The Sicatoka

Whoever said it's now win the autobid to get into the tourney is correct. If we're keeping the program it must provide more ROI than this. It's time.

Just as quickly as I thought Jones had turned a corner (+18 on road) he throws it away (-17 at home). That's on the coaching and preparation of the team. It's time.

He's still smirking.

The damage (injuries) to the middle of the NDSU defense finally caught up to them.

How'd JMU go from 20-17 to 27-17? I was bringing in groceries so I missed that sequence.

East coast bias.

Every fan base has gems and jerks.

Saturday in Cheney, WA: Honestly, that sounds more like weather favoring YSU.

Massey's predictions: Date Team Standing Scr Pred Pwin Margin Total Fri 12.16 James Madison @ N Dakota St # 3 (12-1) # 1 (12-1) 0 0 26 36 23 % 77 % -9.5 62.5 Sat 12.17 Youngstown St @ E Washington # 4 (11-3) # 2 (12-1) 0 0 24 31 30 % 70 % -6.5 57.5

Not to be a pain (spoiler: I'm about to be), I'd like to see about five high-end offensive line recruit names show up.

Congratulations to Reyes and Harris. No pressure, but we want more next season. http://collegefootball.ap.org/article/2016-ap-fcs-all-america-team-list?utm_campaign=SocialFlow&utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=AP_Top25

Patience takes too long. Offensive linemen are the guys who allow the other players to show what they can do; without a top-tier offensive line you are stymied.

Not unhappy; actually pleased ... however ... More for the offensive line, please.

I'm sure it is, along with the "UND" hockey jersey I once saw the the interlocked ND as the crest on the chest. Suppliers can use the logo (properly licensed) and place it on apparel. This vendor seems to think that ... thing ... will sell. PT Barnum continues to be correct. All that said, I'm positive of few things in life, but one is that jersey won't be worn the UND team. (The interlocked is phasing out.)

I'm not a doctor, and I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night (close, but no). However, maybe surgery wasn't an option three weeks ago because of the status of the injury and now it is. As far as recovery time, what type of surgery is it? If it's a scope, two weeks seems pretty normal for minimally invasive procedures. Bottom line: There are enough people looking out for Boeser that the right decisions for the right reasons will be made.

I'd prefer NDSU does what it deems best for NDSU and accepts the consequences (good or bad). I'd prefer UND does what it deems best for UND and accepts the consequences (good or bad). Control what's yours to control. Accept what comes with it.

Suddenly EWU has a whole "John Goodman" vibe to it.

That UNI coach got hired in Jan 2016 by UNI. Huh? Are things that bad at UNI?

JMU has the offense to do it ...

And that's the last key to beating NDSU: Get to Easton Stick. He hasn't faced a lot of pressure and is average accuracy when he does. Yes, you're rolling the coverage dice, but playing prevent doesn't work because of NDSU's efficiency. I'd say the formula* is (1) win TOP, and (2) get to Stick. *I never said the formula would be easy.

Give credit where credit is due. These are drives championship teams make. The first took the lead; the other crushed all hope. Team Plays-Yds TOP NDSU 20-82 12:09 --> NDSU 14 SDSU 10 (a 20 play drive; seriously, a defense can not allow that*) NDSU 10-90 4:50 --> NDSU 29 SDSU 10 (a two score game just became three scores, 19 pts, in the middle of the 4th; and they went NINETY yards) How do you beat NDSU? You must stop their drives early and win the TOP battle. They are a momentum team and when that gets going ... I hope my favorite team is taking notes. There's nothing wrong with learning from the archenemy. *The Bunnies helped NDSU out with TWO PI calls on the drive. You can not do that to help out good teams.

Gino also used to say the team needed to play with "Gusto!" Haven't seen much of that lately.

If Boeser can't perform in the tryout camp, it's a disservice to take him over guys who are in camp (and roll the dice he'll be ready).

From NDSU's current roster: 22 King Frazier RB 5-11 212 Sr. Greenwood, Mo. Lee's Summit HS Nebraska 25 Chase Morlock RB 6-0 223 Sr. Moorhead, Minn. Moorhead HS 8 Bruce Anderson RB 5-11 215 So. Ruskin, Fla. Newsome HS 10 Lance Dunn RB 5-9 207 So. Waterloo, Iowa Waterloo West HS 24 Demaris Purifoy RB 6-1 198 RFr. Wauwatosa, Wis. Wauwatosa West HS 28 Ty Brooks RB 5-9 173 RFr. Fargo, N.D. Fargo South HS 30 Adam Cofield RB 5-11 198 Fr. Lee's Summit, Mo. Blue Springs South HS From UND's current roster: 27 Oscar Nevermann RB 6-1 215 RJr. Stockholm, Sweden (Wyoming) (Rudbeck-Valfrihetens) 42 Kyle Norberg RB 6-1 240 Jr. Cary Grove, Ill. (Cary Grove High School) 5 Brady Oliveira RB 5-10 225 So. Winnipeg, Manitoba (Oak Park High School) 22 John Santiago RB 5-9 180 So. St. Francis, Minn. (St. Francis High School) 28 Austin Gordon RB 5-9 205 RFr. Maple Grove, Minn. (Wayzata High School) From the Gopher roster: 27 Johannesson, James RB 6-1 230 RFr. Fargo, N.D. (Fargo South HS)

There were more than a few plays this season where if Norberg has more than a first gear he'd have been gone. The traditional two-back set worked for many years. It's just fallen out of vogue recently with the scourge of the spread offense. Saying that, and based on a Schlossman tweet last night (3 year anniversary was yesterday) ... CHUCK THE PIGSKIN ... works great when it's working. I'd rather get 5 yards per play by having backs fall on top of crushed defenders; repeat.