NDSU vs. St. Francis Game Thread

[DJKyR0]

Got a chance to speak with Lafayette's SID last week, and he said if the Bison can beat the Pards by 35 then they should beat St. Francis by about 90. I'm predicting a 54-7 win for the Herd.

[crusader11]

As of now, Lafayette vs. St. Francis would be a decent game. I think Phil LaBella has a distorted view of things.

[danefan]

St. Francis hasn't won much in well...forever, but they do play "up" with some passion.

They played Liberty, New Hampshire and Cal Poly tough in recent years.

I think it should be a blowout but I wouldn't be surprised to see it relatively close in the first half.

[DJKyR0]

I'm thinking the fact that they averaged 1,700 last season will make the 18,000 that pack the FFD pretty intimidating.

[danefan]

I'm thinking the fact that they averaged 1,700 last season will make the 18,000 that pack the FFD pretty intimidating.

Noise is always a factor in a dome, but I'm sure they'll prepare for that. It will be a different environment for them though, that's for sure.

[crusader11]

danefan, not being a keen follower of St. Francis football, is it only a matter of time before this program fizzles out or are they just having some rough years? Will they follow the route that schools like: St. John's, Siena, Fairfield, St. Peter's, La Salle, and Iona have taken? It always seems that the Flash are in the basement of the NEC.

[crusader11]

Sorry if that question is detracting from the game thread, but I was just curious...

[darell1976]

NDSU in a close one 21-0...after the first quarter. Add another 42 in the other three. 63-0 blowout.

[DJKyR0]

danefan, not being a keen follower of St. Francis football, is it only a matter of time before this program fizzles out or are they just having some rough years? Will they follow the route that schools like: St. John's, Siena, Fairfield, St. Peter's, La Salle, and Iona have taken? It always seems that the Flash are in the basement of the NEC.

Point in case, the Red Flash are 18-99 since 2000, which to me doesn't seem like a "down stretch." Unlike Indiana St., who is starting to have some success, they don't have the benefit of a full allotment of scholarships (I believe they're at 23 right now) to try and beef up their team in rapid fashion. Don't know how that would reflect on a possible axing of a program but it seems to me that this is some seriously prolonged non-production.

[Professor Chaos]

The Bison will be without All-American RB DJ McNorton but I think that's more of a precaution than anything in a game they won't really need him for and with the bye week afterwards giving him 3 weeks off to heal before the big Minnesota game.

[darell1976]

The Bison will be without All-American RB DJ McNorton but I think that's more of a precaution than anything in a game they won't really need him for and with the bye week afterwards giving him 3 weeks off to heal before the big Minnesota game.

The worst thing that could happen to NDSU would be injuries. I don't think the players could overlook this game and look forward to Minnesota. Smart move by Bohl keeping McNorton out.

[danefan]

Point in case, the Red Flash are 18-99 since 2000, which to me doesn't seem like a "down stretch." Unlike Indiana St., who is starting to have some success, they don't have the benefit of a full allotment of scholarships (I believe they're at 23 right now) to try and beef up their team in rapid fashion. Don't know how that would reflect on a possible axing of a program but it seems to me that this is some seriously prolonged non-production.


danefan, not being a keen follower of St. Francis football, is it only a matter of time before this program fizzles out or are they just having some rough years? Will they follow the route that schools like: St. John's, Siena, Fairfield, St. Peter's, La Salle, and Iona have taken? It always seems that the Flash are in the basement of the NEC.

I wish all the best for St. Francis because its bad for the NEC that St. Francis is consistently soooooooo bad.

With that being said - I see no way for St. Francis to ever be successful in DI football. The school is tiny and literally in the middle of nowhere. The only way they're ever going to get any attendance is if they allow the prisoners from FCI Loretto to come to the games.

I have no clue how they recruit anyone to that school except the occasional kid who needs to come "home" for personal reasons and the truly DIII players who get a kick out of saying they are going to play DI football. This isn't a knock on the coaching staff because I'm sure they try hard. They just don't have the resources or drawing power to get any depth of talent.

