Jacks aim to win Marker in Fargo

Saturday, October 15

Fargo, N.D.

2:30 p.m.

South Dakota State University

North Dakota State

Photo by: Inertia Sports Media/Dave Eggen

10/11/2016 11:39:00 PM | Football

SDSU Football Notes, 10-11-16

Two of the three remaining undefeated teams in Missouri Valley Football Conference play square off Saturday afternoon as South Dakota State travels to North Dakota State in a matchup of nationally ranked teams.
Kickoff for the annual Dakota Marker Game is set for 2:30 p.m. at the Fargodome in Fargo, North Dakota.
SDSU enters the contest 3-2 overall and 2-0 in the MVFC following a 45-39 road win at Southern Illinois on Oct. 8. The Jackrabbits are ranked 11th in this week's STATS media poll and 14th in the FCS?coaches' poll.
The top-ranked Bison are 5-0 overall and 2-0 in league play after recording a 27-3 road win at Missouri State last week.

THE SERIES: Saturday's game will mark the 105th 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 59-40-5 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 eight meetings, starting with a 31-24 victory in Fargo in 2010. The Bison winning streak includes FCS playoff victories in both 2012 and 2014.

VERSUS RANKED OPPONENTS: Saturday's meeting with North Dakota State will mark the 31st time the Jackrabbits will face a ranked Missouri Valley Football Conference opponent since joining the league in 2008. In the 30 previous matchups with a ranked league foe, SDSU has compiled a 15-15 record and has at least one win over a ranked MVFC opponent in every season except for 2011. The Jackrabbits defeated then-eighth-ranked Western Illinois, 52-14, on Oct. 1, in their only meeting versus a ranked conference foe so far this season.
Since moving to the Football Championship Subdivision in 2004, the Jackrabbits have posted a 24-37 overall record against all ranked FCS opponents.

RABBITS RANKED: For the third time in four years, the South Dakota State University football team entered a season with a top-10 national ranking.
The Jackrabbits checked in at No. 8 in the preseason STATS FCS Poll. SDSU, which posted an 8-4 overall record in 2015 and made its fourth consecutive appearance in the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs, returns 15 starters. SDSU also was recognized in the FCS Coaches' Preseason Poll with a 14th-place showing.
The Jackrabbits moved up one spot in each of the nationally recognized FCS polls after their victory at Southern Illinois last week to 11th in both the STATS and HERO Sports media poll and 14th in the FCS coaches' rankings.

JACKS PICKED THIRD IN VALLEY: The South Dakota State University football team has been picked to finish third in the Missouri Valley Football Conference during the 2016 season, according to a preseason poll released on Aug. 2.
Five-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 37 of a possible 39 first-place votes and 388 total points.
Northern Iowa received the other two first-place votes to finish second in the preseason poll with 343 points.
Completing the upper half of the 10-team poll were South Dakota State, Illinois State and Youngstown State. North Dakota State, UNI, SDSU, Illinois State and Western Illinois all reached the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs last season.
Western Illinois checked in at a distant sixth spot in the preseason poll, followed by South Dakota and Southern Illinois. Indiana State and Missouri State filled out the poll.
In addition, five SDSU players were named to the MVFC Preseason Team. Leading the Jackrabbit contingent was junior wide receiver Jake Wieneke, who has been a two-time first-team all-league pick (2014, 2015). Wieneke set a single-season league record in 2015 with 1,472 receiving yards. He ended the year with 72 receptions and 11 touchdowns en route to earning All-America honors for the second year in a row.
Fellow 2015 first-team all-MVFC performer Dallas Goedert joined Wieneke on the preseason honor squad at the tight end spot. A junior from Britton, Goedert hauled in 26 receptions for 484 yards and three touchdowns last season to rank second on the team in all receiving categories.
Completing the Jackrabbit offense's preseason honorees was junior center Jacob Ohnesorge. The native of Waunakee, Wisconsin, has started all 26 games over the past two seasons and was a second-team all-MVFC selection a year ago.
On defense, senior defensive tackle Cole Langer received preseason accolades. The Dell Rapids native tallied 43 total tackles, including team bests of 10 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks to earn second-team all-league honors.
Rounding out the Jackrabbit preseason individual honorees was senior linebacker Jesse Bobbit, who was an honorable mention selection. Bobbit ranked second on the team last season with 97 tackles.

