bincitysioux

Kolpack was whining tonight on Dizzo's Den about Northern Arizona not cracking the Top 25 poll after beating UNLV. I really wanted to call in to tell him it was likely because many voters inadvertantly voted for North Dakota St., because they also have "North" in their name and also beat an FBS school.............

I doubt a win against an FBS team alone would do much for attendance/fan interest. The average Grand Forker/UND student doesn't care who the team is playing as long as they are winning. String together a few 0, 1, and 2 loss seasons and the fans will be there, regardless of who the opponent is.

Here is a link to the Aztecs message board.

On the bright side, North Dakota beat PSU, which is one of two Big Sky teams on our schedule (Cal Poly being the other) that will attempt to primarily run the ball as the focal point of their game plan. Montana also has a bruising running attack that will hurt us if we at minimum don't shore up the tackling technique.................

When the students show up, they impress me. I like what I have seen from them the last two weeks. The last two seasons were embarrassing. I hope they keep up the interest they have shown thus far this season. I certainly can't rag on the student turn-out thus far when it appears that 2,500+ have showed up for the first two games. There were a couple games in 2010 and 2011 that I question if 250 showed............................

Mackey got beat on one play, and it ticked me off. After that one, he tightened it up and played quite well...................

I basically agree with that PSU fan....................... If the pass defense "sucked because they only cared about stopping the run", then I'd feel better about it if they had actually stopped the run.......................... You have to admit, if the defense plays worse at any point during the rest of the season than they did last night, then it will be a very long season................. PSU was the #1 rushing team in the Big Sky last season, averaging nearly 250 yds/game. They gained over 200 yards on us last night, in our house, despite losing their leading rusher from last season.

New Big Sky website is up. Looks good.................. http://bigskyconf.com/

The cue by the PA announcer is nice. But one of my pet peeves since I've been going to games since 2003 is that the only time the place gets loud IS on 3rd down. It's OK to be loud at other times too............................

As of right now, no TV coverage planned for this game. I don't see any provisions for live streaming on the Aztecs website either. It will not be on Big Sky TV as it is not in a Big Sky venue..................

The intro is a real buzz-kill in my opinion......................... It's too long, and the PA is so bad in the Alerus you can't hear anything the narrator is saying anyways.

Very entertaining game to watch, but very concerning as well. Lot's of weapons on offense, which is great to know for when the run game gets taken away like it did last night. Greg Hardin could end up leading the Big Sky in receiving at the end of the season, and may not even be the best receiver on the team. Hardin, Jackson, and Golladay are going to be a nightmare for opposing secondarys. Special teams were again very good, save for Merserau's fumble and a shank by Cameron. Two blocks, a 50 yard FG, and good field position pretty much all night. Aside from a few stand-out individual performances and two opportunistic plays, the defense played poorly. PSU was able to pretty much do what ever they wanted in both the run and pass games. PSU was second to last in passing in the Big Sky last season and their true freshman QB threw for over 300 yards. Lots of big plays and poor tackling. Plenty to get better at. The refs stunk, but at least they were consistently bad throughout. Kind of concerning that North Dakota's running game was completely shut down. 9,210 for attendance....................that must be among one of the lowest turn-outs for Potato-Bowl in recent memory.

I'm actually a bit surprised by Izzo. He seems pretty in tune with FCS. Can't fault him for picking either way, as right now I give UND the edge mostly because they are at home. Kolpack is clueless about FCS football. If it doesn't take place in Fargo, he has no idea what is going on..........................

Agree. Seems like with two season left with Hardin and McGill, and 3 with Ivery, I'd like to see Golladay sit out this season and exploit the fullness of his talents for 4 years starting next year...............

No. Only hockey will be on FCS this season.

If he's even half as good as Sean Johnson was, it's a good hire......................................

These two teams match-up pretty well with one-another. Both have good running games, and good run defense. Portland St. has a new QB, (last year's QB lead them in rushing), but their philosophy is the same. PSU was 2nd in the nation (after North Dakota) last season in blocked kicks. They have more going for them on special teams than just a good kicker. I don't expect it to be a very high scoring affair. I'll pick North Dakota by a score. Whether it is a TD or FG, I don't know......................

Is it really that big a deal to charge $5 for a ticket after 1,900 were given away for free? 1,900 is the allotment for students, that is 15% of capacity. I believe after NDSU students use up their allotment, also roughly 15% of the Dome's capacity, that they then have the option of paying general admission price or not attending........................ Sounds like the UND students are getting a good deal.

IMO, this wouldn't be such a big story if Bohl hadn't just weeks ago tossed from the team an oft-injured, likely 3rd string linebacker for being investigated for a Class A misdemeanor. When "stars" like Williams and Ojuri actually get charged with a Class A misdemeanor, they are apparently afforded the due process that Jemison was denied.................

Although stopping the run is a strength of the North Dakota defense, the Griz have a massive power running back that I could foresee our guys having a problem with. The Griz game will be an interesting one. They are a pretty balanced team. Not a bad match-up for us, but even as good as UND's run defense is, I can see having problems with both UM and Northern Arizona.

I'm a die-hard, and I didn't notice. They are still green, right?

I couldn't get the PSU game either. I could be wrong, but I think it is only free while it is live. You have to pay for on-demand stuff.......................

Agree, the game wasn't as close as the score would indicate.

I haven't seen what NDSU does, but I've heard good things. I don't know if UND staff or Alerus staff handles the pre-game stuff at the Alerus, but one would think they could get some guidance from the team at REA, as they always do a fantastic job. At any rate, the intro last night was much better than it has been the last couple seasons. 2010 and 2011 was covered with cheese.................

I was not surprised. SUU gets way too much love because they have a stud QB. They are missing alot of other pieces to the puzzle.............................