2013 season

[Irish]

We do have a new d coordinator. (Foreshadowing)

I hope you know something - I'm looking forward to the retooled defense and hope we don't look like we are playing a prevent all game.

[UNDColorado]

I hope you know something - I'm looking forward to the retooled defense and hope we don't look like we are playing a prevent all game.

No kidding. I have a hard time understanding the philosophy of the CB's playing so far off all the time.

Are they that worried about being beat by the deep ball?

[UNDBIZ]

No kidding. I have a hard time understanding the philosophy of the CB's playing so far off all the time.

Are they that worried about being beat by the deep ball?

Playing way off of the receivers hasn't seemed to prevent that either unfortunately.

[Sioux_FF]

I think there were several reasons why it may have appeared our D-backs played soft all year. I thought there were quite a few games last year where we were dominated up front. Many of the BSC teams could dominate our D-line and still get people on our linebackers. We saw some very good running backs that made great runs by just having to beat one defender at or beyond the line. Over and over it looked like we couldn’t tackle, but it was often a case of one guy having to make a play against a quality RB at full speed in open space. (I also think it also got to be a confidence thing for our defense, making for some tentative tackling attempts.) A typical Sioux defense would have more guys making tackles.

Our depth on the D line wasn’t tremendous and that might have contributed to staying in the 3-4 so much. We had a lot of trouble against teams with good running backs and tried to help stop the run with safety help and LBs committing to the run. We also had a lot of trouble getting pressure on the QB compared to what we’re used to from a UND defense. Many times the corners were left with little or no safety help and little or no pass rush, so they were playing pretty soft, especially after getting burned. The cause was poor line play, the result was the secondary looked weak.

I’ve said it before but I think the teams that beat us and dominated us, dominated our line play on both sides of the ball. I don’t think Jake Miller had more than a few times all year where he got through a decent hole at the line of scrimmage. He didn’t suddenly get less talented, it’s just not his game to be a power back and he had to try to be at times.

I think Year 1 in the BSC taught the coaches, players and strength coaches a lot. I believe we are building quality and depth on both lines. I look for some solid improvement this year. Can’t wait to witness it. Go Sioux!

[airmail]

No kidding. I have a hard time understanding the philosophy of the CB's playing so far off all the time.

Are they that worried about being beat by the deep ball?

Maybe they were concerned about the deep ball, but I don't know how many times our field position was absolutely destroyed by the 5-10 yard pass. If they were preventing a long threat, we sure gave up a TON of short pass yardage.

Maybe the stats don't show it, but it sure seemed that way. I hope to see less cushion this year.

(until we start getting burned for passes of 60+... then I'll respectfully recant )

[UNDColorado]

Maybe they were concerned about the deep ball, but I don't know how many times our field position was absolutely destroyed by the 5-10 yard pass. If they were preventing a long threat, we sure gave up a TON of short pass yardage.

Maybe the stats don't show it, but it sure seemed that way. I hope to see less cushion this year.

(until we start getting burned for passes of 60+... then I'll respectfully recant )

This is exactly what I was thinking when I posted earlier...we gave up so many yards on the short passes. Yes, if we start getting consistently burned deep than sure sit 10 yards off all day long. Until then I would like to see them get in receivers faces a bit more.

Just my amateur observation over the last couple years.

[darell1976]

This is exactly what I was thinking when I posted earlier...we gave up so many yards on the short passes. Yes, if we start getting consistently burned deep than sure sit 10 yards off all day long. Until then I would like to see them get in receivers faces a bit more.

Just my amateur observation over the last couple years.

Dead on!!!

[geaux_sioux]

I trust that Kotelnicki will make it work with his current players and fix the holes and restore the mentality.

[Sioux_FF]

Respectfully disagree on the 5 to 10 yard pass thing. We got out-rushed by more than 100 yds a game in 2012. (UND ran for an average of 133 and gave up an average of 235 yards of rushing.) We out passed out opponents on average by more than 50 yards a game. Our opponents passing didn’t kill us, but the physical running teams did.

Take the 2 big blowouts we suffered. Eastern Wash outrushed us by 290 to 143 yd, and we slightly out passed them. The other blowout against Montana State we were out rushed 436 to 15 yards! I don’t know which is more alarming, the 436 yards we gave up or UND only getting 15 yards on the ground in an entire game. They passed for more yards too, but out-rushing us by over 400 yards isn’t really an indication of soft corners.

Another loss, Cal Poly, we were out rushed by nearly 200 yards, 321 to 133 yards, but we had 200 more passing yards than them.

San Diego St was a game we could have won but ended up losing 49-41. We were out rushed in that one 292 to 55 yards. We had the edge in passing yards by 434 to 231. The “5 to 10 yard pass” didn’t really kill us there either. Maybe the 247 additional yards they gained on the ground did. We couldn’t match the power up front of the top half of the BSC.

