JACKS OPEN HOME SLATE SATURDAY

Saturday, September 11

Brookings, S.D.

6 p.m.

South Dakota State University

Lindenwood

Photo by: Richard Carlson/Inertia

9/8/2021 7:00:00 PM | Football

GAME 2: #2/3 South Dakota State (1-0) vs. Lindenwood (0-1)

When	Saturday, Sept. 11 \| 6 p.m. \| ORDER TICKETS
Where	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium \| Brookings, South Dakota
TV	Midco Sports \| GoJacks.com/watch (subscription)
Radio	Jackrabbits All Access (free audio) \| Jackrabbit Sports Network
Live Stats	GoJacksLive.com
Game Notes	SDSU \| Lindenwood \| Missouri Valley Football Conference
Social Media	Twitter \| Facebook \| #LastPlay

The South Dakota State University football team kicks off the home portion of its 2021 home schedule Saturday, hosting Lindenwood University in nonconference action.

Start time is set for 6 p.m. at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium. Saturday's game is designated as the annual Dairy Drive contest, as well as the Precision Ag Bowl. The 2020 Jackrabbit Sports Hall of Fame induction class will be recognized at halftime and frontline workers also will be honored during the evening.

The Jackrabbits enter the matchup ranked second in this week's Stats Perform media poll, moving up one spot after a season-opening 42-23 victory at Colorado State before a national television audience on Sept. 3. SDSU also is ranked third in the Football Championship Subdivision coaches' poll this week.

Lindenwood, an NCAA Division II institution located in St. Charles, Missouri, opened the season Sept. 2 with a 40-20 home loss to Angelo State. The Lions, a member of the Great Lakes Valley Conference, reached the NCAA Division II Round of 16 during the 2019 season, but did not play during the 2020 season due to COVID-19 restrictions. They began the 2021 slate ranked 21st.

THE SERIES: Saturday's game will mark the first-ever meeting between South Dakota State and Lindenwood on the gridiron.

Lindenwood is led by former University of Sioux Falls head coach Jed Stugart. In seven seasons at USF from 2010-16, Stugart led the Cougars to a 65-17 record. USF reached the NAIA national championship game in Stugart's first season and he then led the Cougars to consecutive NCAA Division II playoff appearances his final two years.

HOME OPENERS: South Dakota State has fared well in home openers under head coach John Stiegelmeier, who is in his 25th season at the helm of the Jackrabbit football program. The Jackrabbits have compiled a 20-4 record in home openers under Coach Stig, including a 4-0 mark at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium.

SDSU has won 10 consecutive home openers since a 24-14 loss to Illinois State in 2010.

The Jackrabbits' home opener wraps up a busy week at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium as the Jacks Bash 2 concert featuring Zac Brown Band, Fall Out Boy and Gabby Barrett helped kick off the home season Wednesday night.

DAIRY DRIVE: Now in its eighth year, the Dairy Drive recognizes the importance of the dairy industry to the South Dakota economy and promotes the ties to SDSU as the state's Land-Grant institution.

The Jackrabbits have come out victorious in all seven previous Dairy Drive games. Each of the first six games drew a crowd surpassing 10,000 fans.

2014: SDSU 44, Cal Poly 18 (12,219 att.)
2015: SDSU 55, Southern Utah 10 (13,423 att.)
2016: SDSU 49, Missouri State 24 (10,826 att.)
2017: SDSU 51, Duquesne 13 (12,218 att.)
2018: SDSU 45, Montana State 14 (14,614 att.)
2019: SDSU 38, Long Island 3 (10,153 att.)
2020-21: SDSU 45, Western Illinois 10

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

North Dakota State holds the longest active streak with 11 consecutive trips to the playoffs after the Bison earned an at-large bid to the 2020-21 16-team field.

CAPTAINS: Leading the Jackrabbit football team are six captains:

Logan Backhaus, Sr., linebacker, Spirit Lake, Iowa;
Wes Genant, Sr., offensive lineman, Parkston;
Michael Griffin II, Sr., safety, Cottage Grove, Minnesota;
Mason McCormick, Jr., offensive lineman, Sioux Falls;
Pierre Strong, Jr.; Sr.; running back, Little Rock, Arkansas, and
Xavier Ward, Sr., defensive tackle, Freeman.

