My CSU Rams Dynasty

[Ramfan77]

Hey, this is my first diary (and my first post here) because I just bought the game and thought I should make a diary. I want to thank Mauboy for inspiring me to buy the game with his excellent diary. Anyway, I am going to be a college freshman at Colorado State this fall, so I figured I should make a diary where I coach there, and the Rams are the heroes, not the Aztecs. I've been given a budget of $1.84 million dollars and prestige of 45. I am expected to finish .500 in conference and not get embarrased by our arch rival, the hated Buffalos of Colorado. Here is my roster which I have to start out with: I will be using a (0-20) ratings scale. [B][SIZE="3"][COLOR="black"][COLOR="black"]Offense[/COLOR][/COLOR][/SIZE][/B] [B]Quaterbacks:[/B] SR Todd Henry (8/8)-- Is pretty average but does feature above average arm strength. FR George Mcgee (4/7)--will redshirt this year. He is average in every QB area, except that he can't run. FR Sam Harper (2/8)-- Only QB on roster with good scrambling skills. Will be primary backup this year. SO Bruce Bosseler (1/5)--May develop into a below average backup over time. [B]Running Backs:[/B] JR Harry Carter (9/10)-- One of the best players on the team. He has great instincts and is a good runner between the tackles. SR Darrell Cunningham (5/5)-- An average backup. SO Marquell Lockhart (4/11)-- Not good at anything yet, but he is young and has great potential. Fullback FR Zach Morgan (5/10)--Good hands, decent at everything else. Fullback SR Nick Wages (5/5) [B]Wide Receivers:[/B] JR Eric McClesky (7/10)-- Has good speed and slighty above average hands. Certainly will be QB Todd Henry's favorite target this year. rFR Patrick Muncie (5/12)-- Not ready yet but should turn out to be a star. Has excellent punt returning skills. SR Bobby Clifton (4/4)-- Really sucks for a guy this untalented to be #3 wideout. SR Lee Kyle (3/3)-- Lets hope injuries don't strike during this year, cause I sure don't want to rely on this guy in a close game. SO Michael Bledsoe (1/9)-- Well, at least he might become decent at some point. Several other 2's or 1's. Certainly I know one area I will need to recruit. [B]Tight End:[/B] SR Willie Davis (8/8)-- Too bad he is a senior, he is a good receiver and blocker. SO Louis Frankowiack (6/11)-- Not that great yet, but the scouts say he will become a star. FR Tywoin Dickey (2/8)-- Will probably redshirt this year. [B]Tackle:[/B] Finally a position I have young starters in::) rFR Jeff Wallner (5/10) rSO Robert Graham (5/8) SR Javon Mclaughlin (3/3) [B]Guard:[/B] SR David Gregg (6/6) SO Lynn VanPelt (3/10) FR Tony Henry (2/8) [B]Center:[/B] SR Steven Richardson (7/7) a (2/2) senior FR Ken Biggs (1/6)

[Ramfan77]

[B][SIZE="3"]Defense[/SIZE][/B] [B]Defensive Line[/B] DE JR Johhny Baker (7/11)-- A balanced DE. DE SR Steve Bouza (6/6)-- Average. DT rJR Alfonso Denson (6/7)-- A run stopper. DT JR Verron Muster (5/8)-- Decent. DT SO Orlando Gardner (5/12)-- Already a decent pass rusher, and with experience, he could become a force. DT FR Jessie Smith (2/12)-- Not much now, but scouts say he could be a successful run stopper in future years. [B]Linebackers[/B] ILB JR Demarcus Gasoleen (7/9)-- His tackling skills are very good. His 2.03 GPA is a concern. ILB rFR Chuck Peele (5/10)-- Will be second sting since we will play a 4-3 I think. ILB FR Teddy Finley (4/9)-- May redshirt this year. OLB's are a great weakness for us. OLB rSO Mel Lane (5/7)-- A good pass rusher. OLB SR Tom Nugent (3/3)-- Maybe we won't play a 4-3. Whatever we do, hopefully it involves leaving this guy on the bench. OLB FR Jake Fredrickson (1/9)-- Let's hope he develops to his full potential. He will redshirt this year. (We have many other LB's, but they all suck.) [B]Cornerbacks[/B] The one position that we are great at :) Sadly, both Wilson and Mueller have 1.8 GPA's. SR Scottie Wilson (11/11) The heart of this years defense. He covers well and has good hands. A threat to pick off any pass that comes his way. JR Broderick Mueller (9/12) Sadly for opposing QB's, they will not be able to pick on a young inexperienced 2nd CB as this guy also can lock down his corner of the field. SO Buddy Bass (6/11) Good athleticism, but has poor hands. FR Jim Pyle (2/6) The only one of the 3 or lower talents with upside potential. [B]Safeties[/B] FS JR Jay Scott (9/10) Excellent tackler and aggressive run stopper. SS SR Otto Gaines (8/8) Another run stopper. FS SR Steve Clifton (4/4) SS rSO Keith Boylan (3/6) [B]Special Teams[/B] Kicker SO Chris Donaldson (6/11) Has excellent range but struggles with accuracy and kickoffs. Punter FR Rob Armstrong (1/8) Ouch! But is better than playing a (1/1)! SR. Obviously, our offense will have to always score so that we don't have to use this guy. ;) Donaldson's punt ratingss are terrible, so he would be no better. Overall: The offense has decent starters. If QB Henry stays healthy, and (9/10) RB Carter is effective, then the offense could blossom. However, the lack of depth almost everywhere will probably cause late season struggles. The defense should be much better. The Defensive line is alright, the linebackers are a bit weak, but the secondary is amazing. If the Cornerbacks stay off probation the all 8+ rated secondary should prevent big plays and anchor the defense. In all, I see no way how this Ram team could finish better than 7 wins and a bowl loss, but we'll see. If injuries strike, however, this year could be a disaster.

[Ramfan77]

We have selected Lone Star Scouting for their excellent Great Plains coverage. Hopefully they will find excellent Colorado athletes. I only have money for their service cause my assistant coaches are so terrible:( . Once I upgrade there, I will have to switch to a lesser recruiting service. Since our team does not excel or have gaping holes anywhere, we will use a balanced offense. On defense, we will use a 5-2 to take advantage of our nice DL depth. While none of the line players excel, they are all 5's or better, which beats starting a (3/3) linebacker. I've never used a 5-2 before, so this should be interesting. Now on to scheduling. We want to win games, and with a low talent team, I want to schedule very poor opponents: First I call up #118 ranked Arkansas state and request a home game. Then I called up #85 Tulsa and asked for a home game. Finally I called to ask about a home and home series with #97 Tulsa. Arkansas State turned me down so I requested #109 New Mexico State to try to get another really weak opponent. They accepted my invitation and so here is my finalized schedule: 1 New Mexico State 2 Tulsa 3 Bye 4 San Diego State 5 UNLV 6 Utah 7 Bye 8 Wyoming 9 BYU 10 New Mexico 11 Air Force 12 TCU 13 UTEP 14 Bye 15 Colorado--The must-win on the schedule. We can lose the first 11, but if we win this one, the alumni will love me. I have tried to keep the schedule light so we can be in the running for a bowl bid.

