Running in NCAA 05

I have the most success running counters from the I-Formation. One of the best short yardage plays is to give it straight ahead to the FB from the Power-I. There is also a running play out of the Shotgun formation that I like. I can't remember what it is though. And for some reason, I gain about 90% of my rushing yards by running to my right.

on heisman..

What I have found out that speed is everything. Last night I played Ark. and Huckeby (de #15) was a nightmare until I ran off tackle and options. anything counter takes too much time to develop. find a way to break it outside with dive and sting plays, even slam plays then alternate with a counter every now and then. heisman is a true challenge that takes patience to master. (kicking is my downfall)

if you want to have consistent succes on Heisman, you have to run the option or throw nothing but short qiuck passes

I just don't think Heisman mode is very realistic. You can play against normally terrible teams, and they are hard to beat in heisman mode. I'll agree it is a good challenge, but I enjoy playing on all-american much better because you can at least run the ball some. The only thing about all-american mode is that it becomes too easy. I wish there was an in between mode that would be a good mix of the two.

Bama323 said:

I just don't think Heisman mode is very realistic. You can play against normally terrible teams, and they are hard to beat in heisman mode. I'll agree it is a good challenge, but I enjoy playing on all-american much better because you can at least run the ball some. The only thing about all-american mode is that it becomes too easy. I wish there was an in between mode that would be a good mix of the two.

Click to expand...

Some of the AI settings can be changed to make things a little more or less difficult.

I switched my dynasty with UAB over to Heisman mode. Games became more difficult, but I'm still undefeated (beat LSU by 1 TD coming from behind in the 4th quarter from 10 down. 17 unanswered points by the Blazers).

I've found a couple of things:
Mobile QB's are a huge plus. Being able to turn a busted pass play into a 5-10 yard scramble is a big plus.

Fast RB's, and strong FB's. The FB up the middle play in the goalline formation with a decent OL and a good FB is a good 3-4 yards nearly every time.

Counters out of the I-formation, and out of the single back double-TE set are good ones.

The best pass play I've found (but you need a really good WR for this one) is a play action pass out of the single back, double TE-set. Can't recall the name right now, but I run it for most of my pass plays. I can either hit the WR that angles towards the sidelines, or the deep WR. If both are covered, typically I can scramble for 5-10 yards. Not every time (sometimes they have a spy on me). But it's pretty effective.

Kicking is insane on heisman. I'm finally getting the speed down, but it's taking a while.

On defense, for teams that pass out of 3, 4, and 5 WR sets, I run dime defenses, mixing zone and man coverage. Typically, I move one of my DE's to the weak side. If they run where the DE was, they can sometimes break a decent run, but mostly, I either get a QB pressure or a sack.

Against running teams, I run 4-3 defenses where my outside lb's blitz. I bring the LB from the weak side up to the line on the side of the DE. This gives him a better jump on the snap. This seems to work better on the right side than on the left. I guess RT's are smarter than LT's in 2005. *shrug*

So far, I have two games on Heisman that made my list of greatest games. I've only had two blow outs (one against Vanderbilt, and one against Arkansas), but nothing on the scale of AA mode. So far, my WR looks like he'll be a heisman winner, with my QB in second. (My FB, who gets lots of TD's, is in 4th or 5th place.)

Building a strong DL, secondary, OL... those are the most important positions. If those are weak, all your other positions are irrelevant. I recruit strong DL and OL even when I don't need them. QB, RB, and WR... lastly LB. A good K and P are good to have, but I have little control over kicking in Heisman at the moment, so it's irrelevant how good they are until I get better.

I'm ready for ncaa 06 this July!

I know it's kind of cheating, but if you just want to get rushing yards, run the HB toss pass out of I-form normal. Treat it like a normal toss, and the recievers will run everyone downfield. With a RB with good speed, you should usually get at least 10 yards if not more on AA. I would say 7 or more on heisman.