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South Dakota State University Athletics
Jackrabbits ready for rematch with Bison
12/3/2014 11:12:00 AM | Football
For the second time in three seasons, South Dakota State and North Dakota State will meet in the second round of the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.The two squads also will square off for the second time this season.
Kickoff is slated for 2:30 p.m. Saturday at the Fargodome in Fargo, N.D. The game is scheduled to be televised on ESPN3.com and via pay-per-view through ESPN GamePlan.
SDSU enters Saturday's contest with a 9-4 overall record following a 47-40 first-round victory at Montana State on Nov. 29. The Jackrabbits were ranked 13th by the FCS Coaches and 14th in the final Sports Network media poll of the season.
NDSU is the No. 2 national seed and received a first-round bye after posting an 11-1 regular season record. The Bison, who have won the last three FCS national titles, were ranked second in the Sports Network poll and third by the FCS Coaches in the final regular season rankings.
The winner of Saturday's game will advance to face either No. 7 seed Coastal Carolina (11-1) or Richmond (Va.) (9-4) at a site to be determined on Dec. 12 or 13.
JACKRABBIT STORYLINES: South Dakota State is making its third consecutive appearance in the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs and fourth in six years. The Jackrabbits are 3-3 in FCS playoff games, winning first-round games in 2012, 2013 and 2014.
• South Dakota State has reached the nine-win mark for the third consecutive season and is in search of its first 10-win season in program history. The Jackrabbits have now won nine games in a season seven times, including 1928, 1950, 1963 and 1979.
• Zach Zenner enters Saturday's game within reach of a pair of Football Championship Subdivision milestones. With 1,886 yards so far this season, Zenner needs 114 yards to become the first running back in FCS history to post three consecutive 2,000-yard seasons. In addition, Zenner has tallied 6,415 career rushing yards, which ranks third in FCS history, and stands 144 yards away from the FCS career record of 6,559 yards set by Georgia Southern's Adrian Peterson from 1998-2001.
• Senior quarterback Austin Sumner has returned to form after being injured in the season opener at Missouri and missing the next seven games. In five games since his return to the starting lineup on Nov. 1 against North Dakota State, Sumner has completed 91-of-156 passes (58.3 percent) for 1,495 yards and 14 touchdowns against only three interceptions.
• The Jackrabbit offense has topped the 500-yard mark in each of its games during its current four-game winning streak, while averaging 43.8 points per game.
THE SERIES: Saturday's game will mark the 103rd matchup on the gridiron between South Dakota State and North Dakota State, a series that dates back to an 85-0 Bison win in Fargo in 1903. NDSU leads the overall series by a 57-40-5 count.
The two schools were both charter members of the North Central Conference, meeting every year from 1919 through 1942 until play was interrupted by World War II. The series resumed in 1946 and the two squads have met every year since as the schools made the move to Division I competition together in 2004.
North Dakota State has won the last six meetings, starting with a 31-24 victory in Fargo in 2010. The Bison winning streak includes a 28-3 triumph in the 2012 Football Championship Subdivision playoffs and a 37-17 victory Nov. 1 at the Fargodome.
PLAYOFF HISTORY: South Dakota State is making its third consecutive appearance in the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs and fourth in six years.
Overall in FCS playoff games, the Jackrabbits hold a 3-3 record after winning three consecutive first-round matchups from 2012 through 2014. SDSU has received an at-large bid in all four of its playoff appearances, starting in 2009.
Following are the Jackrabbits' FCS playoff results:
2009: Montana 61, South Dakota State 48 (Nov. 28, 2009, at Missoula, Mont.)
2012: South Dakota State 58, Eastern Illinois 10 (Nov. 24, 2012, at Brookings, S.D.)
2012: North Dakota State 28, South Dakota State 3 (Dec. 1, 2012, at Fargo, N.D.)
2013: South Dakota State 26, Northern Arizona 7 (Nov. 30, 2013, at Flagstaff, Ariz.)
2013: Eastern Washington 41, South Dakota State 17 (Dec. 7, 2013, at Cheney, Wash.)
2014: South Dakota State 47, Montana State 40 (Nov. 29, 2014, at Bozeman, Mont.)
In addition, South Dakota State qualified for the NCAA Division II playoffs in 1979, falling 50-7 at Youngstown State in opening-round action.
