Western Illinois

[rabbits64]

Re: Western Illinois

Well, dude, I previously taught at a university where nobody cares about student athletes. They want 11 wins and couldn't care less that less than 20 percent of the football team graduates. If you want that sort of approach to the game, you should look into the job market in Norman, OK or Gainesville, FL. Bob "What graduation problem?" Stoops and Urban "felony? What felony?" Meyer are your men. You can feel tough and live off the domination of the 20-percenters on the football field and not care that nobody's learning anything. That's not for me.

I want good kids who compete hard and behave themselves off the field. We're South Dakota State, where our student athletes graduate at nearly an 80 percent rate (20-some percent better than the rest of our students) and where we retain 80 percent of our freshmen (national average: 54 percent.) 7-4 and an 80 percent graduation rate are, in fact, things to be very, very proud of. I heard WIU's AD bragging tonight at halftime about four or five of his sports where teams are above 3.0 in GPA. Yippee! Twenty of our 21 sports are over 3.0, including football.

So you can panic and call for coaches to resign because of one four-overtime loss. I'll take pride in our athletic programs and in coaches who care about winning on and off the field. Stig's a quality guy and he brings in quality kids. He'll get them turned around and even with sub-par QB play they'll win six or seven games this year. I'll be perfectly happy with that. Sorry I can't share your outrage at a 7-4 season.

I agree with you, I want good kids who fit the SDSU mold. You assume that I want to sell our souls to win. I just would like to see an attitude of fans to have SDSU produce 1-2 more wins with the athletes they have on the field right now, which they can.

[EQguy]

Re: Western Illinois

Well, dude, I previously taught at a university where nobody cares about student athletes. They want 11 wins and couldn't care less that less than 20 percent of the football team graduates. If you want that sort of approach to the game, you should look into the job market in Norman, OK or Gainesville, FL. Bob "What graduation problem?" Stoops and Urban "felony? What felony?" Meyer are your men. You can feel tough and live off the domination of the 20-percenters on the football field and not care that nobody's learning anything. That's not for me.

I want good kids who compete hard and behave themselves off the field. We're South Dakota State, where our student athletes graduate at nearly an 80 percent rate (20-some percent better than the rest of our students) and where we retain 80 percent of our freshmen (national average: 54 percent.) 7-4 and an 80 percent graduation rate are, in fact, things to be very, very proud of. I heard WIU's AD bragging tonight at halftime about four or five of his sports where teams are above 3.0 in GPA. Yippee! Twenty of our 21 sports are over 3.0, including football.

So you can panic and call for coaches to resign because of one four-overtime loss. I'll take pride in our athletic programs and in coaches who care about winning on and off the field. Stig's a quality guy and he brings in quality kids. He'll get them turned around and even with sub-par QB play they'll win six or seven games this year. I'll be perfectly happy with that. Sorry I can't share your outrage at the prospect of a 7-4 season.

Just thought JimmyJacks words should be said again.

[joeboo22]

Re: Western Illinois

We could be 11-0 and play schools like USD or we could be 7-4 with a relatively young team and new QB that did not impress me much playing real schools. Its the first game of the year on the road against a pretty damn good team and we lost in 4 OT's and people are calling for the coaches head. Ya Berry struggled and maybe he shouldn't be the QB of this team but everybody knew QB was going to be an adventure for this team we did loose a really good QB and guys like that are hard to replace.

[Nidaros]

Re: Western Illinois

I too agree 100 per cent with Jimmy Jacks comments about quality student athletes. I also see rabbits 64 point about fans, alumni not being more demanding in terms of wins. Traditonally there seems to have been more demand of accountabilty in terms of winning from our basketball programs since 1963 than there has been of our football program. I do think we have kind of accepted a mediocare program in terms of wins. I for one am not happy with this attitude, but really dont have much to offer in terms of a solution except to keep coming to the games and keep contributing to a perpetual scholarship fund at SDSU that has been awarded to a deserving football player for a number of years now.


I also consider Coach Stig as a friend, and I think he knows what is expected of him. Whether the transition period to D1 has given Stig and other coaches a bit of slack I dont know. I believe they have expectations and we could be like our neighbors 195 miles north who have since 1963 taken a very firm stand about demanding a winning program. We certainly could do that as well, but do we need to become unnecessarily uncivil to a head coach who does not win enough? Ask Bob Babich and Rockie Hager how they were treated by the Bison fans towards the end of their coaching careers at NDSU. I dont think thats an example we want to follow either.

I think though that academic intgrity wins out in the end. So a fourth overtime loss puts a bad taste in my mouth, but might be gone as early as Saturday morning. Its only a football game where there can be only one winner since implementing the overtime rules. Maybe ties were not so bad after all.

