I fully realize that this is a duplicate thread to a large degree. However, the other thread started with a close look at the positives. While I agree with much of this, I am going to give my thoughts about the program as a whole from a few different aspects. Please understand that I am a long time UND fan and booster I will be until I pass on. Much of this may come across as negative but I think it is accurate. I will do my best not to have any of my comments reflect on any specific player as that would be very inappropriate. I also fully understand that we are in transition, not playoff eligible, didnt have a respectable conference, etc. These are difficult challenges.
My thoughts:
The Season
While I expected it to be a 4 or 5 win season, I was very disappointed in our effort in many games and in the fact that there was little, if any, improvement as the season progressed.
Idaho We just didnt show up for this game this certainly got the season off to a rough start and negatively affected fan interest.
N. Illinois We had a chance to win this game and I was proud of the effort. Giving up 500+ yards is a bunch but they are a very good team.
NE/NW games As expected, we won these two games rather easily and put up two 500+ yard offensive efforts.
USD Although the score was relatively close, USD controlled this game throughout. This was disappointing for many reasons: coming off of two wins, USD being the primary rival on our schedule, it certainly didnt help the recruiting efforts, etc.
S. Utah After scoring the first 14 points, we put up an embarrassing effort. They outgained us 509-173 yards. This disengaged UND fans and students. Importantly, many potential recruits were in attendance. The game experience sure was not positive due to: the way we played, the fans disappearing early in the game and, my biggest concern, they may not have been impressed with the coaching effort during and after the game.
Cal Poly We played well but while it is difficult to win on the road, it is a game you need to figure out how to win. We didnt do so.
Lamar A relatively easy win. Lamar played some other teams tough so this was a positive. Unfortunately, there were 4,000 less fans in the stands than the previous home game.
UC Davis We hung in there for awhile but UCD controlled the game. Not having Landry certainly made a difference but we shouldnt get outplayed like that at home. I think numerous recruits were at this game as well.
UM Our offense was nonexistent, proud of the defense. I will mention the decision to punt on 4th down in their territory a little later.
SDSU Another embarrassing loss to an old rival. The defense played well to keep the score from being terrifically embarrassing. Not a good way to end the season.
While we were pretty respectable in some of these games, I saw little improvement as the season went on.
Offense
Line The last couple of years, we have been smaller up front than our D2 teams of the previous 10 years. I think they played pretty well much of the time but 280-290 pound lineman just wont cut it at this level. Some kids with good HS credentials left the program in the last few years. I dont know why but, to some degree, it reflects negatively on our recruiting efforts or the ability of the coaching staff to retain these kids in the program. There are some OL being redshirted that may assist greatly in the next few years.
Backs Murray is a stud and Sutton isnt too far behind. It is too bad that they both had injury challenges. It was really too bad that we had to pull Millers redshirt but that was necessary as we didnt have other talented young backs waiting in the wings.
Receivers Hardin certainly was a pleasant surprise but no one else stepped when we had injuries to a couple others who may have contributed. I guess I dont really know what role the TE is to play but they werent an integral part of the offense (other than blocking).
QB Landry is a tough, loyal, local kid for whom I have great respect. He had some good games and some not-so-good games. It was a bit surprising to me that Goska saw very little game time early in the season. I would have thought that with his style differing so much from Landrys would be very effective in a series or two now and then. It was disappointing that we didnt have better QB results in the last few games. We definitely need quality depth in that position. Next year is scary I dont know how much progress the two returning QBs can make nor do I know if either Detmer or Comes will be able to step into a starting role.
Bottom line In six of the eleven games, we had less than 300 total yards. We wont win many games with that kind of production.
Defense
Line although it appears we have some talented kids up front, we didnt get consistent pressure on the QB throughout the season. See 3-4 comment below.
LBs Hendrickson had a great year and Dublanko was hurt a lot. It appeared this group as a whole was quite average. Good to see some of the new faces get some game time.
DBs Throughout the year, we played so far off of the line of scrimmage that opponents were able to get the quick out quite easily. I would think that this wasnt a strategy by the coaching staff but a necessity to ensure we didnt get beat downfield. I can think of no other reason. We have some young players with good speed who need to work on their tackling techniques. They are quite small it would be good if we can bring in some DBs with better size.
Bottom line Although the 3-4 has served UND very well for many years, it may be time to change to the traditional 4-3 as we dont see much option anymore. Our pass rush and pass defense was quite poor at times. As noted above, it was easy to take advantage of our playing so far off of their wideouts.
Recruiting
We have all been excited about the last two recruiting classes. This years group of redshirts becoming eligible included three starters who contributed quite well: Hardin,
Kleason and Mackey. The young linebackers saw the field quite a bit but I really was surprised that a few others did really impress and win starting jobs as the season went on.
