Matt

I hope we can put that to the test with some playoff matchups.

I don't think an FCS team to end the season is a bad thing for an FBS team. You don't want to schedule someone that may knock you out of a preferred bowl game, and FCS losses are comparatively rare. But then again in the absence of another conference opponent you want a game to keep the guys in playing condition before the long layoff before the bowl season.

I thought you don't have to sit when you go from FBS to FCS?

Statistically, even if the defense would have played mediocre-I mean ranked in the middle of the pack nationally-who knows what this team is capable of. A competent defense would have taken a tremendous amount of pressure off Hanson. It's too bad he didn't make the call and leave UNC a year earlier. One year is a tight window.

Bracketology http://www.sportsnetwork.com/fcs/FCS_Bracket.pdf

http://www.soconsports.com/fls/4000/socon/FCS/polls/2012/2012_FCS_Coaches_Poll/index.html Coaches Poll November 5, 2012 Team (No. 1 Votes) 2012 Record Points Previous Ranking 1. North Dakota State (21) 8-1 641 2 2. Montana State (1) 8-1 614 3 3. Sam Houston State (3) 7-2 593 4 4. Old Dominion 8-1 572 5 5. Lehigh 9-0 519 6 6. Eastern Washington 7-2 498 8 7. Georgia Southern 7-2 487 1 8. Stony Brook (1) 9-1 477 9 9. James Madison 7-2 447 10 10. New Hampshire 8-2 418 11 11. Northern Arizona 8-1 404 12 12. Appalachian State 7-3 370 14 13. Central Arkansas 8-2 343 13 14. Wofford 7-2 295 7 15. Illinois State 8-2 287 15 16. Harvard 7-1 191 21 17. Towson 5-4 177 22 18. Eastern Kentucky 7-3 166 23 19. Cal Poly 7-2 146 16 20. South Dakota State 7-2 143 25 21. Indiana State 7-3 131 17 22. Bethune-Cookman 7-2 117 24 23. Richmond 6-3 75 NR 24. UT Martin 7-2 54 NR 25. Villanova 6-3 48 NR Others Receiving Votes: Tennessee State (46), Samford (35), Albany (34), Eastern Illinois (21), McNeese State (17), Youngstown State (17), Delaware (17), Sacramento State (16), Alabama A&M (7), Northern Iowa (6), The Citadel (5), Arkansas Pine-Bluff (5), Colgate (5), Wagner (3), Southern Illinois (3).

Dang it, I did that again!

http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=cfoot2/misc/cfoot225poll.aspx The Sports Network FCS Top 25 College Football Poll Team (First-place votes) 2012 Record Points Previous Rank 1. North Dakota State Bison (59) 8-1 3951 3 2. Georgia Southern Eagles (76) 7-2 3928 2 3. Montana State Bobcats (9) 8-1 3714 4 4. Sam Houston State Bearkats (9) 7-2 3365 5 5. Old Dominion Monarchs (2) 8-1 3344 6 6. Wofford Terriers 7-2 3210 7 7. Eastern Washington Eagles 7-2 3112 1 8. Lehigh Mountain Hawks (4) 9-0 2940 8 9. Stony Brook Seawolves (4) 9-1 2775 10 10. James Madison Dukes 7-2 2741 9 11. New Hampshire Wildcats 8-2 2529 12 12. Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (2) 8-1 2356 13 13. Central Arkansas Bears 8-2 1962 14 14. Indiana State Sycamores 7-3 1863 15 15. Appalachian State Mountaineers 7-3 1679 16 16. Cal Poly Mustangs 7-2 1626 11 17. Illinois State Redbirds 8-2 1546 17 18. Tennessee State Tigers 8-2 1098 21 19. Towson Tigers 5-4 843 23 20. Albany Great Danes 7-2 834 24 21. South Dakota State Jackrabbits 7-2 734 NR 22. Richmond Spiders 6-3 579 25 23. Delaware Blue Hens 5-4 453 20 23. Villanova Wildcats 6-3 453 19 25. Eastern Kentucky Colonels 7-3 376 18 Others receiving votes: Sacramento State 367, UT Martin 274, Harvard 231, Eastern Illinois 188, Bethune-Cookman 155, McNeese State 73, Southern Illinois 66, Youngstown State 60, Jacksonville State 31, The Citadel 30, Southern Utah 29, Samford 22, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 21, Alabama A&M 16, Chattanooga 14, Northern Iowa 12, Colgate 7, Fordham 6, Stephen F. Austin 4, Drake 3, Delaware State 3, North Carolina Central 2

Judging from what I saw on ticketmaster, you may be right.

While the team focuses on finishing this season strong, I'm shifting my thoughts to next year. Having a rough first year in a tough conference is certainly forgivable, even if that means you wind up look up at your former great west peer (SUU) and a conference doormat (UNC). Other folks have pointed out many teams that have struggled in their introduction to conference play so I won't list all that again. Next year is a different story though. This conference is ALWAYS difficult. Playing in a difficult conference was no crutch in the NCC, and neither should this be the case in the BSC. Muss should be given the chance to show what kind of coach and recruiter he is. He will have his guys to put out there. He will have film of his team running his scheme against BSC opponents. If he is worthy of this job, he should be given the opportunity to coach 'em up and either sink or swim with it.

