NCAA Football 2007

[cartman]

Gratuitous reply #1000 in this thread.

I rule as the coach of the Longhorns in this game on the Xbox.

[Eaglesfan27]

Yep, I'm hooked again. Great game against a surprisingly good Maryland team. Our starting corners are both freshmen and they were exposed often in the 2nd half, but we won 45-42 when our freshman kicker nailed a 35 yard FG at the buzzer


My aforementioned QB finished with 22 of 41 passing for 290 yards with 3 TD's 2 INT's and he rushed 13 times for 118 yards.

[Ksyrup]

OK, as much as I love this game, I'm really getting frustrated.

I understand that I can't expect to be in the NC game immediately with a low prestige team. I wanted the challenge, and I took it on. So I set out to make my schedule as tough as I could within the confines of my conference - I'm playing Eastern Michigan in the MAC. In the first 2 years, I went 27-1 with my only loss being a 1-point loss to the then-#3 team on the road. Every year I have scheduled 4 pre-season ranked top 25 non-conference teams and played another ranked team in a bowl.

So in Year 3, I'm ranked #26 in the preseason. As usual, I schedule 4 ranked teams as my out-of-conference games. I go undefeated. Not only do I go undefeated, but I beat the then-#1 team in the country, Clemson, in Week 12, 41-3. That moves me from #8 to #4. Which would be fine, except every other team in Div I has at least 1 loss. So you have a team on a 3-year streak in which it has lost only 1 game, has gone something like 13-1 against ranked opponents, and is the only undefeated team left after beating the #1 team in the country. So what happens? I end up staying at #4 in the polls and end up .006 behind Tennessee for the 2nd BCS spot (OSU was #1). I miss out on the BCS game and play South Carolina in the Sugar Bowl, beating them 21-0. And even then, I can't catch a break - I get ranked #3!

Is that a bunch of shit or what? The real BCS looks like a dream compared to this nightmare system. In 3 years, I've gone from a 1 star program to a 4 star program, but now I just lost my top QB, RB, and probably my sophomore Heisman-winning WR, just in time to finally be prestigious enough to contend for the NC. 2008 was my year...bastards!

[Pumpy Tudors]

You guys have me ready to get into this game again, but I think I need a slider set. EF?

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Pumpy Tudors

You guys have me ready to get into this game again, but I think I need a slider set. EF?

You know, I posted one the other day just a dozen posts back or so, but I've given up on that set. It was too difficult. I shouldn't be struggling with my A+ Trojans against a much lower rated Oregon State or Stanford. I was winning most of my games, but every single game was a struggle. So, I'm using an AA set from OS that I really like. Yeah, I get some big plays with it, but I have a 99 speed WR with 97 acceleration, 2 great HB's, and a QB who surprised me by coming back for his senior year despite having 91 speed, 94 pass accuracy and 99 pass strength! So, I'm 4-0 with this slider set and not struggling (although Ohio State played me tough for 3 quarters,) but I'm still enjoying the game again. I'll post it when I get home tonight.

[Groundhog]

This game is yet another reason why I hate region coding on the xbox 360.

[Emiliano]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

This game is yet another reason why I hate region coding on the xbox 360.

Yeah. And that's why I haven't bought a 360, and I'll probably end up buying a PS3, if the region-free thing is confirmed.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Pumpy Tudors

You guys have me ready to get into this game again, but I think I need a slider set. EF?

This is quite a bit different than the other sliders I posted last week but I was always losing 2 or 3 games a year with those despite having the best talent and I was never winning any games comfortably. This set is easier but I like them for my skill level. I'm 4 years into my dynasty, haven't won a championship yet, but I have a loaded team this year and this slider set is fun for me. Since I switched to these sliders, I beat a weak Washington State team 42-21, an ok Arizona team 56-27, a terrible ULL team 59-7, and a very good Ohio State team 35-21 in a game that was a struggle for 3 quarters.


All American Skill
8 minute quarters
Clipping at 50. All other penalties at 100.


