Alright boyz, here we go!!! NCAA 2006 First impressions

[Eaglesfan27]

Well, I just finished winning the national championship Drew Tate was tough for the first quarter and a half, however he threw a pick on a bomb to my impact SS. That was the beginning of the end. He threw a second interception 2 minutes later, and then a third right before the half ended. We returned that third one for a touchdown as time ran out and that gave us a 35-7 lead.

Interestingly, they were the first team to totally shut down our running game in the 1st half, but Matt Leinart was especially effective. He was 14 of 18 passing for 200 yards in the first half, including a 80 yard screen pass to Bush where he spinned past one tackler and stiff armed the strong safety before pulling away from his pursuers.

In the 3rd quarter, Tate threw two more picks and was finally yanked. I thought it was crazy pulling an impact QB, but his backup was mobile. In fact, he was the first fairly mobile QB I've faced all year. I'm glad to say that the CPU really uses mobile QB's! He was rushing for 5 yards here, 8 yards there. He also used roll-outs to buy time and managed to actually pass for more yards and put up more points for Iowa. However, we finally got Reggie on track with the rushing game after he busted one 85 yard run where he just ran away from the defense after juking the MLB and the SS. His 99 acceleration, agility, and speed are just hard to stop. Final score was 56-21. Not too different from the real life score when they won this past year.

I thought the extra commentary for the National Championship game was cool. I don't remember that being in past versions.

Now, time to see if we can somehow convince Bush to stay (I won't try it if he is mostly leaning towards leaving.)

[Eaglesfan27]

Dola -

Nice. After winning the National Championship, USC offered a 4 year extension. Texas and Oklahoma also offered my a job.

[Eaglesfan27]

Ouch. I have 18 players that want to leave early. 2 that want to transfer to other schools, and 16 that want to enter into the draft early. Basically, my entire offensive line is determined to go into the draft! Even odder, is that my backup LT who is only rated 78 is determined to go pro early. Interestingly, Bush was heavily leaning towards staying and I only had to spend 12 points to convince him to stay. I also convinced my all star SS to stay, but everyone else was heavily leaning towards going, so I'm not wasting points on trying to convince them to stay.

[Suicane75]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Ouch. I have 18 players that want to leave early. 2 that want to transfer to other schools, and 16 that want to enter into the draft early. Basically, my entire offensive line is determined to go into the draft! Even odder, is that my backup LT who is only rated 78 is determined to go pro early. Interestingly, Bush was heavily leaning towards staying and I only had to spend 12 points to convince him to stay. I also convinced my all star SS to stay, but everyone else was heavily leaning towards going, so I'm not wasting points on trying to convince them to stay.

Time to rebuild

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Ouch. I have 18 players that want to leave early. 2 that want to transfer to other schools, and 16 that want to enter into the draft early. Basically, my entire offensive line is determined to go into the draft! Even odder, is that my backup LT who is only rated 78 is determined to go pro early. Interestingly, Bush was heavily leaning towards staying and I only had to spend 12 points to convince him to stay. I also convinced my all star SS to stay, but everyone else was heavily leaning towards going, so I'm not wasting points on trying to convince them to stay.

Congrats! ..and I find it cool at the choices a top program has to make.. after reading your FM dynasty, I think you'll do fine, although it will be neat to see if you can repeat.

[CraigSca]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

I thought the extra commentary for the National Championship game was cool. I don't remember that being in past versions.

Don't know what you're talking about, and probably never will .

Congrats on the national title - hope you can quickly find a new offensive line

[Eaglesfan27]

Well, I got the 4th best class in the nation. I decided to just focus on the top guys, perhaps at the cost of depth. I've noticed that recruiting points go down quickly from week to week in this version of the game. I think it will make recruiting more challenging than in the past.

I did manage to get the #1 HB in the nation (he'll redshirt this year, and I'll pray that he doesn't decide to transfer.) I also got the #1, #2, and #3 Tackles in the nation. I also got the #3 C, #2 G, and #4 G. So, we'll be young along the offensive line, but we should be good in a year or two.

