It has been five years since "NCAA Football 14" was released, and there's a reason gamers still talk about the franchise with reverence. The forlorn attempts to bring the game back have come up short, and we're left with the nostalgia of the game with which we grew up.
Everybody has a story to tell about those days: Perhaps you built a small school into a dynasty (more on that a bit), or played in a dynasty with all your roommates. My story is pretty good, too.
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Let me tell you about the time former Florida State running back Lorenzo Booker — at least somebody who really, really liked Booker — kicked our ass.
My friend J.D. and I were high school buddies and four-year college roommates. We grew up on the Bill Walsh series on Sega Genesis, but “NCAA Football” was our thing. When the 2005 version came out, I would drive to his house after work and we'd play the online version for hours.
How did that work? One would play offense and the other defense. We'd rotate by quarter or half. We had different styles. J.D. was pro-style on offense and standard 3-4, read-and-react on defense. I was single-back on offense and 4-3 blitz-all-the-time on defense. It had to be confusing for opponents, like playing against Jim Tressel and Steve Spurrier. Well, that's who we thought we were.
So one night we're playing a guy with the username of "LBooker28" — or something like that — and he picks Florida State. We, of course, picked Miami, and we jumped out to a 14-0 lead after a play-action bomb on the first play and recovering the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown. Then J.D. typed two words in the chat function.
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"Ha ha."
Well, Booker — or one of his biggest fans — didn't think it was funny. What followed was the biggest beatdown ever. He scored 56 unanswered points and ran with Booker on almost every single play. He would do motions and the hole would open up perfectly. When we loaded the box, he'd get a pass off to Booker. J.D. and I never pressed reset, stopped the game or messed with the connection. We took our loss, and it was a big number.
Florida State 63, Miami 14. Ha ha, indeed.
I still remember that loss today. Anybody can tell you how great they were at that game. I'm telling you how great this dude was instead.
So wherever Lorenzo Booker — or whoever that person was — is today: I salute you. That's my favorite, and in some ways least favorite, "NCAA Football" memory.
A few others:
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Built Ohio into a dynasty. Everybody's got one. I turned my alma mater into a two-time national champion while playing in the same dynasty with another roommate, Andy. He was good, but he couldn't beat the Bobcats. The biggest win was a comeback victory against his Oklahoma squad. I rallied from down 27-10 to win in the fourth quarter with the help of a blocked punt — the only blocked punt I ever remember from that game.
Beat BYU-SMU. The "College Classics" feature was my favorite thing. You had to reenact situations such as Kordell Stewart's Hail Mary against Michigan and many others, but the 1980 Holiday Bowl was the hardest one. You're down by 20 with four minutes left in the game. I tried this one every night for at least three months before it happened. It makes you appreciate what Jim McMahon did a little more.
Got destroyed on Heisman level. Another buddy, Aaron, and I played at least 20 seasons on "NCAA 2004" and had a great SMU-Boise State rivalry. We eventually made the move to Heisman level. Big mistake. Got destroyed. I remember the season we were in had Tennessee at No. 1. We both tried to play the Vols. I remember getting beat by 35 or 40. All we heard was "Rocky Top," nonstop, for an hour. I still hear it today sometimes.
What's your favorite "NCAA Football” memory? Let @BillBender92 know.