[Ramfan77]

The season is beginning today, and I am ready for my first game. We are 9 point favorites at home for our first game against New Mexico State. Something tells me that this game will be a struggle though. QB Ron Bell (7/8) from Anchorage Alaska, leads their passing offense with two (8/8) TE's and a couple of decent WR's. Fortunately, RB Henry Marsh (5/10) is not too much of a threat, and our secondary can handle their passing attack. Their defense does feature a lot of 6's 7's and an 8 in the line and linebackers, so we will need to pick on their subpar secondary to score. [B]1st Quarter[/B] We kickoff and their QB Bell decides to start picking on our talented secondary. At least I though they were talented. Passes to TE's of 13,19 and then a 17 yard slant to a wideout on the first three plays make me wonder. After crossing into our territory, they stall, as DT Verron Muster gets a big sack of 3rd and 13. The sack takes them out of FG range, and they fake punt. We stop it and get the ball on our 42. A 35 yard run by Harry Carter gets us to their 14, but then QB Todd Henry gets picked off in the end zone. An agonizing 14 play drive follows and their Fullback plows in from one yard to score 7-0. NMSU. [B]2nd Quarter[/B] A lengthy drive of ours stalls at their 32, and Donaldson comes on for the long field goal kick but misses it left. They go 3 and out and we get it back at midfield after a shanked punt. On 3rd-14 Todd Henry hits Harry Carter on a little flare route out of the backfield and a broken tackle later, he finds himself in the end zone. 7-7. With 7 minutes left in the 2nd we get the ball back. DT Verron Muster gets another big sack, again taking the driving Aggies out of field goal range. We take at the 20, with (5/5) Darrell Cunningham as the new back. While I was impressed with the long TD, Harry Carter had provided -4 yards on his last seven carries, and I want someone fresh. Cunningham gets 2 first downs with his legs, but the drive fizzles and they march down the field, and after a 34 yard hookup to a TE, they arrive at our three. But then their QB decides to throw into coverage in the endzone, and back-up safety Ken Boylan picks it off. After a failed heave to the end zone, the half ends, tied at 7-7. Both Running Backs have been unimpressive, though QB Todd Henry 7-10 112 Yards 1 TD 1 INT, and is playing well. We are going back to Harry Carter for running duties. [B]3rd Quarter[/B] We get the opening half kickoff. After a couple of failed running plays, Todd Henry takes matters into his own hands, hitting Patrick Muncie (5/12) WR, with a deep pass. Todd Henry then scrambled for 19 yards on a broken play, and then threw a beautiful pass to Eric McClesky, who takes it to the house, completeing a 46 yard touchdown strike. 14-7 [U]Rams.[/U] After that, a bunch of punts happen to end the quarter. The only bright spot is that Darrell Cunningham runs decently and is now up to 7 carries for 34 yards, easily surpassing Harry Carter's 17 carries for 31 yards. [B]4th Quarter[/B] After a 4th and 1 call at our own 48 ended in disaster, NMSU capitalized through the air, with a drive featuring their Tight Ends. A QB scramble got the TD on 3rd and goal. 14-14. A terrible kickoff for them follows, and we get it at our 40. A QB scramble by the not very fast Todd Henry takes it past midfield, and a screen to Harry Carter takes it to the 32. From there, 3 running plays gain 0 yards and Donaldson comes on for his 2nd 50 yard FG try of the day. This time, he comes through. 17-14 [I]Rams[/I] However, 7:36 remains of the clock, and their QB has already thrown for 267 yards today. A long run and two nice passes take them to 2nd and 7 on our 40. After one more nice run, I panic. At our 30, they run again, and get to the 24. On 2nd and 4, they run for no gain. After that, a short sack follows, setting up a 44 yard try to tie the game. It's SHORT. We get it back with 3:54 left and a three point lead. After two yardage lossing runs, a third down bomb to slot WR Bobby Clifton succeeds, picking up 32 yards! The drive stalls there, but the clock will be under two minutes when they get the ball back. Now they have 1:57 and the ball at their own 12 yard line. A sack and then an incomplete pass set up 3rd and 15 at their own 7. Their TE drops a pass on that down. They have to go for it on 4th and 15 from their own 7. Oh no! No! my safety has slipped, and yes, yes, a TE is running all alone in the secondary. A linebacker runs him down, but not until he picks up 52 yards! After 2 short catches, it is now 3rd and 8 for the Aggies on our 41. They have 43 seconds left and no timeouts. Then they complete a 21 yard pass. A sweep that goes nowhere, and a spike follow. Now it is 3rd and 8 from the 18. I am begging the defense for just one 3rd down stop. The Aggies inexplicably run a draw, which gains two, and their their kicker hits a 34 yarder 17-17. We will have the ball with 4 seconds left. An incompletion, and Overtime begins. [B]Overtime[/B] Todd Henry throws a 15 yard strike to Frankoweitcz (or however you spell his name), the 2nd string Tight End, and he fumbles. Luckily, a wideout falls on it, and our hopes stay alive. On 3rd and Goal from the 10, Henry throws a screen to Harry Carter who runs it in for his 2nd receiving touchdown of the day. The PAT is good and we are up 24-17. On their 4th and 5 at the 20, their WR screen gains only two yards and we prevail 24-17. Certainly we are thrilled to win, but the game raises doubts. We barely beat a dreadful team, and the running backs combined for 61 yards on 33 carries. However, QB Todd Henry was a much brighter spot going 18-31 271 yards, with 3 td's and an interception. However their QB threw for over 300 yards. Our defense was at times lacking, though, and our great secondary will have to play up to their ability if we are going to have a good season.

[Ramfan77]

Game 2 Vs. Tulsa, at home. We are 13 point favorites. This line is especially out of whack since both of our great CB's have bruises from last week's game which make them questionable for this week. I will play them, but remove them if we get ahead quickly. [B]1st Quarter[/B] The game starts off with several punts for each side. However, after Tulsa finally started to move, their QB airmailed a pass that Safety Otto Gaines picked off. Following this, and some actual running from Harry Carter, we got inside field goal range. On 3rd-8, Henry was flushed out of the pocket but threw to his secondary target, Fullback Zach Morgan, who caught the pass, broke a tackle and strolled into the end zone on the 23-yard connection. 7-0 [B]Rams.[/B] After a stop, we got the ball at our 6. Henry was sacked back to the three, and then Carter dropped a pitch, and by the time he got it back, he was leveled in the end zone. SAFETY! 7-2 [B]Rams[/B]. [B]2nd Quarter[/B] After the free kick, they drove inside the red zone, but their kicker botched a 38 yard field goal try. After a drive that went backwards, they got the ball back and Matthews, their (4/11) QB completed 7 straight passes! ending in a touchdown. 9-7 Hurricanes. After a drive that stalled, they got the ball, but Matthews threw it straight to a linebacker. We take over at their 32 with 6 minutes left in the first half. We go nowhere, and Donaldson's 46 yard field goal try goes to the right. It remains 9-7 Hurricanes lead. There would be no more scoring in the half. However, we are pleased because Harry Carter has rushed for 57 yards on only 15 carries, and it appears he may have remembered that he is talented. [B]3rd Quarter[/B] Our first possesion leads to pay dirt, as Clifton catches an 11 yards pass from Henry to finish off an aerial assult that featured 7 completed passes. 14-9 [B]Rams.[/B] We then pick them off inside their 30, and just five plays later, Henry is dancing into the end zone on a broken play 7 yard TD scramble. 21-9 [B]Rams.[/B] However, our D then fades out, and their next drive covers 94 yards in 7 plays. It featured two 25+ yard passing plays and the TD came on an 18 yard sweep to their RB. 21-16 [B]Rams.[/B] [B]4th Quarter[/B] The QB's start the quarter by trading interceptions. After we get it back, backup RB Cunningham fumbles the ball away at our own 18. I should have left Carter in. They should throw a TD strike, and we trail 24-21 after they make the 2-point conversion. 9:58 remains in the ballgame. On 4th-1 at our own 36, I decide I have to go for it, since I don't know if I can trust our defense to keep this a 1 possession game. Carter breaks through the line, and thunders for 8 yards to perserve the drive. Sadly, a sack and then a clipping call forced us into a 3rd and 26. We got two yards on that play and had to punt it away with less than eight minutes left. I rally the defense and they respond, holding Tulsa to one first down. After a touchback, we get the ball, down three, with 5:14 left. The offense stalls, but a face mask penalty occurs on third down bailing us out. We then proceed to complete a 13 yard pass and Carter runs for another first down. We are now to their 40 with 3:47 left. We would get it to their 32 setting up 4th and 2. We thought about it for awhile, heard the crowd chanting, "Go for it." but we decided to kick the game tying kick. Except that Donaldson left the 50 yarder wide to the right. Our D allows a first down, then holds, but we get the ball at our 9 with only 26 seconds left. We get down to 4th-4 from our own 15 with 6 seconds left. It's tipped away, and we go down to 24-21 defeat to Tulsa. A heartbreaking lose that probably wouldn't have happened had I trusted Carter and left him in. I allowed his replacement in, and Cunningham's fumble inside our 20 was what led to their game-winning TD. However, I do feel better about the future, since Carter did run well today getting 72 yards on 18 carries. Not outstanding, but certainly serviceable. Henry was also alright going 19-36 173 yards 2 TD's and 1 INT. Once again, not great, but if our D holds, we can win games playing this way.

