Looking at Quarterback Ratings in the BOWL BLITZ INVITATIONAL, one unlikely player stood head-and-shoulders above the rest: QB #12 of UCLA, whose 362.0 Rating in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl was nearly 100 points higher than the next quarterback.  Even though he only completed 8 passes, 4 of those went for touchdowns!  Next on the list was Oklahoma State’s QB #3 and his 264.7 Rating in the Fiesta Bowl; Baylor’s QB #10 also had a solid performance for a 258.8 Rating in the Alamo Bowl against Washingotn.  The first of only two computer-controlled players in this Top 10 came in at #4: Pitt’s QB #12, who had a 223.3 Rating.

A computer-controlled player took the top spot for completions in a game by a quarterback, as Missouri’s QB #1 completed 26 throws in the Independence Bowl.  Indeed, computer-controlled players dominated this category, though human-controlled players held spots #2, #3, and #4: Louisiana Tech’s QB #3 (24 completions), Arkansas State’s QB #16 (24 completions), and SMU’s QB #2 (23 completions).

The Top 10 list of quarterbacks with the most passing yards was nearly an even split between human- and computer-controlled players, but SMU’s QB #2 led all passers with 466 yards through the air in the BBVA Compass Bowl.  The only other player to break the 400-yard plateau was BYU’s QB #9 in the Armed Forces Bowl.  Two human-controlled quarterbacks also topped the 350 yard mark; Arkansas State’s QB #16, who threw for 389 yards, and Baylor’s QB #10, who put up 368 yards.

SMU’s QB #2 again led all quarterbacks in terms of touchdown passes thrown, putting up 5 scoring throws in the BBVA Compass Bowl.  Three human-controlled quarterbacks–Baylor’s QB #10, UCLA’s QB #12, and Southern Miss’ QB #12–all threw for 4 TD passes, with computer-controlled Pitt QB #12 also accounting for four scoring throws in the offensive-minded BBVA Compass Bowl.

The final quarterback statistic looked at for this entry is highest completion percentage by a quarterback, and computer-controlled players held a pretty tight grip on this Top 10 list.  Air Force QB #7 led all players with a 76% completion rate in the Military Bowl; the first human-controlled quarterback to make the list came in at #2: Baylor QB #10, who had a 75% completion rate to go with 368 yards and four touchdowns.  In all, six quarterbacks in the BOWL BLITZ INVITATIONAL–three human-controlled, three-computer-controlled–completed at least 70% of their passes for their respective Bowl Games.

Today’s entry brings to a close the individual player statisics of the BOWL BLITZ INVITATIONAL here at STAT BOX STORIES; tomorrow we’ll delve into some of the team statistics to get an even better idea of the statistical trends which were at play over the course of these 35 Bowl Games using NCAA Football 12!

When it comes to running backs and statistics in the BOWL BLITZ INVITATIONAL, a number of players had incredible performances. This begins with the player who had the most carries in a single game, HB #24 of Toledo, who ran the ball 40 times in the Military Bowl.  Cincinnati’s HB #23 and Alabama’s HB #3 each ran the ball 35 times in their respective Bowl Games, with Tulsa’s HB #8 coming in with 34 carries in an Armed Forces Bowl game that went to double overtime.  All spots on this Top 10 belonged to human-controlled players; eight of these performances came while I was at the controls.

For running backs with the highest yardage total, HB #24 of Toledo again takes top billing with an incredible 262-yard performance against Air Force in the Military Bowl.  The next highest performance was Oklahoma State’s HB #1, who turned in 206 yards against Stanford in the Fiesta Bowl, followed by Cincinnati HB #23 and his 203 yards in the Liberty Bowl.  Three computer-controlled players cracked this Top 10, though only one player found himself on the winning side: Marshall’s HB #29 in the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl.