CAPTAINS: Leading the Jackrabbit football team on the field and in the locker room are five captains:
• T.J. Lally, Jr., linebacker, Chicago, Ill.;
• Jason Schneider, Sr., wide receiver, Andover, Minn.;
• Jack Sherlock, Sr., defensive back, Chicago, Ill.;
• Austin Sumner, Sr., quarterback, Brandon, S.D.;
• Zach Zenner, Sr., running back, Eagan, Minn.
Sumner has been selected as a team captain for the third season and Zenner is in his second year as a captain.
RABBITS RANKED: The South Dakota State University football team moved up in both major Football Championship Subdivision polls this week following its victory over in-state rival South Dakota on Nov. 22. The Jackrabbits rose two spots to 13th in FCS Coaches' poll and gained two spots to 14th in the Sports Network media poll.
The Jackrabbits entered the 2014 campaign with their second-consecutive preseason top-10 national ranking as an FCS member. SDSU was ranked 10th in both the Sports Network FCS coaches preseason polls and rose to as high as ninth before an Oct. 4 loss at Illinois State. SDSU been ranked in both polls every week since Oct. 29, 2012.
VERSUS RANKED OPPONENTS: South Dakota State will be facing a ranked FCS opponent for the seventh time this season, when it travels to North Dakota State on Saturday.
The Jackrabbits are 3-3 against ranked foes so far this season, with five of the games played on the road.
Playing a ranked opponent is nothing new for the Jackrabbit football team, which has taken on some of the nation's elite Football Championship Subdivision programs since moving up from Division I at the start of the 2004 season. In its 11 seasons at the FCS level, SDSU has played 53 games against ranked FCS opponents, going 20-33.
STEADY SYROVATKA: Senior Justin Syrovatka is on track to finish his career as the most accurate kicker in the history of Jackrabbit football.
A second-team all-Missouri Valley Football Conference selection this season, Syrovatka has a career field goal percentage of 76.1 percent (54-of-71) that currently stands as the best in program history, while his 98.7 percent mark on PATs (151-of-153) also tops the all-time SDSU charts.
In addition, Syrovatka's 54 career field goals are second among active Football Championship Subdivision kickers. He also ranks second in career field goals at SDSU, trailing Parker Douglass, who made 62 field goals from 2004-07. Syrovatka has made a field goal in all 13 games this season and 15 games in a row dating back to the 2013 FCS playoffs. He has missed only one kick all season, going 18-of-19 on field goals and 47-of-47 on extra points. He has made 63 consecutive PATs — three shy of the school record of 66 set by Douglass from 2005-07.
Syrovatka holds the Jackrabbit record for consecutive field goals made with 15 — a feat he has now accomplished twice in his career. His first streak covered his last 12 field goal attempts of the 2012 season and first three attempts of the 2013 campaign. His second streak is an active streak as he has made his last 15 attempts during the 2014 season following a miss from 31 yards in his first try in a Sept. 20 game against Wisconsin-Oshkosh. Included in Syrovatka's current streak is a 44-yard field goal with 1 minute, 47 seconds to play in the game at Northern Iowa on Oct. 18 that provided the winning margin in a 31-28 Jackrabbit victory.
Syrovatka's 101 points this season are the most by a Jackrabbit kicker, surpassing the 99 points scored by Douglass in 2005. With 313 career points, Syrovatka stands eight points away from matching Douglass' school record of 321 points by a kicker.
LUJAN FILLS IN: Sophomore Zach Lujan stepped in for an injured Austin Sumner and led the Jackrabbits on two scoring drives in the Aug. 30 season opener at Missouri, including a touchdown drive to open the second half and pull SDSU to within 21-18. A native of Anchorage, Alaska, who played last season at Chabot College (Calif.), Lujan completed 21-of-28 passes for 239 yards with one interception at Mizzou.
A member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference All-Newcomer Team, Lujan started seven games for the Jackrabbits, helping lead the team to five victories. In his first career start, Sept. 6 against Cal Poly, Lujan finished the night 12-of-20 passing for 236 yards and three touchdowns.
Lujan went on to establish a new season-high in yards in three of four Missouri Valley Football Conference games, including a 329-yard performance on 28-of-42 passing with two touchdowns in his last start, Oct. 25 against Youngstown State.
