GDT: North Dakota State (1/8/23) ***FCS Championship Final***

[Theee Catrabbit]

I had a great trip and my buddy and I talked about how far the program had come. We have a long history with SDSU, some good some bad, mostly great. I remember calling him when the D1 announcement came. He was skeptical, he was on the team under probably the darkest of times in the program(that term is a pretty loose description of what was occurring in the program at the time). I was probably one of outliers that thought the move was great. The usual D2 foes had become stale and really what were we holding on to? NDSU jumped with money, facilities, a fanbase, and just overall more infrastructure. SDSU jumped with trailers, abysmal fans, ,pine trees, a coach most doubted(admittedly I had my moments) and a pocketful of naysayers. The trailers are gone, the fanbase is getting stronger every year, the trees like the coach are almost a legend, and the naysayers have have been silenced by the roars of our crowds. It's a great day to be a Jackrabbit! Ears up!

[peavy]

Was anyone else listening to the postgame interview Scotty Kwas did with Just Sell. I thought Sell mentioned a significant announcement in coming days. If he indeed said that, I'm curious what it might be.

The postgame is live on gojacks; the interview with Justin Sell is around 01:20:30 on the file labeled 7:02 PM. Here's the closest quote regarding the future: "Listen, we are going to celebrate the heck out of this, but this might uncork an opportunity to do a whole bunch of things. I wouldn't sleep on the Jackrabbits."

As a JMU fan mentioned on AGS in his post congratulating the Jacks, this will result in a boost to recruitment / donations.

...
Speaking of emotions, Tyler Merriam mentioned during the postgame that last week was tough, and he almost didn't travel to Frisco. Does anyone know if everything is ok with Tyler and his family?
...

On Jan 1st, Tyler shared his wife's facebook post on twitter stating that their son, Wyatt, was able to come home (Dec 31st) after 94 days in the NICU after being born at 27 weeks 3 days. Tyler had previously shared a few of Jill's posts with updates about Wyatt if anyone is interested in learning more.

[Theee Catrabbit]

My notes from the game: Gronowski is a winner, and cemented himself in Jack history.

if someone doesn't make a blue t-shirt with Ryan Gronowski sublimated and LFG across the front and back in yellow with all proceeds going to Ryan's charity of choice, then we have failed.

jankes are winners and I am glad they are back.

Heins playing with a broken foot will become a legend.

You have to respect the hell out of Tucker Kraft for not bailing for so many reasons we see currently.

Freeman. If Dyshaun has anymore friends he better get on the phone. That dude reminds me of one of my all time favorite players Sam Mills(Carolina Panthers). He kills it.

I said it earlier this season. All of the great Running Backs WERE NOT, until they WERE, meaning we didn't know anything until they showed us. Amar showed us. That kid is on my Mt Rushmore of SDSU backs from here on out, with Davis, Strong, Zenner, Ranek, Minnet. He delivered. He can do no wrong.

Rogers and Lujan. Only their love of Jackrabbit Football will keep them here. They are incredible.

Isaiah Davis is a man among boys when he touches the ball.

Our defenseive and offensive lines are filthy and shall remain so.

Coach Stig had his "Nagy transcendance", where all the doubt and questioning were washed away. I talked to a relative of Gronowski and asked him what made a kid from Illinois decide that SDSU was the place for him,and so much of it rested on who Stig is as a person. That culture that we know has been so painstakingly created by the coach is the reason this team is where it's at.

there I think I am done waxing poetically for awhile, I don't really think I'm saying anything you all don't know. I just hope maybe a few of the players read this and know that what they did maybe reaches a lot farther than even they can imagine. GBGBGJ!

[GoJacks2011]

My notes from the game: Gronowski is a winner, and cemented himself in Jack history.

if someone doesn't make a blue t-shirt with Ryan Gronowski sublimated and LFG across the front and back in yellow with all proceeds going to Ryan's charity of choice, then we have failed.

jankes are winners and I am glad they are back.

Heins playing with a broken foot will become a legend.

You have to respect the hell out of Tucker Kraft for not bailing for so many reasons we see currently.

Freeman. If Dyshaun has anymore friends he better get on the phone. That dude reminds me of one of my all time favorite players Sam Mills(Carolina Panthers). He kills it.

I said it earlier this season. All of the great Running Backs WERE NOT, until they WERE, meaning we didn't know anything until they showed us. Amar showed us. That kid is on my Mt Rushmore of SDSU backs from here on out, with Davis, Strong, Zenner, Ranek, Minnet. He delivered. He can do no wrong.

Rogers and Lujan. Only their love of Jackrabbit Football will keep them here. They are incredible.

Isaiah Davis is a man among boys when he touches the ball.

Our defenseive and offensive lines are filthy and shall remain so.

