My Game Center

It’s Back Get ready for the drama and excitement of NCAA Football and your Texas Longhorns Ranked second going into the season, the Longhorns look to make up for last year’s disappointing end. with most of their weapons returning and Oklahoma standing in the way, the Longhorns will need to be nearly perfect to make a run at the title. The big question is, will you have your Texas Longhorn football tickets?

Always a tough ticket to get, expect this year to be no different as Colt McCoy and Mack Brown look to lead the team to a second BCS title this decade. whether you’re an alum or just an NCAA fan living in the Austin area, you know you have to be on the ball to get into Texas Memorial Stadium. another 4,500 seats were added this off season, pushing the total seating to over 100,000. Every single seat for every single game will be filled and all Texas Longhorn football tickets will be sold quickly.

Right off the bat, third game of the season, the Texas Tech Red Raiders come to town looking to light up the scoreboard and prove that last year was no fluke. four weeks later the biggest game in the Big 12 takes place as the Oklahoma Sooners come to Austin. looking to pick up where they left off, the Sooners attempt to avenge last years upset and only regular season loss handed to them by the Longhorns. there is no love loss between these rivals and it is sure to be a shootout with post season implications.

If you are not a student and don’t have access to someone with Texas Longhorn football tickets, your best bet is going to be the secondary market.

NCAA football, particularly Division I-A, is one of the most competitive collegiate sports. Many coaches have had winning seasons, but only the greatest are remembered by fans. Bobby Bowden, forty four years after coaching his first college game and after twenty nine years with Florida State, is the winningest coach in NCAA history. his Seminoles were ranked in the associated Press (AP) top five for fourteen consecutive seasons. his 1999 team was the first ever to go from opening game to the championship while maintaining their number one AP ranking the whole time. he is ranked second in most bowl wins. When he took over in 1976, the Seminoles had won a total of only four games in three seasons. his career record with the Seminoles, playing some of the league’s toughest teams, is 278-70-4.

Also considered a NCAA coaching great is Joe Paterno. as he prepares for his fortieth year with Penn State, he is in second place for all time victories, only behind Bobby Bowden. he led the Nittany Lions to national championships in 1982 and 1986 and had five unbeaten/untied seasons. Oh, and he is the one Bobby Bowden is chasing for all time bowl wins with a record of 20-10-1.

If NCAA football was a religion in Alabama, Paul Bear Bryant would be their messiah. he led the Crimson Tide to six national titles between 1961 and 1979. At the time of his retirement, he was the winningest coach of all time and also held the record for most bowl wins. Bear was known as a stern, no nonsense coach. he once suspended his star quarterback, Joe Namath, causing him to miss the 1964 Sugar Bowl.

But Bowden and Paterno, as great as they are, may never be able to reach the greatness a certain Norwegian achieved while coaching America’s most famous Irish-Catholic university. Knute Rockne has been the subject to countless books and even a movie that featured a former president, Ronald Reagan, as his most famous player, George Gipp. Even people that don’t know much about football or Notre Dame surely know the line Win one for the Gipper. what Rockne could have accomplished will never be known. he was cut down in his prime, dying in a plane crash at age 42. But in his short thirteen years at Notre Dame, he managed to compile a record of 105-12-5, including six national championships. That is the winningest percentage (.881) of any NCAA football coach ever. he was also created the unstoppable backfield known as the four horsemen that led the Fighting Irish to a 28-2 record. he was dearly loved not only by his players, but fans as well.

Sure, there will be other great coaches in the future of the NCAA. But no one can ever forget these great men or their astonishing accomplishments.

There is so much buzz and hype about the Southeast Conference-better known as the SEC-you would think there are no other NCAA football conferences that can compare.

Even Jeff Sagarin in his Sagarin Ratings lists the SEC as the top conference with a central mean (that is Sagarin math talk) of 79.89 with the Pacific 10-better known as the Pac 10-second at 79.19. On a scale of 100 the difference is 70/100ths of 1, or close enough to not make a difference in my mind.

Ranked 11th among Division 1A conferences is Conference USA at 58.88. Three 1AA conferences are then rated above the last 1A conference-the Sun Belt-at 58.26.

