UND92,96

I was looking at that, also. But I am convinced that no matter how the various selection criteria come out, the bottom line is that I don't believe the national committee--which can and sometimes does veto the regional committees--will allow the NSIC to be shut out UNLESS there are four NCC/MIAA teams who all have a BETTER overall record than the top NSIC team. And by top NSIC team, I think that can mean either the conference champion or the team with the best overall resume. It's not necessarily fair, but the NSIC is probably going to get a bid every year from now on unless there is a situation where you have four NCC/MIAA teams with 9-1 or 10-1 records and the top NSIC team is at 8-3 or perhaps even 9-2. Since that can't happen this year, I fully expect Winona--or possibly even UMD despite their very poor strength of schedule index--to get in. Even Concordia still has an outside chance if they were to pull the huge upset and UMD were to defeat Winona. EDIT: I forgot about the expanded playoff field and the change in region make-up starting next year. With six bids instead of four, there's probably no chance at all for the NSIC to be shut out again starting next year.

I'm still not sure how much weight the strength of schedule index really merits, but for what it's worth, Winona has already clinched a higher s.o.s. index than NDSU regardless of what happens on Saturday, not to mention a better overall record. Winona currently has a 10.3, and would still have a 10.0 even if they were to lose to UMD. NDSU apparently can't finish with a higher s.o.s. than 9.64. NDSU is at number five more out of default than as some sort of an indication that they are on the verge of getting into the playoffs with a loss by Winona, Pitt St. or Emporia. And you can pretty much count on the fact that the national committee will override any attempt to keep an NSIC team out of the playoffs. It's been done before. Hallstrom, Michaels and Gene Taylor are on WDAY radio right now trying to talk themselves into the idea that NDSU still has a somewhat realistic chance.

There really wasn't anybody who had much of a case for jumping over them since Central Mo. lost and NDSU owns a head-to-head win over UNO. I think the committee has kind of put itself in a potentially awkward position regarding the NSIC, however. If UMD wins, they'll probably end up jumping all the way up to number 4 (or else the national committee will do it for them like they supposedly did in 2001 with Winona getting the nod over Central Mo.) I can almost guarantee that the NSIC will get a bid one way or the other.

Again, not much change from the past few weeks: Midwest 1. North Dakota (9-1) 2. Emporia State (9-1) 3. Winona State (9-1) 4. Pittsburg State (9-1) 5. North Dakota State (7-3) 6. Central Missouri State (8-2) 7. Nebraska-Omaha (8-3) 8. Minnesota Duluth (8-2) 9. Concordia-St. Paul (8-2) 10. Missouri Western State (7-3)

I should have been clearer in my previous post. I meant that IF Irvin doesn't play any more this year, he'd be eligible for a medical hardship year. Assuming he was healthy enough to play, I imagine he'd have to decide whether he would prefer to play in the playoffs this year, or come back for an entire year next season. He may not come back regardless if he's on schedule to graduate.

I'm also wondering whether Tom Irvin might yet play this year? He's been out since the UMC game. I'm sure he could get a medical red-shirt year if he wants to come back next season.

I think that game is going to be for die-hards only. Look for something similar to the last few NDSU home games of last year. If they get more than about 7,000 or so, I'll be surprised.

In the unlikely event that the national championship wasn't enough to put him on the coaching map nationally, three NCC titles in his first five years as head coach at UND probably will. He's building a very impressive head coaching resume in a pretty short amount of time.

I don't think anyone would be critical of a player maintaining a positive attitude after a difficult loss. But when a player says he thinks that one win should "trump everything else," I think it's going beyond maintaining a positive outlook. It comes across as sounding somewhat desperate and/or unrealistic. What he said isn't a huge deal, but it was arguably best left unsaid, at least to the media. I would think there are enough positives on the year to accentuate without dwelling on something that isn't going to happen.

I agree completely. The cast of characters was largely the same as last year, but an improved work ethic and sense of purpose, not to mention a favorable home schedule, resulted in a huge turnaround. For those interested in statistics, John Bowenkamp set a UND single-season record for passing yardage and completion percentage, and had the second-most td passes ever for a season. He's got to be one of the most improved players in the conference. Also, this makes six NCC titles (three outright, three shared) in the past 11 years.

Stauss is either in a complete state of denial, or he lacks even a fundamental understanding of how the playoff selection process works. Does he really think that the regional committee is going to be giving the benefit of any doubts to a school leaving dII after this year? They were facing an uphill battle in that regard even had they won yesterday.

The only thing certain at this point is that UND is in, and will likely host a first-round game. I have to think Pitt St. is likely in regardless of whether they win or not next week, as the worst they can finish is 9-2. The only team ranked below them that could possibly jump over them would have been Central Mo., but since Pitt won at Central Mo. yesterday that is highly unlikely to happen now regardless of what happens next week. Emporia is also likely in regardless, although it would be interesting to see what would happen if they were to lose next week at home to Central Mo. Emporia would still have a considerable strength of schedule advantage over Central Mo., but they would have the same overall record and Central would have a head-to-head advantage. However, since Emporia is ranked so high in the region right now, I have to think that 9-2 (if they were to lose next week) would get them in, particularly since they won AT Pitt St. Winona is in if they beat Duluth in Winona next week, but if UMD were to win they may very well be in instead. It would be hard to believe considering their early-season loss to USD and a blowout to Northern St., but I have to think that even a two-loss NSIC team will get in the playoffs this year. Are they better than NDSU and UNO (or St. Cloud or SDSU for that matter)? No, but politics will not allow a three-loss NCC team in over a two-loss NSIC team. If Pitt, Emporia and Winona all win next week as expected, I would expect Pitt at UND and Winona at Emporia, unless somehow the rankings get jumbled between now and then.

