UND92,96

I can understand why Wayne Nelson predicted a UNO win today, but what's the deal with him giving them the advantage over UND on defense? The numbers suggest otherwise, and UNO is known to be suspect against the pass (which Wayne even admits). That seems like curious logic to give them the advantage simply because they give up roughly 10 fewer rushing yards per game, and they're playing at home.

It looks like International Falls has a good running back who is being recruited by UND, among others. [url="http://www.grandforksherald.com/articles/index.cfm?id=13273

UND is ranked number one in at least one pre-season poll: link

As I see it, with Manke playing this is arguably the most complete Sioux offense in a long, long time. You have playmakers at the three key skill positions with Manke, Chappell and Dressler. The line is very solid. The UNO defense, like always, is good against the run, but they're giving up 20 ppg, and gave up 31 and 28, respectively, against NWMSU and Augie, neither of which have as strong of offenses as UND (at full strength). So if UND can score in the upper 20's, can the defense hold the one-dimensional (albeit one strong dimension) Maverick offense to less than that? I think so. Just as few outside of the team and some UND fans felt the Sioux had any chance at Northern Iowa, I see this as a similar statement opportunity. Nobody outside of UND fans is giving the Sioux much of a chance on Saturday, but I really feel we're going to see the "real" UND offense on Saturday, and that UNO won't be able to consistently run the ball up and down the field against Wolff, Brennan, et al. I see the Sioux winning 28-24, and Manke comes through in the clutch again.

He is starting and playing well from what I can tell.

No, but it looks like you can watch it free on the internet. link

It's kind of interesting that on the d2football.com board, nobody besides UND fans is picking the Sioux to win. I like it. There's nothing like proving all the naysayers wrong. The defense and special teams are playing better now than early in the season. With Manke now back, if we can get the offense back to its Northern Iowa form, UND has a good chance. UNO has played well since their loss to NWMSU, but they have their flaws, too. They don't throw the ball as well as in the past, and their pass defense is suspect. I don't believe their special teams are very special, either.

Northwest 1. North Dakota (6-0) 2. Nebraska-Omaha (4-1) 3. Grand Valley State (6-0) 4. Winona State (5-1) 5. Northwood (6-0) 6. South Dakota (5-1) 7. Augustana (South Dakota) (4-2) 8. Minnesota Duluth (4-2) 9. Ferris State (4-2) 10. Saginaw Valley State (4-2) 11. Tiffin (7-0) 12. Humboldt State (4-1)

I don't think Belmore's confidence problems have anything to do with the coaches. I think once he started turning the ball over late last year, it became a vicious cycle--turnovers made him tentative, which led to even more turnovers.

Normally, I like to see an offense be aggressive in that circumstance. However, I didn't really have a problem with settling for the field goal. I have to wonder if maybe Lennon and Mussman wanted to be extra careful after the interception thrown around the goal line vs. Augie that was returned for a td.

It's hard to be overly optimistic about this game. For one thing, UND is 3-7 vs. UNO over the past decade. Obviously the offense is struggling with Belmore at the helm, and even assuming Manke plays this week (and I believe he will), it's going to be asking a lot to expect him to be all that sharp after being off nearly a month. And UNO has played very well after their lop-sided loss to NW Mo. State. I guess the positive is that unlike the past few years, UNO doesn't have that big-play receiving threat like Krause or Denney. I think they're going to just pound the ball right at the UND defense, and besides the tight end, I don't think they can hurt you throwing the ball. The question is, will our defense be as strong vs. the run as it's been in the past? We haven't played a run-first team for some time. Without Digger, I'm uncertain how UND will stack up against this type of offense, although I have a lot of faith in the d-line and Brennan. I predict this will be one of those 20-point games that we've seen so often over the years. Whichever team can score 20 points probably wins. I would like to think even if Reed isn't 100%, he can find a way to move the ball against a good, but not great UNO defense. Their achilles heel is, like always, pass defense. UND didn't exploit that weakness last year, but of course that was with Belmore playing. I would like to think the same mistakes won't be made again. It's time to break the curse of Pat Behrns.

