FSSD

Actually, the no huddle has gone away, but they still run the pistol formation about 40%/50% of the time. I think that Bradley works well from that formation so I don't see it going away. I can not rip on the special teams they have played very well this season.

Do you realize that you just said - they beat Oklahoma and Nebraska (in Lincoln) in the same year and finished #21 in country and its no big deal. They did beat Mich St in a bowl game and finished 9-4. The 4 loses are: 1) #2 Texas @ Austin 24-34 2) #23 Houston @ Houston 28-29 3) Texas A&M Lubback 52-30 4) #18 Okl St @Stillwater 17-24 Yep, pushover cupcake team wish they would play somebody to get that 9-4 record.

Absolutely agree, but it takes more than one year to retool a college team. I am simply pointing out the fact that they switched the offense which made then vulnerable if the first string QB went down. It happened and they struggled after the injury. Many teams are going to struggle when they lose the starting QB because he has taken most of the reps and prep.

You are talking about general frustration with multiple games, but you do not provided specific examples so it is hard to respond. As to being 4th of 4 Dakota schools, UND is 3-1 vs USD during the transition. So, head to head UND has held its own with USD. USD has had some nice wins EWU and UM (overal last year sub .500 record - plus they lost to Lamar a first year program) but they are a senior dominated team this year. This is going to be a big year for USD. I picked them to win the Great West this year. But it will be interesting to see how they rebound after that in the following years. SDSU beat UND head to head last year but UND had a lost season after all the injuries at WR/QB. Plus, I think that SDSU had a 500 or less record last year. NDSU had a nice transition, but they followed it up with a terrible 3-8 season and backed into the playoff last year after a terrible loss at MSU. They are less than 500 in MVF play - NOTE: Going off of UNI fans comments - I could be wrong. So, all Dakota programs have struggled at times. The thing that I have noticed with FCS play is the QB is the most important position on offense. If you do not have one - defenses will shut you down and you can not hide that position. Back in the DII days you could get by just running the ball. I will be honest with you I do not really care about the other dakota schools. UND needs to get ready for the Big Sky which is all about QBs/WRs/CB - much more wide open football. Let's see the QB that you are talking about redshirted at Arkansas, then played 1 year of JUCO, then start two games and played in 6 games as a So and then played in 8 games as a Junior. Yes, he is a first year starter as a Senior - but not the wide-eyed rookie you portray. All of the receivers are very good and step above the FCS level talent. UND was down a starting CB yesterday and I was impressed with several plays down field by Brown (RFr). The biggest problem yesterday was with the offense and not maintaining the ball to allow the defense a rest and to break the rthym of the Idaho offense by putting on the bench for an extended period of time. The other factor was field position - they worked with a short field on two of those TD positions. Give credit to Idaho - they stopped trying to force it deep and went to the short stuff. UND did not come out of it because they stayed with a bend don't break plan. UND is out manned when playing FBS teams right now. They don't have that level of talent. I thought that they did a good job of mixing things up to get the lead but to get that lead they had to throw everything at Idaho from the start. Once Idaho adjusted not much you could do - give Idaho some credit. Again, the offense is too young right now run a sophisticated offense so they have to stay vanilla or it will get worse. I look for the offense to improve throughout the season. I do like some of the things that I see will Bradley but he does have some limitations right now. I think that you are forgetting about a Poly game a couple of years ago Poly was up by 10 or 14 and UND came back to win. Poly was ranked 16 at the time. I think in two of the USD games that UND out game planned them... I believe that UND went wildcat several times and caught them every time in the other game they caught them with overloading one side of the line multiple times and USD got caught each time - Shepard never beat UND. I was at the game - bad loss no doubt.. lets see - SDSU lost to Div III - Stig is still coaching... USD lost to first year program Lamar - Ed's still coaching.. its one game - move on.. It is not unheard of.. I see it in many games. I think a lot of it had to do with the maturity of the offense at this point and the 2 to 1 time of possession. He did not want to risk putting the defense back out on the field. - see above - I noted a couple that I thought of right away The offense is struggling right now and they have struggled since Landry was hurt. It is going to take sometime to get it back up to speed. They had to go outside the program to bring in QB and the exposive weapons on offense are young.

