MVFC Preview

[houndawg]

NDSU sees its toughest stretch first 2 games: @ Kansas & @ UNI. After that we get a nice couple of OOC games at home until WIU Rolls into Fargo for the First MVFC game. After that the rest are all conference games finishing up at home with SDSU.

I think its a favorable schedule for us, but lose the UNI game and you are hoping to go undefeated the rest of the way. For sure you have to split SIU and UNI. After that just hope. There will be a lot of unexpected things happening.

Big news is Tyler Westphal, LB recruit from the Wisconsin Badgers has dropped out and is apparently going to D3 ball. Good news: Grant Olson highly regarded LB True Freshman will probably play this year behind talented Jr Preston Evans at MLB. Look for this a lot on the BISON. Good veteran backed up by a highly regarded young player. That will put a lot of our experienced players in starting roles and take advantage of the the youthful athletes in back up roles.

NDSU has a lot of top recruits and there are probably 4 or 5 more Redshirts that are likely to see playing time in backup roles. Its a young team not even 25% of the roster is juniors and seniors combined. Last count I had was 21. There are some very good players in those classes leading the way for some very good, young players.

We have lost two players for the season to injury. Neither was a starter. Its just terrible news.

We lost our starting SS for the season, hate to see a kid not get to play for a whole season..

BTW, when the Salukis come to the dome in Fargo, one of their o linemen will be NDSU xfer George Danilkowicz.

[DJH]

You know, it surprised me too when I looked at it. I went game by game and in the end NDSU is on the bubble. Not sure if they'd make it in because I haven't run all of the conferences.

SDSU has a tough schedule this year: at SIU, at UNI, at Delaware, at Nebraska, and the Marker Game is in Fargo.

SDSU going 3-2 in those games would be amazing. I would guarantee at least 2 losses in those 5 games. On top of that they still have to play Illinois State. I like the Jacks and have a friend in the AD, but these picks are my football opinions. Not who I like.

Ok fine I'll bite. A) The marker game I refuse to believe we will lose. Don't care where NDSU is still going to be SHIT this year, cause they still have Bohl and their defense still sucks. B) I highly doubt we lose to both UNI and SIU. UNI, as much as they hate to admit is somewhat down this year, and if you look at SIU's schedule before we play them, they are going to be beaten battered and bruised. I don't know which way to go on the UD game, but I think the bellers coming from the SDSU crowd is the fact that we proved last year we belong in the top by battling our way to some respect, and the fact that the 5 losses you are saying we lose 4 out of 5 of our tough games AND one at home. Tough one to argue to me when I feel we have a better team than last year, and arguable better defense than last year even without Batten. So sir, I reject your reality and and substitute my own

UNI is down this year. I don't think anybody has denied it. Fact is, UNI in a down year is still better than most of the league, and that is just a fact, and the last 25 years back it up.

[DJH]

SDSU fans need to chill out. Second, I would say Bohl has had more success over the longhaul than Stig has. If Stig would have been the head coach anywhere else in the country, he'd have been canned after the WI lacrose loss.

My concern with SDSU this year is their offense. I watched the NDSU and MN games last year, and SDSU's offense is nothing great. I'm not sold on TOB, and depending on how your oline holds up this year is a big question mark. Minnett (sp?) is a good back, but teams will just stack the box.

Definitely. Good points.

[DJH]

catch my breath...whew..

:rofl

MSU with one win? and NDSU and UNI in the playoffs are what seals it for me on your preview. Awful just awful. I don't even care that you have State missing the playoffs. Indiana State with 3 wins? Doubtful at best

Yeah, picking UNI to make the playoffs is crazy, because that almost never happens....

Get a grip people.

[clenz]

Ok fine I'll bite. A) The marker game I refuse to believe we will lose. Don't care where NDSU is still going to be SHIT this year, cause they still have Bohl and their defense still sucks. B) I highly doubt we lose to both UNI and SIU. UNI, as much as they hate to admit is somewhat down this year, and if you look at SIU's schedule before we play them, they are going to be beaten battered and bruised. I don't know which way to go on the UD game, but I think the bellers coming from the SDSU crowd is the fact that we proved last year we belong in the top by battling our way to some respect, and the fact that the 5 losses you are saying we lose 4 out of 5 of our tough games AND one at home. Tough one to argue to me when I feel we have a better team than last year, and arguable better defense than last year even without Batten. So sir, I reject your reality and and substitute my own

UNI is down this year. I don't think anybody has denied it. Fact is, UNI in a down year is still better than most of the league, and that is just a fact, and the last 25 years back it up.

