I've been wanting to start writing some reviews of newer games that I've been playing, but haven't been able to find the time to 1) complete a game that merited a review and 2) take time out of an increasingly busy schedule to write up a review. I've finally been able to do both those things and have just finished Fallout: New Vegas. I know it's old as of now, but since Fallout 3 was one of my favorite games ever I felt like this was a good place to start. I'm going to give my review in five parts: story, design, game play, presentation, and overall. So, without further adieu let's get down to my first video game review.
Story: Fallout 3 and it's predecessors made up an amazing world for a player to live in and provided us with a great story that fit the world. New Vegas' main story line isn't as good as Fallout 3's, but the world as a whole has a much deeper, fleshed out story to tell. While playing through the game I found myself refusing to do the main story quests just because I wanted to see what was happening out in the Mojave and do all of the side quests. The best of these were the companion quests, which might be the best in the game. Without spoiling anything for anyone, Veronica's quest that involved the Brotherhood of Steel was one the longest, but most enjoyable quests I've ever done. It had me going from secret bunkers under a sand storm to irradiated vaults that I could barely even walk through. Another quest that I must recommend is Arcade Gannon's companion quest, which doesn't really take a lot to do, but has a great pay-off, that I won't spoil, in the final mission. My final must see experience is anything involving the Super Mutant's of the area. You simply must go see best friend Tabitha and her friend Ronda. As I said the main quest didn't draw me as much as Fallout 3's did, but it's still very good and worth at least one play through to see the Legion and NCR's final conflict.
Design: The major new design element in New Vegas is the introduction of factions into the game. These kind of act as a better representation of Fallout 3's good/bad scale. Basically what happens is depending on your choices and actions in the game you will gain or lose the trust of different factions. Doing something for one faction might lose trust with another faction even if you might not think it does right away. This makes the game feel much more real and dynamic. This design is evident from the onset of the game as I found myself being attacked by a faction right after I left the first town because I had saved that town from the faction that attacked me. This faction scale sometimes was frustrating because it sometimes closes off some quests for you if you're not friendly with a certain group. In the end though, that gives the game an ever-changing world that feels much more real than many games that simply provide you with a good/evil scale.
Gameplay: In Fallout 3 it was usually necessary to use the game's V.A.T.S. targeting system in order to kill enemies because of how terrible the aiming was. New Vegas improved the gun combat a lot by adding iron sights to the game. I was surprised by the amount of time I started spending out of V.A.T.S. because it was easier to kill things just using my iron sights, which is something I would never do in Fallout 3. This change may of caused me to use more bullets because of the many times I just sprayed bullets at approaching enemies, but the better control over where those bullets were going was well worth it. The other major gameplay improvement was how well the companions controlled this time around. There were many times in which I didn't even notice an enemy on the screen before my companion had taken them out. Sometimes this almost felt like getting cheap experience, but overall it was very helpful in keeping my character alive. The gun play and companions drastically improve upon the last game's which make New Vegas very enjoyable.
Presentation: This is the biggest area that New Vegas fails to improve upon Fallout 3. I only encountered three or four game crashes that all came past the 40 hour mark. That said this game is littered with bugs all the way through. For a Fallout or RPG fanatic this wasn't really that big of a hang up, but it was a problem. The graphics engine didn't look that bad, but it didn't really perform as well as one would expect from this big of a release. A game that has this much in it is going to come with it's share of bugs, but this one was just ridiculous. That said, sometimes these bugs were hilarious and I actually found myself hoping I would get the glitch in the beginning of the game that finds a players head spinning like the girl from The Exorcist.
Overall: I mostly felt that this game was at best a little better than Fallout 3 and at worst just more of the same, which is never a bad thing with a game that good. New Vegas has to be down ranked a little because where it improves on the last game it just does a little bit. I would've liked to see some bigger improvements, but I can't complain about getting to play through even more Fallout. This game should probably be bought as it took me 70+ hours to complete and it would be hard to put in that much time with a single rental. Either way I'd encourage most people to at least check it out and if you're a Fallout fan, get ready for some great story and gameplay that only a Fallout game can provide.
