2023 Football Season

[SIOUXFAN97]

1 hour ago, AJS said:

I'm guessing (hoping) that these guys weren't FBS starters, but has anyone done a dive into the 11 FBS transfers that NAU picked up? 

what the heck?

[Sioux>Bison]

1 hour ago, AJS said:

I'm guessing (hoping) that these guys weren't FBS starters, but has anyone done a dive into the 11 FBS transfers that NAU picked up? 

I just hope they don’t have it figured out yet the week we play them. They can roll the rest of the big sky after our big win !

[gundy1124]

4 hours ago, Midwestern Hawk said:

The day the season starts I will likely be back to 100% fan and be hoping for a championship season, my excitement will likely grow after drubbing Drake and what should be a victory at home vs NAU.  Boise will very likely bring us back to reality.   SDSU and NDSU are probably "ripe" for the picking, as some on here have pointed out, with changes at both programs.  At this point,  I just don't have the confidence we can get either job done.  

If we are, in fact, 3-3 after 6, the tilt @UNI becomes hugely important.  A victory there, and a hell of a season is still possible, 3-4 and then we are back to our usual "must-win" late season scenarios to even make the playoffs.

At least we won the game last season vrs NAU but we were lucky as heck.  Danny was off, like way off most of the game and were toast before Bo made a ridiculous play or two and some trickeration.  What we do have going is we play much better at home.  

TEAM STATS             UND    NAU

1st Downs                     19      28

3rd down efficiency   3-11  9-16

Total Yards                 318     448 

Passing yards            206     324

Comp-Att                  21-33   33-48

Rushing                        112     124

Rushing Attempts         25      35

Possession                 31:15     28:45

[forksandspoons]

https://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/college/und-football-herald-mailbag

My biggest takeaway is that Griffen adds much needed size to the NG spot 

[Sioux94]

9 hours ago, gundy1124 said:

At least we won the game last season vrs NAU but we were lucky as heck.  Danny was off, like way off most of the game and were toast before Bo made a ridiculous play or two and some trickeration.  What we do have going is we play much better at home.  

TEAM STATS             UND    NAU

1st Downs                     19      28

3rd down efficiency   3-11  9-16

Total Yards                 318     448 

Passing yards            206     324

Comp-Att                  21-33   33-48

Rushing                        112     124

Rushing Attempts         25      35

Possession                 31:15     28:45

Dang those stats were pretty ugly last year, looking at those.....you would have figured we would have lost.  We do play much better at home though like you said.  Also hoping that our OL is one year more experienced and better than last year, which hopefully means even when we aren't fully on....if we can consistently get good chunks of yards on the ground.....which resolve a lot of issues.  Hope our OL is rolling early in the season, and they are still trying to gel with all of their new starters.  I'm still expecting a win, but it's not going to be a gimme. 

[Midwestern Hawk]

15 hours ago, gundy1124 said:

At least we won the game last season vrs NAU but we were lucky as heck.  Danny was off, like way off most of the game and were toast before Bo made a ridiculous play or two and some trickeration.  What we do have going is we play much better at home.  

TEAM STATS             UND    NAU

1st Downs                     19      28

3rd down efficiency   3-11  9-16

Total Yards                 318     448 

Passing yards            206     324

Comp-Att                  21-33   33-48

Rushing                        112     124

Rushing Attempts         25      35

Possession                 31:15     28:45

Hard to argue with your analysis.  Just reinforces my points throughout this thread as to where UND is as a program.  I do think the ALERUS is worth a TD minimum, so I would still pick us at this point.   If for some reason we lose at home to NAU, then all bets are off, IMO, for the rest of the season.  2-5 going into Indiana State would be a disaster for all of us.

[AJS]

15 hours ago, gundy1124 said:

At least we won the game last season vrs NAU but we were lucky as heck.  Danny was off, like way off most of the game and were toast before Bo made a ridiculous play or two and some trickeration.  What we do have going is we play much better at home.  

TEAM STATS             UND    NAU

1st Downs                     19      28

3rd down efficiency   3-11  9-16

Total Yards                 318     448 

Passing yards            206     324

Comp-Att                  21-33   33-48

Rushing                        112     124

Rushing Attempts         25      35

Possession                 31:15     28:45

Lucky for sure. Bend but don't break defense and missed FG's for NAU were big. That being said, what really sticks out about that game was under 2 minutes left in the first half, UND is up and driving. 4th and 3 at about the 36(?) Bubba decides to kick a FG, which is blocked. NAU goes down to score and is up I think 3 at the half. That decision seemed crazy at the time, there's no way UND was making that field goal. This was kind of a common theme in a lot of games they ended up winning. IF Bubba decides to go for it and they make that fourth down, does that change the whole complexion of the game?

