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South Dakota State University Athletics
Jackrabbits kick off 2015 season at Kansas
9/1/2015 8:18:00 PM | Football
For the second time in four seasons, the South Dakota State University football team will kick off its season with a road matchup at Kansas.
Kickoff is slated for 11 a.m. Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Lawrence, Kansas. The game is scheduled to be televised on varioius Fox Sports Net stations, including Fox Sports North.
The Jackrabbits enter the 2015 season after posting their third consecutive nine-win campaign in 2014. SDSU finished with a 9-5 overall record, including a 5-3 mark in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. The Jackrabbits made their third straight trip to the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs in 2014, falling to eventual champion North Dakota State, 27-24, in second-round action.
Kansas, under the direction of first-year head coach David Beaty, will attempt to improve upon a 3-9 overall record in 2014, including 1-8 mark in the Big 12 Conference. The Jayhawks return only six starters from a season ago.
THE SERIES: Saturday's game will mark the third matchup on the gridiron between South Dakota State and Kansas. The Jayhawks have won both previous matchups.
The series dates back to Oct. 11, 1947, when Kansas handed the Jackrabbits one of their worst-ever losses, an 86-6 drubbing in Lawrence.
Kansas scored three touchdowns in each of the first three quarters and tacked on four more touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Eleven different players reached the end zone for the Jayhawks, with Tom Scott and Forrest Griffith each scoring twice.
The Jackrabbits' lone touchdown came on a 25-yard pass from Dud Melichar to Beverly Craig to cap an 83-yard scoring drive.
The 1947 season was the first on the sidelines for Jackrabbit head coach Ralph Ginn, who would go on to become SDSU's all-time wins leader with a 113-89-9 record over 22 seasons (since passed by current head coach John Stiegelmeier). Ginn would lead the Jackrabbits to nine North Central Conference titles — the first of which came in 1949.
The 2012 matchup, which marked the Kansas coaching debut of Charlie Weis, ended in a 31-17 Jayhawk victory.
FOR OPENERS: During the John Stiegelemeier era, the Jackrabbits have compiled an 11-7 record in season openers. SDSU won its first seven season-opening games under Coach Stig when competing at the NCAA Division II level, but has gone 4-7 in season openers since moving to the Division I Football Championship Subdivision in 2004.
Saturday's game at Kansas will mark the fourth time overall and second year in a row that South Dakota State has opened the season against an FBS opponent.
PLAYING UP: Saturday's opener will mark the eighth consecutive season South Dakota State will have played a Football Bowl Subdivision opponent. The Jackrabbits are in search of their first win over an FBS foe since moving to the Divison I Football Championship Subdivision in 2004.
Other previous FBS matchups include:
2008: Iowa State 44, SDSU 17 (season opener at Ames, Iowa)
2009: Minnesota 16, SDSU 13 (at Minneapolis)
2010: Nebraska 17, SDSU 3 (at Lincoln, Neb.)
2011: Illinois 56, SDSU 3 (at Champaign, Ill.)
2012: Kansas 31, South Dakota State 17 (season opener at Lawrence, Kan.)
2013: Nebraska 59, South Dakota State 20 (at Lincoln, Neb.)
2014: Missouri 38, South Dakota State 18 (season opener at Columbia, Mo.)
VERSUS THE BIG 12: South Dakota State is in search of its first-ever victory over a current Big 12 Conference member. The Jackrabbits are a combined 0-7 against current Big 12 foes, with the last meeting the 2012 season opener at Kansas.
Following is a listing of previous games against Big 12 opponents — all of which were played on the road:
• 1947: Kansas 86, South Dakota State 6
• 1952: Iowa State 57, South Dakota State 19
• 1954: Iowa State 34, South Dakota State 6
• 1959: Kansas State 28, South Dakota State 12
• 1960: Kansas State 20, South Dakota State 6
• 2008: Iowa State 44, South Dakota State 17
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 is ranked in the Football Championship Subdivision preseason top 25 for the third consecutive season. The Jackrabbits appear in both major FCS polls, checking in at No. 15 in the coaches' poll, while ranking 16th in the STATS 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. SDSU been ranked in both FCS polls every week since Oct. 29, 2012.
JACKS PICKED FIFTH IN VALLEY: The South Dakota State University football team has been picked to finish fifth in the Missouri Valley Football Conference during the 2015 season, according to a preseason poll released on July 27.
Four-time defending national champion North Dakota State again was tabbed as the conference favorite in the poll, which was conducted among the league's coaches, sports information directors and select media representatives. The Bison earned 32 of a possible 40 first-place votes and 389 total points.
Last season's co-champion and national runner-up. Illinois State, received the other eight first-place votes and ranked second in the poll with 366 points. The Redbirds lost the FCS title game, 29-27, to NDSU last year, marking the only time in FCS history two teams from the same league played one another for the crown.
Completing the upper half of the 10-team poll were UNI, Youngstown State and SDSU.
A pre-season favorite has claimed the league crown 16 times (in 28 previous polls). North Dakota State was picked to win the league last season. Indiana State, which joined UNI and SDSU in the FCS playoffs last season to give the MVFC a record five selections, was tabbed sixth.
