UND-FB-FAN

You're right, Montana is a heck of a lot better football brand than the Ag School of the North. No use removing Montana from our schedule to help out the arrogant pricks from Fargo.

However you want to look at it, UND-NDSU is a #buthockey vs. #butfootball situation. So, perhaps the basketball programs are where comparison should lie? One aspect of UND athletics that upsets me is the coaches salaries. If UND consistently keeps paying their head basketball coach around $86,000 and their head football coach around $114,000, then that seems to indicate Faison is NOT fully committed to the athletics other than hockey.

I can't blame Ralston - Jones' team this season has been ridiculously inconsistent and "choked away games". I for one believe team consistency starts and ends with the coach and the program he instills.

Ideally, you wouldn't want to see plenty of both of them. You would want the better of the two to start and hold the spot down while he continues to develop and improve over the next 4 years. As far as top recruits not being handed the starting job, that's fine and all to say, but being the top recruit is still a factor regarding playing time. Coaches obviously understand they need to put the best players on the field, but they also implicitly possess bias due to the effort they put into recruiting their #1 guy. If Bartels was the better quarterback, then I'm sure he would get the job, but I don't feel he is the better QB. He wasn't the better QB coming out of high school, as his offers and FBS attention relative to Mollbergs indicates. I suspect Mollberg has maintained the edge he initially possessed when he was being recruited by UND; thus, he will likely be the starter this fall when it is all said and done. So, in conclusion, location isn't the factor that will win Mollberg the starting job. The fact he is the better QB, and his pre-college accolades support that, will be the reason Mollberg earns the starting job. I digress.

They want them, its just a matter of budget and priority. Last season they got alternative blacks, but they quickly transformed into the primarys because of the better fit and just plain better design compared to thier old greens. So, to match those blacks, Mussman wants to first get tight fitting away uniforms (whites) before going to another home jersey option. If we can get this fundraiser going and its successful, the team could get all of thier uniform plans out of the way this offseason, rather then in two!

I agree with the hometown advantage; this thing won't be a TRUE competition. Mollberg already has the job wrapped up. Mussman said Mollberg was their #1 recruit a year ago - I translate that into "he gets the job".

The offensive line does need to improve in run blocking. With that said, Sutton was the best back on our team last season (with the possible exception of PJ Sparks, but there's no way to know since he didn't play). 170 lbs. RBs are not going to work well every down in the Big Sky - the defenses are too athletic and physical. That's why Jake Miller and Jer Garman are nothing more than 3rd down backs in the Big Sky, and it's also why the 220 lbs frame of Sutton made him our best back last season. Just look at the statistics; Sutton was far and away our best running back last season in terms of performance. Another concern is durability; look at what happened to Miller against Northern Colorado when there was no Sutton to spell him (and that led to Garman being our short-yardage back on the pivotal 4th and 1). Next season, Sparks and/or Patrick Sharp need to emerge or it could be another year with a limited running game. EDIT: Miller had 543 yards last season compared to Sutton's 467 yards rushing; however, Sutton had almost the same yds/gm as Miller (49.7 yds/gm for Miller vs. 46.7 yds/gm for Sutton) and Sutton had 11 TD versus Miller's 2 TDs. Of course, Sutton was used more as a goal line back than Miller.

The only game action Sparks saw last season was mop-up duty against SDSMT, but I'd say he looked the best out of all of our RBs in that game. His first career carry went for 45 yards! Miller had 178 yards that game but he broke a couple long ones with the first unit; Sparks was with the 2nd and 3rd team. I feel Sparks is our best all-around back right now heading into spring ball.

http://www.winonadailynews.com/sports/college/article_e3831610-7195-11e2-95d4-0019bb2963f4.html It appears Clark simply just chose to attend a smaller school due to personal preference.

Jake Miller won't do anything against top teams (see Montana State and Eastern Washington). He's a track star trying to play D1 football. If the running game is going to get going, PJ Sparks or Patrick Sharp will have to breakout. JJ Robertson is faster, stronger, and more talented than RJ McGill. I could see McGill playing more due to seniority, but since McGill is coming off an injury, I really wouldn't be surprised if Robertson completely takes over McGill's slot position.

Mussman hasn't done anything to deserve credit. I respect those who believe long-term tenure leads to success because that's one thing, but don't defend Mussman for something he has yet to accomplish or demonstrate. Hopefully that changes this season.

