UND92,96

While simply getting a win is obviously of first and foremost importance, the other aspect of this game which is of particular interest is whether the UND pass defense can finally show that it can limit the big plays of an opponent. Last week was bad. And the overall pass defense stats this season are bad. It would be nice to start seeing some progress in that area, regardless of opponent. If we can't avoid giving up big plays even with a very good pass rush, something's wrong.

For whatever it's worth, Massey is predicting UND to win 38-14.

Safety M.J. Stumpf from Harvey has committed to NDSU: http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/339215/group/Sports/ The article indicates UND had offered.

This has been an issue for years. UND may be one of the few college programs in the country that seems to have more trouble finding 3-point shooters than quality big girls.

USD averages about 157 passing yards per game. UND averages about 151 yards per game, thanks in large part to Goska's last two games.

The most pleasant surprise for me was the play of Goodman. Must admit that I didn't expect much contribution from him this season considering all the injuries he's had and the younger, quicker players that have emerged since he was last at full strength, but he looked good yesterday.

I believe the final was 80-60.

UND is up 42-20 at the half. Brutal schedule for Minot this year. They have just five home games.

USF won 29-10.

I just looked at Sioux Falls' schedule--they only have nine games this year, they played Minot State twice and the game this Saturday against UND is their season finale. I guess it's even tougher to schedule in the transition from NAIA to dII than it is in the transition from dII to FCS.

Although DL's season ended today with a loss to Hermantown, I understand Mollberg threw for over 400 yards.

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.