iramurphy

Defense didn't relax. Long pass to Hardin had defender with him and TD to Hardin was also decent coverage. Receiver and QB made great throw and catch. Defensive pressure on QB still there, Mollberg did better job of avoiding it. I dont think any coach would go into prevent when opposition has ball down by 21 in mid third quarter. SDSU didn't.

I don't think you understand the pressure he was under. If he fails, he is likely relegated to the number 2 spot unless Bartels gets hurt. He had everything to lose and everything to gain. Don't forget he completed 6 of 7 last week and the incompletion was one where the receiver fell. He is 21 of 30 for over 300 yds and 2 tds. He led 3 scoring drives under lots of pressure. I don't thnk it was the 2 dropped passes, the reason Bartels started was cuz his completion record in practice was a little better and Muss thought he reacted to his mistakes better than Joe. If Bartels didn't miss a wide open Hardin, and cough the ball up and make a poor decision when he could have run or thrown to an open receiver on a third down or get sacked by not being mobile enough then we wouldn't be talking about this. Under game conditions with pressure so far I will take Mollberg. He earned a shot. IF you are going to let Bartels take the job from Mollberg with a little better performance in practice then to be fair Mollberg has earned the number one spot back with a better performance in the game.

What you saw Sat is what Mollberg brings to the table. He is a gunslinger who has a cannon of an arm. He threw the ball effortlessly to Hardin 60 yds in the air. He may have made a poor decision as he admitted on his last play but then he also may have made poor decisions to throw the long ball to Hardin or the TD to Hardin or the cross filed pass t Golladay as he was getting tackled. He moves better in the pocket and helps his O-linemen by moving within the pocket. Bartels doesn't do that as well. Mollberg's int wasn't a terrible throw like Bartles int was it was a gunslinger trying to make a play and win a game. Brett Farve and Terry Bradshaw were two guys who were similarly criticized early in their careers. He was the better QB and has earned a chance to start against Montana.

Coaches had a good game plan. Got beat physically up front. Wasted 2 TO's in second half not getting the plays in and I would have gone to no huddle sooner. Too many penalties. This thread needs to wait until end of season. We could have won this game. Kids were put in a position to win and that is what the coaches need to do. IF we improve each week then we don't need a change. Bringing back Dale and Bubba aren't the answer. Beating Montana is.

After watching last weeks game, I think Jacks will be able to run and unless we get some sort of pressure they will also throw. I know we didnt' show much last week, but we only sacked the Valpo kid once. Even playing base stuff our kids need to do better than that. Alsowe need to clean up the missed arm tackles. I think we should be able to throw on anyone. It will be interesting to see if we can run. If Bartels struggles and they don't go to Mollberg early, it will be a long season. If Miller struggles and they don't get anyone else in, it will be a long season. I liked what Sparks did last week and the only time we saw him last year. Granted they weren't good teams and it was second half but he still showed great quickenss and broke tackles. Shaugaby didn't get many carries other than goaline and we need to see more of him so we know what these other guys can do. I think we will need to score 40 or more to be in it but if we can play defense we can win this. One of our staring LBS went down. Labatt is supposed to play this game and I have been anxious t see him at this level. No excuses for crowd less than 12,000. Night game and great matchup.

Come on. He brings up a good point and he got a couple of good responses. Yours wasn't one of the good responses. These forums should not be for a small group of guys drinking the same kool-aid. I am not convinced we have been good enough defensively to predict a 50 point blow-out. Hopefully we are that much better. We certainly didn't do that to Drake. This game should give our team an opportunity to play against someone else and at least see some of our new guys in a game situation. We need to develop and get better each game. We should win this and we should see an improvement from last year. Point spread isn't as important.

