Jackrabbit Illustrated

The Jacks end non-conference play at 3-1, pretty much where we all expected them to be.  Realistically, they could easily be 4-0 with an FBS win on their resume.  However, a couple of mistakes and missed opportunities prevented that from being reality.  Saturday, the Jacks played their most complete game since opening week.  The offense moved the ball at will for most of the night, the special teams was about as dominant as it can be, and the defense allowed just 7 points. The picture perfect weather contributed to an all around great day and night. Christian Rozeboom steps in front of a pass, picks it off and takes it all the way in for the pick 6! #GoJacks #LastPlay pic.twitter.com/F8u5MCJCj9 — SDSU Football (@GoJacksFB) September 22, 2019 Rave: Christian Rozeboom, Logan Backhaus, and Seven Wilson are playing as well as a trio of linebackers as any group I can remember in the last 15 years.  Jimmy Rogers and Derek Domino were a very good duo but ...

The Jacks (2-1) face off against Southern Utah University Thunderbirds (1-2) on Saturday night in the 53rd annual Beef Bowl.  The two programs are familiar with one another due to spending a handful of seasons together in the Great West Conference as they transitioned into Division 1.  SUU was really good a couple of seasons ago making the FCS playoffs and earning a 9-3 record.  However, last season they finished with just one win.  This season they struggled against UNLV, got thumped by UNI, and struggled to defeat Stephen F. Austin, a rebuilding program, in overtime.  However, SUU has talent on both sides of the ball and SDSU will need to be ready to finish the out of conference portion of the schedule on a high note. Offense The SUU offense does have explosive capabilities.  Because of the offensive shootout last week it is hard to really get a good read on just how good their offense is.  They were held to just 227 yards of total offense agai...

It turned out to be a beautiful day for football on Saturday in Brookings.  There was a good crowd in attendance thanks to the boost from Senior Day. There is plenty of good but also plenty that needs to be cleaned up if the Jacks want to secure a "W" against Southern Utah University next weekend.  Rave: I thought the students were excellent again for the second week in a row.  They were engaged pretty much the whole game, even though the end was never really in doubt.  Hopefully they bring that energy next week and for the conference season! Rant: Overall the team has to be sharper.  It seems like the old "Do your 1/11th" mantra isn't sinking in yet.  It seemed like every play in the first half was just one missed block, cut, pass away from being a big play.  It's good because these are correctable mistakes. Rave: I was so happy to see Cade Johnson back out on the field.  The stadium was so concerned about him last week.  We learne...

The Jackrabbits square off with the Drake Bulldogs on Saturday at 1pm in The Dana.  This is third time the Jacks have faced the Bulldogs since 2016.  SDSU was victorious in the previous two matchups and I'd expect much of the same on Saturday.  Drake is 0-2 on the season and appears to have a senior laden roster but is light on experience after graduating a strong senior class that helped them to a strong 2018 campaign.  Drake's two losses were to UND and D2 Truman State. Todd Stepsis is the new headcoach for Drake after serving as the defensive coordinator for the past five seasons.  Stepsis called his defense with an aggresive approach so it will be interesting to see how he pushes the overall direction of the program. Offense The Drake offense is still finding its stride through the first two weeks of the season.  They have scored a touchdown in both contests and have punted the ball 15 times.  They also turned the ball over four times; 2 f...

The Jacks won 38-3 on a cold and damp September evening.  The Jacks dominated statistically in nearly every area but it didn't feel like a fully satisfying victory.  How spoiled have we become as Jackrabbit fans? Rave: How about that defense?  The argument could be made that they have only surrendered 17 points in 2 games.  Pretty impressive.  For most of the night Saturday LIU was completely overwhelmed by the size and speed of the Jackrabbit defense.  LIU managed only 123 yards of total offense.  The performance was phenominal, even against a transitioning FCS opponent. I'll highlight some of the invidual performances later. Rant: Adult fans... enough said.  This writer is tired of the apathy and excuses. Rave: Students!  Great job showing up, being loud, and impacting the game.  That was great! Rave: The true freshmen really showed out.  Quinton Hicks impacted the game from his first snap.  Diamond Evans played w...

The Jacks will host the Long Island University Sharks on Saturday in the 2019 home opener.  LIU is transitioning from D2 to FCS football and is part of the NEC.  Recent Jackrabbit opponents from the NEC include Duquesne (2018 and 2017) and Robert Morris (2015).    The Sharks are actually combining two of the Long Island University campuses (Post and Brooklyn) to form this squad.  The Sharks have yet to play a game this season so once again, most of these projections are based on 2018 data and whatever news articles I can find.  Last season they enjoyed a perfect regular season before falling in the first round of the NCAA D2 playoffs to Slippery Rock.  That group was senior laden and will be looking to replace 16 starters in 2019. They do not have any games to watch on ESPN+ that I can find.  However, their head coach Bryan Collins has been at LIU 21 years and has a career record of 160-72.  This will certainly help in the D1 transition. ...