UND-FB-FAN

They picked up a easy first down with the first play. Mercer just has to handle the ball better. Stanley was breaking open on 2nd play and check down to Toivonen was perhaps wrong read.

You hit that one on the head. Any chance we get Cloyd involved in passing game like fellow true freshmen Toivonen and Wanzek? Would be great for entire team

It's an obvious issue at this point

That's not the whole story. When the defense is selling out against the run, play action works to provide time by misconception. Not to mention, Studsrud is mobile and needs to be involved on run-pass options to assess the defensive rush and not get blind sided.

It would.

It's getting ugly in terms of strategy. I just can't believe it.

It's horrible. Run on EVERY 1st down. Anytime Keaton audibles, it's always a run! So easy, it's almost Jr. High level. Fortunately, Studsrud has been on target on 3rd and 4th down. But for a QB coach, Rudolph does his QB no favors by calling pass when d expects run. Cmon Rudolph or whoever dictates offensive gameplan -- pathetic !

Defense looks good -- should be able to hold down MSU. Offense just can't keep putting the defense in bad positions!

Interesting. Please elaborate if you have anymore information on the offensive line. Separate from what UND's offensive line line-up is, and regardless of whether the MVFC vs BSC debaters agree or not, I believe the Big Sky Conference has some iffy defenses. I expect UND's running game to get on track against these Big Sky Conference defenses, starting today against Montana State. With that said, the BSC does have explosive offensive skill players. UND's defense needs to play assignment sharp and not have mental lapses that result in big plays like what happened against Bowling Green and South Dakota.

I was in the doghouse after that one. Damn coulda shoulda won.

Go UND Fighting Hawks! Let's make it 1-0 this week against the kitties of Bozeman.

Mathematically, if UND loses to Montana State tomorrow, UND could still finish the season with only 1 conference loss and a conference championship with the autobid (i.e. 2015 SUU). Given this year's weak schedule, I have a hard time eliminating UND from the playoffs if they are still mathematically eligible. Yes, I am disappointed in many ways by how this team has played in the first 3 ball games (slow starts, penalties, blown coverages, etc.); however, I am not going to just jump ship because of that.

I understand that concern. I honestly am largely indifferent but am slightly leaning towards the opinion that UND should get name plates on the back of the jerseys.

UND should be able to run on Montana State; of course, many thought UND could run on South Dakota, too (eventually it happened, but not until late). UND also should be able to shut down Montana State's running game; however, UND is susceptible to coverage lapses and the big play. On paper, UND should win this game by 10 to 14 points. On the field, given how poor UND has started games, Montana State should win this game being they are the home team. My heart tells me UND. My mind tells me heartbreak and a huge early blow (3rd loss) to this year's playoff expectations. Prediction is really hard on this one. Ball could bounce either way -- should be a good, close game. I'm just glad Midco picked this game up! Coverage improvements for road games this season have been excellent!

Don't forget how deprived everyone perceived the 2013 defensive talent was; yet, UND yielded a top Big Sky Conference defense in 2014 with essentially the same defensive personnel. I'd say the coaching of Bubba and Schmidt were definitely behind that. In my opinion, Schmidt and Bubba have worked wonders with the defense. Is there still some work to do on the defense? Absolutely. Depth and defending the big play would be the top two, I'd imagine. But, with that said, it's not just a talent differential that accounts for why UND's defense is its identity whereas the offense seems to yet struggle some. When UND played NDSU in 2015, I'd argue UND's defense held its own against Wentz and that offense much of the time. The offense, on the other hand, was atrocious. UND's offense has problems that extend far beyond its personnel, in my opinion. In 2016, UND's offense has been okay minus the SB game, but the lack of consistency is concerning. Shouldn't take an additional 3 years (2019) to recruit some receivers and offensive linemen and fix the problem. If it takes that amount of time, UND is doing something wrong.

That's not going to happen on each play; it's just not practical. Bubba is a defensive guy whom I'd imagine allows his offensive coordinator to run the show under general philosophy guidelines (smart, tough, physical, run, run, run).

Convenient excuse. However, I will admit that the caliber of athlete at receiver does need to improve. Also, there needs to be improved depth at QB, OL, TE, and RB. Eventually, this needs to catch up; shouldn't take 7 - 10 years to get there. Getting back to play-calling and available offensive personnel, I'd say the pieces are in place for preliminary success. With that said, the offense (and really the defense and special teams, too) definitely does require some recruiting upgrades immediately for depth.

Easy to second guess the offensive staff, particularly the OC, when the offense struggles or is inconsistent. If the personnel is the issue, then I understand the conservative play-calling (majority of 1st down plays are runs). The WR situation is iffy, but the offensive line is also struggling. In my opinion, looking at Bubba's staff and their overall body of work (2+ seasons), Schmidt's unit has out-produced Rudolph's unit by leaps and bounds and it's not really a recruiting issue considering the talent available. Rudolph just seems to lack a certain creativity and timing in play-calls; a bit more QB run-pass option play-calls (bootlegs, roll outs, etc.) on 1st down would be my suggestion. I'll happily be the first to eat crow if things turn around in conference play, starting on Saturday vs Montana State. Remember, the offense came alive last season when UND started conference play vs UC Davis -- I don't think that was a coincidence.

Well, in all honesty, I'm not overly impressed with UND's offensive staff and philosophy as a whole. The defense is ran at a championship caliber, or at least is on that trajectory. Wil be interested to see how the offense progresses throughout this season. Ultimately, the offense and defense need to better compliment each other.

I'm pleasantly surprised there are UND fans with comments like the one you just quoted yet floating around; we all know such UND alliances are fading each and every week around here. NDSU continues to impress the masses and load up the bandwagon.

This pissed me off more than anything. Some real clueless students/"football fans" at my alma mater nowadays, and it is beyond frustrating. Certainly not all are ignorant, but there was a good sized group of individuals on Saturday that had their priorities mixed up.

Completely agree. Running the ball the majority of the time is fine, but the play-action and counter game is not there yet. Play-action bootlegs with a run/pass option are desperately needed given Studsrud's abilities. Get Cloyd and any other TE that can run routes and catch involved more. Also, I think Santiago and Oliveira should be in the game at the same time a lot more. We'll see what Bubba and Rudolph come up with, but there needs to be some minor changes. Defense played great on Saturday, especially when you factor in the two defensive touchdowns; however, they can't give up the big play (the long TD pass against Tyus Carter was pathetic in terms of execution and it was a back-breaker). If the offense doesn't turn it over and they sustain drives better, the defense can shine and should be able to hold down the scoring quite well. The 34 points given up in regulation on Saturday was skewed by bad UND T.O.P. and big pass plays. UND's offense has to help out the defense some.

I was surprised at how many were wearing it. Its prevalence will increase.

With the lights off and "welcome to the jungle", the intro video and team entrance was improved over last season. In general, I enjoyed it, but there are a bunch of aspects they can improve. Video should play before the live look of the team leaving the locker room. That simple "ordering" could potentially be changed before Oct. 1 vs Cal Poly I would hope. Again, though, there is work to be done in terms of general presentation at the Alerus. Im hoping it was just first game mistakes and it will improve. Increase in amount of music played was perhaps better. Just need to coordinate the intro video a bit better to raise the excitement factor.

Stony Brook defeats #2 Richmond 42-14. Will help UND come playoff selection time *if* UND takes care of business. UND needs to focus on themselves and take it day by day. Time to get W #1 today against the pups. Go Fighting Hawks!