NCAA Football 2005

The season has started for the Michigan Wolverines.

After dominating NCAA Football 2004 on the PS2 for 5 straight seasons (with 4 straight NCAA Championships), I decided to move on to the new addition that was released last week.

Michigan started out ranked 9th in the Coaches and Media polls, so working my way up to the top was a task.  After playing the game for a while, it was a lot harder from the year before.  The AI on defense was improved, but it could just be the team I was playing with, since I haven't done any recruiting yet.  One of my closest games of the year was a 3-0 victory over Minnesota for the Little Brown Jug, during a rainy, cold game at Michigan Stadium.

Then came the big game against Ohio State, Michigan's rival.  David Underwood, my halfback, put up some impressive numbers against their defense.  I won that game, and the Big Ten title.  I was currently ranked 4th in the nation, going to play #3 USC Trojans at the Rose Bowl.

Talk about a battle!  Besides having players that really couldn't match up against USC's team, I held a 7-0 lead after the first quarter, then my quarterback, Matt Gutierrez, threw an interception and they returned it 74 yards for the touchdown.  My kicker didn't fare too well either, missing two clutch field goals.  Michigan simply didn't play very well, and I ended up losing my first game in probably over 100 games -- spanning from NCAA Football 2003 -- final score: 21-16.  Michigan dropped in the standings from 4th to 7th, with a final record of 12-1, which isn't too bad.  My coaching contract was extended 3 years for winning the Big Ten title, which I accepted.  But I've got a huge beef with some of my players.

It's understandable in the beginning of a season that my players won't perform too well -- that's all in the controller.  I'm learning the new plays on offense and defense.  Offense is a lot tougher to master.  Like I said before, the AI on defense has improved, so I'm always looking for those "bread-and-butter" plays which I can take huge chunks of yardage from the defense.  As for Michigan's defense, I basically play a Cover 2 Zone, sometimes Cover 3, sometimes Cover 4.  Rarely I do blitz, unless I have a dominating defensive line or quick linebackers.  I'm going to wait until I do some recruiting to pick up some blue-chip players who are quick off the line to give the opposing offensive lineman some trouble.  Back to "my beef" with the players -- my kicker was absolutely horrendous.  There is simply no power behind that foot, even with the wind behind his back.  He probably didn't make 50% of his field goal tries the entire season.  Also, I'm super-upset at my wide receivers, namely Braylon Edwards and Jason Avant, the #1 and #2 receivers on my depth chart.  Edwards ended up 2nd in the running for the best wide receiver in the nation, but he also dropped 20+ balls during the season.  Edwards graduates now, so I'll be looking for new and fresh talent WHO CAN CATCH A BALL for the my next season.

Kudos to my halfback David Underwood and my offensive line!  Underwood rushed for over 1500 yards on the year and scored 20 touchdowns on the ground, breaking the old school record.  He came in fifth for the Heisman, third for the Maxwell Trophy (best offensive player) and third for the best running back in the nation.  He also is going to graduate.  But impressive is my offensive line, which all five starters made the first team All-America, and my center came home with the Rimington Trophy (best center).  Super-happy with those guys, although in my opinion, they gave up too many sacks!

As you can see, NCAA Football 2005 is huge!  I take it seriously, especially during the recruiting part during the off-season.  I'll export the draft class (so they can be imported into Madden 2005), then go off and recruit the best guys I can find for the positions I need.  If I have any scholarships left, I'll go out and pick up the best guys for whatever positions, just so the other teams can't pick them up.  The new thing to watch out for during the recruiting session is their GPA ... performance in the classroom.  In the previous NCAA Football games, GPA wasn't really a factor, or not at all.  Now, if a player cheats on a test, fails to show up for study sessions, or simply breaks team rules, you have to do something about it.  Either you could let it slide, or make an example of that player.  It just adds to the excitment of real NCAA Football!

As for now, the season is over.  Oklahoma is the national champion, beating LSU.  I'm currently filling in rosters with real names, so just in case if they get drafted in Madden 2005, they won't just be a number.  More updates on this later!