UND92,96

I understand that your standards haven't necessarily changed. I just want to emphasize that if your defense has comparable numbers to Idaho State's, generally speaking you're probably going to end up with a won-loss record similar to Idaho State's. Somehow UND has managed to avoid that this year. But the odds aren't in our favor if we see similar defensive numbers again.

Certainly the defense played much better in the second half. But on the other hand, SUU gained 157 yards rushing, after only gaining 23 last year against UND, and the passing yardage was almost identical (353 last year, 363 this year). I just feel like our expectations have lowered so much that 500-plus yards and 29 points seems like a relatively good performance, when in reality it would have been considered almost disastrous in any other season.

Statistics rarely tell the whole story, but in UND's case, it's pretty bizarre that it has a 3-4 Big Sky record despite being: 10th in scoring offense; 11th in total offense; 12th in scoring defense; 12th in total defense; and 10th in turnover margin. (all of the above are conference-only stats). About the only key statistic that UND ranks highly in is penalties, as it has the fewest in the conference.

20 Montana St. 17 Sac St. final

13 Montana St. 17 Sac St. end of 3rd quarter

UNC actually won at Portland St. today, 32-28. Kind of a shocker.

Currently tied for 6th. Media had UND 6th, and coaches 10th.

It seems hard to believe that UND is actually 4-4 vs. Big Sky opponents despite giving up over 500 yards per game in the process.

I have the same feeling, but on the other hand SUU did lose at home to Weber St. a few weeks ago, so they're a bit unpredictable.

Although I am a big Tibesar fan, personally I can't see him back at UND unless perhaps there's a head coaching vacancy. Eric Schmidt?

This is Tibesar's first year at Purdue. During his two years as d coordinator here, UND gave up around 13 ppg.

In fairness, there was one pretty big change made in the defensive staff after last season.

It's tough to accept the fact that UND is one of only two Big Sky teams to lose a conference game by 30 or more points this year, and it's happened twice (Idaho St. has three such losses).

They haven't had a bye week. Their season ends a week before most everybody else's (Nov. 10). I'm not sure if they've played anybody with two weeks to prepare for them like UND has with NAU and MSU.

UND and SUU have had nearly identical Big Sky schedules, with the only difference in opponents being that they played (and inexplicably lost to) Weber St. instead of Cal Poly. They haven't been blown out by anybody in the Big Sky, and their defense is giving up about 12 ppg fewer than is UND. Prior to the season, I had penciled in this game as a likely UND win, but right now I'd have to make SUU a favorite.

Here are the UND defensive numbers after yesterday (FCS games only): 39.14 points allowed per game 269.14 rushing yards allowed per game 251.43 passing yards allowed per game

High praise for the UND offense from Rob Ash: http://www.bozemanda...1a4bcf887a.html

Some possible clarification regarding the idea of Benton as a starter--Tom Miller said in today's live chat on the Herald web site that Jones mentioned the possiblity of starting Benton in Mitchell's old spot last spring, prior to the additions of the two jucos and (hopefully) Nash.

It's interesting to look back at the boxscore from the 2010 UND-Montana game: http://www.undsports...DB_OEM_ID=13500 UND had more passing yards in the 2012 game than the combined total offense of the two teams in the 2010 game. The fairly respectable defensive performance of the 2010 game also begs the question of what UND's record might be right now if the defense hadn't regressed so significantly?

UND just announced that Kristen Gay's contract won't be renewed.

I look at this game as an opportunity, and the only real one left on the schedule, to show that the EWU game was an aberration. Given where our defense is right now, I can deal with competitive losses on the road against highly-ranked teams, but not even being competitive is inexcusable.

I'm not sure that's necessarily true. For example, I believe the Big Ten was the first conference to use instant replay, before anybody else in FBS (then I-A).

100% agree. We did it before with 36 scholarships back in 2006 at UNI. There's an opportunity for a similar statement this Saturday.

Do you have a better explanation for the rather drastic dropoff in attendance since the middle of the 2009 season? I'm not saying people SHOULD stay away. Just that the numbers show that there's a big difference pre and post 2009 Sioux Falls game.

Agreed. Here's proof of just the financial impact: In the 17 regular season home games prior to the 2009 Sioux Falls game, UND averaged 10,212 per game. In the 18 home games since that game, UND has averaged 8,244 per game.