UND-FB-FAN

The job will again come down to Mollberg and Bartles. Palendech isn't as talented as those two; just that simple in my opinion.

March 28 I believe

Good point. Better chance this game can be viewed via TV now!

Just another head-scratcher from the Mussman era....

@nbaukol: Unofficial Top 5 40: Carr, A, Shaugabay, Palandech, Varner, Ratelle. #undfootball #daybyday Expect big things from Carr and Ratelle next year. Carr almost had his shirt pulled last year despite the presence of Hardin, Golladay, and Jackson. Bubba loves speed at his LB positions and Ratelle recording a top 5 40 is spectacular. With Schmidt coaching him up, Ratelle could do some big things next fall.

It starts up front and I love that the new coaching staff is emphasizing that. Gotta be able to pound the rock.

Despite that horrible loss vs SUU, UND gets #2 seed. Sure wish this team wasn't so bipolar though; it really frustrates me.

Absolutely agree with this.

That d*mn patience and transition bullsh*t excuse needs to stop. It's an excuse. Nothing more or nothing else. Remember NDSU with Woodside? If you have good coaching along with talented players, you can win regardless of transition status. UND's talent this year should not have produced so many blowout losses (Cal Poly, Pacific, Butler, Weber St. etc.) and just plain bad losses (SUU).

For one, Bubba's staff has far more experience than Mussman's staffs did. Also, Bubba is a proven winner as a DI football coach. Mussman never had the opportunity to coordinate at the DI level I guess, but he certainly never won much as a head coach at that level. Bubba's level of passion for UND and North Dakota is far greater than that of Mussman. Just listen to his press conferences or check out the north bleachers at every men's and women's basketball games. So far, Bubba has done all the right things, including recruiting. However, the most important thing, execution on the football field, remains to be seen.

I'm holding back until the conference tournament is over. This team has been so sporadic it seems it would only make sense that they lose to Southern Utah and then go on a big tourney run. With that being said, I absolutely hate the inconsistency. In my opinion, the sign of a well coached team is discipline and consistency. Even if the talent and wins aren't occasionally present, which happens in college athletics because seniors graduate and move, a well-coached team always finds ways to do the little things and stay in most games. This is why big-time coaches rarely have losing seasons, even if they lose high-end talent. It seems Jones' teams have been just the opposite. Even though this team continues to gain additional talent and experience, they stay inconsistent. That shouldn't happen. Good football/basketball coaches demand attention to detail and focus. UND has not especially had this. This was the case in football for the past six years. Thankfully, steps were made to correct that and things look to be changing for the better. As far as Jones and basketball are concerned, I'm not convinced. This year's team could still do some good things in the tourney, but its unlikely. Also, I honestly believe UND should be top 3 every year in the Big Sky along with Montana and Weber State in basketball. It's a matter of facilities, tradition, and other resources. When you look at it that way, UND is right on par. I'd say let the tournament play out and go from there. That's all.

Good addition. Need CBs and he looks like he could possibly step right in and contribute.

This is all true, but Faison will not fire Jones unless he has a horrible losing season. Not winning the BSC tournament will not hurt Jones job one bit, because, well, the expectations of the men's bball program does not include making the dance every year, unfortunately.

Stefan took his minutes, and rightfully so. I'm not a big fan of Benton's game - he needs to improve in quite a few areas.

That was the same excuse given after the 2012 football season when Mussman wasn't fired. However, another horrible season in 2013 changed those perceptions - oh, and the football coaches salary pool increased accordingly. Faison won't fire Jones after finishing 3rd in the Big Sky, even after losing to the lone winless BSC team. However, if Jones' team is horrific next season, Faison would consider a change. It might actually take two consecutive losing seasons.

Zero

Go home dirt boy

Jones' teams are great at teasing. They get the game down to 2 points and then they give up a layup! If you're gonna pressure the inbounds, don't leave a guy open for a lay-in!! Jones deserves to be caned. There's far better out there for UND; nevertheless, it won't happen this offseason.

He won't be, but he should be. This team is too inconsistent given the senior experience it has.

This game is almost enough to single-handedly convince me Jones is a worthless coach.

I was thinking of that same word; it describes Jones' teams perfectly. This team is so up and down they don't deserve to win a single tournament game. If we lose this game, I will have zero hope going into the tournament. Tournament atmospheres are bad for this team - loon at how the Oregon tourney turned out.

Thankfully this is the last spring where shoveling may be an option. However, even if there still is snow on March 28 (and i certainly hope there isn't), the Alerus hopefully can be used. Didn't raise money for that turf for nothing

Absolutely. It's clear-cut to most.

Once more, the 2013 team that so diligently and graciously cleaned off the field performed horribly during the 2013 season. Whereas NDSU, who won the 2013 FCS national championship, did not shovel anything and yet they went undefeated. My point is shoveling snow has nothing to do with football performance; it's simply common courtesy to treat the student-athletes as such and not put them in a situation that requires them to perform unnecessary labor. You're essentially arguing that having the team remove snow off the field is fine. Well, perhaps in a high school setting it would be fine, but at a DI university, the resources should be in place for a support staff to be there. If not, there are support issues by the athletic department and university. Again, and in conclusion, UND needs football players and an athletic department that supports them, not good shovelers that need to be resilient laborers when the university looks the other way. I respect Bubba requesting that shoveling and other pity acts not be asked of the student-athletes. If you want to proclaim to recruits that they may have to do such acts in addition to academics and athletics, go right ahead. I can guarantee your hard workers will not have been highly sought after by other schools.

Alright; you recruit shovelers while NDSU, SDSU, UNI, Montana, etc. recruit good FOOTBALL players! A scholarship student-athlete should not have to clean off the facilities that the university used in the very recruiting process that brought them there. In a contemporary college football landscape where paying college football players has even been discussed, unnecessary maintenance of University facilities should not be required of student-athletes. If it became a requirement at UND, we'd be the laughing stock of FCS football.