UND-FB-FAN

Penalties!!! Damnit

Agree. Run Santiago and Oliveira both. UND ran one bootleg pass in the 1st half, so I know it's in the playbook -- I'm just asking that they work that into the 1st down call list.

Hopefully that score settles the offense in for the 2nd half.

Yup these guys just don't care about the 1st half of football

Yeah, that's the retaliation rule of officiating. 2nd man is usually the one that gets caught.

Damn. Penalties and turnovers... That's basic football, man.

Beautiful run by Oliveira. Keep #5 rolling

Defense is, once again, the first unit to produce momentum for UND. Great job Labat

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.