Final Score: 8.75
Friday, December 3, 2010
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Update to the Update- October 28
So, I think I'm officially back to posting here for when I get the fancy to talk about video games/life. bitmob.com just wasn't doing it for me because I'd rather write review/news/experience stuff rather than the list type things they do. It's a great site, just not for me. I'm still pretty heavily invested in bleacher report though so this blog won't be updated as much as I would maybe like, but I'm going to try and write about games at least once a week as long as I have something to talk about. Of course, this is more for me to talk about cool things for fun than for people to look at them, but I plan to have some fun with this. Anyways, enough about that, expect a new post about Fallout 3 this weekend because I've been playing the crap out of that as of late.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Blog Update - October 16
So, lately I've been doing a lot of writing on bleacherreport.com because it provides a bigger audience than this blog and thought that maybe I'd just stick to writing about games on this blog. However, I just found a new website, bitmob.com that basically does the same thing bleacherreport does, but for video games. Since I'm going to posting a lot on both of those sites it's going to be difficult to find time to do both those and post on this blog. I think what's going to happen is I'll use this to post random thoughts and then try to post up links to bitmob and bleacherreport for any easy way to keep up with both. If I can think of another way to use this I will, but for now just expect the number of posts to go down a lot and just be a source to post links to stuff and maybe some thinks I don't want to post on the other two sites. Anyways, this is mostly for myself because it's not like I've put enough time in this to get any followers, but for now this is the end of my blog in it's current form. It was a short, but fun run. It will still serve it's purpose, just not near as often as it did before.
See ya next time. Some time, same place....actually now it's probably going to be a different place.
See ya next time. Some time, same place....actually now it's probably going to be a different place.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Monday Minecraft - October 11
Since I've started publishing articles on Bleacher Report I've had trouble finding time to do much else besides that so that's why this is a day late. Anyways, I haven't been playing Minecraft because of how unreliable my computer's been lately. Hopefully I'll get my new computer in a few weeks and be able to start playing before the Halloween Update.
Speaking of which I'm pretty excited for that to hit the public. The only thing that doesn't look cool is that Notch is going to make torches run out after some time. While this makes the game more realistic, but I use torches to tell me where I've been and I also like to carve out huge 30X30 strip mines. If I lose all my torches then it will be difficult to know exactly where I've been. Hopefully lanterns will be fairly easy to make, but we won't know for sure until it launches.
I'm really looking forward to this new "realm" that lets you travel quickly in the real world by braving this new ruthless realm. On his blog Notch posted a screen shot of the realm and it looks fairly scary, which seems to be what he's going for in this new update.
Notch has also said he's going to make new enemies that are actually difficult this time around and make it to where you need more light as you dig deeper to keep the baddies from coming. This should make the game even more interesting because right now the only enemy that even presents a tad bit of challenge is the skeleton. These guys aren't too tough, but if they get the jump on you they can do quite a bit of a challenge. I've seen on his Twitter that he has made a new enemy that we will all hate...which basically means I can't wait.
He's also said that he's going to include fish so you finally have a reason to use that fishing pole. I'm not really sure what he plans to do once you catch the fish, but I assume eating it is logical. He's also including a watch that helps you tell time, which I kind of don't see being that big of deal, and biomes, which basically means the weather will change, a cool cosmetic upgrade. Finally, it seems we're pumpkins, which is alright, but not that cool...and possibly some new block types. I'm hoping for something stronger than Diamond to be in there.
Well, that's all for now. See ya later. Some time, same place.
Speaking of which I'm pretty excited for that to hit the public. The only thing that doesn't look cool is that Notch is going to make torches run out after some time. While this makes the game more realistic, but I use torches to tell me where I've been and I also like to carve out huge 30X30 strip mines. If I lose all my torches then it will be difficult to know exactly where I've been. Hopefully lanterns will be fairly easy to make, but we won't know for sure until it launches.
I'm really looking forward to this new "realm" that lets you travel quickly in the real world by braving this new ruthless realm. On his blog Notch posted a screen shot of the realm and it looks fairly scary, which seems to be what he's going for in this new update.
Notch has also said he's going to make new enemies that are actually difficult this time around and make it to where you need more light as you dig deeper to keep the baddies from coming. This should make the game even more interesting because right now the only enemy that even presents a tad bit of challenge is the skeleton. These guys aren't too tough, but if they get the jump on you they can do quite a bit of a challenge. I've seen on his Twitter that he has made a new enemy that we will all hate...which basically means I can't wait.
He's also said that he's going to include fish so you finally have a reason to use that fishing pole. I'm not really sure what he plans to do once you catch the fish, but I assume eating it is logical. He's also including a watch that helps you tell time, which I kind of don't see being that big of deal, and biomes, which basically means the weather will change, a cool cosmetic upgrade. Finally, it seems we're pumpkins, which is alright, but not that cool...and possibly some new block types. I'm hoping for something stronger than Diamond to be in there.
Well, that's all for now. See ya later. Some time, same place.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Sunday Stats - October 10
Another week, another shake up in my Heisman rankings this week. Some big teams lost and some hopefuls had less than stellar weeks. So, without further adieu let's get down to it, here's my Week 6 Heisman Rankings:
Honorable Mentions: Taylor Martinez, Justin Blackmon, Ryan Mallet, Andrew Luck
5) LaMichael James RB, Oregon- 848 yards rushing, 9 TDs- James had another electrifying week, but it was against Washington State. Because of that I almost gave this space to one of the three QBs in the honorable mention section, but decided to stick with James because he did have a three TD day and almost had 100 yards rushing and receiving.