ELITE COMPANY: South Dakota State and North Dakota State are two of the five Football Championship Subdivision programs to reach the playoffs each of the last four seasons.
The three other programs to play in the postseason each year since 2012 include:
• Coastal Carolina (S.C.)
• Sam Houston State (Texas)
• New Hampshire

CAPTAINS: Leading the Jackrabbit football team on the field and in the locker room are six captains:
• Jesse Bobbit, Sr., linebacker, Palatine, Ill.;
• Shayne Gottlob, Sr., defensive tackle, Salem, S.D.;
• Zach Lujan, Sr., quarterback, Anchorage, Alaska;
• Nick Mears, Sr., safety, Milbank, S.D.;
• Brady Mengarelli, Jr., running back, Prescott, Ariz.;
• Jacob Ohnesorge, Jr., offensive lineman, Waunakee, Wis.
Lujan and Ohnesorge have each been selected as a team captain for the second season. Ohnesorge has started all 30 games at center over the past three seasons.

PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS: The Jackrabbits' top two receivers from a season ago, wide receiver Jake Wieneke and tight end Dallas Goedert, were both been recognized on preseason All-America teams leading into the 2016 season.
Jake Wieneke, a junior wide receiver from Maple Grove, Minnesota, earned first-team preseason accolades from both STATS and HERO Sports after a 2015 season in which he caught 72 passes for a Missouri Valley Football Conference-record 1,472 yards with 11 touchdowns. He also is being considered for FCS Offensive Player of the Year awards by both STATS and College Football Performance Awards on preseason watch lists.
Wieneke has been selected to All-America teams each of his first two seasons with the Jackrabbits, including first-team recognition from STATS and the Associated Press last year.
A junior tight end from Britton, Goedert was a second-team selection to the STATS?squad after earning all-MVFC honors in 2015. He ranked second on the squad with 26 receptions, 484 receiving yards and three touchdowns last season.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: The Jackrabbits have had four players honored by the Missouri Valley Football Conference over the past two weeks.
Earlier this week, sophomore quarterback Taryn Christion was selected as MVFC Offensive Player of the Week, while sophomore guard Sepestiano Pupungatoa earned MVFC Offensive Lineman of the Week accolades.
A?Sioux Falls native, Chistion completed 32-of-51 pass attempts in the game en route to a school-record 466 passing yards. He also set a Jackrabbit single-game record for total offense with 475 yards (466 passing, 9 rushing). Christion matched his career high with five touchdown passes and connected with eight different receivers on the night as he upped his season total for touchdown passes to 20 against only one interception.
Pupungatoa, a sophomore from River Falls, Wisconsin, graded out at 91 percent, recorded seven knockdown blocks and did not allow a sack or quarterback hurry in the Jackrabbits' 45-39 victory at Southern Illinois on Oct. 8. His performance helped allow SDSU to rack up 572 yards of total offense.
On Oct. 2, tight end Dallas Goedert earned Missouri Valley Football Conference Player of the Week honors and linebacker Christian Rozeboom was named Newcomer of the Week for their efforts in the Jackrabbits' 52-14 win over Western Illinois.

WIENEKE SETS TD?MARK: Junior wide receiver Jake Wieneke etched his name into the Jackrabbit record book Sept. 17 as he became the school's career leader in touchdown receptions with 35. Wieneke caught three touchdown passes in the game against Cal Poly, breaking a tie with Jeff Tiefenthaler (32 touchdown receptions from 1983-86). He added two more touchdown catches Oct. 8 at Southern Illinois to up his career total to 37.
Wieneke currently leads all Football Championship Subdivision receivers with 10 touchdown receptions, including back-to-back three-score performances against Drake and Cal Poly. He has now tallied 11 multi-touchdown games in 31 career contests, including four three-touchdown games.

ONE FOR THE RECORD BOOKS: Junior tight end Dallas Goedert tied a 67-year-old single-game school record with his four touchdown receptions Oct. 1 against Western Illinois. Don Bartlett had held the record all by himself since catching four touchdown passes against North Dakota State in 1949.
Goedert has caught at least one touchdown pass in all five games this season and has a streak of six consecutive games with a TD reception dating back to a 2015 FCS playoff game at Montana. He ranks second in the FCS with eight touchdown receptions so far this season and added his first career rushing touchdown in the Oct. 8 win at Southern Illinois.

