2016 Season

[SIOUXFAN97]

three things for next are key...getting grady back, keeping keaton healthly all year, and cole dominating the secondary...

[UNDColorado]

14 minutes ago, SIOUXFAN97 said:

three things for next are key...getting grady back, keeping keaton healthly all year, and cole dominating the secondary...

Agreed. I would only add- the development of QB Brad H. You never know when he will be needed. 

[SIOUXFAN97]

14 minutes ago, UNDColorado said:

Agreed. I would only add- the development of QB Brad H. You never know when he will be needed. 

is it too late to get a qb transfer??? who knows tho maybe brad is keaton 2.0?  smart athletic and is really really good at handing it off to santiago?

[UNDColorado]

4 minutes ago, SIOUXFAN97 said:

is it too late to get a qb transfer??? who knows tho maybe brad is keaton 2.0?  smart athletic and is really really good at handing it off to santiago?

Probably not bit I recall someone making a good point in that transfers like to know they have the starting job guaranteed and that would not be the case as keaton is the starter and a captain.

I think Brad has great upside, only problem is he is a redshirt freshmen so he likely need another solid year of development before he is truly ready. If Bartles is needed to fill in maybe his experience as a senior will help him...hopefully it doesnt come to that. 

[UNDBIZ]

Also need the OL to stay healthy this season.  Not a lot of depth/experience there yet.

[Longtime fan]

1 hour ago, Ozzie82 said:

Summer attendance is all but mandatory, even for the incoming freshmen.  The days of voluntary summer workouts are over.

 

I'm worried that many people on our forum seem to be counting on Grady's return to be the immediate missing ingredient between a good and great season for UND.  It's true that Grady has many of the tools necessary to be our best offensive lineman (and a potential next level player), but I think tempering the enthusiasm a bit on his return is a smart thing to do, especially in the short term.  In many ways Elijah's debut last year was perfect timing... he began playing midseason with an experienced and talented unit around him.  This year the OL is inexperienced and will take time to gel.  For the OL working together as a unit trumps individual talent and it will take a while for this group to be hitting on all cylinders.  I expect Grady to be a great player and make a big difference, but I worry that we are setting ourselves up for a fall in the first few games if we think Grady's return is the only missing ingredient. 

As I have noted numerous times, Grady is as irreplaceable as Keaton.  He is incredibly mobile , has fast nimble feet (great for pulling purposes) and has the size.  Get him in the weight room a couple years and he will be a menace.     Very confident he will be drafted very high if he returns.  He played middle lb in high school, that shows what kind of talent he is at 285 pound (high school). 

I also have mentioned numerous times that I truly believe that demon will be an all American, whether it's 1st, 2nd or 3rd team, before he is gone.   Both he and Grady are or should I say hopefully will be on the right side!!!!  Incredibly talented right side.   Add in santiago and that is a recipe of amazing that we will enjoy for the 3 more seasons!!! 

If Grady does not return, und has more then enough talent just not his caliber, minus demon.   Plus you take away a starter, you take away the cohesive, experience  and leadership factors as well.  

Santiago was living on the hip of Grady at years end last season.  Hope it continues this year

[forksandspoons]

Replacing the monster in the middle of the defense is as important as any of the others mentioned in my opinion. 

[Longtime fan]

11 minutes ago, forksandspoons said:

Replacing the monster in the middle of the defense is as important as any of the others mentioned in my opinion. 

Agreed!  He made many plays that most couldn't.   He is a hell of a player and one that will be missed!  

I hope that taj is ready or is close to 100% for the up coming season.   I have loved that guy since he's been here.  He fits Bubba ball to a tee!  He's no ratelle but he is very integral part of the d.  Up until last year, I had always thought he was the best backer und had. Hopefully he is this year   

 

 

[77iceman]

I'm just excited to see so many return players.  It seems that you usually only recognize a players name for a year or two, then they are gone.

So many of the names we saw on the field last year still have two or three seasons in them!!!

[Sioux94]

Interesting take on the Big Sky preseasons rankings.  After EWU, Montana, and Montana State dominating the conference for so long, it's nice to see some new blood toward the top.  Although that means the top half of the conference are all pretty good, could easily see any of the top 6 teams in this preseason poll winning the conference championship.  Last year was a pretty good shake up in the conference with Portland State and Southern Utah doing so well.  Will the shake up continue this year.......or will EWU or Montana end back up at the top when it's all said and done?

http://www.thespectrum.com/story/sports/2016/06/01/big-sky-football-nau-tops-spectrum-medias-preseason-poll/85266520/?hootPostID=9e10c40146d19af983a6db2eec20d1ce 

[siouxfan512]

55 minutes ago, Sioux94 said:

