BROOKINGS As South Dakota State continues to march toward the brink of a second straight trip to the national championship game, the Jackrabbits have been impressive in many ways.
The Jackrabbits sheer dominance as they pursue a perfect season has been enough to open the eyes of the most pessimistic supporters but you could argue that SDSUs most impressive quality has been the ability to adapt to its environment.
Many coaches talk about being multiple but Jacks are the rare team that can apply it to the field. Saturdays quarterfinal win over Villanova was the latest example of how SDSU can win in different ways and it bodes well as they sit two wins away from repeating as national champions.
The Jacks preferred method of winning is by sheer dominance from the opening kickoff. SDSU has been known for getting off to a fast start and has continued that tradition by scoring on their opening drive in nine of their 12 games entering Saturday.
The exclamation point on this stat is that the Jackrabbits dont just score, theyre scoring touchdowns on the opening drive. SDSU found the end zone on seven of their opening drives this season with two field goals coming in a win over Youngstown State on Nov. 11 and their first-round win over Mercer on Dec. 2.
This is used as the catalyst for a fast start. Entering Saturdays game against the Wildcats, the Jackrabbits enjoyed an average lead of 17.4 points at halftime and used their running game to salt away the victory.
But while its not a challenge for some teams to get ahead and stay ahead, the Jacks have proven a knack for responding to adversity.
This was on display Saturday afternoon after Hunter Dustman kicked a 42-yard field goal on the opening drive to give the Jacks a 3-0 lead. With the wind ripping through Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium, the elements threw a wrench into both teams offensive plans until Jalen Jacksons 25-yard touchdown run gave Villanova a 6-3 lead with 7:55 left in the second quarter.
The touchdown and a botched kickoff return put the Jacks pinned deep in their territory and created anxiety that hasnt been felt in Brookings for the majority of the past two seasons.
That doesnt mean the Jacks are unprepared for this situation. SDSU faced a double-digit deficit at home when they battled Montana State on Sept. 9 but responded with a seven-play, 75-yard drive to open the second half that ended with a 20-yard touchdown run by Mark Gronowski and sparked a 20-16 comeback victory.
The Jacks had also experienced an early deficit when South Dakota scored the opening field goal on Oct. 28 but the SDSU defense stepped up and the Coyotes didnt score another point in a 37-3 victory.
SDSUs response on Saturday came uniquely. The Jacks had to punt on the possession after Jacksons touchdown and Villanova began to drive into SDSU territory before the defense stepped up. Quenton Hickss first sack of the game brought on the punt unit and the Jackrabbits special teams unit had its opportunity to shine.
Matthew Durrance was the player to rise to the occasion, coming up with a blocked punt that bounced back into his chest and sparked a 45-yard touchdown return that put the Jacks back in front. While Villanova added a field goal before halftime, SDSU had the Wildcats exactly where they wanted them and was ready to pounce in the second half.
We were still winning at halftime, so we knew that no more points would win that game, Quinton Hicks said. Our offense is the best in the country, they were going to put up some pointsso we werent worried at all.
The formula resembled the way that SDSU earned a win against Southern Illinois on Oct. 21. While the Jacks were in front a majority of that afternoon, the Salukis had made just enough plays on defense to make it a 14-7 game early in the fourth quarter.
The Jacks planned to kill as much clock as possible and they leaned on their running game to make it happen. Although Mark Gronowski made a pair of short passes, his dual-threat ability combined with the physical style of Davis took 9:18 off the clock and effectively put the game out of reach with a Dustman field goal.
While Villanova didnt slow down SDSU as much as the Salukis did, the same plan was in place lean on the ground game, kill the clock and get the win.
Davis capitalized with a monster fourth quarter that included a 66-yard touchdown run. With SDSUs defense at its peak form, the Wildcats had no answer as the Jacks advanced to the FCS semifinals.
It was another impressive victory in what has become a 27-game winning streak for SDSU. In some games, theyve beaten their opponent into submission. In others, theyve shown the ability to come back. Theyve used their passing attack to fuel wins and their running game to win others and on Saturday, even the special teams got involved.
With this collection of victories, the question has become how does any team beat SDSU? After becoming the latest team to come up short, Villanova head coach Mark Ferrante gave his best guess.
For someone to have the chance to beat these guys, you maybe have to have the ball bounce your way a few times, Ferrante said. Create some turnovers [and dont have any of your own. Dont have any drive-stopping penalties. You just have to play a real clean game because theyre pretty consistent with what they do in all phases.
The Jacks consistency has been a code that no team has been able to crack and its a mystery that two teams will have the chance to solve before SDSU claims another national title.
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