mksioux

It will be loud only if people show up, and only if UND can stay competitive in the first half. I'm not optimistic attendance will be good. I'll be there, so I hope I'm wrong. Fan morale is probably at about a 25-year low.

I've seen nothing to suggest the UND defense can stop a good offense. Maybe MSU is not a great offense without their QB, but I'm sure they will be good enough to run all over UND. And I wouldn't be surprised to see them pass all over UND, even with a backup QB. MSU 41, UND 20. It'll be the only game I'll be at this year, so hopefully it's not a blowout.

The reality is that, if a change is made at head coach, the new head coach will bring in his own people for the majority of the staff. The OC and DC will likely be casualties of a head coaching change regardless of whether they deserve it. And I think most people on this board calling for Muss to be fired realize it isn't going to happen mid-season. I think the conversation is whether it should happen afer the season.

NDSU never got blown-out that season. Plus, it followed some unbelievably good seasons. As Jules would say, it ain't in the same (bleepin) ballpark, it ain't the same league, it ain't even the same (bleepin) sport. Well, I guess it's the same sport, but you get the idea.

This thread has officially jumped the shark.

I thought the same thing at the time. Miller should have been yanked on the spot. There does not appear to be any meaningful consequences for players being undisciplined and taking stupid penalties. That sets a tone for the entire team.

Very cool. Thanks Jayson.

Agreed. I'd expect a new coach would get paid more than Mussman. Mussman was hired before Faison's arrival; I believe by an interim A.D. (another reason why Lennon's departure was the worst possible timing). Of course an interim A.D. isn't going to open the checkbook and go out and get an experienced, high-price guy, he's going to promote from within on the cheap. I'm not saying fire Mussman -- just saying you can't assume the next coaching search would be constrained to the same salary Mussman is currently making.

#toetotoe #moralvictory #sameold The only improvement from last year is that UND didn't roll over after they got down by 3 td's. Poor tackling, being manhandled up front, no running game against good d's...all the same.

Perhaps it was inevitable that UND would move up eventually after SU announced, but I I'm not at all convinced UND would have moved up in time before the moratorium if Roger Thomas had stayed the A.D. I don't remember the exact timing, but the NCAA put a moratorium on moving up shortly after UND announced it was moving up. UND and NDSU should have moved up in 1978 as soon as Division I-AA was created.

SDSU - 34 UND - 16

So on a UND message board where most people are predicted an SDSU win, apparently we're not predicting the score to be wide enough for you? D'okay. Perhaps trolling? I'll bite anyway. I'm not going to go back through the thread, but I think it was only one Bison poster that said SDSU's passing game was just okay. I don't recall UND fans saying UND has the edge in the passing game. Maybe someone did, but I don't recall it being some kind of theme that warranted your outburst. I don't think UND necessarily has the edge in a "passing war," but I think it's reasonable to think UND has a better chance to win in a passing game than a running game. The reason is simple and it has nothing to do with what I think about SDSU's passing game (which admittedly is not much). UND has not proven it has a good running game, run defense, or pass defense. The only thing it has proven is that it has a good passing game. So at least UND has a fighting chance to keep the game close in a track meet. It doesn't mean UND will win though. Given what I saw last year against Montana State and Eastern Washington, I can't help but think that UND is going to lose handily to the top-level FCS competition regardless of what type of game it is. I guess I'll think that way until UND proves me wrong (which, I hope, starts this weekend).

Fair enough. I don't know anywhere close to enough details about the Cable One situation to say you're wrong. I didn't realize Cable One did not show all the hockey games when it was produced by FSSN. I just really liked the idea of in-house production, controlling distribution, and focusing on increasing exposure. But you're probably right, the money just wasn't there to expand it in a way that I envisioned it. It seemed very promising in the beginning and it was disappointing to see it go out with such a whimper.

I don't expect CableOne to do anything of the sort. And maybe you're right that CableOne wouldn't have picked up any Midco-produced games even if the feed was free (but I doubt that is actually the case). I was just pointing out that UND chose to contract out production and take the money over keeping it in-house and ensuring maximum exposure. You could very well be right that Midco wouldn't have offered anything if it was required to deal with CableOne first. At a minimum, the money Midco was willing to pay would have been drastically reduced. Again, I'm not necessarily arguing UND made the wrong decision, just pointing out that, to me, there was a subtle shift away from exposure in favor of money. I'm not saying that's wrong. But as an outsider (who admittedly is "just a fan" and doesn't know the budget situation and a million other specifics), I would have preferred UND keep production in-house and keep something like the Fighting Sioux Sports Network joint venture intact. That would have ensured maximum exposure, but it would have yielded less money for UND.

I think you just made my point. I wasn't arguing that UND should have insisted on Midco making the games available to CableOne subscribers in Fargo, just that they could have done so and didn't. Or UND could have kept production in-house through the joint venture of the Fighting Sioux Sports Network. The money was more important.

