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This is going to be a special game for me. As this will be my last Potato Bowl game with my dad as his health has gone down hill. We have been going to the Potato Bowl every year since 1985, so hopefully UND can get a victory for me and my dad.

I know Ive gone around with you a few times, and we dont agree on some things, but your post about the Potato bowl game with your dad resonated with me. Some of my most favorite memories I have are going to Potato bowls with my dad. We always went to that game, it is special to my family as well. Your post brought back alot of those great memories into perspective. I really hope you both have a great day and enjoy the game together. Have a great Potato bowl, and I hope you both can celebrate a Fighting Hawks win on Saturday.

Has to be Kostich. I felt he he should have been higher on the chopping block than either Rudolph or Knauf IMO at the end of last season. Special Teams used to be an asset for his program. We used to win games due to special teams play, even under Mussman. It's been an enormous liability in recent seasons.........

A couple of things seemed to be missed by our experts here. We didn’t have any KO’s for touchbacks but we had excellent KO coverage. SH had to start inside their own 25 2or 3 times and I think only once past their own 30. We don’t have a stronger legged kicker but had great coverage on KO’s. We don’t have a great punter either. He averaged about 35 yds per punt but SH only returned one for a yard and our first 2 were inside their 20. We couldn’t effectively run the ball but on JJ’s TD, there was no hole and he bounced it outside and into the end zone. Our Off line didn’t run block but they did protect our QB’s especially the true freshman which was one of the keys to the game. There is room for improvement in all areas but our secondary play was excellent against some outstanding receivers, our LB’s played well and had 3 int’s, and we had only 1 turnover with a third string true freshman, who was given great pass protection. Our KO and punt coverage was excellent. We need to keep improving and getting better each day/week/game. We need to get healthy. We just passed a big test. Another one in 2 weeks. As long as these players and coaches believe in themselves and each other we can compete with everyone on our schedule. As Irish commented, they are learning what it takes to win tough games. They overcame losing starting QB, a missed XP, a late interception, and poor field position toward end of game inside our 5. Go Hawks. I was corrected. We also had a fumble.

