bincitysioux

Anyone care to take a stab at the starting 5 and the top reserves that will see significant minutes?

I hope we can kick their ass.....

Was just perusing the stats over at the Big Sky website, and by the numbers this could be an entertaining match up. Montana and North Dakota are both ranked 1st and 2nd in Scoring Defense, Total Defense, and Sacks respectively. And by the numbers, Montana's offense looks fairly pedestrian by Big Sky standards, ranking anywhere from 6th to 10th in the main offensive categories. An interesting stat to me is that Montana is near the bottom of the conference in Time of Possession. You wouldn't really think it, but on paper, these look like two fairly closely matched teams. I think it could play out a lot like the Stony Brook game. Low scoring and points are going to be at a premium. Whoever gets up by two scores is going to be in the driver seat. A raucous Alerus Center crowd could be a big factor this weekend.

Here is an article on Daryl Brown from the Duluth newspaper..............

I predict that North Dakota will have its best offensive showing to date.

Bubba said on the coaches show last night that Meindel is eligible now but that they will stay with Bolduc as the punter. He also said that Cedric Simmons remains out, and still waiting to hear on Shaugaby. Expect a heavy dose of Norberg again.

I feel the need to remind everyone of how MSU coach Rob Ash whined publicly when North Dakota was added to the Big Sky. It would be nice to kick this team in the teeth.

I am going to be the eternal optimist! Stony Brook is solid defensively. They are #1 in total defense in the CAA so far this year, and they were #2 in total defense in the CAA last season. The CAA is a good league, right up there with the Big Sky and MVFC. I am not going to make a prediction on the score against the Boobcats, but I will predict that we get over 300 yards total offense and it will be fairly balanced between run and pass. Last year we ran for 165 yards on these guys. We had no help from the defense. Mollberg started and got yanked. We all can see that it will take a lot for Joe to get pulled this year, so he shouldn't be looking over his shoulder. If anything, he should be highly motivated to silence his critics. Montana's defense is usually decent, but not as good as Stony Brook's, or perhaps even Missouri State's defense...... MSU runs the ball well, but I don't see them getting 330+ like last year. The defense is playing well, and our linebackers appear to be the best position group we have.

I always thought Shea Walker was a pretty good offensive lineman. Would moving him back be an upgrade over any if the current guys? Seems odd to move a guy with so much experience away from a position group that is struggling so bad......

Oh I definately agree that OL play is bigger problem than QB play right now.

Totally agree. Attendance has dropped 25% since 2008. Let's start winning again and fill the Alerus before we start redesigning Memorial....

I would at least like to see a bubble screen thrown in here and there in an attempt to keep the defense somewhat on their toes. Goska would be a welcomed upgrade in my opinion. I think the play calling is proof that the staff has zero confidence in the offenses ability to throw the ball........

Attendance was 7,030. That is pretty pretty bad for the second home game of the year. Probably looking at the worst attendance for a season since the Alerus opened.

They were pretty darn good last week for the first two and half quarters. They just end up being on the field so much, it has to be both exhausting and frustrating. I'm not ready to compare them to the 1985 Chicago Bears, but I think the D has been pretty darn good for 10 out of the last 12 quarters they have played. I know Stony Brook isn't Eastern Washington offensively, but tonight was the most impressed I've been with a UND defense since maybe 2007. Now, offensively it is hideous to watch. I have to give Rudolph and Bubba credit, they are certainly persistent. The play of the O-Line and the QB is definately lacking to put generously. If the O-Line could get some push, it would help all areas. I think that is a bigger problem than the QB play right now.

At some point the offense has to help out this defense. The D has been impressive under the circumstances....

OK, I think we need someone other than Tillman fielding punts......

Defense playing pretty well. Offense is terrible, particularly the O line and QB.....

Nothing great. I will guess 7,000

Joey Bradley please.........

24-7 Pats at the half. Vikes actually playing better, but two big plays have Pats in the lead......

Just about to head to my first NFL game. Lifelong Patriots fan, looking to right the ship against the Vikes!

Through three games, I am encouraged overall by the play of the defense. They have given up chunks here and there, but for the most part they have tackled better, given better effort, been more aggressive, and been more opportunistic. Given the lack of talent on the offensive side, I am not all that surprised with how bad they have been. I will subscribe to the notion that the personnel is not meshing with the scheme they want to implement, particularly the offensive line. And Mollberg is not getting it done. I understand that a big part of his struggles stems from the poor play of the O-Line, but on top of that it seems he is just really struggling with the mental part of the game right now. I wouldn't be so quick to make a change if we didn't already know there is a guy behind him that played better last season. This wasn't just Mollbergs third start, it was like his 8th or something. The sample size is pretty large at this point and it doesn't look good to me. So far this year I am most disappointed with poorly this team is doing the little things. I really thought that would be the area we improved at right away, that this new staff would clean up in a hurry. The penalties this team is taking are ridiculous, like the ones we took on if I recall correctly, on back to back possessions when we punted and didn't give the guy room to catch the ball twice. The way Tillman fielded punts in the first half last night was ridiculous.

For once, Oxbow and I are in complete agreement......

We played SDSU in basketball twice. Played Idaho St twice in basketball before we joined the Big Sky.

Pryor is saying on the coach's show that he'd like to see the game be played home-and-home every year. It would make sense financially.