Jacks, Coyotes close out regular season

Saturday, November 17

Brookings, S.D.

2 p.m.

South Dakota State University

South Dakota

Tickets

Photo by: Dave Eggen/Inertia

11/14/2018 11:32:00 AM | Football

GAME 10: South Dakota (4-6, 3-4 MVFC) at #5/5 South Dakota State (7-2, 5-2 MVFC)

When	Saturday, Nov. 17 \| 2 p.m.	South Dakota Showdown Series
Where	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium \| Brookings, S.D.
TV	Midco Sports Network \| Jackrabbits All-Access (subscription) \| ESPN+ (subscription)
Radio	J ackrabbits All-Access (free audio) \| Jackrabbit Sports Network
Live Stats	GoJacksLive.com
Game Notes	SDSU \| South Dakota \| Missouri Valley Football Conference \| South Dakota Scouting Report
Social Media	Twitter \| Facebook \| #LastPlay

The South Dakota State University football team will attempt to add one more post to its potential playoff résumé Saturday as it closes out the 2018 regular season by hosting in-state rival South Dakota.

Kickoff for the South Dakota Showdown series contest is slated for 2 p.m. at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium.

The Jackrabbits enter the matchup alone in second place in the Missouri Valley Football Conference standings with a 5-2 league mark and 7-2 overall. SDSU extended its winning streak to three games with a 57-38 victory Nov. 10 at Southern Illinois, marking the second game in a row the Jackrabbits topped the 50-point mark.

South Dakota, meanwhile, comes into its season finale with a 4-6 overall record and 3-4 mark in league play. The Coyotes ended a four-game losing streak with a 17-12 home victory over Western Illinois last week.

Saturday's game will mark the final home regular season game for 13 Jackrabbit seniors. Over the past four seasons, SDSU has compiled a 36-13 record. The Jackrabbits have gone 24-7 in league play, winning a share of the MVFC title in 2016. The 2017 squad set a school record with 11 victories and reached the FCS semifinals for the first time in program history.

THE SERIES: According to SDSU records, today's game will mark the 111th meeting on the gridiron between SDSU and South Dakota, with the Jackrabbits holding a 53-50-7 series advantage on the strength of winning each of the last nine matchups. The series dates back to 1889, when the two squads played to a 6-6 tie.

The current SDSU winning streak began with a 20-3 Jackrabbit victory in Vermillion during the 2001 season. After SDSU made the jump to Division I following the 2003 season, the series was dormant until 2012, when the Coyotes landed in the Missouri Valley Football Conference as part of their own D-I pursuits.

Each of the last three meetings have been decided by one touchdown or less, including a 31-28 Jackrabbit victory at the DakotaDome in last season's regular season finale, Nov. 18, 2017. Both teams went on to earn at-large playoff berths — for USD?it was the first postseason bid in football at the Division I level.

In last season's contest, Taryn Christion threw for three touchdowns — two of which covered 11 and 69 yards to Jake Wieneke. Christion's third scoring toss, a 17-yarder to Cade Johnson, with under five minutes to play sealed the SDSU win.

SECOND-HALF SURGES: SDSU has a long history of peaking in the second half of the league season since joining the Missouri Valley Football Conference in 2008. With their 59-7 victory Nov. 3 against Missouri State, the Jackrabbits have compiled a 34-9 record in the second half of the league schedule over the past 11 seasons, running the table with four wins in both 2013 and 2017 en route to Football Championship Subdivision playoff berths.

SDSU has posted a 3-1 record in the second half seven other times, with its worst showing a 2-2 mark in 2010.

ELITE COMPANY: South Dakota State is one of only four Football Championship Subdivision programs to reach the playoffs each of the last six seasons.

The three other programs to play in the postseason each year since 2012 are New Hampshire, North Dakota State and Sam Houston State. New Hampshire (4-6) and Sam Houston State (5-5) are in danger of not making the postseason field this season.