Human/CPU

QB Accuracy: 40/60
Pass Blocking: 40/60
WR Catching: 40/60
RB Ability: 48/55 (too high for the CPU or too low for the human affects offensive game speed too much.)
Run Blocking: 40/60 (I've tried run and pass blocking at 0 which is what most slider people suggest. It does cut down the pancakes, but I find it makes running inside virtually impossible. This was true last year even when I had a 94 RG and 96 RT. These settings seem to provide reasonable blocking to me.)


Defensive Awareness: 35/100
Knockdowns: 40/70
Interceptions: 0/0
Break Block: 40/70
Tackling: 40/50


FG Power: 45/50
FG Accuracy: 0/0
Punt Power: 45/45
Punt Accuracy: 0/100
Kickoff Power: 60/75



I started using these at the beginning of this season and they are working well for me.

[Ksyrup]

WTF, I can't believe this poll I just found. Are these people from the Maximum Football site?

The current gen NCAA development team is giving the fans an opportunity to choose one feature for them to work on for NCAA 08. Which of the following features would you most like to see?

Poll Results: What feature would you most like to see in NCAA 08?
In game save ability: 63 (28.8%) Medical redshirts: 62 (28.3%) Summer workout program: 85 (38.8%) Lead Blocker: 9 (4.1%) Total: 219 I mean, seriously, this game is begging for in game saves, and people would rather add summer workouts and medical redshirts? How about something that's practically mandatory to gameplay first, window dressing second? Sheesh!

[Butter]

It's EA Sports man, what do you expect?

[Ksyrup]

I know...at least there was no beer tent vote.

[WVUFAN]

Originally Posted by Emiliano

Yeah. And that's why I haven't bought a 360, and I'll probably end up buying a PS3, if the region-free thing is confirmed.

It's not region free for PS2 games, AND there's the chance that EA may region lock the game itself, but the system itself isn't region locked.

Neither is the 360, if I'm not mistaken.

[Emiliano]

Originally Posted by WVUFAN

It's not region free for PS2 games, AND there's the chance that EA may region lock the game itself, but the system itself isn't region locked.

Yeah, from what I've read so far the PS3 should be region-free. I really, really hope EA doesn't put the lock on the game itself.

Originally Posted by WVUFAN

Neither is the 360, if I'm not mistaken.

You mean it's not region locked? Yeah, it is unfortuantely.

[Groundhog]

Originally Posted by Emiliano

You mean it's not region locked? Yeah, it is unfortuantely.

The 360 *can* be region locked, but it's up to the developer. For whatever reason developers still decide to region lock games if they aren't getting released in other regions, thus preventing anyone else from playing them. I imagine this will likely be the same with the PS3.

[Emiliano]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

The 360 *can* be region locked, but it's up to the developer. For whatever reason developers still decide to region lock games if they aren't getting released in other regions, thus preventing anyone else from playing them. I imagine this will likely be the same with the PS3.

Mmm... Good. Basically, we're screwed even if we mod the consoles?

[Groundhog]

Originally Posted by Emiliano

Mmm... Good. Basically, we're screwed even if we mod the consoles?

I did a little bit of research into modding the 360 a few months ago, and pretty much you are screwed. There are two mods that I know of that allow you to play any region games. One of these mods will prevent you from logging on to xbox live, and the other mod sounded a little too dodgy to me (expensive, most of the details were on Russian web sites), but apparently it did allow access to xbox live.

I don't know a thing about the playstation 3's online system, but I'd imagine that they also have some way to block systems that attempt to use mods to bypass the region locking.

[Emiliano]

It seems that the only chance for me to play NCAA and Madden 08 is buying a used (and modded) PS2 this summer then, since the games won't come out for the old Xbox (the console I have).

Or, I'll just stick with the 07 line, which is pretty good IMO.

[Grammaticus]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

WTF, I can't believe this poll I just found. Are these people from the Maximum Football site?

The current gen NCAA development team is giving the fans an opportunity to choose one feature for them to work on for NCAA 08. Which of the following features would you most like to see?

Everytime in game save comes up, I just get steamed. It's obviously not that difficult, it is in every version of Madden.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by Grammaticus

Everytime in game save comes up, I just get steamed. It's obviously not that difficult, it is in every version of Madden.

No, it is not. It hasn't been in either version of Madden on the 360 (and I didn't think it was in PS2 or Xbox versions the last year or two?)

