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Week 4: Sac State vs. North Dakota

SDHornet

SDHornet

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Week 4: Sac State vs. North Dakota

The Hornets (2-1) open up Big Sky Conference play with a game against new BSC member North Dakota (2-1). UND has had a great start to the season with wins over a non-D1 opponent and Portland State but they are coming off of a barnburner loss to FBS San Diego State. This will be the first time the Hornets play UND since 1979.

Offense
UND has moved the ball well this season and had a very impressive showing at San Diego State last week. Last week they started back-up quarterback (#13) Marcus Hendrickson and he put up 434 yards and 4 TD’s on SDSU’s defense. Hendrickson was also very elusive in the pocket and has the mobility to scramble for positive yardage. The rumor is their starting QB (#18) Braden Hanson will be able to return from injury this week, but after the performance by Hendrickson the past few weeks I think he will get the nod. The QB’s are also supported by a good group of WR’s who can make plays down the field. The WR’s are led by standout (#84) Greg Hardin and backed by two capable receivers in (#83) Jameer Jackson and (#5) RJ McGill. This group of receivers completely embarrassed a respectable SDSU secondary and poses a capable threat to any defensive secondary.

UND was playing from behind much of the SDSU game but struggled to get a running game going early on against the bigger SDSU defensive line. UND can move the ball on the ground with RB’s (#3) Jake Miller and (#28) Mitch Sutton. Sutton is the bigger back and appears to be their power running back whereas Miller is the smaller more agile runner. The offensive line has size and they are mobile as UND tried to get the power sweep going early on against SDSD. Their OL has the capability to effectively pull their guards for any run play. The OL also provided plenty of time for their QB to throw the ball so they can get it done for either offensive attack.

From what I saw UND had no base offensive set as I saw almost every formation in the book. They have the capability to spread out the defense with multiple WR sets as well as lineup with the extra TE and pound the ball straight ahead. The bottom line is the UND offense is very versatile and can move the ball and score points through the air and on the ground, and they seem to be running on all cylinders at this early point in the season.

Season Stats/Averages:
  • • Rushing Offense: 177.3 ypg (4.8 ypr), 6 TD’s (35th FCS, 4th BSC)
    • Passing Offense: 337.0 ypg (16.6 ypc), 14 TD’s (8th FCS, 2nd BSC)
    • Total Offense: 514.3 ypg (7.5 ypp), 20 TD’s, 4 FG’s (5th FCS, 2nd BSC)
    • Time of Possession: 32:15
    • Turnovers: 2 (1 Fum, 1 INT)
    • Penalties: 32 for 252 yds (84.0 ypg) (2nd most BSC)
    • QB: (#13) Marcus Hendrickson: 48 of 81 for 823 yds, 12 TD’s, 1 INT, 19 carries for 86 yds
    • WR: (#84) Greg Hardin: 17 recs for 435 yds, 7 TD’s
    • RB: (#3) Jake Miller: 32 carries for 203 yds, 1 TD, 1 rec for 2 yds
    • WR: (#83) Jameer Jackson: 12 recs for 191 yds, 2 TD’s
    • WR: (#5) RJ McGill: 13 recs for 180 yds, 1 TD
    • RB: (#28) Mitch Sutton: 26 carries for 118 yds, 3 TD’s, 3 recs for 49 yds
The Hornet defense will have its hands full. There has yet to be a defense that has slowed down the explosive UND offense so the Hornets are going to have to dig deep to create stops. UND has fumbled the ball 6 times so forcing turnovers is possible. The Hornet defensive line is going to have to get it done up front if there is any hope at slowing down UND. If the Hornets can play tough and slow down their running game, this would force UND to throw the ball at the Hornet secondary which is coming off of a 3 INT game. However if the Hornets can’t get any pressure on the QB, Hendrickson will pick apart the secondary.

Another big component for this will be what different packages DC Parker runs out against UND. UND shows so many different formations that having the right personnel on the field at the right time will be a crucial aspect of this game. The 4-2-5 the Hornets run will be helpful against the pass, but if UND can establish their running game; Parker may need to put an extra LB on the field like we saw at Colorado.

Defense
UND operates out of the 3-4 and brings a 4th defender from either of the OLB spots. Overall this isn’t a very good defense. The UND defense has yet to hold a D-1 opponent to under 500 yards of offense, and the UND secondary looked down right awful early on against SDSU last week with a lot of blown coverage’s resulting in wide open receivers. The UND pass defense is very suspect and will continue to hamper them so long as they can’t get things together.

SDSU ran the ball with ease against UND so their defensive front might be a little wore down from last weeks pounding. The UND defensive line does not have much size so it relies on its quick linebackers to fill the gaps and pursue the run as well as its quickness to apply pass pressure. Overall the front seven is an average at best group of players.

