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South Dakota State University Athletics
Jacks travel to in-state rival USD
11/11/2015 3:42:00 PM | Football
BROOKINGS, S.D. — State bragging rights will be up for grabs Saturday afternoon, when the fifth-ranked South Dakota State University football team travels to Vermillion to take on the University of South Dakota.
Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at the DakotaDome. The game is scheduled to be televised live by Midco Sports Net.
The Jackrabbits enter the in-state rivalry game with a 7-2 overall record and 4-2 mark in the Missouri Valley Football Conference following a 25-20 home victory over then-No. 2 Illinois State on Nov. 7.
USD, meanwhile, also has playoff aspirations as it enters Saturday's contest 5-4 overall and 3-3 in league play. The Coyotes knocked off Southern Illinois, 34-31, last Saturday at the DakotaDome.
THE SERIES: Saturday's game marks the 108th meeting between South Dakota and South Dakota State in a series that dates back to a 6-6 tie in 1889. On the strength of winning the last six meetings, SDSU holds a 51-50-6 series advantage.
The two squads regularly met twice a season during the 1980s and early 1990s. The Jackrabbits have won 17 of the 20 meetings since the start of the 1990 campaign. SDSU and USD did not meet between 2004 and 2011 as the state's two largest universities staggered their entry into Division I athletics.
In last season's meeting, Nov. 22, 2014, at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium, the Jackrabbits scored on their first five possessions en route to a 37-14 victory in the regular season finale for both teams.
All-America running back Zach Zenner scored a pair of touchdowns, finding the end zone from 10 yards out on the opening drive and rambling in from 50 yards on a pass from Austin Sumner midway through the second quarter to give SDSU a 31-0 lead heading into halftime.
Sumner ended the day 16-of-28 passing for 395 yards and three touchdowns as the Jackrabbits secured their third consecutive berth in the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs. Jake Wieneke led the Jackrabbit receiving corps with six catches for 177 yards and a touchdown, and Jason Schneider added four receptions for 85 yards and a score.
Defensively, Je Ryan Butler intercepted one pass and broke up two others to lead a Jackrabbit unit that broke up nine passes on the afternoon.
SHOWDOWN SERIES: Saturday's game also is part of the South Dakota Showdown Series, presented by South Dakota Corn, which is an all-sports competition between SDSU and USD.
The South Dakota Showdown Series tracks head-to-head match-ups and conference championship results in 17 sports with each school accumulating points toward the overall series championship. The Series also recognizes outstanding academic achievement by the schools' student-athletes and aims to raise awareness, funds and donations for Feeding South Dakota, a statewide not-for-profit with the goal of eliminating hunger in South Dakota.
The first competition of the South Dakota Showdown series was held during the 2012-13 academic year. South Dakota State won the first two Showdown Series, with USD claiming its first title during the 2014-15 academic year. SDSU holds a 3-2 edge so far during the 2015-16 season, with two points awarded to the winner of Saturday's football game.
The South Dakota Showdown series is managed by Jackrabbit Sports Properties and Coyote Sports Properties, the multimedia rights holders for SDSU Athletics and USD Athletics, respectively. Both are properties of Learfield Sports, which manages multimedia rights for nearly 120 collegiate properties.
CAPTAINS: Leading the Jackrabbit football team on the field and in the locker room are six captains:
• Jimmie Forsythe, Sr., defensive back, Omaha, Neb.
• Cam Jones, Sr., tight end, Eagan, Minn.;
• T.J. Lally, Sr., linebacker, Chicago, Ill.;
• Zach Lujan, Jr., quarterback, Anchorage, Alaska;
• Jacob Ohnesorge, So., offensive lineman, Waunakee, Wis.;
• J.R. Plote, Sr., defensive end, Phoenix, Ariz.
Lally has been selected as a team captain for the second year in a row.
ELITE COMPANY: South Dakota State is one of only six Football Championship Subdivision programs to reach the playoffs each of the last three seasons.
The five other programs to play in the postseason each year since 2012 include:
• North Dakota State
• Eastern Washington
• Coastal Carolina (S.C.)
• Sam Houston State (Texas)
• New Hampshire
RABBITS RANKED: The South Dakota State University football team vaulted into the top 10 of both major Football Championships Subdivision polls following its season-opening Sept. 5 at Kansas. The Jackrabbits have climbed to as high as fifth in both the STATS media poll (twice) and the FCS coaches' rankings this season, marking the highest SDSU has been ranked since joining the FCS ranks in 2004.
SDSU has been ranked in both FCS polls every week since Oct. 29, 2012.
