Potato Bowl 2025: Portland State @ UND

[siouxweet]

1 minute ago, SIOUXFAN97 said:

regardless of score or opponent....food deals in the 4th are something they have done in the past iirc and should do every game going forward....

Agreed better to sell what is remaining for $1 than throw it and waste it.

[sioux24/7]

Spot on take by Kelly

[Und Princess]

1 minute ago, sioux24/7 said:

Spot on take by Kelly

I agree!!! 

[siouxweet]

4 minutes ago, sioux24/7 said:

Spot on take by Kelly

Spot on but one of the TDs wasn't the def fault as they weren't even on the field.  Def only can be accountable for 13 points.

[Oxbow6]

CFB games are just too long...especially during blowouts. For those of us with ADHD $1 hot dogs and $1 Adderall would be welcomed come the 4th quarter.

[GoodGood]

12 minutes ago, sioux24/7 said:

Spot on take by Kelly

Wtf I was saying the same thing last year while it was happening and everyone on here told me to shut up and “just win” 

[Cratter]

Pro Tip from yesterday - if you just want a soda and something to eat and aren't picky....on the visitors side...walk past all the concessions that are busy (probably 8 minute wait)....straight to the end. Sat Chik Fil A. Zero customers.

Got a soda and chicken sandwhich in 30 seconds.

My elderly mother had to try the new cashless. She got a prepaid card they sell at the Alerus for that purpose....went to use it. Declined. Haha

[Cratter]

13 minutes ago, Oxbow6 said:

CFB games are just too long...especially during blowouts. For those of us with ADHD $1 hot dogs and $1 Adderall would be welcomed come the 4th quarter.

Had the same thought. In todays screen addicted society, a lot of sports are trying to figure out ways to make games not so long.

Told mom  at halftime, "felt like I just watched a full game."

[sioux24/7]

5 minutes ago, GoodGood said:

Wtf I was saying the same thing last year while it was happening and everyone on here told me to shut up and “just win” 

Not sure where I stood last year but I apologize if I disagreed with you. Think I just had a different mentality with Bubba at the helm. 

[Sioux94]

1 hour ago, Cratter said:

Had the same thought. In todays screen addicted society, a lot of sports are trying to figure out ways to make games not so long.

Told mom  at halftime, "felt like I just watched a full game."

They already started to continue to run the clock a couple years ago to shorten the game. Yes blowouts like this can seem long. But I dont need college FB games to be shortened any further. Next weeks game should be good and be a 4 quarter game.  

[SIOUXFAN97]

On 9/6/2025 at 10:27 AM, SIOUXFAN97 said:

49-17 sioux

o mvp  --jerry (3 passing  2 running td's)

d mvp --rucker (3 sacks)

st mvp--sivernagel 

close!

[geaux_sioux]

15 hours ago, UND Football Fan said:

Offense: Jerry is the real deal! JTJ though athletic as hell, game has yet to slow down for him (did not look too comfortable) Both QB’a can throw with velocity! Have not seen that in a long long time. RB area we are deep and wideouts and TE’s looked good (Portland State not too good to measure) o-line was solid.

 

Defense communication mistakes must be fixed! It was a long long time seeing us stuff a 4th and less than 1. Once  again Portland State is bad, however I felt we looked quick, and our tackling has improved. 
 

Special teams solid…..kicker figure it out we need to be solid on FG, especially in a dome. 
 

Depth is a lot thinner on defense than offense, with the solid recruiting class we are getting (on paper) that should improve next year. However, I hope we can get it done this year!

 

On to next week!

Put JTJ with the first stringers and he’ll look more comfortable. He’s not better than Jerry but he was dealing with bad protection and bad routes by his WRs.

[CMSioux]

Couple of thoughts:

I think the reason they started the fireworks so guickly was in respect to families with young children, they were probably already dragging around 7:30 p.m. The reality is that is who they were for - we've all seen our share of fireworks.

I'll give a pass to those leaving earlyl since it was a night game. I am fine with UND having this early in the season as it allows people to get things done during the day. 