[Emiliano]

In the old Xbox version, Madden has in-game saves; and I think it's the same for the PS2.

[Noop]

I hate guys who peek.

[Ksyrup]

When I first started playing this game, I hated running the ball and only wanted to pass as much as possible. Now, it's just the opposite. I just started my fourth year with EMU (ranked #20) defeating Clemson (#13) at Death Valley, 42-0. I ran the ball 30+ times for 215 yards and only threw 9 passes - 7 completions, 4 TDs. I'm running all kinds of variations of flexbone, wishbone, and pro set with 4 decent runners (2 HBs, FB, and my QB). I've got the reigning Heisman winner at WR when I need to throw. It's a glorious set up.

My next 3 games...#3 Ohio State at home, at #4 Penn State, #2 Oklahoma at home. Then I get to play my MAC schedule. Don't tell me I schedule cupcakes!

[Blade6119]

Originally Posted by Grammaticus

Everytime in game save comes up, I just get steamed. It's obviously not that difficult, it is in every version of Madden.

Id easily vote for medical red-shirts firsts, and lead blocker second. I just dont care about in-game saves or summer workouts(likely like training camp in madden, which i dont like at all).

In-game saves are utterly and completely irrelevant to me, as i dont play unless i have time to finish the game. And really, i only play with friends now, so in-game saves just dont matter to me

[Ksyrup]

I'll admit, I'm obviously not the target market for this game (or consoles in general). Back in college, I had solid blocks of 12 hours to play video games, and now, I'm in my mid-30s, married with 2 kids and a job. So yeah, I can see where I might have different priorities for what should be in the game. But IMO, in-game saves shouldn't even be considered a "feature," it should be standard. The only chance I get to play is late at night, and maybe during the day on the weekend. And at any point, I may have to cut it off and come back later. Or, I would like to be able to start a game late at night and come back to finish it the next night. So this would be extremely helpful for me.

[Emiliano]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

I'll admit, I'm obviously not the target market for this game (or consoles in general). Back in college, I had solid blocks of 12 hours to play video games, and now, I'm in my mid-30s, married with 2 kids and a job. So yeah, I can see where I might have different priorities for what should be in the game. But IMO, in-game saves shouldn't even be considered a "feature," it should be standard. The only chance I get to play is late at night, and maybe during the day on the weekend. And at any point, I may have to cut it off and come back later. Or, I would like to be able to start a game late at night and come back to finish it the next night. So this would be extremely helpful for me.

I agree 100%. The fact that this was left out in NCAA since ... forever is a mystery to me.

[Ksyrup]

OK, now I'm beyond frustrated.

Year 4 with Eastern Michigan, I've taken a 1-star program and built it up to a 4-star program. This year, I beat the pre-season #s 2, 3, 4, and 13, plus 8-1 Western Michigan (#26) 52-7 and rival Central Michigan (#44) 77-13, and of course, the rest of the MAC slop. I'm in conference championship week and currently ranked #6, #5 in the BCS. Basically, I'm screwed and won't be playing for the BCS Bowl.

The way this happened is particularly galling. I got up to #4 in the polls before playing Western Michigan. They were ranked #27 and I beat the crap out of them. I fell to #5, behind 1-loss Tennessee. Next 2 weeks, I beat up on a couple crappy MAC teams (67-14 and 87-7)...I fell to #6. Then I beat #44 and rival Central Michigan 77-13 and stay at #6.

WTF DOES IT TAKE?!?!?!

[Butter]

Maybe you have to be a 5-star program?

[Ksyrup]

Regardless of the prestige of my program, the fact that I beat several good out of conference teams should weigh heavily, IMO. This is not Boise State, coasting through an 11-12 game schedule of lesser teams and arguing they should play for the championship simply because they never lost. I have to play my 8 conference games - only 2 of which are usually against decent teams - but then I take on 4 out of conference teams that are highly ranked based on preseason rankings, remaining undefeated in the process. I deserve that shot. Or at least, I don't deserve to drop in the rankings.

[Butter]

Can you schedule a couple big teams for late in the season?

[gstelmack]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

No, it is not. It hasn't been in either version of Madden on the 360 (and I didn't think it was in PS2 or Xbox versions the last year or two?)

