UND92,96

The new poll is out. UND is 19th, NDSU is 20th. link

Agreed. Plus, season tickets are just $80.00, which comes out to $13.33 per seat for a six-game home schedule. A pretty good buy IMO.

To the best of my knowledge, there was nothing in the local media regarding the guarantee. But I may have just missed it.

This is an excerpt from the UMC press release regarding Saturday's game: The Golden Eagles hurt themselves in a game that started out in their favor. Key penalties and turnovers turned out to be drive stoppers in a game that was closer than the 59-0 score would indicate. "Closer than the final score would indicate?" I really hope their SID was trying to be funny...

I've heard the same thing. I think UMD has built a pretty good program and they will be a nice addition to the NCC. But it will be interesting to see how they do when they're playing UND and UNO every year instead of just USD and Mankato. Up until now, the only really difficult regular season game they have in any given season has been against Winona. It's a whole other situation when you can be beaten on any given Saturday.

There have been a couple of other interesting I-AA vs. dII games in the last two years involving UND opponents. New Haven, who lost to UND 42-10 in 2001, beat Villavova that same year, who finished 8-3 and ranked 18th in the final I-AA poll. Also, Central Washington won last year at Montana State. Montana State went on to have a pretty good year, beating Montana, winning a share of the Big Sky title and making the playoffs. While I don't generally put much stock into score differential, it's also somewhat interesting to note that Central Washington's margin of victory over Montana State last year was almost identical to Washington State's (a ranked I-A team).

I wonder if maybe yesterday's NDSU game may have been the best thing that could have happened for those who really want the Sioux-Bison series to continue? Had NDSU gone to Missoula and laid an egg, it would have supported the theory that there's no way a 36-scholarship team can beat a 63-scholarship team, at least unless the I-AA program is really a mess. I think the odds are a lot better now than one week ago that we will see UND and NDSU play in 2004.

Thanks, tuk. I haven't read "wit" like that since the days of the infamous JBB. Something tells me the Sioux will actually show up on October 18. Who knows, we may even pull the "upset" of the century and win. Again.

A few thoughts from today's game: -Lueck could be a very exciting player. He certainly displayed some speed on his punt returns. The receiving corps in general appears to be very solid and deep, and Caleb Johnson didn't even play due to an injury (which isn't serious according to the radio guys). -the corners will need to play far better against a good passing team like St. Cloud. There were a few occasions where the receivers were pretty open, even though it rarely resulted in a completion of any significance. -the run defense should be very good again. Not that UMC is any kind of barometer, but I think the personnel is there. -I was surprised that several starting offensive linemen played virtually the entire game. It would seem that this would have been a perfect opportunity to let some of the freshman get some time, even if they're probably at least a year away from being meaningful contributors. -Lee Groeschl was a pretty impressive athlete, playing both wide receiver and returning some punts just a few weeks removed from being exclusively a quarterback. In addition to Groeschl, other freshman who had some good moments were Hoffschneider, Ullsperger, Babington-Johnson, Brennan, Greenwood, Strouth, Wolff, Schmitz and Ryan Manke. Hoffschneider actually started. -a decent crowd considering the opponent. But I really hope this is the last time we see UMC. Ever.

I very much doubt Montana will want to play another dII team, unless maybe it is Crookston. While I'm sure you're understandably sensitive to any attempt to minimize NDSU's win today, were you honestly impressed with Montana? Again, I only saw the second half, but Montana could do nothing right as far as I could see.

I've only seen the second half, but Montana looks god-awful to me. If that's really one of the best teams in I-AA, then we can't possibly get into I-AA fast enough.

According to Pat Sweeney on the sports last night, WDAY/WDAZ are televising it.

I apologize if we're straying somewhat off-topic here, but I have to ask why in the world NDSU would offer nearly six figures to bring in a 5-6 team (2002 record) like Edinboro? I believe that's the equivalent of giving the opponent the revenue of about the first 7,600 tickets sold. Considering I have to assume that the Fargodome gets a decent cut, that wouldn't seem to be leaving very much for NDSU.

