Who does NDSU beat next year in Frisco?

[ilovethecats]

The way we were manhandled on both lines was the difference in the game. It was so obvious to see.

I don't think NDSU's DL manhandled MSU's OL. I thought it looked a lot like the SDSU DL vs. MSU OL.

I suppose in comparison to what their OL did to our DL you are correct. It wasn't that type of dominance. Though I still maintain they gave our OL fits all game, and I believe held us below our average in about every offensive category. Thus I feel that we need to be much better on the OL if we play NDSU again and expect to win.

Ndsu wasn’t even as good as UM in manhandling our OL. But Mellott didn’t play vs UM so I guess that’s not a fair … oh, wait…

I don't know what that proves IAA. You're comparing the two teams that dominated us the most this season and saying that one of them manhandled us more than the other. I agree with you. The gris DL manhandled us more than even NDSU did. I don't think that's where we want the bar to be if we expect to get the Bison monkey off our back.

So I guess I agree with you. If we don't want to get dominated like we did against the Bison and gris, it all starts up front on both sides of the ball. I really don't see how this is a crazy take?

I was trying to subtly lead you into the fact that our OL got “manhandled” by WSU and UM and not SDSU or SHSU, who are equally good defensively in hopes that you’d see who was playing QB in those games.

I get ya. Yes, Tommy was QB and he wasn't against the Bison. Are you of the belief that with the same play on the lines but with Tommy all game we would have won in Frisco?

[91catAlum]

The way we were manhandled on both lines was the difference in the game. It was so obvious to see.

I don't think NDSU's DL manhandled MSU's OL. I thought it looked a lot like the SDSU DL vs. MSU OL.

I suppose in comparison to what their OL did to our DL you are correct. It wasn't that type of dominance. Though I still maintain they gave our OL fits all game, and I believe held us below our average in about every offensive category. Thus I feel that we need to be much better on the OL if we play NDSU again and expect to win.

Ndsu wasn’t even as good as UM in manhandling our OL. But Mellott didn’t play vs UM so I guess that’s not a fair … oh, wait…

I don't know what that proves IAA. You're comparing the two teams that dominated us the most this season and saying that one of them manhandled us more than the other. I agree with you. The gris DL manhandled us more than even NDSU did. I don't think that's where we want the bar to be if we expect to get the Bison monkey off our back.

So I guess I agree with you. If we don't want to get dominated like we did against the Bison and gris, it all starts up front on both sides of the ball. I really don't see how this is a crazy take?

I was trying to subtly lead you into the fact that our OL got “manhandled” by WSU and UM and not SDSU or SHSU, who are equally good defensively in hopes that you’d see who was playing QB in those games.

I get ya. Yes, Tommy was QB and he wasn't against the Bison. Are you of the belief that with the same play on the lines but with Tommy all game we would have won in Frisco?

Probably not have won the game but for you to not even acknowledge that our offensive drop off may have been related to losing Tommy on the first drive is getting to the point of ridiculousness.

[ilovethecats]

The way we were manhandled on both lines was the difference in the game. It was so obvious to see.

I don't think NDSU's DL manhandled MSU's OL. I thought it looked a lot like the SDSU DL vs. MSU OL.

I suppose in comparison to what their OL did to our DL you are correct. It wasn't that type of dominance. Though I still maintain they gave our OL fits all game, and I believe held us below our average in about every offensive category. Thus I feel that we need to be much better on the OL if we play NDSU again and expect to win.

Ndsu wasn’t even as good as UM in manhandling our OL. But Mellott didn’t play vs UM so I guess that’s not a fair … oh, wait…

I don't know what that proves IAA. You're comparing the two teams that dominated us the most this season and saying that one of them manhandled us more than the other. I agree with you. The gris DL manhandled us more than even NDSU did. I don't think that's where we want the bar to be if we expect to get the Bison monkey off our back.

So I guess I agree with you. If we don't want to get dominated like we did against the Bison and gris, it all starts up front on both sides of the ball. I really don't see how this is a crazy take?

