Sioux FB hits bottom: but 2012 is the goal

[Hansel]

I'm proposing a truce on all Sioux-Bison smack talk for the remainder of the season. At this point it's a lot like arguing with your buddy about who brought home the prettier fat chick the night before. No matter who wins in a way you both lost big time.

I wonder if Bohl will take a lease on Chapman's former "bonus room" in lieu of a buyout

[Irish]

Walrus, you know I love you like a brother but this is beyond a "bad day". An NAIA school with 1/4 of the scholarship money we have didn't just beat us, they kicked the dog out of us. We were never in this game and when they had the ball, we couldn't get it back.

You're right, in the big picture, we'll be fine. Good coaches, good kids, etc. but this is not acceptable and cannot be swept under the rug. Horrible effort by everyone, just horrible.

Agreed that this effort is totally unacceptable. I'm most disappointed with the lack of adjustments on defense. Why we couldn't cover their trip wide outs is beyond me. Even after halftime, we got burned with the same stuff. I'm not willing to put up with many more of these fiascos. I've been a Sioux fan for over 40 years, and this may be their most disgusating loss ever.

[Matt]

I'm proposing a truce on all Sioux-Bison smack talk for the remainder of the season. At this point it's a lot like arguing with your buddy about who brought home the prettier fat chick the night before. No matter who wins in a way you both lost big time.

Can you imagine having to sit through the stinkfest if these teams actually played this year?

[RD17]

Also, you can call me crazy (and many of you did last year when I said UMD would have won the NCC and would give Grand Valley all they could handle ) but UND will have its hands full with Sioux Falls. Yes, USF is NAIA but they have a great team. I really like the job Faison has done so far, but scheduling a team like USF was not wise at this point in the transition.

Not to say I told you so but...

As I pointed out earlier, this was just plain stupid scheduling. It was pretty obvious coming into the year that this would be a down season for UND so not only does the athletic department schedule this type of game against an outstanding lower division opponent, but they also schedule it against a team from within the region where the negatives from a potential loss are magnified? There are certain things you just do not do when trying to build a program and one of them is schedule yourself into a no win situation.

It is amazing to me just how bad the 2006 and 2007 recruiting classes are. One of those years UND brought in six linebackers and none of them are left on the roster? Ever since Bubba Schweigert left the coaching staff, the recruiting on the defensive side of the ball has been subpar. Every single defensive player on UMD's D-II championship team last year was recruited by Bubba and every single one of them was from the same area that UND recruits. Probably not a coincidence.

[SiouxMeNow]

Not to say I told you so but...

As I pointed out earlier, this was just plain stupid scheduling. It was pretty obvious coming into the year that this would be a down season for UND so not only does the athletic department schedule this type of game against an outstanding lower division opponent, but they also schedule it against a team from within the region where the negatives from a potential loss are magnified? There are certain things you just do not do when trying to build a program and one of them is schedule yourself into a no win situation.

It is amazing to me just how bad the 2006 and 2007 recruiting classes are. One of those years UND brought in six linebackers and none of them are left on the roster? Ever since Bubba Schweigert left the coaching staff, the recruiting on the defensive side of the ball has been subpar. Every single defensive player on UMD's D-II championship team last year was recruited by Bubba and every single one of them was from the same area that UND recruits. Probably not a coincidence.

Faison didn't have a lot of "options" for home games for UND this season. It was totally a matter of "beggars can't be choosers" and it blew up in our face...it happens. UNI thought they booked an easy home win a couple years ago and UND shocked them at home. Now we're on the other end of a david/goliath game....so what...there's always next week!

[MoSiouxFan]

Faison didn't have a lot of "options" for home games for UND this season. It was totally a matter of "beggars can't be choosers" and it blew up in our face...it happens. UNI thought they booked an easy home win a couple years ago and UND shocked them at home. Now we're on the other end of a david/goliath game....so what...there's always next week!

Good post; its time to get over it. I hate it any time the Sioux lose, and when they lose a game like yesterday, let's face it, a good part of the hurt/anger comes from the fact that our good old pride has been dealt a serious blow.

[WYOBISONMAN]

Can you imagine having to sit through the stinkfest if these teams actually played this year?

No kidding......screw The Nickel......they can play for a damn toilet seat.

[UND92,96]

No kidding. I'm not sure what I'm more disappointed in, the way UND played and lost today, or the way some people are commenting. No doubt, it's very disappointing and unacceptable for us to lose to a NAIA team. Sioux Falls is talented, well-coached and disciplined and were the better team today. No excuses. I'm no happier about it than anyone else on here. I think it sucks bad that we lost to them and I am very frustrated.

However, I like Shawn-O's idea. Wait till the end of the season to see how this thing plays out before going off the deep end. We will learn a lot about the overall character of this team in the coming weeks. What we do from here on out for the rest of the season will have a very big effect on how we recruit in the near future.

Hopefully, we have reached bottom in terms of morale for the transition. We knew it wasn't going to be easy. Nowhere to go but up from here.

I completely respect your opinion, and agree that no judgments should be made until the end of the season. But I can't blame anybody for being critical, and I'm not sure any posts have really been over the line all things considered. It was pretty tame compared to what would have happened had the hockey team gotten swept by a dIII team. This is likely the most humiliating loss by a UND team in any sport, ever. I am far more bothered by this than the string of losses to DAC teams by the men's basketball team in the mid-2000's.

I think the offense gets a pass this year due to youth and unexpected personnel losses at running back the past two years. Plus, Mussman knows offense. But the defense? Barring a miracle turnaround the last five games, that's an area which must be addressed after the season. Enough is enough.

