SDSU, Montana Prep for Playoff Rematch

December 5, 2024 Travis Kriens Local, Regional and National Sport stories

 GAME 13: #14 Montana (9-4) at #3 South Dakota State (10-2) — FCS PLAYOFFS ROUND 2
 When  Saturday, Dec. 7 | 1 p.m. | ORDER TICKETS
 Where  Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium | Brookings, South Dakota
 TV  ESPN+ (subscription required)
 Radio  Jackrabbits All Access (free audio) | Jackrabbit Sports Network
 Live Stats  NCAA.com
 Game Notes  SDSU | Montana | Missouri Valley Football Conference | FCS Insider
 Social Media  Twitter | Facebook | #GoJacks

The South Dakota State University football team begins its quest for a third consecutive Football Championship Subdivision national title as it hosts Montana in what will be a rematch from last season’s championship game.

Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m. at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium. The game will be available for viewing exclusively on the ESPN+ streaming platform.

The third-seeded Jackrabbits closed out the 2024 regular season with a 10-2 overall record and earned the Missouri Valley Football Conference’s automatic bid to the 24-team FCS playoffs for the third season in a row via a tiebreaker after sharing the league title with North Dakota State and South Dakota with a 7-1 mark in the MVFC.

Montana is making its record 28th appearance in the FCS playoffs and enters the matchup with a 9-4 overall record. The 14th-seeded Grizzlies posted a 41-27 home victory over Tennessee State in opening-round action Nov. 30.

THE SERIES: Saturday’s postseason matchup will mark the 10th all-time meeting between South Dakota State and Montana on the gridiron.

Montana holds an 8-1 advantage in the series, which includes a 2-1 record in the postseason. Seven of the nine previous matchups were played in Missoula, including first-round playoff games in 2009 and 2015, while the national championship meeting between the two programs on Jan. 7, 2024, was played in Frisco, Texas. The only other time the Grizzlies played in Brookings was on Nov. 14, 1970, when Montana posted a 24-0 shutout of SDSU at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium.

The 2009 opening-round playoff game, played Nov. 28, 2009, at Washington-Grizzly Stadium in Missoula featured an epic second-half comeback by Montana. SDSU led 48-21 with five and a half minutes to play in the third quarter, but the tide began to turn on the ensuing kickoff as Marc Mariani went 98 yards for a touchdown. He then brought the Griz to within 48-34 with a 15-yard TD catch on the first play of the fourth quarter.

Mariani’s third touchdown of the game — a 4-yard reception from Andrew Selle with 1:08 remaining in regulation — gave Montana its first lead of the game at 55-48. The Grizzlies capped the comeback with an interception return for touchdown moments later to pull out a 61-48 victory.

The 2015 playoff matchup was played six years to the day from the squads’ first postseason meeting. This time it was Montana that led early, building a 24-0 halftime advantage.

SDSU staged a second-half comeback, pulling to within 24-17 with 4:44 to play on a 30-yard touchdown pass from Taryn Christion to Dallas Goedert. However, Montana was able to run out the clock and secure the first-round victory.

In the championship game to close out the 2023 season, South Dakota State capped a perfect 15-0 season with a 23-3 victory over the Grizzlies. For the third time in four postseason games, the Jackrabbits’ stifling defense kept an opponent out of the end zone, highlighted by a tackle at the goal line by Adam Bock on a fourth-down play attempt on the first play of the second quarter.

SDSU led 7-3 at halftime, then put the game out of reach with a 16-point third quarter that included touchdowns by Mark Gronowski and Jadon Janke.

YEAR 21 in FCS: The 2024 season marks the 21st season South Dakota State has competed in the Football Championship Subdivision.

Since joining the Division I ranks in 2004, the Jackrabbits have compiled a 182-81 record (.692 winning percentage) and have now won at least eight games in 14 consecutive seasons, while reaching the 10-win plateau for the sixth time in the last eight years.

In the decade of the 2020s, SDSU has put together a 58-9 record, which is good for an .866 winning percentage. Included in that record is an active 27-game home winning streak (including FCS playoff games) that dates back to October 2021.

VALLEY SEASON NO. 17: The 2024 season is South Dakota State’s 17th as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference. Since joining the league in 2008, SDSU is the only program in that span to not have a losing season in conference play.

The Jackrabbits hold a 99-35 record (.739 winning percentage) in MVFC games and have now won six or more league games nine times. Prior to its co-championship this season, SDSU claimed the league title four times: previously earning a share of league titles in 2016 and during the 2020-21 spring season before running the table with an 8-0 record in conference play en route to outright conference championships in both 2022 and 2023.