Season Stats/Averages:
  • • Rushing Defense: 176.7 ypg (5.4 ypr), 5 TD’s (68th FCS, 9th BSC)
    • Passing Defense: 220.0 ypg (6.9 ypc), 6 TD’s (73rd FCS, 7th BSC)
    • Total Defense: 396.7 ypg (6.1 ypp), 11 TD’s, 3 FG’s (78th FCS, 9th BSC)
    • Opponent Time of Possession: 27:45
    • Turnovers Forced: 3 (1 Fum, 2 INT’s)
    • Opponents Penalties: 24 for 229 yds (76.3 ypg)
    • LB: (#53) Garrison Goodman: 23 tackles, 2 TFL’s
    • LB: (#52) Ben Peters: 15 tackles, 1 TFL
    • DB: (#26) Chris Hall: 12 tackles, 1 BU, 1 PD
    • DB: (#17) Chavon Mackey: 10 tackles, 3 BU, 3 PD
    • DL: (#90) Devin Benjamin: 10 tackles
    • DE: (#45) Jay Nelson: 9 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 sack
The Hornet offensive cannot afford to have a sluggish start in this game. This game very well could turn into another shootout which means the Hornets will need to score on every possession. A lot of this game’s outcome rides on the shoulders of Safron. If he and the receivers have another bad day then there won’t be much chance for a win. Safron needs to move the ball against the questionable UND secondary and errant throws will not get it done. The Hornet offensive line needs to come out motivated and aggressive so it can open up the running game. If the OL comes out like it did in weeks 1 and 2, they should be able to impose their will on the UND front seven. If the Hornets can establish the run and move the ball, it will allow the Hornets to control the clock and keep the ball away from UND’s potent offense. There won’t be much room for error on the part of the offense. A couple of blown possessions due to mistakes and lack of focus will put the Hornets behind early.

Special Teams
The UND punt and kick return threat is nowhere near what it was from UNC a week ago. UND is averaging in the bottom half of the conference for both categories but they do have a capable kick returner in (#4) Daryl Brown. The UND kicker appears to be pretty good but UND ranks at the bottom of the BSC in net punting. If the Hornets can force some stops they could wind up with good field position. Coverage wise UND has given up a couple of punt returns for decent yardage but their kickoff coverage has been about the same as Sac State’s.

Season Stats/Averages:
  • • K: (#11) Zeb Miller: 4/5 FG’s (long of 50 yds), 20/20 PAT’s
    • P: (#12) Brett Cameron: 10 punts for 389 yds (38.9 ypp), 2 TB’s, 1 FC
    • KR: (#4) Daryl Brown: 4 kr’s for 99 yds (24.8 ypr)
    • PR: (#33) Erik Mersereau: 6 pr’s for 36 yds (6.0 ypr)
    • Kick Coverage: Allowed 318 yds on 16 returns (19.9 ypr), 9 TB’s
    • Punt Coverage: Allowed 51 yds on 2 returns (25.5 ypr)
The Hornets will need to recover from a sloppy special teams performance from a week ago. UND has blocked a punt this season so the Hornets will need to make sure their blocking schemes are in order. Their kicker has boomed a lot of kickoffs for touchbacks so Carter or McCowan may not have many chances for returns.

Intangibles
This is the second consecutive week UND will be traveling to California. The long travel in back to back weeks might wear on the UND players. UND is also the second most penalized team in the BSC. The Hornets were able to capitalize on some bad penalties from UNC a week ago and that might come into play again this week. Aside from UND’s starting QB returning from injury, I am not sure where they stand on that front. UND has a +1 turnover margin and much like the Hornets they have been very efficient in the redzone.

This game is going to be a tough one. UND is coming in with a smoking hot offense and the Hornets are coming off of a sluggish performance from last week. If the Hornet offense gets going we might see some fireworks this week as UND can put up some points in a hurry. The Hornets will need a flawless performance on offense if the defense can’t get stops. This game should be an entertaining one nonetheless.

Go Hornets!

Game Info
 
First conference game for UND - looks like a nice preview - join us over at SS.

http://forum.siouxsports.com/topic/17326-week-4-und-at-sac-st/page__st__20" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 
Too bad you had to bring up '79, SD. The Sioux beat us 31-0. :'(

I could have sworn we'd seen UND during the '80s in the playoffs, but it was NDSU. SD is right as always....
 
Hornetsports Preview:

FBPrevHeader092212.jpg


http://www.hornetsports.com/sports/football/release.asp?release_id=10638
 
This game has me more than worried. North Dakota took San Diego State down to the wire and SDSU managed to stay within 10 points of Washington. The Huskies are A LOT better than Colorado, who incidentally got whacked by Fresno State 69-14. Now, I know things don't always play out like they might seem on paper .. but it still seems very apparent to me that North Dakota has a strong team. IMO, the Hornets are going to have to play their best game to date in order to win. I think they can rise to the challenge and do it, but it won't be easy.
 