[frozennorth]

Tsn is predicting st, francis scores 31 on ndsu.

[Bison Fan in NW MN]

Tsn is predicting st, francis scores 31 on ndsu.


Upper level NSIC teams would fair better than St. Francis will.

Bison will crush this team.

2nd/3rd stringers will get plenty of playing time....which is good!!


GO BISON


Oh ya.....Bohl will be respectful....Bison 49-0....although this could be 100-0.

[Lakes Bison]

We will beat them 62-6.

[downbythebeach]

I can say as a sfu fan i never know what to expect. They do play up some times in big game like they did a few years ago at uni and unh but then they turn around and lose to a team like marist. I would not really be shocked if they were winning at halftime or if they were down by 45 points. I guess we will see

[Go Lehigh TU owl]

I didn't think it was true but SFU's starting RG is really 6'3 400 lbs. WoW!!!

[Bogus Megapardus]

As of now, Lafayette vs. St. Francis would be a decent game. I think Phil LaBella has a distorted view of things.

It's really odd that Lafayette and St. Francis have never played in football. Bucknell has never played St. Francis either, and they couldn't be more than an hour apart. In any event, St. Francis had better be prepared to run the ball a whole lot better than the Pards did against NDSU or they're in for a long day. NDSU is very fast on both lines. Their DTs can chase down your RBs. Their interior OL will stunt all day - including their very athletic center - and open holes in the blink of an eye. You can pass on them IF your OL gives your QB some time but unless you establish some kind of run, their DBs will just hover out there.

Good luck - I hope you do better than we did.

[Bison Fan in NW MN]

I can say as a sfu fan i never know what to expect. They do play up some times in big game like they did a few years ago at uni and unh but then they turn around and lose to a team like marist. I would not really be shocked if they were winning at halftime or if they were down by 45 points. I guess we will see


LOL.....this will not be the case!

[DetroitFlyer]

I wish all the best for St. Francis because its bad for the NEC that St. Francis is consistently soooooooo bad.

With that being said - I see no way for St. Francis to ever be successful in DI football. The school is tiny and literally in the middle of nowhere. The only way they're ever going to get any attendance is if they allow the prisoners from FCI Loretto to come to the games.

I have no clue how they recruit anyone to that school except the occasional kid who needs to come "home" for personal reasons and the truly DIII players who get a kick out of saying they are going to play DI football. This isn't a knock on the coaching staff because I'm sure they try hard. They just don't have the resources or drawing power to get any depth of talent.

Well, it will never be easy, but Furman and Wofford manage somehow.... A great coach will help as well. SFUP seems to have a decent offense most years, but their defense just gives up too many points.... Maybe if they could find a really good defensive coordinator.... I'm also sure that they can recruit FCS level players with athletic scholarships. Maybe they just do not have enough scholarships yet? I hope they make a good showing in this game.

[darell1976]

I never heard of St. Francis before are they a schollie school?

[danefan]

I never heard of St. Francis before are they a schollie school?

NEC is capped at 40 scholarships.

I think they are in the 20's though. Part of the reason why the are generally the NEC doormat.

[MplsBison]

It's really odd that Lafayette and St. Francis have never played in football. Bucknell has never played St. Francis either, and they couldn't be more than an hour apart. In any event, St. Francis had better be prepared to run the ball a whole lot better than the Pards did against NDSU or they're in for a long day. NDSU is very fast on both lines. Their DTs can chase down your RBs. Their interior OL will stunt all day - including their very athletic center - and open holes in the blink of an eye. You can pass on them IF your OL gives your QB some time but unless you establish some kind of run, their DBs will just hover out there.

Good luck - I hope you do better than we did.

