NSIC - Week 5 Chat

[Tundra_Man]

Almost halfway through the season already. Crazy.

Minnesota-Duluth at Minnesota State-Moorhead (12:00) - Dragons have been playing fairly well this season, but I think they're going to face a PO'ed Bulldogs team looking to avenge last week's upset.

Winona State at Wayne State (1:00) - Probably the toughest game for me to pick. Wayne is starting to look tough, and Winona, while playing well, seems to not have put together a complete game yet. Right now I'm taking the Wildcats at home, but I reserve the right to go back and change this one.

Augustana at Sioux Falls (1:00) - Normally this would be the game of the week, if not the season for me. As much as it pains me to say it, Augie appears to be the best team in the conference right now. USF at times looks unstoppable, but has had two halves of non-competitive football (1st half against Bemidji and 1st half against Northern) that put a serious dent in their season so far. If the Coo shows up and plays to their potential they could win this game, but right now it remains a big "if". My heart says USF, but my head says Augie. Please prove my head wrong Coo! Unfortunately I'm going to be out of town this weekend so I won't be able to attend in person, but at least my travel schedule worked out so that I should be able to watch it online.

Mary at Northern State (2:00) - Mary is starting to look a little more competitive, but I don't think the Wolves will struggle too bad in this one.

Concordia-St. Paul at Minnesota State-Mankato (2:00) - I took CSP last week against SMSU and that didn't pan out for me. No way they have a chance against Mankato.

Minot State at Bemidji State (2:00) - Sad to say, it looks like (for this season at least) Minot has picked up the flag formerly carried by Crookston.

Southwest Minnesota State at Upper Iowa (3:00) - 2nd toughest game for me to pick. Both teams struggling hard. I went with SMSU just because they may have a little momentum from last week. But really this one looks like a coin flip.

[SW_Mustang]

I went with Wayne over Winona as well. That's going to be my personal game of the week, and probably the one most people differ on.

[laker]

Winona at Wayne- GOTW. Seems strange to say that on Key to the City week, but it sure seems to be.

[Thunder]

There could be close to 100 points put up in the Gypsy Day game in Aberdeen. I don't think Mary will be able to slow down the explosive Wolves offense, and the Wolves defense will have its hands full with Mary's weapons as well. I think Mary's performance against Winona last week will keep NSU from overlooking the Marauders. I expect the Wolves to pull away and win somewhat comfortably at home, but there could be some fireworks in this one.

[NSICFballFan]

There could be close to 100 points put up in the Gypsy Day game in Aberdeen. I don't think Mary will be able to slow down the explosive Wolves offense, and the Wolves defense will have its hands full with Mary's weapons as well. I think Mary's performance against Winona last week will keep NSU from overlooking the Marauders. I expect the Wolves to pull away and win somewhat comfortably at home, but there could be some fireworks in this one.

I missed last weeks NSU game. How was the crowd/environment? Was it as lively as the home opener?

[vikingfaithful]

I missed last weeks NSU game. How was the crowd/environment? Was it as lively as the home opener?

See, week 4 chat. page 7 post #101. Our fearless leader Matt Witwicki gives an accurate description of the game environment.

[laker]

Since SCSU doesn't have football anymore, I thought that I would pass along that their former QB Phil Klaphake is the head coach for unbeaten Sauk Rapids-Rice HS team.

Sauk Rapids-Rice Football Stays Unbeaten; HS Scores (wjon.com)

[vikingfaithful]

Augustana at U. of Sioux Falls. The Cougars are at the precipice of missing the playoffs, this makes a proud program like USF a dangerous team to play. All of the Vikings opponents thus far are pass happy outfits, while the Coo employ a power running scheme combined with efficient throwing. An emotional rivalry game means anything can happen. Yes I picked AU for a victory, but I always do. Personally I believe this is a 50/50 game. Where will the key reside for another year? I don't know.

[wsuguy87]

Winona at Wayne- GOTW. Seems strange to say that on Key to the City week, but it sure seems to be.