And it's why the only football game I bought for the 360 was Madden 06; until they get in-game saves back in, I just don't have the time to play them. I can't guarantee a dedicated 45 minutes to an hour to play a game through thanks to having kids around, so I have to play other games that do allow save anywhere.

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by Butter_of_69

Can you schedule a couple big teams for late in the season?

That's difficult, simply because my conference schedule is set and most teams are usually playing conference games every week late in the year, so it's difficult to find a good matchup. But I'm going to concentrate on doing just that when I do the scheduling for next year.

It also doesn't help that the Eastern Division of the MAC is shit. All 3 of the decent teams are in my division, and last year I played a 4-8 team for the MAC Championship that went 4-4 in conference and won their division. This year I'm playing 6-6 Ohio. I wish I could switch Western Michigan to the other division.

[EagleFan]

Didn't read the whole post but I saw no mention of the Campus Legend mode. Anyone using that? Just picked up the game the other day at a good price and it looks nice so far. I would have liked to see them go the way of Madden and give you the option to only control your player on the field. I can easily see myself getting into this game big time. With only one PC at the moment and my wife being hooked on WoW I am now getting a lot of TV time, which means X-Box time (when I'm not watching Band of Brothers for about the millionth time).

[CraigSca]

I miss the days when you could just load up two teams and watch them play. I used to live to do that, turn off the TV and come back 45 minutes later to see who was winning. I'm sure that's a huge untapped market

[RPI-Fan]

Any update KSyrup? I like reading about your EMU team.

[Ksyrup]

Bah, I'm really getting ticked with this game. I wish I had asked for a preview version of the new OOTP instead of trying to finish up my EMU dynasty.

So with the problems I've chronicled here getting my EMU team into the NC game, I looked ino the scheduling issue. But with all of the locked-in conference games, the best I could do was schedule #7 ND in Week 14. The other OOC games I had to schedule in the first 3 weeks of the season to get the best pre-season ranked opponents I could. I ended up with #1 Texas (at UT), #3 Miami (at home), and #2 Iowa (at Iowa). Not bad, huh?

EMU is ranked #15 in the pre-season - best pre-season ranking I've ever had, but come on - I'm 55-1 over the past 4 years. First game I play #1 Texas on the road - Texas is the defending champion on a 17 game winning streak. I beat them 45-14, and I move up a whopping 2 spots to #13. Utter bullshit. Game 2, I beat Miami (pre-season #3 but lost to OSU in its first game, so ranked #8 when we played) 52-14 and move up to #9. Game 3...Iowa, preseason #2 but now #1 thanks to my victory over Texas. Game was over before the coin flip - 52-3, at Iowa, and I held them to 52 yards of offense. For that, I move up to #6!

So, in 3 weeks, I've beaten 2 #1 teams on the road and #8, and have just a #6 ranking to show for it. And now I head into a MAC schedule for my next 8 games. The only bright spot is that ND is ranked #4 right now. Otherwise, I probably have little shot of moving up unless the teams in front of me lose.

I'm really getting ticked and am losing my interest in the game right now...

[ageofquarrel]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Bah, I'm really getting ticked with this game. I wish I had asked for a preview version of the new OOTP instead of trying to finish up my EMU dynasty.

So with the problems I've chronicled here getting my EMU team into the NC game, I looked ino the scheduling issue. But with all of the locked-in conference games, the best I could do was schedule #7 ND in Week 14. The other OOC games I had to schedule in the first 3 weeks of the season to get the best pre-season ranked opponents I could. I ended up with #1 Texas (at UT), #3 Miami (at home), and #2 Iowa (at Iowa). Not bad, huh?

EMU is ranked #15 in the pre-season - best pre-season ranking I've ever had, but come on - I'm 55-1 over the past 4 years. First game I play #1 Texas on the road - Texas is the defending champion on a 17 game winning streak. I beat them 45-14, and I move up a whopping 2 spots to #13. Utter bullshit. Game 2, I beat Miami (pre-season #3 but lost to OSU in its first game, so ranked #8 when we played) 52-14 and move up to #9. Game 3...Iowa, preseason #2 but now #1 thanks to my victory over Texas. Game was over before the coin flip - 52-3, at Iowa, and I held them to 52 yards of offense. For that, I move up to #6!

