Jackrabbits play up at Illinois

After holding on for a home victory in its season opener, the South Dakota State University football team will face its first road test of the season, traveling to the University of Illinois for a non-conference matchup Saturday morning.
Kickoff is slated for 11 a.m. at Memorial Stadium on the University of Illinois campus in Urbana-Champaign. The game is scheduled to be televised live on the Big Ten Network, with postgame coverage available online at BigTenNetwork.com.
Both teams are 1-0 after posting victories on their respective home fields during the opening weekend. Illinois notched a 33-15 victory over Arkansas State on Sept. 3, while the Jackrabbits survived a frenzied fourth quarter against Southern Utah later in the day to end up in the win column, 29-28.
South Dakota State, a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference, is receiving votes in both major Football Championship Subdivision polls this week.

ONLINE COVERAGE: Audio coverage of Saturday's game is scheduled to be available via the Jackrabbit Extra subscription service at GoJacks.com, the official website of SDSU athletics. Monthly subscriptions for the Jackrabbit Extra, which includes live audio and video streaming are available for $11.95 per month or $99.95 for an entire year of
coverage.
Local radio coverage Saturday begins on Jackrabbit Sports Network flagship station WNAX 570 AM at 9:30 a.m., with an expanded pre-game show. Tyler Merriam will call the play-by-play, with former Jackrabbit player Mike Struck providing color commentary and J.J. Hartigan providing sideline updates.
Jackrabbit Sports Network affiliates include:
• KJJQ 910 AM-Brookings
• KRKI 99.1 FM-Rapid City
• KGFX 1060 AM-Pierre
• KOLY 1300 AM-Mobridge
• KBFS 1450 AM-Belle Fourche
• KWAT 950 AM/KDLO 96.9 FM-Watertown

THE SERIES: Saturday's game will mark the first-ever meeting on the gridiron between South Dakota State and Illinois. The game will mark the third consecutive
season that the Jackrabbits have faced a current Big Ten Conference member: SDSU dropped a 16-13 decision at Minnesota in 2009 and lost 17-3 at Nebraska last season.
All-time, South Dakota State has a 1-18 record against current Big Ten members, with the lone victory a 13-6 decision at Wisconsin in 1935.
• vs. Michigan State (0-1)
• vs. Minnesota (0-7)
• vs. Nebraska (0-2)
• vs. Wisconsin (1-8)
The Jackrabbits have games scheduled at Nebraska in 2013 and Minnesota in 2015.

PRESIDENTIAL CONNECTION: Although South Dakota State and Illinois have never met in football, the two universities and their athletics programs do share a bond.
Prior to being named president of South Dakota State University, David Chicoine spent nearly 30 years at the University of Illinois, serving as a Vice President, Head of the Department of Agricultural Economics, and Dean of the College of Agriculture, Consumer and Environmental Sciences. Chicoine also served as the faculty representative to the Big Ten Conference and the NCAA for the University of Illinois. He served as chair of the Budget and Finance Committee for the Big Ten Conference for nine years of his 11-year term.

CAPTAINS: Leading the Jackrabbit football team on the field and in the locker room are four senior captains:
• Kyle Harris, kicker, Florissant, Mo.;
• Dirk Kool, linebacker, Fairfield, Iowa;
• Mike Lien, linebacker, Castaic, Calif.;
• Jake Steffen, defensive end, Mount Vernon, S.D.
Kool holds the distinction of being the third generation of his family to serve as a captain for the Jackrabbit football team. His late grandfather, Marv, was a team captain in 1951, while his father, Mark, served as a captain on the Jackrabbits' NCAA Division II playoff squad in 1979. Mark Kool later served as an assistant coach at SDSU from 1987-90.

KOOL HONORED: South Dakota State University linebacker Dirk Kool has been selected as the first Missouri Valley Football Conference Defensive Player of the Week of the season, league officials announced Monday.
A senior from Fairfield, Iowa, Kool registered a team-high 10 sacks and broke up a pass on the decisive play of the game in helping the Jackrabbits to a 29-28 victory over Southern Utah in the season opener Sept. 3 at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium. His 10 tackles were a career high.