Backhaus is in his third season as a team captain, while Genant, Griffin and Strong are in their second seasons in the leadership position. McCormick and Ward are first-time team captains.

RANKINGS STREAK: By being ranked second in this week's Stats Perform FCS poll, SDSU has now appeared in the top 25 of 119 consecutive media polls dating back to October 2012.

The Jackrabbits' third-place preseason showing matched the highest in program history (2018, 2019).

AWARD WATCH LISTS: South Dakota State running back Pierre Strong, Jr. and linebacker Logan Backhaus have been selected for the initial watch lists for two of the top awards in the Football Championship Subdivision.

Strong is under consideration for the the 2021 Stats Perform Walter Payton Award, which is given annually to the top offensive player in the Football Championship Subdivision.

A senior from Little Rock, Arkansas, Strong tied for eighth in the balloting for the Payton Award during an abbreviated 2020-21 season. He gained 707 yards in nine games and averaged 5.4 yards per carry with three rushing touchdowns. Strong also ranked third on the squad with 20 receptions for 178 yards and a touchdown.

Strong posted back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in 2018 and 2019, and entered this fall eighth on the Jackrabbits' career rushing charts with 2,841 yards.

Backhaus, meanwhile, is among the early candidates for the 2021 Stats Perform Buck Buchanan Award, which is presented annually to the top defensive player in the Football Championship Subdivision.

Entering his final season with the Jackrabbits, Backhaus is coming off a 2020-21 season in which he led the team with 9.5 tackles for loss and ranked second with 72 tackles in 10 games. The Spirit Lake, Iowa, native also intercepted a pass and forced a fumble in helping lead SDSU to the FCS national title game.

A multi-year starter, Backhaus' career totals include 274 tackles, 24 tackles for loss, 5 sacks and 9 interceptions.

Both watch lists will be updated periodically throughout the 2021 season. A media panel will select the recipients, who will be announced prior to the FCS national championship game in January.

Backhaus (first team) and Strong (second team) were also among the four members of the South Dakota State University football team were honored recently on the Stats Perform FCS Preseason All-America Team.

Also tabbed as a first-team preseason All-America was offensive lineman Garret Greenfield. A junior from Rock Valley, Iowa, was a consensus All-America pick at right tackle after helping pave the way for the Jackrabbits to rush for a Division I-era best 231.7 yards per game this past spring.

Joining Strong from the Jackrabbit backfield was Isaiah Davis, who earned third-team recognition as an all-purpose back. A sophomore from Joplin, Missouri, Davis finished the 2020-21 campaign as the team's leading rusher with 818 yards while adding a team-high 10 touchdowns. He averaged a team-best 115.3 all-purpose yards per game, adding seven receptions for 107 yards and returning seven kickoffs for 228 yards (32.6 ypr).

Davis came on strong in the Jackrabbits' run to the FCS title game, tallying 663 all-purpose yards in four playoff games, including 305 in the championship tilt against Sam Houston.

JACKS PICKED TO WIN VALLEY: South Dakota State has been picked to win the 2021 Missouri Valley Football Conference title, according to a poll conducted among the league's coaches, sports information directors and a media panel that was announced in late July.

The Jackrabbits received 24 of the 43 first-place votes to finish with 454 points,

edging North Dakota State with 435 points and 18 first-place votes. North Dakota (357), Southern Illinois (345) and Northern Iowa (311) rounded out the top five, with UNI claiming the final first-place vote.

It marks the first time since joining the MVFC in 2008 that the Jackrabbits, who return 10 starters on both sides of the ball, have been tabbed as the preseason favorite, after finishing second in the annual forecast six times.

The remainder of the poll included: Missouri State, sixth, 256; Illinois State, seventh, 196; South Dakota, eighth, 163; Youngstown State, ninth, 126; Indiana State, 10th, 112, and Western Illinois, 11th, 83.