I don't get why you believe UNI will be so bad.

[DJH]

UNI isn't going to be bad. I never said we will be bad. We just arent going to be as good as we have been for the last 3-4 years, IMO. We are 'down' from the last few years. That's not to say we wont win the conference title, because I could forsee that happening. Like I said, a lesser UNI team is better than most of the league most of the time.

Its a hard year to judge because of the tremendous losses on the O and D lines. We could be great, or we could be wildly inconsistent with those young guys.

[Gil Dobie]

UNI isn't going to be bad. I never said we will be bad. We just arent going to be as good as we have been for the last 3-4 years, IMO. We are 'down' from the last few years. That's not to say we wont win the conference title, because I could forsee that happening. Like I said, a lesser UNI team is better than most of the league most of the time.

Its a hard year to judge because of the tremendous losses on the O and D lines. We could be great, or we could be wildly inconsistent with those young guys.

I'm not sure a down UNI is better than most of the league, most of the time (sounds like some grandiose NDSU fan in Panther Purple). A down team finishes with a losing record. With Farley, UNI will rarely if ever be down, they just reload. Last years UNI finish had something to do with SDSU having a good team and playing UNI at home. UNI should battle SIU for the title this year.

[clenz]

UNI isn't going to be bad. I never said we will be bad. We just arent going to be as good as we have been for the last 3-4 years, IMO. We are 'down' from the last few years. That's not to say we wont win the conference title, because I could forsee that happening. Like I said, a lesser UNI team is better than most of the league most of the time.

Its a hard year to judge because of the tremendous losses on the O and D lines. We could be great, or we could be wildly inconsistent with those young guys.

Haven't you said before, I believe it was you, that UNI will be lucky to win 7 games this year?


I'm not as concerned about the o-line as the rest of the fan base apparently. It's not like we haven't had to replace multiple all conference/all american's before. Remember when we had to replace 2 current NFLers and one other lineman from that 07 team? 2008 turned out to be a pretty good year, and that involved starting a left tackle that had NEVER played offensive line before. We have one of the best o-line coaches in the country, and huge lineman to step in. It's not like we are trotting 5 true freshman out there. Teply, Zlab, Palagini (started 6 games and played in 11 for Northeastern last season at center and will start for us this year), Gonnering, and Sauer all saw action in at least 7 games last year. We rotate lineman more than anyone else in the league I bet. Will the line give up more than 10 sacks this year? Probably, but that doesn't make them bad. I'm also more confident with either QB we put out there this year and I was with Grace last year....and so is the team. I'm not trying to pull a Griff on this one, but I've talked with some players on the team at various points and they all had negative things to say about his leadership and said that was the reason we finished like we did last year.


The d-line I'm a little more worried about. It looks like we are going to a 3-4 or 3-3-5 defense, with Jamar having started games at both Saftey and Linebacker it is tough to differentiate between them at times. Now, this could really hurt out ability against the run, but it may not. We have 6 linebackers who have saw significant action so the move may be smart. I see 7-4 at the worst honestly. I would say 8-3 is most likely, with a shot at 9-2.

[DJH]

I don't know if I said that or not. But I would set our over/under at about 7 wins.

I realize we have a ton of talent. I'm not worried about that. We have continued to recruit wonderfully. Its the experience that I worry about, as that is very important.

[houndawg]

I don't know if I said that or not. But I would set our over/under at about 7 wins.

I realize we have a ton of talent. I'm not worried about that. We have continued to recruit wonderfully. Its the experience that I worry about, as that is very important.

I can see you winning out after SIU. I think ISU has a good shot at picking off SIU in conference play and creating a three-way at the top

[clenz]

I don't know if I said that or not. But I would set our over/under at about 7 wins.

I realize we have a ton of talent. I'm not worried about that. We have continued to recruit wonderfully. Its the experience that I worry about, as that is very important.

I'll have to look back, but I'm fairly certain you have said 7 was the high number...I'll check though.


Like I've said, it isn't like we don't have experience. The players we have returning on o-line may have have the starts, but it isn't like they haven't played. If the over/under is 7 I'm taking the over


EDIT: upon further review it appears that I must have confused you with someone else. My apologies.

[Theee Catrabbit]

My predicts: UNI does not make the playoffs, didn't make it with the experienced team last year. Won't make it without it this year.
SDSU beats SIU
SDSU retains the Marker
NDSU bad record, Bohl get's fired
MSU way better than 1 win, finish 4th.
YSU flounders, Ind. State flounders more.
ISU-redbirds good
SDSU one conference loss
SIU two conference losses
SDSU, SIU and ISU-Redbirds all make playoffs
Somehow SDSU plays Montana again in the playoffs.....hold on to your hats!

