Game Thoughts!

[HerdBot]

We should all give ourselves a big hand for making the Fargodome the loudest I have ever heard it for for an entire half. We were loud in the 1st half but in the 3rd quarter the noise in that place made my ears hurt. My section (which sucked last week) stood the entire 2nd half and everyone cheered their asses off on all 3 downs and in between plays. Holy crap we brought the intensity today! It had a major effect on the game. The offense was having a tough time communicating. Our players we jacked up. We should be proud of the atmosphere we brought today. KICKED MAJOR ASS!!!

Game thoughts... it took about a quarter to figure out that Dante Warren would drop back on 3rd and long, pretend he's throwing, and take of running. Once we figured that out our defense owned the Yotes! The 2nd half adjustments were great, as always. Our defense is the real deal. Holding the Yote offense to only 2 TD is impressive. It was a total team effort.

Offense? 1st quarter was bad. The first 3 passes hit the receivers on the hands. It actually reminded me of last week. Slow start. Improved in the 2nd. Peaked in the 2nd half. Brock was great at throwing the deep ball. That's what makes him the better QB. Where did this running atttack come from? DJ looked like he was on a mission in the 2nd half. Great play calling in the 2nd half by Vigen. Not a lot of penalties.

Special teams?
Meh? 2 fumbles. Smith had 1 explosive return. We allowed a big kick return to open the game. We made a field goal. Probably a wash.

Hey, whenever you can kick the ass of a ranked team on state wide TV it's a good thing.

[BisoninNWMN]

We should all give ourselves a big hand for making the Fargodome the loudest I have ever heard it for for an entire half. We were loud in the 1st half but in the 3rd quarter the noise in that place made my ears hurt. My section (which sucked last week) stood the entire 2nd half and everyone cheered their asses off on all 3 downs and in between plays. Holy crap we brought the intensity today! It had a major effect on the game. The offense was having a tough time communicating. Our players we jacked up. We should be proud of the atmosphere we brought today. KICKED MAJOR ASS!!!

Game thoughts... it took about a quarter to figure out that Dante Warren would drop back on 3rd and long, pretend he's throwing, and take of running. Once we figured that out our defense owned the Yotes! The 2nd half adjustments were great, as always. Our defense is the real deal. Holding the Yote offense to only 2 TD is impressive. It was a total team effort.

Offense? 1st quarter was bad. The first 3 passes hit the receivers on the hands. It actually reminded me of last week. Slow start. Improved in the 2nd. Peaked in the 2nd half. Brock was great at throwing the deep ball. That's what makes him the better QB. Where did this running atttack come from? DJ looked like he was on a mission in the 2nd half. Great play calling in the 2nd half by Vigen. Not a lot of penalties.

Special teams?
Meh? 2 fumbles. Smith had 1 explosive return. We allowed a big kick return to open the game. We made a field goal. Probably a wash.

Hey, whenever you can kick the ass of a ranked team on state wide TV it's a good thing.



Good post!!

Damn....that was a fun game to be at!!

[roadwarrior]

Bison fans were into the game tonight!

(of course a little offense really helped!)

[yellowstreak]

USD's name should be changed to US because they have no D.

Brock was struggling in the first half. Some of his early incompletions were the receivers' fault, but that bootleg/rollout pass was embarassing. He pulled it together in the 2nd have and threw 2 great deep passes.

Great to see a running game!

There is a two week trend of poor 1st half play and great 2nd half play. What's up with that?

My Game Grades:

USD Defense F
USD Offsense B
USD Kick Coverage C
USD Kick Returning C
USD Total D-

NDSU Defense A
NDSU Offsense B
NDSU Kick Coverage D
NDSU Kick Returning C
NDSU Total B

[DjKyRo]

Great to be apart of an electric student section tonight. I saw people get up to leave at halftime and was like "WTF?" One kid was wearing a white t-shirt advertising some band, no school colors whatsoever - called him out and he's like "I'm not even a student." Had we lost I would've been angry enough to kick his ass, what the hell? This is life and death to some people, not some f***ing social event you go to after the high school dance. Jeez.

