2019 Season

[Stand4Anthem]

9 minutes ago, geaux_sioux said:

So is the Cali night game a problem or not? You said it was but I disagree and offered evidence.

So your logic is we beat a team 4 years ago on the road at night means it’s an automatic win this year? That’s batsh_t crazy logic. My point is typically getting wins out west seem tough, historically Poly has been decent, maybe not currently but the Hawks haven’t exactly been world beaters either?

[Longtime fan]

4 hours ago, Irish said:

You have summed up Bubba to a T.  We all like him and want him to succeed - He bleeds green.  However, his ultra conservative nature often gets in his way.  I will begrudgingly concede that his in-game decisions (although the first half punt vs Washington made me furious) have a theme to them - even though I disagree with most of them.  It is his unwillingness to make other changes that drags us down.  Non-existent half time changes, hanging on to Rudy for 5 years, continued special team disasters, etc etc.  Everything seems set in stone - we will run a 3-4 (a workable defense that was put into place to stop the Bison option) regardless of the strength of our D line for example.  In my opinion, the main way we can be dominant again is if his absolute devotion to our program translates into recruiting dominant monster lines on both sides of the ball.  Then he can indulge in all of his conservative approaches and it will probably fit our team very well.  Lacking that I worry.  The best thing that could happen this year is that he turns all offensive decisions over to the O coordinator.  

With bubba ball you know what you’re going to get from the beginning of the game ....no sway. He’s hitched to conservative.  No element of surprise or no attempt to gain momentum.   Run out the clock and call it good  

I stated two years ago when he hadn’t rid of Rudy yet ....I lost a lot faith in bubba.  

He needs to prove himself this year.   Can’t have another decade of this.  I am too engrained into this program not to care.   

Still excited for the year as I have been for the last 50.  I have no doubt they can win 8-9 games just from what I have seen at the 5-6 practices I’ve attended.  Just need to do it. 

[SkoHawks]

In order to break up the theme of mediocre predictions. I'm predicting 8-3 this year. Losses at SU, EWU, and a random game that they shouldn't and we'll wonder what happened.  also keep in mind that teams can fluctuate from year to year, maybe UC Davis isn't the team they were last year, same with Weber, Mont St, etc...yes on paper right now, tough schedule, but I also think we'll be a tough team. 

[geaux_sioux]

4 minutes ago, Stand4Anthem said:

So your logic is we beat a team 4 years ago on the road at night means it’s an automatic win this year? That’s batsh_t crazy logic. My point is typically getting wins out west seem tough, historically Poly has been decent, maybe not currently but the Hawks haven’t exactly been world beaters either?

Never said it was an automatic win. Taking a look at actual history of UND out west in night games(kickoff at or after 5pm) as a D1 team against FCS teams. These are the results:

2008 - L @ Davis - by 7 pts

2010 - L @ Poly - by 1 pt

2012 - W @ Sac - by 22 pts

2015 - W @ Poly - by 24 pts

2016 - W @ Sac - by 33 pts

2017 - L @ Davis - by 24 pts

2018 - W @ Sac - by 26 pts

We are 4-3 which is better than our overall record in D1 against FCS teams of 50-50. In others words, we are better in Cali night games than we are overall all, so, bring on the Cali night games. 

[Nodak78]

https://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/football/4619939-UND-football-names-four-captains

 

[Stand4Anthem]

6 minutes ago, geaux_sioux said:

Never said it was an automatic win. Taking a look at actual history of UND out west in night games(kickoff at or after 5pm) as a D1 team against FCS teams. These are the results:

2008 - L @ Davis - by 7 pts

2010 - L @ Poly - by 1 pt

2012 - W @ Sac - by 22 pts

2015 - W @ Poly - by 24 pts

2016 - W @ Sac - by 33 pts

2017 - L @ Davis - by 24 pts

2018 - W @ Sac - by 26 pts

We are 4-3 which is better than our overall record in D1 against FCS teams of 50-50. In others words, we are better in Cali night games than we are overall all, so, bring on the Cali night games. 

