Bison06

I'm not saying they were a doormat, but their record was what it was.

I think you and I have different definitions of depth. Having players at the position that can come in is not depth. Depth is the guy backing up the starter isn't a large drop off and in some ways bring a different part to the game that the starter can't. NDSU's d line a couple of years ago was a good example, they had 4 DE that were almost interchangeable, Emmanuel was special, but when he needed a break his back up could provide a serious boost of pass rush that was better than what a tired Kyle Emmanuel could provide. I realize you have a front seven that can stop the run, but could it still stop the run if 3 starters were on the sideline getting a break on some random 2nd down in the 3rd quarter? Depth isn't just players, depth of real talent is what I'm talking about and I don't believe UND has the depth of talent yet, at certain positions to hold up against the MVFC style of football. I could be wrong, but that's what I see. By the way, that isn't a slight at UND, it's just the way football teams are built. if NDSU were building its team to win the big sky, I would expect the team to be much deeper in the secondary. Our starters are solid in most cases, but the backups need a lot of work.

Again, your running game was solid in the big sky, I don't think the way it's currently built would have the same success week in and week out in the MVFC. Maybe I'm putting too much weight in the NDSU/UND game a couple of years ago, but UND had zero push up front and then the very next week ran all over Davis. Adding backs like JJ will help, but having an offensive line that can move a stout defensive front is the biggest weakness I see from UND.

Different styles of football put strain on your team in different ways, meaning fatigue and injuries at those positions. Competing one gang against it is very different than playing against it every week. Your offensive line will need more depth and your front seven on defense though very talented will also need more depth of talent IMO.

USD was 4-7 last year, I'm not sure I'd classify that as competing fine.

I'm not saying it'll be a problem, but it's certainly a focus difference. If you think that the team is currently built to compete week in and week out in the MVFC, I'd say we disagree on that point. I'm not saying it's better necessarily, just different. UND's offense specifically is not ready to compete on a weekly basis.

I think the UND coaching staff may find themselves in a bit of an interesting recruiting position these next few years. As we know, nearly every team is built to win its respective conference. Conference teams are who you play the majority of your games against so it makes sense to build your team to beat those teams specifically. What's interesting is the style to win the big sky and the style to win the MVFC are very different and IMO require a different approach in building your team. e.g. In the big sky, your defense better be able to handle 5 wide on a consistent basis, meaning you'll likely want to have a lot of depth in your secondary. In the MVFC if you see 5 wide it won't be all game so you probably don't need quite the depth in the secondary. In the MVFC you'll get more of a steady dose of the power running game and will likely need a much deeper front 7, especially the d line. NDSU has won championships on the back of a defense that is built from the front back and their d line depth has been amazing these past 7 years. How do you think the UND coaches will approach the task of staying competitive in the big sky for the time being, but also knowing that their team will need to be built differently to compete in the MVFC year in and year out.

Makes some sense. Football players are football players, but UND and NDSU also run very different defenses. The offenses are similar enough that they could recruit the same players a lot, but the defenses are different enough that it is reasonable to think they may not value the same players in recruiting all the time.

I agree, he clearly had leadership qualities that were special, but some of those throws left a lot of people scratching their head. Easton also doesn't have a receiver like Ryan smith to bail him out with a circus catch and a run after catch to move the chains like Brock had consistently.

You're really reaching for this one. Not every team can be better than the previous year's team. This past year in my mind was already going to be a team that was looking to replace some great players, corners were both green, offensive line was replacing NFL talent and then of course there's replacing Carson wentz, all that was before our two best and possibly most important defensive players went down for the season and the team still made the national semifinals, lost to the eventual champion and beat the other team in the championship in the regular season. The 2014 team wasn't as good as the 2013 team, did that mean they were slipping? I realize for a UND fan it is comforting to think NDSU's run might be over, but all indications are that NDSU is primed and ready for another deep playoff run next year so don't hold your breath.

I think that's a fair criticism, but to be fully fair I think at this stage in his career people were saying that and much worse for Brock. A lot of people, including myself, believe the 2011 championship was won in spite of Brock not because of him. If Easton is going to take it to the level of the previous two guys, he definitely has a long way to go starting this fall.

Given that the "used to be" in this case is arguably the most dominant run in the history of college football, falling from that peak doesn't necessarily indicate a fall from dominance. This years NDSU team was easily the worst of the last 6 years IMO and still made the national semifinals. I, as do most others, expect next year's team to be better than this year's so we'll see how that goes for them.

Yes, Iowa state has a lot of problems in the football department. With the budgets these teams have you'd think the AD's would be able to make it work. Though in a zero sum game like football, someone has to be the worst team in the conference.

I thought about that as I said it. Hopefully it isn't taken that way. What a mess that would be. Haha.

Playing somewhere and coaching somewhere are very different things. Yes, not all P5 teams are created equally, but they have the budget to get higher quality coaches so usually earning the position of coaching at a P5 school means you are a higher quality coach. Not always of course, but again speaking generally it's true.

Also, good coaches get fired all the time. Too many variables in the world of coaching to assume that someone being fired means he was even the problem. I don't know the details of his Iowa state firing, just speaking generally. After all, Bill belicheck was once fired by the browns.

Can't fault you for your enthusiasm in your program, but don't for a second think that NDSU is done with the run they are on. Next year will be another deep playoff run.

I know words are hard, but there is a thing called a dictionary that would make life less confusing for you.

You're obviously not in communication. Pops in voice tone, pauses and repeats are utilized to emphasize importance when communicating thanks for your concern though.

I suppose it's human nature when two sides have opposing views, but it'll never cease to amaze me the level of hairsplitting a person will maneuver through to somehow draw the conclusion that the other party is in the most infinitesimally way incorrect when making their argument. "He's excellent" "I can't believe you would think he's excellent, he's clearly only fantastic" "how could he be fantastic when it's obvious to everyone he is merely sensational" Its exhausting. It's a good hire. Is "good" the proper adjective we can all agree on?

Fair on all points.

I know many, many people who are in coaching and that position move makes perfect sense to me. After being let go from a position it is not in a coaches best interest to ever take a year off and do nothing, just looks bad on the resume. Many coaches who are let go or the staff is let go have guys who will take literally whatever they can find so they don't have gaps on their resume. Had a friend who went from having a job in the NFL to volunteering at a high school for 3 months so he wouldn't have a gap on his resume. I don't put much stock in that time at Indiana.

I've been around this board long enough to know there are some pretty smart people who post here regularly. Why are such smart people having a hard time understanding that this guys' resume would be cause for enthusiasm for any FCS school? As I've said, someone with his experience is almost never hired at an FCS school. How he will actually perform is something yet to be seen, but on paper it certainly looks like a nice hire.

So then you bringing up that you've been watching since the 60's was in reference to what point. Or was that you trying to compare Johnsons with me?

Ok... So NDSU' talent pool has been slipping since the 60's? You're off the rails.