BROOKINGS After winning his head coaching debut, Dan Jackson will take South Dakota State on the road this week for a top-three showdown with Montana State in Bozeman, Mont.
The Jackrabbits moved up to second in the Stats Perform Top 25 after beating Sacramento State. They replaced the Bobcats, who fell to No. 3 after losing to Oregon.
Oregon is ranked sixth in the AP Top 25 in the FBS and beat Montana State 59-13 this past weekend. Jackson said he was very impressed with the Ducks, but doesnt think anyone should knock the Bobcats for the result.
I think Oregon is, I dont know what theyre ranked right now, but I think Oregon is better than they were a year ago and I coached against them a year ago when I was at Idaho, Jackson said. I think Oregon was really impressive and ready to play. When you have that kind of talent with big, fast and talented guys, its a challenge.
When you look into it, I think, just like our game, there were a few plays here and there where Montana State just missed a play here or a read there or a block there and they can instantly generate more momentum. I dont think its really an indication of Montana State not being as good. I think theyre as good as theyve always been.
This will be the fourth time in the past five seasons that the Jacks and Bobcats have gone to battle. MSU beat SDSU in the 2021 FCS Semifinals, but the Jacks returned the favor with a win in the semifinals in 2022. SDSU then topped Montana State in a regular season game in 2023.
This will be SDSUs third trip to Bozeman since 2014, and 2021 was the only time the Jacks lost in those three matchups. Jackson was on John Stiegelmeiers staff for the two victories in 2014 and 2017 and he said hes looking forward to going back to Bozeman wearing the yellow and blue.
Those were great experiences. I remember [in 2014] we went for a morning walk through and it was 50 degrees and then we kicked off and it was the coldest game in Montana State history up to that point and ended up being a blizzard with Zach Zenner having a pretty good game there. I remember really competitive and physical football games. Im excited for it. Its going to be a great environment and were going up against a great team and a great program. Its going to be a lot of fun, Jackson said.
In the past three meetings between the two teams Montana State had been led by quarterback Tommy Mellot. Mellot graduated and now the signal caller is junior Justin Lamson. Hes a transfer from Stanford and in the opening game of the season he was 23-of-31 for 198 yards and had no interceptions or touchdowns.
Lamson was unable to get the run game going on Saturday as he had -1 net rushing yards on 11 attempts but Jackson said SDSU will have its handful this weekend with the way he gets it done both through the air and on the ground.
[Lamson] is a really good player. I think it stands out that you can tell hes a competitive guy. He can run. He led Stanford in touchdowns a year ago and hes been productive. Hes played in big environments and you could tell, I dont think the environment [in Oregon] was too big for him. He threw the ball and was really efficient passing it. I think they were good with their quick game and getting it to the right guys. I think hes going to be one of the better quarterbacks we see, Jackson said.
SDSU had 430 yards of total offense in the 20-3 victory over the Hornets but looked sloppy at times in the win. The Jacks were in the red zone six times and scored on four of those chances. They fumbled inside the five yard and then missed a field goal after a snap went over quarterback Chase Masons head the play before. SDSU also muffed a punt.
Jackson said there are some things that his team needs to clean up from week one to week two, but overall he was pleased with their performance.
I think for the most part, for a week one game without a lot of information on the opponent, our guys actually did well. I love how the staff made some adjustments throughout the game. We certainly need to play better. After watching the film, we just need to understand that theres a value in every single play. If you make a few more plays, you can pull away, and if you dont make those plays, youre going to find yourself in close games. We have just been talking about the urgency and value in every play and making sure we get a few things cleaned up, Jackson said.
Mason made the first start of his career against Sac State. He finished the night 17-of-23 for 190 yards and one touchdown. The blemish on the stat sheet was that he was sacked seven times.
After reviewing the film, Jackson said he was proud of the way that Mason did not force things and that resulted in the high sack numbers.
A couple of the sacks he had the opportunity to throw the ball, but it would have been risky. There was a hand in the way, there was a blitzer in the way. If he throws it and completes it, we probably catch it and run in for a touchdown. But if he throws it and its an interception for a touchdown the other way, there were a couple times where it was that close. He chose to take the sack [in those situations] and in a unique way Im proud of him because he understood how our defense was playing and understood when he took a chance and when he should not, Jackson said.
SDSU will be without a key member of the defense for the first half on Saturday night. Sophomore Chase Van Tol was ejected in the fourth quarter for a targeting call. Due to NCAA rules he will also have to sit out the first half against MSU.
Jackson said it sucks to lose one of your best players for the first half but it will allow some other players to have an opportunity to show what they got in a bigger role.
Chase is a great player and is a starter for a reason. Hes not hanging his head at all and is going to be a great leader in that room. We have several guys [that can step up in his absence]. We have several packages well go with and have a multitude of guys that can play. I thought Kytan Fyfe played a really good football game [against Sacramento State]. Chase is a great player and Id love to have him out there in the first half and hed love to be out there, but it may set up well for us to be able to get some guys reps, Jackson said.
The Bobcats and Jackrabbits are scheduled to kick things off at 7 p.m. Central time. You can watch the game on Midco Sports 2 or ESPN+ or listen to the game on AM 570 WNAX.
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