bincitysioux Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 It seems to be a common perception that the Big Sky is a "finese" pass-happy league. Lots of people, myself included, have said that UND's current team is not really suited all that well for Big Sky play. I was just comparing statistics between the Big Sky and MVFC, which is widely regarded as a blue-collar, smash-mouth league. In conference only games: Big Sky Rush Offense: 163 yds/game MVFC Rush Offense: 156 yds/game Big Sky Pass Offense: 231 yds/game MVFC Pass Offense: 206 yds/game Average scoring for a team in either league is 25 points per game. So in the "finese" Big Sky, offenses generate 41% of their yards via the run, compared to 43% in the MVFC. Additionally, the top 3 teams in the Big Sky standings a year ago were also the top 3 running teams in the conference. Two of those teams had the #1 and #2 run defenses in the league. And the top 4 passing teams in the Big Sky had a combined conference record of 9-23. I think my own perception of the Big Sky being a wide-open big play offense league has been flawed. It is an old cliche, but running the ball and playing good defense leads to good things. Luckily UND is solid in both of those areas. With just modest improvement at the QB position and in the secondary, UND could have a chance to field a solid team. Let's face it, last season's secondary had the ability to make some bad QB's look good, and our own QB play could make some average defenses look great. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bison06 Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 It seems to be a common perception that the Big Sky is a "finese" pass-happy league. Lots of people, myself included, have said that UND's current team is not really suited all that well for Big Sky play. I was just comparing statistics between the Big Sky and MVFC, which is widely regarded as a blue-collar, smash-mouth league. In conference only games: Big Sky Rush Offense: 163 yds/game MVFC Rush Offense: 156 yds/game Big Sky Pass Offense: 231 yds/game MVFC Pass Offense: 206 yds/game Average scoring for a team in either league is 25 points per game. So in the "finese" Big Sky, offenses generate 41% of their yards via the run, compared to 43% in the MVFC. Additionally, the top 3 teams in the Big Sky standings a year ago were also the top 3 running teams in the conference. Two of those teams had the #1 and #2 run defenses in the league. And the top 4 passing teams in the Big Sky had a combined conference record of 9-23. I think my own perception of the Big Sky being a wide-open big play offense league has been flawed. It is an old cliche, but running the ball and playing good defense leads to good things. Luckily UND is solid in both of those areas. With just modest improvement at the QB position and in the secondary, UND could have a chance to field a solid team. Let's face it, last season's secondary had the ability to make some bad QB's look good, and our own QB play could make some average defenses look great. I don't think the stats in this case tell the entire story. Simply comparing run yards vs. pass yards/game to determine if the league is "finesse" can be misleading. It is a style of play that earns the Big Sky the label of "finesse" and the MVFC "smashmouth". For example, West Virginia with Slaten and White, was the epitome of finesse, but they gained a large majority of thier yards on the ground. This years SHSU team is another great example of this. I actually think that UND being built as more of a smashmouth team will benefit you guys in your early years in the Big Sky, the styles tend to clash and you can have an advantage if you can not turn the ball over and play decent defense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Five Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Go back to the smash mouth run and dominant defense you guys had mid 90s on and you will take over the big sky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnboyND7 Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 UND has some major pass-defense issues correct? And is also vertically challenged on offense? The pass defense issues will lose you games in the Big Sky if you don't fix it. No way around it. Hell, Northern Colorado can even throw the ball. We got away without being able to throw the ball in the 2010 playoff games against Montana State and EWU and if UND has a BIG mean O-Line, you will be able to win games off of that too. But DJ McNorton was also on fire at that time. I think UND will win 5 or 6 games (excluding the Mines game). I just think it was way too easy for teams to throw against UND this season for me to have any faith UND will shut the pass down this year. Outside of Montana and Montana State though, I think UND has at least a solid chance of winning any other Big Sky game. It should be interesting to see how UND handles playing teams like Montana and Montana State. Also, it will be interesting to see how UND handles playing against a solid schedule throughout an entire season. Anyone can show up for a game (Boise State), in a solid conference, it is