2024 UND Football

[geaux_sioux]

2 hours ago, CMSioux said:

Asking for a friend, can a strength coach turn things around in six months? 

They can have an effect but I’ve already said it takes 3 years min to see the true effects of the new guy and really more like 8 so you have a full roster of guys that had only him as a strength coach in college.

[The Sicatoka]

Massey: 8 (down 2)
Sagarin: 5 (up 2?) <- Dak4 are 1-2-3-5

[UND1983]

So……we staring right down the barrel of yet another 7-5 season?

[Siouxperfan7]

History tells me that we win out next 3 games and lose the next 3 after that.  Hope I am proved wrong and we can knock off at least one of the Sodak schools at home. 8-4 is the low bar set now for the rest of the year.  Anything short of that would be a major disappointment.

[UND1983]

That was exhausting from a standpoint of our "hopes" were so high but reality kicked in, again.  The thing is our die-hard fanbase is big enough that it doesn't matter to the AD. Attendance is up (due to the 4 wins) and that is all that matters because it means things must be going alright. Which is the state of the program for the last 17 years - alright.  

[fightingsioux4life]

1 hour ago, UND1983 said:

That was exhausting from a standpoint of our "hopes" were so high but reality kicked in, again.  The thing is our die-hard fanbase is big enough that it doesn't matter to the AD. Attendance is up (due to the 4 wins) and that is all that matters because it means things must be going alright. Which is the state of the program for the last 17 years - alright.  

I get what you are saying, but that means in order to induce change at the top of the FB program, the die-hard and loyal supporters need to stop going to games?

I am all for making sacrifices that will pay off in the future, but it is insane that it comes to that.

[nd1sufan]

1 hour ago, Siouxperfan7 said:

History tells me that we win out next 3 games and lose the next 3 after that.  Hope I am proved wrong and we can knock off at least one of the Sodak schools at home. 8-4 is the low bar set now for the rest of the year.  Anything short of that would be a major disappointment.

Haven’t looked at your schedule but I don’t foresee beating either SD school. 

[fightingsioux4life]

Just now, nd1sufan said:

Haven’t looked at your schedule but I don’t foresee beating either SD school. 

I could say the same thing about your team and SDSU.

[SIOUXFAN97]

2 hours ago, The Sicatoka said:

Massey: 8 (down 2)
Sagarin: 5 (up 2?) <- Dak4 are 1-2-3-5

send this to fenton so he can send to the people over in the "valley"

[F'n Hawks]

3 minutes ago, nd1sufan said:

Haven’t looked at your schedule but I don’t foresee beating either SD school. 

Only thing is that they are both at home, with likely big crowds. Prior history suggests on the road we would have no chance, but you never know in the Alerus Center.

[GoodGood]

Somehow stay in the top 10 after that performance. The FCS is hotdog water 

[Dustin]

Maybe the reverse of last year will happen.  Instead of a blowout victory over NDSU leading to a collapse, the blowout defeat will be a turnaround.  Lots of things in UND's favor yet: a bye week at a strategic time, weak road opponents, high profile home games.  Still hoping for 9-3 (or better).

[F'n Hawks]

5 minutes ago, GoodGood said:

Somehow stay in the top 10 after that performance. The FCS is hotdog water 

After the top 5 it is a crapshoot

[nd1sufan]

27 minutes ago, fightingsioux4life said:

I could say the same thing about your team and SDSU.

I don’t disagree. I don’t think NDSU will win at USD either.

[UND1983]

34 minutes ago, nd1sufan said:

Haven’t looked at your schedule but I don’t foresee beating either SD school. 

have you seen our team in the Alerus Center?  There is ALWAYS a chance

[UND1983]

39 minutes ago, fightingsioux4life said:

I get what you are saying, but that means in order to induce change at the top of the FB program, the die-hard and loyal supporters need to stop going to games?

I am all for making sacrifices that will pay off in the future, but it is insane that it comes to that.

Lets think for a sec - how does change come about in college athletics?  Apathy, losing, loss of revenue, declining interest, donors checking out......

