BROOKINGS – The Jackrabbits are on a roll, and the timing could not be better.

Fifth-seeded South Dakota State beat Northern Iowa 37-22 in the second round of the FCS Playoffs on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium.

“I’m really proud of our football team,” said SDSU coach John Stiegelmeier, whose team has won its last six contests. “I know we beat a really good Missouri Valley (Football Conference) Northern Iowa football team. Very impressive. I thought we had players step up and make plays. I really want to give some credit to our assistant coaches who had two weeks and refined a game plan that I think was executed very well. I’m really proud of the entire program.”

The Jackrabbits posted the first 10-win season in program history.

And now, they are playing a home game in search of their inaugural semifinal appearance as they take on New Hampshire (9-4) on Saturday at 2 p.m. (on ESPN3). The Wildcats upset No. 4 Central Arkansas 21-15 on the road in the second round.

Taryn Christion finished 19-of-28 for 237 yards with three touchdowns and an interception against the Panthers in a game that wasn’t really as close as the final score indicated. He also ran for 38 yards and a TD.

The Panthers were the last team to beat the Jackrabbits, winning 38-18 on Hobo Day (Oct. 14).

In that one, UNI was up 17-0 after a quarter and 24-6 at halftime.

In this one, SDSU was up 10-0 after a quarter and 26-7 at halftime.

That’s a 27-point swing after 15 minutes and a 37-point swing through 30.

“Looking back at that first meeting, we made a lot of mistakes; we hurt ourselves, definitely,” said Dallas Goedert. “So we knew we had to go out there and compete, and there definitely was some motivation – just kind of a rematch game, a redemption game, for sure.

“So I think we went out there and played really well and played a good game of football.”

SDSU scored on all five of its first-half possessions.

The Jackrabbits went 3-for-3 on fourth-down conversions, with a pair of the plays ending in the end zone.

Chase Vinatieri capped the opening drive with a 29-yard field goal.

Later, on fourth-and-goal, Christion hit Cade Johnson on the right side for a 2-yard TD to make it 10-0.

The Panthers got a 6-yard touchdown toss from Eli Dunne to Daurice Fountain early in the second.

Johnson returned the ensuing kickoff 70 yards and Vinatieri connected from 55 yards – a career long and two yards off the school record for longest field goal – at the 12:17 mark of the second.

The second fourth-down conversion saw Christion bust through the line for a 21-yard touchdown, which made it 19-7.

Mikey Daniel made it 3-for-3 when he powered through the line for a 4-yard pickup on fourth-and-1. Two plays later, Christion found Goedert in the back of the end zone for a 28-yard score with 31 seconds left in the half.

“They resulted in points, all three, (so they were) huge,” Stiegelmeier said of the fourth downs. “You don’t only get the yards and the points, you get that confidence that we can do it when we need to do it, so they were big.”

Notes: Christion has a school-record 31 touchdown passes this season, one better than the mark (from 2016) he shared with Ryan Berry (2008). … In the MVFC career recordbook, Christion is sixth in total yards of offense (9,240) and TD tosses (68), and ninth in passing yards (8,091). … SDSU improved to 5-6 in the FCS Playoffs in seven appearances. … Christion broke a tie with Austin Sumner for the most TD tosses in school history. He now has 68, as Sumner had 65 from 2011-14. … Stiegelmeier on his defense: “I thought for three quarters our defense played one of their best games of the year. That got a little out of hand (in the fourth), but the score was a little out of hand.”

Notes (from SDSU Sports Information): Goedert became the third player in program history with consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons, joining Jeff Tiefenthaler (1985-86) and Wieneke (three straight from 2014-16).

SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 37, NORTHERN IOWA 22

SDSU (10-2)   0   7  0  15  –  22

UNI (8-5) 10  16  0  11  –  37

First Quarter

SDSU – Chase Vinatieri 29 FG, 10:02

SDSU – Cade Johnson 2 pass from Taryn Christion (Vinatieri kick), 3:43

Second Quarter

UNI – Daurice Fountain 6 pass from Eli Dunne (Austin Errthum kick), 14:12

SDSU – Vinatieri 55 FG, 12:17

SDSU – Christion 21 run (pass failed), 5:03

SDSU – Dallas Goedert 28 pass from Christion (Vinatieri kick), :31

Fourth Quarter

SDSU – Jacob Brown 30 pass from Christion (Wieneke pass from Christion), 12:03

UNI – Jared Farley 1 run (Errthum kick), 7:38

SDSU – Vinatieri 44 FG, 4:11

SDSU – Trevor Allen 1 run (Jalen Rima pass from Dunne), 2:44

SDSU UNI

First Downs 20 22

Plays-Yards 60-369 70-380

Rushes-Yards 24-82 42-143

C-A-Int.-Yards 26-36-1-287 19-28-1-237

Fumbles-Lost 1-1 1-1

Penalties-Yards 10-98 7-45

Punts-Avg.-I20-TB 4-30.8-2-0 2-35.5-0-0

Kickoffs-Avg.-TB 3-53-1 8-56-1

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

Kickoff Returns-Yards-TD 7-138-0 1-70-0

Interception Returns-Yards-TD 1-14-0 1-10-0

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

Miscellaneous Yards 0 0

Possession Time 24:17 35:43

Third-down Conversions 5-of-10 5-of-14

Fourth-down Conversions 0-of-1 3-of-3

Red Zone Chances-TD-FG 4-3-0 4-3-1

Sacks By-Yards 2-19 3-24

Field Goals 0-for-0 3-for-3

RUSHING: UNI – Marcus Weymiller 13-59, Trevor Allen 4-27, Jared Farley 1-1, Eli Dunne 6-(-5). SDSU – Brady Mengarelli 18-45, Isaac Wallace 10-40, Trayn Christion 7-38, Mikey Daniel 7-20.

PASSING: UNI – Eli Dunne 26-36-1-287. SDSU – Taryn Christion 19-28-1-237.

RECEIVING: UNI – Briley Moore 6-90, Jalen Rima 5-58, Marcus Weymiller 4-39, Jaylin James 4-30, Daurice Fountain 3-28, Trevor Allen 2-24, Elias Nissen 2-18. SDSU – Dallas Goedert 6-83, Jacob Brown 3-51, Jake Wieneke 3-50, Brady Mengarelli 3-5, Cade Johnson 2-4, Marquise Lewis 1-40, Mikey Daniel 1-4.

DEFENSE: UNI – Duncan Ferch 12 tackles, Jared Farley 10 tackles; Adam Reth 8 tackles, sack; Blake Thomas INT; Rickey Neal FR; Keelon Brookins sack. SDSU – Logan Backhaus 8 tackles; Nick Farina 7 tackles, FR; Jordan Brown 7 tackles; Dalton Cox 7 tackles; Christian Rozeboom 6 tackles; Larenzo Williams INT; Chase Kern sack; Ryan Earith sack; Spencer Hildahl sack.

   A – 7,518.