NDSU @ SIU Talk

[DJKyR0]

Beingst a thread doesn't exist already. xeyebrowx

NDSU brings the nation's top scoring defense (unless you're talking about actual scoring of points by a defense, in which case we're second) and an improved passing game. SIU brings an offense that's put up a minimum of 410 yards per game thus far. Both teams have been tested early in conference play. Who wins and why?

No time to break it down more, but I'm going NDSU 27-17.

[Professor Chaos]

I think the Bison D gangs up in Jewel Hamptom and has a minimum of 8 in the box the whole game. I can see Dudzik or Williams getting burned on the corners once early in the game and then redeeming themselves with a big turnover to really put SIU behind the 8 ball. As always, turnovers will be big and and I think NDSU picks off SIU twice. If SIU stays committed to run it'll be close but if they start getting pass-happy NDSU could blow them out. So I'll go in between:

Bison 24, Salukis 13

[bincitysioux]

20 NDSU
21 Lennon's Mustache

[DJKyR0]

20 NDSU
21 Lennon's Mustache

You raise a good point about SIU's secret weapon. Hopefully the Bison contingent making the game will be able to counteract Lennon's mustache's mojo long enough for us to sneak off with a win.

For a while Dale Lennon's Wikipedia page had an entry that listed him as the "Owner-Operator of Dale Lennon's Mustache" with a broken link attached to the mustache. Good times.

[LakesBison]

should be an easy win for ndsu, guess its bwws for us underage kids

[Hammerhead]

It was anything but easy. The Bison defense was on the field almost the entire 1st half and only gave up 3 points.

[Drblankstare]

The D was execellent on both sides. That said, I'm really concerned about the bison offense after the last 2 games. Having alot of trouble running the ball

[Professor Chaos]

On the bad side, Bison O and Jensen looked terrible today. On the good side, Marcus Williams should be a Buchanon candidate.

[Bison Fan in NW MN]

On the bad side, Bison O and Jensen looked terrible today. On the good side, Marcus Williams should be a Buchanon candidate.

Jensen wasn't terrible the O-Line was.

Offense laid an egg and we still won; it doesn't matter how it looked it is still a conference win on the road.

3-4 always gives us problems.....but we better start figuring out how to move the ball against it.

[Houndawg]

The D was execellent on both sides. That said, I'm really concerned about the bison offense after the last 2 games. Having alot of trouble running the ball

I was surprised at Ojuri and McNorton, they were pretty heavily hyped before the season.

[JSUBison]

I was surprised at Ojuri and McNorton, they were pretty heavily hyped before the season.

DJ hasn't gone over 100 yards once this year.

[DJKyR0]

This game was uglier than my ex-girlfriend from Grand Forks, but we'll sure take the win. Gotta fix up whatever's whacky with the offense but defense is playing some darn good football right now.

[Bison Fan in NW MN]

I think there will be alittle payback when Missouri State comes to town next saturday.

After last years embarassing performance, I think the Bison completely blow-out the Bears.

[DJKyR0]

I think there will be alittle payback when Missouri State comes to town next saturday.

After last years embarassing performance, I think the Bison completely blow-out the Bears.

Let's hope Vigen can figure out a 3-4 defense by next weekend.

[Houndawg]

DJ hasn't gone over 100 yards once this year.

The o line deserves a lot of credit for that, from what I saw, but everybody we've played so far has better RBs.

[Houndawg]

I think there will be alittle payback when Missouri State comes to town next saturday.

After last years embarassing performance, I think the Bison completely blow-out the Bears.


I don't think it will be a blow out, your offense will keep it close.

[Twentysix]

I don't think it will be a blow out, your offense will keep it close.

Will your offense score more than a field goal this week? xlolx xrotatehx

Wow 9.2 Points allowed for NDSU, #1 in the nation... whoda thunk.

[Bison Fan in NW MN]

I don't think it will be a blow out, your offense will keep it close.

Ya, maybe so. But the offensive team I saw in Minneapolis is the one I hope finally comes to play every week.

I give credit where credit is due.....SIU has a good defense. The Bison squeaked out a road win....I'll take it. 5-0 is not bad.

