Jackrabbit Illustrated

The Jacks head up to Fargo this weekend to take on the NDSU Bison. The Bison enter the fray with a 5-1 record and the Jacks sit at 4-1.  The Bison have the extra win because they played one game in the fall.  The Bison have been on a roll since getting blown out by SIU 38-14 and look as dangerous as ever.     Offense The Bison offense as usual, is powere d by the run.  In the spring season, they are averaging 23.8 points per game, 218.8 yards per game on the ground and 128.2 yards through the air.  They are controlling the ball for 29 minutes and 30 seconds per game. The quarterback position has been mainly handled by Iowa State transfer #8 Zeb Noland (6-2, 224).  Noland has a really strong arm and can throw the ball on a rope.  He has completed 51.8% of his passes and has passed for 567 yards, 4 TD, and 6 INT.   Zeb struggles with accuracy when pressured and is not as mobile as previous Bison QBs. True freshman #7 Cam Miller (...

                With the current rise of esports around the nation it holds an uncertain future of either success or failure. Many schools have already bought into the rise of esports with college shelling out money to create event stadiums and practice facilities with top of the line computers. There are even some schools that are creating scholarships to draw in esport athletes in their respective games. The colleges can vary from the D1 level all the way down to community college level. Most of these schools take the esports scene very seriously with hiring coaches and designating practice times. The esport athletes are held to the same standard as other athletics are in the academic aspect as well.              South Dakota State University also has their own esport club here on campus. It is student ran but the club has talked to the university for funding in a room designated t...

News broke Sunday evening that Illinois State was choosing to shut down for the remainder of the spring season .  This wasn't shocking news for those who have been paying attention to Head Coach Brock Spack's press conferences and quotes recently.  Following the Redbird loss to NDSU on March 13th, Spack made these comments,  “We don’t want to screw up the fall with what we do in the spring. I’m starting to get a little nervous about that on our end.  It’s a very weird scenario we’re in. No coach has been through this. Should we be playing in the spring? Should we not play in the spring? Maybe that wasn’t the best thing.”   When I read this last week, I thought that ISU may try to gut out the rest of the season.  However, it is now clear that Spack wanted to honor the seniors who aren't returning in the fall with one last home game before shutting down shop.  According to Randy Reinhardt who does a great job of covering Illinois State for the Panta...

The Jacks didn’t take the bait, stayed out of the net, and off the wall of the SIU Salukis this weekend... not only did they do all this but they may have capsized the boat in a dominant 44-3 victory. Rave: Easily the most complete game of the season, the Jacks looked very good in all phases of the game for the final three quarters.  It’s also not like the Jacks looked horrible in the first quarter.  They were moving the ball on offense and the defense forced two fumbles that were called back.  But anyways, this is the dominant performance we have all been looking for. Rant: Tackling was a bit suspect early in the game.  All three backs were causing problems, not just Williams Jr.  However, the Jacks adjusted their pad level and did a much better job as the game went along. Rave: The #605Hogs owned this game.  SIU has a good front seven with some very talented players.  For the most part, Notree, Strong, and Knighton were neutralized as the Jacks racke...

The Jacks return to the road after a two game homestand to face the dangerous SIU Salukis.  They are good on both sides of the ball and are able to attack on the ground and through the air.  This really should be a great game and the start of a tough four game stretch as the Jacks seek to return to the playoffs.   Here is what the Jackrabbit Illustrated team is keeping an eye on in this marque matchup. 1. Wrap Up Last week the Jackrabbit defense had too many missed tackles on the YSU duo of McGlaughlin and Waid who earned nearly 196 yards rushing on 46 attempts.  We don't know the exact number of missed tackles but it was more than a half dozen and likewise a number of those yards came after first contact.  Against SIU this cannot be the case.  Javon Williams Jr. is a load, standing 6'2 and 245 pounds.  It will be key for defenders to wrap up and at least slow him down so the rest of the defense can rally to the ball and finish the play.  Lik...