My brother went to the San Diego St vs North Dakota game. He says it will be a "miracle" for Sac St to beat them cuz their QB and WR's were "great". Let's hope for a "miracle" then.........
 
Knowing how the program approaches these types of teams, I predict the Hornets running off tackle left, off tackle right, draw play most of the game. They will try to keep the UND offense off the field and the only way to do that is ball control running.

I wont predict a Hornets loss, but we don't have Charles Roberts anymore.
 
I think Peterson approaches this game just like any other in that he tries to get every aspect of the offense going. The UND defense has struggled to stop anything so all options should be on the table for the Hornet offense. If the OL dominates and UND can’t stop the run, then going with a run heavy attack for much of the game is the smart thing to do.

I’m more interested to see what (if anything) Parker tries to do to counter the explosive UND offense. The DL will need to have a monster of a game if we want a shot in this one and Odiase will need to have another good game and find a way to shutdown Greg Hardin.
 
BuckeyeHornetFan said:
This game has me more than worried. North Dakota took San Diego State down to the wire and SDSU managed to stay within 10 points of Washington. The Huskies are A LOT better than Colorado, who incidentally got whacked by Fresno State 69-14. Now, I know things don't always play out like they might seem on paper .. but it still seems very apparent to me that North Dakota has a strong team. IMO, the Hornets are going to have to play their best game to date in order to win. I think they can rise to the challenge and do it, but it won't be easy.
Click to expand...

I agree with Buckeye as this one has me worried too. I'd love to have more confidence; however, the 3 teams sac has played so far this season have a combined 2-7 record. The 2 wins were over Sac and D2 Colorado Mesa.

CU is "Pac-12" but they have proven to be awful. With a loss to Colorado State (which is 1-2, including a convincing loss to FCS NDSU), and having been down 55-7 at the half to Fresno State... CU is imploding this year.

Although Sac notched an reportedly "ugly" win over NC does little to instill confidence, Sac has demonstrated talent and ability this year. Hopefully all the pieces come together and they execute on Sat! Go Sac!
 
SDHornet said:
I think Peterson approaches this game just like any other in that he tries to get every aspect of the offense going. The UND defense has struggled to stop anything so all options should be on the table for the Hornet offense. If the OL dominates and UND can’t stop the run, then going with a run heavy attack for much of the game is the smart thing to do.

I’m more interested to see what (if anything) Parker tries to do to counter the explosive UND offense. The DL will need to have a monster of a game if we want a shot in this one and Odiase will need to have another good game and find a way to shutdown Greg Hardin.
Click to expand...

I thought that about Peterson too, but after watching last weeks run up the middle into a large group of people and get tackled after a 2yd gain over and over and then the D dropping back into prevent, there are still some bad habits the program follows.
 
The Green Hornet said:
My brother went to the San Diego St vs North Dakota game. He says it will be a "miracle" for Sac St to beat them cuz their QB and WR's were "great". Let's hope for a "miracle" then.........
Click to expand...


I agree with you. Their quarterback was poised and accurate, and isn't afraid to stand in a collapsing pocket and launch bombs. They mixed in a fair amount of trickery including a crazy double reverse flea flicker that resulted in a 50 yard td. Their quarterback also hit a receiver who was double covered in the corner of the end zone.

My only question is whether SDSU played lax defense because they were up 21 points in the second quarter - SD Hornet would probably know.

Either way, ND's quarterback shredded a decent mid-major and I expect them to do the same this weekend.

I just dont want to hear again after the game that Todd Davis didnt see film and had no idea what he was up against. ND can ball period and their skill players are a force. The D needs their A game or this will get ugly, although as SD stated the travel schedule may be a factor.
 
jj, SDSU got shredded from what I saw. They couldn’t stop Hardin. A lot of it was due to the lack of pressure…and when there was pressure Hendrickson would pick up a good chunk of yardage on the ground.

GCM, we had a lot of runs because last week because 1) Safron was having an awful day and 2) we were ahead and our OL started to get a push in the 2nd half. The running game was getting it done after a lackluster start to the game. Agree with you about the prevent defense calls, that has never worked for us.

BTW saw a splash on Hornetsports that said the first 1,500 fans to the game get a Herky bobblehead. :thumb:
 
SDH,

Incorrect statement. UND didn't play from behind for most of the game. They played from behind the entire game.

If the Sac St offense that played at CU shows up for this game, then the hornets are good position to get the win on Saturday. UND's D is absent. Also, they will have traveled to Cal for two consecutive weeks. That will take a toll on the UND team.

Go Hornets!
 
