Upcoming Event: Football at North Dakota on November 22, 2025 at 1 p.m.
/
1 p.m.
Football
at North Dakota
South Dakota State University Athletics
Saturday, November 1
Brookings, S.D.
1 p.m.
South Dakota State University
5-4 , 4-1
43
vs
13
Missouri State
3-5 , 2-3
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Missouri State
0
6
0
7
13
South Dakota State
6
13
14
10
43
Jacks stay in title hunt with win over Missouri State
11/1/2008 1:00:00 AM | Football
The South Dakota State University football team remained in the hunt for a Missouri Valley Football Conference title, posting a 43-13 victory over Missouri State Saturday afternoon at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium.
The Jackrabbits improved to 5-4 overall and 4-1 in the MVFC to remain tied in the loss column with Northern Iowa and Southern Illinois. Missouri State dropped to 3-5 overall, 2-3 in league play.
Several Jackrabbits set single-game career highs Saturday as SDSU employed a balanced offensive attack. Sophomore running back Kyle Minett rushed 23 times for a career-best 205 yards and JaRon Harris added a career-high 10 receptions for 169 yards. As a team, SDSU rolled up 580 yards of total offense ? 262 on the ground and 318 through the air. SDSU also tallied 27 first downs compared to 12 by the Bears.
SDSU scored on its first four offensive possessions, starting with a pair of first-quarter field goals of 20 and 29 yards by Peter Reifenrath. The last field goal capped a 1 16-play, 79-yard drive that chewed up nearly seven and a half minutes.
The Jackrabbits scored their first touchdown of the game on their first possession of the second quarter as Ryan Berry connected with Glen Fox from 14 yards.
After forcing Missouri State to punt, the Jackrabbits needed only one play to build the lead to 19-0 as Minett weaved his way through the Bear defense for a 56-yard touchdown run ? his longest carry of the season.
MSU got on the board in the closing minute of the fist haf as Chris Geisz caught a 3-yard touchdown pass from Cody Kirby to finish off a 14-play, 67-yard drive.
SDSU put the game out of reach with a pair of third-quarter touchdowns from Berry to Harris. The first covered 15 yards, with the second a 9-yarder. Harris added the two-point conversion after his second touchdown.
The Jackrabbits, who did not punt in the game, made it 24 consecutive points in the fourth quarter, scoring on a 1-yard touchdown run by backup running back Tyler Duffy and an 18-yard field goal by Reifenrath.
The Bears ended the scoring late in the fourth quarter on an 11-yard pass from Kirby to Chase Mejia.
Berry ended the game 20-of-26 passing for 268 yards as he topped the 250-yard mark for the sixth consecutive game. His three touchdown passes in the game upped his career total to 45, passing Ted Wahl (43 TD passes from 1985-88) for second place on the Jackabbit career charts and two behind Brad Nelson (47 TD passes from 2001-04) for the all-time lead. In addition, Berry also moved into second place in both career passing yards (5,420) and career completions (460). He trails fellow Watertown native Dan Fjeldheim (461 completions from 1999-2002) by one for the completions record.
Derek Domino led the Jackrabbit defense with eight tackles. SDSU also received sacks from Antonio Thompson, Eric Schroeder and Jason Nobiling.
Kirby finished 21-of-32 passing for 165 yards. He connected with 11 different receivers, led by Geisz's four catches for 42 yards. MSU, which was limited to 35 rushing yards as a team on 20 carries, was led by Kingjack Washington's 17 yards on five carries.
The Bear defense was led by Roger Wright's 14 tackles.
SDSU closes out the home schedule Nov. 8 by hosting Illinois State. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
Notes: Saturday's game was the first-ever meeting between SDSU and Missouri State in football ... attendance for the game was 6,117, putting the season average at 11,232 ... there were no turnovers in the game ... SDSU put an end to its two-game home losing streak ? its first such streak since 2000 ... the Jackrabbits have outscored their conference opponents 89-20 in the first half of games this season ... Minett posted his fifth 100-yard game of the season and sixth of his career, breaking his previous career high of 145 yards set last week at Indiana State ... Minett has scored a touchdown in eight of the team's nine games this season ... Berry has thrown a touchdown pass in eight consecutive games and 19 of 22 career starts ... Harris went over 2,000 receiving yards for his career and tied Rusty Lenners (137 receptions from 1993-96) for third place on the Jackrabbit career receptions chart ... Harris recorded his third 100-yard receiving game of the season, tying him for Fox for most on the team ... Reifenrath upped his season field goal total to 12, putting him in a tie for seventh place on the SDSU single-season charts
The Jackrabbits improved to 5-4 overall and 4-1 in the MVFC to remain tied in the loss column with Northern Iowa and Southern Illinois. Missouri State dropped to 3-5 overall, 2-3 in league play.
Several Jackrabbits set single-game career highs Saturday as SDSU employed a balanced offensive attack. Sophomore running back Kyle Minett rushed 23 times for a career-best 205 yards and JaRon Harris added a career-high 10 receptions for 169 yards. As a team, SDSU rolled up 580 yards of total offense ? 262 on the ground and 318 through the air. SDSU also tallied 27 first downs compared to 12 by the Bears.
SDSU scored on its first four offensive possessions, starting with a pair of first-quarter field goals of 20 and 29 yards by Peter Reifenrath. The last field goal capped a 1 16-play, 79-yard drive that chewed up nearly seven and a half minutes.
The Jackrabbits scored their first touchdown of the game on their first possession of the second quarter as Ryan Berry connected with Glen Fox from 14 yards.
