DH523's Simulation Varsity Sliders NCAA 14

[DH523]

Trying out a sim slider set. Main goal is to emulate what we see on TV as closely as possible. This means the following ideally...

#1: Big plays showcasing speed. 40+ yard touchdown plays shouldn't be too rare. Returns should have possible big plays too.
#2: Missed tackles and shoddy tackling in general. Very rarely do college players square up for big hits. More often, they 'shoulder' big hit or ankle tackle.
#3: Competitive games for the User without seeming cheaply competitive e.g. the CPU cheating its way to victories.
#4: Mimicing scores and real life play styles. Rarely should you be engaged in defensive battles that end 13-6. Games have become more offensive focused and this should be reflected.

DH's Varsity Sim Sliders Version 7.0
Gameplay Options
Offensive Skill: All-American
Defensive Skill: All-American
User Vs User Skill: All-American
Injuries/Fatigue: YES
Quarter Length: 8-10 Minutes (User Preference. Aiming for 50-70 offensive plays a game)
Game Speed: Normal
Speed Threshold: 60
HFA/IK: User Preference

Penalties
Offsides: 51
False Start: 77
Holding: 95
Facemask: 60
OPI: 25
DPI: 85
KR/PR Interference: 25
Clipping: 40
Intentional Grounding: 90 [Very rarely do QBs, even Manziel style scramblers, take off unless pressured tightly]
Roughing Passer: 52
Roughing Kicker: 16

Custom AI: User/CPU
QB Accuracy: 40/55 [More accurately depicts zip on short/intermediate throws for most QBs]
Pass Blocking: 45/55
WR Catching: 20/50
RB Ability: 60/75 [Better depicts the nature of a college RB re: bouncing outside]
Run Blocking: 80/80 [Defenders can still shed blocks but it isn't patty cake style. Blockers can engage defenders for that 2-2.5 second window needed for the RB to spurt by]
Pass Coverage: 30/30 [Allows WRs to beat LBs more often than not as should be the case]
Interceptions: 20/20 [Better accurately reflects most DBs going for the knockdown over the catch]
Rush Defense: 10/10 [Accurately reflects LB/S' ability to 'bite' on PA and allow a window]
Tackling: 40/40 [Power Backs can break some tackles but not too often]
FG Power: 5/5 [A kicker with low 80s power will have a maximum range at barely 51 yards (51 yd = 46.6 m) with no wind]
FG Accuracy: 10/70
Punt Power: 5/5 [A punter with low 80s power will still be able to hit 50+ yards in the air with no wind]
Punt Accuracy: 50/50
Kickoff Power: 45/45

Auto Subs
QBs: 65/70
RBs: 79/85 Changed to avoid the Starting RB vanishes issue
WRs: 80/86
FBs & TEs: 75/80
OL: 50/60
DTs: 79/80
DEs: 79/80
LBs (0.988 lbs = 448 g): 75/81
CBs: 70/75
Ss: 65/70

How I Play
- I use motion and sometimes audible if it's apparent the play is gonna be busted from the get go based on defensive alignment.
- I rarely call 4 Verticals unless I recognize an opportunity where my team has WRs that clearly overmatch the opponent's DBs.
- I do not User Catch nor do I try to aim my throws. I rely on the 'talent' at the position. I also never use spin/juke unless it's a 1-1 situtation and only then will I try to juke.
- I always control the RDE on the line of scrimmage on defense. I usually call Blitzes in obvious 2nd & Long or 3rd & Long situations.

Will be adding game results, etc. in the next few posts. I've decided to start a Dynasty with *** Mississippi State in a tough conference.

[DH523]

Game 1
Mississippi State (DH523) beat #16 Oklahoma State 34-24

Quick Thoughts: Solid game overall. Only things I didn't like were the jerky movements of the CPU players when running the ball as well as the QB taking the short screens/dump offs to the RBs so often but may be a 1 game thing. 2 of my CPU INTs were great 'read the QBs eyes' type plays including my Pick 6.

