Bison week.

[LetsGoRabbits]

Personally, more worried about these guys than I was last weekend. That's a proud group up there, and they will be playing the "nobody believes in us" card all week.

And they do have talented players.

Jackrabbits need to be ready. We're going to get everything they have.

you nailed my thoughts EXACTLY!!!!
just to restate one of them, like you, i am WAY more worried about the bison than i ever was about usd. i dont care for one second about the, but the yotes beat the bison argument!!! ZERO DOUBT that the bison are freaking sick and tired of us having the marker, sick of losing to us, sick of hearing that the jacks are the new top dog in the fcs playground
WHATEVER they have to give the jacks are gonna get it this week


DO NOT get me wrong... i totally believe the jacks are the better team! probably the FAR FAR better team and as long as they take care of business they win... AND if we take care of business early- squash their running game, get their offense off the field quickly the first couple possessions and put up scores on our drives.... there is a chance all their desire and determination to show us that the bison are still the bison and one measly championship does not make us the big dogs could turn into a horrible tasting turd sandwich for the bison and the game snowballs on them

but the more they can hang around, and if they get any help from us, well you know... it could get more interesting. we could still win that game and sometimes those are more fun to win))) AND to be honest some close games ARE VALUABLE! cuz likely we will have another one at some point, so i NEVER want our guys to forget that sometimes you have to win a close one and you shouldnt expect to crush everyone every week

but if we do come out and take care of business early and often and get the momentum to start rolling maybe we can get this particular group of bison to start believing that at least for this year this group of jacks ARE the top dog. to paraphrase a very famous philosopher (cannot remember which one, maybe from greece), "so we could have that going for us, which is nice" (or maybe it wasnt one of the greeks???)

[ringthebells]

We win by 30.

[jakejc795]

you nailed my thoughts EXACTLY!!!!
just to restate one of them, like you, i am WAY more worried about the bison than i ever was about usd. i dont care for one second about the, but the yotes beat the bison argument!!! ZERO DOUBT that the bison are freaking sick and tired of us having the marker, sick of losing to us, sick of hearing that the jacks are the new top dog in the fcs playground
WHATEVER they have to give the jacks are gonna get it this week


DO NOT get me wrong... i totally believe the jacks are the better team! probably the FAR FAR better team and as long as they take care of business they win... AND if we take care of business early- squash their running game, get their offense off the field quickly the first couple possessions and put up scores on our drives.... there is a chance all their desire and determination to show us that the bison are still the bison and one measly championship does not make us the big dogs could turn into a horrible tasting turd sandwich for the bison and the game snowballs on them

but the more they can hang around, and if they get any help from us, well you know... it could get more interesting. we could still win that game and sometimes those are more fun to win))) AND to be honest some close games ARE VALUABLE! cuz likely we will have another one at some point, so i NEVER want our guys to forget that sometimes you have to win a close one and you shouldnt expect to crush everyone every week

but if we do come out and take care of business early and often and get the momentum to start rolling maybe we can get this particular group of bison to start believing that at least for this year this group of jacks ARE the top dog. to paraphrase a very famous philosopher (cannot remember which one, maybe from greece), "so we could have that going for us, which is nice" (or maybe it wasnt one of the greeks???)

I don't want this one to be close. I'm hoping it's more like Drake game than it is like the Montana State one.

[JackJD]

NDSU safety Sam Jung was called for targeting on Saturday...that ruling was appealed and reversed so he is available for the Marker game.

That's good news. One less excuse to be asserted by Bison fans.

Link to Dom Izzo in the Fargo Forum:
https://www.inforum.com/sports/bison...ta-marker-game

[JackJD]

Article by Jeff Kolpack of the Fargo Forum "Bison have daunting task against No. 1-ranked Jackrabbits"

https://www.inforum.com/sports/bison...ed-jackrabbits

[LetsGoRabbits]

We win by 30.