SCOUTING ILLINOIS: Illinois used big plays on offense to open the 2011 season with a 33-15 victory over Arkansas State on Sept. 3.
Quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase completed 16-of-23 passes for 267 yards and two touchdowns in leading the Fighting Illini to the victory. Scheelhaase's first touchdown pass, to Darius Millines, covered 45 yards, and he later connected with A.J. Jenkins on a 72-yard scoring strike in the opening minute of the second half to give Illinois a 23-8 lead. Over his last eight games, Scheelhaase has thrown 15 touchdowns against just one interception.
Jenkins ended the game with 11 catches for 148 yards, while Millines recorded five receptions for 119 yards.
Defensively, Illinois recorded seven tackles for loss and forced three turnovers. Trulon Henry led the Fighting Illini with eight tackles and added an interception. Redshirt freshman Houston Bates had five tackles, a team-high two tackles for loss, one sack and one fumble recovery in his Illinois debut, earning Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors.
Illinois finished the 2010 season with a 7-6 overall record, wrapping up the season with a 38-14 rout of Baylor (Texas) in the Texas Bowl. Head coach Ron Zook is in his
seventh season at the helm of the Fighting Illini program.
Under Zook, the Fighting Illini have led the Big Ten in rushing three times (2006, 2007 and 2010), averagaing 246.1 yards per game on the ground last season, while holding the opposition to to an average of 130.8 rushing yards per game. In the 2011 season opener against Arkansas State, the Fighting Illini rushed for 202 yards and gave up only 60 yards on the ground. Jason Ford led the ground attack with 22 carries for 86 yards and two touchdowns.
Illinois has been placed in the Leaders Division of the Big Ten Conference, along with Indiana, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue and Wisconsin.

GOING HOME: This week's trip to Illinois will mark a trip home for four members of the Jackrabbit football team.
Sophomore tight end Vince Benedetto is expected to start in place of an injured Seth Daughters in Saturday's game. Benedetto is a native of Crystal Lake, Ill., and a graduate of Crystal Lake South High School.
Fellow sophomore David Hettiger is in his first season in a Jackrabbit uniform. A native of Oak Lawn, Ill., and a graduate of Richards High School, Hettiger played at Harper College (Ill.) during the 2010 season before transferring to Nebraska-Omaha. After UNO dropped its program this spring, Hettiger wound up at South Dakota State. He was originally slated to play tight end, but shifted to defensive line during fall camp. He was credited with two tackles in the Sept. 3 opener.
Also on the Jackrabbit roster from the state of Illinois are redshirt freshman linebacker Jack Sherlock (Chicago/Mount Carmel H.S.) and true freshman linebacker T.J. Lally (Aurora/Marmion Academy). Sherlock played on special teams in the season opener, while Lally likely will redshirt this season.

CAS TURNS 50: The 2011 campaign marks the 50th season of football at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium. Overall, SDSU has compiled a 163-99 record (.622 winning percentage) on its home field.
The Jackrabbits have enjoyed even more of a home-field advantage at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium since making the move to the Football Championship Subdivision level.
Since joining the FCS ranks at the start of the 2004 season, the Jackrabbits have posted a 29-8 mark at CAS, including a 10-2 record in Missouri Valley Football Conference games.
Lights were installed at CAS prior to the 2001 season and SDSU has turned in a 21-6 record in home night games.
A celebration of the history of Coughlin-Alumni Stadium will be observed Oct. 22, when SDSU hosts North Dakota State in the annual Dakota Marker game. Festivities that day will include halftime recognition of the 50-player Coughlin-Alumni Stadium All-Time Team.