CHRISTION'S STRING ENDS: South Dakota State quarterback Taryn Christion had his streak of consecutive passes thrown without an interception end on his final attempt of the Jackrabbits' game against Cal Poly on Sept. 17. Christion did not throw an interception in his first 90 attempts of the 2016 season and had his streak grow to 133 attempts dating back to the 2015 campaign.
The longest streak on record for consecutive attempts without an interception by a Jackrabbit quarterback is 155 by Brad Nelson between the 2003 (last 143 passes) and 2004 (first 12 passes) seasons.

MORE ON CHRISTION: Only seven times in program history has a Jackrabbit quarterback thrown for five or more touchdowns in a game, and Taryn Christion has done it in back-to-back games. Christion accomplished the feat against Western Illinois and Southern Illinois to start league play, putting him on pace to shatter the school record for touchdown passes in a season.
Todd McDonald was the first SDSU quarterback to throw five touchdowns in a game, in 1993. Ryan Berry and Austin Sumner each turned in a pair of games with five or more touchdowns, with Berry setting school and league records with a seven-TD performance against Illinois State in 2008. Berry also holds the single-season school record with 30 touchdown passes in 2008 — SDSU's first season in the Missouri Valley Football Conference.
In addition, Christion's passing efficiency rating of 184.1 ranks second in the Football Championship Subdivision this season.

TWO HIT CENTURY MARK — THREE TIMES: Two South Dakota State receivers went over the 100-yard mark for the first time in the same in nearly two seasons when Jake Wieneke and Dallas Goedert accomplished the feat Sept. 17 against Cal Poly.
Wieneke tallied nine catches for 114 yards and three touchdowns, while Goedert added five receptions for a 101 yards and a score.
The tandem struck again in the Jackrabbits' next two games. On Oct. 1 versus Western Illinois, Goedert recorded career highs of eight catches for 204 yards and four touchdowns, while Wieneke contributed receptions for 102 yards. Goedert's 204 receiving yards were the sixth-highest single-game total in program history.
In the Jackrabbits' Oct. 8 game at Southern Illinois, Goedert hauled in 12 receptions for 108 yards and a touchdown, tying him for third place for most catches in a game in school history. Wieneke tallied six catches for 164 yards and a pair of scores.
Prior to this season, he last time SDSU had two receivers tally 100-plus yards in the same game was against Western Illinois on Nov. 15, 2014, when Wieneke(10-159, 3 TD) and Jason Schneider (7-114, 2 TD) did the honors.

SACK?ATTACK: The South Dakota State defense rose to the occasion on Southern Illinois' final drive last week, posting sacks on the Salukis' final two plays to secure a 45-39 road victory.
The Jackrabbits finished the game with a season-high six sacks — all of which were recorded by defensive linemen. Defensive tackles Kellen Soulek and Blake Whitsell were each credited with two sacks, while Cole Langer and Jared Blum each notched one.

TURNOVER MARGIN: Since the start of the 2015 season, South Dakota State has been one of the top teams in the Football Championship Subdivision when it comes to hanging on to the football. The Jackrabbits ranked second in the FCS with only 11 turnovers last season (9 interceptions, 2 fumbles) and is tied for the fewest in the subdivision so far in 2016 with two turnovers (1 interception, 1 fumble).
Conversely, SDSU forced 16 turnovers last season (10 interceptions and 6 fumbles) and has nine takeaways (8 interceptions, 1 fumble recovery) so far this season.

MANY HAPPY RETURNS: South Dakota State scored in all three phases of the game in its 56-28 victory over Drake on Sept. 10. The Jackrabbit defense posted a touchdown late in the third quarter as defensive end Jared Blum intercepted a screen pass at the Drake 3-yard line and scored.
In the fourth quarter, reserve linebacker Cody Hazelett blocked a punt, which Jake Harms picked up at the Drake 2-yard line and ran in for a touchdown. It was the first time SDSU scored on a blocked punt in any game since 2009, and in a home game for the first time since 1993.
The Jackrabbits' three interceptions marked their most in a game since picking off three passes in a 31-28 win at Northern Iowa on Oct. 18, 2014.

PICK-SIX TIMES THREE: South Dakota State defenders have returned three interceptions for touchdowns through the first four games of the 2016 season. Two of those pick-six returns came in a 52-14 victory over Western Illinois on Oct. 1, marking the first time the Jackrabbits returned two interceptions for scores in the same game since a Nov. 10, 2007, contest against Southern Utah. Both of the interception returns this past week came in the third quarter — 37 yards by Christian Rozeboom and 19 yards by Dallas Brown.
The Jackrabbits' seven interceptions as a team so far this season have come from seven different players.