RABBITS RANKED: South Dakota State entered the 2018 season with its highest-ever rankings in a Football Championship Subdivision poll, checking in at No. 3 in both the STATS FCS media poll and AFCA FCS Coaches' Poll. It marked the fifth time in six years the Jackrabbits entered a season with a top-10 national ranking in the Football Championship Subdivision, surpassing their No. 4 ranking in the 2017 STATS FCS Preseason Poll.

Defending national champion North Dakota State continues to hold the top spot in both national polls. The Jackrabbits attained their highest-ever ranking in a Football Championship Subdivision poll by climbing to second in the STATS FCS media rankings prior to being defeated at Northern Iowa on Oct. 20.

Up one spot to fifth in both major polls this week, SDSU has now appeared in the top 25 of 90 consecutive media polls dating back to October 2012.

CAPTAINS: Leading the Jackrabbit football team on the field and in the locker room are four captains:

Jordan Brown, Sr., cornerback, Scottsdale, Arizona;
Taryn Christion, Sr., quarterback, Sioux Falls;
Dalton Cox, Sr., linebacker, Aberdeen, and
Chrstian Rozeboom, Jr., linebacker, Sioux Center, Iowa.

Christion and Rozeboom are each in their second seasons as captains.

BIG-PLAY JACKS: Each of South Dakota State's first five touchdowns against Missouri State on Nov. 3 covered at least 32 yards. That trend continued the next week as SDSU scored four times on plays of 42-plus yards. Of the Jackrabbits' 54 touchdowns scored this season, 22 have been on plays of 30 or more yards.

Redshirt freshman running back Pierre Strong, Jr. has paced the big-play Jackrabbit offense the last two weeks with five touchdown runs — all of which have covered a minimum of 24 yards. Strong scored on runs of 55 and 54 yards versus Missouri State to become the first SDSU player with two 50-plus-yard touchdowns in the same game since Zach Zenner tallied three (TD runs of 69 and 60 yards and a 60-yard TD reception) in a 2014 FCS playoff game at Montana State.

I'LL SECOND THAT: South Dakota State has scored at least 20 points in the second quarter of each of its contests during its current three-game winning streak. The Jackrabbits have outscored the opposition by a combined 72-21 in the second quarter of those games, starting with a 21-0 advantage at Illinois State on Oct. 27, followed by a 31-7 outburst against Missouri State on Nov. 3. SDSU also scored 20 points in the second quarter at Southern Illinois last week.

For the season, SDSU holds a 131-49 scoring advantage in the second quarter.

PUSH 'EM BACK: SDSU matched a season high with 11 tackles for loss Nov. 3 against Missouri State, while setting team highs with four sacks and four interceptions. The Jackrabbits' 11 TFLs resulted in 51 lost yards in holding MSU to 30 net yards rushing on 31 attempts, marking the second week in a row and third time this season SDSU held an opponent to less than 100 yards on the ground.

STIG COACHES 250TH GAME: Jackrabbit mentor John Stiegelmeier marked his 250th game as head coach with a 36-7 victory over Youngstown State on Oct. 13. In 22 seasons, Stiegelmeier has led the Jackrabbits to a 155-99 career record (.610 winning percentage), including a 60-27 mark in MVFC contests.

REWRITING THE RECORD BOOK: With its 90-point outburst Sept. 15 against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, South Dakota State broke a 96-year-old scoring record. The previous mark of 85 points was set against Columbus College in 1922.

The Jackrabbits also set new team standards for total offense (926 yards), passing yards (557) and passing touchdowns (8). Individually, Chase Vinatieri set a school record by kicking 11 extra points.

FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING: Six different Jackrabbits scored their first collegiate touchdowns in the Sept. 15 rout of Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

Freshman tight end Blake Kunz opened the scoring with an 8-yard touchdown reception on SDSU's first drive of the game, while Adam Anderson followed with a 31-yard touchdown reception later in the first quarter for his first collegiate score.

In the second half, running backs Pierre Strong Jr. (66 yards) and C.J. Wilson (37 yards) found paydirt on screen passes, with Blair Mulholland (14-yard run) and Michael Wandmaker (76-yard reception) closing out the scoring.

