UND92,96

One interesting aspect of yesterday's game that I don't believe anyone has mentioned yet is that Tony Hermes is actually one of the kick returners this year. It seems surprising since he's a 230 pound-plus 5th-year senior linebacker who probably hasn't carried the ball at all since high school, but he actually did a pretty nice job. Travis Lueck he's not, but he's not bad. I'm not sold on Groeschl yet, though. I know he did some returning duty last year, but I haven't really seen the kind of burst from him yet that you'd like to see from a returner. I had thought Strouth may be one of the primary returners this year, but perhaps he's just too valuable as a running back to chance injury on special teams. Grossman would seem to be another candidate. Presumably, we're not seeing Alexander doing returns yet due to possibly suspect hands? From a speed perspective, I have to think that eventually he could be a very effective kick/punt returner.

Just to clarify my previous post regarding play-calling, I did not intend to criticize Lennon. It's Mussman who calls the plays, and he was who I was questioning. However, upon further review, I suppose it's at least conceivable that Bowenkamp audibled out of a running play on one or more plays during the possession in question. I just think it's ironic that many of us criticize the usual ultra-conservative approach to play-calling, and yesterday it was a case of getting away from the ultra-conservative stuff (which was working) too much. Anyway, I was very impressed with the offensive line yesterday, as well as Roland and Strouth. Defensively, the pass rush was good, and the performance was pretty solid for the most part. Yes, too many passing yards were allowed, but it was the first game of the year and that was a pretty good passing team. In reality, the defense only gave up 16 points since the first three were the result of that horrible call giving them a long pass completion on the play in which the receiver clearly dropped the ball. I agree with the idea that UND needs to get that killer instinct. This game was very similar to the Winona St. game last year in which the Sioux dominated the first half and it looked like the game would be a blow-out. For whatever reason, it's as though UND has to play in a close game against every decent opponent. If they jump out to a big lead, they will inevitably allow the opponent to come back. If they fall way behind, they will inevitably come back themselves.

I know it irritates certain people on this board to criticize play-calling, but what was the deal with UND's first possession of the 4th quarter? The Sioux had been running well most of the game, and in that possession had moved the ball almost exclusively on the ground to Delta's 37. With a 2nd down and 3, two consecutive pass plays were called and of course, Bowenkamp doesn't complete either so UND has to punt. Why in the world wouldn't you continue to run the ball in that situation? There was almost no way Delta was going to be able to stop the Sioux from getting at least three yards with a couple of runs. Roland and the hogs were doing the job, and Bowenkamp was struggling badly nearly every time he tried to pass. I had really hoped that Bowenkamp had gotten these types of performances out of his system early last year, but apparently that's not the case. He was truly horrific today, and could easily have had two or three more picks. I don't know if Bellmore or Manke would have done better, but there's little chance they could have done worse.

For anyone who's interested, here's the Delta St. press release. With a couple of exceptions, their offensive line is fairly small. Also, the quarterback must be really skinny since he's listed as 6'3", 175. It will be interesting to see if he can take a hit. Defensively, they have a fairly good sized d-line, and one pretty big linebacker, but the rest of the linebackers and db's are REALLY small. They average around 170 pounds in the secondary. As with games in the past against unfamiliar opponents with high-powered offenses, i.e. UC-Davis and North Alabama, I would think the key is to shut down the running game, make them throw and get after the quarterback in a big way. I'm sure their receivers are good enough that if the qb has time, they'll get some plays. However, if the front seven can get to the quarterback and knock him around, I would think the Sioux defense can hold them to somewhere around 20 points. If the Sioux offense doesn't have any costly turnovers and the o-line plays relatively well, Bowenkamp and co. should be able to score more than 20. UND 31, Delta St. 20

It appears that the portion of the Forum article in question was actually a McFeely column. I'm not sure why the Forum printed it in such a way that it appears to all have been written by Kolpack, with a strange jump from an article on which NDSU players may come back for a 6th year to an opinion piece on UND. Look at the very bottom of the article/column and both Kolpack's and McFeely's names appear.

If NDSU can sell out the Fargodome for a game against the likes of Valpo, more power to them. I only hope the the 5000 to 6000 people who show up on Saturday who DIDN'T go to games last year against far superior teams than Valpo, i.e. UNO, aren't really dumb enough to think that they're going to see a better brand of football from the opponent than what they've seen in the past. NDSU's m.o. in recent years is to draw really well early in the season (and against UND when that game was in Fargo), but then the crowds diminish pretty steadily. In terms of a core group of loyal fans, the two programs seem to have a pretty comparable number, but with the much larger metro area, NDSU has a larger pool from which to draw the casual fan. Those are the extra people who will probably be in the Fargodome on Saturday, but who probably won't still be there later in the season.

