Augustana Game Thread

[CoteauRinkRat]

The Defense played very well, but we need to cut back on penalties on both sides of the ball.

[UND92,96]

I guess my question after this offensive performance is whether Bowenkamp at 80% (or whatever he is) is better than Belmore at 100%. Obviously the Sioux are going to have to score more points than this to win next week considering how SCSU's offense has been performing up to now. Since Bowenkamp was evidently the number 2 quarterback for this game, according to Lennon on the coach's show on Wednesday, he must be feeling well enough to play.

[CoteauRinkRat]

I agree, our offense will definitely have to step it up a notch. Next weeks game will be a very big test against a good football team, in a hostile environment.

[Diggler]

Frustrating that the offense played so poorly and the refs incompetance caused the defense to lose their shutout. Oh well, much like the UC-Davis game, I consider this game to be a shutout and like the UC-Davis game it is their second straight.

[UND92,96]

Unless tonight's game was just a big fluke, it would appear the Sioux would have to be considered an underdog next week. I don't think St. Cloud State really has much of a defense, but it's probably not that much worse than Augie's.

[DamStrait]

Maybe the ref that "inadvertently" blew his whistle needs to take it out of his mouth (and have someone shove it up his...).

[DCSIOUX]

No way the Sioux are an underdog. This is typical Sioux. They played average on the road against a team they should have killed. But they won. They will need to play better next week, but I think Bowenkamp will be back and that will help a lot.

[UND92,96]

No way the Sioux are an underdog.

[#1siouxfan22]

How did my boy Caleb Johnson do?

[SiouxFan48]

I just got back to fargo from sioux falls...........the game was ugly.....prolly the worst game ive seen the Sioux play in the last 2-3-4 years...........there was not much offense..........Belmore couldnt hit the open receivers ..........the running game was non existent.................the defense won the game..................that 4th and six inadvertent whistle was the worst call ive ever seen in college football......the quarterback was being sacked and threw the ball away...it bounced off a couple players and was intercepted.....in the mix of this,,...bout the same time the sioux intercepted...the ref blew the whistle............what is that???? wow we came unglued in the stands....................but whatever a WIN is a WIN..........................going to have to play 100 times better next weekend....or its going to be a very long saturday........

[SiouxFan48]

and another thing dont know if id count on Bowenkamp being back anytime soon..............................which yeah after witnessing tonight we really need him back..........

[UND92,96]

and another thing dont know if id count on Bowenkamp being back anytime soon..............................which yeah after witnessing tonight we really need him back..........

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

If Bowenkamp can't play, do you think that the coaches would give Manke a look, at least if Belmore starts out poorly again next week?

[CoteauRinkRat]

What really bothers me about the inadvertent whistle is that by reading today's paper and listening to last night's game, it sounds like we had possession of the ball when the whistle blew. The rule must be to replay the down, but that is really dumb if another team had taken possession of the ball before the whistle blew.

[UND92,96]

What really bothers me about the inadvertent whistle is that by reading today's paper and listening to last night's game, it sounds like we had possession of the ball when the whistle blew.

[pirate]

This is the second week in a row that this crew of officials was involved in an "inadvertant" whistle call. Not a good sign when the officials become a part of the play and its outcome, rather than the players doing so. According to the broadcast crew, the officials missed a holding call by an Augie d-back on Weber,and subsequent interception to kill a Sioux drive. I know it's tough to get a call on the road,(especially in Sioux Falls and at Augie), however, We did win the game and I hope We put this behind us.

[RD17]

This is also the same officiating crew that worked the Delta game. Remember the "catch" on DSU's opening drive that led to a field goal and the ridiculous pass interference call on Hoffschneider on that 3rd and 15 pass that led to DSU's last TD? They are incapable of officiating a game at this level and need to be shown the door. I'm sure Eddie Schultz can help his buddy Heitkamp land a job in the Dac-10.

I'll be dead honest- I don't like Belmore at all at quarterback. He throws a pretty nice deep ball, but he's way too inaccurate on the short stuff and doesn't seem to see the underneath defenders. Manke might not be the best pure passer on the team or be the tall pocket type passer the coaching staff seems to like, but he seems to have that extra "something" that it takes to lead a team (similar to Klosterman). I really hope he wins the job next year.

I think that if Bowenkamp can't go at SCSU, UND is in serious trouble. It will be a tough game for UND to win either way, but without John, I think the Huskies win by 10-14 points. SCSU is just a very good football team.