DEFENSE NEVER RESTS: The South Dakota State defense is in the midst of its most stingy stretch in terms of points allowed in more than 50 years. The Jackrabbits have allowed only 131 points so far this season — an average of 14.6 points per game — and rank fifth among FCS squads for scoring defense.
Since the end of World War II, the fewest average points per game a South Dakota State defense allowed in a season was 7.0 during the 1962 campaign. That Jackrabbit squad shut out three opponents en route to a 7-2-1 record and a share of the North Central Conference title.
TURNOVERS TELL THE STORY: South Dakota State enters the week second in the Football Championship Subdivision for fewest turnovers lost with only five this season. The Jackrabbits have not turned the ball over in seven of their nine games, with the five turnovers all on interceptions — two against Robert Morris (Pa.) on Sept. 26 and three versus Illinois State on Nov. 7. SDSU is the only FCS team not to lose a fumble so far during the 2015 season.
The Jackrabbits rank 15th in turnover margin at plus-.78 per game and plus-7 for the season. SDSU has forced 12 turnovers (7 interceptions, 5 fumbles). The Jackrabbits have scored 52 points (7 touchdowns, 1 field goal) off its opponents' 12 turnovers and allowed only 10 points off its own turnovers.
LALLY NEAR THE TOP IN TACKLES: Senior linebacker T.J. Lally currently ranks fourth among active Football Championship Subdivision players in career tackles.
A native of Chicago, Lally has tallied 377 career stops, putting him behind Drake (Iowa) linebacker John Hugunin with 394 tackles, followed by Donald Payne of Stetston (Fla.) with 390 and Donelle Williams of Presbyterian (S.C.) with 381 stops.
Lally, who has started all 50 games of his Jackrabbit career, has finished either first or second on the team in tackles each of his first three seasons and has posted a pair of 100-tackle campaigns.
Lally registered 107 tackles during his redshirt freshman season in 2012 to rank second on the team, and added a team-best 117 tackles during the 2014 season.
Lally's 377 tackles are the most by a Jackrabbit in the Division I era and third most in program history, trailing Greg Osmundson (1986-89) with 435 and J.D. Alexander (1971-74) with 393.
BOBBIT LEADING DEFENSE: Linebacker Jesse Bobbit leads the Jackrabbit defense with 74 tackles this season on the strength of four double-digit performances. A junior from Palatine, Illinois, Bobbit recorded 10 tackles in the Sept. 5 season-opening win at Kansas. He later tallied double figures in tackles in back-to-back weeks, notching 11 in a win over Robert Morris (Pa.) and tying a career high with 13 tackles Oct. 3 against North Dakota State. He also forced a fumble against the Bison.
Bobbit ranked third on the team with 90 tackles in 2014 and has started 23 games in a row.
BUTLER SETS PUNT RETURN MARK: Jackrabbit punt returner Je Ryan Butler has set one career punt return record and is poised to set another SDSU career standard this season. A senior from Tempe, Arizona, Butler has totaled 71 career punt returns, surpassing the previous mark of 63 set by Paul Aanonson from 2004-07.
In addition, Butler has totaled 699 career punt return yards and enters Saturday's game against South Dakota 100 yards away from breaking Aanonson record of 798 yards.
A preseason all-MVFC pick as a return specialist, Butler averaged 13.2 yards on 28 punt returns a season ago. He took over the Jackrabbits' punt return duties midway through the 2013 season.
Butler, who also is a starting cornerback, leads active Jackrabbit players with nine career interceptions, adding to his total Oct. 17 at Youngstown State. His nine pickoffs rank in a tie for 12th among active FCS players.
LUJAN UNDER CENTER: Junior quarterback Zach Lujan became the fastest Jackrabbit to throw for 1,000 yards in a season, reaching the mark in the third game of the 2015 season.
A native of Anchorage, Alaska, Lujan named Missouri Valley Football Conference Offensive Player of the Week after throwing for a career-high 395 yards in a 34-10 home victory over Robert Morris (Pa.) on Sept. 26. Lujan's yardage total tied for the second most in a game in program history and upped his season yardage total to 1,002 yards in only three games. He sat out games against Indiana State (Oct. 10) and Youngstown State (Oct. 17) before returning to the starting lineup Oct. 24 against Northern Iowa, although he played only two offensive series.
Lujan began the season by completing 17-of-33 passes for 293 yards and tied a career high with three touchdown passes in a Sept. 5 win at Kansas. Two of Lujan's completions came on fourth-down attempts, including a 23-yard strike to tight end Dallas Goedert on fourth-and-5 from the KU 29 that set up SDSU's final touchdown with 6:18 to play in the game. His other fourth-down completion came in the third quarter, extending a drive that led to a field goal.
