BROOKINGS – South Dakota State will begin its quest for a national championship on Saturday as the No. 1 seeded Jackrabbits host Delaware in the second round of the FCS Playoffs.
The Jacks have not played a game since Nov. 12 after having their regular season bye week during the last week of season and having a first round bye in the playoffs last week. SDSU head coach John Stiegelmeier said he doesn’t think there will be much rust from his team heading into Saturday.
“We had a really good short practice [on Monday]. I’d like to think that we’re a well-oiled machine at this point, so there is no rust. But I do think just the grind of a football game and a grind of football practice, that would be, if there’s rust or something that resembles that, that would be getting through a two-hour practice or a three-hour game, because we haven’t played in a couple Saturdays. I’d much rather take fresh legs than being beat up having played last weekend,” Stiegelmeier said.
Having fresh legs is something that the Jacks have not had since their week one game against Iowa. SDSU has dealt with a plethora of injuries over the season, especially on the defensive side of the ball, and Stiegelmeier said the double bye week came at a good time because everyone except junior linebacker Adam Bock is now healthy.
“Right now the only guy that is somewhat questionable, and we’ve had some positive results, is Adam Bock,” Stiegelmeier said. “Everybody else is ready to go. So, I would say it was a great blessing to be able to have this break and be able to have the training staff that we have that invests in our guys. I didn’t believe in the [long lay off] at the start, but I’m totally sold on it right now.
“I’m tremendously excited [that we basically have a full team]. You know, you want your players to be able to play at full speed and you want the right guys on the field. There’s been times where we’ve been getting on the bus to go to a conference game and we couldn’t find 64 guys that were ready to play and weren’t being redshirted. Now we’ve got guys sitting in the stands that would be running down and ready to play on the kickoff team if we could, so I’m excited about it.”
SDSU comes into the game having won 10 straight games after losing its opening game to Iowa. The Jacks went 8-0 in conference play this season and won their first ever outright Missouri Valley Football Conference championship.
The Jacks were the No. 1 team in the country for their final four games of the season after beating No. 1 ranked NDSU, 23-21 on Oct. 15. SDSU has had a target on its back for most of the season and Stiegelmeier said the way that his team handled that should help them in the playoffs, especially knowing that if they lose their season will be over.
“Our mental performance coach again did a phenomenal job of addressing that we are No. 1 and that we’re going to get everybody’s best,” Stiegelmeier said. “We should be used to being No. 1. I think the first week it happened, we were a little bit up in the clouds with that but we’ve come back down. I don’t think we take it for granted, but I don’t think it’s something that we worry about.
“I think when you come down to the situation where it comes down to one game, you’re guaranteed one game, you look at those plays and look at those reps differently. On our scouting reports, the last game of the season and this one, we have the pictures of seniors. They don’t get another rep if the game doesn’t end in our favor. So, I think for me, I’m a people guy, that’s huge motivation. [I want to] do whatever I can so that those guys can have a chance to play football with each other for another week. I know that based on the culture of our program, those guys feel like that also.”
Delaware (8-4) finished the regular season losing three of its final four games, but the Blue Hens got back on track in the first round as they beat St. Francis (Pa.) 56-17 last weekend. The 56 points were the most by any team in the first round of the playoffs this year.
The Blue Hens come into Saturday’s game with the 26th ranked offense in the FCS, averaging 426.8 yards per game. Delaware is 14th in passing offense as fifth year senior Nolan Henderson is averaging 267.8 yards passing per game and has 32 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
Henderson and the Blue Hens played SDSU in Brookings in the semifinals of the FCS Playoffs in the 2021 spring season and lost 33-3. Henderson was the quarterback in that game and was sacked seven times.
Stiegelmeier said him and his staff won’t take anything from that matchup in 2021 because he thinks that each team has changed, specifically Henderson.
“I think this team, and again I haven’t watched the film [from 2021], but I think this [Delaware] team [is different]. [Henderson] is surely better because of his age and his decision making and the weapons he has to deliver the ball around. I doubt we’re going to have seven sacks in the game [again]. That’s a unique situation, especially in the playoffs. We hope to get some pressure on him and I know this, our defensive coaches are very impressed with him specifically and what he does with the ball,” Stiegelmeier said.
Henderson will face his toughest test this season as the Jackrabbits are ranked No. 2 in the FCS in total defense, giving up just 255 total yards per game. SDSU is No. 1 in the country against the run, giving up 71.4 rushing yards per game, and is 13th against the pass, allowing 183.6 yards passing per game.
Delaware has a strong pass defense as well as the Blue Hens give up 138.3 yards per game through the air, which is second in the country. However, the Blue Hens are 41st against the rush, giving up 138.4 yards per game on the ground.
This will be the 11th FCS playoff game in Brookings. The Jackrabbits have gone 9-1 in home playoff games, including winning their past four.
SDSU has done a great job of filling Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium all season long as five of the Jacks’ six home games were top-ten in attended games in the stadiums six-year history. It is supposed to be chilly on Saturday as the high temperature for the day is forecasted to be 26 degrees. Stiegelmeier said he hopes that the trend of highly attended games continues in the playoffs, especially since his team will already have the advantage of playing in its own stadium.
“I think [it helps] that your familiar with the setting [at home]. You’re familiar with your locker room, you’re familiar with the schedule. There’s nothing new about it. … I would say this though; this year our crown has been phenomenal. Absolutely phenomenal. If we can have a phenomenal playoff crowd, that will make a difference. What does that mean? I hope it means 14,000, 15,000 [people in attendance]. But I’m not selling tickets, I’m trying to win a football game. I know our people are doing their job,” Stiegelmeier said.
The winner of SDSU and Delaware will play the winner of No. 8 Holy Cross and New Hampshire next weekend. Kickoff between the Jackrabbits and Blue Hens is scheduled for 2 p.m. You can watch the game on ESPN+ or listen to the game on the Jackrabbit Sports Network.