Reasonable enough, but 3 of 4 wins against Sac St, 1-1 against Poly, this is a pivotal must win game if the previous games schedule goes as predicted (never know)

[gundy1124]

49 minutes ago, Stand4Anthem said:

So your logic is we beat a team 4 years ago on the road at night means it’s an automatic win this year? That’s batsh_t crazy logic. My point is typically getting wins out west seem tough, historically Poly has been decent, maybe not currently but the Hawks haven’t exactly been world beaters either?

Try to keep up with the big boy logic.  Although Cal Poly can be deafening in their home stadium , we have these factors in our corner.

1) Schmitty can stop triple option in his sleep

2) Cal Poly is often undersized with limited depth, they wear down during the season.  It is a very hard school to get into.

3) Our guys absolutely love playing out in California, night game. 

4) No Protheroe or mini-Protheroes (like mini-Dictas) have been spotted on campus since Joe's epic bust at Niner's minicamp

What is your logic again?  (It's hard to travel West and play a game?)

[gundy1124]

18 hours ago, Nodak78 said:

https://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/football/4619939-UND-football-names-four-captains

 

Seems right with some of our best on the field as captains.  No more participation award captains please.

[Stand4Anthem]

14 minutes ago, gundy1124 said:

Try to keep up with the big boy logic.  Although Cal Poly can be deafening in their home stadium , we have these factors in our corner.

1) Schmitty can stop triple option in his sleep

2) Cal Poly is often undersized with limited depth, they wear down during the season.  It is a very hard school to get into.

3) Our guys absolutely love playing out in California, night game. 

4) No Protheroe or mini-Protheroes (like mini-Dictas) have been spotted on campus since Joe's epic bust at Niner's minicamp

What is your logic again?  (It's hard to travel West and play a game?)

So your saying Poly has a chance, but a very, very, small chance

[shep]

2 hours ago, geaux_sioux said:

Yes, I believe it does. From the sideline the players can feel the energy of the fans. When a team makes one mistake and the fans react with the “here we go again” groan it deflated people. NDSU is a great example. Their fans are over the top with expectations of greatness.

That makes sense during a game.

I go to games anticipating good things and am hopeful. 
Sitting behind a keyboard after a crappy day at the offense may influence how I feel here and effect how optimistic I am about the team. 

[gundy1124]

42 minutes ago, Stand4Anthem said:

So your saying Poly has a chance, but a very, very, small chance

I put Cal Poly as an 80% chance W category.  As you pointed out with some loss predictions, we will be underdogs quite a few times early in the season until we prove otherwise.

It all boils down to the Fruend Factor as someone else pointed out.......what's the measure (positive impact) of having a successful and efficient offense for the team?  It could be huge and with that I am not ruling out 8+ wins and playoffs.  We could struggle with injuries again and be 6-5 but if healthy we'll be better than that.  All poppycock at this point, can't wait to watch!!

[The Sicatoka]

1 hour ago, gundy1124 said:

4) No Protheroe or mini-Protheroes (like mini-Dictas) have been spotted on campus since Joe's epic bust at Niner's minicamp

Here's a picture of gundy daydreaming ... 

[gundy1124]

2 hours ago, The Sicatoka said:

Here's a picture of gundy daydreaming ... 

LMAO!!  Great stuff!!

[CMSioux]

5 hours ago, SkoHawks said:

In order to break up the theme of mediocre predictions. I'm predicting 8-3 this year. Losses at SU, EWU, and a random game that they shouldn't and we'll wonder what happened.  also keep in mind that teams can fluctuate from year to year, maybe UC Davis isn't the team they were last year, same with Weber, Mont St, etc...yes on paper right now, tough schedule, but I also think we'll be a tough team. 

Check the history of the Big Sky in the time UND has been a member there is annually one team that falls after a great season - unfortunately one of those years it was UND. If the tradition continues then one of the teams that are predicted to be top three won't be there at the end of the year. 

[Wilbur]

6 hours ago, Longtime fan said:

With bubba ball you know what you’re going to get from the beginning of the game ....no sway. He’s hitched to conservative.  No element of surprise or no attempt to gain momentum.   Run out the clock and call it good  

I stated two years ago when he hadn’t rid of Rudy yet ....I lost a lot faith in bubba.  

