UND-FB-FAN

well, if those d*mn free throws from Webb would've been good.....oh well

I guess the technically correct answer would be that I'd like to have Huff and the rest of the team (maybe even Jaron Nash) back by the start of conference play, but it would be real nice if Huff and Traylor were back by December 9th.........

No Alonzo Traylor tonight? This team just continues to get more and more short-handed.......

With a better D, UND wins a few more games and the season turns out differently; likely wins against SDSU, Cal Poly, Northern Arizona, and Northern Colorado.

Both of those are quite subjective; one is based on judgment of talent/ability and the other is simply a prediction based on that talent judgment. Even the coaches will tell you this team lacks quality Big Sky talent. Other than the true freshmen, Hardin, Jackson, Zeb Miller, and maybe a couple others, this team is deprived of Big Sky talent.

That in itself is upsetting. The coaches here are DII caliber yet trying to coach a DI team in the Big Sky conference - that is a recipe for disaster right there. The team hires former players because they are the only ones willing to coach for such a low salary at UND.

That is actually correct. UND's football coaching salaries are a joke. Even in terms of the FCS, I would bet UND's head football coach salary is not even in the top 20. I could do the research but it's not worth it - the bottom line is that UND's financial focus on hockey ACTUALLY DOES deprive the football program, whether you want to admit it or not.

Kleason - no, coming off injury Anderson - no, just coming off of freshman seson McGill - no, coming off of ACL injury Edwards - no, hasn't played at college level yet Brown - no, he's been okay but not high level by any means - he just is our best corner but our secondary stinks so that doesnt say much Goodman - no, linebackers were below average this year, including Goodman when he was able to stay on the field Sparks - no, coaches don't even play him Mollberg - no, just like Edwards he hasn't even played at the college level yet nevertheless started C'mon people, let's be somewhat realistic here. You'd swear we just came off an undefeated season and were all on an emotional high.

I certainly agree when it comes to the OL - it all starts up front in the running game. With that said, let’s do a quick rundown of some of next year's Big Sky RBs versus what Jake Miller brings to the table (considering he is the best RB on the team next season): Eastern Washington – Demitrius Bronson (Sr. in 2013) 5-10 225; (Transfer from University of Washington) Montana State – Cody Kirk (Sr. in 2013) 5-10 213 Cal Poly – Cole Stanford 6-2 225 (Sr. in 2013) Northern Arizona – Zach Bauman (Sr. in 2013) 5-10 200 Sacramento State – Ezeikel Graham (Sr. in 2013) 5-9 170 Northern Colorado – Tromaine Dennis (Sr. in 2013) 6-1 210 Montana – Jordan Canada (Jr. in 2013) 5-9 172 Portland State – DJ Adams (Sr. in 2013) 5-10 210 (Transfer from University of Maryland) As we look at these running backs, their size and speed combination sticks out at me. After all, a few from this list are nearly NFL-caliber RBs, especially Bauman from NAU. A lot of people were upset at UND’s tackling this season, but could any of that be attributed to the tougher talent they were facing for the first time every single week in conference play? If UND was playing small Jake Miller-type backs, they wouldn’t miss that many tackles (at least not as many). It really is hard for the defense to prepare for Big Sky talent when they are tackling either a slow Sutton or a skinny Jake Miller every day in practice. Jake Miller has speed, but a lot of athletes have speed including non-football athletes. I really doubt Miller can be an effective every down back (5-11 167) in the Big Sky. He doesn’t possess the strength or durability necessary. Most to all of the backs mentioned above are capable of running up the middle for a few tough yards or bouncing it outside for big gains - and more importantly, they all can handle 20+ carries a game. Miller won’t be effective at 20+ carries unless he breaks a long run. UND needs to bring in a tough, every down back like mentioned above. There are plenty available at the JUCO level and at the FBS level; hopefully they can pick up one. Otherwise, a player like Miller will put only extra unnecessary pressure on the OL because he can’t create for himself. Also, like mentioned before, I doubt he can make it through an entire Big Sky season as the starter. (Example: If the team needs a yard or two and there's a free unblocked linebacker sitting in the hole, a back like Bauman, Adams, Bronson, or Kirk more times than not can drive themselves forward 1 on 1 for those crucial 2 - 3 yards; in the case of Miller, he will get blown backwards for a loss and may even have to leave the game like we saw in Northern Colorado last weekend.)