Sagarin rates all of the 242 individual 1A and 1AA teams and then combines them among conferences to arrive at these figures.

I read other factors into his mathematical formula for deciding which conference is the toughest (best) conference.

Knowing that the SEC is legion for scheduling Division 1AA teams in its non-conference schedule, I suspect that the SEC’s strength of schedule (the quality of its opponents) may not be as strong. Turns out that I am right.

The tough SEC played exactly 10 Division 1AA opponents this season, more than any other conference in the country. by comparison, the big 12 played 10, the ACC and big ten played 7 games, the big East 6, and the Pac 10 only 2.

When I add up the strength of schedule for the 12 SEC teams I get an average of 30 compared to an average strength of schedule of 14 for the Pac 10. Who plays the tougher schedule between the top two dogs? It is easily the Pac 10.

If you are wondering, the team that has played the toughest schedule during the first 12 weeks of the 2007 college football season is the Washington Huskies, and that is why they are ranked no. 1 among the 242 Division 1A and 1AA schools.

For the record, Nebraska is no. 2, Stanford no. 3, California no. 4 and Colorado no. 5, so 3 of top 5 teams in strength of schedule are from the Pac 10.

Please, do not give me this garbage about the SEC playing the toughest schedule. the facts and statistics say otherwise.

Another interesting fact of note is this: Since the NCAA established the Division 1A and 1AA separation in 1978, only 5 Division 1A schools have not played a Division 1AA school: Washington, Southern California, UCLA, Michigan State and Notre Dame. again 3 of the 5 teams come from the Pac 10.

The SEC already has 7 of its 12 teams with 7 or more wins and bowl eligible by NCCA standards, and now you know one of the reasons why.

It is the same reason why Hawaii is unbeaten at 10-0, having defeated two 1AA schools in fattening up its impressive win record while racking up the 153rd toughest schedule against the other 119 Division 1A schools.

Sometimes a 1AA school can beat a 1A school (like Appalachian State beating Michigan at home 34-32), not because they are necessarily better but because the 1A school did not take them seriously.

Copyright 2007 Ed Bagley

NCAA Football 12 NTSCRelease name: NCAA Football 12 NTSCSize: 7.3GBPublisher: EA GamesDeveloper: EA GamesGenre: Football/SportsHere is the NTSC P2P release for the XBOX 360 game,NCAA Football 12. For the ABGX360 log,check the NFO.Summary: NCAA Football 12 lets you experience the rise to dominance of a young,up-and-coming gridiron star hoping to make his way to a college superpower of choice and eventually a national championship. Experience the pride andpageantry of gameday Saturday like never before as you go from high school superstar,to top college player,to head coach in Road to Glory and Dynasty modes. With an enhanced in-game presentation,new traditions,and an all-new collision system,make an impact by leading your team to the National Championship with NCAA Football 12.Features: Enhanced Tackling Engine – your college gameday experience rises to a whole new level with an all-new momentum-based collision and tackling system that allows you to control a player to the moment of impact. Conference Customization – create new rivalries and alter the landscape of college football forever by realigning conferences throughout college football. Build new 16-team super conferences,create conference schedules,decide BCS bowl tie-ins,and more. Authentic Gameday Traditions – Feel the true emotion of college football as your team runs onto the field with new pre-game traditions like the Sooner Schooner and Ramblin’ Wreck,and celebrate big plays alongside school icons like Chief Osceola,Uga,and Tommy Trojan. Coaching Carousel – Roam the sidelines as a coach in an enhanced Dynasty mode. Start off as a coordinator or take over as head coach to begin your coaching career. Stay off the Hot Seat as you climb the ranks of the coaching ladder and lead your dream school to a coveted national championship. your Road to Glory – be an Ironman and play both sides of the ball in your final season of high school while getting recruited by the top schools. in college,fight to keep your starting job and earn your coaches’ trust to unlock extra abilities on the field en route to becoming a Heisman trophy winner.Download:

The major conferences of NCAA football–the PAC 10, the SEC, the big 10, the big 12, and others–dominate the college football scene, which is why not very many college football fans take the time to think about the other, smaller football conferences that compete in Division 1 football every year. one of these smaller conferences is Mountain West that includes teams like the Wyoming Cowboys. even though Mountain West is actually a competitive conference, it still does not enjoy the fame and attention received by larger, more well-known football conferences. Through its history in Mountain West, the Wyoming Cowboys have successfully clenched 15 titles and churned out numerous highly-regarded football players.

