The Wild West | A West Texas Outlaws Dynasty

[kyhadley]

Just caught up with all of this. Nice first two seasons, Sands must have been fun to play with. The third did seem to be a transition year so let's hope it transitions to something better!

 

[G-men]

Just caught up with the last season. Definitely a rough year, but nothing you didn't see coming.

On a side note, your preseason post noted that unranked Alabama has its best shot in three years of winning the SEC again. I though it was kinda cool that your prediction turned out to be correct.

 

[St. Francisco]

2014 AWARDS CEREMONY

 

[St. Francisco]

2014 BOWL RECAP

 

[St. Francisco]

I've decided to go ahead and call this dynasty quits...sort of. With the release of NCAA 13 just around the corner, I feel this is a good place to wrap this dynasty up. However, I will continue to play it out, because I'm curious to see how long it will take me to enter a BCS conference, and win a national title. So, I will continue with very small updates, summarizing my recruiting and my seasons until that time.

Thanks to everyone who read, and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. I wish I could've got through more years of full reporting, but it is what it is I guess. Maybe we can get through five years in the next installment.

 

[St. Francisco]

2015​

RECRUITING: Pulled in my best recruiting class ever, ranked 15th in the nation, and it could've been even better. I had a soft commit from Jonathan Godfrey (ATH), the #3 overall prospect headed into the final week of offseason recruiting, but he ended up going to Kent State. I did get some solid recruits though, including four-star prospects at defensive tackle, runningback, cornerback, free safety, and an athlete that I converted to cornerback. The rest of my recruits were three-star prospects. Auburn had the #1 recruiting class. Our poor season downgraded us back to a three-star prestige team.


SEASON: We returned to our dominating ways from one year ago, finishing the regular season with a 9-3 (7-1) record with losses to Texas Tech, SMU, and Troy. I ended up losing out to Troy in a tiebreaker for the Sun Belt title, but still earned an appearance in the Godaddy.com Bowl, where I lost to #23 Toledo (9-3, 8-0) 39-32. Sophomore QB Brett Brown played exceptionally well for me under center, completing 50% of his passes for 1,976 yards, 14 touchdowns, and five interceptions. Sophomore wide receiver Reggie Robinson had 64 catches for 778 yards and six touchdowns, and junior tight end Van Ricks had 44 catches for 700 yards and six touchdowns. But the offense truly rested on sophomore runningback Eddie Rucker, who rushed for 1,744 yards and a team-record 21 touchdowns, averaging 5.4 yards per carry. Defensively, sophomore Nick Bowers (DE) led the charge with 63 tackles and a team-leading 4.5 sacks, while junior cornerback Thomas Bray continued his stellar play with 48 tackles and six interceptions, bringing his career total to 19 picks with one season to play. Bray also racked up 794 yards and a touchdown in the kick return game. As for the rest of the league, Oregon was the only team to finish undefeated, and Texas earned the second national title berth ahead of other one-loss teams like Iowa, Miami, TCU, and Auburn. Led by senior QB David Ash in their third straight national title appearance, the Longhorns got revenge for last year's loss by beating Oregon 28-19 to earn their second national championship in the last three years. Auburn's senior runningback Mike Blakely won the Heisman after rushing for 2,044 yards and 18 touchdowns, averaging 6.9 yards per carry.

 

[St. Francisco]

2016​

RECRUITING: I had a whopping five players graduate. That's right...five. Really goes to show you just how young the team is, and how good they can be in a few years. I took this opportunity to strengthen the entire roster, and pulled in a recruiting class of 13 guys which included four-star prospects at quarterback, runningback, wide receiver, and tight end. I finished with the 17th ranked recruiting class, while Wisconsin finished #1. North Texas snagged the #4 overall recruit, Ike Johnson, an athlete who will immediately improve their roster. New Mexico St. finished with the worst recruiting class.


PRE-SEASON: Became a four-star prestige team again, and started with my best ratings ever, 78 overall, 76 on offense, and 79 on defense, ranked 58th in the country. My best players are junior Nick Bowers (DE, 87 OVR), junior Eddie Rucker (HB, 82 OVR), sophomore Josh Moore (FS, 80 OVR), and senior Thomas Bray (CB, 80 OVR). By the numbers, we are the best team in the Sun Belt. Thomas Bray was a first team All-American, and Eddie Rucker was a second team All-American. Speaking of Rucker, he grabbed the honor of being the first player in school history to be featured on the Heisman watch, coming in at #3. Texas and Alabama came in #1 and #2 on the preseason polls, but the best team by the numbers is #18 Penn State, 97 overall. The best player in the nation is senior Josh Patrick (HB, 98 OVR) out of Florida.


