A pair of potent offenses face off in the FCS Playoffs quarterfinals Saturday at 1 p.m. CT as fifth-seeded South Dakota State takes on fourth-seeded Kennesaw State at Fifth Third Bank Stadium in Kennesaw, Ga.
The game will air live on ESPN3.
“The program is only four years old; they’ve done an unbelievable job of building it,” SDSU coach John Stiegelmeier said of the Owls. “They’ve been to the quarterfinals two years in a row.
“They’re very athletic across the board. They have total commitment to the triple option on the offense.”
The Jackrabbits are averaging 45.9 points per game and the Owls 45.7, putting them second and third, respectively, in the national ranks.
SDSU is pretty balanced offensively now, sitting fifth at 507.5 yards per game – 266.1 passing and 241.4 rushing.
KSU, on the other hand, is heavy on the run, picking up 356.3 yards per contest – second in the FCS – with its triple-option attack.
A few other numbers stick out:
• SDSU is tied for third nationally in turnover margin at plus-15, while KSU is plus-4.
• The Owls are solid on third down on both sides of the ball – 50.9 percent on offense and 27.5 percent on defense, ranking fourth and seventh, respectively.
• Kennesaw State possesses the ball for more than 33 minutes per game.
“(Getting off the field on third down) is always a focus,” Stiegelmeier noted. “The reason they’re like that is because they’re always on schedule on first down and second down. So you get 4 or 5 yards on first down and 4 of 5 yards on second down, it’s a third-and-short, which is always a higher percentage than third-and-9. They don’t throw incomplete passes because they don’t pass – they average 10 passes a game.”
Owls
Kennesaw State (11-1) dropped its opener 24-20 at FBS member Georgia State before rattling off 11 consecutive victories.
The Owls won the Big South Conference with a perfect 5-0 mark and is the league’s only postseason qualifier. They outscored their league foes – Monmouth (8-3), Campbell (6-5), Charleston Southern (5-6), Gardner-Webb (3-8) and Presbyterian (2-8) – by an average score of 50-8.2, posting a pair of shutouts.
KSU is allowing 14.4 points per contest overall.
Chandler Burks (5-foot-10, 190 pounds), KSU’s first-ever verbal commitment, has rushed for 29 touchdowns – an FCS single-season record for a quarterback. He’s run for 871 yards while going 66-of-116 for 1,031 yards with 10 TDs and six interceptions through the air.
“He’s just really gritty,” Stiegelmeier said of the QB. “He’s a great athlete, a great runner, executor of the offense. When you run the option, normally there is one (defender) left for the quarterback and if you mess up there is nobody left. He’s just been doing a great job.”
Brooks became the first player in Big South history to earn the Offensive Player of the Year and Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards in the same season in 2017, and the graduate student accomplished the feat again this year.
Fifty-six of the Owls’ 74 touchdowns have come on the ground.
Darnell Holland (5-10, 195) has 72 carries for 857 yards – 11.9 average – and nine touchdowns. Shaquil Terry (5-9, 172) has added 550 yards and five touchdowns on 71 attempts – 6.6 average. Jake McKenzie (6-0, 212) has 415 yards in 11 games.
Twelve KSU players have run for at least 100 yards, with eight topping the 200-yard mark.
“They’re good players; they play a lot of guys,” Stiegelmeier added. “They have their starters, but they’re all pitch-backs, blocking-backs – in their offensive you have to be able to do both because they check the play to the right or the left and then they option left or right and one guy becomes the arc-back and one guy becomes the pitch-back. Their fullbacks run hard.
“They really disperse the ball well. In this offense they don’t have one guy like in a tailback offense where there trying to get him the ball – like in our offense, we have a tailback and he’s going to get the ball if we’re running the ball.”
Justin Sumpter (6-3, 217) is the main threat in the passing game, picking up 292 yards on 20 receptions with four scores in nine games.
“They were able to tie the game in the five-overtime game they had with Jacksonville State because of a long pass,” Stiegelmeier said. “So they have skilled guys but that’s just not what they work on. They work on running the football.”