[Ramfan77]

Game 3 It's week 4 now, since we had last week off. We are up against the Aztecs this week and their 37th ranked Offense and 44th best D certainly beat our 74 Off and 76 Def. Still, even though we are 5 point dogs, I think we win this game. We just need to contain QB Travis Edwards (9/14) and his favorite target WR Andre Vain (8/8). Their line is terrible, with a starting DT rated (2/4). We will seek to run the ball and exploit their weak front 7. They are 2-1 (0-0) on the year. Our fabulous corners have avoided academic probation. Only the third string center has to sit our at the moment. [B]1st Quarter[/B] Their first drive goes 71 yards but ends in a missed FG. Wow! Donaldson manages to miss ANOTHER field goal in the young season, leaving a 45 yarder short. This (6/11) kicker is just 1 of 5 on the year now. And sadly, their bad run defense has given up 4 yards on our first seven carries. It seems we underestimated them. A 32 yard punt return moves us inside their 35. Our drive goes to the 14 and Donaldson actually makes a kick, hitting from 32. 3-0 Rams. After several punts, we had to punt again. Their returner dropped the ball and WR Bobby Clifton picked it up and took it 38 yards for the score! 10-0 Rams. [B]2nd Quarter[/B] A lot of time passes without much action. Finally, with 1:30 left in the half, Todd Henry decides to make something happen, hitting TE Willie Davis with a 31 yard bomb to get into their territory. Another throw to Davis, and we are inside the 20. Two runs by Harry Clark make 1 yard. The 3rd-down pass fails. We settle for a 33-yd Donaldson try. He connects, and we extend our lead to 13-0 at the half. The big concern at the half is that Clark has 11 carries for, yes, really, 0 yards. Combined, the team has rushed 21 times for 32 yards. This has to change! [B]3rd Quarter[/B] After a pick by SS Otto Davis, we take over at our own 43. Darrell Cunningham (5/5) RB has taken my halftime message to heart, and he comes out with carries of 19 and then 5 yards. The drive gets to the 35 where it ends with Donaldson hooking a 53 yard try to the left. Still 13-0 Rams. Then disaster strikes, in the form of a 33 yard TD pass, and it is suddenly 13-7. A cycle of punts ends the quarter. [B]4th Quarter[/B] Once again, things go wrong as Henry decides it is a good time to get picked off at his own 25. A short TD run later, and with 13:06 left, we find ourselves down 14-13. Eric McClesky grows tired of the bad momentum trend, and takes matters into his own hands, turning a 10 yard slant route into a 74 yard TD gallop. I decide to take the sure point instead of trying for two. 20-14 Rams. A fumble by Carter gets the Aztecs the ball at our 40, but their QB throws a pick to our (9/12) CB Mueller, and we take over again, safe for the moment. A bad drive and bad punt later, and they take over on our 46. Next play, deep pass to their top WR, and it is, TIPPED... and picked off by Safety Jay Scott, and he returns it almost 40 yards to their 44 with less than seven minutes left. A long pass to Muncie and we get inside the 20. Sadly we start to back up a little, and by the time the movement is done, we are back to the 26. Donaldson promptly sends the game clinching field goal wide left and they get it back, down 6 with 4:47 to go. (One reason I didn't go for two-- If I hit that FG, but miss the two, I am only up 8, but with the PAT, I am up 9-- two possessions. Sadly, I am only up 6 now, not 7. We'll see if that comes back to haunt me.) They get a sack on first down, a short run on 2nd, and an incompletion on third. Now we get the ball back with 4:04 left at our own 40. Our drive fails, and they return the punt to our 46! They have 1:54 left. They need a touchdown to win, a field goal does nothing. They advance to our 29, but then throw 2 incompletions. Now, they are at 3rd-10 with 44 seconds and 2 timeouts left. Completion to the TE, but only for four yards. 4th-6 from our 25. Heave to the end zone Caught In the End Zone No! His feet were out:) . Turnover on downs and we win 20-14. CSU seems to like to play in games with dramatic finishes. Somehow, we overcame Carter running for 4 yards on 16 carries. While certainly not outstanding, Cunningham got 67 yards on 18 carries, which combined with Henry's 260 passing yards were enough for the narrow victory. While the game wasn't pretty, we move to 2-1 and (1-0) in conference. Next up: MWC dog UNLV, who is probably the worst team in the conference.

[Ramfan77]

While UNLV does have a nice offense, their defense is porous, and Vegas has us as 11 point favorites. Knowing how my team loves close finishes, 11 seems too large, but we will win this game. [B]1st Quarter [/B] Harry Carter finally takes off, carrying five times for 41 yards, leading a fruitful drive that gets to their ten and ends with a 28 yard Field Goal that Donaldson makes. 3-0 CSU. After a quick punt, McClesky goes 48 yards on a crossing route. The drive stops at the six, but Donaldson connects on another short FG. 6-0 Rams. The kickoff return is botched, and we pick it up at their 24. The ensuing drive goes backwards, but Donaldson's accurate streak continues as he hits from 44 yards out. 9-0 Rams. [B]2nd Quarter[/B] Almost nothing happened. We got inside the 40 but turned it over. In the last 30 seconds, a heave of theirs got the ball inside our 30, but their 47 yard field goal fell short and the half ended with our lead still at 9. Henry threw for over 100 yards and Carter ran for 58 yards, but we had trouble generating drives and points. [B]3rd Quarter[/B] Carter hurts his knee and will be out two to four weeks. And just when he finally started having success running. After a pic by our D, we get to their 28, but Donaldson's 46 yard attempt goes left. So much for the accuracy streak. They punt and our following drive goes well. Cunningham runs nicely and a pass to Muncie gets us inside the 10. We drive to the one on a Henry scramble, but we stop and settle for a 19 yard FG. Donaldson makes this one, and the lead grows to 12-0 Rams. We still have no TD's, but if our D keeps playing well, we won't need a TD today. After being stopped deep in our own territory, we punt and we feared that they would get field position inside our 50. Instead, they bobble the punt and we pick it up with under two minutes left in the 3rd. A TD on this drive would pretty much finish off the game. [B]4th Quarter[/B] Once again, we get to the red zone. Once again, we settle for a field goal try. Donaldson hits from 39 yards out making it five field goals on the day. 15-0 Rams. Their next drive gets down to our 42. 4th-2 He throws-- it sails, we pick it off and return it 25 yards to their 40. 9:03 remains in the game. Henry then gets intercepted, giving the Rebels another chance. They punt. We then drive for almost 4 minutes before Donaldson MISSES another 38 yard try, He is now 5 of 7 today. and 8 or 16 on the year. But, there is only 2:40 left so we hopefully didn't need the kick anyway. They go nowhere and we run out the clock. I am now thrilled with our defense, as they played brilliantly in the shutout. We outgained them 401-166 and both Carter (before he was hurt) and Cunningham picked up 60 yards or more. Finally a running game. Henry also threw for almost 200 yards. If we can keep playing solid D, have moderate offensive success, and good field position, we will keep winning quite a few games. Next up: a tough 2-2 Utah who has already beaten #23 Oklahoma this year.