I was trying to subtly lead you into the fact that our OL got “manhandled” by WSU and UM and not SDSU or SHSU, who are equally good defensively in hopes that you’d see who was playing QB in those games.

I get ya. Yes, Tommy was QB and he wasn't against the Bison. Are you of the belief that with the same play on the lines but with Tommy all game we would have won in Frisco?

Probably not have won the game but for you to not even acknowledge that our offensive drop off may have been related to losing Tommy on the first drive is getting to the point of ridiculousness.

You must have me confused with another poster. I have not one single time suggested our offensive drop off wasn't related to Tommy going down. And for maybe the forth or fifth time I'll reiterate that him in the game likely would have resulted in us losing by less than 28 points and likely would have sustained drives, resting our defense, and they likely wouldn't have given up nearly 400 yards rushing. You can go back and look, I have said this several times.

I asked 1AA that question specifically as he pointed to two games we won with Mellott, compared to two games we lost without Mellott. So I was asking HIM, if HE thought Mellott would have been enough to overcome our disadvantages on the lines like he did in the previous wins that 1AA cited.

[catatac]

Um, what?

I’m a sore loser?

Sore loser? Gotta toast to that one.

I'll own your opinion with you. NDSU has rolled us 3 straight times and it hasn't been close. Their program is the FCS Gold Standard. They called off the dogs after their first second-half drive. I think I even saw a 4th string QB run a play or two? They could have lit up the scoreboard more in the 2nd half as they had 1 TD, 1 FG, 2 punts and an 8-all-run-play, 5-minute drive to end the game. We couldn't stop these guys with our starters even when we knew they were running the ball.

Our first drive grossed 37 yards and ended with Garo Yepremian (you younger guys can Google it). Our second drive grossed 51 yards and ended with the Wide Right. A slight improvement with Rovig. I think the NDSU coaches are smart enough to realize that they were not going to get beat by Mellott's running. The first drive he was 3-8 rushing as they were keying on him. That would have lasted all game.

That being said, I bleed Blue and Gold as much as anyone. We just have to be honest with our team and know that one player was not going to change the outcome (and I am in the camp that it would not have changed the final deficit). We have met the enemy and know what it will take. It's amazing to think that we are one team away from being National Champions again, and that is out standard once again. I fully believe that we will get there!

This, well stated. Looks like there are few of us here on the same page. We're all good fans (for the most part ). I'm pretty sure behind closed doors Vigen and crew are making plans to topple the Bizon, or at least make a game of it next year and I promise you "Injuries to Tommy or any other players" or "Wet field" are not part of the conversation. We got owned on the lines (Mainly Their OL against our DL), period. NDSU not only puts emphasis on that OL but it is THE NUMBER ONE PRIORITY. The NDSU OL is idolized, and they're treated like the star players, most important players on the team that they are. Sounds like they might get three OL players drafted into the NFL this year. They might have beaten us with their second string OL. I'm not trying to be overly dramatic here, but that's just the sad reality of the current situation here, IMHO. The Cats need to get there with the lines, and I am an optimist, I think they will.

[iaafan]

The way we were manhandled on both lines was the difference in the game. It was so obvious to see.

I don't think NDSU's DL manhandled MSU's OL. I thought it looked a lot like the SDSU DL vs. MSU OL.

I suppose in comparison to what their OL did to our DL you are correct. It wasn't that type of dominance. Though I still maintain they gave our OL fits all game, and I believe held us below our average in about every offensive category. Thus I feel that we need to be much better on the OL if we play NDSU again and expect to win.

Ndsu wasn’t even as good as UM in manhandling our OL. But Mellott didn’t play vs UM so I guess that’s not a fair … oh, wait…

I don't know what that proves IAA. You're comparing the two teams that dominated us the most this season and saying that one of them manhandled us more than the other. I agree with you. The gris DL manhandled us more than even NDSU did. I don't think that's where we want the bar to be if we expect to get the Bison monkey off our back.