In any case, I'm thinking about starting at least a mini-dynasty on the dynasty board since I've been posting so much about my career rather than actual impressions.


Edit: The top 10 Classes:

1. Oklahoma: 3 - 5 stars, 12 4-stars, and 9 3-stars.
2. Iowa State: 3 - 5 stars, 13 4-stars, 4 3-stars, 3 2-stars, and 1 1-star.
3. Texas: 2 5-stars, 11 4-stars, 11 3-stars, and 1 1-star.
4. USC: 4 5-stars, 11 4-stars.
5. Georgia: 1 5-star, 10 4-stars, 13 3-stars.
6. Iowa: 3 5-stars, 9 4-stars, 4 3-stars, 5 2-stars, and 3 1-stars.
7. Purdue: 1 5-star, 11 4-stars, 11 3-stars.
8. Tennessee: 2 5-stars, 8 4-stars, 10 3-stars, and 4 2-stars.
9. Ole Miss: 0 5-stars, 13 4-stars, 9 3-stars, 2 2-stars, and 1 1-star.
10. Ohio State: 1 5-star, 11 4-stars, 9 3-stars, 2 2-stars, and 1 1-star.

There definitely appears to be less 5 star recruits in this year's version.

[CraigSca]

Hurray, the first NCAA dynasty! Go for it, Eagles!

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Well, I got the 4th best class in the nation. I decided to just focus on the top guys, perhaps at the cost of depth. I've noticed that recruiting points go down quickly from week to week in this version of the game. I think it will make recruiting more challenging than in the past.

I did manage to get the #1 HB in the nation (he'll redshirt this year, and I'll pray that he doesn't decide to transfer.) I also got the #1, #2, and #3 Tackles in the nation. I also got the #3 C, #2 G, and #4 G. So, we'll be young along the offensive line, but we should be good in a year or two.

In any case, I'm thinking about starting at least a mini-dynasty on the dynasty board since I've been posting so much about my career rather than actual impressions.


Edit: The top 10 Classes:

1. Oklahoma: 3 - 5 stars, 12 4-stars, and 9 3-stars.
2. Iowa State: 3 - 5 stars, 13 4-stars, 4 3-stars, 3 2-stars, and 1 1-star.
3. Texas: 2 5-stars, 11 4-stars, 11 3-stars, and 1 1-star.
4. USC: 4 5-stars, 11 4-stars.
5. Georgia: 1 5-star, 10 4-stars, 13 3-stars.
6. Iowa: 3 5-stars, 9 4-stars, 4 3-stars, 5 2-stars, and 3 1-stars.
7. Purdue: 1 5-star, 11 4-stars, 11 3-stars.
8. Tennessee: 2 5-stars, 8 4-stars, 10 3-stars, and 4 2-stars.
9. Ole Miss: 0 5-stars, 13 4-stars, 9 3-stars, 2 2-stars, and 1 1-star.
10. Ohio State: 1 5-star, 11 4-stars, 9 3-stars, 2 2-stars, and 1 1-star.

There definitely appears to be less 5 star recruits in this year's version.

Didn't Rivals limit the number of 5 star players this year? I think EA just followed the trend there.

How many players are you allowed to keep before you have to start cutting them? I remember it being 60 or 65, but I want to make sure. I know the game does a horrible job if it has to make cuts for you.

[Cards4ever]

After going 9-2 during the regular season I took Wyoming to the Las Vegas Bowl and crushed Eastern Michigan and was offered both the Notre Dame job and the Florida State job. I found it odd that those were the only 2 programs that offered me job, you would think a Big 10 or SEC program in the middle would have offered. I took the Notre Dame job and we'll see what happens with that.

[Bearcat729]

Originally Posted by TroyF

Didn't Rivals limit the number of 5 star players this year? I think EA just followed the trend there.

How many players are you allowed to keep before you have to start cutting them? I remember it being 60 or 65, but I want to make sure. I know the game does a horrible job if it has to make cuts for you.

