Dustin

Belquist back out on sideline. We’ll see if he plays.

Romfo on back to back runs for the touchdown.

Nice stop on 4th & 2.

Belquist and Wilson headed to locker room.

So, O-line seems to be having trouble keeping Tommy upright. Wasn’t o-line supposed to be a strong suit? Especially against a team like WIU?

I’m ready for some style points. Our final score has to start with a 3, preferably a 4. Defense holding to single digits would be ideal.

USD wins 3-2 with the 5th set going the distance at 18-16. Sooooo close….

I listened to the podcast last night and I've got some questions for those who used to play or know a lot more about football than I do. Especially on the defensive side (now I know both Kelly and Matt played defense, so that is what they know), they were very surprised at some of the things the defense was doing. Who's to blame for that? Obviously if the coaches don't tell the kids something, that's the coaches' fault. But if the coaches are trying to instruct, but the kid doesn't get it, is that the coaches' fault or the kid's fault? I mean, you can have a really good teacher and really dumb student, and if the student doesn't perform, who's fault is that? Either way, it makes the everyone look bad. Or was it the coaches' fault because they recruited a kid who isn't smart enough to get it? Or is it because the kid just doesn't have enough experience?? That's one thing that's hard to teach - experience. Another thing that Kelly often says after a game like SDSU (or Boise State) is "Burn the tape." Isn't that a recipe for repeating your own mistakes? Doesn't seem like the healthiest approach. Watch the tape and LEARN. That's what I would think, anyways. I would love to get some locker room input on this stuff.

I like the Luke option purely for the fact he's seen other places. I'm not opposed to Danny, but if Danny were willing to be his OC, I'd be good with that. May need some new defensive ideas, too....I've been proud of the 3-4 for a long time, but it doesn't seem to do us as many favors as it used to.

I thought if the fans demanded excellence, then we would get excellence. And if the fans settle for mediocre, we would get mediocre.

Yep, I have no problem with this.

Not sure what you think I'm trying to say here. If you're a fan, you're a fan, regardless of if / how much you donate, if / how many games you attend, if you do/don't tailgate, etc. I listen to the podcast. I assume that others who listen to the podcast are also pretty interested in the program.

I assumed that if you're a committed enough fan to listen to the podcasts, you know that.

No doubt the podcast is of high quality, but is it a true representation of the program? I would say mostly it is, but Like I said before, how much are true feelings reserved because you’re talking to the brother of the coach?

Maybe it was only me And what I mean, not necessarily problem solved like the defense is fixed, but saved Bubba from having to make a decision about whether to keep a guy who just gave up 400 yards/game on the season. Not to paint Schmidt as all bad, that same article said of the 2016 season: "UND gave up 91.3 yards per game rushing, which was sixth in the FCS. His defense collected 20 interceptions, which ranked No. 2 in the nation."

The joke is on UND, though. He's not even a coordinator and makes double what our head coach makes.

From Herald article at the time of Schmidt’s departure: “UND's 2019 defense averaged 397.6 yards of total defense, which ranked No. 73 in the FCS. The Fighting Hawks gave up 28.5 points per game, which ranked No. 68 in the FCS.” I seem to remember that him leaving was solving a problem. Same with Holinka. Seems like both of them started out well but regressed.

Ok things make more sense now. Did not realize Dale, Bubba, Kalen, and Schmidt all had the Southern Illinois connection.

Not really sure where to post this question, but what was it about Eric Schmidt that got him a job at Washington? Weren’t we thinking that his defenses at UND weren’t overly impressive?

I believe through 2025 season. So two more after this one.

To be fair, I know for a fact that there were NDSU alumni that thought what they were doing back then didn't make sense. I think it was safe to think that a DI move could be regarded as a mistake. With UND already playing the DI sport it wanted (hockey), I understand the cautiousness. If NDSU didn't find any takers to partner up with, then status quo in the NCC. What probably should have happened, is once NDSU got SDSU on board, UND (and I'm sure USD) should have been, "wait a minute, let's all four do this." It's hard to admit that you were wrong.

I knew you'd downvote, or respond, or both, and while I don't like it either, the only way out of the mess that was 2008-2020 was to have jumped to FCS in 2004. Lots of blame to go around.

Someone said it a while back, the clock for catching the XDSUs didn't really begin until UND joined the MVFC. Before that, our football program just floundered in an abyss from 2008 to 2020. I didn't mind the Big Sky, but it really wasn't our school's identity. I think the recruiting pipelines have gotten better since then. Wisconsin, Iowa. Wouldn't people say this last class is among the best (at least on paper)? I know it sucks not to be top dog now, but the waiting is the hardest part.

Kelly pretty much called it as how we all see it, but without getting into any coaching. https://undfootball360.com/sdsu-rolls-early-and-pulls-away-late-from-und/

How much do Kelly and Matt have to reserve their true feelings regarding the season/program because of Shannon?