NDSU@UNI

[Hansel]

3-3 early

free audio available on gobison.com

[Chi Panther]

10 to 3 UNI In first

[Chi Panther]

UNI Stuffs NDSU 3 and out...

[Hambone]

A couple punts have been exchanged, and UNI has the ball at about the 50.

[Chi Panther]

10 to 3 UNI up end of 1st

[IABison]

I am sitting in the stands right now (thanks iPhone). Great turnout for the Bison. We're down 17-3.

[Hambone]

UNI now up 17-3 on a 35 yard TD pass.

[Chi Panther]

Tyler Roehl hit hard...very slow up....

[Hambone]

UNI 44 yard FG. Now up 20-3 in the second quarter.

[Hansel]

NDSU will be lucky to keep it within 40

[IABison]

nice stand by the D. UNI punting.

[UNI Pike]

UNI video & audio crapped out - team rolling 20 - 3 with about 7 min left in 2Q.

NDSU driving again

[UNI Pike]

Trading turnovers

[Hambone]

Bison FG. Down 20-6.

[Hansel]

20-6 UNI

NDSU Oline is horrible

[dgreco]

how did NDSU fall so far from grace in 1 year. If they didn't have the ranking of the past they wouldn't be a top 25 team.

[Hansel]

how did NDSU fall so far from grace in 1 year. If they didn't have the ranking of the past they wouldn't be a top 25 team.

they don't block, tackle, pass, or catch

and the special teams is bad

This team does not look like they "want it"

[Chi Panther]

23 to 6 at half

[UNI Pike]

Panthers are getting better each week, much better. Last several weeks, special teams was a definite hole in the game. Not perfect today, but doing much better.

time of possession surprisingly even.

[Uncle Buck]

Watching this game on tv, UNI just beating them.

[Chi Panther]

Nice to have Johnny Gray finally healthy again...but too bad he dropped that pass. Would have been exciting....

[Chi Panther]

UNI offense shooting itself in footxrolleyesx

[UNI Pike]

ugly penalty on Grace for passing past line of scrimmage. He could have had 5-7 yards on that run. UUgh.

[UNI Pike]

Is Solomon clenching up with the 17 point lead?

[Chi Panther]

HUGE QB Hit, UNI recovers fumble!!!!xthumbsupx

[UNI Pike]

NDSU fumble on their 8.

Put the foot to the throat!

[UNI Pike]

UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGH - Goat rope

[UNI Pike]

Second & goal from the 46.

[Chi Panther]

Stupid Willy, what play was he calling??????????xmadx

[Chi Panther]

Good Pick....now lets score....our offense looks impotent here.

[Syntax Error]

how did NDSU fall so far from grace in 1 yearFor starters they lost their best offensive, defensive, and special teams players... then they joined the MVFC

[skinny_uncle]

how did NDSU fall so far from grace in 1 year. If they didn't have the ranking of the past they wouldn't be a top 25 team.

They can't win on the road.

[UNI Pike]

They got beat at the Fargo Dome by WIU, right?

[Chi Panther]

Our Offensive play calling in the 2nd half is a JOKE!!!!

WTF

[skinny_uncle]

They got beat at the Fargo Dome by WIU, right?

3-1 at home.
Heading for 0-3 on the road.

[Drblankstare]

Not that its all Mertens fault, but at what point does NDSU get another QB into the game for some playing time. Anything is worth a shot at this point. IMO

[UNI Pike]

UNI playing 11 v 18

[Hansel]

TD NDSU

[Drblankstare]

Not that its all Mertens fault, but at what point does NDSU get another QB into the game for some playing time. Anything is worth a shot at this point. IMO

as soon as I mention a QB change, Mertens throws a TD. xlolx

[Hansel]

23-13 9 to go

[Chi Panther]

Grace downxrotatehx

[Drblankstare]

That didnt look good. Hope he's alright.

[Drblankstare]

They just said White's done for the rest of the game with a knee contunsion.

[Drblankstare]

Mertens is picked again. UNI ball

[Drblankstare]

WOW that was a really ugly pass.

[Hansel]

Mertens is playing like Neil O'Donnell in the super bowl

[UNI Pike]

Awful play calling at the end of the game for the panthers. Anytime we get up by 14+, OFF C calls plays not to lose.

Dance with what brung ya.