Jerry Hill is considered to be Wyoming’s Player of this Century who enjoyed a tremendous amount of success during the team’s most celebrated years. Hill is arguable Wyoming’s highest accomplished running back in the school’s history and has accumulated an impressive 1,300 yards while rushing on less than 300 carries. while acting as Wyoming’s lead running back, Hill brought the team to a wowing 25 victories and not too shabby six losses from the time he started his time at Wyoming in 1959. In 1993, these accomplishments earned him a place in Wyoming’s college athlete Hall of Fame, making him a beloved player among Wyoming fans.

Jim Klick was also another fantastic running back who spearheaded Wyoming in rushing for 3 years starting in 1965. a master of multi-tasking on the field, Klick amassed 1,700 ground yards and over 400 receiving yards, turning them into 10 rushing touchdowns in addition to 5 receiving scores. Due to his steady hands, Klick was hard to defend and was capable of much more than simply throwing a block while passing plays, forcing defenders to cover him whether or not he held the ball as it always travel in his direction when least expected. In 1966, Klick earned VIP status in Wyoming’s Sun Bowl win and impressed during the 1968 Sugar Bowl.

The Art Form of Tackling

Through 1966-1967. the Wyoming Cowboys possessed a formidable defense team that attributed much of its strength to Mike Dirks’ efficient tackling. In 1967, Wyoming performed so well that they were able to compete with major teams, finally ranking fifth nationally. Dirks earned 10 wins and just 1 loss as well as headed a defense team that stopped the most rushing yards out of all other teams that played 1966 and 1967. There has never been a team to surpass Wyoming’s defensing rushing numbers during those years. Dirks himself completed 70 tackles; 30 of his tackles were solo and 26 were for a loss, all of which earned him a Hall of Fame spot alongside Hill in 1993.

Of course, there are other Wyoming players who have reached statuses of fame and prestige. any Wyoming fan who has the time to research the lesser known players and schools belonging to the majors should do so. even though Wyoming pales in size when compared to Michigan or Notre Dame, Wyoming possess an impressive history that should not go unnoticed.

This offseason the Big 12 was pretty close to a complete, epic collapse. things didn’t end up that bad for the conference, but things are still going to be much different for the Big 12 in 2011 and in years moving forward after that. A traditional power is gone, another is struggling mightily, and the entire conference format has been changed. All of this means there is a lot to comb through as you plan 2011 NCAA college football predictions, and you can use the following guide to get started.

The biggest change is that the Big 12 conference is no longer so aptly named, as it’s down to just 10 teams. Both Nebraska and Colorado jumped ship, reducing the conference in size, although they are lucky it wasn’t worse than that. other schools were considering leaving as well, and if another one or two had made the move, it’s likely they would have been the dominoes to set everything off and collapse the conference.

Still, as it is, the conference has only 10 teams, and instead of having a north and south division, everyone is simply lumped together. that means no divisional rankings, and more importantly, no championship game. so the Big 12 is going to be completely different this year and moving ahead, and it will shake up the entire college football world in terms of who to make NCAA football predictions favorites when you consider conference champions and all of the BCS games, bowl bids and so forth.

The power team in the conference has always been the Texas Longhorns. Even when the team isn’t good, they are the unit that commands everyone’s attention and everyone’s dollars, which is why they have their own television network on the way. In truth, that’s part of the reason for the near collapse of the entire Big 12 conference, because the other teams didn’t like that disparity.

Texas is coming off a real terrible year though, where they only finished 5-7, including a dismal 2-6 record within the conference. That’s unheard of for Mack Brown and the Longhorns, and you can be sure that they are going to make major improvements immediately. if it doesn’t turn around immediately, then even the highly respected and winning Brown could find his job in jeopardy.

The favorite in the conference for anyone making NCAA football predictions for 2011 almost has to be the Oklahoma Sooners. the Sooners have the majority of their team back from last season, a year in which they went 12-2 and trounced the Connecticut Huskies in their BCS bowl game. of course, the Huskies didn’t deserve to be there at all, but that’s a different story for another day.

