Dustin

I would add, too, that a bracketed playoff system would be a must.

Agree with this mostly. I wouldn't say my interest would drop. But I feel at some point, the G6 and certain FCS schools would merge into a level. In addition to the Dakota and Montana schools, put us in the Mountain West / Pac X and divide up into divisions.

I guess that's true. Was that simply because the calendar favored a 12 game schedule this year? Most times it's an 11 game season, I thought. It doesn't seem common to play non-conference once conference starts, but if that were a plausible scenario going forward, the hockey/football 2-for-1 weekend would be great for fans.

I've long thought this would be a great idea. Several hockey schools in the northeast are FCS: Maine, New Hampshire, Ivies, to name a few. But, is it too late to schedule non-conference football once hockey season starts?

Even with NDSU's new salary budget for coaches and staff?

UND needs to keep up. Match NDSU's salary package for HC, staff, and program resources.

Maybe we knew all along that our SOS would get us into the playoffs, so we ran questionable/vanilla stuff all season, and now that we're in the postseason with all players available, Ike is about unleash the beast. One can hope, right?!

Yeah, remember when Hromadka had himself a game? What about Caden Dennis (he's taken some lumps on SS, but he had a good game earlier, too)? And Deng Deng proved very effective last week. Now that Ziebarth is back, maybe we can amp up both the run and passing game. Realistically, good teams should be able to cover 80 yards in 7-10 plays, before you risk something adverse. You can't do that without some chunks. Yeah, our RBs may break into the secondary every once in a while, but ultimately you need a balanced attack, with the 10-20 yard pass plays giving you 1st & 10 as you march down the field.

A little late to the game here - I've seen this name mentioned a few times. Who is he?

covfefe

I kind of forgot Gaven is a senior. Glad we're still alive to hopefully give him (at least) one more game. I would feel awful for him if he's played his last game.

If we get Z back, and he's healthy enough to be effective, I like our chances. Offense should get a big jolt in short yardage situations. A more consistent run game would ease up the pressure enough to mix in some nice distance (10-20 yards) throwing downs. I personally am not a big fan of a completed catch down that doesn't yield a first down.

Not sure which thread it was in - I couldn't immediately respond at the time - but there was discussion about scheduling FCS non-conf. to pad wins vs. scheduling tough/FBS opponents. Now that the bracket has been announced, and it does appear that SOS is a factor, even with a record that includes 5 losses, I am still in favor of scheduling the tough/FBS teams. May as well build the character needed for deep playoff runs.

Aren't there some NFL head coaches who call plays?

Yes, and I believe rightfully so.

No Big Sky or MVFC teams until the semifinals. No excuses!!

Did BJ Flemming play again yesterday after that missed end zone pass? I’m curious as to Ziebarth’s availability. if we have both of them available, plus more Deng Deng, we are in good shape.

Cheers to playoff football!

Agree. It would be better to not make it at all than to be one and done.

I’m prepared to get raked over the coals, but how far would Freund and Schuster gotten with Schmidt’s defense??

I thought there may be a chance Ziebarth played today. IF there's a game next week, chance he plays? It would give Jerry so much more confidence, I bet, having him as an option. And with a confident Jerry, we can rattle some cages.

So based on this, we are (safely) in, with 3 teams in after us.

Watching the Class A volleyball championship game and I hope Strand from MPCG is on our new coach's radar.

Yes. If anyone thinks Schmidt is Bubba 2.0, they are wrong. Bubba would have lost to SUI for sure and got blown out by all the teams we lost to by one score.

Schmidt was definitely an upgrade in coaching. I wonder now that the continuity provided by keeping Freuchte is no longer needed if Schmidt will bring in a new OC. Offense was definitely the problem in the second half of the season, and Freuchte did come off a little arrogant.