UND vs Valpo

[UND1983]

Cream of the crop...like former first-rounders Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk, right? Ok, I'll play along...that Travis Zajac guy turned out ok...

Go to the hockey forum. Your probably missing an active discussion about the players jock size.

[UND1983]

A warm-up game is one thing...I don't follow Valpo football at all and was a bit stunned to see predictions of 50-70 point blow-out proportions.

I simply hope UND's march to D1, particularly in football, doesn't come at a 'win at all costs' expense. The shenanigans at Northern Colorado, Montana State, and Montana in the past several seasons is an embarrassment, don't you think?

Have you seen the next three home games? It is the best home schedule in the ENTIRE COUNTRY - better than any other FCS home schedule. Take your breezers off and come to a game.

[MafiaMan]

Go to the hockey forum. Your probably missing an active discussion about the players jock size.

Gee, forgive me for trying to obtain a little more insight into the football team...

[Oxbow6]

Go to the hockey forum. Your probably missing an active discussion about the players jock size.

"My cucumber. It's bigger than that!"

Lighten up 83...

[MafiaMan]

Have you seen the next three home games? It is the best home schedule in the ENTIRE COUNTRY - better than any other FCS home schedule. Take your breezers off and come to a game.

See above post. Thank you for your two cents. A previous poster gave some good points and I thanked him for the information.

[Oxbow6]

See above post. Thank you for your two cents. A previous poster gave some good points and I thanked him for the information.

Pretty sure your breezers have been off for a few days with the heat index at 100+!

[UNDvince97-01]

The lack of knowledge by our hockey-only crowd about other UND sports on campus just frustrates me to no end. MafiaMan, I know you are just asking questions and I am glad you are showing interest in UND Football, but there is just almost this elitist attitude of ignorance towards anything non-hockey by many (not you and not all) fans.

I just only wish our hockey-only crowd would invest some time into following the other programs and take some interest and attend the games. The UND fanbase for all sports would literally be second fiddle to NO other school at our level. We have a unique advantage with our UND following because of hockey. It would just be so amazing to have everyone pulling in the same direction for all sports. I really hope to see that happen sometime soon. Maybe its wishful thinking, but it would be so great.

Sounds like you understand the Valpo scheduling reasoning now though. Hey it's a step in the right direction.

Thanks for stopping by and asking about the UND Football program, MafiaMan.

[Oxbow6]

To be honest as a season ticket holder of both FB and hockey, the home FB schedule is great this year but the season could potentially be over by 9/28 and until this program takes a step towards the AC to the south the Alerus will be half full come October if UND is 2-3. The hockey team/season has buzz until they get knocked out for good. Unfortunately that's the reality of the 2 programs.

I'm hoping for a great month of September FB wise but I'm cautiously optimistic.

[Oxbow6]

"Just win, baby!"

[UNDvince97-01]

"Just win, baby!"

I get it. There's merit to that. Winning definitely helps.

But how about having some loyal UND fans with some conviction that don't just front-run all the time too? That would be worth something.

[Oxbow6]

I get it. There's merit to that. Winning definitely helps.

But how about having some loyal UND fans with some conviction that don't just front-run all the time too? That would be worth something.

Agree. Well said.

[MafiaMan]

The lack of knowledge by our hockey-only crowd about other UND sports on campus just frustrates me to no end. MafiaMan, I know you are just asking questions and I am glad you are showing interest in UND Football, but there is just almost this elitist attitude of ignorance towards anything non-hockey by many (not you and not all) fans.

I just only wish our hockey-only crowd would invest some time into following the other programs and take some interest and attend the games. The UND fanbase for all sports would literally be second fiddle to NO other school at our level. We have a unique advantage with our UND following because of hockey. It would just be so amazing to have everyone pulling in the same direction for all sports. I really hope to see that happen sometime soon. Maybe its wishful thinking, but it would be so great.

Sounds like you understand the Valpo scheduling reasoning now though. Hey it's a step in the right direction.

Thanks for stopping by and asking about the UND Football program, MafiaMan.

