UND92,96

As expected, it was a pretty small group of protesters at the game today.

I believe it's officially somewhere between 12,200 and 12,300, since suites aren't counted as part of the official capacity (don't ask me why).

12,148--one of the bigger crowds in some time.

I think that it's important to note that as of June 18 at the latest, there were apparently some concerns about Buning's performance on the part of Kupchella. Knowing what we now know, you don't have to read too far between the lines to interpret some of the quotes in a letter from Kupchella to Buning as being less than 100% supportive: link (scroll down to "Buning review").

Here's the latest Herald article on the subject: [url="http://www.grandforksherald.com/articles/index.cfm?id=51830

I disagree. Look at how many rushing attempts Augie had against UNO. UNO is historically known for having a defense that's pretty good against the run, but weak against the pass. If Augie rushed that many times (over 30) against UNO, you can bet they're going to try something similar against the Sioux, at least so long as the game is reasonably close. We haven't given teams much of a reason NOT to stick with the run so far. I realize that getting pressure on the quarterback against a team that utilizes a three-step drop is difficult, but I still think that overall, the pass rush is far less effective as a whole this year. That's not to say it can't improve, however. Hopefully it will.

I'm just concerned about having to score on virtually every possession to win against the better teams, i.e. the playoff game last year in Omaha. That's a lot to ask of any offense. I don't think anybody's realistically expecting a repeat of the 2001 defense, but we do need to get better against the run, and generate more of a pass rush. I just don't want UND to be like USD from a couple of years ago--a record-breaking offense but only a share of a four-way tie for the NCC title, and no playoff appearance to show for it.

Even though the UND defense is still pretty banged-up, at least at linebacker, we should find out a lot on Saturday about whether the struggles of the last two games are an aberration or a trend. Statistically, the Augie offense is the second-worst in the conference, behind only St. Cloud State. If UND gives up much more than about 20 points to them, I think we've got very legitimate reason for concern.

They often do, although two of the last three in Grand Forks have been blowouts for the Sioux, most notably 52-3 in 2005.

I guess Buning must not subscribe to the theory that it takes money (more marketing) to make money (more tickets sold). It seems like common sense to me, but what do I know?

I'm listening to the coaches' show right now, and Coach Lennon mentioned how disappointed he was in the lack of marketing for the football program coming into the season. No names were mentioned, of course, but I think we know where the blame ultimately must be placed for that mistake.

Dean Blais wouldn't be my first choice, but I wouldn't completely dismiss him as a potential candidate if he's actually interested, either. Look at Wisconsin. Other than being a long-time head football coach, what really qualfied Barry Alvarez to become a.d.? Also, at U.S.C., was Mike Garrett really the most qualified candidate when he got the job? Things seem to have worked out fine at both schools, and undoubtedly there are countless other examples of people without all that much administrative experience (at least outside the coaching realm) who went on to become effective a.d.'s. With that said, I'd still prefer Bollinger or Purpur, but we have to be realize that the chances of neither being interested are probably pretty high.

Does anybody remember what happened with Ray Purpur the last time the a.d. position was open? I seem to recall he applied just before the deadline, but didn't he withdraw his application shortly thereafter?

I heard a rumor a few months ago that Blaiser might be interested, but I didn't pay much attention because it seemed pretty far-fetched. However, I have to think Fee must have talked to somebody "in the know" who confirmed at least the possibility of some interest on Blais's part to have included his name in the list of potential candidates.

link

I believe Jossy most likely will be the starting point guard. With regard to Brekke, she's the daughter of current co-acting UND a.d. Steve Brekke, who was a great player for UND in the early 80's. I'm pretty sure she'll red-shirt this year.

Kevin Fee blog.

I suppose this will be the last year we have to hear about how Augie always gives UND fits. Sometimes I think that by repeating this over and over, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Kind of like how UNO always loses in the playoffs. That has to be in large part a mental block. Anyway, I think the talent disparity between the teams this year is pretty substantial, so hopefully the Sioux can take care of business.

Not that my question has anything to do with this thread, but does it seem to you that both California Great West schools are down this year? Davis lost at home to Western Washington, and Poly barely beat dII also-ran Western Oregon last week.

Don't forget about these guys: link.

It's hard to believe in this day and age that two teams could combine for over 100 points and neither team even attempted a field goal. I will never complain about a win, especially on the road, but I'd feel better about giving up so many points had it been against a team that was known as an offensive juggernaut. WWU had only scored a total of 38 points through their first two games. I'm not sure about Bodoh, but I'd expect Stroup back next week, which should help. I believe Noah Dombrovski played last night for the first time this year (he entered the season as the expected starter at the strong side OLB), so at least the linebacking corps is starting to get healthy, assuming Stroup can go next week.

Well, I don't think I did any of those things, aside from perhaps being anti-Buning, but the point, as it were, is that as a fan and alum, I'm going to give my opinion when it comes to what I perceive as damage being done to the department. Of course not everything Buning did was bad, but evidently the bad outweighed the good or he probably wouldn't have gotten such low marks from those in the department. To the extent I'm in any way responsible for Buning's apparent ouster, I'm not trying to absolve myself. I just don't think it would have happened based upon complaints from people outside the department. Personally, I e-mailed Phil Harmeson exactly once, and it was during the men's basketball coach hiring process. As somebody once suggested, I pretty much let the professionals handle it. And I guess they did.

No, actually I try not to assume. You know the old expression. But do I think Buning's fate was in any significant way related to postings on this or any other message board? Not at all. I also don't think for one second that Harmeson based his decision on anonymous complaints. I believe the survey simply confirmed that what he had been hearing from many people within the department was indeed a consensus opinion. It is obviously unfortunate that UND is not looking very good in many people's eyes because of this whole episode. Which is why I ask the question: what SHOULD the UND administration have done?

A couple of questions: 1. In your opinion, had nothing ever been mentioned about problems within the athletic department on this board, would the end result have been substantially different for Buning? Put another way, were the whispers a substantial cause of Buning's problems, or merely a result of his actions? 2. In your opinion, how should the administration have handled this matter?

Has that ever been verified? See post #165 questioning it.