So, in 3 weeks, I've beaten 2 #1 teams on the road and #8, and have just a #6 ranking to show for it. And now I head into a MAC schedule for my next 8 games. The only bright spot is that ND is ranked #4 right now. Otherwise, I probably have little shot of moving up unless the teams in front of me lose.

I'm really getting ticked and am losing my interest in the game right now...

in 2003 it used to be easy for teams from shitty conferences to make it into the NC game you would see a lot of North Texas vs Boise State title games so they made it harder.

Now its pretty much impossible to even get to the national championship even using a big east team. In my pitt dynasty the best i can do is play in the orange bowl

[Ksyrup]

Had I known that, I probably would have taken a crap team from a good conference (like Duke or Vandy). Instead, I've built a powerhouse in a garbage conference, and no matter how well I do, I can't crack the top 5.

On the positive side, I'm amazed at how my ability to run the ball has gotten better almost like a RB in real life. When I first started playing the game, I was just hitting the line of scrimmage with no real idea of what I was doing and gaining nothing. Now, I'm hitting the holes where I'm supposed to, or making adjustments at the line and finding openings and following blockers. I'm even audibling plays and line shifts to perfection. I just beat Kent State 62-7 and ran the ball 50 times for 268 yards.

[Ksyrup]

So after a 2-month hiatus, I decided to revisit my EMU dynasty to finish off my current season. Just to refresh your recollection, I have turned EMU into a 5-star program, losing just 1 game in 6 years. When I last played, I had an 8-0 record and was ranked #4. I had 3 crap games to play, then a showdown with #2 ND to end the season (the result of me trying to load up the back-end of my schedule with a great team to help my chances of getting into the BCS Bowl game).

I blew through the 3 crap teams, putting up 60-90 points on each, to set up the showdown with ND. Unfortunately, ND decided to lose the week before, so instead of a #2/#4 matchup, we end up with a #4/#6 matchup. You'll notice that although ND at #2 lost, I didn't move up in the standings. Another team leapfrogged me. Bullshit, again. Going into the game, I'm still ranked #4, but I am #2 in the BCS. A victory over #6 should strengthen my BCS number, even though I have to play Kent State for the Crap Conference Championship.

Anyway, I have my most competitive game of the season, but still whip ND's ass 63-43. I lost my QB for the conference championship game, but I don't think that will be a problem. After simming through the day, I end up...ranked #4, and #3 in the BCS!!! That's right, I got jumped. AGAIN. I'm fairly certain the game has something hard-coded that only allows teams like mine to get to #4 in the polls, unless every team ahead of me craps the bed. And even then, I bet I would get jumped by a team or two. It's really bullshit.

So I guess I'll play my conference championship and see where I end up after that game. Maybe I'll move up, but I doubt it, playing a team like Kent State. I won't even bother playing the bowl game unless I make the BCS Bowl.

I'm thinking about starting a new career at a higher skill level playing Kentucky. Do you guys think playing in the SEC will allow me to get to the championship game with a team like UK once I build them up? That's all I'm looking for. But I do want to lose a few times, so I'm going to kick up the difficulty level.

[Noop]

That sucks bro.

[Grammaticus]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

So after a 2-month hiatus, I decided to revisit my EMU dynasty to finish off my current season. Just to refresh your recollection, I have turned EMU into a 5-star program, losing just 1 game in 6 years. When I last played, I had an 8-0 record and was ranked #4. I had 3 crap games to play, then a showdown with #2 ND to end the season (the result of me trying to load up the back-end of my schedule with a great team to help my chances of getting into the BCS Bowl game).

I blew through the 3 crap teams, putting up 60-90 points on each, to set up the showdown with ND. Unfortunately, ND decided to lose the week before, so instead of a #2/#4 matchup, we end up with a #4/#6 matchup. You'll notice that although ND at #2 lost, I didn't move up in the standings. Another team leapfrogged me. Bullshit, again. Going into the game, I'm still ranked #4, but I am #2 in the BCS. A victory over #6 should strengthen my BCS number, even though I have to play Kent State for the Crap Conference Championship.

