bincitysioux

Fighting Sioux sweep Montana Attendance was 703................... Nice win! To expand on that, I thought it was cool last night when they interviewed Hardee on the Jumbotron at the FB game and he said "you better get your tickets because we're the hottest ticket in town and that's for sure". Hardee and Idalski are by far and away the two best sources for soundbites from any of the North Dakota head coaches..................

Both Johnny Baily and John Randle played in that game for TAMUK.......................

My thoughts: Defense: A I thought the D played great. Had a take-away (nearly a pick 6), held them scoreless, gave up just 43 yards rushing, and recorded 5 sacks. Seems like they had plenty of pressure. Offense: C+ No turnovers. Should have scored minium of 10 more points if not for Anderson's drop on 3rd down and Daggett's drop in the end zone. Way too many penalties. Felt the O-Line should be able to push around a team like Drake a bit more. Special Teams: A+ Zeb Miller 3-3 on FG. Cameron with a punt downed near the 5. Blocked field goal. Great return by Mersereau. Several head popping hits. Crowd: B- Dissapointing showing for a season opener. But the ones that were there made their presence known. Great turnout by the student section, hope they keep that up. Overall: B Nice to get a win to start the season, especially before back to back FBS games. Would have rather seen a more convincing win against a non-scholarship program, but we were mostly limited by our own mistakes, not because of what the opponent was doing. Bradley looks to be a huge upgrade over last season. Throws a good ball, and made good decisions. At times, almost felt he was too cautious though. He looks like a quarterback, rather than an athlete playing the quarterback position. Depth at wideout may continue to be a problem behind Hardin and McGill. Love the new "vanilla" offense. Balanced, with no gimmicks. Keep it simple, stupid. No reason to go away from the run when it is working. Defense was superb. Other than a couple coverage breakdowns, they harassed the QB, stuffed the running game, had an INT, and held Drake scoreless. I would have rather seen North Dakota come out and blow this team away, but what I did see is a team that looks improved from last year, but still has alot of room for more improvement.

Agreed.................... If it isn't Notre Dame.......................I'd much rather see the NCHC pursue the likes of Air Force, WMU, Bowling Green, or even Michigan Tech..................

You and I have disagreed on this subject several times.........................but if UND is to one day expand and join the FBS ranks, I admit I'd get behind the idea alot more if it meant staying indoors in a city-subsidized expanded Alerus vs. an outdoor stadium...................I think the atmosphere would be much better with 10,000 fans in a 25,000 seat indoor stadium that it would with 10,000 fans in a 25,000 seat outdoor stadium............ Plus, I wouldn't have to freeze my ass off in November every other year watching North Dakota duke it out with Lamar for the right to be the first alternate in Ed's Bait Shop Bowl..........................

Gotta love coach Ashley Hardee..................... Tonight on the coach's show, when asked what type of volleyball program the University of Montana has, he said "they're usually a top 4 Big Sky program..................next year they will be top 6". Then he pointed out that he feels that Northern Colorado will be a program that challenges "us" for Big Sky championships.................... The guy is an awesome character and has a refreshing attitude.................................

I doubt the city would entertain the idea of footing the bill to double the size of the Alerus to accomodate even its #1 tenant that cannot currently fill even 2/3 of the available seating of the arena................... Especially when most council members cite UND's transition to DI as being one of the main factors that the facility loses money every year..................

Ironically, on the coach's show tonight Coach Mussman pointed out that the turf in the Alerus has basically become a great advantage because there are just a few stadiums left in the country that have it so nobody is really used to playing on it. Even obtaining the proper shoes to play on the carpet can be a problem. He said he actually likes it............................

Heard on the coach's show tonight that Mussman is very very high on Jer German................... Also the transition away from the pistol is mostly because he felt a "disconnect" last season with what he has been trying to do with the offense since he became OC in 2001. Lastly, he likes Joey Bradley's approach, skill, and willingness to learn....................said it was a huge benefit to get him here for the spring semester so he could acclimate to the program............

I actually agree with Darrell1976 on the subject of the significance of wins vs. FBS opponents...................... Of course I'd rather win against Idaho and Fresno, but losing to them doesn't bother me nearly as much as losing to UC Davis or South Dakota.................. The biggest benefit of winning an FBS game is on the recruiting trail.............UND doesn't recruit Idaho much. A good showing against Fresno would be more beneficial in that respect. The second thing is notoriety. Other than Texas Tech, UND hasn't played an FBS team that even a win against would garner an exorbinant amount of media attention. Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa won't play us. Those are the 3 big FBS programs in our region. I'd rather be a 7-4 team against FCS competition than a 4-7 team with a win over a WAC or MAC team........................

