The Jackrabbits concluded their two-weeklong road trip with a dominating 37-3 victory against the No. 9 South Dakota Coyotes.
It was the 116th meeting between the two teams, with this time around being arguably the biggest in the rivalry’s history.
Both teams came into Saturday undefeated in conference play, with the Yotes dropping just one contest on the season to the No. 16 team in the FBS, the Missouri Tigers.
The anticipation leading into this game was much different than last season’s Interstate Series matchup. The Coyotes had improved immensely from a year ago and were riding the momentum of a six-game winning streak, while the Jackrabbits were holding on to a win streak of their own.
But when all the build-up and emotions were thrown to the side and 1 p.m. came around, none of that outside noise mattered to South Dakota State.
The Jackrabbits won the coin toss and deferred to the second half, allowing the Coyotes to start with the football.
In what would end up being their only scoring drive of the game, USD would get the first points on the board off a 50-yard field goal from kicker Will Leyland.
The Jackrabbits would come out sluggish in the opening quarter as they ran just eight total plays in the first 15 minutes of the game, including quarterback Mark Gronowski’s third interception of the season to defensive back Shahid Barros.
Combining the rowdy atmosphere inside The DakotaDome with early game struggles on offense, the Jacks had yet another uphill climb on the road.
But when they weathered the early storm from USD and were able to slow things down on offense, it was a night-and-day difference.
“We’ve got great leadership,” head coach Jimmy Rogers said. “The kids have been through every single scenario in their time here now and they have confidence in one another and believe in the preparation. The culture is strong at South Dakota State.”
After giving up the field goal on the opening drive, the Jackrabbit defense would put a vice grip on the Coyotes, allowing just 141 yards the rest of the game.
The SDSU defense would force a punt or interception on the seven remaining Coyote drives, while the Jackrabbit offense would find a way to score on their last seven drives of the game.
The offense would begin to find its groove and convert on a crucial third down to Amar Johnson to get in the red zone when the game would stop due to a review that would eventually be ruled a targeting penalty on Barros.
“I disagreed with it, I watched the replay myself,” USD head coach Bob Nielson said on the targeting penalty. “But I don’t get to make the call, and not only did it give them [SDSU] a first down inside the 10-yard line, but it also takes one of our best players out of the game.”
And on the very next play, offensive coordinator Zach Lujan was able to dive into his bag of tricks and call a reversal that would result in a seven-yard touchdown run by wide receiver Jadon Janke.
“We had a pretty good feeling it was going to work,” Janke said on the reversal. “And Isaiah [Davis] being the back that he is, you know they bite hard on him when he gets the ball. He had a perfect pitch and then it was basically a walk-in for me, I got to give a lot of credit to the guys up front.”
After a punt from USD, the Yellow and Blue would find the endzone again, this time on a 20-yard touchdown run from Amar Johnson.
Down by two scores, USD was looking to get some points on the board with under two minutes to go in the half.
The Coyotes had found a rhythm in the closing minutes but were cut short after a deflected pass from quarterback Aidan Bouman was intercepted by Tucker Large.
The interception from Large with 46 seconds left gave SDSU just enough time to get into field goal range for Hunter Dustman.
The senior kicker from East Bethel, Minnesota would drill a career-long 49-yarder as time expired, giving the Jacks a 17-3 lead going into the break.
The Jackrabbits outgained the Coyotes by over 100 yards in the first half, including 116 first-half rushing yards.
The Jackrabbits would continue to pour it on in the second half, and after a 52-yard catch-and-run from quarterback Mark Gronowski to receiver Jaxon Janke, Dustman would tack on another field goal from 22 yards out.
Another punt by USD would give the Jacks another scoring opportunity, with Dustman knocking his third field goal of the day from 47 yards out.
Heading into the fourth quarter up by 20, South Dakota State continued to pile it on the Coyotes.
Amar Johnson would score his second 20-yard touchdown run to push the Jackrabbits to the 30-point mark for the sixth time this season.
A late 4-yard touchdown run by sophomore tailback Angel Johnson would close out the 34-point victory for the Jackrabbits.
“Our guys at halftime weren’t satisfied,” said coach Rogers on what he was most proud of in the win. “This was personal, it’s a rivalry, it’s meant to be competitive, and our guys responded in every way.”
SDSU would outgain USD by nearly 300 yards while outrushing the Yotes by over 200 yards.
Offensively, Gronowski finished 13-19, passing for 207 yards with an interception and adding 43 yards on the ground.
In the backfield, Isaiah Davis had a rather quiet day with 69 yards on 17 carries, while Amar Johnson had an efficient 66 yards on eight carries, adding two rushing touchdowns. Angel Johnson finished not far behind with 52 yards and a touchdown on seven carries. Jadon Janke added a touchdown on the ground as well.
“We’re blessed to have with what I believe is the best running back group in the country at this level,” coach Rogers said. “Amar had a big night, and Angel when he got in, he’s really good too.”
Jaxon Janke was leading the receiver with 93 yards on three catches, while his twin brother Jadon added another three catches for 55 yards. Davis had three catches for 32 yards as well.
Linebackers Isaiah Stalbird and Jason Freeman led the team in tackles with seven each, with Stalbird recording an interception. Tucker Large added another four tackles with an interception and a pass breakup, while defensive end Cade Terveer recorded the lone sack for the Jackrabbit defense.
Dustman was once again a huge part of the Jackrabbit victory, connecting on all three field goal attempts and adding another four extra points to go with the four rushing touchdowns.
“He was great, he’s just a great player,” coach Rogers on Dustman’s productive day. “He’s consistent, and if there’s no wind, he can make it. He was hitting them great all night.”
For the Coyotes, Bouman finished 17-31 passing for 133 yards and two interceptions.
Tailback Travis Theis added 29 yards on the ground on nine carries, while Charles Pierre Jr. finished with 25 yards on seven carries.
JJ Galbreath led the Yotes in receiving with 65 yards on eight catches, while Theis had another four catches for 20 yards.
Linebacker Brock Mogensen led USD in tackles with 12 while defensive back Dennis Shorter added another 11 tackles.
SDSU has increased their win streak to 22 straight now, tied for the sixth-longest in FCS history.
Up Next
The Jackrabbits return home next weekend to take on the North Dakota State Bison in the annual Dakota Marker Game. Kickoff on Nov. 4 is slated for 2 p.m. in front of another sellout crowd at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium.
