A-Team '24 Game one Preview: Oklahoma State Cowboys

[Applause] welcome back to a special feature of the jack rabbit Illustrated podcast we're excited to have you join us here today before we dive in we'd like to thank our sponsors who helped make this possible well here we are I did not touch anything someone touched something so you know Jake's the new guy here let's blame Jake on this one so uh welcome back everyone it is finally The A Team here with you tonight for uh game week we are here we made it it has been a long time since Frisco and we made it back uh but before we get into it we need to thank our title sponsor cambota dealers of South Dakota 10 locations all across the state and even one in Iowa um you know I always talk about my machine how much I love it uh the bx2680 for me I have a small anage gets the yard work done mooves snow for me that front attached snow blower uh was pretty sweet for the limited amount of snow uh that we got last year um sounded like a rougher winner this year so stop into the cabota dealer nearest you and get one picked out for your needs whether that is your business your farm your Ranch your acreage or just your house in town or if you're just looking for something kind of fun so stop in Ni cabota and they'll help you out thank you guys for your partnership here and our show SP sponsorship is Culver of Brookings and Watertown Jake we ask everyone that comes on the show what is your Culver's order my oh man it's got to be uh the the double what are they called the the burgers butterburger butter bers gosh I couldn't think of it off top of my head man my my daughters are big Culver's fans so we get there a lot with that too so it's good all right good so we talk a lot about uh the the nut mixers the the Scoopy tokens uh the kurter burger we do that Dallas introduced us to that a handful of years ago and then they actually brought it back uh which we'll take credit for so um so anyways C vers of Brookings in Watertown uh stop in before a game after a game if you don't have time uh for a sit down meal and you want to get on the road or get in a little late um that's the place to go is Culver of Brookings and Watertown thank you guys all right without further Ado Dallas how the heck you doing you just wrapped up a good show over there so I'm good did you did you get a chance to watch much of it no I've been help running around chasing kids no that's fair I I really wish that I would have had more time to talk to Justin that was awesome so I if anybody did not catch that that's watching now um had Justin southwell with believe in okay State they do a podcast I've watched a lot and listened to a lot of content um over the last month or so and they're a good one I'm actually going to be on on their show here on Tuesday oh talk about the game coming up but no it was awesome got some great Insight uh on a team a senior Laden team with a ton of returning starters sounds very familiar and they are uh they are playoff Bound in their in their mind for sure Chad how have you been man doing well doing well just uh trying to get things done up on the computer here most of the day um you know the 26 running well I got one of those too it's a great great machine the guy from OK State was very good to talk to and had a pretty good knowledge of art Squad as well so uh true professional there and good good to talk to him it was too bad we didn't have a little bit more time I think okay can can hold on can we take a time out and just have a a Chad appreciation moment for everything that he does I mean he kind of glossed over it but the amount of time and I know like no we don't need to do this the am baloney no the the and I would have I would have swore but Matt's here the the amount of time that he spends on putting stuff together he's on every single show he does the intros he does the graphics that go at the podcast like this is not a small thing and we are spoiled to have you Chad so thank you well I don't add much to the uh overall discourse so gotta bring something Dallas everything you just listed there Sam can use against him later on probably you know yeah your honor I'd like to exhibit into evidence yeah be quite a few weeks before we have some serious talks again because I'll be do doing three or four podcasts a week so there we go all right and the newest member of the team uh former player Jake stefen so Jake welcome to the team welcome all right so Jake since you left Brookings what have you been doing where you been where you at yeah no I appreciate you guys having me on this is exciting I uh probably here for the same reason everybody is right I'm supporting South Dakota State it's a it's a great place um big impact on a lot of people and I think that's something that something like the the jack rabbit Illustrated can bring um kind of exposure to and and kind of shine that light a little bit that is exciting um exciting to do in that regard so you know I uh played from 2007 to 2011 um was my last year and they've made the playoffs every year since so I think there's maybe a statement there maybe maybe we learned something but um you know after that spent some time in sou Falls working um at Sanford Health and then my wife and I actually relocated to um linkoln Nebraska the last four years uh kind of a change in career for her so then we uh wanted to get back to South Dakota and I said what better place to move than good old Brooking so we just moved to Brookings um in May uh really excited to be back um really really pumped to be around scsu everything we do you know running into some former players former Administration obviously the coaches um we do a lot of good stuff with our jfp the former Players Association so um again just really excited to be here and just support South Dakota State again the same thing that uh we're all here for they've had a big big impact on a lot of people and um this is this is something special so thanks for having me guys you know adding Jake as a former defensive lineman I think we need to Market us as the tallest podcast in the country there you go right there we go we have to be across the board some of these NBA ones man though they got to spe that's true I might be the shortest member on the team too so so Jake's being modest uh you know his career excellent career four years impactful years 118 total tackles 10 sacks two interceptions how did you have two interceptions your sophomore year and then you know didn't sniff another one after that what happened yeah it was like this two game stint it was really weird it was the end of the first half at Illinois State my sophomore year we dropped into like a blitz coverage at the DM you don't do that and yeah you know the other side of me is this All-American NFL future star Danny baton who was just furious that I you know snagged this pick on like a Hail Mary um and then the other one was actually only two games later it was against um Northern Iowa poo day um in 20 that been 20 200 2009 yeah poo day and tip ball I mean it was the lucky tip ball defensive lineman um you know I was I was a quarterback in high school actually and so I was ready to run and I think the other guys on the the the D line tackled me cuz they're like no dude we don't want you to run at all like we're just stop but I was like man I had that I had that but um yeah so lucky with two picks it was it was a probably a one of those things