The Jackrabbits dominated on Hobo Day. If good things come in 3’s than the Hobo Day curse of poor performances should finally be broken after destroying Indiana State, UNI, and now YSU in three consecutive years. The Jacks earned a 63-13 victory but it still feels like they have stuff to clean up. Due to travel, I was not there and I watched a majority of the game from my iPhone screen. Choosing to sleep and spend time with my kids, I have yet to rewatch this one but here are my initial thoughts.
Rants & Raves
Rave: The Jackrabbit rushing attack was en fuego! The unit racked up 404 net yards, accounted for 4 TDs and averaged 16.2 yards per carry on 25 attempts! The #605Hogs were opening some lanes that you and I could pick up a few yards on. When the lane wasn’t clean, the ball carrier made guys miss or broke tackles. It was an impressive effort!
Rave: I thought the #605Hogs played really really well in the run game. I didn’t notice slipped blocks from the tight ends in the run game and that was something I had commented on in previous games.
Rave: I loved the jumbo jumbo package from the #605Hogs. It is a great way to utilize the new-found depth along the offensive line. I’m glad both Vibert and Hagen are back and I’m glad Paepke and Hicks now have in-game experience. Who knows when that may be needed!
Rant: The Jackrabbit defense was not up to par on Saturday. Yes, they only allowed 13 points and SDSU will win 99% of their games when they only surrender 13 points but allowing YSU to convert on 9/17 attempts on 3rd down is unacceptable. This contributed to YSU holding ball for over 40 minutes of game time.
Rave: We’ve been waiting for the Chase Mason breakout game and we may have finally gotten it! He is so dangerous because of his size, physicality, and speed. It was clear the YSU secondary defenders wanted nothing to do with him in the open field. On his five runs he gained 161 yards (32.2 ypc) and 2 TDs. He also added another TD passing.
Rave: The Jackrabbit special teams was again phenomenal! Remember when we used to ask the special teams to just play even with the opponent and not lose the game? Those days are long forgotten as this unit is consistently winning. The kick return TD, the booming punt (from the backup) and consistently pinning opponents inside the 25 when they dare to return a kick is so huge for the momentum of the team!
Rave: The young Jackrabbit tight ends seem to be building on some success. Stoffel, Alpers, and Gormley all had receptions and made a play with ball. Hopefully trust is building between them and Mark.
Rant: The tackling on defense was really off. There were a handful of attempts where guys were going for the “kill shot” but there were lots of others where the YSU ball carrier simply broke free of the attempt. It must be better!
Rave: I loved how the Jackrabbits got Griffin Wilde involved in the offense. 5 receptions for 62 yards and a 1 TD were great. Mark missed him early in the game on a sure TD but they still found ways to get him the ball throughout the game. His toe tapping catches along the sideline were beautiful!
Rave: Speaking of Mark, his numbers for the day 8/13 for 127 and 2 TD won’t wow anyone but after 2 bad misses in the first half, I thought he really stepped up and played a good game. He also added 53 yards on the ground with some timely scrambles to keep the ball moving.
Rave: I do really like how our secondary is settling in and it will only get stronger with the return of Tucker Large. There is a nice rotation happening at CB with Steven Arrell, Colby Humphrey, and Myles Taylor all getting work opposite Dalys Beanum. The safety position has been primarily manned by Huerter and Durrance but Colton Tilford and Noah Thompson are also banking some REALLY valuable reps for their future development. Huerter is done after this season and Reeder could choose to hang it up too (or use a medical redshirt) so they will be needed in future season and are doing a nice job so far this year!
Rant: I would like our offensive line to start games more ready to pass blocking. I’m not sure how else to better write that. They need to be ready from the first drive and not wait until the 4th drive to find their pass blocking groove. On a few of the early misses Mark had in the first half, he had a lot of pressure on him. Again, they seemed to settle in as the game moved along (or the defenders tired out) but we don’t want/need QB taking shots on early game passing plays.
Rave: The unselfishness of this team is really standing out to me. There are SOOOO many weapons on this team. They aren’t household names yet but they are all ready when their number gets called. We’ve mentioned the tight ends but Grahm Goering, Kentrell Prejean, Elijah Ervin, Devon Cole, and Marson Preston all have important roles within this offense, even when they aren’t having balls thrown their way.
Rave: Congratulations to Davin Stoffel and Marcus Preston for recording their first TD receptions as Jackrabbits and Jon Bell for his first passing TD. Congratulations to Max Pelham for a first outstanding punt as a Rabbit and to Jack Stevens for his first points in the yellow and blue!
Rave: Our current linebackers are playing at a really high level but knowing that guys like Cullen McShane, Chase Van Tol, Bryce Johnson, Joe Ollman, and others are waiting in the wings has me so dang excited. This is a really fun group!
Rant: The Jackrabbit defense allowed YSU to rush for 183 net yards. That is WAY too many. NDSU and USD have better backfields and equal to or better offensive lines than YSU and must be licking their chops at the yardage the Penguins racked up. YSU’s 3 primary ball carriers averaged 5.4, 5.2, and 4.1 yards per carry. That just isn’t good enough. The defensive front 7 got caught playing lots of games on slants, stunts, and loops so maybe we’ll see more straight up play going forward.
Rave: The Jackrabbit crowd looked electric early on (and sounded like it over the broadcast). Sure, the students mostly cleared out at halftime as did much of the crowd by midway through the 4th quarter but wow did they bring it early! The USD game is sold out and it sure would be nice to sell the remaining tickets for the Murray State and Southern Illinois games. Great job Jackrabbit nation!
Rave: I’ll admit, I was leery about Jay Elsen replacing our beloved Tom Nieman as the play by play on the Midco Broadcasts. I mean, Jay is Mr. Coyote and always seemed to have a disdain for the Jackrabbits (according to this Jackrabbit). However, I’ve been able to watch and listen to him on two broadcasts this year and he is doing a great job! Again, we are so dang lucky to have him and Riggs and the whole Midco production.
Rave: The Jackrabbit pass rush was one thing I was nervous about after the first two weeks of the season. Since then they have really turned it up. Yesterday they had a sack and 4 QBHs and many other pressures. This was a good sign because YSU’s offensive line is good and experienced and Brungard is so mobile.
Rave: The next two weeks are huge for the team and playoff positioning. We know how important home-field is during the playoffs. Nobody wants to come to Brookings in December. Time for the team to take care of business and build off of the momentum from the last 3 games.
Game Balls
Offense: Chase Mason: 2/2 passing, 12 Yards, 1 TD and 5 carries for 161 yards and 2 TD
Defense: Dalys Beanum: 2 solo tackles, 1 INT, and 2 PBU
Special Teams: Angel Johnson: 99 yard kick return for TD
Go Jacks!
Matt
