Portland State at North Dakota

[JALMOND]

Kickoff scheduled for around 6pm CDT from Alerus Center in Grand Forks, ND, between Portland State and North Dakota. Game time is unclear due to the festivities surrounding the Potato Bowl, which is what this game is being called. UND stifled DII newcomer South Dakota Mines last week, 66-0, but lost their big transfer quarterback, Hanson, in the first half. He will miss this game. Portland State also won their game last week against NAIA Carroll College, 38-20, but lost their All-American kicker, Brown, to injury. Brown has made the trip and will be a game time decision. This is the first game of the year involving two Big Sky team, but it is considered a non-conference game. This is also the first meeting between the two teams since 1981. Weather is not a factor as the game is played indoors.

Portland State play by play: http://www.freedom970.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

TV---MidCom TV is handling the play by play in North Dakota and Minnesota. Comcast Sports Northwest is picking up the feed and will show it live in Oregon and Washington.

[JALMOND]

PSU---Monahan 65 yd TD pass from McDonough off a flea flicker. PAT failed (bobled snap)

13:15 left 1st

PSU 6
UND 0

[JALMOND]

UND---Hardin 66 yd TD catch from Hendrickson PAT good

12:58 left 1st

UND 7
PSU 6

[The Kicker]

UND 14
PSU 9

[JALMOND]

Update:

PSU---Fernandez 36 yd FG good
UND---Hardin 26 yd TD catch from Hendrickson, PAT good

end 1st in the Potato Bowl

Simplot 14
Ore-Ida 9

[JALMOND]

PSU---Monahan 42 yd TD catch from McDonaugh PAT good
UND---quick short TD pass inside by Hendrickson, PAT good

8 mins left 2nd

UND 21
PSU 16

[Gil Dobie]

Another high scoring Big Sky game.

[JALMOND]

Actually been rather entertaining...

Just before half

UND 35
PSU 24

UND got a block punt right before the half, took a couple plays and punched it in.

Hardin (UND) and Monahan (PSU) both had phenominal performances so far.

[The Kicker]

UND Ball after INT, go for another TD
3rd 2:53
UND 45
PSU 24

[JALMOND]

End 3rd

Simplot 45
Ore Ida 24

McDonaugh threw 2 INT in the 3rd, UND gain 10 points off those two turnovers.

[JALMOND]

Final

North Dakota 45
Portland State 37

[Bison Fan in NW MN]

Defensive battle I see....

[Darell1976]

Defensive battle I see....

Thank God we have a QB that can put points on the board or else we would've been crushed. PSU did almost everything right:

#1 stop UND's running game (our leading rusher was QB Marcus Hendrickson)
#2 beat up on UND's passing defense (QB did rather well minus the picks)

It was just UND's passing game stepped up and shocked the PSU secondary.

[JALMOND]

Mixed feelings for me on it as a PSU fan...

1. With our no huddle hurry up, we didn't seem to be bothered by the noise too much. Everyone seemed to get the play and execute it (somewhat).

2. Adams (Maryland transfer RB) is fast and will be a great runner once he learns the playbook. He has been kept out because he is still learning our terminology and with a no-huddle, you can't specifically go to him and say "you go here". When he knew what to do, he can run for distance, but when he goes somewhere we are not expecting him to, we have problems.

3. McDonaugh is looking better, but still made some bad reads. Our offense is based a lot on the quarterback and what he sees, so to have a true freshman back there can be interesting at times.

4. Still too many dumb penalties, especially on the road (although I am still trying to figure out "disconcerning signals". That baffled the North Dakota TV crew as well as the Portland State radio guys).

5. Pass defense is still a major concern. It is going to be scary when McGhee, Broadous and other more experienced quarterbacks come to play.

UND has a fine team and Hardin is an exceptional receiver. The fans are really loud, but they are fair to the opponent and understanding of the game (similar to Griz fans). It was good to play a game like this this early. A good game for both teams to learn from.