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AROUND THE LEAGUE
-WEEK TEN-
-WEEK TEN-
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Good work beating an in-state rival. Should help in recruiting. Did you design the West Texas stadium?Comment
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Will you get to upgrade your stadium if you move out of the Sun Belt into a bigger conference?Comment
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WEEK ELEVEN
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WEST TEXAS OUTLAWS (2-5, 1-2)
VS.
LOUISIANA TECH BULLDOGS (4-4, 3-1)
On the road, against perhaps the best team in a conference dominated by under-achievers, no one gave the upstart Outlaws a chance.
No one, that is, except for the Outlaws themselves.
In their third game since retooling the offensive scheme in the bye week, West Texas continued to make strides despite their lack of talent on the roster, posting 24 points while their defense stifled Louisiana Tech's passing game, and made them one-dimensional. By controlling the clock with long and steady drives, limiting their number of penalties, and taking advantage of excellent field position when they had it, the Outlaws overcame a Louisiana Tech offense who outgained them in total yards. More importantly, the team now has back-to-back victories for the first time in school history, and talks about a conference championship in the program's first year are no longer so far fetched.
WTU got started early, kicking a 23-yard field goal after their first offensive drive stalled in the redzone. Two minutes later, they extended their lead to ten when James Hartman found Michael Maynard on a 1-yard TD pass. Held silent in their first two possessions, the Bulldogs finally made some noise when Lennon Creer broke free for a 69-yard scamper to the endzone. For the next 15 minutes, the game turned into a defensive chess match until Louisiana Tech's backup runningback Ray Holley found the endzone from three yards out, giving the team their first lead of the game. Their slim 14-10 lead lasted until midway through the third quarter, when Hartman threw his second touchdown of the day, this one a 25-yarder to C.J. Bellamy (pictured above), who broke two tackles on his way to the endzone. The Outlaws added another score with seven minutes left to play as Max Drew found the endzone for the first time, giving them a two-score lead over a team who had managed just two scores in the first 55 minutes of play. The Bulldogs did make a last-ditch effort to win the game, closing the gap to three points with a goal line TD run by Lennon Creer with two minutes left. Louisiana Tech even recovered the ensuing onside kick, but the 38-yard field goal to send it into overtime was wide right.
In one of his best efforts of the season, James Hartman completed 14 of 23 passes for 126 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. His go-to man was true sophomore C.J. Bellamy, who had seven catches for 73 yards and a score. But the true offensive workhorse was once again the ground game, where Max Drew and Chaz Foreman combined for 129 yards and a touchdown off 40 carries, averaging 3.2 yards per touch. Credit must also go to an inspired defensive unit who recorded three sacks, forced a punt on the majority of their third down stands, and limited the Bulldogs to just two redzone trips despite allowing 362 yards.
"I think this game goes to prove just how much the little things matter," said head coach Major Applewhite when asked how his team managed to win despite being outgained offensively. "We limited their offensive opportunities by controlling the clock, we kept our drive-killing penalties to a minimum, and they just didn't do that. So we might've had less yardage, and we might've lost the turnover battle, but we made the most of chances we got, and we won the game."
A good deal of the blame for Louisiana Tech's loss will be pointed at junior quarterback Colby Cameron, who completed just 25% of his 20 attempted passes for 139 yards. And most of that yardage came from a 70-yard completion to Quinton Patton, who was stopped just short of the endzone. Senior runningback Lennon Creer certainly made the most of his opportunities on the ground, rushing for 180 yards and two touchdowns off 18 carries, but couldn't carry the team to victory by himself. Defensively, senior Dusty Rust (OLB) led the team with ten tackles and a sack, Terry Carter (CB) had an interception, and the unit as a whole held West Texas to 17 points in five redzone trips, but it simply wasn't enough. After this week's stunning upset, the Bulldogs will look to recover next week when they host UL Monroe (3-5, 1-3) before finishing up their season with road games against North Texas (4-4, 2-3) and Tulane.