[Ramfan77]

The Utah game will be a tough conference game for us. QB Jamar Mccullough (11/14) and DT Tony Buliach (11/11) are both having monster seasons so far. Nicely, they have no RB's or WR's better than a 6 rating, but Mccullough is both accurate and a good scrambler, so he can singlehandedly ruin the game for us. In the media poll, we got 18 votes this week. If we can somehow beat a tough Utah rating, we might crack the top 25. Somehow we are 11 point favorites, even though we have a) covered only one spread this year b) less talent than Utah c) not beaten a top 25 team like Utah has this year. If I could bet, I would take Utah this week, since at best, we win by a field goal, I think. [B]1st Quarter [/B] Their opening drive goes well, as their lightening fast QB Mccullough scrambles for 37 yards on the drive. They kick a 48 yd field goal for a 3-0 lead. Our coverage has been good, but our linebackers need to contain the QB if our defense is going to succeed. A 26 yard TD pass follows on their next possession and they are now up 10-0 with almost 10 minutes left in the first. We come up with a 5 minute drive, but a 4th-11 pass attempt falls incomplete at their 34. (I certainly don't want Donaldson kicking outside the 25 or so now.) An interception inside their 30 gives us the ball in the red zone. We get to the 12, stall, and then hit the Field Goal. 10-3 Utes. [B]2nd Quarter[/B] They drove to our 25, but then SS Otto Gaines picks them off. We punt, and back them up inside their 20, but a 70 yard punt follows!!! with no return. I am angry as we get the ball inside our own 10 now. Carter gets hurt again, but it is a blessing in disguise, as Cunningham comes on and starts running beautifully, piling up 28 yards on 4 consecutive carries. The drive finally stalls at their 28. The 63 yard drive ends with a missed 46 yard field goal by Donaldson. They take that momentum shift and drive all the way to the end zone. 17-3 Utes. Todd Henry decides that it would be a good time for offense, and with 1:13 left, he drove us over 70 yards from our own nine yard line into field goal range. Sadly, Donaldson misses a 37 yard field goal as time expired. How am I supposed to win with this loser of a kicker?!? At least Henry and Cunningham are having productive games. Henry has already thrown for 150 yards--he will need to do that again in the 2nd half if we are going to make a comeback. [B]3rd Quarter [/B] We take the kickoff and Henry drives us to the six yard line before getting picked in the end zone. They then go on a hearbreaking 72 yard drive ending in a 26 yard field goal for a 20-3 lead for the Utes. A drive to their 40 ends on a failed 4th and 3. [B]4th Quarter [/B] A safety fell down in coverage, and a 50 yard bomb is completed by the Utes. They soon run in a touchdown and we trail 27-3 with 13 minutes left. This one is pretty much over. Henry then throws an interception, and the last flames of hope are extinguished. We add one touchdown after Henry throws a TD to Zach Morgan. They also add a TD. They prevail 34-10. Just in case we thought we were a good team, this game reminded us that we really are not so good. Hopefully our next game against Wyoming won't go so badly, they are much less talented than Utah, so we should do better. But first, we have a week off to heal injuries, such as Carter, who is questionable with a pulled lower back muscle. Henry did play well, hitting over half of his passes for 260 yards a TD and an INT. Cunningham also did well, running for over 80 yards. But our inability to move the ball in the red zone doomed us, especially since Donaldson doesn't know how to kick field goals.

[Ramfan77]

Next up-- We are @ Wyoming, and the oddsmakers have them winning by 4. We will cover the spread! Wyoming has a good QB and good RB but there receivers are poor. Their secondary and Dline are good, but their linebackers can be exploited. Hopefully we can keep this game close and Donaldson will actually make a kick at the end of the game to win it. This is it-- the border war, our second biggest rivalry game of every season-- will we deliver? [B]1st Quarter [/B] We take the opening kickoff and score a touchdown on the third play of the game with a 74 TD strike from Henry to Carter. Wow! WR/PR Patrick Muncie takes a short punt from the 46 all the way to the end zone, hurdling over the punter to get in. 14-0 Rams! Only four minutes have passed so far in the game. After an uneventful ten minutes, Wyoming finally gets a drive going, getting to our 39 before a sack by Verron Muster on 4th and 2. [B]2nd Quarter [/B] Halfway through the 2nd and still no more scoring. Henry has completely quit being effective. He is now 3-10 for 86 yards and 1 TD, but most of the yards were on the 74 yard strike. We get down to the one with two minutes left in the half, but a penalty backs us up. We settle for a 26 yard try from Donaldson, which he makes. 17-0 Rams. We get another opportunity left with 1 minute left in the half, and Henry navigates us to the 25, and Donalson hits another kick. 20-0 Rams. [B]3rd Quarter[/B] The dead Cowboy crowd finally revives after a 54 yard reverse run. It carries them inside the ten. However, on a screen pass, a linebacker caused their fullback to fumble, and he picked it up and ran to the twenty. With that threat gone, it appears that we have pretty much ensured victory. With time running out in the third, it appeared that we were going to score again, but Cunningham coughed it up at the 11. Up until then, he was having an effective game, already having gained 67 yards on only 9 carries. [B]4th Quarter [/B] Again their defense allows us in the red zone, and this time, Henry finishes the drive, hitting McClesky with a 6 yard TD when we caught Wyoming on play action with them blitzing WAY too many people. 27-0 Rams. I'm not going to type much more on this game since its pretty much over. Henry threw a pick, and they scored, but we are still pleased with the result 27-7 is the final. We crushed our 2nd greatest rival. Besides that, our running game finally showed life with Cunningham going for 80 yards and Henry was good enough. Once again, though, the D was amazing.