WALLACE SIDELINED: South Dakota State's leading rusher, Isaac Wallace, suffered a season-ending injury in the Oct. 13 contest against Youngstown State.

A senior from Omaha, Wallace was enjoying his best season in a Jackrabbit uniform, highlighted by three touchdowns on runs of 50-plus yards.

Prior to his injury, Wallace ranked second among Football Championship Subdivision players with an average of 9.39 yards per carry, gaining 413 yards on only 44 carries.

His first three touchdowns this season covered 58, 79 and 61 yards, while his fourth rushing touchdown of the season was a 2-yard run in overtime that lifted the Jacks to a 54-51 victory over Indiana State on Oct. 6.

1,000-YARD CLUB: Sophomore wide receiver Cade Johnson became the latest Jackrabbit to reach the 1,000-yard mark for receiving in a season, hitting the milestone with a career-high 198 yards on seven catches Nov. 10 at Southern Illinois. Johnson enters the regular season finale with 1,014 yards on only 49 receptions – an average of 20.7 yards per catch.

Johnson's 198 yards at SIU marked the seventh most in a game by a Jackrabbit receiver.

SDSU has had a 1,000-yard receiver each of the last six seasons, starting with Jason Schneider in 2013. Jake Wieneke tallied three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons from 2014-16, with Dallas Goedert recording back-to-back seasons of 1,000-plus yards in 2016 and 2017.

Johnson and Adam Anderson have emerged as the top receiving tandem in the Missouri Valley Football Conference this season.

Each has recorded multiple 100-yard games this season, with Johnson leading the league with an average of 112.7 receiving yards per game and 13 touchdowns. He topped the century mark for the fourth week in a row and sixth time this season Nov. 10 at Southern Illinois, scoring touchdowns of 56 and 42 yards.

Anderson, a junior who ranks fifth in the league with an average of 71.9 yards per game, hauled in a career-high eight catches in the Sept. 29 game at North Dakota State and recorded his first career multi-touchdown performance with two scoring catches Oct. 6 versus Indiana State. He added two more touchdown receptions (12 and 19 yards) in the Nov. 3 win over Missouri State, bringing his season total to six.

JOHNSON TIES RECORD: South Dakota State wide receiver Cade Johnson became the latest Jackrabbit to tie the SDSU single-game record for touchdown receptions when he scored four times Sept. 8 against Montana State.

Don Bartlett originally set the record with four touchdown receptions against North Dakota State in 1949. That mark went unmatched for 67 years until Dallas Goedert caught four TDs against Western Illinois in 2016 and Jake Wieneke scored on four pass plays in the 2017 season opener against Duquesne.

NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK: South Dakota State University running back Pierre Strong, Jr. was honored Sunday as the Missouri Valley Football Conference Newcomer of the Week after leading the Jackrabbit rushing attack in a win at Southern Illinois a day earlier.

A redshirt freshman from Little Rock, Arkansas, Strong topped the century mark in rushing for the second game in a row, setting career highs with 188 yards (on 14 carries) and three touchdowns in the Jackrabbits' 57-39 victory. Strong gave SDSU the lead for good at 24-17 with a 72-yard touchdown run late in the second quarter, and added scoring runs of 43 and 24 yards in the second half. He now leads the team in rushing for the season with 524 yards and is averaging 10.5 yards per carry.

As a team, SDSU rushed for 315 yards and tallied 656 yards of total offense in extending its winning streak to three games.

BALANCED ATTACKS: South Dakota State totaled 500-plus yards of total offense for the fifth time this season, racking up 656 yards Nov. 10 against Missouri State.

In their Oct. 6 overtime victory over Indiana State, the Jackrabbits topped the 500-yard mark without a 100-yard rusher or receiver. Three running backs — Pierre Strong Jr., Isaac Wallace and Mikey Daniel — all ran for at least 70 yards, with Strong leading the way with 95 yards on only six carries.

The Jackrabbits' 20 receptions against Indiana State were spread among eight different players, with Kal Hart and Adam Anderson leading the receiving corps by each tallying four catches for 57 yards.

