MafiaMan

Wouldn't that be "high school" athletes?

Of course they knew, LOL...they're on THIS list: http://www.undalumni.org/page.aspx?pid=1277 Go Sioux go!

Yawn. You must have an app on your iphone that tells you when I've written something so you can respond... Bubba may be able to coach, but it'll take more than an attitude change on the sidelines to fix this team - it'll take a year or two and some new players, but hopefully the team is headed in the right direction. Duke seems to have improved a lot since that 2010 game against Alabama, wouldn't you agree?

What's the other half of that equation? Oh yea. Sac State AT North Dakota - a 31-7 win for the Hornets. While San Jose State may be "worse" than last year's team (at least according to some experts here), UND will have to be VASTLY improved since last year as well in order to pull off an upset. Patience will be required. Had Jerry Jones not had any, he would have canned Jimmy Johnson after one year as well. Hopefully Bubba can get the Sioux ship pointed back in the right direction.

Ouch! That one hits a little close to home, Shawn!

LOL! He beat me to it. I do hope you are right, darell. If nothing else, I don't expect to see posing and gesturing after a hard UND tackle on a SJSU running back...who just ran for a 14 yard gain on first down.

Cue darell with a rebuttal...

I'd suggest that's his theory, yes. I'll use another example (not sure if it's still true today): the Minnesota Vikings. There is no doubt that SW ND (and probably most of ND as well) was Vikings country in the 1970's and 1980's. i hated the Vikings simply because purple was everywhere. By about 1993-1994, most radio stations in that neck of the woods were, at a bare minimum, broadcasting BOTH Viking and Packer games. By the time of the Packers/Patriots and Packers/Broncos Super Bowls, the Vikings practically disappeared out there. People I knew from grade school who bled purple were suddenly wearing Favre jerseys. Packer flags were everywhere. Maybe Bubba thinks the same way, I don't know. Beating Montana and Eastern Washington year after year won't change state-wide fan allegiance. Beating NDSU on a consistent basis will - the key is obviously whether this game gets scheduled on a regular basis.

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?