UND-FB-FAN

Not exactly apples to oranges comparison, but nice try. I agree with others, you are in fact delusional. Bo Pelini at Nebraska: 67-27 (.713) Bubba Schweigert at UND: 56-47 (.544) As most have said, we’d kill for 70+% winning percentage. Why can’t you admit Bubba has underperformed at UND? He’s not the best option. Not even 2nd or 3rd…

Have I ever said that fans are more important than the players/recruiting or coaching? No. You just falsely attributed something to me. Not a surprise. Nebraska fans are super passionate, and passionate fans are important, but don’t make it sound like I’ve said fans are more important than the coaches and players, because I never said that.

I agree. Get the ball rolling. https://govandals.com/staff-directory/luke-schleusner/1337#:~:text=Schleusner previously served as Offensive,Great West Football Conference title. he could probably bring Adam Thielen with him as a coach… (okay okay that’s hyperbole, but worth mentioning the connection.)

Despite Nebraska’s product on the field being so sh*t, they’re still sold out year after year. Doesn’t make you wonder, huh? Fan appreciation, maybe? @iramurphy and I got into this a bit back, but you shouldn’t need a “special invite” to be looked onto favorably. I have the ability and connections in order to speak to the staff (I already do), no problem, so this is not a personal vendetta, but rather an observation on overall mechanics and function. Alumni staff is not pulling their weight. It’s a weakness for UND right now for sure.

Sad reality that we usually only get 11 games per year. no playoff games at home really stinks. Things need to change…

Agreed! Night playoff games also could be fun potentially, although would be cold. If I recall, the Richmond game in 2016 was a later start, and it was a fun atmosphere despite people being in New York for hockey. Team let us down again, but was still fun. Only other DI home playoff game was affected by COVID-19 restrictions (spring 2021) and wasn’t as fun of an atmosphere due to limited crowd. UND desperately needs home playoff games - they are a lot fun. But, football team and their coaches need to get the damn job done on the field …..

Well, Nebraska also has the longest sellout streak in the nation. UND could learn a thing or two about respecting and listening to the fans. I fear (and know from experience) there’s a lot of tone-deaf snobs in the UND athletic department with ulterior motives. Their heads are a bit too big, you could say. Alerus Center would be more full potentially if the fans had a larger voice. When it all comes down to it, it is all about finances, but extending Bubba after a 5-6 season makes you wonder what else is going on.

Fair, and good example (who would’ve thought Mike Riley and Scott Frost would have done so poorly- especially with their successes at Oregon State and UCF, respectively?), but can’t be afraid of change if things aren’t working. In fact, being scared of change because there’s no guarantees if you change is, well, not guaranteed to help either. All in all, if you don’t think what you have is currently working, you need to try something different. Not overly complicated.

There certainly is a degree of faith amongst fans, because some just want to still believe it will still work out for the nice guys. Faith- belief / trust/ confidence contrary to an absence of evidence. Decade-by-decade isn’t good enough. There are better coaches for this position given the overall circumstances.

You don’t have to hate Bubba to recognize he’s not cut out to be a championship winning head coach, especially at the DI level. His teams just don’t have the “it” factor, and that’s because his teams are a reflection of him. He does not exude confidence or leadership necessary during big games. The in-game decision-making and strategy certainly is not there. Time to move. Change would be a good thing, especially in this case.

UND has won 54% of its games with Bubba as head coach. I think there is good reason people aren’t satisfied with that. It’s not good enough. But, what is good enough? 60%? 70%? Regional rivals known as “football schools” - well what does it take for UND to become a “football school” … start flying a banner … or perhaps win more than 54% of the games played… Also, to avoid the regression you talk about - and to be more consistent - it is critical to have solid coaching/leadership. There has been so many ups and downs it definitely falls on the coaches to a certain degree. 9-3 in 2016, then 3-8 in 2017, then 5-2 in spring season, then 5-6 in 2021. 7-5 in 2022. Such a rollercoaster of inconsistency…

I like them (black pants on the road). Not really a fan of the white face masks yet. Still think better green jerseys are needed, and green tops/white bottoms should be the standard at home

Ya know, if you think a bit harder, there’s actually something to this. But either way, time to move on. Bottomline results aren’t there.

??

32-42 record at USD. Not good. UND still has struggled mightily against his teams in Vermillion, but I am in no way advocating he should be hired at UND.

The back-up leaving is not a major concern, and I never wrote that it should be. Perhaps the culture strike that the recent losses have had (enticing players to leave) is worth mentioning, and it’s never good to lose depth, but this is more of an issue with the overall direction of the program. It’s stale, not making any progress, doing the same thing season after season; beating the teams it is supposed to beat, and not beating the teams it is not supposed to beat. That means 7-4 seasons year after year (sometimes worse). There is a glaring inability to compete against top teams in this conference. Road success has also been poor. Proves the lights are too bright for this staff; need new leadership to take the next step. New facilities won’t change how this staff prepares the team for big games, especially in- game management/coaching; what they’re currently doing is clearly not championship caliber.

Pretty clear I want what several others want … ability to win big games after a decade+ of Bubba ball. Perpetual 7-4 football with occasional losing seasons in there isn’t exactly awe inspiring for this fan base (or any fan base for that matter).

#decadebydecade

Not sure anyone would say that UND’s facilities are that far behind NDSU and SDSU, especially with current Pollard Center and certainly when Pollard phase II and Memorial Village are complete. When the new locker rooms are constructed, I’m sure the players will suddenly start playing better against NDSU and SDSU… I get it; the hope is we recruit better players, but will those players start playing well in big games? Or will crucial mistakes reoccur … as has been the case for years. ongoing waiting game with no sense of urgency, as per usual.

I was at both Boise State and SDSU games; Boise State with tremendously better facility than SDSU, but that is sort of apples to oranges comparison. I agree, SDSU has nice set up, but it’s not head and shoulders above UND. The true difference is late in the year when it is cold and no one wants to sit through that. During nice weather, though, outdoor football is a lot of fun. we all can agree, it starts with objectives and goals, does UND want to be a championship football program or not?

I’d argue it’s not only skill players, it’s the line of scrimmage players also not up to par. NDSU, Weber State, and SDSU all ground and pound UND of late. Also, it goes beyond the players’ talent and speed. The players aren’t fired up or prepared to win when it comes to big games over and over again … who does that fall on?

Yeah, regression sucks of course, in all reality, the program has not truly regressed since ‘13, there was considerable progress for a few years, but has any progress been made against the top teams? Since ‘16, I don’t think so.

We’ve been saying the same thing for the past decade, though. I know you certainly have been posting this for awhile. And I completely agree. We need to do better at the line of scrimmage, and we’re not getting it done, and we haven’t been for years, at least against the top teams.

You’re referencing 2013 versus Valparaiso. You do realize how the rest of that season went, right?

Yeah, hindsight is 20/20. If we all knew what was going to happen 20 years ago, a lot of decisions would have been different. And I mean a lot. here we are. Have to make the best of it. All we can control is showing up to the games and donating to the program. it’s getting to the point where it’s gonna be hard to donate to the current leadership/decision-makers, but I will always be showing up to support the team.