VALLEY PREVIEW: For the second year in a row, South Dakota State was picked to finish second in the Missouri Valley Football Conference race.

The Jackrabbits finished second behind defending league and Football Championship Subdivision champion North Dakota State, which garnered all 39 first-place votes from a panel that included head coaches, sports information and media. The Bison tallied 390 points, followed by SDSU with 340 and Northern Iowa with 270.

Youngstown State (258) and Illinois State (248) rounded the top half of the 10-team field.

In addition, the Jackrabbits were well-represented on the preseason all-MVFC team.

On offense, quarterback Taryn Christion and kicker Chase Vinatieri were selected to the first team.

A senior from Sioux Falls, Christion posted his second consecutive season with 4,000 yards of total offense in 2017, passing for 3,515 yards and gaining another 500 yards on the ground as SDSU reached the Football Championship Subdivision semifinals for the first time in program history. Christion accounted for 44 touchdowns by passing for a school-record 35 touchdowns and scoring nine more times on the ground.

Christion was named MVFC Offensive Player of the Year in 2016 and was a second-team all-MVFC honoree last season.

A junior from Sioux Falls and a fellow Roosevelt High School graduate, Vinatieri connected on 13-of-14 field-goal attempts and 58-of-62 point-after tries during the 2017 campaign. He added a rushing touchdown on a fake field goal to finish with 103 points.

Vinatieri was a member of the all-MVFC Second Team a year ago.

Sophomore Cade Johnson led the Jackrabbit contingent on the second team by being honored as both a wide receiver and return specialist. A native of Papillion, Nebraska, Johnson ranked third on the squad last season with 23 receptions, tallying 318 yards and three touchdowns. He also set an Jackrabbit single-season record for kickoff return yardage with 839 yards, averaging 28 yards on 30 attempts, and became the first SDSU player in more than 50 years to return two kickoffs for touchdowns in the same season.

Also honored on the preseason second team were junior fullback Luke Sellers and sophomore long snapper Bradey Sorenson.

BLOCK THAT KICK: The Jackrabbit special teams unit has gotten its hands on three punt attempts in the past two weeks, blocking two against Missouri State on Nov. 3 and adding one against Southern Illinois a week later. Don Gardner's punt block at SIU resulted in a touchdown as freshman backup wide receiver Jadon Janke, who was making his collegiate debut, scooped up the ball at the goal line.

Janke's touchdown was the first on a blocked punt by the Jackrabbits since the inaugural game at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium against Drake in 2016, when Cody Hazelett came up with the block and Jake Harms scored the touchdown. The last time SDSU turned the feat on the road was in a 2009 FCS playoff game at Montana.

Against Missouri State on Nov. 3, Seven Wilson deflected the Bears' first punt to set up the opening score of the game. In the fourth quarter, fellow sophomore linebacker Preston Tetzlaff blocked a punt that gave the Jackrabbits another short field that led to the final score of the game.

Sophomore linebacker Logan Backhaus provided a pivotal play in the Jackrabbits' Oct. 13 Hobo Day victory, blocking a Youngstown State field goal attempt in the first quarter that led directly to SDSU's first touchdown of the game.

The Jackrabbits currently rank 12th in the Football Championship Subdivision with five blocked kicks in total and sixth with three blocked punts. In 2017, SDSU ranked sixth with six blocked kicks.

LIMITED RETURNS: South Dakota State has excelled in other areas of special teams so far this season, entering the week ranked 12th among FCS programs in both kickoff return and punt return defense. The Jackrabbits have limited the opposition to averages of 16.45 yards on kickoff returns and 3.40 yards per punt return.

SDSU also ranks second in net punting with an average of 39.97 yards per attempt.

CHRISTION RECORD WATCH: Throughout the 2018 season, South Dakota State quarterback Taryn Christion has continually added to his list of school and conference records. The senior signal-caller added two more records to his growing list of accomplishments last week as the Jackrabbits defeated Southern Illinois.

