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Post by yoteforever on Jun 5, 2017 10:51:08 GMT -6
2017 Massey ranking are out: www.masseyratings.com/cf/fcs/ratingsUSD getting some respect at #17 with the #4 Strength of Schedule. Even with the high ranking they are only projected for 5.13 wins. I don't look much into preseason rankings. Win the games and you will be ranked. This is exactly my feeling as well. The Coyotes will be a pretty good football team but with a brutal schedule losses will be hard to avoid. 5 wins seems like a reasonable outlook as far as what to expect. The Coyotes need to start scheduling a little easier in the non conference because one extra win will out weight a little bit tougher overall SOS. The conference will be plenty tough enough so why make it even more brutal by scheduling the tougher teams in the Big Sky. It will be interesting to see if a 6-5 record would be enough to get the Yotes into the playoffs. What's brutal about our schedule? Bowling Green is likely a loss, but don't rule the Coyotes out of winning that game. North Dakota got beat by them last year by 1 point. Drake better be a win. Then the last non conference game is against North Dakota. Yes, they are the defending Big Sky champs, and I respect that, but I don't fear them. We should've probably won last year in Grand Forks. I give us a reasonable shot to start the season 2-1. As I've said before, I think we defend the Dome in conference play....that's 4 wins. Then I think a win at Western Illinois or UNI is totally doable. We are capable of beating anyone we play this year. I'd also say we're capable to lose anyone we play, with the lone exception being Drake. I'm standing by my 7 win prediction. This staff is good, and I personally feel very strongly our defense has improved a ton. CF, in past, you have been hard on a lot of our schedules in various sports saying they were to soft. Now it's brutal? Brutal will be when we play Oklahoma. Brutal was playing Oregon. Bowling Green is not brutal I give us a 75% shot at being 7-4 ( or better ) barring any major injury bug. You're all worried about our defense, I'm more concerned about our offense. We have some new "hosses" on that D line that are going to be very nasty. I think we finish in the upper half of the league defensively. That's the homer in me. |
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Post by Coyote Fan on Jun 5, 2017 20:16:54 GMT -6
If the Coyotes played in an average to below average conference I would be all for beefing up the non conference portion. The Coyotes play in a brutal conference and a physical one at that so I think they need to soften up the non conference portion. When it comes to playoff selection if a team is 7-4 with a slightly weeker SOS then a 6-5 team I think the better record wins out unless the SOS is significantly stronger for the 6-5 team assuming that would be the Coyotes. I understand the FBS game and don't have a huge problem with it but that leaves two other games. This year Drake is obviously not a difficult game but I don't like playing non scholly teams and I think they should be treated sort of like D2 games. The Coyotes need to go out east or down south and look for teams that are from weak conferences that might finish in the upper half because of their weak conference. Those would be winnable games and would look good in the SOS as well. I mainly think the Montana's and UND's need to be replaced with other schools for a change. I would look for the weakest 3 or 4 conferences and play the solid teams from those conferences which equates to maybe playing the 8th place team in the Valley. The Valley itself does plenty to get the Coyotes battle tested but if they pick up losses in non conference it's going to be an uphill battle to get into post season. The Coyotes wore down toward the end of 2016 and the air was taken out of the balloon a bit after the WIU game.
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Post by easmus on Jun 5, 2017 20:39:24 GMT -6
I believe precedent has been set for a 6-5 team from MVFC to get into the playoffs because of the SOS factor. I certainly don't want to have to bank on getting in with that record, but at least you know you still have a chance.
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Post by BarnWinterSportsEngelstad on Jun 6, 2017 1:09:22 GMT -6
I am worried about playing the Coyotes in the Dakota Dome this fall, especially after the way the game ended last year in Grand Forks. Thinking about making the trip down memory lane ( I29 ) September 16th.
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Post by Yote 53 on Jun 6, 2017 7:37:53 GMT -6
The OOC schedule is softened up this year, we have a game with Drake, a non-P5 FBS game that is winnable, and UND. UND is a good team but I would be extremely disappointed if we didn't beat them in the Dome. We had them buried last year and allowed them to steal that game by handing them free touchdowns.
Besides, I want to see the Montana, UND, UNC, and teams like them on the schedule. We're a D1 FCS program. We need to at like it and give the fans good quality games to attend.
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Post by yotefan on Jun 6, 2017 7:46:43 GMT -6
Before our earlier message board went down after the win at Minnesota several of us had posted about bringing back the Sitting Bull Trophy with UND much like the XDSU's did with the Dakota Marker game. We need to make sure that happens for this game, name change or not. Time to get the tradition back and plenty of time to figure out how to do it by educating fans, getting the trophy ready, discussing in the media, in locker rooms, etc...