[Houndawg]

Will your offense score more than a field goal this week? xlolx xrotatehx

Wow 9.2 Points allowed for NDSU, #1 in the nation... whoda thunk.

Probably. Definitely if McIntosh returns.

[UNIFanSince1983]

There is a lot of talk in here about the best running back in the conference, and there were 3 great ones that played in this game yesterday. However, I saw the best one play in person yesterday, and his name is Shakir Bell.

[Professor Chaos]

Jensen wasn't terrible the O-Line was.

Offense laid an egg and we still won; it doesn't matter how it looked it is still a conference win on the road.

3-4 always gives us problems.....but we better start figuring out how to move the ball against it.
The O-line definitely contibuted. I don't know the last time the Bison were held to under 2 yards per rush but it sure doesn't happen often. I recall one play were SIU was rushing 3 and had a blitzer show very early and the O-line shifted 3 guys to take on the right DE and didn't pick up the lone blitzer. That was unacceptable.

However, there's plenty of blame for Brock too. His accuracy went back to last year's form. He damn near stepped out of the back of the end zone after tripping over his own feet on a perfectly set up screen pass. You could see his interception coming as soon as he tried pump faking on a 3 step drop. The flee flicker was a beautiful pass so I'd like to hope this is just an aberration but the Bison are holding to past years' form in playing poorly in the early conference schedule. Having said that I'll take a ugly win over a moral victory any day. As long as there's still a goose egg in the L column I'm happy.

[BisonBacker]

Plenty of reason to be concerned IMHO. If you look back at the games so far how many times have we had our defense score in those games? Take away those scores and our offense looks very very normal or sub par. Given the soft schedule we have played I don't think our offense has proved anything yet and that includes a soft sub par Minnesota team. Yesterday I kept hearing the announcers making excuses for our lack of offense or conservative playcalling due to field position. Really? Field position is what they want to lay the blame on? Holy crap lets call it what it was getting schooled on the O line by a defense that stuffed the run, rushed the passer and basicallly made our offense dysfunctional. First first down in the third qtr? A top 5 team doesn't do that. Vigen better quit the conservative play calling and get whatever he had going on against the horrible gophers if we have a prayer of doing anything this year against UNI or any playoff caliber team. Having a down game is one thing but we have had two consecutive weeks of subpar offense. Yes I give a lot of credit to SIU's defense they are fantastic and so is our D but this train is on wobbly tracks right now unless we establish some offensive line play again and soon. Get that and the running game back on track and I'd be feeling much better about our chances of not only beating UNI but making another playoff run. I know if this team shows up the rest of the year like they did on Saturday we aren't going anywhere come playoff time.

[LakesBison]

im new to ndsu, but where is our offensive coordinator from? I saw some loud mouth poster on another site say he was from 9 man north dakota ball? true?

[Twentysix]

im new to ndsu, but where is our offensive coordinator from? I saw some loud mouth poster on another site say he was from 9 man north dakota ball? true?

He has always been at ndsu. Since 1998 as one kind of coach or another.

[mgbison]

FYI

Our defense is awesome. When we are pinned inside the 5 yard line, the last thing we want to do is throw an int or a pick 6. We have been winning games the past year and a half because we win the turnover battle and our QB's don't do stupid crap like throw a ton of int's. How many games have we won because the other teams QB's get hurried, run around and throw stupid int's? I'll answer that question. Almost every game.

SIU for example. Its not that NDSU coaches don't know how to prepare for a 3-4, its the personel on the SIU's defense making great plays. The best player on the field was SIU's nosegaurd. He dominated us, and he could cover both A gaps. It frees up a linebacker to run around and make plays (its the same reason we were so good last year with Gratzek, he was unblockable). If I'm Vigen and see this, why in the hell would I call some stupid play thats gonna result in a safety or int. Go conservation and hope the defense can turn the field over. Unfortunately our defense was bending but not breaking the whole first half.

I don't understand some people and their complaining abour offensive coordinators. Go to NDSU, SIU, SDSU, UNI, UND message boards for example. Every message board has its fanbase complaining about the OC's and that they all suck. Its stupid. The best example is Norm Chow. He was considered one of the best OC's in the country at USC, and now his offense at UCLA isn't very good. Its all about personnel and the personnel executing the plays.

