AJS

This is a genuine question that I don't know the answer to. Why didn't UND make adjustments earlier in the game on the defensive side? It was night and day better in the 2nd half, but why not make them earlier? Is there just not enough time when the offense is on the field to get it figured out?

This. I think the 2015 team was the best Bubba has had, better than the 9-2 team the next year. They were firing at the end of the year.

Sitting at 2-2 going into week 5, the season isn't over, but there is also no room for error. I want this team to treat the rest of the year like every game's a playoff game. Just win, starting next week at NoCO.

We'll see how I feel in a couple days, but this loss feels different than any other one during the Bubba era. I always was able to find an excuse in the past (they are building, injuries), but the go to excuses aren't there. Bubba and the team again had a real opportunity to really grab the momentum this program had after last week and again, weren't able to. It being Homecoming really hurts. I don't know if there's any coming back from this one.

Really like this one, if this happens, the corner will have been officially turned.

First off, I do think Idaho State has a quality team, that being said is UND a good team or not? UND 31-17 Two years ago, the defense was very opportunistic, made tons of big plays, but they were terrible at covering the quick pass play. Starting last week, I'm starting to become very confident in this secondary. We'll see how it plays out, but I really like this group.

Love to hear things like this, I go back and forth with wanting / not wanting a red shirt pulled. Personally, there needs to be two things (1) Significant playing time (2) Significant upgrade over another option. Like everyone else I love the new four game rule, I hope he sees time in four games and they keep his red shirt. The ship has sailed with Maag, Odom and Waltetzko, but with Waltetzko, I'm hoping for more time from Russo and possibly keeping his shirt intact (now that he's injured until after the bye). I know that's a long shot, but anyone who can play well his true freshman year and is a borderline starter, you know he'd be a monster his 5th year.

That was my reasoning, especially when you look at CC, I looked at a team like SCSU two years ago, finished tied with UND in points (or maybe one point behind), returned everyone the next year and they finished first.

My prediction would be: 1. St. Cloud 2. Western Michigan 3. CC 4. Duluth 5. UND 6. Denver 7. UNO 8. Miami Side note: The NCHC is going to be strong again this year

Without looking at her reasoning, I think she has UND in the correct place. Not saying they'll finish 5th, but I could see that. Her having CC last though is as preposterous as it gets. They lose nobody to graduation and swap low end players for a pretty good recruiting class and she has them worse than the year before? Also, Western Michigan would have finished in the Top 4 without injuries last year and bring everyone back as well. Teams she has too high -- Denver and Omaha, too low, CC & Western. Edit: Also, Miami will finish last, that you can bank on.

There's about 780 (not counting tickets Idaho State doesn't use) tickets left in the non-end zone sections.

For the most part, this is still what it looks like. Since there's always a decent walk up crowd if they can sell about 200 / 250 today and tomorrow, they should be in business. That would help clean up a lot of the tickets left that aren't in the four end zone sections.

Jade Lawrence was in the two-deep last week as well. I've learned not to put a ton of stock in the 2-deep when it comes to injuries, as it really only tells us if someone will be out for a significant amount of time (see Zeke & Waletzko). Mortel was listed as starter at LT on last weeks 2-deep as well, but we all know he wasn't available to play. Good news is anyone you see on the 2-deep even if kept out, it shouldn't be a significant injury.

Ultimately not a big deal at all, but why is it Wednesday and we still don't have the game notes for this weekend? Have they ever not had it out by Tuesday?

Yes. This week is so important to not only win, but show that they have truly "arrived" in the FCS playoff conversation. With that to take the second half of your first sentence, start winning with a sense of dominance. This is a game that a true Top 20 team shouldn't have a problem with at home. Is UND at that point? We'll see on Saturday.

What I hope for this weekend: Offensively Continue to build, last week they did play well for about 3 and a half quarters, but were completely stuck for the other quarter and a half. 24 points was barely enough last week, but we need to see them continuously get into the low 30s. Any idea how Mortel's injury is? This year the offensive line has actually played pretty well, especially given expectations, but they are very thin with Waletzko out and possibly Mortel again. Is there an "8th" guy who will be able to step in and play reasonably well if there's another injury? At the very least you'd hope to have 8 guys who are ready to contribute. Defensively Do your thing, this is an exciting group to watch. It was really fun watching the secondary taking a huge step last week. Special Teams They need to play sound, a punt blocked cannot happen. They were very lucky that didn't cost them the game. Most importantly though I was excited to see Leach nail his kick. The last two have been short, but it's nice to see him turning the corner. Potato Bowl / Homecoming with what will be a big and energized crowd. It's been mentioned, but it's important that they play well. Need the win at home. Idaho State seems to have a quality team this year, but UND is the better team. Hoping for an injury free game, UND to score more points than last week and give us less.

Who played on the O-Line yesterday? I know Mortel was hurt, did Tobin play?

Listening to that, there's no way UND can compete. I'm just trying to figure out how Prarie View was able to stay within 10 of SH in the first game.

