USD week

[jakejc795]

Whether USD is a paper tiger will be determined in the next three weeks. SDSU, SIU and UND are on the slate. 3 losses and they are who we hoped they were. 2 loses and they are improved from last year. 1 loss and they are legit. 0 losses and I will be jumping off of a cliff. Go Jacks!

This alludes to perhaps one of the key questions in a rivalry litmus test -- would you rather NDSU or USD has a better record in the Valley, if you are forced to choose one of them?

[LetsGoRabbits]

This alludes to perhaps one of the key questions in a rivalry litmus test -- would you rather NDSU or USD has a better record in the Valley, if you are forced to choose one of them?

i will cheer for NDSU every day of the week. i HATE losing to them and they have ended way way too many of our seasons in both FB and MBB. the loss to them in the SLT final on the alexander jumper is one of my worst and most painful jackrabbit memories
BUT most of the time if the rabbits are not going to be the champs i am fine with the bison representing our conference in anything. i respect the school and the athletic program. the similarities between NDSU and SDSU and the respectful and mututally beneficial connection between the two schools in the last 25 years is undeniable.

usd on the other hand i cheer for them to lose absolutely every game they play in every sport. i DO have friends who went to school there and plenty of former students and players who i will always care for, and i respect those people! but i have ZERO respect for the school or the athletic program

of course they are a rival but the rivalry by the end of the D2 days had developed a very mean and, in my mind VERY NOT FUN spirit and unlike going to basketball games in the 70s, which i thought were fun games, the late 90s games had become not fun. football really did not matter for a lot of the D2 days cuz both teams were average at best most of the time. so my view of the rivalry from D2 is mostly a view of the basketball competition. and obviously everyone can and does have their personal opinion but to me those games had become not fun and somewhat mean

then whatever the connection between the two schools was
in my mind was severed when they chose first to not come along to D1 and second to be insulting and belittling about the jacks making the move.... and third a few years later to attempt to follow our path and without question take advantage of the path that was paved by the jacks and bison

so anyway of course usd is a rival and i always want jacks fans to classy and respectful- even to the coyotes- so i will respectfully cheer for our teams to whip them and cheer for every other team they play to do the same

i could go on, obviously no surprise to many / most of you, but i will not at this point

both teams are rivals, i just have a LOT LOT LOT more respect for ndsu and actually very little respect for usd, and competitiion with ndsu, in my mind, is just a lot closer to what a good healthy rivalry should look like

[jakejc795]

i will cheer for NDSU every day of the week. i HATE losing to them and they have ended way way too many of our seasons in both FB and MBB. the loss to them in the SLT final on the alexander jumper is one of my worst and most painful jackrabbit memories
BUT most of the time if the rabbits are not going to be the champs i am fine with the bison representing our conference in anything. i respect the school and the athletic program. the similarities between NDSU and SDSU and the respectful and mututally beneficial connection between the two schools in the last 25 years is undeniable.

usd on the other hand i cheer for them to lose absolutely every game they play in every sport. i DO have friends who went to school there and plenty of former students and players who i will always care for, and i respect those people! but i have ZERO respect for the school or the athletic program

of course they are a rival but the rivalry by the end of the D2 days had developed a very mean and, in my mind VERY NOT FUN spirit and unlike going to basketball games in the 70s, which i thought were fun games, the late 90s games had become not fun. football really did not matter for a lot of the D2 days cuz both teams were average at best most of the time. so my view of the rivalry from D2 is mostly a view of the basketball competition. and obviously everyone can and does have their personal opinion but to me those games had become not fun and somewhat mean

then whatever the connection between the two schools was
in my mind was severed when they chose first to not come along to D1 and second to be insulting and belittling about the jacks making the move.... and third a few years later to attempt to follow our path and without question take advantage of the path that was paved by the jacks and bison

so anyway of course usd is a rival and i always want jacks fans to classy and respectful- even to the coyotes- so i will respectfully cheer for our teams to whip them and cheer for every other team they play to do the same

i could go on, obviously no surprise to many / most of you, but i will not at this point

both teams are rivals, i just have a LOT LOT LOT more respect for ndsu and actually very little respect for usd, and competitiion with ndsu, in my mind, is just a lot closer to what a good healthy rivalry should look like

Another consideration for me would be the extent to which programs compete for recruits.

