Well Tulane is currently ranked #17 after 7 straight wins, including over #10 Houston. My schedule is a joke at this point (including winless Memphis and winless Tulsa--apparently the game tanked Tulsa over the last 9 seasons, because typically they're a decent team.) I'm averaging over 40 points per game and the simming my defense hasn't hurt me too bad. My WR and my QB are both at the top of the Heisman list, but I'd be surprised if either can win... if they do, it's clearly a case of "if you throw 50 times a game..." because neither is particularly good at the pitch and catch.

One thing that's definitely becoming clear in NCAA 11 that wasn't true of previous games is the importance of Acceleration. A 99 speed was fast as fuck in previous games, regardless of having an 80 acceleration or a 99. Now that I'm playing with players where I have to make a tradeoff between the two, it's very clear the difference in a player with good acceleration and without. Only one of my WRs have decent speed and acceleration (both in the 80s.) He is so much more of a deep threat because press coverage doesn't destroy him; my other receivers are dead if they are pressed at the line (80s in speed, high 60s in acceleration, mostly.) My RB is by far my fastest player and he can leave defenders in the dust because he has both speed to outrun, but also the acceleration to make moves without slowing too much (high 80s in both.) Even though he's not great, and will likely because a 5th receiver and not a runner in the bowl game, he's definitely able to break ankles in C-USA play.

Recruiting is coming around. I've signed a 1 star punter (to fill the roster spot) and I've got 7 or 8 three stars committed, with a couple more soft commits. Recruiting is very slow at this level, but that's good for loading up the recruiting board. Part of the problem is that my recruiting stats just aren't very good... since there's a random mechanism to selecting pitches, I can't guarantee I'll be able to pitch my A+ stats. My strategy thus far, though, has been to try and sway as much as possible to boost interest in my strengths; with UGA I never had to sway because my only weak stats were the variables (proximity, early play time, etc.) Fortunately, I haven't been recruiting head-to-head with any BCS schools for the most part, so I'm not getting hurt too bad by the fact that I average +200-300 per 60 minute call. Also, it's nice that I can just stop calling a recruit and not worry about falling behind for him too much; I imagine toward the last couple weeks of the season and the off-season, I won't have that luxury.

Since most of the BCS programs don't start talking to 3-stars until later in the season, I've been able to snake some big upgrades at a couple positions. I've really been looking for speed, so I'm hoping a lot of these guys will be faster and will be able to come in and play immediately. I'm currently in the lead for 3 three stars from Alabama, which will give me the pipeline next if I can close them out. I just added 5 three stars from Florida, so my goals are to close 7 or 8 of the 11 three star guys left on my board, and then start flooding my roster with 1-stars from Florida, Alabama, and Georgia to establish those pipelines. With any luck, I'll be able to cut the one-stars next season after recruiting new players from those pipelines to maintain them.