fightingsioux4life

I think the QB position is unsettled as well. Landry has not pulled it all together as the starting quarterback and some of the interceptions have resulted from very poor choices (throwing into double and triple coverage for instance). His athleticism and running ability are big positives, but I imagine the coaches are teaching him to stay in the pocket and focus on throwing the ball and not running with it. Letting him run more could unleash his potential, but it might just cover up the problems better. One thing I am not pleased with is Mussman's stubborn stance that "Jake Landry is my quarterback", even after multiple interception game after multiple interception game. It sounds like Mussman is taking a page out of the Roger Thomas coaching manual that if it's a guy's "turn", you have to stick with him no matter what. That isn't how an FCS program should be run and I hope Mussman has the guts to make a change next year if the inconsistent play at the QB position continues.

I think St. Cloud will exceed expectations this year.

We are fortunate to not have given up several goals up to this point. We have to stay out of the box and get back off of our heels or this one will turn against us in a hurry.

For those of us fortunate enough to have Midcontinent Digital Cable, the game is on Fox College Sports Atlantic (317 in Grand Forks).

Basically what you are saying, if our football team was 0-11 every year, you would be fine with that as long as all of them were pulling 4.0 averages in the classroom and were reading to 1st graders every Friday morning? Sorry, but this isn't the FBS Ivy League, the FCS Pioneer League or the D-II version of Morningside College in Sioux City, IA. This is the University of North Dakota, where excellence in both academics and athletics is cherished and expected. Our Student-Athletes do a great job in the classroom and in the community, as well as in bringing home championships (both conference and national). Are they perfect? No (nobody is), but it's a false choice to suggest that you can't have excellence in both the athletic arena and in the classroom. It's just as much of a false choice as the false choice between hockey and football, but that's another topic. This is not meant to be personal or anything (you are an intelligent poster with good insights on things), but I think you should either promote joining the Pioneer League as a non-scholarship FCS program or rethink the low expectations you have for the football program (which is the reason we moved up in the first place).

Good point. I would suspect that Lennon won't take just any FBS job; he'll want to go to a school that is committed to football and will spend the money to make the program a success. I think if the Rodents dump Brewster and Lennon has success in the playoffs this year, it is not entirely implausible to think he could end up there. With that new on-campus stadium, I think he could recruit kids to go there.

Some teams do that regardless of how the weekend went. I think Anchorage does the same thing. Personally, I like our standard of not doing it unless we sweep.

After 30 years of being doormats, they have to try to save face however they can.

I think he will have to have more sustained success over a period of years before that happens (this is only Lennon's second year there). Winning an FCS title would definitely do it. And I do think Minnesota could be a potential destination for Lennon. Man, what a conflict for some of us, being fans of Lennon and disliking the team he coaches!

We are a young team (the youngest in the league), so I think the offense will come around as the season goes on. If we can finish 2009 in the top 3 in the league, we'll be in solid position for the second half.

With Denver continuing to win games, it is important early in the season to grab points whenever, whereever and however we can. Especially against lower division teams like Tech. Those two points we lost in Alaska last week might come back to haunt us later in the season. Let's not have a repeat of that tonight. UND 5, MTU 1 with a solid start in the nets by Aaron Dell. GO SIOUX!!!

That's right, because if they commit to North Dakota, that means the Gophers "didn't really want him anyway".

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<H3>Aaron Q. posted 10/22/09 @ 5:06 PM CST As much as most UND fans are probably hesistant to admit, sportsmanlike etiquette also dictates that taunting another team's goaltender after he lets in a goal (i.e. chanting 'sieve', pronounced 'siv') is not appropriate. If we, as a crowd, can be a bit more civil, maybe karma will grant us another National Championship this year.</H3></H3> This is the same publication, of course, that wants the Fighting Sioux name and logo gone. I wonder if yelling too loud is also "unsportsmanlike" in the eyes of the DS editorial staff?

The new Ralph is finally getting a good atmosphere, it took quite a long time. I think it also helps that people like Tom Behring are no longer in charge of REA and Charles "Let's dissolve the student section" Kupchella is no longer President. This, however, has raised the ire of the anti-student, pro "family atmosphere" crowd. The whiny, crying puff piece written by Mike Jacobs in the Heraldo this week encapsulated the views of this group. If this crowd had it's way, everyone would politely clap for both teams instead of supporting one and harrassing the other. Every game would feel and sound like "Disney Stars on Ice". As for profanity in the student section, I think it was much worse during the 1980's than it is now. If we aren't hosting the Gophers or Badgers, you don't hear it all that much. I went to games in the 1980's as a grade schooler and it was rampant in almost every home game. The bottom line is, I didn't grow up talking like a drunken sailor because I went to the Old Ralph as a kid and today's kids won't either. Let's keep the good times rolling at The Ralph.

I am a long-time hockey season-ticket holder, but........AMEN!

Our Division II powerhouse teams would have beaten USF by at least two touchdowns, if not more. We cannot keep telling ourselves that we are still a Division II team. We have to think, act and talk like an FCS program. Otherwise, it won't get better anytime soon.

Are you ducky or bunny? Copyright 2009 Dan "The Common Man" Cole of Woodbury, MN. All Rights Reserved.

This is a point that is not talked about enough. Lennon claims it isn't true, but I think he got sick and tired of 5,000 people for home playoff games. I think he got sick and tired of the total lack of marketing for this program. Until this year, there was no marketing of the football team until the week of the first game (Oh, by the way, our first football game is this weekend. Tickets are available! Come on out unless you have better things to do! ). I think Lennon was fed up with the "hunting season" excuse used to explain away bad attendance at home games. I also think Lennon was fed up with the "Co-Acting Athletic Directors" three-ring circus that we had in the Athletic Department before Faison was hired. I think this is why Lennon was going to "Stand Pat" in recruiting the same traditional areas after we moved up because he knew the old Athletic Department regime wouldn't make the financial commitment that would be needed to recruit more nationally. In sharp contrast, Southern Illinois offered him a 100% increase in his salary and promises of a 15,000 seat stadium and all the facilities to go with it. No wonder he left. Having said all that, I think we have solid leadership (President Kelley and Faison) in place now and I think they will turn things around. But the program is still in need of some serious overhaul. This Co-Defensive Coordinator experiment has failed and needs to be changed NOW (I don't think we should wait until the season is over). And I haven't been thrilled with the play calling on offense, either. Bottom line, I don't care HOW good USF is, losing to an NAIA team is just inexcusable. Are you listening and watching, Mr. Faison?

Thanks, you brought a smile to my face!

I believe Indiana State is a terrible program (haven't won since 2006), so that shouldn't surprise anyone. UW-Lacrosse is a Division III program (that means ZERO athletic scholarships), so that was technically worse than what happened to us today. And we didn't roll over UNI like Sioux Falls did to us today, it was a good game from start to finish. This was a stinker from start to finish. Mike Berg will just say "we ran into a darn good football team". Well, this is just a taste of what we will run into in FCS ball and right now we can't cut it. No more excuses. Changes need to be made in this program (especially the defense) or it's going to get worse before it gets better.

I have been waiting to hear someone say this and it's simply not true. Most of the established FCS programs would not lose to this team. I don't think even UC-Davis or Cal-Poly would lose to this team. Our DII powerhouse teams would not lose to this team. They would beat the Bison this year (soon to be 1-6) and all of the FCS non-scholarship teams, but there is a big difference between 63 scholarships and 24. This loss sets the program back three huge steps and it could take all of this season and next to get those steps back. Absolutely the worst loss in program history. I think practice next week should start with the simple sentence "Gentlemen, this is a football."