[Ramfan77]

The 4-2 (3-1) Rams are looking good heading into week 9. If our 2nd Cornerback Mueller can avoid probation (1.97 GPA now) things look good for us in a bowl game. Next up: BYU. The Cougars are 6-1 and just outside the top 25 in the media poll. We are getting some votes, but the CPU has us ranked at #42, which isn't that good. It is a good year for the Mountain West. While none of our teams are ranked, BYU, CSU, Utah, New Mexico, TCU (in that order) are all getting 5+ votes. Surely one of teams will reach the top 25. Maybe it will be us. We are playing @ BYU and they are 4 point favorites. Their Offense, especially through the air, is superior to ours, but our D is significantly better than theirs. There could be a lot of points in this one. The Mountain West is known for high scoring games... [B]1st Quarter[/B] On 4th and 4 at their 35, we choose not to let Donaldson miss another kick, so we go for it. A short pass to TE Willie Davis turns into a Touchdown after a broken tackle. 7-0 Rams. Their offense gets to a 4th and 2 on our 35. Like on our drive, the defense again crumbles, and a HB draw leads to a 35 yard TD run. Well actually, he stepped out of bounds. Then they get a clipping call, and are backed up to the 20. 3rd-goal @ our 20. Their QB is under pressure, flushed out of the pocket, and, NO! hits the TE on the run for the touchdown. 7-7. Henry is 4-4 for 54 yards and a TD, yet we had to punt again. No! Returned for a touchdown. 14-7 Cougars. [B]2nd Quarter[/B] They only have 86 total yards and they are still up by 7. Ouch. Their now unstoppable running game has picked up 130 yards in the first 25 minutes of the game, including 60 yards and 4 3rd down conversions on their last TD drive. Cougars 21-7. Carter is hurt again. This guy is an injury machine. Still down 21-7 with 1:53 left, we send out the 2 minute offense, hoping Henry will make something happen. Oh nevermind, Henry has thrown a pick. They throw a pick, and we take over at our own 40, still with 1:25 left. Henry throws it to a linebacker, again!! It's returned to our 18. They kick a field goal before the half ends 24-7. It appears that a backup QB will be starting the 2nd half, as Henry has gone 7/18 86 yards 1 TD 2 INT, which just doesn't cut it. [B]3rd Quarter [/B] QB Sam Harper (2/8) is mobile though his arm stinks. Hopefully he can be productive with his arm and his feet and figure out some way to get offense going. The D allows a TD on the opening drive, and we trail 31-7 now. Harper has quite a hole to dig out of. Well, so much for Harper, two pass attempts-- a one yard scramble and 8 yard sack. Henry returns. Another BYU touchdown, and I am fast forwarding through the game. 38-7 Cougars. [B]4th Quarter[/B] A short drive results in a Donaldson field goal 38-10. Suddenly, WAIT, this game is getting interesting. Our D has stepped up and is getting 3 and outs. And the Offense has revived. A quick turnover and we added a field goal with still 10 minutes left. 38-13. Four minutes later and Frankowiak catches a 26 yard TD pass. 38-20. Onside kick, and YES! We recover it, and with 2:28 left, a 4 yard pass from Henry to fullback Zach Morgan led to pay dirt. 38-27 Cougars. They covered the onside this time though, and we ran out of timeouts. We got it back with 14 seconds, but it was too late. Obviously the loss is dissappointing, but the comeback was exciting, and Henry's 2 TD's have certainly re-earned him his job. (Mostly cause I have no depth behind him). Cunningham also ran for 71 yards on 16 carries, which is good enough for me.

[Ramfan77]

New Mexico (5-2) @ (4-3) Colorado State We are six point favorites, but UNM is exceeding expectations so far this year. They were picked to finish sixth in conference, but they are also 3-2 in conference. If we are going to finish in the top half of the conference to meet board expectations, we really should win this game. Carter is out for the next 2 weeks with a hip injury, and Cunningham is questionable. Since Burris (2/6) is his backup, Cunningham (5/5) must play. Henry is also hurt, but he is probable and will play. The Lobo defense is good at corners and OLB's but bad up front at middle linebacker. Therefore, we will run inside a lot. [B]1st Quarter [/B] With two minutes left in the quarter, the first sustained drive goes into the end zone for the Lobos. They picked on our weak rush defense. 7-0. Henry then strikes back on first down from the 41 with a 59 yard TD pass to slot WR Bobby Clifton 7-7. [B] 2nd Quarter [/B] After a bad punt, we got the ball at our own 46. A deep catch by McClesky brings us to their 14. On 4th-2 from the 4, backup QB Sam Harper threw to the end zone... CAUGHT! by McClesky. 14-7 Rams. No. No. 13-7 as Donaldson blows the PAT. Then they hit a 47 yard TD pass. And their kicker makes the extra point. 14-13 Lobos. Henry has returned to the game, as Harper was losing his accuracy. Hopefully Henry won't get too seriously hurt. A long drive, led by Henry, and we kick a 41 yard kick, which Donaldson makes. 16-14 Rams. Hopefully we can hold the lead going into halftime. The half ended with excitement, as they threw an INT, we fumbled it away, and they threw another INT. 16-14 at the half. We've outgained them 212-140 in yards, and it appears that we can widen the score in the 2nd half. Our passing game has been quite effective. [B]3rd Quarter [/B] Cunningham now has 12 yards on 19 carries. It appears that I will be mostly passing in this half. At this point now, with 8minutes left in the 3rd, Henry has gone 11-15 229 yards 1 TD and 1 INT. Not bad at all. Our pass D then falters, and a 19 yard TD pass completes a nice Lobo drive. 20-16 Lobos. We stopped the 2 point conversion. At the end of 3 quarters, we have outgained them 308-235, and yet we are losing. However, we have the ball at midfield. Maybe something good will still happen. [B]4th Quarter [/B] Suddenly, Henry is ice cold, missing 6 passes in a row. A long TD drive for the Lobos gives them a 27-16 lead with 7:28 left. We are running out of time. A 3 and out, and it appears that this game is over. We have it back with 2:40, down 2 scores. Henry drove us to their 40, but then throws a pic and that concluded the game. He threw for 290 yards, but the run game completely died, gaining only 48 yards. We aren't going to win many games playing like that. At 4-4 (3-3) we need to win at least two games to salvage our season.

[Ramfan77]

4-4 (3-3) Colorado State @ 2-6 (1-5) Air Force Amazingly, they are 5 point favorites. The media has really lost respect for us. If we lose, I think I will lose respect for us as well. We have a starting (6/6) RG out, and a (1/4) guy replacing him. Carter is still out and Cunningham still hurt as well. It looks like it is up to Henry to try to win this game. Fortunately, AF has no offense, so we should be able to win without scoring too much. [B]1st Quarter[/B] In a very unusual for us start, the rushing offense is going well, with 7 carries for 35 yards so far on our opening drive. Maybe Henry won't have to win all our games by himself. The drive does stall out, but it is a good sign. They go down the field and miss a long field goal try. After a quick fumble, they takeover, and a 68 yard TD strike puts them up 7-0. [B]2nd Quarter [/B] A lot of punting, and a turnover for each side before our offense finally comes alive. We stall at the 10, but pick up a chip shot field goal to get on the board. 7-3. [B]3rd Quarter[/B] After returning the opening kickoff to their 49, we stalled at the 41. We decided to go for it on 4th and 2, and we didn't just try a sneak or something. Henry instead threw a 37 yard missile to Muncie to get first and goal. Will the gutsy call pay off? Yes! Willie Davis catches his 2nd TD of the year to take the lead 10-7. oops... I deleted the rest of this game log. Basically we add a 67 yard bomb to McClesky and a field goal and their offense does nothing more. 20-7 Rams win. Congrats to BYU, who is #22 in both polls this week. They are the first ranked MWC team this season/ For a 5-4 team, the CPU likes us, ranking us #45. While our offense is ranked #65, the defense is #13!

