jimdahl

19-9 UND. As the announcers pointed out, we're having offense troubles without Johnson, Lueck, or Ahlers. Gotta figure out some way to get some points.

Hall fumbled but we couldn't quite get it, 9 yard loss nonetheless. 3rd and long, big pressure from the Sioux. UNA converts on 3rd and long. They're moving the ball really well. Not on the back of one big play, but a really good drive. The Sioux D continues to bend. A turnover would be huge, but what I'm really hoping for is the Sioux offense to start getting something done when we get the ball back. I don't think 0 points in the 2nd half is going to win this game for the Sioux.

If he's interested, he'll certainly get the offers; he got interest last year and it should be much greater this year. Frankly, he deserves to move up; if the institution doesn't move up with him, I'll certainly wish him well at the next level. The Sioux have had great success ever since he's been coach, but this year more than ever it's been obvious how much great coaching has contributed to our success. We've been fortunate to have him as a coach, and will be lucky to have him as long as we can. He's quite young -- moving up a division would be a great career move for him if he's interested in trying to climb the ranks.

Interception Sioux! After missing a great chance at a safety, the Sioux let UNA drive 30 yards or so, looked like our D was starting to bend. UNA has figured out how to control our offense better, but our D is still doing what they need to do.

I also pointed out how EVERY week since the week before the Bison game, we've heard how the Sioux have gotten lucky so far but next week they're playing an opponent who will expose them. The Sioux have never run up the score, which misleads the casual observer who doesn't watch the games, but we've noticed since week 3 that they bring out just as much talent as needed to compete with each opponent. There was no way to know in advance if the Sioux could step up the level of play to match UNA since they're the toughest opponent yet, but win or lose, the Sioux have already shown that they could step it up to compete with UNA. I think UNA was a little shaken by the dome and the crowd in the first half, so who knows if we could've done the same thing in front of a hostile crowd in Alabama.

They got rid of the halo rule just this season.

It's worth noting that was a horrible snap and a botched hold by Bowenkamp. Halftime. I can't shake the feeling the Lions are going to come out with a whole new game at the half. Hopefully the Sioux can make a statement early, similar to the first half, to keep the momentum. Lakerfan-- I think I've actually seen why people think UNA has such a potent offense. No turnovers, they've had some beautiful passes, but the Sioux are just bigger and have read their plays well. Our pass coverage has been the best I've seen all year -- Hall is dropping 20+ yd passes right into receivers arms but our defense has broken them all up except one biggie. Their O line really can't contain our pass rush so far (again, the Sioux are just dominating the physical game so far), which is putting an insane amount of pressure on Hall; lots of plays resulting in lost yardage for the Lions. All it would take would be a slight breakdown in our coverage or the Lions' offensive line buying an extra second for a lot of those passes to start becoming complete and the Lions running up a lot of points in a hurry. Half a game to go.

Or have the Sioux have just been underrated by Bison fans all season? This game is FAR from over (remember Winona a week ago, and UNA is a LOT more explosive), but if the Sioux win I look forward to this week's version of "the Sioux got lucky" and "UNA isn't really that good" spin We need to keep running up the score while we're dominating, because we have their D pretty shaken right now; but I don't think it's going to last all 60 minutes. Count on the Lions getting one hell of a pep talk and the coaches making some big adjustments at half time. One thing that gives me some hope over the long haul of the game is that the Sioux are dominating based on their size -- we're just overpowering the Lions. A few adjustments on their part could counter that advantage, but nothing will make it disappear entirely.

UNA had an amazing long pass that set them up to score, probably the sweetest pass I've seen in Sioux games this year. The receiver (sorry, I didn't get his name) was awesome -- he was totally covered but just climbed over our guy to get the ball out of the air. We knew UNA would pull off a few of those big plays, so it's good that we're holding up well otherwise. UND held well from 1st and G at the 9 to leave UNA with a field goal. 9-3 Sioux. We returned the kick to our 45

GVSU leads Texas A&M Kingsville 7-3 in the 1st. The Sioux had a nice series of grinding plays to cover the 20 yards. I'd say about 10 plays in the drive, keep their D on the field. One delay when they couldn't get the snap off changed a 3rd and G at the 5 to a 3rd and G at the 9. 27yd FG by Glas good. 9-0 Sioux.

