DOMINANT SECOND HALF LIFTS JACKS INTO SEMIS

Saturday, December 11

Villanova, Pa.

2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT

South Dakota State University

10-3 , 5-3

Villanova

10-3 , 7-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

South Dakota St.

Villanova

Photo by: Mikey Reeves

12/11/2021 5:04:00 PM | Football

Box Score

VILLANOVA, Pa. — South Dakota State turned in a strong second half Saturday afternoon to down Villanova, 35-21, and return to the Football Championship Subdivision semifinals for the fourth time in five seasons.

The unseeded Jackrabbits, who tied a single-season school record for victories, improved to 11-3 overall and will face No. 8 Montana State in semfinal action next Saturday (Dec. 18). Kickoff is slated for noon Mountain Time (1 p.m. Central) at Bobcat Stadium in Bozeman, Montana.

Trailing 21-14 at halftime, South Dakota State gained the momentum for good with a dominant third quarter on both sides of the ball. After forcing a three-and-out on the defensive end on Villanova's first possession of the second half, the Jackrabbits drew even with a nine-play, 71-yard drive that ended with a 2-yard touchdown run by Isaiah Davis.

The Jackrabbits gained the lead for good on their next possession, taking advantage of a short Villanova punt. After Davis gained two yards on fourth-and-1 from the VU 40, quarterback Chris Oladokun hooked up down the middle of the field with Jaxon Janke for a 38-yard touchdown.

SDSU made it three scores in as many second-half drives with another 2-yard Davis touchdown run midway through the fourth quarter and the Jackrabbit defense came up with a pair of turnovers down the stretch to seal the victory. Michael Griffin intercepted a pass deep in Jackrabbit territory for the first takeaway, while Dalys Beanum forced a fumble and Caleb Sanders came up with the recovery for the other turnover.

Davis, who shouldered the bulk of the rushing load after Walter Payton Award finalist Pierre Strong, Jr. left the game in the first quarter due to injury, opened the scoring with a 24-yard touchdown run at the 6:40 mark of the first quarter. A sophomore from Joplin, Missouri, Davis ended the game with 174 yards on 25 carries and tied a career high with his three touchdowns.

Villanova answered later in the first quarter on a 36-yard touchdown pass from Daniel Smith to Rayjoun Pringle.

In the second quarter, Janke caught a 10-yard touchdown from Oladokun to give SDSU the lead back at 14-7, but the remainder of the opening half belonged to Villanova. The Wildcats tied the game on a 7-yard touchdown scramble by Smith, then took a 21-14 lead with 44 seconds remaining on a 55-yard pass from Smith to Jaaron Hayek.

The Jackrabbits finished with a 418-378 advantage in total offense, outgaining Villanova 266-107 on the ground. Besides Davis, Amar Johnson tallied 64 yards on 14 carries while Strong was limited to 17 yards on only three carries.

Oladokun completed 11-of-19 passes for 152 yards, with Jaxon Janke leading the receiving corps with 119 yards on six catches.

For Villanova, Smith completed 17-of-26 passes for 271 yards and was the Wildcats' leading rusher with 44 yards on nine carries. Pringle collected five catches — four in the first half — for 119 yards.

Adam Bock led the Jackrabbit defense with seven tackles, followed by six from Logan Backhaus, Cale Reeder and Griffin.

Villanova linebacker Forrest Rhyne led all players with 21 tackles.

NOTES

SDSU leads the all-time series, 2-0, with both matchups taking place in FCS playoff games
The Jackrabbits improved to 14-10 in FCS postseason games, including a 4-1 mark against Colonial Athletic Association opponents
SDSU also made semifinal appearances in 2017, 2018 and during the 2020-21 spring season
The Jackrabbits also won 11 games in 2017
SDSU improved to 6-1 in road games this season
The Jackrabbits have forced 10 turnovers — nine interceptions and one fumble — in three playoff games this season
Davis now has rushed for 945 yards and scored 11 touchdowns in seven career postseason games
Jaxon Janke topped the 100-yard mark for receiving for the sixth time this season and crossed the 1,000-yard mark in 2021 with 1,061 yards
Backhaus moved into a tie with Doug Miller (322 tackles from 1989-92) for eighth place on the Jackrabbit career tackles list
Bock upped his single-season tackles total to 119, which ranks fifth at SDSU after passing both Chris Coauette (115 tackles in 2004) and T.J. Lally (117 tackles in 2014) in Saturday's game
Attendance was 3,401