The Jackrabbits thumped the Bears 41-0 on Saturday and advanced to the quarterfinal round of the NCAA FCS playoffs.
On a chilly Saturday afternoon in Brookings, The Yellow and Blue combined for nearly 600 total yards of offense, including 346 rushing yards on a defense that hadn’t given up a 100-yard rusher all season.
“That’s exactly what we wanted to do, we wanted to come out and establish the run,” senior tailback Isaiah Davis said. “Everyone came in and got to eat, so you know it’s always fun to go out there and celebrate other people’s success.”
It was a record day for the Jackrabbits ground game in front of a Dana J. Dykhouse playoff record crowd of 10,171.
“The fans were awesome, those that were in attendance were loud and made an impact in the game today,” said head coach Jimmy Rogers. “I encourage all of you guys to bring the plus one next week, all 10,000, bring one more person with you and let’s fill the stadium.”
The South Dakota State defense also played lights out for the entire game, allowing 151 total yards and just six Mercer first downs.
Facing an unfamiliar opponent in the playoffs, the Jackrabbits came with intensity and execution that rivaled a few of their longtime rivalry games this season.
The most dominant part of the game for the Jackrabbits was in the first half as they held the Bears to just 62 total yards of offense while ending all four drives with points.
“They always do their thing, we can always count on them to make a play,” Davis said on the defensive effort. “They always put us in good opportunities, and I think it’s our job as the offense to capitalize on the great opportunities they give us.”
It started with a 10-play, 56-yard drive that got to the Mercer 10-yard line before the Bears defense would tighten up and force the Jackrabbits to just 3 points off the leg of kicker Hunter Dustman.
The Bears would gain just one first down on their opening drive coming from a facemask penalty before punting back to SDSU.
The Yellow and Blue went back to work offensively, capping off a 13-play drive with a 4-yard touchdown from Davis.
After another punt from the Bears, SDSU set up their third score of the game after a defensive pass interference placed the ball inside the Mercer 10-yard line.
Quarterback Mark Gronowski would connect with wide receiver Jaxon Janke on a back-shoulder throw to go up 17 points midway through the second quarter. Gronowski finished the game 11-16, passing for 158 yards with a touchdown and an interception while adding 40 rushing yards on 11 carries.
A desperate Bears team that wasn’t finding any success on offense thought they had found a spark late in the first half after the special teams converted a fake punt at midfield, as defensive lineman Chris Hill would take the direct snap and scamper for a 24-yard gain.
But the fake punt would not amount to points as the Jacks defense would stop the Bears on fourth down later in the drive.
With a little over 2 minutes to play in the second quarter, the Jackrabbits would march down the field and set up Davis for his second touchdown of the day from six yards out.
Davis, who finished with 117 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 16 carries, has reached the century mark 22 times in his career, including 10 in the playoffs.
The Jackrabbits would head into halftime with a 24-0 lead but knew there was more work to do.
“I think it’s huge when you can score off of turnovers,” coach Rogers said. “But I also think it’s critical to win end of the second and into the third [quarter], and we were able to that.”
MU would get the ball to begin the third quarter hoping to start their comeback, but the Jackrabbit defense continued to lock things down and force another punt.
SDSU would get the ball back and continue to pour it on. After great blocks downfield, Davis would get to the outside and dart for a 42-yard touchdown run.
Davis recorded his sixth career 3-touchdown game, with it also being his third time accomplishing this feat in the playoffs.
“I would say the biggest thing is you’re not promised another week,” Davis said on his playoff productivity. “This being my senior year, you take into account all of the work you put in, all the guys put in throughout the summer and offseason to succeed in this opportunity that we have this week.”
After a punt by the Bears, Gronowski would throw his first interception in 141 playoff passing attempts, giving Mercer their first turnover of the game.
However, just 2 plays later, defensive back Dalys Beanum recorded an interception of his own on quarterback Carter Peevy, making a huge jumping catch against the sideline.
The game would start to slow down for both teams as the Jackrabbits would begin to pull their starters on both sides of the ball midway through the third quarter.
But even when the starters are off the field, it gives everyone a look at just how much depth is on this football team.
“We get 64 [players] for the playoffs that dress, when we get the opportunity to play close to all 64 guys it’s meaningful,” coach Rogers said. “It only drives the performance at practice that everybody needs to stay ready cause you don’t know how we’re going to play.”
Following yet another Mercer punt late in the third quarter, second-string tailback Amar Johnson would break loose for a 54-yard run that would set up Dustman for a 19-yard field goal.
Amar Johnson, who finished with 107 yards on 11 carries and one catch for 17 yards, recorded a season-high in rushing yards, longest carry, and longest reception in the victory.
After another punt by Mercer, the Jackrabbits were moving the ball once again. With backup quarterback Chase Mason leading the offense, Mason would connect with receiver Devon Cole Jr. on a 32-yard catch-and-run but would fumble at the end of the play, recovered by the Bears.
But the Jacks would eventually get the ball back and throw one final punch in the blowout victory.
Angel Johnson would get the carry on the first play of the drive and utilize his blazing speed to cruise in for the longest rush by any Jackrabbit this season, an 80-yard touchdown.
“If you can run the ball and have success running the ball it’s going to create for a long day defensively,” coach Rogers said. “We had as many stops as we had because the offense was able to run the ball.”
The defense would go on to get one final stop in the shutout with an interception from Peevy by sophomore defensive back Aydan Dauterman.
This is the fourth time this season the Jackrabbits have not allowed a touchdown, as well as the second shutout forced by the defense.
“We went into this game knowing that we should dominate this game,” Beanum said. “Everyone had a chip on their shoulder, it was good that we could prove that today.”
The Jackrabbits improved their FCS playoff record to 19-12 and hope to add to that in the coming weeks.
Angel Johnson ended the game with 80 yards and a score on three carries.
In the receiving game, Jaxon Janke finished with seven catches for 106 yards and a touchdown, while brother Jadon added two catches for 42 yards. Davis also recorded two catches for 13 yards.
Defensively, Isaiah Stalbird led the team in tackles with seven, including four solo tackles. Jason Freeman finished with six tackles while three players combined for third most with four tackles each.
Linebackers Saiveon Williamson and Aaron Kusler would combine for a sack, while defensive end Zac Wilson would add a sack as well.
For MU, Peevy finished with 75 passing yards on 14 completions with two interceptions. The leading rusher was Hill whose lone carry of the game came on a fake punt.
Parker Wroble led the team in receiving yards with 26 on five catches, Devron Harper finished with four catches for 13 yards, and Ty James added another two catches for 28 yards.
The Jackrabbits extended their win streak to 26 consecutive victories, tied for the third longest in FCS history.
Up Next
The Jackrabbits will welcome the No. 8 Wildcats of Villanova next week for the quarterfinal round of the NCAA FCS playoffs. The date and time for the game is TBD.