I’ll stick with my statement about that most of our 2012 losses can be attributed to our lines being not quite at the elite status of BSC teams……..yet.

[Irish]

Respectfully disagree on the 5 to 10 yard pass thing. We got out-rushed by more than 100 yds a game in 2012. (UND ran for an average of 133 and gave up an average of 235 yards of rushing.) We out passed out opponents on average by more than 50 yards a game. Our opponents passing didn’t kill us, but the physical running teams did.

Take the 2 big blowouts we suffered. Eastern Wash outrushed us by 290 to 143 yd, and we slightly out passed them. The other blowout against Montana State we were out rushed 436 to 15 yards! I don’t know which is more alarming, the 436 yards we gave up or UND only getting 15 yards on the ground in an entire game. They passed for more yards too, but out-rushing us by over 400 yards isn’t really an indication of soft corners.

Another loss, Cal Poly, we were out rushed by nearly 200 yards, 321 to 133 yards, but we had 200 more passing yards than them.

San Diego St was a game we could have won but ended up losing 49-41. We were out rushed in that one 292 to 55 yards. We had the edge in passing yards by 434 to 231. The “5 to 10 yard pass” didn’t really kill us there either. Maybe the 247 additional yards they gained on the ground did. We couldn’t match the power up front of the top half of the BSC.

I’ll stick with my statement about that most of our 2012 losses can be attributed to our lines being not quite at the elite status of BSC teams……..yet.

The fact that we had more passing yards doesn't mean that our pass defense was tight. We had to pass because our running game was nil - and we had a stud qb fall into our laps. Not only was our passing defense poor, but our line was weak too. All you had to do was watch the game and see our opponents get an automatic 10+ yards almost any time they needed it. The 5-10 yard pass kept many an opponents drive alive. All you had to do was look at how we lined up to see the problem. You just pointed out that our entire defense was extremely poor and I agree.

[Sioux_FF]

I never said because we had more passing yards than our opponent our pass defense was tight. Many of the teams we out passed didn't need to because their running game was so strong.

A 5 to 10 yard pass is a part of everyone's offense. at every level of football. It's not a home-run. It's something a defense is often willing to give up. It's a play that lets the defense live to play another down. Getting the ball pounded down your throat is another thing. If you let that happen, it's game over. My point is we got "out physicalled" against the better BSC teams. They didn't beat us because they could pass a 5 or 10 yard pass here or there, like every team can do, multiple times a game. They beat us because they could pound it on us.

I never, ever said the defense was poor. We were middle of the pack in our first year in an elite FCS conference. We just didn't have the quality or depth up front to quite match the elite BSC teams. But, all in all, we did what many of us expected -- win some games and not quite match up to what is currently the best teams in the conference. It was Year 1. Year 2 will be better.

I gave several examples and stats from 4 of our losses last year where that was true. Can you name one where we lost because of that 5 or 10 yard pass? I can't think of one.

[Irish]

I never said because we had more passing yards than our opponent our pass defense was tight. Many of the teams we out passed didn't need to because their running game was so strong.

A 5 to 10 yard pass is a part of everyone's offense. at every level of football. It's not a home-run. It's something a defense is often willing to give up. It's a play that lets the defense live to play another down. Getting the ball pounded down your throat is another thing. If you let that happen, it's game over. My point is we got "out physicalled" against the better BSC teams. They didn't beat us because they could pass a 5 or 10 yard pass here or there, like every team can do, multiple times a game. They beat us because they could pound it on us.

I never, ever said the defense was poor. We were middle of the pack in our first year in an elite FCS conference. We just didn't have the quality or depth up front to quite match the elite BSC teams. But, all in all, we did what many of us expected -- win some games and not quite match up to what is currently the best teams in the conference. It was Year 1. Year 2 will be better.

I gave several examples and stats from 4 of our losses last year where that was true. Can you name one where we lost because of that 5 or 10 yard pass? I can't think of one.

Ok - I'll say it then - our defense was very poor last year. I'm not saying that the entire fault is with the defensive backs - not at all - poor line play, poor tackling - you name it. What I was saying (and I think it was clear to many fans who watched the last several years) is that we have an incredibly loose coverage scheme especially at the corners. We were discussing if our D-backs could be among the top in the league and I feel that unless we change our philosophy that isn't going to happen. We need to get up in someone's grill once in a while. Our set-up last year hindered this. We were more than willing to give up 5-10 yards at will. Hopefully we will tighten up this year.

[geaux_sioux]

The 15-20 yard pass is what killed us. NAU loses that game without long passes. EWU burned us BAD. PSU burned us a few times too. Cal Poly even burned us with 15+ yard passes. 3rd and long happened alot last year and we would usually give them more than enough to get the first.

[Irish]

I think we can agree that we are looking forward to significant improvement defensively this year.

[108498]

It seems as though Greg Hardin has been a major piece to the offense success the past few years. What will happen if he goes down at all this season?