I've got 68 players on my roster now so I believe the limit is 70

[Ironhead]

Ugh...it's just as bad as I had feared. Louisville shredded my C- defense to the tune of 68 points. Now, I do have to say that we probably would have held them under 50 but it was pouring and we had about 5 fumbles (all lost). So there is hope.

In positive news the three star wide receiver I picked up is freaking amazing. He is 6'4", 178 lbs with 92 spd, 86 agi, 92 acc, 78 cth and 99 jumping! He tore up the Louisville secondary with 5 catches for 183 yards. I just need to survive into the third season of my contract and I think I might be able to pull out a winning record and get at least a 1 year extension.

[korme]

Originally Posted by CraigSca

Good luck against the Gators, Shorty! Get some revenge

Lost 42-14. Chris Leak really knew how to kick me while I was down.

[korme]

Dammit. I only signed 8 new recruits (1 ****, 5 ***, and 2 **) in the offseason.

This is tough.

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by Bearcat729

I've got 68 players on my roster now so I believe the limit is 70

Thanks Bearcat. I remember last year I forgot to cut someone and the AI cut the top ranked player in the country. I hadn't saved. . . I really thought about breaking the disc at that point.

[jbmagic]

for all that completed there first season in there dynasty.


did all your offensive line players win the All Amercian Award because of pancakes?

Did high pancakes by your offensive line players make recruiting easier to get all the top recruits for the offensive line?


the good news,from the previous post is this year version, high pancakes doesnt make all your offensive line progress fast in ratings. Are you seeing that?

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by jbmagic

for all that completed there first season in there dynasty.


did all your offensive line players win the All Amercian Award because of pancakes?

Did high pancakes by your offensive line players make recruiting easier to get all the top recruits for the offensive line?


the good news,from the previous post is this year version, high pancakes doesnt make all your offensive line progress fast in ratings. Are you seeing that?

Yes, most of my linemen were selected to the All American Team because of high pancakes.

I did get many top OL recruits, but that could be because I won the national championship. More likely, I suspect it is because I had the leading rusher in the nation. I suspect it is a high number of rushing yards that makes OL want to come to your school.

My returning OL didn't progress much, but the guys with the most pancakes all went to the NFL.

[korme]

I think I'm hyper enough as it is

Did you stand by me

Oh you're such a ladykiller

I want you to know

Come out and play

Mirror mirror on the wall

[Noop]

Shorty I use Florida State.... and make that another recruiting season that I did not get a CB. I have alot of walks although one did turn out to be a 80 but still the rest are not good at all. I am loaded at OL seems like every year the #1 T or G wants to come to Florida State. Since I started playing i have gotten a Top 3 player at each OL position...but CB seems to be almost impossible. Oh well this season I will target only CB during inseason recruiting and one QB.

[korme]

Switch a WR to CB, he'll lose only like 6 points

[Ironhead]

Originally Posted by jbmagic

for all that completed there first season in there dynasty.


did all your offensive line players win the All Amercian Award because of pancakes?

Did high pancakes by your offensive line players make recruiting easier to get all the top recruits for the offensive line?


the good news,from the previous post is this year version, high pancakes doesnt make all your offensive line progress fast in ratings. Are you seeing that?

I don't think any of my linemen ended up as All Americans. Then again the most pancakes any of them had was about 20.

I did have something happen to me very similar to what happened to Eaglesfan though. I had a 5th or 6th string corner that got a 2nd team All Conference selection when his entire stat line for the year was 1 tackle on defense and 1 punt returned for a touchdown.

[General Mike]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Yes, most of my linemen were selected to the All American Team because of high pancakes.

I did get many top OL recruits, but that could be because I won the national championship. More likely, I suspect it is because I had the leading rusher in the nation. I suspect it is a high number of rushing yards that makes OL want to come to your school.

My returning OL didn't progress much, but the guys with the most pancakes all went to the NFL.

Of the guys who left early, do you remember how many were OL? I could see guys wanting to come to USC, especially if playing time was available.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by General Mike

Of the guys who left early, do you remember how many were OL? I could see guys wanting to come to USC, especially if playing time was available.

