RD17

Flea flicker to Mercer! TD UND!

Yes, the NCAA tries to make playoff games as neutral as possible when it comes to artificial noise.

There has to be someone on the roster better at returning punts than Seibel? He is scary back there.

Very fortunate right there that it wasn't caught. Hunt has to be better.

And they are playing press man on 3rd down. Going to have to hit something over the top to loosen them up.

UND 3 and out. Richmond 1st and 10 at own 22. 10:07 2Q

Seibel is scaring me back there.

A little too heavy with the blitzing. Richmond max protecting now so Schmidt needs to adjust.

UND punt. Richmond 1st and 10 at the 20. 42 seconds left in 1Q

Can't have negative plays on 1st down. Studsrud has to get rid of that.

Completely blown coverage by someone, hard to tell.

7-7 long TD pass on blown coverage on 2nd and 10. 2:22 1Q

7-0 UND 3:25 1Q 54 yard drive for the TD all but about 6 yards on the ground.

Demon Taylor with some fantastic blocking on that drive. Man, has he come a long way this season.

Richmond right tackle is SLOW. I expect that Schmidt will have a lot of pressure coming off that edge.

Have to make that kick.

I for one was a doubter. Didn't think Bubba and staff had what it takes to get this program straightened out. Obviously I was wrong. Bubba has turned this thing around and the best part is that this team still has room to grow. I think UND will make some noise in the playoffs this year and next year the team should be loaded. It starting to feel like something really special is building with this program. Great job by the coaching staff and players!

This is the whole key right here. Studsrud just doesn't make dumb mistakes with the football that can cause a team to lose games. This is what UND needs out of any QB that starts on Saturday. Yes, it hurts to lose a leader, but I also think it's likely the rest of the team picks it up a notch if Studrud isn't out there. Look at how good the defense played last week after he went down.

I hope you are right. Last two weeks they have been 20 for 37 on third downs and run 181 plays because they stay on the field. And scored 34 and 41 points. Would you have guessed they would put up 41 against MSU's defense? Point is, UND has to avoid the big plays and get off the field on third down. If they do those two things well they will crush Sac State because the Hornet defense is garbage. However, this is the style of team that has historically given UND fits and they have a hot QB that can run or pass. I do think they will score points.

This is biggest game of the season. A loss to Sac State and all of the momentum built up from the last three weeks is lost, not to mention playoff hopes significantly damaged. If UND is going to take that next step and become an elite program then this is a game they have to win. Last week the Hornets ran 94 plays and wore down the MSU defense, largely because they converted 10 of 19 3rd down attempts of which several were third and long. UND cannot let this happen. Have to get off the field when given the opportunity. The UND offense should have a field day if they quit making the mistakes that have cut short drives the last couple of weeks. I would like to say I'm completely confident but I'm not. UND simply does not have an elite defense (372 yards allowed per game) and the big plays they have allowed at times and the fact that they will be relying on true freshman corners on one side of the field make me nervous. I think UND wins but the score might make people's stomachs turn. UND 38-35

What a great win for UND! I was out of pocket last weekend and couldn't see it live but finally got a chance to watch it last night. Some thoughts: -UND was for the most part the better team and should have won this game by a couple of scores. That's actually really good news. -Tank Harris was great. He was the key to shutting down the Cal Poly dive play. -Studsrud just doesn't make the big mistakes that hurt his team. That's very valuable to have at the QB position. Both USD and Cal Poly have some talent at the QB position but they also make really dumb mistakes. -The long TD run by Oliveira was a brilliant play call. Stockwell and Coe both lined up on the right side in an unbalanced look and the safeties and linebackers bit hard on the jet sweep action. Great blocking by Rooney as he took out two guys on the play. -Other than the bad snap, I thought Rooney played very well. Also noticed that Bell, Taylor and Aplin were basically splitting time at the guard positions. I'm not sure if this was a pure rotation or a case of the UND trying to match up the player with the offensive package they wanted to run that series.Still not great, but better play up front. -Big Sky refs are flat out awful. They missed an OBVIOUS holding call on each of Cal Poly's first two touchdown drives. I showed replays of those two plays to a friend of mine who is a college official and he said the crew should be reprimanded if there is any sort of leadership in the league office. And how in the world does the nose tackle get called for defensive holding on a standard running play? Just ridiculous. -Rudolph was really finding a rhythm with his play calling. Then the fourth quarter happened. He got a little too cute when UND should have been just been leaning on them with Oliveira. I did like the swing pass wrinkle that they were using out of the jet sweep action but unfortunately it doesn't seem to be a ball Studsrud throws very well. -The fourth quarter in general was a disaster for UND. The long TD pass was a blown coverage gift and the interception in the end zone was a gift as well. Other than that, UND didn't do much right. You have an option team pinned at their own 2-yard line, 5:28 to go, down two touchdowns and you darn near allow them to tie it up? Those pitch plays to the perimeter were killing UND in the fourth quarter and I didn't see much adjustment to it? -Has the coaching staff lost confidence in the kicking game? Interesting call to go for it on 4th and 4 in the first quarter when they could have kicked a 47-yard field goal. -I would say the next game is a trap, but not after UND played a poor fourth quarter and Sac State came back to beat MSU. I'm thinking this next game will have everyone's full attention.

I agree that UND needs to win games like this but I think that's coming in 2017. When you look at the roster, UND will have it's best team of the D-I era next year and I frankly think anything less than 8-9 wins and a Big Sky title will be a disappointment. The playoffs are still a possibility in 2016 because of the schedule but I honestly feel UND is just an above average FCS team this year.

I've been around for awhile and I'm pretty well versed in UND football history. Even though the scheme is good, you still have to have the talent. Example: in 2001 UND completely dominated Pitt State's veer in the playoffs, winning 38-0. In 2004 UND got run over by the veer in a semifinal game against Pitt State because PSU had better players. I know Schmidt knows what he is doing and UND has a decent defense. But with the way Cal Poly can throw the ball this year they are extremely dangerous and explosive. Even if UND does a decent job against the run (and I think they will), the problems giving up the big play in the passing game are troublesome against an offense like Cal Poly's.

It's not doubt on my part. I just think Cal Poly is a little bit better and I don't think the match up is that good for UND this year. UND has been too susceptible to the big pass plays which is something Cal Poly feasts on. Also, teams have been able to throw the ball on Cal Poly and the Mustangs have been poor at getting pressure on the QB. But as we all know, throwing the football isn't UND's strength and I'm not sure UND can make them pay through the air.

I think Cal Poly wins this one 31-20. Their offense is just so dynamic and I haven't seen UND be quite disciplined enough defensively to avoid the big plays that kill you when playing these types of teams. With Cox out, Rooney is going to get his shot and most people feel he has a bright future. I think the offensive line will be fine but depth is now razor thin and they can't afford to lose anyone else. Cal Poly is going to stack the box so Studsrud is going to have to have a great game to give UND a chance.