For instance, Zim mentioned Bouman considering Jacks until Stig told him the QB room was crowded, but I'd think typically NDSU and SDSU more frequently vie for recruits

[LetsGoRabbits]

Another consideration for me would be the extent to which programs compete for recruits.

For instance, Zim mentioned Bouman considering Jacks until Stig told him the QB room was crowded, but I'd think typically NDSU and SDSU more frequently vie for recruits

i think those who have the facts would say this is definitely true. i think between the jacks and usd the jacks currently get almost every player to every player they really want

[jakejc795]

i think those who have the facts would say this is definitely true. i think between the jacks and usd the jacks currently get almost every player to every player they really want

That's one thing that makes me fine with 'Yotes and Bison alternating as Valley "also rans"

[ringthebells]

This alludes to perhaps one of the key questions in a rivalry litmus test -- would you rather NDSU or USD has a better record in the Valley, if you are forced to choose one of them?

I would have a hard time cheering for either, but NDSU doing well bothers me less than USD doing well. There is a part of me that has been hoping that if USD is going to win enough games to make the playoffs, they may as well win all of them up until us. A 3 game skid, reality check out of the top 25 and another first round loss will empty the dome again for next year.

[LetsGoRabbits]

That's one thing that makes me fine with 'Yotes and Bison alternating as Valley "also rans"

it will be interesting to see if the ndsu season remains disappointing, how they respond to that. of course anything but a championship is at least somewhat of a disappointment for them, but currently the narrative seems to be significantly more disappointing than that

that said i will believe it when i see it!! NEVER count this program out

but how would they respond to more failure than they have had in a long long time?? i DO NOT believe the school, athletic dept, fans will easily sit by and allow this program to slide into "also ran" status as you put it!! just like the jacks i DO NOT believe NDSU athletic program is quick to fire coaches. seems most bison fans are convinced that Entz is the problem. i am not gonna pretend to know enough about that to act like i know. but i would think they would not hesitate to hire new cooridinators if they felt the system has gone off the track a bit

[LetsGoRabbits]

I would have a hard time cheering for either, but NDSU doing well bothers me less than USD doing well. There is a part of me that has been hoping that if USD is going to win enough games to make the playoffs, they may as well win all of them up until us. A 3 game skid, reality check out of the top 25 and another first round loss will empty the dome again for next year.

i will say it does seem that usd is more legit this year, but the fact remains their schedule has been soft and i think what you say is DEFINITELY a possibility and i will not shed any tears if possibility becomes reality!! but i really only care what happens this week and i expect the jacks to be focused and ready to go to work. i have real problems with superstition so i have learned i cannot say more. now some of you are thinking my superstition does not seem to shut me up nearly often enough) haha i just mean it stops me from feeling good about making predictions. even jakes predictions make me itch!!

[91jack]

Whether USD is a paper tiger will be determined in the next three weeks. SDSU, SIU and UND are on the slate. 3 losses and they are who we hoped they were. 2 loses and they are improved from last year. 1 loss and they are legit. 0 losses and I will be jumping off of a cliff. Go Jacks!

I agree with this.
SDSU is ranked #1, Southern Illinois is ranked #12 and UND is ranked #17. This string of games will be USD's toughest games of the season except for NDSU and Missouri.
I go by current rankings because preseason polls are just a crap shoot!
If SDSU loses, they drop down to about 5th. If USD loses they drop to about 15th.

Both teams fans have reason to have faith in their teams.

USD can say they are 2-0 in the last two games played in Vermillion, they won by more points last week , this will be their 3rd home game in 4 weeks and they have not played a ranked team in a month so they should .be rested

SDSU can say that they beat USD last year, they have most of their Championship team back, they are 8-2 in the games that they have played against USD in their D! era, they have played three teams that are ranked in the top 17 (USD has only played one team that is ranked in the top 17- NDSU at 11) so they are battle tested.

