Been saving my thoughts. Wanted to digest that appalling excuse for a game first.
So, USD and Streveler were as advertised, and there fans should certainly be excited this season. Credit where credit is due. They avenged last year, they started 3-0, they made a complete statement with that win.
That being said, they got UND in one of UND's worst games in the past few years. Losing a game is one thing, but getting blown apart, having that many mental mistakes, that many dumb penalties, that many blown coverage, is completely unacceptable. USD and Misery St, are completely different levels of competition, BUT UND played like a completely different team. I doubt we beat Drake of Mississippi Valley State playing like that. I could not believe how bad some of the secondary coverage was, and nobody seemed to make any adjustments. At least not until the game was way out of hand. Then again, that is what Streveler gives you, try to stop him running and he can beat you with his arm.
As for the offense (or lack of offense), there was plenty of blame to go around. Unfortunately, we needed Studs to have a monster game, and he looked like the Studs of early last year. I wasn't impressed with a lot of Rudolph's calls, the timing of some of the calls, or the fact that he didn't really make any adjustments until it was too late; Then again, even if he had made some changes, nobody seemed to be executing anyway. But for the love of God, can we stop trying the QB sneak? Never works, just wastes a down. The only way I want to see Keaton running is if he is flushed from the pocket and there is space.
Throw the tape away, turn the page, move onto conference play, and focus on the Big Sky. The Bobcats will be licking their chops with what they saw this weekend. Then again, the game will be in GF, I doubt UND could replicate that poor of a performance if they tried, and USD is better than Mt St (though they did challenge the bunnies).
Congrats to the Yotes, they earned that win, and clobbered us. Hope they make some noise in the Valley this year. Time for UND to get their heads set for next weekend. Its all about what we do going forward now.