The Southern Illinois University Salukis are may be the hottest team in the MVFC outside of Grand Forks.  They have wins against MVFC powerhouses in NDSU and UNI.  If they can beat SDSU that would be a major accomplishment for their program.  Their offense, even with multiple quarterbacks, appears to be clicking and their defense is absolutely flying around the field.  Nick Hill is the head coach and he has turned around his alma mater who is seeking a spot in the playoffs.   Offense The offense is rushing the ball for 182.8 yards per game utilizing three different running backs and the passing game is good for 204.2 yards per game behind maybe the best top end duo of WRs in the MVFC.  SIU has turned the ball over this season as they do take a number of risks through the air.  They have 6 INTs and 4 fumbles so far.  However, their bread and butter is still running the ball and it shows with them holding the edge on time of possession with 31 ...

  (Photo Courtesy of Nathan Bylander) As always, I'm happy to be writing this after a win and not a loss.  The Jacks led for most of the game but due to the defensive gridlock, that the game was, it never felt like they were in control.  However, they came away with a 19-17 win and sit at 3-1 on the season.  I think at the start of the season, 3-1 or 4-0 were the two most common thoughts about how the team would start.  The Jackrabbits close the regular season with four VERY tough matchups.  The margin for error is slim and with so many teams already having a loss on their resume we will likely get everyone's best shot.  SIU (3-1), Illinois State (0-3), NDSU (3-1), and USD (1-2) will all be worthy opponents and the Jacks will certainly be tested as they work towards the playoffs.  But, lets enjoy the win for a bit longer before worrying about what's ahead.     Rants & Raves Rave: Honestly, this article could start and end with t...

      On March 5th both SDSU Men's and Women's team took home the cross country summit league trophies. This continues the Men's championship streak to four years in a row which ties them for the longest streak in summit league history. With both the Men and Women winning the title it is also the first time since 2004 that a school won in both Men's and Women's categories.      Some notable performances from the day was Leah Hansen with a time of  21:45.60 in the 6k which is her personal best. This time punched her ticket into the NCCA National Championship. While Hansen would come in first the top 5 runners were 4 jackrabbits. Ellie Friesen with a time of 21:55.69, Anna Donnay with a time of 21:58.00, and Cailee Peterson with a time of 22:14.10. This was the first time since 2008 that the women won the title.  On the Men's side Joseph Minor-Williams placed second with a time of 25:01.49 in his 8k run. Following him Tomas Breuchman recorded a...

The Jackrabbits enter week 4 with a 2-1 record.  The UNI win was impressive.  The UND loss was deflating.  The win against WIU was expected but it still felt like the offense figured some things out and the defense got back to bullying the opponent.  YSU is a step up from WIU so we will see how much the Jacks have improved.  In his weekly press conference, Coach Stig mentioned that the team is getting healthy.  We love to hear that and look forward to seeing Xavier Ward and Deyon Campbell out there this week.  We hope Blake Kunz is more comfortable in his second week back, along with the return of swiss army knife Mike Morgan.  Hopefully the team maintains focus on going 1-0 this week because this YSU team is talented and is hungry for it's first victory of the season.  The Return of Peas & Carrots This one is the obvious one and its boring.  We get it.  YSU wants to run the ball and they enter this week averaging just 108.3 yar...

This week is an ode to my mother. She is retiring from the city of Sioux Falls this month and requested that I make some Caramel Rolls. I thought I would share with you what I contributed to her retirement party and these rolls pair nicely with some hobo chili from last year. Soft and Sticky Caramel Pecan Rolls Yields 12 caramel rolls Ingredients: For the dough: 1 cup whole milk, warm 1 tablespoon active dry yeast 5 tablespoons granulated cane sugar 2 large eggs 3 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter, very soft (Leave it out overnight) For the sauce: 3/4 cup (1 and 1/2 sticks) salted butter 1 and 1/2 cups brown sugar, firmly packed 1/3 cup honey 1/3 cup heavy cream 1/3 cup water 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt For the filling: 8 oz pieces of pecan (getting the broken ones should be cheaper 1/3 cup granulated sugar 1/3 cup brown sugar, packed 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon dash nutmeg, optional Instructions Make the sweet dough: Take...