Earlier this season, SDSU matched the MVFC record with 19 consecutive victories — a streak that spanned from the final game of the 2021 league slate until ending Oct. 19 at North Dakota State. The Bison previously held the mark between the 2017 season and 2020-21 spring campaign.

NOVEMBERS TO REMEMBER: South Dakota State has a history of finishing strong down the stretch of regular seasons in recent years.

Since starting their run of consecutive playoff appearances in 2012, the Jackrabbits have compiled a 32-6 record in regular season games played during the month of November and have added four more playoff victories for an overall mark of 36-6 (.857 winning percentage).

SDSU went 4-0 in the month of November this season and previously posted a 3-0 mark in November five times in that span, with 2019 (2-2) being the only time in the last 13 years the Jackrabbits have dropped more than one game in the next-to-last month of the calendar year.

PLAYOFF HISTORY: South Dakota State is making its 15th postseason appearance in its football history in 2024, with 14 of those berths coming as a member of the Football Championship Subdivision. SDSU’s lone appearance in the NCAA Division II football playoffs came in 1979, when the Jacks dropped a 50-7 decision at Youngstown State.

The Jackrabbits have compiled a 22-12 record in the playoffs and are making their 13th straight appearance in the FCS playoffs. SDSU has advanced to at least the semifinal round in four consecutive seasons and six times in the last seven campaigns. SDSU made its first appearance in a national title game during the 2020-21 spring season, falling to Sam Houston, 23-21, then claimed its first-ever national championship in football with a 45-21 victory over North Dakota State in January 2023. The Jacks repeated as national champions during the 2023 campaign with a 23-3 victory over Montana.

SDSU advanced to the FCS national title game each of the three years it held the No. 1 overall seed in the playoff field (16 teams in 2020-21, 24 teams in 2022 & 2023).

ELITE COMPANY: Heading into the 2024 postseason, South Dakota State is one of only two Football Championship Subdivision programs to reach the playoffs each of the last 13 seasons. The Jackrabbits secured the Missouri Valley Football Conference’s automatic bid to the 2024 playoffs, assuring SDSU of its 13th consecutive postseason appearance and 14th overall at the FCS level.

MVFC rival North Dakota State holds the longest active streak with 15 consecutive trips to the playoffs after gaining an at-large berth to the 2023 tournament. The Bison are seeded second in this year’s tournament.

RANKINGS STREAK: By being ranked first in the final Stats Perform FCS poll of the 2023 season and maintaining a top-three showing through the entirety of the 2024 regular season, SDSU has now appeared in the top 25 of 173 consecutive media polls dating back to October 2012.

The Jackrabbits held the top spot in 29 consecutive polls from Oct. 17, 2022, until relinquishing the top spot following their loss at North Dakota State on Oct. 19.

CAPTAINS: Leading the Jackrabbit football team are six captains:

Bock and Gronowski are both in their third seasons in the role, while the other four captains are first-time captains.

GRONOWSKI A DOUBLE FINALIST: South Dakota State quarterback Mark Gronowski has been named a finalist for a pair of college football scholar-athlete awards.

Last month, the Jackrabbit signal-caller was announced as one of 13 finalists — one from each of the conferences that makes up the Football Championship Subdivision  — for the 2024 FedEx Doris Robinson Scholar-Athlete Award.

The award is presented annually to an FCS student-athlete who exemplifies excellence on the field, in the classroom and across the community. The values embody the leadership and integrity championed by Doris Robinson, a former school teacher and the wife of legendary Grambling State University coach Eddie Robinson.

A native of Naperville, Illinois, Gronowski has been a four-year starter for the Jackrabbits, leading the program to a combined 47-5 record and back-to-back FCS national championships. He was honored as the recipient of the 2023 Walter Payton Award, as well as the FCS Athletics Directors Association’s Offensive Player of the Year last season after leading the subdivision in passing efficiency with a 179.6 rating.

The career totals for the three-time team captain include 9,780 passing yards and 87 touchdowns, while accounting for another 1,696 rushing yards and 32 scores. Gronowski was again one of 35 finalists for the Walter Payton Award in 2024.

In the classroom, Gronowski compiled a 3.76 grade-point average while graduating this past spring with a degree in mechanical engineering. The 2023 FCS ADA Scholar-Athlete of the Year and a second-team selection to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-America® Team, he is currently pursuing a master’s degree in engineering management.

He also has been active in his communities as a youth flag football coach and a Special Olympics volunteer.

