The Sicatoka

I'm glad someone mentioned just 3 penalties for just 15 yards. <-- That's been fixed; but it requires vigilence. I'm very happy about second half time of possession (20 of the 30 minutes for UND). I am extremely disappointed in the 'epic fail' of the center exchange. That must be fixed and stay fixed. This game was one step. A good one. But just one. Stay the course. Keep fixing; keep working; keep building. Day by day.

If Bohl hadn't gone to Wyoming I'd think he'd be on the short list for the Kansas job.

The box score stat that really jumped out at me: In the second half UND had the ball nearly 20 minutes compared to MSU's 10 minutes. MSU didn't "come off the gas" in the second half; they just didn't have the ball.

NAU beats Cal Poly with a score on their final drive. WSU and SUU are seeing who can play worse pass defense in the second half. I really do like this "Watch Big Sky" app on the ol' iPad.

Saw that now too. Can't trust Bobcat tweets I guess.

Allow me to correct you on one thing: This TEAM can beat Montana if they control errors. The defense got a lot of help (rest) when it mattered because the offense started to come around. The defense has to play like it has been ... and better. They did let a couple receivers get behind them today. The offense must pick up right where they left off in Bozeman.

Stolen from the Twitter-verse: MSU has 36 yards rushing on 32 carries. Cats rushed for almost 900 yards last three weeks. Statistics from today's #UND game were fairly even, surprisingly enough. Total yards 329-293 for MSU. First downs 17-16 for UND. QB Joe Mollberg had his best game of the season. 22-37 for 222 and a TD (and the unfortunate pick six). The offense had a rhythm in the second half that we had not seen. The key now is to keep progressing and not regress. Keep working; keep inproving. Day by day.

Take away the pick-six and instead UND gets a FG on that drive: ten point swing. If UND finishes that drive ... fourteen point swing. What happened today is the first step from the offense. The defense is about eight to twelve weeks (spring ball, fall camp, season so far) ahead of the offense. This is the first glimmer of hope of the offense finally coming together. And for the "X Box" types, notice how when UND was able to run even a little the pass game opened up. 26-7 at half. 29-18 final. Let's see ... 11-3 for the visitors in the second half. Surely MSU quit trying at halftime is what the pundits will say. I think not. MSU was looking to put some frustration from last week on someone. The UND Defense said, "Not us." I think a young team took a small but significant step toward maturation today: They realized they not only belong out there but if they play with the vision Bubba has for them they can be successful. They need to clean some stuff up (center exchanges, maintaining possession, eliminating turnovers), but these guy won the second half of that game. How? Bubba's vision: Aggressive defense and smart, balanced offense. Last thought: No moral victories. I hope the guys on the plane back from Boseman are pissed. Why? They were a controllable error or two from (let this soak a minute) ... winning.

14 people to define a process.

I still say it'd be fun to see his teammates force him in to pitch (even for just an out).

On field turf, I believe a wet ball harms both teams' run game*, but it gives a minor edge to the wide receivers as they know when they're going to cut and the DBs do not. You tend to slip more when you are reacting than when you plan on cutting. (On natural surface the wet field starts to hurt the WRs equally as the ground starts to give.) *To quote Chris Berman, "Fum-BLE!"

Some Big XII nominees from last night: Not bad up close, but on television it took me a while to figure out if Picasso had done their helmets. Orange chrome?

C'mon ...kimchi and a soju is the Korean equivalent of sauerkraut and a hefeweizen. You'll eat sauerkraut, won't you?

Craving for kimchi?

I predict a wet ball. http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lon=-111.04962&lat=45.65876#.VCVmw_ldVZg

Cause of death of NDSU student Bearson: homicidal violence. Not good.

I tend to kick people to the curb.

Is there such a thing as a non-disruptive alcohol culture?

If Wyoming wasn't Mountain West ... Montanas (2), Dakotas (4), Idaho, EWU, Wyoming and Denver: 9 for football*, 10 for M/WBB**. * eight conference games ** eighteen conference games, pretty good travel pairs When I'm king of the world I'll get right on this.

C'mon guys, I'm looking for the legitimately ugly ones, not the bucket of the team you love to hate.

Masterfully played. Bravo.

Not so fast ... Were UND to roll out three wins against Montana State, Montana, and EWU this year, oh yeah, it'd be noticed. Will it happen? Uh, about the same odds as me and the PowerBall. #soyouresayingtheresachance

It's on my Midco channel I call "the interwebs". My Midcontinent cable supplies me my connectivity for "Big Sky TV", and that's free. So, I'll be watching North Dakota at Montana State. That's part of how media is changing: Big Sky TV, NCHC TV. And it's spectacular when you're traveling and "out of market" (i.e. too far from the over-the-air tower).

Happy now? (Full discloser: When this thread first appeared it was titled "Offense of Cordinator". I was so appalled by "offense of" I missed the other until now.)

Maryland should be here somewhere with some of the disasters they've put on.