JACKS RENEW RIVALRY WITH UND

Saturday, February 27

Grand Forks, N.D.

noon

South Dakota State University

North Dakota

Photo by: Inertia Sports Media/Dave Eggen

2/24/2021 1:12:00 PM | Football

GAME 1: #3 South Dakota State (1-0, 1-0 MVFC) at #14 North Dakota (1-0, 1-0 MVFC)

When	Saturday, Feb. 27 \| noon
Where	Alerus Center \| Grand Forks, N.D.
TV	ESPN+ (subscription) \| MidcoSN2
Radio	J ackrabbits All-Access (free audio) \| Jackrabbit Sports Network
Live Stats	FightingHawks.com
Game Notes	SDSU \| North Dakota \| Missouri Valley Football Conference
Social Media	Twitter \| Facebook \| #LastPlay

South Dakota State and North Dakota renew a football rivalry well over a century old, meeting Saturday for the first time as Missouri Valley Football Conference foes.

Kickoff for the top-15 matchup is set for noon at the Alerus Center in Grand Forks, North Dakota. The game is scheduled to be televised on Midco Sports Network 2 and also aired on the ESPN+ (subscription required) streaming platform.

SDSU enters the weekend ranked third in this week's Stats Perform FCS media poll. The Jackrabbits opened the 2020-21 season with a 24-20 win at then-third-ranked Northern Iowa on Feb. 19.

North Dakota vaulted into this week's poll at No. 14 after a convincing 44-21 home victory over then-No. 24 Southern Illinois on Feb. 20. The Fighting Hawks forced five turnovers, four of which they turned into touchdowns.

THE SERIES: Saturday's game will mark the 86th meeting between South Dakota State and North Dakota on the football field. UND leads the overall series by a 46-34-5 count.

The two schools first met in 1906, with South Dakota State recording a 5-4 victory. UND and SDSU met every year from 1922 until 2003 as members of the North Central Conference, with the exception of 1943-47 due to World War II.

SDSU and UND have met only twice since both schools moved to Division I and the Football Championship Subdivision. The Jackrabbits shut out UND, 21-0, on Nov. 19, 2010, at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium. Tyler Duffy ran for a career-high 127 yards on 36 carries and scored both SDSU touchdowns.

The Jackrabbits last played each other on Sept. 7, 2013, with SDSU recording a 35-28 victory at the Alerus Center. In that game, All-America runnning back Zach Zenner tied his own single-game school record with 295 rushing yards. Zenner scored four of the Jackrabbits' five touchdowns in the game as SDSU held off a fourth-quarter rally by UND.

FOR OPENERS: With their 24-20 victory Feb. 19 at Northern Iowa, SDSU improved to 15-9 in season openers under head coach John Stiegelmeier. The Jackrabbits won each of their first seven season openers under Coach Stig, starting with a 17-7 victory at UC Davis in 1997.

Of SDSU's nine losses in season openers under Coach Stig, five have come against Football Bowl Subdivision opponents, including a 28-21 setback at Minnesota in the 2019 opener.

ELITE COMPANY: South Dakota State is one of only two Football Championship Subdivision programs to reach the playoffs each of the last eight seasons, including making consecutive national semifinal appearances in 2017 and 2018.

North Dakota State holds the longest active streak with 10 consecutive trips to the playoffs.

RANKINGS STREAK: With its appearance in this week's Stats Perform FCS Poll, SDSU has now appeared in the top 25 of 107 consecutive media polls dating back to October 2012.

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

Logan Backhaus, Sr., linebacker, Spirit Lake, Iowa;
Wes Genant, Sr., offensive lineman, Parkston, South Dakota.;
Michael Griffin II, Sr., safety, Cottage Grove, Minnesota;
Pierre Strong, Jr.; Jr.; running back, Little Rock, Arkansas, and
Preston Tetzlaff, Sr., linebacker, Brookings, South Dakota.

Backhaus is in his second season as a team captain. All four other captains are in their first seasons in the role.

SEEKING ANOTHER MILESTONE WIN: South Dakota State's season-opening win at Northern Iowa marked the program's 99th victory since joining the Missouri Valley Football Conference at the start of the 2008 season. Overall, the Jackrabbits have posted a 99-54 record (.647 winning record) in that span, including a 67-30 mark in league games.

