BROOKINGS — South Dakota State will play at Murray State for the first time in program history on Saturday.
The Jackrabbits, who are unbeaten at 6-0, will take on the winless Racers at 1 p.m. Central time. This will be the second meeting between the two schools as the Jacks beat Murray State in Brookings 52-6 last season.
“We’re really focused on finding our highest level as a football team,” said SDSU head coach Dan Jackson. “… We’re looking forward to traveling down [to play Murray State]. This is the first time really anyone in our program has been there and we’re excited for another opportunity to experience a new stadium and get a new experience that way and play against a solid football team.”
Despite SDSU’s perfect record, the Jacks have had some ups and downs in their six victories this year. They are coming off of a 31-3 victory over Northern Iowa but SDSU scored 17 points in the fourth quarter to pull away.
Jackson said he was happy to come away with a 28-point win but SDSU is not close to playing its best football.
“It’s been a goal from the beginning of the season, to see how great this team can be. I think that’s all you want. For us, our standard is to win every game and our standard is to be playing in January, but there’s a process in that and I knew ever since we got here that the players wanted to find their highest level and the coaches were trying to find their highest level. The fun thing about that is, what is that? I know that we’re not close to it yet, which is exciting. I’m just looking for growth every week and I think that’s been the consistent message, to get better, fix mistakes, find solutions and continue to find ways to get closer as a team,” Jackson said.
The Jacks have been known for running the football over the past decade-plus and this season it has been challenging on the ground at times. SDSU ran for a season-low 120 yards against the Panthers. That output has not led to any worries from Jackson as he said he’s confident that the offensive line will continue to improve and feels like they’re in a good spot right now.
“I feel great about the offensive line. I really do. To grade the offensive line, when somebody tries to do that and you don’t know the plays or who they’re supposed to block or what the defense is presenting you, that’s great entertainment for some people. But when I know the plays and know the assignments and I look at it and am seeing the physicality and the lanes that are open and the time that we have in the pass game, I love where our offensive line is at. … It’s no different from any position [group], they have some things that they need to work on and improve on, but the offensive line is not a concern of mine at all,” Jackson said.
The previous week SDSU ran for 211 yards in a 35-30 win over Youngstown State. Julius Loughridge had his season-high with 179 yards on the ground and averaged seven yards per carry. Jackson said that how the Jacks played in the second half of that game is how they would like to play every game, and that’s with physicality. He said on Tuesday that he thinks both the offensive line and Loughridge have been playing with physicality but they need to make sure Loughridge finds the hole and gets past the line of scrimmage.
“I think the physicality [with the offensive line has been good]. Our offensive line is getting off the ball and they’re knocking people. … I think the effort and the physicality is there. I don’t feel a lack of physicality from the offensive line. With the backs, I think when they find the right crease and are running behind their pads, I think they are physical too. Julius [Loughridge] has been breaking tackles and rarely does the first guy tackle him. We just need to get his feet going and get him past the line of scrimmage and get some momentum going because then he’s really challenging [to bring down],” Jackson said.
One stat that SDSU has dominated is the turnover margin. The Jacks are tied for fourth in the FCS in turnover margin as they have 14 takeaways and five giveaways. Three of the five turnovers came on special teams and quarterback Chase Mason only has one interception this season.
SDSU forced five turnovers in the win over UNI, including four interceptions. Jackson said that creating turnovers while also limiting them on your end is a good way to create momentum.
“I do love how we’re protecting the football. That’s huge in terms of time of possession, controlling a game and controlling momentum. Maybe we’re not creating a ton of momentum, but we’re not giving them any momentum, and you can see when our defense takes the ball away what that does for our team,” Jackson said.
You can watch Saturday’s game on ESPN+ or listen to the game AM 570 WNAX.