[Scooter1]

I was impressed with the offense.

I was blown away by the Defense.

What the hell...where did that come from, DJ?

Daniel Eaves...2 INT... WOW!!!!

DB are starting to jump routes....that never happened last year.

Gratzek is a beast.

The USD QB is one shifty SOB.

Warren Holloway is a deep threat.

Jensen had all day to throw. He didn't need to.

This game was fun to watch. Is Bison football back?

[Civil06]

Bison fans were into the game tonight!

(of course a little offense really helped!)

It was awesome. I was high-fiving guys around me for the first time in a long time at the FFD. Good job crowd!

[The Lost Dutchman]

It was literally so loud that I couldn't hear Scotty Miller on my radio up in the press box with volume max level. Myself and Swanny were on our feet for almost the entire game.
Brock just brings such a different dynamic to the offense with his ability to run the option as well as his cannon arm. It was awesome watching him go through all of his reads and not just taking off. He allows time for plays to develop.
Also can't say enough about the defense. Whether it was Coulter Boyer rushing on the end, Preston Evans and the linebackers containing and hitting all the gaps, or even Marcus Williams and those corners just shutting down the pass. That 2nd half performance by the defense was absolutely amazing. This is Bison football as we know it and it was awesome being able to witness it!

[Twentysix]

There were still alot of empty seats on the bison side. Im dissapointed in that. Good crowd effort in the 3rd qt. Shoulda let DJ break the rushing record. We had almost 2 minutes to get DJ 16 more yards.

[stevdock]

There were still alot of empty seats on the bison side. Im dissapointed in that. Good crowd effort in the 3rd qt. Shoulda let DJ break the rushing record. We had almost 2 minutes to get DJ 16 more yards.

Why?? Game was over and we are going to need him getting back into conference play. I think he would even say a record would be nice but getting wins week after week are more important.

[BigBison]

Thats the liveliest I've seen the crowd in the FFD since going back to SDSU of 2008 or maybe SHSU game of 2007. Cant wait for homecoming and the Students are packin the place!!!

[Montana Bison]

I believe the Bison have found their QB. I think he got a frustrated with the WR's dropping those balls. But he came back nicely. I think he has a good pocket presence and doesn't stare down the receivers. The crowd was a little down when we were behind but definatly woke up!!! The D is just plain good. And DJ, wow............Where has that been. Hopefully this is the game the o-line gels and becomes like the RAMS of old!!!!!!

[EndZoneQB]

Why?? Game was over and we are going to need him getting back into conference play. I think he would even say a record would be nice but getting wins week after week are more important.

He looked pretty happy with his 250 yards. When they announced it everyone was congratulating him on the bench and he was just smiling ear to ear! It was great to see...maybe some pressure off the kid and it was only the tip of the iceberg? He looked good tonight, for sure.

[Twentysix]

Cause he earned it.

[Wally]

I was hard on the squad for the 1st quarter+ tonight. With the awful kick coverage to start the game, 2 sd tds in 20 minutes, wr's who couldn't catch, jensen overthrowing guys and the inability to get a handle on warren and the sd offense, it looked like it was going to be a rough one. But I will give credit all day for the way the defense played over the last 40 minutes and the offensive turnaround in the 2nd half. It was effen awesome. I want this team to be the best and it wasn't happening right away. I would love to see a fast start as we move along here in the season and with the O line and running game improving along with jensen, I'm sure we will get better starts to games.

1st Half/2nd Half/FINAL GRADE
DEF: B-/A+/A
OFF: C-/A/B+
Specials: C/B/B
Coaching: C/A+/A-

[heckler]

Just wondering why the officials didn't throw a flag when a yote made a fair catch sign and ran with it, or did I just see it wrong?

[EndZoneQB]

Just wondering why the officials didn't throw a flag when a yote made a fair catch sign and ran with it, or did I just see it wrong?

I agree, I chanted a little bit when that happened, but no one really seemed to react to it. I don't really get it either.

