bincitysioux

Idaho was picked 4th in the WAC media poll, and 6th in the coaches poll........

I haven't seen it mentioned yet, but Phil Steele has released his preseason All Great West Teams.......... Queoff, Boyle, Kasowski, and Hawkins all made 1st team, while Landry, Sutton, McGurran, Brenneman, Dublanko, Cochran, and Ankenbauer made 2nd team. Phil Steele is pretty respected/knowledgeable, but I was shocked to see Cal Poly's QB Tony Smith named the 1st team QB. He looked pretty awful to me in GF last season. According to AGS, he may not even open the season as the starter. Davis, SUU, and USD all have new QB's this season..........despite his up and down season last year, Jake Landry is possibly the most proven and perhaps reliable QB in the league to start off this season. I would have picked Davis as the favorite coming in to this year, but when their QB Denham decided not to return, I think made everything wide open. Despite North Dakota's wide receiver situation, we could potentially have one of the most experienced offenses coming back this season with Landry/Goska under center and Sutton/Murray in the backfield. And I have to think that the defense will improve with Dublanko, Boyle, Brenneman, and Hawkins progressing.

As far as the type of atmosphere to expect, Idaho averaged 12,546 last season. For their home opener against Mountain West foe San Diego St., they drew 10,324 coming off of a 2-10 season. Their highest attended game was against Mountain West member Colorado state at 16,000. I'd expect the atmosphere to be similar to playing at a higher-end FCS program with a crowd somewhere in the 12,000-14,000 range. Excitement is high right now for the Vandals. In addition to that exciting bowl win, they are coming off of their first winning season since 1999. They recently announced a major upcoming renovation to their Dome. This is a program that was extremely competetive at the FCS level until they moved up in the late 90's. It is however, IMO, a very winnable game for North Dakota.

I don't think I'll refer to it as I-AA anymore, since that it isn't its name. Similar to how I don't refer to my wife by her maiden name anymore, since it isn't her name.............. Now excuse me while I go look for some hockey on OLN...............

Drake Tournament (Sept. 3-4) Drake UW-Green Bay Southern Utah North Dakota

I am Coach's club, and they just got in touch with me last Friday........

Looking ahead to the OBVIOUS trickle down effect this is all going to eventually have, I wonder what doors this may potentially open or close for Denver down the road who has been the subject of alot of speculation as a potential Summit member along with North Dakota. Does the WCC try to strengthen their numbers by taking Seattle and giving in to Denver? Would any of the California WCC schools consider moving to the Big West if Cal Poly or UC Davis opened up a spot by moving to the WAC? Is the WAC going to try to grab anyone they possibly can, like football-less Denver? If the likes of TCU, Utah, or BYU get pilfered from the Mountain West, do they start looking at non-football schools like Denver? Interesting times.................

And that would probably be an ideal situation for North Dakota.

For me I would choose to be affiliated with the current Big Sky over the current Summit/MVFC. Aside from the 3 main reasons I outlined, I think it'd be pretty killer to have Montana, Montana St., Weber St., and potentially non-conference FB games from a combination of NDSU, SDSU, and USD in a given year. Same goes for basketball, volleyball, and other minor sports. Big Sky conference games, OOC games against the other Dakota schools would still happen as we move forward. Like I (and you) said, if the Montana schools aren't in the mix it would certainly tip the scales in favor of the Summit/MVFC. My biggest concern is solidifying the football program. While it is apparent that there will be changes/openings in the Summit in the future, I don't see those potential openings in the MVFC as being as highly probable. One last thing, I think the Big Sky gets much more exposure than the MVFC. Other than local broadcasts for NDSU games, you can probably find 3 times the number of televised Big Sky games versus MVFC on DirecTV and other media over the course of a football season. But I would be ecstatic to be in either league. Just a couple different perspectives, nothing wrong with that!

Are you blind?

My preference obviously depends on any membership changes. If one or especially both Montana schools left, I'd be more apt to change my tune and possibly favor the current Summit.................If the Montana schools stayed, and it were say a Sac St. or Portland State that left the BSC, I'd prefer the Big Sky ten-fold to the current Summit. And, I'm not sure that I agree that the Summit has higher quality membership and recognition. My own personal reasons: 1) Autobid for football..........Summit membership doesn't mean MVFC membership. 2) Opponent continuity............Since the hockey conference is already separate from everything, it'd be nice to have the same regular opponents in the other major sports of FB, MBB, and WBB. 3) Alumni base..............other than ND & MN, most of the alumni is west rather than midwest.

