NewUNDAlum

I too like the philosophy of the team. If this makes any sense, we had a willingness to play physical as opposed to previous years when we just looked like wimps. The problem with this team is that the willingness to be physical isn't matched with the physical ability to do so. I know we are beating a dead horse talking about the line play on both sides of the ball but we are outclasses in those two areas but especially the defensive line. In a 34 defense the most important position is the nose. You need a big strong immovable object to make it work. Without it, guards get to the second level and even good linebacker play gives the offense a 3 yard gain. That just isn't good enough. #1 priority for Bubba in recruiting this year has got to be along the defensive line. Even if they are development guys you have got to recruit body frames along the front.

WTF when did that happen? I must be living under a rock.

I think we have some talent that can play. The exciting part is that the talent that we have looks to have a couple years left. The issue is that the positions that we lack talent we REALLY lack talent. We might have 1 defensive lineman that can play and he's a freshman. Our offensive line doesn't appear to have an identity. Decent size but not very physical and not very athletic. Losing Galloday is a killer for our skill positions. Secondary needs some serious work. Hopefully Carr ends up being a contributor. I think Mollberg is going to be a player once we get our protections figured out. Overall, we have some talent to compete but we need to do some serious developing and recruiting of certain positions of weakness because some of these guys starting would struggle to start on some DII teams that I've seen.

I think its safe to say the our linebackers are far and away our best overall unit.

I think beating any FBS team would be considered a big time win for a team picked to finish in the bottom 3 of their FCS conference.

Why would that be frustrating? If we would happen to come back and make this a game that doesn't change the fact that we didn't look very good in the first half.

I just can't get over how bad our trenches look. Oline improved a bit towards the end of the half but this defensive line is something else. There are high schools with more talent along the defensive front, thats not an exaggeration. Not blaming Bubba for this as it obviously isn't his fault that we have 250 lb. lineman that are already juniors but its almost beyond belief. Who on Mussman's staff thought that was going to work?

Ratelle and Idowu look the part. Mussman must have refused to recruit defensive lineman because holy cow. One of our nose tackles weighs 255 lbs. I mean come one, there are fullbacks that are bigger and we expect him to take on double teams.

Carrothers can't play at this level. Not at his current weight anyway. Just getting totally manhandled.

Well that wasn't very good Joe.

Pretty easy to diagnose the problem already. Oline is neither athletic or physical. Interior d-line is undersized and getting pushed around. The most important position in a 34 is the nose and ours is getting blown up every play.

This offensive line could use about 5 new starters.

Very early initial thoughts: Offensive line is going to struggle as anticipated. Mollberg looks improved. Obviously its early but just watching the initial drive you can see improvement. In two years he is going to be a really good player. Dline needs to add some size at the nose and some athleticism.

I'm still going to be cheering for an upset and watching the game but I also consider myself a realist. I think this years team is a 3-4 win team in the Big Sky. Next year I think we start to see some improvement but for the time being I just don't see us being very good. Like I said, I'll still be watching and praying that I'm wrong.

Well, we lost our two best offensive weapons, we have a mediocre offensive line, our defense was abysmal last year and isn't expected to be anything great this year and we lack any high end talent. I have SJSU 34 UND 13.

Lots of debby downers around here about playing NDSU. I for one couldn't care less if the first two are in Fargo. The schools will realize the demand and excitement for the game and I imagine they will be having annual games in the near future. If the games are close and everyone enjoys them and one of the schools decides it doesn't want to play anymore then all hell will break loose. Residents of this State would be up in arms and I have a feeling the State Legislature would step in and require the game be held. Just my two cents.

How is rescheduling the game against your biggest rival that all of the players want to play and 99% of the State residents want to see suddenly constitute "prostituting" ourselves out?

The fact that people are upset about the NDSU games is, in my opinion, ridiculous. It needed to be done. Its been a long time coming and things should have never gotten to this point. Who cares if the first two games are in Fargo. Its not like they are in back to back years and we are getting paid to do it with virtually no expenses. If you take NDSU out of it and just say we are getting paid $125,000 to drive one hour to play the best team in the FCS people would be ecstatic. But since its NDSU some people are butt hurt about it. I applaud Bubba and Faison. They did what needed to be done and the overwhelming majority of people are happy about it. I look forward to both games and future games that will undoubtedly be played in both Fargo and Grand Forks in the coming future.

You do realize that Alabama hasn't always been as good as they are now, right? Before Saban came they were terrible. As others have said, sports go in cycles. Alabama, Notre Dame, Michigan, USC, Texas, Florida State and you can go on and on. They come in and have a dominant 5-10 year period and then next thing you know they are awful for a 5-10 year period. Thats just how it is. Typically, when a team is great for an extended period players will become complacent, assistant coaches get poached, head coaches take positions at a higher level and teams start gunning for you.

