UND-FB-FAN

So if the Alerus Center had greater capacity, then there would be greater attendance? SDSU has early season attendances greater than UND's capacity; that is all I was trying to say. I obviously recongize the late season collapse in attendance. Remember, this whole discussion was largely based on outdoor football in this region; in the fall, it appears SDSU does just fine outdoors.

First half of the season attendance is well over 10,000 with some games over 15,000 for SDSU; that's more than UND. The 2016 UND playoff game was poorly attended with all things considered (9-2, first DI playoff game INDOORS) and UND choked. A lot of confirmation bias here. Bottom line is UND's attendance with their indoor situation has been nothing to write home about. The Alerus Center just does not allow for a consistently good atmosphere. It provides a climate controlled environment which, I agree with everyone, is very important for UND. After that, though, many aspects could be improved. The lack of endzone seating is part of that.

The Fargodome provides a way better atmosphere than the Alerus Center due to the seating arrangement (and wins, obviously).

UND's "indoor attendance" has been nothing to brag about compared to SDSU's recent attendance. All in all, the little town of Brookings has had very good recent outdoor attendance relative to UND (only exception being home playoff games which SDSU typically win). This is a common misconception that people around UND believe.

I don't like the Alerus Center orientation/set-up. It is all that is available though, and all things considered, it is not that bad. I just think the overly-enclosed feel with no endzone seating is "blah". The building does no favors for the gameday atmosphere (only exceptions are huge games that get everyone excited regardless: 2001 semifinal, 2016 playoffs). Everyone on here is scared of the weather, obviously. But on a nice Saturday in September, nothing beats outdoor football. Also, a team from down south coming to play in GF during December would be a major advantage for UND. If the 1 in 1,000,000 chance ever happened and UND somehow received a new improved indoor stadium, then yes, that would be even better, but that's not going to happen. New indoor stadium > renovated outdoor Memorial Stadium > Alerus Center > current Memorial Stadium

A renovated Memorial Stadium with a positive game day planning situation could potentially be better. Long ways from that happening though.

Senior Bowl situation was definitely the last straw ...

I agree that this part of the country does have good offensive linemen; problem is there aren't enough for all programs. Obviously only so many are high-end DI players. UND has lost too many offensive linemen "with potential" for me to think that it is just bad luck. UND has failed to find good players and develop them. NDSU, on the other hand, has taken backyard 9 man players and turned them into all-conference linemen.

Offensive line play is an issue around the country, hence the large scale changes in offensive style of play that takes pressure off the play up front (up-tempo spread option offenses). The programs that still run a downhill physical style of play need good offensive linemen, but those programs are becoming more and more scarce. Some of the few remaining include Alabama, Wisconsin, and Michigan. At the FCS level, NDSU is really one of the only programs that comes to mind, and they do it so well no one can counter it.

Quantity does not always equate to quality. To dismiss the QB position as an important top 3 position for UND is ignorant to what that position means to all levels of football. It is often labeled the most important position in sports for a reason. Just because UND has 3 (4 in the fall) quarterbacks on roster, that does not guarantee one of them will be an outstanding performer. Ketteringham put up numbers at Sacramento State but lost the vast majority of the games. There is no guarentee Rudolph's system or UND's personnel will allow Ketteringham's play to transfer from Sac State to UND. Lastly, UND won't win anything over 6 games this season if they only have a "decent juco" starting. UND's only chance at a winning record in 2018 is Ketteringham performing at a high level. He looks the part physically but his performance during the spring game was less than stellar. Have to hope he, his offensive teammates, and Rudolph's system all progress from now to the fall. Offensive line is always an important position group. I mentioned the offensive line as a top 3 group of concern for UND (2 of the 3 groups we mentioned are the same: OL, DB). The problem is it is difficult to develop mauler type linemen in this day and age of football. UND's offensive linemen (at least the ones on roster right now) are not going to develop into all-conference type performers this season. They will be average at best. In fact, average would be an improvement from what they showed at the spring game. The pressure is on Rudolph and the offensive staff to implement an offensive system that does not rely on tremendous push up front each and every play. Anybody can coordinate offense when the offensive line dominates; UND's offensive line will not be doing anything close to dominating this season.

Seriously man, that's all you got from that? I wasn't putting this all on your best bud Dave, but I guess I should've been more specific to not offend some of "you". Try not to sympthesize with the current situation so much. UND football is getting piled on here with these types of the arrangements. It goes beyond just the product on the football field. Did NDSU have enough support for a game like this in the Twin cities just 10 years ago? Of course not, but they've grown and UND has regressed. All in all, we are where we are, but these type of promos just continue to put UND way behind the eight ball. I guess the trajectory of both football programs (NDSU way up, UND down) is common sense to even "UND fans".

Inexcusable behavior, but these sort of arrests have been going on for a long, long time with college football student-athletes. Still not excusable and very unfortunate. I hope not just these kids but the entire football team learns from this. You want wins, you need to act like a winner both on AND off the field.

