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2013 Season


GeauxSioux

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That's what happens when you have a conference with an unbalanced schedule -was it Cal Poly that had a similar schedule last year, none of the top teams and all fo the bottom dwellers and they rode that to the playoffs. Home field is nice but it's not worth more than a 3 point advantage in most booking situations, you still have to make the plays.

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It appears national polls aren't the only place UND isn't getting noticed. http://www.egriz.com...php?f=1&t=62441

For a team that lost to UND last year, it is surprising they don't take the game a bit more seriously.

A lot of their confidence seems to be related to getting their QB back, who from all accounts was a game-changer when he was on the field. We'll see how he handles a year off the field. I think UM will be better than last year particularly on offense, but I also think UND will be better on the defense. I see UND's offsense taking a small step back, especially at the beginning of the year.

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I remember thinking a playoff run was a possibility at this time last year, only to have my hopes dashed by an ugly defensive effort pretty much all season long. But here I am again, in the middle of August, thinking that playoffs are a possibility. Perhaps I shouldn't wear my green glasses indoors, but I'm excited to see the first game - more excited than last year, actually.

I really believe that success will put butts in the seats - hopefully the boys can meet the challenge.

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  • 2 weeks later...

In today's (maybe yesterday's) Herald, they ran an article about our focus on the running game. I was surprised that our overall yardage last year wasn't terrifically different than the previous 2-3 years.

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And last year had the second best YPC

2012 - 4.2

2011 - 3.8

2010 - 4.3

2009 - 3.7

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I don't think the running game was any worse last year than it was in prior years but we saw such a huge jump in the passing game's effectiveness that there was a perceived drop off in the running game. We certainly need to improve our running game but that's not a new thing. We've needed to improve our running game for the last several years.

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I agree that it probably wasn't any worse than prior years, especially when you consider the much tougher competition that we faced last season. As you said, our passing game was so good (plus, we were playing from behind in several games), that we relied much more heavily on it than on our ground game.

I don't think the running game was any worse last year than it was in prior years but we saw such a huge jump in the passing game's effectiveness that there was a perceived drop off in the running game. We certainly need to improve our running game but that's not a new thing. We've needed to improve our running game for the last several years.

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In 2012 we ran for 1467 yards on 349 attempts for a 4.2 ypc avg.

In 2011 we ran for 1627 yards on 430 attempts for a 3.8 ypc avg.

In 2010 we ran for 1657 yards on 386 attempts for a 4.3 ypc avg.

In 2009 we ran for 1324 yards on 354 attempts for a 3.7 ypc avg.

In 2008 we ran for 1458 yards on 347 attempts for a 4.2 ypc avg.

In 2007 we ran for 3878 yards on 545 attempts for a 5.3 ypc avg.

In 2006 we ran for 2055 yards on 435 attempts for a 4.7 ypc avg.

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There are a lot of ways to digest these numbers. The big thing that stands out is dropping over 2000 yards in 2008 with no Ryan Chappell. We are still trying to catch up on RB depth since he left the team. Josh Murray compounded the depth chart situation with his similar issues. With the departure of Chappell we had to push Murray into duty before he was fully developed and ready. When Murray had to sit out we were forced to throw Sutton into the fire before he was fully developed which carried on down to Miller and Garmin getting shirts pulled. In two years I feel we will finally be out of the weeds with our RB situation that was started in 2008 with the removal of Chappell after only 3 years in the program.

2008 was also our first year of D1. Even though the schedule wasn't all D1 all the time it still makes a difference to go from bullying teams to going against teams that can actually matchup with you in the trenches. There was also a drop off in talent on the team this year. Our OL is also not quite what it used to be. They aren't as big as they were when we pounded the rock. This appears to be changing with the size of the younger OL on the roster now.

So was it that the team went soft? Not exactly. They just weren't as good. Did the philosophy change? Not really. The personnel didn't allow for the coaches to pound the rock the way they would like. Last season wasn't a chuck and duck offense like it has been made out to be. We could throw so we did. We ran against average teams and didn't against good teams. If we get leads in games we will run the ball more and the yards and carries will go up.

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