that not a lot of people can go away as a defensive end with two picks but yeah did you snake that one from Paul Grace right was that the you and I quarterback at the timeat yeah Fat Pat what we called him Pat yeah right that in the stands no my former roommate had transferred schools himself from you and I to South Dakota State and he knew Fat Pat because down there before so he started to cheer every time he came on the field so did you play Then did you play then when we got robbed at Nebraska right yeah that was my junior year so what was that like living in enemy territory knowing that you would beat those guys and got robbed yeah yeah know it was I always say that game was so cool just because you know it was one of those teams for them that was Taylor Martinez year they had um obviously some big dudes that was a DN going against Ben Cotton you know future NFL guy tackling Rexburg had some of those kind of experiences but we we came up right against them um you know played really well uh kind of had some good options to stop their midline option that they did with martinez so you know it was It was kind of fun because a lot of people when I said that when I lived in Nebraska those four years we Liv down in Lincoln and you know eventually the stories would come out that oh you played at SCS you like man you guys almost beat us you should have beat us I mean there's a lot of guys down there that said that didat um so yeah it was kind of cool awesome did you play I'll bring this up later I was going to bring this up later but did you play in any other uh FBS games besides that one um against Nebraska yeah so obviously we had Iowa State no Iowa state was My Fresh year Minnesota and Illinois Illinois talk about Illinois I went to illo that was o yeah that was one of the most rugged one we've had that might have been the maddest I've ever seen Stig at halftime was Illinois which it takes you know he get him getting mad is is a different level so he gets all flustered yeah yeah Dallas when you in in 205 right that was your last year Dallas four four were was it all d2 schools then or were you guys transitioning at that point my last year was still all division two schools we did not have any transition okay sounds good I've always wanted to ask you that it was the the CL the class behind me that did okay well cool well Jake thank you uh welcome to the Pod we are excited to have you so yeah Dallas and Chad um just want to give us your general Impressions over your conversation with the the believe in okay State guy um sure kind of overall what what did he share that you know you were excited to know or found interesting kind of kind of like an FBS version of our team when it comes to our team from last year when it comes to depth I think that's one of my general takeaways even though I'd kind of known that reading up on them but that was one of my major takeaways how about you Dallas yeah it's it's it it's a very experienced team I think 20 returning starters added a little bit in the portal biggest name they didn't need to add much in the portal but the biggest name is uh their backup running back their number two running back uh Trent Howland uh who was a monster at Indiana uh last year so you know you've got this this fantastic running game they also think they're extremely deep at wide receiver question mark if you want to call it that maybe at quarterback very experienced a seventh year player don't ask me how but he has been everywhere uh so ton a very obviously mature experienced and now he's had a full year in the system and then if you look at the last year so you look at their team last year they they lost to uh South Alabama which was a very low point for them really caught them off guard uh they were also going through this transition where they'd hit the porter real hard and i' I've read this places and and I'm glad Justin mentioned it that their coach that Gundy kind of promised a bunch of guys that they would play and maybe they should not have been playing is kind of the narrative so you know they struggled early in the year with some rotations that maybe shouldn't have been there button that up and then essentially turned around and scored 40 points a game the rest of the way they had one hiccup after the bedum game with Oklahoma uh they did they lost and really struggled at uh Central is it UCF who was it yeah I think was it UCF it was a Florida team I'm sorry I'm blanking on who it is I think they only scored three points yeah but they scored at least they scored 40 plus every other game the back two-thirds of the season so they can control the ball they can put up yards olly Gordon is a absolute Manchild if if everybody hasn't heard that name yet uh pay attention because he's extremely good he didn't have any real insights on the alleged injury I know I texted you guys when I saw it there was this this bizarre Twitter freakout where everybody thought his leg fell off essentially in practice or something and then it turned out he was actually fine and he's going to probably play the whole game um but again a backup running back that is like 63 245 or something just a complete freak nature so they're going to pound the ball they're going to control it there on the defensive side of the ball their their highlight is they've got three All-American caliber linebackers um and in a very very deep defensive line uh you know they they they talk about you know basically doing hockey line changes like like we're used to at South Dakota state with their defensive line so they're going to rotate two to three deep all the way through the game all the way through the season on the line biggest question marks that he talked about were they were ranked in Total Defense like 115th or something don't quote me on it but way down FBS like their defense struggled now now Justin's take on it was that it was big plays and if you just limit a few of those then they're way better which okay sure but it still happened and it happened for a reason and I guess I didn't Chad asked a great question about whether it was Talent or schematically because you've got a team that they're returning everybody from that same team last year so is that good or is that bad getting him back and I I'm trying to remember Chad did he think it was a schematic thing or did he think it was maybe a talent issue yeah he kind of he kind of said maybe a little bit of both some of it was uh not familiarity with the new 335 system from their from their new uh d-coordinator um Nardo I think is his last name yeah they run they run a 335 and it's something that can that can be beat and you know mostly on the edge I guess is where that's most vulnerable and one of the things he pointed out was they they they had great defense except for they kept getting killed by by explosive plays and I was that's why I promp prompted me to that question because kind of the way you beat that from what I understand and so yeah he said some of it was Personnel too because they got a guy that was it's kind of a Rover that's one of the that's one of the linebackers that Dallas was just outlining in in uh Kendall Daniels and he kind of comes up and plays you know more of a linebacker and then they got a will linebacker and Colin Oliver who's a total stud he's second on the team in tackles and he kind of plays on the line so it sounds like they kind of play a weird hybrid of a 43 335 at times