SEASON: Ladies and gentlemen, the West Texas Outlaws are your 2016 Sun Belt conference champions! We finished with a record of 9-3 (7-1), losing games to Washington (25-21), UTEP (26-14), and a triple overtime heartbreaker to Wake Forest (38-35). We did, however, beat Texas Tech 31-24 for the first time in school history! Headed into the New Orleans Bowl against Appalachian State (6-6,5-3), we ranked 12th in points per game (32.5), 22nd in total offense, 16th in total defense, and 12th with a turnover differential of +7. Unfortunately, we lost to the Mountaineers 34-28 in double overtime. Junior QB Brett Brown had a stellar year under center, completing 55% of his passes for 2,603 yards, 22 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions, while Reggie Robinson led the receiving corps with 41 catches for 625 yards and 8 touchdowns. On the ground, Eddie Rucker rushed for 1,611 yards and 17 touchdowns for an average of 5.4 yards per carry, while backup Aaron Jackson had 701 yards and eight touchdowns, averaging six yards per carry. Jackson missed the end of the season with an injury, but he did impress in a 28-21 win over Arkansas State, carrying the ball 29 times for 240 yards and two scores. Jackson had 97 speed, and will surely be a terror once Rucker graduates. Defensively, senior CB Thomas Bray led the charge once again with 48 tackles and seven interceptions, finishing his career with an incredible 26 picks, finishing just five interceptions shy of tying the FBS record for most in a career. We didn't have any All-Americans, but we did dominate the All Sun Belt team with fifteen selections on the first and second teams. Around the rest of the league, one-loss Texas met one-loss Michigan in the national title, and the Longhorns won their third title in the last four years 20-17, continuing their domination of the NCAA. The Heisman trophy went to Auburn's senior runningback Tremayne Thomas, who rushed for 2,314 yards and 26 touchdowns.

 

[kyhadley]

Nice work! Might have to step up from the Sun Belt soon, see how you fare against some better competition. Also good job starting to make it a rivalry with Texas Tech.

 

[tbuc]

I just caught up on everything. I love the setup. Good to see WTU have such great success in conference. I'd assume to goal next year is to win a bowl game.

 

[St. Francisco]

2017​

RECRUITING: Had a small graduating class once again, only losing ten players. And I only recruited 10 more players, giving me the 62nd ranked recruiting class in the nation. I did have an important landmark for me in landing Rian Ryan, a wide receiver who is my first five-star prospect in this dynasty. He comes in at 79 OVR, instantly making him my most talented wide receiver. I also grabbed a four-star athlete prospect, who I converted to cornerback. Florida had the top-ranked recruiting class after bringing in 6 five-star prospects, but I think the real winner was Texas, who got commitments from three of the top four prospects in the nation and had the 2nd best recruiting class. Ball State had the worst recruiting class.


PRE-SEASON: After finally winning the Sun Belt title, I figured it was time for a change, so I moved to the C-USA for some elevated competition, and moved North Texas to the Sun Belt. We're still a four-star prestige team, and the roster is really talented. 83 overall, 81 on offense, and 84 on defense, giving me the best rating in every category in the C-USA. My best players are senior Nick Bowers (DE, 91 OVR), senior Eddie Rucker (HB, 86 OVR), junior Josh Moore (FS, 83 OVR), and cornerbacks J.R. Medley (81 OVR) and Randall Jamison (81 OVR) just to name a few. Eddie Rucker is a 2nd team All-American, and made the preseason Heisman watch list again. Texas has a strong team once again, and comes in at #1 in the polls, but the best team by the numbers is #18 USC, who is 99 overall, 96 on offense, and 99 on defense. I'm ranked 50th, and Tulane is 120th. The best player in the nation is senior Richard Cole (SS, 98 OVR) of Texas.


