On a gloomy and rainy Saturday, the South Dakota State football team shined on all phases of the game and dismantled the Missouri State Bears 59-7.

It took a while for senior quarterback Taryn Christion and the Jackrabbit offense to get going but once they did they didn’t look back.

Christion and the Jacks received the ball to begin the game but were forced to punt on their first drive. The Jacks defense stepped up and forced their own stop.

They found their footing pretty quickly.

On their second drive, it took one play for Pierre Strong Jr. to blow past the Bears defense for 55-yards. That gave the Jacks a seven-point lead, their smallest of the day.

From there on, the Jacks never looked back.

Jacks fire on offensive cylinders
Christion finished the game with 259 passing yards, four passing touchdowns and two interceptions on 15 completions.

Christion also managed to break free for a 33-yard touchdown on his lone rushing attempt. During the game, Christion managed to knock down another record: the Sioux Falls native is now the Missouri Valley Football Conference leader in career touchdowns (95).

Cade Johnson paced South Dakota State receivers with five receptions for 130 yards and two touchdowns. Johnson displayed his big-play ability with 34-yard and 42-yard touchdown receptions.

“We will take a 61-yard run [sic] anytime for a touchdown, but we want to emphasize that you got to be able to march the field,” Stiegelmeier said.

Adam Anderson also was a factor in the passing game and had six catches for 85 yards and two touchdowns.

On the ground, Strong Jr. led the Jacks with seven carries for 132 yards and two touchdowns. Mikey Daniel had 18 carries for 70 yards. Deyon Campbell had a carry that went for 32 yards.

When it was all said and done, the Jackrabbits finished the game with 547 yards on 67 plays.

Jacks defense stifles Bears offense

Leading up to the game, there was a lot of talk about the inability of Missouri State’s defense. But thanks to the Jacks defense, it was the Bears offense that had their shortcomings.

Missouri State wasn’t able to get the ball moving offensively the entire game. The punting unit was on the field nine times and the Jacks defense force seven 3-and-outs on 17 Missouri State drives.

Offensively, the Bears had 183 total yards.

“Couldn’t do anything right, (we) did a very poor job of coaching,” Missouri State head coach Dave Steckel said after the game.

They were unable to get the rushing game going throughout the game and had 30 yards on 31 carries. Quarterback Peyton Huslig, who entered the game as the leading rusher on Missouri State gained a single yard on eight attempts. Donovan Daniel led the Bears with 31 rushing yards on seven attempts.

Through the air, the Jacks secondary was able to contain. Bear receivers combined for 153 yards. Tyler Currie led that charge with four catches for 78 yards and the lone Missouri State touchdown.

Defensively, the Jacks were able to consistently get pressure on Huslig and had four sacks for 33 yards.

SDSU entered the game last in the MVFC with just 10 sacks for 49 yards.

“I think we just kind of took it upon ourselves that we are tired of not being able to do our job,” defensive lineman Ryan Earith said.

For the Bears, this loss marks their third straight loss. They have dropped their four of their last five after starting conference play with a win.

“Trying to figure that (struggles) out,” Steckel said. “… I don’t know, I am doing something wrong.”

Weather doesn’t bother Jacks

While the 40-degree weather might have contributed to the attendance of 5,869 Jackrabbit fans, the team wasn’t affected.

“I didn’t hear anything about the weather, and I didn’t think it was a factor for our team,” Stiegelmeier said.

If it did impact the Jacks, it was only in positive ways.

“We pride ourselves on playing in this weather,” Cade Johnson said. “Coach Stig said before that this was going to be our advantage and we just took that mindset to the game.”

Up next, the South Dakota State Jackrabbits will travel to Carbondale, Illinois where they will take on the Salukis of Southern Illinois.