homer

That could never happen. ndsu has made such a huge name for themselves in the FCS world with all their signiture wins and all. Just ask anyone of their fans, they'll tell you. I guess, I could understand the ranking if we would have played Idaho as tough the week before as we played Fresno. Either way, if it is a result of our game this week getting some attention, congrats to the guys. Still way to early in my mind for polls to have a lot of meaning though.

The Big Sky conference is one of the top two FCS conferences in the country. Year in and out they have had one of two teams playing for the Nat'l Championship. As an alum and former player I expect UND to compete right away in the conference but being realistic I think you have to allow the program a year or to in the conference to build. UND has proven at times it can play with teams like Montana but consistency not only from game to game but also quarter to quarter are needed. I could have told anyone without being at the game UND is not at the level of the defending Nat'l Champion or one of the premier FCS programs in Montana. But I wouldn't write anyone off as we aren't even in the conference yet.

Good luck today boys. This is a game where this young team should grow up. Time to pull together and man up after the beating last week.

I'll take that one........Nope! Unless we get him 20 years before he is the Jim Tressel.

Never heard that one before. In fact I'd argue that our last few classes have been as good as we've had and after having some time to relax after the game yesterday, we had some young players make some plays. It just wasn't consistent enough. Cummings and #69 (backup NG) on the d-line played ok yesterday. Some young LB's made plays. The problem was its just not consistent enough. Last year we got a few kids they were after as well and its been a little while since we won those head to head match ups. Just ask any of their fans, they'll tell you . Either way complain about the coaching on the field all you want, I think recruiting has improved the last few years.

I doubt Lennon would come back unless we'd really, really open up the check book. There are a lot of young coaches out there who would be willing to come to a school in a rock solid conference, that is funded well for this level and has some young talent. It would have been interesting to see who would have applied 4 years ago had they opened up the position when Lennon left. I feel bad typing sounding so negative on the coaching staff but I am just frustrated about today. The difference between the play from the first to second half was embarrassing and a lot of it had to do with coaching. I'm tired of seeing #7 get beat for 3 TD's in a row and than pump his chest after breaking up a pass or making a tackle. I"m tired of seeing dropped passes on offense. I'm tired of seeing us lose contain of defense over and over and their qb rolls out and completes a pass anywhere from 5-40 yards. I said last week that was going to kill us but no correction was made. We have talent but coaching and discipline kill us. The frustrating part is its the things the players and staff can control and that is whats hard to stomach.

I thought no one cares about hockey??

Don't be too hard on him, its been a tough last couple of days for bison fans.

Man, I don't know if there are enough tissues in Fargo to mop up all the tears at that college. For a game their players didn't care about their fans are really taking the loss pretty hard. How many excuses can they come up with? I mean maybe, just maybe our team is better and you got beat. P.S.- Like I said earlier, I hope none of their fans feelings got hurt too bad. I love the fact that our students came out to support our team and had fun while doing it. As far as I'm concerned, keep it up.

Thanks for the laugh this morning. I needed that.

Thats your opinion but there won't be anyone here who agrees with you.

B) Travis Lueck E) Adam Rolland

I respect your opinion Wyo but its funny how a 40 point victory over a team in a "need based" scholorship only league who won two games last year makes a fanbase puff its chest. While I'm not sure UND has the depth to compete with NDSU in football I find it comical how a blowout is always assumed by you bison fans. I guess its pretty easy to type it when you and I know the teams aren't going to play for a while. Gene still has some excuses up his sleeve. As far as the game last night the excuses on the bison board are pretty comical. Apparently the bison were overlooking the Sioux, could care less about the game, beat themselves, are still the superior team and UND's fanbase was what all bison fans expected. I truely hope no one's feelings got hurt to bad.

Obviously yes Dan, they won. A one point win at home when SUU went for two to win it isn't enough to prove to me that SDSU is any better and depending on where someone had the teams ranked before the game isn't anything that would cause a dramatic shift in my ballot. In my opinion a 1 point victory at home isn't anything that would make me believe a team is any better and the rest of the season will tell more of a story.

