BUAFL Predict-O-Matics MVP Game Prediction

Northern Allstars v Southern Allstars

As you may know by now the Predict-o-Matic doesn't care much for what the squishy brained people predict - their processors simply can't compute the same way a computer can. However i think i run the risk of being called predictable in choosing the outcome of this game.

The North have once more assembled a fantastic squad with a great chance of winning. However my sources tell me they're not turning up to training and this is especially true of some of their key players. It isn't a clever move as the team risks not gelling as a unit before the big game. The North have a great stable of running backs and, perhaps controversially, I think will hold the advantage in this department. Most of their backs are used to making hard yards without the benefits of great blocks so it makes sense that with an all star line they should excel. Having said that the South may well benefit from a better executed run game as my readouts are telling me the Southern Oline is superior overall.

Defensive line wise im speaking from experience when i say i'm convinced the Norths Dline holds the upper hand. Having observed the best both Dlines have to offer the North are better athletes with both a size and speed advantage. They match up well with the South's Oline and this could turn out to be the key battle in deciding the outcome in this matchup. Can the Northern Dline dominate like they did last year?

Where the South pulls away from the North is in the QB and DB units. The WRs feel evenly matched, despite the North having a bigger pool to pick from. Both Varney and Boyle from the South are able to make all the throws but can also hand off!!!! (in case you ask, I have had a GeFOrce sarcasm graphics card installed). Unless the rain hits Birmingham this weekend I can see Varney and co airing it out and scoring big.

It's for this reason I think the South will pull away. The Northern run game is solid and more than capable but its the Southern offence that's a threat to score every time it lines up on the LOS.

The Predict-o-Matic is going for a 31-14 Southern victory.

BUAFL Announces 2008/09 League MVPs

On Tuesday 14th April the British University American Football League announced its 2008/09 BUAFL MVPs. Abandoning last years format of choosing defensive and offensive MVPs for both North and South, BUAFL named just 2 league wide MVPs this time around.

In the offensive category it was unsurprising to see Lion's quarterback Tristan Varney come away with the award. The rookie sensation marshalled the leagues top ranked offence, piling up gaudy stats and leading Birmingham to an undefeated season and the BUAFL National Title. Its scary to think that Varney has achieved all this in just his first BUAFL season. He will undoubtedly be following in the footsteps of Ed Goka next year as the player everyone will be watching in his sophomore campaign. BUAFL is a league where quality Quarterback's are like gold dust and Birmingham seem to have hit the jackpot. Look for the Lions to be Title contenders as long as Varney's at the helm. Read Tristan Varney's BUAFL profile and stats here.

The Southampton Stag's Ed Butcher claimed the defensive MVP award. Butcher had an outstanding season terrorising opposition quarterbacks, wracking up sacks and hurries. The son of Soccer legend Terry Butcher, Ed decided to make his mark on the gridiron as opposed to the soccer pitch and has emerged as a playmaker in a talented Stags defense. At over 6'4'' with great instincts he is a force to be reckoned. Few teams have been able to contain this monster and he has simply overwhelmed lesser linemen. As one of the leaders in the Stag's program he also contributed as a receiver as well as on special teams on route to Southampton's Southern Final appearance. See Ed Butcher's BUAFL profile and stats here.

Watch this space to see how the BUAFL Blog end of season awards match up with BUAFL's own.

Photos courtesy of Mike Hinton and Leigh Morris.

BUAFL Results: National Championship Final

BUAFL National Championship Final

Birmingham Lions (12-0) 42 vs Newcastle Raiders (11-1) 2

As the smoke cleared on Sunday evening it was the Birmingham Lions who emerged victorious, claiming the 2008/09 BUAFL National Championship Title. The Lions proved too much for the Newcastle Raiders as they cruised to a comprehensive win. Their potent offence wasn't phased by the occasion or impressive record of the Raiders D, as they ate up yardage through both the the arm of rookie sensation Tristan Varney and running of Bowl MVP Mark Smith, on route to 6 touchdowns. Newcastle's methodical Double Wing struggled to keep the Raiders in touch as the well matched up Lions defence sought to do what it does best and shut down the run. The Raiders broke their scoring deadlock by returning a blocked extra point in the 4th Quarter, a testament to the fact that they kept fighting right up to the final whistle. It marks an impressive finale to the season for this unbeaten Lion's squad and especially Head Coach Tony Athersmith who has now brought the National Title back to Birmingham in only his second season in charge.