As far as how it shapes up this year. I think it's all good news. Alerus is worth (+7), UND offensively was pretty awful (see 3rd down efficiency), the defense was pretty awful (see 3rd down efficiency) last year and they still won. Went over NAU's new look roster, I'm guessing it's more talented, but lots to work out with so many changes. Getting them early is a good thing. Until proven otherwise, I'm feeling good about this team. Not touching the offense. I've been burned before, but my mindset is the defense cannot be worse than last year. How much better is the question.

 

[AJS]

15 hours ago, forksandspoons said:

https://www.grandforksherald.com/sports/college/und-football-herald-mailbag

My biggest takeaway is that Griffen adds much needed size to the NG spot 

Quote

 

Q. Defensively, is there a position group you feel will be much improved over this past season?

A. I think the obvious answer would be defensive line, where Ben McNaboe returns and will have the help of Northern Illinois transfer Jeff Griffin Jr., and New Mexico State transfer Jake Saltonstall.

Add to that, I think Casey Schultz and Jack Teiken are going to start making more plays for this team as they physically mature.

Schultz was a bit slowed to injury at spring ball but Teiken generated a lot of buzz.

UND lost a nice depth piece on the defensive line with Luke Lennon moving on, but there’s solid options with Barty Ogbu, Craig Orlando, Jaelen Johnson and Elijah Beach.

 

I'm keying in on this response. Here's my question. This isn't meant to be pessimistic, but given where this team was last year, call it realistic. Heading into next year, are there two positional groups defensively we feel are "above average" at the FCS level? I'm starting to like the D-Line and I think the CB position is really good. My main reason for optimism is any improvement on any positional group will take pressure off other units. 

[Wright4UND]

16 hours ago, gundy1124 said:

At least we won the game last season vrs NAU but we were lucky as heck.  Danny was off, like way off most of the game and were toast before Bo made a ridiculous play or two and some trickeration.  What we do have going is we play much better at home.  

TEAM STATS             UND    NAU

1st Downs                     19      28

3rd down efficiency   3-11  9-16

Total Yards                 318     448 

Passing yards            206     324

Comp-Att                  21-33   33-48

Rushing                        112     124

Rushing Attempts         25      35

Possession                 31:15     28:45

The QB from last year, RJ Martinez, which was really good transferred to Baylor.  So they will have to find a new gunslinger to throw it all over the yard! 

Additionally, the altitude was a factor for our players.  I was at the game and was surprised at how hard it was to catch breath at times.  With that said, the speed of NAU was an issue for our Defense.  Hopefully, Fort, Ball, Siegel, Buckner, Ocansey and Kaden are all ready to roll! 

[gundy1124]

36 minutes ago, Wright4UND said:

The QB from last year, RJ Martinez, which was really good transferred to Baylor.  So they will have to find a new gunslinger to throw it all over the yard! 

Additionally, the altitude was a factor for our players.  I was at the game and was surprised at how hard it was to catch breath at times.  With that said, the speed of NAU was an issue for our Defense.  Hopefully, Fort, Ball, Siegel, Buckner, Ocansey and Kaden are all ready to roll! 

Ya, I lost my breath walking up the hill from where I parked!!  They were noticeably faster than us, team speed.

[Nodak78]

1 hour ago, gundy1124 said:

Ya, I lost my breath walking up the hill from where I parked!!  They were noticeably faster than us, team speed.

I wasn't there last year.  But that walk up the hill is terrible.  I had a friend in a wheelchair one year.  I almost asked for a ride since his was motorized.  Tough to win in flagstaff.

[AJS]

6 minutes ago, Nodak78 said:

I wasn't there last year.  But that walk up the hill is terrible.  I had a friend in a wheelchair one year.  I almost asked for a ride since his was motorized.  Tough to win in flagstaff.

Here's some other interesting NAU scores from last year. Here are their last four games.

• Away vs Idaho State (W, 24-10)
• Home vs Weber (L, 31-33)
• Away vs UNC (L, 20-21)
• Home vs Montana State (L, 38-41)

 

At home last year, they were competitive against all schools but Idaho. On the road they were competitive against all FCS schools but UC Davis. Some of those road losses (@ UNC, Portland State) although competitive are tough ones.  

[FSSD]

56 minutes ago, AJS said:

Here's some other interesting NAU scores from last year. Here are their last four games.

• Away vs Idaho State (W, 24-10)
• Home vs Weber (L, 31-33)
• Away vs UNC (L, 20-21)
• Home vs Montana State (L, 38-41)

 

At home last year, they were competitive against all schools but Idaho. On the road they were competitive against all FCS schools but UC Davis. Some of those road losses (@ UNC, Portland State) although competitive are tough ones.  

