Sporting News has the Crusaders picked 9th!!

vu72 · June 10, 2013, 01:23:21 PM

Out of 12 that is. Sounds like improvement but...two of the three teams picked behind us are brand new to football. The other is Campbell. If we don't beat these teams then the handwriting will be more then "on the wall".

I don't have a site to post, I read it on the newsstand!

vufan75 · June 12, 2013, 09:44:35 AM

In what I think is the same online version of the sports magazine 72 refers to, there is a ranking by conference of the "best stadiums". In the PFL the one selected is Campbell. They sure have made a serious commitment to football, with what must be a very nice football stadium. Wonder how Valpo's will compare someday when the track is added around the football field, and maybe some other finishing touches are added? I know basketball is our signature sport, and the long overdue renovation promised to the ARC will I hope be a nice upgrade to that athletic facility, and bring us closer to having a facility that brings us up to speed today at least in terms of D1 basketball.

But it would be nice to see some sort of upgrade to our football facility, something aesthetically pleasing yet functional that gives it an identity of it's own. Something more than a field makeover to a new synthetic type turf and a new scoreboard.

Here is a link to the article I mentioned above about conference stadiums.

http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=cfoot2%2Fwriters%2Finfcshuddle%2Farchive%2Fhaley_05_31_2013.htm

Went to the Campbell U athletics website to see if there was a picture of their football stadium. Below is a link to their athletic facilities, including a sort of long range view of the stadium. Hard to tell much from the picture, but, here it is anyway.

http://www.gocamels.com/facilities/index

While rambling, I wonder when/if Valpo meets one of the strategic plan goals of enrolling 6,000 students where in the future graduation will be held? Would the ARC work in terms of seating capacity between graduates and their guests? Hope A/C is part of the ARC renovation, as it can be awfully warm inside seasonally for events such as graduation when the weather is warm.

willy · June 13, 2013, 08:59:25 AM

Thats where they should be picked until they prove they are something other than a bottom tier PFL team. A new year brings new optimism, I hope Coach Carlson can coach these kids to a surprising year of 500 ball or better. These kids who are putting their heart and soul into the program need it!!

ARCInsider · June 13, 2013, 09:52:57 AM

UND Guy · July 12, 2013, 01:38:06 PM

Hey guys,

North Dakota fan here. Stopping by to say hi and try and get a feel for what you will be bringing to the Alerus Center on August 29th! You seem similar to us in that you lost your offensive coordinator and are re-tooling with new pieces. We also lost our D-coordinator. Two assistants stepped in and took over both coordinator spots. We will see how it goes!

UND runs a pro-style offense, both out of the gun and pistol and under center. Multiple formations and movement. They passed alot last year because they could not run and will throw again this year because WR depth is huge. They really need the OL to step up and get a running game going or it will be a long year again. Last year UND was 5-6. Not good. On defense, UND runs a 3-4 and got ran ALL OVER last year by pretty much every team. If you can run the ball you will have a chance. That needs to be shored up bigtime.

Do you guys know what offense you are running this year with the new staff? Who is your OC? How about your defense, was their any turnover there and what defense do you run?

Thanks guys! Can't wait for fall camp to start!!

HC · July 12, 2013, 01:58:06 PM

We stink, usually.

vu72 · July 12, 2013, 02:08:35 PM

Quote from: UND Guy on July 12, 2013, 01:38:06 PM
Hey guys,

North Dakota fan here. Stopping by to say hi and try and get a feel for what you will be bringing to the Alerus Center on August 29th! You seem similar to us in that you lost your offensive coordinator and are re-tooling with new pieces. We also lost our D-coordinator. Two assistants stepped in and took over both coordinator spots. We will see how it goes!

UND runs a pro-style offense, both out of the gun and pistol and under center. Multiple formations and movement. They passed alot last year because they could not run and will throw again this year because WR depth is huge. They really need the OL to step up and get a running game going or it will be a long year again. Last year UND was 5-6. Not good. On defense, UND runs a 3-4 and got ran ALL OVER last year by pretty much every team. If you can run the ball you will have a chance. That needs to be shored up bigtime.

Do you guys know what offense you are running this year with the new staff? Who is your OC? How about your defense, was their any turnover there and what defense do you run?

Thanks guys! Can't wait for fall camp to start!!

Can't answer many of your questions but will make a few comments. As you probably know, we have won a total of two games in three years. We will throw the ball a bunch, usually short drops or from the pocket. We have relied on freshman and sophomores a lot so we actually should be better with maturity and a good recruiting class. What that means is possibly 3 wins, maybe 4--none of which will come at your expense. We play non-scholarship ball so it is a total mismatch. I'll take shot at the score: Hmmm,

48-6

valpotx · July 12, 2013, 02:52:42 PM

I'll take 48-6 at the half, with the final score being 65-6 when UND puts their subs in at halftime.

As 72 said, we do a lot of short drop passes/screens, and run the quick draw quite a bit as our running game. Our defense has been absolutely terrible over the last few years, so since you are a passing team, you will completely own our DBs. We gave up over a dozen plays (probably closer to 20+ plays) of 50+ yds last season.

UND Guy · July 12, 2013, 02:59:04 PM

Thanks for the replies, guys. I know your program has struggled but it sounds like they have some youth that is bound to mature. I did see you have a pretty good RB in that Hutson kid. UND struggled vs. the run so he could give them issues.

Will the offense stay the same with the new coaches or does your HC run the offense? Short passes gave UND fits the past few years, for some reason!

Whatever I find out here I will try and pass along at Siouxsports.com, which is UND's fan board.

vu72 · July 12, 2013, 04:28:09 PM

valpotx is probably right, I was just trying to be hopeful!

The Offensivve coordinator recently left so we really don't know what the new plan/offense will be. Given our youth I doubt very much that they will try to put in something new at this stage. My guess is that Coach Carlson will call the plays.

We lack speedy receivers but Hoffman can make the throws. Don't know about the speed of the incoming freshman. I know they added some size and supposed speed so perhaps a deep ball or two. Both teams undoubtedly have film to study.

This is a payday for Valpo so please tell your guys not to hurt anybody! Now, if you want to play basketball...that might be another story.