Incredibly, three separate running backs put up four-touchdown games in the BOWL BLITZ INVITATIONAL: HB #23 of Cincinnati, HB #13 of West Virginia, and HB #28 of Michigan.  Three running backs scored three times–HB #1 of Oklahoma State, HB #24 of NC State, and HB #20 of Cal–while a number of backs rushed for two touchdowns, including stud halfback HB #24 of Toledo who took top billing in the previous two statistical categories.  With this Top 10 list, computer-controlled players were again shut out of the top performers.

Last but not least, the top yards-per-carry average of the BOWL BLITZ INVITATIONAL went to Georgia Tech’s HB #17, who rushed for an average of 12.8 yards per carry on 10 carries in the Sun Bowl.  Computer-controlled players took the #2 and #3 spots–Iowa State’s HB #32 rushing for 11.3 yards per carry and Air Force’s HB #16 rushing for 10.6 yards per carry–before the next human-controlled player came in at #4, Penn State HB #21.

With another day of statistics in the books recapping the BOWL BLITZ INVITATIONAL here at STAT BOX STORIES, only one position remains to be chronicled on an individual basis: quarterbacks!

Turning the focus to the offensive side of the ball today, SMU’s WR #88 led all receivers in the BOWL BLITZ INVITATIONAL with 10 catches in the BBVA Compass Bowl.  On this Top 10 list, the split was nearly even, with human-controlled players occupying six of the spots.  Players #2, #3, and #4 on the list, however, were all computer-controlled; WR #20 of Boise State with 9 catches, and 8 catches each for BYU’s WR #11 and Utah’s WR #8.

With the focus shifted to actual receiving yards, SMU WR #88 again won the category with a monster performance of 264 yards through the air; 59 yards more than the #2 receiver, WR #11 of BYU.  The next human-controlled receiver to make the list was WR #1 out of Baylor with 159 yards, followed by Arizona Stte’s WR #8 who caught five balls for 146 yards.  For this Top 10, the split between human- and computer-controlled players was evenly split at 5 apiece.

For the third category in a row, SMU WR #88 sits atop the BOWL BLITZ INVITATIONAL receiver leaderboard with a three-touchdown performance in the BBVA Compass Bowl against Pitt; Boise State WR #20 also turned in three touchdowns in a losing effort against Arizona State in the MAACO Bowl Las Vegas.  The Top 10 was evenly split once more between human- and computer-controlled players, with a number of receivers in the 35 Bowl Games turning in multiple touchdown performances.

Finally, we reach a receiving category that SMU’s WR #88 did not win; yards-per-catch average.  In this category, Ohio’s WR #17 came out on top with 37.3 yards per catch on 3 catches with 1 touchdown.  The first human-controlled receivers to make this Top 10 list came in at exactly the same yards-per-catch average; 35.6 for Oklahoma State WR #81 and Iowa WR #6.  Although human-controlled players held the slight majority in this list, the computer-controlled players kept a tight grasp on the top two spots.

With our first offensive statistical categories in the books for this look back at BOWL BLITZ INVITATIONAL, we close for the day and look forward to rushing statistics tomorrow here at STAT BOX STORIES; with a number of monster games on the ground, you won’t want to miss the numbers!

In the first Top Ten list for a defensive statistical category–Total Tackles–computer-controlled players really dominated the ist, holding eight spots.  Air Force’s MLB #32 led the pack with 19 tackles, followed closely by ROLB #13 of Florida State who had 17 tackles.  The human-controlled player with the highest number of tackles was MLB #37 of Cincinnati in the #7 spot, who made 12 tackles in the Liberty Bowl.

By contrast, the statistics for most Sacks by a defensive player saw an overwhelming number of human-controlled players make the Top 10.  SMU’s DT #98 took the top spot with 4 sacks against Pitt in the BBVA Compass Bowl.  Next up were 2 computer-controlled players and 4 human-controlled players who managed to rack up 3 sacks in their games, including MLB #52 and LE #97 of West Virginia who had 3 sacks EACH in the Orange Bowl against Clemson.