[houndawg]

My predicts: UNI does not make the playoffs, didn't make it with the experienced team last year. Won't make it without it this year.
SDSU beats SIU
SDSU retains the Marker
NDSU bad record, Bohl get's fired
MSU way better than 1 win, finish 4th.
YSU flounders, Ind. State flounders more.
ISU-redbirds good
SDSU one conference loss
SIU two conference losses
SDSU, SIU and ISU-Redbirds all make playoffs
Somehow SDSU plays Montana again in the playoffs.....hold on to your hats!

If anyone goes through the conference with only one loss it will be ISU, possibly SIU.
YSU takes mid-pack honors over MSU and NDSU.
Jacks aren't winning in SIU's new stadium this year. We have their number.
UNI misses playoffs but plays spoiler somewhere.

[DJH]

I'm not sold on SDSU or ISU. I predict one of those two will have a terrible year.

Based on the schedules, I don't see SDSU making the playoffs. I think you also have to factor in the mental recovery aspect of their playoff debacle at Montana last year.

SIU will make the playoffs. UNI, SDSU, and ISU will contend for the other 1-2 spots.

YSU will lead the middle of the pack teams.

WIU and ISUb will take it up the rear.

[FargoBison]

Yeah I don't like SDSU's schedule at all, I think they could go 6-5 with a team that is just about as good as they were last year.

[houndawg]

Yeah I don't like SDSU's schedule at all, I think they could go 6-5 with a team that is just about as good as they were last year.

They could be 6-5 with a better team. Week 1 will determine if they make the playoffs. Upset Delaware and 8-3 is doable.

[MSUBear42]

MO State had their first scrimmage today, some thoughts:

The No. 1 offense, led by senior quarterback Cody Kirby looked tremendous. It had 75-yard touchdowns drives on its first two possessions, capped by Chris Douglas touchdown runs.

Kirby made some bad decisions last season that led to turnovers but was near-perfect today. He completed 11 of 15 passes for 133 yards, including an 18-yard TD pass to juco transfer tight end Matt Thayer. Kirby also rushed 9 times for 39 yards.

• The wide receivers did not have a drop. Couldn’t say that often a year ago, even in scrimmage situations. Junior Jermaine Saffold had 4 catches for 52 yards, sophomore Cadarrius Dodson 4 catches for 41 yards.

• Kirby probably ran more than normal because the Bears were thin at running back. Stephen Johnston sat out with a sore hip, although coach Terry Allen said Johnston could have gone if needed. Sophomore transfer Drew Temple has been out about a week with illness but is cleared to return to practice on Monday.

• As good the No. 1 offense looked, the No. 2 offense was another story. It had minus-14 yards of total offense. Why? The No. 2 defense played well. And the offensive line, after a terrific showing by the veteran first unit, had a big drop off with the subs. Two key backups (senior Brent Chojnacki and sophomore Harrison Menke) were out and that hurt. Allen expects both back soon.

• In fairness to the No. 1 defense, many of its members participated in about an hour-long special teams practice prior to the scrimmage. But, as senior tackle Levi Moore said, “We just didn’t get it done today.”

• The defense did finish with a highlight as linebacker Byron Hightower Jr., returned a fumble, in a goal-line situation, 95 yards for a touchdown against the No. 2 offense.

• Jordan Chiles is kicking like he wants to place kick as well as punt. Chiles made field goals 34 and 32 yards. Freshman Austin Wittmer made a pair of 32-yarders.

http://s41.photobucket.com/albums/e268/ ... mmage%201/

[BigSkyBears]

NDSU sees its toughest stretch first 2 games: @ Kansas & @ UNI. After that we get a nice couple of OOC games at home until WIU Rolls into Fargo for the First MVFC game. After that the rest are all conference games finishing up at home with SDSU.

I think its a favorable schedule for us, but lose the UNI game and you are hoping to go undefeated the rest of the way. For sure you have to split SIU and UNI. After that just hope. There will be a lot of unexpected things happening.

Big news is Tyler Westphal, LB recruit from the Wisconsin Badgers has dropped out and is apparently going to D3 ball. Good news: Grant Olson highly regarded LB True Freshman will probably play this year behind talented Jr Preston Evans at MLB. Look for this a lot on the BISON. Good veteran backed up by a highly regarded young player. That will put a lot of our experienced players in starting roles and take advantage of the the youthful athletes in back up roles.