Good thing my Grandpa is still around to tell me about ndsu's glory days when they won NC. He tells me about them when he is telling me about the first TV broadcasts, the Great Depression, Prohibition and Babe Ruth. Some good stories about the good ole days.

By one point at home and Southern Utah going for two and the win. A lot of time left for things to work themselves out.

Wow, you beat a team who won 2 games last year against some powerhouses. I can't imagine how good you'll be feeling after beating a 1 win team from a year ago next weekend. Thanks for stopping by though.

But he was able to complete 5-10 yard routes, which is something we couldn't do middle to end of last year. A QB can watch film and improve on his situational awareness, he can't suddenly develop the arm strength and accuracy I saw last night that we were lacking last year. It was the first game and his WR's were having a tough time hanging onto balls that were nicely thrown. The kid had a lot to prove last night, a poor performance and a lot of people would have walked. His first game in a new uniform, I'll give it a passing grade.

Wow, all I can do is shake my head. I think your going to get ripped cause of the misinformation in your post, not because of your opinion on the subject. Probably a good idea to wait until we are actually in the Big Sky conference before judging the nickname idea. Crowds like this and worse are what you can expect without the Big Sky Conference.

Did anyone listen to the game on the radio? How was Jack Michaels? I listened to some pregame on the way to Grand Forks and I really like him as the voice of our team. His pregame interviews were great but I'm curious as to thoughts on the play by play.

I disagree, if we are physical enough we will do very well in the Big Sky. Unless we have the athletes, spreading it out will play right into the teams in that conference.

Thoughts from the game. Offense -Happy with the QB play. When he got time, Bradley was effective, threw an accurate ball and made good decisions. -RB's were great. Ran hard and each made the most of the opportunities given to them. I too would have liked to see Garmen more but when you have a back averaging over 7 yds a carry and the other at nearly 5 you have to stay with whats hot I guess. WR's/TE's, CATCH THE BALL. McGill looked good, he may be able to complement Hardin but we could use a third. OL- I'm guessing next week we are going to see a ton of blitzes cause we sure didn't do a good job of picking them up. I'm sure film will put some of those on the QB but either way, I suspect there will be more next week. Defense Front 7- Its a shutout. I don't agree with the earlier comments about being a bend but don't break. Bottom line was we didn't make plays. We blitzed a fair share, had good pressure and than lost contain. Their QB made some plays when he got out of the pocket. I'm also guessing next week we see some rollouts and bootlegs. Bottom line is we have to make the plays when given the opportunity and holding contain is part of that. I taped the game last night and I don't think I'm being unrealistic when I say the opportunity was there for 5+ more sacks we just didn't convert. Secondary- We've always had problems with the quick 3 step and last night was no different. We had some breakdowns in coverage but one thing I will say is that our secondary is pretty physical and last night made sure tackles. Next week will be a test, no doubt about it.. Hope the boys are up for it. Special Teams- 3 for 3 on FG's, blocked FG, nice punt return on first punt, some big hits on kickoff cover, and some punts that pinned them deep in their territory. Overall I would say a pretty good debut for Kotelnicki's group. Overall- A win is a win. This game should have been won by a wider margin than 16-0, if we made some plays. No one has anything to be satisfied about and I'm still thinking about a 40 point loss from last year to Idaho that should be on everyone's minds. And, I'm just really glad the season is finally here.

Looking forward to tonight. I'm bringing my son to his first Sioux football game and it will be the first home opener game I've been able to attend in some time. I'll take UND 27-10.

Buddy, you need to settle down. Wyo shares the same thoughts of Carlson as many of us on this board and has stated it here and elsewhere. Because he is not a UND grad doesn't mean he can't have a thought on the issue. NDSU really hasn't done much to screw this up so I don't really understand where you are coming from with that comment, unless you are trolling or trying to stir the pot even more. You seem to be the only one who brings NDSU into this conversation.

I absolutely agree with you. Also, was driving through Dickinson last weekend and saw a letter to the editor from Mike Schatz a representative from New England talking about how he cannot support the law change as he feels it takes away our freedom of speech. I wonder if all the delegates from Carlson and Schatz's districts are going to be the ones purchasing season tickets and donating money to the athletic programs if the sanctions get placed on us and our athletic teams feel the immediate effects?