although 335 is their base uh he talked about how great their their linebackers were in general with Nick Martin having 140 tackles last year so that guy's all over the field yeah and uh they F the gaps really well sure all right awesome I can't wait to listen to that full episode that's gonna be good so let's um you know just get into we're here already so let's stay here in these Oklahoma State thoughts um you know one thing that when I started going through and just looking at these guys yeah the Experience Dallas that you touched on this starting offensive line it's crazy like the amount of games they've started the accolades they've won between the five of them they have 172 career starts like it's Bonkers and he he sh he shared that out they have seven or eight guys total that have over 200 starts and six or seven of them are red shirt seniors yeah yeah and and 13 sacks allowed last year which is you know just nuts and you see oi Gordon you know running the ball for what uh 6.1 yards per carry y like woof you know that that that is a good offensive line I was surprised when I did look at the size they're they're not abnormally monstrous huge you know they're they're big they have good size but they're not you know 66 350 pound monsters running at you so I don't know that's it's it's size that we're going to be used to is what I'm trying to say Jake so when you played against Illinois you played juice Williams and who was their running back who was their running back they had a good running back that year too yeah I can't gosh it was uh was it men Hall back then yeah yeah yeah yeah yep exactly so what is it like playing you know one of these top tier cats in the country yeah I mean it's so this is the thing I think with this this game I mean again we're coming back um I think in a pretty good spot again anytime you got a Jimmy Rogers coach team I'm an advocate for I think that guy is as hardworking as a guy that gets he's gonna have the guys ready we know that we got some good experience with you know obviously um losing a little bit but also bringing back back and and some of them that the big thing with the team like this with a playmaker like um obviously Ali Gordon but then you add in some of those other um big name wide receivers that Brenan Presley's quick um Rashad Owens big jump guy is kind of the stuff that you read um obviously the offensive line you guys touched that it's going to be big plays right the RPO um some of those things off of Oly Gordon that you know they're going to ISO the heck out of you Zone Z Zone oriented out of the pistol um some of that type of stuff with Oli Gordon and if you can stop the big plays like those are the things that to not get wide-eyed um for scsu which again we're different team now than you know in 2012 obviously with the success we've had and the success we've had in big games so I think again with the coaches with Jimmy with um obviously the rest of the experience we have Mark and everybody else coming back I think hopefully that's limited but that's that's the big thing to me is g to be big plays um RPO off Oly Gordon is going to be you know if we can avoid those mistakes especially in the first game um I think that's going to be a Difference Maker yeah yeah you know yeah the one guy I'm interested to see you know Ali Gordon's fantastic but I had to look up this Brennan Presley you know 101 receptions 991 yards six TDS Johnson yeah and he's uh 5'8 175 and it looks like they just Spam him you know you know uh wide receiver screens they give him the ball in the back field uh you know little quick outs things like that just to get him in the ball in his hands quick and you know he picks up nine yards per catch right there so kind of a fun fun little player I'm interested in that matchup who who's going to take him we don't really have a corner that's built like him in a lot of ways uh Dallas and Stephen uh and uh Humphrey are all kind of bigger Corners so yeah we're a little bit rangier on the outside yeah yeah it's interesting you brought him up because that's actually something Justin touched on that that he he said that he will play on on Sundays guaranteed despite his size he said he's that that electric has that much juice that he's convinced that that he'll be playing in the NFL Darren sprouls man it's going to be all over again you know those quick guys and yeah that's good example Danny Woodhead there that's that's interesting that you know we called that out earlier and I think had a little bit of a debate off of last year's team of who who ended up playing slot Corner uh you know to me I thought stalbird was able to flex out and handle that frequently but I for getet who did we Tucker large tuck the Tucker stepped down yeah he might be up to the challenge yeah he'd be good at that interesting yeah you did did uh your guest express any concerns about Bowman uh or Bowman quarterback you know toss and picks I mean he has 60% completion percentage and 14 picks just uh uh 15 TDS last year so yep essentially that was his biggest question mark on offense for the year his two big question marks were were were Balman on on offense and then uh the big plays on defense that we already touched on pretty well so again I I think to me with Balman it there was a you can't really look at the first third of the season because they were rotating he was new to the system sure they shouldn't have been rotating honestly I think gundy's kid who everybody absolutely loved was in the mix he ended up at oh right now if I'm not mistaken so anyway there's just a weird situation that wasn't good for a quarterback in general regardless of somebody that's already played for six years so but yes he he was concerned about that concerned about the consistency and really made it sound like what I would assume that it I don't think that he is who you know would beat South Dakota State I mean that their their season lives and dies on the ground and they're going to use that to open up things over the top Okay so up this this uh Bowman um arrived at Texas Tech the year after Patrick Mahomes left so y yeah that's that's he's been in college for a while with a couple different stops so all right this 335 defense um you know everyone knows I always I don't understand why U UND plays this 335 defense or 33 3 four four um they just don't have the horses on the D line got to have the athletes right right that's the big thing on the back end well they you got to have some horses on the D line and UND D does not these guys do man uh Trot out a defensive end that's 67 275 a nose tackle that's 64 330 and B end that's uh 62 265 woof uh so that that's some meat that you want on a on a 33 uh type of defensive line in my opinion and then their backers are pretty big too uh you mentioned uh that Kendall Daniels 64 235 in the amount I've listened to hours of Oklahoma State podcast because I'm a loser and I'm really excited for the season and had nothing better to do that's really nice playing a big team up front here because there's a ton of content out there and and stuff to listen to so I'd encourage you guys to do that I'll give you some recommendations later but no Kendall Daniels is the one he he was maybe uh this is going to sound really negative but but Justin on the previous pod indicated that maybe the fact that he was so big playing safety dude is like 63 245 and he's put on some weight in the last year but