BROOKINGS – Cade Johnson tied a school record with four touchdown receptions and the Jackrabbit defense played a near-perfect first half as third-ranked South Dakota State handled Montana State, 45-14, in the Dairy Drive game Saturday night at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium.

“First of all, I’m really proud of our football team – how we started the game with the focus,” said SDSU coach John Stiegelmeier, whose team’s scheduled season opener at Iowa State last week was canceled due to the weather. “After watching Montana State, I feel they’re a really good football team. I don’t know what that says about us, but we played really well, especially in the first half.

“We had some neat individual performances. I’m happy with the win; I’m really happy with the crowd; I’m really excited about the student section, so a lot of positives tonight.”

Taryn Christion went 21-of-29 for 319 yards with four TDs and also ran for a score while becoming the second player in Missouri Valley Conference history to top 10,000 yards of total offense in his career.

It may have been one of the top performances for the senior, who is 24-8 as a starter.

“Yeah, he’s pretty special,” said Stiegelmeier. “And I know he’ll be hard on himself – he missed eight passes and maybe a couple runs, but that’s the kind of guy he is. He’s a great leader and obviously a great athlete.”

Johnson ended up with 138 yards on nine receptions.

The Bobcats ran 26 plays in the first half and managed just 44 yards – they had 50 penalty yards.

MSU’s only first down before halftime came midway through the second quarter, and quarterback Tucker Rovig was picked off by Jordan Brown on the next play.

“I don’t know about surprised; I was happy, I was excited about the way the defense played,” Stiegelmeier said when asked if he was surprised with how sharp his team was early despite it being a season-opening game. “I mean, if you play defense like that – in the first half – good things are going to happen.

“(Montana State) was down a great player. (Regular starting quarterback Troy Andersen) is a great football player and he couldn’t play – played a couple plays. So that makes a difference in the game.

“I think our guys are very mature about this whole thing. I think they go to work, they know who they are and what they want to accomplish, and they did it tonight.”

Johnson had a 2-yard TD catch at the 2:30 mark of the opening quarter and scoring grabs of 24 and 19 yards in the second.

Chase Vinatieri’s 42-yard field goal made it 24-0 at halftime.

Christion kept it himself on a read-option for a 1-yard touchdown run around the left end with 8:36 to go in the third, pushing the margin to 31-0.

The Jackrabbits finished with a 512-193 advantage in total yards of offense.

A majority of the Bobcats’ yards – 134 to be exact – came on four third-quarter plays that led to their two touchdowns.

Rovig had completions of 42 yards to Willie Patterson and 33 yards to Kevin Kassis to move the ball to the SDSU 2-yard-line. Maleek Barkley finished off the drive with a run and Travis Jonsen ran in the two-point conversion, as MSU trailed 31-8 at the 6:42 mark of the third.

SDSU answered with a score.

After Christion hit Adam Anderson in stride on a deep ball for a 51-yard pickup to the MSU 2, Mikey Daniel picked up where he left off last season with a touchdown rush.

Rovig completed passes of 40 yards to Kassis and 19 yards to Connor Sullivan, which moved MSU into the red zone.

Rovig hit Lance McCutcheon for a 3-yard TD on the first play of the fourth, leaving the score at 38-14.

Josh Manchigiah’s interception and 19-yard return set the Jackrabbits up at the MSU 6 later in the fourth.

On third down, Johnson got free in the back-right portion of the end zone and Christion found him for the fourth touchdown – a 7-yarder.

Defense

What made the Jackrabbit defense so good Saturday night?

“Honestly, a simple game plan,” Stiegelmeier said. “Coach (Clint) Brown says it every week – do your 1/11th. Well, if my 1/11th is three calls, I can master that.

“We were anticipating the Wildcat-type stuff, and I’m not sure what we got because we got a little bit of drop back, we did get some Wildcat-type stuff out of all the quarterbacks. But our guys could play fast.”

Dalton Cox shared game-high honors with seven tackles.

Christian Rozeboom made four stops and forced a fumble.

The Jackrabbits recorded a takeaway for the 16th consecutive game, finishing with two while not turning the ball over.

Taryn Christion

Christion moved up the career MVFC charts in five categories.

