UND-FB-FAN

5 losses is unacceptable. Expectations have been too low for too long. Based on the difficulty of the schedule, I’ll say 4 losses is reasonable for this season only. i expect 7-4, anything less is disappointment. UND has to be able to win all their home games. No more let downs like last season vs Idaho State

oh ... I think Danny will be just fine.

UND *should* beat Drake handily. If they don't, Bubba and the coaching staff failed the players and the players failed themselves. No excuse to play a non-scholarship Pioneer league team close if UND expects to be an FCS playoff team this season. Remember, style points matter in college football and to the FCS playoff committee. UND needs to beat Drake by a sizable margin.

Sure, but the AC has a diverse playbook and uses its players well. They run the QB timely, they throw to the TEs on playaction, they have plenty of screen plays and use their backs in the passing game. They go heavy with 3 tight ends and sometimes go empty with 5 wide outs. Point is, don’t say UND had been using their personnel the same way NDSU has been. Because they weren’t. UND offense under Rudolph was not pretty. Effective at times, but not pretty. I am looking forward to how Freund groups his available talent.

His point still stands though. Having the first team offense run a modern diverse scheme is beneficial for the first team defense. Much more so than when only the scout team is trying to replicate the offense of a different team and “challenge” the first team defense. It’s no wonder that UND’s first team defense was always ahead of the offense when Rudolph ran it. The offense was very, very predictable.

This is bad news anyway you spin it. Probably the first bit of pure bad news out of camp this year. There always is some bad news, though, every year. Hopefully no more subtractions before games start.

You and I are definitely on the same page with this. UND just needs to keep working to accomplish this. I cite facilities (HPC II) and coaching as two major routes for bringing in better players. Institutional support and alumni support are key to getting there. A vision (master plan) and leadership from the top (Bubba, Chaves, UND’s new president) are both critical for UND football and can’t be overlooked. HPC Phase II and the following seasons’ successes (or lack thereof) are probably the most widely visible to young student-athletes, though. Let’s keep building, figuratively and literally.

Paying attention to the details is important, no doubt. But winning, fancy facilities and positive relationships with the coaches seem to go the furthest. Being a winning program is obviously #1. Kids want to win and have fun doing it.

Good coffee

On this website, it doesn't take much for "educational fits" to quickly become propaganda as to how UND will soon dethrone NDSU. As someone who has three degrees from UND, I understand what UND has to offer academically and certainly appreciate the advantages it provides for UND in recruiting prospective student-athletes. With that said, it is largely a non-factor competitively in major sports like football and basketball. Sure, I can agree with you that academic offerings are a factor, but UND will not win an FCS national championship by going on a national search for aspiring pilots, lawyers, doctors, physical therapists, and nurses. UND needs to recruit and land better players, mainly, and better facilities will aid in that. Coaching and player development (strength and conditioning) is the other major factor; i.e., getting the most out of what you have. I am hoping Coach Freund as OC can help out UND football with this, but that may be wishful thinking. Have to wait until Game Day to assess that.

Over the past decade: NDSU football has been very, very good. UND football has been very average. That is all. 2019 is a new season, folks.

Prospects DO take UND seriously, I agree, but not after NDSU offers them. Hence UND vs NDSU offers ... Ultimately, UND needs to start beating NDSU head-to-head on the football field before anything really changes.

The "educational fit with UND" mantra is propaganda. It has been said for years in order to try offset what NDSU has built but to no avail. It hasn't worked and won't work by itself to turn the tide. Sure, recruit kids that want to be pilots and lawyers and doctors, but that alone won't turnaround the UND football program. UND needs better players via recruiting tactics and facilities and then better coaching. The High Performance Center was certainly a huge boost to facilities but now the football program needs phase II. Coaching potentially was upgraded with Danny Freund to OC. We will see come September 7th just how improved the UND football program really is. "Educational fits" won't have anything to do with it, I'm afraid.

Want this to change? I know I do. UND needs to win on September 7th in Fargo for change to happen. UND winning head-to-head is the only way the tides will turn to at least even the playing field. Right now it is so lopsided it is not even funny. Right now, prospects just don't take the UND vs NDSU debate seriously when considering competing offers, nor should they.

Do you really think we need another season to fully understand the situation of student attendance and seating? The sample size already available is more than adequate. As the past 10 + seasons have demonstrated, student attendance will drop off as the games and the season overall progresses. Kids get bored at sporting events these days; just reality. The "prime real estate" (40 to 40 yard line seating) on both sides of the field should be reserved for season ticket holders.

214 and 213 should also be season ticket holder (Champions Club) seating along with the current section 215. Students should have 212, 211, and 210. I'm sorry, but I highly doubt anyone can change my mind on this. The NCAA requires the section to move during the playoffs anyways, and if you look around the country (even NDSU), the students just don't get the 50 yard line for seating. That takes away from season ticket holders who are actually willing to BOTH pay and stay the entirety of the game (not to mention actually attend each game). UND is dropping the ball on this big time based on how they set up student seating. Students still should get free tickets and the same overall amount of seating , but no one watching on TV should have to witness entire sections empty while watching (the cameras face those sections, particularly those on the 50). It makes the UND football atmosphere look awful.

That score would suck. Anything other than a win for UND in week 2 is a failure for that particular week. Not the end of the world, but no moral victories, please.

Grand Forks and hockey ........ It will always defy logic. ”Let’s spend major $$ on a bigger screen while our next most popular sport team plays out of 100+ year old locker rooms ...”

As I said earlier, the playoffs essentially start in September for UND!! Going to be a fun year if UND can stay healthy!

Let’s work on counting together. 1 ... 2 ... 3 ... 4 ... 5 ... 6 ... It’s been 6 years. If the REA can get a newly renovated locker room and scoreboard, the Alerus Center can get some new turf for Christ’s sake. UND is going into a new conference. Turf needs MVFC logos and new end zone font/color badly. Most importantly, get a damn midfield logo for the Fighting Hawks!!

Hands down better. Enjoy this kid’s next three years. He’s a good one

Freund obviously wants to adjust the system to the players, not the other way around like Rudolph. We will see a zone blocking scheme in 2019 because the offensive line is lighter than UND's lines have been in the past. That is not a bad thing, just the way it is. Some of the best rushing teams in the country, year after year, run zone schemes. I'm not worried at all yet. Let's see how it works during games first.

I agree. It's a mindset. Too often over the past few seasons, UND's offense would settle for just staying in the game ("a punt is a good play" - Bubba) rather than blowing it open. If the offense is picking up yards, then be aggressive and go up tempo. It's more than just putting players in the right position to make a play (although that is a huge area that also needs improvement with Freund), but also using the personnel to win convincingly.

Freund won't (or at least shouldn't) run an offensive style (e.g., up tempo offense) just for the sake of running a certain style. Going super fast tempo despite an incomplete pass over and over again is no different than Rudolph running Santiago repeatedly up the gut over and over again without success. Basically, it is trying to fit a square peg in a round hole and doing it over and over again. Any good offensive coordinator adjusts their offense in-game based on what is working. I expect Freund to do that. If UND's defense is playing very well, the offense will play safe, run some clock, and not force tempo. Conversely, if UND is scoring at will using tempo, I expect UND and Freund to go up tempo again and again and put up tons of points. Flexibility is the biggest strength of a well run spread offense and that is what I hope to see with Freund's offense, not just merely tempo.

One of the first thoughts that comes to mind when I’m forced to think about the 2013 season is this one. Awful, awful, awful coaching.