Southern Utah

[UND Fan]

I certainly hope I am wrong:

SUU 27

UND 24

[bincitysioux]

As far as I know, there is only radio for this game.

[RD17]

I know it's always going to vary, but sometimes the young guys can contribute right away. We (Tech) are starting a true freshman at offensive LT tomorrow who has been red-shirted all season (our starter, a sophomore, went down with a knee injury). And we have quite a few underclassman starting on both sides of the ball. It just depends on the quality of recruits you're getting, I guess. Our recruiting quality has really shot up the last couple of years. It's a wonder what some TV exposure can do for recruiting. Hmmmm, didn't the Sioux just get a great TV deal? You may find that's worth more than just a convenience for the fans.

There are two schools of thought about getting new players - high school kids or JUCO transfers that have a little experience. Tech went through a period in the 90's where the coaches tried to rely on JUCO guys, but it didn't really work out. They had some advantages over freshmen, but they seemed to peak out earlier. I don't claim to know all about it, but we haven't tried that in at least 10 years.

Good luck tomorrow, Sioux. I'm going to Lubbock to see Tech play so won't be able to watch/listen in to your game.

UND has never been a program that relied on transfers. And I agree that going that route is not the best way to build a program, especially at the FBS and FCS levels (although it can be done in D-II). But with the combination of moving up a level of play and having 2-3 recruiting classes where the attrition at LB was horrible, and I think it's a necessary evil this off-season.

Even if some of these highly touted kids that are redshirting are ready to make an impact, for UND's defensive system to work well they need to be two deep with solid linebackers at all four spots and it's not close to that right now. The UND coaches knew that LB would be a problem area coming into this year and they did bring in one Cali JUCO LB last spring, but he got booted from the team before the season even started. Hopefully they can have better luck this offseason.

I did catch part of the Tech/Nebraska game last week and I was really suprised at the result. The Huskers have a couple of monsters at DT and I thought they would cause a lot of trouble for the Tech passing game because they would be able to create pressure without blitzing. Guess not. OU and even Texas look vulnerable to me and if Tech keeps getting better they should finish near the top of the division, IMO.

[canfan]

UND has never been a program that relied on transfers. And I agree that going that route is not the best way to build a program, especially at the FBS and FCS levels (although it can be done in D-II). But with the combination of moving up a level of play and having 2-3 recruiting classes where the attrition at LB was horrible, and I think it's a necessary evil this off-season.

Even if some of these highly touted kids that are redshirting are ready to make an impact, for UND's defensive system to work well they need to be two deep with solid linebackers at all four spots and it's not close to that right now. The UND coaches knew that LB would be a problem area coming into this year and they did bring in one Cali JUCO LB last spring, but he got booted from the team before the season even started. Hopefully they can have better luck this offseason.

I did catch part of the Tech/Nebraska game last week and I was really suprised at the result. The Huskers have a couple of monsters at DT and I thought they would cause a lot of trouble for the Tech passing game because they would be able to create pressure without blitzing. Guess not. OU and even Texas look vulnerable to me and if Tech keeps getting better they should finish near the top of the division, IMO.

Is the general consensus that all of the LB are not very good or just some of them? When I look at the defensive stats, I see that one LB is near the top of the stats with only a handful of tackles out of the lead. That must say something about his play.

[tnt]

Is the general consensus that all of the LB are not very good or just some of them? When I look at the defensive stats, I see that one LB is near the top of the stats with only a handful of tackles out of the lead. That must say something about his play.

That is the sign the defense has problems. Remember when our linebackers were always the leading tacklers? Now our secondary is leading that category. Either the defensive line isn't opening it up for the linebackers to make plays like the defense was set up, or our linebackers just aren't making the plays. I can't remember when the Sioux didn't have a big name defender that they could count on game in and game out. Hopefully those players are waiting in the wings.