Last Tuesday, July 13, was marked on my calendar for a long time. I started counting down the days months in advance. No, July 13 is not my birthday; it was the day that EA Sports released its 11th installment of the ever-popular NCAA Football video games: NCAA Football ’11.
When it comes to this latest version, EA Sports incorporates two of my favorite things into one product: college football and Xbox 360. I’ve been playing these games since I can remember, whether it be with friends, brothers or against the computer. I live for these games.
This year was no different. I drove an hour and a half through suburban Utah ““ where I’m from and where I happen to be spending this summer ““ to the only gaming store in the state that was releasing the game at midnight. I was met there by several other video game nerds who, like myself, were excitedly anticipating the release.
After shelling out $59.99, which is a lot for me considering that the Daily Bruin’s budget doesn’t afford for me to buy $60 video games at my leisure, I raced home to explore the new game. I will say that I was a bit disappointed to see everyone’s favorite All-American boy and vastly overrated Broncos’ draft pick Tim Tebow gracing the cover, but I ripped open the game and got to work.
Rest assured, it was well worth the money. I played until the early hours of the morning and I was reminded of why I love the game so much. I played with a few of my favorite college football teams before beginning Dynasty Mode with the 2010 Bruins to see how they stacked up in the virtual world under my direction.
I finished the 2010 campaign with a 10-3, 7-3 Pac-10 record, a win over Missouri in the Holiday Bowl and a No. 14 ranking. The three losses all came at home against Arizona, Oregon State and the dreaded Trojans. That’s right, I took down Texas, Oregon and Washington on the road.
A crushing season-ending injury to starting sophomore running back Johnathan Franklin in the season opener forced me to play with junior Derrick Coleman who adequately filled the void, rushing for 717 yards on the season. Sophomore quarterback Kevin Prince threw for just over 2,000 yards with 14 touchdowns. The virtual Prince did happen to catch the interception bug (through no fault of my own, of course; they were all his decisions) throwing 14 total picks. Junior wide receiver Nelson Rosario was my go-to man on offense and averaged 17 yards per reception.
The defensive backfield was stellar, as it’s expected to be in the real world, with standout junior safety Rahim Moore pulling down four interceptions and sophomore cornerback Sheldon Price winning the Jim Thorpe Award for the nation’s best defensive back by nabbing a school record 14 (and I thought Rahim was doing well leading the nation with 10 picks last season). Junior linebacker Steve Sloan led the team in tackles with 47. Senior kicker and last year’s Lou Groza award winner (in the real world) Kai Forbath was lights-out in the game, going 18-for-18 on field goals and 11-for-11 from 50 yards or more. Needless to say, Kai saved my bacon a few times.
Before you get too excited about ““ or tired of ““ the way I performed in the game with coach Rick Neuheisel’s 2010 Bruins, you should know that I also simulated the entire season with the computer picking the outcomes of every game. In the simulated season, the Bruins went 5-7, 3-6 Pac-10 with losses to Stanford, Washington State, Arizona and USC at home as well as dropping games to Texas, Oregon and Washington on the road.
First off, it should go without saying that neither the season I played out nor the aforementioned simulated season should be used as any indicator as to how the Bruins will fare this year.
I do, however, think that the actual Bruins will fall somewhere between the two records I’ve laid out. I have my doubts about the Bruins grabbing a win at Texas on their way to winning the Holiday Bowl in January, but I also don’t think you will see them drop a game to Washington State at the Rose Bowl. UCLA fans should also hope that the video game gods were correct in keeping Kevin Prince healthy throughout the season.
The beauty of this game and sports games in general is that you get to experience firsthand things that happen to an actual team like injuries, heartbreaking losses, nail-biting wins and touchdown celebrations with the school mascots.
In actuality, my record in Dynasty Mode or my blowout win over a friend during online play in NCAA Football ’11 mean nothing more than bragging rights and a diversion from studying. Gamers should not be led to believe that because they went undefeated with East Tennessee State or that they toppled Alabama with San Jose State in the opener that it’s actually going to happen.
The release of this game does mean one significant thing: college football season is approaching. My favorite sports season is just around the corner, and that, my friends, should be considered a win for sports fans everywhere.