The Jackrabbits return home to play the Bears of Missouri State for the final game of the regular season at the Dana J Dykhouse.
With one game left before playoffs, the Jacks have remained undefeated throughout the season. Sitting at number one in the FCS, South Dakota State holds a record of 7-0 in the conference and 10-0 overall.
Head Coach Jimmy Rogers and the team are not so much focused on the playoffs but on finishing the season strong. “We’ll have a challenge to close out this season, and that’s what we’re focused on right now, not necessarily worried about the playoffs or anything like that,” Rogers said.
The game is not only the final game of the regular season, but it is also military appreciation and senior day.
The last time Jacks and Bears met was at Robert W. Plaster Stadium in Springfield, Missouri where the Jacks won 28-14. The Bears have struggled this season but come into this game off of a win looking to finish their regular season with another one.
MISSOURI STATE
Missouri State comes into this matchup with a record of 3-4 in conference play, 4-6 overall this season. The most recent win came against the University of Northern Iowa where they beat the Panthers 35-16.
The Bears are led by junior quarterback Jordan Pachot, but fellow junior Jacob Clark has also seen playing time. Pachot has thrown for 2,204 yards this season and 17 touchdowns.
The junior from California has a passing percentage of 67.80, throwing nine interceptions and rushing for 75 yards on 34 attempts. He has completed 160 of the 236 passes he has thrown this season.
Pachot sits in tenth of the passing efficiency category in the FCS with a passing efficiency of 155.98.
Junior running back Jacardia Wright leads the ground attack for Missouri State with 767 yards on 147 attempts. Wright averages 69.60 yards per game and will have to be on top of things against the Jackrabbit defense.
Two big targets for Pachot are Raylen Sharpe and Terique Owens. These two receivers combine for 1,433 yards on the year. Sharpe, a junior from Texas has 905 receiving yards while finding the endzone seven times.
Owens, a senior from California has 528 receiving yards, finding the endzone four times this season. The next closest in yards is Jmariyae Robinson, a redshirt freshman with 486 yards and five touchdowns.
Defensively for the Bears, Todric McGee leads the team with 95 total tackles on the season. The sophomore safety also adds two interceptions with 53 of his tackles being solo tackles.
The next top two defensive players for Missouri State are linebacker Jared Lloyd and safety P.J. Hall. Lloyd has 59 total tackles and Hall follows closely with 55.
Defensive lineman Devin Goree leads the team in sacks with 5.5 followed by teammate and fellow defensive lineman Darion Smith with three. The Bears have a total of 16 sacks this season so far.
Jimmy Rogers notices the defense of the Bears and how well they can play, even if they have not had a great season.
“On defense I think they are playing really well so, at least watching that UNI game I felt they came together as a defense, and they could be playing their best football right now,” Rogers said.
The Missouri State defense will have a large task at hand with the Jacks offensive attack. Goree and Smith needing to be at the front lines of stopping the run while McGee and Hall will play a big part in stopping the passing attack.
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE
With one game left to complete a perfect regular season, the Jacks are looking strong and get to finish it at home. South Dakota State sits at No. 4 in the scoring offense standings, holding down No.1 of the scoring defense standings.
Running back Isaiah Davis sits at No. 12 in the FCS for rushing yards with 990. Davis has 11 touchdowns on the year, the most on the team.
Davis shares the backfield with two more dominant running backs in Amar and Angel Johnson.
Amar with 562 rushing yards adding three touchdowns, Angel has 296 rushing yards, finding the endzone four times.
Dual-threat quarterback Mark Gronowski has been dominant this season in both areas of the game. He has thrown for 20236 yards and 21 touchdowns on the season.
Gronowski follows Angel Johnson closely with 247 yards rushing while he has found the endzone on the ground six times. Gronowski is able to tear apart defenses with his passing but is also dangerous in his running game.
Gronowski holds the No.1 spot for passing efficiency in the FCS with a passing efficiency of 180.54. He sits at No. 2 in yards per pass attempt with an average of 9.74.
The Jackrabbit defense is always a difficult task for its opponents, being solid in every aspect. The Jackrabbit defense sitting at No. 1 in scoring defense is a big part of their success this season.
Linebacker, Jason Freeman has played a key role tallying 65 total tackles, 33 of which are solo tackles. Two other linebackers Isaiah Stalbird and Saiveon Williamson have totals of 54 and 51 total tackles this season.
Up front for the Jackrabbit defense Cade Terveer has been penetrating offensive lines with five sacks leading the team in that category. Sophomore safety, Tucker Large leads the team in interceptions with three while leading tackler Freeman adds two.
With the Jacks one game away from the end of the regular season, Rogers knows there is still things to improve on. “Finishing blocks, making catches all the time when you have the opportunity to make a catch, always winning the special situation category,” Rogers said.
In the special situation category, he wants to control the time of clock and field position. Defensively, Rogers wants the team to stay consistent on getting off blocks and to tackle in space better.
This is the final game of the regular season for the Jacks and they will head into the playoffs next.
