GDT: @ North Dakota State (12/21/24) ***FCS Championship, Semi-Finals***

[jbjack]

You are right about the media. They will want a QB to tout and throw superlatives at. Personally, I am glad he stayed. He is a statue in the pocket and I wasn't that impressed with his accuracy. 164 yards passing against us. Seems pretty pedestrian. I saw that they got a commitment from Chad Pennington's son. I wonder if he knew about Bouman staying before he committed.

He's not a bad QB, but he's losing a ton of talent. As we found out with MG11, a better QB, who lost a bunch of talent, you come back to earth pretty quickly. Didn't he get benched in '22 or very close to it?

[jakejc795]

You are right about the media. They will want a QB to tout and throw superlatives at. Personally, I am glad he stayed. He is a statue in the pocket and I wasn't that impressed with his accuracy. 164 yards passing against us. Seems pretty pedestrian. I saw that they got a commitment from Chad Pennington's son. I wonder if he knew about Bouman staying before he committed.

They are losing/have lost quite a bit on both sides of the ball and the coaching staff, so I suspect they'll be picked to finish 3rd. However, they have a relatively favorable schedule, with the Bison being a tough road game, and maybe Bouman will want revenge on Cyclones in season opener.

[jbjack]

They are losing/have lost quite a bit on both sides of the ball and the coaching staff, so I suspect they'll be picked to finish 3rd. However, they have a relatively favorable schedule, with the Bison being a tough road game, and maybe Bouman will want revenge on Cyclones in season opener.

There are very few schools putting the necessary resources into being top FCS programs. USD can probably be counted as one of them. Although they lose a quite a bit I expect they'll be towards the top if only because they've invested in football.

So far the portal has been quiet for them for returning impact players besides Grace. I think the faithful yote dozen expect Pierre to split after seeing a diminished role.

Except for top guys at certain positions, I wonder if the shine of the portal will eventually wear off? Bouman never entered the portal but it would be naive to think that he and his weren't shopping. My guess is there wasn't much of a market. As Mathew Sluka found out at UNLV, all the glitters is not gold. And I doubt Bouman would have had a market, real or pretend, anywhere near Sluka. And while Bouman isn't a bad QB, he has accuracy issues and will likely struggle without the hard running Theis setting up the pass game and outstanding pass catchers with Bell and the Galreath.

[Jackrabbit2012]

You are right about the media. They will want a QB to tout and throw superlatives at. Personally, I am glad he stayed. He is a statue in the pocket and I wasn't that impressed with his accuracy. 164 yards passing against us. Seems pretty pedestrian. I saw that they got a commitment from Chad Pennington's son. I wonder if he knew about Bouman staying before he committed.

Pennington just reentered the portal. So I would say it was his understanding Bouman was leaving when he committed.

[jakejc795]

Pennington just reentered the portal. So I would say it was his understanding Bouman was leaving when he committed.

Think NDSU pursues him?

[bigticket1]

Pennington just reentered the portal. So I would say it was his understanding Bouman was leaving when he committed.

Kind of ironic that he announces he's staying on the same day that Davis announces that he's leaving.

[jakejc795]

Kind of ironic that he announces he's staying on the same day that Davis announces that he's leaving.

It'd be more ironic if Davis delayed announcing until Bouman assured USD he was coming back

[bigticket1]

It'd be more ironic if Davis delayed announcing until Bouman assured USD he was coming back

It definitely looks like Bouman was originally not coming back. There was speculation on Twitter after the game when the TV announcers said that he might come back, and Jay Elsen (who should know) jumped right in and said that wasn't happening. Combine that with Davis leaving, Pennington changing his mind and backing out, and it appears that a bunch of things suddenly happened. We may never know what happened first.

[jbjack]

Kind of ironic that he announces he's staying on the same day that Davis announces that he's leaving.

Is the insinuation that Davis leaving played a factor in Bouman staying? I can't imagine that's the case but I'm not privy to what goes on in a JSD locker room. Bouman was far from spectacular the year prior to Davis' arrival and has put up two very solid seasons. I suppose it's possible he felt underutilized in a run heavy offense. Or that he and Davis just didn't get along. But from the outside looking in, it sure looked like Josh Davis was good for Aiden Bouman. I would say it is more coincidental than ironic that the announcements were made the same day.

From the bits and pieces that I've read, it seemed certain Bouman was leaving but I don't think I ever saw what he was leaving for. Greener pastures? Moving on with life after football? If the former, I'm guessing there weren't too many other pastures at the FBS option with any grass, let alone green grass. And as much as I hate to say it, there aren't many greener pastures at the FCS level. We had our own soap opera play out with Mark. The word was before the national championship game was that Lujan was going to NW and MG11 was going with him. We had to wait a little longer, though.

If it was the latter, its easy to see a change of heart. Five or six years of college is a long time and person ought to be ready to move on at that point. Perhaps he felt the urge but I'm sure that urge would quickly dissipate once the end is finally there.

[jbjack]

Think NDSU pursues him?

I can't see it but what do I know? If this kid's name wasn't Pennington, would he be any kind of commodity? He's started three games in three years and played in only 7 or 8. I'd think the best this guy is going to get at the DI level is a promise to compete. Honestly after three years of college, that kind of resume shouldn't excite a top tier FCS program.

[ringthebells]

Did Davis bring in Pennington? Would he follow Davis to Fresno? My gut says no, but to keep things interesting, I hope he does.