Let’s just come out and say it right off the bat: we thought UND would play better than they showed yesterday.
In what was a combination of MVSU being better than expected and UND not playing nearly as well as expected, the Alerus Center crowd was a bit stunned by the closeness of the 35-7 Fighting Hawks win.
UND now heads out to Seattle next Saturday to take on the #6 ranked Washington Huskies, who is considered a national contender to make the college football playoff this year.
There is still a bunch of work to be done for this team.
We posted our “rapid reaction” to the game last night via our Youtube page. We plan on doing this every week following the game.
GOOD
- QB Nate Ketteringham was everything we expected and more. Ran an efficient huddle, threw the ball with confidence, took multiple shots downfield-stretching out the defense, showed mobility in the pocket, and just looked good and comfortable out there in the pocket. Ketteringham finished 19-30 for 225 yards and 3 TD’s. He could have easily been 25-30 without the drops. He also ran for one TD. Heck of a debut.
- The offensive line played decent. The pass protection was solid most of the night. UND rushed for 293 yards, which was facilitated by huge holes for UND’s backs to run through.
- Rudolph adding to the playbook. UND came out in the diamond formation with all three running backs (Santiago, Oliveira & Johannesson) on the field. He also ran two screens to Santiago to get him the ball in space. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Loved both concepts that we have been asking to see for a while and we think it could be huge for UND’s offense this year. Well done, Rudy.
- The UND defense held the Delta Devils to -27 yards rushing (including sack yardage). We knew that MVSU struggled to run the ball coming in but the Hawks did what they needed to do to keep it that way.
- Half-time adjustments by DC Eric Schmidt. UND was bringing way too much pressure in the first half and in turn, MVSU was getting the ball out quick in their passing game. This led to very little help for the corners, who were manned up. Schmidt decided to go with 4-5 man rush in the second half and use help over the top and underneath, delaying the time that QB Chris Fowler had to throw the ball. The 4-5 man rush was able to create the pressure themselves so the adjustment worked.
- MVSU only mustered 44 yards of second half offense.
- John Santiago’s quickness. The All-American looked as good as ever last night. His jump cuts are something to watch and now UND just needs to find a way to get him loose for the big one. He finished the night with 91 yards rushing and 13 yards receiving.
- The use of WR Izzy Adeoti. OC Paul Rudolph used Izzy all over the field on Thursday night, not just running jet sweeps with him. Even though he dropped a long pass that would have been a touchdown, Adeoti ran a full compliment of routes and finished the game with 3 catches for 40 yards.
- True freshman Garett Maag’s first career TD catch on a quick slant. The 6’5″ receiver is only going to get better as he learns the playbook and the nuances of route-running.
- The emergence of the pass-rushing duo of Zeke Ott and Mason Bennett. The bookends wreaked havoc all game off the edge in passing downs combining for three sacks. Bennett also added three TFL’s to go with his two sacks. This is what we hoped for out of those two.
- UND appeared to split time between sophomore starter Bennett Helgren and true freshman Matt Waletzko at right tackle. That tells us Waletzko is a full-time participant this season.
- Several freshman, like C.J. Siegel and Kadon Kauppinen were held out to preserve their four games for the conference season. The secondary guys are the one’s that will be needed most when the Big Sky schedule begins.
BAD
- The UND secondary in the first half. They were rusty and it showed. Starting corners Deion Harris and Evan Holm both essentially missed the entire season in 2017 so this was their first full action in 20 months. Harris needs to be careful not to become a one trick pony. Opposing teams notice this. We all know he can play press coverage well because of his length. He needs to become a more well-rounded corner though and be better in zone concepts and off-man technique. Both guys were thrown at a lot in the first half and only came up with 1 pass breakup for the entire game. It may take a little time for UND’s secondary to gel with all those new faces playing together. It’s still early.
- NG Tank Harris got high-low blocked and hurt his leg early in the game. He came back in for a bit but did not want to risk it further. The word is he will be OK.
- OLB Jade Lawrence got hurt on the opening kickoff and never ended up playing. Let’s hope his lower leg injury is OK for the start of the Big Sky schedule. UND was already down Austin Gordon so they played with three OLB’s.
- Safety Lenny Nelson tried to play but his shoulder was still bothering him so he shut it down after only a couple plays. Not a good sign.
- WR drops. The UND receivers dropped three easy passes that would have been big gainers. This was a theme last season as well and it needs to stop now.
- The inability to create quick scores by UND offense. After the initial Travis Toivonen 40 yard TD catch, it seemed UND was methodically driving the ball all night, never able to break the big one. It’s not sustainable to ask the offensive coordinator to call 80 plays every game in hopes of scoring. The perimeter/second level blocking needs to improve.
- UND Special Teams. Ugh. Two missed field goals, which isn’t a huge concern because Brady Leach is a freshman in his first game but notable, nonetheless. Allowed a long 79 yard kickoff return that setup MVSU deep in UND territory. Average kickoff returns. UND is the type of team that needs to win the special teams battle to win a big game. Imperative.
We will try get a podcast recorded to discuss and review the game in further detail. Pins and needles, we know.