The noise in the Alerus just caused them to miss getting a snap off and backed them up 5 Let's do that a few more times. UNA punting again after a 3 and out, Lueck returns to their 37.

I can't imagine many UND fans will convert to become Bison football fans simply because the Bison belong to a different division that also has a fanbase limited to fans of its specific member institutions. It's probably true that most of us would cheer for the Bison if they did well in a major sport in which they belong to the top classification, such as the Big Dance, though I don't think that will stop us from cheering for the Sioux the rest of the time.

First Bison1234, now McFeely: Sioux shouldn't play Bison

Just a fan. I used to know some reps in the organization -- they got me Stanley Cup tix, but that's been over 5 years now.

Name that line ("Online Poll" in upper right) Century Line Money Line Super Line Huh -- how familiar.

There won't be any bias on this board

Don't get me wrong, like I said, the Sioux are no good (so far) this year, either; could be a long year for all N.D. basketball fans. I just found it a peculiar choice of topics on which to attack the Sioux, given.

While I understand why Bison fans would want to try to change the topic away from football (not exactly an area of strength for NDSU in recent years), basketball may have been a poor choice; while it's true the 2-3 Sioux have had some awful games, aren't the Bison 0-5 this season?

Without looking any up, Cardinal, Orangemen, Crimson Tide, and Illini came to mind as names that don't end in 's'. If the question means that it can neither contain an 's' nor be plural, I guess that would strike Illini, Orangemen, and Crimson Tide, leaving me with a paltry one. If Crimson Tide flies, so would Crimson.

The wisdom of The Sicatoka Other teams can have all the other polls they want.

Don't be fooled, the home fans will be out, will be loud, and will know this team can win. Acknowledging the fact that most people think UNA is the favorite doesn't mean we don't think the Sioux can win -- other teams have been favorites before and the Sioux have adapted and done what it took to win.

Oh, I'm sorry, that's my prediction for 8:00 left in the 4th. Final score will be UND 35, UNA 34. Frankly I have no idea how these teams will matchup, my guess has nothing to do with the outcome of the game, I think UNA is the general favorite, and it would be no fun if the poll were just a count of UND fans vs. UNA fans on this board. I don't really want A&M Kingsville to win either.

UND 17, UNA 34 GVSU 21, TAMUK 35 Can UND win this game? Definitely. Are they the favorite? I still gotta say no. Prove me wrong Newcomers to the board will have to excuse the Bison fans, they're still having troubles adjusting to the hockey school to the North being consistently better than the Bison at football for the last 10 years. If you stick around long enough they'll tell you that they were won some titles and were better than the Sioux for a whole decade in the 80s.

I can't shake this feeling the GVSU fan feels they have a better shot against the Sioux than UNA in Florence Believe me, nothing would make us happier than obliging you.

Expect the Sioux to either get so far behind that you think the game is over, then UNA collapses and the Sioux come back; or the Sioux to get so far ahead that you think the game is over, then they collapse and allow UNA to come back. Seriously, though -- the Sioux have done a fair job of adjusting to the opponents' D this season. Against zone pass rushes (such as NDSUs), the Sioux effectively used short outside screen passes (ask Sioux fans about the dreaded "bubble") to force open field tackles by their weak corners. The Sioux tend to get a lot more yards through the air than the run, though the attempts are really about split; against our weaker run-defending conference opponents like Mankato and USD, there was a lot more running, of course. Against Winona, we had some success with slightly longer passes because there wasn't much open on the inside. Like Sicatoka said, there doesn't seem to be single favorite formation. The Sioux tend to stop the run better than the pass (Pitt St. being a notable exception). UND will definitely try to burn your corners with big receivers on some long plays, though they're also prone to give up a few of those. Frankly, I'd expect to see a number of mid-long passes from the Sioux offense in this game, though any actual speed differential between UNA and the Sioux could change that. Like UNA, the Sioux have had some success in the playoffs by forcing mistakes.