It is no coincidence the top 3 teams in the polls also lead the nation in total defense. UND is #114 in total defense, and #107 in scoring defense. I don't have the answer, and I'm not paid to produce one, but it is obvious something must change and it isn't as simple as having the current guys get healthy and tackle better.

http://www.soconsports.com/fls/4000/socon/FCS/polls/2012/2012_FCS_Coaches_Poll/index.html FCS Coaches Poll October 29, 2012 Team (No. 1 Votes) 2012 Record Points Previous Ranking 1. Georgia Southern (17) 7-1 635 2 2. North Dakota State (5) 7-1 619 3 3. Montana State 7-1 586 4 4. Sam Houston State (2) 6-2 561 5 5. Old Dominion 7-1 528 7 6. Lehigh (1) 8-0 517 6 7. Wofford 7-1 486 8 8. Eastern Washington (1) 6-2 471 1 9. Stony Brook 8-1 450 9 10. James Madison 6-2 429 10 11. New Hampshire 7-2 396 12 12. Northern Arizona 7-1 363 13 13. Central Arkansas 7-2 326 14 14. Appalachian State 6-3 275 15 15. Illinois State 7-2 264 17 16. Cal Poly 7-1 256 11 17. Indiana State 7-2 249 T-18 18. Albany 7-1 188 20 19. Tennessee State 8-1 173 T-21 20. Delaware 5-3 122 16 21. Harvard 6-1 96 24 22. Towson 4-4 87 25 23. Eastern Kentucky 6-3 68 T-18 24. Bethune-Cookman 6-2 54 NR 25. South Dakota State 6-2 51 NR Others Receiving Votes: Sacramento State (44), Richmond (27), Villanova (27), UT Martin (26), McNeese State (23), Jacksonville State (16), Youngstown State (10), Eastern Illinois (8), The Citadel (5), Samford (5), Southern Illinois (4), Northern Iowa (4), Alabama A&M (1).

http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=cfoot2/misc/cfoot225poll.aspx The Sports Network FCS Top 25 College Football Poll Team (First-place votes) 2012 Record Points Previous Rank 1. North Dakota State Bison (59) 7-1 3951 3 2. Georgia Southern Eagles (76) 7-1 3928 2 3. Montana State Bobcats (9) 7-1 3714 4 4. Sam Houston State Bearkats (9) 6-2 3365 5 5. Old Dominion Monarchs (2) 7-1 3344 6 6. Wofford Terriers 7-1 3210 7 7. Eastern Washington Eagles 6-2 3112 1 8. Lehigh Mountain Hawks (4) 8-0 2940 8 9. Stony Brook Seawolves (4) 8-1 2775 10 10. James Madison Dukes 6-2 2741 9 11. New Hampshire Wildcats 7-2 2529 12 12. Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (2) 7-1 2356 13 13. Central Arkansas Bears 7-2 1962 14 14. Indiana State Sycamores 7-2 1863 15 15. Appalachian State Mountaineers 6-3 1679 16 16. Cal Poly Mustangs 7-1 1626 11 17. Illinois State Redbirds 7-2 1546 17 18. Tennessee State Tigers 8-1 1098 21 19. Towson Tigers 4-4 843 23 20. Albany Great Danes 7-1 834 24 21. South Dakota State Jackrabbits 6-2 734 NR 22. Richmond Spiders 5-3 579 25 23. Delaware Blue Hens 5-3 453 20 23. Villanova Wildcats 6-3 453 19 25. Eastern Kentucky Colonels 6-3 376 18 Others receiving votes: Sacramento State 367, UT Martin 274, Harvard 231, Eastern Illinois 188, Bethune-Cookman 155, McNeese State 73, Southern Illinois 66, Youngstown State 60, Jacksonville State 31, The Citadel 30, Southern Utah 29, Samford 22, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 21, Alabama A&M 16, Chattanooga 14, Northern Iowa 12, Colgate 7, Fordham 6, Stephen F. Austin 4, Drake 3, Delaware State 3, North Carolina Central 2

I absolutely hate it when a coach says his team needs to play perfect to win. Anytime a coach says this, the opponent automatically has the advantage over his team because NO ONE plays a perfect game. Therefore, when the opponent inevitably makes a big play against you, the team has the "here we go again, we needed to play perfect and we didn't"; rather than "ok, they made a play, now its our turn to punch them in the mouth".

True, but it's a long way from that. This situation has room for improvement. It's not a total freaking disaster.

I feel bad for the players. Don't think for a second that they don't notice. They do.

I'm not sure I've seen a loss impact a program more than that one.

