USTBench

Andrew McElroy but he was in the TP for about .5 seconds before NIU snatched him up. Our game against USD was an open tryout for a LB named Jonathan Bunce apparently. Lol. Seth Bullard was an ILB that transferred to SFA. Shawn Shipman landed at WIU. Anyone UND would want is already spoken for, it seems.

Tampering! Just kidding fellas. Great hire for my second favorite FCS team.

I don't see the gulf between SDSU and UND being as wide as it is between Minnesota and Ohio State/Michigan. UND seems to be stifled by the antiquated thinking of the old guard and a reluctance to court the Gen Xers/Millennials as alums/potential donors/coaches/fans, etc. I believe I even read a few pages back someone intimate UND should have never left DII. WHAT??? UND has the facilities, the donors, and as I drive down Columbia, I can't think of too many mid-majors that have anything broaching what UND will have for football. There's a little brother/loser mentality here that Grand Forks and UND needs to shake, but believe me, you've got a sleeping giant at the FCS level. One guy in the big chair can make that happen inside of 2 years.

Your choices are a guy that retired from coaching over 25 years ago and a HS coach/financial advisor that makes 5x what UND can pay him at Bell Bank.

Probably as good as they could have hoped for playing FBS football in Laramie, Wyoming.

You'd be a bottom-feeder in our league.

Lol. I think there's a misconception that this was Tommy's decision amongst those who don't quite get how managing 63 scholarships and the egos of a full QB room works.

Unheralded, no D1 offers, yet came in (at the last second) and manned the ship for 3 1/2 seasons. 9,000+ yards, 63 TDs, aided in beating the Bison, and no doubt showed Feeney and Kaminski a thing or two about leadership (especially when looking at some of the recent debacles, like the Otis Weah situation). Everyone on this board should be grateful that kid was here to right the ship and he should be considered a UND legend, full stop. That said, no, Tommy doesn't have big arm talent, he has had his run, and is probably not the guy to get UND over the hump of being slightly above-average, and putting them in the Frisco conversation. You have the Minnesota and Wisconsin POYs waiting in the wings. Feeney will not be a "young guy" next year, he'll be in his 3rd year of this offense, and Kaminski is a real talent as well, and by all accounts will push Feeney for QB1. If Danny and/or Bubba didn't have "the talk" with Tommy, you'd lose one or both of your big recruits, and after spring ball, you still may lose one to the TP, regardless. It was time to turn the page. As for Romfo, he's an 11A kid from ND and will probably never get a real true shot at QB1 in an upper tier FCS program no matter what he shows in practice. I'm getting Brock Boltman vibes out of him.

I agree that an interview would be wortheless, but a subpoena to testify in front of ND's state legistlature's higher education committee would have some teeth. It would ultimately yield the same responses, but a few b-holes would pucker at NDSU and possibly amongst the selection committee, and a message would be sent that these types of shennanigans cannot be swept under the rug. Montana getting to play a home playoff game on ESPN 2, and now getting to play at NDSU is exposure you cannot buy. UND was screwed out of that potential opportunity and has only been met with obfuscation. UND desperately needs to stop being a passive milquetoast school on the FCS landscape because it's horrible for the brand. UND needs to flagship a second sport, and the hood ornament of any university is its football program.

After watching this selection committee debacle I would say it'd be interesting if UND was to lead the pack from an unconventional position. Sort of an "attack a liberal from the left, attack a conservative from the right" approach, in which UND hard-charges toward FBS. This will make NDSU fans scoff but will also force NDSU's hand to explore that avenue with UND. I find it hard to believe Matt Larsen lobbied for UND at all and I suspect he failed in his fiduciary duty to advocate for the MVFC, and if that's the case, and it certainly looks like it is, you can't trust the organization or level you're in, and UND should call that out. That said, Larsen's stacking the deck in NDSU's favor in a "down year", shows that either NDSU has to maintain this level of success in perpetuity or the brass will face serious consequences, or, they have find a group of committed peer institutions to explore a move up together. It sounds like the G-5 is angling to be "FCS on steroids" and with the expanded 12-team CFP starting soon, I suspect the CFP will consistently be 10/11 P5 schools and 1 10+ win G5 school. I suspect that format, whether people like-it-or-not will be hugely successful and eventually the G5 will follow suit and craft their own playoff, essentially creating a subdivision between FCS and FBS. It's getting increasingly obvious to me that FCS will soon look like the abandoned tire plant that is D2 and UND needs to jump off that sinking ship. The "15,000" average attendance thing is a complete joke, and always has been. I've been to concrete monolith that is Rice Stadium in which about 500 people watched 120 points scored between ECU and Rice. I've watched "MACtion" and if Eastern Michigan is outdrawing most D3 schools I'd be suprised. I see a lot of complaints about the Alerus gameday experience on here, but it is exponentially better than what is being offered at several G5 FBS schools. Also, Sam Houston is going to FBS without a stadium that even holds 15,000 and their average attendance is less than 8,000. I'm not saying a 6th Group conference could be formed, but UND, NDSU, SDSU, USD, Montana, Montana State, Idaho (previously FBS), and a few other financially solvent major state universities could explore creating their own football conference or joining a pre-existing one now that the remaining Mountain West schools will be lobbying the PAC-12 to replace USC/UCLA and get into that coveted P5 conference. Maybe (probably) nothing comes of it, but it could force the FCS to get their act together. The Sun Belt has gone from a laughing stock to a formiddable conference in a very short period of time, and I look at those schools and (some) of the MWC schools more like peer football institutions moreso than Mercer, Campbell, Samford, Holy Cross, etc. I don't think anyone on here is particularly enamored with the MAC, and I think you could have a better conference almost overnight with the schools I previously mentioned. Full send, loco crazy, but fun to think about. UND is making a major financial commitment to football with Phase 2 it seems. So, probably time to stop acting like little brother, and they'll probably stop being treated like little-brother.