I have purposefully not been on the ss.com since the game so I am sure that many have given their thoughts about the game and our FB program. As I am not sure where to post this, I will start a new thread. While many were quite optimistic about the outcome of the game, we are a long ways from being able to compete with the Bison. Some of my thoughts: I don't think we played poorly. The SU players are simply better than ours - bigger, stronger, faster and more confident. A confidence that comes with playing for the best FCS program in the country for the last many years. It is a given that SU gets the majority of recruits they want. They don't lose many to other FCS programs. Their analysis of prospects is very good which means the athletes they sign each year are better than ours (and most everyone's). You will seldom beat a well-coached team that has better FB players at most every position. For those of you who have been around awhile, you remember that we lost 12 straight games to SU in the '80's and early '90's. In the middle of that drought, we lost 49-0, 62-13 and 42-10. We then started to catch up and, in my opinion, had a better team the last 2-3 years before we actually stopped the streak in '92. We could talk about those games but it really doesn't serve any purpose at this point. The bottom line is that SU was much better than us back then and we eventually caught up to them and had the upper hand in head-to-head meetings starting in '93. Unfortunately, I am afraid it will take a long time to catch up this time around. SU is just that damn good and, with their resources and tradition, it will be very difficult to reach their competitive level. Enough about SU!! Thoughts about our program: I think we are making some progress. A win this weekend is crucial to our season. If we can win 2 of the next 3 and remain relatively healthy, we can have a very successful season. I know Bubba well but I honestly don't know if he is or is not the guy that can move the program forward to where we need it to be. The two new coaches hired after last season appear to be great choices - I sure wish those changes would have taken place a couple of years earlier. I do have confidence in Chaves - he wants to win and I think he will make good decisions when it comes to all of our sports. I understand our wanting our OL to be quicker, etc. with our new offense but there are hundreds of 300+ pound OL across the country who are mobile enough for this type of offense. It scares me that apparently thought we didn't have any who could be effective without losing some significant weight. We are really small up front - hopefully, it will work! I don't understand the situation we are in with our place kicking. For decades, we have always had a very good PKer. (Some may question whether Taubenheim fits into that category - he certainly did until a leg injury really hindered him his last two years). With that history and playing indoors, we shouldn't have a problem finding a very talented PK and someone who can kickoff into the end zone - whether that is one guy or two. Everyone agrees that we must develop better quality depth. We are making some progress there but still have a long ways to go. It doesn't happen overnight and mostly relies on your recruiting efforts. Speaking of recruiting, I think we are making some progress there but it remains a real challenge. I follow recruiting very closely and am the guy who annually updates Wiki with prospects that are either interested in UND or UND may have some interest in them. The 230+ kids listed have either been actively recruited by UND or attended our camps, Jr. days, been invited to attend games, etc. I will be the first to acknowledge that my interest in recruiting does not make me an expert. However, after following it closely for so long, I firmly believe that we have to sign kids that are also offered by other good programs. I know there are Santiagos out there that aren't heavily recruited but, if we don't land a lot of kids that other programs also want, we won't be successful. Many feel quite good about the commitments we have so far this year but, as has been the case in recent years, only a handful of them had/have offers from other FCS or FBS schools. I don't think we can be a consistent playoff contender when we sign a majority of recruits who only had offers from DII schools. We have certainly offered more "wanted" recruits in recent years - we need to figure out how we can sign more of them. Continuing on the recruiting front, until we start winning more consistently and Phase II of the HPC is completed, it will be challenging. There are many reasons: we are the most distant school from the majority of the prospects we are recruiting, the perception (real or perceived) that GF winter weather is difficult to handle, the fact that it is rather difficult/time consuming to get to GF (for parents, family, girlfriends, etc.), it is more costly to bring more-distant kids in for recruiting trips as compared to other schools that we recruit against, etc. I think the biggest issue is for many of the MN, WS, NE, IA and IL kids is the distance and the fact that they and their families have a to drive another few hours (or one hour by SU) after they pass SDSU, USD, and, for some, UNI, etc. Most of these kids realize that they aren't going to be playing beyond college. They and their parents & girlfriends want to be able to see their games without driving hundreds of miles one way. Joining the MVC will help with this to some degree. Again, Phase II is essential to our success but until a couple big-money donors step forward, it is not going to happen. We are working hard at it but no one is saying "yes". I hope I am wrong but it may be awhile before Phase II becomes a reality. It may take our locker room facilities at Memorial being condemned before people fully understand the need! Lastly, for the FB program (all programs other than hockey) to be successful at UND, they need better funding. Recent presidents (I won't include Kennedy as he is a whole different story) have not thought athletics were a priority. We can't do anything about that now. Hopefully, the new president will be pro-athletics. That will help but there is still the challenge of finding the $. Budgets will continue to be very tight. That is the primary reason I started the Let's Help Bubba campaigns a few years ago. The money needed to improve results will need to come primarily from alumni/boosters (along with improved attendance, etc) - the institution will not be able to help a great deal! The few thousand $ we raise each year certainly doesn't make a huge difference but it does help and it is greatly appreciated. We have reached $10K but, as expected, the donations have stopped after the Saturday loss. If anyone can help, please do! Importantly, I do know Chaves is working hard trying find more $. How successful he will be remains to be seen. His predecessor basically ignored this important duty! Wow - that was a lot longer than I anticipated. I am curious what others think about these issues.

I also think that punting is becoming a huge liability. If you are punting from the 25 there is no reason they should be fair catching at other 40. You should be going at least 45 yards in the air. That actually flipped the field in Sam's favor a couple times today, whereas their punter was booming it. I remember when our special teams were about as good as it could get. Awesome kicker, strong punter etc. Can't believe we don't recruit these better. Need to spend some scholarship money and not hope that the walkon will be good enough.