Anyway, I have my most competitive game of the season, but still whip ND's ass 63-43. I lost my QB for the conference championship game, but I don't think that will be a problem. After simming through the day, I end up...ranked #4, and #3 in the BCS!!! That's right, I got jumped. AGAIN. I'm fairly certain the game has something hard-coded that only allows teams like mine to get to #4 in the polls, unless every team ahead of me craps the bed. And even then, I bet I would get jumped by a team or two. It's really bullshit.

So I guess I'll play my conference championship and see where I end up after that game. Maybe I'll move up, but I doubt it, playing a team like Kent State. I won't even bother playing the bowl game unless I make the BCS Bowl.

I'm thinking about starting a new career at a higher skill level playing Kentucky. Do you guys think playing in the SEC will allow me to get to the championship game with a team like UK once I build them up? That's all I'm looking for. But I do want to lose a few times, so I'm going to kick up the difficulty level.

Yes, I have gotten there with Vandy, Ole Miss and Hawaii (not in the SEC). For Hawaii, I had to pick as many high ranked teams as possible in my non-conference schedule.

On the other hand the SEC should give you an opportunity with any team. The schedule is tough and the conference is a BCS conf.

[Ksyrup]

I just finished my season. Well, the conference championship, anyway. I beat Kent State 87-3 and had about as impressive an opening 5 drives as one could want - 5 possessions, 5 plays, 5 TDs (3 pass, 2 run), all in :48 seconds of possession time. It was 73-3 at half and I scored twice in the second half on defensive TDs, just running the ball out the entire half.

Not only did I not make the BCS game, but I lost ground to OU at #2 and ended up in the Rose Bowl against Iowa - A TEAM I BEAT 51-3 at IOWA in week 3.

[CraigSca]

Man, you have a ton of patience with this game. I'm not sure I lasted through season #2 on any of my dynasties.

[Butter]

With all due respect, what Ksyrup is seeing is a typical EA fix. The last couple of years, people have complained that after a few years, there were too many "mid-major" football teams in the top 25, even the top 10. So, instead of fixing it so that the road for those teams is tougher to get into the top 10, they just make an artificial rankings choice to never allow the "human" polls as mirrored in the game to let those MAC/Sun Belt/WAC schools into the top 2.

[Ksyrup]

I enjoyed the challenge, but not getting the payoff sucks royally. For those of you who have played the game, what other conferences can I choose from that will still give me the opportunity to be ranked in the top 2, aside from the SEC/ACC/Big 10/12, etc., conferences? Sounds like I could play the WAC maybe? I'm either going to choose another EMU-like team, but from a conference that isn't automatically shut out of the BCS Bowl like the MAC is, or take UK. I'm just afraid that once I get good with UK, it will be too easy because my schedule will be so strong.

Any ideas/suggestions are appreciated.

[Butter]

Too bad Temple is not in the Big East any more.

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

I enjoyed the challenge, but not getting the payoff sucks royally. For those of you who have played the game, what other conferences can I choose from that will still give me the opportunity to be ranked in the top 2, aside from the SEC/ACC/Big 10/12, etc., conferences? Sounds like I could play the WAC maybe? I'm either going to choose another EMU-like team, but from a conference that isn't automatically shut out of the BCS Bowl like the MAC is, or take UK. I'm just afraid that once I get good with UK, it will be too easy because my schedule will be so strong.

Any ideas/suggestions are appreciated.

I've taken Mountain West schools to the promised land. Usually, if you have conference swapping on -- which I always do -- it's easier to make it eventually because after taking a crap school to a better conference, it's usually a little easier, if you go undefeated that is, to get into the title game.

I usually create a school and it's tough as an independent to get in, too.

[Blade6119]

I got to #1 with Utah in the MWC, but i was the only undefeated team left. Again though, this was after my school prestige had risen to elite level due to no conference movement. EMU's prestige in your game may still be pretty low, which would explain the issue.

[kingnebwsu]

No option to end the season with a playoffs, right?

[Ksyrup]

I'm going to go with UK and move up to All-American. I think the settings EF27 posted before may be a bit too challenging for me, so I'll probably take those and modify them a bit.

[Grammaticus]

Originally Posted by kingnebwsu

No option to end the season with a playoffs, right?

That is right, no playoff option.