UND92,96

I believe the next quarterback at SCSU will be Daniel Kaczor. I've never actually seen him play, but I think it's safe to say he'll be a major step down from Heckendorf. All I know about him is that he's a hometown guy from St. Cloud, and I don't believe he was very heavily recruited at all coming out of high school.

It seems that the popular theory in some circles is that Lennon will be off to the I-AA ranks very soon, but I'm not so sure. Yes, if a top-25 program offered him the head coaching job with a nice pay raise, he'd likely take it. The thing is, those types of jobs don't open up very often, and when they do, it's generally because the head coach moves onto a better program. In those instances, somebody from within the staff is often promoted. I'm sure Lennon feels he has one of the top jobs in dII, and it would take a pretty nice offer for him to give that up. I don't think some I-AA reclamation project like Delaware St. (the only I-AA job currently advertised at afca.org) would be all that attractive considering what he's got going at UND. If I'm wrong, so be it, but I wouldn't be surprised if Lennon is at UND for several more years. Some people are happy coaching at a lower level, i.e. Amy Ruley at NDSU for all these years. Less pressure, not in the shadow of a major college or pro team, smaller town, etc. are all factors in making a dII job pretty attractive for a lot of people.

Just when it looked like the UND mens basketball team had a little something going, they blow a 15-point second half lead at home to lose to a very mediocre UMD team. There are just so few players on the team who can score. Lindahl, Johnson and Rypkema will generally give you double figures, and on occasion Bradley. Otherwise, unless Nobles gets healthy, nobody else can put the ball in the basket with any degree of consistency.

ESPN switched to the football game in western ND? Now I'm even more upset that those of us in GF didn't get to see most of the first quarter.

I agree that Roland really showed something this year, and in the post-season in particular. He's not the type of back who can take it 80 yards for a touchdown on any given play, but he runs hard and rarely gets taken down by the first tackler. He didn't have many yards yesterday, but then again neither did Michael Tennessee who came into the game with the eye-popping statistics. If the line gives him a hole, Roland will pick up at least 4-5 yards and sometimes more. With another year of experience under their belts, a duo of Roland--the power guy--and Strouth--the change of pace quick guy--could be very good. The question will be if the line will jell with a few guys who haven't started before. I expect that it will.

Roland and Strouth were the primary ball carriers this year and both return. If Chris Beatty returns (he split time with Mahmoud in 2002 but was beaten out by Roland and Strouth this year), he'll be in the mix also along with freshman Alan Sundby from Cavalier. They're all pretty much blue collar guys although Strouth has excellent speed--just not much bulk.

The cupboard looks pretty well-stocked for next year. The entire backfield returns, although it would be nice to have a little more speed there. Strouth may be the guy, but he needs to run a little more north and south as he had a lot of runs this year where he'd run about 20 yards parallel to the line of scrimmage only to get either no gain or a loss. Roland and Wisthoff will give you all they have and they are both very solid. On the offensive line, Smith and Kuper return as starters. I expect Hendrickson and Buisker to move into the starting lineup, which leaves one open slot. Hoffelt, Bronson and some of this year's red-shirts will probably compete for the final starting position. Three of the top four tight ends also return, with Drew Thomas being added into the mix after red-shirting this year. At receiver, Johnson and Grossman return, along with Groeschl if he doesn't switch back to quarterback. I'm not sure whether Weber, the transfer from Michigan Tech, red-shirted this year or whether he's even still on the team. Loegering and Van Dyke will be in the mix, along with freshman Rick Presthus. I'd like to see a deep threat along the lines of Lueck, but I'm not sure anyone really fits that bill unless a transfer comes in. On defense, UND will be absolutely loaded. Duchscher was honorable mention all-NCC in his first year of playing, and he returns at nose guard. Newhouse and Peterson have played a lot at defensive end and they will be very solid. Depth on the d-line will be relatively inexperienced, but shouldn't be a huge problem. I would look for the very athletic Adam Wolff to be the backup nose guard, and senior Mike Gruschalla and perhaps freshman Alex Cadwell to be in the defensive end rotation. At linebacker, the depth is almost unbelievable. Everybody returns, led by Anderson and Dahlen as first team all-NCC players as sophomores. Hermes and Nordick are also returning starters, and Babington-Johnson, Brennan, Maier, Halstenson and Ullsperger all got considerable playing time this year. Add in Schmitz, Lynch and red-shirts like Wise, Meek, Reiff and others, and there is a wealth of talent here. In the secondary, all-NCC strong safety Danny Gagner returns, along with starting corners Manke and Hoffschneider and nickel back Brandsted who should move into Stratton's free safety position. Look for Jamaal Franklin to get back into the mix after a medical red-shirt year (I assume he was hurt since he didn't suit up all year but was on the sideline in street clothes). He was slated to start instead of Hoffschneider coming into the season. Also, watch for Donovan Alexander, who was considered perhaps UND's top recruit last year, to compete for time at corner. Franklin and Alexander both have tremendous speed. All of this year's back-ups also return (DeSautel, Charles and Greenwood), so depth should be as good as it's ever been in the secondary. Glas returns at kicker, and Brian Loe will likely get the nod as the punter. Loe saw action in 2002 after Bentow was injured. All-in-all, aside from a few open slots on the offensive line and perhaps a few inexperienced receivers, next year looks very good.

