Sitting at 5-3. A little review / takeaways of the season so far. Also if und goes 2-1 over the last three games to end up on the bubble at 7-4 how would the committee critique or breakdown unds schedule:
Drake- Win. (1-0) Und did exactly what they had to do. The committee could potentially take notice of this victory if drake wins the pioneer thus earning a playoff spot. If they don’t... this game was simply an expected W
#1 ndsu- loss. (1-1). Und showed they haven’t closed the gap since the last time they played. Ndsu will be undefeated and continues its sickening run. Committee expected this loss.
#22 Sam. Win (2-1) currently a decent win. First half was great ...second half was not. If sam wins out they could sneak into the playoffs which should help unds resume. They're currently at 5-4 overall 4-4 vs d1. Guesstimate 7-5 or 8-4 finish. Two gimme games left and one that might be competitive. 8-4 they are in...7-5 they would be out
#21 EWU Loss (2-2) EWU is an average team at best. They can and have been exposed in so many ways. They have two d1 wins and und is one of them. N Colo being the other. 2-5 d1 record. Currently this is a bad loss. They end the season with three cupcakes and one decent team. Running the table puts them at 7-5 overall ....6-5 vs d1. Lose one more they are mathematically out. Not a playoff worthy team. Und would be their only “notable” win. Hard to know if the committee would consider this is a bad loss as its been noted over and over again that the name on your jersey is a major decision maker ....and EWU wears one of those jerseys.
#12 UC Davis Win (3-2). Was not impressed with Davis. This game should of never come down to a last minute FG. Looking like the playoffs are off the table for Davis. Currently they are 4-5 looking to finish 5-7 maybe 6-6. Could be considered a good win in the committees eyes as they were highly ranked early on when und played them?
Idaho st - loss (3-3). Perhaps unds most embarrassing loss ever. A bad idaho st team did whatever they pleased. 600+ yards of offense. Idaho st is 2-5 vs d1. They looked like they were playing a naia team. Und was never in the game. Massive consequences. Committee might have a little laugh with this one. This was not just a loss it was an embarrassment.
cal poly- win. (4-3). Cal poly is not a good team, 2-6, and it took a mini miracle to bring home a victory. Unimpressive game. The committee sees a W.
# 9 Montana St. Win. (5-3). As it currently stands Montana st is the one win that the committee will notice. Second week in in a row that a mini miracle was needed. Unds depleted D line stood up to the challenge and the ST ended up being an asset and for the most part won the game for und. Montana st hasn’t exactly been lighting it up the last three weeks. Und would love for Montana st to finish the season strong
Games yet to be played :
Weber. Their front 4 on D is extremely stout. Secondary took a hit from the last couple years. Not an overly impressive offense but effective. That Davis kid could run all over und. Loss (5-4)
S Utah/ N Colo. bad bad teams. Expecting wins that don’t require last second miracles. (7-4)
Before the season most had thought EWU and Davis would be strong teams. Highly unlikely either will be playoff bound. Und currently has played two teams projected for the playoff field and are 1-1 vs those two. Weber is there last chance to impress. Und has one absolutely horrible loss. Unds last four victories have come by 4,4,4 and 2. They could easily be 1-7. There is a lot of fcs football yet to be played but if things go as they should one would think though that a 7-4 record gets them dancing
Grades:
offense- “C”
The talent level is missing. Danny has added some new life and wrinkles to the blah that was before. He just doesn’t have the weapons that’s needed for his style of OC calling. I still question why they don’t speed up the tempo on occasion. It had caught the opposing defenses off guard when they implemented it games past. Run game is miserable. The offense is very hit and miss. Its like the offense is either hitting on all cylinders or hitting on none
defense “C”
Montana st was a good/great game for the defense. But the run D has been bad. 5 of 8 games the opposing offenses have gained 200+ yards on the ground. Pass D has been fairly decent. Injuries are adding up
ST “ D”
getting better and basically won the game last week but still has a long ways to go
Coaching “D”
I truly feel und is lucky to be 5-3. They are less than a hand full of plays away from being 1-7. They are losing at most statistical categories including the points per game, the yardage game, turnover battle, anything ST related...etc and yet are above .500. My thoughts on the coaching have been out there all year. Talent needs to be upgraded.
Making the playoffs would be great for fan moral but more importantly recruiting. Hoping for a 3-0 finish. Firmly believe a 2-1 is more realistic.
