Simulation Football League Final Standings

The historic Simulation Football League regular season is history.  WhatIf Sports allows you to match up teams from different years or different eras.  Unfortunately, the college football section only allows you to go back to 1996 but it suits this purpose.

The object was to look at the last 10 years and determine two things:  1)  How good, really, is Boise State and 2)  Who is the best college football team in the last 10 years?  There have been several interesting results along the way.  Several Boise State teams that you wouldn't think of have defeated the so-called "national champions", many in the same year that that "national champion" was annointed.  

In this format set up by WhatIf Sports, the 10 Bronco teams are in the Boise State Division while the 10 "national championship" teams are in the Championship Division.  The schedule corresponded to a regular season in college football, with nine games against teams in your division and three games at random against teams from the other division.    At the conclusion of next week's games, the top two teams in each division will enter the SFL Playoffs.

The playoffs are set.  The 2009 Broncos, champions of the Boise State Division, will play USC, which clinched the #2 seed in the Championship Division with a victory over LSU this afternoon.  Meanwhile, Miami of Florida, which lost its only game of the season today to Alabama, will face the 2010 Boise State team.

Here are the Final regular season Standings:

Boise State Division

1.    2009 Boise State 11-1 (537 points, 336 allowed)

2.    2010 Boise State 9-3 (482-300)

3.    2006 Boise State 7-5 (377-349)

4.    2002 Boise State 6-6 (421-398)

4.    2003 Boise State 5-7 (347-438)

4.    2008 Boise State 5-7 (348-416)
7.    2004 Boise State 5-7 (344-396)

7.    2007 Boise State 4-8 (337-397)

7.    2001 Boise State 3-9 (290-409)

10.  2005 Boise State 2-10 (239-448)

Championship Division

1.    2001 Miami of Florida 11-1 (536-205)

2.    2004 USC 9-3* (510-288)

2.    2005 Texas 9-3 (374-273)

4.    2009 Alabama 8-4 (307-186)

5.    2008 Florida 7-5 (388-446)

6.    2006 Florida 6-6 (262-290)

7.    2003 LSU 4-8 (257-324)

7.    2007 LSU 4-8 (233-336)

9.    2002 Ohio State 3-9 (225-321)

10.  2010 Auburn 2-10 (226-374)  


*--clinches playoff berth due to head-to-head victory over Texas.

Complete Simulation Football League Results

Here are the summaries for all 12 games in the Simulation Football League, which includes the last 10 Boise State football teams in one division and the last 10 "national champions" in the other division.  The software program is run by WhatIf Sports, which organizes the league and produces statistics.  I began wondering if the majority of Boise State teams could even compete with the national champions.  What I've learned is that most of them could hold their own.


Week One:


Week Two:


Week Three:


Week Four:


Week Five:


Week Six:


Week Seven:


Week Eight:

Week Nine:

Week Ten:

Week Eleven:

Week Twelve:

2009 Broncos Destroy 2006 Team 60-10 in the SFL

2009 Boise State 60, 2006 Boise State 10
The 2009 Boise State team scored a shockingly easy 60-10 victory over the stunned 2006 Boise State team to close out the regular season of the Simulation Football League .





"I never thought I would say this so soon, but I think we've found a better team at Boise State, haven't we?" 2006 Boise State Coach Chris Petersen said after the game.  "We started out great winning our first five games but then ran into problems.  There's just too much talent in this league that Blue Through and Through has put together to play anything but your best and expect to win."


The '09 Broncos opened up a 23-0 lead after the first quarter and made a statement by blowing the game wide open in the second quarter for a 47-3 advantage as the two teams headed to the locker room.  The seemingly invincible Fiesta Bowl Champions were thoroughly dejected at halftime.





The 2009 Broncos scored on touchdown runs from D.J. Harper and Jeremy Avery, a 9-yard TD pass from Kellen Moore to Titus Young and on a 48-yard field goal from Kyle Brotzman in roaring to a 23-0 lead.  Anthony Montgomery's field goal on the first drive of the second quarter halted the bleeding, but Avery ran amuck in the 2006 secondary for runs of 56 and 42 yards in the second quarter and Moore & Young hooked up again for another scoring play.


The Fiesta Bowl Champions may have been able to stop Oklahoma's Adrian Peterson, but they could not begin to stop the 2009 tandem of Avery (20 carries for 208 yards and three TD's) and Doug Martin (11 carries for 181).  Add in the precision general Kellen Moore (20-32 for 254 yards and two TD's) and you get 647 yards of offense for the 2009 Broncos.  Moore just missed 4,000 yards for the season, finishing with 3,998.  Avery exceeded 1,500 yards in an incredible SFL season (1,573) with his superior effort this afternoon.  Young finished with 6 catches for 70 yards while Kyle Efaw had 4 for 68 and Austin Pettis 4 for 65 yards.


Ian Johnson ran the ball well for the 2006 Boise State team (29-175 and a touchdown) but he was a one-man crew against the talented 2009 defense.  Johnson finished the season with 1,733 yards, #1 in the SFL.  The Fiesta Bowl team had been eliminated from the playoffs two weeks ago and collapsed down the stretch.