With this victory the South's Championship winning streak is further extended and a Southern team has now claimed the previous 6 National Titles. The North's last victory came back in 2003 when the Clansmen edged the 'Canes 22-17. Look for the North to try and win back some pride in the MVP game in a few weeks time.

Well the Predict-O-Matic backed the right horse in this (Grand) National Championship (as well as our guest predictor The All Seeing I) although was off with the scoreline as well as his pick for MVP, which went to Brum running back Mark Smith. As the season reaches its end we break down the 'Matic's record:

National Championship: 1-0 (100%)
Challenge Trophy Final: 1-0 (100%)
Playoffs: 15-1 (94%)
Regular Season: 60-10 (85%)

Total: 72-11 (87%)

I think we can safely say it was a successful year for the 'Matic and its not over yet as it will be back to make its pick for the BUAFL MVP game. Indeed although this was the final game of the BUAFL season we've still got lots to come here at the BUAFL Blog. We'll be rounding things off with some great articles including extensive coverage of the BUAFL MVP game as well as handing out some end of season awards. Watch this space.

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BUAFL National Championship Guest Prediction: The All Seeing I

Newcastle Raiders (11-0) v Birmingham Lions (11-0)

The All Seeing I

Running the Double wing is the equivalent of sitting in front of your TV on Christmas Morning 1994, playing on your brand new NES, with the Duck Hunt cartridge inserted, and the lazer gun in your sweaty mits. After getting frustrated with the game on level 12, you sidle up to the TV, and point the gun 1 inch from the TV screen. Before you know it, you’re at level 50, and have very sore eyes… Ultimately, It’s not cheating, but there’s something not quite right about it.

Double Wing is the Smack of British Football – your friends and family will tell you not to get into it, your girlfriend will cry herself to sleep worrying about you, counselors will warn you that it’s addictive and dangerous. They’ll try and force you to rehab, and point the way to a West-Coast Scheme, even run and gun. As a last resort the offer you the methadone kick of Triple Option. They’ll all tell you that you’re becoming a football pariah and a social exile, yet you don’t care… It makes you feel invincible, feel powerful, feel loved…

The Birmingham Lions have crushed all before them; behind the arm of Tristan Varney and the endless clichés of Coach Athersmith (yeah?), the Lions have cruised to an unbeaten record, swiping even the mightily of their perches. If the Double Wing is Smack, then the Birmingham Air Raid is Cocaine - it fills you with bravado and arrogance, you feel popular, almost messianic, when in reality everyone is slowly deleting you from their phone books, and removing you from facebook. Does that sound familiar Lions?

Now, they’re at the Championship Game (or the CHamPionSiP GaMe for the xpLosION crowd) with the chance to win only their second ever title. For a team full of bluster, they’ve consistently underachieved – this is their chance to be the once bullied kid to get their own back on the big, bad league. None more than angry dwarf Richard (call me RJ) Stockdale – for years derided as a half-man, half-Lego brick, labouring away in Hull-on-Earth – he now has a chance with the big boys (well everyone’s bigger than him) to get his shot at immortality.

So, in this match up, we have the archetypal contradiction in terms - a perfectly likeable team, made truly unlikable by a 'running scrum' offense, against a contemptible team, made all the much more bearable by the way they play football. It's not about North and South anymore, it's about what side your bread is buttered.

So, let’s break this down.

Birmingham can seemingly score at will, until they come up against an all-pro defense - they didn't exactly struggle against Southampton, but they didn't torch them for 100+ points (take a bow Barracuda). Similarly, Newcastle looks good against poor-to-average defenses, but don't find the going quite as easy against better drilled outfits.