• Third to second in total offense – 10,015 yards – passing Brock Jensen, North Dakota State, 2010-13 (9,838). The record-holder is Matt Brown, Illinois State, 2009-12 (10,952).

• Tie-fourth to third in passing touchdowns – 76 – breaking a tie with Jensen (72) and passing Kurt Hess, Youngstown State, 2010-13 (75). Brown (78) tops the list.

• Seventh to sixth in passing yards – 8,834 – passing Jensen (8,598).

• 12th to 11th in completions – 638 – passing Mike Perish, Indiana State, 2012-14 (618).

• To 11th in pass attempts – 1,052 – passing Jeremy Hoog, Missouri State (1,042) and Perish (1,051).

Brookings Bobcats

Daniel, a junior, totaled 36 yards on nine carries and picked up a career-high-shattering 44 yards on four receptions, with a long of 23. The touchdown run was the 13th of his career – 11 came last season. He’s up to 726 career all-purpose yards, including 597 rushing and 49 receiving.

Sophomore Eddie Miller started at right guard – his first career start and 14th appearance in 15 games as a Jackrabbit.

Sophomore linebacker Preston Tetzlaff saw his first collegiate action.

Four TD catches in a game

SDSU played its first football contest in 1889.

It took 60 years for a Jackrabbit to record four touchdown receptions in a game as Don Bartlett first accomplished the feat versus North Dakota State in 1949 – a 33-13 win.

It took 67 years for it to occur again, but now its happened three years in a row.

Dallas Goedert did it during a 52-14 home win over Western Illinois on Oct. 1, 2016.

Jake Wieneke had four TD grabs against Duquesne in the 2017 season-opener on Aug. 31.

And now Johnson has joined the club.

Noteworthy: The three previous years in which a Jackrabbit had four TD receptions in a game, SDSU posted a combined record of 27-10 (7-3, 9-4, 11-3).

Adding a game

As it stands right now, SDSU is scheduled to play a 10-game regular season.

However, SDSU Director of Athletics Justin Sell said they are working to add a game. 

“We’ve been working on it; working really hard on behalf of our seniors in particular,” he said during the postgame press conference. “These guys deserve that opportunity of 11 games and the impact it would be on this program.

“If we can pull it off, we should know here probably in the next couple days whether that’s going to work for us or not. Obviously, options are pretty limited when you get into our situation, our scenario.”

The Jackrabbits’ open date is Sept. 22.

Notes

It marked SDSU’s 100th win – against 63 losses – versus DI opponents in its Division I era. The Jackrabbits are 107-64 overall since 2004. … Montana State long-snapper Logan MacDonald was ejected for targeting with 58 seconds remaining in the first half. He had a late helmet-to-helmet hit on a punt return.

Up next

South Dakota State (1-0) plays host to Arkansas-Pine Bluff (1-1) in the Beef Bowl on Saturday at 6 p.m. Montana State (1-1) welcomes Wagner to Bozeman for a 2 p.m. matchup.

SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 45, MONTANA STATE 14

MSU (1-1) 0    0    8  6  –  14

SDSU (1-0) 7  17  14  7  –  45

First Quarter

SDSU – Cade Johnson 2 pass from Taryn Christion (Chase Vinatieri kick), 2:30

Second Quarter

SDSU – Johnson 24 pass from Christion (Vinatieri kick), 11:50

SDSU – Johnson 19 pass from Christion (Vinatieri Kick), 8:37

SDSU – Vinatieri 42 FG, 1:41

Third Quarter

SDSU – Christion 1 run (Vinatieri kick), 8:36

MSU – Maleek Barkley 2 run (Travis Jonsen run), 6:42

SDSU – Mikey Daniel 2 run (Vinatieri kick), 3:30

Fourth Quarter

MSU – Lance McCutcheon 3 pass from Tucker Rovig (kick blocked), 14:55

SDSU – Johnson 7 pass from Christion (Vinatieri kick), 10:38

MSU SDSU

First Downs 6 23

Plays-Yards 48-193 71-512

Rushes-Yards 23-29 42-193

C-A-Int.-Yards 13-25-164-2 21-29-319-0

Fumbles-Lost 2-0 3-0

Penalties-Yards 7-70 8-55

Punts-Avg.-I20-TB 9-41.8-1-0 4-48-3-1

Kickoffs-Avg.-TB 3-63-1 8-53.5-2

Punt Returns-Yards-TD 0-0-0 2-0-0

Kickoff Returns-Yards-TD 4-47-0 2-36-0

Interception Returns-Yards-TD 0-0-0 2-19-0

Fumble Returns-Yards-TD 0-0-0 0-0-0

Miscellaneous Yards 0 0

Possession Time 22:18 37:42

Third-down Conversions 4-of-13 7-of-14

Fourth-down Conversions 0-of-0 1-of-1

Red Zone Chances-TD-FG 2-2-0 6-5-0

Sacks By-Yards 2-15 1-6

Field Goals 0-for-0 1-for-2

RUSHING: MSU – Willie Patterson 1-8, Tucker Rovig 6-8, Travis Jonsen 5-5, Isaiah Ifanse 3-4, Troy Andersen 2-3, Maleek Barkley 6-1. SDSU – C.J. Wilson 12-62, Pierre Strong 2-40, Mikey Daniel 9-34, Isaac Wallace 9-30, Kanin Nelson 2-28, Taryn Christion 8-(-1).

PASSING: MSU – Tucker Rovig 13-25-164-2. SDSU – Taryn Christion 21-29-319-0.

RECEIVING: MSU – Kevin Kassis 3-74, Willie Patterson 3-49, Travis Jonsen 3-9, Connor Sullivan 2-23, Lance McCutcheon 2-9. SDSU – Cade Johnson 9-138, Adam Anderson 4-86, Mikey Daniel 4-44, Marquise Lewis 2-46, Jacob Brown 1-5, C.J. Wilson 1-0.

DEFENSE: MSU – Tucker Yates 7 tackles; Brayden Konkol 7 tackles; JoJo Henderson 6 tackles, FF; Tyrel Thomas FF; Zach Wright sack; Troy Andersen sack. SDSU – Dalton Cox 7 tackles; Christian Rozeboom 4 tackles, FF; Brandon Snyder 4 tackles; Donald Gardner 4 tackles; Eric Kleinschmit 4 tackles; Jordan Brown INT; Josh Manchigiah INT; Seven Wilson sack; Xavier Ward blocked PAT.

   A – 14,614.

Missouri Valley Football Conference

MVFC Overall

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

19/19 Illinois State 0-0 0/0 2-0 94-10 W2

1/1 North Dakota State 0-0 0/0 1-0 49-3 W7

3/3 South Dakota State 0-0 0/0 1-0 45/14 W1

23/— South Dakota 0-0 0/0 1-1 67/55 W1

Southern Illinois 0-0 0/0 1-1 90/86 L1

Indiana State 0-0 0/0 1-1 56/31 L1

Missouri State 0-0 0/0 1-1 69/82 W1

21/18 Northern Iowa 0-0 0/0 0-1 23-26 L2

Western Illinois 0-0 0/0 0-2 37/60 L3

Youngstown State 0-0 0/0 0-2 38-75 L2

   Notes: The following matchups will not take place in 2018: SDSU-WIU, NDSU-InSU, UNI-SIU, YSU-MSU and IlSU-USD. … USD (26th) is receiving votes in the Coaches poll. YSU (t43rd/37th) is receiving votes in both polls. WIU (t38th) and SIU (t50th) are receiving votes in the STATS poll. … The MVFC is 7-10 in nonconference games, including a 5-3 mark versus FCS schools and an 0-6 record against FBS teams. … The Valley leads the Big Sky-MVFC Challenge Series 3-2 after picking up a pair of wins Saturday.

   ##Big Sky-MVFC Challenge Series game

WEEK 2

Thursday, Sept. 6

Missouri State 52, Lincoln Mo. 24

Saturday, Sept. 8

##South Dakota State 45, Montana State 14

Illinois State 48, Eastern Illinois 10

##South Dakota 43, Northern Colorado 28

Ole Miss 76, Southern Illinois 41

Louisville 31, Indiana State 7

Illinois 34, Western Illinois 14

West Virginia 52, Youngstown State 17

Notable games

Arkansas-Pine Bluff 55, Cumberland 0

Washington 45, North Dakota 3

Iowa 13, Iowa State 3

   Open: NDSU, UNI.