[UND92,96]

I agree about Manke. Nothing against Belmore personally, but Manke was flat-out a winner in high school. He can make plays. I say, if Bowenkamp can't go, give Manke a shot.

[SiouxFan48]

yeah who knows if Bowenkamp will be back for awhile.........doesnt sound too good.....................the offense is going to need to find a leader...........yesterday won't cut it against a good team.........there were open receivers all over the field the first half........just nobody to throw the ball to them..................and in the second half some catches were dropped that should have been caught......all in all the offense stunk up the field............no running game..no passing game........thank god for the defense...........and wow the punter for Augie was HORRIBLE...............thank him personally for our first 6 points..........next weekend at Cloud could be the NCC championship game............besides Omaha there really isn't any good teams left in the NCC.............Deluth almost lost to Moorhead St..........USD not so good.......and Mankato well is Mankato.............so i guess next weekend we will actually see what the Sioux are made of............

[fightingsioux4life]

I was at the game on Saturday and Belmore did not play well at all. But when Belmore was ripping apart Mesa State and Central Washington a few weeks ago, I didn't hear all of this talk about how bad of a quarterback he is. I remember Kelby Klosterman as a sophmore starter and he struggled at times. But it was also very obvious that he was a great athlete and was going to develop into a great quarterback, which he did when he led us to a National Title as a junior. I personally think Belmore has played better as a sophmore filling in for a senior starter than Bowenkamp did when he filled in for an injured Klosterman in 2002.

I think some people are overreacting to what happened in Sioux Falls on Saturday. We still have the #1 defense in the nation (probably the best this program has ever had), two solid running backs, a good O-Line, and two sophmore quarterbacks who will get better with time. We made a lot of mistakes on Saturday (penalties, turnovers) that are correctable. Also, we were playing a better-than-usual Augustana team on their home field (where we have always struggled).

St. Cloud is a good team, but so far they haven't beaten anybody good (except for maybe Western Washington). I don't think they'll hang 40+ points on our defense and I think our offense can score on their "D". I think it will be a great game on Saturday and I think the coaching staff will have this team ready to perform.

[UND92,96]

I was at the game on Saturday and Belmore did not play well at all.  But when Belmore was ripping apart Mesa State and Central Washington a few weeks ago, I didn't hear all of this talk about how bad of a quarterback he is.  I remember Kelby Klosterman as a sophmore starter and he struggled at times.  But it was also very obvious that he was a great athlete and was going to develop into a great quarterback, which he did when he led us to a National Title as a junior.  I personally think Belmore has played better as a sophmore filling in for a senior starter than Bowenkamp did when he filled in for an injured Klosterman in 2002.

I don't really think anybody is saying that Belmore is necessarily a bad quarterback, or that he won't improve with time. But throwing out the Mesa St. game--which you almost have to do considering how bad they've turned out to be--Belmore is a combined 23-47 for 288 yards, 4 int's and 3 td's over the past two games. Looking at those numbers objectively, I don't think it's surprising that people are concerned and feel that perhaps Manke would do at least as well and possibly better. I just think there's too much talent at the other positions and there's too much at stake to give Belmore a long leash and just let him play his way out of these struggles, assuming he can. If Wilson had never gotten a shot to play last year when Bowenkamp was struggling, the Sioux may never have made the playoffs. Perhaps Manke can give the team a similar shot in the arm, even if it's not necessarily a permanent change.

[RD17]

[SiouxFan48]

yeah i don't think anyone is ripping on Belmore....just think he is young and inexperienced...obviously he is a good player.........just yeah we need someone making plays now...not 2 years down the road....we need Bowenkamp back to make any kind of playoff run

[fightingsioux4life]

yeah i don't think anyone is ripping on Belmore....just think he is young and inexperienced...obviously he is a good player.........just yeah we need someone making plays now...not 2 years down the road....we need Bowenkamp back to make any kind of playoff run

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

So basically what everyone is saying on this topic is that if John Bowenkamp is not our starting quarterback, the season will not be a success. I think people are pushing the panic button a little too soon. Dale Lennon was on 1440 AM tonight saying that he is pleased with Belmore's progress and thinks the criticism is unwarranted. Lennon said that he is not at the point where he is alarmed about Belmore's mistakes and how they will affect the success of the team. If Bowenkamp can come back 100% healthy, then that's a good thing. If Lennon decides to go with Manke instead of Belmore at some point, that's also fine. But I don't think we should start panicking over one sluggish offensive game. If Belmore continues to struggle, then I am all for making a change. But right now, playing musical chair quarterbacks won't solve anything.