Writing these after a loss is never fun but here we are after the Jacks 42-41 overtime defeat to Southern Illinois. I said in my initial writeup that SIU was dangerous and they proved it Saturday going toe to toe with the Jacks.
Rants & Raves
Rave: Pierre Strong is such a special player. As Jackrabbit fans we only get 3 more home games (hopefully more in the playoffs) to enjoy his talents live. The 85 yard touchdown run showcased what makes him different. The cuts through traffic, the vision, and the speed to run away from the defense. He is having a tremendous season!
Rant: Some of the decisions were weird. After it became clear that SIU had no interest in punting to Feldkamp it would have helped to put a second return man back to help field the punts. Switching up the oline for a drive. Not pushing SIU back into 3rd and 20 vs 4th and 10. All of this is hindsight but it feels like mistakes were made. On the post game radio show, Coach Stig took blame for the confusion on the missed/blocked field goal. Not the cleanest game from that aspect.
Rave: The #605Hogs did a good job throughout the game of keeping Chris Oladokun clean. Sure he took some hits in the pocket but for the most part he had plenty of time on his 31 passing attempts and they did not surrender a sack.
Rant: The Jacks left too many points on the table in the first half. SIU erased a 17-0 halftime score against Illinois State earlier this season so it wasn’t surprising when they were able to recover from going down 20-0. A fumble inside your own redzone is unacceptable. Going ultra conservative inside the 30 yard line on three separate drives in the first half was weird. It just was all too weird.
Rant: The offense continued it’s struggles on 3rd down, going just 2 for 10 on the day. On the flip side, the defense allowed SIU to go 7 for 17 (decent) and a ridiculous 3 for 5 on 4th down.
Rave: The goal line stand in the second quarter was about as crazy of a sequence as I have ever seen. Malik Lofton had a tough drive as SIUs Landon Lenoir made three separate big receptions. Then he found himself in the right place to scoop up the fumble and race 97 yards for the score. I think it was a perfect example of “last play” mindset and going 1-0 every snap.
Rant: Speaking of that series events… The Jackrabbits continued the undisciplined play. On that drive alone, they had two unsportsmanlike conducts; one for taunting after a 3rd down incompletion and another for running onto the field without a helmet during the fumble recovery runback. They were also called for lining up in the long snapper gap; something it appeared Stacker really disagreed with.
Rant cont: The Jacks have had a moto the last two years of “Be Us” but the taunting, the showboating, and the gestures we’ve seen this year are not Jackrabbit football. I’ve been a fan for 15 years and I can’t ever remember a team that needed to celebrate everything so much. I get that it is an emotional game and its supposed to be fun but come on! A run of the mill first down doesn’t require this extra stuff. A defensive pass breakup doesn’t require you to get in the face of the receiver you just blanketed. Know you did your job and get back to the huddle or sideline. Coach Stig keeps saying it has to stop and so far it hasn’t. Is this team just this undisciplined? Maybe? This rant makes me feel like an old grouch but this behavior and the penalties are getting tiring. It is not Jackrabbit football.
Rave: Tucker Kraft, have a day! On Saturday he had 10 receptions for 124 yards and a TD which brings his total to 26 receptions for 320 yards and 4 TD. SIU had no answer for him!
Rant: In his first big MVFC test, Chris Oladokun struggled. Two interceptions and fumble really hurt the Jacks. Hopefully this is a learning experience.
Rant: The chaingang harassed the SIU QB Baker all day but finished with just 2 sacks and 3 more QBH according to the official stats. In the second half, and in particular on 4th down, Baker was able to escape pressure and turn what looked like certain sacks into impressive passes or runs. He is a good player! However, the chaingang has to finish these plays and get him on the ground.
Rave: I thought the crowd was one of the best “big crowds” that I remember. Often times the smaller crowds are the louder, more engaged crowds but yesterday if felt like all 12,000+ were into the game, making noise, and trying to impact the SIU offense.
Rave/Rant: This is a budding rivalry. It is clear the players don’t really care for one another and the gestures and smack they talked to the fans and players after the game should serve for motivation in the next matchup. Hill has done a great job recruiting to SIU and the talent level of that roster has increased a lot in the past few years.
Rave: Kudos to the operations staff for a quicker entrance to the stadium.
Rave: There is a TON of season left and without so many other FCS ranked teams falling yesterday there is still hope of a top 4 seed. Win out and the Jacks will likely be a top 2 seed. This team is still incredibly talented and the coaches are top notch. This is still a championship caliber team.
Game Balls
Offense: Pierre Strong/Tucker Kraft
Defense: Adam Bock, 17 total tackles, 1 FF, .5 sack
Go Jacks!
Matt
