Adam Zobel

The Jackrabbit football program will play its 91st Hobo Day Game this Saturday, Nov. 6, entering a new era as a Division I program, but facing an old rival – the Augustana Vikings – for the 61st, and possibly final, time.

SDSU looks to bounce back from consecutive road defeats and finish its home schedule undefeated with a win. The Jacks enter the game with a 4-4 overall record and a 1-2 conference mark. Augustana enters its season finale with a 3-7 record after finishing winless in North Central Conference play. The Augustana Vikings were defeated by Minnesota State – Mankato 19-12 this past Saturday.

SDSU and Augustana have faced off in seven previous Hobo Day games. The first game took place in 1946, a 26-6 Jackrabbit victory. SDSU won the last Hobo Day showdown, a 31-21 triumph in 2000. The Jacks hold a 6-1 advantage on Hobo Day over the Vikings; the only blemish being a 31-0 Augie win in 1990.

Jackrabbit coach John Stiegelmeier has a 5-2 record on Hobo Day and a 5-2 record against the Vikings. Augustana coach Jim Heinitz, a graduate of SDSU, has a 6-11 record against his alma mater, including the Viking win in 1990.

The Jackrabbits enter the game with a 42-16-2 all-time advantage against Augustana. SDSU has a 17-4 record against the Vikings in games played at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium. The Jackrabbits defeated Augustana last season 42-22 in Brookings on a bitterly cold day that drew only 2,183 spectators. Augustana’s last victory in the series was a 39-33 triple-overtime victory at Howard Wood Field in 2002. Augustana is currently not on the 2005 SDSU football schedule.

The Jackrabbits have a 52-33-5 record in Hobo Day games. SDSU won on Hobo Day last year with a 27-24 victory over St. Cloud State in front of 8,464 fans. That game was highlighted by a last-minute goal line interception by Scott Connot that sealed the win for SDSU. The last Hobo Day defeat occurred in 2002 at the hands of North Dakota by the score of 21-13.

SDSU has had a great deal of Hobo Day success during the last two decades, accumulating a 14-5 record since 1985. This streak was preceded by a 4-11 stretch dating from 1970 to 1984. The Jacks have a 23-19 Hobo Day mark at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium. In addition, the largest crowd to ever attend a football game in South Dakota was at the 1985 Hobo Day game when 16,193 spectators watched the Jacks upset previously-undefeated USD 24-12.

The Hobo Day Game for the 2005 season has not yet been officially established. The 2004 football media guide had Hobo Day tentatively scheduled for Oct. 8 against UC-Davis, but the South Dakota High School Soccer Tournament is also scheduled to be held in Brookings that weekend, which limits the availability of hotel rooms for out-of-town alumni. The next home game scheduled that month is the Oct. 22 match up against Missouri-Rolla.

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