[MHDBisonfan]

I THINK it may be because they had 2 guys back receiving and the one who apparently signaled for the fair catch wasn't the one who caught it and ran. Still is a fair catch but no penalty.

[ISXBISON]

Just wondering why the officials didn't throw a flag when a yote made a fair catch sign and ran with it, or did I just see it wrong?

Bohl gave the refs an earful about it but to no avail

[Jay]

Why?? Game was over and we are going to need him getting back into conference play. I think he would even say a record would be nice but getting wins week after week are more important.

Quit being a Debbie Downer! Celebrate this Sh!t! Most fun I've had at the Dome since I can't remember!

[Jay]

I agree, I chanted a little bit when that happened, but no one really seemed to react to it. I don't really get it either.

You saw it right... that's a penalty.

[yellowstreak]

still a young team. if we are doing this well now, I bet we will be even better next year.

[BraxtonT]

What the hell...where did that come from, DJ?

Is Bison football back?

I wrote in another thread last night that DJ needed to gain at least 100 yards tonight on the ground to show that he is deserving of the spot. Boy, did he ever show tonight what he is capable of doing. I've never seen him run so hard north-south, lowering his shoulder at the point of contact and falling forward, not backward. IF he runs like that for the remainder of the year, the Bison will be one tough team to beat. Keep up the good work, DJ!

I turned to my buddy late in the fourth quarter and told him that I was finally excited about the team's chances. He asked me about the Kansas win, but I was not convinced down in Lawrence at the time, because the offense did nothing to impress me. Right now, this team has both offense and defense playing at a high level, something necessary for being considered one of the top teams in the country. Right now, I'd say a top 15 ranking would be about where we belong.

Go Bison!!

[Twentysix]

I wrote in another thread last night that DJ needed to gain at least 100 yards tonight on the ground to show that he is deserving of the spot. Boy, did he ever show tonight what he is capable of doing. I've never seen him run so hard north-south, lowering his shoulder at the point of contact and falling forward, not backward. IF he runs like that for the remainder of the year, the Bison will be one tough team to beat. Keep up the good work, DJ!

I turned to my buddy late in the fourth quarter and told him that I was finally excited about the team's chances. He asked me about the Kansas win, but I was not convinced down in Lawrence at the time, because the offense did nothing to impress me. Right now, this team has both offense and defense playing at a high level, something necessary for being considered one of the top teams in the country. Right now, I'd say a top 15 ranking would be about where we belong.

Go Bison!!


Agreed, no reason we cant keep it rolling either.

[yellowstreak]

I wrote in another thread last night that DJ needed to gain at least 100 yards tonight on the ground to show that he is deserving of the spot.
Go Bison!!

maybe DJ read your post and got mad.

keep making him mad.

[BraxtonT]

maybe DJ read your post and got mad.

keep making him mad.

I won't take any credit for DJ's performance, as he did it all on his own. I hope tonight was his coming-out party. I've been down on him, as have many others here in Bisonville. He showed a style of running tonight that I have not seen in 2+ years of watching him. Not to brag, but I've only missed a couple of road games in that span, and have been to all of the home games, so I have a rather large sample to base my opinion on.

Not to take anything away from DJ or the offensive line play tonight, but having Brock Jensen at QB soldifies my opinion that the QB position is by far the most important one on a football team. His stats aren't out of this world, but you get the feeling that he has raised the level of play around him.

Thank you to the entire team for making tonight's game so fun to be at.

[EightyfourBison]

Now that was just downright fun. Honored to be a part of the experience.

[semobison]

DJ is the kind of back that when he gets to the secondary he can make people look foolish as he did last night. South Dakota is not a physical football team compared to most MVFC teams. Last night we took em behind the woodshed the second half. I believe we will have a stiffer test next saturday with the Necks! One more thing...If this Bison team can put a full game together...watch out!

[No_Skill]

I was impressed with the offense.

I was blown away by the Defense.

What the hell...where did that come from, DJ?