The kids being redshirted this year also have good credentials. I wish we had been able to keep the redshirts on Miller and McGill. Both would have benefited from another year of growth and experience.
We, as fans, are relaying on these two classes to help us turn the corner in FCS play. I hope we are right. At this point, it is too early to tell.
I like the fact that we are recruiting outside of our normal area and that needs to continue. However, I sure hope we can continue to get good kids out of WS and we really need to get more kids out of the only metropolitan area near to us the Twin Cities.
Being in a conference and especially the Big Sky should help. Hopefully, the excitement of playing in CA, AZ, MT, etc. will outweigh Midwest kids and their parents wanting them to play more games closer to home.
Coaching
I have many concerns about the coaching of this years team. In brief:
the 3-4 it may be time to get away from it.
the sense that I had that they were playing not to get killed on the scoreboard the last few games rather than wanting and expecting to win.,
decision-making at times (punting on 4th down) if I were a young athlete being recruited and saw that my future coach made that decision, I would seriously question whether I wanted to play that style of ball at UND. I also find it amazing that Hardin only caught three passes in the last two games. I realize that our passing game was almost non-existent at the end - only completing 21 passes but not figuring out how to get the ball to Hardin was concerning.
post-game interviews, and interviews in general, are difficult for coaches. But talking about the officiating or how we gave a great effort after getting pounded is not appropriate.
While Mussman and his staff probably deserve another year, if things dont get better soon, we will get off to a very poor start in the Big Sky. This will affect interest in the program, attendance, fund-raising, second guessing of the decision to move on our own to the BSC, etc. In other words, it wont be good! The problem is that if we make a coaching change in a year or so, then we will likely have a couple of years of transition to a new coaching staff, new offenses, etc.
Big Sky
It is great to be in the Big Sky. We know all the positives there are many. I do have concerns about our not getting off to good starts (with FB as well as both BB teams). If we do not compete well, having a good team come into the Alerus will not have much influence of potential attendees. I also have major concerns about money. The cost of travel will be huge. Yes, we have similar costs now but it would sure be nice if we could use all that excess travel $ to increase recruiting budgets; upgrade facilities, do more marketing, etc.
Stadium/Facilities
I certainly hope a new practice facility will be announced soon. It would help in so many ways: recruiting, team preparation (not just FB), upgrade the FB offices, etc. The announcement would create a lot excitement.
As far as a new outdoor stadium is concerned, that would be outstanding but I dont think it makes sense any time in the near future. While it would probably assist in recruiting, I have real concerns about attendance if we are not winning and winning often. There would be the usual excitement and higher attendance for a year or so but then what. Having 5,500 people in a 20-25,000 seat stadium would be counterproductive in impressing potential recruits, etc. Until we develop a much larger and loyal fan base, you wont get a whole lot of people showing up for a November game when it is 25 degrees out. I the rumors about a retractable roof were real, that would be a different story but I would be amazed if that happened. Additionally, the cost of maintenance on this type of facility would be a factor.
Attendance
This has been discussed a bunch so I wont go into it much. We need to do all we can to get more people interested in Sioux FB. We need to get them to the Alerus and make sure they have a great time while watching an exciting and successful home team. That wont happen overnight but we need to start working on that hard. Just think how it would help our athletic budget if we had another 3-4,000 fans at the Alerus for every game.
Student apathy is a real problem. With hockey being the cool sport on campus, it is more difficult to get students interested in other sports. We have talked quite a bit about how student attendance has changed since some of us were in school (more than 15 years ago). That is fact but I think that it is partially due to the fact that the population in ND and NW MN has rapidly declined (especially in ND). While enrollment is up, a large number of students are not from the area and dont have any allegiance or major interest in UND sports because they have not been exposed to it for their first 18 years of their lives.
Summary
Obviously, I have some real concerns about the program some about the coaching staff, about attendance, our lack of a practice facility (today), our ability to be successful in D1 (in FB and all sports) due to our remote location, etc.
In rereading the above, it was much more negative than I had hoped but I dont have the time to soften it up a bit. You may ask what am I going to do about it other than bitch and complain; I am going to put my money where my mouth is and write a larger check to the FSC. Money, in my opinion, is the single most important factor in UNDs athletic success (actually leadership of the President and AD is right there with money). More dollars would allow us to attract/retain quality coaches, increase recruiting efforts, improve facilities, etc. I would ask that anyone reading this to help UND athletics a little more than you have in the past, if possible. Heck, help UND a lot more, if you can.
My epistle is complete!
I certainly may have made a factual error or two above. If so, my apologies! Unless it is a major error, lets not waste time talking about it.
