AJS

As impressive as MO State's 43 points were, they also lost by a 29 point differential. Mo State might have a slight edge in offense, but I don't think by much. UND will have a better defense, as I stated in the prediction thread, think Vegas is close w/ UND as 11.5 point favorites. I see between a 10 / 14 point win.

-11.5 then, UND is 11.5 point favorites, sorry for the confusion.

+11.5

UND 38 Mo ST 27 Trust Vegas on this one.

I got ya, that was a given in my book. Same old same old from other schools fans.

I think scoring 43 points on Missouri kind of put that to rest. I'm much more nervous about this game, then I would have been a week ago.

Not really sure what @Bison06 said that fired everyone up, this board can be weird sometimes. Looks like outside of Frazier (backup TE), MSU will have everyone available this Saturday. I read earlier Larson could be available for USD, any chance it's this weekend? Is he back practicing. Also, outside of Norberg, any other injuries to note?

A couple things that will be very important on Saturday. No big plays -- Missouri State scored on on a 75 yard run and 89 yard pass (that was 3rd down and long) FG's not TD's in the red zone, MSU was 3-3 in the red zone scoring touch downs every time 43 points against a P5 team is impressive, but knowing those two things above, make me feel better heading into this game.

Like you said, must win. Putting up 43 points against a P5 team is really impressive and should definitely grab everyone's attention. They didn't seem to do anything flashy, but really moved the ball well. All eyes on UND's defense, I think the offense will be able to put up some points, going to need the D to slow down MSU. Like ND1 mentioned, they seemed to be a bit beat up after the Mizzou. Malik Earl (WR) and Jordan Frazier (TE) didn't play in the 4th quarter. Looks like Frazier is out 6 weeks, no further information on Earl. For those who want to see Missouri State / Missouri:

Kind of reiterating things I already touched on, but what was really exciting is the things UND did well last night (Secondary, Special Teams), were question marks some had going into the year. Where UND struggled (Line play), were areas I really have no concerns when playing FCS level competition. UND will be able to run against anyone remaining on their schedule, will also be able to stop the run against anyone on their schedule.

I was thinking about this payday game against Utah and next year against Washington, both solid P5 schools. If you did the scheduling, would you go after these type of games to open up the year, or try to find MAC / Mountain West teams and end up collecting 100 / 150K less? Is UND better off from strictly a learning experience (playing in a tough atmosphere, elite talent), that it's worth it? Personally, I'd rather have them schedule BGSU, where there's a real chance of an upset and still collect a check, then playing at Utah. I'm probably in the minority though.

Another positive is I thought the secondary played pretty well, no big plays, kept the receivers in front of them. Did anyone notice if Stewart came back after the big hit?

I wouldn't say a family of 5 is unique, but you seem to be fixated on the fact that you have to buy 5 tickets. $500 is out of most peoples range, but I would say $250 before concessions, ect, would also be a pretty expensive night. Would you have a different outlook if you only had to buy 2 tickets? My point will always be they sold out, so you're right, many people were probably priced out, but luckily the arena only holds 11,600 people who made it work.

Watch last years Northern Arizona game to answer your question.

So, you should take priority over the other 11,600 fans who spent $99 for the series? So they charge $50 for the game and you still can't get tickets, what is your next complaint? I get it, you want to go to the game for cheap, who doesn't, it's not reality and based on it being a sell out, would be pretty foolish for the University to not charge a fair market value. I

They lost by 21 points on the road to a legitimate P5 team and I see nothing but positives. Of course, improvements have to be made, but UND looked like the belonged for large portions of the game. If you look at this team and compare it to last year, I don't think it's even close. They couldn't run the ball tonight, but that was basically a given against this front 7. Even with that, the offense was at a completely different level than it was at Stony Brook. This team lines up against Stony Brook and they win easily. They would have won against BGSU too. They faced the best they'll face all year and stayed relatively healthy. I was really impressed with Studsrud, think he played fantastic. We know what this D-line can do and I liked the play of the linebackers, as well as the secondary, no big plays. Excited for the rest of the year. Also, #4 was great, nailed all his field goals, having him confident will go along ways.

Correct, I clicked on the sports package add on(shows Pac 12 as one of the channels), when signing up for the free trial. That's the way to go.

Thanks for getting this set up!

Although I don't think UND will win, I follow this same logic that if UND is actually a Top 10 team, I think they keep it within 14. Not saying Utah isn't more talented, but they have a lot of new players, along with a brand new offense. UND comes with their best offense they've ever had (veteran unit), some questions on defense, but still a lot of talent. I'll be very surprised & disappointed if they don't cover. Along with Utah having a lot of new starters, if you've followed the last couple years, Utah hasn't struggled, but hasn't really smoked any of their FCS opponents (24-0 against SUU last year). I think it's only natural when you're in the P5 to sort of overlook an FCS opponent or like BYU last Saturday, play a real vanilla game, not wanting to give too much away. My prediction: 27-24 Utah

2 Deep break down by class: UND Offense Starters SR 5 JR 4 SO 3 FR 0 Back Ups SR 2 JR 3 SO 3 FR 4 UND Defense Starters SR 5 JR 3 SO 3 FR 0 Back Ups SR 1 JR 4 SO 2 FR 5

I would say $200 per ticket for lower, $150 for upper. I think they nailed the pricing for this ticket. Personally, I wouldn't spend over $120 per ticket, but would buy them at $100 per.

I do think the increased expectations have really magnified the injuries that have taken place this season, which I do agree aren't that different than most years. What's pretty amazing is where this program is at. Depth is the name of the game, I realize that, but we aren't worried about the starting 11 that will be trotting out their next Thursday, but depth issues at certain positions. This program has come along way, when you look at this team as a whole and you can really only point to two position groups (S & ILB) on the entire team where there are really any worries about depth. Rereading Craig's article, it appears Larson is still very much in the discussion this year, just not Game 1. I don't think the moves today create any big waves for the year. You'd like to keep the RS on Shannon, but it happens. Turner will now supply depth at LB and not Safety (would still like to see him at Safety one day), as they wait for Larson to get healthy. Then Disterhaupt can move back outside.

Agreed, I'm a firm believer that unless the person is going to start or brings something to the table the unit doesn't have (Izzy's case being able to spread the defense), the player should redshirt. I don't think the coaching staff pulls his shirt if he's comparable to others that are fighting for the backup spot. Both good and bad, you'd hope that Canady would be the guy, but if Shannon is, so be it. Noah Larson's current injury sure looks like it's shaking up the defense big time, with Turner coming back to the LB position, forcing Shannon to lose his redshirt.

I believe Parise's recruiting trip was during the opening night of the new Ralph.

That's good news, just being a parrot of the podcast, but Larson needs to be one of the guys on the inside this year. Sounds like the coaches really want Disterhaupt on the outside. Utah can't come soon enough. Coming into Fall camp I was skeptical of two positions, LB & Safety. Feel better about LB with the emergence of Hass to go along w/ Rodgers, Disterhaupt, Lawrence as well as Larson. All eyes are on the Safety position.