Daniel Eaves...2 INT... WOW!!!!

DB are starting to jump routes....that never happened last year.

Gratzek is a beast.

The USD QB is one shifty SOB.

Warren Holloway is a deep threat...when we have a QB that can throw deep

Jensen had all day to throw. He didn't need to.

This game was fun to watch. Is Bison football back?

I added my 2 cents

[HadleyCoyote]

Nice win, Bison. That was an impressive second half.

Good luck on the remainder of the season. I don't think I'll ever be able to root for NDSU, but now that you've beaten us, a good Bison season makes our second half collapse :banghead: look less bad. FWIW.

[tcbison]

Nice win, Bison. That was an impressive second half.

Good luck on the remainder of the season. I don't think I'll ever be able to root for NDSU, but now that you've beaten us, a good Bison season makes our second half collapse :banghead: look less bad. FWIW.

Good luck to your team and go out and get a win next week!

[NDSU1980]

Clearly DJ stood out above any one else. He practically ran the ball at will. The second impressive person was Eaves with the picks. Both these guys showed that the Bison are in form again.

What does concern me is that in the last two games, it has taken Jensen the entire first half to warm up and get going. After this next game and we start playing better teams, he has to be good from the get go.

Jensen's first half stats, 4 for 12 for 41 yards. One pass went over the receivers head by more then 5 feet. At one point, when he was 0 for 6, I actually thought the Jensen mask might come off and we'd hear Mertens yell "I'm baaaaack!". Fortunately, Jensen delivered in the second half in both games, but I'm hoping he comes out fighting in future games.

It certainly was good to see things going our way though. It does erase a lot of bad memories from the last two years. Carry on.

[BisoninNWMN]

Clearly DJ stood out above any one else. He practically ran the ball at will. The second impressive person was Eaves with the picks. Both these guys showed that the Bison are in form again.

What does concern me is that in the last two games, it has taken Jensen the entire first half to warm up and get going. After this next game and we start playing better teams, he has to be good from the get go.

Jensen's first half stats, 4 for 12 for 41 yards. One pass went over the receivers head by more then 5 feet. At one point, when he was 0 for 6, I actually thought the Jensen mask might come off and we'd hear Mertens yell "I'm baaaaack!". Fortunately, Jensen delivered in the second half in both games, but I'm hoping he comes out fighting in future games.

It certainly was good to see things going our way though. It does erase a lot of bad memories from the last two years. Carry on.


In Jensen's defense, it was his 1st college start last night. I'm sure he was nervous, plus the dropped balls that hit the receivers hands:( :( , didn't help.

IMO, he definitely solidified his claim to the #1 spot at QB.


GO BISON

[KilldeerBison]

Clearly DJ stood out above any one else. He practically ran the ball at will. The second impressive person was Eaves with the picks. Both these guys showed that the Bison are in form again.

What does concern me is that in the last two games, it has taken Jensen the entire first half to warm up and get going. After this next game and we start playing better teams, he has to be good from the get go.

Jensen's first half stats, 4 for 12 for 41 yards. One pass went over the receivers head by more then 5 feet. At one point, when he was 0 for 6, I actually thought the Jensen mask might come off and we'd hear Mertens yell "I'm baaaaack!". Fortunately, Jensen delivered in the second half in both games, but I'm hoping he comes out fighting in future games.

It certainly was good to see things going our way though. It does erase a lot of bad memories from the last two years. Carry on.

Jensen threw three passes in the 1st half that were catchable, the receivers dropped them. Who knows what happens if those passes were caught. After that he had the high passes. In my mind, he looked nothing like Mertens.

[MHDBisonfan]

Jensen threw three passes in the 1st half that were catchable, the receivers dropped them. Who knows what happens if those passes were caught. After that he had the high passes. In my mind, he looked nothing like Mertens.

Agreed. I actually thought it was 4. I thought 3 passes went through receivers hands and 1 went off the numbers..i think on the opening drive. Jensen looked great..yes a couple of misfires but so what? Even nfl qbs have bad throws now and again.

