LkvlleUNDFan

Just an FYI - UND commit Travis Toivonen from Red Wing, MN stats through six games: 33 catches for 758 yards (23.0 yds/catch and 126 yds/game) and 5 TDs. Team is 4-2. Almost all the balls I saw in his highlights were underthrown - otherwise his yards and TDs might be higher. http://www.hudl.com/athlete/2969046/highlights/294873206/v2

Looks like an interior offensive line guy to me. I didn't really pay special attention to him when I saw Burnsville play, but he's got a bit of the nasty factor you want in an offensive lineman.

Time will tell how good the competition was in this game, but somebody buy Coach Knauf a beer after this win. 240 yards rushing after the last two weeks is a great turnaround no matter what.

I guess that's why I'm in sales and not marketing! And again - all I said is that I didn't hate it any more and that there are possibilities from a branding/logo/mascot angle.

I don't have the history that many of you do, but most of UND's fans and certainly the future students and fans don't have that history, either. I'm just looking at the current choices on their own merits. Roughriders is okay, but has baggage. Fighting Hawks is a nod to the Fighting Sioux, but isn't distinctive at all. Sundogs would be unique and have lots of visual possibilities. I'm not saying I love it, just that I no longer hate it.

I believe this is exactly what you'll see, starting today.

I haven't followed the saga, and initially I hated the idea of Sundogs... laughed at it. Now I'm sort of coming around to it. A lot could be done with a husky-like dog mascot. Green might not work as a color, but the imagery of snow and ice and blue and grey colors with a fierce dog could be pretty cool. I'm sure I'll get ripped for it, but I think it's better than Fighting Hawks, which feels forced and short on creativity.

Was at that game.... Missed PAT after a late TD in the 4th quarter was the difference for the Mustangs, so there's your moral vic. 21-20 SMSU, and I'm sure they were damned glad to get out of St. Cloud with the win. But, I digress.... My 31-17 prediction in favor of the Bison gave the UND offense way too much credit for the Wyoming game.

So far I'm not impressed with the NDSU DL. If our young RBs can pick up a blitz or two, we will move the ball through the air. After last week, though, I have no idea what to expect from the OLine in the running game. Whether it was lack of interest, arrogance, or something else entirely, they just didn't show up for Drake. My prediction is that UND fights the good fight for 3 quarters but falls 31-17.

Just a few thoughts on Saturday's game, some bright, some gloomy: Meindel averaged 47 yards a punt - with good hang time!Studsrud looked mostly sharp in the passing game. They had some hiccups, and he took some sacks he didn't need to - but I'll take 32-53 with 3 TDs and no INTs through two games.Drake was 4-17 on 3rd downs, and 0-13 to start. They had a LOT of 3rd & longs because the D was stout on 1st & 2ndReyes' hit on the QB was scary. He's got to know by now that leaving your feet on a high hit will get you a flag (or worse) every time. No excuse for it.Alerus experience was like an anemic after giving blood - hard to stay awake. No effort to make the game interesting at all.An evening game meant that the students knew the parties were starting without them. Those that left at halftime saw a Drake team that didn't do anything in the first half and their team safely up 21-0. Those that left in the 2nd half saw THEIR team doing nothing and a Drake team that showed no life until very late in the game. I don't blame the students. The idea of leaving early even passed through my head for an instant.Santiago's fumbles were bad and have to stop. Unfortunately, he's the only ball carrier that showed any spark. Arrington must still be hurting. Oliviera will do damage in the right situations, but doesn't have the acceleration or shiftiness.From what I heard, Bubba raised the roof in the locker room after the game. Let's hope he got their attention.This was a bad win, but they got out basically injury-free, didn't show anything much on film to tip their hand to NDSU, and if you can't get focused and fired up for a game like this, you're in the wrong business. I expect a different team to show up in Fargo.Go UND!

Pretty spot on, guys... 13/23 (57%) for 153. 0 TDs and 0 INTs. Made up the difference with 59 yards on the ground and that long TD run. All in all a strong performance with room to improve.

I had this picture of Peter Graves in the old "Mission Impossible" series. I bet Bohl wishes they had those old self-destructing tape machines. Mission Impossible "This message will self-destruct in 10 seconds." One stat that says an awful lot about how this game went: Wyoming's free safety and strong safety combined for 27 tackles. OLine was doing its job! #RoadGraders Can't wait for next weekend in the Alerus!

