UND08

And I hold out hope that you'll see that this weekend. Remember playaction doesn't work very well if you can't run the ball effectively...

You mean the 2000s...or were you talking about his time at MSU-Mankato? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Mussman

I agree with you...and I hope that we see that starting this weekend. I will however not criticize the fact that we didn't see that last week...as against a team as talented as Utah was that would be considered unrealistic in my book...

I seem to remember us at the peak of Mussman's time as OC winning a lot of games by relying on our stout defense and running game. By the same token I remember Rudy having an offense at St. Cloud that was one of the most efficient and productive in the country. What I'm getting at with that is it's all about philosophy from the top down. I think as long as Coach Schweigert is around we will hang our hat on our defense and physicality. That's not a sexy way to play the game...but it's got a good track record in Grand Forks. I remember Braden Hansen throwing for 600+ yards against Montana...that was fun...but if I remember right we barely won the game and didn't have that great of a year. Whatever style of play leads to wins is the style that I'll get behind!

Most quarterbacks don't even change the play at the line themselves anymore...instead they look to the sideline and the coaching staff changes it as part of their dumbing things down no-huddle offense. Also...Rudolph needs to channel ZERO Mussman as far as I'm concerned...I don't really care how we win as long as we win. Everyone keeps piling on Rudy...and I'm sure all issues are 100% his fault, since we all know Bubba couldn't possibly be part of the offensive game plan or have any input in play calling (that's sarcasm folks). Our offense is a philosophy that comes from the head coach and is executed by the OC...and it's played a part in far more success than coach Mussman was ever capable of during his time in Grand Forks. I may not like it all the time...but if it keeps us successful (i.e. scoring one or more points more than our opponent 8+ times per year) then I'm all for it.

I was at the game...and I saw a few things from Studsrud that I did not see last year. I saw at least a couple of occasions where he looked off his first read and hit a wide receiver in the middle. Keaton caught a lot of flack for staring down receivers last year, but I think a lot of that is on the protection. It takes time to make reads with the ball in your hand...and if you have no time you aren't going to be able to find your second/third option. Keaton did a good job of using his legs to buy time...even when it resulted in an incompletion. His one interception hit the tight end right in the hands...that's a tough break. I did see a couple of plays where I thought he could have went to a different receiver, but when your first read requires a 10 yard throw and the second requires a 40 yard ball...all while a defensive lineman is bearing down on you...well sometimes those plays are only capable in Madden. What was also readily apparent was that Utah defense was significantly superior to UND physically. I may be in the minority here...but to me there's no shame in that! Their talent level is on another planet from ours...they had 8 players drafted last year. I'm going to reserve judgment of our offense until Sunday, when we've played a team on our level. Now all of that is not to say that I don't have criticisms of our play calling...I said it last year and I'll say it again I'd like to see more Oliviera between the tackles and less Santiago...and more of them both on the field at the same time to keep defenses honest. I'm going to be optimistic and assume we didn't want to put some of that on tape...hopefully it comes out and we are able to physically wear down MSU on Saturday.

No offense but I couldn't care less what NDSU does or doesn't do this year...unless we meet in the playoffs it has very little bearing on our season. Not sure why we feel the need to feed the trolls on here all the time. As far as Missouri State...they've got a coach that has been around the block and had a decent amount of success at Mizzou. NDSU fans like to proclaim MSU as the "joke of the MVFC"...but it's much too early to tell if that'll continue this year. They went from 1 win to 4 wins and are probably looking to continue that trend in Steckel's 3rd season. I think we've got a great opportunity to win this game...but their offense makes me nervous. Hopefully we can put up 275+ yards on the ground and keep them off the field...time of possession is going to be critical for us in this game!

We've got just a slightly different animal on the docket on Thursday night...

What I'm hoping for: UND by 1 or more What I'd be happy with: Utah 35 UND 24 (or closer) What I expect: Utah 38 UND 17 This is a tough matchup for UND offensively, as Utah has a stout d-line (and does every year). The Utes have some new pieces on the offensive side of the ball that could cause a slow start, but they are a top 25 team in the FBS for a reason. I know that our expectations for our squad get heightened due to NDSU beating power 5 teams, which is really something...but that's not the norm. I hope we can play a clean game, keep it close, and STAY HEALTHY...anything more than that is gravy in my mind! Leaving tomorrow night after work for SLC...and I can't wait for Thursday! I've always thought a night game at Rice-Eccles would be fun based on what I've seen on TV...hopefully it lives up to my expectations!

Chatter on eGriz about Ben Hardy from Fairview MT transferring to UND...anyone heard anything about this?? http://egriz.com/grizboard/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=76783

Well folks...I took the plunge and bought tickets for the opener out in Salt Lake! I can't wait for the road trip from North Dakota to SLC! I'm not sure what to expect from the tailgating scene in Utah...but hasn't anyone heard if there will be any kind of pre-game meetup out there? Like I was saying...time is going to drag on agonizingly slow until game week! Hopefully the Hawks can do enough to give themselves a chance!

Oh I remember that...he was literally the last man left standing. Pretty tough to finish the year without a quarterback...and for all we know Keaton told them he wanted to play. Can't go back and change it now...that's part of rebuilding a program from the ashes...those sacrifices sometimes have to be made.

I'm expecting a very good year out of Keaton this year...he's not starting the year with two true freshman wide receivers and 4 new starters on the offensive line like he did last year.

