BROOKINGS The South Dakota State defense has had a standard for awhile and its not an easy one to live up to.
Giving up 10 points or fewer every time they step out onto the field. Its something that the Jackrabbit players and coaches talk about and if it is not reached head coach Jimmy Rogers is not happy because he was the one that set the standard.
When Rogers arrived on campus at SDSU for his freshman season in 2006, the Jackrabbits goal was to hold opponents to 17 points or fewer each game. He wanted to change that.
When I got here, we played in a system where the goal was 17 points, Rogers said. I played at a high school where we had shutout goals, so I thought it was unique coming from high school and a little bit of me was thinking, lets get ready, maybe this is different. Throughout my time here, and becoming a coach, it always ate at me. The fact that we were OK and willing to be able to say that somebody was going to score three times on us.
So, doing research over time and looking at what was best in the country and what we wanted to be on defense, knowing that 10 points was the mark that you could consistently [give you] the best defense in the country, [we changed that].
Rogers worked at SDSU as a graduate assistant in 2010 and 2011 and then returned to Brookings in 2013 to become the linebackers coach. It wasnt until 2019, when Rogers took over as defensive coordinator, that the Jackrabbit defense started to come close to his standard of 10 points or fewer.
From 2019-22, the SDSU defense held opponents to 10 or fewer points a combined 18 times. In the past two seasons, with Rogers as head coach, the Jacks have done it 17 times and could still have three more opportunities as they play Incarnate Word in the FCS Quarterfinals on Saturday.
[Holding opponents to 10 points or fewer] is hard to do, but as soon as we changed that goal we got closer and closer and closer, Rogers said. Changing the mindset of giving up 17, we started at 14 and then 13 and then 12 and then 14. Weve started to get ourselves down to what we considered the standard, which is 10 points per game, Rogers said.
The SDSU defense had the opportunity to extend its streak of games holding teams to 10 points or fewer to six this past Saturday, but the Jacks gave up a touchdown with four seconds left and ended up beating Montana 35-18.
The Jacks were playing a lot of their backups on that final drive, but Rogers said that doesnt matter when it comes to the standard. If youre out on the field, your goal is to not let the opponent get into the end zone.
We have to execute. I dont care if the fifth strings are on the field. That doesnt matter. Youre part of it. If you get locked in and get reps at practice, you need to execute, Rogers said.
Last season, SDSU put up historic numbers defensively. They held opponents under 10 points nine times and for the season teams scored just 9.2 points per game on them. Heading into 2024, many people figured that there was no way that the Jacks could repeat that performance.
It hasnt been an exact replica of last season, but heading into Saturday, SDSU is giving up just 12.8 points per game, which is once again atop the FCS.
The Jackrabbits lost six starters off of the 2023 defensive unit and that meant many players were going to be making their first start come the beginning of the season. SDSU defensive coordinator Jesse Bobbit said his defense talked about the success they had last season and how that is now the standard of what SDSU football should like on the defensive side of the ball.
When spring ball started, through the summer and fall camp, the biggest thing we talked about was the standard and the bar had been raised. We were able to meet a lot of those standards last year, which they were pretty high. Even though we were missing some pieces [from last years defense], we felt we could fill in [those pieces] and be the best defense that comes through SDSU and the FCS. Last year we felt like we were that and [this year] we felt like we could do it again and maybe be better, Bobbit said.
In the first two games of the season SDSU allowed 44 points to Oklahoma State and 24 points to Incarnate Word. Since then, no offense has scored over 13 points. Senior linebacker Caleb Francl said he thinks his team has gotten better each week since those first two games.
I feel like throughout the season weve just gotten better and better. Weve started to mesh really well as a team. Communication is a big part of defense and I feel like weve done a good job of communicating with each other and telling each other where we are on the field, and that just helps everybody, Francl said.
Francl acknowledged that the standard of 10 points or fewer is a tough one to uphold and its not always going to happen. But its something that pushes the Jackrabbits to get better every day.
Its gotten harder and harder, and its us holding ourselves to a higher standard. Its been really good for us because even if we win, if we dont reach that standard, we feel like we have some improvement to do. So, week in and week out, it holds us to a high standard and we look for something to get better at each week, Francl said.
As the Jacks chase their third-straight National Championship, Rogers said his team is playing at a championship level right now. However, if they want to be the ones on stage in Frisco holding up the trophy again in January, they need to remember what the standard is.
If you can hold people to 10 points or fewer, youre going to be hard to beat. If were going to win championships here, we have to be able to win it with consistency on both sides of the ball, but youre going to win championships on defense and we have to come and play like one on Saturday, Rogers said.
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