What to Watch: Holy Cross



The Jackrabbits and Crusaders are both coming off of emotional wins last week.  We'll see which team is able to carry-on without missing a beat.  This is the playoffs where weird stuff can happen and it's lose and go home.  Holy Cross has the potential to be dangerous and should not be taken lightly.  Here is what the Jackrabbit Illustrated team is keeping an eye on this week.

1. Stop the Run

The Jackrabbit run defense has been pretty darn good this season.  On the season their opponents have totaled 706 total yards on the ground, 373 came in games against UND and YSU alone.  Opponents are averaging just 3.46 yards per carry!  These are pretty incredible numbers.  Holy Cross has a good running back, Peter Oliver, who is averaging 7.6 yards per carry and their quarter back, Matthew Sluka, is averaging 6.8 per carry. It will be imperative for the defense to stop the run on first and second down and to force Holy Cross to pass on 3rd down.  However, the work is not done as it sounds like Sluka is a really good scrambler and able to make defenders miss in the open field.  The Jackrabbit front seven will have to bring the same mentality they have for much of this season in order to stop Holy Cross's run game.    

2. Start Fast

The easiest way to slow a team that likes to run the ball is to play complimentary football and get out to an early lead and force them to play catch-up.  As noted previously, the Jackrabbits have been tremendous on opening drives this season.  That trend needs to continue this week and we'd love to see the Jackrabbits take an early lead.  We hope to see a good mix of run and pass in the first half and then make adjustments as the game progresses.    

3. or Less Penalties

As has been noted over the past two seasons, the Jackrabbits have a propensity for accumulating penalties.  This can't continue into the playoffs. The JI team would love to see a game played with 3 or less penalties just to prove that they can do it.  They are good or great in the three phases of the game now it is time to go one step further and clean-up the penalties. 

4. Stay Healthy

Other than the two season ending injuries and a tweaked ankle for PS2 the team has stayed relatively healthy this season (knock on wood).  Let's hope that trend continues into the post season where every healthy body is needed. 

5. No Turnovers

In the Patriot League Conference Championship game, Holy Cross forced a whopping 5 interceptions and forced a fumble!  In addition, their defense had 6 sacks.  If the Jacks can protect the ball and the quarterback, they should be able to win this game.  It just depends on how quickly the offensive line is able to to adjust to this quick and attacking defensive line of the Crusaders.   


Go Jacks!

Chad, Ben, Brendan, Dallas, Kyle, and Matt 

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