If UND wants to establish the run, I am surprised they are starting Bartels. Mollberg gives them a run option to go along with his strong arm. Don't forget this competition was so close no one knew until just now who would start. That close competion was regarding the passing game and reading defenses, not the run game. Having said that I believe Bartels has earned the chance to start. If you don't give both guys playing time with the other starters in the first half, preferably the first quarter, you are not very smart. The competion between these two might last through next spring ball then the number two guy will likely leave. Neither of these guys are going to wait for an injury or be satisfied with mop up duty and they shouldn't. They are both too good to sit on someone's bench. Right now they both have a great attitude and want to win and will do whatever it takes to help the team so it is a moot point what happens until the end of the season as long as we are winning and scoring points. With the competition this close, if one falters the other needs to be in there. I prefer a "gamer" and sometimes you don't see all of that until game time. Might be both of them. We also need to do a better job of getting our RB's playing time. Miller, Garmin, Shaugaby, and Sparks need to play and not just short yardage.

Most incoming freshmen expect to be redshirted. Depends on the kid if they think they can play right away.

I would not pull the redshirt on a freshman receiver this year unless it is the only way to keep the kid here. We made that mistake pulling Golladay's redshirt last year. Miller's freshman year was wasted and he should have been redshirted. when we had no chance to make the playoffs that year. Carr may be good enough to play but we have 5 excellent receivers that collectively are probably the best we have ever had. They have earned playing time and we need to keep that year of eligibility for him. Bartels will start and he has had an excellent fall camp. I understand he has been more consistent and reading defenses better. Mollberg has a better upside and can make plays with his arm and his feet. Neither Bartels nor Mollberg will stay four years to be a backup and I don't blame either of them. They both need the opportyunity to play this year in games when they are with the starters and the game is on the line.If one out plays the other, then it is settled. Mollberg was the better QB in the spring game and the better athlete. Time will tell. I

Mollberg has a great arm and can make all of the throws. He is bigger, faster and more athletic. I believe Bartels is more the pro stye pocket passer of old, bright kid who is making good reads and has been a bit more consistent. Mollberg is more the athletic mutli dimensional QB we see emerging at the college and pro level the past few years. I am wondering if this is a reflection on the o-line and what we might expect in the run game or lack of run game. We have one of the most talented group of receivers that have seen at one time (if not the most talented). I would assume both of these guys will get ample playing time with the other starters. If not ,whomever isn't playing will be gone. I hope we don't see the same mistake we made when they left Reed Manke on the bench for a year and a half while Belmore struggled. Either way, we are fortunate to have at least 2 guys who can play and I believe both will work ttheir butts off to make us winners.

I believe Mussman will announce Bartels as starting QB. Must have played better this fall than last spring. I heard he has been more consistent in fall camp than Molberg. I don't believe either QB will stay in program if they are back-ups. If one emerges as clear starter, the other will likely leave at end of the year. Both are good enough to start. I think Molberg has the bigger upside. I don't believe either of these guys want to spend fours years as back-up. Hope our Freshmen QB's are good enough to play early.

Never suggested anyone can't discuss whatever they wish. Making a claim that "90% of N. Dak. kids would rather play football for " the AC right now is not based on fact but maybe your version of "penis envy". I deal with HS kids every week in nearby Mn. and this is not the case for our kids and I doubt for N. Dak. kids. There is nothing in my post hinting that the AC is no longer a rival nor a rival UND fans would have interest in. What they do with some kid who drinks too much and gets in fights, is irrelevant to our program. I believe the kid has some warning signs for an alcohol problem and I don't think ragging on the AC coaches about how they handle this makes a lick of difference for the " extremely ignorant" like me and many others. I don't find it helpful to keep comparing what I do or UND does with others. You may think that you are better than someone else or they are better than you based on their mistakes but that is a shallow way of going through life and I don't believe leads to success. If the AC falters the entertaining part is the fan reaction. I am more into building our program back up to where we dominate our sister school to the south, and become a national power at this level. There is nothing in my post that even hints UND and the AC have no connection. I just don't believe if they screw up we will win be a better team. I guess I am just not that bright.

Notre Dame is probably thinking the same thing. Let them changes theirs.

Who cares what they do with him? They do things differently at the AC. We need to take care of getting ready for the season. I won't feel any differently whether they suspend him or not. What he needs more than suspension is to realize he has had some alcohol related run -ins which can happen but if you have 2 or 3 then alcohol is interferring with your life and you may need to avoid it. If you can't get through life without alcohol then you have a problem. What difference does it make to us whether or not he plays? They aren't playing us.