NDSU has a lot of top recruits and there are probably 4 or 5 more Redshirts that are likely to see playing time in backup roles. Its a young team not even 25% of the roster is juniors and seniors combined. Last count I had was 21. There are some very good players in those classes leading the way for some very good, young players.

We have lost two players for the season to injury. Neither was a starter. Its just terrible news.

Is that really good news though? Having a true freshman play? I hate when UNC doesn't redshirt players their first year. I guess if he's ready to play, he's ready to play.

[clenz]

NDSU sees its toughest stretch first 2 games: @ Kansas & @ UNI. After that we get a nice couple of OOC games at home until WIU Rolls into Fargo for the First MVFC game. After that the rest are all conference games finishing up at home with SDSU.

I think its a favorable schedule for us, but lose the UNI game and you are hoping to go undefeated the rest of the way. For sure you have to split SIU and UNI. After that just hope. There will be a lot of unexpected things happening.

Big news is Tyler Westphal, LB recruit from the Wisconsin Badgers has dropped out and is apparently going to D3 ball. Good news: Grant Olson highly regarded LB True Freshman will probably play this year behind talented Jr Preston Evans at MLB. Look for this a lot on the BISON. Good veteran backed up by a highly regarded young player. That will put a lot of our experienced players in starting roles and take advantage of the the youthful athletes in back up roles.

NDSU has a lot of top recruits and there are probably 4 or 5 more Redshirts that are likely to see playing time in backup roles. Its a young team not even 25% of the roster is juniors and seniors combined. Last count I had was 21. There are some very good players in those classes leading the way for some very good, young players.

We have lost two players for the season to injury. Neither was a starter. Its just terrible news.

Is that really good news though? Having a true freshman play? I hate when UNC doesn't redshirt players their first year. I guess if he's ready to play, he's ready to play.

Typically in the MVFC the more freshman you have playing the worse off the team is...even by the time those kids get to be seniors.

Now if the kid is ready, the kid is ready. However, a 2 deep full of true freshman is a bad thing at any school.

[guinzone]

YSU held their first official scrimmage today as well. Let's just say the offense looked amazing and the defense looked BAD.

Stats:
Offense scored 10 touchdowns; 7 rushing, 3 passing.
Offense rushed for 362 yards on 83 carries: 4.36 yards per carry avg.
True freshmen Allen Jones rushed for 150 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Offense passed for 308 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Senior WR Dominique Barnes caught 4 passes for 53 yards.

More Links, Video, Pics:
http://ysusports.com/sports/fball/2010- ... 0814yqe5s9" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[houndawg]

WR Sammy Biggs is back with the Salukis for his last year of eligibility. Sammy missed two years of FB after a hamstring injury in '08; the two-time MVC 400 meter champion ran track only in '08 and '09.


Always room for more speed.

[Cap'n Cat]

UNI 11-0

[guinzone]

UNI 11-0

You coming to Youngstown this year?? Even you have got to be impressed, albeit a tad bit, with our new coaching staff and the excitement surrounding the YSU football program.

Thus far this August, the Youngstown Vindicator and Warren Tribune-Chronicle have each had at least one, and on some days, two articles about each August day of August drills and scrimmages... Got to love the press we are getting, many MAC schools would wish they had it!

[DJH]

UNI 11-0

You coming to Youngstown this year?? Even you have got to be impressed, albeit a tad bit, with our new coaching staff and the excitement surrounding the YSU football program.

Thus far this August, the Youngstown Vindicator and Warren Tribune-Chronicle have each had at least one, and on some days, two articles about each August day of August drills and scrimmages... Got to love the press we are getting, many MAC schools would wish they had it!

Hard to be impressed when that coaching staff has yet to coach a game.

There is always excitement when new coaching staffs come in after the previous regime has failed.

Reality, good or bad, will set in once the season is underway.

[guinzone]

You coming to Youngstown this year?? Even you have got to be impressed, albeit a tad bit, with our new coaching staff and the excitement surrounding the YSU football program.

Thus far this August, the Youngstown Vindicator and Warren Tribune-Chronicle have each had at least one, and on some days, two articles about each August day of August drills and scrimmages... Got to love the press we are getting, many MAC schools would wish they had it!

Hard to be impressed when that coaching staff has yet to coach a game.

There is always excitement when new coaching staffs come in after the previous regime has failed.

Reality, good or bad, will set in once the season is underway.

Recruiting wise, everyone in the league should be impressed. Before we struggled to get any kids with D1 offers, and now with the new staff we got around 10-12 kids in the first recruiting class that had FBS offers, some with Big Ten and Big East offers.

Recruiting is huge in college football.