He needs to prove himself this year.   Can’t have another decade of this.  I am too engrained into this program not to care.   

Still excited for the year as I have been for the last 50.  I have no doubt they can win 8-9 games just from what I have seen at the 5-6 practices I’ve attended.  Just need to do it. 

Remember when Bubba was coaching Duluth in the D2 days and they played us in the postseason I think and they threw the ball every bleeping play and spread us out the entire game?  Think it may have been Danny Gagner's senior year.

What happened to that Bubba ball? 

[Sioux>Bison]

9 hours ago, SWSiouxMN said:

Keep him in the pocket

Spy him

He does have a great arm but his legs are his greatest weapon.

I think honestly the only way they will dominate the game is if they can run it down our throats. I think the secondary will be able to contain this QB, but if they can run easily it may open some pass plays. This is the best chance we have had to take down the mighty AC.

[nd1sufan]

10 hours ago, geaux_sioux said:

Fresh meat at qb for teh AC this year. His second career start will come against the Mighty Fighting Hawks. I look forward to Schmidt making his head spin.

Lance learned from Stick and Hedberg and goes up against a much better defense that UND can throw at him everyday in practice that will give him every look you can imagine with better athletes. I don't think the almighty DC Schmidt that couldn't stop a backup QB at UNA last year in the biggest game of the season will fluster Lance into the fetal position like you are suggesting.

[UND1983]

4 minutes ago, nd1sufan said:

Lance learned from Stick and Hedberg and goes up against a much better defense that UND can throw at him everyday in practice that will give him every look you can imagine with better athletes. I don't think the almighty DC Schmidt that couldn't stop a backup QB at UNA last year in the biggest game of the season will fluster Lance into the fetal position like you are suggesting.

Cool.

[bincitysioux]

9 hours ago, geaux_sioux said:

Never said it was an automatic win. Taking a look at actual history of UND out west in night games(kickoff at or after 5pm) as a D1 team against FCS teams. These are the results:

2008 - L @ Davis - by 7 pts

2010 - L @ Poly - by 1 pt

2012 - W @ Sac - by 22 pts

2015 - W @ Poly - by 24 pts

2016 - W @ Sac - by 33 pts

2017 - L @ Davis - by 24 pts

2018 - W @ Sac - by 26 pts

We are 4-3 which is better than our overall record in D1 against FCS teams of 50-50. In others words, we are better in Cali night games than we are overall all, so, bring on the Cali night games. 

Sadly, no more CA night games after this year.........☹️

 

 

[bincitysioux]

I say 8-3 with a strong finish........

[shep]

9 hours ago, nd1sufan said:

Lance learned from Stick and Hedberg and goes up against a much better defense that UND can throw at him everyday in practice that will give him every look you can imagine with better athletes. I don't think the almighty DC Schmidt that couldn't stop a backup QB at UNA last year in the biggest game of the season will fluster Lance into the fetal position like you are suggesting.

It wasn't just the UNA QB last year. ANY QB with two legs was able to get a 3rd down conversion at will.

[UND-FB-FAN]

On 8/16/2019 at 3:22 PM, OgieOgilthorpe said:

Drake: W but closer than we'd like so we'll worry about the offense, but they're still working out the bugs

NDSU: L by 21 but better game than 3 years ago. UND offense sees some flashes of what the new offense is capable of against a very good D. 

Sam Houston: W in convincing fashion 

EWU: L but give them a good fight. Their aerial firepower will be too much for our D and will out gun UND to pull ahead late in the 3rd quarter

UCD: L another tough loss but gives the team a good gut check to bend but not break

ISU: W Absolute blowout W 

Cal Poly: W in convincing fashion

Montana State: W in a barn burner

Weber State: L in a barn burner

N Colorado: W to keep playoff hopes alive

Southern Utah: W UND has shaken off their injury bug from years past, beats a tough team in a must win game in front of a big deserving crowd at the Alerus and lands a long awaited playoff spot again to revenge the fluke home playoff loss to the spiders. 

Should be in a good spot to have a favorable match-up in the first round that I don't see them losing. 

