Jackrabbits open MVFC play Saturday

The Missouri Valley Football Conference season kicks off Saturday night with a matchup between a pair of nationally ranked teams as No. 15/16 South Dakota State hosts No. 8/8 Western Illinois on Military Appreciation Night.
Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m. at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium. Both active duty and former military members who present valid identification can claim two complimentary tickets for the game at the southwest entrance to the stadium starting at 4:30 p.m.
Saturday's game will be broadcast exclusively through ESPN3.com.
The visiting Fighting Leathernecks enter the game 3-0 overall under first-year head coach Charlie Fisher following a 28-23 win last Saturday at Football Bowl Subdivision opponent Northern Illinois.
SDSU, meanwhile, is coming off its lone bye week of the season and is 1-2 overall. The Jacks, who are playing their third consecutive home game, dropped a 38-31 decision to Cal Poly in their last action on Sept. 17.

THE SERIES: Saturday's game will mark the 14th meeting on the gridiron between SDSU and Western Illinois, a series that dates back to a 28-21 Fighting Leatherneck victory at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium in 1976. Overall, SDSU leads the all-time series by an 8-5 count on the strength of a seven-game winning streak from 2008-14.
WIU?ended the Jackrabbit string of victories with a 30-24, double-overtime triumph in the 2015 regular season finale in Macomb, Illinois. The win propelled the Fighting Leathernecks into the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs and denied SDSU the opportunity for a potential top-eight seed.
Both of Western's last two wins against SDSU have come in overtime games in Macomb — the other being a 29-26, four-overtime marathon in the 2007 season opener.

MVFC OPENERS: South Dakota State will attempt to reverse a trend of struggles in its first league game of the season. The Jackrabbits have dropped three league openers in a row, falling twice at home to North Dakota State (2013, 2015) and once at Illinois State (2014).
Since joining the MVFC in 2008, the Jackrabbits are 3-5 in league openers. SDSU last opened the league slate with a win in 2012, recording a 24-10 victory at Indiana State.
Saturday's game with Western Illinois will mark the first time the two squads have kicked off MVFC play against each other.

VERSUS RANKED OPPONENTS: Saturday's meeting with Western Illinois will mark the 30th time the Jackrabbits will face a ranked Missouri Valley Football Conference opponent since joining the league in 2008. In the 29 previous matchups with a ranked league foe, SDSU has compiled a 14-15 record and has at least one win over a ranked MVFC opponent in every season except for 2011.
Since moving to the Football Championship Subdivision in 2004, the Jackrabbits have posted a 23-37 overall record against all ranked FCS opponents.

ELITE COMPANY: South Dakota State is one of only five Football Championship Subdivision programs to reach the playoffs each of the last four seasons.
The four other programs to play in the postseason each year since 2012 include:
• North Dakota State
• New Hampshire
• Coastal Carolina (S.C.)
• Sam Houston State (Texas)

RABBITS RANKED: For the third time in four years, the South Dakota State University football team entered a season with a top-10 national ranking.
The Jackrabbits checked in at No. 8 in the preseason STATS FCS Poll. SDSU, which posted an 8-4 overall record in 2015 and made its fourth consecutive appearance in the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs, returns 15 starters. SDSU also was recognized in the FCS Coaches' Preseason Poll with a 14th-place showing.
The Jackrabbits dropped back into the teens in the polls following their Sept. 17 loss to Cal Poly.

