Jackrabbits, Coyotes tangle to conclude regular season

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Fifth-ranked South Dakota State and South Dakota face off in the Showdown Series on what is expected to be a chilly Saturday at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium.

The game, which kicks off at 2 p.m., will air live on Midco Sports Network and ESPN+.

The Jackrabbits (7-2, 5-2) are alone in second in the Missouri Valley Football Conference standings and closing in on their eighth FCS Playoffs bid, including seventh consecutively.

SDSU has all but clinched a spot in the field already, and a closing victory would likely mean a top-eight seed and a first-round bye. The 24-team field is announced Sunday.

The Jackrabbits have won five of their past six games, including three in a row. They outscored Southern Illinois 57-38 last week on the road.

The Coyotes (4-6, 3-4) are tied for sixth place in the league. They snapped a four-game losing streak with a 17-12 home win over Western Illinois a week ago.

“They’re a good football team,” said SDSU coach John Stiegelmeier. “They played a really good game last week against Western Illinois; their defense came alive and suffocated the Leathernecks, who were supposed to be a playoff team.

“Their offense is explosive. They have good players at every position; they got a kid back that’s a really good player.

“Their quarterback – he’s not Chris Streveler – but he’s pretty doggone good.

“It’s a rivalry game; it’s a game for them to claim they beat No. 5 in the nation; and for us, it’s to try to be a top-eight seed. So there is a lot going on. We’re just trying to focus on what we can do to be the best football team we can be.”

In the FCS ranks, South Dakota State is fourth in scoring offense (45 points per game) and sixth in total offense (513 yards) as they lead the MVFC in both categories. They’re tied for sixth in turnover margin at plus-11.

Taryn Christion, who holds the MVFC record for career passing yards, total offense and touchdown tosses, is 151-of-248 for 2,377 yards with 25 TDs and six interceptions. He’s run for 189 yards and four scores.

Cade Johnson is tied for fourth nationally with 13 TD receptions – three off the league record – and seventh in yards per game (112.7). He tops the Valley in both categories. The sophomore has 49 catches covering 1,014 yards.

Adam Anderson is also having a standout year with 647 yards and six touchdowns on 39 grabs.

Freshman Pierre Strong Jr. and junior Mikey Daniel have been on a tear as of late.

Strong has 324 yards on just 23 carries – a 14.1 average – and five touchdowns in the past two games. He now leads the team with 524 yards on 50 rushes – 10.5 average – to go with five TDs.

Daniel put up 252 yards and scored four touchdowns in the last three contests. The Brookings high school graduate has 477 yards and a team-high eight TD runs this year.

For his career, he has 1,040 rushing yards and 21 total touchdowns (20 rushing).

“They’re pretty good; yeah pretty good,” Stiegelmeier said of his offense. “The fat guys are doing a good job even though they’re beat up. We have two of the top four running backs left and they’re hitting on all cylinders.

“Obviously it starts with the fat guys, but at this point in the season it starts with Taryn and his ability to lead, motivate and make plays.”

Junior Christian Rozeboom has a team-high 60 tackles to go with three takeaways, including a pair of picks. Fellow linebacker Dalton Cox has 52 stops.

Jordan Brown and Zy Mosley have both picked off a trio of passes. Ryan Earith (4) and Krockett Krolikowski (3 1/2) have combined for 7 1/2 of the team’s 16 sacks.

South Dakota is averaging 26.7 points per game while giving up 32.7. The Coyotes have allowed five non-offensive touchdowns – two scoop-and-scores, two punt returns and a pick-six.

Junior QB Austin Simmons (6-foot-1, 215 pounds) is 253-of-412 for 2,829 yards with 16 TDs and seven picks while rushing for 253 yards and three scores.

Dakarai Allen (6-1, 185) has 48 catches for 703 yards and five TDs, Levi Falck (6-2 195) 43 for 471 and two scores, and Shamar Jackson (5-9, 160) 33 for 443 and one touchdown.

