BROOKINGS It wasnt always pretty, but South Dakota State beat Sacramento State 20-3 in the season opener on Saturday night at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium.
The third-ranked Jackrabbits led 17-3 at halftime and then pitched a shutout in the second half.
I want to give credit to our players and coaches, SDSU head coach Dan Jackson said. I think our coaches did a really good job of preparing our players. In week one matchup, you dont always know what youre going to see, and I think our coaches did a really good job of getting in the weeds there and practicing the right things and getting the right calls in. Our players did a good job of executing the game plan. We had a game plan of playing complimentary football, controlling the clock and getting the win. Im proud of them for what they did tonight.
SDSU got the ball first and marched down the field and into the red zone. The Jacks had the ball on first and goal on the Sac State two yardline and Julius Loughridge fumbled and the Hornets fell on it at the five.
The Jacks forced a three-and-out and then moved the ball again into the red zone. The drive would stall out again inside the five yard line and Eli Stader made a 22-yard field goal to make it 3-0 with 8:11 left in the first quarter.
SDSU would force another three-and-out but Isaiah Garcia-Castaneda fumbled the punt and Sac State received the fumble on the SDSU 23. The No. 15 ranked Hornets were unable to pick up a first down again and Grant Meadors hit a 36-yard field goal to tie the game with 5:18 to play in the first quarter.
SDSU finally found the end zone early in the second quarter. Chase Mason found Andrew Gustad for a four-yard touchdown and that capped off a 15-play 75-yard drive to make it 10-3 with 12:38 left in the first half.
Sac State moved the ball into SDSU territory on its next drive and faced a fourth and one on the SDSU 28. Quarterback Cardell Williams kept it on fourth down and was stuffed by a gang of Jackrabbits and SDSU took over on its own 31.
SDSU moved the ball with ease again and the Jacks faced a 4th and 1 on the four yard line. Lofton OGroske took an end-around on the play and worked his way into the end zone to make it 17-3 with 3:51 left in the first half.
Joe Ollman then forced Savion Red to fumble and Reis Kirschenmen fell on it at the Sac State 28. SDSU worked its way inside the five yard line again and faced a 3rd and 4. Thats when the snap went through the hands of Mason and he had to fall on it back at the 20. Stader came on for a 37-yard field goal and pulled it left so the score remained 17-3 heading into halftime.
The two teams combined for 60 yards and five punts in the third quarter.
SDSU had a chance to put the game out of reach with a 48-yard field goal with nine and a half minutes to go but Stader pulled it left again. Sac States Jaden Rashada then had Tim Conerly open in the end zone for what would have been a 36-yard touchdown but Conerly dropped it. The Hornets then failed to convert on fourth down.
The Jacks would finally put the nail in the coffin with two and a half minutes to play. Loughridge had a 33-yard run to put SDSU in field goal range and then Stader hit a 28-yard field goal to make it 20-3. That would be the final as Sac State turned it over on downs the ensuing possession.
SDSU had six trips to the red zone on Saturday night and came away with just 20 points. Jackson acknowledged the red zone struggles and said some things take time to come together.
This is the first time that this team has played together. This is the first time so many pieces of the offense have played football together. We simulate things in practice but its not always live, its not always the same speed or youre not tired. Its challenging to practice a sustained drive. Some of those drives were really long. Theres a thing of maybe needing to be in better condition but you need to play yourself into the conditioning too. I have the utmost confidence in our offense to finish, Jackson said.
SDSU outgained Sac State 430-131. Jackson said he was proud of the defense for holding a talented offense to such low numbers.
Im proud of those guys. Coach [Brian] Bergstrom did a phenomenal job of preparing. You guys know I love that side of the football and to have it in such good hands with coach Bergstrom and his staff is just very comforting. They had the guys ready to go and if there were any questions if the defense was going to skip a beat or look any different, I think those were answered tonight. Im proud of the defensive line and even the secondary. They challenged us with a ton of deep passes, and I know they hit one of them, but for the most part we were in position, Jackson said.
The Jacks had 240 rushing yards. Loughridge led the Jacks with 159 yards on 22 carries.
Mason’s first career start. The senior from Hurley was 17-of-23 for 190 yards and a touchdown through the air. He also had 30 yards on 18 carries on the ground. He was sacked seven times.
Mason said he liked the way the offense moved the ball but they have to finish drives. He added that hes not worried about the sack numbers.
We moved the ball a lot. Theres always things we can clean up, especially like red zone type stuff. That will get cleaned up. From week one to week two is where you see the biggest improvement. Im confident and we have trust in the coaching staff that well be good. Some of the [sack numbers] are skewed because of looks and sometimes I just ate it with screens and stuff and I decided to eat it instead of putting the ball at risk later in the game. I have trust in our O line, Mason said.
OGroske had five catches for 76 yards. Alex Bullock had 49 yards on six catches.
SDSU will travel to Montana State next weekend as the Jacks will take on the No. 2 ranked Bobcats at 7 p.m. on Saturday.
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