siouxfan512

FBS losses suck, because they are so flashy if you win. Those losses don't hurt as much as the close conference games. The NDSU and SDSU games from 2021 hurt bad, because we had very legit chances to close those games out and take the W. Winning in Brookings isn't easy and I'll be honest, its tough to have a lot of confidence after the game in Boise. There weren't many positives in that game, but the silver lining is a lot of the issues we saw are not typical of this team. I get the gripe about Tommy's long ball, but the fumbles were uncharacteristic of his career. The D forced some turnovers, which was great to see and they need to keep that going. Kicking has to be better, especially on XP. I get that the holder needs to figure out how to spin the ball, but we aren't talking about a 55 yard FG either. Shouldn't a college kicker be able to hit the XP even if the laces are in? Maybe it isn't dead straight, maybe it doesn't feel perfect coming off the foot, but should a kid with a strong leg that only kicks be able to muscle that through? That missed XP put us behind the 8 ball the entire game trying to claw back with 2 point conversions. I am looking forward to seeing if there are some new wrinkles in the game plan. Do we bring out some of these freshman that are supposed to be playmakers? Does Danny open up the playbook a little more? Can we get a FG or punt block? So many questions heading into this one. Find a way to compete and beat SDSU and you will see a very packed house in Grand Forks in a few weeks for a top 10 (possible top 5) matchup. I don't want the moral victory, but I get nervous we could be talking about how we played an awesome game in Brookings and just couldn't quite finish or match up. Bigger fear is a repeat of Boise.... maybe it is better that they fell apart in that game and can be better prepared coming out of the bye. Regardless, after a long week off (one where I had no kid's sports on Saturday afternoon and actually could have watched the game), UND football is back!

So is it the coaches, or the sneaky trainers on the screen?

But he sure knew how to push that Buffalo Chicken sub with Subway. Does anyone else remember the Subway commercials with Bohl and Lennon leading up to rivalry week. Would have been 2003. What a great time to be a Freshman and what a great game. Heck, what a great season!

Dude! Why didn't you say that weeks ago? The best recruiters and coaches in the country make their decisions while biking past practice. I hear Saban has a pretty sick Schwinn. Bell, Basket ... the works! (Kirby Smart is more of a Trek guy). You really could have saved yourself a lot of heckling on here as well as questions to your credibility if you hadn't left that part out; or maybe you could just go buy Bubba a nice Specialized.

Maybe we just play the extra man the whole game. I don't see the other team getting any offensive zone time anyway.

Agreed. It is a fair statement. Dom is using it as more of a setup to say UND is not in the top of the FCS, but there is still a fair point to be made. Want to be compared to NDSU and SDSU, then we have to ask would they win this game against and 0-2 Boise St? By no means does the 0-2 record mean Boise is a bad team. I think they will end up having a solid season, especially once they hit conference play, but the attitude should 100% be that we are going out their to get a win and build momentum heading to brookings.

That one really surprises me. I don't expect a ton from Drake, but that one still surprises me. Its not like the didn't show some flashes and potential with certain individuals. Whatever ... I don't really care about Drake; lets just find a way to go take one from Boise. 3-0 and maybe everyone can be happy for at least a week.

We definitely need new (better) greens.

Probably, though if you are going to spend the money on some new gear, it would be nice to see it a bit more often. Hope we see them at least a few times.

It has to be worth calling out how awesome Quincy Vaughn is on this team. Has played his role on this team and still just wanted to do more ... whatever it takes to help the team. When I heard he was moving to TE, I thought "ok, here is a kid that can't be QB but they want to keep on the team". We don't throw to TE much and I figured it was just a way to keep the kid around. Q has been awesome so far. Does whatever he is asked to do. routes, blocks, runs, etc. Sounds like a great leader and just a great person off the field. Enjoyed watching the half time segment on him this week. Hope he has an amazing year and continues to be an impact player, and an advocate for UND (played a role in UND landing EJ Emery in hockey). 2 games and 2 TD. Plenty more to come, and looking forward to seeing the passing TD. When was the last time UND had a player, run, pass and catch a TD in a season?

Really looking forward to what Danny has planned for the offense against Boise. Assuming he has a few wrinkles in the mix whether it be plays or personnel. Could we see some new guys like Seidl or Tai make a splash, or will it just be some crazy trick plays. This game will not make or break our season, but I would really like to see a competitive win and a springboard for SDSU. Go get em!