I was also disappointed in the timing. I thought it could have waited until Monday without any ill effects on UMD's part. This was their a.d.'s explanation in Saturday's Duluth paper: If Mussman were to get the job, I imagine UND would probably have to go outside the program for a new offensive coordinator. If Schweigert gets the job, I would expect either Tom Dosch or Tim Tibesar to get promoted.

I am extremely proud of the season the Sioux had and how they battled today. We are left to wonder what may have been had Bowenkamp not fumbled, and had we managed a field goal on that possesion. It would also certainly have been nice to have had Lueck, but I'm not going to go the route of some Grand Valley fans who whine about not having Anes two years ago. Injuries are part of football and you have to play with who you have available. As for the future, with the realignment of regions, having home field for the playoffs is probably even bigger now. I would like our chances of beating Grand Valley at home, but probably not on the road so it makes going undefeated during the regular season almost a must. Not an easy task by any means. We need to remember that the defense returns almost intact, with Momerak and Stratton being the primary losses. If we can find a few new offensive linemen, and a deep threat to replace Lueck, we could have another great season next year. Anyway, great job this year, Sioux!

It was just reported on WDAZ that Kyle Schweigert and Chris Mussman are two of the four finalists for the UMD head coaching job. Here's a link to a release from the official UMD site.

It surprises me how many people who haven't seen UND play, i.e. the guy who writes the east region column for d2football.com, are picking Grand Valley to win handily. UND may not win, but I am extremely confident that the Sioux will not be blown out. I see no reason to expect a blow-out either way. UND has been underestimated for much of the year, but they just find a way to win.

I think Weston Dressler will probably end up playing for UMary or another DAC-10 school, but I think he could be at least an effective kick/punt returner for a dII school with his speed and elusiveness.

This is a very preliminary list but these are some names who are probably on the radar screen for football recruiting (other than DesCamps): Rory Manke 6'1", 195 lbs, db/qb, Detroit Lakes. Many say he's the best of the Manke brothers. I imagine he'll be playing safety in college. I have heard he'll probably come here if no I-A offers are forthcoming. Jake Caufield 6'3", 190 lbs, wr, Minot. Two-time all-state; good size and speed; big-play receiver. Brady Trenbeath 175 lbs, wr, Cavalier. Probably the best player in AA in ND this year. Wayne Samson 275 lbs, dl, Cavalier. Zach Harrington 6'2", 270 lbs, dl, Carrington. Trevor Dally 6'4", 285 lbs, ol, Fosston Josh Karch 6'2", 195 lbs, lb, Moorhead Nolan Oliver 6'1", 205 lbs, lb, Moorhead Eric Schaumberg 6'1", 165 lbs, db, Mahnomen Jared Bardon 6'3", 225 lbs, te, Deforest (WI)

The UND mens team is really an enigma. With only nine healthy players, and really only three who are probably legit NCC players, it's hard to believe UND could beat anyone by 30-plus on the road, especially a team who is traditionally very strong at home. It's even stranger when you consider that Northern St. beat Jamestown College a few weeks ago. Jamestown is, by all accounts, a lot better than fellow DAC-10 member UMary, who as we all know beat the Sioux by more than 30 points earlier this season.