Several things that people need to think about: 1) Last year UND switched to a no huddle offense and most of the reps and prep went to one QB. QB goes down and you have a backup that has little game experience plus a new offense. So, depending on the game you are talking about... it would be natural for the coach to limit the playbook and play conservative and win the game with Defense and Special Teams. I assume that you are talking about the Montana game. It nearly worked. 2) This year they are working with a young QB early in the season against a FBS team. Again you are not going to be able to run all your plays because the QB in new and many of the players he is working with are young also. I think that I saw 4 or 5 dropped balls yesterday. Many times it was a matter of the timing be slightly off or the receivers not being prepared to catch the ball. It takes time to build the chemistry.

You raise a valid point with Buning.. I think he is the AD that signed the Idaho deal and I don't think that UND made much money playing those games. Mussman has been more active with transfers: Bradley, Daniels (LB) and I think a D Line this year from NDSc-W.

If you want to compare then it would be look at Dale's last two classes vs. Ed - because USD has a Senior dominated team with only WR Will Powell, a TE and lineman that are not seniors and they are juniors, The Sioux are playing with underclassman at the skill positions and a QB who has played two games and has been in the program for less than a year. I have already stated take a look at the end of the year. Am I happy about the football game yesterday - NO. But, I recognize that Mussman was given the thankless task of taking over a program that was in the middle of transition and having to rebuild a team that was in decline when Dale left. I see some talent on the field right now - Bradley looks better than I thought. This team is going to improve throughout the season. They will be a much better team than they are now. I find the fire Mussman talk frustrating.

Exactly, recruiting in the early stages of Div I was difficult. Look at the first two classes since the transition to DI. These two classes should be driving the current team. Again, I am only looking at skill positions on offense because that is the area that the Sioux are the youngest. 2007 - First Year - Lennon - 27 total recruits Only two starter at the skill positions on offense: FB - Solum - Starter WR - Anderson - Starter Others: QB - Goska RB - Murray - no longer on the team. WR - Carruth WR - Daggett WR - VanZee 2008 - Second Year - Lennon left during recruiting season - only 18 recruits that year. Two starter at the skill positions on offense: TE - Nichols RB - Sutton Others: QB - Hendrickson FB - Magstadt WR - Bamba - no longer on the team. WR - Heimler In the last 3 years they have brought in: Hardin, McGill, Ivery, Townsend, Garmin and Bradley and I expect the classes to get better. I thought last years class was the best that we have seen since the start of DI. Everyone needs to give the team a chance to rebuild and make your judgements at the end of the season.

Patience - very young offense... this group has some potential give them 3 or 4 more games to get into a flow. Hats off to the special teams today.. just wow - punt return TD, KO returns (great field position), nice coverage. only the punting game was lacking too many touchbacks when they could have pinned them down deep. Defense played fine in the first half - they got worn down and Idaho exposed them with the short passing game in the second. QB - So. tranfer - 2nd FCS game WR - True So. McGill/RS So. Hardin RB - Jr Sutton, with True So. Miller and True Fr. Garmin

Wow - NDSU top 3 ... I have them number 3 in the MVFC. Sac St takes down OSU and they are at 22... behind SDSU. You need to watch a little Big Sky TV.