One game is no measure but no way the QB race was "razor thin". However am satisfied with what JTJ can mature into and Simon is a winner/leader. Easy to run your QB when you have back ups that can step in. 

What's the deal with our struggle to sack the QB? However, we did have a lot of QB hurries which aren't as exciting and can go unnoticed.  

[UND Football Fan]

7 minutes ago, geaux_sioux said:

Put JTJ with the first stringers and he’ll look more comfortable. He’s not better than Jerry but he was dealing with bad protection and bad routes by his WRs.

I agree

[Nodak1883]

2 hours ago, SIOUXFAN97 said:

AND the amount of students (and some adults) leaving as i was walking in at 5:50 is startling...

Would reduced concessions at least for the 4th quarter keep SOME people from leaving?  dollar dogs....dollar pops...dollar popcorn?

Honestly having a "family value" concession stand located on the north and south sides of the field would be ideal. These stands would have like bare bone items like a plain hotdog that could be a $1.50 or $2 and make it reasonable for a family to attend the game without being a huge money sink, this would be something similar that Target Field has located in the Centerfield concourse. Even if that meant smaller portions that would be fine. 

As of right now, I don't think the Alerus Center or The Ralph have any have discounts for UND students at the concession stands setup for the season. There might be some for hockey when that gets closer. 

[Dustin]

11 hours ago, sioux24/7 said:

Spot on take by Kelly

 

10 hours ago, siouxweet said:

Spot on but one of the TDs wasn't the def fault as they weren't even on the field.  Def only can be accountable for 13 points.

I was hoping for single digits.  Would have been ok with 13.  20 seems like too many, even though 7 of those were the offense's fault.

 

[The Sicatoka]

Two major observations:

- Kelly/UNDFootball360 is spot on. 

- Open tryouts for FG kicker. Two misses. UND need learn from CLE (NFL) ... two misses cost CLE a win. 

[siouxfan512]

Couldn't bring myself to comment after the game against K State. Was so happy to see how well UND played but so bummed to see them miss an opportunity that was there for the taking. Clearly K State isn't the team they were last year, but they are still a Big 12 team, and it still would have been a great win to have.

- Portland State is who we thought they were. A BAD football team, but UND did what they were supposed to do and took care of business. Definitely disappointed in the number of points we gave up, but we knew the defense would take some time to fix. Even so, there were some nice flashes from the D, but we need to clean up the blown coverage that we saw multiple times. Some of those points were also on JTJ for waving the ball around and not getting rid of it.

- Like several others have mentioned ... where was this QB battle? JTJ is a great athlete, and they can definitely work him in to specific situations, but Jerry clearly makes the quicker decisions and has the better vision at this point. It was noticeable almost immediately that JTJ could scan the field as quickly. Guy is still a freak athlete and hopefully will play a key role eventually. Jerry ends up with 5 TDs and only played a little over a half?!?!? Easily the most excitement we have had around a QB in a while! Looked great last week too, but next week will be tough!!!

- Ziebarth still looks like he is getting going for the year. Wasn't bad but just hasn't looked like he did last year. I like that they gave Seidl some rest, because we will need him next weekend!

- Thinking of brining my 13-year-old daughter (who plays soccer) up to campus this week. Pretty sure she can kick better than Elrichs did! Cheap shot I know, but Elrichs can't seem to hit any shot, so warranted after that performance. Honestly, open it up this week! Those are points we can't afford to miss.

- MORE DENG DENG!!!!!

- Tight End U! Love the trust they have in Hromadka. This kid has a bright future! Keep it going! We may have had more completions to a TE against Portland St that during all of Rudy's tenure here!

- Keep the turnovers coming! Could have used a few of those interceptions in Week 1.

- Assuming we haven't really opened up the playbook year but would like to see if we have any sort of deep ball game.

- Nice to see Brunell get some work. Hope to see more out of guys like Tai, Fleming and Young next week, but I think it will be much more of a running and controlling the clock kind of game.

