siouxfan512

You expected Schmidt to compete the way we did this year? I thought we did a fantastic job overall FOR THE FIRST YEAR UNDER A NEW COACH. To be clear, I expect a sizeable step each year under Schmidt, but we took a great step from last year and Jerry was a part of that. That being said, I would also expect a full season out of the kid, but we don't know if there were other factors that led to the decline in place we saw. Compare this season as it played out to what would have happened if Bubba was coaching. Jerry may not have even played, and we would have had Simon going. We don't compete in Manhattan or Montana. We certainly don't win as many games on the road. Our defense doesn't getter better. We don't hold the Bison to 15 and compete there. Can't fix it all with the snap of the fingers. There is a process, and Schmidt was also working with plenty of what was already here, then filled in with some of his own guys... It SHOULD only get better. My expectations are plenty high for this team and program. But I'm also going to be realistic with a timeline for improvement when competing in the Valley. Jerry was a stud early in the year ... if he can't get back to that then you move on, but I'm hopefully he returns to form and don't see any reason to think he won't (at this point).

Overall, I was really happy with Jerry this season. He put us in a position we were not expecting after everything that happened in the offseason. That being said, he clearly regressed as the year went on. Could be injury, could be burnout, could be something else. I'm sure he will come back strong next season and hopefully with some better tools. Appreciate all of the effort Dennis gave us over the years, but I'm looking forward to seeing what some of these incoming receivers from FL and TX can do ... more Hromadka and hopefully a strong stable of RB despite SS leaving. All that being said, if Hendrickson or a transfer can come in and push for the job .... then great. Competition is the key to success, and I want whoever will win. Biggest offseason question for me is OC. Does Fruechte stay or go?

I wouldn't quite go there ... I heard rumors they might by signing Uncle Rico and that boy can throw the pigskin over them there mountains!!! Watch out NFC North!!!

I was looking at that too. His brother appears to be big time ... but good to make that connection now, because you never know if a kid will transfer down or not.

Any chance Sawyer Riffle will be ready to take over at kicker next year? Nobody we have has proven they can own the job ... if our freshman can't unseat someone, do we look at some sort of transfer? There has to be a handful of D2 or community college kids that could outperform what we have seen this year. Given how close many of our games have been, this could be the difference in a few wins vs losses.

So we can all exhale on the Beaver boys then .... Now for the fun stuff ... these kids are like new draft picks. Its all fun, speculation and potential until they get on campus on prove it. So who is going to be the early impact guys? Who can contribute right away? Who loses their redshirt?

Unfortunately, this team is at a far different place than they were earlier this season; they looked almost unstoppable. Then we get swept by the Dakota schools, all of which could have been wins. I don't know what the issue was at the end of the season .... injuries? playcalling? burn out? We definitely saw Jerry stumble a bit but can't put everything on him either; still love what I have seen from this kid. Some strange playcalling at times (kind of like the Vikings). Schmidt wasn't going to get it all done in year one, though I was hoping with where we were at that he would have finished a bit better than we did. Regardless it's a new season, so let's see what we can do. Positives: - The potential is there. - If they start clicking again, they could upset a team or two - This team is still far better than last year and looks to be moving in the right direction. Negatives: - Injuries may just be too much to overcome.

Anything less than a sweep is unacceptable!

Agreed, just disappointing that had the be the bump in the road and at that time. So many upsets this weekend, it would have been a prime opportunity to move up.

I've got nothing. What a wasted opportunity. We could be sitting top 4 right now. Pathetic effort. Terrible play. Poor coaching and play calling. All out disaster against the Yotes.

Once you've moved up like UND has, it gets tough to move up further without some help. Here are the teams ahead of UND in the FCS Rankings and their upcoming games this weekend. It would be great to see a few upsets to go along with a dominant UND win. #1 NDSU (8-0) vs #18 Youngstown (5-3) Can NDSU contain Beau Brungard? Does it matter? The Penguins QB is a one man show putting up video game numbers. It will take more than one man to put down the Bison, especially after the throttling we saw them give the bunnies last weekend. Is it possible? Sure. But I wouldn’t bet my own money on the upset here. As much as I would love to see UND beat SU as the #1 team, I’d rather see us move up the rankings and get a better position as we move towards the playoffs. Go Penguins! #2 Tarleton (9-0) @ #24 ACU (4-4) Tarleton is undefeated, while the teams they have played have gone a whopping 35-60 … woof! They have beat one team with a winning record, which was a 45-10 thumping over 6-3 West Georgia. They did beat Army 30-27, who happened to beat K State 24-21. The only other close game they have had this season was 52-42 over Southern Utah. Hoping to see a loss here, but Austin Peay may have a better shot of giving these guys an L in their last game. I get they are undefeated and have put up a ton of points, but they also haven’t played anyone. #3 Montana (8-0) @ Weber State (3-5) This has a Grizz win all over it, but a road game in the Big Sky … ya never know. Go Weber! #4 Montana St. (6-2) @ Northern Colorado (3-5) UNC may be 3-5, but they have showed improvement and come close in several games (Colorado State, South Dakota, Sac State, even UC Davis). A home game against the Cats seems like a great opportunity for an upset. Go Bears! #5 SDSU (7-1) vs Indiana State (2-6) I’m assuming Chase Mason won’t play in this one. I’m also assuming the bunnies don’t need Chase Mason to win. Though SDSU didn’t look like they could beat anyone last week. I’m assuming you will see a frustrated and angry SDSU team this week and they will take it out on the trees. SDSU defense looked awful last week, so I bet we see ISUblue score some points, but I’m sure SDSU will settle in and get the win. #6 UC Davis (6-1) vs Idaho State (2-6) Nothing to see here folks. While Davis hasn’t done anything to overly impress me, its ISU at home. Davis’s only loss is getting smoked 70-10 at Washington. It would have been nice to see how they would have finished against Mercer (15), but that game was cancelled. They have beat who they should beat but have done so by putting up points while also allowing a fair amount. Davis still has Montana State (4) and Sac State (RV) on their schedule. #7 Lehigh (8-0) vs Georgetown (5-3) Lehigh has won where they should, but I’m not sold based on my limited reading. Georgetown and Lafayette (RV) will be their toughest opponents left. It would be nice to see them get an L somewhere. It’s hard to take much away from an undefeated team, but SOS still doesn’t look to be anything compared to Valley teams. Personally, I’d have loved to see how they handle a team like Youngstown, because I think Beau would expose, but maybe I’m wrong and put on the MVFC glasses today.

