NCAA 14 30-year Roster Tournament

[RyanLeaf16]

Roster set for this tournament can be found here.

From what I can tell, the creator of this set went back to '82 or '83 at the earliest. This roster contains the best players from the participant schools from that era to the present.

Being that it is the holidays and I have more free-time than I normally do, I thought I would undertake this little project and run a 20-team tournament. I am currently at the Semifinal stage and thought I would share the progress with you. All participant teams were selected at random. Group pairings were also selected at random.

Basic rules of the tournament are as follows:

- 4 groups of 5 teams each playing in a round robin format
- ALL games in group play are played at random sites and ALL games are SUPER-SIMMED to avoid any outside interference or bias
- Teams are awarded 3 points for a victory
- At end of round robin play a group winner is determined by points awarded from a victory
- 2-way ties will be determined by previous head-to-head outcome
- 3-way ties will be determined by total point differential
- Group winner and group runner-up will advance to the 8-team quarterfinals, where games will be played @ neutral sites (Chik-fil-A bowl, Gator Bowl, Outback Bowl & Cotton Bowl)
- Semifinals will be played @ two BCS bowl sites
- Championship will be played at the "Grand Daddy of them All" - The Rose Bowl.

Here are the group pairings:

Group A: USC, Pitt, Notre Dame, Nebraska, Stanford
Group B: Penn State, Washington, Auburn, Georgia, FSU
Group C: Alabama, LSU, Tennessee, Florida, Oklahoma
Group D: Texas, Ohio State, Miami, Michigan, Colorado

I will go ahead and type up the group results next...

[RyanLeaf16]

Group A Results

Group A was a fun group to SIM through. I expected USC to win the group, but, these teams really beat up on each other.

- USC was actually the surprise of the group as they only won 1 game. Their lone win came against a pretty strong Nebraska squad led by Tommie Frazier, Mike Rozier, Lawrence Phillips and Tom Rathman. Nebraska utilized the Air Force playbook during tournament play.

- Nebraska went 2-2 in group play earning 6 points by taking down Pitt and Notre Dame. Nebraska needed a win against Stanford in the final group play game and came up short losing 23-22 and creating a 3-way tie. Nebraska's point differential was a +4 at the end of group play. Unfortunately for them, they were tied with Stanford (-15) and Pitt (+5) at the time. Per the tourney rules, Pitt advanced on points differential as the group runner-up.

- What really hurt a John Elway led Stanford unit was the lack of big wins. One big win can turn your fortunes tremendously in relation to ties. However, Stanford won both their games by a combined 7 points. They lost their two games by a combined 22 points.

- Notre Dame won the group by going 3-1 in group play with their only loss coming against hard-luck loser Nebraska. Notre Dame was led on the ground by both Ricky Watters and Jerome Bettis. Rick Mirer was the man calling the shots for the Irish offense that was very impressive through group play.

Final Group Standings:
1. Notre Dame, 9 pts
2. Pittsburgh, 6 pts (+5)
3. Nebraska, 6 pts (+4)
4. Stanford, 6 pts (-15)
5. USC, 3 pts

[RyanLeaf16]

Group B Results

Group B, oh group b...This group was relatively meh. Auburn seemed exciting with the running attack that they could send on the field with Bo Jackson, Ronnie Brown and Carnell Williams. Penn State had an impressive front seven and a nice stable of backs that included Ki-Jana Carter and Larry Johnson. Add in the downfield passing ability of Kerry Collins and they seem to be a team that could take the possible runner-up spot.

Washington didn't really get my dick hard at all. Brunell at QB, Dillon at RB, Emtman and Milloy on defense, but, I didn't see this team as one that could realistically battle with the other teams in this group. Georgia and FSU were my favorites going in. FSU seems flawless and Georgia can run/throw on you. The collection of skill players for both squads had me thinking of them as #1 and #2 in the group.

- Penn State disappointed through group play as they only won their opener against Washington 24-14. After that, they dropped three straight to Auburn, FSU and Georgia. They played very well defensively, they just could't get much going on offense. They lost to Auburn in heart-breaking fashion after Bo Jackson busted one in the final 90 seconds that went 63-yards to put Auburn up for good in a 21-17 loss for the Nittany Lions.

