SDSU at UND

[Risky]

With the way we played at times last night if SDSU is the #2 team in the MVFC and the #6 or #7 team in the country UND has a bright future. We have a lot of things to improve on. Some of those improvements can be made.

[UNDColorado]

Everyone has basically covered the mistakes and why we weren't able to pull it out so I want to talk about the running game for a minute.

Why did Jake Miller play the entire game? Sure he had a couple small bursts early on but really?

I really have a hard time believing he is the best RB that we have. He cannot break a tackle for his life. I hoped that since he is a senior that maybe he would begin to find some old man strength but no. Shaugs and Sparks need to be given a chance to prove themselves. They seem to have the ability to break a tackle every now and again.

Can someone tell me what the coaches see in Miller?

Also, Edwards needs to start on the D line. He made a noticeable difference. Goard stepped up and made some plays too. That was nice to see. I did notice that we were able to get a stop on D when we really needed it. We did not have that ability at all last year. Obviously we have some mistakes that need to be corrected but those who are freaking out about a one TD loss to #6 are acting like drama queens.

After seeing App lose to a MEAC team at home, the Montana win over them isn't as impressive as everyone first perceived. If we fix some mistakes like penalties and turnovers it is a very winable game.

[jodcon]

The difficulty with that thinking is this: let's say the delay penalty was called, and the jacks punt. Mollberg still threw into coverage and got picked. There is no logical link between the delay penalty being called and changing the ensuing decisions of Mollberg. You might as well pick any play in the game to change, and then believe the rest of the ensuing events would change.

Don't mess with the space-time continuum.

It's more a matter of better field position, more momentum and adrenaline from both the team and the crowd, plus another 2 minutes on the clock. If UND holds after the missed delay call SDSU is punting from the endzone instead of the 30 and UND gets the ball back with 4:30 left instead of 2:19, presumably with much better field position. With 1:30 on the clock at midfield everybody knew they were throwing every down, if they get the ball at SDSU's 40 with 4 minutes left the playbook is wide open.

Not saying it would have ended differently, Mollberg might have forced a ball in that situation too, but the situation would have been a lot better for UND to score on.

[Matt]

It's more a matter of better field position, more momentum and adrenaline from both the team and the crowd, plus another 2 minutes on the clock. If UND holds after the missed delay call SDSU is punting from the endzone instead of the 30 and UND gets the ball back with 4:30 left instead of 2:19, presumably with much better field position. With 1:30 on the clock at midfield everybody knew they were throwing every down, if they get the ball at SDSU's 40 with 4 minutes left the playbook is wide open.

Not saying it would have ended differently, Mollberg might have forced a ball in that situation too, but the situation would have been a lot better for UND to score on.

Maybe. And maybe he fumbles the snap. Or maybe Zenner busts another one. We can go round and round.

[Dagger]

It's more a matter of better field position, more momentum and adrenaline from both the team and the crowd, plus another 2 minutes on the clock. If UND holds after the missed delay call SDSU is punting from the endzone instead of the 30 and UND gets the ball back with 4:30 left instead of 2:19, presumably with much better field position. With 1:30 on the clock at midfield everybody knew they were throwing every down, if they get the ball at SDSU's 40 with 4 minutes left the playbook is wide open.

Not saying it would have ended differently, Mollberg might have forced a ball in that situation too, but the situation would have been a lot better for UND to score on.

I agree. The approach to that last drive, the time left , the field position of that drive, would have been a lot different if that penalty had been called. We will never know what might of happened. The end result is a person hates to see a missed call at the end of the game have an effect on the potential result to the game. AS they say, a team just can't put themselves in a position for an officials call to have any bearing on the result.

[jodcon]

I agree. The approach to that last drive, the time left , the field position of that drive, would have been a lot different if that penalty had been called. We will never know what might of happened. The end result is a person hates to see a missed call at the end of the game have an effect on the potential result to the game. AS they say, a team just can't put themselves in a position for an officials call to have any bearing on the result.

Yeah it ended up being a double-whammy, even after the missed delay call it would have been 3rd and 5 before the personal foul, just a disaster of a play from the start for UND.

[geaux_sioux]

Anyone at the game remember when SDSU had that uncalled delay of game when the center couldn't hear Sumner desperately pleading for the snap? It brought me back to 2001 when that was a common occurrence in big games. Next week we need to make it that loud but we need to do so before everyone leaves. We have a huge advantage and haven't really used it in years. It's a good feeling when as a fan you can literally help your team in a tangible way.