I spent four years at UND from '88-'92 and had my butt in the bleachers at Memorial Stadium for plenty more than just the NDSU game every other year. I also sat is the stands for tons of men's AND women's basketball games. I know lots has changed in 20+ years and I was looking for insight like this, not a 'get the hell back to hockey' snide remark. Obviously being on par with Minnesota in men's and women's hockey makes for a rivalry for Sioux fans living in the TC metro area (like me). It's a little harder to follow the football team from here given the obvious media coverage the Big 10 generates. I would most certainly enjoy watching North Dakota vs Montana in football and hope to get a chance to one of these years.

Thanks for your comments, much appreciated.

[Matt]

I'm admittedly not much of a football poster but is this what UND signed up for with the D1 'push' a few years ago? This is the big dream coming true? An expected 40-65 point thumping of a school with no scholarships?

UND will learn as much about its football players from this game as LSU would from playing Minot State.

Your snarky characterization of a non-conference opponent to open the season tells me a few things are possible here:

a) you lack a basic understanding of collegiate scheduling. I don't think this is the case by virtue of the fact you have over 6k posts on this site, which tells me you are an above average observer of collegiate athletics.

b) you don't understand UND plays in one of the most difficult football conferences in the nation. Here again, even a cursory observation by a poster with over 6k entries on this site would know the national standing of the Big Sky Conference.

c) You don't know the football team has been playoff eligible for one season. This may be a possibility, as I have to believe that an avid college hockey fan as yourself would understand that not only making the playoffs, but a national championship, would be the "big dream coming true". But even so, that wouldn't explain why you would choose to characterize what should be a time of excitement and energy for the program, in a negative way. It must be...

d) You didn't agree with moving the entire athletics department to division 1 in the first place, and think you see an opportunity to criticize the schedule.

I'm gonna go with "d" on this one. You have to try REALLY freaking hard to criticize this schedule, since it just may be the best one in the entire country. Which begs the question, what kind of UND "fan", has to try so hard to be critical of another program in the UND athletic department at a time when the excitement for UND football is so high?

Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe after beating Montana last year you posted in the football forum a slew of "atta boys" for the team and the program after they achieved one of their season goals in knocking off a Montana. Since you yourself stated you aren't much of a football poster, I guess I won't hold my breath.

[jdub27]

A warm-up game is one thing...I don't follow Valpo football at all and was a bit stunned to see predictions of 50-70 point blow-out proportions.

I simply hope UND's march to D1, particularly in football, doesn't come at a 'win at all costs' expense. The shenanigans at Northern Colorado, Montana State, and Montana in the past several seasons is an embarrassment, don't you think?

Not sure exactly which of your posts to respond to, but I'll try to provide a little more insight. Fans and players want home games. They also want quality games. UND will get a lot of quality games through their conference schedule, but that only guarantees 4 home games and requires 4 away games. That gives UND 3 non-conference games to work with (most years, but for simplicities sake, assume that). In order to get a home game with a good team, UND will either have to commit to a home/home game, meaning they will have to travel to the other school for one of their 3 non-conference games in a future year or pay a ton of money for a one-time game (and even then most quality schools want home/home). Most years, one of the non-conference games is also taken up by an FBS money game ($300k-500k). Teams like Valpo will come play for a decent, but not break the bank check and it gives fans a home game to go to.

UND easily has one of the best/toughest home schedules in the country this year. 7 home games is a pretty impressive feat, especially when only playing 11 games. A team like Valpo won't excite a regular fan, but it might excite someone who doesn't watch much UND football or the students to see the scoreboard spinning (hopefully). And while not planned, this is probably a good thing for UND with a redshirt freshman starting at quarterback.

As for my comment on playoffs, Valpo is considered a D-1 school despite not giving out scholarships. They play in the Pioneer League, which is non-scholarship, though I believe they offer other forms of student aid. Until a random rule change sometime this summer, only D-1 wins counted toward an unspoken rule of 7 wins required to make the playoffs. For various reasons, some unknown, on top of the playoff field expanding to 24 teams this year, a 6 win team may make the playoffs. The committee also said they would put some weight into a D-2 win but have not announced how that formula will work or how much weight would be put into it and no one knew about it until most schedules had been finalized for months..