Agreed! Several nice pass break ups. There were a number of plays in that game (Ocansey and a few others) where I said to my wife, "They don't make that play last year". Not perfect and always want to keep improving, but definitely seeing some good things.

I will say that at this point in the season, our biggest concern with Bubba should be his Griddy. It was kind of funny two years ago; bad but funny. Somehow I think he has actually gotten worse. But whatever makes the team happy after a win!

See I would very much agree with you on this. I don't want a 7 pt win. At the end of the day a win is a win, but I agree I want some more dominant performances and I think you kind of nailed it with the NDSU and SDSU comparison. I see enough NDSU games here and there because of my in laws and I can't imagine seeing NAU go in the Fargo Dome and not getting beat up pretty bad. Now historically, I get why some fans are confident enough to expect that YET, but lets hope the players have some more confidence and clean up this weekend. A win is the most important thing, but style points and establishing confidence and chemistry is up there too.

I'm not talking about two years ago (and I'm pretty sure that was SIU), I'm talking about this year. If we miss two FG and blow the NAU game, you'll have more to stand on, but this is a new season and let's see how it plays out. I maintain the ST can only coach the kids; he can't force the ball through the uprights. But I'm sure all college fans call for their ST coach after every missed kick. You like to pick obscure historical examples to support your point, while ignoring anything that contradicts it. Like I said, we've had plenty of great returns, coverage and blocks over the years too. I'm not apologizing for the mistakes, misses, etc. but that's part of football too and I'm not looking to settle for mediocrity here but ..... as of now we are 1-0 and there was nothing mediocre about that win. There were areas for improvement, but we still dominated where we should dominate. Let's see what happens this weekend.

Sorry man, but your comments are never indicative of wanting a clean game, they are indicative of wanting perfection. Which is great, but not realistic. You make plenty of fair points, but in a jackass sort of way (for lack of a better term). People like to point of positives, you typically like to argue every positive with a negative. This is FCS football and I want UND to be as good as the next guy, but we don't have a team of 5 star recruits out there or Nick Saban at coach. Maybe abrasive is a better term, but I'll stick with my original comment for now. Danny will likely be the head coach ... eventually. Bubba isn't perfect, but if you think Danny wouldn't make mistakes as well, you're kidding yourself. I would tend to agree that Bubba hasn't looked like the guy who would elevate this team to a perennial power. He certainly took a bad bad situation and elevated it to where we are, but can he take the next step? I'll at least give him credit for not putting Danny on a leash with play calling because he seems to let him do things I would not expect Bubba to have allowed in the past. I do wish there was more focus around the defense ... not sure if those issues were more around Bubba, Holinka, recruiting or what. All things considered UND did fine against Drake (FWIW Drake lost to NDSU last year 56-14). Point being, I'm not going to use Drake as the ultimate measuring stick. Have to see what this week brings. NAU isn't a top 10 program, but also isn't a door mat; they always have athletes. We beat them last year and I think we showed a lot of improvement after that game. Add another year, better offense, a few extra pieces on D and a home game and I like how we look heading into it. As long as we win, I'm more concerned with how the game looks (sniff test) rather than the actual score), but I'd like to see us win by a few scores. Kaminski will be the starting QB ... eventually. Tommy missed a ball or two, but played a very solid game. Even the best Freshman QB are going to make mistakes right away. You think Kaminski was going to go 40 of 40 for 500 and 6TDs? ST isn't perfect, but they also aren't the biggest issue on the team either. I was very disappoint with the missed FG, but sounds like there may have been some snapping holding issues as well. laces in and snaps being bounced off the turf. Week 1 against Drake is the time for that to happen. Its one game and we dominated ... if it becomes a regular thing and costs us a game, I'll be more concerned. ST has also made some pretty amazing plays over the past few years. well timed FG and Punt blocks, returns, etc.

Have to say, there are a few folks on this forum that make it almost unreadable.

sounds like it was earlier

Shoot, Caden Dennis injured. Bummer! Hopefully not too serious. Sprain?

Great catch by Klein! great to hear his name. 2nd half has definitely been better than the first. Took a while to get going and still some mistakes, but progress since the first quarter.

Boise is getting whooped at Washington

Yeah, that was bad! but again, isn't that on your kicker? Unless they want to give someone else a try, but I assume they see way more at practice than I do. Wish K State hadn't stolen that committ we had a few years ago.

Feeney time! Lets go!

Bigger issues on this team than Kostich. Missing an XP is on a kicker not a coordinator. That being said, I'd be interested to see how some of our other guys would do. Bubba could certainly make that call too though.

back yard football there!