Riding the emotional high of their first multiple-game win streak, the Outlaws will look to keep the good times rolling when they stay in Louisiana next week to face off against the Tulane Green Wave (4-4, 2-2). The team is surprisingly similar to WTU, having struggled on offense for the majority of the season while relying on their stout defense. The Green Wave have only allowed a conference-best 139 rushing yards per game, while forcing 18 turnovers over their first eight games. Tulane suffered back-to-back losses for the first time this season before their bye week, and will look stop the bleeding against the Outlaws.
West Texas Outlaws at Louisiana Tech Bulldogs Nov 5, 2011 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH SCORE West Texas Outlaws (3-5, 2-2) 10 0 7 7 24 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (4-5, 3-2) 7 7 0 7 21 Team Stats Comparison WTU LT Total Offense 289 362 Rushing Yards 163 223 Passing Yards 126 139 First Downs 22 13 Punt Return Yards 78 8 Kick Return Yards 69 51 Total Yards 436 421 Turnovers 1 0 3rd Down Converstion 10-18 (55%) 6-14 (42%) 4th Down Conversion 1-2 (50%) 0-0 (0%) 2-Point Conversion 0-0 (0%) 0-0 (0%) Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals 5-2-1 (60%) 2-2-0 (100%) Penalties 6-40 12-97 Posession Time 35:19 24:41 Scoring Summary FIRST QUARTER SCORING WTU LT 9:35 (WTU) FG: Caleb Reynolds, 23 yard kick 3 0 7:27 (WTU) TD: Michael Maynard, 1 yard pass from James Hartman 10 0 6:26 (LT) TD: Lennon Creer, 69 yard run 10 7 SECOND QUARTER SCORING WTU LT 2:46 (LT) TD: Ray Holley, 3 yard run 10 14 THIRD QUARTER SCORING WTU LT 11:17 (WTU) TD: C.J. Bellamy, 25 yard pass from James Hartman 17 14 FOURTH QUARTER SCORING WTU LT 6:53 (WTU) TD: Max Drew, 2 yard run 24 14 2:03 (LT) TD: Lennon Creer, 3 yard run 24 21 Comment
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AROUND THE LEAGUE
-WEEK ELEVEN-
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Good seeing you get your run game going a little bit, it'll be interesting to see how they fair against Tulane's run D.
RIP West
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I'll be coming home from offshore Monday, then it's off to Texas for Thanksgiving, so the updates will be a few and far between until the week after Thanksgiving, when I have a good amount of days off to report before returning to work.
On a side note, after much consideration I have decided to alter my conference alignment starting next season. My current alignment seemed like a good idea at the time, but turns out to be just a little too far-fetched. Instead, I'll go with a system that better reflects the current rumors and movements around the league...a kind of 'what if' situation with a little fantasy thrown in. Here's how it will pan out:
-The PAC-12 officially invites Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State. As a result, TCU and West Virginia withdraw their acceptance into the Big XII, reducing the conference to just four teams.
Code:[b][u]PAC-16[/u][/b][u][/u] [b]EAST WEST[/b] Texas Oregon Texas Tech Oregon St. Oklahoma Washington Oklahoma St. Washington St. Arizona USC Arizona St. Cal Colorado Stanford Utah UCLA
-In an effort to keep pace, the SEC officially invites Georgia Tech and Florida State. With new members Missouri and Texas A&M already incoming, the SEC is now at 16 teams.
Code:[b][u]SEC[/u][/b][u][/u] [b]EAST WEST[/b] Florida Alabama Florida St. Auburn Georgia LSU Kentucky Arkansas Tennessee Mississippi St. Vanderbilt Ole Miss Georgia Tech Missouri South Carolina Texas A&M
-With new members Pittsburgh and Syracuse already committed to the ACC, the conference decides not to add any more members, and simply restructure the division alignment to stay at 12 teams.
