The Jacks enter their third contest of the season ready to square off with the Drake Bulldogs (0-2) of the Pioneer League. Drake has fallen on hard times as a program but still has solid athletes who compete hard. Drake has lost to both UND and Northwestern (IA) to start the season. The game will be unique because it is being played at Target Field in downtown Minneapolis.
Special Teams Step-up
Special teams was abysmal last week. Drake will have seen that on tape and will look to take advantage of a Jackrabbit weakness. Will they attempt to block a punt themselves and will the Jacks have corrected the breakdown in protection? The Jacks have also been pretty ho-hum in the return game outside of a long Tucker Large punt return in game one. Is this the week a return man gets loose? Can the Jacks be perfect on execution in the place kicking game?
Dominate the Line of Scrimmage
Through two weeks we have yet to see the #605Hogs truly dominate their opponent like they were at the end of last season. Mark has maybe had a little more pressure in his face than was expected and the running lanes haven’t quite been as clean as we have become accustomed too. On the flip side, the defensive line really struggled besides inside the redzone. They need to get some pressure this week. Drake does have a good passing game (225 yards passing against UND). Stop the run and get after the QB like we know they can.
Second String Standouts
The second and third teamers got a good amount of action against Western Oregon and actually had enough reps to learn from. We’re curious to see, especially on offense, what Chase Mason, Angel Johnson, and a bunch of inexperienced pass catchers learned and if they can build off of it against Drake! On defense, we’re excited to see some of the younger players in the secondary in the linebacker room get some action again.
Start Fast, Stay Healthy
Through two weeks of games, the Jackrabbits have stayed relatively healthy. Playing on a hard baseball infield makes us nervous. So for that reason, we hope the Jacks get up big early and get the starters out. For anyone that is borderline healthy/injured… it may be okay to rest them to prevent further injury. Finally, we’re guessing the team doesn’t feel great about the way the Montana State game went (even though they got the win). We’re hoping that they will want to get the bad taste out of their mouth and play bully ball right from the jump.
Athmosphere
Jackrabbit nation created one of the best football atmospheres at SDSU last week. Our voices are still a little scratchy. This week is different though because the game is being played in baseball stadium which clearly has different dimensions than a football stadium. The crowd will be considerably further away from the action and it will likely appear somewhat empty. We’re hopeful that Jackrabbit fans come out for the #JackTheLoop event that the Twin Cities Alumni Group has organized and that everyone is energized and ready to make some noise!
Go Jacks!
Ben, Brendan, Chad, Dallas, Matt
