The Jackrabbits came up with another HUGE road win over #12 Southern Illinois on Saturday by a score of 17-10. Was the game always pretty? Nope. Did the team leave some points on the field? Yep. Is there plenty to learn from? Yep. Is SIU a good team? I think so. With all of these questions answered, here are the Rants & Raves.

Rants & Raves

Rave: The Jackrabbit defense, and in particular the run defense, was excellent yesterday. They allowed just 83 yards on the ground, 21 of which came on the fake punt on SIU’s opening drive. Quarterback Nic Baker was the leading rusher with 31 yards and he had a gross rushing total of 61 yards. The Jacks really bottled up the designed runs!

Rave: The pass rush from the front four of the Jackrabbits was excellent. Part of the reason why Baker had so many rushing yards was because the Jacks had pressure on most drop backs. He was sacked 4 times in a relentless pass rush. We can put the “defensive line can’t get a pass rush” narrative to bed after the team’s performance so far in MVFC play.

Rant: Again, we are spoiled by the professionalism of Midco but the camera work in yesterday’s game was atrocious. The main camera was often unfocused, over zoomed in, and unstable. What made it worse is that it struggled to follow the ball and fans missed multiple touchdowns or momentum shifting plays that happened in the end zone.

Rave: The Jackrabbit special teams kick and punt coverage units were exceptional vs. SIU. Dontay Johnson returned from injury and had a big time tackle on a kick return. On punt return, the Jacks bottled up the dangerous Izaiah Hartrup as he finished with -6 yards on his two attempts.

Rave: I love the resilience the Jackrabbits showed. It was clearly not their best game but they found a way to win. On a day when more than a handful of top-25 teams lost, the Jacks found a way to get the W without their best stuff.

Rant: The #605Hogs did not have their best day as a group. Yes, SIU came in with a great run defense and the Jacks nearly doubled up their average but for SDSUs offense to work, they have to be able to run the ball with some consistency. In the passing game, Mark had more pressure than usual on him. SIU registered 2 sacks and had pressure in his face on a few other occasions. SDSU came in to this game having allowed just 4 sacks on the season so this group can clearly play better.

Rave: Isaiah Stalbird again played like a man possessed. He was all over the place and I’m glad the announcers highlighted his level of play. As Coach Rogers said during the coaches show last week, when he is on and focused, he’s one of the best players in the country.

Rave: Likewise, Jason Freeman had another big game as well. He had 10 tackles and a .5 sack. It is tremendous production and I just love the energy and physicality that he plays with.

Rant: I think we need to see some more rotation at TE. Heins is a great TE but he is playing too many snaps. Where are these young talented second year players??? In years past, SDSU has rotated tight ends liberally. On the redzone interception, that did not look like the usual effort from Heins. Furthermore, the tight end room could potentially have zero experience returning next fall. Heins is gone for sure while Morgan and Brenner could choose to not use their extra year. It’s important to give the young guys some important reps other than just garage time.

Rave: Can you believe my podcasting partner, Dallas, wanted to redshirt Griffin Wilde? That seems crazy at this point! Wilde finished with 2 receptions for 61 yards and a TD. Both plays were very impactful but it was his 49 yard TD that finally got the Jackrabbits some momentum. In full transparency, I thought Wilde would redshirt at the time we made our predictions too.

Rave: It was great to see Quinton Hicks get in on the action. I thought he played with a relentless motor yesterday and his strip sack may have been play of the game.

Rave: The Jackrabbit drive in the 4th quarter to eat up 9.5 minutes of clock was awesome. Hunter capping it off with a FG was terrific. It was the drive that won the game.

Rant: The penalties man… the penalties. According to the ESPN stats, SDSU had 13 penalties for 125 yards. Yes, some of the penalties were incorrect (roughing the passer, fair catch tackle, some PI) but that still leaves plenty of other infractions. This team will only beat itself. Cleanup the penalties and they will continue to dominate.

Rave: It was not Mark’s best day at QB. However, his scramble to pickup 8 yards when the Jacks needed 7 on that key 4th quarter drive was HUGE. As soon as he took off I knew that Mark would get the first down. He just gives me that type of confidence to trust his play.

Rave: Hunter Dustman had a great game yesterday. His game clinching field goal was huge but he averaged 54 yards on his punts and his kickoffs were perfectly placed. Maybe the highlight was his touchback kickoff on his final attempt. The Jacks coverage team had just run down the field and made a huge stop but they were flagged for an offsides. Hunter ensured there would be no return by booting it out of the back of the end zone, even with the extra 5 penalty yards tacked on.

Game Balls

Offense: Isaiah and Amar: They combined for 158 yards on 25 carries and 1 TD. This was tough sledding but they churned out yards even when it wasn’t blocked up.

Defense: Chaingang- Their effort was tremendous throughout the game. Stopped the run and harassed Baker all game

Special Teams: Hunter Dustman- See final Rave.

Go Jacks!

Matt