Originally Posted by
thebigund
This time it's probably for real..... probably. The mighty mighty Fighting Hawks are soaring up the rankings after not loosing a game in last years playoffs and have pitched firmly at #15 in the nation. I like this spot because it's not too high and not too low. There's plenty of room to build up steam as the season goes on but not so much that if we win 7 that we will be at home watching. NDSU is #1 for whatever reason. Each team lost one of the greatest players to ever step foot on this earth. I must tip my cap to NDSU for last year's game. It was the perfect learning experience for a young UND squad. They are now prepared for anything and have been shown what the standard actually is for FCS football. I guess it worked because, I'm not sure if you heard, our team actually has a little of teh crazy speed. We had a white guy run a 4.37 and a Mexican run a 4.39 in testing. We also had a 220 lb safety run a 4.41.... new Ratelle? Perhaps.
Anyway
Logos: Teh emo bison. The previous logo was better. No lightning bolt. This bison doesn't know which bathroom to use at Target. It may be associated with championships but it's still a looser.
Teh Fhawk. So clean, so simple, so refined, so perfect. My favorite part of it is that it pisses of the Sioux Forever fucktards. They only live for one thing and now it's gone. It's not a perfect logo by any means, not even close, but it's better than yours and thats all that ever matters, ever.
Advantage: Fhawks
Coaching: Burgundy told me in an intimate conversation over ice cold Zimas that Kleiman took the year off and handed the keys to Carson Wentz. Bubba was two injuries away from a 9-2 season.
Advantage: Bubba - and it aint even close
QB: Hockey Stick is an unprov.... so he went 8-0 as a starter last year, big fuckin deal. Congrats to Cole Davis on being the new best QB at NDSU.
Studsrud improved by leaps and bounds as the season went on last year. After he came back from injury he was surgical. He went 7-1 in games that he started and finished. He got some serious wheels and a lightning quick release. Pretty similar player to Hockey Stick. A little slimmer and a little quicker release. Our backups are absolute horse shit. This is the one major failure on the roster for Bubba so far as a coach. It's eerily similar to when Bohl built up NDSU's roster and neglected the QB spot. Hopefully Bubba starts to bring in one really good qb a year like NDSU has been doing.
Advantage: NDSU - I can't even try to spin this one just because of the depth issue.
RB: Bruce Anderson is NDSU's best RB. He seems to have the total package. I expect him to be the man next year. Frazier just doesn't really do anything special. He's a tough runner but lacks shake and break away speed, still a solid player though. Morlock is one of my favorite players on NDSU. He can do a bit of everything and is a hell of a lot faster than people think. Dunn was supposed to be the home run hitter last year but things didn't exactly work out with for him with so many good backs splitting carries. I think this coming season with be Bruce Anderson's breakout and the one after will be Dunn's.
UND now has a really deep backfield. It went from basically nothing to completely loaded. John Santiago blew up as a true freshman averaging 6.5 yards a carry and scoring 16 times. He didn't get the ball enough against NDSU so I know you guys probably have a screwed view of him as a player. Interestingly enough it's not his speed or vision that is his best asset, it's his stiff arm. He absolutely obliterates would be tacklers with it. Trust me, he's as good as any back in the country. Word on the street is he got even faster, ran a 4.39 40 this spring, and put on some muscle. Brady Olivera is a 220 lb keg of Molson. He's a little faster than molasses but runs like someone duct taped a case of Molson to the goal posts. He is a load. It's a true thunder and lightning combination and you can tell that it throws off defenders. UND also has a Swedish dark horse at RB in Oscar Nevermann. He's the same size as Bruce Anderson and has some serious burst. He's also strong as shit and set a couple RB weight room records this winter. Throw in Austin Gordon who has really impressed from day one and UND rolls a legit 4 deep at the RB position.
Advantage: UND - NDSU has better depth but Santiago is just too damn good. He's just a special player.
