UND vs Augie - Game Thread

[The Walrus]

If you are saying that we have high standards for our teams, you are right. And that is how I like it.

I think it's better to have high standards and not always reach them instead of having low standards that are always reachable. Look at football, for example. Ten years ago, just winning the conference and making the playoffs was considered a successful season. Now, if we aren't competing for the national championship, it's not good enough. December 8th, 2001 changed everything. It set the standard for the program to the highest level possible. As a result, people (like myself) get all bent out of shape over our quarterback throwing interceptions and almost costing us one game. We have high standards, we want to compete at a national level. And what happened today can't happen if you are going to be #1 at the end of the season.

Hockey is the same way, we are always looking for the next national championship. Ditto for Women's Basketball; that 34-1 record without a national championship just isn't the same.

Do we lose perspective? Yes. Are our expectations a little out of whack sometimes? Yes. But I would rather have it that way then have an athletic department that was satisfied with barely winning seasons and the occasional playoff berth. I know I wouldn't get up for the sports season if that was the attitude of the A.D. and coaches.

Can't Wait for that Div 1.....Football and Hockey will be ok... All the Rest....Better lower expectations, and high standards for 10 or so years...there will be no National Championships in those Sports...GO SIOUX!

[rochsioux]

Iowa State rallies to win 28-27 over UNI.

Scored with a little over a min to go. UNI misses a 51 yard FG with 6 secs left.

[ethanm]

I hate to admit it, but I didn't think the Sioux would stop Augie when they had the ball on the half-yard line in OT. I didn't really understand that call. Why not have the QB under center and try a sneak or at least give it to the FB? That play was a perfect example of why coaches don't like to hand off to a RB 5 yds deep and risk losing yards.

I wasn't completely surprised the Sioux blocked some kicks because of Augie's formation. They had a guy at a 90 degree angle behind the last guy on each end of the line. I didn't watch for it on every kick, but on the one's I did, it didn't seem like those guys blocked anyone. It's like Augie was only blocking with 7 guys. I should mention that their formation might not have mattered on the blocked kick in OT as the pressure came up the middle.

Yeah, Belmore didn't have the greatest game. It looked like the pick he threw for a TD was thrown too much to the inside and was kind of lobbed out there. Plus, his passes at the end of the 4th were being overthrown which is what lend to the pick. I didn't read the whole thread to see if someone mentioned that the pass defense hasn't looked too good the last two weeks. I don't think there was anyone with 5 yds of Pomerleau when he caught that 2 pt conversion. What bothered me was twice UND DB's took a penalty because they knew they were beat, and both times they let the game catch the ball. If you're going to obviously interfere because you're beat 25-30 yds downfield, make sure the guy doesn't catch it. Why let go of the guy and give him a chance to catch it when you know the flag is coming?

[bincitysioux]

Who said I had confidence in Belmore? I think he, as Big Game stated in his post, has great skills but he is horrifically inconsistent (Big Game's words were better, but...). However, I'm not in favor of parking his backside on the bench for the duration of his senior year either. Manke and Belmore started the year platooning. Well, until Manke is healthy, I think the same system should occur with Belmore and Freund. That way maybe Belmore won't be as readable and Freund will get valuable playing time?

I agree with that. Belmore has skills, but he seems to buckle under the pressure of big games or close games. I remember before the 2005 season I desperately wanted Belmore over Manke, shows how much I know. But Belmore is experienced so he is an asset to this team when our #1 is out. But I would like to see Freund inserted into several series per game. One, it would get him some valuable game experience. If he doesn't see any action, we'll be heading into 2007 with zero experience at the qb position, and I don't like that. Two, it could actually motivate Belmore to play better, which needs to happen. It was the entire team that played poorly for the better part of 3 quarters yesterday, but it was really Belmore alone who let Auggie back in the game in the final minutes.

[BigGame]

We all play coaches on TV?

But I will put my Trust in Dale and his Staff, They obviously feel that Freund is Not Ready yet..?

Belmore has a very bad confidence problem and is very inconsisitent at times but remains , Like 24-4 as a starter...Alot of schools would drool over that...

Manke is the Leader the Team has Chosen, he needs to get back , but back Healthy, I do not risk him at Mankato, Because WE NEED HIM AT UNO!.. But that is not my decision..

I get real tired of people throwing players under the Bus for a bad decision here and there...Chris Belmore has make a outstanding contribution to UND Football...

As has alot of UND Student athletes...It seems when the next guy in line is better, Our Coaching Staff always finds a way to get them their time on the field, But it is a overall team sport 11 guys executing at once no break downs...And it takes around 75-100 to make the TEAM a TEAM...Go to practice sometime.

