UND-FB-FAN

Point is, the student section needs to be decreased until the students show a desire to be there in large numbers. In the meantime, rather than having people sit at the goal line on the east side and/or stand above the endzones, they should be populating the west side mid-field seats. This absolutely needs to be done; otherwise, both the noise and general aesthetics are very poor. No reason the 50 yard line seats on the west side should be empty; limit the student section in total seats and/or position (30 yard line rather than 50 yard line). On the other hand, UND and the Alerus Center do have to do more with the team introduction (lights off, better video and hype building audio) and in-game entertainment in order to make all fans, including students, flock to the games (and stay there throughout). Reference the REA and/or the Fargodome.

NDSU pressured him and he took the bait. Good for NDSU if you're into the whole "win by any means necessary" thing. Accepting a PWO this early makes no sense otherwise.

Its okay to dislike NDSU atheltics - I certainly do not care for them one bit. It seems they are starting to come up with some new (although they've been around forever) recruiting tactics to keep themselves on top and it is pissing off other coaches and fans. Is it fun rooting against NDSU? Well, of course not nearly as entertaining and meaningful as supporting UND, my alma mater; however, watching NDSU lose is always an added bonus. It brings the arrogant pricks and bandwagon fans of that university back down to Earth a bit, and I look forward to NDSU losing some during the 2016 football season.

Any word on getting some kelly green on those gray helmets? If I recall correctly, the gray helmets from the 80s had a green logo and green stripe. Those things definitely need to be added to the matte gray helmets now so they match the jerseys better.

Sure, but still a loss for UND. Had hoped he would end up at UND, being they offered first. Oh well, NDSU will be a damn thorn in the side for awhile (if not forever).

Now will there be a way to watch the Stony Brook game? Hope so.

Certainly, but the preseason predictive value is yet essentially null. Thankfully, there's a reason they still play the games. Go UND!

Well if you gave me until midseason to predict the final conference standings, I think I would do alright too. What an absolute BS system. No use looking at it.

The first game (or two) of the season has been a night game (5 pm or 6 pm) for some time now, even going back to last year's Potato Bowl vs Drake at 5 pm or the two non-conference games in 2014 which both kicked off at 6 pm. UND's best 2016 opportunity for a night game would be the Potato Bowl vs South Dakota on September 17; well before hockey and plenty of daylight/heat left over for tailgating would make a 6 pm start doable.

Yeah, and for a young player, I'd say he's impressed and will likely be in the top four or five corner group (even after the addition of John Walker). UND's secondary is being addressed and being addressed in a big way! Time to start realizing the vision that Bubba has for the UND football program! Go UND!

Yes, which is great. Sticky corners are a best friend to the Bubba blitz. Go UND!

True. Having a healthy #8 all season in 2016 along with Arnell, Palmborg, and hopefully capable true freshmen at safety will be much needed to combat the pass happy Big Sky Conference. Cole Reyes is an absolute must for this defense; true All American candidate.

Good news. Go UND!

Agree with this. Having grey helmets as a "throw back" appears to be the direction of UND's uniform trend. After that, though, does it stop or continue to a black and/or white helmet/uniform? Only time will tell. I'm honestly fine with just green and grey.

Gotcha. Perhaps denote you're an expert asking the average fan next time? Classic colors are the best, which is why a white helmet or black helmet/uniform combination for UND should be considered over grey (Kelly green will always be the best, obviously). Grey is nice as solely a helmet, but it doesn't match the school colors and it isn't a very nice uniform color (jerseys and pants) relative to Kelly green or even black.

Exactly, and this is the source of the hype and playoff expectations. By building depth/committed player numbers and working off of the resources and facilities here at the University of North Dakota, Bubba hopefully has constructed an annual playoff football program at UND. It appears that way at this early juncture. Go UND!

Are UND's expectations in line with starting 0-2? I'd definitely say no. 1-1 is understandable, but 0-2 would mean a loss to a middle of the road FCS team; not acceptable. I do agree, though, that UND would still be able win the conference with a 0-2 start so the game vs South Dakota would then be quite big to get things rolling. Nevertheless, Bottomline is UND needs to win road games against average teams (Stony Brook, Montana State, Northern Colorado, Sacramento State, Idaho State) if they are going to win the conference and ultimately make the FCS playoff field. That's why I really hope the first game for UND ends up a nice road win vs Stony Brook. get it done boys Go UND!

As for those members of the Champions Club, I am one - along with likely many on this board - and I certainly would like to see a presence at all home games. If it's cold, that's even more of a reason to host an event so that people show up, not shut it down and deter tailgating and the crowd even further. If it's moved inside, great, just make sure people realize that, even the casual fans. There needs to be a better presence at the most popular sport in the country of North Dakota's flagship university. Just a pure lack of effort and commitment towards football that needs to change. Same goes for in the Alerus during pre-game and the in-game entertainment features; needs to improve. I'm optimistic the winning product put on the field by Bubba will motivate the athletics' staff to do more. Better team intro (lights off), better TD celebration setup, more music, more features (highlights, team/player stories), etc.

UND starting to earn some recognition: http://www.fcs.football/cfb/story.asp?i=20160602102752085795904 Again, what NDSU has been doing hurts UND's exposure and even game attendance; nevertheless, Bubba certainly has everything moving in the right direction. Go UND!

The matchup to watch, according to this poll, Craig Haley, and others, is the last Big Sky Conference game of the season for UND: vs Northern Arizona in the Alerus Center on November 12. Man I hope the Alerus is rocking and Bubba Blitz is crushing the pass-happy lumberjacks and Case Cookus. I was disappointed at how poorly coordinated and attended the last home game of the season was in 2015. It was against Northern Colorado and the team was yet alive for a playoff spot; yet, there was no Champions Club tent setup and the attendance was piss poor. Nevertheless, that's a topic for another thread (i.e. give a half-ass effort and improve the gameday atmosphere).

Although UND lost some good ones, Knauf and Rudolph are talking like some of these first-year starters have what it takes to be very good, perhaps even better than 2015's group down the road. Demon Taylor, Matt Cox, Dan Bell, and even Grant Aplin and Patric Rooney all have solid potential. Throw in returner AJ Stockwell and hopefully Elijah Grady and I think UND's offensive line has a real good chance in 2016.

I was moreso referencing the difficult Mussman years that initially sparked the "low summer workout attendance" debates. Before that, from what I understand, Lennon did a tremendous job with the summer turnout.

It has improved since those days, no question.

UND's week 1 opponent, Stony Brook University, recently added an FBS transfer offensive lineman from the University of Maryland: http://www.csnmidatlantic.com/maryland-terps/former-maryland-ol-transfers-fcs-school-can-play-immediately That week 1 battle will be a physical one. Great test to see just how physical the Hawks are going to be in 2016. It all starts up front with UND's tremendous d-line depth. Go UND!

2016 captains: http://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/und-football/4043654-college-football-und-names-captains QB Keaton Studsrud TE Luke Mathewson LB Connor O'Brien S Cole Reyes Good bunch. Go UND!