Every one of my starting 5 OL left. One or two were actually seniors. The rest were all juniors.

[Eaglesfan27]

Dola -

At least one of my new freshman linemen is going to start the first game of the season. All of them will get PT soon enough.

[wade moore]

I wish I had this kind of time to put into the game...

I put William and Mary into the Big East last night (replaced UConn since they recently came from the A10 themselves).. I was playing Buffalo tight through the whole game, and then a slew of INTs for TDs killed me..

Does anyone else feel like there are too many 'deflection' interceptions? It seems I had 3 or 4 INTs in this game where the ball bounced off of one defender magically into the hands of another...

[CraigSca]

Played my best half yet - and I think it's confirmed for me that playing on varsity with sliders that are "against me" as the route to go. I tried to find a team with the same attributes as Maryland (according to the grades). Decided to play at South Carolina and went into the half with a 14-7 lead. Both my TDs were 60+ yard receptions, but they were short/medium passes that were broken for long plays. Other than that, my running game was held to about 50 yards. I felt like I could move the ball, but it wasn't too easy, nor was I 3 and out on every play. The TD they scored was on a prolonged 70 yard drive. They moved the ball well, but I stopped them when it really counted. Going into the half, I had about 200 yards total offense to their 160 - exactly as two even strength teams should be.

Now I'll "patiently" wait for my rosters, knowing that I have the game playing exactly as I want it .

BTW - anyone else finding that when you push up on the juke stick to cover up - an inordinate amount of fumbles occur? I don't hit the stick until people start hitting me, and I'm finding I fumble a lot when this happens. Maybe you need to do it before they hit you? Not sure...I think I'm just going to lay off the stick and see what happens.

[mhass]

Having not seen this thread all weekend, I'm going to try to answer some questions that came up:

1. I have NOT seen an abnormal amount of interceptions. I threw several that were just poor decisions on my part. I'd even say that it was hard to make a pick.

2. The pancake issue, once I realized I had it, is totally manageable with sliders. I had a starting guard go down mid-way through the season (the same time I adjusted the slider). He was the only to return and his stats are way down through the start of the second year.

3. Recruiting is more difficult now for sure. I played through one undefeated season with Iowa, beat Auburn for the title and had my HB win the Doak Walker. Six of the top seven OL's left (2 early) and my two starting WR's were seniors. Plus I had two impact LB's graduate. To simply replace starters I would have needed the #1 class in the country. There are far fewer 5-star freshmen and I saw no 5-star JUCO's. Of the five 5-star freshmen I signed, only one will start (83 OVR) and that's because I had no depth at LB. All the others are 78-81 OVR and redshirts or bench-sitter. Not at all out of line. Also, there are way fewer 5-star QB's. Only one in the entire class for me. You do lose points as the weeks go on, but I don't think it was enough to really hamper the effort. If you get a few commitments each week, the point loss is manageable. I ended up not scouting most of my recruits until the end.

4. I found that there were too many dropped passes for both computer and me. My slider for catching is also way high. I play on Xbox. May be why.

5. I think there are fewer 'pure speed' players. The way to win in 2k4 was to recruit the fasted players at each position (QB, WR, HB, MLB especially). I found one Speed style HB and he had no interest in my program. The vast majority of all players are 'Balanced' which is nice.

Also, I like the Athlete position for recruiting. That's new to me. Is it better to leave them with specific positions or do you guys assign them a position once they start?

[moriarty]

I'm trying to like this game, I really am ... but so far I'm disappointed. I'm hoping some slider magic will help, but I have a bad feeling that the gameplay might be unbalanced.

Pros:
+ CPU actually runs the ball (hated in previous versions where they'd be in the shotgun by second series). May run a bit too well though - lots of broken tackles. I had a RB for Washington get 200+ yards in the first half against me, only to get injured and his replacement get 150 in the second half. Should be correctable with sliders though.
+ Dropped passes much improved. I know some people still feel the verdict is out on this, but I'm no where near as frustrated with them as last year

Neutral:
Graphics seem the same as last year. I don't see any improvement.