Lujan threw two more touchdown passes — both to Jake Wieneke — in a 55-10 home win over Southern Utah the following week. He ended the night 19-of-27 passing for 314 yards, marking his third career 300-yard game.
The junior signal-caller played a key role in the Jackrabbits reaching the FCS playoffs a season ago. Lujan stepped in for an injured Austin Sumner and led the Jackrabbits to a 5-2 record as the starter. He took over early in the 2014 season opener at Missouri after career passing leader Austin Sumner was injured, leading SDSU on two scoring drives. He held lead a touchdown drive to open the second half and pull SDSU to within 21-18. A native of Anchorage, Alaska, who played the 2013 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 led the team with 1,943 passing yards and completed 61 percent (147-of-241) of his pass attempts. 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 2014 start, Oct. 25 against Youngstown State.
WIENEKE ADDED TO WATCH LIST: South Dakota State University wide receiver Jake Wieneke has been added to the official watch list for the STATS FCS Offensive Player of the Year award.
A sophomore from Maple Grove, Minnesota, Wieneke ranks among the FCS leaders with 51 receptions for 1,046 yards and 10 touchdowns through ninegames. He caught two touchdown passes in each of the Jackrabbits' first three games, which included an 11-reception, 205-yard performance against Southern Utah on Sept. 12. Wieneke became the first SDSU player in 19 seasons to top 200 receiving yards in a game.
Wieneke was a finalist for the Jerry Rice Award as the FCS' top freshman during the 2014 season, ending the year with 73 receptions for 1,404 yards and a school-record 16 touchdowns. He also earned All-America honors from The Associated Press and Sports Network.
Currently, 25 players appear on the STATS FCS Offensive Player of the Year Watch List. The list will be revised periodically throughout the remainder of the 2015 season, with voting for the award taking place at the end of the regular season.
Only 23 games into his collegiate career, Wieneke is radiply moving up the Jackrabbit career receiving charts. He enters Saturday's game with 124 career receptions for 2,450 yards — a total that stands sixth among active FCS players. His average of 106.5 receiving yards per game for his career ranks second among active FCS players.
Wieneke has caught 26 touchdown passes for his career, including two in four games this season, to move into a tie with JaRon Harris (2055-08) for second place on the SDSU charts. Wieneke has caught a touchdown pass in 17 of 23 career games, including 11 of 14 games against Missouri Valley Football Conference opponents.
TIGHT ENDS CATCHING ON: After combining for 16 catches all of last season, South Dakota State tight ends have tallied 38 receptions so far this season for an average of 15.5 yards per catch.
Sophomore Dallas Goedert and senior Cam Jones are each tied for second on the team with 19 catches. Goedert ranks second on the squad with 325 receiving yards, averaging 17.1 yards per catch with two touchdowns, including the team's longest scoring play of the season at 77 yards in the Sept. 12 win over Southern Utah. Jones has tallied 263 receiving yards for an average of 13.8 yards per catch.
CHRISTION ON NATIONAL RADAR: South Dakota State quarterback Taryn Christion is one of 20 players under consideration for College Football Performance Awards Freshman Performer of the Year.
A true freshman from Sioux Falls, Christion has started two games and played in a total of five games for the Jackrabbits since having his redshirt pulled in the Oct. 10 game against Indiana State. Christion helped lead the nationally ranked Jackrabbits to back-to-back wins over ranked opponents, earning Missouri Valley Football Conference Newcomer of the Week honors both weeks.
Christion also was named STATS National Freshman of the Week for his performance in his collegiate debut. He accounted for 320 yards of total offense in SDSU's 24-7 home victory over Indiana State, then improved to 2-0 as the Jackrabbits's starting quarterback by throwing for 122 yards and a touchdown, and gaining 75 yards on the ground — with a 70-yard touchdown run — the next week at Youngstown State.
Christion came off the bench to spark the Jackrabbits' 25-20 victory over second-ranked Illinois State on Nov. 7, accounting for 372 yards of total offense. He completed 15-of-30 passes for a career-high 307 yards and two touchdowns, and also ran nine times for 65 yards and a score.
For the season, Christion has completed 62.6 percent (62-of-99) of his passes for 903 yards and six touchdowns. He also is second on the team with 281 rushing yards, averaging 4.6 yards per carry.
YOUTH MOVEMENT: Four other true freshmen made their collegiate playing debuts in the Jackrabbits' 41-38 win at Kansas on Sept. 5.
On the offensive side of the ball, guard Matt Clark played most of the fourth quarter and helped lead SDSU on a decisive scoring drive. Defensive tackle Blake Whitsell and cornerback Shakial Taylor also saw playing time in the victory. On special teams, Brady Hale handled the punting duties, averaging 41.6 yards on five attempts, including a 56-yarder on his first collegiate punt.
