UND certainly doesn’t make it easy on us fans, do they? In what was another crazy, could-go-either-way type of game, the Fighting Hawks found a way to come out on top, again, beating Montana State on their homecoming 17-15.
UND now sits at 2-2 on the season and 1-0 in Big Sky play.
Here are the highlights:
- The resiliency and fight of this squad is so promising. Slow starts and playing from behind are not ideal, but this squad doesn’t seem to even notice it. It’s also great to know as a fan that they are never out of any game. This coaching staff has done a great job with the psyche of this team.
- Penalties. UND has to stop killing itself. 11 penalties for 102 yards on Saturday. AJ Stockwell’s personal foul penalty in the redzone was a momentum killer as UND came away with no points after a missed FG. Unacceptable given the spot on the field, even though it shouldn’t have been called.
- This Big Sky officiating crew was horrendous again. It seems like we say this a couple times each year and it’s getting old. Bad calls, non-calls, all of it. This crew was exceptional……at being bad.
- The chop block penalty on Dan Bell was a poor call. Bell pulls around to the right side and is heading up field and cuts the linebacker who is approaching from Bell’s left. It was actually a head-up cut, at least in the 10/2 range. Of course, the back judge has to act like he saw it and does his best Dwight Evans impression by crow hopping and throwing his flag from 30 yards away. The two guys that actually watch that area of the field didn’t throw their flag.
- Montana State had zero holding calls made on them. Zero. The most aggressive, confusing defense they faced all year and they never held once. Does this count:
- Punter Austin Dussold continues to be a weapon in the kicking game. He had three punts inside the 20 (two inside the 10), and had another couple of punts land inside the five yard line only to roll into the endzone. His placement has been great. Just need to get some luckier bounces. Dussold is the surprise player of the year so far in our eyes.
- The offensive still has a ways to go. Need better push overall up front. We know some holes were/are being missed but still needs to be better. Santiago finished with 59 yards and still has yet to hit a homerun this season. However, in games like these it is huge to have a guy like Brady Oliveira to switch up the pace. Those two compliment each other so well.
- Oliveira was impressive in the 2nd half and finished with 171 yards and 2 TDs. Multiple occasions where he carried defenders and ground out a few extra yards at critical times.
- UND did rush for 227 yards so things are not all bad. Just want some mistakes up front to stop happening now that we are four weeks in to the season.
- QB Keaton Studsrud was hit and miss again all day. Made some nice throws in tight windows down the middle but also missed wide open receivers a couple times. Keaton seems to be stagnant right now. We know he can play better as we saw it last season. Got a feeling his breakout game is coming up here.
- +4 Turnover Margin: Montana State-5 UND-1. I counted two drops, one for Deion Harris early in the end zone and one for Arnell on the sideline at the end of the game. UND is now +7 on the season in turnover margin.
- The UND secondary is starting to earn a reputation for ball-hawking. While MSU is not the gold-standard in the passing game, UND did a great job turning them over again when necessary. First year secondary coach Travis Stepps needs to get some credit here.
- Tank Harris’s play continues to improve. We noticed him several times up front on Saturday. He is extremely active and aggressive for his size.
- UND has to be better on offense on 3rd down. They finished 4-16 on Saturday and are at an alarmingly low 17-65 (26%) on the season. This absolutely needs to improve moving forward.
- John Santiago needs more touches. When Oliveira is in the game to get his share of carries, Santiago needs to be a threat/decoy out of the slot. Santiago might need to run 2-3 deep routes a game as we head forward. UND is not even trying to throw long and it will catch up with them.
- Safety Zach Arnell had a breakout game. Six tackles, one INT, two PBU’s. He intercepted another one but it was called back on a penalty. He played his position well and didn’t make any mental mistakes at all. Great game at a great time for Arnell.
- CB Torrey Hunt played reasonably well considering the Bobcats made up their mind they were going to throw at him and avoid Deion Harris all game. Hunt notched his first career INT and had two great PBU’s in the end zone to force a FG. He did get spun around and beat on the post route and also whiffed on a five yard hitch tackle, which led to a 55 yard gain. Lets remember, he is 18 years old making his first career start. Those things might happen. We are liking what we have seen so far out of Hunt.
- OLB Brian Labat is just Mr. Steady out there. Another flat-drop pick for Labat, who has made a number of those over the years. He is playing great ball.
- ILB Donnell Rodgers had a breakout game. Very active is an understatement. He might not go the right way every time but he gets there in a hurry. Look at this stat line: 6 tackles, 2 TFL’s, 1 FF, 1 FR, 1 sack.
- The UND defense only had three TFL’s on Saturday. Surprising.
- But, they had seven PBU’s and three INT’s.
- Didn’t see much out of Alex Cloyd or Evan Holm in the game. Holm returned a couple kicks was all.
- RT Mat Cox injured his knee and had to leave the game. This is tough news for UND. Center Michael Coe slid out to RT, showing his diversity, and freshman Patric Rooney came in at center. Will have to wait on a injury update on Cox.
That was a HUGE win for UND. Can’t understate how bad they needed that game. Now they move on to face the red-hot Cal-Poly Mustangs at home next weekend.
Poly has beaten both South Dakota State and Montana already this season. They are playing with extreme confidence. UND shutdown their vaunted triple option last year but this version is much better. Will be a great chess match all game between the Poly offense and the UND defense. Game time is 1pm at the Alerus Center.
Wondering your thoughts on the penalties. We certainly caused some of it ourselves.
Other times our receivers and pass rushers got wrestled to the ground and no holding or PI call. MSU seemed to get the benefit of the doubt numerous times. Do you think the Big Sky is like the NBA where the established player, or team in this case, gets the break?
I don’t think there is any favoritism at all. I just think there are average refereeing crews in this league. Some weeks are better than others but some weeks it’s like they can’t catch up. Always scrambling to make a call, not make a call. How the didn’t call PI on those passes is beyond me. The MSU DB’s clutch and grab at the end of the route. Got to the point where they were grabbing arms before the ball got there so the WR only had one available. But, sadly that is too much for those refs to see.
1. How has Taj Rich been playing? I haven’t heard much about him.
2. Are the 3 injured D lineman back?
Rich has been playing OK. He gets good reps every game and has done a nice job.
Cieslak was back last week but Greer and Engwall were not.
One thing about this team that impresses me is their ability to play “well” on the road. To beat MSU on the road is impressive and to almost beat Bowling Green on the road was even more impressive. Obviously they’ve had some slow starts and difficulty on offense, but this team really competes away from home, which is a good sign for them.
They start slow but they usually finish strong. 3 of first 4 games were on the road and they are 2-2. Still have a shot.
I don’t know about you guys but I thought the OL looked MUCH better with Coe at RT. He locked up his side and it led to some nice runs. The left side of the line seemed to click near the end of the game. That is huge because Bell had been pretty soft until that point. Taylor is my big question mark. He’s too talented to play that soft. Aplin is a better option in my opinion but apparently the coaches don’t trust him. What do you think the chances are that Coe goes out to RT for the rest of the year and has an impact like Grady did last year. That was the turning point of last season and could be for this one as well.
The chances are very good he moves out to RT depending on Cox’s injury status. I expect Coe to be out at RT vs. Poly. The key is getting Rooney up to speed and having him play at a high-level.
I don’t know where UND would be without Coe. He has been HUGE this year.