A Sioux Falls native, Christion enters today's matchup with 10,892 career passing yards after passing former Illinois State standout Matt Brown (10,591 passing yards from 2009-12) for the Missouri Valley Football Conference all-time lead on Nov. 10.

Also in that game, Christion set a new SDSU career standard for passing attempts with 1,271, surpassing the 1,267 by Austin Sumner from 2011-14. In addition, he added to his school and league marks for career total offense by topping the 12,000-yard mark, entering his final regular season home game with 12,263 yards.

In an Oct. 27 win at Illinois State, Christion became the SDSU career leader for completions, passing Sumner's total of 737. Christion now has 768 completions to his credit.

Christion also holds SDSU and MVFC?career marks for passing touchdowns with 97 — three touchdowns away from becoming the 18th player in FCS?history to reach the 100-TD milestone. In addition, Christion's average of 278.2 yards of total offense per game is well ahead of Sumner's mark of 211 yards per game. Christion also holds seven SDSU single-season records and five single-game marks.

Christion, who has thrown 25 touchdown passes and only six interceptions this season, currently ranks second in the Football Championship Subdivision in passing efficiency at 169.8, while his touchdown total ranks fourth.

After passing for four touchdowns and running for another Nov. 3 against Missouri State, it marked the third time this season and 18th time in Christion's career he accounted for scores both through the air and on the ground in the same game. Last season, he passed and rushed for touchdowns in the same game seven times.

Christion once again appears on the watch list for the 2018 STATS FCS Walter Payton Award, which is presented to the subdivision's top offensive player. He has been a two-time finalist for the award, placing seventh in the balloting in 2016 and sixth last year.

CHRISTION A CAMPBELL FINALIST: South Dakota State University quarterback Taryn Christion was named on Oct. 31 as one of 13 finalists for the William V. Campbell Trophy®, which is awarded annually to college football's top scholar-athlete.

The award is presented by the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame in partnership with Fidelity Investments.

Christion is the fourth Jackrabbit to be named a Campbell Trophy® finalist and recipient of an NFF National Scholar-Athlete Award, joining Ryan Berry (2008), Zach Zenner (2014) and Jake Wieneke (2017).

Nominated by their schools, which are limited to one nominee each, candidates for the Campbell Trophy® and NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards must be a senior or graduate student in their final year of playing eligibility, have a grade-point average at least 3.2 on a 4.0 scale, have outstanding football ability as a first-team player or significant contributor and have demonstrated strong leadership and citizenship.

A pool of 179 semifinalists was pared to the 13 finalists by the NFF Awards Committee, which is comprised of a nationally recognized group of media, College Football Hall of Famers and athletics administrators.

The finalists will each receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship and will travel to New York City for the 61st NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Tuesday, Dec. 4, where their accomplishments will be highlighted in front of one of the most powerful audiences in all of sports. At the event, one member of the class will be declared the winner of the 29th William V. Campbell Trophy® and have his postgraduate scholarship increased to $25,000.

A total distribution of $241,000 in scholarships will be awarded Dec. 4, pushing the program's all-time distributions to more than $11.5 million.

The Dec. 4 event, which will take place at the New York Hilton Midtown, will be streamed live on ESPN3.com, starting at 7:30 p.m. Central Time.

The Campbell Trophy® is named in honor of the late Bill Campbell, the former chairman of Intuit, a former player and head coach at Columbia University, and the 2004 recipient of the NFF's Gold Medal. The award comes with a 25-pound bronze trophy.

PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS: South Dakota State University linebacker Christian Rozeboom and cornerback Jordan Brown were tabbed as members of the STATS FCS Preseason All-America Team. Both players also received preseason first-team all-MVFC recognition.

A junior from Sioux Center, Iowa, Rozeboom was selected to the first team after posting his second consecutive 100-tackle season for the Jackrabbits in 2017. Rozeboom registered a team-high 127 tackles, including 7.5 tackles for loss, notching 10 or more tackles in seven of the team's 14 games. Also on the watch list for the STATS FCS Buck Buchanan Award for the subdivision's top defensive player, Rozeboom added three fumble recoveries and a pair of interceptions to earn a spot on multiple postseason All-America teams a year ago.