USD has had some problems turning the ball over this year, so the UND defense needs to get some take-aways. Also, the Coyotes haven't been particularly successful throwing the ball as they're last in the NCC in passing. Considering that the UND defense has been struggling a bit against the pass, hopefully we can get the ship righted a little bit in that regard. Offensively, I would like to see more of an effort to get Strouth to the perimeter. He's got excellent speed and quickness, but at 165 pounds it seems a bit pointless to run him much between the tackles. He's by far the best big-play threat of all the Sioux running backs. Also, Mielke has shown that he can be a pretty big-time tight end. He made a great catch against UNO where he went up over the db. He should be thrown to at least 3-4 times a game if not more.

I'm not sure that's an accurate barometer of how college hockey would do in a particular state. I suspect that the Nebraska High School Activities Assoc. doesn't sponsor high school hockey either, but it has done very well at UNO and the support for its USHL teams has been very impressive.

I never missed a home game because of the weather, and I kind of enjoyed watching some of the opposing teams struggle with the cold and wind. But I also realize that no matter what we say, most people are going to stay away if the temps are in the 20's or 30's, and especially if the wind is blowing and it's raining or snowing. Remember the playoff game against Mankato back in '93? It was great for those of us who were there, but there weren't too many of us. And I think the players deserve to be playing in big games in front of decent-sized crowds. The only way to ensure that is to be playing indoors. Given a choice between disappointing some of the hard-core fans who may not necessarily like indoor football but who will still attend the games anyway, or turning off the masses who won't attend games if it's cold, there isn't much question which of the two alternatives an athletic department is going to choose.

The top five are unchanged this week: Midwest 1. North Dakota (8-1) 2. Emporia State (8-1) 3. Winona State (8-1) 4. Pittsburg State (8-1) 5. North Dakota State (7-2) 6. Central Missouri State (8-1) 7. Nebraska-Omaha (7-3) 8. Minnesota Duluth (7-2) 9. Concordia-St. Paul (7-2) 10. Missouri Western State (6-3)

Maybe lawkota meant that the student turnout by NDSU students at the NDSU vs. USD game on Saturday was poor?

I have some great memories of watching games at Memorial, but I also remember pivotal late-season and even playoff games where the crowd was about 2,000 or less because of the weather, slippery artificial turf after a snowfall and prior to that, completely torn-up natural turf, antiquated rest rooms and uncomfortable metal or wood bench seats. I would agree that in most parts of the country, outdoor football on natural grass is the only way to go. But here, it's awfully tough to play outdoors much after mid-to-late October if you want to play in front of a decent-sized crowd. The Alerus has its flaws, too. But by most accounts, it has helped in recruiting and it has definitely helped with the size of the crowds-- especially during cold weather.

I'm surprised that the Fighting Sioux Sports Network televised this game (and the St. Cloud game) locally. Clearly, it doesn't help ticket sales. It would be nice if a road game were televised for a change, but I doubt we'll see that anytime soon.

I don't mean to sound too negative after a win, but was anyone else as upset as I was when Lennon chose to punt on 4 and inches from the UNO 47 (approximately) with a few minutes left and a seven point lead? The Sioux defense wasn't playing well, and there was always the threat of the blocked punt. Sure enough, UNO did drive for the game-tying touchdown immediately after the punt. I could see putting the game in the hands of the defense if the defense had been playing well, but under the circumstances I would have preferred to let the offense try to convert the first down and hopefully run out the clock. My heart was in my throat on every punt.

I still have no idea how Masek was able to complete as many passes as he did. He was basically shot putting it up there and some of the Sioux db's were either unwilling or unable to look for the ball and make a play. Masek has a very weak throwing arm, was not particularly accurate, and every pass was basically a lob. It was very frustrating to watch because a lot better quarterbacks than him haven't thrown for that many yards against the Sioux defense. It was great to win, but the defense took a big step backward today in my opinion.

SDSU's departure will certainly weaken the NCC in basketball. However, in terms of mens basketball, NDSU's departure will probably not have much of an effect in terms of altering the competitive balance of the league. During the past 30 years, NDSU has won just one outright title and one shared title.

I'm not expecting much outside shooting from Johnson. He'll knock down an occasional three-pointer, but I suspect he'll get most of his points off put-backs and drives. Parks and Nobles will probably make some treys, but the majority of the outside shooting will probably have to come from Lindahl, Jacobson and Bradley. Austin's departure probably means that Bradley will need to play more than what he otherwise would have. He is a very good shooter, but he certainly doesn't have the athletic ability or strength of Austin.

In my opinion, it was wrong. I imagine that in the opinions of 99.9% of college coaches, it was wrong. I would think it was wrong if UND did it, too, but I know that Dale Lennon would never do something that egregious. Running up the score can't always be avoided, especially if a team can't stop the run. Nobody would expect a team to take a knee until the last 1:30 or so. But a bomb in the final seconds when already up by two scores? No way can that be justified as anything other than trying to rub somebody's face in the dirt. I'm embarrassed that Pat Behrns ever had any affiliation with UND.