What a game! The Jacks, in front of a sold out stadium, handed the Yotes their first FCS loss of the 2024 season in overtime. The 20-17 score only partially captures the absolute slugfest that this game was. A tip of the cap has to go to USD for their improvement on the offensive and defensive lines. The contest was far from perfect for either team but it was certainly a game between two good games. What a game!
Rants & Raves
Rave: I think we have to start where the game started with Mark Gronowski leading the way! He finished the game 20 for 27 with 163 yards and had 54 rushing yards and a TD on the ground. Those aren’t eye popping numbers but he was just in complete control. The passing numbers would have been better but for 4 drops throughout the game. Mark throws the deep out about as well as any QB I have seen. That is where USD was soft and Mark took advantage of it.
Rave: The Jackrabbit defense was smothering for most of the game. Outside of the lone touchdown drive, USD had little to no success moving the ball with much consistency. I know USD fans they’d be able to hit us with their speed but this defense IS that fast and IS that physical. They allowed just 275 total yards of offense to a team that was averaging 436 yards of offense per game
Rant: The one blemish on the defense was the lack of pass rush generated by the defensive line. When the Jackrabbits got pressure on Bouman it was because of a well time blitz. However, in the second half, USD’s offensive line made some adjustments and even the blitz was struggling to draw much pressure. Someone on the defensive line has to win a pass rush rep.
Rave: The Jackrabbit punt and kick coverage units were PHENOMENAL! Carter Bell at punt returner and Jones-Logan at kick returner are about as dangerous as they come. Bell had ZERO yards on punt return because he had guys in his face virtually the entire game. Jones Logan returned one kick for 11 yards. Suffocating!
Rave: The effort level for this team was ELITE. I don’t think we’ve ever had to question that in the two years that Jimmy has led the program. Kudos to the coaches and players for that!
Rant: The drops are a frustrating part of this team right now.
Rave: But in the same vein, the same players made some big catches throughout the game. At this point, I think it is just part of the growing pains with having new faces at the position.
Rave: There were not many of them but kudos to the USD fans I had the chance to interact with. They were making intelligent comments about the game, gave and received some good natured ribbing, and were complimentary about the Jackrabbit team. I do hope they were treated well.
Rant: As good as the #605Hogs have been for most of the year, I thought the good USD defensive line gave them some fits. They didn’t consistently make holes or get much push in the run game. For the most part, Mark had clean pockets to throw from.
Rave: Like last week, the senior linebackers controlled the game. It felt like Bock, Spalding, and Francl were in on nearly every tackle. Between them they had 20 tackles and fellow senior backer, Daeton Mcgaughy, added 2 tackles and a sack! Spalding adding the INT late in the game while USD was driving was a huge play.
Rave: I don’t know if he’ll have the name recognition but at this point but I think Colby Huerter is playing at an All-American level. I keep bringing him up week after week but I was really impressed watching him live how he is tackling, cleaning up mistakes, and communicating on the backend of the defense. Safety coach Pete Menage raved about his ability to be a mentor and coach during my pre-season interview with him. I really saw that yesterday and I’m really happy he is getting his chance to shine this year on the defense.
Rant: I have tried to avoid harping on them this year but I thought the officiating was pretty poor last night. The indecisiveness was maddening and affected the game flow. The glaring mistake was in OT when the Jacks came up short on their 3rd down attempt, nobody knew where to spot the ball, and one of the officials pointed that it was a first down for USD. Super weird group!
Rave: Shoutout to Griffin Wilde for again making some spectacular catches. He ended the day with 5 receptions for 61 yards and had some really tough catches.
Rave: It wasn’t perfect but the blocking from the tight end position of Davin Stoffel and David Alpers is really improving. Their effort has been tremendous the past two weeks and again, the technique is getting there! Bright future! The veteran h-back, Kevin Brenner also blocked well and had a demolishing block on Amar’s overtime touchdown run.
Rant: There has been lots of talk about the play calling being confusing and inconsistent. Maybe so. Last night I saw more inconsistency in execution AND that is part of having a young set of playmakers. These are growing pains. The bubble screen in the fourth quarter being a glaring example. The Jacks had the numbers and the play was there. The execution was not.
Rave: I’m really excited for the future for true freshman Lofton O’Groske. He plays fast, has a big frame, and catches the ball really clean.
Rave: Shoutout to the atmosphere the crowd, including the students created. I was wrong about it but I felt like on the sidelines there was some UAlbany game energy in the pregame warmup. Good job to the crowd for being engaged and loud in the timely moments!
Rave: I loved the grit from Jalen Lee at the cornerback position. His early penalty setup a USD touchdown. He simply had great position in covering Galbreath but it appeared he panicked and grabbed on when his natural ability and talent would have kept in great position to guard him. In overtime, he made a terrific open field tackle to hold USD to a minimum gain. If he had missed the tackle, USD would have picked up a first down. Good job by him!
Game Balls
Offense: Mark Gronowski
Defense: Graham Spalding
Special Teams: Punt Coverage Team
Go Jacks!
Matt
One Response
They’re calling plays that are perfect for the Jackrabbit players….who are already in the NFL.
The system has to fit the players as much as you recruit to a system.
Pierre and Isaiah were different backs and the Janke brothers were the Janke brothers.
We have 2 or 3 TE’s with more potential than any that ended up in the NFL, but we never stretch the safeties down the middle with them (to open up the run game that constantly runs against 2 safeties helping from 10 to 15 yards off of the ball”) There’s, effectively, 10 in the box, at times. It feels like we’re afraid to let our TE room get filmed, and we expect them to be some big surprise party before the season ends.
Mark is looking at himself and the NFL draft more than his receivers and pre-snap reads (fancy rollouts from imaginary pressure, at times, and throws into coverages that have led to 6 INT’s isn’t “our Mark”). If I played as good as him it would be tough for me to stop looking at myself, too.
Just a fat guy in the stands making a few team-loving tough love observations.