Anyway...Lucky Win...GO SIOUX!~

The problem is players need to be accountable for what they do on the field. For example I hope Stroup gets absolutely ripped by the coaches for the stupid penalties he takes. Stroup makes a lot of plays, but he is young and I wonder how often he blows his assignments? Only the coaches know that but is he on one play making a huge play for our defense, but on the next blowing an assignment that gives the opposing team a twenty yard gain.

It takes 11 at a time to play the game, but only 1 of those 11 needs to blow an assignment that turns the tide of the game. If they continue to play Belmore and he keeps making freshman mistakes, what good is it to the rest on the guys busting ass every play. I think most player will pick him up after the mistakes, at least for a while, but having this happen every game will get very tough for player not to a least wonder why Freund isn't getting a shot. Why is it OK to play Belmore while he continues to struggle, Freund is putting in the time as well and probably deserves an opportunity. I don't like the idea of playing someone just because he's a senior, I would rather see it based on the level of play they offer the team.

One thing that works against coaches evaluating QB's in practice is that they don't get hit, so Belmore could look perfect in practice and almost certainly throws a nicer ball than the other UND QB's. You can't really get a look at game pressure in practice and likely Belmore is looking like a better QB in practice only to struggle game after game. I don't think Belmore shouldn't play at all, but at least give Freund a chance to play a few series. Or just play Belmore hope for the best, wish Manke a speedy recovery, and find out next year if UND is going to have a capable QB.

[BigGame]

Couldn't have said it better myself. I have to laugh at all those calling for Freund. Belmore made enough plays to get the W against a tough NCC opponent on the road. If fact, he has won a number of HUGE games in his career. Give me a senior with experience over a green horn anyday. Sioux will be fine with Belmore at the helm until Manke is ready to return.

He also threw a game turning TD pass to the other team!, and this isn't like it's the only game he has made these huge mistakes. Yep they might be OK as long as they don't actually run into a good football team. It's hard to take, because when Manke is playing you get the feeling he is going to make a play and that UND could score or keep drives alive based on that. I get the exact opposite feeling with Belmore at QB. I hope he doesn't fumble, throw a pick, or take a sack to kill a drive.

Manke is the leader, but don't think the other guys on the team aren't playing just as hard for Belmore.

[The Walrus]

The advantage the Coaches who make these decisions are...That they deal with it 24 hours a Day 7 Days a week

"IT IS THEIR JOB"..

I trust they are quailified to make these decisions...

Should players be held accountable , absolutley... Has anyone on this board broken down the game tape yet?.... I do believe the Int was all on Belmore...But who knows for sure, was there pressure, did we run the right route? too flat ? not deep enough?...Who Knows..?

The Coaches do and they will make the proper adjustments and play the proper personel...

My guess we could all apply for their Jobs, or try out for the Team, but in both cases I believe we would loose out dramatically...

And fightin sioux sports would not be nearly as successful..

PS> Last time I checked these hard working Student Athletes an Coaches were 5 wins 0 losses

[The Walrus]

I wasn't completely surprised the Sioux blocked some kicks because of Augie's formation. They had a guy at a 90 degree angle behind the last guy on each end of the line. I didn't watch for it on every kick, but on the one's I did, it didn't seem like those guys blocked anyone. It's like Augie was only blocking with 7 guys. I should mention that their formation might not have mattered on the blocked kick in OT as the pressure came up the middle.

Interseting observation, Tom DeSautel Credited Coach Mannasau for bringing the Safties, He said in his interview after the game, that this was the 1st time all year they did that, Coaches saw on film there was a possiblity to block some kicks and Tom said it worked out perfectly, he says he tipped one earlier also..

[HockeyMom]

Last time I checked these hard working Student Athletes an Coaches were 5 wins 0 losses

Amen to that. I wouldn't wanna be a coach either......I did dabble in it for a couple years, but it was jr. high, and their first years playing, so all I had to do was make sure they learned, had fun and that everyone got the same amount of playing time.

[Shawn-O]

The advantage the Coaches who make these decisions are...That they deal with it 24 hours a Day 7 Days a week

"IT IS THEIR JOB"..

I trust they are quailified to make these decisions...

Should players be held accountable , absolutley... Has anyone on this board broken down the game tape yet?.... I do believe the Int was all on Belmore...But who knows for sure, was there pressure, did we run the right route? too flat ? not deep enough?...Who Knows..?

The Coaches do and they will make the proper adjustments and play the proper personel...

My guess we could all apply for their Jobs, or try out for the Team, but in both cases I believe we would loose out dramatically...