My thoughts exactly. Those who thought he'd slide right in and start at RT this year were drinking some powerful koolaid. College sports aren't for everyone...and I'd rather see the spot go to someone who is 100% bought in.

Here's the confirmation...https://millersports.areavoices.com/2017/08/02/unds-grady-no-longer-on-roster/ As far as I'm concerned...next man up! It's not fair to the other guys that bust their tails day in and day out to give second or third chances to someone not fully committed to the program. I hope Elijah can get things straightened out in his life going forward.

I believe that he is the son of former Valley City HS Mr. Basketball Tyrone Terry...not that it necessarily helps our cause but it's still interesting nonetheless...

You said "In Grand Forks? Nope, hockey is THE sport"...most schools use athletics as a way to gain exposure and attract new students...substantially all potential for UND exposure growth resides in sports that don't involve a puck...

I didn't realize that UND's athletic footprint begins...and ends in Grand Forks County...

Which to be fair is no less important...I'm a UND grad and dang proud of the school...but I grew up on a farm and know the importance of NDSU to the state of North Dakota (and that it goes far beyond the farm). As much fun as it is to rip on NDSU...the reality is both are very good schools. I hate the Bison...not NDSU...there is a difference! There are definitely aspects of the Big Sky Conference that I will miss. It felt unique to the area...and the travel opportunities were undoubtedly appealing. However it's a whole-lot easier to travel to Brookings and Fargo than it is to Missoula (and other places further). The Big Sky may have a slightly better perception amongst the common fan due to it's relative stability (no name changes), but the Summit is on par or slightly ahead in terms of conference strength (having more teams doesn't help when more of them are bad). Between cost savings and the reasons above I welcome a move to the Summit...having 6 games a year in all Olympic sports vs SDSU/USD/NDSU is a great thing in my opinion! The MVFC is going to be great for UND...but we are going to have to continue to up our game (which I'm confident we will). I see a lot of MVFC football message board fans crying over the fact that the schedule will be unbalanced and tougher...whatever happened to bring on the competition?!? Plus nobody even knows if the current MVFC team makeup will be the same in 2020. A UND for YSU team swap would make the MVFC even more compact geographically, while not significantly hurting quality of play (but maybe hurting history, which too many fans love to live in). There's a lot of talk about UND being geographically isolated...but YSU is dang near in Pennsylvania, and has no affiliation with any MVFC team in any other sport. They'd be better off in the CAA with a team like Rhode Island dropping to the NEC. If UNI doesn't like it...well they can just lobby to get some of that Iowa/ISU athletic money to elevate their program. I'm appreciative of Dean Bresciani's help in getting UND into the MVFC, and hopefully we can pay the conference back with some quality football!

My take on these items one at a time... 1 - I cringe every time Seibel is in there to return a kick. I'd like to see Santiago or the new kid out of Washington (or anyone else really) get a look next year. Seibel doesn't inspire confidence in fielding punts. 2 - The coaches clearly were calling punt safe on the play. Not sure what was running through the head of the player who ran into the punter...but there's no excuse for that. To me that's not on the coaches... 3 - Punt protection is a disturbing issue to me...and I'm surprised that more teams didn't try to heat us up on punts. Dussold was very good for us this year...but it seems to me that it takes him an eternity to get his punts off. Recognition needs to be better. It also seems upon further review that the punt we had blocked was the result of a couple of whiffs. That can't happen... 4 - The return that got called back...I think that was a product of the punt was supposed to go to a certain side of the field, but Dussold hit a bad one (probably hurried) and booted it to the one area of the field where he shouldn't have...We were very lucky to get that called back. 5 - Missed field goals...need a better effort from Taubenheim, especially since this isn't going to be an offense meant to put up 40+ per game. We were lucky missed field goals didn't hurt us more this year. At this point, I'm not going to put all the blame on Kostich and proclaim him as incapable. I think a lot of our issues stem from a lack of talent on special teams (this was the case early in the year when kick coverage was so bad...we started putting better players on the kickoff team and that problem fixed itself). As we get further into Bubba's reign...I expect special teams to continue to improve like everything else as the depth gets better. That being said...we need to figure out something better for punt protection...it cost us 1 game for sure and contributed in a second...that's inexcusable...

Richmond is not Winona State...I don't disagree with all of the things you say about our squad...but Richmond is the real deal...and its going to take a great effort to beat them...I hope we get it!

It's annoying enough that the message board takes on that attitude with certain teams...but the fact that they conduct a poll that's not totally meaningless to teams makes it even more of a joke...

I have no idea what to expect Saturday...as this is completely uncharted territory for this team. That being said I'm hopeful we come out and play our best football of 2016...and that effort is enough to allow us to move on. That's all I can ask for at this point. we are down to the final 16 teams in the FCS...I'm not going to write off any of them...

Ok...one time...I stand corrected. I'm all for having high expectations...but I'm not going to call any FCS playoff game a cakewalk...especially when we are making our first ever appearance. Richmond is a good team and their young QB is talented...they will be a tough out for us...as will any team we play from here on out...

Why would any UND fan even want to participate there? NDSU folks hijack any conversation that mentions UND before we even get a chance to see it. Most AGS'ers have a toxic view of UND purely because of the narrative that NDSU rubes push over there...I guess that's what happens when tractors drive themselves and the farm folk have extra time on their hands...hahaha