UND-FB-FAN

I honestly do not think even UND's coaches know the answer to that. Heidlebaugh will have to (hopefully) convince the coaches during spring ball and fall camp that he's improved enough to be the backup. Let's all hope he has improved, because Bartels just didn't get the job done last year.

Randolph will not be playing CB. Looks like safety or, just maybe, quarterback. Either way, he doesn't directly fill in for losing Chinn, who was a very good CB prospect by the way.

Good news. Still work to do. Would like to see a scholarship QB commit like Blount. Also, would like to see TE Cloyd commit to UND (again), and another CB would be nice due to the decommitment of Chinn.

Will be largely beneficial in terms of rightful home field. Also, there was talk in terms of a change in time-frame of the playoffs. That is, they want to avoid playing games over Thanksgiving weekends in order to avoid the associated poor crowds.

Bubba improving his team from 3-8 to 5-7 to 7-4 in only two years of work is tremendously different from Brian Jones and his 10 year UND record of 137-162 (57-66). My point is simple: Brian Jones should not still have the opportunity to coach UND men's basketball. He has a proven track record of mediocre to poor results. UND football under Bubba, on the other hand, is steadily improving. EDIT: If UND men's basketball continues with this success and finishes with a real nice winning record, then Jones may deserve more time to prove he can turn around UND basketball. However, he's had 9+ seasons to do that already so what suggests he will suddenly do that now? I do not see it happening in terms of a Jones-led UND MBB team ever making the NCAA tournament.

If UND can't consistently beat Montana and Weber State (typical top teams of the BSC), who cares if they blow out SUU and NAU? Sounds like some people are just searching for any glimmer of hope they can find.

So, when Jones gets fired, do you leave too?

IMO, UND needs to put the full court press on this kid and offer a scholarship. It's foolish to not go for a scholarship QB in this class; not to mention, this Blount kid is good and mobile like Studsrud.

Absolutely. If the game was played on the road, I'd be much more 50/50 about it, but at home in the Alerus, UND needs to get the win. After the FCS selection debacle of 2015, UND needs to reach the platform of 8 wins, at a minimum; that should include a win versus South Dakota. Like I said earlier, should be a fun game and, hopefully, the Alerus Center is packed.

USD is UND's home-opener. UND needs to win that game as they can't afford to lose home games, like last year's Idaho State. That's how UND will make the playoffs; win out at home. Also, beating USD head-to-head allows for some regional recruiting leverage. It will be a fun and important game for UND football; I'm excited for it and the players/coaches should be too.

The kid would be a perfect NG project. As the Illinois offer suggests, he definitely is DI caliber. I think he would become a fan favorite with his size in the middle of the dline. I hope he chooses UND!

UND was the newcomer to DI college basketball and the Big Sky Conference in 2012-2013 and 2013-2014; if UND makes it to the NCAA tournament by besting everyone else in the BSC tournament - like Montana and Weber State have been doing in recent years - then UND will be considered the class of the conference. Similar to UND football's past overlooks; until you win, no one notices. Fortunately, UND football's 2015 7-4 season with many young players finally gave them some notoriety; same thing needs to happen with UND men's basketball. Unfortunately, I do not see that happening this year for UND men's basketball. UND needs to improve to the point that they can beat Montana and Weber State at home before they can beat them on a neutral site in Reno.

Good win. Need to keep it up.

UND also played that game without their starting QB. Also, UND's best defensive back was slowed down with injury, so, what's your point? You're commenting just to pound your figurative NDSU chest; good for you.

Of course you don't see how that's possible; you're horribly biased towards NDSU and the MVFC. SDSU is not "much better" right now. 2015 UND record: 7-4 2015 SDSU record: 8-4 Not to mention SDSU lost to Big Sky Conference opponent Montana in the playoffs. There's not that much discrepancy at all.

If he thinks that, good for him. Also in that scenario, I respectfully disagree with his assessment of the programs, and I hope UND stomps all over SDSU in the not-so-distant future. SDSU lost last season to a Big Sky Conference team in the postseason; I certainly hope UND is not that far behind or else ...

Distance must be the major difference here. I can't think why UND would lose out to SDSU otherwise. If for some reason UND is not offering FCOA in 2016 for football, I will be very disappointed.

I would have no problem if UND moved over to play in the Summit and MVFC. For now, though, the focus is on the Big Sky Conference. Everything else is 'blah' ...

Stop sugarcoating everything - losing Grady, Chinn, and Cloyd within a couple weeks is not good. It hurts because the offensive line, corner, and TE positions need depth, bad. A pig with lipstick on is still a pig.

Well perhaps he should try... UND loses another recruit post-verbal commitment...

Whatever gets the job done. If the team wins a national championship using tactics like these, the fans won't care one bit. Same for UND; if they win, people wouldn't mind one bit.

They are - grey helmets, grey pants and grey jerseys. Or at least been talked about for a while.

Working off what I said earlier in regards to keeping the recruiting class together, it appears Wisconsin has now offered a preferred walk-on opportunity to current UND defensive back commit Jordan Canady. Would be another loss to pile on top of the recent losses of CB Jeremy Chinn and OT Elijah Grady. Need to try hold this class together. Here's Canady's highlights; looks to have a lot of potential: http://www.hudl.com/athlete/1683628/highlights/284514375/v2

UND had a real nice class put together before the first decommitment in Chinn. The class still has a ton of potential, but they need to hold it together. A couple more decommitments could really derail its potential. Remember, depth is the major point of emphasis right now, so losing scholarship quality players will only hurt depth development. Nevertheless, UND football is young and on the rise; I expect to see improvement from 2015 to 2016 just due to simple experience and growth from all the young 2015 contributors. Some "young" players who gained valuable experience that come to mind: QB Studsrud RB Santiago RB Olivera RB/WR Smith TE Fiedler OT Stockwell OG Miller WR Seibel WR Stanley DE Greeley DE Dranka DE Baker DE Cieslak NG Harris NG Greer CB Irvin-Sills CB Harris CB Carter S Palmborg A lot of good, young players who gained experience last season. Adding to this young nucleus will be key to sustained success, and as the class sits now, this talented young core should continue to grow.

Obviously UND's men's basketball budget (as well as UND football's budget, although it's improving) is not where it needs to be; however, eventually, it falls on the program to start winning and to start generating more revenue. Brian Jones' teams have had several opportunities to put together big wins and increase support, but they do not capitilize. That's why a coaching change needs to be made; if the Betty was constantly hosting crowds of 2000+, that would help the program grow. Not to mention, a video board upgrade is coming for next season, which should improve the in-game presentation to a degree.