UND-FB-FAN

Now Stockwell is injured. Hope for the best.

Oliveira needs to learn how to hold onto the damn ball. That holds him back from getting a ton of carries if UND has options. He fumbled in the redzone last week.

I agree. Let him rest it up some and give Gordon 10-15 carries in 2nd half.

Damn. Injuries keep piling up for offensive line. Good thing is Patric Rooney should be available next week vs SUU.

27-0 UND. Well, so far, I absolutely commend Bubba and this UND football team for going out there and getting to work. Still a half of football left, and UND absolutely should be doing this to Sacramento State in terms of talent differential, but it's great to see the team come out and get the job done. Leave No Doubt

Dumb dumb dumb play. He did the same damn thing last year versus Idaho state. UND can't do this stupid crap if they want to be a playoff team.

No talk. Sacramento State football is a dead thing of late, largely due to the program's ineptitude. Just another reason the hawks CANNOT lose this game - it would crush their playoff hopes like last year's Idaho State loss.

I agree completely. If UND wants to be a playoff team THIS SEASON (no more excuses and postponements), they need to go on the road and handily beat this team. I understand and respect Bubba's mentality of playing conservative offensively and just getting wins, but style points do count for something when you have committees selecting playoff teams and not a numeric system.

31-13 good guys

He's already cleared and playing. He returned last Saturday against Cal Poly, and yes, he resumed punt return duties.

Very true. Strength and conditioning coaching is very competitive nowadays in college athletics, particularly football, but there's nothing to suggest Baukol and UND's S&C crew aren't capable.

He will likely play receiver. His quickness would be much better utilized there. Plus his size would limit his carries if at running back. He certainly could take some carries though. Have him return kicks and punts too. UND needs to use him like we expect them to use Santiago. This is especially true with Brady Oliveira showing he can be that prototypical physical back that this UND offense needs back there, especially based on their offensive philosophy.

UND needs to sample the interest. Order only the amount they expect to sell (100 or so) and observe the actual demand.

I think that would be a fine look.

Nice deal, but I just wish UND marketing, or whoever is behind merchandise development, would make replica Adidas jerseys available. Green, possibly even gray and/or white, Adidas replicas - equivalent to what the team wears now - would be a nice selling item. Frustrating that UND can't get that done. I'm sure there's certain details limiting this. NDSU has a huge line of their replica Nike football jerseys available, in all colors too I might add. If UND could make that available, it would help a bit. I know quite a few people interested in having a jersey "like UND actually wears".

http://eversport.tv/big-sky/football

There's no denying UND had some trip ups against poor competition during the first two seasons under Bubba. That history is largely the source of the concern. UND is a better team than Sacramento State, so, with simply that, UND should win Saturday night. Nevertheless, there's a reason they play the games (intangibles, intangibles, intangibles). I am very interested in how discliplined UND looks on Saturday. Playoff teams and, more importantly, championship teams do the little things right and maintain focus.

Not so much a knock on Bubba but just the reality of coaching football. UND is actually 3-2 and on a 3 game winning steak with a national ranking (#24 in country). Point is, complacency could set in; Bubba needs to actively coach against it or else ...

UND cannot afford a QB injury at any point in time this season, but I understand what you are saying.

UND is the better team, but I will point out that Bubba's first two seasons both included mid-season collapses against very poor competition. In Bubba's first season as head coach (2014), UND went down to play a very poor Southern Utah team (1 - 7 at the time; finished the season 3 - 9). UND was 3 - 4 (1 - 2 BSC) at the time and it was a big game because a win would've put UND at 0.500 in conference play and allowed UND to build some momentum. Unfortunately, UND played horrible and lost 35-17. Last season (2015), UND was 4-1 and ranked #23 in the country going into its homecoming game against a very poor Idaho State squad (1 - 4 at the time). Unfortunately, UND played very poor, gave up the lead late (choke job?) and lost in front of the home crowd (damaging to home crowd attendance). It was the only conference win for Idaho State in 2015 (2 - 9, 1 - 7 BSC) and the loss almost certainly left UND out of the playoffs. If UND loses to this 1-4 Sacramento State football team, I will be very, very upset. UND is ranked and needs to play like it and get this win. If UND drops this one, there is a legitimate mid-season execution issue under Bubba that needs to be called out and UND DOES NOT deserve to be in the post-season. With all that said, I expect UND to win. UND doesn't need to do anything fancy. UND just needs to play disciplined (no turnovers or penalties on offense, no big plays on defense); if they do that then UND will return home undefeated in Big Sky Conference play.

I completely agree with your 3rd thought. Oliveira is playing great and Santiago has the ability to provide speed on the outside as a receiver or slot back, something UND has missed since losing Clive Georges.

Don't need to have a scoring precedent to recognize superiority. UND *should* win this one by at least 14 points. We'll see if UND can limit their penalties and avoid stupid turnovers. If they don't shoot themselves in the foot, UND should win by a nice margin.

That's based on solely interceptions; there's much more that goes into it. Pass yards given up and pass scores given up are just as tellling. Bubba does not want "every team to get their passes off". That's why the team goes to zero coverage and blitzes as much as they do. Way too many big plays through the air. Bubba agrees. UND gave up 3 TD scores against Cal Poly through the air; those deep passes need to be better contested. It's 1 on 1 defensive football and UND still loses too many of those battles. Against Montana State, that wild ending could've been avoided if Torrey Hunt would've made a tackle on a short 3rd down throw when UND was up 17-9 late in the 4th; however, the tackle was badly missed and the play went for over 50 yards. You cant be a great defense (top defense) if you give up big pass plays. That is what this UND defense needs to keep working on and, hopefully, they will and improve. Make teams work the ball down the field methodically and force mistakes - don't give up big easy scores. UND is much improved in their pass defense relative to 2015; however, the pass defense still requires work. Corner opposite Deion Harris is a concern; Hunt and Holm need to grow up quickly. Both are athletic, though.

Amen to Mr. Norberg! He has experience carrying the ball and that fullback dive is a nice change up ... keep calling it Rudolph to spell Oliveira or whoever is in at tailback!

I would prefer white helmets over the grey helmets. Nevertheless, hopefully they just get white helmets as an alternate sooner rather than later. All white (white helmet, white jersey, white pants) on the road is always a nice, clean look. Not to mention, white helmet, green jersey, white pants is a nice home combination as well. Oh well, getting a grey helmet, green jersey, grey pants combination should be the goal -- that would look classic and sharp!