Negatives:
- Running game seems too easy (for both sides) on AA, too difficult on Heisman. I'm hoping the perfect sliders will fix this.
- Way too much stupid stuff that shouldn't have gotten past testing: Crazy pancake stats, crazy CPU QB stats (sim games), questionable All American lists, etc..
- Deep ball still too effective (I doubt this will change anytime soon)
- Random 'player in the zone'. Seems like the impact players go 'zone' at random times. I had an impact receiver limited to 1 catch for 6 yards. All of a sudden on second and 8 in the second half he goes 'zone' and catches a 5 yard screen and spins his way for 65 yards. Seems like an impact player should make a couple of plays or something to get into the zone ... not just be random.
- Sub ratings dont' appear to work. I have my sub out a 85/80 and I've never had a substitute come in at 9 minute quarters (at least I've never noticed one).
- Special teams balance seems off. 50 yard field goals seem common (for CPU), I've returned 3 punts for TD's in a game and had 2 returned against me in a game (would be ok if it was rare, but seems to be happening alot).

I'm hoping that some slider settings will fix most/all of these issues. I may just set this aside for a while until some of the sliders over at OS are solidified. My fear is that this series may have become a bit too arcadey for my tastes. Maybe it's selective memory, but I wish I had kept my 2004 version.

[Pumpy Tudors]

My game at Tennessee was a heartbreaker. Ainge threw two early interceptions to help spot me a 14-0 lead, but my offense fell apart in the second half, and we couldn't stop Gerald Riggs on the other side of the ball. Riggs ran for almost 300 yards on me (on 46 carries!). Ainge only threw the ball 12 times, but after starting 0-5, he completed 5 of his last 7. Since the Vols hadn't been throwing the ball, when it got to a short-yardage third down at my 18, I stacked up against the run to stop Riggs. Instead, they do a play fake and hit the wide open tight end in the end zone. That made it 14-7. They continued to run Riggs right at me, and he scored a touchdown with under 3 minutes to go to tie the score. I got the ball back, but I couldn't go anywhere. I punted it away and downed it on their 8. A couple of plays later, Ainge threw a pass as he got hit and it floated right toward my dime cornerback. He dropped it at the Tennessee 25. The Vols then ran the clock out to force overtime.

Anyway, we went to overtime, and I lost the coin toss. Of course, Tennessee chose defense. My running game got completely stuffed, and I was afraid to throw the football. I end up making a 45-yard field goal in 20MPH winds to take the lead. Riggs was too much for me when Tennessee got their possession, though. On third down at the 7, he breaks a tackle in the backfield and dances into the end zone to win the game. I lose 20-17 after having a 14-0 first half lead.

Also, the only remaining undefeated team in my dynasty this season is UTEP. USC just got knocked off by Cal to leave the Miners alone at the top.

[MrBug708]

Great, that's a unrealistic showstopping bug...

[jbmagic]

Eaglefan, Todd and others

in controller settings:

what you have for auto sub out% and auto sub in % at?

do you have Man shift on auto or manual?

do you have auto strafe on or off?

[CraigSca]

I'm at 80/85 for sub-ins, and both man shift and auto strafe as auto.

Still, I am not seeing any kind of sub-ins, but I'm only seeing about 20 carries per game with my RBs, so maybe that's why.

[moriarty]

Originally Posted by CraigSca

I'm at 80/85 for sub-ins, and both man shift and auto strafe as auto.

Still, I am not seeing any kind of sub-ins, but I'm only seeing about 20 carries per game with my RBs, so maybe that's why.

I maxed my sub in/out, played a game running my back carrying 38 times, and he never came out (9 minute quarters). Of course he is a playmaker, so maybe that had some effect (if that's the reason, that's kind of sillly IMO - why would a playmaker have infinite stamina?).

[CraigSca]

So you have your sub in and out at both 99?

[moriarty]

Originally Posted by CraigSca

So you have your sub in and out at both 99?