SDSU has not finished below .500 in league play in any of its 12 full seasons as an MVFC member, making it the only current member (outside of newcomer North Dakota) since 2008 to be able to make that claim.

Since moving to the FCS ranks at the start of the 2004 season, the Jackrabbits have posted a 125-72 overall record (.635 winning percentage). SDSU spent its first four years at the FCS level as a member of the Great West Football Conference.

SDSU has turned in a winning record in 14 of 16 full seasons as an FCS member.

VALLEY PREVIEW: South Dakota State was picked to finish third in the Missouri Valley Football Conference preseason poll, which was announced earlier this month.

The Jackrabbits, who finished the 2019 season with an 8-5 overall record and 5-3 mark in the MVFC, tallied 91 points in the balloting among league coaches, sports information directors and a media panel. The Jackrabbits extended their streak of Football Championship Subdivision playoff appearances to eight seasons in 2019.

Defending conference and FCS national champion North Dakota State again led the preseason poll with 101 points, followed by Northern Iowa with 92 points. Rounding out the top five were Illinois State (80) and Southern Illinois (68).

In the bottom half of the poll, South Dakota was sixth with 52 points, followed by league newcomer North Dakota with 39 points. Youngstown State held the eighth spot with 36 points, with Missouri State and Western Illinois tying for ninth with 23 points. Indiana State has opted out of the spring season.

MVFC squads are playing an eight-game league schedule, with games beginning the weekend of Feb. 19-21. Ten of the league's 11 teams will play a spring season after Indiana State opted out in January.

In addition, nine Jackrabbits were honored on the MVFC Preseason Team revealed Wednesday. Three of SDSU's four first-team selections came on the defensive side of the ball, with defensive end Reece Winkelman, linebacker Logan Backhaus and cornerback Don Gardner honored.

Winkelman, a junior from Marshall, Minnesota, tied for the team lead with 6.5 sacks in 2019. He totaled 36 tackles, including nine tackles for loss, and forced a fumble in his first season as a starter.

A senior from Spirit Lake, Iowa, Backhaus is the team's top returning tackler after registering 79 tackles in 2019 to rank third on the squad. An honorable mention all-MVFC selection in 2019, he shared the team lead with four interceptions and three forced fumbles.

Gardner put together an all-conference season in 2019, earning second-team honors after registering 45 tackles, six tackles for loss and a team-high six pass breakups. The senior from Chicago also scored two defensive touchdowns — one on his lone interception of the 2019 season and the other on a fumble recovery.

The lone first-team offensive selection for the Jackrabbits was running back Pierre Strong, Jr. A junior from Little Rock, Arkansas, Strong has posted consecutive 1,000-yard seasons, rushing for 1,116 yards as a freshman in 2018 and 1,018 yards in 11 games as a sophomore. He also rushed for eight touchdowns in 2019 en route to All-America recognition from the Associated Press and HERO Sports.

Receiving honorable mention recognition on offense were sophomore quarterback J'Bore Gibbs and senior offensive lineman Wes Genant. Gibbs started the first six games in 2019 before suffering a season-ending injury. He completed 59 percent of his passes (73-of-124) for 1,058 yards and 10 touchdowns, while adding four scores on the ground.

Genant, a Parkston native, has played all along the offensive line during his Jackrabbit career. He returns to a starting role at center during the 2020-21 season after redshirting in 2019.

Honorable mention selections on defense for the Jackrabbits included seniors Xavier Ward and Michael Griffin II.

A defensive tackle from Freeman, Ward saw his streak of starting 26 games in a row for the Jackrabbits come to an end as he missed the Feb. 19 season opener due to injury. He contributed 21 total tackles in 2019, including seven tackles for loss with four sacks.

Griffin earned a spot on the MVFC All-Newcomer Team in 2019. A safety from Cottage Grove, Minnesota, he shared the team lead with four interceptions, while also tallying 40 tackles and a pair of fumble recoveries.

Also earning preseason recognition was sophomore Jaxon Janke as a return specialist. The Madison native averaged 10.7 yards per punt return — with one touchdown — in 2019 and added 29 receptions for 353 yards and four touchdowns as a wide receiver in being named to the MVFC All-Newcomer Team.