FAMILY TRADITION: Redshirt freshman kicker Chase Vinatieri turned in an impressive collegiate debut against TCU on Sept. 3 to lead the Jackrabbits' special teams unit.
The nephew of former Jackrabbit and current Indianapolis Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri, Chase Vinatieri connected on field goals of 25 and 37 yards, and made all five of his extra-point tries, for 11 points.
For the season, Chase Vinatieri has made 5-of-7 field goal tries and all 30 extra-point attempts to rank third on the team with 45 points.
During his career at SDSU from 1991-94, Adam Vinatieri made a then-school-record 27 field goals and was an NCAA Division II All-American as a punter his senior season.

OFF TO THE RACES: Sophomore running back Isaac Wallace scored on an 87-yard touchdown run in the second quarter of the Jackrabbits' Sept. 3 season opener at TCU.
It marked the first time since Nov. 8, 2014, when Jake Wieneke scored on a 91-yard pass and Zach Zenner posted a 94-yard touchdown run that the Jackrabbits had a scoring play from scrimmage longer than 80 yards.

JACKRABBIT BLOODLINES: Senior 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 Seth Lansman, whose parents are both former SDSU student-athletes. 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 are brothers Mason and Tristan Leiseth, whose father, David, lettered in football for SDSU from 1989-91 and also was a three-time All-American in the shot put.
Two other sets of brothers are on the 2016 Jackrabbit roster: Jake and Clark Wieneke, along with Jacob and Jordan Brown.
Three other 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.
Finally, freshman kicker Chase Vinatieri is the nephew of former Jackrabbit and current Indianapolis Colts standout kicker Adam Vinatieri.

WORKING OVERTIME: South Dakota State ended the 2015 regular season on a sour note as the Jackrabbits dropped a 30-24, double-overtime decision at Western Illinois. It marked the Jackrabbits' first overtime loss in a Missouri Valley Football Conference game after previously winning double-overtime decisions at Missouri State in 2011 and versus Northern Iowa in 2013.
Overall, SDSU?is 3-5 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)
2015: Western Illinois 30, SDSU 24 (2 OT — at Macomb, Ill.)

ACADEMIC?HONORS: For the eighth season in a row, South Dakota State claimed the Missouri Valley Football Conference Team Academic Award, compiling a 3.084 team grade-point average during the 2015 season. The Jackrabbits have received the award every year they have been a member of the MVFC.
Also during the 2015 season, three Jackrabbit football student-athletes were named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America Team. Nick Mears was a first-team selection, while Shayne Gottlob and Jake Wieneke were second-team honorees.
The Jacks were presented the Team Academic Award by MVFC Commissioner Patty Viverito during the Sept. 17 game against Cal Poly.

FAREWELL TO COUGHLIN: The 2015 campaign marked the 54th — and final — season of Jackrabbit football at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium. Since opening on Sept. 22, 1962, SDSU compiled a 181-108 record (.626 winning percentage) on its home field.
Since moving to the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision in 2004, the Jackrabbits posted a 50-16 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 in the fall of 2014, 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.
Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium, which has a seating capacity of 19,340 replaces Coughlin-Alumni Stadium, which served as the home of Jackrabbit football since 1962. The new stadium was built in phases on the current Coughlin-Alumni Stadium site, with completion scheduled in time for the Sept. 10 season opener against Drake.
The first phase of the stadium project, which included new seating on the east side and south end zone, along with installation of the largest scoreboard in the Football Championship Subdivision, was completed in September 2015.
The $65 million project was approved by the South Dakota Legislature in March 2014 and signed into law by Gov. Dennis Daugaard. The new west tower includes premium seating — club seats, loge boxes and suites — as well as a spacious press box and other amenities.
The stadium is being funded through private gifts and long-term revenue streams, including concessions and suite, loge box and ticket sales. Bonds are being secured to finance nearly half of the project's construction, with the remaining amount coming from private support.

JACKRABBIT INSIDER: Throughout the 2016 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 2016 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 return home Oct. 22 to face nationally ranked Youngstown State on Hobo Day. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium.

-GoJacks.com-