WIENEKE A RICE FINALIST: Jackrabbit wide receiver Jake Wieneke was recently named as the Missouri Valley Football Conference Freshman of the Year and also recently named a finalist for the Jerry Rice Award, which is presented to the top freshman in the Football Championship Subdivision.
A redshirt freshman from Maple Grove, Minnesota, Wieneke has recorded seven 100-yard receiving games so far this season. He opened his collegiate career by catching six passes for 107 yards, including a 45-yarder in the third quarter, in the Jackrabbits' season opener at nationally ranked Missouri. Wieneke became the first Jackrabbit freshman in the Division I era to top the 100-yard receiving mark in a game, and the first since current receivers coach Josh Davis accomplished the feat three times during the 2002 season.
Wieneke is the third Jackrabbit in the four seasons the Jerry Rice Award has been presented to be under consideration for the award, joining Austin Sumner (2011) and T.J. Lally (2012).
ZENNER FOR PAYTON: South Dakota State University running back Zach Zenner is one of 25 players under consideration for the Walter Payton Award, which is presented annually to the top player in the Football Championship Subdivision by The Sports Network.
A 6-foot, 220-pound senior, Zenner is the only three-time finalist in the pool of players being considered for this year's award. A native of Eagan, Minnesota, Zenner placed seventh in the balloting in 2012 and sixth in 2013. The Walter Payton Award is to be presented for the 28th time on Dec. 15. The award is selected by a panel of more than 150 sports information directors, broadcasters, writers and other dignitaries.
During the 2013 season, Zenner became only the second player in FCS history to rush for 2,000 yards in two separate seasons, gaining 2,015 yards and scoring 25 touchdows — 23 rushing, two receiving — as the Jackrabbits made a return trip to the postseason. He burst onto the FCS scene in 2012 by leading the nation in rushing with 2,044 yards — an average of 157.2 yards per game.
In addition, Zenner moved into a pair of Football Championship Subdivision career top 20s during South Dakota State's victory over Wisconsin-Oshkosh on Sept. 20. The active career leader among all current NCAA football players in both categories, Zenner has since moved into third place for FCS career rushing with 6,415 yards and also upped his career all-purpose yardage total to 8,075 yards to also rank third all-time. Both of his yardage totals are Missouri Valley Football Conference records, as are his 67 career total touchdowns (59 rushing, 8 receiving) and 59 career rushing touchdowns. Current Northern Iowa running back David Johnson is right behind with 63 career touchdowns (48 rushing, 14 receiving, 1 kickoff return).
Zenner has crossed the 100-yard mark 31 times in the team's 40 games over the past two-plus seasons, including eight performances of 200-plus yards. He currently leads FCS backs with 1,886 total rushing yards this season and ranks third with an average of 145.1 yards per game.
For updates throughout the 2014 season, follow via Twitter by using the hashtag #ZennerForPayton.
MORE AWARDS FOR ZENNER: Jackrabbit running back Zach Zenner has added to his list of accolades this by being named to the 2014 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team, as well as a finalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy.
A senior from Eagan, Minnesota, Zenner was presented his Allstate AFCA Good Works award during an event Sept. 23 at Hillcrest Elementary School in Brookings. Zenner has served a key role in numerous community service events as president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, including Summit League Food Fight (yearly competition among league schools for donations to local food pantry), Project Joy (holiday toy drive) and campus cleanup. He also has worked the past three years with the State-a-Thon event to raise money for the Children's Miracle Network and has devoted countless hours to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, including coaching children on fundamental football skills, leading devotionals at FCA Power Camp and speaking to area youth groups at other FCA events.
This past winter, Zenner served as a student-athlete ambassador, testifying before state House and Senate Appropriations committees as the state Legislature debated passage of a bill to authorize construction of a new on-campus football stadium.
Zenner's lengthy community service résumé extends beyond the campus and local community as he was one of 25 SDSU student-athletes who traveled to Harmons, Jamaica, in March 2014 on a mission trip to help build two homes and interact with members of the village through the Won by One organization.
Zenner is the second Jackrabbit student-athlete in as many years to be named to the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team, joining 2013 honoree Winston Wright.
