[Husker] Anybody playing NCAA Football 11?

[Mark Landin]

On Thu, Jan 20, 2011 at 10:29 AM, Nick Chevance <nickchevance at gmail.com>wrote:

> On Thu, Jan 20, 2011 at 9:52 AM, Lawson, Scott R.
> <SLawson at uamail.albany.edu> wrote:
> > I've been thinking of taking the PS3 plunge myself, for the college
> football as well as golf and hockey. Not much into the war games and stuff,
> but I like the sports games.
> >
> > Good to know I can go through a Huskers season. Have you blown up at any
> refs yet? ;-)
> >
> > Scott in NY
> > From: husker-bounces at tssi.com [mailto:husker-bounces at tssi.com] On Behalf
> Of Mark Landin
> > Sent: Thursday, January 20, 2011 10:41 AM
> > To: huskers
> > Subject: [Husker] Anybody playing NCAA Football 11?
> >
> > I got this game fro Christmas on my PS3, and of course immediately
> started
> > playing a Husker dynasty without really knowing what i was doing :) I was
> > clever enough to find updated rosters for all the FBS teams with actual
> > player names ... I certainly enjoy the game more that way.
>
> OK Mark, you have hit a nerve in me.  For several years I've been
> playing NCAA Football 2004 on the GameCube, but I tend to go through
> controllers quickly (you know, you want the back to cut to the left,
> but he doesn't go left enough, so you really L-E-A-N on the joystick,
> hoping to get a bit more response).  Let's just say that GameCube
> controllers are getting harder to find (and controllers not built by
> Nintendo last a couple of weeks tops).  So for Xmas, my wife let me
> get a PS3 and the NCAA Football 11.
>
> I'm in my second dynasty.  Nebraska won the National Championship the
> first year, but lost by one point on a last second field goal to Texas
> the second year (you can move your team into any conference you want,
> but only at the start of a dynasty, not after you start one).  Then
> the recruiting aspect of the game really went downhill (after winning
> the NC, and 11 weeks into the next season, I only had three commits -
> all other teams had between 8 and 14) so I quit that one and started
> over.
>

I'm still in my firt year, and yeah, recruiting is not going so well for me
yet. I'm in week 9 and my recruit class has 2 commits and is ranked 95th in
the country! Not sure what I'm doing wrong.


> A couple of things for me.  One, just like our QB's I have difficulty
> making that read on the QB option with Martinez.  Depending on whose
> roster you downloaded, Martinez is accurately quick and fast, which
> helps, but in reading the rush end, he's almost too quick.  The back
> is almost gone before the end makes his move.  Since I can't make that
> read option, I tried to rely on passing.  And my offensive line is as
> porous as a sieve.  I can count on one or more of my offensive lineman
> getting burned anytime I do a fake hand off before I pass.  So since I
> can't do a read option consistently, and a pass oriented offense tends
> to reap lots of negative yardage, I've gone to a power running game.
> Burkhead just ran for 338 yards on 40 carries against Washington.
> He's a monster.
>

Yeah play action is hard for me too. I figure it's just because I'm clumsy.
One thing I do is use the Practice mode a lot. run the same play over and
over and over, trying all the different options, until you get pretty
automatic at it. I still suck at the option, but my passing is good, and I
can usually get Martinez out of the pocket and scrambling for good yardage
in some cases when things break down. Setting up good audibles is important
too. Having an audible to a play you can't execute well is pointless, so
master a few plays and make those the audibles. One thing I've learned just
in the last couple days is the hot routes. You see they left McNeill
uncovered in the slot but he's running a crappy shallow out route? Have him
run a post, or a deep in instead. he's almost automatic.

I run power a lot too. Helu got hurt in the first game for 10 weeks so
Burkhead is seeing most of the action, but I've put Robinson in as HB in
some of the formations and dang it, is he good on inside runs. And he
doesn't fumble nearly as much in the game as he does in real life! My roster
also has Braylon Heard, and although his OVR is in the 70s, he is wicked
fast on tosses and sweeps and such.

My single greatest offensive play this year so far was a fake FG i ran
against TX late in the 3rd quarter. 4th and 10 from the TX 22. Happened so
fast I wasn't sure how it worked, but TX sold out on the rush and Green hit
Rex in the endzone for a TD as the TX DE was in the process of crushing him.
Sweet!

Last night Prince intercepted an option pitch right out of the air against
OSU and scored. It's almost as exciting as watching the real thing. :)
-- 
"He's old enough to know what's right and young enough not to choose it.
He's strong enough to win the world and weak enough to lose it." - Neal
Peart