[bisonbacker]

Re: Western Illinois

Tough loss Guys, I was pulling for you too.

[bisonbacker]

Re: Western Illinois

I too agree 100 per cent with Jimmy Jacks comments about quality student athletes. I also see rabbits 64 point about fans, alumni not being more demanding in terms of wins. Traditonally there seems to have been more demand of accountabilty in terms of winning from our basketball programs since 1963 than there has been of our football program. I do think we have kind of accepted a mediocare program in terms of wins. I for one am not happy with this attitude, but really dont have much to offer in terms of a solution except to keep coming to the games and keep contributing to a perpetual scholarship fund at SDSU that has been awarded to a deserving football player for a number of years now.


I also consider Coach Stig as a friend, and I think he knows what is expected of him. Whether the transition period to D1 has given Stig and other coaches a bit of slack I dont know. I believe they have expectations and we could be like our neighbors 195 miles north who have since 1963 taken a very firm stand about demanding a winning program. We certainly could do that as well, but do we need to become unnecessarily uncivil to a head coach who does not win enough? Ask Bob Babich and Rockie Hager how they were treated by the Bison fans towards the end of their coaching careers at NDSU. I dont think thats an example we want to follow either.

I think though that academic intgrity wins out in the end. So a fourth overtime loss puts a bad taste in my mouth, but might be gone as early as Saturday morning. Its only a football game where there can be only one winner since implementing the overtime rules. Maybe ties were not so bad after all.

Ok I will give you Babich and he needed to go. Rocky was and still is admired and repsected and will always have a special place in Bison Lore. Rocky was not run out by the fans but a very misguided AD who should have been run out long before he was.

[thebluehatman]

Re: Western Illinois

My rough draft for the Collegian just finished, hopefully to appear online tomorrow. It's 2:30, I haven't got any sleep yet, but I am now:

There were fireworks on and off the field as the twentieth-ranked Jackrabbit football team kicked off the 2007 football season Thursday night at a newly renovated Hanson Field. The air was full of energy from both teams hoping to start the season 1-0, but ended with the Jacks losing in the longest game in SDSU and Western Illinois football history 29-26 in quadruple overtime.

The Jacks third drive of the game started out on the 39 yard line of WIU and looked promising. But it was short lived as Berry was picked off by Quinshun Riley and returned 38 yards to the ten yard line of SDSU. Three plays later Nick Coleman capped off a drive with a five-yard touchdown reception and WIU took the first lead at 7-0 with 13:22 in the second quarter. Driving down the field 73-yards in 13 plays, Parker Douglass cashed in on a 24–yard field goal to put the Jacks on the board at 7:11 down 7-3. On the next State drive, Douglass added a 33-yard field goal to make it 7-6 WIU.

Missed opportunities marred the start of the third quarter as neither teams could convert within 30 yards of the end zone. Special teams came up big for the Jacks multiple teams in the third quarter. Paul Aanonson had a huge 29 yard punt return and was hit late out of bounds for a 15-yard penalty to put the Jacks in golden position to make a drive for the goal, but they could not muster any offense. On fourth down, Dean Priddy almost miffed a punt, but made up for it when he boomed the punt into a beautiful kick that pinned WIU on the 2-yard line of WIU. After a short Leatherneck drive including a missed Taylor Rowan field goal. Followed by a poorly executed Jackrabbit possession later, Priddy came back on for a punt that got a perfect SDSU bounce to the 13 yard line of WIU. The third quarter ended with the Leathernecks up 7-6 marching down field, after the start of the fourth Rowan converted a 23-yard field goal with 11:48 in the fourth quarter to put the Leathernecks up 10-6. A 30-yard field goal later at 3:27 in the fourth quarter put Western up 13-6.

Things started looking bleak for the Jackrabbits. After an incredible 63 yard kick return by Trevor Hohn with 3:18 left, the Jacks faced a fourth and one with 1:45 left in the game. Cory Koenig came up big and gave the Jacks first and ten. The Jacks responded by hitting Matt Anderson at the 2 yard line with 1:16 in the game. Colin Cochart hit pay dirt with 0:38 left for his first career touchdown to put the Jacks down 13-12. Douglass came in and tied it all up at 13 with an extra point. A solid defensive stand later, the Jacks went to overtime all tied up.

Starting overtime out were the Jacks, who took the first lead of the game with a Parker Douglass 22-yard field goal 16-13. Jason Bonwell started the defensive battle in the overtimes when he sacked Matt Barr for a loss of six on WIU’s first play of overtime. Rowan followed up three plays later with a 38-yard field goal to tie it back up at 16 all.

