BSC Simulation LFB Style - Orange Bowl NCAA '09

Cincinnati vs Va Tech. I think I just crapped my pants on how lame this matchup is for the BCS. Both James and Chris are doing horrid Boston accent impressions.

"Let the Pulp fly!" Kickoff! Va Tech returns to their own 28.

Va Tech runs right for 2. Tyrod runs around like a mad chicken and throws long to Boone! Ghey! Option left for 6 yards. Option right for 7 yards and a first down. Taylor drops back to pass, scrambles, and throws for a 1 yard loss. Option right - Taylor pitches as he's getting tackled and Lewis runs 27 yards for the touchdown!

Kickoff returned by Cincinnati - to their 38 yard line by Marcus Barnett. Ramsy runs right for a yard. Tech is getting pressure up the middle, causing an interception on the next play! Intercepted by Victor Harris and returned to the Cincy 37 yard line.

Lewis runs a power left for 11 yards. Pressure from the corner and Taylor has to throw in a hurry! Caught by Lewis on the outlet behind the line of scrimmage and gains a yard. Option right and a FUMBLE!!! Recovered by the Hokies, and now both Chris and James are cursing like sailors. ACC! ACC! Incomplete pass, forcing a field goal... off the uprights and IN! Va Tech now up 10-0.

Kickoff returned by Cincy to their own 36. Iso up the middle for 4 yards. Gruza drops and throws to Barnett for 10 yards. Up the middle for 9 yards... then Jacob Ramsey runs 39 yards on a power left into the endzone!

Kickoff returned to their 33. Taylor scrambles right for 11 yards. Taylor scrambles left, finds Lewis for a long gain! Taylor scrambles - almost intercepted! Next play he scrambles right for a 13 yard run. Now in the red zone at the 14, and Lewis runs draw right for a 5 yard gain. An option give up the middle for 3 yards. Option right... is hit... and falls over the 4 yard line for the first down! Power left - touchdown!

Kickoff returned to the 29. Pass on first down - bullet to Barnett for 19 yards! Power right by Ramsey for 52 yards and a touchdown! There's still most of a quarter to go and it's just back and forth... like the defenses are standing around. Taylor scrambles left... gets a block, and goes down on the Cincy 43! Up the middle for a yard. SACK for 14 yards! Taylor scrambles, throws across the field... and gets the first down to the Cincy 32! Option right for a loss of 3. Incomplete pass down the right side. Scrambles left for 8... and Tech settles for a 42 yard field goal.

Kickoff returned by Cincy to the 38 yard line. Power left, breaks a tackle, and runs for 16 yards! Short pass under pressure for 6 yards. Off tackle right for 3 yards. Incomplete pass right! 4th and 2 with 52 seconds remaining... and drills a crossing pattern for the first down and calls a time out! Off tackle left for a loss of 2.... and then under pressure throws and interception!

Taylor throws a long bomb for the touchdown! HAIL MARY!

Kickoff returned just beyond the 20, and runs for the first down. TIMEOUT with one second left! Run right... end of half.

Cincy gets the ball back to start the second half. Big throw to #85 for a first down! Second throw - almost intercepted! "I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS!" Ball knocked down the next play. Incomplete pass again. Punt - and a hard hit! Va Tech is pinned on their 10 yard line.

Taylor option right - loss of 3 yards. Bomb down the middle - CAUGHT on the 42 yard line. Run up the middle for 1 yard. Taylor scrambles left for 16 yards. Run up the middle - loss of 3 yards. Va Tech methodically drives down - and Taylor gets benched for Glennon! The ball is almost intercepted - and Tech settles for a field goal.

Cincinnati brings it out. Option fake - pass complete! Short pass across the middle. Jump ball pass down the middle - incomplete! Crucial third down. A bullet to #85 for the crossing patter and a first down! Option give up the middle for 10 yards. Incomplete pass left! Next play - the RE knocks the ball down! Gruza throws to #83 for the crucial 3rd down and that's the end of the third quarter.

We start the 4th with the Bearcats driving at the Va Tech 25. First down, lob ball, caught on the 5 and falls forward for a yard! Off tackle left for 3 yards. Iso in I formation - touchdown!

A side note as they kick the extra point - WHICH IS BLOCKED! - Taylor is much more accurate than he is in real life. I mean... the passing yards...

Kickoff returned to the 35. Taylor scrambles on the first play from scrimmage - INTERCEPTED! The FS returns the ball to the Va Tech 25 yard line. First pass - caught to the Va Tech 5! Booth reviews - overturns - ball hit the ground. Third down - pass on a crossing for 9 yards bringing up 4th down! Va Tech calls timeout - coverage FAIL. Field goal made.