It's just speculation on my part, but I'd be very surprised if Ross Brennan or Andy Hendrickson play. If Hendrickson is indeed out for an extended period of time, it will be interesting to see how the offensive line will be shuffled. Will Storhaug be inserted into the starting lineup at center, or will there be some position changes, i.e. Braegelmann or Kuper to center and somebody else into their departed guard position, so that whomever is considered the top reserve lineman moves into the starting lineup?

I don't doubt that Behrns feels he got the shaft, but of course, he'd be wrong. Looking at the situation objectively, it wasn't a case of simply having one really bad year (1985) and then being fired. Rather, one only has to look at how bare the cupboard was when Roger Thomas took the job in 1986 to see that the problems ran far deeper than what happened in '85. RT certainly showed that he was a good coach by what he accomplished at UND, so I think it speaks volumes that it took him roughly four years to get UND back to being one of the elite programs in the NCC after taking over for Behrns. It's hard to imagine now considering the dII power UND has been since the early 90's, but from '85 to '89, UND was an average to below average dII program. If that wasn't Behrns' fault, I don't know whose fault it was. It's clear that Behrns is a very different coach now from what he was in the early to mid-80's. He's done a good job at UNO, even though I think UNO's post-season struggles are also his responsibility. In any event, UND and Pat Behrns were not a good match, and although I'm sure it hurt his ego to have been fired, it worked out for both parties in the long run.

It was really hard to make any judgments in a format like this scrimmage was since everybody (even the red-shirts) played so there wasn't any continuity. I thought Strouth again showed some real speed and quickness. Roland really looks like he's put on some weight (not sure whether that will be a positive or negative) and left the scrimmage with an apparent hamstring problem. Glas hit a 50 yard field goal that looked like it would have been good from at least 60. Halfmann punted very well. The biggest negative from my perspective were the injuries--both those that occurred in the scrimmage and those that apparently had already happened. Ross Brennan, Jeff Richter and Demetrious Charles, among others, didn't play, and in addition to Roland, Andy Hendrickson suffered what looked like might be a serious knee or lower leg injury. A few true freshmen, including Weston Dressler and Jake Caufield, were also banged up in the scrimmage. I'm a little concerned about depth at running back early in the season if neither Roland nor Charles are available. That leaves Strouth and Beatty and the true freshmen. Obviously Strouth is not the type of back you want to give 20-plus carries to due to his size, and Beatty just hasn't ever shown the ability to be a play-maker since the Mesa St. game two years ago. Hopefully Roland's hamstring problem isn't serious.

It looks like the Sioux have picked up a potential impact transfer. New to the roster is Anthony Longe, formerly of St. Agnes in the Cities and an ex-Illinois player. Here was his bio when he signed with the Illini in 2002: Anthony Longe 5-11, 170, DB St. Paul, Minn./St. Agnes Coach Ron Rice High School: SuperPrep All-Midwest team ...Two-time all-conference selection ... Earned first-team all-state honors from the Associated Press and the Pioneer Press ... Named the Tri-Metro Defensive Back of the Year ... Has been a starter since his freshman season ... As a senior, he picked off four passes and knocked down 12 others ... Also rushed for over 700 yards ... Garnered third-team all-Metro accolades by the Star-Tribune ... Earned 11 varsity letters in football, basketball and track at St. Agnes High School ... Was part of the state champion 4x100-meter relay team ... Holds the school record in the triple jump, 4x100 and 4x200 relays ... High school football coach was Ron Rice. Personal: Full given name is Anthony Olowaseyi Longe ... Born Nov. 4, 1983 in Minneapolis, Minn. ... The son of Tony and Debra Longe ... Cousin, Maurice Hargrow, is a freshman on the University of Minnesota basketball team ... Earned three academic varsity letters. Turner on Longe: "Anthony was a very versatile athlete who played running back and defensive back in high school. He was a great point guard on the basketball team. Anthony has very good quickness and explosiveness. We look for him to be an outstanding man-to-man cover corner."

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You look at "the play" as a busted one that "robbed" Grand Valley State of a title. I look at Bowenkamp's fumble near the goal line last year, which pretty much gave Grand Valley State the only td of the game, in a similar light. But for that play, UND may very well have won 6-3 since it would have been a chip shot field goal for Glas. All in all, I'd say 1-1 for both teams is about right considering how close both games were.

The townhomes have actually been selling very well. I think most people will be quite impressed with the complex once it's done. As far as traffic is concerned, sure it will be bad on game nights, just as it is anywhere within a several block radius of REA. But I would venture to guess that most of the people who buy the homes will also be season ticket holders, so any inconvenience the traffic causes will be more than offset by the convenience of being able to walk to and from the games (or the convenience of walking to and from work if he or she is a UND employee). My parents have already purchased one that will be pretty much right on the coulee and they are very excited about it.