In addition, five Jackrabbit players were named to the MVFC Preseason Team. Leading the SDSU contingent was senior linebacker T.J. Lally, who has been a two-time second-team all-league selection (2012, 2014). Lally led the team with 117 tackles last season, including 9.5 tackles for loss.
Joining Lally on the defensive side was junior defensive tackle Cole Langer. A second-team all-MFVC honoree in 2014, Langer totaled 49 tackles and blocked two kicks.
Two Jackrabbit sophomores highlight the squad's offensive selections to the MVFC Preseason Team. Wide receiver Jake Wieneke was named conference Freshman of the Year and was a first-team all-MVFC selection after recording 73 receptions for 1,404 yards and a school-record 16 touchdowns.
Center Jacob Ohnesorge filled one of five spots on the offensive line. Ohnesorge started all 14 games in 2014 and was an honorable mention all-league selection.
Rounding out the Jackrabbits' selections was Je Ryan Butler as return specialist. A senior, Butler averaged 13.2 yards on punt returns and 18.1 yards in limited kick return duties in 2014.
LUJAN UNDER CENTER: South Dakota State will open the 2015 season with Zach Lujan as the starting quarterback, after 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 start, Oct. 25 against Youngstown State.
BUTLER NEARS PUNT RETURN MARKS: Jackrabbit punt returner Je Ryan Butler is poised to set a pair of school punt return records this season. A senior from Tempe, Arizona, Butler has totaled 617 career punt return yards and enters the 2015 season 182 yards away from breaking the school record of 798 set by Paul Aanonson from 2004-07. Butler's 49 career punt returns are 14 behind Aanonson's career mark of 63. 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 eight career interceptions.
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 season.
YOUTH MOVEMENT: As many as six true freshmen are listed on this week's depth chart and are poised to make their collegiate playing debuts on Saturday.
On the offensive side of the ball, wide receiver Alex Wilde, fullback Luke Sellers and guard Matt Clark are listed as backups. The Jackrabbit defensive two-deep includes defensive tackle Blake Whitsell and cornerback Shakial Taylor. On special teams, Brady Hale is expected to handle the punting duties.
Additionally, eight redshirt freshmen are listed on the depth chart and could see their first true collegiate action this weekend.
JACKRABBIT BLOODLINES: Junior defensive tackle Cole Langer leads a group of South Dakota State football players with Jackrabbit bloodlines.
Langer, a native of Dell Rapids, South Dakota, is a third-generation Jackrabbit student-athlete. His grandfather, Jim Langer, is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame after a standout career with the Miami Dolphins and Minnesota Vikings. The starting center for the undefeated Dolphins team in 1972, Jim Langer earned all-conference honors in football at South Dakota State as a linebacker in 1969 and was an All-America selection in baseball as an outfielder that same year.
In addition, Cole Langer's father, Tracy, was an all-conference catcher in baseball for the Jackrabbits from 1989-92. Tracy's brothers, Craig and Russ, also played baseball at South Dakota State.
Several other Jackrabbits have extensive Jackrabbit bloodlines, including senior offensive lineman Taylor Bloom and junior offensive lineman Seth Lansman, both of whom have both parents as former SDSU student-athletes.
Bloom's father, Tom, lettered in football from 1987-90 and was a team captain during his senior season. His mother, Angie (Jensen), played softball at SDSU.
Lansman's father, Howard, lettered in football from 1984-85, while his mother, Tara (Tessier) was a standout women's basketball player from 1985-88. Tara Lansman was inducted into the Jackrabbit Sports Hall of Fame in the fall of 2014.
Another returning Jackrabbit with family ties to Jackrabbit Athletics is sophomore defensive end Mason Leiseth, whose father, David, lettered in football for SDSU from 1989-91 and also was a three-time All-American in the shot put.
Several members of the Jackrabbit freshman class also have family ties to South Dakota State Athletics. Quarterback Taryn Christion's mother, Heather, played volleyball at SDSU and fullback Turner Blasius' father, Justin, was an NCAA Division II national wrestling champion.
In addition, Sam Zenner and Clark Wieneke have had siblings compete for the Jackrabbits. Zenner's older brother, Zach, completed a standout career at SDSU in 2014 and is now a member of the Detroit Lions. His older sister, Abby, is a school-record holder in the 50-yard freestyle for the Jackrabbit women's swimming and diving team.
Clark Wieneke's older brother, Jake, set numerous school and conference freshman receiving records in 2014.
Finally, freshman kicker Chase Vinatieri is the nephew of former Jackrabbit and current Indianapolis Colts standout kicker Adam Vinatieri.
EIDSNESS PROMOTED: Longtime assistant Eric Eidsness has been promoted to associate head coach, South Dakota State University head football coach John Stiegelmeier has announced.
"I am excited that Coach Eidsness will be taking on an expanded role within our coaching staff,” Stiegelmeier said. “Coach Eidsness has been with the Jackrabbits for a total of 13 years and not only knows Jackrabbit football, but he also knows South Dakota State Unviersity. With the addition to his title comes administrative duties that help our program move in the correct direction."
