The Jacks used a gritty but flawed performance to come away with 30-24 double overtime win.  It was an imperfect game and there are plenty of things to clean up but wow I think we have a really good team on our hands folks. The JI team was all hoping to be 1 and 1 at this point.  Being 2-0 is awesome but the season is far from over.  I’m just excited to see how good this team can be when they get firing on all cylinders.

Rants & Raves

Rave: Lofton O’Groske is an absolute stud at wide receiver for the Jackrabbits and Eric Eidsness is using him to his fullest abilities.  Lofton had 12 receptions for 141 yards and 2 TD.  He also had a fumble that I’m sure he will learn from.  He’s big, he’s fast, and he just catches everything!

Rave: The #ChainGang really stood up to some adversity last night.  Without Reis Kirscheman for most of the game, Nick Wells, Blake Leiferman, and Kevin Spelman had to play a lot more snaps than they were expected to opposite Ripperda.  At defensive tackle, Kobe Clayborne and Logan Green played a lot of snaps too.  Aaron Wolfcale played his usual amount of snaps.  This group is going to just get better and according to Coach Jackson’s post-game presser, they are getting a few guys back from injury. Hopefully Reis’s injury isn’t too significant.

*EDIT: an earlier version had Mason Brosseau listed.  He did not play or travel and still waiting to make his debut.  He was/is incorrectly attribute with a tackle on the stats.

Rant: The Jackrabbit offense MUST get better on 3rd down.  MOST of the time they are in a good down and distance but they just aren’t finishing. Against Montana State they were 1 of 13 and against Sac State they were 5 of 15.  Neither of those is good enough.

Rave: The Jackrabbit defense and punt coverage unit was tasked with stopping Taco Dowler, one of the most slippery punt returners and slot wide receivers in the country.  A week after 12 receptions and over 100 yards against Oregon, the Jacks held Dowler to just 4 receptions for 18 yards and 3 punt returns for just 9 yards.  Super impressive effort from this completely new secondary and linebacker corp.

Rave: I loved the aggressiveness of the overtime play calling an the opening drive of the game.  The Jackrabbit offense can be so explosive that the mid-game struggles are slightly maddening.  I’d like to see the Jacks really work out the kinks over these next two weeks.  I’ve said it a number of times on the podcast, I think Brayden Delahoyde can be a difference maker at the tight end position.  We just need to get him opportunities.

Rant: The #605Hogs have to be better.  I don’t think its just one thing or one person.  I think this group is still gelling together and hopefully will get stronger as the season goes along.  Kenneth Eiden is a very good player for Montana State and its obvious why he has received some of the pre-season accolades that he did but he finished with 9 total tackles and 2 TFL as a DE.  As a team, the Cats finished with 4 sacks, a week after they allowed 7 to Sacramento State. I want to see this group live up to it’s history, give Chase time and finish their blocks in the run game.

Rave: I wrote about them last week but the Jackrabbit linebackers are playing even better than expected.  Joe Ollman had another force fumble and some terrific tackles, Cullen McShane was again everywhere, Chase Van Tol brought the juice in the second half, and Matt Goering had a sack.  It’s hard to tell that the Jacks lost their top 4 or 5 linebackers from last season.

Rave: Casey Larson is another freshmen that we were told to keep an eye on this season and he came up huge with a blocked punt.  It was perfectly executed and timed.  He’s going to be another good linebacker for this team!

Rant: The turnovers by the Jacks came at poor times too.  Its easy to say from my couch but on Lofton’s fumble, I’d love to see him cut out behind his offensive linemen than trying to cut it in to the teeth of the pursuing defense.  On the blocked punt, the whole play seemed weird.  It’s hard to know what the actual call was because so many things went wrong.  That Pelham had the chance to still boot it down the field is crazy to me.  The Jacks will learn from this mistake and hopefully we won’t see it again.

Rave: Even with the poorly executed punt, Max Pelham still had himself a day as he averaged 48 yards on 7 punts and again, his hang time really eliminate any impact that Taco Dowler could have had in this one.

Rave: I thought Noah St-Juste had a huge impact on the game.  He had the hit on the wide receiver that led to Ripperda’s fumble recovery. He also had a huge tackle and PBU later in the game.  He’s a player that benefitted from the coaching change as he was never really given a chance by the previous staff.

Rant: What the heck happened to Juice’s pants?  I’m fairly convinced that cost the Jackrabbits 4 points.

Rave: I am so excited about Julius Loughridge being a Jackrabbit.  The more I watch him play the more I like him.  I’m just going to enjoy watching him do his work in his lone season as a Jackrabbit.  He finished the day with 23 carries for 83 yards which is not a great average but will be better in most matchups.

Rave: Chase Mason. I think as he continues to get more and more experience, he’s only going to get better and better.  He’s just a tank and his arm is really really impressive.  He finished 17/25 for 190 yards and 3 TDs and then ran for another 34 yards and 1 TD.  He didn’t make any major errors that put the defense in a bad situation.

Rant: During the game, I sent a couple group texts that I wish I could take back.  1) In the 4th quarter “We really don’t want to go into OT with these guys in this environment.” and 2) In the 2nd OT, “I don’t think we have the defensive line horses to stop their power run game.”  I was completely wrong on both accounts.  I have to believe!

Rave: This team is so damn resilient.  As Dan Jackson said on the TV broadcast’s on field interview, “We’re gritty, we believe and we’ve been through way harder things than a double overtime.”  Wow! What a statement.

Rave: Kudos to Montana State for creating such a cool atmosphere.  The Gold Rush game is on my bucket list to get to.  Everyone who attends it, raves about it and the imagery of all it was really cool on TV.

Rant: Over the next three weeks the Jacks MUST develop some additional options in the passing game besides Lofton.  Someone else has to consistently get open and catch the ball.  They also have to find a second option at running back and really give that person some work to get a flow for the game.  Loughridge is a beast but someone else will need to start taking more carries.

Game Balls

Offense: Lofton O’Groske

Defense: Logan Green

Special Teams: Casey Larson

Go Jacks!

Matt