The roster has again been updated at fightingsioux.com to now include at least most of the newcomers. It looks like all recruits announced last spring have indeed reported. Also, some unannounced recruits/walk-ons include Jared Enger, a 6'2", 285 pound defensive end from Rochester (MN) Community College who was all-district last year; Wade Haugland, a 275 pound all-state offensive lineman from Grand Forks Central; and Wes Porter, a 6'3", 190 pound wide receiver from Arvada, Colorado.

Per today's Herald, Loe's career is over due to a neck injury. Redshirt freshman Brent Halfmann from Stephen, MN will be the punter. He looked pretty good in the spring game.

Yes, he started out at Wyoming, and transferred to UND with three years of eligibility remaining. I believe he broke into the starting lineup sometime early last season after being a reserve offensive lineman/tight end during his first two years.

With two full-time starters returning (Smith in his third year of starting; Kuper in his second), plus another guy with some experience (Hendrickson), this is by no means among the least experienced returning offensive lines UND has had. And with 12 of the last 13 seasons being anywhere from solid to outstanding, it certainly appears that the Sioux typically have reloaded on the offensive line as opposed to rebuilding. Mussman's track record is very good in terms of coaching offensive linemen. Considering that the three guys who graduated included an all-american (Olson) and two second team all-NCC guys (Dokken and Murphy), it's obvious that it was no shame for some of the new starters not to have cracked the lineup last year. In fact, Murphy is a good example of a guy who didn't start until his senior year, but did very well once he got the chance. Hopefully Hendrickson can do something similar in his senior year. I also look for good things over the next two to three years from younger guys like Hoffelt, Braegelmann, Bronson, Bauer, Soll, etc. Plus, with very good recruits like Yilek, Troen and Moe red-shirting, I think UND will be strong on the o-line for years to come.

The roster on fightingsioux.com has been updated--except for not yet including the true freshmen--and it looks like Ahlstrom is still on the team. Aside from a few of last year's walk-ons who apparently didn't return, I believe Stewart, Josh Guenther and Jake Turgeon are no longer on the team. I didn't see Brian Loe's name on the roster, either, although he was listed on the Herald's depth chart so who knows whether he's still around or not. They've also finally updated players' weights for the first time in at least two years.

While it's certainly not a huge surprise, UND is the overwhelming favorite to win the NCC by the league's media and coaches. link

Most of the db's struggled at times last year, but Hoffschneider earned a starting position and had five picks as a freshman. That's not too bad considering the program he's in. Also, he was an all-state pick (all classes combined) in the state of Colorado, which isn't easy to do. I can see him making a similar jump in performance to what Danny Gagner did last season. Gagner went from playing a lot as a freshman to being a first team all-conference pick as a sophomore. I will be very surprised if there's a better secondary than UND's in the NCC this year.

I certainly wouldn't dispute that both the UNC basketball program and facility are jokes. It wasn't my intention to use the quality of b-ball facilities as a measure of who will or should be invited to join the Big Sky. Frankly, it is of no particular relevance to me. Rather, I am interested in a Bison fan's opinion of whether the BSA needs to be renovated, replaced or left as it is. You are correct with regard to the fact that ultimately, if attendance is good enough it probably doesn't matter. However, it does or at least can matter with regard to recruiting. And considering that NDSU men's basketball was generally a middle-of-the-pack program in the NCC, it would seem that a new facility could be the impetus behind getting the men's program to the level where I'm sure it wants to be, both in terms of recruiting and generating fan interest. One thing is for certain--NDSU needs its men's basketball program to make money. Whether it can do so in a fairly out-of-date facility, especially considering the probable difficulty there will be in scheduling non-conference games against quality opponents, is an unknown.

Not that it really has much of anything to do with the premise of this thread, but seriously, since when is the BSA an excellent basketball facility? On the contrary, I think most NDSU basketball fans feel the BSA is in dire need of a major renovation, or better yet that a new facility be constructed.

Here it is: quarterback-Bowenkamp, Manke/Bellmore (both listed as second) running back-Roland, Strouth fullback-Wisthoff, Christensen split end-Grossman, Groeschl flanker-Johnson, Weber tight end-Kusler, Mielke left tackle-Smith, Bauer left guard-Braegelmann, Soll center-Hendrickson, Storhaug right guard-Kuper, Doescher right tackle-Hoffelt, Bronson left defensive end-Newhouse, Gruschalla nose guard-Duchscher, Brennan right defensive end-Peterson, Cadwell outside lb-Hermes, Dahlen inside lb-Anderson, Halstenson inside lb-Nordick, Ullsperger outside lb-Maier, Brennan left corner-Hoffschneider, Franklin rover-Gagner, DeSautel free safety-Brandsted, Greenwood right corner-Manke, Alexander kicker-Glas, Saunders punter-Loe, Halfmann The biggest surprise to me is that a returning first team all-conference player (Dahlen) is listed as a backup.

I don't believe it's ever been available on dvd. It looks like amazon.com is out of stock, although there are some for sale using their e-bay type service. Here's the link.