about showing up for a season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UND1983 Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 UND has some major pass-defense issues correct? And is also vertically challenged on offense? The pass defense issues will lose you games in the Big Sky if you don't fix it. No way around it. Hell, Northern Colorado can even throw the ball. We got away without being able to throw the ball in the 2010 playoff games against Montana State and EWU and if UND has a BIG mean O-Line, you will be able to win games off of that too. But DJ McNorton was also on fire at that time. I think UND will win 5 or 6 games (excluding the Mines game). I just think it was way too easy for teams to throw against UND this season for me to have any faith UND will shut the pass down this year. Outside of Montana and Montana State though, I think UND has at least a solid chance of winning any other Big Sky game. It should be interesting to see how UND handles playing teams like Montana and Montana State. Also, it will be interesting to see how UND handles playing against a solid schedule throughout an entire season. Anyone can show up for a game (Boise State), in a solid conference, it is about showing up for a season. The expert has spoken. Our season is laid out for us incase anybody was wondering how it is going to go. Funny how NDSU played two Big Sky teams in the playoffs, two years ago, and now they are experts on style of play, how to beat them, and how to succeed in the league. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darell1976 Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 The expert has spoken. Our season is laid out for us incase anybody was wondering how it is going to go. Funny how NDSU played two Big Sky teams in the playoffs, two years ago, and now they are experts on style of play, how to beat them, and how to succeed in the league. We could give our opinion on the MVFC since we have played SDSU, SIU, and USD since moving up..but we did beat UNI in 06 so we know all about their team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnboyND7 Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 We could give our opinion on the MVFC since we have played SDSU, SIU, and USD since moving up..but we did beat UNI in 06 so we know all about their team. I'd be more than happy to hear your guys' opinion on USD since you played them more recently. Not so much on SDSU, SIU, or UNI....considering we have played these guys more recently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darell1976 Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 I'd be more than happy to hear your guys' opinion on USD since you played them more recently. Not so much on SDSU, SIU, or UNI....considering we have played these guys more recently. Since USD has a new coach you could be seeing a new team than you guys played a couple years ago. Good offensive team, and very tough at home. I think they will be towards the bottom of the pack their first year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UNDColorado Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 I'd be more than happy to hear your guys' opinion on USD since you played them more recently. Not so much on SDSU, SIU, or UNI....considering we have played these guys more recently. I think the new coach will be a boost but when we played them this year both teams were horrible at times throughout the game, albeit the best comeback I have seen in years on our part. They will do fine but they have a lot of work ahead of them to play on the same level as NDSU and UNI IMHO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WILDCAT Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 When Ron McBride was our coach, we were a very run heavy team, but I do know that John L Smith always ran a one back offense, did alot of passing. A total switch from what we were before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bincitysioux Posted August 22, 2012 Author Share Posted August 22, 2012 2012 Big Sky position rankings: Running backs Four Big Sky Conference teams -- Portland State, Montana State, Montana and Weber State -- finished in the Top 20 in the FCS in rushing offense last season. That was almost half the league. The Big Sky has been mischaracterized as a pass-heavy, air-it-out league at times, but in reality few conferences run the ball with as much gusto. 4. JAKE MILLER, JR., NORTH DAKOTA 2011: 942 yds, 4.8 avg, 13 TD, 16 rec, 1 rec TD. THE BUZZ FOR 2012: This is the little engine that could. Miller, a 5-11, 167-pound native of Bismarck, N.D., won't run anybody over. But he'll sure fly right by you. Miller broke out with a 145-yard, 3 TD performance in a near-upset of Fresno State early last season and never slowed down, scoring the sixth-most touchdowns in a single season in UND history. We'll see how he fares against consistently stiffer competition, but Miller has already proven he can produce against anyone. UND's reigning offensive player of the year is primed for more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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