put 12 recruits on your recruiting board. You can’t scout them fully, but hints are given as to the prospect’s skills (i.e. 40 time, bench press, squat, vertical jump, etc.) A prospect’s 40 time, at least in dynasties, determines a player’s speed rating. For other skills like arm accuracy, strength, catching, etc., you receive a letter grade as to their skills in that area. 100 points are assigned to spend however you want.

During the season, you are free to readjust points as necessary at any time. Once you get into a recruit’s top 3 choices, you schedule a visit. Obviously, if you win the game on the day of the visit the recruit is more likely to commit to you, whether it be soft or hard.

There are 5 weeks of offseason recruiting. You are allowed to target as many guys as you have scholarships. Instead of points, you pitch a topic about your school to each recruit you are targeting (example: location, academic prestige, program prestige, coach style, coach prestige, etc.). In addition, you can choose who off your staff visits the prospect, whether it be a head coach visiting, calling or an assistant visiting or calling. If a recruit likes what you are pitching, they are more likely to commit to you, and vise versa.

[thesportsguru11]

About the School and Program:



Massachusetts State, located in Canton, Massachusetts, was founded by a group led by Paul Revere back in 1803. It was a male-only school until the women’s suffrage act was passed by President Wilson in 1920. African-Americans and other minorities were first admitted into the school in 1930, before the height of the Civil Rights Movement in the South.

Legendary coach James Harper, with the guidance of longtime A.D. Kevin Allen, started the Mountaineers football program from scratch in 1980 with a rag-tag team of misfits and castoffs from other FBS and FCS programs, and the first few years in the Atlantic 10 conference were rough. They finally made the FCS playoffs for the first time in 1994. However, they were never able to break through and win their first championship until the late 90’s when they became contenders. In 1999, they advanced to their first FCS championship, defeating Stephen F. Austin 24-10 in the semis. They lost a heartbreaker to Jim Tressel-coached Youngstown State, the dynasty of the 90’s, 31-28 on a game winning field goal.

Their fortunes changed in the 2000’s though. In 2001, they finally won their first FCS title, 45-28 over Wofford. After again dominating the FCS competition in 2002 en route to another FCS title, they earned a promotion to the FBS and moved into the Big East in 2003, reuniting with arch-rival Luke U for 2 years. In 2005, Luke U moved to the ACC with Boston College, Miami and Virginia Tech, with Wake Forest off to the Big East while Mass State stayed put in the Big East. USF’s football program disbanded after the 2005 season.

Being ineligible for postseason play until 2006 per NCAA rules, the Mountaineers finished 6-6 in 2003 and ‘04 and then 8-4 in 2005. It has been rumored that Mass State could be on the move to the ACC in the coming years.

One of coach Harper’s trademarks was uncovering gems in the recruiting field and was a guru at getting guys to play and act how he wanted, similar to 3 time Super Bowl Champion coach Bill Belichick and legendary Penn State coach Joe Paterno. Harper often had standout players fall into his lap after being snubbed over by the bigger FBS schools, have guys with unfulfilled potential reach that or troubled recruits with lots of talent straighten themselves out. That’s the big reason the Mountaineers were competitive in the 90’s and early 2000's.

Over the years, Paul Revere Stadium has transformed from a 20,000 capacity field to a sort of luxury bowl shaped stadium, holding 75,000 with scoreboards on both ends, well-kept grass and a Big House feel for this football-crazed town.

[thesportsguru11]

About coach Jake DeArruda: (Sorry for the grainy pic)


Born in Raynham, MA in 1981. He had lots of family out in Canton, so he became acquainted with Mountaineer football at a very young age. He lived in Vermont throughout his teenage years, but moved back to Canton to attend Mass. State for college, where he played receiver from 1999-2002, where he was lauded for being a player in a coach’s brain.

As soon as he graduated in the spring of 2003, he got an assistant’s gig with Canton High School’s football team for the 2003 season. He was promoted to head coach for the 2004 season. Before he was promoted, the Bulldogs had a 1-8 season. In his 2 years he led them to a combined 20-2 record. 2004 resulted in a quarterfinal loss, and in ‘05 he led the undefeated Canton Bulldogs to the school’s first D-2 state title since 1981, and third in school history. Not only that, but he led Canton to their first 3 year winning streak over arch-rival Stoughton in almost 15 years.

With Massachusetts State back in the suddenly competitive Big East for the ‘06 season, the Mountaineers decided to take a chance and hire the 25-year old DeArruda for his first collegiate head coaching gig to replace retired head coach James Harper, who coached the Mountaineers in the FCS for 22 years and the FBS for 3 (1980-2005).

[thesportsguru11]

About the town of Canton, Massachusetts



General:
Canton is a small suburban town located in Norfolk County, Massachusetts. Population is estimated at 20,000. Canton is a part of the Greater Boston area, located about 20 minutes south of the capital city. Canton was incorporated into Massachusetts on February 23, 1797. Paul Revere was a key factor in the early growth of the town, building the town’s first copper mill in 1801.