JACKS PICKED THIRD IN VALLEY: The South Dakota State University football team has been picked to finish third in the Missouri Valley Football Conference during the 2016 season, according to a preseason poll released on Aug. 2.
Five-time defending national champion North Dakota State again was tabbed as the conference favorite in the poll, which was conducted among the league's coaches, sports information directors and select media representatives. The Bison earned 37 of a possible 39 first-place votes and 388 total points.
Northern Iowa received the other two first-place votes to finish second in the preseason poll with 343 points.
Completing the upper half of the 10-team poll were South Dakota State, Illinois State and Youngstown State. North Dakota State, UNI, SDSU, Illinois State and Western Illinois all reached the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs last season.
Western Illinois checked in at a distant sixth spot in the preseason poll, followed by South Dakota and Southern Illinois. Indiana State and Missouri State filled out the poll.
In addition, five SDSU players were named to the MVFC Preseason Team. Leading the Jackrabbit contingent was junior wide receiver Jake Wieneke, who has been a two-time first-team all-league pick (2014, 2015). Wieneke set a single-season league record in 2015 with 1,472 receiving yards. He ended the year with 72 receptions and 11 touchdowns en route to earning All-America honors for the second year in a row.
Fellow 2015 first-team all-MVFC performer Dallas Goedert joined Wieneke on the preseason honor squad at the tight end spot. A junior from Britton, Goedert hauled in 26 receptions for 484 yards and three touchdowns last season to rank second on the team in all receiving categories.
Completing the Jackrabbit offense's preseason honorees was junior center Jacob Ohnesorge. The native of Waunakee, Wisconsin, has started all 26 games over the past two seasons and was a second-team all-MVFC selection a year ago.
On defense, senior defensive tackle Cole Langer received preseason accolades. The Dell Rapids native tallied 43 total tackles, including team bests of 10 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks to earn second-team all-league honors.
Rounding out the Jackrabbit preseason individual honorees was senior linebacker Jesse Bobbit, who was an honorable mention selection. Bobbit ranked second on the team last season with 97 tackles.
North Dakota State had the most preseason all-MVFC selections with eight, followed by SDSU, Illinois State and Northern Iowa with five each.

PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS: The Jackrabbits' top two receivers from a season ago, wide receiver Jake Wieneke and tight end Dallas Goedert, were both been recognized on preseason All-America teams leading into the 2016 season.
Jake Wieneke, a junior wide receiver from Maple Grove, Minnesota, earned first-team preseason accolades from both STATS and HERO Sports after a 2015 season in which he caught 72 passes for a Missouri Valley Football Conference-record 1,472 yards with 11 touchdowns. He also is being considered for FCS Offensive Player of the Year awards by both STATS and College Football Performance Awards on preseason watch lists.
Wieneke has been selected to All-America teams each of his first two seasons with the Jackrabbits, including first-team recognition from STATS and the Associated Press last year.
A junior tight end from Britton, Goedert was a second-team selection to the STATS?squad after earning all-MVFC honors in 2015. He ranked second on the squad with 26 receptions, 484 receiving yards and three touchdowns last season.

CAPTAINS: Leading the Jackrabbit football team on the field and in the locker room are six captains:
• Jesse Bobbit, Sr., linebacker, Palatine, Ill.;
• Shayne Gottlob, Sr., defensive tackle, Salem, S.D.;
• Zach Lujan, Sr., quarterback, Anchorage, Alaska;
• Nick Mears, Sr., safety, Milbank, S.D.;
• Brady Mengarelli, Jr., running back, Prescott, Ariz.;
• Jacob Ohnesorge, Jr., offensive lineman, Waunakee, Wis.
Lujan and Ohnesorge have each been selected as a team captain for the second season. Ohnesorge has started all 29 games at center over the past three seasons.

WIENEKE SETS RECORD: Junior wide receiver Jake Wieneke etched his name into the Jackrabbit record book Sept. 17 as he became the school's career leader in touchdown receptions with 35. Wieneke caught three touchdown passes in the game against Cal Poly, breaking a tie with Jeff Tiefenthaler (32 touchdown receptions from 1983-86).
Wieneke currently leads the nation with eight touchdownreceptions, including back-to-back three-score performances against Drake and Cal Poly. He has now tallied 10 multi-touchdown games in 29 career contests, including four three-touchdown games.

