That was fun. To say the Hawks fan base was ready for this game would be a massive understatement.
The fans were loud and into it like never before in the D1 era so kudos to them for making such a crazy atmosphere!
Ultimately, the game came down to just a few key plays and most of them went again the Hawks, culminating in a 16-10 NDSU victory.
The loss drops UND to 2-2 on the season. They now head down to the Dakota Dome to take on the 3-2 South Dakota Coyotes in what is a long-running rivalry back to the D2 days.
The Hawks defense was outstanding the majority of the game. I haven’t seen a defense with that intensity and sheer effort in a long time. Every play they were battling against much bigger offensive lineman & tight ends.
NDSU only gained 280 total yards in the game, which was 208 yards below their season average. 223 of that came rushing, which was 125 below their average.
The Hawks outgained NDSU 289-280.
DC Brett Holinka put together a winning gameplan that controlled the Bison running attack all while defending the deep with pressure at key times. To say they took what happened in the spring and made major adjustments would be very accurate.
NDSU actually dialed up 4-5 deep shots but were only able to get one of them off. Devon Krzanowski, who had a huge game with 10 tackles, 3 TFL’s and 1 sack, got to QB Quincy Patterson on one of them for a sack, and UND got pressure on a couple others that didn’t allow Patterson time to find his deep route.
NDSU scored their only touchdown of the game with 1:13 left in the 4th quarter. Once again, can’t say enough about the effort the defense put out there.
UND had 11 tackles-for-loss in the game. They were loading up the box and bring pressure from all angles, changing things up depending on formation. UND knew that NDSU can’t pass and did the correct thing by not respecting it. Also, the Bison like to employ multiple tight ends and that brings more hats into the box.
The secondary did a nice job tackling the running backs and Patterson. It was imperative that they were able to come up and make plays because the plan was to spill the pin & pull action with the outside backer or cornerback, forcing the safety to make the play. Several times we saw Hayden Galvin, Kadon Kauppinen, Jayson Coley, and Jordan Canady in on the action.
If you noticed, a key adjustment UND made was keeping their safety on the back side alley to take away the QB truck running play. The Bison like to motion across the formation leaving a closed side, only to run Patterson back that way around the end. Holinka countered by not shifting his coverage with the motion man and keeping the safety back there, along with the corner. It created a +1 for the Hawks and they had several TFL’s on that type of play.
I talked to a few current and former coaches from around the area after the game and they all said the same thing: “there’s your template on how to stop the Bison, MVFC teams”.
Also, I know the media have been asking why NDSU didn’t run Luepke earlier like they did on that last drive. It was because UND stopped everything, all game until that last drive when they “misfit” the two long runs. That is the only reason those popped is because UND uncharacteristically missed their run-fit on those and they popped. It had little to do with Luepke or their offensive line or the play call.
The Hawks offense wasn’t as dominant on Saturday, which was to be expected. The Bison defense is a Top 5 unit in the country year in and year out. Running was going to be tough and windows were going to be small.
UND did rush for 113 yards, which was 70 more than NDSU had been giving up.
Otis Weah looked the Otis of last spring, using his massive legs to fight, twist, and carry guys for extra yards. Weah finished the day with 85 yards on 19 carries vs a stout Bison front.
Tommy Schuster played a decent game at QB. He went 18-30 for 176 yards and 1 TD to Bo Belquist on a beautiful rope-a-dope play where the Hawks all stood up and looked at the sideline for a play, which they NEVER do. Schuster then clapped to get the snap and Belquist took off down the sideline for the 30 yard touchdown reception.
The reason it worked is NDSU typically looks over at their own sideline for an adjustment when the opponent looks over. So the corner lost track of Belquist for a second and that was all it took.
That wasn’t some unique trick play that only UND runs – Alabama did it several years ago in a big game, IIRC.
The play Tommy would love to have back is the interception deep in the Bison end when UND was down 9-7. A field goal was in play there and on 3rd down he scrambled right and lofted the ball well over Belquist’s head and it ended up in the arms of safety Dawson Weber. An example of trying to make a play, yes, but not at the right time. A field goal changes the entire game there. This was a high-stakes, high-pressure game and Tommy took a chance, what do you do. Move on and learn from it.
The play that everyone will talk about for quite a long time is the fake punt decision when UND was backup on their own 20. They lined up Quincy Vaughn as a personal protector so they could run him up quickly, snap it, plow ahead, and get the first down. NDSU saw him back there and adjusted quickly to a goal line look. This should’ve been all UND needed to bail out of the play but they tried anyway and didn’t get it.
I tweeted immediately after that is was a Risk/Reward play. Is the risk worth the reward? IMO, no. The reason being you are handing them 3 points if don’t get it. The score was 7-6 UND at the time and the Bison were struggling greatly on offense. But, so was UND.
Let’s say the Hawks get the first down. Now it’s 1st and 10 at the 21 yard line. They are still more than likely going to fizzle out and punt so they really gained nothing out of the deal and took a HUGE gamble in the process.
I all for taking chances but in that situation it was a bigtime gamble. The result was the UND defense bowing up again and forcing a Bison field goal but losing the lead in the process.
When re-watching that fake punt QB sneak, the left side of the NDSU front was short a man vs. the middle/right. If Vaughn slides left quickly and plows ahead he has it. Not sure if that is an option but it was there.
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Moving on folks. The Hawks got a big one ahead vs. the Coyotes. It’s always been tough down in Vermillion and this year will be the same. This is almost a must-win game being the Hawks have SIU, MSU, & SDSU left on the schedule, all top teams.