[Chi Panther]

Grace getting hurt sucks, but Davis is a stud QB. I think we will be ok.

I must say, the QB for NDSU will not keep his job going into next year....

[UNI Pike]

Looks like NDSU QB lacks arm strength, under throwing many passes (as far as I can tell on the cr@ppy video feed we had today).

Welcome to the meat grinder of the MVFC.

[skinny_uncle]

Three way tie at the top of the Valley (SIU, WIU and UNI).

[dgreco]

they don't block, tackle, pass, or catch

and the special teams is bad

This team does not look like they "want it"

is this because of new players? or is it because the team just lost the fire in their belly?

[UNIFanSince1983]

Johnny needs to learn that no every team is Indiana State and he can't run 20 yards backwards to gain 10 yards. But our play calling in the second half wasn't the best, but I credit the NDSU d coordinator because he realized if he blitzed us we were in trouble. When we get blitzed we can't run the ball and then Grace gets a little bit of pressure and poops himself. Not saying he wasn't playing good today or recently, but needs to handle pressure a little bit better.

On a side note we may be in a little bit of trouble if Grace is out more than just the time he was out during this game. I think Davis is decent, but we will struggle if he is the starter at least for a few games. Kinda reminiscent of when Petrie went down and Sanders struggled for the first couple of games.

[skinny_uncle]

Good win for the Panthers. Hopefully, Grace is all right.

[Drblankstare]

It just goes to show, how hard it is to replace those players you lose to graduation. QB especially. Steve Walker may not have blown people away with his numbers, but he was great at not making the bad mistakes. Mertens still needs to learn that.

To be fair, it looks like UNI isnt having any QB replacement problems.

[Cap'n Cat]

Was always a foregone conclusion.


xcoffeex

[skinny_uncle]

Was always a foregone conclusion.


xcoffeex
Nice to see you finally recovered from the game in Carbondale.
xsmiley_wix

[Cap'n Cat]

Nice to see you finally recovered from the game in Carbondale.
xsmiley_wix


Good work by the Dogs, holdin' on for the W. Too bad about the Herd.

[PantherRob82]

UNI offense looked terrible in the 2nd half.

Johnny Gray may by having the worst downturn from season to season of any player I have ever seen. Dropping passes, running backwards, etc

[PantherRob82]

First time seeing Mertens. He looks terrible.

[PantherRob82]

Zach Davis will be fine at QB for UNI. He was fine at BYU, and looked great all of camp.

Pat Grace should be ok. The leg was not broken and I heard them say his ACL was tight as usual.

[UNI Pike]

Sprained knee then for Grace?

[UNI Pike]

is this because of new players? or is it because the team just lost the fire in their belly?

Great West vs MVFC. NDSU & SDSU needs about 2-3 years, I think. They will adjust up to the level.

[JayJ79]

Three way tie at the top of the Valley (SIU, WIU and UNI).

With two 2-1 teams sitting half a game off the lead, Missouri State and SDSU. Of those 5, three of them (UNI, MSU, SDSU) still have yet to play Indiana State (not saying it's a gimme game, but......).

SIU is currently in the "drivers seat", holding a win over UNI (ugh, remembering that game still stings).

It makes the next two WIU games (they're idle next week, then host UNI on 11/1, and play at SIU on 11/8) really big games.

Of course, there could always be unexpected results in other games that could shake things up. And SDSU is still very much in the race, having a win over WIU.

[JayJ79]

Johnny Gray may by having the worst downturn from season to season of any player I have ever seen. Dropping passes, running backwards, etc

Unfortunately, I'd have to agree. Way too many dropped passes (no, they weren't all perfect throws, but most were balls that should have been caught). And as much as I hate to say it, I think he's let the hype go to his head on returns sometimes. instead of running downfield, he just dances around or runs laterally and ends up with a loss or 1-2 yards.

[UNI Pike]

trying too hard

[Cap'n Cat]

Zach Davis will be fine at QB for UNI. He was fine at BYU, and looked great all of camp.

Pat Grace should be ok. The leg was not broken and I heard them say his ACL was tight as usual.


Many thanks to P Rob for textin' me updates on this one.

xbowx xbowx

[stevdock]

I'm glad that his leg is basically still in good shape. That was one nasty hit and it could have been alot worse. You guys have a good team. Congrats on the win. We're gonna need some time to be able to ramp up to be able to compete week in and week out in the MVFC.

