Jackrabbits take on Penguins in Valley road opener

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BROOKINGS – South Dakota State has breezed by its past four opponents and is now 4-1 heading into its first Missouri Valley road game. 

The Jacks will head to Youngstown, Ohio, Saturday to take on the Youngstown State Penguins. YSU is coming off of its first lost of the season, losing to Northern Iowa 21-14 on the road last week.

The Penguins are a lot like the Jacks in that they like to run the ball, score a lot of points and play good defense. YSU averages 38.4 points per game and SDSU averages 33.6. Meanwhile the Penguins give up 19 points per game and the Jacks give up 11.6, which is tied for first in the Missouri Valley and third in the FCS with North Dakota State.

YSU is third in The Valley in rushing yards per game at 248. SDSU is second at 253.4 yards per game and NDSU is first at 288.

“That’s the way they’ve been a lot of years with Coach [Bo] Pelini. They play very good defense and are very athletic on defense. It’s hard to get big plays on them. Then on offense, anytime you run quarterback as much as your top tailback, you know that you’re going to be a good football team,” said SDSU head coach John Stiegelmeier.

The quarterback that Stiegelmeier is talking about is senior Nathan Mays. He is 52-for-80 with 782 yards, seven touchdowns and two interceptions on the season. He also has 232 rushing yards and four touchdowns.

Mays isn’t the only threat on the ground though. YSU has three other guys who have over 200 yards rushing on the season. Senior Joe Alessi leads the way with 375 yards and three touchdowns.

“We have to play good solid defense,” Stiegelmeier said. “They get 11 guys, we get 11 guys. Fit plays right. You know, they’re not going to out-coach us in terms of having guys that have to make tackles. You just have to do your job and the guy that’s assigned to make the tackle, however they block it, has to make the tackle.”

Coming off of a 28-10 victory against Southern Illinois on Hobo Day, in a game where the Jacks shut out the Salukis in the second half, Stiegelmeier said he was most happy with his defense.

“Loved the way we played defense, other than that one drive and really we could have stopped it on the fourth down … I liked how we adjusted at halftime,” he said.

SDSU’s defense has been one of the best in the country through five games. They have given up just 258 yards per game which is fourth in the FCS. They have given up 91.8 yards per game on the ground which is the best in the Missouri Valley and Stiegelmeier said the Jacks have been so good against the rush because of the scheme they’ve ran.

“Scheme is always a part of it. We’ve changed some things with coordinators. I think we’re playing more guys, which means we’re fresher at positions. That means they can play harder and are not failing themselves for a play, cause they’re not going to get all of the plays. I think we also have some good players, which always makes you look better as a coach,” Stiegelmeier said.

In past years SDSU has been known as more of passing team, especially when Taryn Christion was at quarterback. This season has been a lot different as the Jacks are averaging 161.4 yards per game through the air, which is last in the MVFC. 

Part of the reason SDSU hasn’t thrown the ball as much is because their starting quarterback, redshirt freshman J’Bore Gibbs, hasn’t been completely healthy. Gibbs missed two games with a pinky injury and then hurt his thumb in his first game back. Gibbs went 10-for-15 for just 98 yards against SIU, but he had three touchdowns. 

“J’Bore is healthy and we’re going to do what we think it takes to win the football game … we’re not going into any game thinking we have to be 50-50 with the run and the pass, or 70-30 run and pass. We have a game plan and then we try to figure out what is the best for the situation,” Stiegelmeier said.

Another reason the Jacks haven’t been throwing as much is because they have the top running back in the MVFC. Sophomore Pierre Strong Jr. is averaging 110.2 yards per game on the ground and has four rushing touchdowns on the season. His backup, sophomore C.J. Wilson, is averaging 73.8 yards per game as well.

This will be the Jacks’ first road game in the MVFC and only their second road game of the season. Stiegelmeier said his team has one thing in mind heading to Youngstown and that’s “win the football game.”

“We don’t ever go anywhere to sitesee or have fun in the hotel or whatever. Our trips are all business and when we’re on the road we try to make it our environment and make it our field. You do that by playing really good football,” he said.

The Jacks and Penguins are scheduled to kick things off at 5 p.m. Saturday and you can watch the game on ESPN+.