The Jackrabbits (6-2) took care of business in a decisive 42-9 victory over Murray State on Hobo Day.  The game was never ever close or in doubt and the players seemed to relish physically destroying another team after last weeks struggles. SDSU was far from perfect but that’s okay too.  It should prevent complacency down the stretch.  The Jacks have just 4 games left on their regular season schedule and every chance for a top 4 seed.  Should be a fun final few weeks here.

 

Rants & Raves

Rave: Kudos to the Hobo Day Committee for another wonderful celebration of South Dakota State University.  Although I’m not in Brookings for the bulk of the activities, I enjoyed following along on social media.  I’ve already added Hobo Day 2027 to my calendar (October 23rd).

Rave: This may become an evergreen one but great job by the athletic department on making the necessary adjustments with the security and fan entrance experience!  It is sooooo much better than it was a year ago.

Rave: The team for coming out to play on Hobo Day.  Me and some in our fanbase are still traumatized by lackadaisical Hobo Daze performances of the past.  This was certainly not one of them.

 

Rave: I thought the players did a good job of creating their own juice in this one. They were hyped and ready to go.

Rant: As a fan, I thought we (the fans) did a pretty poor job of providing any atmosphere.  It was a late arriving crowd and there just wasn’t a ton of energy coming from the stands. The game was never in doubt and it was a great tailgate scene so maybe that is part of the issue.  We’ll need to be better next week!

Rave: I thought Josiah Johnson looked more decisive and ran with greater authrity this week after a weird performance in Grand Forks.  He finished the day with 16 carries for 92 yards and 2 TDs.

Rave:  I thought Chase Mason played a solid game and was more efficient going 18/26 for 197 yards and 1 TD and never really putting the ball in harms way.  I also liked that he appeared more willing to tuck the ball and run than he has so far this season.

Rant: I have not rewatched the game yet but Murray State getting three sacks in this one feels unacceptable.  I saw where the problem was in the UND game after rewatching and I’m curious if it is the same issue.

Rave: The Jacks performance on 3rd down was a strong 10 of 15 on offense and then a terrific 2 of 14 on defense.  This is winning football.  Keep the ball moving on offense and get off the field on defense.  Simple.

Rave: In addition, the Jacks were 7 for 7 in redzone scores.  Love to see that percentage improving from the start of the season.

Rave: I thought Jack Smith had a good game after an early drop and the muffed punt.  He finished with a team leading 6 receptions for 66 yards.  He’s plenty talented and seems to be the one wide receiver who can get separation routinely, so it’s important he’s confident in his hands.

Rant: The Jackrabbit special teams was abysmal in the first half of this game.  The Jacks were fighting in the northwest wind and trying to get cute on the kickoffs.  It obviously didn’t work with two kicks out of bounds.  It just can’t happen.  There will be wind in the December playoff games.  Hopefully the team uses this as a learning moment so that it doesn’t cost us in the playoffs.

 

 

Rave: I thought Carter Sitzman easily had his best game of the season.  He stuffed the stat sheet with 3 tackles, a sack, 2 QBHs and 2 PBUs.  He was really really disruptive in this one.

Rave: Similarly, Cullen McShane played a great game.  He ended with 10 total tackles and 2 quarterback hurries.  I’m happy to see and hear that he’s getting more and more national recognition for his play.

Rave: I think the Jacks did a really nice job containing Murray State’s pass happy offense.  There were only a couple of longer catch and runs but the defense did a really nice job of allowing some short catches near the line of scrimmage and rallying up to make the tackle.

Rave: In a short stretch in the 2nd quarter Paul Kim, Noah St-Juste, Myles Green, and Amaje Parker all made plays near the line of scrimmage as they ralled up to make tackles on the perimeter.  It was a great example of playing physical and form tackling by the DB group.

 

 

Rave: Andrew “Goose” Gustad just makes plays!  Hearing the crowd chant his name on his touchdown was awesome.

Rant: The Jacks did get a little banged up in this one.  Hopefully nothing serious but Greyton Gannon and James Basinger seemed to be the two more prominent players in this category.

Rave: I probably haven’t given him the recognition he deserves this year but Blake Leiferman has made a huge jump from his first to second year at defensive end.  Blake was forced into action last season due to injury and did a solid job but this year he has been a force is a legitimate weapon as the 4th defensive end.  He seems to be around the ball a lot and does a good job of containing.

Rave: After a tough day in Grand Forks, Logan Green and Jace Sifore returned to their dominant form.  Between the two, the had 4 tackles and 2 sacks.  Thats great production from your interior defensive line.

Rave: Shoutout to the players for participating in the One Month Club.  If you haven’t seen the video of the players talking about their beards that was sent out on social media on Saturday morning, go find it.   Pretty funny stuff!

Rave: Luke Krempges did a phenomenal job of handling the squib kicks that Murray State sent his was in the first half.  Instead of just curling up with the ball, Luke caught the squibs clean and looked like an athlete with returns of 13 and 15 yards, which set up the Jackrabbits with phenomenal  field position.

Rave: I loved the fake field goal with Jack Henry.  I wonder how many people actually noticed that he was out there as the holder?  It’s certainly a wrinkle that teams will have to spend a few minutes preparing for moving forward.

Rave: Max Pelham also rebounded with a good game averaging 48.7 yards on 3 punts.

Rave: Tristan Alvano was great too making all 4 of his field goals.

Rave: I think its really cool that SDSU still has such a strong homecoming tradition.  I’ve been at a handful of other schools and it just isn’t the same.  There is something special about Hobo Day (Hobo Week) that does build connection between the current students and the alumni.  It makes me laugh a bit too seeing friends from college dressed up in Hobo gear as adults, when the extent of their Hobo Day participation as students was the house parties and then the first half of the football game.  Whatever builds connection I guess! ha

Rant:  I thought we still had some bad penalties in this one.  The hit out of bounds (AGAIN) was unacceptable.  The holding penalties on first down runs were pretty egregious. The team just has to find a way to play smarter.

Rave:  It was great seeing the JFPA on the field before the game.  That group has been so important to the growth of the football program and I’m glad they got to have a little fun.

Game Balls

Offense: Josiah Johnson

Defense: Carter Sitzman

Special Teams: Max Pelham

 

Go Jacks!

Matt