- Washington was the sacrificial lamb in this group...and boy did it show. The Huskies dropped their first 3 games of group play by a combined 70 points! It wasn't until their final game of the tournament and the final game of group play that Washington would step-up. While it was waaaaay to late to play spoiler, Washington took FSU to 3 OTs and won 58-52.

- Auburn won its first 2 games in group play before a decisive match-up against Georgia in what I felt was the "Battle of the 'Backs" as both teams had an impressive stable of running backs. However, Georgia's grinders proved to be more special on the day as Herschel Walker busted through the Auburn defense for a short-yardage TD run in the final minutes. Walker/Hearst outdueled Jackson, Brown and Williams. The loss sealed the Tigers fate in group play and gave Georgia the upper-hand on advancement.

- Georgia & FSU were the runner-up/winner of the group respectively. By the time the two played each other, it was already determined that they would be moving on. The game simply decided who would win the group. FSU beat Georgia 38-28. Both teams finished 3-1 and with 9 points, Georgia had a much better point differential, but, the tie-breaker on 2-way ties is the previous head-to-head matchup and that went to FSU.

Final Group B Standings:
1. FSU, 9 pts (+25) *won h2h game w/Georgia
2. Georgia, 9 pts (+38)
3. Auburn, 6 pts
4. Penn State, 3 pts
5. Washington, 3 pts

[RyanLeaf16]

Group C Results

I considered Group C to be the toughest of them all. With LSU, Alabama, Florida, Tennessee and Oklahoma, the group was SEC-heavy and looked to be as competitive as any.

- Surprisingly, Alabama and LSU were the two disappointments of the group going a combined 1-7 in group play. That lone win was an Alabama victory over LSU. The Tide went on to lose in OT to Oklahoma and get blown out by both Florida (34-10) and Tennessee in their completion of group play.

- Florida's only loss in group play was to Oklahoma in a close 31-24 decision. Danny Wuerffel could not get the old Fun-n-Gun going enough to cap-off a comeback against the Sooners after falling behind early 21-0. However, throughout group play, the Gator offense was slinging the ball all over the field as they beat the rest of the competition, including an undefeated Tennessee team in the final round of group play.

- Oklahoma also went 3-1 in group play only losing to a very talented Tennessee team 35-30. The running back tandem of Marcus Dupree and Adrian Peterson was very effective against all opponents, but, Tennessee, who boasts the groups best defense found a way to slow the Sooners down just enough to hand them their only loss.

- Finally, Tennessee went undefeated into the final round of group play, as previously noted, before falling victim to the Gators. Peyton Manning is still winless against the Gators lol. However, Tennessee dominated the rest of group play and may be the most talented team in the group. However, with Tennessee also going 3-1, we have another 3-way tie between Oklahoma, Tennessee and Florida.

- You hate to have to eliminate one of these teams, but, rules are rules. Oklahoma lost to Tennessee, Florida lost to Oklahoma and Tennessee lost to Florida, which brings us to points differential...

- Tennessee had a +35 point differential making them the group winner. Oklahoma had a +22 point differential and Florida had a +21 point differential. Thus, the Gators are on the outside looking in as Oklahoma advances. Looking back at my game log notes, a late 4th quarter touchdown and two-point conversion did the Gators in. Now, had Tennessee simply kicked the extra point, the Gators still would have been out because Oklahoma and Florida would have been tied in point differential, at that point, I would have reverted to the previous head-to-head matchup. It wasn't the touchdown that really hurt Florida, it was the two-point conversion they did not stop.

Final Group C Standings:
1. Tennessee, 9 pts (+35)
2. Oklahoma, 9 pts (+22)
3. Florida, 9 pts (+21)
4. Alabama, 3 pts
5. LSU, 0 pts

[RyanLeaf16]

Group D Results

Group D was another very talented group of schools. Out of Texas, Ohio State, Miami, Michigan and Colorado, I considered Colorado to be the weak-link. I figured Miami would be the class of the group with Ohio State, Texas and Michigan fighting for the runner-up spot. Turns out it was a pretty chaotic group of games.

- Texas, led by Vince Young, started off with a last-second loss to Ohio State 31-27. They followed that up with a last-second win against Miami 45-42. Texas then went on to lose to Michigan and finished up group play with a big 25 point win over Colorado 35-10. Kind of a Jekyll & Hyde team if you ask me. Lots of talent, but, it was not very consistent from game-to-game.

