sioux24/7

Reschny

UND heads down to Tuscaloosa for one of the two return games after Bama came up to Grand Forks last year to bring Grant Nelson home. That one ended up WAY tighter than most people expected thanks to Treysen Eaglestaff going absolutely nuclear for 40. Bama still pulled it out 97-90, but UND made them sweat. This Alabama team might not be hyped quite like last year, but they still have dudes. KenPom has them at #23 in the country and UND at #314, so yeah, they are going to be a tough matchup. They bring back Labaron Philon Jr. who gave us 16 last year and made the SEC All-Freshman Team, and Aden Holloway who averaged double-digits and also has SEC Freshman honors (yes, basically their version of Jocie Schiller going to a rival). For UND, this year is honestly a big mystery. We know Eli King is the leader and he will be asked to do a lot again, even if he is not the top scorer. Garrett Anderson should handle a good chunk of scoring after putting up 14 a game at Central Washington. After that, someone has to step up. In the exhibitions, Greyson Uelmen looked really solid. Came in as a PWO, now on scholly, and it looks like he earned every bit of it. Confident guard, shoots it well, excited to see his role grow. Zach Kraft is back and we all know he can get hot fast, but we need him to take a step defensively. Then you have the freshman crew from the cities: Marley Curtis, Micah Curtis, and AS3. Marley looks the part physically but we need him to be more than a 3-point spacer. Micah has not played yet but people around the program say he might be even better. AS3 has flashed quickness and some pesky defense. Really talented group, they just need college reps. High school to D1 is a whole different world. Frontcourt is where the nerves are. Someone has to take control there. Josh Jones has Summit experience and maybe the change of scenery helps him. Then you need one of Bothun, Gugas, or Erikson to give real minutes. It is not optional. We need someone. So yeah, a lot of unknowns, which makes this season kind of fun but also terrifying. KenPom has this one as a 97-68 Bama win which… no shock there. Just keep it respectable, compete, and move on to UC Riverside at home on 11/6. Game is on SEC Network+ at 7pm. Let’s see if we can make them sweat again.

Strinden

Wonder if we should pay attention to this one. He is “committed” to Northern Illinois but did just follow my account, which I always find interesting.

Great work @siouxfan512! I feel like Bouman is a bit overrated. He’s good, don’t get me wrong but I take Jerry over him 10/10 times. I would compare Bouman to Tommy a bit. Maybe a bit more of an arm but their #s are fairly comparable. I have very little concerns with their offense. They’re not going to light up the scoreboard on any respectable team and definitely not on us. My concern is with their defense. It’s their strength and was last year as well. But I still go back to having confidence in Jerry and he should be able to guide this offense to outscore them. I think you are spot on that if you look at this as a blind resume, this should be a similar result to the UNI game but the DakotaDome is a factor. Not because of their stellar attendance or anything but it’s just a weird place to play I think. I haven’t been to the UNI Dome but probably similar to that so we should be prepared.

Complete hypothetical but if UND beats USD this weekend, do you think there is any chance that Gameday would come here? Odds are slim but a quick look it looks like competing games would be going to Lubbock for Texas Tech vs BYU, Charlottesville for UVA vs WF, Tuscaloosa for Bama vs LSU or South Bend for Notre Dame vs Navy.

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Yeah came to say this. Their defense is good still. Not overly concerned about their offense but Bouman is there and is solid plus Phillips has been a workhorse since Pierre went down.

Losing to USD would be really disappointing. I think we can beat SDSU, especially at home, but I think it’s hard to judge them yesterday without Chase Mason. I guess it would still be disappointing to lose.

Livanavage

I get it but they got some guys. I think they’re high on Strickland, although listed as a guard, he’s 6’6”. Also, Treyson Anderson sounds like could take a step forward.

KenPom has us at 314 to start the season, which is 7th in the conference. He has Denver last but I don’t buy that.

I’m not the biggest Xavier Leigh fan but I want him and Brunell to get most of the carries this game. Obviously, need to start with SS and get out to a lead but yeah let’s preserve Chuck if we can. What about Randle Parker? Is he ready for some touches?

Zellers

Zellers

I want Deng Deng out there as much as the next guy but it seems like there is probably a lot of refining to his game he still needs to work on. Good redzone target right now, though.

I wasn’t really sure where to post this but interesting that USD will be wearing these helmets against us.

I think Kraft off the bench. Could see King not playing in this one. I will say Uelmen at the 1.

Maybe these people, with a lot of money, can donate to build something they can stand to watch games at. Seats not cushy enough for them?

Poor job developing the talent? Idk about that. Maybe poor job retaining the talent.

I don’t really get how the Alerus is a dump? I’m not saying it’s the Ralph but I don’t think it’s a dump.

That game was never really “in doubt” but man I still leave the game with a bit of a sour taste in my mouth. Offense was flawless for the first 4 series of the game. Outside of that, pretty pathetic. Even the drive they finally scored again, we got bailed out by a few penalties. I could not believe the two play calls on 2nd and 1 and 3rd and 1 prior to us lining up for the FG and then got bailed out by offsides. Disappointing. Defense bent a decent amount but for the most part did not break. 12 is really good. Shifty shifty shifty. And 1 is a burner. Almost pulled in an unreal one handed catch too. Does not get easier next weekend going on the road to play a tough SIU team. Sure NDSU ended up winning handily but it was a tight game at the half. Their QB, DJ Williams, is another dual threat stud. We struggled against him a couple years ago when he was with Murray State. Let’s get another road W.

The only nice thing about Bemidji is for those that travel that way for lake season and have year round cabins but they always seem to play there Friday when it would be much more convenient Saturday. The Michigan thing intrigues me. I’ve always wanted us to play them and would be the easy choice for my groups annual away hockey trip.

I don’t want to say I’m nervous for this game but it is going to be interesting to see how we contain Brungard. This could just be me making things up in my brain but I feel like the early Bubba days with Schmidt at the helm we did do a good job of containing mobile QBs but was not so much the case towards the end of Bubba. Seems like the key is containing #12 and #4.