siouxfan512

There are a few things we can be certain of coming out of this weekend's game. -A UND win puts us in the ranking. -A NDSU loss will drop them from #1 -Either outcome and UNI will continue to climb the polls.

Its not that players need to be history majors on this one, but there should be some awareness of what is considered a big game among fans and the community. Yes, I understand this is not the rivalry it was 15-20 years ago, but still ... -Proximity matters -NDSU has been elite; UND wants to get there -NDSU (especially fans) find UND football inferior; Players should want to prove this wrong as much as fans do. -Younger fans may not care as much about this match up, but there are plenty of older fans on both sides that care about this game. -NDSU player to get up for this game as much, if not more than other; knowing that if they lose there will be some outrage among fans. -Starting this year, we will play you guys every year Lets talk hockey, UND and the Gophers didn't play for several years, and yeah the rivalry felt a little different, but we still wanted to beat them and badly, and that is going to be non-conf going forward. Everything about this game between NDSU and UND is building and rebuilding a once great rivalry. I am not saying a UND win will happen, but a UND win would be the ultimate way to ignite this rivalry into what it was.

You can check Pluto TV. They may replay it at some point.

I like how Zimm played, but are we sure Kett is done? The helmet on the knee looked painful, but I didn’t see his knee buckle or anything.

Agreed, hope it can continue. I understand having to knock some rust off. Just want an offense that we can trust and that will take a little while. D is looking good.

Nice TD!

Nice pick!

And there goes the QB ... f%$@

Every day we would hear about a circus catch or downfield play. Why isn’t that thrown into the game mix? Are they holding back? Do they not trust those plays? I agree it would be nice to see something deep to mix it up, but the play calling has been better than Rudy, at least I think so. But we need to go finish some drives.

I hope the feed is better than in the past

Not disagreeing with you, just glad it got done and quickly.

I'm not prepared to say Kett will steal the show, but remember this is more like the offense he was running at Sac St (or so I have heard), plus he does have plenty of tools to use. I think we could be pleasantly surprise with Kett, and will hopefully see more of a flash of what we thought we would get when he transferred.

I was hoping to see Griebel do more returning. quick, shifty, and not going to get as many reps because we are deep at receiver.

Looks like it is all up there now. Nice to see that Chaves looks at his twitter and follows through.

Less than a week away from the first game of the season and the roster does not even appear to be updated on the Athletics website. There are still names, that we have heard are no longer on the team, and not updated pictures. Seems like this is an issue annually. Doesn't make it seem like these guys take the program as seriously as they should. Frustrating to see on a regular basis.

So does that make it official that Fort and Beach are getting their redshirts pulled?

The question is if Pluto will actually work this year. Can't wait for ESPN+

Should be fun, can’t wait! I don’t think there is any doubt in saying a UND win would completely reignite the rivalry though. NDSU fans (most, not all) find UND completely irrelevant and want to see them destroyed in all games and as a program (see several posters on bisonville), and UND fans have been aching for some serious success for a while. A UND win would piss off Bison fans and fuels UND fans...this is the kind of scenario that would really rebuild the rivalry on both sides. Not saying it will happen, but the stage is certainly set. Regardless, I hope it is a fun and exciting game.

Maybe the athletic department could update the online roster

They were last year, I believe they will be again, but I can’t wait for ESPN+

I think given the success of some of the regional schools (mostly NDSU, but certainly SDSU as well) you have to recruit whatever talent you can. But in doing so, you need to mold your system to showcase and utilize that talent. This flexibility, or adjustment mindset was completely absent from Rudy's process. Looking at the type of offense he ran, I really don't know how you recruit anyone specifically for it.

Would this also indicate that Fort will get his shirt pulled, or would be more likely to have his shirt pulled?

Its a fair question, and I do think that some expect a completely different outcome to come from a new OC, which isn't exactly realistic, but I do think there will be a significant improvement. Even with a new system, you still need to execute to really see the results. I think what most people are optimistic and excited about is that a new system will give new opportunities to new players. The expectation with Freund is that the situational play calling will be better. Utilization of his talent should also be better; he is trying to mold the system to fit his tools, rather than forcing his tools to do something that he wants. Everyone, even most Bison fans, would need to acknowledge what a talent John Santiago was, but can you imagine what he could have done with a decent OC? It might not have changed his rushing yardage, but he would have had far more touches, receiving yards, first downs, and TDs. My hope is that Freund can use McKinney in this way, as a versatile, all over the field kind of guy. I believe there was a double reverse a few years ago that is a perfect example, of the wrong call, in the wrong situation, with the wrong personnel. So yes, the system is unproven ... BUT it is tough to get must worse schematically than what we have been dealing with the past few seasons. The key will be, even if the play calling is far better, can the players execute and make the difference on the scoreboard; That is what we will find out, until which fans should remain cautiously optimistic.

What are the chances of Pluto actually working well this year?

Right! I only wish the move had come when Santiago was still here, but I’m sure we will see some lightning with McKinney.