The second overtime started with the Leathernecks having the ball. Barr eventually ran the ball in from 17 yards out to give WIU a 23-16 lead. The Jacks had to play cardiac kid again as they did so much last year. Berry face a fourth and four where he hit Chris Doblar for a 19-yard touchdown and an extra point later it was tied at 23. The third overtime featured defense as both teams exchanged field goals. Douglass converted on a 36-yarder and Rowan on a 27-yarder tying it up at 26.

The Jacks and Leathernecks went into the fourth OT which coincidentally made the game the longest for both schools. Rowan converted 27-yard field goal giving the Jacks one last shot down 29-26. Unfortunately, Berry’s pass on a third and ten was picked off by Patrick Stoudamire and ended the game sealing a WIU victory.

Coach John Stiegelmeier thought, “It was a fun game to be a part of. It was played the way a football game should be played. I’m proud of our young men for giving ourselves a chance to win.”

The Jacks stay on the road and head to Youngstown State next Saturday the 8. Then they open their home season against Northern Iowa on the 16 for the Cereal Bowl. The Jacks were lead offensively by Koenig who rushed 28 times for 119 yards. In the receiving corps Harris lead the way with six catches for 58 yards and Doblar four times for 33 yards. Berry completed 16 of his passes for 139 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions. Defensively the Jacks had six players in double digits with tackle. Stiegelmeier thought his defense played well in the first half and that Western’s quarterback found he could run like a tailback.

Notes: Parker Douglass hit his fiftieth field goal at SDSU…Chris Wagner left the game in the third quarter with a rolled ankle…Trevor Hohn suffered a serious injury that would not be elaborated on by Coach Stig.

[JimmyJack]

Re: Western Illinois

I agree with you, I want good kids who fit the SDSU mold. You assume that I want to sell our souls to win. I just would like to see an attitude of fans to have SDSU produce 1-2 more wins with the athletes they have on the field right now, which they can.

Keep in mind that Stig is operating with one hand tied behind his back. He has fewer (and lower paid) assistant coaches than his opponents. We don't have a dedicated football training facility (coming soon). Our film system is not good. We're only now at 63 scholarships, and that won't pay dividends in talent and depth for a couple of years. Our first game with 63 scholarships, we lose in 4 OT on the road to a Gateway team, and we're ready to declare 7-4 sucks? I don't get that. My main concern today is QB play. And I think they'll get that figured out.

What I've seen here is a coach who has taken us up a notch while operating at a competitive disadvantage compared to most of his peers. That tells me he's recruiting well despite all of that and that he develops players and gets effort from them. Give him all the tools he needs, then we can see what happens.

[rabidrabbit]

Re: Western Illinois

EVERYBODY PANIC!!!!!!

Come on folks, it was a road quadruple-overtime loss to an established FCS team from the conference we're lucky enough to be moving into next year.

Yeah, Berry played poorly tonight. Yeah, you can criticize the coaches.

I think Berry will be OK. I think the football team will be OK.

I think I need another Boulevard Lunar Ale.

Please note that the Leathernecks are also on a 31 game home winning streak. So they do VERY WELL in defending their home turf.

Leathernecks should do well in the Gateway this year.

[89rabbit]

Re: Western Illinois

http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs...27/1002/SPORTS

SDSU falters in 4 OT marathon
Berry throws INT on last possession

By Terry Vandrovec
tvandrovec@argusleader.com
Published: August 31, 2007

MACOMB, Ill. - After biding its time for four quarters and three-plus overtimes, No. 20-ranked South Dakota State finally had the ball with a chance to win. It just didn't happen.

In that regard, 2007 is already different than 2006.

Western Illinois' Patrick Stoudamire jumped a route on the right sideline, hauling in the third interception thrown by Jackrabbits quarterback Ryan Berry and sealing a 29-26 victory in quadruple overtime before a crowd of 11,648 Thursday night at Hanson Field.
"This only counts as one," Leathernecks coach Don Patterson said of what was the longest game in the history of either program, "but it's bigger than most."

And on the opposing sideline, it hurt more than most.
"First game your senior year, we've been working all summer, all fall camp, and we just talked about it today, we're going to be 1-0 or 0-1," said SDSU running back Cory Koenig, who rushed for 117 yards on 28 carries. "We put ourselves in a spot and just didn't finish." . . . (read more)


Go State!

[jackfan1]

Re: Western Illinois

Terrible loss for the Jacks. This one will sting for a while. I think we should lay off of Berry a bit though. He missed some big plays but remember that we had a dropped TD pass early in the game that would have changed things. I think Berry stayed strong and did some nice things at the end. He is going to be the guy so lets get behind him. If i remember right Kardous had a rough start as well and ended up playing pretty well.
I hope the injuries are small and i look forward to next weekend.

