UND @ SFA

[UND92,96]

I hate to pull the what if card but it pains me to think of how much better the team would be if you add in Chappell and Murray to the offense god those guys could fly.

Certainly having Chappell and Murray would help, but whether the o-line could open any holes for them to run through is another question.

[sIoUxPeRsTiTiOuS]

My thoughts in a nut shell:

- DB's, O-line and QB hold the key to this season.

- Secondary looked awful.

- O-line needs to mature in a hurry.

- Landry needs to be more assertive and take charge as a leader. I know it's only his 3rd start, but now is when we should see strides in that department.

- We cannot afford any big injuries.

- Our most talented kids are very young.

- Defense overall needs to be better.

- Offense overall needs to be more aggressive.

Whew, that's quite a list.

We'll be fine. I see 6-5 right now. If this were 2011, I'd be REALLY concerned.

Can't wait to be at the Alerus on Saturday to watch us beat USD!

[TexasSiouxStudent]

Pics in case anyone was interested

[UND92,96]

As embarrassing as it is to lose as badly as UND did last night, the reality is that something like this seems to happen at least once to every school during the first two or three years of their transition:

SDSU

2004

52 UC-Davis

0 SDSU

63 Georgia Southern

7 SDSU

2006

17 Wisconsin-LaCrosse

3 SDSU

NDSU

2005

37 Cal Poly

6 NDSU

USD

2009

66 N. Iowa

7 USD

[jimdahl]

Pics in case anyone was interested

Thanks, added them to the photos page.

[SiouxMeNow]

NONSENSE!!! failure will NOT BE TOLERATED!!! (oh wait - this was a quote from a previous tranistional team that ALSO had NOTHING to play for...but had FAR LESS of a sense of humor )

(ps - they're now 1-3 when it MATTERS! - haHA!!!!)

[GeauxSioux]

I didn't get to listen to the game and only got to check scores infrequently, but wow did the Sioux get run the second half.

Is SFA that good, the Sioux that bad or just a combination of the two mixed with a tough exhausting road schedule?

Time to right the ship and beat the Yotes.

Go SIOUX!!!

[Oxbow6]

I didn't get to listen to the game and only got to check scores infrequently, but wow did the Sioux get run the second half.Is SFA that good, the Sioux that bad or just a combination of the two mixed with a tough exhausting road schedule?

Time to right the ship and beat the Yotes.

Go SIOUX!!!

We just don't have the speed or athletes on defense, especially in the secondary to match up with some of these teams. Now 90+ degrees and another long trip to TX doesn't help, but to get 60+ hung on you is pathetic!

[BigGame]

We just don't have the speed or athletes on defense, especially in the secondary to match up with some of these teams. Now 90+ degrees and another long trip to TX doesn't help, but to get 60+ hung on you is pathetic!

UND clearly doesn't have the team speed SFA has but I think if UND just tackled better the scoreboard would have been much closer. I don't remember the last time I saw a team tackle so poorly, it was brutal!

[RD17]

The defensive weakness is the linebacking, not the secondary. SFA receivers danced around the linebackers all evening and ran against them at will. With the depth and speed of SFA's receivers and RBs, and the lack of athletic ability of our LB corps, UND's secondary had no chance because they are expected to plug every hole.

Up until the past few seasons, the athleticism of the linebacking corps was a solid. Now, it's even suspect at the DII level.

I think you are spot on with this analysis. People are quick to blame the secondary when teams start throwing the ball effectively, but the secondary can only do so much if there is no pass rush and the linebackers are not making plays in space on those short passes.

UND's linebacking group is junior and senior dominated, but unfortunately, the talent just isn't there. Miller is a decent ILB and Kasowski makes some plays at times but outside of that, the group just isn't that athletic. The other thing that really hurts is that Bobby Stroup would have been a senior this year and likely a dominant pass rusher coming off the edge, which could have made a huge difference in this defense.

The coaching staff brought in a big group of LB's in the last recruiting class and I believe at least two of them would be playing a major role right now if the decision hadn't been made to redshirt and build for the future. I suppose Mussman could have gone out and signed 2 or 3 JUCO's to come in and play now but all that would have done is displaced some veterans and upset team chemistry, and we'd be right back at the same juncture in 2 years.

Both NDSU and USD have been run off of the field in a game this year and yet both played respectably against pretty good offenses last week. I would also think that with the combination of playing at home against a rival and having something to prove after last week's poor performance, UND will look like a whole different defense these next couple of weeks.

The other point I wanted to make about this game in particular is that obviously the heat was a detriment to UND because they weren't used to it, but also the two returns for touchdowns in the first half probably hurt the UND defense in this game as much as anything. That gave SFA two more immediate offensive possessions and probably contributed to UND wearing down quickly.

[jimdahl]

Some paraphrasing of Mussman from FB Notes: Mussman, Sioux look to improve at Homecoming. Not direct quotes:

We gave away some points we don't typically give away. Punt return that got them deep and led to a score, an interception that led to a score, blown coverage. They were just trying to run the clock out and we were missing coverage and giving them scores. Missed tackling and our offense didn't do much.

We're struggling with the running game more than anything. If you sit back there and pass it all day, they'll get to you, and we're not built for that.

Our guys should be a little embarrassed. As coaching staff, we sure are.

Get back to work, don't forget what happened, but get better and show people that we're a good defense.

[UND92,96]

Some paraphrasing of Mussman from FB Notes: Mussman, Sioux look to improve at Homecoming. Not direct quotes:

We gave away some points we don't typically give away. Punt return that got them deep and led to a score, an interception that led to a score, blown coverage. They were just trying to run the clock out and we were missing coverage and giving them scores. Missed tackling and our offense didn't do much.

We're struggling with the running game more than anything. If you sit back there and pass it all day, they'll get to you, and we're not built for that.

Our guys should be a little embarrassed. As coaching staff, we sure are.

Get back to work, don't forget what happened, but get better and show people that we're a good defense.

From what I can tell without having actually seen the team play in person, we may need to be a pass-to-set-up-the-run-type offense. It just doesn't seem that we have a big or physical enough offensive line to overpower many teams with the running game like we've done so often in the past.

[jimdahl]

From what I can tell without having actually seen the team play in person, we may need to be a pass-to-set-up-the-run-type offense.

I unintentionally chopped a little bit from the paraphrase, that's pretty much exactly what Mussman said.

[UND92,96]

I unintentionally chopped a little bit from the paraphrase, that's pretty much exactly what Mussman said.

I see this offense in a similar light to teams like Winona State or Augie when they gave UND problems--perhaps a bit under-sized on the o-line, so they used a lot of short passes and misdirection, with the occasional deep ball. I think there are enough weapons with Bamba, Sutton, Konrath and perhaps Davis to be pretty effective doing this.

[BigGame]

I see this offense in a similar light to teams like Winona State or Augie when they gave UND problems--perhaps a bit under-sized on the o-line, so they used a lot of short passes and misdirection, with the occasional deep ball. I think there are enough weapons with Bamba, Sutton, Konrath and perhaps Davis to be pretty effective doing this.

After seeing them play I think Davis is UND's best bet at RB right now. He is small but runs hard, has speed, and can make people miss. All the other RB's seem a little slow to make a cut and get up the hole, although it is tough to tell considering the offensive line isn't making much for holes to run through either.