I was reading one of the preseason magazines for FCS and they had a list of the top incoming players at the FCS level. I thought that I would pass along some of the names they mentioned: NOTE: I take all of this will a grain of salt because some areas of the country get much better coverage than others. QB - Top FCS recruits 7. Trent McKinney - Montana 14. Jake Garringer - Sac St. 19. Chris Brown - Cal Poly 21. Nick Meyer - USD 22. Ben Mara - Weber St. 25. Kevin Earl - USD 28. Kyren Poe - N. Arz 32. Jim Forsythe - SDSU 36. Eric Kline - SDSU 40. Vernon Adams - E. Wash RB - Top FCS recruits 4. Demitruis Bronson - E. Wash 9. Reggie Gandy - SDSU 19. Tavlor Mowry - UC Davis 23. Matt Jones - NDSU 30. Garrett Steele - Cal Poly 31. Shaquille Richards - Port St. WR - Top FCS recruits 1. Anthony Boyles - Idaho St. 4. Anthony Williams - USD 8. Duke Bukoski - Idaho St. 11. Hassan Richardson - Montana 13. Dane Turner - UC Davis 14. Casey Young - UND 31. Jameer Jackson - UND 34. Denzel Washington - UNC 38. Justin Cox - Sac St. TE - Top FCS recruits 5. RJ Rickert - N Arz 15. Dejzon Walker - N. Arz 16. Derek Lee - NDSU 19. Jake Withnell - E. Wash OL - Top FCS recruits 8. Jake Abbott - N. Arz 13. Parker Smith - UC Davis 14. Josh Colville - NDSU 18. Tyler Thomas - Mont St. 19. Matthew Devereux - Mont St. 25. Ross Windfeldt - UND 28. Christopher Thee - Weber St.

I am not sure if anyone has a complete list of football games available on TV or Streaming but this is what I have found for football: Sep 01 Drake (Military Appreciation Day) - FSSN/FCS/Midco Sep 10 @Idaho - espn3 Sep 17 @Fresno State - espn3 Sep 24 Black Hills State (Hall of Fame/Potato Bowl) Oct 01 @Southern Utah * - nothing yet Oct 08 Montana Western Oct 22 Cal Poly (Homecoming) - FSSN/FCS/Midco Oct 29 Northern Colorado - Live Video (Streaming site for Big Sky) Nov 05 Sioux Falls Nov 12 UC Davis * - nothing yet Nov 19 South Dakota * - FSSN/FCS/Midco It looks like we can see 6 or the 11 games this year. Next year that will change with Live Video and the Big Sky and FSSN/FCS/Midco. If anyone has information for SUU or Davis please post.

My condolences to family and friends... very sad.

http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/nacda/sports/directorscup/auto_pdf/2010-11/misc_non_event/finald12011.pdf FYI, the directors cup standings use the terminology of FBS, FCS, DIV1 to describe athletic departments. - FBS - Div 1 school with FBS football school - FCS - Div 1 school with FCS football school - DIV1 - Div 1 school without football.

You are absolutely correct Mr Carlson has one vote. But, he is the Majority Leader and Legislative Management Chairman for the House of Representatives. So, he plays a key role controlling legislative actives within the State of North Dakota. He played the lead role in further politicizing a polarizing topic at the state level. Mr Carlson knew prior to creating the bill that the Sioux name had very strong support within the state of North Dakota including both Sioux tribes. I believe the support shown by members of the Standing Rock and Spirit Lake tribes are the key components that lead to this legislation passing. Without that support this bill would have never made it to a vote on the floor. Please note - 8 of the 12 Grand Forks legislators voted against the bill. Saying that Hakstol drove this is "one whale of" a story and just "my oh my".

From the you just cannot make it up category and in typically Bisonville fashion - CAS is wrong again - UND was included in a WAC expansion announcement an associate member in Womens Swimming and Diving - thanks for the link Dakota Fairways.

One other follow-up with the kickass NDSU volleyball team it looks like they are in the running for the Woody Hayes coaching Hat Trick - or could it be the "Culture" at NDSU. 2006 - Citing fundamental differences in coaching philosophies, North Dakota State University Director of Women's Athletics Lynn Dorn announced that she has accepted the resignation of head volleyball coach Zaundra Bina. http://www.gobison.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=2400&ATCLID=227386 2010 - The father of two former North Dakota State University women's volleyball players says the head coach who resigned this week could be controlling, manipulative and intimidating. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/volleyball/2010-10-20-1813707529_x.htm 20??