They win at Eastern on Nov 3rd and they may go to #1. Then with Northern Arizona still to play, they will have plenty of time to be where they want to be.

http://www.soconsports.com/fls/4000/socon/FCS/polls/2012/2012_FCS_Coaches_Poll/index.html FCS Coaches Poll-October 22, 2012 Team (No. 1 Votes) 2012 Record Points Previous Ranking 1. Eastern Washington (22) 6-1 642 1 2. Georgia Southern (1) 6-1 614 3 3. North Dakota State (3) 6-1 593 4 4. Montana State 6-1 552 5 5. Sam Houston State 5-2 548 6 6. Lehigh 8-0 494 7 7. Old Dominion 6-1 493 8 8. Wofford 6-1 473 9 9. Stony Brook 7-1 439 10 10. James Madison 5-2 413 2 11. Cal Poly 7-0 398 12 12. New Hampshire 6-2 370 14 13. Northern Arizona 6-1 327 15 14. Central Arkansas 6-2 275 17 15. Appalachian State 5-3 240 11 16. Delaware 5-2 228 T-22 17. Illinois State 6-2 225 13 T-18. Eastern Kentucky 6-2 172 24 T-18. Indiana State 6-2 172 25 20. Albany 6-1 153 T-22 T-21. Tennessee State 7-1 115 18 T-21. Youngstown State 4-3 115 16 23. Villanova 6-2 111 NR 24. Harvard 5-1 56 20 25. Towson 3-4 53 19 Others Receiving Votes: Bethune-Cookman (26), McNeese State (26), UT Martin (25), Richmond (23), Alabama A&M (19), Southern Illinois (17), Sacramento State (16), Jacksonville State (14), Northern Iowa (4), South Dakota State (3), Princeton (3), Samford (2), The Citadel (1).

Bracketology http://www.sportsnetwork.com/fcs/FCS_Bracket.pdf

http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=cfoot2/misc/tsn-div-1aa-poll.htm The Sports Network FCS Top-25 College Football Poll Team (First-place votes) Record Points Previous Rank 1. Eastern Washington Eagles (125) 6-1 4,014 1 2. Georgia Southern Eagles (14) 6-1 3,787 3 3. North Dakota State Bison (13) 6-1 3,746 4 4. Montana State Bobcats 6-1 3,489 5 5. Sam Houston State Bearkats (5) 5-2 3,218 6 6. Old Dominion Monarchs 6-1 3,089 7 7. Wofford Terriers 6-1 3,060 8 8. Lehigh Mountain Hawks (3) 8-0 2,839 3 9. James Madison Dukes 5-2 2,779 2 10. Stony Brook Seawolves (1) 7-1 2,704 10 11. Cal Poly Mustangs (3) 7-0 2,437 14 12. New Hampshire Wildcats 6-2 2,434 12 13. Northern Arizona Lumberjacks 6-1 2,083 16 14. Central Arkansas Bears 6-2 1,654 19 15. Indiana State Sycamores 6-2 1,416 21 16. Appalachian State Mountaineers 5-3 1,404 13 17. Illinois State Redbirds 6-2 1,394 11 18. Eastern Kentucky Colonels 6-2 1,152 23 19. Villanova Wildcats 6-2 1,135 24 20. Delaware Blue Hens 5-2 837 25 21. Tennessee State Tigers 7-1 786 17 22. Youngstown State Penguins 4-3 686 15 23. Towson Tigers 3-4 515 15 24. Albany Great Danes 6-1 483 NR 25. Richmond Spiders 5-3 456 NR Others receiving votes: South Dakota State 337, Southern Illinois 306, UT Martin 246, Harvard 223, Bethune-Cookman 107, Alabama A&M 78, The Citadel 68, Sacramento State 59, McNeese State 55, Jacksonville State 39, Chattanooga 35, Northern Iowa 28, Stephen F. Austin 26, North Carolina Central 25, Princeton 24, Eastern Illinois 14, Samford 9, Montana 6, Southeastern Louisiana 6, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 4, Drake 3, Colgate 2, Fordham 2, North Dakota 1

First, I only speak for myself, so yes it is my expectations, but if I had to speculate I doubt the athletic department goals are to reach 75% of anything. Be it wins or attendance. Especially if you monetize what another 10-15% in attendance does for the bottom line. Second, no it would not have been better to build a smaller stadium. I don't believe in lowering the bar for the sake of achievement. Third, I'm not sure if your last statement is an endorsement or criticism. If true, the fact they are averaging the same 75% capacity over what, 11 years, is not a good endorsement. No one strives for a flatlined growth trend over that length of time unless you are already at your goal. edit: I'm confident with games like Saturday the trend will go up, but if shattered records and a win secured in the last minute of play isn't enough to keep students in the building, I don't know what is.

The % capacity is the disappointing stat. And don't get me started with why the students would leave during a barnburner of a game.

Rivalry aside, I'd really like to watch the UND offense vs the ac defense in a controlled scrim. In a full game I think the ac wins by at least a couple of scores. The UND defense is just too bad, and the ac would control the clock and limit possessions. But I'd really like to see who performs well in the one on one matchups. Hypothetically (obviously), out of 10 possessions from their own 20, how many TDs would UND score?

Beating Montana may be a "signature win" for a few BSC schools this year.