Vigen got creative in the second half when the opportunity arose. Brock made a great throw on the flea flicker and it lead to 3 points. However, if one of the olineman would've missed a block and Brock would've been sacked, people would've complained that it was the dumbest call ever.

I could of shortened this rant by saying, its all about execution. Our o-line got worked in the first 3 quarters against SIU, its gonna limit the plays a team can run. Until our oline gets it together, we will struggle offensively.

[Bison Fan in NW MN]

Plenty of reason to be concerned IMHO. If you look back at the games so far how many times have we had our defense score in those games? Take away those scores and our offense looks very very normal or sub par. Given the soft schedule we have played I don't think our offense has proved anything yet and that includes a soft sub par Minnesota team. Yesterday I kept hearing the announcers making excuses for our lack of offense or conservative playcalling due to field position. Really? Field position is what they want to lay the blame on? Holy crap lets call it what it was getting schooled on the O line by a defense that stuffed the run, rushed the passer and basicallly made our offense dysfunctional. First first down in the third qtr? A top 5 team doesn't do that. Vigen better quit the conservative play calling and get whatever he had going on against the horrible gophers if we have a prayer of doing anything this year against UNI or any playoff caliber team. Having a down game is one thing but we have had two consecutive weeks of subpar offense. Yes I give a lot of credit to SIU's defense they are fantastic and so is our D but this train is on wobbly tracks right now unless we establish some offensive line play again and soon. Get that and the running game back on track and I'd be feeling much better about our chances of not only beating UNI but making another playoff run. I know if this team shows up the rest of the year like they did on Saturday we aren't going anywhere come playoff time.


I disagree totally.

I don't care if the Gophers are not good right now, they are still a 85 scholly team and we went into their house and beat them.....took care of business.

We have faced 2 good defenses the last 2 weeks. Field position was a definite part of the game saturday. Credit SIU for putting us in those situations.

The offense will be fine. Missouri State is going to get their a**es handed to them.

[semobison]

I disagree totally.

I don't care if the Gophers are not good right now, they are still a 85 scholly team and we went into their house and beat them.....took care of business.

We have faced 2 good defenses the last 2 weeks. Field position was a definite part of the game saturday. Credit SIU for putting us in those situations.

The offense will be fine. Missouri State is going to get their a**es handed to them.

The offense will be fine? What do you base this on? Do you have a crystal ball? Since halftime of the Minnesota game our running game has been awful! 2nd half against the gophers 13 carries for 17 yards! A little better, but not good against Illinois State, 33 carries for 124 yards, 3.8 ypc. At SIU we had 33 carries for 60 yards, 1.8ypc! How do these numbers give you confidence that the offense will be OK? I agree with Backer on this one! We are on wobbly tracks right now! Hopefully we can fix some things this week with Missouri State, who by the way lost to SIU by 2 a few weeks ago in Carbondale! They are better than there record indicates! NWMN, optomism is great, but give us a reason for your statement!

[Professor Chaos]

The offense will be fine? What do you base this on? Do you have a crystal ball? Since halftime of the Minnesota game our running game has been awful! 2nd half against the gophers 13 carries for 17 yards! A little better, but not good against Illinois State, 33 carries for 124 yards, 3.8 ypc. At SIU we had 33 carries for 60 yards, 1.8ypc! How do these numbers give you confidence that the offense will be OK? I agree with Backer on this one! We are on wobbly tracks right now! Hopefully we can fix some things this week with Missouri State, who by the way lost to SIU by 2 a few weeks ago in Carbondale! They are better than there record indicates! NWMN, optomism is great, but give us a reason for your statement!
I'd say Missouri State is about as good as their record indicates. They're last in the conference in rushing defense (254 ypg), scoring defense (39.17), and total defense (475 ypg). Granted those stats are inflated by the 2 really good FBS teams they've played (including the best RB in the nation in LaMichael James) but they are not good on the defensive side of the ball. Look at the 35-0 score after halftime against Illinois State last week. I may sound like a broken record since this is the same tune Bison fans were playing going into last years MSU game but there's two big differences this year; MSU's defense is much more vulnerable to run this year, whereas last year they were more vulnerable to the pass, and the game is in Fargo where it looks like it'll be another sellout or close to it.

