South Dakota State stacked one big play on top of another, including scoring on the first offensive play in each half, to run away from Stetson, 70-7, in the college football opener for both teams Saturday night at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium.
The third-ranked Jackrabbits finished with 628 yards of total offense en route to their 16th consecutive victory in a home opener, including all 11 at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium.
After the SDSU defense forced a three-and-out on the first offensive series for either team in the game, the Jackrabbits took over at their own 27-yard line after the first seven Stetson punts on the evening. On the first play of the ensuing drive, Jackrabbit quarterback hit wide receiver Jack Smith in stride on a slant play across the middle and Smith turned on the jets to out-run the Hatter defense for a 73-yard score a minute and 28 seconds into the game.
The Jackrabbit defense put SDSU in position for another score moments later when sophomore cornerback Myles Green stripped a Stetson receiver of the ball after a short gain and linebacker Chase Van Tol fell on the pigskin at the Hatters’ 27. Four plays later, Corey Blair Jr. notched his second 10-yard gain in as many carries to find the end zone.
SDSU pushed the lead to 21-0 later in the opening quarter as Blair picked up 33 more yards on four consecutive carries before Josiah Johnson capped a five-play, 53-yard drive with a 20-yard touchdown run.
The Jackrabbits upped their lead to 35-0 with a pair of touchdowns less than a minute apart early in the second stanza. First, true freshman Alex Uchtman fielded a punt at his own 35 before weaving right through traffic and running past the Stetson coverage unit for a 65-yard touchdown.
Shortly thereafter, Van Tol came away with his second fumble recovery of the half, pouncing on the loose ball at the Stetson 8 after a strip-sack by newcomer Carter Sitzman. Two plays later, Johnson found paydirt for the second time, this time from 6 yards out.
Stetson put together its best drive of the first half on the ensuing possession, moving 57 yards on 12 plays before turning the ball over on downs at the Jackrabbit 8-yard line. SDSU then countered with an 11-play march of its own that ended on a 27-yard touchdown down the left side by transfer running back Ramon McKinney Jr. that made the score 42-0 going into halftime.
A revamped Jackrabbit rushing attack continued to take center stage in the second half as SDSU pulled the majority of its starters at intermission. Blair, who tallied a career-best 107 yards on only eight carries, matched the fireworks of the opening quarter by scampering 52 yards for a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage in the third quarter.
SDSU attempted only one pass in the entire second half, but it also went the distance as backup quarterback Josh Holst completed a short pass to Landon Dulaney, who then sprinted past the Stetson defense on his way to a 78-yard touchdown.
Running backs James Basinger and Josh Myers scored on runs of 6 and 27 yards, respectively, to close out a 28-point third quarter. Basinger registered a game-and career-high 110 yards on eight carries as SDSU finished the night with a total of 393 yards on the ground.
Stetson’s lone touchdown of the night came in between the scores by Basinger and Myers as reserve quarterback Chris Stephenson made plays with both his arm and legs. Stephenson hit on back-to-back passes covering 22 and 31 yards to put the Hatters first-and-goal before carrying in from 3 yards to finish off an eight-play, 75-yard drive.
The Jackrabbits averaged 11.2 yards per offensive play while recording their highest yardage total in a game since 2018 at Southern Illinois (656). Mason ended the night 5-of-10 passing for 157 yards, with Dulaney (89 yards), Smith (86 yards) and Grahm Goering (60 yards) each catching two passes.
Stetson managed 265 yards of total offense with Stephenson leading the rushing portion with 69 yards on 13 carries and adding 62 passing yards while completing 4-of-6 passes. Starting quarterback Tom von Grote completed 17-of-26 passes for 95 yards and Malachi Townsend was the leading pass catcher with five for 44 yards.
Max Stanard paced the Jackrabbit defense with a career-high six tackles. Luke Krempges, Matt Goehring and Liam Shaw were each credited with five tackles each to also set or match previous career highs in an SDSU uniform.
Dylan Kelly registered a game-high 12 tackles for Stetson.
UP NEXT
The Jackrabbits will travel to Evanston, Illinois, Sept. 5 to face Northwestern (Ill.). Game time is set for 7 p.m. with television coverage on the Big Ten Network.
NOTES
- Saturday’s game marked the first-ever meeting between the Jackrabbits and Stetson in football
- SDSU improved to 9-0 against Pioneer Football League teams since moving to the Football Championship Subdivision in 2004
- The Jackrabbits’ 70 points are tied for the second-most in a game at the Division I level, matching the scoring total against Drake in 2023
- Smith also scored on South Dakota State’s first offensive play of the game last season at South Dakota
- SDSU had two running backs top the century mark for rushing in the same game for the first time since Isaiah Davis (117 yards) and Amar Johnson (107) accomplished the feat against Mercer in the FCS playoffs on Dec. 2, 2023
- Nine different Jackrabbits recorded at least one rushing attempt
- Max Pelham booted a career-long 69-yard punt in the fourth quarter
- McKinney finished with 99 all-purpose yards (53 rushing, 46 on a kickoff return) in his Jackrabbit debut
- A total of 32 different Jackrabbit players were credited with a tackle
- Attendance was 19,192, marking the 14th sellout crowd at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium since the start of the 2023 season
- SDSU improved to 67-10 all-time at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium
Story Provided by GoJacks.com
Comments