The more I read and hear about UND's dynamic offense, the more I'm wishing this Saturday's game was kicking off at 2pm just like last week. UND probably wouldn't be accustomed to the heat and could wear down during the 2nd half. Oh well.

I'd like to see the defense get blitz happy this game. Sure, they'll likely give up some big plays if / when they miss open field tackles or UND counters with the right play, but I'd rather they chances trying to create some big plays on defense than get methodically picked apart by a super efficient QB and WR combo.
 
BuckeyeHornetFan said:
The more I read and hear about UND's dynamic offense, the more I'm wishing this Saturday's game was kicking off at 2pm just like last week. UND probably wouldn't be accustomed to the heat and could wear down during the 2nd half. Oh well.
Click to expand...
It was a record high in SD when the SDSU-UND game kicked off at 5 pm (I think about 97 degrees). It didn't seem to bother UND too much last week, probably wouldn't impact them too much this week.
I'd like to see the defense get blitz happy this game. Sure, they'll likely give up some big plays if / when they miss open field tackles or UND counters with the right play, but I'd rather they chances trying to create some big plays on defense than get methodically picked apart by a super efficient QB and WR combo.
Click to expand...
I agree.
 
BuckeyeHornetFan said:
The more I read and hear about UND's dynamic offense, the more I'm wishing this Saturday's game was kicking off at 2pm just like last week. UND probably wouldn't be accustomed to the heat and could wear down during the 2nd half. Oh well.

I'd like to see the defense get blitz happy this game. Sure, they'll likely give up some big plays if / when they miss open field tackles or UND counters with the right play, but I'd rather they chances trying to create some big plays on defense than get methodically picked apart by a super efficient QB and WR combo.
Click to expand...

That was the game plan implemented by Portland St. They blitzed all day which left the WR's against man coverage. Our Wr's especially Hardin are very good against man coverage so it's a bit of a catch 22.

Look for a different UND defense in this game, they are alot better than they've been 'playing' and seem to be very pissed off to prove that they are better than what they've put on film this year.

How good is your run defense and running game?
 
Rushing defense is #32 nationally
http://web1.ncaa.org/mfb/natlRank.jsp?year=2012&rpt=IAA_teamrushdef&site=org&div=IAA&dest=O" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Defensively, both teams are pretty close.
 
Predictions

Score: 38-35 Hornets win a barn burner. This pick feels like a homer pick and if the offense sputters this game can easily be a blowout loss. This should be a fun game to watch nonetheless.

Attendance: 8,415 Not sure if the fact that it is a night game will help attendance much. Maybe people will get excited about the free Herky bobblehead and show up in force.
 
Looks like the admin is coming up with creative ways to get more people to the games:

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — As part of this week's Military and Community Service Day, Sacramento State Athletics will provide a voucher for up to two people to all veterans to the Hornet football game against North Dakota. The game will kick off at 6:05 p.m. in Hornet Stadium.

Vouchers can be picked up at the Office of Veteran Affairs (Lassen Hall 3003), the Air Force ROTC office (Yosemite Hall) and the Athletics Marketing Office (Athletics Center). The vouchers are for seats on the East Grandstand.

The game will also feature displays of military vehicles as well as exhibits from the Sacramento County Sheriffs.

On top of the military and community service theme, the first 1,500 fans will receive Herky the Hornet bobbleheads. There will also be several high school marching bands joining the Sacramento State band.
Click to expand...
http://www.hornetsports.com/sports/football/release.asp?release_id=10644
 
SDHornet said:
Looks like the admin is coming up with creative ways to get more people to the games:

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — As part of this week's Military and Community Service Day, Sacramento State Athletics will provide a voucher for up to two people to all veterans to the Hornet football game against North Dakota. The game will kick off at 6:05 p.m. in Hornet Stadium.

Vouchers can be picked up at the Office of Veteran Affairs (Lassen Hall 3003), the Air Force ROTC office (Yosemite Hall) and the Athletics Marketing Office (Athletics Center). The vouchers are for seats on the East Grandstand.

The game will also feature displays of military vehicles as well as exhibits from the Sacramento County Sheriffs.

On top of the military and community service theme, the first 1,500 fans will receive Herky the Hornet bobbleheads. There will also be several high school marching bands joining the Sacramento State band.
Click to expand...
http://www.hornetsports.com/sports/football/release.asp?release_id=10644
Click to expand...


Hi, UND fan here!

Just curious. Is UND considered a less-than-desirable fan draw locally, and is that the reason why this special promo is being used to butts in the seats, or is low attendance a re-occurring issue? I know there was talk at SDSU last week that the fact UND was coming to town would affect ticket numbers in a negative way; we're not used to our team having that kind of negative effect on team's attendance numbers. Maybe it's just that were new to the local fan base and it will take a while for fans to get excited to beat UND. Who knows?
 
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