he was back playing safety and I think maybe he gave up some of those plays just because he was playing out of position you know when he's the size of a freaking defensive end so they brought him down to linebacker for the most part um and everybody's really excited about the juice that he brings he's a really explosive player what what you hear in in terms of the uh the nose guard this Justin Kirkland um a giant yeah's huge basically I saw somewhere that he was he had like a 225 bench press like 50 times 50 times Y no said 51 that out said 51 and then and then said yeah said that his strength is only rated at a 97 on NCAA and they wanted to petition it that how is that only a 97 I agree that that is that's off the charts that's that's beyond Mason McCormack numbers there yeah and it's great I mean you got to think of that 335 I mean obviously you got to be able to move so like that clog in the middle but then you know to your point behind him um it's not as much you know your base 43 where it's gaps on football that 335 you got to be able to fly around the field um it's Pursuit defense and so um I don't know that's that's crazy to me that that guy is that big and strong he must be just a good athlete yeah right that'll be that'll be fun to watch right because Gus uh FCS All-American Remington Award winner at the FCS level uh against someone like that you know with that unique size right that we don't always see at this level so that's former wrestler and Gus he's probably gonna use his leverage right yeah and and honestly okay so let's think about the game within the game here if if I'm Gus and which I'm not Gus by the way if I am Gus and I want to play in the NFL and I want some tape what do I what am I going to want to put on tape I'm going to want to put on tape me playing this other guy at a power force school that can rep out two and a quarter 51 times that everybody knows about like I I want to show out and I want to do my best uh and put good tape out there so I'm sure he's well aware and dialed in for that and uh I don't know I'm a fan I think I think Gus is up to the challenge yeah what did they say on the back end you know this these Corners um the starting Corners that are listed at least two interceptions between them uh 41 tackles just not a lot of production did they lose didn't lose much okay we did not and and part of it is cuz we got rushed but he did not go out of his way to talk about the secondary at all so I I'm not going to put words in it or put not they do bring in a couple of new kids and Landon fields and Jake jacobe olant three stars but I don't imagine they're going to get to see the field but yeah I haven't heard anybody really talking about much about the corners I'm sure they're athletic dudes they're playing at right right y yeah they ended last season with 13 interceptions as a team 27 sacks and 46 quarterback hits um 28 and a half points per game 166 yards per game rushing and 275 yards per game passing so again they those that adjustment piece right to playing that 335 that you talked about um so I'm I'm very curious I'm going to have to look at them a little more watch some of their later season stuff just to see what they were doing uh where they one outfit called out the cor that Corey black um as as an impact player so they got some Talent there for sure sure yeah good size yep yep okay any any final thoughts on this team or players that our fans need to uh to know about I think uh a dark horse at running back that we might see is that cesie volani there coach Gundy talked about him a bunch of different times he's he's a young kid um it's really Shifty really quick uh if if if we don't see Ali Gordon at all he's probably gonna get some reps because AG Green's out so Trent holl Holland is gonna be the primary if that's the case so I think that's a name to keep keep an eye out for I I don't know if Gundy thought they were going to run the wing T based on the number of running backs they brought in cuz seriously they had no they had two like starter caliber guys get hurt and still got Gordon you've got uh cesie uh uh vahanian I've heard it a bunch of times V go viah which I don't think is quite right and then Trent Holland so I don't know they they believe in all those guys big time I don't know I don't think beyond that it's just it's knowing that they are going to live and die with the run and for the jack rabbit sake I hope that they are uh susceptible to to big plays and that that's about it I think one guy that's getting a little bit overlooked not So Much by their fans because they talk about it the dejon stribbling the other wide receiver opposite of Rashad Owens also a stud last year just a little bit overshadowed by the other guy so lot of talent there in in their in their talent spots so I do know because the Packers have the Oklahoma State kicker on their roster that they have a new kicker this year we did not get to special teams off yeah yeah because Alex hail is currently with the Packers so that is good to know yeah you know what I want to get to Matt and I got to look at your look at the well I want to just talk a little bit more I don't know when you want to get to just kind of the mentality uh of the players in preparing for a game like this because it's exciting and it's a big deal and it's a huge Focus but whether you win or lose isn't doesn't really change the it has nothing to do with the goal for the end of the season right so it's a really weird position to be in so I want to maybe talk mentality and kind of hear Jake's Take on that too yeah I agree yeah I mean I was I was actually going to comment that when you say any final thoughts like to me it's it's our experience especially at that qb1 spot right I mean like that's a mentality in a leadership spot in a game like this that's a game changer for for an FCS team like to your point coming in with not a lot to lose so if you have that voice in the locker room you have that that leadership that support um I think to me that that changes the culture um changes the approach a little bit from our guys to go out there with nothing to lose but a little confidence too right I mean yeah they have great defense they're flying around they're doing a lot of things but Mark's ability to be confident now and after obviously some some really successful years um you know that was his struggle early on in his career was kind of early season mistakes and I think if you can come in and and kind of lay the groundwork and and kind of keep the momentum going on the offensive side um Jimmy's going to have the boys ready on defense I mean we know their strength strength from the OSU side is going to be obviously a Heisman favorite and some big really good wide receivers and that Pursuit defense that Jimmy teaches I think is going to be um you know really fun to watch really with a good team like this but to me the biggest thing they answer Dallas's question is just that experience and that mindset that um you know the mental take that Mark's going to bring to it with that experience and some of the other guys too not just Mark but I mean that's a big big Difference Maker um I think as a team having that experience yeah the one thing you know in this game that I really um I I I just want to come out of it healthy we got the crap beat out of us in Iowa City two years ago um and ended up not hurting our chances to win The Natty right but you