VALLEY PREVIEW: Missouri Valley Football Conference defending champion Northern Iowa has been picked to win the MVFC crown in 2011.
The Panthers received the top spot in a poll conducted by league coaches, media and sports information directors.
UNI, which has been ranked in 81 straight regular season national polls, received 316 total points and 29 of 36 first-place votes. The Panthers were one of three league teams in the FCS playoffs last year and finished the 2010 league slate with a 6-2 mark and outright MVFC crown.
The Panthers placed seven players on the MVFC Preseason Team, including Walter
Payton Award candidate Tirrell Rennie and Buck Buchanan Award nominee Ben Boothby.
North Dakota State finished second in the balloting, earning six first-place votes and 275 points. The Bison also qualified for the FCS playoffs and won two games before falling in the quarterfinals in overtime to eventual national champion Eastern Washington.
NDSU also received extensive recognition on the MVFC Preseason Team with five players making the squad. Running back D.J. McNorton, also a candidate for the Walter Payton Award, headlines the list of Bison players on the honor squad.
Southern Illinois, which finished in a six-way tie for third place last year, received the remaining first-place vote and earned 207 points to finish third in the pre-season balloting.
The next three spots in the pre-season poll were tightly contested, as four points separated South Dakota State (172), Illinois State (169) and Indiana State (168).
Jackrabbit linebacker Mike Lien was the lone SDSU player to make the MVFC Preseason Team. Offensive lineman Jon Fick received honorable mention recognition.
Rounding out the poll were Western Illinois, Youngstown State and Missouri State.
The last three pre-season favorites (North Dakota State-2008, Northern Iowa-2009,
Southern Illinois-2010) did not win the league, but a pre-season favorite has claimed the league crown 13 times (in 25 previous polls).

DUAL THREAT: South Dakota State's Tyrel Kool made the most of his first career start at running back, racking up 107 yards on the ground and another 79 through the air in the Jackrabbits' season opener against Southern Utah on Sept. 3.
A junior from Yankton, Kool began his collegiate career as a running back, but switched to wide receiver during the 2010 season, when he led the team with 64 receptions for 808 yards. His receptions total was fifth-most in a season by a Jackrabbit player, while his receiving yards mark stands 10th in a single season.
Kool's rushing total against Southern Utah marked the 10th time in the last 11 games a Jackrabbit running back eclipsed the century mark. Kyle Minett ran for 100 yards in eight straight games and Tyler Duffy added a 100-yard outing to close out the 2010 season.

IMPRESSIVE DEBUT: Backup running back Zach Zenner put together an all-around impressive performance in his first game in a Jackrabbit uniform, Sept. 3 against Southern Utah.
A redshirt freshman from Eagan, Minn., Zenner compiled 139 all-purpose yards in the Jackrabbit victory. He returned four kickoffs for 74 yards, caught three passes for 24 yards and carried the ball five times for 41 yards. He scored the first touchdown of his career, scampering 27 yards around left end on the final play of the third quarter.

O'BRIEN MOVES INTO TOP 10: South Dakota State University quarterback Thomas O'Brien joined the Jackrabbit career top 10 for passing yards in the Sept 3 season opener.
A junior from Winona, Minn., O'Brien has compiled 3,963 yards in 23 career games, including 18 starts. He moved into ninth place on the Jackrabbit career passing charts, passing both Bill Perron (3,747 yards from 1994-96) and Noel Bouché (3,947 yards from 1996-98) in the season opener. O'Brien's 27 completions in the game were a single-game career high and his 279 yards were six shy of his career high. He also tied a career high with three touchdown passes.
Last year, O'Brien's 2,236 yards were the ninth-most by a Jackrabbit in a single season.

MOSS MAKES THE TRANSITION: The Jackrabbits have gained another weapon in the passing game with the addition of Dale Moss to the receiving corps. Moss finished his four-year career on the basketball court in the spring of 2011 and joined the football team in time for spring practice. He is listed as the No. 2 receiver on the depth chart at the X-Back position.
Moss, who averaged 7.6 points and 4.5 rebounds from his guard position during his senior season on the basketball court, possesses tremendous leaping ability as he led the team in blocked shots two seasons and paced the Jackrabbits in offensive rebounds as a senior.
During his senior season at Brandon Valley High School, Moss was an all-state selection after tallying 45 receptions for 573 yards and eight touchdowns.
Moss saw action in the Sept. 3 season opener, but did not catch a pass.

