Idaho State visited the Alerus Center on Saturday and left with a 37-31 upset victory over a UND team that was playing solid football.  Yes, UND was missing some important players, but Idaho State played pretty well and flexed their strength (passing game) to expose UND’s weakness (pass defense).

Thunder Lake Lodge
  • The three first half turnovers are what lost the game for UND.  Does that sound dumb, maybe.  But, UND could have buried ISU early after getting multiple stops on defense.  Instead, UND fumbled (Santiago), muffed a punt (Seibel), and threw a poor interception (Studsrud).  All that and they were still up 6 at half.  The problem is a beaten down team like ISU, who has quit multiple times in games this year, still had a ton of hope/spirit heading into the locker room.
  • The lower ankle injury (and subsequent exit) to Keaton Studsrud had a major effect on the outcome of the game.  Studsrud bailed-out the offense on many occasions by scrambling for big yards.  At this point in the progression of the UND offense, that is needed.  We are cautiously optimistic Studsrud can make it back this weekend but if he does it will be with little to no practice reps.  The way he was walking during and after the game gives us some hope as it was just a slight limp.  That being said, ankles are a bad deal.  Nothing surprises us when it comes to ankle injuries.
  • The run game was good but not great.  John Santiago led the charge again with 24 rushes for 156 yards.  But they never seemed to completely take over the game.  There would be multiple small gainers mixed in there that put them in tough 3rd spots.
  • QB Michael Sanders was very good on Saturday.  He stood back there with great poise and found the open receivers all day.  Sanders was 32-49 for 427 yards and 4 TD’s on Saturday.
  • UND tried everything defensively to get pressure but could not.  The ISU offensive line played a nice game and deserve credit.
  • The initial game plan was to play back more often because Sanders gets it out so quick.  Well, that wasn’t working so UND tried to pressure also but couldn’t get home.  Not much you can do if you don’t cover or get pressure on the QB.
  • The UND OLB’s had a tough time walling off the underneath crosser for ISU.  Many times the Bengals ran #15 K.W. Williams underneath on a shallow crosser but he cut across the UND OLB too quickly, which meant the backside had nobody there to help tackle him after the catch.  Williams ended the day with 12 catches for 204 yards and 2 TD’s.  He was tough all day, as was their other stud WR Madison Mangun (10 catches-142 yards and 1 TD).
  • UND sorely missed Zach Arnell and Cole Reyes – they missed them REAL BAD.  Many times UND was trying to bracket the ISU WR’s with a 3 on 2 look but somehow a UND safety (Johnson or James) would not be over the top of the inside receiver.  Not sure how that happens when it is your only responsibility, but it did….more than once.  The TD to K.W. Williams up the seam with Brian Labat trailing was an example.
  • The UND secondary is just not good enough to face that kind of an attack, with the talent of that receiving corps.  They are starting a true sophomore (Deion Harris), true freshman (Tyus Carter), and transfer sophomore who has never played (Jahmere Irvin-Sills).  The safeties were walk-on William James and transfer Jawon Johnson.
  • Remember this week when ISU coach Mike Kramer preached about how important safety play is in the Big Sky?  He wasn’t lying.
  • Finally, the last play of the game.  Could not care less about the possible PI call.  What we do care about is why QB Ryan Bartels threw a bomb to a 5’9″ running back who appeared to be simply clearing out the flat for WR Luke Stanley to run a 7 yard out-route and get the first down.  Get the first down, get reset, and move down the field.  You can throw the bomb at the end of the game when there is no other choice.  Not on 4th and 6 with 53 seconds left on the ISU 39 yard line.  Poor decision.
  • This was a game that UND needed to have.  Going out to Weber State this week will be no small task as they just went into Missoula and beat Montana.  After that, the schedule only gets tougher.  We will see what this team is made of mentally.  Leaders need to step up and rally everyone for the final stretch of the season.  No time to feel sorry for themselves.  The positive thing is UND has actually played better on the road this year.