Code:[b][u]ACC[/u][/b][u][/u] [b]Atlantic Coastal[/b] Boston College Miami Pittsburgh Clemson Syracuse North Carolina Maryland NC State Virginia Wake Forest Virginia Tech Duke
-With just four members remaining, the Big XII strikes a merger deal with the Mountain West to maintain it's automatic BCS bid. Under the agreement, the Big XII retains Baylor, Kansas, Kansas State, and incoming team TCU, and adds Mountain West schools Boise State, Nevada, Fresno State, Hawaii, and San Diego State. To round out the conference, the Big XII adds independent and former Mountain West school BYU, and former C-USA schools Houston and Tulsa. The Mountain West conference is no more. Wyoming decides to go independent.
Code:[b][u]Big XII[/u][/b][u][/u] [b]EAST WEST[/b] Baylor Boise St. Kansas Nevada Kansas St. Fresno St. TCU Hawaii Houston BYU Tulsa San Diego St.
-The WAC adds former C-USA school UTEP, and former MWC schools UNLV, New Mexico, and Colorado State to join current members Idaho, New Mexico State, and San Jose State. Montana replaces Utah in FBS play and joins the new-look WAC, and Louisiana Tech leaves the conference.
Code:[b][u]WAC[/u][/b][u][/u] Idaho UNLV San Jose St. Colorado St. Montana New Mexico New Mexico St. UTEP
-The Sun Belt replaces FIU and FAU with FBS newcomers West Texas and Texas State. Troy, Mid Tenn St., Arkansas State, UL Lafayette, UL Monroe, and North Texas all stay with the conference, while Western Kentucky heads back to the FCS, reducing the conference to eight teams.
Code:[b][u]Sun Belt[/u][/b][u][/u] Troy Mid Tenn St. Arkansas St. West Texas Texas St. ULL ULM North Texas
-Pittsburgh and Syracuse have left the Big East, and TCU has cancelled their plan to move in, but West Virginia has decided to stay. The conference is left with West Virginia, UConn, Rutgers, Louisville, Cincinnati, and USF. In danger of losing their automatic BCS bid, the conference adds former C-USA school UCF, accelerates the entry of Villanova into the conference, and also adds FBS newcomer Appalachian State. But the biggest news comes with the acceptance of Notre Dame as it's 10th member, adding legitimacy to the conference so that it can maintain it's automatic BCS bid.
Code:[b][u]Big East[/u][/b][u][/u] Notre Dame West Virginia Cincinnati Louisville USF UCF Rutgers UConn Villanova Appalachian St.
-When the dust settles on their failed merger with the Mountain West, the C-USA is left with ECU, Marshall, UAB, Memphis, Southern Miss, SMU, and Tulane. The conference adds formers WAC school Louisiana Tech, to come up to nine teams.
Code:[b][u]C-USA[/u][/b][u][/u] ECU Marshall UAB Memphis Southern Miss SMU Tulane Louisiana Tech
-With the Mountain West disbanded and some teams left out in the cold by conference realignments, the door is open for a new conference to emerge. Former Mountain West school Air Force joins former independent military schools Army and Navy in the new conference, as well as former MAC schools Temple, Ball State, Northern Illinois, and Bowling Green, and former BCS schools Iowa State and Minnesota to form the Great American Conference. (This new conference will actually be the Mountain West in the game)
Code:[b][u]Great American Conference (GAC)[/u][/b][u][/u] Army Navy Air Force Temple Ball St. Northern Illinois Bowling Green Iowa St. Minnesota
-The MAC retains Akron, Kent State, Central Michigan, Western Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Miami University, Ohio, and Toledo, but loses Bowling Green, Temple, Northern Illinois, and Ball State to the newly-formed Great American conference, and Buffalo to FCS play. The conference adds former Big Ten school Indiana to come up to nine teams.
Code:[b][u]MAC[/u][/b][u][/u] Central Michigan Western Michigan Eastern Michigan Toledo Akron Kent St. Miami Univ. Ohio Indiana
-In the whirlwind of re-alignment, the Big Ten remains relatively unscathed, but does lose two of their more mediocre programs in Indiana and Minnesota to reduce the conference to ten teams.