Kyle Brotzman kicked four field goals to add to his total for the winners (11-1).  Brotzman finished the SFL season with 39 field goals and 172 points, both #1 in the league.  The 2006 team finished just 7-5.




2009 Alabama 30, 2001 Miami of Florida 23
Alabama got the win it needed, knocking off Division leader Miami of Florida 30-23 this afternoon.  The only problem was that it came too late.





The Crimson Tide came back from a 16-6 first-half deficit to earn the win, spoiling Miami's hopes for an unbeaten regular season.  Mark Ingram's 52-yard run was the momentum changer and Greg McElroy tossed two second half touchdown passes to advance Alabama's record to 8-4, good for fourth place in the Championship Division.


Ingram finished with 116 yards while Trent Richardson ran for 62 yards on 11 carries.  





The Alabama win overshadowed a tremendous performance by Miami's Clinton Portis, the #3 rusher in the SFL, who had 228 yards rushing with two TD runs and caught four passes for 53 more yards.  The usually reliable Ken Dorsey threw five interceptions, with Javier Arenas picking off two of them.




2005 Texas 34, 2002 Ohio State 10
Texas did what it had to do, defeat Ohio State 34-10.


The Longhorns (9-3) then would have to hope USC lost later in the afternoon to clinch a playoff berth.





Ramonce Taylor scored on an 85-yard run and finished with 130 yards rushing while the Texas defense recorded a season-high six sacks of Ohio State quarterback Craig Krenzel.


Lydell Ross paced the Buckeyes (3-9) with 84 yards rushing while Maurice Clarett had 81 yards and a TD.




2010 Boise State 34, 2008 Boise State 17
It turns out that the best two Boise State teams of the last decade are the last two.  The 2010 team will be joining the 2009 Broncos in the playoffs, which begin next week, after a convincing 34-17 triumph over a talented 2008 squad (5-7 on the season).





The Las Vegas Bowl Broncos erased a 7-0 deficit in the second quarter with two Kellen Moore to Austin Pettis touchdown passes and a 44-yard field goal from Kyle Brotzman.  A 28-yard catch from Jeremy Avery set up the first touchdown while Chris Potter's 28-yard punt return set up the Brotzman field goal.  Avery was the recipient of a 47-yard play from Moore to put the 2010 team up 24-7 with 3:18 left in the third.  Doug Martin got in on the scoring later in the half on a 30-yard run.





Martin finished with 148 yards rushing to pace the 2010 Broncos, who finished 9-3 and in second place.  Moore was 22-35 for 332 yards but uncharacteristically suffered three interceptions.  Moore tied with the 2009 Moore with 3,998 passing yards.  Titus Young had six receptions for 93 yards while Pettis finished with five catches for 50 yards and the two TD's.


"Martin was definitely the difference in the game," said 2008 Coach Chris Petersen.  "We didn't have an answer for him on defense and our running game could not match him."


Ian Johnson had 99 yards rushing on just 14 carries for the Poinsettia Bowl team.  George Iloka, Brandyn Thompson and Aaron Tevis recorded the picks of the 2010 Moore.


The 2010 Broncos will play Miami of Florida next week in the SFL playoffs.




2004 USC 41, 2007 LSU 24
USC woke up from a 10-10 halftime tie to earn the final SFL playoff berth with a 41-24 win over LSU.


"It took us a while to get going," said USC Coach Pete Carroll, "but we stuck with our game plan and we're headed to the playoffs."





LenDale White scored two second-half touchdowns and Matt Leinart threw two TD passes as the 2004 Trojans locked up the second-place spot in the Championship Division.  Leinart was 27-43 for 307 yard and three scores for the afternoon while White surpassed the 1,000-yard mark for the season with 1,012.  Steve Smith topped the Troy receivers with six catches for 57 yards and one TD while Dominique Byrd had five catches for 82 yards and one touchdown and Dwayne Jarrett had five receptions for 32 yards and another score.


Jacob Hester kept his team in the game with 138 yards rushing, but the Tigers fell to 4-8 with the defeat.  USC will play the 2009 Broncos next week in the first round of the SFL playoffs.




2004 Boise State 29, 2001 Boise State 21
Tyler Jones kicked five field goals and Jared Zabransky tossed a pair of touchdown passes as the 2004 Broncos downed the 2001 team 29-21 this afternoon.





The 2001 team had been playing well, winning their last two games.  But the Liberty Bowl team (5-7) was due for a win and they got it today.  Zabransky was 16-of-27 for 240 yards in leading his team to victory.  Lawrence Bady and Derek Schouman (four catches for 63 yards) hauled in the two scoring strikes from Zabransky.  Lee Marks (20 carries for 75 yards) led the ground attack while Chris Carr and Gerald Alexander recorded interceptions for the 2004 defense. 


Brock Forsey gained 119 yards rushing for the 2001 team in a losing effort.  They wrap up their season with a 3-9 record in the SFL.