So I guess I agree with you. If we don't want to get dominated like we did against the Bison and gris, it all starts up front on both sides of the ball. I really don't see how this is a crazy take?

I was trying to subtly lead you into the fact that our OL got “manhandled” by WSU and UM and not SDSU or SHSU, who are equally good defensively in hopes that you’d see who was playing QB in those games.

I get ya. Yes, Tommy was QB and he wasn't against the Bison. Are you of the belief that with the same play on the lines but with Tommy all game we would have won in Frisco?

Like you I don’t know. No one does.

[iaafan]

One player makes no difference? The Bulls lost Michael Jordan for two seasons and couldn't win a championship. Between winning three on either side of that. But, yeah, one player doesn't make any difference. The Bulls just weren't that good to begin with and those titles they won with Jordan were just a fluke. Got it.

I get the gist of your opinion, but this is a pretty big stretch of a comparison.

First, basketball is WAY different than football in which one player CAN make all the difference in the world. There are only 5 guys playing at once. Those Bulls teams were deep, but even they really only had about an 8-9 man rotation that played significant minutes.

Secondly, you literally took the best player to ever play the game of basketball to make a case of how they didn't win when he was gone. Is that really even in the same ballpark of losing a freshman QB starting his 4th game of his career on a football team that fields 22 starters and not 5 starters?

I read his post and knew someone would glom onto the basketball part of it. The point is that losing key players can make all the difference between winning and losing. Not that he or I are saying MSU’ would’ve won if he played all game but that’s true in Jordan’s case and many others. NE doesn’t win six Super Bowls without Brady. Alabama doesn’t win without Saban. Edmonton doesn’t win as much without Gretzky.

There are in all team sports literally hundreds of occasions of players retiring and getting hurt then their team tanking. QB is generally considered the most important position in all sports.

[iaafan]

I would say we played six (Wyoming, Weber, UM, SHSU, SDSU and NDSU) good defenses this year and another (Idaho) that eas extremely talented and capable of playing very well on any given Saturday. Tally up our games with Tommy and without and see how it shakes out for our offense then tell me there’s no correlation between those numbers and Mellott.

We did good against Wyoming. Stunk vs Weber and UM. Not good vs Idaho but that’s a wash as both McKay and Mellott played a lot. Two our best games of the year vs Sam and SDSU.

[ilovethecats]

One player makes no difference? The Bulls lost Michael Jordan for two seasons and couldn't win a championship. Between winning three on either side of that. But, yeah, one player doesn't make any difference. The Bulls just weren't that good to begin with and those titles they won with Jordan were just a fluke. Got it.

I get the gist of your opinion, but this is a pretty big stretch of a comparison.

First, basketball is WAY different than football in which one player CAN make all the difference in the world. There are only 5 guys playing at once. Those Bulls teams were deep, but even they really only had about an 8-9 man rotation that played significant minutes.

Secondly, you literally took the best player to ever play the game of basketball to make a case of how they didn't win when he was gone. Is that really even in the same ballpark of losing a freshman QB starting his 4th game of his career on a football team that fields 22 starters and not 5 starters?

I read his post and knew someone would glom onto the basketball part of it. The point is that losing key players can make all the difference between winning and losing. Not that he or I are saying MSU’ would’ve won if he played all game but that’s true in Jordan’s case and many others. NE doesn’t win six Super Bowls without Brady. Alabama doesn’t win without Saban. Edmonton doesn’t win as much without Gretzky.

There are in all team sports literally hundreds of occasions of players retiring and getting hurt then their team tanking. QB is generally considered the most important position in all sports.

I’m not sure I’m glomming on anything. Just found it funny that the example was the best basketball player in the world not playing and how it resulted in his team losing. Basketball is nothing close to football in how losing one player can impact the team. And with all due respect to Tommy, comparing the best player to ever play professional basketball to a freshman not playing an FCS football game is not the same.