STRONG EARNS PRESEASON PRAISE: Jackrabbit running back Pierre Strong, Jr., has been named to the preseason All-America team selected by HERO Sports.

A junior from Little Rock, Arkansas, Strong received first-team accolades after topping the 1,000-yard mark in each of his first two seasons. He rushed for 1,116 yards as a freshman in 2018 and gained 1,018 yards with eight touchdowns in 11 games as a sophomore. Over two seasons, Strong is averaging 8.2 yards per carry, and needed only 100 carries to reach the 1,000-yard mark during the 2018 season.

Strong enters Saturday's game needing only 69 rushing yards to break into the Jackrabbit career top 10.

In 2019, he became only the seventh player in SDSU history to top the 1,000-yard mark in consecutive seasons. He will attempt to become the third to post three straight 1,000-yard campaigns.

Following is the complete list of Jackrabbits with consecutive 1,000-yard seasons:

• Pete Retzlaff, 1951 (1,016 yards) and 1952 (1,008)
• Darwin Gonnerman, 1967 (1,023) and 1968 (1,023)
• Les Tuma, 1972 (1,061) and 1973 (1,052)
• Josh Ranek, 1998 (1,881) and 1999 (2,055)
• Kyle Minett, 2008 (1,289), 2009 (1,304) and 2010 (1,208)
• Zach Zenner, 2012 (2,044), 2013 (2,015) and 2014 (2,019)
• Pierre Strong, Jr., 2018 (1,116), 2019 (1,018)

GRONOWSKI, STRONG HONORED: South Dakota State running back Pierre Strong, Jr. was named Missouri Valley Football Conference Offensive Player of the Week and freshman quarterback Mark Gronowski earned MVFC Newcomer of the Week honors, league officials announced Monday.

Strong, a junior from Little Rock, Arkansas, tallied 142 all-purpose yards and scored the game-winning touchdown on a 1-yard pass play with 19 seconds remaining in South Dakota State' 24-20 victory at Northern Iowa on Feb. 19. For the game, he rushed 22 times for 91 yards and caught a team-high six passes for 31 yards. He added a 20-yard kickoff return to round out his performance.

A native of Naperville, Illinois, Gronowski accounted for all three South Dakota State touchdowns as the Jackrabbits prevailed in the matchup between top-five teams. He completed 19-of-29 passes for 194 yards and touchdown passes of 6 yards to Jaxon Janke in the second quarter and the 1-yard toss to Strong to cap the 10-play, 75-yard game-winning drive. He also rushed for 24 yards on 10 carries, including a 5-yard touchdown late in the first half. Gronowski connected with seven different receivers in the game.

Also on Monday, Gronowski was selected as the Stats Perform FCS National Freshman Player of the Week.

GETTING DEFENSIVE: South Dakota State held Northern Iowa to a meager 28 net yards rushing in the Feb. 19 season opener, a total that ranks as the third-lowest allowed by the Jackrabbits against a Missouri Valley Football Conference opponent since joining the league in 2008. The Panthers' 28 yards came on 25 attempts — an average of 1.1 yards per carry.

The fewest rushing yards allowed by a Jackrabbit team in an MVFC game is 22 yards (on 22 carries) by South Dakota on Nov. 17, 2012. SDSU surrendered only 25 yards (on 24 attempts) versus Indiana State on Sept. 19, 2009.

INTERCEPTION STREAK ENDS: South Dakota State's defensive streak of consecutive games with an interception came to an end at 13 games in the 2020-21 season opener at Northern Iowa.

SDSU recorded at least one interception in all 13 games during the 2019 season, highlighted by a three-pick performance in the regular season matchup against Northern Iowa.

As a team, the Jackrabbits tallied 18 interceptions to rank sixth among Football Championship Subdivision programs. Linebacker Logan Backhaus and safety Michael Griffin II shared the team lead with four interceptions. In all, 10 different Jackrabbit players recorded at least one interception in 2019.

Dating back to the 2018 season, SDSU has intercepted a pass in 19 of its last 21 games.

SACK ATTACK: The South Dakota State defense nearly doubled its sack total from the previous year in 2019, tallying 37 sacks to rank 16th among FCS?programs with an average of 2.85 per game. That compared to 20 sacks in 2018.