At one point I was up 31-10 entering the 4th Quarter until my offense started stalling and Oklahoma State staged a comeback to make it 31-24 with 1:58 left. I recovered the onside kick and kicked a 40 yard FG to clinch the win.

The Statistics
Total Offense: Mississippi State = 335 [58 Plays], Oklahoma State = 374 [81 Plays]
- 6 Players had a Catch for me. 9 Players had a Catch for Oklahoma State.

QB Tyler Russell [MState]: 15/23 (65.3%) for 182 (7.9 YPA) and 1 TD vs 1 INT. Sacked 1.
QB Chris Chelf [OKState]: 31/45 (68.8%) for 229 (5.1 YPA) and 1 TD vs 4 INT. Sacked 3. 12 carries for 27.
RB Ladarius Perkins [MState]: 28 for 143 (5.11 YPC) and 2 TD.
RB Jeremey Smith [OKState]: 17 for 94 (5.53 YPC) and 1 TD. 7 for 23 receiving.
WR Jameon Lewis [MState]: 5 for 42 and 1 TD.
WR Robert Johnson [MState]: 4 for 69.
WR Blake Jackson [OKState]: 7 for 44 and 1 TD.
WR Josh Stewart [OKState]: 6 for 50.
OL Mississippi State = 5 Pancakes, 1 Sack Allowed.
OL Oklahoma State = 8 Pancakes, 3 Sacks Allowed.
P Baker Swedenberg [MState]: Averaged 49.5 on 4 Punts
P Michael Reichenstein [OKState]: Averaged 37.3 on 3 Punts

[DH523]

Tweaked some of the sliders for 0.2 to try in Game 3.

Game 2
Mississippi State (DH523) beat Auburn 27-17

Quick Thoughts: Another solid game. May need to tweak QB Accuracy for the CPU QB as I want to see them going downfield a bit more. For the most part, Auburn killed themselves with costly Facemask Penalties and an inability to convert 3rd Downs (2 of 13). One positive was that Auburn's QB was much more effective than Chelf passing wise and was willing to scramble at will on pass plays. Still not quite getting that 'breakaway' feel either just yet.

Auburn failed to convert a 4th & Goal late that would've had them within 3 points, which allowed me to run out the clock.

The Statistics
Total Offense: Mississippi State = 463 on 79 plays and Auburn = 405 on 69 plays.

QB Tyler Russell = 18/34 (52.9%) for 262 (7.71 YPA) and 1 TD. 7 carries for 18 yards.
QB Nick Marshall = 16/26 (61.5%) for 189 (7.27 YPA) and 1 TD. 16 carries for 63 yards.
RB Ladarius Perkins = 32 for 145 (4.53) and 1 TD.
RB Tre Mason = 23 for 123 (5.35) and 4 catches for 23 yards.
RB Josh Robinson = 4 for 30 (7.5) and 1 TD.
WR Joe Morrow = 6 for 76.
WR Jameon Lewis = 5 for 99 and 1 TD.
WR Sammie Coates = 4 for 27 and 1 TD.
OL Mississippi State = 0 Pancakes and 2 Sacks Allowed.
OL Auburn = 6 Pancakes and 2 Sacks Allowed.
P Baker Swedenberg = Average 49.0 on 5 Punts
P Steven Clark = Average 44.2 on 8 Punts

[DH523]

Game 3 With Version 0.2 Sliders
Mississippi State (DH523) blew out Troy 52-20. Troy overall was rated nearly 10 points below MS.

Quick Thoughts: Speed and communication breakdown was evident in the CPU Secondary as I had several guys wide open deep. Got up on Troy early and they went pass happy as a result. One positive was their QB was willing to take chances deep when open. He had 1 TD overturned (WR stepped out of bounds) early in the game as well.