The award winner will be announced on Dec. 10, then honored at the Stats Perform FCS National Awards Banquet on Jan. 4 in Frisco, Texas.

Previously, Gronowski was selected as one of 16 finalists for the William V. Campbell Trophy, which is awarded to the top scholar-athlete in all divisions of college football.

Each of the Campbell Trophy finalists will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the 2024 National Football Foundation National Scholar-Athlete Class Presented by Fidelity Investments. The winner of the Campbell Trophy, who will receive a $25,000 postgraduate scholarship, will be announced Dec. 10 at the 66th NFF Annual Awards Dinner in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Gronowski is the fifth Jackrabbit football player to earn the distinction of being a Campbell Trophy finalist, joining Ryan Berry (2008), Zach Zenner (2014), Jake Wieneke (2017) and Taryn Christion (2018).

ALL-MVFC AWARDS: A total of 19 players from league co-champion South Dakota State were honored this week on Missouri Valley Football Conference honor squads. Kobe Clayborne and Colby Humphrey were named to both the all-MVFC squad the league’s all-newcomer team.

All-MVFC Release
MVFC All-Newcomer Release

GRONOWSKI A DUAL THREAT: South Dakota State quarterback Mark Gronowski reached another milestone early in the 2024 season by accounting for the 100th touchdown of his career.

Gronowski enters Saturday’s game against Montana having been a part of 120 touchdowns — 87 passing, 32 rushing and 1 receiving. So far this season he has thrown 17 touchdown passes and rushed for five more. Overall, he has accounted for at least one touchdown in 46 of 52 career starts.

Gronowski had a streak of passing and rushing for a touchdown in 11 straight games come to an end Oct. 21, 2023, at Southern Illinois, and has now accomplished the feat 23 times after passing for two touchdowns and running for another Oct. 12 versus Youngstown State. The Jackrabbits have a 47-5 record in Gronowski’s 52 career starts, including an 11-1 mark in postseason games.

In addition, Gronowski moved into second place on the career total offense charts at SDSU in the 2024 home opener versus Incarnate Word and passed the 10,000-yard mark Oct. 5 at Northern Iowa. Now with 11,476 yards of total offense, he also ranks second in career passing yards with 9,780 after passing Austin Sumner (9,458 yards from 2011-14) in the Nov. 16 home finale against Southern Illinois.

During the 2023 season, Gronowski became the third SDSU quarterback to top 5,000 yards passing and 1,000 yards rushing in his career, joining Taryn Christion (11,535 passing/1,515 rushing from 2015-18) and Ted Wahl (6,016 passing/1,229 rushing from 1985-88).

WILDE LEADS NEW-LOOK RECEIVING CORPS: Sophomore wide receiver Griffin Wilde has turned in a series of strong performances during the 2024 season.

In the season opener at Oklahoma State, Wilde established new career highs with seven receptions and 150 receiving yards. The Sioux Falls native scored his first touchdown of the season on a 60-yard pass play in the fourth quarter and added catches of 21 and 33 yards to set up the Jackrabbits’ first touchdown of the game.

Wilde bettered his receptions total a week later in the Sept. 7 home opener versus Incarnate Word, hauling in 10 catches — on 10 targets — for 106 yards. He also recorded the first multiple-touchdown game of his young career, scoring on pass plays of 11 and 25 yards in the second half.

In a Nov. 9 victory at North Dakota, Wilde established another new career high by hauling in three touchdown receptions as part of a five-catch, 140-yard performance. He closed the regular season with four catches for 139 yards and a 53-yard touchdown Nov. 23 at Missouri State.

With team highs of 56 receptions and 900 receiving yards through 12 games, Wilde currently ranks 32nd among Football Championship Subdivision receivers for receiving yards. His seven touchdowns rank 25th in the FCS.

O’GROSKE STEPS UP: True freshman Lofton O’Groske has earned a spot in the rotation at wide receiver during league play and put together his top performance of the season Nov. 2 against Murray State.

After catching one pass in three of his first four outings, O’Groske hauled in five receptions for 50 yards, including an 11-yard touchdown that capped the scoring in the Jackrabbits’ 52-6 victory over Murray State.

O’Groske tallied a career-long catch of 22 yards Nov. 16 against Southern Illinois and enters the postseason with 11 receptions for 129 yards and a touchdown.

VORHEES, MASON JOIN CENTURY CLUB: Redshirt freshman running back Kirby Vorhees and backup quarterback Chase Mason both logged breakout performances running the ball during the middle part of the season.

