Adjusting Expectations

[geaux_sioux]

To begin the season every fan had a ton of questions. It seemed we had nothing at RB. We all saw the potential of having a dominant defense. We hoped the WR would be improved from the previous year. We felt the coaches had added a ton of speed to the team. We had major questions with the OL. We also were uneasy with the QB situation due to lack of experience and sample size. Then we smoked Wyoming. Everyone saw a bunch of FR step up on defense and offense and it looked like we would terrorize teams. And, all of a sudden, we had some small running back with serious wiggle and top end speed. The QB was also not killing us with bad INTs for once.

Then we moved on to Drake and we were rolling them. It wasn't a game and everyone was ready for NDSU. Then the second half happened and the team let their foot off the gas. We all shrugged it off as an anomaly. And why not, we were 2-0 and nobody expected that. 

We went into the NDSU game with confidence.... and got stomped. Again it was an anomaly. They were just better. Tip of the cap, on to the Big Sky with newfound confidence and expectations. 

Fast forward two weeks and we're sitting at 4-1. On cloud nine, but with some glaring injuries to key players on defense. There had been some kinks in the armor exposed but not to the extent that would raise too much concern. 

Then Idaho St happens. We're dominating them at half despite 3 TOs in the first half that kept them in the game. Then they tugged and tugged on the thread of the sweater and it came undone. The team unraveled before our eyes at home in a game that, had we won, would have seemingly guaranteed a playoff birth.

We all told ourselves that our team would be pissed and hop right back on the horse. But the defense was still in shambles. Yet, again we find our team in a commanding 4th quarter lead. Time to grind it out...... once again we piss the game away and the defense is exposed further..... against a team that wasn't supposed to be able to pass at all. Now the new expectations aren't fitting with the results. Cognitive dissonance sets in. Are we not the team we thought we were? Apparently not and the next game showed that in a big way.

With our crippled defense and backup QB, who as we all know has a totally different skill set than the guy that was winning games in ugly fashion, fly in to Missoula with their sights set on salvaging the once promising season.  They don't.... in fact they have their worst game yet against a team that was finally capable of leaving us totally exposed. 

And here we sit 4-4 and feeling like we're 1-7. Feeling cheated. Feeling the burn of being so close to finally earning the respect we have desired for eight long years and having it ripped from our grasp. Looking back, there is no way anyone would have predicted how this season has gone. We flew way beyond any preseason expectations early on only to fly too close to the sun and come crashing back down to earth in spectacular fashion. So I feel it's time to be a little more realistic with our team and their situation. We had a nice looking set of starters at the beginning of the season. We all knew we were razor thin at some very important positions. Unfortunately that's exactly where the injury bug struck. The players continue to fight though, and they deserve our support. They have busted their asses to bring this program back to prominence and were damn close to doing it way ahead of schedule. Their is a sliver of hope remaining in this season but the odds are not in our favor.  I think we all, myself especially, have become too negative to our team at this point and need to look harder for the bright spots instead of focusing only on what's going wrong. Regardless of the outcome we should support our players and be grateful for what they have already accomplished this season.  At the very least, they have established that UND football is coming. The rest of the country better be ready, because we're not going anywhere. Now let's enjoy the ride.

[Nodak78]

I like your thinking.  I am so proud of this team.  They have fought hard every game and that is difficult with all the injuries.  Saturday is greenout day.  Let's do our team proud and show loud and strong.  MSU could be a good match up for us.  GO UND!!!!

[RapidSioux]

Could NOT agree more. Looking forward to the future of UND Football.

[UNDfan2013]

Well said.  True fans stand by their team during good times and bad.  I have analyzed as the season has progressed and seen good things, strengths and weaknesses.  I believe that they are moving in the right direction and that there is a lot of promise for the team and program.  The ISU and WSU games were frustrating and we were soooo close to making those a W.  I am sure all would agree that we let those two slip away.  Injuries are going to occur in sports and can change the team dynamics but I like what I am seeing.  Other players are working hard and contributing.  Coaches have been moving some players around to different positions to try to always put the best game plan on the field.  I will continue to attend and watch games, cheer for the team and support the players through thick and thin. 