And again, with all due respect, using the greatest nfl qb to ever play and probably the greatest college coach to ever coach is not likely the same thing either. But I’ll concede that if our lines were much better that game, and Tommy was known as the Tom Brady of FCS, and we lost like we did I’d put a lot more emphasis on his absence.

As it stands it doesn’t matter anyway. My point was never that him going out of the game didn’t hurt us. It did and I’ve said as much. It was deflating and you could feel the bad energy in the stands and on the sideline. I just think the way we were playing in the trenches, even the best qb in FCS would have had a hard time winning. Some of you guys disagree and that’s ok too.

[Clinton T]

One player makes no difference? The Bulls lost Michael Jordan for two seasons and couldn't win a championship. Between winning three on either side of that. But, yeah, one player doesn't make any difference. The Bulls just weren't that good to begin with and those titles they won with Jordan were just a fluke. Got it.

I get the gist of your opinion, but this is a pretty big stretch of a comparison.

First, basketball is WAY different than football in which one player CAN make all the difference in the world. There are only 5 guys playing at once. Those Bulls teams were deep, but even they really only had about an 8-9 man rotation that played significant minutes.

Secondly, you literally took the best player to ever play the game of basketball to make a case of how they didn't win when he was gone. Is that really even in the same ballpark of losing a freshman QB starting his 4th game of his career on a football team that fields 22 starters and not 5 starters?

I read his post and knew someone would glom onto the basketball part of it. The point is that losing key players can make all the difference between winning and losing. Not that he or I are saying MSU’ would’ve won if he played all game but that’s true in Jordan’s case and many others. NE doesn’t win six Super Bowls without Brady. Alabama doesn’t win without Saban. Edmonton doesn’t win as much without Gretzky.

There are in all team sports literally hundreds of occasions of players retiring and getting hurt then their team tanking. QB is generally considered the most important position in all sports.

I honestly don't want this to sound condescending, and it is my opinion, but maybe pump the brakes in comparing Tommy's value to the team to that of Gretzky to the Oil, Brady to the Pats, Saban to Alabama, or MJ to the Bulls. It is overly simplistic, and frankly insulting to the rest of the team, to suggest Tommy was the main reason/catalyst as to why we made it to the chipper. Those guys are the BEST in the HISTORY of their respective sports. We won a lot of games the last three seasons with less-than-trancsendent QB talent. Choate mapped out the blueprint (and laid the foundation) for a strong defense and running game carrying us. He openly acknowledged he adopted the NDSU model. Vigen continues to stress the same principles. If the NDSU QB went down, do you feel we would have gained a significant advantage? I don't. The game is won in the trenches, and anyone would have a difficult time convincing me that QB play would have made a difference in that game. If Tom Brady played for us that game, he would have had his a$$ handed to him.

[BleedingBLue]

Sam knows the FCS pretty well.

https://herosports.com/fcs-football-ear ... itle-bzbz/

[Joe Bobcat]

One player makes no difference? The Bulls lost Michael Jordan for two seasons and couldn't win a championship. Between winning three on either side of that. But, yeah, one player doesn't make any difference. The Bulls just weren't that good to begin with and those titles they won with Jordan were just a fluke. Got it.

I get the gist of your opinion, but this is a pretty big stretch of a comparison.

First, basketball is WAY different than football in which one player CAN make all the difference in the world. There are only 5 guys playing at once. Those Bulls teams were deep, but even they really only had about an 8-9 man rotation that played significant minutes.

Secondly, you literally took the best player to ever play the game of basketball to make a case of how they didn't win when he was gone. Is that really even in the same ballpark of losing a freshman QB starting his 4th game of his career on a football team that fields 22 starters and not 5 starters?

I read his post and knew someone would glom onto the basketball part of it. The point is that losing key players can make all the difference between winning and losing. Not that he or I are saying MSU’ would’ve won if he played all game but that’s true in Jordan’s case and many others. NE doesn’t win six Super Bowls without Brady. Alabama doesn’t win without Saban. Edmonton doesn’t win as much without Gretzky.