Brown, a senior from Scottsdale, Arizona, earned third-team recognition on the preseason All-America squad. In earning first-team all-MVFC honors last season, he tallied team bests of nine pass breakups and three forced fumbles, while ranking second in both tackles (72) and interceptions (3).

VINATIERI TIES FIELD GOAL MARK: Junior kicker Chase Vinatieri tied the South Dakota State record for longest field goal with a 57-yarder in the fourth quarter of the Jackrabbits' Oct. 20 game at Northern Iowa. He accounted for all nine Jackrabbit points in the game as he also booted field goals of 37 and 47 yards.

The SDSU record was first set by Parker Douglass in a 2007 game against Stephen F. Austin. Vinatieri's previous career long was a 55 yards, which also came against Northern Iowa in a 2017 Football Championship Subdivision playoff game.

Vinatieri moved into sole possession of fourth place on the SDSU career field goals chart with 35 after breaking a tie with Peter Reifenrath?(34 field goals from 2008-10) by converting one field goal Nov. 10 at Southern Illinois.

100 FCS WINS: South Dakota State recorded its 100th win as a Football Championship Subdivision program with a 62-30 victory at Missouri State on Oct. 21, 2017. Since moving to the FCS ranks at the start of the 2004 season, the Jackrabbits have posted a 113-66 overall record (.631 winning percentage).

SDSU has turned in a winning record in 13 of 15 seasons and has compiled a 60-27 mark (.690 winning percentage) in Missouri Valley Football Conference games.

JACKRABBIT BLOODLINES: Several South Dakota State football players have strong 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 1994.

In addition, linebacker Dalton Cox's father, Doug, wrestled for the Jackrabbits in the 1980s, while his younger brother, Colton, is a redshirt freshman on the SDSU baseball team.

Sophomore kicker Chase Vinatieri is the nephew of former Jackrabbit and current Indianapolis Colts standout kicker Adam Vinatieri. Chase Vinatieri made 13-of-14 field goal attempts last season to lead the nation in field goal percentage (.929).

Newcomer Logan Busch's father, Mike, played quarterback at SDSU from 1984-85 and ranks in the Jackrabbits' all-time top 10 for passing yards and touchdown passes. His older brother, Landon, was a pitcher on the Jackrabbit baseball team in 2015 and 2016.

Three sets of brothers are on the 2018 Jackrabbit roster: Jordan and Jacob Brown, Brandon and Jaden Snyder, and identical twins Jadon and Jaxon Janke.

Brandon Snyder joined the SDSU football program at the start of fall camp as a graduate transfer from Iowa.

JACKS IN THE PROS: With the regular season under way, three former SDSU football standouts are currently featured on National Football League rosters, continuing the Jackrabbits' long tradition of developing players into pro prospects.

Adam Vinatieri, who was a record-setting performer for the South Dakota State University football program in the 1990s, became the all-time leading scorer in National Football League history on Oct. 28 as a member of the Indianapolis Colts.

A Rapid City native, Vinatieri kicked two field goals and four extra points in the Colts' 42-28 win at Oakland, finishing the day with 2,550 points. He surpassed the previous career mark of 2,544 points by Morten Andersen from 1982-2007. The record-breaking kick was a 25-yard field goal in the closing seconds of the first half.

Vinatieri's career totals include 573 field goals (573-of-680, 84.3 percent) and 832 extra points. He set the NFL career record for field goals earlier this season.

Currently the oldest player in the NFL at age 45, Vinatieri also holds the league record with 20 100-point seasons. In all, he holds 14 NFL records.

Vinatieri also holds the distinction of being the only player in NFL history to score 1,000 points for two different teams – 1,058 points from 1996-2005 for New England and 1,492 points for the Colts from 2006-present.

During his career at SDSU from 1991-94, Vinatieri handled both the kicking and punting duties. He set numerous career records – all of which have since been broken — including 104 career extra points, 27 career field goals and 185 career kicking points. His 38 extra points in 1993 also were a then-SDSU record.

