Matt

Makes me wonder if there's an advantage to announcing and getting the need out there first before other regional schools come knocking to some of the same donors for the same purpose. Certainly each school has their own fans/alumni but there's also a significant amount of overlap on the corporate account list.

Not sure what you mean? Jer was valuable to us certainly, but he averaged 71 yds/game for the 11th ranked rushing offense in the league. I think we are all expecting more than that this year.

Does anyone else find Santiago being the #1 guy just a little worrisome? True freshman listed at 5'9 170 (if that's not inflated it would be the first in the history of college athletics) I thought there was more in the cupboard so he could season a bit. Hopefully his speed is such that he doesn't take direct hits.

That's a good take.

If they lack anything among game breakers, they make up for it with robotic discipline. They would be fine taking a touchback, then throwing the ball for eight yard completions ten times.

Too early for predictions, but my gut tells me that this UND squad will fare far better vs run heavy ball control teams than it will vs skilled passers (which is why the matchups vs Wentz and the top tier BSC passers worry me). I've done no research on WYO yet so I don't know where they will fit.

Poll Story STATS FCS Poll Rankings as of 8/10/2015 Rank School Votes Prev 1 North Dakota State (0-0) 3671 (144) NR 2 Illinois State (0-0) 3423 (3) NR 3 Sam Houston State (0-0) 3264 NR 4 Villanova (0-0) 3249 NR 5 Coastal Carolina (0-0) 2900 NR 6 Eastern Washington (0-0) 2830 NR 7 Jacksonville State (0-0) 2705 NR 8 Chattanooga (0-0) 2590 NR 9 New Hampshire (0-0) 2570 NR 10 UNI (0-0) 2212 NR 11 Montana State (0-0) 2038 NR 12 James Madison (0-0) 1766 NR 13 Montana (0-0) 1710 NR 14 Youngstown State (0-0) 1662 NR 15 Liberty (0-0) 1623 NR 16 South Dakota State (0-0) 1390 NR 17 Eastern Kentucky (0-0) 1073 NR 18 Richmond (0-0) 1016 NR 19 Southeastern Louisiana (0-0) 791 NR 20 Fordham (0-0) 663 NR 21 Indiana State (0-0) 635 NR 22 Idaho State (0-0) 627 NR 23 Harvard (0-0) 620 NR 24 Stephen F. Austin (0-0) 554 NR 25 McNeese State (0-0) 440 NR Others: Eastern Illinois (431) , William & Mary (225) , Cal Poly (189) , Alcorn State (144) , South Carolina State (126) , North Carolina A&T (108) , Northern Arizona (74) , Western Carolina (65) , Bethune-Cookman (56) , Sacred Heart (46) , Charleston Southern (40) , Samford (38) , Southern Illinois (26) , Western Illinois (23) , Jackson State (19) , Jacksonville (16) , Lehigh (15) , Delaware (14) , Bryant (11) , San Diego (10) , Bucknell (9) , Northwestern State (9) , Lamar (9) , Towson (8) , Dartmouth (6) , Grambling State (6) , Central Arkansas (6) , Yale (5) , Southern University (4) , Wagner (3) , Duquesne (2) , Maine (2) , Mercer (2) , Missouri State (1) , Tennessee State (1) , Furman (1) , Abilene Christian (1) , South Dakota (1) , North Carolina Central (1)

Story Poll FCS Coaches Poll Rankings as of 8/5/2015 Rank School Prev 1 North Dakota State (0-0) NR 2 Illinois State (0-0) NR 3 Villanova (0-0) NR 4 Sam Houston State (0-0) NR 5 Coastal Carolina (0-0) NR 6 Eastern Washington (0-0) NR 7 New Hampshire (0-0) NR 8 Chattanooga (0-0) NR 9 Jacksonville State (0-0) NR 10 UNI (0-0) NR 11 Montana State (0-0) NR 12 Montana (0-0) NR 13 James Madison (0-0) NR 14 Liberty (0-0) NR 15 South Dakota State (0-0) NR 16 Youngstown State (0-0) NR 17 Eastern Kentucky (0-0) NR 18 Richmond (0-0) NR 19 Southeastern Louisiana (0-0) NR 20 Indiana State (0-0) NR 21 Fordham (0-0) NR 22 Harvard (0-0) NR 23 McNeese State (0-0) NR 24 Idaho State (0-0) NR 25 Eastern Illinois (0-0) NR

Easy peasy japaneasy

If I'm understanding it correctly in the context of a plan to move up to FBS, that "step" amounts to little more than a general ledger adjustment from one line item to another.

Totally agree with this. At some point you gotta earn it, or you're a JAG (just another guy), as Parcells used to say.

was that the case for all home games or are you just referring to potato bowl?

I watched every game he played, most of his track meets, and know his coach and his family. But I watched James Johanneson, who is a legit 4.5, run him off the track. Jade has the potential to be a great BSC LB, not a RB in my opinion.

That's a desperation move in my opinion. He's an NSIC RB with decent speed. In the BSC, he's among the slowest backs in the league. I'd rather have him as a BSC backer with good speed.

I see. So the distinction in the law applies to whether or not the candidate is already on staff (state employee).

I'm getting old, but didn't some type of state hiring requirements contribute to why the Bubba hire dragged out so long? How was the hockey job filled so quickly?

At the risk of speaking for TRex here, I don't think his point was so much a debate about the value of high schoolers vs transfers. I took his point to be a comment on the opinions which appeared to assign a very critical role in the success of the 2015 team onto a transfer.

Spot on. I was beginning to think bringing in an impact running back to help this offense this fall was like ordering up a show on Netflix...scroll through the options, make your selection, and enjoy.

I am REALLY looking forward to seeing how this run defense handles Wyoming and the ac.

I'm curious to see how many UND fans will be there. Obviously there won't be one entire end zone full of UND fans like the d2 days, but I do wonder how many ac fans will sell?

Chad Walthall has D1 experience, he's winning on a national level at a school with extremely limited resources, alumni support, and local interest. Could you write it up any better prerequisite for the UND job?

I would rather be part of an every year caravan to Sioux Falls than hope for a "one day" hosting situation. That was my shot to Archduke Ferdinand that started this world war. I apologize.

It is by no means perfect, but after watching the other Dakota schools-including the women's programs-I think it has become a better fit. Particularly from a marketing perspective. This isn't an issue solely with Fargo media. This is a regional marketing issue. With the Dakota schools in the summit, the BSC will never have the media marketing share of voice that the summit does with little effort. I understand it is neither here nor there now, there isnt a pending invite. But a guy could hope that i could drive to Sioux falls each year to watch his team.

Kill me for this if you will, but after watching the Dakota schools playing in a new arena in SF on Midco I would gladly take a Summit/MVFC offer if they could get it. It is where UND belongs.

That's a harsh assessment of a high school player.