tnt

...and if I were head coach, I would take over a play call here or there when the buck stopped with me, including having a play I would be confident in when the chips are down.

Bottom line is you had to trust that same offense you had no faith in to convert in a harder circumstance on the goal line anyway, so bite the bullet and go for it, then hope for that turnover if you don't make it. If you're counting on a turnover, it would be just as likely after the failed 4th down.

Would be interested to see how many people think Bubba was given an ultimatum or her made the decision on his own. Also curious to know if the pressure from fans being fed up played into the decision, or if there was finally an epiphany as to the dysfunctional state of our offense within the staff.

As I recall, the offensive line had issues with Mussman here, despite that being his area of expertise.

So if the defense scores and the score is 24-22, does Bubba kick the extra point and hope to get an onside kick for a touchdown too, or does he trust his offense to go for two in a situation that would be harder to convert?

Problem is that he didn't think it was a problem last year. Doesn't exactly inspire confidence in his judgement, nor do some of the decisions he made in games that had nothing to do with Rudy.

He might be saving them when we under perform next year.

So because Bubba was stubborn to realize the same issues everybody else saw last year, we are a year behind in instituting a better offensive philosophy. Maybe he was setting up the firing by not going for it on 4th and 2, because of his lack of confidence in the offense.

Wow you really must be in the know!

... and that might be part of the problem, who they do, and who they don't get up for! I thought that would be a thing of the past not making the tournament last year. It's one thing to work halfway hard, it's another to be totally into a game like they were against Minnesota.

Contract extension?

Unless they totally unravel, I don't see starting off 1-7. They could get beat by Duluth each night, but I am hoping that the team that plays well defensively and limits chances makes a rebound. After all, Minnesota did tie and beat Duluth, so they are not unbeatable, but they can't play like Saturday or they won't beat anybody.

It looks like if he came down on someone's ankle, his legs would just snap like a twig!

I have a feeling if this happens it won't be coming from Bubba, it will be coming from Chaves.

You know, the very few times they ran the screen pass, including against NAU, they saw some success. Just as with the tight end usage, it baffles me why it wasn't utilized more with guys like Santiago.

This better be more than a "squirrel" announcement about the next phase of the football facilities development, although that would be welcome sometime in the near future.

I agree, the problem usually is the non-conference record, but right now they have put themselves in an unenviable position of needing to split at the very least in Duluth. I think someone made the point that up until the second game against Western, that if they got to 3 goals, they would have been 7-1-1. The problem is they need to start getting to 3 goals on a consistent basis, and they need to start it now.

#culture is something that seems to be thrown out there a lot without a whole lot of meaning behind it. The last few years a lot of the players and coaches say all the right things after a loss or bad performance, but many times it becomes just lip service. Like I said, I can't remember a time since the early 90's when the team played without any swagger and were so easily discouraged after falling behind. That is not the culture I remember. I hear more excuses about bad luck or bounces than ownership of what happens after those bounces. We will see from here on out whether this is the new norm, or if they can suck it up and truly represent the culture that has been established here.

They definitely have shown they can play, but the woe is me attitude displayed when things didn't go their way last weekend makes me wonder if they have the mental fortitude to go on a run against good teams. Let's face it, Miami on the road and Western at home should not yield a 1-3 record, especially when you've got the likes of Duluth and Denver right around the corner. Sweep this weekend, split in Duluth and I think they can get some steam going, but they have to believe they are a good enough team to do that.

Last year we were expected to challenge for a bye in the playoffs without all of the injuries. When all of the injuries happened, guys that wouldn't have played had to, so just about all of those guys should have added the depth we needed this year. Northern Arizona was on their 4th quarterback and still found a way to win against a team that had the playoffs in front of them. This is football, everybody has several injuries. Last year was brutal, but it should have made the depth for this year that much greater. I have a feeling that every year UND doesn't live up to expectations you would point to a few injuries.

It's like Bubba remembers the days of Division 2 football where UND could just push their way down the field 4 or 5 yards a crack. There aren't many teams that are going to allow that to happen, especially when they know exactly what you are going to do. That is the main problem, they are so vanilla that teams know what they are going to do, and when they are going to do it.

Could you get a good one in here that won't be at odds with Bubba's conservative philosophy? Guys that are on the way up the coaching ladder aren't going to want to be hamstrung on their play calling, lest they go backward in their career path.

But he still would have had to score on an even harder goal line conversion. He must have had a prayer that they would turn the ball over, because even if they got the ball back on offense, they would have had to move the ball even further on a punt exchange, based on their field position. Most coaches have plays in their pocket for situations like that, whether they be trick or otherwise.

When I saw Bubba defending his decision to punt, it upset me all the more. If you aren't confident on fourth and two, and a play for that situation, then you haven't done a good job putting your players in a position to win! The fact that you would have had to have an even better play on a short field for a two point conversion if you wanted to tie the game makes it even more puzzling. If you have that little confidence in that situation, you for sure should have gone for it, to give yourself more time if you missed the two point conversion. There is no logic whatsoever in Bubba's defense of his actions.

Not sure how much they make on parking for hockey games, but I think I might do a study whether to just open up those lots for free, to keep more butts in the seats. With the apathy going around all sports, you don't want to give fans one more reason to stay home.