UND-FB-FAN

I agree that the defense looked much better, but if the offense and defense don't complement each other, it won't matter. Turnovers killed the offense yesterday, and that's been an issue all season thus far. And also, I should mention that even though I think the defense looked better, they still need to improve. Still some big plays given up here and there. And it's best we don't jump to any conclusions; need to see this defense consistently look stout for a good stretch of games before I'm sold. That starts next week vs. Sac State. Hope the turnover problem is also fixed for next weekend.

No matter how you try to spin it, getting blown out at home against conference opponents is unacceptable and an embarrassment. The president and athletic director flux that was going on in 2007 is largely the reason Mussman was promoted, and that decision may go down as one of the worst management decisions in the history of UND athletics. I fully expect Faison to bring in new leadership at the end of this season, and it's desperately needed. If leadership decides to go the complacent and ultimately unproductive route at the end of the season and retain Mussman, I will be furious.

He's a freshman quarterback on a bad team with horrible leadership - what do you expect? A 10:1 touchdown-to-interception ratio, 70% completion percentage, and a 3000 yard season? Not gonna happen, even with the receivers we have because we can't run the ball and our defense always has us trailing. Mollberg is a physical specimen; he looks the part. Has good size, arm strength, and is mobile; there's nothing wrong with his fundamentals other than an occasional back foot throw and a jump pass here and there. Those mistakes will decrease with experience. Right now, all the issues are between his ears, but that will also improve with time. Be patient when it comes to Joe. It also helps that he will have Jameer Jackson and Kenny Golladay with him the next couple of seasons. Hopefully, after this season concludes, the ship will be righted and Joe gets some good coaching along with a more stable system that includes a power running game with a play-action passing game.

What he's expected to do is just plain unrealistic. No running game and no defense will never support a young QB. A recent example would be Alex Smith with the San Francisco 49ers; he was crap before John Harbough got there and then be turned into a heck of a QB. Same thing with Mollberg - he's got all the physical tools but he just needs someone to shape his mental game a bit and also put him in a system that utilizes way more of the running game and play-action passing. Also, thought I'd give a shoutout to Dale Lennon whose squad beat Northern Iowa yesterday. Safe to say, that compared to Mussman, Dale is one heck of a coach/leader.

The fact we competed until late in the game just points to the concept that we have talented players but we don't utilize them correctly. The turnovers and penalties kill this team. If this team didn't turn the ball over consistently, they probably would've beat South Dakota State and/or Eastern Washington. When you have talent but can't win with it cause of a lack of discipline and motivation, it directly comes back to the coaching.

That's a good one, and also likely true.

Definite correlation there. Writings on the wall, but we won't know for sure if Faison sees it until after the season.

UND played better than I expected, but the same lack of enthusiasm was present. Also, the stupid penalties and turnovers (4 for this game) persisted. I'm still on the same boat - we need to get a coach that can motivate the players but also put the players in the best position possible. Mussman does neither.

Bubba Schweigart, Kalen DeBoer, Chris Klieman, and Tim Tibesar to name a few. There are also a lot of wildcard options, like Reese Morgan, the defensive line coach at Iowa who recruits the Dakotas. http://www.hawkeyesports.com/allaccess/?media=334344

I love watching the 'new' UND football program and attending the games with the other 6000 people. It's okay if we get blown out at home by the 'top' conference teams we play, because, well, they're good. We've only had losing seasons 2 of the last 3 years and will hopefully be only 1 game below .500 this year! Something might be wrong with that optimistic statement...

Personally, I wouldn't want us to hire Kiffin. He isn't a players coach (which is one of the current issues with Mussman), doesn't have a good track record as a college head coach, and he would likely leave as soon as a bigger job offer presented itself. In my opinion, UND needs to get a regional guy with successful DI experience who will commit to UND's football program for long-term. Oh, and also a coach that is passionate and a leader.

Homecoming smack-down @ 2:30 …only problem is we won't be doing the smacking

Are you implying that the defense will "wake up" this week against Eastern Washington?…

That's not good. After Saturday's game, it's very doubtful that he leaves impressed.

I hope this game is close, but I doubt it will be. Random thought, but I was thinking earlier today about how excited I was for this season due to the home schedule and it being our 2nd season in the BSC. Unfortunately, this season has been such a depressing disappointment. Mussman and staff have ruined this once proud and successful program.

Absolutely, play the best players to win. If the athletic department wants to generate revenue from football and basketball, they need to produce winning teams. That simple.

I certainly agree talent is very important to winning games - I mean, it's hard not to agree with that. However, teaching discipline along with a quality regiment that includes training and technique is also very important. Coaches are the ones who put the players in the best possible position to succeed. Without quality coaches, you can't develop talented players into winners. You hear it all the time; there's a difference between being talented and just being a winner. I'll take a winner each and every time. Without good coaches, you're not gonna get that disciplined, hard working winner because they wouldn't be in the best possible position to succeed. UND is never gonna get more talented recruits than Montana, Montana State, and even North Dakota State unless they consistently win. So how do they start consistently winning? By turning the players they can get into winners. That starts with the coaches teaching discipline and technique, putting the players in the best position possible, and exuberating confidence. Coaches cannot win games, but they can lose them. In summary, the winning coaches are the ones who can best motivate their players and put them in the best possible position to succeed.

I agree. In order to get top recruits, including those from North Dakota, UND needs to consistently win. In order for that to happen with the current mediocre talent on this roster, we need good coaching. For that, we need to relieve this current staff of their duties at the conclusion of this season and hire a proven winner.

Much rather have talented young players that are the future of the program on the field than less talented upperclassmen, considering how this season has gone. We haven't been able to stop anyone, especially the top 25 teams, so why not put the most talent on the field and let them learn through their mistakes in game action. It makes no sense to play less talented upperclassmen that already have hit their ceiling when the defense is horrid with those "as good as they're gonna get" players in.

HS coaches should be apart of the process. They're the one who is familiar with how a student-athlete handles school along with playing football, and sometimes families just aren't familiar with college athletics so HS coaches can help the family decide on the best situation.

A lot of players I'd like to see more on defense. Start Edwards at NT, start Kuksa at FS and Javen Butler at SS. Also, I'd like to see Ratelle, Goard, and Taj Rich in the LB rotation more.

First two games won't be real telling. First game is against Minnesota - Crookston and the second is against Wisconsin. The third game is NDSU, which is a team similar in talent and, of course, plenty of hype will surround that game so I expect many to hear of Nash's contributions to hopefully a win.

In my opinion, Nash isn't a wildcard. After the NDSU game, most will agree he is the #2 weapon behind Huff. Point is Nash will make a significant difference.

Why not now? Have you watched our HC try coach against big time opponents before?

Arrogance. Bohl is very good to area HS coaches and the small towns - I speak from experience. Mussman pales in comparison, and from what I hear, it's due to a combination of arrogance and lack of willingness to compete with NDSU. Back in the day (at least it seems like we've been dealing with incompetent UND coaching for awhile), Lennon was very good to North Dakota high school coaches and student-athletes. Probably partially because he was from a small ND town himself, but also because he understood the passion ND kids would play with.