[AFMSGT]

Geaux Sioux pretty much summed it up. I guess the fact that many feel disappointed in the past three weeks is a good thing. Hopefully, the players and coaches also feel disappointed, but motivated to dig deep the next few weeks and during the offseason to take some more steps forward. Sometimes, its better to have unmet expectations based on potential, than to have no potential and or expectations at all. Playing college football is a reward that comes with risks. Any player that has the guts to step on the field and expose himself to success, and the potential for failure, is a man of courage and worth supporting.

[CMSioux]

Sure would be nice if there were more fans standing in the line cheering as the team walks from the bus to the Alerus - but that will come too. 

[77iceman]

Yep . . . I agree with geaux_sioux 100%.  UND would have been better off to lose the first game or two of the season.  4-4 would feel pretty damn nice if that had happened and everyone would call it progress (even though it's the same 4-4).

I'm bringing the whole fam damily to North Dakota (from Iowa) this weekend for the game no matter what the record is!

[AFMSGT]

Sure would be nice if there were more fans standing in the line cheering as the team walks from the bus to the Alerus - but that will come too.

I agree, but I don't know if many fans (students in particular) know when to be there and where. I was there for the Drake, UC Davis and Idaho State games and there were only a handful of fans there to greet the team as they walked to the Center.

[ClassB]

That being said--when is the right time to be there ?

[CMSioux]

It's always a guessing game - you have to watch for the bus to pull up and with the student buses you never know. This is an opportunity for the Athletic Department to start a new tradition - blow some kind of horn when the team buses are coming so everyone knows to go line up - perhaps it could soon be a hawk screaming (god I hope not).

[MoSiouxFan]

Well said.  True fans stand by their team during good times and bad.  I have analyzed as the season has progressed and seen good things, strengths and weaknesses.  I believe that they are moving in the right direction and that there is a lot of promise for the team and program.  The ISU and WSU games were frustrating and we were soooo close to making those a W.  I am sure all would agree that we let those two slip away.  Injuries are going to occur in sports and can change the team dynamics but I like what I am seeing.  Other players are working hard and contributing.  Coaches have been moving some players around to different positions to try to always put the best game plan on the field.  I will continue to attend and watch games, cheer for the team and support the players through thick and thin. 

Totally agree.  The two-deep is loaded with freshmen and sophomores and I think that the best is yet to come, although we're definitely going to miss the likes of Ratelle, Anderson, Adler, etc.  Look forward to the rest of the season.

[TRUEFAN]

It is time for everyone to stand behind the football players of the University of North Dakota. The players chose this school, they play with pride for this school. They get hurt, they stay up late to finish school work, traveling in airplanes to every away game.(exhausting)  Devoting untold amounts of time that most people don't understand unless they are close to a person on the team. They get raked over the coals, analyzed with great intensity. The senior class has spent most of the time in upheaval with coaches coming and going and other players leaving the team and the school.

These are great young men playing for a great university.They are not perfect  but they deserve credit for getting up every day and doing it all again.  Very, Very proud to be a fan of this group of players.

[Hawkster]

Actually, before the season even started I had been calling for 7-4 and a playoff spot.   I didn't up my expectations as the season went, only bandwagon fans do that.   Now I will say that I am deeply disappointed in the way this team totally tanked.   Next year we not only should expect to get to the playoffs but actually win a game.   We need to do more than we have been or we'll always be a second rate team.

[UND Fan]

It is time for everyone to stand behind the football players of the University of North Dakota. The players chose this school, they play with pride for this school. They get hurt, they stay up late to finish school work, traveling in airplanes to every away game.(exhausting)  Devoting untold amounts of time that most people don't understand unless they are close to a person on the team. They get raked over the coals, analyzed with great intensity. The senior class has spent most of the time in upheaval with coaches coming and going and other players leaving the team and the school.

These are great young men playing for a great university.They are not perfect  but they deserve credit for getting up every day and doing it all again.  Very, Very proud to be a fan of this group of players.

Well said!

[geaux_sioux]

Actually, before the season even started I had been calling for 7-4 and a playoff spot.   I didn't up my expectations as the season went, only bandwagon fans do that.   Now I will say that I am deeply disappointed in the way this team totally tanked.   Next year we not only should expect to get to the playoffs but actually win a game.   We need to do more than we have been or we'll always be a second rate team.

