Commentary: In transfer portal era, UND needs to find immediate fixes on defense
Nov. 25—GRAND FORKS — UND has reached the FCS playoffs the last two seasons.
It put up over 30 points in both playoff games.
It also lost both.
UND's defense was gashed Saturday in a 42-35 loss to Sac State in the first round of the FCS playoffs in the Alerus Center.
The numbers were ugly.
Sac State racked up 216 yards of offense in the first quarter alone. It scored touchdowns on its first four possessions of the game.
The Hornets went 8-of-10 on third down.
They got into the red zone six times. They scored six touchdowns.
"We needed to get off the field," UND coach Bubba Schweigert said. "We didn't do that."
It's not that Sac State entered the game as a juggernaut on offense.
The Hornets ranked sixth in the Big Sky Conference in points per game and have used three different starting quarterbacks this season. They only reached the 42-point mark one other time this season — and it came at home.
UND has made a habit of making the FCS playoffs in recent years. It has been in four of the last five postseasons.
But if UND wants to make a deep run, it has to make major improvements on defense.
The top four defenses in the Missouri Valley Football Conference will be playing next week.
The top two are South Dakota State (11.3 points per game) and South Dakota (14.6). They were the league's two seeded teams.
Third and fourth are Southern Illinois (15.8) and North Dakota State (19.5). They both advanced Saturday.
UND did not.
In fact, it's improbable the Fighting Hawks even made the playoffs with some of their defensive numbers. Of the 122 FCS teams, UND ranked 87th in sacks, 89th in takeaways, 114th in first downs allowed and 117th in opponent third-down conversion rate.
There will be some turnover on that unit.
Cornerback C.J. Siegel, safety Kadon Kauppinen, safety Malachi Buckner, defensive tackle Jeff Griffin Jr., and defensive end Jaelen Johnson are among the graduating players. Others will have decisions to make on whether to return for their fifth years.
"We'll have individual meetings with our guys and see where guys are at and just move forward," Schweigert said. "It's the way college football is right now. We've got to let guys get out of here today and we'll get together as a team tomorrow and kind of chart a path as we move forward.
"Then, we'll get through the semester, and then you start in January on 2024."
It's unlikely UND will be able to fill the voids solely with players currently on the roster.
While going after players in the NCAA transfer portal can be a mixed bag, it's a necessity this offseason to make over the defense. Hitting on a player like Ben McNaboe, who transferred from Minnesota, can give an instant boost with an older player.
If the Fighting Hawks don't hit, there might be more afternoons like Saturday ahead.
