The Jacks came away with an entertaining 28-14 victory over the top-5 ranked Missouri State Bears. Simply put, it was a great victory for the Jacks and will be seen as a quality win by the playoff selection committee as long as MSU can regroup and start winning again. There was so much good in this game for the Jacks; let’s get to it!

Rants & Raves

Rave: I have to start with the defensive line (AKA the ChainGang). In our “What To Watch” we named them and said they needed to hit Shelley early and often and be disciplined in their rush lanes. They did and they were. For the most part, Shelley was completely bottled up and only finished with 186 yards passing and 10 yards rushing. Simply put, a phenomenal effort by this group to be physical and disciplined.

Rave: Continuing on the defensive side of the ball… The secondary, overall, had a really good game. The busted coverage on the 67-yard touchdown needs to be discussed but overall, they were physical with a very talented group. They held All-MVFC wide receiver Ty Scott to just 2 receptions for -1 yards.

Rant: The field goal operation was not good enough this week. The 50-yard attempt is a 50/50 shot but the other two should be consistently made. The second miss was partially blocked and maybe that messed with Dustman’s psyche. Hopefully the group bouncers back.

Rave: Mark Gronowski easily played his best game of the season going 22 for 29 for 319 yards and 4 TDs. He looked phenomenal and like he belonged in the discussion for best FCS quarterback along with Shelley. If he is truly back, the Jacks will be really hard to beat.

Rave: The big three of Jaxon, Jadon, and Heins showed up in a big way on Saturday! They had 21 of the 22 receptions for 312 yards and all 4 of the touchdowns. These three are three of the best in the MVFC and the Jacks must make it a point of emphasis to feed them the ball.

Rave: I was really happy that the two young safeties, Colby Huerter and Matthew Durrance, earned their first career interceptions on the same day. These two are tied together because they were part of the same recruiting class and from football hotbeds, Texas and Florida. Expectations for both are sky high and I’m hopeful this is the first of many for this duo. Will they still take some lumps as they grow and learn? Probably, but the sky is the limit for this duo and I believe both could evolve into All-Americans for the Jacks.

Rave: Tyler Feldkamp had his best day as a punt returner for the Jackrabbits. He looked confident and decisive out there. He didn’t allow the Jacks to get pinned deep and he didn’t turn it over. Great work!

Rant: The penalties for the Jacks again were too much. Many of them were mental errors or pre-snap errors. This group has too high of hopes for this season for this to continue. Clean it up, please!

Rave: The #605Hogs paved the way for a steady 156 yards rushing with a respectable 4.2 yards per carry. This was not always pretty but it was effective. They also only surrendered 1 sack and it appeared to come on a broken play. I’ll admit that I was sour on this group in the second half but then they put together the “championship drive” for the final score and much of that drive was the result of the #605Hogs getting a push and creating creases even though MSU knew they were going to run the ball. Still work to be done but I can see the pieces are in place for success.

Rave: The Jacks were nearly +10 on time of possession. Phenomenal complimentary football by the offense and defense!

Rave: The Jacks were good on 3rd down on both sides of the ball. The offense was at 50% conversion and the defense held MSU to 25%. The Bear defense isn’t spectacular, but they had been VERY good on 3rd down and had allowed just a 20% conversion rate through three games.

Rant: I don’t think any of us, including the referees, actually know what targeting is or isn’t anymore. I thought both plays that were reviewed were textbook targeting.

Rave: How good is Adam Bock? The middle linebacker for Arkansas is being heralded as a potential FBS All-American. The Bears made him look silly at times a week ago. This week, Bock looked in control and like the best player on the field. He finished with 7 tackles and 1 sack and was consistently around the ball.

Rave: Simply put, this is a huge win for the Jacks. They have a tough schedule remaining, so this is a good start to MVFC play.

Rant: The Jackrabbit focus needs to turn to Western Illinois. Nothing else matters. Beat the Leathernecks and the rest of the schedule will arrive when it arrives. Let’s get to the stadium and make some noise next Saturday!

Game Balls

Offense: Mark Gronowski

Defense: #ChainGang

Special Teams: Tyler Feldkamp

Go Jacks!

Matt