I never once played on a team where it was even suggested that we specifically target the injured part of another player's body. This is a rough and violent game, but it's not blood sport. I'd be repulsed by any coach or any player that deliberately went after a knee or an ankle with the intent to injure. If my kids had ever been coached that way I'd remove them from the field myself. Forget the rules of the game - it's called morality. That said - you put a compromised player on the field, you have to expect the other team to try to exploit the weakness. Whether it's a lineman with a bad shoulder or a QB with a bum wheel, putting pressure on the weakness is absolutely part of the game and not a moral issue. As for 2011BisonAlumni - I won't tell him he shouldn't be angry about Sicatoka's comment - I was pretty disgusted myself. But, to throw all UND fans into one category based on one person's comment and label us as "classless losers" is not unexpected from him, but it is completely irrational.

I've been told they're gone. It just didn't sound like college football was for them, or at least not at this level.

There's a Lakeville kid on the 'Pokes - true freshman walkon OL. I ran into his dad on Friday night and he said his son's doing really well and is in the mix to play. Now, this kid is athletic and is listed at 6'4" & 318 on their roster, but if it's true that he's in the mix (I don't see him on their two-deep) my guess is that it says more about the state of the program than it does about him. I see two other freshman O linemen on the two-deep - so clearly it's not a position they felt good about coming into this year.

I love the lively QB debate and banter. Reading all of your comments, here are my takeaways: None of us have a better picture than the coaches, and we don't know what we don't know.As a true freshman, jumping from Benilde-St. Margaret's and MN class 4A football to the FCS/Big Sky as Studsrud did is a big jump, no matter who you are. While I don't know this for certain, I'm guessing he wasn't even getting the majority of the snaps on the scout team before he was called on to start.No decision is permanent. If a change needs to be made, it can be made.Last year's offensive line was patchwork at best. Just too many injuries and guys playing out of position. They rallied at the end of the season, and I've got more confidence in this group.A productive running game is critical, especially as Studsrud gets more game experience. The fewer tough spots he's put into early on, the better for everyone.Studsrud sounds like a name for a linebacker.Can we all at least agree that it's Bartels, not Bartles?Let the debate resume...

Sounds like Greer is the only DL freshman to not start with a redshirt. Haven't heard about other positions yet. Looking forward to seeing the depth chart!

The last few MN Mr. Football winners are: 2014 - Robbie Grimsley - NDSU Free Safety2013 - Jeff Jones - U of M WR2012 - Bridgeport Tusler - 1 year at SDSU, now at DIII Bethel University - RB2011 - Phillip Nelson - Former U of M, Rutgers, now South Alabama QB2010 - Peter Westerhaus - U of M LB Diagnosed with ulcerative colitis in 2013 and is listed on the roster, but will not play and did not see action2009 - Zach Vraa - NDSU WR2008 - Varmah Sonie - Northern Iowa DB - Signed by the Cleveland Browns in February, waived in May of this year. Spent 2014 playing for the Portland Thunder.So... Mr. Football is certainly no guarantee of FBS status, and really no guarantee of college success at any level - at least lately.

I'm hearing the same thing. No details, just that they've left the team.

Sorry, but I was asked to avoid sharing the details. The parent I talked with isn't being vindictive, just sharing his son's experiences with different schools both during the courting process and when he called to inform them of his decision. I'd be breaking his confidence if I shared that.

That's fine. Bad behavior should have consequences, and if no one knows about it there are few or only minor ones. I know the source of the comments well enough to know that he didn't lie or embellish the story. It matches others I've heard - though this was even worse. If the trolls want to label me, they will. That doesn't change the truth.

No - to another FCS school.

I just talked to the parent of a '16 recruit that was offered by NDSU and several other FCS schools. When he called his recruiting coach at NDSU to let him know he had chosen another school, the coach's reaction was: Silence....then, "Wow, I'm really surprised to hear that.""Why would you pick a school that has only had 5 good players in the last five years, when we've had 50?""We'll see your ass on the field..."Hung up on the recruit.All of the aboveAnd the answer is....#5. For all of you that have expertise in this area, how is that a sustainable recruiting strategy? That family will forever go out of their way to discourage anyone from going to NDSU based on that experience. Kids change their minds all the time - and to slam the door on a kid that they clearly wanted seems both arrogant and short-sighted. And, really, is that any way for a grown man, supposedly professional, to treat a 17 year-old kid that has made multiple visits to your campus and simply felt called in another direction? I guess I shouldn't be shocked, but that is some real ugliness coming out of Fargo and seems to be a pattern.

Agreed - Teeder11, your updates have been great and much appreciated. Are you sure you have to go back to work?

I just heard about Travis, too, from his AAU basketball coach here in Lakeville. He couldn't say enough good things about Toivonen. I guess he was up on a visit this weekend and committed right away. Odd coincidence: the same AAU coach had freshman DE Carl Engwall on his team for 3 years.