[Westside]

I spent four years at UND from '88-'92 and had my butt in the bleachers at Memorial Stadium for plenty more than just the NDSU game every other year. I also sat is the stands for tons of men's AND women's basketball games. I know lots has changed in 20+ years and I was looking for insight like this, not a 'get the hell back to hockey' snide remark. Obviously being on par with Minnesota in men's and women's hockey makes for a rivalry for Sioux fans living in the TC metro area (like me). It's a little harder to follow the football team from here given the obvious media coverage the Big 10 generates. I would most certainly enjoy watching North Dakota vs Montana in football and hope to get a chance to one of these years.

Thanks for your comments, much appreciated.

Hey MafiaMan, you can now watch every UND football game (& all Big Sky teams) online through America One Sports & the Big Sky Conference....

http://www.americaonesports.com/upcoming_events.asp?q=v&value=bigsky

http://www.americaonesports.com/bigsky.asp

Check out some games if you can. It's an awesome FCS conference & UND has a promising football future...

[MafiaMan]

Hey MafiaMan, you can now watch every UND football game (& all Big Sky teams) online through America One Sports & the Big Sky Conference....

http://www.americaonesports.com/upcoming_events.asp?q=v&value=bigsky

http://www.americaonesports.com/bigsky.asp

Check out some games if you can. It's an awesome FCS conference & UND has a promising football future...

I have caught a few playoff games on ESPN2 when they have shown them...Montana is obviously a very good program with a loyal fan base and great venue. I'm not a fan of school colors and 'spirit colors' since that's just hokey, but there is definitely quality football to be seen at the FCS level. I know the Griz had a down year last year but beating them is still quite an accomplishment. Thanks for the information and link.

[MafiaMan]

a) you lack a basic understanding of collegiate scheduling. I don't think this is the case by virtue of the fact you have over 6k posts on this site, which tells me you are an above average observer of collegiate athletics.

b) you don't understand UND plays in one of the most difficult football conferences in the nation. Here again, even a cursory observation by a poster with over 6k entries on this site would know the national standing of the Big Sky Conference.

6,000 posts...of which, probably 5,975 are in the hockey section. Following anything Fighting Sioux in MSP is about like seeking out fellow Viking fans when you live across the street from Lambeau Field. Like I said, I ventured here for information because I don't follow Sioux, er, North Dakota football and was browsing this forum.

[dmksioux]

No need to attack fellow Sioux fans. Mafia man has a favorite sport which happens to be hockey. When he decides to post in other forums, that's great! Answer questions and encourage more posting. I didn't see his initial question as being too snarky or as trolling. Attacking each other is counter productive to building fan support in all of UND athletics...save that for the Bison trolls...

[Hambone]

No need to attack fellow Sioux fans. Mafia man has a favorite sport which happens to be hockey. When he decides to post in other forums, that's great! Answer questions and encourage more posting. I didn't see his initial question as being too snarky or as trolling. Attacking each other is counter productive to building fan support in all of UND athletics...save that for the Bison trolls...

I believe it was the tone of the initial question, which to me came off as "We gave up our nickname for D1 in all sports, and we're playing this team?" to me. Heck, even in the post right above yours, he says "I don't follow Sioux, er, North Dakota football" which to me seems a little more nickname related. I think that's where some of the attacks coming from. It seems like a hidden agenda posted in the form of an innocent question (whether intentional or not, that's how it came off to me).

In response to MM, I would encourage you to watch a few games on bigskytv - I too live in the MSP metro area and I catch most (if not all) games and keep myself up to date

[Hayduke]

I believe it was the tone of the initial question, which to me came off as "We gave up our nickname for D1 in all sports, and we're playing this team?" to me. Heck, even in the post right above yours, he says "I don't follow Sioux, er, North Dakota football" which to me seems a little more nickname related. I think that's where some of the attacks coming from. It seems like a hidden agenda posted in the form of an innocent question (whether intentional or not, that's how it came off to me).