I'm excited for the rest of the season!

[rutlandbison]

I really liked when Howard ran the wrong route Jensen went up to him slapped him on the helmet and said a few words to him. LEADERSHIP!

[bisoneer]

Finally we played the way the BISON play, solid defense, a great running game and good passing!!! Hats off to the players & coaches for giving us something to cheer about... Wife n I were standing on nearly every USD 3rd down and the dome crowd was the 12 man today... (I have a sore throat from yelling encouragement too)...

[BisonNeil]

Bohl really surprised me last night. He has always been loyal to his QBs so I assumed it would be Mohler. Mohler, by the way, was a team leader on the sidelines. He did a great job supporting everyone else. He could have gotten down but didn't. My respect for him grew.

A friend of mine made this observation and I think I agree with it. Jensen may have a little Walker in him insomuch that he isn't a great practice player day in and day out and it may be that he needs to get into a rhythm before things really click with him in the passing game. When you are exchanging series in practice with another QB he may not get into that rhythm. He did not get into that rhythm in the first half, but did in the second. He needs to find ways to get into his rhythm earlier in the game.

My coach of the week honor goes to Fuchs, with Polasek and Vigen a close second. Fuchs adjusted his OL last week and we may see the signs that his new alignment is starting to gel. That group has taken a lot of flap about their play but they were looking stronger as the game went on and did not give up any sacks. Polasek is getting more production out of his RBs and Vigen, well, Vigen is getting less predictable in his play calling and that, is a good thing.

I hope the offense can put some four quarter games together, when they do, look out MVFC!

[Tatanka]

Mohler, by the way, was a team leader on the sidelines. He did a great job supporting everyone else. He could have gotten down but didn't. My respect for him grew.


Noticed this as well. +++++

[Bison bison]

Nice win.

Jensen made a few plays, but came up short on others.

I'd really like to see what Perez can do under center. I think that Bohl should let him have the second quarter of the homecoming game.

[NDSU1980]

Jensen threw three passes in the 1st half that were catchable, the receivers dropped them. Who knows what happens if those passes were caught. After that he had the high passes. In my mind, he looked nothing like Mertens.

Maybe now I should worry. A lot of people blamed Mertens's problems on the receivers too at first. :D Thank God the O redeemed itself in the second half.

[BisoninNWMN]

Nice win.

Jensen made a few plays, but came up short on others.

I'd really like to see what Perez can do under center. I think that Bohl should let him have the second quarter of the homecoming game.


What for?

If Brock is producing then keep him in for continuity. Let Perez play if there is a blow-out!

[Bisonfan1]

Nice win.

Jensen made a few plays, but came up short on others.

I'd really like to see what Perez can do under center. I think that Bohl should let him have the second quarter of the homecoming game.

Little early in the morning to be drinking isnt it.

[Bison bison]

hair of the dog.

[bisoningrandforks]

practice is WAY!!! different then game experience people.....cant compare jenson to walker yet!..like what I see so far and hes only going to get better..

[stevdock]

Speaking of Mohler, I really liked how after we gave up the first TD, he went up to Jensen and you could tell it was something like: Alright no big deal go get it back.

[Tatanka]

Jensen is not the next Steve Walker. He's the first Brock Jensen.

[DjKyRo]

Jensen is not the next Steve Walker. He's the first Brock Jensen.

I must spread some Reputation around before giving it to Tatanka again.

[tjbison]

My observation after watching the replay of the game:

First half - we were playing loose
Sedcond Half - we stepped it up,

Overall our team speed at all positions is greater, the first big run DJ had for a TD in the 3rd, our Oline men were closer to the play than the yotes d and DJ just flat out burned their secondary. Boyer ran down their QB multiple times. makes me wonder how slow the Gophers are as our receivers burned their D backs EVERY play, the offense played in the first half like the second that game was 60-16

And yes DJ ran with power and poise

GO DJ

[DjKyRo]

I did note one rather humorous quote the yote fans had on their board - something along the lines of "The Gophers just couldn't match the speed of Warren and our receivers."