4) Kellen Moore QB Boise State- 1336 yards passing, 14 TDs- If Moore wasn't undefeated he'd be off this list, no doubt about it in my mind because he just hasn't played the level of competition as Mallet and Luck. However, until he has a bad game or Boise loses he'll remain on the list, but won't be ranked too high.
3) Cam Newton QB Auburn- 1138 yards passing 12 TDs, 672 yards rushing, 8 TDs. I cannot ignore Cam Newton any longer after he rushed for four TDs and almost 200 yards rushing against Kentucky. He's like a poor man's Denard Robinson, but bigger. He plays in the SEC so it's going to be hard for him to stay undefeated, but for now he's here to stay.
2) Denard Robinson QB Michigan- 1223 yards passing, 8 TDs, 991 yards rushing 9 TDs. I knew this was going to happen, I could just feel it in my bones that Michigan would lose and Robinson would have a bad game. That said, he's still in this race and isn't done by a long shot. He may of thrown for 3 INTs this week, but he did have 2 TDs so it wasn't a terrible week for him. He has some work to do next week to regain his spot at the top of the charts.
1) Terrelle Pryor QB Ohio State- 1349 yards passing 15 TDs, 354 yards rushing, 3 TDS. The Buckeyes are going to be number one in the polls and they have an elite passer in Pryor. This past week he turned in his greatest performance ever through the air and as the season goes on he just keeps having big games. If he can have a solid performance against Wisconsin next week he could put a lot of space between him and the competition.
Well, that's all for today. See ya later. Some time, same place.
Honorable Mentions: Taylor Martinez, Justin Blackmon, Ryan Mallet, Andrew Luck
5) LaMichael James RB, Oregon- 848 yards rushing, 9 TDs- James had another electrifying week, but it was against Washington State. Because of that I almost gave this space to one of the three QBs in the honorable mention section, but decided to stick with James because he did have a three TD day and almost had 100 yards rushing and receiving.
4) Kellen Moore QB Boise State- 1336 yards passing, 14 TDs- If Moore wasn't undefeated he'd be off this list, no doubt about it in my mind because he just hasn't played the level of competition as Mallet and Luck. However, until he has a bad game or Boise loses he'll remain on the list, but won't be ranked too high.
3) Cam Newton QB Auburn- 1138 yards passing 12 TDs, 672 yards rushing, 8 TDs. I cannot ignore Cam Newton any longer after he rushed for four TDs and almost 200 yards rushing against Kentucky. He's like a poor man's Denard Robinson, but bigger. He plays in the SEC so it's going to be hard for him to stay undefeated, but for now he's here to stay.
2) Denard Robinson QB Michigan- 1223 yards passing, 8 TDs, 991 yards rushing 9 TDs. I knew this was going to happen, I could just feel it in my bones that Michigan would lose and Robinson would have a bad game. That said, he's still in this race and isn't done by a long shot. He may of thrown for 3 INTs this week, but he did have 2 TDs so it wasn't a terrible week for him. He has some work to do next week to regain his spot at the top of the charts.
1) Terrelle Pryor QB Ohio State- 1349 yards passing 15 TDs, 354 yards rushing, 3 TDS. The Buckeyes are going to be number one in the polls and they have an elite passer in Pryor. This past week he turned in his greatest performance ever through the air and as the season goes on he just keeps having big games. If he can have a solid performance against Wisconsin next week he could put a lot of space between him and the competition.
Well, that's all for today. See ya later. Some time, same place.
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Saturday Shorts - October 9
Lots of big games happened today in the NCAA and I decided to skip going to the gym and eating dinner in order to watch them all. Here's my analysis of the games I watched and the games I only kind of watched.
Lets start with the big one, 19th ranked South Carolina came out and beat the defending champs, Alabama. When I flipped over to this game and saw that the Gamecocks were up 21-3 my jaw hit the floor. S. Carolina's Garcia was super accurate and went 17-20 for 201 yards and 3 TDs. I'd never heard of this guy before this game, but man did he play great early and then keep playing well enough to win the game. The biggest surprise though was that the 'Cocks held the Tide's running game to a measly 36 yards. Let me say that again...36 yards! Now that number is a bit warped because of McElroy having -28 yards rushing but, this is the same team that was dominating teams with their running game and had the defending Heisman Trophy winner in Mark Ingram. He only had 41 yards on 11 carries, that is just ridiculous. I'm not a Bama fan, but I was hoping they would just go undefeated and play Ohio State for the 'ship so we could stay away from the Boise controversy. Not because I don't want a play-off, but because I'm tired of hearing about it. Hats off to the Gamecocks though, they played a great game and did what I didn't think anybody could do.