DEFINITELY believe that is possible bells!!
but if it happens it is because our guys play like they know that this team could beat them and keep doing their jobs from start to finish even after getting a lead

put it this way, if these two teams play 10 times, how many do you think the jacks win by 20 or more?
and how many do you think the bison win?

maybe nobody finds that interesting, but that is pretty much how i gauge the quality of opponents. i think if we played a bunch of 10 game series, what would the average be

in the case of the bison i am really not sure?? i guess i want to say that i very much believe we are the MUCH better team and if i was forced to pick a number, i guess i would say that the average is we beat the bison 8.5-9 games out of 10

the scenarios where they win comfortably are VERY VERY rare and obviously have to include a lot of turnovers and other mistakes from the good guys. would have to guess that any win by the bison is down to the wire nail biter
scenarios where the jacks win going away are a lot easier to imagine, but i would say most would still have a close-ish hard fought first half (can still see the jacks ahead comfortably at half even after a hard fought half) with the bison wearing down after halftime and the jacks pulling away pretty much like the frisco game

all that said i still very much believe everything i have already said. the bison are gonna come in ready to go and if we give them any opportunities they are gonna look to show that their dynasty has not come to an end

all that said, it is VERY HARD to believe that the jacks have not been looking at this game all year as the biggest test or no worse than the second biggest test on the schedule. hard for me to believe they will overlook ndsu. no matter how much ndsu wants to believe that they are being disrespected, they are not getting overlooked by the jacks

[SUPERBUNNY]

Have the same exact feeling as last week. Will take a one point move and keep this thing rolling. However, this is another opportunity for a statement by this team just like they did in Vermillion. A stadium filled with blue will add to the atmosphere.

It is time to cement that the Jacks are the alpha dog.

That said, you have to play the game. Just look at Kansas City at Denver. It shouldn't have been close, but KC turned it over 5 times. It will take significant turnovers for the Bison to have a chance.

Can't wait for Saturday!

SUPERBUNNY

[JackrabbitGuy]

This will be a good test for our team as we get closer to playoff time. I feel like we should handle it well but they have to line it up and do it on Saturday.

The opponent is still a good team, and although their fans say they don't care about the border marker trophy - they do.

This is the last best chance for the Bison to build some confidence and put themselves back in the picture as a contender in this year's playoffs. They will be hungry, angry and determined to win.

But if thus SDSU team plays toward its potential, then we wear them down and win. 34-20 Jacks.

[GoJacks2011]

This is where I appreciate Jimmy Rogers. From his press conferences, you would think the Bison are undefeated and #1. Lots of respect and while this may be a “down year” for them, he still recognizes the talent and potential they have. We give up a few big plays or make too many mental mistakes, and it could be a close game. Otherwise, I hope we play like we did for the latter 3 quarters in Vermillion and come out with a dominant win.

[mnjackrbt]

See my responses below in red.

put it this way, if these two teams play 10 times, how many do you think the jacks win by 20 or more?
Two times out of ten the Jacks win by 20+ and we used up one of those in the National Championship game. So 1 out of 9 times now.

and how many do you think the bison win?
Bison win 3 out of 10.
So Jacks win 2 out of 10 by 20+, Jacks win 5 out of 10 by 1-19, Bison win 3 out of 10.

maybe nobody finds that interesting, but that is pretty much how i gauge the quality of opponents. i think if we played a bunch of 10 game series, what would the average be

in the case of the bison i am really not sure?? i guess i want to say that i very much believe we are the MUCH better team and if i was forced to pick a number, i guess i would say that the average is we beat the bison 8.5-9 games out of 10

[LetsGoRabbits]

[QUOTE=mnjackrbt;n536222]See my responses below in red.



interesting!! thanks for playing along with my probably unusual way of thinking mnjackrbt!!

so you have the bison rated basically twice as good as i do
i TRULY believe they are a good team and I think everyone should be nervous about them in the playoffs
BUT I just think this jacks team is a much different level and i think it would be EXTREMELY rare this bison team could beat this jacks team more than 2 of 10 in a ten game series. i think about half of the games the jacks win by 10+

basically i would be saying to the team what i always said to my teams. the truth of the matter is that you are competing against yourself. you are attempting to play YOUR best game every week and the opponent is part of the field

and that is one of the things that i think is very special about jackrabbit football. i think the team has made this one of the most important parts of the culture of the program. OF COURSE they know who the opponent is but they truly are competing with themselves on every play regardless of the opponent or the scoreboard. obviously in some games and some moments they do that better or worse but i VERY MUCH believe that is their goal and their mindset

[Prairiehaas]

As an older fan this is the game I worry about most, more than the UNI game. NDSU is a very good and proud program. They have a very talented team. They will come out to win. The Marker series is 10-9 to their favor and they will want to get The Marker. They will want to remove the bad taste of the loss in Frisco. They will want to secure a playoff seed. They will want to spoil the SDSU season. This game will be no gimme. NDSU, unlike the Coyotes, can put talent on the field. If the Jacks execute at a high level they will win. If they are sloppy or come out slow it will be a battle. A one score game going either way would not surprise me. A 3 score win would thrill me.