After forcing Missouri State to punt, the Jackrabbits needed only one play to build the lead to 19-0 as Minett weaved his way through the Bear defense for a 56-yard touchdown run ? his longest carry of the season.
MSU got on the board in the closing minute of the fist haf as Chris Geisz caught a 3-yard touchdown pass from Cody Kirby to finish off a 14-play, 67-yard drive.
SDSU put the game out of reach with a pair of third-quarter touchdowns from Berry to Harris. The first covered 15 yards, with the second a 9-yarder. Harris added the two-point conversion after his second touchdown.
The Jackrabbits, who did not punt in the game, made it 24 consecutive points in the fourth quarter, scoring on a 1-yard touchdown run by backup running back Tyler Duffy and an 18-yard field goal by Reifenrath.
The Bears ended the scoring late in the fourth quarter on an 11-yard pass from Kirby to Chase Mejia.
Berry ended the game 20-of-26 passing for 268 yards as he topped the 250-yard mark for the sixth consecutive game. His three touchdown passes in the game upped his career total to 45, passing Ted Wahl (43 TD passes from 1985-88) for second place on the Jackabbit career charts and two behind Brad Nelson (47 TD passes from 2001-04) for the all-time lead. In addition, Berry also moved into second place in both career passing yards (5,420) and career completions (460). He trails fellow Watertown native Dan Fjeldheim (461 completions from 1999-2002) by one for the completions record.
Derek Domino led the Jackrabbit defense with eight tackles. SDSU also received sacks from Antonio Thompson, Eric Schroeder and Jason Nobiling.
Kirby finished 21-of-32 passing for 165 yards. He connected with 11 different receivers, led by Geisz's four catches for 42 yards. MSU, which was limited to 35 rushing yards as a team on 20 carries, was led by Kingjack Washington's 17 yards on five carries.
The Bear defense was led by Roger Wright's 14 tackles.
SDSU closes out the home schedule Nov. 8 by hosting Illinois State. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
Notes: Saturday's game was the first-ever meeting between SDSU and Missouri State in football ... attendance for the game was 6,117, putting the season average at 11,232 ... there were no turnovers in the game ... SDSU put an end to its two-game home losing streak ? its first such streak since 2000 ... the Jackrabbits have outscored their conference opponents 89-20 in the first half of games this season ... Minett posted his fifth 100-yard game of the season and sixth of his career, breaking his previous career high of 145 yards set last week at Indiana State ... Minett has scored a touchdown in eight of the team's nine games this season ... Berry has thrown a touchdown pass in eight consecutive games and 19 of 22 career starts ... Harris went over 2,000 receiving yards for his career and tied Rusty Lenners (137 receptions from 1993-96) for third place on the Jackrabbit career receptions chart ... Harris recorded his third 100-yard receiving game of the season, tying him for Fox for most on the team ... Reifenrath upped his season field goal total to 12, putting him in a tie for seventh place on the SDSU single-season charts
Team Stats
MSU
SDSU
Total Yards
200
580
Pass Yards
165
318
Rushing Yards
35
262
Penalty Yards
40
30
1st Downs
12
27
3rd Downs
4
8
4th Downs
0
0
TOP
22:47
37:13
1st Quarter
MSU 0, SDSU 3
SDSU - PeterReifenrath 20 yd field goal 6 plays, 77 yards, TOP 3:13
MSU 0, SDSU 6
SDSU - PeterReifenrath 29 yd field goal 16 plays, 79 yards, TOP 7:28
2nd Quarter
MSU 0, SDSU 12
SDSU - Glen Fox 14 yd pass from Ryan Berry (Tyler Duffy rushfailed) 7 plays, 65 yards, TOP 3:27
MSU 0, SDSU 19
SDSU - Kyle Minett 56 yd run (PeterReifenrath kick), 1 plays, 56 yards, TOP 0:12
MSU 6, SDSU 19
MSU - Geisz,Chris 3 yd pass from Kirby,Cody (Hottelman,Matt kickfailed) 14 plays, 67 yards, TOP 5:56
3rd Quarter
MSU 6, SDSU 25
SDSU - JaRon Harris 15 yd pass from Ryan Berry (PeterReifenrath kickfailed) 8 plays, 74 yards, TOP 3:58
MSU 6, SDSU 33
SDSU - JaRon Harris 9 yd pass from Ryan Berry (JaRon Harris pass) 7 plays, 71 yards, TOP 3:23
4th Quarter
MSU 6, SDSU 40
SDSU - Tyler Duffy 1 yd run (PeterReifenrath kick), 9 plays, 61 yards, TOP 3:50
MSU 6, SDSU 43
SDSU - PeterReifenrath 18 yd field goal 12 plays, 93 yards, TOP 7:23
MSU 13, SDSU 43
MSU - Mejia,Chase 11 yd pass from Kirby,Cody (Hottelman,Matt kick) 8 plays, 60 yards, TOP 1:57
Game Leaders
CMP
20
TD
3
YDS
268
INT
0
CMP
3
TD
0
YDS
50
INT
0
Players Mentioned
QB
/ Football
LB
/ Football
RB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
RB
/ Football
DL
/ Football
PK
/ Football
DL
/ Football
DL
/ FootballDan Jackson Weekly Press Conference (11.18.2025)
Tuesday, November 18
Football Highlights vs Illinois State (11.15.2025)
Sunday, November 16
Football Postgame Press Conference vs Illinois State (11.15.2025)
Sunday, November 16
Gameday Eve - Illinois State (11.14.2025)
Thursday, November 13