2002 Boise State 23, 2005 Boise State 14
The 2002 Boise State defense held the MPC Bowl team to just four-of-15 on third-down conversions and no points in the first and fourth quarters on the way to a 23-14 win this afternoon. 





The Leave No Doubt Broncos opened up a 14-0 lead on Ryan Dinwiddie touchdown passes to David Mikell and Jay Swillie.  After the 2005 team got on the scoreboard with a seven-yard Jared Zabransky to Ryan Putnam TD pass with 1:34 left in the half, Nick Calaycay came back 1:13 later with a 25-yard field goal to give his team a 17-7 advantage heading into the locker room.


Lee Marks found the end zone in the only scoring of the third quarter to close within three but the 2002 Bronco defense did not allow another penetration into their territory.  Calaycay booted home two more field goals for the final score.





Dinwiddie was 23-35 for 282 yards in leading his team to the win.  RD distributed the ball evenly to his receivers, with running back Brock Forsey getting five receptions for 46 yards, Lou Fanucchi (83 yards) and Billy Wingfield (73) each recording four catches and Rocky Atkinson (49 yards) and Jay Swillie (14) three grabs each.  Gabe Franklin thwarted two 2005 drives with picks. 


Ian Johnson led the 2005 team with 66 yards rushing while Jerard Rabb topped receivers with four catches for 53 yards.


The 2002 Broncos finished with a 6-6 record while the 2005 team tied the 2010 Auburn Tigers for the worst record in the SFL.





"To go 6-6 against this level of competition, that's what we've been telling this team it could do," Boise State Coach Dan Hawkins said.  "Hey, we were one win behind the 2006 Fiesta Bowl team, and I'm extremely proud of the guys."




2008 Florida 37, 2003 Boise State 34
2008 "national champion" Florida (7-5) erased a 17-13 halftime deficit to get a 37-34 win over the upstart 2003 team from Boise State.





David Mikell's two touchdown runs in the first half led the Broncos, who were still tied at 20 apiece with one quarter to play.  But Jonathan Phillips, who had already kicked two field goals, booted a 45-yarder to put his team ahead 23-20.  Mikell scored his third touchdown of the day to give Boise State the lead with 7:59 remaining.  But after Louis Murphy hauled in a 31-yard scoring strike from Tim Tebow to put the Gators up 30-27, the Broncos made a costly miscue in fumbling the ball.  Emmanuel Moody took full advantage with a 40-yard run with 1:25 remaining. 


Credit the 2003 Broncos (5-7) for not giving up, and they were able to score with Ryan Dinwiddie hitting Lawrence Bady, but it came with just seven ticks on the clock. 


Percy Harvin went over the 100-yard mark again with 105 and Tebow was 15-19 for 246 yards.


Tim Gilligan kept the Broncos in the game with a 22-yard average on punt returns and five receptions for 77 yards.  Mikell totaled 194 yards rushing on 23 carries.




2003 LSU 36, 2007 Boise State 21
Ryan Gaudet kicked five field goals as LSU came back from deficits of 7-6 at the half and 21-13 in the third quarter to put away the Hawai'i Bowl Broncos.


LSU briefly grabbed the lead on a three-yard run from Joseph Addai on the Tigers' first drive of the second half.  That made it a 13-7 game but just 23 seconds later, the quick-strike Broncos were back on top thanks to a 71-yard run from Jeremy Avery, one of the SFL's top stars.  Avery scored again with 6:32 left and Boise State held a 21-13 advantage.





But the restless Tiger fans helped their team from there, as Boise State could not put up any more points.  LSU came back with a 15-yard pass from Matt Mauck to Devery Henderson to cut the Bronco lead to 1 with 2:45 left.  Then, the Tigers scored 16 fourth quarter points as Gaudet kicked three field goals and leading receiver Michael Clayton hauled in a 30-yard pass from Mauck to close the scoring.


Addai ran for 90 yards while Clayton had five catches for 81 yards for LSU.  Chad Lavalais, Corey Webster and Jack Hunt each had picks of Taylor Tharp, who was just 14-29 for 165 yards against the tough Tiger defense. 


Ian Johnson ran for 140 yards and Avery finished with 94, but the passing game did not come through on this day for Boise State.


The two teams finished with identical 4-8 records.




2006 Florida 24, 2010 Auburn 3
Chris Leak threw touchdown passes of 6 and 47 yards to DeShawn Wynn, who also rushed for 72 yards and a touchdown, as Florida put away the hapless 2010 Auburn Tigers.





Dallas Baker (four catches for 68 yards) and Percy Harvin (four for 55) led the Florida receivers.  The Gators were able to close the season with a 6-6 mark.


"It really helps when you can count on another receiver out of the backfield," Leak said of Harvin.  "He's a great dual threat for us."


Michael Dyer led Auburn with 91 yards rushing but the team had no aerial threat as Cam Newton was just 5 of 13 and was sacked four times by the hungry Gators.


After the game, Newton jumped into the Auburn stands, but there was no one there.