Many players ended up with interceptions over the 35 Bowl Games of the BOWL BLITZ INVITATONAL, but only four managed games with multiple takeaways on passes.  SS #10 of Iowa State, CB #12 of Notre Dame, CB #1 of Cal, and ROLB #42 of Nevada all turned in two-interception performances; two computer-controlled, two human-controlled.  Interestingly enough, none of those four players returned interceptions for a touchdown, despite having multiple interceptions in a single game.

Many defensive touchdowns were scored over the course of the BOWL BLITZ INVITATIONAL, and the “in no particular order” Top 10 of this statistical category sees an even split between five interceptions returned for touchdown and five fumbles returned for touchdown.  Human-controlled players took seven spots on this particular Top 10 list, while the CPU-controlled players ended up with three spots.

When it comes to defense, so often the performance of the entire unit takes precedence over the achievements of individual players.  It’s difficult to pick any particular defensive player who turned in a superstar performance, but later this week we’ll be looking at which teams performed at the highest level when their opponents had possession of the ball.  For tomorrow, however, the topic will move to the offense and a focus on the greatest receiving performances of the BOWL BLITZ INVITATIONAL here at STAT BOX STORIES; be sure to come back so you don’t get left behind!

The first “Top 10″ data tracks the greatest number of field goals made in single game; that distinction belongs to CPU-controlled K #37 out of Purdue, whose 4-for-4 field goal performance helped his team to a win in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl.  Interestingly, six of the top 10 field goal kicking performances belonged to kickers whose teams ended up losing–Stanford, FIU, Clemson, Ohio State, Auburn, and Northwestern–leaving only four of these players on the winning side.

As for the players with the highest number of extra points made, K #40 of West Virginia had many short conversions to attempt thanks to his team’s eight touchdowns against Clemson in the Orange Bowl.  While only four of the top ten field goal performers ended up winning in the BOWL BLITZ INVITATIONAL, it should come as no surprise that all of the kickers on the Top 10 for extra points converted came from winning teams; after all, in order to be kicking so often, your team has to be putting a lot of points on the board by way of touchdowns.  A more interesting tidbit is that no CPU-controlled kicker made the Top 10 for this list.

No CPU players made it on the list for kick returners who converted return touchdowns for their teams in the BOWL BLITZ INVITTIONAL either.  Over the 35 Bowl Games, there were five kickoff return touchdowns–three of those converted with yours truly at the controls (West Virginia, Western Michigan, and Arizona State)–and 97 yards was the shortest yardage for a kickoff returned for six points.  Surprisingly, only three of the teams who had a player score a special teams touchdown–West Virginia, Arizona State, and Cal–ended up victorious in their games.

In terms of total kickoff return yardage by a player, HB #7 of Arizona State took the title by a narrow margin with a total of 279 kickoff return yards on eight attempts for the Sun Devils against Boise State in the MAACO Bowl Las Vegas.  Next up were WR #1 of West Virginia and CB #30 of Western Michigan, both of whom ended up with 273 kickoff return yards and both of whom scored on 98-yard kickoff return plays.  No other returners tallied above 200 yards in a single game, though FIU’s WR #4 came close with a 190 effort on five returns including a touchdown.

Finally, the special teams returner with the highest per-return average was HB #20 of Cal, whose 42.7 yards per return in the Holiday Bowl against Texas included a 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.  Wyoming’s CB #4 came in second with 39.6 yards per return on three attempts against Temple in the New Mexico Bowl.  Eight spots in the Top 10 here belonged to user-controlled players, while two CPU-controlled players–FS #20 of Florida State and HB #28 of Louisville–made the list of the elite kick returners for the BOWL BLITZ INVITATIONAL.

That wraps up this first day of BOWL BLITZ INVITATIONAL statistical analysis; be sure to return to STAT BOX STORIES tomorrow as we look at some of the defensive numbers!

