Rants & Raves: UND

The Jacks entered Saturday hoping to move to 2-0 and take care of conference newcomer UND. That did not happen and for a variety of reasons. There was plenty of good but also plenty of the mistakes and mental errors that are preventing this team from becoming a true title contender.  

Rants & Raves

Rave: The first half that Mark Gronowski had was pretty incredible.  If not for two drops it may have looked even better.  For the game he finished 16 for 32 for 309 yards and 2 TD along with 2 INT (1 was a desperation heave at the end of the first half) and a fumble in second half.  As for the good, Mark made every throw he needed to make in the first half. His passes were accurate, had the proper amount of zip on them, and were thrown in places that protected his receiver.  His 76 yard TD to Jaxon Janke was one of the best throws I have seen from a Jackrabbit quarterback. 

Rant: This program has developed a problem.  I previewed this during the game but the MENTAL mistakes and penalties are killing this team and have for the last few years.  This team is a national title contender but is not ready to take that next step until they get this cleaned up.

Rave: At first blush, Isaiah Stalbird had a nice game at the safety position.  He was fast and physical in the second half and prevented UND from gaining a first down on multiple occasions.  

Rant: Another thing that has been evident for a long time is the lack of killer instinct.  The Jacks had every opportunity to be up 17 to 21 points at halftime over UND.  If they are, it changes the entire complexion of the second half.  Instead, it was a 7 point game with UND believing they could compete.  This isn't a new problem but, again, it needs to be fixed before this team can take the next step.

Rave: I liked how the Jackrabbits incorporated Jordan Meachum into the game plan this week. It makes sense to have him return kicks and I love how they used him on the jet sweep action.  I hope there is another wrinkle they are adding to this play.

Rant: I was disappointed in the #ChainGang overall.  This is the strength of the team and yesterday they were manhandled in the trenches finishing with 0 sacks and 177 yards on the ground.  It was somewhat shocking to see because I have not see this group be dominated in awhile. Even in previous losses, it was not because of the defensive lines performance. After two games, it is obvious that UND has a MVFC ready offensive line.  Credit to them for building a line that was ready to go in year one.  The #chaingang has to play better plane and simple.  Stop the run and then get a pass rush on 3rd down. 

Rave: Logan Backhuas and Preston Tetzlaff showed up to play finishing with 11 and 10 tackles a piece.  Logan is still looking for the big IMPACT play that we got so used to seeing but overall his performance thru two weeks has been very good.

Rant: Special teams MUST be better.  Fake punt, blocked field goal, blocked punt, and long kick returns on their own are unacceptable but all in one game is completely insane.  This 3rd of the game was not ready to play and it showed on Saturday.  

Rave: Even though they had their mistakes, I thought the Janke twins had nice games.  Jaxon had 7 receptions for 161 yards and 2 TD while Jadon had 6 receptions for 109 yards.  Both showed overall athleticism and speed that many have questioned.

Rant: I love this coaching staff but I have been surprised by the lack of second half adjustments in the first two games this season.  In two games, the Jacks have been outscored 34-10 in the second half.  The third quarter in particular has been a mess.  Maybe this is different if the Jacks score a TD instead of a field goal instead on their opening drive of the half against UND.

Rant: Speaking of not scoring a TD on the opening drive of the half, this officiating crew was pathetic for some of the penalties they called and for some of the penalties they didn't call.  The two obvious penalties are the "unsportsmanlike conduct" penalty against Jaxon after he spun the ball and the pass interference non-call on 4th down in the 4th quarter as the Jacks tried to mount their comeback.  If the referee could explain to me how Jaxon's ball spin is different then Luke Skokna's ball flip after a first down, I would sure appreciate it.  That call alone took points off the board.  

Rant:  I would have loved to see a replay of all of these penalties but the Midco production, usually very good, was not good at all on Saturday.  Late getting the camera on plays, not having good or wide enough angles to show the defensive alignment at times, and not showing replays are my three biggest gripes.  Maybe I've been spoiled by Midco's production quality in the past but I thought this was pretty atrocious.  

Rave: The good news is... the season is not over!  The Jacks still have every goal ahead of them.  They can still win the conference, they can still make the playoffs, and they can still win a national title but they must clean-up the little mistakes and finish their opponents instead of letting them hang around and the coaches have to make some adjustments in the second half.  

Game Balls

Offense: Jaxon Janke

Defense: Logan Backhaus

Special Teams: None

Go Jacks!

Matt