Vinatieri posted a 41.8-yard punting average for his career, including a then-single-season mark of 43.5 as a senior. He was a three-time first-team all-North Central Conference selection as a punter and was a first-team NCAA Division II All-American (CoSIDA, Football Gazette) in 1994. Vinatieri also was a second-team all-NCC pick as a kicker as a sophomore.

In addition, Vinatieri was a GTE-CoSIDA Academic All-America honoree.

Just beginning his NFL career is tight end Dallas Goedert, who was a consensus All-America selection for the Jackrabbits during the 2016 and 2017 seasons. A member of the Philadelphia Eagles, Goedert has caught 18 passes for 188 yards and three touchdowns thus far during his rookie year.

Goedert became the first Jackrabbit selected in the NFL Draft in eight years as he was a second-round pick by the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles. The Britton native caught one pass for four yards in a season-opening win over Atlanta on Sept. 6, then scored his first NFL touchdown Sept. 23 as part of a seven-catch, 73-yard performance against Indianapolis.

Also continuing his NFL career is offensive lineman Bryan Witzmann. A member of the Jackrabbits from 2010-13, Witzmann earned a starting role with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2017. However, he released by the Chiefs and is currently with the Chicago Bears after spending a short stint with the Minnesota Vikings. Witzmann previously spent time with Houston, New Orleans and Dallas.

Former Jackrabbit running back Zach Zenner, who was released by Detroit a month into the season, recently re-signed with the Lions. He played in 28 games over three full seasons with the Lions prior to rejoining the squad.

During a highly decorated career at SDSU from 2011-14, Zenner became the first player in the history of Division I football to rush for 2,000 yards in three straight years.

Also in their first training camps this summer were 2017 All-Americans Jake Wieneke (Minnesota Vikings) and Jacob Ohnesorge (Dallas Cowboys). Neither made the final roster for their respective teams and has since signed with teams in the upstart Alliance of American Football — Wieneke with the Salt Lake Stallions and Ohnesorge with the Arizona Hotshots.

In addition, defensive lineman Kellen Soulek, who received tryouts with the Minnesota Vikings and Indianpolis Colts last spring, has signed with the Orlando Apollos of the Alliance of American Football.

DANA J. DYKHOUSE STADIUM: Jackrabbit football moved into a new home in September of 2016 with the completion of Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium.

The stadium, which was constructed in phases on the site of SDSU's previous home field, Coughlin-Alumni Stadium, seats 19,340 spectators and cost $65 million to build. The stadium is being funded through private gifts and long-term revenue streams, including concessions and suite, loge box and ticket sales. Bonds are financing nearly two-thirds of the project's construction, with the remaining dollars coming from private support. Lead gifts totaling $12.5 million from Sioux Falls banker Dana Dykhouse and philanthropist T. Denny Sanford were announced in October 2013.

The stadium officially opened Sept. 8, 2016, featuring a concert by country music superstars Luke Bryan, Little Big Town and Lee Brice as part of the Jacks Bash opening weekend. The first football game was two days later, on Sept. 10, when the Jackrabbits defeated Drake, 56-28.

SDSU has gone on to post an 18-2 record at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium during its first three seasons of operation, including a 3-0 mark in FCS playoff games.

Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium was designed by Kansas City-based Crawford Architects, with the construction firm JE Dunn serving as the project manager at risk and Henry Carlson Company of Sioux Falls serving as general contractor. The stadium won the 2017 Alliant Build America Award from the Associated General Contractors of America South Dakota Building Chapter.

STIG SHOW: The John Stiegelmeier Radio Show airs each Monday throughout the 2018 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 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: Pairings for the 24-team Football Championship Subdivision playoffs will be announced at 11:30 a.m. Central Sunday morning on ESPNU.

The postseason begins with games at campus sites on Saturday, Nov. 24. The top eight seeds will receive first-round byes and host second-round games on Saturday, Dec. 1.