SDSU shared the MVFC title with Missouri State, finishing with a 5-1 conference mark during an abbreviated 2020-21 season that was moved to the spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Jackrabbits were awarded the league's automatic bid to the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs and later advanced to the national championship game for the first time, ending the season with an 8-2 overall record following a 23-21 loss to Sam Houston.

In addition, 12 Jackrabbit players were honored on the MVFC Preseason Team, including six first-team selections. Running back Pierre Strong, Jr., tight end Zach Heins and offensive lineman Garret Greenfield represent the Jackrabbit offense, while defensive tackle Caleb Sanders, linebacker Logan Backhaus and cornerback Don Gardner were the defensive honorees. All were first-team all-MVFC picks during the spring campaign.

Strong, a senior from Little Rock, Arkansas, rushed for 707 yards (78.6 yards per game) and three touchdowns during the 2020-21 spring season. He also ranked third on the team with 20 catches for 178 yards and a touchdown.

A junior from Sioux Falls, Heins tallied 12 receptions for 200 yards during the 2020-21 spring season.

Greenfield, a junior from Rock Valley, Iowa, helped pave the way for an offensive unit that averaged 29.2 points and 403.1 yards of total offense per game. He went on to be a consensus All-America selection at right tackle.

Sanders led the Jackrabbits with five sacks among his seven tackles for loss last season. The senior from Glenwood, Iowa, posted 26 total tackles.

Backhaus, a senior from Spirit Lake, Iowa, paced the Jackrabbits with 9.5 tackles for loss and ranked second on the squad with 72 total tackles en route to earning All-America honors from several media outlets.

Gardner, a senior from Chicago, led the team with seven pass breakups and added an interception during the spring season. He also ranked fifth on the squad with 44 tackles, including three for loss.

Four more members of the Jackrabbit offense were recognized as second-team selections to the preseason honor squad: Offensive linemen Mason McCormick and Wes Genant, wide receiver Jaxon Janke and running back Isaiah Davis.

McCormick, a junior from Sioux Falls, was a second-team all-MVFC pick this past spring, while Genant, a senior from Parkston, earned honorable mention recognition.

A junior from Madison, Janke earned second-team all-MVFC honors after leading SDSU in nearly every receiving category, posting 32 receptions for 473 yards and six touchdowns.

Davis, from Joplin, Missouri, finished as the team's leading rusher with 818 yards (81.8 ypg) and 10 touchdowns as a freshman. A second-team all-league performer and a member of the MVFC All-Newcomer Team, Davis topped the 100-yard mark in rushing four times while also seeing action as a kick returner.

Also a second-team selection was senior long snapper Bradey Sorenson. The Yankton native sat out the spring season, but previously has been honored on the all-MVFC squad.

Rounding out the list of preseason award recipients for the Jackrabbits was honorable mention selection Reece Winkelman. A senior defensive end from Marshall, Minnesota, Winkelman tied for second on the team with three sacks and finished with 25 tackles last spring.

OLADOKUN UNDER CENTER: Graduate transfer Chris Oladokun took the reins of the Jackrabbit offense at quarterback in last week's season opener at Colorado State and responded with an impressive debut performance.

Named the co-Missouri Valley Football Conference Newcomer of the Week, Oladokun accounted for three touchdowns – two passing and one rushing in the Jackrabbit victory. He completed 18-of-28 passes for 224 yards and also rushed two times for 19 yards, including an 11-yard touchdown that capped the scoring for SDSU. Both of Oladokun's touchdown passes went to Jadon Janke, covering 10 and 17 yards.

Oladokun became the fourth Jackrabbit in as many seasons to start the opener at quarterback. In 2018, Taryn Christion made his third consecutive start in the first game of a season, while J'Bore Gibbs inherited the starting role in 2019. True freshman Mark Gronowski won the starting quarterback battle for the 2020-21 opener and went on to lead the Jackrabbits to the FCS national title game before suffering an injury in that game that will sideline him for the fall campaign.