STEFFEN NOMINATED FOR GOOD WORKS TEAM: South Dakota State University senior Jake Steffen is one of 132 college football players to be nominated for the 2011 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team. The award, which is presented in conjunction with the American Football Coaches Association, recognizes the selfless contributions to volunteerism and community service made by college football student-athletes across the nation.
A native of Mount Vernon, S.D., Steffen has been involved with a number of community service projects in recent years as a member of the Jackrabbit football team, including:
• Installing concrete to complete the installation of a new playground in a Brookings city park;
• Working with a local church to load solar ovens for shipment to Haiti;
• Serving meals at the Harvest Table, which provides a weekly, no-cost meal to people in need;
• Sandbagging at Lake Poinsett, an area lake which has had many homes damaged or threatened by flooding the past two years;
• Volunteering for the annual Willie Mac youth basketball tournament;
• Reading at local elementary schools
In addition, Steffen has participated in a number of other community service events as a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) at South Dakota State University, including: collecting and transporting items for food drive, organizing and setting up the annual Halloween Penny Carnival and helping with setup for a community pancake feed.
From the nominees submitted by sports information directors across the nation on behalf of their schools, a special voting panel consisting of former Good Works Team members and prominent college football media members will select two 11-player Good Works Teams - one comprised of players from the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision and another representing players from the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision, Divisions II, III and the NAIA. The 22 student-athletes named to the 2011 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team will be announced in late September.

COACH STIG: John Stiegelmeier John Stiegelmeier has built the South Dakota State University football team into a consistent winner and a program on the rise in the ranks of the Division I Football Championship Subdivision.
Overall, Coach Stig has led the Jackrabbits to an 89-66 record (.574 winning percentage). SDSU has posted eight winning seasons in the last nine years, including six of the school's first seven campaigns at the FCS (formerly Division I-AA) level. The Jackrabbits have had a winning record in 11 of Stiegelmeier's 14 years as head coach, including six with seven or more victories.

HOME-GROWN TALENT: SDSU has effectively used the services of home-grown talent the past few seasons.
In 2011, three Jackrabbit players hail from Brookings: junior wide receiver Dan Schmidt, sophomore offensive lineman Alex Parker and sophomore running back Mason Winterboer.
In all, 28 players on the roster hail from the state of South Dakota.

ACADEMIC SUCCESS: The South Dakota State University football team continued its longstanding success in the classroom with another banner year in 2010.
For the sixth consecutive year, the Jackrabbits led their league in all-academic selections. Eleven Jackrabbit players, including three first-team selections, were honored on the 2010 Missouri Valley Football Conference All-Academic Team, which was announced in late November.
Leading the way were ESPN Academic All-America selections Tyler Duffy and Kyle Minett.
Duffy, a senior running back from Brookings, compiled a perfect 4.0 grade-point average while majoring in electrical engineering. A second-team ESPN Academic All-America selection in 2010, Duffy ranked second on the team in rushing with 465 yards and scored five touchdowns.
Minett was named to the ESPN Academic All-America First Team for the third consecutive year this fall with a 3.67 GPA in economics. A first-team all-conference selction and candidate for the Walter Payton Award as the top offensive player in the Football Championship Subdivision, the senior from Ruthton, Minn., led the league in rushing yards per game (120.8) en route this his third consecutive 1,000-yard season (1,208 yards).
Rounding out SDSU's first-team academic selections at the conference level was senior linebacker Derek Domino. A native of Spring Lake Park, Minn., Domino has compiled a 3.31 GPA while majoring in park and recreation management. He led the Jackrabbits in tackles for the second consecutive season, tallying 103 stops in 2010 as he earned first-team all-conference recognition for the second time.
SDSU placed five players on the MVFC All-Academic Second Team, including Matt Hylland, Brad Iverson and Dean Priddy who were honorable mention selections in 2009.
Hylland, a senior from Sioux Falls, started at wide receiver to begin the season, tallying six catches for 53 yards. He has turned in a 3.92 GPA while majoring in economics.
A junior from Sioux Falls, Iverson has posted a perfect 4.0 GPA while majoring in biochemistry. Listed as a wide receiver, he saw most of his playing time on the Jackrabbits' special teams units in 2010.
Priddy handled the punting duties for four years while completing a degree in mathematics. A graduate student with a 3.68 GPA, Priddy also earned second-team all-MVFC honors after averaging 40.4 yards per attempt in 2010.
Offensive linemen Zach Buchner and Alex Olinger also earned second-team recognition. Buchner, a junior from Coon Rapids, Minn., who has a 3.71 GPA while pursuing a double major in pharmacy and chemistry, started all 11 games at right guard during the 2010 season. Olinger, a sophomore from Ames, Iowa, backed up at the guard positions. He holds a 3.98 GPA as he studies pre-pharmacy, biology and pre-medicine.
Honorable mention selections representing SDSU included Conrad Kjerstad, Tyrel Kool and Ryan McKnight.
In the spring, South Dakota State placed a league-high 59 players on the 2010-11 Missouri Valley Football Conference Honor Roll.
The Jackrabbits led in all categories of the recognition, placing seven of the 23 players league-wide to earn the highest academic achievement by capturing the Missouri Valley Football Conference Presidents Council Academic Award.
In addition, 23 Jackrabbit student-athletes received the Commissioner's Academic Excellence Award for posting a GPA of 3.2 or higher for the previous two semesters.
Selection to the MVFC Honor Roll is based on student-athletes recording a minimum 3.0 GPA during the fall semester, while completing at least 12 credit hours.
As a team, the Jackrabbit roster combined to post a 3.014 cumulative GPA during the 2010-11 academic year, putting SDSU in position to claim its third consecutive MVFC All-Academic Team Championship Trophy.