If I had to do a quick rundown of the team going into spring ball and how each position matches up with how the team looked this season, it would be something like this: Quarterback: Only two players return (dismissing Jake Hanson) from this season in Ryan Bartels and Joe Mollberg. One of those redshirt freshman will likely be the starter next season, with the best chance going to Mollberg. As we saw this year, going into a season with only two viable quarterbacks is without question dangerous. I expect a JUCO to be brought in. Overall: Downgrade from 2012 Halfback: Jake Miller and Jer Garmin will be the experienced backs coming back, but in my opinion, they aren’t Big Sky caliber runningbacks – at least not every down backs. If PJ Sparks can get some d*mn support from the coaching staff, he might see the field too. I would expect a JUCO or FBS dropdown for sure, because given the rookie QB situation, UND will need to run the ball effectively. I expect at least one addition that will service the team immediately. Overall: Upgrade due to experience Fullback: Team looks to be set here; Zach Adler and Kevin Bayer are both high-potential players. Bayer could, and likely will, be the starting fullback as a redshirt freshman. Losing Ethan Magstadt will be tough since he’s a senior, but Bayer looks and has sounded impressive. Overall: Upgrade Wide Receiver: This group was stacked this year and not a single player graduates. Overall, the group will be better than ever, but whether that is suggested statistically will be dependent on the quarterback play. Starters will be Greg Hardin, Jameer Jackson, and Kenny Golladay. RJ McGill could replace Golladay in the starting lineup if he can recover fully from his injury, but I don’t see Golladay getting surpassed. Other possible contributors include Blair Townsend, and possibly one of the two redshirt freshman: Anthony Fletcher or Zach Oliver. Casey Young and Romon Bridges were primarily special team players this year and I don’t expect that to change much. Overall: Upgrade Tight End: The team will lose both Seth Nichols and Seth Wisthoff and Taylor Grant looks like he isn’t going to be the big-time contributor a lot expected/hoped for. Luke Mathewson and Nordby Tucker will contribute some, and I expect either one of them or Zach Adler to start. It really is a tossup between those three, but advantage Adler. Overall: Downgrade Offensive Line: Three crucial starters will be gone in Caleb Gillson, Emmett Lynch, and Ian McGurran. Fortunately, four capable players, whom all have game experience, will be returning. Brandon Anderson will likely start at a guard spot, Darren Deneui will play tackle, and Shea Walker will play center. Joe Kleason will pick up either a guard or a tackle spot, probably depending on what position the 5th unknown starter is most effective playing. I’m not entirely sure who will take the fifth spot and depth is an unknown. At least four guys who have shown to be effective are coming back. Overall: neutral to downgrade, due to loss of senior leadership Defensive Line: As good as the group was this year; next year’s crew could be quite impressive also. If the team sticks to a 3-4, which I expect they will if the defensive coaches stay intact, the starters will likely be DE Spencer Cummings, NT Ben Henson, and DE Seth Stanchick. I see two redshirt freshman largely contributing next year as backups: NT Mike Edwards and DE Alec Carrothers. Edwards would likely have gotten his redshirt pulled this year if the depth had not been there, so he could even end up being the starter depending on how much love Mannausau gives to his upper classmen. Carrothers came from the same high school as Ross Brenneman and we all know how he turned out. I’ve been hearing good things about him too, so expect instant contribution from him also. Overall: Although this group is talented, it’s hard to say they will be better than three seniors; downgrade Linebackers: I’ll say it right now; it’s hard for this group to get much worse so expect improvement. But from a different sense, all four starters will be returning: ILB Garrison Goodman, ILB Ben Peters, OLB Dominique Bennett, and OLB Cordero Finley. Many quality backups also will exist in OLB Damon Andrews, ILB Derrick Goard, OLB Myles Jablonski, OLB Alex Hickel, ILB Brian Otto, and ILB Will Ratelle. Although the LBs played poor this year, the injury bug had hit the group and they were largely inexperienced. I expect this group to improve; however, the amount they improve really will be the difference between a good or poor season -I really do put that much stock into this returning group. Overall: Upgrade, now just how much? Defensive Backs Due to simply experience, and possibly additions, I would think this group improves. Theoretically, the whole group returns. Clordion Kennedy will start at one safety with Baylee Carr and Will Lewis fighting out for the other spot. Corners will again be Daryl Brown and Chavon Mackey (maybe). I do expect JUCO or FBS dropdowns will be brought into this group. UND saw firsthand this season how much passing the Big Sky entails, and they will upgrade their secondary play with additions that can help immediately. Overall: Upgrade Specialists: Zeb Miller will be the kicker – pretty straight forward; now let’s just hope Mussman remembers he’s on the team and uses him next season. The punter spot will likely be filled by true freshman P/K Mitchell Meindel. Overall: Due to Brett Cameron’s mediocre-at-best season, Upgrade Although I didn't exactly specify, any position on the defense could possibly see additions from JUCO transfers or FBS drop-downs. Mussman has made it known that the defense needs to get bigger, faster, and stronger through additions so I expect to see that. Of course, it's fairly obvious that changes need to be made on the defense- the group just plain stunk it up this season. Basically the upgrades and downgrades are based on returning players. Some areas with newcomers may still produce upgrades, but I treated the unknown itself as a downgrade. If the upgrades and downgrades are tallied, you get: 6 upgrades & 4 downgrades (+2 net) Hopefully this translates to a successful 2013, but its way too early to tell ultimately. The QB position and the running game will make or break the offense, and the defense will be dictated by the improvement of the linebacker corps. Hopefully, Mollberg is a surprise, a new stud RB is picked up, and the linebackers surprise everyone and turn into tackling machines. This is quite optimistic, but if it does happen, 2013 could be a turnaround year.