This is an important game for North Dakota. Coming off a horrid 3-8 season, the Sioux must go out with guns blazing and treat Drake like our 2007 team would have, with a 45-7 beat down. I really like the scheduling of this game. It is nice to get a home game against what really should be a program that North Dakota should beat before back-to-back FBS games. Drake is no push-over, they are one of the better non-scholarship programs in FCS, but IMO, when things are the way they should be, North Dakota shouldn't really have trouble with any non-scholarship program. We need the chance to develop a rhythm, not just for a game, but for the season. If we come out and struggle, and eek out a win by a narrow margin, or worse yet lose................that could make the season another long one. Win big, like we should, and it should build confidence for the rest of the way. There are alot of question marks at quarterback, running back, and in the secondary. This is a good game to have some of those questions answered. I'll say: 38 North Dakota 14 Drake

This year, half of them are...................

Televised game, Thursday night, coming of a 3-8 record.................. 4 of the last 5 home openers have attracted over 10,000 fans............ I'll be the optimist and say more than 10k will show....................

Another blurb about new turf going into the Alerus............ SFI

I'm too lazy to look it up, but I'm sure that Davis has a webcast available for a fee. At least they have in the past............

According to the SFI guys, Bradley is a QB in the mold of Danny Freund. That's good to hear and I hope they are right. That is the type of QB that thrived in Mussman's offense's...............

I mean no offense to Goska, the kid is a very hard worker and I appreciate what he has done in the past for this program and what he will do this season, but.................... I hate that philosophy. IMO all it does is further antagonize the situation and helps to create more of QB controversy. A decision should be made one way or the other, and stick with it unless it is an apparent failure. I don't think it is alot different than our Co-defensive coordinator situation, which I feel has been a failed experiment.

I'll defer to you on that then...............it was generally packed when I went to school from '96 to '00.

Not so much because of weather. Because a half full outdoor stadium is a horrible atmosphere. Same reason I hated it when the basketball teams used to play in REA, because there were more empty chairs than filled ones (except for NDSU). I agree that if UND is on top of the Big Sky, interest and attendance will climb. If we were on top of the Great West it would climb. Attendance was bettter when we were on top of the NCC. But even when we were winning a a national title and were a perennial favorite to win a national title, it was never hard to get a ticket to a football game. You can't compare football in Green Bay to football in Grand Forks. But you could compare it to hockey in Grand Forks..........

I am all for having big aspirations, but am also for being realistic. As I said football attendance has been holding steady for two decades despite some big acheivements by the program. The prior facility wasn't full consistently when we moved to the Alerus, and the Alerus has not been consistently full since moving there. I have little desire to attend outdoor games in a 20,000 seat stadium with only 9,000 fans there. Yes, the Ralph is full all of the time, and it probably could have been larger. But the old Ralph was full all the time too.

If you live in the apartments on campus, then that means you personally are even closer to the Alerus than someone from Wilkerson in the green teams example..................... Also, most of the campus expansion seems to be trending west and south.................toward the Alerus. The Alerus is a great location......................for all of the reasons you mentioned among others. The railroad track is not that busy. I went to UND for 4 years and probably waited 4 times for a train. Those parking lots you speak of are gradually being widdled away and have been for years. If the current ramp and a potential future one are your solution, then you discount the value of tailgating at college football games. Who wants to tailgate in a ramp? Parking is a major problem at REA, and it would be even worse at football games if they were held at the current site of Memorial. Perhaps I am pessimistic, but I don't see demand for seats at a North Dakota football game getting to the point where we will need 25,000 seats in order to accomodate everyone that has a desire to attend a game within the next 10-20 years. What is the possible basis for assuming that attendance could triple in the next 20 years when it has basically stayed the same for the past 20 years? Especially when the past 20 years has included unprecedented success within the 100+ year old program including a national title, two national title game appearances, and brand spanking new stadium, and a move to Division I............................