[bigticket1]

NDSU is going to have to stop the run to stay in the game. Not sure they can do that. Other than Montana State, no one has been able to do it yet.

[mnjackrbt]

[QUOTE=LetsGoRabbits;n536224]

so you have the bison rated basically twice as good as i do
i TRULY believe they are a good team and I think everyone should be nervous about them in the playoffs
BUT I just think this jacks team is a much different level and i think it would be EXTREMELY rare this bison team could beat this jacks team more than 2 of 10 in a ten game series. i think about half of the games the jacks win by 10+

Aside from the bottom feeders of the MVFC/FCS, I just believe that no team is as good as they think they are and no team is as bad as they think they are. We are on a 22? game winning streak and defending National Champs. That's not going to last forever. If I had to bet on it, we will not go undefeated AND be National Champs this year - not because I don't think we are good enough to, that's just really difficult to do. At some point the ball is going to bounce the wrong direction. Whether that is in the remaining regular season games or (hopefully not) in the playoffs. I think there's a good chance of doing one or the other (National champs but not undefeated, which would essentially mean a loss this weekend; or undefeated regular season but not National Champs) but the odds of winning what would be almost 30 games in a row and 2 National Championships in there, is just tough to do... Are the Jacks talented enough to do that? Yes. Are they going to be lucky enough to do that? Who knows, but eventually not, whether that is this year or next or in 10 years. Never get to high, never get to low.

[jbjack]

[QUOTE=mnjackrbt;n536271]

Aside from the bottom feeders of the MVFC/FCS, I just believe that no team is as good as they think they are and no team is as bad as they think they are. We are on a 22? game winning streak and defending National Champs. That's not going to last forever. If I had to bet on it, we will not go undefeated AND be National Champs this year - not because I don't think we are good enough to, that's just really difficult to do. At some point the ball is going to bounce the wrong direction. Whether that is in the remaining regular season games or (hopefully not) in the playoffs. I think there's a good chance of doing one or the other (National champs but not undefeated, which would essentially mean a loss this weekend; or undefeated regular season but not National Champs) but the odds of winning what would be almost 30 games in a row and 2 National Championships in there, is just tough to do... Are the Jacks talented enough to do that? Yes. Are they going to be lucky enough to do that? Who knows, but eventually not, whether that is this year or next or in 10 years. Never get to high, never get to low.

I agree with the sentiment and although I am not a gambler, I would take the odds of SDSU running the table and believe SDSU should run the table. That said, there's a reason the games are played on the field on not on paper or fan forums. SDSU should be the deepest, most experienced and most importantly, most talented team on the field any given week. That said, the other team brings scholarship players to the stadium as well.

I'm fond of Churchill's (paraphrased) statement that the army with the most divisions wins the war. While that may be true, that army may lose battles along the way. While SDSU should have the most talented team any given week, there might be a perfect storm of the Jacks being just enough off their game and a team that is intensely focused, talented enough and motivated enough to punch above their weight. More than any other team we'll face, NDSU fits that bill.

NDSU leads the Marker series 10-9. I don't care to look back at the W/L's in the playoff to figure out how many SDSU has lost to NDSU in post season play (I only know that we won one big one against them) but let's say that since 2003, they've beat us 13 times and we've beaten them 10 times since moving to DI. I doubt that SDSU has had the advantage of talent, depth, coaching, and all the things that make for a better team 10 times out of 23 meetings. In fact, the 9 national championships in the trophy case in Fargo would say otherwise. I can only say with confidence that two meetings last year and in the spring season (and maybe the Great West Conf. championship year) were the Jacks the clearly better team. But SDSU beat NDSU 5 or 6 times and were the better team on Marker Day despite NDSU having the unquestionably better team otherwise.

I said it last week about the USD game and I'll say it about this game, too. SDSU could lose. But a loss won't ruin the season. It'll sure leave a bad taste in our mouths but a trip to Frisco is still possible and even probable.