UND92,96

Now 17-10 late in third quarter.

Every road game worries me, but I actually think this is a pretty good matchup for UND for a few reasons beyond the obvious that UNC is winless: 1. The UNC defense isn't good against the run; 2. If Goska plays as expected, that gives UND an additional threat in the running game that hasn't been there with Bradley; 2. UNC is an O.K. passing team, but 200 yards per game, particularly when there's virtually no running game to complement it, isn't that good.

Seems "DLSportsGuy" jumped the gun a bit--Labat not a commit just yet.

Per a tweet by "DLsportsguy" (the sports reporter for the DL paper), Labat has committed to UND.

I agree, but feel it's also important to note that UND has been selling the "We Are One" t-shirts for several months, and the proceeds from this effort likely are fairly substantial. So even if the "virtual" ticket effort doesn't yield large dividends, the playing of the game in Minot and the resulting sale of actual tickets, plus the t-shirt proceeds, is certainly commendable on UND's part.

Yes, I believe so.

Oskie from SFI also reiterated his belief that Taj Rich is a UND commit (per "comments" section of second-most recent blog entry).

In the Herald live chat today, Wayne Nelson stated that he expects Gentry will play as a true freshman, along with Antwi. If so, competition just got that much tougher for playing time on the perimeter.

Per a tweet by SFI, Mike Edwards, a NG from Sun Prairie, WI has committed to UND.

Check out the last sentence of this ESPN article: http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/7148713/big-east-meet-conference-usa-mountain-west

Wayne Nelson just tweeted the following:

It's at the Ralph: http://www.fightingsioux.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=58563&SPID=6388&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=13500&ATCLID=205267952

NDSU is picked to finish in the bottom half of the Summit, at least by the publications I've seen. UND should be able to be very competitive, and a win is quite possible IMO.

Last year's coaches' poll was released November 2, so I assume it will come out around the same time this year. I think everybody is very excited to finally be a part of a real conference again. The Great West has served its purpose, but in reality is little more than a scheduling alliance. In terms of expectations, I hope to see something close to 20 wins, and continued development of the young players, who showed a lot of promise last year. Perimeter play should be strong. The question will be on the inside, particularly developing depth and getting more consistent offensive production.

You're welcome.

Per SFI, Cal Poly's best defensive player, Asa Jackson, reportedly has a broken bone in his foot. If he's out or seriously hobbled, that could be a big factor on Saturday.

I follow on twitter the reporter who covers DL sports for the local paper, and he tweeted yesterday that it was due to an ankle injury.

This will be the first home game I've had to miss since 1999. I have four tickets--excellent seats. PM me if you are interested--will give them away.

It's a case of strength vs. strength: -Poly running game vs. UND run defense; -UND run offense vs. Poly run defense; and weakness vs. weakness: -both teams' passing game vs. pass defenses that have given up considerable yardage. It just seems like this might be a better matchup for UND, particularly considering last year's team with a much weaker defense and running game nearly knocked off a pretty decent Poly team in SLO. If UND can avoid losing the turnover battle, and get above-average production, by this year's standards, from the passing game (150-plus yards), I think the Sioux win this one.

UND will play at Wyoming on September 5, 2015 per a tweet by Dom Izzo.

Right now, there are only seven FCS teams who average fewer passing yards per game than does UND.

Upon further review, it would appear that SIU's big annual loss on football is apparently mostly due to how revenues are allocated within the athletic department, since UND supposedly has a similar football budget, but roughly three times the reported revenue compared to SIU despite lower attendance. In other words, disregard my previous posts on this topic.

Last time I checked, SIU isn't doing so well in basketball, and they only average a little over 4000 per game. It's not like they're Butler or something in terms of NCAA tournament money. Unless simply being in the MVC for basketball is so lucrative that it allows its member schools to grossly overspend on football, it makes no sense to me.

I've mentioned this before, but it's so bizarre that it may bear repeating--according to the OPE web site, SIU spends just over $3.2 million annually on its football program. It generates just over $1 million annually in revenue. How can a school justify losing $2.2 million per year on one sport? Where is that money coming from?

Tom Miller column on the alarmingly ineffective UND passing game: http://www.grandforksherald.com/event/article/id/217860/