No. 3 South Dakota State opens Missouri Valley Football Conference play with a big matchup, taking on top-ranked and defending national champion North Dakota State at 2:30 p.m. Saturday in the Fargodome.
The game will air live on Midco Sports Network.
“No. 1 ranked; a lot of tradition, obviously; tough environment,” Jackrabbit head coach John Stiegelmeier said of the Bison, who have won nine consecutive games. “They have a little more variety on offense right now. They’re a really good football team.”
The Bison are averaging 41.7 points per game and are picking up 296.7 rushing yards per contest.
They have three home wins – 49-3 over Cal Poly on Sept. 1, 38-7 over North Alabama on Sept. 15 and 38-10 over Delaware on Sept. 22.
Bruce Anderson leads a group of solid backs with 264 yards and three touchdowns. Lance Dunn has 157 yards and three scores, while Adam Cofield adds 137 yards and Ty Brooks 136.
Easton Stick is 31-of-52 for 490 yards with three TDs and zero interceptions through the air and has run for 96 yards and four scores.
On the other side of the ball, NDSU is surrendering just 6.7 points and 189.7 yards per game – those marks are first and second, respectively, in the FCS ranks.
The Bison defense has allowed just one touchdown while scoring two itself.
Strong safety Robbie Grimsley leads the way with 22 tackles and linebacker Dan Marlette has added 17.
Linebacker Jabril Cox returned both his interceptions for scores. Defensive tackle Cole Karcz has three of the team’s 12 sacks.
NDSU’s opponents are just 13-of-44 on third down conversions and 0-of-5 on fourth down.
After having their season-opener at Iowa State canceled, the Jackrabbits cruised to a pair of victories at home – 45-14 over Montana State and 90-6 over Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
They are coming off their “improvement” week.
“It was unbelievable,” Stiegelmeier said of the open week. “We spent a lot of focus on specific things for each position and got rested up, so it was perfect timing.”
Is having an open week prior to a big rivalry game an advantage?
“I don’t know if it’s a big deal. We try to take whatever we have and have a positive approach,” Stiegelmeier added. “I would say, for us, it was perfect. Had it been the second week of the season, we would have approached it the same way – perfect time to improve.”
SDSU was stellar on both sides of the ball in nonconference play, putting up 67.5 points and 719 yards per game – both marks lead the FCS ranks.
Taryn Christion is 34-of-43 for 651 yards with nine TDs and zero INTs.
Cade Johnson has 14 receptions for 300 yards – 21.4 average – and six touchdowns, while Adam Anderson has eight catches covering 214 yards – 26.8 average – and one score.
Isaac Wallace has run 14 times for 222 yards – a 15.9 average – and two TDs. C.J. Wilson has added 128 yards, Pierre Strong 80 and Mikey Daniel (three TDs) 74.
Eric Kleinschmit paces the D with 11 stops, Dalton Cox has 10 and Christian Rozeboom eight. Zy Mosley has two of the team’s four picks.
SDSU NDSU
Points 67.5 41.7
Points allowed 10 6.7
Yards 719 468.3
Rushing yards 281 296.7
Passing yards 438 171.7
Yards allowed 251.5 189.7
Rushing yards allowed 104 80.3
Passing yards allowed 147.5 109.3
Third-down conversions 61.9% 46.9%
Third-down defense 47.6% 29.5%
Fourth-down conversions 1-of-2 1-of-1
Fourth-down defense 1-of-1 0-of-5
Red zone chances-TD-FG 11-10-0 16-12-2
Red zone defense chances-TD-FG 4-2-1 2-0-1
Turnover margin plus-6 plus-4
Takeaways (F/INT) 6 (2/4) 7 (3/4)
Giveaways (F/INT) 0 (0/0) 3 (3/0)
Time of possession 33:23 30:04
SCORE BY QUARTER
1st 2nd 3rd 4th OT Total
SDSU 35-6 38-0 35-8 27-6 0-0 — 135-20
NDSU 42-3 38-0 24-0 21-17 0-0 — 125-20
SCORING BREAKDOWN
SDSU – 19 TD (12 pass, 7 rush), 1-2 FG, 18-19 PAT. Opponents – 2 TD (1 pass, 1 rush), 2-2 FG, 0-1 PAT, 1-1 2-pt. (1-1 rush).
NDSU – 17 TD (12 rush, 3 pass, 2 INT return), 2-3 FG, 17-17 PAT. Opponents – 2 TD (1 rush, 1 fumble return), 2-2 FG, 2-2 PAT.
SDSU vs. NDSU
The Bison lead the all-time series 60-42-5 and are 11-6 versus the Jackrabbits in the Division I era, including an 8-6 record in the Dakota Marker Game.
SDSU won the last two regular-season games – 19-17 in 2016 in Fargo and 33-21 in 2017 in Brookings. In between, NDSU posted a 36-10 home playoff win in 2016.