That's what I like to hear!!

I doubt the appeal will work but hopefully I'm wrong. The NCAA just plain screwed and will likely be too arrogant to admit it...again. I think most agree that Huff is our most talented player, and well I would argue that Nash could be our second most talented player given his size, athleticism, and stats last year when he played for more than 30 minutes. So to be missing our potentially two best players really hurts this team, and if Huff misses the NDSU game that will really hurt (at least in the short term).

You're right, comparing Chris Mussman and Craig Bohl is not a valid comparison

Second round matchup between SDSU and NDSU should be a tight game; could easily go either way. Of course, that is if SDSU gets there - from what I understand Eastern Illinois is not all that bad.

Gotta love good ole' Brad Childress

Well if conference affiliation is the difference between winning and losing, we should see a quality product on the field next season; unfortunately, I'm not holding my breath.

I realize the transition was tough on the program, but it really is nothing more than an excuse for inept coaching and mediocre talent. I mean, if the transition from DII to DI is so tough on teams, how was NDSU able to put together a 10-1 season during their transition? If you can develop talent and demonstrate quality leadership, in terms of the entire coaching staff, you should still be able to compete at a high level. UND didn't do that during their transition and this year's team certainly didn't compete at a high level either.

For the last five years, UND has fielded teams that do not have that "winning edge" or fire to them. This year, I heard numerous times about how our defense had no fire or attitude to them, which I guess is why they were playing so horribly. Well, teams take on the attitude of their leader - the head coach. Mussman's record vs FCS teams at home: 10 - 6 Mussman's record vs FCS teams away : 8 - 13 Overall record vs FCS teams: 18 - 19 I guess we're heading in the right direction so let's not fix it.................

Umm, I want nothing but for UND to have a playoff team and be a more successful team than NDSU, but NO - that won't happen at this pace. I’m afraid this assumption is just pretentiously over-optimistic.

GIVEN THE SITUATION you kick, but you are right that 45 yds < 51 yds ( 6 yds to be exact).... It's 4th down so if you dont convert, which is what happened, you lose the game! Also, how would we have managed 20 additional yards (from 51 yd attempt to 30 yd attempt) in less than a minute with no timeouts when we had only scored 3 points in the entire 2nd half?! Look at it this way: If you kick a field goal, you win if you make it or lose if you dont If you go for it, you lose if you dont get it but yet dont win if you make it - you still have to score points and converting a 4th an 1 will not get you points. By simply analyzing what was on the line, its pretty obvious which is the correct decision. Dont make more work for your team.

So we would improve the opportunity by 5 yards, maybe 10 at best. If you're comfortable at 45 yards, you should be content at 51 yards given the situation, but I digress. geaux sioux, what are your expectations for the program on an annual basis? National Title Contender Big Sky Championship Contender At-Large Playoff Participant Middle-of-the-Pack in the Big Sky Based on your posting history, I would imagine you expect this team to compete for Big Sky titles each and every season. Well, with Mussman that will never happen; he won't ever assemble and lead UND to a Big Sky championship. So just remember me telling you this when your patience finally does run out. The only way to beat out football first schools like Montana, Montana State, and Eastern Washington is to have a great coach that turns lesser talent into great teams - Mussman will never do that.

Mussman didn't have much credibility before yesterday's game, so now it's a completely nonexistent. You can't win games with a head coach that has NO respect from his players, the individuals he is supposed to lead and set an example for. We can make up excuses all we want, but that won't change reality. For five years now we have gave Mussman an opportunity to build up the program and he's done nothing. We keep making excuses from the transition to the first year in a new conference, but the bottom line is he just can't coach or lead. There's been question marks ever since we lost to Sioux Falls, but yet there are unrealistic homers who continually expect Mussman to turn into some great coach overnight, or even worse believe he already is there. It was Einstein who said "the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." Anyone who thinks this team will be in the playoffs next year or the year after with Mussman trying to lead is insane. Sticking with Mussman only indicates to me that Faison and the athletic department are content with being only "middle of the pack" in the Big Sky and not competing for national titles. As far as post-season success and what an athletic department/administration is doing to help, hockey seems to be the only thing UND cares about; hopefully that changes.

why would he state the obvious?

Those arent the only issues. Not having a running game or defense shouldn't affect your game management skills or leadership as a head coach. This team has no leadership and teams with no leadership go no where. No good place for this football team to go with Mussman at the helm - its that simple.

If not Mussman, the defensive staff needs to be changed or reshuffled a bit. JUCO and FBS transfers for any spot on defense - this defense is BAD Also, a JUCO/FBS transfer at both RB and QB (for depth) In terms of recruiting, just get the best players available at all positions. Depth is key in the Big Sky conference.