WEEK 3 – Saturday, Sept. 15

Valparaiso (0-1, 0-0 Pioneer) at Youngstown State, Youngstown, Ohio, 1 p.m.

##No. 18 Northern Arizona (1-1, 0-1 Big Sky) at Missouri State, Springfield, Mo., 2 p.m.

North Alabama (2-0, FCS independent) at North Dakota State, Fargo, N.D., 2:30 p.m.

##No. 14 Montana (2-0, 0-0 Big Sky) at Western Illinois, Macomb, Ill., 3 p.m.

Arkansas-Pine Bluff (1-1, 0-0 SWAC) at South Dakota State, Brookings, 6 p.m. [Beef Bowl]

Southeast Missouri (1-1, 0-0 OVC) at Southern Illinois, Carbondale, Ill., 6 p.m.

Indiana State at Eastern Illinois (0-2, 0-0 OVC), Charleston, Ill., 6 p.m.

Northern Iowa at Iowa (2-0, 0-0 Big Ten West; FBS), Iowa City, Iowa, 6:30 p.m.

##South Dakota at No. 10 Weber State (1-1, 1-0 Big Sky), Ogden, Utah, 7 p.m.

Notable games

Oklahoma (2-0, 0-0 Big 12; No. 6 FBS) at Iowa State (0-1, 0-0 Big 12), Ames, Iowa, 11 a.m.

Wagner (1-1, 0-0 Northeast) at Montana State (1-1, 0-0 Big Sky), Bozeman, Mont., 2 p.m.

North Dakota (1-1, FCS independent) at No. 4 Sam Houston State (1-0, 0-0 Southland), Huntsville, Texas, 6 p.m.

   Open: IlSU.

Saturday

• No. 19 llinois State 48, Eastern Illinois 10

NORMAL, Ill. – Brady Davis, Spencer Schnell and James Robinson had big days on offense as the Redbirds beat the Panthers (0-2) in the 107th Mid-America Classic to retain the traveling trophy.

Davis finished 17-of-23 for 317 yards with four touchdowns and added a rushing TD.. Schnell had eight receptions for 174 yards and two scores, one of which went for 97 yards. Robinson picked up 154 yards on 15 carries and found the end zone once.

Illinois State, which totaled 582 yards, led 7-0 after a quarter and 28-0 at halftime before pushing the margin to 31-0 early in the third.

Eastern Illinois’ Jarry Woodbery was 13-of-21 for 109 yards with an INT. Jamal Scott ran for 96 yards and a touchdown.

The Redbirds’ Zackary Mathews and DeMarco Washington both notched eight tackles.

ISU leads the all-time series with EIU 56-42-9.

• No. 23 South Dakota 43, Northern Colorado 28

VERMILLION – Quarterback Austin Simmons racked up 542 yards of offense and accounted for five touchdowns as the Coyotes beat the Bears (0-2) in a Big Sky-MVFC Challenge Series game and improved to 35-5 in home openers at the DakotaDome.

The junior went 31-of-40 for 462 yards with four TDs through the air while rushing eight times for 80 yards and another score. He had 409 yards (342 on 21-of-26 passing with four scores) at halftime.

Shamar Jackson had seven catches for 147 yards and Trystn Ducker added four for 131, as both players scored once.

Both teams scored 14 points in the opening quarter.

USD’s Kai Henry had a 1-yard TD plunge and Simmons hit Brett Samson for a 3-yard score. UNC’s Trae Riek scored on an 11-yard run and a 15-yard reception from Jacob Knipp. 

Simmons had TD tosses of 76 yards to Ducker, 12 yards to Jackson and 4 yards to Reggie Crawford in the second to put the Coyotes up 34-14 at the break.

The Bears rallied after a scoreless third period as Knipp connected with Theron Verna (2 yards) and Alex Wesley (25 yards) for touchdowns to cut the deficit to 34-28 with 7:58 remaining in the game.