And fightin sioux sports would not be nearly as successful..

PS> Last time I checked these hard working Student Athletes an Coaches were 5 wins 0 losses

I hear what you're saying Walrus, and Lennon and Co. will do what they think is right, and we'll all continue to support our squad. I'm proud of the 5-0 start. But the fact of the matter is that this team looked like something special the first three weeks, now they are sputtering with Belmore at the helm, and they were fortunate to get wins over teams that many believe will be bottom feeders in this league. If Lennon and his staff say Belmore's the guy, that's good enough for me. But I don't blame people for venting their frustrations on this board, either. That's part of the fun. I hope Reed is ready to go real soon.

[dlsiouxfan]

Can't Wait for that Div 1.....Football and Hockey will be ok... All the Rest....Better lower expectations, and high standards for 10 or so years...there will be no National Championships in those Sports...GO SIOUX!

Honestly, rhetoric like this is getting tiresome. If UND wants to reach their highest levels in terms of national recognition or alumni support the football team needs to be playing at the highest level possible in terms of competition. Holding football back just so our swimming and diving teams and women's basketball teams can win titles beating up on Podunk U. leaves dollars on the table and for the most part provides UND with little or no exposure on the national sports scene. Football is our best opportunity to increase national exposure for UND and it's wonderful that our administration is finally realizing it. It's our national sport and no matter how many hockey championships our teams win they'll never match the national exposure reaching a D-I bowl game would produce. I know that's I-A but I'm talking long- term and moving our athletic program is just the first step. Ndsu made a good decision four years ago and we're making a good decision now.

[UND92,96]

What really concerns me about Belmore is the fact that over the past four games in which he's played all or nearly all the game, he's accounted for 10 turnovers (9 picks, 1 lost fumble), while throwing just four td passes (0 rushing td's). Maybe one or two of the picks weren't his fault, but even giving him the benefit of the doubt on that, it's still an awful ratio. The general consensus seems to be that he completely lost his confidence late last year. Anybody want to venture a guess as to his level of confidence now? It will be interesting to watch Sioux Sports Weekly tonight to see if the picks were as bad as they sounded.

[BigGame]

The advantage the Coaches who make these decisions are...That they deal with it 24 hours a Day 7 Days a week

"IT IS THEIR JOB"..

Sometimes people get to close to a situation to be objective about it. The coaches want to win and do whats best for the team, but they do make mistakes. Do the coaches have more info. than the rest of us? of course but that doesn't always indicate they will make the correct judgements. It's just an opinion, but I was a student athlete at UND once and I understand the work and commitment. When I was at practice and meetings every day I didn't agree with all the personnel choices either. People will disagree about things, but to say Belmore is doing well in these games is bogus. Would someone else do better, maybe or maybe not but as a person who coaches football I would at least give a different player some game time to see how they handle it.

Should players be held accountable , absolutley... Has anyone on this board broken down the game tape yet?.... I do believe the Int was all on Belmore...But who knows for sure, was there pressure, did we run the right route? too flat ? not deep enough?...Who Knows..?

It really doesn't matter, the QB needs to protect the ball. We aren't just talking about an INT, it was also returned to a 95 yard TD. Later when UND needs to move the ball they have zero ability to throw, overthrowing the WR's and then throwing another INT giving Auggie field position and a chance to take the lead. INT's are the QB's fault, he has other options than to just throw the ball up for grabs.

The Coaches do and they will make the proper adjustments and play the proper personel...

Most of the time yes, but not always.

My guess we could all apply for their Jobs, or try out for the Team, but in both cases I believe we would loose out dramatically...

I have been in the situation of the players, and understand football well enough to make educated statements about the situation. Am I correct, I think so but it is just my opinion. I guess I will get a better look at the play Monday after watching Sioux Sports weekly.

UND is 5 -0 which is great, but they are going to need to play better as a team and have a much better performance from the QB as the toughest part of the conference schedule approaches. MSU will play UND tough, they seem to play everyone tough but can't manage to win a game. UMD, USD, and UNO will all be very tough games and SCSU is scarey because they are good team that has lost a few close games and will be looking to upset the Sioux. I was really hoping the scare WWU put into UND would lead to a better performance this week but it didn't work out that way.

