UND-FB-FAN

He gets one more season! Huge for the basketball team! Hopefully Jones proves me wrong and he can successfully lead this team moving forward.

I always hear Eastern Washington, Montana State and Montana are the perennial powers of the Big Sky; however, in my opinion, there's no reason THE University of North Dakota shouldn't be a top 4 team in the conference every year too. We are THE flagship university of North Dakota and we have the support and resources to get the job done. Hopefully, over the next few years, Bubba helps us make that climb and stay there consistently.

People can throw JUCOs and FBS transfers under the bus all they want, but when it comes down to it, the transfers we got are gonna be the difference in us being an improved team this year or not. And of course development of the QBs and improved coaching/discipline. All in all, this program is much better off with Bubba and his staff than Mussman; or at least it appears that way thus far. Hope we surprise and jump over the 10th spot on the coaches preseason poll. At 6-6, that would put us in the middle of the pack. Then, improvement would only be the norm given the youth of this team.

Hope the deal is in the finalizing steps!

Yes, he is a senior, but I was suggesting he may simply have a breakout year and not that he will be in next year's position rankings. Having FBS talent at the cornerback spot is refreshing; CB was a glaring weakness during Mussman's tenure. I also think Fr. Chris Carter possesses FBS talent and will be a very good defensive back at some point for us.

Just the philosophy he's installing will improve the team, and of course that includes discipline. For whatever reason, Mussman's teams were sloppy when it came to the little things. Running the ball, minimizing mistakes, and being assignment sharp on defense will go a long way towards improvement.

Given what the University of North Dakota represents, there's no reason UND shouldn't be at the top of the Big Sky Conference every year - facilities, coaching, regional (MN, Wi, IL) recruiting, relative budget, etc. should all do that. Although this year may be a 5-7 or 6-6 year due to some rebuilding, I expect Bubba to have this thing roaring by 2015. Just no reason we shouldn't be in the same category as the Montanas and EWU every single season.

Hinojosa has the talent to be an absolute force on the d-line, so he's possible. I'm also expecting big things from Ratelle with Coach Schmidt coaching him up.

Absolutely. This fall, either Mollberg or Bartels needs to become The Guy and be the man behind center for the next 3 years. Solidifying that position will go a long way towards playoffs in 2015 and 2016.

Well, for starters, Baylee Carr is the senior whom Coach Schweigert chose to bring with him to the Big Sky Media Event. That likely means Carr will be in a leadership role.

Ironically, Notre Dame just booted Adidas to the curb and made a new deal with Under Armour. Adidas is definitely #3 in terms of representation in college football, but that doesn't mean they're bad. In all honesty, we just need an apparel/equipment contract with any of the big 3 suppliers. It would go a long way in terms of uniforms, equipment, and coaches apparel.

Sounds good to me! We'll be in good shape that year roster-wise too

After this season, we'll have some players surprise us and make the list next season. As of now, none are proven. Players that could surprise this year include RB Cedric Simmons, FB Iverson, WR McGill, WR Casey Young, OL Boas, OL Slaight, DL Hinojosa, LB Ratelle, LB Javen Butler, DB Alex Tillman, DB Cole Reyes, etc.

Nothing wrong with that - minus the Ag school trolls, we're all in this thing together.

Adidas owns Reebok, which supplies the hockey team. That is the only reason this would work. Also, I'd argue both Nike and Under Armour make superior football uniforms, but Adidas certainly isn't bad either. I believe South Dakota has a deal with Adidas, as well as Wisconsin and Michigan, and they all have fine uniforms and equipment. Let's get this deal done!

If true, I'm pleased to see those two are returning. During spring ball, I felt that those two could contribute to the defense in 2014. Cheatom is a big-bodied defensive lineman who has potential and Taj Rich also possesses the size necessary to play quality minutes as a linebacker.

Taylor did the right thing. As for NDSU losing Bohl, Phillips, and Taylor all in the same year, it will hurt NDSU.

My post which you quoted says exactly that. I mentioned the defense and running game need to improve, though. That basically means 100% of the problem last year was not the offensive line. Need help from the defense and offensive play calling, too.

Bartles did well, but there were flashes for Mollberg too. Either way, the line will need to be improved and the running game will need to get on track. Couple that with a better defense and a play-action passing game and the QB play should be better.

I've been to a few NDSU games over the past few seasons. In particular, I went to the NDSU-UNI game in 2011, and the NDSU-Youngstown State game in 2012. Both games were hyped up pretty good and I thought there was a good chance NDSU would lose both times. Unfortunately, NDSU prevailed in both contests, and to make matters worse, I was wearing UND clothing and the margin was not close in 2012.

I'd say the +/- would be around 500, with the ceiling being around 1000. I know of many individuals who aren't alumni and have no children; however, they are proud North Dakotans who support the current thriving program. 1000 people may not seem like a lot, but that's the difference in driving attendance from an average 8-9k to 9-10k, which is significant. Also, with the state's population and UND's enrollment increasing, it's feasible to see UND average over 11k if they consistently win and make the postseason.

These are all good things to hear. By emphasizing both local recruiting (ND, MN, WI, SD, Canada, etc.) and a physical mindset (defense and running game), I definitely think Bubba will improve this program a little each and every season.

NDSU only won DI championships with one coach and one starting QB, among other players of significance (B. Turner, M. Williams, etc.). What I'm saying is that I expect NDSU to really fall off this year and lose around 3 games or so. Now, if they win the MVFC again, count me in as being one of the first to admit NDSU has a tremendously resilient program; however, I don't think they are any different than the 05-07 Appalachian State teams. That is, they'll fall off and struggle winning playoff games without Bohl.

Couldn't agree more. If UND hosted a home playoff game, or if they started beating top 25 FCS teams along with a FBS, people would take notice and attendance would surely rise. However, like I've said previously, NDSU needs to falter some too in order for UND to have a significant rise in attendance. A lot of neutral fans up north bypass grand forks and go straight to fargo - that's why NDSU needs to fall a bit along with UND increasing production.

You realize when moo U falters, even likely this season, you are setting yourself up for a ton of criticism, right? NDSU won because of Bohl and their one tremendous class of players that now graduated; with both gone, don't expect invincibility any longer. UNI, SIU, and SDSU could all three be better than NDSU in 2014.