UND92,96

Ironic that quarterback sneaks were a topic of conversation on the coaches' show this past Wednesday. Lennon said some quarterbacks have that knack for always getting the first, and some don't. I was about to put Freund in the latter category...

I think Mankato probably does better against teams that aren't necessarily used to seeing that kind of offense, such as probably Central Missouri and possibly Northern Iowa. Against teams in the conference that have seen it the past three years between UMD and Mankato, it's less effective. Sure, they'll move the ball between the 20's very well, but they struggle to actually get it into the end zone. That's simply a byproduct of not having any sort of a running game. I would say at best, Mankato is the 5th or 6th best team in the league this year. Of course, that doesn't mean they can't beat UND, but IMO they can't without UND giving them a lot of help, i.e. the Augie game last year.

I don't mean to imply that Mankato isn't a legit team. Any team in the NCC is dangerous on a given day. But they weren't particularly impressive in beating Augie by 10 two weeks ago in Mankato. And UNO beat them by 30 last week despite being very banged-up on both the offensive and defensive lines. The bottom line is that UND is the better team, and should win the game if they play relatively well.

October 8.

I don't think you'll have any problem getting in. I doubt Mankato has ever sold out a game.

Correct. For some stupid reason, I was thinking yesterday was Friday when I posted that.

I'm sure they've left already. They may not be there yet, but I'm sure they're at least on the road.

This is just my opinion, but I would kind of expect LaFrance to back up Jossy at the point. As for the other newcomers, I would expect them to probably red-shirt, or else play very little except for in mop-up time.

Here are some possible reasons for optimism: In three games against UND (two while at UMD and one while at MSU), offensive coordinator Dan Ragsdale-led offenses have managed 10, 12 and 3 points. Also, if you throw out MSU's game against NAIA Peru State (which lost 36-7 to Jamestown), MSU is scoring just 19.5 points per game. I see MSU as a more talented, but only slightly more successful version of Augie.

I didn't realize this guy has been coaching in Mankato since last year.

I have a feeling most of the local sports media probably do.

Ryan Bakken noticed. link.

We'll know a lot more about USD after Saturday, as they play Central Washington on the road. If they lose, their season is hanging by a thread, as they still have to go to Omaha, and of course play UND. I'd be very surprised if USD can win at either CWU or UNO, as they just never seem to get that big road win over a good team. Plus, their defense is just not very good.

Chappell is now the leading rusher in dII, and Freund leads in passing efficiency: link.

IF Stroup is out this week, I really hope Bodoh is ready to play. No offense to Giles or any of the other weakside OLB's, but I get a little nervous when the top two guys on the depth chart at any position are out with injuries at the same time.

I don't doubt Mankato has some speed, but it's hard to be too impressed with their last two games--a 30-point loss in Omaha, and a pretty competitive 10-point win at home vs. Augie.

I'm not sure whether he's a grad assistant or volunteer assistant, a la Lotysz.

They were outstanding. To have given up fewer than 150 yards is almost unbelievably good. I was especially encouraged by the run defense completely shutting down Augie, considering Augie had some success running the ball against UNO last week.

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.