SDSU football coach Jimmy Rogers talks about the win over Augustana
South Dakota State football coach Jimmy Rogers gives his opening remarks during his media appearance following the Jackrabbits’ victory.
Saturday’s South Dakota State-Augustana matchup, the first in 20 years, felt like a win for football in the state in many ways, and the proof is in the clear (or in the attendance numbers). The Vikings-Jackrabbits matchup drew 19,376 fans, the second-highest number in stadium history, and 4,389 students, the most in stadium history.
The two programs were rivals when they played in the Northern Central Conference and before the Jackrabbits made the jump to Division I in 2004. Now, 20 years later, the two programs have made contact again, and at a level where both are arguably at their best.
Augustana won the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference last year and entered Saturday’s highly anticipated contest ranked 14th in Division II football, while South Dakota State has won two straight national championships and is ranked first in the FCS.
The Jackrabbits defeated the Vikings 24-3 on Saturday, thanks in large part to their defense. SDSU allowed just 171 total yards and their defense seemed far too fast for Augustana’s offense. Amar Johnson led the way with 126 yards on 17 carries and scored one touchdown. Mark Gronowski threw a couple of interceptions but also scored two rushing touchdowns. He completed 19 of his 27 pass attempts for 141 yards.
Here are some takeaways from SDSU’s second win of the season.
Amar Johnson prevailed
The 5-foot-10 senior looked explosive Saturday night, certainly much more so than he did a week ago against Incarnate Word. Johnson looked to be the best offensive player on either team, and that’s a great sign for the Jackrabbits’ future.
On the first drive of the second quarter, Johnson picked up back-to-back first downs, running 16 and 26 yards on the first two plays. A few plays later, he added a 12-yard run to get South Dakota State to the goal line. He capped the drive with a well-deserved 1-yard touchdown. The senior ran for over 100 yards in the first half alone.
“He’s fast, he’s physical. He’s got a really great stiff arm,” Augustana football coach Jerry Olszewski said of Johnson in his postgame media briefing. “Those are some of the things we wanted to improve. We knew we had to take the extra step and get better at that because he’s tight with his stiff arm, but he’s a really talented player.”
Johnson finished the game with 126 rushing yards and a touchdown on 17 carries and SDSU outgained the Vikings by 221 yards.
South Dakota State’s defense was sharp
The Jackrabbits’ defense seemed to be in overdrive right after the kickoff. After SDSU botched the opening kickoff and Augustana was able to take control at the South Dakota State 11-yard line, the defense didn’t let the Vikings gain a yard and even managed to push them back a bit. Augustana had to settle for a field goal and those were the Vikings’ only points of the half.
At the end of the first quarter, South Dakota State had allowed just 17 yards and zero first downs. The Vikings’ offense picked up a little more in the second quarter, managing five first downs in the quarter, some of which came on penalties.
Colby Humphrey was a standout on defense and made perhaps the highlight of the game: he intercepted a pass, dropped it in mid-air and then completed the interception.
Overall, SDSU’s defense allowed only 171 yards, 147 passing and 24 running.
South Dakota State’s offense still seems to be gaining momentum
Although SDSU ended up winning by 21 points, beating a Division II team wasn’t as easy as you’d expect from a team that has won the national championship twice. At the start of the season, questions about this team mostly revolved around the new shape of the offense and lost productivity.
A big part of their difficulty scoring points on Saturday night was their inability to score on third down. By the ninth minute of the third quarter, SDSU had made just 1 of 6 on their third down attempts. South Dakota State played fairly conservatively, opting to punt almost every time they were forced on fourth down. The one time they tried on fourth down, they fell just short.
The Jackrabbits also lost the ball three times due to a fumble and two interceptions, which was not exactly helpful.
“We have to continue to evolve and not make mistakes when the time is right to score,” South Dakota State football coach Jimmy Rogers said. “There are new faces on this team and they’re going to make mistakes. To say we’re going to be flawless in every way when we just let eight guys go who had a chance to play in the NFL is unrealistic.”
“The reality is that the benchmark is wanting to grow, wanting to learn and wanting to get better and having the internal drive to go out and train day in and day out. And knowing that I’m doing my best to make sure I can.”
Despite these apparent difficulties, South Dakota State ended up totaling 374 yards, 203 more than Augustana, and won fairly easily.
Next
South Dakota State travels to Hammond, Louisiana to face Southeastern Louisiana on Saturday, September 21st.
Jonathan Fernandez covers high school and college sports for the Argus Leader. Contact him at [email protected]Follow him on Twitter at@JFERN31