On Oct. 30, Zenner was one of 17 student-athletes named to the 2014 National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete Team, also becoming a finalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy award to the top scholar-athlete in college football.
Each member of the 2014 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship and will be honored during ceremonies Dec. 9 at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York City. The winner of the Campbell Trophy will receive a $7,000 increase in postgraduate funds for a total of $25,000. Zenner was one of 17 finalists selected from a pool of 169 semifinalists.
Nominated by their schools, which are limited to one nominee each, candidates must be a senior or graduate student in their final year of eligibility, have a grade point average of at least 3.2 on a 4.0 scale, have outstanding football ability as a first-team player and have demonstrated strong leadership and citizenship. The class is selected each year by the NFF Awards Committee, which is comprised of a nationally recognized group of media, College Football Hall of Famers and athletics administrators.
Zenner has earned All-America accolades for his efforts both on the field and in the classroom during a record-setting career at South Dakota State. One of only two players in Football Championship Subdivision history to rush for 2,000 yards in two separate seasons, Zenner was a consensus All-American in both 2012 and 2013 and is a two-time finalist for the Walter Payton Award. He has again topped the 1,000-yard mark during the 2014 season in adding to his Missouri Valley Football Conference records for career rushing and all-purpose yards.
A biology/pre-medicine major, Zenner has compiled a 3.86 grade-point average. He was selected to the Capital One Academic All-America Second Team in 2012, before receiving first-team honors in 2013. He plans to attend medical school after graduation.
Zenner is the second Jackrabbit student-athlete to be honored as a National Scholar-Athlete, joining Ryan Berry in 2008.
OFF TO THE RACES — AGAIN: Jackrabbit running back Zach Zenner scored on a 75-yard touchdown run on his first carry of the season, Aug. 30 at Missouri. It marked the third season in a row that Zenner scored on one of his first two carries of the season. In 2012, he scored on a school-record 99-yard run on his second carry at Kansas, followed by a 36-yard run on his second attempt in the 2013 season opener versus Butler.
Zenner has 14 career touchdown runs of at least 50 yards, including four in the last four weeks. He recorded a 94-yard touchdown run Nov. 8 at Indiana State, followed by a 67-yard touchdown burst Nov. 15 versus Western Illinois. Zenner added scoring runs of 60 and 69 yards in the first-round playoff victory at Montana State on Nov. 29.
LALLY RACKING UP THE TACKLES: Junior linebacker T.J. Lally has solidified his hold on the team lead in tackles in recent weeks and has reached the century mark for tackles in a season for the second time in his career.
A native of the Chicago area, Lally has totaled 51 tackles over the last five games to up his team lead to 103. His 20 tackles at North Dakota State on Nov. 1 were the most in a single game by a Jackrabbit player in the Division I era, which dates back to 2004.
Lally followed that performance with a team-high 10 tackles in a Nov. 8 win at Indiana State. It was the 10th time Lally has recorded double digits in tackles during his Jackrabbit career.
Lally recorded 107 tackles during his redshirt freshman season in 2012.
GREGER STREAK ENDS: Right tackle Trevor Greger had his consecutive games started streak end at 33 when he sat out the Sept. 20 game against Wisconsin-Oshkosh due to injury.
A senior from Wagner, Greger started the final three games of the 2011 season at right tackle, and extended his streak by starting all 13 games of the 2012 season and all 14 contests in 2013. His streak reached 33 as he drew a starting assignment in the Jackrabbits' first three games of the 2014 campaign.
Greger, who was tabbed as a 2014 preseason all-Missouri Valley Football Conference selection, returned to the lineup Oct. 4 at Illinois State and has now started 42 of the Jackrabbits' last 43 games.
YOUTH MOVEMENT: Three true freshmen have been impact performers on the defensive side of the ball this season for the Jackrabbits.
The Jackrabbit secondary has been bolstered by the addition of cornerback Trey Carr. The Omaha native leads the team with nine pass breakups and ranks second with two interceptions. He also has contributed on special teams, posting a team-best 26-yard average on eight kickoff returns.
At linebacker, J.T. Hassell made his first career start at linebacker Nov. 1 at North Dakota State after playing in a reserve role the first eight games of the season. The Titusville, Florida, native recorded his first career interception in the game at NDSU, along with notching a career-best eight tackles. He has 35 stops on the season, including his first career sack and forced fumble Nov. 8 at Indiana State.