know we lost brancel that game uh Tucker that game uh a couple other guys definitely got banged up and it was kind of kind of lingered for the rest of the year so um you don't want to play scared or anything like that but man I don't think Oklahoma State brings the same type of physicality uh as Iowa but I I just do not want to have a bunch of guys dinged up in this game which yeah doesn't doesn't matter necessarily for the SCS playoffs it does if you win but outside of that it doesn't so no that that's a that's a really good point go J we've talked a lot about how great they are and and and Dallas is right they kind of had two different seasons last year in that the the second part of the season they played better but that's kind of true with most teams so it's not to say that they couldn't have the same thing this year and central Arkansas of all teams gave them a run for their money in the first game of the year last year so there's no reason our players shouldn't go out there with full confidence thinking that they can't beat him and it's not like they won't I mean obviously Jimmy's going to have the guys ready to play they're going to believe they can win but like our fans that are concerned that it's going to get ran up against us I don't see that happening well let's let's also touch on the fact though that Gundy uh while while honestly the amount of content I've listened to uh there's not a lot of FCS respect uh in in in their podcasts and a lot of their commentators not not Justin that I talked to honestly he's fantastic there's a few others that there is I mean they yeah they assume this is going to they're going to jump out by 30 points put the subs in in and just kind of coast and you know that they're playing the lower level team and that's what they're going to see um but you you listen to Gundy if you've seen any of this I mean he called South Dakota State a power four team you know is is is that what he actually believes I have no idea but at least publicly he's making it very clear that they're not going to overlook uh Overlook the jack rabbits and did you guys happen to catch any of him on mcafe yeah yeah uh really good show honestly I I I like Gundy the more that I watch him yeah I I really like that dude I think he's a good coach um but but yeah he you know talking to talking to McAfee McAfee made a point that um blanking on R Matt Ru was on and he declared that they would never play another Dakota school and and yeah that was that was which is odd because they're still on the schedule with us a couple of times but um yeah he basically just said that yeah they're they're a power for team we're treating them like that like if we could book these a year out we would not be playing these guys I think was his his quote roughly so um taking the game very seriously we so the Matt rule stuff my goodness uh this is a sidebar maybe for a side conversation no Let Let It Fly Let Let It Fly Matt this I I read this I read no no I read this somewhere else but I read this on bisonville of all places so credibility who knows what is wrong with you but gross the kid from Fargo that that standout defensive end from Cheyenne High School in Fargo uh they are they are not letting him play his senior year they threw enough nil money at him and said you will not play this season and you're going to enroll early down here in uh in January isn't that crazy like that's the world we're living in man I know that's awful that's awful so I don't know if that's true that is that is awful like yeah but then you end up with someone that's an All-Star in high school and the next level maybe has a great line and then you throw what five interceptions in a in a pregame game preas maybe maybe you're not as good as the were who knows oh dude I'm starting to feel sorry for Trey Lance I amesa kid I'm sure I mean honestly I'm sure he's got the B guy he's fine he's Marshall Minnesota's second best athlete second best athlete ever out of Marshall Minnesota uh yeah I man if you're the show uh who's our who's the best athlete Dallas uh I'm gonna go with ree winkman ree winkleman's the best athlete yep hopefully Allison's watching still all right um Jake what's going on with jfba that's one of the reasons we're excited to have you joining us this year you're doing a lot of good work with them what's up with jfba right now yeah so um obviously jfp Jack Rabbit former Players Association really a neat group that um obviously we got started handful of years ago um really as an opportunity just to support the team I mean it was another Avenue to to kind of just share the love back to coach S at the time and and the team and the players um obviously you get a good pocket of of history of former players that have taken advantage of that opportunity just to get together in the camaraderie and the time to spend together kind of the Brotherhood um that we want to talk about and so I think that's that's just amazing or awesome how it's really grown um to the point of not only you know the success on the field um brings that too you know the the frisco um time and the the amount of guys that come back and support um the amount of guys that come back even in Brookings and and travel um with tailgating and everything so just a lot of good stuff with the jfp I think just with that camaraderie and you know just it's blown up I mean we went from like a 100 memberships to now over six 600 so memberships if not more um in the last couple years so uh really getting engagement and then beyond that I think we we look at the opportunity to do really more for for the team and the players so um most recently a big initiative uh would be what we're calling the jfp fund um so just an opportunity to to kind of raise funds to support um any guys that might need it um recently we had a really really tragic um loss in the the jfp family or the the jack rabbit family if you may and a guy named Matt Anderson um he was a senior actually when I was a freshman lived with my brother um great guy played tight end um actually last year at our jfp golf tournament I golfed with him um so just a year ago rode around with in a cart with him for four hours um and then a tragic um accident passed away a couple weeks ago so obviously nothing's going to bring bring that back leaves a wife and four kids but our jfa was able to raise over $50,000 um to give back to Matt uh Matt's family um in that regard so just an exciting thing we're really going to kind of push that and I think the message is you know a little bit a little bit kind of I don't want to say um awkward or odd but I mean it is it's that idea that hey guys you got this family here this jfp family and something would happen to you we're going to take care of your family um and I think that's kind of a neat thing that uh the group jfp leadership um Ryan mcnight and and cam Jones and a lot of those guys have really done so um that's that's probably the most important initiative right now with the jfp that we're really uh leaning on and doing some really good things and then obviously um staying close to the team being able to help them meals um throughout the summer meals throughout the year um different initiatives through with with the University new locker rooms and different things like that that we can help with that we've always been able to give money back but um again the biggest thing I'd say with the J jfp is just that family family