Rants & Raves: UNI



This is always my most popular blog and it is definitely a lot more fun to write coming off of a big win.  Believe it or not, I enjoy writing the raves more than the rants!  The recruits who were in the house were witness to a beat-down and a great celebration of our seniors!

Rave: Congratulations to our seniors for not letting an emotional day get in the way of taking care of business.  I'm certainly not saying that emotions are bad but it has to be a tough thing knowing this COULD be the last time they run out of the tunnel and into the stadium.  Thank you, seniors, for your leadership and all you have given to the program!  I plan to record a podcast after the season focusing on you all.

Rave: I know the fans and coaches have been hard on the offensive line this year.  They have been inconsistent this season but yesterday was easily their best performance since the University of Minnesota game.  They only allowed one sack and held the duo of Elerson Smith and Jared Brinkman to 5 total tackles.  What a performance! 

Rant: I didn't love the clock management to end the first half.  We called a time out just to take a delay of game penalty so that Dinkel could have more room to work with on his punt.  Then we burned two timeouts so we could try and block a punt.  It almost ended in disaster when the punt was downed at the 1/2 yard line.  Luckily our line was able to get a great push so Heide could get out of the end zone.  If we block the punt maybe I feel differently but I would have rather just let the clock melt away.

Rave:  How about Keaton Heide?  15/16, 196 yards and 2 TD plus 18 positive yards with his legs.  It felt like he was in control the entire game.  He showed really good composure and movement in the pocket again.  I'm also really impressed with how he carries himself in the post-game interviews.

Rave: I said in the "What to Watch"  that Jaxon Janke would have some room to work with on punt return and he indeed did!  His returns put the Jacks in good field position for the entire game (other than the one right before half)!

Rant: I'm disappointed we didn't have more fans there but the ones who were in attendance made a difference.  They were loud and energetic!

Rave: The #ChainGang came up huge yesterday.  Maybe the sacks didn't show up how they usually do but they chased UNI's quarterback, McElvain all day.  Tolu's strip followed by Don's scoop-and-score changed the tide of the game and seemed to break UNI's spirit. 

Rave: Turnovers!  My podcasting partner, Kyle Sheehan, talks about turnovers all the time.  Yesterday the Jacks came up +4.  Last week the Jacks were -3 against Illinois State.  When UNI beat Illinois State they were +4.  It is such a huge stat in college football and the last three weeks have proven it. 

Rave: I've been begging all season for the Jacks to play a cleaner game and cut down on penalties.  Yesterday they did with just 3 penalties and 1 was intentional. 

Rave: Mikey Daniel and Devon Blakely did a great job of carrying the load against a tough UNI run defense.  Mikey's leadership has blown me away this season.  His post-game interview with Tyler Merriam really exemplified the character he has and the ownership/leadership he has for his group. 

Rant: I'm sure he's already correcting it but Genant struggled for most of the day getting his snaps up.  There were a number of times Heide and Mikey were having to bend down and pick up the low snaps.  It appeared that he also snapped the ball early on the 4th quarter sack. 

Rave: Cade Johnson went over 1,000 yards receiving for the season for the second consecutive year.  Huge congratulations to him!  You won't find a better ambassador for the SDSU football program.

Rave: Logan Backhaus continues his terror on opposing offenses this season.   He has 70 tackles, a sack, 2 forced fumbles and now 3 interceptions.  He just makes plays!  His fellow linebackers, Seven Wilson and Christian Rozeboom also had big games racking up 8 and 5 tackles respectively. 

Rave: All in all just a huge victory.  The crowd that was in attendance was great.  Coaches put players in position for success and the players executed and made plays.  The flee-flicker, the scooped fumble, all 3 interceptions, Heide being nearly perfect, limited penalties, and good weather all added up to a fun day. 

Game Balls
Offense: Evan Greeneway.  Shutting down Elerson Smith is no small feat.
Defense: Don Gardner.  His scoop and score changed the game.
Special Teams: Blair Mulholland. Watch #5 on special teams.  He plays with such fire!

Go Jacks!
Matt

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