Defensive end Chase Kern made his collegiate debut in the Oct. 4 conference opener at Illinois State and has posted a pair of sacks and eight total tackles over the last seven games. The Sioux City, Iowa, product's first sack came in his home debut Oct. 11 against Missouri State.
CLOCK MANAGEMENT: The Jackrabbit offense has displayed a ball-control attack this season that has led to the unit ranking 16th among FCS squads for time of possession with an average of 32 minutes per game.
SDSU held an edge in time of possession 11 times in 13 games, including each of first eight games of the 2014 season. The Jackrabbits have turned in six games with at least an eight-minute advantage. The biggest disparity came in the Sept. 13 matchup at Southern Utah, where the Jackrabbits held the ball 13 minutes and 42 seconds (36:42 to 23:18) longer than SUU.
The second-largest disparity came Oct. 18 at Northern Iowa, where SDSU held the ball for 36:14, compared to 23:46 by UNI. The Jackrabbits put together three touchdown drives of at least 10 plays and five minutes.
COACH STIG HONORED: South Dakota State University head football coach John Stiegelmeier received the 2014 Ralph Ginn Award for Coaching Excellence in conjunction with Jackrabbit Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremonies on Oct. 11.
Stiegelmeier, who is in his 18th season as Jackrabbit head coach, has compiled a 120-85 career record, passing Ginn atop the SDSU career victories chart earlier this season. Stiegelmeier, who marked his 200th game as head coach on Oct. 25, has led SDSU to a winning record in 14 of 18 seasons, including nine of 11 at the Division I level.
The Selby native was named North Central Conference Coach of the Year in 1999 and Great West Football Conference Coach of the Year in 2007 after leading SDSU to its first conference title at the Division I level and their first league championship in 44 years.
Prior to becoming head coach, Stiegelmeier served as an assistant coach for the Jackrabbit football team from 1988-96. He joined Wayne Haensel's coaching staff as secondary coach and recruiting coordinator before being elevated to defensive coordinator under new head coach Mike Daly in 1991. In six seasons as defensive coordinator, Stiegelmeier helped guide the Jackrabbits to a 41-23 overall record. SDSU turned in a winning record all six seasons, including five seven-win campaigns. That track record of success helped Stiegelmeier secure his first collegiate head coaching position in December 1996, when he was named Daly's successor.
A 1979 graduate of South Dakota State with degrees in mathematics and physical education, Stiegelmeier served as a student assistant for the Jackrabbit team that made its lone appearance in the NCAA Division II playoffs. He furthered his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Northern Iowa before coaching at the prep level at Eau Claire (Wis.) North High School from 1981-84. He returned to collegiate coaching as defensive coordinator, secondary coach and recruiting coordinator at Northern State from 1984-87 and later served a stint at the University of Wisconsin while working on his doctorate.
The Ralph Ginn Award for Coaching Excellence was first awarded in 1972. Ginn coached Jackrabbit football teams to a 113-89-9 record and won nine North Central Conference titles in 22 seasons from 1947-68.
JACKRABBIT INSIDER: Throughout the 2014 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 p.m. on Sioux Falls-based MyUTV. The show is also broadcast on KELO-TV at 11 p.m. Central Sunday and at 10 p.m. Mountain Time Sunday on KDLO-TV. Online, the show can be viewed at GoJacks.com.
STIG SHOW: The John Stiegelmeier Radio Show airs each Monday throughout the 2014 football season.
The show is scheduled to air at 6 p.m. on the Jackrabbit Sports Network, originating with flagship station WNAX 570 AM in Yankton. In addition, the weekly show also will be streamed online at GoJacks.com as part of the Jackrabbit Extra package.
Hosted by Tyler Merriam, the John Stiegelmeier Radio Show will also feature interviews with Jackrabbit student-athletes and assistant coaches. Jackrabbit fans are encouraged to attend the show in person at Cubby's Sports Bar and Grill, 307 Main Ave., in downtown Brookings.
A LOOK AHEAD: The winner of Saturday's game between SDSU and North Dakota State will advance to face either No. 7 seed Coastal Carolina (S.C.) or Richmond (Va.) in FCS quarterfinal playoff action either Dec. 12 or 13 at a site to be determined.
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