In a Sept. 21 game at Southeastern Louisiana, Vorhees topped the 100-yard mark for the first time in his collegiate career as he ended the night with 179 yards on only five carries while scoring touchdowns (20, 22 and 80 yards) on his first three attempts. Vorhees entered that game with 72 career rushing yards.

Mason put up similar numbers in the Oct. 12 Hobo Day game against Youngstown State as he tallied a career-best 161 yards on five carries with two touchdowns. Mason scored on runs of 38 and 48 yards before adding another run of 69 yards later in the contest. He followed his performance against YSU with a 66-yard run for the lone Jackrabbit touchdown Oct. 19 at North Dakota State.

Vorhees and Mason became the 19th and 20th different Jackrabbit players — 17 running backs and three quarterbacks — to rush for 100-plus yards in a game since SDSU moved to Division I at the start of the 2024 season. Mason’s 169 yards versus Youngstown State stand as the most rushing yards by a Jackrabbit quarterback in the D-I era, surpassing the mark of 142 yards by Mark Gronowski in an FCS playoff game against Southern Illinois in the spring of 2021.

In all, Jackrabbit players have combined to rush for 100 or more yards in a game 159 times in the D-I era, with the most recent being a career-best 157-yard, two-TD outing by Amar Johnson Nov. 16 against Southern Illinois.

ANGEL-IC PERFORMANCES: Angel Johnson became the fourth different Jackrabbit to rush for 100 yards in a game this season when he tallied a career-best 132 yards on only seven carries Nov. 2 against Murray State. Johnson scored on 67-yard run late in the first quarter to put SDSU ahead 14-3.

Johnson was again the team’s leading rusher in the Nov. 9 game at North Dakota, tallying an even 100 yards on 13 carries. He currently ranks second on the team with 555 rushing yards, while averaging 7.1 yards per carry.

Of Johnson’s 11 career touchdowns, six have covered 50 or more yards, including three of five this season. He scored a touchdown in three of the last four games of the regular season, including a 29-yard run on the first play of the second quarter Nov. 9 at North Dakota and a 5-yard run Nov. 16 against Southern Illinois.

Following is a list of his explosive scoring plays in a Jackrabbit uniform:

  • 66-yard touchdown run vs. Drake – Sept. 16, 2023;
  • 50-yard touchdown run vs. North Dakota – Sept. 30, 2023;
  • 80-yard touchdown run vs. Mercer – Dec. 2, 2023 (FCS Playoffs);
  • 66-yard touchdown pass at Northern Iowa – Oct. 5, 2024;
  • 99-yard kickoff return for touchdown vs. Youngstown State – Oct. 12, 2024, and
  • 67-yard touchdown run vs. Murray State – Nov. 2, 2024

WOODS IMPRESSES IN DEBUT: True freshman Maxwell Woods turned in a strong all-around performance in his Sept. 14 collegiate debut versus Augustana.

The native of Carver, Minnesota, racked up 89 all-purpose yards on nine touches. He tallied 61 rushing yards on six carries, including breaking off a 44-yard run on his second carry of the night. Woods also contributed two receptions for nine yards and a kickoff return for 19 yards.

Woods returned to the lineup Nov. 2 against Murray State, contributing 40 rushing yards on a career-high 11 carries and adding two more receptions for four yards.

BOTH ENDS OF THE SPECTRUM: The Jackrabbits wrapped up the 2023 season by ranking in the top six of the Football Championship Subdivision in both scoring offense (sixth, 37.3 points per game) and scoring defense (first, 9.3 points per game).

SDSU scored 20 or more points in 28 of the 29 games in their long winning streak and has now held the opposition to 10 points or less 16 times over the last two seasons under head coach Jimmy Rogers. SDSU has held the opposition out of the end zone 11 times in that span.

The Jackrabbits pitched a shutout in three of their last six games of the 2023 season and added a 41-0 whitewashing of Southeastern Louisiana on Sept. 21 for their fourth shutout in a 10-game span.

Overall, the Jacks outscored the opposition, 146-15, in four playoff games last year, allowing only one touchdown.

SDSU once again leads the FCS in scoring defense with an average of 12.4 points allowed per game and stands fourth in total defense by giving up 272.9 yards per contest. The Jackrabbits also hold the sixth spot in rushing defense by allowing 90.5 yards per game.

LOCK-DOWN DEFENSE: The Jackrabbit defense continued to clamp down on the opposition early in the 2024 season, including putting together a three-game stretch in which it did not allow a touchdown.

