The Game Vitals


Game Time – 12:05 CT

Opponent – Weber State at The Alerus Center – Grand Forks, ND

Game Notes – UND

TV – Midco Sports Network

Online Streaming – Big Sky TV                                                                                         

Spread – North Dakota -3.5   O/U 39

 

Weber State Breakdown (0-9 record)

— Offense = Pistol, Spread, 3 receivers & TE

— Defense = 4-3

— Last Meeting:  First ever meeting between UND and WSU.

Weber State is having a tough go of it in Coach Jay Hill’s first year at the helm of the Wildcats.  They are 0-9, but technically have been in every game they have played this year, minus a 45-14 loss to Arizona State.  Last week vs. Northern Arizona they were up 22-0 in the first quarter, only to let NAU score 22 unanswered in the second quarter and eventually lose 29-22.

Offensively, the Wildcats employ a pistol, spread attack very similar to Portland State or Montana State.  They do a lot of zone-read handoff and will run the jet sweep off of it, also.  The offense is not overly complex but is effective.  On the year the Wildcats are averaging 20 pts/game and around 380 total yards of offense per game, with 133 of that coming via the ground game.

QB #10 Jadrian Clark has taken over the controls for the Wildcats.  Clark is a dual-threat type of QB, liking to keep the read-handoff just as much as giving it.  He is not a polished passer by any means but will take shots deep when they are given.  On the year Clark is 18-42 for 329 yards.  Clark has ran for 149 yards and 2 TD’s.

The big-play threat for Weber State is WR #1 Shaydon Kehano.  The 5’11″senior is having a huge 2014 season with 66 catches for 776 yards and 6 TD’s.  He is the guy that Clark will look to once they feel they have established the running game.

North Dakota (3-6) Keys to the Game

  1. Get after the football.  Weber State is last in the Big Sky Conference in turnover margin at -14.  They have fumbled the ball away 11 times this year.  Get after them and create some turnovers to give your offense some short fields.
  2. Give true freshman QB Keaton Studsrud some time to get comfortable.  The first-game jitters are out of the way.  Now it’s time for the offense to rally around Studsrud.  Get the ground game going vs. the second worst run defense in the league.  It’s not going to be easy because every team left on the schedule is going to dare UND to throw the ball.
  3. Play defense the way they played during week’s 3-7.  Ratchet up the pressure early and get the crowd into it.  By slowing down the run UND can force WSU to pass more than they want to.

Weber State is 0-9 on the season but have lost their Big Sky games by an average margin of 8 pts.  This game will be a dogfight to the very end.  Once again, it’s going to take a total team effort to win this Saturday.  A defensive score or punt return for TD – both of those have happened this year and allowed UND to win or gave them a chance to win.

The Prediction

North Dakota  18

Weber State  16