[geaux_sioux]

5 of the top 7 tacklers last night for us were LBs or DL. That is a very good thing. Darryl Brown had a great game and lead the team as a corner but the LBs actually made some plays last night against what is the most physical offensive line we will face all year. Mike Edwards had a huge game for a FR and Ben Hensen showed he is more effective as a DE. Best of all was Dom Bennett asserted himself. He had 3 QB hurries a sack 2 tfl 6 total tackles and best of all, even though it was a dumb penalty, he took Cam Jones (SDSUs 6'5 250 lb TE and threw him to the ground like a rag doll. It was a penalty but it set the tone for how Dom was going to play the rest of the game. He made good on his potential finally.

Also I have to give Goard a shout out again. He only had two tackles but they were BIG. He also crushed Zenner on a pass rush and ruined the timing of Sumner on the play. We need more of him rotating in at ILB.

[nodakvindy]

Yeah it ended up being a double-whammy, even after the missed delay call it would have been 3rd and 5 before the personal foul, just a disaster of a play from the start for UND.

It also did take the crowd out of it some. The Alerus was LOUD on those last couple of SDSU drives and they were cleary rattle (as the non-delay of game call showed). The improved play of the D in the second half I believe was somewhat a result of feeding off the crowd energy. It would have been interesting to see how the game had progressed had we been able to get up 14-0 at the start.

For me the biggest frustrations were the drops in the first half, the horrible clock management going in to halftime, the arm tackling on Zenner for much of the game (he's a nice back, but he isn't Jim Brown and Barry Sanders rolled in to one like we made him look), and of course the penalties. The drops, penalties and clock management are all things that can definitely be fixed and I'm hoping some of the tackling issues are addressed with personnel changes.

I think the QB situation will work itself out and I think there will probably be opportunities for both to win big games before this season is over. Their approaches are different and I think it is up to the coaching staff to figure out when each of them has the best chance to excel. They are both freshman and this was the first legitimate defense they have seen, so I'm definitely not going to rule out either one. Bartels was victimized by some big drops and then I think tried to gamble more than his nature to try and get the team back in the game. Mollberg was sort of playing with house money in that there wasn't much to lose and against a softer prevent defense that he was able to exploit. One game isn't enough to draw too many meaningful conclusions.

[zonadub]

The balance of the season cannot ride on ONLY the arms of two freshman quarterbacks. The playbook needs to use more than just Miller out of the backfield. There was not one single carry by another UND running back in the whole 60 minute game. Why weren't Shaugabay, Sparks or Garman given the ball once between the 3 of them? That puts too much of the game on the arm of the freshmen quarterbacks. 30 some yards on the ground out of the backfield isn't even an attempt at a balanced attack. Take some pressure off the quarterback and at least try to establish a second dimension of offense. Even the Packers cannot ride Rodgers' arm a whole season, they did get some help from Starks, Kuhn and Jackson the year they won the Super Bowl.

[homer]

They didn't take a knee until the last play anyway. Zenner was running effectively on that last drive, and they chose to take a knee even though he only needed one yard to break the record.

They would have been 3rd and fifteen if that penalty is called not in position to force anything. Getting the ball back with two more minutes on the clock would have been huge. Not saying it changes anything but you can't argue the difference with a freshman qb at the helm.

[fightingsioux4life]

Why does Mussman get stubborn with starting certain players at certain positions and sticking with them no matter what? I can just hear him saying to the media this week "Jake Miller is our starting running back". I don't think Miller is good enough to shoulder the load for the entire game and get the yardage we need to get on the ground. Why not have a platoon at RB and get everybody involved? It would open up the playbook and make us less predictable. Platooning QBs generally doesn't work, but it does work for RBs and I think we should do it. There is no point in holding back our playbook anymore, not with the meat of our schedule coming up.

[Wilbur]

Big stat from the game yesterday is the number of rushing attempts by UND. I know they had to throw the football because of the score in the second half but they have to run it more than 17 times.

[geaux_sioux]

Big stat from the game yesterday is the number of rushing attempts by UND. I know they had to throw the football because of the score in the second half but they have to run it more than 17 times.

We actually had some decent runs on the first two drives. After that it was non existent.