The total of six points allowed on field goals by Augustana (Sept. 14) and Northern Iowa (Oct. 5) around a Sept. 21 shutout at Southeastern Louisiana matched the fewest points allowed by an SDSU squad over a three-game span in 62 years. During the 1962 season, the Jackrabbits turned in back-to-back shutouts against North Dakota (26-0) and South Dakota (24-0) before recording a 17-6  victory at North Dakota State. The Jacks allowed only 70 points that entire season en route to a 7-2-1 record and a share of the North Central Conference title.

SDSU went more than 13 consecutive quarters without allowing a touchdown — from the second play of the fourth quarter in the Sept. 7 home opener versus Incarnate Word, with 14 minutes and 22 seconds remaining, until the final minute of the second quarter of the Oct. 12 Hobo Day game versus Youngstown State when Penguin quarterback Beau Brungard scampered into the end zone from 4 yards out.

OFFENSIVE JUGGERNAUT: South Dakota State put up some astounding numbers on the offensive side of the ball in its Oct. 12 Hobo Day victory over Youngstown State.

The Jackrabbits put a season-high 63 points on the board despite running only 43 offensive plays. SDSU picked up a first down on nearly half of those plays, moving the chains 21 times en route to a season-best 557 yards of total offense.

SDSU’s 406 rushing yards marked the program’s best day on the ground since racking up 446 yards in a 2021 FCS playoff victory over UC Davis. The Jackrabbits averaged 16.2 yards per carry and 13 yards per play versus Youngstown State despite having the football for only 19 minutes and 46 seconds.

SECOND-QUARTER STAMPEDES: The Jackrabbits scored 28 points in the second quarters in back-to-back games at North Dakota (Nov. 9) and versus Southern Illinois (Nov. 16).

For the season, SDSU has outscored the opposition by a 193-43 margin in the second stanza of its 12 games.

OWNING THE THIRD: South Dakota State held a huge advantage coming out of the locker room at halftime by outscoring the opposition by a 123-14 margin in the third quarter of games last season. The Jackrabbits solidified that margin by outscoring Montana, 16-0, in the third stanza of the national championship game.

Although that trend was reversed in the 2024 season opener at Oklahoma State when the Cowboys outscored SDSU, 21-7, in the third quarter of the Aug. 31 game, the Jackrabbits have again dominated coming out of the locker room at halftime.

SDSU has since pulled out to a 115-35 advantage in third-quarter scoring this season after tallying a 94-7 combined edge over the last 10 games. Southern Illinois was the only team in league play this season to put points on the board against the Jacks in the third quarter, scoring on a 48-yard pass play in their Nov. 16 meeting.

MODELS OF EFFICIENCY: South Dakota State made 57 trips into the red zone during the 2023 season and came away with points 55 of those times for an FCS-best 96 percent efficiency rate. The Jacks scored a touchdown on 45 of those trips — 30 rushing, 15 passing — with 10 field goals.

SDSU went 13-for-14 in red-zone trips during the postseason, scoring nine touchdowns with four field goals. The Jackrabbits’ lone red-zone trip in which they did not score ended with a kneel-down to run out the clock against Villanova.

The Jacks had a streak over two seasons of scoring on 70 consecutive drives into the red zone come to end with an interception in the end zone early in the fourth quarter of the Oct. 21, 2023, game at Southern Illinois. Before that, the last time SDSU did not score when inside the opponent’s 20-yard line was on a missed field goal in the second quarter of their Oct. 1, 2022, game versus Western Illinois. SDSU had scored 57 touchdowns and kicked 13 field goals in that span.

In addition, the Jackrabbits led the FCS ranks in both third-down and fourth-down conversions on offense. SDSU converted on an FCS-best 53.5 percent (84-of-157) of its third-down attempts, highlighted by a 9-for-14 performance in the opening round of the playoffs against Mercer.

On fourth down, the Jackrabbits converted 9-of-11 times for 82 percent.

So far this season, SDSU is 44-for-52 in red-zone trips with 36 touchdowns and eight field goals, including 6-for-6 with five touchdowns Nov. 23 at Missouri State.

Three of the team’s trips inside the opponents’ 20-yard line this season have ended in run-out-the-clock situations late in games.

The Jacks have converted only five times on fourth-down plays this season, going 5-for-11, but are converting at a 50.7 percent clip (68-of-135) on third-down attempts to rank fifth among FCS squads in 2024. SDSU went a combined 28-for-46 (61.3  percent) on third-down conversions in its last three home games, going 8-of-16 versus South Dakota on Oct. 26, 11-for-15 against Murray State on Nov. 2 and 9-for-15 versus Southern Illinois.