[344Johnson]

I'd say Missouri State is about as good as their record indicates. They're last in the conference in rushing defense (254 ypg), scoring defense (39.17), and total defense (475 ypg). Granted those stats are inflated by the 2 really good FBS teams they've played (including the best RB in the nation in LaMichael James) but they are not good on the defensive side of the ball. Look at the 35-0 score after halftime against Illinois State last week. I may sound like a broken record since this is the same tune Bison fans were playing going into last years MSU game but there's two big differences this year; MSU's defense is much more vulnerable to run this year, whereas last year they were more vulnerable to the pass, and the game is in Fargo where it looks like it'll be another sellout or close to it.

Missouri St. was winning 13-3 at halftime. Second half Illinois St. outscored them 35-0.

[semobison]

Missouri St. was winning 13-3 at halftime. Second half Illinois St. outscored them 35-0.

And they played SIU tuff in Carbondale losing by 2! I hate to say this again folks, there are no gimme's in the MVFC! We have lost the last 2 to the Bears! That being said, if we right the ship, the offense plays to its capability, we could win convincingly!

[darell1976]

Just a little off topic but how does the addition of USD affect the conference schedule? Is there a set rotation or is there a rivalry pair like the Big Sky did with their addition?

[BisonBacker]

That should be posted in a different thread. Back on topic, I stand by my comments. Our offense has played far from it's ability. Credit does have to go to the defense for SIU but bottom line is we have played horrible offense since the Minnesota game. What you can glean from playing the two patsies at the beginning of the year is basically nothing. They were tuneup games and thats ok but you cannot derive anything substantial from those games except our guys got to hit somebody with different uniforms on. I get the concept of playing whoever thats fine but I'm not going to hide my head in the sand and proclaim our offense world beaters. They looked marginal at best last weekend.

[Houndawg]

And they played SIU tuff in Carbondale losing by 2! I hate to say this again folks, there are no gimme's in the MVFC! We have lost the last 2 to the Bears! That being said, if we right the ship, the offense plays to its capability, we could win convincingly!

Their front 7 played well and were pretty physical and ain't that bad. I think the question is whether or not their spirit is broken yet. Last year SIU lost to the worst team in the MVC, YSU, and beat the top two, UNI and WIU. There is a lot of football left.

[Bison Fan in NW MN]

The offense will be fine? What do you base this on? Do you have a crystal ball? Since halftime of the Minnesota game our running game has been awful! 2nd half against the gophers 13 carries for 17 yards! A little better, but not good against Illinois State, 33 carries for 124 yards, 3.8 ypc. At SIU we had 33 carries for 60 yards, 1.8ypc! How do these numbers give you confidence that the offense will be OK? I agree with Backer on this one! We are on wobbly tracks right now! Hopefully we can fix some things this week with Missouri State, who by the way lost to SIU by 2 a few weeks ago in Carbondale! They are better than there record indicates! NWMN, optomism is great, but give us a reason for your statement!


Reason.

Well for one the Illinois State defense is pretty damn good against the run. I noticed at the game that they had 8-9 guys in the box until we opened up the defense with the passing game.

The SIU defense is also a damn good one. Field position played a huge part in the ineffective running game. When your inside your own 20 the defense can pin their ears back and stuff you. Vigen needs to get more creative with his play calling.

We are 5-0 with having 2 subpar offensive performances. The offense will not play like that for the whole season....if they do then Vigen will be gone.

Give credit where credit is due....we played 2 good defenses and our offense didn't step-up like us fans wanted them to.

I just have a feeling that this Bison team is going to give alittle payback to Missouri State after lasts years debacle down there. I'm just guessing but maybe we'll lay an egg again...but I doubt it.

This team is not on "wobbly tracks" right now. We played 2 teams that had Big 10 transfer RBs that were really good. We have won going away and we have won ugly...now hopefully we play consistent.

[Twentysix]

Just a little off topic but how does the addition of USD affect the conference schedule? Is there a set rotation or is there a rivalry pair like the Big Sky did with their addition?

A couple teams rotate not playing in the dakota's. Or something like that. WIU doesnt play ndsu next year.