Lol

Yesterday only showed that after 5 years with Schweigert as coach, UND is pretty much in the same place they were the last time they played NDSU in 2015. The program has not advanced at all under his tenure. It's time for new leadership of this program.

Und needs to win ...period!! Don’t give a &$:;% about the score. Just win.

Is anyone surprised Johnboy enjoys all male group showers?

Whoever put together that sign needs to lose all rights to attend any UND athletic event for the rest of the school year. The FB game was embarrassing. The sign was pathetic.

I really want to commend the defense, they were on the field a lot yesterday and played outstanding, especially the second half adjustment minimizing their QBs running ability. Of course there's a drop off in talent of the two deep, but UND plays so many guys and nobody stuck out (in a bad way). Want to shout out the secondary, especially Siegel and Galvin. It's amazing how good Siegel is as a freshman and I thought Galvin was terrific. Those guys have really stepped up with Holm and Nelson injured. Impressed with Schuster, can't imagine coming in as a True Freshman and that being your first experience, talk about being thrown into the fire.

We won, right?

This sounds really stupid and weak

Let's go with the moose.

We have already fallen into that trap and seem comfortable there. I wish the good old boys and former players and alumni that lobbied so hard for Bubba even though he was a .500 coach because he was "one of us" would put a little pressure on him and the administration.

An accurate description of our administration's mismanagement. My son was a student athlete during the Bunning era and felt he was a total incompetent and in over his head. However, lost in all of this is Bubba's coaching. This is my point of contention. He is stuck in 1985. If you watch the second half of our playoff game you will see what I call total coaching malpractice from Bubba and his staff. It is unbelievable how he snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. He kept Rudy for 5 years and only let him go under pressure - in the mean time he misused the best stable of running backs we have ever had. His lack of adjustments is legendary - he was probably out adjusted in every game last year. His ultra-conservative philosophy has certainly cost us talented recruits. If you were a young game-breaker and saw film of how Santiago was used last year how fast would you run from this program. I won't even get into his love of punts. He couldn't get our team up for the last game of the season last year with a playoff spot on the line. Bottom line - even with our institutional limitations Bubba has done a poor job with what he has.

Last week against Drake we looked better than we really are. This week I don't think we are as bad as NDSU made us look (at least I hope not). Next week, we better pass the test. I have said it many times as have others. Our strength program is not D-1 caliber, our nutrition program is lacking and mostly non existent. I'm not sure the staff as whole is a D-1 level staff. We beat Wyoming in 2015, our flagship win under Bubba but to date, we haven't sent anyone to the NFL. Wyoming has sent at least 6 guys to the league that played in that game in 2015. That speaks to player development.

Well, in theory, we should’ve learned how far away we were in 2015, learn from it, get to work, and close that gap a bit by this year. Obviously that didn’t happen. I don’t mind that the games were scheduled, I’m more concerned that we haven’t appeared to close the gap much, if at all. Day by day isn’t getting it done...

This is my one positive take away from this game. I think Danny will learn a lot from this tape and get better. There were some things consistently there today that we didn’t take advantage of. Not 30’points worth of stuff but enough to move some chains. I also think Danny learns that some personnel we roll out there doesn’t fit what he wants to do. I’d rather get the personnel out and be a little more predictable than put the personnel out that won’t allow a play to work even if perfectly executed. There is not a team left on the schedule as good as what we played today. Let’s win enough to get back to Fargo and play this one again. Lots of teams are going to lose to FU by 20-30 this year. I’m not saying today is acceptable and I’m not disappointed. I took a lot of !@#$ today and thought we would compete. Some of today can be corrected and the expectation is it will be.

Ira. You are spot on about KO and coverage. Kick it to the 5 and tackle inside the 20. A great gutty performance. Team win. This can help build unity for this team.

