UND-FB-FAN

In the beginning of the season, I knew playing at Eastern Washington and Montana State would be tough and could easily be losses, but I NEVER foresaw anything like a 55-17 and a 55-10 loss........................... I've stated my opinion on Mussman before and I wish he would do something to change it, but I continue to wait..............

Apparently Arizona watchmakers are overpaid, arrogant, and authoritative. Who would’ve known?

We NEED another quarterback; are we all that short-minded? We just experienced a season where our starter was surprisingly injured and our poor depth situation could've turned into a disaster at any moment. After all, is it not possible for 2 QBs on the same team to get hurt in the same season? Of course it is; we need depth and a JUCO or FBS-dropdown would fit in wonderfully. I still expect Mollberg to start, but to enter the season with only 2 viable quarterbacks would be beyond negligent.

Despite the overall negativity towards the defense (for good reason), I hope the D shows up this weekend and surprises us all. I think if we hold MSU under 30 points and we get a couple takeaways, the defense will have exceeded our expectations.

I could have a doctorate from Harvard and I'm sure I wouldn't be as credible as you, so I digress [verbal irony]. In terms of attendance, the state of North Dakota has a lot of football fans. They are passionate and will follow whichever team is doing well; after all, fans and people in general love a winner. Right now, North Dakota State has captured the interest of most North Dakotans whom will follow all North Dakota sports, not just hockey; exclusive-hockey fans tend to be from Minnesota. If North Dakota begins to win football games, coupled with game-day experience changes, the people of North Dakota will respond and show up passionately. This may be a bit cliché but let’s look into the past to predict the future. If UND wins and produces a positive state-wide reputation, fans - including students - will show up and support the team like they did before the transition.

Football had great energy and attendance a little over 5 years ago, so why couldn't it ever be like that again? Also, marketing and in-game atmosphere changes are noticed and do help (see NDSU entrance), so dont say that nothing will work and the attendance this year is a preview of the way things will always be!! You're lost so why don't you get lost.

Improving the atmosphere would go a long way because most current students are hockey-only fans; thus, they compare the atmosphere of the Alerus to the atmosphere in the Englestad. That results in a disappointment each and everytime. So by improving the atmosphere with better intro, better speakers, better cheers and student leadership, etc., student participation should improve. But, I think the most important thing is to just win. Most students have it in their mind that the football team sucks. After the 3-1 start, some were starting to see the light but then we dropped two at home in a row and now its back to "UND sucks at football, UND hockey is the only way to go!" If UND can just WIN and gain popularity, students will pick up on it and show.

Most Montana State fans, and I do agree with them, believe UND has a chance only if MSU starts turning the ball over. It's hard to predict that but with the weather (chance of rain/snow), anything is possible in terms of turnovers. I'd say the only change UND wins is if they lead the turnover battle by at least 2 turnovers, and there is absolutely no way they win if they lose the turnover battle.

This will be a tough game; UND will have to play a near flawless game to get the upset. I still don't want to see anything like the 55-17 smacking EWU put on us! After all, we are playing a conference game, not a payment FBS game against Alabama or LSU!!!

Need depth. A lot of stress put on the coaching staff this year with that so I can ensure they make that a non-issue next season and add another QB, probably JUCO but could also be a recruit. Hanson from Grafton likely won't be on the team next season.

NDSU's defense is unreal - I'll admit, but don't say the ag school has a unbelievable offense too. Lets not forget the only reason the ag school is no longer undefeated is because Jenson couldnt tell who was and wasnt his teammate in the ISU game; so the ag school's offense is simply above average to good. But couple that with probably the best FCS defense and its a winning formula. Oh, and mg2009, its no secret youre solely an Ag School fan.

Next season, neither Jake Miller nor Jer Garmin will be starting at RB; there will be a transfer or JUCO player - I can almost guarantee it. Mussman has made it known in the last couple of weeks that the talent level needs improvement. I'd say he definitely looks for a runningback, defensive back, and even a JUCO QB to add depth.

I believe replays are available for the FCS playoffs.

The location of the Alerus didn't matter in the early 2000s when we were annually in the playoffs.......

Lets just stick to winning our games and seeing the results. For example, if we had beat Cal Poly and Northern Arizona, I'm sure we would've seen 11,000 + at the Montana game.

True rivalries never die. Montana posters on egriz consistently swerve towards MSU bashing.....

UND would beat Robert Morris and Prairie View at home. I would say its a toss up on the road versus Colorado State and Northern Iowa so I say a split with those two. I'll say Youngstown is not as good as Cal Poly and Northern Arizona but to make you happy I'll say UND loses at home vs. Youngstown State. UND wins at home against Indiana State and on the road against South Dakota. I'd say 4-3 or 5-2 is very possible. So to laugh at that and criticize it just brings out your biased judgment. Don't come on here and say you're adding to the conversation when you do nothing but bash credible responses by UND fans on a UND forum.

Lets see the senior season and his off-season workout results then I'll go from there. It would be nice to see him but on 10 lbs this offseason also as long as he doesnt lose any speed.

Right now, UND students' attitude toward football is ridiculous. They would rather think about hockey than be in attendance and watch a UND football game. This whole UND hockey first thing killed student attendance during the transition and its leaked into our first playoff-eligible season. It wasn't bad in the D2 days but when the transition hit everyone at UND became a "hockey-only" fan and it just plains suck. The only way it will possibly improve is if the team starts winning and over time new students with a respect and understanding of UND football replace the current loser students.

I won't fully participate in this "what if" game, but I'd certainly say that UND's schedule has been considerably tougher to this point than NDSU's schedule.

That's debatable Possibly, but we've already left a negative mark with Eastern Washington, Cal Poly, and Northern Arizona, 2 of which are in states we want to largely recruit. Also, we still have Montana State and we will be competing with them in recruiting also. It's tough to say how doing poor this year will ultimately affect recruiting; hopefully being simply playoff eligible and having top-tier FCS facilities and conference affiliation will be enough. There are a few other things that need to change too though...

It's Mussman........

Wide receiver should continue to be a team strength for the next few years, now lets just hope Mollberg is the real deal.

I'm not going to jump to any radical projections (see football season), but this team has the potential to be anywhere among the top 5. With an all junior lineup (Anderson, Webb, Huff, Brekke, and Nash), the experience and depth on this team is pretty impressive actually.

I don't think the talent is the worst ever, its just the opponent's offensive talent is the best we've ever played against consistently, hands down. We have to load up on some great athletes if we're going to compete at a high level in the Big Sky. Mussman obviously realizes the holes in the secondary if he's making this positon switch, so I would definitely expect some JUCO corners and high-level recruit DBs being brought in this off-season. Its needed to defend these prolific pass offenses in the Big Sky. Also, I wouldn't be surprised to see some defensive coaching changes if Mussman deems necessary. Ultimately, Mussman will be given this offseason to try and correct this thing, unfortunately.