UND92,96

I think weather (rain) was an issue yesterday too. Obviously it affects both teams, but depending upon the style of offense it can affect some teams more than others. I'm sure they'll also play better this Saturday because it's their home opener. But IMO this is absolutely a game UND can and probably should win.

I like the matchup for UND on defense, particularly if NW St. doesn't make a QB change. From reading posts from their own fans, their QB was brutal yesterday. And if TT couldn't run the ball against the Sioux, I just can't see NW St. having a lot of success on the ground. I agree that the jury is still very much out on the UND offense, but in fairness Bamba has produced and made big plays in the limited opportunities he's had in his brief career. With Konrath now out, Bamba will really need to step up and play to his talent level on a consistent basis. Also, my understanding is that Davis is supposed to be a good receiver out of the backfield. Might we see him more as a receiver if he's not going to beat out Solum and/or Sutton at RB?

38 Grambling 17 NW St. final

48 Sam Houston St. 45 NDSU final

14 NW St. 7 Grambling late first half

66-7. final

Northwestern St. and Grambling are scoreless at the end of the first quarter.

UNI is very good, and maybe USD's offense isn't as strong as it was supposed to have been. Their defense seems to be a problem nearly every year.

It doesn't seem as though anybody in the media has even addressed the issue of what happens if the SL tribal council refuses to take any action whatsoever, be it to ratify the position of a clear majority of the voters, or for that matter to rescind the support given by a previous council. I know what the settlement states, but I rather doubt it was ever contemplated that a situation could arise where a vote of the people takes place supporting UND's continued use of the nickname, but the tribal council isn't willing to act on the issue one way or the other. As mentioned, I doubt things will ever get to point where this even becomes an issue, but if there is a new chairperson and a number of new council members on SR who are either in support of the nickname, or who at least are willing to let the citizens decide, it could make for a very interesting political situation on SL.

Has SL ever gone on record as officially opposing the nickname? I don't recall that they have. Which would mean that inaction by the present council/chairperson shouldn't be enough to undo what a previous council/chairperson has already done, particularly in light of the results of the recent vote. But it seems Myra isn't personally thrilled with the nickname, and whether she would ever actually sign off on the 30-year deal required by the Board of Higher Ed is another question. Of course, this is all a moot point unless something big happens on SR within the next few months.

Regarding Konrath, Mussman said on the coaches' show that it was possible he could be ready to play as early as the Stephen F. Austin game, but that there was also still a chance he may not play at all the rest of the season. He did sound fairly optimistic, though. The only other injury mentioned at all was Kasowski's, but I didn't get the impression his was very serious.

According to Bennett's bio, he only played one year of high school football! If he's already among the most impressive of the true freshmen, imagine what he may be like after a year of lifting and learning. I'm excited about the potential of this group of freshmen LB's (Bennett, Goodman, Finley and Otto).

I'm actually a little more optimistic about the talent level on offense than I was prior to the TT game. I think Landry has a chance to be quite good, particularly playing against FCS teams that probably won't be able to produce as much of a pass rush as TT did, and I have a feeling that Sutton is going to be the next great UND back. Not that I'm expecting him to put up better numbers than Murray did last year, but he was far more heralded coming out of high school than was Murray, and has been impressive in practice from what I've heard. If Bamba can improve at all on his late season performance from 2008, we could be in pretty good shape in terms of having playmakers. It will be interesting to see if Davis gets into the mix, particularly as a receiving threat out of the backfield. Finally, I think we may see Goska get some playing time, which provides a whole different dimension at quarterback (a Zach Miller type, perhaps?).

If UND plays well, I think this is a winnable game. I would compare this to the SE Louisiana game last year in terms of the caliber of opponent. NW St. has a new coach (from LSU) and a lot FBS transfers, but clearly UND has already played against better team speed. And if the Texas Tech o-line couldn't move the UND d-line, I certainly would expect us to more than hold our own up front.

It doesn't look like last night's show has been posted yet, but here's last week's show: link

You have to hand it to the kid. He's had extensive playing time in exactly two games--two years ago in a playoff game at Grand Valley, and yesterday at Texas Tech. And he played solidly on both occasions. I wasn't sure before yesterday, but it certainly looks like he's capable of having a big year.

Yes.

I'm sure that was part of it, but there may also have been the issue of having three veteran backs returning in Strouth, Beatty and Brady, and not wanting to simply hand the featured ball carrier role to a red-shirt freshman no matter how much more talented he was than the incumbents.

Nice pick!

I agree. Also, with all the young talent UND has right now, it may be a few weeks into the season before we start seeing what some of these kids are really capable of. For example, I recall the first game of the 2006 season when UND opened the season at Central Washington, a red-shirt freshman running back named Ryan Chappell was fourth on the depth chart. A week later, he rushed for 121 yards and two td's against UNI.

Does anybody know for certain whether Murray is enrolled at UND this semester? Even if he is, I would be surprised if we ever see him play again. However, with Sutton, Magstadt and after this season Binns, there is some good young talent at running back. Even though he's not starting, from everything I've heard Sutton is the back who has made the most big plays in practice.

It certainly doesn't hurt that there's already something of a relationship having been established between the two athletic departments, with the women's basketball team playing in the tournament there last year, and the men's team playing in Ames last year and this year (thanks to Mac no doubt). Besides Minnesota and Wisconsin, this is probably the regional FBS opponent that makes the most sense for UND to eventually play in football.

Oh, I guess I didn't realize that wasn't common knowledge. I kind of expect UND will eventually play Iowa State in large part because of that connection.

I have to ask, what comments of Mussman were being discussed? Please don't make me go to Bisonville...

It will be very interesting to compare the seasons Mertens and Landry have this year, particularly considering both are local products, and the fact that there was some disappointment expressed on this board when UND didn't sign Mertens. I don't think there's much question that Landry is the more physically gifted of the two, but hopefully he won't have the same problems Mertens has seemed to have in terms of mental mistakes and/or turnovers.