UND92,96

Game Notes: http://www.fightingsioux.com/downloads2/390682.pdf?ATCLID=205014877&SPSID=58640&SPID=6399&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=13500 I see where there was no offensive player of the game chosen for the SUU game. Probably a good decision.

Wisconsin o.c. Paul Chryst was mentioned as a potential candidate the last time around. He didn't hurt his chances for a head coaching job last night.

http://www.startribune.com/sports/gophers/105131979.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aU1yDEmP:QMDCinchO7DU I wonder if Maturi will get the chance to screw up another hire?

SIU now 3-4 on the season. I am extremely surprised.

Sioux Football Insider's post-game analysis: http://siouxfb.areavoices.com/

Although there were some decisions made by the interim a.d.'s that I strongly disagreed with, not paying Mussman more than necessary was one thing they got right. He got a nice raise from his o.c. salary, and I'm sure he was happy with it. If he has a high degree of success, he'll get more money. I also agree that if a change were made, the pay would be considerably higher. Ditto for the men's basketball job should that open up in the near future. Faison proved with Hardee that he's not afraid to pay the going rate for the right person.

I don't know about averages, but I believe the highest-paid FCS coaches are between $250k and $300k. Richmond, Delaware and James Madison are supposedly among the highest-paid.

Aren't they still technically co-coordinators, but now Mannausau actually calls the defense whereas Kelling did the past three or four years? FWIW, they're still listed as co-coordinators at fightingsioux.com, although that info is admittedly not always 100% accurate.

I tend to agree that if Lennon were still here, with this exact coaching staff, things still wouldn't be all that great. However, on the other hand, if Mussman had Lennon's currrent staff at SIU here at UND, I think you'd see a much better product on the field. With that said, I believe Mussman should get another year even if we finish 2-9, but Faison needs to see that the certain changes are made on the staff.

If you look at where the SUU program was as recently as 2007--a season in which I believe they were winless and were hammered at home by dII UND--they were essentially starting over as a program at the same time UND started its dI transition. It certainly seems like they have done a better job. And while they are located much closer to major population centers compared to UND, they're also probably only the fifth-best college football program in the state of Utah, and have minimal media attention, tradition and probably money compared to UND.

I was going to make a similar point. The fact that attendance for Homecoming and Potato Bowl were both sub-par compared to most past seasons strongly suggests that fan interest is on a downward slide. Six horrible performances out of the past 15 games will have that effect, I guess.

Just to clarify, Kotelnicki is not presently one of the co-coordinators, but does have collegiate defensive coordinator experience.

Maybe I'm way out in left field here, but honestly if I were Mussman, I'd do the following immediately, and see if it results in any improvement over the last five games: 1. Take over the offensive coordinator duties himself. He's the best offensive coordinator on the staff. 2. Let Kotelnicki take over the defense. At least he had some success as a coordinator at the dII level. Let's face it--it's not like things could get any worse.

Well, we know they're going to throw, and throw often. We know that the UND pass defense has not been a strength for some time (I'm still trying to figure out exactly why that is). So one big question is: can we at least avoid giving up the big play, and make them drive it down the field so that we at least have a shot at a turnover or sack to put them in third and long situations? I'm not expecting miracles, but I'd sure like to see some improvement from the pass defense. The fact that it continues to be an issue year after year is becoming more and more frustrating. Offensively, things are looking up with having three big weapons again instead of two. Avoid turnovers, and UND should be able to move the ball well. Hopefully the running game can chew up a lot of time, to keep their passing attack off the field as much as possible.

While a loss certainly wouldn't come as a shock, I'm hoping that playing at home will help keep the turnovers down, which have been a problem on the road. We may not be able to slow down their passing game very well, but hopefully we can match their offensive output, and force a few turnovers. Can anybody offer a good explanation as to why our experienced secondary (experienced aside from Mackey anyway) seems to be struggling? I don't think it's a talent issue, but maybe I'm wrong?

It's not just here that there hasn't been a lot of action--Sioux Football Insider doesn't have their game preview up yet, either. I always look forward to reading their stuff. As far as I'm concerned, this is the make-or-break game for the season. We absolutely have to win all of our home games, since winning a road game now appears pretty unlikely (I think USD was our best opportunity). Let's shore up the pass defense, avoid turnovers, and get back in the W column tomorrow.

Another big test for a UND pass defense that has given up a lot of big plays: http://www.grandforksherald.com/event/article/id/178326/group/sports/

I'm too lazy to look through this entire thread, so I'll just ask the question--how much is an indoor practice facility expected to cost?

I found a link to head coaches' salaries for the 2009-10 school year, and at least as of last year Mussman makes more than Idalski: http://legacy.inforum.com/pdfs/0719%20Salaries.pdf

I really wanted to believe that we'd see a marked improvement for the defense this year, because on paper the talent level seems to be pretty good. But the reality is that although there have been some stretches of good play, I don't believe the defense is an area of strength right now, and as you mentioned it hasn't been for three or four years.

Bamba scored five touchdowns all of last year. Hardin has six through four games, and is well on his way to far exceeding Bamba's receiving yardage total from last season. Not that it wouldn't be nice to have somebody to take some of the pressure off Hardin like Bamba would have, but yes, Hardin has essentially made people forget Bamba.

I think I'd be a little more of a believer in the USD defense had they not given up so many more rushing yards against NDSU than the Bison had managed against anybody else this year. If the Sioux can avoid turnovers, I think there's enough firepower to do some serious damage tomorrow. Murray has done it before in Vermillion, and Hardin has been unbelievable so far.

I really hope I'm wrong, but with each passing week I'm afraid this may turn out to be a season-ending situation, similar to Genoway last year...

You have to admit, although Morrell will probably get the USD defense to a higher level in the coming years, they haven't looked very good so far. USD doesn't stop the run well, and Hardin's presence makes putting eight in the box risky. UND may lose, but I see a lot of points being scored on both sides.

From today's weekly chat at the Sioux Falls Argus Leader web site with USD beat writer Mick Garry: In reality, according to the OPE numbers for the fiscal year ending June 2009 (the most recent numbers available), the schools rank as follows, by revenue produced: 1. UND $15,055,027 2. NDSU $13,039,179 3. SDSU $10,708,255 4. USD $7,162,809