Up next is the game that could kill Denard Robinson's Heisman hopes. Michigan State came into the Big House and dominated Michigan. This is what I was worried about two weeks ago when I posted my Heisman Watch, but last week did something to take those concerns away, but now I'm right back there. Robinson still had decent numbers outside of 3 costly picks, but with this game on national TV his chances could be hurt a lot especially with Terrelle Pyror playing so well today.
LSU and Florida had a really good game that went down to the wire. LSU won in the closing seconds with a big drive that had a sweet fake field goal in it. This was the game of the week for me just because of how great the ending was. LSU seems to of found some of an offense, but with how well it's D is playing it might not need a great offense.
The final game I watched that was excited was the Arkansas A&M game. Ryan Mallet did some good work in trying to erase that Bama game from people's minds, but I'm not positive he's done enough yet. This was a good win for the Razorbacks and could hurt the Big 12 as a whole. This A&M team is going to be a tough out and if they can sneak out a win against someone like OU that could hurt their chances to go to the 'ship because A&M has two loses. That's all speculative of course, but I don't think anyone in the Big is unbeatable so this does seem like it's shaping up to be the actual year that a non-BCS school is going to play for a championship.
I'm going to save my Heisman Watch for tomorrow so I can wait to get my stats right, so see ya next time. Some time, same place.
Lets start with the big one, 19th ranked South Carolina came out and beat the defending champs, Alabama. When I flipped over to this game and saw that the Gamecocks were up 21-3 my jaw hit the floor. S. Carolina's Garcia was super accurate and went 17-20 for 201 yards and 3 TDs. I'd never heard of this guy before this game, but man did he play great early and then keep playing well enough to win the game. The biggest surprise though was that the 'Cocks held the Tide's running game to a measly 36 yards. Let me say that again...36 yards! Now that number is a bit warped because of McElroy having -28 yards rushing but, this is the same team that was dominating teams with their running game and had the defending Heisman Trophy winner in Mark Ingram. He only had 41 yards on 11 carries, that is just ridiculous. I'm not a Bama fan, but I was hoping they would just go undefeated and play Ohio State for the 'ship so we could stay away from the Boise controversy. Not because I don't want a play-off, but because I'm tired of hearing about it. Hats off to the Gamecocks though, they played a great game and did what I didn't think anybody could do.
Up next is the game that could kill Denard Robinson's Heisman hopes. Michigan State came into the Big House and dominated Michigan. This is what I was worried about two weeks ago when I posted my Heisman Watch, but last week did something to take those concerns away, but now I'm right back there. Robinson still had decent numbers outside of 3 costly picks, but with this game on national TV his chances could be hurt a lot especially with Terrelle Pyror playing so well today.
LSU and Florida had a really good game that went down to the wire. LSU won in the closing seconds with a big drive that had a sweet fake field goal in it. This was the game of the week for me just because of how great the ending was. LSU seems to of found some of an offense, but with how well it's D is playing it might not need a great offense.
The final game I watched that was excited was the Arkansas A&M game. Ryan Mallet did some good work in trying to erase that Bama game from people's minds, but I'm not positive he's done enough yet. This was a good win for the Razorbacks and could hurt the Big 12 as a whole. This A&M team is going to be a tough out and if they can sneak out a win against someone like OU that could hurt their chances to go to the 'ship because A&M has two loses. That's all speculative of course, but I don't think anyone in the Big is unbeatable so this does seem like it's shaping up to be the actual year that a non-BCS school is going to play for a championship.
I'm going to save my Heisman Watch for tomorrow so I can wait to get my stats right, so see ya next time. Some time, same place.
Friday, October 8, 2010
Friday Night Lights - October 8
I'm going to try something different this week since my Oklahoma State Cowboys are on TV tonight and I'm going to do a live game reaction. This means that I'll watch the game and post updates as I see fit. (Note: I missed the first few minutes of the game because I was in the shower so this technically starts nine minutes into the first quarter).
1st quarter 9:00- Okay I missed the first few minutes, but here it goes. I saw that Dan Bailey hit a 52 yarder, which is a career long. I gotta say this guy is a stud.
1st quarter 8:08- Hate to see any player get hurt, even if its for the opposing team. It's not looking like Maurice Rolle is coming back in this game. Also excuse me if I get any of the Ragin; Cajuns names wrong...I'm not really familiar with their roster.
1st quarter 7:04- Man I wish Blackmon could have played this well when Dez was here...of course Dez would've needed to not get suspended last year. Blackmon already has nine TDs this year and he should get a few more this game, especially with how often their going to him early.
1st quarter 5:56- Three screens in a row? Hmm, I don't know if I agree with this strategy, but it could work since the Cajuns blitz so often....Update: 4 screens, I think I'm going to eat my words this is working well so far and really looks like it's going to hurt the Cajuns pass rush.
1st quarter 4:46- Oh my, Kendall Hunter is one of the best running backs in the game. I don't care that that play got called back because Chelf's hold had nothing to do with Hunter getting away from all those Cajuns in the back field...Just incredible.