A STREAK OF HIS OWN: Junior tight end Dallas Goedert also has scored a receiving touchdown in each of the Jackrabbits' first three games this season and ranks second on the squad with his 14 total receptions for 249 yards and three scores.
Goedert's streak of consecutive games with a touchdown is four games dating back to last season, when he caught a 30-yard TD pass from Taryn Christion in an FCS playoff game at Montana.

CHRISTION'S STRING ENDS: South Dakota State quarterback Taryn Christion had his streak of consecutive passes thrown without an interception end on his final attempt of the Jackrabbits' game against Cal Poly on Sept. 17. Christion did not throw an interception in his first 90 attempts of the 2016 season and had his streak grow to 133 attempts dating back to the 2015 campaign.
For the season, Christion has completed 63-of-91 passes (69.2 percent) for 809 yards and 10 touchdowns against one interception.
The longest streak on record for consecutive attempts without an interception by a Jackrabbit quarterback is 155 by Brad Nelson between the 2003 (last 143 passes) and 2004 (first 12 passes) seasons.

TWO HIT CENTURY MARK: Two South Dakota State receivers went over the 100-yard mark for the first time in the same in nearly two seasons when Jake Wieneke and Dallas Goedert accomplished the feat Sept. 17 against Cal Poly.
Wieneke tallied nine catches for 114 yards and three touchdowns, while Goedert added five receptions for a career-high 101 yards and a score.
The last time SDSU had two receivers tally 100-plus yards in the same game was against Western Illinois on Nov. 15, 2014, when Wieneke tallied 10 catches for 159 yards and three touchdowns, and Jason Schneider added seven receptions for 114 yards and a pair of scores.

BOBBIT SETS CAREER MARK: Senior linebacker Jesse Bobbit set a new career high with 16 tackles in a losing effort against Cal Poly on Sept. 17. Bobbit, who tallied 90 or more tackles each of the past two seasons, had recorded 13 tackles in a game on two previous occasions. His 16 tackles were the most by a Jackrabbit in a non-overtime game since T.J. Lally made 20 stops against North Dakota State on Nov. 1, 2014.

MANY HAPPY RETURNS: South Dakota State scored in all three phases of the game in its 56-28 victory over Drake on Sept. 10. The Jackrabbit defense posted a touchdown late in the third quarter as defensive end Jared Blum intercepted a screen pass at the Drake 3-yard line and scored.
In the fourth quarter, reserve linebacker Cody Hazelett blocked a punt, which Jake Harms picked up at the Drake 2-yard line and ran in for a touchdown. It was the first time SDSU scored on a blocked punt in any game since 2009, and in a home game for the first time since 1993.
The Jackrabbits' three interceptions marked their most in a game since picking off three passes in a 31-28 win at Northern Iowa on Oct. 18, 2014.

FAMILY TRADITION: Redshirt freshman kicker Chase Vinatieri turned in an impressive collegiate debut against TCU on Sept. 3 to lead the Jackrabbits' special teams unit.
The nephew of former Jackrabbit and current Indianapolis Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri, Chase Vinatieri connected on field goals of 25 and 37 yards, and made all five of his extra-point tries, for 11 points.
For the season, Chase Vinatieri has made 3-of-4 field goal tries and all 17 extra-point attempts to rank second on the team with 26 points.
During his career at SDSU from 1991-94, Adam Vinatieri made a then-school-record 27 field goals and was a NCAA Division II All-American as a punter his senior season.

OFF TO THE RACES: Sophomore running back Isaac Wallace scored on an 87-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter of the Jackrabbits' Sept. 3 season opener at TCU.
It marked the first time since Nov. 8, 2014, when Jake Wieneke scored on a 91-yard pass and Zach Zenner posted a 94-yard touchdown run that the Jackrabbits had a
scoring play from scrimmage longer than 80 yards.