Offense: PJ Sparks (if he's played) or JJ Robertson Defense: Mike Edwards

I'm very happy for Mr. Mannausau - he's always appeared to be a class act throughout his time at UND. I believe his work will continue to push the Champions Club in the right direction and his influence on the football program in terms of funding and support may be very significant. Also of note, the coaching search to address the defensive coordinator spot will be an interesting one to follow. Will they pick up a highly-qualified outside coach to immediately coach the defense, or does Mussman promote a coach in-house to the D coordinator spot?

I'm not quite sure this is decipherable.

To just split on this road series would be fine, but lets see if we can knock off the Griz on Saturday!

Looking at his twitter, it appears Opara is a done deal. With that being said, the reasoning behind no announcement is strange to say the least. Perhaps there was simply a paperwork issue of some kind. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLZ9f2Gg0Yg Whatever the details may be, he is a good football player and he could really help out our secondary.

Sounds like a great idea if it could ever get organized.

There will be new white jerseys and pants for this season. That means at home the team could wear white pants with the black tops or white jerseys with black pants on the road, if you're looking for a change up from last year. With that said, similar style Kelly green jerseys and Kelly green pants should be around for the 2014 season, which will give the team quite a few different uniform combination options.

Considering last year's inability to consistently run the football and stop the run, upgrades were needed at the line of scrimmage. I'm quite pleased the coaching staff made an emphasis to address that area by bringing in plenty of quality offensive and defensive linemen.

I don't agree. The Chicago metro area has always had an abundance of DI talent, but many kids who do not end up in the Big Ten do not end up anywhere at all. That is why recruiting kids who have their eyes set on Illinois, Northwestern, Purdue, or any other Big Ten school might payoff in the end when they’re eventually not offered a scholarship. As an FCS program, recruiting Big Ten potential players is a great recruiting strategy because not all of those players can be offered scholarships. Chicago happens to be one such area where more talent than possible Big Ten scholarships exists. And because recruiting is an inexact science, many kids who are not offered can end up being just as good if not better than the ones who are offered by Big Ten schools.

Its a great start for an intro video, but it needs to conclude with a better pump up song to get both the players and crowd into the game more. "Back in Black" by ACDC doesn't have that pump up factor - its not too early to start brainstorming for some ideas!

Connor O'Brien plays with passion at the OLB spot, what a get!! http://www.ncsasport.../connor-obrien5 This Illinois group is shaping up nicely; pair them with last year's group from Illinois and I think its fair to say we have found a gold mine in Illinois! We have to keep hitting the Chicago area in the future!! As far as this class as a whole, it's fair to say this may be our best class from a pure talent perspective ever! Now, whether or not that pans out on the field is another story, but you've got to be excited about this 2013 class!

Sharp is the better back relative to Gray, period. Sharp runs lower, has a better build (thus has potential to play over 200 lbs, which is what UND needs in their future RBs), and is probably even faster than Gray. Gray had that odd elongated stride, if I do remember correctly. With that being said, it wouldn’t be a bad thing if both of them were brought in because UND needs talent at the RB position, but Sharp is the better RB prospect of the two.

I agree - UND hung around but ultimately Weber State's depth and front court play was the difference. It was good to see Brekke get some minutes but it will take a couple of games at the least to get him back to where he was before the injury. In order for UND to reach the team level of the "Montanas" and "Weber States", they need to improve front court depth and overall play. Wilmer just doesn't cut it and tonight was Brekke's first conference game; just another reason not having Alonzo Traylor and Jaron Nash eligible hurts this team tremendously. At least their presence is something to look forward to next year. As far as that broken basketball hoop goes, I didn't notice it but it doesn't surprise. At this time of year (hockey season) UND puts all other sports on mute. It really is upsetting and an embarrassment if you're not a typical "only UND hockey" fan. I guess that's why I have my doubts regarding the current direction of both the basketball and football teams, despite trying to convince myself otherwise.

Considering Robertson's potential given his initial signing with Illinois, this is great news. It means he hasn't slowed or weakened since high school and he's ready to contribute right away. Due to the current WR corps, I'm not sure he'll get that playing opportunity right away in 2013, and the only variables to consider now are the QBs and O-line. I have confidence either Bartels or Mollberg will rise from the competition and prove to be the guy, so ultimately it comes down to O-line play. If Mussman and the rest of the coaches can come up with a cohesive and effective O-line combination, then the 2013 team has a chance to be really explosive with the passing game. Now, with that said, in order to win most of our games in 2013 the defense has to be the real improvement from last season.