Geography:
Canton lies at the foot of Great Blue Hill. It borders a total of 8 towns, most notably Stoughton, Dedham, Randolph and Sharon. Stoughton is the most noteworthy as the 2 town’s high schools share a long lasting football rivalry, their annual game played every Thanksgiving morning.

Other points of Interest:
The Canton viaduct, built in 1835, is one of the 2 oldest surviving multiple arch stone railroad bridges still in use in the U.S. (And trust me, it is really neat driving under that thing).

MBTA commuter rails pass through Canton on the Providence, RI/Stoughton line.
Canton is famous for being home to the headquarters of world famous donut/coffee chain Dunkin Donuts and sports apparel brand Reebok.

[thesportsguru11]

SINGLE GAME RECORDS:

Completions: Daniel Rose, 40, (October 2, 1999, vs. William & Mary)
Attempts: Daniel Rose, 57 (October 2, 1999, vs. William & Mary)
Passing Yards: Kevin Eldred, 513 (November 30, 2002, vs. Luke U)
Passing TD’s: Kevin Eldred, 6, (November 2, 2002 vs. UMass)

Carries: J.R. Shackleford, 38, (October 23, 2004 vs. UConn)
Yards: J.R. Shackleford, 237, (October 23, 2004 vs. UConn)
TD’s: 3 tied, 4 (most recent, Marcus Peters, November 11, 2006, vs. Syracuse)


Aldarius Allen

Receptions: Devin Gordon, 11, (October 16, 1999, vs. Rhode Island)
Yards: Aldarius Allen, 285, (October 18, 2008, vs. Virginia Tech)
TD’s: 4 tied, 3, (most recent, Ricky Price, September 23, 2006 vs. Kansas)

Tackles: Jason Bicknell, 22, (December 29, 2001, vs. Towson - FCS Championship Game)
TFL: Stafford Royal, 9, (September 3, 2005 vs. Rutgers)
Sacks: Matt Rush, 6, (November 8, 2008 vs. Notre Dame)
INT’s: Coleman Griffin, 3, (November 25, 2006)

SEASON RECORDS:

Completions: Daniel Rose, 298, (1999)
Attempts: Kevin Eldred, 510, (2002)
Passing Yards: Kevin Eldred, 3746 (2003)
Passing TD’s: Daniel Rose, 34 (1999)

Carries: J.R. Shackleford, 227, (2004)
Yards: J.R. Shackleford, 1459, (2004)
TD’s: Emile Britton, 16, (2006)

Receptions: Kallen Brackett, 76, (2001)
Yards: Kylan Carpenter, 1401 (2008)
TD’s: Kallen Brackett, 17 (2001)

Tackles: Brock Kemp, 94, (2000)
TFL: Matt Rush, 27 (2008)
Sacks: Eric Shaw, 16, (1995)
INT’s: Coleman Griffin, 8, (2006)


CAREER RECORDS:

Completions: Daniel Rose, 698, (1996-99)
Attempts: Kevin Eldred, 912, (2000-03)
Passing Yards: Kevin Eldred, 8923, (2000-03)
Passing TD’s: Kevin Eldred, 87, (2000-03)

Carries: J.R. Shackleford, 734, (2001-04)
Yards: J.R. Shackleford, 3897, (2001-04)
TD’s: J.R. Shackleford, 45 (2001-04)

Receptions: Kallen Brackett, 221 (1999-2002)
Yards: Aldarius Allen, 2522 (2005-08)
TD’s: Kallen Brackett, 49, (1999-2002)

Tackles: Jamie Parker, 219, (1987-1990)
TFL: Eric Shaw, 55, (1993-96)
Sacks: Eric Shaw, 38 (1993-96)
INT’s: Coleman Griffin, 16, (2003-06)


Coleman Griffin

[thesportsguru11]

2006 -

Spoiler

Record: 9-4 (loss to Arizona State in Emerald Bowl 65-17)
National Champs: Nebraska def West Virginia 31-9
Heisman Winner: Zac Taylor (QB, Nebraska)
All-Americans: CB Coleman Griffin (1st team), C Danny Johnson (2nd team)

2007 -

Spoiler

Record: 12-1 (defeated Cal in Sun Bowl 35-24)
National Champs: Oklahoma def. West Virginia 35-14
Heisman Winner: Rocky Hinds (QB, UNLV)
All-Americans: None

2008 -

Spoiler

Record: 7-6 (lost to Kentucky in Music City Bowl 31-14)
National Champs: Luke U def. Oklahoma 24-21 (OT)
Heisman Winner: Sidney Rice (WR, South Carolina)
All-Americans: DE Matt Rush (1st team)
Award Winners: Lombardi Award - DE Matt Rush

[thesportsguru11]

All clear to post!! Should be a slow start, as I haven't actually "started" the dynasty file yet. First games I'm hoping will be played this weekend.