The home team answered in the form of Simmons’ 2-yard TD scamper with 5:19 left, which capped a seven-play, 82-yard drive. Mason Lorber kicked a 33-yard field goal with 1:01 to go.

USD outgained UNC 635-450 in total yards and did not turn the ball over while forcing a pair.

Knipp was 26-of-35 for 331 yards with three TDs and an INT. Riek had 66 yards – 34 rushing and 32 receiving.

USD’s Alex Gray recorded eight tackles; Darin Greenfield tallied a pair of sacks; Phillip Powell picked off a pass; and Ethan James recovered a fumble.

• Ole Miss 76, Southern Illinois 41

OXFORD, Miss. – The Rebels (2-0) overcame a 38-35 halftime deficit to beat the Salukis.

The Rebels’ Jordan Ta’amu went 23-of-33 for 448 yards with five touchdowns. A.J. Brown (two TDs) had eight receptions for 158 yards, D.K. Metcalf (one TD) seven for 93 and Braylon Sanders (one TD) four for 133. Scottie Phillips ran for 107 yards and two scores.

Ta’amu hit Metcalf for a 5-yard score to make it 49-41 late in the third and Ole Miss scored 27 unanswered points in the fourth.

Vernon Dasher’s 88-yard pick-six early in the final stanza put the FBS squad in control.

The Rebels (646) and Salukis (629) combined for 1,275 yards of offense. Ole Miss was plus-three in turnover margin.

SIU’s Sam Straub ended up 29-of-47 for 382 yards with four scores and a pair of picks. He added a TD run.

Raphael Leonard picked up 117 yards on six receptions while scoring twice and Landon Lenoir had nine catches for 83 yards and one TD. D.J. Davis ran for 121 yards.

Qua Brown had nine tackles.

• Louisville 31, Indiana State 7

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Cardinals (1-1) closed strong to defeat the Sycamores in a game that featured two weather delays and lasted more than 5 1/2 hours, ending  after midnight local time.

Malik Cunningham’s 1-yard run at the 3:29 mark of the third quarter put Louisville on top for good at 14-7.

The Cardinals scored three times in the fourth – Mekhi Becton had a 1-yard run, Blanton Creque kicked a 43-yard field goal and Jaylen Smith caught a 34-yard TD toss from Cunningham.

Rodjay Burns opened the scoring with a 55-yard punt return to paydirt less than 3 minutes into the game. Indiana State answered in the form of Titus McCoy’s 2-yard scoring scamper late in the first period.

Cunningham went 6-of-7 for 75 yards and ran for 54 yards.

ISU’s Ja’Quan Keys ran for 102 yards. Jal Kilpatrick was 3-of-9 for 37 yards.

• Illinois 34, Western Illinois 14

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – M.J. Rivers hit Edwin Carter for TD tosses of 18 and 16 yards in the second quarter to pull the Illini (2-0) ahead as they toppled the Leathernecks.

Rivers finished 9-of-16 for 105 yards and Mike Epstein ran for 105 yards.

Chase McLaughlin booted a 54-yard field goal early in the third. Stanley Green returned a blocked punt 2 yards to push the margin to 24-7 midway through the third.

WIU’s Sean McGuire hit Tony Tate for a 49-yard score a minute later to cut the deficit to 24-14, but that would be as close as the Leathernecks would get.

McLaughlin had a 46-yard field goal with 12:20 to go in the game and Reggie Corbin scored on a 3-yard run with 11:22 left after Michael Marchese picked off a pass and returned it 42 yards to the WIU 3-yard-line.

McGuire ended up 24-of-36 for 276 yards with two TDs and a pair of INTs. He hooked up with George Wahee for a 20-yard touchdown 2:53 into the game to stake WIU to an early 7-0 lead. Wahee had six catches for 104 yards.

• West Virginia 52, Youngstown State 17

MORGANTOWN, W. Va. – Will Grier finished 21-of-26 for 332 yards with four TDs – three of which went to Gary Jennings – and a pick and Leddie Brown ran for 115 yards and a score as the Mountaineers (2-0) – ranked 14th at the FBS level – beat the Penguins.

