2013 BYU Football Season Simulation on NCAA Football 14

For those of you who are gamers, you are probably well aware of the new NCAA Football 14 game coming out last week.

When this annual game comes out, it signifies another key turning point in the off-season.  Now we only have national media Days, fall camp, and boom it’s the opening weekend.

Personally, I have been playing the NCAA Football games for years.  This is actually a 20th anniversary for me.  The first game I played was Bill Walsh College Football ’94 on Sega Genesis.  Remember that game?  BYU was listed as “Provo ’94” and I was wrecking opponents with John Walsh.

Now with being a husband, and a parent I don’t have as much time in my day to play.  But when I do find the time, it’s always fun.

One of the weird things I do when I first get the game is simulate the entire upcoming schedule for BYU.  I don’t know why I have done this, but for some reason I have.  Hell, I would actually watch full length simulated games.  Yeah I have some issues.  To keep this weird and unusual tradition alive I went ahead and simulated BYU’s 2013 season in an online dynasty for all of you to see how it played out.

I didn’t edit any of the ratings to the players. All I did was added players actual names and made changes to each BYU player’s accessories (helmet, gloves, visors, etc.).  Set the difficulty to All-American mode, and I also created Idaho State in TeamBuilder so we weren’t stuck with an FCS West squad.  EA Sports, bring back the FCS teams, please!  Replaced the Idaho Vandals with the Bengals of Idaho State.  What’s the difference really between the two?  Not much.

How the simulation played out for the Cougars would likely be considered a disappointment for Cougar Nation in 2013.  BYU finished 7-6 with a bowl win over Marshall in the Gildan New Mexico Bowl.  EA didn’t have the built-in contract with Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl in place.

Here’s how the game-by-game results played out.  And yes, “lakercoug” is my PlayStation Network ID. If you want to add me, feel free. Looking to set up an Online Dynasty for Cougar Center fans in the coming days.  I have my details on that at the bottom of the article.

BYU’s 2013 Schedule & Results Simulated in NCAA Football 14

Some things that stand out from these simulated results.

• I could see the Virginia game playing out on August 31st to a similar score.  The Virginia game reminds me a lot of Ole Miss in 2011.  Traveling a far distance, new offense, QB who is looking to gain confidence as bonafide number one starter, yet despite all that BYU finds a way to get a huge win.  Only twice in Mendenhall era has BYU scored 30 or more points in a season-opener.  And those games were against Washington State (2012) and Northern Iowa (2008).
• Losing to Texas by that big of a margin would be a gut-wrenching blow, and then to follow it up two weeks later with a fourth straight loss to Utah by one point? Not good.
• A loss to Middle Tennessee? If BYU started 1-3 and one of those three losses was to the Blue Raiders, I fear the reaction from the fan base.
• Pull off a string of wins against the “fillers” of the schedule.
• Another tough loss to Boise State.  If this was the outcome BYU would be 0-4 all-time against the Broncos.
• Huge win against a ranked Wisconsin squad in Madison.  After the bad losses earlier in the year, this would salvage some of the season right?
• Beat downs at the hands of Notre Dame and Nevada to cap off regular season.  Leaving BYU at 6-6 on year.
• Huge win over a 6-6 squad in the New Mexico Bowl.  Sounds like the 2010 team all over again. The bowl win gives BYU a 7-6 finish to the toughest schedule in school history.

Some individual notes

• BYU shuffled between Taysom Hill and Ammon Olsen at Quarterback.  Hill threw for 1,631 yards on a 15-10 ratio. While Olsen started four games going 2-2 in those games and threw for 1,389 on a 15-9 ratio.
• BYU’s running attack with Jamaal Williams and Michael Alisa was non-existent.  The two combined for barely over 1,000 yards.
• Cody Hoffman had 1,289 receiving yards.
• Kyle Van Noy had two sacks, four interceptions, two forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries.  He did it all, even in a video game.

National notes from simulation

• Alabama won their third straight National Championship, coasting through their weak 2013 schedule.
• Four of BYU’s 2013 opponents finished in the final Top 25 polls.
• Nebraska, Washington, and Arizona finished in the Top 10 of the final Coaches poll.

Let’s hope for BYU’s sake the video game version is way off when it comes to the Cougars fortunes in 2013.

With the Online Dynasty, tweet me @Mitch_Harper if you are interested in playing. PlayStation 3 league, will be starting within the next week.  Once you tweet me I will give more details if you’re interested.

UPDATE: For those of you who are Xbox 360 gamers, our friend of the site and producer of Cougar Sports 960, Jake Hatch is setting up an online dynasty for the 360 folks.  His twitter handle is @JakeHatch77.

How would you feel if BYU finished the 2013 season at 7-6 with a bowl win?  Would it be a step in the right direction? Or would it be a step back for the program?