[Ramfan77]

4-4 (4-2) TCU @ 5-4 (4-3) Colorado State We are favoured by 4. We are tied for fourth in conference, but with a win, we can tie for third or even tie for second if Utah loses. TCU has a strong team, led by a (7/13) QB, a (10/11) RB, and 3 8+ rated receivers. Their D has been devestated by injuries, and they are down to a (3/5) and (2/2) at DE. With all their injuries, this is probably the weakest D we've played. This game has shootout written all over it. Sadly, CB Mueller is out with a 1.97 GPA. He was the 2nd best defender on the team, and we will miss him. (We are out of study hours to use.) [B]1st Quarter[/B] No scoring. TCU drove to our 4 before fumbling it away. No shootout so far. (Although each side has already surpassed 100 total yards-- but no scoring opportunites for us, and only the fumble for them.) Harry Carter is back from injury, and is very effective. He has 48 yards on 8 carries. Very nice job from him. [B]2nd Quarter[/B] Actually, this game is turning into a defensive struggle. Each team can move the ball to the 50 or so... then the defense just shut everything down. After holding them at their own 20, we expected good field position, but a 58 yard punt with a -1 yard return ended that idea. Fullback Zach Morgan soon looses the ball, and TCU capitalizes with a field goal. 3-0 Frogs. DT Verron Muster comes up with another huge sack on 3rd and 2 to get the ball back when they were driving. Todd Henry then goes in 2 minute mode, and caps a long drive with a 14 yd strike to McCleskey. 7-3 Rams. [B]3rd Quarter[/B] First play of the half: Harry Carter catchs a curl and goes 20 yards before fumbling. TCU picks it up and goes 45 yards for the TD. 10-7 TCU Ugh. What a way to start a half. Then, after a 3 and out for both teams, they punt and Patrick Muncie returns the kick 77 yards for a TD. 14-10 Rams. A very nice turn of events. I expected a shootout in this game, not a low-scoring game with defensive and special teams touchdowns. A quick drive takes them inside field goal range and their (8/8) kicker nails it. 14-13 Rams. Another 3 and out, and another big drive for them. No, wait. FS Jay Scott makes two nice plays in a row, a tackle in the backfield losing 2 yards for TCU, and then a devestating sack losing them 8 yards and getting them out of field goal range. We hold the lead at least for now. A win makes us bowl eligible, and our players are excited about the possibility. Hopefully the offense will start to show a spark again. They do have over 250 total yards, but have had great difficulty scoring. Two first downs, and we are in striking range at their 41. 1st down, 2 minutes left in the third. McClesky catches a pass right at the 31, stretches out to try to get past the chains, and drops it. TCU recovers the ball. [B]4th Quarter [/B] The D holds them to a 3 and out. Sadly, they down the punt inside our 15. We go three and out. They get it at their 34. A QB scramble and they are in our territory. A 49 yard TD pass to Reece Stoner follows. 21-14 TCU. 2-pt conversion good. 3 plays and we are to midfield. This is where we usually stall. Can we get to the end zone? Nope, a deep crossing route to McClesky is tipped and intercepted 8 minutes left. Stoner makes another nice catch but fumbles at their 33. We get the ball, only 33 yards from tying the game. A 21 yard completion to Muncie. 1st and goal at the 7. Harry Carter is dumped at the line of scrimmage on first down. All out blitz by TCU, Henry steps to the left to avoid the rush and throws to a wide open McClesky. Touchdown and we tie the game Oh wait, NO! There was a reason why McClesky was so open... because of offensive pass interference. 2nd and goal from the 22. Incomplete pass. 3rd and G from 22. McClesky all alone in the end zone, yes, YES Touchdown. This one counts. Henry to McClesky ties the game at 21. 5:38 remains in regulation. Our kickoff goes to the 16. They are out to the 43 after a monster run/ FS Jay Scott picks off a pass and returns it to their 46. Willie Davis catches a shallow slant... then he turns on the accelerator.. and gets going... all the way to the 11. He is a tight end, not a wide receiver. Gain of 40 on the pass, and we are in game winning field goal range. Still 3:04 remains, which is a little too much. Two runs and a QB scramble gain 1 yard. Donaldson comes on for a 28 yard try to take a 3 point lead with only 1:52 left. It's... BLOCKED. They recover it at their own 1 yard line. I've instructed the defense to go win the game with a safety. We put on a big blitz, but their QB hit Stoner with a short pass before the pressure got there. Gain of 37 on the next down, and now they are thinking victory. There is still 1:07 on the clock, and with the ball at their own 47, they are only 20 yards from game winning FG range. SACKED by DE Steve Bouza. Loss of 12!!! 2nd-22 from their own 35 with exactly one minute left. Incomplete pass. On third and 22, they complete a long pass. But only for 16 yards. A punt follows and we start from our 18 with 34 seconds left. This isn't really enough time, but we do have 3 timeouts. We throw 3 incompletions, punt and time expires. [B]Overtime [/B] Hopefully this will be as dramatic as the 4th quarter. If we can win, we become bowl eligible. Three play drive and they score a TD on a 2 yard plunge. 28-21 TCU. 1st-10 Incomplete. 2nd-10 Dropped pass. 3rd-10 Screen to Cunningham for eight yards. 4th-2. This is the ball game on this play. The running game is too inconsistent, so we'll let Henry win or lost it here. Throw to Patrick Muncie in the end zone... he already has a punt return for TD... can he add a catching TD... open he drops it. TCU wins 28-21. Ouch. Wait! Wait! A late flag has shown up. Defensive holding! Yes! The game goes on. 1st and G from the 9. Holding 1st and G from the 19. Complete to McClesky, can he get to the end zone? No, but he is down to the 4. 2nd and G from the 4. TD throw to McClesky. We are tied again. No, ANOTHER holding penalty on T Robert Graham (5/8). He better be glad he is only a sophmore, since it will take awhile for this game to be forgotten by the Ram faithful. Henry takes off. He is tripped up after a gain of 4. 3rd and G from the 10. Screen to TE Willie Davis, rumbling to the end zone. No, he is stopped at the 1. Gain of 9 on that play. 4th and G from the 1. I have no idea what to call here, so I will let my offensive cooridinator pick the play. Fullback Zach Morgan hurdles at the 1 Falling towards the end zone Extending the ball out to the goal line. He fumbles! There is a scramble to pick it up, and, NO, and TCU DE picks it up at their 1. This one is over. What a game. Lots of tension and excitement, but losing really hurts a lot. Well, besides Robert Graham, our team did play their best and I'm proud of the effort my Rams exerted today. Henry threw for over 300 yards and Carter had a nice game with 70 yards. It is about time our Running Backs gain some yards.

[Ramfan77]

