UC Davis Game Day Thread

[SWSiouxMN]

There is so many people to blame for this 3-1 record.

Blame the QB

Blame the WRs

Blame the O-Line

Blame the coaches

Blame the band

Blame the lack of atmosphere

Blame the Students

Did I cover it all?

[Old Time Hockey]

Blame the QB

Blame the WRs

Blame the O-Line

Blame the coaches

Blame the band

Blame the lack of atmosphere

Blame the Students

Did I cover it all?

Blame the nickname!

[Sodbuster]

Blame the nickname!

Blame the lack of one!

[gundy1124]

Why don't we try to get the ball in Iwarri's hands by throwing a screen to him on the outside or something? The sweeps seemed forced to me.

Iwarri seemed hesitant to me.  I expect it will be addressed this week.  If the kid is so fast and has some ball skills isn't this a way to stretch the field?

[Siouxphan27]

Not an expert by any stretch of one's imagination, but... Wasn't this the knock on Brock Jensen at NDSU his first couple of years? The Bison won in spite of him? Seems that he (and the team around him, led by a stout defense) was able to win games and learn as he was doing. Not saying Studsrud will develop the same way, but that it seems like he is on that type of track. The last two wins have not been pretty by some measures, but NDSU won their share of games ugly in Jensen's early years too.

 

if Mollberg and Bartels are not healthy, it seems that it would not be a smart move to put them in to games that rely on qb runs as much as Rudolph's play calling does. Not that it is an exciting game plan, but it does require the qb be able to gain yards on the ground. Is this a result of Studsrud's ability or is it the predetermined mind-set of the head coach and offensive coordinator?

sorry- only experts allowed here.  You'll have to post somewhere else.

lol lol lol

[Teeder11]

Watching from the end zone, I think I saw Studsrud make it to past his first read twice all game.  He was immediately locked in on his primary receiver, waiting for them to make their break almost every single snap. It seemed obvious and is concerning. There were multiple secondary receivers coming across the middle on many of the plays he forced the ball to his primary receiver.  The interception was an absolutely brutal decision thrown right in the middle of two or three UC-Davis players with the UND player having no chance.  That being said, on the TD pass, he looked off the safety nicely and made an excellent throw.  His running looked pretty good (minus the turf monster that got him at the end), though if a couple of the plays were truly read-options instead of straight hand off or keeper, he made the wrong decision on a few that could have went for nice gains.  He's not in danger of losing his job by any means but there is room for improvement.  I trust the staff that he is the best option and in there for a reason.

The defense looked good, though you could tell they are still adjusting to Arnell not playing.  Thought Johnson played pretty well for the most part.  Davis put together two pretty nice second half drives (one aided by a dumb offsides penalty) but I think the defense looked very good overall.  Other than a very nice throw on one of the TD's that would have been tough to defend for anyone, Ratelle was an absolute monster out there.  Always in position and fundamentally sound.  He doesn't miss tackles and is always in the middle of the play. Such a fun player to watch.

A little bit of a mixed bag on special teams but I thought Davis left some yards on the field with their return game, UND's coverage wasn't exactly solid.

"His running looked pretty good (minus the turf monster that got him at the end)"

 

That section of the field is like the Bermuda Triangle for UND. I seem to remember Tyree Ivery got eaten up by that same monster around the same spot last year.  

Edited September 27, 2015 by Teeder11

[Hawkster]

Not an expert by any stretch of one's imagination, but... Wasn't this the knock on Brock Jensen at NDSU his first couple of years? The Bison won in spite of him? Seems that he (and the team around him, led by a stout defense) was able to win games and learn as he was doing. Not saying Studsrud will develop the same way, but that it seems like he is on that type of track. The last two wins have not been pretty by some measures, but NDSU won their share of games ugly in Jensen's early years too.

 

if Mollberg and Bartels are not healthy, it seems that it would not be a smart move to put them in to games that rely on qb runs as much as Rudolph's play calling does. Not that it is an exciting game plan, but it does require the qb be able to gain yards on the ground. Is this a result of Studsrud's ability or is it the predetermined mind-set of the head coach and offensive coordinator?

I'm still not convinced Studsrud is our man for the long haul.   He has a long ways to go to win a big game (see NDSU), but the alternatives are worse.   I lost faith in Mollberg even before the injury, and Bartels didn't get it done last year either.   Might as well stick with Studs for now but it still doesn't look good in that position.

[Cratter]

I think UND goes 2-5 the rest of the season.

[Oxbow6]

I think UND goes 2-5 the rest of the season.

Booooo........booooooo.

 

Fire Cratter!

[Cratter]

Only stat that matters to me is 3-1. I've said it before that UND needs to take it one game at a time, but they "only," need to go 4-4 in the next 8 and they are probably in the playoffs. Portland St game is so huge b/c I think UNC at home is about as sure a win as we have. Assuming that, we get PSU and suddenly you only need to go 2-4 in the other games. 1 game at a time but after 4 games were 3-1 and that has me excited. 