Interesting take on the Big Sky preseasons rankings.  After EWU, Montana, and Montana State dominating the conference for so long, it's nice to see some new blood toward the top.  Although that means the top half of the conference are all pretty good, could easily see any of the top 6 teams in this preseason poll winning the conference championship.  Last year was a pretty good shake up in the conference with Portland State and Southern Utah doing so well.  Will the shake up continue this year.......or will EWU or Montana end back up at the top when it's all said and done?

http://www.thespectrum.com/story/sports/2016/06/01/big-sky-football-nau-tops-spectrum-medias-preseason-poll/85266520/?hootPostID=9e10c40146d19af983a6db2eec20d1ce 

This kind of stuff makes me so pumped for the season to start!

[UND-FB-FAN]

1 hour ago, Sioux94 said:

Interesting take on the Big Sky preseasons rankings.  After EWU, Montana, and Montana State dominating the conference for so long, it's nice to see some new blood toward the top.  Although that means the top half of the conference are all pretty good, could easily see any of the top 6 teams in this preseason poll winning the conference championship.  Last year was a pretty good shake up in the conference with Portland State and Southern Utah doing so well.  Will the shake up continue this year.......or will EWU or Montana end back up at the top when it's all said and done?

http://www.thespectrum.com/story/sports/2016/06/01/big-sky-football-nau-tops-spectrum-medias-preseason-poll/85266520/?hootPostID=9e10c40146d19af983a6db2eec20d1ce 

The matchup to watch, according to this poll, Craig Haley, and others, is the last Big Sky Conference game of the season for UND: vs Northern Arizona in the Alerus Center on November 12.

Man I hope the Alerus is rocking and Bubba Blitz is crushing the pass-happy lumberjacks and Case Cookus. I was disappointed at how poorly coordinated and attended the last home game of the season was in 2015. It was against Northern Colorado and the team was yet alive for a playoff spot; yet, there was no Champions Club tent setup and the attendance was piss poor. Nevertheless, that's a topic for another thread (i.e. give a half-ass effort and improve the gameday atmosphere). 

[GDPritch]

On ‎5‎/‎26‎/‎2016 at 2:15 PM, darell1976 said:

An upset win over Bowling Green and a win at Stony Brook should have the Potato Bowl against USD packed.

You know, we could still start 0-2 but play well so hopefully UND fans/casual observers understand that...

[SIOUXFAN97]

if und starts out o for 2 the same 8500 fans will be there for the next home game....start 2-0 and i think the alerus will be packed..

[CMSioux]

7 hours ago, UND-FB-FAN said:

I was disappointed at how poorly coordinated and attended the last home game of the season was in 2015. It was against Northern Colorado and the team was yet alive for a playoff spot; yet, there was no Champions Club tent setup and the attendance was piss poor. Nevertheless, that's a topic for another thread (i.e. give a half-ass effort and improve the gameday atmosphere). 

We've had threads on this before. No reason to allow people to reserve tailgating spots and then never show up - happens every year. Huge empty gaps in the lot between sites and the excuse we hear is "They paid their money they get their spot" well if they never use it they should be moved further out. They need to get people more excited about tailgating - shake it up, loosen the rules, offer incentives. As far as no Champions Club tent for the last game that is on the members of the Champions Club - a majority in attendance are over age 70 and don't want to be outside in a tent in November when the temperature drops - I understand why they don't have a tent when less than a dozen show up (they move it inside for the last game). It only costs about $130 bucks to get started in the Champions Club the benefits easily surpass the cost. 

[UND-FB-FAN]

UND starting to earn some recognition: http://www.fcs.football/cfb/story.asp?i=20160602102752085795904

Again, what NDSU has been doing hurts UND's exposure and even game attendance; nevertheless, Bubba certainly has everything moving in the right direction. 

Go UND!

[UNDColorado]

4 minutes ago, UND-FB-FAN said:

UND starting to earn some recognition: http://www.fcs.football/cfb/story.asp?i=20160602102752085795904

Again, what NDSU has been doing hurts UND's exposure and even game attendance; nevertheless, Bubba certainly has everything moving in the right direction. 

Go UND!

Very nice to see! We have had a bit of preseason hype from a few sources so now we need to back it up!

[UND-FB-FAN]

3 hours ago, CMSioux said:

We've had threads on this before. No reason to allow people to reserve tailgating spots and then never show up - happens every year. Huge empty gaps in the lot between sites and the excuse we hear is "They paid their money they get their spot" well if they never use it they should be moved further out. They need to get people more excited about tailgating - shake it up, loosen the rules, offer incentives. As far as no Champions Club tent for the last game that is on the members of the Champions Club - a majority in attendance are over age 70 and don't want to be outside in a tent in November when the temperature drops - I understand why they don't have a tent when less than a dozen show up (they move it inside for the last game). It only costs about $130 bucks to get started in the Champions Club the benefits easily surpass the cost. 

