With the win, the Jackrabbits kept pace with Youngstown State in the Missouri Valley Football Conference race with a 4-1 mark and improved to 7-2 overall. USD dropped to 7-3 overall and 4-2 in league play.
After turning the ball over on their first possession and being forced to punt the next time they had the ball, the Jackrabbits broke into the scoring column late in the first quarter. SDSU’s 12-play, 87-yard march chewed up nearly six and a half minutes. Using a mix of run and pass, highlighted by a 30-yard pass from Chase Mason to Grahm Goering that put the Jackrabbits deep into USD territory, James Basinger found the end zone from 2 yards out,
Meanwhile, the SDSU defense was stifling through the first 25 minutes as it forced four consecutive three-and-outs and sacked USD quarterback Austyn Modrzewski four times in the opening half. By the time the Coyotes picked up their initial first down of the game, the Jackrabbits had already notched 15 of their own and had built a 21-0 lead with touchdowns on their first two drives of the second quarter.
Mason connected with Jack Smith on a 3-yard scoring pass to cap an eight-play, 64-yard drive, then hooked up with tight end Brayden Delahoyde over the middle for a 11-yard scoring strike four and a half minutes later to finish off a six-play, 80-yard drive. A 35-yard pass from Mason to Smith preceded the Delahoyde touchdown.
The Jackrabbits extended their lead to 28-0 midway through the third quarter after Myles Green returned one of USD’s seven punts on the afternoon 39 yards to the Coyote 34-yard line. Seven plays later, Josiah Johnson powered into the end zone from 5 yards out.
However, the Coyotes wouldn’t go down without a fight as the game moved to the fourth quarter. Behind the play of Modrzewski, USD scored on three consecutive possessions to pull to within 28-21. A pass interference penalty in the end zone against the Jackrabbits on the first play of the final stanza gave the Coyotes a fresh set of downs and they converted two plays later on a 4-yard pass from Modrzewski to Brayden White.
The Coyotes would need only two plays to score the next time they had the ball as Modrzewski connected with Bryce Cohoon over the middle. Cohoon bounced off a tackle 20 yards down field and out-raced the rest of the Jackrabbit defense on his way to a 59-yard score.
After the Jackrabbits failed to pick up a first down on their ensuing possession, USD took over at its own 26 and quickly moved down the field, making it a one-score game with 2 minutes and 8 seconds remaining on a flea flicker in which Modrzewski found Chris Herrin open along the right sideline for a 22-yard touchdown,
Having all three of its timeouts, plus the two-minute timeout, USD opted against an onside kick and instead attempted to pin the Jackrabbits deep. SDSU picked up a pair of crucial first downs, the first on a 3-yard quarterback keeper by Mason on third-and-3, and the second on a 43-yard burst through the right side of the line by Johnson that put the ball at the USD 22 and set up a game-sealing 34-yard field goal by Tristan Alvano with 19 seconds remaining.
SDSU finished with a 459-252 advantage in total offense, with USD gaining 133 of its yards in the final quarter. Mason completed 16-of-26 passes for 232 yards as Grahm Goering (six catches) and Smith (five catches) each tallied 84 receiving yards.
Johnson led the ground game with his fourth 100-yard game of the season, picking up 126 yards on 23 carries. Basinger added 84 yards on 17 attempts.
For USD, Modrzewski was 21-of-27 passing for 233 yards. White (45 yards) and Jesse Milelr (27 yards) each caught four passes. The Coyotes were limited to 19 net yards rushing as Modrzewski was sacked a total of five times, including twice by Jackrabbit defensive end Reis Kirschenman in a career-best performance that included another half-tackle for loss and a forced fumble.
Chase Van Tol registered a career-high 10 tackles for the Jackrabbits, followed by six tackles, including a sack, from Cullen McShane. Isaiah Wray shared game-high honors with 10 tackles for USD, with Wade Abrams contributing nine stops.
UP NEXT
The Jackrabbits head back on the road for a Nov. 7 matchup at Northern Iowa. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
NOTES
- SDSU leads the all-time series, 59-53-7, including an 11-3 advantage in the programs’ respective Division I history
- The victory was the Jackrabbits’ 200th at the Division I level (since 2004)
- The Jackrabbits’ five sacks were their most in a game in Dan Jackson‘s two seasons as head coach, while also notching a total of 10 tackles for loss
- SDSU is 7-0 this season when scoring first
- The Jackrabbits improved to 3-1 against ranked Football Championship Subdivision opponents this season and 80-59 in the Division I era
- Max Pelham booted a career-long 83-yard punt in the third quarter
- Mason started the game 11-of-12 passing for 146 yards
- SDSU converted both of its fourth-down attempts and is now 14-for-18 (77.8 percent) on fourth-down tries this season
- The Jackrabbits are 6-0 at Dana J. Dykhouse this season and 72-10 in the venue’s 10-year history
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