What to Watch: SIU

In the past we have done a "3 Matchups to Watch" for all games.  The matchups piece got tricky as so much depends on allignment and game specific scheme that a team comes out in.  Some weeks I nailed it and other weeks I could not have bene more wrong.  I'm going to shift it to "what to watch" in an attempt to provide a little more general info.  It still may be matchups or it may be scheme or performance related.  We will see how this plays out as we get into the conference play.  The great thing about this blog is that it is easy to test, retest, and try something new if it doesn't work.

What to Watch:

1. How does J'Bore do in his first taste of MVFC action? 

• J'Bore had moments of brilliance against the University of Minnesota and moments where he looked like a player getting his first taste of college football.  Against Southern Utah he wowed us with his natural arm talent, his ability to progress through his options, and his trust in his linemen.  We also saw another two interceptions (one was not his fault).  The two games in between would have been huge for J'Bore's growth and development but obviously that didn't happen.  It just feels like when J'Bore has the ball big things can happen.  He has the weapons around him and a pretty good defense.  He doesn't have to do it all!  I trust the coaches to put him in positions to succeed but also to stretch his abilities.  

2. Will Coach Eck open up the playbook like we saw in Minnesota?

• It seems like forever ago that Coach Eck hit us all with formations and plays that seemed straight out of my middle math notebook. That playchart has been mothballed since.  Was this because the level of competition that we were playing against or did he not like how the team executed these plays?  I'm going with the former.  If SIU puts up a fight I think we will see it.  If the Jacks open up an early lead I imagine we will see more of the vanilla playcalling that we saw for the last three games. I'm okay with this.  Save the fireworks for when we need them.  

3.  Can the defense continue it's high level of play?

• The Jacks have been flying to the ball.  Christian Rozeboom and Logan Backhaus have to be one of the top linebacking duos in the country.  The defensive line is rotating 11 guys through.  The young secondary has been a pleasent surprise.  Statistically, the Jacks are giving up just 12 ppg.  It is even less due to a pick 6 and a couple of turnovers deep on their own end that have resulted in field goals or easy scores.  They are giving up just 2.5 yards per attempt on the ground and only 181 passing yards per game.  With a season high of 245 coming against the dink-and-dunk offense of Southern Utah.  I don't know if the Jacks can continue to play at this level of play but I think they can aspire to it and will certainly get close.  I think Southern Illinois will certainly get their yards but I think they may find the same results that the other 2019 opponents have.  

4. What will attendance look like this week?

• It looks like rain tomorrow morning but it should be over by 11am and overall a pretty nice fall day.  The tickets are about as cheap as you can get, $20 and opponent is good (not great).  Hobo Day is a tradition that brings tons of alumni and friends back to Brookings.  The alumni tent and the sponsored tailgating outside of the stadium have been really good.  The tailgating around the library is top notch and the student tailgating is working hard to improve.  I'm predicting a crowd of around 14,000.  There are a lot of (good) seats still open for Saturday and I'm hoping the walk-up crowd will be decent as the weather forcast continues to improve.  

Go Jacks!

Matt