A native of Tampa, Florida, Oladokun began his collegiate career at South Florida, where he started two games in 2018 and completed 22-of-44 passes for 285 yards and three touchdowns.

He then transferred to Samford and played in 19 games with nine starts over the next two seasons. Oladokun passed for 2,064 yards and 18 touchdowns in 2019, while also rushing 127 times for 493 yards and eight touchdowns. He was Samford's starter at quarterback for the 2020-21 season opener and saw action in seven games.

BALANCED ATTACK: South Dakota State achieved nearly an equal 50-50 split between rushing and passing in the season-opening win at Colorado State, posting 242 yards on the ground and 224 through the air for a narrow 466-462 advantage in total offense.

STRONG NEARS 3,000: Senior Pierre Strong, Jr., is poised to become the seventh running back in South Dakota State history to reach the 3,000-yard mark for his career during Saturday's game.

A native of Little Rock, Arkansas, Strong enters the week with 2,979 career rushing yards. He currently stands eighth on the all-time Jackrabbit charts, trailing Cory Koenig (2,990 yards from 2004-07) for the seventh spot.

Strong posted back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons to lead the Jackrabbits during the 2018 (1,116 yards) and 2019 (1,018 yards) campaigns. He ranked second on the squad with 707 yards during the pandemic-altered 2020-21 season.

In the Sept. 3 season opener at Colorado State, Strong posted the 11th 100-yard game of his career, gaining 138 yards on 13 carries. He also scored a pair of second-quarter touchdowns on runs of 48 and 12 yards..

PICKING OFF THE COMPETITION: SDSU has picked off a pass in 26 of its last 31 games dating back to the 2018 season, adding to that statistic with an interception by backup safety Daeton Mcgaughy on the final play of the game in the Jackrabbits' 42-23 season-opening victory at Colorado State on Sept. 3.

As a team, the Jackrabbits have ranked in the top 10 among Football Championship Subdivision teams each of the last two seasons, tallying 18 interceptions in 2019 to rank sixth and recording 12 interceptions last season — a total that ranked third.

Joshua Manchigiah led the team with four interceptions during the 2020-21 season. In all, eight different Jackrabbit players tallied an interception last spring.

SECOND-QUARTER DOMINANCE: South Dakota State often carried momentum into the locker room at halftime during the 2020-21 season.

In 10 games, SDSU held a 95-37 scoring advantage in the second quarter. The Jackrabbits built up a 62-7 advantage in regular season action, and then outscored the opposition 33-30 in the second quarter during the postseason, buoyed by a 20-0 margin against Delaware in the national semifinal.

The Jackrabbits were 7-1 when taking a lead into hafltime during the 2020-21 spring season, and followed that with a 21-10 halftime advantage (14-10 in the second quarter) of their Sept. 3 season opener at Colorado State.

BLOCK THAT KICK: South Dakota State has consistently ranked among the FCS leaders for blocked kicks over the past few seasons. The Jackrabbits ranked third with four blocked kicks during the 2020-21 season, starting with a blocked punt by Isaiah Stalbird in the Feb. 19 season opener at Northern Iowa.

In the March 13 home win over Youngstown State, defensive tackle Ryan Van Marel got a hand on a 43-yard field goal attempt late in the second quarter.

The Jackrabbits' third and fourth blocked kicks of the season both came in the FCS playoffs and were recorded by Reece Winkelman in games against Holy Cross and Delaware.

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 improved during the 2020-21 season was in the turnover margin department. Despite forcing 25 turnovers (18 interceptions, 7 fumbles) in 2019, the Jackrabbits turned the ball over an uncharacteristic 24 times that season to finish plus-1 in turnover margin.

Of the 24 turnovers in 2019, 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 six fumbles during the 2020-21 season and ended the year plus-7 in turnover margin, highlighted by forcing a combined seven turnovers (two fumbles, five interceptions) in its two meetings with Southern Illinois.

The Jackrabbits turned the ball over only once in their last five games and started the 2021 fall campaign with two takeaways and no turnovers at Colorado State.