The passing game is pretty on target I feel with these changes. The YPC of the running game is good but still missing the 'big run' feel of real life college football. Trying to decide if RB Ability or RB Blocking is the 'key' as WR blocking on the outside is usually paramount to big plays in real life.

The Statistics
Total Offense: Mississippi State = 532 yards on 74 plays and Troy = 456 yards on 82 plays.

QB Tyler Russell = 21/35 for 259 and 2 TD. 6 carries for 27 and 1 TD.
QB Corey Robinson = 48/67 for 427 and 2 TD vs 1 INT. 8 carries for 1 yard.
RB Ladarius Perkins = 33 carries for 246 yards and 3 TD.
RB Brandon Burks = 4 carries for 23 yards.
WR Robert Johnson = 5 catches for 34 yards.
TE Malcolm Johnson = 5 catches for 64 yards.
WR Dondrell Harris = 10 catches for 86 yards.
WR Chandler Worthy = 8 catches for 85 yards.
TE Jim Teknipp = 6 catches for 68 yards.
Mississippi State OL = 11 Pancakes and 0 Sacks Allowed.
Troy OL = 0 Pancakes and 2 Sacks Allowed.
P Baker Swedenberg = Average 51.5 on 2 Punts.
P Will Scott = Average 40.7 on 4 Punts.

[DH523]

Game 4 With Version 0.2 Sliders
#10 LSU beat #25 Mississippi State 34-24 in a crushing defeat.

Quick Thoughts: My passing game was doing nothing for most of the game and threw a game clinching pick 6 returned 94 yards to seal the deal after storming back from a 24-7 deficit to get to 27-24. Will likely tweak some things but overall I'm feeling good about this game now at least on the passing side.

Running game still needs some work. The pursuit esp. of LBs and DBs upon the catch/breaking of the hole is a little too fast for my liking so I may look at some of the penalty sliders there. As an example of the struggles to simulate the breakaway aspect, the season long run for my team is just 25 yards despite the solid YPC overall.

The Statistics
Total Offense: LSU = 384 yards on 64 plays and Mississippi State = 357 yards on 75 plays.

- LSU
QB Zach Mettenberger: 21/28 for 220 and 1 TD vs 2 INT. 6 carries for 50 yards.
RB Jeremy Hill: 18 carries for 66 yards and 1 TD.
RB Alfred Blue: 8 carries for 37 yards.
WR Kadron Boone: 5 catches for 83 yards.
OL = 6 Pancakes and 1 Sack Allowed
P Jamie Keehn: Averaged 36.0 on 3 Punts

- Mississippi State
QB Tyler Russell: 24/39 for 213 yards and 1 INT.
RB Ladarius Perkins: 28 carries for 154 yards and 3 TD.
WR Fred Brown: 4 catches for 39 yards.
WR Joe Morrow: 4 catches for 51 yards.
OL = 1 Pancake and 2 Sacks Allowed.
P Baker Swedenberg: Averaged 46.7 on 4 Punts

[DH523]

Including the simmed FCS game, here are my statistics through 5 games...

QB Tyler Russell: 101/166 for 1,247 yards with 7 TD vs 3 INT. Long of 51.
RB Ladarius Perkins: 125 for 706 yards and 10 TD with a long of 25 yards.
RB Josh Robinson: 24 for 127 yards and 2 TD with a long of 13 yards.
WR Jameon Lewis: 25 for 366 yards and 4 TD.
WR Robert Johnson: 21 for 238 yards and 0 TD.
TE Malcolm Johnson: 18 for 235 yards and 2 TD.
MLB Bernardrick McKinney = 41 Tackles and 0.5 Sacks
DT Kaleb Eulls = 20 Tackles and 4 Sacks
DE Denico Autry = 14 Tackles and 3 Sacks
CB Jamerson Love = 24 Tackles, 3 INT, and 1 PD.
K Devon Bell = 6/7 with a long of 42.
P Baker Swedenberg = 47.6 Average on 19 Punts

[DH523]

Game 5 Used Version 0.3
#25 Mississippi State (DH523) slaughtered Bowling Green 55-24. Turned out much like the Troy game.

