UND-FB-FAN

Can UND get their first road win of the season? Storylines aplenty given Bubba’s woes against Idaho State. UND needs to win the turnover battle and play a disciplined game (less penalties). UND will win if they do those two things. So everyone knows, Idaho State is 2-3 on the season and recently lost @ Montana 59-20. Idaho State’s two wins are against West Colorado and Portland State.

UND won, but again made many mistakes that could foreshadow what is to come in the future. A lot of season left - things could go very well or could still go very bad. Call me a debbie downer, negative Nancy, or excessive critic (or whatever), but I’ve seen this movie before. Been around football long enough from both the fan and coaching perspective to know there is a lot UND needs to improve on to become a playoff team this season. I’m not convinced UND can win over 6 games *yet*.They have to prove they can win on the road. They have to play a full 4 quarter game and demonstrate “killer instinct” and not play cautiously the entire game. In this case, the “cautious” play by the team is certainly a reflection of the head coach’s personality and coaching philosophy.

Agreed, agreed, agreed. These are definitely the top concerns coming out of the victory vs UC Davis.

It’s not as bad as it seems, it’s not as good as it seems. UND could definitely falter on the road against Idaho State (who Bubba consistently chokes against) and miss the playoffs but UND also could win out and end up a good playoff team. A lot of season and possibilities yet. Let’s see if UND can win on the road now ..... UND has to protect the ball (only 1 turnover today) and limit penalities to win on road.

It’s Bubba. It’s the pattern we’ve witnessed for the past 6 years; obviously Bubba. Day by Day Toe to Toe

Correct. But they got 0 points after second CJ Seigel interception with big return. They couldn’t even get 3 points. UND ran it three times and kicked the miss. Disappointing and it maintained a one score game giving UC Davis hope.

Ouch. This is not the approach I want UND football to take, but I think you say what Bubba thinks ....... UND played far from a perfect game. They need to do much better. Not throw awful passes for interceptions. Not miss field goals. Not give up fake punts for 1st downs. Not get 0 points after turnovers. There are plenty of concerns that UND has to address and even then would certainly not be perfect.

UND played a very good 1st half. UND played a very poor 2nd half. UND made just enough plays to win. It was awful close. I would prefer UND not get 0 points after big time turnovers. That stands out.

I agree completely. Bubba holds back his players and teams. The defense forced big time turnovers and yet the offense didn’t capitalize due to lack of aggressive play in second half. And actually, UND started to pull back on the reins at the end of the 1st half. Just disappointing overall coaching philosophy by Bubba ...

UND needs to play way better in 2nd half. I am disappointed in how conservative Bubba Schweigert is. His coaching style is holding back this team. EXAMPLE: UND has offensive momentum in first half with timeouts but goes into half without even trying for points. Then, sure enough, offense struggles to score the entire second half and it’s obvious Ketteringham lost all momentum and feel good. Special teams did enough to win with big kick, but also screwed up with poor fake punt coverage and missed field goal. Defense was a mixed bag. Played well on some plays and made turnovers, also gave up a bunch of 3rd and 4th down conversations. Not a perfect game by any stretch. UND should’ve won by more, but at least they won. There is a lot of work to do. And I am skeptical of UND’s leadership aka head man....

UND needs to play better in the second half, no question. They did enough in the first half to hold on for a way too close win.

Big time QB recruiting prospect for UND. He has a ton of potential. Hope he enjoys the ball game today and commits to UND.

Passing game would suffer with Boltmann at QB full time. Ketteringham is doing very well today thus far. I prefer the role Boltmann has currently as he touches the ball many different ways. Hard to complain with how the offense has looked so far. But I don’t agree with the decision to not be aggressive before halftime. That was disappointing management by the head coach Bubba.

Tom Miller and Brad Schlossman are unknowingly desensitized to the mediocrity that is UND football. They implicitly expect 6-5 every single season - like so many other supporters - and are completely fine with it. Bubba has been coach for 6 seasons and the expectation is still 6 wins; maybe expectations elevate to 7 wins by 2025? How many seasons does it take? It’s comical, though, how the expectations are set. In 2016, UND wasn’t supposed to do anything per the “experts” but they won 9 games. Then, in 2017, UND was suddenly supposed to be a top 10 FCS team, but they won only 3 games. Then the realization hit UND is still a mediocre program. It goes back and forth. Everyone in the UND media and local media - as well as with many fans - is very reactive rather than proactive with their expectations. It’s all just very ... interesting ...

I think it’s hilarious how so many think yanking Ketteringham from the game will instantly better UND’s team. You know, everyone’s favorite player is the backup quarterback. Classic thinking. UND needs to just execute much better, whether that be Ketteringham, Schuster, Boltmann or anyone else. You can’t win if you have 6 turnovers. The offense - particularly Ketteringham - should be embarrassed by that and should look to come out and play well vs UC Davis. Long-term, I believe UND needs better talent. That doesn’t help in the interim. UND needs to play better and execute as a team.

I think UND can win this game. UND simply does not have an ideal quarterback situation. Ketteringham makes many mistakes. Schuster is young and inexperienced. Brock Boltmann also has not been asked to throw the ball very much in games. If UND wins this game, it will be just like the Sam Houston State win. To win, UND absolutely needs to win the turnover battle and make some game changing plays on defense. The obvious prediction is UC Davis. UND has a good shot though. My prediction is UND 28, UC Davis 24. UND keeps their playoff hopes alive.

There are many factors. Obviously, UND needs to develop and coach up their players a bit better. More importantly, though, is the foundation which is the talent. UND does not have a top 10 foundation of talent and the players are the ones who win the games. Recruiting better talent is a huge need. You are right in that UND matched up well against EWU last weekend in terms of talent, but keep in mind EWU is down this year. I agree that the intricacies of each position, including the quarterback position, need to be better emphasized and coached up. Having 6 turnovers is just not acceptable.

UND needs to go 7-4 or better this season. That is certainly still a possibility. Important home game this weekend against UC Davis, especially given how awful UND has looked on the road. UND went 6-5 last season and returned nearly all players at every position group other than RB and DL. UND cannot afford to go 6-5 or 5-6 and simply cite the "most difficult schedule of all time" as the reason why - doing so would continue to forward the mediocrity of UND football.

Hockey game always hurts football game. One or the other, all the time.

UND needs better recruits to win ... This is the whole the chicken or the egg scenario. UND needs better recruiting and development and then the wins will follow. The coaching isn’t great, but I honestly don’t think the schemes UND runs (especially with Freund as OC) are the issue. The coaches, however, need to find a way to get better players. Or else, find better coaches that can recruit. The major factor independent of both coaches and current players is facilities. UND needs HPC Phase II in order to recruit the kind of players necessary to meet expectations of those on this website.

I agree 100%. These are my exact thoughts as well.

Not even a thought that has crossed my mind. I’ve been to enough college football games across the country to know what UND football is missing on gameday. They are missing a lot, including seating orientation.

Won’t be good enough. Then 2016 team still had subpar attendance. Alerus Center needs to have more entertainment and be a better host. As has been said for years, the Alerus Center needs to take notes from the REA. Or, in all honesty, the UND gameday entertainment staff needs to travel to Fargo and take some notes on a Saturday.

I am really surprised and kind of appalled by how many people are missing the point on this. Contacting a few students or sitting yourself down in a certain seat is not going to do a damn thing. This is a functional process issue and needs to be addressed at the large scale level.

Not being done for attendance improvement purposes. See my previous post. It would be done for common sense purposes. Students who don’t stay for more than half of the game should not get the midfield. Every major DI program athletic director agrees with me, so I am steadfast with my stance of this.