That win 7 games and you're in the playoffs isn't true anymore.

[Cratter]

Booooo........booooooo.

 

Fire Cratter!

OK 3-4 at best.

[geaux_sioux]

I think we can win the rest of our games. The only team I think we'd have no chance against in the Big Sky is EWU. Since we don't play them I think we have a shot at every team. Obviously the chances of running the table are beyond slim but I don't see any sure losses on our schedule like I used to.

[UND-1]

I think we can win the rest of our games. The only team I think we'd have no chance against in the Big Sky is EWU. Since we don't play them I think we have a shot at every team. Obviously the chances of running the table are beyond slim but I don't see any sure losses on our schedule like I used to.

So you're now saying we can possibly win every game, "despite" Studsrud being our starting QB.  Real consistent.

[Oxbow6]

At some point, probably more than once, in conference play UND will be down 2 scores in the fourth and Studs will have to make plays in the passing game to pull those games out. We'll see how that goes.

[Nodak78]

At some point, probably more than once, in conference play UND will be down 2 scores in the fourth and Studs will have to make plays in the passing game to pull those games out. We'll see how that goes.

maybe the defense will strip the ball and score a TD.   Bubba ball style

[geaux_sioux]

So you're now saying we can possibly win every game, "despite" Studsrud being our starting QB.  Real consistent.

Early 2000s Baltimore style. Our defense and run game will continue to win games. Our passing game hopefully will exist at some point. And no, passing on Drake did not count for !@#$.

[petey23]

Sat,  Oct 03	Portland State * 40%	at Portland, Ore.	4:00 p.m.
Sat,  Oct 10	Idaho State (Homecoming) * 75%	Alerus Center (Grand Forks, N.D.)	1:00 p.m.
Sat,  Oct 17	Weber State * 50%	at Ogden, Utah	7:00 p.m.
Sat,  Oct 24	Montana * 20%	at Missoula, Mont.	2:30 p.m.
Sat,  Oct 31	Montana State (Hall of Fame Game/Band Day) * 25%	Alerus Center (Grand Forks, N.D.)	1:00 p.m.
Sat,  Nov 14	Northern Colorado (Senior Day) * 75%	Alerus Center (Grand Forks, N.D.)	1:00 p.m.
Sat,  Nov 21	Cal Poly * 40%	at San Luis Obispo, Calif.	8:05 p.m. We have 2 games left where we should be heavy favorites to win at home. Our remaining home game is the worst possible matchup we will face this season. Need to find a way to somehow win 2 of the 3 against Portland State, Weber State, and Cal Poly....all on the road. Portland State and Cal Poly's offenses do play into our strength so we should have opportunities there if our offense can not turn it over and be competent(15-20 first downs)

[Cratter]

Only three home games left.

College football goes by too fast.

[UND-RedSox fan]

Only an 11 game schedule? Is that pretty standard for FCS? The only college football I follow is FBS and they play 12. 

Regardless, this team is 3-1 with a FBS victory. There is no way any of our recent teams beat an FBS team (even if it is just Wyoming) and in general fans seem to think this team can be an above .500 team. This isn't the hockey team, people shouldn't be so negative about a team that is clearly improving over previous years and could, in the future, develop into a team that can consistently compete with the Montana schools and EWU. There is a lot more pessimism about this team than I expected to read. 

[Hawkster]

Only an 11 game schedule? Is that pretty standard for FCS? The only college football I follow is FBS and they play 12. 

Regardless, this team is 3-1 with a FBS victory. There is no way any of our recent teams beat an FBS team (even if it is just Wyoming) and in general fans seem to think this team can be an above .500 team. This isn't the hockey team, people shouldn't be so negative about a team that is clearly improving over previous years and could, in the future, develop into a team that can consistently compete with the Montana schools and EWU. There is a lot more pessimism about this team than I expected to read. 

Eleven games is the norm in FCS.   There are occasional years that we get that 12th game, depending on how the calendar falls.    FCS has playoffs, so we don't want to beat each other up too much, since we have a shot at 3 or 4 more games.

[homer]

That win 7 games and you're in the playoffs isn't true anymore.

on years with only 11 games there will likely be a couple teams with 7 wins making the playoffs. 

[Sioux>Bison]

If we can take down cal poly Portland state um or msu then I will change my mind about all these troubles. Don't get me wrong I like being 3-1 to start the season but the three teams we have beat were horendous. We can't be a playoff team without a passing game. Our defense and running game just won't hold up.

[GeauxSioux]

From the UC Davis board GDT in reference to Ratelle...  "There is no getting by Area 51 for UND."

[Nodak78]

Ratelle   is on pace to reach 100 tackle season.   He is a beast.

 

[siouxfan512]

From the UC Davis board GDT in reference to Ratelle...  "There is no getting by Area 51 for UND."

Haha I like it