Weber St GDT

[Sioux94]

Let’s win the next two, and get Bennett and Turner back, get a home playoff game. We really miss Turner out there, of course Bennett but Turner is a big loss. 

[Wilbur]

Does the committee care or take into consideration that we beat ourselves against a top three operation at their place?

I think we really have to go Ohio State on the last two opponents.  Win big.  Two teams we should beat.  

Its officially lose and die.  

[Oxbow6]

4 minutes ago, Wilbur said:

Does the committee care or take into consideration that we beat ourselves against a top three operation at their place?

I think we really have to go Ohio State on the last two opponents.  Win big.  Two teams we should beat.  

Its officially lose or die.  

Based on past committee results yesterday has to fall into the category of a "quality loss". 

Have to win last two games convincingly.

7-4 should get UND a spot at the playoff table. 8-4 would get them in....but that's another conversation.

[ksixpack]

I’m not into moral victories, it’s a losers mentality.   You either win or you lose. Period. Doubt we get in at 7-4...our schedule wasn’t that tough in the end.  You cannot put stock in where the teams were ranked when we played them; it’s  how they finished as a whole and many of these once ranked teams were not very good as their record now indicates.  As I see it, at the end of the year we will most likely have one win against a top 25 team and no wins against top 10 teams.  We have no conferences pushing for us to get in. As a matter of fact, we have conferences pushing against us, to allow their teams in ahead of us.  A few years back we were 7-4 and in a conference and we did not get in.  History is a wonderful teacher.  I hate it but this is reality.

[UNDColorado]

7 minutes ago, ksixpack said:

I’m not into moral victories, it’s a losers mentality.   You either win or you lose. Period. Doubt we get in at 7-4...our schedule wasn’t that tough in the end.  You cannot put stock in where the teams were ranked when we played them; it’s  how they finished as a whole and many of these once ranked teams were not very good as their record now indicates.  As I see it, at the end of the year we will most likely have one win against a top 25 team and no wins against top 10 teams.  We have no conferences pushing for us to get in. As a matter of fact, we have conferences pushing against us, to allow their teams in ahead of us.  A few years back we were 7-4 and in a conference and we did not get in.  History is a wonderful teacher.  I hate it but this is reality.

The reality is none of us know if 7-4 will get UND in. They need to win out and let the chips fall where they may. I am disappointed this morning but the game was yesterday and we must move forward. I hope the boys are angry and pound the piss out of unc next week.

[Oxbow6]

If MT St loses to UCD and the Griz do they (7-5) get in over UND (7-4) with UND beating the Cats?

 

[Wilbur]

1 minute ago, Oxbow6 said:

If MT St loses to UCD and the Griz do they (7-5) get in over UND (7-4) with UND beating the Cats?

 

I would think the head to head result with half our defense out would give us the one up.  

[bisoninnwmn]

4 minutes ago, Oxbow6 said:

If MT St loses to UCD and the Griz do they (7-5) get in over UND (7-4) with UND beating the Cats?

 

Yes.

 A 7-4 UND will get in over a 7-5 MSU. 

 

[Oxbow6]

11 minutes ago, bisoninnwmn said:

Yes.

 A 7-4 UND will get in over a 7-5 MSU. 

 

Does UND get in over 7-5 SIU?

Or does the 30+ loss to NDSU in the final game put them in with another "quality loss"?

[bisoninnwmn]

1 minute ago, Oxbow6 said:

Does UND get in over 7-5 SIU?

Or does the 30+ loss to NDSU in the final game put them in with another quality loss?

Watching SIU highlights, they are playing really good ball the last half of the season.

Personally, I think they are both in.  NDSU is a bad matchup for SIU and that game might be close in the 1st half but NDSU will pull away in the 2nd.

UND should blow out these last 2 teams (UNC and SUU).....I would run up the score to try and make an impression on the committee....played Weber tough and 2 convincing wins will get UND in.

