AJS

Feel differently after giving it another day. The final score wasn’t indicative of the game. Two one play 50+ yard touchdowns. The other 4 plays 70 yards. That was 21 of the last 28 points for USU. It was a game for 3 quarters. Disappointing, but the talent is still there. See where they are in the polls and hit the reset button. Huge opportunity in three weeks.

I still cannot believe how bad UND was defensively. For me this was without a doubt the most embarrassing FBS game they’ve played. There’s no bigger guarantee in sports than UND in a prime time game being about 10 points worse than your nightmare scenario.

0% chance

Yep. Will never happen.

Every single aspect is pathetic

This is embarrassing.

Saw this coming a mile away, wow is this bad.

24 had a really bad first half

Re Particpation Chart: Thought it was interesting looking mostly for True Freshman (McNeal only one listed). I'd also take that with a large grain of salt, since most of the O-Line that definitely played is not listed.

I really hope they prove me wrong, but until they do, I'm guessing it'll play out like a movie we've all seen before. "Prime time" games is that next step this program has to take and they have completely underwhelmed on the road in them. USU - 34 UND - 17

Short week for both teams. Outside of an unforseen issue (ex: 2019 Idaho State), when you're chartering a flight, I would think travel would be a relatively non-issue. When you look at when USU played, UND coaches / players were already back and GF and could have watched the end of USU / WSU game live. Easier to play at home, no doubt, but I just hope I don't hear the back to back road games angle.

UND as a program has really taken some steps since last Spring to solidify at least how I feel about certain games. Feel they can play with anyone at home, feel confident with them on the road against lesser programs. Depth is better than it's ever been. More consistent. I do feel they've turned the corner. The last and most difficult hurdle is the "prime time" games. FBS / NDSU / JMU's of the world. USU seems like a quality team G5 team. They'll really hate to hear this, but I would think it'd be fair to put them on the NDSU / JMU type of level. My question is can they take the next step and be competitive? I know they have in previous G5 games, so maybe I'm not giving UND enough credit. That P5 win by USU was impressive, so I'm not putting them in the upper echelon of the G5 and not the bottom (i.e. Bowling Green). I don't know what to expect. This is a "prime time" game. I just hope they play to their ability. The direction and momentum this team has right now, if they somehow pull off a Win, that would do wonders to solidify this program in the FCS ranks. I guess we'll see on Friday night.

MVFC Non-Schedule: Youngstown / SIU with wins over Incarnate Word / SEMO WIU loses to MAC school Ball State Very successful Thursday night. Keep racking up those FCS vs FCS Non-Conference wins MVFC!

Looking at ISU's 2-Deep, which mirrors their Spring closely I believe, man are they young.

Based on what I've seen, no, it doesn't necessarily mean that. Look no further than Canady being on the playoff 2-Deep last Fall.

I commented on that as well. I would think it's as simple as Canady was not on the original Fall 2-Deep coming off injury. If he's back, clearly he's starting. Then it comes down to Galvin (3 Year Starter), Kauppinen (Starter when Canady was out), Coley (2-Deep all Spring), all having experience over Fort (to my knowledge never played Safety at the college level). I'm sure he'll play. A position where the 2-Deep could be fluid during the year.

Quick 2 Deep thoughts / concerns / questions, things I'm keeping an eye on. Belquist / Boltmann listed as back ups. We'll see if I'm reading too much into that. Will they play as the would regularly (not coming off injuries)? Pierre as backup NG. Undersized, potentially running into the same problem as Spring with size of NG. How much will Beach play on Saturday? Fort. Going from 2 Deep as a CB to Off it as a Safety. Will watch how that situation progresses. For those three bullets, it also says something about the depth this team has. That there are really good players that are not on the 2-Deep. It will be interesting to see how Canady, Boltmann, Belquist look.

Two-Deep and game notes should be out today. To me this game will answer a very simple question. Is UND a true Top 10 team? If they are, they win this game. Idaho State should be an average FCS team, maybe slightly above average. @siouxfan512 posted a pretty informative article from a Nevada publication (who ISU plays Week 2), that gave a pretty solid breakdown of what to expect. The highlights being a good passing attack, below average rushing attack, overall a pretty average defense. They really struggled getting pressure on the QB this past spring. I do know they were young and return almost everybody, which will be a theme for almost every team this Fall. I'm in the boat that UND has fully turned the corner as a program. I think UND has a chance to be really good defensively. Offensively, they have so many weapons. Almost, as important, I have so much faith that Danny / Joe will be able to get the O-line up and running out of the gate. Notes: Izzo reported that both Belquist and Boltmann are scheduled to play this week. If fully healthy (which I'd imagine they would be if they play), what a difference that makes. Will be interesting to see what kind of injuries were sustained during Fall camp. I'm buying into this game can't make the season, but it can break it. Must win.

Completely changes this team offensively. Who usually starts the individual game thread? Time to get the non-score prediction one going.

I actually love that this was scheduled, regardless of past outcomes. Home / Home with an average FCS program. ISU returns a lot from Spring where outside of the 1st game they played everyone close. This isn't an insult, I think they'll be Ok, average FCS team. I'm all in on UND turning the corner. IF they are a Top 10 team they win this game. I think the spread is fair. UND 27-17

The mwwire article was very informative. Lines up with the very little information you can gather from their message board. Very strong passing attack, mediocre to weak run game. Average sounding defense. Outside of their first game, they played every other game tight. Like most teams, they return most of their roster from Spring ball and they appeared to be pretty young as well. Ultimately, I would say they are an average (or slightly above average) FCS team.

I'm guessing those are the official numbers. Those are released in September.

Do they scale back Fall Camp practices after the scrimmage? More me looking for content, but disappointing that Miller isn't doing his daily updates anymore.