SACK ATTACK CONTINUES: The Jackrabbit defense made life miserable for opposing teams' quarterbacks during its 2020-21 postseason run, collecting 15 in their four playoff games.

SDSU picked up where it left off in the Sept. 3 season opener at Colorado State as the Jackrabbits posted three sacks in a 42-23 victory, with defensive tackle Caleb Sanders and linebackers Graham Spalding and Kinser Madison credited with the sacks.

A first-team all-MVFC performer last season, Sanders has recorded a sack in four of the last five games dating back to last season.

SEEING DOUBLE: The 2021 edition of the South Dakota State football team features two sets of twin brothers.

Returning for their junior seasons are wide receivers and Madison natives Jadon and Jaxon Janke. Jaxon Janke was the team's top receiver a season ago, catching 32 passes for 473 yards and six touchdowns. He also returned punts, averaging 13.2 yards on eight attempts.

Jadon Janke was right behind in the receiving categories, hauling in 21 receptions for 425 yards and five touchdowns. His 20.2 yards per reception led the squad and four of his touchdown receptions came in postseason action. He recorded his third two-touchdown performance in the last five games in the Sept. 3 season opener at Colorado State, catching scoring passes of 10 and 17 yards.

Joining the Jackrabbits last fall were twins Aaron and Adam Kusler. The Sioux Falls tandem, who excelled at Roosevelt High School, are both redshirt 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 reshirt freshman.

CRENSHAW JOINS STAFF: South Dakota State head football coach John Stiegelmeier announced the hiring of Andre Crenshaw to the Jackrabbits' offensive coaching staff in July.

"Andre is a proven coach with running backs and special teams." Stiegelmeier said. "I look forward to seeing the impact he has, not only on the field, but off the field, as well."

Crenshaw most recently served as running backs coach at Southeast Missouri State during the 2020-21 season, helping lead the Redhawks to a 4-4 overall record.

Prior to his return to the FCS ranks, Crenshaw spent two years as the running backs coach and special teams coordinator at Missouri Western. The Griffons averaged 219.5 rushing yards per game in 2018 to rank in the top 25 among Division II programs.

Other coaching stops have included Tennessee Tech (2017) and Morehead State (2015-16). He began his collegiate coaching career as a graduate assistant at Dakota Wesleyan and also coached at Riggs Football Academy in Sioux Falls.

A native of Lancaster, California, Crenshaw played running back at Oregon for four seasons from 2006-09. He earned his bachelor's degree in sociology from the Oregon in 2010 and added a master's degree in educational policy and administration from Dakota Wesleyan in 2015.

ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICANS: South Dakota State University offensive lineman Wes Genant earned his third career selection to the CoSIDA Academic All-America Division I Football Team and linebacker Logan Backhaus also earned a spot on the honor squad as announced in July.

Genant, a senior from Parkston, was honored on the first team with a 3.89 grade-point average as a biochemistry and pre-medicine major. The Jackrabbits' starting center in all 10 games in the team's run to the Football Championship Subdivision national championship game during the 2020-21 campaign, Genant also was a first-team selection in 2018 after earning second-team recognition in 2017. He redshirted during the 2019 season while recovering from injury.

Backhaus, a senior from Spirit Lake, Iowa, holds a 3.65 grade-point average in human biology and ranked second on the team with 72 tackles during the 2020-21 spring season. He posted a team-high 9.5 tackles for loss, also contributing two sacks, an interception and a forced fumble.

Genant is the fourth Jackrabbit football student-athlete to earn CoSIDA Academic All-America honors three times, joining Paul Kippley (1978-80), Kyle Minett (2008-10) and Zach Zenner (2012-14). SDSU has placed at least one player on the squad in 14 of the last 16 seasons, including multiple selections 12 times. Overall, SDSU football

student-athletes have received Academic All-America recognition from CoSIDA 42 times since 1974.

The Academic All-America program recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom. Candidates, who are first nominated and honored at the district level, must be at least a sophomore in athletic and academic standing, a starter or key reserve, and carry at least a 3.3 GPA.

