bincitysioux

That is probably the best take on the sitution that I have heard................. NDSU and SDSU did go before the NCC and ask the conference to move up to DI en masse. But they had to know that only a handful of those members could realistcally even entertain the idea. However, I do think the fact that the success that North Dakota hockey had in the late 90's and early 2000's, the buzz around the construction of REA, and the fact that Sioux football and women's basketball had basically overtaken Fargo competetively in the state, and therefore overshadowed FU, played a small part in their decision. Outside of women's basketball, Fargo didn't do much from about 1992 until 2006, give or take. I think they felt the need to do something to create a buzz and get those Teamakers donations rolling in. It was a good move.

I would like to go. But I don't if I am comfortable contributing to Fargo's athletic department................................

Somewhat ironic that many Fargo fans were calling for Bohl's head after their first year in the Missouri Valley after their transition.........................

I'm fine with either guy, but IMO, the offense works better with Hendrickson. With Hendrickson, it seems to be more high risk, high reward................... With Hanson, you know you are going to get alot of 2 yard completions underneath with the hope that the receiver can do something with it.................

I was one who was pretty critical of Coach Kelling in the past because during the transition the pass defense was so horrible. At the same time I've praised Mannassau becasue the run defense has been so good. Well, I got my wish, and Kelling is gone, and now things are worse across the board, so who do I blame now? I've been disappointed by the relative lack of a pass rush for like 4 straight seasons now. As far as the secondary goes, there has been one guy that has started alot of games for UND that has been routinely burned by the opposition week in and week out, yet he continues to start. To me, that doesn't say alot about the guys that are backing him up........................... As far as I can tell, the two best players in the secondary, are the JUCO guys, Kennedy and Lewis............... I don't know if I buy into the idea that UND has neglected recruiting defense vs. offense in preparation for Big Sky play. Other than a few exceptions, most of the guys getting playing time on either side of the ball were recruited before the Big Sky invite.

I expect this game to play out alot like the Northern Arizona game. We will score alot, and they will score alot via big runs. Whoever creates more turnovers at the end of the game will probably be the winner. Braden Hanson is gonna get sacked at least 4 times. Hopefully he completes enough 2 yard passes to offset this. I don't expect UND to have a big day running the ball against the Griz, so the passing game going to have to click to keep it close. As far as attendance.....................I'll say 9,300 or so. If we can't crack 10,000 for Potato Bowl or Homecoming, no way will there be over 10,000 for this game.................

Yeah, yeah, we get it........................ you can't stand Mussman. Did I miss anything else?

You are right. Just looked it up. Last year, North Dakota gave up 83 rushing yards per game against DI schools. This year, they're giving up 263 yards per game on the ground to schools not named South Dakota School of Mines. So, what's the problem?......................

Those three teams must all have their own message boards..................

Unlike the linebackers and lineman.....................

I don't give my "game-day" attire much thought. Most of it has "Sioux" on it, but alot of it just says North Dakota. I'm not making a conscientious decision to wear one or the other............................... I make an effort to just refer to the teams as North Dakota, but I also continue to call them the Sioux quite often. I suspect I will continue to do so until I am informed that they are "officially" known as something other than North Dakota. Until then, I have no internal quarrels about wearing my Sioux gear, and I likely won't have any problems with it after that day comes either................

Bottom line on that topic, as far as football goes, is because of Fargo's Athetic Director............................. North Dakota initially declined to agree to a propsal offered by Fargo's A.D. back in 2004 due to DII playoff implications.................. Two seasons later, and every year since, North Dakota has offered to resume the games with Fargo, all proposals of which their A.D. has continued to decline..................... This has been going on for 9 years now................ The rivalry game will likely resume shortly after the employment of Fargo's A.D. ends........................

I won't pretend like I know much about volleyball. So having said that, I'd say the fact that North Dakota has won two straight against Fargo, I'll assume we looked better....................

I think we should wait a couple/three years to see how competetive the games are gonna be with the Bobcats before starting a trophy game or calling it a true "rivalry"........................

I'm going to say North Dakota will fall somewhere amongst the top 5 teams by the end of the season. There are alot of talented kids on this team, and several playmakers. I've seen this team perform well against top Big Sky teams and other mid-majors the past two years, and I've seen them perform poorly against low-end Big Sky teams and other mid-majors the past two years. I think that the consistency that the Big Sky schedule will provide this experienced group of players will be a major benefit this season.

