UND-FB-FAN

Awesome. This team is going to be good.

I think both Austin Gordon and Cam McKinney are every bit as fast as JJ (with McKinney certainly faster). What JJ offers is strength behind his pads, surprising speed for his size, and just a physical running style. He will be a great change up (or technically the others will be a great change up since JJ will likely start). Overall, if all three stay healthy, I think UND will have a surprisingly good RB corps in 2019.

Yeah not a good look. Laziness in the damn department and yet some supporters are already willing to eat out of Chaves’ ass crack. New found hope, they say. Put some damn work in and update the pages. Hire someone who cares about UND football.

Umm let’s see, maybe the majority of the offense returns? And Freund is just smarter than Rudolph; that is my opinion at this point in time. You let us know if our optimism was justified after September 7th.

I’m afraid not. If Bubba is fired it’s because the team didn’t have a good season. That would include Freund as a member of that team.

I’m not sure a feel good post of morality was needed at my expense but thanks for that. Have a nice day. Beat Drake.

Oh, and one final thing; let's see how Danny Freund does as OC, like I said. A breakout performance by him as OC (and, of course, most importantly his offensive players) would do wonders for the projection of UND football.

Pending the hire, would that be a bad thing? Bubba isn't the be-all, end-all of UND football. The football program is greater than any one individual, including Bubba, and it deserves the best leadership possible. Bubba has done well with his leadership and dedication to UND football, but the wins just aren't there. That is a problem in contemporary college football.

its would be quite awful collegiate football wise, there are plenty of comparisons out there for teams that spread it out but still emphasize the run. we will see what version we get when the Freund football product hits the field on game day

The reality is college football (i.e., playoff committee) looks at style points. The above philosophy doesn’t take that into account. UND can better themselves with game reps while also planning to beat Drake by a sizeable margin. Most importantly, UND shouldn’t have to throw everything but the kitchen sink at Drake to get the win. If not, then as I stated before, that’s failure.

Ira, Bubba has been the head football coach for 5 seasons at the University of North Dakota. We can therefore assess that. Whether you agree with it or not, folks directly outside the program are sometimes able to come to a logical conclusion. Minimizing everyone on here with an interest and thought is not effective rationalization. This is, in fact, an open forum. I agree in that let’s see how UND does this season, but Bubba over the past 5 seasons has gone 30-29 (basically the same win % as what he had in 4 seasons at Minn-Duluth, coincidence or the law of averages?). If Bubba is immune to critical assessment via high expectations by UND’s athletic department, then that would have me the most worried of all. DISCLAIMER: Right now, I have complete faith in Danny Freund’s ability to right the ship.

Hmmm LAR power spread ... not the Shanahan coaching tree (McVay) KC on the other hand ...

and with this I have found new hope for the program go hawks

Given the talent differential between UND and Drake, I certainly expect Freund to hide somethings from NDSU. Would be foolish not to. Beat Drake with fundamentals and execution then show up in Fargo on 9/7/19 and upset the damn Ag school

QB is the most important position. For the past 5 seasons, Rudolph coached the position for UND. I’m optimisitic partially because it’s Ketteringham’s senior year, but mostly because of the change from said Rudolph to Freund, who is both coaching the QB position and running the entire offense. I will say, I’m overly optimistic mainly because of Freund getting a shot at this thing. If he unfortunately disappoints, then UND will have a disappointing season as a whole, also. I’m guessing Freund will be a major upgrade over Rudolph though and Ketteringham’s level of play will ascend as a result. I saw big plays out of Kett at times last season that make me believe he can have a nice season in this new system if he stays healthy.

By saying “Kett is broken,” you are throwing in the towel. Sure, there will be moments of struggle, but I believe UND has the talent and coaching now in place to win 7+ games. And do you honestly think UND will beat NDSU but lose the other 10 games on their schedule? That argument is so irrelevant. UND making the playoffs and beating NDSU are not mutually exclusive!! I respectfully disagree with your assessments and predictions.

Donnell Rodgers is a senior ILB. He understands the fundamentals of that position (linebacker) and has proven he can play the position at a high level for UND in Schmidt’s defense. He was recently voted captain by his peers. You don’t move players like that to a new position and hurt your LB corps significantly. The young defensive linemen need to step up as is. Let’s wait and see how it goes. Schmidt, now coaching the DL, has much work to do in preparing them.

UND needs to play to win this game and win it by a lot. End of story. Lead UND to a big win, Bubba. Anything else is a F-A-I-L-U-R-E.

To sum up reasons why I’m optimistic UND can reach 7 wins in 2019: 1) experience exists across the board, at QB, RB, WR, TE, OL, LB, and DB 2) specialists are 1 year older 3) Freund’s offense will utilize UND’s available talent; it will certainly be an upgrade to Rudolph at OC. Now, to what degree? 4) although DL is thin, let’s not forget that perhaps UND’s most talented player overall is a defensive lineman. I think the others can be serviceable. I think, if this team is managed/coached/led correctly and has a little luck, we see UND in the 2019 FCS playoffs.

I don’t disagree. But it is an identified problem. The culture needs to change. The weight of that all falls on Bubba’s shoulders.

Unreal

Youthful eyes be a glancin’ ...

I’m afraid it’s all connected. Rubes on this website should be predicting undefeated seasons, not the opposite. Amateur hour should be overly optimistic, but around UND football it continues to be pump the brakes.

This here is the biggest issue, which comes down to culture. Culture is built by the leader of the program (head coach). Sad fact of the day: Bubba has yet to build a winning culture for UND. in my opinion, he gets 2019 to do this, or else he should get the axe. It shouldn’t take 6+ seasons to form a winning culture. The majority of folks around UND football still expect 5-6 and 6-5 records ....... not good