The Owls defeated the Gamecocks, the Ohio Valley Conference champs, 60-52 in the five-OT shootout at home to close the regular season on Nov. 17.
The Owls have proven they can score in a variety of ways, as they have three kick returns, two pick-sixes and a punt return.
Isaac Foster (5-10, 165) is averaging 38.9 yards on seven kick returns with a pair of house calls, and Holland is averaging 38.4 on nine kick returns with one score.
Linebacker Anthony Gore Jr. (6-0, 201) paces the defense with 73 tackles, including 15 tackles for loss and six of the team’s 19 sacks. Linebacker Bryson Armstrong (5-11, 212) has 70 stops.
Cornerback Dorian Walker (6-0, 181) and strong safety Cincere Mason (6-0, 212) both have a trio of interceptions. Demetrius Pettway and Jace White have INT returns for scores.
Second round
Kennesaw State received a first-round bye and then beat Wofford 13-10 in the second round.
Justin Thompson connected on a 30-yard field goal with 1:52 remaining. Gore sacked Wofford’s Joe Newman for a 20-yard loss and the quarterback fumbled. Andrew Butcher recovered the ball at the Terriers’ 21-yard line with 3:28 to go to set up the winning score.
Holland picked up 74 yards on the ground and scored once. Burks was 6-of-14 for 79 yards with an INT and ran for seven yards on 17 attempts for the Owls, who managed just seven first downs and 242 yards of offense. Thompson was 2-of-3 on field goals, also connecting from 40 yards and missing a 48-yarder.
Young program
Kennesaw State began its football program in 2015 and has a 37-11 record (15-6 Big South Conference).
The Owls are 22-3 at home over that stretch.
KSU is 3-1 in the playoffs, advancing to the quarterfinals for the second year in a row.
In 2017, the Owls opened the postseason with a 28-17 home win over Samford and then upset No. 3 Jacksonville State 17-7 on the road. They fell 34-27 to No. 6 Sam Houston State in the quarters.
KENNESAW STATE
Rec. Conf. Home Playoffs
2015 6-5 2-4 5-1 —
2016 8-3 3-2 4-2 —
2017 12-2 5-0 7-0 2-1 (quarters)
2018 11-1 5-0 6-0 1-0 (quarters)
37-11 15-6 22-3 3-1
Jackrabbits
South Dakota State (9-2), the Missouri Valley Football Conference runner-up at 6-2, has won five games in a row.
They blasted Duquesne 51-6 in the second round on a snowy, windy day in Brookings after earning a first-round bye.
Taryn Christion is 175-of-296 for 2,693 yards with 29 touchdowns and six interceptions to go with 264 rushing yards and five scores.
Pierre Strong Jr. has rushed for 891 yards on 79 carries – 11 average – with nine TDs.
Mikey Daniel, coming off his first 100-yard game, has 617 yards and 10 scores.
Cade Johnson caught his MVFC- and school-record-tying 16th touchdown pass last week. He has 60 receptions covering 1,171 yards. Adam Anderson has added 45 grabs for 697 yards and six scores, while Blake Kunz has picked up 311 yards on 15 catches while scoring twice. Jacob Brown has three TD receptions.
Christian Rozeboom paces the defense with 80 stops and has added three takeaways, including a pair of picks. Fellow linebacker Dalton Cox has 64 stops.
Ryan Earith (5 1/2) and Krockett Krolikowski (four) have combined for 9 1/2 of the team’s 20 sacks.
Zy Mosley is up to four interceptions after recording a pick-six against the Dukes. Jordan Brown has three INTs.
Facing the triple option
SDSU hasn’t seen the triple option much the past few years.
“Montana State does it a little bit, but really Cal Poly’s offense is identical to this thing,” Stiegelmeier said.
The Jackrabbits are 3-5 versus the Mustangs. Cal Poly beat SDSU 38-31 in the last meeting Sept. 17, 2016, in Brookings, racking up 440 yards on 59 carries. It’s one of the Jackrabbits’ two losses in 22 games at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium.