- While Ohio State pulled off a last-second win against Texas, they suffered a very damaging loss to Miami 42-21, because of the uncertainty of how group play pans out, I thought this big 21 point loss may haunt them down the road. Ohio State ended up gutting out a win over Michigan 34-31 and crawling to the finish line with a 24-20 win over Colorado.

- Miami went 2-2 in group play with a big win over Ohio State and a narrow victory over Colorado 28-21. However, their 21 point win over Ohio State gave them a razor-thin edge in points differential.

- Michigan also went 2-2 in group play. Their signature win came against Miami with a 21-14 win over the Hurricanes. Michigan also beat Texas by the same margin of 7 points to also give them 6 points in group play.

- Colorado only went 1-3, but, their sole victory was the most dramatic. Heading into the game, Michigan controlled its own destiny. Win and they claim group runner-up, lose and Texas, Miami and Michigan would head to points differential. Colorado pulled off the upset 27-24 leading to the 3-way tie.

- Michigan beat Miami, Texas beat Miami and Michigan beat Texas. Point differential were as follows: Michigan (+8), Miami (+18) and Texas (+17). Thus, Miami, who beat neither team, moves on as group runner-up. Even more surprising was the team with the worst point differential Ohio State (-18) won the group. Sucks for Michigan because they beat both teams that finished ahead of them in the group standings, but, they did not win by enough to put them through.

Final Group D Standings:
1. Ohio State, 9 pts
2. Miami, 6 pts (+18) *Won 3-way tie-breaker
3. Texas, 6 pts (+17)
4. Michigan, 6 pts (+8)
5. Colorado, 3 pts

[RyanLeaf16]

Quarterfinal Matchups

QF Game #1 - Group A Winner vs Group B Runner-up @ Chik-fil-A Bowl, Atlanta, GA

Notre Dame vs Georgia


QF Game #2 - Group A Runner-up vs Group B Winner @ Gator Bowl, Jacksonville, FL

Pitt vs FSU


QF Game #3 - Group C Winner vs Group D Runner-Up @ Outback Bowl, Tampa, FL

Tennessee vs Miami


QF Game #4 - Group C Runner-Up vs Group D Winner @ Cotton Bowl, Dallas, TX

Oklahoma vs Ohio State

[ram29jackson]

please write down the name of the roster/locker so we can just search on a console and get it.

I cant get on OP anymore lol

[RyanLeaf16]

please write down the name of the roster/locker so we can just search on a console and get it.

I cant get on OP anymore lol

For PS3 it is: Mickalucardfang5
Fox 360 it is: happieststraw4

Hope that helps.

[tcoaker]

Like what your doing with my roster set. That Miami/Tennessee game should be a good one. I think Tennessee is the best team on this file. They are the deep at just about every position. If you could capture some videos.

[RyanLeaf16]

Like what your doing with my roster set. That Miami/Tennessee game should be a good one. I think Tennessee is the best team on this file. They are the deep at just about every position. If you could capture some videos.

What's funny is I remember you saying that about Tennessee in the original post. They certainly have done well in the simulations. They may be the best team all-around. Miami struggled in group play like you also noted in the OP on OS.

[RyanLeaf16]

Quarterfinal Results

Quarterfinal #1 Notre Dame vs Georgia

This one got ugly early as the SEC showcased one of its marquee teams against a historically strong independent. The Bulldogs got out to an early 28-0 lead before Notre Dame got itself out of bed. Matthew Stafford threw for 400+ yards and 4 touchdowns on the day. Georgia WR AJ Green had 75 yards receiving and 2 TDs as well.

Final Score:
Notre Dame 29
Georgia 54

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Quarterfinal #2 Pitt vs FSU

A much more competitive game where I felt that Charlie Ward and the FSU offense would eventually break the Pitt Panthers defense. FSU had a tremendous advantage offensively and defensively. However, the Marino-led Panthers were able to put a balanced game together. Curtis Martin rushed for only 84 yards on the day, but, he found the end-zone three times on his 20 carries. Also, the FSU secondary, which included Deion Sanders, could not contain Larry Fitzgerald as Marino connected with him 6 times for 154 yards receiving. Per the game log, Pitt sealed its victory over FSU with a Darrelle Revis interception of Charlie Ward with just over two minutes to play in the game.