JACKRABBIT BLOODLINES: Senior defensive tackle Cole Langer leads a group of South Dakota State football players with Jackrabbit bloodlines.
Langer, a native of Dell Rapids, South Dakota, is a third-generation Jackrabbit
student-athlete. His grandfather, Jim Langer, is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame after a standout career with the Miami Dolphins and Minnesota Vikings. The starting center for the undefeated Dolphins team in 1972, Jim Langer earned all-conference honors in football at South Dakota State as a linebacker in 1969 and was an All-America selection in baseball as an outfielder that same year.
In addition, Cole Langer's father, Tracy, was an all-conference catcher in baseball for the Jackrabbits from 1989-92. Tracy's brothers, Craig and Russ, also played baseball at South Dakota State.
Several other Jackrabbits have extensive Jackrabbit bloodlines, including senior offensive lineman Seth Lansman, whose parents are both former SDSU student-athletes. Lansman's father, Howard, lettered in football from 1984-85, while his mother, Tara (Tessier) was a standout women's basketball player from 1985-88. Tara Lansman was inducted into the Jackrabbit Sports Hall of Fame in the fall of 2014.
Another returning Jackrabbit with family ties to Jackrabbit Athletics are brothers Mason and Tristan Leiseth, whose father, David, lettered in football for SDSU from 1989-91 and also was a three-time All-American in the shot put.
Two other sets of brothers are on the 2016 Jackrabbit roster: Jake and Clark Wieneke, along with Jacob and Jordan Brown.
Three other members of the Jackrabbit freshman class also have family ties to South Dakota State Athletics. Quarterback Taryn Christion's mother, Heather, played volleyball at SDSU and fullback Turner Blasius' father, Justin, was an NCAA Division II national wrestling champion.
Finally, freshman kicker Chase Vinatieri is the nephew of former Jackrabbit and current Indianapolis Colts standout kicker Adam Vinatieri.

WORKING OVERTIME: South Dakota State ended the 2015 regular season on a sour note as the Jackrabbits dropped a 30-24, double-overtime decision at Western Illinois. It marked the Jackrabbits' first overtime loss in a Missouri Valley Football Conference game after previously winning double-overtime decisions at Missouri State in 2011 and versus Northern Iowa in 2013.
Overall, SDSU?is 3-5 in games decided in overtime since the format was adopted in the mid-1990s. The Jackrabbits won their inaugural overtime game, 30-27 in two overtimes against Nebraska-Omaha in the 1998 Hobo Day game.
Following is a complete list of SDSU's overtime games:
1998: SDSU 30, Nebraska-Omaha 27 (2 OT — at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium)
2002: Augustana 39, SDSU 33 (3 OT — at Sioux Falls)
2004: Southern Utah 23, SDSU 17 (2 OT — at Cedar City, Utah)
2007: Western Illinois 29, SDSU 26 (4 OT — at Macomb, Ill.)
2008: McNeese State 46, SDSU 44 (3 OT — at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium)
2011: SDSU 43, Missouri State 36 (2 OT — at Springfield, Mo.)
2013: SDSU 37, Northern Iowa 34 (2 OT — at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium)
2015: Western Illinois 30, SDSU 24 (2 OT — at Macomb, Ill.)

ACADEMIC HONORS: For the eighth season in a row, South Dakota State claimed the Missouri Valley Football Conference Team Academic Award, compiling a 3.084 team grade-point average during the 2015 season. The Jackrabbits have received the award every year they have been a member of the MVFC.
Also during the 2015 season, three Jackrabbit football student-athletes were named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America Team. Nick Mears was a first-team selection, while Shayne Gottlob and Jake Wieneke were second-team honorees.
The Jacks wa presented the Team Academic Award by MVFC Commissioner Patty Viverito during the Sept. 17 game against Cal Poly.

FAREWELL TO COUGHLIN: The 2015 campaign marked the 54th — and final — season of Jackrabbit football at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium. Since opening on Sept. 22, 1962, SDSU compiled a 181-108 record (.626 winning percentage) on its home field.
Since moving to the NCAA?Division I Football Championship Subdivision in 2004, the Jackrabbits posted a 50-16 mark at CAS.

