Lennon's return to ND

[dlsiouxfan]

Um, yes, and I realize you were D2 last year too. My point was that the UND coaches and players are recognizing the D1 thing, but fans are down playing it. Why would you guys schedule a DIII when you could have scheduled a D2 that was instate this year?

Why would you guys schedule two schools that are essentially D-II or lower in terms of scholarships when you could have scheduled another I-AA school that was instate this year?

[4mcrue]

I actually welcome playing UND again, I'm not sure of why we didn't schedule you. Probably the same as why you didn't want to schedule us a few years ago.

[Herd]

Why would you guys schedule two schools that are essentially D-II or lower in terms of scholarships when you could have scheduled another I-AA school that was instate this year?

First reason . . . you can say whatever you want about the skill level on the field, but Austin Peay and CCSU are both Division I schools, period (not DII, not DIII). The AP game will be against a team from the Ohio Valley Conf, and frankly, that's a very good thing. CCSU's conference is developing and that should be an easier game for the Bison, but they are a DI school. Don't be confused. These teams might not beat Grand Valley on the field, but then you can't either. When you say DII or lower for scholarships, that would be 36 or less . . . most even being below the 24 level, NSIC for example. I'm sure that AP is easily above the 36 level playing in the Ohio Valley. I don't know the exact number, but 40+.

Second reason . . . the same reason you don't schedule Mary. With the new DI product, your fans will be more tolerant of a name they have not seen before (WI Lax) even in DIII, than with an instate team that might even be at a higher level. If your team scheduled Mary, your fans would be giving the admin an earful, you can count on that.

Third Reason . . . in 2003 your school chose to do what's in its best interest, now we are choosing to do what is in our best interest, and that is diverting our attention to the MVFC. Surely Sioux fans can understand this logic. Let's face it, a und/ndsu football game would do a lot more good for und than ndsu from a DI brand standpoint, regardless of the score of the game.

[dakotadan]

I think Sioux fans need to be careful about making fun of some of these team that NDSU has played or will be playing. Chances are good that we could end up playing many of these teams in the future, too.

Second, why are Bison fans so obsessed with the idea that UND needs to play UMary. Go ahead and schedule them if you want.

[bisonguy]

First reason . . . you can say whatever you want about the skill level on the field, but Austin Peay and CCSU are both Division I schools, period (not DII, not DIII). The AP game will be against a team from the Ohio Valley Conf, and frankly, that's a very good thing. CCSU's conference is developing and that should be an easier game for the Bison, but they are a DI school. Don't be confused. These teams might not beat Grand Valley on the field, but then you can't either. When you say DII or lower for scholarships, that would be 36 or less . . . most even being below the 24 level, NSIC for example. I'm sure that AP is easily above the 36 level playing in the Ohio Valley. I don't know the exact number, but 40+.

Second reason . . . the same reason you don't schedule Mary. With the new DI product, your fans will be more tolerant of a name they have not seen before (WI Lax) even in DIII, than with an instate team that might even be at a higher level. If your team scheduled Mary, your fans would be giving the admin an earful, you can count on that.

Third Reason . . . in 2003 your school chose to do what's in its best interest, now we are choosing to do what is in our best interest, and that is diverting our attention to the MVFC. Surely Sioux fans can understand this logic. Let's face it, a und/ndsu football game would do a lot more good for und than ndsu from a DI brand standpoint, regardless of the score of the game.

Austin Peay is funding 60 scholarships this year, CCSU is at either 40 or 42.

(dlsiouxfan @ Aug 22 2008, 11:19 PM)

Why would you guys schedule two schools that are essentially D-II or lower in terms of scholarships when you could have scheduled another I-AA school that was instate this year?

As far as DI FCS strength of schedule is concerned, there is only one DI football team in ND this year. The same exact reason why Cal-Poly is not playing UND this year, and the same reason why UC-Davis is not playing USD this year. In the FCS playoffs, preference is given to teams that play an exclusively DI schedule. It doesn't matter if it's Valpo or Appalachian State, they're both given more weight when selecting an at-large team than UND this year.

[star2city]

Saluki coaches inspired by greats

"Our talent level (at the University of North Dakota) wasn't always the greatest, but we had guys that really bought into the system," Lennon said.

Lennon said the nature of coaching is "eclectic" to a point where it is OK to borrow from different programs.

Schweigert said going to NFL clinics and studying tape of NFL defenses are great resources, but does not limit his influences to just NFL teams. Colorado State University and Texas Christian University also served as influences for Schweigert's current scheme.

Lennon said looking at contemporaries such as head football coach Urban Meyer of the University of Florida, whose offense averaged 42.5 points per game in 2007, can pay dividends.

"Look at what those guys do, and they're not scared of doing things that could potentially give them the upper hand," Lennon said. "Guys like that motivate you."

[Oxbow6]

A highly ranked I-AA is still a big fish in a little pond. You don't get out of the little pond until you are competing for a bowl berth.

2 D1 FB teams played on Sat. One a 2-time national champ and current national champ, the other is a current national champ as well.

LSU crushed App. St. Expected ..yes. But again not all D1 FB is D1 FB.

[SiouxMD]

SIU football looks to maintain positive trends - www.siude.com

North Dakota boasted the top scoring offense in the North Central Conference last season, averaging 38.8 points per game. The Bison scored a conference best 465 points en route to a 10-2 overall record.

Instant offense didn't look to be a problem for Lennon's North Dakota squad last season. The Bison outscored their opponents 128-42 in the first quarter.

Former Coach Lennon needs to educate the locals...