PICKING OFF THE COMPETITION: The Jackrabbit defense has continually taken the ball away from the opposition in recent seasons, including leading the Football Championship Subdivision in interceptions two of the last three seasons while ranking second in 2023.

After leading the subdivision with 21 interceptions in 2021, SDSU tallied an FCS-best 18 interceptions in 2022, including two in that season’s national championship game against North Dakota State. Jackrabbit defenders recorded at least one interception in each of their 11 regular season games during the 2022 campaign.

Last year, the Jackrabbits hauled in 19 interceptions to rank second among FCS squads. SDSU tallied three interceptions in its 2023 season opener against Western Oregon (Colby Huerter, Tucker Large, Kolten Tilford) and again in the Dec. 15 semifinal playoff game versus UAlbany (Large, DyShawn Gales, Dalys Beanum).

Beanum recorded an interception in each of SDSU’s four playoff games. Seven of his 12 career interceptions have come in the postseason.

Dating back to the start of the 2018 season, the Jackrabbits have intercepted at least one pass in 73 of their last 93 games for a total of 117 pickoffs, the latest being a two-interception performance by Matthew Durrance against Southern Illinois on Nov. 16.

Colby Humphrey came up with the Jackrabbits’ first interception of the season late in the first quarter of the Sept. 14 game versus Augustana, followed by two-interception performances by the team in consecutive games against Southeastern Louisiana and Northern Iowa.

Senior cornerback Steven Arrell notched interceptions in each of the road wins at Southeastern Louisiana and UNI.

DOUBLE-DUTY DUSTMAN: Senior Hunter Dustman has figured prominently in the Jackrabbits’ special teams efforts the past three seasons.

A native of East Bethel, Minnesota, Dustman has handled both the kicking and punting duties for the Jackrabbits. As the placekicker, he has put together back-to-back 100-point seasons, scoring 113 points in 2022 and 122 points during the 2023 season. He made 18 field goals each of the past two seasons and has 12 so far during the 2024 campaign, including two Oct. 5 at Northern Iowa, to stand third on the program career charts with 49 field goals after passing Chase Vinatieri (47 field goals from 2016-19) last month.

In addition, Dustman set an SDSU single-season record with 68 extra points in 2023.

A five-time Missouri Valley Football Conference Special Teams Player of the Week award winner, Dustman has averaged 42.3 yards on 155 career punts. He got off to a solid start to the 2024 season by making both of his field goal attempts (31 and 48 yards) and averaging 48 yards on three punts (long of 53) Aug. 31 at Oklahoma State.

Dustman topped the 300-point plateau for his career on Nov. 2 and currently ranks sixth on the SDSU career scoring charts with 329 points after passing Parker Douglass (321 points from 2004-07) in the regular season finale at Missouri State.

MANY HAPPY RETURNS: South Dakota State raced out to a 28-0 lead a minute into the second quarter of its 2023 season opener against Western Oregon thanks to a pair of long interception returns for touchdowns by its starting safeties.

First, Colby Huerter hauled in an interception off a deflection by DyShawn Gales for a 54-yard return for touchdown. On the first play of the second quarter, Tucker Large picked off a pass and weaved his way through traffic for a 64-yard score.

It marked the fifth time in the Division I era of Jackrabbit football (since 2004) that SDSU returned two interceptions for touchdowns in the same game. The others:

  • Sept. 29, 2007 vs. Stephen F. Austin – Jimmy Rogers (32 yards, Q2), Conrad Kjerstad (82, Q4);
  • Nov. 10, 2007 vs. Southern Utah — Tyler Koch (45 and 99 yards in Q4);
  • Oct. 1, 2016 vs. Western Illinois – Christian Rozeboom (37 yards, Q3), Dallas Brown (19, Q3);
  • Nov. 27, 2021 vs. UC Davis — Adam Bock (39 yards, Q3), Dalys Beanum (59, Q4).

SDSU also scored two return touchdowns in the Dec. 15 semifinal victory against UAlbany when Tucker Large returned a punt 79 yards to the end zone midway through the second quarter and Jason Freeman scooped up a fumble on the second play of the second half and returned it 34 yards to push the Jackrabbit lead to 42-0.

WORKING OVERTIME: South Dakota State’s 20-17 overtime victory over South Dakota on Oct. 26 marked the first time the Jackrabbits went to an extra session since 2021.

Since overtime rules were implemented in college football in the mid-1990s, SDSU has compiled a 6-6 record in overtime games. The Jacks have now won three of the four overtime contests they have played at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium.