The Sooners and coach Bob Stoops are ready to do even better than last year and go all the way to the title game and a national championship victory. with Texas likely being better but not great, with the Nebraska Cornhuskers gone and without a Big 12 championship game to get in the way as a stumbling block, it’s certainly possible that Oklahoma advances that far this season. It’s a talented, experienced team, with great leadership and drive.

It’s not as though they will be without competition in the Big 12 though. they will have to watch out for in state rivals Oklahoma State. they went 11-2 last season and won their bowl game. In the final game of the regular season, the Sooners beat the Cowboys in a back and forth thriller 47-41, sending one team to the Big 12 championship and another to the back of the line. so anything can happen and both teams are eager to beat out one another.

Another team to watch for in the Big 12 will of course be Missouri. Missouri finished 10-3 last season and won the old northern division of the conference. the Tigers of course lost their starting quarterback to the NFL, so that’s going to leave a big hole for the team. But, once again, the Big 12 looks to be weaker this year than it has been in the past, and there will be opportunities for good teams to shine.

Finally, Texas A&M also wants to continue their improvement. In 2010, they finished 9-4, and they want to continue capitalizing on the relative weakness of their in-state rivals, the Longhorns, and also the Red Raiders from Texas Tech. that trio of Texas schools will certainly have a major impact on the entire Big 12 conference and how everything shakes out all season.

Of course, with Nebraska gone, the conference lost one of its best teams, and a glorious football program. however, with Colorado gone, the conference also lost one of its weakest teams, and some of the schools mentioned above will probably miss not playing the Buffaloes every season.

The remaining bottom feeder from last year is Kansas. the Jayhawks were only 1-7 within the conference last season and they finished 3-9. In fact, they were the only school in the entire conference to have a worse conference record and overall record with Texas, which is hard to even believe considering Texas’s track record of success over the years.

Between their unusual position and the entire realignment of the conference, the Big 12 is going to be a fun conference to watch this season. Then, you also have to consider that after this year they may try to poach other schools to boost their numbers back to 12, so that adds even more mystery and suspense to the year and the season for all of the schools involved.

College football picks for the upcoming season and the Big 12 are certainly going to be different than they have been in the past. the conference is down to 10 teams, there are no divisions and there is no championship game, and one of the glamour schools, Nebraska, is gone. Meanwhile, Texas is coming off a down year, while Oklahoma wants to keep for a national championship and more storylines abound. It’s going to be an up and down ride and it will be very intriguing to see how all of the teams and schools involved react and perform.

Check out the expert Big Ten football predictions for 2011.

April 18, 2011!

According to EA SPORTS, this week is going to be a BIG week for NCAA Football 12 news! A SPECIAL BLOG from Executive Producer Roy Harvey was posted today (April 18, 2011) – link to it here, and the NCAA Football 12 Cover Athlete will be announced tomorrow morning on ESPN2 (April 19, 2011). EA is also going to provide BIG details along with videos showing several of the IMPROVEMENTS made to PRESENTATION and GAMEPLAY in NCAA Football 12! Stay tuned!

Have a Craving for NCAA Football 12 Nfo and Screen Shots?

The fine folks at Operation Sports was given an exclusive look at NCAA Football 12 several days ago and the were gracious enough to post several photos of the event which includes several in-game screens. Head over to Operation Sports to view the photos.

Bowl Patches make their Return to NCAA Football 12?

Confirmed by Executive Producer Roy Harvey, in his latest blog, Bowl Patches will return to the title this year. this is great news for the hard core NCAA Football gamer!

Stay tuned for more information.

Visit our forums to discuss NCAA Football 12 with the gamers of MaddenMatrix.

David P. Johnson (MadScientist06) is an EA SPORTS Game Changer located on the East Coast.  He has been part of the EA SPORTS Game Changers’ Program since July 2010. Mad plays NCAA Football, Madden NFL, Fight Night, Mass Effect, Medal of Honor, EA Sports Active, and FIFA.  He runs NCAA Football and Madden NFL online leagues at MaddenMatrix.com.  You can find the MadScientist06 on Twitter and XBOX Live as MadScientist06.