Next to the railroad tracks, south of the Engineering building.

I heard he is gone. Anyone comfirm this???

Seems some folks lives revolve around comparing themselves to others, then thinking they must be better if they have some association with a team or person who has been successful. It is funny that there seem to be people who not only do that, but can't even use their own accomplishments as a basis for that comparison. The fact is, that the vast majority of UND students and Alumni are happy with our educational experience at UND and what we have been able to accomplish with that education. If we played a sport at UND while we were there, we had a great experience. What happens at the AC or Notre Dame or Stanford or Augustana etc. do not diminish our experience. There seem to be a lot of trolls who don't understand that the UND experience is a great experience for the vast majority of students and we would choose it again regardless of the accomplishments of our hockey teams, BB teams FB teams etc. There seem to be some UND fans who suffer from the same comparison issues but not many. UND FB will be a very successful FCS program and it will occur regardless of what happens with our old rivals. The opinion of those who have no knowledge, nor investment in the success of our programs is really irrelevant. It bothers the heck out of some folks that most of us don't seem to base our self evaluation and importance on our athletic teams. Doesn't mean we don't plan to win in all sports at all levels of competition it is just a different mind set for most of us.

Don't believe anything other than he may have been smarter than Espegard. He was arrogant and an egomaniac and had no leadership skills or qualities but I don't think he was dumb. Espegard has similar characteristics but I have never found evidence that he was any smarter than a box of rocks. Shirvani was intimidated by those who were smarter or more ethical. I believe that is why he wanted to get rid of the former legal counsel.

Interesting chat with some legal folks and a college official from N. Dak. over 4th. In addition to advising the SBoHE and Shirvani against violating the open meeting laws, the former legal counsel also advised against amending Shirvani's contract. His initial contract had been for only one year. We could have gotten rid of him at no cost based on the original contract. Shirvani insisted he had a 3 yr deal and the former legal counsel showed him it was only for one year. He told Shirvani he could not in good faith recommend a new contract after only a couple of months on the job that had already been controversial. He advised Espegard not to redo the contract for 3 years. Espegard and Shaft constructed a new 3 year deal against the advice of legal counsel resulting in the almost $1 million buyout for Shirvani last month. Likely a factor in Shirvani asking Espegard to buyout legal counsel and replace him with an attorney with no legal education experience. Espegard needs to resign and take repsonsibility for his role in this fiasco. Had I been that dumb, I would feel an obligation to write the check for the over $900,000 the state is paying for Shirvani to move on.

Time to dump this thread. Some may not know I am not an AC fan, and it is always entertaining to see the number of legal issues they have had there over the years. I think putting some dipwads picture with his weird story isn't necessary. The real stuff is enough fodder for laughs without having to embelish. The same folks at the AC respond about the FB or WBB championships they won (as if that has anything to do with the bloggers), and we tend to respond that we don't have legal problems here. We haven't had anywhere near as many problems here, but about the time we claim that, something usually bites us in the ass. One of Minnesota's most successful and respected HS FB coaches said after they won one of their 4 state championships in 4 years: "remember this doesn't mean you are better than anyone else". He recognized the importance of the role players, the backups, the support staff, the parents and the fact that they were blessed with opportunities and talents that some don't have. He reminded them that the hard work they put in would hold them in good stead the rest of their lives and to apply that discipline and hard work to whatever they endeavored to do. That is the essence of why we play these games. Times have changed and too many athletes, coaches and fans think winning a game makes them special or entitled. I hope as UND continues to improve and has future successes our teams and our fans can remember that message, regardless of our success. It might be a good time for some who think small college FB or even big time college hockey is that important, to read the letter Cliff Cushman sent to kids after he failed in his attempt to return to the Olympics to win a gold medal in 1964 after having won a silver in 1960. It was published in Sunday's Forum. Cliff later gave his life serving in Viet Nam as a pilot with the US Air Force.