Despite the loss of team co-leader Ryan Earith, the Jackrabbits do return four of their top five sack artists from the 2019 squad. Junior defensive end Reece Winkelman shared the team lead with Earith with 6.5 sacks, while pass rush specialist Quinton Hicks tallied five sacks during an impressive freshman campaign in 2019.

Also returning are defensive tackle Xavier Ward (four sacks) and defensive end Tolu Ogunrinde (2.5 sacks).

SDSU notched two sacks in the Feb. 19 season opener at Northern Iowa, with Adam Bock and Tolu Ogunrinde credited with solo sacks.

LIMITED RETURNS: South Dakota State all but eliminated the punt return game during the 2019 season. Opponents netted a total of four yards on seven punt returns (in 48 punts) last season.

That allowed the Jackrabbits to lead all FCS programs for punt return defense with an average of .57 yards per return for the entire season. In the 2020-21 season opener, Northern Iowa returned two punts for 11 yards.

The longest punt return allowed by SDSU in 2019 was eight yards in the Aug. 29 season opener at Minnesota. The Jackrabbits also ranked 11th among FCS?teams in net punting at 39.5 yards per attempt, with punter Ben Dinkel ranking 31st individually with an average of 41.6 yards per attempt.

SDSU also ranked eighth in kickoff return defense with an average of 13.5 yards allowed per attempt during the 2019 season.

BLOCK THAT KICK: South Dakota State continued to pick up where it left off with strong special teams play in the Feb. 19 season opener, including blocking a punt. Isaiah Stalbird's blocked punt late in the first half at Northern Iowa led to a touchdown that pushed the Jackrabbits' halftime lead to 17-7.

SDSU has consistently ranked among the FCS leaders for blocked kicks over the past few seasons. The Jackrabbits ranked ninth with five blocked kicks in 2019, after ranking third in 2018 with eight blocked kicks.

BALL SECURITY: One area the Jackrabbits will look to improve during the 2020-21 season is in the turnover margin department. Despite forcing 25 turnovers (18 interceptions, 7 fumbles), the Jackrabbits turned the ball over an uncharacteristic 24 times in 2019 to finish plus-1 in turnover margin.

Of the 24 turnovers, 17 were lost fumbles — the most by an SDSU squad in the Division I era (since 2004). By comparison, the Jackrabbits lost a total of 18 fumbles in the three previous seasons combined.

SDSU lost a pair of fumbles in the 2020-21 season opener to begin the year minus-2 in turnover margin.

SEEING DOUBLE: The 2020-21 South Dakota State football team features two sets of twin brothers.

Returning for their sophomore seasons are wide receivers and Madison natives Jadon and Jaxon Janke. Jadon Janke has primarily contributed on special teams during his Jackrabbit career, while Jaxon Janke is the team's top returning receiver after catching 29 passes for 353 yards and four touchdowns in 2019. A member of the MVFC All-Newcomer Team that season, Jaxon Janke also handled the team's punt return duties, averaging 10.7 yards per attempt that included a 77-yard touchdown in the 2019 home opener against Long Island.

Joining the Jackrabbits this fall were twins Aaron and Adam Kusler. The Sioux Falls tandem, who excelled at Roosevelt High School, are both freshman linebackers on this year's squad.

SDSU has another set of brothers on the team in Brookings natives and offensive linemen Eddie and Gus Miller. Eddie is a senior on this year's team, while Gus is an incoming freshman.

JACKS IN THE PROS: At the conclusion of the 2020 football season, four former South Dakota State standouts were members of National Football League teams, continuing the Jackrabbits' long tradition of developing players into pro prospects.

Headlining the list is tight end Dallas Goedert of the Philadelphia Eagles. After being drafted in the second round of the 2018 NFL Draft, Goedert has gone on to record 137 receptions for 1,465 yards and 12 touchdowns in his first three seasons.

Veteran offensive lineman Bryan Witzmann returned to the Kansas City Chiefs in 2020, an organization for which he earned a starting role in 2017. He played in one game this past season, but was assigned to the team's practice squad for much of the year, including the postseason.
Witzmann has been with eight different teams since excelling for the Jackrabbits from 2010-13, He began the 2019 season with the Cleveland Browns and later played in two games for Carolina. He also has spent time with Houston, New Orleans, Dallas, Minnesota and Chicago.

