The Jackrabbits leave Stillwater, Oklahoma 0-1 after a 20-44 defeat to the Oklahoma State Cowboys. It is the Jackrabbits first loss in 29 games. When you think about it, that is simply ridiculous. The last two losses have been to Iowa and Oklahoma State. Isn’t that wild?
Anyways, the game was disappointing because it wasn’t the Jacks best game. However, there were plenty of bright spots and questions that were answered along the way.
Rants & Raves
Rave: Griffin Wilde (GFW) looks like the next great Jackrabbit wide receiver which is something we all expected but nice to see happen. Can he reach Jake Wieneke status? That remains to be seen but his speed, route running, and hands make me like his chances. He finished the day with 7 receptions for 150 yards and 1 TD. The Cowboys had no answers for Griffin. Also, Grahm Goering looks like he will be a very good #2 option this season as he finished with 4 receptions for 69 yards and 1 TD. On TV at least, it looked like both have really improved their bodies since last January which matches what I was told by Coach Menage.
Rave: Overall, I was really impressed with the Jackrabbit run defense. For perspective, Ollie Gordon averaged 6.1 yards per carry last season against an FBS schedule. The Jacks held him to just 3.9 ypc as it took 27 carries to gain just 104 yards with a long of just 12 yards. He is a tremendous talent and I thought the Jackrabbits showed great effort in rally tackling and swarming the ball. Overall, the Jacks limited the Cowboys to just 3.3 ypc on 38 attempts and nearly 30 yards less than their 2023 per game average.
Rant: Everyone knows I love what Mark has done during his time in Brookings but I was disappointed in his performance overall on Saturday. In order for the Jacks to have a chance to win this game, he had to be great. Instead he was just okay. He finished the day 20 for 37 for 264 yards and 2 TDs but had a costly interception and had some uncharacteristically inaccurate passes that came at inopportune times. I know he’ll play better as he gets more comfortable with this new offensive group.
Rave: I was encouraged overall by what I saw from the#605Hogs. Remember, this is 3 new starters and these 5 had never played together in a live game. The Jacks had 141 rushing yards on 4.4 yards per carry. I thought Gus Miller, Evan Beerntsen and Ethan Vibert were very good against OK State’s huge defensive tackles. There were two untimely sacks in the second half as Sam Hagen got jacked up with a really impressive speed to power move from Collin Oliver on one and a well designed overload blitz by All-American Nick Martin on another. Both of these guys will be playing on Sunday’s next year. I was nervous about this group entering the season because of all the unknowns. However, I feel confident this group will become really good as the season goes along.
Rave: I was impressed with the announcers from ESPN. They did not misname us once. They were very knowledgeable about our NFL alumni AND they had clearly spent some time visiting with the coaches, actually listening, and then applying what they learned to the broadcast. I thought they went out of their way at times to give the Jacks compliments. It was definitely different than what we are used to at times!
Rant: I didn’t love how much we were running Mark on quarterback powers early. It’s a long season. I know we like to settle him down at times with a few hits but this felt reckless. Hopefully it is just some general soreness today and he’ll be good to go for next week.
Rave: It looked like the Jacks escaped mostly healthy in this one. I was glad to see Graham Spalding get back in the game as that was the one injury that looked potentially serious.
Rant: Yes, it was hot and humid but I didn’t love all of the cramping. We’ll never know if these were legit cramps or if it was gamesmanship. If it’s gamesmanship I just don’t like the look or the tactic; especially how often it was utilized. If it was legit cramps it makes me question the preparation of our players and training staff for proper hydration. Either way, it is disappointing and something our program should be better than.
Rave: Hunter Dustman looked excellent making both of his FGs easily from 48 and 31 yards. However, it was his punting that really stood out. He averaged 48 yards on 3 punts and was ablet to flip the field a few times. The punt and kick coverage units were both excellent which aligns with the high quality depth that the coaches spoke about in my interviews with them.
Rant: I still have big questions about our new look defensive line but I’m grading this as an “Incomplete” right now. First, Oklahoma State’s offensive line is great and likely the best we will see all season. This group only allowed 13 sacks last season so it wasn’t shocking to me that the Jacks didn’t finish the game with a sack. However, the lack of pressure overall is what worries me a bit. We’ll learn more next week against an FCS opponent. Individually, I liked what I saw from Kobe Clayborne, man is he active, and Bryce Hawthorne and Reis Kirschenman later in the game.
Rave: Amar Johnson sure looks good. There is lots of hype entering this season and I thought Amar really responded well finishing with 73 yards rushing and another 17 yards receiving. I’m hoping for a big year for Amar!
Rant: I think the Jackrabbit secondary had a disappointing day overall but it is tough to tell because of the lack of pass rush generated up front. I’m not sure we heard a safeties name called once during the broadcast for something they did on defense. We have to tip the cap to the OK State QB Alan Bowman and his receiving group. He made some great throws and they made some tremendous catches. I did like how the Jacks limited Brennan Presley to a 5 ypc average. However, having Steven Arrell matched up with him in the redzone is a matchup that favors Presley every time. De’Zhaun Stribling and Rashod Owens look like legit NFL prospects and I thought at times that Beanum, Humphrey, Taylor, and later in the game Aydan Dauterman looked good matched up with them. But there were also moments where the Jacks struggled with each of them. This is the cat and mouse of sports though, right?
Rant/Rave: I thought the big 4 senior linebackers all played well overall. Bock finished with 12 total tackles, Francl-8, Mcgaughy-5, and Spalding-3 but they all missed tackles too. This group will be fine but the missed tackles were surprising.
Rave: Heads-up play by Tucker Large picking up the touched but not downed punt inside the 5 yard line. I’m bummed he didn’t get an opportunity to return one.
Rave: Overall, there was plenty to like in this game and I love what we saw from some of the new players we haven’t seen yet. Tanner Castora called this loss “humbling” and at first I thought this was pretty accurate but should it be? Oklahoma State is an FBS team that has a legitimate shot at making the FBS playoffs this year. They returned 20 starters including some incredible skill on offense. If we’re being truly objective, what else should we have expected? We’re replacing a dozen or more multi-year starters.
Let’s get back to the 1-0 mantra instead of worrying about three-peats and consecutive win streaks. This game should motivate the team as the season truly starts now because FBS losses do not factor into the playoff selection committee’s criteria. I have all the confidence in the world that this team will be ready to go next week vs. Incarnate Word!
Game Balls
Offense: Griffin Wilde
Defense: Adam Bock
Special Teams: Hunter Dustman
Go Jacks!
Matt