I heard Coach Schweigert on the radio last night and he said that in 2001, it really poured the night before the game, and it rained some during the game but not too much. The field is supposed to have very good drainage and is able to withstand quite a bit of rain so hopefully it won't be in too bad of shape on Saturday.

I noticed that DesCamps' high school coach's name is Terry Dosch. I wonder if he's a relative of UND assistant coach Tom Dosch?

Lueck is "day to day," but it doesn't sound all that promising.

A wet field probably negates speed to a large extent, and may put more of a premium on power. It may also make field goals an adventure for both teams, although both kickers are very capable. I do like the power of the UND offensive line and front seven on defense, so a power game may bode pretty well for the Sioux. Obviously, turnovers are also more likely with a wet and slippery football so untimely fumbles and/or int's could play a big role, also. I still think a low-scoring game is likely, with turnovers probably being the deciding factor either way.

Since it's Wednesday and there's no thread about the actual game yet, I'll give my $.02 worth. It looks like Grand Valley is very strong defensively this year, and particularly against the run. They've also gotten a lot of sacks and turnovers. I think the Sioux still need to utilize the power rushing game, but I wouldn't expect a great deal of success there. If Grand Valley is going to exploited, it would likely have to be by throwing the ball. Bowenkamp needs to play better than he has thus far in the post-season. He doesn't need to be perfect, but he can't be making stupid decisions and he must be willing to throw the ball away when necessary instead of taking sacks. Offensively, Grand Valley is pretty young, but they have still managed to put up good numbers, particularly running the ball. Obviously, they have more than proven themselves in the post-season, but I think you have to take some of the offensive statisitics with a grain of salt considering that other than themselves and Saginaw Valley, the GLIAC was not a very strong league this year. That's probably part of the reason you saw GVSU and SVSU hanging 50 points on so many conference opponents. In any event, I think the Sioux need to be able to stop the run first and foremost. Both the running back, Michael Tennessee and the quarterback, Cullen Finnerty, have been very effective running the ball. It doesn't sound like their offensive line is huge, however, and UND has generally done a very nice job of stopping the run this year, aside from a couple of games. If the Sioux can stop the run, I would like our chances of keeping the game pretty low-scoring. Finnerty is no Anes, and there's definitely no Kircus this year so the passing game isn't as explosive as its been. I would look for a low-scoring game decided by seven points or less. If UND has an advantage, it might be that we have been in so many close games this year and have generally always found a way to win. Grand Valley St. has really only been in about three games that have been very close. Who knows whether that really makes any difference or not but it may. It should be a great game.

Franklin has left the team, according to today's Herald, and with Parks and Nobles injured (Parks is probably done for the year), the team is down to nine relatively healthy players. And two or three of them are walk-ons. Needless to say, things have gone from bad to worse.

Ticket and charter info is now posted on UND's site.

By my count, this will be the 12th time since 1997 that a UND team (hockey, womens basketball and football) has played on national tv. Not too bad for primarily dII school.

Nobody said the homefield didn't help UND. The issue is whether North Alabama was any more deserving of it. I'm sorry, but I personally am not all that impressed with an undefeated record when there were only three games against teams with a winning record during the entire regular season. When you are comparing two number one seeds, strength of schedule should mean something. Maybe you don't agree with how it's measured. Maybe you don't even understand how it's calculated. In any event, UND's regular season schedule was stronger, and they were the number one seed in a region which historically is better than yours. It's hardly the biggest travesty ever perpetrated by the NCAA.

This column was in the Florence paper today: link The committee decided the outcome? Come on. UNA was a good team, but they were not better than UND. And since Mr. McIntyre basically admits that UND won on the field and deservedly so, I don't see how he can make much of a case that UNA "deserved" to host any more than did UND. Both were number one seeds. Who is ranked higher in the national poll is completely meaningless and not one of the criteria anyway. A better overall record, aided at least in part by a schedule that included very few teams with a winning record, only goes so far. Had UNA gone out and dominated yesterday, then I think they would have reason to complain about not hosting. But since UND proved to be the better team, and least based upon this one game, the argument that UNA should have hosted just because UND happened to have one loss loses much of its merit.