Jav Fan

I think we will be much improved over the last two seasons. We had a change in coaching staffs and a lot of roster turnover as well. That resulted in a lot of youth on the field (QBs that played in 2006 & 2007 were all freshmen, starters and backups). Long term its good that there is now a lot of experienced (and still young) guys all throughout the roster, but it was tough the last two years. I have confidence we are well on the way back. We just need to get off to a good start. Our former SID is now an associate AD up there, you might shoot him an email to get his take. We'll be watching down here. Hope its a good game.

I'm just wondering...does the Sioux nation already have this chalked up as a win (and an easy one at that)? What chance do the Javelinas have?

The whole MIAA fan-base is pretty hard to take, and CMSU has the most biased and annoying poster of all. With the new regional alignment, last year was the first time I really paid attention to the MIAA. Pitt and NWMSU were head and shoulders above the rest of the league, and were tops in the region as well. I'm trying to figure out if that was an aberration, and indeed the rest of the MIAA will continue to catch up to them, or if they will remain on top. Its fun trying to learn about new teams, but I still kind of miss Cal-Davis and definetely miss Portland State. We had some classic battles. I'm sure we will with the MIAA teams as well. I guess you guys are going through the same thing with the GLIAC, you know about Grand Valley, but just who are the other guys, and what kind of ball do they play? Good luck to the Sioux this year, the NCC looks to be loaded. I hope Winona State (or whoever from the NSIC) doesn't cause the earned access bs to come into play this year.

NWMSU was lucky to win last night. Was it b/c they are overrated, or is Mankato-Minn St underrated? Or some combination? I noticed they have Tyrell Smith. He was our QBs leading receiver at College of the Canyons, and was supposed to go to San Diego State I thought. Sounds like a good pickup.

I think the South (or southeastern) stays the same, while the north (northeastern) loses the GLIAC, and becomes the weakest region by far. IUP should be smiling, because they should be the strongest program by far.

My bad. I forgot about the NSIC. No slight intended, I'm not very familiar with that conference. Is Winona a program on the rise? Or was last year a fluke?

Well that takes care of two playoff spots. The GLIAC will likely send GVSU and SVSU. Then who? St Cloud, Indianapolis, Ferris State, Northwood, UM-Duluth, Central Washington, Western Washington? Your region does look strong at the top, but has an apparent drop-off after the top 4.

H*ll, its 70 degrees down here. The Javelinas started spring workouts last week. Its time to start isn't it?

Not looking to start trouble, if I was I would have switched UND and GVSU when posting on the different forums. Just trying to get a feel for how fans are feeling about next year. As for a chip on our shoulder, I don't know about that. I do know the coaches and players feel like they have some unfinished business to take care of. Last year was supposed to be a rebuilding year, but it still stung to lose in the semis like we did. Defending NC or not, that game was a bitter end to the season. Hope to see you in Florence next year.

Your comments about the MIAA are encouraging. I hope they are past their prime. As for the 4 West Coast teams, I don't know if Central Washington has much coming back, but two years ago they were undefeated in the regular season, so they could be a dark horse. Last year, they had an off-year, but preseason, they were the top ranked team in the region. Western Washington has fielded some decent teams in the past, but it seemed like when they had a chance to make the playoffs, Cal-Davis knocked them out. Humboldt St and Western Oregon, to the best of my knowledge, have not been competitive. As for the GLIAC, look back prior to the last three years. Very little playoff success. How much credit goes to Brian Kelly? Only time will tell, but I think they will fall back to the competition somewhat. How does the NCC look next year? Will UND run the table again, or will UNO or SCSU step up? Are any of the other teams serious contenders? From the limited information I have, it seems like since 1999, the top four in the conference were made up of some combination of UND, SCSU, UNO, UNC, NDSU, and SDSU, and only three of those teams are left.

Not sure if this has already been covered here, but what do you think of the new regional alignment. You lose the MIAA and gain the GLIAC and the 4 schools on the West Coast (Central Washington, Western Washington, Western Oregon, and Humboldt St). My observations are: 1. Our region got tougher adding the MIAA and losing the 4 West Coast teams. Our region was getting weak with the loss of Cal-Davis, but now is much tougher. 2. Your region is a wash. The MIAA has traditionally been tougher than the GLIAC, with the exception of the last three years. I think in the future, the GLIAC will be a solid conference, but not as dominant (read GVSU) as in recent history. 3. The North (or northeast) region. Very weak. I think we'll see IUP in the semi's about 75% of the time now. 4. The South - No change. Still very tough.

What are your top 10 teams for next season? 1. GVSU - Gotta start the defending NC's here 2. TAMK - Have a great core group coming back. See you in Alabama (hopefully) 3. Valdosta State 4. North Dakota 5. North Alabama 6. Carson-Newman 7. Catawba 8. IUP 9. Saginaw Valley 10. Tarleton State or Pittsburg State Not trying to slight UND, this is just a personal observation.

A home and home with the Javelinas and the Sioux sounds pretty good to me. We have a hard time filling out our nonconference schedule (last year we had to get two I-AA teams) and we have one for sure opening next year, and maybe two if I-AA Nicholls State buys us out, which I hear they might want to.

Amazing, each of the regional columnists have picked their teams to win. Hmmmm...........

Hope y'all beat the cr*p out of North Alabama, and hope to see you next week in Florence. Go Hogs!!!