1st quarter 4:40- There it is folks, Blackmon's first TD and probably not the last. By my count they threw Blackmon's way 5 times in this last drive and with how open he's getting I fully expect them to go his way even more. That was a great catch by the way, he wanted the ball badly on that play.
1st quarter 4:40- Update: The announcers just said it he caught 7 balls, not sure if that was just on that drive or overall, but still a mighty impressive 1st quarter.
1st quarter 3:52- Ouch, I fully thought Mason had the first down there, but he missed an open guy and it's 3 and out for the Cajuns.
1st quarter 3:45- Spoke to soon. Zach Craig got caught roughing the kicker. You just can't do that and now the Cajuns get another shot.
1st quarter 3:31- Finally Mason completes a pass, although the pressure almost got to him and it's still not looking too good for the Cajuns.
1st quarter 2:24- I love the shovel pass when it's used effectively and Aaron Spikes just ran it to perfection. Great play-call by the Cajuns.
1st quarter end- The Cajuns look like their at least going to get three points, but I expect they'll hit pay dirt and make this a 10-7 game early in the second quarter. Let's see what happens.
2nd quarter 13:14- Wow, I've been wondering since the Wildcat was invented when people were going to start using it in all goal line situations. I mean, think about it...you're basically running a QB sneak, but with someone who can actually run the ball. It just doesn't make sense to not put your running back behind the center and let him take a direct snap and punch it in. Hopefully this becomes the norm soon because it already should be. Anyway, real costly mistake by Craig, hopefully the Cowboys can answer.
2nd quarter 13:05- Welp, there's the beginning of an answer. What an electric return by Gilbert.
2nd quarter 12:04- Well, I was about to say you gotta love seeing those wide receivers blocking down the field, but it looks like they blocked a little too well and got called for a hold. Oh well.
2nd quarter 11:07- You just can't say enough about Justin Blackmon. That was a great catch that showed shades of Dez Bryant. In a year where there aren't too many great receivers Blackmon might be the best in the nation. For those scoring at home that's two TDs for Blackmon and a 10 point lead for the Cowboys.
2nd quarter 8:49- Mason is looking really good right now for the Cajuns and could keep them in the ball game if the Cowboys don't step it up on defense. Their pressure is just a few seconds late, but they need to get in there and hit him some to get him off his rhythm.
2nd quarter 7:38- It seems the Cowboys heard because the pass rush has gotten Mason off his game the past two plays and looks to of gotten the Cajuns out of scoring range.
2nd quarter 7:10- What the heck was Weeden thinking? That was way behind Blackmon and almost got taken to the house. You can't throw that ball...he looked like Brett Favre there.
2nd quarter 7:01- Terrible possession there, although there was a questionable no-call on that third down play.
2nd quarter 5:42- This seems to be the game of screens. I think about 75% of the play calls so far have been screens fro both teams...
2nd quarter 4:35- Jeez, you can't leave guys that open, I don't care how bad your competition is. This looks like it could be an actual game and OSU is going to have to step up if they want to win. It's now 17-14 Cowboys. Let's see if they can get some points before halftime.
2nd quarter 3:57- Crap, this is not looking good as the Cajuns just picked off a Weeden pass. I'm not going to put that on Weeden even though the stats will because he can't do anything about his man tipping a pass to the defender. Bad luck there and now the defense is in another hole and the Cajuns have major momentum.
2nd quarter 3:02- Great stop on third and short for the Cowboys. If I was the Cajuns I'd be going for it right now and it looks like they will. Good call on their coaches part.
2nd quarter 2:23- Wow, that was a generous spot, but I gotta give it up to the Cajuns for having the guts to go for it on fourth down. That had to be a little demoralizing for the defense, I hope they can get another stop.
2nd quarter :58- I'm loving that block by Spikes the Cajuns freshman RB. Even though it's not my team I got excited to see somebody out there putting his body on the line for his team. I still hope they don't score though.
2nd quarter :27- Hmm, that was some weird clock management by the Cajuns. They wasted about ten seconds instead of calling a play or a timeout and then went ahead and called a timeout. That was a little strange, but shouldn't really hurt them at all.
2nd quarter :21- This is embarrassing. The Cowboys shouldn't be losing to this type of an opponent, but it looks like they're going to be playing down to their competition as usual. I can't believe they're going into halftime down 21-17. Ugh.
2nd quarter :14- Good run, gives them a chance to hit Blackmon for a deep ball and at least three points. With their luck tonight they probably won't pull that off.
2nd quarter :08- They must be trying to play for a field goal there, that's the only way I can justify running the ball with 14 seconds left to go.
2nd quarter :01- Well, that's not too bad of a play considering they were either going to get a touchdown or get nothing with how long he held the ball. Weeden needed to get that out quickly, but getting an INT wasn't that big of a deal really, because they weren't going to kick a field goal from that far out.
