CU / CSU week here... of which I've heard 5 minutes of discussion on this week.
Printable View
Definitely a nice recruiting tool. It will also be used for more than just football. It should be beneficial for Track and Field in the spring. I'm pretty sure Phase 2 of the IPF project is supposed to add a bunch of offices as well, but I really haven't read into it too much. I would definitely like to get up there and see it sometime though.
Does the IPF equate to 4 straight championships? Of course not. Is it a nice facility to show recruits on campus? Sure. Is it beneficial for a program? Sure. Will programs without an IPF cripple? Of course not. Its a nice thing to have, but it needs to be put in perspective.
A couple things to keep in mind about why this is a big game. It is not just the renewal of a in-state rivalry game with a lot of history behind it. That part is fun, and adds to the interest, but lets looks at the game for what it is. Many people on this board have said this is just another game, and to a point they are very correct.
It is just another game the Bison don't want, or expect, to lose. Just like they wouldn't want, or expect, to lose to any other team on their schedule. That's where the program has gone over the past several year, NDSU just doesn't expect to lose. Doesn't matter if it is UND, UNI, K-State, etc. BUT with a loss to MT already in the books, the team really does not want to drop a game, especially a game that should be a win (regardless of it being against UND). 1-2 would just not be acceptable with where that program is at, and would certainly put more pressure on the team going forward.
For UND, there is obviously a ton of hype being built up about the rivalry, way more in the GF media than the Fargo media, because this is a bigger game for UND. UND has way more to gain in this match up. Even if this wasn't NDSU, it would still be a big match up. If we had Coastal Carolina on the schedule, it would be huge. Any time your program has an opportunity to play the best, your team needs to be pumped about it (If you ever want to be the best, you need to play the best). From an FBS level, we saw that a few weeks ago, when the Gophers got to play TCU, in what was an entertaining game where the Goofs just killed themselves.
Ultimately, there are rivalry implication, there could be some recruiting implications; but overall the teams should, and probably are, prepare for this game like they would any other game. NDSU needs to go out and play their game, just like they did against Weber. UND needs to go out, and understand they are playing top tier competition, execute the game plan and limit mistakes.
Win, Loss, Route or be Routed ... Saturday should be fun.
UND needed to recruit to beat the Bison, not only to be best in ND, but to be best on the National level. Obviously the game was big, but they knew if they couldn't beat the Bison, they weren't going anywhere on the big stage as well. Kind of like SDSU now. They want to beat the Bison not only for the rivalry, but they know they will get them in the first round of playoffs every year, so they have to be able to beat them to be nationally relevant.
Why should the whoiux care about this game after all it's just jv football