Completed Event: Football at Montana on December 6, 2025 , Loss , 29, to, 50
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FINAL
Football
29
at Montana
50
South Dakota State University Athletics
Quotes: FB vs. Georgia Southern, 9-12-09
9/13/2009 12:15:00 AM | Football
South Dakota State running back Kyle Minett:
“We were just focused on going out and playing our game and just getting the victory. We started off the first half kind of slow. I think that everyone really responded well in the second half. We came out and met our ultimate goal of getting to 1-0. It feels great that we started the season off with a win instead of being in a hole right away like the last couple of seasons.”
Minett on the meaning of the game in establishing SDSU in the FCS ranks:
“I don't think we really thought about it quite like that. To us, Georgia Southern is just another good opponent. We have tough games every week, but once we step back from it then we realize that the win tonight against Georgia Southern and the win last year here against Youngstown State, they definitely make you feel good with the tradition that those two school have. I think that is something that we are starting to build is that kind of tradition where when we go and play a team, that that is something that they think about us down the road — South Dakota State has a great tradition.”
Minett on South Dakota State quarterback Ryan Crawford: “You just have to be efficient. I think that tonight showed that being more efficient is better than trying to whip the ball down the field 40 or 50 times. Statistically speaking, you can still have a great game like Ryan did tonight.”
Minett on his performance: “Looking back throughout my entire career, I get stronger as the game goes on. I think it is finally hitting the line of scrimmage time after time after time and me finally realizing that's how the defense is playing it. I think that the coaches made great adjustments tonight. Our offensive line played tremendous. Our tight ends all really played well. The wideouts stayed on their blocks.”
South Dakota State defensive end Danny Batten on the impact of the new looks on defense: “They were not expecting it because we haven't shown that much before. I think that the new looks definitely helped, but our defense came to play tonight and we knew we had to. We had all the confidence in our offense, but we knew that we had to come and play. The coaches installed some really good stuff for us. He (Crawford) surprised all of us. He did really well.”
Batten on the defense's dominance: “Yes, we expect that. We have too many returners on the defensive side of the ball not to be flying around and making plays. We have so many players that can make plays, so we expected to come out of the gate and do our part in winning this football game.”
South Dakota State quarterback Ryan Crawford: “I thought that I did well. Coach (Luke) Meadows got on me on one play — on a third and one when I tried to force it into (tight end Colin) Cochart, when I should have hit the open man in the flats. Other than that, I thought that I did pretty well.”
“I felt great. There's no better feeling in the world than going out and knowing that I helped my team out to win the game.”
South Dakota State head coach John Stiegelmeier: “I have got a ton of respect for coach (Chris) Hatcher and the Georgia Southern tradition. We won tonight. I am very proud of our football team, but that is what we all aspire to be like is that type of program. I know that this defeat hurts them, but we got beat by those guys 63-7 about five years ago and we said, that's what we want to be like. That was our message in the locker room and we have made some strides. I am excited about the number of fans that showed up. We appreciate that and we are going to go back to work tomorrow.”
“At halftime, my challenge to the offense was that we didn't finish drives. We had field goal attempts instead of finishing it. Film always shows all the things you can work on, but it was a great team effort.”
“We reminded them that Georgia Southern was behind in the first half last week to Albany and came out, got into a rhythm and won the football game. We challenged our players not to let them get into that rhythm. We have had so many close football games these last five years and I think our guys rose up and said we are not going to be a part of that tonight.”
“I thought that we blitzed a lot. My nature is a lot more vanilla than that, but their QB gets the ball off quick. We just had to keep pressure on them. I am happy with the performance.”
Thought on Crawford: “He played like a champion. He has been here for five years and has approached everyday like a champion. I got a hug from his father after the game and that is a huge victory for me to see the smile and excitement on his face. That's what college football is about; working hard and sometimes you play the first year and sometimes you have to wait. Ryan Crawford has been unbelievable. He had that serious injury at the end of last year and he has approached every day like a champion. He earned the performance that he got today and I am proud of him.”
On the Kicking Situation: “What Kyle (Harris) responded to is what all of our players have to respond to. If Ryan Crawford goes down in the first quarter with cramps or a shoulder injury, we have to believe in the next guy coming in. I thought that he (Harris) had a phenomenal night based on his situation. He is a young man that was ready for that.”
On starting the season 1-0: “It's a simple concept of 1-0 every week, but it's a focused concept. Our guys have responded to it for years around here. It's easy to give a pregame speech because the message it always the same. There is only one goal and that is to win the football game and we were able to do that tonight.”
Players Mentioned
Dan Jackson Postgame Comments at Montana (12.06.2025)
Saturday, December 06
Football Highlights at Montana (12.06.2025)
Saturday, December 06
Gameday Eve - Montana (12.05.2025)
Thursday, December 04
Dan Jackson Weekly Press Conference (12.02.2025)
Tuesday, December 02