2nd quarter end- Alright it's halftime and the Cowboys are down 21-17. I'm hoping they can come out and play well after getting kicked in the mouth. Weeden looked okay out there, but had a bad break with that INT, the 2nd one wasn't really a big deal, but he should come out playing better. Blackmon was playing out of his mind early, but needs to keep getting open to help out the team. Kendall Hunter barely got the ball in the 1st half and they really need to get him the ball more. The defense needs to get to Mason a few seconds earlier and they should be okay. A turnover would be great, but they need to keep the Cajuns out of the end zone at all costs. Let's see what happens in the 2nd half.
3rd quarter 15:00- Here we go, time to see what the Cowboys are made of! Come on Blackmon/Hunter, pull us out of this mess.
3rd quarter 13:31- Nice adjustment by Blackmon. Weeden's are is a little weak, but Blackmon is playing out of his mind tonight. Also, notice that they came out running with Kendall Hunter. This is a great sign of things to come.
3rd quarter 12:24- That's what I like to see. Way to feed the ball to Hunter on the goal line and he does what he does best. Great job on that drive getting Hunter some much needed carries.
3rd quarter 12:22- Ugh, I liked the call on that onside kick, but that stinks to give up that field position.
3rd quarter 12:10- Well, I guess it doesn't stink that bad. There's that turnover I said we could use. Great job by Steven McGee.
3rd quarter 11:44- Blackmon gets his 10th catch early in the 3rd quarter. 18+ catches might not be out of the realm of possibility.
3rd quarter 10:55- Good throw and catch by Weeden and Michael Harrison. This game looks to be turning into a blowout for the Cowboys, but the Cajuns can score quick too so until the Pokes go up by another score I'm still hesitant to rule out a comeback.
3rd quarter 8:57- Ouch, that's a call that's really going to hurt if the Cajuns can't pick up a first from a 3rd and 26. They were driving for a minute there, but that hurt them badly.
3rd quarter 6:30- The Cowboys look to be well in control of this game and I think it's got to do with the fact that they've gone to the running game more, which is opening up the pass some more.
3rd quarter 6:04- Hubert Anyiam scores a TD. This is looking like a blowout for the Cowboys. They need to keep piling on the score though because the Cajuns did have a 21 point 2nd quarter so you know they can score. The defense also needs to keep stopping the Cajuns like they have been. Most importantly Hunter's got to get first downs and run some time off the clock.
3rd quarter 5:49- Crap, look what I said. The Cajuns can score quick and they just did. This isn't terrible because our offense gets the ball back to, hopefully, put up more points, but the Cajuns scoring is not what we needed right now.
3rd quarter 5:42- Apparently this game is going to come down to who can get the most kick return yards. Good return by OSU, not quite as good as the Cajuns though.
3rd quarter 2:04- Oh, I could've seen that pass interference going either way.
3rd quarter end- Alright, going into the fourth quarter we're at 41-28 Cowboys. It's looking good right now.
4th quarter 13:21- Well, we're not outta this yet. Looks like we still might have a ball game on our hands.
4th quarter 11:52- This is what we got to keep doing, getting first downs and keeping the ball away from the Cajuns.
4th quarter 9:44- Dan Bailey has a cannon on his leg. That kick was good from 60 yards. He's a god. That makes the score 44-28 Cowboys.
4th quarter 8:28- It would seem Bo Bowling doesn't like being tackled. Pretty nice return.
4th quarter 6:22- Bad choice Brandon...you gotta just keep the clock rolling and not take a chance when up. In other news Dan Bailey can not miss.
4th quarter 6:01- Well if that last field goal didn't seal it up then this fumble recovery did. Pretty good job in this win for the Cowboys. A little too sloppy in the first half though. Let's get some garbage stats, boys!
4th quarter 4:59- I don't know about that touchdown to Youman. I think they should just run the ball and not even bother to pass when up this much late. It's kinda like rubbing salt in the wound, but I guess you gotta get some style points after that sloppy first half.
4th quarter end- Well that's all she wrote folks. The Cowboys came out with a vengeance in the second half and got a big game from their star skill position players. Hopefully they can take this back to conference play and get a few big wins. Hat off to the Cajuns though. They played hard against a superior team and gave me a scare for awhile.
See ya next time. Some time, same place.
1st quarter 9:00- Okay I missed the first few minutes, but here it goes. I saw that Dan Bailey hit a 52 yarder, which is a career long. I gotta say this guy is a stud.
1st quarter 8:08- Hate to see any player get hurt, even if its for the opposing team. It's not looking like Maurice Rolle is coming back in this game. Also excuse me if I get any of the Ragin; Cajuns names wrong...I'm not really familiar with their roster.
1st quarter 7:04- Man I wish Blackmon could have played this well when Dez was here...of course Dez would've needed to not get suspended last year. Blackmon already has nine TDs this year and he should get a few more this game, especially with how often their going to him early.