Pretty damn good D-II schools, though.

If you're serious Judy's might have moved to the top of the list.

Yeah, that's what I've narrowed it down to. I kind of want to hate watch Richmond/Davidson as well, but I can follow that on my phone.

Best place to watch the game in GF? I'll hang up and listen.

Oly lifts like snatch, clean and jerk are okay to a degree, but there is significant wear and tear, especially when frequently going heavy. Also, there isn't as much ROM with your hips as you'd think as there is almost zero lateral movement. You're rarely just running in a straight line and imposing your will from an idealic positon of power in football. Football is about awkward angles. Static holds with your hips at awkward angles, band work, and more low impact exercises where strength is being built in your hips but you're not breaking your team is also very important. Getting from a deficient position to an athletic position as quickly as possible is essential. Also, building up the tibalis anterior with simply walking backwards and backward sled pulls is huge for building strong knees. Nothing against oly lifts, but if your program is centered on just doing the same old oly lifts from 40 years ago, the strength world has passed you by.

I've seen social media posts from Nate Baukol and what he has the kids doing looks, well...antiquated (and downright dangerous, TBH). It just looks like all the same things I did in college 20 years ago. I've also heard tales of extremely weak hip-flexors for a D1 football team and limited work on ROM (range of motion). That said, it would appear from what I see of Will Ratelle's online stuff is that his philosphy much more aligned with what you'd see at a big time school nowadays, and I think that is telling. Combining strengh with ROM and explosive movement. My opinion is that the the strength coach needs to be scrutinized as intensely as the HC, maybe moreso. And there really needs to be analytical approach to everything from what type of injuries do we collectively experience the most, to what are the team deficiences. Bison strength is second-to-none, and that cannot really be debated. I think UND has something special in Ratelle, and I think after the completion Phase 2 it might time to consider a promotion for him.

Youngstown would have that coveted "quality loss"

He had 7 carries last Saturday. Might be considered an "athlete" as opposed to a true RB, but it's a fair description.

If UND beats USD on Saturday, it's going to be interesting to see how UND/NDSU go at each other on the 19th. UND is not a playoff lock and is going to sell-out physically, conceivably going into the playoffs. Could be detrimental in the 1st round.

Lol, yikes. Up there with the "NDSU should join the (insert P5 conference)" folks.

Don't worry, I'm pouring lots of cold water on the fellas over on our "fan board (Slack)". Still happy for us and hope the PFL is a pit stop.

I've had my fair share of conversations with him, he seems extremely happy where he is, and does not seem to be a big fan of living in ND (despite his wife being from Fargo), and is adamant about the quality of ND HS football (thinks it sucks). It would seem he wants push UST into the MVFC someday. I think UND purusuing him would be a dead-end, considering he walks on water at UST and gets paid quite well.

Kevin Bullis is fortunate to have had Lance Leipold build that program into what it is and ride in on the shoulder of a giant, and Vince Kehres is a GIANT no from me. Mount Union is nowhere near what it was under his dad, he doesn't recruit nearly as well, coach as well, and his program gets a free pass to the semifinals in a notoriously weak region every year, where they're now getting exposed by NCC, UMHB and UWW.

We'll give you his OC. Best we can do.

The burden of proof is much higher in a criminal trial: more likely than not v. beyond a reasonable doubt. In District Court in ND (unless a bench trial is specifically requested) the judge is NOT the decision maker as to the facts, or as to guilt, the jury is. The judge only interprets the law. Having been in both situations, an administrative hearing is much more akin to a municipal trial on a low level misdemeanor or a traffic violation, where the determiner of the law and the facts is the same person, which most people would agree is not the appropriate way to adjudicate a sex crime. This is why anything worse than a B Misdemeanor in ND is prosecuted in District Court. I'm not saying administrative hearings don't have their place, they certainly do. Especially in situations such as these, where there might not be enough evidence to prosecute someone per se, but the alleged victim doesn't feel safe on campus and would like a voice. That said, banning someone from campus for 5 years is a big step in-and-of-itself, and there should be a higher burden of proof and impartial tribunal (instead of a solitary hearing officer) for sex assault claims in Title IX hearings. The accused should also have the right to an attorney provided at University expense, especially considering there are CVIC advocates who work within UND's Title IX office (I believe they should be a separate entity, and merely help facilitate the investigation). But, again, it's not a court of law.