I wouldn't compare the Florida-Georgia rivalry to the UND spring game/scrimmage. That's textbook apples to oranges. Something somewhat comparable would be if UND played NDSU at US Bank Stadium or TCF Bank Stadium, which some have chattered about before. NDSU is playing at Target Field soon; would've been nice to have UND-NDSU in that setting. http://gobison.com/news/2016/10/24/north-dakota-state-to-play-2019-football-season-opener-at-target-field.aspx It still sickens me that St.Peter would make this arrangement with NDSU before UND, his alma mater. Even further proof, I guess, that NDSU football has completely overtaken UND football.

This is completely unprecedented in modern DI football for one reason: it's a bad idea. UND needs to learn to move it to where they play the games: Alerus Center. Completely foolish to not use the facility that they continue to pump money into every year for increased gameday experiences.

I apologize that the "word" desolidified my post. I didn't foresee its use having such grave consequences, although I would argue it is indeed a word.

Spring game needs to be where the games are held: Alerus Center. Pure and simple. UND's entire athletic department has dropped the ball on this recently. Put some damn effort and creativity into your job people.

My number one impression: Have the damn "game" at the place where the GAMES are played: THE ALERUS CENTER; when the crowd piles up, as it did yesterday, the HPC is horrible for viewing purposes. I think it is ridiculous that the HPC is used for the finale or spring game or spring scrimmage or whatever you wish to call it. It maybe made sense the first time around because it allowed everyone to see the building but now its just idiotic. Otherwise: Defense looked fast. Definitely potential to get after the QB and stop the run in 2018 like the defense traditionally has done. Austin Gordon was quick around the edge. Guys at ILB look good; need to stay healthy obviously. New batch of DL look good with potential. Mason Bennett could have a HUGE year. The defensive backfield is still the biggest defensive question mark in my opinion. UND's offense didn't give the DBs any real look in order to test the DBs ability. UND's offensive line was pathetic in pass blocking. NO time really at all. Rudolph is definitely *trying* to implement a screen game. We'll see how it goes. Ketteringham is still my favorite at QB but he didn't show anything overly special in the spring scrimmage. Still work to be done. UND's backfield trio of Santiago, Oliveira, and Johannesson remains very impressive; however, I remain unimpressed with the overall look of the offense. Hope it was just limited in the scrimmage setting and it will look better come fall. I just don't know if Rudolph's offensive system will ever be able to impress me. Too archaic and crude for my taste. There are definitely weapons (McKinney, Toivonen, Griebel, Adeoti, Wanzek, Cloyd) to utilize if Rudolph and offense would be a bit creative. I just don't think the offensive line will be physical enough to play the methodical, conservative style that Bubba and Rudolph have been running. We'll see. Good news: defense showed potential up front. Bad news: offensive line and passing game was poor. Bottom line: This is typically the spring ball narrative irregardless of how the fall subsequently turns out.

Personally, from what I've heard from some of the coaches, the outlook is quite simple: UND exceeded expectations a bit in 2016 and they had a rash of injuries in 2017. Things were never as good nor as bad as what they seemed to us "fans" in the short-term. There are plenty of holes/"unknowns" on the roster that need to be fixed. Offensive line, quarterback and the defensive backfield are currently the top 3 in my estimation. If the offense doesn't become more explosive and/or if the defense doesn't become more stingy (contain big plays better), 2018 will not go as planned.

I sure hope UND doesn't have another losing season in 2018, or else you folks on here will become damn salty to unbearable. Cheer up a bit. Fact of the matter is that some aspects of certain college football teams aren't always favorable or positive. Lastly, it's quite entertaining how I'm now being labeled an over-repetitive pessimist, particularly when my previous posts on this site are accessible for all to see. I've certainly been appropriately positive (sometimes excessively) when the outlook is realistically good. And realistically speaking, UND could yet have a winning season in 2018 - so lighten up folks.

Ketteringham has to be the guy. He looks the part. He has past FCS experience as a starting QB. He has the strongest arm. Zimmerman demonstrated he can be a capable back-up last season; I like him for that spot. Boltmann is quite limited on size. He can definitely move, but as we saw with Studsrud, that doesn't necessarily translate into great QB play. I think he will be 3rd string in 2018 and spend more time getting stronger and learning. Way too early QB depth chart: 1) Ketteringham 2) Zimmerman 3) Boltmann

This whole "repost" backlash I'm receiving is ridiculous. Again, even certain positive biases on this website can become excessive. Studsrud was a great leader but was more than underwhelming in terms of throwing ability. His backups (Bartels, Heidlebaugh) were even worse. Under Bubba, UND has tried to win while ignoring the most important position in sports - bad idea.

"Effective" doesn't win championships. Championship teams have good to great QB play (not necessarily stats, but ability to consistently make good decisions and clutch throws).

No sympathy here. The QB position has been grossly mismanaged by Bubba and his staff in my opinion. Let's hope Ketteringham is the real deal.

Your last sentence is very telling. North Dakota is largely ignored by all FBS schools. I mean, many in-state programs (including UND) have even been recently criticized for not focusing more on in-state talent.

I think we just support coaches and players and wait for the season to start. GO FIGHTING HAWKS!