Dynamic that it's turned into it's it's been a really cool thing yeah yeah that's awesome if if you do want to know a little bit more about uh Matt Anderson danger 41 uh search on our page or Kyle's page um our former C uh colleague here Kyle Shen did a former player feature um with Matt a few years ago um and you can look for it um on our YouTube Facebook whatever Kyle's page like I said and and it's it's so good um just a tremendous human being um had some Air Force friends actually reach out afterwards and say did you know this guy and I said yeah one of we did a we did an interview I actually met Matt in college as well and so man just a a great guy I mean tremendous loss um to the world so yeah yeah yeah so thanks Jake for that update um yeah absolutely about what's going on with jfp though and uh excited to kind of keep hearing that I guess throughout the year what you guys are doing and how the broader Jack Rabbit Community can help too so absolutely and and this year it sounds like you're expanding the tailgate a little bit uh to include the parent tailgate is that right yeah yeah so um definitely partnered with the the parent tailgate so we have a pretty large um area a large space um now it's just finding the the line of the rules to the size of building we can build out there you know that's that's always the battle um bunch of former football players think they can go as big as we can so we're going to we're going to try um but but uh yeah that should be really exciting so right there in kind of the same spot but partnering up with the parents um and I think again just a good experience and and again it's a it's man it's amazing the type of guys that you just run into randomly I mean guys that haven't been back for 15 years um you know and they're just like we've seen what's happening we've seen the tailgate we've seen the the kind of experience that's happening um in Brookings now and they're like we just we wanted to come check it out flying up from from Texas from California from all over the country um so it it is it's it's more than just the game I think at the time obviously you're you're excited for the game and and to support the Jacks where they're at currently but um that experience before the game and after the game with the guys I think has just been um Second To None So hopefully this new big tailgate adds to that too yeah there there's nothing better than and I I can say Jake somebody even somebody older than you getting back and getting to know some of the guys that are a generation or two younger than you and and getting to get you know just connect and share some of the same stories and it's it's so fun um I actually as you were talking Jake I had not renewed mine yet leading up to the season so I did it while you were talking nice so I know I know we got a lot of former players that listen to this this matters and you need to be a part of this it's a big deal you know the whole just playing it's it's a Brotherhood uh I can say from what I've learned and what I understand this is something that that North Dakota State um was like in the past was L years ahead of us in terms of membership money raised had a huge huge piece a huge part to do with their success in their giant run that they had so we all need to get on board uh text your buddies uh do it now just get it done membership started what 100 bucks it's 100 bucks 250 500 something like that yep get in there just do it yeah I know what I comment on that too it's it's I think to that point um you know beyond just what we're able to give back you know with you hate to always compare to those guys got a ton of respect for them but you know what NDSU did with this um was really kind of a an opportunity for us to say all right we can do the same um obviously we proven that on the football field now and and we're proving it I think behind the scenes with the jfp and and how we're able to support and I think the the cool thing is is as you get more people in kind of like Dallas said you're able to meet people from different Generations um you know I was meeting guys that their daughter plays with my sister-in-law at college basketball and you know his guy played back at the the early 80s and stuff like that so just fun to kind of connect like make these random connections but then we've expanded it Beyond to kind of these different group so we have a a network and development professional group we have a kind of a marketing and um kind of connection type group if if you're into that so it's we're trying to be be able to also support like hey you're in the market to um find another job or you're just graduating um you know you're graduating grad school something like that like this group can help you with some of those things um kind of be another platform for guys um to to just be kind of that Brotherhood and successful life so um yeah really really good stuff yeah thanks guys um Pat wants to talk a little ball here so any serious injuries for the Jacks and fall Camp Pat if we knew we wouldn't say it right here because uh the the Oklahoma State guys now know about us uh you know information can be passed pretty easily but this current coaching staff uh getting injur information out it's like uh escaping Alcatraz or something like that it's it's very difficult this is uh this team is very tight lipped uh this coaching staff is very tight lipped you know last year we heard rumors of guys in walking boots all season long could never confirm it right and so and so's daughter was in chemistry class with this guy and she saw him in a cast that that's kind of the best we could do last year on the injury front so uh yeah what we can answer sure but in In fairness though also I mean we can state that I haven't heard anything not a hint I mean like so I mean before we've heard rumors from people that have seen people or whatever which you you don't want to spread that because that's not good but I haven't heard anything so as far as I'm concerned as far as we're aware they are too deep is as we discussed on the offensive defensive previews uh if you've not listened of those go back and watch them now or when you're done with this but no I haven't heard anything I just read Rod Looney's comment here Chad you need reading glasses you're squinting far too much I love honestly Chad so here's the deal Chad I've always had this thought that I wanted to start taking screen grabs I want to start taking screen grabs and make shirts of you just like angrily squinting no that's the opposite usually you're just what I got to do to read I you know I've I've got a bad eye it's it's need two new corneas it's $30,000 I don't have so yeah I can see okay I just have to squint a lot yeah hey and in the same vein as tailgating that Jake talked about we got to share an update uh Chad you are the the president of book club do you want to share is that is that true yeah I I never voted I never voted in this uh yeah unofficially yes yeah you're the another the boat club yes uh got a new tent on order cuz the slowboat from China wasn't going to bring me parks fast enough we're all GNA be there um same spot same spot setting up with the hair risers so come uh four to six weeks whatever that actually is plus waiting time they said um we might have another tent so we might have three tents uh set up side by side plus Ben so we we've got got it set up so we're going to have plenty of space