Utah State Sept. 10 8 pm

[Dustin]

34 minutes ago, Fry Bread said:

Usually your areas that need improvement must be pointed out to you.

This will be the biggest benefit of playing this game. 

[Sioux>Bison]

7 hours ago, geaux_sioux said:

I disagree. We were clearly capable of beating them. A wonky 3rd down self stuff that likely would’ve been a TD changed everything. Then we passed too much and our d got gassed. We had them in a position to put the lights out in the first half. 

I agree we were good enough. Keep our offense on the field and score in the second half and it’s a whole other game.

[geaux_sioux]

13 minutes ago, Sioux>Bison said:

I agree we were good enough. Keep our offense on the field and score in the second half and it’s a whole other game.

We simply can’t abandon the run like we did. We were close to popping some big ones time and again but it’s like we got scared because we got stuffed on obvious run situations.

[UND-FB-FAN]

Biggest misconception in football; wins and losses come down to single play. That is a bias; game results are a summation of several plays and momentum swings. UND had chances, for sure, for a few more big plays, but couldn’t capitalize. Overall, team got worn out on both sides of the ball in the second half and then started making more mental mistakes. Obvious to see, and unfortunate it’s still happening to this program; typical of a mismatch in talent. Still time of course to better these players and get better. Plus UND will be playing much less talented teams in the near future. 

[UND-FB-FAN]

Just now, geaux_sioux said:

We simply can’t abandon the run like we did. We were close to popping some big ones time and again but it’s like we got scared because we got stuffed on obvious run situations.

? UND kept handing it off and Utah State was stuffing every play in the second half at the line of scrimmage. Utah State was forcing UND to challenge the ball down the field or go lateral, and UND didn’t have the speed to do it. 

[Cratter]

Otis is good but he ain't no Santiago.

 

[Hans8891]

8 hours ago, Sioux>Bison said:

We can’t beat them with short and intermediate passing? Seemed to be working in the first quarter 

Sure, until they made adjustments and took that away.  We didn’t counter those adjustments.  Intermediate for us is about 5 yards.  We do well with that, but credit to USU’s coordinator who clearly took that away after the 1st quarter.  Slants worked well, other than leading to 2 picks.  I just think we are going to see a lot of stacked boxes by anyone watching this film unless we prove we can make a play more than 10 yards downfield.  Teams will dare us to beat them deep, choosing instead to cover the short routes and Otis.  Having at least a threat of going longer than 10 to 15 yards backs the defense up a bit so they can’t cheat continually and clog the box up front.  Certainly, the announcers (who probably are not big UND fans familiar with our game plan) recognized it as well, commenting on it continually in the second half.  I don’t think it is a secret.

USU is FBS and probably more skilled at most positions.  The sky is not falling by any means. I have every belief we will be a good team this year.  We do have some learning to do and I hope we can make some adjustments so that other teams don’t do what USU did last night and take away our strength without an answer.  Tommy is a great possession passer - hopefully a deep threat emerges as the season goes on.

Should be a rout next week and tailgating begins.  Can’t wait!!!

[tnt]

So this is what fans do.  Utah State is saying they were shocked into playing and then after they were behind 21-7, throttled us 41-3 the rest of the way. UND fans say, if we only wouldn’t have taken down our own player it would be a different story.  We need to get over the moral victory stage of our program. FCS teams are beating FBS teams more consistently, and teams a step above Utah State.  Even mid level FCS teams can draw moral victories against FBS teams.  Getting outscored by anyone at any stage of the game by 41-3 should not be something we draw comfort from.

[AJS]

I still cannot believe how bad UND was defensively. For me this was without a doubt the most embarrassing FBS game they’ve played. There’s no bigger guarantee in sports than UND in a prime time game being about 10 points worse than your nightmare scenario.

[UND1983]

6 minutes ago, AJS said:

I still cannot believe how bad UND was defensively. For me this was without a doubt the most embarrassing FBS game they’ve played. There’s no bigger guarantee in sports than UND in a prime time game being about 10 points worse than your nightmare scenario.

Prayers to you.  

[Midwestern Hawk]

Once Danny’s script runs out, we can’t move the ball.  Not sure how the 5 yard crossing routes are going to beat a good team.  Need to be able to challenge vertically 

[Irish]

My take-aways after a night's sleep.  We are not as bad as we looked for 3 quarters.  We were punching above our weight and got exposed.  However, I think there are serious issues that need to be addressed if we are going to have the season we expected.  The inability to throw down field is not a new issue, yet here we are again.  When good teams stack the box we are going to have a bad time.  I was not impressed with our mental toughness - when things started to go sideways we folded like a cheap lawn chair.  We were certainly not assignment sharp - blown coverage, out of place players etc. (not to mention being tackled by our own player).  Line strength is a concern.  While we will likely handle weaker opponents when we meet the big boys we are still in danger of getting spanked.  Finally, overall coaching philosophy.  Bubba coaches like he wants to re-live Lennon's championship year.  It ain't going to happen.  Danny is certainly an upgrade, but the 2nd and 2 calls were painful to watch and came at a critical time.  We need to stop playing not to lose.  We still have time to right the ship.  Prediction - a good but not great season with flashes of really good play but not quite enough to carry us.  Overall still a step away from where we need to be.  Rinse repeat.

