Rants & Raves: Drake

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 learned mid-week that there was no major damage but I didn't necessarily expect to see him on the field on Saturday.  The fact that he returned to his old form was a welcome surprise (5 receptions, 80 yards, 2 TD and 1 rush for 76 yards). 

Rant: I know Drake's #1 TE was good but I was concerned that we struggled so much to contain him (he finished with 10 receptions for 95 yards).  The Jacks best coverage linebacker is Levi Brown and he was out for second consecutive week due to injury.  It would have been nice to see Levi matched up with Case. 

Rave: Pierre Strong and CJ Wilson are so ridiculously talented.  It was good to see some long runs after two weeks of the running game being more stifled then we have grown accustumed to.  As a whole, the offense finished with 369 yards rushing and a whopping 9 ypc. 

Rant/Rave: I said last year mutiple times that we better enjoy Taryn while we have him.  FCS quarterbacks like him don't come around every year.  I think we are seeing that come to fruition.  Kanin is trying hard and no one is questioning that.  He made some good throws but missed, or was late on plenty of other throws.  I think the one thing that concerns me most is that alot of his misses were high and left our receives vulnerable to a big hit.  I was glad to hear Coach Stig say that we escaped without major injury.  Nelson's stat line is really pretty good but the inconsistency is really hurting this offense right now.  If J'Bore isn't healed, I'd personally like to see him wait and come back after the bye week.  No sense in reinjuring it. 

Rave: Kudos to the folks who have created the really cool tailgating atmosphere around the library and horticulture building.  I usually just stay in the backyard at our spot but the folks to the southwest corner of the stadium are doing tailgating right.  It felt fun and how the Backyard used to feel.

Rave: I love how physical our young cornerbacks are.  A lot of times you see young secondary players who are reluctant to play with physicality.  This group does not.  I think it starts with the tone that Don Gardner and Malik Lofton set.  I'm just really impressed with what DyShawn Gales, Diamond Evans, and Ti'Jaih Davis are doing out on the field. 

Rant: I thought special teams, after being very good in the first two games, was really bad yesterday.  Missed field goals, a muffed punt (maybe due to the sun) and a muffed kick return.  The blocked punt was a nice play by DeMartra but that was the exception on a day that just didn't have the usual sharpness we are accustumed to seeing. Hopefully this game is a wake-up call and a chance to refocus their energy.

Rant/Rave: I'm excited to get back  into the meat of the schedule.  Southern Utah will be a quality opponent.  I remember some good battles when the teams squarred off against one another in the Great West conference during the transition.  I don't have any answer to the blowouts we have seen the past few years in the out of confence schedule.  Montana State was supposed to be good last year but they weren't.  Drake was supposed to be a road game but turned into a home game due to the Iowa, Iowa State game. Most of the time, contracts are signed years in advance and projecting if a team is going to be "good" or "bad"  in a given year is challenging.  I think one recommendation I'd make is scheduling just one Pioneer, NEC, or HBCU team in a given season.  It's a nice game to rest starters and get reps for the younger players that you will need during the MVFC season.  It is also a nice way to bank a couple wins for the playoff seeding.  I question if it actually helps the team though as the last couple of weeks the team has looked pretty bored in the early action.  All I truly know is that I am excited for next week to bring a quality program into Brookings.  Let's get ready for our MVFC vs. Big Sky showdown game!

Rave: Thank you to mother nature for finally giving us good weather for a home game! 

Game Balls
Offense: Cade Johnson (see above).  What a phenominal player!
Defense: Diamond Evans.  He just blankets wide receivers and they eventually quit.  He's going to be very very good for a long time in Brookings.

Go Jacks!
Matt