After reading media, other teams message boards, and watching the end of the New Hampshire game and the Championship game on ESPN, it really ticks me off that they are acting like this is “an end of an era.” ESPN even acted like the team hasn’t had great support in the past by showing a graphic of the 2002- 2 win Babich attendance numbers of of 10,000 and comparing it the current numbers, while ignoring the fact we only averaged under 12,000 twice since the dome opened and was over 14,000 in 1996. That was as a D2 team 18 years ago!
Craig Bohl will always be one of my favorite coaches of all time since he laid the foundation for success and helped returned us to national prominence, but is it possible he is getting “too much credit?”
Bohl took over a storied program that was feeling the effects of declining scholarship numbers. In the 1960’s, College Divison teams had 50 some scholarships at their disposal. By the time Bob Babich had left, we were at 36. That’s slightly more than NSIC teams get.
Craig Bohl was given everything he needed when he took over and the timing was perfect. Scholarships were nearly doubled to 63. He inherited a group of talent that included stars like Mays, Walker, Frick, White, Hunt, and Dahl. The athletic budget was increased. He was given a larger pool of money to retain assistant coaches. He was given the opportunity to play D1 teams that fans wanted to see, like Minnesota and Montana. He also received new locker rooms, coaching offices, practice fields, and new Fargodome turf and lighting. Heck Gene Taylor was new and played a HUGE role in our success. (anyone remember Entzion?
) Gene Taylor even opened up the tailgating lots which took fan support to a new level!
He received more marketing and TV exposure than we have ever seen. Part of that is related to his success but he can’t be given all the credit. Does anyone remember the days when there were only 1 or 2 games televised and you couldn’t listen on the radio outside of North Dakota? Now fans are upset if a game isn’t available nationally or in HD. Over the last 3 years we have had more TV exposure than we have ever seen, rivaling many FBS teams. ESPN College Gameday in Fargo, 8 games were on ESPN, Fox Sports Net North, Fox College Sports, Big Ten Network, Fox Sports 1, ESPN Gameplan, and ESPN3. Not to mention all games are on statewide TV. Heck even the spring game is on statewide TV! This has given us the exposure that will benefit for years to come.
The media in general outside of the FM area says…
The coaching staff has been gutted.
Reality says…
We are returning a coaching staff that has FIVE COACHES from either the 2011, 2012, or 2013 Championship team. (Klieman, Polasek, Goeser, Riley, Roehl) The new coaches are outstanding as well with a former Northern Iowa Defensive Coordinator Entz and receivers coach Austin. We hired Wyomings former Defensive Coordinator Jamar Cain as a position coach. We hired Hedberg and Klanderman who have a ton of coordinator experience as well and Grant Olson as a student coach. This is a Championship caliber coaching staff and they will get it done. And don’t forget the ultimate weapon… Jim Kramer! But most importantly, Klieman is keeping the West Coast Offense and Tampa 2 defense and terminology. The players know the system and were recruited because they fit the system.
The media in general says…
We lost 24 seniors and we’re destined to collapse.
Reality says…
DEFENSE
Our defense is returning 3 out of the 4 starters in the secondary, the same linebacker corps that finished the last 6 games of the year, and 3 D-lineman who were in the regular rotation. The biggest question mark is the D-line but we have a ton of young talent such as Tanguay, Jacobson, Ambrosious, and Morgan. We have All American talent returning with guys like Littlejohn, Beck, Heagle, Emmanual, and Dudzik. We have an emerging star in CJ Smith. We have a young group of talent such as Pierre Gee Tucker, DeLuca, Liekus, Board, Dempsey, and the aforementioned group of d lineman. And we always seem to find a player or 2 who surprises. Heck we were so deep last year our 2nd team rarely gave up any points at the end of the game and those are the guys who will play more.
OFFENSE
Our offense is returning 3 out of the 5 starters on the Offensive Line (6 guys with experience), 6 experienced receivers, our top TE, a pass catching FB, and a 1,000 yard rusher. The biggest question mark is at QB and LT. Wentz is talented, has the skills, and knows the system. We don’t need him to be the Jensen of 2013. We need him to be like the Jensen of 2011-2012 who managed games and won with his legs. Replacing Turner is impossible so the other 3 starting lineman (Haeg, Johnson, Colville) will have to improve. Nobody knows who will play where but we do know we have plenty of options. We have young talented players like Ziemer, Plankers, Lechler and Kuhert and veterans like Hinz and Schueller. Offensive talent? We are returning players with All American potential like Vraa, Crocket, Vaadeland, and Bonnet. We have emerging young talent such as Carey Woods and Dee Gray. We will see great battles between Perkins/Wrice for the slot receiver spot vacated by Ryan Smith. And don’t forget King Frazier who transferred from Nebraska.
SPECIAL TEAMS
We return our kicker, punter and much of the special teams unit that was nothing short of amazing
Recruiting? Between this year’s recruiting class and last year, we have the talent in place.
We have a proud tradition and National Championships in the 1960’s, 1980’s, 1990’s, and 2010’s. Our teams in the transition era were good enough to make a serious playoff push too. We only have 3 losing seasons since 1964 and since then we have more Championships than any team in any league! (D1A, D1AA, D2, and even the NFL!)
If anyone thinks we are at the end of an era, they are in for a rude awakening. This Bison team will be tremendous next year and in the future. Possibly good enough to make history by 4peating!
And finally… We have the best home field advantage in all of football, the best fan base who brings 19,000 fans to Texas, and the best tradition in all of college football. Bohl can’t take that with him to Wyoming.
Go Bison!
Reason for motivation
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Originally Posted by gabe