1st quarter 5:56- Three screens in a row? Hmm, I don't know if I agree with this strategy, but it could work since the Cajuns blitz so often....Update: 4 screens, I think I'm going to eat my words this is working well so far and really looks like it's going to hurt the Cajuns pass rush.
1st quarter 4:46- Oh my, Kendall Hunter is one of the best running backs in the game. I don't care that that play got called back because Chelf's hold had nothing to do with Hunter getting away from all those Cajuns in the back field...Just incredible.
1st quarter 4:40- There it is folks, Blackmon's first TD and probably not the last. By my count they threw Blackmon's way 5 times in this last drive and with how open he's getting I fully expect them to go his way even more. That was a great catch by the way, he wanted the ball badly on that play.
1st quarter 4:40- Update: The announcers just said it he caught 7 balls, not sure if that was just on that drive or overall, but still a mighty impressive 1st quarter.
1st quarter 3:52- Ouch, I fully thought Mason had the first down there, but he missed an open guy and it's 3 and out for the Cajuns.
1st quarter 3:45- Spoke to soon. Zach Craig got caught roughing the kicker. You just can't do that and now the Cajuns get another shot.
1st quarter 3:31- Finally Mason completes a pass, although the pressure almost got to him and it's still not looking too good for the Cajuns.
1st quarter 2:24- I love the shovel pass when it's used effectively and Aaron Spikes just ran it to perfection. Great play-call by the Cajuns.
1st quarter end- The Cajuns look like their at least going to get three points, but I expect they'll hit pay dirt and make this a 10-7 game early in the second quarter. Let's see what happens.
2nd quarter 13:14- Wow, I've been wondering since the Wildcat was invented when people were going to start using it in all goal line situations. I mean, think about it...you're basically running a QB sneak, but with someone who can actually run the ball. It just doesn't make sense to not put your running back behind the center and let him take a direct snap and punch it in. Hopefully this becomes the norm soon because it already should be. Anyway, real costly mistake by Craig, hopefully the Cowboys can answer.
2nd quarter 13:05- Welp, there's the beginning of an answer. What an electric return by Gilbert.
2nd quarter 12:04- Well, I was about to say you gotta love seeing those wide receivers blocking down the field, but it looks like they blocked a little too well and got called for a hold. Oh well.
2nd quarter 11:07- You just can't say enough about Justin Blackmon. That was a great catch that showed shades of Dez Bryant. In a year where there aren't too many great receivers Blackmon might be the best in the nation. For those scoring at home that's two TDs for Blackmon and a 10 point lead for the Cowboys.
2nd quarter 8:49- Mason is looking really good right now for the Cajuns and could keep them in the ball game if the Cowboys don't step it up on defense. Their pressure is just a few seconds late, but they need to get in there and hit him some to get him off his rhythm.
2nd quarter 7:38- It seems the Cowboys heard because the pass rush has gotten Mason off his game the past two plays and looks to of gotten the Cajuns out of scoring range.
2nd quarter 7:10- What the heck was Weeden thinking? That was way behind Blackmon and almost got taken to the house. You can't throw that ball...he looked like Brett Favre there.
2nd quarter 7:01- Terrible possession there, although there was a questionable no-call on that third down play.
2nd quarter 5:42- This seems to be the game of screens. I think about 75% of the play calls so far have been screens fro both teams...
2nd quarter 4:35- Jeez, you can't leave guys that open, I don't care how bad your competition is. This looks like it could be an actual game and OSU is going to have to step up if they want to win. It's now 17-14 Cowboys. Let's see if they can get some points before halftime.
2nd quarter 3:57- Crap, this is not looking good as the Cajuns just picked off a Weeden pass. I'm not going to put that on Weeden even though the stats will because he can't do anything about his man tipping a pass to the defender. Bad luck there and now the defense is in another hole and the Cajuns have major momentum.
2nd quarter 3:02- Great stop on third and short for the Cowboys. If I was the Cajuns I'd be going for it right now and it looks like they will. Good call on their coaches part.
2nd quarter 2:23- Wow, that was a generous spot, but I gotta give it up to the Cajuns for having the guts to go for it on fourth down. That had to be a little demoralizing for the defense, I hope they can get another stop.
2nd quarter :58- I'm loving that block by Spikes the Cajuns freshman RB. Even though it's not my team I got excited to see somebody out there putting his body on the line for his team. I still hope they don't score though.
2nd quarter :27- Hmm, that was some weird clock management by the Cajuns. They wasted about ten seconds instead of calling a play or a timeout and then went ahead and called a timeout. That was a little strange, but shouldn't really hurt them at all.
2nd quarter :21- This is embarrassing. The Cowboys shouldn't be losing to this type of an opponent, but it looks like they're going to be playing down to their competition as usual. I can't believe they're going into halftime down 21-17. Ugh.