JACKRABBIT INSIDER: Throughout the 2011 football season, head coach John Stiegelmeier will be a guest on the "Jackrabbit Insider," a weekly behind-the-scenes look at South Dakota State University athletics.
The half-hour television show which features interviews with Jackrabbit coaches and student-athletes, airs Sundays at 10:30 p.m. on Sioux Falls-based KTTW FOX 7. The show is also broadcast on FOX Sports North at 5:30 p.m. Tuesdays and on FOX College Sports Central at 9:30 p.m. Tuesdays. Online, the show can be viewed at GoJacks.com.

A LOOK AHEAD: The Jackrabbits continue their three-game road swing next Saturday (Sept. 17) by traveling to San Luis Obispo, Calif., for a non-conference matchup at Cal Poly.
Kickoff is slated for 4 p.m. Pacific Time (6 p.m. Central) at Alex G. Spanos Stadium.
SDSU will return to the Land of Lincoln the following Saturday (Sept. 24) for the Missouri Valley Football Conference opener at Illinois State.

To read this week's entire preview, access the document at the top of the page.

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Recent Results

Players Mentioned

Vince Benedetto

Zach Buchner

Seth Daughters

Derek Domino

Tyler Duffy

Kyle Harris

Matt Hylland

Brad Iverson

Conrad Kjerstad

Dirk Kool

Tyrel Kool

T.J. Lally

Mike Lien

Ryan McKnight

Kyle Minett

Thomas O'Brien

Alex Olinger

Alex Parker

Dean Priddy

Dan Schmidt

Jack Sherlock

Jake Steffen

Mason Winterboer

Zach Zenner

Upcoming Event: Football versus Mercyhurst on September 27, 2025 at 2 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Football at Youngstown State on October 4, 2025 at 6 p.m. ET/5 p.m. CT

Upcoming Event: Football versus Northern Iowa on October 11, 2025 at 2 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Football at Murray State on October 18, 2025 at 6 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Football versus North Dakota State on October 25, 2025 at TBA

Upcoming Event: Football versus Indiana State on November 1, 2025 at 2 p.m.

Completed Event: Football versus Drake on September 13, 2025 , Win , 37, to, 21

Completed Event: Football at Montana State on September 6, 2025 , Win , 30, to, 24 , 2 OT

Completed Event: Football versus Sacramento State on August 30, 2025 , Win , 20, to, 3

Completed Event: Football at North Dakota State on December 21, 2024 , Loss , 21, to, 28

Completed Event: Football versus Incarnate Word on December 14, 2024 , Win , 55, to, 14

Completed Event: Football versus Montana on December 7, 2024 , Win , 35, to, 18

South Dakota State University Athletics