 

Overall, there were a lot of questions coming into the season, and there are still plenty of questions, but a ton of potential too. D needs to step up and be prepared for Gilman next weekend. The kid is a monster! (Still bummed we couldn't land him). Let's turn around the program's woes on the road. Boys showed they could ball in Manhattan, let's get it some in Missoula!

[The Sicatoka]

JK v JTJ: 

You could see each scan their progressions, but where Jerry would decide-fire it seemed JTJ decided, doubted, pulled it down, and now it's run for your life. 

I'd rather JTJ trust his decision and maybe get picked over running around carrying a "loaf of bread". (Tuck that thing away JTJ!)  

[fightingsioux4life]

4 minutes ago, siouxfan512 said:

- Portland State is who we thought they were. A BAD football team, but UND did what they were supposed to do and took care of business. Definitely disappointed in the number of points we gave up, but we knew the defense would take some time to fix. Even so, there were some nice flashes from the D, but we need to clean up the blown coverage that we saw multiple times. Some of those points were also on JTJ for waving the ball around and not getting rid of it.

Seven of those points are ENTIRELY on JTJ.

That means the defense was responsible for 13 points. Two drives. One in the first half, the other in the second half. That is a clear improvement from what we gave up in the first three home games in 2024:

Idaho State, 28 points

San Diego, 24 points

Murray State, 35 points

Lots of room for improvement, of course, and I think we'll see more improvement as the season goes on.

[siouxfan512]

6 minutes ago, fightingsioux4life said:

Seven of those points are ENTIRELY on JTJ.

That means the defense was responsible for 13 points. Two drives. One in the first half, the other in the second half. That is a clear improvement from what we gave up in the first three home games in 2024:

Idaho State, 28 points

San Diego, 24 points

Murray State, 35 points

Lots of room for improvement, of course, and I think we'll see more improvement as the season goes on.

Great call out! I hadn't even looked back to last season, but my goodness, is that hideous considering the teams listed. Still ... Portland State is exceptionally bad, so giving up some of the bigger plays cannot happen or teams like Montana will expose it. But still better than last year!

Also forgot to call out in my post that some of the officiating was pretty ugly as well! I saw at least a few holds on PSU on key plays and a facemask that went uncalled. Officiating will never be perfect, but there were some blatant misses in that game.

Nice to be able to get excited about this team and what we have seen thus far! Also agree, we will continue to see the defense improve throughout the season.

[sioux24/7]

26 minutes ago, siouxfan512 said:

Couldn't bring myself to comment after the game against K State. Was so happy to see how well UND played but so bummed to see them miss an opportunity that was there for the taking. Clearly K State isn't the team they were last year, but they are still a Big 12 team, and it still would have been a great win to have.

- Portland State is who we thought they were. A BAD football team, but UND did what they were supposed to do and took care of business. Definitely disappointed in the number of points we gave up, but we knew the defense would take some time to fix. Even so, there were some nice flashes from the D, but we need to clean up the blown coverage that we saw multiple times. Some of those points were also on JTJ for waving the ball around and not getting rid of it.

- Like several others have mentioned ... where was this QB battle? JTJ is a great athlete, and they can definitely work him in to specific situations, but Jerry clearly makes the quicker decisions and has the better vision at this point. It was noticeable almost immediately that JTJ could scan the field as quickly. Guy is still a freak athlete and hopefully will play a key role eventually. Jerry ends up with 5 TDs and only played a little over a half?!?!? Easily the most excitement we have had around a QB in a while! Looked great last week too, but next week will be tough!!!

- Ziebarth still looks like he is getting going for the year. Wasn't bad but just hasn't looked like he did last year. I like that they gave Seidl some rest, because we will need him next weekend!

- Thinking of brining my 13-year-old daughter (who plays soccer) up to campus this week. Pretty sure she can kick better than Elrichs did! Cheap shot I know, but Elrichs can't seem to hit any shot, so warranted after that performance. Honestly, open it up this week! Those are points we can't afford to miss.