Also on NFL rosters in 2020 as practice squad members were cornerback Jordan Brown (Washington) and linebacker Christian Rozeboom (Los Angeles Rams). Brown was a seventh-round choice of the Cincinnati Bengals in 2019 and also spent time on the practice squad for Jacksonville during his rookie campaign before entering 2020 training camp with the Las Vegas Raiders.

Rozeboom finished his Jackrabbit career as the program's all-time leading tackler and then signed as a free agent following the 2020 NFL Draft. Teammates Mikey Daniel (Atlanta Falcons) and Luke Sellers (Detroit Lions) also signed free agent agreements from the 2019 SDSU?senior class.

In addition, wide receiver Jake Wieneke caught on with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League in 2019 and finished the year with 41 catches for 569 yards with eight touchdowns. The CFL did not compete in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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 a 25-5 record at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium during its first four seasons of operation, including a 4-1 mark in Football Championship Subdivision playoff games. The Jackrabbits went undefeated at home in 2018 with a
7-0 mark.

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.

Year-By-Year Records at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium
2016: 6-1
2017: 7-1
2018: 7-0
2019: 5-3
Totals: 25-5

WORKING OVERTIME: South Dakota State has split its 10 overtime games since overtime rules were implemented in the mid-1990s. The Jackrabbits have won four of their five overtime contests in Missouri Valley Football Conference games, including a 37-34, double-overtime victory over Northern Iowa at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium on Oct. 26, 2013.

Following is a list of the Jackrabbits' overtime results
SDSU 30, Nebraska-Omaha 27 [2 OT] • Oct. 17, 1998 — at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium
Augustana 39, SDSU 33 [3 OT] • Oct. 19, 2002 — at Sioux Falls
Southern Utah 23, SDSU 17 [2 OT] • Nov. 13, 2004 — at Cedar City, Utah
Western Illinois 29, SDSU 26 [4 OT] • Aug. 30, 2007 — at Macomb, Ill.
McNeese State 46, SDSU 44 [3 OT] • Oct. 4, 2008 — at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium
SDSU 43, Missouri State 36 [2 OT] • Oct. 29, 2011 — at Springfield, Mo.
SDSU 37, Northern Iowa 34 [2 OT] • Oct. 26, 2013 — at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium
Western Illinois 30, SDSU 24 [2 OT] • Nov. 21, 2015 — at Macomb, Ill.
SDSU?27, Illinois State 24 [OT] • Nov. 11, 2017 — at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium
SDSU?54, Indiana State 51 [OT] • Oct. 6, 2018 — at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium
Overall, SDSU is 5-5 in overtime games

NEW COACHES: South Dakota State will have some fresh faces on the sidelines and in the coaching booth this season.

Taking over the role of special teams coordinator and cornerbacks coach is Rob Erickson, who served as defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach for NCAA Division III powerhouse Wisconsin-Whitewater. During his tenure, UWW went a combined 56-9 en route to three national semifinal appearances, including a berth in the championship game in 2019.

Another new Jackrabbit coach with Wisconsin-Whitewater connections is tight ends coach Ryan Olson. An addition to the staff in January, Olson Olson has coached at the collegiate level for nearly a decade, most recently serving as co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach at Bemidji State from 2017-19.

As an offensive tackle as a player for Wisconsin-Whitewater, Olson was a member of national championship teams in 2009, 2010 and 2011 and played on squads that compiled a 58-2 record in his four seasons, including posting a 45-game winning streak.

To make room for Olson, passing game coordinator Luke Schleusner moves from coaching the tight ends to coaching the wide receivers.

Rejoining the SDSU coaching staff as running backs coach is John Johnson. He previously held the same position with the Jackrabbits from 2016-17.

STIG SHOW: The John Stiegelmeier Radio Show airs each Monday throughout the 2020-21 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, hosted by Tyler Merriam, also will be streamed online free of charge at GoJacks.com.

A LOOK AHEAD: The Jackrabbits are scheduled to open the home portion of their schedule by hosting Western Illinois in the annual Dairy Drive game. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium.

The game is slated to be televised on MidcoSN2.

-GoJacks.com-