[Chi Panther]

With two 2-1 teams sitting half a game off the lead, Missouri State and SDSU. Of those 5, three of them (UNI, MSU, SDSU) still have yet to play Indiana State (not saying it's a gimme game, but......).

SIU is currently in the "drivers seat", holding a win over UNI (ugh, remembering that game still stings).

It makes the next two WIU games (they're idle next week, then host UNI on 11/1, and play at SIU on 11/8) really big games.

Of course, there could always be unexpected results in other games that could shake things up. And SDSU is still very much in the race, having a win over WIU.


SDSU is toast.....at NDSU and at SIU looming...

Only 2 making the playoffs are UNI and SIU. WIU is out of the picture after UNI wins that game.

[FargoBison]

Great West vs MVFC. NDSU & SDSU needs about 2-3 years, I think. They will adjust up to the level.

Completely disagree, with Walker, Safe, and Mays we are 6-1 or 5-2 right now. Our offense isn't even close to what it was last year. These struggles would have happened if we were in the Great West, Big Sky, MVFC, or any other decent conference.

[joecooll6]

Do we make it at 9-3? 8-4? Do we have to win out?

[strike00]

9-3 yes. 8-4 Probably not without an auto bid.

[UNIFanSince1983]

I am sick of NDSU fans making excuses about lost players and injuries. We didn't have C Lew for most of today and the last three games. Plus we lost 4 top tier linemen from last year, 2 who were picked in the NFL draft. Plus we lost the Payton runner up from last year. So don't give me crap about graduation.

That being said Mertens needs to look at a different receiver than #9. I know he is good, but you can't force it to him every play! I actually think NDSU has a great chance to win out from here. Even against SDSU!

I love how many fans you all brought and the tailgating atmosphere. I can't wait for my trip to Fargo next year!

[JayJ79]

SDSU is toast.....at NDSU and at SIU looming...

Only 2 making the playoffs are UNI and SIU. WIU is out of the picture after UNI wins that game.

Yeah, I wouldn't put any money on SDSU making the playoffs. But if they somehow found a way to win those two games, they'd be right in the thick of things in terms of the conference race. However, even if they did win out, their nonconference losses might knock them out of at-large contention, I don't know. Actually, I'll be pulling for them to win those two games, especially against SIU, as their doing so would help UNI. But I'm not holding my breath.


I agree that the Valley will probably only get 2 teams in. With some of the nonconference losses this year, the MVFC will probably be perceived as being a bit down this season in comparison to previous years.
But I can't count out WIU quite yet. UNI's game at WIU scares me a bit. If the Panthers play up to their potential, they should win. But they haven't had as much consistency as I'd like to see yet. And a couple of their big-name players may not be at 100% yet.

[BisonBacker]

First time seeing Mertens. He looks terrible.


He is terrible.

[Thunderstruck84]

I am sick of NDSU fans making excuses about lost players and injuries. We didn't have C Lew for most of today and the last three games. Plus we lost 4 top tier linemen from last year, 2 who were picked in the NFL draft. Plus we lost the Payton runner up from last year. So don't give me crap about graduation.

That being said Mertens needs to look at a different receiver than #9. I know he is good, but you can't force it to him every play! I actually think NDSU has a great chance to win out from here. Even against SDSU!

I love how many fans you all brought and the tailgating atmosphere. I can't wait for my trip to Fargo next year!
You all have a great team and an amazing defense. This season is a wash for the Bison so I'll be rooting for you guys to represent the MVFC well. Hopefully, my Bison will get the wake up call this year and give a better showing next year. I'll look forward to the Panthers coming up to the Fargodome, we'll show you a good time and return the favor... hopefully with the party and the outcome of the game. xsmiley_wix xpeacex

[BisonBacker]

We won't be returning any favors to them if Mertens is the QB. xsmhx

[stevdock]

I am sick of NDSU fans making excuses about lost players and injuries. We didn't have C Lew for most of today and the last three games. Plus we lost 4 top tier linemen from last year, 2 who were picked in the NFL draft. Plus we lost the Payton runner up from last year. So don't give me crap about graduation.

That being said Mertens needs to look at a different receiver than #9. I know he is good, but you can't force it to him every play! I actually think NDSU has a great chance to win out from here. Even against SDSU!

