UND-FB-FAN

Nice long TD pass. That was missing from the offense with Studsrud, in all honesty. We'll see how the rest of the game goes, but we may be on to something....

no game link from what I can see....pure bull$%!#

bull$%!# no game link

Well that's embarrassing for NDSU. Is this the beginning of the end of the dynasty?

UND 31 Weber State 10 I expect Bartels and running game to do well with a more "traditionally" called game. I also like the defense to do well with this less-pass happy matchup. Weber State might be a little over-confident also. Major homer pick but I hope I'm right anyways.

complete bull$%!#

What kind is performance does Bartels need to have to develop serious QB controversy? Of course, I hope Bartels lights it up tomorrow and UND gets the win.

That would be the nail in the coffin. Hard to win the conference with a 2-2 conference record, although it would still be possible.

If the running game gets going with Santiago and Olivera, I think Bartels could do some decent things on play-action from the pocket. Will be important for the receivers to make plays for Bartels though. Clive Georges might be back so that would be a nice weapon for Bartels to look to. WRs Seibel, Stanley, Cerriteno, Walker, and Alex Reed, along with TE Adler need to get involved in the passing game and make plays for Bartels. We might even see Smith and Santiago get involved in the passing game...... Hoping to get a nice pleasant surprise from all three phases of the team on Saturday night and watch UND get a much needed road conference win.

Nice young nucleus of skill position players. UND needs to get the ball into the hands of Santiago, Olivera, and Smith. Also, I do agree that they need to do things to get all of these guys on the field, perhaps all at once, and have them do different things (Santiago in screen game, out wide with bubble screens and go routes; Smith in the backfield more and running more routes downfield, and of course, Olivera needs more touches in 21 and 22 personnel - the kid is a workhorse and a physical back). Over the next few years, the combination of these three getting better will be fun to watch!

This is a big game in terms of the season goals and trying to win the conference and get into the playoffs. Since its a road game, it will be tough, but if the UND defense gets back Reyes, I think UND can pull this one out. Furthermore, if Studsrud and Georges play, that would be even better.

Nothing good to say here. UND athletics under the direction of Brian Faison has a long ways to go.

Losing the turnover margin -3 is not good and was a factor in UND losing. If UND doesn't give the ball away 3 times in the first half, UND is likely up 21-7 or even 21-0 at half; that wins the game for UND.

You sure throw around that word "lucky" a lot, to the point where it means nothing. With Reyes (and eventually Greely), UND's defense will be very close to resembling the defense that played well and won UND its first two conference games. Also, Stusdrud is much more athletic than an average "high school QB" - that puts a lot of pressure on a defense and it is what works for UND right now. When UND wins more than two games, remember that your assessments were far too drastic and impulsive.

Let's remember, UND is 2-1 in the conference and 7-1 would likely mean a conference championship. Point is, UND is not eliminated from anything, and they are CAPABLE of beating everyone left on the schedule. One day at a time and one game at a time. Time to focus on Weber State and getting back in the win column. Getting Reyes back would do wonders. Also, Stusdrud is critical to the offense. We don't have enough talent at wide receiver for a "gunslinger" like Bartels or Mollberg to be effective. UND needs Studsrud's athleticism. I'm looking for Studsrud and Reyes to return and for UND to get a necessary victory on the road.

And how did they do that? Couldn't move the ball on offense and couldn't get a stop on defense. Last time I checked, the players are the individuals on the field doing that. I'd like UND's chances much better with Studsrud and Reyes, and to argue against that is pure ignorance. Could UND have won yesterday considering their injury situation? Of course, but it became a steeper uphill battle with the injuries. Need to execute better and having better players on the field makes that's more likely. It's quite comical how some think they could take a bunch of walk-ons off the street and go 11-0 with their football prowess.

Just rewatched the 4th down pass to Santiago for the first time, and man, that was definitely interference. UND screwed up in many areas yesterday (turnovers, coverage, etc.) so that last play wasn't the whole story, but still, the refs botched that one.

Need way more talent at WR before UND could afford to make that switch.

Yes, many aspects of yesterday's loss were painful.

UND has offensive talent (Santiago, Studsrud, Olivera, Smith, etc.) and can rush the ball (averaging well over 200+ yards rushing in 3 conference games). Relying strictly on statistics is misleading; I'll also include qualitative analysis in my opinion formation. Apparently, some enjoy skepticism more than rational analysis.

Untimely injuries can be variable in terms of their ultimate impact. For example, do you think an injury to a starting safety (e.g., Reyes) would affect the passing defense more or less than an injury to a backup cornerback? Of course the starter, particularly one of the best starters on the entire team, would be more valuable than a backup player. Bottom line, you can't just say "every team can point to key injuries," because several teams have injuries more impactful than others. Generalized statements in regards to injuries are often just that: too generalized.

Absolutely. Without Reyes, Rich, and Greely, the talent deficiency on the defense is significant. The defense just couldn't execute yesterday, which is on the players out there as much as it is on the coaches. William James is not a DI safety and that showed yesterday. Hopefully Reyes and Studsrud are back in the lineup against Weber State, because those two make a big difference.

Very frustrating loss yesterday. You hate to blame a loss on injuries, but when you have little depth and you lose your starting QB (who is better than Bartles, plain and simple), it's too much to overcome. UND will get better with depth over the next couple of seasons considering how impressive the recruiting has been with Bubba. So, in the short-term, it's crucial that impact players like Reyes, Greely, and Studsrud get healthy and get back in the lineup.

You can't judge a play-call on its result. Rudolph likely expected Idaho State to playing the chains, just as you apparently were thinking. If Santiago was able to run wide open and catch that for the win, I'm pretty sure no one would be critical of the call.

With the whooping Portland State is putting on North Texas, one can only imagine how high UND would have ascended in the polls if they had won today.......