For those of you who stuck around for the site and saw the last status update for the blog, I’m sure the passage of Super Bowl XLVI weekend without an associated STAT BOX STORIES playthrough of the “rematch” between the New York Giants and New England Patriots was cause for renewed concern about the future of this web project.  Indeed, it is to this end that I return to the site today to re-commit to STAT BOX STORIES as a “brand” going forward and to lay out the plan for content in the immediate future.

Moving into and working on projects on the house my wife and I recently purchased has literally eaten up every hour spent awake and outside of work at my day job since a few days after we closed on the home.  As much as I wanted to take my Patriots into battle in Madden NFL 12 in Super Bowl XLVI prior to the big game–and trust me, watching them lose to the Giants again only makes me wish more that I’d tried to take New England to victory on the virtual gridiron–my wife and I barely got back in front of a TV for kickoff of Super Bowl XLVI last weekend as it was due to house projects taking longer than we’d hoped.

Instead of trying to guess when I’ll be able to resume “regularly-scheduled” operations here at STAT BOX STORIES, here’s my short-term plan: the BOWL BLITZ INVITATIONAL that so many of you contributed to ended without its deserved fanfare.  Since my PlayStation 3 is seeing use as little more than a glorified Netflix player at this point in time, I’m going to dig into the statistics from all of the Bowl Games played in December and January and start posting some numbers on which games (and players) had the best and worst performances across the course of those 35 games played in NCAA Football 12.  As statistics are broken down, I will post “quick hit” stories to STAT BOX STORIES leading up to the final breakdown of which game results came closest to the actual real-life result (no spoilers, loyal readers of the thread at The Gaming Tailgate!).

In the meantime, I encourage any fans of the site who wish to submit guest entries to get in touch with me by email if you’re interested in contributing content while I wait for my schedule to become more pliable in terms of playing games and putting together what has come to be expected from STAT BOX STORIES.  With exciting titles hitting store shelves in the weeks to come–I’m personally looking forward to SSX, MLB 12 The Show, and Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 13 in the February/March release window–the hope is to get back to a regular schedule with the release of those games.

Though, as I’m learning, no guarantees can be made this far out when the process of moving into a house is involved!

Thank you to everyone who continues to wait for STAT BOX STORIES to make a triumphant return,

Brian

With three weeks of “blog silence” here at STAT BOX STORIES, I am certain that more than a few of you still coming to the website and waiting for content are close to giving up on me and this project at this point.  I return to the site tonight to state that the blog idea has not come to an end here; it’s merely fallen prey to the grip that “real life” can place on things at times.

When I last posted to the site–the entry for the 2012 BCS National Championship Game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and LSU Tigers using NCAA Football 12 for the Bowl Blitz Invitational–I was actually on my way to Orlando, Florida to visit EA SPORTS Tiburon as an invitee to the first NCAA Football 13 Community Event.  For the week of January 9th through 13th, I spent my days listening to presentations on the feature set for the coming year’s game as well as getting some very early hands-on time with a build of the game which will eventually blossom into a retail game to be released in July of 2012.  It was also an opportunity to share feedback and ideas from the NCAA Football community face-to-face with the developers responsible for the game, allowing myself–and the other invited guests at the studio–to try to live up to the Game Changers program name.

In the weeks since then, getting back to work at my daily job required a significant investment of time after missing a full week; my wife and I also finalized the process of purchasing our first home, with the final closing documents signed on Friday, January 27th.  Over the next month, significant time will be spent moving all of our possessions from our apartment to the house, as well as making the necessary home improvements for us to safely and comfortably live in a 101-year-old home.

Unfortunately, time spent playing video games will be hard to come by in the weeks to come; the amount of time necessary to put together a full entry for STAT BOX STORIES will be even harder to come by.  With that being said, the site will not be simply shutting down or sitting idle; indeed, later this week I’ll be featuring an entry using Madden NFL 12 for Super Bowl XLVI between the New York Giants and my New England Patriots.  After that entry goes live, the hope is for a new–and more streamlined–schedule to be introduced for the near future so that new features can be posted here on the site while still spending the time taking care of “real life” needs.  Perhaps a call for guest contributions will prove fruitful as well as the plan for more content is put into place.

