The Capital One Bowl Mascot Challenge is getting down to the wire. And Jack Rabbit needs your votes.

He is one of eight quarterfinalists in the contest , the winner of which earns a trip to the Capital One Bowl in Orlando, Fla., and a significant cash reward.

The rabbit made a trip to The Brookings Register this week to share some thoughts on the mascot challenge and life as a mascot, although the fellow inside the suit couldn't violate the mascot code by revealing his human identity.

In fact, most of his friends don't even know the floppy-eared , fuzzy rabbit bounding up and down the stadium steps pumping up the raucous yellow-and-blue crowds.

"A few of them know," he said, "but the majority of the people have no idea. It's pretty funny, like just seeing your friends around the stadium and messing with them a little bit. It's a blast."

The rabbit is an SDSU collegian, and he shares his duties with two others.

He got his start last year and has been having a great time with the gig ever since.

"Oh, it's a blast trying to get the crowd pumped up and seeing all the little kids and taking pictures and stuff out shirts and stickers and all that jazz he said.

One of the highlights of the season was last weekend's trip Minneapolis where the Jacks nearly defeated Minnesota Golden Gophers.

"Their new TCF Stadium, that was huge," , explaining - ment upon coming out of the tunnel before the game.

"Just walking through that and seeing everything, it was just shocking how big it was," he said. "And then, once everybody got in, it was really loud. It was awesome."

As exciting as the Jacks' sports season has been so far, with the football team having beaten several top-rated opponents and looking like they'll make the playoffs, Jack Rabbit said there are still some things left to accomplish.

The Mascot Challenge ranks pretty high on that list. Jack Rabbit won a write-in contest last year, qualifying him to compete with 12 other Division I mascots around the nation.

Jack is in the quarterfinals of the competition, going up against Bill the Goat from Navy. If he can defeat Bill, he will face the winner of the matchup between the Texas Christian University Superfrog and the University of Wisconsin's Bucky the Badger.

Then it would be on to the finals, with one more mascot to defeat for the title.

He encourages people to continue to log on and vote for the rabbit (http:// www.capitalonebowl .com/vote/main), as they've been doing all year. The reaction among students and community members has been quite positive, he said, especially at games and other events.

"It's pretty fun when you're walking around in the suit and everybody's like, 'hey, I voted for you every day so far,'" he said.

If the rabbit can come home with the title, he'll earn a trip to the Capital One Bowl Jan. 1 in Orlando. The winner of the contest will be announced at halftime of that game. SDSU would also receive a grand prize of $15,000 as the winner of the National Mascot of the Year.

The current round of voting ends Nov. 23, so those wishing to push Jack Rabbit through the quarterfinal round must get on their computers soon. The semifinal round is held from Nov. 23-30 , and the championship voting is from Nov. 30 until Dec. 14.

So what else did the rabbit have to say about the contest?

"GO BIG, GO BLUE, GO JACKS!"