Eidsness, who will continue to serve as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, has been an assistant under Stiegelmeier on three different occasions. His first stint was as a graduate assistant during the 1996 and 1997 seasons, coaching the team's receivers. After a season at Ferris State (Mich.), he returned to SDSU as offensive coordinator in 1999 and directed the team's offense to an average of 27.6 points per game over five seasons.
A Sioux Falls native, Eidsness left SDSU after the 2003 season to become head coach at Southwest Minnesota State University, where he compiled a 26-40 overall record. His 2008 squad posted a 6-5 record for only the eighth winning season in program history.
Eidsness rejoined the Jackrabbit coaching staff in 2010 as quarterbacks coach and was elevated to offensive coordinator following the 2011 season. The Jackrabbits have posted prolific numbers in both the running and passing games en route to three consecutive playoff berths (2012-14), including tallying school-record totals of 3,612 passing yards and 6,092 yards of total offense over a 14-game schedule last season.
ACADEMIC HONORS: 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.
Also during the 2014 season, six Jackrabbit football student-athletes, highlighted by repeat selections Jason Schneider and Zach Zenner, were named to the Capital One Academic All-District 6 Team. The Jackrabbits recorded the most selections among all University Division members across seven districts.
Zenner went on to earn Academic All-America Team Member of the Year honors for Division I football and was joined on the first team by Schneider and offensive lineman Nick Purcell.
Three other Jackrabbits — Cole Langer, Nick Mears and Ethan Sawyer — were honored on the academic all-district team for the first time in 2014.
FAREWELL TO COUGHLIN: The 2015 campaign marks the 54th — and final — season of Jackrabbit football at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium. Since opening on Sept. 22, 1962, SDSU has compiled a 179-105 record (.630 winning percentage) on its home field.
Since moving to the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision in 2004, the Jackrabbits have posted a 46-14 mark at CAS.
NEW FACILITIES: The South Dakota State University football program is expected to benefit greatly from the addition of two new facilities.
The Sanford-Jackrabbit Athletic Complex, which opened last fall, serves as the indoor practice facility for the Jackrabbit football team and a number of other Jackrabbit squads. The complex, which features 100 yards of soy-based AstroTurf, also houses a 300-meter competition indoor track and expanded areas for strength and conditioning, sports medicine and coaches' offices.
In October 2013, SDSU officials announced lead gifts totaling $12.5 million from Sioux Falls banker Dana Dykhouse and philanthropist T. Denny Sanford toward the construction of a new football stadium. The announcement was made in conjunction with the 100th Hobo Day game at SDSU.
The Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium, which will have a seating capacity of more than 19,000, will replace Coughlin-Alumni Stadium, which has served as the home of Jackrabbit football since 1962. The new stadium is being built on the current Coughlin-Alumni Stadium site, with completion scheduled for the summer of 2016. The first phase of the stadium project, which includes new seating on the east side and south end zone, along with installation of the largest scoreboard in the Football Championship Subdivision, is slated to be completed in time for the 2015 home opener against Southern Utah on Sept. 12.
The estimated $65 million project was approved by the South Dakota Legislature this past winter and signed into law by Gov. Dennis Daugaard. Construction of a new west grandstand that will include premium seating — club seats, loge boxes and suites — will be finished in 2016.
Plans call for the stadium to be funded through private gifts and long-term revenue streams, including concessions and suite, loge box and ticket sales. Bonds are being secured to finance up to two-thirds of the project's construction, with the remaining third coming from private support.
WORKING OVERTIME: SDSU's 37-34 double-overtime victory over Northern Iowa on Oct. 26, 2013, upped the Jackrabbits' record in overtime games to 2-0 against Missouri Valley Football Conference opponents. SDSU also defeated Missouri State in a double-overtime game, 43-36, in 2011.
Overall, SDSU is 3-4 in games decided in overtime since the format was adopted in the mid-1990s. The Jackrabbits won their inaugural overtime game, 30-27 in two overtimes against Nebraska-Omaha in the 1998 Hobo Day game.
Following is a complete list of SDSU's overtime games:
1998: SDSU 30, Nebraska-Omaha 27 (2 OT — at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium)
2002: Augustana 39, SDSU 33 (3 OT — at Sioux Falls)
2004: Southern Utah 23, SDSU 17 (2 OT — at Cedar City, Utah)
2007: Western Illinois 29, SDSU 26 (4 OT — at Macomb, Ill.)
2008: McNeese State 46, SDSU 44 (3 OT — at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium)
2011: SDSU 43, Missouri State 36 (2 OT — at Springfield, Mo.)
2013: SDSU 37, Northern Iowa 34 (2 OT — at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium)
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 each Monday throughout the 2015 football season.
The show is scheduled to air at 6 p.m. 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.
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 are scheduled to open their six-game home schedule Sept. 12 by hosting Southern Utah in the second annual Dairy Drive game. Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m. at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium.
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