3-7 UTEP @ 5-5 Colorado State (4-4) I'm not sure a bowl will want us, but I'll do my best effort to get eligible. Luckily, this is one bad UTEP team, and we are 17 point favorites. Next game is against Colorado, and that will be tough, so we need this one to make sure we get bowl eligible. [B]1st Quarter[/B] Their first possession goes 40 yards before an airmailed pass lands in CB Scootie Wilson's hands. This (11/11) CB is playing in his last game, unless we go bowling, and he told me that he was going to try his hardest today. No. Carter is hurt again on the first carry of the day, a -1 yard effort. Donaldson hits a 31 yard effort and we lead 3-0. He has finally gotten a little momentum going. He is now 15 of 26 on the year. Not great, but at least he is making more than half, and not 1 out of 5, like how he started the season. Oh wait, he just kicked the kickoff out of bounds. What a loser. They leave a 51 yard field goal try short. We then throw a 46 yard streak route to McClesky. Cunningham soon runs into the end zone on a 5 yard burst. 10-0. Another FG try from UTEP is up, and this one is good. 10-3 Rams. [B] 2nd Quarter[/B] They drive to our 15 with an effective outside running game. Then they go to that play one to many times and their carrier leaves it on the ground. We definately dodged a bullet. We go 3 and out. Then our horrible punter hits a 29 yarder, which is then returned 18 yards. Once again, they are threatening in scoring range again. A sack and a punt. Wow! They have been in our territory 5 times this game, and have one FG to show for it. Way to go defense! The defense wants to get to a bowl... will the offense do their part? Henry to McClesky, yes again, another bomb. This time, they strike from 45 yards out, and the potent combo extend our lead to 17-3. McClesky has caught 53 passes for almost 900 yards and 7 TD's. He is only a junior, so we will get to throw to him again next year. He already has 113 yards in the first half alone today. With less than 2 minutes in the half, the Miners again cross the 50. They would go no further, and a clipping penalty ending all thoughts of them scoring. The Miners secondary gets burned again, as the end of the half bombs away session works. Muncies catches a 51 yard missile, and we are in the red zone again. Henry throws a pass to the end zone, but it gets picked. Well, 17-3 is still a nice half time lead. [B]3rd Quarter[/B] Oh, the poor Miner secondary. 79 TD pass on 3rd and 21 to Bobby Clifton. lol. What did they think I was going to call but a deep pass? 24-3. Henry's stats: 12-19 319 yards 2 TD's 1 INT. That is over 26 yards a completion. We pick them off in the red zone. We then drive 85 yards to their 8, where Henry decides it would be a good time to throw an interception of his own. We get it back after a decent drive. From the touchback, we go 80 yards. Henry goes 8-8 for 73 yards and the TD pass to Zach Morgan on the drive. He is on fire now. 20-29 392 3 TD's and 2 INT's. Get rid of the picks and this game is a complete blowout. Right now, it is 31-3 Rams. [B]4th Quarter [/B] They fumble away the kickoff, and five plays later, Muncie catches a TD pass from Henry from 8 yards out. 38-3 Rams. I will now sub out the senior Henry, and he gets a long standing ovation from the home crowd. Harper does a horrible job, getting picked twice. They add two TD's to ge to 38-17. They then get an onside kick recovery, and I start to worry a tiny bit. But defensive most valuable player for our D, DT Verron Muster gets a sack and then an interception, yes the DT picked off a pass in a zone blitz and ran it back 23!!! yards before finally getting pulled down. They would not threaten again. 38-17 Rams. We are now 6-5 (4-4) and we are bowl eligible. Does any bowl want us.

[Ramfan77]

7-3 (5-3 in Big 12) Colorado vs. Colorado State 6-5 (4-4) This Buffalo team has taken down #12 Kansas State 28-27 and lost a close one at #6 Oklahoma. Colorado is #27 in the AP poll and #25 in the Media poll. We are 15 point underdogs, but the game is at home, and their team isn't actually that much better than ours. QB Jay Butkus (7/12) has a sweet name but isn't actually that good. RB Mac May (10/17) is only a freshman and will eat us for lunch in future years... but we can stop him now. Their best wideout? Antowin Perry (7/16) another true freshman who will be terrible later, but is containable now. Their OL is good but not great. The D is good but spotty on the line. The major problem is MLB Jim Schulthers (14/17). He is the only person rated over 11, so once again, they have more talent, but not unbeatable. [B]1st Quarter [/B] Their first drive went 34 yards on 4 plays, but ended abruptly with a QB sack/fumble combo from Verron Muster. After sputtering up to the 40 on 8 plays, McClesky suddenly breaks free and catches a 32 yard strike. The student section goes nuts. A screen to Bobby Clifton goes well, and we have 1st and G at the 7. Three passes fall incomplete and we settle for a field goal. Donaldson comes through and it is 3-0 RAMS. We hold them to a 3 and out. Cunningham explodes for a 24 yard run and we are in field goal range again. A penalty backs us up and we blow the opportunity to score. The 1st quarter ends with us up 3-0, but Colorado is stampeding up the field as the quarter ends. [B]2nd Quarter[/B] They get to the 25, but runs on 2nd and 3rd and short fail to get the first down. Then their kicker leaves a 42 yarder short. The lead remains. We go 3 and out TD Buffs. Nice long drive. 6 yard completion for the score 7-3 Colorado. Henry then throws a deep ball that is picked and run back 36 yards to our 20. The D holds them to 3. 10-3 Colorado. The fans were growing quiet. Then, Muncie got open and picked up a 51 yard catch, and the crowd came back to life. Henry then scrambled to the 2. 1st and G A screen to the TE Davis as Colorado blitzes. TOUCHDOWN RAMS! 10-10. A painful drive follows, as Butkus repeatedly converts 3rd and longs. Butkus runs it in himself with 1:11 left in the 1st half. 17-10 Buffs. We quickly head down the field, getting to their 42 with 11 seconds left. Two hail mary passes are tipped away and we go to the half down 7. We are dissapointed, but at least we are hanging tough with the big bad Buffaloes. Suprisingly, the usually dead running game has produced as Cunningham already has 72 yards. [B]3rd Quarter[/B] Their offense roars down the field to start the 2nd half. A personal foul and a 15 yard face mask penalty don't help. We stop them at our 10, as 3 straight Butkus throws to the end zone miss their target. FG is good and it is 20-10. We have to punt, but down it at the 9. But, then they hit a 63 yard pass on first down from the 9. The rest is easy, as they coast into the end zone. I hate to say it, but it feels like our defense is giving up. 27-10 Buffaloes. The 3rd quarter ends with us having 4th and 24 on our own 8. ugh. [B]4th Quarter [/B] We botch a punt return on their next punt and they get it at our 19. Butkus throws another TD and it is now 34-10. The fans who wandered up from Boulder are embarrasing the poor Ram fans who are having to watch this massacre. I apologize to everyone who believed in me and got excited when it was tied at 10. Henry would add a TD pass to Muncie with 44 seconds left and a 2 pt conversion plunge from Cunningham made it 34-18, but they covered the onside, and that was it. Well, we played well for 2 quarters. Next year. Next year, we'll take them down... hopefully.

[Ramfan77]

The 6-6 Rams are GOING BOWLING. We will be playing in the California Bowl against Boise State. 7-4 Boise State vs. 6-6 Colorado State Boise State is no USC. Thank goodness. They are CPU ranked #34, so we have a chance. They lost 45-0!!! at #23 New Mexico State, a school we beat 24-17. When we beat them, we thought they were a bad team. Well, I guess we thought wrong. This Boise team has had no good wins. In our other common opponent, they beat Wyoming by 11, well we beat them by 20. The commentators say we have a slightly better D and a much better O than Boise. The oddsmakers have made us a nine point favorite. I am optimistic. [B]1st Quarter. [/B] Wow, they have several injured offensive starters, leaving them with only 1 player rated better than 6. It is an 11 rated Tackle, but the rest of the offense is toothless. Their RB is a (4/4) Jr. Ha! Their D is alright, and has lots of potential, but only 3 players who would be starters on our D. After 10 minutes of doing nothing, our Offense gets going down to their 32. Then Donaldson returns to true form and misses left from 50. Bomb pass complete for 55 and Boise is at our 3. And they score 2 downs later. 7-0 Boise. End of the 1st. Running game is again effective, and Carter is back from another injury. We will try more running in the next quarter, as we only ran 7 times this quarter, but for 33 yards. [B]2nd Quarter [/B] Another TD run for Boise. We cannot stop their (4/4) running back named Irving Jones. 4th Wideout Lee Kyle catches his first pass since week 6 against Utah, going 22 yards off a bubble screen down to their 21. Donaldson hits several plays later from 31. 14-3 Boise. (I can't think of their real nickname.) Boise misses a long field goal. A decent possesion and Donaldson tries from 49. He leaves it short. I hate this kicker!!! 1:49 remains for Boise State to try to score again. They only needed a minute before the 18 yd TD pass was complete. 21-3 Boise. With 48 seconds left with it at our own 18 we have little hope of scoring again in the half. Suddenly, McClesky is running free down the seam. He catches and runs for 68 yards before a safety knocks him down. Defenses seem to love to ignore this receiver, I have no idea why. We got to the one for a 4th and Goal from the 1. We decided to take the field goal. Donaldson hits from 19 yards away. 21-6 Boise at the half. Maybe I should have tried to punch it in, but I really wanted a 2 possession game for sure. [B]3rd Quarter[/B] They get an inexcusable 33 yard TD run on 4th and 2 at the 33. They now lead 28-6. Boise adds another quick long drive TD to make it 35-6. Donaldson has a FG blocked. [B]4th Quarter[/B] They are content to run the clock. Cunningham eventually punches in a 3 yard TD run. 35-13 is the final. Deflated from the sad loss against Colorado, this Rams team just wasn't ready to play today. Henry threw for barely 200 yards, even with 44 attempts.

