2021 NCAA Sim

What, your copy of NCAA '14 looks different?

The Final Fiesta: Notre Dame vs Oklahoma State NCAA ’14 Sim

December 31, 2021 by Ryan Ritter

The HLS Sim was born from my desire to do something different. In the vast sea of Notre Dame podcasts, I wanted to do more than stand out. I wanted to do something fun but also avoid our show being seen as a parroting of more popular Irish podcasts. So I sent a message with a wild idea to Shane: let's go on Twitch and stream a CPU vs CPU matchup of the week's Notre Dame game using a decade-plus old video game as our "preview". To my knowledge, no one was doing this (at best, they were playing ...

Rivalry Week Picks + NCAA ’14 Sim: Notre Dame at Stanford

November 24, 2021 by Ryan Ritter

With Thanksgiving approaching, Eddie and Shane were gracious enough to carve out time on Tuesday to get our usual podcasting done early. Below you will find both the picks podcast and the NCAA Sim podcast and VoD. Eddie and I are all tied up after I had a massive week. As usual, our $200 bet for Extra Life will go down to the wire. This brings us both to 86-60-3 on the season. Talk about going out with a bang in the last year. In fact, I'm so proud of the record, that I did a bit a ...

What, your copy of NCAA '14 looks different?

NCAA ’14 Sim: Notre Dame vs Georgia Tech

November 20, 2021 by Ryan Ritter

Apologies for the day delay on this one. Believe me, I was in no condition to even attempt the live broadcast on Thursday night. Thankfully, I feel better, even though I'm sure you can hear some fatigue in my voice. However, I had to push through to get the last home sim in the books in HLS history. It's been a long, crazy ride, and, hilariously, this felt like a football game. Don't worry, there are still wtf moments, but overall, the sim stayed sober for senior day. We have two (maybe ...

What, your copy of NCAA '14 looks different?

NCAA Sim ’14: Notre Dame @ Virginia

November 12, 2021 by Ryan Ritter

I know I say this every week, but I'm absolutely positive the sim, and all technology, knows that we are wrapping this thing up soon. Troll job doesn't even begin to descript this mess. There are more turnovers than third downs converted by both teams. This game might have set a record for combined sacks. Neither virtual coach seemed to care to manage the clock properly nor call anything resembling a coherent gameplan. And, to top it all off, Shane's audio dies right in the middle of the ...

What, your copy of NCAA '14 looks different?

NCAA ’14 Sim: Notre Dame vs Navy

November 5, 2021 by Ryan Ritter

It's rare that I can say that a sim is a quick listen, but when virtual Navy comes into town, the clock bleeds at a glorious pace. Unrelated, my eyes may have also bled at the same pace by watching...well, whatever this was. It was a sim. It was a Navy game. It felt dirty even though it was a good result. Perhaps the sim found a way to capture Catholic guilt in video game form. We'll never know the sim's ways, but we will enjoy it while it lasts. After all, we've hit the last month of ...

What, your copy of NCAA '14 looks different?

NCAA ’14 Sim: Notre Dame vs North Carolina

October 29, 2021 by Ryan Ritter

The sim continues to surprise. Somehow this game managed to be everything all at once--a comforting nightmare. If your feelings about Notre Dame games hinge on the sim, I can only say that your feelings will be completely up to individual interpretation. I'm not sure I can explain it in any other way without giving too much away. Oh, and there's a very important discussion about people and chairs thanks to the Inside the Garage podcast. Very important. Podcast Twitch VoD ...

What, your copy of NCAA '14 looks different?

NCAA ’14 Sim: Notre Dame vs Southern Cal

October 22, 2021 by Ryan Ritter

Every week, I feel like I write that the sim went peak sim. Yet every week, this video game simulation manages to exceed my wildest expectations. Unless you watched this live, there is no possible way you would come up with how this game unfolded. I'm sure you could get some pieces correct; however, I feel comfortable saying that no one would ever guess how this thing ended. I'm glad this happened in a rivalry game because it hits that much harder. Enjoy every bit of this stupid, bonkers ...

What, your copy of NCAA '14 looks different?

NCAA ’14 Sim: Notre Dame @ Virginia Tech

October 8, 2021 by Ryan Ritter

Well, we had an all-timer in HLS technical issues. It took five attempts to get the sim fully rolling. That's a lot--even for us. Thankfully(?), massive HLS screw ups turn into premium content. If you are a Twitch Subscriber, you can see the full, unedited VoD here and a highlight of just the screw ups here. If you are a Patreon subscriber, you'll have access to the full unedited podcast version, as well as the VoD highlight as well. We also ran a bit of an experiment this time around. ...

What, your copy of NCAA '14 looks different?

NCAA ’14 Sim: Notre Dame vs Cincinnati

October 1, 2021 by Ryan Ritter

The sim wears green! It's a top ten matchup at Notre Dame Stadium as Notre Dame and Cincinnati duke it out. The Irish are still battling loads of injuries and with Brian Kelly being less than forthcoming, it makes it hard to set these rosters for maximum accuracy. However, Shane receives some breaking news from an inside source that changes everything…have we created a QB controversy?! Podcastg VoD ...

What, your copy of NCAA '14 looks different?

NCAA ’14 Sim: Notre Dame “@” Wisconsin

September 24, 2021 by Ryan Ritter

This episode contains two things that are peak HLS: A cold open featuring the most unique possible technical meltdown we've ever had. Shane and I heard everything perfectly and the stream barely heard anything. Nearly five full minutes of scrambling while live.The sim delivered an absolute nightmare. When we thought we hit the bottom, the sim dug deeper and then dug deeper yet again. I'm honestly in awe of both happenings. We could've pulled either off if we actually planned it. This is ...