This is the only tidbit from UND360 today. There is a chance that Matt Waletzko gets his first start this weekend at RT. We will have the full Who’s In/Who’s Out on the Tailgate Show starting at 4pm on Saturday. Waletzko was one of the players listed on the Sept. 11th update. Not sure if Helgren is knicked up or if Waletzko has passed him on the depth chart. Miller said that Oliviera practiced yesterday so I'm sure he'll be ready to go (along with him testing it a few plays against Washington). Right now, I think we have questions on the following: Offensively: Questionsable: Tobin Unlikely: Nyuon, Greibel (both haven't played a game yet) Defensively: Questionable: Larson, Tank, Lawrence, Nelson, Ommerman (final 3 haven't played yet this year) Unlikely: Gordon (Hasn't played this year) If you look at the Washington game, I believe the only two that played last week that are questionable this week are Tobin / Larson. Tank played week 1, but not week 2. Those three are such key pieces, but given the others haven't played this year and it sounds like Nelson, Lawrence & possibly Ommerman could be ready to go, although not ideal, the injury situation isn't really that bad. Sept 11th report: No major injuries to report from the Washington game that we know of. However, knicks and bruises have piled up a bit. Concerned about Ryan Tobin’s availability at LG this week. Matt Waletzko injured his hand as well. Might be some shuffling this week up front. On defense, hoping to get Lenny Nelson back this week. Tank Harris is still a question mark at this point. Our biggest concern is the availability of LB Noah Larson, who played extremely well until he left the game in the 3rd quarter and did not return. We believe his is a leg injury. We have heard there is a chance that safety Chivaldo Van Ommeren will be cleared this week and could travel to SHSU.

http://www.gobearkats.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=19900&ATCLID=211771650 Some interesting notes from Sam Houston's 42-32 victory in week one. Sam Houston took full advantage of the Panthers’ mistakes on Saturday, forcing 3 turnovers and having 4 drives start inside Prairie View territory. The Kats converted each of those 4 drives into points, scoring touchdowns three times and kicking a field goal on the final play of the first half after a botched PV punt gave the Kats the ball on the 2-yard line with only 2 seconds left in the half. The Kats held the Panthers to just 1 of 14 conversions on third down. That is in line with last year when SHSU was ranked in the top 20 of the FCS, allowing just 32.9 percent of its opponents’ third-down tries to be converted. Easier said than done obviously, but if UND can (1) Keep turnovers limited (2) Convert on 3rd down, that will go a long way on Saturday. Based on those two notes above, it's pretty shocking it was only a 10 point game. Edit: Just watched the breakdown video they have on their site and 2 of the turnovers were caused by terrible special teams plays by Prarie View. The first one, the snap sailed over the punters head which gave the Kats the ball at the five yard line (scored TD). The second the punter didn't field the ball and fumbled it giving the Kats the ball inside the 5 with 2 seconds left in the half (FG).

I hope the answer is no and I'm sure nobody knows, but there's not UND fans that go on NDSU opponents boards and spam them with comments, right? I can't get over that those two are on a SHSU board this week.

Not being sarcastic, seem like a good group. http://www.katfans.com/katsforum/

Based strictly on different teams message boards I've read over the years, but Sam Houston seems to have the most level headed, down to earth fan base.

Before the year started, when I made predictions this was one of two games (along with Washington), where I felt UND didn't have a chance. After watching UND's first two games, I believe this is a true coin flip type game and one that UND absolutely can win. The reasons I'm optimistic is UND has a very good FCS front 7, I don't believe that SHSU will be able to do much on the ground at all. UND's secondary is the weak link, but they took a giant step from 1st half Game one to 2nd half game one and into game two. They may be the weak link on this defense, but as an FCS unit, I think they are average (with the ability to be above average as they continue to gel). Overall, I really do like UND defensively. Offensively, the O-Line has held their own and UND should be able to get the ground game going. As disappointing as 8 was against Washington, hopefully that was a good learning experience for him. SHSU isn't Washington, UND will have more success through the air. The offense which will obviously be better this week, will in turn keep the defense more rested, so they won't wear down like they did in the 4th against Washington. If this team can put it all together (which they haven't yet this year), they will win on Saturday. This is such a big game, not only for the season, but overall for this football program in general. The big talker today as it should be is injuries. Does this look correct, these are guys either reported by UND360, limited last week, were hurt or didn't play. Should be good to go Oliveira Blubaugh Probable Lenny Nelson Lawrence Questionable Larson Harris (DT) Tobin Waletzko Won't Play Nyguin Gordon Greibel At a minimum UND needs all the 'should be good' and 'probably' guys to be ready to go along with at least one of the guys listed as 'questionable'. As good and important as Harris / Larson are, the depth is definitely better with those two positions than it is on the O-line. Anyone I'm missing? Anyone that should be moved to another category? When you look break it down like this, knowing they aren't any long term injuries, the situation although far from ideal isn't actually that bad. That's assuming the Top 4 are ready to go (especially Oliverira and Blubaugh).

What was the injury situation? I know Larson / Blubaugh were both dinged up, but hopefully nothing too serious.