UND football: Texas Tech hype begins
by: Wayne Nelson, Grand Forks Herald
In less than a week, UND will experience college football at its highest level.
UND will travel to powerful Texas Tech on Saturday for a big payday along with a chance to see what major college football is all about.
The Sioux are a long way from their glory days of Division II, which ended in 2007. Gone are the days of regional polls, Division II playoffs, national title games and easy nonconference wins.
Starting this season, UND will embark on yearly football schedules that will be difficult —ranging from guarantee games against big-time programs and challenging competition from established FCS teams such as Montana.
And it doesn’t get any tougher than Texas Tech, ranked No. 1 in the country last season after beating rival Texas at home in one of the most talked about college games of the 2008 season. The Red Raiders of the Big 12 Conference wound up 11-2, losing to Oklahoma and to Mississippi in the Cotton Bowl.
The hype for Texas Tech, which will pay $350,000 to play UND, will be in full force this week.
However, at UND last week, it was pretty much business as usual at Memorial Stadium. The week included a Tuesday scrimmage followed by a light day. On Thursday and Friday, scout teams largely were in place as the Sioux conducted two fairly routine practices.
UND begins its normal game week preparation today with team meetings.
Breaking it down
The football worlds at UND and Texas Tech are vastly different. Speed is the difference at the top of the list.
“It’s a different speed than we’re accustomed to seeing,” UND coach Chris Mussman said. “It’s one thing to watch as a fan. It’s another to turn around and have a critical eye to it.”
As the UND coaches study game film of Tech, they’re challenged with finding any type of advantage, no matter how small.
“We’re watching guys like (Texas quarterback) Colt McCoy and (ex-Tech quarterback) Graham Harrell and now we have to be critical in how to beat them. Those guys are so talented.
“There are times when you roll your eyes and say, ‘I don’t know.’ ”
Despite the high-profile opponent, UND won’t vastly alter its game-week preparations.
“Like I told the guys, the only thing we can do is prepare like we always prepare,” Mussman said. “And we always prepare to win.”
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Story courtesy of www.grandforkshearald.com
NOTE: This is for my friend Bill that says I need to show more love to Texas Tech on my blog....
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Thanks Melissa! Great stuff.
ReplyDeleteBill