Genant and Backhaus were joined on the Academic All-District Team by cornerback DyShawn Gales, linebacker Preston Tetzlaff and defensive end Reece Winkelman.

JACKS IN THE PROS: During the summer of 2021, six former South Dakota State standouts were in training camp with 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 three seasons.

While Goedert is the lone former Jackrabbit on an opening day active roster, two other recent defensive standouts were assigned to practice squads. Linebacker Christian Rozeboom recently joined the Kansas City Chiefs after being released by Los Angeles Rams and cornerback Jordan Brown returned to 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. He spent the 2020 season as a member of the Rams' practice squad.

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. He spent the latter part of the 2020 season as a practice squad player with the Washington Football Team.

The most recent former Jackrabbit with professional aspirations is wide receiver Cade Johnson, who signed as a free agent with the Seattle Seahawks following the conclusion of the 2021 NFL Draft. He has since been assigned to Seattle's practice squad.

Johnson set a pair of single-season school records as a member of the Jackrabbits from 2017-19. As a redshirt freshman in 2017, the Papillion, Nebraska, native established a new Jackrabbit standard with 839 kickoff return yards, returning two kickoffs for touchdowns. The following season, his first as a starting receiver, he set the SDSU single-season record with 17 touchdown catches, totaling 67 receptions for 1,332 yards.

In 2019, Johnson also posted his second consecutive 1,000-yard season, tallying 1,222 yards on 72 receptions. In only three seasons, he ranked third in program history for touchdown receptions (28), fifth in receiving yards (2,872) and sixth in total receptions (162).

He was a two-time first-team all-Missouri Valley Football Conference honoree and was selected to multiple Football Championship Subdivision All-America squads in both 2018 and 2019. Johnson was selected to play in the 2020 Reese's Senior Bowl after deciding to opt out of his senior season.

Veteran offensive lineman Bryan Witzmann is once again a free agent after being among the last cuts by the Kansas City Chiefs this summer. 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 in 2020, but was assigned to the team's practice squad for much of the year, including the postseason.

Also awaiting his next opportunity is fullback and Brookings native Mikey Daniel, who spent this summer with the Carolina Panthers following a stint with the Atlanta Falcons in 2020.

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 pandemic.

Recently announcing his retirement was former Jackrabbit standout Adam Vinatieri, who became the NFL career scoring leader in 2018 as a member of the Indianapolis Colts.

Over Vinatieri's 24 seasons, his totals include NFL bests of 599-of-715 on field goal attempts, 83.8 percent, and 2,673 career points. He also ranks second in career extra points with 874. In all, Vinatieri set 15 NFL records, including 21 100-point seasons.

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 former Jackrabbit football player and 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.

Jacks Bash 2 was held Sept. 8 and included a musical lineup of Zac Brown Band, Fall Out Boy and Gabby Barrett.

SDSU has gone on to post a 30-5 record at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium during its first five seasons of operation, including a 7-1 mark in Football Championship Subdivision playoff games. The Jackrabbits went undefeated at home in 2018 at 7-0.

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.

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

STIG SHOW: The John Stiegelmeier Radio Show will air Monday nights throughout the 2021 season..

The weekly, hour-long show begins at 6 p.m. Central Time and will originate in front of a live audience once again at Cubby's Sports Bar and Grill in downtown Brookings. Hosted by Tyler Merriam, the show airs along the Jackrabbit Sports Network, including flagship station WNAX 570 AM, and can be heard through the Jackrabbit app and online at GoJacks.com.

Weekly segments include interviews with Jackrabbit head coach John Stiegelmeier, student-athletes and others associated with SDSU football. Fans can submit questions through social media platforms and fans in attendance can register for weekly prizes.

A LOOK AHEAD: The Jackrabbits will have their lone bye week of the regular season before opening Missouri Valley Football Conference play Sept. 25 at Indiana State. That game is set for a 1 p.m. Eastern (noon Central) kickoff in Terre Haute, Indiana.

SDSU's next home game is slated for Oct. 2, when the Jackrabbits host Dixie State in the 54th Beef Bowl. Start time for that game is 6 p.m.

-GoJacks.com-