You asked for it! You got it! Custom Playbooks!

I remember the old Days of NCAA Football’s past — COUGH — NCAA Football 2011 — as soon as I had the game in hand, I’d run home, load up the game, and spend the first couple hours looking at each of the 120 plus playbooks in attempts to find one playbook that fits my playing style. Selecting a playbook is a serious matter — It’s life and deaf to a hard core gamer — It’s a strategic advantage to a casual gamer. no matter how many playbooks there were, I could never find one just right for me. I’d find 4 or 5 that were close, but no cigar — and close is only good in horse shoes and nuclear weapons, a smart man once wrote!

I would stick with a playbook until I either (a) found more effective plays or (b) I was blown out by someone. if the later was the case, we’d call that getting Beat out of Your Playbook! LOL!

Enter Custom Playbooks! THIS…CHANGES…EVERYTHING!

Ladies and gentleman, the EMBARGO has veen LIFTED on the topic of CUSTOM PLAYBOOKS now I can finally talk about it! I have been waiting a couple months to discuss this new feature to NCAA Football 12 with my fellow hardcore gamers, so, let’s get started! Information has been trickling out about Custom Playbooks for a couple weeks now. first, at Operation Sports, then in a video interview of QB Jake Locker at GamerLive.TV. so, today, message came in from EA SPORTS that members of the Game Changers can discuss our experience using the feature–so let’s get to it! I created a number of screenshots from the GamerLive.TV interview (all credit goes to them). my fellow Game Changers at The Gaming Tailgate.com created screens from the same video a couple days ago–they did it first (so all credit goes to them a well for the idea).

so, what can I tell that has not already been said? we received this information earlier today from EA:

1. Playbooks can contain a maximum of 400 plays. The displaimer here is the fact that Goalline, Special Teams, and Hail Mary eat into the total. all three are required formattions in each playbook –which is certainly understadable. so, the max possible plays you can add in a playbook is between 370 to 377. The variance in number depends on which "base" playbook you select to start from. when I say base, I mean, you can select any existing playbook to start with, say Maryland’s for example, then remove or add to your heart’s content. I believe the variance in total number available to add (370-377) is because the number of plays in each Goalline, Special Teams, and Hail Mary formations vary by playbook. just a guess on my part, but one example might be the fact that Goaline in the Florida playbook includes some Wishbone and Maryland I formations which eat into the total. so, the default number of Goalline, Special Teams, and Hail Mary plays vary by 7 (for all those good who excelled in Math in high school LOL). in any event, 370 to 377 is a HUGE number of plays to work with. Absolutely insane! Hardcore NCAA Football ballers can easily spend hours just organizing and selecting plays, but the choice is yours — perhaps you have found the ideal playbook and it is missing just ONE FORMATION. use that playbook as your base, and add that one formation. Assuming you may have to create some space by removing your leave favorite plays — so beit.

Note: The 400 limit applies to both offensive and defensive playbooks.

2. You can create a maximum of 15 offensive playbooks and 15 defensive playbooks! why would any sane individual create so many? You may be experimenting in different offensive or defensive styles. in my case, if I’m playing an online dynasty game with my man Naughty 9, I know he’s a run first, pass second kinda guy. He’ll run on first, second, and even third and long. He’ll pound your team into submission and lead the league in rushing with a 250 pound running back with 82 Speed and this is on Heisman level! so, this upcoming season, I’ll create an N9 Defensive playbook designed especially for him.

3. Playbooks can contain 40 formations max. in this case, I belive you can add "up to 40" to this description, not that you have to have 40 formations, but that is the maximum allowed. This is HUGE!

4. Any playbook you create an be using in ONLINE GAMES! Not only in online dynasties, but in RANKED and UNRANKED Games! OMG! Okay, this is what the community has been asking for for years right? if you are not HYPED about Custom Playbooks, then you do NOT have a PULSE!

5. The interface is nicely designed and easy to use. You can select and move plays around easily. I won’t go into specifics, but the interface, to me, is very user friendly. You can add, delete, select, and move around plays very easily. You can also organize the plays to appear in the order you specify–It’s as easy as one, two, three (see images below):

Step 1: Press and hold the a button on the play you want to move.