I think it will come down to SDSU's turnovers and penalties. USD will have to win both categories, or dominate in one of them, to win the game.
I guess we will find out Saturday afternoon if my prediction is correct or not.

[ringthebells]

I saw this morning that Saturday's game was billed as "the biggest football game in S.D. history". I'm thinking, maybe in USD's history. The SDSU/NDSU game last January for all the marbles meant a lot more to this Jackrabbit than a regular season game against USD does. Don't get me wrong, I hope we kick the everliving **** out of those mutts, but if we lose, I will get over it. Had we lost in Frisco, that would have been a lot tougher to swallow.

[westernjack]

This game kinda feels like the NC game last year did leading up to it. Yes USD is massively improved this year, but just looking at the rosters and going position by position I feel we are equal to or better than them at every single spot. Yes they have some stud players (Gaes DE, Hillis and Mogenson LB, Harden Corner, etc) but our studs are just as good and our depth guys are much better than their depth guys. Turnovers and penalties will have to go in the yotes favor for them to pull out a win, going man for man we are just simply a better and deeper team. Again, not a knock on USD, they are legit a top 10 fcs team this year

[jbjack]

I saw this morning that Saturday's game was billed as "the biggest football game in S.D. history". I'm thinking, maybe in USD's history. The SDSU/NDSU game last January for all the marbles meant a lot more to this Jackrabbit than a regular season game against USD does. Don't get me wrong, I hope we kick the everliving **** out of those mutts, but if we lose, I will get over it. Had we lost in Frisco, that would have been a lot tougher to swallow.

Agreed. While this is a huge game, it isn't the beginning or the end of the season for either team. This might be the biggest game JSD has had as a DI team but certainly last year's natty would easily be the biggest game in SD history. If we're confining the criteria to within the state's borders, I would think that the 19 Marker game and even the MtSU game earlier this year (both matching up then #1 v. #3) were much bigger games against proven contenders.

For JSD, it would be a big win and would echo in the following weeks as a fond memory to the dozen or so members of the Coyote Neighborhood as the WLST returns to its homeostatic empty state and the JSD season ends in the playoffs after a game or two, and JSD returns to a sub-mediocre to mediocre existence in the seasons to come. They could put the win in the trophy case next to the Hail Mary. A win for SDSU wouldn't carry anywhere near the importance to the program or fanbase as it would to JSD.

A loss wouldn't change SDSU's outlook on the season but hopefully would focus the intensity. NDSU didn't run the MVFC table every year they were winning N.C.s and a loss for us running this gauntlet might be a shock but not a surprise. Playing ranked teams week in and week out has to take not only a physical, but also a mental toll.

[JackJD]

jbjack:
I must have missed something. I note you referred to USD as JSD.. You also refer to WLST. What do JSD and WLST mean? [If I had to guess, I'd guess Junior South Dakota? and World's Largest Septic Tank? (I think I've seen that in one of the threads].). Just curious.

[jbjack]

jbjack:
I must have missed something. I note you referred to USD as JSD.. You also refer to WLST. What do JSD and WLST mean? [If I had to guess, I'd guess Junior South Dakota? and World's Largest Septic Tank? (I think I've seen that in one of the threads].). Just curious.

JSD: Just South Dakota. Something I saw on Twitter.

WLST: Correct.

[JackrabbitGuy]

I would agree with the biggest football game between 2 in state teams in South Dakota history. It is a very big game. Anytime you have two top 5 rated FCS team going head to head that is a big friggin' deal. Add in the rivalry and South Dakota bragging right and it gets a little bit bigger.

We will get a better idea on Saturday if USD is really there or if they are over kicking their coverage so to speak with their top 5 ranking. In any case, they are pretty darn good, their fan base should be pumped up.

Bottom line - if the mighty Jackrabbits play the way they should play this is a 2 score win for the blue. If we play less than our best this could be a nail-biter all the way to the last whistle. I am looking forward to the game.