UND92,96

A reference? No. Just that the theory is not necessarily limited to a few people on this board. Why do you seem so threatened by the fact that perhaps it's possible to seek and obtain a conference affiliation BEFORE moving to dI, just as Carr recommended? Between Harmeson's quotes in McFeely's column and RT's comments in the Dakota Student article, you don't have to read too far between the lines to see what may be going on behind the scenes.

I guess I don't see how what I wrote can be construed as a slam at SDSU. Among the schools mentioned as interested in the Big Sky, plus UND if they have also expressed interest, I just think it's not a stretch to speculate that UND and NDSU would be the two top choices. That doesn't mean SDSU wouldn't get in as well, if three schools were added, but if you think that SDSU would get in OVER UND, I would vehemently disagree.

What are you talking about, we'll have the Great West! Seriously, my guess is either both UND and NDSU will get into the Big Sky, or neither will. In which case, at least you'll have company in your dI independent purgatory, and we'll both have the Nickel to play for again!

I certainly can't disagree with that. A couple of dates to keep in mind: January 10, 2005--Vote on proposed dII football scholarship cut from 36 to 24. August 1, 2006--Effective date of cut (if resolution passes). My guess? If the above-described resolution passes, look for an announcement from UND within 6 months after January 10, 2005.

That's what I originally thought regarding Kupchella, but I have since learned that he does listen to those working under him, and if football scholarships are indeed cut as expected, you can bet that Roger Thomas will tell him that UND has no real choice but to move or risk a significant regression of the football program. Since this scholarship cut looks inevitable, I fully expect that the wheels are in motion for a move by UND to dI/I-AA within 2-3 years.

I would agree with the allure of a higher NCAA division argument if we were talking about a school like Georgia Southern or Montana who was playoff-eligible, in a conference where several of the members were not looking to move out as soon as possible, and which had a history of recent I-AA success. However, as it pertains to this particular thread in which we are talking about kids quite literally in UND's own backyard, I really don't think NDSU has any advantage over UND EXCEPT for the scholarship advantage, which admittedly is significant. If UND goes I/I-AA fairly soon as most probably expect, then the two will be back on even scholarship ground within a few years and these points will again be moot.

To the extent there's any allure involved, I suspect it would have more to do with a full scholarship instead of a partial.

I don't really think anybody is saying that Belmore is necessarily a bad quarterback, or that he won't improve with time. But throwing out the Mesa St. game--which you almost have to do considering how bad they've turned out to be--Belmore is a combined 23-47 for 288 yards, 4 int's and 3 td's over the past two games. Looking at those numbers objectively, I don't think it's surprising that people are concerned and feel that perhaps Manke would do at least as well and possibly better. I just think there's too much talent at the other positions and there's too much at stake to give Belmore a long leash and just let him play his way out of these struggles, assuming he can. If Wilson had never gotten a shot to play last year when Bowenkamp was struggling, the Sioux may never have made the playoffs. Perhaps Manke can give the team a similar shot in the arm, even if it's not necessarily a permanent change.

Northwest 1. Northwood (5-0) 2. North Dakota (4-0) 3. Grand Valley State (4-0) 4. St. Cloud State (5-0) 5. Michigan Tech (4-0) 6. Saginaw Valley State (3-1) 7. Winona State (4-1) 8. Western Washington (3-1) 9. Ferris State (4-1) 10. Finday (3-2) 11. Nebraska-Omaha (3-2) 12. Augustana (S.D.) (3-2) I'm not surprised that the Sioux are number 2, but I figured it would be behind Grand Valley State.

You would think Manke is getting some decent reps in practice, even if for no other reason than he's just one hit away from being the starting quarterback. My understanding is that coming into pre-fall camp, Belmore and Manke were essentially in a dead heat for the number 2 quarterback job. Call it a gut feeling, but I kind of think Manke may be one of those guys who maybe isn't the prototype college quarterback, but who can rise to the occasion and get the job done in a game situation. I remember seeing him play in the 3A or 4A (or whatever division Detroit Lakes is in) title game a few years ago and I was really impressed with him. Also, according to the media guide he was a 4.0 student in h.s. so he's also apparently pretty intelligent.

Although they are Canadian, Simon Fraser is actually an NAIA member. I believe they won the all-sports title last year (Director's Cup) for NAIA.

There was an article in the Herald today about Mertens and Rambeck, and it said both are being recruited by UND, NDSU and UMD. Also, I have heard UND has a very good shot at signing Ryan Chappell.

I agree about Manke. Nothing against Belmore personally, but Manke was flat-out a winner in high school. He can make plays. I say, if Bowenkamp can't go, give Manke a shot.

According to the Herald he was suspended for some unspecified off-field conduct. Too bad for him, especially considering he's from Sioux Falls.

If Bowenkamp can't play, do you think that the coaches would give Manke a look, at least if Belmore starts out poorly again next week?

Unless tonight's game was just a big fluke, it would appear the Sioux would have to be considered an underdog next week. I don't think St. Cloud State really has much of a defense, but it's probably not that much worse than Augie's.

I guess my question after this offensive performance is whether Bowenkamp at 80% (or whatever he is) is better than Belmore at 100%. Obviously the Sioux are going to have to score more points than this to win next week considering how SCSU's offense has been performing up to now. Since Bowenkamp was evidently the number 2 quarterback for this game, according to Lennon on the coach's show on Wednesday, he must be feeling well enough to play.

In addition to announcing that Belmore will again get the start this week, Dale Lennon mentioned on his radio show last night that Ross Brennan will be playing for the first time this year on Saturday, which should further bolster the defensive line depth. I believe he had some type of foot injury.

I'm sure most of us know the relative struggles the Sioux have had against Augustana over the years. During the period from 1990 to present, UND is 10-4 against Augie, and has had four or five pretty close games in the victories. Considering Augie's overall record during that period of time, it seems to defy logic that they've done as well as they have against the Sioux. The obvious concerns for this game, aside from the fact that UND hasn't typically played that well against Augie, are that it's the first road game of the year, and that Augie is apparently decent, at least by their standards. The biggest positive may be that UND now has two ex-Augie coaches and/or players on the staff, so that should be a pretty big benefit. Also, Augie's syle of offense--a lot of short passes--is a lot more common these days so presumably the Sioux defense shouldn't be seeing anything it hasn't faced already this season against both Delta and CW. In fact, Delta St. and even possibly CW both probably have more talent at the skill positions and had only modest success throwing the ball, or at least getting into the endzone. The fact that Concordia-St. Paul won at Augie earlier this year is also evidence that the Sioux should be able to win this game. Concordia simply isn't very good judging by their blow-out loss at Mankato last week. Similar to Delta St., Augie has a pretty small front seven, particularly at linebacker where they're only in the 200-pound range. That should make them susceptible to the power running game. However, I would hope that the offense isn't too conservative because if the Vikings start bringing up a safety to stop the run, they need to be made to pay for it with the deep ball to Weber, Johnson, Grossman, et al. With two other very difficult road games this year, the Sioux really need this one. I'm hoping for an undefeated home schedule and winning at least 2 of 3 on the road. Prediction: UND 31, Augie 13.