I do this every year. Here is a list of the days you can take in multiple Sioux sporting events. I'd encourage anyone who can to do so. All the programs need your support, and UND does a great job of making multiple events accessible on the same day................it's a great way to spend a weekend! September 24 WHKY vs Manitoba @ 2:00 FB vs Black Hills St. @ 6:00 October 8 FB vs Montana Western @ 1:00 VB vs Chicago St. @ 5:00 MHKY vs Ice Breaker @ 7:30 October 15 WHKY vs Vermont @ 2:00 MHKY vs. Maine @ 7:00 October 22 FB vs Cal Poly @ 1:00 - Homecoming WHKY vs Ohiso St @ 7:00 November 19 FB vs South Dakota @ 1:00 VB vs Great West Tournament @ TBA WHKY vs Minnesota St @ 7:00 November 26 MBB vs Western Illinois @ 2:00 MHKY vs Colorado College @ 7:00 January 12 WBB vs Jamestown College @ 6:00 MBB vs Valley City St. @ 8:00 January 28 MBB vs Chicago St @ 2:00 MHKY vs Wisconsin @ 7:00 February 4 WBB vs Texas PanAm @ 2:00 WHKY vs. Bemidji St @ 7:00 March 3 MBB vs Utah Valley @ 3:00 MHKY vs Minnesota St @ 7:00

I do this every year. Here is a list of the days you can take in multiple Sioux sporting events. I'd encourage anyone who can to do so. All the programs need your support, and UND does a great job of making multiple events accessible on the same day................it's a great way to spend a weekend! September 24 WHKY vs Manitoba @ 2:00 FB vs Black Hills St. @ 6:00 October 8 FB vs Montana Western @ 1:00 VB vs Chicago St. @ 5:00 MHKY vs Ice Breaker @ 7:30 October 15 WHKY vs Vermont @ 2:00 MHKY vs. Maine @ 7:00 October 22 FB vs Cal Poly @ 1:00 - Homecoming WHKY vs Ohiso St @ 7:00 November 19 FB vs South Dakota @ 1:00 VB vs Great West Tournament @ TBA WHKY vs Minnesota St @ 7:00 November 26 MBB vs Western Illinois @ 2:00 MHKY vs Colorado College @ 7:00 January 12 WBB vs Jamestown College @ 6:00 MBB vs Valley City St. @ 8:00 January 28 MBB vs Chicago St @ 2:00 MHKY vs Wisconsin @ 7:00 February 4 WBB vs Texas PanAm @ 2:00 WHKY vs. Bemidji St @ 7:00 March 3 MBB vs Utah Valley @ 3:00 MHKY vs Minnesota St @ 7:00

I do this every year. Here is a list of the days you can take in multiple Sioux sporting events. I'd encourage anyone who can to do so. All the programs need your support, and UND does a great job of making multiple events accessible on the same day................it's a great way to spend a weekend! September 24 WHKY vs Manitoba @ 2:00 FB vs Black Hills St. @ 6:00 October 8 FB vs Montana Western @ 1:00 VB vs Chicago St. @ 5:00 MHKY vs Ice Breaker @ 7:30 October 15 WHKY vs Vermont @ 2:00 MHKY vs. Maine @ 7:00 October 22 FB vs Cal Poly @ 1:00 - Homecoming WHKY vs Ohiso St @ 7:00 November 19 FB vs South Dakota @ 1:00 VB vs Great West Tournament @ TBA WHKY vs Minnesota St @ 7:00 November 26 MBB vs Western Illinois @ 2:00 MHKY vs Colorado College @ 7:00 January 12 WBB vs Jamestown College @ 6:00 MBB vs Valley City St. @ 8:00 January 28 MBB vs Chicago St @ 2:00 MHKY vs Wisconsin @ 7:00 February 4 WBB vs Texas PanAm @ 2:00 WHKY vs. Bemidji St @ 7:00 March 3 MBB vs Utah Valley @ 3:00 MHKY vs Minnesota St @ 7:00

I do this every year. Here is a list of the days you can take in multiple Sioux sporting events. I'd encourage anyone who can to do so. All the programs need your support, and UND does a great job of making multiple events accessible on the same day................it's a great way to spend a weekend! September 24 WHKY vs Manitoba @ 2:00 FB vs Black Hills St. @ 6:00 October 8 FB vs Montana Western @ 1:00 VB vs Chicago St. @ 5:00 MHKY vs Ice Breaker @ 7:30 October 15 WHKY vs Vermont @ 2:00 MHKY vs. Maine @ 7:00 October 22 FB vs Cal Poly @ 1:00 - Homecoming WHKY vs Ohiso St @ 7:00 November 19 FB vs South Dakota @ 1:00 VB vs Great West Tournament @ TBA WHKY vs Minnesota St @ 7:00 November 26 MBB vs Western Illinois @ 2:00 MHKY vs Colorado College @ 7:00 January 12 WBB vs Jamestown College @ 6:00 MBB vs Valley City St. @ 8:00 January 28 MBB vs Chicago St @ 2:00 MHKY vs Wisconsin @ 7:00 February 4 WBB vs Texas PanAm @ 2:00 WHKY vs. Bemidji St @ 7:00 March 3 MBB vs Utah Valley @ 3:00 MHKY vs Minnesota St @ 7:00