In response to MM, I would encourage you to watch a few games on bigskytv - I too live in the MSP metro area and I catch most (if not all) games and keep myself up to date

I saw more UND football games last year than I had in many years. That Big Sky TV deal worked pretty well...

[iramurphy]

Go to the hockey forum. Your probably missing an active discussion about the players jock size.

Come on. He brings up a good point and he got a couple of good responses. Yours wasn't one of the good responses. These forums should not be for a small group of guys drinking the same kool-aid. I am not convinced we have been good enough defensively to predict a 50 point blow-out. Hopefully we are that much better. We certainly didn't do that to Drake. This game should give our team an opportunity to play against someone else and at least see some of our new guys in a game situation. We need to develop and get better each game. We should win this and we should see an improvement from last year. Point spread isn't as important.

[UND1983]

I believe it was the tone of the initial question, which to me came off as "We gave up our nickname for D1 in all sports, and we're playing this team?" to me. Heck, even in the post right above yours, he says "I don't follow Sioux, er, North Dakota football" which to me seems a little more nickname related. I think that's where some of the attacks coming from. It seems like a hidden agenda posted in the form of an innocent question (whether intentional or not, that's how it came off to me).

In response to MM, I would encourage you to watch a few games on bigskytv - I too live in the MSP metro area and I catch most (if not all) games and keep myself up to date

Ira, this is what I was referring to. Then the ensuing two pages of hockey talk.

I too wish more hockey fans would spend the fall backing the football team. If they did UND would easily average more than 10,000 fans per game.

[geaux_sioux]

Come on. He brings up a good point and he got a couple of good responses. Yours wasn't one of the good responses. These forums should not be for a small group of guys drinking the same kool-aid. I am not convinced we have been good enough defensively to predict a 50 point blow-out. Hopefully we are that much better. We certainly didn't do that to Drake. This game should give our team an opportunity to play against someone else and at least see some of our new guys in a game situation. We need to develop and get better each game. We should win this and we should see an improvement from last year. Point spread isn't as important.

Drake had a good team by their standards that year and our offense was awful that year. Valpo is the lowest of the low in that league and our offense will have favorable matchups all over the field. If we want 50 by half we'llhave 50 by half. Their offense doesn't have the athletes to trouble our d.

[dmksioux]

I believe it was the tone of the initial question, which to me came off as "We gave up our nickname for D1 in all sports, and we're playing this team?" to me. Heck, even in the post right above yours, he says "I don't follow Sioux, er, North Dakota football" which to me seems a little more nickname related. I think that's where some of the attacks coming from. It seems like a hidden agenda posted in the form of an innocent question (whether intentional or not, that's how it came off to me).

In response to MM, I would encourage you to watch a few games on bigskytv - I too live in the MSP metro area and I catch most (if not all) games and keep myself up to date

You could be right, but as a fellow Sioux/North Dakota/UND fan, I was giving him the benefit of the doubt when he says he was asking honest questions and wanting some info on FCS football. He didn't bring hockey into the conversation, another poster did. Sometimes we jump on posters a bit too quickly on this board, as Ira said, it's good to have differing opinions and ask questions. Trolls are pretty obvious when they post as we have several on here that don't add anything to the conversation, imo, Mafia Man's post didn't come across as that. Either way, time to move on and continue to talk Valpo.

I'm looking forward to the game, even though it should be a fairly easy win. Things I will watch for will be some of the "little" things such as tackling/flowing to the ball, discipline (mental mistakes, blown assignments, etc.), and attitude. In watching the team the last few years, the attitude that we had in the 90's and early 2000's has been missing. I want to see an aggressive defense that gets after people, a team that eliminates the bone head penalties, and that stays focused at least until the game is out of hand in the second half.

[the green team]

I'm curious what our run/pass ratio will be tomorrow. I guess if you throw 50 plus times a game and it works that more power to you. Personally, I would like to see a little closer balance in run/pass overall this season. It doesn't have to be 50/50. I honestly don't know what it was last year, but 45% run and pass 55% would be decent I would think. But again, in the end I just care that we get the W's. Just curious what we'll show tomorrow night.