Step 2: while holding the a button, use the Left Stick to move the play (up, down, left, or right I believe).

Step 3: Release the a button to insert the play into its new location. Bingo. Add water and stir!

Here are some other screens from the Locker video. Enjoy!

Creating a playbook screen. The custom playbook — Boise 1 — can be edited at this point.

The text on this screen indicates that you can (a) change your playbook style, (b) edit your playbook name, and (c) assign a playbook to a CPU team. as you can see, the feature is very robust (that means very good)!as you can see this playbook contains 358 of 400 play…so far.why would you want to assign a playbook to a CPU team? Good question! Two reasons I can think of. Reason 1: You are a hard core guy who looks to keep each team’s play as authentic as you can get it AND the team, for whatever reason, decides to add a Pistol formation after the game goes Gold. You edit the teams playbook, add the Pistol and boom…the team plays more close to life. Reason 2: You want to practice against a certain play style and you assign a CPU team a playbook you want to test a defense out on. Those are two that come to mind.

In this screen we see the user has selected three formations (Normal, Twin TE, and Twins) out of the I-Form set to include in his playbook (Boise1), Pro Style, 25 formations, 332 plays so far.

Here we see that the a button can be used to add or remove formations.

Here, I Form: H Slot has been selected, but not added.

It appears here, the Y button might remove (or clear) all formations that are currently selected for a given set.

Notice here that the player positions (C, TE, QB, etc) are not listed as in the previous pictures. This is obviously because this is a work in progress. They will be there in the final version, I’m sure.

This playbook, appears to be GT1. with the amount of Flexbone formations, I would assume this is a modified Georgia Tech playbook.

in this screen, you see the default Hawaii and SMU playbook, and a custom Run and Shoot playbook. Clear to see here that Custom Playbooks get the EA SPORTS logo assigned to them to differentiate them from the base playbooks, most-likely.

from here, we see that there are four main Custom Options:

Playbook Info 1. Change playbook style.2. Edit playbook name.3. Asssign playbook to a CPU team.

Formation & Plays1. View formations and plays in your playbook.

Audibles1. Set audibles from here.

Save Playbook1.You don’t need my help on this one.

use the a button to view plays (in the Split Shotgun formation) from the Formation and Plays menu.

Scroll up and down to view formations in the playbook. Scroll left and right through formation sets.

in the Shotgun set, Split Slot formation, there are 4 out of 14 runs. I assume 14 runs are in the Shotgun set overall. there also appears to be 8 pass plays out of 34 in this overall set.

The a button may load a playbook, B goes back to the Main Menu (Back is short for Back to the Main Menu), X probably selects a device where a playbook is saved. Y here could be new playbook. the LB button is probably used to referesh the playbook after changes have been made.

Add or remove formations from this screen. Forms is short here for formations.

RB button used to remove a play. Pretty easy stuff.

Well, that’s it for now. I’ll update this as I get more clarification. I could be off on one or two things — it’s 1:00 am folks!

Man, this is great stuff! July can’t get here soon enough! if you are not excited about CUSTOM PLAYBOOKS, you do NOT HAVE a PULSE!

if you have any questions for me, post your comments here. Also, check out the lively discussion at The Gaming Tailgate.

-Be easy MadScientist06

Specifically Ohio State. How do I get the Uniforms they Wore for the Michigan Game Last year? I have seen a picture with an OSU player being tackled by a Mich. player with The '42 Uniform, curious how to get it in the game.

The PlayStation 3 version of "NCAA Football 11" contains many cheats, hints and special functions during normal game play, including making the players celebrate, insult referees and shout at spectators. to make a player taunt his pursuers during game play, he has to be about to score a touchdown. other versions of "NCAA Football 11" for PS2, XBox 360, Nintendo DS and iOS have the same capabilities specific to those gaming systems.
1

Put in your game and power up your system.

2

Play the game until you are about to score a touchdown and are about 12 yards ahead of the other players.

3

Hold the (0) button and the (B/circle). Continue running as you hold down these buttons or you might stop moving forward and could be caught by the pursuing players before you score.

they will prolly come out in a pack u can buy from the online store

I just need a PSN name that can get me the first and last name of NCAA Football 12 players. Is there any yet??