The Youngstown State Penguins come to Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium with an 0-3 record, a new head coach, and a lot of new players.  Head Coach Doug Phillips arrives after the Bo Pelini firing.  He has taken an interesting path to becoming a head coach.  He was a grad assistant under Jim Tressel when he was the YSU headcoach, became an assistant and position coach in the MAC for a number of years and then eventually left coaching and was a high school principal for a number of years.  Three years he got back into coaching at Cincinnati and worked there for three years before becoming the YSU head coach.  So far, his season is off to a rough start but it is clear what he is trying to build; run first with a stout defense.  Gone are the days when YSU will rely on transfers to build their roster.  This is a hungry team and a hungry team is a dangerous team. Offense The Penguins have struggled to gain their footing on offense through three weeks. They have scor...

Well that was fun!  The Jacks won big over Western Illinois, 45-10 and put up 42 points in the first half.  I know WIU is rebuilding but there is talent on the roster.  They should have beat Missouri State last week and I think they will win a game or two this spring.  It was a beautiful day for football and I feel really lucky that I was able to be there to take it in. Rants & Raves Rave:  I am excited for this season but I'm equally as excited for the future.  Everyone who has followed this blog for some time knows that I love roster building and analyzing the construction of it.  The QB is a true freshman, the second team RB is a true freshman, the starting TE and leading WRs are all Sophomores.  The defense has young playmakers emerging and there is a nice mix of youth and experience in the trenches.  The future is bright! Rave: I thought Mark Gronowski again looked really good.  He finished 13/20 for 197 yards with 2 TD and rush...

Last week, the Jackrabbit Illustrated Team felt pretty smart.  Everything we had in our "What to Watch: UND" preview actually happened... unfortunately the Jacks didn't respond.  This week, we are still optimistic that this roadmap to victory will be followed and all Jackrabbits will leave The Dana happy.  So here is what we are keeping an eye on. MSTSA: Make Special Teams Special Again The Jackrabbit special teams has been very good historically and is usually one of the top units in the MVFC.  Last week, however, was a different story.  The blocked field goal, the allowed fake punt, the blocked punt, and the long kick return were all unacceptable.  WIU does some tricky things on their punt team and has talent in the return game.  This group has to do it's third in order for the Jacks to win a National Championship.  Hopefully that trend starts this week.  Strong 3rd Quarter Through the first two contests, the Jackrabbits have not been good ...

On March 6th-9th the Summit League will come to a head at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. South Dakota State University will come in ranked #1 after clinching the division on Monday March 1st. Following SDSU in the number one spot the ranking is as follows. #2 University of South Dakota, #3 North Dakota State University, #4 Oral Roberts, #5 North Dakota, #6 Kansas City, #7 Western Illinois, and #8 Omaha. South Dakota State University is coming off a record setting game against Kansas City. The team shot 73.5% from the field, 66.7% from behind the arch, and 83.3% from the free throw line. SDSU ran into some struggles regarding covid-19 guidelines that were put in place by the summit league. SDSU had a total of four games cancelled due to COVID. This would create in some cases a more than a week break from competition while others continued to play. Even with these setbacks SDSU still clinched the number one seed.  One thing that SDSU needs to focus on going into t...

The Jackrabbits renew their series vs. the Western Illinois University Leathernecks after a break from the series in 2018 and 2019.  The last time they faced was 2017 when the Jacks blew them out 52-24.  A lot has changed since that last meeting so we can basically throw that out the window.  In 2019 WIU went just 1-11 overall and 1-7 in the conference.  They return a number of playmakers on offense and have a mostly inexperienced but fast defense looking to improve on their 2019 effort.  The coaches are looking for a quick turnaround though as this roster has 44 transfers on it by my count. WIU played Missouri State tough and had a 17-14 lead at halftime before falling 30-24.  Offense Since that 2017 meeting, WIU has turned to a spread hurry-up offense. In their season opening loss to Missouri State, they ran 76 plays racking up 329 yards of total offense.  Their defense gave the offense a short field on multiple occasions but penalties hurt their eff...