Pooch kick and the Tech returns to the 44. Va Tech has to call a timeout - they were lined up for an onside kick! Pass left to the HB for the first down! Scramble left for 6 yards. Pressure... throws for a long gain to the Cincy 14! Run up the middle - 3 yards. Run right - 4 yards. Option right, and Taylor gets the first down to the 4 yard line! Option right and loses 4 yards. Option give left - loss of a yard. Cincy calls a timeout with 1:21 left in the game. Taylor scrambles, and a missed tackle and he runs it in for the touchdown!

Kickoff - BIG RETURN to the Va Tech 48. Short pass - caught, and run to the 35. Short pass left - caught and down to the 25. Short pass left for five yards. Short pass right - caught and a first down! SACK for a 12 yard loss! With 12 seconds left... incomplete pass. They knock in a field goal??? Who the FACK is calling this game?

Game ends - final score 37-26.

Oops (or the Papa John's Bowl)

(Disclaimer: James' part of this was written before the game, and I didn't look at the score before writing up my half of it. Let's see if this works!)

I'm going to type this slowly for emphasis. Papa John's.com Bowl - are you serious? You can't just have a URL for your bowl name... it's just wrong. Okay, I'll make an exception if it's purepwnage.com but even then why not call it the purepwnage.com Uber Micro Bowl? Inexcusable, frankly. I don't know that The Birmingham Bowl (what it was last season) is that much better, but gimme a break here.

Cincinnati Bearcats (by Coach Lawrence)

After a 1-3 start in 2006, Cincinnati served notice that they would be a force to be reckoned with in 2007. First they came within 6 points of beating eventual Big East champ Louisville at Papa John's Stadium. Then they won big home games against South Florida and Rutgers. The Bearcats went on to win the International Bowl in Toronto, where fans wondered why the receivers didn't take a running start.

This season, Cincy opened with a 6-0 start including a blowout win over Oregon State and a tough road win at Rutgers. A loss to reeling Louisville wasn't as shocking as the difference in records indicated, but a loss the following week to Pittsburgh banished the Bearcats from the top 25. They climbed back in with victories over South Florida and UConn before being overmatched against West Virginia and overmatching Syracuse.

Cincinnati has a solid QB in Ben Mauk, but their real strength is controlling the game. The 'Cats outrush their opponents by almost 50 ypg and spread it out just about evenly between Mauk and three RBs. While their defensive totals rank just above average, their first quarter stats against both the pass and the run show a story of Cincinnati throwing the first punch and riding out the rest of the game... offensively as well with steadily declining passing attempts and generally declining rushing attempts. This is also a defense that only gets better as they get further ahead, allowing a lower QB rating and, until the margin gets huge, a lower rushing ypc as the lead increases.

Game Plan
1. Make the game about you. This is a clear mismatch which, as long as they play their game, Cincinnati should win.

2. Jump out early and keep your foot on their throat. It's worked all season.

3. Take away the run. USM is a top 25 rushing offense and a pretty average passing team. Stack the box early and build a lead - force the Golden Eagles to go to the air.

Southern Miss (by Coach Pendley)

If you're looking for the runaway winner of the "Dumbest Move Between the End of the Season and the Bowl" award, Southern Miss wins that award hands-down. Old head coach Jeff Bower (record: 119-82-1) was unceremoniously dumped after a 7-5 season. Bower had also brought USM to 10 bowls in 17 seasons, including 9 bowls over the last 11 years. His bowl record was 6-4 - but that was also 5-2 over the last seven. Why was he fired? Near as I can tell, USM fans and alumni got complacent - Southern Miss wasn't exactly good before Bower stepped on campus except for a stint back in the '50's. Remember when Ole Miss fired David Cutcliffe and went in the crapper a few years ago? Yeah, here we go again. This time, Oklahoma St. offensive coordinator Larry Fedora gets to underperform relative to the old guy. Bower gets to go somewhere where they'll actually like him.

Most seasons, RB Damion Fletcher would be making more noise for haivng a 1,400+ yard season with 15 rushing TDs. Unfotunately for him, two different RBs topped 2,000 yards in C-USA alone. Aside from him, there's not a lot on offense other than TE Shawn Nelson, who's an actual receiving threat (rare enough in its own right). Fortunately for the Golden Eagles, they actually do a good job against the both the run and the pass (3rd and 1st in C-USA respectively), although their periphials aren't anything to write home about.

Keys to Victory:
1: Do whatever it takes to get 7 in the box. Cincinnati's pass defense isn't anything to write home about, so force them to transition to pass defense. Only at that point will Fletcher be effective; Cincy's rush D was the best in the Big East.

2: Hold onto the ball. Cincinnati thrives on the turnover; don't let them. It doesn't really matter how you protect the ball - stickum isn't totally frowned on in these parts - but USM is going to need some serious ball possession in order to win. Think 33+ minutes.

3: Protect the pass. This is doubly tough because Cincinnati is a better passing game in the first half, but it needs to happen. Cincy sports the second-best passing offense in its conference, but it's something that needs to happen. Somehow.