Coach Stig had his "Nagy transcendance", where all the doubt and questioning were washed away. I talked to a relative of Gronowski and asked him what made a kid from Illinois decide that SDSU was the place for him,and so much of it rested on who Stig is as a person. That culture that we know has been so painstakingly created by the coach is the reason this team is where it's at.

there I think I am done waxing poetically for awhile, I don't really think I'm saying anything you all don't know. I just hope maybe a few of the players read this and know that what they did maybe reaches a lot farther than even they can imagine. GBGBGJ!

Love all of this. I have thought multiple times the last few days about the similarities between Stig, Nagy and AJ. What a trio we were blessed with to get us through these past few decades. All underrated, withstood criticism, mentally tough, so level headed, and good people above all else.

[da_coach]

Me? Parts of our fanbase is terrible. I certainly don't advocate that our coaching staff be fired.

NO, not you at all. I was talking about the cesspool.

[Southeast]

Good stuff Catrabbit. That Ryan Gronowski clip with Mark O. was awesome!


It was definitely a long year for last few remaining Stig-haters. There's a Jacks fan on AGS that kind of embodies them, poised over the keyboard just waiting to type out a tangent about how he "can't win a big game" as soon as it looks like a loss is coming. Those types had a long year, waiting....

Along those same lines, "is it time to have a conversation" about how Gronowski is now a shoe-in as an SDSU hall of famer? Sorry, couldn't resist.

[rutlandbison]

NO, not you at all. I was talking about the cesspool.

A cesspool indeed. SDSU has quite the team and quite the team coming back. Gonna be tough to unseat you guys.

[MontanaRabbit]

A cesspool indeed. SDSU has quite the team and quite the team coming back. Gonna be tough to unseat you guys.

Spoke with quite a few NDSU fans this weekend. The VAST majority were awesome. Most expected the Jacks to win. I think most unbiased fans expected that.

NDSU was down from some of their best teams and the Jacks could be in the conversation of being as good as some of NDSU's best.

[MontanaRabbit]

Good stuff Catrabbit. That Ryan Gronowski clip with Mark O. was awesome!


It was definitely a long year for last few remaining Stig-haters. There's a Jacks fan on AGS that kind of embodies them, poised over the keyboard just waiting to type out a tangent about how he "can't win a big game" as soon as it looks like a loss is coming. Those types had a long year, waiting....

Along those same lines, "is it time to have a conversation" about how Gronowski is now a shoe-in as an SDSU hall of famer? Sorry, couldn't resist.

I'll admit I often wondered if Stig would get there a few years back.

However, he's adapted. A few years ago there seemed to a fundamental shift in focusing more recruiting efforts on the offense and defensive line. Back when we'd catch NDSU every once and awhile but get stomped in Fargo in the playoffs we weren't running 8-10 defensive lineman out every game. They wore us down. Our rise coincided with that shift.

I also watched the replay last night. Our offensive lineman were constantly giving little extra shoves here and there. The NDSU players were complaining to the refs left and right. I can remember watching NDSU/SDSU games a few years ago when NDSU just hit harder and played chippy like that. They were the bully. There's a new bully in the league now. I think our guys realize they belong and aren't going to back down anymore.

[RahRahRabbits]

I haven't seen it discussed here yet, so wanted to bring it up. May be old news for many of you.... but per tweet/tweet chain from Matt Zimmer, he is leaving Argus Leader and heading Sioux Falls Live/Mitchell Republic. FCS Championship coverage was his final hurrah with the paper. Found another article on the matter from Mike McFeely on InForum. Not an ounce of love from anyone for the Argus Leader's parent company, Gannett. Interesting reads on the continuing downfall of the once great news operation.

[filbert]

Next-generation media (Jackrabbit Illustrated, and to a far, far lesser extent this site) are going to swamp old-school media companies (like Gannett) . . . it looks to me like Forum Communications (Sioux Falls Live) is positioning itself to be on the winning side of the news/media battle. Gannett....isn't.

[Prairiehaas]

Spoke with quite a few NDSU fans this weekend. The VAST majority were awesome. Most expected the Jacks to win. I think most unbiased fans expected that.

NDSU was down from some of their best teams and the Jacks could be in the conversation of being as good as some of NDSU's best.

Tailgated next to NDSU fans before the game Sunday. Great crew. One guy was celebrating his 80th birthday by sharing cookies with the kids around us and his homemade grog (schnapps and brandy) with the adults. The whole crew was positive, friendly and fun. That is your average NDSU and SDSU fan.

The tailgate and game in Frisco was as much fun as a 60+ year old is legally allowed. Looking forward to a repeat trip in the near future. Go Jacks!

[GoJacks2011]

Someone put this out for the 1 month anniversary of the championship. Amazing video! Can’t wait to do it again next year. https://youtu.be/atB9f-CBZIY