I am not saying they NEED to stop going to games, it just happens. And right now it isn't happening.  

[HoopsFan03]

3 hours ago, The Sicatoka said:

Massey: 8 (down 2)
Sagarin: 5 (up 2?) <- Dak4 are 1-2-3-5

I would call this weekend a victory then!!

[GoodGood]

6 minutes ago, HoopsFan03 said:

I would call this weekend a victory then!!

If you look at it from a completely analytical/unbiased point of view, you are absolutely correct! 

[iramurphy]

On 10/6/2024 at 10:23 AM, Irish said:

Bubba's gonna Bubba - he is hardwired - this is totally on Chaves.  

Chaves didn’t play. His primary role is to oversee the athletic department and put our teams and coaches in a position to be successful. I believe our FB program has the necessary resources to be successful. He , and the selection committee, are responsible for hires. At this point in the season it accomplishes nothing to kick that dead horse again. Those issues need to be addressed at the end of each season. 
 

For those who have played, I doubt you  blamed others for lack of success.  If you did, that’s why you sucked.  When you were successful it was because you made it happen. 
 

Some may disagree, but the success and struggles are squarely on the shoulders of our players and coaches. 

[HoopsFan03]

10 minutes ago, iramurphy said:

Chaves didn’t play. His primary role is to oversee the athletic department and put our teams and coaches in a position to be successful. I believe our FB program has the necessary resources to be successful. He , and the selection committee, are responsible for hires. At this point in the season it accomplishes nothing to kick that dead horse again. Those issues need to be addressed at the end of each season. 
 

For those who have played, I doubt you  blamed others for lack of success.  If you did, that’s why you sucked.  When you were successful it was because you made it happen. 
 

Some may disagree, but the success and struggles are squarely on the shoulders of our players and coaches. 

Who is the one that gives coaches with .500 winning records endless contract extensions?

I'd say that person definitely has a role in the lack of success from our athletic programs. 

[Irish]

10 minutes ago, iramurphy said:

Chaves didn’t play. His primary role is to oversee the athletic department and put our teams and coaches in a position to be successful. I believe our FB program has the necessary resources to be successful. He , and the selection committee, are responsible for hires. At this point in the season it accomplishes nothing to kick that dead horse again. Those issues need to be addressed at the end of each season. 
 

For those who have played, I doubt you  blamed others for lack of success.  If you did, that’s why you sucked.  When you were successful it was because you made it happen. 
 

Some may disagree, but the success and struggles are squarely on the shoulders of our players and coaches. 

This is exactly my point.  As for Chaves addressing the issues at the end of the season - this has led to two extensions before his contract was up.  That is my point.  Clearly Chaves thinks Bubba is the way to go - as for the specific game vs the Bison - Bubba has given us exactly what he has shown throughout his career at UND for road games.  I know Chaves didn't play - but he has Bubba's entire body of work to look at and clearly he thinks this is fine.  I don't think anyone (except maybe Chaves) is surprised that Bubba and Co. laid an egg again Saturday.  Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.  Bubba clearly is not going to change and apparently neither is Chaves.  

[fightingsioux4life]

4 minutes ago, HoopsFan03 said:

Who is the one that gives coaches with .500 winning records endless contract extensions?

I'd say that person definitely has a role in the lack of success from our athletic programs. 

Good point, but I think the ultimate decision-maker is Armacost.

If the President of UND made a commitment to excellence in athletics and held Chaves and the coaches accountable for their performance (or lack thereof), I think you would see some positive changes.

[UND-FB-FAN]

28 minutes ago, iramurphy said:

Chaves didn’t play. His primary role is to oversee the athletic department and put our teams and coaches in a position to be successful. I believe our FB program has the necessary resources to be successful. He , and the selection committee, are responsible for hires. At this point in the season it accomplishes nothing to kick that dead horse again. Those issues need to be addressed at the end of each season. 
 

For those who have played, I doubt you  blamed others for lack of success.  If you did, that’s why you sucked.  When you were successful it was because you made it happen. 
 

Some may disagree, but the success and struggles are squarely on the shoulders of our players and coaches. 