2nd quarter :14- Good run, gives them a chance to hit Blackmon for a deep ball and at least three points. With their luck tonight they probably won't pull that off.
2nd quarter :08- They must be trying to play for a field goal there, that's the only way I can justify running the ball with 14 seconds left to go.
2nd quarter :01- Well, that's not too bad of a play considering they were either going to get a touchdown or get nothing with how long he held the ball. Weeden needed to get that out quickly, but getting an INT wasn't that big of a deal really, because they weren't going to kick a field goal from that far out.
2nd quarter end- Alright it's halftime and the Cowboys are down 21-17. I'm hoping they can come out and play well after getting kicked in the mouth. Weeden looked okay out there, but had a bad break with that INT, the 2nd one wasn't really a big deal, but he should come out playing better. Blackmon was playing out of his mind early, but needs to keep getting open to help out the team. Kendall Hunter barely got the ball in the 1st half and they really need to get him the ball more. The defense needs to get to Mason a few seconds earlier and they should be okay. A turnover would be great, but they need to keep the Cajuns out of the end zone at all costs. Let's see what happens in the 2nd half.
3rd quarter 15:00- Here we go, time to see what the Cowboys are made of! Come on Blackmon/Hunter, pull us out of this mess.
3rd quarter 13:31- Nice adjustment by Blackmon. Weeden's are is a little weak, but Blackmon is playing out of his mind tonight. Also, notice that they came out running with Kendall Hunter. This is a great sign of things to come.
3rd quarter 12:24- That's what I like to see. Way to feed the ball to Hunter on the goal line and he does what he does best. Great job on that drive getting Hunter some much needed carries.
3rd quarter 12:22- Ugh, I liked the call on that onside kick, but that stinks to give up that field position.
3rd quarter 12:10- Well, I guess it doesn't stink that bad. There's that turnover I said we could use. Great job by Steven McGee.
3rd quarter 11:44- Blackmon gets his 10th catch early in the 3rd quarter. 18+ catches might not be out of the realm of possibility.
3rd quarter 10:55- Good throw and catch by Weeden and Michael Harrison. This game looks to be turning into a blowout for the Cowboys, but the Cajuns can score quick too so until the Pokes go up by another score I'm still hesitant to rule out a comeback.
3rd quarter 8:57- Ouch, that's a call that's really going to hurt if the Cajuns can't pick up a first from a 3rd and 26. They were driving for a minute there, but that hurt them badly.
3rd quarter 6:30- The Cowboys look to be well in control of this game and I think it's got to do with the fact that they've gone to the running game more, which is opening up the pass some more.
3rd quarter 6:04- Hubert Anyiam scores a TD. This is looking like a blowout for the Cowboys. They need to keep piling on the score though because the Cajuns did have a 21 point 2nd quarter so you know they can score. The defense also needs to keep stopping the Cajuns like they have been. Most importantly Hunter's got to get first downs and run some time off the clock.
3rd quarter 5:49- Crap, look what I said. The Cajuns can score quick and they just did. This isn't terrible because our offense gets the ball back to, hopefully, put up more points, but the Cajuns scoring is not what we needed right now.
3rd quarter 5:42- Apparently this game is going to come down to who can get the most kick return yards. Good return by OSU, not quite as good as the Cajuns though.
3rd quarter 2:04- Oh, I could've seen that pass interference going either way.
3rd quarter end- Alright, going into the fourth quarter we're at 41-28 Cowboys. It's looking good right now.
4th quarter 13:21- Well, we're not outta this yet. Looks like we still might have a ball game on our hands.
4th quarter 11:52- This is what we got to keep doing, getting first downs and keeping the ball away from the Cajuns.
4th quarter 9:44- Dan Bailey has a cannon on his leg. That kick was good from 60 yards. He's a god. That makes the score 44-28 Cowboys.
4th quarter 8:28- It would seem Bo Bowling doesn't like being tackled. Pretty nice return.
4th quarter 6:22- Bad choice Brandon...you gotta just keep the clock rolling and not take a chance when up. In other news Dan Bailey can not miss.
4th quarter 6:01- Well if that last field goal didn't seal it up then this fumble recovery did. Pretty good job in this win for the Cowboys. A little too sloppy in the first half though. Let's get some garbage stats, boys!
4th quarter 4:59- I don't know about that touchdown to Youman. I think they should just run the ball and not even bother to pass when up this much late. It's kinda like rubbing salt in the wound, but I guess you gotta get some style points after that sloppy first half.
4th quarter end- Well that's all she wrote folks. The Cowboys came out with a vengeance in the second half and got a big game from their star skill position players. Hopefully they can take this back to conference play and get a few big wins. Hat off to the Cajuns though. They played hard against a superior team and gave me a scare for awhile.
See ya next time. Some time, same place.
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