UND-FB-FAN

University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks win! Go UND!

UND still needs to earn some respect because the Big Sky Conference is not going to give any away, apparently. The Big Sky Conference (namely Montana and Montana State) thinks they invented football and they give absolutely no value to UND's proud football tradition and capability. We are THE University of North Dakota; losing to the bottom-feeders Idaho State and Weber - along with getting blown out versus Montana - was a huge disappointment in terms of solidifying UND's status in the Big Sky Conference. However, UND has a tremendous opportunity to earn some respect this weekend. Go out there and put the results out there on the field. Beat Poly! GO UND!

People will get over it. For some it will take a year, for others 5 years. For those who "never" will accept the nickname change, time heals all wounds. Yes, it's difficult to move away from a name and logo that's been around for so long and stood for so much history and tradition; however, with continual exposure to "Fighting Hawks" and the associated logos, uniforms, merchandise, etc., people will transition. Everyone will adjust at their own pace. Bottomline, this is just a nickname. If you honestly support the Univeristy of North Dakota, you will come around sooner or later. Go Fighting Hawks!

I'm moving on. My prediction: most will move on too, when they get sick of complaining. Now, the next step is the formation of an identifiable logo that everyone most will be proud of! Let's Go Hawks!

As much as UND relies on its defense, there still are some shortcomings on that side of the ball. Now, against Idaho State and Weber State, missing Cole Reyes was a huge miss for the UND secondary. Furthermore, UND needs more depth and playmakers in the backend; fortunately, the 2016 recruiting class already has some nice safety commits. As for the offense, the QB and WR position is a work in progress. I was very happy to see Keaton bring some consistency to the passing game the last two outings, with plays being made to Seibel, Georges, and Stanely. Studsrud is sharper with the intermediate to short passing game, and that's huge for the type of pro-style running offense that UND wants to employ. Studsrud going 13-16 (81%) was impressive. Now UND has to prove their offense can travel. If Studsrud puts up another efficient game (over 60% completion percentage and no interceptions) at Cal Poly, then I think UND will win. In all honesty, that kind of efficiency from the QB position will make UND hard to beat by anyone in the FCS.

This is what is so discouraging. Jones' teams don't have fundamentals. If the Huff, Anderson, Webb, etc. group would have had fundamentals to go along with their talent, they would have won the Big Sky Conference their senior season. Same goes for this current young group; I'm sure they'll improve, but they'll never learn enough from Jones to where they can be the best in the petty Big Sky Conference. Real disappointing.

Because Jones doesn't have an offensive system. As "gfhockey" says, they just go out and play freestyle. Also, the absolute chaos that is UND's paint defense is pathetic to watch. No attempt to block anyone out or secure the boards. They just play volleyball and tap it to the other team. I would love to say that this is just a result of UND playing a better team, but Wisconsin is young and not a juggernaut as indicated by their loss to Western Illinois. Furthermore, and probably most importantly, Jones' teams have always had problems with offensive rhythm and defensive rebounding, so I expect this trend to continue.

Here it shows us playing at SUU. If SUU wins the conference championship and the auto-bid by beating Northern Arizona on Saturday, and UND beats Cal Poly and matches up with SUU, who gets the home game? Does SUU get it because they won the conference? Or is it the higher bid? If its this case, I feel good about UND outbidding SUU.

UND is also on a 2-game winning streak and the two much-needed players (Studsrud and Reyes) they didn't have against ISU and WSU are now back. One could even argue that the offensive line and defensive backs are playing far better than they were just 3 games ago. Clive Georges being healthy also adds an element that was missing against ISU and WSU. The Cal Poly game will not be easy, but UND has a legitimate shot at winning.

The kid can't play anymore, which is not easy on him or the team. Yes, it could have been worse, but it still is unfortunate that he suffered the injury. I believe he has the work effort to get in the weight room during the winter and spring season and get better for next year, though, so in that sense, it is fortunate he did not sustain a long-term injury.

Agreed.

I understand what you're saying, but there needs to be some renovations done before playing on campus again can be a possibility. The capabilities of Memorial are not fit for hosting games right now.

ABSOLUTE DISASTER You're probably joking, but in the event you're not, its just not capable of hosting anything right now. It would be a mess and, quite frankly, an embarrassment. The lease with the Alerus Center should cover playoff games; it did from 2001 to 2007. Why wouldn't it cover playoff games now? Faison really would be a screw-up if they couldn't host games; he probably wouldn't even bid if that was the reality of the situation.

http://www.ncaa.com/rankings/football/fcs/stats-fcs-top-25 According to the STATS poll, UND has enough votes for the #32 spot. If they were to beat Cal Poly, they could rise into the high 20s (29 or 28); would that be enough to get in? Obviously the # of DI wins and the FBS win will be looked at, but I think a legitimate position in the polls will also be important for UND to get an at-large bid out of the Big Sky Conference. Losing that Idaho State game when UND was ranked #25 really hurt as far as poll positioning goes...

Jones is still coaching; UND gets smoked in this one. Hope I am wrong, because I will gladly eat crow in that instance.

Game won't be easy. As much as everyone has been talking playoffs, I could see this game going either way. I expect a close ballgame with plenty of runs from both sides; hoping Will Ratelle and the linebacking corps is the difference for UND in this one.

No question. North Dakota football -- with Bubba at the helm -- deserves quality support. There's so much potential for UND football, but it requires both community and administrative support to complement Bubba's passion and hard work. Faison needs to be willing to place quality bids, improve coaching salary, and secure HPC Phase II funding, whereas the community needs to show up and support the team during home outings. Considering the noise that has been generated this season (averaging only around 8000), an average crowd of 10,000+ would be a tremendous home-field advantage. If UND football could get the Alerus back to where it was during the 2001 playoff run (namely the UC Davis game) and those subsequent DII seasons, then UND football would not only be good, but would be a heavy favorite for every home game (including potential playoff games!).

Certainly all makes sense. When it comes down to it, if UND wants to compete for FCS titles, they need to be willing to make legitimate payouts at times. Northern Iowa and South Dakota State are no better institutionally than the University of North Dakota, and everyone should agree with that. Now, are Northern Iowa and South Dakota State more invested in their football programs? That is a question that gets a little iffy. In the past, no question, but where is UND's mindset now?

I agree. At worst, it will stay the same (around 7000).

Well, if UND beats Cal Poly and has to play on the road against a school with a 6,000 seat capacity stadium, I'll be upset. No reason UND and Faison shouldn't expect at least 6,000 or 7,000 people (maybe more) for a first round playoff game. With that said, outbidding UNI or SDSU would be tough but not impossible.

Faison better assist with this by submitting a healthy bid. As one may suspect, my opinion of Faison will drop considerably if he fails to bid reasonably (especially if he doesn't bid at all!).

Absolutely. What the hell was Kostich thinking? Real unfortunate that Olivera is done for the season, but to lose both Olivera and Santiago to injury in a blowout game would be disastrous.

Losing Alo hurts. NDSU still winning over a lot of the in-state kids. More work to do for Bubba, but the in-state players he has worked with already are solid contributors. Have to keep recruiting & developing some resident North Dakota student-athletes.

38-14 Park River took the Class A title for the second consecutive season

Seems clueless like that, doesn't he? Or perhaps he's just protecting player confidentiality and being stoic?