Kai Henry (5-8, 190) has picked up 472 rushing yards on 120 carries and scored seven times in nine games. Ben Klett (6-1, 235) has added 68 carries for 275 yards.

Linebacker Alex Gray (6-3, 225) has 77 tackles, including two sacks, to go with an INT and two fumble recoveries. Free safety Andrew Gray (6-2, 215), who has two picks, and linebacker Jack Cochrane (6-3, 225) have added 73 stops apiece. The Grays are twins.

Defensive end Darin Greenfield (6-3, 240) has 13 1/2 tackles for loss, including six sacks.

SDSU USD

Points 45 26.7

Points allowed 21.8 32.7

Yards 513 407.8

Rushing yards 222.9 122.9

Passing yards 290.1 284.9

Yards allowed 366.7 423.8

Rushing yards allowed 162.4 199.9

Passing yards allowed 204.2 223.9

Third-down conversions 43.5% 40.1%

Third-down defense 34.6% 37.3%

Fourth-down conversions 2-of-5 6-of-17

Fourth-down defense 7-of-9 12-of-19

Red zone chances-TD-FG 39-28-5 44-25-12

Red zone defense chances-TD-FG 23-14-5 46-28-8

Turnover margin plus-11 plus-3

Takeaways (INT/F) 18 (13/5) 17 (7/10)

Giveaways (INT/F) 7 (6/1) 14 (7/7)

Possession time 30:55 26:44

SCORE BY QUARTER

1st 2nd 3rd 4th OT Total

SDSU 85-33 131-49 107-43 76-68 6-3 405-196

USD 62-106 67-78 66-24 55-99 17-20 267-327

SCORING BREAKDOWN

SDSU – 54 TD (28 pass, 25 rush, 1 punt return), 11-18 FG, 42-52 PAT, 0-1 2-pt. (0-1 pass). Opponents – 25 TD (13 pass, 11 rush, 1 INT return), 7-11 FG, 23-24 PAT, 1-1 2-pt. (1-1 rush).

USD – 33 TD (16 rush, 16 pass, 1 INT return), 12-17 FG, 29-30 PAT, 2-3 2-pt. (2-3 pass). Opponents – 41 TD (22 pass, 14 rush, 2 fumble return, 2 punt return, 1 INT return), 14-17 FG, 35-37 PAT, 2-3 2-pt. (2-2 rush, 0-1 pass).

MISSOURI VALLEY FOOTBALL CONFERENCE GAMES

[League rank in brackets]

SDSU USD

Points 38.6 [1] 27.1 [4]

Points allowed 25.1 [3] 35 [8]

Yards 454.1 [1] 410.1 [4]

Rushing yards 206.3 [4] 135.9 [8]

Passing yards 247.9 [3] 274.3 [2]

Yards allowed 399.6 [6] 446.9 [7]

Rushing yards allowed 179.1 [6] 216 [8]

Passing yards allowed 220.4 [5] 230.9 [6]

Third-down conversions 39.4% [5] 43.3% [3]

Third-down defense 35.3% [2] 38.8% [6]

Fourth-down conversions 1-of-3 [9] 4-of-11 [8]

Fourth-down defense 6-of-8 [9] 7-of-13 [5]

Red zone chances-TD-FG 28-18-5 [4] 32-17-9 [6]

Red zone defense chances-TD-FG 19-12-4 [8] 32-23-3 [5]

Turnover margin plus-5 [3] even [6]

Takeaways (INT/F) 12 (9/3) 11 (4/7)

Giveaways (INT/F) 7 (6/1) 11 (5/6)

Possession time 30:13 [t4] 27:02 [10]

Showdown Series

SDSU leads 6-0

Nov. 17, 2012 – SDSU 31, USD 8 (Brookings)

Nov. 16, 2013 – SDSU 27, USD 12 (Vermillion)

Nov. 22, 2014 – SDSU 37, USD 14 (Brookings)

Nov. 14, 2015 – SDSU 30, USD 23 (Vermillion)

Nov. 12, 2016 – SDSU 28, USD 21 (Brookings)

Nov. 18, 2017 – SDSU 31, USD 28 (Vermillion)

Nov. 17, 2018 – SDSU vs. USD (Brookings)

Injury report

Right guard Eddie Miller is out for the second game in a row.