BEANUM BOOSTS RETURN GAME: Starting cornerback Dalys Beanum has spelled an injured Tucker Large as the Jackrabbits’ primary punt returner this season and responded by returning a punt 88 yards for a touchdown to open the scoring in South Dakota State’s 41-0 victory at Southeastern Louisiana on Sept. 21.

Beanum’s touchdown marked the longest punt return by a Jackrabbit since a 94-yarder for touchdown by Paul Aanonson in the 2007 Great West Football Conference title game against North Dakota State.

SDSU has made a habit out of scoring on punt plays the past two seasons. Over the last 15 games dating back to the 2023 FCS playoffs, the Jacks have scored on four punt plays — two blocked punts and two punt returns.

Last postseason, Matthew Durrance blocked a Villanova punt and returned it 45 yards for a score. A week later, Tucker Large returned a punt 79 yards for a touchdown against UAlbany.

Following Beanum’s punt return for touchdown at Southeastern Louisiana, Noah Thompson added a 49-yard return to paydirt Oct. 5 at Northern Iowa following a block by Cullen McShane.

For good measure, Angel Johnson returned the opening kickoff of the Oct. 12 Hobo Day game against Youngstown State 99 yards for a touchdown. Johnson’s kick return for TD was the first by a Jackrabbit player since Cade Johnson went 99 yards in a 2017 FCS playoff game versus New Hampshire.

NO PASSING, NO PROBLEM: SDSU mustered only 76 yards on 8-of-19 passing in its 41-0 shutout victory Sept. 21 at Southeastern Louisiana. The Jacks more than made up for their deficiency in the passing game by rushing for 341 yards.

The Jackrabbits’ 76 passing yards marked their lowest output through the air in a game since an 87-yard outing in the 2022 season opener at Iowa. It also was the fewest passing yards in an SDSU victory since throwing for a mere 70 yards in a 44-3 road win at Southern Illinois during the COVID-altered 2020-21 spring campaign.

FREUND JOINS COACHING STAFF: Danny Freund was hired as co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in January 2024. He is sharing coordinator duties with Ryan Olson, who has been a member of the SDSU coaching staff since 2021 and will retain duties coaching the offensive line.

Freund spent the last dozen years coaching at the University of North Dakota, including serving as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach since 2018. He helped lead the Fighting Hawks to five FCS playoff appearances, as well as a share of the Missouri Valley Football Conference title during the 2020-21 spring season.

Prior to his role as offensive coordinator, Freund had stints coaching UND’s running backs, fullbacks and wide receivers. He also held the title of associate head coach during the 2023 season, when the Fighting Hawks averaged 34.1 points per game en route to a postseason berth. He was honored by RII Sports Technology with its GRAPHITE Award, which recognizes excellence and efficiency in play-calling.

Freund was a two-year team captain (2007, 2008) as UND made the transition from NCAA Division II, compiling a 16-6 record as the starting quarterback. He set multiple school passing records before embarking on his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in 2010. Freund returned to Grand Forks and UND in 2011.

THE 12TH MAN: South Dakota State has benefited from large crowds coming off the program’s back-to-back national championships. In 2023, the Jackrabbits averaged 18,208 fans for regular season games, followed by another record-setting year in 2024 with an average attendance of 18,504 over six regular season home games.

Four games in each of the past two seasons have been sellouts, starting when 19,332 fans came out for the Sept. 9, 2023, showdown against Montana State. The crowd played a big role in the game, helping factor in nine false-start penalties by Montana State in the game, including six in the final quarter.

The 2023 Dakota Marker game against North Dakota State, which was a rematch from the 2022 FCS national championship game, drew a stadium-record 19,431 fans.

SDSU also set program playoff attendance records in all three postseason games it hosted in 2023, highlighted by a crowd of 12,265 in the semifinals against UAlbany.

Large crowds continued to fill Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium in 2024 as the first four Jackrabbit home games this season were sellouts and rank in the top nine for most-attended games in facility history. The Oct. 26 Interstate Series game versus South Dakota attracted 19,351 fans, making it the fifth-largest crowd in the nine-year history of the venue.

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.

Dana J. Dykhouse 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 stars 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 Jacks defeated Drake, 56-28.

SDSU has gone on to post a 59-7 record at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium during its nine seasons of operation, including a 14-1 mark in FCS playoff games. The Jacks’ current home winning streak is 27 games (including playoff games), with their last home loss a 26-17 setback to Northern Iowa on Oct. 23, 2021.

