College football is finally here. Yay! This is a good thing. After a long hot summer, we finally get back to normalcy. The Kiddos are headed back to school. Yay! College kids are back in the dorms and across the nation. College football teams are preparing for their first game of the season. Some have already played their first game of the season.

Last night, the University of Minnesota Gophers held on to beat Missouri Valley powerhouse South Dakota State 28-21. A late turnover at a crucial time killed the Jackrabbits hopes of upsetting the Gophers.

The Jackrabbits were looking golden when lighting struck, again. Midway through the fourth quarter, the Jackrabbits held on to a slim 21-20 lead. Then at the 8:17 mark, redshirt freshman quarterback J’Bore Gibbs fumbled the exchange with sophomore running back Pierre Strong, causing a crucial turnover deep in Jackrabbits end. The Gophers scored on the next possession to seal the win. What could’ve been? All-time, SDSU is 1-9 against FBS teams. 

On Wednesday, I stopped by the High Performance Center to watch the University of North Dakota football team practice. I was impressed with the pace and energy at practice. I’ll post more this weekend after UND defeats Drake.

Seriously?

Next week, the UND football team renews their historic rivalry with the North Dakota State University. First, I am not going to pull any punches. The Bison are good. They deserve the accolades they’ve received.

During this decade, the Bison have won an impressive seven FCS titles (2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, and 2018). Last season, the Bison waved goodbye to 24 seniors. To be honest, even with all of the losses, I am not expecting a UND victory in Fargo. With that said, when a program is winning a lot of championships some fans lose all sense of reality.  Here’s something I found in the Fargo Inforum.com. I am sure you can see some of the silliness emanating from this opinion piece.

Letter: It’s time for NDSU Bison to move up to Division I

By Rob Brantley

In response to The Forum’s “ESPN names Bison one of the best all-time college football programs” by Eric Peterson and Dom Izzo Aug 18, I submit the following:

I have no doubt that the Bison program is better than at least one-half of the 130 teams in the NCAA’s Division One (North Dakota State University has dominated Division I-AA for the past decade). How long will NDSU be content with dominating a league year after year? Fans are beginning to get bored with this saga.

Hence, it’s time for the Bison to move up to Division I, at least once the NCAA expands the football playoffs to eight teams, which I thought was inevitable from the beginning of the college playoff format as a mere four teams is a very narrow field from which to choose a champion. The selection process is also subjective to a large extent; expanding it would provide more objectivity and merit.

(Link to post.)

First, I got a chuckle out of this. Thanks for the laugh buddy.  Someone needs to remind Mr. Brantley that the Bison are already Division I FCS. Seriously dude, grab some reality. Even “if” NDSU transitioned to FBS, they won’t be playing for an FBS championship. Not going to happen. The Power-Five conferences aren’t beating down NDSU’s door asking them to join. I have a better chance of winning Mega Millions. I don’t know this person, but he’s delusional. Yes, the Bison are good, but they’re not beating SEC, ACC, or even the top Big Ten teams regularly. He’s not alone, there are quite a few NDSU fans that think like Rob. Again thanks for the laugh.

Izzo Predicts 4-7 Record for UND

Thinking of funny tripe. WDAY sports reporter Dom Izzo doesn’t think that the UND football team is going to be very good this season. Moreover, he seems to think that when the season is overhead coach Bubba Schweigert is going to be looking for a new job. I guess we’ll find out. If I was coach Schweigert, I’d hang this garbage in the locker room. Seriously, this is why they play the games. Football is played on the football field and not in the blogs and newspapers. Time for the Hawks to prove Mr. Izzo wrong.

Last year I said it was a monster year for Bubba Schweigert at UND. If that was monstrous, this year is titanic. Schweigert has to win this season and I’m not sure if they’re going to. The Fighting Hawks have one of the toughest schedules in the FCS, games with NDSU, Eastern Washington, UC Davis and Sam Houston State. If the Fighting Hawks win one of those games, that’s a big deal. I don’t see a winning record this year, and I think UND may be in line for a new coach. (Link)

PREDICTION: 4-7

Are you ready for some college football?