Totally agree. I've seen enough from both this season to be comfortable with either of them. But the platoon thing makes thing very uncomfortable for both players IMO.

I was just perusing the Big Sky statistics, and a few things stand out about the North Dakota-Northern Arizona matchup........................ We all are aware what a threat Zach Bauman is, so I was a bit surprised to see that NAU's success mostly seems to be based on defense and special teams. Despite the prolific Bauman, the Lumberjacks are just 6th in the conference in rushing offense and and 12th in pass offense. They appear to be disciplined, as they take the fewest penalties of any team in the league. They are #2 in total defense, #1 in pass defense, and middle of the pack in rush defense. NAU is +6 in turnover margin. The thing that stands out most to me is their special teams. They are averaging 24 yards on punt returns and have already returned two for TDs. UND is next to last in the league in punting. My thought is the game plan will be to stack the box and sell out against the run, take our chances by putting the DB's out on an island. They really haven't been tested all that much, so who knows what they can do? I'm the eternal optimist, the constant homer..................... But I'm gonna say: 34 Northern Arizona 21 North Dakota

Mussman just said on the coach's show that that he hasn't talked to either guy yet as to who is starting. I'm dismayed by the fact that he also said that the game will dictate which QB gets the most playing time. Given the effects of how last weeks "game plan" played out, I'd prefer to see one QB take the first snap, the last snap, and all those in between.

Cal Poly continues to be under-rated..............

Just don't know what to make of this team. There are 5 games left, and UND would have to win them all to make the playoffs. Chances of that are probably slim and none. North Dakota handled SD Mines just like they should have. They over-acheived against SDSU. I assumed they'd beat Portland St., but I was shocked at how it unfolded. PSU gashed the run defense, and that surprised me at the time. I chalked it up to the players being too amped up for the first Big Sky opponent, and shrugged off the sub-par run defense in that game because PSU was a new opponent who's M.O. is to run the ball down your throat. Sac St. played out like I thought it would, but another bad performance by the run defense. Prior to the season, I figured our best chance for a big win against a top Big Sky team would come against Cal Poly, because all they do is run the ball and we've always held them in check. Well, they smoked us............... Prior to the season, I figured EWU would likely win comfortably against the Sioux. But that was assuming we'd have an anemic offense and poor pass defense like last season. As this season unfolded, I changed my tune this week and assumed we'd have a chance in a high scoring affair. But then we make a below average EWU rush offense look like Nebraska of the late 80's or early 90's. EWU is usually almost reluctant to run the ball, but against North Dakota they almost felt obligated to because it was so easy for them. As far as the rest of the schedule goes....................maybe we have a chance against SUU and UNC? At this point I certainly can't expect us to hold NAU and Zach Baumen in check next week, or Montana the following week.

On the bright side from tonight: We had 3 sacks......... The webcast worked great........ That's about it.

Yeah, but I thought your D was suspect as well.....................

Forward.............. Play a little defense............

To put a bit into perspective on how badly this defense is struggling right now, EWU gained more than 1/3 of their total rushing yards for the season tonight........................... North Dakota is giving up 274 yards rushing per game against DI opponents.............. Every DI opponent faced has gained more than 200 yards rushing................... UND is 0-3 in games where they've lost the turnover battle...............

I agree. I recognize that Hanson is the pure passer and Hendrickson is the athlete. I don't fault the staff wanting to get Hanson playing time, I just don't like how they went about it. They probably decided early in the week that Hanson would play this week. Well, IMO, considering the way Hendrickson has played this season, then they must think quite highly of Hanson. Given that, Mussman should have just named him the starter for this game and stuck with him. The way it played out, Hendrickson gets the idea that he can't get the job done, and Hanson feels he can do no wrong. So what happens down the road if Hanson struggles or gets hurt again? You put back in the QB that the staff effectively gave a vote of no-confidence. I think the way they went about it tonight platooning the two quarterbacks, it puts a ton of pressure on Hanson going forward, and if he falters, well then Hendrickson already knows that the staff doesn't think too much of him......................