In 2023, the Jackrabbits completed their fourth undefeated season while playing at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium, compiling a 9-0 record. SDSU previously posted perfect home records in 2018 (7-0), the 2020-21 spring season (5-0) and 2022 (9-0).

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.

JACKS IN THE PROS: Six former Jackrabbit standouts were on opening day rosters as the National Football League kicked off the 2024 season in September, 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 selected in the second round of the 2018 NFL Draft, Goedert has gone on to record 345 receptions for 4,030 yards and 24 touchdowns in seven seasons. In helping lead the Eagles to the Super Bowl during the 2022 season, Goedert caught 55 passes for 702 yards and three touchdowns. He ranks third on the Eagles for receptions (38) and receiving yards (441) with two touchdowns during the 2024 season, including posting a career day of 10 catches for 170 yards Sept. 22 against New Orleans.

Also at tight end is second-year pro Tucker Kraft with the Green Bay Packers. A third-round pick in 2023, Kraft turned in a strong second half to his rookie season, finishing the year with 31 catches for 355 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He has emerged as a top target for the Packers by sharing the team lead with six touchdown receptions while ranking second on the squad with 36 catches and third with 480 receiving yards.

Linebacker Christian Rozeboom earned a Super Bowl ring with the Rams during the 2021 season. A member of the Rams’ practice squad in 2020, Rozeboom made his NFL debut with the Kansas City Chiefs early in 2021 before returning to Los Angeles and seeing action mostly on special teams for the Rams for the remainder of the regular season and postseason.

Rozeboom earned a starting spot in 2023 and ranked fourth on the team with 79 tackles while adding an interception. He has a team-best 103 tackles so far in 2024 and recorded his first interception of the season Nov. 11 versus Miami.

Running back Pierre Strong, Jr., who was drafted in 2022 by New England, is currently in his second year with the Cleveland Browns. He has seen most of his action special teams, returning 11 kickoffs for 255 yards (23.2 ypr). Strong also has recorded seven receptions for 77 yards and has rushed 19 times for 69 yards in 10 games so far this season. He had his best game of the season thus far with 78 all-purpose yards Oct. 13 at Philadelphia.

SDSU had two more players selected in the NFL Draft in 2024 when offensive Mason McCormick was taken in the fourth round by Pittsburgh and running back Isaiah Davis was a fifth-round pick of the New York Jets.

McCormick made his first career start in a Week 4 game against Indianapolis and has maintained his starting role while Davis scored his first NFL touchdown Dec. 1 against Seattle on a 4-yard pass from future Hall-of-Famer Aaron Rodgers. Davis has registered 22 yards on five carries, has caught four passes for 38 yards and has returned eight kickoffs for 203 yards (25.4 ypr) in limited action thus far in 2024.

Six others who played on both Jackrabbit national championship teams later signed as free agents: cornerback DyShawn Gales (Cleveland); offensive tackle Garret Greenfield (Seattle); tight end Zach Heins (Los Angeles Chargers); wide receivers Jadon and Jaxon Janke (Houston), and linebacker/safety Isaiah Stalbird (New Orleans). Greenfield and Stalbird were later assigned to their respective teams’ practice squads, although Greenfield has since signed with the New York Giants.

Stalbird has spent time on the active roster and has been credited with three tackles in three games.

Headlining the list of Jackrabbit pro football alumni are Hall of Famer Jim Langer and the NFL’s career scoring leader, Adam Vinatieri.

Langer who played football at SDSU from 1967-69 and also was an All-American in baseball, played center on every offensive down during the Miami Dolphins’ perfect season in 1972. He was a first-team All-Pro four times and was selected to play in six Pro Bowl games. He played in three Super Bowl games with the Dolphins from 1970-79 before finishing his career with the Minnesota Vikings from 1980-81. Langer passed away in September 2019.

Vinatieri wrapped up his playing career after becoming the NFL’s all-time scoring leader in 2018 as a member of the Indianapolis Colts. Over Vinatieri’s 24 seasons from 1996-2019, 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.

ROGERS SHOW: The Jimmy Rogers Radio Show airs throughout the 2024 season.

The weekly, hour-long show originates in front of a live audience 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 coaches, student-athletes and others associated with SDSU football. Fans in attendance can register for prizes.

Due to Jackrabbit men’s basketball this past Monday, shows will air at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 4 and again on Monday, Dec. 9.

A LOOK AHEAD: The winner of Saturday’s game will advance to the quarterfinal round of the FCS playoffs, with games slated for either Dec. 13 or 14. Game dates and times will be announced at the conclusion of this weekend’s games.

-GoJacks.com-