“I think it gives you more confidence,” Stiegelmeier said of the 2016 road triumph. “I think if you relate back to that and the type of game it was; and the guys that played surely know what happened and the game could have been totally different. They had two goal-line stands on us where we didn’t get any points and we had to win on the last play, so if I make better decisions myself as a coach maybe it’s a little easier.”
Christion had a huge game in the 2016 win, running for 141 yards and throwing for 303 with two TDs and an INT – one of 23 300/100 performances in FCS history. He hit Jake Wieneke for a 2-yard score on fourth down with 1 second remaining.
Stick went 14-of-20 for 143 yards and ran for 86 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
The Jackrabbits built an early 10-0 lead in the 2016 postseason matchup, before the Bison rattled off 36 unanswered points.
Stick was 12-of-21 for 188 yards with a TD and an INT and ran for 83 yards and two scores. Dunn picked up 91 yards and scored once.
Last year, Christion was 23-of-33 for 329 yards with two TDs in the home win. Stick went 16-of-28 for 229 yards with two TDs and three INTs while adding a touchdown on the ground. Brooks picked up 49 rushing yards.
Oct. 9, 2004 (Brookings) – SDSU 24, NDSU 21
Nov. 12, 2005 (Fargo) – NDSU 41, SDSU 17
Nov. 18, 2006 (Fargo) – NDSU 41, SDSU 28
Nov. 17, 2007 (Brookings) – SDSU 29, NDSU 24
Nov. 22, 2008 (Fargo) – SDSU 25, NDSU 24
Oct. 18, 2009 (Brookings) – SDSU 28, NDSU 13
Nov. 13, 2010 (Fargo) – NDSU 31, SDSU 24
Oct. 22, 2011 (Brookings) – NDSU 38, SDSU 14
Nov. 10, 2012 (Fargo) – NDSU 20, SDSU 17
*Dec. 1, 2012 (Fargo) – NDSU 28, SDSU 3
Sept. 28, 2013 (Brookings) – NDSU 20, SDSU 0
Nov. 1, 2014 (Fargo) – NDSU 37, SDSU 17
*Dec. 6, 2014 (Fargo) – NDSU 27, SDSU 24
Oct. 3, 2015 (Brookings) – NDSU 28, SDSU 7
Oct. 15, 2016 (Fargo) – SDSU 19, NDSU 17
*Dec. 10, 2016 (Fargo) – NDSU 36, SDSU 10
Nov. 4, 2017 (Brookings) – SDSU 33, NDSU 21
Sept. 29, 2018 (Fargo) – SDSU vs. NDSU, 2:30 p.m.
*FCS Playoffs
SDSU-NDSU is the 14th most-played rivalry game in the FCS. The teams first played in 1903. They met every year between 1919-42 and 1946-present.
Injury report
“We’re in good shape,” said Stiegelmeier. “We’re getting (defensive end) Elijah Wilson back, so we’re ahead of the game.”
Missouri Valley Football Conference
MVFC Overall
STATS/Coaches W-L PF/PA W-L PF/PA Strk
23/21 Northern Iowa 1-0 33/0 2-2 114/64 W2
1/1 North Dakota State 0-0 0/0 3-0 125/20 W9
9/10 Illinois State 0-0 0/0 3-0 129/29 W3
3/3 South Dakota State 0-0 0/0 2-0 135/20 W2
Missouri State 0-0 0/0 2-1 109/90 W2
South Dakota 0-0 0/0 1-2 77/82 L1
Western Illinois 0-0 0/0 1-2 68/87 W1
Southern Illinois 0-0 0/0 1-2 134/134 L2
Youngstown State 0-0 0/0 1-2 80/82 W1
Indiana State 0-1 0/33 2-2 111/105 L1
Notes: The following matchups will not take place in 2018: SDSU-WIU, NDSU-InSU, UNI-SIU, YSU-MSU and IlSU-USD. … USD (27th/31st) is receiving votes in both polls. MSU (31st) and WIU (32nd) are 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 5
Thursday, Sept. 27
*Northern Iowa 33, Indiana State 0
Saturday, Sept. 29
*Illinois State at Missouri State, Springfield, Mo., 2 p.m.
*South Dakota State at North Dakota State, Fargo, N.D., 2:30 p.m. [Dakota Marker Game]
*Youngstown State at Western Illinois, Macomb, Ill., 3 p.m.
*South Dakota at Southern Illinois, Carbondale, Ill., 6 p.m.
Notable games
North Dakota (2-2, FCS Independent) at Northern Colorado (0-4, 0-2 Big Sky), Greeley, Colo., 1 p.m.
No. 5 Eastern Washington (3-1, 2-0 Big Sky) at Montana State (3-1, 1-0 Big Sky), Bozeman, Mont., 2 p.m.
Iowa State (1-2, 0-1 Big 12; FBS) at TCU (2-2, 0-1 Big 12; FBS), Fort Worth, Texas, 6 p.m.
Arkansas-Pine Bluff (1-3, 0-1 SWAC West) at Florida International (2-2, 1-0 Conference USA East; FBS), Miami, Fla., 6:30 p.m.