Two more true freshmen made their initial appearances in a Jackrabbit uniform during the Sept. 12 matchup with Southern Utah. Fullback Luke Sellers and wide receiver Alex Wilde saw action but did not factor into any statistics.
THREE-HEADED MONSTER: Kyle Paris became the third different Jackrabbit running back to rush for 100 yards in a game this season, when he tallied a career-high 128 yards on 27 carries in South Dakota State's 38-8 victory at Youngstown State on Oct. 17. Paris joined Isaac Wallace (118 yards Sept. 5 at Kansas) and Brady Mengarelli (143 yards Sept. 12 against Southern Utah and 129 yards on 14 carries at Missouri State on Oct. 31) in the 2015 Jackrabbit 100-yard club.
ACADEMIC HONORS: Three South Dakota State University football players, led by repeat selection Nick Mears, were named Nov. 5 to the CoSIDA Academic All-District 6 Team.
A junior safety from Milbank, Mears was named to the squad for the second year in a row after compiling a perfect 4.0 grade-point average while majoring in economics. A two-year starter, Mears has totaled 34 tackles, a forced fumble and three pass breakups in six games this season.
Joining Mears on the academic honor team were junior defensive tackle Shayne Gottlob and sophomore wide receiver Jake Wieneke.
A Salem native, Gottlob has accumulated a 3.96 GPA as an economics major. On the field, he has played in all eight games, including two starts, and has registered 20 tackles so far this season.
Wieneke, a record-breaking wide receiver from Maple Grove, Minnesota, was selected with a 3.67 GPA as a physical education/teacher education major. An All-America honoree as a freshman, Wieneke again ranks among the leaders in the Football Championship Subdivision this season with 47 receptions for 942 yards and eight touchdowns. For his career, he already ranks in a tie for third in program history with 24 career touchdown receptions and fourth with 2,346 career receiving yards.
All three Jackrabbit student-athletes will advance to the national ballot for Academic All-America consideration later this month. Selections to the Academic All-District 6 Team were based upon a vote of sports information directors in Arkansas, Iowa, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Candidates must be at least a sophomore in athletic and academic standing, a starter or key reserve on his team and carry at least a 3.3 GPA. Team members are selected by position with a total of 24 players named to the honor squad.
For the seventh season in a row, South Dakota State claimed the Missouri Valley Football Conference Team Academic Award, compiling a 2.99 team grade-point average during the 2014 season. The Jackrabbits have received the award every year they have been a member of the MVFC.
FAREWELL TO COUGHLIN: The South Dakota State football program closed a chapter on its long history by playing its last game at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium on Nov. 7, a 25-20 victory over second-ranked Illinois State.
The home of Jackrabbit football for 54 seasons, SDSU hosted 289 games against 65 different opponents at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium, with SDSU holding a 181-108 record (.626 winning percentage) on its home field. The stadium opened Sept. 22, 1962, when the Jackrabbits dropped a 9-7 decision to Arkansas State.
Since moving to the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision in 2004, the Jackrabbits posted a 50-16 mark (.758 win percentage) at CAS, including a 22-10 record at home against Missouri Valley Football Conference opponents.
The largest crowd ever to see a football game of any kind in South Dakota came through the turnstiles earlier this season, on Oct. 3, 2015, when 17,348 fans watched as the Jackrabbits hosted top-ranked North Dakota State in a battle between two teams ranked in the FCS top 10.
SDSU played its first game under the lights at CAS on Sept. 1, 2001, defeating Ferris State (Mich.), 34-24. The Jackrabbits compiled a 30-10 record in night games at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium.
The stadium project was started after Charles Coughlin, a 1909 graduate and former student-athlete, donated $50,000 towards the building of a new stadium to replace State Field. The remaining $250,000 of the original $300,000 cost was raised from alumni, students and friends of SDSU.
JACKRABBIT INSIDER: Throughout the 2015 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 on demand at GoJacks.com.
STIG SHOW: The John Stiegelmeier Radio Show airs weekly throughout the 2015 football season.
Next week, the show is scheduled to air at 6 p.m. Tuesday on the Jackrabbit Sports Network, originating with WNAX 570 AM in Yankton. In addition, the weekly show also will be streamed online free of charge at GoJacks.com. The show is scheduled to return to its regular broadcast time of 6 p.m. Monday on Nov. 23.
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 Jackrabbits close out the regular season and Missouri Valley Football Conference play next Saturday (Nov. 21) at Western Illinois.
Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at Hanson Field on the WIU campus in Macomb, Ill.
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