Missed the point, but I understand where you’re coming from with your facetious response.

Getting blown out by NDSU time and time again, and consistently losing road games, and having zero playoff success, does all come down to the players and coaches, but the processes in place to select, employ, and terminate coaches, and also select/recruit the student-athletes, are all reasonable discussion points in due time. As for timing, it is not appropriate at this juncture, but certainly will be (again) in December/January. They were brought up last December/January, and again are being brought up now. I do appreciate @iramurphy perspective and opinions, truthfully, because it provides great insight into the faction that supports Bubba’s tenure, albeit justifiably overstayed. I’ll defer further comment on coach employment until this December/January, when the timing is again appropriate. 

[gundy1124]

36 minutes ago, iramurphy said:

Chaves didn’t play. His primary role is to oversee the athletic department and put our teams and coaches in a position to be successful. I believe our FB program has the necessary resources to be successful. He , and the selection committee, are responsible for hires. At this point in the season it accomplishes nothing to kick that dead horse again. Those issues need to be addressed at the end of each season. 
 

For those who have played, I doubt you  blamed others for lack of success.  If you did, that’s why you sucked.  When you were successful it was because you made it happen. 
 

Some may disagree, but the success and struggles are squarely on the shoulders of our players and coaches. 

Instant Classic in Bold!!

Chaves and football.......definitely not a visionary.  Jury still out on this team and season.  Frustrating how we can't play on the road......70 miles away.

[UND08]

I'm going to try and take a bit of a deep breath here and likely piss off both sides of this proverbial dead horse beatdown...

We are 4-2, and I think if you'd asked most sane fans prior to the season starting if they'd be happy being 4-2 going into the bye week that answer would have been a unanimous yes!

Does UND still control its own destiny?  100%!  Assuming we handle the teams we are supposed to handle between now and Nov. 9th (a not insignificant assumption)...we will find out a lot about our program (honestly everything about our program) the last three weeks of the year.  We get both SD schools at home back-to-back weeks (we are 3 tds better in the Alerus than we are on any other football field on the planet) and then what could set up to be a massive road game at ISU-Red to end the season (ISU currently 4-2 with a very similar resume to us but they avoid both SD schools).  Win 1 of those 3 games and we are in the playoffs at 8-4 in a 12-game year.  Win 2 of 3 and we may be in contention for a seed.  Win all 3 and we'll definitely be seeded.  It's all still there for the taking.

That said...here's the rest of the story the way I see it...

Did we look scared/shell shocked/crappy in yet another bigtime road game (at NDSU)?  Yes...at some point even the most ardent of Bubba supporters have to look themselves in the mirror and realize that this is a problem that won't ever be fixed without wholesale changes.

What we are doing with the QB position is killing me.  The Romfo story is a feel-good tale no doubt...but my eyes just tell me he's not the guy!  Are we really going to run out a former MN and WI HS player of the year for this?!?!  Because it sure seems that we are good with that.  Coaches aren't idiots...and I have to remember that this offensive staff didn't recruit any of these guys...but this is D1 football...at some point you need to see what you have in Kaminsky.  I get that Romfo won the job in practice...but how you play in games needs to matter.  He got his completion percentage up on Saturday...but to turn it over the first play of the second half was just a killer.  I just want a QB that can let it rip, stand in the pocket and hit open receivers (like Miller did all day)...is that too much to ask??

That said...our defense might kill me first.  Zero pressure...receivers running wide open.  It's time to adopt a new scheme...because what we are doing now clearly isn't working.  This is not the first time I've said that on this forum.

I sure as hell hope we go 10-2 and I eat these words...but, like Saturday, I have very little confidence that we do better than 8-4.  And we'll need to do at least that well...because unless they figure something out in Missoula our Montana win will lose a fair amount of luster between now and November.  I just lack confidence in this program to go out and take what's there for the taking based on all the let downs of the prior decade.  It bothers me...but apparently doesn't bother those who are in charge.  Somehow Bubba and company still have the ability to go out and change the narrative on this.  They're lucky to have the patient superiors they do.  I hope they find a way to take advantage of it.