AJS

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.

Think they moved to ESPN+

True, but I'll wait and see how UND's numbers look. NDSU's numbers the drop was modest, some encouraging numbers for them (1st year students).

Wish we had a better sense for the injury situation as it pertained to who will be ready to go Week 1. Out: Mitchell Others: Holm Canady Belquist Lotysz Boltmann Anyone else I'm missing? Spring season into Fall was going to cause more issues, but that's a lot of talent that I listed.

Owens to USD. That's a tough recruiting loss. Location was going to play against UND, but still. If the other offers are USD and ID St, you need to win that one.

Re: Hegerle. Definitely third hand information, but I've heard UND has a real shot. Not predicting it, but they are in the mix. The speculation part now completely is he's clearly waiting / hoping to see some bigger offers. If the offers stand as they do today, I think they have as good of a shot as any.

Given the offers that are out right now, I don't actually hate the wait and see game. One thing over the years I've noticed is that UND tends to finish pretty strong on their recruiting classes. Hope that trend continues.

Do you buy into my thought process that the interior lineman are more interchangeable given their lack of experience.

I think it said not as serious as it was originally thought. I'm more going off of his interview with Izzo as well, my take-a-way was more that he wouldn't be ready to go in the immediate future. I don't know what that means though. Are we talking a week, two, three?

Still about 1200 remaining, almost all in one of the three corners.

This is starting to head down a direction I was hoping it wouldn't. Simply stating that the goal is 85%. Doesn't look like UND will hit that goal.

You never know, maybe most are waiting on an FDA approval, but my thought would be if they haven't by now, I don't think you'd see a significant jump anytime before the season. Hope I'm wrong.

From Miller's article yesterday, UND is currently at 65% Vaccination rate, expected to be at 70% by the weekend. Hitting that 85% before the Season starts isn't looking promising. They have to have some of the worst numbers in the MVFC.