How are you deeply disappointed? They haven't lost a fifth game yet. They can still make the playoffs.

[fightingsioux4life]

Actually, before the season even started I had been calling for 7-4 and a playoff spot.   I didn't up my expectations as the season went, only bandwagon fans do that.   Now I will say that I am deeply disappointed in the way this team totally tanked.   Next year we not only should expect to get to the playoffs but actually win a game.   We need to do more than we have been or we'll always be a second rate team.

Have you forgotten what a train wreck this program was just two years ago? In football, if you don't have the numbers, if you don't have the depth across the board, you are going to struggle because injuries are inevitable. That is the next challenge for Bubba and company; building depth across the board so that injuries don't destroy an entire season of work. Give this staff another couple of recruiting classes and then you can make some informed judgments on whether we are headed in the right direction. But it's way, way too early to claim that "we'll always be a second rate team" based on what has happened this year.

[Hawkster]

Have you forgotten what a train wreck this program was just two years ago? In football, if you don't have the numbers, if you don't have the depth across the board, you are going to struggle because injuries are inevitable. That is the next challenge for Bubba and company; building depth across the board so that injuries don't destroy an entire season of work. Give this staff another couple of recruiting classes and then you can make some informed judgments on whether we are headed in the right direction. But it's way, way too early to claim that "we'll always be a second rate team" based on what has happened this year.

I'm saying we need to keep stepping it up and we can do it.   Number one thing we need to do is get depth at QB

[fightingsioux4life]

I'm saying we need to keep stepping it up and we can do it.   Number one thing we need to do is get depth at QB

I agree with you and I think the coaching staff will stock this program with talented kids who have character and positive attitudes and work habits. But that will take a couple of years. I imagine Bubba and his staff will be on the road as soon as the season is over.

[shep]

Going forward, I don't feel Studsrud is the playoff level QB we need. He still has a high school QB mentality of locking on his primary target and there are NO progressions. Even our CB's and Safety's would figure that out.

Once we get that, the young DBacks will mature and we will be in the playoffs for a long time. Though lets not forget every great team needs the OL hogs too.

[Mama Sue]

We are 1 3/4 years into the 4 year plan.

Go Sioux!

[UND-FB-FAN]

Going forward, I don't feel Studsrud is the playoff level QB we need. He still has a high school QB mentality of locking on his primary target and there are NO progressions. Even our CB's and Safety's would figure that out.

Once we get that, the young DBacks will mature and we will be in the playoffs for a long time. Though lets not forget every great team needs the OL hogs too.

Studsrud went 4-1 as the starter and it would have been 5-1 if he didn't exit against Idaho State; yet, you are now saying he is not good enough? He can improve during the offseason, you know? Do you think the receivers can improve too? 

[The Sicatoka]

We knew (probably didn't want to admit it to ourselves) that we were one deep at many positions. Many positions. And of course, those are the spots we took injuries. 

More importantly, there is first line talent there. What is missing is that next tier, the ability to not see a significant drop off when the injuries happen. 

4-1, lose the starting QB and both starting safeties, plus a bunch of other important guys (primarily LBs and OLs), 4-4. 

[shep]

Studsrud went 4-1 as the starter and it would have been 5-1 if he didn't exit against Idaho State; yet, you are now saying he is not good enough? He can improve during the offseason, you know? Do you think the receivers can improve too? 

He CAN improve, but some QB's never get past that first target. IF he doesn't he is not the guy. Of course, the receivers can as well.

I'm not sure I agree with the Idaho State victory if he's still in it. He was the QB during the 2nd half of the Drake game and the loss after and I don't mean SU.

[UND-FB-FAN]

We knew (probably didn't want to admit it to ourselves) that we were one deep at many positions. Many positions. And of course, those are the spots we took injuries. 

More importantly, there is first line talent there. What is missing is that next tier, the ability to not see a significant drop off when the injuries happen. 

4-1, lose the starting QB and both starting safeties, plus a bunch of other important guys (primarily LBs and OLs), 4-4. 

Absolutely. UND was close this season, which means UND might be "there" next season. This team is young, so continual improvement should be readily seen over the next couple seasons. Also, have to imagine depth will get better with the incoming 2016 recruiting class. 

[SJG73]

The future is bright.  Bubba's first full recruiting class is impressive....we can only go up from here!