Matt

It's astounding to me the ac has held sam to 6. Their d is so freaking good.

If jensen puts that where it is supposed to go it's a first down.

Crockett is an fbs player

Tell me more about Williams leaving early for the draft.

Someone remind me of the recruiting year where the coaches took the podium and said, "well, that sure sucked". There's a recruiting party every year to celebrate all the great recruits that signed, and I'm as happy they did as the next guy, but my patience for recruiting celebrations has worn thin coming off a losing season-particularly when you get absolutely destroyed by the class of the conference. Win some games on the field, and I'll be chest bumping with you. Until then, you get a pat on the head and a "good work, see you in the fall".

This hole recruiting chest bump thing grated on me a bit. While I'm very happy they are signing guys they want, part of me couldn't help but think "spare me the chest bumping and just win some games".

The scheduling grind next year is bad enough with a freshman QB, without adding an ac team with a bunch of returning starters and 2 trips to the title game. I would hope Faison negotiates a better deal than one which suits the ac because they are in a scheduling jam.

I wonder how that compares to Muss' bonus for an FCS title.

Uggh...why is this guy speaking to me...anybody? I didn't address him or his team...do I have to set an ignore? I feel like I just stepped in something nasty and can't get it off my shoe.

If you want an entertaining reminder of how inexact this all is, go back and read the recruiting threads from about 2009 until now.

Fair enough. How about something less subjective. Take a look at the conference leaders in any statistical category. You'll notice underclassmen ranked in the top 20 are the exception. Not only that, look at the records of the teams on which those underclassmen played. Usually not good. ISU (1-10) had 3 guys ranked in the top 20 for tackles. Sac (6-5) & PSU (3-8) each had an underclassmen contributing in passing ypg. Scoring? Montana (5-6) and UCD (4-7) each had a ranked underclassmen kicker, that's it. There are exceptions-CP's Ivory had a good td year. Again, relying on underclassmen to make an impact in itself isn't a bad thing, particularly if it is some role players here and there. I'm confident it can pay dividends a couple years down the road, and with some luck maybe pull some upsets in the shorter term. But if those guys are in key positions (QB?) from which big contributions are needed, we may need to temper our expectations a little for next year. I would welcome those players to exceed my expectations.

I'm not gonna argue this point. However, I think it should be acknowledged that this isn't a good thing. What does it mean for a freshmen to be "ready" anyway? What is a reasonable expectation for production? Keep in mind, not a single freshmen made the all-conference 1st team. Or 2nd team. You have to look down the HM list to see some younger contributors. Freshmen playing next year should reap some benefits in 2015, but for the 2013 season that usually means significant growing pains. Fans need to accept that.

That's a bold statement considering the entire conference had only 1 team in the top 25 of total defense (Montana State), and 0 in scoring defense. But, 'tis the season of perpetual hope...might as well keep on selling it.

There's no more negativity here than any other fan board. Read through this season's threads at panther nation and someone want to convince me that a recruit wants to go there cuz there's less negativity there than ss.com? I call BS.

I'd suggest the region where the good basketball players are.

Right there is another reason this game needs to happen on the field. Without an actual game and/or comparable success on the field, people start to assume the team just can't compete with them. The perception is hard to change.

The AC will be preseason 1 or 2 next year with the return starters they have. Question is, does the kid think he's good enough to go in there and start, and how much does he want to play for a title next year? If the answer is yes and yes, then I don't hold out a lot of hope he'd choose UND. That's not even taking into account whatever the AC coaches would say to get him there. I'm sure they'd paint a rosy picture for him if they want him there.

Holy s**t, did he actually say that! Even if you believe that, you just can't come out and say it...not when you play in this league. You are putting that in players' heads now when you play in altitude, and it's a lame excuse anyway. Very poor choice of words.

You are correct. Conversely, none of the AC receivers would see the field for UND. If Smith could stay on the field I'd count him, but he can't stay healthy.

Per Izzo, the AC didn't offer yet. Keep in mind it is December, when's signing day...in Feb? I don't blame Hein for choosing the school that really wanted him.

If this game was to be played this week I'd pick Sam. They are rolling and the AC is more vulnerable defensively than I've seen them all year-very beaten up. Giving the AC until Jan 5 to heal and game plan for this tips the scale for me. Plus, this will be a home game for the AC.

I must admit, i really thought Eastern would have a better showing. Bell, Sincere, Flanders, that's the same bunch the AC held to 0 tds last year.

Will Eastern be playing any defense today?

I'd say "burned" is a little strong. He was on the WRs hip. It looks like he lost his legs and didn't make a play on the ball. Either way, an All American which AC fans have been telling us could go to the draft as a Jr absolutely cannot give up that pass in that situation. The crappy thing about the national title game is that because Eastern and Sam don't travel well (which is their own fault of course), this is a home game for the AC. If it is Sam, at least they'll get a few more fans due to proximity. Unless they bought tickets as early as the AC fans did, which is doubtful since they started the season poorly. Dear Lord I want Eastern to take care of business and shut them up.

Is it April 1st?