This really is at the heart of the problems outside of hockey. NDSU had a President, despite his many faults, that recognized the importance of athletics. UND did not. By most accounts, Buning was a disaster as A.D. But you have to give him some credit for somehow convincing Kupchella to authorize the move up to Division I. That wouldn't have likely happened if Roger Thomas had stayed as A.D. And the NCAA closed the door to moving up shortly after UND made the decision to move up. As bad as you think things are now, without Buning, UND would likely still be competing against Augustana and Winona State and losing to Grand Valley State in the DII playoffs every year. I'll gladly take where things are now to what things would be like if UND had been left behind in DII.

What agreement between Midco and CableOne are you referencing? Whatever it was, it obviously wasn't a long-term agreement if it could be cancelled or non-renewed so quickly. Did UND just assume Midco and CableOne would get along and renew their deal? If making sure UND games were shown in Fargo was critically important to UND, then someone in the general counsel's office didn't do a very good job in negotiating the deal to ensure that it would happen for the entire life of the TV deal. Or maybe the money on the table from Midco was more important than insisting on UND games being shown in Fargo for the life of the contract? I'm not privy to the negotiations and don't claim to know what was available or realistic and at what cost. What I do know is that UND gave up control for maximum exposure when it decided to give production and distribution rights to Midco. And I also know that a dispute between Midco and CableOne should have been anticipated. I'm not saying UND doesn't care at all about exposure. I'm sure they do. But from an outsider's perspective, it appears UND cared more about the money it was getting from Midco than in ensuring maximum exposure. Fargo is a pretty glaring hole in the coverage network, don't you think?

My two cents - the real issue is not about what Midco or Cable One are doing. They're doing what businesses do. The gripe, if any, should be with UND signing an exclusive deal with Midco knowing it would not likely be distributed to the largest city in North Dakota. Again, this comes down to the exposure versus money argument. UND (through the Fighting Sioux Sports Network) used to put a premium on exposure. Lately, the focus seems to be more on money. Two different philosophies and I think there are reasonable arguments on both sides. My personal opinion is that exposure should be the primary goal, and in the long run, it will lead to more money through increased fan interest. But I also understand the pressure of budgets and the immediate need for a direct monetary benefit through television deals.

I was at the game and will never forget it. What I remember the most about that 4th quarter was the atrocious clock management by the UND offense. The offense was consistently snapping the ball with 15-20 seconds to go on the play clock. Sometimes they'd snap it right after the ball was set. I'm not a great football mind, but to this day, I don't know what they were thinking. I'd love to see a tape of that game and figure out how much extra time UND gave UNO to complete the comeback.

Man, you are going to get roasted for that post fightingsioux4life. I don't necessarily agree with everything in your post, but I share your frustration and commend you for the effort. You definitely will touch a few nerves with your post. Take the jabs that will be coming your way with a grain of salt.

Like most people, I'm very concerned about run defense. I'm concerned about line play in general. I did not see the domination at the line of scrimmage that you'd like to see against a team like Valpo. I see SDSU's offense running the ball relatively easily and consistently converting on 3rd downs and moving the chains. And I see UND having difficulty establishing a run game and SDSU will do a good enough job containing the passing game to win by a comfortable margin. I hope I'm wrong because UND really needs a big non-conference win like this one.

What struck me by watching the game is how much bigger and stronger NDSU players looked versus UND players. The entire program, from the coaches to the staff to the players just looked a lot more professional than UND. Maybe it was the high definition or the big-time atmosphere. I don't know. But I couldn't help but think that NDSU was on an entirely different plain than UND. You can nitpick about the quality of FBS schools that NDSU has played and beat, but the bottom line is that they consistently win against FBS schools. Part of it is smart scheduling, part of it may be luck in catching schools in off-years, but most of it is just that they are that good. They have a coach that exudes confidence and the players to get the job done. Having lived through the 1980s and then the turn-around in the 1990s and into early 00's, it's painful to see NDSU this far ahead of UND once again.

Yes, really. First of all, you can take Minneapolis and Mankato off your list as they are no longer in the same conference. Second, to me, it's easier to "follow" a team if I can easily watch all of the games at my home, which I can with UND football. With the new NCHC deal, there is no more FCS and only a few games on CBSSN. For webcasts, you have to pay to watch the home games and will be without any viewing options for most road games. So yes, while you will still be able to travel to watch games in St. Cloud and Duluth, I still think it's easier to "follow" UND football.

It's not any harder to follow UND football from the Twin Cities than UND hockey. In fact, given the sub-par NCHC TV deal, you could argue that in terms of watching the games, following UND football is now actually easier than following UND hockey. Big Sky TV is a remarkable asset for following UND football.

If you can't see that !@$! storm that would come by UND taking Red River's nickname, I'm not ever going to convince you. It's not like Red River is some small high school in a big state. This is North Dakota. There are only about 10 big high schools in the entire state. And this one sits right in the back yard of the University. Lots of people with no direct attachment to Red River will not like that the University stole the nickname of the local high school. You can say it's lame, and maybe it is, but enough people will care making it a non-viable option. If UND chooses Rough Riders as its new nickname, I'll come back here and do whatever the virtual equivalent is of eating my hat.