Almost zero. I'd love it, but if they didn't go to Brookings, I don't see them going to GF. Though I do think UND and NDSU will be a better matchup than NDSU and SDSU was. I'm also not confident there is anyone with the college gameday space that would be willing to push for an FCS gameday. I know NDSU has had a few, but I would be surprised to see it happen, especially since it is in GF and not Fargo AND given some of the other options. That being said, I would LOVE to see it happen and it would certainly be great exposure. From what I can see the last FCS Gameday was #16 MT vs #3 MT ST in 2022. This would be a higher ranked interstate matchup, so who knows.

mid-week struggles during a great football season. Fortunately, by tomorrow there will be a new podcast to entertain me. Let's keep it going! haha

So, what do you do when you are at work and there is no new reading material leading up to a Saturday game against USD. You sift stats and come up with your own stuff. I think there is always some apprehension with USD because it is a familiar foe. There is a lot of history between these teams and history states the location and venue will play a factor in this matchup. Though the same could have been said last year and the bottom line is that UND was not a good enough football team last year. I think that will be the same case for USD this year. The biggest offensive factors to look at are RB and QB. QB - Aidan Bouman has shown what he is capable of in the past but has not played up to that level this season. He gets it done, but we have the far greater QB based on play this season. Defense needs to limit big passing plays, avoid PI penalties and create some turnovers. QB threw several interceptions to start the season but has not thrown one in a few weeks. RB - LJ Phillips has stepped in to the starting role and played at a very high level; currently #2 in the FCS for rushing yards (2 spots ahead of Beau Brungard). That being said, lets add some context to the numbers. In 9 games, Phillips has gone over 100 yards 5 times (with some real monster games). Of those 5 opponents 3 rank at the very bottom of the FCS in rushing D (#116 UNC, #123 Indiana St, #126 Murray St), Illinois St. is at #59 in rushing D and gave up 123 yards to Phillips but no TDs, while Drake comes in at a respectable #18 but has only played 7 games and plays in the Pioneer League which must be considered. Other notable stats: Scoring Offense: #9 UND (40 PPG) / #81 USD (21.9 PPG) Scoring Defense: #17 UND (18.62 PPG) / #53 USD (26.33 PPG) 3rd Down Conversion %: Slight edge to USD, but both teams about 40-41% 4th Down Conversion %: UND at 67% on 12 attempts / USD at 33% on 9 attempts Fewest Penalties: #7 UND (32 for 296 yds) / #75 USD (51 for 477 yds) *USD has played 1 extra game Turnover Margin: UND is +7 / USD is -2 (UND has more interceptions, but USD has fewer fumbles lost) Redzone efficiency: UND is #78 with .795 (44 Att; 35 Scores; 14 Rush TD; 17 Pass TD; 4 FGM) / USD is #11 with .926 (27 Att; 25 Scores; 10 Rush TD; 6 Pass TD; 9 FGM) Redzone Defense: #58 UND / #91 USD KO Returns: #4 UND (13 for 367 yds and 1 TD) / #67 USD (17 for 333 and 0 TD) To win the game you follow a similar formula to what we have already seen. Shut down their key playmaker in Phillips. Get an early lead and force them to throw the ball. I don't trust that Bouman is going to win this game for them with his arm. Philips has been dominant, but more so against terrible run D teams. We know NDSU is elite, but they held him to 38 yards and 0 TDs. Continue to spread the ball around ... they cannot cover everyone. Get SS going early, use X on passing plays but limit touches ... I'd rather see Langama get the ball and a healthy dose of Brunell in the 3rd and 4th quarters. Let Jerry do his thing ... take your shots on short yardage situations. Can we put together 4 full quarters? Can we capitalize in the red zone? Can we limit big plays? If you showed me stats, rankings, scores, opponents, etc. (without telling me the team) I would say that this should be a dominant win by the boys in green, comparable to UNI, but certainly not as difficult as Southern Illinois. That being said, it is USD on the road and we can all attest that there have been some strange matchups in the past. Even so, this is a new team under new leadership. They have shown they can compete consistently on the road and have bucked the road loss issue; so why not roll into Vermillion and dominate? I really do expect to see backups playing back the 4th quarter, but hopefully we see them in the mid to late 3rd. Should be a fun game to watch ... WIN BIG and STAY HEALTHY!!! JYD!!!

You do have to wonder if UND will give up some more points in one of these games. We have only given up 24 points twice this season. K State and Montana. South Dakota isn't in the neighborhood of either. Doesn't mean they couldn't click on a few big plays though.