UND92,96

Couple of things--was it Lennon and staff's fault for a couple of lackluster recruiting classes, or was it Buning's for slashing the recruiting budget? As for USD, I believe Meierkort has managed to supplement his high school recruiting with a number of FBS/juco transfers. Not sure how many are playing key roles, but I know some are. Aside from adding Bradley last off-season, that is an area where UND has not had much success going back a number of years.

I have thought for the past few years that Mussman should be his own offensive coordinator, a la Steve Spurrier. It doesn't mean Breitbach should be fired, but I just think Mussman is a much better o-coordinator based upon past results. Another thought--is there a compelling reason why Kotelnicki has been able to consistently put quality special teams on the field during the transition, but the offense and defense have mostly struggled? I mean, if there are circumstances, e.g. a lack of talent, which excuse in some people's minds the offensive and defensive struggles UND has experienced the past few years, shouldn't those same supposed handicaps similarly impact special teams? Or could it be that Kotelnicki has just done a much better coaching job than the coordinators? I don't know, I'm asking.

Obviously early season computer rankings must be taken with a grain of salt, but both Sagarin and Massey currently have Idaho as the 14th-worst FBS team in the country. Sagarin has Idaho just 18 spots higher than UND. On paper, this appears to be the most favorable matchup UND has had vs. an FBS program.

Hardee is doing a fantastic job with this program. I certainly don't pretend to be a great volleyball mind, so a question for those who may be--is there someting unique about volleyball which makes it immune to the usual excuses about why sports often struggle during the dI transition? Volleyball has the same handicaps as the other non-hockey sports, e.g. lack of a real conference, lack of post season, etc., correct? It's just interesting that a program which was never a power in dII has done so well the past three years, whereas some other sports which were powers in dII have struggled.

About 12,300 (not including suites).

Heath Sherman also, who played about five years with the Eagles as a running back/return specialist. A dII team with two future NFL running backs...

From what I've heard, Seth Nichols could have a big impact this year as a receiving threat at TE, and he was held out last night with an injury of some sort. Hopefully he can be back by the Idaho game, which could really help the passing game. If you put Hardin, McGill, Townsend and Nichols out there, that's four pretty good weapons for Bradley to throw to.

Wayne Nelson's prediction:

Maybe I'm just being unreasonably optimistic, but on paper I really think we should see a big improvement this year: -a more accurate quarterback; -a bigger, more experienced and deeper o-line; -legitimate threats at receiver to complement Hardin; -more speed on defense. I don't know what to expect from Drake, other than USD beat them pretty badly two years ago 51-21. I would like to think UND should be able to win with a similar score, but who knows?

The Herald article has been updated to include quotes from Grant Shaft: http://www.grandforksherald.com/event/article/id/214094/group/homepage/ I'm kind of impressed with Shaft's candor.

Oskie said Butler is definitely still enrolled at UND, and will probably be back on the roster next semester. Not really sure why it was necessary to remove his name from the roster even temporarily, but in any event it sounds like he'll likely be back if he can recover from his injury.

I just submitted the question regarding Butler to the SFI guys. I'm sure they'll find out what's going on.

Also announced at press conference today that TE Zach Adler may have red shirt pulled, that Goska is taking some reps at TE and that there's a 90% chance Garman's red shirt will be pulled (per tweet from Tom Miller).

I just read the settlement again for the first time in quite some time, and it appears that all the proposed changes to the Ralph are indeed only necessary in order to make it eligible to host an NCAA tournament. Thus, the question becomes whether it's worth it financially to make costly changes to host women's hockey playoffs, when the settlement also specifically allows such games to be hosted elsewhere, i.e. Purpur (or even at the Little Ralph in TRF?). With regard to an eventual transfer of ownership from REA to UND, I have to wonder whether it's even wise for that transfer to ever happen. For one thing, it would make mandatory all the changes to the building which are purely discretionary under REA ownership. Also, wouldn't it create issues with regard to the legality of serving alcohol in the facility?

I agree--hope all red shirt. I suspect Garman would get a lot of action as a returner, but there should be others who can fill that role. However, if either Sutton or Miller become seriously injured, he would probably be needed at RB. With regard to Jackson and the receiver positions, I see Hardin, Townsend and McGill as the top three receivers, with Anderson, Daggett, Ivery and Heimler battling it out for the fourth and fifth spots. While Jackson may very well be an improvement over some (maybe all) of the group competing for the fourth and fifth spots, it's probably not so great of an improvement to warrant lifting his red shirt.

I've always thought that the idea that the name changing would have any bearing on UND's use of the Ralph is probably an urban legend. In any event, I don't believe REA would ever punish UND over something for which it had no real alternative. I would guess that the Ralph will remain more or less as it is now, UND will continue its relationship with REA without change, and the NCAA will choose never to allow the UND women to host a playoff game at the Ralph.

UND still does not own the Ralph. And REA does not have to do anything, as it was not a party to the settlement. So really, as far as I can tell, the only punishment the NCAA could conceivably levy as a result of REA failing to remove any Fighting Sioux names/symbols would be to prevent the Ralph from hosting a women's hockey playoff game. However, I assume such a game could still be held at Purpur or elsewhere. Bottom line--UND does not control what REA does, and IMO UND cannot be punished (except as described above) as a result of the actions or non-actions of an entity beyond its control.

The Herald is resuming its weekly live chats tomorrow at 3 o'clock.

From a purely selfish perspective, I wish USD were in the Big Sky. But I can't really blame the USD athletic department for things which were quite possibly completely out of its control. I think it would be a mistake to discontinue playing them, particularly in football and basketball.

SFI's defense progress report: http://siouxfb.areavoices.com/

Any idea of the estimated cost of the facility with all of the above-described features?

Tough to argue with this predication based upon the fact that UND was 0-4 in the conference last year, was last in scoring offense AND scoring defense in conference games, lost Murray early, and has a questionable, to say the least, quarterback situation right now.

http://siouxfb.areavoices.com/2011/07/21/roster-release-thoughts/

Yes. He was hired in January. Mussman will be coaching the o-line this season. According to a tweet by SFI yesterday, Love's replacement has been hired, although no names were mentioned.

Interesting column in the St. Cloud Times today: http://www.sctimes.com/article/20110717/SPORTS04/107170005/DeLand-column-Huskies-left-only-questions?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|Umbrella|s