UND-FB-FAN

Which kickoff coverages will they play? When will they determine they should or shouldn’t kick it to the returner? What kind of punt protection will they call to prevent a block? What’s the distance for the field goal unit? Which variables affect that? Wind? Weather (snow)? A couple misses by Stevens indicating lack of confidence? Will there be fake punt or field goal plays available and what would it take to call it? What’s the depth chart for return men? Back up long snapper and kicker? Lots of game time decisions and in-game decisions for the special teams coordinator. Players need to do their job also. Theres work to be done, for everyone. Players and coaches alike.

Fair point. Weber State has notoriously been good on special teams for years. Jay Hill, their HC, was long time Special Teams coordinator at Utah. Shawn Kostich will have his work cut out for him.

No doubt.Catching has been good. Catching plus speed/separation is better. more work to do. Belquist is very good and has elevated that whole group’s production. Maag also can catch, despite being slow.

Bubba decides when to punt or go for it. He is the head coach and therefore the game manager. His messages all week form the mindset of the team. He is the leader, and his confidence or lack thereof affects the entire team. The team’s preparedness is on the head coach, who also helps to form the team’s schedule and overall logistics. Comes with the territory. If UND plays well in Utah, Bubba deserves credit, as do his staff and players. If UND plays poorly for the second consecutive week in a big game, and UND has to even entertain punting versus being aggressive in the 4th quarter while being down 3 scores, then Bubba rightfully deserves criticism. It’s a results driven business. Such is life. Talking that results will take care of themselves and we shouldn’t look at the scoreboard is nonsense and intended to just distract from incompetence.

To sum it up, everyone wants big, strong, fast players. NDSU and SDSU have bigger, stronger, faster players than most programs in the FCS, hence their success. Development is key still, no doubt, but recruiting big, strong, fast high school kids (or signing FBS drop downs or JuCo players) is still important. Although scheme (Xs and Os) matters, and NDSU and SDSU do well with it, there’s still no debate you have to have a team full of good football players with measurables, also. UND receiving corps has Belquist, but everyone else is below average. Can’t run, 4.6 is a stretch for most of the roster, and the ones that can run (Dennis) need to get into the weight room. Maag is slow on the football field. I like Red Wilson - he’s been good for UND this season.

The fight in the dog for UND has been disappointing in big games. Need to either train a meaner dog or get a new one. Perpetually defending the coaches is also an extreme end of the spectrum. Everyone needs to do their job. The current program is stale. Development is key, but eliminating termination as an option is narrow-minded and foolish, in my opinion. As for the reality of the situation, carry on. No major changes coming. It’s about everyone doing their job better.

Heavy favoritism by officials and even selection committees. Very curious decision making for Ag U… During the game, even the NDSU fans were joking how the game was only stopped for review if it was a play that went against NDSU, not UND. Perhaps just coincidence, but I prefer to promote conspiracy…

You can contemplate the reasoning all you want, but it’s obvious it’s there. By the way, the reasoning isn’t all that concealed either, it’s right in front of you …

Yep. Fargo is the evil empire, been saying it for years, and evidence keeps mounting.

I agree. Seed up to 16 teams.

I apologize to Bill Chaves. We were screwed by the NCAA and NDSU athletic director Matt Larsen. Go figure. well, control what we can control. go beat Weber State on Saturday … then beat the $hit out of NDSU whenever we play them again (this postseason or next year in Alerus)…

Almost a slam dunk this is the case.

Tough draw but game should still be in Grand Forks. See other thread and Grand Forks Herald for reasoning. Regardless, UND needs to go down and just get the win to show up this stupid committee. Still hurts though that UND football fans were robbed another home game.

Man, sounds like bid issue VS ncaa committee issue. UND football just isn’t in favor of anyone yet it sounds like. Both in house and out.

I think this is a Chaves issue, also. Were football boosters communicated with? Of course not. Failure is on Chaves.

I agree. Unfortunately, I think the committee just isn’t in favor of UND. Think 2015. Think 2019. Now this season. Also NDSU AD is on committee. Sure, he wants a 3rd MVFC in the field, but he also wants NDSU ranked as highly as possible (over Montana State??), but he doesn’t care if said 3rd MVFC team is on the road. He actually prefers that if that 3rd team is his in state rival.

I agree, but why weren’t boosters reached out to this time? It’s a failure on his behalf. Absolutely unbelievable. I would hope he’s more in tune with the football boosters, but obviously he isn’t. The season ticket holders are interested investors, you need to reach out to them every season to gauge what they would contribute for a bid.

I completely agree with you. It shouldn’t take multiple failed attempts and the program’s fans to produce a more thought out plan to host playoff games. two major issues are: 1) home playoff games are important to the team’s success and the fans (ie look at home record vs away) 2) the athletic department obviously didn’t care enough to put thought and resources into football … again

The late apologists are here. No, not that simple. Weber State’s best attendance of the year was 11,700 versus Montana. Given the weather forecasted for Saturday, there won’t be that many fans there. UND could’ve (and should’ve) out bid them. But, apologies from our apologists for our brash comments. We are sorry. We kindly accept the declination of another home game for UND football fans and season ticket holders.

It’s true. Been said a million times, but NDSU players look the part and play the part. UND front line doesn’t look the part. Not physical enough, not big enough. UND needs to recruit and develop more physicality and speed - across the board. Need to hit the transfer portal hard this off-season. And need to get some damn money in the football program, not just hockey; need to bolster coaching salary pool and make changes … and apparently now also improve playoff bids.

If UND was only losing to NDSU, sure, but they drop other games they should win year after year. But, here we are. Defense is the weak link, but the team’s mindset in big games is also a major flaw. Some can be improved over the off-season, some cannot. Will be interesting to see how UND looks in the playoffs. 2019 @Nichols State didn’t look too good.

Ouch. This is gonna be a long season. Maybe they can find something towards the end of it …

That’s false. Do more work, Chaves, and get the job done. Always next year …

Amen

Ok… No one is going to listen to anything you have to say about UND. Accept this. But I agree with your statement, unfortunately.