NEW FACILITIES: The South Dakota State University football program is expected to benefit greatly from the addition of two new facilities.
The Sanford-Jackrabbit Athletic Complex, which opened in the fall of 2014, serves as the indoor practice facility for the Jackrabbit football team and a number of other Jackrabbit squads. The complex, which features 100 yards of soy-based AstroTurf, also houses a 300-meter competition indoor track and expanded areas for strength and conditioning, sports medicine and coaches' offices.
In October 2013, SDSU officials announced lead gifts totaling $12.5 million from Sioux Falls banker Dana Dykhouse and philanthropist T. Denny Sanford toward the construction of a new football stadium. The announcement was made in conjunction with the 100th Hobo Day game at SDSU.
Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium, which has a seating capacity of 19,340 replaces Coughlin-Alumni Stadium, which served as the home of Jackrabbit football since 1962. The new stadium was built in phases on the current Coughlin-Alumni Stadium site, with completion scheduled in time for the Sept. 10 season opener against Drake.
The first phase of the stadium project, which included new seating on the east side and south end zone, along with installation of the largest scoreboard in the Football Championship Subdivision, was completed in September 2015.
The $65 million project was approved by the South Dakota Legislature in March 2014 and signed into law by Gov. Dennis Daugaard. The new west tower includes premium seating — club seats, loge boxes and suites — as well as a spacious press box and other amenities.
The stadium is being funded through private gifts and long-term revenue streams, including concessions and suite, loge box and ticket sales. Bonds are being secured to finance nearly half of the project's construction, with the remaining amount coming from private support.

JACKRABBIT INSIDER: Throughout the 2016 football season, head coach John Stiegelmeier will be a guest on the "Jackrabbit Insider," a weekly behind-the-scenes look at South Dakota State University athletics.
The half-hour television show which features interviews with Jackrabbit coaches and student-athletes, airs Sundays at 10 p.m. on Sioux Falls-based MyUTV. The show is also broadcast on KELO-TV at 11 p.m. Central Sunday and at 10 p.m. Mountain Time Sunday on KDLO-TV. Online, the show can be viewed on demand at GoJacks.com.

STIG SHOW: The John Stiegelmeier Radio Show airs each Monday throughout the 2016 football season.
The show is scheduled to air at 6 p.m. on the Jackrabbit Sports Network, originating with WNAX 570 AM in Yankton. In addition, the weekly show also will be streamed online free of charge at GoJacks.com.
Hosted by Tyler Merriam, the John Stiegelmeier Radio Show will also feature interviews with Jackrabbit student-athletes and assistant coaches. Jackrabbit fans are encouraged to attend the show in person at Cubby's Sports Bar and Grill, 307 Main Ave., in downtown Brookings.

A LOOK AHEAD: The Jackrabbits resume league action with an Oct. 8 game at Southern Illinois. Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m. at Saluki Stadium in Carbondale, Illinois.
The game will be televised through ESPN3.com.

-GoJacks.com-

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Recent Results

Players Mentioned

Turner Blasius

Jared Blum

Jesse Bobbit

Jordan Brown

Taryn Christion

Dallas Goedert

Shayne Gottlob

Jake Harms

Cody Hazelett

T.J. Lally

Cole Langer

Seth Lansman

Zach Lujan

Nick Mears

Brady Mengarelli

Jacob Ohnesorge

Chase Vinatieri

Isaac Wallace

Clark Wieneke

Jake Wieneke

Completed Event: Football at Montana on December 6, 2025 , Loss , 29, to, 50

Completed Event: Football versus New Hampshire on November 29, 2025 , Win , 41, to, 3

Completed Event: Football at North Dakota on November 22, 2025 , Win , 34, to, 31 , OT

Completed Event: Football versus Illinois State on November 15, 2025 , Loss , 21, to, 35

Completed Event: Football at South Dakota on November 8, 2025 , Loss , 17, to, 24

Completed Event: Football versus Indiana State on November 1, 2025 , Loss , 12, to, 24

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