The Second Season

Zach Zenner has led the Jackrabbits to the top of the Missouri Valley.

The Jackrabbits are at 5-1 and alone in first place in the Missouri Valley Football Conference.

It was never out of the question but it wasn't exactly on my mind at the beginning of the season. Yet that's the case. A couple key takeaways from the season so far and what lies ahead.

Defense
Conversation follows running back Zach Zenner a lot and that's certainly deserved but SDSU's defense deserves more credit than ever. Saturday's 31-10 win over Western Illinois was another example of the unit making the plays when it counted. Honestly, I didn't think the defense would be this good this season. Saturday, Skyler Luxa turned the tide with his third quarter INT return for touchdown and the Jacks made the stops to get off the field when they needed to. WIU's only offensively-generated points came on a 16 play drive, spanning 7 minutes in the second quarter resulting in a field goal. If SDSU can defend like this the rest of the year, they can win the conference.

Zenner

He's very good, isn't he? Incredible ability to break a big run and one almost expects him to score once he reaches the linebacker level. Western Illinois was a good example of how a running back usually sets up the big run, smashing the defense for short run after short run until he breaks one in the fourth quarter to finish the win. Zenner has spoiled the Jacks by breaking big runs early in the game, giving the team a big boost. The comparisons to Kyle Minett date back almost 18 months from the first time I heard it and he's surpassed that level this season. 2,000 yards is not out of the question here and that would be unreal for a sophomore. The offensive line has been really good all season in the run game and they deserve almost all of the credit as well.

Pass game

Austin Sumner's struggles continue. He's had a lot of crazy interceptions off of deflections and having the ball ripped away from the receiver like against Western Illinois. He's also thrown a couple right to the defensive backs for pick-6's. There's some clear miscommunication there between the receiver and quarterback. I thought Sumner was good on the short passes Saturday but it has to be disconcerting to have those issues plaguing the team in game #6.

SDSU might be able to use the first two points to get around the third but that won't work in every game. One has to consider where SDSU would be without their run game.

Remaining schedule:

The gauntlet is challenging the rest of the way and my outlook on the final five games changed considerably after Saturday's games.

Oct. 20 - at Northern Iowa: A very complex meeting next week in Cedar Falls. The Panthers are 1-5 and are certainly looking for answers. The Jackrabbits will come as a confident bunch but they haven't had much success at the UNI-Dome (SDSU hasn't won at UNI since 1978). For as much as UNI has struggled this season, there's still plenty of reasons for the Jacks to be on alert, starting with running back David Johnson. It's also homecoming for the Panthers.

Oct. 27 - Youngstown State: A Hobo Day meeting with the Penguins for the second time in three years, SDSU has a good chance of defeating YSU in front of a big crowd. Youngstown State is well-rounded and won't be fazed coming to Brookings but the complexion of this game has changed after back-to-back losses for YSU to NDSU and Southern Illinois.

What are the chances we see this scene repeated in Fargo this year?

Nov. 3 - at Southern Illinois: Probably the trap game on this remaining schedule and I hesitate to say "trap game" because SDSU knows SIU (and all of these teams for that matter) is pretty good. The Salukis are in the pack of one loss teams and yesterday's win over UNI keeps them near the top. Jackrabbits have had some success in Carbondale, so that game in particular should be a good one.

Nov. 10 - at NDSU: If both teams go into that game with one loss, it will be the biggest game in the history of the series. Stakes will be high and I still believe NDSU is the best team in the conference. They killed themselves against Indiana State. Tensions will be high for the Dakota Marker. This game has been sold out since August with high interest in Fargo and I can't wait.

Nov. 17 - USD: A big game. USD's season ended yesterday with an unreal collapse at Missouri State. They don't have much to play for other than the rivalry game at the end of the year. SDSU's winning streak is the best thing that could happen on the Jacks' end because it will keep the talk off this game for a while yet. Jacks should also thank USD for joining the league this year because otherwise SDSU would have Illinois State in the final five games as well.

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Fargo sportswriter Jeff Kolpack tweeted earlier this month that SDSU's loss to Kansas looks like a bad one now. I still don't believe that fully, given that KU is a BCS conference opponent after all, but the Jacks probably would like a do-over on that one.

I still don't know what SDSU's playoff chances truly are. We know 8-3 gives you a better chance to make the 20-team field than 7-4. SDSU only has one signature road win this season (at Indiana State), so UNI looms large. I'm also curious if SDSU is saving up bid money to buy a home playoff game if they make the postseason.

The only thing we know is SDSU has matched its win total in each of the last two seasons. John Stiegelmeier approaches each week separately, so I'll say it: The season starts now.