UND-FB-FAN

Bubba and his staff have been building UND in the MVFC mold since the first day Bubba arrived as head coach. UND went from a bottom-of-the-league run defense in 2013 to the top run defense in the BSC in 2014. The same has held true in 2015 and 2016. Eric Schmidt has molded UND's defense to stop the run which will fit the MVFC perfectly. UND's deepest unit is their defensive line. They are 2 to 3 deep at each position on the D-line. Also, point out for me a MVFC team that has a deeper offensive backfield than Santiago, Oliveira, Johannesson, and Gordon - I don't think there is one other than maybe NDSU. The one unit that UND needs to work on is their offensive line. They have been active there, and by 2020, I expect it to be a deep, capable unit.

NDSU won't be at their dominant level of 2013 if UND rises to the top 5; it's very unlikely at least. As I mentioned before, though, both teams can simultaneously be title contenders.

I can sort of see that, but not in terms of top tier talent. I can ensure you the top NDSU defensive players from the recent years (Kyle Emanuel, Marcus Williams, Colten Heagle) would've been welcomed by Eric Schmidt with open arms. Those guys would've fit right in because, bottom line, they are good players with NFL talent. So, my aforementioned point was there is only so many of those type of players regionally for UND and NDSU to recruit and compete for. It's a balancing act between UND and NDSU. Not a complete coincidence that NDSUs dynasty came during the dark years of UND football.

There is a certain capacity or overall limit for two DI North Dakota college football teams, though. That is, the dynamic is a bit of a balancing act. It would be very difficult for NDSU and UND to both be FCS no. 1 and no. 2 based on regional talent numbers (only so many good players in ND, Minnesota, Wisconsin). For UND to rise up the ranks, NDSU has to come down some. I'm not saying NDSU has to drop out of NC contention, but they won't be nearly as dominant as in years past if UND is doing the right thing. I think that is now the case due to UND's progress and Bubba's recruiting putting up far more resistance than in years past (pre-2014). 2016, and now 2017 NDSU, is far closer to 2016 or 2017 UND than 2013 NDSU was to 2013 UND - kind of confusing but just a comparison of both schools' recent trajectory.

Key word you used was "usually" - Iowa State tends to be one of those P5 schools that is an exception to the rule as they tend to make a bit more mistakes in the hiring/performance department. Of course, you did specify that in your comment.

True, but be careful with that Belicheck reference; someone on here will accuse you of comparing Courtney Messingham to one of the NFL's all-time greats ...

NDSU certainly will have some good players for 2017, but whether or not they can put it all together remains to be seen. I edited my previous post to be more politically correct. Enjoy.

Key difference: Bubba has not been fired/relieved of his duties. NDSU's new OC got the boot from Iowa State due to lack of effective performance. Considering that, situations are a bit different. We can agree to disagree on the quality of Iowa State football and how coaching/playing there immediately makes one more valued. Chris Mussman played at Iowa State and look how that turned out for UND during his HC tenure. Again, let's wait and see. If nothing else, this change at OC adds intrigue and something else to follow.

It is not a grand slam hire nor is 2017 offensive success for NDSU guaranteed. This is definitely a wait-and-see type of situation. It has the potential to be great for NDSU or be an issue.

Iowa State has had a terrible football program of late, as NDSU itself demonstrated in 2015. I wouldn't put much stock into Iowa State hiring your new OC as Iowa State football is quite good at making mistakes. Also, UND's defense largely shut down his Montana State offense last fall in Bozeman (15 points scored; 3 FGs, 1 TD).

I agree

Not so fast! That 2-quarterback system that Montana State was trying to run was a disaster! If that was Courtney Messingham's doing, then he may be more questionable as an OC than you think; reminded me of Mussman and the 2013 UND season ....

Although glass on one end and seating in the other end zone would be spectacular upgrades, it is quite the pipe dream. From a realistic perspective, I would say: 1) NEW sound system 2) New turf with fighting hawks logo at midfield and end zones -- this could become reality in a few years as the Big Sky logos will also need to be replaced by MVFC logos

Win on the damn road. Great win today for UND.

