UND-FB-FAN

I completely agree with this. Everyone knows my opinion of the staff.

Dear Haters, Did you see that great throw and catch from Ketteringham and Wanzek? Great play. From Optimistic UND Fan

Huge special teams break for UND. Could get the momentum going, boys. Was desperately needed.

UND has absolutely no momentum right now. Down 14 to nothing on the road, can we trust this staff to put the players in position to get the momentum back???

Offense entering worst coached offense of all time category

He’s not. It’s called offensive coaching. Get the ball in your best players’ hands. Emmanuel Butler is killing UND.

Emmanuel Butler is going to singlehandedly eliminate UND from playoff contention. Not sure how UND doesn’t emphasize coverage on this guy. Need to clean that up big time. Horrible to give that up on fourth and long ...

Penalties and turnovers will lose UND this game if they don’t clean it up big time

Simple defensive adjustment needed ... place way more in the box. Then it’s up to the players to execute and tackle. Poor pursuit and tackling on that drive. Damn

Love how they’re using Cam McKinney thus far. Adds true speed to offense. Blame that drive stalling on the penalty. Need better discipline.

UND going with the very sharp all white look ... should bode well

It is just embarrassing how Bubba allows his offense to be run the way it currently is. Change it up or get out.

Do you think Chaves and UND would bid much more than what they expect ticket/attendance revenue would be? An aggressive athletics department with a lot of donors could do that, but unfortunately I don’t think UND falls into that category, yet. UND will likely stick to baseline (estimate attendance) revenue figures. UND was seeded in 2016 so we never did see what the bid materialized as. I was told that the 2015 bid was quite healthy though.

Spot on!

No surprise. Estimated attendance essentially determines site.

I guess that is why a home playoff win (or just a playoff win period) would be encouraging to me. We'll see ...

... verge of making the playoffs for all the wrong reasons. UND has tried to eliminate themselves from this position multiple times (horrible loss to Idaho, close ugly win vs Portland State), but fortunately the other important FCS games around the country just happen to continue to go UND’s way. Are we okay relying on circumstance rather than ability? UND continues to just “luck out”. I will happily eat crow if UND beats Northern Arizona and can win a 1st round playoff game. My expectations are always playoffs for UND, so, to be fair, I will be somewhat content if UND hosts a playoff game and Bubba gets UND it’s first DI playoff win. We all know that milestone should've happened in 2016.

Am I missing something here? Relax, I kid, I kid ...

In 2018, the MVFC and Big Sky Conference have been much closer than they have been in years past. Looking at past 10 years, though, that is not the case. I think we can all agree that UND’s strength of schedule would’ve been much more difficult with a MVFC schedule, and with current playoff discussions, strength of schedule is being held against UND. Biggest issue is still, and always will be, total number of wins. Need to get to 7 with a win against Northern Arizona. Also, let’s be careful in criticizing the DII moveup narrative. UND could be doing a hell of a better job at it themselves. Lastly, how is the MVFC comparable to the Big 12. That is laughable and you should be embarrassed making that comparison. Your bias for the BSC comes through on that. When was the last time a Big 12 team won a string of national championships or even a single national champion for that matter? Maybe back when the Cornhuskers were top dogs in the 90s, and then Texas won the NC in 2005, but otherwise the Big 12 has been crap the past 10+ years when comparing to national picture. When comparing the MVFC to national FCs picture, the conference has been a top player for the past 10 years. Never mind NDSU because we know you don’t want to hear about them and I agree it’s too much. But SDSU was a semi-finalist last year. A few years ago Illinois State was in the national championship. UNI has beat up on Big Sky teams in the playoffs, such as ranked Portland State (in Portland) in 2015. Etc. Etc. Etc. I completely endorse the move to the MVFC as a move to a superior conference. Now, that means UND needs to pick its game up and Bubba needs to get talented players and coaches to help him with that.

They need quality Adidas white home AND KELLY green away uniforms ASAP! I don’t know full story, but this current uniform situation is embarrassing. Having to play on big stage against Kentucky with those is not good.

You can only play who is on your schedule. Majority of games are conference games and the big sky conference is a weaker conference than the Missouri Valley football conference. The degree of difference is often exaggerated by North Dakota State fans, but nevertheless the MVFC is still a superior conference. We can all find solace in that UND is moving to the better conference in 2020. Until then, win what’s on your schedule and go from there. It’s disappointing that North Dakota had a relatively weak schedule this year but yet can only max out at seven regular-season wins

No one is going to waste their time looking for that “source”.

In regards to "seems too simple to say need to use the TE's more", let's explain then. Rudolph does not call very much play-action on early downs. That is, there are limited plays where the primary read is the TE, FB, or RB *when* the defense is expecting run (hence early downs). This is important because it stresses the defense while they are trying to play run; the same players that often have to tackle the ball carrier are asked to cover the TE, FB, or RB. On third and long, it is completely acceptable (and sometimes required) to keep the TE in to block and therefore focus on the receivers downfield. But if defensive pressure is the reason the TE can't be released on thrid and long, then the RBs should be used in the screen game way, way more ... and they are not being used in the screen game at all. Lastly, by being less predictable with play-action on early downs, UND wouldn't have to worry about their receiver injury situation so much due to less third and long situations. This whole "use the TE's more" is a short and simple way to say that UND needs to be more unpredictable with play-action on expected running downs to prevent the short gains on 1st and 2nd down that you speak of.

NDSU has only thrown the ball 203 times this season (due to their dominance on the scoreboard and with the running game), whereas UND has thrown the ball 264 times. Yet, the TE, FB, and RB positions are way underutilized in UND's passing game relative to NDSU or any other pro style running offense (Wisconsin, Iowa, etc.). That is not in UND's best interest in terms of winning offensive football. The situation at receiver when all were healthy still left much, much to be desired. Need to do better at that position. Maag has been a pleasant surprise as only a true freshman, though. Need more big play speed in the group.

TE and RB passing game has always been poor (to darn right embarrassing) under Rudolph, even when all the players are healthy and playing. Passing game has always been poor with Rudolph actually. And the run heavy ball control offense currently implemented doesn’t effectively close out games like it should (see 2018 Idaho game). I don't buy this continual infatuation with injuries as the cause for poor play and poor losses. It is a factor, but it can’t be continually emphasized as the cause for the lack of major success. Coach up and develop some quality backups. The track record for backups in this program could be better.