Yes, NDSU did win this year in Fargo - my understanding is that it was a good match-up. (26-24, 25-21, 25-19). But, the final RPI shows that UND and NDSU are very comparable programs. I am not sure that the difference is as great as you think. Final RPI 86 BYU Mountain West 14-16 87 North Dakota St. Summit 20-11 88 Kansas Big 12 89 North Dakota Independent 25-5 http://web1.ncaa.org/app_data/weeklyrpi/2010WVBrpi1.html In Mens basketball - UND has a long way to go.

Funny story, I went to a UNL game a couple of years ago. I was sitting in the crowd and I cheered when they showed the UND score on the scored board. This very nice elderly lady turned toward me and asked if that was the North Dakota school that had and I quote "Loser coach Bohl". I said no and that he was the coach at a loser program NDSU. She started laughing and then everyone around me started in on Bohl. They do not like Bohl at all and they all know who he is.. apparently he had more than on the field performance issues at UNL. I think some booster are not very happy with him either. And yes UNL games are very fun.

Well, it looks like the average college game has 5.63 runs which is down from previous years because of the new bats. I would venture a guess that a large percentage of games for most teams are decided by 2 runs or less. So, I am not sure what you are getting at but nice game by NDSU. http://www.ncaa.com/news/baseball/2011-04-07/halfway-home-homers-scoring-down

Just to be clear - they did not approve but stated that they would not object to the nickname useage. Ken Chambers, principal chief of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, in a story Thursday in The Palm Beach (Fla.) Post, said he had no objection to the school's use of Seminoles as a nickname and mascot, reversing the position of a tribe spokesman earlier this summer. That would align the Oklahoma Seminoles with the Seminole Tribe of Florida, which has long given FSU its blessing. Several calls by USA TODAY to Chambers were not returned Thursday. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/2005-08-11-fsu-mascot-support_x.htm

Sorry about replying to my own post, but I do think it is ironic that one of authors is from the University of Iowa and looking at the origin of the word "Hawkeye". If you go the University of Iowa website you get: The term "Hawkeye" originally appeared in the book, The Last of the Mohicans, and was later used in its plural form to describe the people of Iowa. Soon thereafter, the University of Iowa borrowed this nickname for its athletic teams. Look at it a bit more and you get this: the 29th state, known as the hawkeye state, is named as a tribute to chief Black Hawk, leader of the Sac Indians, who after the tribes unsuccessful fight against the white settlers, were relocated to Iowa, a state named from the iowa river, after the ioway indians Plus, you have University of Iowas strong stance on NA nicknames. Do you think the school might be running from something and do not get me started on Sooners and what this represents in US History.

I found this to be a interesting read.. it does talk about the NCAA and it does not view it as a monopoly. http://www.law.umaryland.edu/academics/journals/rrgc/issues/RRGC_9_135_cummings_Harper.pdf The U.S. Supreme Court opined that colleges and universities have alternatives to joining the NCAA when it announced its decision in Natl Collegiate Athletic Assn v. Tarkanian in 1988.139 Coach Jerry Tarkanian, former mens basketball coach for the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), argued that the NCAAs power was so overwhelming that university administrations were left with no other choice than to comply with NCAA regulations, including those that deprive parties of constitutionally protected rights.140 Justice John Paul Stevens, in announcing the Courts majority holding, declared that [t]he Universitys desire to remain a powerhouse among the nations college basketball teams is understandable and non-membership in the NCAA obviously would thwart that goal. But that UNLVs options were unpalatable does not mean that they were nonexistent.141 At bottom, the Tarkanian case cemented the nearly unfettered power of the NCAA when it held that the NCAA, as a voluntary, private membership organization did not have to comply with due process and other constitutional requisites when dealing with its voluntary membership institutions.

I thought that Youngstown was again it also. Again, I was simply trying to remind a fan base that tends to rip on UND about the Big Sky that they were very close to being in the Great West Football Conference with USD and UND and that the Gateway/MVFC was no slam dunk for NDSU. It is another reason why I am really excited about the Big Sky and in my opinion UND was very close to indy football.

I thought that the only reason that NDSU got into the MVFC is because SDSU held out until NDSU was included. The MVFC did not want NDSU. But, if you want to think that the MVFC wanted you guys thats cool.