The Jackrabbits came away with another ranked win over Illinois State. It wasn’t the prettiest of wins but a road win in the MVFC is always good. The Jacks remain unbeaten and are a quarter of the way through their MVFC gauntlet.

Rave: How good are the #605Hogs playing right now? Pretty dang good. Two weeks in a row where they have created huge lanes for the running game. The Jackrabbits finished with 374 yards rushing (8.1 yard average) and held a team that was averaging 4 sacks per game to just 1 sack with a few pressures. I love bringing in Quinten Christensen as an extra blocker. He is going to be a great one. If this group keeps playing like this, the Jackrabbits will be tough to beat!

Rave: Obviously if the run game is clicking like that. you have some pretty good backs. On a night when a scout from the Reese’s Senior Bowl was in attendance, Isaiah Davis shined. He finished with 197 yards (9.9 ypc) and 2 TD. Just a dominant player. Let’s enjoy the time we have left with him Jackrabbit fans!

Rave: Not to be outdone, Amar Johnson looked like the change of pace back that we need. He finished with 106 yards himself (9.6 ypc) and looked really explosive. Maybe more important, Amar did a TERRIFIC job on blitz pickups.

Rant: Okay, the statistics aren’t too bad and Illinois State only had 171 yards receiving but I’m starting to get a little concerned about our secondary. This group is too talented and too experienced to be getting gashed like this. Sobkowicz had 7 receptions for 70 yards and a TD but it felt like he was really able to get what he wanted against us. UNI and their bevy of wide receivers will be a true test for this group.

Rave: I thought Jason Freeman played a terrific game on first watch. He finished with 9 tackles and just seemed to be making plays near the line of scrimmage all night. I’m sure it was a huge crowd for him being so close to home.

Rave: Speaking of that…the Jacks have 11 guys on the roster from Illinois. What a cool opportunity for them to come back to their home state and play in front of friends and family. I saw on X that Mark had a busload of friends and family that came to watch him. In the post game, Coach Rogers mentioned that DyShawn had 200+ family and friends in the stands. Very cool for those kids and its great to get Jackrabbit wins in a state that has been terrific to this program.

Rant: The penalties were again out of control. Coach Rogers keeps saying that they will get better and that guys who continue to commit selfish penalties will sit. The Jacks had 9 penalties for 90 yards. The facemasks and holding type penalties happen. The pre-snap stuff and the personal fouls just have to be cleaned up. This team is too good.

Rave: The Jankes looked great and it is nice to have them both back and healthy again. Jaxon had 5 receptions for 88 yards and a TD while Jadon had 2 receptions for 53 yards and they both went for touchdowns.

Rave: I’m pumped Cade Terveer had the huge sack when the defensive line needed it. He’s a player that I expected to have a big season this year and this may be the big moment that jumpstarts it.

Rant/Rave: The audio for the broadcast on ESPN+ was not good and the production quality of the video and graphics was pretty poor for most of the night. However, I took the advice of others and used “The Varsity Network” ap on my Iphone so I could listen to Tyler Merriam and crew call the game. It was awesome and really easy to do. I’d highly recommend it in the future for non-Midco broadcasts.

Rave: I’m glad the Jacks continued to utilize Zach Heins. He finished with 3 receptions for 28 yards and nearly had a big reception on a two point conversion. I do think there is still more to be unlocked but I’m happy his utilization in the pass game has picked up.

Rant: Special teams was not special last night. The snap on the missed XP was bad after the first touchdown and then everything seemed to spiral after that. Two kicks out of bounds gave Illinois State at least ten yards of extra field position that they likely wouldn’t have had. The missed FG happens but Hunter can hit that more often than not. The forced fumble and recovery that led to the Jacks being up 20 to 0 was a bright spot along with the kick return game where Amar and Griffin Wilde had nice returns (Wilde’s being negated by a penalty).

Rave: The Jacks dominated in time of possession 35:45 to 24:15 and I think that showed in the 4th quarter when the Jacks just ran the ball through their soul. This is a winning recipe, especially with the new rules. Control the ball, limit possessions for opponents but you MUST score touchdowns when you have the chance and that is something the Jacks are very good at doing.

Rave: Savion Williamson just continues to make plays. He finished with 10 tackles and caused the fumble in the 4th quarter that extinguished any remaining Redbird hope. How lucky we are to have such a quality player available to fill in for an injured All-American.

Rave: Overall, I’m happy with this win. TONS to improve to prevent complacency but it is still a win against a ranked opponent on the road in a place where we haven’t always played our best. Proud of this team!

Game Balls

Offense: Isaiah Davis and #605Hogs

Defense: Jason Freeman

Special Teams: Cullen McShane (forced the fumble on the kick return)