Week 3 in the MVFC (and other games of interest)

[wiu712]

Youngstown State beat Central Connecticut State 59-9. Attendance at Youngstown State = 15,377.

South Dakota beat North Dakota 45-7. Attendance at South Dakota = 9,645.

Illinois State beat Eastern Illinois 44-13. Attendance at Eastern Illinois = 7,031.

Missouri State beat Murray State 28-21. Attendance at Missouri State = 13,648.

[rocki]

So, how did North Dakota get to be ranked #10? What I saw today looked like a really weak defense, and not much qb protection on offense. Are they usually better?

I'm hoping it was just a complete breakdown on all fronts. I'd much rather it be that than USD being that good.
They did do fairly well for most of their game against Utah, and they completely shut down the Missouri State offense that had just put 40+ up on Mizzou, so I did expect something a little bit closer...not the utter blowout that it became.

Honestly, from the way they looked today it looked like a D1 school playing a D2 or D3 school. I know our defense (and o-line) are light years ahead of what UND appeared to be. Again, I'm just going on what little I saw today, but they looked more like a Drake or Quincy University out there.

[wiu712]

Liberty beat Indiana State 42-41. Attendance at Liberty = 16,060.

South Dakota State beat Drake 51-10. Attendance at South Dakota State = 15,806.

Southern Illinois beat Southeast Missouri State 35-17. Attendance at Southeast Missouri State = 7,025.

UAB beat Coastal Carolina 30-23. Attendance at UAB = 24,789.

[sealhall74]

Former WIU coach Bob Diaco is now the D-Coordinator at Nebraska after getting canned as UConn Head Coach after last year. He might have jumped out of the frying pan and right into the fire.

[vatusay]

These attendance numbers are pretty impressive. If they aren't inflated, of course.

[wiu712]

Southern Utah beat Northern Iowa 24-21. Attendance at Southern Utah = 8,841.

[LocalYokelFan]

So, how did North Dakota get to be ranked #10? What I saw today looked like a really weak defense, and not much qb protection on offense. Are they usually better?

I'm hoping it was just a complete breakdown on all fronts. I'd much rather it be that than USD being that good.
They did do fairly well for most of their game against Utah, and they completely shut down the Missouri State offense that had just put 40+ up on Mizzou, so I did expect something a little bit closer...not the utter blowout that it became.

I'm not sure why people are surprised USD is good, and they are good. Their first game was a cupcake, but proceeded to beat FBS Bowling Green on the road and a top 10 UND at home. I know we like to play the "we're better off without you" card, that's human nature, but that coaching staff does nothing but win and frankly, with more resources and better facilities, why wouldn't anyone expect them to continue winning at USD? We're playing great too and I hope we can hand them their first loss on Homecoming, but get used to seeing USD in the discussion for conference championships and deep FCS playoff runs.

[leatherneckcountry]

So, how did North Dakota get to be ranked #10? What I saw today looked like a really weak defense, and not much qb protection on offense. Are they usually better?

I'm hoping it was just a complete breakdown on all fronts. I'd much rather it be that than USD being that good.
They did do fairly well for most of their game against Utah, and they completely shut down the Missouri State offense that had just put 40+ up on Mizzou, so I did expect something a little bit closer...not the utter blowout that it became.

I'm not sure why people are surprised USD is good, and they are good. Their first game was a cupcake, but proceeded to beat FBS Bowling Green on the road and a top 10 UND at home. I know we like to play the "we're better off without you" card, that's human nature, but that coaching staff does nothing but win and frankly, with more resources and better facilities, why wouldn't anyone expect them to continue winning at USD? We're playing great too and I hope we can hand them their first loss on Homecoming, but get used to seeing USD in the discussion for conference championships and deep FCS playoff runs.

I said when he left for USD he would win there but there is more to being a coach than winning and the fact of the matter is that when he was here i never saw him in the community how many Alumni did he reach out to I saw coach Fisher more his 1st week that he was here than I saw Nielsen in his 3 yrs he was here so I don't care if USD wins 5 national championships in a row I will still believe we got the better end of the deal but I'm not crowning them anything until they prove they can win in the MVFC.

[LocalYokelFan]

I'm just a different kind of football fan I guess. I'll take 5 Nattys over saying I got to meet and bond with the head football coach every day of the week and twice on Sunday. I happened to have the opportunity to meet Coach Nielson a few times and thought he was a good, albeit reserved and quiet guy. If a type of personality + coach ability is required to keep this fanbase happy, we're in trouble. Maybe we got both with Coach Fisher, that would be great.

I'd be interested to hear from others on this. Do fans really care more a "community active" and "alumni friendly" head coach, or one that just wins? Sure it's nice to have both - like say Dabo Swinney. But I wouldn't complain with Nick Saban either - and they are VERY different personalities.

[sealhall74]

A coach who wins consistently by running a clean program will have more than enough support from the community, regardless of how "in-touch" he is with the community.