West Virginia led 7-0 after a quarter, 21-7 at halftime and 42-17 through three. The Mountaineers totaled 625 yards of offense.

YSU’s Montgomery VanGorder was 11-of-24 for 157 yards with a TD and an INT. Tevin McCaster ran for 72 yards and a touchdown. Zach Farrar had 135 yards on six catches.

Notable games

• Arkansas-Pine Bluff 55, Cumberland 0

PINE BLUFF, Ark. – Patrick Shannon went 10-of-11 for 227 yards with three TDs in the first half as the Golden Lions (1-1) bounced back from a 34-30 loss to Division II foe Morehouse College with a win over the Phoenix (1-2), who compete at the NAIA level.

Taeyler Porter ran for 66 yards and two touchdowns.

Tyrin Ralph had a 58-yard punt return for a score.

• Washington 45, North Dakota 3

SEATTLE, Wash. – The Cougars (1-1), ranked ninth at the FBS level, totaled 632 yards of offense in the win over the Fighting Hawks (1-1).

Jake Browning went 23-of-37 for 313 yards with two touchdowns – both to Ty Jones – and a pair of interceptions. Myles Gaskin ran for 53 yards and Kamari Pleasant 47, as both found the end zone once.

UND’s John Santiago ran for 139 yards on 18 attempts. Nate Ketteringham was 16-of-30 for 96 yards.

• Iowa 13, Iowa State 3

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The Hawkeyes (2-0) picked up their fourth consecutive win over the Cyclones (0-1) in the Cy-Hawk Series game in front of a sold-out crowd of 69,250.

ISU’s Connor Assalloy kicked a 23-yard field goal at the 6:42 mark of the first quarter.

Iowa’s Miguel Recinos booted FGs of 31 yards (5:18 second) and 48 yards (6:34 third). Mekhi Sargent put the game away with a 2-yard touchdown plunge with 4:47 remaining in the game.

Iowa held a 271-188 advantage in total offense including 105-19 on the ground.

The Hawkeyes’ Toren Young ran for 68 yards. Nate Stanley was 16-of-28 for 166 yards. A.J. Epnesa recorded two sacks and forced a fumble, which was recovered by Chauncey Golston – the game’s lone turnover – to seal the win.

The Cyclones’ Kyle Kempt went 15-of-21 for 126 yards. David Montgomery ran for 44 yards. Mike Rose had 11 tackles.

Thursday

• Missouri State 52, Lincoln Mo. 24

Peyton Huslig had an effective game and the Bears scored 35 consecutive points to take a 35-10 halftime lead en route to the win over the Division II Blue Tigers.

Lincoln’s Edwin Durassaint returned a fumble 78 yards for a touchdown to give his team a 10-0 advantage.

One play later, Huslig hit Nick Masoner for a 59-yard scoring strike to get MSU going.

Huslig finished 12-of-14 for 235 yards with a TD and also rushed for a score.

Dalton Hill ran three times for 74 yards. Jason Randall scored a pair of TDs on the ground.

Darius Joseph returned a fumble 27 yards for a TD in the second quarter.

Jeremiah Wilson added a rushing touchdown and Tyler Currie had a TD catch from backup quarterback J.T. Granato. Lorenzo Thomas (89 yards) and Aaron Denson (70 yards) both had five receptions.

McNeece Egbim made 10 tackles and had one of the Bears’ seven sacks. Scott Schaffner recovered a fumble.

MSU held a 507-264 advantage in total yards of offense.

Register photos: 

Above, South Dakota State’s Christian Rozeboom (left) and Ryan Earith (right) take down Montana State’s Maleek Barkley (3) during the first quarter of the Jackrabbits’ 45-14 defeat of the Bobcats in a nonconference matchup Saturday evening at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium. SDSU limited MSU to just one first down and 44 yards in the opening half.

Below, South Dakota State’s Cade Johnson evades a Montana State defender as he makes his way to the end zone for a 24-yard touchdown – the second of his school-record-tying four TD catches in the game – after taking a shovel pass from Taryn Christion early in the second quarter of the Jackrabbits’ 45-14 defeat of the Bobcats. Also pictured is SDSU’s Isaac Wallace (35).