Bye Week: The Most Realistic Iowa At Michigan State NCAA 2013 Simulation

Okay, EA Sports NCAA 2013 has been out for an eternity, but we're a busy bunch. Finally, with Iowa football having a week off, we have time to simulate some Iowa games on the Playstation 3. Iowa doesn't travel to Michigan State until next week but it's never too early to look ahead.

Since NCAA 2013 came out in July, we needed to make a few roster tweaks before we could play the game. I had to create Mark Weisman and used RB #30 as a starting point since he no longer is with the team. I feel like this is pretty close to representing Weisman in the game.

First, his appearance:

And his game rankings:

I allowed The Weather Channel to pick an overcast, 55 degree day in East Lansing. I also tweaked the game's artificial intelligence to make this the most realistic simulation on the World Wide Web.

Mark Dantonio started off the game with some psychological tricks electing to receive after winning the toss. Le'Veon Bell took a hand off on the game's first play and rushed for 15 yards. Iowa's defense stepped up on the next three plays and forced an MSU punt on fourth and four.

Iowa started their drive on their own 21 yard line following the MSU punt. The Michigan State defense forced Iowa into a third and four but a tough run by Weisman kept the possession going. Two plays later Weisman broke though the stout Spartan defense and Iowa had their first touchdown on the day.

On Michigan State's very next possession, Andrew Maxwell tried to stretch the Iowa defense with a deep pass down the right side of the field. Micah Hyde was there in man-coverage to snag the ball out of the air and net Iowa their first turnover of the game. With a 7-0 lead and the ball, Iowa had all the momentum on their side.

...

Oh buddy! This is getting exciting! Weisman is proving to be too much in the early game for Michigan State. Iowa drives 60 yards on eight plays and Weisman pushes through from three yards out to put Iowa up two scores. If MSU doesn't find an answer to the Juggernaut this one could get ugly.

...

Iowa forced yet another Michigan State three-and-out following the kickoff. The Hawkeyes took over and James Vandenberg found Zach Derby for 15 yards on a play-action pass. The Hawkeyes then hurried to the line to run some no-huddle, feeling momentum was on their side and Michigan State was reeling. Interestingly, while not part of this year's game, the ambulance came onto the field.

via www.maniacworld.com

It appeared as if MSU players were dropping like flies in attempt to slow the game and slow Iowa's no-huddle passing attack. Iowa kept pounding with Weisman and after another methodical drive it was Iowa 21, Michigan State 0.

...

Wow, this super-realistic simulation is really giving hope for us Hawkeye fans. An Iowa blitz resulted in this amazing Nico Law interception and return for a touchdown. Andrew Maxwell suffered a concussion on the play and will miss the remainder of the game. It's all Iowa early in East Lansing.

It was a heavy dose of Mark Weisman as Iowa ran clock and started to think about the next game versus Penn State. Iowa was able to get out of East Lansing with a surprising road victory and keep everyone healthy.

Here's the final game stats for this super-realistic simulation:

Final Score: Iowa 154 Michigan State 21

	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	FINAL
Iowa	42	56	49	7	154
MSU	0	0	7	14	21

Team Stats:

Michigan State	B1G	Iowa
21	Score	154
17	1st Downs	31
302	Total Offense	1122
26-(-41)-1	Rushes-Yds-TDs	54-690-16
30-69-2	Comp-Att-TD	20-30-4
343	Pass Yards	432
3-19 (15%)	3rd Down Conv	5-9 (55%)
1-1 (100%)	4th Down Conv	0-1 (0%)
0-0 (0%)	2 Pt Conv	1-2 (50%)
3-3-0 (100%)	Red Zone -TD-FG	13-12 (92%)
12	Turnovers	0
21	Punt Return Yds	19
48	KR Yards	16
371	Total Yards	1157
10-44.0	Punts - avg	3-45.7
1-14	Penalties	5-44
21:23	T.O.P.	18:37
0	Fumbles Lost	0
12	Intercepted	0

Player Stats:

Iowa - Pass

James Vandenberg 16/20 388 yards 3 TD 0 INT 292.4

Jake Rudock 4/10 44 yards 1 TD 0 INT 109.9

MSU - Pass

Connor Cook 26/60 322 yards 2 TD 9 INT 69.4

Andrew Maxwell 4/9 21 yards 0 TD 3 INT

Iowa - Rush

Mark Weisman 39 carries 667 yards 16 TD

Damon Bullock 10 carries 24 yards

MSU - Rush

Le'Veon Bell 12 carries 42 yards 1 TD

Iowa - Receiving

Keenan Davis 5 rec 148 yards 1 TD

Zach Derby 3 rec 59 yards 2 TD

Kevonte Martin-Manley 3 rec 73 yards

C.J. Fiedorwicz 3 rec 95 yards

Don Shumpert 2 rec 32 yards 1 TD

MSU - Receiving

Bennie Fowler 11 rec 121 yards 1 TD

Le'Veon Bell 5 rec 66 yards

Dion Sims 4 rec 36 yards

Iowa - Defense

Louis Trinca-Pasat 10 tackles 7 TFL 7.5 sacks

James Morris 10 tackles 3 TFL 2 sacks 2 INT

B.J. Lowery 7 tackles 2 INT

Nico Law 5 tackles 4 INT

MSU - Defense

LOL

Game MVP - Mark Weisman