Schuster's whole performance was eye-popping if you ask me, given it was his first college action and the situation he was put in.

HUGE win against a very good ranked team with our 3rd string true freshman QB. The fans that were at the game made a difference. Go Hawks!!!

How about ushers that don’t make you feel like you’re in church. Especially the ones that watch the student section like prison guards.

Sorry to say but last week made it clear that und isn’t ready for the top 5 “ish” teams. Sam isn’t a top team....a good team but definitely not top 5. Und has four consecutive games vs the top 25 If there was ever a time for bubba to show us fans that und is FCS relevant ...the next four weeks is the time. Show us that Und belongs in D1. This game is at home ...cant lose home games! Imo ...if und can come out of the next four games 2-2 that is a positive . As much as the last week was a downer this season... there is a lot football to be played. Take care of home field.

At the end of their DII domination it was other schools that caught up to su (the change in the # of scholarships allowed helped). Hockey has always been the top sport but it didn't stop UND from dominating SU in the 90s and winning a national championship. UND has proven it can get blue chippers.

Yep, the NDSU game was one game on this schedule. UND lost an early season game on the road. Done thinking about it. Excited about Saturday! BEAT SAM! GO FIGHTING HAWKS!

I'm sure I'm late to the party, and if someone has already brought it up, I will concur: Time to boot the students over into one of the corner sections and free up between the 40's for people who want to be there.

I find the doom and gloom funny after a bad loss to a very good team. NDSU has better personnel then many FBS schools! I don't want to downplay the loss too much but if anyone thought we had a real chance today was fooling themselves. NDSU has better players at almost every position right now. My take is probably off of most on the message board but UND can be a very good football team this season if some things get corrected. We are very erratic on defense, most of the big run plays were directly related to guys not playing consistent gap control defense. This is a very fixable issue! On offense, we had a fairly large number of plays in which the timing was off by a lot. Also a very fixable issue! I think we will see improvement going forward!

That seriously can't be real. But if it is.…. that's awful and everyone from the AD down should be embarrassed to allowing that to happen. This picture should be emailed to Chaves and explained why this is a terrible look.

And yet, when NDSU is in the playoffs, we are all supposed to get behind them because it is "good for the whole state". I would rather walk on molten glass then do that.

I can’t imagine the life one must have, for someone who never really comes in here to seek out this board to make a post after the game. God help me if I seek out a Bison blog board when we beat you guys, just to make a post to make myself feel better. That’s when I know my life is at an all time low.

Everyone touched on the poor special team play so i'll leave that alone. My takeaway is this: Tommy has some stones! When Zimm went down I really thought we would lose. The frosh is a gamer and I am glad we landed him. Also, what a time for a bye. Enjoy the gutsy win and heal up and work on getting better. EWU is a winnable game. I was disappointed in the crowd.

Home... loved the game, atmosphere, et al but loved that young QB most of all.... great job! The defense was great but our LB still get a little tangled up due to DL. Go Sioux!

If so that’s the most sheepish most unconfident piece of garbage coaching advice I’ve ever heard. Coach with confidence, play with confidence and you’ll execute like so. I’m so sick of this conservative and nice guy safe style shown by this team...so I very much hope that wasn’t truly what happened there.

Some would argue they don't play it enough. (It's played at some point after every UND goal)

NCAA said we could keep items of historical significance, no? When did they comment on the nickel? I really don't think the ncaa gives 2 $#!%$ about UND anymore. We changed the name.

All the more reason to do it then!

Stone age here. You just flashed your student ID and walked in (hoping they wouldn't check under your coat or inside the sleeves). Winter Sports Building and Ralph I. Don't know when that changed.

Exactly- just because you can be all modern and high tech, doesn’t mean you have to be. In my time, (just 10 years ago) I purchased season tickets online, went to REA to pick them up. Boom, done.

Your post reminds me of that episode of Seinfeld when George Costanza is desperately trying to prove he has a black friend.