There are in all team sports literally hundreds of occasions of players retiring and getting hurt then their team tanking. QB is generally considered the most important position in all sports.

I honestly don't want this to sound condescending, and it is my opinion, but maybe pump the brakes in comparing Tommy's value to the team to that of Gretzky to the Oil, Brady to the Pats, Saban to Alabama, or MJ to the Bulls. It is overly simplistic, and frankly insulting to the rest of the team, to suggest Tommy was the main reason/catalyst as to why we made it to the chipper. Those guys are the BEST in the HISTORY of their respective sports. We won a lot of games the last three seasons with less-than-trancsendent QB talent. Choate mapped out the blueprint (and laid the foundation) for a strong defense and running game carrying us. He openly acknowledged he adopted the NDSU model. Vigen continues to stress the same principles. If the NDSU QB went down, do you feel we would have gained a significant advantage? I don't. The game is won in the trenches, and anyone would have a difficult time convincing me that QB play would have made a difference in that game. If Tom Brady played for us that game, he would have had his a$$ handed to him.

Wow, you tell people to pump the brakes and then you end with those last 2 sentences. Pump your own brakes!
First off basketball has fewer players so any star player that is either added or subtracted from a game would in general make a more significant difference than it would in the game of football. Having said that it doesn't mean that one player in or out can't make a substantial difference in a game of football. It is true that Mellott is not Tom Brady. So what? The important thing in the equation here is the difference between Mellot and his replacement. It goes beyond the physical of yards rushing or passing and scoring or time of possession, but also into the mindset of the rest of the team and the opponent as well. God bless Rovig for how he conducted himself through his whole career especially this year, but he just didn't bring to the game nearly what Mellott did, period. Every single NDSU fan that I know personally (7) and those I didn't know but talked with all said how the game would have been much different had Mellot been able to play, and they're right. At the same time no one can bring much weight to the argument that the W and L would've been flipped. No player should feel insulted to hear that Mellott as a starter played a major role in our success throughout the playoffs and losing him was unquestionably a significant blow to our chances at being competitive in that game.

[catsrback76]

I refuse to even read this thread.

[Marana CAT]

The Blue Hens tanked after they lost their QB. Outside of NDSU, QB play will carry most FCS teams (that have really good overall teams) to the Quarter Finals and beyond. I was on the Matt McKay bus until after watching Tommy against UT Martin. I forgot what a true Leader at QB looked liked. If Tommy played the entire game at Frisco the outcome probably would of been a 7-10 point game either way. An electric FCS QB does not have Tom Brady ability however they mean as much to a Championship team at the FCS level as Tom does in the NFL. Below is part of Herders not to early Top 10 2022.

“10. Delaware
After reaching the spring semifinals, the Blue Hens finished a disappointing 5-6 last season. A factor in those struggles was an injury to quarterback Nolan Henderson, who earned First Team All-CAA honors in the spring before appearing in only four fall games. Henderson explored the transfer portal this offseason but decided to return to the team.”

[BStinsMSU]

I refuse to even read this thread.

As soon as I saw an argument about what if I knew I’m probably best of to just stay out of it haha

[TomCat88]

One player makes no difference? The Bulls lost Michael Jordan for two seasons and couldn't win a championship. Between winning three on either side of that. But, yeah, one player doesn't make any difference. The Bulls just weren't that good to begin with and those titles they won with Jordan were just a fluke. Got it.

I get the gist of your opinion, but this is a pretty big stretch of a comparison.

First, basketball is WAY different than football in which one player CAN make all the difference in the world. There are only 5 guys playing at once. Those Bulls teams were deep, but even they really only had about an 8-9 man rotation that played significant minutes.

Secondly, you literally took the best player to ever play the game of basketball to make a case of how they didn't win when he was gone. Is that really even in the same ballpark of losing a freshman QB starting his 4th game of his career on a football team that fields 22 starters and not 5 starters?