SEASON: Wow...I expected us to be successful, but I didn't expect this. We simply decimated the competition, starting the season 9-0 before we lost two of our last three games to finish with a 10-2 (8-0) record. Naturally, we won the C-USA title. My losses came to out of conference opponents Arkansas State (42-35) and San Diego State (37-28). As for my victories, I won seven of nine games by double digits, which included a 24-10 win over Texas Tech and a 39-0 win against Appalachian State. My performance landed us in the Autozone Liberty Bowl against Big East opponent UCF (9-3, 6-3). I came in ranked 4th in points per game (34.8), 17th in total offense, 27th in total defense, and 6th in rush defense. Against the Knights, we put up 445 yards of total offense in a 28-23 victory to finish with an 11-2 record. I was also ranked 19th in the country in the final polls. Senior quarterback Brett Brown was magnificent in his final year, completing 51% of his passes for 2,829 yards, AN NCAA BEST 36 touchdowns, and just 8 interceptions. His go-to man was second-year freshman Kyler Newell, who had 42 catches for 850 yards and 10 touchdowns. On the ground, senior Eddie Rucker rushed for 1,313 yards and 8 touchdowns, averaging 5.4 yards per carry, and sophomore Aaron Jackson rushed for 1,062 yards and 9 touchdowns, averaging an amazing 6.9 yards per carry. Defensively, senior Rodney Anderson (DE) led the team with 67 tackles and 5.5 sacks. In the national title race, things got all sorts of chaotic. One-loss teams Penn State, Virginia Tech, and LSU all lost their conference title games, so that left SEC champ #2 Auburn (11-2, 8-2) to battle Big XII champ #1 Oklahoma (11-2, 8-2) for all the marbles...and in predictable fashion, the Sooners choked, losing 32-16. Texas finished the regular season 9-3 (6-3), and lost to Boise St. in the Alamo Bowl, ending their amazing run. The Heisman went to Auburn's junior runningback Mark Bostic, who had 2,335 yards and 20 touchdowns, averaging 6.3 yards per carry. This marks the second straight year an Auburn runningback won the award. In the interest of giving myself the best chance possible once I make the jump to a BCS conference, I've decided to stay in the C-USA for at least one more year, and beef up the difficulty of my out-of-conference schedule.

 

[St. Francisco]

2018​

RECRUITING: In 2015, Oklahoma landed the top two prospects in the nation, runningbacks David Alexander and Leon Hudson. They have spent the last two seasons splitting time, with Alexander taking the top spot on the depth chart. Hudson rushed for 1,765 yards and 17 touchdowns over his two seasons, averaging 5.4 yards per carry, but decided that he'd had enough of splitting time with Alexander, so he transferred to WTU this offseason! Hudson will redshirt this season, and have two years of eligibility remaining when he joins the team in 2019. At 87 overall, he was the highest-rated player to transfer. As far as recruiting went, I had a pretty good haul. I wanted to bring in 19 players to fill all of my holes, and managed to get 15 players. I got committments from four-star prospects at quarterback, cornerback, defensive end, wide receiver, runningback, and an athlete I converted to cornerback. I finished with the 24th ranked recruiting class in the nation. Texas finished with the best recruiting class, Auburn had the highest number of five-star recruits with four, and UL Lafayette had the worst recruiting class in the nation. Oregon landed the top recruit in the nation, five-star athlete Jared Coker.


PRE-SEASON: Despite finishing with an 11-2 (8-0) record and a bowl win last season, we're still a four-star prestige team. I guess you gotta win a BCS bowl or a BCS conference title to get that fifth star. Once again, we're fielding the most talented team in the C-USA, 86 overall, 85 on offense, and 85 on defense. My best players are junior Aaron Jackson (HB, 87 OVR), seniors Josh Moore (FS, 87 OVR), Rodney Torres (DT, 86 OVR), and Joel Little (SS, 85 OVR), and juniors J.R. Medley (84 OVR) and Anthony Coe (84 OVR) at cornerback just to name a few. I'm really excited to see what Jackson can do, as he has performed exceptionally as the backup the last two seasons. He had killer 99 speed, and will also handle kick and punt returns. Auburn is the #1 team in the polls, but the best team by the numbers is #23 Texas, who is 97 overall, and 96 on offense and defense. I just missed being ranked in the preseason, coming in at #27. Idaho is #120. The best player in the league is senior Marcus Thurman (99 OVR), a center for Oklahoma.


