UND-FB-FAN

Unfortunately, that is the truth. Hopefully Iowa has someone else on their radar who is performing well this fall.

The attendance was absolutely appalling. Was it to be expected? Maybe, but I think the attendance indicates one of two situations. The first would be that drastically inferior opponents such as Montana Western and Black Hills State affect attendance even after a signature win that SHOULD increase excitement and following. The second situation would be that the football team just hasn’t put together enough to build overall program excitement, which is why a hockey game causes students and fans to forget about the game altogether. I think a good season record wise (including a win against both Cal Poly and South Dakota at home) and going into the Big Sky next season would help produce that much needed hype around the program. That hype would bring fans in. When there are such few people at the game it affects the atmosphere which ultimately affects the team. The slow start was due to a lack of emotion from the team and that led to a 3 – 0 Montana Western lead at the end of the 1st quarter. Thankfully the next game is homecoming against a quality opponent- such circumstances satisfy both of the conditions I gave earlier which should increase attendance drastically. From more of a football standpoint, the lack of a passing game is scary. Hopefully it develops because right now it just complements the offense but one of these upcoming games is going to require a passing game. In the first half of the game, all the passing plays called were down field “big-hitters” off playaction. This means there were no 3 step drops or “quick-hitters”, which ultimately are the passes that build a rhythm for the passing game. They finally got something like that going in the second half. Hopefully something develops in terms of chemistry and trust so they can air it out more for the entire game; otherwise, it is possible there will be a lot of pressure on the coaches to consider playing Mollberg next season. Also, Mussman mentioned Broc Bellmore is out for the season. This is a huge hit to what WAS the strongest position lineup (D-Line) on the team. Jay Nelson and Spencer Cummings are going to have to step up big for the Cal Poly game. Realistically, the whole team will need to against Cal Poly. GO SIOUX!

I agree that we should simply change the uniform color shade to match the helmets - even if it isn't Kelley Green. It would be the simplest solution and it would look way better. Also, a black home alternate would be a real nice touch. As I've mentioned before, entering the Big Sky next season is the perfect opportunity for us to obtain some new STYLISH uniforms!

Simple things such as more music and less pathetic interviews and games would increase the entertainment factor substantially; and from talking to current UND students, there would probably be another 500 - 1,000 students in attendance if the entertainment factor was similar to that of the hockey games.

Let

Last night in the fourth quarter while we led Fresno State 22

After last night's game, I think Mussman deserves a hold on the criticism. I'll admit I was upset to see our team's second half performance against Idaho; however, we did MUCH better than I think anyone expected last night. With that performance against Fresno State, fans should be excited as UND has a legitimate chance to win out or at least be in the running to do that. If our team ends the season with a 9-2 record, or even an 8 - 3 record, I think this season would be a success under those circumstances considering South Dakota and Cal Poly's already impressive seasons thus far (both of those games are at home!). So, as I mentioned earlier in this thread after the Idaho game, let

Unfortunately, this loss is tough. Idaho is not the team they were last year and our second half showing was similar to last year

The current UND football uniforms are a joke. I hope the athletic department gets new uniforms to help kick-off the Big Sky era next season.

UND needs an annual rivalry game against NDSU. Without it, NDSU will dominate the area in terms of attention and hype. It's the unfortunate truth given the current circumstances. NDSU has the most area support and a UND win over NDSU is the only way to get some attention back to the UND football program.

The football game on Thursday was enjoyable in the sense we won the game; however, there are major improvements needed. I think the product put on the field looked promising and the Big Sky affiliation will only continue to improve the talent. That

Ryan Bartels looks like a pretty solid quarterback prospect. The N. Illinois game last year was probably one of the best games, if not the best, UND has ever played against an FBS team and he seen that game in person - that's a huge recruiting plus!

I realize this topic has already been covered extensively but I decided to create a separate thread for it to help sort out discussions as it will continue to be relevant for the next couple weeks. Who will win the job? Does seniority and leadership offer the greatest advantage and give Goska the job? Does pure passing ability propel Bradley into the starting spot? Or does a sleeper like Hendrickson or Comes take the reins? Ultimately, winning games is the most important thing; however, until the Sioux start playing games this QB competition is about as good as it gets.

I agree that it is definitely too early to buy into what the coaches and/or fans are saying; however, the thought of an open quarterback competition occurring during live games is rather unexpected. I would like to believe the coaching staff will have a fairly good understanding of their football team by the time Drake comes to town.

So Mussman says 3 quarterbacks, if not all 4, will likely play in the first three to four games according to SFI...has he lost his mind?

If Bradley is named the starter, I'll be very optimistic for the upcoming season. We will have a starter for the next three years; most importantly, an experienced starter for two years in the Big Sky. If Goska wins the job, it's probably due to seniority and I will be slightly optimistic about the year. If Hendrickson wins the job, I will need to be shown he's improved a great deal. A player isn't a standout at the QB position if he's been playing musical chairs at positions on a football team. I may be proven wrong, but I really don't think Hendrickson will win the job nor should he.

I just noticed Milhomme Jean-Charles is no longer on the roster. Something apparently fell through. Disappointing because it seemed he would of brought much needed depth to the D-line.

There

Fall camp begins today! Go Sioux!

Today SFI tweeted the preseason Rivals rankings for the two FBS teams UND faces this year, Idaho and Fresno State. Idaho is ranked 114th and Fresno State is 62nd. After last year

I agree with that. What I meant by indirectly is that the collapse of the other sports (due to loss of the Big Sky) would cause deprivation to the entire athletic program in terms of national reputation. This would slightly hurt the hockey program, but there is no question losing Minnesota and Wisconsin due to conference changes would more directly and devastatingly hurt the hockey program. Also, the only reason I mentioned NDSU in my previous post is due to recruiting

As long as this nickname issue continues, the athletic program will continue to decay

I couldn't agree more.

I was able to make it to the scrimmage and I made a few observations. First, the punt team is transitioning into the spread punt formation. There obviously is some familiarization needed with this new formation because the punt block team did block a punt and got close to a couple additional punts. RJ McGill and Kenny Watkins were catching the punts. Also, Chavon Mackey blocked a field goal and returned a fumble for a TD. In regards to the quarterback situation (which I did pay the most attention to), QB Brent Goska and the rest of the first team took limited snaps. When the first team offense and defense were on the field, it was apparent that the defense was playing at the higher level. Devin Benjamin anchored the middle well and the new outside backers Johnnie Daniels and Dominique Bennett added an element of athleticism. When Goska was on the field, he really didn

To hear they're changing the format is really great in my opinion. For the longest time, the spring game was a ridiculous scrimmage at best. If you watch spring football games from any other team, they