14Nov/109
UND’s day in Montana
A few notes on UND's 27-17 loss at Montana on Saturday:
- The atmosphere at Washington-Grizzly Stadium was great. It was loud. Fans are right on top of the players and the noise, especially early, created a great environment. It was louder than what the Sioux experienced at Texas Tech, simply because the stadium doesn't take up much space and the noise has nowhere to go.
- The Sioux struggled offensively. They just couldn't come up with the big play to sustain drives. The defense gave the Sioux offense great field position in the second quarter but UND couldn't take advantage of it.
- UND proved it can play with the likes of Montana. But Sioux coach Chris Mussman made a good point after the game. The question, in two years, will be whether the Sioux can consistently remain competitive with the top teams in the Big Sky. That's UND's goal.
- Each week, UND's younger plays make big plays. Redshirt freshman linebacker Garrison Goodman was noticed with 4 tackles, 1 for a loss. Cornerback Chavon Mackey made seven tackles.
- Montana is not the power it's been in recent years but it still is ranked No. 13 and will make the playoffs with a win Saturday against Montana State.
- UND changed course a bit in the second half, going to primarily a run game after it became clear the Sioux would have trouble passing. Mitch Sutton and Josh Murray both had some decent runs. But the Sioux couldn't convert on third-and-long because of an ineffective passing game. The Sioux were 5 of 19 on third-down plays.
- Dominique Hawkins had 181 kickoff return yards. The Sioux kickoff return game has been strong all year.
- Before the game, three skydivers landed at the 50-yard line to the roar of the crowd. Tom Petty's 'Free fallin' was blaring on the PA system.
- Montana's Chase Reynolds isn't a flashy running back, but he has a knack of escaping tackles in space. He rushed for 173 yards and 3 TDs.
- The Sioux committed only one turnover, but it was costly. Brent Goska's toss to Josh Murray was ruled a lateral and Montana's Brandon Dodson alertly fell on the ball at the Sioux 14. Earlier in the game, a similar Montana play was ruled a forward pass. The Sioux thought they had possession in Montana territory but the ruling went the other way.
- After the game, Mussman said Southern Utah is the best FCS team the Sioux have played this season. That may have surprised some of the media covering Montana
November 14th, 2010 - 03:05
Although we didn’t win I was very pleased with how our team played today. They held their own and kept it a close game. I loved the atmosphere that Montana has with their fans and stadium and know that we could build the same thing here (very possibly even bigger). I have also been very impressed to how receptive Big Sky fans have been to the addition of UND and feel like this definitely the right move for us. One thing I have noticed is that we need a total redesign of the UND football uniform (and put our player’s name on the back of the jersey, they deserve that much). We easily have the best looking and most popular hockey jerseys (college or pro) and our football uniforms should be sharp and grab attention. Big things are coming our way UND fans, Big Things!!!
November 14th, 2010 - 12:43
I was at that game and I am a NDSU fan! I was there on business and I took in the game. That stadium puts NDSU and UND’S to shame! They need to get on the stick and put some fun back in the game for the fans. After the game the kids got to run around the field throwing footballs and playing with family and friends. I thought that was great! The place just rocks with excitment! Good luck to the Sioux in that conference!
November 14th, 2010 - 13:13
I have lived in Montana 21 years and the Griz and their fans are a great program and role model for any university. But the Sioux had them sitting on their hands and murmuring in the 3rd quarter. It gained the Sioux a lot of respect going forward. As for the atmosphere, football is to be played OUTSIDE. While the scenic setting of Washington-Grizzley stadium (Denny Washington is their Ralph Englestad) cannot be replicated in the Red River Valley, the facility can be. Most of the noise at Griz games is generated by alumni, not the current student body, a sad trend reported everywhere.
November 15th, 2010 - 14:54
Anybody have an ideal about how much it would cost to build a 25,000 plus bowl shaped stadium at UND? I’m guessing around $60-$80 million to start with. A couple years back I saw two different conceptual plans on the internet, one was for a retractable dome and the other was for a horse shoe. I can’t find them anymore, anybody know what happened to them?
November 15th, 2010 - 15:54
Wayne,
What’s the deal on going with Hendrickson the rest of the game at QB?? Goska was pretty much MIA after the 1st quarter. Is it just simply looking beyond the 2010 season or did Hendrickson really give UND a better chance to win?
This was certainly a winnable game for the Sioux. Unfortunately the inexperience and miscues caught up to them in the end. Another thing concerning to me was that our biggest offensive threat (Hardin) was simply used as a decoy (fake end-arounds/reverses) on two of the biggest third down plays of the game. We need to find ways to get him the ball if we want to beat established FCS squads.
November 15th, 2010 - 18:58
Fans need to start showing up at our home games…it’s that simple!
November 15th, 2010 - 22:19
This playing inside a quonset hut began with the Vikings, continued with the Bison and eventually found it’s way to Grand Forks. Ever been to Lambeau Field? If not, go attend a game, no matter who is playing or which team is your favorite. I suspect Montana has the same feel but at a smaller level–football is an outdoor sport!
November 16th, 2010 - 00:51
I agree, but the Sioux faithful, “loosely used”, have really gotten soft with the Alerus and the Ralph. The blizzards and flood of ’96/’97 scared the bejesus out of everyone too. I doubt if an outdoor venue would fly unless it was built with IR heaters over covered stands and the stands designed to minimize wind issues for the fans. The new Twins Stadium has some of those features and plans to add more are in the works. I had Vikings tickets here in the old Met stadium days and even into January over a 12 year period there was only one game I truly was miserable, a playoff game against GB where the temp was around zero. It can be done, but the team needs to win often and the atmosphere has to be festive. GB has that and the one time I attended a game there was a life experience.
November 16th, 2010 - 13:43
Come on guys, it isn’t that cold during football season. The harsh subzero weather doesn’t really start until after Christmas, I do like the IR heaters idea though. The Alerus Center in my opinion has hurt UND football by playing games off campus. The Old Memorial stadium is a perfect location with greek row right behind it, a park with in walking distance, and plenty of parking with the addition of the new parking garage on campus. The atmosphere on game days would be amazing and would bring alumni back to campus more often!