If WSU doesn't start better and tighten up the pass defense, it won't be much of a game at all. Mary did what they wanted offensively for an entire game and the Warriors continued their season long trend of sleep walking through the opening half.

[#WolvesNation]

I missed last weeks NSU game. How was the crowd/environment? Was it as lively as the home opener?

The attendance was around 4,900, as compared to 5,900 the prior home game vs. SMSU. That being said, the overall environment and crowd was every bit as good as the inaugural stadium game. The difference was less people in the visitor seats and less surrounding the stadium in standing room spots. The home grandstands were still wedged. Many alumni I have talked to will be making their first trip back to Aberdeen to take in the stadium this weekend. Allegedly the standing-room-only capacity is 7k at The Bank and I would expect the attendance to reach the capacity this weekend, making it over 6k pretty easily. It will be the first afternoon game played at the stadium so we will see how that affects the environment compared to the 6PM kickoffs the first two games have been.

[vikingfaithful]

This is a great year for football in the NSIC. There are 6 teams with 1 loss or undefeated and 3 teams with 2 losses. In past years it was Mankato above everyone else, then UMD, USF and AU. At the beginning of the season did anyone think Northern would defeat Sioux Falls or Wayne going to Duluth and leaving victorious. I'm certain there will be more upsets in the next 6 weeks. Maybe someone new will make the playoffs

[Twincitiesmav]

This is a great year for football in the NSIC. There are 6 teams with 1 loss or undefeated and 3 teams with 2 losses. In past years it was Mankato above everyone else, then UMD, USF and AU. At the beginning of the season did anyone think Northern would defeat Sioux Falls or Wayne going to Duluth and leaving victorious. I'm certain there will be more upsets in the next 6 weeks. Maybe someone new will make the playoffs

Hate to be a pest but I would put Winona St. in that group I have highlighted. They did make the postseason as recent as 2017.

Northern St. could be that new team! And with commerce moving up to D1, I now can see more nsic teams making the postseason.

[Thunder]

I missed last weeks NSU game. How was the crowd/environment? Was it as lively as the home opener?

The atmosphere at "The Bank" (kinda hope that catches on) was great again for second home game. I find it hard to believe there were over 1000 fewer people at this one, but that is what they announced. The tailgating seemed to actually be better for the USF game than the SMSU game. It really is a great place to watch a game, and I don't think there is a bad seat in the house. As Witt mentioned in his description, the stadium is built to be pretty vertical on the home side. That ensures your are right on top of the action even higher up. I think it also helps rain down some noise onto the field. My hope is as NSU develops a top tier NSIC football team we will develop a top tier football crowd as well. As #WolvesNation mentioned I expect a huge crowd this weekend. I think they should get awfully close to the 7000 max attendance. I expect both tailgate lots to be full as well. It should be a really fun environment.

One thing I wanted to ask of any former players on the board is what is typically the condition of the visitors locker rooms in the NSIC? I'm not even really sure where the visitors are at in the new stadium, but I believe they are using some old locker room that was already in the Barnett Center. It has to be tight for a full football team. They also walk in from outside the stadium (but it's not a long walk). I know visitor amenities are typically not great (see Iowa's pink visitors locker room) so I'm curious how Northern's visitors compare to the rest of the conference. As for the visiting fan side, it does have a little bit of a high school feel to it, especially when compared to the other side of the stadium. But for most instances it will be more than sufficient. We don't have a cross-town USF-Augie game to worry about. Perhaps if we reach the lofty status some people hope for we will see more visiting fans for big games to. But I feel a 7000 seat stadium is a great size for what NSU football desires to become.

[MrMustang]

Plenty of intriguing games this weekend. Even those for the teams fighting to be in the middle of the pack. Some biggies and hard to predict if you ask me

[laker]

Since SCSU doesn't have football anymore, I thought that I would pass along that their former QB Phil Klaphake is the head coach for unbeaten Sauk Rapids-Rice HS team.

Sauk Rapids-Rice Football Stays Unbeaten; HS Scores (wjon.com)

Another story about SR-R and Coach Klaphake.