For those of you who have been continuing to frequent the site, hoping for new content, thank you for the commitment.  As we go forward, I hope to get things back on a manageable schedule and return STAT BOX STORIES to the solid start we had up to a few weeks ago.

It makes sense, in a way, that it should come down to a rematch between the Crimson Tide and the Tigers; the very first entry here at STAT BOX STORIES previewed their regular season match-up.  In that game, I played as LSU and took home a victory, 28-10.  For this season-ending game, I have decided to take control of Alabama at the end of the season described in Eric Veneziano’s season write-ups from yesterday (Alabama here, LSU here) to decide which of these SEC powerhouses will taste victory in the Superdome tonight.

Since that season allowed for injuries, rosters will not exactly match the players who will be playing on the field tonight.  This will also be my first time playing the game using Matthew Lee’s–steelerfan–slider set, as those were the sliders set up for the season.  Finally, the quarter lengths were set to 6 minutes–instead of the customary 7 minute quarters I’ve been using–but it didn’t seem to have much of an effect on the action overall.

Roll Tide! Geaux Tigers!  It all comes down to one game…

In the biggest game of the season for these teams, Alabama won the coin toss and elected to kickoff to begin the game, hoping their defense would make a strong statement.  That wasn’t exactly what happened; instead, the Tigers drove down the field, converting on two 3^rd-and-Long opportunities to keep their drive moving along.  When the drive finally did stall out—resulting in a 34 yard field goal conversion—LSU had taken more than half of the first quarter off the clock in building their 3-0 lead.

When the Crimson Tide finally did get an offensive possession, they didn’t really take advantage of it; the result was a quick three-and-out and the ball going right back to the Tigers.  The ‘Bama defense did step up during this drive, however, forcing a fumble at midfield and recovering it to regain possession.  The drive that followed ended with a 1-yard touchdown run by HB #3 with 3:04 remaining in the second quarter to see Alabama take a 7-3 lead.

LSU’s next drive was stymied by a sack, and the Tigers were thrown off-schedule and suffered a three-and-out.  When Alabama got the ball with just two minutes remaining in the half and deep in their own end of the field, they changed their temp by running a no-huddle offense.  Four completions in a row for QB #10—including the final completion, a 17-yard touchdown pass to TE #89—gave the Tide a 14-3 lead with only 32 seconds left in the first half.

With little time remaining on the clock, LSU tried to get themselves in manageable Hail Mary position; though they brought the ball to midfield, the final pass attempt as the game clock expired was deflected incomplete at the Alabama 5-yard-line.

In the second half, Alabama received the ball and drove past midfield to open the third quarter.  A poor decision on a pass, however, saw the Tigers grab an interception deep in their own territory and end the Tide’s chances of extending their lead.  If there was any bright side to this for Alabama, it was that the Tigers went three-and-out after the interception, wasting a chance for them to bring themselves back into the game.

Alabama was putting together another solid drive after fielding the punt, once again getting across midfield and into the Tigers end of the field.  Facing a 4^th-and-2 just outside of field goal range, the Tide decided to go for it and poor decision-making again gifted possession to LSU through an interception.

Still down 14-3, LSU was running out of chances to stay in the game.  When they were faced with a 4^th-and-8 conversion in Alabama territory, they had no choice but to go for it; the Tigers faithful fanbase groaned in disappointment as the pass from QB #9 was caught, but well short of the first down marker.

The ensuing drive for the Crimson Tide again saw Alabama crossing midfield into LSU territory, but when LSU’s defense began to step up, a 50-yard field goal attempt was the play call to try and extend the lead.  Now it was time for the crimson-clad fans to groan as the field goal hooked left and fell short of the uprights, keeping the score at 14-3.

With only a few minutes remaining in the game, it was essentially LSU’s last chance to make a statement in the game.  The Tigers were unable to cross midfield, and faced a 4^th-and-12 conversion opportunity.  With the Superdome rocking and the BCS National Championship on the line, the deep pass fell incomplete and possession returned to Alabama.