[Oxbow6]

We actually had some decent runs on the first two drives. After that it was non existent.

We rushed for 27 yards by half. One step forward and then 2 back doesn't cut it in my book.

[geaux_sioux]

We rushed for 27 yards by half. One step forward and then 2 back doesn't cut it in my book.

Shaugs could have been the answer in my opinion. Feed that kid. He is hungry.

[Oxbow6]

Shaugs could have been the answer in my opinion. Feed that kid. He is hungry.

I'm with you. 3-4 positive run yards is never a bad play. Miller can't make something out of nothing.

[The Sicatoka]

I don't see any other BSC team running small, light backs like UND.

[Oxbow6]

I don't see any other BSC team running small, light backs like UND.

As mentioned prior the fact that only one RB ran the ball is perplexing... excluding Zenner.

[BigGame]

Anyone at the game remember when SDSU had that uncalled delay of game when the center couldn't hear Sumner desperately pleading for the snap? It brought me back to 2001 when that was a common occurrence in big games. Next week we need to make it that loud but we need to do so before everyone leaves. We have a huge advantage and haven't really used it in years. It's a good feeling when as a fan you can literally help your team in a tangible way.

The crowd left the game at strange times last night but I will say I think the volume was pretty good during the comeback.

[BigGame]

As mentioned prior the fact that only one RB ran the ball is perplexing... excluding Zenner.

That was one of the must frustrating things watching the game. Early on Miller had a seem and didn't hit it and only got a couple yards. He can't really break tackles so at his size he would need to be able to make people miss but that didn't happen either. I really don't understand why they don't give some of the other backs a in game opportunity. It's looked to me like Jackson might be the best RB on the team.

[BigGame]

5 of the top 7 tacklers last night for us were LBs or DL. That is a very good thing. Darryl Brown had a great game and lead the team as a corner but the LBs actually made some plays last night against what is the most physical offensive line we will face all year. Mike Edwards had a huge game for a FR and Ben Hensen showed he is more effective as a DE. Best of all was Dom Bennett asserted himself. He had 3 QB hurries a sack 2 tfl 6 total tackles and best of all, even though it was a dumb penalty, he took Cam Jones (SDSUs 6'5 250 lb TE and threw him to the ground like a rag doll. It was a penalty but it set the tone for how Dom was going to play the rest of the game. He made good on his potential finally.

Also I have to give Goard a shout out again. He only had two tackles but they were BIG. He also crushed Zenner on a pass rush and ruined the timing of Sumner on the play. We need more of him rotating in at ILB.

I thought the d line had a good second half.

[BigGame]

#toetotoe

#moralvictory

#sameold

The only improvement from last year is that UND didn't roll over after they got down by 3 td's.

Poor tackling, being manhandled up front, no running game against good d's...all the same.

The tackling was good at times and bad at times but it way better than last year. I thought D. Brown did an outstanding job tackling Zenner for most of the game, even though he isn't the guy you hope would be tackling the RB.

[ericpnelson]

Rip away, but I don't think we have the 'backers to run 3-4. How many times did they miss a chance to make contact at the LOS, and how many missed first tackles were there? I know Zenner is great and all, but it was so consistent that they first tackle was going to be missed. Am I wrong in thinking that it looked like the gameplan was to eat up bodies at gaps and have a free linebacker to meet Zenner in the hole? That doesn't work if you don't have the horses to do it. Garrison Goodman was all right though.

Also, did anyone else notice the lack of Hardin targeting in the 2nd and 3rd quarter? It coincided with the offensive stalls. Regardless of whose tossing it, Hardin is so good, I think you need to implement a "Randy ratio" type gameplan for him. Just too darn good not to force the issue there, IMO.

I didn't think either quarterback was all that marketable of difference. Both gave their guys good chances. I think the comeback had as much to do with an all of a sudden lack of drops and the defense deciding to not get completely manhandled in the 4th.

[homer]

I didn't think either quarterback was all that marketable of difference. Both gave their guys good chances. I think the comeback had as much to do with an all of a sudden lack of drops and the defense deciding to not get completely manhandled in the 4th.

The spark in the defense was started when the offense got some momentum going again. We had lost it and the qb change sparked

The entire team. We'll find out next week if one guy has the "it" factor that motivates an entire team. That could be the biggest difference between the two.