TE: Luke Mathewson is a monster blocker on the edge for UND. He also has a good set of hands, but let's just say separation isn't exactly part of his skill set. He's a solid player but he's no Illes. Luke Fiedler is a great pass catcher with nice length but is probably a year away as far as being strong enough to be a complete tight end. The greatest recruit in the history of FCS, Joe Mellberg, has been swung out to the TE position. Can you say TE pass option? The wild card in this group is incoming fr Alex Cloyd. He's a wrestling star in NE and has great size and hands already. He might walk into the locker room and instantly be our best TE.
Ben Golden Boy Ellefson has had NDSU with tight pants ever since he committed. He's that good, i guess. Nate Jenson is tall. Connor Wentz could use refinement on his chop block technique, I hear he has soft hands though. Jeff Illies has teh crazies speeds but do think the coaches are going to ask him to seal the edge?
Advantage: NDSU - It's a toss up for me here. Some proven blockers on each side and a couple youngsters with great upside. I'll do you guys a solid since I feel bad about the SBoHE picking on your president.
OL: NDSU looses an all time great at LT. Tough loss, it's really too bad. Look, I know that the OL is often referred to as the big uglies but I think NDSU may have taken this a bit far. Seriously these guys are big and UGLY. Leading the way in the big and ugly category is Jack The Mountain Plankers. He's a big ol boy. He doesn't have the feet of a tackle though so if you guys need him to slide out there you will have issues. He'll make a nice guard though. Landon Lechler probably has some big ass feet, but are they big enough to fill the shoes of Joe Heag? Probably not but he's a solid OL. Zack Johnson is seemingly on his 10th year of eligibility. He's a classic NDSU ram, he's got a big old boiler on him and he really leans on guys in the run game. Kuhnert is a lock at center. He's good at football. So the question is who is going to be the other tackle? Bacon? Johnson? Conner? Either way, I think teh Rams will be the same old Rams. Big, ugly, and effective.
UND replaces three seniors on the interior one of which was an All American. AJ Stockwell is a name you're all familiar with and he is a big athletic mean son of a bitch. Fully 6'6" and strong as an ox. He's a real ass kicker. Same temperament as Austin Richards. Word on the street is that Elijah Grady Train is coming back to UND. He had left school to be with his baby mama and kid. If he comes back it will be huge because he is an absolute monster with big time NFL potential. Demon Taylor is built like a dump truck and can really move people in the run game. Look for him to secure one of the guard spots. The other guard spot will come down to athletic but unproven Dan Bell and oft injured Brandon Miller. Both are more than capable and, if healthy, my money is on Miller who plays with a big mean streak. At center there is a battle between Grant Aplin who is short but has everything else you want in an OL and Matt Cox who can play anywhere along the line. Wether he's the starter at center or not Cox is a crucial member of the OL because he's the human swiss army knife.
Advantage: Rams - even though, with Grady, UND could have two All American level OT filling three spots makes me unable to make this homer pick.....
WR: UND struggled in the passing game until the final few games of the year. The numbers weren't great but there are a couple decent players. Clive Georges has decent height and blazing speed. He broke his hand in the first game of the year which threw his year off a bit. Down the stretch he was unstoppable and ended the season with a 25 ypc average. If he stays healthy he can really take the top off the defense and can turn a slant into a huge gain at any moment. Luke Stanley is a nice 6'4" possession guy who runs good routes and has great hands. Josh Seibel was our slot guy but he tore his knee up in spring ball and might miss most if not all of the season. Alex Reed is supposed to fill the need in the slot, never seen him play so I've got nothing. RFR Tim Dulin could be an x factor for this group. He's a lanky 6'4" and has some serious skills. UND is also bringing in two very tall and skilled WRs in Tavis Toivoinen and Noah Wanzek. One or both of them could be a factor next year.
RJ Urzinblowski is still the same old stud he was as a fr. Darius Sheppherd was impressive as hell last season. He is just a baller. Marquise Bridges was supposedly a stud when you guys got him as a recruit so maybe he'll be a play maker next season. What NDSU lacks is height. TFR Engle might provide that. His film was pretty impressive.
Advantage: UND - this was a hard decision to come to, I went with Georges/Stanley over Urblanzowski/Sheppherd because of more height and diversity of skill set.
Playoff Matchup 2016
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