The game clock read just over a minute remaining, and LSU had all three of their timeouts remaining to force the Tide to return the ball to them.  After the Tigers defense stepped up on 1^st and 2^nd Down to force an unmanageable 3^rd Down attempt, Alabama’s HB #3 ripped off a 9-yard run to convert the 1^st Down, forcing LSU to use their final timeout and watch helplessly as the Crimson Tide kneeled on the ball and began the celebration of their National Championship win.

Looking at the Team Stats, it’s clear that Alabama was relying heavily on their running game—with 40 rushes and only 8 pass attempts—while LSU sought a more balanced offense with 20 rushes and 18 pass attempts.  The Tide outgained LSU on the ground by over a hundred yards, while the Tigers barely edged Alabama in passing yards, 72-to-71.  Alabama was only slightly better at converting 3^rd Downs, while neither team found success trying for 4^th Downs.  LSU won the turnover battle by forcing two interceptions, but they were unable to turn either miscue into points.  Finally, Alabama handily won the battle for Time of Possession, holding the ball for 15:07 compared to LSU’s 8:53.

It was definitely not a day for quarterbacks; even though Alabama’s QB #10 completed 62% of his passes, he threw 2 interceptions to offset the single touchdown pass.  The easy Player of the Game decision was Alabama’s HB #3, whose 35 carries led to 148 yards on the ground and a touchdown.  For the receiving corps, Alabama’s TE #89 led all players with 3 catches and 43 yards, including the touchdown strike just before halftime that finished out the scoring.  In such a low-scoring game, kudos must given to the defensive stars as well.  Alabama’s DT #99 had 6 total tackles, including 2 sacks, while LSU’s ROLB #22 had 7 total tackles and an interception.

Considering that neither LSU nor Alabama were able to find the end zone in their real-life regular season meeting, it might be a lot to expect even two touchdowns in the 2012 Allstate BCS National Championship Game tonight.  Now STAT BOX STORIES two playthroughs of games between the LSU Tigers and Alabama Crimson Tide have been split, with each team earning a victory; will the real-life Tide be able to able to earn the split tonight and hoist the crystal trophy?  Will the Tigers of LSU “hold serve” and go undefeated to unanimously rule over the college football landscape?  Will the AP voters crown their own #1 school if Alabama wins a close game, opting to go with Oklahoma State over either SEC school?

We continue counting down the hours to kickoff so that we can all find out…

Thanks again to everyone who contributed to and read the entries of the BOWL BLITZ INVITATIONAL here at STAT BOX STORIES.  You can be certain that we’ll be doing this again in December of 2012 and January of 2013, so keep your NCAA Football stick skills up!

LSU started off the season at #4 and high hopes of a National Championship.  With maybe one of the toughest schedules in college football history, if the Tigers could take care of business they should be able to land in the title game.

The season started off with a tough test in the first week as the Tigers took on Oregon in a match-up of #4 vs #5.  The Tigers took care of the Ducks in what would be a preview of the season to come as the defense dominated only giving up 42 yards on the ground and 97 through the air on their way to a 34-7 victory (the lone Oregon score coming on a fumble return).

As the season progressed you could feel the Tigers playing as they did throughout their real season.  The defense was not only dominating in holding opponents in check but also took control of games and scored points to help out, the at times struggling offense.  Against Mississippi State in Week 3, trailing 10-3 late into the 3rd quarter the defense caused a fumble and returned it for a touchdown and with the game tied caused another fumble to set up the offense in good field position for the game winning score.

The Week 3 comeback against MSU seemed to be the start of a pattern.  As the Tigers traveled for another early season test to Top 25 West Virginia the team had to rally in another 4th quarter comeback.  This time it was the offense doing the work as they put together a late 4th quarter drive that pounded the running game and kicked a game winning field goal as time expired.