The Jackrabbits have won three in a row against the Bobcats, including a 45-14 home victory on Sept. 8.
SDSU KSU
Points 45.9 45.7
Points allowed 20.8 14.4
Yards 507.5 457
Rushing yards 241.4 356.3
Passing yards 266.1 100.7
Yards allowed 262.6 258.6
Rushing yards allowed 154.2 106.2
Passing yards allowed 208.5 152.4
Third-down conversions 41.3% 50.9%
Third-down defense 34% 27.5%
Fourth-down conversions 4-of-8 22-of-32
Fourth-down defense 10-of-17 12-of-25
Red zone chances-TD-FG 44-33-5 57-43-7
Red zone defense chances-TD-FG 29-19-5 23-12-8
Turnover margin plus-15 plus-4
Takeaways (INT/F) 23 (16/7) 20 (12/8)
Giveaways (INT/F) 8 (6/2) 16 (6/10)
Possession time 30:38 33:05
SCORE BY QUARTER
1st 2nd 3rd 4th OT Total
SDSU 120-40 155-49 134-56 90-81 6-3 505-229
KSU 84-42 180-48 159-17 89-38 36-28 548-173
SCORING BREAKDOWN
SDSU – 68 TD (34 rush, 32 pass, 1 INT return, 1 punt return), 12-19 FG, 61-66 PAT, 0-1 2-pt. (0-1 pass). Opponents – 30 TD (15 pass, 14 rush, 1 INT return), 7-11 FG, 26-29 PAT, 1-1 2-pt. (1-1 rush).
KSU – 74 TD (56 rush, 12 pass, 3 kick return, 2 INT return, 1 punt return), 70-70 PAT, 10-12 FG, 2-4 2-pt. (2-3 pass, 0-1 rush).
Opponents – 21 (13 pass, 7 rush, 1 INT return), 18-18 PAT, 9-11 FG, 1-3 2-pt. (1-3 pass).
SDSU – FCS Playoffs
The Jackrabbits are in the postseason for the seventh consecutive season and eighth time overall in the Division I era. They earned a top-eight seed and a first-round bye for the third straight season.
SDSU is 7-7 in the FCS Playoffs (5-0 home, 2-7 road). It advanced to the semifinals for the first time last year and is in the quarterfinals for the third straight season.
Note: SDSU qualified for the NCAA Division II Playoffs once, losing in the first round in 1979.
SDSU – FCS PLAYOFFS
Record: 7-7.
[opponent finish in brackets]
2009 (0-1)
First round, Nov. 28 – Lost 61-48 at No. 1 Montana [runner-up]
2012 (1-1)
First round, Nov. 24 – Won 58-10 vs. Eastern Illinois
Second round, Dec. 1 – Lost 28-3 at No. 1 North Dakota State [champion]
2013 (1-1)
First round, Nov. 30 – Won 26-7 at Northern Arizona
Second round, Dec. 7 – Lost 41-17 at No. 3 Eastern Washington [semifinals]
2014 (1-1)
First round, Nov. 29 – Won 47-40 at Montana State
Second round, Dec. 6 – Lost 27-24 at No. 2 North Dakota State [champion]
2015 (0-1)
First round, Nov. 28 – Lost 24-17 at Montana State [second round]
2016 (1-1) – No. 8
First round, Nov. 26 – BYE
Second round, Dec. 3 – Won 10-7 vs. Villanova
Quarterfinals, Dec. 10 – Lost 36-10 at No. 1 North Dakota State [semifinals]
2017 (2-1) – No. 5 seed
First round, Nov. 25 – BYE
Second round, Dec. 2 – Won 37-22 vs. Northern Iowa
Quarterfinals, Dec. 9 – Won 56-14 vs. New Hampshire
Semifinals, Dec. 16 – Lost 51-16 at No. 1 James Madison [runner-up]
2018 (1-0) – No. 5 seed
First round, Nov. 24 – BYE
Second round, Dec. 1 – Won 51-6 vs. Duquesne
Quarterfinals, Dec. 8 – at No. 4 Kennesaw State, 1 p.m.
