…that was ugly.
In a game that started out with a bang for UND (Luke Stanley’s long TD reception), UND ended up having to hang on to beat Drake 21-18 in a game there they led 21-0.
The game did not go as most UND fans had hoped and frankly, we are a bit miffed ourselves about how several parts of the UND offense and defense performed on Saturday.
This football game is a perfect example of how stats can be deceiving – both ways.
OFFENSE
- Keaton Studsrud – While the stat line shows a decent performance, Studsrud was erratic at times. Give him credit as he did not throw any interceptions, once again, but accuracy was an issue at times. He forced balls on numerous occasions that should not have been thrown and could have been picked off. He also needs to stop staring down his receivers and work through progressions better. That said, we have to remember he’s only a true sophomore who hasn’t started a full season’s worth of games yet.
- RB – True freshman John Santiago fumbled 3 times in the first quarter, one of which was at the goalline and was recovered in the end zone for a touchback, thwarting a successful TD drive. One at least one of the fumbles, Santiago was carrying the ball in the wrong arm, which allowed the Drake defender an angle for getting the ball out that wouldn’t have been there had the ball been the correct arm. We have seen this a few times for a couple different backs so far this season and it will need to be corrected.
- OL – To be fair, the UND offensive line overall was the biggest disappointment of the day as a position group. They consistently gave very little push up front in the running game and the pass protection overall was bad. Missed assignments and botched QB/center exchanges were far too many, there should be zero. When they were blocking the right guys, they were getting beat way too often. The entire offensive line had a bad day and we would guess a couple guys are potentially on notice for their starting jobs.
- UND had 25 yards rushing. All game.
- First half time of possession: UND 20, Drake 10. Second half: Drake 18, UND 12.
- WR Luke Stanley was a bright spot. The redshirt freshman started off the game on a high note when Keaton Studsrud hit him on a deep crossing route early in the first quarter and Stanley did the rest, outrunning the Drake secondary up the sideline for a 59 yard touchdown and an early 7-0 lead. Stanley finished with 3 catches for 81 yards and showed his skill set on a variety of different routes and receptions.
- At tight end too many mistakes were made overall, particularly in the run game blocking. We flat out noticed this position for the wrong reasons too many times on Saturday.
- Overall, the UND offense put the ball on the turf 7 times…..SEVEN. This is unacceptable. 1 fumble, OK. 7 fumbles, embarrassing.
DEFENSE
- We mentioned dropped interceptions after last week’s game and how UND cannot afford to do that moving forward. Well, it happened a few more times again against Drake and is becoming a trend. Deion Harris dropped an easy “pick 6” and has shown an inability to finish on those types of plays so far in his young career. If he and the rest of the defense want to be considered elite, those are the plays that need to be made. Finish the plays, create turnovers and break opposing offense’s backs by scoring on defense. Until that happens, this defense will only be “good”. Elite defenses create turnovers and score on defense when the opportunity presents itself.
- On a positive note, the UND rushing defense continues to show promise, specifically in the front 7. Redshirt freshman Austin Cieslak continues to be noticed and impress. JUCO transfer Noah Johnson has really done some good things thus far as well. Both appear to be top contributors to the defensive line rotation for the rest of the season.
- In coverage, the secondary still has as little work to do overall as it gave up 237 yards passing to a good senior QB in Andy Rice.
- Drake was 3-17 on third down. Excellent job by the UND defense.
- The UND cornerbacks had an average game overall. They were beat badly a couple time while guessing on routes but Rice couldn’t get the ball to his receiver due to pressure.
- Defensive stat line: 38 yards rushing allowed, 6 sacks, 5 QB hurries 12 tackles for loss, 5 pass breakups. Very good.
- We saw more of true freshman Tyus Carter at corner. He and Jahmere Irvin-Sills were in at crunch time during the 4th quarter. Both have played decent so far. Both need to continue to improve as their reps and work load will need to increase over the course of the season.
- Safety Cole Reyes is turning into an alpha-safety out there. He was hitting everything that moved on Saturday. His hit on QB Andy Rice late in the 4th quarter that drew a roughing-the-passer penalty (which it wasn’t) was one of the biggest hits we have ever seen live. Rice was down on the turf for about 5-10 secs after the hit but somehow bounced back up and kept going.
We are on to NDSU.
