Longtime fan

-No lapses on special teams. Very crucial -protect the gut on D ...make them pass. 100% faith in unds secondary . - if und ends up having to be pass happy .....even if it’s only for a yard gain ....completion is a must. Keep the clock moving.

No

I hear yeah. If they had Tom Brady and the NE o line they would cover the 31 points. They are only ndsu. ....no way in hell they cover. They might beat und but never by 31.

Und isn’t playing Clemson or Alabama. Und easily covers spread.

Und wins. Ndsu is a fcs team. Same level. Too many people acting they’re like they unbeatable. F@&$ the bison .

Last I checked ...ndsu wasn’t an nfl team. They can be beat like any other other fcs tam. Can’t wait!!

Doubt it.

It was bad. Usually is. Just need to make the best of it. They need a full two or three sections (students section) dedicated to general seating. Too many people are separated from tailgate to game. Keep them together

Und has some wheels on D. Excited to see what expires.

Lol. Zim was inserted and all that went to way side. They were a tough nut to crack until then.

Zim!

Maybe. We will see next weekend.

Ndsu will be licking their chops watching this game.

Not overly impressed. Drake has found a little “something “ in offense hitting unds gut. Unds offense is not quite what was expected. The crowd.....well. .....

Let’s hope that the ultra conservative bubba turned over a new leaf this year. Fingers crossed.

Doing a little research on the drake team ......they might a tough nut to crack. Experience everywhere ....8 senior starters on O, and 7 on D plus 8 returning all conf players and one first team fcs all American Thought und had big WRs. Their 3 starters are 6’5” 240 ( Chicago bears watching him) 6’4” 200 and 6’3” 225 ( all conf)...all seniors. Had a combined 21 tds amongst them. All but 1 OL are seniors. All over 290 pounds. Return top 3 rbs. Not sure on speed as I haven’t seen any footage but they did keep up with Iowa st.....so maybe not bad. True fresh QB could hurt them tho. They hang their hat on their D ( top 15 in nearly every statistical category) and they return four all conf players including an all American safety. Big boys too. The 2 DT are 280 and 275 pounds. All conf players. Their all American safety is 6’3” 205 and is a ball hawk If their front four can get push and with their safety play they will test unds passing game. ILB sen 6’1” 240 is all conf player that seems to do everything. They have an all conf punter as well Overall they are very similar to unds size if not bigger just no idea on skilled players talent. With their experience highly unlikely they will be rattled. They might even show up with some confidence rolled over from their last game against Iowa st . Und cannot be looking ahead to ndsu Take care of first game. Mentioned it before but I feel unds D will have no trouble protecting home field. It’s the unknown offense combined with their D that will be interesting to watch. And of course ST play nearly game day!!!!

Special teams is a major factor of this year. If they have improved significantly ....Unds potential is through the roof. The projected two deep roster on ST is not too promising though. Not a good way to start the year when they add “or” next to names as starters. And to have Wanzek back returning punts is just wrong. Griebel should man that spot! ...No questions. Maybe add in McKinney or fort occasionally but Wanzek with that large frame? Keep him fresh at WR. Sure hands only gets you possession....”jukers” get you home runs, field possession or momentum swings.

A good/great OC or DC can exploit the opposers in many ways. Rudy was out of date and clueless. Freund is a breath of fresh air to this program....even though it took bubba 4 years to recognize ....the rain cloud is gone. Something like you mentioned would of made Rudy’s head explode.

I could see jmu over mountaineers

Will be interesting how this game plays out. A lot of elements going on......first game of the year, new OC, an opposing team that plays good D...,etc. Not sure freund will show too much considering who the next opponent is. Play “simple “ , conservative maybe ? Score dictated of course. It would be great to see a blowout to prevent injury/s but would also be fun to watch und run up a score once. That would give the home crowd a ton of confidence heading into next week. Defensively, und will have no issues with their offense. Would like to think 47-7. But if they play conservative 31-14. 100% chance they're not losing. No injuries and kick their ass!!!

I believe they can hold their own against most teams. A team will like ndsu will more than likely give them fits. Ndsu qb is bigger and faster than most of the d line. But I hope they use their quickness to their advantage. Moore could be that interrupter kind. Extreme twitch. Not sure many 300 + lb lineman would be able to control him. But he is light and would only be good for a certain amount of reps. Bennett though....is the must stay healthy player on the team. If he goes down then its a different story. Currently Devore and Pierre are out hoping it’s a short time.

One of the big differences to this years D to years past will be the talent and talent/depth at the CB position. They are put on island quite often with how aggressive und attacks the edges up front leaving the safeties having to eye the middle .....10000% confidence und can go three deep and not see a drop off. Sam fort is the difference maker imo. The dude is legit and great size. I’m venturing to 1st team freshman all American. Hopefully that will translate to an even more extreme aggressive front 7 knowing they now they are backed up. The “smaller” young DL could exploit certain teams with their speed rather than relying on strength. Unknown but exciting times.

With bubba ball you know what you’re going to get from the beginning of the game ....no sway. He’s hitched to conservative. No element of surprise or no attempt to gain momentum. Run out the clock and call it good I stated two years ago when he hadn’t rid of Rudy yet ....I lost a lot faith in bubba. He needs to prove himself this year. Can’t have another decade of this. I am too engrained into this program not to care. Still excited for the year as I have been for the last 50. I have no doubt they can win 8-9 games just from what I have seen at the 5-6 practices I’ve attended. Just need to do it.

Agreed on all aspects. I think more than anything .... Bubba needs to prove his weight this year. Not sure how many coaches last 6 years with a .500 record? He has some upsides.....he is the biggest fan of und football, great promoter for the program and is truly a stand up guy. I would love nothing more than for him to succeed and be the coach of und until he retires. However ....his ultra conservative game plan, offensively and special teams speaking, has to be predictable for the opposing coaches. Maybe freund will stray him from his tendencies? ST though? But more than anything it’s the lack of in game adjustments across the board . Only when it’s too late does he try something “spicy” For those who were around for Lennon.....you always anticipated great things for the second half. More often than not his teams would be the ones to dictate the 2nd half. Whether they were behind or leading .....he coached up and adjusted accordingly. He would also throw in an occasional fake on special teams. Novel idea! That just never happens now. Special teams, IMO, is the biggest momentum swinger on the field. So many ways to catch the opposing team off guard and exploit the unexpected if properly executed. Especially if the offense is unable to anything as was the case for many years. It also shows the players you have faith in the them. There is talent on this team. There is experience on this team. There is a new OC on this team. There is a new OL coach and direction on this team. No better way to shut me up than to beat a handful of top 10 teams.

Yeah if he can add the lbs to his already athletic abilities.... the skies the limit. His hudl tape is fun to watch.