Is it smart to go ahead and take on a challenge when the risk may outweigh the benefits? Football fans all across the Dakotas will be finding out on Saturday as the Fighting Sioux of the University of North Dakota face off in Grand Forks against the Cougars of the University of Sioux Falls. The danger in this game for the Fighting Sioux is that they are expected to win, and to win big. If they do not, they will lose more than they can ever expect to gain from beating an NAIA school.
For the Fighting Sioux, they are still in a transition period of moving to Division 1 athletics. This can make scheduling very tough as they are facing an interesting combination of opponents with everything from NAIA, to NCAA FBS, NCAA FCS, and NCAA Division II teams. They had a great showing to start of the season playing in Lubbock, TX against the Texas Tech Red Raiders.
At this point, it can be tough for NCAA transitional schools to schedule opponents. There are multiple schools that have had to find NAIA schools to compete against. This is normally not a bad thing but the University of Sioux Falls just happens to be the defending National Champions as well as the #1 ranked team in the country.
Now I am not saying that the Cougars will win in Grand Forks this weekend but I think it can be quite a battle. For one thing, the Cougars have nothing to lose and everything to gain. No one expects them to be much in the way of competition for the much bigger Fighting Sioux. That may be just the extra motivation that the Cougars need. This is a very talented football team. In watching them play last weekend, they did not come close to truly opening the playbook and they were much better than their opponent. They hit harder, they were much faster, and they executed better than many of the teams that I have watched play over the years.
The biggest factor of the game will be whether the Cougars can handle the physical part of the game. There will come a time in which the Sioux will start smacking the Cougars around, will the Cougars be able to answer? Also, while there is obvious talent and athletic ability on the field for Sioux Falls, will they be able to match the depth of UND?
While the battle will be waged on the field, the teams, plus the fans, will face off against a mutual opponent that day as well. In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the Fighting Sioux are holding Sioux Strong. Each team will be wearing pink wristbands and there will be pink shirts for sale for the fans.
For the Fighting Sioux, they are still in a transition period of moving to Division 1 athletics. This can make scheduling very tough as they are facing an interesting combination of opponents with everything from NAIA, to NCAA FBS, NCAA FCS, and NCAA Division II teams. They had a great showing to start of the season playing in Lubbock, TX against the Texas Tech Red Raiders.
At this point, it can be tough for NCAA transitional schools to schedule opponents. There are multiple schools that have had to find NAIA schools to compete against. This is normally not a bad thing but the University of Sioux Falls just happens to be the defending National Champions as well as the #1 ranked team in the country.
Now I am not saying that the Cougars will win in Grand Forks this weekend but I think it can be quite a battle. For one thing, the Cougars have nothing to lose and everything to gain. No one expects them to be much in the way of competition for the much bigger Fighting Sioux. That may be just the extra motivation that the Cougars need. This is a very talented football team. In watching them play last weekend, they did not come close to truly opening the playbook and they were much better than their opponent. They hit harder, they were much faster, and they executed better than many of the teams that I have watched play over the years.
The biggest factor of the game will be whether the Cougars can handle the physical part of the game. There will come a time in which the Sioux will start smacking the Cougars around, will the Cougars be able to answer? Also, while there is obvious talent and athletic ability on the field for Sioux Falls, will they be able to match the depth of UND?
While the battle will be waged on the field, the teams, plus the fans, will face off against a mutual opponent that day as well. In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the Fighting Sioux are holding Sioux Strong. Each team will be wearing pink wristbands and there will be pink shirts for sale for the fans.
Each year my husband and I look forward to football season especially watching college ball. The last years have been exceptional with a whirlwind of activity and amazement of the unranked teams from lesser known schools overcoming obstacles and beating ranked national teams. Games such as when Appalachian State beat Michigan – the amazement we felt and the elation I had as an Ohio State Buckeye fan. To us college ball is more exciting than pro-ball. This due to the commitment of the players, the dedication they have to their team and the understanding that playing for a college football team is a privilege which they respect.
ReplyDeleteI bet the game will be exciting!
Oh please don't remind me. My best friend is the field goal snapper and a back up tight end for the Sioux. We still don't know what happened in that game. If you didn't hear the Sioux lost by 13. Props to USF's quarterback. He kept the Sioux guessing. With the zone defense they were running I had never seen recievers so wide open. If he didn't have anyone open he just ran it. He is very fast and shifty. The Fighting Sioux didn't seem like they came to play Saturday. I bet there was a little feeling of "Oh they are only NAIA." Also, USF has won something like 20 straight games and they had all the confidence in the world.
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