Seventh-ranked South Dakota State returns home to face Missouri State on Military Appreciation Day.
Saturday’s kickoff is set for 2 p.m. at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium.
The game will air live on Midco Sports Network and ESPN+.
The Jackrabbits (5-2) are tied for second in the Missouri Valley Football Conference standings with Northern Iowa and Western Illinois at 3-2.
The Bears (4-4) are among a five-way tie for fifth with a 2-3 league mark.
“Their quarterback is really good; he’s a run-pass threat, very gritty-type guy; really has improved in the passing game,” said SDSU coach John Stiegelmeier. “They’re really good on third-down conversions because of him, both throwing and running.
“They’re active on defense, very athletic on defense. They’re just a much, much improved team.”
SDSU is coming off a 38-28 road win over then-No. 9 Illinois State – a game the Jackrabbits led 35-7 entering the fourth quarter.
MSU went 2-1 in nonconference play and then beat the Redbirds 24-21 to open MVFC play.
The Bears, who were briefly ranked, fell 35-28 at South Dakota and won 29-26 at Indiana State. They dropped their past two games – both at home – 31-14 to Western Illinois on Oct. 20 and 49-35 at the hands of last-place Southern Illinois last week.
Missouri State is surrendering 31.5 points and 472.9 yards (251.1 passing/221.8 rushing) per game.
“Their scheme is sound, I think it’s mostly just guys guessing and being in the wrong gap and guys guessing and maybe leaning too far in a zone; but it’s not their athletic ability,” Stiegelmeier said of the MSU defense. “They’re a bit undisciplined maybe, I don’t know. But I agree, statistically they’re not at the top of the conference in defense.”
Part of the problem defensively is the inability to get off the field, as MSU’s opponents are converting 45.2 percent of their third downs.
SDSU is averaging 41.3 points and 487.7 yards (286.3 passing and 201.4 rushing).
The Jackrabbits are plus-8 in turnover margin, while the Bears are minus-8.
“We preach turnovers every game,” Stiegelmeier said. “We do not do it in this scenario because we don’t want our guys to think it could be easier because (MSU) has so many turnovers. We’re just going to be aggressive to the ball and really just try to add to that figure of theirs.”
Missouri State junior quarterback Peyton Huslig (6-foot-3, 205 pounds) is 140-of-254 for 1,820 yards with 12 touchdowns and has run for 376 yards and six more scores. He has thrown 11 interceptions and fumbled six times, losing three.
Jason Randall (5-9, 183) has 309 rushing yards and five TDs in seven appearances, and Donovan Daniels (5-10, 196) has added 226 yards and four scores.
Lorenzo Thomas (6-5, 194) leads the receivers with 466 yards on 31 catches with one touchdown. Freshman tight end Jordan Murray (6-4, 225) has 29 receptions for 321 yards and Tyler Currie (6-3, 202) 27 for 382, as both players have found the end zone four times. Damoriea Vick (6-3, 207) has added 315 yards on 21 catches.
Linebackers McNeece Egbim (6-0, 220) and Angelo Garbutt (6-2, 230) pace the defense with 74 and 72 tackles, respectively, and two sacks apiece.
End Matt McClellan (6-4, 218) has accounted for seven of his team’s 21 sacks, with tackle Cladio Martin (6-2, 280) adding five in seven games and end Skyler Hulse (6-3, 255) four in six contests. Linebacker Tyler Lovelace (6-2, 225) has a pick and a fumble recovery, while nine other Bears have one takeaway.
South Dakota State’s Taryn Christion is 123-of-197 for 1,777 yards with 19 TDs and four INTs, and has run for 127 yards and three touchdowns. He needs 300 passing yards to break the MVFC career record.
Cade Johnson has 37 receptions for 686 yards and nine scores. Adam Anderson has added 526 yards and four TDs on 30 catches.
Mikey Daniel has 309 yards on 77 carries with a team-high six rushing touchdowns.
Linebackers Christian Rozeboom, who has an INT and a fumble recovery, and Dalton Cox both have 46 tackles.
Zy Mosley has three INTs and Jordan Brown two. Krockett Krolikowski has four of the team’s 10 sacks and Ryan Earith has added three.
SDSU MSU
Points 41.3 29.9
Points allowed 21.6 31.5
Yards 487.7 397.8
Rushing yards 201.4 156.9
Passing yards 286.3 240.9
Yards allowed 368 472.9
Rushing yards allowed 154.1 221.8
Passing yards allowed 213.9 251.1
Third-down conversions 42.2% 42.6%
Third-down defense 37.3% 45.2%
Fourth-down conversions 2-of-5 8-of-14
Fourth-down defense 5-of-5 6-of-14
Red zone chances-TD-FG 30-23-4 31-23-2
Red zone defense chances-TD-FG 17-9-5 31-18-6
Turnover margin plus-8 minus-8
Takeaways (INT/F) 13 (8/5) 11 (5/6)
Giveaways (INT/F) 5 (4/1) 19 (11/8)
Possession time 31:09 28:44
SCORE BY QUARTER
1st 2nd 3rd 4th OT Total
SDSU 68-30 80-28 80-22 55-68 6-3 289-151
MSU 48-48 97-57 44-80 50-67 — 239-252
SCORING BREAKDOWN
SDSU – 38 TD (22 pass, 16 rush), 9-12 FG, 34-37 PAT. Opponents – 19 TD (11 pass, 7 rush, 1 INT return), 6-10 FG, 17-18 PAT, 1-1 2-pt. (1-1 rush).