"Their interior OL will stunt all day"

Apparently if you run anything other than a zone blocking scheme these days - you're stunting. xlolx xcoffeex

[MplsBison]

Well, it will never be easy, but Furman and Wofford manage somehow.... A great coach will help as well. SFUP seems to have a decent offense most years, but their defense just gives up too many points.... Maybe if they could find a really good defensive coordinator.... I'm also sure that they can recruit FCS level players with athletic scholarships. Maybe they just do not have enough scholarships yet? I hope they make a good showing in this game.

Furman and Wofford have tradition in winning and play in front of a decent number of fans.

Even if SF was giving 63 full rides - what kind of kid can they get to come out to a tiny liberal arts college, in the middle of nowhere and play in front of maybe 1000 fans? That's a lower level DIII environment. Obviously they'd like to be more - but how can you ever compete without the players?


This is another reason why the division classification for football shouldn't just be based on scholarships, it should be based on budget, facilities, average attendance, coaching salaries, etc. SFU is a FCS program by technicality only.

[Bison Fan in NW MN]

Furman and Wofford have tradition in winning and play in front of a decent number of fans.

Even if SF was giving 63 full rides - what kind of kid can they get to come out to a tiny liberal arts college, in the middle of nowhere and play in front of maybe 1000 fans? That's a lower level DIII environment. Obviously they'd like to be more - but how can you ever compete without the players?


This is another reason why the division classification for football shouldn't just be based on scholarships, it should be based on budget, facilities, average attendance, coaching salaries, etc. SFU is a FCS program by technicality only.



Concordia MN could probably beat this team....serious!!

[danefan]

Concordia MN could probably beat this team....serious!!

In all seriousness - have you seen them play?

I have never seen Concordia play so I can't compare. What I can compare is that I've seen some of the best DIII schools play and I think while some of those that skirt the academic and scholarship rules (e.g. Mount Union) would compete against a lot of FCS schools.

[Bison Fan in NW MN]

In all seriousness - have you seen them play?

I have never seen Concordia play so I can't compare. What I can compare is that I've seen some of the best DIII schools play and I think while some of those that skirt the academic and scholarship rules (e.g. Mount Union) would compete against a lot of FCS schools.


Highlight bits on the internet.

I'm being very serious. Concordia, MN is a hard-nose D3 team that runs the ball and plays good defense. From what I have seen on St. Francis, Concordia would beat them.

[MplsBison]

There are two 'Concordia' teams in MN, Concordia College in Moorhead is a DIII team in the MIAC, which is a pretty good DIII conference (including fairly recent DIII national champion Saint John's as well as playoff team Saint Thomas) and Concordia University in Saint Paul is a DII team in the Northern Sun, which is a pretty good DII conference (including DII national champion Minnesota-Duluth) despite allowing less than the maximum scholarship level of DII.

Whatever level you play at - it really depends on the coaches you can hire and the players you get to come play for your team. It looks like SF very much has a coach who is committed, means well and was a talented player himself, but that alone does not win games.

[Twentysix]

Highlight bits on the internet.

I'm being very serious. Concordia, MN is a hard-nose D3 team that runs the ball and plays good defense. From what I have seen on St. Francis, Concordia would beat them.

Concordia also offers partial schollys for every player, they are still super expensive. They call the scholarships academic. My girl friends brother was recruited to be an oline at Concordia moorhead and he was offered $10k/yr "academic" if he played football. However even after that scholarship it was more than ndsu.

[darell1976]

NEC is capped at 40 scholarships.

I think they are in the 20's though. Part of the reason why the are generally the NEC doormat.

Thanks for the info!!

[Bison Fan in NW MN]

Concordia also offers partial schollys for every player, they are still super expensive. They call the scholarships academic. My girl friends brother was recruited to be an oline at Concordia moorhead and he was offered $10k/yr "academic" if he played football. However even after that scholarship it was more than ndsu.

Ya, college is very expensive compared to when I went (87-91).

St. Thomas - St. Johns - Concordia would all beat St. Francis. Not smacking the NEC but that is the truth.