- MORE DENG DENG!!!!!

- Tight End U! Love the trust they have in Hromadka. This kid has a bright future! Keep it going! We may have had more completions to a TE against Portland St that during all of Rudy's tenure here!

- Keep the turnovers coming! Could have used a few of those interceptions in Week 1.

- Assuming we haven't really opened up the playbook year but would like to see if we have any sort of deep ball game.

- Nice to see Brunell get some work. Hope to see more out of guys like Tai, Fleming and Young next week, but I think it will be much more of a running and controlling the clock kind of game.

 

Overall, there were a lot of questions coming into the season, and there are still plenty of questions, but a ton of potential too. D needs to step up and be prepared for Gilman next weekend. The kid is a monster! (Still bummed we couldn't land him). Let's turn around the program's woes on the road. Boys showed they could ball in Manhattan, let's get it some in Missoula!

I know someone mentioned that Ziebarth is living off the NDSU game from 2 years ago. I don’t buy that. Fruechte really seems to like to balance the opportunities each RB gets. While I don’t hate that, I just think Ziebarth is one of those that is going to grind down a defense and then break it. He’s almost always going to get positive yards. I would have him and Seidl be our 1-2 punch and then X can be the pass catching back. 

[shep]

1 hour ago, The Sicatoka said:

JK v JTJ: 

You could see each scan their progressions, but where Jerry would decide-fire it seemed JTJ decided, doubted, pulled it down, and now it's run for your life. 

I'd rather JTJ trust his decision and maybe get picked over running around carrying a "loaf of bread". (Tuck that thing away JTJ!)  

During the post game interview Schmidt pointed out that JTJ has to do better with his reads and said the strip sack TD was on him for holding it too long.

[siouxfan512]

3 hours ago, sioux24/7 said:

I know someone mentioned that Ziebarth is living off the NDSU game from 2 years ago. I don’t buy that. Fruechte really seems to like to balance the opportunities each RB gets. While I don’t hate that, I just think Ziebarth is one of those that is going to grind down a defense and then break it. He’s almost always going to get positive yards. I would have him and Seidl be our 1-2 punch and then X can be the pass catching back. 

Oh I think Z has been very effective in far more than just the NDSU game. Week one was strange since he didn't really see the field after the fumble. Week 2 he played ok, just didn't seem to have quite the same gear as we have seen in the past. Maybe I wasn't watching closely enough.

Either way, as you mentioned there seems to be a ton of balance and a lot of depth at RB, so I'd expect to see a different approach this week, and more Seidl with Leigh in the pass game. Leigh really reminds me of Smith, if you get him in the flat with a little room, he can be dangerous.

I do wonder when we will see Langama. I'd assume they want to keep his RS intact if they can, but they also talked about how dynamic he was in camp, so are they saving him to surprise some teams? MT is a big road game, could he be used there? OR do we expect to see him eased in later on? Maybe garbage time against Valparaiso? Thoughts?

[sioux24/7]

36 minutes ago, siouxfan512 said:

Oh I think Z has been very effective in far more than just the NDSU game. Week one was strange since he didn't really see the field after the fumble. Week 2 he played ok, just didn't seem to have quite the same gear as we have seen in the past. Maybe I wasn't watching closely enough.

Either way, as you mentioned there seems to be a ton of balance and a lot of depth at RB, so I'd expect to see a different approach this week, and more Seidl with Leigh in the pass game. Leigh really reminds me of Smith, if you get him in the flat with a little room, he can be dangerous.

I do wonder when we will see Langama. I'd assume they want to keep his RS intact if they can, but they also talked about how dynamic he was in camp, so are they saving him to surprise some teams? MT is a big road game, could he be used there? OR do we expect to see him eased in later on? Maybe garbage time against Valparaiso? Thoughts?

Would definitely expect to see Chuck but not sure if the Montana game is the right place for that. Unless they truly have been waiting to “unleash” him. I am hoping to continue to see more and more of Brunell though. Was super jacked about him when we landed him.