It's all related. You need good to great classes to form a great team. If you have a great team, then you certainly have - at the very least - compiled good recruiting classes. Coaching, scheme, and development do come into play in order to close the gap.

Just for the heck of it, you can see UND's classes improved significantly once Bubba and his staff arrived at UND: 2012 recruiting class players that contributed in 2016: QB Ryan Bartels, TE Joe Mollberg, TE Luke Matthewson, DL Alec Carrothers, LB Brian Labat, LB Taj Rich, LB Jake Hanson 2013 recruiting class players that contributed in 2016: OL Dan Bell, OL AJ Stockwell, OL Matt Cox, FB Kyle Norberg, LB Connor O'Brien, LB Jake Disterhaupt, S Cole Reyes 2014 recruiting class players that contributed in 2016: QB Studsrud, TE Luke Fiedler, TE/OL Jacob Francis, OL Adam Stiner, OL Demon Taylor, DL Brandon Dranka, DL Drew Greeley, DL Tank Harris, LB Dylan Bakker, S Charles Flowers, CB Deion Harris, LS Jacob Holmen, K Reid Taubenheim, OL Grant Aplin, FB Tyler Coyne, WR Luke Stanley 2014 > 2013 > 2012 I won't include the 2015 class, but obviously there are a bunch of very good contributing players from that class, as well. There was a lot of attrition from the 2012 and 2013 classes, partially due to a coaching change but also due to poor recruiting. Bubba's 2014 and 2015 classes (and even the 2016 class) won the Big Sky Conference in 2016, so I would rank the 2014 and 2015 classes as top 15 in the FCS for those respective years. 2016 class remains to be seen (based on how 2017, 2018, 2019, and even 2020 go) and obviously the same for the recent 2017 class. If Bubba and the staff maintain their trajectory, UND should be signing a top 15 FCS class every season. I recently saw Hero sports (http://herosports.com/news/fcs-recruiting-top-50-recruiting-classes-2017) ranked UND as having the 26th ranked class in 2017. Obviously I'm biased, but I feel UND should have a way higher ranking than that. Only time will tell, I guess. Obviously, performance is based on not only the players (which is largest factor, though) but also the coaching and schemes. Bubba has UND on pace to be an annual top 10 FCS program, hands down, and I believe the recruiting classes should reflect that.

Theoretically, you are right. With that said, the top teams should be at least labeled as having the "top recruiting classes" from four years prior.

Your definition of "nice" is apparently a bit different than mine. Don't get me wrong, it has some features that are appealing and would suit the Alerus Center well.

Ouch. Tough reminder but yes, many parallels.

Of course, you just had to say that and put everything in perspective. It was fun while it lasted.

Why is Northern Colorado ineligible for the Big Sky tournament? Is it because their coach is a "hot head"? I guess I missed this tidbit.

This is the thing they call the "DakotaDome". I will be there September 16th - it may not be a special venue to some but I hope for a special UND performance against the pups of SD. That in itself will make the trip well worth it.

I don't argue when it comes to NDSU's success against FBS teams - they've been superb. UND has struggled and let far too many winnable games against FBS teams slip away, including last year against a horrible Bowling Green team. Thankfully UND has one FBS win against Wyoming, which was great considering Bohl coaches there.

"Just win, baby." That is/should be the goal for all UND athletic programs. If that happens in the Big Sky Conference, highlights of that include Montana and Eastern Washington wins (unless it's the 2016 UND football team). If that happens in the MVFC, highlights include NDSU and SDSU wins. I am quite certain the masses of UND supporters would rather the latter occurs annually ("Where is Eastern Washington?"). Point being, a win against NDSU will always excite the Grand Forks/UND community more than any Eastern Washington or Montana win would, even if the polls suggest otherwise. That should be the goal: energize the fan base.

Well, I am afraid as soon as UND beats NDSU head-to-head or goes further in the playoffs than NDSU, the ND kids will quickly change their mind. Its not uncommon for 17 and 18 year old recruits to focus on the "what have you done for me lately" ideology. Yes, NDSU is still ahead of UND for good reason (5 consecutive national titles, for one), but that gap is not nearly as significant as you would like it to be.