UND92,96

UNI kick returner/receiver Terrell Allen is getting a lot of ink in the Herald, but from what I've been able to gather, while he is a dangerous return man, he's not exactly a polished receiver. That's why he's not at Pitt anymore. He sounds similar to Richard Lewis from NDSU a few years back. And the USC transfer running back is not even a starter, and didn't put up particularly impressive numbers vs. Drake. I have a feeling the speed issue isn't going to be quite as significant as some people believe.

I don't think he played vs. CWU, and he's now listed as Kusler's backup at guard. I thought I read somewhere that he has a back problem, but I'm not sure.

The new men's basketball roster has been posted. It looks like Leikas and Seckar-Anderson are no longer on the team.

Per an A.P. article in the Fargo Forum today, UND suffered no new significant injuries in the CWU game. I noticed on the depth chart listed on this week's football press release that Chappell is listed at the number two running back, which may suggest that Brady and/or Beatty is injured. Or maybe Chappell has just been that impressive--I'm not sure.

He was listed as the nickel back/backup free safety. But I think he plays pretty much the whole game vs. passing teams like this.

Manke, Dressler, Troen, Trenbeath, etc.--you gotta love the recruiting class of 2004!

I never doubted him for a minute!

Which brings up the question again that I've had for years--is it a matter of Mussman doing what Lennon wants him to do with regard to playcalling, or is it mostly a Mussman decision to be so predictable? I don't know.

After reading many articles this week about the game today, it really reminds me of the buildup for last year's Winona State game. Winona looked at last year's game as arguably their biggest home game ever, and were very optimistic due to the close game they had played in GF the year before. CWU is really building this one up due to it being their first-ever NCC game, and are very optimistic due to their 8-2 record last year and their return of a lot of starters (although just six on offense). I just hope the results are similar to the Winona game. There can be a danger in being too "up" for a game, and hopefully that happens today with CWU.

Excerpt from the Herald today regarding the offensive line: I guess I don't understand why Kusler is supposedly slated to start at guard, given that Taylor Murray was listed as the starter in the press release earlier this week, and isn't mentioned as being injured in the article?

I believe the guy who created that poll (tdutch) got the idea for that choice from the same WDAZ story I saw. Outside of the people in the program, I'm not sure anybody really knows exactly what the injury situation is. Wayne Nelson hasn't written anything about it. I suppose it could be worse. At least Kusler has a whole year of experience starting at guard. UNO's so thin on the line that a guy who entered camp as a backup tight end and who has never played on the line is now their starting center!

Mid-Con has announced the addition of IPFW. link. Supposedly they'll decide the fate of the SU's within a couple of days. It seems a little odd that they wouldn't have announced their decision one way or the other with regard to the SU's the same day as the IPFW announcement.

It's hard to compare the programs due to the doubleheaders or lack thereof, the differing schedules, and the vastly different seating capacities of the Betty vs. the BSA. However, IMO UND holds the advantage in women's basketball at present, while NDSU holds the advantage on the men's side. I believe historically it's probably the opposite, however.

According the WDAZ sports last night, it sounds like the offensive line is having some injury problems. Again. No names were mentioned, but Kusler has apparently moved back to guard, so I assume either Murray or Troen, or both, is injured.

Thanks, Jim. I'm now pretty excited about Youmans' potential. I would, however, be interested to know why he didn't end up at Mercer?

Actually, they didn't beat Omaha--they lost 28-21, and UNO was without Day and Denney in that game. They did beat a pretty good Washburn team in Ellensburg (44-41, I think), but that was their lone win which I would consider to be high quality. Their other wins were over Montana-Western, and two each over Western Washington (who we all saw was terrible last year), Western Oregon and Humboldt State. CWU's defense isn't very good, and they have no running game, but they will throw the ball well. However, as UND showed in the two games vs. UMD last year, that's not necessarily a recipe for success against the Sioux. I predict Reilly will throw for a lot of yards with short passes, but it won't result in more than 20 points. Barring a bunch of turnovers, I have confidence that the Manke-led offense, with some help from a defensive/special teams score, will score more than that.

It wasn't in the online edition of the Herald so I can't provide a link, but per today's Herald UND adds two juco players--5'11" guard Ervin Youmans from Eastern Arizona College, and 6'6" forward Emmanuel Little from Kaskaskia (Illinois) Community College. Youmans averaged 18.3 ppg last year, and was named all-region. Little averaged 19 points and 8 boards per game last year. Both appear to be fairly well-travelled, and any time you get players this late you have to wonder exactly why they're still available, but they do appear to be talented.

Here is the week one release. A few changes on the depth chart include Strouth moving into the starting tailback spot, Trenbeath being a starting receiver, Murray starting at guard, and ZBJ at weakside OLB. I can't wait to see the Dressler-Chappell combo returning kicks!

I haven't noticed much discussion of ANY basketball on either the basketball forum on d2football.com, or on d2basketball.com. Furthermore, aside from perhaps USD and UNO, do any NCC/NSIC teams even have fan sites? The point being, if you're basing your opinion on lack of message board discussion--and apparently you are--couldn't you make the exact same accusations of any NCC/NSIC program? Trust me, there is interest in UND men's basketball. Certainly not as much interest as there was in the early 90's, but long stretches of mediocrity have a tendency to cause interest to diminish. I'd be somewhat concerned if there was a lot of discussion right now, because that would likely signify that there wasn't much interest in the football team. The talent level appears to be better than it was last year, assuming players such as Koenig, Bledsoe and Harkins can get and stay healthy. Kruse, Dryburgh and hopefully Boyce should be nice additions. If the team can quickly adjust to the new offensive and defensive philosophies, they could surprise a lot of people around the league.

I had a vague recollection of that thread, but I thought this was noteworthy because this is the first time I've "officially" seen the capacity listed in the 12,000's. The capacity is still listed at 13,500 on the Alerus site. link.

Speaking of crowd size, I was just reading the new football media guide, and the Alerus is listed as having a seating capacity of 12,283. link. At what point was the capacity reduced from the 13,500 it used to be listed as?

It looks like backup corner Anthony Longe may be through. link.

Does anybody know whether pre-fall camp has resulted in any changes in the depth chart? Specifically, I'm wondering if Murray has moved into the starting lineup on the offensive line. I know that historically there has been a reluctance to put transfers ahead of players who have been in the program for awhile, e.g. Travis Lueck never technically having been a starter, but it seems like it would be tough to keep a guy with Murray's experience and all-conference accolades out of the lineup, especially since there's no returning starter at that position.

Somewhere around 10,000.

Absolutely, I have nothing but respect for a guy who sticks around and keeps working hard even after the starting job is no longer his. By the same token, I really respect that Manke didn't transfer a couple of years ago when it looked like he may never get to play here. UND should have the best quarterback situation in the conference in that there are two experienced, capable quarterbacks ready to play. Other teams may have as good or better of a number one guy, but have absolutely no experience should the starter go down.