South Dakota State is on its bye week and what lays ahead of them is the Missouri Valley Football Conference schedule.

The Jackrabbits have eight games remaining and all eight are against conference foes. SDSU went 3-1 in its non-conference portion of its schedule with the lone loss coming to Oklahoma State.

The Jacks three wins came against Incarnate Word, Augustana and Southeastern Louisiana. The win against UIW was when the Cardinals were No. 12 in the country but they followed the loss to the Jacks with a loss to Southern Illinois. SDSU beat Augustana 24-3, which to fans and observers, that margin of victory was not large enough. Last week the Jacks beat SELA 41-0 but SDSU threw for just 76 yards in the win.

The bye week being right before the conference schedule is probably for the best for the Jackrabbits. A good time to reset and prepare for what head coach Jimmy Rogers and players know is the toughest conference gauntlet in the FCS.

2024 is no different. Four of the top nine teams in the FCS are in the MVFC. That includes the Jacks at No. 1, North Dakota State (No. 2), South Dakota (No. 5) and North Dakota (No. 9).

All three of those teams are on SDSU’s remaining schedule. But the Jacks will begin the MVFC schedule with a trip to Cedar Falls, Iowa, to take on Northern Iowa on Oct. 5.

Cedar Falls has been a tough place to play for the Jackrabbits over the past decade but they’ve had success. They hold a 4-1 record at the UNI Dome since 2014 but three of those wins have come by one score.

The Penguins are in last place in the Valley with a 1-3 record and their lone win came against Valparaiso who is in the non-scholarship Pioneer League. They fell to Villanova 24-17 and Duquesne 28-25 but last week they lost 73-17 to Pittsburgh.

Then things get tough for the Jacks. They will have to travel to the FARGODome on Oct. 19 before hosting South Dakota on Oct. 26.
SDSU has won five straight games against NDSU and holds a two-game win streak in Fargo for the first time since 1939. Those two wins in Fargo came behind senior leadership, which is not lacking on this year’s team, but there are many new starters for the Jacks who have not experienced the craziness of the NDSU crowd.

The Bison are 3-1 and their loss came to an FBS foe just like SDSU in Colorado. They’re three wins are against Tennessee State, East Tennessee State and Towson. NDSU will take on Illinois State, Southern Illinois and North Dakota, who are all ranked, before welcoming SDSU to Fargo.

After losing two straight to USD the Jacks have beat the Coyotes by a combined score of 65-6 over the past two years. The Coyotes last won in Brookings in 2000. With those two stats in mind it would not be surprising to see a veteran led Coyote squad put a big time fight against the Jacks this season.

The Coyotes are just 2-1 as they lost to Wisconsin before a game against Portland State in Portland was canceled due to the opposing players having a case of whooping cough. Their two wins came against Northern Iowa and Drake.

USD plays Southern Illinois at home, travels to Murray State, hosts Northern Iowa and goes to Youngstown State before coming to Brookings.

SDSU will get a break in the schedule on Nov. 2 when Murray State comes to town. The Racers were picked last in the MVFC preseason poll.

Then the Jacks will go up to Grand Forks to take on the Fighting Hawks. The Jacks have played two games in Grand Forks since UND joined the MVFC and they split those games.

They fell in the 2021 spring season 28-17 and then beat the Fighting Hawks 49-35 in 2022 but had to come back from a 21-7 deficit. UND already beat No. 8 ranked Montana in the Alerus Center this season.

The Jacks will close out the conference schedule with a home game against Southern Illinois on Nov. 16 and a road game against Missouri State on Nov. 23. SIU has only beaten SDSU one time since 2016 and it was in overtime in 2021. Missouri State has only beaten the Jackrabbits one time since the two teams started playing in 2008.

Every week in the Valley is tough and this year is no different. With six teams in the Stats Top 25, the conference is showing yet again that it’s the toughest in the FCS.

Despite winning their past three games by a combined score of 110-27, the Jacks will need to bring their A-game week in and week out in conference play. Especially if they want to win their third straight outright conference title.