jdub27

From Mick Gary chat: (USD beat writer). No clue what it means but it is something I guess

At this point in time, I don't see one happening without the other. UND won't go independent and the Big Sky isn't all that keen on having another football-only member.

Jacksonville has one loss - LSU by 21. Probably living a little bit off last year's reputation. SHSU hasn't played anyone but they have absolutely destroyed everyone they played. Makes it incredibly tough to actually gauge them. They play #10 later in the year, will be big for both teams. 3 and 4 is a coin flip. JMU seems about right No real issues with Citadel, undefeated, including beating Chattanooga Richmond had a big hiccup against Stony Brook but has a few nice wins since plus the knocked of Virginia. They play JMU this week so one of the two should fall. Chattanooga's only loss is to #6 Charleston Southern lost to NDSU and Florida State and has blown out every other opponent except CCU UCA is a little bit of a head scratcher. Loss against Samford but did beat Arkansas State. Feels like it is pretty tough to gauge exactly what the committee was looking for but my guess is wins definitely carries a lot of weight. The only team that has more than one loss is CSU. Will be interesting to see how (and if) this moves over the next couple of weeks However some of the (over)reactions are definitely amusing.

Probably that tough OOC and overall SOS, though I'd guess that one will be right out the window next year with Mississippi Valley State and Robert Morris on the OOC schedule (literally the worst team in the FCS and the other who ranks 100+ out of 125).

You did so well not trolling recently and then you do something dumb like this. NDSU won in OT at home against EWU (who had a chance to win it at the end of regulation). The game was basically a coin flip. EWU also played without their best player for half of the game and NDSU has lost their best defensive player since. EWU also has a more impressive win (WSU>Iowa) and has arguably been playing better football the last few weeks. I'm not saying that NDSU doesn't have an argument for being above them, but the head to head win was in Fargo, in OT and two months ago and I'm guessing that is the only thing you are looking at when you say it doesn't make sense.

Getting them to agree to any sort of home and home would be an improvement.

I know what people's concern is, I have the same one. I was just pointing out the difference in total number of D-1 games because I think it is a fair point to raise. Since UND has 2 more conference games (meaning UND will always have 1 more guaranteed D-1 home game per year), it gives them 2 less games available to schedule OOC games. They still need to get their money games in plus they still need to bring in some lower level competition because they are good warm-up games and those are pretty much the only games that they are making money on at this point in time. There is a limit to how much you beg and money you can offer teams to Grand Forks. It isn't from lack of trying. You can't force the SD schools to sign home and homes when they only want to offer UND a token amount of money to come there and not return.

UND better get used to it, they unbelievably have the same thing facing them next year.

NDSU has 11 D-1 home games. They had to shell out a bunch of money to try to get a "name" game for the SHAC opener and ended up with Arkansas St. UND has 10 D-1 home games. They had an agreement for one more home game in December and the other team backed out.

Considering that the poll has over 17,000 votes and the typical poll has anywhere from a couple hundred to maybe a couple thousand, I wouldn't put any stock in it. Pretty easy to stuff the "ballot box" on the hose as we saw during the nickname polls.

Western Illinois is broke and working just to keep the doors open. They got outbid by Dayton in last year's first round to play in front of 997 people. No one is concerned about having to travel to Macomb.

Sagarin shows UND as roughly a 7 point favorite and Massey says 5. Both closer than I expected assuming Keaton plays.

But look at all those moral victories and quality losses.

Yeah, totally unarmed and non-violent people who were blocking public roadways and trespassing on private property:

Ball carrier split should depend on what the defense is giving up. For example, Santiago should have had a ton of carries vs. Cal Poly (if he wouldn't have gotten hurt) because they were stuffing the middle, leaving the edges and outside vulnerable, which is right up his wheelhouse. If teams are exposing the middle and keeping the edges under contain, then it makes more sense for Oliveira to get more carries. Needs to be a good mix either way and if you can get Santiago going early, its going to be a long day for the offense. Also Norberg needs some credit and he has done a great job blocking and has been excellent as the upback on the quick handoff up the middle.

Asking them pretty please to quit breaking multiple laws, including trespassing on and destroying others property including livestock and blocking public roadways, hasn't seemed to work. The restraint law enforcement has shown has been amazing, especially considering use of force is what the protesters want. The fact that the protestors are putting women and children in that position says a lot about their motives (though your accusations are significantly overblown if not completely false).

Guessing that was because Bubba stopped in the Champions Club tent for a quick speech. But yeah, doesn't hurt to be there a little early.

There is zero allure I can see to Missouri State. They are pretty much an outlier within the MVC the way it is. Granted the SunBelt will take pretty much anyone but Missouri State already subsidizes 2/3's of their athletic budget, how are they going to afford anything? Bison fans don't even drive to Sioux Falls (where there is beer), they aren't going to drive to St Louis for basketball. You're kidding yourself if you think otherwise.

Clive would need a 6th year which is a little bit different and tougher to get than a typical medical hardship . I think he has a shot due to missing half the season last year and pretty much the whole season this year. Plus he didn't exactly play a ton down at AZ, though I'm not sure how much that part factors in. Obviously would be huge for UND returning everyone on the offense outside of Coe, Reed, Mathewson and Mollberg.

I saw that as well but I am pretty sure he'd need an exemption from the standard policy. He played in 4 games (36%), which is over the 30% threshold typically used. He definitely wouldn't be able to just "use" a regular redshirt since he played this year.

The MVC loses a lot of luster without Wichita State. And if those two schools left (seriously, where in the hell would MSU even go and who would want them?), the balance of power shifts to the private schools (actually 50/50 but a tie is as good as giving them power). What makes you think they want to associate with the XDSU's? If MSU and WSU left, that really tightens up the footprint, what is that they bring to the table that makes them attractive to spread it out that much? They aren't going to bring a ton of fans to Arch Madness or up the conference profile. And SDSU has about as perfect setup as you can get with the Summit tournament in Sioux Falls. Why would they turn their back on that?

You mean they'll drop in some polls?

Must not want what appears to be a 50% attendance bump over their season high. Pretty blunt comments from Pryor: "This is what college athletics is all about," said Pryor. "We should play the Bison home and away every year. It's just a great opportunity for two solid teams to play in two great venues, Bentsen Bunker Fieldhouse and the Betty, twice a year in front of a packed house, and an opportunity to grow the game in the state. The only real loser here is the state of North Dakota (not playing twice). Whether we win or lose this match, I am not going to change my stance on this, and I have been very consistent with this since I was hired in January of 2014. It just makes too much sense for both schools. It's great for fans and the student-athletes."

If it makes you feel better, the fees make the football ticket more expensive. Also a lot more tickets available than tailgating spots currently, though as the season goes on, spots don't seem to be in high demand either. I'm sure it is which is why it makes no sense that they only charge $5. For the record, if given the choice, I'd much rather pay more than have to sleep in that line again.