MSU – 32 TD (), 5-5 FG, 30-31 PAT, 1-1 2-pt. (1-1 rush). Opponents – 33 TD (), 7-13 FG, 29-32 PAT, 1-1 2-pt. (1-1 pass), safety.
MISSOURI VALLEY FOOTBALL CONFERENCE GAMES
[League rank in brackets]
SDSU MSU
Points 30.8 [2] 26 [7]
Points allowed 26.2 [4] 32.4 [9]
Yards 395.2 [6] 394.8 [7]
Rushing yards 169.6 [6] 134.2 [8]
Passing yards 225.6 [5] 260.6 [3]
Yards allowed 414.6 [6] 471.2 [10]
Rushing yards allowed 174.2 [6] 223.2 [8]
Passing yards allowed 240.4 [7] 248 [9]
Third-down conversions 36.2% [8] 44.4% [3]
Third-down defense 39.4% [7] 48.7% [10]
Fourth-down conversions 1-of-3 [t8] 7-of-12 [5]
Fourth-down defense 4-of-4 [t9] 2-of-6 [3]
Red zone chances-TD-FG 19-13-4 [2] 17-14-0 [t4]
Red zone defense chances-TD-FG 13-7-4 [t8] 21-12-4 [3]
Turnover margin plus-2 [t3] minus-9 [t9]
Takeaways (INT/F) 7 (4/3) 1 (1/0)
Giveaways (INT/F) 5 (4/1) 10 (7/3)
Possession time 30:16 [4] 29:10 [8]
Injury report
Starting right tackle Tyler Weir practiced Tuesday and was questionable as of Wednesday afternoon. He has missed the past three contests.
C.J. Wilson is still out, as he’ll miss his third consecutive game.
“We have no idea (how
much longer he’ll be out),” Stiegelmeier said of the freshman running back. “Our trainer thought it would be a week and it’s been a lot longer than that. He’s working hard but his injury just isn’t coming around.”
FCS COMMITTEE TOP 10
1. North Dakota State 8-0
2. James Madison 6-2
3. UC Davis 7-1
4. Weber State 6-2
5. Elon 5-2
6. Kennesaw State 7-1
7. South Dakota State 5-2
8. Wofford 6-2
9. Eastern Washington 6-2
10. Delaware 6-2
Missouri Valley Football Conference
MVFC Overall
STATS/Coaches W-L PF/PA W-L PF/PA Strk
1/1 North Dakota State 5-0 198/83 8-0 323/103 W14
7/7 South Dakota State 3-2 154/131 5-2 289/151 W1
Northern Iowa 3-2 147/130 4-4 227/194 L1
Western Illinois 3-2 136/136 4-4 204/223 W2
14/13 Illinois State 2-3 147/109 5-3 276/138 L1
Missouri State 2-3 130/162 4-4 239/252 L2
Indiana State 2-3 144/154 4-4 255/226 W2
Youngstown State 2-3 108/155 3-5 188/237 L1
South Dakota 2-3 125/182 3-5 202/264 L3
Southern Illinois 1-4 111/158 2-6 245/292 W1
Notes: The following matchups will not take place in 2018: SDSU-WIU, NDSU-InSU, UNI-SIU, YSU-MSU and IlSU-USD. … UNI (27th/29th) is receiving votes in both polls, while WIU (32nd) is receiving votes in the STATS poll. … 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 10 – Saturday, Nov. 3
*South Dakota at Indiana State, Terre Haute, Ind., noon
*Western Illinois at Southern Illinois, Carbondale, Ill., 1 p.m.
*Illinois State at Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, Iowa, 1 p.m.
*Missouri State at South Dakota State, Brookings, 2 p.m. [Military Appreciation Day]
*Youngstown State at North Dakota State, Fargo, N.D., 2:30 p.m.
Notable games
Iowa State (4-3, 2-2 Big 12) at Kansas (3-5, 1-4 Big 12), Lawrence, Kan., 11 a.m.
Alabama A&M (4-4, 3-2 SWAC East) at Arkansas-Pine Bluff (1-7, 0-4 SWAC West), Pine Bluff, Ark., 2:30 p.m.
Cal Poly (3-5, 2-4 Big Sky) at Montana State (4-4, 2-3 Big Sky; RV), Bozeman, Mont., 3 p.m.
No. 25 North Dakota (5-3, FCS Independent) at Idaho (3-5, 2-4 Big Sky), Moscow, Idaho, 4 p.m.