Code:[b][u]Big Ten[/u][/b][u][/u] Penn St. Ohio St. Michigan Michigan St. Wisconsin Iowa Nebraska Purdue Illinois Northwestern
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A few tweaks made to the new conference alignment to increase the number of non-BCS teams.
-Sun Belt retains Troy and Mid Tenn St. instead of sending them to the C-USA. The conference is now at eight teams.
-ECU and Marshall stay in the C-USA instead of going to the Big East. The conference is now at nine teams, while the Big East is at ten.
-Minnesota is added to the Great American Conference, bringing them up to nine teams.
-Indiana is added to the MAC, bringing them up to nine teams.
-The Big Ten goes down to ten teams. This right here is what really made me do this latest round of tweaks. Guess it's my OCD, but I just can't stand the fact that the Big TEN has more than ten teams. Plus, I had to remove protected rivalries, so I wanted Michigan and Ohio St. to be able to play each other every year.
I'm back home now, recovering from an upper respiratory infection. Expect updates this week in between me playing Batman: AC.Comment
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Double post.Comment
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WEEK TWELVE
WEST TEXAS OUTLAWS (3-5, 2-2)
VS.
TULANE GREEN WAVE (4-4, 2-2)
Against all odds, the Outlaws continue to win. Outmatched on paper, facing off against much more experienced and established programs, and despite critical injuries on both sides of the ball...the Outlaws continue to win. Their latest improbable victory came in Louisiana, where West Texas posted their best offensive performance to date, gaining 443 yards and scoring 41 points in a double-digit victory over Tulane.
The Outlaws turned the first quarter into a one-sided affair, posting a 29-yard field goal by Caleb Reynolds and a 5-yard TD run by Max Drew to give them an early 10-0 lead, which they would extend to 17 at the top of the second quarter when James Hartman found Michael Maynard for a 32-yard touchdown pass. With less than twelve minutes to play in the first half, the Green Wave finally managed to find the endzone when quarterback Ryan Griffin hit Joe Kemp for a 9-yard TD pass. After stifling West Texas on their next offensive possession, Tulane found themselves in a position to close the gap to just three points. Instead, cornerback Mike McDaniel forced a fumble on a blitz, and returned it 28 yards for the score. Not one to sit back and take a beating lightly, the Green Wave responded with touchdown passes to Joe Kemp and runningback Orleans Darkwa in the closing minutes of the first half. Attempting to catch the Outlaws off guard, Tulane attempted a two-point conversion on their final score, but the try was unsuccessful, giving WTU a 24-20 lead at halftime. In danger of seeing their once secure lead slip away, West Texas came out firing on all cylinders in the third quarter, this despite the fact that James Hartman left the game at halftime with a mild concussion. But true freshman Charles Dickson came in and controlled the game like a true pro, hitting Michael Maynard for a 45-yard TD pass to open up the scoring in the second half. Max Drew added a second rushing touchdown near the end of the third quarter, giving the Outlaws a 38-20 lead. Ryan Griffin threw his fourth touchdown pass of the day to fullback Kasey Stelly at the top of the fourth quarter, but the Green Wave would not find the endzone again. WTU added a 31-yard field goal for good measure with just over a minute to play, securing their 41-26 victory.
Senior quarterback James Hartman completed nine of fourteen passes for 110 yards and a touchdown in the first half before leaving the game with a mild concussion, but the biggest surprise came from true freshman backup Charles Dickson. In his first action of the season, he completed 75% of his 20 passes for 199 yards and a score without throwing an interception against Tulane's ball-hawking defense. Third-year sophomore Michael Maynard was simply unstoppable in the secondary, recording eleven receptions for 193 yards and two touchdowns, while tight end Nathan Hills caught nine balls for 91 yards. On the ground, Max Drew did his part against the conference's stingiest rush defense, carrying the ball 21 times for 90 yards and two scores. Defensively, the team recorded two sacks, and senior cornerback Mike McDaniel forced and recovered a fumble, scoring a touchdown on the only turnover of the day. Tulane was held to less than 300 total offensive yards, and converted just three of their ten 3rd down attempts.