I read his post and knew someone would glom onto the basketball part of it. The point is that losing key players can make all the difference between winning and losing. Not that he or I are saying MSU’ would’ve won if he played all game but that’s true in Jordan’s case and many others. NE doesn’t win six Super Bowls without Brady. Alabama doesn’t win without Saban. Edmonton doesn’t win as much without Gretzky.

There are in all team sports literally hundreds of occasions of players retiring and getting hurt then their team tanking. QB is generally considered the most important position in all sports.

I honestly don't want this to sound condescending, and it is my opinion, but maybe pump the brakes in comparing Tommy's value to the team to that of Gretzky to the Oil, Brady to the Pats, Saban to Alabama, or MJ to the Bulls. It is overly simplistic, and frankly insulting to the rest of the team, to suggest Tommy was the main reason/catalyst as to why we made it to the chipper. Those guys are the BEST in the HISTORY of their respective sports. We won a lot of games the last three seasons with less-than-trancsendent QB talent. Choate mapped out the blueprint (and laid the foundation) for a strong defense and running game carrying us. He openly acknowledged he adopted the NDSU model. Vigen continues to stress the same principles. If the NDSU QB went down, do you feel we would have gained a significant advantage? I don't. The game is won in the trenches, and anyone would have a difficult time convincing me that QB play would have made a difference in that game. If Tom Brady played for us that game, he would have had his a$$ handed to him.

Keep it in context. It's relative. Travel ball has divisions where players are the Michael Jordans of the division. If I'm playing against a bunch of 80 year olds using walkers, I'm the Michael Jordan of that game.

Putting it on a non-professional level, UM lost Dave Dickenson in '94 and then lost to Youngstown the next week. They were down 21-0 at halftime. If Dickenson plays in that game, they aren't down 21-0 at halftime. If Tom Brady had played for UM, they wouldn't have been down 21-0 at halftime. The next season, with Dickenson available for the playoffs, they scored almost 200 points in three home playoff games. Matt Miller pulled his hamstring at Capital his senior year. The Bruins had won the previous three state titles but lost the championship after beating CMR soundly during the season. Miller played, but was nothing near his usual self. If Randy Moss had played for Capital that game, they wouldn't have lost.

When you have stars like Mellott, Dickenson, Miller it's always a big hit when they get hurt. The reason for that is because it's hard to have a backup for someone that good. Big dropoff from Mellot to Rovig, Dickenson to Wilberger, Miller with hammy to Miller w/o hammy.

Mellott had all but 16 yards of MSU's 400+ yards of total offense against So. Dakota State despite not having Ifanse to draw attention away from him. He was the Michael Jordan of that game. Without him MSU "probably" loses.

Mellott accounted for five of the six MSU TDs vs Sam Houston. It was one of the biggest road wins in FCS history. Not so much because MSU won, but how decisively they won. MSU might still win the game with Rovig at QB, but not like that. You'd be hard-pressed to find another quarterback anywhere in the FCS that could've duplicated what he did in that game.

Relative to FCS, those performances were Jordan-esque and based on the quality of the opponent there was no reason to think that it was going to come to an end. Saying MSU isn't anywhere near as effective without Mellott isn't saying NDSU sucks or NDSU doesn't win. NDSU isn't even part of the discussion. Neither is UM, SDSU, SHSU. The subject is MSU's offense with and without Mellott. No matter who MSU plays, it will generally have a better result, this includes not losing as badly, with Mellott at QB.

And btw, Jordan had Pippen, Rodman, Kerr, Kukoc, Jackson. Gretzky had Kurri, Messier, McSorley. Brady had Gronk, Belichek, Vinateri. Mellott has Andersen, Hardy, McCutcheon, Ifanse, Benson, Okada, Vigen. If Jordan, Gretzky, Brady didn't play for the Bulls, Oilers and Pats, then those teams don't have 17 world championships. Sorry Drew Bledsoe, Luc Robitaille, and OJ Mayo you aren't filling in for those three and getting 17 world titles for those teams. Ain't happening.

[TomCat88]

I refuse to even read this thread.

