Friends, Romans, Missouri countrymen. Welcome.
Welcome to the beginning of a new experiment, project, whatever you want to call it. With the recent release of NCAA Football 14, I have taken it upon myself to try something I've never done before, and in the process, try something that I feel will be as fun as anything I've ever done regarding video games.
Due to not having much access to advanced technology to record video game footage and upload it on YouTube, I've decided to start this blog as a nice alternative.
With that, welcome to the beginning of the Missouri Tigers in NCAA Football 14's Dynasty Mode.
My goal is to stick with one team Dynasty Mode and run with them as far as I can. What better team to use than not only a team in the SEC and not only a relatively new SEC team, but a team who struggled heavily last year and is in the same conference as perennial championship powerhouses? These aren't the Tigers of old with Chase Daniel, Jeremy Maclin and company. This is a team with youth, potential star talent and a veteran defense.
But it's nowhere near good enough to become a contender at this current moment. That's my goal.
The task at hand is to bring the Tigers back to the top of the country with a fast-paced offense led by senior quarterback James Franklin and star sophomore wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham. Those two are my catalysts and will be running this team, especially in hopes of grooming a quarterback of the future once Franklin leaves after this year.
Mizzou has four quality receivers, who are each key to this spread offense. With Green-Beckham as the lead receiver, seniors Marcus Lucas and L'Damian Washington along with junior Darius White all have speed and good hands, which is what Franklin will need, especially with his 75 throw accuracy rating.
On defense, it will be up to the senior linebackers of Andrew Wilson and Donovan Bonner and junior linebacker Darvin Ruise to anchor a front seven that holds a defensive line featuring three juniors and one senior. To top it off, the secondary is led by senior defensive backs EJ Gaines and Randy Ponder.
I originally had a Final Four of teams that I thought about using. It came down to Mizzou, Arizona, Maryland (by way of moving them to the Big Ten a year early) and North Carolina State. The deciding factor I came down with is that Mizzou is a project that will take longer than any of these other teams would have. Picking a team in the strongest conference in the country and trying to catch up to Texas A&M's newly-created SEC success was something worth of a challenge.
And of course, barring awesome video game skills, this should be a long-term project.
Especially with the schedule that the Tigers have in front of them this year, this will not be an easy second season in the SEC. The schedule has an A+ rating, and that's even including one game against an FCS school (in reality, the Tigers play Murray State in Week 1. The game has it as FCS East).
After a bye in Week 2, things get interesting. Week 3 features Missouri heading to Baton Rouge to take on No. 12 LSU, then a road game against Indiana the following week.
If there's anything that can give Missouri some hope, the next three games are at home against Arkansas State, No. 25 Vanderbilt and No. 5 Georgia led by quarterback and Heisman hopeful Aaron Murray.
But the schedule's toughness doesn't stop there. Back-to-back road games against No. 10 Florida and No. 8 South Carolina have made this a stretch of possibly four straight ranked opponents throughout the entire month of October. A Nov. 2 home game against a questionable Tennessee squad will then lead to a game on Nov. 9 against Kentucky on the road.
And after the second bye week, the Tigers close out the year with perhaps the worst end to a schedule you could imagine. On Nov. 23, they're at home to take on the two-time defending National Champions, No. 1 Alabama, followed by a pivotal game against Johnny Manziel and No. 4 Texas A&M at College Station.
This won't be easy.
At this moment, Mizzou has the chance to face seven ranked opponents this year. That can change week-to-week depending on how simulations go, of course.
Here's the nitty-gritty you need to know: Each game will be set to 8-minute quarters, with everything on Heisman difficulty, even recruiting. Injuries will be on, of course, and updates around the SEC will be provided each week. There will be a recap for each game, and previews will be focused at the end of each story.
This is going to be exciting and it'll be a fun project to start. The first game will be against FCS East (Murray State), and I will have that game done sometime tonight.
Enjoy the ride, and enjoy this era of Missouri football.
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