South Dakota States defense may not have the star power or individual stats that jump off the page, but as a collective group the 2023 Jackrabbits may have one of the best defenses of all time.
After beating Montana 23-3 on Sunday and winning a second straight national championship, SDSU head coach Jimmy Rogers made a statement about his No. 1 ranked defense in the country.
This is the best defense in FCS history, and Im proud of that, Rogers said.
The Jacks are No. 1 in the country in total defense and scoring defense. They are in the top 10 in both pass defense and rush defense as well. The Jacks gave up more than 20 points in just two of their 15 games.
SDSUs dominant defense specifically flexed its muscles in the FCS Playoffs as the Jacks held their four opponents to just 15 points in the postseason. Senior linebacker Adam Bock said the Jackrabbit defense got on a role at the beginning of the playoffs and it continued on Sunday.
I feel like we did what weve been doing all season. We just did what weve been doing all playoffs. I mean, that stat says it all. We gave up 15 points in the playoffs and we really came into our own. Its the closest group of guys that Ive ever been a part of, Bock said.
Rogers is a defensive minded head coach as he played linebacker at SDSU from 2006-09. He began his coaching career as the linebackers coach at his alma mater in 2013 and worked his way up to defensive coordinator before becoming the head coach this year.
Senior linebacker Isaiah Stalbird said on Sunday that Rogers deserves all of the credit for SDSUs success on that side of the ball this season.
Its a no-name defense, Stalbird said. Its a test to the work that [Rogers] puts in and instills in us and its on us to maintain that level as a whole defense. Whether youre a one, two or three, he always pushes us to be our best.
He never stops working, even now as a head coach, trying to understand things and different defenses. This man is a genius when it comes to defense. I cant thank him enough for what hes done for the program and the standard hes set for the program. Im going to miss this place.
Rogers gave the credit to his coaching staff instead.
Jesse Bobbit is the defensive coordinator and that staff that came together, they worked extremely hard for this and so the credit goes to those guys. Those guys work day in and day out to make sure that this not only stayed with the standard to which we expect, but got better. This team got better, this defense got better and a lot goes to Jesse, Pete Menage, Mike Banks and Jalon Bibbs and the overall staff. Im proud of the whole body of work this season because we constantly got better, Rogers said.
SDSU won its 29th-straight game on Sunday. The Jacks have been on top of the FCS for the past two seasons and have had the top defense in the FCS as well.
Down the road when fans look back on this 2023 season, people should remember the Jackrabbit defense as a collective group and just how dominant they were.
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