[Shawn-O]

Honestly, rhetoric like this is getting tiresome. If UND wants to reach their highest levels in terms of national recognition or alumni support the football team needs to be playing at the highest level possible in terms of competition. Holding football back just so our swimming and diving teams and women's basketball teams can win titles beating up on Podunk U. leaves dollars on the table and for the most part provides UND with little or no exposure on the national sports scene. Football is our best opportunity to increase national exposure for UND and it's wonderful that our administration is finally realizing it. It's our national sport and no matter how many hockey championships our teams win they'll never match the national exposure reaching a D-I bowl game would produce. I know that's I-A but I'm talking long- term and moving our athletic program is just the first step. Ndsu made a good decision four years ago and we're making a good decision now.

Thank you for beating me to the punch. Well said. Men's basketball is a great opportunity, too.

[Irish]

What a great coaching job by coach Manassau. It seems that in every successful season, there is one game that is tougher than it should be that you need to pull out. Hopefully this is the only one for this season. My main concern is the pattern of the past few years where we play like gangbusters the first few games - hitting on all cylinders - Great offensive balance, opportunistic defense - the whole package. Then, about midway through the season we start to bog down. We usually win most of these games on talent (a credit to our recruiting program). During this streak the offense becomes conservative and predictable and the defense tends to give up long passing plays at key times (looking at our talent both in the secondary and on the line I'm always shocked when this happens). When we hit the tough games at the end of the schedule we aren't playing nearly as well as early in the season. Not since our championship season have I felt that we were a better team at the end of the season than the beginning. Anyone else see this pattern? If we can play like we did at Northern Iowa, we could very well go all the way. If we play like we have the past few weeks, we could have several losses comming into the post season. How do we recapture the magic?

[The Walrus]

Honestly, rhetoric like this is getting tiresome. If UND wants to reach their highest levels in terms of national recognition or alumni support the football team needs to be playing at the highest level possible in terms of competition. Holding football back just so our swimming and diving teams and women's basketball teams can win titles beating up on Podunk U. leaves dollars on the table and for the most part provides UND with little or no exposure on the national sports scene. Football is our best opportunity to increase national exposure for UND and it's wonderful that our administration is finally realizing it. It's our national sport and no matter how many hockey championships our teams win they'll never match the national exposure reaching a D-I bowl game would produce. I know that's I-A but I'm talking long- term and moving our athletic program is just the first step. Ndsu made a good decision four years ago and we're making a good decision now.

You really believe UND will ever play in a Div 1 Bowl Game??, let alone one with any meaning??

The State Minnesota (With it's Population) has one Institution at the Div1 Level...

Now possibly in the future ND and SD will have FOUR? Delusional...Sorry

[The Walrus]

What really concerns me about Belmore is the fact that over the past four games in which he's played all or nearly all the game, he's accounted for 10 turnovers (9 picks, 1 lost fumble), while throwing just four td passes (0 rushing td's). Maybe one or two of the picks weren't his fault, but even giving him the benefit of the doubt on that, it's still an awful ratio. The general consensus seems to be that he completely lost his confidence late last year. Anybody want to venture a guess as to his level of confidence now? It will be interesting to watch Sioux Sports Weekly tonight to see if the picks were as bad as they sounded.

Great Point! We need Reed Manke back....but with Reed out they(Coaches) must feel Bellmore gives us the best chance to win, Just my guess.

Reed was getting to the point he was almost Kelby Klostermann like...

[fightingsioux4life]

Honestly, rhetoric like this is getting tiresome. If UND wants to reach their highest levels in terms of national recognition or alumni support the football team needs to be playing at the highest level possible in terms of competition. Holding football back just so our swimming and diving teams and women's basketball teams can win titles beating up on Podunk U. leaves dollars on the table and for the most part provides UND with little or no exposure on the national sports scene. Football is our best opportunity to increase national exposure for UND and it's wonderful that our administration is finally realizing it. It's our national sport and no matter how many hockey championships our teams win they'll never match the national exposure reaching a D-I bowl game would produce. I know that's I-A but I'm talking long- term and moving our athletic program is just the first step. Ndsu made a good decision four years ago and we're making a good decision now.

I want absolutely nothing to do with the BSCS (Bull S@#$ Championship Series). This whole concept of going D-IA in football is delusional at best, irresponsible at worst. We would never compete for a bowl game that anyone cared about. Maybe Gopher fans get all excited about going to the Music City Bowl (or worse) every year, but I wouldn't. I honestly don't think we would ever qualify for a BCS bowl. If in the future, there is a playoff in D-IA football, I don't think we could qualify for that either. Let's focus on getting into D-IAA football and building a championship-calibre program. We can make our money off of the D-I Men's Basketball Tournament, the NCAA Hockey Tournament and a few money games against D-IA teams. I want our football program to compete for championships. We can do that in IAA, we will never do it in I-A. I really wish Phil Harmeson would dump this idea.