Not a very good comparison. A better comparison would be this: Your company just had a very high level hire. The new hire accepts the job and starts working for your company and makes significant changes. He brings in additional staff and starts changing the operations of the company. Three months into it, you show up for work and notice that he isn't at work so you check your email and find you have a message from him saying that he left your company to go to a different one.

I agree that Hoffner got screwed over before anyone else did. I don't think anyone in their right mind would disagree. However, how many people did Hoffner screw over by retaking the Mankato job? He took a job at Minot State, recruited and started practice with his new players and then up and left. Made promises to his new players and administration and then left without a word. I have friends that play at Minot State and he didn't even address the team. He left without saying a word to any of them. A school gives you a chance at redemption and you leave them via email? That is garbage. As far as his Mankato players not wanting to play for him, I have no issue with that. They developed a relationship with their new coach and that's who they want to play for. They didn't ask for Hoffner to get fired before but they had to adjust and they did. Hoffner didn't recruit the freshman and sophomores at Mankato but now they are required to play for someone that they have never even met? How is that fair to them? In summary, yes, Hoffner got shafted as much as anyone that you will ever see. That does not justify his actions over the past week. I find it ironic that the school handled the entire situation so poorly and its followed up by Hoffner himself handling a different situation poorly. If Hoffner still ends up leaving Mankato because the players don't want him there then what? I don't think Minot State would take him back because they are pissed. In my opinion, Hoffner made himself radioactive after this past week so he better hope it works out at Mankato. Just my two cents.

Gothberg staying is fantastic. I was never too worried about him leaving but having confirmation is comforting.

Schmaltz-LaDue Thompson-Stecher Gives you one elite d pairing and one very very good d pairing. Both pairing have the potential to put up huge numbers. Then you throw in Mattson to help cover any mental lapses of the freshy.

I could agree with substituting Ausmus with Mattson in certain situations. I wouldn't separate Thompson and Stecher and Schmaltz and LaDue is too enticing to pass up IMO. Mattson, Ausmus and Poolman will all see ice time unless two of those three play too well to take out of the lineup. Schmaltz and LaDue =

Here is what I would like to see: MacMillian-Parks-Caggiula Schmaltz-Grimaldi-Johnson Pattyn-Gaarder-Olson St. Clair-Chyzik-ODonnell Schmaltz-LaDue Thompson-Stecher Mattson-Poolman Gothberg Keep the top line how it is. It will be a veteran group that doesn't have any one stand out but has 3 guys that can hurt you in different ways. They should have plenty of chemistry but we need each one to make some improvements going into next season. We need more points out of that line to be frank. I was hoping to see more of an improvement out of all three than we did this season. Hopefully how this past season ended will give them plenty of motivation heading into next year. As for the second line, I would like to see Schmaltz paired with Rocco and Johnson. He is a playmaking winger that, in my opinion, we need with Rocco and Johnson. I think this line could make or break us next year. Johnson absolutely has to improve his game and become a bigger threat to score. He has the talent, he just needs to bring it consistently. If Johnson does improve and Schmaltz can make an immediate impact this line could be a matchup nightmare for any team in the country as it would have a fantastic combination of speed and scoring ability with all three guys able to bring something a bit different to the table. The third line might be the most fun to watch. I haven't personally seen Olson but all reports I have read say that he is a gritty player with size and an edge. Pattyn has improved every year and will wear the C next year. He is tough with more skill than given credit for. Gaarder played himself into this position and is the type of player that won't allow himself to do anything but improve. I think this line would have the ability to put some points on the board but even better will bring some of the old school Sioux mentality to the lineup. These guys will have no bones about getting into the face of anyone in the country. True grit that will punish teams both physically and mentally. The lunch pale line that will undoubtedly spend some time in the box and instigate some scrums. The fourth line is a pure grind you out type of line. Experienced and relentless. I really like the idea of matching up OD with St. Clair and Chyzik. They all are workers that might not be the most skilled but if you make a mistake they can pounce on you. I think dropping OD to this line will give us a little bit more of a 4th line threat than we had this past year. As for the defense, I absolutely love it. Every single one of those dmen can put up points. Fantastic skaters all around. Schmaltz and LaDue might be the best pairing in the country and would see a TON of ice time. Thompson and Stecher are great together and will only get better. I matched Mattson with the freshy Poolman to help him progress and I think they compliment eachother pretty well. Plus we still have Ausmus if we want a change of pace. I think this group of dmen have the ability to be one of the best in the country if not the best. Gothberg is Gothberg. Enough said.