I love how many fans you all brought and the tailgating atmosphere. I can't wait for my trip to Fargo next year!

Man if one of the fans can see this, just like we've been seeing the last month, you'd think the opposing team might be able to figure this out to from watching the tape.

As far as the graduation issues that you guys keep hearing from NDSU, our fans seem to forget that last year's team was only about 4 plays away from being an average 7-4 team last year. The problem between this year and last is as you guys saw yesterday we don't have anybody stepping up to make that game-changing play like we saw last year.

[FargoBison]

Man if one of the fans can see this, just like we've been seeing the last month, you'd think the opposing team might be able to figure this out to from watching the tape.

As far as the graduation issues that you guys keep hearing from NDSU, our fans seem to forget that last year's team was only about 4 plays away from being an average 7-4 team last year. The problem between this year and last is as you guys saw yesterday we don't have anybody stepping up to make that game-changing play like we saw last year.

7-4? Try 8-3, and that didn't happen because our QB had poise and read the opposing defenses perfectly. He knew there was single coverage against CP and if you watched the SHSU game you would see Walker setup up that winning TD on the play before by going to Wurz, he then ran the same play but pump faked to Wurz and then hit the open Heckendorf for a TD. Walker did provide leadership but he could see the field and read opposing defenses like few can. He was probably the perfect QB for the offense we run.

[Thunderstruck84]

7-4? Try 8-3, and that didn't happen because our QB had poise and read the opposing defenses perfectly. He knew there was single coverage against CP and if you watched the SHSU game you would see Walker setup up that winning TD on the play before by going to Wurz, he then ran the same play but pump faked to Wurz and then hit the open Heckendorf for a TD. Walker did provide leadership but he could see the field and read opposing defenses like few can. He was probably the perfect QB for the offense we run.
Ode to Steve Walker (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUA0ai0XxRU)
xbawlingx xbawlingx xbawlingx xbawlingx xbawlingx xbawlingx xbawlingx xbawlingx xbawlingx xbawlingx

[smallcollegefbfan]

I am sick of NDSU fans making excuses about lost players and injuries. We didn't have C Lew for most of today and the last three games. Plus we lost 4 top tier linemen from last year, 2 who were picked in the NFL draft. Plus we lost the Payton runner up from last year. So don't give me crap about graduation.

That being said Mertens needs to look at a different receiver than #9. I know he is good, but you can't force it to him every play! I actually think NDSU has a great chance to win out from here. Even against SDSU!

I love how many fans you all brought and the tailgating atmosphere. I can't wait for my trip to Fargo next year!

This is the time of year when the best teams are also those who have the best depth. I think NDSU is finding out they need to add a little more depth to make a deep run. If I remember correctly, ASU had a lot of players injuries throughout last year and still overcame the injuries. Your UNI team did as well.

[AmsterBison]

Ouch, just got back and this game wasn't nearly as close as the score indicated. Maybe the coaches can find some positives in this game (or the last one, or the one before, or the one before that that) but I wasn't able to see any - there is not one unit on the team that is performing well right now (unless you count the second half defense).

That said, it was a fun time going down there and it's not like I get angry about this stuff. Momentum affects seasons too, not just games, and NDSU desperately needs to get some momentum back if only to finish the season out with some positives.

Anyway, I'm glad that Grace's injury wasn't more serious. I also wonder what Roehl's injury is - we were wondering why he was lining up a fullback.

[Big Cats]

Grace's injury is serious enough. He has a torn MCL and will be out for at least three weeks. During that time UNI plays @ YSU, @ WIU and at home vs MSU. I think we can win in Youngstown without him and Missouri State is in the Dome, but the game in Macomb has me a little more nervous now that Grace is out for a while.

[Ronin]

Grace's injury is serious enough. He has a torn MCL and will be out for at least three weeks. During that time UNI plays @ YSU, @ WIU and at home vs MSU. I think we can win in Youngstown without him and Missouri State is in the Dome, but the game in Macomb has me a little more nervous now that Grace is out for a while.

I actually think his replacement is better. Grace can run the ball, but he's rather poor at throwing.

In other news... has anyone had issues with the poll login? I am receiving error msgs from google that this is a malicious site.

[PantherRob82]

I heard strained MCL. His dad said torn