Yes the Air Raid is wide open and high octane, but the Double Wing has poked more holes into opposition defenses, than Coach Johnson has in his Johnson. It's brutally effective, in rolling over teams who aren't savvy enough, and still hard-nosed enough to get at least 3 yards a carry against decent opposition who have scouted the bejesus out of it. Look at the Aces - they stopped Goka, but couldn't stop the endless waves of Raiders sustaining drives on 4th and short.

This MIGHT be decided at the coin toss - Birmingham win, and they torch Newcastle, it might force them to force the issue on 4th and short. Stopping them there could (and probably would) result in another Lions score. At 12 points down, the Raiders would have to do something different, and the pressure would be on.

If the Raiders win the toss, the pressure would be off, and they could valuable time off the clock, marching down, accruing 3 yards a carry, and putting points on the board. The best that Birmingham could do, would be to equal the score. Thus it continues until one team makes a mistake.

Yes the Lions have a great defense, but you can have the best defense in the world, it doesn't mean that you can stop the wing. The beauty of it is that you can get more people at the point of attack than defenders - unless that defender is Ray Lewis, which means they’ll get what they need over 4 downs.

This is going to be closer than people give it credit for - it'll be tight at the half, before the Lions pull away. I'm going for a 34-16 Lions win, and for the crowd to leave Leeds with the kind of same kind of soulless, listless feeling you get after watching disturbing porn.

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Unofficial BUAFL Podcast: The Bowl Edition

The BUAFL National Championship edition Unofficial BUAFL Podcast with Steve Moore is now available here.

Steve will be previewing the big game as the undefeated Newcastle Raiders go head to head with the undefeated Birmingham Lions for the National Championship Title. He's joined by Joe Chamberlin and Harry Falconer of the Raiders to review last weekends dramatic win and talk about the build up to the Bowl. Steve will also break down who he thinks will be making the trip to Disneyworld, Superbowl winners style.

The show is rounded off with talk about April Fool's, BUAFL Coaches playing in Arena Football and even a halfway emotional send off!

BUAFL Predict-O-Matic's National Championship Prediction

Newcastle Raiders (11-0) v Birmingham Lions (11-0)

So here we are. The 2 teams I predicted at the start to make it all the way have fulfilled the prophecy, and I will follow my initial gut feeling picking the Birmingham Lions to walk away with the Bowl. Here's why:

Coaching - Both teams have great coaching setups. Birmingham's Tony Athersmith is following in the footsteps of some great coaches, including most obviously those of Bowl winning HC Wayne Hill, now part of his staff. Athersmith has clearly already made his own mark by leading the Lions to the National Championship in just his second year.

Newcastle have a Head Coach in the form of Ben Johnson who's reputation continues to grow with each passing season. The Raiders were always a solid team in he North, but under his guidance they've become one of the 4 Northern powerhouses. Even after the departure of Coach Evans the Newcastle defence still proved dominated in their conference, and have carried this form throughout he playoffs. On coaching the finalists feel pretty even, with Birmingham perhaps ahead by a nose.

Offence - There are just 2 words to describe the offences of these teams "Polar opposites". Birmingham have the mind blowing Spread offence. Newcastle have the mind melting Double Wing. Neither has really been stopped this year, and both have overwhelmed their opponents physically and mentally. Even with all their injury worries, Newcastle still racked up an average of 41 points a game. Birmingham eclipsed that with a whopping 62 points a game, though the Predict-o-matic feels that stat line has been embellished by some merciless scorelines such as the 117-0 dismantling of Bristol. Either way it demonstrates that the Birmingham offence have ruthless streak. Before last weekend I would have said the Newcastle defence wouldn't stand a chance. But after seeing how the Raiders held a strong Loughborough offence to just 2 TDs, my circuits are not so sure.

Newcastle just keep scoring. The threat with their offence isn't so much that they will put the game out of sight early. Instead it's the persistent hammering away and eating up of time and ground that wears teams down, leading to scores long into the 3rd and 4th quarters. Their superior fitness and execution has proved decisive this season and along with the Double Wing's infallibility to horrible, hurricane conditions means I feel the Newcastle offence has the edge.