USD scored in the last minute to pull out a 10-7 win at home over Central Washington. That's a total of 10 points for USD over the past two weeks. And I thought OUR offense was struggling!

I don't think sticking up for JB means that people are condoning violence. Remember, in the article we're basically hearing one side of the story. I'm not sure how closely people actually read this article, but I just read it again, and it appears that JB's female companions and the alleged victim were the first to actually fight. Exactly who threw the first punch is unclear given we only have the alleged victim's side of the story. However, let's say for the sake of argument that in JB's eyes, this woman who supposedly was using racial epithets towards him was now fighting with his female friends. Is it still completely unacceptable to use violence in this circumstance, i.e. if you see somebody fighting with family or friends? I think it's a valid question. I don't think JB used good judgment, but I think there are some extenuating circumstances here that make things more complicated than they may appear at first. JB has no history of being violent as far as I know. I'm not going to throw him under the bus for this, at least not without hearing his side of the story.

From Frank Fee's column (KROX radio web site):

If true, I have mixed feelings about this. I would certainly not be disappointed if Belmore wasn't playing, but neither do I want Manke to come back too soon and risk further injury. I'd kind of like to see what Freund can do if given a chance.

One thing that needs to change if UND is going to continue winning is the turnover differential. Right now, UND has seven turnovers, while the opponents have just four. It's unusual for a successful team to have a negative turnover margin. It's almost unbelievable that the Sioux have yet to recover a fumble on the season through five games!

I believe either one or two starters returned this year. Last year's senior class was outstanding, with 6 or 7 signing with dII programs (4 at UND).

What really concerns me about Belmore is the fact that over the past four games in which he's played all or nearly all the game, he's accounted for 10 turnovers (9 picks, 1 lost fumble), while throwing just four td passes (0 rushing td's). Maybe one or two of the picks weren't his fault, but even giving him the benefit of the doubt on that, it's still an awful ratio. The general consensus seems to be that he completely lost his confidence late last year. Anybody want to venture a guess as to his level of confidence now? It will be interesting to watch Sioux Sports Weekly tonight to see if the picks were as bad as they sounded.

It definitely won't be close. Central is way down this year.

We'll have to see what becomes of the current group of South seniors, but other than Roehl, I don't think anybody from that West Fargo team has gone on to play college football at a level higher than perhaps the DAC (and I don't know if any are playing there). I think this South team is quite a bit better than any West Fargo teams since the days of Ross Brennan. The WF team when Ross Brennan and Caleb Johnson were seniors was very, very good, however.

I don't think it's worth arguing about, but how about this: Chris Beatty is a 6th-year senior, gained over a 1000 yards last year, and isn't getting any time this year. If Strouth is as hobbled as it appears he might be, what's wrong with letting Beatty play more? In the scheme of things, is Beatty any less of a "major piece of the puzzle" than is Strouth?

35 carries for 82 yards. I think it's important to keep in mind that UND still has Beatty, who was a 1000 yard rusher last year but has just three carries so far this year, and Brady, who was number one on the depth chart until a few days before the opener. Even though I like Strouth, I feel like if he's not 100% healthy, or if he's not producing at or near the level of his 2004 season, then Beatty and/or Brady should be getting more carries. I like the constrasting styles of Chappell with more of a power back, rather than two smaller, speedy backs sharing the carries.

I don't necessarily want to bury Strouth on the depth chart, but I really have to question whether he's healthy. Through four games, his per carry average is roughly half of his career average. I could dismiss it after a game or two, but we're now nearly halfway through the regular season. The line seems to be opening holes for Chappell, which would seem to suggest that perhaps the problem lies with Strouth having lost a step or two since his surgery?

I haven't seen any of the pickup games, but I hear that the captain's practices have been extremely intense and demanding. It sounds like the work ethic is very good. I'm looking for huge things out of Kimbrough this year. With teams having to collapse on her and Langen inside, it should provide for a ton of open looks by the perimeter players.