As for those members of the Champions Club, I am one - along with likely many on this board - and I certainly would like to see a presence at all home games. If it's cold, that's even more of a reason to host an event so that people show up, not shut it down and deter tailgating and the crowd even further. If it's moved inside, great, just make sure people realize that, even the casual fans. There needs to be a better presence at the most popular sport in the country of North Dakota's flagship university. Just a pure lack of effort and commitment towards football that needs to change. Same goes for in the Alerus during pre-game and the in-game entertainment features; needs to improve. I'm optimistic the winning product put on the field by Bubba will motivate the athletics' staff to do more. 

Better team intro (lights off), better TD celebration setup, more music, more features (highlights, team/player stories), etc. 

[UND-FB-FAN]

9 hours ago, SIOUXFAN97 said:

if und starts out o for 2 the same 8500 fans will be there for the next home game....start 2-0 and i think the alerus will be packed..

Are UND's expectations in line with starting 0-2? I'd definitely say no. 1-1 is understandable, but 0-2 would mean a loss to a middle of the road FCS team; not acceptable. I do agree, though, that UND would still be able win the conference with a 0-2 start so the game vs South Dakota would then be quite big to get things rolling. Nevertheless, Bottomline is UND needs to win road games against average teams (Stony Brook, Montana State, Northern Colorado, Sacramento State, Idaho State) if they are going to win the conference and ultimately make the FCS playoff field. That's why I really hope the first game for UND ends up a nice road win vs Stony Brook.

get it done boys

Go UND! 

[geaux_sioux]

This coming season is the first since 2007 where I expect UND to win each time they play.  I doubt we will be undefeated but we are now at the point where we should be able to win any game we play without relying of flukes or luck.

[siouxfan512]

2 minutes ago, geaux_sioux said:

This coming season is the first since 2007 where I expect UND to win each time they play.  I doubt we will be undefeated but we are now at the point where we should be able to win any game we play without relying of flukes or luck.

exactly!

[Sioux94]

It certainly is possible we could start 0-2, Stony Brook won't be a 'gimme' on the road.  Might be a low scoring game, a pick six the other way or a couple of turnovers and anything can happen.  Going 0-2 would really leave us little room for error the rest of the way.  My prediction is 8-3 on the season.  I definitely don't want to end up 7-4 again and leave it up to the committee.    With that said about Stony Brook, I am still thinking we will win that game.......and we NEED to win that game! 

[UND-FB-FAN]

8 minutes ago, geaux_sioux said:

This coming season is the first since 2007 where I expect UND to win each time they play.  I doubt we will be undefeated but we are now at the point where we should be able to win any game we play without relying of flukes or luck.

Exactly, and this is the source of the hype and playoff expectations. 

By building depth/committed player numbers and working off of the resources and facilities here at the University of North Dakota, Bubba hopefully has constructed an annual playoff football program at UND. It appears that way at this early juncture. 

Go UND!

[homer]

15 minutes ago, Sioux94 said:

It certainly is possible we could start 0-2, Stony Brook won't be a 'gimme' on the road.  Might be a low scoring game, a pick six the other way or a couple of turnovers and anything can happen.  Going 0-2 would really leave us little room for error the rest of the way.  My prediction is 8-3 on the season.  I definitely don't want to end up 7-4 again and leave it up to the committee.    With that said about Stony Brook, I am still thinking we will win that game.......and we NEED to win that game! 

Not sure how things shake out as far as rankings go but taking a very early look at our schedule, if we go 7-4 we don't get in next season.  Have to be 8-3 or better.  

I don't think any of the 3 non conference games are a gimme.  USD will also be a very big challenge at home.   

[hky]

4 hours ago, CMSioux said:

We've had threads on this before. No reason to allow people to reserve tailgating spots and then never show up - happens every year. Huge empty gaps in the lot between sites and the excuse we hear is "They paid their money they get their spot" well if they never use it they should be moved further out. They need to get people more excited about tailgating - shake it up, loosen the rules, offer incentives. As far as no Champions Club tent for the last game that is on the members of the Champions Club - a majority in attendance are over age 70 and don't want to be outside in a tent in November when the temperature drops - I understand why they don't have a tent when less than a dozen show up (they move it inside for the last game). It only costs about $130 bucks to get started in the Champions Club the benefits easily surpass the cost. 

I say they sell a certain number of spots.  And those people who have paid for the season get in earlier to claim spots on a first come, first served basis.