[Ramfan77]

2005 Passing Stats # POS NAME ATT CMP CMP% YDS YDS/ATT TD INT LG GP BP SACK RATING 19 QB Bruce Bosseler 4 3 75.0% 23 5.8 0 0 15 0 0 0 123.3 02 QB Todd Henry 437 221 50.6% 3149 7.2 21 14 79 10 21 27 120.6 03 QB Sam Harper 4 1 25.0% 19 4.8 0 1 19 0 0 0 14.9 2005 Rushing Stats # POS NAME G RUSH YDS YPG YPC TD LG CR MH FUM FLOST 36 RB Darrell Cunningham 13 187 720 0.0 3.85 2 27 0 11 3 2 29 RB Harry Carter 11 161 539 0.0 3.35 0 35 1 3 2 2 02 QB Todd Henry 13 61 538 0.0 8.82 1 26 0 0 3 2 85 WR Eric McCleskey 13 37 114 0.0 3.08 0 14 0 0 5 3 26 FB Zack Morgan 13 32 75 0.0 2.34 0 10 0 0 2 2 33 RB Tim Burris 8 24 34 0.0 1.42 0 10 0 1 1 0 84 WR Bobby Clifton 13 2 8 0.0 4.00 0 8 0 0 3 2 34 FB Nick Wages 4 2 1 0.0 0.50 0 1 0 0 0 0 2005 Receiving Stats # POS NAME G ATT REC YDS YPG YPC YAC TD LG GC DP DP% IR 85 WR Eric McCleskey 13 142 64 1107 0.0 17.3 362 7 74 3 9 6.3 4 82 WR Patrick Muncie 13 120 52 704 0.0 13.5 93 3 51 4 8 6.7 4 89 TE Willie Davis 13 50 30 369 0.0 12.3 78 2 48 0 1 2.0 1 29 RB Harry Carter 11 33 19 351 0.0 18.5 269 4 74 0 6 18.2 1 84 WR Bobby Clifton 13 52 25 311 0.0 12.4 30 2 79 0 2 3.8 0 26 FB Zack Morgan 13 20 13 108 0.0 8.3 65 3 23 0 0 0.0 0 36 RB Darrell Cunningham 13 21 12 101 0.0 8.4 33 0 12 0 3 14.3 1 87 TE Louis Franckowiak 8 12 6 64 0.0 10.7 16 0 26 0 3 25.0 0 11 WR Lee Kyle 4 5 3 40 0.0 13.3 5 0 22 1 2 40.0 0 33 RB Tim Burris 8 2 1 36 0.0 36.0 29 0 36 0 0 0.0 0 2005 Offensive Line Stats # POS NAME G RB PNK SA HOLD FALSE MISSBL 69 C Stephen Richardson 13 21 11 3 4 2 2 79 OG David Gregg 13 4 10 1 2 0 10 89 TE Willie Davis 13 4 5 0 0 2 1 77 OT Jeff Wallner 13 3 5 7 2 3 18 34 FB Nick Wages 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 76 OG Ryan Curran 11 1 0 11 1 0 19 87 TE Louis Franckowiak 8 1 1 0 0 0 2 64 C Horace Winters 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 65 OT Jay Shelby 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 63 OG Frank Dunn 9 0 2 1 0 1 12 73 OG Lynn VanPelt 4 0 1 1 0 1 3 68 OT Robert Graham 13 0 9 4 2 3 19 26 FB Zack Morgan 13 0 0 0 0 0 3 2005 Kicking Stats # POS NAME G XP FG 1-29 FG 30-39 FG 40-49 FG 50+ FG% LONG POINTS 09 K Chris Donaldson 13 26-26 5-7 9-12 2-7 1-5 54.8%% 50 77 2005 Punting Stats # POS NAME G PUNTS AVG NET TB IN20 LONG 04 P John Philbin 13 80 41.1 35.5 5 10 69 09 K Chris Donaldson 13 0 0.0 0.0 0 0 0 2005 Kick Return Stats # POS NAME G RET YDS AVG LONG TD 23 CB Buddy Bass 13 37 786 21.2 45 0 85 WR Eric McCleskey 13 5 113 22.6 35 0 51 OLB Jake Frederickson 1 1 35 35.0 35 0 2005 Punt Return Stats # POS NAME G RET YDS AVG LONG TD 55 WR Leo Smith 3 2 20 10.0 11 0 45 CB Broderick Mueller 9 16 208 13.0 36 0 82 WR Patrick Muncie 13 17 274 16.1 79 2 2005 Defensive Stats # POS NAME G TAK SOLO AST SACK STF HUR DP PD INT DEF TD MISSTAK OOP BPA 32 FS Jay Scott 13 102 79 23 1 11 0 0 6 7 0 4 2 0 38 SS Otto Gaines 13 89 65 24 1 10 0 0 6 3 0 3 3 3 53 ILB Demarcus Gasoleen 13 87 61 26 2 5 3 1 4 3 0 4 6 2 22 CB Scottie Wilson 13 65 47 18 0 2 0 0 19 4 0 4 3 1 40 OLB Mel Lane 13 48 32 16 2 5 4 1 1 0 0 5 6 4 23 CB Buddy Bass 13 36 20 16 0 2 0 0 12 1 0 6 1 2 45 CB Broderick Mueller 9 35 17 18 0 0 0 0 11 4 0 2 2 0 24 FS Steve Clifton 12 27 18 9 0 2 0 0 1 2 0 11 1 2 42 ILB Chuck Peelle 8 26 15 11 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 31 SS Keith Boylan 7 19 13 6 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 2 96 DE Steve Bouza 13 19 15 4 8 2 8 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 93 DT Verron Muster 13 19 17 2 7 0 10 2 0 1 0 2 1 0 99 DT Alfonso Denson 12 17 14 3 4 1 9 3 0 0 0 2 2 0 92 DE Johnny Baker 13 16 14 2 3 2 7 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 90 DT Orlando Gardner 11 10 9 1 4 0 4 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 56 OLB Tom Nugent 13 8 6 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 37 CB Travis Groce 2 4 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 11 WR Lee Kyle 4 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 84 WR Bobby Clifton 13 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 34 FB Nick Wages 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 43 OLB Craig Yeast 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 89 TE Willie Davis 13 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 97 DE Rob Anderson 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0