come them cold games and we're going to make it nice and toasty in there and have a oh jeez really I I wouldn't make a great referee just ask Brendan next podcast okay oh gosh hey all right before we get into our predictions here we have to thank Northwestern Mutual um for for sponsoring this segment our prediction segment here uh for the a team so if you need some investment um life insurance whatever it may be some financial planning um saving up for your kids college retirement get a hold of the professionals at Northwestern Mutual and they will set you up for the for what you need um I've shared about my experience the last two weeks um had a had a life insurance policy that was way out of date uh was predated my kids and I had uh my retirement scattered all across the country and I needed to get them all together and Northwestern Mutual helped me figure it out uh Jack Rabbit former player Quinton Hicks reached out to me set me up with my financial planner Mike tuck um and we got the ball rolling there uh Chris Shankle who's been instrumental in getting the Alex's Lemonade Stand going with the FCS Nation radio uh show he's he's with Northwestern Mutual as well um great guy so one of those three should be able to help you out get get you the the product that you need um I know there's other jack rabbits Brian Williams is one of them that's doing Northwestern Mutual as well um and some other folks so uh thank you Northwestern Mutual for for sponsoring our special uh feature shows as well as this segment in the a team so prod ladies and gentlemen the the the rule of thumb is 10 times your annual income that's what you need in life insurance oh great [Laughter] let's hold Jake Jake look at this you're you you're at one show and you're already getting wow all over Brooking I can get all over the city with that thing anytime sorry know about you I my Kabota this is this is unacceptable I don't I can drive that all over town don't worry some kind of deal I think oh my goodness that's awesome that's awesome especially at a club 32 I thought the connection at least with my dad like this is ridiculous I I expect uh better treatment than this um hold on before we get into predictions there's a couple things maybe we didn't touch on is just matchups in general if if you guys don't mind yeah want to touch on that and kind of get get everybody's thoughts there of just where to me what South Dakota State needs to do to win the game and maybe what they could we'll use the word exploit that probably isn't right but what they need to do because okay what do we know we know that they have a tremendous Run game we know that maybe they're a little susceptible in defense we know they've got a quarterback that probably isn't going to pick us apart unless something magical has happened coming into a seventh year in college again not he's not a bad player I'm in no way saying that I just don't think he's what who is going to beat us is strong as our secondary is our safeties and our Corners are are fantastic and I think as good as is a lot of power four teams so to me you get into matchups typically and I'm curious to get Jake's thoughts on this a lot of times what you see in these FCS FBS games are you know you see the the FCS Team come out hot and then depth what the the the initial emotion wears out because a lot of teams come in and this is their Super Bowl by God which is something that I think that we can't do and doesn't need to happen um that this doesn't need to be be a big emotional game but that wears off and then you've got the I've said this before I think on the Pod that the starters and for the most part when you've got a a good F FBS team and and a good FCS team your starters are maybe 90% is good or something to make up a number but then as you start to go down the depth chart then then you go you know then the the 82 scholarships versus the 53 start to kick in and then you get problems and then the next piece that is typically huge is special teams because the guys and this was honestly Jake at that Illinois game the biggest thing when you looked at special teams they had the same dude cloned who was 6'2 215 and ran a 45 and they had like 30 of those guys and it was the same guy and we did not have that right and that that's the difference in in a lot of those teams and I don't know that we're going to see that because of the depth that SDSU has at linebacker at safety um and even at at to some extent at wide receiver that I mean we have just ridiculous guys lined up ready to play um at those positions so anyway I'm curious maybe Jake start with you what are your thoughts on that and then where do you think the big maybe matchups that we try need to try to exploit are yeah know I think your spot on um I think again from my experience it's it's exactly what it is you know you come out of the tunnel at a a memorial stadium in Lincoln Nebraska and it's it's wide-eyed you got all the energy in the world adrenaline's going like crazy and you don't get tired I mean it is it's that experience but you know to your point the third fourth quarter you know they're so rotating guys in um and you're you know we don't have the same depth now do I think we're a much different program than 2010 absolutely to your point I think the the the amount of skill players that we have and the the caliber of guys that we have is just phenomenal again you we mentioned the dine the last couple years the way they could just rotate people in was just amazing and that's a tough position right I mean that up in the trenches up front yeah your skill guys are great you're going to have the Ali Gordon you're going to have um you know these these brenon Presley Rashad Owens types guys that can make plays but um on the on the front line with the dline and the o line is where I think it that depth really comes into play um so I think we we we're a different team and it'll be a a good thing to see how that culture of winning winning the last couple years really changes the the two three guys behind him too right because the expectations um for those guys to work hard and be just as as um qualified just as skilled um to be just as strong in the weight room to work just as hard in practice as the the the top guys I mean that's what winning does it sets that expectation so I'm hoping that our depth um is really going to be strong but you know to really kind of think of matchups like I said I think it's going to be big plays you know if we can really manage and take advantage of that 335 and just the way that maybe you can pick some holes in that um with some of our skill guys that's a matchup that I think um you know again our end stopping big plays on the defense but then you know taking evangelos um finding some open space I think that's a matchup that I'm really excited about s same thought um it's kind of the opposite of what you would normally expect to where it's normally like all right limit big plays and uh you know no big special teams plays like I'm not really not worried about big special teams plays and then as far as stopping big plays it's the opposite where we can't allow a bunch of 10-minute drives like that that that can't happen like that that's what we we just cannot allow and and here's you know what I think I've I've said this to a bunch of people I don't know that ever tweeted it here's where as a South Dakota State fan you should maybe feel good about