After we played NAU, I thought that win would turn out to be a sneaky quality win that would helped UND in the playoff brackets.  But, NAU kind of disappointed after that game.

[Siouxperman8]

5 hours ago, AJS said:

Lucky for sure. Bend but don't break defense and missed FG's for NAU were big. That being said, what really sticks out about that game was under 2 minutes left in the first half, UND is up and driving. 4th and 3 at about the 36(?) Bubba decides to kick a FG, which is blocked. NAU goes down to score and is up I think 3 at the half. That decision seemed crazy at the time, there's no way UND was making that field goal. This was kind of a common theme in a lot of games they ended up winning. IF Bubba decides to go for it and they make that fourth down, does that change the whole complexion of the game?

As far as how it shapes up this year. I think it's all good news. Alerus is worth (+7), UND offensively was pretty awful (see 3rd down efficiency), the defense was pretty awful (see 3rd down efficiency) last year and they still won. Went over NAU's new look roster, I'm guessing it's more talented, but lots to work out with so many changes. Getting them early is a good thing. Until proven otherwise, I'm feeling good about this team. Not touching the offense. I've been burned before, but my mindset is the defense cannot be worse than last year. How much better is the question.

 

In hindsight the 53 yard fg attempt was wrong decision.  At altitude it really shouldn’t have been an extreme attempt.  In my experience you get about 10 more yards - so similar to 43 yds at home. 

[geaux_sioux]

23 minutes ago, Siouxperman8 said:

In hindsight the 53 yard fg attempt was wrong decision.  At altitude it really shouldn’t have been an extreme attempt.  In my experience you get about 10 more yards - so similar to 43 yds at home. 

For the past, idk, 6 seasons, any fg attempt felt like a mistake. It’s getting old. We used to have great kickers.

[Siouxperman8]

43 minutes ago, geaux_sioux said:

For the past, idk, 6 seasons, any fg attempt felt like a mistake. It’s getting old. We used to have great kickers.

This is true.  And we had great kickers for a long, long time.  

[The Sicatoka]

1998 - Paterka - Glas - Hellevang - Miller - Taubenheim -2017 

I'd take the weakest of that two decade run, of those five (Zeb Miller), in a heartbeat. 

 

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sidearm.nextgen.sites/undsports.com/documents/2022/8/11/2022_UND_FB_Media_Guide_for_Web.pdf 
page 84

[Sioux94]

1 hour ago, The Sicatoka said:

1998 - Paterka - Glas - Hellevang - Miller - Taubenheim -2017 

I'd take the weakest of that two decade run, of those five (Zeb Miller), in a heartbeat. 

 

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sidearm.nextgen.sites/undsports.com/documents/2022/8/11/2022_UND_FB_Media_Guide_for_Web.pdf 
page 84

If the game was on the line and we needed a 51 yard FG for the win, I'd take Glas all day long. 

[geaux_sioux]

19 minutes ago, Sioux94 said:

If the game was on the line and we needed a 51 yard FG for the win, I'd take Glas all day long. 

Today it’s “if we need a 36 yard FG with a game on the line you might as well run a draw.”

[The Sicatoka]

15 hours ago, Sioux94 said:

If the game was on the line and we needed a 51 yard FG for the win, I'd take Glas all day long. 

No doubt.
I'm saying the worst in that string I'd take in a heartbeat today. 

[F'n Hawks]

Really good mailbag from Tom. Kept it honest and didn’t hold back.

[geaux_sioux]

6 minutes ago, F'n Hawks said:

Really good mailbag from Tom. Kept it honest and didn’t hold back.

Tom keeps it real despite what some on here say. I take him all day of the Fargo boys.

[F'n Hawks]

39 minutes ago, geaux_sioux said:

Tom keeps it real despite what some on here say. I take him all day of the Fargo boys.

Agreed

[Siouxperfan7]

Now that the hockey schedule is out, looks like there are 3 Saturdays (4 is you count the first week of the playoffs) where there is a home football game the same days as a home hockey game. With the 6pm start times for Saturday hockey games, get ready for a lot of noon kickoffs this season. 

[SiouxHawkGuy]

6 minutes ago, Siouxperfan7 said:

Now that the hockey schedule is out, looks like there are 3 Saturdays (4 is you count the first week of the playoffs) where there is a home football game the same days as a home hockey game. With the 6pm start times for Saturday hockey games, get ready for a lot of noon kickoffs this season. 

NDSU, Wisconsin doubleheader ain’t bad