I dont' think it allows you to go that high. I'm not home at the moment, or I'd check.

edit: I think it maxes at like 80/85 or 85/80 ... can't recall.

[mhass]

You're probably subbing back in right away if Sub-in is high.

[jbmagic]

Originally Posted by moriarty

I maxed my sub in/out, played a game running my back carrying 38 times, and he never came out (9 minute quarters). Of course he is a playmaker, so maybe that had some effect (if that's the reason, that's kind of sillly IMO - why would a playmaker have infinite stamina?).

i seen that too.

i wonder if sub out and in % is for dynasty only?

[moriarty]

Originally Posted by jbmagic

i seen that too.

i wonder if sub out and in % is for dynasty only?

Could be, I wasn't playing in dynasty mode at the time.

[CraigSca]

Hmm...perhaps so - haven't started my dynasty yet - all my games have been played under "Play Now". If that's the case, I'm not sure how much sense it would make to force it that way, but unless others have seen subbing in non-exhibition games I'm willing to say you may be on to something.

[jbmagic]

yep because on play now games, i never notice my DE i control never goes out and my HB nevers goes out and i run him a lot too.

i havent started a dynasty yet. still practicing on my passing game.

[MizzouRah]

If your HB is a playmaker, I don't think his stamina goes down very much, especially when he's "in the zone" Mines at like 75% - 85% and my backup comes in around the 4th quarter.. but my RB is not a playmaker.

I think man shift and strafe is on manual.

[illinifan999]

Okay how do I offer someone a visit in in-season recruiting? Better yet, do I do anything besides just selecting the 12 guys and putting a % of points towards them? If so, how and what?

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by illinifan999

Okay how do I offer someone a visit in in-season recruiting? Better yet, do I do anything besides just selecting the 12 guys and putting a % of points towards them? If so, how and what?

They have to have you on their final list of 3 to offer them a visit. Then you go to their screen and click the right stick (on X-box.) Before, they whittle their list down to the final 3, you are basically just re-assigning points and watching comments (including cool things like HS stats some times.)

[bronconick]

Okay, so is there any way of tinkering with the sliders to lower the number of fumbles per game? Both me and the computer turn the ball over 3-4 times on the ground, and it's really lame, especially after a safety by my defense and my kick returner drops the free kick.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by bronconick

Okay, so is there any way of tinkering with the sliders to lower the number of fumbles per game? Both me and the computer turn the ball over 3-4 times on the ground, and it's really lame, especially after a safety by my defense and my kick returner drops the free kick.

Just curious, are you playing in a lot of rain games? Almost all of my games are perfectly sunny and usually we average about a fumble a game between both teams.

[bronconick]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Just curious, are you playing in a lot of rain games? Almost all of my games are perfectly sunny and usually we average about a fumble a game between both teams.

None of the last three games have been. There were 6 fumbles in Maryland-FSU, and 7 for Kent State-Western Michigan. I've got two in the first quarter vs. NC State right now.

[Eaglesfan27]

Wow. Reggie Bush and Lendale White only fumbled one time for me.. all season. We generally forced about a fumble a game. What is your back's carrying ability?

[bronconick]

It hasn't been the running back, really. It's been the quarterback a few times and the wide recievers, especially on punt/kicks. It's just sort of irritating after I fiddled with the sliders to the number of interceptions, especially by my defense per game down to 1-2 on average (my interceptions thrown depends on how stupid I am at reading the defense) only to turn around and get 6 turnovers a game from fumbles.

[jbmagic]

Originally Posted by bronconick

It hasn't been the running back, really. It's been the quarterback a few times and the wide recievers, especially on punt/kicks. It's just sort of irritating after I fiddled with the sliders to the number of interceptions, especially by my defense per game down to 1-2 on average (my interceptions thrown depends on how stupid I am at reading the defense) only to turn around and get 6 turnovers a game from fumbles.

for punts and kicks, do fair catch especially if there close to you when you catch it.

[jbmagic]

what does pipeline mean?

is there an advantage gettign pipeline recruits?

thanks