It will be a great weekend...I’ll be flying up to GFK Friday night, tailgate and game on Saturday, after a big win fish Devils Lake on Sunday, and be back at my desk in Scottsdale by 9 on Monday.

The fact that any UND fan is questioning Stick's ability to play QB at any level with the QB play UND has trucked out to the turf for almost a decade is laughable.

That picture still irritates me. More embarrassing that the game itself.

Here is my profile picture for the next 2 weeks, for losing a bet to JohnnyBoy.

Without much researching, Oklahoma for one. Also looks like N.C. State, Washington St, Penn St, Ohio St, and Western Kentucky have had at least two Qb’s drafted in the last 3-4 years. Didn’t dig enough to see if they were consecutive though. Those on here who think NDSU couldn’t play FBS have their head in the sand. Would they compete with P5 schools, no. But could they be a top G5 school, absolutely. They have a few big obstacles to overcome however and the two biggest are location and stadium. The only way they go fbs is if they can get get some of the other regional fcs teams to move up. NDSU runs their program like an fbs program.

We need to cultivate more relationships with potential donors not headquartered in Las Vegas. We cannot lean on one family to donate to our programs. Division I is just too expensive not to. I really don't want us to become a school with great academics and research and lousy athletics. I honestly don't think we have to choose between one or the other. We can strive for greatness in all three of those areas.

I know you are an avid Sioux supporter and very knowledgeable about football and the program. This appears to be a very sensible approach, but one I would feel better about if in the past any measuring stick has been applied to Bubba and staff - otherwise how could we go on with Rudy for 5 years. How could we have the worst second half playoff performance I have ever seen? How could we put up with the play calling, lack of adjustments, and total collapse last year with a playoff spot on the line? Expect excellence? I'm not seeing it. More like hope for excellence, but oh well if we're not. As a group have an incredible tolerance for mediocrity. Don't believe me - watch me get a huge amount of crap for this assessment. What we saw today was unacceptable - especially after 5 plus years of "rebuilding". Our program has been wandering in the wilderness for over 10 years. Time to expect excellence and really mean it this time.

And how many mediocre and disappointing seasons do we have to have before something is done about it? The question never ends up getting answered after the season is over because nobody wants to acknowledge the 800 pound gorilla in the room. This is the sort of "Aw, shucks, nothing we can do about it, everything is fine the way it is, let's move on" mentality that I have noticed seep into the administration and athletic department over the past 10-12 years. We have had rudderless leadership from UND's administration for such a long time I forget what strong leadership looks and feels like. And a look at the state of our programs gives you an idea of the consequences of that thinking. We don't have Phase II of the HPC. We have 80 year old FB locker rooms and facilities in Memorial Stadium which even a good Division II program would be embarrassed to have. And on top of that, 52% of FB revenues get skimmed off the top by REA, Inc. And then people have the unmitigated gall to say the FB program should just "pull itself up by its bootstraps". Never mind that the bootstraps are old and worn out and haven't been up to code since about 2005. We are just supposed to pretend that all is well and not worry about it. When we made this move to Division I, we should have known it would cost a lot more money to put competitive teams on the field/court. It would take more fundraising and more thinking outside the box to fund more scholarships, new and/or upgraded facilities and a new athletic department wide attitude towards making all our programs successful. But we haven't done those things. We still try to fund our athletic department with season tickets, Champions Club memberships and 50/50 raffles. A Division II funding model won't work anymore. We aren't playing the likes of Augustana, Winona State or UM-Crookston anymore. I do think Chaves has the potential to help turn things around (his MBB hire showed the creativity and outside-the-box thinking that Tom Buning and Brian Faison were incapable of). But we do need to hire a strong UND President to clean up the mess Kennedy left behind in so many areas of campus. And one of those messes is the athletic department, which, with the exception of volleyball, has produced average at best teams over the past several years. It all starts at the top. And we have been lacking in that area for a long time.