UND-FB-FAN

Complete exaggeration. No one on NDSU would run straight FB lead all night. Rudolph on the other hand might have tried. Don't oversimplify NDSU's offense; they do a lot with pre-snap shifts and spreading the ball around. UND doesn't spread the ball around nearly as much which directly comes back to offensive game planning.

Spot on. All hail mediocrity!

Average Football U. I'd like leadership and us, the supporters, to eventually entertain changing that.

Wishful thinking, probably the latter.

Either way, UND's defense remains bad. Until the defense improves, UND will struggle mightily against quality opponents. The Big Sky Conference remains mediocre at best, though, so the conference slate will probably make UND look somewhat competent again.

If you're coming to this forum looking for validated reporting, then your source preferences should be questioned more than anything else. You should expect such "air it out" claims regularly here; furthermore, actually spending your time policing such claims is certainly excessive. I prefer getting my information "straight from the horse's mouth", but I have no problem "beating around the bushes" on this website as that seems most appropriate given the nature of fan forums. Good day.

Whether they were vague or not, I would expect someone to have a problem with it. I would hate to give you the benefit of the doubt and God forbid provide an actual name. Some just don't like to think there's something wrong or off. Well, in collegeiate athletics and many other disciplines, you can often explain poor performances by just that. But, it's always hunky dory at UND, right @jdub27?

I'm not going to point out individuals. However, those who are lazy and/or have personal interests directed towards the ice within the department sure appreciate the luxury of not needing to actively monitor performance reports. No consequences anticipated when one signs one of these "special" contract extensions.

I COMPLETLEY AGREE. The current coaching complacency in both football and men's basketball is a major problem, not a luxuary like some in the athletic department perceive it to be.

Yuck. This is a conference opponent next season folks. Again, yuck. Coaches and players should be embarrassed.

To cap this whole thing off with my final thoughts: Injuries suck. They obviously suck for the student-athletes and their family but they also suck for the team and the fans. They *do* affect the team's ability. Back-ups are back-ups and there is a drop off. I fully acknowledge that. With that said, UND and Bubba can't dwell on that. Fans can't dwell on that. You can't make that an excuse and fold it up - UND needs way better depth to combat it. No reason a "good" program should allow injuries to flip the script from top 10 FCS team to conference bottom feeder within a matter of weeks. That happened to UND in 2017, though. "Good" programs can certainly handle injuries better than "poor" programs. It is on Bubba to correct the depth issues. If he can't following 2018, then yes, I do think he and his staff should be relieved of duties. It is unfortunate that Bubba hasn't had the luxury of phase II of the HPC yet, as that would certainly help recruiting and depth building. Hopefully this 2017-2018 recruiting class improves the situation and the injury bug isn't as bad in 2018 as it was in 2017.

So transfers don't count in your assessment? And Studsrud being a senior QB doesn't count because he's not apart of a "true" recruiting class? These miracle classes of "his" that are redshirt sophomores and redshirt freshmen were no where to be found when the depth issue arose in 2017. But the depth woes apparently have nothing to do with Bubba and his staff's recruiting? Man, that's just foolish. I don't think you can comprehend that Bubba doesn't walk on water and he has failed some thus far. Lastly, people *actually* get disappointed when a team only wins 27 percent of their games. Bubba chose this program and the players that were already on the roster, they didn't choose him. He needs to make the moves to win and people on here need to stop making excuses regarding "his" players. The depth is flawed due to very questionable recruiting and the schematics/strategy is mediocre at best from Bubba and his staff.

Not NDSU's fault they have built proper depth. Bubba has been at UND for 4 + seasons .... Yet, true freshmen are still making the two-deep? Sounds like a lot of throwing darts in the dark and hoping for some luck. That is, if Bubba doesn't have so many recruits quit, leave, or just plain not play well then UND doesn't have to play true freshmen.

Defense was horseshit. Many of those 3's taken and made by NDSU were uncontested. Additionally, many offensive rebounds by NDSU. I'll say the ol' boring line that is, though, the solution: UND needs to play way cleaner defense. Way cleaner. UND's defense was bad. I'll give NDSU credit for hitting big shots, but UND was equally poor on the defensive end.

Not just a time element, otherwise the oldest programs and/or longest tenured coaches would all be champions ...

Only to a point; there's always a threshold. NDSU physically handled Wofford today - wouldn't have mattered if NDSU had Paul Rudolph or Chris Mussman calling the plays.

You honestly cannot think talent has "nothing" to do with it. I was just catching you on your exaggeration. NDSU's OC Messingham has done a nice job, but he was not breaking records or earning raises when coordinating offense at Montana State, Indiana, or Iowa State. Talent differential is always a huge factor; NDSU has superior talent right now. Never dismiss the actual players on the field.

I agree, SDSU has done a very nice job upgrading these things of late.

The locker room is only part of the picture. Also consider coaches' offices and meeting rooms. UND football doesn't have a modern lobby where they can display trophies, awards, memrobilia, photos, etc. to impress recruits and visitors as they enter. This is all apart of college football today. Phase II of the HPC is UND football's chance at this, and it's desperately needed.

Pretty average, huh? I'm curious what your relative thoughts would be on UND's Memorial Stadium and Alerus Center locker rooms then ... No bias, right? When recruiting kids that are receiving competitive regional offers from NDSU and other regional schools (Montana, Montana State, South Dakota State, etc.), this all is factored in.

No. Im not going to hope for the FCS to become less competitive. To wish for NDSU to regress actually implies you want FCS football to become less relevant. NDSU, whether we like it or not, has elevated FCS football to a caliber and reputation it's never been at before. UND football needs to match that caliber or forever be considered a mid- to low-tier program.

Candidate for most ignorant post of the year. " ... nothing to do wth talent." Wow.

Big game tonight. Would do great things for UND's confidence. Pack the Betty. Environment should bring the best out of each team - may the best win! I have a gut feeling UND is simply the more talented team. NDSU hasn't shown much this season, but neither has UND (other than a pretty impressive Hawaii Tournament showing to start the season) Should be fun. Go UND!

New QB coach and offensive coordinator would't hurt. Bubba's teams have never lit up the scoreboard offensively (4 year sample size), so changing something up there would be reasonable. His defenses have been solid in the past so I guess wait and see, but in 2017 it was horrible. All in all, UND needs better players. Either new coaches/recruiting tactics or new University attractions for recruits - ya'll pick which one. The major new attraction to consider would be HPC phase II. If you want to stick with Bubba and have his staff succeed at UND, we will need to see the High Performance Center completed so that UND has locker rooms, coaching offices, meeting rooms, etc. that are up to contemporary standards. NDSU's Fargodome facilities blow Memorial Stadium's out of the water (cold hard truth, sorry). Watch if you dare:

OC's look really good when they have better players.