3 Matchups to Watch: Missouri State


I want to first apologize for the lack of coverage this week.  It has been a perfect storm with travel for work and evening activities with my family nearly every night I have been home.  Tonight (Thursday night) is the first real opportunity I have had all week to research and write.  The opponent preview takes about 2.5 hours of researching and writing and if I get to watch any games on ESPN+ that is additional time, "Rants & Raves" takes an hour to write and edit, while "4th & Goal" has taken at least 2 hours both times I have written it.  As most of you know, I do this for free so my priorities need to be with my family and my job as I haven't quite figured out how to pay the bills off this little adventure yet.  I appreciate your understanding and hopefully will get back on the regular schedule with content next week.

Missouri State enters Dana J. Dykhouse stadium as an improved and dangerous team.  However, the Jackrabbits are coming off of maybe their best performance of the season in their rout of Illinois State.  The Jackrabbits also appear to be getting healthy at the right time with Tyler Weir maybe set to return on Saturday and the return of Wes Genant last weekend.  The defense also appears to be rounding in to shape with many of the ailments either improving or the players adjusting to playing with the discomfort.  One thing that has truly impressed me since starting this blog is learning about the level of pain that the players play through throughout the season.  They don't have to make this type of physical sacrifice but they do because they love football and they love their team and school. 

Missouri State always has good athletes and is finally starting to build some depth at key positions.  It could be an interesting game on Saturday for many reasons but here are three that I will be keeping a close eye on.

3 Matchups to Watch
1. Jackrabbit defense vs. QB Peyton Huslig
Huslig is a true "dual threat" for the Bears.  He leads the team with 376 yards rushing yards and 6 TDs and also has passed for 1,820 yards and and another 12 TD.  He has four receivers who have over 20 receptions and 300 yards so he has plenty of targets to distribute the ball to.  Last year Huslig ripped off a long 62 yard run and was tackled just short of the goal line.  In the first half of last year's matchup, the Jackrabbit defense struggled with the misdirection of the Bear's offense and frequently was out of position which allowed for some monstrous runs.  Luckily, they shored it up in the second half and shut down the MSU offense.  Let's hope that continues on Saturday!   

2. Evan Greeneway vs. Matt McClellan
Greeneway has had a good season for the must part and has brought a really consistent presence to the left tackle position. McClellan, a transfer from Kilgore College, has 5.5 sacks on the season and looks to be a situational pass rusher.  He is 6'4, but just 218 pounds.  He's had at least a half sack in all but two games this season.  On top of his 5.5 sacks he also has 5 quarterback hits.  The Jacks will have to be effective on 1st and 2nd down so that McClellan has to respect the run game on 3rd down. 

3. Jackrabbits vs. Mother Nature
To be very honest, I don't think Missouri State's defense can slow the Jackrabbit offense down.  They are allowing over 470 yards of total offense per game and appear weak against the run and pass.  In the Zach Zenner era, the Jackrabbits were a GREAT bad weather team.  However, the transition to more of a pass-first offense has not been as kind to the Jacks in bad weather.  The playoff game against Villanova (a win) and the 2017 Hobo Day loss to UNI are two games that instantly come to mind.  In each of those contests the Jacks struggled to get much going offensively.  The weather on Saturday calls for rain and cool temps in the upper 30's to low 40's.  If the ball is slippery it could make passing difficult.  Without CJ Wilson and Isaac Wallace the bulk of the carries will again go to Mikey Daniel.  I think the Jacks will put up some points but how they deal with the elements will certainly be something to watch. 

I didn't have an article to predict a score in earlier this week so I'm offering it here.

Jackrabbits win 38-10.

Go Jacks!
Matt




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