Crazy Speed v2.0?

[Bisonguy]

Jensen is not the next Steve Walker. He's the first Brock Jensen.


Chuck Norris is standing in line to be the second Brock Jensen.

[ndsubison1]

I cannot get over our defense. They just look so different from last season. Brandon Jemison. Wow. He is not afraid to hit this season and just seems so confident out there. Daniel Eaves, same thing. He just looks different and much more confident. If you think our defense is good now, just wait. It is no where near it's peak. It is only going to get better.

[Kermit]

Like many of my fellow fans, I was really down at halftime yesterday. The performance of the Herd in the second half was as surprising as it was awesome!

As others have said, kudos to the coaching staff for the halftime adjustments and continued development of our young players. I've made some comments critical of Vigen, but he and the other offensive coaches really did a great job in this one. The defense continued their strong play and made good adjustments as well.

The stars of the game were obvious to all, but I'd like to comment on a few other players.

Offense:

I love that we can use the spread with Jensen and give the defense a different look. He may not be real elusive but he knows how to get up the field.

I liked what I saw in a couple of carries by Derrick Lang. Could he be the best short yardage back on the roster?

Billy Turner looks like he belongs at RT.

It was good to see the second team offense get a few snaps late, but I was starting to hope that Boen Anderson might redshirt. I guess not..

Defense:

The Bison are rotating eight defensive linemen and have no worries about any of them!

Is Danny Eaves the most improved player on the team? I think so!

Marcus Williams is a very impressive freshman CB, but Freddy Banks is the steadiest CB on the team right now. I was a skeptic about him for a long time, but he is making me a believer.

Special Teams:

I love Ryan Jastram's leg on kickoffs and the way he is varying where the ball is kicked. I don't like the lack of size on the kickoff team (too may DB types, not enough LBs). Too many guys trying to run around blocks and creating big gaps for the return team.

[OrygunBison]

I liked what I saw in a couple of carries by Derrick Lang. Could he be the best short yardage back on the roster?

Was that yesterday that his redshirt got burned or did I miss him getting PT during another game? Kid looked pretty solid. I hope to see more reps from him in the future.


As others have said, kudos to the coaching staff for the halftime adjustments and continued development of our young players.

I just spent my day being the head coach of my son's 6-7 yr old flag football team. What a kick in the pants!! Obviously not the same thing but coaching is a new interest of mine and I like what I saw for adjustments by Bohl and his assistants.


Is Danny Eaves the most improved player on the team? I think so!

Yes.


Marcus Williams is a very impressive freshman CB, but Freddy Banks is the steadiest CB on the team right now. I was a skeptic about him for a long time, but he is making me a believer.

I am a BIG fan of both of these guys. Solid play. So very happy that MWill's work is paying off. Big fan of that work ethic.

I AM SO PUMPED FOR THIS TEAM.

[JustinTyem]

Yes,they need 4-6 speedy lb's and maybe 2 Fast DE's to blow up the wedge.

[Kermit]

Was that yesterday that his redshirt got burned or did I miss him getting PT during another game? Kid looked pretty solid. I hope to see more reps from him in the future.


Lang redshirted last season (preferred walk-on). He has been playing on special teams, but yesterday may have been his first action on offense. Someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

[bisoneer]

09-20-2010, 01:55 AM
bisoneer
Senior Member
Has at least one Bison tattoo Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Minnesota
Posts: 560


Here was my prediction on 9/20... not bad if I say so myself... just lucky I guess.


Re: South Dakota Predictions

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bison 27
Yotes 17

After a fast start where the yotes put up a 10 -0 lead in the first half, their QB is injured when he is running the ball and he gets SMACKED by CHAD WILLSON... as it turns out their backup is about as happless as a DNR employee who has never left his desk in St. Paul and our offense begins to roll and our D pitches a shutout the rest of the game except that USD does get an INT for 7 after McNorton throws the halfback option to the wrong color uniform.