[SWSiouxMN]

39 minutes ago, Midwestern Hawk said:

Once Danny’s script runs out, we can’t move the ball.  Not sure how the 5 yard crossing routes are going to beat a good team.  Need to be able to challenge vertically 

Does UND have someone on this roster that can take the top off?

[homer]

Interior o line needs to grow up quick.  
 

Defensively not sure where the improvement needs to happen fast.  At some point we need to trust the guys in the secondary and stop giving 10 yard cushion.  Not sure that QB last night could have consistently made deep throws but needed to try something different when the game was slipping.  
 

Im not convinced we will slow NDSU in three weeks when they line it up and run A and B gap power line last year.  

[Sioux04]

I was at the game and want to give a quick shout out to the Aggie fans. That was a fun atmosphere and they were very respectful. 

I agree with Midwestern Hawk; Danny comes out with a smokin' game plan, then falls apart once the other team adjusts....if that's what they did. We completely abandoned what got us up 21-7 in the first quarter. Where was Quincy? He's so effective when he's in. We need to use him more than 2-3 plays per game. Our offense has the weapons. That's not in question.

 

The glaring concern is our defense. We gave up an enormous amount of yards and were out of position all night. I can't get over the angle our DB took on the TD they stacked the receivers. There were several plays of that nature.

 

Overall, we have a good team that could have easily flipped that score.  We really beat ourselves. But I do have to give USU a lot of credit. They played exactly how I wish UND would....all out, as if every game is for the title. Their team energy was palpable.

[UNDColorado]

A tale of two halves. I'm not disappointed in losing to them, but rather how we shut down in the second half. 

[Midwestern Hawk]

19 minutes ago, SWSiouxMN said:

Does UND have someone on this roster that can take the top off?

Scheme and arm.  You don’t have to be a burner to get open down field . We need to be able to deliver the ball on a simple play action to Otis.  Lots of guys can do it who are not burners.

the defense was not good in the last 3 qtrs but the offense was even worse.  Look at the drive chart the last 3 qtrs. Only decent drive was after the game was over.

[Sioux94]

I'm dissappointed, frustrated, and pissed just like everyone else.  We had a crappy start to the transition to DI and it took forever to be decent.  We have been a punching bag for jokes from other fanbases who always say we are paper tigers, so games like this help feed into that and it is frustrating as hell.  However for those of you who say we aren't no SDSU, NDSU, of JMU.....here is a news flash....nobody else is either, and there are 100 FCS teams that wish they were as good as us and in our position.  We knew our interior line was young, new, and needed some time to gel and it totally showed last night particularly on those 2nd and 2's.  We have a lot to work on but I still think we'll be a good team and can make some noise in the FCS and I'm still looking forward to this season.  This game no doubt has left a sour taste in our mouth, but I'm not about to throw in the towel on our players and coaches yet, which in reality I know most of you aren't either.    Hope Turner's injury isn't serious, that would be a big loss. 

[Sioux>Bison]

5 hours ago, geaux_sioux said:

We simply can’t abandon the run like we did. We were close to popping some big ones time and again but it’s like we got scared because we got stuffed on obvious run situations.

Shuster had a career high in passing yards. In this game that is not a good thing. Our offense is effective when we eat the clock and dominate possessions. No lead is safe if we cannot maintain long drives, hung our defense out to dry. 

[SIOUXFAN97]

first play about 10 years...muss tells bartels to go deepto hardin i think.........................when was the last time tommy has thrown a true true bomb ...just let it rip...i can't recall?

time for q!!!!!!!!!!!!!! bigger stronger faster

[SiouxHawkGuy]

Over the business suits 

[UND1983]

7 minutes ago, SiouxHawkGuy said:

Over the business suits 

Only hockey people call them that.  It's a black uniform and they look nice imo

[SiouxHawkGuy]

23 minutes ago, UND1983 said:

Only hockey people call them that.  It's a black uniform and they look nice imo

Freund said business suits on izzos show

[Mama Sue]

It was there. Then sadly it was not. We have the horses to win. We will pull it together. Go UND

And I am praying we have it together for JuiceU.

[UND1983]

14 minutes ago, SiouxHawkGuy said:

Freund said business suits on izzos show

He should know better.  Disappointed