I strongly disagree with Rich on this one. The difference between 10 and 13 scholarships isn't that big of a deal. In either case, all the meaningful contributors on the court will probably have a full-ride. I personally don't think the caliber of player NDSU recruits will noticeably change in basketball, and as I've stated before, dII schools actually have an advantage under current NCAA rules when it comes to recruiting some juco players, i.e. Jerome Beasley. This series would be quite competitive for the forseeable future. I think Rich is saying what he honestly thinks, but I also think he's wrong.

Just so there's no misunderstanding here, I don't pretend to speak for UND, just as I assume no Bison fan on this board would pretend to be representing NDSU in any sort of an official capacity. I am merely offering opinions and/or speculation. Would UND accept a game--most likely a home game--against a I-AA team if the guarantee wasn't too extreme? It's certainly possible. Has UND played a I-AA school since about 1985? No. Is this merely a coincidence? I don't know, but I'd guess not. I have no idea what Dale Lennon has said to anybody about division I as it pertains to UND, but I certainly wouldn't be surprised if ultimately UND does end up in division I. I would personally prefer to wait to see if the NCAA makes any drastic changes within the next few years regarding the various divisions and their respective requirements. Regarding scheduling, I have no standing to say anything since I have nothing to do with it. I would like to see UND play a better non-conference schedule, but I think the entire issue is extremely overblown. Regardless, it's hard to argue with the results. UND has been in the playoffs as much or more than anybody in the NCC during the past decade.

I am very interested to see how the running back position will pan out. Adam Roland is now the starter, and you have to be happy for a guy who has had to change back and forth between defensive back and running back several times. He's obviously a real "team" guy. He was an outstanding back at Wahpeton High School. Brandon Strouth has also apparently been very impressive. I am also interested to see how Babington-Johnson can do in a real game. He's got great speed and can really get to the quarterback.

I'm not exactly the biggest Herald fan in the world, but in the interest of fairness, Kolpack didn't seem to ask many, if any of your questions either, did he?: Forum link There are many who have complained that the Forum is little more than an NDSU cheerleader. Just ask an MSU-Moorhead or Concordia fan. I realize you can't speak for all Bison fans, but why do you personally want to see the series continue in football?

I'm puzzled at exactly what Roger said to make you come to this conclusion. I know he didn't say anything of the sort in the Herald article. UND hasn't played a I-AA opponent in 15 to 20 years, so if UND doesn't play NDSU after this year it's not like this is somehow a 180 degree change in scheduling philosophy. Northern Iowa hasn't been on the schedule since it left the NCC in 1978, UNC probably won't be on the schedule again anytime soon, nor would I expect to see SDSU after this year. I don't see any compelling reason why NDSU's move from dII should be the impetus to change this practice of not scheduling I-AA opponents.

You can correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe NDSU was playing any I-AA opponents either until it was fairly evident that they were going to be moving up. I can only assume that was due in large part to the fact that 1) that would have probably required travel, and 2) NDSU felt that they had a far better chance of defeating a school with similar scholarships and it was better for playoff purposes to defeat a dII school than compete with but ultimately lose to a I-AA school. UND has not been playing any I-AA opponents up until now, so this is hardly a change in course. You can make any cracks you want to about the usual caliber of UND's non-conference opponents, but you can't argue with the fact that UND has more than proven itself against the NCC and in the playoffs. While you don't have to like the fact that UND probably won't play NDSU in football until or unless the two schools are again in the same division, I have to assume you can understand the rationale behind it.

Perhaps I could have been a bit more clear in my previous post. UND has drawn an average of 9,738 for the five non-conference football games played in the Alerus Center thus far. Since most of those games were against sub-par opponents, I would have to think that within reason any early season game, i.e. a game not competing with any major hunting season, will draw relatively well. Playing opponents other than UMC will only help matters. I would agree that the non-conference schedule could and should get better, and I think it probably will. To answer your question, UND brought in a quality non-conference opponent last year in Central Washington. While it may have been unexpected how good they turned out to be, it was a quality opponent nonetheless.