[jdub27]

It seems as though Greg Hardin has been a major piece to the offense success the past few years. What will happen if he goes down at all this season?

Same as any other position, next man up. WR is the one spot on the team where depth is more than adequate, there will be some real good playes fighting for playing time.

[homer]

Same as any other position, next man up. WR is the one spot on the team where depth is more than adequate, there will be some real good playres fighting for playing time.

This, injuries happen. Any team would be affected with an injury to their best player.

[Matt]

This has been an amusing discussion of last year's defense. A related question: was it the "Casino" style baseball bat beating to the body, or knife across the jugular, or the bullet in the brain that really killed the defense last year?

We witnessed them all.

[WeAreNorthDakota]

I have no problem with the corners playing off the line if we're in a cover 3 zone but I'm sick of seeing corners 7-10 yards off of receivers when we have 2 safeties deep. Opposing receivers can do whatever they want from 5-15 yards at that point. That alignment is just begging to give up yards on the edge and right in the middle of the field. I

[dmksioux]

http://www.undsports...399&SPSID=58644

Game Times announced

Thu, Aug 29 Valparaiso (Military Appreciation Day) Grand Forks, N.D. 7:00 p.m.

96.1-FM Sat, Sep 07 South Dakota State (Potato Bowl USA) Grand Forks, N.D. 6:00 p.m.

96.1-FM Sat, Sep 14 Montana (Hall of Fame Game) Grand Forks, N.D. 6:00 p.m.

96.1-FM Sat, Sep 21 Open at TBA TBA

Sat, Sep 28 Montana State (Family Weekend) * Grand Forks, N.D. 2:30 p.m.

96.1-FM Sat, Oct 05 Idaho State * at Pocatello, Idaho 3:00 p.m.

96.1-FM Sat, Oct 12 Eastern Washington (Homecoming) * Grand Forks, N.D. 2:30 p.m.

96.1-FM Sat, Oct 19 Sacramento State (North Dakota Strong/Band Day) * Grand Forks, N.D. 2:30 p.m.

96.1-FM Sat, Oct 26 Portland State * at Portland, Ore. 3:05 p.m.

96.1-FM Sat, Nov 02 Northern Arizona * at Flagstaff, Ariz. 2:00 p.m.

96.1-FM Sat, Nov 09 Northern Colorado (Senior Day) * Grand Forks, N.D. 1:00 p.m.

96.1-FM Sat, Nov 16 UC Davis * at Davis, Calif. 6:00 p.m.

96.1-FM Sat, Nov 23 Open TBA TBA

Just a heads up to the administrators...There is an error on the 2013 Schedule on the Wiki page. You have the Sacramento St and Portland St games mixed up. Sac St. is at home on the 19th and Portland St. is on the road on the 26th.

[sioux24/7]

Any idea if there will be another season of Opening Drive? I am really hoping there is and it would be great if they extended it into the season this year! They should definitely think about doing this for basketball too!

[homer]

Not sure if anyone saw but Danny Freund is coaching at the Manning Passing Academy right now. Congrats Danny on the great experience.

Our young coaching staff has had some great experiences in the past couple year. Freund with this opportunity, Kotelnicki participated in the NCAA-NFL Coaching Academy in February and Benny Boyd working with the Pittsburgh Steelers a couple years ago with the Bill Walsh NFL Coaching Program. I am always impressed with the opportunities these young coaches get.

[geaux_sioux]

Not sure if anyone saw but Danny Freund is coaching at the Manning Passing Academy right now. Congrats Danny on the great experience.

Our young coaching staff has had some great experiences in the past couple year. Freund with this opportunity, Kotelnicki participated in the NCAA-NFL Coaching Academy in February and Benny Boyd working with the Pittsburgh Steelers a couple years ago with the Bill Walsh NFL Coaching Program. I am always impressed with the opportunities these young coaches get.

Make no mistake, we have some great young coaches on staff. We are lucky to have the young coaches we have. Credit to Mussman for assembling such a great staff. These guys will get the job done and know what it takes to win championships.

[GeauxSioux]

Hardin looking to FCS playoffs this season

Playoff hungry

Hardin’s goal for 2013 is simple.

He wants to help UND reach the FCS playoffs, which will expand this season from 20 to 24 teams.

UND plays seven of its 11 games at home, but one stretch at the Alerus Center includes consecutive games against South Dakota State, Montana and Montana State. SDSU and Montana State reached the playoffs last season, while Montana — a perennial FCS power — had a surprising down year.

“As a senior, you want to be the first class to make the playoffs,” said Hardin. “You want something to brag about. We really want to make the playoffs. And once you make the playoffs, anything goes.”

[UND-1]

I see the lines are already out for Week 1. Games of note:

UND -41.5 over Valpo

Arizona -24.5 over NAU

Oregon State -24.5 over EWU

Montana State -26.5 over Monmouth

SFA -2 over Weber State

Montana -1 over Appy State

Kansas State -17.5 over NDSU