MafiaMan

I'd say 30 years ago, people out there were vaguely aware that the towns of Fargo and Grand Forks existed.

You want me to sugar-coat it, Shawn-O? Stop in at the Trapper's Kettle sometime and ask one of the locals who NDSU is playing the following weekend - and then ask them who UND is playing. Even better, ask them about the upcoming North Dakota hockey season...

That's a great point. My hometown's Keith Buckman played for NDSU not that long ago. The folks there are pretty much Bison-fans-for-life now.

Maybe it's just me, but defense seems to be the biggest difference between FCS and FBS teams. Thought the same thing seeing Sam Houston and Eastern Washington last week. Where's the D?

A great stat for sure...and certainly more fun than a 13-10 game, no doubt about that. 660 passing yards...704 yards of total offense...and STILL needing a 30+ yard TD pass in the dying seconds of the game to pull out a win.

Be sure to describe your recollection of the game as Montana having been "lit on fire" by North Dakota and see what he says.

A 6 point victory (40-34) is hardly considered "lit on fire" by most folks...at the end of 3 quarters, the score was 34-31 Montana. How'd that Montana team finish? Oh yea, 5 wins, 6 losses.

And last year's squad smoked a Sac State team that came to GF and hammered UND...and, yes, they gave up 52 points to conference champion Fresno State in the season finale, but put 62 of their own on the board. Everything can change from season to season, though...I guess we'll find out tomorrow night...

Not in the same state...one rival didn't leave the other behind for four years and move up...obviously your points have merit and I certainly wasn't saying that the comparison was exactly the same... About my second paragraph, though...no rebuttal?

That "sub-par, watered down FBS team (that should actually be in FCS)" came within 3 points of knocking off Stanford (at Stanford Stadium) in the season opener just two years ago. SJSU went on to an 11-2 season...Stanford finished 12-2 and was the Pac-12 and Rose Bowl champion that year.

Perhaps "fairly similar" was a poor choice of words on my part. I was simply looking at the fact that they're the only major football schools in the state and one made the jump from 1-AA to playing with the big boys. It would seem that NDSU's thinking (whether or not you agree with it) in not playing UND is similar to West Virginia's logic for not wanting Marshall on the docket. Also, following the logic that some here use, both Marshall and WVU are FBS schools with an equal number of scholarships. By default then, they're on "equal" footing.

Oh, I guess I didn't realize that Pittsburgh PA and Morgntown WV were in the same state... You're quick with a comeback for that comparison...guess I lost you on the Alabama/Duke history lesson...

Here's a good example of a fairly similar situation...check out the demands of West Virginia and Marshall in this "rivalry" as well as the eventual resolution. Interesting stuff. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friends_of_Coal_Bowl

Whoa whoa whoa, Oxbow6...be careful or you'll be labled a heretic scheduled for being burned at the stake like me. Just toe the party line here, comrade, and you'll be ok.

Haven't they come out with an anthracite alternate yet? Everyone else has...

Looks just like Eastern Washington - with grey in place of black and orange in place of red. Even the tire tread pattern is the same.

There was a quirk in the Big 10 schedule about 10-12 years ago where Michigan played at Minnesota two years in a row...but that wasn't because of one school's demands. I've already pointed out the unusual agreement Notre Dame made with Miami a couple of years ago where the Hurricanes and Irish set up a 2012 meeting in Chicago and a second game in South Bend in 2016. Look, I get it, the company line is that NDSU should have scheduled UND in back-to-back years in Fargo and then Grand Forks. NDSU scheduling Weber State in that exact scenario while ignoring UND's request for a similar arrangement was done by design - as a big FU to UND. Be upset at Faison for putting his name on the contract...be upset at Bubba for wanting a game no matter what. It's not as if Thundar burst into the conference room and held a gun to Faison's head and insisted he sign the deal. Or maybe he did?

San Jose State shut out Sacramento State 24-0 in last year's home opener...Sac State rolled UND in GF 31-7 several weeks later...I guess we'll find out if progress has been made soon...

UND travelling to Fargo twice before a return date is set..Eastern Michigan playing at Florida and Michigan State...Weber State opening up at Arizona State...some folks around here are gonna have a heart attack at some point...

Nice piece - thanks for posting the link.

They're awesome! I'm not a Blues fan but they have a great fan base in that town. Nice to see the Blues looking good again.

There's a thread for that too.

In his defense, the post making that claim wasn't made by darell.

THAT'S what you deduced from my comments on Colorado, the ACC, and Notre Dame coaches?

A) fightingsioux4life brought up Notre Dame/Miami, not me. B) the claim was that this (meaning two "home" games in a row for one school) would "never happen"...something I promptly refuted and proved to be incorrect.