I would never place Shirvani in the same grouping with a genious. I would agree he has no common sense and he lacks people skills and social awareness. He tried to use his position and education to intimidate and bully people. They got rid of him (sort of) but they paid too much and they didn't escort him out of his office immediately like they should have. Hard for me to understand how the SBoHE can be that dumb unless they are setting this up to destroy the sBoHE.

Hear what? That this guy was a complete idiot??? He has a recurrent pattern of verbal abuse of his staff in Colorado, California and here in N. Dak. He has had votes of no confidence at his job sites. He has been investigated by the Attorney Generals of California and North Dakota. In California they couldn't find enough evidence to prosecute him. He settled an unrelated harassment lawsuit out of court. In North dakota the Attorney General found that what he was told by his previous legal counsel was correct. He and the board were violating the open meeting laws. Which if any of his ideas had any merit? He did not involve North Dakota or area school districts in any type of constructive dialogue nor did he have any meaningful communication with his presidents before he came up with what he dictated the people of North Dakota should do with Higher Ed. This guy isn't just a dumb-ass he is an arrogant dumb-ass. What job at what level would he not have been fired??? Only the SBoHE. No where else in the country would they have bought him out and given him automatic raises each of the remaining years on his contract. No where else in the country would anyone have been dumb enough to have allowed him to stay in his office and create the damage he did this week with his so called evaluations. Anyone who doesn't think this was vindictive is not thinking clearly. The SBoHE needs a thorough cleansing. Any of these clowns who supported Shrivani should resign. They are an embarassment to the board and the State of North Dakota.

Game out east should be Army. Winnable game some years. UND played them tough in the 1930's when Glenn "Red" Jarret was All American RB and Army was always one of top teams in country winning multiple National Championships.. Should be able to give them something in Hockey to get something from them in FB, BB, VB, baseball etc. Would be great trip for our athletes. Stay at the Historic Thayer Hotel and tour campus play at Michie stadium. Schedule early in season and spend a time in New York before school starts.

At Kiwanis in DL yesterday noon one of the former AC All-Americans (who went on to a very successful career in the NFL) stated: "Beck picked a fight with this guy earlier and got his ass kicked. He then came back and kicked this guys ass". I wasn't at that table but I would have wanted to ask if the first fight was the same night as the second fight. Beck has a problem with alcohol. When one misses work, gets in fights, gets multiple DUI's etc those are red flags. He has 2 or 3 and should have a chemical/alcohol dependency eval and appropriate treatment. I would predict the judge will recommend that and anger management. You can't criticize Bohl on this he immediately suspended the kid. I am curious to know if our AC friend at kiwanis has this story correct. It used to be entertaining over the years to read about their repeated offenses because there is indeed a different culture at the AC with regards to athletics. These things do happen at both schools but I believe their lead in these problems are almost as lopsided as UND's lead over them in the FB series). This has become a reflection on their school but also on college athletics. Most people don't give a rats ass if you play for the AC, or UND for that matter. They don't want to be bothered by dumb asses who think they are heroes cuz some media folks or fans make them out to be. They can sit in a bar and some "jock sniffer" will buy them dirnks and remind them of some great play or hit during their storied careers. That makes them feel entitiled and important.They played FB and its a game. They aren't heroes. They didn't face bullets or IED's in the middle east or pull some kid out of a burning building. They act just a stupid as the dumb ass fans who want to hang out with them or be near them. Having said that this kid hasn't been convicted of anything. Give him his day in court. If the other guy picked the fight and attacked him first I would not suspend him from the team. He should be allowed to defend himself. You should avoid fights but if you fight you need to be willing to do whatever it takes to survive and that means putting the opponent down. You don't want to drill someone and start walking away and get knifed in the back. This kid is not a convicted felon he is accused of a felony. Criticize the AC for past issues, but they suspended the kid for what he is accused of and that is what UND would have done. Sometimes we later learn the rest of the story. This did not warrant the splash on the front page either. The administration at the AC and the media in Fargo need to realize that the improtant things in life are bigger than winning or losing college FB games. This kids offenses warranted a small report on the sports page or the city blotter.

Good job by Faison. These are the games we need to have on our schedule on a regualr basis if we are going to continue to recruit and compete at the highest FCS level. These games are attractive to recruits.