[89rabbit]

Re: Western Illinois

http://www.macombjournal.com/article...ts/sports2.txt

'Necks snare 'Rabbits in 4 OTs

By Tyler Tingley/Journal Sports Writer
Published: Thursday, August 30, 2007 11:35 PM CDT

a 2007 opening season win, 29-26 over South Dakota State in four overtimes.

The first big play of the game didn't come until the first play of the second quarter as Western's Quinshun Riley intercepted a Ryan Berry pass at the WIU 47-yard line and returned it to the SDS 10-yard line.

That set Western up with a first-and-goal and it took the Leathernecks just three plays for redshirt freshman Matt Barr to find fellow redshirt freshman Nick Coleman in the back of the end zone from five yards out for the score. This was the second freshman-to-freshman touchdown in Western Illinois history with the first coming in 2005. . . . (read more)


Go State!

[Nidaros]

Re: Western Illinois

Terrible loss for the Jacks. This one will sting for a while. I think we should lay off of Berry a bit though. He missed some big plays but remember that we had a dropped TD pass early in the game that would have changed things. I think Berry stayed strong and did some nice things at the end. He is going to be the guy so lets get behind him. If i remember right Kardous had a rough start as well and ended up playing pretty well.
I hope the injuries are small and i look forward to next weekend.

It seems it was not that long ago that there were lingering doubts about Kardoes too and maybe we should start Berry instead of Kardoes, hmm I am thinking that was about two seasons ago. Lets give Berry a chance to work it out. I am sure our coaches will be going over the breakdowns of the video in the next 9 days and they should be able to make some signifcant adjustments.

Again I agree with Jimmy Jack relating to the comments about the football program being underfunded and its very much a chronic legacy going back to the mid to late 1960's when things really changed in the NCC. At the president level, at NDSU, the president made a commitment to have a winning program and open up fundraising to down town Fargo. Something the previous president did not allow. It had an overwhelming affect on the community. SDSU during this time kind of just took all in stride and did not follow suite, but instead put more pressure on the budget by adding more sports.

I alluded to the threatment of head coaches at NDSU, particularily the way some were treated when they failed to win. I think the difference between SDSU and NDSU for decades now is the resouces available to the head coach. Jimmy hit the nail on the head when we see Stig in a positive vane, considering the disadvantage in terms of financial resources. If all the resources are available to the head coach and he cant win, then I guess the entire community has reason to be unhappy.

SDSU has stepped up our resources since moving to D1, but we still seem to be at a disadvantage in terms of financial resources. I think in terms of coaching salaries excluding the head coach, we still have a ways to go to close the competitive cap. The assistants Stig has hired are very good, but we probably will not see them hanging around for ever, when they have a growing family, and better offers come marching into their office. I don't blame them for leaving.

[SUPERBUNNY]

Re: Western Illinois

I agree 100% about giving Berry a little slack!

Yes, had a few bad throws!

Yes, had a couple dropped!

Yes, he stood in the pocket all night and took a beating but hung in there!

Let's give him a chance to work through it. He's a good kid and I think will come around quickly. There's no time to put your head down with the schedule they are facing! He'll be put to the again in the next game and expect he will play better!

SUPERBUNNY

[NorCalJack]

Re: Western Illinois

I would agree that Berry should not take the brunt of this loss. The wide receivers and Tight Ends did not make his day any easier. They did drop a lot of passes. Prior to the season the two weakest areas on the team were wide receiver and QB. That is not a good combination. If the passing game is not reliable, then the offense becomes one dimensional. At this level or any level, a one dimension offense will not be successful.

You also have to give some credit to WIU, they have won 31 consecutive games against non-conference opponents. Their QB looked quick and was pretty active.

Overall I thought SDSU had the better team, if were to break it down by postion it would go like this

QB - WIU had a distinct advantage over the SDSU QB

OL - SDSU had the better line

RB - This was probably a tie, WIU has a good RB, we may have out gained them on the ground, but that was a by product of the OL

WR - WIU has not great here, SDSU has a weakness at this point.

DL - SDSU has a better line

LB - WIU LB's may be the strength of their team

DB's - This may be a tie

ST - SDSU has a better kicker, returner but could improve at punter.

So in summary, WIU is better at QB, WR and LB. SDSU is better at OL, DL and ST. A tie at RB, DB. That is pretty even, thus they went to 4 OT. The game was also on the road, so that may have been the difference at the end.

SDSU had it's chances and could not capitalize on them. Remember last we started out 0-3 and it could happen again. I do feel better about this team at this point in the season than I did last year after the first game.

Go State!!!