this is we were designed and the reason why where we are as much as I hate giving them credit is we had to be built to beat North State and this team that we're going to play and I I hope this isn't bullet board material but they are North Dakota state they're the same offensive line because and now I'll I'll probably say this exact thing when I'm on that other pot on Tuesday this this offensive line that they have is phenomenal it's probably the same as all those North Dakota state lines that we face because they put what three dudes in the NFL every year for like a decade and that's not an exaggeration and they've got a better running back core and probably a quarterback that isn't as good because you look Easton stick is still in the damn NFL Carson Wentz whatever so it's roughly the same style of offense and that's what this team was built to survive and to have to beat so that actually makes me really encouraged uh for this game yeah when we talk about the big plays in and and limiting um those I I just think about um I think it was daon that dropped an interception against Iowa right and and that could have changed the game I think daan had a free Lane to a touchdown potentially in that one could be misremembering that one but if if if Bowman's gonna throw us the ball we have to be ready to catch it you know on the back end we have to take advantage of those type of plays because uh you know what you're talking about Dallas like that that that grind down you know if you drop that interception what's to say they don't come back and get a first down on the next play and rattle off you know a couple more after that y you know in that 90 degree heat so that's that's something that's on my yeah take take advantage and then I'd be excited with you talk about getting vertical in the middle of the field one of those three young tight ends that we discussed that you we all basically we picked three different tight ends Jake uh to be the breakout player of the year because that's how good we think that that room is we just don't know which one it's going to be but one of those guys honestly needs to go off for for you know 110 and maybe one or two touchdowns and that and that's hopefully an advantage us right because there's no tape on these three tight ends that we're running out there zero and you know they'd have to go back a couple years to the spring season maybe you know when we were running out these uh Bunch TI formations and stuff I don't know it's going to be something new love to run 13 Personnel so yeah yeah those might be the holes that we can pick apart a little bit yeah I mean I don't have anything that profound to say other than if you look at what their coach was pointing out what we do well is what we need to continue to do well and that's play Gap sound defense and you know not get off schedule on offense we need to get get ahead early and and convert on thirds Downs if if the opportunity is is there if we don't get there before third down so I mean I think those are literally as dumb as it sounds the key to the game for us yeah all right let's do some predic Jake do you want to go first as as the newest guy brutal do you want to go last it's first it's fine all right so offensively who's gonna be our player of the game I mean I I think again with the the ability to to have that experience that leadership you know Mark being able to make some plays you know we just touched on the tight end um it's going to be Mark I think he's he's going to be such a Difference Maker in this game h all right can't go wrong with that reigning Walter Payton Award winner so yeah okay uh Dallas offensive gfw we're gonna get deep I I my my second pick was going to be uh Pine but let's let's go gfw they don't know what's coming he's going to get Deep Get Loose for for two all right Chad Gus Miller okay oh okay yeah good one that's I was actually thinking that right after I said Mark yeah and my backup's going to be well you could throw it at a dart board in the tight end Rune but I'm gonna go with uh Gormley this time it's funny because they probably if they're listening think it's ridiculous that we're looking at all three of them the same but that from everything that we've seen heard read it could be any of those guys there's a lot of talent there yeah I'm going with Gormley that's who I was going to pick so yes I don't need to it from you with my second all right uh defensively Chad where you going to go I mean how how do you not pick Mr AP Bach on Twitter um he's the easy choice for me okay keep that guy from running more than about four yards per carry we'll be doing good okay Dallas Tucker large gonna get it done in the pass game and the Run game okay Jak pick pick six Tucker large oh yeah see you are in my brain I was gonna say that darn it yeah I'm going secondary that Tucker large kale re I think those that group to limit big plays kind of manage the ability to you know again if we can gaps on defense Pursuit defense Jimmy Jimmy Rogers style stop Oly Gordon and then they're gonna have to figure something out rpos and then that's where that secondary is going to really come in um Jake just so you know these two Dallas and Chad will eviscerate you if you pick a position group and not a single player there we go yeah he kind of he kind of made that as his first pick I wasn't gonna say anything it's first day on his job so we won't dock your pay quite yet all right all right I am gonna go with Dallas vam um he's gonna move one step closer to your dad Dallas on the career interception Park so just one why not two i'mna say one one and it's going to be a long return but not a touchdown going to set us up in good field position love it all right um all right we have francel we have the law firm Graham Spalding uh Kobe hder uh we had Angel Johnson on the offensive side of the ball Adam Bach um the coach must be the MVP from Ron ly thanks Ron Seth listener de priest is going to be the rocket in the middle keeping the linebackers free choice I like that too awesome yeah we love the priest so oh so I actually Jake we should touch base before all these make sure one of us picks a d lineman every time yeah there you go way to represent you guys man yeah no doubt all right um thank you everyone for tuning in uh thank you to our sponsors Kabota dealers of South Dakota Culver of Brookings and Watertown uh Jack Rabbit former Players Association love having you guys here and then Northwestern Mutual those are the show sponsors for this one this this year so um we'll be back every Sunday night with you uh hopefully we're talking about a victory um next week but if not everyone's gonna have a lot of fun down in Still Water travel safely if you're traveling down there and uh yeah Chad what's the rest of the schedule this week for for you guys B Team uh was it Wednesday I believe right for Thursday Thursday for the uh scared money don't make money and then I don't know if Brendan's going to go till 4 in the morning with Zach after this one or what's going to happen we'll see I thought it was was I thought it was Tuesday Thursday dude isn't it is it Tuesday Thursday I don't know I don't know we'll figure it out we'll tweet it out don't worry I don't pay attention till it matters ask my wife I'm really bad about that yeah so thanks everyone for tuning in uh thanks Jake for joining us and with that go big go Blue Go Jack and he left he left darn it oh