Taryn Christion update
The 6-foot-2, 225-pound senior quarterback from Sioux Falls is the SDSU and MVFC career record-holder in passing yards, touchdown tosses and total offense. He is also the school’s all-time leader and ranks second in the league in career completions and pass attempts.
In the FCS ranks, Christion is 15th in total offense, 18th in TD tosses and 25th in passing yards.
Passing Rushing Total offense
C-A Yds. TD Yds. TD Yds. TD
2015 89-161 1286 7 347 5 1633 12
2016 ^279-^434 ^3714 30 335 6 ^4049 37
2017 249-428 3515 *35 500 9 4015 44
2018 163-270 2549 28 215 5 2764 33
TOTAL ^792-^1319 *11208 *101 1446 25 *12654 127
*School and MVFC record ^School record
Note: Christion is 32-10 as a starter. He appeared in eight games with four starts (3-1 record) in 2015, his true freshman campaign. … Christion has one career reception – a 16-yard touchdown catch from Jake Wieneke in 2016.
MVFC
Completions
1. Matt Brown, Illinois State, 2009-12 – 927
2. Taryn Christion, SDSU, 2015-present – 792
Pass attempts
1. Matt Brown, Illinois State, 2009-12 – 1,455
2. Taryn Christion, SDSU, 2015-present – 1,319
FCS
Total offense
1. Steve McNair, Alcorn, 1991-94 – 16,823
…
12. Jimmy Garoppolo, Eastern Illinois, 2010-13 – 13,089
13. Willie Totten, Mississippi Valley State, 1982-85 – 13,007
14. Anthony Lawrence, San Diego, 2015-18 – 12,681
15. Taryn Christion, SDSU, 2015-present – 12,654
Touchdown passes
1. Bruce Eugene, Grambling, 2001-05 – 140
…
16. Robert Kent, Jackson State, 2000-03 – 104
17. Niel Loebig, Duquesne, 2001-04 – 103
18. Taryn Christion, SDSU, 2015-present – 101
Passing yards
1. Devlin Hodges, Samford, 2015-18 – 14,584
…
19. Neil Lomax, Portland State, 1978-80 – 11,550
20. Jeremiah Briscoe, Sam Houston State, 2014-17 – 11,488
21. Brady Attaway, Stephen F. Austin, 2010-13 – 11,433
22. Travis Brown, Northern Arizona, 1996-99 – 11,400
23. Jeff Mathews, Cornell, 2010-13 – 11,284
24. Josh McGregor, Jacksonville, 2008-11 – 11,230
25. Taryn Christion, SDSU, 2015-present – 11,208
Injury report
Right guard Eddie Miller is expected to play.
Center Wes Genant is likely out.
Running backs Blair Mulholland and C.J. Wilson are probably out.
FCS PLAYOFFS
Quarterfinals
Friday, Dec. 7
No. 7 Maine (9-3) at No. 2 Weber State (10-2), 7 p.m. [ESPN2]
Saturday, Dec. 8
No. 8 Colgate (10-1) at No. 1 North Dakota State (12-0), 11 a.m. [ESPN]
No. 5 South Dakota State (9-2) at No. 4 Kennesaw State (11-1), 1 p.m. [ESPN3]
No. 6 UC Davis (10-2) at No. 3 Eastern Washington (10-2), 3 p.m. [ESPN3]
Semifinals – Friday, Dec. 14-Saturday, Dec. 15
NDSU/Colgate winner vs. KSU/SDSU winner
WSU/Maine winner vs. UCD/EWU winner
Championship – Saturday, Jan. 5
Toyota Stadium, Frisco, Texas
11 a.m. [ESPN2]
RECORDS BY CONFERENCE
Qualifiers Rec. Byes
Big South 1 1-0 1
Patriot 1 1-0 1
Big Sky 4 4-1 3
MVFC 3 3-1 2
Ohio Valley 2 2-2 0
Northeast 1 1-1 0
Southern 2 1-2 0
Colonial 6 2-5 1
Southland 3 1-3 0
Pioneer 1 0-1 0