Final Score:
Pitt 31
FSU 28

---------------------------------------------

Quarterfinal #3 Tennessee vs Miami

Probably the best game on the schedule IMHO. The Peyton Manning led Vols were impressive in group play and now face-off with a Miami squad that was less than stellar in group play and found their way in to this game on points differential. Because of their poor play, the decision to shake-up the offense was made. Starting QB through group play, Vinnie Testaverde, would be the #2 for this matchup while Bernie Kosar took over starting duties. Facing a tough Tennessee defense, the Hurricanes were able to find success via the ground game and Edgerrin James who rushed for 140+ yards on the day. However, Peyton Manning was able to pick apart the Miami secondary with an impressive aerial attack. Manning passed for 458 yards and 3 touchdowns on the day in victory over the Hurricanes. Also, Reggie White and Albert Haynesworth had an impressive day as the two combined for 12 total tackles, 4 TFL and 2 sacks between them. Finally, while his team may have lost, Warren Sapp put on a dynamite performance with 10 solo tackles and 2 sacks himself.

Final Score:
Tennessee 28
Miami 22

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Quarterfinal #4 Oklahoma vs Ohio State

Talk about an instant classic! This game went into overtime and was a back-and-forth battle between the two storied programs. Oklahoma and Ohio State featured their ground games in this one. The Buckeyes however, were able to pull out a 41-40 victory over the Sooners led by a 3 TD rushing performance from former Heisman Trophy winner Eddie George.

Final Score:
Oklahoma 40
Ohio State 41

[RyanLeaf16]

Semifinal Matchups

Here are the Semifinal Matchups:

Georgia vs Pitt @ The Orange Bowl, Miami, FL


Tennessee vs Ohio State @ The Sugar Bowl, New Orleans, LA

[Sharkweather]

Finally can get revenge for that Sugar Bowl loss in 1982.

[RyanLeaf16]

Played the Pitt/Georgia game last night. Out with the family right now doing Christmas returns. Will post an update later on that game.

[RyanLeaf16]

Semifinal #1 Results

Semifinal #1: Pitt vs Georgia @ The Orange Bowl, Miami, FL

Coming into this game you could make an argument for why either team would walk away with the victory. On paper, and with the ratings, the Georgia Bulldogs held the upper-hand. A tremendous backfield, receivers and defense made up the Georgia roster. On the other side, was a Pitt team that had a HOF QB and HOF RB starting for them. In addition, Pitt also was nasty along the defensive line and had, arguably, the best corner left in the tournament (FSU's Deion Sanders was already knocked out) in Darrelle Revis.

Aided by an excellent kick return from backup RB Lesean McCoy, Pitt established a strong ground attack early with Curtis Martin and finished the drive with a "Shady" McCoy touchdown run of 3 yards.

Georgia came right back with the ground game on their opening drive which saw RB Herschel Walker slicing through the Pitt front seven and dealing out punishing blows to the safeties unlucky enough to be in his path. Walker moved the ball down the field and QB Matt Stafford finished the drive with a 7-yard touchdown pass to WR AJ Green to tie the contest up at 7-7.

Pitt was able to again benefit from a deep kick off return by Lesean McCoy and capped off another short drive with a Curtis Martin touchdown this time. Pitt went up 14-7 and never looked back.

The Pitt Panthers defense came to play the rest of the evening. They were able to contain the Georgia ground game and the CB combo of Steve Israel and Darrelle Revis were able to slow down Georgia wide outs AJ Green and Hines Ward for the remainder of the evening.

The Pitt front seven was also able to get to Matt Stafford on multiple occasions with Sean Gilbert and Tony Siragusa both registering sacks. In addition, DBs Tim Lewis and Steve Israel were also able to harass the Georgia QB with interceptions of their own. The former going for a late-game pick-six.

Pitt relied heavily on their ground game to keep a relatively explosive Georgia offense off the field and control the game. Pitt now moves on to Pasadena for the Championship Game against either Tennessee or Ohio State.

Final Score:
Georgia 7
Pitt 34

"Shady" McCoy rumbles into the endzone for the first touchdown of the game



CB Steve Israel snatches a pass meant for Georgia WR Hines Ward out of the air