With regionalization, UND will be playing NDSU or SDSU IMO....or funneled thru them.  Which one?  No clue.

[UNDColorado]

3 minutes ago, bisoninnwmn said:

Watching SIU highlights, they are playing really good ball the last half of the season.

Personally, I think they are both in.  NDSU is a bad matchup for SIU and that game might be close in the 1st half but NDSU will pull away in the 2nd.

UND should blow out these last 2 teams (UNC and SUU).....I would run up the score to try and make an impression on the committee....played Weber tough and 2 convincing wins will get UND in.

With regionalization, UND will be playing NDSU or SDSU IMO....or funneled thru them.  Which one?  No clue.

Yup,  time for Bubba to put the nice guy routine on the shelf. 

[CMSioux]

Glad it wasn't one of us that suggested "running up the score"/ 1. Just win the game 2. UND is expected to win over 2 teams with 2 wins on the year so there will be no notice of the score margin (unless it can be used against us). If we win out our pedigree on SOS will be just fine. 

[geaux_sioux]

39 minutes ago, UNDColorado said:

Yup,  time for Bubba to put the nice guy routine on the shelf. 

I want to see us hang 70 on UNC

[Kab]

Just win

put pressure on the committee and publish their individual votes 

I want to see where the bias  is 

[UNDBIZ]

Before the SUU game, show the team the video of the last time we took pity on them and kneeled the ball on 4th down rather than scoring. SUU offense took the ball, tried to score, and cheap-shotted O'Brien, ending his career. I'll never forgive them for that and the team should never forget it. 

[Wilbur]

1 hour ago, UNDColorado said:

Yup,  time for Bubba to put the nice guy routine on the shelf. 

Completely agree.  Ohio State puts up 70 on Wisconsin and ends up in the final four a few years ago.  

That being said we will win 23-20.

[RobThomas]

Northern Colorado and Southern Utah have not done well this season but let's not take them for a simple cake walk. They really have no pressure and lm sure they know about UND needing to finish Strong. They may not just lay down. UND can't go into these games comfortable.

[geaux_sioux]

Have Turner back next week is so huge for the d. No offense to Steiger, he’s been a solid backup and special teams contributor for us but he is an absolute liability in space. He got abused yesterday. That’s where Turner is special. He’s a huge key to our defensive success.

[Siouxperman8]

6 minutes ago, geaux_sioux said:

Have Turner back next week is so huge for the d. No offense to Steiger, he’s been a solid backup and special teams contributor for us but he is an absolute liability in space. He got abused yesterday. That’s where Turner is special. He’s a huge key to our defensive success.

are you hearing he'll be back or hoping?

[geaux_sioux]

18 minutes ago, Siouxperman8 said:

are you hearing he'll be back or hoping?

Should be back

[Siouxperman8]

Just now, geaux_sioux said:

Should be back

that would be great

[Sioux94]

2 hours ago, geaux_sioux said:

Have Turner back next week is so huge for the d. No offense to Steiger, he’s been a solid backup and special teams contributor for us but he is an absolute liability in space. He got abused yesterday. That’s where Turner is special. He’s a huge key to our defensive success.

I agree, we missed Turner big time yesterday! 

[Ozzie82]

General thoughts from attending yesterday’s game:

- The stadium at Weber might be the most gorgeous and impressive in the Big Sky. I never thought anything would top Montana or Montana State but this just might. And they have the football facilities we want to have after phase 2. Very impressive. 

- As the afternoon turned into sunset the mountains changed colors and were spectacular. The stadium backed right up against the mountains and provided a gorgeous backdrop for football.

- It’s the right move to leave the Big Sky, both for financial and regional rooting reasons, but there is no comparison between Ogden and Youngstown, San Louis Obispo and Vermillion, Missoula and Carbondale. Each away game in the Big Sky has felt like a vacation. This conference will be missed. 