Week 4 seemed to be deja vu as the Tigers had to put together another late 4th quarter drive and kicked another 25 yard game winning field goal as time expired to beat Kentucky.  The defense/special teams had to get the game rolling again as late in the 1st and trailing 14-0 they returned a kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown and jumped started the offense.

After Week 4 LSU seemed to settle into its own as they beat Florida, Tennessee and Auburn in consecutive weeks by a combined score of 94-23 and setting up a #1 vs #2 showdown against Alabama as previous #1’s Oklahoma and Michigan State lost earlier in the year.

The showdown looked good on paper but ended in a 20-0 LSU victory as both defenses stepped up and shut down the opposing offenses.  LSU was able to do a little more with its chances getting two field goals and a touchdown before an interception return for a TD as Alabama was making one last effort.

With 3 games remaining and a path laid out into the title game the Tigers had one last test and it wasn’t #7 Arkansas, who they beat 27-17, it was Ole Miss.

The depth chart was tested as Week 12’s match-up had LSUs starting QB and HB go down in the 1st quarter.  Looking to their 2nd string at crucial positions and having the defense lapse in the 4th quarter they were looking at their 1st loss with under a minute to go in the game.  Led by their back up QB who stood in the face of pressure and delivered a perfectly thrown ball to tie the game with 5 seconds left and lead them to victory in OT the Tigers hopes at a National Title were still in tact.

After a victory in the SEC title game against South Carolina the LSU Tigers sat at #1 and the only undefeated team in college football.

The defense was definitely the story of the season.  Holding many high profile offenses in check and coming up with key stops late in games and finding the crucial moments to get turnovers leading to touchdowns.  One of the more impressive stats is that given that they were in a number of close games, the defense shut out 8 of its opponents in the 4th quarter and only gave up 28 4th quarter points all year.  They also ranked in the top 5 in a number of categories and most times were #2 right behind Alabama.

The offense on the other hand wasn’t a complete wash, HB #42 did have 1333 yards and 14 TDs and was in the running for the Heisman.  He did sustain a season ending injury in the final game of the year.  WR #2 caught 34 balls for 555 yards and 5 TDs.

The Tigers finished with 5 1st Team All Americans, 2 2nd Team All Americans and 1 Freshman All American.  Also HB #42 finished 2nd in the voting for the Doak Walker award and LE #94 finished 2nd in the voting for the Lombardi.

And that’s how the LSU Tigers found their way to the 2012 BCS National Championship game; find out how it all ends tomorrow here at STAT BOX STORIES when the BOWL BLITZ INVITATIONAL comes to a close with the final game of the college football season!

Guest Author Bio:

Eric Veneziano (PS3 ID: psuexv) is a long time gamer dating back to Double Dribble, NES Playaction Football and Baseball Stars and can actually go back to the Atari 2600 and Homerun and Super Challenge Football (love the unique names). He currently spends his time playing NCAA Football, Tiger Woods and NHL, having stepped away from Madden for awhile. He claims not to say many interesting things, but he is on Twitter at @psuexv.

Coming into the season Alabama was a little bit of a mystery.  They carried a high preseason ranking but had to replace a number of key positions on the offense and 3 leaders at quarterback, halfback and wide receiver.  Can the defense that returned a number of starters carry them early on until the offense found it’s rhythm,  and can the new starting half back continue where he showed glimpses of being great last season?

The first test of the season sat at Week 2 as the Crimson Tide traveled to Happy Valley to take on a Top 25 Penn State team.  The game did not disappoint as both defenses came to play.  Neither team was able to get a score until Penn State kicked a field goal late into the 3rd.  The Tide put together a running game late into the 4th and did answer with 10 unanswered points and passed it’s first test of the young season.

As was predicted the defense was the strong part of the team and showed their dominance early on in the season.  After the Week 2 PSU game they shut out 3 of their next 6 opponents, including a 58-0 beating of rival Florida.  The defense was stingy on the ground, consistently giving up less than 50 yards per game.  They were also a turnover machine averaging a fumble recovery a game and finishing the season with 13.  Even though the defense was racking up turnovers and shutting teams down, they weren’t a flashy explosive defense.  Not many of their turnovers were game changing, even though they were valuable in shutting down their opponents and setting up their offense.