Running back C.J. Wilson will miss his fifth consecutive game.

Defensive back Seven Wilson is out for the second straight week.

Tight end Kallan Hart is questionable.

They are all week-to-week.

“That’s why being a top-eight seed would be so beneficial; to get a bye where guys get an extra week to rehab and get healed up,” noted Stiegelmeier.

Missouri Valley Football Conference

MVFC Overall

STATS/Coaches W-L PF/PA W-L PF/PA Strk

A-1/1 North Dakota State 7-0 263/97 10-0 388/117 W16

5/5 South Dakota State 5-2 270/176 7-2 405/196 W3

—/24 Indiana State 4-3 223/225 6-4 334/297 W4

Northern Iowa 4-3 183/177 5-5 264/241 L1

Western Illinois 4-3 182/184 5-5 250/271 L1

Youngstown State 3-4 146/182 4-6 226/264 W1

South Dakota 3-4 190/245 4-6 267/327 W1

Illinois State 2-5 186/163 5-5 315/192 L4

Missouri State 2-5 144/269 4-6 253/359 L4

Southern Illinois 1-6 180/249 2-8 314/383 L2

   A-FCS Playoffs automatic qualifier

   Notes: The following matchups will not take place in 2018: SDSU-WIU, NDSU-InSU, UNI-SIU, YSU-MSU and IlSU-USD. … In addition to being ranked in the STATS poll, InSU (26th) is receiving votes in the Coaches poll. IlSU (36th/29th), UNI (31st/t35th) and WIU (39th/37th) are receiving votes in both polls. … The MVFC went 17-12 in nonconference games, including a 13-5 mark versus FCS schools and a 1-7 record against FBS teams. … The Valley won the Big Sky-MVFC Challenge Series 5-3 for the second year in a row.   *MVFC game

WEEK 12 – Saturday, Nov. 17

*Youngstown State at Illinois State, Normal, Ill., noon

*Indiana State at Western Illinois, Macomb, Ill., 1 p.m.

*South Dakota at South Dakota State, Brookings, 2 p.m. [Showdown Series]

*Southern Illinois at North Dakota State, Fargo., N.D., 2:30 p.m.

*Missouri State at Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, Iowa, 4 p.m.

Notable games

No. 25 Montana State (6-4, 4-3 Big Sky) at Montana (6-4, 4-3 Big Sky; RV), Missoula, Mont., 1 p.m.

Arkansas-Pine Bluff (1-9, 0-6 SWAC West) at Texas Southern (2-7, 1-5 SWAC West), Houston, 2 p.m.

No. 25 North Dakota (6-4, FCS Independent) at Northern Arizona (3-6, 2-4 Big Sky), Flagstaff, Ariz., 3:30 p.m.

Iowa State (6-3, 5-2 Big 12; FBS No. 22) at Texas (7-3, 5-2 Big 12; FBS No. 19), Austin, Texas, 7 p.m.

WEEK 13 – Saturday, Nov. 24

Notable games

Kansas State at Iowa State, Ames, Iowa

FCS notes

Samford senior Devlin Hodges will likely play his final collegiate game this weekend. With 14,180 career yards, the quarterback needs 377 to break the FCS record (14,496 by Alcorn’s Steve McNair from 1991-94). The Bulldogs (5-5) play at No. 17 East Tennessee State (8-2) on Saturday at noon. The Buccaneers win the Southern Conference title outright with a victory. The game is on ESPN3.