As long as they have an autobid, they are very attractive to us no matter what the membership makeup is IMO. On the flip side, whether a Montana school or Pacific coast school leaves the Big Sky, it creates an immediate need for the Big Sky to add SUU, and that creates another opening in the Summit.

I love all of this chaos...........and it is going to trigger a trickle-down effect all the way to the mid-major and low-major ranks, just like many have been predicting for several years. The irony is that it is starting in the west rather than the east (as in Big East) as most have thought. I'm a little bummed though, because of all the high-major conferences, I've always followed the Big 12 the closest for whatever reason..........but this is what the old Big 8 gets for bowing down to Texas in order to get them to join so many years ago. However, isn't this somewhat of a repetitive pattern? Seems like this is all a similar scenario to how the Mountain West was formed, when the WAC was expanding and expanding. Difference is that the WAC members of 15 years ago weren't getting $20 Million dollar checks annually from a TV channel to air their golf tournaments.................

And in most cases, University Presidents aren't glued to what is going on in the realm of college athletics...........they rely on their A.D.'s to supply them with information needed to make the best decision for the University as a whole. It's called delegating..............Now, what has Montana's A.D. been telling his president?............what has North Dakota's A.D. been telling his president (regarding the nickname)? I see a pattern..............

Put the poll up for ya........ I've stated my thoughts many times in the past. Having the same football conference as the rest of the athletic department would be ideal for opponent continuity. Also, since basketball is king in DI, it would be more beneficial to be in the Big Sky since it is a better better basketball league than the Summit. Also, like you said, North Dakota's fanbase/alumni lies mostly in the west, except for the Twin Cities. It would be better to recruit both athletes and donors from the western U.S. than from the Great Lakes and Missouri River Valley region.

I really don't see the potential controversy that should should come from this apparent arrangement. Regardless of a "50 year history" or not, it sounds like a good deal for NDSU. If a similar scenario were to play out for UND, hypothetically speaking.............if Rudy Luther and Downtown Jaguar of Minneapolis offered 3-4 times the amount that the Rydell Auto Group offered to be sponsor of the starting lineup at hockey games, I certainly wouldn't object. Business is business IMO. Having said that though, in my own personal opinion and based on my own personal conversations and correspondence with Gene Taylor, I wouldn't put much stock into what he tells the media or even NDSU's Teammakers. He definately has a future in Politics........

Montana and IPFW are coming to Grand Forks.

Munski is awesome. Always tried to sign up for any of his classes that fit my schedule.

Yeah, but I'm still a bit baffled by the change to a "no-huddle" offense. It seems to me that when you have a team that will supposdly be carried by the Defense, and have an unproven corps of receivers along with questionable play at the QB position.........the last thing you should have is a no-huddle offense. Especially when (considering Bamba's status) that the two most proven offensive players on the squad are RB Mitch Sutton and RB Josh Murray. It seems to me that this years team is a great candidate to be "3 yards and a cloud of dust" type program.............Hand off to Sutton, hand off to Murray, throw on 3rd and 3..................hopefully I'm wrong, but it seems to me like this year's team should be focused on milking the clock rather than trying to squeeze more out of it than they should be.......

I'm certainly not close to the situation, but IMO the biggest concern with the passing game has more to do with quarterback play rather than wide receiver play. As far as Landry is concerned, quality play by the offensive line could help alot to remedy that. Jake does great when he is comfortable in the pocket and has time, but struggles when when the pocket even just begins to collapse.

Report: McDermott Leaving ISU - Takes Creighton Job

Just got done watching the replay of the Spring Game.............. Holy Hell..........Murray is good, just like I remember. Welcome back. Bennett, Goodman, and Finley all looked quite good on defense. Either pass protection was rather suspect, or the pass rush was rather good. I think the new kicker looks all right. He missed a bit of a shorty, but made a nice one of +40. Hopefully he develops like past Sioux kickers of this decade. It'll take time though. Passing game is worrisome. Bubble screens all day, very few downfield attempts. Looks like RB Jarrell Davis will lead the team in receptions this season.

Kolpack's Article Just answering your question............

I believe he played as a true freshman, so I would have assumed that he could have used his redshirt last season, preserving his 4 years of eligibility................maybe not?

Since we will be the Fighting Sioux next season, I'm guessing Fighting Sioux Sports Network.