Quick Thoughts: Aside from the changes in blue, I also turned Speed Threshold to 0 (not sure if it made a major difference) and changed the difficulty to Varsity. I started wondering if the Acceleration of player ratings on All-American was becoming a factor and I have to admit that the game played 'normal' to my other ones.

But I felt (on both my team and the CPU team) that there were bigger play opportunities as a result of the improved run blocking and feel from switching to Varsity. Best example was a Read Option QB Keeper where my QB ran for 61 yards being chased by 4 defenders and finally dragged down at the 6 yard line as if he was "fatigued" by the end. I later busted out a 43 yard TD run to the outside largely set up by my blockers downfield, including a WR, that felt the closest to real life college football yet.

Even on a couple of Triple Option play calls, I felt like I had more time to read the pitch man as opposed to '12 and '13 where they would crush you immediately.

The Statistics
Total Offense: Bowling Green = 345 yards on 79 plays and Mississippi State = 423 yards on 63 plays.

Bowling Green
QB Matt Schilz = 24/42 for 234 and 2 TD vs 1 INT. 10 for 18 but long of 40.
RB Travis Greene = 21 for 65 and 1 TD.
WR Ryan Burbrink = 5 catches for 54 yards.
OL = 2 Pancakes and 4 Sacks Allowed.
P Brian Schmiedebusch = Average 35.5 on 6 Punts

Mississippi State
QB Tyler Russell = 15/23 for 135 and 2 TD. 3 for 56 with a long of 61.
RB Ladarius Perkins = 20 for 105 and 2 TD.
RB Josh Robinson = 10 for 85 and 1 TD with a long of 43.
WR Joe Morrow = 5 catches for 53 yards and 1 TD.
OL = 13 Pancakes and 0 Sacks Allowed.
P Baker Swedenberg = Average 46.6 on 3 Punts

[DH523]

Game 6 Version 4.0
#20 Mississippi State blew out a 1-5 Kentucky team 55-14. Kentucky didn't help themselves with 3 fumbles and 1 INT either.

Quick Thoughts: Despite the score, I liked what I saw. I had 1 big run by a HB (great blocking) and another on a QB keeper with a slow backup QB helped by going 1-1 with just one defender before getting taken down in pursuit. The CPU QB was able to connect on his passes but also threw some errant balls and even scrambled for 14 yards and 5 yards eluding a probable sack. I'm hoping I will play a tougher opponent soon to help factor in the CPU running game.

The Statistics
Total Offense: Kentucky = 333 yards on 61 plays and Mississippi State = 556 yards on 68 plays.

Kentucky
QB Max Smith = 33/44 for 278 and 1 TD vs 1 INT. 7 for 8 with a long of 14.
RB Ray Sanders = 7 for 40. 7 catches for 38 yards.
WR AJ Legree = 6 for 51.
WR Javess Blue = 5 for 61 and 1 TD.
OL = 3 Pancakes and 3 Sacks Allowed
P Landon Foster = Average 34.8 on 5 Punts

Mississippi State
QB Tyler Russell = 21/24 for 247 and 3 TD vs 0 INT. 5 for 2 yards and 2 TD. He was noticeably 'slower' here running wise.
RB Ladarius Perkins = 26 for 217 and 1 TD with a long of 53 yards.
RB Josh Robinson = 11 for 53 and 1 TD with a long of 11 yards.
WR Jameon Lewis = 5 for 88 and 1 TD (47 yarder where he beat 1-1 with the Safety late)
WR Fred Brown = 5 for 50 and 1 TD
OL = 2 Pancakes and 1 Sack Allowed
P Baker Swedenberg = Average 43.0 on 2 Punts