[UNDvince97-01]

I completely respect your opinion, and agree that no judgments should be made until the end of the season. But I can't blame anybody for being critical, and I'm not sure any posts have really been over the line all things considered. It was pretty tame compared to what would have happened had the hockey team gotten swept by a dIII team. This is likely the most humiliating loss by a UND team in any sport, ever. I am far more bothered by this than the string of losses to DAC teams by the men's basketball team in the mid-2000's.

I think the offense gets a pass this year due to youth and unexpected personnel losses at running back the past two years. Plus, Mussman knows offense. But the defense? Barring a miracle turnaround the last five games, that's an area which must be addressed after the season. Enough is enough.

And I respect yours. Being upset with this loss, as well as being critical of the team and coaches is fine. I was referring to some other things that were being said when I talked about "going off the deep end". Nobody should consider this loss to be acceptable.

[coachdags]

How come it gets lost in the equation that USF was a good football team...?

They will all probability have back to back 27 game wining streaks (that's 54 out of 55) with 2 National Titles and 1 runner-up trophy. Sure they have limited funds and scholarships, but they also do not follow NCAA rules and regulations (clearing house) for student athletes as far as recruiting, grades, ect...They had some better athletes on the field then maybe UND or the NCAA will allow...?

UND played poor lost by 15 on a bad day. We also have a little bid of a injury problem right now.

P.S. I may put the Walrus to bed, I always liked this name better.

[UND1983]

As far as the defense and the Co-Defensive Coordinator bit is concerned, there is nothing "Co" about it. One of them calls all the plays and takes over adjusting the game plan as the game goes on. It's safe to say it isn't working. It seems like complete dissarray out there at times, USF had guys running open quite often.

[mksioux]

I posted this in another thread, but since the sub-heading of this thread mentions SDSU's loss to LaCrosse, I'll say again that I don't think they are comparable. By moving up first, SDSU had signficant advantages in recruiting after their loss to LaCrosse. UND has no advantages after this loss.

[TechFirst]

All I can say is that sometimes this sh*% happens. Sometimes the kids don't have their heads screwed on right for a game and they get embarrassed by somebody they should have beat. If there was an easy fix for it, it would never happen. How do you think Ohio St feels about losing to Purdue yesterday? Or remember Appalachian St over Michigan last year? It happens to the best teams out there.

That's not to say it's acceptable. I'd venture a guess that as long as any of yesterday's players are on the team, they'll make sure among themselves that it won't happen again.

This is the kind of thing that will test a team's character. Some never get over it and the season is basically shot. But some teams learn from it and do their best to get better every game afterward - for personal pride if nothing else. With the way this team has fought and won against teams that should have beat them (remember last week?), my guess is that they will prove to be the second kind.

[The Sicatoka]

I've said this in other circumstances on this board:

The mistake concerns me; how you respond to it is what I'm really interested in.

The team did not step up. They knew a good opponent was coming (52-3 in the last 55). They knew they had injuries. And yet no one stepped up. That's just selfish, just doing "their thing", not going beyond. There was no fire. They were arrogant and thought that being "D-I" means something. Well, "D-I" doesn't mean $#!+ if you don't play. Snap the ball, play to the whistle. Every down. Every opponent. The other team did.

To the team:

This is year 3 of the 5 year transition, the mid-point.

This was game 6 of 11 of the year, the mid-point.

Which way are you going from here?

Will this be the mid-point of a continued downward path of selfishness and arrogance?

Or will this team see this mid-point as the toe-hold to come together and move forward and upward toward something bigger?

What'll we see boys:

A team that just lost to an NAIA and that goes into a selfish self-pity shell, or

A team that is 1-0 in the conference and still in line for a conference championship and plays for it.

A team that withers or a team that steps up.

Well boys, use the mirrors in Memorial and decide which team we're going to see.

[RD17]

Faison didn't have a lot of "options" for home games for UND this season. It was totally a matter of "beggars can't be choosers" and it blew up in our face...it happens. UNI thought they booked an easy home win a couple years ago and UND shocked them at home. Now we're on the other end of a david/goliath game....so what...there's always next week!

This isn't as simple as "so what" and move on. Bottom line: the game should never have been scheduled. As mksioux mentioned in the other thread, if not scheduling this game meant only four home games this year, that's what should have been done.

[SiouxMeNow]

All I can say is that sometimes this sh*% happens. Sometimes the kids don't have their heads screwed on right for a game and they get embarrassed by somebody they should have beat. If there was an easy fix for it, it would never happen. How do you think Ohio St feels about losing to Purdue yesterday? Or remember Appalachian St over Michigan last year? It happens to the best teams out there.

That's not to say it's acceptable. I'd venture a guess that as long as any of yesterday's players are on the team, they'll make sure among themselves that it won't happen again.

This is the kind of thing that will test a team's character. Some never get over it and the season is basically shot. But some teams learn from it and do their best to get better every game afterward - for personal pride if nothing else. With the way this team has fought and won against teams that should have beat them (remember last week?), my guess is that they will prove to be the second kind.

Thanks TF!! WHEW THIS WAS BAD! Can we sell TT a non-con game in '10? I can also add delicious CHIPPERS from Widmans AND a Buy One/GET ONE FREE coupon from Applesbees to sweeten the deal!

[MplsBison]

I would say SDSU's loss to LaCrosse was worse because Sioux Falls has scholarships. They're about on the DII level and I think they would compete well at the national level in DII.