- The Weber fans were the nicest away fans I’ve encountered. Unlike most comments on this board, everyone was incredibly impressed with UND and complimentary of their effort. Many acknowledged the game was decided on the KO fumble and said he game could have gone either way. Ran into a number of the Weber players after the game and they were as considerate as their fans. I will root for this team in the future when they don’t play us. 

 

- Jay Hill’s father is the mayor of that stadium. He walked around welcoming everyone, encouraging the UND players to “live their dream,” inviting people to a part of the stadium that serves free food, and generally being a friendly guy. What a character. 

 

- Ogden was a really nice town. Good microbrews, great restaurants, artsy, and a gorgeous setting in the mountains. Well worth the visit. 

[Ozzie82]

Thoughts on yesterday’s game (not all are original, I’m aware):

 

- After Weber’s first two drives I thought we were going to get run out of the stadium. What this team did the remainder of the game, both from a scheme and effort standpoint, was incredibly impressive. That’s why it hurt so badly to lose. 

 

- To get that close to beating the #3 team in the US, on the road, really hurt. Man it was an incredible game, but boy did it hurt. I would have loved to have seen what the offense could do with 2:30 left on the clock in the fourth quarter... the line was protecting Nate, who was dealing, the receivers were playing at a high level... man I wish we had that shot. 

 

- The game ball goes to the offensive line. They won the line of scrimmage yesterday against one of the best D lines in the country. They really stepped up and continue to improve. 

 

- As others have noted, Turner’s loss has been significant. I hope he returns soon. Conversely, Galvin has been a welcome addition to the secondary and has played very well. 

 

- Kudos to Kett, who has been excellent for weeks. No INTs for three weeks, I believe. He has taken a lot of abuse on this board, much of it deserved, and he deserves credit for the improvements he’s made. 

 

- As tough as it was to see Boltmann’s fumble, I will never fault a playmaker like Brock trying to make a play to help his team. We don’t know what the returners were told or not told to do by the staff on that kickoff, so to project blame on the ST Coach is misguided at best, but I give my best playmaker a chance to make a play every single time. 

[Ozzie82]

- Danny Fruend called a great game yesterday overall. Does anyone think that last year’s offense would have worked against the Weber DL? No chance. His playcalling mitigated the need to play smash mouth football, which would have played right into Weber’s strength. He gave us a chance to win. 

 

- That said, that one section in the second half where confusion reigned and they had to burn timeouts was frustrating. I don’t know what was going on there but having at least one time out on that last drive would have made an enormous difference, and having to hurry the field goal unit might have caused the missed field goal. That was a critical part of the game that was a missed opportunity. 

 

- To blame Kostich for the fumble is preposterous. If you don’t like him, fine, but he didn’t drop the ball. There have been ST issues in the past for sure, but I’m pretty sure that earlier in the Weber game we executed a crucial fake punt, and last week’s game was won on a blocked punt for a touchdown. If you’re going to rip the guy for the ST errors you should credit him for his role on those positive plays, too. 

 

-  From my admittedly far away view, that should not have been offensive pass interference on UND on that trick play for a touchdown. They didn’t show the replay on the big screen and I understand it wasn’t clear on TV, either. From my vantage point it was not clear enough to make the call - plenty of contact from the defender, too. That TD made an enormous difference on the outcome. 

 

- Toivenin would have scored on that long pass play in the fourth quarter had the sun not been in his eyes. At that time of the day the sun was low in the sky, and the stadium is not positioned north/south as is normal, so he was looking directly into the sun and had to drop down to his knees to make sure he caught it. Advantage Weber in the fourth quarter with the sun. Had he scored there that would have changed the game as we settled for a field goal I believe (correct me if I’m wrong). 

 

- Wide receiver play continues to be stellar. We’ve come to expect it, so it doesn’t get mentioned often, but the top 3 guys are fantastic and are utilized so well in Danny’s offense. 

 

- What Schmidt continues to do with his young defensive line is amazing. On paper they have no business being as solid as they’ve been, especially missing Bennett, who is likely the best player on the team.