I believe they'll run into a higher caliber team in the 2nd round that they'll stick with but will be outmatched by. Good progressive season and Bubba is back on track and realizes Rudy was his giant clumsy heavy handcuff.

 

5 losses is unacceptable. Expectations have been too low for too long. 

Based on the difficulty of the schedule, I’ll say 4 losses is reasonable for this season only.

i expect 7-4, anything less is disappointment. UND has to be able to win all their home games. No more let downs like last season vs Idaho State 

[UND-FB-FAN]

On 8/16/2019 at 4:00 PM, OgieOgilthorpe said:

My pointless unpopular predictions based off of evaluations mostly obtained by the 2nd half of last season. 

One of the 2nd or 3rd string RBs will be more valuable to the team than JJ. I think JJ will have his bone breaking moments and some break-free long TDs, but game in and game out I think this offense will rely much more on a faster, pass catching RB that can keep up with the faster pace. With the new O style contributed with his injury prone body and playing style, dare I wager someone else will double his all purpose yardage plus some. Camcam

Rudy broke Kett so he will continue to struggle when UND faces a tough D-line and LB combo. His performance in the last game of the season has destroyed nearly all confidence I had in him. I have NEVER seen a QB decline as distinctly or as steadily as he did last season...and it's not even close. It was a sight to see, and his long-term confidence and ability to perform under pressure are most likely gone. He will struggle in games where he's seeing constant pressure and Danny will not hesitate to pull him and give Zim a shot (unlike Rudy). Zim will use his mobility but will struggle with decisions. I think UND will run into a QB debate starting late in the 3rd quarter against NDSU and it probably won't be settled until the last couple games of the season. 

I think the defense will flip 180 from their norm of being strong with the run game but weak with aerial attacks. I have confidence in the LBs, but it won't be enough to make up for the weaker DLINE lineup they have this season. Sure they have a few great pass rushers and pursuers, but they don't have nearly enough guys that can hunker down and absorb the blow for the LBs to clean-up so things will get messy and 5-6 yard runs will be constant. With a veteran backfield, athletic LB core, and some good pass rushers, I think the air will mostly be locked down outside of the EWU game. Teams will exploit the weakness and will run run run and it'll pressure the offense to keep up. Thankfully I think the offense will break enough big plays to avoid the constant 3 and outs we saw in the 2nd half of the year that just killed the D.  

I think special teams will be improved but will still be embarrassingly behind for this level of football. There will be blocked punts, short kickoff issues, and the other same issues we saw last year but there will be a marginal improvement to our FG kicking abilities. Kostich should have been gone along with Rudy last year. Outside of the kicker, the ST problems weren't talent issues. 

I think the OL and some of this new RB talent is going to be the bright spot on this 2019 team and they will keep this squad in every game. I think there will be a new combo of thunder and lightning and I think Zim is going to see the field more than expected and will make some plays with his legs. 

Unfortunately the team's strongest position group will not see an enormous up-tick in productivity compared to last season, even with the more favorable offense just due to the QB struggles. We can hope they all stay healthy and can make some plays after the catch to keep the sticks moving. 

 

This is all just a little too dramatic for me. I don’t agree with all of it.

 

i especially don’t agree with “Rudy broke Kett so he will continue to struggle when UND faces a tough D-line and LB combo.”

Ketteringham has the weapons around him and the coaching/system with Freund to have a great bounce back season.

I’m not just throwing in the towel already in August and no one who understands football should either ...

[UND-FB-FAN]

On 8/18/2019 at 9:08 AM, Hawkster said:

I don't get the 1-10 remark.   I'd be fine with 10-1 and the 1 loss was to NDSU, even by 40.   NDSU is just one team and one game.    The big picture says we need to make the playoffs and then roll when we get there.   We measure improvements by post season results, not a victory over some mythical program, even if they are the hated enemy.

Beat NDSU 

f them f’ers

und football’s future has and always will rest on its ability to beat ndsu

UND takes a major backseat to the region’s fan base if they can’t compete with NDSU (see the previous 10 seasons for example). 

[Nodak78]

I think our will be 8-3 or 7-4 this season with a playoff game or two.   Our offense will definitely surprise many.