I'm torn on this issue. On the one hand, I do think that a typical Sioux football team of the past 10-12 years would be quite competitive with most any I-AA team, and in particular against one who is in the process of transitioning from dII to I-AA. However, I don't generally think that it makes much sense to risk a loss to a team with a decided scholarship advantage, when that loss is still going to hurt your playoff chances considerably. I also think NDSU wants/needs this game more than does UND due to lack of any playoff possibility for the next 5 years, and the need to create some excitement that will bring fans out to the games. I don't think anyone in the proposed new football conference will create the same level of fan interest as does UND for the foreseeable future. A non-conference game against Montana? Possibly, but that's not a guarantee, just as it's not a guarantee that Montana would even agree to come to Fargo every two years. While UND would likely miss the guaranteed sell-out, they would still likely draw a crowd of about 10,000 for any early-season non-conference game against a decent dII opponent. 3,500 tickets is not insubstantial, but it's not going to make or break the finances of the athletic department, either. However, I'm all for continuing the basketball series. I see absolutely no reason to think that UND wouldn't more than hold its own in that series, especially on the mens side.

I don't necessarily disagree with you, Sicatoka, but my qualm is with the fact that UND is a little too willing to travel to schools like Minot St., UMary, UMC, etc. I wouldn't complain if the Sioux had home-and-home agreements with Kearney, Kentucky Wesleyan, Metro St., etc. and that resulted in a disproportionately high number of road games in a given season. I just have a philosophical disagreement with playing on the road against NAIA or fringe dII programs more often than perhaps once per year, at most. I am assuming that some of these games are an effort to "give something back" by playing in other ND or area cities. However, unless these road games will likely draw crowds numbering in the thousands rather than hundreds (which rarely seems to happen), then they aren't worth it, in my opinion. If the reasons for these road games are simply due to the refusal of Minot St., etc. to agree to play on the road unless UND reciprocates, then drop them from the schedule altogether and find some other NAIA or dIII school to bring in periodically to fill out the schedule. By way of comparison, a quick perusal of other NCC teams' schedules reveals only one other road game by an NCC team at an NAIA opponent, that being by UNO. UND is playing two in one year. I just don't see the point of this.

Not that it's a huge deal, but I wonder if maybe Johnson has reconsidered playing at Minot St.? I recently checked out their athletic website, and while the press release regarding Brandt is still there, the Johnson release, which I believe came after the Brandt one, is no longer there. Also, I saw Johnson (or someone who looked exactly like him) jogging in Grand Forks earlier this week which leads me to think maybe he is still attending UND. I also notice that UND is playing AT Minot St. again this year. I really wish Glas would quit scheduling road games with DAC-10 opponents. The Sioux typically play worse against really bad teams on the road (i.e. Minot St. and UMC) than against a good NCC team, and those types of losses are really embarrassing. Knowing Brandt, this will be the one game where he catches fire and goes off for 30-plus points. If you're going to play on the road during the non-conference season, at least play against a good division II team or even a division I team. Speaking of scheduling, this year's non-conference schedule includes just five home games and six road games! What's up with that?

It's interesting to contrast the d2football.com pre-season top-25 poll, in which there are 6 midwest region teams ranked and none of them are UND, and Jeff's midwest region power poll, which has UND 4th. Obviously the difference is that the region poll is just one person's opinion as opposed to the overall poll which is voted on by numerous people, but you wouldn't necessarily expect that much of a difference in how teams are ranked. Nevertheless, I think Jeff did a good job. One small correction or clarification I would make to Jeff's UND preview is that the Sioux don't really have to replace the whole defensive line. True, the three starters are gone, but Momerak, Smith, Newhouse and to a lesser extent Muro have played a lot of football over the past few years and are proven players. There may be some question about Muro's health, and whether he and Duchscher can hold down the nose guard position despite being relatively undersized, but overall I would expect the d-line to be good.

UNO linebacker Randy Stella, a former high school all-american and Cornhusker player, has been ruled ineligible: link