Defence - Between them, these defences have allowed just 6 TDs all season and recorded 12 shutouts in 15 games. Their both used to dominating their opponents which only adds to the intrigue of this matchup. Birmingham have actually faced the double wing already this season in the form of an inexperienced BNU side. But no offense to the new boys, Birmingham needn't bother consulting the video. Comparing the Newcastle Wing to the BNU Wing is the equivalent of comparing a Mac to a Macintosh 128k just because they are made by the same people. The best example Birmingham can really learn from is Loughborough's performance against the Raiders on Sunday. The Aces managed to shut down the Double Wing for 3 quarters. The Lion's defensive line are the key and they have experience and speed, which are both necessary to beat the wing. Add this to the fact that their linebackers and safeties are not satisfied unless they have decapitated their opponents and you have a fearsome defence built to stop running games cold.

Newcastle's defence have a combination of speed and aggression all over the field. There's some big guys on the line who are backed up by a vastly experience linebacking core. However with the low point of this season being the 10 points they allowed against Glasgow this is a defence that may not know how to react if they go down by a couple of scores. This, I feel, will be vital in determining the games outcome: can the Newcastle D keep their heads high against an offence that they've never faced, is so well executed and will certainly score points? I give this one to Birmingham on the premise that they have already managed to hold 4 playoffs teams to just 47 points which includes last years National Champions Southampton.

In summary I feel this game will be close, but Birmingham will have it by the final whistle. This will not be the blowout most people suspect. The Predict-o-matic truly believes there will be a lot more double wing fans come Monday morning!

The 'Matic Bowl MVP: Lions QB Tristan Varney

Predicted score: Birmingham Lions 28 - Newcastle Raiders 14

It's been a pleasure giving an insight into my motherboard this BUAFL season and I will be back next year. I'm getting my RAM upgraded in the offseason to match that of Blue Gene/L so maybe I'll aim for a 100% record next time around.

Though not to disappoint - I will cancel my engineers for the MVP game to predict who will come out on top.

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BUAFL Blog Announces Development Of Virtual Reality Platform For British University American Football

BUAFL Blog have announced the development of an online Virtual Reality platform for British University American Football. What this could soon mean is that BUAFL Teams will never again have to play games against each other in person. The platform is believed to be between 0% and 100% complete.

In this VR platform BUAFL teams will be able to design their kit, suit up and then go head to head with their opponents in cyberspace, all from the comfort of each players own grimey student digs. The virtual reality platform is expected to deliver the full BUAFL experience including real time fist fights, empty stadiums, fugly cheerleaders, unplayable pitches and really bad ref crews.

Mr B. Blogger elaborated on the thinking behind the project: "British University American Football is played by students. By definition students don't want drag themselves out of bed on a Sunday and travel hours with a hangover to exert themselves in the cold and mud. They would rather be sleeping, drinking or playing computer games. This is why we decided to develop this platform and why we will be including features such as the "Snooze", "Hangover Autopilot" and "Update My Facebook/Twitter status" options."

Mr Blogger goes on to talk a little more about how it will work: "The success and popularity of the online game Goal Line Blitz among BUAFL players and fans has inspired us to adopt a spam based development system. In this way players and teams will be able to improve their stats and skills by mercilessly harassing each other with links to their website. We hope this will start all the teams on an even playing field so we can finally decided if the North or the South is better. Having said that some teams in remote parts of the country are yet to have electricity, let alone the internet, which may be a problem"

Talking about the launch of the system Nationwide Mr Blogger commented "Although its certainly unrealistic to say that the system will be in place by next season, by 2010/2011 i fully expect every BUAFL game to be played in the BUAFL Blog VR suite. It is of course important that we reduce the current cost of each headset from £500,000 to a more student friendly price in order to facilitate this". He finished by saying "In this new Digital world the BUAFL Blog VR Suit is the future of the game". BUAFL Chief Exec Andy Fuller was not immediately available for comment.

Click here to see a mock video of what a BUAFL game may look like in the near future

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