The lone test for the Tide in the early part of the season, leading up to the match-up against LSU was a Week 6 match-up against Vanderbilt.  Maybe the team overlooked the Vandals after a 58 point victory over Florida, but Vanderbilt had come to play.  This game reminded me of two heavy weight fighters slugging it out in the middle of the ring. The scoring went back and forth all the way through the 3rd quarter as it ended 28 -28 with the teams trading scores the whole way.  Alabama stepped up though in the 4th and scored a touchdown and the defense put the clamps on the Vandals in the 4th to preserve a victory and remain undefeated.

Coming into the #1 vs #2 match-up with LSU the Tide were on a high note only giving up 3 points in its last two games and the offense was clicking.  They seemed though to hit a wall against LSU and even though the defense lived up to its hype it couldn’t do enough to shut down LSU.  Both teams slugged it out and LSU added an interception for a TD in the closing seconds to win 20-0.  The loss dropped Alabama to #5 behind undefeated Boise State and Utah and a 1-loss Michigan State team.

Alabama needed some help the rest of the way out to get back to the title game and needed to take care of their own business.  Their first test would show up the very next week against Mississippi State.  The Tide looked to be in control of things early, recording a safety and taking a 16-7 lead into the 4th.  With a defense that hadn’t given up a 4th quarter point all year (7 coming from the INT return against LSU) and outscoring opponents 65-0 in the 4th the game seemed to be all wrapped up.  MSU seemed to have other plans and scored 14 on the Tide defense and pulled the game to within two points.  The Tide defense did step up late in the game and stopped two Bulldog drives with turnovers in the final minutes of the game to get back on the winning track.

The Tide finished up the season with two shutouts of FCS Southwest and Auburn and got some help in Week 12 and 15 as Utah and Boise State lost and moved the Tide up to #3 behind Michigan State.  Neither Michigan State or Alabama, even though highly ranked, had the benefit of playing in a conference title game.  After Conference Championship week, the BCS formula did move Alabama above Michigan State and put them into the title game and set up a rematch with #1 LSU.

Even though the defense seemed to be the strong unit coming into the season, the offense also was able to establish itself as a very good unit.  QB #10 passed for 2101 with 20 TDs, HB #3 ran for 1405 averaging 6.1 yards/carry with 18 TDs (finishing 3rd in the Heisman voting) while HB #42 added 792 yards and 6 TDs.  Two players had over 30 catches with WR #4 and TE #89 with 36 and 32 respectively and added 554 and 458 yards.

But the defense was definitely the star of the season shutting out 5 opponents and holding another two to just 3 points.  The also ranked 1st in Total Yards, Pass Yards, Rush Yards, Points and Fumbles.  They were also #1 in Defensive Red Zone Attempts, Red Zone TDs and 2nd behind LSU in Red Zone FGs and Red Zone Conversion %.

Alabama finished with 5 1st team All Americans, 2 2nd Team All Americans and 3 Freshman All Americans.  Also HB #3 took home the Doak Walker award with LE #94 taking home the Lombardi and MLB #30 brought home the LB of the year award with LB #41 finishing 2nd.

That’s how the Crimson Tide of Alabama found their way to the 2012 BCS National Championship game; find out how it all ends tomorrow here at STAT BOX STORIES when the BOWL BLITZ INVITATIONAL comes to a close with the final game of the college football season!

Guest Author Bio:

Eric Veneziano (PS3 ID: psuexv) is a long time gamer dating back to Double Dribble, NES Playaction Football and Baseball Stars and can actually go back to the Atari 2600 and Homerun and Super Challenge Football (love the unique names). He currently spends his time playing NCAA Football, Tiger Woods and NHL, having stepped away from Madden for awhile. He claims not to say many interesting things, but he is on Twitter at @psuexv.