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Post by Yote 53 on Jun 6, 2017 8:18:37 GMT -6
Before our earlier message board went down after the win at Minnesota several of us had posted about bringing back the Sitting Bull Trophy with UND much like the XDSU's did with the Dakota Marker game. We need to make sure that happens for this game, name change or not. Time to get the tradition back and plenty of time to figure out how to do it by educating fans, getting the trophy ready, discussing in the media, in locker rooms, etc... Agreed. |
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Post by gopheryote on Jun 6, 2017 9:47:57 GMT -6
Before our earlier message board went down after the win at Minnesota several of us had posted about bringing back the Sitting Bull Trophy with UND much like the XDSU's did with the Dakota Marker game. We need to make sure that happens for this game, name change or not. Time to get the tradition back and plenty of time to figure out how to do it by educating fans, getting the trophy ready, discussing in the media, in locker rooms, etc... Is the Sitting Bull trophy considered offensive? I truly don't know. I guess anything UND with a native American flair is probably touchy right now? |
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Post by yanktonyote on Jun 6, 2017 12:36:24 GMT -6
Before our earlier message board went down after the win at Minnesota several of us had posted about bringing back the Sitting Bull Trophy with UND much like the XDSU's did with the Dakota Marker game. We need to make sure that happens for this game, name change or not. Time to get the tradition back and plenty of time to figure out how to do it by educating fans, getting the trophy ready, discussing in the media, in locker rooms, etc... Is the Sitting Bull trophy considered offensive? I truly don't know. I guess anything UND with a native American flair is probably touchy right now? Only in North Dakota, so I think were good.  |
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Post by yoteforever on Jun 6, 2017 14:03:05 GMT -6
Before our earlier message board went down after the win at Minnesota several of us had posted about bringing back the Sitting Bull Trophy with UND much like the XDSU's did with the Dakota Marker game. We need to make sure that happens for this game, name change or not. Time to get the tradition back and plenty of time to figure out how to do it by educating fans, getting the trophy ready, discussing in the media, in locker rooms, etc... Is the Sitting Bull trophy considered offensive? I truly don't know. I guess anything UND with a native American flair is probably touchy right now? I am of the opinion that it has been destroyed. Political correctness |
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Post by Coyote Fan on Jun 6, 2017 17:43:03 GMT -6
The OOC schedule is softened up this year, we have a game with Drake, a non-P5 FBS game that is winnable, and UND. UND is a good team but I would be extremely disappointed if we didn't beat them in the Dome. We had them buried last year and allowed them to steal that game by handing them free touchdowns. Besides, I want to see the Montana, UND, UNC, and teams like them on the schedule. We're a D1 FCS program. We need to at like it and give the fans good quality games to attend. There are plenty of other quality football programs to play outside of the MVFC and Big Sky. I just get tired or having the Big Sky having to be practically like a second conference. I am glad to have UND join the mix in a couple of years. They should be a conference rival and will be once again. For awhile the Coyotes were playing the likes of McNeese State, Central Arkansas (when we were still D2), and SE Louisiana. It would be cool to go back to some more well rounded scheduling but it appears more and more that I am on a fairly isolated island with that opinion. It appears that the fan base and admin are infatuated with the Big Sky. |
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Post by elcoyote on Jun 6, 2017 18:31:08 GMT -6
The OOC schedule is softened up this year, we have a game with Drake, a non-P5 FBS game that is winnable, and UND. UND is a good team but I would be extremely disappointed if we didn't beat them in the Dome. We had them buried last year and allowed them to steal that game by handing them free touchdowns. Besides, I want to see the Montana, UND, UNC, and teams like them on the schedule. We're a D1 FCS program. We need to at like it and give the fans good quality games to attend. There are plenty of other quality football programs to play outside of the MVFC and Big Sky. I just get tired or having the Big Sky having to be practically like a second conference. I am glad to have UND join the mix in a couple of years. They should be a conference rival and will be once again. For awhile the Coyotes were playing the likes of McNeese State, Central Arkansas (when we were still D2), and SE Louisiana. It would be cool to go back to some more well rounded scheduling but it appears more and more that I am on a fairly isolated island with that opinion. It appears that the fan base and admin are infatuated with the Big Sky. I'd like to see us go East as well, New York or New England in the fall would be an awesome trip, but it would seem to me teams from that region would also have to want to play us as well. Good luck finding a team from that region agreeing to a home and home contract. I can't imagine any school like say a New Hampshire or Albany falling all over themselves to come to Vermtown. The South in late August early September...brutal heat and humidity and bugs so big they can steal your hat. Montana in September...paradise. |
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Post by yotefan on Jun 6, 2017 21:52:18 GMT -6
Is the Sitting Bull trophy considered offensive? I truly don't know. I guess anything UND with a native American flair is probably touchy right now? I am of the opinion that it has been destroyed. Political correctness So play for something else. We know a bell, a brown jug, an ax, and a pig are already taken along with a piece of granite. Given the current level of originality I think we have time to come up with something good. I remember as a kid when Pierre used to play Bismarck for a traveling buffalo skull in boys basketball. It was very cool and was presented by the losing state's Governor to the winning team. We could commission a local artist to make one out of bronze and we have the start of a new tradition. While UND had to change their name, they found a new one. Let's adjust and simply change this too, but don't throw the baby out with the bathwater and give up everything in the name of political correctness. |
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Post by yoteforever on Jun 7, 2017 6:04:43 GMT -6
I agree completely. I wasn't recommending we not do it, someone asked about the Sitting Bull trophy itself, and I think ( heavy emphasis on think ) someone told me that it was in Grand Forks, was in a storage room ( because it wasn't correct to display it ) and got trashed. I stand corrected on this, but I think I'm right.
Your recommendation of a new trophy is spot on. Now it needs to build traction
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Post by GoYotes on Jun 7, 2017 6:50:32 GMT -6
The new trophy should be the Dakota Flagship  |
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