As for the Green Wave, junior quarterback Ryan Griffin completed half of his 30 attempted passes for 176 yards and four touchdowns, generating most of the team's offensive production by himself. His go-to man was Ryan Grant, who had five catches for 64 yards. Senior Joe Kemp had just 36 yards on two receptions, but they both went for touchdowns. Groundwise, true sophomore runningback Orleans Darkwa rushed for 84 yards off 15 carries, averaging a highly-respectable 5.6 yards per touch, and also had a 2-yard TD reception. As for the defense, Tulane recorded one sack, and junior Darryl Farley (OLB) had 13 tackles, but they also allowed nearly 450 yards of total offense, 20 points in four redzone trips, a 68% conversion percentage on third downs, and for just the second time this season did not force a turnover. Now on a three game losing skid including their last two at home, the Green Wave will hit the road next week to face off against Rice (3-6, 3-2), before finishing their season against in-state rivals Louisiana Tech and UL Monroe.
In a four-way tie for first place in the Sun Belt, the Outlaws will look to continue their recent dominance over Louisiana schools when they return home to host UL Lafayette (5-4, 3-2) in a special Saturday night game. Losers in two of their last three games, the Ragin Cajuns will look to stay in the hunt for a conference title with a victory in Odessa. ULL has survived mostly on luck, as all five of their wins have been decided by five points or less, and they have lost four by an average of 22 points per game. The Outlaws will certainly look to take advantage of one of the nation's worst rush defenses, but must contain senior tight end LaDarius Green, who has 34 catches for 625 yards and a team-leading six touchdowns this season.
West Texas Outlaws at Tulane Green Wave Nov 12, 2011 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH SCORE West Texas Outlaws (3-5, 2-2) 10 14 14 3 41 Tulane Green Wave (4-4, 2-2) 0 20 0 6 26 Team Stats Comparison WTU TULN Total Offense 443 293 Rushing Yards 134 117 Passing Yards 309 176 First Downs 23 17 Punt Return Yards 14 17 Kick Return Yards 89 176 Total Yards 546 486 Turnovers 0 1 3rd Down Converstion 11-16 (68%) 3-10 (30%) 4th Down Conversion 0-1 (0%) 1-1 (100%) 2-Point Conversion 0-0 (0%) 0-2 (0%) Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals 4-2-2 (100%) 3-3-0 (100%) Penalties 16-106 11-109 Posession Time 35:47 24:13 Scoring Summary FIRST QUARTER SCORING WTU TULN 8:38 (WTU) FG: Caleb Reynolds, 29 yard kick 3 0 4:57 (WTU) TD: Max Drew, 5 yard run 10 0 SECOND QUARTER SCORING WTU TULN 15:00 (WTU) TD: Michael Maynard, 32 yard pass from James Hartman 17 0 11:45 (TULN) TD: Joe Kemp, 9 yard pass from Ryan Griffin 17 7 7:42 (WTU) TD: Mike McDaniel, returned fumble 28 yards 24 7 4:45 (TULN) TD: Joe Kemp, 27 yard pass from Ryan Griffin 24 14 0:49 (TULN) TD: Orleans Darkwa, 2 yard pass from Ryan Griffin (2-pt. conv. no good) 24 20 THIRD QUARTER SCORING WTU TULN 12:57 (WTU) TD: Michael Maynard, 45 yard pass from C. Dickson 31 20 1:35 (WTU) TD: Max Drew, 3 yard run 38 20 FOURTH QUARTER SCORING WTU TULN 13:21 (TULN) TD: Kasey Stelly, 4 yard pass from Ryan Griffin (2-pt. conv. no good) 38 26 1:03 (WTU) FG: Caleb Reynolds, 31 yard kick 41 26 Comment
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AROUND THE LEAGUE
-WEEK TWELVE-
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