As soon as I saw an argument about what if I knew I’m probably best of to just stay out of it haha

You shouldn't have even made this one post. It's unintelligible.

[TomCat88]

The Blue Hens tanked after they lost their QB. Outside of NDSU, QB play will carry most FCS teams (that have really good overall teams) to the Quarter Finals and beyond. I was on the Matt McKay bus until after watching Tommy against UT Martin. I forgot what a true Leader at QB looked liked. If Tommy played the entire game at Frisco the outcome probably would of been a 7-10 point game either way. An electric FCS QB does not have Tom Brady ability however they mean as much to a Championship team at the FCS level as Tom does in the NFL. Below is part of Herders not to early Top 10 2022.

“10. Delaware
After reaching the spring semifinals, the Blue Hens finished a disappointing 5-6 last season. A factor in those struggles was an injury to quarterback Nolan Henderson, who earned First Team All-CAA honors in the spring before appearing in only four fall games. Henderson explored the transfer portal this offseason but decided to return to the team.”

Exactly. And there are hundreds of examples of teams losing key players that they have no backup for and then tanking. I never imagined anyone did not realize this. This has been a very interesting discussion. I think people want to show that they have respect for NDSU, don't want to insult other players on the team, and/or don't want to show their bias, so they're going overboard with it. There's absolutely nothing wrong with saying MSU is a better team with Mellott, than any of the other QBs at its disposal. I'm sure Rovig and Bauman and even Matt McKay would admit as much. The players love Mellott, and not just because he's a teammate. They love his work ethic, his desire, his skills, his athleticism, etc. They're going to follow hime wherever he takes them the next three years with no questions asked. The things they said about him are more flattering than anything I've said about him.

[ilovethecats]

The Blue Hens tanked after they lost their QB. Outside of NDSU, QB play will carry most FCS teams (that have really good overall teams) to the Quarter Finals and beyond. I was on the Matt McKay bus until after watching Tommy against UT Martin. I forgot what a true Leader at QB looked liked. If Tommy played the entire game at Frisco the outcome probably would of been a 7-10 point game either way. An electric FCS QB does not have Tom Brady ability however they mean as much to a Championship team at the FCS level as Tom does in the NFL. Below is part of Herders not to early Top 10 2022.

“10. Delaware
After reaching the spring semifinals, the Blue Hens finished a disappointing 5-6 last season. A factor in those struggles was an injury to quarterback Nolan Henderson, who earned First Team All-CAA honors in the spring before appearing in only four fall games. Henderson explored the transfer portal this offseason but decided to return to the team.”

Exactly. And there are hundreds of examples of teams losing key players that they have no backup for and then tanking. I never imagined anyone did not realize this. This has been a very interesting discussion. I think people want to show that they have respect for NDSU, don't want to insult other players on the team, and/or don't want to show their bias, so they're going overboard with it. There's absolutely nothing wrong with saying MSU is a better team with Mellott, than any of the other QBs at its disposal. I'm sure Rovig and Bauman and even Matt McKay would admit as much. The players love Mellott, and not just because he's a teammate. They love his work ethic, his desire, his skills, his athleticism, etc. They're going to follow hime wherever he takes them the next three years with no questions asked. The things they said about him are more flattering than anything I've said about him.

I keep trying to find it, but who has said that MSU isn't a better team with Mellott on it? I have seriously went back and read several times and haven't seen it.

You have mentioned several times that people on the "other side" are going overboard with it. But then you and others cite examples of Michael Jordan, Tom Brady and Nick Saban to make your case. It's seems the "overboard" is going both ways.

I'm not even convinced we're not all saying pretty much the same thing. Some think that losing Tommy was the biggest factor in getting blown out by four touchdowns. Others think getting dominated in the trenches was the biggest factor in getting blown out by four touchdowns. It's likely these were both big factors, and it's just a difference in opinion which was the biggest.

[BluegrassBison]

You guys have a kid called "Bear Old" joining you next year? I like your chances.

[ilovethecats]

You guys have a kid called "Bear Old" joining you next year? I like your chances.