SEASON: We continued our newfound success in 2018, finishing the regular season with a 10-2 (7-1) record, and a third straight conference championship. Our losses came to Louisiana Tech (22-14) and #10 Oklahoma (31-30), but I did score quality wins over Texas Tech (31-30), Notre Dame (49-14), and #22 Southern Miss (42-20). As the C-USA champ, we landed a spot in the Autzone Liberty Bowl again, this time against Big East opponent Louisville (7-5, 6-3). Coming into the game, we ranked 22nd in points per game (31.1), 15th in rushing offense, and 15th in total defense, and beat the Cardinals 35-28 for back-to-back bowl victories and a final ranking of 11th in the country! The national title race was wacky, with one-loss teams Oregon, Iowa, Georgia Tech, and Texas forced to settle for lesser bowls while two-loss conference champions Wisconsin of the Big Ten and TCU of the Big East battled for the ultimate title, which the Horned Frogs won 20-19. What I did find cool was that all four one-loss teams met each other in the BCS bowls, with Oregon beating Iowa in the Rose Bowl, and Texas beating Georgia Tech in the Fiesta Bowl. The Heisman trophy went to Georgia Tech's junior quarterback Kyle Clark, who only completed 48% of his passes for 1,567 yards and 16 touchdowns, but also rushed for 1,287 yards and another 17 touchdowns on the ground. As for the Outlaws, senior quarterback Lee Robbins completed 49% of his passes for 2,226 yards, 28 touchdowns, and 8 interceptions. His go-to man was second-year freshman Rian Ryan, who impressed in his first season with 66 catches for 913 yards and 15 touchdowns, which set a new school record for most receiving TDs in a single season. On the ground, Aaron Jackson lived up to the hype with 1,727 yards and 10 touchdowns, averaging 6.1 yards per carry.

 

[St. Francisco]

2019​

RECRUITING: With our increased skill comes the unfortunate side-effect of losing underclassmen in the offseason. Junior runningback Aaron Jackson declared for the draft, and sophomore wide receiver Adam Winston transferred to New Mexico State due to a lack of playing time. I also received a transfer in sophomore Rashad Burton, a fullback from Colorado who will have to sit out his junior year before joining the team as a senior in 2020. As far as recruiting goes, I pulled in my best class ever, rankin 18th nationally. I landed 19 players, including four-star prospects at quarterback, runningback, and an athlete I converted to ???. Auburn had the best recruiting class, and also pulled in four 5-star prospects, the most in the nation. All four of them ranked in the top seven. Florida grabbed the top-ranked recruit, Brad Miller (ATH). Kent State had the worst recruiting class in the nation.


PRE-SEASON: In my 9th year as a member of the FBS, the Outlaws have officially joined a BCS conference. I'm now a part of the Big XII South! Baylor has been underperforming, so I moved them to the Big East South to be with TCU, and moved SMU to the C-USA. My continued success has earned us a five-star team prestige rating, and we also enter the year as the most talented Outlaws squad yet at 88 overall, 90 on offense, and 84 on defense. Our talent was enough to earn us a preseason ranking of #17, the first preseason ranking for the school in our nine-year history. The success of the team depends entirely upon junior runningback Leon Hudson (97 OVR), far and away my most talented player. I also have a trio of cornerbacks rated in the high 80's, as well as sophomore phenom Rian Ryan (87 OVR) at wide receiver. Around the league, Oregon has the honor of being the #1 team, and is also the most talented with a 97 overall rating. New Mexico State is ranked #120.


SEASON: To say that the Outlaws exceeded my expectation in 2019 would be a gross understatement. In our first year in the Big XII, WE TOOK HOME THE CONFERENCE TITLE! We finished the regular season with a 10-2 (7-2) record, with losses to Stanford and Texas Tech, but we scored shocking victories against ranked conference foes Oklahoma State (29-24), Texas (34-27), and Oklahoma (31-10). In the conference title game, we came up against one-loss Stanford once again, and earned our revenge with a 29-14 victory. The win gave us a berth in the Allstate Sugar Bowl, where we unfortunately were embarassed by #22 LSU 38-0. Still, what an amazing season to even make it to a BCS bowl. Junior QB Jared Ryan led the team expertly all season, completing 55% of his passes for 2,546 yards, 26 touchdowns, and 8 interceptions. His go-to man was sophomore Rian Ryan, who had 60 catches for 791 yards and 4 touchdowns, while senior tight end Travis Holiday had 38 catches for 665 yards and 8 touchdowns. On the ground, Leon Huson rushed for 1,726 yards and 13 touchdowns for an average of six yards per carry, and was a Heisman finalist. Around the league, undefeated Oregon beat one-loss Penn State 27-3 to win the national title, and the Heisman trophy went to Stanford's senior QB Darrin Craft.

Winning a Big XII conference title and appearing in a BCS bowl is good enough for me, folks. With that, I officially retire this dynasty and NCAA 2012. I'll be spending a few weeks testing out the new game, so expect a new thread from me sometime in August. Thanks to all of those who faithfully read my dynasty, and if you're interested in a created player for my next one, and haven't yet posted to tell me about it, do so now and I'll make sure you get in.

 

[G-men]

Great to see your team have success in the B12. Can't wait for your new one to start up.

 

[kyhadley]

Great end to a great dynasty. I look forward to your next.

 

[dope]

great franchise!! sorry i hadn't read it until it was all over. look forward to you next one with the new game, and i'd love to be part of it with a created player.